Page 85 of Space Junk: Houston, We Have a Hottie
After a small pause, both of us start laughing, me curled up on the bed until tears do fall from my eyes.
“Jackie?” Rose asks.
I close my eyes, trying to draw up some strength. I’m not sure I can handle any more announcements from Rose. “Yes?”
“Could you teach me that self-defense finger thing? I have a feeling that might come in handy the next time I throw down.”
“Yeah, Rose. Of course I will. That’s what friends are for.”
* * *
Still lying in my underwear,though the shadows on the wall have moved and darkened with time, my phone rings again. For once, it is the standard shrill ringtone it came originally programed with.
I glance at the screen, annoyed when I see the Houston area code. I should probably pick it up and see what whoever it is wants, instead of lying here like a lump for the foreseeable future like I’d planned.
“Hello?”
“Dr. Lee? This is Roger McAllister here.”
I sit up quickly, nearly losing my grip on the phone.
“Yes, uh…” I clear my throat. “Evening, Mr. McAllister. How can I help you?”
“You can start by taking the position of astronaut.”
“Holy Mercury.”
“Dr. Lee?”
“Sorry, sorry. I, well, it’s just a shock.”
He chuckles. “It shouldn’t be. Not after your final interview, as well as you coming up with the solution for the EXT failure as well as spearheading the emergency spacewalk.”
“I—”
“So, what do you say? Are you going to give me an answer, or do you need to talk to your family and loved ones first?”
Family and loved ones? I suck in a deep breath, thinking of Flynn. Of what my next words will mean for him. For us. But then I think of my dad, of how supportive he’s been of me my whole life, if a little unorthodox in showing he cares. And then I think of my mother and her NASA scrapbooks and love of space.
“No need to wait. I have my answer.” And really there is no other answer. Not because I want this more than Flynn and the life I thought we were making. But because by him making me choose, he left me no choice at all. “It’s affirmative, sir. I’ll take the position.”
Twenty-Four
Ascension
Flynn
I’ve fucked up.Big time.
I thought about going back to Jackie’s place, but what the hell would I say? What does a guy say who’s basically let his girl get shoved around by another guy because he was too fucked up over his past to man-up and say he was wrong?
Fuck, it’s so much worse when I say it out loud in my head.
Instead, I begged Rose for help, and when begging wasn’t enough I promised her a real sit-down family dinner with her and Holt if she’d give me Brian Hampson’s downtown address. Which she somehow had, and was willing to share since it didn’t directly relate to Jackie or ‘breaking girl code.’ Whatever that means.
Then I floored it into Houston and used my last name to grease the palm of the condo’s building manager to get access to the damn garage. Sometimes it’s nice to be a West in Houston.
Thankfully, I don’t have to wait long for Hampson to drive in. The asshole steps out of his Audi dressed head to toe in designer workout gear, wearing sunglasses in an underground garage, one finger trussed up in a splint. The guy has a freaking man-bun for fuck’s sake. He needs to be set straight for that alone.
