[well, that made one of them feeling relieved. it didn't send tension all the way up Anna's spine, but it did put her on... guard, sort of. she wasn't pleased with herself for that to be her reaction, but it was happening anyway and she didn't have much say in the matter.]

[if nothing else, she wasn't going to take her hand back. maybe she was just stunned. maybe that was why she said something that just... struck her, even as she was saying it, as the most quintessentially Anna Lehmann thing to say.]

There are a ton of better people in this city than me for something like that. [even if there wasn't going to be any (or much) attachment involved.] You don't want someone who hasn't touched a girl since the last presidential administration.

[she wasn't opposed to the idea of some no-strings-attached stuff in general, but it was... really complicated in ways that she hadn't exactly figured out for herself yet. and she wasn't going to go around announcing them in public or anything. that would just be dumb.]