George
George wasn't sure what had possessed him to murmur such a romantic response, so far removed from the light flirtations and witty banter that had thus far passed between them, but Hotaru's slightly-colored cheeks told him that perhaps he had been right to take the plunge. He resisted the urge to raise a hand to cradle her face, to run his thumb lightly across the curve of her cheek. It felt too tender, too raw, and he wasn't sure how it would be received - if it would be received at all. At any moment, he could make a misstep that sent Hotaru running for the hills, and he was hesitant to make such a mistake.
Her whisper and the ghost of her fingertips along his jaw had him swallowing hard, intoxicated by her proximity and the intimate nature of her touch. Was this the ending to the evening he'd envisioned? Almost certainly not. He'd imagined going home alone, perhaps a little drunk, and waking up on the morrow ready to get back to work. But this... this was far removed from what he'd anticipated, and yet he wouldn't change a moment of it. He chuckled warmly into the space between them. "And here I was hoping this was a beginning."
She was tantalizingly close, and he carefully slipped a hand to the small of her back, gently guiding her that much closer, as his other hand rose to tilt her chin up. He searched her face, looking for permission and fearing that he was making a mistake. But the feel of her in his arms and the look in her eyes and the sound of her whisper in his head emboldened him, and before he could second-guess himself, she began to lean down, closing the distance between them to press his lips almost tentatively against hers.
Her whisper and the ghost of her fingertips along his jaw had him swallowing hard, intoxicated by her proximity and the intimate nature of her touch. Was this the ending to the evening he'd envisioned? Almost certainly not. He'd imagined going home alone, perhaps a little drunk, and waking up on the morrow ready to get back to work. But this... this was far removed from what he'd anticipated, and yet he wouldn't change a moment of it. He chuckled warmly into the space between them. "And here I was hoping this was a beginning."
She was tantalizingly close, and he carefully slipped a hand to the small of her back, gently guiding her that much closer, as his other hand rose to tilt her chin up. He searched her face, looking for permission and fearing that he was making a mistake. But the feel of her in his arms and the look in her eyes and the sound of her whisper in his head emboldened him, and before he could second-guess himself, she began to lean down, closing the distance between them to press his lips almost tentatively against hers.
