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“The meal is good, but the company is better,” I said, my gaze never leaving Charlie’s.

When he noticed, his cheeks turned pink again, and I winked.

I might not have been interested in dating anyone when I first arrived, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know how to flirt.

I did and definitely could if I so desired.

I’d discovered that with Charlie, I certainly desired to flirt, among other things.

I was giving in to my animal side. I was going to do what I could to romance the cute little mate sitting across from me.

“Yeah, so I’ll be back with that tea and your desserts a little later. Unless you’d like them to go?”

Charlie continued to stare at me for a moment before finally looking up at Duncan with a somewhat confused look on his face.

“Huh?”

“Dessert. Did you wish to have it to go?” Duncan gestured around the room, which had emptied out considerably since we’d first arrived. “There are several other couples who decided to take dessert with them.”

“Umm, it’s not late yet, is it?”

Duncan shook his head. “Almost eight, so no, not late.”

Almost eight? How had that happened? We’d already been here for an hour and a half? It didn’t seem that long.

“I’m happy to have dessert to go if that’s what Charlie wants. Otherwise, here is fine,” I told Duncan. He looked back to Charlie, who seemed a bit indecisive. “To go, then,” I decided. Charlie grinned at me, and I offered another wink in return.

“I’ll be back with those in just a bit, then,” Duncan said. “Did you still want another tea?”

“To go, please.”

Duncan nodded and then disappeared.

“How did it get so late already?” Charlie asked.

“Is eight late?”

Charlie sighed. “I guess I’m the old fogie at this table, then. I’m often home, showered, and in comfy pajamas by nine.”

I tilted my head. “But what time do you get up for work?”

“Guilty there. I have to be here at six most mornings, which sucks, but it is what it is. I really like my job, and it pays well. And for the most part, it’s not stressful.”

“Those are all good things. But if you start at six, what time does your shift end?”

Charlie nodded. “Three or four. But I have to be up at five and out the door by five thirty.”

“Then it makes perfect sense that you have an early night. If I had to be at work that early, I’d be in bed by ten, most likely.

Sleep is important.” Not only that, but my gorilla really liked sleep.

It didn’t do well on just a few hours of rest. And me cranky because I didn’t get enough sleep was not good for business and dealing with clients.

I noticed that Charlie was now pushing what remained of his food around on the plate. I didn’t know if it was because he was full or if he felt the date was coming to an end. “Did you still want to come back to mine? I understand if you have to be up early tomorrow that you might not want to.”

“Oh no…I mean, yes. I don’t work tomorrow. I took the day off just in case.” Charlie rolled his lips inward and looked to his right.

Just in case. He was possibly hoping that we would hit it off. That was reassuring. Movement caught my eye, and I glanced to my left, noticing a large fish swimming by.

“Do you know the story about the aquarium and how or why they put a restaurant under it?” I asked.

Charlie looked up and smiled. I followed suit and saw a large ray swim over us. Perhaps it was the same one from earlier; I had no way of knowing.

“I couldn’t tell you how it was managed or built, just that it obviously took a lot of designing and construction.

They’re very selective about the fish and other creatures that are in these tanks.

” Charlie pointed behind me, but I wasn’t certain what he was pointing to.

“The rocks there,” he said, indicating over my shoulder and off to our side and then behind him.

“Yeah?”

“They actually hide the walls of the different tanks. This isn’t one large tank like most people think.

It’s several, but they are obviously large enough to hold the animals that are in them.

They have tubes that they open and let the fish and things swim from tank to tank in the evenings after the zoo is closed, but there are daily inspections for all of the tanks to ensure safety. ”

I glanced around again. I still couldn’t see anything other than one giant tank above and around us, but I had no reason to doubt Charlie. “That’s really fascinating,” I told him. “I never would have even guessed if you’d not said anything.”

Charlie grinned. “Most people wouldn’t.”

“We talked about siblings, parents, and work,” Charlie said while still picking at his meal. “What do you like to do during your downtime? Or are you one of those that work twenty hours a day?”

I shook my head. “I’m a bit boring, I guess.

I spend time with my brothers, or I’ll let my gorilla out, and he’ll just hang out in our space.

How about you? Do you let your koala out often?

I’ve never seen someone such as yourself shifted.

” I stabbed another bite from my plate and realized I had eaten it entirely.

That didn’t surprise me though—it was good, and I loved food.

Before Charlie could answer me though, Duncan returned, and I really wanted to growl at the slender man who kept interrupting our meal.

“All right, you two. Here are your chocolate cakes. Sorry, no ice cream with the cake to go. It’ll melt, so just cake and some super-decadent whipped cream drizzled with extra creamy chocolate sauce.

Enjoy your evening, have fun, and go do wild things that we all want to go do,” Duncan said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

I chuckled, and Charlie shook his head. We both knew what he was implying, and I was certainly all for it, but how far tonight went would be completely up to Charlie.

“See you in a few days, Duncan. And thanks for everything.”

“You betcha.”

Duncan wandered off, leaving me with Charlie, and I was suddenly anxious. This was it. My gorilla and I were going to have our little mate in our space.

“Are you ready?” I asked before I stood. I didn’t want to presume.

“More than,” Charlie said. He stood, grabbing both his box of cake and the Styrofoam cup that Duncan had brought for him.

“Then, shall we?” I held out my arm, and when Charlie walked to me, I grabbed the other piece of cake, and we left the restaurant.

It was time to see about getting a good scent of the cute little koala shifter.

But I already knew the answer. My gorilla had been telling me for a while now that Charlie was ours, and that was all I needed.

Now, to just figure out how to win him over.