"No smothering this time, I promise."
I did as he asked and closed my eyes. He took my hand and lead me with baby steps through the doors. I immediately felt a change in temperature. This new room was cooler, and quieter. There were no screaming children. The few voices I did hear were distant and echoed. The room must have been vast.
"Can I open them?" I asked.
"Not yet." Liam positioned me just so in what I expected was the middle of the room. "Now. Look up."
I opened my eyes. The room was near pitch black. I could barely make out Liam next to me. I looked up.
Stars. My vision was filled with stars, hundreds of them, thousands of them, tiny pinpricks of white, gold, blue and red, glittering against a velvety dark sky.
"What—?" I began to ask.
"We're in a planetarium," he explained.
I didn't say anything. I just stared, awed, at a replica of the heavens projected on the domed ceiling. The stars were circling around the center, not stationary, moving at an almost dizzying pace. It had to be a sped up version of their actual paths.
"This is so cool," I said in a hushed voice.
"This isn't the coolest part." He turned me around and directed my attention to the far right corner. "Wait for a second."
Moments passed. I waited patiently. The stars swirled around me. Then—
A blast of light occurred before my eyes. A flash, maybe ten times as brilliant as the brightest star, lit up the dome. I stood still, mesmerized, as a star flared up and went dark in front of my eyes, leaving behind it a cloud of colorful dust and gas.
Liam's lips touched my ear. "You just watched a star explode into a supernova."
My breath caught in my throat. I swallowed hard. The back of my eyes stung with the beginning of tears. I blinked them away rapidly, overcome with a dozen different emotions. I couldn't speak, for fear of my voice trembling.
Liam wrapped his arms around my waist from behind.
"That's going to be you," he said. "And I'm going to be right there." He pointed upward toward the rainbow of stardust.
"Where?" I asked, voice thick and wavering.
"In the heart of that nebula is a neutron star." I felt his lips curve into a smile. "Neutron stars are very magnetic, you know."
I couldn't help it. I let out a giggle that almost become a sob. Liam's arms tightened around me, not saying a word. I basked in his embrace for long minutes.
"Thank you," I told him eventually, breaking the silence. "This was a really fun date."
He placed a kiss on the top of my head. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."
"Now the pressure is on," I said, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't know how you're going to outdo yourself for our second date."
"Why don't you plan it?" he suggested.
"Nothing can top this."
"It doesn't have to be grand. It just has to be you."
I was already brainstorming a few ideas, but I knew nothing I came up with would ever top this.
Liam took me to see a supernova, and told me he was going to be the star right in the heart of it. He didn't know how true his words were.
Liam was already in my heart.
