I've never felt so awkward before in my life. Sitting in front of Colin's mom (both of them) and his thirsty ass sister-in-law not even an hour after Colin and I were just.....getting to know each other. Well, technically, he was getting to know me better. I still can't believe I let him do that to me. I mean, it's not that I didn't want him to. Actually, I didn't, but I kind of did. Fuck. I don't know what I wanted. I do know that I'm starting to wonder if there's any part on that man's body that isn't gifted.

"I'm so sorry I haven't been friendlier Arianna," I hurry up and push aside all my naughty thoughts as I focus on Mrs. Kaepernick. "I've been meaning to come over to see how you're doing, but every time I ask Colin if you're free, you always seem to be preoccupied."

"I'm sorry Mrs. Kaepernick-"

"Oh please," she laughs. "Call me Teresa honey."

"Okay," I smile softly; she's too kind. "Teresa. As I was saying, my schedule is so busy; I'm constantly on the go. There are days when the only time I see Colin is when I leave in the morning and get home at night. So please, you don't have to apologize."

"She's right," Lindsay chimes, sipping on her Diet Coke. "Just the other day, when I was talking to Colin, he said it's like she's not even there." She says rather innocently, but I know exactly what her underlying meaning is.

"Well," Heidi decides to join in. She's been rather quiet so far. "That may be, but last time I spoke to him, he spoke very highly of you Arianna."

Seriously?

"Really?" I question softly. He spoke highly of me. The same bitch he was, just hours ago, ready to call quits with?

"Oh, I do hope my son is treating you right sweetheart." Teresa says earnestly, reaching to place her hands on top of mine. She is such a kind woman.

"Yes ma'am," I smile reassuringly. "You and Mr. Kaepernick really did a wonderful job raising him. He's the perfect gentleman."

She sighs with relief and places a hand over her chest, "Thank you honey. We're so proud of him. Nevertheless, son or no son, you just let me know if he gives you any problems. He'll never be too old for his mother to come and straighten him out."

I giggle, "You're welcome, and that's very kind of you, but I highly doubt it'll ever come to that."

"True. Especially since Colin has always been good with relationships. Rarely, if things ever went sour, it was usually on the girls end."

Heidi raises her eyebrow at Lindsay, "You sure do seem to know a lot about my son. Did you two ever date?"

I smile inwardly. I have a feeling Heidi doesn't really care for Lindsay either.

"Oh no," Barbie smiles and laughs awkwardly. "He's like a brother to me."

Heidi, like me, looks unconvinced but doesn't elaborate on the subject. The rest of the luncheon goes over rather smoothly, aside from Lindsay's snide remarks. I really can't stand her. It's like she feels as if there's this competition between us over who Colin, who, is not interested in her. She's his sister-in-law for fucks sake!

Just as I'm about to open my car door, I hear someone call out my name, and turn around to see Heidi walking towards me.

"Arianna," she says with a warm smile. "Do you have a moment?"

"Of course," I lift my sunglasses from off my eyes.

"I just wanted to tell you that even though I'm not really family-"

"With all due respect Heidi, even though Teresa and her husband raised Colin, you gave birth to him; that makes you family to me." I inform her gently.

She gives me a warm smile and grasp my hands, "That's so kind of you to say. Thank you. I really appreciate it. I just wanted to tell you that if you ever need anything, please, don't hesitate to call. If I'm going to have a relationship with my son, I also want to have one with the people he cares about."

I look at her, studying her, discerning her. Like Teresa, she's completely and whole-heartedly genuine. She and I share a few more words before exchanging numbers and parting ways. Colin has no idea how blessed he is to have such kind people in his life. I can't believe I ever had any sort of negative opinions about this woman.

ooooooooooOooooooooo

"How'd it go?" Colin asks as I walk into his room, kicking my heels off along the way and taking off my jewelry.

"Surprisingly-" I plop down on the bed with a loud ‘thud.' "Good." I turn on my side to face him as he looks through his closet for something to wear, "You're so lucky," I mumble

He takes a second to look at me, "For?"

Rolling my eyes, I decide to change the subject. What's the point? He doesn't get it.

"Never mind," I sigh, pulling my legs up closer to my chest. "How long until I have to start getting ready?"

"Well, the party doesn't actually start until 4." I look at the clock; it's 1:15. "But considering how long it took you to get ready for a simple luncheon," he laughs off my glare. "I'd suggest you start getting ready now."

I groan, returning to my position of being on my back. "Fine," I huff, starring up at the ceiling. As much as I like the idea of Colin and me finally going out and doing something together, we're still not going to be alone. I'm going to be surrounded by a sea of people who I don't even know. Fan-Fucking-Tastic.

Wait.

I wonder if....no. It'd be bad-mannered. Then again, what do I have to lose?

"Babe?" I sit up, watching him intently as he continues to peruse his closet for whatever the fuck he's looking for. Honestly, it's a pool party; not the damn Oscars. Pick a shirt a pair of swim trunks and get the fuck ready.

"Yeah," he answers absentmindedly. Getting up off the bed, and pulling my heels back on, I walk over into by him.

"Holy shit," I breathe, marveling at his massive shoe collection. This motherfucker has more shoes than DSW. Yes, he has a lot of clothes as well, but his shoes take up majority of the space. I'm also starting to think he has a case of OCD as well, judging by how organized everything is. Refocusing my attention, I subtly move behind him, wrapping my arms around him. "I'm gonna feel out of place; I won't know anybody."

"You know Ricardo and Kyle," he says the latter of the two drily. Damn. I almost forgot about Kyle's ignorant ass. I suppose I owe him a thank you though. If it wasn't for him, I would have never met Colin....naw. Fuck that. There's no way in hell I'm telling that misogynistic pig anything of the sort. I'll let God take the credit for this questionable union.

For a second, I consider punching him in his back, but considering all of my physical attacks on him seem to leave him unfazed and I bruised, I decide against it.

"Funny," I mutter dryly. "I'm serious Colin." No response. "Maybe if I had-" The sound of the doorbell cuts me off.

"That's probably Ricardo," he says, clearly unconcerned about what I was just saying. "Can you get that?"

"Sure," I exhale. "Not like we were in the middle of a conversation or anything," I complain quietly, walking away from him. For some reason, I don't even bothering to look out the peephole or ask who it is; I simply open the door.

The Fuck.

"Maya? Kay?" I exclaim in complete shock and surprise. "What are you guys doing here?"

"To get ready for the party," Kay answers in an obvious tone as the two of them welcome themselves in. Yeah, I'm beyond confused.

"What?" I say more to myself than them. "How do you two know about that?"

"Colin," Maya answers matter-of-factly. "He called us and asked us if we wanted to come and, clearly, we said yes."

Yeah, now I'm even more confused.

"But why would he...." I trail off as the two of them start heading upstairs to my room. I'm an idiot. He invited them for me. He already knew I'd be hesitant to go mostly because I wouldn't know anyone there. He did it so I would feel more comfortable. He knows me better than I give him credit for sometimes.

"Aria!" I hear Kaydence yell out. She can be so ghetto sometimes. "Get that fat ass up here so we can find something for you to wear!"

Laughing to myself, I shake my head and head up the stairs. Along the way, I stop to go see Colin, who's laying out his outfit on his bed. Finally, he picked something out. Took him long enough. And he has the nerve to talk about me.

Crossing my arms, I move closer to him, tilting my head to the side.

"Thank you."

He looks at me with an innocent and oblivious expression, "For what?"

I grin softly, "You know what."

He maintains his feigned ignorance to what I'm talking about as he sits down on his bed, "Not really."

"Mmmhmm." Moving in between his legs, I put my arms around his neck, "We should do something after we get home."

He raises he eyebrow suggestively, "What do you have in mind?"

I playfully glare at him, "Not like that you pervert. I meant something fun." A beat. "Our Disney Movie Marathon. I need a nostalgic throwback."

He laughs, "Okay, but I get to pick the first movie."

"Let me guess," I pretend to ponder the possibilities. "The Incredibles?"

"It's a classic!" He exclaims.

"If you say so," I giggle, removing my arms to leave when grabs me by my hips. Standing up, he leans down to place a soft kiss on my cheek before whispering, "You're welcome."

ooooooooooOooooooooo

"Aria, I should have taken you with me to the club a long ass time ago." Kay says distractedly, eyes scanning the crowded pool area for her latest victim. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but didn't Colin say a few members from the team would be here? Yeah, well it seems like the entire fucking roster decided to show up.

Laughing, I shift my shoulders, and adjust my sunglasses. "You're terrible Kay, you know that?"

"You're just now realizing that?" Maya teases, clearly enjoying her current position of lying on her stomach on the surprisingly comfortable pool chairs. "Although, I must admit, living the glamorous life isn't half as bad as I would have thought."

"That's because you haven't experienced the negative side," The three of us turn to see a grinning Derrick, whose attention is focused solely on Maya.

"Dammit!" Maya groans, turning on her backside and running her hands through her hair. "Can't I just go one day without you interfering with my life?"

He chuckles, sitting down on the edge of her pool chair. Maya quickly reacts by pulling her legs up to her chest. "Funny. You weren't complaining when we were at the beach."

Fuck.

I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, "M, what is he-"

"Nothing," she cuts me off sharply. "Speaking of the beach, I believe we had a deal."

"She's right," Kay adds, although clearly curious about what Derrick was referring to. "You've still got another four days dude."

"It's fine," he rises up and Maya extends her long legs to ensure he doesn't sit back down. "That goodbye we had can hold me until then." He winks, before walking off to meet up with Colin.

"Explanation. Now." Kay demands, crossing her arms.

"It's not that big a-"

"Maya," Kay and I say in unison.

"Fine," Maya gives up and mumbles something so low that neither of us can hear it.

"What?"  I question, and again I still can't understand. "Maya would you speak the fuck up!"

"Derrick and I made out!" She shouts, but then drops her shoulders and subconsciously glances around to see if anyone heard her. Thankfully, it seems like the loud music in combination with everyone being involved in his or her own little conversations prevented that.

"I knew it!" Kay squeals, pointing accusingly at Maya. "Your lips were just too swollen than their usual plump look."

Maya shoots her a sarcastic glare, "Whatever. It's not that big a deal. It was just a spur of the moment type thing. Didn't mean anything."

"Why can't you just admit that you like him girl? I mean, there are a lot of worse guys out there to like."

She ignores my question, "Why are we even discussing this? I have another four Derrick free days that I intend to enjoy."

"Fine," Kay gives up. A beat. "I slept with Ricardo."

"Big shock there," I comment in a ‘like we didn't already know that' tone.

"How was it?" Maya snickers.

Kay fakes an appalled expression, "Now ya'll know I never fuck and tell." Wait for it. "But since you asked," I told you. As Kay proceeds to give Maya the lowdown on her hookup with Ricardo, I let my eyes travel over the party. This place really is turned up. Too bad I'm not a party chick. Never have been. I also don't like large crowds.

Yeah, I'm beyond fucked up.

Scanning with my eyes, I finally find Colin talking to Ricardo, Derrick, and Kyle (cue the mental eye-roll). I also notice the four of them have what I'm sure are groupies horribly trying to play it cool by holding their own conversations nearby. I chuckle to myself. These bitches are too thirsty. Speaking of, don't they know Colin is married? While all of them have their attention set on all the guys, a few seem to be really interested in Colin. My man. Okay, my pretend man, but, still my man!

Getting up off the pool chair, I do away with my sunhat, removing my rubber band so I can have that messy hair look. Hey, what can I say? It works for me. Then, before placing my sunglasses back on, I lift up my cover-up revealing my black and pink two-piece, which also happens to be Maya's latest creation. I swear that bitch has the magic touch when it comes to fashion. Her designs are amazing. She's going to go far someday. On a more selfish note though, I love that Kay and I get to be her models for all of her creations. I'm not cocky at all, Lord knows I'm not, but I must admit; I know I look pretty damn good.

Walking towards the guys, I hear Kay whistle, "Goddamn Aria. Bad bitch contest you in first place hoe!"

I laugh to myself. That girl is too much sometimes.

Maneuvering through all these damn people, I finally reach them.

"Hey," I greet, with a wide smile, running a hand through my hair. All of the guys return my greeting with friendly ‘hey's' except for Kyle. As if I even give two fucks about his irrelevant ass though.

Colin looks at me with a mixture of surprise, confusion, and glee. "Hey."

"Mind if I join you?" I dart my eyes over to the empty pool chair behind Colin.

He follows my gaze, "Yeah sure."

I purposely sway my hips as I move past the guys and flash the groupies a condescending smile, as I make myself comfortable in the plastic chair. Stretching my legs out, I lean some of my wait on the palms of hands as I throw my head back, enjoying the slight breeze and sunshine.

"So Colin," Eyeing him, I see one of the groupies looking up at Colin with nothing but lust. She looks to be the same height with me, with natural bronzed skin, russet eyes, and a thin figure with an obvious boob job. Her cakey makeup, bad weave, and slutty bikini make her look no different than your average every day hoe. "What do you say you and I meet up tonight? It's been too long. I miss you and I know you miss me."

"I'm sorry, but, who are you again?" I have to stop myself from laughing at the look of pure shock on her face. Ricardo, Derrick, and Kyle look equally amused.

Unfortunately, she quickly regains her composure, "Ashley. We met last year at the BET Awards." She places her hand on his chest, "We had a lot of fun."

It takes a moment for recognition to register on Colin's face and when it does, I can tell he's uncomfortable and even more annoyed. "Oh......yeah."

"Couldn't have had that much fun if he doesn't even remember you," I mumble to no one in particular. However, I could care less if this Ashley chick or anyone else hears me.

She glares at me, "Who is she?"

I lift up my hand, flashing my ring, answering with a bored "His wife honey, and you?" Silence. "Exactly." Finally, I lift my head and rise up out my seat and cross my arms. "You have no title. Well, I mean, you do have one, but I'm trying this whole ‘be nice to people' stance on life. So, I won't go there."

She looks at me with pure anger, ready to attack. All I can do is laugh. Let her try something. I wish she would.

"Colin, I didn't know you had a thing for plus sized girls." The guys, aside from Colin, look nervous, fearing I'm going to jump on this bitch. Colin, however, looks pissed off.

"Wow," I chuckle. "Cute," I take a step closer to her. "Let's get something straight here sweetie. Colin is my husband. Okay? Whatever you think you two had, is in the past. But let's be honest, you were nothing more than a booty call. And you know I'm right. Why else do you think he took you to a hotel room, but me down the aisle?"

Silence.

"Well damn," Derrick laughs. "I guess she told your ass."

"Shut up," Ricardo hisses, elbowing Derrick in his side.

I expect her to have a snappy comeback, probably attacking my appearance again, or even a physical attack, but she doesn't. Instead, flipping her hair, and turning on her heel, she marches off towards the other side of the pool.

Chuckling, I send her a friendly wave, "Bye bitch."

Sighing heavily, I turn towards Kyle, realizing he and I need to squash this beef we have.

"Look Kyle," I bite my lip. "You don't like me and I sure as hell don't like you, but for the sake of Colin, I think we should at least try to remain cordial with one another."

Kyle crosses his arms and nods, "I agree."

I mirror his actions, "Truce?"

"Truce."

"Am I the only one who's still mindfucked by the fact that this whole this thing is an act?" Derrick wonders aloud. "Seriously, we all deserve Oscars for this shit."

"Shut up Derrick," The four of us say altogether.

ooooooooooOooooooooo

"Hurry up bae!" Colin yells, grabbing a handful of snacks and plopping down on the sofa. "The movie is starting!"

"I'm coming!" I yell, looking over my appearance for a final time. Bare faced. Loose hair. Hollister pajama shorts. Simple white tank. My silver heart locket. Oh, and my fluffy slippers.

Yup, I look basic, which is exactly what I was going for.

Grabbing my cell and my touch, I flick the switch off in the bathroom and head down the steps.

"You get my snacks too?"

He snorts, "No."

Glaring, I throw one of my king sized bars at him, and, of course, miss miserably.

"You have no aim whatsoever," he laughs, as I gather the rest of my snacks and join him on the sofa.

"Fuck you," I mumble, trying to get into a comfortable position. "Not all of us were blessed with freakishly, abnormally, amazing athletic abilities. Some of us are athletically challenged."

"You sure it's just athletically or......" He trails off, and I can see the smile playing on his lips.

Grabbing one of the decorative pillows, I smack him as hard as I can, "Fuck you."

"I see you're challenged in terms of strength too," he continues to tease me.

"You know what," I scoff, getting up with the pillow in hand and moving so I'm in front of him. "You" smack "are" smack  "such" smack "a" smack  "jerk." I finish, giving him a final smack, attempting to put more strength into my swing. When I'm done, I realize I've knocked his snapback off his head.

"You didn't," he says feeling where his hat once was.

"I did," I say, trying to maintain my laughter. "What you gonna do about it pretty boy?" I tease, crossing my arms over my chest. I notice a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Fuck," I mutter, before dashing off towards the kitchen. I feel him close behind and dart for upstairs. Clearly, he's letting me get away because Lord knows this man's speed is off the charts while my slow ass could barely make the whole track during gym back in high school. I make a sharp right and go into his room, quickly going on one side of the bed, while he's on the other side.

"Getting tired, Mrs. Kaepernick?" He teases, noticing my breathing is starting to become heavy.

I don't know why, but hearing him call me that, causes a big ass smile on my face. "Never, Mr. Kaepernick," I smirk before quickly continuing my circle around his bed and barely escaping out the door as I feel him, of course, right on my ass. Instead of continuing this chase upstairs, I run back down and repeat our same path, kitchen, and all, before throwing my body down on the sofa. Face up, of course.

I let out a squeal when he drops on top of me, bracing himself on the sofa, "You give up already? I was just getting warmed up."

"Yes!" I concede, trying to catch my breath. "I give up, okay? There you win! You got my ass back, satisfied?"

"Not exactly," He says with that mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What are you-" Again, I squeal when he flips us over so I'm on top, positions us upright so I'm on sitting on his lap.

"You consider this getting back at me?" I snicker, snuggling my back further into his chest. "I'm not complaining though."

"For once," he mutters jokingly. "Naw, I figure almost giving your out-of-shape ass a heart attack was payback enough."

"Shut up," I mumble, reveling in the feel of being in his embrace. "I had fun today."

"Me too," he agrees.

He starts the movie over again, as we attempt to pay attention this time. We're about fifteen minutes in, as we sit and watch the film in a comfortable silence.

"Colin?" I ask quietly.

"Yeah?" He replies, most of his attention focused on the movie. We're at the plane crash scene.

"Never mind." We're having a fucking awesome moment/day. I don't want to ruin that.

He grabs the remote and pauses the movie, "No, what's up?"

Fuck. Why couldn't I just keep my damn mouth shut? Oh well, might as well do it now and get it over with.

"Did you," I sigh, fumbling with my fingers. "Did you mean it earlier when you said you wouldn't leave me if I didn't want you to?" I turn my head and look up at him, "Would you really stay with me?"

"Something you should know about me," he starts off, caressing my cheek. "I always keep my word. I wouldn't tell you something like that if I didn't mean it. It's obvious you fear rejection and abandonment. I don't want to hurt you anymore than you've already been hurt."

"Trust me," I offer him a small smile. "You could never do that."

He and I don't continue the conversation. I suppose everything that needed to be said, on both sides, was said. He resumes the movie and we make it through that one (The Incredibles) and halfway through Tarzan before I drift off to sleep, in his arms.