“So what are you wearing to the yacht party?” Banneker’s shout echoed down the hallway. Eli stuck his head out of his bedroom door.

“Can’t look too fancy, right?”

Ambrose poked out of his own room. “More douchey than fancy.”

“More douche, less fance, got it.”

Eli could feel Banneker’s grin through the walls as his chair rolled loudly to the door.“Need to borrow any of my hawaiian shirts?”

“No.” They both ducked back out of the hall.

Eli scrunched his nose as he took one more look at his own outfit—a pastel yellow linen shirt tucked into salmon chinos, grounded with uncomfortable marine-blue loafers. He looked like he was about to start mansplaining stocks to someone over a martini. To complete the ensemble, Ambrose had tossed him an expensive watch that morning, and Sherry had tried to drape a white sweater around his shoulders. He clicked the watch around his wrist, dumped the sweater on his bed, and wandered over to Ambrose’s room.

“Hey.” He leaned against the doorway to watch Ambrose finish buttoning his shirt in front of the mirror. Unlike Eli, he had stubbornly rejected the pastel dress code, insisting on gray shorts and a dark blue button-down that hugged his waist. Eli took the opportunity to stare as Ambrose rolled up his sleeves, then shook his head to re-gather his thoughts. “Hey, can I keep this watch?”

“Only if you wear that sweater Sherry gave you.” Ambrose grinned wickedly at the mirror as he gestured. “You know, tie the sleeves in front of you, let it hang off your shoulders…”

“If I wore that, I’d be morally obligated to punch myself.”

Ambrose laughed, then wandered over to Eli and took hold of his wrist to admire the watch. “If you like it, you can keep it.” He kissed the back of Eli’s hand. “Though I think flowers are a more traditional gift for a first date.”

Eli felt his cheeks heat up as he reached for Ambrose’s waist and the silky fabric that clung to it. “Ah, so heists are dates for you?”

Ambrose bit his lip and tilted his head back and forth. “I suppose not. But if I can sneak you away to a dinner after…”

So Ambrose had been thinking about dates as much as Eli had. Noted.

“You two done up there?” Sherry called from the base of the stairs. “It’s time to go.”

Ambrose purposefully pressed into Eli as he leaned towards the doorway. “We’ll be right down!”

Eli caught a whiff of cologne at Ambrose’s neck as he buried his face in the man’s collar. “Rude.” He kissed his throat. “Could’ve said we needed a few minutes.”

Ambrose landed a peck on Eli’s forehead. “Well, if we really hit it off on our first date…”

“I dunno, I’m pretty iffy on it. Your dating profile said you liked science.”

“Oh, I see.” Ambrose slid out of Eli’s grasp and stepped into the hall. “I apologize, I don’t think it’s going to work out between us—“

“No, no,” Eli laughed and grabbed his hand to follow. “I’m willing to give it a shot.”

“Really?”

“Really really.”

Ambrose spun at the top of the stairs and kissed Eli’s cheek, eyes sparkling. “Dinner date it is, then.”