Stars Dancing [Dreams-To-Lovers Romance]

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RORY

The freezer was full of stew. The proofs were done. I'd put away all the laundry, and the floors were clean. What was I missing? I turned over, fluffing my pillow again, trying to get comfortable. Sleep was not happening, but it wasn't really my to-do list that was the problem.

It was him. Or the lack of it. Six weeks. Long weeks. Lonely weeks. I was starting to wonder if it had all been a delusion. Or a twisted nightmare. A lover who'd come to me, seduced me, made me fall in love with him so deep I'd never want anyone else. Then: poof.

The last time I'd felt him had been an afternoon when I'd been snorkeling with friends on the coast during our midterm break. I did all my Uni work long distance, but I'd made friends through class projects on stream. And we'd gone on a long weekend to Terminus Oasis for a snorkeling holiday.

I'd been in the water, just floating and watching the gorgeous sea life beneath me when he'd wrapped around me. It wasn't his usual passion-ridden self, it was something much quieter. Just a hug.

A soft, "Miss me," then he'd vanished.

I'd thought it was sweet at the time.

Now I thought it cruel.

I turned over again, mashing my pillow. Wanting to pound it. Wondering if I was a fool. But still wishing I could reach out and touch him again. He was gone. On the mental plane, there was not a whiff of him. Was he dead?

My eyes welled. I made them stop.

Then I felt it. Relief. He surrounded me, and there was no stopping it. Everything in me rose up to meet him and grabbed on for dear life. I wanted to shake him. I wanted to scream at him.

But he was a wreck. I opened my arms and pulled his head against my chest as his whole being relaxed against me, taking the comfort I offered him.

I had ten million questions, but they needed to wait. He needed me to hold him, so I did. Minutes went by, and he grew soft, quiet, and only barely there. He didn't disappear, but his awareness faded. He was asleep.

So, he'd fallen asleep in my arms, but I was wide awake. Something was wrong. Something he didn't want me to know, but I was done with all the not knowing. It had been a year of me not knowing while he did, and I wanted no more of it. I didn't know how, but I was going to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

I got up and paced in my undies and cami, rubbing my anxious, sweaty forehead with rigid fingers, thinking about everything I'd learned about him over the past year.

His name? Slydar. His location? Not in Andromeda or Milky Way Galaxies. So, one of the other seven. His looks? Black skin, dreadlocks, sometimes a light beard. His voice? Deep like molasses. His hobbies? Skating, gaming, drumming. His job? Unknown. His family? Unknown, but he thought I should know.

Slydar thought I should know who he was. He found it amusing that I didn't. The impression he gave me was that he knew exactly who I was.

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So, I bet you're wondering why he hadn't boarded a starliner and come to Shurwinn to fuck me in real life?

Because there was something keeping him bound to his home world, and whatever that something was, it had a hold on him. He couldn't get away from it, and he didn't want me exposed to it. He was happy with things the way they were because it meant I wasn't close to whatever it was he didn't want me to see about his life.

I'd tried looking for the name "Slydar," of course. It mustn't be his legal name because it was in no database. It also wasn't in any discoverable stream page like gaming sites or usernames on threads. It was a cool name, but I couldn't find a man who belonged to it.

I was an exceptional telepath. My whole life, I'd had my dad, two uncles, and two aunties who were strong telepaths wrapped around my mind. And my mom and grandpas all practiced at being mentally open, even though they weren't great at telepathy. So, I knew what I was doing on the mental plane. But Slydar confounded me.

On purpose, of course. It was a game to him. Not out of meanness or immature toying with my feelings. It was something else. The Known Cosmos was a big place— 9 Galaxies worth of spheres with endless cultures and variations on how we did life.

This game I was playing with Slydar had always felt cultural. Playful teasing. "Come find me, lover. When you want me, you'll come begging" sort of banter.

Until he'd vanished. Obviously, it wasn't something he intended to do forever. He'd told me to miss him, then he'd ghosted me, but not because he didn't want to be with me. Because something was going on he didn't want me dragged into.

I had to decide: What was I going to do about Slydar? How far was I willing to go? Was I ready to throw down all my chips and dive into whatever depths I'd find him in?

I nodded. I was done waiting. He'd needed me tonight. Had probably needed me every night, and I was ready to be in it with him, whatever that meant.

There was someone far more powerful than me on the telepathic plane. She kept to herself mostly, but she'd been wrapped around my mind my whole life. My Auntie Cyn. She was nonverbal, and she was special, and she was the one I went to for help.

I opened my mental senses, and her warmth was there. She and Uncle Ronnie were on their starliner, the One Star, somewhere else in the galaxy, but to me, it was as though she was right there hugging me. She wanted to know what was wrong.

I let her feel what I felt for Slydar and my confusion about his situation.

Concern. Interest. Desire to help.

I let her feel my feelings, but it came out as a mental image. A white cord of light from my heart that crossed Andromeda Galaxy and went out across the Cosmos. Aunt Cyn understood this because she'd met my Uncle Ronnie on the mental plane, and it had taken her years to trust him.

The white cord turned into mist, unfocused, and dissipating, but Cyn wrapped her being around it.

Oh! Surprise from Cyn. She recognized it. Joy! Joy!

Rory— Slick and Muller's son! Their youngest!

I felt her focus. Confusion. Worry. Concern. Fear.

None of them are present. They are blocked off so tight. The only one I can sense is Slydar. Yes, that's his real name. It's a long story, Rory, and I'll tell you, but something is going on with the whole family. We haven't been in touch in years. Hold on.

I felt her awareness expand out, and Ronnie was there, but my uncle's mind was too much. Like dynamite in my face. Ronnie dimmed everything for me, like putting a blanket over explosives so his mind wasn't so bright and loud in mine, but when he did that, my awareness of him and Cyn dampened.

I waited. I could tell they were searching, looking, probing.

I paced around my room.

Rory? It was Uncle Ronnie. Slydar's mind is present, but quiet—

He's asleep, Uncle Ronnie.

That's what I surmised, but the rest of the family is so locked down I can only tell that they're alive, not where they are or anything else. Muller has always been similar to Cyn in that "I-keep-to-myself-and-so-should-you" way, but he was usually open to me if I did something funny to get his attention. I can't even get close enough to do that.

Rory, we need to go to Dliptonia to see them. It will take us 36 hours to pick you up. Can you get ready and meet us at the Transfer Station?

I'm packing my trunk now. Thanks. I love you.

Love you too, sweetheart. See you soon. And Rory, I know this sounds desperate, but I can tell you, I don't know how, but I know— I KNOW that this is going to work out. Whatever we are heading into, it's because we were meant to. Do you believe me?

I always do, Uncle.