Archer woke early Thursday to the sound of his roommates getting up. Once they had cleared out, he fell back asleep and had the most bizarre dream. He was in the rowboat with Caleb again, drifting in a lake filled with flowering lily pads. Dragonflies droned over their heads, and the sun drenched everything in a hazy, golden light. Totally content, Archer leaned in to kiss Caleb, but when he pulled away, he found himself an inch away from the dark flame of Mateo’s eyes.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Archer yelped, pulling back so violently the boat began to tip.

Mateo gripped the sides as the boat swayed. “Why did you do that?” he asked, his tone sharp and accusatory. The boat continued to rock as he glared at Archer, until it dumped Mateo right over into the water without a sound.

“Mateo!” Archer screamed, scrambling to reach for him.

But Mateo popped back above the water, smiling, shining droplets dripping from his perfect locks. “Get in here,” he said. “The water is amazing.”

“What?” Archer blinked and looked down at his clothes. He was wearing his white Retro jumpsuit. “In this?”

“Take it off first, of course.” Mateo winked. “Take it all off.”

Archer woke up with a gasp, sweaty and tangled up in his sheet. “Fuck.” He rested a hand on his racing heart and rolled over to check the time. It was two o’clock. “Holy shit.” He rubbed his face. “Maybe I am getting sick.” He had even missed the lunch window.

He closed his eyes again, grasping at the threads of his dream before they drifted away. Mateo’s face, sparkling and smiling, floated behind his eyelids. But it quickly dissolved into the more familiar scowl when he remembered the way Mateo had shut down Eileen’s invitation and yelled at him about the autograph. Archer sighed and stretched until his growling stomach forced him to forage in his bag for an extra muffin he had stashed at lunch the day before.

He was sitting up in bed, trying not to leave crumbs, and scrolling his phone when Beau came in.

“Oh, hey. Back from the hike?” Archer asked.

“I didn’t go,” Beau said, hanging his beach towel on a hook. “Ben knows I hate hiking.” He flashed Archer a sympathetic look. “I see Caleb abandoned you, too.”

Archer swallowed the last bit of muffin. “He didn’t abandon me. I wasn’t feeling up for it today.”

“Ah. So he went anyway.”

“I told him to.”

Beau gave him a sure, Jan look. “Shouldn’t your partner want to be with you?”

Archer shrugged. “A lot of the time, yeah. But not all of the time.”

“Very well.” Beau’s smile was small and tight. “I’m glad it doesn’t bother you that your boyfriend is off alone in the forest all day with mine.”

“Alone? Didn’t a bunch of people go?”

“Did they? Who else went?”