John nodded. "Yeah. Didn't go to prison," he said. Although he was sure there were a few officers that would have been glad to see him in a military penitentiary after what had happened. He decided not to say anything about that, though. Instead, he cringed a little when she mentioned having gotten served with divorce papers. "Speaking from experience, that's not fun...even when it's not a surprise."
He raised his eyebrows at the fact that her ex-husband was in federal prison, but before he could ask about it, she was talking about wanting to hug him. The next thing he knew, she was leaning over him, wrapping her arms around him. John froze for a brief moment before reaching up to return the hug. It was the closest he'd been to anyone in a long time, and it felt wonderful. Right. And he didn't want to let her go.
When she moved back, though, he cleared his throat a little. "I...no. I mean...that was...nice," he told her. His hand was still on her upper arm, and he found himself sliding it up to her shoulder. He wanted to caress his thumb along her jawline but was afraid that would make him too forward. Not that he was really ever shy with women, but this felt different. She was different. He somehow knew this woman, and it went beyond a chance meeting in an elevator. It was more than that.
"Fred, you can smack me if you want, but I've finding that I really...really want to kiss you," he told her.