Page 101 of Curvy Girl Summer

“So, you’re just not going to talk to him? Really?”

“Not about this.” I swallowed hard. “If he wanted to talk about it, he would’ve brought it up. So, I’m going to respect his lie and keep doing what I’ve been doing. I’m going to have to reach out to Lennox and tell him that our date needs to be relocated.”

“I mean… I’m all for you seeing what’s up with Lennox because variety is the spice of life. But are you sure you want to give up on the bartender without at least hearing him out?”

I sat up abruptly. “I didn’t give up on him!” My tone was indignant, as my best friend clearly didn’t listen to what I’d told her. “Nina, he gave up on me! He was pretending to be married so I didn’t hit on him. He let me believe he had a wife so that I would leave him alone.”

“From what I saw at the concert, that man did everythingbutmake sure you’d leave him alone.”

“There were ample opportunities for him to tell me the truth, and he didn’t.”

“Liyah,” Nina sighed.

I climbed under the covers. “I don’t understand what you don’t understand. Ahmad lied about his relationship status to let me down easy or whatever. And then I thought we became friends, and he still didn’t say anything. I’ve told him personal stuff, and he just…” I shook my head and rolled onto my side. “I guess he’s not who I thought he was.”

“I can understand that,” Nina said carefully. “That’s valid.”

I could hear thebutin her tone.

“But what?” I replied with a sigh.

“You know my motto is ‘On to the next one,’” she reminded me. “And ordinarily, I would be completely on board with you leaving one man in the dust and seeing what’s up with the next one. Because really, I’m still struggling with why you want one boyfriend when you can have several.”

“Nina,” I laughed, shaking my head at the unexpected comment.

“I’m serious. But since you’re not trying to live a beautifully carefree life like me, I have two questions I want you to answer and sit with before you make moves.”

“What’s that?”

“Think about why having a boyfriend on your birthday is important to you. And then ask yourself if you’re willing to settle for a boyfriend just to have one on your birthday.”

“No,” I answered quickly.

It was a no-brainer. I wasn’t willing to settle, and that was why I spent most of the summer running through so many dates.

“Exactly!” Her voice was elevated and sharp. “So of all the men you went on dates with, talked to, and connected with on the app, none of them were boyfriend material.For you.Some of them seemed cool, but they weren’t it.For you.And that’s fine. But at the end of the day, forget your family’s expectations, forget trying to prove something to them, forget what you think you should do. What doyouwant?For you.Not for anyone else.For you.”

“I—”

“No,” she cut me off before I could respond. “I don’t want you to answer right now. I want you to really think about it, so sleep on it. I’m serious.”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Okay.”

“And my second question for you circles back to this thing with the bartender, and this time, I want an immediate answer from you.”

I stared at the ceiling fan as I replied, “Okay…”

“Why are you really mad at Ahmad?”

“Because he lied! I was completely honest with him, and he lied to me.”

“Aaliyah, let me give you some real talk… You weren’t completely honest with him either.”

“What?” I sat up, indignant. “Yes, I was! I told that man my business, and the whole time—”

“Did you tell him you had feelings for him?”

My mouth hung open for a second. “I—so—it—the—I don’t,” I sputtered, completely flustered.

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