"The people? Sounds like you've been burned more than once," remarked Claire. Of course, she herself had been burned more than once, but her last relationship with Hahona had been the worst. Not long before they had been due to marry, Claire had literally discovered him in bed with one of her bridesmaids, and that had been that. There was no forgiveness for infidelity in her mind, and she had tossed him out of their flat in the Henderson Valley. In the three years since then, she had barely even dated, and never got past the first date. She twitched her eyebrows up as he explained who Rupert was. "You have a bloody butler," exclaimed Claire, not quite believing what she was hearing. Sure, she knew Adam was wealthy, but he hadn't seemed like the kind of bloke who would have had a butler.
Claire noted that Adam seemed inordinately interested in her description of how the kapa haka worked, which, from a pākeha, seemed strange. However, it wasn't unwelcome. "Usually, at least once a month or so, but it differs," she explained. "It's nothing on the Rotorua shows, though. We're just a bunch of amateurs." Sure, they were good, but they only did it for the love of it, and for the tradition. She blushed as she noticed his gaze move to her arms. Her hand reluctantly left his, in order to hike up the sleeve of her tee, and she turned to show her right shoulder to him. "All of this has meaning, explains my family story," she said, giving him a soft smile, clearly proud of it.
She couldn't help but laugh, albeit somewhat embarrassedly, as Adam replied to her quips about how they would get to know one another. "I've heard anticipation is good for first dates," she replied, her voice soft. "And sometimes second and thirds..." She had absolutely no intention of sleeping with Adam Pierson that night, no matter how well they were getting on, and how much she fancied him. She hadn't anticipated this, though.
Claire shivered lightly as Adam moved closer, his lips brushing her ear as he murmured to her. The shiver was followed with a snort, then a giggle, and any last trace of nerves that she might have been feeling dissipated as she burst into laughter. "Apparently so," she laughed, shaking her head, before leaning in and letting her lips lightly dust Adam's ear. "Maybe, though, there are more pleasurable subjects of conversation for a first date," she breathed. "I'm a bit out of practice, though, so you might need to lead..."