The night isn’t expectant, the joke has been played. Two people stand apart and alone, batting idle thoughts into the dark. Nothing of significance ...ill come of this. She has made her decision to do the right thing, to live with that burden. Now she can’t stand the thought of reentering the crowd, nor can she stay on the deck with him. There is a third option. She turns toward the steps and walks down into the yard, to be alone. Everything is hard. She thinks: How will I get home tonight? If. All he knew was that he'd grown up on the stories of humans out there, and he wanted to go and see what all the fuss was about. Besides, as everyone also knows, trolls have monsterous sex drives, and Grendel was tired of making do with his hands. He'd always thought his name sake had been a bit odd anyways: Going into a human castle and stealing the MEN? No wonder he'd come to a bad end. Grendel was a fine specimen of a young troll, about 7 and a half feet tall, with arms that reached from his. Hewasn't trying to shame me, or embarrass me. And I could equally tell hedesperately wanted a real answer, the truth.I didn't speak. I didn't do anything. I certainly didn't move away fromhim, at all. I wouldn't move away from the feelings his fingertips weregiving me, their movements languid and pleasurable. If anything, Iprobably pushed my ass at him even more.Our eyes continued to do all the talking, I suppose. My tingles wereracing, emanating from his fingers. Inside my soul. I. Wise reasons. But then again, they haven’t exactly stopped either of us, have they? Maybe the only actual solution is time.Eventually, no matter how long we conspire to drag this out, I have to go back home. And then what? I can’t ask Kathryn to go with me unless she decides to leave Bill, and despite her frustration — which is only going to increase if he’s away as much as he says he’s going to be — I don’t see that happening. Things would have to get a lot worse between them, and if it came.