Her other hand coming to rest on his was assurance enough, made it as tangible to him as the cumulative power of her words and laughs and glances. If he had expected the restlessness of his nerves to be settled somewhat in his stomach now that he had secured her agreement, now that they were to be formally on the same page, as it were... well, he would be wrong. The feelings were no more subdued now. If these were butterflies in his stomach, they may as well stay for supper - and perhaps breakfast too; perhaps even make their home there - because they did not seem inclined to leave him be.
“So am I,” he agreed, mouth dipping into another brief smile. If he hadn’t gotten it over with, he suspected the stress of it would not have let him sleep. “Still, I’d better bring you back inside, before you miss all the rest of the evening’s dances.” (Besides the dance she could grant him, Evander had little care for rejoining the party now, but such was expectation.)
He let go of her hand now so as not to permit himself to dawdle much longer, but as he offered her his arm Evander cast another look at her, for once not needing to dread the answer. “But if you have no objections, I hope I might still call on you next week?” See: what a marvel. How easy it would be to spend more time with her now; to get to know her a little better; to find their feet before having to make any grand changes. What could possibly go wrong? Now that they were courting, it might all just be smooth sailing from here.
“So am I,” he agreed, mouth dipping into another brief smile. If he hadn’t gotten it over with, he suspected the stress of it would not have let him sleep. “Still, I’d better bring you back inside, before you miss all the rest of the evening’s dances.” (Besides the dance she could grant him, Evander had little care for rejoining the party now, but such was expectation.)
He let go of her hand now so as not to permit himself to dawdle much longer, but as he offered her his arm Evander cast another look at her, for once not needing to dread the answer. “But if you have no objections, I hope I might still call on you next week?” See: what a marvel. How easy it would be to spend more time with her now; to get to know her a little better; to find their feet before having to make any grand changes. What could possibly go wrong? Now that they were courting, it might all just be smooth sailing from here.
