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"I…, uh, good ht played in ht have happened if I’d let it…

"I don’t want things to feel aard between us now," I said quietly

My glance ain Breaking the ice, I took a step closer to her, slid a hand beneath her chin and tilted her head upward I lowered ainst her neck, her cheek, before kissing her full on the mouth

Her breath hitched, but then a smile spread across her face

"Neither do I," she said, twining her fingers with lad we held back last night"

"I am, too," I said, relieved that she felt the same way

It was clear that we both had too much on our minds, too many obstacles to overcome, to start a relationship in that way But at least I’d feelhonest about our attraction for one another

"But," she continued in a low voice, draping her arain, "I’d like you to keep kissing ainst , I whispered:

"I’ll see what I can do about that…"

Our journey across the Arabian Sea was thankfully uneventful The echoes in our ears continued, but by now, this was no longer shocking As we neared Sri Lanka, it became clear towrong with this one, and we’d almost come to the end of our supply of extra fuel

We neared Colo before approaching the shore I grabbed River’s backpack, filled with cash and the coins that hadn’t yet been converted, as well as the vial of ao of yet I took her hand, and we abandoned the boat along a deserted beach and began to run toward the port River had washed our robes in the sea and dried them on the deck in preparation for our arrival, so at least eren’t running around in bedsheets

We soon arrived at the an River pointed out a few, suggesting that I check the different than just a regular boat What I wanted was a submarine But one proved to be hard to find There weren’t many around And those I did spot were far too difficult to break into without da the vessel But eventually, I found one in a private bay area that I ain entry to

There was terror in River’s eyes as ered ourselves inside I could practically see the iination Thankfully, this time eren’t chased--at least we didn’t notice anyone I was able to start up the submarine without much delay, since it was quite an outdated vessel, and then I navigated us away fro at the control panel as she took a seat next toa hand over the panel "I wouldn’t be able to start this thing if you gave me ayou since you were a kid," I replied

"Well, you have a cool uncle"

I suess my family is pretty cool"