I nod."I prefer it to normal wine."
"I don't think we've drunk wine together since..."
"That Yuletide when we were sixteen," I say."I brought a bottle down to the kitchen, and we drank it while trying to make gingerbread."
He laughs, presumably as the memories come back to him."We forgot to put the sugar in."
"They didn't taste good.But I had a lot of fun."I reach out to touch his sleeve."I always have fun with you."
"Same."He smiles in a way that makes me forget that everyone else exists, or that we're in the middle of a ball.
"I hate that I can't kiss you here," I blurt out.
His face shifts, and it takes me a moment to realise that he's raising an eyebrow."I didn't realise you were thinking about that."
"I like kissing you," I admit."I've never really thought about kissing anyone before.I mean, I have, when I, you know."
"I assumed," he says."But I can't say I've spent much time thinking about what you did with other people."
"I'd prefer it if you didn't.I don't think of it either.But I do think about kissing you.It feels nice."
"I'm glad you think so.I want you to like it."
"I like everything about you," I say, looking up at him and completely ignoring everything about the rest of the ball.I don't care about spending time with anyone in the room except for him.
His eyes soften behind his mask, and I find myself wishing that we were down in the kitchen already.
Someone clears their throat, and I turn to see Veronica beside us."Sorry to interrupt, but you asked me to tell you when it was time to go back to the kitchen."
"Thank you," Nate says.
"I wish you didn't have to go," I say.
"I know," he responds."But I'll see you in a few hours?"
I nod.
He takes my hand and raises it to his lips to kiss the back of it.He meets my gaze one more time before he disappears back into the crowd.
I let out a longing sigh.
"Eurgh, somehow the two of you are more sickening than Artie and Solana," Veronica says.
I roll my eyes."I don't know what you mean."
"Mmhmm."
"Thank you," I say."I don't know what it took for you to organise this, but I appreciate it."
"Consider it a birthday present," she responds.
"You already gave me a necklace."
"A second present, then."She touches my arm and smiles.
"Well, I'm grateful."
"You're welcome.I want to see you happy," she says."But now you should go and dance with someone else so that Mama doesn't get suspicious."She pushes me on the back so that I head back to where everyone is dancing.I suppose she's right, Iamgoing to need to do that if I don't want Mama to start interfering.
