JOSH

04

JOSH

An hour later, I was lying on my inflatable mattress, my stomach growling and a pile of field notes on my chest that I should have been studying. But instead I was looking at the ceiling and thinking about Pietra.

I was rude to her in the trailer when she offered me tea. I was even more rude trying to get information from her about the site. I even flirted with her a bit, just to see how she would react. Surely, she must feel the same energy between us, the same deadly attraction.

Well, Pietra could be my partner, but she certainly didn't know that. She was a shy little thing, always biting her lip instead of saying what was on her mind. Normally, I would never be interested in a girl like that, so eager to please, so desperate to be loved that she never disagreed with anyone. I could tell she wanted to tell me to fuck myself with my attitude, or fuck her with my cock. But instead, she apologized.

And then, when I cornered her about her bracelet, she burst into tears and ran away. The pain in his eyes as he placed his hand on the silver band destroyed me. Something had hurt her badly, and it had to do with that bracelet. And, like an idiot, I had forced the issue.

This will never work, I told my brain. I don't want to be with anyone, least of all a shy archaeologist. I've been alone my whole life, and that's the way it has to be. I have my own pain to deal with. I do not need anyone else.

You're an idiot, my brain whispered back. Maybe she's just what you need.

**

Professor Doyle made a dinner of stew and potatoes. The stew burned to the bottom of the pot and tasted mostly like charcoal. The potatoes were so lumpy they could spell DON'T EAT ME in braille. The team ate in silence, although it was clear on their faces that this was the kind of meal I could look forward to while I was there.

After dinner, Frances delivered drinks from the fridge and each person settled into their own activities. I hoped this was my chance to talk to Pietra and apologize for disturbing her, but just as I was about to move, Ruth sat down next to me and shoved a beer under my nose.

"I'm so passionate about sustainability," she said, pouring her cider into a disposable coffee cup, which would release enough methane into the atmosphere during its inevitable trip to the bottom of a landfill to turn the ozone layer around your stupid head into a napkin.

I drowned my scorn and spoke to Ruth politely, listening with half an ear as she rattled on about the Save the Whales project she was involved in at university. My eyes remained fixed on Pietra, who was sitting at the other end of the trailer, under the window, drinking beer in small sips while burying her face in a science fiction novel. She wore a pair of reading glasses that made her hazel eyes look even bigger.

— …and raised enough money to pay for fuel on a whale support boat…

“Excuse me,” I interrupted Ruth mid-sentence as I got up and walked over to where Pietra was sitting. Max looked up from the game he was playing with Frances and shot me a horrified look that clearly implied what he thought of my decision.

- Can I? I gestured to the space beside her.

“It's a free country,” she replied. Her cheeks turned red as I flopped down next to her, close enough to breathe in her intoxicating scent but not close enough for us to actually touch. She put her glasses on her nose and continued to look at the page.

"Are you reading Heinlein?" I looked at the title of her book. "A stranger in a strange land". A lump rose in my throat as I read the title. This had been one of Dad's favorite books.

Pietra nodded.

“Rereading, actually. I love all of the Heinlein stories. She blushed even deeper, as if she'd revealed some deep personal secret.

"Me too," I said. The electricity between us surged, pulling me toward her like two opposing charges. — I love the way Heinlen uses Smith's character to force the reader to see his own prejudices.

She nodded, fingers tracing the edge of the page.

- Exactly. I first read this book when I was fourteen. Every few years I reread it. And I can always see something different. That's what I love about Heinlen. People think the book is about Heinlen presenting his ideal world in the form of Smith's religion, but it's not like that at all. He is inviting you to think, not to believe.

“Yes, that's exactly it. That was very insightful. What other authors do you like?

“Oh, several. She looked at me then. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. “I've read all the classic science fiction authors, of course. Asimov, HG Wells, Frank Herbert. I especially love science fiction when it intersects with horror.

"So you're a big Lovecraft fan?"

- Definitely. A thousand times more Cthulhu than any shining vampire. - She smiled. — I like some fantasy books. Writers like Laurell K. Hamilton and Patricia Briggs, who take ancient legends like vampires and werewolves and bring them to the contemporary world. There's this amazing author called SC Green who wrote these dark steampunk books set in dinosaur-infested Georgian London. My friend Derek referred me. He is always giving me new books to read. He's studying mythology, so he likes that sort of thing.

— What is your favorite creature?

"Werewolves," she said instantly. “I love how primal and protective they are. Werewolves are family focused. I absolutely love it.