Let the Games Begin

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Chapter 13 - BREAKFAST & BIKINIS

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As the foursome started down the street towards the cafe, Jess took Becker's arm, heaving a heavy sigh. While she liked Matt and Emily and enjoyed spending time with them, she'd been hoping to have a nice, relaxing breakfast alone with Becker. Of course, she couldn't blame them for inviting themselves to come along - Abby and Connor had clearly wanted to take advantage of Lester being out of their room, and Matt and Emily had not been interested in sticking around for that. Still, Jess wished they'd simply decided to go for a long walk or something instead of intruding on her date.

Not that it was really a "date" date. She and Becker had obviously shared breakfasts together before; however, now that they were a "couple", she would've loved to spend some time alone with him.

Even if she had just lied to his face.

She felt a bit guilty about having been so dishonest, but she simply didn't want him to worry. If he knew she'd been up half the night stressing about what had happened to him at the anomaly, he'd NEVER tell her what happened, and not knowing was what was causing her grief. The truth, whatever it was, would be fine; the truth she could handle. But not knowing meant her mind was free to wander, to come up with zillions of horrible possibilities of what might've happened to him in the darkened waters. Surely having only ONE scenario in her mind would be better than this. As the possibilities threatened to overwhelm her once again, she gave an involuntary shiver.

Becker, unfortunately, noticed and frowned at her. "You should've worn a jacket."

"I'm fine," Jess insisted, though she didn't refuse the warm arm he draped about her shoulders.

"Yeah, it is a bit parky this morning," Matt commented, staring up at the gray clouds.

Becker nodded. "Let's just hope it warms up soon - women's beach volleyball is supposed to start at 9," he said with a smile.

Jess stared at Becker. "I can't believe you just said that. Those girls are legitimate athletes, too, you know!"

Becker raised an eyebrow. "Then why do they wear bikinis for uniforms?"

Jess gave an indignant huff. "Because it's BEACH volleyball - what else are they to wear?"

"What are bikinis?" Emily asked Matt.

"Yeah, I'm gonna let Jess answer that one," Matt said.

"Coward," Becker mumbled under his breath.

Ignoring the soldier, Jess explained, "Bikinis are tiny swimsuits that...well...shall we say, tend to leave nothing to the imagination."

"Says the girl who wears the shortest skirts ever," Becker teased.

Jess gave the soldier a friendly swat. "I don't recall ever hearing complaints about them from you."

"Nor from any of the other men at the ARC, " Becker pointed out, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he added, "which is actually MY only complaint."

Jess grinned up at him. "Oh, so you're going to start telling me how to dress now?" she teased. "A few snogs and suddenly you get to control my wardrobe?"

"Absolutely," Becker said drily, his face stern. "I'm laying down the law - nothing but unflattering jumpers and baggy flannel trousers for you from here on out."

"What right have you to tell Jess what to wear?" Emily snapped, sounding quite angry. Clearly their teasing had struck some sort of nerve, for Emily went on heatedly, "You are not her father, Becker, nor certainly her husband. And I do not know what these snogs are, but surely they do not give you permission to-"

"Emily," Matt interrupted, putting a soothing hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. Becker didn't mean any of it. He was only teasing. He'd never make Jess do something she didn't want."

Jess could tell, however, that Emily wasn't entirely convinced, so she quickly jumped in, adding, "We were just playing, Emily. I promise. Becker's not like that. He's one of the good guys," she said, taking his arm again and smiling up at the handsome soldier.

"I am sorry," Emily said, clearly chagrinned. "I simply thought you...I misunderstood."

"Besides, Emily," Becker added drily, "you should know better than anyone, no one ever follows my orders."

The former Victorian nodded. "Yes, I suppose you are right," she said matter-of-factly.

However, the glint in her eye made it clear that she was the one now teasing.

...

Jess managed to wait until they were already seated and tucking in to bring up the anomaly.

Except for Emily's strange outburst, they'd managed to make it to the cafe with little incident, and everyone ordered their food quickly, clearly famished from their long adventures the night before. Emily chose their spot - a booth near the corner - and Becker was frankly surprised, and a little disappointed, when Jess immediately took the seat next to her friend. It wasn't until Becker slid in after Matt that he realised why Jess hadn't chosen to sit next to him - she was now sat directly across from him, looking him straight in the eye, all the better to confront him with.

Yet despite this obvious warning sign, Becker still didn't quite see it coming. If there were an Olympic sport in Conversation Manoeuvring, Jess would definitely win the gold. Of course, he'd often seen her skillfully manoeuvre Lester into thinking that what she wanted was actually his idea., and no one could deny that she was usually a master at distracting Connor (unless, of course, the topic was sleeping with Abby). But Becker had always assumed she'd only use her powers for good; it had never even occurred to him that she would one day turn them on him, surreptitiously wending her way through his conversation to get exactly what she wanted.

But clearly that's what she'd just done. It was an amazing gift she possessed, and if he wasn't so angry, he'd be impressed. For who else on the planet could've seamlessly manoeuvred the conversation from discussing breakfast scones to desserts to appetisers to garlic-fried calamari to "I bet the giant tentacles on the creature last night might've made enough appetisers for the entire ARC crew, yeah?"

Becker was furious, and he was stubborn, and he wasn't about to let her get away with this. Last night he hadn't wanted to discuss the incursion because he'd simply wanted to forget about the entire incident. Of course, at this moment, thanks to her, the incident was foremost on his mind whether he spoke up or not, but he'd be damned if he was going to let her succeed with this little game. He'd told her he didn't want to discuss it, and he wasn't going to give in on that point. If they were going to be a couple, she needed to know that there were certain things that he would NOT be sharing with her, and those items were non-negotiable.

Yet the problem was he couldn't have THAT conversation now, not here in the cafe in front of Matt & Emily. And if he didn't change the subject fast, one of the others might start discussing the incursion, and he would've lost this battle. Not that he expected Matt to go into much detail - the team leader never went into much detail about ANYTHING - but Emily was a wildcard. Becker didn't know how much Emily knew about their underwater adventures, how much she'd seen from on-board the rescue boat, how much she was liable to share with Jess.

So while Becker was no master, he realised he needed to dramatically steer the conversation away before Jess got what she wanted.

"Yeah, Connor was smart to stay on-shore," Becker said awkwardly. "And, uh, speaking of, why didn't he and Abby come with us to breakfast?"

He'd assumed this was a nice, neutral topic, but suddenly the other three at the table looked extremely uncomfortable.

As Jess's face flushed a brilliant red, she stammered, "Well, uh, I think they wanted...I mean, since Lester's gone for the weekend, he's out of...well...and..."

Matt finally took pity on her. "They had other plans." His tone gave nothing away, and his face maintained its usual staid expression, but Becker could still read exactly what the other man was saying; no wonder Jess looked embarrassed.

"So...what are OUR plans for today?" Jess asked, clearly trying to steer the conversation back to a more neutral topic. "We don't work till 4, so we have loads of time."

"We could watch the Games," Emily suggested.

"Oh yes," Jess said, grinning broadly, "and the opening ceremonies! They were amazing, what I saw of them, and I can't wait to watch them all together."

But Becker could now see what she was doing. She was bringing up the opening ceremonies, and somehow she'd morph that into discussing the research she'd been doing on-line whilst she'd been watching them, which of course would bring them right back to the incursion.

Realising he needed to change topics again, Becker glanced out the window, frantically observing, "It looks like the weather's clearing up a bit." After all, the weather was always a safe topic, right?

Jess, however, shot him a strange look as Emily said with a smile, "Yes, you will be able to enjoy your beach athletes' uniforms now."

Matt laughed. "Yeah, I'm not sure we're going to be able to come to a consensus on what events to watch without resorting to fisticuffs. Perhaps watching the opening ceremonies together is our best bet after all."

And there it was. Just like she did with Lester, now she was getting Matt to bring the conversation back round - she really was a master!

Becker frantically tried to think of another topic they could discuss. Unfortunately, all they'd been discussing for days now were the Olympics, and any discussion of the Games would bring them right back to where they were now. Trying to think of something non-Games related, Becker's mind started grasping at straws.

"So," he burst out as an idea struck, "Paris, huh? That sounds like it would've been fun."

Of course, the instant the words were out of his mouth, he realised he couldn't have picked a worse topic. It was like his mum texting him photos of lazy picnics - way to pour salt in their wounds!

And Emily looked suitably horrified. She turned to Jess, who inexplicably said, "I didn't say a word."

Matt looked a bit confused by the girls' interchange as well but said, "It would've been a real treat. But maybe we can take the trip again later, yeah?" he asked, shooting Emily a look.

As Emily gave a nod, Becker breathed a sigh of relief, pleased that his topic change had succeeded. However, he was certain Jess might switch it back at any minute, so he wanted to keep this topic going as long as possible.

"You know," he said, "Abby and Connor have been talking about Paris for their honeymoon. Seems a bit cliche to me, but-"

He stopped as Jess abruptly jumped to her feet and grabbed his hand. "Come with me." And before he could stop her, she'd dragged him to the other side of the cafe.

"I need you to stop, right now," Jess said, keeping her voice low but firm.

Becker frowned. He wasn't used to being scolded, especially in public. But before he could protest, she went on.

"I know what you're trying to do, and it's a valiant effort, but to be honest, you're rubbish at leading conversations. I know you don't want to talk about the incursion right now - I get that - and I promise that we can leave that discussion for when we're alone. But please, PLEASE stop putting your foot in it! I know it's not your fault because you don't know things, but you're making it VERY awkward for the rest of us. So please - if I promise not to discuss last night's anomaly, will you promise to let me control the conversation? Trust me - everyone will be happier for it."

Becker had only followed about half of what she'd said, but he understood her promise, and he definitely intended to hold her to it.

"Okay," he said.

Jess smiled up at him. "You promise you'll follow my lead?""

Becker reluctantly nodded. "Yes, Jessica, I promise," he said with a sigh.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Don't get all pouty with me - you're the one making everyone miserable. But don't worry - I can fix it all. And I still love you, even if you ARE rubbish." She gave him a quick peck before heading back to the table. "You know," her cheery voice carried across the cafe as she sat back down, "I think I found a better place for Abby and Connor to honeymoon. Last night I did all this research on Dorset, and did you know...?"

Although she was talking about last night again, Becker was no longer worried about her bringing up the incursion. His lack of that particular worry was not because of the promise she'd just made but rather because it'd been replaced with a different worry.

One that centred around Jess's use of a particular word.

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to be continued