"What a perfectly splendid time we are going to have!"
Emerson continued to kiss me for a time. By the time he released me I felt rather woozy. I leaned against the rail, trying to catch my breath. Emerson leaded next to me, looking out over the water. After my respiration had returned to a normal rate, I turned, watching the ebony water lap against the side of the dahabeya as the moonlight cast silver shadows upon its surface. The night air was quite cool, as most nights in Egypt are. I shivered. Emerson put a well-muscled arm around me.
"Cold are you, my dear?"
"A little" I said resting my head against his shoulder. We stood for a while longer in silence, absorbed in our own thought. After a time, I found myself yawning and attempted to stifle it. I was not successful.
"Time to get to bed, Peabody" Emerson said as he pulled my arm through his and walked towards the cabins. I did not resist, for I was rather tired, and the night air held a chill that not even Emerson's arms could keep at bay.
We reached the door to my cabin first, it being nearer to the front deck than Emerson's. I stopped and turned to Emerson. He looked down at me, a burning intensity shining in his shaprine eyes. Again my insides felt that strange, uncomfortable sensation as if being liquefied, this time edged with a shiver of nervous anticipation. Emerson was quite a bit taller than my height of five feet and a bit and he had to lean down to kiss me, but kiss me he did. I stood on my tiptoes and wound my arms around his neck, for fear of losing my balance. I did not think about the compromising position this would put us in if we were to be happened upon by alter, Evelyn, or Allah forbid, Hassan. I was beginning to discover that Emerson's kisses had a deleterious effect on my brain. They seemed to rapidly deteriorate the cognitive function. How odd.
After a few minutes Emerson was forced to stop because we both had run out of breath. He released his firm grasp around my waist, and my knees buckled. He grabbed my elbow, before I toppled over and propped me gently against the door of my cabin. Emerson kissed my cheek, and with a roughish grin, ambled off towards his cabin. I watched him enter his cabin and his door shut. I closed my eyes and allowed a wealth of emotions to wash over me as I enjoying the feeling of the cold Nile breeze against my flushed face. I remained there, eyes closed until my breathing and heart rate had returned to normal. Signing, I turned and entered my cabin.