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Lifeline – Chapter 13
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“Really?”
“Yeah, really,” the blonde replied glumly, taking a swig of beer as she felt the weight of reality descend upon her shoulders. Maybe it was just the effects of the alcohol combined with her overall exhaustion and the stress of the last nine months, but for one small second she dreamt about a simpler life. The life of a beach bum perhaps. The bartender set the shots down in front of them and winked at Melania. Tina quirked an eyebrow.
"What are we toasting to?" The singer smiled sympathetically, sensing her new acquaintance’s angst.
"How about simple pleasures?" Tina asked with a sigh.
"To simple pleasures…"
They downed the shots and lifted their beers. Tina let out a burning gasp that ended with a laugh. She was having a good time in spite of herself.
"What do you do, Tina?"
"I’m a movie producer," Tina said in the same tone people used to say, ‘I work at the post office.’
"That must be interesting," she commented sincerely without sounding starstruck in the least. Almost the whole beach community was in the film business.
Tina shrugged. "Sometimes." She rimmed her beer glass with the flat of her index finger. "Most of the time it’s just a lot of hard work, like anything else." She turned to see if that registered with her acquaintance and saw that it had.
"Most jobs are, aren’t they, no matter how glamorous they might seem to others?"
Tina nodded.
"But it’s not your work that has you down, is it?"
The blonde looked over again, her eyebrows knitting together with a questioning look.
"I meet a lot of people…I work in a bar. You learn to read faces and body language," she offered by way of explanation.
Tina laughed.
"Someone in your personal life…"
"Yeah," the blonde took another drink, nodding.
"A lover."
"Mmm…hmm."
"So you’re drowning your sorrows."
"Actually, I walked I don’t know how many miles up the beach from a party I was at and I was just really thirsty!" She chuckled. "Now I’m half in my cups, as they say."
"So your lover is…"
"I don’t know where she is," Tina shook her head dismissively with a little shrug. Maybe back at the party, maybe at home."
"So you left her there."
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Oh, Nell, I hope you won’t leave us hanging for too long. Can’t help but wonder what Melania is going to sing to Tina. Will she try to lift up Tina’s spirit by rendering a ukulele-heavy “Over the Rainbow” or croon her way through “Jealous Guy”? What about Sade’s “Smooth Operator”? Sorry for the wild guesses. Just can’t wait to find out how that beach bar scene will end up. (Btw, if Bette saw Melania flirting with Tina especially that small kiss, I’m sure she’ll go ballistic and bite off that singer’s pretty head. Nice job shifting to multiple viewpoints, Nell! =) Don’t stress about the errors, this is fanfic. Imo what matters most is the story and how you’re telling it. And you rank high on both counts in my book. You told this chapter so well that for a moment I forgot Tina’s still in coma and Bette’s still in great pain. I think my fellow readers have been distracted too. As I’m writing this, no one has yet pleaded for Tina to wake up, pronto. Thanks a bunch, Nell! Hugs and cheers! =)
Oh no, Nell – a little flashback cliffhanger! Did Bette find the bar?!It was great to read another chapter of your brilliant story and yes, it is wonderful to find out more about the history of Bette and Tina. The different style of story telling worked really well. As Merlion and mightmouse have said, the multiple viewpoints flowed beautifully. And as LuRocks and lodeerca said the scene on the beach is very filmic – you can really see the argument on the beach and the scene in the bar, and the dialogue is excellent. Thank you, Nell – and carry on writing now you’re in the groove!!
i could see bette being that jealous… now lets hope bete didn’t hear the the girl say this song was for tina… nice place to stop… thx… pps
It’s so good to see an update on this story. I love it.Tina is playing with fire here. I think she needs to end her evening before she gets herself in a situation she will regret.
Wow, a lot of emotion is going on in this chapter. Hope they work out their issues and soon.
That was just wrong…you’re such a tease! Please post soon. Love this story. Thank you.
Oh no! …. So what happen then? I hope Bette wasn’t witnessing that kiss (no matter how small it was) and misundertood.. Nice story Nell, and I do like this new writing style, combination of the diallogues and pov is flowing beautifully strong :-)Looking forward to your next post. PPS & thanks! :-)
This is sad and hope Tina not drink anymore and hope that Bette will find Tina soon and take her home. Please post more, thanks!
This story is so rich in detail…It’s live watching a movie…you feel every single thing the characters are feeling…I hope you post soon…the suspense is killing me LOL..as usual, wonderful chapter..thank you for this story
Hooray! You’re back! I’ve been plaintively reading and re-reading the previous chapters of this story in hopes that you hadn’t forgotten about it!
WOW!!! Thanks for the wonderful chapter. Please post soon!
This story is like watching a movie! Love it!
I loved the dialogue between all the characters in this story. Very realistic. Tina better not start something she can’t handle. It’s nice to be desired.
Aww, Nell…you seem like such a sweetheart and then you go and stop there! That’s almost cruel. So glad to see you posting and I loved the chapter, format and story. Your dialogue is just perfect. Can’t wait to know if Bette heard Melania’s dedication.
Don’t drink anymore Tina. Go back to Bette.
As much as I can understand T’s frustation, anger, embarassment and hurt with her wife being jealous and acting the way she did in front of her coworkers, I do hope the next update will show B turning up at the bar to see this latest encounter…and that this time B will calmly explain to her wife that while she gets that T may not realize her own attractiveness, or that she is innocently flirting without intent, that in this case to keep flirting is hovering around the line. T even said she was going to “continue the run.” Flirting can be fun but it can also be dangerous; I think that when you are in a committed relationship, each person needs to be aware of the other’s comfort levels with flirting with someone other than your partner and respect that/them….Truly enjoying this & hope we find out happens next soon!
Loved this chapter especially the fact that you are showing their points of view about what is/was happening. I just knew that Tina had seen Bette when she first walked out onto the patio and continued to watch Tina swim. Hope Bette has learned her lesson about the jealousy factor and that it does take away from the relationship and slowly kills it. A little jealousy can be interesting for the relationship but too much and too often just tears away at it. Glad Tina understands what Bette is feeling and why but they both must learn to not get all bogged down with it. Hope Bette now knows that she has not shown the slightest interest in Tina’s job and that she must start doing so and cut the jealousy. I think that Caitlyn has understood why Bette did not know that she and Tina were friends, I just hope that Bette figures it out and puts a stop to her behavior. Tina is devastatingly beautiful and yes people will hit on her, just because and Bette needs to remember who she comes home to every night and can’t wait to get in bed with when she gets home. Just hope Bette did not witness the interaction at the bar. Hope they meet up soon and Bette needs to apologize at once and beg all kinds of forgiveness. Great update, loved it.