Adam gulped, making his throat work against the lump there. It was an inspiring sight. He was lucky to be here, seeing it in person. And yet he couldn’t help the little pang that went through him as he stared.
He wished he had someone to share it with. Not Shannon, necessarily, because she wasn’t really into all the science stuff. But someone.
Jared clearly had no such reservations. “Well, what are we waiting for?”
Adam really, really didn’t know.
They took the downward slope a lot faster than they had the upward one. At the gates, they had to stop and sign in. Adam checked his watch and saw they had a little time to kill. He pointed at a path to the right. “Wanna take the long way around?”
“Sure.”
As they walked, he kept track of the places they were passing, cross-referencing them with the campus map he’d grabbed at the guard station. Cafeteria, guest rooms for visiting scientists, maintenance building. A series of stairs leading up to more on-site housing and research facilities.
The path eventually looped back around, depositing them near the main building where they’d been heading. Ahead, a few girls were walking along, talking amongst themselves. They were all about Adam’s age—probably part of the same program. Beside Adam, Jared whistled.
Adam’s breath hitched a little, too. The girls were dressed in shorts and skirts and lacy tanks, and there was no denying the quality of the view. It didn’t quite get his blood boiling, though, not the way—
And then he saw her. She was taking up the rear, a good five feet separating her from the rest of them. The front locks of her hair shone even more brightly blue in the sunlight, and unlike the rest of them, all involved in conversation, she was clearly taking in her surroundings, gaze piercing. Like she was missing nothing.
Not even him, he realized, as she jerked her head forward, looking away from where he stood.
It was a splash of cold water, pulling him from wherever his mind had been wandering to. Grinding his teeth together, he forced his gaze elsewhere, too, because he wasn’t a sucker. She’d been unpleasant and callous, and she was one of only four people he’d even met here so far, and she didn’t want to look at him.
What the hell was he doing here?
Apparently, following Jared, for the moment. The guy had moved to meet the girls, and Adam took a couple of quick jogging steps to keep up, swearing under his breath as he did.
“I thought this was a Research Experience for Undergraduates program,” Jared whisper-yelled. “Not a modeling convention.”
A couple of the girls ahead giggled and slowed, but the crazy one glowered, continuing to stalk forward and past the rest of them when they paused to wait for Jared and Adam.
Jared leaned in closer and whispered, “That the one you were talking about before? The one that ‘made an impression’?”
“What gave her away?” Adam asked drily.
Jared shook his head, then turned on a hell of a smile as he spread his arms in welcome to the ladies. “Well, hello, hello.”
“Hi, there,” a pretty redhead said, insinuating herself at the head of the pack. Her gaze was just as openly appreciative as Jared’s had been. “You guys here to do science, or did you get lost on your way to a surfing competition?”
“Touché,” Jared said, and oh wow. Those two were going to be trouble.
Rolling his eyes, Adam stepped forward. “Hey. I’m Adam.”
The redhead smirked. “Kim.”
“Jared.” Jared held out his hand, and if Adam had believed in such a thing, he would have said he actually saw sparks fly as Kim reached forward and accepted it.
A blonde cleared her throat and stepped around them. “Carol.”
“Nice to meet you,” Adam said.
Adam smiled at each of them as they introduced themselves, reciting all the names over and over in his head, but without a whole lot of hope. Remembering names had never been his strong suit.
“Shall we?” Jared asked, extending a hand toward the door.
They filed in one after another, and as the last of them slipped through, Tom caught up with them, which prompted a whole new round of introductions, which at least was a chance to hear all the names again. All of them but one.
As they wound their way through the hall, he ended up next to the girl he was pretty sure had said her name was Anna. “Hey,” he said, tipping his head. “That other girl who was with you before. What was her name?”
“Jo? I think?”
“Jo.” A man’s name on a hard-as-nails girl’s body. Fitting.
The girl in question was already sitting in the middle of the rows of chairs set up in the library by the time the rest of them filtered in. A bunch of other people were milling around the edges of the room, all of them older and casually dressed, but no one else had sat down yet, leaving that one lone seated figure looking all the more isolated. For just a second, she looked up, and her sharp, dark eyes seemed to bore straight into Adam’s.
He was the one to look away first this time.
There was a little bit of chitchat and some snacks, but before long, an older woman in a light purple dress called everyone to attention and invited them to find a seat. Adam ended up in a corner toward the back, next to Jared and Tom, with a good vantage point to see not just the lectern but also the rest of the people looking on.
The same woman moved to stand before them all, clasping her hands in front of her as she raised her voice above the chatter to say, “Good afternoon.” Once everyone quieted down, she smiled. “It’s so wonderful to have all of you here. Welcome to Arecibo Observatory. As you may or may not know, my name is P.J. Galloway.”
Huh. So this was the person he’d been e-mailing with for the past few months. She wasn’t quite what he’d been expecting, but then again, he hadn’t exactly had a lot to go on. While the rest of the staff scientists had photographs of themselves on the place’s website, P.J. Galloway was represented by a cartoon picture of a turtle looking through a telescope.
Then again, as he squinted, he supposed he could see the resemblance.
“While you’re here,” she continued, “you’ll be working with some of the premier astronomers active in the field today. Many of you will be performing direct observations using the telescope, and all of you will have a chance to get to know the ins and outs of our facility. But that’s not all. We also hope you’ll form lifelong friendships with your peers, and we’re looking forward to introducing you to this magical island we call our home.
“Most weekends, we’ll head out to explore a different part of the island, including some of our beautiful beaches and the only national park that is also a tropical rain forest. While the trips are not mandatory, they are highly encouraged.” She gave them all a knowing smile. “It’s going to be a busy summer, and a productive one, but we hope it’s one you’ll remember for the rest of your lives.”
With that, she introduced one of the staff scientists, who stepped forward and asked for the lights to be lowered, then launched into a PowerPoint presentation, reviewing the history of the lab and the summer research program. Most of it was stuff Adam already knew, but hearing it like this made it feel real in a way it hadn’t before. It also brought back that pang, because this was all so cool, and he was going to be itching to tell someone about it later on.
The lights came up once the guy was done, and P.J. took the floor again. “Now, I know you’re all excited to meet the people you’ll be working with, so we’ll go through some quick introductions. Then you’ll have an hour or so to talk to your advisors before you’re all invited to meet in the cafeteria for dinner.”