Page 56 of Breathless Recruiter

When Orion suggested I ask him questions, he hadn’t meant a job interview. I squeaked out a “Yes.”

“Jobs are formal. They’re stuffy and asking if you’re a good fit for a company. Dates are kind of similar.” He swung, and I waited to see if the clown would swallow his ball. “You ask questions to get to know a person. What do you want to know about me?”

Everything.

He growled as the ball fell a few inches short of the clown’s mouth. While we walked along the course and he prepared another shot, I pondered this statement. There were so many things I wanted to ask him. I didn’t know where to start.

“How are you so brave?”

With his next swing, the ball zipped inside the clown’s mouth. Again, the nose turned red and the music played. He turned, tucking the club under his arm. “I’m not brave. I see people need help and I help them.”

“You don’t get scared.”

Dustin laughed. “Me? I’m scared all the time. I have no idea what I’m doing when I’m…” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Masked up.”

“But—”

“If I don’t help, who will? Mom always said somebody has to stick up for the little guy.”

“You’re scared, and you still do it?” He nodded. “But what if you get hurt?”

“First time I went out on patrol. I had the snot kicked out of me by Force Lord. If you thought Titan hits hard, that man’s force field packs a punch.”

I assumed every hero went out into the world without worry, that their powers would protect them. Ever since Dustin mentioned all heroes experienced fear, I had mulled it over. If they did, it didn’t show. Was it the same for Drew when he put on his costume? Or Orion? Janet might be the only person who didn’t go into the world afraid.

“I’m going to need time to process.”

“Well, let me ask you this. Why doyoudo what you do?”

“Because I… I’m Halorian.”

“A what?”

“Halorian. When we reach adulthood, we’re assigned a planet with sentient life. Our purpose is to protect people. I got assigned Earth.”

“So, it’s your birthright?”

I nodded. “My people travel across the cosmos protecting people against… well, everything.”

“What made them start doing that?”

I wanted to give him an answer. Maybe Halorians were once bullied, and they paid it forward by helping where they could? The history of my race is hidden somewhere in hazy memories.

“I don’t know. I don’t really have any memories before I arrived on Earth. It gets fuzzy.”

He rested a hand on the small of my back and guided me along the path around the killer clown. On the other side, our balls sat close to the last hole. As much as I wanted to beat his score, I didn’t want the game to end. I wanted another date like this. I could live without the fancy cheeses.

“So when you say your mother took you in, she found your ship?”

“Sort of.” It was both weird and refreshing to have a candid conversation about my origins. “I landed in the woods, and then some scientists caught me mid-flight.”

“That explains so much.”

“They took me tothatplace. One of the straps broke, and I got free. I ran back to the woods. Earth Mom found me a few days later.” My first encounter with humans had been terrifying. She changed my opinion of Earthlings. Bribing me with chocolate, she took her time, waiting for me to approach her.

Dustin lined up his next swing. With a gentle tap, the ball rolled into the cup at the end of the course. I followed suit. One more hit and the game had come to a close. Despite revealing my birthplace light-years away and my first days on his planet, Dustin hadn’t seemed fazed.

“After our first meeting, I assumed you were Canadian.” He shot me a wink. “Even they know what a hand turkey is. You do a good job of blending in; the average person wouldn’t notice. But then, they weren’t watching you as much as I was.” His eyebrows waggled up and down.

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