Serial's pov
I got out of my car and headed into my parents' home; it was the home we had grown up in. Definitely had some awesome memories here as boys. Blaze lost his virginity here in Dad's library, Messy! Tray nursed his first breakup with Eli here in his closet, Iconic! Even Bryant had his first kiss with Dolly from camp, Tragic!
As soon as I stepped inside, I headed straight for the counter to pour myself a drink. Last night I was too tired to feel anything, especially after the news of my 'engagement'. Sarafyna Yuriat. The name tasted so sour in my mouth. I sighed, taking a gulp from my glass and letting the burn in my throat soothe my nerves.
"Another bachelor's honor is down the mudslide", Trevon shouted from the front gate. I turned to roll my eyes at him and then I saw Eli smile at me.
"Hey brother-in-law to be", he said to me as he walked to hug me.
Tray frowned at the sweet interaction, and I smirked behind Eli's back.
He made a move to pull his fiancé away, but Blaze strolled in right then with his wife, heavily pregnant and leaning on his arm.
"Beautiful as always", Tray said while leaning in for a hug. Blaze pierced him with a look and then snorted.
"Hands off the lady Tray! She's literally carrying my world".
The cringy words made everyone laugh, especially Amy, who smiled shyly. That girl definitely had Blaze in a chokehold and we were all loving it.
The last person to walk in was Bryant, work clothes still on because he's the only workaholic among us. He looked a lot like Dad with the current stubble on his face. Poor guy!
He slapped me on the shoulder and whispered a congratulations. I huffed back in annoyance.
"Don't, it'll be your turn soon". I teased. Blaze led Amy into the dining area so she could sit and we all followed. There, we met Grandma Mari, dad and mom.
"Boys, lovely to see you again", Grandma said in excitement.
None of us believed that. To be honest, what she was excited about was talking engagement plans with me. I on the other hand had one thing to clear up before I break her grande grand-children fantasy.
Mom made a move, making sure Amy sat right between her and Grandma. Eli sat to the left of Mom and opposite Tray because they loved to stare into each other's eyes all the time. The number of lovebirds in the room was truly sickening but after everything that happened last year, the last thing we wanted was to separate Tray and his baby boy, Eli. The women smiled at each other while we sat on the other side, Tray, Blaze, Me, Bryant and Dad.
Dinner was way quieter than I expected, we made small talk about tech, furniture, manufacturing, Lockheart Foundation's year end project, family because each one of us handled a specific aspect of the business. Blaze was mostly overlooking tech projects, Bryant in manufacturing with Tray manning the supply chain systems. I was more about the furniture parts, and Grandma and Mom overlooked the Foundation's activity like donations and management. Of course they had help from Eli now. It was the most fun I had in a long time. Amy was also a big part of the orphanages ran by the Foundation.
Since Blaze and Tray were broken bachelors, or in proper terms now taken, they ended up in some childish argument with Bryant and me: the only surviving bachelor duo.
"Bryan, you guys are seriously missing out!",
"I don't think so Blaze, no offence Amy"
"Wait till you find that someone Siri"
"Yeah, yeah, coming from you Tray, I doubt it", I retorted
We all laughed, the 2 against 2 was honestly a solidarity thing now. Me and Bryant against the rest of the world and our family.
"That reminds me, I wanted to officially tell everyone about Siri's engagement", Howler chipped in. The entire room went quiet suddenly and I froze.
"Denver and I agreed that our children would be great partners"
I huffed.
"Right, it's too bad you didn't tell me prior to announcing our engagement. Fortunately for me, I don't want anything to do with him and his family!"
"Serial, I made this match! Hell, you will not go horseback riding, golfing and have all the freedom my money offers you without any goddamn sacrifices!"
"You promised me and Bryant freedom if we worked for the conglomerate, you said I could do whatever I want!"
"Tough luck boy, working for the conglomerate also means doing whatever I want you to and making the best decisions even if you don't like them!"
"This is stupid! I'm out of here!", I said angrily
"If you walk out of here, I swear I'll be sending your wedding invitations out by dawn! he threatened. Everyone looked at each other in silence, feeling the sour and awkward atmosphere. I saw Tray's jaw tick; the threat probably reminded him of his coming out to our parents last year.
"You know how that turned out last time you tried to set me up with Elena Stilinski", I glared back at my dad. There was no way I was losing.
" She was horrible anyway", he said back with a glare.
To be honest, this whole engagement thing was stressing me out. I had hoped it would be some kind of publicity stunt. Something to feed the embers of both enterprises, keep them in the news and drive up stocks.
"Dad, I'm not marrying her!. I don't even like Denver". I shouted.
" You don't have to like her or marry her if you don't want to". He stood up and looked at me before asking me to join him up the balcony. Once we were away from everyone else, he looked at me in understanding.
"I know you hate the idea but it's the best one I have for you"
I turned a puzzled expression to him.
"Engagements can always be broken up. However, you would have to date and properly court her for 4months. The only condition I offer you in exchange for your bachelor's honor is you get me that deal for Yuriat Furniture before things get serious. You have enough time after the engagement to get me what I want, if you succeed by then, the wedding is off"
"That doesn't sound fair. Why should I agree to this crazy scheme?" I asked, feeling the grip on my bachelor status loosen. This was an absolute nightmare. There was a moment of silence, when I hoped for the last time that all this was a very bad prank gone wrong, but he looked me dead in the eye and said the next words that made me almost gag.
"Because Serial, its either Sarafyna or you and I know that your next match will be none other than Elena!".
Anyone but that psycho! Honestly. How is she still even an option. First Blaze and now me. She must love the attention, and the thought disgusted me. I caved in.
He won, and I agreed! The mere talk of Elena was enough to make me not want to argue any further. Guess I'll be busy saving myself the trouble of getting married to anyone ever, but first I had to wine and dine whoever this Sarafyna Yuriat is.