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Chapter 14

She Said

My team and I stepped out of the airlock and stood at the dock waiting for Kaidan. While I waited, I quietly commed Miranda, "Alenko's coming with us. Keep an eye on things would you? His lieutenant's rather green."

I could hear the smile in her voice, "I think Jacob has a few things to do in the CIC, Commander. I'll see if he's available."

"Good, just be quiet about it. I don't want to hear about a mutiny attempt when we get back," I told her, smiling. I turned as I said the words, "Shepard out," and froze, my hand falling slowly to my side. Kaidan stepped out of the airlock in his armor. And I thought he looked good in his class "As". It was the dark green armor he'd worn on Horizon but instead of bringing back the bad memories of our relationship-ending fight, all I could think of was that the lights on the chest and abdomen formed an arrow pointing to… I quickly brought my eyes back up to his face to see that half smile make an appearance again. Tali leaned over my shoulder, "Close your mouth, Shepard."

I closed my mouth. I heard Garrus chuckle quietly and I spun on my heel, tossing a glare at him as I passed. He held up his hands defensively, his face showing barely concealed amusement. I rolled my eyes at him and my merry little band and I trooped to Liara's office. Her new receptionist was a young, and very attractive, human male.

He also could have been Kaidan's younger brother.

I grinned, Tali outright giggled. "Noticed it, too, did you?" She nodded. I could tell by her rigid posture she was doing her best to not laugh harder.

Kaidan glanced at me, "What's so funny?" Garrus was looking from me to Tali, suspiciously.

"I'll have to tell you later." Controlling my mirth, I wrestled Commander Shepard into place and calmly stepped up to the receptionist's desk, "Commander Shepard to see Liara T'Soni."

The young man stood up and bowed slightly at me. I felt my eyebrows try to climb into my hairline. "Liara regrets to inform you, Commander Shepard, that she was unavoidably detained this afternoon. She hopes you and Commander Alenko, Engineer vas Normandy and Officer Vakarian can join her for dinner."

I glanced at Kaidan, who shrugged. "Where?"

The kid's 'Tool flared to life, "I'll send the directions to your 'Tool. The time is included."

Tali intercepted the kid's data, "I'll take that; Shepard will get us lost, even if she does have directions." I was glad she remembered my 'Tool was at capacity with EDI.

Back down on the trading floor, we paused and I looked at Kaidan. Without looking at me, he said, "I have a lot of work to do. When are the reservations?" Tali told him a time that was a few hours from now. He nodded. "I'll meet you all about thirty minutes before?" I nodded. He inclined his head at me and said, "Shepard." He walked away toward the docks.

I watched him go, trying to be unobtrusive about it, but apparently I failed because Tali said, "Kee'lah, Shepard, I thought you were over him."

I barked a short laugh, "I don't think I ever will be, Tali."

A few hours later, I stood nervously examining myself in the mirrored surface of a packing crate. I'd begged Miranda's help with my hair and makeup, knowing I was hopeless at them except for what it took to appear professional. It had worked. My short hair hung straight and smooth, for once. My eyes looked larger and bluer by the time Miranda got done with them. Tali and I had sent Garrus back to the ship and went shopping. The result was a very little black dress. Shorter even than the one I'd worn the night the Normandy was stolen. It was strapless, too. I was a bit worried it would fall when I sat, but I'd tested it in the store and it seemed to defy gravity and stayed in place. Of course, it had enough steel wires in the bodice it felt like body armor. A collar-like necklace with more stones in it than I could count encircled my throat and I crouched to fasten matching strappy silver sandals around my ankles. Good thing about asari, human women could wear the same clothes without having to make allowances for anatomy oddities. The only challenge was trying to find a place to put a gun. I'd had to give up. I was going to have to rely on my biotics if we got into trouble.

"Damn, Commander, you clean up nice," Jacob's voice said from behind me. He leaned against the bulkhead with his arms crossed. He grinned, "I hope Alenko knows what he's missing."

"Thank you, Jacob." I took the compliment in the spirit in which it was intended. I refused to hold my team to formality after we'd all been through so much together. "Will you and Miranda be all right here?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. Jack and Grunt are the only real problems and I'm sure we can find something to keep them occupied."

"I'm leaving my 'tool with Joker. Call Tali or Garrus if you need me," I told him.

He straightened up and saluted me, "Aye, aye, ma'am."

I closed my eyes and shook my head, "Jacob, stop that. We're not Alliance and we're not Cerberus any more. I really don't need that."

He shrugged, "Old habits, Shepard."

"Strangle it quickly, Taylor." He laughed as I left to find Garrus and Tali. When we'd gone shopping, we'd also gotten a lovely scarf for Tali to wrap around her suit. It was black velvet with bronze embroidery. She and Garrus were already standing in front of the airlock, waiting on me. Garrus was wearing the traditional turian tunic and pants in his customary blue and black. I heard a noise behind me and turned to find Kaidan standing a few feet away, his whiskey brown eyes locked on me. He started at my hair and his gaze traveled down to my red-painted toes and back up, that half-smile that could melt my panties off playing about his lips.

Fine, if he was going to check me out, two could play at this game. He was wearing a white collarless shirt, the top few buttons open, leaving me a tantalizing glimpse of his chest hair. With it came the memory of my fingers trailing through it and my mouth went dry. The black jacket he wore over the shirt and the matching black pants fit him like a second skin. I resisted the urge to say to hell with Liara and dinner and drag him back to his cabin and remove his suit by the simple expedient of ripping it off of him. I smiled at him, making sure he caught the lust I was trying to project at him.

"Spirits, get a room, you two," Garrus grumbled, his voice pitched so that I barely heard him. I spun on my heel, heading for the airlock, glancing back once to see that Kaidan's eyes were firmly glued to my rear end.

It was going to be a long dinner.