Dinner And A Dance

Posted on Sun Feb 21st, 2016 @ 8:22pm by Aros & Aia Rios Hawke

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Portin / The Arboretum

* Portin - The Promenade *

Aros arrived at Portin with just a few minutes to spare. He’d had a last-minute call from Intel that had taken longer than he’s expected. Now, he stood at the entrance, dressed for the evening in black trousers, a deep green silk shirt with full sleeves and a vest in black and green. It was more Brenari style and he hoped she would like it. He’d already had them decant the wine at the table so it could breathe and now, he awaited Aia.

Aia spotted him as she approached Portin. “Good evening. I must say, you clean up nicely.” She had cleaned up nicely, too: she was wearing a silvery-grey sheath with a slit in the skirt’s left side. She’d pulled her long hair to one side and draped it over her shoulder.

Once again, Aros was struck with the desire to touch her hair, and managed to resist. He took her hand, however, and raised it to his lips. “You are breathtaking, Aia. Ready for dinner?”

“Yes,” she enjoyed his courtship skills and immediately felt slightly guilty. He led her to the table and she noticed the wine. “Red? How did you know I prefer reds?” She idly touched her hair and took a seat.

He held her chair and then sat down across from her. A waiter appeared to pour the wine, then vanished. “This afternoon, you mentioned the wine. The image of a glass of red was floating at the top of your thoughts. I wasn’t prying….it just hit me.” He smiled back at her. “Reds are my favorite too.”

She bit her bottom lip lightly then laughed. “D’veidh seems to have that same preference.” She winked and picked up her glass to smell the wine then take a taste.

“D’veidh has very definite preferences, yes,” Aros agreed with a laugh. “I know he’s a bit younger but you should bring yours next time we go to the Arboretum. They are still close enough they would have fun.”

“They would, though Saye may attempt to boss him around,” she said.

“At his age, he won’t argue much,” Aros assured her. “And you’re right. I think reds are my new favorite. If you don’t mind my saying so.”

“I don’t mind,” she admitted, flattered by his attention. She needed this after this morning’s discovery. She asked Aros about D’veidh and they talked about the children for several minutes, during which they ordered dinner. When the food was delivered, they changed their conversation to themselves, their pasts, how they’d come to be on SB900.

“So, as you can see, I’ve been on a roundabout route here.” Aros shrugged. His story had been somewhat vague, skipping over the fact that he was here working with Intel. He refilled her wine, then took one last bite of his dinner. “Do you need to go anywhere special when we leave here?”

“Special? Is that a euphemism for the restroom?”

“I meant home to relieve the babysitter, or are you all mine for a little while longer?” He reached across the table to take her hand. “If you don’t need to, I have a little something in mind.”

At the mention of ‘babysitter’, Aia was quick to block her thoughts using a technique from her days in Intel. “No, I’m all yours for the evening,” she said.

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” He motioned to the waiter and ordered another bottle of the wine and requested two glasses. Once it was delivered, he looked to Aia. “Are you ready?”


“Yes. Where are we going?” She stood when he did and let him take her hand to walk out of the restaurant.

“Back to the Arboretum but with a twist. You’ll see.”

As they departed, the Maitre d’ watched them a moment, then turned to their waiter. “Was that….” he looked again and shook his head. “Nah, never mind. I am seeing things.”

* The Arboretum *

They had reached the Arboretum once more and as they stepped onto the grass, Aros stopped. “Shoes,” he said. “The grass feels so good and that way your high heels won’t sink in.”

“Tripping me up again,” she laughed and took her shoes off. “At least I didn’t need to go to Piper for that.”

He removed his shoes and socks as well, passed her the wine and glasses, then carried the shoes. They strolled across the grass towards the lake but skirted around it to the end where the water cut into a stand of trees. As it was getting later, the ceiling over the area had turned to twilight with a few stars showing. They stopped finally and he placed their shoes on the grass and the wine and glasses on a rock. “So, what do you think?”

“This is beautiful. Ever since Saye was born... I haven’t had time to do something like this,” she said. And Lucius hadn’t exactly tried..., she quickly thought of something else. He opened the wine and passed her a glass. “Thank you, Aros. Are you normally so romantic or is the red inspiring you?” The fingers of her free hand flipped a curl of her hair.

“A little of both maybe? Let’s just say I’m inspired?” He watched the curl settle back in place on her shoulder. Now he gave in to the urge and reached out, twisting the tress of red hair around his finger. “Fire,” he murmured.

Smiling, she caught his hand. “How about we walk a little bit?”

“We could but would you rather dance?” Aros asked her. “I can make that happen.”

She was surprised, delightfully so. “Dance? I’d love to!”

He pulled a small padd from his pants pocket and pressed in a command. Music began to play, a slow, inviting tune. He left the padd on the rock, sipped his wine, then took her hand. “I aim to please,” he said, then pulled her in close.

She, too, put her wine down then let him lead her around the little meadow in a slow waltz. It had been entirely too long since she’d had a man’s attention like this.

And it had been a very long time since Aros had held a woman so close. His time in the field had stretched into years and hadn’t allowed for much in the way of personal pursuits. It was exhilarating. What surprised him was that she didn’t seem to care that he was just the ‘nanny’. At least as far as she knew. It would do for now until he saw whether anything was to come of this. He certainly hoped so.

“You’re floating,” he observed. “I like it.”

“I like you, Aros; you ...inspire me,” she laughed. “You’re making me happy.”

“That’s what I hoped.” He didn’t mention it but he had picked up some surface emotions, a bit of unhappiness that he hadn’t wanted to dig into since it was not his business. “I could say the same of you, though, where I am concerned.”

“Good.” He led her through the foxtrot before she asked, “Aros, forgive the assumption, but... you seem overqualified for you position. Did you take it just to come to SB900? Are you looking for something else?”

“I actually found it after I arrived. Kh’ali was looking for someone and I got wind of it. It’s a fun place to be and not taxing so I have plenty of time to pursue my own interests and relax. Given I am a native of this quadrant though, my knowledge of the area has been called upon a few times by Kh’ali. It’s useful for her position.” He knew he hadn’t really answered her question. “You want to know what it is I really do though, yes?”

She laughed. “That you’re a nanny is fine with me - I like the idea that it gives you time to do your own thing. Especially if that means that we have time for play dates.”

He laughed softly. “Play dates for them or us? Perhaps both?”

“Both,” she agreed, smiling. “Unless you’d rather not.”

“There is nothing I would like more,” he answered, “except perhaps one thing.” He let go of her hand and brushed her cheek with his fingertips. Then he leaned in, brushing her lips lightly with his.

She responded slowly, drawing him in for a lingering kiss that could have melted cold steel. “I think D’veidh and Saye will end up being close friends,” she whispered when she could breathe again.

A slow smile spread over his face and he nodded. The music continued to play but now they had stopped dancing. Aros buried his hands in her lush red hair and this time, the kiss wasn’t hesitant. Finally, he pulled back and simply looked at her for a moment before pulling her close once more.

Guilt from enjoying herself, and Aros, so much rose up and Aia said, “I should get back, check on Saye. She's probably in bed, or should be. Will you bring D’veidh to the park tomorrow?”

“We will be here around 1100. Will you come?”

“Yes, I should be able to get away. I'll bring my little girl.” She kissed him, quickly, and added, “Goodnight Aros. I've had a lovely time.”

“So have I. Would you like to me to see you home? Or at least to the lift?” he asked.

“To the lift, but you don't need to walk me home,” she said. He handed her her shoes and she put them on before they started the walk to the lifts. “Eleven hundred hours? That will put us together for lunch, as well.”

“I like the way you think. Maybe we should just have it there? I can take care of it if you wish,” he offered. “The kids might enjoy it more than going elsewhere.” They paused at the lift and he turned her to face him. “Till tomorrow.”

“Till tomorrow,” she agreed and was thrilled when he kissed her again. The lift came and she stepped on, smiling at him as the doors closed.

Aros stood there for a few minutes, thinking over the evening, and a bright smile appeared on his face. A small group approached the lift and one moved around him to press the call button. “Outta the way loverboy.”

Aros laughed aloud and moved away, his pace a slow stroll. Tomorrow couldn’t come too soon.

************
Aia Rios
Aros
It's A Date!