Posted by Commander Dr. Royal Sinclair (Executive Officer) in Resort- Finding Our Own Paradise

Posted by Lieutenant Corinne Dalton (Scientist) in Resort- Finding Our Own Paradise

(snip)

Cori moved to deal with the sail and shook her head. “You’re making me steer on my first time out? Bold choice there, Sinclair. I mean, I can pilot a shuttle but I haven’t in a long time. I hope you’re okay swimming in deep water,” Cori said matter-of-factly. Whether she was kidding or not was hard to tell.

~Corinne Dalton

“You have my utmost confidence in your abilities to sail the briny blue.” he said with a smile. “And trust me, once we are out on the open water… you’ll never want to go back.” and he laughed loudly.

Between the two of them they am ulcered the slip out of the harbor, through the channel; and in half an hour they were leaving the relative calm of the harbor. The waves weren’t large, but they made the small boat rise and fall enough that balance was a conscious thing. Royal tookna deep breath and closed his eyes. “By all the gods… there is no better smell or feeling than this right here.”

Cmdr. Royal Sinclair, XO

Cori was focused on all the small details had had relayed and thanks to her new body and souped up brain, she actually could recall it all quite easily. It meant that she could steal a moment to focus on him and watch as he simply enjoyed existing out here. She had never seen him like that. He was a big man who could be as intimidating as he could gentle and soothing. But she couldn’t ever recall seeing him so at peace before. There was a deep flutter in her stomach that was more than any pervious moment of attraction. She had felt strongly about people before but this felt different.

“I love you,” she said before she had fully registered that she was even saying them. Cori flushed slightly, but kept her gaze on him, in slight awe.

~Corinne Dalton

He didn’t move, and for a moment it seemed like he hadn’t heard her. He just sat there, eyes closed, until he said “All the best things in my life have happened on or near the water. All of them.” His eyes opened and his gaze locked onto hers. “None of them are as good as this moment right here…” and he smiled. “I love you too, Cori. I think I have for quite a while.” He leaned forward and took her chin gently in his hand and touched his lips to hers. He held the kiss for a long time before leaning back. “What brought that on, if I may ask?” he inquired as a grin slipped across his face.

Cmdr. Royal Sinclair, XO

Her lips warm from his kiss, she drew in a slow breath and shrugged a little. “I don’t know exactly. It just… came out. I think”-she shook her head and gazed out over the brilliant blue water before looking at him again-“maybe it’s just you being you. So many of our interactions have been about you helping me or doing stuff for me, and that’s all really lovely. But just now, I guess I could see you, and I realized that I loved the person I was seeing.”

It wasn’t the first time she had said ‘I love you’, but as she had mentioned to him earlier, it was a tricky subject for her given the people she had said it to before were difficult topics for her.

~Corinne Dalton