SN WIP: Homophobic - Part Seven
Apr. 29th, 2004 01:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
out_thereJeremy's theories on shoot the breeze came from that site. Previous part here
***
Sometime during the night, Casey found himself in the bathroom being violently sick. He knelt in front of the toilet bowl until his knees froze and the nausea passed. When he was sure he'd thrown up everything he'd eaten in the last week, he stood up and flushed.
He rinsed his mouth out, grabbed a packet of painkillers, and headed back to bed.
He hated Jaegermeister.
***
Casey woke up the next morning alone in his bed, with every hockey player in Canada using his head for a goal. Cracking one eye open, he saw the painkillers sitting beside his bed and swallowed two dry.
Then he groaned, hid his head under a pillow, and fell asleep for another five hours.
***
When he woke up, the headache had dulled to merely excruciating, so he dragged himself out of bed to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water, swallowed another two painkillers and vowed to never drink again. Then he saw his cell phone sitting on the counter and decided to give Dan a call.
Dan's cell barely rang before Dan answered. "Hey, Casey."
"Am I imagining things, or do I have today off?" He really hoped he had today off. If not, he was going to have to call Dana and tell her he was sick.
"Steve's filling in."
"Wonderful," Casey replied without much enthusiasm, taking his cell back to bed with him.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I've gone all the way past dead and woke up on the other side."
Dan laughed. "Let me know if you meet Elvis."
Casey lay back on the back. "I take it I drank a lot last night?"
"It was a big bottle. Wait until you see how much you drank, completely unassisted. You're lucky you don't have alcohol poisoning," Dan teased.
"But what a way to go." Casey almost smiled. Dan snorted. "From what I can remember, and the amount that I can't, I'm assuming I had fun."
"You had a hell of a good time," Dan replied, and Casey could hear the grin in his tone. "Just ask Jack."
"Did I quote any Shakespeare?"
"No."
Casey sighed in relief, glad he hadn't embarrassed himself too much. "Good."
"You tried to recite Milton instead. You got about ten lines into 'Paradise Lost' and gave up."
"That's much better," Casey said dryly.
"Go relax, Casey. Have a bath or something." There was a pause, and Casey could make out the general hubbub of the busy office. "We'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Casey agreed and switched off the phone. He lay back on the bed for a few minutes and then ran a bath. A good, hot, relaxing bath. Sinking into the tub, he decided Dan was a genius. This was exactly what he needed.
***
Most of his memories of last night remained pleasantly blurred, until he tripped over a fold in the rug and fell over, cursing loudly. Sprawled out on the floor, he scowled at nothing in particular and was glad no-one had seen that. He got up and kicked the rug back straight.
As he dusted himself off, he suddenly remembered falling before. Remembered falling on Dan, Dan's lips beneath his, and Dan's hand cupping his cheek. He walked into the bedroom in a daze, and collapsed on his unmade bed, thinking of Dan and kissing; recalling Dan's hand on his forehead, telling Casey it didn't count.
The scariest thing about it was that he didn't feel particularly ashamed about it. Sure, embarrassed as hell, and he was pretty sure that being kissed by someone that drunk must be a sloppy and unpleasant experience, but not actually ashamed. It wasn't like some bet, like he'd done something stupid and fairly disgusting because of a drunken sense of macho pride.
In fact, it wasn't even something that he was sure he didn't want to do again. Looking at in the cold light of day, he couldn't understand why he'd done that, but he could remember enjoying it, the soft feel of Danny's mouth beneath his, the half-remembered taste of Danny's skin. Could remember being hazy and uncertain, and sure there was going to be more, more of Danny's mouth, more of Danny's skin; being nervous and confused, and excited…
But Dan said it didn't count. Casey was sure of that. He couldn't remember *why* it didn't count, but he could remember Danny saying that. And Dan had more experience in first kisses, so he should know what he was talking about. And if it didn't count, it shouldn't matter if he enjoyed it. Or thought he enjoyed it.
It was giving Casey a headache. He decided it was way too complex to deal with while hungover, so he read Dan's book instead.
***
Jeremy was hovering over his desk. Casey looked up from his page briefly. "Yeah?"
"Have you finished the new NASCAR intro?"
"Yes."
"The baseball highlights?"
"Waiting for the final scores."
"The Olympics medals feature?"
"Waiting for Danny to give me a second opinion."
Jeremy watched him doubtfully. "So you really have nothing better to do than sit around reading a novel?"
"It's a really cool novel," Casey said enthusiastically, showing Jeremy the cover. Jeremy walked over to the table, looking closely at it. "It's all about this archaeologist who's putting together cluse to work out an ancient murder."
"Sounds interesting."
"It is." Danny was right. Casey loved this book. It had been ages since he'd been so sucked in by a novel. He couldn't wait to see how they worked out the killer.
Jeremy still stood there.
Casey sighed and marked his page. "Yes, Jeremy?"
"I have nothing to do either."
"You want to talk? Shoot the breeze?" Casey waved magnanimously at the spare chairs around the table.
"That saying makes no sense," Jeremy said as he sat down.
"Shoot the breeze?"
"Yeah. Why would you *shoot* the breeze? What could it possibly accomplish?"
"And there you have the reason for the saying." Casey pushed his book into the centre of the table. "You're wasting time. You're doing something that will have no productive result."
"But it's only talking," Jeremy pointed out. "I could accept that explanation if the saying meant wasting time, but it doesn't. It's not like I can sit around linking paperclips and say I'm 'shooting the breeze.'"
Casey frowned. "Why would you want to link your paperclips together?"
"Because I have nothing to do. Needless to say, all of the paperclips in my drawer are now connected in a chain."
"Huh."
Jeremy shrugged. "It's 2'3" long."
Casey blinked and figured Jeremy must be really bored to be measuring the chain. "You need a good book."
"Don't have one with me. I could always read yours," Jeremy joked, eyeing the novel speculatively.
Casey laid a possessive hand across its cover. "Not until I've finished."
"Fair enough." Jeremy sighed, looking out the window. "It's a great view."
"I think so."
"Do you think my glasses are too big?"
Casey's brows rose in surprise. "What?"
"Do you think they're too big for my face?" Jeremy asked seriously. "Do you think I should wear smaller frames? Or contacts?"
"You're asking me for fashion advice?" Casey asked incredulously, and Jeremy nodded. "You do realise the rest of the office will laugh at you for that?"
Jeremy shrugged. "You wear contacts every day, so I assume you once wore glasses. I'm not going to go to a golfer for advice on my backstroke."
Casey let that painful metaphor glide over his head. "Okay."
"So?"
Casey figured what the hell. "Take the glasses off." Jeremy did so, and Casey looked hard at him for a moment, trying to be critical. "Put them back on." Casey leaned backing the chair and considered Jeremy's appearance.
"So?" Jeremy asked pointedly.
"I don't think your face gains anything by not wearing glasses."
"But yours does?" Jeremy asked doubtfully.
Casey nodded. "Glasses make my chin look huge. I don't understand why, I just have it on good authority that they do. Besides, they tend to reflect the studio lights."
Jeremy accepted that. "Okay. What about smaller glasses?"
"I think they'd look cool on you, but…"
Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "But?"
"Your current thick frames are pretty geeky," Casey said and Jeremy frowned. "Very Clark Kent-ish. They have a certain geek appeal."
"Geek appeal?" Jeremy was clearly confused.
"Natalie is a very attractive girl."
Jeremy blinked at the change in subject, but nodded. "I know."
"She could have her choice of guys."
"You'd better be building to something here."
"And she is attracted by your geek appeal," Casey pointed out. "She finds your geeky personality and geeky appearance highly attractive. If I were you, I'd think carefully before changing that."
"Ah." Jeremy nodded. "You think I should discuss this with her?"
"Definitely." Casey grinned and was glad to get out of that conversation without insulting Jeremy or getting Natalie mad at him. "Why did you ask me?"
"You said my glasses were big."
Casey didn't remember that. "When?"
"Your birthday."
"I have to admit, there is a great deal of that night I don't remember," Casey said with a sheepish smile. "I said your glasses were big?"
"You asked me why my glasses were so…" Jeremy used both hands to outline a square around his head. "Big."
Casey blinked. "I must be fascinating to talk to when drunk," he said sarcastically.
Jeremy laughed. "You were certainly entertaining."
Casey snorted and wondered if Dan would agree. That lead his thoughts to confusing, and complex, places. "Can I ask your opinion on something?"
"Well, seeing as my workload is so busy, go ahead."
Jeremy was a smart guy. He'd back Dan up. "Does a drunk kiss count?"
Jeremy frowned. "As a kiss?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
Casey blinked. That wasn't the right answer. "Really?"
"It has to. If it didn't count, I would have received far less kisses over my lifetime," Jeremy pointed out logically. "I am not ashamed to admit that when Natalie first kissed me, she tasted strongly of margaritas."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah," Jeremy replied confidently, and then stood up as Natalie walked into the room. "Looking for me?"
"Do you have some time?" Natalie asked, glancing down at her clipboard.
"As much time as you need," Jeremy replied.
"Good." Natalie grinned at him. "Oakland's having a good season. I want you to look over the stats and find out the last time they did so well. Then I want you to pick a few other teams and do the same. I'm thinking of doing a feature, and focusing on the best season for each team. Not sure how well it will work yet, so I need some background info."
Jeremy nodded. "I am the geek for the job." Jeremy was already wearing his joy-of-research smile, and muttering to himself as he walked out the door.
"You're my geek," Natalie said as he walked past her. Then she turned to Casey. "Am I still your best friend?"
"Still?" Casey asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "When did that happen?"
Natalie pouted. "Your birthday."
Casey frowned as he thought, and did remember something about… ranking his friends? "You are a close friend and I love you dearly."
"But Dan's your best friend again?" She almost sounded hurt.
"I've known him for eleven years and I spend about ten hours a day around him," Casey explained gently.
Natalie grinned. "That's kind of a relief. I mean, I wouldn't want to have to tell Dana that she's been downgraded to my second best friend."
"You'd choose me over Dana?"
"No."
Casey nodded. That made more sense. "Natalie?"
She tilted her head to the side. "Yeah?"
"Does a drunk kiss count?"
"Does it count?"
"Yeah," Casey said. "If you kissed someone, while being really drunk, even though you're not really interested in them, does it count?"
"It's a kiss. Of course it counts."
"Even if you're not interested in them? Not attracted to them at all?"
Natalie stared at him. "Have you ever kissed anyone, while drunk, that you're not attracted to?"
"Yes?" He wished he sounded more certain.
"The answer is no, Casey. If you're drunk, you must be attracted to them on some level. Maybe they remind you of someone. Maybe it's the type of person you normally wouldn't date because of work, or boyfriends, or silly agreements. Maybe there's a lot of practical reasons why you aren't dating them, but when you're drunk, you act on the passionate urges."
"Passionate urges?" Casey really wasn't sure about that.
"You act on the passion!" Natalie exclaimed, waving a hand wildly. "You feel attracted to someone, and you kiss them, and you don't care about the consequences! Sometimes it's the step you need to take to turn attraction and feelings into a relationship."
"I don't think there were feelings involved."
"Maybe you don't know you have feelings," Natalie replied earnestly. "You get drunk, you act on your feelings. That's how it works. Then you have to acknowledge your feelings, and move on to the next step."
Casey frowned. "I think I'd know if I feelings, Natalie."
"Maybe you're repressing your feelings," she suggested. "Maybe you have feelings, but you don't want to acknowledge them. Maybe they're secret feelings."
"Secret feelings?"
"You could secretly be in love with this person. Maybe you're just having a hard time seeing that."
Casey froze for a second. He was pretty sure that wasn't right. "I don't think so."
"You know what I think?" Natalie asked with a scary gleam in her eye.
"What?"
She leaned over the table, talking softly to Casey. "I think you need to think about your secret feelings, and then act on them."
Casey reached for his book, holding it up in front of him like a protective shield. "I'm going to go back to reading my book now."
Natalie stepped back. "Okay."
"Okay?" he asked warily.
"Just think about the secret feelings," she called out as she left his office.
***
Halfway through chapter eighteen, Dan interrupted him by rudely pulling his book away. "Danny! Give it back."
"In a minute," Dan said, watching him carefully. "I have a very serious question for you, and need you to be paying attention."
Casey sighed, but noticed that Dan was carefully keeping the book open at the right page. "Shoot."
"Have you and Dana revoked or renegotiated your non-dating agreement in any way?"
Casey blinked at the wordy question. "No."
"Not in any way?" Dan asked seriously.
"Not in any way."
Dan kept staring at him. "And you're telling me the truth about this?"
"We're not dating, Danny. We decided it and we're sticking to it. Nothing's changed."
Dan nodded, and passed Casey his book back. "Just needed to know."
"Why?"
"Because Natalie seems sure it has," Danny said, stretching his neck. "Or that it will. Now, I'm all for supporting you in whatever way you want, but I need to know if I'm supposed to be helping you get Dana or not."
"Not," Casey said firmly. He didn't want their workplace to turn into a romantic minefield. Not again.
"Then I should be having a quiet word to Nat about no more schemes."
"Schemes?"
Dan sighed. "There were schemes involved last time. None of them worked, but they were put in place."
"But you're going to stop them?"
"Yes, I am." Danny nodded.
"Thank you," he said. Danny grinned back at him. "Can I go back to reading my book now?"
"You're enjoying it?"
"Loving it, Danny."
"Then go ahead," Dan said graciously, and disappeared out of their office, probably going to track down Natalie.
***
He read for about twenty minutes, and then decided he needed a good sandwich. He'd also like another opinion on the whole drunk kiss thing. Natalie said yes, but she got stuff wrong; for example, him and Dana. Dan said no, and Casey generally trusted his opinion. The problem was that Jeremy said yes, and Jeremy was a smart guy. Casey needed someone else to tip the results back in Danny's favour.
He ran into Kim in the food table. "Hey," she said, stirring her coffee.
"Does a drunk kiss count?"
She blinked at him. "What?"
"If one of the kissers is really drunk when they kiss, does it count? Does it have to be acknowledged?"
Kim snorted daintily. "No."
Casey grinned. "I knew there would be at least one voice of reason on this issue."
"It doesn't count," Kim stated confidently. "Drunk sex doesn't count either."
Casey felt his eyes widen. He was pretty sure that full sex counted. "It doesn't?"
Kim shook her head. "No."
"Wow." He'd really thought that counted.
"Sex during the full moon doesn't count either."
Now Casey was confused. "Really?"
"Or if I'm wearing green," Kim said seriously.
"Green?"
"Yeah, if I'm wearing green, the guy doesn't count at all." Kim grinned widely, and Casey got the sinking feeling she was messing with him.
"You're messing with me, aren't you?"
"Yep," Kim said easily, sipping her coffee.
"I'm going back to my book, now."
***
"Hey, Isaac," Casey said, popping his head around Isaac's doorway. He was going to go back to his book, but Danny was sitting there typing, and… Casey thought it might be best to find somewhere else to be. Just for another opinion. "You busy?"
"Busy enough," Isaac replied with a smile. Casey took it as a sign to come in and sit down. "Why?"
"I have a question for you."
"For me?"
"You are a man of the world, Isaac. A worldly man who has been to many places and seen many things. You are wise and knowledgeable about the ways of the world."
"Stop buttering me up and get to the damn question."
Casey laughed. "If you kiss someone while drunk, does it count?"
"Does it count as what?"
"As a kiss." Casey shrugged. "As whatever it would have counted as if you'd been sober."
"If I say no, will you get out of my office?"
Casey wasn't distracted by Isaac's cranky sigh. "It doesn't count?"
"Why wouldn't it count?"
"Because your judgement's impaired. Because if you were sober, and thinking rationally, you never would have done it. You can't be held to a kiss while you're in that state."
Isaac leaned back in his chair and put down his pen. "Give me a practical example."
"Say you're so blindingly drunk you can barely stand up straight?"
"Me, personally?"
Casey nodded. "Yeah. And you kiss someone in this state."
"Esther?"
Casey waved that thought away. "A woman other than Esther."
"A woman other than Esther?" Isaac asked carefully.
"Yeah."
"Let me get this straight," Isaac said slowly, staring at him. "I'm so drunk I can barely stand up and I kiss a woman, other than Esther, and you want to know if it counts?"
Casey nodded, but he had a sinking feeling he already knew Isaac's answer. "Yeah."
"You'd better believe it counts."
Casey sighed in disappointment. "So everyone keeps saying."
"And if you asked Esther, she'd say the same thing."
"She would?"
"If you'd walked in on Lisa kissing some guy and she said she was drunk so it didn't mean anything, would you count it?"
"Definitely," Casey said firmly, suddenly glad that his marriage had broken down for far more mundane reasons.
"Then why would you think being drunk would make a kiss not count?"
Casey sighed deeply. "Wishful thinking?"
"I think so," Isaac said pointedly.
"I'd better leave you to your work," Casey said, standing up.
"Good idea," Isaac said dryly.
***
Danny was typing quietly, and Casey was reading. He'd barely started chapter nineteen when the phone rang. He glared at it but it kept ringing, so he picked it up. "Hi?"
It was Dana. "Casey, can I see you in my office?"
"Now?" he asked, putting the book down anyway.
"Now."
"Okay," he said, and she hung up.
"Who was it?" Danny asked as he stood up.
"Dana. She wants to see me," Casey replied.
"Why?" Dan asked and Casey shrugged.
"No idea."
"Better go then."
Casey nodded. "I am."
When he got there, she was leaning on her desk and biting her lower lip. "Close the door."
He closed it behind him. "Why did you need to see me?"
"Natalie's giving me funny looks."
Casey let his head drop to his chest. They could have talked about this on the phone. And he could have kept reading and just pretended to be listening. "Have you tried sending a note home to her mother?"
"Casey, she's giving me funny looks."
"I fail to see the problem. Natalie gives everyone funny looks."
Dana's eyes narrowed. "She keeps asking me what happened on your birthday, and then doesn't believe me when I tell her. She keeps saying that when I want to talk, I know where to find her."
Casey sighed. He was starting to get sick of not knowing what had occurred the night before last. "What happened on my birthday?"
"I met a guy called James. Jimmy to his friends. We were talking about being night-owls, and staying up, and I mentioned that my next night off was Friday. He said that he's got a late meeting, but that if it turns out he's free, he'll call me. So I gave him my number, and I'm really hoping he calls, but he hasn't yet and-" She stopped her distracted diatribe and blinked up at him. "And that has nothing to do with this."
"Okay," Casey said slowly, waiting for Dana to get to the point.
"Natalie's giving me funny looks," Dana stated and then sighed.
Casey remembered this part of the conversation. "She's giving you funny looks."
"And she keeps asking about your birthday, but obviously doesn't believe me."
"You mentioned that."
"And she just stopped in to tell me to be a little patient, because guys are dense. Sometimes they have trouble acknowledging their feelings."
Casey scowled. "That seems to be a theme today."
"And she said not to worry, because drunk kisses count."
"Oh." The light bulb that flashed on inside Casey's brain was almost blindingly bright. "What happened on my birthday?"
Now Dana was giving him a funny look. "I just told you about Jimmy."
"That's it?"
"That was the only thing out of the ordinary."
"We didn't kiss?" Casey couldn't remember kissing her, but that was no guarantee it hadn't happened. That would make things far too complicated.
She stared at him, open-mouthed. "You and me?"
"Yeah."
"No."
Casey sighed in relief. "Good."
"I'm this close to being offended by that," Dana said with a frown, "but I'm going to forgive you on the basis that you got so completely trashed that night."
"Thank you," Casey said sarcastically.
"Do you know why Natalie's giving me funny looks?"
"I think so." Casey cringed.
"Why?"
"I was asking her a question earlier, and I think she's assumed that we kissed."
Dana watched him critically. "Why would she assume that?"
"Because I asked her if drunk kisses count."
One shapely eyebrow rose. "If they count? What in the world made you think they wouldn't?"
Casey shrugged. "Danny."
Dana snorted, showing her obvious respect for Dan's romantic advice. "They count. They're embarrassing and awkward and sometimes done for the wrong reasons, but they count. You can't just ignore them."
Casey shrugged again.
"You can't ignore them, Casey."
"You can claim ignorance," Casey pointed out quietly.
"Ignorance?"
"Let the other person think you can't remember."
"But you do?"
"I do, but…" Casey shrugged again, and then realised he was doing that far too much in this conversation. "That way, no one has to be embarrassed or ashamed. You can just pretend it didn't happen."
"But it did."
"But no one has to feel bad and face that fact," Casey said, and Dana stared at him, obviously not convinced. "It's taking the high road, Dana. It means I don't have to go to them and say 'I'm sorry,' 'I was really drunk,' 'normally I would never'…"
"It's cowardly, Casey."
"And they don't have to smile at me and say 'you're a really nice guy,' and 'don't take this the wrong way,' 'but never in a million years'..." Casey blinked, thinking about what he'd just said. He hadn't really thought about the implications, but it was most likely true.
Dan would probably be a little more imaginative in his excuses, and he'd probably use sports metaphors, but it would be the same basic speech. After all, Casey had been pretty willing; drunk and sloppy, but willing. If Dan had been interested, it would have been more than one barely-tolerated kiss.
Casey guessed that if you both knew what the kiss meant, it didn't matter if it technically counted or not. He looked up to see Dana watching him with a soft, understanding expression. "It's the high road," he assured her.
"It's not, and it will lead to bad things," Dana predicted. "But if you want to talk about it…?"
He cringed at the idea. "Thanks, but no thanks, Dana."
"Why not?"
"Regardless of our agreement, once upon a time we were interested in each other. The conversation will be awkward."
"Awkward?"
Casey nodded. "Embarrassing and awkward."
"Just because we had a few weeks-"
"Months," he corrected.
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. A few *months* of almost dating, doesn't mean we can't talk about this stuff, Casey."
"You're not going to let go of this, are you?" Casey asked wearily.
"I want us to be friends who can talk about more than sports and work. I want to be able to tell you about Jimmy, without worrying about awkwardness and if you're going to become jealous and annoying." Dana stood up, pushing herself off the desk. "I want us to *be* friends, and not just say we are."
"This isn't about jealousy, this isn't about romantic interest in you," Casey said clearly. "It's about an awkward and embarrassing conversation I don't want to have."
"Casey, look at my romantic history," Dana said with a self-deprecating grin. "I thrive on awkward and embarrassing conversations."
Casey laughed. "It's just a subject that I really don't want to discuss right now. It's nothing personal, it's just…"
"Awkward and embarrassing."
"Yeah."
"Fine. Go talk to Danny about it," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Casey swallowed and then asked, "Danny?"
She laughed. "I know you, Casey. You'll end up talking to someone about it. You can't help it."
"Yeah, I'll go talk to Danny," Casey replied with a tight smile and left her office.
***
Casey slinked back into their office and was kind of relieved to note that Dan wasn't there. He still didn't have anything to do, but at least he could not-do-it in peace. He picked up his book and stretched out on the couch, flipping over to chapter nineteen.
Around chapter twenty-two, Dan dropped in to say he'd looked at the feature, and the third and fourth sections seemed 'clunky.'
Casey marked his page and sat up. "Clunky?"
"Clunky." Dan nodded. "They don't flow, Casey. It breaks the rhythm."
"Where?"
Dan stuck the video in the machine, and Casey saw what he meant. "That *is* clunky."
"Told you."
Casey sighed, putting his book away. "Any ideas how to fix it?"
"Not really…" Dan said apologetically, and played the tape again. They watched it through a couple times, and then talked about it, about better phrasings and if the footage was appropriate. Eventually, they came up with a solution. So he went off to editing to fix it, while Dan started working on the football highlights.
Halfway through re-writing the fourth section, Casey realised he was making a big deal out of nothing. Being around Dan wasn't any more awkward than it used to be. They were just Casey and Danny, and one little kiss didn't have to change anything.
Taking the high road was the right choice. More people needed to understand that.
***
A couple of days later, Jeremy announced, "Did you know that during the late nineteenth century, 'breeze' was a colloquial word for rumour or scandal?"
"Really?" Casey said, intrigued.
"Yeah," Jeremy replied. "By as early as 1910, it had travelled over to the U.S. and had taken on the meaning of 'empty chatter.' It then became incorporated into a lot of sayings, some of which are still used today."
"Like 'shoot the breeze,'" Casey supplied with a grin.
"And quite a few variants of that phrase."
"That's pretty interesting," Casey said, and realised that Dan and Natalie were staring at him. "I didn't know that."
Dana was staring at Jeremy. "Neither did I," Dana replied. "Now, as it's the rundown, and we do a show about sports, not etymology, could we talk about something relevant? Like sports?"
Jeremy shrugged. "I just thought it was interesting."
"It really isn't," Natalie assured him.
"I was interested," Casey pointed out.
Dan smirked at him. "You're a language-geek."
"So?"
"So the rest of us weren't interested," Dan replied with a good-natured grin.
Casey shrugged. "I was." Danny just rolled his eyes and Dana tried to get control of the meeting again.
***
***
Sometime during the night, Casey found himself in the bathroom being violently sick. He knelt in front of the toilet bowl until his knees froze and the nausea passed. When he was sure he'd thrown up everything he'd eaten in the last week, he stood up and flushed.
He rinsed his mouth out, grabbed a packet of painkillers, and headed back to bed.
He hated Jaegermeister.
***
Casey woke up the next morning alone in his bed, with every hockey player in Canada using his head for a goal. Cracking one eye open, he saw the painkillers sitting beside his bed and swallowed two dry.
Then he groaned, hid his head under a pillow, and fell asleep for another five hours.
***
When he woke up, the headache had dulled to merely excruciating, so he dragged himself out of bed to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water, swallowed another two painkillers and vowed to never drink again. Then he saw his cell phone sitting on the counter and decided to give Dan a call.
Dan's cell barely rang before Dan answered. "Hey, Casey."
"Am I imagining things, or do I have today off?" He really hoped he had today off. If not, he was going to have to call Dana and tell her he was sick.
"Steve's filling in."
"Wonderful," Casey replied without much enthusiasm, taking his cell back to bed with him.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I've gone all the way past dead and woke up on the other side."
Dan laughed. "Let me know if you meet Elvis."
Casey lay back on the back. "I take it I drank a lot last night?"
"It was a big bottle. Wait until you see how much you drank, completely unassisted. You're lucky you don't have alcohol poisoning," Dan teased.
"But what a way to go." Casey almost smiled. Dan snorted. "From what I can remember, and the amount that I can't, I'm assuming I had fun."
"You had a hell of a good time," Dan replied, and Casey could hear the grin in his tone. "Just ask Jack."
"Did I quote any Shakespeare?"
"No."
Casey sighed in relief, glad he hadn't embarrassed himself too much. "Good."
"You tried to recite Milton instead. You got about ten lines into 'Paradise Lost' and gave up."
"That's much better," Casey said dryly.
"Go relax, Casey. Have a bath or something." There was a pause, and Casey could make out the general hubbub of the busy office. "We'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Casey agreed and switched off the phone. He lay back on the bed for a few minutes and then ran a bath. A good, hot, relaxing bath. Sinking into the tub, he decided Dan was a genius. This was exactly what he needed.
***
Most of his memories of last night remained pleasantly blurred, until he tripped over a fold in the rug and fell over, cursing loudly. Sprawled out on the floor, he scowled at nothing in particular and was glad no-one had seen that. He got up and kicked the rug back straight.
As he dusted himself off, he suddenly remembered falling before. Remembered falling on Dan, Dan's lips beneath his, and Dan's hand cupping his cheek. He walked into the bedroom in a daze, and collapsed on his unmade bed, thinking of Dan and kissing; recalling Dan's hand on his forehead, telling Casey it didn't count.
The scariest thing about it was that he didn't feel particularly ashamed about it. Sure, embarrassed as hell, and he was pretty sure that being kissed by someone that drunk must be a sloppy and unpleasant experience, but not actually ashamed. It wasn't like some bet, like he'd done something stupid and fairly disgusting because of a drunken sense of macho pride.
In fact, it wasn't even something that he was sure he didn't want to do again. Looking at in the cold light of day, he couldn't understand why he'd done that, but he could remember enjoying it, the soft feel of Danny's mouth beneath his, the half-remembered taste of Danny's skin. Could remember being hazy and uncertain, and sure there was going to be more, more of Danny's mouth, more of Danny's skin; being nervous and confused, and excited…
But Dan said it didn't count. Casey was sure of that. He couldn't remember *why* it didn't count, but he could remember Danny saying that. And Dan had more experience in first kisses, so he should know what he was talking about. And if it didn't count, it shouldn't matter if he enjoyed it. Or thought he enjoyed it.
It was giving Casey a headache. He decided it was way too complex to deal with while hungover, so he read Dan's book instead.
***
Jeremy was hovering over his desk. Casey looked up from his page briefly. "Yeah?"
"Have you finished the new NASCAR intro?"
"Yes."
"The baseball highlights?"
"Waiting for the final scores."
"The Olympics medals feature?"
"Waiting for Danny to give me a second opinion."
Jeremy watched him doubtfully. "So you really have nothing better to do than sit around reading a novel?"
"It's a really cool novel," Casey said enthusiastically, showing Jeremy the cover. Jeremy walked over to the table, looking closely at it. "It's all about this archaeologist who's putting together cluse to work out an ancient murder."
"Sounds interesting."
"It is." Danny was right. Casey loved this book. It had been ages since he'd been so sucked in by a novel. He couldn't wait to see how they worked out the killer.
Jeremy still stood there.
Casey sighed and marked his page. "Yes, Jeremy?"
"I have nothing to do either."
"You want to talk? Shoot the breeze?" Casey waved magnanimously at the spare chairs around the table.
"That saying makes no sense," Jeremy said as he sat down.
"Shoot the breeze?"
"Yeah. Why would you *shoot* the breeze? What could it possibly accomplish?"
"And there you have the reason for the saying." Casey pushed his book into the centre of the table. "You're wasting time. You're doing something that will have no productive result."
"But it's only talking," Jeremy pointed out. "I could accept that explanation if the saying meant wasting time, but it doesn't. It's not like I can sit around linking paperclips and say I'm 'shooting the breeze.'"
Casey frowned. "Why would you want to link your paperclips together?"
"Because I have nothing to do. Needless to say, all of the paperclips in my drawer are now connected in a chain."
"Huh."
Jeremy shrugged. "It's 2'3" long."
Casey blinked and figured Jeremy must be really bored to be measuring the chain. "You need a good book."
"Don't have one with me. I could always read yours," Jeremy joked, eyeing the novel speculatively.
Casey laid a possessive hand across its cover. "Not until I've finished."
"Fair enough." Jeremy sighed, looking out the window. "It's a great view."
"I think so."
"Do you think my glasses are too big?"
Casey's brows rose in surprise. "What?"
"Do you think they're too big for my face?" Jeremy asked seriously. "Do you think I should wear smaller frames? Or contacts?"
"You're asking me for fashion advice?" Casey asked incredulously, and Jeremy nodded. "You do realise the rest of the office will laugh at you for that?"
Jeremy shrugged. "You wear contacts every day, so I assume you once wore glasses. I'm not going to go to a golfer for advice on my backstroke."
Casey let that painful metaphor glide over his head. "Okay."
"So?"
Casey figured what the hell. "Take the glasses off." Jeremy did so, and Casey looked hard at him for a moment, trying to be critical. "Put them back on." Casey leaned backing the chair and considered Jeremy's appearance.
"So?" Jeremy asked pointedly.
"I don't think your face gains anything by not wearing glasses."
"But yours does?" Jeremy asked doubtfully.
Casey nodded. "Glasses make my chin look huge. I don't understand why, I just have it on good authority that they do. Besides, they tend to reflect the studio lights."
Jeremy accepted that. "Okay. What about smaller glasses?"
"I think they'd look cool on you, but…"
Jeremy raised an eyebrow. "But?"
"Your current thick frames are pretty geeky," Casey said and Jeremy frowned. "Very Clark Kent-ish. They have a certain geek appeal."
"Geek appeal?" Jeremy was clearly confused.
"Natalie is a very attractive girl."
Jeremy blinked at the change in subject, but nodded. "I know."
"She could have her choice of guys."
"You'd better be building to something here."
"And she is attracted by your geek appeal," Casey pointed out. "She finds your geeky personality and geeky appearance highly attractive. If I were you, I'd think carefully before changing that."
"Ah." Jeremy nodded. "You think I should discuss this with her?"
"Definitely." Casey grinned and was glad to get out of that conversation without insulting Jeremy or getting Natalie mad at him. "Why did you ask me?"
"You said my glasses were big."
Casey didn't remember that. "When?"
"Your birthday."
"I have to admit, there is a great deal of that night I don't remember," Casey said with a sheepish smile. "I said your glasses were big?"
"You asked me why my glasses were so…" Jeremy used both hands to outline a square around his head. "Big."
Casey blinked. "I must be fascinating to talk to when drunk," he said sarcastically.
Jeremy laughed. "You were certainly entertaining."
Casey snorted and wondered if Dan would agree. That lead his thoughts to confusing, and complex, places. "Can I ask your opinion on something?"
"Well, seeing as my workload is so busy, go ahead."
Jeremy was a smart guy. He'd back Dan up. "Does a drunk kiss count?"
Jeremy frowned. "As a kiss?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
Casey blinked. That wasn't the right answer. "Really?"
"It has to. If it didn't count, I would have received far less kisses over my lifetime," Jeremy pointed out logically. "I am not ashamed to admit that when Natalie first kissed me, she tasted strongly of margaritas."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah," Jeremy replied confidently, and then stood up as Natalie walked into the room. "Looking for me?"
"Do you have some time?" Natalie asked, glancing down at her clipboard.
"As much time as you need," Jeremy replied.
"Good." Natalie grinned at him. "Oakland's having a good season. I want you to look over the stats and find out the last time they did so well. Then I want you to pick a few other teams and do the same. I'm thinking of doing a feature, and focusing on the best season for each team. Not sure how well it will work yet, so I need some background info."
Jeremy nodded. "I am the geek for the job." Jeremy was already wearing his joy-of-research smile, and muttering to himself as he walked out the door.
"You're my geek," Natalie said as he walked past her. Then she turned to Casey. "Am I still your best friend?"
"Still?" Casey asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "When did that happen?"
Natalie pouted. "Your birthday."
Casey frowned as he thought, and did remember something about… ranking his friends? "You are a close friend and I love you dearly."
"But Dan's your best friend again?" She almost sounded hurt.
"I've known him for eleven years and I spend about ten hours a day around him," Casey explained gently.
Natalie grinned. "That's kind of a relief. I mean, I wouldn't want to have to tell Dana that she's been downgraded to my second best friend."
"You'd choose me over Dana?"
"No."
Casey nodded. That made more sense. "Natalie?"
She tilted her head to the side. "Yeah?"
"Does a drunk kiss count?"
"Does it count?"
"Yeah," Casey said. "If you kissed someone, while being really drunk, even though you're not really interested in them, does it count?"
"It's a kiss. Of course it counts."
"Even if you're not interested in them? Not attracted to them at all?"
Natalie stared at him. "Have you ever kissed anyone, while drunk, that you're not attracted to?"
"Yes?" He wished he sounded more certain.
"The answer is no, Casey. If you're drunk, you must be attracted to them on some level. Maybe they remind you of someone. Maybe it's the type of person you normally wouldn't date because of work, or boyfriends, or silly agreements. Maybe there's a lot of practical reasons why you aren't dating them, but when you're drunk, you act on the passionate urges."
"Passionate urges?" Casey really wasn't sure about that.
"You act on the passion!" Natalie exclaimed, waving a hand wildly. "You feel attracted to someone, and you kiss them, and you don't care about the consequences! Sometimes it's the step you need to take to turn attraction and feelings into a relationship."
"I don't think there were feelings involved."
"Maybe you don't know you have feelings," Natalie replied earnestly. "You get drunk, you act on your feelings. That's how it works. Then you have to acknowledge your feelings, and move on to the next step."
Casey frowned. "I think I'd know if I feelings, Natalie."
"Maybe you're repressing your feelings," she suggested. "Maybe you have feelings, but you don't want to acknowledge them. Maybe they're secret feelings."
"Secret feelings?"
"You could secretly be in love with this person. Maybe you're just having a hard time seeing that."
Casey froze for a second. He was pretty sure that wasn't right. "I don't think so."
"You know what I think?" Natalie asked with a scary gleam in her eye.
"What?"
She leaned over the table, talking softly to Casey. "I think you need to think about your secret feelings, and then act on them."
Casey reached for his book, holding it up in front of him like a protective shield. "I'm going to go back to reading my book now."
Natalie stepped back. "Okay."
"Okay?" he asked warily.
"Just think about the secret feelings," she called out as she left his office.
***
Halfway through chapter eighteen, Dan interrupted him by rudely pulling his book away. "Danny! Give it back."
"In a minute," Dan said, watching him carefully. "I have a very serious question for you, and need you to be paying attention."
Casey sighed, but noticed that Dan was carefully keeping the book open at the right page. "Shoot."
"Have you and Dana revoked or renegotiated your non-dating agreement in any way?"
Casey blinked at the wordy question. "No."
"Not in any way?" Dan asked seriously.
"Not in any way."
Dan kept staring at him. "And you're telling me the truth about this?"
"We're not dating, Danny. We decided it and we're sticking to it. Nothing's changed."
Dan nodded, and passed Casey his book back. "Just needed to know."
"Why?"
"Because Natalie seems sure it has," Danny said, stretching his neck. "Or that it will. Now, I'm all for supporting you in whatever way you want, but I need to know if I'm supposed to be helping you get Dana or not."
"Not," Casey said firmly. He didn't want their workplace to turn into a romantic minefield. Not again.
"Then I should be having a quiet word to Nat about no more schemes."
"Schemes?"
Dan sighed. "There were schemes involved last time. None of them worked, but they were put in place."
"But you're going to stop them?"
"Yes, I am." Danny nodded.
"Thank you," he said. Danny grinned back at him. "Can I go back to reading my book now?"
"You're enjoying it?"
"Loving it, Danny."
"Then go ahead," Dan said graciously, and disappeared out of their office, probably going to track down Natalie.
***
He read for about twenty minutes, and then decided he needed a good sandwich. He'd also like another opinion on the whole drunk kiss thing. Natalie said yes, but she got stuff wrong; for example, him and Dana. Dan said no, and Casey generally trusted his opinion. The problem was that Jeremy said yes, and Jeremy was a smart guy. Casey needed someone else to tip the results back in Danny's favour.
He ran into Kim in the food table. "Hey," she said, stirring her coffee.
"Does a drunk kiss count?"
She blinked at him. "What?"
"If one of the kissers is really drunk when they kiss, does it count? Does it have to be acknowledged?"
Kim snorted daintily. "No."
Casey grinned. "I knew there would be at least one voice of reason on this issue."
"It doesn't count," Kim stated confidently. "Drunk sex doesn't count either."
Casey felt his eyes widen. He was pretty sure that full sex counted. "It doesn't?"
Kim shook her head. "No."
"Wow." He'd really thought that counted.
"Sex during the full moon doesn't count either."
Now Casey was confused. "Really?"
"Or if I'm wearing green," Kim said seriously.
"Green?"
"Yeah, if I'm wearing green, the guy doesn't count at all." Kim grinned widely, and Casey got the sinking feeling she was messing with him.
"You're messing with me, aren't you?"
"Yep," Kim said easily, sipping her coffee.
"I'm going back to my book, now."
***
"Hey, Isaac," Casey said, popping his head around Isaac's doorway. He was going to go back to his book, but Danny was sitting there typing, and… Casey thought it might be best to find somewhere else to be. Just for another opinion. "You busy?"
"Busy enough," Isaac replied with a smile. Casey took it as a sign to come in and sit down. "Why?"
"I have a question for you."
"For me?"
"You are a man of the world, Isaac. A worldly man who has been to many places and seen many things. You are wise and knowledgeable about the ways of the world."
"Stop buttering me up and get to the damn question."
Casey laughed. "If you kiss someone while drunk, does it count?"
"Does it count as what?"
"As a kiss." Casey shrugged. "As whatever it would have counted as if you'd been sober."
"If I say no, will you get out of my office?"
Casey wasn't distracted by Isaac's cranky sigh. "It doesn't count?"
"Why wouldn't it count?"
"Because your judgement's impaired. Because if you were sober, and thinking rationally, you never would have done it. You can't be held to a kiss while you're in that state."
Isaac leaned back in his chair and put down his pen. "Give me a practical example."
"Say you're so blindingly drunk you can barely stand up straight?"
"Me, personally?"
Casey nodded. "Yeah. And you kiss someone in this state."
"Esther?"
Casey waved that thought away. "A woman other than Esther."
"A woman other than Esther?" Isaac asked carefully.
"Yeah."
"Let me get this straight," Isaac said slowly, staring at him. "I'm so drunk I can barely stand up and I kiss a woman, other than Esther, and you want to know if it counts?"
Casey nodded, but he had a sinking feeling he already knew Isaac's answer. "Yeah."
"You'd better believe it counts."
Casey sighed in disappointment. "So everyone keeps saying."
"And if you asked Esther, she'd say the same thing."
"She would?"
"If you'd walked in on Lisa kissing some guy and she said she was drunk so it didn't mean anything, would you count it?"
"Definitely," Casey said firmly, suddenly glad that his marriage had broken down for far more mundane reasons.
"Then why would you think being drunk would make a kiss not count?"
Casey sighed deeply. "Wishful thinking?"
"I think so," Isaac said pointedly.
"I'd better leave you to your work," Casey said, standing up.
"Good idea," Isaac said dryly.
***
Danny was typing quietly, and Casey was reading. He'd barely started chapter nineteen when the phone rang. He glared at it but it kept ringing, so he picked it up. "Hi?"
It was Dana. "Casey, can I see you in my office?"
"Now?" he asked, putting the book down anyway.
"Now."
"Okay," he said, and she hung up.
"Who was it?" Danny asked as he stood up.
"Dana. She wants to see me," Casey replied.
"Why?" Dan asked and Casey shrugged.
"No idea."
"Better go then."
Casey nodded. "I am."
When he got there, she was leaning on her desk and biting her lower lip. "Close the door."
He closed it behind him. "Why did you need to see me?"
"Natalie's giving me funny looks."
Casey let his head drop to his chest. They could have talked about this on the phone. And he could have kept reading and just pretended to be listening. "Have you tried sending a note home to her mother?"
"Casey, she's giving me funny looks."
"I fail to see the problem. Natalie gives everyone funny looks."
Dana's eyes narrowed. "She keeps asking me what happened on your birthday, and then doesn't believe me when I tell her. She keeps saying that when I want to talk, I know where to find her."
Casey sighed. He was starting to get sick of not knowing what had occurred the night before last. "What happened on my birthday?"
"I met a guy called James. Jimmy to his friends. We were talking about being night-owls, and staying up, and I mentioned that my next night off was Friday. He said that he's got a late meeting, but that if it turns out he's free, he'll call me. So I gave him my number, and I'm really hoping he calls, but he hasn't yet and-" She stopped her distracted diatribe and blinked up at him. "And that has nothing to do with this."
"Okay," Casey said slowly, waiting for Dana to get to the point.
"Natalie's giving me funny looks," Dana stated and then sighed.
Casey remembered this part of the conversation. "She's giving you funny looks."
"And she keeps asking about your birthday, but obviously doesn't believe me."
"You mentioned that."
"And she just stopped in to tell me to be a little patient, because guys are dense. Sometimes they have trouble acknowledging their feelings."
Casey scowled. "That seems to be a theme today."
"And she said not to worry, because drunk kisses count."
"Oh." The light bulb that flashed on inside Casey's brain was almost blindingly bright. "What happened on my birthday?"
Now Dana was giving him a funny look. "I just told you about Jimmy."
"That's it?"
"That was the only thing out of the ordinary."
"We didn't kiss?" Casey couldn't remember kissing her, but that was no guarantee it hadn't happened. That would make things far too complicated.
She stared at him, open-mouthed. "You and me?"
"Yeah."
"No."
Casey sighed in relief. "Good."
"I'm this close to being offended by that," Dana said with a frown, "but I'm going to forgive you on the basis that you got so completely trashed that night."
"Thank you," Casey said sarcastically.
"Do you know why Natalie's giving me funny looks?"
"I think so." Casey cringed.
"Why?"
"I was asking her a question earlier, and I think she's assumed that we kissed."
Dana watched him critically. "Why would she assume that?"
"Because I asked her if drunk kisses count."
One shapely eyebrow rose. "If they count? What in the world made you think they wouldn't?"
Casey shrugged. "Danny."
Dana snorted, showing her obvious respect for Dan's romantic advice. "They count. They're embarrassing and awkward and sometimes done for the wrong reasons, but they count. You can't just ignore them."
Casey shrugged again.
"You can't ignore them, Casey."
"You can claim ignorance," Casey pointed out quietly.
"Ignorance?"
"Let the other person think you can't remember."
"But you do?"
"I do, but…" Casey shrugged again, and then realised he was doing that far too much in this conversation. "That way, no one has to be embarrassed or ashamed. You can just pretend it didn't happen."
"But it did."
"But no one has to feel bad and face that fact," Casey said, and Dana stared at him, obviously not convinced. "It's taking the high road, Dana. It means I don't have to go to them and say 'I'm sorry,' 'I was really drunk,' 'normally I would never'…"
"It's cowardly, Casey."
"And they don't have to smile at me and say 'you're a really nice guy,' and 'don't take this the wrong way,' 'but never in a million years'..." Casey blinked, thinking about what he'd just said. He hadn't really thought about the implications, but it was most likely true.
Dan would probably be a little more imaginative in his excuses, and he'd probably use sports metaphors, but it would be the same basic speech. After all, Casey had been pretty willing; drunk and sloppy, but willing. If Dan had been interested, it would have been more than one barely-tolerated kiss.
Casey guessed that if you both knew what the kiss meant, it didn't matter if it technically counted or not. He looked up to see Dana watching him with a soft, understanding expression. "It's the high road," he assured her.
"It's not, and it will lead to bad things," Dana predicted. "But if you want to talk about it…?"
He cringed at the idea. "Thanks, but no thanks, Dana."
"Why not?"
"Regardless of our agreement, once upon a time we were interested in each other. The conversation will be awkward."
"Awkward?"
Casey nodded. "Embarrassing and awkward."
"Just because we had a few weeks-"
"Months," he corrected.
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. A few *months* of almost dating, doesn't mean we can't talk about this stuff, Casey."
"You're not going to let go of this, are you?" Casey asked wearily.
"I want us to be friends who can talk about more than sports and work. I want to be able to tell you about Jimmy, without worrying about awkwardness and if you're going to become jealous and annoying." Dana stood up, pushing herself off the desk. "I want us to *be* friends, and not just say we are."
"This isn't about jealousy, this isn't about romantic interest in you," Casey said clearly. "It's about an awkward and embarrassing conversation I don't want to have."
"Casey, look at my romantic history," Dana said with a self-deprecating grin. "I thrive on awkward and embarrassing conversations."
Casey laughed. "It's just a subject that I really don't want to discuss right now. It's nothing personal, it's just…"
"Awkward and embarrassing."
"Yeah."
"Fine. Go talk to Danny about it," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Casey swallowed and then asked, "Danny?"
She laughed. "I know you, Casey. You'll end up talking to someone about it. You can't help it."
"Yeah, I'll go talk to Danny," Casey replied with a tight smile and left her office.
***
Casey slinked back into their office and was kind of relieved to note that Dan wasn't there. He still didn't have anything to do, but at least he could not-do-it in peace. He picked up his book and stretched out on the couch, flipping over to chapter nineteen.
Around chapter twenty-two, Dan dropped in to say he'd looked at the feature, and the third and fourth sections seemed 'clunky.'
Casey marked his page and sat up. "Clunky?"
"Clunky." Dan nodded. "They don't flow, Casey. It breaks the rhythm."
"Where?"
Dan stuck the video in the machine, and Casey saw what he meant. "That *is* clunky."
"Told you."
Casey sighed, putting his book away. "Any ideas how to fix it?"
"Not really…" Dan said apologetically, and played the tape again. They watched it through a couple times, and then talked about it, about better phrasings and if the footage was appropriate. Eventually, they came up with a solution. So he went off to editing to fix it, while Dan started working on the football highlights.
Halfway through re-writing the fourth section, Casey realised he was making a big deal out of nothing. Being around Dan wasn't any more awkward than it used to be. They were just Casey and Danny, and one little kiss didn't have to change anything.
Taking the high road was the right choice. More people needed to understand that.
***
A couple of days later, Jeremy announced, "Did you know that during the late nineteenth century, 'breeze' was a colloquial word for rumour or scandal?"
"Really?" Casey said, intrigued.
"Yeah," Jeremy replied. "By as early as 1910, it had travelled over to the U.S. and had taken on the meaning of 'empty chatter.' It then became incorporated into a lot of sayings, some of which are still used today."
"Like 'shoot the breeze,'" Casey supplied with a grin.
"And quite a few variants of that phrase."
"That's pretty interesting," Casey said, and realised that Dan and Natalie were staring at him. "I didn't know that."
Dana was staring at Jeremy. "Neither did I," Dana replied. "Now, as it's the rundown, and we do a show about sports, not etymology, could we talk about something relevant? Like sports?"
Jeremy shrugged. "I just thought it was interesting."
"It really isn't," Natalie assured him.
"I was interested," Casey pointed out.
Dan smirked at him. "You're a language-geek."
"So?"
"So the rest of us weren't interested," Dan replied with a good-natured grin.
Casey shrugged. "I was." Danny just rolled his eyes and Dana tried to get control of the meeting again.
***
