Then Sylvia seemed to become aware of the position they were in. The deck, the distance, the fact that several cadets were definitely looking and something moved across her expression that went through flustered and arrived somewhere that was working very hard to be composed.
She pulled herself up and stood, clearing her throat once, her eyes finding a neutral point somewhere that wasn't his face.
"Good," she said. "Then there's no problem."
Lucas sat up slowly, still not entirely sure which part of the last ten seconds to process first.
"Good reaction, Sylvia," Gideon said from nearby with the specific seriousness that meant something had happened that was worth being serious about.
Around them the deck had shifted, cadets who had witnessed the moment were looking around nervously now, the vacation atmosphere evaporating fast.
"Just what was that?"
"Was that aimed at someone?"
Lucas followed Gideon's eyeline and felt his breath stop.
