The table went quiet.
Saroya squeezed my hand.
“That’s dangerous, baby,” she said softly.
“I know.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t think you do. Because a man who sees you? A man who makes you feel like you matter? That’s the kind of man you don’t walk away from. Even when you’re supposed to.”
“I can handle it.”
“Can you?” Raven asked. “Because from where I’m sitting, you already in too deep.”
“I’m not?—”
“You are,” she said flatly. “And I ain’t saying that to be mean. I’m saying it because I love you. And I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
I looked down at my plate.
At the shrimp and grits I hadn’t touched.
At the mimosa I’d barely sipped.
“I’ll be fine,” I said.
But even I didn’t believe it.
Saroya sighed.
“Alright,” she said finally. “You’re grown. You made your choice. And we’re going to support you. Right, Raven?”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Yeah. Fine. I support you.”
“Say it like you mean it.”
“Isupportyou,” Raven said, her voice dripping with exaggerated sincerity. “I hope this works out and you get your money and everything’s perfect and nobody gets hurt.”
“Raven—”
“What? That’s what y’all want me to say, right?”
Saroya looked at me apologetically.
“She means well.”
“I know,” I said.
And I did.
Raven was harsh, but she wasn’t wrong.
Iwasin too deep.
Iwascatching feelings.
And I had no idea how to stop.
My phone buzzed again.
