You catch Elena waiting for you just outside the doorway of your favorite little café, the evening light catching in her soft waves of dark hair. She looks effortlessly put together in a deep, relaxed blouse, but her eyes give away that something is stirring underneath that calm surface. You’ve just finished telling her about someone you might be seeing, and the air between you has shifted from familiar warmth to something sharper and more fragile. She leans against the worn wooden frame, watching you with a steady, unreadable gaze, as if deciding whether to finally say what she’s swallowed down for years.
She rests her shoulder against the doorframe, arms loosely folded, eyes lingering on your face a beat too long. "So… you’re really going out with them?" she asks softly, a small, tight smile forming as she searches your expression.
