Samuel Rime inspected himself in the mirror. He had put on a grey cardigan over a simple black shirt and blue jeans. It felt too simple to wear on a first date. He wanted to make himself look nice, but the only way he really knew how was to go formal and that wouldn’t be appropriate. It was only an in-home date and he felt certain that Emily would be dressed as casually as always. This outfit would have to do. If nothing else, it was pleasantly warm thanks to the layers. The supernatural chill that permeated his body never quite went away, but the right clothing made it less uncomfortable.

It was Friday, early in the evening, and he was just finishing the preparations for his date. That alone was a cause to be nervous, but it wasn’t the only noteworthy thing happening that weekend. He had another date lined up on Saturday, the very next evening, not with Emily but with Tanya. Both girls had asked him out in rapid succession, so he had ended up scheduling them back-to-back. It felt weird to do it that way, but at least they would both get a fair shot. If the dates had been any further apart, the first girl might use that time to win him over before the second girl gets her turn.

It still felt a bit surreal, that two girls had asked him out in tandem, and two very desirable ones at that, but the reason why was no mystery. He was from a long-standing and renowned family of wizards, and these two girls had especially strong reasons to want to marry into it. It was conventional for wizards, especially men, to not engage in dating until their studies were completed. Sam had recently finished his apprenticeship and become a career wizard, making this the societally expected time to search for a wife. And frankly, he liked that prospect. Some men were quick to run away from commitment and chase the bachelor lifestyle, but he liked the idea of settling down with a wife and starting a family. As it turned out, he didn’t have to do a lot of searching, but having to choose between the two potential brides who were courting him would be its own challenge.

He put on his coat and left his unremarkable apartment. It was a nice spring evening, still light out, with cloudy but dry skies. The weather wasn’t cold by most people’s standards, but the brisk wind bolstered the chill in his bones, so he pulled out his scarf and put it on. Then he set out on the modest walk to Emily’s home. Along the way, he couldn’t help but contemplate how the next few days might unfold. If both dates went well, who would he choose to continue with? It was impossible to answer that question beforehand and that uncertainty about something so impactful made him anxious. As he turned into Emily’s street, he shook those scattered doubts out of his mind and focused his thoughts on the present. Today was Emily’s day; he would worry about Tanya tomorrow.

He entered the apartment complex and climbed the stairs to the right floor. When he reached her front door, he halted and checked his watch. Exactly on time. He had a knack for doing that, even if he wasn’t trying to. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. A moment later he heard footsteps on the other side. Then the door opened to reveal a familiar face.

Emily Blaze was a beautiful girl, a few years younger than Sam, with long blonde hair and big green eyes. Aside from her bangs, she wore her hair tied into two buns on the side of her head by pink ribbons. An unconventional style decision, but Sam thought it was cute. She was short and slender, with full breasts, a slim waist, and gently curved hips. Today she wore a snug pink crop top that revealed a great deal of midriff and a modest hint of cleavage, along with some blue skinny jeans and ankle boots with a modest heel. The weather seemed too chilly to be showing so much skin, even for someone without Sam’s affliction, but that had never stopped Emily.

She smiled radiantly as soon as she saw him. “Hey, hey! Right on time, as always. Come on in.” She shepherded him inside and closed the door behind him. “Welcome to my shabby abode. It’s not much but it’s home.”

He looked around as he took off his coat and scarf and hung them on the coatrack. They were in a small but nicely furnished living room with a simple kitchen attached. “Seems cosy to me. You can’t expect wizards to be living in fancy towers nowadays.”

“I know, right? Imagine the mortgage on that.” She walked to the couch and leaned casually against the armrest. “So, uh, I thought of doing some kind of cutesy act to make this feel more like a date, but I’m not clever enough for that. So I guess I’ll just start with, do you want a beer?”

“Yes, please.” Beer, like all cold drinks, wasn’t his favourite, but he welcomed the chance for some alcohol to loosen his nerves.

She grabbed two bottles from the fridge, popped the caps off, and placed them both on the coffee table. Then she plopped down on one side of the couch. Sam couldn’t help but notice the appealing bounce of her breasts that accompanied her drop. “Would you mind doing your drink trick thingy? I like it really cold.”

“Of course.” As a habitual precaution, he took a quick glance at the windows to make sure no one could see them from outside. Then he sat down beside her, gently touched one finger to the side of her bottle, and concentrated for a moment on his frost spirit. Faint ice crystals formed around his finger and rapidly spread across the entire bottle as the beer inside was cooled to a near-freezing temperature. He picked up his own bottle and sat back in his seat. “There you go.”

“Thanks.” She grabbed her bottle and raised it up to him as an invitation. He clinked his bottle against hers and they both took a sip. “Delicious. I wish I could do that. It’s so practical.”

He chuckled. “If you could do it, you would no longer want it. That’s the paradox of people like us.” He had practiced this trick extensively, because making a liquid cold without freezing it takes more careful control than freezing it entirely. But he had practiced it purely for the benefit of others, since he rarely desired cold beverages himself. “Do you mind repaying me?” He raised his free hand to her, palm facing up.

“Not at all.” She lay her own hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Over the next few seconds, a pleasant warmth spread from his hand, up his arm, into his chest, then through the rest of his body. Not only did he feel physically warm, but the supernatural chill deep inside of him disappeared. He took a deep breath of contentment as he enjoyed feeling normal for a change.

After a long moment, Emily withdrew her hand, but the warmth she had given him lingered. It would gradually subside over the next few minutes, eventually returning him to his natural state of coldness. Sam had learned to live with that aspect of himself, but even so he enjoyed the chance to escape from it temporarily. “Thanks. I really needed that.”

“You’re welcome. We really complement each other, don’t we?” She threw him a playful wink.

“We sure do.” She was of course hinting at more than just personal compatibility here. Their two families had wielded the spirits of fire and frost for generations. Uniting them in marriage would be an achievement of spiritual significance, a treaty between the elements. A valuable opportunity, especially for a young woman from a family that was no longer as prestigious as in ages past. “I have to ask,” he found himself saying, though he wasn’t sure if he should even as he was saying it. “Your decision to ask me out. How much of that is because of my family?”

Her smile turned into a guilty expression. “It’s part of it. There’s an expectation on girls like me to marry into a good family. I’m sure you’re familiar with that. But I swear I’m not feigning interest. I really do like you.”

Sam smiled. It was the answer he expected, but he was glad to hear it spoken. “It’s okay, I believe you.” The two of them had never been close before, but they had met many times over the years due to sharing some of the same circles and they always had good chemistry. They had first met in their early teens and he remembered finding her cute even then. In a way, they had grown up together, albeit at a distance. “I feel the same way, for the record. The family stuff is just a nice bonus.”

Emily smiled sheepishly as a blush crept up her cheeks. “I’m glad we agree.” She looked at him with half-lidded eyes for a silent moment, then pulled her gaze away as if startled and took a big drink from her beer. “Anyways, uh, guess we should get to watching?”

Sam chuckled at her awkward defusal. “Yes, I suppose we should.”

They had agreed to watch the new episode of Supernatural together, in part because they liked the irony of two mages watching a show about fictional magic. Emily pulled it up on her laptop and they got started. At first they sat side by side the way any two friends would, but over time Emily shuffled closer to him bit by bit, until she was more in the middle of the couch than on her side. It took him some time to mull it over and to let the alcohol dull his doubts, but he eventually found the courage to put his arm around her. She responded with a playful chuckle as she snuggled up against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He couldn’t help but notice how nice she smelled – clean and flowery, with the faint musky undertone of womanhood. Her closeness made his loins stir in anticipation, but he tried to ignore that and focus on the show. He didn’t want to get worked up over just a hug.

They watched like that for a while, comfortably snuggled together on the couch, making occasional remarks to each other about the happenings on the screen. At one point a jump scare made Emily yelp and pull closer against him, only for them both to chuckle about it afterwards. After the episode ended, they remained seated for a while longer, simply chatting. They talked about Emily’s ongoing studies, where she had mostly mastered control of her own magic – a necessary thing to learn early given her element – and was now delving deeper into the lore of the spirits. They talked about Sam’s job at the wizards’ archive, conserving and restoring the arcane tomes; not a glamorous job, but a necessary one, since the magic runes could never be digitized. And they talked about various other things, lost in each other’s pleasant company.

Eventually she pulled away from him to sit up in her seat and stretch out her arms and back. “Gosh, look at the time. We really got carried away.”

He used that opportunity to shift his seat, hiding his half-formed erection between his thighs. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. I’m enjoying myself.”

She chuckled. “So am I. You want to do this again next week, when the new episode comes out? Or is my presence too distracting for you?” She fluttered her eyelashes at him.

“Well, you were a little distracting, but in a good way.” He noticed her hand resting on the couch close to his, so he took the opportunity to lay his hand on top of hers.

There was a long silence as the two of them looked at each other. First her smile widened and her cheeks flushed red. His own did too, according to the warmth in his face. Then her smile changed to an expression with parted lips and big pleading eyes. Sam wasn’t very experienced with women, but he still knew what that look entailed. He shuffled a little closer to her. She shuffled a little closer to him. Then, in a silent mutual agreement, they both leaned in and kissed each other.

Her lips were soft and warm and lovely. She hummed happily as they held the kiss for a few seconds. Then, without breaking away, she slowly rose from her seat and clambered onto his lap, straddling him. By instinct, he wrapped his arms around her slender waist and she did the same to him, pulling their bodies closer together, pressing the soft swell of her breasts against his chest. She then parted her lips and gently prodded forth with the tip of her tongue. He met her tongue with his own and engaged in a slow, sensual dance, rubbing the two slick, sensitive muscles together in a warm, wet embrace.

While they kissed, she caressed his side and back with one hand and moved the other up to the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair. He let his hands wander as well, first caressing her slender waist, then sliding one hand down to her firm, rounded butt, then cautiously trailing the other up to her full breasts. He briefly ran his palm across them first to test the water. When she didn’t object, he gently squeezed down on one of them. She had a bra on under her tank top, so he couldn’t feel as much as he would have liked, but he could still feel the soft flesh yielding to his touch beneath the fabric. He considered sliding under her top to unhook her bra, but that seemed too presumptuous for their first date. He would leave it up to her to escalate if she wanted to. If she didn’t, well, he was enjoying himself plenty already.

They made out like that for a long while, enjoying each other’s lips and tongues and the closeness of each other’s bodies. His cock soon hardened completely, throbbing eagerly against the confines of his trousers, longing to be freed. He was glad that his jeans were quite restrictive, so she wouldn’t feel it blatantly prodding against her butt. He didn’t know if she would mind but he preferred to err on the side of caution. Either way, she wasn’t complaining.

After some time – he was too lost in the moment to tell how long it had been – she slowly pulled away from the kiss. She held close, their noses still brushing together, so that her red-cheeked smiling face filled most of his vision. “You’re a good kisser,” she said in a soft, husky voice.

He was faintly disappointed that the kiss was over, but the sight of her beautiful face was almost as pleasant. He reached up and caressed her cheek with his thumb. “So are you.”

There was a long silence as they gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes. Up close, her green eyes seemed to be flecked with gold, like the warm light of a hearth fire. Ultimately, Emily leaned back, withdrawing her face and easing the pressure of her butt on his eager crotch. “It’s Saturday tomorrow. Do you wanna spend the night here?” Her eyes widened faintly. “Literally, I mean. Cuddle together while we sleep. Not the other kind. I’m not ready for that.”

Sam chuckled. “That sounds great. And don’t worry, I won’t do anything you’re not ready for.”

“Awesome.” She took his wrist and lifted it up to look at his watch. “It’s not quite bedtime, but I’m up for going to bed and just cuddling and chatting until we fall asleep. You?”

“I could think of no better way to spend my time.” Well, he could think of one, but it was a close second. “Lead the way.”

She gave him another quick kiss, then rose to her feet and opened the door to her bedroom. It was small, like the living room, but with a comfortable bed, made for one person but easily big enough for two cuddlers. She closed the curtains and turned on the small lamp on the nightstand, casting the room in a dim ruddy light. “I’m thinking we strip down to our underwear for comfort. That alright?”

“Yeah, sounds good.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and started taking his shoes off.

Emily took off her boots as well, then pulled her top up over her head, revealing her snug white bra. Next she pulled down her skinny jeans. Squeezing free from the tight garment took some shaking of the hips, which made her breasts bounce and shake alluringly. When she bent down to pull her feet out of the bunched up jeans, the soft flesh gently bulged out of the cups, threatening that her nipples might pop free at any moment. Once her jeans were off, she tossed them over a chair, then looked at Sam with a playful smirk. “Enjoying the show?”

Blood rushed to his face as he realised that he had been staring at her instead of undressing as he meant to. He ripped his eyes away from her to look at the wall. “Sorry.”

She chuckled. “Don’t apologize. You’re allowed to look.”

With her permission, he cast another long look at her lovely body. “You’re very beautiful, Emily.”

“I’m glad you think so.” She pulled the two pink ribbons out of her hair with one fluid motion, letting her long blonde locks tumble down across her shoulders. “Your turn.”

“Right.” He rose to his feet, which made him suddenly aware of his newly invigorated erection. He pulled off his shirt and cardigan in one go and turned away from her to toss them over a chair. With his front concealed from view, he took off his jeans and tossed them over the chair as well. Then he quickly tucked his cock between his thighs before turning to face her.

She showed an amused smile as her eyes trailed down to his crotch, then back to his face. “It’s okay if you have a boner. You don’t have to hide it.”

He sighed, feeling stupid for thinking she wouldn’t notice. “Alright.” He spread his legs a little, letting his cock jump free from its tucked-in position and pitch a tent in his boxers. It felt like an admission of guilt.

She took a step closer and smiled naughtily as her eyes trailed across his body, lingering on his cock. “You have a nice body too. And a nice member.” She reached out and gently ran her fingers across the length of his bulge. Even through the fabric, it throbbed in response to her touch. She giggled and stepped away from him to sit down on the bed. “See, I’ve seen and touched it, so now we don’t have to be awkward about it anymore.”

She was right, he no longer felt the need to hide his boner, though mostly in the hope that she would touch it again. “I like the way you think.”

He joined her on the bed and together they crawled under the blankets. As he lay on his back, she snuggled up against his side, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, enjoying the feeling of her soft, warm skin against his own. From there they did some more kissing and fondling, then chatted for some time about nothing in particular, then kissed and fondled some more. Eventually they both dosed off to sleep, comfortable in each other’s arms.

***

As they stood at the threshold of her front door, Emily lovingly adjusted Sam’s scarf. It was late in the morning, but they had made no hurry to start the day, so she was still bed-headed. Even dressed in an oversized shirt and with her hair loose and dishevelled, she was still a beautiful sight. “I’ll see you again soon, right?”

“Of course. At the very least, we’ll watch the new episode next Friday. But I’ll call you much earlier. Or text you, or whatever.” He placed his hands on her hips and gently pulled her closer.

“You better,” she purred before embracing him for a final lengthy kiss. While their lips were moulded together, he took his chance to give her butt a playful squeeze. She chuckled as she broke away from the kiss and gave him a gentle shove out of the doorway. “See you later.” She blew him a final kiss from her hand before closing the door, leaving him alone in the hallway of the apartment complex.

He took a deep breath to centre himself. Under any other circumstances, he would be feeling ecstatic right now. After all, he had hit the bullseye with Emily. Even though it had only been one date, he already felt in love with the sweet and beautiful girl, and she seemed to feel the same way. Given that, the bizarre thing was that he had a date with a different woman lined up that very evening. He had known this in advance, of course, but he hadn’t expected his date with Emily to go that well. Should he cancel the other date? No, that wasn’t fair. No matter how strongly he felt about Emily, he had agreed to give Tanya a chance, so he would see that through.

The afternoon of that day was nothing noteworthy. He went home to take a shower and did some chores around the house just to take his mind off things. He always got anxious in the hours leading up to a date, but doubly so today. He hadn’t told Tanya about his date with Emily, but he wondered if she would notice somehow that he was distracted, thinking about another woman. Would she feel insulted that he had put her in this situation? Maybe she had a right to. Wallowing in self-doubt wouldn’t improve that situation though. The best thing to do, for her sake and for his own sanity, was to put his concerns aside and take the date seriously.

As the time of the date approached, he put on a fresh outfit. This time he opted for something more formal, a grey blazer over a black button-up shirt and grey dress pants. Even though it was an in-home date, he had a feeling that this would suit Tanya’s sensibilities. He was actually a bit surprised that Tanya had sprung for an in-home date as well, since she seemed more like the fine dining type. Of course, the obvious benefit was that they could freely talk about matters of magic when in private. With his outfit figured out, he put on his coat and scarf and walked out the door. Tanya lived not in the city centre but in the suburb, so he got in his car and drove the route he had planned out on his phone.

When he reached the address she had given him, he found an ordinary row house, flanked by many others like it. It was on the small side for a house proper, but bigger than his or Emily’s apartments, and the old-timey brickwork felt a lot more appropriate for the home of a sorceress. All the curtains were closed, probably to hide any potential magic usage inside. He parked his car at the closest available spot, approached the door, and rung the bell. There was a moment of silence a bit longer than the night before. Then he heard the click-clack of heeled shoes in the hallway and the door opened to reveal his date.

Tanya Bystruza was a beautiful woman, a few years older than Sam, with long wavy auburn hair, big brown eyes, and full, pouty lips. She was of middling height and wonderfully curvy, with large breasts, a slender waist, and wide womanly hips. Today she wore a black dress that wrapped snugly around her hourglass figure, with long sleeves, a knee-length skirt, and a generous neckline, giving a view at the deep valley between her breasts. With it she wore black pantyhose and high-heeled pumps. Sam was glad that he had chosen a more formal outfit, because she was certainly dressed to impress.

“Ah, Sam, I’m glad you’re here.” She showed an effortless smile while she gestured him to step inside. “Did you have any trouble finding it?”

He stepped into the entryway and took off his coat. “Not much. Finding the right house number is easier when it’s one per building. You have a nice place.”

She closed the door behind him. “It’s nice, indeed. Comfortable but discreet.”

He took off his coat and scarf and tucked them away in the coat closet. She then guided him into the living room, which had a classy décor with a subtle gothic twist. The dining table was set with plates and cutlery for the two of them and a pleasant aroma emanated from the kitchen, which was hidden from sight in an alcove. Tanya sat down at the far end of the table. “Our dinner should be done in ten minutes or so. Please, take a seat.”

He sat down across from her. “You’re very well prepared.”

She idly wound a lock of auburn hair around her finger. “Did you expect otherwise?”

“No, not at all. I’m just thinking, it’s hard for me to compete with such a charming display.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t invite you here to make you play rooster and try to impress me. You do look nice, I’ll say that. Very stylish.”

He impulsively adjusted the lapel of his blazer. “Thanks. You look beautiful as well.” He did his best not to look down at her enticing cleavage as he said that.

“Thank you, that’s very sweet.” She managed to sound genuinely flattered, even though he was obviously not the first to tell her that. “Would you like a drink? I have a nice red wine we can share.”

“Yes, that sounds great.” He could really use some alcohol to ease his nerves. Her regal charm and beauty put him on edge even more than his date with Emily had done.

She didn’t rise from her seat, but simply continued looking at him with dusky eyes. “I’ve never shown you my magic before, have I? My gift is not very covert, so I can’t use it in public. At least not in broad daylight. Let me show you.”

Right before his eyes, her shadow on the ground shuddered and changed shape, from the silhouette of a curvy woman to a cluster of four arms. Flexible and with no regard for anatomy, they stretched out across the floor and turned the corner into the kitchen. As they moved, they separated from the ground but remained two-dimensional, as if the shadows were cast on an invisible object. It was a bizarre and somewhat unsettling thing to witness. He couldn’t see inside the kitchen, but he heard the clinking of glass and the opening and closing of a fridge. The hands then crept back into the living room, carrying a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a corkscrew. After setting the items down on the table, the hands collapsed back into Tanya’s normal shadow, leaving no trace of anything strange.

Sam blinked silently for a moment, still processing what he had witnessed. “That’s remarkable. Can you really command them blindly? You don’t need to see your destination?”

“I can feel anything the shadows touch as if they were part of my body. They don’t exert any force unless I want them to, so they can feel around without the risk of knocking anything over.” One of the arm-shaped shadows crawled up over Sam’s leg onto his chest, halted there for a moment, then slunk back down to the floor. He saw it but didn’t feel it at all. “Of course, it helps that I already know the contents of my kitchen.” She picked up the bottle of wine and the corkscrew, and held them out to him. “Do you mind? I may be remarkable but I’m not very strong.”

Sam drilled the screw into the cork and pulled it free with a satisfying pop. He then poured them both a glass. They gently clinked their glasses together as a toast and both took a sip. It was rich and aromatic, probably high in alcohol, just what he needed to ease his nerves. “Hm, that’s good. Kind of a cherry flavour.”

She swirled the wine around inside the glass. “I was thinking lavender, but yes, cherry too.”

There was a moment of silence as they both took another sip. As the sharp aroma of the alcohol permeated his senses, he figured that he should ask the awkward question now that he was still sober. “I have to ask you something. How much of your interest in me has to do with my family?”

She set down her glass and pursed her lips in thought for a moment. “It’s a factor. It would be a nice benefit to change my family name to one with a much more favourable standing. But I know what you’re really asking. Am I just feigning interest to secure a politically beneficial marriage? My answer to that is, if I wanted to charm my way into a marriage with some rich big shot, wouldn’t I have done it already? My family’s reputation gives people halt, but it doesn’t stop them from viewing me as an object of desire. And I am well-aware how desirable I am, for the record. So no, I want a man I actually like. And you, Sam, have only ever been kind and respectful to me, something only few people can claim.”

Sam was impressed by her comprehensive answer. He had imagined that the question might put her on the defensive, but clearly she was more than prepared to answer it. He himself, on the other hand, had trouble thinking of a good response. “You… make a compelling point.”

She smiled and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Since we’re digging up the uncomfortable topics. How do you feel about my family?”

That was a topic he had hoped to avoid, but that he had figured to be inevitable. Tanya was a descendant, a grand-niece specifically, of Natalia Bystruza, a notorious sorceress known for a long history of crime back in the forties and fifties. Not only did she carry the name, but there was a strong familial resemblance as well. It all happened before Sam’s time, but he had seen the old photos and the buxom beauty they depicted was the spitting image of Tanya. Although it was well in the past, the traditionalist wizard community had far from forgotten and seeing a reminder of their darker past in the form of Tanya made many people uncomfortable.

Sam didn’t feel like he had ever treated her differently because of it and he was glad to hear her confirm that. Unfortunately, that wasn’t true for everyone. Some people simply avoided her. Some men courted her insincerely, wanting to get a piece of the forbidden fruit while having no intention of a serious relationship. Some women scorned her, afraid that she might seduce their husbands, as Natalia was known to do. Some people showed her performative pity for her circumstances while still avoiding any lasting association with her. In his limited past interactions with Tanya, he had seen the signs of all these things. And if he had noticed them as an outsider, then they must have been disturbingly common in her everyday life.

Sam took a deep breath as he considered how to respond. “Let’s just say, I’ve always assumed you to be your own woman, not just a product of your family. And so far, you haven’t proven otherwise. All I see when I look at you is a kind and beautiful woman. And that’s all that matters to me.”

She smiled widely as her cheeks flushed red. It was quite a departure from her confident and collected demeanour so far. “Thank you, Sam. That means a lot to me.” She silently looked at him for a long moment. Then she averted her gaze and rose to her feet. “I think our dinner is ready.”

She disappeared into the kitchen, then returned a few moments later, carrying a pot containing a red stew. As she served it onto their plates, she explained that it was beef bourguignon, a personal favourite of hers. When Sam tasted it, the rich flavour made him feel a little less chilly inside. He was quick to compliment her on her cooking, which she graciously brushed off as no big deal. While they took their time eating the delicious meal, he told her about his job and she told him about hers. She worked as an alchemist for the wizards’ authorities, most commonly brewing potions of forgetfulness for mundanes who had seen the supernatural. Many employers were hesitant to hire her, given her family reputation, but her expertise was in demand and as long as she worked in an internal position she didn’t pose much of a public relations problem. From that topic they meandered through various others. When they finished their meal, Tanya used her shadowy hands to take the dishes and cutlery away to the kitchen, but they remained seated, still enjoying the wine and each other’s company. Only when they had finished the wine as well was there finally a lull in the conversation.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, Tanya leaned forward with her elbows on the table and showed a sultry smile. “So, now that we’ve had our fill of food and talk, would you like to join me in the bedroom?”

In his buzzed state, Sam needed a moment to process that invitation.