“She’s right,” Soleil said slowly. “I haven’t seen you this starry-eyed about a guy since Paul Zielinski in second grade.”
She dropped her arms to her lap and scooted back on the bench. “Oh. Well, Paul was my soulmate. How many guys do you know who would go to their grandma’s house every Sunday just so she could help him bake cookies from scratch for you? Hmm?”
“Oh my god, did he really?” Thao’s bright laugh echoed in the cold metal gondola as she recapped her lip balm and zipped it back into her pocket.
“Mhm,” Soleil confirmed, tucking her phone into her jacket. “And he made sure his mom gave him an extra dollar every week on popcorn Friday just so he could buy her some, too.”
“A whole dollar! In this economy? And what’s this Kyree ever done for you?” Thao teased.
Oh, he’s done plenty… And Zuri was sure he was just getting started.
“For real though.” Soleil’s voice took on a serious tone. “Are you going to tell him how you feel?”
“Are you crazy?” Zuri brushed the idea away with a wave of her hand. “I just met him! Besides…” She shrugged. “I’m not ready for another relationship.”
“Are you sure about that?” Soleil asked, eyeing her sideways.
No, not really. “Of course I’m sure.”
Thao snorted. “Then why, on this sex-cation that you––”
“Oh, would you stop calling it that!”
“That you planned,” Thao continued, ignoring Zuri’s objection, “have you spent every free minute with him––the guy you just met and aren’t ready for?”
“Because… Because––”
“Because you have feelings for him, Zuri.” Soleil’s voice was gentle and sisterly. “It’s okay to admit it, you know. You are single after all.”
Thao pressed her lips together and nodded.
“Girl, you have been dead to the world since the day you met Bryan. And I know you’re sick of hearing it, but no one liked him. Nooo one.”
Thao shook her head now, like she was Soleil’s pantomime.
“I can say with confidence, that we already like Kyree a hell of a lot more than we ever liked Bryan. And most of all, we love who you’ve been these last few days.”
“But that’s just because we’ve all been together.”
Thao snickered. “Yeah, I wish we could take credit for that, but honestly, Zuri, we’ve all been bending over backward to pull you out of your funk for the past few years. It took one night with Kyree to bring you back to life.”
As Zuri listened to her friends, the truth of their words sank in––the truth that she was still too afraid to believe.
“Look, Z.” Soleil tapped Zuri’s knee. “You don’t have to marry the guy tomorrow, but I think you should at least find out if he wants to keep seeing you after the holidays. It’s not like Boston is that far away, and you said he’s from Philly. Maybe he’d like the idea of living closer to home.”
“So now we’re moving in together?” Zuri’s voice pitched higher, but she loved the idea of laying her head next to Kyree’s every night.
Thao’s eyebrows jumped mischievously as she pulled on her glove.
“You know what I mean.” Soleil rolled her eyes and put one of her earbuds in, pressing it to start her Powder Playlist.
Zuri did know what Soleil meant. Her best friend was all about being upfront with people, not wasting time in telling them how she felt, even if she didn’t think anything would come of it. It was one of the things Zuri loved most about her. She was a people person, honest, direct, and always leading with her heart.
But am I ready for that?
The gondola shuddered slightly as it slowed to pull into the summit station.
“Well?” Thao looked at her, her brown eyes curious and expectant. “Are you going to tell him how you feel or not?”
