Secret Spark

Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Joan lounged in her apartment doorway. It was easier to wait for Sadie than turn off the alarm system. She still had no idea what to do about this situation, but was one hundred percent certain she couldn’t wait for this date.

Sadie’s door opened. A moment later, she appeared in a long, flowing, indigo-blue halter dress. Her hair had been swept into an updo with little tendrils framing her face. She was barefoot and smiling and carrying a bottle of red wine. And did not appear to be wearing a bra.

Excited anticipation thrummed through Joan’s bloodstream. “Good evening, neighbor,” she said.

“Joan Malone,” Sadie purred. She gave Joan a brief kiss filled with promise. “You look nice.”

“You look…” Joan raised her eyebrows, taking in the vision that was Sadie Eagan. “Breathtaking.”

Sadie’s grin widened, and she breezed inside. Compared to her goddess-like appearance, a burgundy button-down shirt and dark-wash skinny jeans was pedestrian.

Joan hastened to lock the door. The only person she wanted was already there, glancing about the apartment, absently swinging the wine bottle. Sadie met Joan’s gaze, and then her eyes slid down to Joan’s mouth.

They joined to share a deep kiss. Joan cradled Sadie’s face in both hands, gently tugging her closer. Her taste was like a fruit-filled pastry, tart and delicious with every bite. Sadie moaned her approval and wrapped her arms around Joan.

Ooookay, they had to slow down. Joan pulled back and got a throaty groan in response. “Dinner before dessert,” she murmured.

“Rude.” Sadie gave her a quick kiss and slid her arms back. “But it does smell great. What are you making?”

“Per your request for no seafood and nothing that requires too much prep or too many dishes…” Joan took her hand and led her to where the cast-iron skillet and prepped ingredients sat on the kitchen island. “Steak and spring vegetable mix with a spicy mustard sauce. The herbed garlic butter rolls are ready to go in the oven.”

“Yumola.” Sadie held out the bottle. “I brought wine-flavored wine. I don’t know anything about wine, but the woman at the store recommended this.”

Joan accepted it and read the label for the young cabernet. “This will pair nicely. I’ve got some of Mark’s strawberry ice cream for dessert. It’s fantastic, so save room.”

“I will definitely save room for dessert.” Sadie’s direct stare left no doubt which dessert she was craving more. “Can I have the grand tour?”

“Um, sure.” Joan set the wine down. Inviting anyone into her home was a rare occurrence, let alone showing them around. Opening up her private sanctuary.

Sadie’s eyes widened at the shelves of books and art pieces, the original abstract paintings on the walls. “Wow. This is a lot fancier than I was expecting.”

“I have fancy taste,” Joan joked. And sticky fingers.

The bronze Migano horse statuette glowed in the late-day sunlight as if to back that up.

They moved past the mid-century modern gray couch. Sadie looked out the sliding glass doors. In the near distance, the cityscape surrounded Friendship Park. Sunshine dappled through the trees onto the green grass.

She pointed at the park and said, “Do you stand here imagining your food truck down there?”

“I haven’t, but now I will.” Joan considered the view. She gestured to one of the buildings with retail space available at street level. “Sadie’s Café could go there. I could park Hot and Cold across from it at the edge of the park.”

“Now you’re talking.”

She couldn’t resist running her fingers down Sadie’s back. Yep, definitely no bra under the wavy material.

Sadie turned and wound her arms around Joan’s neck. “I love how you keep talking about my café. You even call it Sadie’s Café. It feels validating. Like my dream is valid.”

“Because it is.” Now Joan couldn’t resist skimming her palms across Sadie’s slim hips.

They kissed, deep and open-mouthed. Joan licked inside Sadie’s sweet mouth. Her heartbeat pounded and her blood began to boil. Literally. This attraction burned way too strong.

She slid one hand across Sadie’s lower back and pulled the other off her body. Then she flicked a few tiny sparks off her fingers to get rid of some of the building fire.

Sadie ran her hands down Joan’s sides, pressing her chest into Joan.

Joan shook off more sparks behind Sadie’s back.

“Mmm.” Sadie nibbled on Joan’s lower lip. “The appetizer is scrumptious.”

“We’re never gonna get to dinner at this rate,” Joan teased.

“I can’t help it. You draw me to you like… whoa . I’m powerless, like a Villain fighting against you.”

That was one way to douse her fire. Joan eased back. “I don’t want you to feel powerless.”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way,” Sadie said. “It’s just…y’know…how you are.”

A bright flare of irritation replaced the fire bubbling inside. “Anyone who considers themselves heroic wouldn’t use their powers on someone not expecting or deserving it. I would never do that to you.”

Sadie blinked, then gave a small smile. “Of course not. I think my mind’s making more out of my jelly knees when it’s just normal I’m-hot-for-you jelly knees.”

“I get it. I’m feeling it, too.”

“Let’s continue the tour.” Sadie claimed her hand and tugged. One capture a Villain wouldn’t try to evade.

She stopped outside the bedroom and peeked in. Joan had done a thorough inspection to make sure there weren’t any piles of cash or extra Spark apparel in any of the dresser drawers or the closet. Sadie struck her as the sort of woman who’d spend the night and grab a piece of her lover’s clothing to wear the next morning.

They passed the bathroom, then Joan halted near the second bedroom. “That’s my office,” she said. “It’s locked and off-limits. Sorry.”

“Ooh, what do you have in your office?” Sadie made quote fingers with her free hand. “Free weights? Gym equipment?”

A very illegal computer system. My old Spark outfit with a big hole in the armpit. A safe full of gold and money. “That’s one of those things I can’t tell you. For your own good.”

Sadie stared at the keypad on the handle. “I respect that. You need to keep things safe.”

“I need to keep you safe. You shouldn’t know about this stuff.”

She rubbed Joan’s back. “Well then, make me dinner.”

They went to the kitchen. Sadie sat on one of the cushioned barstools. Joan grabbed two wineglasses from a glass-front cabinet. Now she was horny and slightly annoyed. She shouldn’t be leading Sadie on, but Sadie had gone all in on assuming Joan was Catch. And assuming a lot of things about Catch. If she knew the real Darlene, she’d be singing a whole different tune.

Ugh. This had to get released before it built up. Joan set the glasses in front of Sadie, then slid the wine bottle over. “Can you open this while I wash my hands?”

“Sure.”

After giving her a corkscrew, Joan turned on the faucet. She quickly formed a small fireball between her hands. As soon as it flickered and rotated, she shoved it under the running water. It fizzled out in a whisper of smoke. She checked over her shoulder to make sure Sadie was preoccupied with the wine.

Much better. Joan released a cleansing breath. She could’ve cooked the entire dinner in her bare hands with all that simmering heat.

As she rubbed the seasoned strip steak with olive oil, Joan asked, “So what’s your story, Sadie Eagan? What was it like growing up in West Vector?”

“Like the most average childhood ever. A very ordinary house in a very ordinary suburb. It wasn’t bad or anything. Just…”

“…ordinary,” Joan finished.

Sadie popped the cork out of the wine bottle. “I was always a little too funky for West Vector. I came to the city for college and never looked back.”

“Which school?”

“The City School of Design. I wanted to go into fashion, and then textiles, and furniture design for a hot second.”

Joan nodded. She could see Sadie being into all of that.

“I worked part-time at a café for living expenses and stuff. By the time I graduated, I realized the thing I enjoyed doing the most had nothing to do with what I’d studied in school. So I kept working at the café.” Sadie rolled her eyes. “Much to my parents’ extreme disappointment.”

“They spent all that money on your education, and then…”

“And then I kept working the same job.” She poured wine into one of the glasses. “Well, I did end up getting promoted to assistant manager, but I didn’t like it. Too much paperwork and not enough making drinks and interacting with customers. That’s my favorite thing to do.”

“Did you quit?”

Nodding, Sadie said, “Eventually. As if my parents weren’t disappointed enough, then I worked for a few years at one of those cabanas along the riverfront. The ones that sell margaritas and fish and chips.”

“A change of scenery?” Joan guessed.

“Yeah.” Sadie slid the second full wineglass toward Joan. “I was going through some stuff. An annoying breakup where I had to move out unexpectedly.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“It’s okay. I got really good tips at that job, so I don’t regret it at all.”

Sadie took a sip of her wine. She’d alluded to past partners taking advantage of her. Since Joan was trying not to be an asshole despite the obvious lying and all, she asked, “How come you had to move out? Why wasn’t it the other way around?”

After a bigger gulp of wine, Sadie said, “It was her place. I had moved in. Rather impulsively after a week.”

An uncontrollable chuckle rumbled in Joan’s throat.

“I know, I know. Classic queer woman move.”

“At least it wasn’t after the first date.”

“That’s what I told my family,” Sadie laughed.

“Are you close with your family?”

“I’m not not close with them, if that makes sense. I just don’t have much in common with them. Everyone’s very ‘marriage, house, kids, corporate office job.’ I don’t visit a lot, but I talk to my parents every week on the phone.”

Sadie rolled her eyes and started to say something else. When she hesitated, Joan prompted, “What?”

“Nothing. Just that talking to them is usually my mom worrying about how dangerous it is in the city. And my dad and sister like to point out all the things a smart girl like me could be doing with her life.”

Joan groaned at that.

Sadie tucked one of her tendrils of hair behind an ear. “It’s like nobody trusts me to make my own decisions, so I keep making bad decisions despite not wanting to. It’s a cycle I can’t seem to get out of.” She scrunched her nose. “Sorry, that was kind of deep.”

“No, I get it.”

“It’s like, maybe if I had a little support, I’d be more confident. It’s hard to stand by what I want when there’s a part of me that knows no one will approve.”

Joan nodded. “That makes total sense.”

“Does it feel like that with your food truck dream?” Sadie asked, swirling the wine in her glass.

“More than you know.”

She wanted to share just how much she understood, but right now it was more important to show Sadie she supported her.

“Does your family know about your plans for Sadie’s Café?” Joan wondered.

“I’ve told them I’d like to open my own coffeehouse. They think that means I want to be a barista for the rest of my life. They don’t really get it. They keep waiting for me to get a real job and make real money.”

“Live an ordinary life,” Joan said.

“Exactly.”

“You enjoy what you do. That means more than a paycheck.”

Sadie gestured with her wineglass. “See? That’s what I try to explain to them. Who cares if I want to be a barista? I like my life. I like what I do.”

“And you’re good at it.”

“Thank you.”

Joan set the steak in the hot cast-iron skillet. It sizzled on contact.

Living an ordinary life meant very different things when one was about a corporate office job and the other was not having people flee in terror because you shoot fire. Funny how Sadie thrived on being extraordinary. Joan had a lot of days where she wished for a slice of ordinary.

Sadie cleared her throat. “I know it’s none of my business, and you totally don’t have to answer, but…” She adjusted on the stool. “How do Supers make a living? Do you get paid by the city or something? I’ve always wondered how you can afford to, like, buy food, and pay for rent and utilities.”

The honest answer was: “Supers are given everything for free. Whatever they want. The city and its people are very generous to their heroes.”

“Oh. I was thinking there’s a line item in the annual budget for Superhero salaries.”

“There should be one for Superhero damages,” Joan muttered.

“Hmm?”

“I have to preheat the oven for these dinner rolls.”

She washed the raw meat and oil off her hands to end that line of conversation. She couldn’t pretend like it was okay that the Supers cruised into any place in the city and walked out with bags of freebies. Or were all too happy to ask for an unlimited allowance from the mayor. Take, take, take.

They did the same things the supposed Villains did, only were welcomed with open arms.

Joan grabbed a pair of metal tongs and checked the steak. Then she preheated the oven. She could tell Sadie was thinking about more questions. Why couldn’t they just talk about food and movies and normal things? Did she ever get to be ordinary on a date?

“Would you mind if I asked you a few questions about your abilities?” Sadie held both hands up. “Mostly because I’m curious, but also so I know what I might be in for. Like, in case you suck out my energy accidentally, or?—”

“I definitely won’t do that,” Joan said. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I can control myself.”

“Supers are born with their powers, right? Have you always been able to do what you do?”

“Yeah. I started noticing it in childhood. And then noticing nobody else could do these things.”

“You weren’t like the other girls, huh?” Sadie laughed.

“I wasn’t like the other kids, no.”

“That must’ve been hard. Especially in a small town.”

“Yeah, it was. I…” I had Mark to go through it all with me.

It’d been really confusing to have a brother who also didn’t know any better, only to discover the other kids in school weren’t like them. Lots of whispered conversations in Mark’s bedroom about how they should keep it between them because something was really wrong with them.

“Mark was great. He’s always been there for me. He’s gay, too, so we bonded a lot over stuff. We were the oddballs in our tiny town.”

Sadie smiled and commented on how nice that was. It sucked having to lie to her about being a twin, but there had long been speculation that Spark and Ice were siblings, and twins at that.

“In a lot of ways, you could say Mark’s been the only person who really gets me,” Joan said.

“What about your parents? I get the sense they’re not in your life that much.”

“That was their decision.” The lack of emotion in her tone matched the dull feelings in her chest.

Sadie tilted her head. “Do they not know who you are? I can’t imagine parents being ashamed of having a Superhero as a daughter.” She released a small gasp. “Oh, unless it has to do with your sexuality.”

“No, it’s not that.” Joan turned the steak. “We never—I mean, I never came out to them. But they had to have known. It was pretty obvious.”

“Do you think they know about the other thing?”

“I sometimes wonder about that,” she answered honestly. “It’s not like they…”

Painful memories tightened her throat. Fuck, she hated talking about anything that’d happened in her old life. How many nights she laid awake, mulling over whether Mom and Dad suspected the Supervillains shooting fire and ice in Vector City were their screw-up children.

“It’s not like Mark and I didn’t cause problems,” she finished.

“What do you mean?” Sadie looked at her, an eager earnestness in her expression. Curiosity but kindness in her eyes. The way she tended to look at Joan, like getting to know her was the single most important thing in the world.

The only reason Joan could open up to her. Or even wanted to.

“When I was young, I didn’t have a good grasp on my unique talents,” she said. “I caused a lot of damage. Not on purpose. I wasn’t sure how to turn it on and off, and it wasn’t like there were any guidelines for how to control it. You just have to figure it out as you go.”

Sadie nodded in understanding.

“It got to be too much. Mark and I… Mark was around for a lot of it.” He caused some of it, too. “Our parents decided it would be best for everyone if we packed up and got out of town. That’s why we came to Vector City.”

“How old were you?”

“Sixteen.”

Sadie’s eyebrows shot up. “Both of you?”

“Yep.”

“You were sixteen and your parents kicked you out?”

“We were.”

“What did you do that made them…?”

How to tell the story as truthfully as possible? “High school was tough for Mark. He was shy and quiet and skinny in a town that prided itself on its football team, y’know?”

“Oh, I know all about that,” Sadie said.

“He got bullied a lot. I had no problem sticking up for him. I, uh… I got really mad this one time. The douchenozzles on the football team were harassing him. So during lunch, when no one was around…” Joan held up a hand. “We really didn’t intend to do anything, I swear. But back then when I got mad, it was next to impossible to control myself. I sort of blew up their equipment shed. The place where they stored all their stuff for practices and games.”

“Joan!” Sadie gasped, eyes wide. “You didn’t!”

“Oh no, I did. And then Mark flooded it. With a hose. To put out an, um, an electrical fire.”

In retrospect, it’d probably looked a little funny having an angry girl who always wore a dark flannel and jeans fuming outside the equipment shed while her preppy brother begged her to chill the hell out before she did something she’d regret.

The fire came anyway. A big blast that blew the metal roof clear off. Mark did his best to extinguish it, but his icy bursts ended up making the shed a smoky, smoldering, useless pile of debris. One more mess those troublesome Malone twins had created.

Sadie leaned on her forearms. “How did you blow it up? Where did you get the energy to do that?”

“Oh, I, uh…” Shit, how to explain that? “I had a lot of emotion, and Mark had a lot of emotion. I fed off both of us, and it just kind of happened. Like I said, things were pretty out of whack until I learned how to control my abilities.”

“Wow. So did you get caught?”

“Someone saw us running away from it. We had a reputation for being troublemakers, so it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. We got expelled.”

“Joan.” This time, Sadie’s voice was soft.

“That’s when our parents—mine and Mark’s—decided they’d had enough of our shenanigans. They didn’t know how to deal with us anymore. Figured we’d do better in the city. They gave us a little money to start over. So we did.”

“You were just kids.” She shook her head in short, jerky movements. “Did you tell them Mark was being bullied? That what happened was an accident?”

“We tried to, but…” Joan shrugged. They’d already been labeled bad seeds. Something that continued in Vector City.

She didn’t want to get into the guilt she still carried over getting them kicked out. That she was the reason, not Mark. That Mark had had his life upended because of her. She knew on one level he didn’t begrudge her, but deep down, that didn’t make it any easier. She’d been his protector but had let him down. It had never happened again, and never would.

“Have you talked to your parents since then?” Sadie asked.

“I used to, once in a while. Mark stayed more in touch with the people back home. We called when we got our GEDs, stuff like that.” Joan paused. “But it’s been a while.”

“You should be so proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to survive,” Joan said.

“I can’t believe this. It makes me so mad.” Sadie leaned back. “I hope they do know you’re Catch. So they understand you were trying to get a grasp on your abilities while defending someone you care about.”

A pinch squeezed her heart hearing that name. “I’m sure they suspect there’s more to the story. But they for sure don’t think I’m Catch.”

“Well, it is so totally their loss.”

Okay, enough was enough. She had to tell Sadie she wasn’t Catch. It wasn’t fair to lead her on, especially if they were gonna sleep together. Even if it meant saying goodbye. Even if it meant revealing her true identity. She’d made it clear by now she was not a norm.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Joan said.

A noise sounded at her door. Keys jingling. Shit.

It swung open to Mark’s familiar, “Why aren’t you answering your phone? And why is your alarm off?”

He stopped short when he spotted Sadie at the island.

Joan leapt to keep him from saying anything. Why had she given him a key? “What are you doing here? I told you I was unavailable tonight.”

“Something came up.” Mark peered around her. “Is this Cute Neighbor Sadie?”

“Yeah, this is Sadie.” She pointed the tongs at her brother. “This is Mark. The cousin I told you about.” She gave him a meaningful look. “Right, cuz?”

He squinted at her, then said, “Yes. Your cousin.”

Sadie wiggled her fingers in a little wave. “Nice to meet you. Joan was just telling me about you.”

“Oh, she was?”

“She was. Wow, you have the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen.”

“What’s up, cuz?” Joan said, a tad too anxious. “You don’t usually stop by unannounced.” Another lie. He did it all the time.

“There’s a family emergency. With Uncle Mel.”

Shit. “Uncle Mel’s acting up again?”

“Oh yeah, he’s…” Mark trailed off, darting a glance at Sadie. “Needs help moving. Tonight. Like, now.”

Ugh. That meant Trick wanted their help in stealing a big haul. “Did you tell him we don’t want to help him move anymore?”

“Remember the last time you tried to tell him that? He won’t take no for an answer.”

Ugh. Mark wouldn’t be here unless Melvin was being particularly douchey and uncooperative. Joan was the one who wouldn’t cave in and could make Mark and Perry stand firm.

Damn it. She still had to protect her brother and her…well, her Perry.

Sadie slid off her barstool. “It sounds like you have a work emergency,” she said. “Or a…family emergency?”

Joan looked to her, to the cut-up vegetables, to the steak that needed a turn, to the doughy dinner rolls nestled on a baking sheet. Then to Mark waiting expectantly. Well, this sucked.

“I’m sorry,” she told Sadie. For our date ending. For leading you on.

“Joanie will make it up to you,” Mark said.

“I hope so.” Sadie picked up the baking sheet. “Can we refrigerate everything for a rain check?”

“Everything but the steak,” Joan said. “It’s half cooked.”

“I can take it back to my place and finish cooking it. So it doesn’t go to waste.”

“It can finish cooking. It’s almost done.”

Mark snagged the cutting board filled with green veggies. “Joanie can put together steak sandwiches for you tomorrow. Has she told you how good her sandwiches are?”

“She’s alluded to that,” Sadie said.

Joan helped them put everything in the fridge. Then she turned off the stovetop and oven. This sucked .

As Mark headed around the island, Sadie leaned close and whispered, “Mark knows about…you…?”

“Oh, yeah. He knows.”

“I didn’t realize you had more family in the city.”

“It’s found family. Mel’s not our real uncle. And we have a guy who’s like our big brother who took us in when we were young.”

“Perry,” Mark offered, because of course he was eavesdropping. “He’s a loveable curmudgeon. He’d dig your fashion sense.”

“Ohhh.” Sadie nodded slowly, comprehension spreading across her face. “Perry, with the weekly meetings. Your uncle and big brother.”

Crap, she was thinking Flight and Lunk. “It’s not who you think it is,” Joan told her.

“I get it. Found family, with people who understand you.”

Mark watched them curiously. She was gonna have some explaining to do.

“It’s really not,” Joan said. She didn’t have time to get into it and wasn’t about to do so in front of Mark. “I’ll tell you more another time.”

Sadie squeezed her hand, letting her fingers linger. “Stop by if you get home early.”

“I will,” Joan said. I want to. I wish I didn’t have to leave.

Damn Melvin.