and not a lot of crowds, so Sam and Derek slipped inside to check it out, Derek wearing a fedora that he pulled over his face, turning up the collar of his jacket when he noticed his hand disappearing.
Coming out of the church, Derek spotted a museum across the road and halted uncertainly. Sam noticed immediately. “You want to go?” There wasn’t a crowd in there, but from the sight of people coming and going from the museum frequently, Derek wasn’t going to be inconspicuous.
“Yes,” Derek managed and held up his invisible hand. His nerves at approaching a crowd like that had sent him out of sight. So far his clothes were still all there, but he couldn’t guarantee they would stay.
Sam hesitated. “Maybe we could…. I don’t know, Derek. Dammit. How about if we go in and I set off the fire alarm? Everyone will evacuate, and we can just remain inside?”
Derek’s thoughts plummeted. “I’m a bad boyfriend.”
“No,” Sam immediately refuted. “You are the best boyfriend ever.” He pulled Derek to him, lifted the hat, and plonked a kiss on his forehead. “But when you go invisible like this in public it makes me think kinky thoughts, about stripping you naked and walking around with you, feeling you up in public and no one would know.” He chuckled, pushing the rim of Derek’s hat back to stare at his face. “See. You like it too. You’ve come back.”
“Um, excuse me?”
Sam startled and turned as a voice behind them spoke. They had been so wrapped up in each other they hadn’t noticed her approach. Derek immediately zapped out of sight—gone within a blink of an eye. The stranger was a woman with gray hair and plenty of wrinkles. She blinked twice at the spot where Derek used to be. “Oh, I’m so very sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” She looked between Sam and the empty spot.
“Uh, um.” It was obvious Sam didn’t know what to say or how to explain. He reached out with his hand, found Derek and pushed him so that Derek was standing behind Sam’s bulk.
But the woman smiled, increasing her wrinkles tenfold. “Don’t worry about it. I understand. I work over at the museum and my boss says you wanted to come and visit?”
Sam frowned. “Well, yes. How did you know?”
The woman tapped her brow. “She just knows. She understands what the problem is and wanted me to come and tell you that there’s a lovely restaurant down the street called Fiergo’s. If you drive around the rear, there’s a parking lot with a view. The staff will bring your meal direct to the car if you want. Then, after you’ve finished your pizza, come back to the museum. We have a siesta time here starting at two, and you’re both welcome to come and explore while the museum is empty of guests.”
She didn’t wait for Sam’s acknowledgement, simply returned to the museum. Sam warily backed up until Derek was leaning against the wall of the church, carefully hiding the reappearing clothes from any interested eyes.
“What did she mean, her boss just knows?” Sam muttered over his shoulder.
Derek laid his forehead on Sam’s shoulder blade, breathing deeply the scent of his lover and calming down. “I would think she means that her boss is a supo. She can probably see the future or maybe she’s telepathic and can read minds. Whatever she meant, that woman wasn’t shocked by someone turning invisible. She could even be a supo herself.”
Sam was quiet for a moment, and then said, “You guys are everywhere, aren’t you?”
“Sometimes it seems like it,” Derek agreed. “At other times it seems we’re so alone in a sea of people who don’t know about us and would frankly be scared if they did. The Ministry of Power who is responsible for prosecuting those who illegally use their powers certainly want people to be scared of us. But we’re just human, Sam. We have feelings and thoughts and emotions exactly like you. We’re simply not always visible—literally and figuratively.”
Twisting around so they were facing each other, Sam grinned, leaning his hands on the wall either side of Derek so he was trapped. Not that he wanted to get away. “You are now. Visible, I mean. And a very cute visible with a lovely blush on your cheeks. Part of me wants to go to that damn restaurant and take you to that damn museum just so I can watch you be all delighted and