Page 36 of I Dated a Retired Hero

Zera blinked. “Yes. I am getting that idea. But you have other friends?”

“Sure. I was friends with Nelith, with Feral, a few others here and there around the world. Xeva’s duality was always known to me, as was her frustration after she recovered from that accident. Same with Drin’s. No secrets. The heat signature always tells.”

“What would happen if I copied your skill set?”

“We would be standing here, and everyone would be dead, and the building would be on fire. I have met a copycat before. Their body wasn’t built to handle it, and they didn’t have self-control, so spontaneous human combustion, here we come.”

Zera nodded. “Right.”

“When will the legal idiots descend?”

“The government is willing to take a tribunal approach.”

“Okay. We can work with that. When they want her to speak, we need a projector.”

“Doable.”

“Good. Vikor is a good representative. He reminds everyone we are dealing with actives.”

Zera nodded. “I will keep him on retainer.” She paused. “Do you think you are going to stay with Z-Tech?”

“Working from home, perhaps. Drin makes an excellent saleswoman. She needs more acknowledgement of her efforts.”

Zera nodded again. “I think we can look into something along those lines.”

“I don’t even need to stay here. I can get a place in the islands, on an arctic platform, or work from the moon if I can set up a signal. The world is available to me if I am not trying to maintain relationships. I have realized I can be happy by myself, but I need to stop yanking myself back into socializing.”

“What if I find a match for you?”

“I am out of the BDC. It doesn’t matter anymore. I was borderline unmatchable, and now, I am off the roster. It’s done. I am creeping up on forty, and having a child has been blocked from my level of possibility. I won’t beg, and I won’t pretend to be less than I am.”

Zera nodded. “Right. Sorry, I hadn’t grasped how frustrating that would be. I thought it would be nice nights at the opera and stuff.”

“It would have been, but he took the escorts he was sleeping with to the opera. I got picnic after picnic after picnic like he was afraid to be seen with me.”

“I see.” She brought up the after-date reports that Litha had dutifully filled out. “There it is. ‘Went out, listened to him talk about other women, and returned to base after a picnic. Too much cilantro in the food.’”

“More like that. Over and over. I don’t need the money, but I did need the companionship, and that wasn’t being offered, which became more obvious over time.”

“Right. I haven’t fucked a situation up like this before.”

Litha smiled. “Give yourself time. It will happen again. The universe is filled with limitless fuckups. There are more destined for you.”

Zera blinked. “Why do I feel like I just got spanked?”

Litha looked at her deadpan. “Oh, you know, that feels different.”

Zera grinned. “Yeah, it does. This is less fun.”

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