Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
“Not true,” I muttered half-heartedly, ignoring the sharp pain that lanced through my chest. I knew Lucky hadn’t meant anything by the comment, since it was exactly what I’d always wanted people to believe about me, but somehow letting Ash think I was “that guy” felt wrong. What was the alternative, though? I certainly couldn’t tell him the truth. I shivered again, automatically looking over to catch Ash watching me with concern.
No, he couldn’t have known what I was thinking… could he?
I forced a chuckle I wasn’t feeling and took a swipe at Lucky as I said, “And quit trying to get a rise out of me, or I’m not buying you any memorabilia at this thing.”
Ash laughed when Lucky skipped out of my reach and taunted me from several feet ahead of us on the sidewalk.
“He’s a nice kid,” Ash said, quietly enough for Lucky not to hear it.
“He’s amazing. You should see what he came from. The strength it took for him to survive that… he amazes me.”
I felt Ash’s eyes on me, but I kept my eyes facing forward. I realized my bottom teeth had come out to scrape across my top lip. It was something Bennett referred to as my “tell”— a sign I was emotional. I quickly closed my mouth and concentrated on getting us to the event venue.
When we got to the small auditorium where the event was being held, I noticed a sign on the door that claimed all unattended children would be sold to the Borg. I chuckled, reaching out my elbow to nudge Ash so I could point it out. He jumped at the unexpected contact, and Lucky shot me a worried glance. I shook my head at him. Don’t ask.
“Sorry,” I murmured to Ash, kicking myself for forgetting he was jumpy and ruining the progress I’d seemed to have made with him tonight.
His face was red from the cold air outside, but I had a feeling he was also pink from embarrassment. “No, I’m sorry,” he said before belatedly smirking weakly at the sign. I made a point to keep Lucky between us for a little while after that, just in case the lesser proximity to me helped put Ash’s mind at ease that I wasn’t going to touch him again.
We finally made our way up to the ticket taker, and I handed over the printouts I’d brought of the tickets. Ash leaned around Lucky to ask me a question. “What exactly is this again? Are you sure it’s the real actors? Seems like it’d be a bigger crowd or something. I don’t know… security, even?”
Lucky answered before I could. “Yeah, um, just go with it, Ash, okay?” he said, his voice going a bit higher than normal.
I did a double-take at Lucky. “Lucky? I thought you said it was the original cast reenacting their favorite scenes.”
He shrugged. “And it is… kind of.”
“What does that mean, exactly?” I asked, starting to wonder what I’d gotten us into. What the hell had I brought Ash to?
Before he had a chance to answer, the seemingly bored ticket taker reached for my printouts. “Cheers, mate. Live long and all that crap.”
I bit back the urge to ream the guy for getting the uber-famous line wrong and turned to Lucky. “Um, Lucky? Inquiry.”
Ash snorted, getting my reference to Data’s character in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I snuck a wink at him.
Lucky squirmed as we entered the large vaulted space through the set of double doors. “I may have misled you just a smidge.”
The room seemed to be set up like a fashion show, with a long, wide runway surrounded on three sides by rows of folding chairs. There was Star Trek decor pinned up everywhere and many of the other attendees were dressed in full Enterprise regalia. There was too much noise and commotion for me to ask Lucky exactly what a “smidge” meant.
After we found our seats, Ash leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I think we’re underdressed. I should have worn my apron and grabbed us a pair of Emily’s phasers.”
I let out a laugh and relaxed a little as I realized whatever Lucky had gotten us into, Ash wasn’t pissed about it. “That was awfully short-sighted of you, Ash. Next time, think ahead, will ya?” He smiled back at me and seemed to relax into his seat. For some reason, I got the feeling that he was enjoying seeing me screw up, or at least enjoying watching Lucky tease me about it.
“Lucky Crawford, at least tell me what we’re in for,” I said in my sternest parental voice.
He turned an innocent face toward me. “It’s a fundraiser, remember, Aid?” he said pointedly. “It’s for a good cause, man.”
“At least tell me this thing isn’t R-rated,” I said.
“Um, I’m sure it’s not,” he said vaguely. “But we’ll get to see lots of original costumes. It’s a fashion show format. Obviously.”