Page 56 of Not For Keeps
There’s a pause. Not long, but long enough for the air to shift, for the heaviness of the topic to settle in. I can feel my brain starting to spiral again, and I don’t want to go there. Not yet. Not tonight.
I inhale deeply. “Okay. Enough about me. Banana, how about you?”
Anna blinks. “What about me?”
I tilt my head at her. “First of all, how have you been feeling since your mom left?”
Mari nods, chiming in, “Yeah, you’ve been quiet about that. And you never shut up.”
Anna lets out a short laugh, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’ll be honest. It’s been hard. I’m so used to having my parents here. I mean, they’re only in Colombia, not gone forever. But it’s so weird not being able to just walk over to their house, or do Monday night dinners. I didn’t realize how much those little things grounded me until they were gone.”
“Oh, Anna…” I reach for her hand and squeeze. “You have us. I know it’s not the same as your parents. But we’re here for you. Always. No matter what.”
“I know, and I love you guys for that…” Her eyes glisten a little, but she doesn’t let them fall. “But you both also have your person. Mari has Seb, you have Mateo. It just feels like I’m never going to have that.”
Mari leans forward, her voice soft but firm. “Banana, you are the catch. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”
Anna laughs through her nose. “That’s cute, Mari. But the last guy I dated was planning our future, the five kids I would be a stay at home mom to, and the room where his mom would sleep in before our third date was even over.”
Mari’s eyes go wide. “Wait—what?”
I nearly choke on my hot chocolate. “He brought up five kids and a live-in mother before dessert?”
Anna lifts a brow, deadpan. “Before entrees.”
“Oh no,” I whisper. “That man had a blueprint.”
“A blueprint, a family tree, and probably a Pinterest board,” Anna mutters, taking a dramatic sip of her drink. “And I’m just sitting there, trying to eat my damn mozzarella sticks in peace.”
Mari clutches her chest. “That’s unhinged behavior.”
“I panicked and told him I was allergic to commitment and dairy.”
I laugh so hard I nearly spill my mug. “And yet here you are, surviving both.”
“Barely,” Anna groans, sinking deeper into the couch. “Dating is a minefield. Every time I think I’ve met a normal guy, he ends up being a grown man who says ‘nom nom’ when he eats.”
We all gag in unison.
“That’s grounds for exile,” Mari says. “From Earth.”
“Right?” Anna says, shaking her head. “I just want someone who doesn’t have mommy issues, weird eating sounds, or a criminal record. Someone who actually knows what it means to show up. I’m so tired of the guys who think commitment is a scary word.”
Mari offers a warm smile. “You’ll find him. Maybe he’s already around.”
Anna rolls her eyes. “Unless he’s hiding in a firehouse or something, I doubt it.”
I glance at her, but she doesn’t notice. She’s busy picking at the corner of the throw blanket, lost in thought.
“Maybe he is hiding in a firehouse,” I say lightly, nudging her with my elbow.
Anna snorts. “Please. The only thing hiding in that firehouse is Nathan’s stash of chili cheese Fritos.”
Mariana chuckles. “You have to admit, though…there are worse places to stumble into love.”
Anna raises a skeptical brow. “Please. Like someone like that actually exists—emotionally available, dependable, and hot? That’s fantasy novel material.”
Mariana laughs. “You do realize you’re sitting on a couch with two women dating real-life firefighters, right?”
