just riding the waves

Xeraph was taking a short break for a week off of work. Not that he hates work or anything but working for so long could be stressful; even for a demon. He decided to visit Manhattan, after a couple of recommendations from his workers.

It was not bad. The large city allows him access to a variety of entertainments to relieve his mind from work. That, being said, there was not anything exciting enough going on and his holiday is about to end soon. It’s not like he cannot extend his holiday; he was the boss after all. But he prefers to set an example for his workers to follow and look up to him rather than slouching around. He wished his holiday would at least, end on an exciting note.

He lay down on his bed, his face buried in the magazine he found on his bedside drawer. It doesn’t interest him much, just a magazine stocked up with a bunch of celebrities in their swimsuit. This stuff is getting boring and it is not like Xeraph never saw one before. He had his eyes closed, chest slowly rising and falling as he breaths. His demon side was out today. For now, the two sides of his personality disorder- his light side and his demon side had made a deal for the holidays. They take turns each day to appear for one week so they wouldn’t interfere with each other’s idea of having a good time.

‘’So, what do you have in mind today?’’ said the demon side, feeling like boredom is going to kill him any second. He finds it boring whenever he’s not out hurting people, having intellectual conversations with them or deceiving others.

I say you should stay in tonight and sleep, said the light side of him inside his head. Actually, do whatever you want just not outside, he said after a moment of silence.

Xeraph, his demon side cursed under his breath and sat up, the magazine falling off to the side of the bed. He had an idea, but not like it was new or anything. He pulled off a small map of the city from his pocket and tosses it in the air, following by a throw of a tack. He goes wherever the tack lands. He hopped off his bed and grabbed the map off of the floor. The tack landed on a random club he did not visit before. ‘’Oh well, worth a shot,’’ he shrugged and tossed both the map and the tack onto the floor carelessly.

He went into the bathroom for a quick shower and changed to an attire he wouldn’t want to wear generally. It was a casual green plaid, button down shirt and dark blue jeans. He combed his hair back and examined his reflection in the mirror. ‘’Not bad,’’ he muttered as he grabbed the wallet on his dresser and slipping it in his back pocket. He could clearly hear his light side in his head sighing. Prepare for trouble.

He entered the club when the taxi arrived there. It was busy and crowded, a sign which tells him it is a good choice to visit.

He sat down on a bar stool and ordered a drink. It was Death in the Afternoon. A few moments later, the drink was served and he took it into his hand, admiring how beautiful it looked at the simple, but beautiful glass. He was ready to take a sip but a charming lady interrupted him, asking for his shirt.

Oh no, said his light side inside his head. Ignore her and get back to your own business!

Xeraph’s demon side was not the type to do that. He just smiled at the young girl before him ‘’Excuse me, but did you just ask for my shirt?’’ he asked once again, making sure he heard that right so he wouldn’t look like a fool when he takes off his shirt for her.

Xeraph raised a brow at her response. He was not questioning her nor judging her for this. In fact, he was quite intrigued by her actions. Xeraph’s demon side loves bold, confident girls or the daredevil type and this girl in front of him seems to meet his criteria. Perhaps tonight will not disappoint him after all. Maybe tonight would make him not regret his decision to go to New York.

He kept his drink down on the bar counter and stood in front of her. Right now, he was not quite interested in his drink anymore. He scanned her, finding her cuter by the second. He was not even interested in even knowing her name right now but apparently that’s where people start. But instead, he was curious how far he could go tonight.

You’re going to regret this, muttered the voice, which was his light side inside his head. The demon side, responded back to him (still inside his head) with a You’re annoying. Relax, the only one’s that’s probably going to regret it with you, you little nerd.

His demon side loves teasing his light side and gets him into a lot of trouble that he had to fix. Secretly, he cares for him but not so much to the point he would give up his own chance of having fun. His attention was reverted back to the young, charming female before him. Not even hesitating, he unbuttoned his shirt, and handing it to her, showing off his quite toned body. He was determined to appeal to her interest even though he would prefer her with her shirt off.
What never crossed his mind was whether or not she was human. 

The room was turning a little bit chilly when he had his shirt off but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He loved the cold; it was quite obvious since it had some relation to his power. In fact, he felt better like he was once with his favorite element again. It would probably seem like a bad idea but he’s thinking of showing up in clubs next time shirtless. Heck, why didn’t I think of that before, his thoughts echoed in his mind.

He took the glass shot in his hand and idly turning it in his hand. In modern norms, it would be the male who would offer the female a drink in hopes of getting something worthwhile out of it but it seems there’s something different tonight. As he watches her swallow her drink down, he couldn’t help but be a little bit attracted to her more. It was not like he never felt this way about women before but this feeling would not last long. He finally drank the shot of liquor. It was warm but it did not make any huge difference in his system. It’s not hard for his demon side to stay sober whereas his light side was the total opposite.

In his honest opinion, she looked really cute in his shirt. He was as curious what she would look like in something else rather than his shirt. Xeraph chuckled. It is not like every day you see an attractive, confident young woman telling you that you look better shirtless. Besides, that blush that’s becoming more and more visible is not a negative thing either. In fact, it’s increasing the level of her charm. ‘’Well, thank you,’’ he said. He could not help but smile lightly at her compliment. ''You know, you're adorable like this. A little bit teasing, though,'' he winked. Xeraph, now, was wondering if she does this kind of thing all the time or if this just one regrettable night in her life where she would get drunk to forget or to be entertained.

‘’You know most people start with a name,’’ he said, placing his right elbow on the counter and looking at her. ‘’I’m Xeraph, pleased to meet you,’’ he said. It was not his tradition to give his name out to any random woman but with the atmosphere and possibly the alcohol in her system right now, he couldn’t see why not.

The thing right now that's worrying him is if he would hurt her. It's not like he never did it before but it's just sad if his murderous tendencies went on a rampage and tells him to hurt her. Would it matter to him? No. Would he bat his eyelashes? No. If he doesn't care so much, why would he worry? This is the question that he's asking himself right now.

The girl was beautiful. This thought occurred again and again inside his head, though this is nothing he couldn’t handle. Given this many years to spend on earth means he can resist temptation and act ‘cool.’

Even he expected her to not say anything like ‘No I mean your real name,’ or laugh and say ‘That is not your name,’ since this atmosphere and liquor may be a factor, he was still relieved she reacted well to his name. He walked the earth for a long, long time and these comments still bug him. Like heck, yes of course he knows that is his real name. This is why he prefers to tell people who asks for his name things like, ‘’what my name is does not matter,’’ and so on. I mean, technically it is not a lie.

Xeraph should have realized sooner that an outgoing and attractive girl like this would have admirers. Admirers tend to be jealous, possessive, protective and annoying even. When the bartender, whose name is probably Matt or perhaps it was short for Matthew told him to put on a shirt, all he did was show a little smirk. Besides that, he did not react much. It would be fun to have some competition but he would not want to attract that much attention. All this time he was on earth, he spent time laying low despite he killed many, and had suspicious eyes following him. Besides, if it was okay for the girl, whose name was Amber to go around teasing people with her chest only covered with her green mint bra, he can’t see why he is not allowed to go shirtless.

Amber was a name symbolizing a specific yellow-orange gem and is very popular as a name for girls in the Western Countries. Whether if she’s human or under a disguise, this name was perfect. No... She can’t be something else other than human. The world is too big to meet someone supernatural like me, he thought. His light side remained silent, probably is too done with him to even bother anymore. But then again, New York is a home to a family of wolves and other supernatural creatures. Despite New York’s supernatural history, he brushed away his suspicions.

When she asked where he was from, his lips curved into a small smile. It was his natural reaction to this question that has been asked many times before. The thing is, his place of origin was perhaps destroyed by the new civilizations that appeared as time goes by. Heck, he didn’t even remember or even know his place of origin whether that be where he was born or where the angels ‘raised’ him. Time has done a lot of things to the mind whether you’re someone of the supernatural race or not. ‘’I am from Vegas,’’ he replied. Technically, that was not really a lie. In fact, there are many answers to her question. He was from a lot of places since he moved around a lot but Vegas was a place he tend to have a long term stay at. ‘’Are you from this area?’’ he asked in return.

He raised a slight brow. Up North? he thought and relaxed his brow. Well, if she really does travel a lot then he would have less to worry about having someone trying to ask him to commit to any actions that might happen tonight. She was attracting him like a magnet but somehow like many other situations, he just was not convinced to stay very long. How many days has he got left until his holiday ends? Right, about 3 more days including today. In his situation right now, even if he could convince her to stay, there is no reason the two of them should do so. It would just get in the way of work. But if he might get something fun and exciting out of it, why not? ‘’Actually I’m only staying here for 3 more days. You know, work...’’ he rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue. Right now he did appear to be uninterested but trust me, it’s the total opposite of that.

When she mentioned the words ‘private setting,’ he became a little more focused. That is probably because the fun would likely to start in this private setting. ‘’I have nothing against that,’’ he simply answered and flashed her a smile.

It is true that the place is a tiny bit small. He prefers something at least the size of his hotel room as small, confined places reminds him of cages and dungeons and he does not like to think of that. Right now, he did not let any small things such as the size of this room interferes with the bigger picture. It was more than obvious that the girl standing before him was not at all sober. The thought about the consequences that might happen afterwards never once occurred in his mind since in moments like this, Xeraph tends to think more about the present than the future; at least his demon side. Amber was almost irresistible with the way she moves, the sound of her voice, the way she looks at him and even her scent was mesmerizing. Taking her inviting action into account, he coiled his left arm around her waist while his right hand plays with her beautiful silky locks and leaned his face in closer to her, their lips only a few millimeters apart. He then inched his face closer to her, brushing his lips lightly against her as if to tease her. He wanted to see more of her confident side; sometimes being the dominating one can be exhausting for the demon.