"Oh, it was ... but wide open, with such a mind as yours...." she paused, then came back to normal almost with a snap. "... but say; I'll bet that's what Therea and Alsyne were doing. That 'fusion' thing. We'll practise it tonight."
He pondered briefly. "Sure it was."
"But he said they learned it from us. How could he have, when we.... Oh, we did, of course, in moments of high stress ... but we didn't actually know it...." She paused.
"We wouldn't admit it, you mean, even to ourselves."
"Maybe; and of course it never occurred to us—callow youngsters we were then, weren't we?—that it could be done for more than a microsecond at a time. Or that two people could ever, possibly, live that way."
"Or what a life it would be. So let's chop this and get back to you and me."
"Uh-huh, let's," she agreed, but in a severely practical tone. "You've got lipstick even on your shirt. So change it and I'll go put on a new face and bring over some stuff and clean you up."
While she cleaned, she talked. "I told you our next kiss would be different, but I had no idea ... wow! That will be as much different, too, I'm sure.... Hm-h-h-nh?" Again she pressed herself against him; this time in a somewhat different fashion.
"Stop that, you little devil, or I'll...." His arms came up of themselves, but he forced them back down. "... No, I won't. We'll save that for tonight, too."
"I'll behave myself!" She laughed, pure joy in voice, eyes, and smile. "I bet myself you wouldn't and I won! You're tall, solid gold, Clee darling—the absolute top."