My Friends Set Me Up on a “Joke” Date… Then I Met Her and My Whole Life Changed

I almost didn’t go. That’s the part my friends would laugh at the most because they know me.

They know I’d rather spend a Sunday afternoon sanding a chair in my workshop than sit across from a stranger and pretend I enjoy small talk. They call me the lone wolf, like it’s some joke, like I’m secretly sad about it.

The truth is, I’ve always liked quiet. The kind that smells like pine and fresh-cut wood. The kind that lets you breathe.

But when my phone buzzed on Friday night and Derek wrote:

“Blind date. Sunday, 3:00 p.m. Lake View Coffee by the water.”

I knew I was in trouble. Not because I wanted it—because they wanted it for me.

My friends have this habit of treating my single life like a group project. Like if they just push hard enough, they can force me into something romantic and then take credit for it.

They’ve pulled stunts before. One time they signed me up for speed dating and I got stuck with a woman who spent twenty minutes talking about her pet iguana like it was her child.

I still hear Derek’s laugh when I think about it.

So when he texted:

“Trust us, you’ll thank us later.”

I stared at the message and shook my head.

“Fine,” I typed back. “But if this is another iguana situation, you’re buying rounds for a month.”

Derek replied with a bunch of laughing emojis and a promise that felt suspiciously vague.

Sunday came too fast.

I was in my workshop behind my cabin, halfway through sanding a cedar chair. Sawdust clung to my arms.

The air smelled like sap and wood glue. Harley, my rescue mutt, was sprawled out on the floor like he paid rent.

He lifted his head when I stood up, tail thumping once, then dropped it again like he knew I was about to do something dumb.

My cabin sits on the edge of Colorado Springs, tucked against a hill of pines. It’s small, wooden, creaky in the winter, but it’s mine.

Most nights I sit on the porch with a beer and listen to the wind whistle through the trees. No drama, no noise—just the life I built with my own hands.

That’s why a blind date felt like a prank waiting to happen.

I checked the time. 2:20.

I could still bail—claim my truck wouldn’t start, pretend I forgot, tell Derek my dog had an emergency. Nobody would be shocked.

But something in me didn’t want to give my friends the satisfaction of calling me scared.

So I washed my hands, changed into clean jeans, a flannel shirt, and my scuffed work boots.

I didn’t try too hard.

Trying too hard is how you lose.

Harley followed me to the door, ears perked like he wanted in on the adventure.

“Not today, buddy,” I told him, scratching his head. “Guard the cabin.”

He blinked slow like he didn’t believe me, then flopped back down.

The drive to Lake View Coffee took twenty minutes. The closer I got, the more it felt like a setup.

I kept expecting Derek’s truck to be parked outside waiting for me with a camera and some stupid sign.

But when I pulled into the lot, it was just a normal Sunday afternoon. Families walking by the lake, couples on benches, a guy jogging with a golden retriever.

No Derek. No prank crew.

Lake View Coffee was cozy—all wooden beams and big windows facing the water.

The lake outside looked like glass, reflecting the pale blue sky. Inside, it smelled like roasted beans and cinnamon.

The kind of place where people sit for hours with laptops and pretend they’re writing novels.

I ordered a black coffee and picked a table near the window.

3:00 p.m. came.

Then 3:05.

Then 3:10.

I sipped my coffee, staring at my phone like it would explain what was happening. No texts. No updates.

Typical.

My friends probably thought it was hilarious, letting me sit here alone, waiting like the punchline of their joke.

At 3:15, I decided I was done.

I grabbed my cup, stood up, and that’s when the door chimed.

I looked up, ready to see Derek or one of my buddies walk in laughing.

Instead, I saw her.

She stepped inside like she belonged there, like she wasn’t nervous, like she wasn’t trying.

Her presence made the room feel quieter even though nothing actually changed.

She was older, probably close to forty, with brown hair pulled into a loose bun, soft strands curling around her neck.

She wore a long floral dress that moved gently with every step and a cream-colored cardigan that looked warm enough to sleep in.

She wasn’t flashy. She wasn’t loud.

She was calm in a way that made my chest tighten.

She scanned the room, and when her eyes landed on me, they didn’t slide away.

They stayed.

Then she walked straight toward my table.

My first thought was that she had the wrong guy.

My second thought was that if she did, I hoped she wouldn’t figure it out too fast.

She stopped in front of me, her smile light but warm, like she’d been smiling her whole life and never once used it as a weapon.

“Zane,” she said.

My heart did a strange skip.

“Yeah,” I answered, standing up too quickly.

My knee bumped the table and my coffee sloshed near the rim.

Great start.

“That’s me.”

She laughed softly—not mocking, just amused, like she’d already decided I was human and that was fine.

“Elise,” she said, holding out her hand.

Her fingers were warm when I took it. The touch was quick, but it lingered in my skin after she let go.

She sat down across from me like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I blinked, still catching up.

I looked past her shoulder, half expecting my friends to pop out from behind a plant.

Nobody did.

Elise leaned back, studying me with an expression that was equal parts curious and entertained.

“I’m guessing we’re victims of the same joke,” she said.

That made me breathe again.

I let out a short laugh and nodded.

“Yeah,” I said. “My friend Derek thinks he’s hilarious. He told me I’d thank him later.”

Elise’s smile widened.

“My friend Lisa said the same thing,” she replied. “Told me to show up and meet a guy named Zane.”

“She said I needed to get out more.”

I shook my head, disbelief mixing with something else I didn’t want to name.

“So you thought it was a prank too,” I said.

“Absolutely,” Elise answered. “But then I figured, worst case, I waste an hour.”

“Best case, I get a good story.”

I couldn’t stop staring at her. Not in a creepy way—in a what is happening to me way.

She wasn’t my type, if I even had a type. She wasn’t a girl from the gym or someone with loud energy and perfect pictures.

She was real—soft, steady—and she was beautiful in a way that didn’t feel like it needed permission.

Elise tilted her head, catching me looking.

“Not what you expected?” she asked, voice teasing.

Heat climbed up my neck.

“Not even close,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. “I thought my friends would set me up with someone who talks about reptiles.”

Elise laughed, and it was the kind of laugh that made you want to hear it again.

“No reptiles,” she promised. “Just coffee and bad decisions.”

I surprised myself by smiling back.

I sat down again, my hands suddenly unsure what to do.

Outside the window, the lake shimmered under the afternoon sun. Inside, the air smelled like cinnamon and warmth.

Across from me, Elise looked at me like she actually wanted to be there.

“So, Zane,” she said, folding her hands on the table, “tell me. How did you get roped into this?”

I leaned forward without thinking, my elbows resting on the table.

For the first time that day, I wasn’t thinking about Derek. I wasn’t thinking about my cabin. I wasn’t thinking about leaving.

I was just looking at Elise, feeling something start to pull me in.

I told Elise the truth. The real truth, not the cleaned-up version you give on a first date.

I said my friends couldn’t stand seeing me alone because it made them nervous, like my quiet life was some warning sign.

I said they thought if they kept throwing women in my path, eventually one would stick.

I said I was tired of apps and fake conversations and pretending I cared about what someone’s favorite travel destination was.

Elise listened like she was taking mental notes—not to judge me, but to understand me.

When I finished, she lifted her coffee cup and took a slow sip, eyes still on mine.

“That sounds exhausting,” she said.

“No wonder you live in a cabin with a dog.”

I laughed, a short burst that surprised me.

“Harley’s better company than most people,” I admitted.

“I believe that,” Elise said, and her voice was warm, like she wasn’t teasing me, just agreeing.

She told me about her friend Lisa, how Lisa had been after her for months to date again.

Elise said she’d been married once. It ended years ago. Not dramatic, not messy—just two people who stopped choosing each other.

She said she moved back near Colorado Springs to help her mom, who didn’t need a nurse, but needed someone close.

Someone to lift heavy grocery bags, drive her to doctor appointments, sit with her when the house got too quiet.

She said it all like it was normal, like she didn’t want sympathy.

That made me respect her instantly.

We kept talking and time did something strange.

It didn’t disappear. It just stopped feeling important.

The café filled up around us. A couple of college kids took a table behind Elise and whispered back and forth like they were breaking up.

A barista called out names. Someone dropped a spoon.

The sound of laughter drifted from the counter, but Elise and I stayed in our own pocket of air.

I told her about my work—the way I pick up freelance carpenter gigs around the outskirts of town. Decks, fences, furniture repairs.

I told her about the little wooden animals I carve when my mind gets too loud—moose, bears, owls—stuff I can hold in my hand and feel proud of.

She leaned forward when I talked like she could picture it all.

“You make things that last,” she said. “That’s rare.”

“It’s just wood,” I answered, but my voice came out softer than I meant.

Elise shook her head.

“It’s not just wood, Zane. It’s you taking something rough and making it solid.”

I didn’t know what to do with that, so I looked out the window at the lake and pretended I wasn’t affected.

But my chest felt warmer.

At some point, she asked about Harley again.

I showed her a picture on my phone. He was sitting on my porch with a stick in his mouth and a look on his face like he was guarding the whole mountain.

Elise laughed and covered her mouth with her hand.

“He looks like he judges strangers,” she said.

“He does,” I said. “But he’s got a good heart.”

Elise’s eyes softened in a way that made my throat tighten.

“I like dogs that have been through things,” she said quietly.

That line sat between us for a second—heavy in a way neither of us explained.

I didn’t push.

She didn’t either.

Then she did something that caught me off guard.

“Why did you really come?” she asked.

I blinked.

“What do you mean?”

Elise held my gaze like she wasn’t going to let me dodge.

“You could have bailed,” she said. “Most guys would, especially if they thought it was a prank.”

“But you came anyway. Why?”

I stared at her, trying to find a smooth answer.

There wasn’t one.

So I gave her the honest one.

“Because I didn’t want to be the guy who always runs,” I said. “And because part of me was curious.”

“Curious about what?”

“Curious if my life could be different,” I admitted.

Elise didn’t smile.

Not right away.

She just looked at me like she understood exactly what I meant.

Then she nodded once, slow.

“That’s a good reason,” she said.

We talked until the sun started shifting, turning the lake into a sheet of gold.

The light through the window softened and made Elise’s face look even calmer, even more unreal.

When I realized how late it was, I felt that familiar urge to shut things down before they got too real.

My brain always tries to protect me like that.

End it while it’s still safe. Leave before someone can leave you.

Elise glanced at her watch and let out a small laugh.

“We’ve been here a while,” she said.

“Yeah,” I answered.

My voice sounded rough.

“I didn’t mean to keep you.”

“You didn’t,” she said. “I stayed.”

That simple sentence hit me harder than it should have.

The barista started wiping down tables. The lights in the café dimmed slightly.

The crowd thinned out.

Elise stood up and slipped her bag over her shoulder.

“Your friends are going to want a full report,” she said, smiling.

Now I stood too, scratching the back of my neck.

“They’ll probably throw a party,” I said, “like they just solved my whole life.”

Elise’s smile turned teasing.

“Did they?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again.

Because the answer was no.

But also maybe.

We walked out together, the air cooler now, the smell of lake water mixing with pine.

The sky was pale blue with streaks of orange near the horizon.

Elise paused beside her car—a beat-up Subaru that looked like it had lived a real life.

It didn’t match her dress, and for some reason, that made me like her more.

She turned to me, her eyes steady.

“Thanks for not bolting when I walked in,” she said.

I swallowed.

“Thanks for walking in,” I replied.

Her smile softened, and for a second, I thought she might step closer.

Instead, she just nodded like she was saving something.

“I had a good time, Zane,” she said.

“Me too,” I said. “And I meant it.”

She opened her car door, then looked back at me.

“If your friends ask,” she said, “tell them it wasn’t a joke.”

“Tell them it was coffee.”

Then she got in and drove away, her taillights disappearing down the road that wrapped around the lake.

I stood there longer than I should have, hands in my pockets, feeling the cold air on my face.

It took me a full minute to realize something.

My phone was still in my hand.

I still didn’t have her number.

And for the first time in years, I cared enough to feel stupid about it.

When I got back to my cabin, Harley met me at the door like he’d been waiting for a report, too.

He jumped up, paws on my chest, then dropped down and trotted in circles like he could smell something different on me.

I sat on my couch, still in my boots, staring at the wall.

I kept replaying Elise’s voice, her laugh, the way she said I stayed.

My phone buzzed.

Derek’s name popped up.

“So, lone wolf,” he texted. “How bad was it?”

I stared at the screen, my thumb hovering.

Then I typed the only thing that felt true.

“It wasn’t a joke.”

A second later, Derek replied.

“That’s not an answer. Details.”

I didn’t answer because I didn’t have details.

All I had was the feeling that something had started.

And if I wasn’t careful, I’d mess it up before it even had a chance to become real.

That scared me more than any prank ever could.

Monday and Tuesday felt longer than they should have.

I tried to pretend that coffee date didn’t get under my skin.

But it did.

I kept thinking about Elise’s calm voice, the way she looked at me like she wasn’t trying to win anything, just trying to see me.

I’d be in my workshop measuring a plank and suddenly I’d remember her laugh.

I’d be throwing a stick for Harley and catch myself wondering what Elise was doing right then.

And the worst part was I didn’t even have her number.

I thought about asking Derek for it, but the idea made my stomach twist.

I didn’t want my friends in the middle of this.

If I reached out, it had to be me. Not Derek, not some group chat joke, not a screenshot of my message with laughing emojis under it.

So I did nothing.

Which is kind of my specialty.

I kept sanding wood.

I kept my life quiet.

I kept telling myself it was just one good conversation and I should move on.

Then two days later, my phone buzzed while I was wiping sawdust off a table I’d been building for a client.

Unknown number.

For a second, I thought it was spam.

I almost ignored it.

Something in me made me open it anyway.

“Thanks for the unexpected coffee date,” the message said.

“If you want to hear another story about a feral cat scratching people, I’m free Thursday evening.”

I stared at the screen like it might vanish if I blinked.

My chest did a strange flip—half relief, half panic.

Harley lifted his head like he sensed something shifted.

It was Elise.

I laughed out loud, one sharp sound, and Harley stood up and trotted over like he wanted in on the joke.

I typed back with hands that suddenly felt too big for the phone.

“Only if you promise not to bring any cats. Thursday works.”

Her reply came fast.

“Name the place.”

I read that twice.

She wasn’t playing games.

She wasn’t making me chase.

She was just there—open and direct.

It made me want to be the same.

“Lakefront Trail,” I typed. “6 p.m. Bring a jacket. It gets cold by the water.”

Another quick reply.

“Bring Harley. I want to meet the famous dog.”

I stared at that message and smiled so hard my cheeks hurt.

Thursday came too fast.

I spent the whole day pretending I wasn’t nervous.

I worked on a fence repair job outside town, hammered nails like my life depended on it, and checked the time way too often.

When I got home, I showered, changed into a clean flannel, and brushed my hair like that was going to change anything.

Harley sat by the door with his leash in his mouth, tail wagging like he knew I was doing something different.

“All right, buddy,” I told him. “Don’t embarrass me.”

He blinked, then sneezed, which felt like an answer.

The lakefront trail was quiet when I got there, lined with pines and benches, the water reflecting the fading light.

A few people walked past with dogs, and a couple held hands like they were in no rush to go anywhere.

I spotted Elise sitting on a bench with a thermos in her hands.

Her hair was down this time, curling past her shoulders, and she wore a soft gray sweater and jeans.

No floral dress, no cardigan—just her.

Comfortable.

Real.

When she looked up and saw me, her smile hit me like warmth.

Then Harley decided he was in love.

He tugged the leash and bounded toward her like she was an old friend.

Elise laughed and crouched, letting him sniff her hands.

She scratched behind his ears, and Harley melted like he’d been waiting his whole life for that exact touch.

“Wow,” she said, still smiling. “You are not exaggerating. He is charming.”

“He takes after me,” I said, trying to sound casual even though my heart was thumping.

Elise lifted an eyebrow.

“We’ll see about that,” she replied, teasing.

We started walking, Harley trotting between us like he was proud of himself.

The air smelled like pine and lake water.

The sky was pale orange near the horizon, and the trail crunched under our shoes.

At first we kept it light.

Elise told me her mom had been in a weird mood all week, complaining about the neighbors and the TV volume.

I told her Harley once stole a whole sandwich off my counter and ate it so fast I didn’t even notice until I saw the empty plate.

Elise laughed and shook her head.

“You live with a thief,” she said.

“Yeah,” I said, “but he’s cute, so he gets away with it.”

She looked at me like she was about to say something.

Then she didn’t.

She just smiled and kept walking.

That was the thing with Elise.

She didn’t fill silence just to fill it.

She let moments breathe.

We stopped near the water where the trail opened up.

The lake looked calm, the surface glittering with the last of the sun.

Elise held out her thermos.

“I brought tea,” she said. “Peppermint. It helps when the air gets sharp.”

I took a sip, surprised by how warm it was, how thoughtful it felt.

“Thanks,” I said.

“You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to,” she answered. “Simple.”

We walked again, and somewhere along the way, the conversation shifted.

It didn’t turn heavy like a sudden storm.

It turned real, like the sky darkening slowly.

Elise asked about my cabin, and I told her how I ended up there after dropping out of community college.

How I liked the quiet because it didn’t ask questions.

How I didn’t have to explain myself to trees.

She listened, eyes steady.

Then she said:

“I get that.”

I looked at her.

She kept her gaze on the lake.

“After my divorce,” she said, “I thought being alone would feel peaceful. And sometimes it does.”

“But other times it feels like a room with no sound in it.”

“Like you’re fine, but you’re also disappearing.”

Her words hit me in a way I didn’t expect.

Because I knew that feeling.

I didn’t know what to say, so I said the truth.

“You’re not disappearing,” I said. “Not to me.”

Elise glanced at me and for a second her face softened like she wasn’t used to hearing that either.

We kept meeting after that.

Not every day.

Not in some rushed way.

Just enough that it started to feel normal.

A dinner at my cabin where I grilled steaks and Elise brought a bottle of red wine that made me feel like I should have used real plates instead of my mismatched ones.

She didn’t care.

She sat at my small table, laughed when Harley begged for scraps, and told me I had a good home, even if the porch boards squeaked.

An evening downtown where we went to a little art café and painted tiny canvases.

Mine looked like a bad mountain.

Hers looked like the lake at sunset.

She teased me and I teased her back.

And for once, I didn’t feel like I was performing.

I felt like I was just there.

She started calling me by my full name when she was amused with me.

“Zane,” she’d say, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe I was real.

And I started noticing how much I wanted to hear it.

Then the grocery store happened.

It was a Saturday afternoon.

We were standing in the bread aisle debating sourdough versus rye, and Elise was smiling.

Actually smiling like she wasn’t carrying the weight of the world for once.

Then her smile faded.

Her body went still.

Her hand was on my arm, and I felt her fingers tighten like she’d grabbed onto something to steady herself.

I followed her gaze.

A man stood near the end of the aisle.

Early forties, clean haircut, expensive jacket, the kind of guy who looked like he always knew where he was going.

He was holding hands with a younger woman, maybe mid-twenties, ponytail, glossy lips, laughing like life was easy.

The man looked up.

His eyes locked on Elise.

The laughter on his face died.

“Elise,” he said, voice clipped.

Elise didn’t step back.

She didn’t hide.

She lifted her chin like she was bracing against a wind she’d faced before.

“Mark,” she said.

I didn’t need an introduction to know who he was.

Her ex-husband.

Mark’s eyes flicked to me, then to Elise’s hand still wrapped around my arm.

A slow smirk spread across his mouth like he’d found something funny.

“So,” he said, dragging the word out, “this is your new thing.”

The way he said it made my jaw tighten.

Like she was a phase.

Like I was a joke.

The younger woman beside him looked confused and uncomfortable, her smile fading as she sensed the air shift.

Elise didn’t flinch.

“This is Zane,” she said, calm but sharp. “And he’s someone who makes me feel like I’m worth something.”

My chest tightened hard at that.

Mark’s smirk wobbled.

He let out a small laugh like he didn’t want to look affected.

“Good for you,” he said. “Didn’t think you’d go for the rugged type.”

He glanced at my flannel like it was an insult.

I took a small step forward—not aggressive, just present.

Elise squeezed my arm once, and it felt like she was telling me she could handle this.

But she was glad I was there.

Mark’s eyes narrowed.

“Anyway,” he said, already turning away like he wanted the last word without earning it, “hope it works out.”

Elise didn’t follow him with her eyes.

She looked at me instead.

Her gaze was steady, but there was something shaking underneath it.

“You okay?” I asked, voice low.

She nodded.

It wasn’t convincing.

“Let’s go,” she said.

We left the store with half our groceries and all of that tension sitting between us like a third person in the car.

She stared out the window most of the drive.

Her hands were folded in her lap, fingers locked tight.

I wanted to talk.

I didn’t want to say the wrong thing.

When we got to my cabin, Elise didn’t get out right away.

She stayed in the passenger seat, staring at the pine trees like they had answers.

Finally, she said:

“He used to make me feel small.”

My throat tightened.

“He doesn’t get to do that anymore,” I said.

Elise swallowed, eyes glossy but stubborn.

“Sometimes it still feels like he does,” she admitted. “Seeing him… it brings it back.”

I reached over and took her hand.

“Not here,” I said. “Not with me.”

She squeezed my hand so tight it almost hurt.

I didn’t mind.

That night after she left, the sky turned dark and the wind picked up outside my cabin like it was warning me of something.

I was sitting on my couch with Harley at my feet when my phone buzzed.

A text from Elise.

“Mind if I come over tomorrow night? I don’t want to be alone.”

I stared at the message, heart pounding.

Whatever this was, it was about to cross into something deeper.

And I knew if she walked through my door in the dark, I would not want her to leave.

I didn’t wait a minute to reply.

“Come over,” I texted. “Door’s open. Harley will act like you live here.”

She answered with a simple:

“Thanks.”

And somehow that one word made my chest feel tight.

The next day dragged.

I tried to work, tried to focus on a deck repair job, but my mind kept jumping ahead to the sound of Elise’s car on my gravel driveway.

I kept thinking about the way she looked in that grocery store—steady on the outside, shaken underneath.

I kept thinking about her words.

He used to make me feel small.

By evening, the sky over the pines turned a deep gray.

A cold rain started, light at first, then steadier, tapping the roof like a soft warning.

Harley paced by the front door, ears flicking at every sound.

Then I heard it.

Tires on gravel.

I opened the door before she even knocked.

Elise stood there with her umbrella dripping.

Her hair was damp at the ends, cheeks pink from the cold.

She wore a green sweater and jeans—simple, familiar—like she belonged in my cabin more than she probably realized.

Her eyes looked tired, but they met mine with quiet relief.

“Sorry to drop in like this,” she said.

“You’re not dropping in,” I told her, stepping back to let her inside. “You’re coming in.”

She exhaled, and it sounded like she’d been holding her breath all day.

Harley walked right up to her, sniffed her boots, then pressed his head into her leg like he’d made a decision.

Elise laughed softly as she bent down to scratch behind his ears.

“He’s loyal,” she murmured.

“He knows good people,” I said.

I took her coat and hung it by the door.

The cabin felt warmer with her in it.

Not because the heater was running.

Because the air changed when she showed up, like the space remembered it could be more than quiet.

I made tea.

Peppermint.

We sat on the couch with a blanket over our legs, rain tapping the windows.

Harley curled up at Elise’s feet like he was guarding her.

For a while, we didn’t talk.

Not in an awkward way.

In the kind of way where words aren’t the point.

Then Elise stared into her mug and said:

“It’s not just seeing Mark.”

I waited.

I didn’t push.

I just stayed still.

She swallowed.

“It’s everything,” she continued. “The marriage. The way I kept shrinking myself to keep the peace.”

“The way I convinced myself that quiet was the same as happiness.”

“After the divorce, I told myself I was done. Done trying. Done hoping.”

She glanced at me and her eyes looked glassy but determined.

“Then you happened, Zane.”

My throat tightened.

I didn’t speak too fast.

I didn’t ruin it.

Elise leaned back against the couch, fingers wrapped around the mug like it was an anchor.

“I haven’t felt safe like this in a long time,” she said.

“Safe enough to want something again.”

“That scares me.”

I turned toward her, my shoulder brushing hers.

“What scares you exactly?” I asked quietly. “Wanting it or losing it?”

Elise’s breath caught.

“Both,” she admitted.

“I’m older than you. I’ve got a mom who depends on me. I’ve got a past that still tries to pull me backward.”

“I don’t want to be a burden in your life.”

Something sharp flashed in my chest, like the idea offended me.

“You’re not a burden,” I said.

“Elise, you’re the first person who’s made my life feel full in a long time.”

Her eyes held mine.

“And if you wake up one day and realize you want someone younger,” she whispered, “someone easier—”

I reached out, touching her cheek with my thumb.

“You’re not difficult,” I said. “You’re real.”

“And I don’t want easy.”

“I want you.”

Her lips parted like she didn’t expect that answer.

She stared at me for a long moment, like she was deciding if she was allowed to believe it.

Then she set her mug down with a small shake in her hands.

“I don’t want to keep doing life alone,” she said.

Something in me snapped into certainty.

“Neither do I,” I said.

I leaned in.

I didn’t rush it.

I didn’t grab.

I moved slow like I was asking permission with every inch.

Elise met me halfway.

Her lips were warm, soft, tasting faintly of peppermint tea.

The kiss wasn’t desperate.

It was steady.

Like two people finally letting go of the last bit of fear holding them back.

When we pulled apart, her forehead rested against mine.

“Zane,” she whispered, voice unsteady, “this feels too good to be real.”

I kept my hand on her cheek.

“It’s real,” I said. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

Elise’s eyes filled, but she didn’t cry.

She just nodded once like she was letting those words sink into her bones.

She stayed that night.

Not in a reckless way.

Not in some fast movie moment.

She stayed in the way that mattered.

We talked until the rain slowed and the cabin went quiet again.

She told me stories about her mom—how she used to dance around the kitchen to old jazz records on Sunday mornings.

I told her about the first table I ever built, how it leans so bad I have to shove a folded napkin under one leg just to make it stand.

Elise laughed so hard she covered her mouth, and Harley lifted his head like he was judging us both.

At some point, Elise fell asleep on my couch with her head on my shoulder, her hand still in mine.

I didn’t move.

I just sat there listening to the rain fade, thinking about how strange life was.

Two weeks ago, I thought I was walking into a prank.

Now I was sitting in my cabin with a woman who made me want to be better and a dog who decided she was family.

The next morning, the air outside was clean and cold.

The pines dripped from last night’s rain.

Sunlight broke through the clouds and made the world look new.

Elise woke up slowly, blinking like she forgot where she was for half a second.

Then she looked at me and smiled—small and shy.

“Morning,” she said.

“Morning,” I replied.

Harley climbed onto the couch between us and shoved his face into her hands like he was demanding attention.

Elise laughed, rubbing his ears.

“He’s going to be spoiled,” she said.

“He already is,” I told her.

We made breakfast together.

Nothing fancy—eggs and toast.

Elise stood in my tiny kitchen in her socks, hair messy, humming quietly under her breath.

The cabin felt different—softer, lived in.

After we ate, she stared out the window at the trees.

“I should check on my mom,” she said, voice gentle. “But I don’t want this to be a one-time thing, Zane.”

“It won’t be,” I said.

She turned to me, searching my face.

“Promise?”

I stepped closer and took her hands.

“I don’t make promises I can’t keep,” I said. “But I can tell you this.”

“I want you in my life. Not as a secret. Not as a temporary thing.”

“I want to build something with you—slow, steady, real.”

Elise’s eyes went soft.

She nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Slow and steady.”

When she left, she didn’t rush.

She stood on my porch for a moment, sunlight catching her hair.

She kissed me once—quick but sure—then walked to her Subaru.

I watched her drive down the gravel path until the trees swallowed her up.

My phone buzzed a minute later.

A text from Derek.

“So, was it a joke?”

I stared at the message, then looked around my cabin.

The mug Elise used sat in my sink. Her cardigan was still hanging by my door because she forgot it.

Harley was at the window watching the road like he expected her back.

I typed my reply.

“No, it wasn’t a joke. It was the best thing you’ve ever done for me.”

Then I set my phone down and smiled to myself because the truth was even bigger than that.

My friends thought they were setting me up for a laugh, but they accidentally set me up for a