I’m not usually the “catch feelings” kind of girl especially this fast, I’ve never experienced being in love so I have no clue what diagnosis would be, but what if… just what if this wild ride is worth holding onto

Nah… I’m cool. I’m chill. I got this. One night at a time. And when it ends. It ends. 

Simple.

I take a deep breath before leaving the bathroom, pretending I believe the things I just told myself.   …Should I tell them? 

“Are you sure you’re ready for whatever love triangle you might end up in?”

The text Aurora sent earlier rings in my ears. I laughed it off but, but nothing. It’s only been one night. I’ll keep it to myself until I’m 100% sure that I’m not dickmatized.. Strapmatized? 

I step out of the bathroom—

Only to be greeted by Zaniyah waving a spatula like a sword and Roro yelling, “RUN YOUR WAFFLES, COWARD!”

I laugh.

Yep. Totally normal. Totally chill. Nothing to see here.

“WAIT FOR ANYCIA YOU BIGBACKYARDIGAN”

“Holster your weapons, your back shall ache no longer. I have returned.”

“Finally. I nearly starved to death” Aurora fake faints 

“You are so dramatic” I poke her with my big toe, giggling at her normal shenanigans 

“Don’t forget greedy” Sings Z, plates clanging in her hands as she attempts to make one trip with utensils plates and cups.

I run over to help her

“It’s not my fault you’re an amazing cook” smiles Aurora

“So why is Ci helping while you drool over all the food” her tone reminiscent of a momma who is tired of her kids shit 

“I helped you with the platters when she snuck off! Plus who is going to guard this feast from the flies in need of a meal”

“If you closed the window-”

“Ma’am who slept out here last night” Aurora cuts her off 

“Me…” Z whispers

“So who was the one who opened the window?” The mother tone is now on the other foot

“...Me” Z murmurs quickly and quietly avoiding eye contact as we sit around the coffee table

“Thank you. I rest my case” Ro folds her arms tilting her chin upward which didn’t last long after being handed a plate

I fill my plate with 2 waffles and 2 chicken cutlets, a couple pieces of bacon, eggs, a half of french toast, and some of those vegan sausages. I put my sammich together– waffle, chicken, over-easy egg, bacon, syrup, waffle. 

I took a big bite and almost nut. “Zaniyah, you sure you don’t like woman” 

She burst out laughing, nearly choking on her food. 

Aurora hands full with her own chicken & waffle sammie rubs my arm with her elbow “I get it, my first time I promised to eat her coochie every night if she let me wife her”

“Sick. The both of you. Just like I told Aurora, set a date, stock the fridge and I’ll pull up with pots” 

“I’m going to need your work schedule so I can work make a calendar” I say through a mouthful, not even sure it made sense

“I’ll send you my google doc and I’ll even start a group collection on flicksta so we can all save whatever recipes we come across on social media” 

“You are a heaven sent Ro”

“I fear I’ll live to regret offering up my services and my talents” Z sips her mimosa, starting up a glamazontay viewtube vlog 

“I fear you’re right.” 

She sighs “The cursed side of being blessed” 

The sun has dipped low, casting amber streaks. The remnants of brunch are long gone—plates stacked, syrup-dappled napkins tossed into the trash. The air is thick with the scent of leftovers, weed, and a hint of the honey ginger candle Ro lit.

Bellies full of love and champagne, we lay there easing into a gentle silence, the kind that doesn’t demand filling. Lo-fi hums from Aurora’s speaker.  Zaniyah is sprawled out across the sofa, hair wrapped with a face mask to match ours as she thumbs through Ro’s playlist. At the other end, Aurora sits sketching lazily across her knee.

While I sit on a bean bag sifting through face masks. “Hey Ro. Can I have some of these?”

“Uh yeah take whatever you want” she replies without looking up

I sit up, sipping my soda, ready to drop details. Luckily for me Z steals the honor of breaking the silence before I could. 

“So… the group chat was spicy. I’m surprised your not icing your unmentionables”

“Peaches is strong, it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle”

Aurora laughs head still buried in her sketchpad 

“I know damn well you are not referring to your couchie as peaches.” 

“Yes. Yes I am.”

“Did ese name her or?” Z asks through snorts

“No, for a matter of fact I did. But the way she was signing her name in cursive I might just let her”

“That’s wild because you used emojis when you told us—wasn’t no cursive in the chat.” Aurora chimes in, letting out another chuckle as if on a timer 

“Okay. Okay. You guys have waited for details long enough”

“Yess. Let me refresh my cup” Z sits up as if she's been waiting for this moment all day

“We had just caught our breath. Ese asked me if I wanted to go lay down, I agreed. She was getting me something to sleep in when I slipped into the kitchen to grab some water, she followed me in just wearing a robe—tied real loose, y’know? She must’ve caught me peeking and said something slick like ‘You missed a spot,’ kissed my shoulder, and next thing I know I’m bent over next to the toaster”

“Not the toast getting jealous” Ro finally looking up places her sketchpad on end table and grabs her glass

“Girlll. And the morning after? I’ll never require an alarm clock the way she woke me up”

“LORD. Maybe I should be gay, maybe. Like for a night” 

“Nope. Too late. Recruitment deadline passed”

We all laugh, I spot Ro watching me. Like she can see what’s underneath the pride and heat. The heaviness beneath my smirk. The softness is her gaze almost cause it to slip

“You… good though? For real?” She asks 

My smile falters for half a breath, barely enough to clock. I nod quickly
“Yeah. Just… unexpected. She’s different during the chill moments”

“'Different how?” Z asks, her head angled like a confused pup

“Like- Like she sees parts of me I haven’t even looked at yet. Scary but comforting in a strange way I don’t believe I’ve ever experienced.”

Aurora’s POV

I blink—caught off guard. My pencil halts in my grip. Her words hit home.

A beat passes. Not heavy, but charged. Z loudly clears her throat once again, breaking the silence.

“Alright! Can we do something fun before I’m in my feelings too. Truth or Dare? LETSGOO” She grins, raising her glass “Okay but I need to know… was the kitchen round before or after she laid you on the bed like a sacrificial lamb?”

“Not a sacrificial lamb” I giggle

“Before. She was hungry in more ways than one, okay? I barely made it to the bedroom with my soul intact” 

“Whew, not my girl getting sautéed and seasoned on the countertops” I tease

“She went from dinner to dessert real quick” Z adds 

“Can y’all not!” Anycia laughs

“Nah, you gave us the group chat teaser. We need the extended cut now.”

“Or we handle this the sleepover way” Z smirks

“...What’s the sleepover way?” Ci asks, face expression stuck between confusion and fear

Z grabs a pillow and start slapping her

“Now what happened to Truth or Dare!?” Anycia wails between blows

“Oh yeah.” Z throws the pillow at her face before sitting down “I forgot about that”

“Yeah I bet your nosy ass did” Ci lunges the pillow back at Z

“Okay who first?” Zaniyah smiles, rubbing her hands mischievously. Eyes darting between the two of us, she lands on Anycia “Truth or dare superstar”

Ci squits “... Truth. I’m trying to behave” 

“Okay then. What’s something you didn’t tell us about Ese?” 

“You mean aside from her picking me up like I was light as hell and laying me on the bed like she does this every weekend?”

“Ma’am–” I sip my drink for hydration but mostly to symbolize ‘tea’

“Wait, no—okay. Okay. Morning-after, she woke me up with the most casual head ever. Like, one leg out the blanket, I’m halfway dreaming and suddenly I’m levitating.”

“Not ‘levitating’” Z laughs

“I need y’all to know I just made eye contact with my plant like it could save me” I laugh along with Z.

“She said, ‘Mornin’, you still taste sweet’ and went right back to it. I thought I was in a fanfic.”

“Yo, Aurora’s face is screaming.”

“I’m just trying to process whether I’m impressed, aroused, or deeply disturbed. Maybe all three? How on earth am I going to look Ese in the face on Monday?”

“...Yeah. I think that’s the part that scared me.”

The room stills — just for a second.

“You mean them working together? How so?” Z leans forward a bit, voice softer

“No, no, not that. The trying to process conflicting feelings part. She was so gentle and patient. Didn’t rush me. She held my face after like… like she meant it.”

I glance at Ci. Her words punched me in the gut as they had earlier, pressing on something hidden. Something familiar “...You felt seen,” I say barely above a whisper.

“Exactly.” She nods slowly

. . .

“Well, damn. That’s a hard act to follow,” Z says tenderly, trying to lift the mood.

I clear my throat. “Your turn to suffer. Truth or dare?” I nudge her knee

“Dare. Always” Zaniyah smirks

“Okay. Go outside and scream ‘I miss my sneaky link!’ at the moon.”

“Bet,” she says, heading to the window. “You want volume or passion?”

“Both!” Anycia laughs, phone ready to capture this moment

Zaniyah sticks her head out the window and yells towards the night sky: “I MISS MY SNEAKY LIIIIINK!”

We fall over laughing.

“I hope your neighbors aren’t nosy Ro ‘cause now they got something to talk about.” She pulls her head back in.

“Good. Let ‘em wonder” 

Z plops back down, cheeks warm with laughter, she turns to me, “Alright, your turn. Truth or dare?”

“Um. Truth. I think”

“Ohhhh. You never pick truth.” Ci leans in, clearly intrigued by whatever mess Zaniyah is about to come up with

“Okay. When was the last time you lied about being over someone?” She asks curiously, but still gently

It’s almost like I could feel the air shift. 

“...I think I’m still lying about it,” I finally mutter.

The silence revisits us. Not judgmental — just present.

“Damn. Same hat, different heads,” says Anycia. 

Z lets out a deep breath that feels like it’s been sitting on her chest. 

“I think I caught feelings,” she admits so quietly it almost gets swallowed by the room, “Like, real ones. For Mikey”

I lift my eyebrows in surprise, but keep quiet. This is a first for her.

“That week we spent together? It was supposed to be fun, but it felt y’know… different. Like he saw me. Like we saw each other. I’ve been dodging him ever since. Haven’t really spoken to him until I sent that ‘you up?’ text” 

She shrugs, but it’s tight. “Maybe that’s why he didn’t answer the door. Maybe he figured it out, too.”

I choose to sit with her in this moment, rather than rushing in with advice. What would I even say?

“We’re really out here pretending not to bleed, huh?” Z says softly. 

I smile faintly, the sadness evident. I glance toward my sketchpad, still resting half-open on the side table, pages fluttering like they might speak if given a chance.

“Maybe next round, I’ll pick dare. Lying’s getting exhausting.”

We all sit with it. Together. Holding space without having to hold hands.

Zaniyah grabs a bag of chips, busting them open. 

“Okay, but if we don’t make each other cry and scream-laugh during these games, are we really best friends?”

“Group trauma bonding at best,” Anycia smiles, digging through the snacks.

She pops open a bag, pouring onto the empty serving platter. We clink glasses. Not just for the game, but for the tiny, tender truths slipping through the cracks.

Anycia plucks a tortilla chip from the pile, crunching down loud enough to make us all blink.

“Okay,” she mumbles with a full mouth, “but also—we cannot stay in this sad girl circle much longer. I’m gonna end up writing a spoken word poem and none of y’all deserve that.”

Z laughs first—relieved, maybe. “Damn, not the ‘snap if you feel me’ kinda grief.”

I smile, soft and slow. “We could finish the game. Or find another distraction.”

“Ok, but no kissing dares. We’re emotionally unstable,” Z jokes.

“I’d never!” Ancia gasps, hand over her heart, winking immediately after. “Unless the moment calls for it.”

We take a moment to clean the coffee table, making a quick but cutesy charcuterie board before sitting on the floor, legs tangled with throw blankets and bags of snacks. The room is a little lighter now, not because anything's fixed, but because we all understand when to stop pushing, and when to just… play.

A small peace offering to ourselves. 

“Alright,” Zaniyah grins, twirling her phone like a bottle. “Let’s get stupid.”

She spins the phone across the coffee table. It clatters, then slows, pointing directly at me,

Anycia leans in, playful but precise. “If you could text someone right now and get an answer to any question you asked, no games, no ghosting—who would it be?”

I don’t answer right away. I chew my bottom lip, then shrug. “No one.”

. . .

“You liar,” Z teases, but it’s gentle. She doesn’t push or pry.

I just smirk, eyes to the floor, and say “Next.”

The phone spins again, this time landing on CiCi.

“Truth or dare?” I ask, my expression already painted over with mischief

She pops a grape in her mouth like a dramatic villain. “In the words of the great Zaniyah. Dare. Always dare.”

I think for half a second, then light up. “Call your sister and confess that you and not your younger cousin, were the one who not only lost but also stole that lip gloss from that promo makeup pack DualFaced sent to her.” 

Anycia chokes. “You devil. Airing out my dirty laundry after we just shared such a heartfelt moment of sadness.”

“Wow. That’s wild. That’s evil. I’ve taught you well, Ro.” Z snorts

Anycia, mid-dial, mutters, “Y’all are not safe.”

We watch her try to keep a straight face while Arabella answers. It does not go well.

Next spin. It lands on Zaniyah.

I arch a brow. “You’re not getting out clean, either. Truth or dare?”

She hesitates. Then, quieter than before, “Truth.”

A slow, quiet roll in. Not heavy—just… intentional

Ci rests her chin in her palm. “If you could talk to teenage you, what’s one thing you’d say?”

Z blinks. Once. Twice. 

She picks at the hem of her sweatpants, nodding almost to herself.   “I’d tell him… It’s okay to be scared. Change is scary. And he’s—she’s not broken for wanting to live in a truth that didn’t coincide with the plans her parents had set, or rather hoped for.”

Neither Ci nor I speaks a word. Z shrugs like she’s over it, but knowing her father. She’s not.

We let her sit in it, like we silently agreed to earlier, with warmth, not weight.

I touch my foot against hers, casually. “Regardless of what others want. I–We love you, Z.”

Anycia lifts her glass, “To bad recovery times, worse decisions, and true friends.”

We clink our glasses, this time filled with smoothies and not liquor. A toast to being messy and unhealed but still trying.

Z finally lets out a grin. “My turn, fools.”