The late afternoon heat had softened into something golden, casting long streaks of sunlight through the trees. Melina and Tucker sat on the wooden porch, still warm from the sun, their bodies relaxed and heavy from a full day of doing nothing. She sat with her legs draped over his, absentmindedly tracing patterns on his forearm while he leaned back on his hands, eyes half-lidded, completely content.

But even in this quiet moment, Melina couldn't shake the feeling that something was up with him.

It wasn't anything obvious—just little things. The way he kept glancing at his phone when he thought she wasn't looking, the way he seemed distracted, like his mind was somewhere else. And the way, when he did look at her, his eyes held something deeper. Like he was carrying a secret too big to keep much longer.

She knew him too well. And she had a feeling she knew exactly what was coming.

His birthday was two days away. And she wasn't stupid.

Still, she didn't push. She just let it sit there between them, waiting, knowing that when the moment came, it would be exactly right.

For now, she had something else planned.

She shifted in his lap, sitting up a little straighter. "Can I give you something early?"

Tucker blinked, caught off guard. "You got me something?"

Melina laughed. "Of course I did, idiot."

His lips quirked. "You know I don't need anything, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up and take it."

Tucker grinned, tilting his head. "Alright. What is it?"

She took a deep breath, tucking her hair behind her ear. "A song."

His expression shifted instantly, his teasing fading into something softer. More serious.

"Play it for me?" he asked, voice quiet.

She nodded, standing up to grab her guitar from inside the cabin. When she returned, he had shifted so he was sitting cross-legged, elbows on his knees, looking at her like she was the only thing in the world.

Settling back in front of him, she adjusted the guitar in her lap, let her fingers find the chords, and started to play.

Her voice was soft at first, barely above a whisper.

"I don't want it And I don't want to want you But in my dreams I seem to be more honest And I must admit, you've been in quite a few..."

The moment the words left her lips, something in Tucker's face changed. His lips parted slightly, his fingers curled against his knee, his entire focus locked on her.

She didn't stop.

"Halley's Comet Comes around more than I do But you're all it takes for me to break a promise Silly me to fall in love with you..."

The song carried through the warm air, something fragile and aching in every note. She didn't have to look at him to know he felt it. She could feel it in the way the space between them seemed to shrink, the way his breathing had slowed, deep and steady, like he was trying to hold onto every word.

By the time she reached the last line, her voice barely above a whisper—

"I think I might have fallen in love What am I to do?"

—there was nothing but silence between them.

Tucker exhaled slowly, like he had been holding his breath the entire time.

He didn't say anything at first. Just reached for her, fingers curling gently around her wrist, tugging her forward until she was in his lap. Melina let the guitar rest beside them as she melted against him, her arms looping around his shoulders.

"I love you," he murmured against her hair, voice thick with something unspoken.

"I know," she whispered, smiling softly against his skin. "I love you, too."

And as he held her, warm and steady beneath the fading sunlight, she couldn't help but think—

Two more days.

And then, everything would change.