I knew I'd be able to work through my thoughts after talking it over with someone. And who better to listen to my problems than Tatum. Nothing against the other guys. I just felt like he would be able to relate more than Dean and Tobias.

I knocked on the door and waited for him to answer.

He opened the door, looking at me with one eye open.

"Grey, what's up?" He said, covering a yawn with the back of his hand.

He didn't wait for me to answer before waving me in.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to wake you," I told him with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine. You alright? You never pop up like this?" He asked with concern.

"Is it cool if I crash here for the night?" I answered his question with one of my own.

"Sure." He nodded, crossing his arms against his chest. "Just as long as you tell me why you're here instead of at your place with Mia."

I walked over to his couch and plopped myself onto it.

With a sigh, I raked my fingers through my hair. "We got into an argument, and I stormed off," I muttered. Every time I replayed the moment in my head, I became uneasy.

"Okay," I watched Tatum grab two water bottles from the fridge, a bag of kettle chips, and pretzel MMs from the cabinet. Then he pulled out two Styrofoam bowls. "I'm going to need more details. You're probably here because you want to talk, right?"

I nodded.

He walked over, handed me one bottle then placed the snacks on the coffee table in front of us.

"Alright, so I'm all ears." He opened the bag of chips, pouring some into one bowl before sprinkling MMs on it and passing it to me.

I chuckled. "Thanks." I'd be lying if I said this wasn't comforting food, which was kind of what I needed.

I tossed a chip into my mouth. "I found out Mia kept a massive secret from me, and I went off on her about it. We've never argued like that. Not since the eighth grade when she heard some dumb rumors about this girl named Kacey something and me." Someone had told Mia that she saw Kacey and me kissing under the bleachers during gym class, and they swore we were going out. Mia got mad because I had told her days before that I didn't like Kacey and thought I had lied. What didn't help my case was whenever Kacey saw me, she decided to stick to me like gum on the bottom of a shoe. That girl was a thorn in my side. She couldn't take a hint.

It wasn't until I saw her step up to Mia, talking a bunch of nonsense about being jealous and secretly in love with me, that I straight up told her she would never have a chance. As I've always said, whoever messed with Mia messed with me. Her fights were my fights.

I explained the whole argument with Tatum, telling him who said what and asking him what he thought this meant for our relationship. I also added the part about us making a deal to date for the summer.

His jaw went slack upon receiving that info, but he regained his composure. Out of everything, I told him that was the one thing that caught him off guard.

"What were you planning on doing at the end of summer?"

I shrugged. "I was hoping I would have changed Mia's mind by then and convinced her that we could make it. I never wanted to have Mia as some summer fling. She means more to me than that. I was just afraid to tell her that I wanted her for longer. I was worried it would freak her out. So I concocted this plan and figured I would take baby steps in that direction." I slumped back into the couch before grabbing a handful of MMs. "Now, I see no matter how she feels about me, she probably would have broken it off anyways because she was afraid. Afraid that one day, it would be all over, and she would have lost her boyfriend and her best friend. She wouldn't know how to recover from that."

Tatum nodded, listening intently. I couldn't believe this man wanted to go to law school when he was clearly missing his calling as a psychologist. "Do you believe that would have happened?"

I shook my head. "Heck no. She's it for me. But if she doesn't want to see it that way. What can I do?" I shrugged with defeat.

"So you're giving up?" he asked in disbelief.

"I might be taking a step back. Maybe this is what we both need." I mumbled, as much as it pained me to say that. I only wanted what Mia felt was best for us.

Tatum punched my bicep. "Nope. Wrong answer."

I lurched forward, nearly dropping my bowl, and grabbed my bicep. "DUDE! Not cool!"

Tatum looked at me with a straight face. "Don't be an idiot!" he shouted. "Or I'll hit you again. Maybe you need a slap upside your head to knock some sense into you."

My eyes widened. Tatum was never this aggressive. I looked at him speechlessly.

"Mia doesn't want this to end. She wants this as much as you do. If you stop showing her that, whose say she's going to come to the conclusion you want all by herself. You need to fight for her." Tatum urged me.

"I know that, but it would be good if she wanted to fight for me, too," I admitted. "We do almost everything together. We're a team. It has always been 50/50. So was it terrible that I wanted the same amount of effort that I put into this relationship? Was it hard to believe that the guy needed to feel wanted too?"

Tatum went silent. "I get that. Man, I do." He huffed out a breath. "Okay, the next course of action." He clapped his hands together. "It's been a long night. How about you sleep on it?" he suggested.

I nodded with a yawn. "Sounds like a plan."

"Cool," he smiled before getting up and heading to his closet. "Catch." He tossed me a blanket then grabbed a pillow, which he slipped into a cotton pillowcase. "Make yourself at home." He gave me the thumbs-up.

"Thanks." I got comfy, laying back and stretching out my legs. I was grateful his couch was large enough to accommodate me.

Tatum's studio apartment wasn't overly spacious, but it was good enough for him. It had a modern flair with a large brick accent wall and massive windows that looked like they went from floor to ceiling. The kitchen was a decent size, it's functional, and it opens up to the little dining area he has with a basic round wood table and four matching chairs.

Since the space isn't necessarily divided by anything, Tatum's found a way to make it appear that way with how he's lined up his furniture, etc.

A place like this close to the campus wasn't super cheap, but he got the Santiago family discount.

I could see what Santiago said when he talked about Tatum. That guy had a rough life, but you could never tell by how he carried himself and or how he treated the people around him.

"Lights out?" Tatum shouted from across the room.

I shoved a thumb my thumb in the air, hoping he would see it. When I heard him chuckling, I saw the lights go off.

I slipped my phone out of my pocket and watched the screen come alive. I decided to text Mia and let her know that I wouldn't be coming home tonight. I didn't want her to worry.

"Texting Mia?"

"Yup." I wanted to write more than that simple text, but I voted against it.

"So predictable," I heard Tatum mumble as he laughed quietly.

"I don't wanna hear it." I waited to see if Mia would respond, but she didn't.

I tried not to be disappointed.

I placed the phone on the coffee table and rolled over into a prime sleeping position.

"Night, Grey," Tatum called out.

"Night," I said.

I prayed Mia and me could work all of this out tomorrow. I didn't care what happened long as I got to keep her in my life.

***

The smell of bacon hit my nose in the morning. Hearing the sound of breakfast cooking and smelling it was my favorite way to wake up.

Then I thought about Mia kissing me awake by pressing kisses all over my face and down my neck.

I groaned. Never mind. I take it back.

Waking up to those brown eyes would forever be my favorite way to wake up.

I sat up on the couch and spotted Dean, Tobias, and Tatum all in the kitchen.

"Awe, look, sleeping beauty is finally awake," Dean said, making everyone turn in my direction.

"Morning," I said with a half-assed wave.

"Hey, Grey," Tobias said. "Tatum is being super hush-hush about whatever happened last night, so care to explain?"

I scratched my chin. "Mia and I got into a fight," I mumbled.

"What?" Dean exclaimed. "What did you do?" He instantly accused me.

My lips turned down into a frown. "It's complicated. But the blame should be split 50/50."

Dean looked confused.

I saw my phone light up with a notification in my peripheral.

I grabbed it.

There were messages from Mia.

I was eager to read through them.

"Tatum can give you the cliff notes version," I told them. "I'm going to freshen up," I said as my legs began to move faster than my brain could register to the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and opened the messages.

Mia: Hey, Grey. I hope you're still not mad at me because I'm really sorry. You were right, and I should have told you from day one instead of making all these excuses. I do that a lot. Make excuses when something is hard for me to talk about, and I shouldn't.

I should stop pretending that my feelings will go away if I ignore them, and I should stop being afraid of them.

Mia: Just like I want to stop acting as if I could live with this relationship ending here or at the end of the summer. I don't want that. I want to take that leap with you because I do trust you. And if you still want to give us a chance after last night, I'm going to prove it.

Mia: I want to say a lot more than this but in person. So when you're ready to talk, let me know. Until then, I'll be spending the day at my mom's. We talked through everything last night, and we're choosing to move forward. Anyways, please text me back.

Mia: I'm sorry again.

I felt myself grinning.

She wants to stay with me. Like in it for the long haul, remain with me.

I reread the messages.

I couldn't believe it.

I wondered what could have changed her mind. Maybe that talk with her mom worked some kind of magic.

I shook my head in disbelief.

In a rush, I flung the door open. "You guys..." I began just as a knock on the door interrupted me.

"It's probably Mari," Dean said when all four of our eyes looked to the door.

Tobias went to open it. "Um... Can I help you, munchkin?" he asked, looking down at someone.

I craned my head to look around him and spotted her. "Hey, Freckles," I said, walking towards her. I opened my arms to hug her. But instead, she took a swing at me.

That was two punches in less than 24 hours. I rubbed my arm then looked into those maple syrup eyes. They were fiery, filled with the determination of a girl on a mission.

"What are you doing here, Freckles?" I asked her, trying not to be offended that she came at me maliciously when I welcomed her so warmly. I probably deserved that, though.

Ella leaned her skateboard against the wall and then unfastened her helmet.

"Is someone going to explain who this little girl is?"

Ella glanced over at Dean, and I saw him stagger back. "Is it me...?" He started to point furiously at her. "Or does she look a lot like Mia?"

Ella grinned, flattered to hear of the resemblance she had to her big sister.

I could see it more clearly now. If you took away the dark hair, she'd be a dead ringer for her sister, minus the freckles and dimples. Mia doesn't have those but still. The resemblance was sort of unmistakable unless you're me, of course.

I mentally rolled my eyes at myself.

When I had seen them standing side by side the other day, I swore I got a strange feeling.

The fact that Dean spotted it when I never could blow my mind but okay.

"This is Ella, her little sister," I told him, then did some quick introductions.

"It's nice to meet all of you." She waved. "I'm sorry to barge in, but I wanted to talk to Grey." She met my gaze.

"About?" I asked, bemused.

"Getting my sister back, duh." She slipped her helmet off and smoothed down her hair. "If you wannabe my future brother-in-law, you need to step your game up. Today's your chance," she added.

"OOoo! I like her. She can hang with us!" Dean announced.

Ella giggled then started to blush when Dean winked at her.

I elbowed him, signaling him to knock it off.

"Anyways," I said, bringing Ella's attention back to me.

"I have a plan!" she blurted out. "I mean, well, it's part of a plan. Maybe you can help fill in the rest."

Tatum offered her some food, and she took a seat at the dining table with us.

Ella went over this idea that she had gotten this morning. Then she pulled out a sketch of the set-up from her back pocket.

"WOW!" Dean said, his eyes growing wide. He slid the picture over to him. "You are so talented!" he praised her, and she ducked her head, her hair shielding her face. She was blushing again. At this rate, the poor girl would be crushing on this fool.

I cleared my throat, and Dean getting the hint, toned it down a bit.

"Okay, I know exactly what we can do from there," I said.

I told her my plan, and a slow grin took over her face as her dimple came out, then braces made their appearance.

Ella squealed with joy. "Yay! She's going to love that!" She sang the words.

I chuckled. "I hope so. How much time do we have?"

She checked her watch. "Not much, and I have to head back. I don't want Mia to get suspicious even though I told Mom to cover for me."

I lifted a brow. "She's in on this too?"

"Not officially. But she felt bad and wanted to help. You know she's always liked you, right? I mean, there's no one else she would have been okay with Mia dating." Ella said, sliding her chair back to stand.

"I didn't know that," I told her with a smug grin.

"Well, you do now." She smiled. "So Operation sunset serenade is a go!" She held her fist up for me to pound it.

"I can tell your going to be a cool bro-in-law." Ella winked, then waved goodbye to the guys. "See y'all soon," She told them.

"Text me when you get home," I told her. She had given me her number for updates, etc.

"You got it." Ella slid on her helmet and grabbed her skateboard. "Later!"

I waved, watching her jog down the hall, heading for the elevator.

I shut the door and turned to the guys.

"You know you're like really racking up on the list of favors you're going to owe us in the future," Dean said with a smug grin while the other two shook their heads.

I rolled my eyes. "And if in the future either of you needs assistance like this, I will gladly help out. Deal?"

"Sure thing," Dean spoke for the majority.

"Cool. Now, let's get to work."

The guys all grinned. No doubt about it, this was the team to best team to be on.