The NASA tour went through the building, following a tour guide. She informed the group on facts and exhibits. The building was noisy, and filled with people on this Friday in early summer. I had come all the way from Chicago, to get away from my boring job and lonely apartment.
I was hanging towards the back of the group, looking around at other interesting objects. Speaking of interesting objects, I noticed a man drinking coffee by the window. He was looking at his coffee after having taken a sip, when he looked up and saw me. He smiled, and I gave him a small and friendly wave, hopefully not blushing. He was handsome, and definitely my type. Thankfully we were the same age, too. He was wearing a very teacher friendly outfit.
He waved back.
I didn't know that man was the famous Mark Watney.
Not until I was guided to the Hermes ship, which was where Mark Watney introduced himself and told the most interesting parts of the Hermes mission.
"Welcome to the most exciting part of the tour. Now pay attention, because this could save your life. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."
I noticed right away he had a sense of humor, with the way he easily answered many questions. Humor could definitely charm me. Various people asked questions about potatoes.
I didn't see Mark in person until after the tour was over, which took about an hour. Obviously I was going to look around some more in detail at the Mars exhibit. I was reading a sign about Mark Watney on his journey to Mars when someone startled me out of my attention.
"Hey there." a masculine voice spoke from behind me. It was friendly and familiar.
I turned around and there was Mark Watney. His coffee wasn't accompanying him, and his tour-guide persona was gone.
"Hey." I replied casually, getting over my startled nerves with a small smile.
"Let me get a few things out of the way right off the bat. You didn't get the crowd to jump on me the first time you saw me. And… I like you."
I looked down, wanting to laugh, but wasn't sure that was the best thing to do. I felt very self conscious in my jeans and blue baseball t-shirt.
"I don't know what to say, Mark. I just—."
"That's okay. You don't need to make an apology." he chuckled casually, "I'm Mark Watney by the way."
"Of course you are. It's an honor to meet you in person."
We shook hands.
We sat down at the bench in the middle of the floor together, side by side as if we were friends.
"Can I ask why you came here?" he asked.
I nodded. "Sure. I'm on vacation, and I love stargazing."
He laughed, but it was nice, and he wasn't making fun of me.
"Stargazer, huh." he nodded and looked down at his hands.
We were lost in thought for a while. A few people passed by, not noticing Mark Watney. Mostly because he turned to face me to avoid their attention.
"Would you want to watch the stars together sometime?" he asked.
I wasn't expecting that question of all things. We looked at each other. My heart beat faster. My vacation wasn't that long, I only was spending three more days here in Florida. This was moving really fast.
"You're asking me out?" my words felt unreal, and my mouth was dry as Mars.
I couldn't believe it. A date with the guy who went to Mars and survived. I realized how crazy stupid I would be if I said no. Despite being the fact I was clearly just completely ordinary, and hadn't stepped foot on Mars.
"Surprise!" he replied confidently, nodding.
I took a deep breath.
"Okay. You've got yourself a date."
Mark sighed with relief. Happiness sparkled in his eyes when he gazed at me. And I still couldn't believe that I had a date with Mark Watney.
"First I want to give you a personal tour of NASA, exclusively, with me as your tour guide."
"A tour with just us, how nice." I said.
As the first part of my date, he wanted to take me somewhere special. Nervously I followed him as he opened the door to the NASA facility. I definitely felt under dressed, to say the least. I had done nothing special with my hair, either.
"Let me show you around." he said, and I accompanied him to the various off-limit places. We held hands.
"Is this really a smart idea?" I asked warningly.
He shrugged. "Nobody explicitly gave me permission to do this, but NASA and I are on good terms so I don't think anyone will mind."
We weren't going to get in trouble, so that was reassuring.
It was an experience I'd never forget. Mark kept the tour going with light humor and interesting facts. No one gave Mark any trouble, until Theodore, the director of NASA spotted us while watching the security screens, which were apparently top secret.
As he approached, I said, "Houston, we have a problem."
Mark laughed but gave a warm smile to Theodore.
"Hi Mark. And what are you doing with this young lady here?" his tone of voice said 'get her out of here as soon as possible.'
"Hi Mr. Sanders. I'm her special tour guide. Don't worry."
He glanced at us nervously.
"We're on a date." I added matter-of-factly, and put my arm around Mark's.
"Well, enjoy it." he said coldly.
He smiled awkwardly and went away.
"That's the Director of NASA for you." Mark said sarcastically.
I couldn't help but giggle. Then he showed me around more exciting places at NASA, and not just in the building either.
Our last stop was to the gift shop, where we looked around at the various Martian themed merchandise. I already had the book and the movie, which I mentioned to Mark. He was charmed. I found a NASA shirt which I thought would be appropriate to have. I was about to pull out my wallet at the cash register when Mark offered to buy it for me.
"My gift to you." he said, and paid for it without giving me any chance to argue.
"Thank you, Mark. Though you really didn't have to." I said, still full of surprise. We exited the gift shop and were done with the tour. I was about to ask what we were going to do next when Mark answered my question.
"Hey, it's my pleasure. We're on a date, remember. Now what's your favorite place to go out to eat?"
***
Later that evening, we went to eat at a exquisite restaurant and chatted about space, and about meeting some of Mark's crew. I found I got along well with Mark. He avoided anything to do with potatoes on the menu. I decided to order steak, and Mark ordered lasagna. We shared pieces of our meal. Mark enjoyed himself to no extent.
"After years of Martian potatoes, Earth food tastes so much better." he commented, delighted by his bite of steak.
"Wait, you don't like disco music either?" Mark asked happily.
"You have gotta be kidding me. Of course not!" I chuckled.
And of course we got desert.
When that was over, and the sky grew dark blue, Mark walked me to the nearby park, which was empty of people. Only the fireflies glowed. The stars above were shining bright. Mark walked next to me and in one hand he held a blanket. He found a dark open spot in the park, and laid the blanket down.
He politely reached for my hand and helped me sit down gently. Then he sat down and looked up at the sky. There were few stars out, but they twinkled and beckoned more to follow. As the summer breeze whispered, Mark leaned back on the blanket. I did the same, but was careful to not be too close to him.
He began to talk about loneliness up on Mars. I understood him, despite never having been there.
"Who am I to talk about loneliness though?"
"I feel lonely on Earth, even though there are billions of people." I said.
Mark rolled over on his side to face me. He looked at me with a friendly gaze with beautiful eyes. He seemed more handsome than when I first met him. My heart beat faster.
"How?" he asked.
I just realized something.
"No one really understands me. But with you... I don't feel alone anymore." I added, with a half smile.
More stars appeared. Mark drew the constellations with his finger, even though I knew them all already, I found it romantic. He pointed out Mars, and his hand slowly fell down to Earth and slid into my hand. He probably didn't miss that planet. He leaned in closer to me. I gasped as a beautiful shooting star fell overhead and squeezed his hand tightly. As we watched the stars, we talked about life and our connection to the universe through cosmic dust. I was delighted to be able to talk about the deep stuff with Mark Watney.
***
Night had completely fallen over Florida. I wasn't sure of my plans for the night, or for the next day for that matter, now that I was spending time with Mark. Only, that I didn't want it to end, and neither did Mark.
We sat up when the temperature began to drop and it was getting harder to see. Unexpectedly, Mark hugged me. He was strong, and his arms felt safe. I hugged him in return. He almost didn't want to let go. When he did, he wiped tears away from his face. He was crying silently.
"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly, rubbing his shoulder.
"I might not ever see you again, and I don't want our time together to end—" he started, with tears in his voice. I understood. I didn't want our date to end either.
"Come stay at my hotel room tonight." I invited, risking the chance, and blushing.
He nodded, relieved. "Okay. I'd like that." he whispered and gave me a quick hug.
I arrived at my hotel room. We had taken separate cars to get there. Already I was fantasizing about what a night with Mark Watney would be like. It kind of scared me and my heart beat faster, but honestly I was a little excited too.
It was dark but he flicked on the lights but they were dimmed. It was nice and modern place, with space themed decor, with one bed. There were a few of my suitcases on the dresser.
He tossed his car keys on the dresser next to mine, and then came over to me. My heart was surprisingly calm now, and I felt light. Mark held my hand and looked into my eyes, his full of passion and not wanting to be alone - a feeling I knew all too well. I looked up at him and smiled. Knowing he had been to another planet for so long, made me ache. I knew we had a special connection, despite me only being on earth my entire life. Gently he put his arm around me and held me close. I nodded, giving him permission to steal a kiss.
"You're beautiful..." he complimented, making my heart flutter.
He cupped my face and kissed me tenderly and passionately. It was one that would make the very stars jealous. And of course there were more kisses, and each kiss after was out of this world.
Epilogue
The morning after, in bed, Mark just woke up. I was gazing at him while he was still sleeping, but pretended to be asleep once he woke. As I watched him with soft eyes I thought about last night. My arm was on top of his bare chest. Happy and warm summer sunlight filled the room. The windows were dotted with glimmering raindrops from last night's drizzle. He brushed his hands over my messy hair, to which made me smile and I opened my eyes to see his handsome face.
He smiled and asked, "I was thinking. Last night… was out of this world. Will you be my girlfriend?"
I kissed him deeply on the lips, with a blush as red as Mars covering my cheeks. And I wasn't ashamed. We both admitted the night before we didn't feel so alone with each other. Even though there would be complications with distance, his fame, and such, I wasn't thinking about that. If I was dating Mark Watney, we could make it work somehow. This man had survived living on Mars! ! In my heart, being with Mark Watney felt completely right. And for the first time in forever, I wasn't afraid to say it.
"Yes."
The End