There had been a fine line that he'd been walking, with the flirting and the kissing and the - well there'd been a lot of flirting and kissing, but that had been all there'd been. And for some reason - despite the flirting and the kissing - a part of Alex hadn't fully computed that Bobbie might want more than that.

He did, but he had for a while now, and Bobbie had only recently come around on the idea of being anything more than friends at all. He'd been pretty content with the whole 'everything is the same except now we make out' deal.

So he was caught a little off guard by the sexual turn to the teasing, and the carefully fabricated acceptance that he'd had of whatever their relationship was cracked slightly.

Luckily he was close enough that his falter could be mistaken for a hitch of his breath.

"You know, Gunny, I only just put it on," he pointed out, because humour was easier.