The drive back was… quiet.
Not awkward, Not tense.
Just… comfortable.
The kind of silence that didn’t demand to be filled.
Lana sat beside Thomas, her gaze drifting over the passing streets, her mind still half-lingering on the lunch, on Lena’s knowing smiles, on Zayn’s unreadable expressions.
But beneath all that, there was something new.
A quiet awareness.
Of them.
Beside her, Thomas drove with one hand resting casually on the wheel, the other relaxed near the console.
At some point—she didn’t even notice exactly when—his hand shifted.
And then, it found hers.
Gently. Warmly.
His fingers wrapped around hers in a natural, unforced gesture, as if it had always belonged there.
Lana stilled for a fraction of a second, surprised.
A soft blush crept up her cheeks as her eyes flic
