<em>- Bo in the Lounge with Colonel Mustard and the Candlestick -</em><br/><br/>As Nicci sat upon the armrest, Bo slipped his hand around to lay lightly on her hip opposite him.  He felt comfortable having his arm around her hip, protecting her from slipping off onto the floor.  If she slipped off onto his lap, he wouldn't mind that much at all.  He smiled up at her.  Feeling the soft warmth of Nicci against his arm was comforting.<br/><br/>Then Mila declared her intentions to answer the questions and he turned his eyes toward her.  Her shyness was an enticing draw.  It appealed to Bo's protective instincts.  He could imagine her tentative, gentle looks as he made love to her, and he felt a tenderness well up from within.  The flickering firelight played a soft tune across her alabaster skin, and even with the distance between them, her green eyes shown magnificently in the orange light when she glanced his way.  An impulsive chuckled left his throat as he imagined her as a child wanting to marry Santa Clause.  What a sweet natured girl she must have been to not see him as the "fat guy".  He thought back to the story his mother told him about when he was 7 and she took him to the mall to sit on Santa's lap.  He had punched the man in the belly only to discover that it was stuffed.  As a boy he felt betrayed.  Not because the man had a fake belly, but that his impulsive prank hadn't had the desired effect.  Bo had been angry at the fake Santa.  So had the Santa for some reason.  It wasn't as if getting punched in a stuffed belly hurt.  His mom had simply been horrified as she quickly pulled him away.<em>Perhaps that's a story I won't share with Mila</em>, Bo thought with a smile.<br/><br/>Her admittance that she lies to protect herself was revealing.  Her shy nature, and protective instincts, made Bo wonder about her past.  Had something or someone abused her, or made her feel like she wasn't worth much.  What a shame, he thought, if that were true.  Here before him was a polished diamond, shining brightly for all to see, except for the one who needed to see it the most, herself.  Hopefully she wouldn't feel the need to lie to those in this room.  He made a promise to himself to make a special effort to show her that she didn't need to, at least not with him.  And if she did, at least she had been up front enough to offer fair warning.  At this stage, that was enough to ask.<br/><br/>While Bo hadn't thought that there was any right answer when he had written the ship question, Mila was the first to suggest that her best friend and soul mate would be the same person.  Like a switch being flipped, he suddenly realized that his question did have a right answer.  And she had found it.  That thought struck Bo so profoundly, that he missed most of her other answers -- a soft buzz of sound in the background as his eyes fell momentarily to his knee.  The hand laying against Nicci's hip began to caress her softly, seemingly of it's own accord as Bo found comfort in the motion.  His mind though was filled with thoughts of soul mates, and wondering if it really was possible to find more than one in this life.  A life that he knew to be fleeting and unjust.<br/><br/>His mind was able to focus once again on what Mila was saying as she talked about being with only one partner.  That surprised him.  Pleasantly so.  He wasn't sure why it pleased him, but it did.   He too seemed to have much in common with Mila.  More than he might have expected upon first meeting the shy beauty.  He supposed they all would find more in common with each other than they may have first thought.  It was a hopeful thought, anyway.<br/><br/>Conforming.  Bo had little respect for conformist.  He wasn't sure exactly what she meant by that comment, but he admired anyone willing to be their own individual self, without regard to what society expected.  They all shared that trait, to one extent or another, he believed.<br/><br/>Bo felt Nicci rise as his hand fell from her side to lay where she had sat, the leather warmed by her presence.  Of course she would want to offer a word of encouragement to Mila.  Bo appreciated that, feeling the desire himself, but deciding to wait until a more private opportunity arose.  As Nicci turned back to him, she seemed to eye the armrest then the floor in an undecided manner.  Bo realized that the armrest was likely an uncomfortable perch.  Uncrossing his legs, and spreading his knees, he indicated the floor between.  While he wouldn't mind offering his lap, he wasn't sure that it was appropriate to do so just yet, and besides, she had already shown a preference for sitting on the floor.  Must mostly, he had a selfish desire to have her close, and no shame in indulging as she seemed to enjoy it as well.  As she made herself comfortable on the floor between his knees, leaning back against the chair, the warmth of her back pressing lightly against one leg, Bo sat a bit straighter so that his hands could rest easily on her shoulders.  Casually, without much thought, his hands gently massaged her flesh.  His thoughts were still on Mila, and the feeling of discovery that he had felt in her answers, as he turned an expectant eye to the man to his right, Vince.<br/><br/><br/>