As soon as Cassie came close he had to resist the urge to kiss her. They were pretending that they'd been strangers before this and while it made sense for them to maybe start hooking up by now, they couldn't act too familiar, like people who'd been together for quite some time and known each other for years.

So what he did instead was lean in close to her ear, since adorable flirty whispering was something that made a lot of sense at the stage they were pretending to be at.

It was a lot more than flirty, though. In fact, it got straight to the point.

"I want you," he whispered longingly.

They hadn't... it had been a while. He just hadn't been in the right mindset. They'd slept in the same bed and cuddled a lot, which was nice. She was always there, holding him, after the nightmares. Wiping the tears off his face.

But it had gotten better. It was getting better all the time. All the feelings he'd locked up were starting to come out again. The numbness was going away.

"Let's get away for a little while. Tonight."