Page 63 of Are You Going to Love Me

Staysha stood and approached her sister. “I’ve been watching you survive for a very long time. You need to trust yourself enough to live. Experience letting a real man care for you the way you care for everyone and everything else. But no, that’s not why I popped up on your dramatic ass. I actually got you a modeling job. They wanted a female lead from Trae Way to fit the aesthetic.”

“Who is it with? And when is it?” Eden asked, silencing her phone and moving around the counter into her kitchen to grab a smoothie. “And don’t say it’s an undisclosed person.”

“Then I won’t because that wouldn’t be the truth. It’s just you. And it’s tomorrow.”

Eden squinted. “I don’t believe you.”

“You should because I love you. So much that I'm taking you to lunch. Put the smoothie down, go pull yourself together, and let’s go.”

“Where are we going?”

“Meeting Fatima at Midtown. Be cute.”

Almost thirty minutes later, Eden reappeared, her reverted coils loose and wild, adding depth to the denim shorts, white tee, and sneaker fit she had on. Simple yet cute.

“We walking?” Staysha asked, with her face scrunched. “You’re not getting dick, and it shows. You want to walk, and I barely made it up here.”

“Spare me the details of Keon rearranging your insides,” Eden huffed, walking toward her door.

“What’s the deal with that anyway? Eden questioned. “Y’all something or y’all just workplace fuck buddies?”

“You know that saying, get over one by getting under another. I’m not always going to be able to fuck who I want when I want so I figure I’ll do it now,” Staysha shared her rationale.

Eden’s lip curled. “You playing games still, Stay. Keon ain’t that type to accept that, and I know that because...”

“Say it,” Staysha urged, as the pair headed to the elevator. “I dare you to say his name and prove yourself wrong.”

“I proved myself wrong when I unraveled out of the web he had me in,” Eden softly admitted. “This pain in my gut, Stay. It almost mirrors the same pain I had after Daddy died.”

“That’s called feelings, Eden. You feel and you want to shut those down, and you can’t. Why not text him back?”

“Because...that is as sobering as it is nerve-wracking. It means this could be more than kickin’ it.”

Out of the building, the sisters walked down the street. Staysha bumped Eden with her hip. “Remember that night we moved into the first apartment?”

“We were so happy to be out of the hood and have a place where we weren’t reminded of pain.”

“Pain sometimes isn’t meant to remind you of what it was that hurt you. Pain could be a reminder to live. We’re going to live, happy, in love, in wealth and health. We’re Poppi’s girls.”

Eden smiled. “Poppi’s girls. We are.”

“So, when you see that man, put an end to this shit. Please.”

Walking into the restaurant, Staysha found Fatima and waved once Fatima spotted them.

“I thought I was going to have to come and get y’all myself,” Fatima shared, greeting them both. “Y’all are cute.”

“Thanks,” Eden buzzed. “So are you.”

“You good after that rumble the other night?”

Eden nodded. “I am. I’m sorry that it even went down like that.”

“Girl, please. Rico and his girlfriend are a joke. He bops around that arena like he’s the king of the world. I was hoping your man would’ve slapped the taste out of his mouth.”

“It ain’t too late for it to happen,” Staysha spoke.

“How about we enjoy lunch without all that man talk,” Eden mumbled.

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