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“Is somebody having a rough night?”
“Whisky, straight.”
I flipped a glass onto the table. Grabbing a bottle off the shelf, I made sure the smile reached from ear to ear. I poured heavy, happy to take it out of my tips for the night. He pulled at the cowl, raising it far enough that he could gulp his drink.
“Do you need a hug? Maybe we can go somewhere and talk? You know, as your future employee.”
He lifted the glass, but it shattered in his hand. The growl came from deep in his gut, and at any moment, I thought he might lunge across the counter. Thankfully, I was in a room with a hundred superheroes, ready to put the man in his place.
“Do you need another, future boss?”
Eclipse slammed his fist down on the bar, breaking off a chunk. The room continued watching, with several heroes stepping forward should I need their services. I held up my hand, signaling for them to stay put.
“You,” he snarled, “and this bar can go to hell.”
He was getting a taste of his own medicine. “If you forgot where the door is, I’ll gladly show you.”
“Not yet.” The scowl stretched across his face until he smiled, baring his teeth. “I’m still waiting for somebody.”
How did you tell a flunky that nobody at the bar would go home with him? Is there proper etiquette? Or do you tear off the band-aid, hoping that it doesn’t tear the skin? After our earlier exchange, I’d tear him apart any which way I could.
“I’d keep you company, but I don’t want to disappoint my current—”
“Alejandro?”
Eclipse laughed. “Oh, I think you know my friend.”
Even with Bruno blocking my view of the door, I recognized the voice. It only took a single word, and it transported me to the worst period in my life. One word and the walls stopped crumbling. Now they exploded in a fury of anger and what if’s.
“Dan?” Bruno leaned to the side, and there he stood, almost exactly as he had in Eclipse’s freakish broadcast. The years had been good to him, deepening his laugh lines and thickening his biceps. I had a thousand questions that were never answered when he left. But we had to start somewhere.
“What are you doing here?”
Eclipse leaned across the bar, whispering loud enough to say it was for show. “Oh, did I forget to mention I had a date? If you weren’t going to take me up on my offer, I thought I should reach out to somebody who’d appreciate my company.”
Fingernails bit into my palms as I curled my fingers into a fist. Scarlet wouldn’t be the only one to knock the spit out of the wannabe hero.
Eclipse’s voice dropped, now whispering just for me. “You make it too easy, Alejandro. The fear is palpable. You don’t need me stoking the flames. You’re doing a fine job of self-destructing.”
I swung. When Scarlet fired me, it’d be worth it. None of the heroes came to his rescue. No speedsters caught my fist. No mind controllers halted my muscles. As my knuckles drilled into his chin, I prepared the other fist, ready to follow it with another strike. The second fist stopped short as Eclipse caught my hand.
“Maybe I should leave the two of you to talk.”
He acted as if he hadn’t dropped a bomb. He motioned to his entourage and only stopped to give Dan a pat on the shoulder. Eclipse had gone from a nuisance to a target for my rage. I wanted nothing more than to pound away at the man’s face until it turned into a bloody pulp.
“I didn’t know,” Dan said as he approached the bar. “Promise.”
“You good?” Bruno had raised an eyebrow, trying to decide if he’d be needed or if he should give us privacy. I gave him a slight nod, and he returned to the door.
“What are you doing with that arrogant playboy?”
“Seems I have a type.”
Did Dan just compare me to Eclipse? There were a lot of insults I could handle, but I was nothing like that asshole. I had to remind myself that Dan wasn’t much better than his supposed date. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was another attempt to gaslight. Eclipse did have one thing right. No matter how hard I tried to push Dan from my mind, he always teetered on the edge of my thoughts.
“He’s using you. That guy is an asshole.”
“You’re not one to speak. I seem to remember you being quite the asshole. I thought we were happy, and then I found out you were out whoring around town with anybody wearing a cape.”
