his mouth. He drained his wine glass, rested his elbows on the table, and leaned forward.
“I like being gay, don’t you?”
Derek could only nod.
Sam tilted his head to one side. “Tell me, Derek. You said you hadn’t, you know, kissed and fooled around with a guy before. Why not? You’re super nice and super cute. How is it that you’re…?” He trailed off, obviously searching for a word. But Derek wasn’t embarrassed about it, merely regretful.
“How is it that I’m a virgin?” he asked boldly. At Sam’s surprised nod, he sighed. “I’m invisible most of the time, Sam. And I’m invisible because I’m scared. I’m scared of talking to strangers and of dentists and doctors and dogs, not to mention spiders and screams and sudden movements. It’s not really conducive to making friends, let alone finding another gay guy who’s interested in you.”
Sam’s mouth twisted. “Maybe you should hang around more of those dangerous alleys you’re scared of. After all, that’s how you managed to meet me.”
They shared a smile, then Derek said, “Now it’s my turn to ask you—how is it that you’re still here in my apartment and not running away from me scared?”
Sam sat back in his chair. “For a start, it’s because you’ve done nothing that would make me scared of you. You showed me kindness and bravery when I needed it. I was attracted to that even before I saw you. And then you turned out to be so damn cute that I think I’m already half in love with you.” He allowed Derek to comprehend that for a few seconds. “And of course you kiss like a damn angel.”
“I do?”
“Yep.” Sam threw his napkin to the side of his plate and scooted back his chair. “I’m pretty sure you do. My memory is a bit fuzzy though. Perhaps we should double check?”
A wave of excitement mixed with nervousness broke over Derek. To try to fight the blush, he looked down at his plate and saw his fork floating in thin air. Jeez, he’d disappeared again. He looked at Sam to judge his reaction. But Sam was smiling.
“I don’t care if you go invisible on me,” he said understandingly. “You can kiss while you’re invisible. You proved that last night. Tonight I’m interested in seeing if you can do other things while you’re invisible too.”
Zip. Knowing he was completely invisible now, Derek took the opportunity to slap himself on the cheek. How the hell was he meant to keep a relationship up if the other person couldn’t see him?
But Sam didn’t seem worried. He pushed his chair farther back from the table and licked his lips.
“Fine. If it’s going to be like that. If I can’t see you, I can’t find you to kiss. You’re going to have to come over here and kiss me.” He patted his lap to emphasize what he meant.
Derek was in two parts torment, one part bliss. He wanted to go and kiss Sam. Hell yes, he wanted it. But to do that he’d need courage, and courage was something he was in short supply of. And he was invisible. What person wanted to kiss an invisible man?
“I’m waiting,” Sam said, patting his lap again. It seemed as if Sam wanted to kiss that invisible man.
Before he could think about it too much and lose any more nerve than he had, Derek got to his feet and approached Sam. He saw Sam listening, cocking his head slightly to the sound of Derek’s footsteps. Sam closed his eyes, sat back in the chair, and opened his arms. His wide lap looked so inviting. So warm. So safe.
So delicious.
Derek stared at Sam’s crotch, wondering what was under that material. He wanted to find out. There were only two ways he could do that—either look or touch.
His vote was for both.
But he could start by sitting on that lap and kissing the hell out of Sam like he’d been wanting to do for ages.
Carefully, just in case Sam suddenly startled and knocked him over, Derek turned sideways and sat on that warm lap, gradually giving it all his weight.
“Mmm,” Sam growled as if he were pleased and shifted in his seat. Derek’s feet lost contact with the floor and he was now leaning back, threatening to overbalance. He grabbed at Sam’s shoulders and clung, but he shouldn’t have worried. Sam’s broad arm came around, supporting Derek’s lower back, cradling him so that he was safe.
With a thundering heart, Derek gently touched the left