Knowing Her ( Norminah)

--Chapter 6--

The first time Dinah kissed Normani was after Christmas their senior year, and it was on a dare.

“What I’m saying is that you dating Tyler is just as unlikely and weird as Normani and Dinah getting together,”

Ally said, throwing a fry at Camila with a roll of her eyes. “It just isn’t happening.”

“You think I wouldn’t get together with Dinah?” Normani asked, raising her eyebrows, the movie they’d put on earlier all but forgotten.

Camila was grinning shamelessly, winking at Dinah (much later, it would occur to Dinah that that was because Camila knew, Camila knew before even she did) and goading Normani along.

“Ally has a point about you and Dinah,” she offered, shrugging.

“Why?”

“You two are like…I dunno. I can’t even imagine you kissing, let alone dating,” Ally said, and perhaps if Dinah had been less drunk that night, paid more attention to Normani’s friends and less to the movie, she would have noticed the glint in Ally’s eye (much later, it would occur to her that Ally knew, knew before even Dinah did).

“Like what?” Normani asked, looking supremely offended.

“Dinah, don’t you have something to say?”
“Does it really matter?” Dinah asked (it does, it does, it does).

“Camila just wants to rile you up.”

“Fine, Normani. You want to prove me wrong? Kiss her.”

“What? I’m not doing that just to prove you wrong.”

“Come on. I dare you.” This, of course, spurred Dinah on. Dinah, who never backed down from a challenge, Dinah, who had  dreams, who was starting to see Normani a little differently, whose drunken mind thought it would be harmless fun.

Before Normani could say another word, Dinah pulled her down and kissed her, tasting the beer and fries on her lips, wondering if it was normal to have her head spin as much as it suddenly was. Wondering if it was normal to kiss your best friend and think, I’m home.
(When she released Normani, there was a dazed expression on the brunette’s face. When she released Normani, Camila and Ally looked practically gleeful.)

(Many months later, Camila told her that she’d been rooting for Dinah from the start, that Arin was just Normani’s version of denial. It’ll pass, she said. Normani’ll see, she assured her. She was wrong.)

//

Ally and Camila hadn’t changed much since college.

Camila had gone on to graduate school, studying something beyond Dinah’s capacity to understand, hoping one day to work for NASA.

Ally, on the other hand, had gotten a job straight out of college, working at a newspaper, claiming that the pen was mightier than the sword and that she’d bring about change.

Both still looked at Dinah with that gleam in their eyes. Both still seemed sure that ‘Normani’ll see.’

“How’s it been?” Camila asked sympathetically, frowning a little. She’d driven out a long way, and though they’d all assured her she didn’t need to come, she’d acted offended and claimed she’d never break tradition (the fact that Normani did just last year, the fact that Normani had been breaking all their traditions lately, went unsaid). Dinah smiled as best she could, her eyes on Normani and Ally, who were chatting with Barbara in the kitchen.

“Tough,” she admitted.

“I can imagine. Have you guys talked about Arin?”

“Not really. She knows I see the Lovatos though.”

“You should never have kept that a secret from her in the first place. There was no reason to.”

“She wasn’t talking to me, how was I supposed to tell her anything?” Camila rolled her eyes.

“Don’t pull that shit with me,” she said, punching Dinah lightly on the shoulder. “If you wanted to tell her, you could’ve.”

“She says she doesn’t trust me.”

“Give her time.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“And I’ll keep saying it till something changes. Dinah. She’ll see.”