03-28-2026, 10:53 PM
When Beno turned red at some of the comments made by Carley, it surprised Alex again. He had never seen Beno blush so deeply. It was a good sign, in his eyes. It showed that she could let go and have a personal side. He was also learning a few details about her that he wasn't expecting, but it allowed him to see her more as a person. Alex understood all too clearly how it was easy to fall into the trap of thinking of people as the job they did or the rank they wore. It was part of why he tried to avoid the use of rank unless it was an absolute necessity. He valued the experience a person brought to a project, not their rank. Since they had returned from the mission, he had been reminded that Beno was a person and as such deserved to be treated like one and sometimes allowed to be one without the chains of obligation that sometimes came with the job. He had been an FO and knew what that was like.
Beno's reply to his comments about her spots made him grin and even blush a little again. He wasn't going to say it, but yes, his thoughts had wandered to the fact that he knew where those spots went and as a male with a healthy sex drive, he had allowed his mind to wander to what that view might look like in her case. He had enough self control to not let his mind dwell there too long. it did no good to let his hormones get too far ahead of his brain. If Beno had an interest in him in that way, she would let him know. She was bold and outspoken, so it seemed almost without question that she would not be shy about such a thing. Alex was terrible about flirting and knew he had little skill in that area. He was lucky if he managed to pick up on someone flirting with him, to the point that his wife had told him once that even when hit over the head with it, he had trouble seeing it at times. That though broadened his smile a little, knowing he was guilty as charged.
Beno then stated the challenge. She did want to dance and it was the infamous Tango. He did know the dance, but it had been a while. His mind raced for a second, trying to be sure he recalled the steps and that he was up to the task. Managing to appear to respond without hesitation, he held out his hand and gave a slight bow as he said, "As you wish..."
Alex's pulse picked up a little as he did so. He had said it without thinking, not realizing she may or may not know the reference. It was too late to take it back though. The Tango was legendary as a dance of passion. His sister had worked hard on it with him, swearing he would thank her one day, though he had never had need of it until now. His sister had gone to great length to get him to show the expression it required. She had been such a romantic at heart and taught him to play the part well. She showed him countless holo-vids and helped him to understand the performance. It was the only acting she ever really taught him and he had learned it well. The tricky part was not going to be remembering the moves, but for him to get the performance part right. He realized that he was not nervous about his dancing, but because he didn't want to disappoint Beno.
Once again, he realized that he cared about how this went. When had she made such an impression on him? How had this taken place without him realizing it until now? Maybe those trill spots were used to hypnotize him in some way. His mind knew that was silly, yet here he was, feeling that he was under some sort of spell. That was silly though, right? What would Kristina have said about it? He instantly imagined her rolling her eyes at him, shaking her head and smiling like she did when she reminded him that he could sometimes be so smart and so stupid at the same time and it was part of what she had loved about him. That thought didn't really help, but it made him recall that he often overthought things. The women of his life, including his own daughter, would tell him to stop doing so, so he tried his best to do so. He took a deep breath and let it out. He needed to stop thinking so much and just follow his instincts. He wasn't sure where that would lead him, but he was going to do his best with that.
== Tags! ==
Beno's reply to his comments about her spots made him grin and even blush a little again. He wasn't going to say it, but yes, his thoughts had wandered to the fact that he knew where those spots went and as a male with a healthy sex drive, he had allowed his mind to wander to what that view might look like in her case. He had enough self control to not let his mind dwell there too long. it did no good to let his hormones get too far ahead of his brain. If Beno had an interest in him in that way, she would let him know. She was bold and outspoken, so it seemed almost without question that she would not be shy about such a thing. Alex was terrible about flirting and knew he had little skill in that area. He was lucky if he managed to pick up on someone flirting with him, to the point that his wife had told him once that even when hit over the head with it, he had trouble seeing it at times. That though broadened his smile a little, knowing he was guilty as charged.
Beno then stated the challenge. She did want to dance and it was the infamous Tango. He did know the dance, but it had been a while. His mind raced for a second, trying to be sure he recalled the steps and that he was up to the task. Managing to appear to respond without hesitation, he held out his hand and gave a slight bow as he said, "As you wish..."
Alex's pulse picked up a little as he did so. He had said it without thinking, not realizing she may or may not know the reference. It was too late to take it back though. The Tango was legendary as a dance of passion. His sister had worked hard on it with him, swearing he would thank her one day, though he had never had need of it until now. His sister had gone to great length to get him to show the expression it required. She had been such a romantic at heart and taught him to play the part well. She showed him countless holo-vids and helped him to understand the performance. It was the only acting she ever really taught him and he had learned it well. The tricky part was not going to be remembering the moves, but for him to get the performance part right. He realized that he was not nervous about his dancing, but because he didn't want to disappoint Beno.
Once again, he realized that he cared about how this went. When had she made such an impression on him? How had this taken place without him realizing it until now? Maybe those trill spots were used to hypnotize him in some way. His mind knew that was silly, yet here he was, feeling that he was under some sort of spell. That was silly though, right? What would Kristina have said about it? He instantly imagined her rolling her eyes at him, shaking her head and smiling like she did when she reminded him that he could sometimes be so smart and so stupid at the same time and it was part of what she had loved about him. That thought didn't really help, but it made him recall that he often overthought things. The women of his life, including his own daughter, would tell him to stop doing so, so he tried his best to do so. He took a deep breath and let it out. He needed to stop thinking so much and just follow his instincts. He wasn't sure where that would lead him, but he was going to do his best with that.
== Tags! ==