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“Whatever.” He gestured toward the beer taps. “I just came over to see you.”
The Men of Vanguard were some of the sexiest men on Earth. I had a PhD in male studies, so we should consider my opinion expert testimony. But they were also some of the most out of sorts. Lars had made it clear he was into me a few nights ago. He seemed like a fun guy, always down for a laugh, and shapeshifters were pretty thrilling in bed. Lars was anything but thrilling.
“I was hoping for a second date, maybe dinner?”
As Chad would say, “Let’s run down the list of no.” Lars and I never had a date. We had lackluster sex. I’m clear about my expectations. There’s no point in leading a guy on. Despite that, once the deed was done, he wanted to spend the night in bed cuddling. I convinced him it would not happen. He already irked me that he had over-promised and under-delivered. I knew for the next time that I had to inquire what type of shapeshifter. Being able to turn yourself into inanimate objects… Yeah, not the night of mind-blowing sex I hoped for.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
As I filled a pint glass with our cheapest beer, he scooted closer to whisper. “You were the best sex I’ve ever had.” Of course I was. Just because he was phoning it in didn’t mean I had to. I maintained my high standards.
“It’s obvious you want something more. The last thing I need in my life is a relationship.” Clear. Concise. I’d pat myself on the back for the honesty.
“You won’t know if you don’t try, right?”
I don’t respond well to pressure. More than that, I hated when a man attempted to convince me they knew what I needed. I set the beer on the counter, my face void of emotion.
“No.”
“If you just let me…”
“Alejandro, did you still want to come to my place after you, uh, get off.” EO, my hero. I would have said yes to just about any offer. I prayed for a villain to blow up the club to end this conversation.
“Yeah, but I won’t be the only one getting off.” EO set his drink on the bar and gave me a wink. That was the third time tonight he had rescued me. The snake woman remained the least infuriating encounter.
“Oh,” Lars said, taking his beer. “I guess you’re just another tease.” He turned around and walked off, not giving me a second thought.
“Shape-shifting? I think distorting reality is his real superpower.”
“Some guys don’t know how to take no for an answer.”
All night, EO and his husband had laughed together. Every now and then, they’d hold up an empty bottle, and I’d do my job and make sure another beer waited for them. There had been flirting and more than one innuendo. Some guys just know how to make conversation effortless. More than once, Stonewall called me out for eyeing his man. It would have been embarrassing, except EO would make a quick comment by taking the heat off me.
This is how threesomes started. Which could have been fun, but I tried to remember how often they went sideways. While Stonewall was a rock solid stud of a man, he wasn’t my type. EO, on the other hand, I wanted to drag my tongue across what I hoped was a hairy chest.
“What happened to Stonewall?”
“He’s somewhere in the Middle East, stopping a drug lord from destroying a city.”
“Oh,” I laughed, “sounds mundane when you say it like that.”
“So…” He leaned over the bar. I waited for him to finish the statement, but he almost seemed nervous. Just because they wear a mask and stop bad guys doesn’t mean they have nerves of steel. Saving the world, easy, but having an intimate conversation, decimated the strongest amongst them.
I cleared the empty glasses off the bar top and picked up the tips lying on the damp surface. Tonight would end with a pretty healthy wad of cash in my pocket. Things were good until I remembered that my employment had an expiration date. Scarlet, damn you.
“Would you like to go out?”
“You mean to your place?” Okay, maybe I cut through the formalities a bit too quickly.
“I was thinking, more like a date?”
“Oh.” This was a first. Half the heroes in here had open relationships, letting them bed who they wanted. But never had one of them asked me on a date. I made it a rule to not indulge men who cheated on their partners.
“What would Stonewall say?”
He handed me a napkin. The logo for the Alley had been folded in half. I raised an eyebrow, ready to crumple it before throwing it away.
“Read it, you goof.”
