What? No way did he think that, not with that big strong warrior thing he had going on. Krystal looked up and burst into laughter, head thrown back in mirth.
T’arq blinked. “What?”
She looked at him, so lost and confused, and started laughing again. He huffed and scowled, and still she laughed.
“I’m… sorry…” she gasped for breath, wiping her eyes with her fingers. “This is a joke, right?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, which set her off again. “What was wrong with what I said?”
Hold on. “You weren’t being serious, were you?” Still laughing, she bent and picked the bot up, switching it off and climbing onto her stepstool to put it back on the workbench which was her station. “I’ll deal with you tomorrow,” she said to the little bot, shaking her finger at it.
She turned back to T’arq, who looked so forlorn that she took pity on him. Did he really not know how cheesy that line was? “It’s a little…”
“A little what?”
“Um…” she fiddled with the clasp on her boiler suit, the broken one she had fixed with a cable tie. It was funny how some things were, literally, universal. Duct tape and cable ties appeared to be everywhere.
“I want to know,” he said, dropping into a steel chair in the room's corner. He sat back, his big thighs spread wide, the fabric of his shorts pulled tight, and even higher on his thighs—a feat Krystal thought was impossible.
She swallowed, licking her suddenly dry lips. What had he said? Oh, that’s right.
“It’s just so cheesy,” she said, but now she wasn’t so sure. Was it really that bad? Or was she just so unused to hearing that kind of thing that she immediately pushed back?
“Cheesy?” he asked, head tilted to one side. “What have dairy products to do with anything?”
“Ah, not cheese. It’s a human expression. It means over the top or fake or intense in an overly obvious way.”
“You think I’m fake?” he asked, his face smoothing to a carefully blank and unreadable expression.
“I didn’t say that.” She fiddled with the catch on her uniform again.Oh, why was this going so wrong?
“But you think that, don’t you?” He crossed his arms over his chest, the sight of his heavily muscled limbs making Krystal’s stomach clench.
Get yourself together, woman!Krystal turned around to grip the edge of the workbench.
“Krystal,” his voice purred, and she felt an answering pull deep inside her.
“Yes?” She turned back to face him.
“Do you think I’m fake?” His words were quiet, his voice deep and intense.
She sighed. “You won’t let this go, will you?”
“No.”
How could he make one syllable have so much meaning?
“T’arq, is not that I find you fake exactly, but you do have a reputation.”
He muttered under his breath, dropping forward to put his elbows on his knees.
“They have warned me about you. You’re kind of…” She shrugged.
His gaze shot to hers, piercing her with their intensity.
She blushed, pulling a face. “You know, someone who sleeps around a lot. Has sex with a lot of different people.”
“What’s wrong with that?” He looked genuinely confused, and she took pity on him.
