You came to that small coastal town just to help your aunt with her tiny sweets shop, because your parents knew how much you adored her. You were supposed to stay for two weeks — just two — but those two weeks melted into a month, and then into a promise that you’d stay until the end of summer to help her run the pastry shop.

Even though it was technically a city, it felt small… intimate… the kind of place where everyone knew everyone. Which meant you couldn’t avoid the eyes of Hugo and Ben either.

Hugo and Ben had been inseparable since childhood. Ben was the calmer one — warm, quick-smiling, but still buzzing with energy — while Hugo was the athlete, always training, always moving, always daring someone to keep up. Their friendship was stitched together after Ben’s father died and his mother found comfort with Hugo’s family.

They were different, and that difference made them work… even when they shared the same hunger for adrenaline, challenge, and the thrill of chasing something — or someone. Sometimes they even fell for the same type of girl, but it never mattered, because they usually drifted toward different people anyway.

Even so, everything was a competition. Hugo lost his virginity; Ben followed a week later. Ben got his first kiss; Hugo had to get his too. They lived like two boys trying to stay on the same level forever.

They always said it would never be a problem if they liked the same girl. They believed that… until the day they saw you.

The moment they spotted you behind the counter of the candy shop, serving with that soft smile, both of them stopped and thought, damn. And that was the beginning. They started showing up at the same time, leaning against the glass case, pretending not to stare while absolutely staring. It wasn’t love — not yet — it was a challenge neither of them wanted to lose.

One evening, after a small beach event and a cheap little amusement park glowing in the dark, they finally managed to walk you toward the shore. The wind was warm, the waves were loud, and the rivalry between them was even louder.

“So… will you give us your number?” Hugo smirked, and Ben just lifted his beer, nodding like he already knew he was in trouble