"No, no, I completely understand," Arden assured him. "Things got...really crazy..." You know, what with the almost dying and all "...and sometimes it's nice just to have a few hours of quiet after all that. Where we don't have to yell to be heard or fight for conversation, right?"

Her finger stopped poking him, slid down to his hand and squeezed. Again, friendly-like. "I'm honestly grateful that you want to hang out more one-on-one. After spending two weeks trapped up on a roof with me, you'd have every reason to want to escape me."