The night had been close to perfect for the both of them, and as they walked along the Los Angeles beach, Jack and Nina had never felt more comfortable in each other's presence. It was the last day of 2001, and their three month "anniversary", although Nina was tactful enough not to mention that fact to Jack. Deep down, she knew as well as he did that he should have been with Teri and Kim, but closer to the surface she couldn't care less. Sure, the romance was built on lies, mutual experiences and her need to get information out of him, but Nina had been able to mould a superficial layer of love and attraction around the mouldy core of the relationship, and she never wanted it to end.
"It's almost time," Jack whispered, as the pair followed the line up to where the tide had invaded the beach. Stopping where they could get a good view of the fireworks that would soon light up the Los Angeles sky, the pair hugged each other close, and knew what was to happen at midnight. They both wanted that supposedly forbidden kiss, a sweet gesture that both had different reasons for enjoying as well as the mutual ones.
"Ten seconds to go," Nina spoke as she checked her watch. 2001 had been a fairly good year, and she was looking forward to 2002. She hoped that it would be a very interesting year, and that the planned mission in March would go smoothly. They had told her of the activation just before Christmas, and she had been thinking about it every day since. They wouldn't give her too much information just yet – they told her that more would come in late February – so she had no real idea about what they wanted her to do, or what the mission was about. Nevertheless, she put it out of her mind as the ten seconds, and the year, dwindled away. A bright red firework announced the New Year, and the pair embraced tightly, their lips locked together as they welcomed in 2002. The kiss went on for some minutes, their mutual passion overriding any other urge.
"Those are some beautiful fireworks, eh?," Jack commented as they broke away from each other, and Nina could tell that the kiss had not been quite as perfect for him as she had hoped. Still, she couldn't blame him, and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, some of the best I've seen," Nina replied, her eyes peering up towards the sky, the faint light of the stars taking a back seat whilst the bright flames of the fireworks danced. If she had bothered to look at Jack, she would have seen him looking at her, his eyes holding a mixture of emotions. Yes, he loved her, but she didn't seem to understand that he wasn't looking for a permanent relationship. She had to be told someday that he wanted to go back to Teri, go back to his family and pick up where he left off. Her head moved slightly, as if she was turning to look at him, and Jack quickly looked up at the fireworks so that she wouldn't know what he had been doing.
Maybe I'll tell her in Santa Barbara, when we take that weekend vacation. God, I hope she won't be too hurt, I love her too much to do that to her. If I had met her before Teri, then this relationship would have been so much easier, but I didn't and I want to spend the rest of my life with my wife. Maybe it won't be so bad.