Who they are when you're not next to them

“You and your partner are at a wedding reception — a good one, dancing already happening, the kind of evening that has a loose, easy energy to it. You've been at separate tables for most of dinner, and now you spot them across the room talking to someone you don't know, drink in hand, laughing. They look genuinely good tonight. Not just familiar-good. Actually good. Something moves in you that feels less like warmth and more like want — sharp and specific in a way that surprises you. They catch your eye from across the room and give you the easy, comfortable smile they always give you.”