I was waiting in my chambers, thinking over my sad existence. The powerful God of love and desire, rejected by some little girl, again. I sighed, finding myself unable to feel angry. She was loyal to her guardian, and it was why I loved her. She fought for people, even if it was imprudent. It’s how she ended up destroying her best friend’s destiny, and how she was commissioned by Hades to pay him two hundred souls. I’d offered to protect, by making her mine in name only. She refused. She said she needed to grow, and as much as I loathed the notion, I admired her more for rejecting my offer to make her problems disappear. Rejection only made my heart grow fonder, and damn it, it was frustrating.
“Hello,” a small feminine voice purred. I turned to see a tall, leggy blonde in a tight red dress and heels waving at me. “I’m Carmen, your mother sent me. Well, I heard you were looking for a ward and I gladly volunteered. Wow, you’re really hot…” Her southern accent filled up my ears, and I noted it was actually quite charming.
Great, another giggly human fawning over the packaging I came in. Perfect abs and dimples will make most women do anything, and I mean, anything. Carmen was there, waiting for a response. Sure, she was beautiful. She was probably smart and sweet, and everything any rational man would want. But it all felt so disingenuous, so unreal. Macy may have never reciprocated anything I felt, but she was pure, honest. I could feel it. The smallest gestures she gave, a smile, a small word of kindness, she meant them. Carmen was probably just hoping I could become her new toy, or she could become mine. I’d been with millions of Carmens, wards who do what I wish and never see beneath who I pretended to be. Macy had called me on the façade, and she didn’t push back when I revealed my true cynical nature. She didn’t exactly nod as I tried to be an asshole either.
“You are lovely, but I am not interested.”
“But your mother insisted…”
“But she was wrong,” I barked back at her. “Now, if you so desire, feel free to stay here. Behind those doors is a pool and several spare rooms. Or you may go back to where you came from. Are you a living or dead soul?”
“I’m dead,” she replied. “I was chosen by Aphrodite for you after my death. I was sort of an escort in my day, so I know my stuff…”
“I am not looking for shallow sex and temporary ecstasy. I need more.”
“Aren’t you the god of shallow love and ecstasy?”
“Technically, I am. That is why I find the entire concept of lust utterly empty.”
“Oh,” Carmen said. “There is a girl, isn’t there?”
“You are smart,” I replied. “There is a girl, in the underworld of all places. She rejected me.”
“Well, you do have all eternity to get her back,” Carmen said. “Let’s sit and talk. Maybe you just need a women’s imput to win her heart.”
“Didn’t you come here to seduce me?”
“I came here to help, and I am a sucker for true love. Not to mention the fact that I love telling people what to do.”
“I’m not a person, I am a god Carmen.”
“From what I understand, you’re a friendless god with a broken heart and mommy issues. Maybe you need someone to talk to, to trust. It might make you a better person, more desirable for you-know-who…”
“Fine, I could use a friend. But I don’t need you throwing yourself at me, ever.”
“As far as I am concerned, you’ll be like a gay bestie to me.”
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Bows and Eros
Teen FictionWhen sixteen year old Macy wakes up in purgatory, she knows something isn't right. She was supposed to survive the surgery and live a long happy life. But when she meets an odd man named Zed, who is a reaper for the underworld, she learns she died e...
