The voice message was meant for her best friend. Instead, somehow, she sent it to him. Fifty-five seconds of everything she’d been too afraid to say directly. Her voice soft and nervous as she admitted she was falling for him, and that maybe the scariest part was not knowing if he was falling too. By the time she realized what she’d done, he’d already listened to it. All fifty-five seconds. Her heart sank like a stone into deep water. Then her phone lit up. “Can I come over?” When she opened the door, he was standing there with two coffees in his hands and a nervousness in his eyes she’d never seen before. “I wasn’t supposed to hear that,” he said. She looked down, wishing for somewhere to disappear. “But I’m glad I did.” Her eyes found his again. He pulled out his phone and opened a conversation with his best friend from a few days earlier. There, beneath his name, were the words she’d been terrified to hope for. I think she might be the one. She looked up at him, completely speechless. “Too much?” he asked with a nervous smile. She shook her head, already fighting tears. He stepped closer. “I’ve been trying so hard not to scare you away.” His hand found hers, fingers slowly weaving between them. “We don’t have to rush anything.” He lifted her hand to his chest, letting her feel the steady rhythm beneath her palm. “I just need you to know something.” His forehead rested gently against hers. “You’re not falling alone.” And suddenly, falling didn’t feel so much like sinking. It felt like letting the tide take them both.