Severus slid off the counter, wanting to avoid the awkward silence that was sure to ensue. He looked around the room for his boxers, and after pulling them on, hunted for his wand.

When he turned back to her, to scourgify the counter, he was surprised to she was still sitting there, perched on the edge, swinging her legs and looking at him with her head tilted, a perplexed half-smile tilting her mouth. He raised his wand, as if in explanation, because he had no fucking clue what he was supposed to say. Apologize, maybe? But she had initiated it.

She jumped off the counter, and he cast the spell, watching as the shiny layer of sweat that coated the surface vanished.

He started slightly when she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and rested her cheek against his spine. He brought his hands up, unsure about what he was supposed to do with them (for standing still seemed decidedly cold). He finally settled on laying them over her arms, wrapping his fingers in hers.

After a long minute, she pulled back, softly kissing the spot on his spine just under his shoulder blades. That one touch, a fleeting glance of her lips on his damp skin, almost brought him to his knees, a feat only two men had ever accomplished before.

He turned to face her, keeping one of her hands in his, tangling his fingers in hers as though that simple knot would hold them together.

She smiled slightly, still naked, glancing down at the floor before meeting his eyes again. He realized then that this hadn't been easy for her, to be so effortless about her seduction. She had probably spent days working up to this, debating with herself whether it would be a mistake. The idea floored him, the thought that she was as uncertain about this as he was; she was just better at hiding it.

"Can I come to dinner?" he blurted out before he realized what he was asking.

Oh gods, please say yes.

She nodded, a flush creeping up to her cheeks.

"I've... I've never done anything like that before," she said hesitantly, gesturing half-heartedly at the countertop.

He wrapped a hand around the back of her skull and stepped to her, bringing his lips down to meet hers, kissing her with what was perhaps not sweetness, but at least an abject sort of longing.

She wrapped her free hand around his hip, tugging him to her for a brief moment, before she pulled back.

"I'll head home now, then," she said softly, studying his face carefully. "I'll see you around seven?"

He released her, nodding, and watched as she got dressed. When she was done, she looked back at him and raised her hand in a sort of almost-wave, before turning and walking quickly out the door.