A Long Time Coming Ch. 02

Lexi looked at Art, her heart banging inside her chest with excitement and the light exercise. He held his hands out to his sides and smiled sheepishly.

"What can I say," he said his voice dripping with self-deprecation, "nerds fucking love me."

"So you asked me here to show off your nerd magnetism, how truly unexpected." They both laughed and Lexi felt the small beginnings of butterfly wings tickle her lower abdomen. The sensation crept across her skin like the soft eyelashes of her lover, slowly descending to kiss her between her thighs.

"I'm sorry," Art said sharply, "for—all that." He finished after a brief and slightly strained pause.

Was he trying to say sorry for...

"It's ok. I don't quite understand what that was about but it's ok." She heard her mouth say before she could finish her thought. Turning her head back and forth, she paused then started again her thoughts and words working in tandem now.

"But why am I here? I mean, I haven't heard from you in so long...it's not just every day I don't get asked to random bookstores by old—" she took a strained paused of her own "—old friends."

Art walked over from the door and went to the table behind her. Lexi had entered the room in such a rush she hadn't even noticed where they were. Alongside the door a comfortable looking couch sat before two recliners. A refrigerator stood at the end of a line of cabinetry, sink and microwave. The table Art had gone to had bottles of water, pastries and a two liter of Mountain Dew. He poured some of the bright green cola into a clear plastic cup with some ice then produced a metal flask from a back pocket. With practiced ease he spun the top off with his thumb and added two splashes of clear liquor to the drink.

He swirled the plastic cup in his hand, the liquids mixing together into a clearer vivid green color. Lexi watched warily as he held the glass towards her, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he seemed to make a judgment of some kind.

"Perfect match, I knew it. To you Lexi," Art said solemnly before draining the mixed drink. "Can I get you something?"

"Just tell me what this is Art," Lexi had a sudden fear that perhaps this wasn't at all what she had hoped it would be; that maybe it was more nightmare than a dream, "why are we here?"

Art tipped the glass up and drained the last dregs in the cup then put it down and looked at her. For a moment he only stared at her.

Lexi eyed him right back, up and down. A part of her realized they were doing the same thing, comparing their memories to what they saw before them now. The Art she recalled was still boyish and goofily earnest. Quick with a swear, quicker with a joke, but more heart than anything. The man before her looked boyishly handsome but had very little innocence about him now. He seemed leaner and as she looked at his forearms realized that Art looked stronger than she remembered. He was far from the Hulk but he had certainly started lifting heavy things on a regular basis. His hair was slightly different too. It wasn't just casually messy as it once had been, it was styled. It was mussed and blown a little here and there. His clothes, though still just a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt were designer brands rather than thrift store threads he had once favored. Art appeared successful, confident, he was a man and he was somehow more than she could've dreamed of. The gleam in his eyes seemed to reflect her own approval and desire and before she could blink they were kissing.

With so little warning, Art's first kiss literally stole the breath from her. With a squeeze of his arms he pulled back and she took in a deep breath. They both panted slightly and then she gripped the sides of his face and brought his mouth down to hers. Their lips mashed hungrily against each other and she heard herself give a small moan. His fingers seemed to skitter across up and down her back as he drew her over towards the couch. She laughed and cried out as they fell onto the couch cushions.

Art slung her up towards the arm of the couch with a casual toss of his arms. He is stronger; I never thought his chest would feel like that. Lexi's hand slowly trailed down the flat musculature of Art's chest, her fingertips drawing a hungry smile out of him as they descended. At his waist she paused just a moment and looked up into Art's mist-blue eyes. A silent urging greeted her, as if he'd been waiting for this as long as she had. Oh god, maybe he has...no of course he has. Art...

Lexi let her hand slide over the button of his jeans and cup the growing bulge to the left of the zipper. Art's eyes closed and his head began to tilt back.

"Lexi, I" he said, his voice low, "I—"

"Mr. Lander, I'm very sorry," someone called as they began knocking on the door, "we've stalled for as long as we can and it's time for you to go on."

"Casey I swear to god!" Art bellowed his gaze going from ecstatic to murderous in an instant.

"Mr. Lander, this is Mr. Browning, I'm the general manager here, remember? You're on in five minutes; please don't keep the fans waiting."

"Fuck, fine, fine. I'll be right there. Just," Art looked down at Lexi his expression pained, "hang on."

Lexi felt the surging erection in Art's pants softening by the second. She pulled her hand away and scooted up to a sitting position on the couch. Drawing her legs up, she wrapped her arms around them and looked at Art again.

"You have to go?" He blanched as if she had slapped his face.

"I don't want to," he said his tone tinny with excuse "but I really, really have to. But this won't even last an hour. I'll be free of this in like forty-five minutes, I promise. Please say you'll wait."

Lexi felt very unsure. Whatever was going on today at the bookstore was not the dream she had had. It was something very odd. Art's eyes were white and wide and silently begging her to stay. Looking away from his gaze she said as moodily as she could muster.

"I guess I have forty-six minutes," she looked up at him, her mouth quirking up at the corner, "but no longer."

Art leaped into the air with a ridiculous spin and landed unsteadily on his feet. He bent down and gave Lexi's cheek a sloppy kiss.

"Forty-four minutes then, fuck them. They'll deal with it." Grinning, Art practically yanked the door from its hinges and ran out.

Lexi breathed out through her nose wondering if she was making a wise decision. She stretched out on the couch and tried to piece together whatever she was not in the middle of. A moment into her rumination a knock at the door derailed any clues that she had been trying to put together.

"Ms. Monaco, may I come in?"

"Um, yes I guess so." Lexi said sitting up. As the door opened further, Lexi decided to greet whomever this was standing and so hopped up to her feet.

A man turned around the door and smiled upon seeing her. He was in his middle years and had the look of a long time sailor or yacht captain who only wore such expensive suits to do business. The man's blonde hair was silvery and hung in handsome ringlets around his tanned face. The stubble across his thin jaw was equal parts sunny gold and silvery white. He extended a lined and tanned hand from the end of his cream colored business suit towards her.

"I'm Rick King, Art's agent."

Lexi took the hand and allowed him to shake hers.

"Hi I'm Lexi, but you seemed to know that already."

"Oh, of course. Art has told me quite a lot and I've put together quite a bit more. Used to call me the sharpest surfer in the bunch, which wasn't exactly a compliment but take it when you can get it, am I right?"

"I suppose so," Lexi said cautiously, Rick King oozed sleaze and Lexi had to wonder why Art would talk to him, much less hire such a man. You don't really know Art though do you? What was that with the mixed drink, it's barely noon and he's having a double?

"Can you tell me what I'm doing here?" She asked King without preamble.

"Well," the grizzled self-professed agent chuckled, "I'd say you're here to finish what you started. To com-plete a long overdue transaction." King leered at her, his watery brown eyes gleaming with a sense of knowledge that made Lexi's skin crawl.

"I don't understand. What do I have to do with any of this, what is Art doing here?"

"Art Lander is an exploding talent within comics right now, did you know that?"

"No, I don't know anything about Art or comics." Lexi folded her arms over her chest hoping the confusion cleared soon.

"He created a character that seemed to reform the mold for superheroines," King continued opening a bottle of water, "she shoots green bolts from her eyes, is as brilliant as she is witty and is drawn in such a manner that they considered putting the comic book in the black plastic sleeves like it's some kind of porno mag.

"Which," King gulped water before continuing, "it sort of is. But see she doesn't bang anyone in the book. She's just always drawn so sexy. It's like every frame is a god damn pin up shot of the most ball-boiling quality. And it's all because of Art. This book wouldn't sell half as many issues without him."

"So what does that have to do with me?" Lexi asked defensively.

"Well it has everything to do with you really. It seems you left a very deep..." King seemed to wallow in his pause "impression upon Art a few years ago. I'd say you brought up quite a large amount of inspiration in him, among other things."

King reached into his inner jacket pocket and withdrew a rolled up comic book. He held it out to Lexi and she slowly reached for it. When he didn't let go she glanced up at him.

"A smart girl would be flattered." King said simply.

The comic jumped towards her as King abruptly let go of it. She caught it quickly with both hands and looked down at the unrolled cover.

"Oh my god," Lexi said.

The title of the comic blasted across the top of the cover page in sharp bolts of lightning, similar in color to the bottle of Mountain Dew just before her. The electric lettering read "Mona Lex" and below that a byline read "Will the lean, green shockette triumph after such a deep betrayal?"

Underneath the words a woman struggled to her knees. Her costume was skin tight and filled with a body that seemed both curvy and thin at the same time. Her breasts were large and voluptuous, stretching the teal colored top to its very limit. Lexi's mind seemed to add the undrawn nipples to the drawing just for completion's sake. The woman, Mona Lex, was clenching both fists at her sides and unleashing green blasts from her eyes that trailed up and off the cover.

Like the body, the face was exaggeratedly gorgeous but still more than a dead ringer to Lexi's own. And what was more the look in the eyes was equally hers. Art had drawn her as his heroine. She was Mona Lex. And she was apparently a sex-symbol within the comic book universe. Lexi turned to regard King with an open mouth, silently pleading for him to show some sign of compassion and explain all this.

King inhaled shallowly through his nose and looked at her piteously, as if she was seven years old and just put together the fact that Santa Clause wasn't real.

"Look, if you don't want to wait around for an explanation from Art, I would understand. However, there is the matter of this," King produced another paper from his jacket. This one standard white covered in what looked like legal documentation.

"Since it most clearly and admittedly is your image Art used we need your signature. If you'd like to read the agreement you'll find its more than fair. Art made sure the royalties are very generous. You can look for the first check to arrive in about two weeks' time after we get this processed, just sign right here." King leaned in, his mouth drawing into a crocodilian smile. He had produced a fountain pen and begun to twirl it in his fingers.

Art...used me. He, he used my body for...this? Lexi hadn't known what to expect but it sure hadn't been this. She had to get out of here. She felt the need to run grow inside her like a claustrophobic panic. But King stood barring her way to the door looking like a SoCal Mephistopheles.

Art, you bastard, you selfish, dumb bastard. She felt a tear bead at the corner of her eye as she snatched the papers from King. She scrawled her signature on every line she saw.

"Oop! No that's just an initial...theeeere we go," he swept his hand towards the door, "madame."

"Tell Art he can get fucked," Lexi spat as she ripped open the door, "and you can go back to hell."

She stormed through the bookstore hoping the exit was close. She would break down if one of those comic geeks even batted an eye at her now. Break down or break their god damned neck maybe. Fuck you Art, god damn it, this...this was not how this was supposed to be.

She paused at an intersection of tile and looked at the exit then upon hearing her name, or had someone cheered 'Mona Lex' instead, turned the other way. Art stood underneath the large banner at the back of the store. A crowd of young men (and a few women she couldn't help but notice) stood gathered before him like loyal subjects at the foot of their regent.

"Lexi, wait —fuck!" Art said into the microphone causing it to emit a high-pitched whine.

Shaking her head and feeling true tears begin to fall, Lexi turned away from the man at the podium whom she didn't really recognize and walked out of the bookstore without a single look back.

To be concluded in Part 3!