OBiGEM

Welcome to my Sims Space! In an effort to make my tumblr more mobile friendly to navigate, you can now browse through my Legacy Story posts, my CC Finds, my challenges, resources, and YouTube content. This navigation post will remain pinned, but will likely be tweaked as things get added to this space, so bear with me, and happy simming!

The Fletcher Legacy

Gen 2 (From the Beginning)

Arc 0: Prologue Arc 1: The Summer Before Arc 2: Fall Year 1 Arc 3: Winter Year 2 Arc 4: Chaos & Disaster With Love - Year 2.5 (Recent)

Start//Recent

Gen 1.5 (From the Beginning)

Arc 0: Recap Arc 1: A Tale of 2 Birthdays Arc 2: Camp Longhorn Arc 3: Side Plott Arc 4: A Very Special Love Day Arc 5: A Very Fletcher Spooky Day Arc 6: Baby 4

Start//Recent

Gen 1 (From the Beginning)

Arc 1: Newly Wedded Arc 2 : Family of 3 Arc 3: Growing Pains Arc 4: Warning Signs Arc 5: When We Met Arc 6: Fractured Arc 7: Renewal Arc 8: New Beginnings

Start//Recent

My Challenges

21 Day Fiance

My Reshade

Sharp Colarity

CC Finds

As Melody approached the bull, Little C was sure to jeer her, "Hurry up and land tits up so I can get my turn in and we can make out next stop."

"Don't be so smug," Melody assured her, "You haven't seen all the tricks I have up my sleeve. I'll show you what real bull riding looks like."

She was bluffing of course.

She dreamed of walking into a smoke filled dive bar and holding onto a mechanical bull for dear life, possibly even setting a world record, but she'd never had the opportunity till now.

But bluff or not, she was going to ride that bull and stay on as long as she could.

As the bull's mechanical gears began to grind and slowly work up to its full velocity, it served as a stark reminder of why Melody needed this.

The adventure, the risk, the unpredictability—these things have always been constants in her life, the things she could rely on that made her feel alive.

She used to know reckless abandon like the back of her own hand. It kept her centered, it kept her from self-wallowing in the things in her life that didn't work out. Maybe she's better this way, throwing caution to the wind and living life within the moment like a goddess on a bucking bull.

I mean, just look at Little C. She'd known her less than 24 hours. She didn't know a thing about her wants, her dreams. She didn't even know her real name. But she could tell she was living her life to the fullest with excitement. With a grin that wide, she was happy. That's all Melody wanted.

So why couldn't this be her life now?

Careening on the edge of disaster, not knowing up from down minute to minute, surprising herself at every turn? That's what makes life worth living. Not the routine of suburban living with kids, who you love, but are a constant reminder of time's cruel turn.

They start out so cute and young and fragile and needing you and through them you discover what real love looks like. But then they grow up, need you less and less. and you struggle against the weakness to want to hold onto them, when you know you need to let them fly like you should be.

But that's OK because babies are supposed to grow up and need you less and less and leave you to live their lives. But even when you find that person that's meant to be yours completely and never leave you, there's that nagging that maybe you should be letting him fly too and find himself.

Maybe the only thing that time has taught her isn't that she can be loved but that she's a way point. People come into her life, but it's always safest to never get too attached so they can move on to the next thing. That way they get what they need, and she never has to get hurt.

Because all holding on too tightly ever gets you is being bucked off—hard.

"Side boob, get it together! You don't want to fall off do you?"

It was Little C cheering her on. It was in her best interest if Melody fell off because then she'd lose the wager, so why was she telling her to hold on?

She didn't think she had the energy to hold on for any longer than she already had, but if she dug deep, maybe she did have it in her to finish the way she promised herself that she would: gracefully, on her feet.

She slumped herself up on that bull's back and yipped a big old "Yee-haw!"

Her hands were shaky now, but with what little energy she had, she grabbed a hold of that bull and then flipped herself in the air for that money shot. She felt weightless and free, and when she managed to actually stick the landing on the bull's back, she felt powerful, unstoppable.

Weirdly, she felt like this bull ride helped her figure everything out while nothing at all at the very same time.

Maybe she did have a lot going on that she needed to work out. Maybe she was setting a flame to everything she'd work a decade to achieve.

Despite its decidedly unscuffed interior littered with novelty wanted signs and horseshoes across its walls, there was one thing about it that was always bound to capture Melody's heart.

"I want you to know that if I wasn't trying very hard to be cool right now, I'd be squealing my heart out."

Melody watched in pure giddy and glee as the woman on the bull ride was tossed about. At one point she full on flashed them, not just her tits but also her panties, as she screamed her head off, heels gripping the sides of the bull for dear life. It was the most beautiful sight Mel had ever seen.

"Look at how much air she got off that buck!" Mel started to giggle uncontrollably.

"You think that's impressive? I once went twice as high as that. Nothing beats that kind of thrill."

"So what, another top 10 never felt more alive moment?"

"Just watch me go after she wipes out and I'll show you."

"No, freaking, way! I've been dragged to the desert with fake pyramids and a casino that ate half my money. Not only do I need this, I 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 this. I call next as soon as she face plants off that bull."

"Not a chance, SB! This is my side quest. I get first by default. You can study my technique."

"How's this? If you let me go next and I can't outlast your time, I buy drinks."

"No way, that's lame! The drinks here are cheap."

"Fine! We do whatever side quest you want next, no questions asked. Please, please, pleasssseeee!"

"Ugh, fine! You're more annoying than me." Little C relented.

One cowgirl wardrobe change later back at the Sands Casino, and Melody was ready to take her trip with her new friend to this supposed awesome dive bar. The only thing that stood between her and a ride on a mechanical bull was a ride on a horse, of which she definitely was not nervous about.

"Easy there, girl." Mel hesitantly moved a hand in the direction of her steed before being spooked by an errant neigh.

"Actually these horses are dudes." Little C corrected her. "And with any well hung male, never show fear. Lead with confidence, show 'em whose boss, and he's puddy in your hands."

"That's easy for you to say. You've ridden a horse before. I'm flying blind."

"You're not flying blind. Remember, if you can ride a—"

"Yes, yes, I know. We don't have to repeat the thing about the dick. Besides, I thought you were just being funny, this is serious. It's a giant animal."

"SB, let me tell ya something. I've had two moments in my life where I've never felt more alive. The first was when I took a shit ton of ayahuasca and tripped out for an entire week. But the second was when I rode a horse 10 miles across a mountain range. Tell me you don't wanna feel that alive."

"Little C, there has got to be a large gulf of stuff between a week long trip on ayahuasca and horseback riding."

"OK, so we're talking best of 10 different events. Stop splitting hairs and mount that bad boy!"

"The way I cannot say no to that." Mel smiled as she cuffed her stallion's chin.

Melody steadied her foot on her horse's stirrups.

"Now watch it, Mister. You might be a ginormous beast, but I've got gumption. And that usually counts for something. So you better think twice before you consider bucking me."

The horse sputtered as she lifted herself up.

"Plumbius maximus, I'm on! Look at me, Little C, I'm actually on a horse, and I didn't even have a nip slip or anything."

"You didn't have a nip slip 𝘺𝘦𝘵." Little C corrected her. "Now you're ready for the good part." Little C tugged at her reigns. "Let's go do some hot cowgirl shit!"

After Little C tapped the heels of her boots against her steed, she took off leaving Melody in the dust.

"What the hell, don't leave me behind! Slow down, I don't know how to work this thing or make him go." Melody shifted her reigns and patted the sides of her hose before he finally started moving.

It was rocky goings for Melody as she struggled to keep up with her partner in crime.

"Slow down, don't leave me behind!" She wailed after her.

"Relax! Just keep riding him like he's the biggest dick you've ever taken." A confident retort for one who unbeknownst to Mel was struggling just as much.

When the two rode up to Buccaneers, the only bar in the center of town, Mel was immediately thrown off by how very non-divey this dive bar seemed.

"This place is looking pretty granola and new clean energy for a dive bar, Little C. What gives?" Melody shot an eye in her little companion's direction

"So she went under new management and got a new fresh coat of paint. It's not what she looks like on the outside, but the mechanical bull she's still got going on the inside."

"How are we so sure that the mechanical bull hasn't been replaced with a botanical garden?"

"Because I just checked the reviews this morning. Now, it would seem you have a whole lot of excuses for not wanting to go in. You worried I'll out ride you after that bull bucks you in 2 seconds flat?"

At some point while Cordelia and Jai were chatting, Camille had made her way to her big sister's bedroom undetected.

In general, Cordie was not a fan of Millie being in her room as she was typically only there to snoop or cause trouble, and if caught, she'd make up an excuse to justify her presence.

But that wouldn't work today.

While their parents were out of town, Cordie intended to lay down the law as the head Fletcher in charge.

Cordelia approached, clearing her throat to announce her presence.

"Oh, is that you, dear, sister? Good morning to you." Millie's voice dripped with sweetness.

"Cut the princess sugar act," Cordie snapped, "what are you doing in my room?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm using your computer. I'm working on a very important project."

"Then use Mama's laptop. You know my computer is off limits to you. Don't act brand new just cause Mama and Daddy aren't here."

"Who's acting brand new? I'd just like to work on my project on a computer that won't take 10 minutes to load a single website. You know Mama's laptop is ancient. She's had it since uni. Sue me for wanting to use a machine that was manufactured within my own lifetime."

"Mama's laptop may be a little old, but it's the designated family computer. You'll get your own computer when you turn 14 just like I did, but until then, 𝘮𝘺 computer is off limits. Got it?"

"Fine. But seeing as I'm already here, won't you at least let me wrap up what I've already got going?"

"Camille, I said no!"

"Aw, come on! Give me 5 minutes."

Cordie contemplated the wager before countering, "You can have 1."

"3 minutes. Come on, please?"

There was something about Camille's face that looked sincere. And she hadn't insulted her once. And the laptop was in fact ancient and slow…

"Fine, you get 3 minutes exactly. I will be setting a timer, so don't try to game me out of more."

"Don't worry! 3 minutes is more than enough time to wrap up. Thank you, Cordelia." She returned a disconcerting smile.

"Yeah, whatever. Just make sure you don't mess up my tabs or my bookmarks!"

"180, 179, 178…" Cordelia loudly started counting down as she left the room.

Millie made sure to watch her as she exited before maximizing her window of interest.

"Sucker." She muttered underneath her breath as she correctly calculated Cordelia playing right into her hands.

There were 3 things that Camille knew that Cordelia failed to understand.

One, Cordie's kindness and desire to believe the best in even the worst people was her greatest weakness.

Two, in the name of dominion, the one who wields the most power is not the king, but the one who installs the king.

And three—

"I would strongly consider it if I didn't have to work tonight."

"Oh right." Cordie had completely forgotten that Jai had checked in with her two weeks ago about picking up a shift on what is usually their date night.

"But we can hang out tomorrow if you're free."

"We could, but, well—"

"I kind of have to see to Millie making it to her piano lesson and back. We have to take the bus, so it'll take half the day. I know it's a drag, but you could come with?"

"I don't mind. And afterward I can treat my best girl and her little sister to ice cream. Maybe I'll win some points with Camille."

"Millie kind of hates everyone, but she is partial to a bribe, so maybe?"

"I'll take a maybe. I mean it would be nice if your sister actually liked me."

"Forget her. I like you and that's all that matters."

"OK then, it's a date." Jai confirmed.

"It's a date." Cordie's cheeks grew warm.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Cordelia. I love you." Jai said as their conversation drew to a close.

"Yeah, I know." Cordie giggled, as always not quite knowing what to say back, but still flustered by the sentiment.

The call ended and she was filled with all sorts of floaty feelings.

If Jai is riding along with them tomorrow, she'd have to go through her closet and pick the perfect outfit. All her errand clothing is pretty frumpy. There is no way she could go out in a side pony, a crop top, and sweats in front of Jai.

No, she'd have to pick something really cute.

As her mind drifted toward her closet, she realized her bedroom light was on.

"Thought I turned that off?" She pondered until her eyes managed to find a wave of braids sitting in front of her computer screen.

While things were moving into a more unexpected direction at the Sands Casino, back home in Oasis Springs, the Fletcher girls were enjoying the little bit of freedom they were afforded thanks to their parents' trust in their eldest's ability to hold down the fort.

Nana Shelly picked up the boys yesterday evening for their weekend with her, so today would be their first full day of freedom, and Cordie decided to commemorate her first morning of freedom by calling one of her favorite people.

"Good morning!" She cooed sweetly into the phone.

"Good morning, beautiful," Jai's voice on the other end of the line returned her same sweetness. "How'd you sleep?"

"Like a dream." Cordie smiled just thinking about her new found independence.

"That good, huh? I guess being the head lady of the house is working for you."

"You have no idea! After Nana picked up the boys, I stayed up till midnight watching movies on the living room tv. And I ate two whole bowls of ice cream."

"Not two whole bowls, you're really a rebel now." Jai teased.

"Don't make fun! It's a big deal. My parents normally make me lights out by 10."

"They say they trust me but I still have all these rules and curfews and it all just makes me feel like I'm being treated like a little kid. But with them being out of town it's like they're finally treating me like an adult. I can do whatever I want with no one breathing down my neck."

"Whatever you want, huh? You planning a heist?"

"No, nothing like that, but" Cordie hesitated, "I was thinking, what if you came over tonight? I'm allowed to have one guest over till 8pm, which I know isn't very late, but we can watch a movie or, ya know, whatever you want."

It was quiet on the other end of the line longer than Cordelia would've anticipated.

"Jai?" She wanted to make sure their call hadn't dropped because it was either that or maybe Jai wasn't interested in hanging out with her after all?

"I'm still here." He responded. "I'm just a little surprised."

"Surprised about what?"

"Well, your folks are away, which means it'll just be us. Are you OK with that?"

"I mean, it's not like we'd be 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 alone. Alphie's here, and of course my sister is unfortunately still around, but outside of that—"

"Yeah, but what if we wanted to go up to your room?"

"Yeah, but we wouldn't, right?"

There was another pause that made Cordelia uneasy.

"What if I wanted to?"

"Jai, I thought we talked about this before."

"We did, and I wouldn't push for anything, but this situation isn't that different from when I wanted you to come over."

"It would just be me and you in your big empty house with no one there to stop us."

"Alphie would—"

"Cordie, you know it's not the same. I just want you to think about that. It could maybe be too tempting."

"Dressed? For what? My plans for today are to stay right here in this bed until I'm certain Lukas has done what he needs to do. Then I'll be faking a stomach bug so we can go home early, and then I can hole up in a painter's trance and avoid looking at him forever. The end."

"Boob, that is an awful plan."

"Boob? Is that all I am now? Not even a side boob?"

"I mean for now, while you're acting like one. The SB I know, you know for the last 12 hours anyway, would not be sitting around moping under the covers while her man presumably gets his back blown out."

"Little C, has anyone ever told you, you're a bitch?"

"All the time, but what's worse, SB? Being a bitch or a saggy boob crying over a man?"

"Can't they both just be the worst?"

"No! Now get up, throw on some hot cowgirl attire, and come riding with me. I'm bored, entertain me!"

"I can't!" Mel moaned. "Let me sulk in peace. Besides, I don't know how to ride a horse anyway."

"Sure you do! If you can ride a dick you can ride a horse. You can ride a dick, can't you SB?"

"Who do you think you're talking to? Of course I can ride a dick."

"Then what are we even talking about?"

"Now, get up, throw on some slutty cowgirl attire, and come ride with me. I know of the perfect dive bar in town we can go to."

"I still can't." Mel moped. "I didn't pack any slutty cowgirl stuff."

"You can borrow some from me. I've got a top you can wear that's too small for my bitties."

"A dive bar, huh? What if I don't like it?" Melody continued to pout.

"Two words: mechanical bull."

"When do we leave?" Mel suddenly felt hopeful in a way she hadn't in a while.

"As soon as you're dressed, obviously, so ándale! Let's get the lead out before the horses take off!"

After their proper parting, Melody collapsed into bed, but it wasn't because she was tired, it was because she was restless.

She could stay in this bed log enough for him to get his rocks off, and then it'd be done. She wouldn't have to worry about it for another month.

Or…she could get up, get dressed, and go after him. Say she didn't mean any of it—that this was a terrible idea and they shouldn't go through with it. She was just scared that now that their kids were grown enough to be self-sufficient, he had no reason to stay with her, he'd leave for another life.

Just like everyone else she'd ever loved. Her mother, Heath, Dre, Aiden—all living their lives away from her.

She groaned. How did she let herself get back here? She was good for so long with healthy habits, therapy—and then Saunders happened, he chose her, and she thought she was finally OK.

She let herself get comfortable with the idea that she was OK now because she had him, and she put out of her head the inevitability of him not staying.

She buried herself underneath the covers, hoping sleep would knock her out long enough for her to miss what she set in motion, but then—

She heard a knock at the door.

"Housekeeping!" She heard in an accented voice.

"No thank you!" She groaned she hoped loud enough for the person on the other side to hear. But when she heard a key being turned in the knob, she realized maybe not loud enough.

She shot up in bed, "I said, no—"

"And I said, get up loser, we're going horseback riding!"

When Melody opened her eyes. There she was, her brand new partner in crime, leaning against the door frame like a deviant angel.

"Little C? How'd you get in here?"

Saunders drew his tongue down her neck till it met the strap of her dress. Once there, she felt the gloss of his teeth bite down on the fabric as he began to move it down her shoulder.

She exhaled to keep herself from vocalizing any kind of excitement.

"Lukas," She said breathless, "don't."

But that alone didn't stop him.

She felt his breath on her skin as his lips began to plant small kisses along her shoulder.

"You don't really want me to stop." His tone not a question but absolute certainty.

She hated that he wasn't wrong. That she still wanted him as much as she always did.

Just as she did back in the beginning when things were simple, casual, uncomplicated. Back before she let him in and got used to him.

She pushed him back.

"Lukas, don't." She said this time firmly.

If she gave in, it would just make it harder to be OK with letting him explore.

If she held on too tightly, he would resent her. He would leave.

The brush off caught Saunders by surprise. "I'm—I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"You didn't do anything wrong, it's just you'll be late for the llama ride, right?"

"You mean 𝘸𝘦'𝘭𝘭 be late, right?"

"Yeah, except—" Melody hesitated.

"Would you hate me if I skipped the llama ride?"

"You don't wanna go?"

"It's not that. I guess I overestimated what an all-nighter at the casino would do to me. I could benefit from a catnap. I can meet you at the shops in town in a few hours."

"Or we could cancel everything."

"I'll stay with you till you're rested." Saunders brushed her cheek.

"Don't be silly. It's a llama ride. I want you to have that experience. Maybe the llama hand will be cute and you can—"

"Melody—"

"I'll meet you there. Explore, have fun. I want that for you. Then we'll link up and have fun."

The frustration of it all was getting to Saunders. With a heavy sigh and a hand through his hair, he finally said, "I'll agree to go on ahead of you under one condition."

"OK?"

"You let me properly see you off before I go."

"And what does that entail?"

Saunders leaned in, cupping her chin.

He stared at her with such an intense smolder.

"You know we don't have time for that." She protested.

"That's not what I plan to do."

"Then what?"

"If you don't want me to, then just say that. Otherwise just let us have this."

With his lips less than a centimeter apart he became an inevitability.

His lips curved around hers and she melted into him. For a moment she was in control. She knew where this was headed. Everything was handled.

But now, all of that was out the window. She wanted him to stay, but maybe she also didn't want him with anyone else. Would he hate her if she took it back?

Maybe she was just confused. Maybe he's always had that effect on her. The ability to want him too much in a way that was scary and unsafe and unreliable.

As good as this felt right now, she had to stay the course. She couldn't depend on something could only be fleeting. She had to go by what she knew.

And what she knew was that eventually everyone always left her. So if she couldn't make him stay, the least she could do is create a situation where he'd feel safe to always come back to her in some way.

"A hall pass? Like for school? I think I may be a little old for something like that." A half smile slipped onto Saunders's lips.

"You're thinking of the wrong kind of hall pass. What I'm offering you is a relationship hall pass. The kind where you can sleep with whoever you want."

Melody didn't exactly think about how Saunders would react to the proposition, but she never would've guessed stark silence.

"Why would I want that?" Saunders questioned her after he finally discovered his words again.

"Why wouldn't you? Everyone gets a little bored, right?"

"Are you bored of me?"

"No, of course not!" Mel was quick to protest, but not liking the pleading that snuck into her voice, she pulled back. "What I mean is besides me, you've only ever seriously dated one other person, and that other person took advantage of you and landed you in prison."

"I was just thinking it could be good for you—good for us—if you occasionally were allowed relationship sanctioned exploration with someone else as like a breather or something. That way you never have to think about what you might be missing. You can taste the frosting guilt free."

"And it wouldn't bother you at all, me being with someone else?"

The question pierced an unexpected twinge in Melody's heart. Sure, it was her idea, but perhaps she thought he wouldn't be so quick to consider it. But this is what you wanted, she assured herself.

"Well, there would be rules."

"Like it can be with anyone you want as along as they're a man or non-binary. Another woman would just be—" She trailed off as she tried to hide her own insecurity over potentially being replaced by another woman. "And it can't be anyone we know, so people like Chad Chinsely are off the table."

"I would never sleep with Chad. The guy is madly in love with his husband."

"Oh, is that the only reason." Mel scoffed, but then Saunders reached for her other hand, cradling them both now.

"You know it's not. I don't want to sleep with anyone else—no guy, gal, or non-binary pal."

"I've done sleeping around before. You know that. It's overrated. I don't want to sleep with anyone else. And I don't think you want me to either."

He was making her lose her nerve, but she needed to hold strong.

"It won't be all the time. Just like once a month or something."

"It's like what you always say about diets. You're healthy for the week and then you hit the weekend and you get a cheat meal. That one meal at the end of the week keeps you honest, and it makes it easy to be good the rest of the week. It's your spice of life, your frosting."

"Melody, I don't—"

"Don't say no right away. Just think about it. What if you used it on this trip?"

"Oh, this old thing?" Melody tried to play it off, but Saunders was giving her the serious face. "Look, I couldn't really sleep last night, so I may have decided to do a little gambling, socializing—"

"Drinking?" Saunders was like a bloodhound sniffing out the white wine on her breath.

"Maybe just a little. You know I can hold my booze. I didn't go crazy."

"It's not just that," He hesitated, "I just wish you would've said something. I could've gone with you."

"You were tired."

"I'd have managed."

"I wouldn't have wanted you to. I'm a big girl Saunders, I don't need a handler."

That last remark made them both flinch.

Saunders from the distance always created when Melody didn't use his first name, Melody from the unexpected harshness around her tone when she said "handler."

"I…didn't mean it like that. I just didn't want you sacrificing sleep on my account."

"It wouldn't have been a sacrifice. I want to spend time with you. I 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 spending time with you. You know that."

The look in his eye was so earnest it made it hard for her to look at him.

"Yeah, I know."

Saunders took hold of her hand.

"Hey," his touch startled her, "are we OK?"

"Don't look at me like that." Mel said just above a whisper. "We're fine." She said much louder so there'd be no confusion.

"We're fine, but since we've gotten here you've seemed…off, distant." Saunders wasn't letting up

"I'm sorry. That's my fault. In an effort to surprise, I just worried you."

"Surprise?"

"Well, yeah, a bonus anniversary gift." Mel strained a smile.

"I don't need another one. The watch you got me was already too much."

"This is better, and potentially more valuable."

"I'm listening."

"SB," Little C broke her train of thought, "I've gotta be honest. That was a lot, and you officially broke my buzz."

"I know." Mel sighed. "Next round on me?"

"Yes, but also, I've got a simple solution to your convoluted problem."

"And that is?"

"Two words: hall pass."

Melody was speechless a beat or two as her mind tried to wrap around the words her new friend had uttered

"You…want me to cheat on Lukas?"

"Not you, him. Think about it, it's perfect. You're freaking out about becoming his ball and chain, so give him an escape hatch he can use at his discretion"

"He gets to explore, and you get to not be such a downer about it. Win win."

"Yeah." The skepticism in Mel's voice not so easily veiled. If she did give Saunders a moment to do whatever with whomever, then when he was with her, it would be by choice not obligation. It would solve everything, right?

"I guess, maybe, this could be a good idea," Melody reluctantly gave in, "I mean, it works for you, right?"

"Babes, I don't do monogamy, but yeah sure, I guess maybe if I had to, it would work perfect for me."

"Right." Little C didn't really set her at ease, but the sun was rising.

The two called it a late night, or really an early morning, exchanged contact info, and Melody snuck her way back to the pyramid that housed her room.

With any luck, Saunders was sleeping in as he usually did, and she could settle under the covers next to him like she'd been there all night.

But just like her night at the casino, luck wasn't exactly on her side.

"Hey, you!" Melody affected an overly cheery tone as she unexpectedly encountered Saunders as soon as she walked in.

The two women became fast friends. Friends who weren't exactly on a first name basis.

Mel caught a vibe that her little Chaos wasn't keen on sharing her real name. The air of deception that surrounded her was still especially thick, but that worked for her. For one night, why not be someone else?

A Little Chaos won them a cool §5000 to splurge on drinks, a small reprieve from the §15000 Melody was down.

"Lukas is gonna kill me if he takes a peek at our bank account before this trip is over." Melody sighed. "How's it possible you won 5K and I didn't win a cent?"

"Easy. I'm cooler, hotter, and more skilled at this than you." Her companion took a long swig of her drink. "You're so stressed it's practically catching. Come on, embody your inner side boob."

"You're just going to keep calling me that, aren't you?"

"Oh come on, it's cute."

"I thought we had something with Chaos and Disaster. It's mysterious. Like cool code names."

"Oh sweetie, it's adorable that you really believe that."

"Well, shit, Little C, and here I thought you were just pretending to be a little cunty." Mel snorted.

"OK, just for you, I'll try to be a little less cunt. Why so glum, SB? We're too hot and too drunk for you to be this morose."

"Aww, you do care." Mel cracked a smile as she eyed the rim of her glass. "But I'm not morose. I mean, not really, it's more…can I get a little personal with you?"

"No. But I'm pretty sure that won't stop you."

Melody ignored the dig and continued on.

"It's like this. I've fallen in love with a slab of a man who's just perfect in every way. He's hot, he's amazing in bed, he cares about me, but he's a lot younger than me, which I didn't use to care about."

"But the older I get, the more it feels unfair for him. There's this tiny voice that's always kind of been there since we started dating that started as a whisper but now it just screams, 'you're holding him back.' I kind of feel like I trapped him with kids, an older woman, a domesticated life."

"He says he always wanted a family, that he has everything he could ever want, but how can he know that for sure? Before he met me, he barely lived. He never gave himself the chance to explore what he wants—who he wants. It'd be easier to do that with someone his own age. Sometimes I wonder—"

"—what if things had just worked out between me and my eldest's father? We're closer in age, we would've ended up exploring this rat race called life together and as we got older we could equally support each other without one of us feeling obligated or held back."

Or trapped, the thought passed.

She was spunky, a little off-kilter, some might even say zany. She was the type of girl 20 years ago she probably could've gotten up to a ton of mischief with, but tonight, she was Melody's lucky charm.

"Your bet was on 17, ball landed on 40. You're out." A smirk slipped onto the dealer's face.

"Hey, side boob," Her new friend hissed over to her. "If you lean forward just a bit, I'm positive your strap will slip just enough to show some nipple. That could buy us in for another round."

"Yeah, except I'm pretty sure he just insinuated he was gay earlier."

"Oh, right." She clicked her tongue.

"New idea. There's a slot machine downstairs that's never let me down. With a few start up chips from you, side boob, we can keep this party going."

"Deal." Melody was easily sold. "But you cannot keep calling me side boob. I'll give you my name if you give me yours, short stack."

"What if I told you my name was Chaos?"

There was an air of mystery around her new friend. The kind of mystery, Melody knew well: deceit.

"Then I'd say, nice to meet you Chaos, I hope you get along well with Disaster."

"Disaster? Cute. That's my middle name."

"Then we'll get along swimmingly."

What would follow next is exactly what you'd expect from a meeting of Chaos and Disaster.

The woman at the roulette table gave the dealer a cheeky smile, but her charm clearly wasn't working on him.

"Lady, this isn't a brothel. We deal in chips not favors, so if you're out of chips—"

"I think I just offered you something a little more valuable than chips, mister." She winked.

"But if you're looking for some higher value favors, we can talk, but the chip to favor ratio goes up."

"If your favors don't include cold hard simoleons, I'm gonna need you to—"

"Ease up, dealer." Melody approached the table. "Deal her in."

"I don't know what kind of racket you two ladies are running, but neither of you possess the kind of favors I dabble in, so if you're out of cash, kindly step away from the table." The dealer's voice steeled.

"Relax, you couldn't afford my favors anyway." Mel scoffed. "I'll cover her for §1000."

Mel took a seat next to her new friend, who managed to let her mask slip just a little.

"Hey," She hissed in Mel's direction. "My plan was to use one of my favors to distract him long enough to smuggle some chips out his chest to take to the next table, so if you're looking for me to pay you back—"

"Relax," Melody cut her off. "Consider it a gift." Melody waved the dealer to set the bet.

"Colors or Numbers?" The dealer eyed her distrustingly.

"Colors."

"Red or black?"

"Red is feeling like my lucky color tonight."

The roulette spun before slowing on—

"Red. I guess you are lucky."

"You're 200 chips richer." The dealer said dryly. "Are we betting or folding?"

"I dunno." Melody glanced over at the girl beside her. "What say you, new friend?"

"Does this gift of yours extend to those 200 chips we just won?"

"Depends, you got a drinking partner for the night?"

"Oh, babes, I can drink like a leaky faucet."

"So…is that a yes? I don't think I get this analogy?"

"Bet the 200, lady. It's a yes." Her new friend winked at their new found partnership.

There was a part of her that felt bad for curving Saunders. But there was another part that felt justified in it.

Now it's therapeutic massages to ease her hot flashes, but next will it be compression socks to help increases circulation or a lift chair for when her knees give out?

She didn't want their age gap to mean that eventually Saunders would just be her caretaker, making himself lesser, holding himself back, so he can help support her needs. Now that she could really see what he was doing, everything else suddenly made so much more sense.

Of course he'd be checking other guys out. They were men he could just have fun with, men he didn't have to worry about if they had any aches or pains he felt obligated to mend. There certainly wasn't anything sexy about that.

She sighed. How was she meant to sleep peacefully now that she knew?

She wasn't.

It was impossible.

What she really needed was to clear her head. Or at least drown out all of this noise. When she got back to the room, she quickly fished a dress and some heels out of her suitcase and headed back to the bathroom. She hoped Saunders would think she was showering.

If he thought that and instead of what she was actually doing, she was hopeful that would allow him to turn in ahead of her and not go looking for her.

Because tonight all she wanted to do was gamble, get lost at the bottom of a mixed drink, and be as young as the first unhinged person she meets.

Three tequila shots in, Melody became doubtful she'd meet anything but a hangover in the morning.

That is until she rounded the bend to the second floor and she heard the beginnings of what could be a promising start to any friendship.