23. Camden #2
The urinal flushed, the sink turned on, then the air dryer, and they left. I immediately opened the door and went to wash my hands as if I had used the bathroom. Luke yelped, hiking his shorts back up over his golden buns.
“Someone could’ve seen me,” he hissed.
“You didn’t seem to be too concerned,” I shot back.
“Well, no, not really,” he admitted, grinning. “I still can’t believe your dick tried to escape. It must really want something.”
Yes. It did.
I finished my milkshake and tossed it in the trash can. I caught Luke staring at me.
“What?” I asked, licking the vanilla frostiness from my lips.
“I could watch you suck all day.”
I smirked. “I bet, though my knees might hurt after a while.”
“We can change positions. I’m a considerate sex fiend.”
“Come on, let’s go see some Australian animals,” I suggested, glancing at my phone. It was just past one o’clock.
We saw dingoes, wallabies, kangaroos, emus, wombats, echidnas, cassowaries, monitors and more. It wasn’t shocking that an Australian zoo had a lot of Australian animals. When we finally got to the koala exhibit, we noticed a short line.
“Oh my god, we can hold one!” Luke squealed, before running over to the line.
I followed him, smiling. It was five dollars per person and only offered twice a day.
Again, we got lucky. I kept glancing at my phone, though.
I didn’t want to be late for Luke’s surprise.
Fortunately, the line moved quickly, and we each got our photo taken holding a koala.
The handler warned us, correctly, that their claws were sharp, and despite looking cuddly and soft, their gray fur was a little coarse and they smelled a little, but Luke was in heaven.
He wouldn’t stop talking about it and looking at his photos.
“Well, I think you’ll like this next part even more,” I said.
“What?” Luke looked up and saw the next exhibit sign.
Duck-billed platypus. And he was off running again, into the themed hut containing the exhibit.
After jogging to catch up, I found him with his face practically stuck to the glass, searching for a platypus.
There were two large tanks built into the left wall.
I could see why it was enclosed. The darkness made it easier to see through the glass.
I thought they might be nocturnal, but I wasn’t sure.
“Where are they?” he whined.
I heard some dirt scuff behind me and a voice answered, “They’re probably in their burrows, taking a nap. They were just fed.”
“Awww.”
I turned away from Luke to see a smiling, blonde woman in a khaki outfit with a name tag that read ‘Kate’.
“I’m Kate, one of the keepers for this area. I’m hoping you are Cam and Luke.”
“Yes, I’m Cam, and this is Luke.”
The confusion on his face was priceless.
“Surprise!” I said.
“What? What surprise?”
“You’ll see.”
“Follow me, fellas. Nice thongs, Luke.”
“I’m not wearing any underwe-”
“She means your flip-flops, Luke.”
“Oh.”
Kate laughed. “I haven’t met too many Americans. Are they all as adorable as you?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Luke recovered from his oversharing faux pas quickly by giving her his best smile.
“Well, my co-worker Lachlan is certainly going to like you.”
“Is he a fan of Americans?” I asked.
“Something like that.”
We went through a door in the wall to the right of the tanks, into a spacious room with lots of fancy looking equipment everywhere.
“Lucas Rivera! I can’t believe I’m meeting you,” screamed a bubbly and bearded young man.
“Hi,” Luke said.
“Please watch your step. The floor may be slippery in places,” Kate warned.
“And you’re Camden Kane. Oh, I have heaps of goose pimples. This is unreal. Stuffed, I’ll be!”
“You must be Lachlan.” I smiled, holding out my hand.
“Oh, yes. Sorry. I’m Lachlan.” He shook my hand, and then Luke’s.
He was rather handsome. Taller than me, light skin, dark eyes, brown hair, only a couple of years older than us. It was pretty clear he was on our team.
“Lachlan’s new to the zoo, been here a year. I’ve been here for ten, all in this section. When I heard the request, and who it was for, I knew it would make Lachlan’s day, so it’s kind of a win-win, I’d say.”
“It’s my birthday today, actually,” Lachlan said.
Luke and I both wished him a happy birthday.
“You want a photo with us?” Luke asked. Of course, he was on all the time.
“Ace!”
“I take it that means yes?”
Lachlan nodded. “Can I get one with both of you and then one with just Luke?”
“Don't maul him now, Lach,” Kate warned.
We took the photos with him, and then Luke said, “So, no offense, I’m happy to meet you, but what are we doing here? What’s the surprise?”
“Well, Luke, you’re going to meet some puggles today.”
“Puggles?” Luke asked.
“Yeah, our baby platypuses,” Lachlan answered.
Luke’s mouth dropped open. And then he slammed into me, giving me a super tight hug.
“Well, they’re technically babies, but they’re almost a year old,” Kate said, motioning us over to a large tank separate from the exhibit tanks.
This one was waist high and filled with plants, sticks, and moss-covered logs.
It looked like a natural spring. As soon as we approached the edge, two little creatures wiggled their way towards us through the water.
“Ay dios mio, I just died. They’re precious. Can we take pictures back here?”
“Of course, we have tours back here on a weekly basis, and they’re quite a favorite on our social media, too,” Kate answered.
“And now to surprise Cam as well,” Lachlan said from behind us.
I turned to see him holding two-
“Wetsuits?!” Luke asked.
“Yup, I think these’ll fit, and if not, you don’t have to wear anything.”
“Lachlan!”
“It’s fine. Luke’s used to it by now,” I said.
“Still. Professionalism, Lach.”
“Meh, it’s my birthday and I’m talking to two of the hottest athletes on the planet. They can fire me.”
“You would miss Phineas and Ferb too much,” Kate said.
“We’re not going to get you fired,” Luke said.
“Phineas and Ferb?” I asked.
“The two puggles,” Lachlan answered.
“That’s adorable!” Luke squealed.
The bathroom was small, so we changed one at a time. Luke went first, and when he came out, I couldn’t help but mutter, “Damn.” He looked good.
“You gave them the sleeveless wetsuits?!” Kate asked Lachlan.
“Duh.”
“I like you, Lachlan. Flirting is an underappreciated art form,” Luke said. I cleared my throat.
“Sorry, I meant nothing by it. Are you two together?”
“No,” Luke answered at the same time I said, “Yes.”
Luke turned to me, surprised.
“Luke’s just covering for me. I’m not out publicly yet, but we are together. We are a couple.”
“I had a feeling,” Kate said.
“You did?” Luke asked.
“You seem so comfortable around each other, and you have tells.”
“We do?” I asked.
“There’s yours, you blush. A lot, especially when he says something remotely flirty.”
“And me?” Luke asked.
“It’s your eyes,” Lachlan answered. “You wanna jump him.”
“Man, if it’s this easy for strangers, we don’t stand a chance.”
“We’re not telling anyone,” Lachlan reassured.
“And we appreciate that,” Luke said, then turned to me. “Here with them, we were instantly comfortable, but it’s not so bad, Cam. We’re more guarded in public. We’ll just have to be mindful of our behavior and I can limit the public flirting.”
I frowned and went into the bathroom to change.
How had we flipped? I was now the one ready to open up more, and Luke feared outing us because of his parents. They already knew he was gay. I still didn’t understand what the big deal was about a relationship?
I came out of the bathroom and Lachlan immediately said, “Hmm. I’m not sure who has the bigger arms.”
My frown disappeared. “You’re fun to be around. You should be our hype man at the games. The guys would love the compliments,” I said.
“Really? Like, I could come into the locker room?”
“Down, boy,” Kate said. “Okay, you blokes ready to meet the puggles?”
We both nodded. I thought Luke’s head was going to fall off. She instructed us to mimic her movements and gently enter the pool, one leg at a time, over the edge. The ground was clear where we entered, despite the naturalistic look of the rest of the tank.
“Can you take pictures for us, Lachlan?” Luke asked.
“Of course,” he said, holding out Luke’s phone for him to unlock.
He smiled, looking at the phone.
“What?” Luke asked.
“Your wallpaper is Cam. That’s just so sweet.”
“And there’s that blush I was talking about,” Kate pointed out.