Return of the Ex (Nydie & AmongHeroes

[Nydie]

Name: Mindy Turner

Age: 27

Job: Advice Columnist

Family: Elaine Harris (Mother) Edward Turner (Father) Jennifer Turner (Younger sister)

Personality: Mindy is your normal, stressed out, over worked and under-paid twenty-something woman. She has her quirks, like her obsession with tea, and her ability to find the humor in pretty much everything. She tends to attract weirdos, so she's very cautious around men, always looking for something wrong with them and ditching them before they even get a chance.

History: Growing up with an over bearing mother, a ditzy father, and a perfect little sister, Mindy was always looking for an escape. During the summer she was sixteen, she decided to get a job as a lifeguard at a summer camp. It was during that summer that she met and fell in love with James Hall. Their fling lasted the whole three months of camp, but when she returned the next year, James was no longer there. Now years later her little sister is getting married to her first love. Tired of bad relationships and dates gone horribly wrong, she is following her sister's example to see if she can find "the one that got away" in hopes of having her own happy ending.

[AmongHeroes]

Name: Zane Alton

Age: 28

Job: Freelance Journalist

Family: Quinn Green (Longtime friend), Uncle William (Father figure)

Personality: Zane is confident, gregarious, and obnoxious. He is a high energy individual, and when he pursues something all of his boundless energy is put forth towards that end. This quality often manifests itself in the pursuit of women, and he discards his prizes as quickly as he acquires them. Many would describe him as a chauvinistic woman-eater, though his friend Quinn swears that at the core of Zane is a pure and caring heart.

History: Zane was raised by his uncle, William Craine, in Silver Beach after his parents were killed in a boating accident off the coast of Key Largo when he was only three. Uncle William was wealthy, rich, and a habitual womanizer that made his fortune and connections as a high end event planner. Zane was raised in the rich blanket of New York dirty money where he quickly filled the void of his parents with the free lifestyle of his uncle. After graduating high school, Zane attended Boston University where he majored in Journalism and the art of breaking women’s hearts. Leaning on his uncle’s connections, Zane returned to New York where he rapidly made a name for himself as a cutting edge freelancer with a knack for uncovering the darkest of dirt on those he investigated.

[Nydie]

The dreaded subway, the only place in the world you could find business men, street thugs, and little old ladies all thrown together by one common cause; travelling the concrete jungle that is New York. Day in and day out it was the same thing for Mindy. She’d get on the subway, find the closest vacant seat to the door, and huddle over a magazine while clutching her purse tightly to her chest. Today, however, was different. Mindy was not heading to meeting her editor, or even enjoying the small thrill of spending a night out on the town with her girlfriends; today Mindy was off to meet the man she hoped would change her life.

From what she had learned through her best friend, he was supposed to be a genius at finding people. He wasn’t a cop, a PI, or even a security guard, no, Mindy couldn’t be that lucky. He was a journalist, which meant she was in for hours of personal interrogation, something which she was not looking forward to. It was bad enough that she needed help, but knowing she would probably have to give the reason behind her search as well made the whole thing unbearable.

The mission started three weeks ago. The day had been perfectly normal with her editor complaining that her latest submission was late, and her mother calling to remind her about their family dinner that night. Mindy had just gotten through the worst lunch date that any female, alive or dead, could ever have to deal with when her phone rang. The smiling face of her baby sister was a welcome sight and she had eagerly snatched up her phone to answer. The response to her greeting however had not been quite as welcomed. The moment Mindy uttered hello, her sister immediately squealed in her ear. “I’m getting married!”
Those three little words were all it took to send Mindy on the ultimate quest of single women everywhere; the quest to find her Mr. Right. There was no question in the woman’s mind who her Mr. Right was; she had met him ten years ago at some dinky little summer camp that she had worked at. It had been the most memorable summer of Mindy’s life, and by the end of it she was head over heels in love with one James Hall. The memories of a summer romance had sparked an idea in Mindy’s head that had haunted her day and night until she finally caved. And now, here she was riding the subway across town to meet the man who was supposed to help her find her future husband, or at least she hoped.

The subway slowed to a halt, causing Mindy to lean back in her seat. Relieved to finally reach her destination, she rushed from her seat and bolted out the sliding doors before any of the other passengers could gather. Pulling in a deep breath as she exited the metal tube from hell, Mindy took a second to glance at the small slip of paper in her hand containing the address of the man she was supposed to be meeting. ‘Zane…what kind of name is that? Knowing my luck, he’s probably Zane, the insane.’ She mused as she cast one final glance at the slip before tucking it into the pocket of her jacket.
Mindy rushed out of the station as quickly as her sneaker clad feet could carry her. She only had two blocks to go, but she wanted to get there as quickly as possible. The sooner she found her James Hall, the sooner she could follow in her sister’s footsteps and marry her first love. ‘Besides, Kara said I should watch myself around this guy, so the less I have to deal with him, the better off I should be.’

Kara, her best friend from high school, was the one who had recommended Zane when Mindy had announced her quest to her friends, which had been met with doubt, and barely concealed laughter. Of course the woman ignored her friends, telling them all they were just jealous they hadn’t thought up the idea themselves. That had earned her another round of laughter, to which she responded with her middle finger.

It took her a few minutes to duck and weave through the other pedestrians of the sidewalk to reach her destination, but she managed it without breaking a sweat. She stopped in front of the door to the building briefly, taking a moment to straighten out her ponytail and smooth her clothes down. Satisfied that she at least looked presentable, she yanked the door open and went in.

Three flights of stairs later, she was standing outside the door to Zane’s apartment, a small feeling of apprehension building up in her stomach. Inhaling deeply, Mindy raised her hand and knocked lightly on the door, struggling not to fidget nervously as she waited the man to open the door.

[AmongHeroes]

Zane sat up in his bed to the sound of a knock at his door. The large picture windows that surrounded his open loft were covered with dark curtains that repelled the vast majority of sunlight, and so the numbers on the alarm clock glowed brightly in the darkness: 9:43AM. Groaning, he slithered from beneath the sheets and stood up to stretch his naked frame, all the while wondering who was rudely calling at this early hour.

Raking a hand through his dirty blond hair Zane stumbled his way to the closest window and threw the curtains open. Light flooded into the room, and he immediately clenched his eyes shut, a look of disgust wrinkling his face. Most people would be wary of flinging open their window coverings when they were wearing nothing more than a funny expression, but Zane didn’t mind in the least. He ate a strict paleo diet, and he did Crossfit seven days a week. He was proud of his physique, and as such his grasp upon modesty was tenuous at best.

Another knock sounded from the door, and Zane turned away from the window to retrieve his faded Levi jeans from the floor. As he slid the low-waisted pants on, a stirring out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A disheveled mop of raven hair popped itself up from beneath the pillows of his bed, perched atop shapely shoulders and a slender neck. The woman cleared the hair from across her face with a swipe of her arm, and Zane was greeted with an exotic face and green eyes. Zane smiled, Well done Zane. Now what the hell is her name…?

The girl began to speak, but Zane quickly spun away from her to at last answer the door, a victorious grin plastered across his face. He gripped the latch and swung the door inward. Though he didn’t have any preconceived notion of whom he would find on the other side, Zane certainly did not anticipate a cute brunette to be awaiting him. She was dressed casually, with her hair drawn up in a high ponytail, and sneakers upon her feet. Her eyes shifted in embarrassed surprise, and he quickly recognized that it must be due to his being shirtless.

He almost laughed at her discomfort; instead he braced his arms against the door frame and spread his most charming smile across his face. “Can I help you?”

[Nydie]

Blue eyes widened in surprised at the man standing at the door, her eyes moving between the stairs at right and the man, gauging her chances for a successful escape. ‘No! You need this guy, just smile and be nice.’ She thought, but her eyes refused to stop drifting back to her escape route. Giving a small shake of her head, Mindy forced herself to focus on the man she could only assume was Zane, but secretly hoped wasn’t. Her blue gaze remained trained on his face, and it was only through sheer willpower alone that she was able to even look at him; her every instinct was screaming at her to run and not look back.

Clearing her throat, Mindy managed to sound as polite as she could, but considering that she was talking to a man who seemed to have just rolled out of bed, that was pretty difficult for her to managed. “Hi, I’m Mindy…Kara’s friend? She supposedly arranged this little meeting so you could help me.” Mindy fought against her nerves which were screaming at her to tug on her ponytail, a habit she usually partook in when she was frustrated. ‘I swear if Kara didn’t talk to this guy for me, I’m going to shave her head the next time she passes out at my apartment.

Shuffling her weight from her right foot to the left, she fussed with the straps of her purse, finding any little reason to release some of the nervous tension that was building up. It was bad enough the guy was standing there with nothing more than a pair of jeans and a smirk, but add to the fact that he had no idea why she was standing outside his door only added to her displeasure with the whole encounter. Standing in a strange hallway, talking to a half-naked man tended to put her slightly out of her comfort zone, especially considering it happened far too often for her personal tastes.

“Kara did talk to you, right?” Mindy asked with a slightly impatient tone. She hadn’t intended to sound so rude, but she was seriously freaked out. She had been expecting some short, middle aged, overweight guy with a button up shirt and khakis, certainly not some twenty something guy, half naked and staring at her like she had grown a second head. ‘At least he’s got pretty eyes, makes it less awkward having to stare at them.’ Her mind added, only causing the woman to groan quietly. “Um…I can come back if you need…more time.” Casting her eyes away, she nodded in his direction to draw attention to his state of dress, or lack thereof.

[AmongHeroes]

Zane smiled, “Mindy is it? Yeah Kara called me and said you needed my help.” He reached out and placed a hand between Mindy’s shoulder blades, herding her through his apartment door. “I’m Zane,” he said as he continued to lead her towards a plush leather couch in the center of the apartment, “and when Kara said 9:45 I thought she meant PM, that’s why you uh…caught me with my pants down, so to speak.”

Before Zane could continue, a shrill voice filled the apartment. “Who the hell is she?” The girl that had previously occupied Zane’s bed came stumbling into the living area, a pair of high heels clutched in her hands as she half-successfully zipped herself into a crimson mini-dress.

Zane’s face wrinkled in a mirthful cringe for a moment before his eyes affixed on Mindy, and a devilish grin split his face. He turned to the girl, his expression changing to one of somber guilt. “I’m sorry babe; I should’ve told you…I’m already seeing someone.” Zane stretched his arm towards Mindy, indicating the she was this ‘someone.’

The girl's mouth fell agape, “You son-of-a-bitch!” And she slapped him clear across the face before storming through the open apartment door, slamming it shut in her wake. Zane held a hand to his face as he turned back to Mindy. His left eye was watering, but he was smiling. “Sorry about that Mindy, I couldn’t remember her name anyway.”

[Nydie]

If looks could kill, the one that Mindy shot in Zane’s direction would have had him dead on the ground a hundred times in seconds. “Did you just….” Her head turned to follow the path that the shrieking woman had taken, slowly following the tracks back to Zane, her eyes darkening with a mixture of disgust and anger. “You just used me to ditch a woman because you couldn’t remember her name? Ever heard of keeping it in your pants till you can at least remember who it is you’re hopping in bed with?”

Inside her head Mindy was repeating her mantra which given the current state of her romantic life was an everyday occurrence. ‘Men are pigs, but it’s illegal to kill them.’ In just the last two weeks she had gone on three dates that wanted to make her swear off men all together. The first guy had seemed decent enough, at least until she caught him using his phone to try to look up her skirt. That date had ended with her soda being dumped over his head and her plate of pasta being dumped in his lap. The most recent nightmare hadn’t even gone far enough to make it to a restaurant. When Jason, the guy she had been set up with showed up at her door, she had allowed him inside and asked him to give her a minute to finish her hair. It had only taken her a minute or two to finish up, but when she walked out to greet her date properly, she caught him in her fridge, stuffing half her food down his pants.

Closing her eyes, Mindy sucked in a deep breath, repeating her mantra over and over in her head until she felt calm enough to speak without that shrill quality in her voice that always came out when she was irritated. Swinging her blue eyes in Zane’s direction, the urge to smack the man across the face had never seemed greater. She hadn’t even known the man for five minutes and she was already jealous of the woman that had just stalked out of the apartment, not because she had obviously slept with Zane, but because she had gotten to get a swing in.

“Look, I’m not here to get involved in your…skirt chasing. Kara said you were good at tracking people down, and I need help finding someone.” The brunette managed to remain civil, but only just barely. If she wasn’t completely desperate, she probably would have followed the other woman’s example by slapping the taste out of Zane’s mouth and then making a hasty retreat. As it was, she was stuck standing in front of his couch and questioning her own sanity. “Can we just get this over with please? Tell me what you need from me and how much you’ll charge me, and then I can go. You do your thing, I do mine. I pay you, you find me what I need and then we all live happily ever after.”

[AmongHeroes]

Zane held up his hands in defense. “Woah woah, Mindy. Listen, I’m sorry about that. Give me a second.” He took several long strides to his dresser and withdrew a plain white t-shirt. He made his way towards where Mindy was standing, pulling the shirt on as he did. Zane knew he had gone too far with Mindy, especially considering it was their first meeting. The way people received him always fascinated Zane; some were immediately repulsed, while others were strangely drawn to his blunt energy. It seemed that Mindy was the former.

“Again, sorry about that. I shouldn’t have taken that…umm…route to get her out of here.” Zane gestured for Mindy to take a seat. She reluctantly sat down and Zane followed suit, being sure to sit a respectable distance away.

He clenched his eyebrows as if he was contemplating how best to proceed. “I’ll be honest with you Mindy, Kara was right that I’m very good at what I do. However,” Zane glanced back towards the apartment door before turning back to Mindy, “as you’ve just witnessed I do things very differently. If you need someone found, I’m your man, but out of deference to you I’ll say this: don’t hire me if you’re unwilling to deal with how I operate.” As he awaited Mindy’s answer, Zane ran a hand back through his hair, and absent-mindedly rubbed the back of his neck. It was strange, but he felt a twinge of shame for his actions just now. That was a rare emotion for Zane indeed, and it was curious to him that he felt this way in front of Mindy. You’re going soft buddy.

[Nydie]

Mindy sat with her legs crossed at the knee and her hands clasped around them. She had shut off the mantra in her head to listen to him speak, and her first instinct was to flat out refuse. After what she had just witnessed, she could only imagine exactly what could be demanded of her. The thought of being used as a tool for him to go around ditching anonymous women he’d picked up the night before was definitely unappealing, and the thought of being used in other ways was completely unacceptable. However, she was rational enough to realize that this may have just been an isolated incident.

Turning her attention back to Zane, she reached up to twist her ponytail around her fingers and tug on it lightly. Catching herself before she could repeat the action, she dropped her hand back into her lap. Considering that she was going to have to spill some personal information, as well as follow certain demands he might make on her, she at least had to hear him out before making a decision.

“Alright, let me hear it. But I’m warning you, you’re not using me like you just did again, that was a one-time occurrence.” Sitting back against the couch, she allowed the tension that had been building up in her spine to relax, her blue gaze focusing on to Zane alerting him to the fact that he had her attention.

Before he could begin, she decided to add a few other things. "And I'm not doing anything that goes against my morals. No hooking you up with my friends so you can ditch them and I have to hear them boo-hooing the next morning. And..." She paused, still compiling a list in her head, but decided that it could wait until after he had spoken his requests. "And no stealing my food." Nope, that one had to be stated, regardless of his requests.

[AmongHeroes]

Zane arched an eyebrow at Mindy’s last statement about not stealing her food. “Steal your food? Why the hell would I…nevermind. As for your other demands, I’ll steer clear of your friends, and if anything immoral needs to be done, trust me I’ll do it.” Zane was half-way joking but he could see that Mindy was not in a mood for his humor. He shook his head, “Anyway, how this works is you would give me this person’s info and I’ll track them down. The more detailed you can be the better, and faster I can work. Once I track them down, voila! You pay me and you never have to deal with me again. My fee is a grand a week if you want me full time on this thing, and while that might sound steep, I work hard for my clients.”

He paused to try and gauge what she was thinking, but he couldn’t read her. Zane pursed his lips, and for reasons he didn’t even understand he said, “If you’re willing to help with some of the work I’ll drop the fee to $750. What do you say?”