“I believe I've just redefined what it means to look devastatingly handsome in formal wear.”
And the stupid thing is—he’s not wrong.
The navy suit fits him perfectly.Even makes him look older, like he’s already stepped into the life he’s meant for.Not the kid who hid behind jokes so people wouldn’t look too closely.
Jay lets out a low whistle.“Jesus Christ, Ollie.Save some confidence for the rest of us mortals.”
“I would,” Ollie says, straightening his tie, “but then what would be the point of being me?”
Nick’s in the other room getting fitted.Jake’s half-present, half somewhere behind that fucking phone of his.Jay’s wrestling a tie like it disrespected his ancestors.
For a second—just a second—it feels like old times.Before everything got complicated.Before every choice felt like stepping onto a minefield.
“Jake,” Ollie says, reading everyone’s minds at once, “get off your phone and try on your suit.We don’t have all day.”
Jake startles, blinking back into the room.
“I will, in a minute.”
Jay holds up his tie like it’s a venomous snake.“How the fuck do you even do this?I don’t think I’ve ever owned a shirt with buttons, let alone one of these."
The room erupts, even Nick laughs through the dressing-room door.The sound lands somewhere deep in my chest, loosening something I didn’t realize was wound that tight.
It’s a moment I want to freeze-frame and hold in my hands.
“Alright, give me my suit,” Jake finally says, setting his phone down on the glass table.
Ollie hands him the suit, and Jake finally pushes off the table to head toward the change rooms.He leaves his phone behind without thinking—face-up, screen dark, like it’s catching its breath.
Then it buzzes.
Once.
Twice.
A third time, harder, like it’s demanding attention.
I shouldn’t look.
I tell myself that.
But the sound is sharp enough to slice the room in half, and it lodges deep in me—familiar in the worst way.
Warning.Pay attention.
I try to ignore it.I really do.But something about the rhythm of those alerts worms under my skin, the way certain sounds used to mean duck, hide, don’t breathe.
My eyes drop on instinct.
Email previews flash across the screen.
“You requested documents.”
“LLC paperwork.”
“Urgent!To be signed before EOD”
And just like that, my stomach turns to ice.
