Nano 2010
I'm not going to blog it all this time. I'm not convinced it really got read last year, and I don't want to give it all away…
But I will pop up an extract from each day's writing for you.
She lifted her mug and drained the last mouthful of coffee, rich and creamy and close to cold, and picked up her bag. Diana decided that more than an hour was quite long enough and if Sage wasn't there by the time she'd been to the toilet then she'd give up and try to contact her friend later. She left her coat draped over the back of her chair so it would be obvious where she was sitting if Sage did turn up.
A few minutes later, when Diana came back into the café, she slid open her phone to check for any missed calls or messages. She knew it was futile and that she'd have heard her phone, but she checked anyway.
There was nothing.
Getting more grumpy, mostly annoyed with Sage but starting to feel a little concerned, Diana went back to her table to collect her coat.
Fresh coffee steamed from two clean mugs sitting on the table. Diana's empty mug had been cleared away and the tabled wiped. A slice of lemon meringue pie with cream sat on a white plate beside one mug which was filled with soft foaming cream dusted with cocoa and that Diana knew would be rich creamy coffee beneath. Just how she liked it. The other mug held liquid that was thick and oily, rich, black and Diana knew it would be sweet with two or three large spoons of sugar.
"Sorry I'm late," Sage grinned. "I got caught up with stuff, you know how it is."
Diana tried to scowl her annoyance but she could never stay angry with Sage for long and besides, she was quite relieved that there was no more sinister reason for her being late. And that made her even more irritated.
"Almost an hour and a half is excessive, even for you."
"I know, and I am sorry. Can you stay a bit longer?" Sage lounged comfortably sideways across the dark leather upholstered bench seat with one arm draped across the back and in that hand was her phone. She swiped her thumb across the screen and slipped it into her pocket.
Sage was about the same height as Diana but stocky where Diana was wiry. Broad shoulders leant her an almost masculine build that almost went with her soft short hair that looked a little longer than usual, just starting to fall onto her ears in waves of chestnut, deep and richly red-brown. A nose that had been broken at least once dominated a face that was normally relaxed and smiling but Diana knew could turn as hard as stone when needed. Sage's eyes matched her name, nestling as pools of grey-green beneath the shadows of dark brows that made people think her eyes were darker than they really were. Her full lipped mouth smiled into lightly freckled, weather tanned cheeks.
Sage slid forward and rested muscular arms on the table and wrapped strong hands round her coffee mug. She seemed to hit that balance between being very fit and body builder just right and managed to stay looking feminine while carrying the muscle well.
"Do you have to shoot off?" she asked again, looking up at Diana with a warm smile as she raised the mug and blew away the rising steam.
"Nope, day off." Diana sat back down and scooped the thick foam from the top of her mug with a spoon, loving the slight crust the cocoa dusting formed on the foamed milk there. "No cake for you?"
"Not hungry, but I thought a peace offering might stop you being too annoyed at me."
"How did you know I hadn't already had some?" Diana couldn't resist.
"I checked with Matthew, you're well known in here you know." Sage sipped at hot coffee, leaned back in her seat and winced as she moved. A flash of white peeped from under the shoulder of her dark blue shirt.
"Is that a bandage? Are you hurt?" Diana leaned forward to see better, suddenly concerned for her friend and feeling a pang of guilt that she'd been annoyed.
Sage reached up and pulled the shirt so it covered the white that Diana was sure was neat bandaging. "It's nothing."
"What have you been up to?" Diana asked, reaching for the pie.
"Oh you know me, saving the world, this and that an iron in every fire." A familiar look passed across Sage's face, a hard determination that stated very clearly that no details would be forthcoming.
"Yeah right." Diana laughed even as the evasion stung. "You're Wonderwoman or something."
Sage raised one eyebrow and peered over the top of her coffee mug. "Can you really see me in a bikini?"
Diana couldn't reply as she was almost choking on the mouthful of pie she'd just taken. "Oh hell, that's an image that'll haunt my nightmares for days now."
"If that's all that haunts your nightmares then you're doing fine." Sage was suddenly very serious and just as suddenly it was gone.
