Ray pulled up in front of Aurora's building and put the car in park, the engine settling into a low idle. The night had the particular, comfortable quiet of an evening that had gone well — the tennis tournament, the easy conversation afterward, the kind of date that left both people slightly more pleased with themselves than they'd expected to be.
He turned to look at her.
"I had fun," he said.
"Me too." She said it evenly, the practiced warmth she'd learned to produce on command.
"We should do this again sometime."
"Of course."
He smiled — genuine, a little boyish around the edges, the specific expression of a man who believed the evening had gone exactly as well as he wanted it to. Aurora gave a small nod and reached for her bag, already shifting toward the door, when his hand found hers.
She looked down at it. Then up at him.
"Can I at least get a hug?"
