Adrift in the Sea of Stars (Closed for now)

[Armphid]

OCC: Hey all, this is a sci-fi/romance thread that is currently Closed for Dolly and myself. That may change as time goes on, but for now, we hope you read and enjoy.

The year is 3007 of the New Galactic Calender, and the galaxy is at a tenuous peace. Though space pirates are still a danger, outright hostilities between the Pan-Galactic Republic and the Broan Hegemony have ceased.

Commerce is thriving in the new peace, and the sea of stars once again bustles with trade and tourism. One planet of the edge of the galaxy's bustling inner core is a famous resort, Elan V. It's on this luch, tropical planet, outfitted with large, sprawling resorts with the latest in entertainment technology that the story begins.

Name: Dyne Traydor
Age: 18
Height: 6'
Weight: 170 lbs.
Hair: Chestnut brown, falling to his jawline and somewhat spiky.
Eyes: The color of red wine.
Appearance: Dyne is a lanky youth with large, clever eyes and a face with noble features. He has an honest face, his eyes displaying his emotions clearly. Dyne's favorite game is physically demanding, giving him a wiry, muscular body despite living with high technology.

"HyyyAAAHH!" Dyne swung his arms up before bringing his sworn down in an overhead blow that drove the crab-like beast before him down to it's many legs. A great crask appeared in it's shell, light pouring through it. The lean youth danced back as two more lunged at him, pincers snapping. "Ha, not even close!" His breathing was fast, but not ragged, a vicious grin on his face as wine red eyes took in the two remaining monsters. Behind them a grim figure clad head to toe in thick armor watched, his hands resting on the head of a mammoth axe.

Dyne bolted forward for the armored man, then juked left to slash his blade across one of the crab-creatures, his blade tearing through shell and muscle with ease. He spun and stabbed as the other loomed over him, using it's own bulk to impale it on the blade. Kicking it's twitching form off his sword, Dyne turned to look at the armored warrior. "You and me now, big guy."

The gigantic man grunted, hefting his axe and settling into a stance. He stayed in plae only a moment before he charged, closing with surprising speed. Dyne's eyes went wide as he leaped back, raising his sword in a desperate parry. The weapons swung toward one another-

Pause. Player Dyne's presence is requested outside. Continue?

-only for the huge knight to freeze in mid-air before he faded completely, the holomatter projectors of the game shutting down. Dyne would have gestured angrily with his sword, but it had vanished too, "Aw, come on!" "I was this close to beating my high score!" He'd gotten further than every before, really putting his fighting skills to the test.

Another guest wished to enter. Continue program?

Dyne snorted, "Forget it." "Game over." The dimly lit cave was replaced with a large plain looking room, the many lenses of the holomatter system adorning walls, floor, and ceiling. He knew who was waiting for him outside. She thought his spending most of the vacation playing his favorite game was a waste, since he could play it at home.

"Man...she can be such a pain sometimes." His oldest friend, they'd come up together. Their families were so close, they'd even taken this vacation together. Dyne trudged to the door of the Fight Champion game, sighing as it slid open. "Hey, what's up?"

 

[showdolly]

Delane laughed. "You and that stupid game, Dyne. Don't you ever do anything else?" She pushed his chest, playfully, then pinched his shoulder hard - and ran.

They'd always teased and taunted one another, though in their young days Delane oft got the better of the boy simply due to growing differences in gender. Barely 6 weeks older than her long-time friend, she knew that now at 18 Dyne could get the best of her any time he wanted. She blused at the thought - being of age now sometimes her mind wandered to places it shouldn't. Just then, it had wandered to an old moment: Dyne's body above hers, pinning her down by the arms, both of them breathing heavily.... In their younger days, they chased and played and wrestled, but such a tossle today... Delane forced her mind to stop there. Stupid hormones.

When Dyne caught up with her, he gently punched her arm. She was appreciative that even though she often tried her hardest to hurt him, he very rarely hurt her back even minor - and usually even that was accidental. He called her a made-up name, and she laughed.
"I think we're supposed to get ready to get outta here. Today's the last day ya know. Mom and Dad told me to go find you, since I finished packing. I knew right where you'd be!" She laughed teasingly at him again. She'd not tell him what she'd used the hologram rooms for this trip... never in a million years.

Name: Delane Peridy
Age: 18
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 130 lbs.
Hair: dark brown, recent purple 'highlights'
Eyes: Green
Appearance: Skinny and well-curved and defined, tan from the vacation, and toned from her pilates-type trainings. Large busted, and loves to flaunt it. Very seldom wears make-up, as her natural coloring does the work for her. Often wears spaghetti-strap tops that show her belly, with short shorts which hide enough - or t-shirt type short, short dresses if the occasion needs more formality. Always flip-flops, unless barefeet are appropriate.

 

[Armphid]

Delane laughed. "You and that stupid game, Dyne. Don't you ever do anything else?"

He quirked an eyebrow, "Wouldn't you like to know?" Then she pushed him, and it was on. He ran after her, the same goofy kid stuff they'd done for years. Of course, the way her anatomy bounced and moved when she ran now made it clear they weren't really kids anymore. She gained a full length on him as he gawked at her. Wow...she really had grown up. He regretted that they hadn't spent more time on the beach together.

Then he snapped back to the present, "Oh no, you don't." "You're not getting off this time!" He put on a burst of speed, catching up in a few strides, "Take that, bouncer," he called as he reached out to touch her arm. Let her figure it out later. Although if she did, he'd be in trouble.

She came to a halt, laughing at him, the two settling into a walk. "I think we're supposed to get ready to get outta here. Today's the last day ya know. Mom and Dad told me to go find you, since I finished packing. I knew right where you'd be!"

"Yeah, you always could find me." Even that time he'd gotten lost in the park back home on Earth, she'd known right where to find him. "I packed up last night, and figured I'd get some more fun in before we get home." "I mean, it's going to be off to college almost as soon as we get back, so we should enjoy ourselves while we can." He looked at her, smiling, and nudged her with one elbow. "You know, you should come along and play with me sometime, I think you'd have fun." "It's really amazing what those holo rooms can do."

"So." "Think we got time to maybe hit the beach before we go or is it time already?"

 

[showdolly]

"You know, you should come along and play with me sometime, I think you'd have fun." "It's really amazing what those holo rooms can do."

Delane glazed over a minute. Yep... she knew....

"So." "Think we got time to maybe hit the beach before we go or is it time already?"


"Yeah," she replied, "if you're already packed then we have a few hours." She picked up her digital thingy (at least that's what she called it, Delane wasn't the type to keep up with the trends), and texted her mom that they'd be at the beach so that they didn't worry when they didn't return. Her mom immediately texted back about packing, so Delane assured her that they were both ready and waiting on "the old folks now". She laughed, knowing her mom would appreciate the joke.

It was vacation, so Delane was already wearing her suit. Without a cover on top, her bikini shone bright and dry in the sun as the two walked. She heard Dyne's comment, but hadn't "gotten" it, and was used to comments passing over her head - she'd been accused of having blonde roots sometimes - so she'd just let it go. She had cut off shorts on over her bottoms, but she was suited and ready for the beach. Besides, a couple more hours of sun would be great for her vacation tan.
"Know a spot or you wanna hit the main beach? I'm kinda tired of people, but I never wandered far from the main spot, and there's tons of people there. Sun's great right now, and I'm sure the water is wonderful and refreshing. Great to take a last dip before we get outta here. And I'm loving those instant-dry booth-things they have here!" Delane wasn't dumb - in fact, she was very, very intelligent. It was just that common sense and anything beyond books and classrooms sometimes escaped her... especially on vacation, when she'd purposefully turned off her brain, or at least the thinking part of it. She'd use whatever word floated by, and fix it later if needed.

 

[Armphid]

An image of Delane rising up out of the water, droplets clinging to her body, the sun gleaming across her...

Yow. Yeah, they had to hit the beach all right. Even if it felt a little weird to check out his friend, she was still the hottest girl he'd seen on the whole trip. "Yeah, I went to this one lagoon on the southern part of the eastern continent." "It was real nice, and I was about the only one there before." He was wearing his swimsuit already, with a blue t-shirt, so there was no reason to delay. "Come on, let's find a telepad and get going!"

He grabbed her hand and almost pulled her along behind him, jogging up to one of the teleporters the resort used to move people around. He took a moment to enter the coordinates, then hit enter. The machine hummed, then made the ding that indicated it was ready.

The two stepped onto the pad, there was a brief lurch and a moment of seeing nothing but white, and then they were stepping off of another pad onto the beach. It was part of a crescent shaped island with white sand and crystal clear blue waters. Dyne kicked his sandals off, sighing in contentment at the heat of the sand under his feet.

"I'm going to miss this, you know?" "Just being able to run off with you and go swimming and stuff." They weren't going to the same colleges. Yeah, it would still be easy to visit but...Dalene had been a constant part of his life for a long time. He didn't like the idea of being apart from her like that. He peeled his shirt off, taking it up over his head and tossing it down on the sand. He looked over at her, "Don't keep me waiting, lose the shorts and let's swim."

 

[showdolly]

"Yeah..." Delane's voice drifted off in her own thoughts about how life would soon not be the same for the friends. Who would protect her from all the jerks at college? Surely there were more there than ever had been in high school. She'd just have to make it a point to visit him... often.

Dyne's demands brought her quickly back to reality. She laughed, taunting him. "You perv! You just wanna see my ass!" With that, she peeled her shorts down and kicked them away with one foot. Turning on one heel and backing up so that she was as close to him as she dared, she wiggled her tight little rear and playfully whacked it with her hand.

She was completely teasing him. She hadn't meant anything by it - nothing at all. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but suddenly Delane felt very... different. She was growing warmer, a little more modest than she was used to feeling around him. She ran, straight into the water, knowing full well that Dyne would follow.
In the old days, the game would be to pull down the other's bottoms. But, it was playful, and never meant anything. And it wasn't usually swim suits. Delane wondered if instigating the game this time had been a mistake. She sure wasn't ready for a step like that in the least, but the thought of him following through anyway excited her, and her breath was too quick to duck beneath the water and swim.

So she ran, clumsily, in over-waist-deep water.

 

[Armphid]

Dyne shrugged, "It's not my only motivation, if that helps." Sure, it'd be great to see her in her suit again. All that leg and belly and the rest of her revealed, kissed by the sun, glistening with water...

Her slap to her own butt shook him out of the reverie he'd fallen into. He smirked, she wanted to play, huh? Well, they were a lot older than they'd been since they played that game. The thought of that now was, well, weird. But also very interesting. Part of him wondered what she'd do if he followed through on her challenge in the old way...the rest of him fairly sure it would cost him a testicle.

Delane was running clumsily through the water, her features flushed. Dyne followed her into the water, though he wasn't here to run. With a quick breath, he threw himself forward, his lean body cutting through the water like a knife. He dove down, skirting the white sand bottom, shooting toward her legs. He twisted sideways, moving between her legs and rotating. Planting his legs, he leaned up into her, his hands reaching back to take hold of her butt, then heaving upward. He tried not to pay attention to how firm and pleasant her ass felt in his hands, how it was tight but just soft enough to be perfectly squeezable.

Dyne came up out of the water, lifting Delane up over his head. He grinned up at her as water dripped off of her onto him. "Does this count as a point for me?" He gave her bottom a squeeze, then dropped her, leaping back and laughing. "Hell, I think that might count as two."

 

[showdolly]

Shocked a bit, Delane coughed and sputtered as she came up out of the water - this time on her own two feet. "DYNE!!! You ass!! You scared the shit outta me!" While her friend waited to see exactly how much trouble he was in, Delane recovered from her untimely dunk - and then faked a bit more recovery to give herself a slight edge.
Suddenly, she leapt out of the water straight for Dyne, and let her arms wrap tightly around his neck. She tried with all her 130 pounds to pull him into the water, but even as unprepared as he'd been for her attack all she managed was to get him bent over. Now, the silly girl dangled from his neck, wiggling and tugging and trying her best to pull... Dyne... just... a little... further!!

In a moment, with all of his laughing, she gave up, and splashed the water with her hands in a faux fit. "Dangit. It's not fair. You're too big these days. Too strong." She pouted, trying to hide her next few thoughts, and splashed the water once more with her fingers.

 

[Armphid]

"Nice of you to notice," he grinned. Yeah, it was nice to win, but he had been pretty confident of the outcome. Although the surprise attack was a nice tactic. He hadn't expected that at all, he'd thought she'd just pout and strike later. Of course, she wasn't strong enough to pull him under...but it was still a good move, and one he enjoyed for reasons that unnerved him.

Having her that close, bent over her, her arms around his neck, it had sent a number of feelings that one probably shouldn't direct at their best friend through him. Especially when he'd happened to glance down, what a view! But he shouldn't be ogling his friend...or thinking any of the things he was thinking about her.

He shook his head, "Well, tell you what..." Dyne lifted her up in his arms, not in a rough dunk, but just sweeping her up and holding her for a moment. Part of him acknowledged that it was nice to hold her like that, and regretted his plan. As he lifted her, Dyne let his legs slide out from under him. The end result was Delane, with an assist from Dyne himself, body-checking Dyne and knocking him under the water.

He came up coughing, Delane still in his arms. He shook his head, droplets of water scattering out. He let her legs go, the buxom girl swinging back down into the waist-deep lagoon and facing him, his right arm still around her. He didn't speak for a moment, feeling odd again in this moment of closeness. This...this wasn't like the other times they'd goofed around and dunked each other. Nonetheless, he cocked his head to the side. "Looks like you got me." "We even?"

 

[showdolly]

Delane had laughed, with Dyne under water. What a sweet guy, to let a girly-girl like her dunk him under the water! Even after she'd already failed once, and it was an obvious self-dunk, he still wanted to play. Yet, as he rose from the water like a stallion refusing to be drowned, her breath caught in her throat and she could only stare.

"Looks like you got me." "We even?"

She was without words. It took her a moment to even realize that time was passing, and she needed to speak. His arm still taught around her body, and he taller than she as the girl looked up at the strong friend of her childhood, Delane simply nodded a yes. Then, suddenly confused, shook it no again. Then yes. Then a shrug of her shoulder, and unable to take her eyes from his face. "Um?" Was all she could muster just now, and she couldn't explain why. Not out loud, anyway....

 

[Armphid]

Dyne had come to realize just how close their bodies were at that moment. There was also something about the way she was looking at him...something he felt he should recognize, something that delighted and worried him, something that made butterflies appear in his stomach. "Yeah," was all he said in response to her comment, looking back down at her.

For long moments he looked down at her, his eyes staring into hers, trying to divine the meaning of that searching look. Then there came a snort from the beach, followed by the gruff voice of an old man, "Damn it, just kiss her and get on with it!" "An old man doesn't need to see this soulful staring crap!"

He stepped away from Delane, turning to face the man who'd spoken. "Who asked you to look, old timer?"

The wizened man cackled, "Maybe an old man just understands an invitation more than a young one!" He laughed again, shaking his head as he started down the beach.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dyne frowned at the geezer's retreating back. "Delane, what was that guy talking about?"

 

[showdolly]

Delane was blushing, looking down into the water, not having moved from her same position. It had taken the old man speaking for even her to realize what was happening, yet, with Dyne asking her outright like that, she felt dumb feeling that way. Embarrassed that she had.

Still staring down, not wanting to make eye contact and stumbling over her words, Delane replied the only way she could think of in that moment. "Um. Um, I think... he thought you were going to kiss me." She cleared her throat. "I think that he thought I wanted you to." Until she'd spoken the last sentence, she hadn't been prepared to admit it to herself. And really, she hadn't admitted to anything aloud, yet in her mind... she knew. As she heard herself speak, she knew that her voice had dropped to a whisper even from the first sentence, and she wondered if Dyne would notice... and take note.

She wondered if this would be it - such awkward feelings would end their relationship even as friends. Tears almost came to her eyes, and she suddenly found herself desperately hoping that he didn't get it, didn't notice. And that the feelings would disappear into the lagoon....

 

[Armphid]

"I guess...he did." Delane seemed embarrassed, and Dyne understood why. He had wanted to kiss her. If they hadn't been interrupted, he probably would have. What would that have meant? Once he'd done it...there'd be no going back. Their friendship would be gone, forever, even if something...else filled the void. Did he want to risk that?

He looked away, toward the rolling waves of the sea. He didn't trust himself to look at her. Something...something had changed in him over these last few weeks. Or maybe, he'd just come to face something that was always there. He was thinking of his oldest friend as much more than that, hoping she could be more than that. Which wasn't fair. Even...even if she felt the same way, they'd be going to separate colleges soon, worlds apart. It wouldn't be fair to either of them to try and act on whatever he was feeling.

Dyne sighed. "What might have been," he said softly. They stood there for a minute or so, unspeaking. Each lost in their own thoughts and emotions. Finally, Dyne raised his arm from her waist to loop in over her shoulder and give her a squeeze. "Forget him, he just saw me with the hottest girl on the planet and got jealous." He grinned at her, "You should be happy I was here or he'd have made a pass at you."

He turned to face her, releasing her more reluctantly that he liked to think about. "Come on, I want to get a little more swimming in, then I'll buy you some ice cream." "Our celebratory scoop before going home to school and responsibility!"

 

[showdolly]

Delane nodded, trying hard to laugh at what she assumed had been Dyne's joke. She smiled, successfully holding back any worried emotion which might creep to hear tear ducts or beyond. Relieved that Dyne was laughing it off, at least a bit, and feeling comforted by his arm around her once again, she didn't speak but followed his lead by jumping into the water.

Head first, feet together, and waving through the clear waters like a fabled mermaid, Delane swam away from her friend. Besides, they were going to separate colleges soon. What was the use in even bringing up such a crazy notion? And vacation was over, so that put the nill on any thoughts that crossed her mind about a temporary fling. Too bad all this hadn't happened at the beginning of vacation.
She rose from the water, coughing and spurting a bit as she'd laughed too quickly at her thoughts while still swimming. The tanned, toned, and beautiful girl wiped the water from her eyes and face, and began scouring the horizons for her friend. SHe couldn't see him anywhere, and started trying to see under the waters.

 

[Armphid]

Dyne dove down, lower than Delane, turning over to look up at her through the clear water. God, look at her swim! Like some mermaid or sea nymph out of legends, beautiful, alluring, sexy, and graceful. He sighed, bubbled flowing from his nose. Man, why hadn't he noticed her like this at the beginning of vacation? They could have at least had some harmless fun before separating forever. An image of the two of them coming together on a beach as the sun set sprang into his mind. Her arms around him, his hands exploring her body, her eyes shining as she looked up at him, as she whispered, asking him to...

Dyne shook his head. Hell, what was he thinking? Now he had a hard-on too. He rolled his eyes, smacking himself in the forehead with one hand. Brilliant, Dyne. Well done. Now what was you going do to?

Okay. Distraction. Can't let her see it.

He kicked his legs, shooting through the water beneath her. As it got shallower, she came to a halt, looking about. Looking for him. Dyne grinned and dolphin kicked himself toward the surface, coming up just behind her. "Ah ha!" His arms lifted her up again, tossing her up into the air and splashing down into the water again. "First one to shore buys!"

 

[showdolly]

Delane's brain spun even as her body smacked into the water. SHe'd caught her breath just in time and took off in a mad swim for the shore, but her mind was racing crazy fast - much faster than her body.

Was Dyne... OMG! He was! She was SURE she'd felt... but maybe, just maybe, her mind was playing tricks on her. Either way, she swam as fast as she could to the shore. He beat her, but only barely. So she had to buy, so what? She had to KNOW....
Delane swam as far as she could, and when her belly brushed the bottom she stood and ran, ran up to Dyne as she hollered loudly. SHe threw out something about it not being fair, that he was so much stronger than she was and had a head start, and JUMPED onto his back. SHe wrapped her legs around his waist, and her arms around his chest. he was big enough, and she was light enough, that she knew he could carry her at least for a little ways.

And the entire point was to get... her foot... just... right.... OMG! He WAS!

She released his neck, slapped his shoulder, and gleefully called out to him as she ran off. "Dyne! I'm buying!!! You... coming?" She chuckled at her own inuendo. It'd probably been that old man's fault, making the guy's head crawl with male-ish ideas. But it didn't matter, not really. It mattered thta he wasn't grotesqued by the idea, and she never thought anything would ever come of it. It just tickled her pink... just to know.

 

[Armphid]

The sudden weight of Delane on his back made him stagger about for a moment, then he adjusted, leaning forward slightly to take the weight. "Oh, and tackling me 'cause you're a sore loser is fair?" She was still scrambling on his back, trying to find a good position, he guessed. He was just trying hard on two things; one, not to drop her and two, not to notice how her bosom pillowed against his back. Suddenly, one of her feet slid down, the instep grazing along the length of his erection. The contact, hardly gentle or loving, was still contact, and the sensation sent a thrill through him. A thrill coupled with fear; had she noticed? What would she do if she had?

Then she hopped off of him, her bright smile blinding, seemingly very pleased with herself. "Dyne! I'm buying!!! You... coming?" She giggled, then turned and ran down the white sand.

Dyne let out a sigh of relief. No harm done. That was lucky...although, how could she have not noticed? Okay, that was a pretty arrogant thought. He started jogging after her, pointedly not looking at how nicely she bounced when she ran, and thinking about the nature of gravitic propulsion. That should take care of his unexpected guest.

He had it more or less under control by the time they got to the stand. After a few minutes, the two were walking down the beach again, ice cream in hand. The two of them paused to sit on a palm tree that had grown largely horizontally, providing perfect seating for people to eat ice cream and watch the ocean. "So, what were you so happy about back there?" Dyne was standing on the beach, leaning against the tree. He craned his head to look up at her as she sat on the thick trunk, kicking her well-formed legs. "I mean, in the water you got real quiet and serious, but when we got out you were all smiles again." "What's up?"

 

[showdolly]

Completely contented, utterly pleased with herself, and overjoyed that he'd not become angry or replused by the thoughts forced on him by the old man, Delane continued licking her ice cream cone, one lick at a time. She spoke between tastes, smiling all the while, steadily continuing her feet kicking motions, and never once making eye contact.

"You... think... I'm pretty!!!" She giggled, and continued licking her ice cream. SHe blushed, deeply, and she knew it, but it didn't matter. To cause that sort of reaction in a boy - ANY boy - was just... well, it was just cool. That's all there was to it.

 

[Armphid]

Dyne didn't say anything in response for a few moments, smiling and just looking out at the rolling waves. "Yeah." "Yeah, I do." "Really pretty." So, she had noticed. Well, it had still been a valiant effort. Her reaction surprised him. He thought she'd be insulted or offended, but she was delighted. "I mean, any guy who doesn't think that is gay or blind." "I'm just lucky enough to get to see you almost every day."

He grinned, letting his eyes follow her kicking legs as they swung through the air. "Sorry about, well, you know." "But you have that effect from time to time."

 

[showdolly]

She was about to hush-hush his apology, probably even throw in some sort of jab at him just for fun, but stopped short as her breath caught in her throat. Delane swallowed the resulting lump, and looked up at her long-time friend. Searching for words, and thinking back to what else he'd said and realizing that he may be NOT saying much more, she finally spoke.

"From time... to time?" She swallowed again, now noticing the way he was looking at her legs. Maybe, just maybe.... She HAD been going to tease him. Going to tease him about how much of her he saw... tease him about the possibility of seeing more. She'd never let on that she'd thought of him that way sometimes, when she was alone with her thoughts... and her own body. But now... now he'd just admitted the same to her.

She wanted him to tell her more - much more. The truth, as it really was. Not what he felt was okay to say, not what he thought she wanted to hear. The truth. She scooted closer to him, and quickly lapped up the ice cream cone which had begun to drip on her hand in her neglect. Then she whispered, loud enough for him to hear.
"You think about me like that sometimes, Dyne?"

 

[Armphid]

She was so close now, almost touching, and the way she asked that question...

Dyne swallowed, feeling suddenly nervous once more. "Well, uh...I..." He frowned, closing his eyes and looking down. This was not the kind of thing he wanted to tell her. This could damage their friendship. But didn't he owe it to that friendship to be honest? Especially when those green eyes looked at him like that?

He opened his eyes, and looked at her, blushing as he spoke, "Yeah...I do." "I mean, I AM a guy and you're gorgeous, you know?" "The kind of girl every guy wants." The kind he wanted. "Then I also know how sweet and funny you are, and it just puts you over the top."

He turned his face away, too afraid of seeing rejection or disgust in her eyes to keep looking at her. "I'm sorry, I know it's not cool, and it might be creepy...but I have thought about you, you know, that way." He would again too. No point saying he wouldn't. He should have lied. Would she be mad at him? Would she...hate him for this? No, don't judge. Just...wait and listen. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he feared.

 

[showdolly]

"No! No, it's cool...." She tried to comfort him first, and her voice trailed away as she thought. Should she also admit her own... fantasies? Would it freak him out to call them that? How much... um, indulgence should she admit? He'd already said that she got him "that way" - hard - sometimes. And that he thought about her "like that" - pretty, hot, worth being with.... Certainly that meant he "did stuff" - whacked off - when he thought about her. At least sometimes.

"And hey, listen. Not only is it not creepy, it's a relief. You're not so bad yourself, ya know," she nudged his shoulder with her own as she talked, "and honestly, well...." Again, her voice trailed away. Embarrassed still, though she wasn't sure quite why, she admitted her deviances - but couldnt' make eye contact as she spoke. "Dyne, I think about you like that too. I guess you could call it a sometimes thing... but honestly, since this vacation, more often...." She almost said 'and it's not just thinking all the time, either' but she couldn't make herself say that yet.

Delane finished off her ice cream, tossed the napkin into the hole of the tree where countless others had done the same, and scooted close enough to her friend that the lengths of their thighs rested against one another. It was strange, but being CLOSER to him while saying all this felt better - less weird - than it did saying it while away from him. Plus it probably helped that he was telling her the same sort of thing....

"SO, I guess we're even." She kind of laughed, shrugged, and then on a whim hugged him tight. Delane didn't realize it, but she left her arms around him as her mind wandered away once again... wandered into the depths of what would he think, or say next, and if this was as crazy as it felt right now, or if it was just inevitable....

 

[Armphid]

"Yeah, I guess so." It was good to have her close, but at the same time it gave him a fluttering nervousness. Hadn't he wanted this though, in his private thoughts. Dyne smiled down at her, blushing a little as she hugged him. In the small suit she wore, it was a very tantalizing sensation.

He lifted his arm, laying it over her shoulder and squeezing her tight. He left his arm there, holding her. He rather liked the feeling. "This vacation, it...kind of did the same thing to me too." "Those thoughts and entertaining them have been coming a lot more." He chuckled, "Maybe it's just you in the bikini, but...but I don't think it is." "I think that...maybe this has been coming for a while." They'd both dated in high school, sure, but never anything serious or for long. No girl was ever as cool as Delane, and he couldn't tell them the things he could tell her either. Was it because he'd wanted her all along?

He looked over at her, at that sweet face and those bright eyes he knew so well. He wanted to kiss her. Just like in the surf, but now she was closer, now he knew she'd thought of it as well, now...there was no reason not to.

His mouth was suddenly dry, and his heart was beating faster. Time slowed to a crawl as he leaned toward her, tilting his head slightly to align her lips to his. He could feel her breath on him.

"DYYYNE!"

At the sound of his name being called, Dyne jerked back, losing his balance and falling off the trunk onto his back. "Ooof!" "...Damn it!"

"Dyyyne!" "There you are!" There was the sound of approaching footsteps, and he saw sandal-clad feet appear nearby. "I thought you too might have hit the beach one last time." Dyne's mother smiled down at him, wearing a large straw hat and shorts as well as a sensible one piece bathing suit. "I can't blame you, but time's up, I'm afraid." "It's half an hour until we leave, so back to the hotel and change."

"Right, Mom." Dyne sighed, rolling to his feet. "Guess we lost track of things."

"It happens," she said. Then a sly little smile came to her face, "So, what were you two doing that got you so distracted?"

 

[showdolly]

Always the intellectual - booksmarts, ya know - Delane chimed right in on this one. She'd been interrupted plenty of times in the past to know just what to say.

"Hi, Cindy." She gave the woman a hug. "We were just being sad about having to be so far from each other at school next year. Glad we had this last vacation to goof off together, but also we're realizing that it's probably the last time. Growing up and all that, and being so far apart won't help. We've just been friends for a long time, y'know?" She smiled at the woman, and reached over and playfully put her arm around Dyne's waist as they walked. A little nervous still, she was glad when her friend's mom smiled and accepted her answer and happily wandered away.

Looking back at Dyne, and with a little bit of a sad expression on her face, Delane admitted that it was time to go. "Guess we should get back, huh? We'll have to save that kiss for..." she trailed off, blushed a little that she'd said it aloud. Not wanting to look dumb, she finished the sentence anyway. "For the next time we're alone, or something." She looked back up, directly into his eyes this time, and smiled.

 

[Armphid]

A rather foolish smile spread across Dyne's face, "I'll take you up on that." Man, what was he thinking? He shouldn't have tried in the first place, and now, telling her they'd do it when they got the chance. Not that he didn't want to, and not that she didn't want to but...was it fair to her? To either of them? They'd be far apart soon, and well...once apart, it just wasn't that likely they'd ever be close again. College was like that, from everything he knew, you grew apart from those you left. That...that was a troubling thought. His face fell a moment, then he shook his head, smiling again. "Come on, we can't keep 'em waiting any longer." The smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

He was quiet on the short hop through the telepods back to the hotel. He kept turning the events of the morning over in his head as he went to the room the men shared to change into traveling clothes and get his bags. It seemed unreal somehow, as though he could not be that fortunate, and his friend...couldn't be more than his friend. But he wanted her to be. And it seemed like she wanted it to be. He frowned as he pulled on a shirt, was feeling this way right? This was the girl he'd played with as a kid, they'd had sleep overs together. There was such innocence in those times...was feeling this way now a betrayal of that innocence?

By the time they'd gotten on ship, he'd gotten no answers to his questions. It was likely he was thinking about it too much, it was a tendency he had. Normally, he'd talk to Delane about it and she'd straighten him out. Not really an option this time.

He sighed, alone for the moment. Dyne was wearing a black t-shirt with a white zip-up vest over it, a pair of blue pants with many pockets, and his trusty, clunky brown workboots. He was in one of the observation lounges of the transport ship, leaning against a curving metal wall and looking out the transparasteel window into space. They hadn't left conventional space yet. What was the hold-up? He wasn't exactly anxious to get back, but still. "So...when she finds me," and he knew she would, she always did, "and we're alone...what's the right thing to do?"