Under the Stars

Posted on Wed Apr 17th, 2013 @ 8:57pm by Admiral Ricky Wegener & El'Shar Blackhorse

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: SB900 - Various
Timeline: Current

After his meeting with Li and Kh’ali, Rick had contacted El’Shar and verified that she was still able to go on another date with him that evening. The only hint as to what she was to wear was an evening gown with room to move freely. She’d asked for more of a hint of what the date was, but his only reply was that it was a surprise and that she would likely be worn out well before the end of the date.

El looked at the screen after he’d closed the connection and smiled slyly, trying to figure out what it was he was hinting at. A dress with room to move? Being worn out before the end of the date?

“Dancing,” she said with a smile. She stood quickly and ran to her closet, wondering if she even had something suitable. With a cursory look she found that she had nothing at all suitable, so she went to the replimat and scrolled through suitable dresses until she found what she thought would work. It was a mostly white dress with a high collar, only one long sleeve on the right side and a swatch of matching cloth coming from the bottom of the dress that attached to her right wrist. The left side of the chest piece had no cloth but was covered with a black almost see-through design that wrapped around to the lower back. And other than the right shoulder, for the sleeve, the back was open. About four inches from the bottom there was black trim that matched the black trim on the top. She thought the dress was amazing and would be enough of a tease for Rick that should drive him crazy!

Back in her quarters it was almost time once again for Rick to arrive and she had gotten ready with her hair hanging straight down her back. He had commented about how much he liked her hair and thought it best to continue with the way he liked it. She thought her jet black hair would accent the black of the dress but still show enough of her back to entice Rick. Her only concern was the amount of tattoos that would be showing. She was normally in a uniform or other clothing that covered them and there were very people that knew she had them. But if he liked her the way he said he did, it wouldn’t matter.

The chime rang and she answered. Rick stood in the hallway in a tuxedo, white tie and looking very handsome.

“El’Shar,” he said, “...every time I see you you look more and more beautiful.” He took in the sight of her, once again absolutely stunning. “I take it you figured out what we were doing tonight?”

“I went with dancing,” she said. “Will this work?”

“It most definitely will,” he said as she spun around for him. “And I must say: beautiful ink!” He spun her around again. “I’d like to take a better look at those one day.”

She winked at him. “Let’s see how the night goes, first.” Taking his arm she began walking. “Come on, handsome. Let’s do some dancing.”

* * The Nexus * *

The club was set up for a special night of dancing and looked amazing. It reminded Rick of some of the high end clubs he’d attended on Earth back in the 20th century with a large open floor in front of a live band for dancing. But first they dined, and dined well. Rick had reserved a table just for them and as they ate they listened to the band play over candlelight.

“This is wonderful,” she said, several times. “Do they do this often?”

“It’s normally very posh in here anyway, but a few times a month they clear out a section for that floor so that people can get up and dance a bit,” he replied, sipping at his wine. “And speaking of which,” he called their waiter over and asked to delay the main dish a bit. “May I have this dance?”

He stood, his hand out to her as another song began, something slow and melodic, perfect for their first dance. Pulling her gently to him, his hand at the small of her back and holding her other hand in his, it was like the station around them had melted away. As they glided across the dance floor their eyes were locked and they were perfectly at ease with each other, moving effortlessly and easily to the beat of the music. When they finally finished, they hadn’t realized that they’d gone through three songs and everyone else had left the floor on the last, the spotlight now on the Admiral and the former Captain.

They stopped, walking back to their table as the crowd applauded them. As Rick had said to Li, he decided to own the attention of he and El’Shar, so he waved and thanked them as they finally sat.

“You were wonderful,” he said as he slid the chair under El’Shar before taking his own. “Absolutely magnificent. I was hoping you would know how to dance, and probably should have asked first, but I was prepared to show you a few steps, if you were amenable.”

“I’ve danced for many years,” she replied, sipping at her wine. “And you were equally as graceful.”

Rick waved to the waiter who came over immediately. “I’m sorry to ask this, but could we have our main course and desserts to go? I left something in the kitchen for you to place it in, along with another bottle of wine.”

With a smile their waiter nodded. “I noticed it in the kitchen earlier. I’ll pack everything up so that you can get to it easily.”

Once he left, El cocked her head at him and slitted her eyes playfully. “What else do you have planned?”

“Another surprise,” he said, “but one that I think you’ll enjoy.”

She was very much enjoying her time with Rick. He was going out of his way to make her feel special, and it was definitely working. These weren’t the common dates that she’d gone on before. He was putting more effort into them than anyone else had. She wondered if this meant anything in particular? They both had stated how they felt for one another, so that was already out in the open, but was there more?

She’d spent the last few days thinking about her last date and how he’d made her feel. She was already well beyond the ‘getting to know you’ part of dating which, in the past, had taken her as long as a few months before she was as comfortable as she was now with Rick. Were they going too fast? They hadn’t made any commitments to each other, other than that they both really liked each other.

As the waiter returned with a large wicker basket and a huge smile plastered on his face, she decided to just let it go and let things play out as they may. “No need to overthink it, El,” she said to herself.

“A picnic?” she asked him. “Now that is very cool.”

Moments later they were entering a holosuite. They were in a large meadow at night, but it was well lit with the brightness of the moon and stars. He led her to a large willow where a large blanket lie. In front of them, fifty yards away, was a lake and a boat dock. She smiled.

“Very nice, Romeo,” she said as she sat and opened the basket.

“Moonlight picnic,” he replied, uncorking the wine. “I’ve never had one but I’ve often wondered how it would be. Maybe, if you like this one, we could do it for real down on the planet. This could be our trial run.”

She laughed. “A trial run picnic? You are a very interesting man, Ricky Wegener.”

They talked, held hands, laughed at jokes and shared more about their pasts as they sat under the stars and nibbled at their food. After a while they wound up lying on the backs, her head resting on his arm, looking at the stars. He told her that this was a recreation of a lake near his home in Germany, a place where he and his parents would often visit for picnics, but always during the day.

“Did you ever go out on the lake?” she asked.

“Oh, quite often. Swimming, boating, fishing. I loved this place,” he said, turning his head to look at her. “If I had taken a bit more time I could have had my home put up over there,” he said, pointing to the east. “This was all our property back then.” With a contented sigh he added, “This all brings back some good memories, and I can’t imagine any better company in which to spend it.”

She propped herself up and softly kissed him, running her hand through his hair. “This may sound strange to you, but I honestly wouldn’t mind seeing where you grew up, your childhood home.” She kissed him again. “Maybe, someday, if you have the time you could create it here.”

He squirreled up his face. “Seriously? Wouldn’t that be a bit boring?”

Shaking her head slowly, she smiled. “Not at all. I’ve told you that I had a love of history, and what better way to learn of it than to learn from someone who was there? And the best part of it is that you, with or without your hundreds of years, are fun to be around. So it’s the best of both worlds for me.”

It was his turn to sit up. He took her hand in his and kissed it. “We’ll see,” he said, standing and pulling her up to him. He held her close, like he had when they danced, but now feeling the exposed skin on her back with both hands. Their eyes looked deeply into each other’s, almost as if they were communicating without saying a word.

Finally, they began kissing deeply, passionately. They continued several moments until El pulled from him and looked into his eyes again.

“Maybe we should--” he started.

“--my quarters,” she finished.

“Computer,” Rick blurted out immediately, “site-to-site transport from this location to El’Shar Blackhorse’s quarters. And transport this food as well.”

She grabbed his hand and shivered with anticipation as the transport beam took hold. Within moments they materialized in her quarters and began kissing and removing clothing.

As she lie back nude on the bed, Rick kissing her stomach, there wasn’t a single thought of their relationship progressing too fast in her mind. For in this moment, she knew they were going to take it slow, even if it took all night.

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Admiral Rick Wegener
Knows How to Treat a Woman

El’Shar Blackhorse
Head Over Heels