"Lacey!" Mrs. Desai exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Lacey. Mrs. Desai held Lacey arm's length away and gawked at her. "You are truly the 8th wonder of the world. You should model! I swear, every time I see you, you get more and more beautiful." She cooed, ushering Lacey and Archie into her house. "Doesn't she just get more beautiful, Danny?"

Danny looked up from setting the table and his eyes trailed along her body. Lacey knew she looked good; she made sure of it. She tried on several different outfits but came to a consensus with Archie's help that she would wear her long black chiffon maxi skirt and a white crop top and her faux leather jacket on top. It was very 'model-caught-on-a-day-off', Lacey thought. "Mom, stop, it's just Lacey." Danny shot down. Lacey spied Jo and Rico in the living room, talking about something when Rico looked up and waved at Lacey, who reciprocated graciously.

Mrs. Desai frowned at her son before returning her attention back to Lacey. "Who's this?"

Lacey's hand fled to Archie's chest and smiled. "This is Archie, my boyfriend." Lacey informally introduced while Archie extended his hand to Mrs. Desai.

"Oh, my, Lacey, you're all grown up! How did I not hear about this when I ran into your mother at the grocery store earlier on this week?" Mrs. Desai inquired. She was getting flustered or rather frustrated at how quickly time escaped her and how, despite her desperation for things to remain the same in her world, the world outside of it is constantly changing. "How long have you been together?"

"Two years," Lacey said proudly, flashing an icy grin over at Danny, who was rolling his eyes as he placed the forks on the table. "I hope you don't mind I invited him. We're like a package deal." Lacey pecked Archie on the cheek and scrunched her nose up as she smiled.

"It's no problem at all, Lacey." Mrs. Desai shrugged exuberantly. "Jo and Rico are here and Danny's here, of course. Make yourselves at home."

Lacey bumped Archie in the rib. "Uh, you have a lovely home, Mrs. Desai." Archie started, feigning enthusiasm. "Lacey and I made you some guacamole for the event tonight." He extended the ceramic bowl for Mrs. Desai to take.

"Oh, thank you, Archie. That's lovely." She took the bowl from him and started toward the kitchen.

"I'll help you with that." Archie said, following her to the kitchen. Danny slid next to Lacey, replacing the spot where her boyfriend used to be.

"Taught your dog some new tricks," Danny smiled smugly.

Lacey groaned and she distanced herself from him, eyeing Jo and Rico in the living room. Jo's eyes met hers and she waved tentatively at Lacey. "Looks like you did too."

"Daniel, come help me put the food on the table." Mrs. Desai yelled from the kitchen. Lacey looked over at his mother in the kitchen, handing Archie plates and bowls to out on the table.

Danny rolled his eyes and groaned. "Better get over there, Daniel." Lacey smirked, nudging him.

"And hang out in there with your boyfriend. You know they say if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." Danny quipped.

"Daniel Desai," Mrs. Desai seethed.

"Play nice," Lacey patted Danny on the back as he dragged himself to the kitchen. Lacey stood awkwardly in the foyer but decided to make her way over to Rico and Jo. "Hey," Lacey waved. She had no trouble talking to Rico but Jo would prove to be the real problem. "How'd your thesis end up?"

Rico frowned. "He said it needed work but I thought writing about the golden ages of Chinese empires would be great!"

"It's too predictable." Lacey replied. "I mean, Professor James is all about things that are hard and make you think."

Jo stuffed her hands in the pockets of her ill faded jeans. "What was your thesis on, then?"

"The role of female rulers and how their actions influenced their popularity throughout their reign versus male rulers and their actions."

Rico nodded, taking it in and then nudging Jo. "That's really good. You could even talk about gender roles in politics over there now!"

"Yeah, that was the idea." Lacey silently thanked him. "But it's a lot if information for me to write by Monday, you know."

Rico nodded. "Didn't he say that he would allow groups of three if the work load is a bit too heavy? Why don't we work together? Our GPAs combined could create a killer paper!" Rico was getting increasingly excited about the idea but Jo's scowl showed a different idea. "Jo, didn't you want to tell Lacey something else?"

Jo groaned and she mumbled something incoherently to Rico with her eyes narrowed. "I wanted to apologize for forcing you to say something on Danny's behalf. Also, I didn't mean those things, uh, I said about you or Archie." Jo said.

Lacey smiled appreciatively. She didn't know if Danny talked Jo into apologizing or if she meant it genuinely but Lacey always loved a good apology. "Thanks, Jo." Lacey smiled, feeling two hands slip around her waist. Archie planted a kiss on Lacey's temple. "Babe, you remember Rico and Jo?"

Archie grumped and nodded. "Uh, yeah, you were in my PE class in freshman year?"

"We're in your PE class this year." Jo pointed out, annoyed.

Archie flopped down on the couch, pushing Rico to the side and pulling Lacey on top of him so her knees gripped his hips, straddling him. "Thanks for inviting me to the freak show." He whispered by her ear.

"There's a light at the end of the tunnel." Lacey replied. "Remember?"

"Yeah, it better be worth it." Archie groaned. Lacey bit her tongue to stop her from getting into an argument in front of all these people. Lacey swung her leg over him and sat down in between Archie and Rico. The four of them sat there awkwardly in silence.

"Okay, the food is ready!" Mrs. Desai yelled from the dining room. Each one of them got up and took a seat in the dining room. Lacey took a seat and Archie assumed the position next to her and almost by instinct and old habit, Danny sat in the chair to her other side like how he used to when Lacey had dinner at the Desai residence.

"Oh," Lacey said, glancing at Danny as sat next to her. "You're pushing it, Desai." Lacey mumbled as she turned her head, placing her napkin on her lap. She turned her attention back to the feast in front of her. They were teenagers, not starving children in third world countries; Mrs. Desai didn't need to make the immensity of food she did. "Wow, this is a lot of food! You didn't have to make all of this."

Mrs. Desai passed the plate of quesadillas around. "Oh, I only helped, Lacey. Danny did all the cooking." She said smiling at her son who bowed his head at the newfound attention. Lacey could feel Archie's muscles under her hand on his thigh. What did he think Danny was going to do? Poison him?

"It looks great, Danny." Jo said, giving him that classic puppy dog smile. She and Rico battled to fit a tortilla chip in the salsa bowl.

Lacey looked over at Archie, growing annoyed with his inability to pretend he was enjoying himself. "Can you excuse me and Archie please?" Lacey asked abruptly, catching everyone off guard. Mrs. Desai opened her mouth to speak but nodded lamely while Lacey got up and placed a hand on Archie's back as he followed suit.

Lacey gripped his hand and walked outside and stood on the Desai porch with her arms folded. Archie groaned before asking, "What's wrong? Do you want to leave?"

"Can you, at least, pretend to like these people?" Lacey inquired. "I know you don't like Danny but you're in his home and you shouldn't ice Mrs. Desai or Rico and Jo out. I've never asked you to do anything for me, Arch. Could you just pretend for another hour? Then we'll leave and go back to my house." Her hands smoothed the collar of his shirt.

"Can I get you out of this outfit?" Archie questioned dumbly.

"Whatever you want, babe," Lacey kissed him when the glow of the lights grew and

Lacey noticed a figure in the door.

"Sorry, mom got worried about you guys." Danny smiled. "She actually wanted to ask you about soccer, Archie. She used to play back in college. She was a striker like you."

Archie's eyes illuminated as his interest peaked. "That is my cue, babe. I will see you inside." He kissed her forehead again. "Seriously, Desai, nice house," He patted Danny on the back and disappeared to the dinner table.

Danny kept his eyes locked on Lacey's and he smirked knowingly. "What?" Lacey questioned impatiently.

"It's nice to know you're using sexual favors to get your boyfriend to come here. It warms my heart actually." Danny cocked his eyebrow. He took a step closer to her and he placed his hand on the small of her back and his lips pressed against her ear. "But I want to know if that guy you call your boyfriend makes your heart race as I much as it does when you're with me?"

Lacey pulled back from him and struggled to keep her gaze on his eyes without glancing down at his lips. She doubted if everyone at the dinner table could see them so if Danny was careful, he could have his way with her right now but Lacey remembered that wasn't happening anymore. "You're walking a thin line, Desai." She snapped, pushing past him and taking her seat next to Archie—who was engrossed in boring soccer talk—with a smile.

Mrs. Desai picked up a bottle of hot sauce and passed it around the table so people could spice up their already incredibly spicy food. When it came to her, Lacey politely declined as he fingers brushed Danny's hand when he took the bottle from his mom as he sat down. "Still not a fan of spicy things, huh, Lace?" Mrs. Desai teased.

"She never will be." Danny remarked.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Lacey deadpanned, stabbing her salad with her fork.

Archie placed his arm around Lacey's shoulder and raised his eyebrow. "What? What happened?"

Lacey glanced across the table at Jo, who was biting back a smile at the silly childhood memory. "Danny and I forced Jo to eat bags of spicy potato chips one day and her retribution was pouring a bottle of Sriracha hot sauce in my drink." Lacey shook her head.

Jo let out a little giggle but stopped when Lacey threw her an icy glare but it didn't stop Danny from laughing. "Stop, it wasn't funny!" Lacey groaned.

"You couldn't even talk. You had your tongue out like this," Danny held his tongue out. "And you kept saying get me some water! But no one understood what you were saying because of your damn tongue." Danny laughed.

"Remember how red her face got!" Jo piped up, taking a sip of her water.

Lacey couldn't help but smile at the memory because it was rather silly when she thought back on it. "Aw, babe, is that why you hate going to Indian restaurants?" Archie stifled a laugh. "It brings back horrible memories?" Lacey's mouth dropped at how easily it was for Archie to make fun of her. She elbowed him in the side. "I'm sorry, babe, I'm sorry. No, that was horrible. They shouldn't have done that to you." Archie tried to console her but erupted in a laughing fit when he kissed her forehead.

"But the best was when I convinced Lacey that the wasabi was avocado when we went to the sushi place in Manhattan and she got so excited; she put the whole thing in her mouth!" Jo doubled over, holding her stomach as she laughed.

"YOU ATE WASABI!" Archie exclaimed. Lacey covered her eyes as the table laughed at Lacey's childish antics—even Mrs. Desai and Rico were exchanging cheeky grins.

"But, Danny, you always felt bad when Lacey did those kinds of things." Mrs. Desai mentioned. "If I do remember correctly, you got yourself some wasabi and ate it too to make Lacey feel better. You always had a soft spot for little Lacey over there."

The laughter started to die down and Danny's eyes trained on his mother in a mixture of surprise and frustration. Lacey quickly averted her eyes from Danny as she remembered that what his mother said was true. If Lacey fell off her bike, then Danny would fall of his bike and play it off as an accident. If Lacey got poison ivy on their excursions through the woods, Danny would somehow get it too and help Lacey get rid of it. Lacey never paid attention to it because she didn't think there was anything weird about it.

Lacey cleared her throat and extended her hand to grab the pitcher of lemonade between the guacamole and burritos. Danny had the same thought and did the same, placing his hand on top of Lacey's. She stopped short and looked over at him. "Ladies first…or Lacey's first." He smirked, withdrawing his hand while she poured herself some and assessed whether Archie would want some too and poured some in his glass. Mrs. Desai sat at the head of the table, watching over the exchange between her son and Lacey while everyone else engaged in hushed banter about other things.

The clank of forks and knives slowly died down and everyone was growing full. Mrs. Desai got up and started taking plates, nudging Danny in the back to help her. "Why don't you guys head to the living room and watch some TV or something." The blonde suggested with her usual chipper that made everyone want to do what she told them to.

Jo and Rico got up, talking more about Lacey's essay and how they could divide the workload. Archie followed them but looked back at Lacey for approval and confusion as to why she didn't get up as well. "I just have to run to the bathroom." Lacey said, patting Archie on his stomach but her focus was on Danny and Mrs. Desai heading to the kitchen with dishes. "I'll be in there in a few minutes then we can leave. Promise." She looked over at him as he grinned.

He kissed her hand and walked down to the living room, disappearing from Lacey's view. She got up and carefully walked over the old, cherry wood floors. She remembered how they used to creak whenever she walked quickly over them while they played hide and seek. Lacey kept her footsteps slow and steady as she approached the kitchen, making sure she couldn't be seen. Danny and Mrs. Desai were talking in hushed tones but when the volume of the television rose, they started to talk at a regular volume.

"That Rico is a nice boy. Jo's very lucky to have him as a friend." Mrs. Desai commented.

"Yes, mother, he's a nice kid." Danny replied. Lacey could tell by his tone that he wasn't interested in making small talk with his mother.

"Jo is just so cute. She's always been such a cute girl." Mrs. Desai said with a lightheartedness and she received a humph from Danny in response against the sound of rushing water. "Lacey is totally transformed. She was always sort of gawky as a kid, remember." Lacey's face grew hot in embarrassment and she waited for Danny to say something in her behalf. "But look at her now, tall and gorgeous."

Danny laughed while someone shut off the water. "She's always been gorgeous, mother. Some people just didn't appreciate her beauty back then."

There was a silence in the kitchen and Mrs. Desai sighed. "What are you doing, Daniel? What's going on in that head of yours?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Danny brushed off.

"She has a boyfriend. She's made that very clear; she brought him here tonight. Archie seems like a great guy. He may have his odds with you but he probably senses that you like Lacey." Mrs. Desai whispered her name like someone passing by wouldn't piece together who she was talking about.

"Well, Archie doesn't deserve her." Danny stated. There was urgency in his voice that made Lacey feel slightly proud that Danny thought that way. He valued her self-worth. "She's a trophy to him and Lacey Porter should not be reduced to one of those disposable pieces of spray painted plastic they call soccer trophies."

"Daniel, I just don't want you to set yourself up for disappointment, that's all. It's one thing to feel these feelings toward someone but they need to be reciprocated." Mrs. Desai answered in a wistful tone.

"In due time, mother," Danny replied.

Lacey could hear footsteps in her direction and she tiptoed back to the living room, letting Archie pull her on top of him. He nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck and her dark hair created a curtain around their faces so Archie could easily kiss her without getting embarrassed—not that he got embarrassed in the first place.

His rough hands roamed aimlessly around her body and by the clumsiness of his kisses, Lacey knew that Archie had no problem doing it here. She would never be this affectionate with Archie with people she didn't know and not in anyone's home besides her own but something about what Danny said made Lacey desperately want to feel like Archie was the only one for her.

"Come on, guys, we just got that steam cleaned." Danny whined, motioning toward the fabric couch they were sitting on. "There are many beds upstairs where you hormonal teenagers can fornicate in."

Lacey's face got hot and stood up abruptly, grabbing Archie's hand. "We actually have to go." She replied, looking Danny straight in the eye but it was proving to be difficult while the intensity of his words burned her brain.

Archie got up, placing his hand on the small of her back. "Thanks for the food and everything." Archie dumbly said. It was better than no thank you at all.

"Tell your mom we had a great time and uh, I'll see you all tomorrow." Lacey waved. "We'll talk more about the essay tomorrow?" She focused on Rico, who nodded and gave her a quick smile.

Danny walked them to the door where Archie gave him an awkward handshake then Danny's eyes focused on Lacey's. Lacey could sense that he wanted to say something and she wanted him to say something, anything that would make her want to stay and leave Archie. She knew that he wanted to her and he expressed it but she wanted him to let Archie know that but Danny stood silent. His lips quirked into that smirk and he said, "It was great seeing you back here tonight, Lace. It reminded me of all times…despite some slight differences." Danny's eyes trailed over to Archie quickly.

Lacey bowed her head and smiled. Archie was the obvious difference from Lacey now to Lacey back five years ago. Maybe the other difference was that they were older now and a mutual little crush could now be acted upon in a fuller sense than clumsy kisses on the cheek underneath the jungle gym on in the clubhouse when Jo had to go home. There were hormones and urges that raced through them, making their seemingly little crush amplify to something much greater. Along with greater ways of expressing their intrigue, there were greater things at risk and more emotions at stake that Lacey wasn't ready to deal with. Danny didn't want to deal with them either. He wanted Lacey in her purest state. No emotional qualms tying her down and keeping her from fully being with Danny despite her inner disagreements.

Lacey glanced up and let out a polite laugh. "So, um, have a good night." Her eyes lingered on Danny longer than they should have and she bit her lip, the taste of his lips still radiating on hers. Archie lightly tugged on her hand and she followed him with no physical resistance but a slight tugging on her heart when she saw Danny staring at her, longingly, from his porch.

Again, I want to thank you for your patience and I will try my hardest to keep these updates coming. Please just bear with me. It'll be worth it! xx