Shall We Dance?

Posted on Mon Oct 17th, 2022 @ 2:44pm by Lieutenant Commander Diane Doctrine & Lieutenant Commander Rutherford (RJ) Milton
Edited on on Mon Oct 17th, 2022 @ 4:31pm

Mission: The Lost Brother
Location: Holodeck 3
Timeline: current

"Shall We Dance?"

Lieutenant Rutherford Milton
Lieutenant Commander Diane Doctrine

While their promised holodeck excursion had been put on hold because of duty, Rutherford and Diane took advantage of holodeck three at the first opportunity when their free time aligned....

==Holodeck 3==

Diane wore a floral patterned sundress to make learning to dance a bit easier. It allowed for the freest movement of her arms and legs... plus, it felt good to wear something besides her uniform for a change. Instead of her Starfleet uniform boots she wore shoes that would be comfortable for dancing with a smallish heel that gave her height an extra three centimeters. All she added to the dress was a light colored, barely noticeable, pink lip stick.

The double doors of the holodeck slid open and she stepped in...

The Arch vanished into an archway type of entrance; the first thing that came was the sounds of a few people dining and the sounds of a Mariachi band playing in the background. The restaurant was for twelve tables; could have comfortably double that number were it not a slightly raised dance floor. Each table surrounding had brilliant Spanish style table clothes and a single candle that gave mood but also good lighting. The opposite wall is the kitchen with a bar along the east wall.

Milton was near the stage and closer to the doorway Doctrine entered; his focus more on the ambiance of the place like an artist scoping out his creation, or maybe a man who just tried to envision the place the program is based upon to catch finer details. Upon hearing the Arch he turned to face the Doorway. Dressed in Matador type slacks that appeared tailored to him, the white cotton shirt with loose sleeves and red vest with matching cravat ended with the shining shoes of black, slight heel had the impression of someone that had seen the Dance floor before.

Milton smiled brightly and approached the woman. He found attractive, a flurry of the right wrist and a bouquet of white rosebuds appeared. He moved closer and look in her eyes.

"You have beautiful choices in Dancing attire, I cannot help but find you stunning." He look to her left ear. "May I, it has no thorns but I think would look lovely on you?"

Diane smiled widely, her delight was evident in her expression. This holo-program was more than she anticipated. Had she known the theme she would have brushed up on her Spanish. She turned her head to allow him to place the rosebuds behind her ear, "You may... and I can't help but agree with you senor, you are quite stunning yourself you know."

Milton brushed a lock of hair behind her ear he placed the bud in place while looking into her eyes he moved to give her a gentle kiss before stepping back.

"Welcome to my haven." Winking with a sly grin. "I do hope you enjoy the place."

Diane felt her cheeks warm after he kissed her. A feeling of giddy excitement welled up within her. "Well, I do love some Mexican food," she bantered back while taking in the scenery, "This program looks great." She twirled around with her dress flaring out as she spun, "Is this a real place somewhere or did you make it all up?"

"Beautiful." He commented softly. "A little hole in the wall place in New Mexico." Milton smiled as he admired the Lady before him. "They are known for their fine food and the Mariachi band for mood."

Milton moved to a table near the dance floor.

"I did manage the best table, right next to the dance floor." Gesturing to the chair. "The place really is quite popular on a Saturday night." He winked with a sly grin.

Diane sat in the offered chair and Milton easily pushed her in, "Thank you," she said politely, "If they have seafood nachos on the menu then I'm all in." Any kind of nacho platter actually, it was one of Diane's weaknesses. Nachos, queso, and great toppings were one of her favorites. "And of course a margarita to wash it all down." She offered a playful smile in reply to Milton's sly grin.

"This is an authentic food place, next best thing to being there, I still hold record for best holo-program in my Medical class. This is a long perfecting project and the food exceeds most; if I do say so myself, as it is a novel approach to programs. He seated himself. "Three weeks of work in the place and still integrating the research into the program. He winked. "When I say 'Home Made Taste' is not just boasting, it tastes real."

Diane listened and smiled during Milton's explanation. She had been a part of quite a few holodeck programs herself so it was always interesting to see how other people approached the task. "I can't wait to find out." She took a deep breath, "You've even got the aromas right. It's amazing! What do they have here in the way of margaritas?"

"I would recommend the exotic margarita," A sly grin appeared on his face. "I make a passion fruit drink pale in comparison." He winked. "That one I had to make meticulous efforts to perfect. It and some Spicy Shrimp, not common but well worth a try as a nacho dish." Milton teased. "Just to get an appetite going and hint at what is to come if you let your hair down a little."

Diane's hair was already down, not in the typical braid or bun when she was on duty. He head tilted to the side as she pondered what second meanings the good doctor's words were hiding. "Definitely sounds tantalizing. I'll try one of these exotic margaritas and perhaps some spicy shrimp nachos as an appetizer?"

"Your wish is my Command." Milton looked to the holo-waitress and gave the order as two of the Margarita's. "In all honesty I should warn you that on the Holodeck there is a slight chance of potency. The molecular structure of the alcohol here has been through a special filter and is 89.887% accurate to the recipe of the drink." He grinned. "Let me just say it is as good as it tastes and too many might have the normal affect of a margarita." He chuckled. "I used a medical Tricorder to get it right on the chemical analysis and as it also is the same for medicines, the alcohol is quite... real. As is the food calibrations." Adding the last part. "Why I got such a good score was the tricorder work."

"We'll have to make sure we don't imbibe too much then," Diane answered, "So... you did all this," she motioned with a wave of her hand to their surroundings, "...to win a contest at Starfleet Medical? Must have been one helluva prize, right?"

"You cannot know the sheer worth of bragging rights as the best Medical Cadet with a Tricorder." Milton replied with a grin. "There is a goal in the classes to be the best with your equipment and intellect. Doctor Sanavitch had a little personal challenge to find the most 'creative' way to use equipment. I am the current champion of all classes and no one has really come close to taking my spot." He leaned forward a bit and whispered. "And the food was not the best detail that got me the award."

A small smile of curiosity graced her lips as Diane leaned forward and whispered back, "What was the best detail?" Her eyebrows went up and down once conspiratorially.

"The vibe it gives off as a whole." He leaned a little closer. "It might actually be a it romantic if I do it right?"

Diane didn’t back away when Milton’s face edged closer to hers, but she didn’t move any closer herself when she answered in a quietly, “Well, I can tell you for certain, the vibe definitely leans towards romantic. So far so good.”

"I am glad you think so." Winking he rose and offered a hand. "Shall we dance?"

She stood and accepted his hand into hers. Milton's hand felt like she imagined, like a doctor's hand, soft, warm, and exuding calm. "I'd love to."

Gently he led her to the slightly raised platform and when they were in the center of the floor he nod to the band.

"Let us start with a fun Latin dance called the Cha-Cha." He turned to face her and moved to place a hand on her waist just above the hip. "This is a faster tempo, a 4/4 timing but we take five steps in the four count It will be three slow and two fast in the last measure." Leaning his face closer he whisper to her. "You can keep count by thinking 1-2-3-cha cha." He evaded the urge to kiss her sweet lips.

"1, 2, 3, cha cha, got it." Diane was a bit nervous, dancing was nothing she ever trained for formally, but Milton was making things so easy forcing her anxiety to dissipate quickly. "I'm ready when you are."

With that smile he took a slow step forward, leading her to step in time slowly backwards. "One..." Another left foot advance. "Two..." the third step." "Three..." Then two slightly quicker steps, moving his hands closer to her hips to a bit more sway to them to instruct her the meaning of..."CHa-cha."

"Ahhh, I see," Diane began to get in the rhythm of things. "This is nice." She was smiling widely now and allowing her hips to sway a little more to the dance but not enough to be obnoxious.

Milton look her in the eyes and winked. "You are doing... You sure you have not done this before."

He guided her through a few more of the steps. Before he used his hand on her lower back to make the reversal where it is meant to appear the lady takes the lead. Milton knew the timing and steps without having to glance back before the next turn.

"Well, part of my job is to pick up on things quickly," she mentioned as she allowed herself to be led through the dance steps. She estimated that after a few more bars of the music she'd be able to do this on her own. At the same time she was not quite forcing herself to relax. Learning to keep work separate from pleasure was not easy but she was figuring it out.

"That is a very good trait in a partner." Milton was discovering the aptness of his newest Dancer. "Dancing is simple once you know the steps...' The sly smile grew on his face. "It is being able to learn the art of merging the two dancers into one. Knowing how you and I fit together is the real trick that comes from mutually allowing oneself to just enjoy the music and time with one another to flow." He winked as the did a quicker spin and into quick steps again.

Diane was confident she was getting the hang of it. He's a sly one, she thought to herself. "We do seem to fit together rather well..."

Of course that was the moment her concentration slipped and she accidentally stomped on his foot. "OH!" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry, are you all right?" She chewed the inside of her cheek and cursed to herself for letting her concentration lapse because of his cute, sly expression.

"Not to worry." Milton quickly took position to continue. "Hazard of the dance process." He winked. "Important lesson will be to learn that missteps are common, so long as the dance continues afterward in a Smooth transition , the enjoyment is not interrupt. Giving that grin. "No one is perfect and how we deal with the missteps of life allows for the joy of the dance to continue no matter what the condition. " He chuckled. "Short of a broken leg of course. "He playful gave a wink and placed his hands in the appropriate place to guild her through the lesson.

Diane was ready again. She felt the flush in her face dissipate as the embarrassment wore off thanks to Milton's kind words. Oh, he's smooth all right, she thought to herself. "Okay, I'm ready again," she offered a wink of her own while noting she felt the heat of his hand through her sundress.

Looking into her eyes deeply for a moment while the moved together, gently using his hand on the small of her back to indicate the turns and even a slow spin as they seem to flow together through another two tunes effortlessly, it was a tempo of slowed and constant romantic Latin music that allowed the heartstrings to be gently strum to the tempo.

When the second song ended, he could sense the added heartbeats as a dance is from the heart if done right but also very good for the body as it is not for the faint of body, and before they felt too taxed by the efforts, lungs just starting to announce they had danced for a bit, Milton ended the movements and with that friendly grin that only comes with enjoyment of another's company, he winked.

"Care to try the main part of my experiment?" Waggling his eyebrows. "The food?"

Diane didn't let Milton go. Something in her rekindled with his hands delicately placed on her. They stood there, not quite panting from their dancing workout, looking at each other's face.

Diane couldn't help but grin back at him. "I do believe we've worked up an appetite. Let's eat."

Milton leaned down and placed a gentle kiss upon her lips; for only a few seconds the almost reluctantly took his hand from the small of her back and with their clasped hand offered to lead her to the table.

Diane had wanted the kiss to last a little longer but she also didn’t want to rush into anything too fast. Best let things take the natural course, she thought to herself.

"I hope you like things... spicy?" He smiled.

She smiled back and replied, “I do, you might be surprised at how spicy.” Her grin took on a devilish quality.

"That will be an adventure I think." Not letting the soft hand go until she was seated and when he had taken his own seat look into her eyes. "How about the seafood and a strong Salsa with the chips?" He gave her that sly smile and with a nod to the Mariachi band to set a soft romantic ballad into the air as the Singer sang of the romance that comes with a fine woman's company...

Diane's elbows were on the table and her chin rested in her interlaced fingers as she looked at Rutherford with a pleased expression. "This is a good adventure. Thank you for sharing with me Rutherford."

"I thought we were on more 'friendly terms?" He winked. "RJ, you can call me RJ, I like the sound of it when you say it, like at the picnic." Looking her in the eyes. "Ready for more adventure Milady?" He gave that sly grin.

From behind Diane the wait staff brought the entrees.

"What you have ordered." The holographic waiter said in a heavy Spanish accent. "Please enjoy..."

"Always," she told Milton, and "Thank you," to the waiter and looked back to Rutherford. "I didn't mean to offend, RJ," she said demurely, " 'Rutherford' seems more distinguished, and you are distinguished in your field, but you're right, you don't seem like the formal type." She nodded her head once as if to commit something to permanent memory, " 'RJ' it is from now on when we're off duty. She offered a small smile hoping she'd rescued herself.

"That is all I ask, those who are friends can call me 'Doc', those close to me get 'RJ'." His look was more saline look. "You have the potential that I really like you calling me RJ." Giving that grin of his as he reach over to rest his hand on hers.

Diane's eyes were averted for a moment and then refocused on Rutherford. "I... like that you like me calling you RJ." There, she said it. Now the ball was in his court. She suspected he was feeling the same as she was, but a verbal confirmation was always welcome and would go a long way in to lessening her anxiety over it.

"I like you Diane..." Milton said with a smile. "I hope you realize that? I have more that I want to share with you if you'll let me?" He had it out there and this is often where he had never gotten to, the telling a woman she is special, hoping she did not feel his pulse speed up with anticipation over her next statement.

“RJ…” she started with a touch of nervousness in her voice, “… I feel the same for you. This is silly, we’re two grown adults and I feel like I’m in high school again… not in a bad way though, this feels good.”

There, it was all out in the open now. There was never anything to worry about. “It’s been a long time since I’ve dated anyone,” she continued, “I’d like to keep going.”

Milton lean forward and brought her hand to kiss the knuckles as Gentlemen do.

"Do you want to wear my Letterman's jacket?" He smiled. "Some more practice with dancing before the prom?" Winking he chuckled a little, that last joke might be over the top though?

Diane was smiling as widely as Rutherford. She stifled a giggle and put her left hand over his hand that was still holding her right one, the hand he’d just kissed, and leaned a little closer to reply, “Yes… all that… hopefully more.”

"A lot more." Milton confirmed.