Page 47 of It Happened Again

“What? Brooks, it’s not my birthday or any major holiday.” Her fingers played across the velvet, gazing at me.

“It’s a just because gift. I saw it and thought of you. Open it.”

She flipped lid open and blinked. She brought it closer, then laughed. “It’s a beautiful brain!” I gave her a delicate, rose gold necklace with a charm shaped like a brain—because of course I did. What else would suit Maisy, something so quirky and unique just for her from me.

“I love it. Put it on,” she insisted and shifted, flipping her hair up in back so I could manage the clasp on the it.

“Nice. I’m glad you like it.” I admired the way the pale gold set against her skin the entire time we sat, sipped, and stargazed. She told me stories about her research on the ship, and about the incredible night skies she witnessed there.

“Sometimes, late at night when I couldn’t sleep, I’d sneak onto the top deck and stargaze. Those moments alone to reflect about my day, or my life in general, were almost like talking to God. It’s part of what helped me get through being thousands of miles away from everyone and everything I knew.” She hesitated, then said, “Patterson scared me today.”

“No. Don’t let him have that control over you,” I responded, irritated at Patterson for doing that to her.

“I’d been so sure of myself, Brooks, at being able to handle this huge project, excited even to present my research. Then one little doubt from him today and... yeah. I can feel it festering and eating away at me.”

“Then you really needed this tonight, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I did. Thank you.”

“If you want, I can go sit in the car for a while, give you space so you can talk to God,” I offered.

She sputtered and patted a tear at the corner of her eye. “No. Stay. I need you.”

“Yeah? Need me here?” I kissed her temple. “How about here?” I nuzzled her neck and whispered, “Just say where you need me the most and I’ll be there.”

She pulled me on top of her, laying back. I shifted to my knees, hands sliding over her thighs, her waist, under her shirt, massaging her breasts. She arched into me, breath catching.

“I need you everywhere, Brooks,” she moaned.

“Hm. What does research say about sex and stress relief?” I teased, bringing the blanket over us.

“There are plenty of studies that prove sex can be powerful for relief.”

“Then let’s test that theory ourselves...”

We undressed slowly, the light warm breeze brushing by, the sky watching above us. Every movement, every sigh, every kiss filled with things we still hadn’t said. But she was soft, eager. When I moved over her, I worshipped her, thrusting everything I had inside of her, until the stars blurred, the world disappeared, and all that existed was us.

17

THICK IN IT

MAISY

Thickin the middle of the testing phase of this project, I was busier than ever. My team and I ran trials, and ushered groups of employees in and out. Once all the approvals and paperwork were received for other non-Orion staff to be tested, so far, I’d had two groups experience the room: patients in early stages of dementia, and marketing professionals—arranged with Sophie’s help from one of her business associations she belonged to.

Today, college freshmen were my test subjects, twenty of them wearing the feedback devices, sitting in my sensory room, and cramming for their final exams. At the control panel, I managed the environment, while on my laptop their feedback devices tracked their incoming data on a constant feed, tracking their physiological responses.

So absorbed in my work like that, I didn’t realize Brooks had arrived by my side until he said hello. I almost started and yelped but controlled it. I’d hate to be the stress stimulus to ruin the testing and skew the data.

“What are you doing here? I’m working,” I half complained.

“I brought you lunch, because I’m sure you haven’t eaten all day.” He set the bag down but I didn’t smell anything,thankfully, because any new scent introduced into the room would also ruin my testing.

“What did you bring me?” I didn’t want to open it for fear of releasing any scent.

“I made it myself. A turkey sandwich with avocado, and some nuts and dried fruit mix.” He winked. “Enjoy it, babe. I’ll see you tonight, I hope?”

“Thank you for caring.” I nodded and he left. He was right, I hadn’t eaten at all today. But I’d enjoy the sandwich very soon because this session was about over. I gave the instructions for wrapping things up, including using a QR code to answer questions about their experience on a survey, thanked the participants for their time, and had them all turn in their devices before leaving.

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