Amber listened with concentrated attention. She understood now. There were no contradictions here, Eric was simply embarrassed by his own fall in luck. She wondered what the job he'd taken on, and why. Was it because of an administrative shuffling at Princeton-Plainsboro? Judging from the extent of his ambition and confidence today, she imagined that any kind of step down would be a blow to him. Perhaps he was taking this new, unwanted job harder than most would.

When his hand fell away, she felt a coolness on her cheek at once. She wasn't going to stand for that. Amber took his hand again, gently, and held it to her mouth. She pressed her lips to the center of his palm, holding it there for one heartbeat, one. She slowly went down, butterfly-kissing her way to his wrist. "I'm-- also going through a rough time. I have a job right now, but I have no idea how long it'll last, I could get fired tomorrow! It's actually, it's fun, and I'm doing things I dreamed of-- but I need tonight, too." She kissed his wrist again.