My legs at once began to shake under me. I wanted to sink right to the bottom of the ocean and die of shame. I would never look at him again. This was it. It was over.

Riley blinked, and for an excruciating moment, did absolutely nothing. And then he released me and took a step back. His mouth opened as if he would speak, and then… and then… very slowly, he licked his lips, catching the drop on the tip of his tongue and making it disappear. His eyes seemed to blaze then, and the heat that was devouring my cheeks grew into an inferno. But at the same time… there was something about the way he moved his tongue that spread a sweeter warmth through my entire body.

My knees failed me, and I floundered in the water, but something kept me from falling, some pressure against me that I was too abstracted to try to comprehend.

When Riley spoke, the burning in his eyes belied the calmness of his tone, “I can think of a better way for you to share your saliva with me.”

And then I felt the invisible pressure against me slither around my back and pull me toward him, like I was being drawn by some telepathic power. That same whispery smoke feeling that had graced me before, as if the night shadows had become solid and taken it upon themselves to gather me to Riley. And then his arm was around me again, his hand caressing the curve of my waist. He tilted my chin up to his with his other hand, and I felt enveloped in a cocoon of his protection. Just like it had been when we’d flown underwater. So safe, so perfect.

Riley ran his tongue over his lips again, and then before I could draw a breath, his mouth was on mine.

I couldn’t describe the feeling of Riley’s kiss in a million years. There weren’t enough words. Not English words anyway. Maybe it could have been described in Riley’s eldritch language, if one had a million years to try. But at the same time, it felt like the kiss lasted far longer than that.

My eyes were closed, but I could swear saw the stars spinning wildly above us. Electricity coursed through my entire body, making it feel as though my hair stood on end. The water fell out from beneath us, the sky shot up into the heavens, and Riley and I were alone together in a space between spaces, a dimension between worlds.