give me a life time of promises (open)

As Maea encouraged Loren to share what he had brought last time, he rubbed his palm against his thigh anxiously. ”Fine.” It came out curtly, and it was obvious he was uncomfortable. ”I told them my secret was that I told Abasi about a previous request I made of Frey. They told me they’d heal my broken heart if I...caused enough...climaxes. I thought that if I revealed our relationship started with a bit of a pretense, it might...” His voice trailed off and he waved a hand vaguely. Clearing his throat, he felt a light flush come to his cheeks. ”And I had Delphia bring them a ghost, because I thought that might be real but perceived to be fake. Because even though people have rituals where they encountered spirits, I didn’t think they necessarily believed the encounters at first.” He couldn’t quite meet Maea’s eyes. ”Like I said. Ignorant Outlander.” It came out more bitterly than he’d intended and he turned away, gazing out to the ocean so she wouldn’t see his troubled expression. As she went to pray, he didn’t move from his spot, still not quite recovered. ”No. There were no gods in my other worlds.” It came out quietly. His shoulders tensed a bit as he awaited her inevitable shock and dismay. LOREN Not quite an open book