Kiss Me Not

In the evening, Brione felt impatient while waiting for Cedric's video call so she took initiative and called him first.

She bit her lower lip when she saw Cedric answer her video call. She instantly closed her eyes when she saw his bare chest, which made Cedric laugh and he teased, "It's not like this is your first time seeing me naked, Bri. I will call you after I take a quick bath. I guess you miss me a lot too, huh?"

Cedric was drying his hair with the towel and moving away. With a pout, she mumbled, "Get dressed first and answer the phone when you are ready, okay."

Cedric chuckled and said, "I got overly excited when I saw the caller ID 'My Sweetheart' so I quickly answered even though I'm still soaking wet."

"Stop teasing me and get dressed," Brione mumbled and quickly ended the call. She touched her chest and tried to calm her heart which was beating erratically. His teasing made her heart flutter. She was hopeless and knew she was falling hard for him at this point.

Not even a minute passed before her mobile phone rang.

"Did you dry your hair properly? It's not good to sleep with wet hair," Brione scolded.

"Ah, why do I feel so good even when you're nagging me? I feel like my girlfriend is taking care of me. Next time I will ask you to dry it for me. I'm too lazy and I prefer not to waste any time when I can spend it talking to you and staring at your beautiful face," Cedric commented with a cheeky smile.

Brione's face reddened and she hoped it would not show on the screen.

"How was the shoot?" Cedric asked, staring intently at her through the screen. How he hoped he could be physical with her but then seeing her beautiful face like this had to be enough instead of nothing. 

"It went well. We might finish it by tomorrow. How about you? You look exhausted. I guess you have a lot of matters to attend to now that you will soon be King," Brione said in a worried tone. Cedric had mentioned earlier that he would soon be crowned King.

"Hmm, yeah a bit busy but I will make sure to make time for you Sweetheart. I really miss you a lot and I don't want this call to end. Are you going to sleep now?" Cedric asked, seeing Brione lay down on the bed.

"Not yet, I just wanted to feel the comfort of the royal bed," Brione answered with a grin. She did like Cedric's bed as it was very comfortable and mostly because Cedric's scent lingered on it.

"Ah that hurts, I'd rather hear you say that you can feel my warmth and scent on the bed." 

Cedric uttered shamelessly, making Brione blush hard as it felt like he had just reached inside her head and read her thoughts. She unconsciously yawned and made Cedric chuckle.

"You're sleepy…" he commented.

"No, I'm not," Brione immediately countered.

"Not sleepy?" Cedric reconfirmed.

"Yes," Brione answered plainly.

"Really?" Cedric asked.

"Yes," Brione answered again.

"Miss me?" Cedric asked next.

"Yes," Brione answered inattentively and then her face flushed when she realized that she had given confirmation for a different sentence.

"I guess you're shy to accept it but I feel, sweetheart, that you miss me," Cedric said with a contented smile. Brione had called him first and it made him really happy so much so that even when he was dripping wet from the shower, he quickly answered seeing her caller id on his screen.

"I'm sleepy now. Let's hang up. Sleep well and have a good night," Brione said and quickly ended the call. She felt like a teenager talking to her crush and her face turned crimson due to embarrassment.

Everything she was sharing with Cedric was new to her, intimate words, gestures, and even their physical interactions. She covered her face with her palm as she smiled alone bashfully. It felt great and she was squealing alone.

Her mobile phone beeped and it was a message from Cedric.

[I want to see more of your face but I know you must rest. I love you Bri. Dream of me, sweetheart.]

She bit her lower lip as she smiled sweetly. She clicked the reply button and wondered what to reply and then started typing.

Cedric had a wide smile as he read Brione's reply. [I will sleep well… darling.]

"Her face must be so red, for sure," Cedric whispered, grinning. He closed his eyes and fell asleep with a beautiful smile curving on his lips.

*****

Cedric looked around and his eyes widened seeing he was back on the ship, where the people onboard were panicking as the ship began sinking.

The same scene was being replayed and he was doing the same things all over again. Everything felt real. The cries and even the screams. The kid he saved before he bumped into a man was also there.

"Who are you?" Both of them whispered as their eyes met.

*Bang!*

There was blood all over the man who looked exactly like him and Cedric woke up panting after the nightmare. He had seen it twice already, but still, he could not recall any additional details like whether he was really Cedric or Gavin.

He grabbed his mobile phone and saw a missed call from Kevin. He sat up on his bed and called Kevin back.

"Any news?" he asked.

"Your Highness, you boarded the ship. Based on the statement of one of the crew members who survived, a passenger with a binocular saw you from the deck that morning, floating in the sea, asking for help. The ship took you in.

The man recognized you when I showed him your photo. He said the Captain talked to you and found out what happened to you and he had been about to make a call to inform the King when an unexpected accident occurred so the call did not happen. Everyone was panicking or was busy attending to the sinking ship and helping passengers to board the ship's lifeboats.

I will continue finding more details about the incident, Your Highness, but I wanted to confirm that you were indeed onboard that ship." Kevin reported. Cedric asked some more questions and soon ended the call.

So his dreams last night and tonight were indeed fragments of his own buried memories. He met him… The two of them saw each other… But the question still remains… Who is he? Cedric or Gavin?