For Camille the inevitable fireworks display was just what she was anticipating getting a closer look at, but even she wasn't a fan of this distinct flavor of tension. "I think we need a palette cleaner." She shifted focus. "Now that everyone has heard my music, any thoughts? Opinions? Praise?"

"Thank you." Cordie said quietly back. Her heart was still racing. She didn't like confrontation and it seemed like ever since Jai came over it's been nothing but tension since. It wasn't Jai, but it also wasn't Matthew. It was the two of them together. Why couldn't they just get along?

Cordie didn't mean to raise her voice, and after she'd finished, she could feel her heart racing as her hand shook a little from the outburst. "I'm sorry. We were being childish. I don't mind paying, but if you want to pay for yourself, I won't stand in your way." Jai tried to smooth things over.

"She's giving you an out, Burger Boy. You'd be smart to take it." Matthew snickered. "No one asked for your slick remarks." Jai jabbed back. "Both of you, please, stop it! I don't need anyone to pay for us. I will pay for myself and my sister. So it's settled. Now everyone let it go!"

"No one has to pay for me and Camille's food because my parents left me with a card to use for emergencies. I'll just charge our meals to that. No worries!" "Does this really count as an emergency though? Besides, I'm your boyfriend. I can pay for both you and Camille." Jai assured her.

"But I wouldn't expect a person whose one trick is spending mommy and daddy's money to know that." "I think you'd be very surprised just how many tricks I have tucked under my sleeve." Matthew cracked his knuckles. "OK, everyone relax, please!" Cordie immediately broke in.

"Because if they are I don't mind covering Cordelia and Camille's meals. Just focus on ordering what you can afford for yourself. I hear the water is free, why not try that?" "I may not be rich, but I'm not broke." Jai glared up at Matthew. "Some of us work for a living and can pay our own way."

"Then I'll have two." Millie said with smirk. "Camille, you are not gorging on milkshakes!" Cordie tried to kick her under the booth and missed. Jai stayed silent as the sticker shock was still getting to him—and Matthew noticed. "What's the a matter, Jimbo? Are your simoleons looking thin?"

The hostess walked them all to a booth, of which Jai was quick to slide in right next to Cordie as soon as she sat to keep one person in particular from sitting next to her. Though his mind quickly moved to more pressing matters as soon as he saw the menu. "$15 for one milkshake? Talk about steep."

With Camille's directive that "everyone" was invited, they all piled into Matthew's car together. The destination? Diner Palace. They had some time to kill before Millie's lesson, and if Cordie was intent on having a date with Jai, this should suffice—so long as she didn't mind having chaperones.

the faces they pull 🤭

Girl, bye 🙄 Aint nobody buying or decorating you a new house so you can enjoy the one I slaved over. If left alone you'd probably decorate it with eyeball rings and ever facial piercings in your jewelry box. You better learn to love this beautiful home 😒

After 84 years, I finally finished the Michaelson's house 🥲 A bulldozed this lot almost 3 years ago, shelled it, floor planned it, and then started to decorate and go very tired so I left in a DNF pile. In the last 3 days, I refloorplanned, finished decorating and landscaped. She's beautiful 🥹

I was so close to hitting the minimum amount of hair I wanted to cull 🥲 Oh well, a little over 4 gigs of hair culled is better than nothing 😅

"There are no schemes involved. It'll be tons of fun, and everyone's invited. I hope you all have an appetite." Camille smiled, a disconcerting affliction to typically happen to her face. But oddly enough this amused Matthew. Let's see what the littlest Fletcher daughter can cook up he thought.

"Fine. My lesson is not for another 3 hours anyway, so if we left now we'd be stuck waiting around for hours, so I have an idea that will help everyone get exactly what they want." "No way, Millie! No more schemes." Cordie clicked her tongue. "Relax, let's hear her out." Matthew smirked.

"Yes, I may have accepted." Cordie conceded, "But I invited Jai first, and I want Jai to come. I know this is all for your lesson Camille, but I want to spend time with Jai too. And after what you pulled yesterday, I think you owe me that." "I'll get us a cab, Millie," Jai assured her.

"So if there's a 𝘸𝘦 in any of this, I think it should be obvious who that doesn't include." They all turned toward Camille. "Millie, don't be mean." Cordie was still trying to make peace. "I invited Jai. You may have asked Matthew—" "And the last I checked, you accepted." Matthew broke in.

With tempers flaring left and right, it was up to someone to cool the tides. "Hey, chuckleheads, shut up!" Camille came in and immediately diffused the situation. "It's my lesson we're going to, and my sister who fainted, so I decided we needed a ride so I told Matthew to give us one."

"Matthew, don't be mad at Jai! He only just found out about my fainting." "And now that I know, if Cordie isn't up for the bus, I can get us a cab." "Burger boy has money for taxis?" Matthew snorted. "And just who are you calling burger boy?" Jai glared. Cordie could feel her breath quicken.

"What part of she fainted yesterday do you not understand?" Matthew's patience and charity was waning. "From what I heard you're expecting her to trounce about on busses for hours with you. I have a car waiting. I'd think it obvious what the better choice is." Cordie tensed sensing a fight coming.

"If you two are done," Matthew finally broke in after being more than patient, "Cordelia, it's probably best if we head out soon with Camille." "I'm not quite sure what you mean by 𝘸𝘦, but Cordie and I have plans to take Millie to her lesson just the 3 of us." Jai countered.

Lucky that she was his girl. Caught off guard, Cordie was certain that he was pulling her in for a hug, but when his lips pressed forward, she couldn't help but feel a bit awkward about it. He pulled her in close and planted a kiss on her lips that was anything but chaste.

"Time and place, right? I'll try to remember that." He smiled back at her. To be frank, he didn't much care if Matthew was watching them. If anything that just emboldened him more so Matthew would get the message of whose girl Cordie actually was. But he wouldn't do it at her expense or discomfort.

"Oh." Jai said back plainly, doing his best to hide his slight embarrassment. "I...just thought you wanted me to, especially after the compliment." "It's not that I didn't, I just, not in front of..." She quickly looked to Matthew before flitting her eyes away. "Sorry. I get it."

She was clearly being too subtle, so where coming up for air would allow, "Jai," Cordie mumbled through their lips. "Mmm," He hummed thinking she was enjoying it, but then— "Jai," She pulled back with much more force freeing herself, "I...I don't really wanna be kissed right now."

Under regular circumstances, she might not have minded. But Matthew was right there, and she wasn't much a fan of having an immediate audience to such an intimate moment. She tried to send that message by pulling away, but that only served to prompt Jai to deepen their entanglement.

There were a lot of thoughts running through Jairo's head—annoyance over the fact that his girlfriend had counted on the last person he wanted her to be around, disappointment at how reluctant she always is to make that person him, but relief that she at least was OK, and more than anything—

all the scooter gifs are killing me, keep them coming 🤣

Still making progress with another 600 megs added to the toss pile.. Not quite a third of the way through my hairs, but I'm thinking I can like likely cull 5-10 gigs from that folder 🤞🏿

"Why? You don't like it?" "No, it's not that. It's a long story. What do you think of it?" "I think if I told you the truth of what seeing you in this is doing to me, I might get in trouble." Cordie's breath caught. Matthew rolled his eyes. And Jai seized the moment to catch her by surprise.

"If you need someone to lean on, I want you to think of me first. Can you do that?" "I can try." "That's all I ask." His expression softened as his hand grazed her cheek. "You look really beautiful today. This outfit, it's new isn't it?" "Yeah," Cordie blushed, "but don't get used to it."

"But Jai—" "Promise me! Please? Sometimes it feels like you don't trust me. Like you don't see me as someone to count on when things are rough." "That's not true! Sometimes I feel like maybe I count on you too much." "Well then count on me more. "

"It's not that I don't know that." Cordie continued to fiddle, overwhelmed by Jai's dedication to her. "Then I need you to promise me something." "What is it?" "That if you're in trouble, no matter what it is, no matter where you are or I am, that you'll call me. I'll come. No questions asked."

Despite how little attention or energy he liked to give it, Matthew was not ignorant to Jai's passionate feelings for Cordelia, but he had no idea he was full on declaring his love for her. How manipulative, he glowered. Suffocating her with his feelings like an anchor from his heart to hers.

"Cordelia, I love you! There's no person, no thing, no job that would ever prevent me from coming to help you when in you're in trouble. I need you to know that!" As Cordelia's cheeks lit, Matthew's jaw tightened watching the display. "You simpering little worm," He thought.

"I wouldn't have wanted you to. Your job—" "Is not as important to me as you are!" His declaration ushered her into silence. Of course Jai would've rushed to her house to help her. She knew that, and maybe that's why she didn't call because Jai was so good, he didn't deserve her messing up his job.

"You were working." Cordie said sheepishly as she played with her hands. "It wouldn't have done any good to say anything. You would've just been worried over nothing." "Cordie, nothing?! You fainted! You don't think I wouldn't have left work early and came straight here to help you?"

As soon as Jai walked in, Cordie explained everything. Not just what Matthew was doing over at her place right now, but everything that led up to it with the party and her fainting. "Why didn't you tell me all of this last night?" Jai's jealousy cooled as understanding settled but concern grew.

She knew that Jai would think she had forgotten about their date and invited Matthew along instead. It didn't help that he didn't like Matthew and worse, he was jealous of them even being around each other. She couldn't let this go on. She'd invite him in and set everything straight right away.

Everyone could call Cordie a cloudhead if they wanted to, but the truth was she wasn't as clueless as she just tended to be endlessly optimistic. But it was hard to be optimistic about where her day was headed now seeing the hurt in Jai's eyes. She'd invited him along today, but the way it looked—

Why did she always have to look so comfortable and happy next to him? And why did he always have to be made to feel like his insides were twisting in on themselves? He hated to think what the immediate reaction on his face was, but unfortunately he could see it reflected back in Cordie's eyes.

But they'd managed to make it work. He loved her. And the fact she'd been with him this long was proof that she had to love him too. So why was it that every time he let his guard down and became comfortable in what they had, there 𝘩𝘦 was always showing up by her side casting doubt on everything?

When it came to his relationship with Cordelia, Jai was always sure not to take any of it for granted. He knew how lucky he was to be with her, and he also knew how badly he'd almost messed it up times in the past. Through insecurities, jealousies, paranoia, heck even just work schedules.

The way I started what will be a long and arduous process of trimming down my CC and despite this taking me an hour, I haven't even culled a full gig of CC 😭

Long time no CC 💛 I hope you enjoy! www.patreon.com/posts/del-so...

Bruh 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

"Jai!" "You humbly accept Jai?" Matthew did his best to keep the irritation out of his voice at the sound of the boyfriend's name at a time like this. "No, you don't understand." If not for the movement just outside her door catching her eye she might not have noticed him—or the look on his face.

"Well, you did go through all this trouble to furnish such a fine chariot for me." "It wasn't trouble." "So you say. But still, I can't exactly voice my appreciation to you for your efforts if I don't accept, now can I?" "I suppose that might be difficult." "Well in that case, I humbly accep—"

"That's not—I mean, I'm not—" Matthew began to stammer. She wasn't supposed to call him sweet and throw him all off balance. He could've anticipated the appreciation, but he hadn't prepared for this. "The car." His thoughts course corrected. "Does that mean you want to take it?"