Rob and Cassie are sitting on the edge of her sofa, her hand playing with the frayed rug underneath. She's just told him about the creep she knew at uni, who threatened her quietly while watched by a group of people, who had been her friends.
After a silence he reaches out to tentatively put an arm around her, and she relaxes against him.
"I would never let anyone hurt you," he says finally, so softly and sincerely that she turns to look at him in surprise. Their eyes meet in an oddly charged moment. He has the brief impulse to lean in and kiss her on the mouth, just to see what would happen.
Instead he gives her an Eskimo kiss and then tickles her until she begs for mercy. "Rob, stop!" she gasps, tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks. They end up in a giddy, tangled heap on her floor, giggling like children.