The time slips by a bit faster than Ava realizes, between all the shared dances and grazing at the food and enjoying the company of friends. But she is quickly approaching the limit of her social stamina, and she doesn't want to end the pleasant evening in burnout. It's nice that she has enough practice now to properly recognize the signs, and that the people she cares about won't view it as a faux pas.

All she has to do is give 6 the lightest brush of her hand against his to communicate that she's ready to go.

She doesn't yet realize that the ring he wears means she's not invisible to his eye at all, that he can see her eager gaze quite plainly. "Hey," she whispers. "I know a place."