Blue briefly closes his eyes, then slowly pushes his plate away.
"What is this between us, Gabriel?"
I swallow and push my own plate aside, unconsciously mirroring him.
"You wantmeto define it?" I ask quietly, tension slowly building in my chest.
"I want to know exactly how you see it." He gestures between us. "Tell me truthfully."
I take a deeper breath, fully aware of his focused gaze resting on me.
"I thought I already made my intentions clear, and now we’re waiting for your decision."
"I want you to say it again. This time, fill in every blank."
This is it. I guess that fits Blue and the way his mind works. He needs all the data for the experiment to move forward.
I need to lay everything out in front of him with complete honesty. Maybe then the awkwardness between us will finally ease.
"I like you," I say, the words coming out rushed, then I clear my throat. "That’s an understatement, actually. I like you a lot. I’m into you. I want you. And what do I want from this? Of course I want more than just being your bodyguard. I’d want you to…" I trail off, hesitating over whether to say it.
"I’d want you to be mine. Exclusively. To claim you." I let out a breath and open my eyes, half-expecting to see anger there, but there’s nothing like that.
Blue is listening closely, attentively.
"But I know it’s a lot. And you didn’t plan for something like this. I don’t know if you feel the same way about me, although I suspect you also… um… feel the chemistry. Still, I don’t know if enough has changed between us from your perspective, if you see any kind of path for us, even a small one. But I won’t push. I’ll wait for your decision."
Blue slowly glances to the side, toward the porthole with its tinted glass.
"I hope I filled in the blanks this time?"
There is a deep and fairly long silence.
I have no idea what it means, and I'm strangely scared to try to check it out via this subtle energetic Bond of ours…
Blue redirects his gaze to me, his eyes slightly squinted.
"Should we head out now?" he asks suddenly, and I straighten, shocked by the abrupt change of subject.
Wow, he just ignored it?
Unbelievable!
Or is he… deliberating over it, processing new data, and still needing some time and space?
I cough quietly.
"Sure, let’s go."
I cast off the line first, then we both head to the helm station. I use Veyron’s keys and start the yacht. I’m not highly experienced, but I manage to pull away from the dock smoothly enough. I don’t notify the harbor office, since Veyron rents this berth and can come and go as he pleases.
As I do all of it, my head is in turmoil, and I have no idea what just happened.
I had my little rant, my confession, and nothing came out of it… how weird.
At least he wasn't furious, like during my other attempts to get closer… that's progress, right?
Blue moves to the port side and looks out over the ocean, the wind shifting the strands of his bangs and the section of hair near his ear.