Catching Stardust

by Heather Thurmeier

  “It’s okay. I want to hear what you guys have to say. I really don’t know much. I only knew that one, little, insignificant thing. I shouldn’t have interrupted you, Jude. Please go on. What were you going to tell me next?”

  His mouth went into a straight line and his eyes narrowed as he evaluated her. “How much do you know about this stuff?”

  All of it.

  “Not much really. I only learned about that accretion…thingy from one of the other displays.” Her eyes flickered away from his, unable to hold his gaze as her fear of having her true identity found out caught in her throat.

  Breathe. Stay calm. They don’t know. Lots of people know stuff about stars and space and whatnot. It’s not so weird.

  “Really? Which one? I don’t recall reading black hole information anywhere other than here.”

  Maia swallowed hard. Why was Jude being so thorough in his questioning? “I don’t remember exactly. I think it was over there somewhere.” She pointed in the general direction of the rest of the exhibits. She didn’t know if there was anywhere else in the museum that mention this particular information, but at that moment, she would give anything to have Jude leave to go in search of it. Maybe it would keep him busy and off her case, since she’d obviously given away she knew more than she should.

  “Well, I think it’s great you know so much about the universe already,” Zander said, smiling at her. “Have you seen the planetarium show yet? I think there’s a viewing about to start if you want go see it with me. I can get us in for free.”

  His smile was a tiny bit crooked. She couldn’t help but smile back at him, his relaxed cheerfulness contagious and so needed after the stress she’d been feeling. “Sure.” She nodded her agreement; happy to be moving away from the black hole in the room she feared she’d almost been sucked into, and on to something new.

  Zander motioned for her to follow him as he wove his way through the displays and crowds easily. They skipped the queue of people waiting for the next showing and ducked under the partition blocking the entrance to the planetarium. He nodded at one of the museum workers standing nearby and pulled open the door for Maia.

  He guided her into the darkened theater. A shiver of excitement shot through her spine as Zander’s hand rested on her lower back, her knees suddenly feeling weak. He quickly pulled his hand back as if thinking he’d just overstepped a boundary. But he hadn’t, at least not in her mind. In fact, she longed for him to touch her again. And there were a few other places she wouldn’t mind him touching her either.

  Being in a dark room with a man, as delicious and tempting as Zander, would make it very hard to focus on the show. She had a feeling it was going to be incredibly difficult to keep her knowledge about the cosmos to herself as well. Especially when she was so easily distracted by Zander. When she was distracted, her internal censor didn’t seem to function properly. She needed to remember that regardless of how hot Zander was and no matter how much she felt some kind of attraction pulling her to him, she couldn’t succumb. She wouldn’t be here long enough to bother getting involved with him.

  Maia noticed Zander peeking at her out of the corner of his eye when he thought she was looking around the theater. Did his mind keep wandering to places it shouldn’t too? What if he was thinking the same things she was and actually decided to act on them? What would she do then? Would she be strong enough to walk away or would she get weak-kneed and gooey again?

  She forced the ideas away. She couldn’t be with Zander in any way. He was from Earth and she was from Pleiades—no possible hope for a future. No sense even dating.

  Or mating.

  Chapter Five

  “This way,” Zander said, walking over to the seats in the middle of the third row—the best seats in the house. He motioned for Maia to sit next to him then Jude took the seat on her other side.

  Zander had actually forgotten his friend was still with them. The second he’d touched the small of her back, it was as if anything beyond Maia stopped existing. All he could focus on was the attraction sparking between them.

  “The show should start any second,” Zander said, turning to face Maia. He couldn’t get over how amazingly beautiful she was and how knowledgeable she appeared to be about the universe. Her mix of good looks and brains was a turn on.

  “What do you mean? Aren’t we still waiting for all those people queued up out there to come in and find seats?”

  She had a good heart too—thinking of others before herself.

  “Not this time. This is a private showing.”

  “Really? How’d you manage all this with only a nod at the guy out there?” Maia grinned and pointed at him accusingly. “Wait a minute. Was that some guy code nod for bringing a girl in here? Like a secret handshake but without the handshake? Do you do this so often with girls you pick up at the museum you have non-verbal code with the other staff?”

  Jude and Zander shared a knowing glance. “I wouldn’t say often,” Jude replied before Zander could. “But, you know, when the opportunity arises…”

  Maia leveled her gaze on Zander and he felt his brow moisten. Good thing the lighting was so low in the theater. There’s no way he’d ever live it down if Jude saw him sweat under Maia’s accusing stare.

  Her mouth twisted up at the corners. “Have you had a lot of opportunities arise in here, Zander?”

  He shrugged. “Some girls find the whole space thing sexy. Who am I to disprove their belief system?”

  “So you do it out of the goodness of your heart? That’s very sweet of you. So kind really.” She nudged him with her elbow across the small armrest separating their seats. “Good thing I find space sexy too, huh?”

  Very good.

  Maia smiled at him, her mouth parting, her eyes softening around the edges. He didn’t know how it was possible in the low light, but it was almost as if her eyes were brighter in the dark. He couldn’t resist being drawn into them.

  Could that really be from contacts?

  Since when did contacts have patterns and designs on them? He worked with a variety of ages on a weekly basis for the stargazers club. Surely someone or a parent would have come to the club with this new trend by now? Maybe the contacts were above most people’s budgets. Most of the kids he worked with weren’t exactly rich.

  The theater filled with twinkling lights as the star show played across the ceiling. For the briefest of instants, only a fraction of a second really, he thought he saw the pattern in her eyes actually shine like the stars above them.

  But that couldn’t have happened, could it? His tired mind must be playing tricks on him because of not getting enough sleep last night.

  If there had been a technological advancement that could actually make someone’s contacts twinkle, he would have heard about it. It would have been in the scientific journals he read on a regular basis. Surely, some website somewhere would have reported that kind of news right away.

  So why hadn’t he heard of these mysterious and amazing contacts? What he saw didn’t make sense—a foreign concept for the scientific part of him.

  Zander let his head fall back against the headrest and stared up at the planetarium show. Whoopi Goldberg’s smooth voice filled the space around them. He tried to force his mind to relax.

  Did it really matter what kind of contacts she wore?

  No. Of course not.

  What mattered was this beautiful and intriguing woman who seemed at least marginally interested in him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d met a girl who made him feel…well, anything.

  Sure he’d had lots of girlfriends and even more casual encounters, but rarely had any actual feelings come with them. Lust? Yes. But this kind of molecular pull he felt with his entire being when he was around Maia? No. The scientific part of him wanted to know what made Maia so different.

  No, not wanted—needed to know.

  But not right now. Right now he would relax and enjoy the show with the hot woman beside him…so close to him he coul
d feel the heat from her arm penetrating the air between them. Later he would do some research on those unusual contacts and find out who makes them. He would learn the technology and science behind them and put his mind at ease. Later.

  Maia sighed and rolled her head to the side as she followed the path of a shooting star traveling across the ceiling, a small smile playing on her lips as she watched. She sucked in a quick breath as the show moved into the segment on the different constellations—the familiar zodiac signs, the big and little dippers, and the cluster of seven small stars known as the seven sisters of Pleiades.

  From the corner of his eye, Zander saw Maia wipe her hand across her cheek. She sniffled quietly, almost imperceptibly with the noise of the show playing around them. Was she upset about something in the show? What could possibly have caused such a reaction?

  Yet again Maia bewildered him.

  ***

  Maia swiped her hand across her cheek quickly as more tears pooled in her eyes. She hadn’t expected Pleiades to flash across the ceiling, so familiar and comforting and yet so far away.

  The moment the show started talking about the different constellations, she felt the tears spring to her eyes. She’d never been a weepy kind of girl before. She certainly didn’t get homesick when she’d been on vacation before. But this wasn’t exactly a vacation, was it?

  No. This was banishment with no communication to her friends or family. She was alone and had know idea how to get home.

  “Pleiades is a tiny cluster of stars and dust,” the narrator spoke.

  Maia laughed despite the loneliness she had bubbling up in her chest. Just stars and dust, huh? That’s all they’ve found? Silly humans haven’t noticed the rather significant planet of Pleiades yet.

  “There are seven stars most visible to the naked eye and can be seen from almost everywhere on the planet. These stars we know as the seven sisters are: Alcyone, Asterope, Celaeno, Electra, Maia, Merope, and Taygete,” the narrator continued.

  No, they didn’t just say her name over the loud speaker for two very smart space engineers to hear, did they? She chanced a quick glimpse toward Jude, only to find him staring at her with squinting, inquisitive eyes. Eyes clearly telling her he’d noticed the coincidence and was currently trying to put all the pieces of her puzzle together.

  She glanced the other way to find Zander also staring at her. At least he looked happy and not in evil scientist mode like Jude appeared to be. She smiled in what she hoped was a casual, confident and not at all suspicious way. So her name was the same as a star. Big whoop.

  “Did you know you were named after one of the seven sisters?”

  Yah-huh.

  “My parents were sort of star nerds—not that people who like the stars are nerds… That’s not what I meant.” She took a deep breath. “What I meant to say is they both really like the stars and space and all that kind of space stuff so they named me after a star. Silly, right?” She chuckled.

  Star nerds? Great thing to say to an astronomer. Idiot.

  “Well, they picked the best name of the bunch. You know, in the Greek mythology for the history of the Pleiades, Maia was said to be the eldest and the most beautiful of all the seven sisters.”

  Eldest. Why does everyone have to remember that part?

  She couldn’t help but smile a little at the beautiful part though. “You don’t say.”

  “I do.” His expression softened with his smile and he leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “I think it’s a beautiful name. It suits you perfectly.”

  Maia’s head spun as his breath brushed against her earlobe. The sensation sent a tingle through her, pooling like lava deep in her belly. She forced herself to lean away from him, to put as much distance between herself and the hunky guy next to her as she could. She couldn’t risk giving in to her temptation to get closer to him.

  Not when she was headed home to the stars and he was stuck here on Earth.

  “Well hello there,” came Jude’s voice from where he was now snuggled up next to her thanks to her own attempt to get away from Zander.

  “Sorry,” she muttered quickly, moving back into the middle of her seat, careful not to give either of the men the wrong impression. She didn’t want to lead either one of them on and she certainly didn’t want Jude thinking he had an opening. He didn’t.

  Zander on the other hand… Well, maybe he did have an opening, but she really shouldn’t let him walk through it.

  The lights of the theater came up. Thank Gaia for no more sitting in the dark with Mr. Sexy Space guy who reeked of earthy deliciousness. She wasn’t sure she could handle any more time alone with him without her attraction to him causing her to do something stupid.

  The last time someone from Pleiades—or any other constellation—had attempted to date someone from Earth, it ended badly. The couple hadn’t listened when they’d been advised against dating and they certainly didn’t listen when they were advised against the human from Earth coming to live in space. Let’s just say, space isn’t the easiest adjustment to make mentally when you’re used to Earth.

  Maia wasn’t sure she wanted to risk losing any piece of herself to Zander when she knew how bad the outcome could—no, would—be for both of them. She didn’t want to live on Earth and there was no way Zander could survive on Pleiades without going crazy.

  No. As much as she was attracted to him, as much as she felt the overwhelming pull of his chemistry to hers, she couldn’t give in. She needed to stay strong and get home as soon as possible, with her heart in one piece, and without Zander.

  “It’s getting kind of late and the museum is closing in half an hour,” Zander said from beside her. “Would you like to get out of here and go grab a bite of dinner? I know a great place around the corner from here.”

  Yes! No. Don’t do it. It won’t help you like Mr. Sexy Space guy any less.

  “I’m…I’m not sure.” She trailed off. Her voice was weak and lacking the conviction she didn’t have inside to resist being near this stranger. This incredibly hunky, smart, and sexy stranger.

  “Well, you need to eat, right? And I need to eat. I just thought it might be fun if we ate together. That’s all.”

  Jude was still nearby. He’d be coming to dinner too, so it wasn’t as if it would be a date or anything. No. It would simply be three new friends hanging out and sharing a meal together. And Zander looked so hopeful and sweet. How could she refuse that face…that body?

  “Okay. You’ve convinced me. I do need to eat.” She spoke quickly before she could let herself think too much about what she’d just agreed to. Thinking was highly overrated sometimes.

  She would relax and have a nice meal with Mr. Sexy Space guy, then she would say goodbye to him and never see him again. After that, she’d figure out a way to get back home.

  Was it possible this guy would have some ideas on how she could get back to Pleiades? Even if he did, how could she ask him without sounding like she was asking him about space travel to a constellation? She’d only succeed in giving away her secret. And asking him for help could lead to her finding a permanent home here on Earth—in a padded room.

  She couldn’t risk probing the only astronautics engineer she knew here on Earth for help.

  “Great,” Zander beamed at her. “I know the greatest little place around the corner. The décor is terrible, but the food is some of the best you’ll find in the city.”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  She fell into step beside him as they wove their way out of the museum and on to the street. Jude followed behind. Somehow she hadn’t expected him to be such a quiet person. He definitely seemed more the type to be a part of the conversation, showing off his knowledge and his good looks. But instead his was quiet. Very, very quiet.

  Even if he were quiet the whole night, it would be good to have him at dinner. That would most likely quell any more growing feelings that might spark to life over dinner. A third person always put the damper on chemistry. Perfect.

>   She could breathe a little easier now that they were outside and in the fresh air. She’d forgotten how different the air quality on Earth was than on Pleiades. Probably mostly because of how much green space Pleiades had versus how little was in this city. She’d loved the museum, but the circulating air was a bit much for her. She didn’t realize how much she liked the fresh air and outdoor spaces until she’d been cooped up inside for a while. The crowds of tourists added to the interesting mix of smells inside.

  Not that outside in this city smelled a whole lot better. She gazed longingly across the traffic at Central Park. There. The park was one place in the city where she sort of felt closer to home and she could really breathe and feel at ease. Too bad there wasn’t a restaurant right in the park.

  “I think the place you were talking about for dinner sounds great, but is there a restaurant in the park?”

  “The Boathouse is right by the lake, but it would be impossible to get a table on such short notice without being a celebrity. I can take us somewhere fancier than the place I was thinking if you want.”

  “No, that’s not necessary. I just really like the park and being outside. And it’s such a beautiful night. Seems a shame to waste more of it inside after spending the afternoon in the museum. But, it’s fine. I’m looking forward to seeing this place you’re so fond of. I’ll eat in the park another time.”

  His shoulders visibly relaxed and he smiled at her with apparent ease. “Great. You coming, Jude?” he asked over his shoulder as he started to walk down the street away from the museum.

  Maia walked beside Zander, but Jude didn’t follow. He turned to the street and haled a cab instead. “I can’t tonight.”

  His response was short and something in his tone didn’t sit well in her stomach.

  “What are you off to do?” Zander questioned, sounding borderline annoyed with his friend.

  “Research, of course. Remember, the thing you should be doing, but are too busy with some chick to do?”

  “Hey, you’ve no business being rude to Maia. You agreed this thing wouldn’t get in the way of our normal lives. Going to dinner. Relaxing after work. Enjoying a new friend’s company, this is normal.”