Epilogue
I stood at the edge of the ballroom, champagne flute untouched in my hand, watching Grant’s broad back across the room. Even in a sea of tuxedos, he stood out—taller, broader, moving with an easy confidence. The elderly Dr. Morrison leaned in and laughed at something he said.
The first time I’d brought Grant to one of these events, I had lasted exactly forty minutes before I realized I needed to make an announcement.
Grant had been surrounded by a cluster of academics vying for his attention like a gaggle of high schoolers.
People touched his arm, slid up to him, offering him tenure even though he was not a scientist.
The spike of possessiveness had been so sharp I’d walked straight over onto the stage and announced, “Excuse me, I need to introduce everyone to Grant Reeves, my boyfriend and research partner.”
The room had gone quiet before exploding into congratulations and grumblings. Grant, though, was the happiest attendee that night. I’m pretty sure the extra shine in his eyes was unshed tears.
Over the years, we’d become “that duo”—the bioacoustician and his diver, traveling to remote locations, gathering data nobody else could access, publishing papers that made waves in marine mammal research.
I twisted the ring on my finger, the metal warm from my skin, and pulled the folded speech from my pocket for what had to be the twentieth time.
The Rising Star Science Award. The announcer’s voice cut through the ambient conversation, and a spotlight swung across the room to land directly on me.
My heart kicked against my ribs. Grant turned immediately, finding me across the crowd, and the small smile he gave me was the same one he’d worn that first morning in the cabin.
I walked to the podium, legs steadier than I expected.
“Four years ago, my first attempt to record the male leopard seal’s mating song in its entirety resulted in disaster.
But I managed to collect enough data to secure funding for a second trip.
The accident with the hydrophones resulted in a new version of anchoring system. ”
My eyes landed on Grant. He was leaning against the bar, arms crossed, watching me with that expression I knew so well—pride and heat and something deeper that still made my pulse spike even after all these years.
“This award… I’ve been chasing it since middle school.
It doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to the innumerable people who have helped me, starting from my seventh grade biology teacher.
” I opened my sheet and thanked each person by name.
“But the irony isn’t lost on me that what has actually made me famous is the viral video of that leopard seal courting me in the water, its massive body circling closer, and it offering me dead fish after dead fish.”
The room erupted in laughter. I smiled. “Unbeknownst to the seal, I’d already lost my heart to another male.”
More laughter.
“My then diving partner, now fiance…” I showed my ring to the room, “Mister Grant Reeves is here with me today. His dedication to this study over the years and his mastery in deep sea Antarctic diving have been key in the breakthrough. Please join me in congratulating him.”
The applause was warm, genuine, and when I opened the floor for questions, Dr. Yamamoto stood immediately.
“Dr. Cole, can you describe the moment when you first captured those male vocalizations? What did it feel like?”
My eyes found Grant’s again. He grinned. I looked down and blushed.
“It was… uh…” I cleared my throat. “It was a life-changing moment,” I said.
The words hung in the air between us, and Grant’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. I was never going to live down the fact that I chose to lose my virginity over checking my monitor at that fateful moment.
The rest of the ceremony blurred past in handshakes and congratulations and posed photographs.
My face hurt from smiling, and my feet ached in the dress shoes I only wore twice a year.
Grant found me and steered me toward the balcony without a word, his hand warm on my lower back.
The cool night air hit my face as we stepped outside, the noise of the gala fading behind the heavy glass doors.
Stars scattered across the sky above us.
Grant pulled me against his side, one arm settling around my shoulders, and I leaned into the solid warmth of him.
“So,” he said, voice low and teasing. “When’s our next cabin adventure, Doc? I still need to beat that dude’s thirteen hour record.”
***
Thank you for reading Grant and Adrien’s story.