Page 83 of Ruining His Smirk

I settled into Garrett’s side. “As soon as I discovered the whale skeleton, I started wondering how a whale skeleton could have become buried in the seafloor there. As you all know, we have an icebreaker, and we need that specialized ship simply to break through the ice and reach the area. So I thought it could not have been a recent whale. Whales are enormous. There is no way for them to swim beneath thick sheets of ice, and they do not usually do so.”

“Right.”

“So I started thinking that it had to be a whale from much earlier. I dug through records of the area around the Weddell Sea, and something caught my attention. There was a period when the Weddell Sea ice retreated and the ocean opened in that exact area. Around seven thousand years ago. During that period, this particular whale would have been going about its life in the part of the ocean that had opened up.”

“Oh, that makes complete sense,” Reed agreed.

I nodded. “For some reason, it died there and became buried in the sediment. My theory was that the ice cover expanded again during the following season, eventually creating the conditions we see there today. The skeleton was miraculously preserved in its entirety until we found it.”

“And now the carbon dating results validate your theory further.” Dr. Park supplied quietly.

“Yes. Of course, it’s still a theory and we will need to study the skeleton back in the States.”

“Of course, but Nate, this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of discovery.” He smiled.

I ducked my head. “Thank you.”

“He’s gonna be famous. Along with Landry,” Keith announced. “The gays and their whale.”

There were guffaws and snickers.

Suddenly Viktor clapped his hands together.

“Oh, this is the perfect time for us to move to the second lounge for our meeting.” He looked around at all of us with a grand expression. “We are about to hold the first meeting of the Gays of Waypoint Research Station club.”

Viktor turned toward me. “Nate, you are hereby accepted as an honorary member through Garrett.”

“Ah, thanks. What exactly is this club?” I asked, amused, because his friends seemed to be rolling their eyes around him.

“I have started this club because it has come to my attention that some of us need encouragement in broadening their horizons,” Viktor finished with a flourish of his hands.

Adrien turned pale.

“That is very interesting,” I said. “I didn’t know. How long has it existed?”

Viktor cleared his throat. “Well, today is our first meeting, but I see a long and illustrious future. Everybody gathered here, the gays and our allies, is hereby declared a member.”

Grant groaned again. “Ask him who is the president.”

I grinned. “I’ll take the bait. Who is the president?”

Viktor thumped a hand against his chest. “Yours truly. Now, if you all will please follow me, due to the delicate nature of the topics that will be discussed during this first meeting, we are moving to the smaller lounge. Everyone follow me.”

He turned and walked away as though there were no possibility that anyone might refuse. More groans rose around us, but the small group rose to their feet. Dexter started after the others too.

Garrett stopped Viktor. “Hold up.” His gaze went directly to his brother. “What kind of nonsense are you going to discuss?”

Viktor appeared uncertain for the first time. His gaze darted between the two brothers.

“I’m gay, and I know all about sex,” Dexter declared.

“Jesus.” Garrett rubbed his forehead.

“I mean I haven’t experienced it… firsthand—”

“Dex.”

“But I’ve done complete research. You can quiz me if you want.” He puffed out his chest and faced his older brother, though the fear in his eyes was too obvious.