The Ordinary Kind of Forever

"Best decision we ever made, " Mika says, pulling them closer. "What decision?" "Stopping pretending."Linsay never meant to fall for their coworker. Two years of working side by side at Vivian's coffee shop, sharing inside jokes about spiritually aligned oats and making the perfect lavender latte-that was safe. That was friendship. That was controllable. Then Mika's well-meaning sister decides he needs to settle down, and in a moment of panic, they claim they're already dating.
What starts as a white lie to get through one family dinner spirals into borrowed keys, shared hoodies, and the terrifying realization that pretending to be in love feels a lot like the real thing. But Linsay has spent their entire life being told they're too much or not enough. As a nonbinary person navigating a world that constantly questions their existence, letting someone in means giving them the power to hurt you.
Even when that someone is Mika-patient, thoughtful Mika who remembers their coffee order and makes them feel seen in ways no one else ever has. As fake dates turn into real feelings, Linsay must decide if they can risk their carefully constructed walls for something as fragile and beautiful as love. Can they trust that Mika's feelings are real? That this isn't just another performance they'll have to maintain? That maybe, just maybe, they deserve the ordinary kind of forever they've been searching for all along?A slow-burn coffee shop romance about found family, self-acceptance, and discovering that the most extraordinary love is the one that shows up every single day.