Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
She moved forward and wrapped her arms around my neck. A gentle kiss was pressed to my lips. “Better?”
My hand fisted her hair and pulled it off her neck because she was sweaty and damp. “For now.”
She kissed me again before she got off me. My come left her entrance and dripped down her thighs. There was a box of tissues on my desk, so she cleaned herself up and tossed the balled-up tissues into the trash.
Damn…sexiest thing I’d ever seen.
She pulled her panties back on, returned her dress to her body, and took a seat like nothing had happened. She crossed her legs and grabbed the papers she’d been reading minutes ago.
I leaned back then stared at her, watched her read her notes. How did I work with her every single day and not jump her bones? Why did it take me so long to see what was right in front of me? I thought I could never have another relationship again, and then I met Emerson, whom I trusted implicitly. She’d lied to me about Lizzie, but that was easy to forgive.
“Okay, so the entrance…” She lifted her gaze from her notes and looked at me.
“Smile and wave. Got it.”
“But can you do those things?”
I shrugged. “I don’t smile often. And I can’t remember the last time I waved…”
“You have a really nice smile. But you’re right, you hardly ever show it. So when you walk on the stage, give a smile and a wave.”
All of this was reminding me that not only would this be televised, but there would be people in the audience, looking at me, listening to me, digesting every little thing I did.
She read my expression like words on a page. “You’ll be great, Derek.”
“What’s next?”
“It’s fine to be nervous—”
“I’m not nervous. I don’t get nervous. The whole situation is just weird.”
“How is it any different from teaching a classroom of students?”
“It’s a lot different. For one, I know each and every one of them. For two, my lectures are not gonna be slapped on the internet. And three, I’m talking about something I enjoy.”
She and I returned to our previous relationship, where she coached me to grow and be better, to do things I didn’t want to do. She was my lover minutes ago, and now she was my friend. “The entire interview is centered around you talking about what you’re passionate about. And you’re inspiring young people to pursue your interests. I think it’s exactly what you want. You just don’t know that yet.”
I rested my elbow on the armrest so I could lean my chin against my closed fist. I stared at her blue eyes, recognizing special intelligence I would never possess. Even when we were doing something I despised, I was never more comfortable…because of her. I was still experiencing all the benefits of sex on a chemical level in my brain, the dopamine, oxytocin, all the good stuff that made me relax. But I’d rather be home in bed, this stunning naked woman wrapped in my arms.
“Let’s get to the first question.” She dropped her gaze and read what was written. “You’re gonna have to bear with me here because I don’t understand most of what is being said.”
That was a good sign. I wanted to talk about my work and the science behind it, nothing off topic. “We don’t need to rehearse those questions. Talking about my work isn’t difficult.”
“There’re some questions here about family life, your father, a little bit about your time at NASA, so…”
“You said they wouldn’t ask me about that.”
“I said you wouldn’t be asked about the Odyssey. But your time at NASA is pretty integral to who you are as a person and a scientist.”
I had no good memories of that place and didn’t even want to mention it.
She watched me for a while. “I can tell him to omit it if you prefer, but I think you can still inspire people by your overall experience at NASA.”
A lot of administrative changes had been made after I left, and they had greater checks and balances in place to make sure everything was as safe as possible. My old boss was fired and replaced by someone less egotistical. Some good came out of it, but it shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place. “It’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She turned back to her notes. “Okay, I’ll go through them and skip the science mumbo jumbo.”
“Is Lizzie interested in science?”
Emerson lifted her chin at the mention of her daughter. “Honestly, not really. She’s taking beginning geometry right now, and she really hates it. I won’t help her with it because I want her to learn to be resourceful on her own, but I really couldn’t help her anyway because I didn’t understand geometry when I took it in school, and I certainly don’t understand it now.”