Page 11 of The Switch: A Friends To Lovers Romance

“I should be.”

“But you’re not?” she asked hopefully. “How was your date?”

He blew out a frustrated breath. “It was great. Fantastic.”

“Okay… then what’s the problem?”

When he looked at her, his brown eyes were filled with anxiety. “I don’t think I should take it any further.”

“What?”

“Michelle is everything I could want in a girl. She’s sweet, well-spoken, humble and kind. We have similar interests and values—”

“Again, not seeing the issue here.”

“The issue is… I can see myself falling hard for her, but it can’t go anywhere. I won’t let it. Before, I hoped that she would be strong enough to stand up to my family if that day came, but now—after talking to her for a few weeks, I know she won’t.”

“Why not?”

“She’s used to being liked. I can tell. Someone hating her for nothing more than her skin will destroy her. And I don’t want to be the one who leads her to that.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Am I?”

“You won’t know if you don’t try.”

“Michelle’s not some experiment.”

“So… experiment on me.”

Luke leaped to his feet and paced her living room. “You’re back with that dumb idea again.”

“It’s not a dumb idea. And it’s much better than you giving up on someone you really like because of your family. Tell me the truth. What’s the number one reason your parents don’t want you dating a black girl?”

“To prevent the pollution of our own, noble race,” he said as if he’d been taught that in a textbook.

Ashanti’s jaw fell. “Okay, that was uncomfortable. I thought it was because of black people’s perceived poverty and poor education?”

“Oh, that’s a close second.”

“Then why the heck did they allow us to be friends if race was such a big deal?” she asked, starting to get irritated.

“I can have as many friends as I want.” Luke shrugged. “I just can’t love the ones they don’t approve of.”

The need to bash his parents and their determination to remain closed off burst to her tongue, but Ashanti held it back.

Luke’s culture was a part of him and his parents made him into the amazing man that she loved today—honorable, kind, hardworking, and responsible.

She knew he would never disrespect them just as she knew he would never accept that disrespect from her or anyone else.

So all Ashanti could say was, “It’s not fair.”

“It’s how things are done.”

She bristled at that statement. Something inside of her took it personally. What if she met and fell for a man of a different culture? Should she roll over and choke because his family didn’t like black girls?

Not in a million years.

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