"He's not exactly the type everyone would be thrilled about." That's an understatement.
"He's loud. Gets in trouble. People already talk about him. And my—"
"So he's like Gio."
I pause. "Well... maybe? Yeah, kinda."
"Got it."
"His family would absolutely freak if they knew. If they saw them together, they'd say it's a phase, or a rebellion, or something gross."
Daisy gives me a long look, like she wants to ask who it is.
But she doesn't. "Does your friend feel safe with him?"
The question hits harder than I expect.
I nod slowly. "Yeah. Actually. Weirdly yeah. That's what he told me."
"Does he feel seen?"
Another nod.
"And does the guy treat him like shit or like he is important?"
I immediately think of Gio calling my dream "badass," of his hand on my waist, of him yelling at Sophia on my behalf, of his thumb on mine.
"Like he matters," I admit softly.
Daisy exhales. "Okay. Then that sounds less like problem and more like a complicated good thing."
I stare at her. "He doesn't think they'd work," I say quickly, needing that distance. "He thinks no one would accept them. That people would talk. That it'd ruin everything he's building. His career, his reputation, his relationship with his family, all of it."
Daisy shrugs one shoulder. "Come on. People talk anyway, Rava. If your friend dates some perfect person his parents approve of? People will still talk. If he stays single forever? People will still talk. If he breathes wrong? People will still talk."
She looks me right in the eyes. "The question isn't will they talk. It's is he okay living a life that doesn't belong to him just so they shut up?"
I don't answer.
She leans forward a little. "Does your friend like this guy?"
"He doesn't know."
She smiles the tiniest bit. "Okay, let me rephrase." Her voice is gentle. "Does your friend feel better when he's around him, even when it's chaotic?"
Images flash through my head again.
The fair.
The bike.
The laugh.
The Proud of you, Ravioli.
My voice comes out small. "Yes. I guess."
Daisy nods like that's all she needs. She sits back, picks at the hem of her sleeve. "Then here's what you tell your friend."
