Page 10 of Origins

“I… sorry about them.” I laughed, trying to shrug off my nerves as I tugged my shoes on. Each movement sent a sharp tingle through my hand, but I did my best to ignore the pain. This wasn’t the first time Jack had frozen my hand, and it wouldn’t be the last. Thankfully, supers were more resilient than people without powers, so this minor frostbite wouldn't leave any lasting effects.

“No need to apologize. Siblings, right?” He tried to mirror my laugh, but he just sounded nervous.

“Right… Do you have any siblings?”

Sulien tensed as he ran a hand through his short, inky hair. “Uh, well… No. But it’s a long story.”

“We have time.” I smiled.

His thoughts flashed to painful memories—his mother’s death, his father’s unrelenting grief. Sulien shifted from one foot to the other as he studied me, lookingfor anything to change the tide of our conversation.

“Hey, does that hurt?” He pointed to my hand.

I looked down at the frost still clinging to my half-frozen digits.

“It’s just frostbite.” I shrugged. “I’m used to it.”

Sulien’s facial expression hardened, and for a moment, I swore he was going to lecture me. But, instead, he took a breath and held out his hand.

“Do you mind if I help?”

I gawked at his outstretched hand. Part of me wanted to grab it just so I could hold his hand and satiate the schoolgirl crush I harbored toward him, even just for a moment. But I knew the frost was worse than I was letting on, and I didn’t want him to see just how badly Jack got me.

I looked up to find a familiar sincerity in Sulien’s eyes. He was so sweet. There was no way I could refuse his help.

My heart fluttered as I reached forward, placing my palm on his. God, his hands werehuge—with our palms aligned, the tips of my fingers only came to his second knuckle. Glowing orange heat radiated from his hand as he wrapped his fingers around mine. Instantly, warmth spread through my skin and down my arm. A shiver of relief ran through my body as Sulien’s healing warmth washed away the lingering chill.

“There.” He smiled, breaking our connection far before I was ready for him to. “All better?”

I nodded, unable to do much else, considering my heart had leapt to my throat.

His smile widened, causing his eyes to crinkle in the corners. His hand stayed near mine for just a beat longer before he slipped it into his pocket.

“I guess we’d better head out then, huh?”

***

The first part of our date went pretty much as I’d expected. Sulien and I drove around for a bit while we talked, and he said something about wanting to take me to dinner before seeing a movie. But the second he pulled into the parking lot of a local diner, he checked his phone.

Normally, I was above using my powers to completely immerse myself in someone else’s mind. Nobody else in the world knew I could do it, and I was a little afraid people could feel me poking around in their brains. But curiosity got the better of me, so while he was distracted by the device in his hands, I took the opportunity to look through his eyes.

I expected to see him texting someone. Instead, he was looking at his bank account. His mind raced as he added up each of his bills and calculated how long he had to wait before his next paycheck. During our lunchtime conversations, he’d mentioned the fact that he bartended a few nights a week to make ends meet. He also said they recently went from tipping out at the end of each night to pooling the tips and adding them to everyone’s bi-weekly checks.

After every expense was accounted for, Sulien was about fifty dollars short when it came to paying rent next week.

“Fuck.” He sighed, putting the phone down and patting his pockets.

“What’s wrong?”

“My roommate just texted me. I forgot my wallet at our apartment.” Sulien closed his eyes as he rubbed his temple.

“That’s fine. I don’t mind just hanging out at your place. We can just watch a movie and chill.” Sulien’sshoulders fell for just a moment as relief overtook his anxiety. I could have offered to pay for us, but I had a feeling that Sulien would rather eat glass than admit he needed help with anything.

“Are you sure? Fair warning, my apartment isn’t anything special.”

“Mhm,” I said brightly. “I’m here to spend time with you. It doesn’t matter where.”

Chapter 4

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