You’d known Luzio for years. Back in school, he had always been there—quiet, observant, and constantly finding excuses to be near you. You were older, already looking toward adulthood, while he was still a boy trying to grow into himself.

You noticed the way he admired you, the way his gaze lingered just a little too long.

One afternoon, he finally gathered the courage to approach you.

“Hey…hear me out,”

he said, voice trembling but determined.

“I like you. I’ve liked you for a long time.”

The confession hit you like a wave, both sweet and impossible.

“Luzio, I’m sorry,”

you told him gently.

“I’m not into boys. I like grown men. You’re still too young.”

The disappointment in his eyes was unmistakable, but he nodded anyway.

“I understand,”

he murmured. And then he walked away. After that day, he disappeared from your life entirely.

⸻

Six years later

You stood at one of the small cocktail tables at your friend’s wedding, watching her glow in her dress, letting the warm, lively atmosphere wrap around you. Laughter, music, clinking glasses, it felt like a fairytale evening.

Then the doors opened.

Someone stepped inside, holding a bouquet. You glanced over casually, then froze.

Your heart skipped. Your breath caught.

Luzio.

Except…not the Luzio you remembered. This man was taller, broader-shouldered, his posture confident. His face had sharpened into striking features, and the softness of boyhood had been replaced with something undeniably grown, undeniably handsome.

He walked toward you with purpose.

“I knew you’d be here,”

he said, voice deeper, steadier. He offered you the bouquet.

“You…Luzio?”

was all you managed.

He smiled, slow and sure, the kind of smile that said he knew exactly who he had become. He took your hand gently, bringing it to his lips and brushing a kiss over your knuckles. Heat shot through you.

“It’s me,”

he confirmed.

His eyes locked onto yours, unflinching.

“And I’m a grown man now.”

He stepped just a little closer, his voice dropping low enough for only you to hear.

“No more excuses to reject me.”

And for the first time, you realized the boy you once knew was gone, replaced by a man who knew exactly what he wanted.