D.B. Wexler
Posted on Wed Dec 11th, 2019 @ 8:28pm by
Mission:
Promenade
Location: Poseidon Station, Gymnasium
Timeline: Shoreleave
1758 words - 3.5 OF Standard Post Measure
'Grab the bull by the horns,' the old adage goes. Nobody tells you where to go from there.
Earbuds in and eyes focused, sweat had already formed on Sullivan's forehead. Coalescing and forming into droplets, it began to run down the bridge of her nose. A sharp expiration of air from her lungs cleared away the perspiration momentarily, giving her the concentration she needed to put up the last repetition of clean and jerk. With a visceral grunt, a mass equal to her own body weight moved towards the ceiling, pausing at the peak of its ascension for a beat.
"I AM A STRONG _____!"
A primal exclamation sounded throughout the gym, punctuated by the sound of the bar unceremoniously crashing down to the floor. The adrenaline rush had come and gone, and Lilith was suddenly very self conscious of the amount of noise she had created in the weight room. Taking one earbud out, she looked around and saw a few sets of eyeballs glancing curiously in her direction.
"Sorry guys, I got a little carried away."
"No, don't be," one of the witnesses retorted. "Great work. You are, uh, strong. I won't repeat the rest."
Lilith grinned and returned a thumbs up before re-racking the weights and bar. She took the time to wipe away some of the sweat with a towel before retrieving her water bottle and making her way to the mostly empty section of cardio equipment. Her usual playlist of high energy, fast tempo music kept her motivated as she finished her workout with a quick jaunt on a stationary bike, but something unusual caught her attention.
"Hey," she called over to the man pedaling a few stations away from her. "I didn't expect to see you here buddy, how's it going?"
Before he'd heard the voice Alanzo had been casing the joint. He hadn't done anything so far, it was a little busy in here and it was too easy to get caught but give it a half hour and he might be able to make his grand retreat, sans cloths. He might even grab a couple of souvenirs along the way.
Alanzo turned around and frowned ever so slightly. But when he caught sight of who was talking to him he perked right up again. "Just fine friend," he had no idea of her name but recognized her as one of the women he'd run into in the corridor that day. "Nice day for a ride huh?" He looked her up and down and up again admiring the view but didn't stop the peddling.
"Mmm, I guess," Lilith shrugged. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted towards the ceiling in search of any scrap of motivation filtering down from above. "Is it really ever such a thing as a good day to do cardio?" she laughed before opening her eyes and turning her attention back to her friend. "I'm surprised that you came over to the station to get a workout in, but uh, I guess you've been spending more time in the gym than I thought. You're looking stronger these days Wil', that's awesome!"
"Well you know, with the right motivation." Alanzo held back his tongue, not wanting to give away his secret just yet. This friendship might prove useful to him. "A certain red haired beauty." He shrugged, pretending to be shy about it though he was watching for Lily's reaction carefully.
"Oh Wil," she shook her head. "Sadie would like you no matter what shape or size you were because you're you. And if she didn't, then she's not the right one anyway. The only proper motivation to do any of this s--- is so you can eat pizza. Or, I guess, if you're completely insane like me and actually like this."
Lilith paused for a moment, realizing that her jokes weren't having their intended effect. She turned to look at him, eyes lingering over his features for split second longer.
Was there something different?
""I was just kidding Wilfred. Don't take it too seriously. I'm glad you're happy."
"Yeah well . . . . Do you want to have lunch? I'm free for the moment." He hopped off the bike. "I mean after we shower first of course. I hear there's this little bistro I've been wanting to try. And Sadie's working anyway," he quickly blurted out before she went and tried to invite the other woman.
"Yeah, sure, sounds like a plan. I've been meaning to try some new places on the station. This is as good a time as any to start," Lilith nodded, slowing her cadence as she began to conclude her session. "You wanna meet outside in fifteen minutes or so?"
"Deal," he gave her a small smile and watched as she turned to leave. It was sickening, pretending to be his pathetic brother. And, he was going to have to do it for a bit longer to get what he wanted. If he was going to get anything out of it at all. He headed for the showers. A bit of spiffying himself up wouldn't hurt, even if his brother already had a girlfriend.
[Twenty Minutes Later]
"Hey, so, this place that we're going to - it isn't super fancy or anything, right? I can go in this and won't be refused service?" Sullivan asked as she walked along the passageway. Dressed in yoga pants and an athletic quarter-zipped jacket, she skipped along as they continued towards their destination. Normally she wouldn't go out immediately following the gym, but shoreleave was the time to break out of traditions and habits.
"Nah, just a little place really. They serve a couple of dishes a day and some wonderful coffee. And you look lovely by the way, you always do." He knew he was pushing Wilfred complimenting people but she really was lovely to look at and what guy on the ship or station would deny that?
"Oh," she glanced towards him, caught slightly off guard by the statemen. "Thanks Wilfred, it's nice of you to say so. I guess Sadie has really brought you out of your shell, I'm all about it. You could barely speak to Cassie or me the first time we met," Sullivan smiled politely.
Alanzo shrugged, pretending to be a bit more abashed. "Well you know, things change and I've gotten the chance to talk to you a bit more. Plus, as you said, Sadie has helped a lot. So . . . what'll it be?": He asked as they approached the little bistro. Their specials were on a board behind the cart and there were a few tables set up for people to sit down at.
CORNERSTONE CAFE Daily Specials
Jiballian berry salad
Earth-style fried poultry with seasonable vegetables
Homemade Vulcan plomeek soup
Earth-style Reuben sandwich
"Oh man, that rye bread looks amazing! I think I'm going to have the Reuben. What are you thinking? My treat," Lily offered. "I still feel bad about you getting bopped on the head by the streaker a few weeks ago. Plus you and Cass had to babysit my drunk ass. Good times."
"I think I'll have the soup. Love a good soup especially with some fresh bread or crackers. I like to crumble them up and drop them in." He made the motions with his hands. "And don't worry about it. My head healed and you were no trouble. Cass mostly had to deal with you." Alanzo used the short version of the woman's name since he in fact, had no idea who she was speaking about.
A few moments later, Lilith sat down at a small corner table with one of the Wexler brothers, still unaware that it was Alanzo, not Wilfred, she was sharing lunch with. Pouring them each a glass of water, she took a sip as they waited for their food to arrive. Their server walked by and dropped off of a small chunk bread which she cut a slice off of before smearing on some of the fresh butter that had come with the loaf.
"So, I gotta ask," Sullivan dropped her voice low so no one could overhear. "Have you two thought about names or anything?"
"Names?" Alanzo looked at her blankly. "Uh no," he said quickly recovering. "We have not talked about names at all yet . . . suppose we've been busy. Got any suggestions?" He asked going with the flow of the conversation until he knew for sure what she was talking about.
"Oh heavens no, I wouldn't dare. I'm one of the lucky ones you see. I actually like my name. Lilith Evelyn. Lots of nickname potential, lots of ways to shorten it, the possibilities are endless," she explained. "I had an ex once who like to call me Evie. That one I'm not too fond of, but oh helloooooo."
The conversation had been cut short by the arrival of their chosen meals. Taken straight from the cover of a culinary magazine, Lilith's Reuben sandwich smelled as appetizing as it looked. Cut into triangles and pinned together with a frilly toothpick, she eagerly took a bite and exhaled in satisfaction.
"See Wilfred, this here? This is why we do cardio," she giggled.
He grinned at her. "I suppose so. Wouldn't want that sandwich to go to those hips. Isn't that how the saying goes?" He took a bit of his soup but found it rather bland and so he added some salt and pepper. "Got any plans this evening? Sadie has this thing with a friend of hers."
"Me? Plan? Like, in advance?" Sullivan raised an eyebrow before cheekily taking one corner of her sandwich and dipping it in the soup. "Not while I'm on leave my friend," she said between bites of sandwich, peering across the table as she did so. "Why, what do you have in mind?"
"I don't know, let's do something crazy. Throw caution to the wind! Live a little for once. What do you say to not planning anything, just running with it where whatever this is takes us?" Alanzo grinned.
"Wow, okay Wilfred, I can't believe my own ears right now," she laughed in return, clearly caught off guard by the sudden outburst. "Sadie has really changed you, hasn't she? Anyway, alright, I'll admit I'm curious to see what Wilfred Wexler's idea of throwing caution to the wind is. I'm in."
Lieutenant Lilith Sullivan
Chief Flight Control Officer
Alanzo Wexler
Wilfred's brother
