Her Superhero Lover

Chapter 5

“I can’t believe that summer is almost over,” Renee yelled six weeks later, as she and Grady drove in the desert. They were in his Jeep, and she was behind the wheel, enjoying the freedom and speed that came from whizzing over dirt roads and lack of traffic. The four point harness seat was tight around her body, and she whooped with joy as they came over a small rise, catching a moment of air before bouncing off the dirt.

“Me either!” Grady yelled back over the rush of the wind. For the beautiful day, they’d taken the cover off the Jeep, and were enjoying the natural sounds of the engine growling and the wind whooshing past their ears. “But slow down, could you? I may have racing seats, but the shocks aren’t meant to go that fast!”

“Okay,” she said, taking her foot off the gas. The Jeep coasted along, dropping from fifty to thirty before she leveled it out. The wind also dropped, and she found she didn’t have to scream any longer. “Better?”

“Much,” Grady replied with a smile. “It’s not that I can’t get Bill to drop some Fox shocks and springs on this thing, but they aren’t on yet. I’m glad you’re having fun though.”

“I am,” she said, making a turn on the road and taking the Jeep back towards the road they had come in on. “I’ll be honest when you said you wanted to do this I was surprised, and at first wanted to say no. But thank you. It’s nice to get out of the city and beach rut and enjoy other things too.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve taught me a few things too. I never knew how much work went into a remix and blend like you do. I’m impressed, I’ve got people at the office with MBAs and making six figures who don’t work as hard as you do. Hell, most days in the office, I don’t even work that hard.”

His compliment touched her, and she deflected it by making a self deprecating joke, which Grady had come to expect. “Music is one thing, but I still have a long way to go on pork chops,” she said, referring to their disastrous first dinner at her apartment. It wasn’t all her fault, the power had gone out in the apartment halfway through, but it still was not very good.

Grady reached over and took her hand, gently squeezing her forearm. “Hey, stop the truck, would you?”

She coasted to a stop and shifted into park, turning to look at him. He took her hand in his, and shook his head. “Renee, I know why you do it, but please, stop putting yourself down. I think you’re smart, talented, and yes, very beautiful. Please, you don’t have to feel insecure around me. I’m having the time of my life with you. Aren’t you enjoying our relationship too?”

“I am,” Renee answered. “And I know what you’re saying. You’ve been very patient with me on it, but it’s going to take some more time. I feel like I’m in some sort of Cinderella story right now, and part of me is afraid the clock is going to strike midnight any minute now.”

“Not by my watch,” Grady said, “but if you like, there is a royal ball we can go to, kind of. This Friday night, there’s a cocktail party I’ve been invited to. It’s a group I belong to, mostly young business leaders and political movers and shakers in Southern California. They’re hosting a charity party at the Del Mar Hilton, and I want you by my side.”

Renee felt stunned for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t know Grady, I mean, a cocktail party at a Hilton? I…..”

Grady cut her off, his eyes intense. “Renee, have I ever had anything bad to say about your background?”

“No,” she admitted, a small smile coming to her face. “It’s one of the reasons I like you so much.”

“Okay,” he said with a short nod. “And have I ever had any problems going anywhere with you that you wanted to go?”

“No.”

“Not even to that vintage record store next to the pot shop near UCSD?”

Renee laughed. “Not at all.”

“And I never will. Renee, you’re beautiful, and I want you on my arm at this party. I promise you that most of the people won’t care a whit about your skin, or where you are from. You’re somewhat famous too, or hadn’t you noticed the newspaper?”

Renee thought back, recognizing what Grady was talking about. It was a small story in the local news, on the society page. “Litezout for Voelker?” the headline had said. The story had covered a bit about them being seen going out together for the past few months, and had included a shot of them coming out of a movie theater together. What had shocked Renee the most was the opening line. “Grady Voelker, the 25 year old CEO of Voelker Consolidated, and one of Southern California’s most eligible bachelors for the past two years, has recently been seen with one of the city’s up and coming music stars. Renee Williams, better known in the nightclub scene as the supremely talented Litezout…”

She had clipped the story out and stuck it on her fridge, half in shock at the time. Now the image came back to her mind, and she shook her head. “I don’t feel famous. In fact, fame isn’t paying the rent.”

“I know, and I don’t feel like one of the state’s most eligible bachelors either. What I’m saying Renee, is that I don’t care what others think. I enjoy spending time with you, and would love to have you with me for this event. While some of the people there are rich douchebags I will warn you, the cause is good, and I think that is worth my support.”

Renee thought about it for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Okay. You’re staying with me though?”

“Well, we won’t be joined at the hip,” he said. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “That part comes later.”

Renee took her hand off the steering wheel of the Jeep and ran it over Grady’s thigh. He was wearing shorts, and she slid it under the hemline to feel the strong muscles of his thigh. They kissed, their tongues caressing each other, breaking only when the constricting harness digging into her collarbone became too painful. “Well, I guess so,” she said. “But you do know I don’t have anything appropriate to wear.”

“I’m sure we can get you something,” Grady said, leaning back into his seat as well. “On that note, I saw your latest Litezout outfit. What’s with the new design?”

“The Horseman,” Renee said, shifting back into gear and continuing down the road. “He’s become such a local celebrity, it just felt fitting. You know he took down a meth lab not two blocks from my apartment two weeks ago? I’ll be honest, whoever he is, he’s doing a lot of good. I’ve even heard some rumors that he’s been doing some stuff down in Tijuana too, cleaning up down there. So I mixed a little bit of his pale motif into my gear too. You know how hard it was to get a nonreflective white fabric that doesn’t fluoresce under black lights?”

“Hadn’t ever occurred to me,” Grady said. “So is that why you mixed Disturbed and Also Sprach Zarathrustra? All you’re missing is a big WHOOOOOOO to start the mix.”

Renee grinned. “Growing up, those Four Horseman were the ones my Dad loved the most. So it was kind of an homage to him too. Think it’s too much?”

“Well, I am kind of jealous. I mean, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear you have a bit of a crush on San Diego’s costumed vigilante.”