“Of course,” T’arq said. “Do you need some help?” He winked, trying for his most playful grin. He must have succeeded because she barked out a laugh in reply, quickly undoing the straps so she could turn in the seat and appraise the food.
“What is it?” she asked, pointing at one of the silver packages, steam rising from the top.
“Just a few things I thought you might like.” Why was he so concerned? She was sensible. If she was hungry, then she would eat. “There’s a spiced Taurean stew, but I wasn’t sure if you’d like it, so I also have an Earth dish that the computer said was popular with humans.” He pushed the second silver package to her and offered her a fork.
She pulled the package toward her side of the tray and gave a tentative sniff, then looked into the package. Incredulously, she exclaimed, “Tom Yum noodle soup? You have to be kidding me!”
Thankful that he had been around enough humans to understand their expressions, he laughed. “Do you like it then?”
Krystal had already shoved a mouthful of the dish into her mouth, so she swallowed and choked out, “It’s one of my favorites. Thank you.”
That warm feeling spread through T’arq again. Pushing it aside, he focused on eating. He’d found her intriguing from the first, but seeing these different sides of her made him like her even more.
Krystal’s tablet beeped and with one hand busy with her food, she swiped at the screen with the other.
T’arq paused, fork halfway to his mouth, and turned his head in time to see Krystal’s grip on the container slip. A rain of noodles and hot liquid sprayed across the tablet and into her lap.
“Shit!”
He moved quickly, lifting her bodily from the chair and stripping her flight suit and boots from her, so she stood in front of him, clad only in her underwear. He ran his hands over her, grabbing the medi-scanner and scanning her red skin with the wand.
She was shaking by the time he was done. “T’arq?”
He looked up at her from where he was running the medi-scanner over her feet, straightening to kneel with his head level with hers. “What’s wrong?” T’arq reached out to grasp her upper arms in his hands, kneading gently.
Big brown eyes filled with tears. “Please tell me all my data isn’t gone?”
