…He looked at Simon’s hand lying at rest on his thigh. He wore a gold ring with a black onyx stone. He remembered the firm grip when they shook hands. He found himself wondering how he used them to make love to a woman. Was he as smooth and in his element in bed as he obviously was when reporting? And for some reason his balls tightened at the thought of discovering how the hard touch of a man was different from the softness of a woman.

He shook his head, trying to dispel the foreign erotic thoughts running through his mind, and turned to look out the window at the passing buildings, noting the streets were beginning to fill as people rose to begin a new day. He’d never thought of himself in those terms before, not ever. So why now?

He must be tired, and then there were all those Scotches he hadn’t noticed himself downing as they talked through the night. That must be it.

The taxi pulled up in front of his building. He opened the door, then felt Simon’s firm grip on his arm. He turned to look inquiringly.

“I mentioned I’m going hiking…well, later today. I know it’s short notice, but if you don’t have anything better to do, maybe you’d like to join me?”

Andre’s heart seemed to stutter to a halt in his chest. It was one of the things they’d discussed in their conversation—how they both enjoyed rock climbing and hiking. Something odd was taking place inside Andre and he didn’t understand it, and the excitement stirred him in strange and pleasurable ways. The idea that the loneliness he always felt was drawing farther and farther away in the company of this man, the fact that the touch on his arm felt good, and he wanted to pursue the friendship that seem to be budding between them, had him nodding his head. Anything to hold onto the magic of Simon’s presence.

The warmth in Simon’s eyes drew him in. His firm lips lifted upward into a smile. Andre had the overwhelming urge to lean forward and find out what those lips tasted like—how would they be different from a woman’s, and instead reared back, afraid of the turbulent emotions swirling around inside him.

He saw something in Simon’s eyes, a flicker of—regret maybe? About what? The moment passed.

“I’d like that, Simon.” He could not turn this man down. They had touched tonight in a way he’d never been touched before and was afraid to lose the connection. He’d never felt that in a relationship before—this need for more—for everything.

Simon nodded. “I’ll pick you up. You bring the coffee and beer, I’ll bring food. I think you’ll find it illuminating, if nothing else. Eleven work for you?”