Deep Sea

Chapter 23: Disaster

Chapter 23: Disaster

“Hey, guys. You're hitting bottom in 2.”

Ilia's voice roused Joe from her comfortable doze. She hadn't really been asleep, but she definitely wasn't awake.

She was tucked into Kai's body, her back on his front. It was probably about time to get dressed anyway, staying down without the warmth suit much longer could probably be bad.

“Kai.” she sat up and smiled down at him. “Kai, time to get up.”

His eyes opened slowly, he might actually have fallen asleep since they stopped, not all that long ago. The temperature wasn't all that cold to him, it was probably extremely comfortable.

“Are we there?” he asked, sitting up as well, trailing his hand along her side, brushing her breast making her moan a bit.

“Yes.” she said, her voice breathy. “Time to get the tap back.”

He kissed her shoulder. “S'agapo, Kyma Kardia.”

“S'agapo.” she said back, her accent horrible. “But time to work.”

He nodded and reached for the suits that they had turned into a bit of a bed.

By the time that the thud of the sub hitting the floor shook the sub a bit, Joe was laying down in front of the controls and Kai was turning off the lights.

All they needed was the tap since they were pulling out. No point leaving it there. Casual observation would have no need of it and leaving it there might actually do more harm than good.

So Kai took his place at the controls of the arms and Joe looked into the deep darkness of the bottom of the sea.

Was it just her, or was the darkness not as dark as it had been before? She still couldn't see but she thought she could make out Kai's silhouette.

Or maybe it was just wishful thinking and her imagination.

Just like before, he directed her on how to move the ship as he used the mechanical arms to pull off the tap.

“Hey, Kai?” Joe said suddenly. All she had to do at this point was keep the ship steady as he worked.

“Yes, Kyma?” he answered, his voice slightly distracted.

“I was just wondering,” she hesitated as the thought of how to phrase it, “...what happens next?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean with us.” she clarified. Even as the sentence slipped from her lips, she regretted it. She had ruined more than one relationship by asking that. For some reason, it always seemed to make the guy feel pressure and made him want to run.

She never intended that, of course. It wasn't that she planned on them dropping down on one knee right there. She just wanted to know exactly where the relationship was, where it was going, how fast it would get there. Joe was smart, analytical, and great with working out puzzles. But relationships were always a mystery to her. The understandings of its intricacies was completely beyond her comprehension.

So that left asking but it always ended badly.

She was sure that the silence after her question was exactly what that meant. Kai was regretting it, she knew it. She was too fast, too much pressure. He would want out. He would-

“Whatever you want.” he said at last.

“What?” she cocked her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”