He shook his head, and I completely believed him.
At least I’d asked. It wasn’t like I’d genuinely believed he would take someone on a joy ride up there. “I’m sure you already know by now, but I spent some time with your grandma and Asami. She told me that you promised to go up with her soon.”
Go up, like it was an elevator. Oh boy.
Those purple eyes lit up a little. “I did tell her that.” His eyes crinkled. “She’s going to be something. She’s already strong.”
“I know. She gave me a hug and my ribs were sore for a few days.”
He frowned.
“It was an accident. She said she was sorry, and we tried again,” I explained. “Your grandma seems to really love her.”
“They spend a lot of time together. We all did when we were small. She’s the best teacher we could have.”
I’d bet she was.
“What else do you got?” he asked.
“I’m thinking about it.” I smiled a little, letting the easiness between us guide me through this conversation that left a funny little flurry of a feeling in my stomach. “All right, I’ve got one. If you could have another power, what would it be?”
“Nothing. I’m already perfect,” he said, with a straight face too.
There was no hesitation. I reached under my head, pulled the pillow out, and whacked him in the face with it.
Well, I tried to. He grabbed it right before it touched him.
“You’re such a shit, Alex.” I laughed. “Your brother and your sister are so nice and humble, and you are just….”
He tugged the pillow out of my hand, smirking.
I had to fight the urge to squeeze my eyes closed so that I wouldn’t have to see it.
“It’s not useful, but I like the guy in the Shinto comics who could put magic into objects and throw them,” he told me.
I took the pillow back and stuffed it under my head again. “That’s what you would want?”
“It looks fun.”
Fun. I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my mouth. “You are the most complicated person I’ve ever met in my life. When we first met, I thought you were so damn grumpy all the time, but you’re not. You’ve got a little bit of everything in you, huh? Being a superhero is just a tiny part of who you are.” My heart gave a single, hard beat. “Anyway, did you choose your costume? Is your cape just for decorative purposes?”
“It’s not a costume,” he answered. “And no, I didn’t. My grandfather did. He insisted on a cape to follow along with the Electro-Man image, it doesn’t help us fly any better.”
“Did you burn your suit with your secret laser eyes at my house by the way?”
His smile confirmed it.
“Why didn’t you want me to call you Alex at first?”
“I had wanted to keep some distance between us. The only people who don’t call me Alexander are my family.” He didn’t lose his smile. “You get it.”
I did. He hadn’t wanted us to become friends. I hadn’t either. Not at the beginning. I tugged the covers up higher over my shoulder. “Why were you in a bad mood when you showed up at the bar?” I asked.
There was no hesitation. “I got home, and I didn’t know where you were.”
That was… not what I expected him to say. “You make no sense, you know that?”
“That’s why I was gone for a month.”
