SRCC Lake Tahoe- Cocktails and Conversation
Posted on Thu Apr 9th, 2026 @ 8:50am by Lieutenant JG T'Lar & Lieutenant JG Jacob Rosen
1,676 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Character Development
Location: SRCC- Lake Tahoe Officer's Lounge
Timeline: 2100hrs Day 1 Shore leave
T'Lar clickity clacked her way across the stone floor from the elevator to the onyx black paneled entrance to the SRCC's Officer's Lounge, aka the Tahoe Room. Although she did not wear stiletto heels often, she had an excellent sense of balance and did not falter once, even wearing the tight black cocktail dress. The subdued lighting fit the mood as she entered, with far more people gathered than she had anticipated: many dining, several couples dancing on the dance floor and a goodly amount of people milling about the bar. The rest were seated at tables huddled in quiet conversation over drinks or listening to the 5 piece jazz band playing songs from the Great American Songbook. The ambient lighting reflected off of T'Lar's IDIC pendant necklace, her neck and ears exposed by a sophisticated up do. Like most Vulcans she eschewed the use of make up but like most Vulcans, she did not need it.
She looked around. Jacob did not appear to be there just yet, but she did not let that bother her. She made her way to the bar and ordered a chocolate martini, thanking the bartender when it arrived. Taking a sip, she felt the chocolate do its thing as her muscles began to relax and her brain surrendered to a bit of euphoria. Turning from the bar she found a table near the back where she could hear the band and see the door.
Jacob materialized outside wearing a maroon blazer and black turtleneck above matching black slacks. He had planned on his typical jeans, flannel and replica Jordan 1's. However his mother, the ever intuitive Amanda Kaminsky, had pointed out at the last minute that this may not be the most appropriate.
"Alright Jake. Just remember to file that transfer request immediately if you've misread this. No worries." He muttered to himself as he plastered a confident smile on his face and pushed the door open.
Walking through the wall of sound to the bar Jacob kept an eye out for T'Lar. He spotted her as he retrieved his usual Dark n' Stormy. Wow.
Jacob approached her with a smile, sitting across from her. "It is agreeable to see you." He said attempting the Vulcan parlance. Pulling a small plastic box from his pocket he handed it over to her. "This is for your sweet tooth. Native Oregonian Strawberries from the Rosen family garden."
T'Lar accepted the small box.
"Thank you, Jacob. That was very thoughtful of you. I am very fond of strawberries." She set the box to the side
"It is agreeable to see you as well, and may I say you look remarkably aesthetically appealing in that ensemble... " she paused and gave a shy rejoinder.
"That is how we Vulcans say you look very handsome tonight."
She paused for effect.
"Did you have an enjoyable visit with your family?"
T'Lar took one of the strawberries out of the box and bit into it; her eyes going wide and both eyebrows shooting up as strawberry juice dribbled from her lip down her chin. Quickly dabbing at her mouth and chin with her cocktail napkin she made a very quiet involuntary moaning noise as she chewed the piece of fruit, her eyes wild with appreciation.
"Pardon me, that is very good ."
"The most significant thing that supermarkets and replicators miss with these." Jacob gestured to the strawberries. "Is the truly flavorful ones don't store well. They even give off a bit of mess from just picking them up." He smiled. "It's worth it though, they're delicious. I'm glad you like them."
"Family dinner was fine." Jacob continued. "My family loves to debate the future of my career for me." He smirked with a light chuckle. "They mean well, but sometimes I feel guilty for searching for the exit..." Jacob's eyes widened sharply, realizing what he had just said. "That is to say, I did not mean that seeing you was merely a convenient exit." Batting a thousand Jake. Good one. He thought as he reached for his glass. The doors opened and closed once more, a brief and subtle breeze carried over to their table, gone a moment later.
Taking a sip from his cocktail Jacob returned to his, seemingly genuine, confident smile. "You look great tonight T'Lar."
T'Lar gave a small smile of her own.
"Thank you Jacob. I confess this was slightly out of my comfort zone, but they say you can never go wrong with a little black dress. I am gratified that you find it pleasing."
She paused momentarily, as if unsure of what to say next.
"I am equally gratified that you did in fact elect to accept my invitation. If I am being honest, I wasn't sure when I offered it if you would find it... forward, me asking you to meet me here for shore leave. The truth is, it has been a very long time since I felt any affinity for anyone with common interests."
She paused again, her face uncharacteristically reflecting vulnerability for a Vulcan.
"I am not sure what I am trying to say... no that is incorrect. I know what I'm trying to say, but I am unsure of how to say it."
She bit her lip.
Jacob smiled reassuringly. "There's something here between us. It's electric, palpable, and for folks like us that's more than a little scary." He said gesturing between himself and T'Lar. "We've been hurt before, made mistakes that have hurt others, ran."
Jacob paused for a drink from his glass. "The thing is, those feelings aren''t wrong. We could hurt each other. Either one of us could do or say something at the exact moment we let each other in." He rose to his feet, setting his drink down on the table and looked around at the room with a sigh.
"You know what though? That leaves us at a place we've already been before and even if the experience hurts, we know how to climb out and pull ourselves back together." Jacob smiled and held out his hand. "I guess what I'm getting at is, would you like to dance?"
"I would very much like to dance," she answered, rising and taking his hand. Instantly her mind was flooded with a tumult of his thoughts and emotions. The intimacy of the contact of such moments was intensely pleasurable to her under such circumstances and she allowed herself to enjoy the rush as he led her to the dance floor.
"I want to thank you for putting my mind at ease, Jacob. I can see now that the connection that I feel with you is truly a shared one. "
She danced slow and close, her body pressed tightly to his. Her face inched closer to his, her eyes fixed on his mouth. She felt his response, the quickening of his pulse matching her own. Tentatively her nose touched his ever so slightly, before drawing back and looking at him with seductive eyes.
"It is getting late if we are going to hit the trailhead at dawn... but I am thinking that perhaps we forego the hike and see where tonight takes us." She raised an eyebrow suggestively
"What say you?"
Jacob spun T'Lar as the music swelled, maintaining eye contact with T'Lar, allowing the crowd and their movement to blur and fade to the point where he barely acknowledged their existence. he caught her momentum with his arm around her waist as they stepped forward and twirled her back to her original position. They were two people, people who had broken and learned how to put themselves back together in different ways. Tonight however, none of that seemed to matter. Or rather, it mattered in that the pain was where they came from, but tonight was about where they were going.
"I say that sounds like an excellent idea Miss T'Lar." Jacob said with a smile, one that reached his eyes and spread with a warmth like the first rays of the sun after a cold winter night. "Lead the way."
And she did. First back to their table to retrieve her strawberry box, she led him by the hand to the elevators. They were alone for the very short ride, and she took advantage of that fact by pressing him against the wall with a hungry kiss. She barely composed herself as the doors opened to the second floor and she quickly led him to her room. More kisses followed as she fumbled with the door, both of them fully committed now. Quickly, almost as an afterthought, she slipped the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the door handle exterior.
0900hrs
SRCC Lake Tahoe Room 219
Shore leave Day 2
T'Lar had awoke an hour earlier and gently disentangled herself from the arms of Jacob Rosen, careful to not wake him as she made her way to the shower. 0800hrs was sleeping in for her, and she had slept very well after the previous nights exertions. Drying off she put her hair in a pony tail, brushed her teeth and put on her Starfleet issue sweat suit and joggers. Quietly she opened the blinds as the sun was rising over the lake from the east. The view from her room was spectacular. She quietly sipped a Vulcan spiced tea as she looked out over the water. She had no regrets about the night before, and she hoped that Jacob would not either. She looked at him sleeping, with the sun just starting to fall across his handsome face and felt a contentedness she'd not felt in a very long time. Suddenly both her and Jacob's combadges chirped.
=/\=“Durnell to all off-duty personnel. Priority recall in effect. Report to your stations or nearest transporter immediately. Five minutes.”=/\=
Ponfo Mirran! thought T'Lar
"Jacob! Wake up! We are being recalled to the ship! We have five minutes to be transported back!"
T'Lar began running around the room tossing Jacob's discarded clothes to him.
TBC
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