As dexter in the newsagent, Charmaine Ayoku conjures hushed acoustic ballads and down-home dance pop that draws from a similar well as Frank Ocean and PinkPantheress. Yet the Londoner’s new song, “Special,” is uniquely sublime: so confident in its breeziness, so generous in its feeling. Co-produced with Kurisu and SAIONTHEBEAT, it’s composed of little more than fluttering guitar figures and puttering beats—a serene atmosphere fit for daydreamers. But Ayoku refuses to let this summer romance remain in her head. “I can love you like you want me to,” she opens the song before doubling down: “I can’t be on my own.”

This line would, in most cases, sound desperate. But “Special” doesn’t, nor does it feel like a vulnerable confession. The words spill out of Ayoku’s mouth with such quiet assurance that they become an inevitability. These are the thoughts of someone in love, for whom time spent with a crush is so nourishing that, before long, life seems unimaginable without them. The music mirrors that seamless transition: a kick drum appears mid-song, quickly taking on a Jersey club lilt, and everything seems that much brighter. “Special” is the soundtrack to breathlessly awaited texts, dates that turn into another excuse to touch, and the moments when, in the midst of a perfect summer night, a thought begins to surface: This could be forever.