A Sensible Person's Guide to Dating a Superhero

Part 2

"Hannah, I love you." The man of my dreams was kneeling down beside my chair in the restaurant, a happy grin on his face. "Will you marry me?"

I stared at him in shock. We had met up for lunch just like I had reminded him earlier that day after my kidnapping. Just as we were finishing the meal, he had gotten an anxious look in his eye, pulled out a ring, knelt and proposed.

The people at the surrounding tables all clapped, happy to see such a romantic moment.

I felt pressured for a brief moment to say "yes" just to make things comfortable, I could always talk to him later and clear up my concerns. But if I did that, I wasn't being honest.

"No."

The entire restaurant fell into silence. I quickly paid the bill, grabbing my shocked boyfriend and pulling him out towards a back alley where we could talk.

"I'm sorry, Ethan, I love you so much." I hugged him, but he pulled away, obviously upset.

"Then... why did you say no?"

"Because I don't know you well enough." I answered bluntly.

"We've dated for almost two years..."

"Time doesn't matter. What matters is being honest with each other." I looked him in the eyes. "I won't force you to tell me everything, but I won't marry someone who has to lie to me on a daily basis."

"Lie? I wouldn't... I mean, I can't just..." Ethan trailed off, his shoulders drooping.

I patted him gently on the back. "It's okay to say or not say whatever you want, but I'm not going to pretend that wouldn't be hard on a marriage."

"Hannah..." He squared his shoulders, seeming to come to a decision. "I-"

"HELP ME!" A voice screamed out a few blocks away. Ethan tensed up, obviously wanting to go help the person but not knowing how to leave me without it being suspicious. I sighed.

"You wait here. I'll go in the restaurant and call the police." I patted his cheek, feeling a sad smile crossing my face.

"Hannah!"

"We'll talk later."

I left him, keeping my word and calling the cops about what we had heard; knowing that by the time they got there, Justice Man would have already saved them.

It would be so much easier if I didn't love him.

I sighed to myself and went back to work.

Ethan didn't contact me for a few days. I was surprised. When we had parted, he seemed about ready to confess his secret identity to me. (Again, how it was a secret to anyone was beyond me). I texted him a few times, wanting to talk, but to my dismay, he ignored my texts.

At first I felt angry, but as the initial temper cooled, I started getting worried.

What if something had happened to him? I looked into the police reports regarding the incident near the restaurant, and to my shock, when the cops had arrived, they hadn't found anything. It was determined to be a prank call. (I was even more glad that I hadn't given my name when I reported the crime in process).

How could they have found nothing? I heard the person screaming for help myself. Even if Ethan had beaten up the villain and saved someone, there still should have been evidence of a fight!

I needed to make sure he was okay.

"Hannah! Get your ass in here!" My editor screeched my name, chomping on a used cigar like it was the only thing on earth that made him happy.