Chapter Twenty Six
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Day 135: Asteroid
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A man.
A gun.
Meteor!
My eyes fly open, my heart pounding in my chest. When my heart calms down, I see Meteor’s neck and chin. I close my eyes and listen. I hear his clear, strong voice singing along to ‘Cold December Night’ by Michael Bublé. Suddenly, the song changes to ‘You Make it Feel Like Christmas’ by Gwen Stefani. Meteor starts singing again.
“I wanna thank the storm that brought the snow. Thanks to the string of lights that make it glow. But I wanna thank you, Baby. You-“ His voice breaks, and a tear rolls down his cheek. Luckily, I have a plan.
“It barely took a breath to realize,” everyone in the room looks up. “We’re gonna be a classic for all time. I wanna thank you, Baby. You make it feel like Christmas.” Then, he joins me for the chorus.
“Sweet gingerbread made with molasses, my heart skipped and I reacted. Can’t believe that this is happening, like a present sent from God. Sleigh bells singing hallelujah, stars are shining on us too. I wanna thank you, Baby. You make it feel like Christmas.” The second verse starts and so does Meteor.
“Thought I was done for, thought that love had died. But you came along, I swear you saved my life. I wanna thank you, Baby. You make it feel like Christmas.” Meteor is still looking at me with amazement. The second chorus starts but neither of us sing.
“Did you miss me?” I say. Then he goes berserk.
“Aster! Asteroid! You’re alive! Or we’re both dead.”
“No, I’m alive. So are you.” Before I can say another word, he can’t restrain himself any longer. He kisses me. He kisses me so hard and so fast, I’m sure the others didn’t notice. Suddenly, a sharp pain goes through my midsection. I cry out in agony.
“What’s wrong, Aster?” I point to my stomach. It’s wrapped in stark white gauze.
“Did you do this?”
“Yeah… I was required to take a medical course since we don’t have a doctor on the ship.”
“You did this.”
“Well, you got shot for me.” I look to my left, and whip my head around.
“Why is there a Christmas tree in the leisure room?” I exclaim.
“Aster, when you got shot, you passed out. You were completely out of it for three months. It’s Christmas Eve. Now, it’s ten o’clock. PM. I’m gonna put you in bed. You better not get out until tomorrow. I mean it.”
“I can walk just fine!” I protest, standing up. I instantly fall back onto the couch. “Well, maybe not just fine,” I blush.
“Come on. I‘ll carry you.”
“Ok.”
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Around midnight, I sneak out of bed and walk to the observation deck. I go up to the large glass window that separates me from the cold frozen waters of Long Island Sound and lightly touch the cool glass with my fingertips. A hand wraps around my stomach and another rests gently just below my neck.
“I thought I told you to stay in your room.”
“Your stitches are gone.”
“Seriously, Asteroid.”
“I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking.”
“About what?”
“Well,” a kiss lands at the base of my neck. “Galaxy’s still up there. We didn’t defeat him.” I tell him everything I've been thinking about. As I speak, the kisses on my neck move higher, ever higher.
“Meteor, I just don’t know how to fix this.” I finish. “We can either go home to Scallanos or we can wait for the spring thaw and finish what we started. You choose.”
He spins me around to face him. “I choose you,” he whispers. He drifts closer until he’s so close almost every part of our bodies are touching. His face is so close now. He leans closer and his lips reach mine and seal tightly. His arms hold my body even closer as I drive my hands through his tousled hair, still damp from a shower. This kiss is anything but gentle, but it’s exactly what I need to harden my resolve and drive my passion. My wounds throb, but it’s nothing compared to the throbbing of my heart. A few stray tears wet my face, and I look into Meteor’s gray eyes. They look like silver pools as they well with tears. He blinks and slow, silent tears gently slide down his cheeks. He’s been hurting just as much as I have, maybe --probably-- even more. He hurts every time I pass out or cry.
I now realize what I should have a long time ago. I can’t fix this. I shouldn’t have to. It shouldn’t be my responsibility. I just want this. All I want is Meteor. As the kiss begins to slow, I decide to say what I have finally grasped.
“Hey, there you guy- what the-?!”
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Day 135: Meteor
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Asteroid blushes to the roots of her hair as the lights come on and the team walks through the door. I am also very embarrassed to be caught mid-kiss. I hurry to untangle my fingers from her long ponytail and pull away as fast as I can, but the damage is already done. I remember that no one but Nova has seen us kissing. Star is gaping, the girls are squealing, and Michael looks flabbergasted.
I realize I don’t care what they’re thinking. I never have. So I just lace my fingers through her ponytail again and kiss her right in front of all of them. She melts into my body and I feel her closeness. She tickles the hair at the base of my neck and I dissolve into her. I hear a thunk in my head as I imagine the teams’ jaws hitting the floor.
My knees go weak and I hit the floor, still cradling her body into mine. She pushes me backward, onto my back. She follows me down and ends up on my chest, tangling her hair with mine. All I do is hold and kiss her. Michael eventually clears his throat and I decide I've added insult to injury long enough.
“Well. I was not expecting that.” He stammers, trying to recover. “Anyway, we’ve received a transmission. From Galaxy.”
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Day 135: Meteor (cont.)
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The door to the bridge is locked and I break it down with a kick.
“What does he want?! Hasn’t he already taken enough?”
“Meteor…”
“Meteor nothing! Turn on the transmission. Asteroid, go wait in the hall,” I say powerfully. She does, looking very scared.
I glance at the clock on the screen. Two twelve?! How long were we alone? How long was she mine without a care or worry? I run my hand through my hair but it gets tangled halfway through, and I feel a sense of guilty pleasure at the byproduct of the kiss that flaunted our relationship in the team’s faces.
The huge communication screen flickers to life.
“Asteroid. Is she okay?” The transmission frantically questions. I decide to taunt him.
“Now, why do you want to know?”
“Meteor, you son of a coward. Tell me!”
“No.” I say firmly. “If you want to see her, meet us on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Noon tomorrow. Alone. None of your cronies coming along as backup.”
“Alright,” the man agrees. The screen crackles and dies.
“Michael.”
“Yes?”
“Call the police. Tell them we’ve found their man.58Please respect copyright.PENANACPnxs8rWoU