Once she’s gone, Lex sends me a curious gaze, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. “Starving, were you?”
I cringe, looking down at the ten empanadas I ordered before he arrived. “Eating is my way of relieving stress,” I explain.Well, that, and slex, but I can’t have the latter.“And it was wishful thinking. I really,reallyhoped you’d come.”
“Well, good thing I did, then,” he teases.
We’re halfway into our first empanada when he continues his story.
“One day, I arrived at school with a botched buzz cut my mother had given me, which made me look bald, and—”
“Wait, you need to elaborate on how that happened.”
“There was a rumor of lice in my school, so my mother decided to protect herself and my sisters by cutting my hair off. I’m not sure if she messed up the clipper setting on purpose or not, but the results were the same. They began calling me ‘cancer kid,’ and all sorts of rumors were flying around. Kev, who was definitely too mature for a fourteen-year-old boy, told me he liked it because it made me look like Lex Luthor. I didn’t like that since I loved the superheroes, not the supervillains, but he made a compelling case. We’re both named Alexander, both geniuses, pariahs of society, misunderstood…”
“My God, that’s adorable,” I can’t help but say.
“I’m not sure about ‘adorable,’ but it worked for me. Kev used to remind me that Lex Luthor could have done so much good if he didn’t despise Superman. He insisted I’d change the world one day because the chances of me finding a Kryptonian to loathe were slim,” Lex recalls with humor. I chuckle, trying to imagine the young pair having those existential discussions.
“Kevin is the one who started calling me Lex rather than Alex.”
I scrunch my nose at that. “You’re so not an Alex,” I say.
“I’m not?”
“No, it’s too… ordinary for you. Lex suits you perfectly.”
We’re on our third empanada when he resumes. “We became inseparable by the end of the year. He’d come to my home to read comics, and I’d go to his to play video games. That’s where I found my passion for them. Or rather, for programming them.” He winces at what comes next, and I lean in closer, eager to hear it. “I didn’t want us to be separated, so I began failing my classes so I wouldn’t skip another grade and leave him behind.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I thought I was being clever about it, but in the span of a week, I went from explaining things to the math teacher to not understanding the curriculum. My plan was so obvious it failed right away. There were some negotiations, and as long as I kept up with my courses, I’d be allowed to see Kev.”
“Given how you two are still very close, I’d venture it worked out.”
“It did, yes.”
We talk for a while, even after we’re done eating, and I can’t get enough of it. I can see a lot of my friendship with Kate in theirs. They’re basically siblings who grew up in different households.
When Lex tells me about one of their adventures that led to them falling over the railway of a mezzanine, I poorly hide my smile behind my glass.
“Does my past suffering amuse you?” he asks, feigning the condemnation in his voice.
“Not at all… It’s more the idea of the two very serious, very mighty Kelex owners playing cops and robbers.”
“It was over twenty years ago. TV had barely been invented, still soundless and black and white. All we had were wood sticks and rocks. And elastic bands to tie them together if we were lucky.”
I giggle, amused by his self-deprecation. “I keep forgetting you’re ancient.”
“Says someone who gets winded going up a single flight of stairs,” he retorts.
My jaw drops at the jab, but the playfulness in his eyes stops me from getting actually offended. “Yes, your stamina remains unmatched,” I concede.
I freeze at the double entendre, and Lex looks down with a grin he fails to hold back. I didn’t mean to allude to our sensual past, especially not since we’ve been making such fantastic progress.
Quickly, I find something else to say and put us back on track before things derail. “It’s funny that you came as Superman for Halloween, since you’re closer to his nemesis.”
He turns pensive, the crease between his brows making a return for the first time in a while. “I wanted to be the hero for an evening, instead of the villain. I thought, maybe if you saw me like that, you’d despise me a little less.”
We stare straight into each other’s souls, and something deep and meaningful passes between us.
