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[butterflyfactor]

It was the first time since her arrival that Layla had been in a crowded place and not had anyone ask about or comment on her tattoo. The lace and feather butterfly mask she wore covered it completely. It added to her general feeling of well being- not the anonymity, because no one there knew or cared who she was regardless of her garb- because she

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[howmanylives]

There's a timeless quality to Layla Miller. Even with the mask, she looks like something out of an old movie, the dress hugging to her every curve, her hair pulled away from her face, leaving her neck bare and begging to be kissed. Chandler wrote that the good detective never gets married, but looking at her makes me want to settle for mediocrity. Or maybe that's just the booze talking, it's hard to tell. Either way, one thing's for certain -- she's stunning.

Dressed in gray and hands momentarily free, Jamie ambled toward Layla with the sort of confidence that came only with a few drinks. He was loose, relaxed -- less like Prime, and more like a dupe, that one, buried part of his personality that was good at mingling at parties and talking to beautiful women. Sliding in next to her, he leaned against the wall.

"Hiding from someone?"

[butterflyfactor]

She smiled a little, lips closed, and lifted her eyebrows behind her mask. She left her hands where they were, behind her, pressed between the wall and her back.

It's not an unfair question. The answer's a little complicated and involved, though. The simplest one is, no. Or at least I shouldn't be. I know I'm not hiding from him, at least.

"What good would hiding from the world's greatest detective do me?" she asked.

[howmanylives]

He considered that for a moment, head tilting to the side. Then, with his arms folded across his chest, he narrowed his eyes. There were a lot of ways he could answer, and he knew every last one of them, though his head was a little clouded from the drinks he'd had earlier.

"You tell me."

[butterflyfactor]

Layla glanced up at him, trying to judge how many drinks it had taken him to get this Bogey. Not that he didn't wear it well, but she figured it might be smart to be aware of the fact that it had definitely been more than one.

"Give me one reason why I should," she countered.