Page 84 of Ruining His Smirk

Several people tried and failed to hide their amusement.

Garrett stared at him. “Absolutely not.”

“You can’t control me.”

Before Garrett could answer, Viktor raised a finger at Dexter. “There is no need for argument. Dexter is hereby appointed vice president of the Gays of Waypoint Research Station club. He will assist me in running it.”

Dexter jumped with joy.

Garrett looked absolutely shocked. Everyone burst out laughing.

I grabbed his arm before he could attack Viktor.

Dexter quickly darted beyond Garrett’s reach and happily joined Viktor. The two of them began talking animatedly as they led the group down the corridor.

Garrett and I followed at the back of the group, our hands linked. I could not stop smiling. “I love your friends.”

He glared at me. So I gave him a quick peck at the cheek.

* * *

Viktor ushered everyone into the smaller lounge and closed the door behind us. The smaller lounge faced the opposite side of the station, where the land rose into a glacier instead of falling away toward the dock.

I walked to the windows and peered outside. The Antarcticevening light had deepened into a rich blue-green, and a huge golden moon hung low above the ice. Its rose gold color looked almost impossible against the frozen ridges beneath it.

The glacier stretched away in folds of blue and shadow, broken here and there by jagged black rock, with no movement anywhere across its surface.

Viktor picked up a stack of papers and began passing them around. I glanced down at the document he handed me. It was a club charter.

“This is very official.”

Viktor bowed deeply to me before saying, “Dexter, come here.” Dexter hurried over. The two of them moved into a corner and began discussing something in low voices.

Garrett walked up to me and enveloped me in his arms. I rested my back against his solid chest. We stood looking out at this wondrous world we would be leaving tomorrow.

Inside the room, pages rustled and bowls of snacks passed. For all the groaning, nobody looked as though they wanted to leave. In fact, there was palpable excitement around us. Everyone was reading the charter as though it were an important scientific or technical manual. Viktor had captured every last one of us.

A moment later, Viktor and Dexter took their places beside the whiteboard that covered the wall across from us.

“We will be using this whiteboard for our first meeting,” Viktor announced. “Before I begin, everyone must refer to the confidentiality section of the charter.”

I turned back from the windows and led Garrett over to a stuffed armchair where he pulled me down on his lap.

Viktor held up a copy and thumbed at one section. “Nothing discussed here leaves this room. We are all friends, and we are going to be discussing private matters. Do you all solemnly swear that whatever is discussed here will remain here?”

Everyone nodded.

Viktor turned to Dexter. “Assistant, do you trust them?”

Sam covered his face in both hands, turning red at his boyfriend’s antics.

Dexter grinned, fully in on the joke. “Yes, President.”

Viktor nodded solemnly. “So friends, Grant and I have known each other for years. We were the sad gays before our men finally became our boyfriends.”

The man should have become a stand-up comedian instead of a penguin scientist. But then again, we needed more academics like him.

“Recently, I’ve deduced through astute observation that Grant and Adrien have only been having sex in their bed.”