The breaking of the kiss seemed to bring him back to reality, and there it was... despite his own atheism, society had well and truly got that shameful feeling right in place.
"Sorry," he said, almost involuntarily... and then he felt confused by his own apology, because he wasn't really sorry at all, he was glad. "I've wanted to do that for a while," he added, just in case she took the apology as a sign of regret.