Take My Breath Away

Carlos stared at Debbie, confused.

"Stephanie is pretty pissed. Do you care?" she asked him. 'If he does, that means he loves her, ' she thought.

Before he could say anything, Debbie heard a noise. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stephanie.

"Shh, be quiet!" she said to Carlos, and put her finger to her lips. Then she stood on tiptoe and kissed him full on the lips.

After the argument, Stephanie felt bad about her outburst. She wasn't mad at Carlos anymore.

She had come back to talk with him in a normal tone of voice. No arguing, no yelling. Yet, now she saw Carlos and Debbie kissing. Her hands were balled into fists in her pockets.

'Seriously? You have balls of steel, Debbie!' she thought, clenching her teeth.

Carlos had heard her approaching as well. But as he and Debbie kissed, the footsteps receded and could be heard no more.

He looked at Debbie, who was still kissing him with her eyes closed, and realized what she was up to. He felt like he was being used to make Stephanie angry.

That evening, Debbie was in a better mood than she'd been in a long time, and had an amazingly restful sleep. She would have gone to sleep with Carlos if she weren't worried about Kasie.

The next day, they went to a nearby island to do some exploring. On their way back, the girls were once again drawn to the sea, which shifted between green and blue even as they watched. They wanted to play in the water. The men had grown weary of the sea by now, but they had to make their women happy.

Kinsley gulped down a can of Coke and said to Stephanie, "Mr. Huo looks tired. How about I teach you to swim?"

Carlos gave him a sidelong look. 'Me tired? Bullshit, ' he thought.

Stephanie kept an eagle-eye on Carlos and Debbie, in case Debbie seduced him again. Of course, she wouldn't agree to go swimming with Kinsley. That gave Debbie too much time alone with Carlos. "I'm good. I don't like to get wet," she said, turning him down.

On the other hand, Kinsley stood up from his chair. Ignoring her refusal, he grabbed her wrist and insisted, "It'll be fun. Let's go." Then he turned to Carlos. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked.

"No," Carlos replied indifferently.

Since her man had agreed, Stephanie was out of excuses and walked into the water with Kinsley.

Debbie was aware that Kinsley had come up with this idea for her to do just what Stephanie feared. She was grateful and decided not to let him down. Cabin cruisers in different sizes were anchored nearby. Pointing at them, she asked, "I want to go sailing. Anyone else?"

Carlos sat up from his lounge chair and looked at Niles. "Niles, didn't you say you wanted to be out on the water?"

'When?' Niles wondered. But the threatening look in Carlos' eyes made him nod. "Yeah," he said resignedly. "Let's go sailing!"

Carlos got to his feet and walked towards one of the cruisers.

Debbie turned around to invite Ivan and Kasie as well. "Coming?"

Kasie shook her head. "No, I get seasick. You don't?"

"I never get seasick," Debbie said. Close by, Wesley was mad about something. Blair was trying to appease him. Debbie decided to leave them be.

Ivan didn't intend to go either. "I have a video conference soon. Sorry, I can't go."

"Alright. Kasie. It won't be the same without you. Ivan, keep an eye on her, okay?" Debbie patted Ivan on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. Have fun."

"Thanks, bye." Debbie waved goodbye to her friends who elected to stay behind, and walked towards the boat Carlos and Niles had boarded.

Watching her leave, Kasie couldn't help asking, "Are she and Carlos..." She didn't finish her sentence, though. She was afraid to say anything that might drive a wedge between Debbie and Ivan.

Ivan knew what she meant. He gave her a meaningful look and explained, "Debbie loves Carlos. I didn't tag along because I didn't want to ruin their time together."

Kasie didn't understand. "Doesn't it bother you?"

Suddenly, she felt sorry for him, because his wife loved someone else.

Ivan laughed. "Why should it? If they can get back together, she'll be happy. So will I."

Kasie was even more confused. 'What kind of man would help his wife go back to her ex? Maybe to clear the way so he can put the moves on me?'

As if he had read her mind, Ivan took a step toward her and called softly, "Kasie."

"Huh?" Kasie was snapped out of her reverie. When had he gotten so close to her? She recalled their last kiss and blushed.

On top of that, he had hugged her a moment ago when they'd been playing in the ocean.

'He's Debbie's husband.' Like a warning bell, that thought rang in her mind. She retreated quickly to put some distance between her and Ivan. "Mr. Wen, I have to go."

With that, she ran towards the resort, her feet kicking up sand as she ran.

Ivan laughed as he watched her run off. 'She's actually hotter than Debbie, ' he reflected.

Meanwhile, Niles disembarked quickly, holding his stomach. Ivan cast him a casual glance and ran toward the resort, hoping to catch up with Kasie.

As soon as Debbie boarded the cruiser she saw Niles holding his stomach as he cried, "Agh! Too much coconut. You guys go without me. I need a bathroom."

Then he waved at Carlos and Debbie and hopped down onto the dock.

Debbie wasn't fooled for a moment.

She looked at Carlos, sitting at the front of the ship, near the bow. 'Let me guess, ' she thought. 'Carlos kicked him off the boat, so we could be alone.'

Even though she was married and Carlos was engaged, Carlos' friends still did things to help them out. He had some good friends.

The cruiser soon set off, roaring off across the water. Thinking that it would be boring to stay in the cabin, Debbie walked up to Carlos.

Within minutes, the cruiser sped up. The wind was blowing, the water was splashing, and the boat was bouncing on the water. It was kind of exciting.

Debbie clutched the rail and smiled at the sea. The sea wind kissed her cheeks. The view was breathtaking and it felt fantastic.

Carlos came up behind her, his body close, hands next to hers.

Within a heartbeat, he gathered her up in his arms.

Debbie rested her head on his shoulder and said, "Be careful. We're going kind of fast."

"Okay." He pressed his cheek against her long lustrous hair. He could never get enough of her scent.

It began to drizzle all of a sudden. The headwind was starting to pick up. The cruiser shook more violently. The sea became stormy and the boat was riding the waves up and then back down again.

Debbie got hit by a wave and started to worry. The skies had darkened considerably, quickly.

Debbie got scared. She grabbed Carlos and said, "Could you tell the pilot to slow down?"

Carlos held onto the rail with one hand and had his other arm around her waist. "Don't worry," he comforted her.

'Something's not right, ' he thought with a frown.

The boat was being tossed this way and that, tilting like crazy. Debbie suddenly spotted two men hiding at the stern of the boat.

The boat was traveling faster and faster. The deck was slippery. Even Carlos found it difficult to keep his balance. But somehow, he managed to lead Debbie into the cabin.

Debbie had a bad feeling about this too. After sitting her down in a chair, Carlos looked around the cabin. It had been stripped of life vests.