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Pidge felt a cold trickle of perspiration sliding down her back as she approached the entrance to the most popular nightclub in this little corner of the galaxy, a posh establishment known as The Event Horizon. She clutched her sparkly handbag a little tighter and wondered if she should go inside. She checked her watch. She was still too early. Why was she foolish enough to agree to this? Pidge sighed and began pacing back and forth in the high heels she was still very unaccustomed to wearing. Hunk had been the one who talked her into this madness. He had been very persuasive, having gone on and on about how vulnerable Lance was.
“He hasn’t dated anyone since...” Allura’s name went unspoken. “...you know.”
“I know,” she replied to Hunk. “But aren’t you normally his wingman?”
“Yeah, of course! I’m the best wingman there is.” Hunk looked incredibly pleased with himself. He winked at her. Pidge frowned, perplexed by how strange Hunk had been behaving lately. In recent weeks he had been bombarding her with the most personal and embarrassing questions when she least expected it. “But you know I have an important diplomatic mission to Cyan III, so I can’t be there to help him get back into the dating scene. Pidge, please, do this for me. I don’t want Lance to get his heart broken again—“
She exhaled. “Fine. I’ll steer him away from the crazies and the stalkers. What time do I have to be there?”
“Seven o’clock sharp. And wear something nice. You know, maybe get your hair done, put on a little makeup—not that you need it—it’s just, Lance—- uh, I ,mean, that club is really upscale, okay.”
After that conversation Pidge rummaged through her closet and found nothing suitable for the evening except for the clingy little emerald green cocktail dress she had worn only once before. The diamond earrings she had inherited from her great-grandmother would look nice with it, she thought. There was only one necklace that she owned that was the right length for the neckline of the dress though, and she wondered if it would be appropriate to wear it or not. It was a golden heart on a delicate chain that had been sent to her as a special delivery on her twenty-first birthday. There was no return address, only a typed note that read, “To the strongest, smartest, most beautiful woman I have ever known. I hope someday I have the courage to tell you how I really feel about you.” The message wasn’t signed, and she had no idea who sent it to her. Colleen had teased her daughter so much about her “secret admirer” that she had hidden the necklace away in her jewelry box and had never worn it.
Lance had been particularly sulky at work that April, and often seemed as grumpy as he was when his siblings ate all the garlic knots and didn’t save any for him. He was even grouchy in his classes. Pidge overheard his students gossiping about it, and thought that it was very strange because Lance was known to be the most cheerful and enthusiastic of all the flight instructors at the Garrison.
Pidge began having lunch in her laboratory, pretending that this was saving her valuable time on her latest project. She didn’t want to admit to herself that she was avoiding Lance because her feelings were hurt. After three years of long weekend video gaming sessions and endless hours at his apartment binge watching all of the movies and television programs they had missed while in space, she thought their friendship meant something to him. She couldn’t believe he had forgotten her birthday this year, and she had cried herself to sleep for three nights. Hormones, she thought. Maybe she should ask the doctor for something she could take for all of her mood swings. She thought it might have something to do with her being a late bloomer.
She checked her watch again. It was nearly seven. She looked up at the glowing sign above the famous club’s entryway, squared her shoulders, and walked towards the front door, then abruptly stopped short before entering the nightclub. There was a sign on the door in front of her that read
ONCE YOU CROSS THE EVENT HORIZON, THERE’S NO TURNING BACK.
Pidge read it, and then swallowed. She reminded herself that she was doing this for Lance because she wanted him to be happy, even if that meant he was going to find happiness with someone that wasn’t her. Her vision blurred, and she wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingers, hoping her eye makeup didn’t smear. She took a deep breath and crossed the threshold.
A young Galran woman greeted her in the front lobby. “How many are in your party?”
“Oh, uh, I’m looking for a friend. He might have arrived before me,” Pidge replied.
“You are welcome to look for him, miss. Let me know if you require a table.”
“Thanks,” Pidge responded, and she headed towards the bar just beyond a large sign that read “The Singularity.” She assumed that with a name like that it must be the singles bar. There were several sorry-looking males and only a few overly made-up females of a variety of species at the bar. All of them seemed either depressed, intoxicated, or both. She sat as far away from all of them as possible. If Lance was going to meet the woman of his dreams tonight, surely it wouldn’t be any of these pathetic creatures. What was Hunk thinking? The Polluxian bartender asked what she wanted to drink, and Pidge responded that she was waiting for a friend. She cringed inwardly as a gap-toothed Unilu male sauntered her way and sat on the barstool next to her. “Buy you a drink, sweetheart?” His breath reeked of intoxicants.
“No, thank you.” She moved away from him. He leaned closer, eyeing her in a way that made her very uncomfortable. Pidge’s mind raced. She needed an escape. “I’m meeting a friend here tonight.” She looked toward the club’s main entrance, and saw her opportunity. “Sorry.” She got up. Lance had just arrived, and she couldn’t repress her grin at the sight of him. She darted towards the front lobby, passing in front of the huge darkened room called The Black Hole, which was, by the sound of the loud music, a dance floor of some kind.
Pidge thought Lance looked quite dashing in the tailored blue suit he was wearing, but she soon realized that his expression was surlier than usual, as if he didn’t want to be there at all. Her smile melted away.
Lance didn’t see her approach. He had turned toward the young Galran hostess. “Table for two, please. I don’t know if she’s here yet though.” His stance was alert, with his fists curled at his sides. He looked as if he was ready to bolt at any moment.
“There was a pretty young woman of your species who arrived just before you did. She said she was looking for someone,” said the hostess. She saw Pidge standing a few feet behind Lance. “Here she is, sir.”
Lance took a deep breath, as if bracing himself for something very unpleasant. He slowly turned around, and Pidge watched as Lance’s expression went from a look of anxiety to one of elation. “Pidge?! What are you doing here?” He looked happier than he had been in weeks. “You look great in that dress, by the way.” His eyes lingered on the golden heart-shaped necklace at her throat, and his grin broadened even more.
“Hunk told me I had to be here, and I don’t understand what’s—”
“Hunk really is the best friend a guy could ever have, isn’t he? I owe him big time for this.”
Pidge didn’t understand what Lance was talking about. “I—“
The hostess interrupted. “Your table is ready, sir. Right this way.”
Before Pidge could even ask what was going on, Lance grabbed her by the hand and followed the hostess into a brightly lit dining room, past the larger tables for boisterous gatherings, and onward to a quieter, more dimly lit area where couples would normally sit at smaller, more intimate, candlelit tables. The room was empty for the moment. Soft, beautiful music was playing in the background. Pidge was both overwhelmed and confused. She felt a momentary pang of regret as Lance let go of her hand, but she soon realized that he did this in order to pull out a chair for her. “Oh! Thank you.” She felt the heat rise to her cheeks. What was happening? She smoothed her skirt as she sat down. They should be at the singles bar. How was she supposed to help Lance get a date if...
“Hunk really had me fooled,” Lance said with a chuckle. His blue eyes sparkled with happiness.
“What exactly did he tell you?” she asked, trying to calm her nerves. She had her hands hidden in her lap, hoping Lance wouldn’t notice that they were shaking.
“Well, when Hunk said that he was gonna set me up on a blind date with a girl who would be an absolutely perfect match for me, I was really skeptical about that. At first, I refused to go because I told him my heart already belonged to someone and I wasn’t interested in meeting some other girl, but Hunk said that I had to go, and that if I didn’t go you would be really upset with me. I thought that meant that you wanted me to move on, and that hurt so much.” Pidge noticed that Lance began to tear up a little. “I thought you didn’t like me that way, especially when I saw that you didn’t ever wear the birthday present I sent you.”
Pidge gaped at him as touched her golden heart pendant with one trembling hand. “You sent this to me? I-I didn’t know!” She felt a cool tear slide down one very warm cheek. “The card wasn’t signed. I am so sorry. I love the necklace! It’s beautiful, and thank you for it.” Don’t cry, don’t cry she told herself, but it was too late.
Lance extended his hands across the table to her, and after wiping her face with a napkin, she reached out to him, allowing him to take both of her small hands into his larger ones. “Hunk had to trick me into going on a date with you,” he confessed. “I was too afraid of rejection to ask you out on a real date, even though we spend nearly every weekend hanging out together.”
Pidge bit her lip and then gave him a watery smile. “He had to trick me too. He said you were going out tonight and needed a wingman. That’s why I was waiting for you at The Singularity just now.”
“Wearing that dress and with your hair curled and—wait a minute! Are you actually wearing makeup?” Lance chuckled. “You look like a model or a movie star. Did you really think I would be looking at some other single lady at the bar when you look hotter than a supernova?”
Pidge giggled. “Well, I wanted you to see what you’re missing,” she teased. “And from now on, the only heart shaped pendant I will ever wear will be from someone that I love, not some unknown secret admirer.”
Lance beamed at her. “I hope that means you’ll wear it again.”
“Always.”
That was all the encouragement Lance needed. “When I sent you that note I was thinking of something a wise man once said: Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
“Lao Tzu,” Pidge commented, recognizing the quote. “The note you sent said that I am the strongest woman you have ever known and that someday you hoped to have the courage to tell me how you really feel about me.”
“I guess that someday is today.” He let go of her hands and slid his chair around the table to her side. “I love you, Katie Holt. I always have. I’m sorry it took so long for me to find the courage to say it out loud.” He reached out to cup her cheek, wiping away one of her happy tears with his thumb.
Courage, she thought. Just tell him. She placed both of her hands on his broad shoulders, and he dared to move even closer to her. “I love you, too.” she said softly. “All these years, it’s always been you, Lance.”
Her eyelids fluttered closed as he leaned towards her. Their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss. Instinctively, Pidge slid her arms around his neck, and Lance responded by pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.
“I think we should stop,” she whispered in between kisses.
“Why? I know you’re enjoying this as much as I am,” he said in an uncharacteristically deep voice that made her shiver.
Pidge knew she had to be the sensible one. “The waiter will be here soon and we haven’t even looked at our menus.”
Blushing, Lance slid his chair back to the other side of the table. “I guess I was getting a little too carried away with kissing my new girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend? You move faster than a proton in a particle accelerator.”
“Sorry. I should have been a gentleman and asked—“
“Yes, well I do expect my boyfriend to be a gentleman, especially when we’re in public.” Her eyes sparkled like the diamonds she was wearing. They were both giddy the rest of the evening, which was spent dining and dancing and talking about the bright future that was ahead of them.
It was mid morning at the embassy on Cyan III when Hunk’s deep space communicator received an electronic message from two of his fellow Paladins. When he opened the message, Hunk saw that it was a selfie taken on Lance’s phone. In the photo Lance was smiling at the camera, dressed in his finest suit, looking more cheerful than he had been in years. He had his arm around a gorgeous girl in a clingy green dress who seemed to radiate waves of happiness. It was Pidge, Hunk realized. She looked so glamorous he nearly didn’t recognize her. The message read, “I had the time of my life at The Event Horizon—dinner and dancing with the love of my life. Thanks, Hunk. You’re the best wingman ever! —Lance.”