Stewart Simons was spending the night alone -- again. Becky had kicked him out of her apartment because he hadn't been paying enough attention to her. It was true and he freely admitted it, he was a lot less enamored of Becky lately than he had been at the beginning of their relationship. Becky was a high maintenance woman who provided very few rewards.
He and Becky had met a few years ago, in high school. Both of them were members of the school's Science Fiction & Fantasy club. Becky was into several things at the time, the "Twilight" & vampire craze, Harry Potter, of course and a few other things. Stewart couldn't see the attraction to vampires and although he thought Harry was an excellent character, he was just a fan of the series and nothing more. His main attraction had always been comic books and one character in particular had caught his attention over the past few years.
The character's name was
Stellar
and she was published by Orion, an independent label that published only a handful of titles. Stewart liked them all, but there was something about Stellar that drew him in.
Banished from her alien civilization for believing that men and women could happily co-exist, Stellar had come to earth and helped defend it, both from her own conquering race and other invaders. The writer and artist of the series was Roger Landridge and the series got better with every issue. Stellar was garnering attention from the larger companies and Roger Landridge had been courted to work on more prestigious titles, but he kept on plugging away at Stellar. Stewart was glad that he did, because the book and character were almost an obsession with him. Becky had ridden him a number of times about the Stellar poster in his dorm room, but it was so life-like and you could almost get lost in the blue-gray eyes she had. She looked strong and powerful, like she could crush you in those arms, but there was a raw sensuality to the character and Stewart found her sexy. Her "bio" said Stellar was 6' tall, an inch taller than Stewart and she always wore heels in the books. Stellar could have done anything with him, tossed him around like a rag doll -- he would gladly be a plaything for someone that sexual and primal.
Of course, it was all just a flight of fancy, she didn't exist. Becky was jealous over a fictional character, did he hassle her over her fascination with Edward or Angel, from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"? He thought her attitude was ridiculous and they had fought over it earlier, until she threw him out and sent him home. Stewart wasn't getting any tonight, not that she was giving it up much lately anyway. He himself wondered if she was cheating on him, maybe fucking another one of the other guys in the club?
He went to check his mail and found that his tickets to Wondercon had arrived. Stewart was thrilled because he knew it would take a big chunk of the money he'd earned that year, but he knew that he would also get a chance to meet a lot of his comic book heroes. He had tried to convince Becky to come along, as there were several science fiction personalities in attendance, but she had just rolled her eyes at him and went back to discussing one of her favorite episodes of "Doctor Who" with a friend. Her friend was discussing the merits of Tom Baker as the Doctor while Becky was making a case for either David Tennant or the current Doctor, Matt Smith.
He knew that he could likely sell the ticket and make a slight profit on it, so he went on-line and sold it within an hour. The money he made would likely cover his gas to and from the convention, so Becky's not going had actually saved him a fair bit of money.
Stewart made his "want" list for the dealer's room and some notations as to who he wanted to sign his books. Several of his favorites were there, but when he looked at the update, he saw Roger Landridge's name had joined the list of attendees. He added the first few issues of "Stellar" to the pile and hoped he'd get a chance to tell his favorite writer-artist just how much he enjoyed the book.
When he arrived at the convention, he found he was going to be disappointed and even more, his favorite book was going to be off schedule for a few months. Not two days before the convention, Roger had broken his drawing hand playing hockey. It would be several months before he would be well enough to write or draw
any
new adventures of Stellar.
Stewart was bitterly disappointed but he decided not to let it ruin the convention for him. He found a rare variant printing of the first issue and got several other books signed as well. He met up with some old convention-going friends and went to a few of the panels and aside from Roger Landridge's absence; he thought the first day of the convention was a huge success. Stewart was about to go out and find a nice place to eat when he saw a tall, statuesque blonde out of the corner of his eye, near the bar of the hotel. He swatted the side of his cheek a few times, because there was no way he was seeing what he was seeing!
He watched as the woman walked into the bar, elegant, head held high with a commanding presence. She was wearing a very erotic black dress, laced halfway down her back and ending just above her buttocks. Even from a distance, Stewart could see that she was beautiful and strong. Of course she was -- she would
have
to be! She was
Stellar
in the flesh! Stewart knew that he was losing it, but he followed her into the bar. He had no idea what he was going to say to her or even if he would find the courage to approach her, but he had to get a closer look.
He ordered himself a beer and watched as the beautiful, ice cool blonde sat by herself, drinking a Martini and taking in the room. There were several of his fellow convention-goers in the room, some in full regalia. While Stewart had nothing against Cosplay himself, he couldn't quite go that far. To him, it often screamed "geek" although he admired the hard work they put into their costumes. He looked at the woman and knew if she dressed as Stellar, she'd win any contest hands-down.
Stewart drank a bit more of his beer, as he felt as if he needed the liquid courage. He glanced over at the blonde goddess and knew that if he didn't go over, he would regret it. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of his life.
"Excuse me," Stewart excused himself. She looked up and he didn't get the chance to finish.
"I know, you were wondering if you could buy me a drink," She said to him in a voice that was soft and seductive. "No thank you, I've got a Martini and as soon as I'm done, I'll be leaving."
Stewart knew that he had to act quickly. "No, that isn't it -- not that I wouldn't like to buy you a drink, it's just -- damn, I'm making a mess of this. Has anyone ever told you that you look very much like a comic book super-heroine?"
She looked up at him with eyes that Stewart had seen a hundred times before. "Oh yes, you mean Stellar? There's a reason for that, please sit down and join me," She smiled. "I'm
Andrea
Landridge, Roger Landridge is my brother."
Stewart sat down, his eyes expressing his surprise. "I didn't even know Roger Landridge had a sister."
Andrea smiled. "Not many people do, he keeps a lot of himself private. Our childhood was pretty messed up and I sort of became de-facto guardian for my brother when I was 16 and he was 8. As a result, my brother kind-of idolizes me and he's made me into this heroine of epic proportions."
Stewart looked at her. "You are beautiful, if I may say so."
She smiled at him again. "Thank you. I got married at 21 and by then, Roger could handle himself. Sadly, history repeated itself -- my marriage was as fucked up as my parents' was. So I got out and vowed that I was going to be in charge of my own destiny again and no man was ever going to push me around. I joined a gym and built my body up and Roger was very encouraging. When he went to university, he came to live with me and that's where he got the idea for Stellar. He doesn't tell a lot of people about our past or about me because he doesn't want a lot of fan-boys delving into our past or bothering me."
Andrea agreed to let Stewart buy her that drink after all. "So, why are you here if you keep on the down-low?" He asked.
"I knew Roger was attending the convention here and I don't live far," Andrea smiled, sipping her drink. "We haven't seen each other for about a year and I thought it'd be nice to have dinner. When I got to the convention, the organizers told me that he had canceled, just my luck. I spent all day dolling myself up and now I have to go home and order pizza."
Stewart saw an opening and he took it. "No, you don't. I hope I don't come on too forward, but I was about to go to dinner and I can't think of anything more special than having dinner with someone as beautiful as you. We can go anywhere you like, my treat -- I came to enjoy myself this weekend."
"You're sure you won't mind?" Andrea asked.
"Look at this face; does it look like I mind?" He asked, grinning ear to ear.
"You do know that I'm not Stellar?" Andrea smiled. "I don't save the universe, I don't fly, I'm not an Amazon warrior from another world."
"I'm not sure about the last one," Stewart grinned at her. "In those heels you've got a few inches on me and I sure think you're out of this world."
"You're sweet," Andrea laughed. "I'm a bit older than you, it doesn't bother you?"
"No, not if it doesn't bother you, I've dated older women before," Stewart told her. He wasn't about to tell her it was before meeting Becky and it was a friend of his older sister's that had gone on a double date with him and his sister and her brother. He winced as he recalled that night; the girl had been a bitch and the evening a train wreck. Stewart looked at Andrea and knew that this evening would be nothing like that one.
"You're on," Andrea smiled, standing up and walking towards the door. Stewart settled the tab and followed her out. He just took in the sight of the blonde Amazon. There was nothing about her that bothered him -- her age, her height, her imposing physical beauty -- not one thing. He just counted his lucky stars that she had descended from the heavens and was giving him the time of day.
He walked her towards his car and her eyes widened. "You drive a classic Maserati?" She gasped. He opened the door for her and she slid in to the passenger seat. Stewart went around to the other side. "How can you afford a car like this?"
"I tutored a guy who was failing most of his subjects a few years ago," He told her as he started the engine. "He went from failing to a solid B average and he's going to graduate with his class next year. He was so grateful, he gave me his car. His family's loaded, they bought him another one. Meanwhile, I have fun tinkering with this car and keeping it running," Stewart smiled as they began the drive to the restaurant.
