Page 50 of The Love Simulation

“Okay,” I say, but inside I’m shouting. I get three weeks with him.

“You say okay, but you’re all stiff. Relax, Bri. Touch me if you want to.”

This man has no idea what kind of pass he’s giving me. “If I touch you,” I say, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

I bring my free hand up and run it along his forearm, up to his bicep and shoulder, then back down again. His skin is so hot, muscles hard. I explore his chest and stomach, letting my hands linger leisurely. Now that I’ve gotten started, he might possibly have to bind my wrists together to get me to stop.

I turn so I’m fully facing him, untangling our fingers so I can use both hands. Roman tilts his head back and closes his eyes, letting me get my fill, and I love that he gets how much I needed his permission to simply take my time. Then I hear the door start to open. I tear myself away from Roman, jumping off the bed.

“Why are the lights off?” I hear Angie say two seconds before the light is switched on.

Roman lets out a grunt and shields his eyes with his arm.

“Angie, the light is too bright for Roman,” I tell her.

“Sorry, I forgot about the migraine. I’ll…” She trails offand I look behind me to see what’s going on. Angie is staring open-mouthed at Roman. Her eyes go from him to the ceiling, and she raises one hand in the air. “Mine eyes have seen glory!”

“Angie!” I admonish. Hey, I get it. Roman is glorious indeed, more so now that the lights are on. But it’s too bright for him. This won’t help his recovery. “The lights, please.”

“Oops.” Angie turns the lights off then smirks at me. “You know what? I’m not even going to ask what you two were doing alone in the dark. It’s either something boring, like you were checking up on him, or it’s something juicy, like y’all were about to get down. I’ll let my imagination do the work.”

I absolutely cannot with her. “Did you need something?”

“The storm has calmed down. Jordan wants to go ahead and fix the antenna while we can. We’re about to get dressed in our space suits.”

“Okay. I’ll be right there,” I say. Once Angie is out the door, I turn back to Roman. “I better go help. You stay here and rest.”

He salutes me and gets situated back against the headboard.

Before leaving, I give his arm one more squeeze. Then, because I can’t help it and because apparently I’m allowed to, I bend over and kiss him on the cheek. “Get some rest so you can feel better.”

He watches me with soft eyes as I back up and turn for the door.

I leave the room and meet Jordan and Angie as they’re getting their space suits on. I make sure their oxygen is securely in place, then see them out the door.

I get set up at the comms station, getting connected with a headset as I spot Jordan and Angie on the screen. Ialso keep an eye on the screen monitoring the weather, and they immediately set out to work on the antenna.

The dust is coming down like drizzle, coating the two in red. I watch them work, my leg bouncing like crazy to get out some nervous energy.

They get the first part complete, and I know there’s still quite a long ways to go.

“I don’t know how visibility is for y’all, but from here it looks like it’s picking up,” I say.

“Yeah,” Jordan says, breathing hard. “I noticed.”

“Okay, how much longer do you think it will be?”

“Maybe ten minutes? We have to connect more of the cables, but they’re hard to stretch.”

I hate feeling so helpless while they do all the work. I put my braids into a ponytail, then take them out again. As the seconds tick by, the visibility gets worse, and the winds pick up.

“Guys, I’m going to be real; I’m really getting worried. It’s getting harder and harder to see y’all. Maybe wrap it up now and try to finish again later?”

“We’re almost”—Jordan passes something to Angie—“done.”

Staring at the screen is giving me too much anxiety, so I start pacing again. I really want them to be able to fix the antenna, but not if it means they get stuck out there. This may have been too big of a risk.

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