Page 59 of Bound By Stars

“One, two, three… Better hurry. I’ll get to fifty before you know it.”

“Now. Or I’m going to tell your mother where I found you.”

I lift myself on the edge and glance down at Weslie. “It seems I have to go.”

She chews her lip.

Is that disappointment I saw flash across her expression?

Leaning down, I shake droplets out of my hair, offer her a hand, and whisper, “Next time, I get to pick the place.”

She grabs hold and I help her out of the water so we’re standing toe to toe. She’s fighting a smile, but her eyes brighten.

Gianna’s large hand clasps onto my shoulder. Spinning me effortlessly, she shoves a towel to my chest, drops her gaze, and lets out a full-body sigh.

I follow her eyes to my pants, heavy with water and sagging on my hips even with my belt tightly cinched.

“My god, if your mother saw this.” She massages her forehead and then waves me toward the door. “Move.”

I peek back at Weslie, who cringes as a towel whizzes past my head. She catches it before it hits her face.

“You, too. Out.” Gianna leads us to the door. “It’s not safe for either of you to be here at this hour without the lights on”—she pauses to inspect the control panel next to the door—“and the lifeguard system offline. It’s like you have no concern for your own safety. Why do you insist on making my job harder, Jupiter?”

“I figured you appreciated the challenge.”

Her expression is blank. “For the record: I do not.”

With the bread plate gone, the door locks behind us.

“See you tomorrow.” Weslie pats her face with the towel and a wet curl falls into her eyes.

I reach out to brush it away. “Big presentation day. You ready?”

“Enough.” Gianna grabs my forearm and drags me down the hall like a small child.

I glance back at Wes, pointing my thumb toward Gianna. “Hide-and-seek champion of the galaxy, right here!”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Weslie

Eighteen days to Mars

I lay my head on the edge of the table, heaving a massive sigh. “Stop, ILSA.”

The garbled message cuts off. She didn’t immediately delete Jupiter’s test message this time, but we’re back to her translating his words into a compilation of gibberish and various error noises.

“You’ve been over everything. How is it still an issue?” Jupiter asks from across the lab, sweeping his finger over his tablet and throwing the animation of ILSA’s construction plans on the wall screen.

I lift my head and stare across the room. “Multiple times. I have been over everything multiple times. The comm connection is perfect. I can’t find a single issue. If there was a problem, there’s no possible way I could have missed it.”

“With the length of my base code, I calculate there is an 8 to 12 percent margin for human error.” ILSA rotates her face screen to the side, producing two dots that shift toward me.

I blink slowly and half sigh, half growl.

“Weslie, do not feel inadequate. Humans are not capable of my level of infallibility.”

I frown at her. “When did I crank up your ego settings?”

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