𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓎

“Thank you,” Bex spoke, the thanks a bit sheepish but she was feeling more comfortable with the woman. “Nice to meet you, Layla. I have also accidentally sexted my boyfriend’s parent in the past but it was his mother and she responded positively. That was… a lot.”

“No worries at all,” the way Layla saw it, it wasn’t a big deal, even if she had accidentally sent a text from the bump, she wouldn’t have thought twice about it, she was an easy going girl. “I deffo would have preferred it being his mum, because when she found out about the texts she thought I was hitting on her husband. It was a mess.”

James actually laughed at that as he put his arms back down. As strong as he could be, he probably wouldn’t win any fight and would just cry if he got a black eye. “I think that if somebody punched me in the face, I would just start sobbing. I’m not cut out for that shit.” He snorted as the joke clicked and it probably wasn’t even that funny but he’d already reached the point in the night where EVERYTHING seemed funny to him. In fact, most of the time everything seemed funny to him. “What if I let her walk me? Would that work?” He rubbed his chin in faux deep thought. “Her name is Newtie, I named her after Newt Scamander because I thought he was cute and she’s also cute. She’s slightly grumpier than he is though.” There was a smirk on his lips and he raised his own drink to bump it into hers “Y’all might think I have two brain cells but actually I’m the Mastermind of Moorbrooke.”

Luke laughed at her saying she had a lame day. “Not lame at all. Sometimes lame days are a nice break from the chaos.” Viv heard mention of sweets and came over. It was like her mind was tuned to certain words. She waited for her daddy to say yes and just smiled, making her cutest please face. 

He nodded his head. “Yes, that is just fine.” Viv instantly put her hands out to reach for the sweets. “Thank you!” She said excitedly and ran off taking the sweets and giving one to her brother. “You’re too sweet. Coffee for me and treats for the kids. Next time it is my treat.” 

“Honestly, it really would.” she nodded, “Sometimes I wish I could write an amazing book series, make bank, and disappear to an island resort for forever,” she couldn’t help but laugh, “But working a job I like while living a short walk from the ocean here will have to do for now.” It was fun to think about, but she had been happy so far where she was. “What brought you to Moorbrooke, if you don’t mind me asking?” Molly only hoped their reason was better than her own of running away from a divorce.

“living on an island resort would really be something. especially if it was all inclusive. i would probably be drinking all day. the food would be amazing too, there’s just something about room service that makes it taste ten times better than anything else.” layla could just imagine it. though she would most definitely get herself into even more trouble that way, she was sure of that. “do you write books? anything i might know?” finishing off her drink, layla ordered another, “you want another round? on me. and i was just looking for a change of scenery mostly. how about you?”

“We do have a piercer. She’s not in today, but I can definitely give you her card.” Circe walked over to the front desk where all the business cards for the shop sat. All her artists had them as well as Circe themselves. They also had a card for the shop as a whole. “Here you are,” they smirked and stood back. “Yes! The tea. We also sell cute tea pots. Those are necessarily for energy or anything they’re just pretty and super aesthetic,” they giggled, shaking their head. 

“But I can definitely gather some incense. Do you prefer cones or sticks? Also do you have a stand for them? I have the ones for cone incense as well as the sticks.” They asked, showing them all the different incense stands.

When they said they didn’t practice, Circe smiled and nodded. “That is totally fine. If you’re interested in going on that journey, I have some great books that could help and if you have questions I can surely answer them. I’ve been practicing neo-paganism since I was about 13.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing, it’ll keep my impulse control in check when it comes to putting another hole in my body,” the blonde chuckled as she shrugged her shoulders. “Thanks,” taking the card she placed it in her purse, not sure when she would need it, but the urge would probably hit at some point and at least she’ll be prepared. that is, if she doesn’t lose the card. “tea i can do.” Layla walked over to take a look at the pots, “this one is kind of adorable. “

“uhhhh..” the girl hummed, “I don’t have a preference? i don’t really use incense so whichever is easier is probably the better decision.” at least she could be honest about that. “lets just hope i don’t burn my place down, my roommate would never forgive me.”

“since you were 13 wow, you’re very dedicated. i haven’t found something im that passionate about.” not that she was really looking to, layla knew that she could be a flake when it came to sticking with things. 

Bex blushed slightly, seeing the woman and bit her lip. “Thank you for not making fun of me,” Bex giggled, shaking her head as she pushed some hair behind her ear. “I hope I didn’t mess up anything you were trying to look up or send on your phone though. I once dropped my phone on my face and accidentally sent a sext to my boss once. Thankfully I’m my own boss now but that was pretty bad. Had a lot of explaining to do after that,” she smirked, shaking her head. She paused and then stuck out her hand. “I’m Bex by the way.”

“Oh love, you don’t have to thank me. Let’s just hope that you wish comes true, yeah?” Layla hoped that she reassured the other. “Nah I was actually just scrolling pretty mindlessly. I once accidentally sexted my boyfriends father, there’s no coming back from that...” she laughed at the recollection and then rolled her eyes at herself. “Nice to meet you, I’m Layla.”

Dramatically, James let out a huff and then held up his arm as though showing off his muscles. “Yeah, it would make me look SUPER cool. Like some kinda Fight Club shit,” he retorted, knowing Layla was joking once she revealed herself and let out a chuckle. “After having a cat for a few years now, I really feel like I should know better but apparently I don’t. I just keep hoping that maybe one day she’ll give in and accept her fate.” Really, she was the one who chose James considering he hadn’t been planning on adopting her until she forced him to fall in love with her. “I’M the fit firefighter who had to rescue her the first time around. Nobody claimed her so she claimed me and the rest is history.” He wouldn’t even surprised if he had to rescue her once again because clearly she never changed. 

Putting his hands underneath his chin, he gave Layla a cupcake grin and laughed. “Brilliant. Victim is acquired and now it’s my duty to bug you for the rest of the night. I have plenty more cat stories where that came from.”

“That is such a testosterone fueled thing to say,” the blonde teased him as she chuckled again. “You would need a black eye or something for it to look like fight club. Scratches like that usually only do result from… cat fights…” as lame as the joke was she couldn’t help laughing at herself, the alcohol she was consuming probably helped that along too. “Her fate is that she doesn’t want you to walk her! Let her be a fierce independent woman, damn,” Layla ribbed him with a smirk.

Luke had packed the dogs and kids into the car and drove the dog park. After he got there he handed each a leash because the kids both enjoyed walking the dogs and the dogs were so well behaved he didn’t have to worry about them pulling away. The two dogs tails starting wagging like crazy when they saw their much smaller friend. He unhooked their leashes. “Daddy! Look how cute she is!” Viv squealed. Luke already knew hanging out with the little dogs was going to make her want a dog that was smaller than the two labs they had. 

“Thanks for this.” He said with a smile lifting the cup. “It’s been a good day so far. How are you?” He kept an eye on his kids as they played with the dogs. 

The way Layla looked at it, it was impossible not to be happy while at a dog park. Yes, she was an animal person and being around them just made her feel happy. She enjoyed dogs of all shapes and sizes and watching them interact was just adorable. Kids loved her little fluffy Pomeranian and she was fine with that, hatchi was good around children and he adored any and all attention, much like his owner. 

“About three months now,” Molly explained, not at all surprised by the wholesome remark. Many people who knew Molly might describe her that way. “And I was in New York City for many years prior and didn’t get away enough so this still kind of feels like a vacation some days. I’m sure it’ll wear off soon enough but for now I can’t complain. What about you?” She asked, “Have you lived here long?”

when her drink arrived, layla tipped the bartender and then picked up the drink for a long sip. “that makes sense, it’s a lot different than new york city, that’s for certain,” the girl agreed. “hopefully it’ll feel like a holiday forever. life would be a hell of a lot more fun that way, yeah?” sometimes the british woman lived like her life was a vacation anyway, but that was beside the point. “i’ve been here about a year or so.”

Circe looked up to see the pretty blonde enter their shop and smirked. “Well, other than a tattoo or something, I would say maybe some oils or herbs? Maybe even a crystal or something? If you’re having a bad day, I’d suggest maybe some of our loose leave chamomile? Chamomile brings luck and success. We also have a few different sizes of amethyst. We have plenty of incense as well, I’d suggest cedar. It’s meant to bring good energy into your home or wherever you burn it. It also smells incredible. Do you by chance… practice witchcraft or wicca or any sort of practice?”

There weren’t a lot of people in town that practiced. Thae was one of the only other ones besides herself but that never seemed to put a damper on the store’s business. Sure they made good money with tattoos but they made sizable sales in the retail part of it as well. There were plenty of curious people and Circe was welcoming and willing to help out.

a tattoo was an idea that layla always tossed around in her mind, but it wasn’t one that she’d gone through with, not yet at least. “tattoos seem like such a...” the brit thought, trying to find the right word, “commitment.” she nodded, that was one that was close enough to what she was thinking. “I’m more of a piercing girl, myself.” the femme had loads of piercings, some visible like her nose ring, multiple ear piercings, tragus, and cartilage. others more hidden depending on the outfit like her naval and nipples. “You mean like the tea?” tea was something she knew a little about, but even that knowledge was limited. “burning something sounds easy enough, that i can handle.” a shake of her head was the first answer, “i don’t really practice anything, to be honest.”

That’s not to say that the blonde doesn’t easily make friends, because she does. She tends to thrive in social situations and she’s lost count of the number of people that she’s talked to just at the dog park alone. That’s where she met Luke, and after bonding over the adorable interaction between their pets, the two became actual friends. She was meeting him at the park for their weekly doggy play date. On her way there, she stops and picks up a cup of tea for herself, and grabs his favorite beverage to. Layla also picked up a couple of cake pops in case his kids were with him. Once she arrived at the park, she let Hatchi off of his leash and he took off running. No surprise that he heads right for his buddies. Soon Layla catches up, handing over the beverage to Luke and offering a smile, “hey. How’ve you been?” @cartervines