All the breath left my body, and not because I had never heard this kind of thing before. I’d been working all over the world for years, at times in places where it was not safe to even discuss LGBTQ rights, much less be openly gay. Hell, I’d dated a few guys who had to live on the DL for their own safety. But Elias’s revelation felt like he was opening a door.

I rushed to make sure he knew I understood the kind of trust he was placing in my hands. “Elias, I just want you to know I would never betray your confidence.”

He tapped my foot again. “I know, konjo.” He gave me the smallest smile, and my entire body buzzed with anticipation.

There was so much more I wanted to say and to ask, but I didn’t want to get too intense or seem needy, so I latched onto the only safe thing I could think of to say. “What does that mean? Konjo?”

This time the smile he gave me made my entire body light up. “It means beautiful.”

“Oh.” I had nothing.

Language escaped me entirely while I sat there, marveling at how the spot on my knee—where it was touching his—throbbed like a beating heart. I frantically searched for a way to respond to Elias’s words, as well as the way he was looking at me, but the server brought the check, forcing us to focus on something else for a few minutes.

After arguing about who would pay, we settled on me buying dinner and him paying the cover and drinks at the show. We walked out of the restaurant and headed to the bar, which was in a building across the street. Neither of us mentioned the conversation we’d been having before, or that Elias had come out and basically made it clear he was into me.

I should’ve been concerned about the fact that I was once again being impulsive, and in a situation that would almost certainly end in disaster. But these weeks of getting to know him, of starting a friendship, made this all seem like the next logical step. None of it felt awkward or weird. It felt fine. I felt fine.

So I went with it.

The bar was called Black Orchid and it was on the top floor of a commercial building. When we walked in, we could hear Ethiopian pop music playing over the speakers. The place was about half full and it definitely had dark and smoky jazz lounge vibes. The lights were dim and there were lots of hidden corners. Small candles were placed at the center of low tables where patrons were lounging on comfortable-looking armchairs. The bar was busy, and to the right of it was the stage, which at the moment had three musicians on it setting up for the band.