Chapter Eight
87Please respect copyright.PENANAu5hMh70izF
Day Three: Asteroid (cont.)
87Please respect copyright.PENANAJ8hzmuxlis
When we arrive at the designated restaurant, he kisses me and tells me, “Remember, we are the only PhD certified burger chefs in America, which means we are the best of the best. Good luck, Aster.”
“Good luck, Meteor.” I hug him, then pull him into the restaurant. “Let’s do this.”
87Please respect copyright.PENANAxTvdwGKZoF
“So, you two are PhD certified burger chefs?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Don’t call me sir! Call me Bill. Oh, and you’re hired. You start tomorrow at six AM.”
“Yes sir! I mean, Bill.” I blush. He hands us our uniforms and smiles.
“You guys get to be in charge of the impossible burger recipe. You will have a trial period of one week, and you can quit at any time. See ya tomorrow!”
“‘Bye!” We wave as we leave.
That night, after I go to bed, I hear my door creak open, then close. Meteor comes over and, thinking I'm asleep, alternates between stroking my hair and kissing my lips. He does this for a half hour. Then, he goes and stretches out on my couch. I fall asleep secretly watching him look at me.
The next morning, Meteor shakes my shoulder gently. I barely stir. Next, he kisses me, and I wrap my arms around his waist. After about a minute, he pulls back but doesn't get far before I kiss him back. He makes no objections. In fact, he seems ecstatic. After another minute I pull back and ask, “Whatcha doing in here, handsome?”
“Oh, the usual. Looking at pretty girls, protecting my girlfriend, standard teenage boy stuff.”
He sits down and I snuggle into him. “I like standard teenage boy stuff.”
“Come on pretty girl. You’ve got to get dressed for your first and only day on the job.”
“I don’t want to. I wanna stay here forever.”
He sighs. “So do I. But we can’t. But we can be together forever.”
“Fine with me.”
“Get dressed. I'll be right outside your door.”
“Okay.” He rises and closes the door as he leaves. I scramble into my uniform and rush out the door into his arms, only to discover I can't speak, because Meteor’s mouth has found mine. I close my eyes and it feels like we could stand here forever. When I open my eyes, his are closed, so I close mine again.
When he finally breaks the kiss, I must audibly sigh, because he's suddenly kissing me again. When he leans back, he whispers, “Come on. We're gonna be late.”
“Fat chance! We can teleport, remember?”
“Ah, yes. Well, hurry anyway.” I giggle and pull him along the hall.
When we get to the teleportation station, he punches the destination into the keypad, and we materialize on the sidewalk in front of Burger Bill’s.
When we walk inside, the first thing I notice is the fact that Bill is standing right there.
“Howdy, you two! Yesterday, I forgot to mention that, before you gain possession of the recipe, your one week trial period must have ended.”
I turn my face to Meteor, my eyes wild. He looks at me and shakes his head, almost imperceptibly. I lower my head.
“That's all right, Bill,” Meteor replies.
“Oh,” Bill adds. “You guys get Sundays off.”
“Thank you, sir.” I mumble inaudibly.
“Thank you, Bill! Tomorrow is Sunday though. Do we get that one off as well?”
“Yes. Now get to work.”
“Yes, sir.”
87Please respect copyright.PENANAsTvnExyHLZ
The day goes by quickly, and when we teleport back to the Orion, I collapse face-first onto my bed. “Ugh. I didn't know burger flipping hurt your wrist so much!”
“Aster? Tomorrow, for our day off, I was wondering if you'd like to go somewhere. We can go anywhere.”
“On a real date?”
“I mean, isn't that what normal girlfriends and boyfriends do?”
“Yeah. Can we go to a beach?”
“Why not? Now, you should go to bed. We've got a long date ahead of us!” I do go to bed, but as usual, in the morning I see handsome Meteor sitting next to me. After he kisses me, I ask, “Why don't you sleep in your room once in a while?”
“Do you want me to?” he queries, fingering my hair.
“No.”
“Okay, then.”
“I like having a muscly, private bodyguard slash boyfriend.”
“Oh, good. Now, get dressed. I've got the perfect deserted beach for us.”
I hurry to get dressed, and we teleport to a deserted Hawaiian beach. We stroll the warm, white sands for hours, mumbling words only the other can hear, stopping only for a picnic lunch. We come across an abandoned pier. As we lean against the railing looking at the water, I sigh. “Today has been amazing. Best date ever. We couldn’t do this back home, because I didn't know you liked me and you didn't know I liked you.” He turns to me and runs a hand through his dark hair.
“I never liked you.” I whirl on Meteor.
“What?”
“You heard me. I never liked you.” He takes me in his arms. “I skipped straight to loving you.” Then, with the setting sun behind us, he kisses me, warm and deliberate. I press my hands against the back of his neck and head, gently forcing his mouth to seal against mine, tighter than ever. His fingers are intertwining with my hair, tenderly caressing my head. His lips are so soft, so warm, so loving.
We stand like this until the sun has fully set and stars appear in the sky. Then, I pull back and murmur in his ear, “You are a hopeless romantic.”
“So. Are. You.” He whispers, still playing with my hair. And he stops my comeback with another kiss.87Please respect copyright.PENANAUsoyYHElTg