I love summer, I reminded myself that night as I hiked to the top of one of our Ouray many hills. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I cursed the summer breeze, which instead of cooling me, caused my t-shirt and denim shorts to stick to my skin. Even the waning moon over the horizon looked swollen with the humidity.

I was halfway to the top and almost out of breath when a booming racket came from the sky. My heart raced as I stopped in my tracks and looked up. It had sounded like thunder, but not quite. It felt different, too. It was as if the sky was cracking open. I'd been binging on Doctor Who, and a part of me wanted to see the tardis appear from nowhere and the Doctor walking out of it. If anything, I did not expect the bright light that appeared in the sky. What is that?

I froze, mesmerized. It looked like a star, but the bright light falling from the sky got bigger as it approached the earth. It was so blinding, I squeezed my eyes shut and covered them with my hands. It passed above me, making a swooshing sound, while my hair flew with the wild wind. An explosion detonated on the other side of the mountain. My heart pounded. The air filled with smoke. It burned my nose and throat. Should I run back to the house? Call for help? Maybe I was overreacting. It was probably a meteorite. 

My curiosity won out. 

I'd never seen one before after all.

Leaves crunched beneath my feet as I moved with forceful strides. With the back of my hand, I swept away the trail of sweat that had formed on my forehead. My right leg was starting to cramp as I reached the top. There was a cloud of grey smoke coming out on the other side obscuring my vision. I scrunched up my nose at the smell of burnt wood. It looked like the beginning of a tacky horror story. I rolled my eyes. I seriously need to stop watching TV.

I grabbed a wooden stick as a means of weapon. Would the rock be incandescent? Would it have fluorescent colors? I hope it's not just plain gray. That would be so disappointing.

I felt like Indiana Jones as I descended the hill. I reached the clearance where I thought the meteorite landed, and my heart flipped when I heard the alleged rock groan. I froze, swallowing hard.

Rocks don't make sounds, do they?

The groaning continued, followed by cursing about a cousin of sorts. This is the time to run, Bailey. My limbs were numb, and my feet were planted on the ground. The rock moved and...stood up. Wide-eyed, an involuntary gasp left my lips. Definitely not a rock. It was a man. A very naked man.

In my eighteen years, I'd never seen a boy without clothes before. My life had been too hectic to think about it. However, I could tell that this was no ordinary man, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he'd fallen from the sky. No one could look like him. I stepped closer, tilting my head. This guy was the absolute definition of perfection. He seemed like something Michelangelo carved. And he was there, in all his gloriousness. And what a gloriousness it was.

Lean, strong muscles outlined his whole body. His arms looked solid, granite solid. His chest was well-defined and he had a six-pack. I know, because I counted the little squares. He definitely had six. My eyes were fixed between his abs and the daunting trail of hair that went south.

"Hello," a hoarse voice spoke. Swallowing hard, I willed my eyes to look up, but they didn't budge. It was as if they had a will of their own. "My eyes are up here, darling." His tone had a trace of a British accent, and my heart skipped a beat. I was a sucker for Brits.

"Are you, like, Thor?" I blurted, without looking up.

"Could you stop staring at my manhood?" My cheeks flushed, and I closed my eyes and turned away. What the hell is wrong with you Bailey? It's not nice to stare at a stranger's private parts. I giggled.

"You can turn around now," he whispered in my ear, making me jump.

Hugging my arms, I bit my lip before shifting his way. In the haze of the moment, I hadn't really noticed anything other than his mc dreaminess, but as my eyes roamed around his face, my mouth went dry as I stared into his chocolaty eyes. His lips cracked a small smile and I noticed he had a small birthmark over the right corner of his lips. He was all cleaned up and dressed in a pair of denim jeans and a Henley t-shirt.

"How did youꟷ?"

He shrugged. "I'm special."

The hold around my arms tightened. "How special? Superman special? Thor special?"

He crossed his arms too, studying me with the same fierceness as me. "You seem to have a thing for Thor."

"Thor falls from the sky." Duh.

"I'm not wearing a cape. Or a wielding hammer." My lips curved up as I was about to object to the hammer part but before I could utter any word, he shook his head. "I don't have time for this." He walked away through the field in the direction of the main road.

How does he know where to go? Creasing my brows, I stared after him. His strides were forceful and before he disappeared on me I jogged to him. I hope he's Thor in disguise. Thor is super cool and he has a handsome evil brother.

When I reached him, he was in the middle of the road, scrunching up his nose and rubbing his chin. He snapped his fingers and a yellow new beetle appeared on the road. Smiling confidently, he unlocked the car and opened the driver's door.

He puffed a car out of nothing! What are you? Then again, a yellow car? "Dude. You can have any car you want and you chose this one?"

He froze. Glancing at me, he leaned on the car's roof, crossing his arms. His eyes were playful as he grinned. "What car would you suggest?"

I stepped around it. It had a hideous shade. Tracing my hand over the hood, I gazed at him. "I'd get a Mini Cooper. Silver, with a red roof. Black interiors and all the details in red." I smiled as I pictured the car in my head. It was beautiful.

"Fine," he huffed before leaning away from the car. He snapped his fingers again and my dream car appeared.

How can he do that? The car was everything I'd imagined and more. Even the silver paint glittered under the lamppost.

"I'm dreaming, right?" I walked around the car, scared to touch it, convinced that it would fade away like smoke.

He didn't answer as he stepped inside. The engine roared to life a moment later. Wait! He can't leave! I opened the passenger door and got in. The interiors were shiny and the dashboard was red, just as I pictured it. It even had that new car smell!

"What are you doing?" Mr. Thor-alike frowned at me.

I licked my lips. "You've got my dream car. There's no way I'm not riding it."

He muttered something under his breath, but I couldn't make out the words. Defeated, he ran a hand through his hair before turning to me. "Where do you have fun around here?"

"Depends on what you call fun," I raised one eyebrow, my hand tracing the leather board. It was so soft.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly exasperated, before turning off the ignition. "Look," he turned to me. "I have one night here. Just one night. And then I'm gone. There has to be something amazing in this place, or my cousin wouldn't have sent me here."

I crossed my arms across my chest. "Who's your cousin? Is he in Asgard?"

"I'm not Thor!" He raised both hands, glancing at the roof. "My name is Paul," he added in a serious tone, gazing at me.

"Just Paul?" I raised an eyebrow, and his eyes narrowed. I had to press my lips together not to burst out laughing. "How do you explain where you come from, then?"

"I'm on vacation," he said as if that was more than obvious. "I finished a job and my cousin suggested this place. He was clearly delusional." He gestured to the empty road ahead of us. "He'd said I'd find something phenomenal here..."

In a way, I felt bad for him. He didn't strike me as the dangerous type. I didn't know where he came from or what he was, but my town was not a fun place to be. There were mostly old people here. Everyone fled as soon as they could. Everyone but me.

"I guess that if you can summon a car, you could be anywhere you want."

He leaned back on his seat, his eyes set on the front. "I haven't visited this planet in a while. It's too different from what I remember." He glanced at me, frowning. "If you had one night, where would you like to visit?"

Planet? Was he from another planet, then? I'd always imagined aliens as green and slimy, but he wasn't either of those.

Shifting in my seat, I thought it through. A small smile played on my lips as I glanced through the window, gazing at the dark sky with millions of twinkling stars. I always wanted to travel. I'd memorized a list of places I wanted to visit.

"I'm assuming you can do anything," He shrugged. "Okay, I'd go to the Trevi fountain in Rome, and have a gelato while seeing the people walk by, taking pictures and throwing coins backward to it. I'd also go to Venice and I'd run through the San Marcos plaza making all the pigeons fly everywhere." My smile widened. "You also have to go to Paris. There's a huge park in front of the Eiffel Tower, one of the most iconic places in the city, and sit on the grass to enjoy the view with a bottle of wine and a stinky cheese." He tilted his head, watching me with deep eyes. My voice softened. "I'd love to see the northern lights in Alaska, but I'm not sure you can't do that in summer. But can you imagine watching different colors displayed in the sky? I imagine it must be magical." Shaking my head, I gazed to the front again. "You have to visit South Africa too. I've heard the landscapes are amazing and you can go on a safari and see elephants and giraffes strolling on the wild field like they own the world." My heart tightened, and I swallowed the lump I felt in my throat. "But no matter what, you have to visit the Maldives and watch the sparkling beach at night. The waves glow with fluorescent colors, and it must be one of the most beautiful sights ever..." My hands fidgeted on my lap as I cast my eyes down.

I would never get to see any of those places. Sometimes, it sucked to be me. I teared up.

"Gelato? What flavor?"

I snorted out, sniffing and blinking the tears away. "Cherry." I glanced up and met his eyes. Smiling softly, he stared at me as if he knew why I was stuck in this town and why my heart ached to know that I'd never leave. Not alive. "Is there any way that you can conjure up an apparition spell?" I murmured, glancing away; feeling exposed, even though he didn't really know me.

"I think I need a tour guide."

My heart fluttered. "I think you got the wrong person."

His lips cracked into a beautiful smile as I glanced at him. "Show me. Close your eyes and imagine we're there." That's impossible. He leaned closer, his eyes confident. "Nothing is impossible when you're a star."

Can you also read my mind?

"A star?"

He shrugged. "I just changed my job, so technically, I'm just energy floating around," his tone was nonchalant.

Huh? Was I hallucinating? I was, wasn't I? He was really close. Pulling my hand back, I slapped him on the cheek. Hard. The sound of the blow filled the car as he leaned back.

"Bloody hell! What was that for?"

My hand was throbbing as I stared at it. "I'm not dreaming."

"No shit!"

"You know, for being an alien, star, or whatever, you curse too much!" I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him. He was rubbing his cheek and I couldn't help but crack up at that.

"We adapt! I get this body and it's like we are downloaded with the basic stuff, like language, usual customs, and such." He narrowed his eyes. "This is not a usual thing to do!"

"What do you mean by us? There are others like you? And what are you exactly?"

Exhaling, he turned away. "I'll make you a deal, if you show me those places you talked about, I'll tell you about me. I could use the company," he raised one hand, "but only if you stop being violent."

I thought about it. Even though my hand hurt, sometimes dreams can feel too real, and if this was a dream, I didn't want it to end. Not yet.

"Fine, but I need to make a call," I told my grandmother that I'd be staying with a neighbor. It wouldn't be the first time, so she didn't mind.

Paul patiently waited until I finished the call. "All set?" he asked as I put away the phone. I nodded. His eyes glinted with excitement as he smiled.

"Awesome. Just close your eyes and imagine yourself in the first place that comes to mind."

I did, though my heart raced like crazy as excitement bubbled inside of me.

Special thanks to diagnosedwithlupus for the amazing trailer!

Thank you so much for reading this! This was my entry for the Sun-Kissed Fantasy Anthology!

I worked really hard on this and I hope you enjoyed it!