Like I told you, don't look backwards.

Cause now I see you here, nothing else matters.

-"Waking Up Slow," Gabrielle Aplin

July 2018

Raigan's living room had never felt more inviting than it did that Thursday night. She had the windows open so they could hear the crickets and they'd only turned on the lamps so the room seemed warm and relaxing. About ten o'clock, Piper announced that she was going up to bed. She shut her book and stood up. James sat forward, motioning out to her. She gave him a brief hug and let him kiss her on the top of the head and then went to hug her mom.

"Goodnight sweetheart," said Raigan, giving her a squeeze.

"Love you mum," she said.

"Love you too." Raigan smiled, leaning back into her chair.

Piper went into the kitchen for a glass of water. James heard her clinking around in the glass cupboard and then her footsteps going up the stairs and finally the click of her door closing.

He sunk down into the couch cushions, throwing one arm over his eyes. His other hand twiddled his wand aimlessly.

"Stop," said Raigan, "You'll set my couch on fire."

James smirked and let go of the wand. It rolled a few inches away from his finger tips down the slope of the seat.

"Rai," he said. "I have a big problem."

"Let's hear it then," she said.

James took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. "I don't know how to have a normal conversation with her."

Raigan sighed and James was pretty sure she was smiling which he found very annoying so he uncovered his eyes to check. He was correct.

"It's not funny. This is a serious issue."

"I don't disagree," she said. "I'm just not surprised is all."

"Alright, well I don't need you to agree with me. I need you to help."

Raigan laughed, shaking her head. "You've got more sass than Pipe, you know it?"

James started twiddling his wand again for something to do. He couldn't stop thinking about Elise. It was driving him mad. He'd been without a girlfriend for so long now he'd forgotten what a distraction it could be to have any sort of romantic interest in someone.

"So explain to me what's happening," said Raigan.

"I just don't understand," James began slowly. He sat up a little and frowned in thought. "I don't understand why the first time I went over to our house- I mean her house... it was so easy. And now I say hi to her and then it's like I go blank. We have nothing to talk about. Absolutely nothing."

Raigan considered him in silence. She crossed her legs and rested her elbow on the arm of the chair, leaning to one side to put her chin in her hand. "We haven't talked about this in depth, and I'm not gonna ask unless you want to tell me, so bear with my limited knowledge, alright? In my understanding, you were talking about the past, weren't you? Wrapping up what happened before?"

James frowned. "I mean, I guess so. Yeah. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything," she said. "That was a conversation that probably should have happened a decade ago, but it didn't so a version of you two as a couple was still in existence, just waiting to be taken care of. But James, you're not the same person. I haven't talked with Elise, but I doubt she's the same either. You've grown up."

"Raigan, we kissed that night. It's not like- I mean she wouldn't have done that if she didn't want something now, right?"

"I don't mean that now that past is sorted, you're done. I just mean that you can't keep relying on eleven years ago to carry you. It's been a long, long time. You have to get to know each other again. You're starting over."

Raigan had been amazing him with her romantic wisdom since the age of thirteen when James had taken a girl out to Madame Puddifoot's on their first ever Hogsmeade weekend. She was usually always right, even though James had had more girlfriends than he could count and Raigan's first serious relationship had been her only one. Perhaps that was just it though. She got it right the first time because she wasn't the complete idiot that James was. He had been so fickle, always giving up on people after a few weeks or a few months, the second it stopped feeling fun.

He must have been quiet for a while because Raigan continued. "Think about it. How many girlfriends did you have in school? A lot, right? And how many did you have after graduation before Elise? Like twenty or something crazy. I couldn't remember any of their names. Repeats from school included. But James, it's been eleven years since you took your job and you two... fell apart or just gave it up or whatever happened. How many girlfriends have you had in that time?"

"None," said James.

"Have you even kissed a girl in that time?"

"Once," said James. Raigan looked surprised by this, so he told her the story even though it was not his proudest moment. "Got a little drunk with Matilda one time. Things progressed. We've never spoken about it."

Raigan's jaw dropped open. "Matilda Skiffins?" she asked. "Like astronomy professor Matilda? When was this?"

"I dunno. Christmas six or seven years ago."

"And you never told me?" she demanded.

"I was trying to forget about it. She hasn't looked me in the eye since. Anyway, you're getting off topic."

"Right," said Raigan, unable to wipe the grin off her face. "Anyway, besides that shocking bit of information, this is by far the longest you've ever gone without girl-hopping and Elise is the one who made you stop, so I don't think it's hopeless, even if you did ignore each other for literally a decade. But clearly the person you were when you met her and the person you were by the time you were done and the person you are now... well they're all very different. You're just not- okay this is going to sound like an insult, but it's not. You're not as cool as you used to be."

James frowned and threw a tasseled yellow throw pillow at her.

"I told you it's not an insult! I just mean you used to be this little pick-up artist and now you're like... responsible and polite and... I mean let's face it, James. You've kinda become a dad."

The insult was filtered through a very touching compliment. 'Dad' was not a word Raigan had ever used in his direction. She was very careful about that. He was James and Dawson was Dad. James didn't want to overthink it, because he wasn't even sure she was referring to him in regards to Piper, but the sentiment was uplifting anyhow.

"And Elise too," continued Raigan. "She's not this nineteen year old newbie anymore. She's the second highest position in the auror's department. You two have grown up a lot. You're gonna have to take it back to day one and pretend like you don't know her."

"How am I supposed to do that?" asked James, now jabbing his wand repeatedly into the skin above his knee.

"Okay, put that thing down, now. Honestly," said Raigan in exasperation. He put the wand safely on the end table next to the couch and crossed his arms. "Anyway, you just need to ask her on a date?"

"A date?" asked James, wrinkling his nose.

"Yes, James. A date. With a time and a place and everything. You need to start treating her like you want an adult relationship, because you're not kids anymore, and you won't be working together much longer."

"Oh, god," sighed James, dragging his palm across his forehead, eyes closed. "I'm going to humiliate myself." He picked up his wand again, chewing the insides of his cheeks. He jabbed it hard into his opposite palm and it sparked in protest, leaving behind a deep gash. Blood crowded to get out, dripping between his fingers.

"Crap. Ow," he said.

"Give me that," said Raigan. He started to hold out the wand, still looking at his bleeding hand. He could feel the wound pulsing. "Not that, James. Your hand."

"Oh. Right," he said. Raigan spread his palm open to look at it.

"Ouch! Don't," he said, trying to snap his hand back, but her grip was strong. She lifted her eyes to him, glaring, and then she pointed her own wand at the cut and mended it at once. A second wave cleared the blood that had already come out.

"I warned you," she said. "That'll be sore for a day or so."

"That," he said, "is the least of my concerns."

---

James was an absolute basket case the next morning. He purposely passed the floor for the auror's office on the elevator three times in a row because he was so nervous to get out of the elevator. He could not think of a single time in his entire dating career that he'd ever been nervous to ask a girl out, but then, he had never planned it in advance. He had always taken advantage of a moment. He was also eleven years rusty.

He finally got out because Carston had been in the elevator with him and he couldn't come up with any reason not to follow him into the office.

"How's it going Professor?" Carston asked, as they stepped out together.

"Alright," said James. He nearly forgot to ask, but, a little too late, he said, "How're you?'

"Alright," Carston agreed, giving him a funny look.

James did not wait for any further conversation to develop before he headed further down the hallway. He couldn't be sidetracked any more or he would never do it. He nearly passed Elise's office, but, with a hefty serving of self-control, he forced himself to stand outside the door and knock. It was barely cracked open so he waited until she came to answer it.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," said James. She just stood there staring at him with her perfect ponytail and her pretty grey-blue eyes and her sexy purple dress under soft silver robes and he felt his mouth go very dry. The fact that he had ever been a 'we' with this girl was miraculous.

"Can I come in a minute?" he asked finally.

Elise stepped aside, pulling the door open a little wider. He stepped inside and waited until she'd shut the door before he continued with his quest.

They looked at each other for another few seconds. Elise put her hand on her shoulder and waited expectantly, lips parted. "Did you... need something?" she asked, lowering her chin a little.

"Yeah," said James, elongating the 'y.' "Uhm- alright, I'm just gonna... get right to it. Do you want to go out?" he asked slowly.

"Out?" said Elise.

"Out on a date," James clarified. Elise frowned so deeply he thought for sure she was gearing up to say 'no.'

"Okay," she said, still frowning. This was not the reception he had anticipated.

Still, it wasn't a 'no.'

"Good," said James, relieved. "Okay. Yeah. Cool. Uhm- what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Well I'm free in the evening," she said, playing with the ends of her ponytail.

"Perfect," said James. "Should I pick you up? Just kidding. I will. That's not a question. Okay, what about six thirty?"

"Sure," she said. He didn't understand how she could be so stoic.

"Okay, great. Well, I'll... I'll see you tomorrow then," he said. He took a step towards the door.

Elise nodded a little. "See you tomorrow."

James started to go, but he turned around with his hand on the doorknob and said. "Elise, you look... you look really nice today."

Elise pressed her lips together. It was the closest thing to a smile he had gotten out of her. He thought there was something brighter in her eyes.

---

James felt very funny standing on the front porch of Elise's house. He wasn't sure he had ever taken a girl on a proper date, unless you counted Hogsmeade visits back in school. He and Elise had often gone out after work, and then of course when they had lived together, but he'd never gone to pick her up somewhere, set a time, or even asked in advance. It had always been a spur of the moment thing, like, hey, wanna get some dinner tonight? And then they'd go. She had always been around. Even when he'd had an idea in mind, there hadn't really been a need to ask in advance. The mechanics of tonight were essentially the same except that it felt infinitely more formal.

James counted seconds for at least thirty six years before Elise opened the door.

"Hey," she said, smiling just a tiny bit. She was dressed very simply in white shorts and a light blue blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her ponytail was loose and a little messy. James thought she looked stunning. "Just let me grab my things," she said, stepping back into the house. She left the door open.

"Yeah, no problem," he said, leaning on the on the door frame in a desperate attempt to look cool. He despised himself for doing it purposely. Raigan was right. He was a fully grown dad. His jokes were even tackier than they used to be.

Elise flicked off the lamp on her way back to him leaving the living room in darkness.

"Okay," she said when the door had closed behind the both of them. "Should we... shall we go?"

"Yeah," said James. He hesitated before he took her hand, and they disapparated.

They arrived a moment later at an old pub they used to frequent, not too far from the house. It was called The Seafarer's Tavern and Elise had liked it because the ceiling lights were all old jars wrapped in fishing net and rope and also because they made a spinach and artichoke dip unlike anything James had been able to find elsewhere. It was a muggle business, but they had sometimes preferred that as well, because they were less likely to run into anyone they knew.

He looked at Elise when he'd gotten his bearings and asked, "This is okay?"

Her eyes looked a little glassy. She nodded. "Mmhm."

She did not let go of his hand which gave James a little spark of confidence.

They seated themselves at an empty round booth in the back corner of the tavern where it was easy to sit sort of next to each other and sort of across from each other at once. The seats were leather and a deep, bottle green. Elise immediately tucked one foot up underneath her. She never sat with two feet on the ground. Ever. He wondered if she still sometimes sat cross-legged in her chair in business meetings like she used to.

A waiter whisked over with large beer mugs of water and a half loaf of warm brown bread. They ordered a Guiness each.

"I haven't come here in forever," said Elise when he had left. She wrapped both hands around her cup, tracing lines in the condensation with her thumbs.

"You haven't?" asked James, surprised.

She shook her head, glancing up at him. "Not since... you know."

He nodded. "I just thought of it this morning."

"I'm glad it hasn't changed," she said.

"Me too." James reached for the bread basket, sliding it over to her first.

"Thanks," she said, reaching for a slice. He took a slice for his own and pushed it back to the middle of the table.

It was amazing how much more relaxed she was outside of work. He had forgotten.

The waiter returned with their drinks and took their order. They had forgotten to look over the menu and panic ordered the spinach-artichoke dip and a bowl of the daily soup each.

When he had gone again, they fell quiet. James did not know what to say. He kept thinking about all the things Raigan had told him he needed to do, about getting to know her again. But he didn't have a clue as to where to begin. What was he supposed to do, outright ask if her favorite color was still blue or if she still made nachos when she was stressed? He felt like he knew her so well already.

Elise took a sip of her drink and then wiped her upper lip with the back of her hand.

"Is it weird being back?" she asked.

"At work?" said James. She nodded. "A little, yeah. It's weird to not have any real leverage."

She smiled a little. "Yeah," she said. "Not quite like being in charge of a classroom."

"Hardly," he said. "And it's just changed, too. The department. I don't know what it is."

"It's the people," said Elise. "Weasley's gone and he was good comic relief. Potter's so busy all the time and anyway, people are saying he might get bumped up to Head of Magical Law Enforcement. And you're gone and Dawson and everyone we've got to replace you... they're talented. It's a good group. But we don't all mesh so well. At least not as friends."

"Yeah," said James, thinking about it. Back when he'd first become an auror, he had been the youngest until Elise had been hired, but the department as a whole had been young, fresh out of school, and eager. It had all felt a little more fun than dangerous in the wake of the Second Wizarding War, after which, nothing really seemed so bad. Or at least, nothing seemed so bad until Dawson was killed. James had realized the reality of the job pretty immediately and he hadn't liked it nearly as much as the sport-like detective work they'd been doing for the past couple years.

"Potter might be leaving?" he asked.

Elise nodded. "It's not a guarantee, but I'd be surprised if he didn't get the promotion. It's Harry Potter, you know? It'd be sort of a relief actually."

"You think? I always liked him."

"Well, sure. I like him fine as a person. Just you've never had to report directly to the savior of the entire wizarding world. It's intimidating."

James laughed. "Could be worse. You could be Finster, reporting to you."

Elise pressed her lips together in a tight smile. "Are you gonna keep teasing me about that?" she asked, lifting her cup to her lips again.

"Probably," said James with a smile.

Their food arrived and for a few minutes they occupied themselves with it.

"So if Potter does move up, it's between you and Gillespie for the promotion," said James.

Elise shook her head. "No. Gillespie's been in that position forever. I've had two years."

"Potter beat him out for it," said James.

"He's Harry Potter," said Elise, raising an eyebrow.

"And you're Elise Walsh," said James.

Elise smiled so much that she had to turn her head to hide it. James took a bite of soup in the interim. He neglected to blow on it so it burned the roof of his mouth, but it tasted phenomenal. "All I'm saying," he said, "is if it were up to me, I wouldn't pick Gillespie. He's too disorganized. And he can't explain anything clearly. His ideas would be fine if he could get them out without summarizing them so much they're useless. You're succinct, but you don't dilute anything."

"Well," said Elise, looking pleased, but embarrassed by the praise, "we'll see I guess. Potter hasn't even left yet."

---

Oh, all my nights taste like gold

Yeah when I'm with you it's like everything glows

And all my days we can lay low

Cause when we're waking up, we're waking up slow.

-"Waking Up Slow," Gabrielle Aplin

---

As usual, talk of work carried them through the rest of the meal and even though they had never gotten into any of what Raigan said they should be talking about, James was feeling good. He felt like his mojo had come back at some point. He'd stopped overthinking every move he made. It was easy, as they walked out together, to take her hand again. He was pretty certain the night had been a grand success. They headed to a dark corner in the alley to disapparate, appearing again on Elise's porch. The pitch darkness felt a little eerie with the sound of the waves crashing several yards away on the beach. She pulled her wand out and lit the one lantern that hung from the awning.

Her face was shadowy and the lantern gave her skin an orangey glow.

"Thanks for tonight," said Elise. "It's... it's really good to see you again."

"Yeah," agreed James. "It is."

James felt very much like he would like to kiss her, but he wasn't sure how to make it any more natural than the classic front-porch, goodnight peck at the end of a date. Even though he didn't really want to leave her yet, he took a step forward and, with his free hand, reached out to cup her face. The kiss was everything he'd anticipated: short and dry and very, very awkward.

James dropped her hand and gripped onto the top of the stair railing instead. Elise rolled her lips together. "Well, uhm... goodnight," she said.

"Night," said James. Elise started to open the door, but then she turned around again.

"Wait," she said, shutting her eyes for a second.

"That was weird. Sorry," said James quickly.

"No, it's-" Elise sighed, giving him a considering frown. "D'you wanna come in?"

"Yeah," said James, relieved. "Yeah, I do."

Elise walked around turning on lights, illuminating little bits of the room at once. "Do you want another drink?" she asked. "I feel like we should be classy and have wine. You want red or white? Let's do red."

James laughed. "Red's perfect."

All the sudden, everything felt normal again. They were home, in their space, a place they had picked out together and lived in together. It was so easy to forget that time had ever passed them by when they were here.

James followed Elise into the kitchen. She cracked the window behind the table and then knelt down in front of the wine rack in the corner to choose. "Will you grab glasses?" she asked.

"Yeah." James crossed the kitchen and pulled open the last wall cabinet. He grabbed two glasses by the stems, knocked the cabinet door back shut with the back of his wrist and set the glasses down on the counter.

Elise brought over a bottle and popped out the cork with the tip of her wand. She poured each glass about a third of the way full and then she frowned at it. "My mum always said this is how much you're supposed to pour but it looks like nothing."

"Just go for it," said James, grinning. Elise was so many things he had forgotten and brutally honest about what she wanted was one of them. She had no problem making decisions, be it asking him to come inside or deciding on red wine poured an inappropriate three quarters of the way full.

"Let's just be honest with ourselves," said Elise, handing him one glass. She headed out of the kitchen and back to the living room. "Who's gonna drink that one little glass and feel satisfied."

They sat down on the couch, Elise sitting sideways to face him. She pulled her knees up and rested them over to her right against the back of the couch. James angled towards her. She held her glass in her left hand, pinky out without even trying, and took a slow slip, peering at him over the rim of the glass. James couldn't stop looking at her.

Elise pulled her wand out again and flicked it at the radio across the room. It turned on, the volume high. "Whoops," she said, and she flicked it again to lower it enough to talk over.

"You still play it loud when no one's here?" said James, thinking back on all the times he had walked in to hear it blaring, only to have Elise hurry to put it back down.

One side of her lips quirked up and she tipped her head to the right. "No one's ever here," she said.

With a sarcastic smile, James swirled his wine a little before he took a sip. Elise's smile grew. "Except you," she added.

"No one else?" asked James.

"Like ten years ago or something I dated this muggle guy for a while, but the first and only time he came over he got freaked out by the moving pictures and thought I was planning to cook him into a potion. I had to obliviate him. He was just a rebound anyway." This last part she said quietly, and she finally broke her eye contact with him.

"If it makes you feel better," said James. "I got drunk and made out with a middle-aged co-worker on Christmas once. That's only the second time I've admitted that story and the first time was two days ago."

"Wait, who?" asked Elise, looking genuinely curious.

"Matilda Skiffins," he said, hiding himself behind another sip of his drink. He wasn't sure why he'd volunteered this embarrassing bit of trivia again.

"Oh my god, she taught me," said Elise.

"No she di- she couldn't have," said James, sitting up a little.

"Only my seventh year," said Elise, clearly trying to hold back her giggles. "She's gotta be in her fifties, right?"

James shut his eyes and nodded. "You should obliviate that," he said.

Their conversation continued long after their glasses had emptied. Talking to her was easy now. They laughed over stupid things that had been getting a lot of media coverage lately, the highly anticipated Weird Sisters return album which had been nothing short of disappointing, and Steve Gillespie's most recent matchmaking victim - none other than Carston Finster. He had not yet found a suitable second half to this relationship, but he kept loudly assuring Carston that his time was coming which had meant Carston spent a lot of his time actively avoiding Gillespie.

James filled her in on the Triwizard Tournament and the goings on at Hogwarts. He even boasted a bit about Ravenclaw's big year, winning the house cup and the quidditch cup. Elise just raised her eyebrows at his declaration that Ravenclaw had not only won, but beaten out her own house, Hufflepuff, for the top spot.

She caught him up on some of the ministry drama he'd missed out on and even told him a few top secret bits of information that his position as temporary auror didn't really warrant him knowing.

It was nearly midnight when Elise finally asked about Piper again.

"You sound like such a good dad," she said, looking down at her fingers.

"I'm not really a dad," he said, feeling embarrassed by the compliment. "She doesn't call me that."

"Does she want to?" asked Elise, looking up at him again.

"I think so," admitted James. "Raigan doesn't want her to."

"Do you want her to?"

James paused, his face flickering into a frown and then back again. "I don't know," he said. "It's complicated."

"Life is complicated," said Elise. She sunk down deeper into the couch so she could rest the side of her head on the back of the couch. The cushions pushed her ponytail over to the left.

They fell quiet for the first time since they'd sat down. The radio finished playing a song by the band Jinxed that James had heard coming out of Piper's room probably three thousand times in the last week. The next song was an old one. James had an immediate flashback to his fifth or sixth year at Hogwarts.

"Oh, I used to love this song," said Elise. James sat up, an idea forming.

"Come're," he said. He stood up, holding out both hands to her.

"What?" asked Elise, starting to sit up a little. She looked skeptical.

"Don't be serious," said James. "Just go with it." He took her hands and pulled her up and out around the coffee table to the biggest open space in the room. He flicked his wand at the radio to turn it up and then dropped it on the table and grasped her hand again. He wasn't really much of a dancer, but it was late and the music was good and Elise looked beautiful and he hadn't touched her at all since their one awkward kiss on the front porch. He started twisting back and forth, tugging on both of her hands to get her going. Elise resisted at first, pressing her lips tight together, but he raised his eyebrows at her and she broke down. James twirled her around, laughing at the blatant discomfort on her face. Her eyes glowered at him, but she was smiling too.

"Spin out," he said, letting go of one of her hands. He pulled her back into him and Elise finally took some initiative, letting go with her other hand. She slid her arms around his neck, clasping her fingers. Her thumbs brushed through the hair at the base of his scalp when he moved to hold her and she relaxed, forehead into his chest. James threw himself an internal party to celebrate the night's success. It didn't seem possible that he could be this comfortable with her so quickly, but somewhere between the front porch and inside the house, all the awkwardness and the forced formalities had melted away and left this ease he hadn't felt in so long.

Their hold on each other turned into less of a dance and more of a hug, but not quite either one. James dropped his head down into the crook of her neck, and in a moment of boldness, pressed his lips to the curve of her shoulder.

Elise squirmed and tried to lean back away from him. "I swear, if you give me a-" she started to say, but James took advantage of the distance to kiss her on the mouth instead. He felt a little overwhelmed by her. She was so many things he liked at once. Lighthearted and funny, but also deeply serious and comfortable in the quiet. Confident, structured, and unapologetic, but still kind and secretly soft.

"God, you make it so easy to fall in love with you," he whispered. Elise looked at him for a long time, her fingers moving lightly over the skin on the back of his neck. It gave him goosebumps all over his arms. Her eyes looked more blue than usual and though she wasn't smiling, there was a subtle shift in her gaze, something intense that made him hold the eye contact longer than he normally would have done.

"Can I ask you about something?" she asked.

"Course," said James. Elise held still a little longer and then her fingers unclasped and slid down his arms until they dropped to her own sides.

"Be right back," she said.

James paced around the living room while she was gone, running his hand through his hair. He didn't even feel tired though he'd certainly graduated from his days of staying up past eleven. She was not gone long though. She stood in the doorway of the hall, clutching something in her fist and then she sat back down on the couch, in the center this time. James joined her, seating himself just a few inches away.

"I found this," began Elise, but then James realized what she must be holding.

"Behind the picture next to the closet door in that hole in the wall," said James.

Elise did not confirm or deny this. Instead she opened her palm to reveal the little black velvet box. "I think I cried for a week when I found it," she said.

James reached out to take it from her, opening it up. He remembered picking it out so clearly. He'd actually had it customized for her. It was delicate, just a thin band of silver, with one tiny diamond situated diagonally from one tiny, ocean-cured shard of blue beach glass. She was not a flashy girl. He had wanted to find something she wouldn't actually mind wearing the way she had hated the ring she'd been stuck with for the weeks they'd been undercover back when they first met.

"You kept it?" he said. His throat felt a little tight. He regretted that he had never seen her wear it.

"It's beautiful," she said, in place of an answer. "You never gave it to me."

"I was going to," he said. "And then you found out you were...." he trailed off. "I didn't want you to think that was why."

Elise smiled a little bit. "I probably would have," she said. Quieter, she added, "But then I wasn't in a good place."

James stared at the ring awhile, some sort of resolve forming, and though it was probably, definitely way too early to make any kind of assumptions, he asked, "Can I hang onto this?"

Elise went very still. She blinked twice, glanced down at the box and then at James. "Okay," she said. It was closer to a proposal than he'd ever gotten before and he'd only really spent time with her twice.

James shut the box and tucked it into his pocket. He looked back to Elise. "Can you stay again?" she asked.

"Yep," said James, leaning forward to kiss her again.