What if Mom and Dad get nervous and leave church early? To get out of going to church and the picnic the pastor’s sister was throwing afterward, Eden had told her parents she had a headache. Checking her temperature twice and kissing her at least six times, her mother had finally agreed to go without her.

Rite Aid, though. Could she possibly have picked a worse place? Sure, she’d scored a pack of condoms here—you know, just in case—but what if her parents stopped to get her something? Stupid. Stupid!

The wind kicked up, ruffling the longer hair at the top of her head, and Eden shoved her hands into the pockets of her favorite hoodie. She’d spent the better part of the previous evening donning and discarding the contents of her closet, an exhausting endeavor. Remembering how overdressed she’d felt at the club, she’d finally opted for comfort. The guy had already seen her naked, right? And she’d look stupid wearing a boob-enhancing shirt to go zip lining.

When a dark gray SUV pulled into the lot, Eden’s heart nearly choked her. As it grew closer, however, the driver turned out to be a woman. The adrenaline plummet turned her knees to noodles.

What if he sees me dressed this way and realizes how boring I am? She’d have to look him in the face and see disappointment. Disgust, even. A wild urge to flee hit her, and she eyed the row of stores, desperate for a place to hide.

Uber time.

But just as she reached for her cell, a huge SUV—dark blue, not gray—turned down the row and headed straight for her. It was him. She knew it was, and a violent thrill of oh no! slammed her in the chest. It was too late to run.

Darak pulled up beside her. Expecting him to hit the unlock button, she was taken aback when he got out, a sparkle in his eyes. “Hey, you,” he said as he circled the car. When he picked her up in a bear hug, a rush of gratitude swept her and she laughed.

“Ready to fly, Adventure Girl?”

* * *

Eden spent the first five minutes gripping the sides of her seat, agonizing over what to talk about. “Have you ever gone zip lining?” she asked finally.

“Nope. I’m a virgin.” He tossed her a wicked grin.

She stifled a laugh. “That’s not funny.”

“What’s wrong?” Darak seized her hand and held it. “Nervous about your first time? It won’t hurt. I promise.”

She pulled free and swatted his forearm. “Stop!”

He shot her a grin. “I’m just poking you.”

“Darak.” Her face grew hot enough to blister.

“You aren’t sore, are you?”

“No. You know what? Stop the car. I’m getting out.”

“I can’t. We’re on an adventure, remember?”

“Then stop with the virgin jokes!”

“Okay, okay. I didn’t mean to fire you up.”

Oh my God. “Darak. If you don’t shut up now, I swear I’ll beat you.”

He donned a meek expression. “Sorry. I had to. Man code.”

“Just so you know, I’m only letting you slide because I want to go to Bristol Mountain. The second we get back, I’m deleting you off my phone.”

“I’m not on your phone,” he reasoned.

“I’ll put you there and then take you off.”

His smile widened. “Did I ever tell you you’re cute?”

“Is that good or bad?” She would have preferred beautiful or sexy.

“It’s different,” he said, his smile fading, but the light in his eyes brightened. “The women where I’m from…” He hesitated. “I’m a lot younger than most people in my…area. There, everyone’s so serious. They’ve lost themselves in their life work. They’re focused completely on the betterment of society—that kind of thing. Not that that’s bad, but it’s nice to meet someone so…”

“Immature?”

“Alive.”

Warmth radiated throughout her chest, and to hide her blush, she peered into the back of the SUV. Her gaze sharpened as she surveyed the emptiness behind the second row of seats. There’d been a bed that night. She knew there had. The most comfortable one ever.

“Looking for something?”

Adopting an innocent expression, she shook her head.

“You know, if I were Krinar, we could have hopped a shuttle and been there already.”

“Ew,” she said, scrunching her shoulders. “I’m glad you’re not.”

He cocked his head. “Why do you hate them so much?”

“I told you. They ruined my dad’s life.”

“Can I ask how?”

“My parents teach at Cornell. Well, just Dad, now.”

“Okay.”

“College professors have to prove themselves over and over or they lose their cred. The university is constantly at you to do research, publish books, articles, whatever. My dad spent the last ten years studying the Voynich Manuscript. Have you ever heard of it?”

His eyes flickered, and he turned his attention to the road. “I think so.”

“It’s this medieval document that’s written in code. No one’s ever been able to decipher it, but my dad was getting somewhere. Everyone else assumed the base language was Latin, but something about the chemical composition of the ink made my dad think the document was drafted in Romania. He bored me to death showing me charts and symbols, how this one appeared more often than any other, and the most popular letter in the alphabet was E, and this squiggly thingamabob showed up the most so it was probably the E, and that doodle over there—that was a modifier. Long story short, he was this close to solving it. It would have made his career. I mean, not just at Cornell but, like, worldwide. People have been trying to solve this mystery for centuries. A couple months back, some asshole Krinar came to earth and solved it in one day.”

“I don’t understand. He solved a problem, didn’t he?”

“It was our puzzle. Our mystery to solve, not theirs. Couldn’t they just mind their own damned business?”

He blinked. “Your father is angry, then.”

“No. He’s not. ” And the fact that he wasn’t mystified her. “Darak, he used to be so excited all the time, like…like he was looking for a pot of gold, only it was way more valuable than gold. Then he…I don’t know…went flat. A bunch of stuff happened at home, and then some Krinar stole his life’s work and made him a joke. He goes around wearing this sad, defeated look. You want to know the worst part?”

He exhaled, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. “What’s that?”

“He keeps talking about how wonderful they are. ‘The Krinar changed the world, and it’s so much better now.’ He has tenure, Darak, but this semester he’s teaching the crap classes, and the academic types who used to kiss up to him act like he’s an embarrassment. My dad is sweet, Darak. He didn’t deserve this.” Why did the aliens have to pick this planet? It wasn’t fair.

“What if your dad couldn’t solve it?”

Spine tight, she clenched her hands in her lap. “What don’t you understand? He had it. He was a year or two away, at the most.”

“That’s…not good,” he murmured.

“See?”

His eye twitched, and he cocked his head. “They’ve done some good things, too. Have you thought about the fact that there are no more wars?”

“No.” Fine. He had her there.

“People are going to live longer, healthier lives.”

“Some people are. And I don’t care about that.” Her palms sweat against the cool leather seat, and Eden resisted the urge to wipe them on her jeans.

“Eden—”

“Look, it’s nice, you know, that people are healthier. I don’t mean that’s bad.” Of course, when you want a doughnut now, no way are you going to find one.

“Maybe you’d see them differently if you focused on the improvements they’ve made.”

“I get it. The planet’s in great shape. I still hate them. I have to see what they did to my dad every day. If I ever meet that guy—that stupid alien who did this—I’ll scratch his eyes out.”

He ducked his chin, but his stony expression told her nothing.

Was she being ridiculous? Her father didn’t seem to hold a grudge. But she couldn’t help remembering how tender and loving he’d been back when she was sick. Eden was nothing if not loyal, and she knew she could count on her father—both of her parents—no matter what. It hurt her to see him so defeated.

Disappointment swallowed her, permeating the cabin like the scent of a midsummer swamp. It wasn’t like she could open the door and walk away; she’d be stuck with him for hours. As the silence lengthened, Eden kicked herself for committing herself to a stranger for an entire day.

Five minutes passed, ten, and Eden felt the tension grow into something large and toothy. Was zip lining worth all this aggravation? Fighting with Darak didn’t seem like much of a treat. Throwing a hissy fit and making him take her home didn’t appeal, especially when she’d have to spend another half hour in the car, feeling stupid.

Drawing a breath, she focused on the lush green that flashed past her window. The leaves beckoned to her, waiving and winking in the gentle breeze. She could almost smell the green.

For once she’d broken the invisible tether that bound her to the house—or stretched it, anyway. She was going zip lining. She could get past a disagreement for that, couldn’t she? Besides, flying through the trees wouldn’t exactly promote conversation.

All she had to do was be polite.