The café at the corner of 6th and Maple had always been her favorite place. It wasn’t fancy—just warm lights, old wooden tables, and a piano in the corner that no one ever played. But on rainy nights, when the world felt a little too heavy, Lila would sit by the window with a cup of tea, watching the city blur behind raindrops.
Tonight was one of those nights.
She sighed, stirring her tea absentmindedly, lost in thought, when a voice pulled her back to the present.
“You always look like you’re waiting for something.”
She turned, and there he was.
Ethan.
The boy she had known since forever. The boy who had spent summers chasing fireflies with her, who had stolen fries off her plate without asking, who had left town three years ago with a suitcase full of dreams and a promise to come back.
A promise she had stopped believing in.
Her heart stuttered. “You’re here.”
He smiled, a little uncertain, as if he wasn’t sure if she was happy to see him or about to throw her tea at him. “I told you I’d come back.”
Lila swallowed hard. “That was three years ago.”
“I know,” he said, slipping into the chair across from her. “I needed to figure some things out.”
She wanted to be angry. She wanted to ask why he had never written, why he had let so much time pass. But instead, she whispered, “And did you?”
Ethan nodded. “Yeah.” His eyes softened. “And I figured out that nothing ever felt quite right without you in it.”
Lila’s breath caught, but before she could answer, something unexpected happened.
Music.
Soft, sweet notes drifting through the café.
She turned toward the piano, expecting to see someone playing, but it was empty. Just the old record player behind the counter, playing a song she hadn’t heard in years.
Their song.
Ethan stood and held out his hand. “Dance with me.”
She let out a small laugh, shaking her head. “There’s no dance floor.”
“There never was,” he said, his lips quirking into a grin. “But that never stopped us before.”
Lila hesitated. The café was still half-full, people lost in quiet conversations, sipping their drinks. But Ethan was looking at her like she was the only thing that mattered.
And maybe she was tired of waiting.
Slowly, she placed her hand in his, and he pulled her up, wrapping his arms around her like he had done a hundred times before, back when they were just kids swaying barefoot on her parents’ porch.
Only this time, it was different.
This time, his fingers traced soft patterns on her back. This time, his heartbeat was steady against hers.
This time, there was no question about what this meant.
The café melted away. The city, the rain, the past—they all disappeared. And for the first time in three years, Lila wasn’t waiting anymore.
She was exactly where she was meant to be.
As the song came to an end, Ethan rested his forehead against hers. “I should’ve come back sooner,” he murmured.
Lila smiled, her fingers tightening around his.
“But you’re here now.”
And that was enough.
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