Page 68 of Space Balls: Houston, We Have Liftoff
“You’d make an excellent engineer.”Vance leans against the door frame, arms crossed over his still bare chest, staring at the deconstructed KitchenAid mixer hanging from the ceiling. “I can’t believe you managed to rig up a suspension line.” He pushes off the wall and walks over the glitter-dusted floor to study my homemade apparatus.
I pause in sandpapering so he can spin the appliance, which is secured to the ceiling by a hook-screw and three bent and twisted wire hangers. He looks at me appreciatively.
And since I put my shirt back on because sandpaper and bare tits don’t mix, I know he’s appreciating my ingenuity and not my body.
Oddly, it’s just as satisfying.
“I’d make an excellent anything,” I joke, glad to be back on more solid ground after our mind-melting lotus sex.
“I don’t doubt it.” His sincerity almost makes me blush.
Vance watches me work in silence for a while. It’s happened so often this past week that I find it comforting. His presence is almost a habit at this point.
One that I tell myself will be hard to quit. One I don’t want to quit.
“So is that the issue?”
“Huh?” I shake off my thoughts to see Vance looking down at me with concern.
“Your being good at so much. Is that the concern you have over what to do now that you're graduating?”
I grimace. “When you say it like that, I sound kind of arrogant.”
He shrugs. “You can’t help it if it's true.”
Laughing, I toss the rag to the side. “I’d be surprised at your lack of derision, but I guess when you're surrounded by people like Julie Starr on a daily basis you’ve become immune to boastful people.”
“Nah, it isn’t boasting if you can back it up. And seeing how Starr made youngest commander ever at NASA, and you’re a Baylor Business Fellow who’s graduating early with honors, you're both able to make those kinds of statements without sounding conceited.”
“How did you know I was a Business Fellow?” I mean, I wasn’t hiding it from him, but I also never brought it up.
He looks smug at my surprise. “You’re not the only one with connections.”
I tilt my head to the side and shift my features into disbelief.
“Okay, okay.” He holds up his hands. “Imayhave looked over your shoulder a few times while you were on your phone ignoring me.”
“Should’ve known.” I pick up the finer grit sandpaper and go over the appliance once more. “You become so needy when I’m working.”
Vance chokes. “Me?” Clearing his throat, he straightens, looking affronted. “Needy?”
“You can’t help it if it's true.” I smirk, throwing his words back at him.
He smirks back. “Brat.”
We both chuckle.
“Seriously though.” He reaches around me to steady the mixer so I can sand it more easily. “Why are you so concerned with not knowing what you want to do next? Lots of students are in the same boat.”
“But not all those students have the advantages that I do.” I glance around the room. “Just look where we are.”
“Your glitter room?”
“No, you idiot.” I snort. “Mypenthouse. Which I own free and clear.” I circle in Vance’s outstretched arms to reach the backside of the KitchenAid. “The ability to have something as superfluous as a glitter room is just the icing on the cake that is my ridiculously lucky life.” A tightness forms in my chest as I say this out loud. My hand moves faster over the metal. “I mean, I not only have no student debt hanging over my head, but I’d be able to get into any corporation just based on my last name even if I wasn’t top of my class.” I stop, slightly out of breath, and lower my hands. “I don’t even have to work. I could just be useless the rest of my life. My mom did a good job of that.” I chance a glance at him, expecting derision or confusion over my guilt for being born so privileged. I find sympathy instead.
I back up, toss the sandpaper to the side, and pick up the damp rag again. “I just…” I sigh, hating being unable to put into words what I’ve been feeling this past year. “I just feel like I need to do something worthwhile.” I try and laugh off the rush of emotions I’m feeling. “Hashtag first world problems, am I right?” I reach up to wipe down the fine layer of dust I just created. But before I can finish, Vance draws me in for a hug.
“No matter what you do, I’m sure it’ll be worthwhile.”
