DOGS

Chapter 20

"You're nasty."

"How?"

"You eat rum raisin ice cream."

"Have you even tried it before?"

"No, cuz raisins taste like earwax"

"How you know what ear wax taste like?"

"I was a kid once."

"Ew! Now who's the nasty one?"

"You haven't seen my nasty side yet."

Kenya is about to respond when a hand on her shoulder makes her jump out of her skin. "Who's Jayvin?" She hears her mother ask.

Quickly locking her phone, Kenya turns on the couch and looks up at her. "No one,"

Her mother's pursed lips and narrowed eyes means that she isn't buying it. "Really? Cuz you've been on that phone since you walked in and you locked it pretty quickly like you have something to hide."

She wants to kick herself for not retreating to her room as soon as she got home from school so she can text in private rather than opting to stretch out on the couch in the living room. "He's just a friend, mommy."

"Mhm," That doubtful expression remains on her face. Her father comes down the stairs now and her mother looks at him over her shoulder. "Kenya has a boyfriend!" She hollers.

Kenya's heart leaps to her throat, "Mom!" Her eyes flicker towards her dad who is heading her way now with a curious expression, "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Why not? We gave you permission to start dating freshmen year and you still haven't mentioned any boys three years later." He raises his eyebrows, "Are you a lesbian?"

"What!?" She exclaims.

"We won't judge if you are Ken, it's whatever makes you happy." Her mom adds, "I would like some grandbabies though, but there's nothing wrong with adoption.

"Enough!" Kenya jumps to her feet, facing her parents with wild eyes, "I am not a lesbian and I don't have a boyfriend. Jayvin is just a friend I met on Tinder, that's all."

The humor in her father's eyes slowly fades, "What's Tinder?"

Realizing she's said more than she should off, Kenya's mouth snaps shut as her parents stare her down. A stern look crosses her father's face, "Kenya, what is Tinder?"

She lets out a exasperated breath before explaining, "It's just some dating app that Camille signed me up for,"

"A dating app? Kenya those things are dangerous, those people on there aren't always who they say they are." Her mother says, worry clear in her voice.

"I've seen Catfish mom, I know that." She retorts. Her mother stares at her confuse and Kenya rolls her eyes, forgetting her parents aren't up to date on things that come after the eighties. "It's just for fun guys, it's not like I'm hooking up with him or anything."

"You better not be." Her father snaps.

Kenya takes out her phone again and brings up Jayvin's Tinder profile, "This is Jayvin, he goes to Vincent High and plays basketball. He's really nice and I just like talking to him, that's it. He's just a friend and nothing more, I swear."

Her parents study his profile for a few minutes and she watches as their faces relax. Her mom looks up at her with crinkled eyes, "Why have you resorted to an online dating app, Ken? Are the boys at school really that bad?"