"But you're worth it!" Billy said, blurting it out before he could even really think about it. "You're smart and funny and brave. You're- you're so fun to be around and I- I've never felt- I've never met anyone I thought was special enough to ask because... the idea of even holding hands with someone kind of freaks me out... except when I think about it with you."

And there it was. He was a giant, stupid mess. Physical contact freaked him out unless it was fighting someone. Sometimes he was sure he'd rather get punched in the face than hugged and he just blurted all that out to Steph. There was no way she was going to agree now and it looked like the idea of it was making her cry. Damn it.

"I'm- I'm sorry," he said, standing up and pulling out a wad of money to leave on the table. "I shouldn't have asked you, I'm sorry to upset you. Friday night after the zoo closes ask for Frank at the gate. He'll let you in to help bottle feed the baby bats. I'm sorry."

With that, Billy walked quickly out of the diner so that no one would see he was so angry at himself he was about to cry.