"People love to see other people unhappy." Selene tells me as we sit opposite each other at an arcade with cheesy fries and hot dogs placed between us. "The second that you become successful, all the worst shit comes out because there are people in this life who don't want to see you happy."
"Mmm."
"Nobody was saying anything until Ben proposed and you became the new IT girl." She gives me a look. "If it were a problem before then all them girls would have hit you up like they did last time and you know that Ben stays posting you."
"I know but it could have been done after the fact." I rub my lips together while reaching for my mocktail. "I just don't want to marry a guy that I can't trust."
"Nobody wants to marry somebody that they can't trust but you also can't allow outside influences deter you from being happy because people are going to talk no matter what." Selene gives my hand a squeeze. "Storm and I have never had to really deal with cheating allegations but I got so used to people telling me that I wasn't good enough for him. The revenge tape is something that gets brought up all the time so I have people who work round the clock to delete those comments from my social media pages."
I pout at this, "Oh Selene."
"It used to affect me a lot but at some point, you have to let it go because I was never going to be happy in my relationship if I held onto everything being said about me. With that comes a deep conversation with yourself and your partner because they need to be aware of how you feel." She smiles sadly. "It's embarrassing but it's better to know that you're not carrying the load alone."
"Yeah." I take a long sip of my drink. "Ben and I definitely need to work on the trust aspect of our relationship especially if we plan to get married. I need to get familiar with his community and integrate myself into his life outside of basketball because they don't really know me like that."
Selene nods her head in understanding, "Just don't go dimming your light for others."
"I won't." I take a bite out of the french fries. "Rosemary salt was a good choice."
"Of course it was." She smiles at me before grabbing a few fries and popping them into her mouth. "I make better ones."
"I'm sure you do."
"Celeste is going to be so pissed that we came out without her." Selene laughs to herself as she reaches for a hotdog. "If we get photographed by the paps then we will never hear the end of it."
"Mom is another one to watch out for." I laugh as she nods her head. "Let's not forget that she thinks she's the fourth sister."
"I remember her making us all wear matching outfits whenever we would go on beach holidays." She shakes her head before biting into the hot dog.
