SugarCOAT

14. Big Brother 👷‍♂️

Once I was full, I was able to process all that just took place. It wasn't long before my walk from the kitchen to some hallway that I'd never been in before that I realized I was lost. With all the gadgets I'd seen around here, you'd think they'd have a panic button. Instead of panicking, I was glad I had my phone on me. I decided to call my cousin Monica.

"Well, if it isn't my cousin who said she would call me back, but... it's been a whole day later."

I smirked, "Good morning, Monica."

"Uh-huh. So, what happened? Have you started recording music?"

I took a deep breath as I walked to the end of the hall which turned into a living room that had a view of the garden. How did I end up on this side of the house?

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Monica asked me.

I took a seat on one of the leather sofas. "What I'm about to tell you is classified information."

"Who do I have hurt?" She inquired.

I reclined onto the couch as I looked up at the beautiful, crystal chandelier that hung from the tall ceiling. "Cousin, after we came back from the beach yesterday, we're in the car and Zeke finds out that his dad is home. Rewind, before we even go to the beach, I meet his mom and she asks where did we meet. Zeke tells her we met at the beach."

Monica laughed, "Girl, you ain't never been to the beach in your life."

"Exactly!"

"You wouldn't even know what a beach looks like if you saw it," Monica joked.

I wasn't laughing.

She continued, "Like if you were standing on the beach, you'd probably think you were standing on a bunch of salt, and the water was the edge of the earth."

"Monica, I will hang up on you." I warned her.

She cleared her throat. "As you were saying."

I rolled my eyes as I exhaled. "So, when we were alone, I asked him why did he tell his mom that we met at the beach. That's when he gives me this story or plan for me while I'm here. Zeke said that his brother and his dad are very controlling when it comes to music. If they knew that he was helping me, they would take over. In order to keep that from happening, Zeke wants them to believe that we are together."

Silence.

"Monica?"

"I'm here. I'm just trying to process what you just said. What do you mean by y'all being together?"

I stood up. "He wants them to think that I'm his girlfriend even though I'm not."

Monica asked, "Okay. Umm... No. That is not going to work unless he secretly wants to date you, and this is his way of getting close to you."

I disagreed, "He can have any girl he wants. He's Zeke Rivers. I just wish we didn't have to pretend to be a couple." I walked over to one of the three ceiling-to-floor windows. The garden seemed to go out farther than I expected. How much land is this mansion sitting on?

Monica asked, "Do you want my advice?"

Not really, but I I know she'll tell me anyway. "Go on."

"You need to hurry up and make music so that this fake relationship doesn't go public. Zeke is a celebrity. His ex-fiance is a singer, and they just broke up like last year. The blogs and social media would be all up in your business. Trust me. I react to those kind of videos all the time. You want to be known for your music career not for dating a celebrity." She was telling the truth.