Page 56 of Tell Me I'm Enough

Lani and I are wrapped up in a blanket on my bed in our dorm, snacks scattered everywhere, with a clothing haul playing as background noise on the TV.

I open up my laptop to find one of the dresses I saw in the video that Ihadto have.

My screensaver lights up with a picture of Tyler and me, and Lani coos.

“Y’all are so cute together, I can’t get over it.”

I blush a little. “Thank you. He is cute, isn’t he?”

“Cute? Girl, y’all are both hot, and as much as I love that for you, I’m kinda jealous.”

We both laugh as I type in the website for the dress, and Lani grabs a chocolate bar from the snack pile.

“How did you two meet?” Lani asks.

“We met in middle school after I moved to North Carolina from Georgia. He was the cute little basketball star at our school.I had a thing for him from the first time I saw him. Then, since I’m a woman with a strong will, I kept making sure we’d run into each other at school until he finally came up and talked to me one day. He was always pretty shy, so I knew he had to like me back if he was talking to me. We were just kids,” I say, shrugging, “dating was just something everyone was throwing around at that age. It wasn’t ever serious, just crushes that lasted a week or two, and then you’d move on to the next. But Tyler was different. He actually treated me like he really liked me. And then we just…never broke up like everyone else did. The years kept passing, and we kept growing up together and falling in love. We both want to be lawyers, and I’ve always pictured this life moving back to Charlotte after college and law school, of us beingthatpower couple—successful, happy, in love, with a bunch of kids running around, and just having fun in life together.”

Lani sighs with her hands on her chin. “Damn, that’s so freaking cute. Do you know how rare it is to be with someone at that age and for it to last?”

I nod. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m determined to make the long-distance thing work. It feels hard right now, but we just have to figure out how to make it work, you know.”

“You will,” she says confidently. “Real love can surviveanything.”

I hope so.

“What about your love life?” I ask, trying to change the subject. “How many broken hearts did you leave back in Cali?”

She shakes her head, laughing. “Um, none probably. I dated a couple of guys in high school, but nothing serious. Most guys were too scared of me growing up to want to date me.”

“Why?” I ask, genuinely confused. Yeah, Lani has a big and bold personality, but she’s so lovable.

“Well, I don’t know if you know this…but I’m kind of a lot to handle,” she says, laughing. “I scared a lot of guys away…well, with that and with who my family is.”

“Your family is scary?”

She nods. “Yeah, they’re kind of known in Cali. It puts a big label on your forehead that says ‘stay away’, so most guys didn’t stick around…most.”

“Most?” I give her the side eye, smiling. “But notall?”

“Well,” she says, “there was thisoneguy…”

“Spill!”

“He was a piece of shit who broke my heart. That’s the only part of that story that matters.”

“He brokeyourheart? What a dummy. Who would want to loseyou? He’s probably somewhere far away right now, miserable and regretting all his life choices.”

She scratches her head a little like she’s not telling me something.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Um…well, he’s kind of…here.”

“Here?” I basically yell. “Like atthisschool?”

She winces. “Yeah…”

“Was this a planned thing?” I ask her.