"We can stay home tonight, y'know," Fezco said softly behind the bahroom door, "We can do this some other time."

Lulu had spent the day with Zahia, trying to process the letter and everything it implied. And, for once, Lulu had been completely honest with her little sister and had admitted how terrifying this situation was for her. She had confessed about the nightmares and the constant fear lurking over her everyday, knowing Zahia needed to know everything.

It had been a relief for both of them to hear how they truly felt about the whole situation and, in the end, they had been able to see the positive in all of this because they still had a chance to stay together and they weren't going to let that one go.

Lulu was currently doing her makeup in the bathroom, keeping it simple. Fezco's words warmed her heart, seeing how he cared and made sure she wasn't being forced to do something she didn't want.

"I hope you're getting ready because your jaw's gonna drop when you see what I'm wearing," Lulu replied, spraying perfume on her collarbones.

A second later, she chuckled when she heard Fezco sprinting down the hallway, followed by a door slam.

And by seven o'clock, Lulu stepped out of the bathroom and marched down the hall with butterflies in her stomach. It felt like she was going out with Fezco for the first time.

If she was being honest, every moment she spent with him felt like it was the very first time. No matter what she did with him, she couldn't get bored. They could spend a whole day on the couch watching movies and she wouldn't want to do anything else.

Everything was simple with Fezco. She could talk about anything and she knew for a fact that he would listen to every word, he would never interrupt and would only talk when it would be necessary. Sometimes, it would be the other way around. Fezco would be the one to talk and actually confess about his past and Lulu would be there, never intruding.

As she walked down the hall, noticing Ashtray, Zahia and Faye in the living room from the corner of her eye, she realized that she had found her perfect match. Fezco was everything she had ever dreamed of, her best friend and her lover all at once.

He was waiting for her by the door when she walked into the living room.

Zahia was the first one to react, gasping, "Okay, okay, are you going on a date or at your wedding?! Oh my godness!"

"Holy smokes," Faye blurted, hiccuping on the blunt she was currently smoking.

Lulu even noticed Ashtray opening his eyes wide before making eye contact with Fezco, frozen on the spot, staring at her up and down.

She was wearing a silky backless white dress and she had jewelry dangling on her neck. Fezco had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming this moment. His heart started racing in his chest and he was brought out of his trance by Lulu's soft lips pressing against his flushed cheeks.

"You... Y'look like a princess."

She looked down at her feet in embarrassment, "Thank you... And you look like you could be my prince, you know if we went to some dance."

Fezco chuckled, offering his arm and Lulu didn't wait to link hers around before looking over her shoulder to her sister, "Don't wait up."

The two younger ones were smirking knowingly, "Yeah, we know", earning an eye roll from Lulu.

The girl literally ran to Fezco's car, "Can I drive?"

"Yeah, right," Fezco huffed jokingly until he noticed Lulu's serious face, "Wait, you serious?"

"Yeah! I set the whole thing up, I can't tell you where we're going," Lulu explained, "It would ruin everything!"

Lulu pouted under Fezco's uncertainty, "D'you even have your licence?"

She gasped exaggeratedly, shaking her head in despair before pulling out a card from her purse and walking all the way until she could wave it in front of him, "Yes, Fezco, I do!"

He raised his hands in the air in defense, laughing at the girl's frenetic gestures, "Okay, okay, damn... you being a fierce one tonight."

He didn't even think and dropped the car keys in her hand, watching her wiggling her eyebrows proudly at him, "Oh, you ain't ready for what's coming."

... ... ...

Something to know about Lulu is that she absolutely despised doing things by halves. But she definitely adored being over the top for any casual set up.

So, when she pulled in the drive-in movie theater with Fezco carrying a bag of fast-food on his lap and that she knew their outfits were anything but appropriate for a date like this —not that anyone would actually see what they were wearing considering they would stay in the car, Lulu knew she had completed her mission.

Lulu turned off the engine, unbuckled her seatbelt and turned towards Fezco, "They're playing Drive."

"I fuckin' love that movie," Fezco replied, pulling out a fry and offering it to Lulu, "That's so cool."

"Yeah? You think?"

"Word," he said with a smile, "And, for real... seein' you driving my car got me feeling some type of way."

Lulu laughed, "Slow down, we got a movie to watch first."

And it felt good for both of them to step out of their lives completely, to be out of their house and the real world for a few hours, to put all the problems aside but to be together. As if they were sharing a breath of fresh air and enjoying it even more as a pair.

Maybe it had something to do with this incessant fear that something bad was about to happen. They both could feel it and they had already talked about it privately —definitely not wanting to involve anyone else in the discussion. And, even though they prayed that they were both wrong, they just wanted to enjoy this so-called peace as long as it was still here.

So Lulu laughed when she stained her dress with fry sauce, laughing harder when Fezco stained his shirt when he tried to wipe the sauce off her dress, they were captivated by the movie in its darker moments, they often stopped watching, making out for longing minutes out of the blue even though Fezco was guilty of flirtingly letting his fingers travel her thighs softly, making it almost impossible for Lulu to not physically respond.

A couple hours later, once the movie was over, all the cars started driving off in the night, creating a pathway with their headlights, Lulu turning on the engine and following the cars, eyes focused on the road.

"That was nice," Fezco said, keeping his hand on her thigh.

"Was?" Lulu repeated, "Cause you think it's over?"

Fezco frowned in confusion, "It ain't?"

"Nope," she chuckled, flashing him a flirty look.

Fezco gulped but remained silent, knowing all too well that he wouldn't get a single information out of her. However, he couldn't pretend that his heart wasn't beating a little faster at this point, excited by the way he was being cared for tonight.

It wasn't in Fezco's habits to follow a girl blindly, to let someone else drive him to a secret place, even less to surprise him.

Half an hour later, Lulu parked the car in front of an hotel. Fezco's first thought was that it definitely was high standard, that with the money he made, he could probably pay for a room but that his looks would make any receptionist frown and ask him to walk out.

He was brought back to reality when Lulu opened his door, already out of the car and a huge grin on her face, "Let's go."

Fezco stepped out of the car, "Wait... there?", he asked, pointing a finger towards the hotel.

"Well, sorry for wanting to be loud tonight," Lulu confessed, her cheeks burning up at her own words, "Can't do this when we're at your place."

Fezco gasped, definitely not expecting her to be this blunt. He knew she didn't really have much of a filter when she spoke but the way she just confessed awoke certain parts of him that would require for them to be in a room in less than five minutes.

And Lulu knew exactly what she had done. She wrapped her arms around his waist and started walking backwards towards the hotel, her eyes glued on Fezco's flustered face, she could feel him getting harder as they walked, "You got real quiet, uh?"

Fezco huffed, eyes connecting with Lulu as he tried not to stare at her lips, fully aware that if he ever kissed her on this parking lot, there was no way they would actually make it to the room, "Wait 'til we get to business."

Lulu cursed under her breath and she practically dragged him inside the building, politely waiting for the nice receptionist to be done with her incredibly sweet words about her —congratulating her for her awards nominations, even though Lulu couldn't stop thinking about Fezco's body pressing against her back, showing how eager he was as well.

It was only a matter of time and they couldn't help themselves, feverishly making out down the hallways, Lulu carelessly unbuttoning Fezco's shirt and kissing his bare chest as Fezco was the one to open the door leading to their room, kicking the door with his foot once they were finally inside.

They were already a breathing mess and the world could been burning all around them that they wouldn't notice a thing, way too addicted by the love they had for each other.

Lulu pulled away from Fezco's chest and slipped a hand behind her neck, pressing on the single button that caused her dress to fall down at her feet, revealing her naked body, simply covered by her panties.

Fezco fluttered his eyelashes, his breath cut short in his throat as he stared at her for a few seconds, "You so fuckin' gorgeous, I can't fuckin' get used to it."

Her insides twisted with arousal at his words, biting her lower lip and, next thing she knew, Fezco was lifting her off the ground as she let out a loud laugh, and he effortlessly carried her towards the bed, not caring anymore if the whole wide world would hear them tonight.

... ... ...

, omgggg i am finally back! i am so sorry it's almost been a week since i updated but i got super busy at work + i visited my family for a few days so i stayed away from my phone altogether.

and sorry cause AGAIN no smut! i had originally wanted to write one for the end but i'm not really comfortable with actually writing it, idk i feel like sex is a very personal experience and i've already read smut in fanfics that made me HATE the book just cause i hated the way it was written, idk if that makes sense!!!

very excited to read your comments though, i've missed publishing!!!