联邦政府宫的大宴会厅在一千盏吊灯的灯光下熠熠生辉,为来自银河系各地聚集的政要投下温暖的金色色调.空气中弥漫着各种语言的谈话声,水晶眼镜的叮当声,以及大多数与会者耳中嵌入的翻译设备发出的微妙嗡嗡声.
大家都知道"星光"的伊莱恩·斯图尔特 （Elaine Stewart） 站在后台,她的心像鼓声一样在胸口砰砰直跳.她能感觉到银河系的眼睛在注视着她,至少看起来是这样.她的手被汗水弄湿了,她紧张地在闪闪发光的银色礼服的下摆上擦了擦.那是一年一度的星际文化交流晚会之夜,她将表演她的标志性舞蹈"星星之舞".
"伊莱恩,你接下来要上场了,"她的经纪人哈珀先生说,从更衣室的角落里偷看.他的眼睛里闪耀着期待的光芒,向她竖起了大拇指."你有这个.记住,这可能是让你获得梦寐以求的参议员职位的表现.
伊莱恩紧紧地笑着.多年来,她一直梦想着这一刻,但现在它已经来了,怀疑悄悄地袭来.她真的准备好进入政治舞台了吗?她是否拥有不仅仅是一张漂亮的脸蛋和一副才华横溢的身体?
她放下紧张,走上舞台,高跟拖鞋在抛光的大理石地板上轻轻地咔哒作响.当她开始移动时,人群陷入了沉默,她的身体在星空下像液体一样流动.她优雅而精确地跳舞,她的身体与音乐令人难以忘怀的旋律完美同步地扭动和转动.
当她跳舞时,她能感受到观众的能量,他们的钦佩和敬畏像潮汐一样冲刷着她.她是星光,银河系中最炙手可热的,今晚,她尽情发挥.
当音乐终于消失时,宴会厅爆发出雷鸣般的掌声.伊莱恩深深地屈膝行礼,她的脸颊因兴奋和宽慰而泛红.她望着面孔的海洋,寻找熟悉的面孔.
前排是詹姆森参议员,他的妻子挽着他的手臂,两人都对她微笑.他们旁边是来自火星的大使,他的表情一如既往地高深莫测.然后,在那排的最后,她看到了他.
他身材高大,肩膀宽阔,一头乌黑的头发凌乱地垂到肩膀上.他的眼睛是一双锐利的蓝色,目不转睛地盯着她,仿佛她是房间里唯一的人.他穿着一件简单的黑色西装,似乎不太适合晚会的布置,然而,他带着一种安静自信的气质,使他在人群中脱颖而出.
当他们的目光相遇时,伊莱恩的呼吸卡在了喉咙里.她感到胸口一阵奇怪的颤动,这是她很久没有经历过的事情了.他是谁?
"那是谁?"她对和她一起上台的哈珀先生喃喃自语.
"哦,那是李参议员,"他顺着她的目光说."新人,上届刚当选.我想他来自地球.看来他对你很感兴趣.
李参议员.李森.这个名字顺利地从她的嘴里滑落,然而,这对她来说却很陌生.她点点头,试图掩饰自己的好奇心,但在内心深处,她的头脑在飞速运转.
后来,晚会结束后,当 Elaine 穿过祝福者的人群时,她再次发现了他.他站在大楼梯旁,与一群人交谈,但他的眼睛一直游离在她身上.
她告别了一群仰慕者,走向他,她的高跟鞋自信地踩在大理石地板上.
"李参议员,"她说,伸出手,露出老练的微笑."我是伊莱恩·斯图尔特.很高兴见到你.
他转向她,蓝色的眼睛里闪耀着只能用钦佩来形容的光芒."我的荣幸是我的,斯图尔特女士,"他说,握住了她的手.他紧紧地握着,他的触感有一种温暖,让她的心跳加速.
"你今晚真是太棒了,"他说,他的声音低沉而响亮."你的舞蹈真是... 醉人. 我无法将目光从你身上移开.
伊莱恩感到她的脸颊因高兴而通红.以前从来没有人这样描述过她的表演."谢谢你,"她轻声说."那意味着你带来的很多东西."
他们轻松交谈,谈论从晚会到他们最喜欢的全息胶片的一切.Elaine 发现自己被他对太空探索的热情和他对联邦未来的愿景所吸引.
随着夜幕降临,他们发现自己独自站在露台门口,凉爽的夜风从花园吹进来.
"你知道的,"他突然说,"我想我想再看到你跳舞.也许在更私密的环境中.
伊莱恩扬起眉毛,好奇地说."是这样吗?"
"是的,"他说,他的眼睛从未离开过她."我相信今晚月球上会有个派对.你愿意和我一起吗?
伊莱恩犹豫了.她一心想回家,瘫倒在床上;她因表演而筋疲力尽.但这个男人的某些东西让她想说"是".
"好吧,"她终于说."但前提是你保证不会让我睡得太晚."
He smiled, a boyish grin that seemed to light up his entire face. "Scout's honor," he said, holding up three fingers in a mock salute.
Elaine laughed, a sound that was music to his ears. "You seem a bit out of place here," she said, gesturing to the formal setting around them. "Are you sure you're a senator?"
He shrugged. "I guess I'm still getting used to this whole political thing. I was an explorer before, you know. Captain of an interstellar expedition."
"Really?" Elaine's interest was piqued. "What kind of expeditions?"
"Oh, you know, the usual stuff: searching for new habitable planets, exploring black holes, that sort of thing."
Elaine's eyes widened. "That sounds dangerous."
He shrugged again. "Someone has to do it. Besides, it's not every day you get to see something no one else has ever seen before."
There was a wistful quality to his voice that made Elaine wonder if he missed his old life. "So, why did you decide to become a senator?"
He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before answering. "I guess I wanted to make a difference on a larger scale. To have a say in how we handle the challenges facing our federation."
Elaine nodded, impressed. "Well, I think that's noble."
They stood there for a moment, the tension between them thick enough to cut with a knife. Finally, Senator Lee cleared his throat.
"Shall we?" he asked, gesturing toward the exit.
Elaine took a deep breath and linked her arm through his. "Lead the way."
As they walked out of the palace together, Elaine couldn't help but feel that this was the start of something new and exciting. She had no idea what the future held, but for the first time in a long time, she felt a sense of anticipation that was both thrilling and a little scary.
Little did she know that this chance encounter would change the course of her life forever.