"Thanks for taking them for the weekend." Stephen grins at Veronica as he walks his sons, Stevie and Max, to Veronica's car.

"Unlike you, I look out for my family," she says, jokingly.

Stephen chuckles. "Get over it."

"Hater."

"Weirdo."

"Cockblocker."

Stephen looks around Veronica to see if his boys are out of earshot. "V, you cannot talk like that in front of the kids."

She looks back at them getting inside of the car. "They don't know what I'm talking about."

He whispers, "Kids these days know everything."

"Oh. Well, then this is probably not the first time they've heard of a cockblocker."

Stephen sighs warily. "You know what? Just keep them here."

V chuckles before giving him a peck on his cheek. "Love you cousin." She gets inside the driver's side, and rolls down the window. "Say bye, guys."

"Bye dad!" Stevie and Max smile and wave eagerly.

"Y'all better be good. I'm not playing."

Veronica looks back at the boys, inspecting their seatbelts.

"Cousin V, is this a fast car?" Stevie asks excitedly.

"Let's find out." She winks at Stevie and Max before speeding off, almost running over Stephen.

"Damn it, Veronica!" Stephen shakes his head as he watches Veronica's coupe disappear down the block.

*

15 MINUTES LATER

Veronica parks her car into a parking lot. The boys beam when they look out the windows and see Dave & Buster's. "Alright boys, let's have some fun before we go to grandma's." She exits the car, lifting her seat up for the kids.

"Yay!" They shout, quickly unbuckling their seatbelts. They hop out of the car, jumping up and down in excitement. Veronica closes and locks the door before grabbing their hands and skipping towards the entrance of the restaurant.

They enter and approach the hostess at the podium. "Welcome to Dave & Buster's. Will you be dining with us tonight?"

"Yes. Just us three."

"Sure. Let me check if there's a table ready for you."

"Thanks."

The hostess walks away.

"Are we gonna bowl, too?" Max asks Veronica.

"Yeah we can do that. As long as you both eat all of your food first."

They both nod, promisingly, just as the hostess returns.

"Your table is ready. You can follow me." The hostess grabs a few menus and leads them to their seats, passing up several filled tables.

"Mr. Williams!" Stevie stops at a table with about six adults enjoying each other's company. Veronica looks back at Stevie and sees him standing right in front of Darrell.

"What's up lil' man? Where's your pops?"

"Home. We're with cousin V," he informs him, pointing at Veronica as the hostess places the menus on their table.

Darrell follows the direction of Stevie's finger and smiles when he lays eyes on Veronica. Veronica smiles back. "Stevie, I'll meet you at your table in a minute, alright?"

"Okay." Stevie runs over to Veronica just as the hostess walks off. He jumps into the booth next to Max.

Veronica slides in on the other side. "Does Mr. Darrell come around a lot?"

Stevie and Max nod.

"Veronica, right?"

Veronica looks up in response to the deep voice, and a smile graces her face. Darrell is definitely one of the most attractive men alive. "Hi Darrell."

"You mind if I join you for a few minutes?"

Veronica scoots over, signaling him to sit next to her. Darrell makes himself comfortable, never taking his eyes off Veronica's face.

"So how is everything? Still patrolling your cousin's house?"

Veronica chuckles. "Let's just say, I'm the Pitbull of the family."

He smirks. "I like that about you."

A waitress approaches the table. "Hey, I'm Sally. I'll be your waitress tonight."

"Hey Sally," Veronica responds.

"Can I start you off with anything to drink?"

"Three waters and three lemonades please."

"Coming right up." The waitress walks away, and Veronica turns her attention back to Darrell.

"So where were we?"

"Well... how about you tell me why your cousin doesn't want me to talk to you."

"Don't mind him." She waves the subject off. "Give me your phone, so I can put my number in it."

Darrell licks his bottom lip, admiring Veronica's boldness. "Are you sure that's what you really want, though?" He asks in a somewhat cocky way.

"Well, how else are we gonna get this thing started?"

"I just want to make sure we're on the same page..." He whispers in her ear, "Do you want me? Or do you want my dick?"

Veronica raises an eyebrow. "Well, that was forward."

"These days, you have to be."

"Look... you don't have anything to worry about. I don't catch feelings. So there's definitely no strings attached." She smiles like she's doing him a favor.

"I don't need your number for that. We can just set a time and location, right now."

"Oh," she says in an amusing manner.

"But that's not what I want from you. So when you're ready for some real shit, like getting to know me... then you can go ahead and ask your cousin how you can find me," he tells her confidently.

Veronica furrows her eyebrows, shocked at his rejection.

Darrell looks at Stevie and Max who are both still looking in their menus. "Alright boys, I'll see you guys later."

"Bye Mr. Williams," they both say before Darrell removes himself from the table, leaving Veronica speechless.

——

Sam pulls up to one of his gyms with Yemi in a slightly better mood. He turns off the engine, leaving the keys in the ignition, and then turns the music down. "I won't take too long," Sam tells Yemi, opening his door. She nods. "Are you sure you don't wanna go in?"

"I'm sure. It's bad enough I wore my pajamas at work. I can't do the same thing at your job."

He looks her up and down. "Yemi. You have on sweat pants and a sweat shirt."

"Exactly. And plus, I'm all dirty from work."

He shakes his head and chuckles. "Alright. I'll be quick." He hops out and speed walks towards the entrance. He suddenly stops in his tracks, and then jogs over to Yemi's side. She rolls the window down with a questioning look.

"Can I have a kiss?"

Yemi smirks, rolling her eyes at him, before slightly sticking her head out of the window. Sam smashes his lips on hers, causing them both to smile. He walks backwards towards the entrance, staring at Yemi the whole time.

He enters the building and Yemi rolls up the window. When she realizes what song is faintly playing through the speakers, she turns the volume back up. She starts singing the lyrics to Ella Mai's Everything, obviously thinking about Sam. Just when she starts to really feel the song, a loud knock breaks her vibe. She swiftly shifts her neck towards the driver's window, and then squints at the sight of Jamie.

Yemi nervously looks back and forth between him and the gym, and Jamie points at the window, gesturing her to roll it down. She hesitates before pushing the window button.

"What's up Yemi? How've you been?"

"Umm. I've been doing good. But Jamie, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here."

"I know he's upset. Pastor Harold told me who showed up at the church last night."

"Yeah," she nods sympathetically. "Do you want me to relay a message to him?"

"Is he that mad?"

"He just needs some space, right now, to take everything in."

"I know how he is. If he doesn't hear my side, he's going to let this thing eat him up. I have to fix this." Jamie turns away, anxiously, walking towards the gym.

"Oh no, Jamie..."

Yemi turns the car off in a panic. She takes the keys out of the ignition and hops out of the truck. She locks it before running after Jamie, trying to stop him at the door.

"Yemi, chill out, I know what I'm doing. You barely even know him," he tells her in an agitated manner.

Yemi furrows her eyebrows, offended at his words. She slowly steps back with a knowing look, watching him go inside of the gym. She shakes her head as she quickly unlocks the truck, reaching inside for her purse. She digs her phone out and calls Sam through FaceTime. He picks up on the first ring.

"What's up, ma? You okay?"

"Sam, I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen."

"Stop who?"

"Jamie. He went inside."

"Inside of here?"

She nods just as a knock is heard at Sam's office door. Sam quickly darts towards it, and swings it open. His employee stands there smiling. "Boss, there's a Jamie here for you." Sam steps out of his office, looking straight at the front desk. He glowers over at Jamie as Jamie gives Sam an apologetic look.

Yemi, still on the phone, grows worried as the camera faces the floor. "Sam?" Yemi's voice breaks Sam's glare. He looks into the phone and sees the concern on her face.

"Stay in the truck."

"Sam..."

"Yemi, do not come in here."

"What are you about to do?"

Sam hangs up on her, and turns to his employee. "Tell him to come in. And no matter what you hear, don't open this door."

She nods. "Yes sir." She walks back towards Jamie as Sam paces his office, anticipating what's about to go down.