They sat across the room from each other that night; he on the settee, she in the armchair facing.

It was a night of waiting.  Their partners had been at a meeting together and were due home soon.

They had spoken of many things.  Light things.  Little things.  Friends both at ease and ill at ease.  Although they were alone there was something in that room with them which could neither be seen nor touched, but that bristled.  And they both knew it.

The talk remained safe and deliberate.

Then a conversation on the books they enjoyed reading lit a pathway between them.  After an eternity he rose to walk across towards her, then past her to the curtained window.  He ended his awkwardness and walked back to the settee.  He sat again and closed his eyes.

He heard her rise from the armchair and felt her sit softly beside him, before linking her arm through his.

After a lifetime of seconds he rested his head on her shoulder, smelling the sweetness of her hair, before they turned to look into each other’s eyes and kissed gently.

A sudden glow of an outside security light heralded the arrival of their partners on the drive.

“You know this can’t go anywhere” he said.

She fixed his gaze and brought her fingertips to his lips.  “It’s brought us here” she said.