— ah, there it is. That deer-in-headlights stare. Now they are absolutely being ambushed.
“Oh, uh — um, I mean — um, that is, uh... it's, um...” They let go of Michael's hand so they can start wringing both of theirs together, tugging their fingers, cringing internally and a little externally. They can't say Ha ha oh no way because that sounds weirdly rejecting but also they don't want to encourage this notion because they've only been dating a couple of months oh God what are they supposed to say to that they haven't even thought of that before, why would they, people don't think about that after four months —
They startle exaggeratedly when a plate is put in front of them. Someone might as well have fired a gun. They blink rapidly, realising their mouth is slightly open.