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“So there was some part of you that believed he was good.”
Dejonae’s expression turns curious.
Mom keeps staring at me, trying to unearth things I haven’t given myself room to dig up. Her eyebrow raise is a subtle nudge.
“I don’t know if I’d call him ‘good’. But he’s not ‘bad’.” I think back to the princess watch, Sullivan doting on his niece, and the way he looked out for his sister. He made an effort to learn sign language. He was patient whenever he waited for me to type a response.
We use two different languages to communicate, which can be incredibly frustrating, but he’s never lashed out at me because we can’t understand each other.
“Do you think,” mom watches my face carefully, “you would be interested in him if he was deaf?”
Dejonae explodes out of the bar stool. “Mom, are you forgetting heblackmailedher into signing that contract? Are we just going to overlook that?”
“Didn’t Sazuki blackmail you into working for him?” I sign.
Dejonae sinks back into her seat. “That’s different.”
Mom places a finger to her lips.
Deej huffs.
“Yaya, answer my question,” mom signs.
My arms turn heavy.
I stall for time.
Mom’s smart. Too smart. The way she worded that question is a trap.
But I won’t fall for it.
All my life, I’ve been adamant about my dating preferences.
Hearing men have always been a turn-off.
Always.
And then Dare…
It’s not like Iwantto date him.
Maybe I want to kiss him again.
But that’s different.
That’s… not serious.
I could never be truly, deeply committed to someone hearing. If I ever have a future with someone, it’ll be with a man who shares my experience.
“He’s not deaf, so it doesn’t matter anyway,” I sign.
Mom gives me a knowing look.
Squirming, I sign to Deej. “I appreciate you looking out for me. I didn’t mean to get angry.”
“It’s okay. I overreacted thinking Sullivan was taking advantage of you. I should have talked to you first instead of asking Ryo to—” Dejonae stalls, “Oh no. You don’t think they fought?”
My smile grows. “I wonder who would win?”
