Fortunately for me Emmy smiled. “Kirk.”
Lilah blew a raspberry. “Picard, hands down.” She pointed at me. “Kirk never faced the Borg. So who’s your favorite and your Kirk-Picard choice?” she asked me.
“Kirk over Picard,” I said. “He beat the Kobayashi Maru.”
“He cheated!” the women echoed.
I held up a finger. “Ah, but he found a way around the parameters of the test and employed not only original thinking to the problem but exhibited the true spirit of the kind of mindset needed to be an interstellar captain.”
“Hmph,” Lilah grumbled.
“And your favorite?” Emmy asked.
“Archer as favorite with Janeway a close second.”
Both women’s eyes widened. “Archer?” they echoed in disbelief.
“Yes,” I continued, pleasantly surprised to be able to have this conversation and not feel like a massive fucking nerd who should keep my mouth shut. “Although if we don’t count some of the newer shows as reboots, I will say that Carol Freeman would tie for first.”
Their mouths dropped open as they looked at each other. “Marryhim,” Lilah said in what I hoped was a joking tone. “Now.”
Emmy
My face heated as I tried to kick Lilah under the table to shut her up but she was faster than me and tucked her legs around her chair and out of my reach.
“Well, if we’re going down that road,” I said trying to steer the conversation back toward the subject and away from Lilah’s uncharacteristically pushy matchmaking attempt, “then I would have to pick Pike for best captain. The new one.”
Jacktsked. “But that series ret-cons stuff and I’m not a fan of that. I can enjoy those shows and movies set within their own worlds and I agree with you about Pike, in that context. But if we’re talking the original shows and movies, he doesn’t count. He barely appears. And I’m kinda ticked off they changed Number One to a guy instead of keeping her a woman after the pilot.”
Lilah wore as smug a look as I’ve ever seen on her face as she laced her fingers on top of her head and stared at me. “Your move,Doc.”
I wrinkled my face at her. “Please excuse my sister,” I told Jack. “I think she encountered a Ceti eel today.”
He chuckled. “No worries. I’m enjoying myself. And I appreciate the invitation. I hope you two will let me return the favor. I’m not much of a cook but my barbecued ribs game is on point.”
“Deal,” Lilah said, smirking at me before focusing on him again. “Why are you still single?”
“Lilah!” I scolded. “Stop it!”
She shrugged. “Just asking.”
He nodded. “Fair point. I’m divorced. Been out here six years now. No kids—don’t want any. Married too young the first time and realized a few years in that it was a mistake. Spent the first couple of years after that avoiding entanglements because I knew I needed to work on me first. I mean, I’ve dated, but theno-kids thing was always the no-go for them. I don’t hate kids, I just don’t want them.”
“Oooh, girl, he’s ticking boxes left and right,” Lilah teased.
I glared at her but Jack laughed.
“Look, I’ll be honest that yes, I’m having fun right now. But I’m looking at tonight as just that—good food and fun conversation. I don’t jump into bed with women as soon as I meet them, because that’s not my jam. I’ll put you in touch with my exes, if you want, to talk to them. I even attended the last one’s wedding a few months back.” He shrugged. “I don’t have anything to hide.”
Lilah’s gaze narrowed. “Come on, out with it.” She pulled her hands off her head and sat forward while I fought the urge to crawl under the table in mortification. “What’s the thing you’re not saying?”
“Don’t know if that’s something I want to share right now,” he said.
Officer McGuire joined the chat. “Cross-dresser? Gay and in the closet? Into FemDom? Ponytail butt plugs? Chastity cages? As long as it’s legal and doesn’t involve kids or animals, we aren’t judgy. Safe space, and I promise we won’t say anything.”
“Lilah!” I yelled, certain that talking to him again wouldn’t be an issue because he’d assume we’re both insane. I had no idea what in the hell had gotten into her tonight and started to wonder if there reallywasa Montana variant of the Ceti eel.
He sat back in his chair, studying both of us while I prayed for a gateway to the center of the earth to open under my chair right that moment and swallow me whole.
