Page 37 of Iridescent Lust

“You mean the flashy leather outfits? That’s more common in my life than you’d think.”

“You know what I mean.”

I did. I still hadn’t processed that the guy I was into had a husband that he loved. Every time I thought about it, I could hear outside expectations of what “should be” piling on my shoulders. How would I explain it to the guys at lunch? Would they consider me the other man? Was this an attempt for Theo and Stonewall to fix a failing relationship?

“I do. Is it bad I’m trying not to think about it? It feels like the world is telling me to do one thing and…” I kissed his hand. “I’m not so sure I agree with that mindset anymore. I like you enough to reevaluate.”

“Whoa now. I’m going to get turned on.”

I snorted. Okay, we returned to our normal scheduled program. A snarky bartender and dashing superhero sitting underneath the birth of a new star. There were worse ways to spend the evening.

“El memo,” I cursed with a laugh.

“Ouch, you wound me.”

His body tensed and he dropped his arm as he stared off into the distance. Something happened that I couldn’t make out. Was there danger? Did he sense something in the universe?

“Bluetooth,” he pointed to his ear. “Stonewall needs an evac.”

“Should we go back?”

“I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

The portal opened, and on the other side a massive dragon roared as it breathed fire, only stopped by a man conjuring magical barriers. Before I could speak, Theo transformed into EO, his clothes vanishing, replaced by his suit, and he jumped through the portal. Once it closed, I was left on an alien planet somewhere far outside the familiar boundaries of the Ward. Hell, far outside my familiar Milky Way.

“I wonder how much an Uber would cost?”

15

Thirty minutes had passedsince EO had dashed off to save the day. Butterflies had transformed into angry bats in my stomach. What started as a worry that someone injured him quickly turned toward my own situation. It did not surprise me to find zero bars on my cell. I had poor reception in my apartment, and being light-years from home wouldn’t make it any better.

There was nothing that gave any indication of civilization on the planet. I knew there were plenty of worlds with life across the cosmos. For some reason, their citizens always chose Earth to defend and protect. The more I thought about it, I’d need to ask Bernard why they chose Earth.

“Hello?” When nobody responded, I plonked myself onto the grass. Running my hands along the ground, I decided I might as well settle in. There were worse places to be stranded. “He could have left me somewhere with a beach. We’ll have to make that a prerequisite for the future.”

Lying back, the star forming above the planet was more majestic than anything I had ever seen. I snapped a photo with my phone for proof. It defied any word I could find in my vocabulary. Beautiful? Stunning? Breathtaking? None of them did it justice. I’d have to talk to Griffin to see if his art background had words for this creation. It was the birth of something primal. I might as well sit back and enjoy it.

A flock of flying creatures passed overhead, the first sign of life on the alien planet. Three of them danced back and forth, touching a layer of the sky that created streaks of fire in their wake. Were they phoenixes? Is this where the myth originated? We had established that aliens put the pyramids on Earth. Maybe other civilizations were the same?

“Hell. No air conditioning. Hostile creatures. Zero stars. Do not recommend.”

I rolled over to see EO kneeling on the ground, steam rising off his body. Stonewall stepped out of the portal, patting down tiny flames scattered across his suit. “I want to speak with the manager.”

They were a comedy act. “Are you guys okay?”

“A minor demon, they said. It’ll be easy, they said. We’ll be done with it in no time, they said. What I learned—mages lie. Those magic wielders forgot to mention the demon ruled a pocket dimension.”

Stonewall raised a middle finger behind him to where the portal had been. “You’re not getting a Christmas card this year!”

“We’ll be fine,” EO said. He patted a spot on his chest and his clothes morphed from his suit to street clothes. I’d have to ask him about getting something like that for work.

“Wait, this isn’t Earth,” Stonewall said. “Hon, where did you bring us?”

Well, this was about to get awkward.

“Brought Alejandro to see the Whisper Galaxy.”

Stonewall spun about, taking inventory of his surroundings. It didn’t seem to bother him that they weren’t on Earth. I had to wonder if this was common for heroes. Did Theo bring everybody to the far reaches of the universe?

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