Falling Like Stars

by Eve Kasey

  Elle doodled on the flimsy paper that overlaid a much more technical drawing of the building, while Rosie described the different programming spaces. Elle cared about the hotel, she really did, but she was busy replaying the moment Chen had broken the barrier that kept her at arm’s length. The man could fucking kiss. A shiver quaked through her.

  She glanced at her watch. Tate, Chen, and Quinn were all fifteen minutes late for their weekly planning meeting. This was only week three. She couldn’t have bored them this early in the process.

  Though her back was to the door, she felt rather than heard when Chen walked in, as if they were electrically attuned after a single kiss.

  “The lovely Rosie is back.” His voice rocked her as much as his touch had done.

  “Design meetings every Friday,” Rosie replied, cheeks pinkening prettily.

  Elle turned to the door, eyes lighting on Chen’s tall, swaggering figure. His gaze devoured her, like she was his for the taking. Was she?

  Tate was right behind him, a similar grin on his lips. Elle heard Rosie’s breath hitch as the two men joined them at the table.

  “Should you tell them or should I?” Tate asked Chen.

  The women exchanged a glance.

  “What is it?” Elle asked. Tate’s eye-crinkling smile was catching, and Chen…well.

  “The FAA just certified me to fly Stratos. In two weeks, me and Harv are going to fucking space.”

  Both women broke into exclamations. Tate huffed out a laugh. Chen looked like he might crack in half from smiling. She sent him a private smile. His dream had just moved that much closer to reality.

  “May I come watch?” Rosie asked. “I’d love to see Chen fly.”

  “Of course. You’re not a guest here, Rosie. You’re always welcome. Your father, too.”

  She smiled, clearly touched by Tate’s invitation.

  Elle clapped her hands together. “Not to take the floor from you and your team, sweet Rosie, but a scheduled flight like this will take some planning. What should we provide? And who should we invite? Where is Quinn?”

  The woman in question wandered in, eyes glued to the tablet clutched in her hands.

  “Oh, good. Perfect timing.”

  But when Quinn looked up, Elle saw that tears tracked down her pale cheeks. “Tate?” Her voice quavered.

  Tate rose immediately. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s been a crash at Pale Blue Dot.”

  Elle scrambled to place the name. Then she remembered. Pale Blue Dot was a space tourism competitor in Florida, the company where their original test pilot, Tate’s mentor, had gone. George’s name was still spoken reverently by nearly everyone at OrbitAll, though Chen had replaced him.

  The color, the joy, drained from Tate’s face. He looked pale and terrified. “Please tell me George wasn’t flying today, Quinn.”

  She pressed quivering lips together. More tears leaked out of her hazel eyes. Reading that as an answer, Tate dropped his hands to the table, heaving deep breaths in obvious shock. Rosie’s arms went around him immediately as Elle threw a panicked look at Chen. They’d made it sound like a crash was hardly a possibility. Was there any chance Chen might have the same fate? Ice crystals formed in her veins at the pinched look on his face. And poor Tate. He was literally bowed over with grief.

  Elle rose to hug Quinn, who fell into sobs as Elle embraced her. Chen took the iPad from her and started scrolling through whatever she’d been reading.

  They were quiet, all of them, indiscernible murmuring and Quinn’s weeping the only sounds in the room. Tate mentioned a trip to Florida to see George’s family, and Quinn answered, but Elle’s mind was still spinning on the idea of a crash at OrbitAll. She tuned back in when Quinn stiffened and pushed out of her arms. After snapping a few more words at Tate, the petite PR director snatched her iPad back from Chen and stormed out.

  Tate surveyed the assembled group. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be. We’re sorry for your loss.” Elle knew she spoke for the three of them.

  He passed a hand over his face then shook his head. After a few seconds of silence, he sighed and brought anguished eyes to his pilot. “Chen, I don’t need to tell you to be extra cautious, right? Listen to your gut. If we need to postpone—”

  Chen nodded, expression grave. “I know.”

  Tate’s gaze moved to Rosie, who stood next to him, pale-faced, her beautiful hotel design forgotten. He opened his mouth and inhaled like he was going to say something, then exhaled sharply instead. He left, sending them a sad smile from the door.

  Chen dropped into the chair next to her. Elle had to fight the urge to grasp his hand and clutch him close. He leaned in, his desire to hold her radiating from his stance. “Stratos has passed every inspection and been through multiple test flights. The crew is extremely careful and thorough. I’m not worried. Not about the flight, anyway.”

  They were all concerned about Tate and Quinn. Elle wanted to be mollified by his words. “Now what?”

  Chen rose. “I need to see my team. You guys okay?”

  Elle shrugged as her stomach gave another sickening turn. Chen’s dream was to get back into space. Though they were just colleagues and neighbors who’d shared one body-awakening kiss, his dream still felt like her new nightmare.

  22

  The two weeks leading to the test flight flew by in a blur. Chen ran his team ragged testing Stratos, but they never complained. He tackled simulations daily. Thomas threw every imaginable condition at him, not all of which he mastered. The more hours he worked, the less he slept, the less effective he became. Still, he kept Harvey and himself alive and the plane in one piece.

  He’d smashed the FAA certifications, both the written and flight portions. Even just an hour in the sky felt like coming home. He couldn’t wait to get inside Stratos and leave Earth’s gravity. Luckily, everyone on the team was as anxious to roll Stratos out of the hangar as he was.

  What he didn’t do during those busy two weeks was spend any alone time with Elle. Not by choice. But the tragedy at Pale Blue Dot brought into sharp relief how important his role at OrbitAll was. He pored over their safety manuals and testing data looking for vulnerabilities and improvements. He wanted to prove himself while propelling Tate’s program forward, so he tabled the need to be close to her.

  Elle didn’t make it easy. She took to hanging around the sim to watch he and Harvey work. Stressed and determined as he was, Chen still took the time to tease her about her visits.

  “Admit it. Me in this flight suit keeps you up at night.”

  Tate’s team had delivered on the dope flight suit request. The sky-blue material was snug and cool and moved in perfect harmony with his body. Not only was it designed to combat the effects of gravity forces, the suit was light-years sexier than his first one.

  She gave an exasperated sigh as they left the simulation bay together. “Your stomping keeps me up at night. Do you ever sleep?”

  “Not lately.”

  “I thought you weren’t worried.”

  “I’m not worried.” He frowned. “I don’t know the English word for what I’m feeling. I’m mostly excited but a little nervous, too. Not about safety. We either move forward or backward with this flight. I feel like a lot of progress sits on this flight. On me.”

  She nodded. “I don’t think there’s an English word that captures all that.” She blew out a breath. “I’m worried, no matter what you say.”

  He didn’t mind. Her worry meant that she cared.

  The entire OrbitAll team gathered on the runway before dawn on the morning of the test flight. The launch was scheduled for the moment when rotational and orbital motion of the earth was optimized for liftoff and alignment. By five o’clock, the runway was crowded with people, hundreds more than worked there. Citizens from Victory had been personally invited by Quinn as a public relations effort. There were reporters and news crews set up all along the runway. Elle had arranged a taco truck on site to
offer breakfast burritos. People at a pop-up espresso stand were handing out steaming cups of coffee in the cool morning air.

  Chen hadn’t slept. He’d tossed in bed and thought about Stratos, about being back in the enveloping darkness of space. He could hardly stand the anticipation of this flight, or the thought of Elle tossing in her own bed right below him.

  During every free moment in the past two weeks, his brain had conjured her lips, the smell of her silky hair, her kindness, her family, the panic on her face when she heard about George’s crash. Chen had seen the fear in her heart on her face, and his had been affected. He’d fallen a little in that moment. For two weeks, he’d been sitting with the knowledge that he and Elle were more than they pretended to be.

  Chen didn’t want to pretend anymore.

  But that problem had to be tackled later. Now, he had a million questions to answer and tasks to complete. People shoved objects at him: coffee, helmet, headset, paperwork. Someone adjusted the cords running from his flight suit. The six pilots, including the four for Mothership, posed for pictures at Quinn’s insistence. He answered some questions for the local newspaper. Finally, Mothership and Stratos were ready for flight. Teams performed inspections in the dark. He and Harv moved through their preflight checklists on autopilot.

  The sun was rising in the sky.

  The minutes until takeoff were flying by. He couldn’t stop scanning the crowds for Elle.

  Rosie approached with a man he guessed was her dad. He greeted the man warmly, remembering that he included his spaceflight in his college courses. Even before dawn, the man looked professorial with a trimmed beard, glasses, and a sweater with elbow patches.

  “Wilson Flynn. A real pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant Colonel.”

  Chen didn’t mind the use of his most recent rank, though the title didn’t apply anymore. “You too, sir. We’re glad you could make it out for the flight.” He grinned at Rosie, who smiled back sweetly. “Rosie has been the perfect addition to our team. Like Elle, she sees what others don’t. She makes us better.”

  Mr. Flynn pulled his daughter into a side hug. “Don’t I know it. Good luck today.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Be careful,” Rosie said, her eyebrows creased in concern.

  Tate arrived to introduce himself, so Chen went in search of Elle. She was the one person he wanted to see before he climbed beyond the sky. He found her hovering near the espresso cart.

  “There you are.”

  She turned at the sound of his voice. He frowned at the wide-eyed look on her pale face. Without thinking, he pulled her shaking body against his. He inhaled the pomegranate smell of her hair, and for the first time in days, his shoulders relaxed. “Are you cold?”

  “No.”

  He ran a hand over her thick, wavy hair. “Why are you shaking then?”

  “You already know the answer to that question. I’m not sure I can watch you take off.” Her teeth chattered, the arms around him quivering.

  Elle was scared for him. Of losing him.

  Something surged through Chen. Something terrifying. Something beautiful.

  He took a step back so he could see her face. He cupped her cheeks lightly as her dark brown eyes pierced his. Nerves came to life in his stomach, sweeter and lighter than the nerves he felt about performing today. “Elle, I promise I’m coming back to you.”

  She gripped his forearms with cold, trembling hands. “In one piece?”

  He smiled at the stunning woman in his arms. The woman he’d buried a fish for. The woman who loved everyone she met. The woman who teased him and treated him well at the same time. Chen hadn’t been whole since her wild hair and kind heart had walked into OrbitAll. “In one piece? No. Not anymore.”

  She whimpered and yanked him back into a tight hug. Not caring about crowds or consequences, he dropped a light kiss on her mouth. And he wondered, what do you call the place between like and love? That in-between full of gratitude and gravity so strong it feels like you’ve been ripped apart?

  He’d landed in that place with Elle, and he never wanted to leave.

  Even hours later, the lack of gravity playing tricks with his stomach, the curvature of Earth filling every corner of his vision, chest heaving with the emotion of being back up, Chen still felt her pull.

  23

  Elle’s heart soared while her stomach crashed. It had been one thing to have Chen kiss her in the heat of a charged moment on the side of a desert highway with no one but truckers to bear witness.

  But a soft kiss in front of people who mattered?

  Her heart split in half as he walked away. Her body refused to stop shaking.

  Chen turned her way as he neared Stratos. His I got this, baby grin made her roll her eyes, but she did feel a little bit better.

  Still, she hadn’t exaggerated. She couldn’t stay. Before Mothership and Stratos were even off the runway, Elle had said her goodbyes and headed home.

  In her apartment, though it was barely past six a.m., Elle opened a bottle of wine and downed a hefty portion straight from the bottle. She wondered if she’d hear Stratos crash. She didn’t know how sound carried in the desert. She guzzled more wine and began pacing off that unpleasant thought.

  She paced for hours, every minute fucking eternal. She glanced at the clock literally hundreds of times. She changed into pajamas so she could curl up in a ball more comfortably should the worst happen. Around noon, she came to the realization that she should have stayed at the hangar. Wondering was agony. She hadn’t heard from Rosie, which she took as a good sign. She’d downed the entire bottle of wine. The shakes had faded but she couldn’t sit still. Not until she saw Chen’s face again.

  Somehow, at some point, Elle fell into an uneasy wine-induced slumber. A knock on her door snapped her awake. A wild glance at the clock showed it was almost five o’clock p.m. Thank God she’d slept. She’d be inconsolably frantic otherwise.

  She expected Rosie as she threw open the door, but Chen stood there instead. Back in street clothes and hair a mess from his helmet, but in one piece. Except for the parts he’d given to her. His implied words.

  Elle crumpled in relief. Tears leaked out of her eyes as she launched herself at his hard, warm body. Her irritating, sexy neighbor had become more so quickly. She couldn’t even say how, or when. Chen met her with an exhale just as relieved and lifted her to him. She breathed against his body, contentment filling every pore.

  “You’re here,” she whispered.

  “I told you I’d be coming back to you.”

  He slowly released her, his hands sliding down her ribcage. Elle looked up into his strong, handsome face. What she saw in Chen’s dark eyes soldered the feelings inside her. Their first kiss hadn’t been enough. Neither had the second. Elle wanted so much more. Her fingers found the back of his neck as her mouth crashed against his in a moan. Chen met her hungrily, both hands on her face as he pushed her backward into her apartment. He kicked the door shut behind him without his soft lips leaving hers.

  Her back hit the kitchen counter as his tongue connected with hers. Chen’s desperate noises sent flames licking through her body. He lifted her onto the counter and slid his hands underneath her tank top to the skin of her back. The delicious ache spilled over from her core. She whispered his name against his full lips.

  His reply was to pull her bare legs around his waist. Elle tipped her head back with a whimper as her swollen parts met the hardness straining the front of his jeans. Chen’s lips and tongue took advantage of her exposed neck. Breath left her lungs as he growled her name against her pulse, his beard scraping against the sensitive skin there.

  Every part of her tightened in anticipation as his breath hovered in the hollow of her throat. “Chen, please.” She dragged the word desperately.

  His amused eyes lifted to hers. A slow, sexy grin followed. “Remember what you said you wanted? Sex and love. I haven’t heard the L-word, neighbor.”

  “Don’t be a jerk.” But she coul
d barely get that plea out because he was kissing her neck so gently and gripping her hips so tightly. He couldn’t seriously be turning her down. Not after what she’d seen in his eyes. Elle brought his face up to hers. “I’m dying here.”

  He shook his head slowly, that grin she loved on his luscious lips. “I’m just trying to give you what you want, Elle.”

  She tried to glare at him through the desire and wine she was drunk on. “Are you always playing games?”

  He full-body kissed her again, his tongue and hips sending her to dizzying heights. “You’re so fun to play with,” he whispered, rubbing against her in exactly the right way.

  She groaned, as irritated as she was turned on. She didn’t want to play. She wanted him inside her. Behind her. On top of her. Pounding. Licking. Moaning. “Chen Lew, you are the fucking—”

  He captured her mouth briefly. “I’m not. I’m the fucking best. You’ll find out for yourself soon enough.”

  He really wasn’t going to sleep with her? Fine. Elle could play, too. She could play dirty. She arched her torso and gave a slow grind against the bulge in his jeans. Then she slid her hand over her breast, dragging a thumb over the nipple. She let out a whimper with her eyes on his.

  A ragged breath ripped out of him. “Fine. You win this round. You’re too fucking sexy.” He took her nipple between his teeth through the fabric of her tank top as his fingers traced a path between her thighs and under her shorts. Elle let out a cry as he found her clit.

  For a few blissful minutes she moved her hips against deft, slick fingers that worked her into a fractured, stuttering frenzy. As she climbed higher, she found his mouth and kissed him hard, their lips blended as she came loud and long.

  She held Chen close as her breathing normalized, her soft chest heaving against his hard one. Then she kissed the cocky grin that had spread on his lips. “What are you smiling about?”