Intro and 01

  Dennis Lincoln Chukwuma Hudson waited patiently for Lorraine in his sitting room. 

  Their flight was supposed to leave at ten in the morning but he'd told Raine that the flight leaves an hour early. He knows Raine very well, the girl's got a penchant for being late. 

They're going to Africa—particularly Nigeria—to live for some time. 

Dane is what people might call a half-breed or a half-caste. The only offspring of a match between a Nigerian mother and an American mother. Though he looks more American than half-caste, Dane had always wanted to go and see his mother's land.

  At twenty-nine, he'd decided that it's long overdue. 

  At first, he'd planned to go alone to Nigeria but the moment he'd told Raine about it, she instantly decided that she's going with him. 

 "You really didn't possibly think you can leave me here in America, did you?" She'd asked with a snort.

  He wasn't surprised. Knowing Raine for as long as he did, he knew that she'd follow him. They've been so close together for so long, it's almost impossible to be far away from each other. 

  After his cold and ambitious politician of a father had died of a heart attack when he was nineteen—four months after he became a legal guardian to Raine—they've had each other because they don't have any other person in the world.

  He checked his watch again and sighed heavily. 

  Lorraine never keeps to time, not even for a flight, he thought, but not without fondness. 

  More than twenty minutes later, he was about to call her on phone again when he heard the familiar sound of the SUV. 

   He came out of the house just in time to see her get out of the car. 

  "I know, I know, I'm late and you're angry and you're gonna scold me and lecture me too about being early and all those stuff but it's not really my fault this time around." Lorraine Alana Myers said in a rush as she rushed closer to him. 

  As usual, she threw her arms around him and gave him a big smooch on the cheek. Dane barely resisted the urge to pull her tighter and drink in her scent. 

  "We're gonna miss our flight because of you, Raine. Even if you don't like being early for anything, you should at least be early for a booked flight," he said instead in a rather stern voice. 

   She pushed out her lower lip, her eyes cast down. "You're scolding me even though I'm thirty minutes early...." 

   "Early? You're thirty minutes la—" he paused, "How did you know I booked a ten o'clock flight instead of a nine?"

   She grinned heartily, showcasing beautiful sets of teeth. The smile went all over Dane's body. 

   At twenty-two, Lorraine is a very beautiful girl but she is downright stunning when she smiles. She can tempt a straight guy or woman to become bi-curious. 

  Too bad she's a lesbian and only has eyes for girls. 

  "Because I know you so much." She stated matter-of-factly. 

  He snorted, "Get in the car, let's go."

  She walked to the car and entered with a huge smile on her face, "Aaaah, I'm going to miss America." she sighed as she settled into her seat. 

   "No one's forcing you to go." Dane reminded her with a smile. 

   She waved him off with a smile because what he said is true. No one is forcing her to go, but then again, staying is not an option because Dane won't be here. 

   "Where you go, I go. It's as simple as that," she stated like it's the most natural thing in the world. 

   Dane's stupid heart fluttered and he barely swallowed down a cuss. 

   She doesn't mean it that way, buddy. He said to his stupid heart.

    Lorraine can never love him the want he wanted, he and his stupid heart know that more than anything. 

   Lorraine sat beside Dane in the car feeling very at home. She'll miss her friends...well, the few she has anyway. She's never had many friends or people in her life. 

   Starting with grade school when her parents were still alive to high school when they'd died from a fire accident in their home and she's retreated into herself. 

   Then, when she started feeling weird and abnormal, noticing only the girls in school and not having an ounce of attraction for the boys especially when they noticed her a lot, she'd become downright unfriendly to people. Nearly hostile while trying to put them away and keep them at arm's length. 

   The one person she'd confided in was Dane. Dane, who'd taken her into their house against his father's wish when her parents died. 

   He'd became her legal guardian until she was eighteen, of legal age, to inherit her trust fund. Over the years he'd become her best friend even though he's seven years older than she is. He'd become her anchor and she'd come to depend on him a lot. 

  "So, what about the house? Did you find anyone for me too?" She asked, turning to face him. 

  "You mean the one you wanted to live in? Yeah, I spoke with the real estate agent that helped me buy a house in that estate to help me look for another house. He found one too. A newly built beautiful bungalow."

  "Wow, that's great." Raine said excitedly, "Hope it's not too far from your place?"

  Dane chuckled, turning the steering wheel in another direction. "No, it's not. It's just a few miles away."

  "Great. What about work?"

   "I'm not in a hurry to start working. I need to settle down first, study my environment." He replied. 

  She nodded to that, keeping her eyes on the road, "That's understandable. You're one of the best physiotherapists and fitness trainer in America. You're young and rich. You can easily decide not to work for the rest of your life. "

   He chuckled softly. "Not so young anymore, sugarplum. I'll be thirty in a few months. You're right about not having to work but then again, you know how much I love my work."

   She nodded again. "That I do. I'm so excited, I've always wanted to go to Africa. That continent has always fascinated me." 

    "Me too. I never really know my mother but she was a very beautiful woman from her pictures. I'm glad I'm finally going to her country. I wanna see what it's like." Dane said. 

   It was a ten minutes ride to the airport. They got themselves settled on their seat next to each other.

    As the plane was about to take off, Raine's hand suddenly found his across the seat and her fingers tightened around his. 

   Dane smiled ruefully, "I've almost forgotten about your flying phobia." 

   "Lucky you. I hope I can forget too but I can't. I'm so afraid right now." She swallowed tightly, her hand in his suddenly cold and clammy. 

   Dane reached for her and placed her head on his chest. "Now close your eyes, sugarplum."

  She sighed with relief and settled deeper against him. "Ahh! That feels so good. I wonder what I'll do without you."

  Dane forced his heart not to react to her, but if there's one thing his stupid heart doesn't do at all, it's listening to him. 

  His heart fluttered and settled warmly at the feel of her pressed tightly against him. 

  He was so attuned to her during the flight that he noticed every little movement her body made against him. 

   He also noticed when her body relaxed into a peaceful slumber as she fell asleep against him. 

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