Below Zero (The STEMinist Novellas, #3)

by Ali Hazelwood

I like listening to his low, even voice. I like that he seems to consider every single thing I say and never dismisses anything outright. I like that when he’s thinking hard, he closes his eyes, and his lashes are crimson half-moons against his skin.

One might think that the North Pole has nothing to do with space, but because of all the volcanic activity and glaciers it’s actually the place on Earth most similar to Mars.

So, I graduate, and I decide that I want to work at NASA and not for some weirdo billionaire who treats space exploration like it’s his own homemade penis-enlargement remedy.”

My body does its job as a means to an end. It manages to let me kayak around California lakes without muscle aches the following day, and it digests lactose like it’s an Olympic discipline. That’s all that matters.

I’m not sure how to articulate it, that my experience is that men who have been rejected by women can often be scary in a million different ways.

Being here with Ian is more like hearing a song I’ve listened to millions of times, this time with a new arrangement.