Stuck in Second Gear

It was strange, in a way, for Adrienne to really stop and consider their situation. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate it or enjoy it. In fact, it was a bit of the opposite, really, which threw her off. Never had she been the forward type, and yet there she’d went. After her problems with Kaiden, she had tried to promise herself that, if nothing else, she would let the other person initiate something like this. Because while he had never tried to, someone else might be interested enough to do so.
 
But there went that plan.
 
She lifted her hand to his arm as he reached out, and she shook her head and smiled at him. “It’s not that at all. Just surprised myself is all.”
 
Upon finishing her sentence, she realized she was still essentially on top of him and didn’t know what to do about it. It was strange to think that earlier that evening he had been so distraught, and now they were here. She had hardly even registered the change once they’d sat down.
   
But then the doorbell rang. And that’s when she remembered. Pizza and bad TV. So she cleared her throat and stood, unable to keep her cheeks from burning as she went over to grab some money from her bag.

As Adrienne extricated herself, Selwyn wondered what would happen if you tried to send a confunding spell down a phone line.

He hadn't exactly forgotten about the pizza, he'd just hoped the guy would get lost trying to find the house, as thousands of his bretheren had before him.  Alas, not tonight.

On the other hand, this was probably for the best.  He had deliberately got her tipsy (at least, possibly a bit more than that) which would explain that whole "surprised myself" bit.

Selwyn couldn't help wondering if this was some kind of celestial warning, especially after his thoughts earlier.

He raised his eyes to the ceiling.

"T' only wee bairns running round the highlands'll belong to Elijah Krum if you keep cockblocking me like this," he sighed.

Adrienne was trying, though not entirely successfully, to convince the man delivering their pizza that she was feeling fine. As soon as she closed the door, though, she heard Selwyn's comment and looked sharply over her shoulder. Somehow, her gaze actually focused in on him properly, which she hadn't expected.

"Excuse me?" She asked, her eyebrows lifting just enough that it was probably noticeable. "Either you've forgotten the fact that I'm married, or you think saying something like that will make tonight end differently. For your sake, actually, I hope it's neither."

She shook her head, then regretted doing so since she already felt a bit funny on her feet, and walked over to the table to set down their box. "It's insane to me that you think something like that would have happened. I don't even know you well enough to help when you're upset. Why would I-? I mean... Look, you've said what you want out of this and I said I would consider it. But you aren't exactly helping yourself by saying stuff like that."

Selwyn went pale as he jolted upright.

"I wasn't speaking to you," he said hastily.  "You were in the hallway.  I was-"

Ugh.  How to even explain.  I was having a conversation with God.  That would probably go down just as well as if he really had been expecting her to hear.

"Kind of talking to myself.  And not being literal anyway.  I..."

Selwyn looked down at his hands, which had started fidgeting in his lap without his noticing.  He was going to have to come clean. 

Left hand through his hair as he looked at her again.  This was bloody awkward.

"I wasn't trying to get you into bed tonight, Addie.  I mean, this was fun and you're very nice," he eyed her up again as if to prove the point.

"And I'm sure this is hard to believe, what with the veela thing, but I've not," he swallowed.  He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks, probably sending him exactly the same colour Adrienne had been just moments ago.

"I've not gone all the way before.  I'd prefer to keep things slow, to be honest.  Besides, I had to crack open the wine just to get you to kiss me."

"I agree it was a dumb thing to say, but I didn't actually think you could hear me."

She chose to keep her thoughts to herself until Selwyn seemed to finish his points, trying to both calm herself and will herself to listen to his explanation. When he finished, though, she nearly wanted to laugh. Again, however, she couldn't determine whether or not she was doing so because of having drank so much or because she truly found it strange.

"Well, I obviously haven't either," she pointed out rather unhelpfully. "But you do realize, don't you, that it shouldn't necessarily be my job to initiate that? I'm not saying it has to be yours, but you could well have given it a go by now."

Shaking her head, she leaned her hips back against the wall as she turned to face him properly. "It was dumb," she nodded even as she crossed her arms. "But you didn't have to wait for me to do something."

Selwyn stood and stalked across the room towards her. He couldn't help but notice how incredibly helpful it was, the way she leant against that wall.

"Oh?" he asked. "You think I should initiate something?"

"Does truth or dare not count?"

He placed a hand on the wall above her head and leant down to speak softly into her ear.

"The truth, mon amour*, is that I suspect you are not quite so prim and proper as you appear."

He paused, took the chance and flicked his tongue across the outer shell of her ear.

"I think perhaps there is a wild side hidden somewhere in there."

He leaned back to gauge her reaction.  

"Not that I'll ever know, of course. Unless you were to, I don't know, ask me nicely to help you find it," he went on in a more normal tone.

He grinned.

"Better?"

---

*my love

Adrienne would have chuckled at his reaction were she watching it from the outside somehow. But she, obviously, was not. Instead, she lifted her chin to maintain eye contact as he approached. She was rather amused, despite her lack of laughter, and couldn't really believe that she had managed to get him so worked up that he would finally react like this.

"Your game was very close to counting," she conceded. His breath floated across her ear, silencing her quite effectively. She also glanced down and away, trying to pretend that her pulse hadn't jumped when his hand found the wall. Or, equally, that it wasn't still racing beneath her skin.

When he leaned away, Adrienne let the corners of her mouth turn up as she looked up at him once more. "Much, yeah," she agreed a little too nonchalantly. "Maybe, if you're curious enough, you'll convince me to give it a go."

With that, she began inching away from his hand and back towards the couch, adding, "I think perhaps you want to find out."

Selwyn watched with amusement as Addie sidled over to the couch. Oh, so she thought she could gain the upper hand by playing it cool, did she? Well, he would just let her go.

"I thought this was about what you wanted," he said. "I'm just doing as I'm told, mon chéri."

"So, unless you were to tell me to find out if my suspicions are correct, I'm afraid I'll have to remain in the dark," he explained. "And don't forget to say please."

He leaned back against the section of wall she'd abandoned and folded his arms across his chest with a satisfied smirk.

Adrienne smirked as he replied, laying out across the couch. Her head settled on one of the arm rests so she could still look at him, but she was the picture of relaxed even while he spoke. He was, essentially, saying that he wanted her to beg for it, wasn't he? She didn't have much intention of doing that. Unfortunately for him.

"I think you're forgetting, love, that women can hold out a whole lot longer than men can. Patience and all that," she jested, her smile broadening. "Now, you're welcome to disagree with that, but only until I prove that I'm right."

She wasn't sure if this qualified as a bet or not, but it felt like one, and after her last suggested bet had ended up so strangely, she probably shouldn't have considered another. And yet...

"I mean, it was fantastic, don't get me wrong. But I was fairly content to wait until you decided to do something about it. You're the one who was complaining and reaching for the wine, eh? I'm not sure you have it in you to wait for me to finally say that."

"Addie, Addie, Addie," Selwyn shook his head at her.

Then he laced his fingers together, cracked his knuckles, and walked across to the piano.  Sure, he hated playing for people, but for this?  He was willing to break his little rule.

"I have a perfectly good relationship with my hand, you know," he said as his fingers hit the keys.

"You, on the other hand, have never had the opportunity to get to know my hands, have you? I can coax some lovely tunes from this, so just imagine how sweetly I could make you sing."

"Perhaps I'll leave the silencing charm off my room tonight and let you decide for yourself."

"Of course, you could threaten to tie me up each evening, that would frustrate my efforts," he mused. "But I'm not sure it would count as holding out if you did."