Page 74 of Bound By Stars
This guy is shameless.
I hold her gaze.You good?I mouth.
She lays a hand against his chest.
My insides tie into knots. I drop my chin and suck in a shaky breath. She’s made her choice.
Weaving my way through the packed room, I keep my eyes forward, no matter how much I want to look back. The air in the empty hallway is cold against my hot face, clearing my mind. Why am I giving up so easily? What happened between us out on the dance floor, I didn’t imagine that. She wanted to be there with me. If Reve hadn’t shown up, we would have…
My imagination flashes pictures of Weslie pressed against Reve, bright-colored light streaked across their faces as their mouths move closer. My throat tightens, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
If she wants him, it’s none of my business. She doesn’t owe me anything.
I punch the button to open the stairwell door and hurry inside and up the steps.
Someone stops the door from automatically shutting behind me. “Hey! Wait up, Big Six.”
My shoulders soften. I exhale; I couldn’t stop the smile tugging at the edges of my mouth if I tried. I grab the railing and lean over to see Weslie on the lower landing. “Do you have to keep calling me that?”
Across the gap of empty space in the center of the stairwell, she smirks up at me. “Yes.”
I shake my head as she climbs the steps. Heat lingers in her pink face, though she has to be freezing in this icy, forgotten part of the ship.
She offers me the coat I left behind and I wrap it around her bare shoulders.
Her fingertips run down my forearm, over the inside of my wrist, sending an electric current through my body. She picks up my right hand, tracing the outer edge of my palm around the bandage. “Does it still hurt?”
“A little.” My voice comes out breathless. I clear my throat. “It’s healing fast, though. ILSA does good work.”
I watch her climb the next set of stairs, clenching my hand around the lingering sensation, the memory of her touch.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jupiter
Seventeen days to Mars
On the main first-class floor, we stop outside the dining hall’s open doors. The room is the same as we left it, bustling and full of music, but the energy is different. Compared to the pulsing rhythm and unbridled noise downstairs, the Gala feels like a watered-down version of a party. Subdued. Controlled. Sanitized.
Wes shrugs off my coat and hands it back to me. Her lips twist into a concerned smile. It’s warmer up here. She doesn’t really need it. But maybe she’s more worried about the scandalized glances we’d get.
The captain takes the stage, squaring his shoulders and waiting as his audience files onto the dance floor in front of him.
I move closer, so I can feel the heat of Weslie’s bare arm through my thin shirtsleeve. The back of my fingers brushes hers.
She glances down at our hands and back up at my face. Light glimmers in her hazel eyes, the green flecks brighter.
My dad appears beside us, half a lemon tart in his hand. “Jupiter, good. I was afraid you’d wandered off again.” He stares back at me with a knowing expression and waves us inside to follow the migration toward the stage.
“Passengers of theBoundless, thank you all for attending our midway celebration!” The captain’s voice carries through the room. He pauses, waiting for the clapping to die down.
Weslie steps forward, but I twist my hand around hers and lace our fingers together, pulling her back out the open doors.
“Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for embarking on this momentous voyage.” The captain’s voice echoes through the high ceiling of the corridor, followed by more cheering.
“Where are you taking me?” Her voice is quiet and curious like she doesn’t care. Like she might follow me anywhere.
“I’m not really sure,” I whisper back.
