Super Avenged: Only Human

A few days later, Jimmy had disappeared out of the apartment before I woke up, leaving me to wake up to an empty bed and a note taped to his pillow. I pulled it off and rubbed my eyes so I could focus on his relatively sloppy handwriting through my grogginess. The note read as follows:

Babe,

Wakey wakey! I’ve been a little paranoid over the past few days because of those damn attacks. I’m sure that you would love to have some space without me hovering in the background all the time. That’s why I’m going to let you have some time to yourself to do whatever. I’ll be off doing my thing, and you can do your thing, and we’ll meet up again later and do our things together.

I made a reservation at a fine dining restaurant for tonight at seven. I’ll be home to pick you up at that time, but you get the rest of the day to yourself. I was thinking you’d need some time to just relax and chill, and then we’ll go on a date since the most romantic thing we’ve done recently is...well...sex. And c’mon, that’s not that romantic, unless there are candles and rose petals and dinner and stuff.

Hopefully you’ll remember how to work the security system still, just in case you want to leave the apartment. I’ve got it set already, but I know that you know that you might have to tinker it if you leave the apartment.

Have a great day, baby! I’ll be back at 6:45, so please be ready. I don’t want us to lose our reservation to some boring old couple.

Love,
Hubby Jimmy

P.S. I got you some pepper spray. It’s on the coffee table in the living room. It might come in handy.

I smiled at the note. It was sweet of him, to stop being so overprotective for at least one day and letting me live my life without him hovering over my shoulder the entire time. I rolled over and put the note on the end table next to the bed. Then, I crawled slowly out of bed and went to take a shower.

Zacky installed a security system into our apartment so that if the apartment was broken into, it would alert all the guys. I watched him do it, and it looked very complicated. But it took Zacky, like, twenty minutes to install everything. And here, I thought hooking up the DVD player was a hassle. I still wore his GPS belt thing, even to bed just in case something bad happened while I was asleep.

Meanwhile, Jimmy took it upon himself to be my constant guardian. He tried to be discreet about it, but he knew that I knew what he was up to. It surprised me that he didn’t stand guard outside of the bathroom as I took a shower. I loved him to death, but he was beginning to get on my nerves. He didn’t really like the idea of me going to Central Park, so my daily visits there stopped abruptly because of him. Any time I glanced over my shoulder, there he was, pretending to be doing something other than watching me.

That’s why I felt so relieved when he said I got a day to myself. First, I would look through my closet for something to wear to our dinner tonight. If I didn’t find anything, I’d drive over to Monica’s store and see if I could find the perfect dress there. Then, I would go to Central Park for an hour or so. A day didn’t seem long enough for everything I felt like doing. I would have to make do with it, however.

((*****))

“How may I help you?” the cashier at Monica’s store, Fashionista, asked me with a smile when I walked up to the counter.

“Yes, I’d like to see Monica,” I answered with a smile of my own. It felt great to get outside again without Jimmy hovering around me like a buzzard waiting for my flesh to decay. I’d connected my pepper spray to my keychain, praying that I would never get a chance to use it. And once I’d figured out that nothing in my closet seemed suitable for me to wear, I hopped into my Corvette and drove on over to Fashionista. Monica’s fashions were flying off the shelves; she said it was because of some photos I did of models wearing her clothes, but I knew it was all her and none of me. I simply helped get her name out there; she did the rest.

“Sorry, she’s not seeing anyone,” the cashier answered, her smile fading slightly.

“And why is that?” I asked, trying not to sound snooty.

“She’s busy.”

“Too busy to meet with an old friend?” I added, raising my eyebrows. The cashier smiled again.

“Apparently, everyone is Monica’s friend,” the cashier told me.

“Hm,” I answered with a nod. “I’ll just go back there and see her myself.”

“She told me not to let anyone in her office,” the cashier said hastily, taking a step to follow after me. I looked back around at her.

“Unless she’s fucking some guy back there, I think she’ll be fine with me going back there,” I replied. The cashier frowned, and I turned and continued towards the back of the store, where Monica’s office was located.

I knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Monica wrenched open the door and snapped, “I said no one—Oh, hey, Miya.” She blinked, obviously surprised at seeing me standing there. She smiled and stepped back to let me in. I walked in and she closed the door. I looked over, and jumped back. A man stood just beside the door where he’d been hiding behind the open door. I slowly turned my head and smirked evilly at Monica.

“So, you were going to fuck some guy over your desk,” I said with a giggle. Monica laughed and shrugged.

“A girl needs a release sometimes,” she remarked. “Marcus, this is my friend, Miya. Miya, meet my boyfriend Marcus. He’s a male model.”

“Huh,” I answered, raising an eyebrow at the freakishly handsome man. He reminded me slightly of Brendan—curly black hair, warm honey eyes—but only...hotter. “I would’ve never guessed.”

“Marcus, I guess our plans have been thwarted,” Monica sighed, sitting down behind her desk. She leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the desk.

“I’ll meet you back home, then, sugarcakes,” Marcus replied. He walked over and passionately kissed Monica before nodding his head towards me and stepping out of the room, closing the door silently behind him.

“He’s a nice guy, when he isn’t talking about how sexy he is,” Monica told me with a shrug, her cheeks tinted slightly pink. “It’s not really that much of a relationship. It’s more of a friend with benefits sort of deal.”

“Not the way to go, dear,” I said, shaking my head disapprovingly.

“I could hire a gigolo instead, I guess. But you never know where those men have been...”

“Wow, Monica,” I replied, shaking my head. “But it’s your life, not mine.”

“Yeah,” Monica agreed. “I don’t have a hunky superhero husband to go home to every night, so I had to make do with the male model.”

We stared at each other for a few moments before bursting into laughter. We laughed for possibly several minutes before finally pulling ourselves together.

“So, what can I do for you?” Monica asked, sliding her feet off of her desk and sitting up. She braced her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on top of her entwined fingers.

“Jimmy and I are going out somewhere nice tonight,” I began. Monica nodded to encourage me to go on. “I looked in my closet, but nothing in there felt right for tonight. I figured I could find something here that would feel right.”

“What look are you going for?” Monica asked curiously, rising to her feet and beginning to pace, a habit of hers that meant she was thinking.

“Sophisticated but sexy,” I answered. Monica paced for several minutes, rubbing her chin and running a hand several times through her dark red hair. Suddenly, she snapped her fingers and looked around at me.

“I got the perfect thing,” she said. “What would you say to a little black dress? A smooth, low cut, silky little number? I practically manufactured it for sophisticated sexiness.”

I grinned. “That would be perfect.”

Monica grinned happily back and grabbed my wrist to drag me to my feet. “We are going to get you laid tonight, girl.”