Page 31 of The Kiss Countdown

“In the span of eight and a half minutes, spacecraft go from zero to about eighteen thousand miles per hour andmust maintain that speed to keep from falling back into Earth’s orbit.”

“I don’t know what’s more amazing: the fact that we have the capability to make something that sophisticated or that people willingly travel at those speeds, stuck in close quarters with strangers.”

“We’re really not strangers.” Vincent shrugs. “These are people I’ve been learning alongside for years. We’re more like family. We’re all working with a common goal in mind and have to rely on one another to make our mission successful. Let’s check this out.”

He leads me to an area with a line of people, and my stomach tightens when I see the large white dome ahead. “What is this for?”

“Well, you got a crash course in space shuttles, now it’s time for your very own space walk. It’s virtual reality.”

His eyes gleam like he’s about to show me one of his favorite toys, but I bite down on my lip and look away. “Oh.”

Vincent bumps me with his elbow for contact number four. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong...” I reach for my necklace. “But aren’t these things more like roller coasters? I’ve seen those videos of people falling when it gets a little too real.”

“Now I know another thing about my Mimi. She likes parties but doesn’t like to live on the edge.”

“YourMimi?”

He looks away like he’s momentarily embarrassed, then hits me with a panty-dropping smile that sends my heart pumping way too hard. I hear a woman’s gasp somewhere behind me and wonder if she’s just seen an awe-inspiring space exhibit or Vincent’s grin.

“You’re my Mimi for the next few months, right?” he says.

“Next person,” the attendant says.

“It’s your turn.” Vincent pushes me forward before I can protest.

“My turn? What about you?”

“I’ll be right here watching and talking you through it.” He points at a curved monitor, which I realize will show what I’m doing. Right next to the monitor is a sign that warns people the experience may cause severe disorientation. I cut a glare at him.

“Don’t worry. You’ve got this.”

Well, I’m not about to back down now, not with an audience around. I step into a large white box and walk to the small black circle that indicates my station. Before covering my eyes with the freshly sanitized boxy goggles, I turn to Vincent and, true to his word, he’s behind me, only inches away. “I can’t believe I let you bring me here.” I huff out a puff of air and put the headgear on.

My goggles turn on, and the first thing that pops up is another ominous warning about severe disorientation. I swallow. Then the screen turns on and I’m in a bright white room.

“Welcome toGateway,”an ominous voice says in my ears.

I’m onboard the command module that orbits the moon. My mission is to go to the moon’s south pole and extract ice. Sounds simple enough.

After getting instructions on squeezing my hands to grab items, it’s time to climb the rungs and get into the vehicle that will shuttle me to the moon’s surface. The movements are intuitive.

“It feels like I’m really here,” I say, swiveling my head around to explore the small craft. I reach a small window and peer out into an endless dark void. While I know it’s nothing but a convincing simulation, my stomachimmediately rejects what my brain knows, and I jerk forward on a gag. “Nope.” I shake my head, ready to take the goggles off and call it a day.

“You got this,” Vincent says, and gives me an encouraging pat on the back.

I most certainly do not. But I close my eyes and breathe in deeply until my stomach settles. “Okay, I got this.”

I make it through a small hatch and glide to a shuttle that will transport me down to the moon. The moon landing is easy and painless, and I think I’m starting to get the hang of this. I’m surrounded by shades of gray on rough terrain. I look up, and I’m met with a glorious view of Earth. It’s a half sphere of glowing blue and white on the horizon, and farther than I imagined it would be. The whole moon lacks any clouds or sound. It’s eerily quiet.

“Let’s get to work,”the voice urges.“Take the drill from your toolbox and use it to break the ice.”

Apparently I have a toolbox, which pops up to my right. I squeeze my hand over the lock to open it. A silver drill lies there, but before I reach for it, it floats away. “Oh no!” All I can do is watch helplessly as it gets smaller and smaller.

Vincent chuckles behind me, and as I swat him away, an alarm begins going off.

“It looks like we’ve got space debris coming our way. Hurry and get to the shuttle!”

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