He’s not, however, kissed me again since that night. I had thought perhaps it would be a door he couldn’t so easily close after having allowed it to be opened, but I was apparently wrong on that account. The very next night after my evening in the gaming hall, he made that fact very clear. I can’t say I intentionally kissed him, but I was perhaps more than a little relieved he seemed more himself after the way things ended the night before, and in my relief, I made the mistake of assuming he would want to kiss me again. But as soon as my lips touched his, he pulled away and looked harshly at my eyes. The shake of his head and his inability to hold my eyes sent a loud and clear message we would not be repeating that act again. As embarrassed tears pricked my eyes, I wanted to slink away and hide. At seeing my face, he let me excuse myself for the evening without having ever consummated our normal coupling. But later that night, I woke to his naked body against mine in the dark.
