Page 139 of Floored By Love

“Me? I don’t think I’d ever do that.”

“You can’t even say that with a straight face. What is this, a whale watch?”

“This has never been a straight face, and I’m taking you on a dinner cruise. I, uh...don’t think they have whales in London.”

“That was a joke, Luke.” And now I see why Luke had us dress up. The woman behind us was wearing an actual gown. “I feel a bit underdressed, actually.”

“You look amazing. That shirt, especially. It’s…”

Apparently, it rendered Luke speechless, which I took as a good sign, so I saved him from finding the right word with a kiss. “Thank you. This looks like it will be a lot of fun.”

As we boarded the boat, a server handed us each a glass of champagne. The hostess told us to either find our table and relax, or go topside and enjoy the view. We opted for the latter, climbing the short staircase to the floor above. Sunset was pretty late, so it was still plenty bright and the skies were clear.

We had a much better view of the obelisk we had seen moments before. They handed us a postcard on the way in with a map inside, so we learned it was Cleopatra’s Needle, and it was a gift to London from Egypt in the early nineteenth century.

“This is exciting,” I said. “I can’t believe we’re going to see all these things.”

“Well, I won’t.”

Confused, I turned to look at him. “Why not?”

“Because I’ll be too busy staring at you.”

I would’ve scoffed, but it sounded genuine. “That was cheesy as fuck, but I’ll take it.”

“Good. I meant it. But I guess, realistically, it’ll probably be difficult not to see Big Ben. I mean, big is in the name. I’m sure it’s obvious.”

We enjoyed our champagne as the boat filled with more guests. A safety announcement came over the loudspeaker. After the captain of the boat welcomed us aboard, he invited everyone onto the dining level so that they could serve the first course.

“First course?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Luke said. “It’s a five-course meal. I pre-ordered for you, but for every option, I got the opposite choice, so if you want to switch, I will.”

“Wow. Is it weird to be this excited about food?”

“Not after the weeks we’ve had. I don’t know about you, but my appetite will surpass that of pre-hibernating bears for the next few days.”

As the boat left the pier, I was thankful to be sitting. “I’ve never been on a boat.”

“No one you know in Florida has one?”

“If they do, I haven’t been. I stick to the beach.”

Our server came and took our drink order. The champagne had given me a pleasant buzz, but I switched to soda.

As the courses continued, the sun left the sky and the moon took its place. We had a table right on the edge of the boat with an unobstructed view of London’s waterfront. I had seen a lot already on the bus tour with Colton, but none of it at night. The boat even cruised around the O2 Arena. Beyond that, there were these weird silver structures. Consulting the map told us they were the Thames Barrier, a system designed to prevent flooding in the city.

I kept the rigatoni campagnolo Luke ordered for me, leaving him with grilled teriyaki salmon and rice.

“Oh, you’re coming to the nude resort with me.”

“I am, am I? Why do you go so much?”

A wistful smile played across Luke’s face. “It’s freeing, mainly. I like not being constricted. And the feel of the water and the wind on my bare skin…” He shivered. “You’ll have to experience it for yourself.”

“Are there other gay guys? What if I get hard?”

“I’ve seen a few couples and single guys. It’s not a sexual place, but everyone carries a towel with them for sanitary reasons. If you get hard, just cover up. No biggie. You’re naked around other people quite a bit. Are you hard in the locker room all the time?”