Morning came and Eliza had a single message from Donovan: We will talk about this later. For now, enjoy your free time.

Her lips twitched. She knew the minute she accepted the bounty on Mae that Donovan would have a mouthful to say but she also knew he’d be kind. He wouldn’t ever be her dad, but he came close and she was like his daughter. She loved him more than she could physically show him. Eliza sent a short thank you before rolling out of bed to get dressed for the day.

Forty-five minutes later, Eliza stepped out of her room in black skinny jeans and a worn-out NASA hoodie. She felt her mood rise minimally with Ares nowhere in sight. There weren’t any sounds coming from his room, so she hoped he was still asleep. Maybe the universe was finally smiling down on her that day.

“Morning.”

Her shoulders slumped as she looked at Ares coming from his hangar. His stupid smile was on his grease-marked face. His white shirt was no longer white, and his blue jeans had several matching stains on them, too. Eliza frowned at him. His smile brightened.

“Repairs?”

“And an upgrade,” he said, walking into the kitchen.

Eliza nodded. She was intrigued, but the unspoken issues from the day before lingered in the forefront of her mind. Talking meant there was a higher chance of revealing something she held close to her heart. Ares didn’t have that privilege.

“I’m going to Earth today,” Ares said. He turned to look at her surprised face. “A visit has been long overdue.”

“All right.”

“I want you to come with me.”

“I’d rather stay here. I have work to do. Mac might need me today,” she said, shoving her hands in her hoodie pocket.

His smile was still in place. “I know he gave you time off. He sent me the same message and told me to take you somewhere. He said you need some time away, so I’m bringing you with me to Earth.”

It was tempting. She missed Earth. It’d been years since she saw the blue of the water, the green of the land. She’d love to see home again but going with the one person she didn’t want to speak to was not the way she wanted to see the planet. But she could take the time to visit her parents.

“I’ll go only if you take me somewhere.”

Ares’ eyes brightened, “Anywhere.”

She nodded, “Okay.”

“I’m going to shower.” He practically jogged to his room. Ares paused at his door and looked back at Eliza. “Oh, and pack for a few days. We’ll be there for a little bit.”

Eliza opened her mouth to protest, but he shut his door too fast. She grumbled. He knew he had to get her to agree before dropping a long trip on her and it was infuriating. Something told her Mac was involved, which made her angrier. Eliza immediately sent Mac a nasty message about him and Ares working together. He only sent back a smiley face. Mac Donovan made his way toward the top of her shit list, right under Ares Matthews.

Ares helped Eliza into his starship despite her protests. He almost helped her buckle in, but the look on her face told him he shouldn’t push his luck anymore. Instead, he smiled and climbed into the seat in front of hers. He wasn’t sure if she needed to know that his new upgrade was her seat. She’d probably cut him down while he slept. It’d be his little secret.

Eliza watched Ares press a few buttons and flip some switches to get his ship running. She loved her ship a lot, but the smoothness of his start-up alone made her a little jealous. It’d have to go on her mental list of ship improvements. She straightened up in her seat when Ares looked back at her with a grin.

“Ready?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Of course, you do, just not today.” And with that, they sped out of the hangar.

It was difficult to keep her awe of his ship inward while they sped through the city and out of the atmosphere. They were so fast. She’d never seen a ship maneuver so well either. Anytime they flew together, he always kept pace with her, but he could have outflown her the whole time. Jealousy bubbled up in her chest. Her upgrade list got much longer.

Ares merged easily in line with other ships heading toward the teleporter that Mars held in its orbit. It was small from their location. Eliza hardly remembered how big the teleporters were when she left Earth years ago. She was just a kid the first time she came across it and it was the largest man-made object at the time. She didn’t expect it to be so big after living in the city for so long. The skyscrapers in Olympus City were enormous to house the several billion Earth-dwellers that made the planetary move. She was surprised by the sight of the teleporter. It gave Olympus City skyscrapers a run for its money.

Ares slowed his ship once the teleporter had a hold of it. He lifted his hand to the man sitting in a large enclosed building attached to the contraption.

“Nice seeing you, Matthews,” the man said over the audio system in Ares’ ship.

“Same to you, Hill.”

“You got a permit?” Hill asked.

Ares typed on the screen near his steering module and sent it over. He patiently waited for his buddy to read over it, peeking back at Eliza curiously. Her intense gaze was on the man looking over their permit. Ares smiled and looked back at Hill.

“It checks out. You’re good to go, Ares. Tell the Mrs. I said hello.”

“Of course, Rob. See you later.”

Eliza was curious what the man meant but didn’t get much time to mull it over once the ship started moving again.

They were shot into a vortex of colors. Eliza was amazed to see the array dancing around them. She decided at that moment she needed to travel between the planets more often just to see such a sight whenever she wanted. It was beautiful, though not as beautiful as the blue and green planet that met them on the other side. She wished she wasn’t stuck in a seat as she looked at it.

White swirling clouds obscured a portion of the land and sea, but it was still as beautiful as ever. Even the moon with its missing chunk matched the beauty of Earth. She couldn’t believe she was back. It made her heart race.

Once again, Ares was stopped right after they passed through to prove his permission to travel, but then they were back in motion toward the ball of blue and green.

“It’s going to be a bit bumpy once we enter the atmosphere,” Ares said. “And the fire at the front of the ship is normal.”

Eliza rolled her eyes, “I know how Earth works. I’m not an idiot. I used to live here once.”

He smiled again, “I know.”

When the flames engulfed the nose of the ship, Eliza’s eyes lit up just the same. Mars was where her life was, but the further they dove into Earth’s atmosphere, the more she wanted to be there. She almost wanted to leave Mac and Lauren just to experience what Earth had to offer. As the flames died down, her desire did, too. One day she’d come back to Earth permanently, but it wasn’t time for that.

“So, where is it you wanted to go?” Ares interrupted her thoughts when they leveled out in the troposphere.

“I need a store first.”

“Any particular one?”

“One with flowers.”

“Yes, ma’am.”