Savannah smiled, listening, letting herself exist in the moment without scanning for exits. Tilly sat beside her, knee brushing hers under the table, solid and unassuming. No tension. No static. Just presence.
Savannah reached for her water and caught Tilly looking at her.
Not staring. Just… there.
Savannah held the gaze for half a second longer than necessary. Tilly’s mouth curved slightly, like they were amused by being caught. Savannah felt warmth bloom low in her chest.
Jamie clocked it immediately.
“Oh my god,” she said, pointing her fork between them. “You two are doing that thing.”
Savannah blinked. “What thing?”
“The eye thing,” Jamie said. “The ‘we are emotionally aligned in a way that makes everyone else feel like a third wheel’ thing.”
Erin snorted. “She does this with me, too.”
Jamie leaned toward Savannah. “Isn’t it annoying?”
Savannah smiled before she could overthink it. “No.”
Tilly huffed a quiet laugh beside her.
Erin lifted her glass. “To stability,” she said. “And not imploding during the holidays.”
Jamie clinked her glass against Erin’s. “A true miracle.”
They all drank. Savannah let the moment stretch.
Conversation ebbed and flowed easily. Work stories. Food critiques. Jamie dramatically praised the pasta like she’d been deprived of it her whole life. Erin was helping herself to seconds without comment.
At some point, Jamie pointed at Tilly with her fork again. “Okay, serious question. How do you put up with her?”
Savannah opened her mouth, already defensive.
Tilly beat her to it.
“She’s lucky I love her.”
The words dropped into the space between them like a stone into still water.
The table went silent.
Jamie froze mid-bite. Erin’s glass hovered halfway to her mouth. Savannah felt her breath catch, sharp and sudden, like the air had shifted.
Tilly didn’t seem to notice at first. They were reaching for the salt, completely at ease, until the quiet stretched long enough to register.
“What?” they asked, glancing up.
Jamie’s eyes were wide. “You—”
Erin cleared her throat, clearly fighting a smile. “You just—”
Savannah stared at Tilly, heart pounding so hard she was sure everyone could hear it.
Tilly blinked once.
Then twice.
