Dinner and a Drink

Posted on Sun Jun 26th, 2011 @ 2:18am by Lieutenant JG Talia "Phoenix" Richards & Lieutenant JG Randall "Iceheart" McGraw

1,150 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Shades of Gray
Location: McGraw's Quarters
Timeline: Immediately after Dotting her I's [Backpost]

ON

They were both laughing as they walked off the turbolift and turned towards Randy's quarters.

"So how on earth did you end up in the Fleet?" Randy figured now was as good a time as any to get to know Talia a bit better.

"My dad's a retired pilot. One of my brothers is a pilot. The other two are mechanics," she said. "So it seemed natural for me to follow suit. What about you?"

"Dad was a pilot, never really knew my mother. So pretty much the same." He paused a moment as he opened the door to his quarters. "So what would you like to have to eat?"

"I'm pretty easy to please. I like beef, chicken, pasta, salad ... do you have a preference?"

"I was actually considering making spaghetti and meatballs. Sound good?"

"I haven't had a good spaghetti in years," Talia confessed. "Not since I was at my mom's. I warn you, you have a lot to live up to."

"Well, I guess I had better get on the ball then tonight. You wanna throw together a salad?" Randy looked at her, then grinned. "Do you want it with garlic bread, or no garlic bread?"

"Absolutely garlic bread," she said, grinning back. "Do you have a preference on salad or can I have free reign? I should warn you, I love toppings on my salad."

"Surprise me. I love surprises. Plus, I happen to enjoy toppings on my salad." Still smiling, he leaned over and playfully goosed her.

Talia jumped, surprised at the gesture. Then she leaned close to him and whispered, "Be warned, when you least expect it, I will get you back." She chuckled evilly as she walked away to start the salad.

A minute later, she grabbed a dish towel, rolled it up and swatted Randy on the behind before going back to fixing the salad.

Chuckling to himself, he couldn't believe how smoothly things were going between the two of them. His last relationship had been during the Academy, and she had quickly dumped him once she had found out that they were going to different ships. Well, that and the fact that he had ended up on one of the best ships in the fleet.

"So what do you think of the Calypso?"

Talia finished the salad and brought it to the table. As promised, it was full of vegetables, fruit and nuts. "I love it. It's quirky, but I like quirky. How about you?"

Giving her a lop-sided grin, he responded. "Quirky is good, but weird is even better."

Chuckling softly, she ran a finger gently down his cheek. "Then it's a good thing I like weird, isn't it?" She made sure he knew she was referring to him as weird.

Sighing in mock frustration, he looked at her as he finished making the meatballs. "You really know how to take advantage of a guy when he is up to his elbows in grease, don't you?"

"That's the best time," she teased. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and moved quickly out of his way so she could set the table.

Smiling a lopsided little smirk, he shook his head in a good-natured manner. As he strained the pasta, he started whistling an Italian operetta. 'What am I going to do with her,' he thought to himself.

Talia finished setting the table and added a small vase of flowers for a centerpiece. She stood back and eyed her work. Satisfied, she turned to watch Randy.

Gently swaying in time to the music, he covered the pasta and brought it over to the table. As he walked by Talia, he gently nudged her hip with his own, and then winked at her before going back to finishing the sauce.

Talia giggled. She liked this playful side to Randy. "So, flyboy, do you just have nice moves or can you really dance?"

Grinning wickedly, Randy just shook his head. "You will have to just wait and see. I do have a perfect Holodeck program to show you just what I can do."

She sighed melodramatically. "Promises, promises." Talia found a divot and set it on the table for the sauce and turned to grin back. "I'm going to hold you to that."

"Not a problem. If you would like, go through my selection of music, pick something out that would be fitting, but only if you would like to. The rest of the food should be ready in about five more minutes."

Talia started looking at his selection of music, curious to see what he listened to. There were quite a few that appealed to her. She selected Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits and began to hum along with the music.

Randy finished off the food, and removed it to the table. "Are we ready to eat?"

Talia joined him at the table. "It smells wonderful," she said as she helped serve the food. When they were both seated she tried the spaghetti, curious to see if it tasted as good as it smelled. She groaned happily. "You're hired."

Grinning widely at her, he chewed and swallowed. "Glad to hear it. I hope you don't stuff yourself too full for dancing later."

She looked over at him, her eyes twinkling. "Dancing? I'll definitely be up for some dancing."

They chatted while they ate dinner. Although the spaghetti was delicious, Talia was careful not to eat too much. She helped him clear up afterwards, teasing him about his domestic skills.

"Hey now, everyone knows that throughout history, many of the best cooks have been men." He then grinned at her mischievously. "Besides, I thought that was what every woman wanted in a man." He winked as he turned and walked into the kitchen.

"Well, that's one thing, anyway," she joked. "The question is, do you wash windows?"

Randy just grinned. "Wouldn't you like to know?" With that said, he then pulled a couple of covered dishes off the counter, and waved her over to the couch. Setting one dish in front of each of them, he sat down, and patted the seat cushion next to him. "Come on now, you didn't think that I would have forgotten about dessert, do you?"

Grinning, Talia sat down beside him.

Once he had her undivided attention, he quickly pulled off the covers, revealing a scrumptious ice cream sundae, topped with Delavian dark chocolate fudge. "Bon appetit."

Talia groaned in pleasure. "That looks decidedly decadent." She took a bit and sighed. "That is decadent." She dug in happily, reassuring herself that ice cream melted so she really shouldn't dawdle over her dessert.

Randy just grinned widely as they sat there together, enjoying each others company.

Next up, dancing time....

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Lieutenant JG Randall McGraw
Wing Commander
USS Calypso

Ensign Talia Richards
Flight Leader
USS Calypso

 

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