The Collision (Sequel to The Division)

Chapter 14 (River)

I watch the vast blue sea. I feel the cold, metal boat bob beneath my bare feet. My mind drifts as thoughts bounce aimlessly around my head. How many unseen creatures lurk beneath that blue curtain? What are they like? Green? Blue? Black? Pink? Or maybe all the colors in between? Are they friend or foe? Do they have spikes that shoot from their bodies? Do they eat sharks for breakfast and humans for lunch? I don't know and that scares me.

Fears. We all have them. Spiders, snakes, darkness, just to name a few. However, what most people don't notice is that there is a constant pattern between all these fears. They each are something we can't control. Humans love control. We love to be in charge of things. A wedding planner wants to control the weather. A daughter wants to control her aging father's death day. If we can't control it, we worry about it. But what if we let go of that worry and that control?

I shake my head. I've been on this boat too long. I glance to my right at Dalton. It funny how someone can look so innocent and childlike when they are asleep. For example, Dalton's usual sparked, happy eyes are relaxed and peaceful. His usually skillful hands are calm, folded against his chest. His usually smirked lips are slackened and an almost dream like expression covers his face.

His eyes flutter open like a bird testing out its wings. He looks around the room.

"Is it morning?" He asks.

"Yes." I answer curtly.

"Why didn't you wake me for the second shift?" His brows come together to make his expression confused.

"I thought you might want some sleep. Besides I can barely sleep on this thing anyway." I rest my head on my arms.

I watch as his expression turns to normal and his hands grip the crates beside him. His biceps contract as he pulls himself into a standing position. His eyes bounce to me playfully. His lips turn into a smirk as I wait for his usual comeback.

"See something you like?" His smirk widens.

"Why would it matter?" I turn my head to look at the blue water beside me.

"Oh, so you do see something you like." He says playfully.

I roll my eyes even though he can't see me. "I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to. Your eyes said it all." I hear shuffling as he comes to sit across from me on the floor.

"Is this how you get girls back home?"

"Works every time."

"Does it now?"

"Always."

I turn my head to look at him. "Okay, let's say in a theoretical universe I do 'see something I like'. Why do you care?"

"Because a man's pride is everything he has."

I arch one eyebrow, "Men take pride in scoring girls?"

"Of course."

"That's despicable."

"Why should you care? I know you are attracted to me and I to you. Shouldn't that mean something?"

"It would if I actually was attracted to you."

"Then I will win you over."

My eyebrows sky rocket to the top of my forehead. "Oh really? What makes you think that you can win me over?"

"You can't resist me."

I roll my eyes. "When we get home, I will finish your training and then we will never see each other again. That's how things work."