Take My Breath Away

Carlos stared at Debbie, confused.

"Stephanie is pretty pissed. Do you care?" she asked him. 'If he does, that means he loves her, ' she thought.

Before he could say anything, Debbie heard a noise. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stephanie.

"Shh, be quiet!" she said to Carlos, and put her finger to her lips. Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed him full on the lips.

After the argument, Stephanie felt bad about her outburst. She wasn't mad at Carlos anymore.

She had come back to talk with him in a normal tone of voice. No arguing, no yelling. Yet, now she saw Carlos and Debbie kissing. Her hands were balled into fists in her pockets.

'Seriously? You have balls of steel, Debbie!' she thought, clenching her teeth.

Carlos had heard her approaching as well. But as he and Debbie kissed, the footsteps receded and could be heard no more.

He looked at Debbie, who was still kissing him with her eyes closed, and realized what she was up to. He felt like he was being used to make Stephanie angry.

That evening, Debbie was in a better mood than she'd been in a long time, and had an amazingly restful sleep. She would have gone to sleep with Carlos if she weren't worried about Kasie.

The next day, they went to a nearby island to do some exploring. On their way back, the girls were once again drawn to the sea, which shifted between green and blue even as they watched. They wanted to play in the water. The men had grown weary of the sea by now, but they had to make their women happy.

Kinsley gulped down a can of Coke and said to Stephanie, "Mr. Huo looks tired. How about I teach you to swim?"

Carlos gave him a sidelong look. 'Me tired? Bullshit, ' he thought.

Stephanie kept an eagle-eye on Carlos and Debbie, in case Debbie seduced him again. Of course, she wouldn't agree to go swimming with Kinsley. That gave Debbie too much time alone with Carlos. "I'm good. I don't like to get wet," she said, turning him down.

On the other hand, Kinsley stood up from his chair. Ignoring her refusal, he grabbed her wrist and insisted, "It'll be fun. Let's go." Then he turned to Carlos. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked.

"No," Carlos replied indifferently.

S

d of exciting.

Debbie clutched the rail and smiled at the sea. The sea wind kissed her cheeks. The view was breathtaking and it felt fantastic.

Carlos came up behind her, his body close, hands next to hers.

Within a heartbeat, he gathered her up in his arms.

Debbie rested her head on his shoulder and said, "Be careful. We're going kind of fast."

"Okay." He pressed his cheek against her long lustrous hair. He could never get enough of her scent.

It began to drizzle all of a sudden. The headwind was starting to pick up. The cruiser shook more violently. The sea became stormy and the boat was riding the waves up and then back down again.

Debbie got hit by a wave and started to worry. The skies had darkened considerably, quickly.

Debbie got scared. She grabbed Carlos and said, "Could you tell the pilot to slow down?"

Carlos held onto the rail with one hand and had his other arm around her waist. "Don't worry," he comforted her.

'Something's not right, ' he thought with a frown.

The boat was being tossed this way and that, tilting like crazy. Debbie suddenly spotted two men hiding at the stern of the boat.

The boat was traveling faster and faster. The deck was slippery. Even Carlos found it difficult to keep his balance. But somehow, he managed to lead Debbie into the cabin.

Debbie had a bad feeling about this too. After sitting her down in a chair, Carlos looked around the cabin. It had been stripped of life vests.