“I thought you wanted a niece?” I chimed in, leaning back.
“I do, but my sister is not Amina. She’s going to need a ring first.”
With that mic drop, Nel turned on his heels and walked out of the villa. I caught Nique's eye, and for a second, the word ring hung in the air between us. I winked at her because that was exactly the type of time I was on.
“Come on, Dex,” She rolled her eyes, breaking the silence.
We walked out and headed down the trail toward the main lobby, hand in hand. We bumped right into the sea of nosey friends and family, and I could feel everyone’s eyes zooming in on our laced fingers. The surprise on their faces was loud.
Amina was the first to break the huddle, marching over to us with her face set in a scowl. “Can I speak to you for a minute, Dexter?” she asked harshly.
“Can it wait?” I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. I was finally on a good page with Nique, and the last thing I wanted was Amina's drama.
“Really, Dex?” Amina started getting loud, her voice drawing even more attention from the group.
Nique actually took the high road, which surprised me. She squeezed my hand and let go. “Go ahead. I'ma go see if I can get a quick bite to eat before the vans get here.”
“Aight,” I reluctantly agreed. I watched her walk toward the breakfast area before I turned back to Amina. I followed her to a more private spot near the palms, my patience already wearing thin.
“What is it, Amina?”
“I just have one question,” she said, her eyes boring into mine. “Is Nique the type of woman you’d want Demi to grow up to be one day?”
I felt the words land before I could brace for them. “Excuse me?”
“You set the example for our daughter,” she continued, her voice dropping low and precise. “You’re the blueprint for how she’s going to see the world and the men in it. Do you really want a bisexual woman with unresolved mommy issues to be what your daughter looks up to? Someone who can’t even keep a stable relationship? Is that the standard you want to set?”
I felt the heat rise in my chest, my jaw locking so tight it ached. “Amina, you’re foul for that.”
I didn’t even give her the satisfaction of an argument. I turned to walk away, but her voice trailed after me, cutting through the humid air.
“You don’t have to choose me Dex. Just choose better for your daughter’s sake.”
I kept walking. I knew what Amina was doing. She had aimed carefully, and fired at the one thing she knew I couldn’t easily dismiss. Not my feelings. Not her pride. Demi.
And the worst part was that some small corner of my mind had caught it. I’d just bailed Nique out of jail. She’d been shot at eighteen. She was still navigating a life that had never been smooth or simple or safe. I wanted peace for my daughter. I wanted her to see stability modeled in front of her.
I knew Amina was being calculating and cruel. I knew she’d taken real things and twisted them into a weapon. But a seed planted in the right soil doesn’t care who planted it or why.
I spotted Nique across the courtyard, laughing at something Nel had said, her curls loose in the Tulum humidity, looking like everything I had wanted for sixteen years. But wants and needs were two different things.
I started walking toward the vans, carrying the weight of a question I hadn’t asked for and wasn’t sure I knew how to put down.
Chapter nineteen
The Reef
I stabbed a piece of melon a little harder than necessary, the sweet juice hitting my tongue but doing nothing to settle my nerves. Nel was sitting across from me, leaning on the table with a look that said he wasn’t letting me off the hook until he had the full story.
“So we’re just gonna act like you weren’t treating the man like he was invisible last week?” Nel grilled me, the smirk already forming. “How do you go from ignoring his existence to him waking up in your villa? Are you just trying to make Amina’s head explode or what?”
I set my fork down. “Nobody is thinking about Amina, Nel. Seriously.”
I took a breath, the last few days rising up all at once. “Dex was there for me in a way that goes beyond just showing up. He got me a lawyer when I needed one. He paid for my stay at the Battle House so I could get my head right. He bought me clothes for this entire trip so I wouldn’t have to go back to Kel’s place before we left.”
Nel’s smirk softened into something more serious.
“The man has really had my back,” I finished quietly.