Tina :
Yeah like was it casual when we got caught in the rain halfway home? you laughed because we were soaked, and i complained that my shoes were ruined. you took my hand anyway, pulling me through puddles like it was the funniest thing in the world, and when we finally made it under the awning of that little corner store, you looked at me for a second before brushing the wet hair out of my face. you smiled. the kind of smile that makes you think, oh. the kind that makes the rest of the world disappear. you tucked that one strand behind my ear and quietly said, “there you are,” like you’d been looking for me all along. i remember standing there, shivering, pretending it was because of the rain. then you wrapped your jacket around my shoulders even though you were freezing too. we stayed there until the storm passed, talking about nothing and everything at once. movies, music, the places we’d go, the people we’d become. then you looked at me and said, “i hope you’re there.” and i believed you. i built a future around that sentence. years later, someone asked if we’d ever been together, and i laughed, waiting for you to answer first. you just shrugged and said, “no… we were just casual.” casual. i don’t think i’ve ever hated a word more. because every time it rains now, i still catch myself reaching for a jacket that isn’t mine, and every time someone brushes the hair out of my face, i remember the moment i mistook your kindness for forever, and i wonder if you ever realized that while you were having a moment, i was falling in love.
2026-08-01 20:53:15