With my other hand, I touched the tip of his eyebrow and took in the color some more… and the smooth skin beneath them.
Those cheekbones.
That jaw.
“Are you still looking at my eyes or the rest of me?”
I let go. “The rest of you. The color looks real.”
“They only last a few hours. We’ve got to leave before they dissolve.”
“Theydissolve?”
He stood up straight. “Yeah, come on.”
“Why don’t you wear a wig?” I asked. “You don’t need to?” I’d always wondered how they got around, how they survived among people. I’d thought for sure they wore wigs or simply just… hid from the world in general.
But Alex just looked like himself minus that charcoal suit and blue cape. Was that why he didn’t let his face get photographed or recorded? In the movies, Electro-Man wore a wig when he was in “normal” clothes to protect his identity. Even the Mistress of Mayhem had a little strip of cloth over her eyes.
“Alana goes all out with a disguise, but that’s because she’s tall so she draws more attention. Robert wears glasses and combs his hair different. They were both homeschooled. They rarely go out to be cautious.” He held up his wrist, showing me a plain rubber band. “When it gets long, I tie my hair back. Nobody notices.”
I gave him an incredulous look before taking my own hair tie off my wrist. I held it out toward him. “I’m sure your hair is super strong, and it’s too wonderful to even think about breaking but come on. Use a real hair tie.”
Those temporary dark blue eyes flicked toward me, and he took the elastic. He kept his eyes on me as he pulled his hair back and tied it into a short half-ponytail that was basically a nub.
Not many men could pull off a tiny ponytail, but Alex, he could pull off anything.
I smiled. “Now you’ll catch 99 people’s attention instead of 100. Good job.” Were people really that oblivious? How the fuck had no one ever figured it out?
Alex huffed as we walked through the automatic doors of the electronics store. I peered up at him, liking the security of him being right there, as we headed toward the computer department.
“What exactly are we looking for?” he asked when we got there.
I told him the name of the model, looking around to try and find an employee. There was one talking to a customer close by, but she was busy.
“I’ll start over there,” he said. “You look here.”
We split up. The section wasn’t large at all. I guess most people bought their stuff online now, but Alex headed toward the row farthest away, and I started on the opposite end. It said they had one in stock; they couldn’t have sold it already. But this was my luck, so they might have.
“Can I help you find something?”
I jumped.
“Is there something specific you’re looking for?” the employee asked from where she stood at the end of the aisle.
“Yes. Please.” I rattled off the name of the laptop I was looking for.
“You’re close, next row over. I’ll show you,” she said. “It’s on sale right now—oh my god.”
A big hand landed on my shoulder a split second before I heard, “Did you find what you were looking for?”
The girl made a noise that I totally understood.
I would have “oh my god” too.
“Yeah,” I confirmed.
Alex pulled out his wallet, handing me a card. “Buy what you need. I need to get something. Meet me in the food court.” Then he leaned forward, whispered a four-digit number into my ear, squeezed my shoulder quickly, and took off, heading straight to the exit that led into the mall.
