Page 28 of Revenge Cake

That she doesn’t love you, an inner voice whispers.

We park on the fourth floor of the parking garage. She’s distracted on our long walk to the restaurant, giving me only half-smiles when I try to tease her out of her nervousness. Just as we approach the gated patio, Lauren bursts through the restaurant door. Squealing as she wraps her arms around me.

“Y’all are late,” she scolds as she pulls away. Without any warning, she wraps her arms around Lani, whose eyes go wide with surprise. “I’m already two mojitos deep, so you’ll have to play catch up,” she says without even thinking to introduce herself to Lani. She looks at me pointedly. “I assume you told her that booze is necessary for a night with Mom.”

“She knows.”

“Good.” She nods sagely, grabbing both of our arms as she guides us into the restaurant. “Aunt Lisa volunteered to watch Cadence last minute, so things are going to get crazy this weekend. I won’t let you be all couply and have a quiet night at home tonight. We’re going out on the town!”

Lani shoots apprehensive eyes at me, and I give her a brief shake of the head to reassure her.

When we get to our table, Lauren strokes the side of Lani’s face as she presents her to my parents, and I’m torn between laughing and cringing at her lack of boundaries. “Look at her! Isn’t she so naturally beautiful?” She turns to Lani, who looks almost dazed. “Logan usually goes for a really flashy kind of pretty”—she lowers her voice to a half-whisper—“which basically just means lots and lots of makeup.”

Inwardly I wince, but I know better than to intervene about something so minor, especially by Lauren’s standards. Lani’s seen my full Instagram already. She knows what several of my ex-girlfriends look like.

“Lauren, none of that,” my mom says as we all take our seats. “But she’s right that you’re a very pretty girl, Leilani.” She reaches out her palm across the table, as she introduces herself and my dad, shooting me a knowing smile afterward. “Logan’s told us a lot about you.”

A lie of course, though I’m not even sure if my mom realizes it. I couldn’t tell her a lot about anything when I almost never talk about myself when she calls.

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Lani answers, and even that small response seems to take tremendous effort.

My dad smiles at Lani. “So Logan tells us you’re a fellow Bay Area native.”

“Yes,” she answers tightly.

When my dad just stares at her, expecting her to elaborate, Lani grabs her water glass and takes several rapid sips.

Damn, she really is nervous. I’ve never seen her at a loss for words before. “She grew up in Palo Alto,” I say. “Her parents’ house is only a few streets down from Aunt Carrie and Uncle Jack’s.” I turn to Lani with a smile, hoping she doesn’t mind that I stepped in for her. I’m relieved when she gives me a small smile back.

“Born and raised in Oakland,” my dad says, lifting a hand. “So I’ve got to ask, even though I might not like the answer, are you a Giants or an A’s fan?”

Lani lifts her head to look at my dad, her brows drawing together thoughtfully. “Neither. I don’t care much for sports in general, but I can confidently say I’m against baseball. On principle. No source of entertainment has the right to be that aggressively boring.”

My dad’s wide-eyed smile is fixed as he nods, but he looks like he doesn’t quite know what to do with Lani’s response. A smile rises to my lips, but I clench my teeth to suppress it. Lani wouldn’t want me laughing at her right now, but damn if she isn’t cute when she does that.

I’m about to express my support—which everyone will know is a lie because I fucking love baseball—when Lauren interrupts. “How long have you guys officially been together? It’s been, like, since March, right? Logan, I think that might be your longest relationship ever.”

I fight the urge to shut my eyes in exasperation. Leave it to Lauren to bring everything out into the open on a complete tangent. “Brittani and I were together for eight months,” I say, though I don’t know why I’m defending myself. I should have just let it go.

“Yes, but you were fully checked out for at least two of them.”

I turn to her, lowering my voice, “Can you not right now?”

“I agree,” my mom says. “I don’t like this conversation, Lauren.”

Lauren visibly bristles at my mom’s tone and I search my brain for a way to keep peace between them, at least long enough to get through dinner.

I’m surprised when Lani jumps in. “We’ve been together five months. So, I guess Brittani still has me beat by a month, if we’re only counting those six months when Logan wasn’t checked out.”

Relief overwhelms me, a warm smile spreading across my face. I stare at Lani in an attempt to show her my gratitude, but she keeps her eyes fixed on the glass of water in front of her. I reach my hand under the table and place it over hers. When she interlocks her fingers with mine, I give her hand a tight squeeze. Only belatedly do I recognize how the table went quiet with her reply.

“She was teasing,” I say, realizing that my family might have mistaken her comment about Brittani for passive aggression. “She doesn’t smile when she teases, so it can be hard to tell.”

At that, my mom releases a brief, forced chuckle. Lani lifts her eyes to mine, scolding me with them.

I shrug. “My family needs things spelled out for them. I’m sorry we’re not as smart as you.”

She blinks slowly in irritation, but a small smile forms on her lips.

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