“Whatever. You know what I mean. I’m not really a fashion person. Meg would probably be better at this.”

“She would,” he agrees. After a beat: “Pretty sure he thinks I’m gay.”

I suck in a breath.

“I’m not,” he says in a low voice. “At least. Probably not. Guess I won’t rule it out completely … but”—he lifts one bony shoulder in a weak shrug—“I feel like he’s waiting for me to give him a label so he can figure out what exactly it is that’s so wrong with me.”

“Him,” I insist.

His eyes tear away from the table and meet mine in question.

“What’s wrong with him. Not you. You are whoever you are, and he has one job as your dad: to love you unconditionally.”

“Wow, Allen, you sure you don’t want to be a therapist? You’re eerily good at this.”

I shake my head, laughing, the tension broken. “No, thanks. You done eating?”

Duke picks up his empty tray and moves to the trash. “I have a dock full of kayaks to return to the shed. Feel like burning off some steam?”

I consider. I have class tonight, but that’s hours away. “I could be convinced.”

“Think Meg would be down? It was a small tour. You and I can tow one, but I could use a third person.”

“I can ask. I think she was getting off work around now.” I dial up Meg, and within minutes, it’s settled. “She’s gonna meet us at the shore. She just got home.”

“I like her. Have I mentioned that?”

I scratch at my neck, pretending to think. “Maybe a few times?”

Duke starts ticking off on his fingers. “She makes amazing cookies, memorized my order, isn’t afraid to give you shit, and she likes musicals.”

I groan. “Musicals?”

“Musicals, Micah.”

“I’m going to be outnumbered, aren’t I?”

“You betcha.”

Dani asked Duke to cover the counter, and I have another hour and a half before class. So when Meg wanted to know where the ice rink was, instead of telling her, I offered to show her.

“Can I ask you something, and you can absolutely tell me it’s none of my business?”

“Sure?” I agree hesitantly.

“Well, I picked up this kind of, um, tension? Whenever Duke talks about his family?”

I break in. “Duke is Duke, right? Duke has always been Duke. But his dad is former military and can’t understand why his kid won’t just clean up and fit in.”

“Duke is an exceptional human. Why can’t his dad see that?”