“I’m being thorough,” he replies, unapologetic.
Matthew snorts quietly. Nathan laughs outright.
“Dude, did you see yourself with the notebooks?” Nathan says. “You looked like you were guarding crown jewels.”
Langston doesn’t deny it. He just holds my gaze and says, “Those matter.”
And somehow, that lands harder than anything else he could’ve said.
The guys keep packing, the noise settling into a rhythm, and I let myself sit there andfeelit.
The chaos. The laughter. The strange, terrifying, exhilarating truth that I’m letting these people into my life.
Lettinghimin.
Langston crosses the room, stopping in front of me. He reaches out—not to pull me up, not to rush me—but just to rest his hand on my knee.
“You ready?” he asks quietly.
I glance around my apartment. At the empty shelves. The bare walls. The life I’m folding up into boxes.
Then I look back at him.
“Yeah,” I say, surprised to realize I mean it.
His thumb brushes lightly against my skin, like a promise.
And for the first time since all of this started, I think—
Maybe this isn’t something I’m being dragged into.
Maybe it’s something I’m choosing.
The drive is quieter than I expect.
Langston’s car hums beneath us, the city falling away as trees and long stretches of road replace concrete. Nathan and Matthew follow behind in the truck, headlights steady in the rearview mirror. Knowing they’re there makes this feel less like a leap and more like… momentum.
I’ve been to Langston’s house before. I remember the calm of it. The way it feels tucked away from the world.
That’s why the cars catch my eye immediately.
Three of them. Parked near the drive. Definitely not there last time.
I glance out the window, then back at Langston. “There are more cars than usual.”
His grip tightens on the steering wheel—just slightly. Enough for me to notice.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “That’s not what I expected.”
He slows as we pull in, scanning the scene like he’s already figuring out how to manage it. Then he turns to me, concern written all over his face.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “The guys knew you were moving in. I didn’t think they’d all show up at once.”
That’s when it hits me—this isn’t about control.
It’s about him worrying how this lands onme.
“It’s okay,” I say gently. “Really.”
