ty's streets were shining with gol

just yet, even though I was exhaus

's presence, lingering

de of his car, looking... ordinary, perfe

areful. "I was hoping we c

art hammering.

d everything w

ety, but some stubborn part of me stayed.

a quiet side the hum of traffic fading behind us, and t

..about leaving," he said qui

ought I needed time to... figure myself out.

think I didn't feel that too?" I said

avoiding the truth did

ll of emotion. "I know and

s heavy but not too bad. It wa

face, and for the first time, I realized I had carried

this," I admitted, voice l

know either," he said. "But I do know that I don't

his eyes, the curve of his mouth that had haunted my dreams. I wanted

was whisper,

, leaving us teetering on the edge of everything

t felt like the world had gotten smaller just the two of us. My heart raced as

ost lost in the wind. "And I can't promise I'll n

self from getting hurt again. But another part...the stubbor

t," I said softly, though my

"And I'll wait. I don't

anting it had been what I had done all these years. An

et over my shoulders. It was the same jacket I had loved years ago, th

the rain, stolen glances across office desks, the nights we had spe

n we... start over? Not pretend the past didn't ha

to him and erase the years of distance in one br

can," I admitted,

Then let's take it one step at a time. N

moving, neither of us speaking. There was understanding in that stilln

I felt something I hadn't in a long time: hope. Hesi

said, and there was a promis

d. "Tom

but one thing was clear: two years apart hadn't eras

here-but because the air between us seemed charged with something we both refused to name. I kept

small gesture-the way he rubbed his temples when he was thinking, the way he hummed

ion. "Coffee break?" she suggested, smirking. "Looks l

muttered, though my voice didn'

walking away with a

ir, stretching. "Break?" he asked. His voi

d. "Yeah..

as crisp, carrying the faint smell of wet pavement. We ordered

the steam curl in the morning light. Evan seemed just as tense, h

ight... I meant what I sa

ering. "You realize it's no

uiet but firm. "I don't want e

push back, to protect myself. But instead, I found myself l

whispered. "Tha

it," he said.

to a distant hum. We were just two people, standing...or sitting on

I let myself imagine a future where m