"I just want."I just want... I want something I know you'll come back for." "You already are something I'll come back for. I don't need special presents or reminders." "I know," she sighed. He tickled her ears gently, enjoying the reactions he got, watching them flicker. "What time is it?" she asked. He wondered if that was an attempt to get him to stop tickling her, but she seemed to ask in earnest. In any event, Dave replied "It's almost ten o'clock." "Dave, I asked you to wake us at nine." "And at nine you distinctly told me to give you another hour." "I did?" "Yes. And since you gave me no specific instructions to ignore requests for more time, I took your request seriously." Nickolai sighed. He wondered if the event Dave described was true, since he didn't remember giving any such instruction, but it was possible... he'd learned to turn his alarm clock off in his sleep a long time ago. He turned over and said "We should get up." "Yeah," she agreed. They climbed out of bed and dressed, Nickolai taking advantage of her nudity to tickle her. They walked out onto the rooftop and Shardik was still there, dozing, a book over his face. "Hello," Molly's voice interrupted them. Nickolai looked around for a moment, then found her, swimming in the pool. "Come in, it's not bad." "Do you want to," Furry asked. "It would be nice." "Then let's do it," she replied, easing out of the clothing she had put on not ten minutes earlier and diving into the water. Nickolai followed her close behind. |