Kori let out a heavy sigh as she passed through the doors leading back to the pool party. She caught sight of Cole and mouthed a quick apology as she made her way to the backyard's vacant bedazzled pool house.
Cole had already set out an earpiece for her convenience.
Kori hooked it around her ear and turned it on, patiently waiting for it to sync up to the speakers that were located in various spots around the backyard.
Once a chime from the earpiece sounded out, signifying that the pairing process was complete, she hit a switch on the wall of the pool house, activating the LED lights that lined it.
Everyone in the backyard turned to look at the source of the colorful, bright lights.
"Can you guys hear me?" Kori asked, a bright smile plastered onto her face.
There were varying calls of confirmation.
"Great," Kori grinned, "I want to thank you all for coming and I want to ask you to join me in congratulating Cole and Tierra on their engagement."
The spacious backyard was immediately filled with cheering and words of encouragement.
Kori waited for them to quiet down before speaking once more. "Cole," she began, her smile quickly becoming a genuine one, "We have been together all our lives… and I don't know that I've ever been any prouder. You're getting married, little brother."
"Think that makes me the big brother, now!" Cole called from his spot in the crowd.
"Don't hold your breath," Kori snorted, "You'll always be my little brother. I was born first."
"By, like, five minutes!" Cole retorted.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, who's doing the public speaking right now?" Kori pointed out.
Cole only waved her off.
"Exactly, thank you," Kori teased, "Kids these days, am I right?" She paused as the crowd laughed uproariously at her and her brother's antics. "Anyway, the reason I'm up here, besides humiliating my little brother, is that the little squirt asked me to perform for you guys, today. Or really for him and Tierra since it's their party."
The crowd cheered loudly, once more.
"Ew, what?!" Kori gagged playfully, "You guys are supposed to be booing! Because he wants me to sing love songs and love songs are gross!" The crowd laughed at that. "What, I'm serious. Heartbreak songs are way better."
"Sing us one!" someone from the crowd requested.
Kori chuckled at that. "Nah," she declined, "If I'm gonna have you guys crying, it's gonna be because you're happy. Not because I sang a song that reminded you of your ex. But, I can tell you this." She paused for dramatic effect before singing, "I'd climb every mountain, and swim every ocean… just to be with you and fix what I've broken. Oh, 'cause I need you to see…"
The crowd broke out into whistles and cheers and downright screams as she sang, making Kori laugh.
"See what I mean?" she shrugged, "There's just so much more soul in sad songs, you know? Which is why, when Cole asked me to sing, I wanted to scream at him. Because everyone knows you can't sing heartbreak songs at an engagement party." A pause. "I'm still gonna do it, though," she whispered. More cheers. "But, until then…" she sighed, taking her phone out of her pocket and syncing it to the speakers so she could play the music, "We'll have to make do with this sappy foolishness."
She let out a dramatic sigh, grinning as the guests laughed at her antics.
Seconds later, her phone and the speakers completed the pairing process and music began to flood into the backyard.
"Oh, I'm obsessed," Kori sang, "With the way your head is laying on my chest. How you love the things I hate about myself, that no one knows, but with you, I see hope again."
Suddenly, Roy was exiting the house to join the party. He grinned as Kori sang but kept moving, knowing it could draw unwanted attention if he lingered for too long.
Kori, having come to the same conclusion, tried her hardest not to let her eyes follow his movements. But, as she sang the next part of the song, she knew she was singing for him.
To him.
"Oh, I'm a mess," she sang, "When I overthink the little things in my head. You seem to always help me catch my breath, but then I lose it again. When I look at you, that's the end…and why do I get so nervous when I look into your eyes, butterflies can't stop me fallin' for you." Her smile grew brighter, then. "And darlin' this is more than anything I felt before. You're everything that I want but I didn't think I'd find. Someone who is worth the wait of all the years of my heartbreak, but I know now I found the one I love."
A bright smile spread across Roy's face, even as he fought against it. He made his way to the drink table, grabbing a bottle of Peach Crush and twisting it open so he could put it to his lips before anyone saw him.
He rolled his eyes in amusement as he sipped, idly recalling that he hadn't been big on Peach Crush before Kori.
Not a moment after he finished his first swig, Xavier appeared.
"¿Qué pasa?" he greeted loudly.
"Jesus Christ," Roy breathed, coughing as remnants of his drink disagreed with the sharp rush of air, "Where did you come from?"
"I appeared out of thin air," Xavier drawled, snickering, "What do you want me to say, man, I walked over here."
Roy narrowed his eyes at the sarcasm. "Scared the shit out of me," he muttered, taking another sip of his drink.
"My bad," Xavier chuckled, "Saw you over here and I had to speak. Haven't seen you in, like, ten years, hombre."
"Five," Roy corrected with a grin.
"Seems to be the common number, here," Xavier sighed, "Haven't seen Kori in that long, either."
Roy had an urge to clench his jaw but it passed quickly. 'Not jealous', he reminded himself. "Haven't heard much from her, either," he lied smoothly.
"Heard you went on a business trip in the Bahamas," Xavier commented.
Like he was fishing for something.
"Yeah, like, two years ago," Roy snorted, "It went well but I've had other business ventures to tend to, since then. Haven't had the time to socialize for an embarrassing amount of time."
"When's the last time you got laid, man?" Xavier questioned.
Roy's mind immediately flashed to earlier that morning. His mouth twitched at the memory, fortunately Xavier interpreted it as something else.
"Ah, I forgot about the mess with you and Kira," Xavier winced, "No hookups since then?"
Roy let out a discreet sigh of relief. "Nope," he lied, "I've been too busy with work."
"Well, that's ridiculous," Xavier dismissed, "I won't stand for it. We have to get the whole gang together while we're both still in the city.
"Well," Roy began, chuckling, "That'll be a little tough to manage since I'm out of the city tomorrow. I skipped out on a business meeting to come here, they'll be expecting to make up for the missed time."
"Party when we leave here?" Xavier inquired.
Roy's mind immediately flashed to his agreement with Kori.
They may have decided to discard their plans to go drink, but they still needed to spend time together before his departure.
"Roy?" Xavier inquired.
"My bad," Roy apologized, "I was thinking. We're gonna be here until, at least, three in the morning. Partying tonight doesn't sound like the best idea. I'll already be low on sleep."
"Old already," Xavier mocked, "Well, when are you next in town?"
Roy contemplated his answer.
The truth was, he always had the ability to be in town. He just never was. He and Kori were always in another city, or country, or even just somewhere on an island.
Simply being together.
They'd figured out, a long time ago, that living, for the most part, in a completely different city eradicated the risk of them running into anyone they knew. Of course, they still had to keep a low profile to avoid paparazzi. But, for the most part, they were able to be together in fairly open obscurity.
They could be normal.
That was why Roy was never in town.
Not because of business meetings.
He took most of those on Zoom just to avoid being away from Kori. But, some of his partners simply could not be swayed. It was either face to face or nothing. And, sure, he could sacrifice. But, that was already more time away from Kori.
Did he really want to add to that by taking Xavier up on his offer?
He was about to decline when he remembered the conversation he'd had with Kori.
'The only way you deal with that is to talk to him about it.'
"I think I should be available Friday," Roy said finally.
He realized he was setting himself and Kori up for what could be the most awkward hangout session in their lives. But, if worse came to worst, they could fake an impromptu business trip.
Xavier was about to respond when Kori's voice broke through their conversation.
"Come close… let me be home for anything. Good or bad, I know it's worth it."
When the vocalizations hit, it was clear that Kori had gotten lost in them, grinning at herself as she nearly forgot to keep singing afterward.
"And, darlin', this is more than anything I felt before. You're everything that I want, but I didn't think I'd find. Someone who is worth the weight of all the years of my heartbreak. But, I know now, I found the one I love."
The crowd of guests burst out into loud cheering and clapping and all manners of celebration.
Kori smiled brightly, playfully bowing. "I'm performing the rest a little later," she promised, "But, I'm getting old, I need my rest."
There were various protests but eventually Kori made her way out of the poolhouse and into the crowd.
Roy eagerly awaited for her red and black head of hair to make itself visible again but after a few moments it became clear that she'd gotten dragged into some sort of conversation.
And he couldn't, very well, go get her. So, he resigned himself to waiting.
He and Xavier sat in a peaceful relative silence until someone called his name.
"Roy?" the person questioned, "Is that you?"
Roy immediately recognized it to be Cashmere as he approached both him and Xavier. He grinned and waved, letting himself be pulled into a handshake as soon as Cashmere was close enough.
"I thought you said you couldn't make it," Cashmere recalled, though there was an excited smile on his face.
He hadn't seen his friend in quite a long time.
"I postponed my meeting until tomorrow," Roy told him, "Couldn't miss out on baby Cash's engagement."
He felt so bad for telling the lie but telling Cashmere "I only came because I'm dating your sister and she was having a panic attack" simply wasn't going to cut it.
"I say we crack open a celebratory beer," Xavier suggested, though his tone left no room for argument.
He reached behind him and grabbed three Six Fields Beers off of the drink table, handing them to Cashmere and Roy and keeping one for himself.
'Shit', Roy thought.
He could imagine he looked like a fish out of water as he watched Cashmere and Xavier open their drinks.
"Drink up," Xavier urged as he took a sip.
Roy wracked his brain for an excuse. "I literally just drank Peach Crush, it's not gonna sit right on-," he tried.
'Ah, don't be a cobarde," Xavier dismissed, "Drink up."
"Did you just call me a pussy?" Roy inquired, trying to buy himself more time.
"Called you a coward but if you wanna take it that way, by all means, man," Xavier laughed, "One beer ain't gonna hurt your business meeting, pendejo."
Cashmere laughed at their antics as he drank his own beer.
Roy narrowed his eyes. He knew what that meant. Still, he couldn't help but think, 'One beer can easily become five.'
And yet, he knew Xavier wasn't going to let him out of this.
He opened the bottle and hesitantly raised it to his lips, silently cursing Xavier. He closed his eyes, about to tilt the bottle back and take a sip when someone's hand pressed down on the heel of the bottle, effectively removing it away from his mouth.
He opened his eyes to see…
"Kori?" Roy inquired.
"Participating in recreational alcohol consumption, are we?" Kori deadpanned.
"I-," Roy began, forgetting that neither Cashmere nor Xavier knew about the nature of his relationship with Kori or the deal they'd made regarding alcohol.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. Roy and I need to have a conversation, and he kind of needs to be sober to do that," Kori interjected, "I'll bring him back in one piece, I promise."
Before anyone could say anything, Kori took Roy's hand and pulled him away, heading towards the house.
She didn't look angry but Kori had hung around actors for a good chunk of her life. There was simply no telling.
So, just to be on the safe side, Roy made sure he was the first to speak. "I did not want to drink that," he proclaimed as soon as they were through the doors and in the house, "Xavier kept pushing, and-"
"I'm not mad," Kori dismissed with a laugh, "I pulled you away so you wouldn't have to drink, not to scold you."
Roy eyed her suspiciously. "...So, you're not breaking up with me because I'm an insatiable alcoholic?"
"I mean…" Kori began, crossing her arms over her chest in faux seriousness, "Are you an insatiable alcoholic?"
"Insatiable Kori-oholic," Roy grinned brightly.
Kori snorted at that. "What a goof," she murmured. She found herself in a pleasant haze but she shook it off as she remembered that they did actually need to talk about something. "No, I dragged you in here to finish-... or really continue our conversation from when we were upstairs."
Roy's smile disappeared then. He stepped backward in a subconscious attempt to protect himself. "About you being sick?" he inquired with a wince, "Because, I really don't think I'll be able to function for the rest of the evening if we do this right-"
"I'm not sick," Kori interjected with a reassuring smile, "Perfectly healthy, actually."
Roy eyed her confusedly. "You're okay?" he inquired hesitantly.
"Peachy," Kori assured.
Roy hurriedly pulled her into a tight hug. "Jesus Christ," he breathed, "You almost gave me a heart attack, you jerk. Like, I slipped into immediate depression. Here I am, thinking you're gonna die, and preparing to be a fulltime alcoholic, and, God, I hate you." Though his words were scolding, his embrace only got tighter and tighter.
"Alright, ease up," Kori complained, "I need some sort of air so I can explain myself."
Roy squeezed her tighter, for a moment, before letting go. "Alright," he conceded breathlessly, "Hit me. You already told me you're not sick, nothing can be worse than that."
Kori winced at him, though it was drenched in amusement, more than anything. "Well, I'm glad you think that," she grinned, "Because, I'm pregnant."
Roy only stared at her.
Kori opened her mouth to speak but she was cut off by a laugh from Roy.
The laughter, which was sudden at first, became hysterical.
Kori eyed him concernedly as his laughter only grew more delirious until, suddenly, he was falling. Her eyes widened as she jerked forward to catch him, grunting at the impact of him falling into her chest. She fell to one knee as she struggled to manage all his weight.
'Damn it, Roy', she muttered, arms aching under the strain.
She breathed deeply and considered all of her options.
She could call out for help, but how could she explain this away without revealing her secret or getting Roy sent to the hospital. She resigned herself to the only solution she could think of, groaning tiredly as she threw Roy's arm over her shoulders and pushed herself up off of her knee, hauling him up with her. She braced his weight on her hip so she could drag him along.
Eventually, they reached the foot of the stairs.
Kori stifled a dramatic sob at the sight of them. She had no clue how she was going to get Roy up there but she knew there was a lot of pain in her future.
"If I didn't want you to grow up in a two parent household, I'd kill him," she murmured fervently to her stomach.
She sighed heavily, shaking her head as she steeled herself and took the first step. She grinned triumphantly at the small victory, though her body was already aching with the weight of Roy bearing down on her.
"Alright, Kori, just take the next step," she breathed quietly, "Just…"
She climbed to the next step with little issue.
No, the issue came when she had to pull Roy up to join her.
When she had attempted to drag him upward, he- or technically she hit his shin, nearly bringing them both tumbling down.
'This is gonna be a long trip', she sighed, 'Hopefully without any trips.'
She snickered at her own joke before shaking her head clear of her nonsense thoughts, taking a breath before resuming her climb.
Eventually, she was pulling Roy over the top stair and into her room where she promptly deposited him onto her bed.
"Number one rule of pregnancy is probable to avoid doing shit like this," Kori huffed, shaking her head fondly as she brought Roy's legs up onto the mattress and turned him about so he could lay vertically. She studied him for a long moment, brushing his hair out of his face. "But, you and I have never been so great at following rules, have we?"
She couldn't stop the frown that worked its way onto her face, as if she'd expected a response. She knew it was irrational, but her mind began to wander.
What if Roy didn't want this child?
Their child.
She loved Roy. There wasn't a whole lot that she wouldn't do for him, and vice versa.
But, getting rid of this child? That would have to be the only exception Kori could think of. The limit to how far she'd go for him. In the past, nothing of the sort would've crossed her mind.
A limit to her love for Roy?
Impossible.
But, she knew in her heart that this was where the line would be drawn, if it came down to it.
Her head pulsed at the thought.
"Don't be stupid, Kori," she berated herself, "Of course, he'll want it. He'll probably want to start brainstorming names as soon as he wakes up… won't he?"
She pressed her hands to her face, groaning as the worst possibilities raced through her mind. Suddenly, she stiffened in realization. She was doing exactly what she said she wouldn't do.
Drowning in negativity.
But, she wouldn't allow it to go on any longer. No. Instead, she'd think of other important things. Like the day she'd found out she was pregnant.
Because that had been so great.