Dance in the dark

As they stepped out of the club and into the warm Texas evening, Ronnie couldn't help but smile. It had been so long since she'd done something... anything... like this. She couldn't remember the last time she had done something, not because it was the right thing to do, or because it was what someone else needed, but simply because she wanted to.


She looked at Indigo walking beside her. He was so beautiful. Almost inhumanly so. But then, that was to be expected, wasn't it?

"So, ummm... do you have a car somewhere?" she asked, and then laughed at herself.

"I'm sorry. I'm not... I guess I'm a little nervous."

It was a lie. The truth was that her stomache felt like it had become butterfly central and her feet felt like they weren't even touching the ground. She even had to look down every once in a while to assure herself that she hadn't accidentally started flying.

"I ummm... I don't do this sort of thing a lot."

Indigo smiled back, amused and throughly enchanted. Esperanza *was* special, in some way he couldn't explain.... not with words so much. Her effortless grace and head-turning looks would have been enough, he was sure, to catch his attention even without the extra effort she'd put in, and he was glad to have this chance. She was beautiful, sexy, fun - all that, and with a sort of charming innocence that, apart from turning him on like nothing else, made his earlier words honest. He wanted to make her feel as special as she deserved, like he was being given some rare opportunity to give *her* something.

"Relax," he said taking her hand, and kissing her fingers. "Let me take care of you. Yes, I have a car. We could go back to my hotel... or anywhere you want."

Ronnie blushed when Indigo kissed her fingers, feeling the warmth of his breathe and the cool touch of his lips on her skin. It was strange... making people desire her was her job. She did it every day. Hell, she was writing her dissertation on it.

But this... this was different. Indigo didn't jut make her feel desired (although there was plenty of that), he made her feel wanted... special. And that was something she wasn't used to. At least, not in a romantic way. She was so used to being seen for her body alone that the idea that someone could see her as a person and still desire her... it made her slightly giddy.

"I'd like that." she said as they walked towards the car.

She put her smaller hand in his and looked at him as they walked.

"My friends think I'm crazy right now." she said with a grin, "I don't know if they're right or not. But for once I don't know if I care."

He laughed as he lead her over to the passenger side of the rental - a red 2011 mustang. "What's wrong with a little crazy now and then? Sometimes you just need to let go..."

He leaned down to kiss her, realizing as he did that he felt nervous - when was the last time that had happened? He just wanted this so very much, and didn't want to say or do anything that might have her changing her mind again.

(It occurs to me that though I had come up with an outfit, I never actually said what Indigo was wearing out - black utilikilt and a black boy-style Dairy Queen tanktop that says 'Hot Eat Cool Treats.' I did mention that I've been obsessing over this game for weeks now, right? You're lucky I didn't dress the rest of the NPCs ^-^)

Ronnie hesitated for a moment as Indigo leaned down, his lips nearing hers. Her breath caught in her throat. But the moment passed quickly and as his lips touched hers she felt herself relaxing, melting into his arms. She was completely lost.

Afterwards she didn't know how long they'd been standing there. Probably only a few seconds, although it felt like much longer. But when he pulled away from her her eyes were still closed, and she dreamily opened them after a moment, feeling as though she were watching herself from afar. As he opened her door she gracefully slid into the comfortable leather seat.

"Nice car", she said with a smile. She should have expected he would be driving something attention grabbing.

(lol, utilikilt, huh? Easy access.)

He wasn't sure what instinct had told him to wait for that moment, but he was glad he'd listened, at least... It was shaping up to be quite a night. But then, if she wanted to play things cool, he could do that to.

He slid into the driver's seat, turning the key and listening to the purring thrum of the V6 engine, watching her out of the corner of his eye as he slid into reverse. "It's not bad for a mustang.... You come up my territory sometime, and I'll show you a nice car."

Ronnie laughed. She'd never been in a car this nice before and, like everything else about the evening, it felt somewhat surreal. Almost ethereal.

"Your territory?" she asked. She realized that as fascinating as he was, she knew so little about him.

"New York," he clarified, pronouncing the name with an exaggerated accent, then laughed. "It's a crazy city, and I love it."

Still, he though idly to himself, it was nice to get away, too...

"I've never been there." she said with a slight smile, "I've only been out of Texas twice." Her fingers ran lazily through her long brown hair as they headed out towards Texas Avenue.

"Tell me about New York." she said, sincerely, "Tell me about you."

"Well," he started, trying not to get too distracted by that thing she was doing with her hair. He forced his eyes back on to the road, hoping he wouldn't get too lost. It has seemed a pretty straightforward route on the way out, but that was a few hours and more than a few drinks ago, now. "New York hard to sum up. It was fucking terrifying when I first got there, but it is the only place that's ever really felt like home for me. Probably because there was no one there to tell me what to do - who I was supposed to be trying to be, you know?"

Ronnie thought back to when she had first moved out to College Station. At the time it had felt so foreign, so far away. But she knew that if she'd stayed home... it would never have worked. She wasn't the person her mother wanted her to be.

"Yeah. I guess I do." she said "It's tough trying to live up to other people's ideals. Did you always know you wanted to be a musician?"

He risked another glance over while he thought about his answer. It was funny that you could hear the same questions over and over, and yet in the right context, they seemed different. Esperanza deserved more than the usual glib interview responses, anyway. It was rare enough to meet other people who could really understand the stranger elements of his life, let alone for him to feel this kind of connection...

"I think... That once I got to a place where I actually thought it was something I could do, feasibly... That it was really an option, *for me*, I don't think anything could have stopped me. Before that music was..... one of those things for Other People."

He smiled, thinking back to his younger days, of getting booted out of every record store in town for loitering, just listening to everything he could.

"What about you? Why did you learn to dance?"

Ronnie smiled and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I guess... I had to do something. Where I grew up... there wasn't a whole lot of options for kids. Either you joined a gang, or you did your best to stay off the streets. So when my mom didn't have to work late I'd walk over to the local Y after school. I was never any good at sports, but they had dancing classes. Ballroom, ballet, swing... that sort of thing. It was... freeing. Like, with all the other bullshit that was going on, I could always just dance and forget about everything."

She turned to look out the window at the passing lights of town as they sped through the night. She wondered briefly if she should tell him about her job. Would he think less of her for it? She didn't think he would. Still.

"How long have you known about..." she said as she turned back to him, "...you know."

Now, that was definitely not an 'interview question'. Danya would probably flip her shit if she weren't so pleased to see him taking an interest in a woman... And if she knew.

"I guess maybe.... three years? Something like that? It goes by so fast, I don't really have time to think about it anymore. You?"

"Wow..." Ronnie said with a chuckle, "I hope I get to that point someday. It was about two months ago or so. I think. Time seems to have gotten a bit strange since then. But to be honest, since it happened... it seems like I can't think of anything else. It's like I don't know who I am anymore. Or what I am. I mean... I'm the child of a god. How do you just go back to your life knowing something like that?"

"It never seemed like such a loss to me. And I guess it must be different for everyone?" He frowned, thinking back to the early days. "No, that's not true. It was weird, at first, and there was a lot of shit I had to go through before I really felt comfortable with who I am. Music really helped me with that - now things just seem clearer all the time."

It was true, but deep down he knew it wasn't the whole truth. There were some kinds of questions he'd stopped asking a long time ago, figuring that it you couldn't control your life, it was best to ride as high on the wave as you could, as long as you could... And just not think about it too hard.

"I guess I'll get used to it. Eventually." she said with a sigh.

A moment later she smiled and shook her head.

"I shouldn't have brought it up. I don't want to think about it tonight. Tonight I'm not a child of Baldur. Tonight I just want to be Esperanza."

She reached over and put her hand lightly on his knee, being careful not to distract him too much from the road.

"Tell me about yourself." she said, "Tell me about the real Indigo."

Indigo shifted his weight slightly - her hand on his knee was a pleasant distraction, and he was glad that she was taking this welcome initiative - and gave her a smouldering look.

"The myth and the man and very much the same...." He smiled, though his expression faltered slightly as he glanced back at the road. "Also I think the real Indigo just missed his turn? Shit."

Ronnie laughed loudly and covered her mouth with both hands at the nonplussed look on Indigo's face.

"Okay, maybe I should keep my hands to myself until we get out of the car, huh?" she said while still laughing.

"For that matter, how many have you had? Maybe I should be driving, Mr. Myth."

"Hey - you will be surprised to find out just how well this myth can perform under the influence - especially of wine *and* beautiful women! And *I* have not been nursing one of Luke's pink....concoctions." He grinned, but decided it was best to keep his hands on the wheel. "But if it will make you feel better, I will not expose you to any of the finer tricks of New York driving, as tempting as it is to see just how well this car lives up to its reputation. And you can put your hands.....wherever you would like."

"Hah! I'll have you know it takes a lot more than one pink thing with an umbrella to turn me into a boracha." she said, "You have to have a decent tolerance when you wo... when you hang around with Nils."

She laughed to try to hide the blush creeping into her cheeks.

"And I'd like very much to survive long enough to get to hang out with him again, so keep your eyes on the road, Romeo. What hotel are you at, anyway?"

Well, he reflected with a chuckle as he pulled a casual u-turn at the the intersection they'd just reached, they would be at the hotel soon enough.

"The Hilton. Did you know that there are no hotels in this town with jacuzzi suites? It's criminal, I tell you!"

Ronnie laughed and put her hand on Indigo's shoulder. It was obvious that small college town life did not agree with him.

"I'll be sure to write the mayor and voice your concerns."

As she saw the Hilton sign growing larger ahead of them she suddenly felt a deep sense of unease. She could feel the reality of what she was doing pushing in at the edges of her consciousness. Her fears and responsibilities threatened to crash down on her, triggered by the signs's bright glare.

She looked away from the sign and cleared her throat, shaking the cobwebs loose from her thoughts. Tonight was hers. Everything she was she'd given to others. Her sweat, her tears, her body, even her blood. All she wanted was one night for herself. That wasn't much to ask.

Her gaze fell on Indigo's perfect face and she smiled again. As they pulled up to turn into the hotel's parking lot her fingers slid playfully up the back of Indigo's neck, her long nails lightly scratching against his scalp.

"We're here." she whispered with a grin.