Eastern Lights (Compass 2)

Captain’s eyes were wide with amazement as he witnessed me taking care of the bone. “I know that wasn’t supposed to be a sexual experience for me, but holy shit, that was quite the sexual experience.”

I smirked and shrugged, grabbing another wing and pushing the meat down the bones. “What can I say? I’m good with my mouth.”

His eyes widened with intrigue. “Is that a sexual reference?” he asked, using the question I’d asked him before we walked into the restaurant.

“What? No. All I’m saying is I’m good at sucking.” After my words, I sucked the chicken wing clean then slowly licked my fingertips, one at a time, very, very slowly because I knew he was watching.

“You’re a damn tease,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Says the man who talked about eating me all night long.”

“Touché, Red. Touché.”

He slightly readjusted his superhero suit below his waist, and I couldn’t help but think that my small actions might’ve actually awakened something in him. I didn’t know why, but that idea kind of made me smile. I liked the idea I was able to turn him on, even if it was from just eating a freaking chicken wing.

He went back to eating his wings, clearly not wanting to push the sexual comments too far, and asked, “When did you find this place?”

“Oh gosh, it’s been years. I think I was like fifteen years old when I ran away and came here.”

“I’m sorry, what? Ran away?”

“Yeah. I was placed in a bad home for a while. I wasn’t the easiest kid to deal with, but they were cruel. So after a night of them belittling me, I ran away. I didn’t want to go back to a group home, either. I didn’t know where I was going and I didn’t know what I was doing, but I packed up the few belongings I had in a backpack, and I left. I wandered the streets for a while. I spent one night sleeping under a fire escape behind a building.

“The following day, I walked up and down this street, feeling scared and alone. Then I ran into Grant, who was standing outside the shop. He asked me if I was hungry. I was starving, so he took me in and fed me. He did the same the following week and he allowed me to sleep in that booth right over there. He brought me blankets, pillows, and everything. He never even talked to me after the first night I showed up for food. It was like an unspoken connection.”

“That’s amazing.”

I nodded. “He was amazing. He’s the one who bought me my first comic books, actually. After the first week passed, he spoke to me again, sat right beside me after making me chocolate chip pancakes—my favorite. As I was shoving the food into my mouth, he said, ‘It’s time to go home.’ I told him I didn’t have a home. He told me I needed to go back to the group home. If I did that, he’d give me a job and send me to college. I laughed because I’d never thought I would ever go to college. My grades weren’t impressive, and I never really felt as if I had anything worth being driven about. I told him I didn’t believe in myself.”

“What did he say?”

I laughed lightly, looking down at the glass of water both of my hands were wrapped around. My fingers were wet from the condensation, cooling off my system as I thought about Grant. “He said it didn’t matter if I believed in myself. He’d believe in me until I learned how to do it myself.”

“And he followed through?”

“Yup. I graduate next spring because of that man. I owe him my life.”

He smiled, but then it faded a bit. “You said he was amazing…past tense.”

“Last year, he was in a bad car accident. He didn’t survive it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I couldn’t imagine.”

“He was my almost…” My voice cracked a little as I thought about Grant. “My almost family.”

“No—he was your family. He will always be your family.”

I smiled. “Thank you for saying that. Each week, I go to his grave and read him comics. It’s a weird tradition, but he’s the one who got me into comic books, and we’d always read them together. So, I just still need to hold on to him that way, and have conversations with him, even if he can’t hear me.”

“He probably can.”

“I hope so. It’s also weird how you can randomly meet people who just so happen to change your life forever.”

He leaned forward and placed his hands on top of my hands around the glass. “You’re going to change my life, Red.” His words weren’t said in a joking manner. No, he said them so sincerely that somehow his touch was more chilled than the glass I held.