I was just so tired of saying no all the time. He never gave up. He was always pushing on me from every direction. He never gave me a break. He never let me relax. I was always on edge around him and finally, with everything else going on, something had to give.

I had always been determined to hold out forever. I knew it was a game for him. I knew he wasn't serious. I knew he just wanted to win. Well, it looked like he had because I was just a breath away from finally saying 'yes'.

Life here on RR641X was coming to a close. The moons were set to collide and knock the planet off its axis, which would plunge half of the hospitable planet into darkness and a perpetual deep freeze. Our lives here on "The Rock", as it was affectionately called by everyone who lived here, were over. The settlements were not designed to withstand a continuous deep-freeze.

Everyone was told to evacuate. We were given the order months ago. And Mine Tech, who had built the colony here and had settled us all here, was going to re-settle us on other developed planets if we wanted to go. The question was, did I want to go with Mine Tech or was I going to throw my lot in with him, Cast?

Cast had been hounding me to join him and his demolition crew since the moment I first arrived on this planet 7 years ago. Actually, he'd been hounding me for a lot more than just a place on his ship since the first day I came to "The Rock".

That first day, as I disembarked from the Mine Tech ship, I lost my footing on a greasy foot railing and literally fell into his waiting arms. He caught me and swung me around like I was some prize he'd won. Me falling into his arms was purely accidental but he grinned devilishly at me that day and called it kismet. That was just before he embarrassed me in front of a docking station full of strangers by kissing me hard and fast on the lips in front of his crew and everyone disembarking from the ship I'd just arrived on.

His crew let out some 'whoops' and the newcomers all laughed good-naturedly. I was the only one who was so mortified by the whole encounter that I avoided Cast and his crew at all cost for the entirety of my first year on the planet.

Seven years later and Cast was still chasing after me. Even now, on the day of departure, he was standing at the door to my cell - just a 12x12 foot space I called home - waiting for me to give him an answer. I wish I knew if he was serious? I wish I knew if this wasn't all just a long-running joke to him and his crew. I couldn't stand to find out it was. I'd be crushed and humiliated too.

Cast was a large man and took up the entire doorway of my little cell. In fact, he had to bend down and turn a little to the right or to left if he wanted in. But, today, he just stood in the open doorway, leaning on the door frame and looking in at my few packed belongings.

I could either head to the Mine Tech loading dock or I could drag my gear and belongings over to Cast's ZzTX-23 Demolition Bus, which was a space-worthy vessel of enormous proportions given the line of work that monster of a ship was in.

Honestly, part of me couldn't believe that Cast was still waiting for me - waiting for me to make up my mind. Waiting for me to say yes. I couldn't believe it had come down to this - him or a new life on some strange planet that might end up in the same boat as this one in 7 years.

I had no roots. I thought, foolishly, that "The Rock" would have been my last and final home. I thought I might make a life for myself here. Only, I never did manage to make anything of it in these past 7 years. What were the chances I'd ever make a life for myself anywhere else?

I was torn, defeated and ready to cry. Should I throw my lot in with Cast and his crew? The last thing I wanted to be was some conquest of Casts but he and his crew were the closest thing I had to something like a family out here on the frontier. Conquest or not, I might be able to find some roots on the ZzTX-23.

In the middle of my agonizing turmoil I heard Cast's familiar voice ask, "What's it going to be Tully?" His voice was surprisingly gentle and very soft in that moment. I closed my eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. What was it going to be?

I sat down on a crate, with my back still to the door, and ran my hands up and down my tired face. How could I be wavering still? Why couldn't I just say no? Hadn't I been saying no all along? And why couldn't I just say yes to a new move and a new planet? What was holding me back? I let my fingers sink into my hairline, grabbed that thick mess and gave it a tug. Pulling my hair out wouldn't help me make up my mind but the pain did distract me for a few seconds.

The next time I heard his voice he was right behind me. "Come on Tully. What's it going to be?"

Still the same question. Why couldn't he make up my mind for me? Why couldn't he just drag me off by force and that would be the end of it. Why did I have to say yes or no?

I felt his hands on my shoulders. They were large, heavy and warm. I found the pressure strangely comforting. "Time is running out Tully," he whispered in my ear. He was just speaking the truth but my heart constricted nonetheless and I found it hard to breath. What did I want to do?

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back toward his chest and part of me wanted to struggled out of his grasp while another part of me didn't want him to let me go. What if I couldn't make up my mind? Would he just leave me? Would he just get up and walk away? Would he just wash his hands of me and laugh and say it was nice knowing me? And why did the thought of never seeing this jerk, ever again, weigh on my heart like a moon - heavy and suffocating?

I felt his lips brush my hair not once, not twice but repeatedly until he'd turned me in his arms and was kissing me as if he might never get the chance again.

I stared wide-eyed at him at first. I was shocked. I always thought he was teasing me. I'd never really thought he was serious about me - about kismet. I'd always thought he was one of those hopeless flirts that women would be a fool to love because he'd end up breaking their hearts.

His lips were warm and soft and urgent.

I touched his face and he stopped long enough to look into my eyes. I'd never seen him look desperate. He looked desperate now. He looked at me like everything was hanging in the balance. He lowered his lips and spoke my name before kissing me again. This time his kiss was sweet and agonizing at the same time.

I didn't want to respond but I did. I didn't want to be the woman who fell for him but I was falling. Or, maybe I already had. I slipped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer so that I could kiss him the same way he was kissing me - deeply and with all the passion I had.

He broke the kiss after another minute and held my face in his hands. His eyes were searching mine. He was begging me, with those eyes, to say 'yes'.

I closed mine and laughed lightly. "You can't expect me to say no after you kiss me like that, can you?" I asked him.

He didn't respond. I opened my eyes to see he'd gone dead serious. He wasn't playing around. He hadn't kissed me to seduce me into saying yes. I could see it. I blushed and blinked rapidly when I felt the sting of tears at the back of my eyes. This giant brute of a man wanted me. He'd wanted me since the first day he'd laid eyes on me - since the moment I landed in his arms unexpectedly. And now, he was on the verge of losing me. It was written all over his face. I don't know how I'd never seen it before?

I tried to hug him. I tried to hide my face from him but he shook me and kept his hands on my face so that I had to stare at him. I had to address him.

"What's your decision Tully?" He asked again, softly.

I blinked a few more times but the tears came anyway. Hot and salty they fell through my lashes and over his fingers. He didn't budge. He didn't look elsewhere. He kept his eyes on me - expectantly.

"You," I breathed out with a trembling voice. It trembled with emotions I didn't even know I possessed for him until that moment. "I choose you," I repeated just in case I wasn't clear.

I watched him. He seemed surprised. I might even say he appeared stunned. For the longest moment he didn't say a word at all. I half expected him to give me a cocky grin and tell me he'd always known I'd cave. But, when he did finally make a move, it wasn't to congratulate himself or belittle me. No, instead, he pulled me into the tightest, most intimate hug he'd ever pulled off and he let out a weepy sort of laugh. The laugh turned into a muffled sob and as soon as it registered in my mind my heart twisted and sank in my chest.

I'd been a fool all these years. I'd been a terrible fool. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as he buried his face in the crook of my neck. I pulled him as tight to me as I could and I began to kiss his head. When he recovered and looked back at me, I wasted no time kissing every inch of his weathered but handsome face. He didn't protest. He didn't mock me. He simply waited until our lips met again.

(1825)