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Chapter 104: Sarah
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2021-08-24 20:07:50I am not expecting to find Nick hovering urgently after the performance, right at the door to the break room, ready to pounce before I can go. “Sarah, splendid, lovely, you don’t need to rush off do you?”
“It is rather late,” I point out.
“I’m sure it won’t take too long. Customer satisfaction, you know? They pay our salaries, have to keep them happy,” he waffles, which is Nick code for “One of our major sponsors is making noises about pulling out, please charm them into sticking around.”
“Am I to know their name?” Perhaps it is more than one, or a married couple. Some people would feel insulted if you didn’t know their partner’s name. &ldquo
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“This feels silly,” I confess. Sarah is sprawled back against the pillows, her hair splayed out in an aura about her head. Her feet are in my lap as I sit cross-legged on the end of the bed. Her toenails are painted silver, sparkling gently in the dimmed light of the bedroom. She’s given me a pot of body cream to use, something that smells of sandalwood, bergamot and jasmine. The scent fills the room as soon as I take the lid off, woody and spicy.“It’s not hard. Dab some of the cream on your hands. Rub them together to get it nice and warm.”The heat makes the scent even stronger, mingling with Sarah’s own natural moss and resin. I fill my lungs with it. Maybe that’s not the best thing to do, because my jeans are going to get pretty uncomfortable if I keep doing that.
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Aiden seems a little preoccupied over breakfast, and it becomes clear why when he leans forwards a bit over his coffee. “Uh, so. Did you want to talk to the rest of the Pack before you meet them? Because there’s the phone, or the Pack link. I don't know what you’d prefer.” I give the question some thought. It seems more personal to speak mind to mind than to meet in person. Do I want to jump straight in with that? The others all met before the Pack was formed. They were friends first. Aiden and I, we met in the flesh before anything else happened. Then again, how often have I thought that interactions would go differently if people could speak to me first, without seeing me? Even some of those who do their best not to be prejudiced still seem to struggle with treating me no differently than anyone else. Would it be better to strip away the visible surface and
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