Fallon bit his lip and nodded. “I scheduled something for us. You don’t have a fear of lizards, do you?”
“I mean, I feel like I have a healthy fear of the really big ones. Or the venomous ones. And I’m not super fond of snakes.”
Fallon laughed. “What about chameleons?”
Gage’s face softened. “I saw this video of a woman who had one that liked to pop bubbles. It was super cute.”
“I don’t think zoo ones pop bubbles, but we are going to see them.” Fallon got out and waited for Gage to follow, taking his hand as they walked up to the entry window. He had the tickets on his phone, and they were only a few minutes early for his surprise.
He snagged a map on his way in and traced the path to the area with his finger. “Here,” he said, tapping the little marker for the reptile house.
Gage looked over Fallon’s shoulder, then at the path ahead. “Past the lions. Oh, can we stop and see them first?”
“No,” Fallon said firmly. “We have an appointment.” He took Gage’s hand and didn’t let him falter in his steps even a little ashe hurried them past the big cats, the flamingo pond, then the lemurs.
The reptile house was straight ahead, and the sign was on the door telling the time for all the animal feedings. Beside that was an arrow for the event he’d paid for.
“What is this?” Gage asked as they walked inside.
Fallon twisted his fingers together. He wasn’t really doubting himself, but he was nervous Gage would think it was immature or silly or pointless. “It’s a thing…um. Just trust me, yeah?”
Gage grabbed his elbow and yanked him backward, wrapping arms around him. “I trust you, my darling. Okay? Whatever this is, I’m going to love it.”
He would. Or he’d pretend to. The one thing he’d never do was hurt Fallon’s feelings. And he supposed that was enough. Reaching for the door handle to the second room, Fallon held it open, then led the way to the woman at a small wooden podium, who smiled as they approached.
“Hi. We’re here for the chameleon feedings.”
She pulled out a clipboard. “Names?”
“Gage and Fallon.”
“Got it. And you’ve got Jonny, Alayna, and Charlie?”
“Fallon,” Gage said quietly. “What is this?”
Fallon ignored him. “Yep.”
“Perfect. Here are your wristbands. Yours will be feeding Pumpkin Spice and Tink. They’ll be on the far left at the back of the room.”
Fallon took his wristband and handed one over to Gage before they passed her, securing the little sticky tab over their wrists. The room was dark apart from the terrarium lights, but Fallon could see the confusion on Gage’s face as they approached the chameleon area.
“Are you going to explain?” Gage asked. They were the only ones there, so he didn’t lower his voice much. “Or do I have to guess?”
Fallon took a breath as he peered into the glass and saw two veiled chameleons hanging out on branches. “So, I saw this thing,” he said. “It was on an Instagram video on the zoo page, saying you could name a cockroach and have it fed to a chameleon. Um…a few weeks ago, you were having a hard time, so I thought—I thought we could do that for you.”
Gage said nothing.
“Then Charlie ruined it, but also, he was a shit, so I thought maybe we could feed him to the chameleons too.”
Gage swallowed so heavily Fallon could hear it stick in his throat. Then he took a breath, and just when Fallon thought he might say something, he backed him into one of the dark corners instead and kissed the absolute shit out of him.
Fallon tried not to groan as his toes curled and his fingers turned into claws, digging into the front of Gage’s shirt. His eyes squeezed shut as he rocked his hips forward, once again glad he didn’t have the ability to get a boner where the public could see it through his clothes.
“That is amazing,” Gage said, breathing heavy. “Youare amazing.”
“I—”
“Now feeding Pumpkin Spice and Tink.”
