"No, it's...," Seamus started, the response ingrained and automatic. When he caught himself, the thought crossed his mind that being around her was dangerous to his emotional state. "It's all right. No one's called me that since...not in a while." He twisted his fingers together and apart, suddenly looking down at them instead of at Susan. Habit had him reaching for the pendant hanging around his neck. Even Eloise had noticed; how could Susan not? It was nearly five years since she'd given it to him. The only time he'd taken it off was for about two weeks after their break-up, when it weighed like a stone and only reminded him of the bad things. Of course, he'd needed to repair the cord after tearing it off the first night. The spell took another several days to perfect.
He was silent for a few minutes, just listening, wondering if anyone even realized the lift was stuck. So long as it didn't go careening further down the shaft, he was all right. Just thinking it made him nervous.
"Susan...does this thing get stuck a lot? We're not going to go falling to our deaths at some point, are we? I don't really fancy dying in a lift is all. Old and grey in bed sounds worlds better. Even me bike would be a better way to go than this." Again, his mouth was running away with him. "I don't mean with you, just...in here. Jesus, can you imagine the headline?"