• • •

Laken woke up to the smell of... Pancakes?

She was in the room she'd spent most of her life in, the bed that welcomed her home like nothing ever changed.

Everything looked the same, and that was comforting in itself.

Laken laid there, just existing in that feeling. Her mind was blank— but only for a moment.

Until it came back.

Not all at once, just pieces.

His hand around her neck.

The walk 'home'.

I already won.

The smell of breakfast drifted in stronger now, enough that she could place what was being cooked, making her stomach growl.

She sat up, throwing the blanket off, feet finding the floor on instinct.

Her phone was face down on the nightstand, and when she flipped it over, a couple of texts. A missed call— nothing crazy or urgent.

She stared at the notifications longer than she needed to.

Then placed it back on the nightstand.

• • •

Voices carried from the kitchen down the hall as Laken made her way there.

She took a slight misstep at one of them, walking faster to put a face to it.

"When did you get here?" she asked.

"Late." Jared had a smile, "Not later than you, but late enough."

"I was home at like 1AM."

"We know." Carmen held a cup of coffee to her lips, "You woke the whole house up."

"Sounded like somebody was kicking the door in," Darren agreed.

Laken settled at the table, "Let's calm down."

"You should've told me you were coming back," Her dad said, "I would've waited up for you."

"It's fine— I was right around the corner."

"Who stay around the corner?" Jared asked.

Nobody answered. Not for any specific reason, just a pause.

"Noah." Laken answered him casually, pulling her plate closer.

Jared looked at their mother, then their father, before looking at his sister, "And you came back at one?"

"Kelsey and Trey were there."

"Don't explain it to me." Jared laughed, "Just say you were in the house at nine."

Laken gave him a look, "It's nothing to lie about."

"Trust me... Lie."

Darren's face was something between a grimace and a smile, "I'd lie if I were you."

"Would you?" Carmen narrowed her eyes at him, "So, I'm just surrounded by liars?"

"Mama, you think she should tell the truth?"

Carmen re-focused on her plate, "I saw her come in at nine."

Jared laughed again, "See?"

"Y'all are delusional— I don't have anything to hide."

Any response they had was interrupted by a buzzing on the table.

Jared looked at her phone, then gave her a serious look, "Nine, Lake."

Laken grabbed it before he could say anything else, standing up. "Mind your business."

"Good morning." She answered as she stepped into the hallway.

"Good morning. You just waking up?" Wes asked.

"Yeah."

Laken leaned against the wall, eyes drifting back toward the kitchen—voices still carrying, laughter, the clink of plates.

"How was the fundraiser?"

"Really good. They raised a lot of money."

This conversation felt so... superficial.

Yet Wes kept it going, "I saw your car still at the house. Did Kelsey drive?"

Oh. Here it was.

"No, Trey did." Laken responded, "And then we ended up on my parent's side of town, I just decided to stay."

"Trey went? That's not his usual."

"Everybody who was invited, came."

She didn't think about it before she said it. Once it was out, it sounded accusatory.

"Hmm." Wes hummed, "What time you made it in?"

Her answer was quick, easy, "Around nine. Jared is here, so we just chilled."

"I'm glad you had a good time."

His words sounded genuine.

No shift in his voice, no questioning the timeline.

That made it worse.

"I'm assuming you'll stay there today, then?" Wes asked.

"For a little." Laken answered, her voice softer, "I'll get Jared to bring me home later."

"I'll probably work a little before then. My mom invited us to dinner tonight."

It wasn't posed as a question, something she could easily decline. More so, he'd already agreed to it and she was expected to be there.

She hesitated, not long enough for Wes to notice it, but long enough for her to catch it, "That's fine."

"What you in the mood for?" Wes asked, already shifting into it—planning, deciding, making it easy.

"I don't know." she admitted, pushing off the wall and pacing slowly. "It doesn't really matter."

"I'll let her know. Just text me when you're on your way."

Laken leaned her head against the wall for a second, eyes closing, "I will."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

• • •

Noah didn't wake up to quietness.

He woke up to people already moving around the house. It was different— having company that didn't lay next to him and wait for him to get up.

He liked it.

For a second, he stayed where he was, one arm folded under his pillow, eyes half-open as he listened.

Cabinets opening.

A drawer sliding too hard.

Somebody laughing low, then getting shushed.

He pushed himself up, rubbing a hand over his face as his phone buzzed once against the nightstand. Then again.

He ignored it at first, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. His body reminded him immediately that he'd done too much the night before—too many drinks, too much standing, too much pretending he wasn't watching Laken every time she moved across a room.

His phone buzzed again.

Noah grabbed it with a sigh.

Kyser.

He stared at her name for a second before answering, voice still rough. "No calls before ten."

"It's twelve." At least she sounded happy for once, "And you canceled your trainer."

"I rescheduled."

"No, you texted him the word 'nah' at four in the morning."

Noah scratched his jaw, unimpressed. "That mean reschedule."

"It means you were probably up to no good last night." Kyser paused, then added, "But that's okay, because we got some great pictures."

He frowned. "What pictures?"

"The fundraiser you went to, that you didn't tell me about, by the way, posted pictures. The team is very happy, which makes me extremely happy."

"I didn't go for photo ops."

"Who cares? All I see is you in attendance— They even said how much you donated. I thought that was tacky, but once again, it serves the purpose."

Noah's laugh was sarcastic, "That's people problem. If it don't hit the internet, then it never happened."

"Speaking of things hitting the internet," Kyser continued as if Noah hadn't spoken, "I had to reach out and ask them to remove a picture."

"Which one?"

"Check your phone."

Noah did, seeing the four of them out last night. He remembered the flash, Trey's comments.

It looked exactly how Trey described it.

"Thanks," He said.

"Noah..." Kyser sighed— not in the judgmental way she did sometimes, "Is this something I should prepare for?"

Noah leaned against the bathroom counter, staring at his reflection. He looked tired. Not bad. Just tired in that specific way that came from being too close to something he knew better than to touch.

And still he answered, "Yes."

He expected a sigh of disappointment, something other than her response, "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. I'll get a head start on it."

"I really appreciate you, Kyser."

"Enough for a raise? My kids wanna go to Disney."

"Send it to Kendrick. I'll approve it."

She went quiet, "You always tell me no when I ask for a raise... You really mean yes, huh?"

"I don't have a timeline," Noah said, voice low. "But I don't need this shit affecting her."

Kyser took her time answering him. "I'll handle it. Next time, don't pick someone whose fiancée's company pays their PR person a half-million a year."

"You pocket watching?"

"I call it inspiration. When I eat their ass up, I'll add it to my résumé."

Noah ended the call, the noise pulling him back into the house.

He went downstairs, and stopped. Jared, Kelsey, Trey, Laken— all of them were in his kitchen.

He observed the scene.

Trey cooking this time.

Kelsey barking orders at him like a drill sergeant.

Jared, scrolling on his phone.

Laken...

Her gaze caught his.

It wasn't long, nothing anybody else would notice. Just a second too still.

Long enough to remember last night, how easy it would have been to not stop.

He maintained the eye contact longer than necessary, to ensure he wasn't the only one who still felt it.

Then let it go.

Noah leaned against the door, "But people acted like I was tripping when I asked how long y'all was staying."

"It was rude. We came with food, we cooked the food— you need to learn some manners."

"I'm the most polite person y'all know."

Jared put his phone down, "I agree. No way they'll be cooking on a stove I haven't even used yet."

"Ain't like he gon' cook on it." Trey argued, "We're really doing him a favor."

"Y'all treating my shit like an Airbnb."

Laken smiled, "You like it."

It seemed a good time as any to show his appreciation, "I do."

That got everybody's attention,

Kelsey halted her orders, "Huh?"

Trey blinked, "Well, damn."

"Here we go with the weird shit."

"He loves us." Laken's smile had turned into a full blown grin, "That's basically what he's saying."

This wasn't anything Noah hid— his love for his friends. He just rarely stated it to them.

They already knew.

So he shrugged it off, grabbing a plate. "Don't make it bigger than what it is."

Jared shook his head, "I don't know why you told them that. They never ever leaving your shit now."

"Jared don't come in here throwing salt." Kelsey instructed, "You'll get cut off so fast."

"My bad." He held his hands up in surrender, "Let me shut up."

Laken snorted, "Yeah, do that."

The kitchen stayed loud—voices overlapping, jokes flying, nobody really listening but everybody still in it.

"Vibes was good." Trey stated after telling Jared about their night, "I say we run it back."

Noah groaned, "Man, I can't do that back-to-back shit anymore. I need like three days in between."

"Pussy. I drank more than you, was up earlier than you."

"Rehab. I know your liver ain't worth a damn— don't ask for mine."

Jared laughed, "We can do something light. I'll get on the grill."

"I'm doing the order now." Kelsey reached for her phone, "What kind of meat?"

They began building the list with her, each of them providing suggestions, vetoing options.

All of them except Laken.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "I have dinner plans, sorry."

"I hate that for you." Kelsey tilted her head, "Cancel them."

"No."

Jared sighed, "I'm only here for two days. Last time you were supposed to go to the game with us— never showed up."

"I never agreed to show up."

"The point is, I can't hang with my sister?"

Laken rolled her eyes, "You absolutely can. Do you want to go to dinner with us?"

"Fuck no." Jared sat up straighter, his voice mocking, "Yeah, bro, I made a couple million this week. Let's talk about investments over steak."

"Yoooo." Trey laughed, "I thought he was just doing that to me. I'm like, nigga I know how to invest —I'm tryna' chill right now."

Laken put her head on the table, "He doesn't even sound like that."

"He does." Kelsey shrugged, "But if you like it, we love it."

"...Shid."

Noah couldn't help laugh at Jared's comment, drawing Laken's attention to him.

"That's funny to you?" She questioned.

It was no real irritation behind it— just something to say.

"Not at all. It was some caught in my throat."

Kelsey shook her head, still on her phone. "Okay, so we got steak, chicken, shrimp,—y'all not about to keep adding shit."

"Get lobster, and whatever else you want." Jared pulled his wallet out, searching through it before putting a card in front of Kelsey, "I'm feeling generous today."

"I love when you come around." She smiled, "Always generous."

"Are we inviting y'all mama and them?" Trey asked.

"No!" Laken shouted, "Wait til I can come!"

"You can do whatever you want." Jared stared at her, "Right?"

She debated, not long at all, "Fuck it. I'll do both—Start late."

"We'll start it at eleven if we have to." Kelsey's smile was blinding, "I'm so happy."

Noah let them continue, his focus drifting.

Nothing in particular, one thing in general.

One person.

• • •

It wasn't her intention to fall asleep.

Jared had dropped her off about two hours ago, and somewhere between sitting on the bed "for a second" and telling herself she'd get up in five minutes...

She didn't.

Laken blinked awake slowly, her neck stiff from the odd position she'd slept in. She glanced at the clock to gauge how much of a rush she needed to be in.

A huge rush.

As she hurried to the bathroom, the bedroom door opened, Wes popping his head in, "I was just about to wake you up."

Laken glanced at his reflection in the mirror, the corner of her mouth lifting, "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"Probably tired." He moved closer, "Are you mad at me about the fundraiser?"

"No." Laken answered honestly.

"You sure?"

She thought back over their interactions since he canceled.

While she hadn't responded to his messages initially, that wasn't out of character for her. When she came home, she kissed him like normal, talked to him like normal— nothing had changed.

It could have been her conscience making her think this was going in a different direction, so she turned to face him.

"I'm positive."

"Good." His lips pressed against her forehead, "I'll make it up to you."

Bad timing maybe, but technically anytime would've been the wrong time.

She took her opening, "Do we have plans after dinner?"

"No. Is there something you wanna do?"

Laken turned back to the mirror, reaching for her toothbrush more for something to do with her hands than anything else.

"Maybe," she said lightly, like it wasn't important. "Jared's in town for a couple days."

Wes nodded behind her, catching her eye in the mirror. "You mentioned that."

"I didn't really get to spend time with him today," she added, brushing slowly, buying herself a second. "They're all at Noah's."

There it was.

She didn't rush past it.

"They?"

"My parents, his parents, the group— everybody." Laken rinsed her mouth, setting the toothbrush down before finally turning around fully, "Jared is grilling later. We'll probably drink. Just... hang out."

It sounded normal. Because it was.

Wes nodded once, taking it in, "What time?"

"They're waiting on me, so whenever dinner is done."

"So, you already agreed?"

The same way he'd signed her up for this dinner.

Laken held his gaze, "Yes. Do you wanna come?"

"Do you want me there?"

No.

"I don't want you anywhere that you're uncomfortable."

That sounded better.

"You think he makes me uncomfortable?"

Apparently not.

"Our group as a whole—You never seem like you're having fun."

Wes didn't answer her at first, just watching her in the way he did when he was about to say something he'd already thought through.

Measured. Concise. Decided.

"I'll go."

She thought that was the end of it, turning back to reach for a makeup brush.

But Wes continued, "I understand he's a part of your 'friend group', but let's not act like that's nothing."

The brush faltered against her face, "I just want to go vibe with my friends. That's all."

"He's not your friend."

"Then what is he?"

Wes' response was sharp. "You tell me."

"I just did." Laken didn't look away, "Now, you tell me."

For a second, it felt like he might.

Like he'd finally say it out loud. Whatever version of the truth he'd already pieced together in his head.

Eyes steady on hers.

Then—

Wes exhaled through his nose, the tension leaving his shoulders just enough to pass for calm.

"It doesn't matter what I think," he said evenly. "It matters what you're doing."

Laken's expression didn't change, but something behind it did, subtle, quick.

Gone just as fast.

"I told you what I'm doing. Drinks. Food. Games."

He adjusted his watch, tone shifting with it, "If we're being honest, Laken, I don't want you to go."

Laken blinked.

It didn't surprise her— the statement. The timing of it did.

"Why?"

"Why wouldn't I want you to go to your ex's house?"

Laken stared at him, her fingers tightening slightly around the brush.

"He's not just my ex."

The response came naturally.

"Let me give you some perspective." Wes said, "I'm standing in my bathroom, having a discussion about another man, because my fiancée wants to go to his house."

"If you want to go, go." He continued evenly, "But if you need him in your life that much, then what am I here for?"

Laken's stomach tightened slightly.

There it was.

No anger. Just a clearly drawn line.

And somehow that made it worse.

Wes wasn't asking her to choose between him and Noah.

He was asking her to be honest about whether she already had.

• • •

Whenever Laken visited Wes' family, she couldn't understand their dynamic.

Danielle was nice.

Grace was a good time.

Cameron kept the conversation going.

The dog was cute.

But Wesley Sr....

He sat at the head of the table—literally and figuratively, and everything seemed to move through him first.

So that was a lie. She did understand the dynamic. She just didn't understand why it worked that way.

Laken was half-listening to them talk, half focused on arranging the food on her plate so it looked like she was eating.

"—And the wedding?"

Her head lifted, "What about it?"

"Have you two started making plans?" he asked, cutting into his food like the question didn't carry any weight at all.

Laken glanced at Wes, then back to his father, "Not yet."

No one spoke until Wes filled the silence, "It's only been four months," He said, "We have time."

"Time for what?" Wesley Sr. questioned.

That was the thing about him.

Laken learned from being around him, that he wasn't being rude, or challenging— he genuinely didn't see a problem with his line of questioning.

Where people tip-toed around things, tried to connect dots, he asked directly. He forced you to connect them, or admit there wasn't a connection.

Wes leaned back in his chair, still composed, "To do it right."

"I married your mother a month after I proposed."

Grace interjected, her voice low, "They're not you and mom, dad."

God bless her.

Danielle shifted slightly, reaching for her wine glass, "Take your time."

"Time doesn't make things right."

Wesley Sr.'s eyes hadn't left them.

"Four months, four years..." he continued, "It'll still be the same outcome."

Laken's eyes flicked to Wes.

Composed. Unaffected.

Of course— He was used to this. He lived this life.

Laken moved more food on her plate.

Across from her, Grace shifted the mood naturally, making a joke.

It wasn't funny.

They all laughed.

Except Wesley Sr.

He didn't pretend to let the moment pass like Grace did.

Laken let out a quiet sigh, the sound getting lost in the laughter.

She'd sat at this table plenty of times. Answered questions, listened to conversations— engaged in them.

And now, it seemed like more of a chore. This wasn't something to look forward to.

It seemed like something to avoid.

It wasn't new to her. She'd seen the dynamic before. She knew how these dinners operated.

She also knew what it wasn't.

The ease of greeting parents who let their children figure it out instead of telling them what to do.

Two families who'd known each other for so long that they would accept her without thought. Welcome her back into that role like she'd never left.

Her mind moved past that quickly, reaching for something that felt better. Safer.

It almost felt like she was searching for reasons, like when she finally did make a decision, she needed to have a list of why she thought one was better than the other.

A sensible argument.

There wasn't much sense involved for her— just feelings.

And this family didn't operate in emotion.

• • •

Noah was in the backyard, drink in hand, watching smoke curl up from the grill while Jared and his dad argued over it.

"Look, unc." Jared set his cigarette down, "I know what I'm doing."

"I can't tell. Your ass should've bought hotdogs—just fuckin' that food up."

Trey laughed, "You like weenies, Jay?"

James looked at him slowly, ignoring the cackles of Kelsey and Noah, "Watch your mouth."

"He just asking a question." Noah said in between laughs, "You out here talking about hotdogs."

"Let me go in the house with the grown people. Y'all childish."

They watched him leave, still laughing.

Jared shook his head, turning back to the grill, "He finna go tell on us."

"He's not." Kelsey disagreed, "'Cause then Noah gonna have to put him out."

"I been waiting all my life to tell somebody to get out my shit."

"Like on-" Jared trailed off as he picked his phone up.

He didn't speak at first, reading the notification that caused his phone to ding, "Lake said she's not coming."

Laken barely agreed this morning— basically forced to say yes by Jared.

Jared snorted, "I guess he said 'fun's over'."

"My thing is." Trey began, "I can understand why he wouldn't want Lake around that nigga." He jerked a thumb at Noah, "But even before that he wasn't really fuckin' with her being outside."

"She comes to my house all the time." Kelsey stated.

"If it ain't no event, or a boring ass dinner, we not seeing her. Shit lame."

Noah hadn't heard this side of the story. They never talked about what her relationship with Wes was like.

Jared was taking the shrimp off the grill, "Every time I invite her somewhere it's 'Lemme see' or 'Wes got something planned'— nigga act like she on punishment."

"Lake shows up for us when it matters." Kelsey defended, "What more can you ask for?"

Noah stayed quiet, sipping from his cup.

He knew better than to jump into this conversation too fast. Especially with Jared already halfway irritated and Trey being Trey.

But he listened.

"You talkin' about somebody who used to pull up in the middle of the night with food tryna' watch movies." Trey insisted, "Now we gotta make appointments to see her."

"Trey, we're twenty-eight. Wes is like thirty-four. It's natural she would adjust to that."

"Jared thirty-two. He flew to Turks with a two-hour notice."

"That shit was fun." Jared laughed, "We need to do that again."

Trey shook his head, "If you don't see it, then maybe I'm tripping."

Kelsey took a deep breath, "What I'm saying is, nobody likes Wes, so y'all are picking at something that has nothing to do with y'all. She's not on a leash. She can come and go as she pleases. Either adjust, or don't. But don't sit here and talk about her relationship in front of Noah."

"I'm just the friend." Noah said.

"Save that lie for Wes."

The backyard grew quiet.

"Not too much on my girl." Kelsey said softly, "Let her figure it out on her own, but don't pressure her into something 'cause y'all wanna take shots and eat wings."

"It's not even about that though. I just— You know what?" Jared stopped himself, "You're right. She'll figure it out."

The back door slid open and they all turned to look.

"I don't hear laughs anymore." Carmen observed, "What's wrong?"

"Jared burning the food." Noah said, "Ain't nothing funny about that."

"It's not burned."

"Google said 10 minutes. That shit been on there 'bout an hour."

"Fuck you and Google."

The laughter started back, the earlier topic put to rest.

Until Carmen asked, "What time is Laken getting here?"

"Uhhhh." Jared grabbed the pan he'd put the food in, "She's not coming."

The interesting part was that Carmen didn't ask why, didn't seem surprised. She just took the pan from Jared, looking over her shoulder as she made her way back in the house, "Why y'all still sitting there? Come eat."

• • •