Taking a deep breath, Stephanie decided to be straightforward. "The truth is, my so-called 'date' never even showed up. Guess he had something better to do with his time." Her voice softened with disappointment, but her heart hardened against the slight. She caught the exchanged glances between Johnny and Daniel, realizing they were sharing a silent communication about her predicament. "It was definitely a prank he pulled on me because, as you can see, I fell for it... big time. But it doesn't matter, really."

*************************************************

After her little speech, Steph shrugged for good measure, the movement almost a reflex as she tried to shake off the disappointment. Deep down, she felt that truer words had never been spoken — at least, in this case, they weren't. Her so-called "date" had chosen to execute the classic "No-Show" prank with all the finesse of a bad reality show, asking her out only to leave her there, standing alone at the corner bistro, while the minutes ticked by. He had left her proverbially holding the bag, testing the waters to see how long she'd wait before finally conceding the date wasn't worth her time, completely contradicting her initial hopes for the evening.

"OK," Daniel said to Johnny, who nodded back. Then, Daniel turned to Stephanie. "Actually, Stephanie, it does matter to me, contrary to what you're thinking," he said, and a smile spread across his lips as he extended his hand toward her. "Your loss is definitely my gain if you catch my drift," he said, a playful glint in his eyes.

She raised an eyebrow, feeling a mix of intrigue and skepticism. Daniel's warm smile sharply contrasted with the chill of her previous disappointment. For a fleeting moment, she considered how fate seemed to have flipped the script on her evening.