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and led Dillon toward the big dome.
     
    They walked into the building and were immediately assaulted by humid heat and a slightly weird smell. Adam led Dillon through the top portion of the desert-themed exhibit which actually had some really cool animals on display and was populated by some really awesome looking cacti. Yes, Dillon learned from Adam that the plural of cactus was cacti. Adam was rather well versed in his zoo knowledge and seemed to take pride in that, so Dillon was content just to follow him around and let Adam tell him all of the really interesting things he knew.
     
    Once they were done with the top portion, Adam led Dillon down a flight of stairs to the bottom which was dark and creepy. It was all about creatures of the night and had a lot of soft light, but it was still hard to see the walkway in a lot of places. One of the rooms was built like you were in a cave with water holes in the floor that looked like it went fifty feet down and you’d be lost forever if you fell in, but Adam clued Dillon in to the secret that there was a layer of clear Plexiglass several inches from the surface to make sure no one actually fell in. There were bats flying all over and if you looked up, it went on forever with real looking stalagmites and stalactites on the floor and ceiling. It echoed loudly and there was a waterfall and everything.
     
    Dillon felt like his face was going to break from smiling so much and that his eyes were going to be permanently widened from trying to take everything in at once. Then they came to the swamp area which was so cool. There were snakes, alligators, huge turtles, and some really unique looking fish all living together in the swamp. They had to walk across wooden bridges and stone walkways to make their way through the area. At one point, Dillon tripped over a place where the wood and cement connected, and Adam wrapped his arms around him to stop him from falling to the ground.
     
    “Are you okay?” he asked Dillon softly in his ear as his grip around Dillon’s torso tightened and his breath wafted against the back of Dillon’s neck, causing goose bumps to erupt all over his skin.
     
    Dillon’s heart started racing, and he wasn’t positive if it was from the near fall or from being so close to Adam, but he might’ve taken a couple extras seconds to answer so that Adam wouldn’t let go as quickly. “Yeah, I’m okay now,” he assured him and when Adam let go, he felt the loss of his touch deep inside.
     
    Adam had wanted to stand there and keep Dillon wrapped up in his arms, but it was dark in the swamp and he didn’t want other people to run into them. He did, however, keep his hand on Dillon’s elbow the rest of the way through the darkness.
     
    They exited the dome as soon as they could, and since Adam knew exactly where they were going, Dillon was content to just follow his lead. He led them down an incredibly steep slope which led to the cat house. Dillon was mesmerized by the power and beauty of the cats. Pacing back and forth in their cages, you could see their muscles flexing and releasing as they moved. He got as close as the fence would allow and just admired them. He’d been right about one thing, the tigers were definitely his favorite, and he didn’t even have to see the rest of the animals to know that he wasn’t going to change his mind. As they moved slowly down the outside of the fence, Dillon couldn’t stop staring at the beauty of the animals.
     
    Adam was watching Dillon more than he was watching the animals. Seeing his face light up, and watching him become completely awe-struck, had Adam’s heart thundering in his chest. Those moments were worth it to him, and he couldn’t stop himself from capturing them permanently.
     
    Dillon heard a click and quickly turned to see Adam holding his phone up and grinning from ear-to-ear. “What are you doing?” he asked, blush creeping across his cheeks in apparent embarrassment.
     
    “I’m sorry,