“Him! That guy.”
Busted, Oscar cowers behind the front desk. “Sir, I swear I wasn’t hitting on your wife. She’s not my type at all.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” the man demands in a booming voice. “You’re saying my wife isn’t attractive?”
“What? No! I just mean…ah, fuck it. I’m gay, dude.”
The man pulls his head back, blinking. “Gay? Why didn’t you just say that?”
“Forgive me, but I’m not in the habit of shouting my sexuality out to people.”
The man nods, looking sheepish. “Well, then I apologize.”
“No problem. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was truly just being friendly.”
“I understand.” The man offers his hand, and Oscar shakes it. “Uh, have a good day.” He leaves quickly.
Once he’s gone, Oscar slumps against the wall. “Gee, that guy was intense. I told his wife she had a pretty smile, and he lost his shit.”
“You’re not gay,” Howie notes. “At least I didn’t think so.”
“Gotta do what you gotta do.” Oscar shrugs, grinning. “I’m off to clean the pool.”
I turn to leave, saying, “Never a dull moment around here,” when Cato comes through the door. “Oh, hey. I was just on my way to come see you.”
“Oh.” He smiles as his cheeks turn pink. “Maybe I panicked.”
“Over what?”
“You were gone a long time.”
My heart flutters in my chest just knowing he cared. “Sorry. Handling work stuff so I can focus on you the rest of the day.”
His smile grows. “Awesome.”
“On that note, ready to head out?”
“I am.”
By the timewe pull back into the hotel parking lot, both of us are exhausted and high from too much sun, laughter, and maybe a few margaritas. We saw everything from Balboa Park to La Jolla to the Gaslamp District.
We’re still laughing about nothing in particular when we collapse on Cato’s bed, our hands entwined.
“San Diego is awesome,” Cato says.
“Yeah, it is.” I roll to my side, gazing down at him. His eyes are closed, his hair fanned across his forehead. I brush it away, leaning in for a kiss. “Do you need a nap?”
“No. You?”
“Nope. Could use a shower.”
He chuckles. “Same.”
“How about together?”
He opens his eyes. “Yes, please.”
A few hoursand an epic sixty-nine later, we step into the hotel restaurant since neither of us has the energy to venture out again. Today has been perfect, but there’s no way I’ll fuck it up again by suggesting he uproot his life for me. If he feels the way I do, he’ll make the decision on his own.