Puddles collected as rain fell persistently that humid Florida evening. Droplets slid through the cuts on my face and into my eyes. But sloshing along in a hurry to make it to my date, I barely noticed.

I saw the warm glow of Cafe Amore in the distance and quickened my pace. As I reached the door, I saw her, and she saw me, her eyes instantly changing from annoyance at my late arrival to concern at my questionable appearance.

“Oh my gosh, Jack, what happened to you?”

She asked, coming to me.

“That’s what I’ve been meaning to tell you, I-“

But she cut me off, as she fingered a cut above my brow. I winced. “This is deep what happened? Did you get mugged or jumped or…Here, just forget the date, let’s get you to a clinic.” She began leading me out of the warmth of the cafe and back out into the damp of the rain.

“No, Anna, I’m fine, really. But you should know that—“

“You are clearly not fine, Jack! C’mon!”

I held her shoulders, as I looked intently into her amber eyes. “Anna, just listen, please.”

She paused and met my gaze, this time really listening.

“There’s a reason why I’m always late, why I get banged up, why I don’t have a regular job. I-I’m a super hero.” I let my words sink in. I see both realization and shock play across her beautiful brown face.

“You mean you…that you’re a-a super hero? Like you have powers and a batcave and-and-“

I smile slightly. “No, I don’t have any of that…I’m more of a vigilante. I don’t have any powers that I haven’t built up myself—I kickboxing, work out, y’kow, that stuff. I kinda go around doing good, keeping evil away. Sometimes I get a little held up by some people like tonight but everything’s fine now.”

“You should have told me, Jack—I mean before this. It-it’s a lot to take in,”

“Yeah, I know, but I just couldn’t continue on like this without being completely honest with you. I hope this doesn’t change things with us…”

That’s when Anna leaned up and kissed me.