"Kennedy is already asleep and Carter will come up with every excuse in the book to stay up. Don't fall for it." Mrs. Wright told me while she and her husband scrambled to go.

It was already dark out and freezing when Indy dropped me off at the Wright's house. She left as soon as I got out of the car, using my babysitting as an alibi for whatever she was getting up to that night.

Mrs. and Mr. Wright looked like a power couple dresses in their best dress and suit. They were the perfect example of Black love. I wanted a relationship like theirs. Big house and adorable kids included.

That could be me. One day. If I stopped landing myself in the friend-zone.

Carter was up, following behind his dad, his Pikachu slippers smacking against the hardwood floors. "Can I come?"

"Next time, alright?" Mr. Wright said, rubbing Carter's head.

Carter's little face scrunched as he looked up at his dad. "Uncle PJ will have another wedding?"

Mrs. Wright snorted, causing her husband to laugh, but didn't comment. "Be good for Daya, okay, Carter?"

"I will, mommy." Mrs. Wright left a big kiss on his cheek and she and her husband left.

Once the front clicked close, Carter turned his round eyes to me. "Where are your pajamas?"

I glanced down at my jeans and oversized sweater. Kids never let you get away with anything. "I didn't need them, because I'm not going to sleep. You are."

"I have to use the restroom first."

That had to be one of his excuses to stay up later. Just to be on the safe side, I let him go. The five-year-old seemed a little too happy as he shut himself in the bathroom.

With Kennedy asleep and most of the house dark from lights being off, the Wright's enormous home seemed a lot creepier. Every sound seemed magnified. Especially the sounds I couldn't place.

Was that creaking because of the wind or was someone on the roof?

My phone rang, the sudden loud noise giving me a heart attack. Maybe my future husband and I will live in a small cozy house that didn't have a million rooms that a serial killer could hide in.

I accepted the call and pressed the phone to my ear. "What?

"Why do you sound out of breath?" Romeo asked.

"Because being alone in a big dark house is how slasher movies begin," I replied honestly, leaning back against the wall.

"You're not alone. You have two kids with you," he pointed out, but I could hear the mocking in his voice. "Maybe one of them will let you borrow a night light and blankie."

"Remember to say that during my eulogy after I'm brutally murdered."

"Already ahead of you," he said. "Is blankie spelled with 'I-E' or 'Y'?"

"I think it's A-S-S-H-O-L-E."

His laugh came over the line. "I actually called to let you know that it's snowing on the freeway."

I groaned, even though a little hope sprang to life deep in my chest. Snow was a rarity where we lived. If we did get any, even it melted the second it hit the ground, I made it a point to go play in it.

The last time it snowed, I was in middle school. I remembered the day clearly. Our science teacher let us out of class early to enjoy the very rare change of weather. A lot of other teachers had the same idea and for a moment, school was on pause.

The snow came, quick and heavy. It was up to our ankles by the time the bell rang and we had to get to our next class. Snowballs were thrown, snowmen were made, and I was the happiest I'd ever been while on school grounds.

It was me, Romeo and Keraun playfully using each other as shields or throwing each other down into the blanket of snow. The three of us goofed around, having so much fun that we almost missed when everyone started heading back to class.

Maybe I was a little too happy that day, considering what I'd done next. The look on Romeo's face when I asked him...

I pushed the memory far, far away. "The freeway has nothing to do with us."

"It's going to snow."

"You know," I said, ignoring him. "I've been thinking about what I want when I win this bet."

He scoffed. "Pointless, but okay. What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing major," I said, pacing the hallway. "Just a tiny thing."

"No."

I stopped in the middle of the hall, propping a hand on my hip. "You don't even know what I'm about to say!"

"Yes, I do."

"A churro!" I said at the exact same time he did. My lips curved into a smile. He knew me so well.

Kylie, the girl who worked at the churro kiosk at the mall, was in love with Romeo and always gave him fresh churros. While everyone else (namely, me) got handed the ones that had been sitting under a heating lamp for hours.

"You have to," I sang into the phone. "Because we are not getting any snow tonight."

There was a banging from the backyard that wiped the smile off my face. I'd never get my churro if I don't make it through the night.

"So...what are you doing right now?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant as I my gaze darted up and down the hallway, following every noise and shadow.

"About to ask my dad for the car keys."

I paused. "Where are you going? It's almost ten."

"My wimpy best-non-blood-related-friend needs me to keep her company."

I couldn't stop my smile if I wanted to. Maybe he did have some type of mind reading ability.

Having a friend over while I was supposed to be babysitting probably wasn't the most professional thing, but I couldn't stay in that house alone.

Oh, crap. Carter.

"Text when you get here," I said into the phone before hanging it up.

"Carter?" I knocked on the door. "It's time to come out now."

"Not yet!"

That's I heard the water running. I opened the door, thankful the kids' bathroom didn't have a lock on it. "Carter!" I gasped, almost slipping in a puddle of water.

The sink was over flowing with sudsy water and their bath toys. Carter stood on his step stool, frozen in place with a rubber duck in his hand. His pajamas were dripping wet.

"Don't tell mommy!"

After Carter changed into a dry pair of pajamas, he was more than happy to get into his bed. He was probably hoping if he did as he was told, I wouldn't tell his parents what happened. Not that I planned on telling them. If I wasn't on the phone, he wouldn't have been able to flood the bathroom sink. I couldn't lose that job.

I was dropping wet towels into the washing machine when I got a text from Romeo. He was here.

When I pulled open the door, I was greeted by rain and a burst of cold air. I was caught completely off guard at the sight of Romeo dripping wet.

I was glad he was there, but I also didn't want to be alone with him. Not while these feelings were still inside me.

"You gonna let me in?"

I pulled my eyes away from the bead of rain that ran down his neck, swallowing thickly. Heat rushed up to my face. "Still no snow," I said, letting him pass.

"Yet," he said, taking off his hoodie. "Be patient. It's coming."

He sounded so sure I almost wanted it to snow, even if it meant losing out on a fresh churro.

When we walked into the living room, Romeo had never been inside the Wright's house before, but he found the remote hidden away in one of the side table's drawers like it had a scent and he was a bloodhound.

He made himself comfortable on the U-shaped sectional as he navigated through the apps on the tv. Even though the Wrights' had strict screen time rules, they seemed to be subscribed to every streaming service available.

When he clicked on the Netflix app, a message popped up, asking for a four-digit code. The same message came up three different times as he tried three different apps. The Wrights' didn't play with their screen time. Neither Carter nor Kennedy would be sneaking down to watch something outside of their allotted thirty minutes.

"What is this?" Romeo complained, denial setting in as he tried to open another app. "You can't even watch tv when you're here?"

Mrs. Wright always put in the code before she left so the kids could watch a single episode of a show. I never knew it and always used up my data watching stuff on my phone during the kids' nap. "Nope. But they have a very nice board game collection."

I walked over and slid open a door at the bottom of the entertainment center, revealing everything from Monopoly to Scrabble to Chutes and Ladders. Romeo joined me, the two of us sitting on the plush rug and examining the games.

We started a stack of all the different versions of Monopoly they had--and they had so many--when I realized how quiet Romeo was being. He didn't even say anything when we found a card game that had a prompt to shower (fully clothed) with a family member.

"You know," I said, setting aside Clue. "The best friend telepathy thing works both ways. What's up?"

He appeared thoughtful as he looked up from the Twister game in his hands. "I think the Wrights' are in a cult."

I playfully smacked his shoulder, laughing. "Romeo!"

"No, really," he insisted. "Who owns a tv then blocks all the channels? What if they're not really at a wedding, but watching you to see if you'd be a good fit for them? Blink twice if you're in danger."

I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn't know why I expected him to be serious. That was never his style. Romeo always joked around. Especially when things got a too serious for him. He'd try to avoid topics by making a joke to divert attention.

That might've worked on other people, but not me. I knew how horrible his brother was and how his dad acted like everything was normal. He was completely alone in that house. I didn't want him to feel that way when he was with me.

He'd also been kind of distance since Rashad moved back in. It felt like we hadn't seen much of each other lately. Yes, I'd been grounded the last couple of days, but even before then there was something between us.

Romeo was my best friend--not that I'd tell that to Indy. If we ever grew a part, I didn't know what I'd do. I had to stop that from happening.

"I'm serious," I told him, not backing down. "Why'd you really come over?"

"To see the look on your face when it starts to snow." I crossed my arms and stared him down. "Rashad kicked me out of my room."

"Why?"

"His friend is over and they meet some girls." He grimaced.

I felt myself do the same as my mind connected the dots. "Wait. So, two complete strangers are having sex in your bed?"

His frown deepened, as if he hadn't thought of that. "Don't they have a guest room? You think they'd notice if I moved in?"

I couldn't even find it in me to laugh at his joke because Rashad Hayward was trash in human form.

"Can you stop worrying so much?" Rome said as he put games back into the cabinet.

"I'm not worrying," I told him. "I'm plotting."

He's lips lifted in a half smile. "Murder is illegal."

"Only if I get caught."

"Really, though, it's not a problem."

I slit my eyes at him. "Two strangers. In your bed. Naked."

"Okay, that's a problem," he agreed. "But you don't have to worry about me."

But I did worry about him whenever his brother was around. Rashad was a bully. What he did was not normal sibling behavior. It was like he wanted to seriously hurt Romeo, but he always stopped himself from doing it. I was constantly worried that one day, Rashad would take it too far.

"Have you met my mother? It's in my DNA to worry," I told him. "I can't help it if I stay up thinking about you when I should be sleeping."

It wasn't until the words were out there in the open, hanging between, that I realized how they sounded. Romeo's smirking face wasn't helping.

"Shut up." I tried to brush it off like a joke, but my face was hot. "Let's play."

Romeo watched me a second longer before glancing at the game in my hand. "You suck at Jenga."

"Only because you never pull out the right pieces," I told him as I moved over to the coffee table and dumped out the blocks.

"What, am I supposed to only pick the pieces that would make me lose?"

"Duh."

Romeo finished putting the other games away before joining me, sitting on the opposite side of the table. He stretched his long legs out, his sock-covered feet popping up on my side. I did the same as I stacked the Jenga blocks into a tower.

"What's your explanation this time?" Romeo asked.

I looked up to find him staring at my feet. "What?"

"One sock has flowers and the other one has a taco saying 'Taco Tuesday'," he pointed out. "There's no way they're connected."

That day, I was in a rush to get dressed and just grabbed two socks from my drawers. But I wasn't going to let him know that. "They are connected."

"How?" His brow raised in challenge, like he knew I was lying.

I pretended to be too occupied with making the tower straight to reply as I tried to think of an answer.

Flowers and tacos.

Flowers and tacos.

Flowers. Tacos.

An idea came to me and I turned my attention to Romeo. "If my future boyfriend ever screws up, I'd want him to apologize with flowers and tacos."

"Bullsh--"

Before he could finish the word, the entire house went dark.