Elyse took his hand, shaking it back firmly. There was one thing of many her grandmother taught her: whether or not you’re a woman, the handshake still makes an impression. So her handshake wasn’t weak and dainty, for Elyse was far from that. “Dylan… oh yeah.” A chuckle escaped her lips as she remembered who he was, “I used to think you were cute.” She wasn’t by any means hitting on him with that statement, she just tended to stay on the honest side since she always found it to be, in most cases, far more interesting. “I believe Gram would say if I had been older…” She distorted her voice to imitate her grandmother, “That’s the kind of man you should marry. Dependable.” She raised her eyebrows to punctuate the statement as her hands smoothed out the front of her dress, picking off a stray leaf that had stuck to the material of the skirt. “Hopefully she won’t be disappointed that I absolutely never want to get married.”
She noticed the older women she had so desperately been trying to avoid earlier seemed to be bringing their attention toward the two, which caused Elyse to take a step to the side to sort of hide behind Dylan. She prayed silently to herself that maybe that whole dependable, get married idea stuck with them too and they wouldn’t bother. Her thoughts were interrupted again when he spoke. Her eyes narrowed as a grin swept across her lips, “Oh… well, thank you but you didn’t do it. Either way, I never thought I’d hear that word so much in one afternoon.” She didn’t want to offend, so her expression softened to show that she appreciated him coming in her own way and his apology.