The point of dropping the rope is to let the other person know you have TRULY dropped it -- not to pick it back up at the first sign of a tug on the other end. In fact, if you're properly dropping the rope, you shouldn't even FEEL the tug on the other end, because how can you feel it if it's not in your hand??
You are still 99% focused on him. You need to be 90% focused on YOU, and walk down your path. Yes, you can OCCASIONALLY (10%) look over your shoulder and see if he's walking with you, but I wouldn't even recommend THAT until you're several miles down the path.
