“The base has synthcaf. You can drink that.” Alexei made a disgusted face that had Kyle laughing. “Fucking snob. I’ll get you your damn coffee if that’s what you really want. It can be your eventual wedding present.”
“Lifetime supply.”
“Ask Jamie.”
“Don’t worry. Will ask.”
“Both of you are getting ahead of yourselves. We haven’t even discussed a wedding date yet,” Sean said.
Kyle smiled, but it felt a bit wistful, if he were honest. “Don’t wait too long.”
Alexei glanced at him in the rearview mirror, a questioning look in his eyes, but luckily he didn’t speak up. Kyle didn’t pursue the conversation, and Alexei followed his lead.
It’s not that he didn’t have any idea on what his and Jamie’s wedding might look like, it’s that it was impossible to go forward with any decision made. They couldn’t set a wedding date, couldn’t plan out a guest list, couldn’t do anything while pretending to be something they weren’t. Someday, they’d get to stand in front of their families and friends and exchange vows, but it wouldn’t be anytime soon.
Kyle mentally shook off the melancholy that came with his thoughts, pushing it all aside. He loved Jamie, and Jamie loved him. Right now, amidst everything going on, that was enough.
They spent the rest of the drive to base arguing over their basketball brackets—none of their chosen teams were doing well at the moment—and made tentative plans to watch the conference finals at his and Jamie’s place. Whether or not they’d get to watch it live remained to be seen.
Alexei was parking his car in the subterranean parking garage when Annabelle pulled up alongside him, with Madison in the front passenger seat. As everyone got out, the sharp eyes of their teammates didn’t miss the new piece of jewelry Alexei wore.
“Wait, wait, hold up!” Madison yelled, her voice echoing around them as she practically lunged for Alexei’s left hand. “That’s an engagement ring! When did this happen?”
Annabelle rolled her eyes. “Congratulations first, Madison. Interrogation second.”
“Congratulations,” Madison sincerely said, still staring at the gold and diamond ring Alexei sported. “Now when and how and where did this happen? Details, Alexei! Details are important to my bank account.”
“I proposed last night over dinner, and no, we don’t remember the exact time,” Sean said, trying to head off a barrage of questions from their friends.
It didn’t work.
Madison and Annabelle kept pressing for more information during their trek up to Level 36 and the conference room used for briefing and debriefing. When Donovan and Trevor arrived, they joined in with everyone trying to nail down who won the pot. Kyle stayed out of it since his pick wasn’t even close.
Alexei leaned across the space between their seats and said, “>”
“>” Kyle rattled off.
Alexei nodded sagely. “>”
“I did,” Katie replied in English as she stepped into the room. “And while Madison had the particular timeframe blocked off for this week, Trevor had the correct date, location, and who did the proposing. So he’s the winner of the betting pool.”
Trevor immediately stood up and raised both arms in victory. “Yes!”
The amount of groaning and heckling that came from everyone else around the table was expected. Trevor ignored them all as he grinned and spread his arms wide. “Pay up, assholes.”
Trevor walked around the table, getting sulky high-fives from everyone as their RealIdent chips transferred funds to his account.
“Hit up Jamie later,” Katie told him as she high-fived him.
“Will do.”
Trevor was just sitting back down when the door to the conference room slid open. Jamie and Nazari stepped inside, the former carrying a cup of synthcaf with the latter clutching a can ofZing!The director nodded brusquely at everyone.
“We have a lot to go through, so everyone settle down,” Nazari said as he claimed the seat at the head of the table.
Jamie took the seat to Nazari’s right, the last two terminals switching on. Holoscreens opened up in front of everyone and in the center of the table. Kyle turned his attention to the data and information layering itself in the air in front of him.
“As I informed Callahan, chatter hasn’t spiked in any of the normal areas. Considering who we are going up against, this isn’t surprising. We’ll be conferencing in with our counterparts in other agencies at 0700. Until then, we need to discuss your mission.”
