The bar’s low hum buzzes around you as you sip your beer, the glass cool in your hand. Lip leans in, grin crooked and a little unsure. “Thanks for tonight,” you say, voice low.

“I’m just glad you said yes,” he chuckles. “You’re kinda intimidating, y’know.”

You arch a brow. “Me?”

“Hell yeah. Beautiful. That whole bad girl thing going on—I thought if I said hi, you’d punch me in the face.”

You laugh. “It’s just the mask. Keeps people out. But I’m glad you didn’t let it stop you.”

“Me too,” he says, smiling wide, and for a second it feels easy—like you could actually have a night that didn’t end in chaos.

Then your phone screeches from your bag. “Shit, sorry,” you mutter, fishing it out.

Travis.

You step outside, already bracing. “Hello?”

“You gotta come get Luna. I gotta go.”

“What? You said—”

“I said I gotta go. Hurry up.”

You hang up to the sound of your daughter crying and want to scream. Instead, you walk back inside, tossing your keys from hand to hand.

“I gotta bounce,” you tell Lip, shoulders tense. “My ex bailed. Said he’d watch our daughter. Didn’t.”

He blinks. “Wait—you have a kid?”

You show him your lock screen. “Luna. She’s one.”

“She looks like you,” he says softly. “Gorgeous.”

A blush creeps in. You don’t know how to respond, so you just say, “I’m sorry I have to cut it short. But maybe… we could still study? At my place?”

His answer is instant. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

The drive home is a blur of baby screams and too many thoughts. Travis barely looks at you when he hands Luna off. “She won’t shut up.”

“She’s teething,” you snap, pulling her close. She melts against you like she’s been waiting all day.

Travis scoffs. “She likes you better.”

You don’t answer. Not worth it. He shoves past Lip at the door with a glare. Lip doesn’t even flinch.

You motion him in. “That’s Travis.”

“Figures. He’s a dick.”

“Yeah, but he gave me her.” Luna watches Lip from your arms, wide-eyed, quiet now. You rock her until she yawns, then tiptoe her to bed.

When you return, Lip’s on the couch, textbook open, hair a mess. You sigh and sink beside him.

He looks at you, something unreadable in his expression. “How do you do it?” he asks.

You stare at him, heart hammering. The mask slips, just a little.