Page 85 of Colliding with Ten

She squinted. “You’re telling me Jason Voorhees doesn’t do it for you?”

I snorted. “He’s just a guy with a mask.”

“Okay. What about, like, real stuff? Something out there. The unknown.”

“I mean . . . I’m pretty sure aliens exist, but I’m not scared of them.”

Her head snapped back so fast it made me chuckle. “What?”

I shrugged. “Statistically? Yeah. There’s no way we’re alone.”

Her eyes widened. “You believe in aliens.”

“I believe in the probability,” I corrected. “Even if they’re not here. They are somewhere, out there.”

She leaned back to look up at me. “Out there, where?”

“The galaxy. The universe. There’s a lot out there.”

“What is it about the galaxy and the unknown that you find so interesting?”

I woke up, liking the turn this conversation took. “Everything. Space bends. Time bends. Wormholes. Black holes. White holes.”

Her brow quirked, lips twitching. “So, you’re obsessed with holes?”

I froze.

She froze.

We stared at each other for a beat, both realizing what she’d said at the same time. Then we laughed, surprised by the sound coming out of my chest. My nerves stopped firing in twelve different directions.

She burst out laughing, too, covering her mouth. “I’m sorry. I had to say it.”

I shook my head. “Maybe you’re onto something.” As the laughter died, my hand tensed where I had moved it against her leg without realizing.

“You’re a secret astrophysics nerd,” she continued.

“Keep this up, and I’ll start explaining string theory.”

She groaned and leaned back into the couch. “Okay, no thanks.”

The movie screamed again on-screen, but this time she didn’t react, still looking at me.

I smiled, thinking that for someone who claimed he wasn’t afraid of anything, this was close to what I feared. Every conversation with her made me want to take this further and forget I was supposed to keep my distance. “If you hang around me long enough, you’ll start thinking about space at random times.”

She chuckled. “What other weird things do you randomly think about?”

I glanced at the TV, where Jason was stalking someone through a cabin, then back to her. “History.”

She frowned. “That’s not weird.”

“I’m not finished. I like fossils and museums, and I like reading about dinosaurs and ancient civilizations. I’m amazed that massive creatures walked this planet millions of years ago, and now we’re arguing over Wi-Fi passwords.”

Her lips parted, then curved. “Wow. You’re a nerd.” She said it matter-of-factly, not like she was being judgmental. Awe shone in the way she looked at me.

I smiled at that. “You asked.”

“I did. I just wasn’t expecting dinosaurs.”