DATE OF A LIFETIME:
Shade belongs to well...himself, Boomer Gray belongs to me. He asked first, please do the same. (grins). StarFox and all related characters belong to Nintendo, Please send comments to Shade himself, his address is given at the bottom of the page. Thanks!
Boomer had given Shade the details of her "dream date". Shade thought it was stereotypical, but sighed and thought, 'Well, just because she likes machines and explosives doesn't mean she's full of testosterone. On second thought, that's a VERY good thing indeed.' Shade smiled. The date involved dinner, dancing, movie, and then a walk on the beach. He figured it might take all night, but he didn't mind. He liked Boomer, and this date was a test for them both. To figure out if they really liked each other, or if it should just be a friendship.
They met at the restaurant, The Cornerian Prize. The restaurant had a four star rating for class, and everything else was five stars. 'Funny,' Shade thought, 'as to why they never rate the prices.'
"Thanks for taking me out, Shade. I've always wanted to go here." Boomer said when they entered the restaurant. Shade had decided for the royal treatment, and had rented a limousine for the date. It was expensive, but as a merc, he knew that he could handle the monetary problems with another job.
When they sat down, Shade decided to bring up conversation. "So, uh, how's it been going with you?" he asked.
Bea replied, "Oh, uh, just fine, fine, just fine. You?"
"Oh, just great. Katt and Falco got into another argument, then they both went back to each other, and now Falco's got her on a date tonight to make up. I think that they're on the other end of the restaurant. I didn't tell him that we were going out. Actually, I just told Katt that I was going to go entertain myself for the evening, so she thinks I'm out hitting on women and failing, like I usually do. But instead, I DID pick up a girl, previously arranged, of course, and here we are now. By the way, you look REALLY nice in that dress. Katt would kill for something like that."
"Thanks. You look good, too. It suits you."
"Thank you. Oh, here comes our meals."
Beatrice had ordered a steak, and I had ordered a lobster, my favorite. We had a bottle of champagne for drink (I must've drunk a quarter of it, because the next morning my head hurt really bad. Anyway, let's get back to the story). I never knew that eating meat could keep someone's attention for so long. I kept my eye on her the entire time. I glanced away whenever she noticed, and it seemed to work both ways. She giggled.
"Oh, come on, Shay." She teased.
I looked up, "Shay? That's one I've never heard before."
"That's why I called you it, 'Shay'!" she laughed, emphasizing the 'Shay'.
"Aye yay yay..." I said under my breath. Then she kissed me, right on the lips. That made us both blush, and stopped all eating and conversation. "Wow... no one's ever kissed me before." I said.
"I've never done it like that, either. I usually just peck them on the cheek, as a friendly gesture. I liked it though. Wanna try again?" she said.
"Mebbe later. Let's finish dinner, first."
We finished dinner, and we later forgot about the kiss. We went dancing, and nothing special really happened there, besides us getting really close together, hugging, and me liking her perfume. It drove me crazy! Then we went to see the movie. It was an old romance movie with a little action. 'Hey,' I thought, 'the best of both worlds! Romance for the occasion, action for entertainment!' The movie was pretty good, although I now forget the details and the name. Then came the walk on the beach.
"This is beautiful! What a sunset!" she exclaimed as she looked out over the sea, "although I wish we were on Zoness..."
"I know, I know. Zoness had much better sunsets and beaches than any other plant in Lylat. But we're here, and we have each other, you have me, I have you." I replied, bringing my lips to hers. Then we kissed, a long, romantic kiss. I have no idea how long it lasted, seconds, minutes, hours. All I know is that it was dawn when we stopped.
"Wow... *puff pant* that was a *pant puff* long kiss!" I exclaimed, catching my breath and leaning on her.
"Yeah, *puff puff* I didn't know *pant puff* that I could kiss *puff pant* for so long." She replied, catching HER breath and leaning on ME. We stood there for about 5 minutes before collapsing onto the sand, staring up at the sky. We talked for a bit, then got up before the tide came in. We went to her house and she changed into some normal clothing, then she waited for me to get mine from my ship and change as well.
"Well, well, well, if we don't have a college student." Boomer joked when she saw me. I hadn't been able to shower or comb my fur, so I was a mess. She lent me a comb, and that helped me look a lot nicer. We went to the Great Fox, poking each other playfully on the way. I asked for permission to dock (finally), and Fox looked at me strangely. "Where have you been? You look like you've been up all night! Katt's been worried," he said, "Who's that- Boomer? What are YOU doing in is ship?!"
"Oh, giving him a hard time flying to the Great Fox. He's a good kisser!" I just blushed.
"Man, that was embarrassing! Beatrice, did you HAVE to do that?" I said, unaware that the com was still open. She just kissed me on the lips for a few seconds, then paused, as if in thought, then said, "You betchya, Shay!"
"Whatever, Bea. Permission to dock, Fox?" I said.
"Uh, yeah, sure," he said, "Wait a sec! You asked to dock? Methinks you're too distracted to crack the code, Shade!" Fox laughed. Boomer just laughed along with Fox, until she understood what he meant.
"HEY! We didn't do that! We just kissed, that's all! Fox, don't make me hack into your personal files to see what you and Mari have been up to!" Fox stopped laughing, that started again.
"I won't, Boomer. Go ahead and dock, Shade, permission granted. StarFox out."
"Whatever, Fox. Let's dock." I said. When we docked, Katt, Falco, Fox, Mariko, Peppy, and Slippy were there.
"Man, bro, that's one big red mark you got on your neck!" Katt said.
"You guys were out longer than me an' Katt! And that's saying something!" Falco laughed.
"That's a big smear you got there, Shade. Did you try to put on lipstick, or just eat something really red and juicy?" Fox teased. Mariko, Peppy, and Slippy just laughed and laughed and laughed. I must've been beet red, and not from Boomer's lipstick.
"I need a shower." I said, walking down the hall.
"There's room for two, Shade! Wait for your date!" Falco said.
"You would know, Falco." I said with a sly grin. He just stopped laughing, and everyone else started laughing harder. I got used to going out with Boomer. Usually, she had leave when I didn't have a job, so that was convenient. Then I had to go out-system, to the Sol system, escorting a scout vessel doing an exploration job, and searching for intelligent life. I was eager to go, because I've always wanted to make first contact. One week later, Andross took over Corneria, and the vessel was recalled back, as was I. We never got past the outer planet, about the size of a moon.
If Boomer of Katt was in trouble, I was going to make sure that they got out of it.
~Finish~
Please send comments to the author at: shay@justicecadets.com