Page 10 of Infamous Heart

I started to question the “back then,” but he moved his hand to my head, pulling my cheek against his shoulder. His palm covered my mouth, ensuring I didn’t ask him about the hearts he broke between breakfast and now.

“Anybody would be lucky to wake up next to you. I know you don’t believe it, so I’ll keep reminding you. But for the record, I would have rocked your world.”

I pulled his hand away and gave him a kiss on the cheek. While I’m sure it would have been the best sex of my life, I was grateful we skipped straight to the best friends stage.

“For the record,” I poked him in the thigh. “I would have wrecked you.” His eyes lit up at the statement. “You’d have limped for days. You’d scream my name every time you came.”

“Damn, Papi.” He gave my hair a playful rustle. “I guess I got lucky.”

I jumped up as Cobalt’s body shot out of the black sphere. The superhero sailed closer. Alejandro followed suit and grabbed my arm, tugging for me to follow. The hero had gone limp as he approached the fountain. A streak of black followed, gaining on the man.

“Safe distance.” The voice came out of nowhere. The scenery shifted so fast, my stomach took a moment to catch up. When it did, I fought to keep myself from hurling. Alejandro, on the other hand, lost the battle and hurled into a nearby bush.

“What,” he wretched a second time, “happened?”

We were a few hundred feet from the fountain. A silver blur caught Cobalt and set him down on the same bench we had just been sitting. For all the times I had seen the Zipper running in and out of the Hideout, I had never actually been saved by the speed demon.

Wraith approached, waves of dark energy cascading from her hands. I raised my phone, taking video of her hovering high above the fountain. Zipper slowed, a rare sight, eyeing the villainess. I hoped he gave her a solid punch to the jaw, a fair return for knocking Cobalt out of the fight.

What kind of abilities did she have? Could Zipper outrun her? Were we safe? The kid in me rooted for the heroes, wanting them to save the day only to receive applauds of the onlookers.

Wraith flew straight upward, far out of the reach for even Zipper. Without Cobalt to launch him upward, he couldn’t reach her without buildings to run up. I took a deep breath, thankful it didn’t get any worse, even if it wasn’t the epic battle I hoped for.

Faster than my eye could track, Zipper gathered his unconscious teammate and vanished. I switched over to the HeroApp™ and posted my video of the confrontation. One more super powered being, and I’d finally level up.

“Somebody,” Alejandro hurled again, “kill me.”

5

The cursorof the laptop blinked. There. Gone. There. Gone. Each time it appeared, it taunted me and my inability to focus. There. Gone. It had been years since I sat down and wrote a real resume. Need somebody to balance the color of throw pillows, I was the guy. A website that said, “look at me,” sure. Hell, I could cite the overabundance of Flemish painters and their obsession with tiny hands. But a resume? Not so much.

I leaned back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. I hadn’t done bad for myself at the Beacon. I lived on my own, paid my bills, and had enough money left over to buy a couple rounds of beer. There was enough money in my savings to pay next month’s rent, but beyond that, I didn’t have a plan. I wasn’t sure I was going to be fired, but I might as well prepare. I’m Griffin Smith, and I live in a world of worst-case scenarios.

There. Gone.

“Saved from a supervillain, but defeated by a resume. I hope they put that on my tombstone.”

I slapped the laptop shut like an infant having a tantrum. There were so many other things I could be doing right now. I hadn’t taken a nap in months. Maybe it was a hobby I should explore? My foot brushed against the messenger bag. Forget reality. There was an epic storyline I needed to see through inDie. Hero. Die.

The cover of the comic served as the finale to series, and they spared no expense. Thick card stock paper, glossy cover, ultraviolet embossing? It would be amazing to work on a project like this, to experience this level of freedom. The artist had Jacob Short, the invincibleHero,falling to his knees, bits of his shredded costumed balled into each fist. I could only hope it served as an allegory, and that by the end, Hero would save the day. Angst and brooding were well and good, but only if, at the end, the hero stood victorious.

I peeled back the cover.Whoosh. The alert meant an email awaited me. Could it be ignored? I lifted the phone, staring at sealed envelope on my lock screen.

“If I got fired, my night is ruined. If I didn’t get fired, my night is still ruined. Just do it. Like a band aid. Do it.” Despite my award-winning motivational speech, my thumb resisted.

“Stop being a coward.” I swiped. I focused on the giant still life of the Eiffel Tower I had painted in college. It had hung crooked on the wall for so long, it appeared as if the structure was slowly sliding off the canvas.

I glanced down, then back to the painting. This was no different from easing your body into the cold water at the pool. First toes, then feet, step out, then back in. The dance took far longer than necessary. But either way, eventually the water touched your junk, and everything shriveled.

“Ter…” The tablet on my coffee table needed to be charged. The windows, covered in smudge marks, needed to be cleaned. Hell, I couldn’t recall the last time I vacuumed the rug in the living room. A million other things distracted me from the confirming the rest of the word on my phone.

“Terminated. Effective immediately.”

There was no point in reading. Standing up for myself had felt empowering at the time, something I wish I had done years ago, but this is where it landed me. If I had knuckled under, kept my mouth shut, and let Vincent take the glory, I’d still have a job. It would have been miserable, but at least I’d have a paycheck. Now, it was misery without pay.

“Griffin, what did you?”

Opening the laptop brought a new sense of dread. If I couldn’t get a new job soon, dating weirdos would be the last of my worries. I grabbed the phone and stared at the group text message. If I told the guys, Bernard would offer a comforting bit of advice, Alejandro would have a sharp comment, and Xander would threaten to beat them up. I appreciated their love, but none of it changed reality.

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