After leaving the Rum Room, Hayden offers Alice a ride, but she reveals she is no longer at the hotel and has rented a nearby furnished house. Alice plans to walk, and despite her insistence she will be fine, Hayden chooses to walk her along a wooded path, citing the lack of bystanders compared to big cities.

As they walk, their conversation turns playful and personal. Alice jokes about Hayden’s height and asks how many of his girlfriends were under five foot three, spinning a humorous theory about tall men and short women pairing for “evolutionary” reasons. Hayden reacts with amused bafflement, teasing her for her pseudo-science.

The tone softens when Hayden asks about Alice’s family. Alice shares that her mother pressures her about career choices, and that her father—who loved books and movies—died a few years earlier. Hayden offers sympathy and tells Alice she is allowed to feel cheated; Alice reframes her grief as proof of how great her father was. They continue in companionable silence, noting the heavy Georgia humidity as they near Alice’s house.

At the edge of the trees, they pause. Alice thanks Hayden for walking her, but he calls her name and steps closer. In response to her earlier question, Hayden admits he has dated one woman under five foot three and agrees it was “physically inconvenient,” continuing their joke about top shelves and basketball. The teasing heightens their attraction.

Alice invites Hayden inside; he declines, saying he should go home, but they continue to move closer. Alice asks if it is because he has a girlfriend; he says no. When she presses, he quiets her by resting his fingers on her lips, then lightly traces her bottom lip, intensifying the moment. As Alice leans in, Hayden’s hands move to her jaw and he kisses her, his lips coaxing hers apart.