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| Story: A New Life - Chapter 19 Tuesday, 09-May-2000 20:22:49
Andrew was in heaven. That’s the only way he could describe the feelings he had experienced. It had been almost two hours since the green-skinned “Jane” had left his apartment, but his mind was still sitting in a golden haze of rapture and fulfillment. When they had began their – “rituals” – Andrew was more than a little scared that the sheer size and strength of her body would crush him with her throws of ecstasy. But she had been extraordinarily careful and gentle; he could feel the power of her muscles (and other, more private areas), but he could also feel that she was somehow restraining herself from hurting him – which he knew she could easily have done. When she had left, she had promised him that she would give him a call. “Maybe I’ll just show up at The Post sometime soon.”, she had told him. “But – I thought that you were leaving town?”, he had responded, a bit confused. Had she given him some excuse earlier just to get into bed with him? He had again thought his luck was going downhill, just when it had seemed at its apex. But her response had surprised him – very much so. “Andrew, I think I’ve decided to stay here in Denver a little longer. Now, I still won’t be able to grant you that interview, since I want to keep a low profile again. But - - I think I have feelings for you, Andrew. I – I can’t exactly explain them to you, because I’m not sure of them myself as yet. But I do want to see you again, and I really will get in touch with you very soon.” She had then left him with a kiss and a big smile, and he had stood next to the front door, staring at its plywood-covered interior, for almost ten minutes. ‘Wow….’ That’s almost all his mind could conjure up as conscious thought during those past two hours. ‘She really does like me! I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now; I’ve never been in this position before. But I have to leave it up to her as to our next meeting, since she never left me an address or phone number to get in contact with her. But I don’t really care…I think she loves me! Just wait until I – tell - - - oh, damn……’ He had just been about to think that he really wanted to tell Sarah Carter - - but then it had hit him like a sledgehammer in the gut. He realized that he still had strong feelings towards his friend, as well. He couldn’t tell her that he had been with Jane today, and that they had – well, consummated any future relationship between them. He didn’t want to hurt Sarah; she was his closest friend. He had almost told her that he loved her that day in the park, until those two paid goons had accosted them. But Jane had saved them both. And later on, she had been so sweet during their interview. Then, of course, during their meeting today, Jane had told him something that Sarah never had. Her dark-green lips had uttered the three words that his heart had yearned for: “I love you.” Sarah had never told him that. Maybe that’s why he had gone ahead with Jane, and hadn’t given his relationship with Sarah another thought until now. Guilt was starting to weave its destructive course through his brain; he should have shown a little more restraint with Jane. Then again, she had been the one to tell him that she loved him, and, for some unknown reason (he hardly even KNEW the woman!), he believed her with all his heart. This would take some more thought - - and if he came to the decision that his heart was leaning towards, tomorrow at work would not be a very fun day. Sarah, fully dressed and back in her human form, pulled her car into her reserved parking spot at her apartment complex. She was also feeling a little euphoric from earlier that day. She hadn’t gone home after leaving Andrew’s apartment. Figuring that she needed to celebrate, the journalist had stopped by the shopping mall – on the other side of town from South Springs Mall (it would be a long time before she thought she’d be able to summon up the courage to go back there). Once there she had gone on a mini spree, looking for the perfect outfit to wear for her next outing with Andrew. Her first had ended with less-than-desirable results. She had been about ready to tell her friend about her feelings towards him when those two men had interrupted their conversation. Her other self had rid them of that problem, but they had never again reached that point again. But today - - today Sarah felt like she could actually do it. ‘I want to treat Andy to a great evening of dinner and entertainment. Afterwards, I will tell him my secret – that “Jane” and I are the same person.’ The same arguments that had kept her from telling him earlier still had validity, but they seemed less of a concern now that she had decided to keep her retirement from crime fighting permanent. This was what she wanted. It just felt right to the 30-year-old journalist. ‘And to see the look of surprise on his face!’, she thought a bit giddily. Now, as she swung her legs out of her Toyota and reclaimed her bags of purchases, Sarah just wanted to get into her apartment and start planning out that day. After passing through her unit’s outer door, she all-but-sprinted up the stairs and rushed to her apartment’s door. Her keys jingling together, she inserted the correct one and opened the door. As she began to walk through it, she turned and closed it behind her right after walking into her small living room. So, when she turned around to set her bags and purse down onto her couch, she let out a small yelp of surprise at seeing a figure already sitting on that couch. Holding a burdened hand over her heart, Sarah looked at the person sitting there, gazing back at her. “Dana?”, he gasped. This had been the first time she had seen her surrogate sister since the “incident” in the mall. She had wondered what had happened to her, but figured that she would show up sometime before her flight left to gather her things. But, from the look of it, Dana Carter wasn’t planning on going anywhere. “Hello, Sarah.”, she responded, still just sitting on the couch, having moved hardly a muscle. ‘Oh, damn, she’s ticked at me for leaving her stranded at the mall.’ Sarah set her things down directly on the floor and slowly walked over towards her sister and sat down a careful distance away from the older woman. “Dana, I’m so sorry for leaving you there. When I came back from getting our drinks, you weren’t there. I called mall information to see if you had checked in, but with no luck. I assumed you had caught a cab and came back here. But when I got here you weren’t.” Dana just looked at Sarah, and the journalist was beginning to get uncomfortable. “I really am sorry, Dana. What can I do to make it up to you?”, she asked. She bent over a little and reached down towards her left sandal, undoing the buckles crossing her foot, awaiting her sister’s answer. “You could start by telling me the truth, Sarah.” The journalist’s fingers stopped their work on the sandal. Sarah turned her head to look back up at Dana’s scrutinizing face. “Wh – What do you mean by that?” Dana sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ve been hiding something very important from me – from our family, Sarah. I know that you didn’t come back from getting those drinks. Something awful happened, and you left the mall right afterwards.” She watched as Sarah slowly sat back up, her eyes closed, her unbuckled sandal still on her foot, forgotten. “I know that you couldn’t just come and tell everyone what you are doing. But you could have at least told me! I’m as close to family that you have left that you know of, Sarah. We shouldn’t hold secrets like this from each other.” ‘She knows. Oh, God….. Somehow, she knows…..’ But how could Dana possibly know of her dual life? What could have possibly tipped her off? Dana couldn’t have spotted Sarah’s outfit, because the journalist had been wearing it since her sister’s arrival. And since she had never transformed in Dana’s presence or anywhere that she could have witnessed the act, Sarah found that she was at a loss to postulate her sister’s apparent knowledge. ‘I guess it really doesn’t matter how she knows, because it’s too late to do anything about it. I just hope that she hasn’t told anyone else….’ So she asked that very question. “Dana, have you told anyone else about this?” The other woman shook her head, still giving her a critical eye. “No; so far, this is our little secret. I didn’t want to find out about your - - ‘extra curricular’ activity in the first place. I know how much danger you would be in if anybody found out about this, so I’m keeping it to myself. But I thought I knew you better than this, Sarah. What made you think that you could single-handedly take down crime?” The journalist shrugged, feeling a bit guilty and at a loss to explain. “I don’t really know, Dana. Honestly, it just felt like the right thing to do.” She shrugged again, looking at Dana, an almost helpless light in her blue-gray eyes. “I - - I can’t really adequately explain it to myself, you know? It just feels right…..” Dana shook her head a little, but her expression softened. She reached over and gripped her surrogate sister’s hand with her own, gently squeezing it with a show of family affection. “Honestly, Sarah, what’s an older sister to do to keep her younger sibling out of trouble?” She offered a small smile. “Whatever the reasons, I won’t interfere. It’s your decision…..but please, remember that you have friends to talk about things like this with, okay? I know, you aren’t able to discuss certain things, and that’s okay, too. Just remember us, won’t you?” She gave Sarah’s hand a final squeeze and let go. Sarah smiled back at her sister, feeling a slight mistiness welling up around her eyes. She brushed the back of a hand against her face, trying to remove the bits of moisture. “Thanks, sis. You’re exactly right, and I’m in your debt.” She sensed that Dana was about to brush it off as nothing, but she stopped her sister before a word had come forth from her lips. “No, please, this really does mean a lot to me. It’s like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, Dana. I guess - - I’ve been holding this inside of me for far to long. Say, how about dinner? And I won’t take no for an answer!” Dana laughed, wiping a newborn tear away from her own eyes. “Then I guess I won’t say it, will I?” “First, though, I want to stop off at Andrew’s place and see if he’d like to join us. Is that okay with you?” “Of course! I’d love to enjoy the presence of his company again. You know, you should hook up with him.” Dana gently elbowed Sarah in her side, giving her a sly wink. “He seems like such a sweetheart.” Sarah rolled her eyes, her smile growing even wider. “Well, if you MUST know, I think things are beginning to, shall we say, heat up between us.” “No!”, her sister gasped, a look of mock horror on her face. “I can’t believe that you might have finally found that ‘one’ person, and he’s your co-worker! What would the neighbors say?” “Oh, you.”, Sarah chuckled. “Just let me change into something a little more appropriate, and then we’ll be off.” Harry was getting bored. Very bored. He had been sitting in his car at this complex for the last four hours, and nothing had happened. Whomever this guy was who had given him this tip, it looked to Harry like he himself had been the one who had given the useful information, and he had been the one to get duped. ‘Patience, Harry’, he chided himself. ‘Just remember: “They also serve those who only stand and wait….”’ Just as that quote rolled through his brain, a car pulled into the driveway and into an empty spot. Harry sat up in his seat to watch, a feeling of familiarity rushing through him. ‘Hey, that’s Sarah’s car….’, he realized. Sure enough, the journalist herself stepped out of the car. Another woman – whom he recognized from that day in the park – slid out from the passenger’s side. They both entered into the apartment unit. ‘What’s she doing here?’ Another twenty minutes passed uneventfully, and Harry was beginning to get bored again. It looked like the journalist’s entrance had just been a coincidence, and had nothing to do with his reason for staking this place out. But that immediately evaporated when he watched her and her friend come back out, with Andrew Peters in tow. ‘Huh. Now this is getting interesting…’, the paparazzi thought. He looked on as the small group piled into Sarah’s Toyota Corolla and pulled out from the parking lot. Harry started up his own Infiniti J30 and began following them – at a discreet distance. He didn’t quite know what exactly this all had to do with the tip that his mysterious informant had given him. What he did know, however, was that this Andrew was tied in with the superwoman in some regard. And he was willing to go through just about anything to get his story……… To be continued Terry |
| Story: A New Life - Chapter 19 (Terry) (09-May-2000 20:22:49) |
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