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“All right. So on to the big stuff,” he said.
Just as she had almost gotten her red face under control.
“I don’t think we need to go much bigger than shoe tying, do we?”
“Well, not in my estimation, no. But it might be in yours, is the thing.”
“Okay, so start by telling me what your estimation of a little more than this is.”
He shrugged. “Going on dates with you. To fancy restaurants and that.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad. I like fancy restaurants.”
“And when we’re in them, I might say nice things to you.”
She shrugged. “Who doesn’t like someone saying nice things to them?”
“Then when we’re outside, I might put my arm around your waist.”
“I think I can handle an arm in that particular place.”
“Oh, and I might possibly have to sometimes occasionally snog your face off on your doorstep. Or on my doorstep. Or, you know, whoever’s doorstep we happen to be on because that’s usually where I get papped snogging, for some reason.”
He said it like all the rest, was the thing. As if it were on the same level as mild hugging or polite eating of food. When of course it very decidedly was not. In fact, the second she heard the wordsnog, she was right back to hair prickles and squirming and a face that felt much too hot. And this time, he noticed.
Just not in the bad way, fortunately.
“And I see I’ve reached your limit,” he said.
“Limit would be one way to put it, yeah.”
“Would the other way be that I just gave you a glimpse of hell?”
“Hell is a bit extreme. But probably a bit closer than the other thing.”
He seemed to consider. “All right. So maybe we can fake the snogging part.”
“You can’t fake snogging, Alfie.”
“Course you can. Watch, I’ll show you.”
No, don’t, she thought at him, and almost actually jerked back. She had to glance at him to check she hadn’t. To make sure he wasn’t looking at her like she was mad. Even though it wouldn’t have been, in her estimation. Anyone would be scared at the thought of him suddenly kissing her. And how was she to know that he wasn’t about to do anything of the kind?
He certainly moved toward her like he was.
Then at the last second he turned. For some reason he put his back to her. And his arms went around his own body. And suddenly she knew, she knew before he did it what he was doing. He was going to do the wholemy hands are somebody rubbing my back while I kiss themthing. At which point, she just couldn’t help it. She burst into giggles before she could even think about how dangerous it was.
Though she understood why, of course.
Because he was trying to make her relax.
So it felt okay to just go ahead. To give it to him.
And he didn’t make her regret it.
“Well, that got you laughing,” he said.
“I’m as surprised as you are by that fact.”
