“Who?”
I recognized Paris’ voice before I even turned around. She stepped up to the table, eyes moving between me and Nel like she was piecing together a case.
I stayed focused on my fruit. I already knew where this was going.
Nel, messy as always answered for me. “Dex.”
Paris let out a long dramatic exhale and pulled out a chair. “Nique. Really?”
“Paris, don’t start,” I said without looking up.
“Oh, I’m starting,” she said, leaning in. “Because it seems like a little sand and some ocean waves make you forget that he slept with you and Amina on the same day. Knowing y’all were friends.”
I finally looked at her. “Amina has never been my friend. She’s your friend. I was cool with her because of you.”
“Key wordwas cool.Now y’all beefing over the same nigga,” Paris shot back.
“Look, P,” I said, my voice dropping to that warning level. “I know you’re Team Amina and that’s your bestie, but I need you to just stay out of it, okay? You don’t even know the half.”
Paris didn’t move. “I’m not Team Amina. I’m Team Both of Y’all. I want you both to stop being fooled by him and do better.The difference is she has to deal with him because of Demi. I don’t know why you keep choosing to.”
That one landed somewhere tender. I opened my mouth to respond but the words got swallowed up by the sound of Whitley’s voice cutting across the lobby.
“Hey, big sis!”
She was already moving toward me at full speed, that bright easy energy she carried everywhere arriving before she did. She wrapped me in a hug before I could even stand up fully.
“Hey, little sis,” I said, and felt some of the tension leave my shoulders without my permission.
She pulled back, eyes wide. “You smell so good. Is that one of your products?”
“Just my tropical coconut body wash. I didn’t put anything else on besides sunscreen.”
“Why don’t you have a website? I’ve been wanting to order from you forever.”
Stella stepped in gently behind her. “Baby, give your sister some room.”
I caught Stella’s eye just long enough to let her know I had it, then turned back to Whitley. “It’s fine. Honestly, I don’t have a website because I’m still figuring the business side out. I went after my passion without a solid plan and my first year hasn’t been what I hoped. I never got the chance to go to college so I’m learning ownership as I go.” I paused, the decision I’d been sitting with finally forming into words. “Once my lease is up I’m going to close the shop, go back to school, and get a real foundation under me. Business classes, marketing, all of it. Then when I graduate I want to open again the right way, with the knowledge to back it up this time.”
Nel’s brow furrowed. “Why didn’t I know your business wasn’t doing well?”
“It’s not doing horrible, but I’m not really making much of a profit,” I admitted, the truth feeling heavy. “Just enough to re-up on products and keep the lights on. Now that I have to find my own place again, I need more stability.”
“You can stay with me as long as you need,” Nel said immediately, and I knew he meant every word of it.
I also knew the reality. Our childhood home was small. He’d already turned the second bedroom into a walk-in closet and had been sleeping on the couch since I arrived just so I could have his bed. We were grown. We both needed our own space.
“I want to help too,” Stella said, her voice quieter than I expected. “I know breakups are hard. I can help you find a place and cover rent while you get settled.”
I just looked at her. I didn’t know what to do with that proposal. The offer was sitting right there in the open and I couldn’t tell if I was allowed to touch it or if picking it up meant something I wasn’t ready for. Luckily London’s voice boomed across the lobby calling everyone to the vans and I took the exit without having to figure it out.
On the ride to the cenotes Whitley slid into the seat beside me before anyone else could. We talked the whole way, and I kept finding myself caught off guard by how much depth she had. She didn’t talk like someone half my age. She talked like someone who had been paying attention to the world for a long time.
“Can I ask you something personal?” she said, somewhere between the resort and the jungle.
“Go ahead.”
“Do you actually love making your products or do you just love that other people love them?”