<div align="center"><strong>-= Griffin Kingston, Captain – Aboard The Gamble, Talking with Sasha in his quarters and undressing to shower – approaching Persephone =-</strong></div><br/><br/>As Griff sat on the comfortable old couch, he leaned over one knee as nimble fingers deftly unlaced the well worn, sturdy, black combat boots he favored. He slipped one boot from his foot and sat it neatly in place next to him before he began unlacing the other. Hearing the soft rustle of the near-diaphanous material of Sasha’s ensemble, Griff glanced up as she drifted gracefully into the room. As his eyes met hers, she settled herself against the door jam, hands clasped behind her back and her long, shapely legs crossed at the ankles.<br/><br/><strong>“And apparently the word is...‘naked’?”</strong><br/><br/>“It ain’t nothing you ain’t already seen before,” Griff said as his eyes wandered adoringly over Sasha’s soft, bare stretch of flesh as she leaned against the door jam. He all but froze, mesmerized by the stunning visage of beauty standing before him; such was a common occurrence with Griff where Sasha was concerned. Her flashy style of dress invariably complimented her resplendent beauty, flawlessly accentuating her impeccable feminine curves. She never ceased to render him speechless for those first few seconds every time he saw her, and this time was certainly no different as his milk chocolate eyes strayed to the bikini panties that hugged her so exquisitely.<br/><br/>The truth was Griff was drawn to Sasha. He felt a certain emotional connection to her that he hadn’t felt for as long as he could remember. However, Griff was keenly aware of Sasha’s fragile emotional state when it came to matters of the heart and made a conscious effort to mask his true feelings for her, for the sake of her own emotional well-being. They worked well together and he valued her calm under pressure, her sound advice in a tough spot, her administrative know how, and her prowess when things got hairy. The bottom line was that he didn’t want to put his friendship, nor their working relationship in jeopardy. Still, he found it difficult to keep his feelings in check when it came to Sasha.<br/><br/>Then there was the matter of his own baggage that he still carried with him from his last meaningful relationship some 10 years prior, when he was still with the Alliance. She was a career officer, Lieutenant, junior grade. They were very much in love with other and had planned on getting married when Griff had his change of heart in regards to the Alliance. She was furious with him and refused to leave with him, choosing the Alliance over him. The split up rocked Griff to the core and he spent nearly a year drinking himself into a bottle to drown the pain of losing the woman he loved. Though the pain and his love had long since died away, there still wasn’t a day that didn’t pass without Renee entering his thoughts in some fashion.<br/><br/>It was Meimei’s announcement that they would soon be entering Persephone atmo that brought him back from his daydreaming fantasies and sent his hands back to work unlacing the other combat boot. He smirked and shook his head at Meimei accompanied by the soft chuckle of amusement. “That girl ain’t right,” he said as he looked up to Sasha with a smile on his face. Setting his boot next to the first, Griff pushed his combat trousers down past his ankles and pulled them from his feet before standing up once more and stretching his arms high overhead, flexing all the muscles in his abs, chest and arms. His entire body glistened in a thin sheen of sweat, accentuating the tiniest of shadows and slightest of highlights on his body. As he brought his hands back down, thumbs hooking inside the waistband of his white boxer briefs, he thought for a moment that she might have been looking at him with a wanton look in her eyes and his pulse picked up a step. He contemplated pushing his boxers briefs down right then and there, but thought better of it in the final moment when that familiar, pained expression filled her gorgeous blue eyes once more.<br/><br/><strong>“So what’s the plan, Captain?”</strong><br/><br/>He saw the shift in her posture as she stiffened, standing tall and he knew she was all business. He turned, moving to the faux mahogany wardrobe, opened one door and grabbed a clean towel. Crossing to the small private bath in his quarters, he reached inside and hung the towel on the hook before leaning back out the door again to face Sasha.<br/><br/>“Well, I need to go talk to Kessler about getting us a new calta… catala… about getting a new part for the engine so we don’t end up on the drift or sitting dead on some backwater mudhole. Plus I need to meet with our new guy, McPherson, I think is his name. So, I’m gonna have Si accompany you on the meet with Ferret. He’ll watch your six and keep you safe. Hayes is gonna stay behind and get the old girl ready for the new part and get her refueled so, we need Meimei and Vince to pull their weight and see to getting our food stocks replenished and whatever Dani needs for the infirmary. I’m guessin’ she’s gonna stay onboard as well. I may take the new guy and swing by Waldon’s…  see if he’s got any specials on ammo. So,” he checked his watch briefly and looked up at her again. “whattaya think two or three hours be time enough to see everything done and meet back here?”<br/><br/>As he waited for her reply, he pushed the boxers down his hips and stepped out of them, tossing them out near the couch where he had sat just moments before, anxious to wash the sweat and stink from his body. Secretly, he wanted nothing more than to invite Sasha to join him, but he knew, at least for now, that could not be.<br/>