Page 20 of Shots on Net

“Zeke.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s just go to bed. We’ve got the zoo tomorrow, right?” He voice tilts upward at the end, like a little hopeful question mark.

“Right,” I confirm, stepping around the couch to stand beside him. He nods, happy with my validation. Whenever we make plans, he always assumes I’ll cancel; he hasn’t said it, but I can tell by the look in his eyes that he’s continually expecting me to find something better to do. Or someone better, perhaps.

Carter turns off the lamp, plunging the room into blackness. I’m just about to ask him to turn on the stairwell light when I feel a light touch at my elbow. He leads me upstairs, only turning on a light when we reach his bedroom. Up close, I can see the strain of the night around his eyes and he’s leaned up against the doorframe like it’s the only thing keeping him standing. His hair glows gold in the light from his room and his eyes are the darkest blue I’ve ever seen. He is really quite handsome.

“See you tomorrow, then,” he says, and I nod.

“Yes, tomorrow. Sleep tight.” This has become something of an inside joke with us, and I can see the glint of amusement in Carter’s eyes as he says it back to me.

The next morning, I’m awake before him and decide to make pancakes. I’d bought the pre-made mix but have yet to use it, and a zoo day seems like a good day to break into it. I’ve got the coffee percolating and the first batch of pancakes on the stove when Carter strolls in without a shirt on; he’s got the kind of muscles that suggest he’s never eaten a pancake in his life.

“Good morning.” I push a coffee mug toward him. He grunts, which is his usual form of morning greeting. Turning back to the stove, I give him time to introduce caffeine into his bloodstream and focus on turning the pancakes.

“Hey.”

Carter’s voice pulls my gaze to where his blue eyes are surveying me over the rim of his mug. “Yeah?”

“You know you aren’t required to cook me food, right? Or to have dinner ready for me when I get home. I don’t…” He takes a sip of coffee, clearly trying to find the correct words. “Just—don’t feel like you have to do that, okay?”

The funny thing is, I don’t feel like that at all; I like making him dinner. It’s oddly satisfying, watching the way Carter’s eyes light up when he sees me cooking for him. He’s letting me live here practically for free, so really, catering to him a little bit is the least I can do.

“I don’t mind doing it, every now and again. Besides, if I’m going to make something for myself, I might as well make enough for you.”

This seems to mollify him, and he nods as he drains the mug and goes to pour more coffee. I plate the first three pancakes and hold them out to him, wordlessly. He takes it, holding it up to his face and inhaling. When he looks at me over the pancakes, his eyes are serious.

“I think I might love you,” he says, and I give a bark of startled laughter. Whacking him on the leg with the spatula, I shake my head.

“Go eat and get dressed. I want to see some tree frogs today.”

???

The zoo is, of course, ridiculously fun. I’d made the mistake in the car of telling Carter that I’d been an aspiring zoologist growing up, and that I knew all sorts of random facts about the animals in the zoo. Naturally, as soon as we got to the first exhibit, Carter took it upon himself to test this boast. He slapped a hand down over the writing on the sign, angling his body so I couldn’t see around him, and pointed at the exhibit. It was the camels.

“Okay, go.”

“Go where?”

“Camel facts. I want to hear them, Einstein.”

Pursing my lips to keep from laughing, I scrunch up my face in a semblance of hard thinking. Clearing my throat, I step close to the exhibit and swing my arm wide like a presenter on a game show. Carter’s lips twitch. “Here we have two types of camels. The Bactrian and the Dromedary. Do you know how to tell them apart, sir?”

“No,” he says, in a strangled voice. He’s trying not to smile, and doing an admirable job.

“Bactrian camels have two humps—easy to remember because their back looks like an uppercase B, see?” I mime a B in the air and wait for Carter to nod. “Dromedary only have one hump. They’re also known as the Arabian camel and are the most common. In fact, about 90% of the world’s camels are Arabian camels.”

“Wow—."

“That’s not all!” I interrupt, and see Carter bite his lip. I will make him crack a smile today, if it’s the last thing I do. “Did you know that camels store fat in their humps, which can be converted into energy and allows them to travel long distances without food or water? They can go without water for weeks, Carter. Weeks!”

“That’s pretty interesting,” he says, and looks down at the sign. I step closer to him and we look up at the camels.

“They’ve got super long eyelashes, see?” I point to the nearest one.

“Is that to keep the sand out?” Carter asks, pointing at the photograph of the sand dunes featured on the sign. I smile at him.

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