Maria waiting, holding her breath, while he seemed to take her face in and make a decision. And then he was kissing her. She let him. And it was warm and soft and comforting in a way she'd never experienced. This wasn't mania, it wasn't drug-induced, it wasn't on a whim like it had been with Albie. She knew Kieran, and he knew her, and in a way she felt like a missing piece of herself was slotting into place as his lips touched hers.
She sighed into him, her body melting into his softly. Her hands came to his chest, gently, and she let him kiss her to their hearts' content.
When they quietly parted, she licked her lips and looked him in the eyes again. But then... She didn't know what came next. This wasn't frenzied and they weren't caught up in the moment in lust. This was new. Maria breathed deeply, calmly, and then smiled. A small smile, intimate, private. This smile was a secret between them.
"I should go," she said in a near-whisper, and then she nodded, still smiling that strange little smile. She didn't know why she should leave, but she just knew she should. "I..." She searched his eyes, "I should. But I'll see you at the office? And maybe... Maybe we can talk about... this later? When it's not the middle of the night and I haven't just barged into your flat?" Maybe he would ask her out, for a proper date. Maybe he would ask her to be his girlfriend. Her mind whirled with the possibilities. And all the while, that little smile.
Kieran didn't say anything, but he nodded, and walked her to the floo. She got up on her tippy toes to kiss him softly at the corner of his mouth, before wishing him a good night and stepping into the floo to go home. The last thing she saw before the flames took her away were his perfect blue eyes.