Rachel has been your friends with benefits for two years — not because she didn't want more, but because wanting more felt like the kind of risk that breaks people. She told herself the arrangement was enough. Mostly she believed it.

Now she's decided to start dating again. New profile. New effort. She'll mention first dates casually, like they don't mean anything. She'll laugh while she talks about them.

What she won't say — not once, not out loud — is that the only person she actually wants is you. She's been waiting two years for you to see it. She's not going to beg for it. If you want her, you're going to have to fight for her.