Kelly

Nathan adjusted the collar of his suit and stared at the door in front of him. It wasn’t familiar, but the nerves were. Flowers in hand. Breath held.

Then it opened.

"Hi!" said the woman standing there. She was tall, with long auburn hair and sharp green eyes behind a pair of retro frames. There was something effortlessly cool about her—a light sundress, sandals with a slight heel. Her smile hit him like déjà vu.

She reached out and took his hand. Nathan was sure he had never met her before, but there was something so familiar about her, something he couldn't quite figure out.

"Nathan, right?" she asked, eyes crinkling. "I’m Kelly."

He blinked. "Pleased to meet you. I can't help but think that we might have met before."

"Yeah," she said with a small laugh. "Don’t worry, I get that a lot. People always think I look familiar."

Nathan chuckled, brushing the odd tension from his chest. She seemed nice. Maybe the night wouldn't go too poorly after all.

"Well, now we know another one," she said, stepping out and pulling the door closed behind her. "Ready for dinner?"

Dinner at the bistro was a warm, unexpected delight. Kelly was funny, inquisitive, sharp. They talked about movies they both loved, music they both hated, and the strange, shifting rules of adulthood. She made him laugh so hard over dessert he snorted crème brûlée out of his nose.

And yet she didn't flinch—just handed him a napkin, smiling with her whole face.

Afterward, she suggested a walk. "The river's just a few blocks away, and it's gorgeous at night."

He agreed without hesitation.

They walked along the path, the moon casting gentle ripples over the water. City lights shimmered like distant stars. Her hand slid into his like it had always belonged there.

"You know," she said, after a stretch of companionable silence, "this has been... you've been really lovely."

Nathan looked over at her, smiled. "Yeah. It really has."

They stopped walking, standing under a tree whose branches swayed like a slow dance. Both of them turned to speak at the same time, then laughed at the overlap.

"You go," she said, tilting her head.

"I just…" Nathan scratched the back of his neck. "I feel like I’ve known you longer than just tonight. This feels easy. And good."

Kelly's eyes softened. "It does. Better than good."

They leaned in.

The kiss was slow and sweet, like an exhale after holding something in too long. Her lips were soft, her breath warm. For a brief, blissful second, it felt like this could be it.

Then he felt it.

A pressure against his hip. Something solid under the soft fabric of her dress.

Nathan stiffened. Took a step back.

His eyes searched hers. The softness. The sharpness. That smirk. His breath caught.

"Kelly?" he whispered, the question dragging his stomach into free fall, his eyes darting down to the tent forming in the front of the sundress. "Like, Kelly… from high school?"

She looked at him. Didn't speak.

"Kelly, from the track team. Who competed in the BOY's category?!"

This time nothing but a guilty smirk.

He turned his head upward.

"What the fuck, Sally?!"

Silence. No answer.

"RESET!" he barked.

And the world blinked.