Stars On Fire

by E. L. Todd

  “I don’t know…but I don’t think so. Vic would never tell him anyway. He’ll take your secrets to the grave.”

  I wasn’t embarrassed about what happened. It was just a sensitive subject with me, and I didn’t want to discuss it with anyone. It was an old wound that had never really healed. Anytime I scratched at it, the thin skin would tear, and I’d start bleeding all over again. “I know he will.”

  7

  NEIL

  I SAT in the cockpit of the Space Shuttle Infinite and worked on the central computer system. The flight trajectory was found to have an error on its last reentry, but the commander still managed to get it safely on the ground. As the chief engineer for the project, it was my job to figure out the problem—and fix it.

  Hyde approached the open doorway in the hangar and tapped his fists against the frame. “You’re still here?”

  “Yeah.” My computer was plugged into the central system so I could find the exact location where the error was occurring. I was part of the engineering team that designed the spacecraft, and I pitched in to help construct it during my short time between launches. “There’s a malfunction somewhere in the software. I’m trying to find where it is.”

  Hyde got into the passenger seat and looked through the computer like he might find something.

  “The error is taking place in the guidance system. When the last team tried to land, they had to use their own sight to identify the landing strip and safely get Infinite to ground.”

  “Geez, that sounds like a bitch.”

  “Commander Collins was flying, so they were fine.”

  Hyde assisted me for a few hours, helping me pull out the wires and check the system for the malfunction. He had a background in engineering too, but his primary specialty was physics. He took the academic route to enter the program, whereas I took the pilot route. “Got any plans tonight?”

  I woke up alone that morning. Charlotte left for work without leaving me a note, and Torpedo was so excited to see me in the apartment that he followed me everywhere I went and whined when I walked out. I was looking for something simple and casual, and it was a relief to find Charlotte was looking for the same thing.

  And she was good in bed.

  She was the most enthusiastic lover I’d ever had. When she couldn’t get enough of me, she pulled me deeper into her, her tight pussy so wet that her arousal dripped to the sheets and made a noticeable stain.

  She was a good kisser too, soft and aggressive at the same time.

  I considered stopping by her place again. Maybe she’d want to pick up where we left off. “I might hit up a girl I’m seeing. Why?”

  “Jane wanted me to invite you over for dinner. Why don’t you bring your little friend along?”

  That seemed too serious, especially when I didn’t know Charlotte that well. “We’re too casual for that.”

  “It’s just dinner and drinks, not a wedding ceremony.” He hit a few buttons on the system and watched the computer come to life.

  I checked the directional schematics and ran a series of tests to see if it was functioning properly. It didn’t matter how many times I verified that the computer was working correctly, once the space shuttle reentered the atmosphere and absorbed astronomical levels of heat on its descent, anything could go wrong. This could bust all over again—which was why NASA only took the best pilots in the country. “I’ll reboot the system and check on it again tomorrow. Want to make sure it’s as perfect as possible.”

  “You could land this thing even if it dies on you.”

  “Yeah…but I’d rather not.”

  I CALLED Vic when I walked into my house. “Hey, man. What’s going on? Is Stacy functioning yet?”

  “She’s still a bit drunk. She’ll be drunk for days, that’s just how she is.”

  “Wow, her metabolism is a little slow.”

  “No, she just drank that much. So, what’s up? How was work?”

  “I’m repairing the guidance system on one of our shuttles. It failed on the last team that returned to Earth. Thankfully, the pilot had enough experience to safely navigate to the surface and find the runway.”

  “How the hell did he pull that off?” he asked in shock.

  “It’s a she,” I said. “And she’s one of the best pilots we have.”

  “But how can you see where you’re going without the coordinates?”

  “The trajectory of the orbit guides us on the right path, putting us within a couple miles of the landing strip. Once the shuttle reaches a certain altitude, it acts as a regular plane. The pilot can see where they’re going. They just don’t have an engine, so they have to glide where they need to go.”

  Vic was quiet over the line, like he was in shock at that information.

  “Anyway…I was wondering if I could have Charlotte’s number.” It wasn’t until I’d arrived at the Space Center that I realized I didn’t have my wallet. It must have slipped out of my pocket and landed under the bed somewhere. I was only able to get in through the front gate because the guys recognized me.

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to talk to her.” I could just show up at her apartment, but that would be a breach of personal space. Only stalkers or really good friends did that. I was somewhere in between.

  “Because…?”

  “Vic, just give me her number.”

  “If she wanted you to have it, she would have given it to you.”

  I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. I’d never known my brother to be so protective of anyone, not even Stacy, but he treated Charlotte like this weak person who needed a man to look after her. I didn’t know her very well, but it was obvious she could handle herself. “You’re really going to be a bitch about this?”

  “Yep. I’ll give her your number. If she wants to call you, she will.”

  This high school drama was ridiculous, but I bit my tongue to stay quiet. I could just admit I slept with her last night, but it felt wrong to share her personal life with my brother. What she did in the privacy of her bedroom was no one’s business. I wasn’t the most upstanding guy in the world, but I respected the women I slept with. “Fine.”

  He hung up.

  Minutes later, an unknown number called me.

  “Hey.”

  Her happy and upbeat personality radiated through the phone like rays of sunshine through the blackness of space. “I hear through the grapevine you’re trying to get a hold of me.”

  “You’d be right.”

  “Sorry about Vic. You know how he is…”

  “Actually, I don’t.” I’d never seen him act this way in my entire life. I was the older brother, so I looked out for him while we were growing up. If a bully started trouble, I was always the first one to jump in. I was two and a half years older than him, so we didn’t have the same classes or the same friends—but I was always there. That was what his relationship with Charlotte reminded me of. “I realized I left my wallet there. Do you mind if I swing by and pick it up?”

  “Oh no, I hope that didn’t ruin your day.”

  “No, I was able to get into the Space Center just fine.”

  “Did someone buy you lunch?”

  “Yes.” Hyde did.

  “Good thing you have people looking out for you.”

  “Yes. I’m a grouch when I’m hungry.”

  “That makes two of us, mister,” she said with a laugh. “You gonna swing by now?”

  “If you’re home.”

  “Torpedo and I are here.”

  “Alright, see you soon.”

  I KNOCKED on her front door thirty minutes later.

  “Hey.” Her brown hair was pulled over one shoulder, and she wore cutoff denim shorts with a halter top. She looked ready for a summer party at the lake, her tanned skin just as sexy under the florescent lights as it was in the darkness. Her eyes contained only excitement, not awkwardness or hesitation at my visit. She didn’t try to kiss me or give me any special affection like we were more th
an two people who slept together. She was more withdrawn and distant than I was.

  I shut the door behind me, thinking about how beautiful she’d looked underneath me. Her perfect tits were a pleasant surprise, and her skin was much softer than I anticipated. My lips wanted to devour her everywhere, to taste her belly button as well as that sweet pussy between her legs. Space was the most freeing experience in the known world…but it could never compete with sex.

  My cock twitched in my jeans the second I looked at her.

  Tanned. Beautiful. Perfect. That smile was brighter than the sun.

  I almost forgot to say hello in return. “Hey.”

  “Well, I have good news and bad news.”

  I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms over my chest. “Alright.”

  “I found your wallet…that’s the good news.”

  “And the bad?”

  She turned to Torpedo, who was sitting on the rug with my wallet between his paws. He’d obviously been chewing on it all day because the leather was torn and practically ripped to pieces.

  Charlotte turned back to me, apologetic. “I pulled everything out so he couldn’t destroy anything important.” She picked up a pile of credit cards, IDs, and cash. She set it on the counter beside me. “I also put a twenty-dollar bill in there to replace your wallet. Sorry about that.”

  It was a cheap wallet from Target—no big deal. “It’s okay.” I grabbed my personal property but left the twenty-dollar bill behind. “Consider it as a gift to your dog—a chew toy.” I slipped everything into my pocket and planned to pick up a wallet on the way home tonight.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I think it’s his favorite.”

  Torpedo continued to bite into the leather, ripping it out from the stitching like it was a bone he was attempting to pick clean. His eyes were on me, like he knew the wallet had belonged to me before he found it under the bed and destroyed it.

  “Honestly, he’s getting more enjoyment out of it than I ever did.”

  She opened the fridge and grabbed a beer. “You want a drink?”

  “No thanks. I’m leaving for dinner in a little bit.”

  “Suit yourself.” She twisted off the cap and took a drink. Her white halter top showed off her beautifully tanned skin, and those little shorts showed the muscles in her thighs. Her toenails were painted bright pink. She looked like the perfect girl to hang out with on a boat when she was in a skimpy bikini.

  It was hard not to stare. I’d rather take off all her clothes and screw her on the kitchen island than go have dinner with Hyde and his wife. I could easily pour that beer all over her and lick the drops away.

  “How was work?”

  “It was a long day. One of the space shuttles is having technical errors, so I’m trying to repair it.”

  “You do that sort of thing?”

  A lot of people assumed astronauts just went to space, and when we were on Earth, we were on vacation the entire time. “Yes. Whenever I’m stationed here, I’m part of the NASA team. I help design and implement different spacecraft for upcoming missions.”

  She gave me the same look everyone else did—like she was floored by my brilliance.

  It never seemed like she cared about my profession, so I was glad she was impressed with me after all.

  “I have a lot of things I need to take care of while I’m here. I communicate with the astronauts at the space station and the lunar labs on the moon. Walk them through different procedures.”

  She drank from her beer again, speechless at what I’d said.

  I continued to stare at her, wanting to taste the beer that had soaked into her lips. I’d been with many beautiful women, and Laura was Miss Texas just last year, but there was something about this petite woman that really got my engine revving. She was different from the others…even though I couldn’t really explain why.

  She finally swallowed her beer down. “That’s really cool… I had no idea.”

  Because she never asked. “Now I’m going to dinner at a coworker’s house.”

  “When you say coworker, are you referring to another astronaut?”

  “Actually, yes.”

  “Wow…the stories you must tell.”

  Hyde and I were close because we were two of the few astronauts in the program with a strong experience as a pilot. We were both in the air force for years before we completed our education. He went to Berkeley and I went to MIT—but we found each other again at NASA. “Would you like to tag along?”

  She was about to take a drink of her beer but changed her mind. “Are you serious?”

  “His wife Jane is great. He’s got two little kids.”

  “I wouldn’t want to intrude…”

  “You wouldn’t be. Jane always makes way too much food anyway.” I didn’t know what possessed me to invite her. The other women in my life never met my friends and family. They only made it to my bedroom and the front door. “Unless you’ve already eaten?”

  “I was probably going to eat a classic PB and J, but a home-cooked meal sounds much better. And spending the evening with two brave and brilliant men sounds even better.”

  “Great. Then let’s go.”

  Like Torpedo could understand me, he left my wallet behind and came to the door, as if he was sad I was taking his mother away.

  “I’ll be home in a couple hours, honey.” Charlotte leaned down and gave him a good scratch and a couple kisses on the snout. “Just keep chewing on that wallet. You won’t even notice I’m gone.” She rose to her feet and walked out the front door.

  I gave him a pat on the head. “We’ll bring you along next time.” I stepped over the threshold and watched her lock the door behind us. “He really loves you, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes. But I love him too, so it’s okay.” She stayed at my side as we walked to the elevator at the end of the hallway. “So, who’s driving?”

  HYDE LIVED outside the city on a small piece of land, just a couple acres. A white fence surrounded his property, and he had a few farm animals outside, like chickens and horses. It had the feeling of a farmhouse, but still modern. The wraparound porch was distinctly southern, and he told me that’s where they watched the sunset while drinking lemonade.

  We walked inside and made our introductions. Jane had the table already prepared, tacos with rice and beans, and she was warm to Charlotte even though she’d had no idea I was bringing a guest.

  The kids gave me a big hug then returned to the living room so they could keep watching TV.

  I pulled out the chair for Charlotte then took the seat beside her.

  Hyde kept looking at me, wearing that slight smile that told me he would grill me about Charlotte later. I never talked about women, and I certainly never made an appearance with a woman, so this was new. I introduced her as a friend, but Hyde was too smart to believe that.

  “This lemonade is awesome,” Charlotte said. “My grandmother used to make some just like it. Is it homemade?”

  “Yes.” Jane was a redhead with blue eyes, a pretty woman who knew her way around the kitchen. Hyde met her shortly after he moved to Texas, and he claimed it was love at first sight. He’d only known her for a year when he married her—but he never regretted his decision. While she was concerned for Hyde’s safety, she never dissuaded him from pursuing his dreams—another reason he married her. “That’s actually where I got my recipe too. It’s been in the family for generations. She gave it to me a couple of years before she died and told me to make it for my husband in the summer. Sometimes I wonder if that’s how I nabbed such a handsome man.” She made eyes at her husband at the table before she grabbed the salad bowl and scooped the lettuce and toppings onto her plate.

  Hyde grinned then looked at me. “Yeah, that’s how you got me to settle down…your lemonade.”

  She smacked him in the arm but grinned slightly as she did so, teasing him for the comment.

  Charlotte scooped the salad into her bowl then served herself the main course. Sh
e passed the dish to me, and we circled around, serving ourselves the delicious meal Jane had prepared for us. I cooked at home, but there were always dishes as a consequence. Being a guest in someone’s home eliminated that problem altogether.

  “How long have you been married?” Charlotte asked.

  “Five years,” Hyde answered. “And it’s been a good five years.”

  “And it’s even better during the times you’re gone,” Jane teased.

  I laughed at the casual way his own wife mocked him. “Ouch.”

  Hyde laughed, like he enjoyed it when his wife teased him. “It’s because the sex is so damn good when I’m back on Earth.”

  When Jane smacked him, she really meant it that time. “That is not appropriate for dinnertime.”

  “Come on, it’s Neil.” Hyde scooped bites of salad into his mouth in between his words. “I already tell him everything, so there’re no secrets between the three of us.”

  Her cheeks blushed red.

  I knew she was embarrassed, but she was also flattered at the same time. “You’re all Hyde ever talks about. Even when we were at the moon, all he would talk about is you and the kids…and going home to get laid.”

  “See?” Hyde said. “Isn’t that romantic?”

  Her cheeks returned to their usual fairness, and she did her best to hide her smile.

  “I think it’s romantic,” Charlotte said. “It’s nice to hear a man talk about bedding his wife instead of bedding other women…”

  “Definitely don’t have a problem there,” I said. “Because Hyde is hard up for only one woman.”

  “Better be,” Jane said. “I used to play softball in college, so I’m pretty good with a bat.”

  “Ooh…” Hyde waggled his eyebrows. “That’s pretty sexy. I like it when she gets all jealous.”

  Charlotte smiled as she watched them go back and forth. She picked at her food and hardly ate her dinner because she seemed too distracted by their banter.

  When the conversation finally died away, Jane turned her attention back to Charlotte. “How do you two know each other?”

  “My best friend is married to his brother.” Her brown hair was pulled to one side, and when she sat right beside me, it was easy for me to see down the front of her top. I hoped to see more of that action later, so I kept my eyes focused on my food. “So, Neil and I see each other pretty often.”