“I’m admiring the night’s sky. Back on Earth, the pollution was so great that there were very few places to go that allowed us to see stars with the naked eye.”
“I cannot even imagine such a thing. How exactly did that happen?”
She shrugged. “We did it to ourselves. Sad but true. We’re lucky that the Katierans agreed to help us before the planet completely died. At least now, we have hope that one day, Earth will be renewed. I hope that future generations will appreciate Earth and take better care of it than their ancestors did.”
A light touch against her hair made her turn to face him. “What are you doing?”
“Your hair is so pale in the moonlight. The tendrils cascade down like a waterfall. I don’t think I’ve seen anything so beautiful before.”
Holy shit! Was CristOF flirting with her? Her palms felt sweaty. “Th...thank you.”
“I leave tomorrow evening for a mission. I was hoping...you would join me for the midday meal.”
“Yes.” Where the hell did that come from? The dazzling smile he gave her made her melt inside.
“I’ll come by to pick you up at your place at noon.” He turned to leave.
“Wait, don’t you want my address?”
He gave her a wink. “I can track you down.”
*****
CristOF had only arrived for dinner ten minutes ago and he was already ready to leave. He was about to ask to speak with KadEN and TylOR about the mission so that he could excuse himself early, when...his dream walked in. She had curly blonde hair and incredible green eyes. She couldn’t have been more than five-foot-two; not even tall enough for her head to completely reach his shoulder.
Talking to her at the dinner table had been exciting. She was intelligent, but shy. Also incredibly attractive. He didn’t think she even knew how attractive she was, judging by way she avoided looking others directly in the eye and shifted uncomfortably if anyone looked at her too long. However, she looked him in the eyes without hesitation. He fought the urge to kiss her sweet, bow-shaped lips. What surprised him the most was that he could listen to her talk for hours and not be bored.
He hated to be pulled away from Tera even for a minute, but he managed to put thoughts of her aside to meet with Prime Leader KadEN and Commander TylOR. After reading the reports, he had questions—a lot of them. When he was done, he came back into the living room, looking forward to speaking with Tera again. He was disappointed to find her gone.
“She’s on the balcony,” Lizzie told him.
“What?” He glanced at her where she lay on the couch, looking exhausted.
“Tera is on the balcony, just in case you were wondering.”
CristOF nodded and headed towards the open balcony doors. He paused on the threshold watching her. She was definitely the female from his dream. Tera was a goddess, with moonlight shining through her golden curls. Watching as she tilted her face toward the light, he was completely entranced.
He was leaving on a potentially one-way mission tomorrow evening. There was a chance he would never again see this beauty. That was unacceptable. He couldn’t help asking to meet with her the next day. He would savor his time with her; take those precious memories with him—for however long the Goddess blessed him to live.
