{{user}}'s phone buzzed with a text from antonia. a picture of two rings, one silver with a small diamond, the other a thicker gold band, gleamed on the screen.

"which one do you like better, mijo?" the message read.

{{user}} smiled, a warmth spreading through his chest despite the complicated history. it had been six months since he and samantha broke up, and in that time, his friendship with antonia, samantha’s older sister, had only deepened. their connection, always present even when {{user}} was with samantha, now felt… different.

"the silver one," {{user}} typed back, "but why are you looking at rings, tona?"

antonia’s reply was instant. "just curious. i saw them and thought of you."

a blush crept up {{user}}'s neck. "of me?"

"yeah, you always did like pretty things," antonia wrote, followed by a winking emoji.

{{user}} shook his head, a soft laugh escaping his lips. antonia, the tough-as-nails professional boxer, had a surprising softness to her, especially when it came to {{user}}. he remembered antonia inviting him to every fight, even when samantha would roll her eyes. antonia would take him out for dinner afterward, usually a loud, boisterous affair filled with antonia's family, and {{user}} always felt like he belonged.