aprilwritcs​:

“It’d be hella nice if I got one, yeah.” Ethan said with a chuckle, always downplaying stuff. It was his coping mechanism and no matter how many times he was told he should come off with seriousness about certain topics, he kept choosing what was easiest for him. Wasn’t that adulthood? Doing what seemed less stressful to avoid adding more shit to the pile? At least that was the way Ethan saw it. And he didn’t have to pretend otherwise with Liana; it might have been years since their friendship was put on hold but this woman right here was still his best friend and the woman he loved and pine after. 

“Two years…” Ethan mused after her, with hesitation and curiosity in his voice, waiting for Liana to finish the sentence. He frowned at what came next. She divorced Lex?” When she pretended to care more for the menu instead of looking at him, Ethan tolted his head, his frown becoming a scowl and he actually gaped when the redhead said the fucking asshole chetead on her. “I can’t fucking…” He shook his head and pressed his lips on a tight line. “Fucking piece of shit.” He growled,  a little too loud for a few people around to look at him. “I knew he’d fuck up. I knew it.” It wasn’t probably what Liana needed to hear but Ethan’s grudge against her hus-ex-husband was big. “Fucker. I’d go kick his fucking ass. I’ll go and kick his ass.” He corrected himself as hhe tapped his hand against the table while he shook his head. “Wait, and the kids?” 

Liana did not have to pull her gaze from the menu to feel the scowl that grew on Ethan’s face. Had it been a surprise that Liana and Lex had finally divorced? Perhaps to some it had been a surprise... but it seemed that the concept had not been a farfetched idea with Ethan as he expressed his anger toward the situation. Liana mere shrugging it off. Their divorce had been finalized and there wasn’t much to do about it now. Liana could not go back in time and decide what needed to be done to prevent such happenings... but she shouldn’t have been the one looking to prevent his affair anyway. Lex was a grown man who made choices and had to suffer the consequences. Regardless of the situation they still ended up spending time together. Holidays, birthdays, family gatherings.... 

“You two have been saying you’ll kick each other’s asses for years,” Liana said with a dry laugh and waved her hand at Ethan and his anger as if it wasn’t happening. His follow up question caused her to pause, a sigh falling from her lips as she hesitated to answer. “They... are with him,” she said after a moment and set the menu on the table, finally making eye contact with him. “Theo is... legally an adult. He kind of comes and goes as he pleases. He’s actually living in Lex’s apartment,” Liana continued with a wry laugh. After Liana kicked Lex out of their home together he had taken up residence in an apartment which their son was now residing in. “Ava hates me,” Liana said firmly, pressing her lips together. “She, well, she loves her father.” A shrug came and went as if it was a nonchalant subject. “She blames me for the divorce which... She’s not entirely wrong. I was the one who asked for one and I was the one who kicked him out of the house.” What Liana failed to mention were the various threats of violence that she had made against Lex at the time. “As for the baby,” she continued, “He’s 5 now and we kind of... decided that uprooting him wasn’t going to be helpful. That’s just kind of where we are now.” 

hcneyjarwritings​:

“I mean, yes, it is objective on how hot she is,” The stranger wasn’t wrong about that. Not in the slightest, but there was no way that the blonde hanging on his arm wasn’t better looking than she was simply because she at least ten years younger than her. “I don’t think it’s quite so read,” she shook her head, letting the magazine fall to her lap with a sigh. “It was a planned trip, sort of, I mean we obviously cancelled the romantic getaway but it seems as if he booted it back up for someone else.” Claire shook her head at the thought. It should have been more in the forefront of her mind about coming to Hawaii that he could show up. “I didn’t think he would, he really didn’t seem all that enthused about the trip in the first place.” She admitted to the man, though she doubted he wanted to hear any more of her crazy antics. “No, I definitely won’t be able to hide behind this,” her fingers tapped against the magazine in her lap. “I will probably need to hide my humiliation of being here alone by sitting in room. I really hope it at least has a view of the beach.”

As the woman next to him began to further detail her situation he had to wonder to himself -- was he supposed to be mortified that he was in Hawaii by himself? He had to ponder that for a moment before quickly brushing the thought away. Eric was not the one here being haunted by failings of relationships past. “Why hide?” He inquired with a shrug before peering about the lobby again. It was as if Eric was certain he would be able to spot who this stranger’s ex-boyfriend was by just looking around. Surely the other man and his new girlfriend were long gone for the time being. “I mean, you can always lie,” Eric suggested with an amused chuckle. “Not saying you should lie... but you could. Just make shit up. He’s an ex, right? If he really doesn’t care then he’s not going to bother looking into whether or not you’re bluffing.” For the most part Eric found this to be true. Most men, at least from Eric’s personal experience and seeing his friends go through breakups, if they didn’t care about the ex once they became an ex.. there was no motivation to figure out if they were leading a new shiny life. However, if they did care then it was a competition on who was happier after the breakup. “If he calls your bluff then just ask him why he’s so interested and you’re broken up,” Eric said with a shrug. “Most likely that’ll probably embarrass him to some degree and he’ll back off. So you can do whatever you want. Enjoy your vacation.” 

hcneyjarwritings​:

Heading off to Hawaii was not exactly something Claire had intended on doing alone. No, she was supposed to have come with her long term boyfriend. That trip, however, had been disbanded when their relationship came to an abrupt end. Claire had seen it coming, though she had often refused to admit that to herself even as she was finding the words to leave him once and for all. Their six year long relationship had no future, it seemed, her now ex-boyfriend not able to find it in his heart to ask for her hand in marriage or at the very least, consider the idea that they would be spending the rest of their lives together. As soul crushing as it was, Claire put an end to the relationship and got on the next flight out of the city to go on the trip. At least, the next flight that was about a month out from when they broke up.

It was meant to be an escape. Even from the lobby, laughter of children running on the beach could be heard. She found herself getting lost staring at the waves hitting the shore, the ocean having a mind of its own. Even the cries of the sea gulls were not annoying a single bone in her body as she waited to check into the hotel. However, the peace and the serenity were cut short when she saw her ex-boyfriend. And not only was he there, but there was some blonde, at least five years younger than herself, hanging on his arm. Her laughter was shrill as she was clearly pretending to find whatever he said funny. Claire had never moved so fast in her life as she grabbed a magazine from a stack by the chairs in the lobby, not even bothering to notice that someone was sitting there as she flipped it open to conceal her face from her ex-boyfriend before all but falling into the chair next to the occupied one. 

She muttered obscenities to herself. Claire should have known that he might consider the trip himself but to see him at the resort they were supposed to share with some younger girlfriend hanging on him was not exactly the view she had been expecting to see. Peering over the top of the magazine, it seemed as the coast was clear. For now. Claire couldn’t be certain that she wouldn’t run into him again. At the sound of someone clearing their throat, she looked over. Her lips thinned as she realized that someone noticed the skittish behavior she was being so obvious about. “Oh,” she let a sad laugh pass over her lips, “yeah, no, I mean, as fine as one can be after seeing their recent ex here with a younger and hotter girlfriend, right?” 

Perplexed by the woman’s behavior, Eric took a moment to look around the lobby. Not a soul who lingered in the room seemed to make themselves stand out more than the individuals next to them. Again, the primary suspects in the area were families with multiple children and a few couples here and there. As the woman in the other chair began to speak he pulled his attention away from the rest of the room and allowed for it to refocus on her. Her response to his question caught him somewhat off guard. Eric wasn’t sure what he had been expecting her answer to be, but it simply wasn’t this one. 

“Oh, wow, alright,” he stammered and peeked around the room again for a brief moment. “I mean, ‘hotter’ is an objective term, right?” He shrugged his shoulders as if to allude to the idea that there was no reason for her to behave as such. Realistically, there was no true reason for someone to be this skittish over having to encounter an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, but humans seemed to be innately obsessed with how situations looked to other humans, especially those they had been intimate with at some point. 

“Kind of weird how you both ended up... here,” Eric commented before picking up the magazine off his lap and letting it slap down onto the pile that sat on the table before him. “There’s how many resorts like this in Hawaii and he just happens to be here?” Eric shrugged, “You won’t be able to hide behind that magazine the entire time.” 

Location: Some Resort in Hawaii 

With: Claire Robinson, @hcneyjarwritings​

The sound of the waves lapping lazily at the shore coupled with the gentle background noise of acoustic guitar and laughter provided the necessary tone for a relaxing vacation. Gulls squawked overhead as they searched the land for any missed food on the ground. Children chased one another on a patch of rich, green grass with plastic flowers around their necks. Other guests clinked their glasses together which were filled to the brim with vibrantly colored drinks, cheering to their much needed getaway. The sound of wheels on pavement came and went as bellhops towed luggage towards the elevators and other guests followed behind, their suitcases rolling gently behind them. 

However, among all of the fuss Eric found himself seated in the lobby while a line of families stood before the counter awaiting their check-in. He had not found himself in such a rush, giving up his place in line without much conflict to a family who had multiple children that they were attempting to keep in line. So there he sat, lounging casually in the chair with a magazine full of advertisements in his lap. He flipped through pages mindlessly, the bright and cheery ads for adventure selling themselves as being better than the next. One was for horseback riding in the ocean while the next was for scuba diving. Many of the ads focused on experiences with the aquatic life in the area such as whale sightings, dive cages with sharks, swimming with dolphins, and even a manta ray adventure. 

While he flipped through the pages mindlessly, a person in his peripheral caught his attention. There had been many people walking through the front of the resort. Couples, families, and so on... however, this woman failed to appear as relaxed as the rest. In fact, her behavior seemed out of place and erratic compared to the flow of the rest of the lobby. His eyes pulled away from the magazine as she slid down into a chair near to him, quickly pulling a newspaper up to hide behind. He closed the magazine, glancing around the room before he spoke to her.

 “Hey, excuse me,” Eric began quietly before clearing his throat, “Are you alright, miss?” 

Location: Evangeline’s flower shop

With: @aprilwritcs​

The sound of the rain tapping against the glass paired with the radio playing jazz somewhere in the store offered a therapeutic atmosphere in the little shop. While most stores had found themselves flipping their lights off and turning over the sign in the door, Evangeline’s remained open late even on this rainy, spring evening. Inside the shop remained the owner and his faithful companion, a long legged Borzoi, who had found herself resting peacefully on an oversized dog bed near the checkout counter. Meanwhile, the man was mulling about toward the back of the store, sweeping an aisle. The sound of the bristles of the broom against the cool, tiled floor meshed delightfully with the rest of the noise that filled the store. Just tying up some loose ends before heading home. 

Peace was disturbed only momentarily as the gentle vibration of his phone pulled his attention from the mindless cleaning. The call went as quickly as it had come and he tucked his phone back into his pocket and returned to his chores. It was a local wedding planner who seemed to be in a bit of a position with the flower situation for her bride. Indy had worked with this woman previously and had ensured her that his store stayed open well into the evening during peak season in case there were any floral emergencies that he could assist with. They had traded information and she seemed to be cashing in on his “insurance” of sorts. 

So as he cleared the aisle and tucked random objects back into their homes, Indy returned to the counter. As he reached the counter, he pulled the stool back from the register, perching himself upon it before pulling a book from a drawer and flipping it back to its marked page to bide his time while he awaited the wedding planner’s arrival. 

SPELL A MUSE’S NAME IN MY ASK BOX AND I’LL TELL YOU…

Alternatively - put an * in my askbox and I’ll pick a muse

A: Who are their exes? Do they still keep in touch? B: Who is the last person they shared a bed with? C: If they had to pick one sport to play/watch which would it be? D: What time does their day usual start? E: Are they the happiest they’ve ever been?   F: Have they ever had a one night stand?  G: What was their first job?  H: Who texts/calls them the most?  I: In general, are they organized or messy?  J: What is their most irrational fear?  K: What’s their Youtube suggestions look like?  L: How often do they post on their social media accounts?  M: When’s the last time they talked to their mom?  N: Are they clumsy and/or prone to accidents?  O: How much have they changed in the past five years? P: What are their thoughts on going vegan? Could they do it? Q: Do they have a good luck charm they often have with them?  R: When’s the last time they had a birthday party?  S: How do they tell someone they’re sorry?  T: How quick are they to cry? U: Would they rather be single or in a relationship?  V: They’ve been arrested, who is their one phone call to?  W: Would they be starstruck if they met a celebrity?  X: What’s a song that is always stuck in their head?  Y: What movie could they watch over and over again?  Z: What time does their end usually end? 

Feel free to reblog!

hcneyjarwritings​:

“I mean,” Brooklyn paused, lifting her shoulders in response to his words. She was no stranger to harassing her brother, no matter the situation. “you’re not wrong,” she gave him a smile. She knew that Dakota wasn’t going to admit to helping her regardless of what she drove. That’s simply not how the two of them expressed their care for one another. The Carver family admitting feelings? Talking about them? A hard pass in their books. “Fine, whatever you say,” she knew better than to believe what he was saying in it’s entirety, but admitting to that would probably result in death for the both of them. “I’m going to get it.” She sat matter-of-fact, though she could only assume that he had known that from the get go.

It was against their mother’s wishes to be so... repressed with their emotions, but Dakota would blame that on their father. There was something to be said about being the children of a military man who came from a long line of other military men with extremely repressed emotions. Even with him long gone... the upbringing still remained intact. “Is it a private sale?” Dakota asked with a raised brow still holding off from showing any further concern. “Just wondering if it’s been inspected recently or not,” he added. “I wouldn’t want you to immediately have to call me to give you a ride, of course.” 

hcneyjarwritings​:

“Oh,” Erin raised her brows, almost feeling sorry for Dane if he had to listen to stories coming from the mouth of Violet, “I want to say that I am sorry for you but you’ve probably heard enough that you are used to it,” she laughed softly, shaking her head at the thought. “But then again, I’d like to say that I am used to them and yet, Violet continues to baffle me.” More often than not, her co-worker and best friend managed to bamboozle the lawyer, leaving her utterly speechless after sharing a story with her. “It definitely makes it interesting,” Erin agreed with the nod of her head as he went on to talk about he got into his line of work. “Wow,” Erin laughed softly, “it seems as if everyone got to follow their passions.” Not that Erin was shoved into being a lawyer, but it was expected of her that she go to be a lawyer or a doctor. Her parent’s expected big things from her. “Which is honestly really great,” she admitted honestly as he went on. “At least it hasn’t bit you in the ass yet. It’s a hell of a risk, so props to you.”

Following one’s dream really wasn’t a top priority in the Halstead family even though it may have seemed that way. Which, he couldn’t blame anyone for thinking it. They had quite the variety of career paths... but it was mostly about the money aspect. Sure, there was no clear “right” or “wrong” path as long as the path ended with a pot of gold. Or at least that was how Dane had seen it. “Let’s hope it doesn’t,” he agreed with a nod. “Or else I’ll really be the last accomplished kid in the family,” Dane joked lightly even though sometimes it hadn’t felt like a joke. That was the issue with someone who liked to gamble with things - sometimes it would bite them in the ass and they’d end up at square one. This was an issue for the family and their “image” within the community he had grown up in but that was what made it that much more interesting. “So you like to command the room, huh?” He inquired with a grin, “Just like a lawyer to want a power trip,” Dane continued with an obviously joking tone. “No, but really - hey. Props to you, I really don’t think I could do it - at least without swearing or something.” Dane shrugged, “What case really drove the point home to you that being a lawyer was what you wanted?”

okiewrites​:

location: her first grade classroom with: cato calhoun | @whiskeyrated​

Career Day was always one of the most stressful days for Bethany, but she adored it more than any other day of the school year. Behind the scenes, it was chaos: making sure her classroom looked spotless but still fun and authentic, ensuring her students were on their best behavior, coordinating the arrival of parents and using everyone’s time to the best of her ability. She knew it was hard on the parents. No one wanted to waste half their day sitting in a classroom where the other parents talked about their jobs and everyone tried to sound as impressive as possible. She’d started staggering their arrivals a few years back, and now Bethany had a foolproof system.

The mother talking about her career as an interior decorator was a complete hit, which Bethany had expected. She had scheduled a short break between this one and the next parent, so Bethany had her students stand up and have a dance party. It was short, but she knew it could make a huge impact on the way they behaved throughout the morning. The classroom door was open so the next parent could come right in when they arrived, and Bethany was never one to miss a good dance party. In the heat of her dancing, she almost missed a student call out “Uncle Cato!” Turning to the door, Bethany cleared her throat and smoothed her hands over her skirt. “Hi,” she said, glancing down at the student who came rushing over to hug the man in front of her. “Are you here for the dance party or is someone skipping out on the rest of career day?” 

Cato had met William while attending university in Texas after he served his 4 years in the Marines. The two had become fast friends and Cato was even William’s best-man at his wedding. Only a few years after William had married Cato was named Godfather to a precious little girl named Georgia. The last time that Cato had seen Georgia she had excitedly explained to him, in the best way a first grader could, how her Daddy was going to come visit her in school for career day. Unfortunately, when the time came for William to show up for career day he had managed to come down with a nasty cough and a fever to go along with it. This had prompted him to request that Cato step in for him. Thankfully, Georgia was thrilled either way. 

As he arrived at the door of the classroom the girl darted through the crowd of other first graders and jumped up for a hug which he quickly bent down to catch her. “Georgie!” He exclaimed and hugged the girl. He set her back down as the teacher approached, questioning him on which activity he was there to partake in. “William couldn’t make it,” Cato explained, “Came down with a real nasty cough. He sent me instead,” he continued with a small smile. “He said you wouldn’t mind and sent an email or something?” Cato wasn’t sure that William had really sent anything, but was only reiterating what he had been told previously. “Cato Calhoun,” he said then and stuck his hand out, “Sorry, I - I guess I could’ve started with that. I’m Georgie’s Godfather.” 

hcneyjarwritings​:

Brooklyn’s eyes rolled to the back of her head as he snorted in response. “If you say so,” she lifted her shoulders. In all honesty, the two of them knew Brooklyn’s knowledge of cars was completely nonexistent. “Oh yeah?” She tried to fight an eye roll but ultimately failed with his comment. “You make that sound like a bad thing, Dakota.” The blonde knew she could be slightly more shallow than her big brother. “I mean honestly, are you going to complain about getting out me harassing you to look out of my car?” Not that Brooklyn wouldn’t at least try. 

“See that’s the problem,” Dakota began, “You’ll still harass me to look at it.” He shrugged his shoulders, content with the knowledge that Brooklyn knew he was correct whether she’d want to admit to it or not. “Hey, get whatever you want,” Dakota paused for a moment. Even though he’d tell her that he would refuse to work on anything foreign... he knew himself better than that. Dakota would go out of his way to ensure that his sister’s source of transportation was kept up and as reliable as possible. He would also drop everything to go pick her up off the side of the road if and when the thing would finally give out. Would he admit to this? No, but the two of them knew anyway. “I mean, I’m not gonna work on a Beamer or some shit. Or Mercedes... Or Audi.” He crossed his arms over his chest, “I’ll come pick you up when it dies but I’m not working on it, nope.” 

hcneyjarwritings​:

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Harper ran a hand through her hair at the thought. “Honestly, I never had to think so hard about what I do in my spare time?” Her brow raised, “Like now it’s got to impress people enough to swipe right on me?” Part of that thought was entirely daunting and while it might not be her favorite thing about Jack, he seemed to have an idea of what he was doing. Harper leaned against the counter, resting her chin against her hands as he popped waffles into the toaster. “Alright, fine,” it was not a terrible idea and quite frankly, she hated relying on Jack’s dating app knowledge but here she was. Her nose lifted in a wrinkle at the mention of their other sister. Of the four of them, there had to be one that got as far away from the life they had as she possibly could. While Harper wasn’t as heavily involved as Jack or Lou, she still made her way out to the barn when she could. “I mean, you’re just as capable as giving grandkids that aren’t allergic to air. Or what about Lou? Isn’t she still with that hot ass doctor?”

Jack’s working knowledge of dating apps such as Tinder were mostly limited to his experiences on them... and being a guy with basic tastes. As far as relationships went, Jack Dunn had no problem with being the king of hook-ups rather than involving himself in long term relationships. “Me? Hell no,” Jack replied hastily with a shake of his head. Imagine. If Jack didn’t have a kid out there in the world by this point then it was safe to say that he was right on track with his life plan of not having a kid. “Nick?” he quirked a brow at his sister and laughed, “Yeah, well... Someone who is not me can give Mom kids,” Jack said with a nod. He finished 98% of the waffle before tossing it at one of his dogs who had approached earlier to investigate the food situation, hoping Jack would drop something. “Alright,” he said and clapped his hands together with a grin. “Do you want me to have someone get a horse ready for your photoshoot or are you gonna do this one yourself?”

hcneyjarwritings​:

“Violet? Determined?” Erin raised a brow, the corners of her lips smirking upward. “That’s a new way to describe her,” she was obviously teasing. Anyone that knew Violet would say she was determined, though that would be the nicer way of putting it. “I don’t know about that,” Erin admitted with a laugh, shaking her head. “I did the whole pro bono charity lawyer thing when I first started,” she told him, “but I don’t know, there’s something about being in the courtroom and commanding a room that really spoke to me.” Though that was hardly something it looked like she could do when she was often so soft spoken. “I’ve enjoyed it, though, over all, it’s what I wanted. The long and grueling hours aren’t always that glamorous,” her shoulders lifted, “but they got me where I am now.” Erin went on, hoping she wasn’t rambling too much on the first date. “The drama,” her nose wrinkled, “like any work place, but there’s always some sort of gossip floating around the office. Mostly who is sleeping with who, right?” She laughed, “it’s like people have to be so involved in someone else’s life.” Erin smiled at him, “What made you get into your line of work? Family business?” 

Knowing Violet and now haven met Erin, Dane found it delightfully amusing that the two were friends. Or rather, Violet decided that Erin would be her friend. Either way, their approaches to things seemed vastly different. Erin was much more soft spoken whereas their mutual friend had a tendency to be outspoken and much more bold. Though, Dane had to admit that Erin’s seemingly gentle nature was attractive. He had spent much of his twenties dating girls who made Violet look tame, that part of his life had concluded. “I could only imagine,” Dane noted with a nod of his head as Erin explained that her extensive hours at work were not necessarily the highlight of her career choice. “Oh, boy,” he chuckled. “Violet has managed to let me know about some of her, uh, escapades,” Dane commented with another laugh. While they hadn’t been chatting all that recently, Dane had managed to hear about Violet and... well, her extracurricular activities. “Makes for an interesting work place, no?” Dane shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly at Erin’s question about his line of work. “No, actually,” he began to explain, “Which is kind of funny. Most of the time this stuff is a family business... but, nah. My father is a surgeon, my mother is an art director. Brother is a lawyer and my sister is a midwife.” The Halstead family clearly had no “right” route for what field the children would end up in. “I guess I just wanted to be my own boss,” Dane explained. “When I graduated from school I kind of did the math on the risks associated with starting something like that. The odds were definitely not good but I decided to take the risk anyway and it hasn’t bitten me in the ass yet.” 

hcneyjarwritings​:

“I don’t know,” Harper all but groaned, her eyes rolling back in her head at Jack’s words. “That’s not true, I was out - I was out,” she furrowed her brow as she tried to find the last time she was out, “okay, fine, it’s been a while.” More than she was willing to admit but they both knew that at least a year had passed since she had been on a horse. “Okay, fine, I get it.” Harper hated that Jack was right, especially when it came to giving her advice on dating apps. “So I just need to actually think of some of the other things in life that I love,” she paused, “that should be easy, right?” Her brow raised, though she wasn’t necessarily asking him more than she was herself. “To be fair, I should get back into riding more so I’m definitely at least adding that.” Harper raised her shoulders in a shrug. “God, what else do I even like to do?” She was suddenly wondering what the hell she did in her free time. “I’m going to need to get some hobbies, it seems.” 

Jack was seldom right about things that involved romance and dating so when he was actually right... he basked in the glory of it. The best part was that not only was he correct, he was correct in front of one of his sisters. “Yeah, what do you do?” Jack inquired with a raised brow before turning his back to Harper to begin rummaging around in his freezer. Eggo waffles were on the menu. “Look, I’m headin’ over to the barn in probably a half hour,” he said, pulling two chocolate chip waffles from the box and tossing them in his toaster. “We can drive up together and you can hop on. I’ll even be nice enough to be your personal photographer,” Jack offered with a grin. “I mean, you know mom is waitin’ on someone to give her some grandkids,” he explained. “And it can’t be me, so...” Jack shrugged as the toaster popped. “And I mean, grandkids she gets to see. Not the ones allergic to air.” 

okiewrites​:

Maggie couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh when he shrugged, shaking her head as an impressed look on her face. “You make it sound so casual,” she said softly, her eyes landing on his, “and while I admire your humble nature, I have to say, you’re impressive, Dakota Carver.” Maggie glanced toward the family they’d been waiting on before moving to set up her ball and taking her shot. She winced as it ended up a lot further from the hole than she’d intended, but Maggie had to admit, she wasn’t so concerned about winning. “It was gorgeous, just like the pictures. It was for fun, but we traveled a ton together for performances so we knew the ins-and-outs.” 

“That must’ve been nice,” he said with a smile. “I think if you get the chance to travel you definitely should. Not everything should be put off until you’re retired,” Dakota shrugged. He was a bit of a hypocrite when it came to that, though. Could he really afford to travel right now? Sure, to some degree. He could easily take a trip as long as he stayed stateside... but he spent more time working than not. “So where’s one place you haven’t gone but would like to?”

aprilwritcs​:

“Yah.” Was all Ethan was able to muse in reply. What else was there to say? At least he wasn’t feeling the sting on his heart anymore, neither the need to flee from the conversation and the pitty looks he got. He did, though, felt the need to smoke, cigarette after cigarette. It was especially hard today as this was Liana and not just any other random person, she got to know Nelly when they were on their twenties and started to go out together… Ethan wasn’t sure if Liana ever realized that when he still used to see her, Nelly always felt jealous about her, he tohught he wasn’t obvious about his feelings towards his friend but his wife wither suspected it or it waas just a more general kind of jealousy abouth is only best female friend. Once he stopped frequenting her, Nelly never showed any signs of jealousy again. 

And now he was with Liana again… even now he felt like he was breaking Nelly’s trust. 

“Thanks.” He nodded with a tight-lip smile at her offer to help him and Max and then waved her last “sorry” off as he shook his head; he was more than ready to move on from this particular topic. “Yeah, ‘bout time we get going.” Ethan nodded and opened the car door, he considered lightning a cigarette but the entrance was just a few feet away and it would be no use, so he swang on his feet until Liana joined him on the sidewalk and he headed for the diner’s front door, letting her go in first. “That one’s empty.” He pointed at the table and he half sighed, half grunted when he finally sat down. “Here we are.” Ethan smiled, quickly being interrupted by a waitress who greeted them cheerfully before placin the menus on the table. “I’ll start with a coffee, please.”

While Liana’s ex-husband had nothing in common with the general population of normal and well-behaved human beings, he did have one thing in common with Nelly. That one thing was that tinge of jealousy over the friendship between Ethan and Liana. While Nelly’s jealousy had never been made apparent to Liana, Lex’s had and it was also coupled with distrust of Ethan and another feeling which bordered on hatred. Even back in college when Liana and Lex had begun dating the man had never been a fan of Ethan and had made sure that Liana, as well as Ethan, had been made well aware of that. 

The diner was quiet and the smell of coffee strong (and good). So once they sat down and the waitress came over Liana ordered a coffee as well. “I guess I owe you an explanation,” Liana began with a faint laugh. It felt unfair that Ethan had... well, divulged what had happened with Nelly meanwhile Liana hadn’t truly explained herself as to why she wasn’t with Lex anymore. “It’s been two years,” she started and rolled her eyes. “Divorced for two years now... uh, let’s see.” Liana looked down at the menu for a moment, ensuring to remove eye contact from Ethan as the next words came out of her mouth. “He cheated... with a thirty-some year old girl who worked in the office with him.” Her eyes stayed glued to the menu, “So, you know. That was kind of the end of that. Kicked him out of the house. Got a divorce.” 

okiewrites​:

She’d be lying through her teeth if Natalie said that Declan’s reaction to seeing her didn’t matter. The fact that he seemed genuinely glad to see her meant Nat was feeling a little special. After all, he could be talking to any number of attractive women in the bar, and it wasn’t like he had to be nice to her out of obligation. At least, she told herself that was the case. When he opened his arms, Nat took a few steps toward the man and buried herself in his chest, her own hands moving around his waist to hug him tightly. “Well, you know Nate, he’s always jealous of how much more you like me,” she replied playfully. Stepping back to look over at the liquors lining the wall, Natalie dropped one hand and let the other find Declan’s waist as she hummed to herself. “Surprise me,” she said with a challenge in her voice. “You’re the expert, after all.” 

“Expert?” He repeated with a laugh, “I wouldn’t be too sure about that one.” Declan ducked behind the bar, turning his back to Natalie for a moment as he contemplated what he’d make for her. “So how was it?” He inquired, turning his head a bit to peer at her from over his shoulder while pulling a bottle or two down from the shelves. “What did Nate say...” He muttered to himself before approaching the bar again. “I think he said Ohio?” Declan rolled his eyes. With all offense to Ohio... any time Declan had driven through it had been the most mundane of car rides and he loved driving. “Just as boring as ever, right?” He tossed some ice into a glass, “Here. Mudslide.” 

hcneyjarwritings​:

Brooklyn fought back the urge to roll his eyes. He worked on cars but he couldn’t work on a BMW? The thought often baffled her, but what did she know? Brooke knew absolutely nothing when it came to cars. “Well if it’s not going to run after you touch it,” she held up her hands, “Nope, you shall not be touching it.” Brooke shook her head at him. “I wouldn’t want you to take responsibility for anything,” she thinned her lips. “That might be asking too much,” she chided her brother, knowing full and well that she was being a pain in the ass. “I don’t know if I’m even getting it,” her shoulders lifted in a shrug, “it was just something I saw and loved.”

Dakota took a moment to bask in the idea that he wouldn’t have to deal with Brooklyn’s car if it was something he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) work on. Quite frankly, it probably wouldn’t have killed him to work on it and it wasn’t like he and his buddies growing up hadn’t worked on old BMWs before... but that genre of automotive interest escaped him more often than not. “Ha!” He snorted in response to her sisterly chiding, “For a BMW it is asking too much,” Dakota joked. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her emphasis on love.  “Oh, please,” he said with a wave of his hand. “It’s new and shiny,” Dakota teased, “Of course you would love it.”