Page 29 of The Love Simulation

“Come on,” I coax. “Let’s catch up with the others. Angie is liable to shut us out if we take too long.”

“I’m counting to ten then starting the restabilization process with or without y’all,” she says in answer, but I ignore her commentary.

I tug on Roman’s hand one more time and he finally jerks forward, not quite at an all-out sprint to get past the spider, but real close. I didn’t know someone that big could move so quickly in such a short amount of time.

When we all finally get through the tunnel and out of our space suits, Roman approaches me while the others are busy.

“Just so you know, I wasn’t scared of the spider out there,” he says, only loud enough so I can hear.

I lift my eyebrows. He’s not about to stand here and play in my face. He would probably still be standing there if I hadn’t helped. And I don’t even knowwhyI helped him. Ishould have let him stand there until his suit ran out of oxygen. Then he would have been gone without me doing any of the dirty work.

A voice in my head says it’s because I want him around, and to that I counter that it’s simply because I’m a good person.

“Fine,” Roman grits out as I keep looking at him with my eyebrows raised. “I hate them, okay?”

“Hate them or are scared of them? It’s okay, a lot of people are. You don’t have to be ashamed to admit it.”

“I’m not ashamed.” He looks over his shoulder at the rest of our team and lowers his head even closer to me. “And fine. Yes, I’m scared. Is that what you want to hear?” He clears his throat and stands up straight as he says, “If you tell anyone, I’ll deny it,” in a deeper voice that’s obviously meant to reclaim his rough-and-tough exterior.

I smile sweetly at him and make sure my dimples are at full wattage. “Your secret is safe with me…and with any of the thousands of viewers I’m sure are tuning in.”

When his eyes widen in realization, I laugh.

“I don’t think I shouldhave come here,” Simone whispers to me as we sit in the common room. “I’m not built for this life. My arms are literally about to fall off.”

I’m not sure if she’s whispering because she doesn’t want anyone else to hear her complain or if she simply lacks the energy needed to summon a louder voice.

In hindsight, we probably should have taken it easy and stuck to cardio instead of involving weights in our workout. But after seeing Roman coaching Jordan, Simone and Angie decided they needed to work on their muscles aswell, and despite my desire not to get too close to anyone, I didn’t want to be the odd man out. Judging by the ache in my own muscles, that was a mistake.

I try sitting up straighter and encourage Simone. “My arms are killing me too. But at least we’re almost done out there,andwe found the rover. We’re one step closer to the grand prize!” I’ve got to get her to look on the bright side to help keep morale up. It’s the only way we’ll make it through this.

Simone sighs. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m just tired. I guess putting on the space suits and trying to walk through all that sand just solidified how everything is really happening. Man, my kids would have loved it out there today. They probably would have been running all around and would have found the rover long before we did.”

I nod. Simone may be tired, but she’s likely also homesick. It doesn’t matter that we haven’t even been here a week. It’s nothome, and we’re not a family. It’s obvious in her now glassy eyes that she misses her kids.

I briefly hesitate before asking, “Why don’t you tell me about your kids?”

Her whole face lights up. “Ashton and Ariana. They’re twins, and my whole heart. They’re only nine, but you’d swear they’re already teenagers with the way they talk and try to make things easier for me.”

“They sound great.”

“I’m going to use the money I earn here to take them on a trip, and of course put some away for college. Ariana wants to be a nurse, like me. Last time I checked, Ashton wanted to be a filmmaker. He changes his mind every so often though. Do you have any kids?”

“No kids for me. I do have a dog. Which, I know, is not thesame as someone you gave birth to.” I shrug one shoulder and feel the pain down in my bones. “But she’s my Sheba.”

“I am a firm believer that fur babies are real babies. We have two rescue pets, but in their eyes, they’re little humans. Hey, when we’re done here, we should get our pups together. We can have a doggie playdate at the park while my kids run around.”

I consider her invitation. There’s my reservation about blurring professional lines, but making some friends for Sheba does sound fun.

“Unless,” Simone says, “you don’t fraternize with faculty outside of school activities. If that’s the case, I get it.”

“No, it’s not that,” I say, even though, yeah, it’s exactly that. I can’t keep my personal life separate from what’s going on at school if I’m hanging with the staff in my free time. Even if the thought of new friends for Sheba is almost too tempting to pass up.

“It was just a thought,” Simone says when I don’t say anything else. “I’ll keep the invitation open in case you change your mind. Now.” She whimpers as she pulls herself up. “I’m going to take a note from Angie’s book and nap before Jordan thinks up any more torture for us.”

“Okay,” I say quietly as she walks away. I know it was the right thing not to accept her invitation, but I still feel crappy and like I’m missing out.

I consider taking a nap as well, but even though my body is tired, my mind is too wound up to sleep now that I’ve got my career on my mind. I look to Jordan, who’s tearing through a manual without slowing down to actually digest what it says. Trying to get the rover up and running has got him pressed.

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