༘ ⋆｡˚𝕃𝕠𝕝𝕒˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚

Chase stands in the middle of his sister's place, blowing out a low whistle. "I'm impressed, sis." Although for as long as he could remember he used to refer to her as the little sister even though he technically was the younger one. He brushes his tongue along his lower lip as he walks over towards the middle of the room. "Did you hire someone to decorate the place? Or... Did you do it yourself?"

"Are you being sarcastic..?" Lola asked with a laugh. "It was just me... Stori, too, and a little Butterscotch.." She had to add as she glanced around at the dog toys scattered about. "Not thinking about moving in, are you?"

sometimes, after their friday classes, some people of their university wanted to enjoy a casual night out. they would also invite other people from other courses, and that would end up being a bunch of drunk young adults fooling around, which, sometimes, tom wasn't in the mood for, but since he didn't want to go back to an empty home, he'd end up going just for the sake of going.

this time, lola joined the gang, and although they didn't knew much about her, they had shared a few classes together, so that was an opportunity to make friends, they guessed.

as soon as they reached the bar they wanted to go, everyone was already asking what everyone else was getting, so it was already a mess of voices. thomas turned to the side, to where lola was, and chuckled. "how come they're not asking what you're ordering?"

Seated beside a classmate Lola didn't know very well but liked what she did know, her eyes of rich mahogany scanned a sticky menu. A voice from beside her drew her wooden hued orbs up in question. Lola almost couldn't hear Thomas over the roar of everyone else, though she made out their question by their lips. It was an inventible conversation with anyone who spent time with her. Just like the fact that Lola was a vegetarian. "Oh, I don't drink." A musical laugh followed, as she attempted to make light of the situation. "And someone has to make sure everyone gets home safe."

There was something about those particular moments of day that caused Cemre to wander, reminiscing of times that she was able to appreciate the beach with her son and her past lover. In a way, she was glad that she was able to resignify said moment with friends. Lola was a good example of it. Cemre admired the other person and was glad that she was able to share time with someone that made it fly by. 

“That’s more than I could wish for, honestly. So, although they’re not here to hear me thanking them, I do thank them,” she expressed with a light one, sharing a smile right after words were uttered by Cemre. 

Silence didn’t make it all awkward while it was settled, Cemre appreciated the company while her light eyes appreciated the view in front of them. And, then, when the question reached her, Cemre chuckled. “Ah– I don’t think life ever gets easier, but we have different things to appreciate about it.” She quickly added. “Some things are too mundane for us to focus on, but from time to time we gain something to cherish. In my case watching Deniz grow older is one of my most precious gifts in life, but I do wish it’d get easier. I kind of counted on that. Why do you ask?”

The news that life did not, in fact, get easier after thirty made Lola's shoulder's slumped. Her facial expression hidden in the rim of her drink. "...yeah, me too.." She mumbled softly, lips still close to her cup.

With her hot coco nestled in the soft sand for safe keeping, Lola leaned into her friend. A sense of gratitude settled over her as she thought of how to answer, gratitude to have people in her life who she could share the hard things with. "Sometimes I feel like I'm a snip away from everything in my life falling apart. Maybe it's just... the stress of school, work, dating.."

So, Aiyla kept a watchful eye on the woman and when she saw her get up and leave, she knew that it was her time to run. Instead of grabbing coffee like she had originally planned on doing, she headed down the side alleyway and towards the back of the buildings where she could safely figure out where to go without Lola seeing her. Her attention was on her phone as she was contemplating if she just wanted to head back home and make coffee there or find another spot that she didn’t even register the door opening a few feet away from where she was standing.

She quickly turned and felt her body hit something or rather someone. “Shit, I’m so sorry,” she muttered, not looking up at the person just yet but when she did her entire body froze. The one person she was trying to avoid was the one that she had hit. “Lola.” Her name falling from her lips like it had so many times before but this time felt so different. “Hey.”

"Aiyla."

The name choked her, making it hard to breathe. Lola's chest ached as she drew breathe after, screaming for distance from what still ached. All these years later, like a wound that had never healed.

"I didn't know you were back in town."

There'd been no contact between the two since after their breakup. Aiyla's alcohol addiction drove Lola away after she gave up the spirit. It caused her nothing but pain both physically and mentally. She thought it did the same to her once upon a time lover, though some people liked to suffer.

"Are you just visiting your parents, or..." How long will you bee in town? Is what Lola really wanted to know. Not that it mattered. Long ago she had closed the chapter their relationship occupied in her life. She, herself, wasn't even the same woman Aiyla had fallen for. Time and experience had changed Lola, as much as she was sure it had changed the other. At least, as much as she hoped it had changed her.

"Are you... well?" Are you sober? She didn't have the courage to ask for fear the answer hadn't changed.

Wyatt leans against the brick wall outside of the bar, his head tilts down to look at his phone. Exhaling, the man blinks a few times as his vision blurs each time his thumb dances across the screen. He has no idea if any of his text messages are making sense or how they are coming across. He knows he has been taking this whole drinking the edge off a little too far a few times over the last six months and the first time he met Lola he was drunk in a bar. She had been his saving grace... and the first person he calls every single time. He tilts his head back against the wall as his index finger clicks the phone button. He lifts the phone up towards his ear as he listens to the ringing on the other end. His gaze drifting around to the empty and dark night around him.

"Hi."

Sleep trailed her single syllable greeting, but before Wyatt could ask if he woke her she was up, out of her bed, and pulling on warmer clothes. "No." She lied. "I'm awake." Which was the truth. At least, now it was. Lola wouldn't be able to sleep knowing he was like this. His own voice laced heavy with that of drink, causing her a sense of anxiety about alcohol she hadn't been able to shake since her accident many years ago. "I'll come get you." Without giving Wyatt a chance to argue, Lola added. "Please don't drive." Her tone a reminder of the weight behind her reason. "Where are you?"

however his friend had swore he had just the match for him and to just give her the chance. when he had found out it was his friends sister he about fell out in the floor. the age difference was there and kayson had always worried about dating women that werent his age. he had half his life done and his worries were that he could never keep up with a woman who enjoyed going to bars and clubbing. that wasnt his life. yet his buddy had reassured him that he was getting ahead of himself and he just needed to give her a chance. just one date. so he did.

as the night progressed kayson was actually pretty surprised with just how easy the woman was to talk to. there was no awkward silences or forced conversations. everything seemed to flow perfectly and the laughs. kay couldnt remember the last time he had smiled and laughed so much his cheeks had actually hurt. "your psyd?" he questioned as he raised his brows, "that is very impressive. you seem really driven and i have no doubt in my mind you wont succeed in it. " the man admitted. he didnt know much about her but from what he had learned her drive was incredible. then he nodded, "what made you pick psychedelics and trauma?" the man asked her growing curious with her topic of discussion. he leaned a little and rested his elbows on the table and chin on his hand.

"Thank you." Humble but proud of her accomplishments, Lola did not diminish his praise. Over the years, she had given up a lot and sacrificed of herself to reach a dream. Not just her own, but her siblings, too. She paid for all her younger siblings degrees via her career as a dancer. A fact she was proud of too but didn't bring up now. She wasn't ashamed of what she'd had to do to reach her goals, but she didn't exactly know how to broach the topic of being a stripper with a man so perfect.

"Well.." She took a moment to answer, wanting her response to be thoughtful. As she thought, her body innately inched forward to. Her slender arms laid across the table, close enough for her fingers to brush Kayson's elbow. A fact she didn't realize until an involuntary twitch of her polished fingers grazed his arm. Her eyes flashed up and immediately locked with his, pulling words from her mouth as they did. "...I want to help people. We're all... broken down... by life. All of us. No matter our stories. We've all endured trauma. Some worse than others, but still.. It remains in our bodies, influences our minds... and some therapies help. They really do, but I think we could be doing more. With the right tools, I think it's possible to repair the damage that's been done. To heal, fully, and not just... enough to live with it."

It was a lengthy response, but a genuine one she hoped he took interest in. Though, she felt the need to learn more about him. Lola had done a lot of talking. Why wine might've been a question of a similar caliber, but that wasn't what she really wanted to know. "To you... what's the best part about being a dad?"

Aiyla knew that once she stepped foot back into Half Moon Bay she would inevitably see Lola. It wasn't a surprise that the other woman would still be in town but part of Aiyla hoped that maybe she had found a better college and decided to move and start over. A thing that she had done but if she was being honest, it didn't feel so good to run away from things. Everything had been so crazy back then and even to this day when she thought about what happened, the guilt ate her up.

And so she decided that she wanted to avoid the other one for as long as possible. Also because she knew that seeing her would only hurt more than it would help anything and she was not ready for that. It had been a week since she had landed back in town and thankfully she had avoided seeing Lola or really any of their old friends. She had just gotten off of work, her pink scrubs clinging to her body like they were made out of spandex. Her tired eyes were hidden by the sunglasses that she wore despite it not being too sunny out.

As she headed toward her favorite coffee spot, she noticed Lola about a hundred feet away and instead of just walking up to her, she quickly hid behind one of the cars hoping that the other wouldn't see her. Every once in a while she popped her head up and was waiting for the moment the other one left until she thought the other girl noticed and she quickly dipped back behind the car holding her breath.

Half the morning came and went, and so did four cups of coffee. She was entirely engrossed in her work, blissfully unaware of anything but her ipad; like her ex-girlfriend, looming just out of sight. Something should've clued her in. Intuition that Aiyla was near, but how could she have known? After years of the woman she had once loved, gone, to another state without contact. She assumed Aiyla hated her for the breakup and was as done with their hometown as she was with Lola. Someday, soon, she would wish she'd been right.

"I can't see a future with someone who can't make me come." She said between bites, her eyes floating over Lola's lithe frame, "Remind me to steal something of yours- maybe that backless dress." She said, nodding to the lo mein in her hand, offering a trade of vegetable fried rice for some lo mein. "you should invite him back over under the condition he bakes you chocolate chip cookies." Stori suggested innocently, "Or he could just bring us chocolate chip cookies and leave. I'm not picky."

"He made me come," Which warranted points but still left something to be desired. Lola craved passion, too. The kind of love that people wrote songs and hallmark movies about. She'd just never, really, experienced it for herself. At least, not without it meeting some, untimely, horrendous end. ", but I don't want to see him again. It just.. didn't feel right." Which is what she said about everyone as a serial first dater who, rarely, went on seconds. "I'm seeing someone new later this week. A friend of my brother's. He's cute. Owns a vineyard. Has two kids and an ex-wife, which seems like a lot.." Not like Lola didn't have her own baggage, too. "But my brother is being pretty insistent about what a great guy he is, so.... free dinner at the least?"