Maybe it wasn’t so bad to team up with someone else, especially one who looked like he could handle himself.“Italian, huh?”He nodded.“What do ...ou say about me and you getting together?”Francesco didn’t like the smirk Karl threw him. There was something disingenuous in it. And what the hell did he mean, getting together?“You know, like a team, so that we can survive down there.”Francesco nodded, trying to look indifferent. “Sure.”“Now, take a look around,” Karl said. “Who else should we take. Those first moments exist in my mind as separate freeze frames even as they go by in a blur. Moans came from both of us, our cheeks were wet with tears; yours? Mine? You were not shy and your tongue sought mine. Your response telegraphed your hunger and I felt the mounting evidence of our mutual need as we pressed our bodies tightly against one another. Do you remember how we felt in that moment, my beloved? I recall feeling as though I had two beings -- the physical one that was engaged in the. The Program is the way it is. You can't change the rules. If your feelings are strong, you two will get through this week just fine. If you find you can't deal with it, maybe you weren't meant to be together."Have you ever had cold water thrown on you? That's how I felt when Mom said what she did about not being meant to be together. I knew what was coming over the next few days. I didn't know how I was going to handle things, but I was more than willing to fight for what I want. I just hoped. I knew about Napili because my folks had been there with some friends several times and it was a little off the beaten track in those days. It probably wasn't any more, but I didn't care. It was a place for the two of us to escape and enjoy each other for a few days.We were scheduled to leave on January third, and that gave us a few days to figure out how to schedule our crews to make sure things got done while we were away. The most important thing for us to decide was who would be the "boss".