Page 27 of Infamous Heart

“Well, that’s,” I rubbed my eyes, “enlightening.”

“Puns? Really? So, we’re going to have that type of relationship.”

My back straightened at the mention of the “R” word. If he was going to put it on the table, I’d have to give it some thought. Before I got flustered, I decided to move on to the next demonstration.

“Okay, so you have strength, and you’re a human lightbulb. What about that shooting light thing? Can you do that on command?”

I searched around the floor until I found a discarded beer bottle. Placing it on the ledge, I stepped away. If he could knock the towel off me at ten paces, I was probably safe, but I didn’t want to test it.

He held up his hand as if he were a kid playing cops and robbers. He steadied himself, staring down the length of his arm. Dropping his thumb like the hammer, a ray of white light shot from his hand, missing the bottle by a few inches.

“Okay, so hitting the towel was sheer luck?”

He growled, trying again. Missing the bottle a second and third time, he grumbled a string of curses. Making two fists, he banged his hands together and a blast of light, far bigger, shot from his knuckles, obliterating the bottle and a piece of the ledge underneath it.

“Okay, we’re moving into the impressive category.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know I’m not a superhero. The only way I’m dressing up in leather is if we go to the BDSM club.”

“I… I… How do I respond to that?”

“You’re cute when you get flustered.”

Damn him. The frustrated hero vanished and in his place, stood the cocky art director. He might not think he was a superhero, but all the elements were there. He could be another person fighting against the corruption rampant in Vanguard. Sebastian might think money, or a flashy title, deemed him a Southland success story. But if he could turn around and be a hero to his younger self, then he could inspire an entire generation.

“What about the floating lights?”

His skin glowed for a moment, not as bright, but unlike before, he let the light travel down his arm. Pooling in the palm of his hand, an orb appeared. With a gentle nudge, it lifted into the air and remained suspended as if by magic.

“And you can control them?”

Poking the sphere with his finger, it glided the twenty feet between us, stopping inches from my face. He walked closer as the orb shifted from white to blue to red. I reached out, touching it with the tip of my finger. It had a weight to it, like a dense bubble.

“It’s not exactly super material like this.” He plucked it from the air and chucked into the warehouse. Without a sound, it exploded, blowing the dust along the floor.

“So last night, my apartment was filled with explosive lights? You filled my bedroom with bombs!”

He raised an eyebrow, thinking about it for a moment. “I guess I wasn’t thinking with the head on my shoulders.”

“Don’t get me wrong, it was sweet, just try not to kill me.”

“Have to save something for the next date.”

Chad had a list of rules he always spouted to the love-struck. Amongst them was, “Plan the next date before the current date is over.” I had laughed at the forwardness of the advice, but it seemed I had missed this lesson in Dating 101. Apparently, I was the only person to not get this memo.

“I’m going to go out on a limb, and don’t kill me.” He didn’t like mentioning his upbringing, but I couldn’t let it go. “Imagine the children of Southland having their very own hero.”

“I don’t—“

“Imagine if you had that hero growing up? Somebody who got out, made a name for themselves and came back to speak for those who got trapped?”

“I’m not a hero.”

He started to unroll his sleeves. I had never met a man so defensive about the location he once called home. It was dangerous territory, and I knew I risked creating a wedge in whateverthiswas between us. For me, it had been comic books that gave me a glimpse into a better world. But the people in those pages were real. They walked amongst us. That was what the world needed.

“You’re already a hero. Giving money to your high school? That’s what heroes do. Now you have something more than money. You are literally a shining beacon.”

“I…” He paused, one sleeve unrolled and fastened. His shoulders slumped as his eyes darted back and forth. I couldn’t imagine what he had to deal with growing up in the roughest part of Vanguard City, but I knew pain when I saw it. Time to be the hero Sebastian needed.

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