Needless to say, Hara and Conna were extremely excited to meet the Captain. He came right on time, as was his nature and was instantly bombarded with a hug from Conna. He didn't know what to do so he just pat her on the head. Conna smiled up at him, not even caring that he didn't hug her back.

"Welcome to our home, Captain. I'm Conna."

"It's nice to meet you, Conna," he answered stiffly.

I was trying to keep from laughing at his discomfort but I was clearly not doing a good job. Hara came out of the kitchen and was quite taken by him. I watched as she sauntered to him and held her hand out to him.

"It's about time that we finally meet you. I'm Sahara Sands but, Hara will suffice."

He didn't know how to take her advance. He hesitantly shook her hand. "A pleasure, I'm Clint Channery. I've heard many great things about you two from Kell."

"Have you now?" Hara asked. "Surely she hasn't told you enough. How about I enlighten you?"

Needless to say, most of the night was spent with Hara grilling him on his life story. It was pretty entertaining considering how uncomfortable Channery was with the whole situation. When he mentioned to the girls about the party that we were required to attend, of course, Conna was excited to go shopping again. I also decided to make another suggestion.

"You know, Channery, instead of taking me to stave off your fanbase, you should take Hara. She's quite good at keeping unwanted would-be suitors away."

Hara arched a brow at me. "Would-be suitors? Do you have a problem with women, Clint?"

He sighed. "More than I would like to admit…"

Hara giggled. "I would love to accompany you. If you'll have me, of course. I have no problem dealing with the vultures."

Channery thought it over for a moment. "Very well. Hara, would you like to be my plus one?"

"I would be honored," she purred.

Conna lit up. "So we're going shopping for two?!"

"It would seem so." I smiled. "I suppose shopping is in order."

Conna did a fantastic job picking out our dresses. For Hara, Conna decided that Hara needed something sexy to fit her personality and give her an edge on Channery's fangirls. It was a light blue color, the material extremely light and flowy. It was cinched tight around her waist, the front of her top covered only her breasts and became a halter with her back completely bare. Hara looked absolutely stunning and was sure to turn some heads.

As for me, Conna and I agreed that since it was Hara's show, I was going to go understated. Conna picked out a simple, strapless dress that, like the dress she chose before, hugged every curve. It was black with a silver, sparkly overlay and was a trumpet shape. Needless to say, it was going to be an interesting night.

Hara and I did each other's hair. She put my hair in a high ponytail and teased the tail to make it quite a bit fluffier than usual. After she was done with me, I braided her hair and flipped it to the side then added a large flower clip right next to her ear. We were definitely a couple of hot mamas.

Channery was punctual as expected. Conna let him in the apartment. As soon as he saw us, he stopped dead in his tracks. He kept his eyes glued to Hara. She, of course, highly approved of his attention. She sauntered up to him.

"So, will this suffice? I figure I will be quite useful to your needs with this get-up."

Channery swallowed hard and shifted nervously. I strode over to him and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Boss. She'll take good care of you," I teased.

We made sure Conna was taken care of then took our leave. Hara stayed by Channery's side, making sure to give every single woman there the stink eye as they passed. While they enjoyed their time, I chatted with the few members of the team that showed up then became a wallflower, watching everyone dance the night away.

It was times like this that I missed Falco. Between my anxiety over crowds and my love of dancing… I missed him… Deeply…

Before I could start crying over it, my phone beeped. I hiked up my dress to grab my phone from the garter on my thigh. The page came from Wolf, telling me to meet him outside. I snuck out with ease and went into the garden. There was a gazebo out toward the side with a figure leaning up against one of the pillars with his back to me. Wolf heard the clicking of my heels but didn't make a move to turn to me just yet.

"I didn't think you would come," his deep voice echoed.

"It's not like I had anything to do or anyone to talk to in there," I told him.

He turned to me and I was completely floored. He was cleaned up and dressed in a nice suit. He looked incredible. I couldn't help but smile.

"You clean up well," I said as he stepped over to me.

He smirked. "Enjoy it. This is only happening once." He gave me a once-over. "You don't look too bad yourself. Let me guess… This is the kid's idea."

I laughed. "You should see the damage she did to Hara." I sobered quickly. "So, you dress up and ask me out here. For what reason?"

He offered a hand to me. "A dance."

I arched an eyebrow at him. Surely not…

"Seriously?" I asked. "That's all you want? Why go through the trouble?"

"I have my reasons. And I would rather keep them to myself."

I thought it over then smiled and took his hand.

"I would love to."

He gently pulled me to him and we began to dance slowly. I didn't understand it… Of all people, Wolf comes here, in secret, just to dance with me. I was so confused. Not that I was complaining. In fact, I was happy that someone was around to pay attention to me and I was away from the crowd.

"Did you come alone?" Wolf asked me.

"Not exactly. I originally agreed to be my Captain's plus one but, I convinced him that Hara would be the better choice. He's not very comfortable around women and has quite the following."

"So, your friend is here to scare them off." He chuckled at the thought. "I find that hilarious."

"It's even more hilarious watching it happen."

"I'm surprised that you're not here with Falco or your brother."

I felt my smile fade. Wolf noticed too.

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked.

I quickly shook my head. "Not at all! I just… Well… They've been gone for a while…"

"Gone? On a mission?"

"Yes. I was told it was recon but… Surely a recon mission wouldn't take so long…"

He slowed us to a halt. "You're worried about them."
"I don't know how to feel. They left suddenly and the only one who bothered to say goodbye was Falco." I became frustrated with the whole situation.

Wolf put a hand on my hand that I didn't realize I had clenched on his shoulder. "You seem upset with him. Why?"

"I feel like he only came to say goodbye in order to try and ask me out. And only because he didn't want to disappoint Conna." I looked up at Wolf. "I'm sorry. I'm putting a damper on our dance."

"It can wait. You look like you need to vent."

He let me go then went to lean up against the pillar with his arms crossed like he did when I found him. I moved to sit on one of the bench seats.

I let out a deep sigh. "You'll have to forgive me. It's been an interesting few months."

"I can only imagine," he chuckled. "You mentioned something about a Captain? I'm assuming that you have a new job?"

"Oh yeah, an offer from General Pepper himself. I'm the only woman on the General's special ops."

"Well, well, Kell. Moving up in the world," he teased.

I smirked. "It's something to do at least. It keeps me busy and out of Hara's hair." I glanced over to Wolf again, realizing that he hadn't taken his eyes off me. I instantly got uncomfortable and cleared my throat. "Enough about me though. What have you been up to lately? Shot anybody down recently? Pillaged any ships?"

"Not recently," he mused as he pushed himself off of the pillar. "Honestly, I haven't done much of anything. My mind has been on other things."

"Such as?"

He was silent for a moment. "The last I saw you, we were at Craig's funeral. I haven't heard of or from you since then. I've been… kind of worried about you."

His confession warmed my heart. It also kind of caught me off guard. He did a lot for me in regards to finding Pete Liger and trying to prevent Craig's murder. Still, I didn't expect this at all.

"I… I appreciate the thought…" I murmured. "It gets a little easier every day. Work keeps my mind away from things. Clearly not enough…"

Wolf strode over to me and offered his hand again. "Maybe we should find you a more adequate distraction."

I looked up at him. My stomach flipped into a frenzy at the heat I saw in his eyes. It was quite obvious what he was offering. I swallowed hard as my heart pounded. Should I really take his offer? I could never turn back once I decided. I was curious, part of me always had been. He's shot me down and yet he had rescued me in more ways than one. He took two shots for me… I could definitely use the distraction. But… What about Falco…? Was I really so torn because I actually had feelings for that bone-headed idiot? Before Falco, I would've taken Wolf's offer without a second thought. Now, here I was, weighing pros and cons. What would Conna and Hara think of me? My brother? Falco…? How would I feel about myself after everything was said and done?

How would they find out? Surely, as long as no one knew about it, everything would be gravy, right?

To Hell with it…

I steeled my nerves and took his hand. He pulled me to my feet and gave me a toothy grin.

"You sure about this?" he asked. "Last chance."

"Just don't make me regret it, Wolf. And this stays between me and you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He glanced over at where the ball was being held then back to me. "Want to give your friend some warning?"

"Nothing a quick page won't fix. She'll understand."

He chuckled. "You never cease to amaze me, Kell. Meet me at Sargasso, I'll sneak you in."

I gave him a nod and made my way to the port for my fighter. On the way to Sargasso, I kept fighting the urge to turn around and go back. My gut was telling me that I shouldn't be doing this, that something was going to happen and this rendezvous was going to bite me in the ass. But I wasn't going to give in. I kept telling myself that I needed this distraction; I needed a little bit of fun and to sate my curiosity. I needed this…

Or so I kept telling myself.

I docked my fighter into Sargasso next to one of the wolfens. Wolf was waiting for me, true to his word. He snuck me through the hideout and led me into a large room with only a king sized bed, end tables, and a chair. Another door not far from the bed led into a small bathroom.

Wolf pulled me in then closed and locked the door behind us. He turned to me with a playful smirk.

"Now… where were we?"