A heartbeat's worth of hesitation -- and wow, it is very easy to hear his heart beating in his ears all of a sudden -- before Gaeta decides: what harm can it do? A little flirting in a bar on a strange planet, so far away from the Fleet that he's more anonymous than he's been in seven years? It doesn't have to go farther than a drink or two.

(A deeper rationale, one he's not quite conscious of making: it's also nice to be so openly appreciated.)

"I'd love that," he says. He lets his smile relax, though it's still a bit flustered. "What do you recommend? I, ah, haven't been here very long."