Her own breath was shallow and stinted, more so than she wanted it to be. She knew she shouldn't linger. Shouldn't do what she longed to, which was kiss again. Any of those things would just result in him apologizing again. Explaining to her how he shouldn't have done this. How it couldn't happen again. How he loved perfect, stupid precious Fred.

So she pulled away first, created distance. It was an old defense mechanism, but one that has suited Lilah well enough. It was upsetting enough to be reminded how much she still wanted him. It'd be worse if he knew it too.