A Word of Praise
Chapter 30

Kiara went into the kitchen with Marcus, sticking to her plan to avoid being with Chris alone. If she were to be completely honest, it was more of a self-preservation move than anything else. She wasn't mad anymore, just a little sexually frustrated, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she'd allow things to escalate again if they were left alone. Especially after he quit the formal attire and was sporting jeans and a t-shirt like a normal man.

But he had already hit strike three. First by being rich, which was a giant red flag she was only just willing to ignore. But then he screwed things up twice with his daddy's boy attitude, and enough is enough.

At least she was honest about her drink-making abilities, acquired over long show trips and celebrations. Artists were not known for dry parties.

"So, tell me about yourself Kiara" Marcus was awfully tall and just as awfully handsome, with dark black skin and a bald head that made him look like D.B Woodside. She would be hitting hard on him if the situation allowed. "Not much to tell, really. You already know what I do for a living and what I like to drink" She winked, incapable of not flirting at least a little bit with that gorgeous man.

"Don't do that, kitten. You shoot to kill with that blue-eyed wink." Oh, straightforward. Nice. "You might not be his real girlfriend, but you are still Chris' girl to me." She was just playing a bit, jeez. "Didn't know if he'd tell you."

"I'd say it's because there are no secrets between bros, but it's more because Luke would replace out anyway."

"You wouldn't?" She raised a brow, trying to replace out a bit more about him. He seemed easier to read than Luke, but appearances can be misleading.

"Probably, but he'd beat me to it. I need solid evidence, like the lack of marks on that pretty white neck of yours."

"Maybe I'm not into love bites," She tested.

"Maybe you didn't get the right person to bite you." He winked back.

"Now who's playing with fire?"

They laughed it off and put the drinks on a tray to take it outside. Kiara enjoyed their little back-and-forth, but much to her surprise it was totally innocent. The man was gorgeous, but she was just not feeling that fire rising when they talked. Much unlike the sexy view in front of her.

"Took you long enough," Chris mockingly complained.

He was organizing the grill with pork ribs and smoked sausages that were making Kiara drool. She got closer to the pit to check on his work. It smelled like heaven.

"Back to talking to me already?" He asked, taking advantage of her closeness to whisper against her ear. She put her hand on his face and pushed him away. He didn't get to smooth talk to her after last night. She grabbed a sausage from the grill and walked away blowing on it.

"Is there food already?" Asked a pretty brunette that was crossing the doorstep to leave the house. Luke followed right after.

"You must be Amanda. I'm Kiara, hi!"

"Oh, Chris' fake girlfriend. It's a pleasure to meet you" The woman seemed nice, but also curious. Kiara couldn't blame her; the whole situation was pretty atypical.

"Damn Luke, you told her?" Chris complained but got only a laugh back from his friend.

"Do you really think you could hide it from her?" Luke raised a brow and snaked an arm around his girlfriend, giving her a quick peck on the temple. That was a fucking adorable couple.

"Ok, can someone please explain to me why these two are known for figuring things out? The second time I hear it today and I'm beginning to wonder if they're psychics or something. Should I be worried?" Kiara joked. Marcus was the first to answer.

"You should definitely be worried. They know everything"

"Shut up Marcus. No, Kiara. They are just psychologists. Mands here teaches Behavioral Psychology at Stanford and Luke is a shrink," Chris retorted. It was quite cute to see how proud he was of his friends.

"That explains a lot," Kiara smiled. He reminded her of her childhood therapist, without whom she'd probably grow up to be an alarmingly different person.

They all got some food from the grill and sat around the table to eat. Kiara was feeling comfortable in the environment. She was afraid to be the odd one out among Chris' group of friends, but they were more welcoming than she expected. The chat was light, and she enjoyed hearing about the highlights of their friendship.

When the clock hit six, they were all fairly drunk and the food was over for ages. The topic of the hour, since they covered most of the embarrassing stories of the trio, was Kiara.

"Now tell me this Kiara, why are you not spending the holiday with your parents?" Marcus asked.

"They are dead." She tried to play it cool as she'd done with Chris' parents, but it sounded weird in her head. She was going to a place she'd rather not.

"Shit, what happened?" Marcus didn't mean any harm; he was just too drunk to have a sensibility filter. Maybe if she wasn't a bit tipsy too, she'd be able to think of something to say.

"Marcus, stop," Luke said. Amanda glanced her way and Kiara thought she was probably an amazing professional. She wasn't looking at her with pity or false understanding. She was just open.

Chris was sitting by her side and was looking a little lost, which was normal considering the subject. But then he did something she didn't expect, he held her hand below the table. Her first instinct was to flinch away, but he held it a bit tighter and it felt... nice. His hand was big and warm, and he was drawing circular patterns that allowed her to concentrate on something else.

After a few minutes of a silence that was not nearly as suffocating as she thought it would be, the lump in her throat gave up and she decided to, ironically, kill the death subject.

"Hey, who's in the mood to dance?"