Chapter 15

15

Drew: You’ll do great.

Orion: Just treat it like a job interview.

Wyatt: I’m applying for another date?

Drew: He means put your best foot forward.

Wyatt: My right foot?

Orion: Yes, like a job interview. Ask him questions.

Felipes’ tinted windows made it impossible to see inside. The towering silver door in the middle was almost as intimidating as what waited on the other side. Wyatt Supreme was about to have his first official date. I gave a slight clap.

When I tugged at the door, a gentleman in a black suit appeared as if out of thin air. He gave a quick up and down. His eyebrow jumped as he gave a discerning glare. I suddenly felt out of place. Glancing down, I made sure I hadn’t misaligned the buttons on my dress shirt.

“I’m here for Dustin Stark.”

He didn’t speak as he gave a slight bow, directing me further into the restaurant. As I walked down the aisle, diners stole glances out of the corner of their eyes. Arthur had once pointed out that I looked like a bodybuilder who spent all their time at the gym. It explained why people gawked wherever I went. I lifted my shoulders and pushed out my chest. I wanted them to watch, then they’d see the handsome man I was about to sit with.

Dustin stood, gesturing to the chair across the square table. Sitting in the middle of the white tablecloth, three candles flickered. I had never been to a restaurant this fancy. They had the good cheeses, I could tell.

I reached for the chair, and the ma?tre d' pulled it out. “Could I get you anything to drink?”

“Just water.”

“Sparkling? Distilled? Alkaline? Mineral? Or Purified.”

I didn’t know water came in so many forms. “From the faucet?”

Dustin didn’t speak as he stared. It got to where I had to reach up and make sure I didn’t have traces of a jelly donut on my face. The edge of his lip turned upward as I wiped my beard, hunting for traces of frosting.

“You’re fine. It’s just nice seeing you outside of work.”

“I haven’t seen you in a suit before.”

“I had to make a good impression on your first date.” He handed me a menu. I was surprised it wasn’t coated in plastic to protect it from spills. “I ordered us a charcuterie board.”

“A char — what?”

“It’s fancy speak for appetizers.”

For a normal human, it might be weird to have their first date as a grown man. I appreciated he didn’t make a big deal. This was already turning out better than my date with Zaster. I’d like to scrub that event from my brain.

Orion and Drew talked about their first dates. They described in great detail how badly they had gone. I’d break their streak. I just had to remember to be polite like Earth Mom taught me and ask questions.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” My boss at Coffee! Coffee! Coffee! asked me this every few days. I wanted to say serving coffee, but I don’t think that’s what they meant.

“Getting right to the big stuff, huh?”

I crossed my arms on the table and straightened my back.

“I haven’t given it much thought.” He chewed his top lip as he thought about the question. I maintained eye contact, letting him know I was interested in his answer. “I think I want to run my own security company. Helping people is in my DNA.” Mine, too. “It also dovetails nicely with my other job.”

I nodded. More eye contact. “What do you think is your greatest strength?”

I leaned back as a server set a slate tray on the table. On top of the stone plate rested three stacks of food. Crackers. Cheese. Meats… I think. I reached for a fork and found there were three on the side of my plate. On the other side were two spoons. Wait, why did I have so many utensils?

“The one on the outside.” He picked up a fork. “You work your way in.”

I gave a slight nod like he made sense. Following his lead, I picked up pieces from the char— slate and dropped them on my plate. I tried maintaining eye contact while I took a bite of fancy cheese.

“Going with the flow.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“My greatest strength. Life’s complicated. I try to not let the little stuff bother me. I think that’s what I like about my other job. It’s a reminder that the day-to-day stuff isn’t a big deal.”

“If you had to?—”

“Are you treating this like a job interview?”

Was that a bad thing? For a moment, I thought he was going to get mad. He chuckled. Every time he laughed, the tension in my body relaxed. If I had to say his best trait, it’d be how he made people around him comfortable.

“I’m interviewing for another date.”

“Who gave you that advice?”

Had Orion and Drew steered me wrong? I thought it better than Janet’s advice of throwing him against a wall and, as she put it, “Rut like animals in heat.” Was this becoming a horrible date story? Did all first dates go badly?

“Orion and Drew.”

“Can I give you some advice?”

It couldn’t be any worse. “Uh-huh.”

“Be yourself.” He pushed the stone to the side of the table and held out his hand. I reached out and let him grip my fingers. “A date is meant for two people to get to know each other. Who is Wyatt as a person, not the man who works for Secret Identities.”

“I’m the same person.” I didn’t quite understand what he meant.

The server placed a glass of water on the side of the table. He had a black vest and red tie, making him more dressed up than me. “Have you decided what to order?”

I let go of Dustin’s hand and picked up the menu. I was about to order the first thing I saw when I realized I didn’t recognize any of the words. A quick scan and not a single thing sounded like food. I peeked over the top to see Dustin staring at me.

“Just the check,” he said.

Had I failed our date? I hid my frown behind the menu. The server tugged it from my hand, leaving me to face Dustin. Had I not asked enough questions? Did I not make enough eye contact? Too much? Getting to my feet, I tried apologizing, but it came out in a choked mumble.

I turned to walk away when Dustin caught my hand. I was about to pull away when he jerked me back. Unbeknownst to the crowd, he exerted his superhuman strength, forcing me against him.

His hand wrapped behind my neck, pulling me into a kiss. Dustin’s mustache scratched my upper lip as he buried his tongue. His cologne had hints of earth and citrus as I melted against his body. I had no idea what was going on, but as long as he kept kissing me, I’d put aside my worries.

“This is a horrible first date,” he mumbled.

I frowned.

“I think we can do better.” My eyebrow rose. Did we get a second chance? “Let’s try this again.”

I gave him a slow nod. The rest of the restaurant stared, their forks hovering in front of their mouths as they eavesdropped on our conversation. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered when his hand rested on my cheek.

Whatever he had in mind, I’d say yes.

“Follow me.”

I always would.

“Is that a clown… an evil clown?”

The vibrant creature sat on all fours, a tunnel burrowing through its mouth. Every few seconds, it heckled and its mouth shut, blocking the path. Nefarious being. No matter how much energy it took, I’d walk away victorious. This clown had met its match.

“Line up your shot.”

Dustin stood behind me, arms wrapped around my waist. I drew back my club, lifting it over my head. “Whoa, boy.” He put a hand on mine, forcing me to lower it. “You’re not trying to kill the clown.”

But I was. With its white face, pointy hat, and polka dot onesie, I’d unleash the full might of Mr. Supreme. By demand, I took a soft swing. The ball rolled down the greenway. Over the hill and across the bridge, the ball sped toward the waiting mouth of my newest arch-rival. I dropped the club, covering my eyes. I peeked through my fingers, holding my breath as the ball vanished inside the clown’s mouth.

Its nose blinked a bright red as carnival music filled the air. Compared to our first date in a fancy restaurant, this was almost perfect. I didn’t understand humans’ obsession with taking sports and miniaturizing them, but I enjoyed this mini golf. It had nothing to do with Dustin’s hands on my waist as he coached me on how to play.

Dustin gave me a pat on the ass while he took my spot, dropping his ball on the green. “About those questions earlier. Were they what Arthur asked you during your job interview?”

When Orion suggested I ask him questions, he hadn’t meant a job interview. I squeaked out a “Yes.”

“Jobs are formal. They’re stuffy and asking if you’re a good fit for a company. Dates are kind of similar.” He swung, and I waited to see if the clown would swallow his ball. “You ask questions to get to know a person. What do you want to know about me?”

Everything.

He growled as the ball fell a few inches short of the clown’s mouth. While we walked along the course and he prepared another shot, I pondered this statement. There were so many things I wanted to ask him. I didn’t know where to start.

“How are you so brave?”

With his next swing, the ball zipped inside the clown’s mouth. Again, the nose turned red and the music played. He turned, tucking the club under his arm. “I’m not brave. I see people need help and I help them.”

“You don’t get scared.”

Dustin laughed. “Me? I’m scared all the time. I have no idea what I’m doing when I’m…” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Masked up.”

“But—”

“If I don’t help, who will? Mom always said somebody has to stick up for the little guy.”

“You’re scared, and you still do it?” He nodded. “But what if you get hurt?”

“First time I went out on patrol. I had the snot kicked out of me by Force Lord. If you thought Titan hits hard, that man’s force field packs a punch.”

I assumed every hero went out into the world without worry, that their powers would protect them. Ever since Dustin mentioned all heroes experienced fear, I had mulled it over. If they did, it didn’t show. Was it the same for Drew when he put on his costume? Or Orion? Janet might be the only person who didn’t go into the world afraid.

“I’m going to need time to process.”

“Well, let me ask you this. Why do you do what you do?”

“Because I… I’m Halorian.”

“A what?”

“Halorian. When we reach adulthood, we’re assigned a planet with sentient life. Our purpose is to protect people. I got assigned Earth.”

“So, it’s your birthright?”

I nodded. “My people travel across the cosmos protecting people against… well, everything.”

“What made them start doing that?”

I wanted to give him an answer. Maybe Halorians were once bullied, and they paid it forward by helping where they could? The history of my race is hidden somewhere in hazy memories.

“I don’t know. I don’t really have any memories before I arrived on Earth. It gets fuzzy.”

He rested a hand on the small of my back and guided me along the path around the killer clown. On the other side, our balls sat close to the last hole. As much as I wanted to beat his score, I didn’t want the game to end. I wanted another date like this. I could live without the fancy cheeses.

“So when you say your mother took you in, she found your ship?”

“Sort of.” It was both weird and refreshing to have a candid conversation about my origins. “I landed in the woods, and then some scientists caught me mid-flight.”

“That explains so much.”

“They took me to that place. One of the straps broke, and I got free. I ran back to the woods. Earth Mom found me a few days later.” My first encounter with humans had been terrifying. She changed my opinion of Earthlings. Bribing me with chocolate, she took her time, waiting for me to approach her.

Dustin lined up his next swing. With a gentle tap, the ball rolled into the cup at the end of the course. I followed suit. One more hit and the game had come to a close. Despite revealing my birthplace light-years away and my first days on his planet, Dustin hadn’t seemed fazed.

“After our first meeting, I assumed you were Canadian.” He shot me a wink. “Even they know what a hand turkey is. You do a good job of blending in; the average person wouldn’t notice. But then, they weren’t watching you as much as I was.” His eyebrows waggled up and down.

I laughed. All this time, I worried somebody would discover I came from another planet. Instead, it seemed they thought I came from our neighbors from the north. Years of worry vanished.

“I’ve never dated an alien before.”

I wiped the tears from my eyes. “So it’s a first for the both of us.”

We walked along the course. Families mixed in with the couples. Were they on first dates? I wanted to tell them no matter how awkward it started, there was time to turn it around. I’d also be sure they knew I conquered the dreaded clown.

We turned in our clubs, and I waited for Dustin to say what came next. I dreaded the thought of our night ending. Should I ask him to come over again? Would it be pushy to ask if I could put my cock in him?

“It’s not chocolate.” He gestured to a white truck in the parking lot. On the roof, a giant ice cream cone filled with vanilla turned about while playing music. If I thought the date couldn’t get any better, I had been wrong.

“Yes,” he said, “they have chocolate.”

I clapped. “Then sex?”

He coughed. “I mean… I… Maybe? Let’s see where the night takes us.”

“This is the best first date ever.”

“I’m going to agree with you on that.”

Ice cream and then naked touching. I don’t know what he was talking about. This had turned into the best night of my life. I couldn’t wait to tell the guys at work. They’d be jealous.