His whisper poured into her ear like honey, trickling down to meet the answering warmth that rose in her chest. He hadn't been the first boy she'd had a crush on, hadn't even been the first boy she had a crush on when puberty hit, but he'd always been good at making her heart go pitter-pat at surprising moments. Like now, apparently.

She hadn't want to put pressure on him -- goodness knew he'd been through enough stuff that she'd have felt horrible bringing it up herself -- but she'd be lying if she'd said she didn't miss that part of their relationship too.

She smiled as she fell in to stand next to him, pressing her palm to his outer thigh.

"Let's find out if we can take off the masks," she whispered back, voice pitched at a low purr. "Sixteen's cute, but it's not really my thing anymore."