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Mya nodded. “That’s why Derrick and I played no games when dating back here on campus. I was not for him being the football jock all the girls fucked around with. If he wanted to be with me, it had to be only me. And when we graduated, I was not about to wait years for a proposal after we’d dated for most of our undergrad days.” She rolled her eyes.
Lisa’s attention brushed against me before I looked away.
“Shi-Shi’s dope,” Nisha followed up with, fingering through her long, jet-black box braids. “It’s funny how you can be with one person for so many years, you break up with them, andboom! She’s pregnant. Male or female.” She shrugged. “Or maybe she just didn’t want to live in his shadow, you know? As we can see, a bitch pulling in her own bag!” She slapped her hands together and twerked in her seat.
“Okay!” Lisa agreed, peering into her phone. “And from what I see on herTikTok, that baby ain’t do no damage to her body.”
“She’s a little thicker in the butt.” Mya disagreed.
“She could afford to be,” Nisha injected. “She’s tall, but not too thick. A little extra booty never hurts a girl like her. But now I wanna know what happened between her and Austin.” She shrugged. “Body’s right; bag’s secured. I don’t see what’s to talk about.”
“That reminds me of a certain someone at this table,” Mya’s eyes swung around.
That caused everyone else to do the same. Everyone but me. I knew where she was going with that.
Apparently, Nisha did, too. She rolled her eyes softly. “Lennox is fine. Like I said: body’s right and bag’s secured. And, might I add, the bitch got it out of the mud.”
Mya cleared her throat.
My brows plucked and head angled as I peered her way. This wasn’t unusual for Mya. It was only a matter of time before she’d turn the spotlight of her criticism my way. After going off on her two years ago at this same event, Mya now pushed me further down the line in her passive-aggressive verbal shots of judgement.
“Are we doing this again?” my tone was calm, clear.
Right away, Lisa appeared uncomfortable.
Mya laughed, waving her hand dismissively. “You know me. I’m pushing to get into your head. But for real, she does remind me of you, in a sense.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. Just how she makes life look easy, although, clearly, there’s been trouble.” Her words spilled slowly, cautiously. Mya wasn’t confident in her pursuit of knowledge.
“Okay.” I lowered my chin, looking her dead in the eyes. “So, I’m going to choose, once again, to not get offended by your inquiries into my personal life.”
“Personal life.” Mya scoffed. “We’re practically best friends.”
“We’re old friends with history,” I qualified. “It wouldn’t matter if we were sisters. When I set a boundary, you either respect and adhere to it, or you can choose to walk away from me. I’m not demanding anything I don’t give, Mya.”
She giggled again, possibly off her game. “Don’t be so extreme. Of course, I respect your boundaries. We all have and do—”
“Then what’s the problem?” my volume reasonable as I smiled warmly.
“TheRed Carpet Inn?” She used her hands to express incredulity. “I mean, who stays there? Not local people.”
“I live in North Carolina, Mya. I’m no longer local.”
“But you have money,” she argued.
“Here we go!” Lisa laughed nervously at Nisha.
“No,” Mya tried. “I swear, it’s not like that. I’m saying. Y’all know Lennox is a class act. Staying there sounds crazy. You could have stayed with me, Derrick, and the kids.”
My brows met. “When do I ever stay with you and your family? Is that what this is about?” I scoffed. “You wanna play sleepover?” When she rolled her eyes away, I knew I’d struck a cord. “Mya, I plan on doing a lot while I’m here. I have my grandmother and her home to check in on. We”—I motioned around the table—“have a packed itinerary. There was no need to stay at theRitz Luxuriate Hotelwhen I only plan on sleeping in my room this week. No, I’m not broke, but I can be practical, too.”
“I know that’s right,” Lisa rolled her eyes.
“Ladies,” Nisha interjected. “We only see each other once a year now. Let’s enjoy the time we have together. These have come to be some of the best times for me over the years.”
I cupped her hand with my own. “You’re right. I’m sorry if my energy has detracted from that.”
