Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

BENNETT

I searched Theo's face, trying to figure out whether his interest in stargazing was real or an attempt to impress me.

He seemed nervous and unsure for the first time since we'd begun this flirtation.

"What do you like most about what you've learned?" I asked.

He tugged his lip between his teeth as he considered my question. "I guess… I guess just realizing how vast and unending the universe is? Like, too huge for my mind to grasp, really. The number of stars in the Milky Way alone is larger than the total number of humans that have ever been born. Ever , Bennett. That's, like, mind-blowing. I can't wrap my brain around it."

"It's awe-inspiring," I agreed, smiling at his enthusiasm.

"Yeah." Theo reached out to wrap a finger around a strand of hair falling over my eyes. "I also love that even though the universe is mind-bogglingly huge, there's also… I dunno how to say it, really… there's this connection between things that makes it feel small. Did you know…" He propped himself up on one elbow. "…that there are other planets they think have diamonds on them? The hydrocarbon situation there is a lot like Earth's. Can you imagine there are other species out there, light- years away from Copper County, reveling in the way a diamond catches the light?"

Enchanted, I turned my face to press a kiss to the inside of his wrist.

"What about you?" he asked. "What do you like most about it?"

"Hmm… well. I like that it makes me feel connected to my grandfather, for one thing. But about the stargazing itself…" I hesitated. "I suppose the aspect of discovery. Finding new things and learning about them. Noticing changes and wondering why they occurred. There's always something new to learn, even though what we're looking at hasn't changed much in such a long time."

"And the fact what we're seeing is mostly straight-up history," Theo added. "Light from elements that may not even exist anymore. It's wild. Like a kind of time travel."

We continued to talk as I traced patterns over his chest and shoulders with my fingers. From time to time, I leaned forward to taste the chlorine on his skin or the disappearing sweetness of lemonade on his tongue.

The early evening sun painted its way across the room as it fell over the lake outside. I could have spent hours talking to him like this, and maybe I did. But eventually, our hunger urged us into the kitchen, where I pulled out the food I'd prepped earlier.

"What else are you into?" I asked, not wanting to monopolize the conversation with my own interests, even though I could tell by now he earnestly shared them.

He grinned at me from the stool at the island, where I'd put him to work opening a bottle of wine. "Doodling, obviously."

I let out a huff of laughter at the idea of referring to his talent as "doodling." After handing him two empty wineglasses to fill, I leaned over and tilted his chin up with a finger so he would meet my eyes. "Theo. I told you before, but I need you to feel this. Your doodling is fucking gorgeous."

His cheeks flushed. I couldn't resist leaning in and pressing a kiss to each one before tasting his lips again. "Hold that thought while I put this chicken on the grill."

When we finally sat down to eat, we were both too hungry to do much talking other than give and receive a compliment on the food. As I was taking my last bite, he asked me where I'd gotten the tomatoes on the chicken. "Please say the O'Leary Farmer's Market because if you got your tomatoes from anyone else, we're going to have to have an awkward conversation about O'Leary loyalty."

I glanced at him. "I'm not an O'Learian, though. I'm a… what do you locals call it? Copper-plated? Not Copper all the way through but only on the surface?"

Theo burst out laughing. "Oh my God. I can't believe you've heard about that." His face was pink again, which made me want to spend the rest of my life making him blush. "You know what they say about people who discover the local lingo?"

"No." I grinned. "What do they say?"

"That if you've learned it, you must be one of us for real." He bounced his eyebrows and pointed his fork at me. "A Coppertian, in your case."

"A Coppertian?" I laughed, delighted. "Is that a real thing?"

"It is," he agreed. "The area around the lake has been known as Copper County since loooong before Copper County became its own town, so… Coppertians. As in, ‘Do you live with us fancy folk in the pricey, overdeveloped part of Piermonte, Janelle, dahhhling ? Or over in the soulless subdivision with the McMansions? No? Ohhhh, you must live out in Copper County.'" He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips in a comic expression of surprise. "‘You're a Coppertian .'"

I snickered into my wine. "Janelle needs better friends."

"Right?" Theo laughed, too. "Probably for the best that you divided into two different towns a while back 'cause as far as I'm concerned, you guys got the better end of the deal." He tilted his wine glass in the direction of the lake, where the sky was painted in the soft pinks and oranges of twilight and a few puffy clouds cast gentle reflections on the calm water. "Beautiful views, friendly people, close to all the shops in O'Leary. You're not missing anything. You know?"

"I can't argue with that. I don't feel like I'm missing anything. The view tonight is pretty spectacular." In fact, I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. I shot him a wink. "And I can vouch for the locals being extremely friendly."

"Locals," Theo repeated. His smile dimmed. "Plural. Have you been… friendly with a lot of us?"

"What?" I suddenly realized how my words had sounded. How he'd interpreted them. "Oh! No. No. I, ah… I only have experience with one friendly local." I frowned. "I mean… You know what I mean."

"Heh. Yeah." He tried smiling, but it looked forced.

I reached out and covered his hand with mine. "Would it bother you if I had?"

Theo pressed his lips together and inhaled through his nose. "You know what? Yeah. Yeah, I think it would. There. Now you know I'm exactly as immature as you imagined."

I shoved his chair back and yanked him onto my lap, nearly tossing us both on the floor. He cried out and clutched at me before letting out a relieved laugh when we didn't fall.

"Mm… is it immature to not want to hear about your date sleeping with someone else?" I wondered out loud. "If so, I'm incredibly immature."

He slipped his arms around my neck and smiled at me. "Really? Tell me more about that, then."