Finding Valor

by Ripley Proserpina

  “It was nice to meet you, Nora,” she said kindly before putting on her helmet and turning her back.

  Each of them kickstarted their bikes, tearing out of the parking lot. Their tires skidded and slid on the wet pavement. She shivered, hugging her arms tight to her body. Watching the motorcycles skitter worried her, especially when she thought of Matisse and his carefree attitude. Perhaps now with the friends gone, he would settle back into a routine.

  Maybe this is his routine. How would she really know? At the very least, the snow would put a damper on these nighttime jaunts. Something else to discuss later.

  Mentally, she gave herself a jolt. One last thing to do before she went home: pop in to one of the stores downtown and apply for a job.

  The walk to Congregation Street was downhill. Students clogged the sidewalk, and she enjoyed the feeling of blending into the masses. With her head down and her bulky coat, she wasn’t recognizable.

  The crowds thinned the closer she got to downtown. Most students lived on blocks closer to the college, but there were still people heading to coffee shops and stores. Congregation Street was the busiest in Brownington, all of it foot traffic.

  She stood for a moment at the beginning of the block and considered her next move. She didn’t have a specific place in mind. Friday she had an actual, scheduled interview, but today was about trying her luck. The right side of the street seemed like a good place to start.

  She stopped at the first place with a hand-lettered Help Wanted sign. A comic book shop. It was as good a place to begin as any, and she opened the door. Inside, the walls were covered with action figures, some of whom she recognized: Superman, Wonder Woman. Others were lost on her, like a man in a long trench coat, wearing some kind of nuclear blast-protection goggles on top of his head. She peered at it a little closer. Whoops, she was wrong. The goggles were part of his head. Horns?

  “Can I help you?”

  Turning toward the voice, she straightened her spine, trying to project a confidence she didn’t feel. “Yes,” she answered, meeting the eyes of a grey-haired man. “I saw your Help Wanted sign.”

  “Yes, wonderful! I am looking for someone primarily nights and weekends. Lots of late nights coming up with the holidays.”

  She nodded enthusiastically. “I could do that.”

  “Great!” He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s start with the interview.”

  Her stomach tightened nervously. Surprisingly, instead of leading her to an office, he brought her across the store to a tall glass case and pointed to a figurine. “Who is this?”

  The figure was instantly recognizable to her with his long silver claws. “Wolverine?”

  Nodding, the man moved on, indicating other characters she recognized from superhero movies. On the bottom shelf of the case was an action figure with a skull surrounded by plastic flames. “This one?”

  She shook her head. Unfortunately, she didn’t know that one or any of the others he asked her after it. As they walked around the store, her hope waned. By the time they’d circled around the room, ending back at the door, she knew what was coming.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I need someone who has at least a cursory knowledge of comics and action figures. It’s necessary for identifying merchandise.”

  This was the first place she’d come to where she hadn’t been dismissed as soon as she gave her name. “I could search anyone I didn’t know. I’m a quick study.” Reaching for her bag, she dug out her resume, handing it to the man. “You can call my old bosses. They’ll tell you I’m reliable, punctual, and a hard worker. I promise, tell me what you want me to know, and I’ll learn it.”

  He stared at her resume, shaking his head. Suddenly, his eyes flicked up to hers and then down to the paper. “Nora Leslie.”

  Her name sounded like the death knell of her hope, so she held out her hand. “Thanks for showing me around your store.” When he didn’t hand the resume back, she tucked her hands into her pockets. “It’s lovely. I appreciate your time.”

  Turning to the door, she tried to hold in the disappointed tears threatening.

  “Wait.”

  Swiping under her eyes, she faced him.

  “I’ll give you some homework, and if by Friday you can show me what you’ve learned, I’ll hire you.”

  “Seriously?” she squeaked.

  “Yeah.” He rubbed his bristly chin, studying the store before smiling. “Here are some themes: vampires, strong women, and runaways.” He nodded. “Yeah. That’s a good place to start. Come back Friday and show me what you’ve learned.”

  A surge of gratitude welled up inside her. Here was a chance: a completely wonderful, unexpected chance. “Okay. Thank you!” She held out her hand and realized she didn’t know his name. “Thank you, Mister…”

  “Frank,” he offered. “Just Frank.” He took her hand, giving it one brisk pump before letting her go.

  “Thank you, Frank.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s only a chance. You’ll have to impress me.” He held the shop door open for her.

  “Okay,” she answered. “I will.”

  Twenty-one

  Sickness and Honesty

  CAI’S COWORKER, AISLINN, stood with her hands on her hips, staring at him angrily. “Get out of here.”

  Groaning, he shook his head. “I can’t. I have too much paperwork to do.” Each word was punctuated with a sneeze.

  Nose flaring in disgust, Aislinn grabbed a broom from the corner of his office and poked it at him. “You’re going to get everyone else sick. No one here appreciates your dedication to paperwork, so go.”

  Pressing his fingertips against his sinuses, he nodded. His entire face ached. “I was fine earlier.” Anxiety began to turn his stomach. Since gaining access to preventative medicine, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d been ill. What if something was wrong with him?

  “Well, you’re not anymore.”

  Next to his computer was a list: reports, billing, phone calls. The words blurred and danced. These were his responsibilities. He couldn’t leave Aislinn with all this work and the kids. They may seem all unattached, but if something out of the ordinary happened, they struggled. If they expected him to be at the center, he needed to be there.

  “Look,” she muttered. “If I promise to do the billing after de-grossing your office, will you go home?”

  “Can’t.” As much as he wanted to. “Kids.”

  “Don’t get them sick, too, Cai,” she scolded. “They’ll be okay when they see you.”

  Reaching for a paper towel and sneezing into it, he nodded. “Yeah. Okay.” He blinked itchy eyes around the office before the straw end of the broom poked his lower back. “I’m going…” he muttered.

  As he left, he waved at the kids at the center, all of whom brought their t-shirts to their mouths, covering their faces and pointing to the door. His sickness must be apparent enough they didn’t bother to guilt him. Chuckling, he pushed the door open, narrowing his eyes when another kid ran up with a container of decontamination wipes.

  Aislinn could be over-the-top sometimes.

  For some reason, the cold air made him sneeze even more. He sniffled madly, trying to unlock his car and keep the snot in his nose. Rarely did he get sick, and he’d never had to leave work because of a cold. Again, anxiety grabbed him. He went over his symptoms in his mind, trying to remember if his vaccines were up-to-date. Every year he got a flu shot; had he missed it? No, he’d gotten one at the drug store.

  Pulling into traffic, he was grateful the ride home would be short. He couldn’t wait to take some cold medicine and crawl beneath his blankets to chase oblivion.

  As he rolled through a stop sign, he saw a familiar figure trudging up the hill. Nora. Seeing her made him forget his worries, and he stopped on the side of the road, rolling down the window to attempt a sexy voice, “What’s happening, hot stuff?”

  Unfortunately, his voice came
out nasal, and the entire effect was ruined when he started sneezing and coughing.

  “Cai!” She pressed a hand to her heart. “You scared the crap out of me.” Bending down to peer into the window, she frowned at his face. “You’re sick.”

  In reply he sneezed, and her brows creased worriedly. “Your eyes are swollen; can you even see?”

  Well enough. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride.”

  Her expression didn’t change as she got into the car and reached for his forehead, touching it with the back of her hand. “Oh, sweetie. You have a fever.” She stared into his eyes. “Do you need me to drive?”

  Her concern warmed him. Shaking his head, he pulled back into traffic. “I can see our house from here.”

  Nora jumped out of the car as soon as he parked, opening the back door, grabbing his work bag and the keys from his hand. As soon as they were inside the house, she was a blur of motion his pounding head couldn’t follow. She peeled the jacket off his arms and knelt in front of him, glancing at him quickly. “Put your hand on my shoulder,” she said, grasping the heel of one shoe and then the other. Bemused, he watched her, finally letting her lead him up the stairs and push him onto his bed.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  He lay down, closing his eyes and sniffling but smiling through the discomfort. Nora was taking care of him, and he couldn’t remember the last time someone had. His roommates would definitely toss him some cold meds from the doorway, but they wouldn’t have taken his shoes off.

  “Here.” She appeared next to him, holding two green pills and a glass of water. He pushed himself upright and reached for them, drinking the water that soothed his parched throat. Her hands were cool against his forehead and cheeks and then his waist as she lifted his shirt off his body. A spark of amusement ignited in his chest when he caught her blushing and staring a moment too long at his stomach. He wished he could do something with her interest but dismissed the thought when he erupted into sneezing and a choking cough. Yeah. He wasn’t charming anyone right now.

  Her fingers fumbled at the buttons on his pants, and he sucked in a breath, blood rushing to his groin. Apparently his body hadn’t gotten the message from his addled brain. Lifting his hips was about all he could do to help her, but he loved the way she fussed about, yanking off his socks, straightening the sheets, tucking the comforter around his body.

  His eyes closed when her lips touched his forehead. “I’m going to check on you in a little bit. Rest up, okay?”

  His body relaxed into the soft mattress, a haze of comfort surrounding him. “No one’s ever done this for me before.”

  Her lips paused on his forehead before they trailed down his temples to his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. “I’ll always take care of you, Cai. Just like you did for me.”

  “Love you.” He yawned, curling onto his side.

  Her hands pushed his hair back from his face, and her lips were there again and then her face pressed into his neck. “I love you, too, Cai.” Her voice sounded strange, choked, but the cold medicine was working its magic, and he fell asleep.

  Twenty-Two

  The Best Day

  NORA WASN’T SURE she’d heard him correctly, and even if she had, it could have been the cold medicine talking. Covering her mouth with her hand, she couldn’t help the happy dance she did in the hall.

  “What has you dancing, nae serang?”

  “Good day.” Her cheeks hurt from smiling.

  Seok’s eyes twinkled, actually twinkled, in the light. He swept her into his arms, squeezing her tightly and kissing the side of her neck. “I’m so glad. You deserve good days. What happened?” Pulling her hand, he led her down the hall and into his bedroom. “I want all the happy details.”

  His room was warm, and the heat from her happy-dance made her sweat. “Cai’s sick; he was very sweet.”

  Confusion clouded his expression, and she realized she’d implied she was happy he was sick. “I’m not… it’s not because Cai’s sick.” Her hair was sticky on her neck. “Hold on. I haven’t even taken my coat off yet.” She shook her head at herself, unzipping her jacket and placing it on the bed.

  He reached for her again, seating them both on the bed and leaning against the headboard. “Well?”

  Her mind raced back over her day. With the exception of her time with Mr. Gunderson, most of it was really good.

  Seok’s fingers tangled in her hair as he attempted to run them through her curls, and her head jerked to one side. “You can’t do that with kinky curly hair,” she giggled, as he tried to untangle himself. “Sorry.”

  “I’m sorry.” His voice was embarrassed. “So, before I pulled your hair like a little boy, what happened?”

  Rubbing at the spot, she giggled and leaned into him. “I walked to class; I had the study—” His body immediately tensed.

  “It wasn’t so bad.”

  He snorted.

  “Okay, well, it was uncomfortable, and maybe I puked—”

  “What!”

  “Wait!” She held up a hand. “Listen.”

  His eyes were angry, and his lips firm, like he was holding them together to keep himself from asking more questions.

  “I did this test, about relationships, and I learned I’m not a very good listener, even though I can apparently read body language like nobody’s business.” She waggled her eyebrows, and it had the effect she desired, thawing him a little. “I got scared, thinking about what it meant for us, whether we were doomed. The stats about a relationship like ours aren’t great, but then I realized, this study did me a favor.”

  “How so?” Burying his face into her hair, he breathed in deeply. His hands ran along her arms, leaving tingles and goosebumps in their wake.

  “Well.” It was hard for her to remember her point with his hands distracting her. “If I know what I need to do, I can do it. I can listen better, communicate more honestly.” She took a deep breath. “You know, we haven’t even talked about birth control or being tested for STDs.” Her cheeks flushed, and she resisted hiding her eyes.

  “You’re right. We should have talked about those things.” Peeking at him, she saw his eyes were narrowed. “I’m an idiot.”

  “Stop.” She slid over, throwing a leg across his and wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’re not.” She kissed his ear. “We need to be more open though.”

  He nodded, the silky threads of his hair brushing across her face. “Yes. So. I’m clean. I have been tested. You?”

  “I have only had one partner, and until then, I was only intimate with you guys.”

  His hands which had begun to trace patterns on her back faltered. “Oh.” Clearing his throat, he whispered, “We’re all clean. We’ve all been tested. If you’re intimate with only us, you’re fine.”

  She couldn’t think of anything else to say but suspected he’d caught on she was a virgin until she’d met them, which meant, because she wasn’t anymore, that she’d slept with one of them.

  And he knew it wasn’t him.

  “Seok…” she began.

  “You don’t have to tell me, nae serang. We’ll get there.”

  “I feel like I should apologize.”

  “I almost want you to,” he whispered.

  Sitting up so she could look into his face, her heart clenched. “Oh, Seok. I’m sorry.”

  His dark eyes were focused on a place over her shoulder, but at her words he glanced at her. “No. I wouldn’t have you apologize to any of the others for being with me. It will be special for us.” His lips curled, but his smile was forced. “I have to stop this line of thought. It’s not as though I am a virgin. It is wrong for me to be upset, especially since this is the relationship we agreed to. I’m surprised, I suppose, that I feel like this at all. I’m not usually jealous.”

  She leaned in, kissing him gently on the lips. He returned the kiss, but when she tried to deepen it, he kept it chaste and sighed. “I’m sorry.”

/>   “No.” She shook her head. “It could be weird, now. I get it.”

  He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her once again before hauling her into his side. “It is not as if I don’t owe you an apology for what I did to you.”

  Her mind raced. “Apologize for what?”

  “When you first came here, I was cruel. And then I left you, in your bed, without an explanation.”

  Oh God. “Seok…” It was on the tip of her tongue to dismiss his apology, tell him it was okay, not to worry about it. But she thought of Ryan and how he desperate he was for his apology to mean something. “Thank you.”

  His fingers traced her ear, tucking her hair away, and then his lips touched her forehead. As he entwined her fingers with his, he asked, “What else was good about today?”

  She appreciated his attempt to lighten things but recognized he may need to change the subject. “I got a second interview at a store downtown.”

  “That’s great! What kind of store?”

  “A comic book store.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Sort of. It has comic books and toys.”

  A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. “They’re called action figures.”

  “Good to know.” Her fingers crept across his shirt and around his waist, tucking beneath his body. “Wait. How do you know?”

  “I love comics.”

  “You do?” She sat. “That’s awesome! You can help me! I was going to Google, but you might help more!”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay.” Enumerating on her fingers, she listed the things Frank had told her to search. “Vampires, runaways, and strong women.”

  “He wants a list of comics?”

  “I think he wants me to know some—but he wants me to have a better idea about those themes.”

  “We’ll start with some of the lesser known comic heroes, and then we’ll go from there.” He drew her down to his body again. “She-Hulk.”

  “Huh?” She had been eating more since living with him, but she didn’t think she was Hulk-sized yet.