A fight was one way Chris could have seen this going. Vernon was always spoiling for one, bully that he was, and he couldn't see Hesper backing down from any sort of challenge. If it had happened, though, it would have made him cringe in every fiber of his being because of the public nature of where they were and his dislike for conflict. It didn't look as if things were going to go that way, and he was glad.
He was actually very much distracted from Vernon at the sight of Hesper smiling at him. It was a softer expression than he'd seen from her thus far, no snideness or malice in it. He should have known that look meant trouble for him, but he was too focused on his closeness to her, something that was unusual for him with anyone. He knew it was just to tweak Vernon, but still he wasn't absolutely hating it. Normally when anyone got that close, it made his skin crawl.
And in the next second, she tilted her face up to kiss his mouth, effectively rendering Chris speechless. Okay, yeah, he'd been kissed before, and this was nearly as chaste a kiss as those he'd shared with Violette. It was part of the show they were putting on here, and he knew that. Still, it sent a little spark of electricity along his spine. He just stared at her afterward, trying not to look too dumb, because Vernon was watching.
"Aight, dudes," Vernon mumbled, his eyebrows lifting. What the hell was going on in the world when a pansy like Morgan could scoop up a fine-ass older babe like that? he wondered. Shee-yit. "Peace." Shaking his head, he lumbered off back into the hospital to hunt down his ride.