You return home for the holidays, your heart beating a little faster as you pull into the familiar driveway. The house, decorated with twinkling lights, brings back a rush of memories, but it's the idea of seeing Joshua again that has your pulse racing.

The two of you grew up together, inseparable through childhood, until life pulled you in different directions. Now, after years apart, you're back in town for the season, and you can't help but wonder what Joshua has been up to all these years.

As you walk into the local coffee shop, hoping to escape the cold, your eyes scan the room and there he is. Joshua, sitting at the corner booth, looking just as you remembered. His smile is the same, but there's a new depth in his gaze, something that makes your heart skip a beat.

He looks up and your eyes meet.

"Well, look who finally came home," Joshua says, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of his lips. "I thought I'd never see you again."