The Other Earth (20 page)

I quickly pushed her away, "Vanessa. What are you doing?" I asked slowly, surprised by that s
he had so abruptly kissed me.

She blushed, "I'm so sorry. It's just been such a long time since anyone comforted me that way, I guess I just lost my head for a second" she said, wiping away the tears that were still streaming down her face.

I sighed, "I'm sorry Vanessa, but I don't have romantic feelings for you. My feelings for you are purely platonic. I'm sorry if I led you on somehow."

Suddenly a knock on the door pulled us out of our own little soap opera and we jerked apart, and without thinking twice,
I ran back around the desk to the chair in front of Vanessa as she quickly sat back down.

"Come in" she said.

I turned to look as the door opened and saw Andrew coming in shyly, "Hello Miss Wilson. Alberta is finished with me and told me to bring you this file" he said, looking over and seeing me in the chair.

"Um.
Hello Randi" he said, his cheeks flushing red.

I smiled at him and nodded, trying to seem nonchalant about the fact that I had to explain to him something so embarrassing just a couple of hours
ago.

"Andrew, thank you so much. How did your session go?" Vanessa asked, never missing a beat or seeming awkward in any way.

"It was okay I guess. Are you okay Miss Wilson? You look like you have been crying." Andrew said, looking at Vanessa with a look of concern on his face.

Vanessa smiled, "
Its okay Andrew. Just some family issues, nothing to worry yourself over. I should have your results by tomorrow. You are scheduled to come back in the morning correct?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yes Alberta told me tha
t I was the last one to be tested in my group and that everyone will be assigned tomorrow" he said.

Vanessa nodded, "Right she is. Are you staying in one of the apartments upstairs for the night?" she asked.

Andrew nodded, "Yes. Since I have to be back tomorrow, they didn't want to send me back to sector two for just the night." He said.

Vanessa nodded at him, "Good. I'll see you first thing in the morning." She said to him.

He smiled at her and turned to leave the room. "Hey Andrew" Vanessa said to him.

He
turned back around, "Yes Miss Wilson?" He asked.

"If you are staying upstairs be sure to ask for a burger for dinner. They are the best around" she said, giving him a small wink.

He smiled a big toothy smile for the first time since I had met him, his face lighting up in the process.

I turned and looked back at Vanessa, "What was that about?" I asked her.

She shook her head, "Oh nothing, just giving a tip" she said.

I nodded, "Okay. Look I really need to get home" I said, hoping to avoid an
y awkwardness.

Stacey smiled, "Randi. I'm really sorry about before. I shouldn't have done that. You were just being so sweet and you felt so good hugging me, I just couldn't help myself." She said.

I smiled, "That's okay V. Don't worry about it, I understand completely. Still friends?" I asked.

Vanessa smiled and nodded, looking sad and unsure of
herself for the first time since I had known her. I turned and practically ran out of the room, anxious to get home and see if Brandon was back.

Chapter Twenty

I took a deep breath as I opened the front door of my house on this new planet and held it as I entered, looking around for signs of Brandon.

I looked over and saw Flora in the living room, reading a book. She looked up as I walked into the
house and smiled at me. I looked around and she nodded and pointed to the ceiling before going back to her book.

I felt my stomach flop as I realized she had just told me without a word that he was home and he was upstairs. I turned and ran up the stairs,
taking some two at a time in my hurry to get to the top.

I burst in his room and saw his bag lying open on his bed, but not a sight of Brandon. I stopped in the middle of the room and turned in a slow circle, trying to figure out where he could be. It was
then I finally heard over the beating of my own heart that the water was running in the shower. I walked over to the bathroom door and tried to slowly turn the handle, cursing when it was locked.

I ran out into the hallway and tried the door there, and ne
arly screamed when it was also locked. I then ran into the last place I could get to him, my own bedroom. I took a deep breath as I shut and locked my door behind me and walked up to the last door to the bathroom. I slowly turned the knob and almost cried out when it opened.

I walked into the shower and quietly shut the door behind me, making sure to lock it. "Randi, is that you?" Brandon said from the shower. I nearly laughed as I realized even though I had tried very hard to be as quiet as I could, he st
ill noticed my presence in the room.

"Yes" I said, as I pulled the curtain back slightly and stepped into the shower.

"What are you doing? Your clothes are getting all wet" Brandon said, turning toward me in the shower, completely naked and wet.

I felt my
heart pounding as I pulled him toward me, my hands sliding over his slick skin, "I had to see you" I said.

"What are you doing? We aren't supposed to be doing this
remember?" he asked.

"I don't care. I can't take another day without you touching me" I said
, running my hands through his wet hair.

"Randi" he said lightly against my ear.

"I made sure all of the doors are locked and I'm home early, nobody will need to know anything" I said.

He looked at me for a few seconds before pulling at my wet clothes, str
uggling to get them off of me as they clung to my now wet skin.

I helped him the best I could until I was finally naked, all of my wet clothes now lying in heaps on the floor just outside of the shower.

"It has been killing me. Staying away from you" Brandon said.

I nodded, "I know. Take me now, please" I said, pulling myself up his body by holding onto his neck.

He answered by grunting and grabbing my ass in his hands, quickly slamming himself into me. I screamed lightly, trying as hard as I could to keep my voice down. Brandon turned me around and pushed me up against the cold tile, adjusting the water with one hand to make the warm stream fall onto our bodies simultaneously. I held on for dear life as Brandon pounded me relentlessly, his face buried in my neck.

Brandon was still going when the water finally turned cold, forcing us to finally separate. "What doors did you lock?" he
asked, his voice hoarse.

"I looked all of the bathroom doors and my bedroom door" I answered, already craving his touch again.

"Your window?" he asked.

"Closed tight" I said, thankful that I had closed the curtains and blinds earlier that day.

He grunted his approval and picked me up as though I was his bride and unlocking the bathroom door, carried me straight to my bed. The fact that we were both wet had no bearing, and I honestly did not care that I would need to change the sheets afterward.

He laid me down gently on the bed, taking his time to slowly kiss my neck, making me shiver in anticipation.

"I need you, please" I pleaded with him once again.

He looked up into my eyes and smiled at me, "Don't worry, you will have me" he said, kissing his way down my body.

I looked up as his head disappeared between my legs, his hands pushing them apart further. "What you are doing?" I asked.

He looked up at me, "What do you think?" he asked, his head lowering down once again.

I gasped as his mouth made contact with the most sensitive part of my body. I hadn't had anyone do this to me in years and I gripped the sheets around me, enjoying the pure pleasure I was receiving.

***

I turned and watched as Brandon slept next to me, his hands resting on my chest the way he always slept on the ship, when we had regularly slept together. It was that moment that I realized that I hadn't slept very well since we had landed on this planet. After months of having him next to me, I found it was hard sleeping alone.

I felt him move and looked over at him to see if he was waking up. I smiled as I saw him slowly turn his head and
get comfortable again, still sound asleep. I sighed as I realized I would soon have to get out of this bed and head into work. So much of me wished that we were back on that ship with just each other and we could spend our day looking out of a window again.

I knew though that Brandon would want to finish this mission, and I was prepared to do what I had to do to finish it. I looked back down at him and pushed a lock of hair out of his face. His hair had gotten longer than I had ever seen him keep it before
and I decided that I liked it, it gave him a rough look that was pretty sexy. I felt my heart swell as I looked down at him sleeping and wondered what he was dreaming about.

I pictured the look he had on that day he first walked up to me with the heat in h
is eyes I had been wishing for since I realized he was a boy, someone to be attracted to. I felt my eyes start to burn as I thought about what would have happened had one of us not come on this mission, and if we were to be separated for such a long period of time. Would he be with someone else? Would I?

I shook my head, trying to get these thoughts out, knowing that it did no good to think about what could have happened, because it was not a possibility anymore. I couldn't let the thought of another woman
touching him ruin the mission for me, because if I thought about it too much I knew it would drive me crazy.

I looked over at the clock next to my bed and sighed, I had to get up and get ready for work. I slid out of bed slowly, making sure that I didn't
wake him up. Once I finally slithered my way out I looked down at him sleeping so peacefully and I realized something. I was not just infatuated with him, I was in love with him. More than I even thought was possible to love someone, and just the thought of him knowing that information scared to me to death.

I leaned down and kissed him lightly on the forehead and feeling like I was about to burst if I didn't say it out loud at least once I whispered lightly, "I love you."

I then turn around and ran to the bathroom, grabbing random clothes as I did, not that it even mattered as they all looked the same anyway.             

I quickly dressed and as I started brushing my teeth, Brandon walked in the bathroom and smiled, "You sneaked out on me. I have to go in today too re
member? I am going to be taking some people to sector six. Give me a minute and we can leave together" he said, walking into his bedroom.

My eyes drifted down as he walked away from me and I had to resist the urge to follow him into his bedroom as I saw h
is perfect naked ass walking away from me. I finished brushing my teeth and walked back into my room, looking at myself in the mirror and tried to give myself a pep talk.

"He didn't hear you, just chill out and act like nothing happened." I said to my refl
ection.

I grabbed my badge for work and clipped it to the belt loop of my pants when I heard the sink come on in the bathroom and walked over to see if Brandon was almost finished. I looked in and was surprised to see that he was already fully dressed and
brushing his teeth with one hand as he quickly fixed his hair with the other. I watched as he rinsed his mouth and gave his reflection one last look before he turned to me and smiled.

My mouth went dry for a second as he took my breath away, "Are you ready
?" I managed to squeak out.

He nodded, "Yep. Let's go." He said, turning to walk out of the bathroom door.

I followed him out of the house and we started to walk quietly next to each other down the deserted street.

"Do you know how many people are going to
be taken over to sector six today? They didn't give me a number when I called in yesterday" Brandon said, looking up at the sky as the sun made pink streaks in the sky.

"As far as I know there are three. There is still one last kid waiting for his results
today, so it could be four" I said.

Brandon nodded, "That seems like a lot, did Vanessa say whether or not that was normal?" he asked me.

I shrugged, "I think it's normal. They test about fifty or so people at once and only three or four doesn't seem so bad" I said.

"Why do they test so many people at once?" he asked.

"Oh well, they only test twice a year. The rest of the time is spent matching people that have already been tested" I said.

"This is all so weird. It's almost like this planet is run like something you would read in a novel, you know?" he said.

I smiled, "Yes I thought the same thing. I keep thinking that I'll wake up and be home and this was all a dream. It just seems so surreal" I said.

Brandon laughed, "Yeah, it is. So what kind of people are we taking today?" he asked, changing the subject back to the mission.

I cleared my throat, "Well, there are two boys about fourteen years old that are going. One of them will probably be pretty bummed because he has a twin that passed the test and lives in sector three while he waits to get matched. There is one girl that is sixteen and she is actually really excited. She was dating this guy before that was sent to sector six last year and she is excited to see him again."

"Yeah, I think I would want to be sent there" he said, grabbing a leaf from a tree in his hands as we walked past.

"Why is that?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know, can you imagine having
to be with someone that you didn't want to be with? Sector six is completely different than this place. It was almost like being back home" he said.

I looked over at him, "Oh really?
In what ways?" I asked, curious as to what he had seen there. We hadn't exactly had the chance to do much talking the night before.

"Well, people still have their jobs and things to do, but it's like they are free. The government doesn't really pay any attention to them and they are free to be with whomever they want. There ar
e so many more people there that are just simply happy." He said.

I sighed, "I miss home." I said, before I could even think.

Brandon laughed, "Me too. I miss work, and my family, and the bar" he said.

"Yeah, I miss Stacey. I hope her and Vickie are doing
well together. I made sure she didn't have to worry about rent or anything so hopefully they are just enjoying their time together." I said, thinking about my roommate and wondering what she was doing at that moment.

"Well, this is where we go different wa
ys Randi. Come here and give me a hug. Siblings can still hug right?" He asked, a hint of sarcasm dripping in his voice.

I laughed, "I think it'll be okay" I said, walking over to him and letting him hold me for a few seconds.

"Don't worry Randi. Time will fly by and we will be back with Stacey before you know it" he said.

I smiled as I looked up at him, "I'm holding you to that" I said as he released me.

He laughed, "I'll hold you to something" he said, turning toward the road that would take him to his job.

"I'll see you later right?" I asked him.

He turned back to me and smiled, "Yes, I will be in your building in a couple of hours. See you soon" he said, turning back around.

I turned back to my own road and hurried to work, wondering what the day would b
ring.