George
It was perhaps not the most original of compliments, but it was the truth: Flora did take after her mother, and in all the right ways. But there was something that Hotaru had that her daughter lacked, at least in George’s eyes, a sort of maturity that only came with experience. Where Flora threw herself hither and thither as a sort of game, Hotaru’s approach seemed to George to be more measured. More calculating. She might flirt, sure - he’d seen that with the bartender, with the way she’d flounced about the party tonight - but there was a deeper gravitas that he felt he’d been privy to, though perhaps that confidence was misplaced. He didn’t know her very well, after all.
Except that he felt like he did know her. For all his flirtation and charm, he felt as though he’d fallen straight into her orbit, where she could have from him what she pleased. Part of him rebelled against the sensation; he was a thief, a flirt, a man of the shadows. Perhaps he didn’t feel that he would be deserving of Hotaru’s affections - or perhaps he simply balked at the notion of giving away any piece of himself. For all that he was a flirt, he was also a one-woman kind of man.
His hands settled on her trim waist as her own lit on his shoulders, and though he longed to pull her closer, he kept his touch gentle and measured, allowing her the option to make the first of any moves. He’s a gentleman like that, is George. ”Hmm,” he murmured, considering. Would it be too bold to say that this was his favorite part of the evening? He could have fun at a party as much as the next guy, but he was a man of the shadows, and he tended to linger on the fringes, content to watch and observe. A private dance was much more to his liking. ”Watching people,” he finally answered truthfully. ”You can learn a lot by observing.”
Except that he felt like he did know her. For all his flirtation and charm, he felt as though he’d fallen straight into her orbit, where she could have from him what she pleased. Part of him rebelled against the sensation; he was a thief, a flirt, a man of the shadows. Perhaps he didn’t feel that he would be deserving of Hotaru’s affections - or perhaps he simply balked at the notion of giving away any piece of himself. For all that he was a flirt, he was also a one-woman kind of man.
His hands settled on her trim waist as her own lit on his shoulders, and though he longed to pull her closer, he kept his touch gentle and measured, allowing her the option to make the first of any moves. He’s a gentleman like that, is George. ”Hmm,” he murmured, considering. Would it be too bold to say that this was his favorite part of the evening? He could have fun at a party as much as the next guy, but he was a man of the shadows, and he tended to linger on the fringes, content to watch and observe. A private dance was much more to his liking. ”Watching people,” he finally answered truthfully. ”You can learn a lot by observing.”
