Free Love's Call by Jala Summers

person now.  She was chatty, happy, and completely patient with him and his endless questions.
     
    The bell rang again, and Kyle, spoke with the next participant, also convincing him to move on to the seat in front of Alyssa.
     
    Liana thought it could be considered a bit selfish, but she was flattered that Kyle would try so hard to keep her to himself. And truthfully, there wasn’t anyone else Liana was interested in meeting on that ship anyway.  So she let him carry on with his efforts.
     
    Now, it was Liana’s turn to ask questions.  She wanted to know more about him in order to feel out his story, and his history.  She asked about his background, his family, if he’d ever had children.  She was pleased with all of his answers, and found herself even more attracted to him.
     
    The dating session continued in the same manner, Kyle directing the men on down the line and each time, he picked up where his conversation had ended with Liana.
     
    At the session’s end, the host made an announcement over the microphone, “Alright, folks, if you just record on your cards your top date picks, and leave them here, we’ll look for matches and give you your date match’s contact information.”
     
    Kyle and Liana shared a knowing look, and grinning, they scribbled names onto their cards. Kyle leaned over, pretending to attempt to steal a glance at her card.  She held it away, hiding it from his view.
     
    “Do we really need to do this?  I think we’ve made our own match,” Kyle said.
     
    “I guess not,” she said, taking the card and tossing it in a wastebasket on their way out of the room.
     
    Kyle wrapped an arm around the small of her back, as he ushered out of the room, and Liana felt as if electric impulses emanated from his touch through the fabric.  She looked up at his eyes and was shaken by the intensity there.  She bit her lower lip, now nervous under his gaze.  He asked her, “Do you want to have a seat on the deck?”
     
    “Sure,” Liana answered.  
     
    They both walked out into the cool night air, and chose two vacant lounge chairs that overlooked the ocean around them. They sat quietly, relishing the usual noises from the passengers on the ship and the sloshing of the waves, feeling the breeze on their faces and the smell of the ocean invading their nostrils.  
     
    He turned to Liana, “I really enjoyed tonight.”
     
    “Me too. Who knew speed dating could be so fun?” she teased.
     
    “I don’t think what we did was exactly the right way to do it, but that’s not what I was talking about.  I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.”
     
    She looked at him.  “Me too, Kyle.”
     
    They continued talking underneath the moonlight, carrying on as if they were old friends reacquainting themselves after a long period of separation.  This was odd for Liana.  It didn’t feel like impressing a man. It didn’t feel as if she had to try so hard.  It was natural and easy.
     
    As the night wore on, as much as they would have both preferred to sit there until the sun rose in the morning, sleep had started to pull at Liana’s eyelids, and she was finding it hard to stay awake.  She yawned, “I think I’m going to have to turn in for the night, Kyle.”
     
    “Okay, yea, it’s getting late.”
     
    They rose from their seats and Kyle walked with her back to her room. Outside of her cabin, he asked, “What are you planning for tomorrow?”
     
    “I don’t know,” she said, “I wasn’t planning to do much.  I’ll probably just lounge around the pool, maybe.”
     
    “Do you mind if I join you?”
     
    “Not at all.”
     
    They were quiet, and all that could be heard was a couple down the hall as they giggled, and practically ran into their cabin door, clearly intoxicated. Liana looked over to see them open the door and fall into the room.  
     
    But Kyle’s attention wasn’t on them. His eyes had never left her face as he contemplated tasting her lips. He leaned