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“Talk about what?” I raised my shoulders, playing innocent.
“Alejandro.”
“We can talk right after you tell me about this missed opportunity.”
The rest of the world might see a smart-mouthed bartender always talking about his latest conquest. But if there was one thing I wanted to be for those around me, it was a friend. Theo could wait. If anybody would understand needing to take care of existing relationships, it’d be him. For now, Bernard had a story that needed hearing. Then we could celebrate his affinity for spandex.
“His name was Jason…”
13
No villains.No meteor heading to Earth. No ancient race of sentient fish. With no titanic battles to celebrate, the club turned into a dull night of patrons rubbing elbows. I debated going home and breaking out my chaps and cape just to drum up some action. Heroes tipped better when they were regaling one another with their tales of bravery.
“Scarlet,” I whined. “Can you do your thing and make them drink? They don’t need to get drunk, but if one more person asks for a Diet Coke with a cherry, I might go find some radioactive spiders.”
“Alejandro, are we doing this again?”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t bewitched people before for your amusement. This whole with great power—“
“Myamusement,” she said with a smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know how useful this can be in the bedroom?” She ran her hands up her chest to her neck, humming as she put on a show. I had never taken the opportunity to crawl into bed with a woman before, but for Scarlet, my sexuality would turn fluid.
Scarlet let out a laugh, leaning over the bar, and patting me on the cheek. “You couldn’t handle this, Alejandro.”
“I’m sure. But it’d be fun to try.”
She sat back on her stool, pushing her glass across the counter. “Another Diet Coke, two cherries.” Just to emphasize the cruelty, her power drifted into the words. Even if I wanted to throw a tantrum, I’d have to do it while my body betrayed me.
“I hate you.”
She locked eyes as she brought the straw to her lips. Puckering, she took a long swig. I knew it was a show, but my penis wasn’t sure if he should be excited or scared. No, no, be scared little guy. She’d break you. It ended with her fishing out a cherry, carefully pulling it from the stem with her tongue.
“You’re going to miss the Alley, aren’t you?”
“You know why I bought this place?”
“Cause the building was condemned?”
Scarlet ignored my joke. “The first time Corvid put on the suit, she found a woman wandering the streets barefoot. This poor lady had been kidnapped and with no family, nobody came to her rescue. She was one of twelve women held captive.”
Scarlet never talked about her time as a hero. What little I knew came from water cooler gossip. But like so many heroes, she held that gaze that cut through time and space to recount all the things sheshouldhave done differently. I couldn't imagine the sultry vixen as a masked crusader.
“I found them. Undesirables. They were terrified. But that night, I made the world a better place.”
“You found them here?”
Her laugh was like gentle bells filling the room. “No, you dolt. Afterward, Corvid went to the bar to celebrate. But I had to keep it a secret, and that nearly did me in. She,I,made the world a better place. I helped people. But I couldn’t share it with anybody.”
“This was the bar.”
She nodded as she took another sip. “And this is the same spot where I reminded myself if I was going to keep saving lives, I needed to keep my secret. When I retired the mask, I decided these blowhards needed a place to let off some steam from carrying the burden of the world.”
The tabloids made it sound as if Midnight Alley was nothing more than an elite club for heroes. While we catered to a specific clientele, it served a necessary purpose for so many.
“I wish you didn’t need to sell.”
“If I had my way, I’d gift it to you and Bruno. Then you could hire an over-sexed bartender and poetic bouncer. Then you’d see the pains in the ass you’ve been. But I need the money.”
I shook my head before I grabbed her empty glass. I refilled it and added two more cherries. “No apologies. You’ve done a lot for this community, for all of Vanguard. You’ve earned a cabana on the beach. I’ll keep hoping I stumble onto a sugar daddy.”
