Page 9 of Infamous Heart

Before he could ask for a follow up, our phones vibrated. The trio of women power walking around the fountain took out their phones. It had become a common occurrence, and gave away the HeroApp™. Every phone came with it installed, an early warning system for when the powered community was about to partake in a battle. When the women picked up their pace, running from the park, I fished out my phone to see the proximity alert.

“Oh, looks like we’ll get a show today.” Nobody has identified the villain or hero yet. I hope it’s somebody new. I might finally level up on the app.

“Anybody interesting?”

It takes a minute before the icon appears with the villain’s profile. “It’s Wraith again. She seems to be everywhere lately.”

I stuffed the last of the pretzel in my mouth, savoring the salty, gooey dough. Out of nowhere, a man flew past, nearly within arm’s reach. I managed to snap a photo as he dodged the water fountain.

“Cobalt. Drats.” The Ward’s hero frequently made appearances at the coffee shop. Of all the heroes I had met, he was one of the most down to Earth.

“Hush,” Alejandro said. “I’d watch that man pick up litter.”

“I need two more photos.”

“Do you get extra points if they’re naked?”

The term “hero chaser” didn’t quite cover his determination to conquer heroes. Everybody said I was the biggest superhero fan in our group of friends, but I think they neglected just how much Alejandro liked being teleported as he orgasmed.

A massive black sphere swallowed Cobalt. There wasn’t much information about Wraith, but she wouldn’t stand a chance against a veteran like him. Whatever shadowy ability she wielded, it paled in comparison to his telekinesis. Readying the camera on my phone, I waited patiently for the villain to emerge from her trap so I could snag a photo.

“Boxers or briefs?”

“Who?”

“Cobalt,” Alejandro said. “I’m betting commando. I think he’s the type who gets excited by the leather on his junk.”

“You’re projecting,” I laughed. “He’s a boxer brief guy. It mixes the flexibility of boxers and holds his cock in place at the same time.”

“I’d hold his—“

“I wish I had your confidence.” Maybe not that much, but enough to feel confident to talk to a guy. I did great in social situations, but the moment I thought a guy was cute, I stuttered and threw my story boards all over the floor.

“When Bernard first brought you to breakfast, I was annoyed.”

My face scrunched up at the new information. The three of them had been nothing but welcoming. We were close now, but to know it wasn’t always the case stung.

“First rule of breakfast club?” he fished.

“Bros before hos?”

“Second rule, then.” Alejandro poked me in the arm, grinding his thumb into my shirt.

“No shagging the members of breakfast club?”

“There you have it.”

Each morning, it seemed we added more rules to the list. In the past week we’d added, “Thou shall not spoil episodes of Criminal Superheroes” and “Members must point out poppy seeds stuck between teeth” and of course, the most important, “No making fun of Bernard’s mustache.” But it had started with three:

1. Fuck buddies cannot join Breakfast club.

2. Do not sleep with members of Breakfast club.

3. Honesty above all else.

My cheeks turned red, and I pretended that something interesting was happening at the end of the park. The fact our second rule irked him… did he find me attractive? Alejandro could very easily have any guy at the bar, and often he did, sometimes all at once. I was flattering myself if I thought somebody like him had once thought about adding me to his list of conquests.

“So, we’re just going to ignore it, interesting.” He shimmied closer on the bench, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He was going to make it awkward. “You were the cute new kid on the block. I was going through my slut phase back then.”

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