14.

My father appeared before us, holding black cloths in his hands that I assumed were to be blindfolds. He gave us all a smile and said, "Here we go, ladies and gents. This will be the thing that most determines your future. Should you fail, I highly doubt that you will get many jobs anywhere. Succeed…..well; if you succeed then you're good. Really good."

He turned and pushed open the doors, walking out without calling for us to follow him. We all did, though, and when we got outside, we saw a helicopter waiting for us, its blades spinning. We all hopped inside and found a seat to get comfortable. I sat beside Nate –of course- and he put a comforting arm around my shoulders. My dad saw this and looked away quickly, continuing to hand out blindfolds. "Try to peek," he warned. "And I'll fail you on the spot."

He tied my blindfold on and then Nate's. I knew that it wouldn't be any good to try to figure out where we were going. The helicopter could be flying in circles for all we knew or we could be flying over the ocean or to California or something. No use getting all keyed up before a huge test. I just needed to relax. So, I leaned my head on Nate's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around me. I wanted to sleep, but it was so loud that I didn't think I'd be able to fall asleep. "Nate?"

"Hmm?" he asked.

"I need you to…" How was I supposed to phrase it?

Turns out, I didn't need to. He –being the amazing guy that he was- just knew. "It'll be okay, Layla. You'll do fine."

I sighed deeply. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."

I could hear the smile in his voice. "I know."

"What do you think the test will be like?" I wondered aloud.

Jamie's voice answered. "I tried to hack into a database to find out if any CIA operatives were hired for a mission, but I couldn't find anything."

I couldn't help but smile. "Jamie….."

"I know," I heard her say. "Listen, Layla, the reason we were so upset was because we never thought you'd keep a secret from us. Especially one that big."

"Were?" I asked, picking out the word that made me grin. "You're not mad anymore?"

"Still kind of upset," she admitted, "but not mad, no. You love him, right?"

"She better," Beth's voice cut in. "She's marrying him."

I smiled. Of course Beth would have noticed the ring.

"Congrats," Sarah spoke up from somewhere beyond Beth.

"Thanks, guys," I said, tears in my eyes.

"I better be your maid of honor," Beth threatened.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Duh."

"And I'm totally helping with wedding plans," Sarah threw in, not asking but telling like she always did. It was probably for the best anyway. According to her I had "the fashion sense of a colorblind monkey".

"Helping or taking over?" I teased.

"Taking over, duh," she replied.

We laughed and then I said, "I love you guys, I really do."

"We love you too!" Jamie squealed, happy that the fight was over.

"Hey, Nate?" Beth said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"If you break her heart, you're dead."

"I'll help," Sarah added.

"They'll torture you with an eyelash curler and mascara," I elaborated with a smile.

He chuckled softly, but his voice was totally serious. "Trust me; I would never do anything to hurt her. I love her more than anything."

"Aww!" Jamie said.

I laughed. "Okay, so, you guys ready for the test?"

"No," Jamie immediately answered.

"You said that about the COW final last year," Sarah reminded her.

"And you rocked it," Beth finished.

"I'm not ready," Sarah said. "I seriously have no idea what we'll have to do and you guys know how much I suck at this kind of stuff."

"You do not," Beth said. "I'm the one that's gonna have trouble."

I rolled my eyes but I knew they couldn't see. "You guys will be fine."

"So will you," Sarah said.

"You'll blow everyone away," Beth threw in.

"Totally," Jamie said.

Nate said, "That's what I keep trying to tell her."

I laughed. "I feel a lot better now guys. How long have we been up in the air?" I'd lost track.

"Almost twenty minutes," Nate said. "And I don't think we've been flying in circles."

"We're actually going somewhere?" Beth asked.

"That would be my guess," he said. "I just have no idea where. I don't even know what direction we're heading."

"Please not north," Jamie said. "I don't wanna go to Canada!"

"That was a one-time thing, Jamie," I said. "No way you'll get attacked by a grizzly bear again."

"A grizzly bear?" Nate asked, laughing.

"Shut up!" Jamie said.

Beth quickly recounted the tale to Nate who cracked up laughing. I smiled and felt warm inside as I listened to my best friends and the love of my life bonding. It felt like my life was finally getting good again.

But there was still the issue with my dad….

He was hurt way more than my friends and it was going to take a lot more than a grizzly bear story to get him to warm up to Nate. I tried to come up with a talk, something to convince him that I still loved him.

Because I did still love him.

And I always would.

Then why'd you hurt him? Why were you such an idiot?

"I don't know," I muttered softly.

"What, babe?" Nate asked.

"Nothing," I said quickly, feeling myself blush.

The helicopter descended quickly. "Blindfolds off," my father commanded. I reached back to untie my blindfold. When I drew it away, I was greeted by too bright sunlight.

"Welcome to your CoveOps final."

I gasped.