Three Is A Crowd

Chapter 32: The Hurting, The Healing... The Loving?

"Are you avoiding Mila?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"I'm just asking."

"Well, what's the point of you asking? If I gave you an answer, will it change anything?"

"No."

"Thought so."

After a few minutes of silence, Dinah asks Lauren again.

"So, why are you avoiding Mila?"

"I will kill you." Lauren says through gritted teeth.

"No, you won't. It's bad to kill beautiful works of art. Just answer me and then I'll stop!"

"Fucking Christ you're annoying!" Lauren exhales harshly. But, eventually, she answers anyway. "If I don't see her or hear her, I may convince myself that I don't like her -- there, ya happy now!?"

"Wrong move."

"Oh, really?" She crosses her arms against her chest, and raises her eyebrow at Dinah. "Why?"

"The more you avoid something, the more it makes it more appealing for you. You'll crave it and it'll make you wonder about the what-ifs. Just like me and Hot Cheetos. The more I avoid it, the more I want to stuff my mouth with it. Next thing I know I'm going through Mani's not-so-secret stash, and finishing a whole bag while watching The Notebook."

"I knew it! I knew I still had ten bags of Cheetos! Then I wake up and I only have nine!" Normani exclaims. She's been busy eating her sandwich and letting the two chat, but her Cheetos is an important topic she can't ignore.

"I asked you! You said I could have one!" Dinah counters.

"Girl, when?! I'll never say yes to that!"

"Yeah, she'll never give you her whole bag of Cheetos, man." Lauren agrees, knowing how territorial Normani is when it comes to food.

"Well, you said yes. You were sleeping and I poked you in the arm and asked if I could have one and you said "unghh" and waved your arm around."

"And you interpreted that as a 'Yes"?! Bitch, I was probably dreaming!!"

"Well, whatever. I already ate it and pooped it out." Dinah shrugs, as if that settles everything, then turns her attention back to Lauren. "I say think of Mila like a bag of Hot Cheetos -- eat everything even when your tummy is full, finish every little piece of paradise in that giant bag, until you can't take it anymore and the simple thought of those crunchy orange delights will either make you wanna puke or uninterested."

"So, you're saying I should eat her?" Lauren smirks. "Well, I mean, she is a snack."

"You know what I mean." Dinah rolls her eyes.

"So, what are you saying? Like desensitization?"

"Girl, I don't know what that means but it sounds painful, like pouring alcohol on a wound."