He had called her hobbies noble, which was kind of him and certainly a lie – or at least certainly more of a lie than it had been of her to call getting into chess noble. No one on earth thought flower-pressing especially noble, she was sure.
But she had flushed a little at that, and then at her own boldness. She was worried he would kiss her and simultaneously worried, now, that he wouldn’t. Because if she had offered him the way out of this and he didn’t even want to kiss her under duress than one may as well have called Jemima the Frog Princess, because she was no better than a gross ugly toad—
Oh. He just had. It had been so brief and so restrained that she might have blinked and missed it; unconsciously, Jemima touched her fingers shyly to her mouth as he pulled back. It was scarcely her first kiss, but she did not much like kissing strangers; at least it had been quite painless. She grinned awkwardly at him. “Well, maybe I’ll have to take up chess too,” she joked, to brush past the kiss, as she picked up a foot now to see if it had worked.
But she had flushed a little at that, and then at her own boldness. She was worried he would kiss her and simultaneously worried, now, that he wouldn’t. Because if she had offered him the way out of this and he didn’t even want to kiss her under duress than one may as well have called Jemima the Frog Princess, because she was no better than a gross ugly toad—
Oh. He just had. It had been so brief and so restrained that she might have blinked and missed it; unconsciously, Jemima touched her fingers shyly to her mouth as he pulled back. It was scarcely her first kiss, but she did not much like kissing strangers; at least it had been quite painless. She grinned awkwardly at him. “Well, maybe I’ll have to take up chess too,” she joked, to brush past the kiss, as she picked up a foot now to see if it had worked.
