July, 2045

Silas woke up at Nash’s sofa. His head was brutally aching. After turning thirty, his hangovers became more challenging. He sat down carefully, seeing his brother sleeping on the other side of the sofa. There was an empty bottle of Bourbon on the coffee table, surrounded by countless empty bottles of beer. 

„Fuck,“ he talked to himself. 

Phin woke up slowly. He looked at his brother, sorting his mind. 

„Are we still at Nash’s?“ he asked with raspy voice. 

„Yes…“ 

„You look like hell.“ 

„I also feel like hell.“

Phin sat down, seeing the empty bottles. He was also having a hangover, but it wasn’t as bad as his brother’s.

„Si?“

„Hm?“

„Do you think it’s a smart move, if non of us has Lizzy?“ Phin asked carefully. 

Silas looked at him. 

„I never said that. If you wanna give her another chance to be with you, feel free.“ 

„This is not what I was trying to say,“ Phin replied. „I didn’t change my mind since yesterday night. I don’t wanna be her second choice. It’s not working for me.“ 

Silas was still staring at his brother. 

„Are you really believing, you could make peace with the situation when I’m with her?“ 

Phin nodded. 

Silas scoffed. 

„I don’t believe you.“

„What other choice do I have? She wants you. Not me. You’re the only one who can make her happy.“ 

„But I can’t bear seeing you suffering! Don’t you get that?!“

„What difference does it make? I suffer, no matter if you have her or not. It’s irrelevant,“ Phin replied. 

„But I don’t wanna be the reason!“ 

„Of course you’re the reason, Si. You’ve had sex with her. I know you’ve had no idea she was with me but… you’ve had sex with her…“ 

Silas grabbed his face with both hands and deeply sighed. 

„This is so fucking frustrating!“ 

„I know. All we can do now is making the best of the situation.“

Silas looked at Phin again. 

„You really want me to do that?“

Phin nodded again.

„No matter what she did to me… or us… I still want her to be happy.“

July, 2040

Lisa was lying motionless at her bed, still being dressed. She stared at the ceiling, unable to handle what just happened to her. She could still smell Silas’s tempting scent. She could still feel his warm breath on her skin. She still felt his tender touch at her cheek. Suddenly she started crying, losing control over her overwhelming emotions. It was too much. She just experienced something so big, that she couldn’t process all at once. She cried with all of her heart for a while, until she was so exhausted, that she fell into a deep sleep. 

Silas experienced another emotional rollercoaster. He laid on his bed in his clothes, being sorely shocked about what he just did. How could he let all of this happen? He was frightened about the fact, that Lisa was having such power over him. His affection for her made him play with very dangerous fire and forget about any consequences. Desperate tears started running down his temples, which he couldn’t control, either. 

It was next morning. Lisa abruptly woke up by the sound of her cell. Her eyes felt weak from crying. Slowly she moved herself to grab her bag from the floor. She put out her cell to read the incoming message. 

„Lizzy. I must apologize for what happened yesterday night. I made a giant mistake. I deeply regret that I’ve sent wrong signals. I had no right playing with your feelings. You have no idea how hard I am blaming myself for treating you this way. Of course I enjoyed our night together. But I was not having any romantic intentions. I asked you out, because I appreciate you deeply as my friend and I am forever grateful that you invested so much time to help me. Please forgive me, Silas.“ [Future husband]

Lisa’s heart broke into pieces. But she wasn’t surprised receiving such a message from Silas in the next morning. Somehow she expected him chicken out of the situation. What happened between them was simply too good to be true. After reading his text over and over again, she threw the cell at her bed. She felt completely empty from inside, not having the strength to deal with the massive disappointment right now. 

After dressing into some comfortable clothes and refreshing herself quickly, Lisa went downstairs and found Jake and Phin sitting together at the kitchen counter. 

„Hey Lizzy,“ Phin said, with a loving smile in his face. 

„Hey boys,“ she replied effortlessly. 

„How was the casting?“ Jake wanted to know. 

„Good,“ she said, while being busy searching for food in the fridge.

„Are you okay?“ Phin asked carefully, noticing she was acting weird. 

Lisa closed the fridge, having a yogurt in her hand. Then she came closer and stopped standing in front of Phin.

„You still wanna go to Palm Springs?“ 

Phin’s eyes immediately begun shining. 

„Sure.“

„What about today?“ 

He couldn’t be more surprised about her suggestion and looked at Jake, who just shrugged his shoulders.

„Sounds good. You think V and AJ can manage it?“ 

„Course.“ 

Phin smiled even harder. 

„Then it’s settled.“