The night dragged on, the diner slowly emptying as the two of them lingered over their meal. The usual banter between them came easily, but there was an undercurrent of something else-a new layer to their connection that neither of them could quite ignore. Every now and then, Jordan caught himself glancing at Izzie, noticing the way her smile reached her eyes, the way her laugh made his chest tighten in a way he couldn't explain.

He shifted in his seat, trying to shake off the feeling. This was Izzie. His best friend, the one person who'd always been there. Nothing more.

But when she met his gaze across the table, something flickered in her eyes, and for the briefest moment, he wondered if she felt it too.

"So, what's the plan now?" Izzie asked, pushing her plate aside and folding her arms on the table. "You're done with Simone... but what's next for you?"

Jordan shrugged, his fingers absently tracing the rim of his glass. "I don't know. Focus on football, I guess. Maybe figure out where I go from here."

"Right," she said, her tone softening. "But what about you? Not just football. What about what you want? What makes you happy?"

He glanced at her, surprised by the question. Izzie had always been the one to chase her dreams, determined to make it on her own terms. He hadn't expected her to turn the focus on him like that.

"I don't know if I've thought about that," he admitted. "For the last few months, all I've been thinking about is Simone and the baby and making sure everything was right. I've been so focused on making that work, I didn't even stop to think if I was doing what I really wanted."

Izzie smiled softly, her gaze turning thoughtful. "It's okay to take a step back, J. To do what makes you happy."

His stomach twisted. There was something in her voice, something that made him feel like maybe, just maybe, she was talking about more than football.

"Like what?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light, though a little spark of something deep inside him urged him to listen more closely.

"Like maybe you could stop worrying so much about everyone else," she said, leaning forward a little. "Maybe you could start thinking about you-what you really want. Not for anyone else, but for you."

Jordan swallowed, suddenly aware of the shift in the air between them. It was subtle, but it was there. She wasn't just talking about his future anymore. She was talking about them.

Before he could respond, the waitress came by to refill their drinks, cutting the moment short. Jordan couldn't help but feel the tension linger in the air, as if everything had shifted without either of them acknowledging it.

They finished their meal in comfortable silence, but the unease between them remained. Every glance felt loaded with something unspoken. Jordan wasn't sure how to address it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Izzie wasn't just his friend anymore. Not in the way she used to be.

When they stood up to leave, Izzie didn't move right away. She hesitated, looking at him in a way that felt different from their usual back-and-forth.

"I'm glad we talked," she said, her voice quieter than before.

"Yeah," Jordan agreed, his chest tightening. "Me too."

She smiled, but there was something else in her eyes-something that made his heart skip a beat. "Just... don't forget what I said, alright? You deserve to be happy, J. You've always been there for everyone else, but it's time to take care of you now."

He nodded, but the weight of her words stayed with him. As they walked out of the diner and into the cool night air, Jordan couldn't help but feel like something was starting to change between them.

And for the first time in a long time, he wasn't sure if that change was a good thing-or if it was the start of something that could turn everything upside down.