1370/Log

Log
Date of Scene:	09 July 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Dragonfly (Arazello), Vector

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Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    It took some cajoling. It took some persuasion. It took, even, some blackmail. But finally Liz managed to do the impossible: get Nancy out of the townhouse for just carefree fun.
    Well, carefree except for the endless analysis paralysis of picking an outfit. And once the outfit was selected, picking the right accessories. And then when the right accessories weren't available, going back to the outfits. Almost as if stalling was the goal, not finding the right look.
    Still, in the end the looks was found in a form-fitting cocktail dress of pseudo-Chinese style: black brocade with a mandarin collar opening to an inauthentically daring dip (front and back!) and an asymmetric slit from ankle to well up the thigh. The letter of the rules for dressing for mourning are followed. The spirit was beaten to a pulp and left dying on the side of the road.
    And thus the pair find themselves in Club Lux, Manhattan's newest night scene, with a persistent reputation that makes it deliciously naughty to be in.

Vector has posed:
    Liz, on the other hand, already had her outfit picked ut before ever visiting with Nancy. Her routine involved checking out over a hundred dresses while zooming from store to store and occasionally through a friend's apartment in an attempt to find something she'd be caught dead wearing to someplac as nice as Lux.
    It seems that Elizah as ended up in red. The dress she wears leaves her neckline bare with fitted off the shoulder sleeves, hinting at being revealing without showing off her chest, and hugs the woman's form nicely all the way down to her middle shin. Therees a far more modest slit in this oen to ensure it doesn't interfeae with movement.
    The usual energetic intensity Liz takes everywhere is slightly muted as they enter the night club. Wide brown eyes dart all aroun and Liz makes a poitn of positionign herself close enough to nancy to be all but touching as they press their way past the crowd.
    The speedster is always the one begging for a new adventure, especially once she can share with Nancy, but it seems that soemthing about the specific place has her caught slightly offguard. It promises to be entertaining at least.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Are you going to be alright, Liz?" Nancy asks, watching her friend's sudden protective crowding. "What's wrong?"
    For her part, Nancy heads straight for the bar to order a classic zombie, watching Liz and the crowd, trying to spot what's made Liz suddenly be on edge.
    "Pretty nifty place," she comments, trying to lighten the mood. "Looks like it belongs in a noir film or something. Like ... the Blue Parrot Cafe in Casablanca or something."

Vector has posed:
    "IT really does. Has a certain flair to it." Liz nods slowly and begisnn relaxing by degrees, takign a deep breath. She follows Nancy to the bar and slides into the set beside her.
    Liz quietly watches the club for now, her expresison softening as she studies everything around her carefully. "No- everything is great. I'm just not sure what I am looking for, I guess. Sorry. It's big. Hm." Liz fidgets slightly from left to right in her new seat but then she takes a deep breath.
    I always loved those really old Noir films. It's like walking into one of them..." Lizp splays the fingers of her right hand against the bar. "Love the music. And the pllants. Going dancing with me after a ocuple shots?"

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Why do you think I'm drinking?" Nancy asks with a laugh. "You've seen me dance sober. I need to loosen up!"
    She downs her aptly-named cocktail and leans back against the bar as she waits for the impact, sighing briefly. "This is stupid, Liz. I mean ... look at the clientel here. It's movers, shakers, up-and-comers, and their eye candy bimbos. We're none of those. How 'bout we head off somewhere more our social strata after a dance. Like a faux-Irish pub?"
    She glances around again. "But ... I do so love the decor here!"

Vector has posed:
    "Okay. Take your time. We can do jello shots if we have to," Liz responds with a sly grin. She takes a deep breath and then reaches over the bar toward the tender, holding up two fingers as she does.
    Then the speedster twists around, leaning against the bar beside her friend and looking around at the people surrounding them. "We're hot enough to fit in. ANd we've got the clothes. N oone know if we're up-and-comers or not. Fuck, I bet you half these people are just dressing up and pretending." Liz rolls her eyes at that. She taps the bar a couple times quickly with her finertips, twisting slightly in her seat.
    "Need to not worry aobut people so much. You like the decor and the music, fuck it. Let's just dance and have a good time." There's a pause and then Liz cocks her head to the left. "You're obviously not drunk enough yet," she concludes.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "It would also depend on the song," Nancy says defensively. "I mean ... look at me. I'm old. I'm almost 30. I listen to golden oldies!"
    At which the distinctive strains of a REAL oldie's introduction start. The keyboards, mimicking violas, start in with a riff that's similar to the Jaws theme. Then the bass steps in with a driving, relentless beat. The drums kick in. Finally the guitars kick it up a notch.
    Nancy's eyes widen in recognition, then she reddens and begins to giggle.
    "You're right!" she decides. "Fuck it! Let's dance!"
    And as Ian Gillan's vocals wail in about Lucy the Dancer and Nancy who was so Fancy, Liz finds herself practically thrown into the dance floor as Nancy cheerfully writhes in time to the tune, singing along.
    "Sweet Nancy was so fancy to get into her pants we had to be the aristocracy." Yeah. It's that kind of song.

Vector has posed:
    As Nancy throws the rather slender, manic Liz onto the dance floor the music is crooning about how to get into her dance partner's pants. Or so it seems, being this close, in the press of people and the heat of the dance floor. The alcohol no doubt helps the impression, but as the music continues Liz flushes to match her dance partner.
    It doesn't stop the speedster from dancing. She dances with abandon, writhing and twisting in response to the music. She has excellent footwork as well. She dances nice and close, interposing herself casually the first time a guy tries to cut in and sweep Nancy away for a dance.
    Liz can't cockblock every time. I nfact, that one might have been an accident to watch her. But she's obviously here to dance with Nancy and enjoy the tunes.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    As the song ends, Nancy laughs and throws her arms up in the air. "In high school," she bubbles, eyes alight, "they tried to embarrass me with that song. Especially the part about how Fancy Nancy was taken from Austin to Bentley by a common cunning linguist." She giggles like the schoolgirl she's remembering, driving home the punchline. "You know, a master of tongues." Another laugh. "But I refused to let them get me down, so I took the song as my theme song. I played it as my phone's ring tone. I made THEM get tired of it. It's been one of my favourite songs since."

Vector has posed:
    "You know, technically that line isn't even wrong anymore," Liz suggests without even making a face. "I know several languges," she adds helpfully by way of epxlanation. Then the speedster is laughing as well, nodding her head asshe takes a second to survey their surroundings. Her gaze snaps back to Nancy a moment later. "I love it, thoug. That song is pretty crazy. And you can totally sing along, too. Good night to come out." Then she's back to dancing, laughing while she does.
    "There's a backseat lover that's always under COVER..." It's 80s night indeed. Liz seems to be loving it, if nothing else. She even sings along.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Who's gonna drive you home, tonight?" the plaintive question is subsequently asked. Followed by the assertion that girls merely wish to enjoy themselves in some form or another according to the strangely-voiced singer. With the next singer explaining how; apparently it involves touching herself. With frequent trips to the bar, Nancy gets more and more relaxed and less and less inhibited in her dancing as the night progresses.
    (You don't want to know how she "danced" to the DiVinyls...)
    "Wow, Liz!" she says as she pauses to catch her breath. "I haven't had this much fun in months!"

Vector has posed:
    "It only took me nearly a month to get you to loosen up enough for this to work," Liz responds, laughing as she does. She's a little worn out as well, perspiration glistening on her skin as she takes a second to calm down. Sweat drops runn along her forehead and down her neck as she stands in front of Nancy, dark eyes intent on her friend's face.
    "I told you we'd have fun together," Liz offers then, her smile slowly growing. "I mean, you even picked the club this time!" She takes a half step closer as the next song starts to play. Liz, at least, isn't shy about how close they dance and as Nancy becomes less inhibited she steps up the intensity of her dancing as well.
    And they have to be improving, with how often they go out. Right?

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    As Nancy drinks she flushes, dances, and parties with greater abandon. She's barely recognizable compared to the neurotic mess she normally is. You can almost see what it was that made her attractive in the first place before her life turned to a nightmare.
    As the inevitable slow number comes up, Nancy, her breath so loaded with alcohol it could stun a sober person, steps up even closer and "dances" by simply hugging Liz and swaying back and forth a bit. (Probably the rhythm of the world moving around her as her head spins.)
    "I ... think I'm over him," she finally says, half-way through the number. "I think I can have a life again."

Vector has posed:
    Liz nods slowly. She accepts being in Nancy's arms, sinking agianst her slightly and swaying along. Her sense of rhythm and careful movements keep them among the better dancers on the floor even now. Most people can't slow dance anyway.
    The Brazilian speedster rests her head on Nancy's shoulder for a moment, while they make their slow orbit of the floor in time with the song. "Okay," she continues in a soft voice. She leans back slightly so that she can get a good look at Nancy's eyes, studying her expression carefully. Like she's trying to learn something about her dance partner.
    "Let's make sure you have the best one you possibly can. Dancing lessons." Somehow, Liz keeps her soft, even voice even through that delivery.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Dance lessons...?" Nancy's flushed face and unfocused eyes hint at the depths of her intoxication. "I don't understand. The best possible life comes from dance lessons?" Her brow furrows in confusion. "That sounds pretty deep," she finally says with a giggle. "Isn't there a page for stuff like that? Jack Handey's maybe?"

Vector has posed:
    "Nah. It just comes from us- being out, enjoying ourselves... Dance lessons are so that you don't trip over your feet whenever the music picks up," Liz teases quietly. Her eyes are more serious than her words ands he continues to dance in slow circles with Nancy through the club. Then Liz does something drastic. She leans in slowly and attempts to give her dance partner a soft,sweet kiss. Right on the lips.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    The kiss lands as Nancy's intoxication works against her even recognizing what's happening until it happens, then against reacting as her concussed brain cells struggle to cope with the flood of incoming sensations and thoughts. The net effect being that the kiss lasts a while before she reacts.
    Then the reaction.
    Her face, already lightly flushed from alcohol, reddens into something crimson, almost toxic, as she flushes at least down to shoulder level, possibly lower. Her eyes widen. She gasps a little and pulls back, looking down at Liz in blank incomprehension, eyes barely focused.
    "Did ..." Words enter a cage match in her brain as they struggle for control of her vocal cords. 'Two thousands words enter; one word leaves!' seems to be the underlying mantra. "What ...?" she amplifies helpfully. "Why ...?" is added to the mix as her confused face occasionally pops out a word that manages to escape the word blender set on puree in her brain. Finally the cage match is over and the strongest words take over.
    "Oh, my!" she breathes, still staring. "Liz did you... we...?" The question trails off, not from confusion this time, but rather from recognition of the vapidity of what she was about to ask. Of COURSE they just kissed. After they'd pressed their bodies together on the dance floor, moving rhythmically for a long time.
    "Oh my," she repeats again, flustered and incoherent. But ... sobering. Quickly.

Vector has posed:
    The reaction is not a particularly auspicious one. Liz flushes immediately from head to toe when Nancy pulls away. She might be in a bit of a drug-induced haze but she is mcuh more coherent than her friend, and the fact that the reaction was apparently abject confusion does not seem to help matters very much.
    "Y-yeah... We did. I did," Liz responds sheepishly, apparently keenly aware of the fact that this was far from a mutual reactions. She shuffles her toes lightly against the floor and then shifts her weight away from Nancy. Slowly.
    Liz's brain, even when dulled by innumerable chemicals, is always in a much higher gear than the minds of the people around her. She as already had awhile to stew on what happened, turn it over in her mind, reach conclusions. Somehow the hypermanic intensity of racing thoughts rarely seems to produce a more coherent reaction than the normal processes of the mundanely nuanced brain.
    "I'm sorry," Liz adds in a weak voice. "I shouldn't have- um..."

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Oh, Liz, I'm sorry," Nancy says. "I was expecting something like this for a while, but ..." She waves her hand vaguely, nearly falling over except for her clutching at Liz for support. "You know. Booze. I'm really slow right now. Like ... now that I've stopped moving I've noticed the world is still moving slow."
    She takes a deep breath.
    "Oh God where do I begin? I ... I'm making a mess of this, aren't I? It's because I'm drunk and babbling and my mouth is talking before my brain has finished thinking and oh God I can't shut up now even though I should and I just keep making this worse and dumber."
    She runs out of steam. Or figures out how to shut her mouth. One of the two.
    "This really isn't the place," she finally says after organizing her thoughts. "I think I should call her and get her to take you home." She pauses, frowning as she works out the wording. "No, that's wrong. As she takes you to MY home. Where we can talk. I'll be better by then. Or you can talk to her if I'm still drunk."

Vector has posed:
    "...You've been waiting for awhile but I've been, you know. Not. Because- you..." Asked me not to? Liz's mind is a little fuzzy as well and while her lips start to form the words she trails off while trying to decide if thati s really something she wants to say.
    Liz takes a deep breath as well now and toes the floor in front of her while she listens to what Nancy has to say. She starts looking contrite and extremely embarrassed but ends mostly looking mostly rather confused.
    "You're right. It's not the place. If you want me to head home, I can take care of-" Then Nancy corrects herself and Liz pauses midsentence. Her fingers are wiggling now, rapping out the latest song agianst the smaller woman's hip bone.
    "Your place?" Liz continues dumbly. Then she quickly adds, "Okay. Let's... Get her then so you cna sober up." She is already looking for an appropriate place for Nancy to change.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    The pair stumble out of the club, Nancy uncoordinated but mind painfully awake now as a rush of conflicting thoughts does mortal combat in her cerebellum. A loading dock nearby serves as a sufficiently hardened place for her to change without starting a fire. Being drunk she forgets to warn Liz. Liz, being super quick, of course, can see the facial expression she takes on immediately before the transformation and has plenty of time to look away, read a book, go see a movie, fix a car, die a thousand deaths as she thinks what Nancy might say, before Dragonfly comes out of the light.
    "Oh, Liz," she says, stone cold sober, rubbing along her eyebrow. "What a pickle. And boy did Nancy screw it up; she just tossed a monkey wrench into those gears didn't she?"
    She picks Liz up and proceeds to fly, letting Liz get comfortable, taking the scenic route back to her home, not talking."
    

Vector has posed:
    "A monkey wrench," Liz repeats back helpfully, shaking her head slowly as she does so. Rather than press the issue she chooses to stew in silence. She was thankfully spared the intensity of the transformation even in silence. She can actually outrun the blast itself if there's a need.Fortunately, running just before is much less problematic.
    The silence is handled well, all things considered, and Liz allows herself to be taken inside, clinging fairly tightly to Dragonfly the entire time. It beats being dropped and being held is a pleasant sensation under the right circumstances.
    Once returned to her feet Liz takes a deep breath and prepares hersef for the following conversation, her eyes darting back and forth as she studies the home for at least the dozenth time. It beats her place as somewhere to hang out, after all.

Vector has posed:
    "A monkey wrench," Liz repeats back helpfully, shaking her head slowly as she does so. Rather than press the issue she chooses to stew in silence. She was thankfully spared the intensity of the transformation even in silence. She can actually outrun the blast itself if there's a need.Fortunately, running just before is much less problematic.
    The silence is handled well, all things considered, and Liz allows herself to be taken inside, clinging fairly tightly to Dragonfly the entire time. It beats being dropped and being held is a pleasant sensation under the right circumstances.
    Once returned to her feet Liz takes a deep breath and prepares hersef for the following conversation, her eyes darting back and forth as she studies the home for at least the dozenth time. It beats her place as somewhere to hang out, after all.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Do you want to talk to me?" Dragonfly asks, "Or to Nancy? I know you think we're the same, and in a weird way we are, but when I'm Dragonfly I'm a lot more confident in myself. A lot stronger in ways that aren't just physical." She steps up to Liz and holds her by the shoulder, removing her sunglasses to direct her insect eyes downward. "Far more decisive," she adds, bending down to gently, sweetly, albeit briefly, kiss Liz on the lips.
    "She'd never have had the courage to do that when she's in the tizzy she's in. So which of us do you want to talk to?"

Vector has posed:
    "Mmm. Give me a second," Liz responds slowly. She blinks at the kiss but is quick to return it. She even manages a smile even though the brief gesture somehow manages to draw the same red blush to her cheeks that the seeming rejection on the dance floor had just a little bit earlier. She takes a deep breath, slowly. "I want to talk to Nancy," she decides then. "Mostly because I want you to be comfortable- both of you. Can't be like this forever..." She gives a slow shrug of her shoulders then.
    "Before you, um. Change back. So we're clear. She's interested, for real? I'm not molesting my best friend?" Liz doesn't quite squint but she is clearly taking a moment to gauge the situation carefully.
    "Anyway. We can always talk again if things go crazy. So there's that. Right?"

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "It's complicated," Dragonfly laughs. "It always is with her, isn't it? You'd better talk to Nancy."
    Dragonfly replaces the glasses and goes upstairs to the area of scorched tile that probably confused Liz the first time she saw it. Loud snapping later, flash of light bleeding down. Nancy slowly comes back down, looking a little worse for wear, but ... more sober than she should be. Like, not even tipsy.
    "Ooh, she's right, you know," Nancy says upon reaching the living room. "I made a huge mess of things."

Vector has posed:
    "Mmm. Small mess," Liz offers as she lifts a hand, holding it parallel to the flor and wobbling it from side to side. "easy clean up." She shrugs then, wiggling slightly from left toright while she watches Nancy enter the room. Liz is still stnading. She takes a couple quick breaths and then slowly turns to properly orient herself on hher friend as she enters.
    Grey eyes study Nancy intently for a very long half a second before she asks, "Feeling okay? You don't need to worry. Nothing's wrong on my end. You'll have to fill me in on what's going on though."

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "What's going on?" Nancy laughs, a bit of hysteria in her voice. "Today's the day I finally realized I'd gotten over Ken. I mean, yeah, I still miss him, and I always will, but today is the first day I realized that my life continues without his shadow. And just as I'm figuring this out, my best friend, who's been oh-so-patient for all this time, makes the move she's always wanted to make on me." She looks over at Liz with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, I noticed. I'm a coward, not stupid."
    "And I'm so drunk I drop everything." She paces the floor, fingers interlaced and intertwing with each other ornately. "I mean really the only way I could have reacted worse is by puking on you or something."
    

Vector has posed:
    "I should've waited. I was kind of wasted," Liz offers helpfully. "Fuck, so were you. Really, we just pick the worst times to make life changing decisions in general, don't we?" Liz arches a brow then, as if to be suggestive, but then she ends up giggling softly.
    "I didn't think you were stupid," the woman offers helpfully then. "i kind of am, though." She briefly toes the ground, twisting very slightly while she studies Nancy's features with a great deal of thought. "You could've reacted worse in a lot of ways. Shouting, 'Ew, gross!' for example. Or, 'what are you doing?' followed by crying. Anything to do with crying.
    "Honestly, this was pretty mild. We're still friends. I got a fairly unambiguous message that you weren't interested that is now becoming much more confusing but still hasn't ended with me being slapped, kicked, laughed at, puked on, cried on, or even told off." Liz shrugs bonelessly.
    "So, yeah. What is going on? What's going through your head?" The shorter of the pair pauses and then turns to look around the room. "I'm sorry I didn't keep it in my pants a little longer."

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Well," Nancy says dryly, "as you can guess by the fact that I was engaged to someone named Ken--oh, man, I just realized, my perfect woman self-image was a Barbie doll and I was going to marry KEN!" Thought derailed for a moment, Nancy's eyes almost bug out in shock at the realization.
    She shakes her head.
    "No, you're not getting out of it this easily," she says to herself, steel in her voice.
    "So, I was engaged to Ken. That's a bit of a hint, but ... not as much of one as you might guess." She takes a deep breath. "Have you ever heard of Camille Paglia? She's an old-school feminist writer from the old days. Before we were born. She was of the opinion that ..."
    Nancy reddens.
    "Look, I went to college. I took the mandatory Women's Studies courses. I went the LUG route. Only ... I 'betrayed' my sisters. I was more a BUG."
    She wrings her hand as her red runs deeper. "I mean I thought it was BUG. After leaving school, I met Ken and we hit it off well and we spent so much time together: home life, business life. I just assumed that experimentation was out of my system."

Vector has posed:
    "Okay..." Liz responds slowly. She winces when Nancy makes the realization about ken, though in a knowing way that suggests Liz had thought over two thousand three hundred and eighty-two jokes that commented on that fact before finally deciding against it.
    "I dated a guy in college," Liz offers helpfully after a solid second or so of thought. "It went really well, mostly in that he hooked up with a much cuter girl after a couple weeks and didn't care that I wasn't interested when I broke it off." There's a wry smile to follow that statement and she lets it sit ofr a second.
    "Anyway... I was never a feminist and I don't- get along with the LUG crowd anyway. I mean- I dunno." Liz frowns and then slowly shakes her head. "You figured you weredone experimenting. I get it..." Liz purses her lips for a second. "Go ahead when you're ready."

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Well, this is where Paglia comes in. She says women are natural ... uh ..." Nancy reddens again. Hang-ups galore this one! "You know... uh... experimenters. 'Cause the male tendency to collect. Women ... uh ... well ... entertained themselves when the man was busy with one of them. So ..." That red must be reaching the waist by now! "Shesayswe'reallnaturallybisexualandthatheterosexualityismasculine."
    Of course that's her blurting it out so fast nobody can really make out the words. Unless they happen to be living life a billion times faster than everybody else.
    "And then..." Nancy coughs a bit, doubling over as some saliva goes down the wrong pipe. "And then, well, you ... uh ... first showed interest in me. And where I thought I'd be dismayed I ... well ... I was still in mourning and I thought it was wrong. Not you, but my reaction."

Vector has posed:
    "Mourning isn't a set period of time. Nothing requires you to be hung up on things for so long or else you're not honouring him..." Liz swallows and then cshakes her head slowlybefore taking a half step closer. She's still red in the cheeks but as Nancy manages to force her way through what she is trying to say it seems the Brazilian speedster slowly manages to collect her own nerves.
    "So what you're saying is- you were interested... But it felt wrong because of Ken? And because you, um. Assumed you weren't into girls? And that it was really just more of a phase." There's the sheepish smile now as Liz pauses, apparently considering exactly how to respond to all of this for a moment more.
    "Okay," the woman finishes. "Just don't choke to death." She moves to wrap her arms around Nancy nowm, gently. She doesnt' quite pull her forward until they are touchinb but her forearms are against the woman's shoulders, hands on her back. Soothingly, or so is the intent. She'll let Nancy contineu at her own pace.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "Yes," Nancy says, her voice small. "To all of it. I was interested, but the Ken thing made it feel wrong. And because I was sure that I was into guys. I mean even in college I was. Mostly. And because I thought being a BUG was just the usual college experimentation phase that I was SO over. All of that."
    She looks down into Liz's eyes. "And it's true. I'm mostly into guys. It has to be someone special before I'm into a woman. That was what I didn't understand at school; that my 'lesbian' encounters only lasted when I really liked the girl I was with; it wasn't ever something casual like it was for a lot. Casual was for guys. Am I making sense?"

Vector has posed:
    "Sure. Yeah. That makes perfect sense," Liz responds gently. She's lost any trace of her own nerves. SHe's too busy gently rubbing Nancy's back and hugging her lightly. "People can't control who they're attracted to. I get mostly being into guys. Like, most girls are.. I have trouble getting into anyone unless I really like them. Casual doesn't work for me at all..."
    The young speedster slowly shrugs her shoulders, grey eyes focused intently on Nancy's as she slowly trails off.There's nothing wrong with that. Any of it, honestly." If she was orried Liz would react badly apparently it was misplaced.

Dragonfly (Arazello) has posed:
    "And ... you know, then, that I think you're very special?" Nancy asks. "Which is why I was so disturbed while I thought that was behind me. When I thought I had to do Ken's memory justice. When I thought I had to be the good girl facing her tragedy with aplomb and decency."
    The hug is returned now, tightly.
    "So where do we go from here?" she murmurs.

Vector has posed:
    Liz kisses Nancy again. She does so firmly this time. SLowly but sweetly, taking her time as she draws Nancy in closer agiansther. CLose enough to scent the fruit drinks they'd shared, to feel her warmth, and the pulsing rhythm of an accelerated heartbeat. She'll hold that as long as she is allowed before finally responding.
    "Forward. Together."