Twenty minutes later, EJ is standing on the porch at Ashlyn's parents', trying to work up the courage to hit the bell. It was stupid, he knew… he'd walked into his aunt and uncle's house unannounced since he was like 10, there was no reason to do anything different now. But knowing what was waiting on the other side of the door, he just… needed a minute.

Unfortunately, that minute didn't last long, when the door flew open to Ashlyn yelling "I don't know, something about Slices? Or the license? You know how he gets when he's nervous. I'll be back! Keep tying!" And as she spun around to head out to her car, she ran smack into EJ.

"EJ! HI! You made it! I… have to go. Big Red just called, he's freaking out about something, I'm not sure. Can you get in there and help with favors?"

EJ stood there. There was NO WAY he was going into that house to work on wedding favors with his ex-girlfriend with no buffer. Not happening.

Ashlyn continued "Seb got here about 15 min ago, so the three of you should be able to finish pretty quick if you need to meet your mom for dinner."

EJ breathed a silent sigh of relief to himself that there was someone else there. Even if it did mean listening to Seb stress out about seeing HIS ex, Carlos, for the next hour.

"Text me once you know what's up with Big Red, and if there's anything else you need me to figure out."

"You're the best cuz. Now, almonds, go."

Ashlyn practically sprinted to her driver's side door and took off to find her anxiety-stricken fiance. EJ took a deep breath and headed into the house, unsure what he would find.

And to his surprise, he found… exactly what he expected. Seb was waving his hands frantically talking about the last time that Carlos came to town and how AWFUL it was, which prevented him from actually doing any of the work that Ashlyn needed on the favors. Gina was attempting to lend a sympathetic ear, but even if they weren't as close as they once were, EJ could tell that she was trying not to laugh, or roll her eyes, or maybe both.

"It's just that since he went to New York, he's like an entirely different PERSON, you know? He's so demanding and looks down on EVERYTHING and it's like nothing from home is ever good enough, and I just can't even recognize him!"

"Really?" EJ deadpanned from the doorway."Because that sounds exactly like the Carlos I know."

At the sound of his voice, EJ saw Gina's head snap up and glance his way. The first thing he noticed was her face. Her expression was virtually unreadable, he had no idea what was going on in her mind. But the second thing he noticed, a fact he would admit to no one, is that she seemed to be even more beautiful now than he remembered.

He met her eyes briefly, and had to look away. He knew when it came to her, he'd pretty much always lose a battle of wills with her. Since their first kiss, he'd be in over his head. No amount of time or number of miles was going to change that.

"So, favors?" he said, trying to get to the job at hand. The sooner these tiny satin bows were done, the sooner he could run away from all this.

Gina tossed him a small net bag of treats. "Tie the ribbon around the top and move them to the other pile. Try and keep up," she said. "You too, Seb. We've only got like, 50 left, and then I will listen to you whine about Carlos for as long as you need to."

"I'm not whining!" cried Seb, in what could only be described as a whine. "He was just… he was my first EVERYTHING. And now we don't even talk. It feels like the Carlos I knew isn't even in there anymore."

"People change, Seb," Gina said to her friend, though her steely gaze was aimed at EJ. "They grow into and out of relationships all the time. Just because something fit once, doesn't mean it will stay that way forever." " She doesn't look away, but he has to wonder is part of the reason she's saying it out loud is to try to convince herself that's true when it came to the two of them.

EJ, who'd only managed to get like three bows tied while listening to that noise, cleared his throat and dropped the bag he'd been working on. Instead, he asked "Anyone need a drink? Aunt Debbie's always got seltzer in the fridge," and booked it to the kitchen. He texted Ashlyn from there.

EJ: Yeah, sorry Ash, I can't do this. She's not cool with me at all, and while I don't blame her, it's too much. She and Seb have this, I need to get out of here for a bit. I'll call you before the rehearsal.

Ashlyn: Elijah James Caswell, get your shit together.

EJ: I know, Ash, I know. I'm going to go for a swim, clear my head. I'll see you tomorrow for the rehearsal. I promise.

Ashlyn: Do what you've gotta do. I'll see you tomorrow.

EJ walked back through the dining room, mumbling some lame excuse while dropping off the seltzers, and practically bolted out the door.

He stopped to catch his breath on the porch, and could still hear the conversation inside clear as day.

"So… that was awkward."

"That's me and EJ, for the last three years. It's a long story, and we've got work to do. C'mon, we're almost done."