The door closed behind Laura with an almost delicate click.

She stood in the hallway for a moment, one hand still resting on the doorknob, the beer bottle caught between her fingers.

On the other side, Joshua didn't move.

He didn't follow her. Didn't call her name. Didn't try to force an answer out of her when she wouldn't have known what to say anyway.

Somehow, that made everything worse.

I'm completely crazy about you.

Laura let go of the doorknob and started walking.

She needed to get back to Jennie's room. Sit down. Drink. Not think.

Simple.

She reached the stairs.

Your scent, your body, your laugh.

“Fuck me...” she muttered under her breath.

She started down.

It was ridiculous. If Joshua had only talked about her body, she could've rationalized it. Desire. Proximity. Two friends who had crossed one too many lines.

But he'd talked about the way she smelled.

Her laugh.

Things that stayed in your memory even after someone had left the room.

Laura pressed her lips together and took the last few steps faster.

The moment she reached the first floor, the music hit her full force again. The party was still exactly as she'd left it. People laughing, glasses clinking, someone shouting near the pool.

As if Joshua hadn't just dismantled the entire internal structure of her life with a single sentence.

She needed a beer.

Laura looked at the bottle in her hand.

Still closed.

“Of course.”

She changed direction and walked into the kitchen.

Sarah stood at the counter, rearranging serving dishes. Sunset was examining a container with the deeply focused expression of someone still trying to decide whether or not it belonged in the oven.

Sarah looked up.

“Did you find him?”

Laura searched through the utensils for a bottle opener.

“I did.”

“And?”

“Work stress.”

She found the opener and popped the cap off.

Sarah said nothing.

Laura drank.

When she lowered the bottle, she realized Sarah was still staring at her.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Sarah.”

“I didn't say anything.”

Sunset looked up from the container.

“But you made a face.”

“Nobody asked you.”

Laura let out a short laugh through her nose.

Mistake.

Sarah narrowed her eyes.

“You're smiling.”

The smile vanished immediately.

“No, I'm not.”

“You are.”

“I won an argument.”

“Oh.”

Laura pointed the bottle at her.

“Don't do that ‘oh.’”

“What ‘oh’?”

“That one.”

Sunset watched the two of them like she was following a tennis match.

Sarah rested one hand on the counter.

“Are you okay?”

This time, Laura took a second before answering.

“Yeah.”

Sarah held her gaze.

Laura held it right back.

Neither of them completely believed the answer.

But Sarah knew her friend well enough to know when to stop.

“Okay.”

Laura nodded, almost grateful.

“I'm going back to Jennie's room.”

She was already on her way out when Sunset held up the container.

“Laura.”

She turned.

“Is this food?”

Laura studied the contents for two seconds.

“I really hope not.”

And walked out.

Sunset watched her disappear down the hallway before turning to Sarah.

“She lied.”

“A lot.”

“But she's better.”

Sarah picked up another serving dish.

“Yeah.”

She paused.

“And that's suspicious as fuck.”

Sunset smiled.

Sarah tried to go back to organizing the counter.

It lasted approximately three seconds.

“She really was smiling?”

“She was.”

Sarah looked toward the hallway.

Then back at the serving dish.

“Hm.”

And decided to leave that one for later.

Laura reached Jennie’s bedroom door with her heels in one hand and the now almost-warm beer in the other. She finally opened the bottle and knocked twice.

Inside, Matthew was saying something in an indignant tone. Chad answered. Jennie laughed. A second later, Jin’s voice came through the door.

“Come in if it’s Laura!”

Laura smiled to herself.

She opened the door.

All four heads turned at once.

Matthew was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. Chad was arranging the new bottles in the cooler. Jennie occupied the middle of the mattress, with Jin sitting cross-legged beside her.

They all looked at Laura first.

Then at the heels in her hand.

Then at the beer.

And finally at her face.

Matthew was the first to speak.

“Well?”

Jennie shot him a look.

“What? Everyone wants to know.”

“Not everyone asks within the first second.”

“I suffer from investigative anxiety.”

Chad pushed a beer toward him.

“You suffer from a lack of common sense.”

Matthew accepted it.

“That too.”

Laura walked over to the bed and sat beside the girls, in the same spot as before. This time, though, she didn’t curl in on herself. She left her heels on the floor, folded one leg onto the mattress, and took a drink.

Jennie noticed first.

Her shoulders weren’t tense anymore.

Her eyes were still a little red, but something had changed. Laura seemed lighter.

And there was that smile.

Too small to really be called a smile, but far too persistent to go unnoticed.

“You talked?” Jennie asked.

Laura nodded.

“We talked.”

“And?”

She took another sip.

“We worked it out.”

Matthew narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, we can tell.”

Laura looked at him.

“What?”

“You left here looking like you were about to commit a crime.”

“Matthew...”

“I almost asked Josh if he wanted to take a pair of handcuffs with him, just to be safe.”

Laura laughed.

“Handcuffs? You can do a lot of things with those. Holding me back isn’t one of them.”

Matthew immediately pointed at her.

“See? And you came back like this.”

“Like what?”

“Like you committed the crime and enjoyed it.”

Laura choked on her beer.

Jennie burst out laughing. Chad smacked Matthew on the back.

“Sometimes you accidentally get things right.”

“I’m always right.”

“No.”

Laura wiped her mouth, still laughing.

“Nothing happened.”

Jin, who had remained silent until then, spoke with absolute calm.

“Liar.”

Laura froze.

She looked at her.

Jin held her gaze without accusation. Just certainty.

For a few seconds, Laura still seemed to consider giving her an answer.

“It was something about the club.”

Jin kept staring.

“Work.”

Nothing.

“Confidential.”

The corner of Jin’s mouth lifted.

Laura tried to keep a straight face.

It didn’t last.

The smile appeared at one corner of her mouth first, and before she could stop it, spread just a little further.

Jennie saw it.

So did Jin.

Matthew pointed again.

“THAT.”

Laura turned to him.

“If you point at my face one more time, I’m breaking your finger.”

Matthew immediately lowered his hand.

“Understood.”

Chad started laughing.

Jennie, however, kept watching Laura.

“But you’re okay?”

This time, Laura didn’t answer right away.

She looked down at the bottle between her hands.

Joshua’s voice ran through her mind again.

I’m completely crazy about you.

She bit the inside of her cheek.

Useless.

The smile came back.

“Yeah,” she finally said.

Jennie raised an eyebrow.

Laura looked at her.

“I’m okay, Jennie.”

And this time, there was enough truth in the answer that no one pushed any further.

Jin simply reached over and gave Laura’s knee a gentle squeeze.

A small gesture.

Laura looked at her.

No questions.

No pressure.

Just that same quiet understanding they’d always shared.

Whenever you’re ready.

Laura lowered her eyes and took another sip.

Matthew still looked physically distressed by the fact that he couldn’t get the gossip out of her, but by some miracle, he managed to keep quiet.

For approximately five seconds.

“But he’s alive, right?”

Laura burst out laughing.

“Matthew!”

“It’s an objective question!”

Jennie threw a pillow at him.

And this time, Laura laughed with them.

For real.

Meanwhile, Joshua stayed exactly where he was for several minutes after Laura left, slouched on the couch with the beer held between his legs. He could still hear the soft clink of their bottles touching. He remembered the sway of her heels as she walked toward the door and had discovered, far too late, that apparently the way Laura walked in heels did something to him too.

He ran a hand over his face and let out a quiet laugh, unsure whether he'd just done the bravest or the stupidest thing of his life.

Maybe both.

Still...

He felt lighter.

Happy.

The door slowly opened.

“Dude... you're here.”

Scott poked his head into the upstairs bar and found Joshua sunk into the couch, his head resting against the back of it.

Joshua looked up and smiled faintly.

“I'm here.”

Scott stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

“I've been looking for you.”

Joshua gestured toward the chair across from him.

“Sit down. Grab a beer.”

Scott seemed thrown off by how calm he sounded, but sat without asking anything else. A few seconds passed in silence before he noticed the open bottle on the table.

“Laura was here, wasn't she?”

Joshua simply nodded.

Scott waited.

Nothing.

“Okay... and?”

Joshua took a deep breath and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“I told her.”

Scott frowned.

“Told her what?”

Joshua looked at him as though the answer should've been obvious.

“Everything.”

Scott blinked twice.

“Everything, like...”

“Everything that needed to be said.”

Two seconds of silence passed before Scott's eyes widened.

“You told her you love her?”

Joshua broke into a completely unguarded smile.

“I told her I'm completely crazy about her.”

Scott covered his face with one hand and started laughing nervously.

“Dude... this is so fucking weird. Like, five minutes ago you two were fighting over video games and now you're confessing your feelings to her.”

Joshua laughed with him, still sounding slightly stunned by himself.

“I can't believe it either. I can't even look at her the way I used to anymore.”

Scott tilted his head.

“Changed that much?”

Joshua stared at his beer for a moment.

“Changed everything.”

Scott shook his head, still laughing.

“I've been waiting months for this day. The only reason nobody in this house figured it out sooner is because you're both idiots. You're terrible at avoiding each other and somehow even worse at pretending to act normal.”

Joshua laughed.

“Maybe.”

Scott pointed his bottle at him.

“And her?”

Joshua looked at the beer on the table.

“She grabbed a beer.”

Scott waited for the rest.

Joshua kept staring at his own bottle.

“Tapped it against mine. Toasted me. Walked out.”

Scott went silent for a few seconds.

Then he started laughing again.

“Dude... that is so fucking Laura. You can't corner that woman. She's terrifying.”

Joshua smiled.

“Yeah. That's what makes her so interesting. She knows who she is. She might not know what she wants, but she knows exactly what she doesn't want. And I know, deep down, she knows I got to her.”

Scott took a sip before continuing.

“She always used to say you were the perfect example of why she'd never get involved with anyone.”

Joshua shrugged.

“Fair. I'm sure plenty of women think that.”

Scott laughed again.

“She said she'd never be just another woman in some guy's life.”

Joshua's smile faded slightly, but didn't disappear.

“I know. And that's exactly the point.”

Silence.

Scott took a breath.

“So what now?”

Joshua took a few seconds to answer.

“Now I do exactly what I promised myself I'd do.”

“Which is?”

“Wait.”

“That's it?”

Joshua nodded.

“She knows how I feel. Now I want her to figure out how she feels without me pushing her into anything. Everything I needed to say... I already said.”

Scott studied him for a moment.

“You can actually do that?”

Joshua let out a quiet laugh.

“I'm gonna have to.”

Scott smiled.

“You really are in love with her...”

Joshua rubbed the back of his neck.

“Waiting isn't the problem.”

“No?”

He took a breath.

“The problem is that now I notice everything.”

Scott frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Her perfume. The way she puts her hair up and leaves the back of her neck exposed. The heels. The shorts. The cleavage...” He paused. “Even the way she carries herself at work. Focused. Organized. Laura somehow gets the best of both worlds. And she has these two different ways of looking at me, and both of them fucking destroy me.”

He laughed again, almost embarrassed by his own admission.

“Two different ways?”

“One is the way my best friend looks at me.”

A beat.

“And the other?”

“I don't know yet.” Joshua laughed at himself. “Before, she was just Laura. Now I look at her and think... how the fuck did it take me this long to notice?”

“Notice what?”

“That all those idiots were right the entire fucking time.”

They both burst out laughing. Laura practically had an entire football team of men after her.

“Finally.”

“She's fucking gorgeous. And now all I can think about is what it would be like with all that chemistry between us...”

Scott stared at his brother for a few seconds.

“What do you mean, what it'd be like? You and Laura never...?”

“No.”

“Not even once? You?”

“Not once.”

Scott's eyes widened.

“You sleep together.”

“Sometimes.”

“You showered together this week.”

“Yeah.”

“She's constantly all over you.”

“She is.”

Scott put his beer down on the table.

“Joshua... you've gotta be fucking kidding me.”

Joshua started laughing.

“I wasn't gonna do anything she might wake up regretting the next morning.”

His smile slowly faded.

“And believe me... the self-control is fucking hard.”

Scott was still staring at him in disbelief.

Joshua took another sip of beer.

“As if that shower wasn't hard enough already... then Marcela decides to show up in that dress with black lingerie underneath.”

Scott slowly shook his head.

“Your life is a screenplay written by a horny teenager.”

Joshua burst out laughing.

“Sometimes I think so too. Or maybe I'm just a horny teenager who happens to be almost thirty.”

Scott stood up and gave his brother two pats on the shoulder.

“You're just rich and handsome. Makes everything easier.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Scott laughed.

“I'm happy for you, though. It's been a long time since I've seen you like this.” He paused, reconsidering. “Actually... I don't think I've ever seen you like this. The way you used to get excited about things was completely different.”

Joshua looked up at him.

He smiled.

“I'm happy for you too.”

Joshua got up from the couch.

“Oh, I'm absolutely starting now.”

“Josh.”

“I need to properly get to know this Megan and figure out whether she deserves the best guy I know.”

Scott opened the door.

“Shut up.”

Joshua finished his beer in one long drink and followed him out.

“And what the hell is this about Dusty being your best friend now?”

“He understands me.”

They headed down the hallway toward the stairs, laughing together.

Joshua and Scott came downstairs still laughing about the conversation they'd just had. Out in the backyard, Matthew was still wrapped around Jennie near the hot tub, clearly trying to work up the courage to get in. Chad adjusted his swim trunks while Sarah and Sunset made their way over to Laura, who had already been in the water for a few minutes.

Jennie glanced impatiently toward the stairs.

“Did Jin go change, or is she making the bikini from scratch?”

Matthew shrugged.

“Women take forever.”

Jennie smacked him on the arm.

“Not women. Jin takes forever.”

Sarah appeared carrying two towels, and Sunset practically snatched one out of her hands.

“Sarah, I almost had to kidnap you from the kitchen.”

She gave an awkward laugh.

“There are still so many dishes.”

Jennie didn't even turn around.

“Tomorrow exists.”

Sarah looked back toward the house.

“It exists every day...”

Laura splashed water at her.

“Not today.”

The three of them laughed, and Sarah finally gave up resisting. She climbed into the hot tub and immediately made a face.

“It's hot.”

Laura rolled her eyes.

“It's a hot tub, Sarah.”

Right then, Jin appeared on the patio wearing a simple black bikini, her hair still damp.

Chad stopped talking altogether.

Matthew followed his gaze, smirked, and elbowed him.

“Close your mouth.”

“I'm looking normally.”

“You look like a fucking lamppost.”

Jennie burst out laughing.

“Poor girl.”

Jin pretended not to notice and climbed into the water. Matthew jumped in right after her, sending a huge wave over everyone.

“MATTHEW!”

Complaints came from every direction while he laughed like a child.

A few minutes later, one of the guests struck up a conversation with Sunset. He was nice, clearly interested, and trying just a little too hard to be funny. Sunset knew exactly what was happening and seemed perfectly entertained letting him try.

Laura and Sarah exchanged a knowing look when he launched into a completely unbelievable story about a fishing trip.

“Bullshit...” Laura whispered.

Sarah had to hold back a laugh.

Meanwhile, Joshua and Scott sat down at a table near the grill. Megan appeared carrying three beers.

“Found you.”

Scott's smile appeared automatically. Joshua raised his drink.

“So... officially over.”

Megan looked confused.

“What is?”

Joshua laughed.

“The soap opera.”

It took her a couple of seconds to catch on.

“She knows?”

Joshua nodded.

“She knows.”

“And?”

“Now I wait.”

Megan smiled genuinely.

“I think that's exactly what she needed.”

Joshua gave a small nod.

“I think so too.”

Then he changed the subject completely. He asked about college, her internship, her family, and told her a few stories about the club. Megan slipped into the conversation with surprising ease, as if she'd been part of their group for years.

Scott barely spoke.

He just watched.

For the first time, two important parts of his life were sitting at the same table.

After a few minutes, Megan stood up.

“I'm gonna grab more beer and something for us to eat.”

The second she walked away, Joshua looked at Scott and smiled.

“She’s good for you.”

Scott watched Megan go.

“She is.”

Joshua nodded.

“You can tell.”

Before Scott could answer, a shadow fell across the table.

Marcela.

The dress still drew attention without her having to do a damn thing. She glanced at the little plate of snacks, stole an olive without asking, bit into it, and looked at Joshua.

“I liked your other shirt better.”

Joshua looked down at the T-shirt he was wearing.

“You only say that because you gave me that one.”

“Exactly.”

Scott shook his head.

“You two are so fucking weird.”

Marcela shrugged.

“Years of practice.”

She stayed for a few minutes, and the conversation flowed with an ease that probably would've surprised anyone who didn't know them.

“I never thought we'd be able to talk like this after the divorce,” Marcela said.

Joshua took a sip of his beer.

“I think we work better now.”

Marcela nodded.

“Of course we do. Neither of us has to win every argument anymore.”

Joshua laughed.

“Maybe.”

She finished the olive, tilted her head slightly, and smiled.

“You could've just stayed for the best part of the night.”

Scott looked from one to the other. It took him two seconds to understand, and then a grin spread across his face.

Joshua laughed.

“It would've ended exactly the same way.”

“True.”

“Would've just delayed it.”

Marcela gave his shoulder a light pat as she walked past him.

“Still... your loss.”

Joshua watched her for a moment.

“Maybe.”

He paused.

“Whoever finds her will be lucky.”

Marcela glanced back over her shoulder and simply smiled before walking away.

A few yards later, a guy approached her. Marcela said something back, laughed loudly, and kept talking to him.

She never had to try to be seductive.

She simply was.

Megan came back balancing a plate of sandwiches and more beers, and the conversation picked up naturally.

Every now and then, though, Joshua's eyes drifted toward the hot tub.

Laura was almost directly across from him, laughing as she splashed Sarah. Sunset was trying to drown Matthew after yet another stupid joke. Jennie was complaining while laughing at the same time. Chad was trying to talk to Jin without looking nervous.

At one point, Laura caught Joshua watching her.

They held each other's gaze for barely a second.

Joshua subtly raised his drink.

Laura looked down at her own.

Smirked.

And raised it too.

A silent toast.

Only the two of them understood.

Then Laura shook her head, laughing to herself, and shoved Sarah toward the middle of the hot tub. Sunset burst out laughing. Matthew took the opportunity to shove Chad in too.

The hot tub dissolved into chaos.

Joshua turned his attention back to the table, took another sip of his beer, and kept listening to Scott talk about Megan.

For the first time since his confession, neither of them had to pretend that look between them didn't exist.

By the time it was past four in the morning, the last guests had started heading home. The backyard slowly grew quiet, leaving behind empty bottles scattered across the tables, abandoned towels, and the lingering smell of the grill.

Megan ended up staying. Scott didn't even have to ask. Matthew and Chad decided to crash there too, arguing that driving in their condition would be a terrible idea.

The guy who had spent half the night trying to impress Sunset insisted on walking her to the gate.

She smiled politely.

“That was fun.”

He smiled back.

“So... I'll see you around?”

Sunset opened the gate.

“Maybe.”

She kissed his cheek.

“Good night, Zand.”

Then she closed the gate and walked back inside as though absolutely nothing had happened.

Matthew had been watching from the patio.

“Poor guy.”

Sunset walked right past him.

“He'll survive.”

Matthew looked at Chad.

“She's terrifying.”

“Very.”

Sarah still tried to help clean up, but gave up halfway through. The combination of beer and the heat from the hot tub had finally caught up with her.

“Guys... I'm gonna lie down for five minutes.”

Laura laughed.

“Five minutes...”

Jennie answered first.

“She won't wake up until tomorrow.”

Sarah didn't even argue. She headed upstairs, nearly tripping over her own feet and still laughing to herself about something nobody else even remembered anymore.

“Don't forget to turn off the lights...” she mumbled before disappearing down the hallway.

Marcela decided to head upstairs too. She stopped beside the staircase.

“I'm taking this dress off before somebody decides to fall in love.”

Joshua raised his drink.

“Good luck.”

She gave him that same provocative smile as always.

“Good thing you've already solved your problem.”

She went upstairs without waiting for an answer.

Jennie started gathering the plates while Matthew pretended to help and, in practice, only made things worse. Chad finally decided to do something useful and carried a stack of cups into the kitchen.

Joshua went inside to grab more trash bags.

Laura was coming the other way, carrying a few cushions in from outside.

They both slowed down at the same time.

For a moment, they were alone in the hallway.

Joshua looked her up and down.

He didn't even try to hide it.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“You look good with your hair wet.”

Laura raised an eyebrow.

“Is that a pickup line?”

He shrugged.

“I guess now I can compliment you without pretending I didn't notice.”

Laura fought back a laugh and shook her head.

“Cocky.”

She walked past him, her shoulder lightly brushing his.

“Nice try.”

Joshua waited until she'd taken two more steps.

“Laura.”

She only turned her head.

He smiled.

“Still works.”

Laura frowned.

“What does?”

Joshua picked up one of the trash bags sitting on the counter.

“You leaving me with no idea what to say.”

Laura laughed quietly.

This time, she didn't answer.

She kept walking toward the living room.

Joshua watched her disappear down the hallway for a few seconds.

Then he smiled to himself, grabbed the trash bags, and went back to help finish cleaning up after the night.