Sally returned swiftly with coffee and biscuits. The coffee was good, much better than Thorne expected, and the biscuits were absolutely divine.

“Good, huh?” Dash asked after they’d each eaten a few bites.

Thorne nodded. “Very.”

“I’ll never get tired of you agreeing with me.”

Thorne kicked his ankle under the table. “Cheeky bastard.”

“You love it.”

“Yeah, I do.” That was the problem.

Dash perused the menu. “Hmmm. What to order next?”

“Next? Isn’t this enough?” Considering Thorne usually had nothing but coffee for breakfast—maybe a muffin or croissant from a street cart if he was feeling extravagant—he’d already eaten three times his usual amount.

“Of course it’s not enough. I’d order one of everything, but they’d have to roll us out of here and we’d never manage to walk around the aquarium.”

“I’m not sure—”

“How spicy do you like things?” Dash asked, completely ignoring his attempt to be sensible.

Thorne narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you already know?”

“Ha. Just for that I’ll order the habanero grits, and you can fucking deal.”

“I’d love those,” Thorne said, voice overly sweet.

Sally returned, and Dash made sure Thorne had no chance to interrupt. “Thorne will have blackberry-glazed bacon, two eggs over easy, and the habanero grits. I’ll take the Midtown Benedict.”

“You got it.” Sally winked at Thorne. “Those grits are my favorite. You’ve got a keeper here.” She jerked her thumb toward Dash.

“Oh, we’re not—”

She gave him a look that made him feel like an unruly schoolboy and sauntered away.

He looked back at Dash expecting to see more mocking laughter, but Dash looked worried. “I’m not trying to out you.”

Thorne should’ve cared, but he didn’t. “It’s fine. I’m not at work, and… Anyway, it’s fine.” Was he ready to give in, to let everyone know that he was gay? He’d been hiding for so long. Could he make that kind of change? For Dash, maybe he could. But that was stupid because Dash wasn’t his, not really. He had no hold on him beyond the time he paid for. “Just don’t ask me to bend over the table or anything.”

Dash laughed. “I think I can control myself.”

***

By the time they’d seen whale sharks, belugas, sea otters, and a host of other underwater creatures, Thorne felt like they’d walked for miles, and maybe they had. But throbbing feet was a price worth paying for Dash’s companionship.

“Can we see the whale sharks one more time?” Dash asked.

The exhibit had been packed when they’d first arrived, but now the crowds were thinning. Thorne was more than ready to head home, but Dash looked so eager, he couldn’t say no. “Come on.”