Debrief
Amanda knocked on Angela’s door just after eleven, clutching a bag of pastries and a pit in her stomach she tried very hard to ignore.
Angela opened the door barefoot, hair messy, wearing an oversized sweatshirt that read “Camp Chaos 2009.” She grinned and waved Amanda in like she’d been waiting all morning.
"You're lucky Spork didn’t eat your croissants out of spite," Angela said, grabbing the bag from Amanda’s hand.
"I took my chances," Amanda said lightly, following her inside.
Spork yipped happily and spun circles around Amanda’s feet until she scooped him up and scratched behind his ears. It was alarmingly easy — sliding into Angela’s space, into her life, like she belonged there.
Angela set the pastries on the coffee table and flopped onto the couch, tossing a pillow at Amanda. "Okay," she said, stretching like a cat. "Hit me. I know you’re dying to ask."
Amanda laughed, sitting cross-legged beside her. "I mean, it would be rude not to ask for details."
Angela smirked, tearing a croissant in half. "Not much to tell. We had coffee, we talked, we went back to her place.""
Amanda blinked. Her heart gave a weird little stutter she immediately ignored. "Oh?" she said, aiming for teasing. "And then what?""
Angela popped a piece of pastry into her mouth, chewing exaggeratedly slow. "I don't kiss and tell, Lehan-Canto," she said, wagging her eyebrows dramatically.
Amanda laughed, but it sounded a little too high-pitched even to her own ears. She shoved Spork's face into her neck like it was an excuse.
"Come on," Amanda pressed, grinning. "Give me something. A Yelp review? Thumbs up? Stars out of five?""
Angela snorted. "Let's just say it was... good. It was fun.""
Amanda swallowed hard. She tapped her fingers against the coffee table, casual. "You think you'll see her again?""
Angela's face shifted, just slightly\u2014a tiny hesitation Amanda might have missed if she hadn’t been watching so closely.
"Maybe," Angela said finally. "I don't know.""
Amanda nodded slowly, pretending to consider this. "Playing it cool. I respect that."
Angela chuckled, bumping Amanda's knee with her own. "You're relentless, you know that?"
Amanda smiled, hiding the way her chest ached. "It's a gift."
They drifted into easier conversation after that about movies they should watch, new coffee shops they needed to try. Amanda let herself sink into it, let herself enjoy it, even as a small, stubborn part of her stayed curled tight and trembling under her ribs.
She didn’t know what she wanted.
Or maybe she did, and just couldn’t admit it yet.
For now, she would be the good friend.
The best friend.
And she would survive it.
One night at a time.