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Bull had been out of town at the time that Willa had been hired on as one of the equestrian coaches at the university so when he had made his way back and found out he had to tell himself a few things. The first thing was that both of them were some form of professional and with professionals they would, well, be professional about the situation. Was he still hurt by what had happened? Yes, of course. However, being who he was Bull had a certain level of understanding that the situation had been scary and running was the mechanism she had used under the stress of it all. The fact she never contacted him after, though, that was what hurt the most. While he had pretended to have moved on from the situation he wasn’t prepared for it to rear its head while he was sitting in his office, playing Candy Crush on his computer while being leaned back in an office chair. The knock could have been anyone and he welcomed them in but instantly regretted it. Once he looked up the screen and his heart were the same. A broken heart in Candy Crush and another fresh one with his actual heart. Great. He paused for a long time as she greeted him, unsure as to what to say at this point. “Willa,” he said shortly and cleared his throat. Pursing his lips together he made a gesture to the chairs that sat opposite to his desk. “You’re welcome to take a seat if you’d like.”

The distant tone Bull took with her wasn’t surprising, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. She knew she deserved it after the way things had ended between them, but there was a small -- maybe even foolish -- part of her that hoped their reunion could potentially be more pleasant than anything. Making her way into the room, she took a seat carefully in one of the chairs, smoothing the nonexistent wrinkles out of her pants as she did, a habit she’d picked up from her mother. “I’m sorry for catching you off guard like this,” she began, turning her gaze up to meet his finally. Although it had been nearly five years, he looked almost the same: a tad older, more broad in the shoulders, and a new style for his hair, but ultimately the same, and she found herself letting out a faint sigh as she took in his features. God, she had missed him. “I figured, though, that... if we’re going to be working in the same place, I should come to see you. I owe you probably the biggest apology known to man, and I could say how much I wish I could go back and change what I did, but I know it won’t make what I did better or take away any of the pain I caused. You don’t have to forgive me, either. What I did was... terrible and I haven’t even forgiven myself for it.” Swallowing hard around the lump in her throat, she thought over her next words carefully. “I’m so sorry, Will. You deserved -- you still deserve so much better than that. I was scared -- terrified that things would never be the same for you, for us -- but that’s no excuse. If there’s... anything I can do now to make amends, if it’s not too late, please tell me.”

Fox had managed to venture downtown that evening and found himself outside of Bliss. It felt almost familiar as establishments such as these had been a frequent location for him when he was up in New York. The frequency that he visited wasn’t necessarily because it was a favorite of his; however, he was often there with the other people he worked with or on some other weird work excursion. What could he say? Lawyers were gross. However, tonight wasn’t one of those nights. He had just had the urge to smoke while passing by Bliss and figured there was a better time as any. So he was leaned back against the brick wall, cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he examined the emptiness of his phone for the first time in a while. He looked up as footsteps approached and pushed his phone back into his pocket, the light outside slowly illuminating this person’s face. “Whoa!” He exclaimed, pulling the cigarette from his mouth with a wide smile, “Mik! How the hell are ya? Never figured I’d run into you here,” he offered and shrugged at her own question. “Y’know, came down to sign some papers and stayed for the view.” 

Instinctively pulling her coat a little tighter around her, she listened to his explanation as to why he was in the area. It seemed legitimate enough, especially given his tumultuous history with his love life. She didn’t know the full extent, of course, but she knew he’d been in at least two different serious relationships in the time he’d been coming to the club back up in New York, so using that context, she could only assume the papers he came to sign were divorce papers. “Sorry, it’s just... I didn’t expect to see someone I knew from back home here of all places,” she explained with a light laugh, tucking some of her hair behind her ear as she looked towards the bouncer who was watching the two closely. She shook her head some, a silent assurance he didn’t need to intervene before turning her attention back over to the man beside her. “I’ve been good. I’m here for school. Finally.” She laughed again, then bit her lip. “Um, were you planning on going inside? If not, maybe we could walk and talk?”

Bull: It depends where you're going to lunch

Bull: 👀

Georgie: Wow... I see how it is 😕😕😕😕😕😕😕😕😕😕😕 Your loyalty only extends so far as what food is being served

Georgie: The pain! The heartbreak!

Casey: Why

Casey: What do you want from me woman 🤥

Willa: I was wondering if you might potentially be willing to keep Cece entertained for about an hour today?

Willa: Hey buuuuddy

"Mm, do you have to go to work, osito?” Xiomara pouted as she sat up in the bed, using the covers to shield her body from view as she watched Dane move about his bedroom. During the first few weeks she’d been in town, she had stumbled upon The Hunt Club and somehow managed to woo the owner into bed. Whenever Xiomara was bored, she had a few people she could reach out to, but Dane was the only one of them who was older and had the money to warrant the personality, so she was willing to put up with it. After all, she knew she wasn’t a walk in the park to deal with on most days. “Sure I can’t convince you to be late today? I could go for a repeat of last night...”

"God, that’s strong,” Roman coughed into his hand, the burn of the shot he’d just taken at the insistence of a college-aged woman beside him who had hoped to flirt with him. “Thank you for that, but I’m actually here with someone.” Once the woman sighed and left, he chuckled and turned back towards Adrien. “Sorry about that. Forgot how popular this place was with the students on the weekends, otherwise we could’ve gone somewhere else, but the specials they listed on their Facebook page had me hooked.”

Xio pulled the sizzling pan of fajita filling off of the heat and proceeded to heat up a few tortillas over the gas range before turning it off. “If you want something to drink, I have a few things in the fridge, but I can’t guarantee you’ll like any of it,” she remarked as she grabbed plates for the both of them, slapping a few tortillas onto one and handing it over to him. Though Xio had rarely had to cook for herself back home, moving here she had to recall all of the cooking lessons she’d gotten back when she was young and would sneak into the kitchen to watch their private chefs making their food for them. On nights like this, they especially came in handy, since she knew Shawn would hold up his end of the bargain so long as she held up hers, and fajitas were one of the easier things she could slap together last minute. “Why’d you skip lunch? Too busy with class or something?”

“Believe me, I’m just as surprised to myself out here,” he joked as he sat up when she arrived. “I hear you, Christian wouldn’t stop asking to go to the park so I told my conference call they’d have to shove it. In nicer terms of course.” He folded up the paper he had been reading and glanced over at where his son was, smiling as he watched Cece greet him. It was so simple making connections as a kid, he only wished it were that easy in adult life. He supposed in some ways it was but trusting people had never been easy for him. “Aside from extra energy, how’s she been? And you? I mean I think sleep is out the door for us until they’re in their teens and even then it’ll be lots of waiting up late for them to get home. We should train ourselves to sleep standing up. That may be the only solution.”

“Nicer terms... Definitely would have loved to been a fly on the wall for that,” Willa laughed, settling back against the bench and looking across the way at the kids. She was always glad when there was someone she knew there at the park because it gave her someone to talk to without providing as much of a distraction as checking her phone did, so she could still keep an eye on Cecilia. She was a well behaved little girl all things considered, but she did have a rambunctious streak where she’d get a little too rough and she didn’t want any of the other kids getting hurt because of it. “Sleep is definitely not happening right now with Cece’s current rebellious streak, but we’re good overall. I feel like I’m still trying to get back into the swing of coaching again after the holidays, but I’m finally getting there two months later. What about you? Did you do anything special for Valentines Day? I imagine with a marketing company, you’re probably incredibly busy around every holiday...”

“You’re a true hero,” Nora looked over at Willa with a small smile on her lips. She had been wanted to be a mother for long, perhaps even longer than she hoped for and seeing Willa do it on her own was certainly inspirational. “You don’t have to worry about treating me, you know that. I really do love working with the babies, it makes me more fulfilled than I let on,” besides it was one hell of a distraction since all the rest of her life seemed to be falling apart. Willa had been a good friend through it all, it was nice to have normal friends. “I’ve been good, and yeah… I mean Royce has been fantastically patient with me, but I don’t know, I just needed to hop in my car and go anywhere. I climbed Yellowstone, can you believe it?” Nora grinned widely, “you should come with me sometime, both of you, when the little one is a bit older for camping outside. We can take horses out on trails, or go by foot— it’s pretty magical. But how things have been around here on my leave? I saw that some of the horses are getting huge and so darn beautiful.”

“I want to, though. I like making sure the people I work with feel appreciated for all the effort they put into their respective crafts, and that includes you. They’ve definitely been getting their work outs! The student riders this year are... incredible. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I took the position, but they’re all so disciplined. I was worried there’d be at least one slacker in the crew, but I have yet to encounter that,” she explained, bright smile on her face. Never in a thousand years had Willa anticipated being a coach, and while competitive riding had never been her passion, being able to help others find their passion with riding was an honor. “That sounds incredible. Considering I’ve lived in this country my whole life, I really haven’t done much traveling outside of competitions and visiting my ex. I’d love to do that when Cece’s a bit older, but for now, I’ll have to live vicariously through you,” she laughed. “Things have been good, but we’re glad to have you back. Does it feel weird being back after taking so long away?”

@everlastingsummer​

Location: Roman’s Apartment 

“Do you think this sounds good?” Parker asked as she handed over the headphones to her brother. Roman had the day off from the bakery, and she tried to spend as much time with her older brother that she could - in between school and her job at the local radio station. She also took this time to work on some of her tracks - she tended to take two totally different songs and mesh them together, but recently she hadn’t been so lucky with the outcomes. Parker was starting to think that she wasn’t as good at this as she thought she had been - which is how she ended up at Roman’s. 

Roman took the headphones and nestled them on his head, leaving one partially off his ear so he could still hear Parker if she needed to interject as he listened to the track. He had always been amazed at her ability to create the song mashups she did, especially with songs from two completely different genres that somehow still managed to fit together in a pleasing way. “This sounds really good, Park,” he reassured her with a warm smile, reaching over to pat her leg. “What’s making you uneasy about it? I don’t think I’m as adept at the whole music thing as you, but maybe I could help you figure out a few ways you could tune it up if you’re feeling iffy about certain spots.”

Shawn: I'm a reasonable guy

Shawn: I did skip lunch today. Make it good and I'm sold.

Shawn: I'll be there around 8.

Xio: I only eat the best, so you know it'll be good

Xio: I'll get ready for you

It wasn’t in Nora’s best intentions to return to Willow Park just yet. In her one year sabbatical, she had visited most of the U.S. and took a small advantage of the money she had to spare and spent a week at sea. It was strange to say the best, especially whenever her phone rang and she kept looking for the wrong person on the screen. Royce had been far too lenient and although he said it was okay if she needed to spend some more time, that he would for sure meet her at the next stop, she didn’t want to push her luck. So she came back— and now she was window shopping for some furniture and some other things when she was approached by a face she knew all too well. “Hey Cooper,” she grinned to herself and knelt down on one knee so she could properly greet her dog, her eyes searching the premises for any sign of Levi, but coming empty handed. “Where is Levi, bud, hm? Did you pull your harness too strong again?” Too distracted to hear anyone approaching, her head snapped up at the one voice she knew far too well. “Chase…” she said startled, getting up and smoothing the front of her clothes, “well, I could definitely say the same… you were not supposed to get out for another…” she let her words linger, confusion settling in. “I didn’t know that you were out.”

Chase eyed Cooper as he sat himself down beside Nora and stared back at his owner, and Chase had to wonder if the dog was as cunning as it appeared to be in that moment or if he was projecting his beliefs onto the situation. He and Nora had practically raised the dog together back when they were together and Cooper was a puppy, so he couldn’t be surprised at the attachment he still had to her, especially since it appeared Levi had still allowed her to see the dog while Chase was away. “Wasn’t supposed to be, but what can I say? I was on my best behavior,” he replied with a faint laugh, though there wasn’t much joy hidden in his words. Chase had never had an easy life, but those five years behind bars had been some of the most difficult, especially since Nora had never once come to visit him. After a few months had passed, he had come to the realization that she had finally given up on him and the idea of the two of them spending their lives together had gone out the window. “Surprised you’re in the area still. Were you plannin’ on bookin’ it out of Willow Park when I was gonna be released so you wouldn’t have to see me ever again?”

Shawn: Fair point.....

Shawn: Mm, your words, not mine

Shawn: Are you at your place?

Xio: I knew you'd see reason!

Xio: I am. Not many places in this town I'd rather be

Dianna was really thriving at Bloom. This was definitely her calling, and she was able to play with different colors in her hair. This week she was sporting light pink highlights blended into her dark brown hair.  The moment she saw Chase walk through the door she grinned. “Chase! You’re going to let me do your hair?” She couldn’t hide the excitement that was in her voice, but she was excited - plus she could have a little catch up session with Chase. “Obviously I would make the time, c’mon sit.” She said and spun the chair around. “Just a trim?” 

"Of course. Who else would I trust if not you, huh? I’m likin’ the pink, by the way. You just do that or has it been that long since I last saw you?” Chase made his way over to the chair and took a seat, leaning back some so she could adjust the height of the seat accordingly. “Yeah, I don’t think there’s much you can do with this ol’ mug to make it look much better, so better stick with what works.” He looked at her in the mirror. “How’ve you been? You been stayin’ outta trouble?”

“I swear i’ve taught you how to make over easy before. But, since you’re offering I will take a plate of bacon with scrambled eggs.” Eleanor grinned making her way into the kitchen, and reaching into the cabinet that the mugs sat in and grabbed one. The mention of her and Carter’s sex life made her face turn bright red, and she quickly reached for the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. “Why are you up so early this morning? I usually have to act as your alarm clock.” It had always been the three of them since she could remember, and then later on Benji was apart of the friendship group - and Eleanor probably spent more time at the guys apartment than her own, but it was a normal thing for the four of them. Plus, Andrea almost always brought dinner over for the guys when she came to visit Eleanor. Adopting Carter and Art as the two sons that she never had. “I feel like you’re burning the eggs.”  

"You have, but I always end up breaking the yolk somehow. May have a gentle touch in other ways, but specialty eggs aren’t really my forte.” Art shrugged as he looked over. “Hey, I may not be able to do over easy yet, but I’m definitely not burning these. Let the master work, I’ve got a system,” he laughed as he moved the eggs simmering in the pan to make sure they were cooked all the way through. “Got in late and then couldn’t shut my brain off, so I just stayed up and played video games. Haven’t actually slept yet and might not get to, but we’ll see if I can knock out for a nap or if I’ll just pull through until later and sleep since it’s my night off. You got class today?”

The family business had been busier than usually lately and Hector found himself working harder than he had in months. They had almost gotten busted by the cops a few months ago and they were in the process of shifting so much shit around he barely had a second to breathe. If he wasn’t at his day job, he was making plans with his mother and sister, driving through the night to check in with all of their partners. So when he did have down time he just wanted to relax and not be seen by anyone. Which is why he always found himself at Bliss when he wanted a good drink and company. He had seen her before, definitely on stage and perhaps around town but they hadn’t interacted much and he wouldn’t ever put someone’s business out there. But seeing her approaching now, an easy smile grew on his lips as she sat down and he put a hand on the small of her back. “Hola, preciosa,” he told her softly, looking her over with a laugh. “You can interest me in whatever you want, mama, looking that fine how could I say no?” He smirked and pulled out cash from his pocket so she knew he wasn’t just talking a big game. “I’m Hector.”

Mikayla’s eyes widened some at the wad of cash he held in his hands. She had to admit, she hadn’t been expecting to see it, mainly because a lot of the people there in Willow Park didn’t tend to carry that much on them or at least didn’t flash it in the way he had, but she certainly made less there than she did back home in New York. “Well, well, well... Looks like we’ve got a big spender in the house tonight,” she teased with a wink. “I’m Luna. It’s nice to meet you, Hector. What do you say we make our way to one of the private booths in the back? Then you’ll have my undivided attention for an hour.”