Page 107 of Ship Happens

“Oh.” Owen isn’t really sure what to say to that.

“Moonshine’s a lot stronger than you think.” Dani shakes her head. “But Jacob would always get me back to my dorm, tuck me into bed, leave a bowl next to me in case I needed to vomit again.”

“That sounds just like him,” Owen says, thinking fondly of all the times Jacob took care of him when he had a cold, always ending up sick himself because he could never resist kissing Owen. “Do you know where he went?”

“He ate a little earlier, and we caught up,” Dani explains, finally turning off the stovetop as she scoops eggs onto a plate. “Then he wanted to call his sister, so he went on a walk.”

“Hmm . . .” Owen hums, grabbing a piece of bacon, ignoring the nosiest parts of himself that want to know what they talked about.

“I talked to my niece too; she thinks that she might be able to help make your trip through security a bit easier.”

“Really?” Owen feels relief flood through him.

Dani nods, finally taking a seat across from Owen. “You guys will still have to go through a pretty extensive interview, but hopefully our vouching will help.”

“Thank you again,” Owen starts to say before Dani holds a hand up.

“Stop—just enjoy breakfast and don’t argue when I need you and Jacob to run some errands for me later.”

“Whatever you need.” Owen nods, scooping eggs onto his plate.

Twenty minutes later, as Dani is recounting the story of Jacob being convinced to streak across the Duke campus, Owen hears the crunch of gravel outside. Jacob kicks the dirt off the bottom of his shoes, the screen door creaking loudly behind him as he steps into the kitchen.

“Oh, you’re awake!” he says, his demeanor brightening noticeably when he sees Owen. “Good morning.”

Gently, he rubs Owen’s shoulder as he passes by, kissing the top of his head. Owen reaches up with a free hand, holding him in place for an extra second before letting Jacob go.

“Thank you,” Jacob says to Dani, handing her back her phone.

“Were you able to get everything sorted out?” Owen asks him.

“Yeah, Kaitlyn’s getting it all together, and she’ll send pics of our cards.”

“Make sure you delete those,” Dani teases. “Or else there might be a shopping spree in my future.”

Owen scoffs. “Not sure what you’ll be able to afford off the salary of a tattoo artist and marine biologist.”

“Groceries are getting up there!” Dani jokes, sipping her coffee. “I’ll take what I can get.”

“Kaitlyn’s also going to scan our passports and IDs,” Jacob explains. “And she helped us buy a flight out tomorrow. We’ve got a layover in Seattle.”

“That’s not so bad,” Owen says, chewing.

“An eighteen-hour layover,” Jacob finishes. “It was the best that we could find.”

“Oh.” Owen swallows another bite of bacon. “Perfect.”

After they help Dani clean up breakfast, they take her Jeep into town to run a few errands for her while she returns to the lab.

“Dani’s niece isn’t smuggling us into the country, right?” Owen asks Jacob as he backs into a streetside parking spot.

“I don’t think it’ll be that serious.” Jacob laughs, cutting the engine. “We are still in the United States, you know.”

“That’s what everyone thinks,” Owen says, ignoring him. “Then, boom! Trans people are banned from flying because of us.”

“We’re American citizens,” Jacob reminds him. “Who are still in America.”

Owen scoffs. “Like that matters.”