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Quickly, Esme cleaned herself up, exiting the stall, wiping her ruined mascara off her face. "Sorry, just needed a minute," she sniffled, washing her hands.
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"Hey, it's ok. It was getting annoying out there anyways. Small talk sucks." He stepped slightly closer, not wanting to annoy or set her off.
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"Yeah..." she muttered, dousing her face with water, washing off the ruined makeup.
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"I'll wait outside." Jason walked out the door, standing in the long fancy hallway, waiting for Esme. He felt sorry for her, he didn't mean to set her off or whatever happened. He just wanted this to be easy. He watched Esme walk back out as his hand caught hers before pulling away, looking up at her, asking permission.
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She washed off the ruined makeup and then put on a fresh face of makeup. She exited and glanced up at him with a quiet nod, it was fine, just holding hands.
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Jason grabbed her hand, rubbing small circles into her palm, looking straight ahead. They eventually sat down at the table, the ceremony starting and awards being passed out as they announced Jason a promotion. He walked up to stage after squeezing Esme's shoulder. "Act like you're proud." He mused, giving his phone to her.
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His touch was calming in a way. Gentle, steady. She nodded, taking his phone and doing so, recording with a smile on her face.
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Jason smiled and took his award before walking back down to their table, setting the plaque down on the table next to him before hugging Esme in a side hug softly.
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Esme smiled, hugging him back quickly before pulling away.
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"Y'know, you're not half bad." Jason gave Esme a lop-sided smile, waiting for her response on his comment.
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