Henry made his way down the breakfast buffet line and filled his plate. He didn’t see Sam in the room yet and hoped his colleague wasn’t going to avoid him now. Henry didn’t want things to be awkward between them. They still had a few more days to spend together in Honiara, then weeks in close proximity on some of the smaller islands. Then they’d be back to rubbing elbows in the biology department at the university.

He decided it would be best to just prattle on as if nothing had been said next time he saw Sam. Simply ignore the incident and hopefully Sam would forget all about it, and things would get back to the way they were. Except for Henry; Henry would always know that the man who occupied his dreams didn’t want him.

Sam joined Henry at his breakfast table about five minutes after Henry sat down. Henry proceeded with his misdirect efforts by launching immediately into a discussion about the relative nutritional benefits of the different varieties of seaweed found in the waters around the Solomons. He followed it up with a question for Sam about the fruits he’d been studying the previous week.

Sam gaped at him with wide eyes as he nattered on, but when Henry finally gave Sam a chance to talk in reply to his kumquat inquiry, Sam ignored the question and undid all of Henry’s efforts with a single statement.

“I feel like I should explain…about last night.”

So much for avoiding awkwardness. Henry picked at a loose thread at the seam of his shorts. This was going to hurt, but Henry could hardly refuse to listen. He didn’t have to encourage it, though, so he remained silent and waited for Sam to continue.

“Uh, it’s not that I wouldn’t be interested. It’s just that I don’t want to jeopardize our working relationship. I don’t think it’s a good idea to hook up with someone I work with and see almost every day.”