"That's a little generous," Jonas protests. He's not an expert in it. He's a slave to it.

What's Rupert doing, though? The longer this goes on, the less Jonas understands it. This is too intimate a touch for near-strangers. Rupert hardly knows him, has no right to care for him as much as he seems to. Jonas doesn't know what to make of it, or what to make of Rupert's expression, the look in his eyes as they watch him.

The uncertainty isn't enough to make him withdraw, though. He'll take as much affection as Rupert cares to give him, however inexplicable it may be.