Page 59 of Starrily

“Already? I can’t see anything yet.” Simon squinted at the sky.

“I need pictures of the blank sky for comparison later. You can come document it. Although I imagine for you, it won’t be very exciting.”

Simon shrugged. “Never say no.” And he followed her.

Callie took the test pictures, then waited for the sky to darken completely. Stars blinked into existence, one by one, and she explained to Simon how she needed to find a guide star for the telescope to point at, which would help it stay aligned during the night. To his credit, he listened attentively, writing everything down, and took a few pictures of Callie in the control room.

“Now we set the exposure time, and we’re done,” she said. “The telescope camera will do the rest.”

Simon stretched on his chair. “Okay. Calling it a night. Literally.”

“You go. I’ll stay here to monitor the results.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s better if I’m present. If the weather worsens, I’ll have to stabilize the telescope.”

“As you wish, Night Phoenix.”

“You can take the bed,” she said as he moved to leave. “I won’t be using it at night, anyway.”

He shook his head in pretend disappointment. “And I was looking forward to the car.”

After he left, Callie settled deeper into the not-overly-comfortable chair. It wasn’t long before she started yawning, and she reached for her phone, fingers hovering over the music selection.

ABBA might just keep her awake.

The door behind her opened, nearly startling her off the chair.

“Midnight meal.” Simon carefully maneuvered into the room. He held a mug of hot cocoa in one hand and a plate of cookies in the other. “Guess who left us snacks.” He squinted. “Bad question—I’ve no idea who. But whether they wanted to help usor left them behind by accident, it’s too late. All the snacks are mine now.” He put the plate and the mug down in front of her. “By which I mean, yours.”

“Uh—thank you,” Callie said, flustered.

“I warmed up the cookies.”

She hadn’t even realized she was hungry. The gooey chocolatey center of the cookie tasted like absolute heaven, and soon, she was all over them and only managed another “Thanks” at Simon as she gulped them down with the cocoa.

“Your wish is my command.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“No, but …” he cocked his head at the plate. “Clearly, the desire was there.”

“You don’t want any?”

“It’s fine. I also found microwave popcorn. I don’t suppose you have a movie to watch it with?”

Funny he’d say that—she’d considered putting one on to help her stay awake.

But that would mean she’d be staying awake with Simon.

“I …”

“You have work. I understand. No more distractions.”

She wanted to correct him—to say the work wasn’t intense, just long-lasting, and watching a movie sounded perfect. But as she considered that, it seemed Simon was also considering something. His hand twitched, and he opened his mouth—and then shut it.

“It’s best if you go to sleep,” she said. “That way, we can rotate bed shifts.”