Page 124 of The Scientist
His eyes flared. “I have something better we can do all night.”
Chapter 29
Ipeered through the window with a wondrous look in my eye as we traveled up the winding road to the campsite. It was a view unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The granite cliffs of the mountain stood tall and proud against the dusky sky. The soft mist nestled around the towering hemlocks, and the furrowed bark of the pine trees made my yearning for urban life feel like a distant memory. I could feel Lex’s eyes on me, but he said nothing, letting me take it all in.
Once we reached the campsite, I took the time to stretch and look around at the bustle of people pitching tents, setting up telescopes, and cooking around campfires.As soon as the tents were set up, Stuart ran off to talk to a few people from the astronomy department about their telescopes, while Lex and I went to look for the rest of his team.
As we started making our way through the crowd, Lex was immediately approached by several strangers asking about his work or just generally gushing over him. He made several attempts to try and politely steer us away, but it was no use. It was still a shock to me just how many people were familiar with Lex and his work. If science had a celebrity, he was definitely it, as far as I could tell.
Lex’s admirers were still peppering him with questions, so I excused myself to go look for Sarah. I walked around until I spotted some of the guys from Lex’s team gathered around a BBQ pit grilling burgers, Sarah and Jace included.
“Hey! You finally made it,” Sarah called out when she saw me walking toward them. She and Jace came over to greet me.
“This is pretty amazing, don’t you think?” I told her, looking around.
“You’re definitely not going to see this in New York,” she answered.That was true. The only stars we ever saw in New York were the movie kind.
“Looks like most of the team is here,” I said, noticing all the guys gathered around. “Except for...” I trailed off, realizing who was missing.
“And she better not show up, or I’ll rip the pink right out of her fucking head,” Sarah said viciously.
Jace chuckled. “Easy there, babe.”
“She’s a fucking monster. If it were me, I would have smashed her teeth in for pulling a stunt like that.”
“Does everyone know?” I asked Jace.
Jace shook his head. “No. I mean, it’s pretty obvious something happened. They didn’t speak the entire day yesterday or today, and Stuart seemed extra happy, so we knew she fucked up. But no one would ever ask him, and I won’t say anything. I promise.”
Relief came over me. “Thanks,” I told him. I really didn’t want the rest of the guys to know what Nicky had done and cause even more problems for Lex.
We chatted for a while, and Lex found us not long after.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said as soon as he reached me.
“It’s okay. I’m pretty used to it now, big shot,” I said with a wink.
His hands found my waist. “I’m not."
“Well, you’re kind of a big deal,” I said, looping my arms around his neck. “I just hope they know thatI’mactually your number one fan.”
He grinned. “How did you earn that title?”
“Because, unlike the rest of them, I’ve seen yourentirebody of work," I said, letting my eyes slowly slide down the length of him.
Lex let out a laugh from deep within his chest, and I reveled in the sound.
“Food’s ready!” Peter announced.
“Finally,” Stuart groaned. I hadn’t noticed him come back.
The night was getting chillier, so I snuggled between Lex’s legs with my plate of food in my lap as we ate by the campfire. The rest of the guys had gathered around the campfire as well, chatting animatedly about different topics, most of which were way over my head. They were currently in a heated debate about Star Wars, however.
“In principle, lightsabers are one-hundred percent possible,” Stuart was arguing.
“No, they’re fucking not, Benowitz,” Louis fired back.
“What about the fact that particle accelerators have conclusively proven that photons have the capability of colliding?” Peter chimed in. Sarah and I were looking at each other like we’d just stepped into an alternate universe.