Page 62 of Infamous Heart

Sebastian’s text hadn’t given any details. This new mysterious side of him left me grinning, but it meant dressing for date night had been a challenge. I hadn’t seen him since he defeated Wraith, and decided to play it cool. T-shirt with a superhero logo and jeans. As I stood in front of the burger joint in Southland, I realized he crafted tonight just for me.

“Sly bastard.”

It wasn’t a big restaurant, a few high-top tables and a couple of booths off to the side. Searching for his signature tailor suit, I missed him on first inspection. When he stood from the booth, a t-shirt with a picture of the Centurions and jeans, I had to keep from audibly swooning.

I didn’t know what to expect. Our last encounter as Griffin and Sebastian had been explosive. My anxiety washed away as he charged, throwing his arms around me. The kiss that followed pushed away my doubts. His stubble scratched against my chin, and I had to remind myself we were in a public place. Even then, I thought about tossing him on a table and tearing the clothes off his body.

“It’s endearing when I wear one,” I pointed to my shirt, “it’s shameless marketing when you do it.”

“I was worried you might not come.”

There were lingering emotions from our fight, but I wanted to squash those before we took our seats. “I said some horrible stuff. I…” My cheeks burned from embarrassment.

“No,” he whispered the word. “I needed somebody to jostle my perspective. I needed… What I’m trying to say… I mean…” Sebastian nervous might be my new favorite version of the man.

“I need my sidekick.” He took my hand, giving it a strong squeeze, a fraction of the strength hidden behind those bulging muscles. “I want to play Legos with you.”

Jesus. Shots had been fired, and they struck my heart with a bang. No, not a bang, a thermonuclear blast. I returned the squeeze. At a loss for words, I relied on my eyes and determined grin to relay the emotion bubbling in my chest.

A waitress walked up to the two of us, holding large white plates. Her white and blue checkered dress reminded me of an old diner, and it dawned on me how hard Sebastian attempted to reach me on my level.

“You gentlemen going to eat food or are you skipping right to dessert?”

We slid into the booth, and she set down the plates. Her name tag read, “Mildred,” and it couldn’t have been more perfect. She gave me a light pat on the shoulder, “You’ll need your energy for later.”

As she walked away, Sebastian laughed at my slack jaw and wide eyes. “She’s a firecracker. Been slinging burgers since I was a kid.”

“So how have you been?”

“You know,” he chomped away at a fry, “I’ve been great.”

“I was worried after…” I let the rest of the statement hang in the air. “You could have called.” I wasn’t annoyed, but when you see the man you… admire, stabbed, there is a certain amount of worry.

“I’m not very good at this.” He reached across the table, sliding his fingers over my hand. “I didn’t know what to say. Sorry for being an arrogant jerk? Sorry for not being your ideal guy?”

“Yeah, I deserve that.”

“Couples have growing pains,” he leaned in to whisper, “ours just happen to be of super proportions. I didn’t want to have this conversation and make promises about changing. You deserve better than that. That’s the reason I came back to Southland.”

“Wait, all of this,” I refused to cry over a cheeseburger, “for me?”

“Sorry it’s not flowers or chocolate.”

He casually returned to his French fries. I laughed hard enough that my stomach rumbled, and my jaw hurt. The one other table with people stopped and stared, and at that point, I just didn’t care. Who needs flowers when your boyfriend was willing to put away villains in your honor? For a comic book loving geek, there was no better present.

The conversation slowed as we stuffed our faces. I don’t know if it was the burger or the company, but it could have very well been the best meal I had ever eaten. I’d have to make sure Mildred paid my compliments to the cook.

Along the wall, there were dozens of posters for upcoming performances from the local theater and music venues. When people thought of Southland, they tended to focus on the crime statistics and poverty ratings, myself included. But as I caught sight of a gallery opening, my opinion quickly changed.

“We’ll need to check out that gallery show.”

“Sounds like a follow-up date to me.”

“Not a follow-up,” I wiped the ketchup from my lips, “just the first of many.”

“I need to ask you something.” His tone turned serious, almost quiet. My heart jumped to my throat, worried that a perfect date was about to go south.

“Yeah?”

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