This was a bad idea. An extremely bad idea, she was sure of it.
For the tenth time that evening, she smoothed her dark blue dress down and looked herself over in the mirror, resisting sinking her teeth down on her glossed lips. She looked fucking ridiculous and fuck this was going to be embarrassing.
She picked up the discarded datapad on the table and skimmed through the message for the fiftieth time in the past few days. Shore leave in four days. I’ve something prepared for you. Be ready at eight and wear something fancy.
No damn it, this only made her more nervous.
She ran her fingers through her loose curls and cursed under her breath moments after, smoothing it back down quickly.
The quiet knock on her door made her chest tighten. She counted back from ten, reached only to five, before she opened the door and –
“Damn.” The single word was uttered silently, almost breathlessly as her widened eyed scanned him from head to toe. She was right, he looked good in a suit.
His laughter brought her attention back to his face and she simply had to smile back at him. “Likewise, Commander.” He hummed, his own gaze travelling down her body and the curves the tight dress only highlighted. She smirked and leaned her hand on her hip.
“You know, the view only gets better out of the dress.” Voice sultry, she hooked her fingers around his tie and dragged him down, lips brushing against his own. She saw his Adam’s apple bob up and down when he gulped. She felt his hands on her hips, his fingers digging into the material of the dress hungrily – until he loosened his grip and pushed her away. God damn military training.
“You’re not charming yourself out of this Nora.” He chuckled and gently kissed the tip of her nose and she felt her resolve crumble under his breath.
But this was a terrible idea.
He laughed at her pout and offered her his arm. Knowing this was a fight already lost, Shepard complied and hooked her arm with his. “Relax.” He whispered into her ear and she shivered. “Trust me.”
And she did. Releasing the tension from her shoulders, she let him lead her through the almost empty Ready or Not and the docking bay and she had to admit, staring into the brilliant light of the city, seeing the light even after the sun had died down was breath taking. She marvelled in its beauty, leaning over the metal rail until James’ hand brushed over her lower back and she smiled. “C’mon. Our ride it’s here. It’s a ten minute drive so you’ll have plenty of time to admire civilization.”
“Har, har.” She huffed but let him lead her to the taxi.
True to his word, he left her in silence during the ride but she had got bored in a few minutes of passing lights flickering in the dark. She scooted closer to him and slipped her fingers through his hair, enjoying the feeling of his smooth locks on her skin. He turned to face her, eyebrow raised in amusement and she smiled back innocently. “You might only be a half ginger but you still have nice hair.”
“Nora.” He warned, leaning closer. “I’m full on ginger.”
“Mhm, sure.” She continued to play with his hair and he grumbled something about messing him up before the taxi stopped and the sheer reality of the situation dawned on her again.
She gulped, nervous again as she followed him out of the taxi. He took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles, leaving her to half groan and half laugh at him. He tugged at her hand and pulled her next to him, running his fingers down her back and she shivered again. “Relax.” He repeated and she was somewhat surprised he saw through her so easily. “It’s just dinner.”
“Exactly. But the way you look, you’d think I was leading you to your guillotine.”
It would have been easier to handle. She sighed but didn’t voice it out loud. Letting a small smile fall on her lips she turned to him and nodded her head briefly. “Fine, you win.”
“That one was obvious when you put that dress on, now wasn’t it?” He smirked, leading her through the glass doors of the restaurant.
It was fancy, red and gold dominating the other colours of the place with white table cloths covering the wooden tables. With cushioned chairs and candles giving the place the final touch, Nora all but retreated into herself. “You weren’t kidding about the fancy.” She murmured, feeling like she stood out from the place.
“I deliver what I promise.” He turned to the hostess and gave her his reservation details before Nora could protest. She found herself scooting closer to him, both of her hands now wrapped around his upper arm. She felt vulnerable, different and damn it, this was a date. An actual, fucking date.
The hostess led them through the tables until they reached the one next to the window. An incredible view opened up for her, with the sea crashing against the beach beneath them and a blinking lighthouse flashing in the distance.
“The waiter will be with you shortly.” The woman gave a little bow of her head and returned back to her station. James, playing his gentleman role perfectly, pulled out a chair for Nora.
“So, first impressions?” He asked, circling the table to reach his side.
“You’re all about scenery today, huh?”
Leaning over the table, the commander tilted her head at him and cocked an eyebrow up in question. “Well, I tried looking at the subject of interest but he’s a bit too distracting if I want to stay… proper.”
“The suit is just that good?”
“The man in it is. You look good out of it, but there’s just something about a well-dressed man that makes a girl crazy.”
They were interrupted by their waiter, a cheery looking fellow that introduced himself as Dan. He handed them a pair of menus and informed them he will be back shortly to take their orders. Flipping the black book open, Nora’s eyes widened. Some of the names – what were they, French? -- she couldn’t even pronounce properly. After skimming through the menu twice she finally settled on a steak with a side of mushrooms and mashed potatoes.
She set the menu down and glanced up to see James still reading through it. Turning her attention away from the man, she focused on the blinking light of the lighthouse. It was distracting enough that she didn’t notice the waiter returning until James was already placing his order.
“—steak with mushrooms.” They really need to work on communication. Swallowing a groan, she blinked the surprise out of her eyes before the waiter turned to her. Smiling up at him, she ordered the same. The waiter flashed a knowing grin and she was sure he got the wrong idea immediately. Damn it. With a little bow, Dan left, leaving them yet again alone.
“He actually bowed.” She turned to James, eyebrows raised. “He actually fucking bowed.”
“Yeah, fancy place, remember?”
“I’ve been to fancy places before, they never bowed.”
“I guess they just weren’t fancy enough.”
They fell into silence again when the bread basket arrived. Picking up a slice from the top, she tore out a piece from the middle and chewed absentmindedly around it. Keeping her gaze fixated on the empty plate before her, she picked of the fallen crumbs with her other hand whilst still holding he slice. She continued with the action until a third hand interrupted her, tearing a piece of crust from her slice.
“Hey.” She looked up, half glaring. “There’s a whole basket of bread. There a reason you’re stealing mine?”
“Just trying to get your attention.” His voice was soft, gentle and she stiffened under his slightly concerned gaze. He set the crust on his plate and leaned his arms on each side of it, leaning closer to her. A wave of guilt flushed through her and she looked down again, closing her eyes for a second. He was trying. She wasn’t meeting him halfway.
“Hey.” He lifted her chin with his thumb and index finger and then traced his fingers across her cheek. She let herself lean into his touch. “Talk to me. Hell, talk about the weather if you have to, just don’t leave me here in the silence.”
She took his hand and pressed her lips quickly against his palm before letting it drop down. “Well the weather has been pretty shitty today but it looks like the clouds have cleared up for tonight.”
“Nora.” He laughed and shook his head
“What? You proposed the topic yourself, Colonel.”
She opened her mouth and closed it a moment later, shaking her head when she went through excuses in her mind. She honestly didn’t know what to say and luckily enough, Dan returned with their ordered meal.
James waited patiently as she picked off the mushrooms from the steak. “I’ve never…” She spoke finally after a prolonged silence. “I’ve never been on a date before truthfully.”
Hearing his chocked cough made her glance up. He was wiping his mouth with his napkin, surprise and disbelief mirroring in his eyes and she nodded. “Unless you count a shitty make out session on a picnic when I was fifteen, I’m telling you the truth.”
“So this isn’t just our first date this is your actual…”
She glared up at him, pinning him down with a ‘drop it’ look but James’ smirk only widened. “You should have told me, you know. I would have prepared something… more.”
“This is… fine. Too much.” If she was being honest, she’ll be fully honest. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to… act. What I’m supposed to do. The only experience I’ve got going on is from romcom vids.”
“For the third time tonight, Nora, relax.”
Slightly frustrated she stabbed her steak with her fork and cut a piece off just a tad bit too aggressively. “I’ve been trying.” She sighed through her teeth. “Men never… they never took me out on dates like these. I’m not… used to this kind of thing.”
He was too calm, too patient and it irked her when he shrugged nonchalantly at her. “Change happens. It’s good when it does.”
“There’s been nothing but change in my life recently.”
And it clicked, finally. She came to the understanding what he was trying to show her with this entire night. Her life, whether she liked it or not, belonged here, in this—whatever it was. She was either going to accept it or let it ruin her. Her shoulders slumped down.
“No. No I suppose I don’t.”
He smiled at her and she nodded, sighing. “Just be who you are, Nora. It’s just dinner. I’m already sleeping with you, you don’t have to impress me.”
“No, I already did that.” She smirked and he groaned and finally the awkward air around them dissolved. She let out a breath of relief when she took her first bite of the steak, letting the night and the atmosphere take over.
“Next time we need to talk about our orders before we end up with the same dish.”
“There’s gonna be a next time?” He glanced up at her from under his lashes and she smirked.
“If you play your cards right.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Well, the night was fun once you got the stick out of your ass.” He spoke once they were safely hidden behind the walls of his cabin. He began to untie his tie when she topped him.
“Nu-uh. You don’t get to do that.”
Smirking deviously she tugged him closer to herself by his tie, pressing her body flush against his. “You don’t get to take this suit of just yet.” Trailing her lips up his jaw bone, she stopped only a breath away from his lips.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to see me strip out of it?”
“Next time.” She hummed before bringing their lips together, kissing him hungrily. Releasing his tie, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands finding their way into his hair. Breaking the kiss, she pushed him back until the back of his knees hit the bed and they toppled onto it. Sitting onto his lap, she ran her hands up and down his chest, lips leaving chaste kisses down his neck. “Now I just want to make a mess out of you. You know, as a thank you gift.”
