Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
NUNYA
Sorinah
“I know that look.” Dinah smirked. “You didn’t tell us you were dating anyone.”
Sorinah denied it with a sharp, “Because I’m not.”
Then she locked her phone and shoved it into her purse, trying to quell the unease Aldrich’s message stirred.
His crude directness, though expected from him, had caught her off guard—not just mentally, but physically.
A flush crept up her neck, warmth spreading like a slow burn across her cheeks, and her pulse quickened, thrumming in her ears.
The dampness on her palms made her grip the purse tighter, her fingers trembling slightly.
The heat that surged through her body and the wetness that betrayed her composure left her unsettled.
For the first time, she felt unsure of how to respond to him.
The thought that he might have bested her, even in this small way, gnawed at her pride and left her feeling uncharacteristically exposed.
DH is insufferable, she thought. Taking her phone out again , she texted him back a reply.
Promises, promises.
Dinah turned to Nakinah and asked, as if Sorinah weren’t sitting right there, “Oh yeah, then why is she pressing her fingers to her lips like that and smiling?”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Sorinah snapped, irritation clear in her voice. It was a recurring frustration when Dinah tried to involve Nakinah in discussions about her behaviour while they were mid-conversation.
“Well, then, tell me what’s up. It isn’t just about the text, Sori. You’ve been distracted for months. I just want to know with whom,” Dinah pressed, her concern tinged with a hint of exasperation.
“With minding my own business.”
Dinah glanced at Nakinah, but Sorinah cut her off sharply before she could respond.
“Don’t start that again. Talk to me,” Sorinah demanded, her tone firm.
“Why won’t you admit you’re dating someone?” Dinah asked, her question laced with persistence.
“Because, again, I am not,” Sorinah replied slowly, enunciating each word. “I do not date.”
“So, what have you been up to?” Nakinah asked, her tone softer, more neutral, signalling a shift in the dynamic.
Her eldest sister’s question felt different—less invasive. Despite her reluctance to share, Sorinah answered honestly because it was Nakinah. “I’ve been hooking up with someone. That’s all.”
“Hooking up?” Dinah questioned, her tone judgy. “I was hoping you had outgrown the hooking up phase.”
“Dinah, stop.” Nakinah looked at her middle sister pointedly. “Sori, it’s just we both noticed you’ve seemed different. Are you sure you guys are just hooking up, and it isn’t more?” Nakinah sounded hopeful.
“No, it isn’t more.” She gave her answer some more thought and added, “But this arrangement is working better than the others because we are like-minded and we know how to follow the rules.”
Sorinah didn’t like the look that her older sisters exchanged and then directed at her; it was very indulgent.
“So, do we know your ‘friend’?” Dinah used air quotes with a knowing smile.
Why was her sister so tenacious? If Nakinah was like a mom she could confide in, then Dinah was like an overprotective dad who you did not want to entrust your secrets to.
“Nunya.” Sorinah wrinkled her nose and barely suppressed the urge to stick her tongue out at her older sister.
“Are you sure it isn’t Rohan?” Dinah asked hopefully.
Sorinah shook her head and took both of Dinah’s hands. “No, it isn’t, and I hope you aren’t filling his head with hope. I can’t give him what he wants.”
“I’m not. Forget about Rohan.” Dinah waved her hands dismissively. “This isn’t about him. I just want my baby sister to be loved and cared for because she is one of the most fabulous people ever and deserves it.”
Ah, Christ. Dinah grew misty-eyed, reminding Sorinah of Dinah’s deepest wish for all the Rowland sisters to live a fairy tale life, complete with a happily ever after and a Prince Charming.
“I know I deserve it,” Sorinah said with a playful grin, eager to steer the conversation elsewhere. “I just don’t need that life, but I promise I’m super happy.”
“And that’s what matters,” Nakinah said warmly, her smile filled with sisterly pride as she looked at Sorinah.
Sorinah, relieved to move on, reached over and gently rested her hand on Nakinah’s belly. “Okay, enough about me—how is my future nephew or niece doing?”
That finally moved their conversation away from her love life.