“You’re not even going to read that for real,” I said as she reached for the drink menu.
She glanced up. “Excuse me?”
“The cocktail menu. I know you’ve already looked at the menu a thousand times before we got here and you finna pick the drink with the most ridiculous name.”
She rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself. “And what about it?”
I shook my head and chuckled.
She ended up ordering something called a Midnight Twizzle. I got a bourbon neat, because all those sugary drinks made my stomach hurt. When our drinks came, she slid hers across the table. I took a sip and raised an eyebrow. It was good—I tasted smoky mezcal and something fruity that wasn’t sickeningly sweet.
Dinner settled into an easy rhythm. She told me that she and Hana had been talking more frequently about things that didn’t have to do with the Order.
“So y’all besties now?” I asked.
“Hardly.” She rolled her eyes. “Both of us grew up as only children, so I guess we’re trying to figure this sister shit out.”
I was halfway through my burger when she asked.
“What do you think about meeting my mother?”
I paused mid-bite and looked at her. She chewed on her bottom lip while she waited on my answer.
I set my burger down. In all the time I’d known Nairobi, she’d only ever called her parents by their first names. The few times “mother” or “father” came out her mouth, it usually came with a look that said she’d rather swallow glass.
“You want me to meet Kenya?” I asked.
Nairobi scrunched up her face and took a sip of her drink. “You know what? Never mind. Too soon.”
“Stop,” I said, reaching across the table before she could disappear into her head. “It’s not stupid, I’m just surprised.”
Her expression softened some, but she kept poking at her pasta. “I’m trying to let her in,” she said. “She’s trying too. And she already met Jasmine and the baby while you were in New York.”
My eyes widened. “Cash actually let them out the house?”
Nairobi’s mouth curved into a smile. “Only ‘cause they were with me.”
“It went fine, though,” she continued. “Less awkward than I thought it would be, minus Aspen looking at me like she was judging me.”
I laughed. “Not the baby side-eyeing you.”
“Maybe she thinks I have bad vibes.”
I shook my head. “So your mom met one friend and now you’re ready for her to meet me?”
Nairobi’s brown cheeks flushed just a bit. “I’m not,” she admitted. “But I remind myself I’ve done harder things.”
My chest warmed a bit. “Alright,” I said, rapping my knuckles on the table. “Whenever you’re ready.”
She nodded.
26 /NAIROBI CRAWFORD
I wasn’tthis nervous bringing Jasmine over here. So why was I sweating bullets in the passenger seat of Fontaine’s truck? I’d brought down men twice my size without blinking, but the thought of walking through that front door withhimhad my stomach in knots. The turtleneck wasn’t helping either—it felt like a noose tightening around me by the minute.
“Hey.” Fontaine’s hand landed on my thigh. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied, wriggling in my seat as he pulled into my parents’ driveway.
