Basil seemed to understand, and his face pinked just the slightest bit, his mouth twitching at the corners. ‘Our night?’
Derek shrugged, but he knew his face had given it away. He tried his damndest to pay attention in class that afternoon, but every time he was idle, his thoughts kept drifting back to before, to the feeling of his fingers inside Basil, to the way he surrendered with open mouth and warm tongue under his pressing kisses. The teacher had noticed his distraction and admonished him in front of everyone, and Derek wanted to care, but more than that he just wanted to get out of there and get the day over with so he could be with Basil again.
And now they were here. ‘I missed you,’ he said instead of answering him.
Basil looked startled, but he smiled all the same and shifted just a fraction closer. ‘I met your boss today.’
Derek, who had just taken a sip of his water, choked on it. “What?” he couldn’t help but voice, then swiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he signed, ‘What?’ to clarify.
Basil chuckled and shrugged. ‘He was nice. I met Jasmine, she is so sweet. Very smart.’
Derek felt himself puff with a little pride, and he nodded. ‘So smart. She’s going to be president one day. Or maybe an evil dictator. Either way, I plan to be on her good side.’
Basil laughed louder, shaking his head, but he looked so damn happy and Derek wanted to keep that look there. ‘Do you want to meet my friend after we eat.’
Derek’s eyebrows furrowed. ‘Your friend?’
‘You know him,’ Basil clarified. ‘Amit. He gets tattoos from your brother. He works at a bar and I’ve told him about you.’
Derek felt something hot and uncomfortable in his gut, and he realized it was jealousy. He knew Amit—the guy Basil had been on a date with the night the date with Niko had gone poorly. ‘Your ex?’ he couldn’t help but ask.
It was Basil’s turn to choke—just a little—on his small bite of bread he’d dipped in his soup. ‘My ex?’
‘I saw you,’ Derek admitted. ‘The night of my bad date. You were with him at gelato.’
Basil blinked, then threw his head back and laughed. ‘Not a date,’ he insisted with very clear signs. ‘Only a friend. Promise.’
Derek hated that he’d made an ass of himself because he knew his expression had given him away, but he couldn’t help it. ‘Sorry.’
Basil shook his head, then laid his hand on Derek’s cheek and drew him in for a kiss that was mostly chaste, but a little deeper than he was expecting to have in the middle of a restaurant. ‘It’s okay. But not a date. Friend only.’
Derek sighed, then nodded. ‘Yes. I want to.’
Their conversation went quiet when their meal came, and he discovered that maybe this restaurant wasn’t entirely the best idea. Eating with their hands and no utensils and trying to sign made themulti-tasking a little difficult. And yet, the silence between them was just as comfortable as it had been before.
After they’d finished their entrées, the little show began. It was the same every time—the dancers, the music, the routine. Derek had been coming here a while with everyone at the shop, and yet the routine still got him every time. He and Basil both leaned back as the two women began to sway their hips and balance swords on their sides. He felt Basil shift, looked over and saw that he had his hand pressed to the wall to feel the vibrations playing through the room, a small smile touching his lips.
Derek moved closer, let their thighs press together, let himself lean in and kiss the underside of Basil’s jaw softly. It was nice to feel comfortable like this. Basil was shorter than him, and smaller, but he never looked at Derek like he was intimidated or afraid, never looked at him like he was some big, hulking monster. He just…looked at him.
He wasn’t feeling very hungry by the time they came around to serve tea and baklava, but he nibbled anyway and then waved Basil off as he slipped his card in the bill fold. He laughed a little at Basil’s disgruntled glower, so he told him, ‘You can pay for drinks,’ which only earned him an eyeroll.
‘My friend is the bartender, we drink for free. Next time me.’
Derek shrugged, too caught up in the thrill that there was the idea of next time, that this was turning into something maybe real, and maybe great to care about arguing over money. They left not long after, and Derek let Basil take his hand and lead the way to the car.
Amit’s place wasn’t far, but parking was a bitch and he ended up at the curb right near a strip club which looked unsurprisingly dead for a Tuesday night. They made their way through the empty sidewalks, and up two blocks before they reached the little hipster college bar nestled between two other themed bars on the little strip.
Derek felt a small wave of anxiety as they stepped in, but the music wasn’t overwhelmingly loud, and the place was spaciousenough. There was a decent crowd there, at least half the tables full of patrons, though none of them looked interested in doing more than drinking their whiskey flights and talking through their curly mustaches. Derek almost wanted to people watch, but instead he let Basil lead him to the near-empty row of barstools.
Amit was there, looking frankly gorgeous in a tight mesh tank-top and dark jeans. He perked up instantly when he set eyes on Basil, then turned a curious and somewhat amused stare to Derek before raising his hands to ask, ‘Date?’
Derek braced himself for Basil to minimize it, and though Basil’s signs were way too fast for him to catch it all, he saw him tell Amit, ‘Finished dinner,’ so he didn’t think there was any denial there. Especially after Basil moved into his side and tucked in a little closer.
When Amit finally approached, Derek raised his hand in a hello. ‘I’m Derek.’
‘Sage’s brother,’ Amit signed.
Derek could see hearing aids over the guy’s ears, and he knew that Amit spoke, but he had no desire to break their non-verbal night now. ‘I’m learning sign. Sorry I’m slow.’
