What did this short contact moves inside her? Why does she suddenly feel uncomfortable when he touches her? Right before this happened she felt great, comfortable, while walking along the fields side by side next to him, talking about music.
Music…it's a very good subject to break this weird silence.
As she starts talking again her voice sounds hoarsely. It seems as if that voice wouldn't belong to her anymore.

"Do you play any musical instrument?"

Ryan's eyes fixating hers again. She can't stand his glaze, has to avert her eyes and stare at her hands. But she still feels his view.

"Yeah.", she hears his voice. He sounds as if he would be in trance. "I play drums and e-guitar, acoustics, too."

She forces herself to face him again, directly in his eyes. She makes it.

"Two instruments? Wow!"

The sparkle of his eyes returned. But now she can't match it correctly.

"And you?", he asks with breathy voice.

She slowly wags her head; her view is tacked on his eyes to find the underlying cause of his thoughts. It doesn't work, for any reason she just can't concentrate on it.

"Nothing.", she answered.

Another five seconds they face each other, muted, just a half meter apart. Ryan seems to pattern everything of her: her hair, her shoulders, her nose, her mouth, her legs, her feet…

She for her part looks at his arms and hands, hanging beside his strong body; they are normal hands, pretty ones, by the way. Rather a little small for a man, looking soft and tenderly. Not the way she knows from other men she met, Marc included. His hands are massive, nearly as the paw of a bear. They are raw and dry, his fingers have a yellow gleam - he is a smoker.

"Shall we return?", Calleigh asks, even if she knows that she disturbs a magic moment. Well, she doesn't really know what's magical about to stare at each other without saying a word, but the feeling was there.
Ryan looks in her eyes again, breathes, coughs slightly and smirks.

„As you wish."

Does she want to?

Yes.

No.

No idea, but somehow she wants to.

They turn round and walk back to their cars – even if it wasn't a long promenade.

Just before she gets in her car she calls a short "Bye! 'Till tomorrow!" to him, then she leaves.
A look in her rear-view mirror shows her that Ryan was still standing besides his car, watching her drive off. Finally she drives a curve and he was out of her sight. But this indescribable feeling still lasts.

-R-

Ryan counts the second on his digital buzzer. He lies on his bed, meanwhile it's 11.56 pm and he just can't fall asleep. But this time it's different: this time his heart throb doesn't drops back to rage, disappointment or sorrow but to happiness. Even just thinking of the soft contact of their hands a pleasant shiver runs down his back. And that feels good, very good; although it doesn't mean something – or does it? Somehow she gave the impression as if she would…

Never!

Or…?

No!

Perhaps, you know….

The war of thoughts again. But slowly the Yes-side seems to gain the mastery.

-C-

Something is different. Something has changed between them – and nothing negative.

Perhaps it starts with the daily welcome every morning already. Before, it was just a short "Hi Ryan!", now at first there is a smile, perhaps a short, shy look, then a "Good morning, how are you?".

It's funny what a moment – no matter how short it has been – can effect. It can change someone's whole life; well, in this case it's not a life, but…hm, what can it be? You might say that they get closer, closer than before. Just because of this one short magic moment. Not absolutely close but… close – and she loves it.

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uuuhh...