Page 160 of Curvy Girl Summer

“There will be no fallout,” Nina said confidently. “It’ll be a happy birthday.”

“No, it will be,” I whispered. “I feel it.”

“I have one more question about the dick…” Nina started.

I sighed. “What?”

“You always said Matthew was top-tier dick. Was Ahmad better than Matthew?”

Throbbing, my pussy answered before I did. “Matthew who?”

23

I woke up before the sun on the morning of my birthday. Even though I was awake, I couldn’t move. There was a weight on my chest that felt like it was pinning me down. Groggily, I tried to push myself up, but I was still unable to move. Fear started to nag at me, but then suddenly, a calmness washed over me, and my body relaxed.

Fuck what everyone else has to say. Never let anyone get in the way of you being you.

Gasping, I jolted up in bed. My bonnet was left behind on the pillow as I whipped my head back and forth. My heart pounded, and I put my hand to my chest to calm it down.

It was my sister’s voice.

It wasn’t a dream. Loud and clear, I heard my sister’s voice.

The first voice I heard on the morning of my thirtieth birthday was hers.

Slowly, I reclined against the pillow and let Aniyah’s words run through my head again and again. Her voice had faded, and it was only my voice in my head. But it was her words.

Fuck what everyone else has to say.

“You’re right, sis,” I whispered, teary-eyed.

It was my life. It was about me. It was about what I wanted. It was my birthday for goodness’ sake.

I’d been internally counting down until my thirtieth birthday for the last five years. I’d been stressed to find a boyfriend for my party for the last two months. I’d been worked up about the situation with Ahmad for the last two weeks. So, to wake up hearing my sister’s advice on my birthday lit a fire under me.

My mom and I had a birthday tradition of getting our hair and nails done followed by lunch on the Saturday closest to my birthday. But because we were on a time crunch and planned to get to the lake house by five o’clock, we’d planned to meet at a restaurantnear the salon. Inspired by my sister, I arrived at the restaurant ready to get a few things off my chest.

Since Aniyah died, it was always just the two of us. So, I was surprised when I arrived at the restaurant and saw my father as well.

“Hey!” I greeted them, giving them both big hugs before sitting down.

“Happy birthday!” they cheered in unison.

“Thank you.” I looked between them. “How’s everything?”

We made small talk for a few minutes while we reviewed the menus. I already knew I was getting the chicken and waffles, but I still looked. We were all pretty much creatures of habit when it came to breakfast foods. Dad was getting the steak and eggs. Mom was getting the pancakes, bacon, and eggs. They were going to get coffee that they were going to complain about, and then they were going to reminisce about their trip to Colombia, where they had the best coffee of their lives, as they sipped their water with lemon.

“I know what I’m getting,” my dad announced.

My mom nodded. “Me, too.”

I looked between the two of them as they stacked their menus. “So, what’s going on? Dad, you’re coming to get your hair and nails done, too?”

“No, no,” he chuckled. “Just haven’t seen much of you lately, and I wanted to tag along for the breakfast portion of the day.”

I smiled and nodded. “Well, I’m glad you’re both here. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What can I get for you folks?” the waitress asked.

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