The restaurant was buzzing with chatter and the smell of sizzling food. Angie and Vinnie sat squished together in a big red booth surrounded by their friends, everyone talking over each other and laughing too loud. Vinnie had somehow ended up sitting on Angie’s leg, her arm resting lazily across Angie’s lap like it was her personal seat. No one questioned it. They were always like that.

Angie was halfway through a story, whispering gossip about one of their classmates while their friends leaned in, pretending not to care but clearly dying to know. “And then she said she didn’t even like him,” Angie said, eyes wide, “but guess who she was with after school?”

Everyone gasped and shouted guesses, while Vinnie tried not to laugh, hiding her face in Angie’s shoulder. “You’re terrible,” she whispered, voice soft enough that only Angie could hear. Angie just smiled and brushed her hand lightly against Vinnie’s back under the table, a quiet touch that made Vinnie’s heart skip.

Their friend Maya looked at them and grinned. “You two are so close it’s actually suspicious,” she said, sipping her drink.

Angie tilted her head with a teasing smile. “What, just because she’s sitting on me?”

Vinnie laughed, trying to act unbothered, but her cheeks were pink. She leaned a little closer, pretending to reach for a fry, and whispered, “They have no idea.”

Angie’s eyes softened. “Good,” she said quietly. “I kind of like it that way.”