contact.
“Is this one your favorite?”
“My brother’s,” he said quietly. I glanced up at him beside me and wondered what was going through his head. The twinkle from the elevator had vanished. In its place was a look I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“It’s a huge star. One of the largest stars known, and it gives off more light than anything else in our sky. They say it’s one hundred times bigger than our own sun.”
I didn’t say anything to that, just admired his knowledge on the unique picture.
“It’s highly unstable, though. They say it will be a super nova soon.”
“I’m not entirely sure I recall much of grade school science,” I said by way of explanation.
The hint of a smile tilted his lips up and in spite of my lacking knowledge on the subject, I smiled too.
“It will burn bright until it explodes violently, sending everything that it’s made up of into space.”
“Why will it explode?”
“It’s core. Something inside of it changes. Sometimes, if they are in a binary system, like that one,” he said, pointing to the other picture, “…the one star consumes matter given off by the other star. Dust, gas, all of the other star’s waste. It gets too big and it explodes. For a single star, like that one,” he said, motioning his large hand toward the orange and red nebula he had called Eta Carinae, “…it will run out of fuel, and so where there used to be fuel on the inside, there will be its own mass instead, all the dust and gas. It changes its core and it can’t survive. It eventually explodes.”
“Super nova,” I said quietly, nodding my head. “And this one? You said it was binary?”
His dark eyes moved from Eta Carinae to the other image that was beside it. “Yes. Twin Jet Nebula. It’s a bipolar nebula with a binary star system at its center. They’re brothers.”
“And will they be super novas too?”
“Eventually. One grows bigger than the other, basically causing the demise of its smaller brother.”
“Isn’t that how siblings work?” I joked, looking up at him.
“It would seem so, wouldn’t it?” He smiled tightly, but it was hard to miss the melancholy in his voice. I made a mental note to not mention siblings again. Clearly it was a sore subject and I knew better than most that sore subjects should be avoided, especially if they were centered on family.
“They’re both incredible.”
“Would you like another shot of Patrón or a cocktail, wine…” he rattled off, seemingly eager to change the subject.
“Patrón,” Matt chimed in. “It’s our favorite.”
“I noticed.”
“You did?”
“Yes. That’s what you ordered last week.”
“How’d you know?”
“I pulled the surveillance footage of you two at the bar.”
“Of course,” I said, realizing that he obviously owned the other club as well. “How many night clubs do you own?”
“Thirteen.”
“Wow.”
“If you two hookup…does it mean we will get free drinks at your clubs?” Matt asked, pausing to snap a selfie in front of the wall of glass providing a breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline.
The twinkle was back, and though it was at mostly my expense, I was thankful to Matt for having said something that would bring that charming twinkle back to Graham’s eye.
I looked up at Graham, and in spite of the flush of embarrassment on my cheeks, I smiled like an idiot.
Graham moved in closer to me, placing his huge hand at the small of my back. His fingers flexed against my skin as he ushered me toward a bar against the opposite wall from where we were standing.
I watched as he poured drinks for the three of us, noting that he filled a glass with ice water for himself.
No drinking on the job.
I had to admire his discipline. I imagined owning a club would make it difficult to not drink. I liked alcohol just as much as the next person. A night out with friends deserved a few drinks, but there was a fine line