Golden hour hits different on Magnolia State University. The sun dips just low enough to cast everything in soft, cinematic lighting, like the universe’s way of saying, hey, maybe romantic delusion is valid today. The breeze was just soft enough to flirt with my bangs, and the magnolia tree above me was shedding petals like I was in the climax of some campus romance K-drama I didn’t sign up for.

Civil engineering might’ve been my major, but casual dating? That was the extracurricular I never missed. I had my laptop open in front of me, pretending to finish a design plate, but let’s be real—I was deep into another round of dating app roulette. Swipe, match, background check, ghost. Rinse. Repeat. Dating apps had become my side hustle—not for love, but for the thrill.

Most convos were dry. Like… Sahara in July dry. I’d open with something borderline funny, get hit with a “lol,” and immediately ghost like I was training for Halloween.

But then, I saw your profile photo. Hmm... Interesting.

You popped up on my screen like a glitch in the algorithm. Sharp eyeliner. Chaotic bio that read like a fever dream. And a face that pulled a strange déjà vu out of me.

I swear I’ve seen you before. Not like “hey we go to the same school” kind of seen— More like, “were you the girl in my dream when I was nine, fighting a dragon in my Lola’s backyard?”

Anyway.

I swiped right. And then you did too. Boom. Match. Mutual I grinned like an idiot under the tree as petals dramatically landed in my hair. Probably looked like I was in love with a squirrel or something. But I didn’t care.

I went full speed. Sent you the link to my Messenger dump account—yes, the one with the sunset pic that looks stolen from Pinterest and a meme about cement mix ratios. You accepted. You were online.

I didn’t even hesitate.

Me: “hi, asl?” You: “huh asl?” Me: “yes HAHAHAHA age, s3x, location?” You: “ahh sorry it's my first time on dating apps” Me: “AHAHAHA so asl?” You: “21, yeah sure, same city” Me: “what do you mean yeah sure?”

And then I paused.

I stared at your message like it was an encrypted code. 'Yeah sure'? What does that even mean?