Kumiko reached into the box of questions. ‘Name one thing you and Dylan JM have in common.’
‘Subtle,’ Lily said. ‘I’ll start. Dylan JM and I have nothing in common.’
‘Then why are you here?’ Parisa asked.
‘Because opposites attract, obviously,’ Lily replied, batting her eyelashes. ‘Who’s next?’
I was next to her, so everyone looked at me. ‘We’re, uh, both people-pleasers,’ I replied.
I felt, rather than saw, Murray roll his eyes.
Parisa said something about how they both loved the outdoors. Naya said something about how they were both scared of heights (‘Wish I’d known that yesterday,’ she grumbled). Jess D struggled for a few moments, then said they both loved cheese, which drew a bit of a laugh.
Then it was Dylan’s turn. ‘We’re both very clear about what we want,’ she said.
My fingers closed tight around my fork, my knuckles white. The thing simmering inside me started to bubble more vigorously.
Jess D asked the next question. ‘What’s the worst thing a romantic partner could do to you?’
‘Clearly a man wrote that question,’ Kumiko said. ‘How many kinds of abuse do you want us to list?’
‘Let’s modify it,’ Jess D said. ‘Outside of abuse or violence or anything straight-up illegal, what’s the worst thing a partner could do to you?’
‘Insist on joint bank accounts,’ Parisa said. ‘I made that mistake with my ex. It took me years to untangle it all.’
‘That could fall under the abuse category,’ Kumiko said. ‘Spending your personal assets without asking, controlling access to accounts… that’s financial abuse.’
‘Okay, Miss Lawyer,’ Parisa said. ‘What’s your answer?’
‘Easy. Cheat.’
‘Lie,’ I said.
Everyone turned to look at me, including Dylan.
My fingers clenched even tighter around my fork, but I managed to keep my voice mild as I said, ‘You can’t be in a relationship with someone you can’t trust.’
‘I agree with Amanda,’ Naya said. ‘That goes for lying by omission as well.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Absolutely.’
‘Making you feel small,’ Dylan said. ‘Making you feel worthless. Making you feel like you’re nothing and no one without them.’
She was looking right at me. Could shebeany more obvious?
‘Depending on the situation, that could be abuse too,’ Kumiko said. ‘Emotional abuse is a very real thing.’
‘Tell me about it,’ Jess D said. ‘I had an emotionally abusive partner a few years ago and they made me feel likea shell of a person. The amount of therapy I had to go through was wild.Wild.’
‘I can’t believe none of you have mentioned the obvious one.’
‘And what is the obvious one, Lily?’ Kumiko said.
‘Die,’ she said.
The table went silent.
‘I’ll ask the next one, shall I?’ Lily said, sticking her hand in the box. ‘All right, here we go. What’s the sexiest quality a person can have?’
