Don't Go Baking My Heart

“Every party needs a DJ.”

“We can hook up my phone to some speakers.”

Reba shook her head. “Lord, you are hopeless.”

“Are you punishing me because I wanted you to stay?”

“If you think this is punishment, then I have truly failed at making you come into the fun light.” She scooted over as she turned her body to face him, knees knocking into his.

“Parties are not my thing. Plus, I like my personal space to remain free of people.”

“I’m people, and yet here I am. All up close and personal.”

“That…wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Reba tapped his leg before moving back on the couch, putting space between them again. “The best things aren’t always planned. Anyhoo, off our current topic, but are you inviting those friends your mom mentioned?”

“I don’t know.” He wasn’t sure how to approach it. He could tell his mother he’d tried and leave it at that, but Devon didn’t like lying unnecessarily. “I’ve sort of neglected them for work. Why would they want to hear from me?”

“Reach out. Just be genuine. Let them know you fucked up, and if they say no, well, you tried.”

“You think it’s that easy?”

“I’m not saying it is, but don’t you think their friendship is worth fighting for?”

These friends had actually put up with his no-fun-having ass, as Reba liked to call him. They had been fine with all of that until he had basically made them collateral damage and disposable on his path to his achievements.

He had fucked up, and it was up to him to make it right. “I’ll try.”

“Good. Invite them out to something as an icebreaker.”

“That’s a good idea,” his mother joined in as she came back into the room. “We’re taking Leah to the amusement park at the Queen’s Park Savannah tonight. I remember one of your friends has kids, no?”

“Ohh, yes! “Reba said, clapping her hands. “If they have kids, they’ll have a buffer in case things get awkward between you two.”

His mother took up her handbag, slipping her phone back in the pocket. “You should come too, Reba. Let’s just make a fun night of it. We can get a head start on discussing party plans.”

No. No goddamn way. Reba and his family all together at some weird attempt at a friend reunion? “This sounds like a terrible idea.”

“It’s unconventional, sure, but hey, you gotta think outside the box.”

His mother was nodding along with Reba, and Devon sighed. Why the hell was everything being turned on its head? He was quickly losing control of his well-ordered life.

“None of this matters anyway if I get a negative response from Jeremy.” He’d decided if he was going to target anyone, Jeremy might be the most receptive. “It’s Sunday, so he may be spending time with his family.”

He might also not want to hear from Devon at all. Jeremy was the one he had been closest to, and while he had reached out to Devon the most after communication had sort of tapered off, even he had eventually stopped messaging and calling Devon to ask him to hang out. There were only so many times someone would keep that up after countless rejections. Jeremy did have a wife and children, so in theory, Reba’s idea about the family as a buffer wasn’t so far off if things went downhill. Neither he nor Jeremy would be alone if they realised there was no resuscitating their dying friendship.

He hadn’t allowed himself to think about anything other than work, and now, as he pondered on the possibility of rekindling their friendship, Devon realised it would be sad if they couldn’t.

He and Jeremy had gone to the same secondary school. They had kept up their friendship when Devon had gone to the Caribbean School of Architecture at the University of Technology in Jamaica, and Jeremy had remained in Trinidad to study at the University of the West Indies.

It truly was his fault that he’d pulled away when he’d gotten the Senior Project Manager position. It was demanding, and Devon had made his choice to focus solely on that and then, hopefully, levelling up to Principal.

“You won’t,” Reba said, voice oozing confidence.

“Alright, I’ll leave you to your baking,” his mother said. “Let’s arrange for later. Devon, call Jeremy, and we’ll see you all tonight.” His mother breezed out of the house before he could protest more.

“So, who’s ready to bake a cake?” Reba twirled, her dress flaring around her, exposing her thighs even more. “Can’t wait to see all you’ve learned.”