Feminine 101

If you have not already done so, or if you are new, I recommend starting with Chapter 1. This is a linear story and will make a lot more sense read as a whole. Please leave a like, comment, or subscribe to my blog to get notifications when a new chapter is published. If I get 100 views on a single post of One More Life, I will self-publish a digital and printed copy with an exclusive Epilogue. If you only missed the last post, you can read Chapter 9 here.

“It was you,” she murmured to herself. “It was always you.” She pictured every face, hundreds of faces, but all the same man. She would, she did, know him anywhere. Physician, noble, slave, pioneer–he was all of them. And now she understood his impatience, his dissatisfaction. He was searching…for her. She gazed at him, calmed by the understanding of a thousand memories. 

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Nikki excused herself from the attractive jock leaning on the railing. Parting the roof deck, Nikki set out in search of Rana. She was beginning to question whether bringing her had been a good choice. She didn’t dislike Rana, quite the opposite, actually. But what if this Dayleigh character was dangerous to her friend? Certainly, she could only produce wild speculations as to how, but Rana’s reaction was unnerving. Maybe Rana was suppressing some long-buried past trauma to cope with it and seeing him again was bringing it to the surface. Her thoughts raced through scenarios that she summarily considered and discarded. 

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As she stepped into the rapidly filling dining room now thick with the aromas of what promised to be a fabulous feast, Nikki caught sight of her dark-haired friend. She really was stunning, swathed in scarlet and standing very still only a few paces away from her. Rana was staring across the room at Dayleigh. Nikki hurried toward her attempting to gauge her inscrutable expression. 

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Far from the unsettled, near-panicked appearance when she had quitted the roofdeck, Rana exuded a perplexing calm and confidence. “Is everything alright?” Nikki asked, slowing her gait in puzzlement. She glanced at the stony figure of Dayleigh who was indifferently ignoring everyone. The man really needed to improve his people skills. Really, how could he be succeeding in the business world with such a stony personality? 

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Rana turned toward her, meeting her gaze with ancient eyes–eyes that saw, as always, but with far more intensity than before. She smiled, happier than Nikki had ever seen her, “It was him.” Her eyes glistened with tears. Nikki’s confusion must have been evident because Rana smiled warmly at her and reached out a hand which she grasped questioningly. Something had changed, something important. 

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Nikki frowned. “What happened?”

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Rana searched the face of her friend. “I remembered,” she replied meaningfully, then allowing for the impossibility of it all, she added, “I remembered how I know him.”

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“Oh,” Nikki murmured. Obviously, there was more to this, but she endeavored to quash an urge to pry. She was rather unsuccessful. “How?”

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At that moment, a thought struck Rana and her smile faded, her brow furrowing. “I’ll explain it later, but I need to speak with Derek.”

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Nikki instinctively knew what was coming and felt sympathy for Rana’s attractive date. Still a tangle of bewilderment at the bizarre situation unfolding this night, She followed her friend out onto the roof deck. She cast a glance over her shoulder at the stern-faced businessman who affected such intrigue. 

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Derek waited by the railing, drink in hand, blonde locks tousled in the evening breeze. He was a perfect specimen, even so. If anything, the wind-teased hair only made him more appealing. He turned and smiled at them, but his expression dimmed immediately as Rana fixed him with a serious gaze. Sighing, he looked at the ground and spoke in a low, even voice barely tinged with dismay, “I’m not the guy, am I?”

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Rana’s sweet face furrowed in compassion. “I’m sorry, Derek, for leading you on,” she said with unabashed earnesty. 

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Derek nodded and looked out over the darkening waters. Shoving a hand in his pocket, he swallowed hard disappointment. “Oh, I know. I just thought…” he trailed off as she laid a slender hand on his arm.

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“I’m sorry, Derek. I did not know what I was asking of you. That was unfair. Please forgive me?”

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Derek looked down at the wide green eyes, the guileless expression on her face and smiled without malice. “Of course. How could I hold it against you?” He glanced at Nikki standing a respectful distance away, not-so-subtly straining to hear. “Should I go, then?”

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Nikki’s ears perked right up and she turned toward them as though she’d just happened to overhear the last bit. “Go? Go where?” She smiled innocently at both of them which made Rana chuckle and Derek smile. Some of the awkwardness bled away. “I hope you mean go inside because I am starving!” She looped her hand through his arm and led him toward the doors. She glanced back with an encouraging, if puzzled, nod in Rana’s direction. 

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Rana silently gave thanks for Derek’s graciousness, and especially that of the young heiress. She really did have a kind touch, more than Nikki even realized. Then she turned her thoughts to the tall, implacable businessman who was angling towards the balcony railing. She searched three thousand years of memories for one that might guide her approach. She recalled him being standoffish a number of times before and knew that he could be won, that he would be won. She stifled the tendril of fear weaving into her thoughts as it always did. Stepping forward with a satin-clad toe, she silently thanked Nikki for her excellent handiwork. She stopped by the railing a few feet away from him, watching the last blush on the horizon fade to purple and deep blue. The city lights were fully alive, flung out before them like a thousand fireflies, or the campfires of the sieging Babylonian army.

You can read Chapter 11 here.

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