“Captain. Oh—Commander. Forget it—I’m just going to call you Captain/Commander,” she said with a laugh. “May I join you? I can see you’re reading. I promise I will eat in silence and not disturb you.”
“Of course, and it’s fine—I was actually due a break. Here, let me help you.” Jack took the tray from her hands, placed it on the table, then held her chair out. Thanking him, Bella tucked into her Caesar salad with chicken—she was famished. True to her word, she said nothing, eating happily while taking in the room.
“So. Ms. Genovese - how are you finding NASA? Is it everything you thought it would be?” he asked.
“Absolutely. It’s fascinating and amazing. The work that goes into these missions is extraordinary — and everyone is so dedicated. The attention to detail is mind-boggling, really. But I suppose it must be.”
"It really does — when we're in space every one of us is completely dependent on everyone down here. It’s why the best of the best work here - the brightest brains on the planet.”
Bella returned to her salad while Jack went back to his reports — though he glanced up more than once.
“You’ve got a little bit of something on the side of your face,” he said - leaning across and wiping a small streak of dressing from the corner of her mouth. Without thinking - completely automatically - he stuck his thumb in his mouth to lick the dressing off and Bella felt her mouth go completely dry at the sight.
She stared at him, then quietly“Thank you. I’m such a slob, ha ha. Well Captain/Commander, thank you for letting me join you.” She stood up, took her tray over to the area by the counter set up for returning dishes, and walked quickly out.
Jack sat there, stunned by his actions.What the hell was I thinking? She probably thinks I'm a complete weirdo. I didn't even think—but her mouth was soft.
Chapter 8
Thursday was finally here. In just a few hours Bella would be seeing Taylor Swift, so it had been a light day at NASA, which included a long call between Luis back at Bella Pelle and the NASA chemists - to allow time to get ready and get to the show on time. There was sure to be a ton of traffic, and rather than have to mess with parking she’d be taking an Uber to the show, which should be picking her up at any moment.
The show wouldn't be as long as the three hour Eras shows had been, but she knew she’d be on her feet the whole time, so she’d brought the cutest red sequin tennis shoes, and was wearing them with low rise boyfriend jeans, a fitted silk silver cami, and a white jacket. Her trusty watch and friendship bracelets completed the outfit. Light makeup and her red lip, but this time a sleek, sheer gloss.
Arriving at the stadium, she made her way up to the NASA suite. Watching the show from there wouldn’t be the same as watching from down on the stadium floor, but the tradeoff was a dedicated bathroom with no long lines, a bar, food in the suite, and the extra bonus of air conditioning. Some of the group she’d met during the week would also be there, with their families, so at least it wouldn’t be a room full of strangers. Opening the door to the suite, she stepped in, ready for a fun night.
Jack clocked Bella the moment she walked into the suite. He hadn’t seen her again after the morning meeting yesterday; he knew her time at NASA was ending tomorrow, so he was pleasantly surprised to see her tonight - the night suddenly got a lot more interesting.
Bella glanced around the suite and noticed Jack standing near the bar. Sending him a tentative smile, she made her way over - he was the only face she recognized, and while she didn’t have a problem in groups of strangers, a familiar face was always nice to see.
"I didn't expect to see you here tonight," they said in unison, and then both at once: "Jinx!"
They laughed.
Bella took in Jack in his street clothes: dark fitted jeans, a grey henley, and a Breitling Cosmonaute watch.She approved.And a wrist full of friendship bracelets.How is it possible he looks even better out of uniform than he does in it? His hair makes me want to run my fingers through it. Where is all this coming from?she thought.
“I didn’t take you for a Swiftie, Captain.”
“I’m Jack tonight, we aren’t on duty. And I’m a Swiftie Dad, I’m here with my daughters. They made me these.” he replied, holding out his wrists so Bella could read them - one said ‘Astro Daddy’ while the other spelled out ‘Space Cowboy’.
“Cute. And please call me Bella.” She felt something deflate quietly inside her. She hadn’t realized Jack was married. She didn’t see a wedding band, although that didn’t mean anything - many men didn’t wear them.Oh well. Better to find out now rather than later. Wait? Why did that even matter, I’m not remotely even interested in him like that.
“Dad, Dad, look at all the bracelets we got!” Two young girls came bouncing over, in that way that only teen girls can do.
“Wow, that’s quite a haul. Have you been giving some away too?”
“Duh dad, that’s the whole point of them - exchanging and making friends.” One of them rolled her eyes at Jack.
“Girls, I'd like you to meet Ms. Genovese. She’s working with NASA; she made those lipsticks I gave you the other day. These are my daughters, Sloane and Piper.” Both girls had blonde hair and green eyes.They must look like their mother, thought Bella.
“Hi Sloane, Hi Piper, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Have you seen Taylor in concert before, or is this your first show?”
“We saw her on the Eras Tour, it rocked!”
“It did, didn’t it? I saw two shows on the Eras Tour - Night 3 in Arlington, and then Night 5 in London with my daughters - that one was a rain show! We had so much fun. I can’t wait for the surprise songs tonight; I’m hoping I get one of my favorites.”
Jack watched his daughters interact with Bella, and noted how at ease Bella was - he supposed being a mother to her own girls it came easy to her, but it was still nice to see; other than their teachers and neighbors, they didn’t get a lot of interaction with adult women.
"I'm wearing the shade you made — what do you think?" Sloane turned with an exaggerated pout.
