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“Okay, well, I’m going to head out now,” I announced.

“Remember when all Nina wanted was to go off to Magic World?” my mom asked my dad with a mournful sigh. “I miss when she was that age, and we could keep her with us all the time.”

I lit up. “I haven’t thought about Magic World in forever!”

Magic World hadn’t crossed my mind in years, but I loved that place. It was an all-ages amusement park with so many things to do. It wasn’t that far—almost two hours away—but I hadn’t been as an adult.

“We used to take you every summer,” my dad reminisced.

“I haven’t been there since I was a kid. Maybe we should go one day soon, for old time’s sake.”

My mom stopped pretending to be sad to give me a look. “With these knees?” Pointing to herself and my dad, she continued. “Only in a magical world are we going to be able to walk around Magic World.”

“Speak for yourself,” Dad replied, folding his arms over his chest. “My knees are good. I still got it.”

“Yes, you do,” Mom flirted before looking over at me and shaking her head. “He doesn’t,” she mouthed.

My dad gave her a look. “Hold on, now.”

“Yeah… I’m going to head out,” I repeated, stifling a laugh.

Giving them a big hug, I said goodbye and exited my childhood home. They walked me out, then stood on the porch watching me as I backed down the driveway.

I looked like a younger, bigger version of my mother—syrup-brown skin, thick head of hair, extra-wide smile, and dark, almond-shaped eyes. She was stunning, quick-witted, and had lots of style. And while I might’ve looked like mother, I got my work ethic and business acumen from my father. He worked hard to create a life he was proud of and on his own terms. He used his resources and ingenuity to build wealth and grow his company from the groundup. Together, I was the perfect combination of my mom’s straightforwardness and beauty and my dad’s hustle and charm.

Pulling away from the large brick home with the manicured lawn, I waved to my blissfully in love parents. As I made my way out of the gated community in the Northern Virginia suburbs, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever have what they had. It sounded good and looked good on paper. But it was unrealistic to think one man was going to fulfill all my needs.

Unrealistic and a lot less fun.

As if she heard the thought, my best friend called.

“Nina!” Aaliyah James cried as soon as I answered the call.

“What’s wrong?” I answered, navigating my way toward the highway.

“I’m done with dating. Done!”

I laughed. “What happened?”

“This man sent me a message a few days ago and we were making small talk. I wasn’t sold on him enough to agree to a date, but I entertained the conversation. Today I got a message from his wife stating that she was surprised to find a dating app on his phone and let me know he’d be available in six months because she’s divorcing him.”

“You dodged a bullet,” I told her. “So really, this is a win.”

“A win?” she screeched, causing me to snicker. “How is this a win?”

“Because it means that you don’t have to waste your time with him and it frees your schedule for someone like that sexy-ass bartender—”

“Absolutely not! That’s not going to happen,” she interrupted me.

“It should…” I replied in a singsong tone.

“I don’t know how you do this. How do you keep going on dates? I mean, seriously, how are you going on a date after last night?”

Last night, I’d planned to meet up with this light-skinned, green-eyed man with pretty teeth, but he didn’t show up. We were supposed to get drinks before I went to the India Davis concert with Aaliyah. I waited for twenty minutes and then left.

“It was supposed to be a first meetup,” I explained. “There were no feelings or emotions involved. He blew his opportunity, so he’s blocked and doesn’t get another chance to waste my time. And him not showing up worked out because I got to spend more time with you at the concert. Win-win.”

“But my real question is how do you have the emotional bandwidth to keep dating after bullshit keeps happening? Howwwwww?”

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