Emily Castillo

Pierce nods his head in agreement, as he too is one of those people. “No, you run a good place. I’m genuinely happy here.” And he was, despite it being just a diner. At her next remark, he couldn’t help but snort and let out a slight chuckle. “Alright, alright. Although, maybe I’ll scream at her and then surely that’ll kill two birds with one stone.” He offered. “I’m Pierce, by the way. If you need to remember your knight in shining armour’s name.”

Comments like this are the reason why Emily  looks forward to coming to work every time. She wants to make people happy by either providing a home away from home, or a place to relax after a difficult day. “Thank you. It means a lot.” the brunette says with a smile. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? She did give me a weird vibe.” she jokes, not going into detail, about how a screaming match is the last thing they both need. “Well, look at that. I never expected to have one this morning, but it’s nice to meet you Piece. I’m Emily. And thanks, for helping me out.” 

Nic is about to say an automatic no before food is offered. His stomach rumbles on cue, reminding him that he hasn’t eaten since the morning. He turns back to face her, opening the door and leaning against the frame. “Evening. How can I help you?”

Surprised by how quickly she took on the challenge (but then not because it was Emily after all), Felix quickly took his feet out of the pool and stood up. First, apologizing for having splashed a bit of water on her, he then responded to her trash talk, “Excuse miss, but I think you’re forgetting that I was swimming before I could walk.” He held out his hands and helped her before so that he could bring their bodies together. He gave her a quick peck on the lips, then while still holding her close, asked “So, have you ever gone skinny dipping before?”

aaron: why are you awake at this hour? early dinner duties?

aaron: i think we have the baking soda, but it looks like the jug of vinegar has but a drop left

emily: i couldn't sleep so i decided to be helpful.

SMILING SOFTLY AS THE THOUGHT of a woman who looked like a slightly older version of emily giving out a tongue lashing. a part of her wanted to ask about her mom but she thought better of it, maybe emily wouldn’t want to talk about something that could be painful for her so instead she sighed and patted her textbooks. “ i mean about as much fun as studying molecular oceanography can be. ” she yawned just thinking about reading any more about protons, electrons and ocean acidity. “ hopefully your day hasn’t been full of terrible girls like miss fat free. ”

-

Taking his seat right beside her, Felix quickly rolled up the ends of pantlegs and stuck his feet into the water. Though the it wasn’t exactly warm, the air around them wasn’t exactly cold either. Being indoors and all, the pool was protected from the outside climate, naturally. “Something like this, but nnnoot this,” he responded, biting down on his lower lip to keep the mischievousness behind his smile from showing. He knew he had to be careful going about getting Emily in the water and he feared if he revealed too much of his plan too quickly that she would say ‘no’ and he would be forced to give her her gift early.

So, instead of directly inviting her to a swim, Felix decided to challenge her in some way. How to do it was tricky and he thought a game of Truth-or-Dare would be a bit too transparent. He decided to tell her about a game he and his siblings would play as children while passing summer afternoons in the pool of the West family home. “We would sit at the bottom of the shallow end and see who could hold their breath the longest,” he began with a smiling, a small chuckle of laughter punctuated the first bit of his story. As he continued speaking, he reached for Emily’s hair and stroked it softly, admiring the feel of its silkiness on his hands. “One day, while I was eating my lunch, I saw my dad jump into the pool with all of his clothes on. I was so confused–everyone was and everyone rushed out to see why he’d done it. Turns out, he saw my brother and sister at the bottom of the pool, not moving, for a couple of seconds too long and he thought they had drowned. Really, they were just competing to see who would be the Breath Holding Champion.”

By the time Felix finished his story, he had to suppress some of his laughter as the image of his father, wet and irritated by silly childish games, remained vivid and clear in his mind’s eye. He tried to show Emily the soaking grimace of Papa West, but Felix lacked his father’s large mustache and piercing blue eyes that looked red from the chlorine. Still, he managed to make her laugh and that was enough for him. Once all of their laughter had rolled out of their bellies, Felix peered over at Emily and said in a serious, challenging tone: “Bet I could my breath longer than you can.”

He’s not giving her any clues and there’s no doubt in her mind that this is the expression Felix has when he’s up to something. She smiles, liking how they sit side by side protected from the night’s breeze -- just the two of them and the sound of the water, every time she moves her feet in it. It’s so peaceful. Inhaling deeply, Emily looks at the blue waters for a moment. She’s thankful for how kind he is to her, and how well Felix seems to know her. Little things mattered the most, and right now the brunette is happy and at peace. 

Leaning into his touch, the brunette smiles as she listens to the story. She always thought it would be awesome, growing up with siblings. Being an only child was often lonely, especially when her parents were busy with the diner. She never blamed them -- they did the best they could and they loved her dearly. “Oh my God.” A giggle escapes her, turning to look at him. “Little rascals, giving your dad a scare! Sounds fun though. Did you guys do that a lot?” she asks, wondering if they would all come up with games to play together that would sometimes give their parents a scare. “It must have been so nice growing up around people close to your age.” 

Emily was right. Of course she was right. Amos let out a breath through his nose and nodded, swiping right on the image. Nothing came back, so they hadn’t matched with him. Still, he placed his phone down and looked at his friend. “Okay – so tell me about you instead. What’s new with you? I don’t wanna overthink this whole dating thing anymore.”

“There you go.” She replies with a smile, happy that he took her advice. Emily’s not the biggest fan of these applications, mostly because she knows how people want one thing -- and intimate relationships with complete strangers are not her thing. But if it worked for her friends, why not go for it? The fact the brunette’s not ballsy enough has nothing to do with them. “Nothing much. You know, I just work -- which is good because once I keep my mind busy, the days go by pretty fact. I think one of my neighbours might have a pet, and Chucky won’t be happy if he finds out.” 

aaron: sos ❗️

aaron: i know it's 5 am but HOW do you get burnt macaroni off the bottom of a pot??

aaron: like imagine the blackest of burnt

aaron: asking for a friend

emily: it's okay, i'm not sleeping

“Oh my god. A Karen is secretly in love with you. This is amazing. If I was a screenwriter I’d totally pitch that shit,” she said, amused as she chewed on another pickle. Fun for her, not so much fun for Emily. 

“You can’t do that, Ems.You on-the-house every friend you have and you’re gonna end up in the red. That’s a terrible business strategy.”

“It’s a pity she doesn’t look like Orlando Bloom. I might have been slightly more interested in listening to the craziness.” she replied, sinking into her seat. Somehow, the redhead’s having the time of her life, meanwhile poor Emily wishes her mother was there to tell the blonde off. 

Adina only slowed down when Emily pointed out how quickly she was moving. Placing her hand over her chest she willed herself to take a breath and slow down. “I’m going to blame the double shot I drank half an hour ago.” Adina replied and took the phone from Emily with a soft thanks. Adina rose her shoulders and gave a sigh; she never did feel comfortable lying to Emily, even omissions of truth felt wrong. “A distraction. The only reason I’d ever want to throw a party at all.” Adina nodded and brushed Emily’s arm in a friendly gesture. “Of course. If I was ever going to bounce- which I have no plans to, you’d be the first to know.” Adina shifted her stance, “You know you can always come to any party I throw. Or just come by for thai food and wine.”

He waves his dog Mercury off as he’s lead inside Bone Sweet Bone to be groomed by a brunette employee, a little more worried about his four legged son’s incoming day than he was when he had dropped his two legged daughter off at daycare just beforehand. 

“I think my dog has a better social life than me.” 

‘Okay, on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely do you think they’re going to swipe right for me?’ Amos asked, holding his phone over to his friend to see. ‘If I don’t swipe on them, and they swipe on me, then we’re not going to see each other… but if I do swipe on them and they don’t on me then I’m going to feel stupid. Should I risk it?’ He pauses. ‘Am I overthinking this? I am aren’t I? I’m doing it again.’

location: outside K.O. when: early saturday morning

“do you ever feel like your soul is being sucked out through your nasal passages and then your skull is being fucked by an elephant?” he asked, complete seriousness in his tone with a cigarette between his fingers. “that’s what it feels like to take to be awake right now, waiting for the 7am session to roll through.”

“Well, I kind of feel like that’s her problem then, right? If she doesn’t want the one solution you all offer. Hopefully she’s the worst you get today.” It was one reason he was glad he didn’t have to work with customers directly, in either line of work. He shrugged, tapping the menu absentmindedly, “so what do you recommend?”