"I... well..." Charlotte Margarie Doyle, don't you dare stammer! Charlie took a deep breath to steady herself, but instead ended up inhaling a lung full of dust, old cage smell, and lord knows what else. She found herself coughing violently, trying to expel the bad air from her lungs while tears streamed out of her eyes. Great way to distract him from your idiocy, there, Doyle, she chastised herself as she finally pushed herself to her feet and stepped away from the cages.
It took a while and a lot of chest pounding before she could breathe again, but when she did, she wiped the tears from her face and smiled uncertainly back at Royce. Let him think that her blooming face was because of her lack of oxygen. "I'm *cough* sorry about that. Inhaled the dust and stuff."
"And... well, anyway, I was going to ask if you wanted to come by for dinner tomorrow," she continued, trying to sound as matter-of-fact as she could. "Come by my apartment, that is. I was going to make spaghetti and meatballs, and just randomly wondered if you didn't want to- ah, but, anyway, if you're spending time with your sister, I wouldn't want to intrude." Dammit, you're sounding too disappointed. Lighten it up. "Crazy though you say she may be, I'm sure even she will be bummed if you miss out on your sibling bonding time." Charlie grinned at the comment, pleased that the smile felt natural, and knelt again to start working on the next cage. "Besides, we're neighbors, right? Not like you can't drop by whenever. We'll do dinner some night when you're free, kay?"