My Queer Superpower

Chapter Thirty Two

After taking the ancestry test that Faith had given me, I couldn't stop thinking about my father, well the idea of a father. I couldn't really say I was thinking about him because I had no clue what he looked like. My mother hadn't saved a single photo, not one. She refused to talk about him. My older brothers—who had known him—had no more to say than her and Tía had sent me away since it wasn't her place to talk about her brother. Right?

I didn't feel bad for my father, but the more I thought about it, the more I found it strange and unlikely that his entire family disowned him for walking out on me. While he wasn't undeserving, per se, there are so many single mothers out there and too few families that reacted similarly for me to believe there wasn't more to what I'd been told.

There had to be a better reason for why his family shunned him longer and more thoroughly than the Amish shunned witches. The Amish had three-hundred years of experience, mind you and they only had to keep out carrier pigeons. How was it possible that my father's family had made my him disappear from the internet?

Faith had great intuition. She was right. I needed to resolve my 'daddy issues' and I couldn't wait for my results to come in. I didn't care about having a relationship with him, but I was obsessed with finding out whatever Mom and his family weren't telling me.

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It'd been two weeks since the ancestry test and I still had two more to wait before my results arrived. As far as eye spasms went, I'd had exactly none since the fifth floor experience. The timing of their absence was beyond suspicious. This was the first time in my life I had ever wanted one and they seemed to be holding out on me. I was certain it had to be out of spite.

Saylor gave a more reasonable explanation. He thought my new glasses might be to blame, so I stopped wearing them. Speaking of him, he still hadn't made a move. He probably felt less pressured since Juice hadn't talked to me since our hot bathroom session. Well, not beyond neutral words in passing. He hadn't tormented me since that day either though.

That had to count for something. I hadn't lost hope, but I couldn't wait around. I had to occupy my time to have any chance of outlasting Juice and making him come to me.

I had a date, well, as close to a date as I ever had, but not actually a date since it was only coffee. But still a date, a date I took much longer getting ready for than I'd ever admit. No matter what unit of time someone might eventually squeeze out of my lips, just know I took longer, much.

It wasn't without gain. I did skincare galore, but my routine had always been trade secret, so I couldn't talk details. My toenails and fingernails were trimmed and filed. I even did some treatment with cuticle oil that hid all the little white dings that accumulated on the nail beds. Nail polish would've done the same, but painting nails wasn't my thing, not a regular thing anyway.

I shaved and plucked everywhere I thought I needed to. My hair went from shaggy all over to curly on top and somewhat cut on the sides. Fades weren't something I thought looked cute, especially not on me, but I guess it was the move and I had to stop resisting. It was a fine compromise, there was enough left on the top to hide it depending on how I wanted it styled. I couldn't resist the versatility of my hair assuming two very different forms interchangeably, without perm or shear.

As for my attire, I wore 'sleeper attire' because I didn't want Jin to know I went through all the effort for him. It would've immediately swayed the power dynamic in his favor. Bottom up, I wore my pride Vans, light blue skinny jeans and a cute saffron knit sweater that had two large buttons that pinned down at one side. It was in my color. Faith always claimed that saffron made my features pop. 

I was finally ready to see Jin. We rescheduled our coffee date twice already, but he still seemed keen on getting to know me. I couldn't say I blamed him. I hadn't seen him on the fifth floor, but that might've been because Martha took me down to one day a week, which was fair. She had been sticking her neck out on the line to keep a minor employed. Apparently, there were all sorts of inconveniences to having us as employees, but she wasn't doing anything illegal or I would've quit on my own.

I parked Miley on the third of a five-level parking garage that stood catty-corner to the Starbucks Jin and I agreed to meet at. Faith parked on the level above me, channeling her inner spy, or paranoia. I didn't think it was necessary. Jin was walking from his dorm to meet me and I seriously doubted he'd be scoping out parking garages to see if I came alone. I should've been grateful she was going through such lengths to stay hidden as opposed to sabotaging this thing, whatever it was.

I was standing beside the entryway in front of one of the shop windows with the green outline of a coffee cup painted on the glass. I wasn't sure how long I was standing there, but I almost lost my nerve. I couldn't go inside. It wasn't worth it, not if getting rejected was a possibility. I turned away from the window to leave and took a few steps back the way I came when someone called out, "Hey! Regal, wait."

I didn't recognize Jin's voice because we'd only ever talked in whispers, but no one else could've been expecting me, so it had to be him. I turned around, not because I found nerve, but because I'd been had. It took a few seconds to realize I must've been in the clear since he cared enough to call after me.

Jin was tan-handsome, just as I remembered, more so even. He had well thought out attire. He was wearing a blue collared shirt, but it was denim to keep it casual. He wore khakis; the universal intermediate between suit pants and jeans. His jet-black hair shined. It was neatly trimmed and combed. He was clean-cut and freshly shaven, though I preferred his stubble.

While I stood still with an awkward half-smile on my face, he came up and hugged me without hesitation. It was audacious. He squeezed me until a soft moan slipped out of me. I would've bet that was his intention.

He released me and my smile widened until the tips of my pointed canines showed, wider when I saw how much he liked them. They caught him off guard. I could tell. His eyes raced his lips to return my smile. "What do you think?" he asked, placing a hand on the small of my back. His suggestion, ever so slight. "Shall we?"

I nodded. His fingers had given me the answer.