AKA – a tiny snippet from ‘Apathy’s Hero’

It seems like everyone who participated is doing their NaNoWriMo wrap-ups, after-thoughts, crashes…and I’m a trend follower (but not really), so I wanted to as well.

I wrote a lot of words. A lot more than I’ve ever written before in a single month. Two full novels. So my version of a wrap-up is a snippet from one of these unedited beasts. (Language warning. Conner and Lexi don’t have the cleanest vocabularies)

Apathy’s Hero

Six hours, three sets, and fifty dollars later, I waited outside the dressing rooms. During that time I had managed to glean that the new girl’s name was Lexi and that no one knew anything else about her. Or at least that’s what they were saying. Tony had frozen when I’d asked about her, reinforcing what I’d seen on stage. She had something to do with Umbrifer.

“Are you the welcoming committee?” A teasing lilt interrupted my thoughts.

I smiled, doing a quick comparison now that we stood on the same ground. In heels she was taller than me, but I didn’t suspect that would be the case without. “I’m Conner. Security. You ready to leave for the evening?”

“I don’t know.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “It’s kind of nice here. Do I have to?”

Sarcasm. I liked it. I bit back my amusement and decided to go for the dim-witted response. “You do. But you can always come home with me if you’d like.”

She started walking, turning so she could see me. It was brighter back here than in the main club, illuminating more of her features. “About that. Listen, thanks for all the money tonight. Now I can afford those sexy-but-tacky heels I saw on clearance at the outlet mall.”

All right, so ignoring the sarcasm wouldn’t be an option. The corner of my mouth pulled up against my will. She was attractive and at least a little witty. I could handle an entertaining grudge fuck. “Stiletto, I hope.”

She snickered, biting her bottom lip and raising an eyebrow instead. “Chunky. Stiletto, really? How tacky. At least now I know you’re not gay. Your girlfriend dresses you, then?”

Pulling a pack of smokes from my front pocket, I watched as she navigated the dark hallway without ever looking behind her. Impressive. “I think a girl bought me clothes once. The jeans wouldn’t stay up, and the shirt was two-sizes too big.”

Lexi laughed. “I can’t picture you in jeans, and I’ve only known you a few minutes.”

She was prettier when the expression was genuine, and my smile grew. “You’re observant. Most people aren’t. That’s why I don’t date.”

We pushed into the night, cool air and bright moonlight rushing in around us. Keeping the glow off my skin was second nature after thousands of years. She didn’t do as good a job of suppressing what little power she had, but she also wasn’t the daughter of the goddess of the moon and hunt. Her glow was dim in the faint natural light. It gave her a soft sparkle.

“But you’re willing to tap the new dancer at work because…why?” she asked. “I’m a pity lay or a notch in the bedpost?”

I stuck a cigarette to my lips and lit up, remembering at the last minute to use the lighter in my front pocket and not the moonlight pulsing through my veins. The banter was energizing, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was having fun. “Who said I wanted to sleep with you?”

She shoved her hands in her pockets, pulling down the waistband of her ultra-low-rise jeans another notch. “You can always come home with me if you’d like,” she mocked.

Damn, she was good. I took a drag and let the smoke drift into the night, watching it vanish in the shadows. It took some will-power not to stare at the smooth skin exposed between where her shirt ended and her jeans started. “I never said anything about sex.”

Her lips twisted, not completely hiding her amusement. “Nice. Can I ask you something?”

I shrugged. Might as well have some more fun. “About six inches.”

She looked like she was struggling to keep the smirk off her face. “So, one that’s it? And two, what makes you think I care?”

Perfect. I kept my expression innocent. “It’s bigger than average. And, I mean, it’s your job, so I thought you might have noticed.”

A pink tinge crept over her cheeks and her joy faded. “My. Job?”

Finally, I had one up on her. I hid my smugness and took another drag of my cigarette. “Well yeah. The pole on the main stage, it’s got a bigger diameter than most. It makes it awkward for some of the new girls. It didn’t look like it threw you off though.”

She bit her bottom lip, rocking her her heels again. A short laugh slipped out. “Awesome. Can I actually ask you something?”

“Sure.” This was more fun than I had expected.

“How is it you can deck the bar owner and not get canned? And for someone who claims to be the devil, he sure did take a lot of damage from your fist.”

Any plans for the weekend?