Fighting Fate

Excerpt

"Excuse me." Atty was getting impatient and she flagged down a flight attendant. "Do you know about how much longer it will be?"

The woman pasted on a fake smile that went well with her fake blond hair and fake boobs.

"Well, we'll be leaving when we leave now, won't we." She winked, a feat Atty wasn't sure how she managed with as much mascara as she was wearing, and walked up the aisle towards the front of the plane. Atty watched her walk the whole way, and turn to greet a late arriving passenger. It was the first real smile Atty had seen from the woman the whole time they'd been sitting at the gate. She checked her watch. It had been more than an hour now.

From the way the flight attendant had been fawning over the male passengers since they'd boarded, Atty expected the newcomer to be dressed in a specially tailored suit, immaculately coiffed with a briefcase in one hand and a cell phone in the other.

Boy, was she surprised.

The man who walked on the plane reminded her of the pictures of mortals Chloe used to have on her walls years ago, before she met Tanner.

His black hair was long; it hung over his eyes, and almost covered the back of his neck. The jeans he wore had holes in several places, though she thought they might have been the expensive kind that stupid mortals bought with holes already in them. He wore a blue button-down shirt with the cuffs undone and rolled up to his elbows. Rather than a briefcase, a beat-up duffel bag was thrown over his shoulder and the cell phone she'd expected was actually one of those iMusic things that seemed to be all the rage.

Maybe mortals weren't as predictable as she'd always thought.

The man only spared the flight attendant a quick glance and a mumbled apology before he turned to walk down the aisle. She could see several female passengers in front of her openly inviting him to sit next to them. She had to respect his good taste that he declined every one of the invitations.

Then he stopped next to her.

"Excuse me, is that seat taken?"