Rain danced against the café windows as {{user}} stirred her coffee for the third time without taking a sip. Across from her, Kyle was laughing at something on his phone, his thumb flicking through memes like it was just another ordinary Saturday.

But it wasn’t, not for her.

She’d rehearsed the words so many times—“I love you.” Simple. Three words. But they felt like cliffs she’d have to throw herself off to say aloud.

“Kyle,” she said, voice softer than she intended.

He looked up, that familiar half-smile already blooming. “Yeah?”

She faltered. “Nothing. Just… do you ever think about the future?”

He leaned back, arms crossing over his chest. “Like in general? Or are we talking flying cars and robot butlers?”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “No, like… us. Where we’ll be in five years.”

Kyle chuckled. “Probably still here, ordering overpriced coffee and making fun of old couples in matching raincoats.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” she teased, masking the ache behind humor.

He grinned, but his attention drifted to the window, watching two people rush by, hand in hand under a shared umbrella. “Nah, it’s not bad. It’s kind of perfect, actually.”

Perfect, she thought. But not enough.

They’d known each other for years. Shared birthdays, heartbreaks, road trips, hangovers, and too many midnight phone calls to count. But through it all, Kyle had never seen her as more than the best friend who always showed up. And {{user}} had become the expert at hiding the way her heart pulled toward him like gravity.

But tonight felt different.

Later, walking him to his car, the city quiet in the post-storm hush, she stopped just short of goodbye.

“Kyle,” she said again. This time, stronger.

He turned, keys jingling in his hand.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you…”

His expression shifted—still kind, but now uncertain. Waiting.

“I—” Her breath caught. The words crowded in her throat, fighting their way out.

But just then, his phone buzzed. He glanced down. A name lit up the screen: Emily.

“Oh,” he said, blinking back into the moment. “Sorry, it’s her. I should probably…”

She nodded. “Of course.”

He hesitated. “You okay?”