Free 1942664419 (S) by Jennifer M. Eaton Page B

to the beach and forgot to wear sunscreen. I opened my other hand and found it also red, but not swollen. Ouch.
    My wrist beaded with sweat beneath David’s fingers. He released his grasp, tucking his hands into his armpits. “I hurt you. I hurt you before, and I just hurt you again.”
    “No.” I reached for him but thought better of it. The sting set into my palm, throbbing.
    His eyes followed my hands as they returned to my side. I lowered my gaze. He had hurt me. Not that it was intentional. The difference in our body temperatures, it was huge.
    I wiped the sweat from my hairline. That was why it was over eighty-five degrees on the ship. That was probably cool for an Erescopian. Not cool for cold-blooded 98.6-degree humans.
    David tucked his hands deeper into his armpits. His eyes saddened. If he’d burned me, my cold skin must have given him frostbite.
    We couldn’t touch. We really couldn’t touch!
    A grimace twisted his face. “We’re too different. We should have considered that before … ”
    A huge weight pressed in on my chest. My lungs couldn’t hold air. What was he saying?
    He reached for me but drew away. Pain filled his eyes.
    “ Nun poissium tales est ,” he whispered.
    I had no idea what he’d said, but I knew I didn’t like it.
    “David?”
    Nematali made her way back to me as David darted toward the wall. The exit barely appeared before he rushed through.
    “David, wait!” I sprinted toward the door, but the wall rematerialized. Hard, warm metal smashed against my face. I punched the churning partition. “David, please, stop!”
    Nematali eased me away from the now solid surface.
    “Open the door,” I demanded.
    “So you can go where?”
    “David’s upset.”
    “So I saw.”
    “It’s all my fault. I need to talk to him.”
    “Tirran Coud has concerns he must work out on his own.”
    Yeah, concerns that I kept making worse. “He needs me.”
    She seized my hands and flipped them over. “As you can see, prolonged contact between our people is not compatible. I’m wondering why you would have touched him long enough to hurt yourself?”
    I shrugged. “I gave him a hug.”
    “That odd gesture where you put your arms around another?” She leaned closer. “I understand that you are friends, but remember that there are those who would be appalled by the thought of your relationship going beyond that. I suggest you find another symbolic greeting. One that involves less contact.”
    “What, like a salute?”
    She straightened and placed her hand to her forehead. “Yes, a much safer greeting.”
    Yeah, and about as romantic as a gondola ride on a smelly, polluted lake.
    I crossed my arms, trying to ward off the thought of never touching David again. A part of me chipped off and died. I wasn’t sure I could do it.
    “Can we please be done here?”
    Nematali motioned to the door. “Of course.”

10
     
     
    One corridor wall blurred into another. I lost myself in a haze, dwelling inside my own stupidity, and nearly plowed into Nematali when she stopped short again.
    She ran her fingers through the wall. “We have created a place for you to rest. I suggest you take some time to compose yourself before we continue our tour.”
    A beam of light appeared within the wall. It split and opened into a doorway.
    Maybe she was right. I hadn’t even thought of taking a picture since leaving the Mars Project. If I was going to be a successful photojournalist, I needed to learn how to push personal crap aside and keep my head in the game.
    I stepped through the doorway and gasped as the scent of fireplace ash and waffles wafted around me. Grade school pictures of a little girl who needed braces graced the walls of a room I knew all too well.
    “Am I home?” I ran my fingers over the back of the couch. Soft. The scent of burnt pine tickled my nose.
    “No. Tirran Coud recreated this for you. He thought it would make you comfortable.”
    Holy holodeck . I took in the chipped paint on the