Two sharks in a fishbowl
I'll move to Cali 'cause the earthquakes
Feel like a massage break
-- Younger Hunger, Fangs
As the afternoon turned into the evening, some of the girls came and went to ask him about the call, why his mother was so intent on knowing who he partied with. Bits and pieces of information prompted Nadia to ask him more when the girls left, and since she stood right next to him, he ended up having no choice but to explain everything to her; from Henry’s identity in the tunnels to his work relationship with Laith and the checkups. Understandably, she found it all shocking. Her wide eyes were glued on him the entire time, alert and focused despite the alcohol content in her blood. She couldn’t believe they’d danced around this for as long as they’d had without getting caught. She couldn’t imagine dating Daisy while she still lived with her parents, the hoops she would’ve had to go through. Even thinking about it was too much for her; she had to change the topic.
The more Theodore talked, the more Justin’s worries lessened. They didn’t disappear entirely and he still didn’t think Theodore’s plan was a good idea, but decided against rehashing the argument. He wasn’t a fighter, after all; the fact he’d pushed back on this at all was surprising already, evidence of the intensity of his concerns. He just didn’t understand why Theodore couldn’t be completely honest with his parents and let them choose to love him out of their own free will, no smokescreens. When he’d first told his family and friends of his transition, it’d hurt to lose some of them, but he knew that would happen; some people wanted an easy life more than they cared about him. They found it more important to have a family—or group of friends—with privileges than having to put up with the inconvenience of knowing him, so in the end, he’d come out on top, because now he knew exactly who loved him and who didn’t. The difference between them, however, was that Theodore simply couldn't bear the thought of losing his parents. He needed them just as much—if not more—than he needed Laith; he couldn’t afford to run the risk.
Laith eventually came around too. It took him a little longer, though. First, he had a few drinks in silence. Then, he fiddled with his phone for a while, growing even more pensive and concerned. When he finally put it away, he told the table Theodore’s parents had just texted him their own plan for this evening, which he was involved in, of course. They didn’t want him to turn Theodore down, but go along with it and make him regret asking him out, whatever that meant. They left the details for him to figure out. He didn’t know what they wanted him to do but didn’t like the implications. Obviously, that wasn’t happening; Theodore was going to tell them that everything had gone perfectly well regardless. What they wanted didn’t matter. Still, Laith wasn’t too happy about it and remained serious for a while longer, just not as quiet—an improvement.
He’d agreed to meet up with Hwan at 7 p.m. and that was when Hwan texted. The only problem was that Theodore had completely forgotten about it. Pulling out his phone to find Hwan’s name on the screen brought this morning back to mind; the call, the lie and the meeting he’d never told Laith about. Hwan asked for an address, so Theodore told him to come over. Placing his phone face-down on the counter, he glanced up at Laith—how would he go about telling him? Wrapped up in conversation with Nadia and Justin, Laith didn’t notice him staring; his eyes leisurely watched Justin speak, half-lidded with intoxication. Since the stool had no back support, he leaned both arms on the counter, shoulders raised a bit. The seriousness on his features hadn’t vanished at all; he was in absolutely no mood to hear about Hwan right now. Theodore already knew that. He also had no choice, because Hwan would be arriving soon and telling was better than letting Laith find out for himself.
He reached across the counter and touched Laith’s wrist, the metal bracelet there. That didn’t immediately end the topic, but as Laith’s attention wavered from the conversation, it waned and quickly died. Even though he hadn’t been actively participating, his attention seemed crucial. Suddenly, the table all glanced at Theodore, Laith’s focal point. He tried not to feel Justin’s and Nadia’s eyes burn the sides of his face, staring straight ahead. The hand on Laith’s wrist wrapped around it in a firm hold. There was no sugar-coating it; he just had to say it.
“I forgot to tell you, so don’t be mad at me,” he prefaced, “but Hwan’s coming over.”
Exhausted, Laith rolled his eyes. “I don’t care.”
“No, he’s coming here to talk to you. You promised you’d hear him out, remember? At Quince?”
Laith’s back straightened, eyes up at the ceiling in a second roll that never happened. His lips parted once, chest full, but nothing came out. Then, he exhaled, meeting Theodore’s eyes again. “Okay.”
Theodore’s eyebrows raised. “Okay? You don’t mind?”
“Let’s just get this shit over with. I’m so fucking tired of hearing about this guy; I can’t wait for you to never bring him up again, so let’s just do this.”
Oh. Well, that wasn’t how Theodore expected this conversation to go at all. In his mind, it’d help the two get over themselves and reconcile their differences, but hey, whatever worked. He just needed Laith to be there, open for a friendly chat.
“Okay,” he mumbled, pulling his hand back. Laith seemed very unapproachable at the moment and touching him didn’t seem like a good idea when he normally didn’t even like that already.
A hand came up to Laith’s eyes, rubbing them. He still held his back upright, but now Theodore could see it was just tense, not the result of good posture. His fingers pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re pissing me off so much,” Laith whispered. “I don’t wanna do any of this shit. You already know that.”
“You don’t wanna meet my parents?” His heart sank. Even though he wasn’t surprised, it still hurt to hear it.
“Of course not. Who would?”
“Well, my mom’s not like my dad. I know he’s pretty bad, but she’s nice. I think you’ll like her.”
“I don’t care. Listen, if you want us to work out, you can’t be pulling shit like this anymore, making plans that involve me without speaking to me first. What are you, my fucking manager?”
His face burned. “I’m sorry.”
Shaking his head, Laith took his glass and finished it. The silence that followed was extremely awkward; neither Justin nor Nadia had said a word this entire time, quietly listening to this discussion. Theodore didn’t even know what to say; there were no words in his mouth. All he could do was sit in silence and grab his own hands under the counter, fingers squeezing one another. It’d be fine, though; he wouldn’t do that anymore. His parents and Hwan were the only instances where he’d needed to go against Laith’s wishes or they’d never happen at all. Other than that, he had no reason to do it—and he wouldn’t. This seemed like the last straw; he could see how angry Laith was about it. Fucking up a third time was simply not an option. His eyes were unable to meet Laith’s, down at the counter.
Justin cleared his throat, gathering attention back on himself. It was relieving to see him strike up conversation with the table, even if Laith’s mood was ruined; he was listening, which was what mattered. Nadia jumped right in to contribute, helping Justin carry the topic. It didn’t work too well, but considering the fact Laith eventually joined in, Theodore supposed that was a victory. They were just trying to keep tension from building.
Not too long later, the landline rang to announce Hwan’s arrival. Nadia’s proximity to it prompted her to answer and excitedly spread the news. Theodore found himself breathing easier, lungs expanding in his chest—finally, someone who liked him would be here. He knew that, if he stopped being an imbecile, that person would’ve been his boyfriend, but stupidity seemed to have a chronic effect on him; he couldn’t cure it. He waited with bated breath, unaware of how badly his hands shook. Even though Laith sat directly in front of him, Theodore was still unable to meet his eye, too weak to handle the annoyance he was sure to find there.
Jessie and the other two answered the door. Unexpectedly, not only did Hwan’s voice travel into the apartment, but so did other voices—his friends’ voices, boyfriend included. He’d brought them along? Theodore thought this would be an exclusive thing. Why was Marquis here? Unease settled in his stomach. He saw the group once they walked into the hallway, closer to the kitchen. As they approached the counter, Laith and Justin got up and moved away, standing by the fridge. Nadia, however, joined the girls with a big friendly grin.
Greetings were upsettingly brief; the group just waved Theodore and the others hello. Hwan gave him a little bit of a meaningful smile, but even then, it wasn’t the treatment Theodore had expected. His soul desperately craved a warm, fulfilling hug—away from Marquis. He knew it wasn’t right to feel this way when Marquis had never even done anything wrong, but he really resented him right now and would much prefer not to see him at all. He just needed to get this feeling out of his system.
Hwan and his friends were very surprised to find a party already happening; Theodore could tell Hwan wanted to ask him why he hadn’t said anything, but ultimately remained silent. Was it because the answer didn’t matter or because he didn’t want to speak with Theodore in front of Marquis? Either way, someone mentioned welcome shots and Hwan’s attention went along with it.
Laith didn’t immediately approach Hwan for that talk. First, the group got a moment to relax and fall into conversation; Nadia and Daisy found themselves speaking to V while Jessie and Hannah ended up talking to Dylan. It happened naturally; social skills boosted by alcohol. Of course, that meant Hwan and Marquis turned to Theodore. They both commented on the party, surprised by it, while Theodore just kind of listened, not really there. The tone Hwan used was so impersonal that he could’ve been speaking to anyone, completely different from how he’d spoken to Theodore on the phone this morning. Theodore would never expect him to act any differently, but listening to him talk, all he could do was miss their private time, how Hwan spoke to him alone. That was when Laith approached.
“Can we just do this?” Laith unceremoniously asked.
His presence cut the topic short. Hwan passed his boyfriend a brief look before nodding. “Yeah, sure. Should we go somewhere else?”
“Yeah,” Theodore cut in. “Follow me.”
He hopped off the stool and led the two out of the kitchen, down the hall. His room was the only place he could think of that would give them some privacy. The connotations that came with that only occurred to him as he held the door open for them, two men he’d slept with before, very recently in fact. He caught Marquis’ eye at the end of the hallway, watching from the counter—the look on his face was unreadable. He didn’t disapprove, but Theodore knew how this looked and kind of relished in it. Nothing would happen, though—despite how much he wished for it. With a bit of a smirk tugging at his lips, he walked in and shut the door.
Not even five feet into the room, Laith turned to stare at Hwan. The only way Theodore saw that was because of Hwan’s abrupt stop, which prompted Theodore to go around him, since he wasn’t the one afraid of getting too close to Laith. The severe lack of space in this room made it so he had to stand next to Laith while Hwan stood at the foot of the bed.
Laith motioned with a hand. “Go on.”
Hwan’s eyebrows raised. He passed Theodore a brief glance before starting, as if to make sure the mediator was paying attention. “Alright. Well, I’m sure what I have to tell you is as upsetting as what you have to tell me, so—”
“Can you at least look me in the face?”
Dark eyes lifted. “That’s… actually what I’m here to say,” Hwan continued. “It’s hard to look at you. I mean… fuck, Laith, you have to know you look exactly like him, down to the jacket. I look at you and I think of him and…” He faltered, shoulders squeezing out a tight shrug. “It hurts.”
Laith’s features softened. Theodore couldn’t tell if it was out of sympathy or understanding, but the crease between his eyebrows slowly disappeared. His arms remained crossed over his chest. “I guess I do look like him, huh.” It was less a question and more an outspoken realization.
“You’re not doing it on purpose?”
“I don’t know. Probably. When I cut my hair, I was definitely trying to look unapproachable, but my intent was never to look like him. It just happened. I must’ve had him in the back of my mind, though, because I wear his jacket on purpose. I know it’s off-putting.”
Hwan slowly nodded. “You know it’s off-putting because of you, right? Taking it off doesn’t make you any less intimidating.”
“Do you think I’m intimidating?”
“Yeah. Everybody does.”
Green eyes dropped to the space between them, eyebrows carefully pinched together. “Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?”
“It’s part of it. I mean, I—I really hated you for a long time. I was so bitter about the jacket that seeing you wear it just felt like you were salting the wound, like you were doing it to spite me. I don’t think that anymore; I’ve changed my mind on a lot of things these last few weeks. Either way, that’s not the main reason. When I lost him, I… didn’t expect to lose you too.”
Laith swallowed dry. He hesitated. “I—I wanted to reach out,” he finally admitted. “I was just… so lost without him. I knew you were the only one who could point me to the right direction and—man—I missed you so fucking bad. I tried to find you, I… I wished you’d come see me, but you… never did and then....” Laith trailed off.
Hwan’s shoulders raised into a stiff shrug. “I’m sorry.”
Laith turned away. “Yeah.”
The room fell silent. There was something on Hwan’s face, an expectation, a degree of anxiety that came with bravery—he was about to do something, or at least, he thought about it. A foot stepped forward, hand coming out of his pocket. He made to reach for Laith, but as soon as Laith moved, he resumed his previous stance, one step back, hand hidden away.
Laith slipped his jacket off and handed it over. “Take it.” Laith practically wiggled it. “It was always meant to be yours anyway.”
Hwan’s eyes doubled. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
Hwan took it very carefully, in disbelief. His fingers traced the lapels and touched the spikes, eyes welling up with tears. Both arms hugged it close to his chest. “Thank you,” he mumbled.
Laith simply nodded. “I still hate you, though.”
That comment left Laith’s lips with no bite, far too soft, a half-hearted attempt to uphold the status quo. Hwan didn’t even bother with it. Instead, he took his own jacket off and handed it to Laith. Different from Qasim’s, it was very simple, rundown leather with no spikes or rivets, only a design on the back, sewed in. Ironically, it was a collection of sharks and fish, angled so the view was of their underside as sunshine filtered into the water.
“You don’t have to wear it or even keep it,” Hwan clarified. “I just need to give it to you.”
Laith took it hesitantly. His eyes fell on the design, hands smoothing the leather. “Did your mom make this?”
“Yeah. She made it for you, actually—I just never delivered it.”
A small nod raised Laith’s chin.
“My parents still think about you,” Hwan added. “As far as they’re concerned, you’ve always had family downstairs.”
Laith kept his eyes down, silent.
“Did you have something you wanted to tell me?” Hwan asked.
“No. I’m done.”
Hwan nodded. “Okay. Well.” Dark eyes found Theodore’s face. “Thanks for making me do this, Theo. It was… different than I thought.”
“Better than you thought?”
“Yeah. A lot better.”
Theodore didn’t honestly believe a single heart-to-heart would fix everything and turn those two into best friends, but it was a good start. It opened up future conversations. Before they returned to the party, he suggested a hug that was declined two different times, yet somehow, as the two made their points and challenged each other’s, they ended up arguing all the way back around into agreeing to it—reluctantly, of course. Hwan was the one who went in for it while Laith hugged him back. It was very brief, reminiscent of the way straight men hugged, except with two arms involved. In a second, it was done and Hwan excused himself out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Laith slipped his new jacket on—he clearly just didn’t want Hwan to see him do it.
“Was that so bad?” Theodore asked. He didn’t mean it in a teasing way, even if that was how he sounded like.
“Yeah. I would’ve preferred to never have done it.”
He rolled his eyes, smiling. “Are we okay now?” His voice was quieter this time, almost timid.
Laith stared at him. “I’m still mad,” he prefaced, walking in Theodore’s direction. One arm pulled him into a quasi-hug so Laith could plant a quick kiss on the side of his head. He latched onto it, of course; both arms immediately hugged Laith under the jacket, nose buried into his neck. Even though his cologne prevailed, Hwan’s jacket still brought a hint of seafoam to his campfire, a summer afternoon in the forest. Theodore liked the combination.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
“Stop apologizing or you’ll piss me off more.” There was humor in Laith’s tone, just not much. It was the kind of joke that was definitely based on a half-truth, if not a whole truth; a warning. Theodore could read the signs. When Laith made to break the hug, he let him, stepping back without a fight. Since he wasn’t sure what wouldn’t get him in trouble right now, he decided against saying anything else and simply followed Laith back to the party.
As it turned out, Hwan and the others ended up staying. Their original plan was to stop by, wait for the talk and hit the DP afterwards, but since there was already a party going on here, which the girls had invited them to, leaving for a different party wouldn’t make any sense. They got along with the girls just fine, experts in friendship, regardless of where the girls lived or who they were; if they went underground at all or belonged to different factions. None of that really mattered. Justin was the only person they didn’t go out of their way to talk to, but also didn’t ignore him either; if he happened to be in the conversation, they went along with it. No one seemed very inclined to start anything; the only common goal was to have a good time. Theodore could get behind that.
His first instinct, of course, was to hang out with Laith all night, but a much smarter move would be to give him some space. If Laith wanted to spend time with him, he’d come over and hang out. It was a difficult decision to make and an even harder one to follow, but he was already in hot water; he couldn’t afford to fuck up any further. So, he grabbed a drink at the counter and watched Laith step outside with Justin. They could smoke in here, but he guessed it was more of a privacy thing; they just didn’t want to be near the Poison Darts very much. Plus, they probably didn’t have enough weed to share with everyone.
He watched them through the glass for a while. They seemed pretty serious at first, the way they spoke to each other; their postures were stiff and their eyes barely met, hands mechanically passing the joint back and forth. It was only after a while that smiles and grins began to break out, atmosphere loosened. Had Laith told him of the discussion? Had Justin asked about the jacket? At one point, Laith turned around to let Justin see the design on the back, so the answer to that was definitely yes. Everyone must already know what that conversation had been about by now.
“Are you just gonna be watching him all night?” Nadia’s question not only pulled Theodore’s attention away, but also brought color to his face. Right, he had a life outside of Laith—he had to live it.
Smiling weakly, he took his glass and followed her to the dining room, where everyone was, or almost everyone. Some of them danced in the living room. Unfortunately, Marquis wasn’t one of them. Theodore had absolutely no reason to want to avoid him; he hadn’t done anything wrong, but god, just looking at him—just seeing him near Hwan was enough to set his entire soul on fire. He didn’t want to talk to him at all, but of course, that was inevitable. The couple practically talked to him all night, interspersed with comments from a few of the others. In no mood to chat, Theodore found himself in an awkward spot—could they tell? He drank glass after glass, barely commenting on their conversation. If they noticed it, which they must have, they didn’t let it show.
His opinion on Hwan in that new jacket varied wildly throughout the night. He went from indifferent to hating it, because the jacket reminded him of Laith and the unattainable; the impossible friendship between the two of them. Then, he remembered it actually belonged to Qasim, who Hwan still missed and loved, which made it okay for him to wear it. He should have it. The fact that no one commented on it let him know Hwan had already told the room what had happened. It was pretty interesting to see how genuinely close he seemed to his Poison Dart friends despite their faction. Laith was probably the same case, now that he belonged to the Dead Ponies.
Eventually, Laith did end up coming over. Theodore felt his presence first; the eyes in front of him lifted to somewhere behind him, conversation quickly died and a hand came down to steal his drink. He turned to see Laith finish his glass. When he was done, he invited Theodore to dance with him. His attention was focused entirely on Theodore, not once acknowledging the other people in the room. Theodore got up with a smile—finally, this awful conversation with Hwan and his boyfriend was over. He waved at them on the way out, free hand grabbing onto Laith’s cuff.
The rest of the night was blurry; getting up from that chair as quickly as he’d done after having as many drinks as he’d had had flipped the world upside-down and erased half of his memories. The dance was completely lost in his mind, a perfect void. What he remembered next was the empty living room and Laith grabbing him by the face. Everyone must’ve either already left or gone to bed by that point, because Laith had lain him over the table and hoisted both of his legs up, keeping them together. His thighs had pushed onto the waistband of his pants, tight around them; Laith’s foothold to keep his legs out of the way. Only feelings came to mind, not images; the warmth in his chest, the tightness in his stomach and the piercing light that had shone over his eyes. He’d blocked it out with an arm, but only until Laith had flipped him over on his stomach. That had been much easier for him; all he’d had to do was hide his face in both arms.
He wished he remembered more of it. Asking Laith the next morning didn’t bring him any new information about their hookup, only about how he’d acted during the blackout. Apparently, he’d been extremely sloppy and nosy; bumping into people, butting in on conversations that didn’t involve him, spilling every drink that touched his hands. Laith had pretty much babysat him for the rest of the night, keeping him from making a fool out of himself. The fact he’d annoyed the hell out of Laith didn’t need to be said out loud; he could read between the lines.
“Are you still mad at me?” His voice was quiet in the silence of the room. The afternoon sun shone in through the blinds, turning Laith’s eyes into wells of gold. The annoyance from last night had completely vanished from his face, replaced by peace and quiet, but still Theodore had felt the need to ask; only confirmation could quell the worry in his heart.
Laith shook his head.
Just like yesterday, Laith decided to go home for a shower and change of clothes. This time, however, when he stepped out into the hallway, he found V doing exactly the same. Still inside the room, all Theodore saw was the way Laith stopped at the door and nodded at someone unseen. Rushing over, Theodore caught sight of V leaving, already with her back turned. Had she just come out of Nadia and Daisy’s room? As soon as she was gone, Laith started after her. At Theodore’s request, Laith checked the living room, dining room and kitchen for any remaining guests, but everyone was in their respective rooms. Theodore had never taken Nadia and Daisy as the threesome types. Good for them.
Sunday was calm and quiet. Most of the girls spent it in their respective rooms, nursing headaches and drinking plenty of water, while Hannah went out for a long jog before hitting the gym. No one knew how she managed to pull it off, but all she said was that staying focused helped. Theodore was the only one who spent most of his time in the kitchen, which allowed him to monitor what everybody else did. That wasn’t why he’d stayed there, though; when Laith came back, he’d fixed the two of them some food, and since they’d eaten at the counter, they just stayed there for a while.
Late in the afternoon, Nadia came over for some water, giving Theodore the opportunity to tease her about V. Her face reddened immediately. She hadn’t planned for it to happen; it’d been Daisy’s idea, the pervert. Both Laith and Theodore laughed. Hey, they’d both been in threesomes as well; she was among equals here. Justin came out as they talked and stopped by the counter on his way out—something about threesomes? Nadia hid behind a hand, bursting into flames. Yes, actually, Theodore told him. He eyed Nadia the entire time, smirk wide on his face. Did Nadia care to elaborate? She quietly filled Justin in, pointing out that it hadn’t been her idea. Justin looked very impressed. Wow, how hadn’t she been scared? Oh, she had been. She’d been terrified, but having her girlfriend there with her had really helped. Plus, she’d had a drink or two.
“What, you’ve never been in one?” Laith asked. Despite the contents of his question, there was no bite in his tone. He was genuinely surprised.
“No way, bro! Most people haven’t. I wouldn’t even know how to split my attention equally between them. Do you like, keep a timer or something? Every time it beeps, you move on to the other person?”
Laith laughed. “Can you imagine? Sorry, babe; I know you’re about to cum, but I gotta give Steve his hand job now. See you in five.”
“I don’t know!” Justin defended. “I can’t multitask like that.”
Theodore really wanted to give his two cents on this, but he knew bringing Hwan up would only ruin Laith’s mood. It’d be extremely counterproductive, considering the thin ice he’d been on last night.
“There needs to be constant communication,” Nadia commented. “Daisy and V worked great together because they were in perfect synchrony with each other.”
“Didn’t someone take the lead?” Justin asked.
“Not really. They both took turns leading each other, I guess.”
“So you got to kick back and relax, huh?” Laith’s eyebrows bounced. “That’s the life, my friend. Very little compares.”
“Man…!” Justin stared straight at Laith. “You are a lazy bottom.”
Laith grinned. “Some are born to serve and some are born to be served. It’s not my fault you’re a slave, man.”
A big dramatic sigh sagged Justin’s shoulders.
Once he left and Nadia went back to her room, the remaining two only stayed in the kitchen until Laith asked whether Theodore had been assigned any homework. Considering how much they’d hung out these last couple of weeks, it was surprising to think he hadn’t gotten any yet. Well… the thing was that he had been assigned homework—a lot of it, actually—but the professors never checked if the students had done it. It was more of an optional thing. No, Laith argued, it wasn’t optional if he wanted to graduate. It was pretty much the one thing he had to do. Shouldn’t he get started on it? Begrudgingly, Theodore let himself be persuaded. The two of them went back to his room, where he showed Laith all the textbooks he’d been carrying back and forth and how boring they were. Opening them up, Laith didn’t find them too boring—he was probably just being nice about it, though. Theodore was just one bad decision away from quitting his major altogether; a single comment from Laith would’ve done it.
With Laith’s help, homework wasn’t so bad. They took turns reading the prompts out loud, and when he didn’t know the answer to something—which was often—they searched the textbooks first, before resorting to the internet. Most of the answers were in the books, however. It wasn’t supposed to be difficult; the whole point was for the student to read the texts and learn that way. Even Laith ended up getting something out of it—useless knowledge.
His mother called him that night, curious about the night before. Maybe curious wasn’t the right word, given the edge in her tone, concerned. Extremely concerned, in fact. He calmed her down by giving Laith a brilliant rating, five stars. Initially, he wasn’t going to say they’d done anything together, but it was clear that her worries were entirely condensed on whether he’d done it with a guy—and liked it. He supposed, in her mind, that was the only defining factor of his sexuality, proof that he wanted to be with guys through and through, the way he’d meant it, so he said yes—he’d enjoyed it a lot. Actually, he couldn’t wait to do it again.
The line went silent. A minute later, she asked about Laith, what he was like. Theodore had a million answers to this, but decided on what truly mattered, that Laith was a very sweet guy; a good listener with a heart of gold. They had a lot in common; Laith was haunted too. Oh—Carolyn’s tone was quiet, full of sorrow. Would he be seeing Laith again? Yes, every day this week—wasn’t that what his father had agreed on? Except now, he had a reason to enjoy it. Her response was mixed, a little dubious; he wasn’t sure if she was okay with it or not. It was more likely that she was only putting up with it for his sake. Laith made him happy, after all.
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