Whatever I Am, I'm Yours.

chapter thirty-three

Normani

"While I love extravagant sushi places as much as the next girl," Dinah said as she messed with her hair, "You didn't have to bring me here."

I shrugged as I admired the beautiful girl in front of me as we sat near the tall windows in the restaurant, "I wanted to because I wanted to spend some time with you...alone." I shrugged while taking my glass of water up to my lips for a sip.

Dinah glared at me playfully as she messed with her chopsticks, "So you don't want to talk with me about something?" She asked me while pointing one of the chopsticks at me.

I opened and closed my mouth as I messed with the nearly folded napkin on the table, "I...well..."

"Because," she cut me off while rubbing the chopsticks together, "You always use to do this. Remember? Hm, freshman year you texted me to meet you at Loco Froyo to just "hang out", but when I met you there it ended up you telling me all about how you were worried your mom was cheating-"

I rolled my eyes, "And I was wrong-"

"Because you didn't recognize your Uncle from the back of the head," she laughed and kept smiling once the waiter came with our food. Once the food was set down and he walked away Dinah spoke up, "So what's up?"

I poked at the raw fish that rested over the rice, "I...You can't say anything until I'm done talking though, because I know you're going to say you're being clingy." She nodded while chowing down on her food, "I'm worried Lauren's being influenced by that Larry guy and it's making her a complete douche."

Dinah choked and put down her sticks down as she looked at me with wide eyes, "W-What?" She chuckled out.

I opened and closed my mouth again before shaking my head, "I'm serious. She's different when she's around people she works with."

"Maybe Lauren likes to be professional?"

I shook my head, "No. No, Lauren being professional is like when she's in tunnel vision during one of our games, but Lauren being professional here is...well she becomes a stuck up bitch."

Dinah furrowed her brow as she set down her cup of water, "You should cuss more often, baby. It's very attractive."

I felt my face heating up as I shook my head again, "Dinah! Seriously!"

She shrugged picking up another piece sushi with her sticks, "It is. Can you blame me?"

"I'm afraid this place is changing her," I said while finally taking a piece of my shrimp tampura with salmon, "And not in the good way."

Dinah sighed while finishing off her food before speaking again, "I'm sure Lauren isn't that way with you, right?"

I shook my head slowly, "No...but she treated her stylists and makeup artists like they're scum."

"She has stylists," Dinah exclaimed and I quickly placed my hand over hers across the table and smiled to everyone around us, reassuring them nothing was wrong. "The girl doesn't even have an album yet that's fucking crazy."

"That's the thing," I said while intertwining our hands over the table and rubbing her hand with my thumb, "I'm afraid the deeper she gets...the more we're going to lose her. Our Lauren."