Page 16 of Secret Spark

“You make specialty coffeesandcraft projects?”

“I’m very handy and creative.”Two things my dates generally appreciate about me.

“No kidding. Do you draw things? Like logos and stuff?”

“I can. I have. I wouldn’t make a career out of it or anything, but I like doing it for fun.”

Joan started to speak. Her gym bag bumped the cream-colored wall and its contents clanked. It made her flinch.

“That’s cool,” she said. “I should let you get some rest. Are you working tomorrow?”

“I am. Stop by if you’re free. I’ll take care of you.”

“Thanks. I’ll try to get there soon.”

Sadie tapped her door key to Joan’s upper arm. “I’ll hold you to it.”

Her eyes did that quick-flare thing again. They were extraordinary. “Goodnight, neighbor,” Joan said.

“’Night, neighbor.”

Joan walked to her own door. Sadie whisper-called, “My shift starts at one tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Joan laughed.

“Our Thursday specials are cinnamon dolce scones and the Avocado Madness sandwich on an everything bagel. We have three freshly brewed seasonal iced teas.”

She laughed harder and went inside her apartment.

Sadie unlocked her door with a sigh.Joan Malone.There was so much to her. So many layers to unwrap.

Her eyes really were extraordinary. They weren’t…well, they weren’t mortal. Humans didn’t have eyes like that unless…

No. That was wishful thinking. Wanting them to be the eyes of a Super. Joan couldn’t be a Super. She lived in an apartment like an ordinary person. Had an ordinary person job.

Though there was something off about the whole “hand weights and a water bottle” story. Joan was in shape—oh boy, was she in shape—but something about her just didn’tfeellike she was a gym rat. She seemed more worldly. Like she spent her time out and about in the world.

A gasp escaped Sadie’s mouth. She leaned against the wall. Joan wasn’t helping people get in shape.

She was saving lives.

Was it possible? Could she be a Superhero?

Sadie dropped her keys and mailer to pull out her phone. SuperWatch glowed in her dark apartment. It was the go-to app for all things Super. Her default setting was (obviously) Vector City, so she went to the listing of local Heroes.

Joan definitely wasn’t Lunk or Flight. Lunk was a huge white guy, and Flight was a middle-aged bald Black man. Maybe Race? Race was nonbinary, and Joan hadn’t shared her pronouns—perhapstheirpronouns. But something about a Super known for speed didn’t match Joan’s ease and comfort.

That left Catch.

Her heartbeat pounded as she gazed at Catch’s full-length photo. A white woman in a navy-blue bodysuit. Skintight navy blue. Definitely in Superhero shape. Sadie had spent a lot of time admiring that body, and how Catch talked about justice and fairness, and just admiring her in general. She was a genuine hero.

What about reported activity? Sadie clicked on that option to see if there were any updates. Just some current Flight sightings, and one earlier of Lunk getting a giant ice cream sundae. Nothing about Catch, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t—or hadn’t—been active.

This could explain Joan’s eyes. All the things she’d absorbed. Or taking in Sadie’s blatant attraction. Or maybe her eyes did something to conceal their true color, and thus her true identity.

It was possible.

Uncertainty sliced through the elation in her chest. Improbable, though, that a Super had moved into her building and was queer and would be interested in a thirty-four-year-old slightly underemployed barista crafting art projects and squirreling away money for a café she was too afraid to open.

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