Live While We're Spies (A One Direction and Jonas Brothers Spy Story)

Chapter 3

Before I knew what was going on, Kevin had begun dragging me off towards different pieces of artwork. Mingling along the way, I found myself grabbing a glass of something or another from the bar. The bartender had said it was the house special for the night.

 It was generally frowned upon to drink while on the job. But we were allowed to have a maximum of one glass of something if we were feeling particularly… antsy during an undercover mission. The higher ups agreed it would make us fit in a bit more if the missions happened to be parties as well. So it was a win-win. I got to calm my nerves and I fit in a bit more with those that were also having a sip or two.

I found myself to be relaxing ever so slightly as I took another sip. “That’s better,” I murmured as Kevin talked to another guest, getting as much information as he could without seeming suspicious. 

I looked around, sighing lightly. I wasn’t sure how people could find walking around a room with nothing but art enjoyable. I enjoyed art as much as the next person, I even had a few paintings hung up in my apartment. But to devote a night to just going from painting to painting? Well… it wasn’t my cup of tea.

So far the night had been dreadfully dull. It was like any other gallery I’d heard about. People making small talk about the different paintings. No sign of Jet or any of his plans for world domination. This all seem rather normal. Larger scale than usual. But normal and harmless all the same.

I lightly nudged Kevin as he finished his current conversation. “Hm? Something wrong Savvy?” he asked.

“No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just… I don’t know. This all seems to be rather calm. I mean, yes, there are difference from Jet’s usual galleries. But… it doesn’t really seem as though anything is up.”

“Hm…” Kevin hummed, glancing at the glass in my hand and quirking an eyebrow. “You‘ve been drinking?”

I looked at him in surprise. Had he not noticed before? He was usually more observant than this. “Yea… you hadn’t noticed?”

“No, no. I noticed. But my not noticing being your first assumption prove the point I’m going to make. You’ve got a fairly low alcohol tolerance Sav…”

“So?” I asked, not quite getting where he was going with this.

“So you’re affected quicker than most people when it comes to alcohol. And when alcohol affects you, your judgment slowly starts to slip. Don’t assume nothing is going on so quickly.”

I stared down at my glass thoughtfully, wondering if the point he was trying to make had any validity to it. Maybe… he had a slight point. But… at the same time, the wine was really helping me to feel slightly more at ease during this mission.

Kevin sighed, seeing the contemplative look on my face and taking the glass and its contents from me. I frowned, feeling slightly annoyed as he sniffed the drink and took a sip himself. “Ooh, what ‘cha got there Kev?” Joe asked as he and Nick strolled over to us.

“Just a little bit of this and that,” Kevin said, shrugging.

“That he took from me,” I said, shaking my head lightly as Joe took the drink and sipped a bit.

Nick, still being under the legal age, was left to just stare and shake his head at the three of us. “Do you guys really think drinking is the best thing to do right now?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow and looking at us in a reprimanding manner. “We are on the clock…”

I pursed my lips, cursing Nick and his sense of responsibility. Kevin and Joe quickly finished off the glass though, ignoring Nick’s words of wisdom. It wasn’t like it really mattered though. It was a small enough amount that even if it hadn’t been shared between the two of them they wouldn’t be affected in the slightest. Nick sighed all the same though.