"You did, too," Adam pointed out, picking at a seam on his trousers and dropping his stare for a couple moments. Confessions did not come naturally to Adam. Secrecy was much easier, largely because he'd never been able to trust anyone with his confessions. "We were both startled. I was warned that kind of casual intimacy was common, but I still didn't expect it."

He knows that doesn't quite answer the question. They were both startled, and yet Adam's reaction had still been different, and he had startled again shortly afterward. "The fighter. The way he looked at me."