Page 91 of Curvy Girl Summer

“How do you get your small-ass shirts over that inflated ego of yours?”

His lips twitched. Slowly walking backward, he said, “That long-neck muthafucka walked in here, and I knew instantly that he wasn’t the one for you. And you knew it, too. But you didn’t listen to yourself. Or me. You just sat over there like…” He hunched his shoulders up in his exaggerated imitation of me.

I cackled. “Goodbye, Ahmad.”

“Bye, Aaliyah.”

With a smile on my face, I watched him walk away. He dapped up the people behind the bar, and then he left Onyx without a glance back.

As soon as I was sure he was gone for good, I pulled out the earbuds and the QR code. I scanned it with my phone and queued up the playlist. For the next fifteen minutes, I just sat there listening with tears in my eyes.

The music wasn’t particularly sad.

I was just touched.

13

They said the dating pool had pee in it, but I was convinced there was shit in there, too.

No chlorine—just shit, algae, and bacteria.

I listened to the playlist Ahmad had given me on repeat. I felt connected to him, with him, through the music. The earbuds were so discreet, I even got away with listening at work. But no amount of musical good energy could combat the men who had been attempting to connect with me on the app.

I was already on a mission to find the man for me. But after my last interaction with my family, I was more determined than ever to find my someone special. I knew it was a stretch, but I’d hoped to find my person. Or at the very least, I’d hoped to have a date and my back blown out to ring in my thirtieth birthday. But even after dodging the obvious creeps on the app, I was still running into the bottom of the barrel. So I was trying to think of ways outside of TenderFish to meet men. Until a promising message and flirty conversation led me back to Onyx on Friday night.

Wearing a pair of jeans, a cute green top with a plunging neckline, and sexy sandals, I felt good as I strolled into the bar. There were a few more people inside than I expected at that time, but it was still relatively empty.

“Hey!” Asia greeted me with a wave. “I’ll be right with you.”

I climbed onto the barstool and looked around. Pulling my phone out of my bag, I started thumbing through social media. I’d posted a couple of selfies that seemed to be catching the attention of men from my past—none of which I wanted to bring into my future.

“So, another date tonight?” Asia asked, pulling my attention from my phone.

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m hoping it goes well, but honestly…” I shrugged. “It is what it is at this point.”

“I hear that. I’ve gone on a dating hiatus. I’ll try back again in the fall.” She scrunched up her nose. “Maybe.”

“Good call.” I paused for a moment, a memory washing over me.

She wiggled her eyebrows. “When I get back out there, I’ll hit you up for some tips. I need to be quick and efficient. Get in and get out.”

“I know someone who went on a dating hiatus and literally met her husband the day after she told me she wasn’t dating anymore. I think you’ll be fine.”

She looked at me suspiciously. “You made that up.”

I lifted my hand. “I swear. It happened.”

“To who?”

“My sister.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

I nodded. “Really.”

“It makes me more optimistic when I hear it’s happened like that before.”

I nodded in agreement. Aniyah’s trajectory in life was awe-inspiring. She found her soulmate quite quickly and easily. For anyone who had been in the murky waters of dating, the idea of finding that special someone was already difficult enough. But to find someone so quickly and to marry them soon thereafter was unheard of.

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