Catching Stardust

by Heather Thurmeier

  Not that she planned to complain about anything.

  Zander cupped her rear and she moaned deeply into his mouth. She felt his desire pressing against her and she wanted more than anything to free him of the confines of the material wrapped around his waist. She slipped her fingers under the edge of the blanket and tugged gently. It held tight, tucked under his hips too much to be pulled free.

  A throat cleared from just outside the circle of lanterns.

  Maia shrieked and clung to Zander. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and she buried her face into him.

  “Who’s there?” Zander demanded, protective testosterone flooding his voice and posture as he moved to sit up, tucking Maia behind him as if to shield her.

  “Sorry, dude.” The man stepped closer and lit his face with a flashlight.

  “Damn it, James.”

  Maia looked between the two men. “Wait. You know this guy?” She tugged the edges of her blanket to cover as much of herself as she could, suddenly feeling very exposed.

  “James set this up for us tonight. What the hell are you doing here sneaking up on us?”

  “I hate to crash your…good time, but shift change is in half and hour and I’ll be out of a job if anyone finds out I let you guys up here.”

  Zander cursed. “We’ll pack up.”

  “Leave the picnic basket and stuff and I’ll swing back to pick them up on my way home.”

  They sat in silence for a moment, watching as the flashlight and footsteps faded into the distance.

  “Sorry we got interrupted.” Zander tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “It’s probably for the better.” She rolled on to her back away from him and stared up at the sky, trying to soak it in as much as she could before she had to go back to the city and the light pollution that came with it.

  Zander followed her, rolling over so he hovered above her but she put her fingers on his mouth, blocking him from kissing her more.

  He peered at her through half-lidded eyes his hand squeezing her hip, dangerously close to the area that begged to be touched. “What’s wrong? We still a have few minutes left. I’m sure we can think of some way to pass the time.”

  “I want to, I really do. But I can’t. I—I’m not—I just can’t.”

  Being interrupted by James had been a blessing in disguise. She wanted to, but she couldn’t be with someone who didn’t even know who she really was. She wasn’t ready to tell him the truth about her—she could never do that. So how could she be with him physically when he didn’t even know who she was, what she was?

  Zander rolled onto his back beside her and peered up at the sky. He sighed and rubbed his hands across his face as if massaging away the pent up tension he undoubtedly felt.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly. Her heart clenched. She didn’t want to stop kissing him. In fact she wanted to do a whole lot more than kiss. She probably would have if they hadn’t been interrupted. But she couldn’t let herself get caught up in a moment she’d regret later.

  She couldn’t let herself take things further with Zander knowing they both stood to get hurt if she did. This pain was easier to bear. Much easier.

  “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have let myself get so tempted so quickly. This is really our first date. I should have treated you better.”

  She rolled over and put her hand on his chest, staring into his eyes. “You’ve been nothing but kind and wonderful. And I’ve been tempted by you too. I’m just not ready.”

  He kissed her softly on the lips—a kiss that didn’t ask to lead to anything more.

  “Why don’t I pack up the food and clean up this mess while you get dressed. I promise I won’t watch. Well, I’ll try not to watch. Promise seems a bit…excessive. I hate to make a promise I’m not sure I can keep.”

  Maia dressed quickly then finished packing up all of their things while Zander dressed. Together they made their way back down the now pitch-black staircase with the aid of a flashlight out of the picnic supplies and to the main road leading back to the station. They stopped into a tiny café that was still busy despite the late hour and ordered hot chocolates for the ride home. Then walked across the street to the station as the next train pulled in.

  Finding seats in an empty car, they sat beside each other. Zander draped his arm across her shoulders and she snuggled in tightly against him. A new kind of warmth filled her chest.

  Protection.

  Safety.

  Comfort.

  She breathed in his scent as she cuddled against him—just as manly as she remembered it from his jacket, only stronger and mixed with the smell of lake water. For a water nymph, the scents mixing played to her deepest desires on the most primal level.

  The train rocked back and forth as it traveled down the tracks, soothing and rhythmic. The weight of another day on Earth began to settle in and her eyes threatened to drift shut.

  Forcing her eyes to stay open, she turned to the window. A reflection of herself and Zander in each other’s arms stared back at her. A longing, deep in her heart ached for the possible future she saw in the reflection—a future she never thought she wanted, but now sort of did, even if it went against what she knew was right.

  She’d never thought of trying to have a typical life on Earth, but with a guy like Zander by her side, maybe she could be happy here.

  Stars twinkled in the sky beyond their reflection, reminding her of home and the life she would lose if she chose to stay here. The life she’d known her whole eternity. The life she loved with her sisters.

  Could she really imagine a life that didn’t include going back to the stars?

  Chapter Twelve

  “Where are you?” Jude shouted into the phone when Zander answered his cell phone. “I need to meet with you.”

  “I’m on the train. What’s up?” Jude sounded extremely excited, bordering on frantic.

  “Why are you on a train? Where are you going?”

  “Home,” Zander said, looking down at Maia who was still staring out the train’s window as she snuggled against him, her eyes looking exponentially heavier with every shift of the train on the tracks. How he wished he were going home with her instead of by himself.

  “Where are you? Brooklyn?”

  He didn’t feel like dealing with Jude tonight. Not on the heels of what had been possibly his best date ever. He sighed. “No, Westchester.”

  “What the hell were you doing all the way out there?”

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m on a date with Maia.”

  Zander could almost hear Jude’s thoughts racing through his head before his friend spoke again. “I’m coming to the station. I’ll see you in a few.”

  “What’s this about, Jude?” Zander asked. His question was met with a dial tone instead of an answer. Something was up, but what?

  ***

  Zander and Maia climbed the stairs from the lower level of Grand Central and were instantly greeted by Jude. His expression and body language confirmed Zander’s earlier suspicion—Jude was unusually frantic about something.

  “What’s going on, Jude? Why did you have to meet me here? What couldn’t wait until tomorrow morning?”

  Jude darted a glance at Maia who was busy fishing in the bottom of her bag for something. Her hair was mussed and tangled from the impromptu swim, but she still looked like the most gorgeous thing Zander had ever seen.

  “I think I may have discovered something more about the other night’s unusual activities.” Jude cleared his throat as if he were nervous to be talking out in the open like this. “I think you’ll be very interested to know what I’ve discovered.”

  “I’m sure I will be, but you know I’m kind of interested in my date right now.”

  “I’m serious. This could be big. Huge.”

  Zander felt the adrenaline of excitement building inside. He loved the thrill of a new discovery, but he also couldn’t deny how much he wanted his date with Maia to continue. As far as he wa
s concerned, Maia was his best discovery yet. Did he really want to let Jude get in the way of what he had going with her tonight?

  Maia yawned. “It’s okay if you guys need to talk. I’m beat. I think I’m going to find a garbage for this and head home.” She took the last sip of her hot chocolate and glanced around.

  “I’ll take it for you,” Jude said quickly, taking her cup before she could answer. “There’s a garbage on my way out. You can never find one when you need one in here since security is always so tight.”

  “Listen, you don’t have to go. I’d like to make sure you get back to your hotel okay.” Zander didn’t want his date with Maia to end like this. No, he wanted to walk her to the hotel. He wanted another chance to kiss her. Another chance to hold her tight.

  “It’s okay. I’ll grab a cab and be safe and snug in my bed in ten minutes. It’s fine. Really. I’m very tired after our date tonight. You’ve exhausted me.” She smiled, a twinkle of teasing in her eyes.

  Zander glanced back and forth between Maia and Jude. He could kill Jude right now for interrupting their date. What was so important about this discovery that it couldn’t have waited until tomorrow morning when he could properly focus his attention on it? Sighing, he knew he had no choice except to go with it. “Can I at least see you to a taxi?” he asked taking her hand.

  “Of course.” She smiled back at him. The urge to kiss those beautiful lips of hers flared inside him again.

  “Stay here,” he said to Jude. “I’ll be back in a few.” But Jude wasn’t listening. Instead he was staring at Maia’s cup like it was a Petri dish.

  Maia and Zander walked hand in hand through the train station and out on to the busy street. As they joined the taxi stand line, Zander took both of her hands in his, turning toward her. “I had an amazing time tonight.”

  “I did too. Thank you. It was so beautiful to have a night picnic beneath the stars.”

  “I’d like to see you again.” He stepped a little closer to her as the line moved. “Friday night I’m attending a charity event out at an observatory on Long Island. I’d love for you to join me if you don’t have plans.”

  The charity event raised money to support the oldest observatory on Long Island so it could continue to offer programming to local schools, universities and the public. It was something Zander believed needed to be supported. If they stopped offering opportunities to learn about the stars, people might stop believing in the possibilities of all the things space might hold.

  Zander noticed her expression falter for a second. Great, he’d put her on the spot and now it was awkward to say no. “It’s okay if you can’t or don’t want to. I understand it’s short notice.”

  Maia bit her lower lip and stepped forward with the line again. Only one person remained in front of her then it would be her turn to get in the taxi and leave. She nodded. “Okay I’ll go. What time will you pick me up?”

  “The event starts at ten, so I’ll pick you up about nine.”

  Zander opened the door of the taxi after it pulled to a stop in front of them. Before Maia could step off the curb and into the car to be whisked away to her hotel, Zander pulled her into his arms. She stared up at him. The lust he’d seen earlier in her eyes flashed again. She tilted her head slightly, a subtle invitation.

  He more than accepted and swept his lips across hers, gently nudging them open. They parted with an exhale, a sigh. He covered her mouth with his, letting his tongue lazily find hers as if they had all the time in the world to kiss instead of only a few moments. He really did want to kiss her forever. To stay there, tasting her, touching her, sounded like the best idea of his life.

  “Meter’s runnin’,” called the driver from inside the taxi.

  He gave her lip one last little nibble before pulling away from her. More. He needed more. She obviously wanted more. But it would have to wait. At least until he saw her again at the charity event.

  Friday night seemed very far away.

  “Until Friday.” His voice came out a touch more lustfully than he would have thought cool. Good thing her voice matched his when she quickly mumbled an unintelligible response then shut the door.

  The taxi drove off. Zander took a few deep breaths as he made his way back inside Grand Central to where Jude still stood, staring at the cup in his hands.

  “Thanks for sucking royally at being my wingman. What the hell is so important you had to interrupt a date that possibly could still be going on right now with an incredibly sexy woman?”

  “First off, I forgot you were on a date tonight. And secondly, she was tired so it’s not like you would have gotten much farther anyway.”

  “I’ll never know now, will I?” What kind of buddy did that to a guy on a date with a beautiful woman? He sucked up his disappointment.

  “Did you get anymore hints about Maia or her contacts tonight?” Jude asked, glancing down at her cup in his hand again.

  “No. I was way too distracted with other things to notice anything and we were on a date, not conductive a scientific experiment.” Too distracted by the water swirling around her naked body. Or by how amazing she looked cuddled in a blanket. Or by how he’d had to almost physically restrain himself from reaching out and unwrapping her as if she were the best Christmas present he’d ever received.

  “Dude, you make a shitty partner. Total access to our subject and you completely blow it.”

  “I’m not treating her like a test subject now or ever. She’s not some lab rat for you to study. She’s a nice, normal, beautiful woman and I’m not going to let you screw this up for me.” Zander crossed his arms, suddenly feeling like he needed to protect Maia from Jude. Best to move on and try to distract Jude. “So what’s your big news?”

  Jude smiled. Not just any smile. A big grin the likes of which Zander had never seen before. “I was right about the data not matching up the other night. A star really did fall.”

  “So what. Stars fall all the time. It doesn’t mean the world is coming to an end or anything.”

  “Have you noticed anything unusual about the Pleiades constellation in the last few nights?” Jude asked.

  Zander nodded. “Of course, but we’ve been over this and it’s already back to normal.”

  “What if that star wasn’t hiding behind some gasses or dust? What if it fell to Earth like the data suggests?”

  Zander laughed. He couldn’t help himself. “Okay seriously. It didn’t disappear. It’s back so therefore it couldn’t have fallen to Earth. The data doesn’t suggest anything. I wish it did, but it doesn’t. I really think you need some rest. Do you hear yourself?” Zander patted Jude on the shoulder. “I want a big discovery as much as you do, but it’s scientifically impossible for a star to fall all the way to the surface of the Earth. It would have burned out to nothing by the time it hit the atmosphere like everything else does.”

  “What if it didn’t burn up? What if there’s a star out there somewhere waiting to be found?”

  Zander could feel his annoyance level rising. Learning his friend might be going crazy was not the kind of discovery he was hoping to achieve one day. “Then there’d be stardust laying around somewhere and we’d have to call Hazmat?” he joked.

  “Maybe,” Jude said with a serious tone, “or maybe there’d be some other kind of—residue—left behind. Whatever it is, I’m going to find out. If you’re too blinded by that girl to see what could be right in front of you—to see what I’m offering you to be a part of—then I’ll just catch you later.”

  Jude stormed off with Maia’s cup still griped in his hand and without waiting for Zander to reply. “Go home and get some sleep,” he yelled after Jude, hoping his friend would take his advice and call it a night.

  ***

  Zander sauntered into the break room of Arius Industries and went directly to the coffee pot. He needed coffee. Lots of it. STAT.

  Last night with Maia had been amazing but coming home to bed, alone, had thoroughly sucked. He’d lain awake for hours
thinking about kissing her and the night they’d spent together skinny-dipping and wrapped in blankets. Separate blankets, sadly.

  He couldn’t wait to see her again Friday night for the charity event. He hoped the evening would lead to more kisses and maybe even some time wrapped up in a shared blanket this time.

  “How’s things?” he asked Jude, taking a seat across the table from him. Zander took in his friend’s appearance. The usual wrinkles in his clothes, unkempt hair and bags under his eyes were all he needed to see to know that Jude had been working late. Again. Completely breaking the new rules he’d tried to put in place. Jude would never learn how to balance everything.

  “Been better,” Jude grumbled.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. You wouldn’t be interested.”

  Zander scowled. That wasn’t like Jude. “Dude, I’m sorry if I was hard on you last night, but I can’t just sit by and watch you waste your time with something that isn’t anything. It’s time to move on.”

  Jude remained silent.

  “Well, did you find something?”

  “Nothing, okay? I found nothing. Are you happy now? I’ve been over those calculations from the other night a hundred times already and I still haven’t figured anything out. It’s driving me crazy. I don’t understand why I can’t make the data from the other night add up to something that makes sense the way I know it should.”

  “Listen, no one else has figured out anything unusual about that night—if they had, we would have heard about it before now—so why don’t you put that one instance of unusual data away and focus on something else for a while?”

  “Yeah, like what?”

  Zander sipped his coffee. “Like the charity event on Friday.”

  Jude shrugged. “Not much to focus on there.”

  “It’s a good chance for you to relax and have a good time for a change. Stop worrying and stressing. I want to find something big as much as you do, but this stuff with the falling star isn’t it. Let it go and let yourself have fun on Friday.”