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The walk to Stretch’s condo had been uneventful. No Eclipse sightings. No villains of any kind. The calm falling over the city meant the bad guys were sitting in their lairs holding planning sessions. At the rate they created groups to take out the heroes, they might as well form their own union. At least then they’d have dental.
The elevator doors closed, and I hesitated, pushing the button. The floor numbers had almost been worn beyond recognition. I studied my face on the silver surface. I wasn’t at my best. Even as I forced a smile, I couldn’t convince my eyes to lie. I was miserable, and it radiated outward.
“Just forget it, Al.” Even the pep talk came across half-hearted. Stretch’s mixture of absent personality, inability to carry a conversation, and outstanding performance in bed were the answer to all my problems. The Alejandro of the past was about to make a comeback.
I pushed the button for the seventh floor.
“Maybe he’ll be naked and we can skip the small talk?”
With the way my luck had been going, I imagined he’d want to discuss politics. If I didn’t fall asleep as he pontificated about the socio-economic status of Vanguard City and its need to invest in a sturdier infrastructure, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Nope, my luck wasn’t that good.
It was going to be subpar, three stars.
The doors slid open, and I gave my shoulders a quick shake. If nothing else, I’d walk away with another story for the breakfast table. I could already imagine Xander rolling his eyes, claiming most of my stories were fiction. Things would go back to normal, and right now, I needed that more than anything.
The hallways were dimly lit by sconces from the seventies, and I had to squint to read the door's numbers. The hallway smelled musty, despite the chemical lemon smell trying to hide it. When I reached Stretch’s door, I went through the checklist. Breath? Not bad. Hair? Thoroughly tussled. Facial hair? Why did I care? He wouldn’t appreciate the efforts.
I knocked.
The door opened into a dark room. I watched as Stretch’s hand zipped through the entrance into the living room. I expected an awkward conversation and me pushing him to get naked. As I shut the door and followed his elastic limb, I found the room filled with candles and him in nothing but a mask and briefs.
“Looks like somebody got a head start.”
“There was a charity event earlier. I put in a guest appearance to help them raise money. Did you know that in America, tall people have no workplace rights? Every day—”
Nope, I couldn’t let him talk. “Glad you texted.”
“Yeah, you know how charity work gets me hot and bothered.”
I remembered why I hadn’t responded to his messages the next day. Had my memory of him softened with time? If he continued, my memory wasn’t the only thing that’d be staying soft.
I pulled at my tie. If we could fast forward through his definition of foreplay, we’d be at the fun stuff. Where his personality lacked, his other talents shined, or at least I hoped. I prayed I wasn’t misremembering that as well.
“Why don’t you have a seat?” He patted the spot on the couch next to him. Now we were heading in the right direction. Stretch usually maintained the typical superhero body, ripped with abs and pecs capable of crushing a soda can. But with me, he relaxed, showing a bit of the beer belly. Without his powers, I wondered what hid behind the elasticity.
I sat down next to the man. His arm snaked around the side, stretching until he turned my head to face him. The lack of beard was disappointing. There was nothing I found sexier than a beard I could run my hands through, similar to how Theo…
I leaned in, kissing Stretch, jamming our lips together. He returned the kiss, his arm wrapping around my torso, squeezing me gently as his fingers grazed the front of my pants.
This was the second time that Eclipse had gotten into my head. I don’t think it was his powers that had gotten under my skin. He dealt in fear and knew how to pull a single thread until I came completely undone. Just like before, I needed comfort and more than a little assurance. It had been the same thing that Theo…
I pulled back, shaking my head. My fingers touched my lips. I couldn’t place my finger on the taste of Stretch’s lips, but I knew it wasn’t cinnamon.
My fingertips dug into my hand. I wanted to be angry that the burly man plagued my every thought. He had done something to me and I couldn’t quite figure out what. The first time Eclipse used his powers, trying to drive me to suicide, it had been Theo who stood watch until the effects had vanished.
Stretch had yammered even though I barely listened. His fingers pulled at my zipper until he mentioned EO’s name. I snapped back to reality, almost confused that the hero sitting on the couch wasn’t the man in my daydreams.
“What did you say?”
“EO,” he said. “I heard you and he were a thing now. I was surprised when you replied to my text.”
Me too, hombre. Me, too.
Stretch wanted to get his rocks off. I couldn’t blame him, but he would not watch over me as I worked through my demons. He wouldn’t offer to leave the door open a crack. No, he wasn’t the man I wanted right now, the man Ineeded.
“You want to move this to the bedroom?”
I stood up, and he promptly followed. “I need to go.”
