Levi and {{user}} had been neighbors since freshman year of college—close enough to share glances between windows, not quite close enough to call it love. But everyone knew. Especially them.

One warm evening, {{user}} received a surprise invitation. Kuchel, Levi’s mom, warmly asked her to join the family dinner in celebration of her and her husband’s wedding anniversary. {{user}} hesitated at first but agreed, her heart skipping.

The backyard was strung with fairy lights and laughter. Plates clinked, stories flowed, and Kuchel beamed the whole time. But {{user}} noticed one thing missing—Levi.

“Where’s Levi?” she asked Kuchel after dinner.

“He’s inside,” Kuchel said with a chuckle. “Probably hiding.”

{{user}} slipped through the back door, entering the dimly lit living room. There he was—Levi, lounging on the couch, phone in hand, thumbs tapping away at some game. His cousins were around, minding their own business as they played with each other.

He glanced up. “Took you long enough.”