Getting to Know You
Chapter Eighteen : Sexy Eyes
Spock
He stood outside her door. Had he just made a very suggestive comment to her? He couldn't believe he had done that. He was aghast. She didn't seem to have interpreted it that way, fortunately. He strode down the hall to his own room, entered, removed his uniform and hung it up, and settled down cross-legged in the center of the bed to meditate.
Uhura
The second day of the competition was even harder than the first. By the time the final round started at 1300, she was so wound up that she could hardly sit still. But they were winning, she was sure of it. Those idiots from MIT were not going to steal the honors!
When the final announcements were made, they screamed and hollered and jumped up and down in excitement. The female instructor who had accompanied them was almost as excited as the cadets. Even Commander Spock seemed more animated than normal. Plans were made for the evening. They would all meet in the lobby in an hour, ready to hit the clubs.
When Commander Spock left her at the door to her room, he made the comment she was beginning to accept as normal, that he would come to escort her.
****
She showered, carefully applied cosmetics like Gaila had taught her, fixed her hair high up on her head in a complicated twist. At last she dressed, putting that lovely belt on last, along with matching gold chains with tiny bells on them in her ears. She twirled around in front of the mirror, examining herself. She thought she looked pretty good. She was definitely excited. Her heart was thumping much faster than normal. She was ready for FUN!
Spock
He left the cadet at her room and went down to down the hall to his own room. He was somewhat apprehensive about the evening. He just did not have very much experience in this type of activity. He showered, shaved, meditated, dressed in the new clothing Captain Pike had practically forced him to buy. Meditated again. Rose, left his room, walked down the hall and tapped the touch plate beside her door. The door opened.
A vision of loveliness filled his eyes. He sucked in his breath, totally stunned. She had her hair up in some twisted thing, not in her usual long fall. She had little gold chains hanging from her ears with tiny bells on the ends that chimed softly as she tilted her head. She had on a dress of brilliant green that made her skin gleam and glow. The neckline curved down low, showing the top curves of her breasts. It fit her like it had been made just for her, curving against her body perfectly. The skirt was so short that he swallowed, hard, but she had some sort of fabric on her legs, letting her skin peek out here and there, with swirls of colors clinging to her. Around her hips was a glowing gold belt of chains and bells that moved with her and made soft sounds as the bells moved against her body.
He could not move. He could not speak. He just stared. He felt that something that had been coiling low in his abdomen since that day that he had observed her in her shower growing, threatening to engulf him. He remembered with sudden clarity the way he had felt the night of the maneuvers, when she had sleepily sucked his fingers into her mouth. His mouth was dry. The rest of his body was damp. He might have stood there forever, totally focused on her, if she had not spoken.
Uhura
The door chime sounded. He was here then. She picked up the small bag she was taking with her and opened the door. She was totally unprepared for the sight that met her eyes. There he stood, tall, straight, his slender body totally dressed in black. He had on some sort of shirt with an open neck, the collar standing out, revealing his corded neck and a small vee of chest, lightly sprinkled with dark hair. The shirt shimmered against him, clinging to the muscles in his arms and chest. Around his waist was a belt of braided leather, holding up slacks which clung to his long legs as though they were magnetized. She was stunned. She felt a thrill start low in her belly, climbing up her center, leaving her flushed and shaky. WOW! Commander HOT BODY! Her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth, her throat was closed, not a single sound coming out.
Finally, with great determination and focus, she managed to say something - not anything she had intended to say, but at least they were words. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear that outfit before."
He stared down at her. There was no other word for it - he was staring. "Captain Pike insisted that I buy new clothing for this trip. Is it inappropriate?"
"In no way! I mean, it's certainly appropriate for clubbing, it's ... It's very nice. Captain Pike did a great job." She felt extremely foolish, but she couldn't help it. He was just overpowering.
Somehow, she managed to get out the door of her room, lock it and head down the hall to the elevator with his heat close beside her.
Spock
He stands in the club the others had selected, against a side wall, watching. The other instructor and all four cadets were dancing. He found that he was enjoying the music in this club much more than the others they had visited. There was a deep beat resounding against the walls of the room, much like that on the recordings he used to accompany the suus mahna duets he taught Cadet Uhura.
The music stopped momentarily. The small group stood there on the dance floor. As he watched, one of the other cadets spoke heatedly to the other instructor, then another cadet joined in. The instructor seemed to consider, then moved towards the door. Three of the cadets joined her. The fourth crossed the floor to where he stood.
The music started again, low drums, sliding strings, a small chime. There was a persistent beat to it that appealed to him. She approached, standing swaying slightly in front of him, almost too close. That dress she wore was... disturbing.
"Dance with me." Her eyes were locked to his. Something smoldered deep within those mesmerizing eyes. He was not sure what it was, but he found that he did not wish it to disappear.
"I do not dance, Cadet."
"Oh, but you do. You dance with me every Monday afternoon in the gym."
Surprise. He tilted his head slightly, eyebrow cocked, eyes questioning. "That is not dancing, Cadet."
"Do I not recall you using exactly that word to describe it, sir, on the day that you informed me that I had achieved status?" Those eyes were filled with laughter now, a broad smile on those full lips.
He shifted his weight slightly from one foot to the other. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it again. He could not refute her statement, for her memory was excellent.
She continued. "The others are going on to the next club. They find this music too stilted. There won't be anyone here to watch. Come dance with me." Her voice had dropped, low, inviting. She held out one hand towards him, touching his sleeve, drawing him away from the wall.
Perhaps it would not be unacceptable to try this new experiment. Just this once.
She spoke again, voice low and husky. "I know this music's a little faster than what we use in the gym, but I think you keep that slow for me, to keep me comfortable while I learn."
She was so perceptive. He had not guessed that she was aware that he had slowed everything down to accommodate her. He followed her towards a clear space at the edge of dance floor, in a shadowed spot where no one else danced.
"Just try that first kata we danced together. See how it feels." She moved into position before him, waiting.
He adjusted himself into the waiting stance, his eyes never leaving hers. Her eyes were slightly unfocused, listening to the beat of the music. When she felt the time was right, she nodded her head slightly and began to move. He counter-moved, circling her, sliding arms along near hers, never touching, always close. The music continued to beat in his ears, drowning the sound of his heart beat. The little bells on that belt she wore twinkled and chimed as she moved. They moved faster than they did in the gym, synchronized to the beat of the music. For some reason this felt right. Her hands twisted, turned, pulling him in towards her. She flowed into the second kata she had learned, without stopping. He followed her, turning always to keep her face in his focus. He began to understand why the cadets did so much dancing. This was ... engrossing. He moved just slightly closer to her, controlling his movements so that they still did not touch, but there was little distance between them. His eyes still held hers, mesmerized. When the music stopped, they stood still, barely breathing, just staring at each other.
As the music started again, she breathed out a question. "Can we do this spontaneously, not in the katas? Like free sparring, maybe?" She was glowing, her beauty shining out of her eyes at him. There was nothing he could deny her tonight.
"It will be more difficult. We have not attempted this yet as you are still learning basic moves. But if you move first, I will attempt to make corresponding moves. It would not be safe for you if I were to move first. You are not yet ready to anticipate the correct response to random motions." It was difficult to speak, his heart was pounding, he was feverishly hot, he felt uncoordinated. But he wanted nothing more than to please her, to stay here moving in concert with her, feeling her so close.
She nodded, a look of intense concentration on her face. Then she began to move. Keeping time with the music, she twisted, moving her arms towards him, then away. She bent her knees and twisted to the side, then slid her feet in that direction. She turned her shoulders, dipped one down, then lifted it again. She turned away from him, then back again. He watched her carefully, moving without conscious volition in response to her movements, sliding his arms along hers, barely any distance between them, stepping to one side of her or the other as she moved, keeping their bodies aligned as they moved. When the music stopped this time, they were in the middle of a movement, one of his legs between hers, so closely that he could feel the heat of her body against his leg. This part of her body was almost as warm as his skin. He could smell her - that unique smell that was his cadet. His nostrils flared, pulling in her scent. Somehow he knew that from this moment forward, he would always be able to tell when she was near him, simply from her scent floating on the air.
The sound of applause shocked them both. They jerked up straight and looked around. Half the people in the club were staring at them and applauding. There were whistles and shouts. People had been watching them?
He stared down at her in consternation. What had they done? What sort of repercussions might there be? He stiffened. He watched her wilt, the lovely glowing joy fading from her face. "Cadet, we must leave here. Now."
She drooped. There was no other word for it. Retrieving her small purse from the table where they had been sitting earlier, she turned and walked through the crowd, out of the club and onto the sidewalk. He followed behind her, ignoring the people clamoring for them to dance again, the people pulling at his arms, trying to catch his attention. When a man grabbed at her arm, trying to stop her from leaving, he stepped forward quickly, growling, a snarl upon his face. The man dropped her arm and fled. When they were clear of the mass of people, outside in the cool night air, he stepped closer to her, trying to shield her from the people eager to convince her to return. Once again he turned, snarling at them. This time, everyone turned back inside the club, leaving them alone on the curb.
He turned back to her, forcing his face into a mask, revealing none of what he felt. "Are you unharmed?" His eyes swept her body, looking for any sign that those grasping hands had inflicted any damage on her.
"I'm not hurt." Her voice sounded dull, unhappy. "Can we go back to the hotel, now, please?" She turned in that direction, starting off down the sidewalk, her whole body slumped.
He was filled with pain. She had been so happy. He had been happy. Unexpectedly so. He had done something so far outside of his experience that he had no way to relate it to any previous actions, but it had felt so right, so perfect, to make her happy. He followed after her, not willing to let anyone accost her again, keeping himself just behind her so that he did not force her to notice him.
He watched as she coded her door. He could not let her leave him in this way. "Cadet, please wait a moment."
She stopped, her door open in front of her.
"Please turn around and face me." His voice was soft, low, entreating, filled with emotion. Perhaps it was that unexpected tone in his voice that made her turn to face him. "Please do not feel that you acted in way inappropriately this evening." He searched her eyes, trying to make her understand. "The fault is in no way yours."
"Fault?" She straightened up, her eyes starting to flash. "What FAULT?"
He faltered. "My actions... I was the one who acted inappropriately. I do apologize. I..." He was stopped by look of total indignation on her face, anger flashing from her.
"It was those stupid people in the club who were inappropriate, not YOU! They ruined it all! It was so wonderful and they just RUINED it!" Her face crumpled and tears overflowed her eyes. She shook with the force of her pain and anger.
He then did something that he had never done before in his entire life, something that he had never anticipated doing, something so far outside his normal calm self that later he could not conceive how he had been able to perform such an action. He reached forward and pulled the cadet into his arms, up against his body and held her there while she sobbed. Eventually, she quieted, rubbing her eyes with one hand, hiccuping gently against his chest. Then she drew back from him, standing straighter.
"Sorry, it was just too much. I'm sorry. I'll try not to do that again." She lifted her eyes to his, and he could see that the pain and anger had diminished. "I'll be ready in the morning, at 0500, right? You will come for me then, Commander?" Her voice was querulous.
"Yes, Cadet, I will be here for you at 0500. Please... Please meditate before you try to sleep. It will help." He looked into her eyes, wanting to say more, but not knowing what to say.
She looked at him. There was something different in her eyes. She tilted her head a bit, looked at him again, bit her lip. "Could you please call me Nyota? When we are alone?"
"Only if you will not call me Commander." That was so bold, so inappropriate. But he could tell from the smile creeping back onto her face that it pleased her. "Good night, Nyota."
"Good night, Spock." And she turned and entered her room, closing the door behind her.
And he stood there and treasured those simple words and the lovely sound of her voice saying his name for several minutes before he turned and went along to his own room. Where he spent the remainder of the night in meditation.