如何定位另一个div的div权限，但是它不占用空间？

I have a list of items (call them topics), and I want a div to appear so the user can interact with it (call it a topic card) when one hovers over the topic. My current idea is to have a div positioned beside each topic and position it accordingly. However, I am having trouble doing so. It cannot take up space on the page, so I figure I will be using position:absolute. However, it needs to always be positioned to the right of the topic, and a combination of float:left and position:absolute means the topic card is simply placed to overlap the topic.I have a list of items (call them topics), and