Boundaries of Love: Stephen and Talia's Universe Quest

"Well, I can say I've never been on a trip like this before," the young man said from his seat across the table. He and his new acquaintance had just disembarked their hovercraft, and were waiting for the next shuttle that would take them to the observation deck of the Martian monolith. In front of them was a small cafe, where they sat sipping drinks and looking out at the majestic structure in front of them.

"Me neither," replied Talia with a slight smile as she took another sip from her glass. "But you have to admit it's pretty cool!"

Stephen laughed and nodded, then looked around at all the other people lining up in front of the shuttle platforms. "I don't think your average earthling would be too thrilled to hear you say that."

"Earthlings?" Talia quirked an eyebrow. "That's a bit racist of you, don't you think?"

"Not exactly," Stephen replied. "What I mean is... not everyone is going to enjoy this place or seeing what we're about to see."

Talia was intrigued by his statement. She hadn't thought of it in that way before, but he did make sense. As she took another sip from her cup, she considered what he had just said. "Yeah... maybe you're right."

"So what brings you here? Why do you want to look at Mars so badly?" Stephen asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back into his chair. His long blond hair was tied into a ponytail, which hung over one shoulder of his black jacket and down past his waistline. Talia was impressed by how good-looking he appeared; even with his short beard and long hair, he looked clean-cut and very handsome in her eyes. His green eyes sparkled as he waited for her reply, which made him seem all the more charming to her as she stared back at him across the table.

"Well..." she began slowly, not entirely sure how to answer that question without sounding like a weirdo. "I guess I'm curious about it because I think life is hard to find anywhere else in the universe."

"Why do you think that?" Stephen asked curiously.

"Because life needs water to exist," she said simply, then continued: "And there's no water on any other planet besides Earth." She smiled brightly as if waiting for him to agree with her theory. Yet Stephen simply stared back at her with a blank expression on his face. After a few moments of silence passed between them, Talia became slightly embarrassed by her statement, suddenly feeling like a dork for bringing up such a trivial subject matter in front of someone who seemed like he knew what he was talking about when it came to space travel and science in general. She suddenly felt stupid for thinking that they could be friends; it seemed obvious now that they were worlds apart when it came to their interests and knowledge on certain subjects. And yet... despite having nothing in common with this guy sitting across from her, she couldn't help but feel drawn toward him and fascinated by everything he had to say about Mars - even if much of it went over her head! While she didn't really understand most of what he was saying about space travel and physics and astronomy... just hearing him speak was enough for her; just seeing him talk excitedly about something that made him passionate was enough for her! It wasn't hard for her not to fall for him after spending years researching about ancient history and cultures for work purposes alone; she found herself drawn toward anyone who shared similar interests with her! But there was something more than that behind what she was feeling; there was something deeper in those feelings that were developing inside of her! There was something different about this guy named Stephen! There was something special about him that set him apart from other men she had met before! She wasn't quite sure what it was - but whatever it was... there was no denying it! There was no ignoring it either! And yet... why did she feel so shy around him? Why did she feel so nervous? Why did she feel so anxious about meeting someone new? This wasn't like anything else she'd ever experienced before... this certainly wasn't normal behavior for her! But then again... nothing felt quite normal anymore since meeting Stephen! Everything had changed in such little time... everything felt like a whirlwind right now! She had never felt this way before! And yet all those thoughts disappeared from her mind when he finally spoke up again after several moments of silence passed between them while they both sipped their drinks quietly: