the lonely.

"Mm, yes, and you're amazing at what you do." It was easy to be impressed with how talented she was but he knew that he might be a bit biased because of how much he loved her. A chuckle fell from his lips and he nodded his head. "That's one way to keep a guy motivated, I'll tell you that." Omar teased, winking at his girlfriend. "I'm looking forward to having them all over." He smiled, his expression only softening as he mentioned having not talked to Alli, yet. "Things still rocky?" @sawyervaughn

"Good because you'll be on your own if you try." she joked, though to a degree, Monet wasn't one to put up with arguing with people. She could be as snarky as the next person, but arguing? She wasn't about to do that. "Let me make up a couple of bouquets for you." she stated. "Maybe get it from every angle." she paused. "So you can use whatever you think will be the most fun to do." she added. "You okay with that or is there one that seemed to catch your eye the most just by looking at these?" @omarxmorrison

Omar was immediately grateful for the candor that florist offered him, "That sounds great to me, honestly." It was better than he would have been able to come up with on his own. "I've got good eye for art and I'm sure flowers are a form of art in some way, but I'm not at a point where I'd consider myself trusting of knowing which ones are best." Omar admitted with a lighthearted chuckle passing over his lips. "How long have you been doing this?" @monetrousseau

Omar chuckled with Charlie's words. He knew the other was right. Omar had never quit football because he wasn't capable of playing. It was because he no longer had the same passion for it after his mother passed. "People do that?" His brow raised, almost in surprise at Charlie's statement of animals being dumped. "I mean, I guess it's good to be at the farm instead of on the side of the road somewhere, but I just couldn't imagine." Omar was shaking his head this time. @charliesxdavis

Omar's gaze lingered on the mural while she spoke. It was only after a beat that he nodded his head. "Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it." He answered with a faint smile pulling on the corners of his mouth. "I'm one of the few artists working on it. As a tattoo artist, I'm used to working on projects that are permanent where this allows me to be more flexible." Omar laughed softly, "Which almost makes me more nervous, to be honest. I don't want to be the artist that totally messes it up." @auroraxblake

"Life kind of sucks sometimes." he admitted. "So if we have that to hold onto, the jobs we were just meant for, I think it helps a little." he added. He wasn't one that really believed in that. Fate, luck, whatever the universe was in charge of, Josiah had never been handed anything good. Not that his entire life had been a shit show, but it definitely hadn't been good in some aspects. "Yeah that's fair." Josiah nodded. "I know I try not to let myself combine work and personal hobbies, but, sometimes they do go hand in hand. Like hiking does seem to help when it comes to work." he shrugged. Yet at the other's question, Josiah nodded. "I'm not in a rush per say." he stated. "I just want to make that next step in asking her to move in with me and I want to start looking wherever we think is safest." he paused. "Plus, I've rented my entire life. I'd like to own my house." @omarxmorrison

Omar nodded his head to Josiah's statement. Life did kind of suck sometimes. Though, he never liked to think of it as a competition. Just collectively, life could suck for everyone. That much they did all have in common. "Yeah, I get that," he chuckled, "as long as it's still enjoyable when you're not actively working, that's probably what matters more." Omar offered to him with a smile. He nodded his head along to Josiah's words once more, "Yeah, I know how that goes. Sawyer and I haven't been together long," he admitted, "but knowing each other our whole lives, taking this step into a relationship felt natural enough we didn't want to wait any longer." Omar continued to smile, "It's a good feeling to own something, especially when you get to make it your own." @josiahhuddington

"I like that idea." Omar wiggled his brows playfully in his girlfriend's direction. His features softened as she spoke of her plans. "I like that," he shifted his gaze, looking at the area that they were working on. "You've got a much better vision for these things than I do, but I'm going to work my ass off to make it happen." While he were creative on paper, even as he looked at the space, he wasn't sure how it would all look, not quite yet. "How's your family doing? Have you talked to them about coming over for dinner next week?" @sawyervaughn

Omar's lips parted with a laugh as Sawyer playfully gave him a push. "Of course we are going to save water." He teased her right back. There were few times in which Omar would truly pass up an opportunity to spend more time with Sawyer, even after living together. "Yeah, of course. I'm here to work as long as you want me to." He added with a more bright grin. "Are all these of varying seasons when they bloom?" Admittedly, Omar had learned something while visiting the local nursery with her. @sawyervaughn

"I can do whatever you need." she nodded, taking a step to her right, towards a random row of florals of every sort. "This row is some of our more exotic flower types; black dahlias are pretty intricate, would be great to show off any line work." she paused, taking a step towards the middle of that row, head nodding towards another bit of flowers. "I think this Queen Anne's Lace would be really pretty with pretty much anything, I personally love them more than baby's breathe, but I know that's a controversial statement." she shrugged. "And these are probably my favorite flowers; the gloriosa lily. I think they'd make a really cool tattoo if you're looking for a reason to show your color skills off or something." @omarxmorrison

Omar listened, keeping his eyes on the woman. He didn't want to miss a thing when it came to this project. "Hey, you won't hear any controversy from me," Omar joked, holding up his hands in a mock surrender. That's why he was there, asking her questions because he didn't know anything about flowers. "I'm open to having options for both. They kind of gave me free reign with this and so I want to give them a few options and then I can even plug and play with those options." @monetrousseau

"I guess we all have the jobs we have for a reason." Josiah nodded. "Things we're good at just seems to help with that." he laughed, shaking his head. "It's always interesting, though, the people who's hobbies and jobs are nothing alike. It makes sense, trying to keep hobbies and work as separate as a person could so that you didn't experience burnout and then have no outlet, but, sometimes it was funny. Like having something like stand up comedy as a hobby but being a funeral director or a mortician as a career. Though, Josiah was sure that if that had been the career path he'd used he'd have picked comedy as a hobby too to ease the brain. The mention of Driftwood Haven made Josiah nod. "That is where the Sheriff lives." he stated, thinking out loud at this point. "And I can't imagine he'd live somewhere in town he didn't find safe for his son." Not that he was hinting that Kismet Harbor was unsafe, they'd thankfully not had a ton of crime that was ongoing here. "Cresthill Meadows sounds like a good place too." he nodded. "I'll look into both of those." he stated, eyes focusing on the other for a moment. "Thank you for your insight." @omarxmorrison

"I'd like to think so." He knew that it was unrealistic that everyone had the job that was best suited for them. That would be too nice of an event to happen, he knew that. Not everyone had that kind of luxury. "Yeah, I do feel like sometimes hobbies and career choices are in a totally different ballpark. Though, I can't say much because I don't know any tattoo artists that were football players besides myself." Sports and arts never mixed either. He nodded his head to Josiah's words, "Yeah, it took us a while to find something but it's always worth waiting for the right place in my opinion. You lookin' soon or just thinkin' about lookin'?" @josiahhuddington

"Oh." Monet replied, listening as the other stated that he wasn't picking up flowers for anyone in particular. Because it certainly didn't sound like he was looking for flowers for himself either. "What-" though she paused as the other stated that he had a client that was looking for a floral piece on their thigh. "Oh that's really cool actually!" she stated, looking at the other. "Do you happen to know what vibe they're wanting?" she paused. "I know you said they gave you full reign but are they wanting dark romantic garden vibes? Or something more sculptural and unusual?" The options really were endless, but, maybe with an idea of what she could create for him, she needed a little more of an idea of what he wanted to do. @omarxmorrison

Omar watched the gears turning in the other's head. He imagined that most, if not all people that stepped into the local flower shop were buying for someone. Omar, on the other hand, had decided to throw a curve ball for the day. "I hadn't even thought of that." Though it was clear that florals were not his strong suit. "Can you give me some different varieties?" Frankly, Omar didn't care what it cost him to spend on the project. "I might use inspiration from both, give them a couple of examples to pick from." @monetrousseau

Omar smiled as their lips touched. He didn't think he would ever get used to having this life with her. What went from a lifetime of friendship, a fake relationship to a real relationship, he felt like they had already experienced so much together. He knew that people thought they had moved quickly, but Omar could not be happier with the life they were building together. "Hm, I don't know that I should trust you." He teased, the corners of his lips curling upward. "Kidding. I do. I see your vision, or I'm trying to when sweat isn't pouring into my eyes." @sawyervaughn

"I think being built to be an athlete would've been nice for me too." Josiah laughed, shaking his head. "I definitely wouldn't have struggled at the last physical agility test I had to do if I were." Not that he'd struggled to the point he hadn't passed obviously, but in the way a man in his late thirties did. With age. "Instead I was given the skill set to help people and look intimidating in a uniform, so I guess I'll take it." he laughed. At the other's question, Josiah nodded. "Things are okay." he admitted. "A little bit of a hiccup in the personal life, but we're on the mend." He didn't want to go into too much detail if the other wasn't interested in listening to the sob story of his loss earlier in the year. "I'm actually trying to find a new house." he spoke. "I've moved a lot in the last year so it feels exhausting, but, I want a place I can have with my girlfriend and can be ours." he shrugged. "So if you know any part of town that has some houses that are reasonably priced, let me know." Truthfully, Josiah's career allowed him to have a much larger threshold of a house payment than some might have, but he still wanted to be smart and if the house wasn't worth it, he wasn't going to spend the money on it. @omarxmorrison

Omar chuckled, nodding his head, "Yeah, that probably would have given you an advantage more naturally rather than having to train for it." He knew that the man hadn't failed it, since he was sitting there as deputy sheriff. "That's a pretty important skillset to have." He let out a huff of laughter. "I know for a fact that not everyone is capable of that." Not that he genuinely thought Josiah was that intimidating but at the same time, but at the same time, there was just something about the residents of Kismet Harbor that didn't seem that intimidating as a whole. "If you're lookin' for reasonable, I'd probably check out Driftwood Haven. Honestly, with those new apartments that just went in, I think the area is on a rise. Cresthill Meadows seems to be a hot commodity area for families, so I think you'd find something there, but patience would be key." @josiahhuddington

starter for @monetrousseau

location: belle blossoms

During his time as both a football star and tattoo artist, he had learned a lot of things. He used to read a defense on the field in seconds and talk to reporters without actually saying anything. How to perfect the fine line. But what he had not learned was how to to buy flowers. And that was how he found himself standing in the middle of Belle Blossoms, looking completely out of place. His arms were loosely crossed over his chest as he stared at a display in front of him. Roses were obvious. Lilies felt serious. At the sound of someone else's footsteps, he turned, seeing the woman that worked there. "Is there some sort of secret flower language that everyone knows about except me?" Omar much preferred to have an actual reference for the work he was doing when possible but he was finding it difficult.

The other's voice made Monet smile a little. Not because he both looked and sounded lost in the middle of this flower shop, but because she could tell that whatever brought him out here must have been important. In more cases than not, the men that came out here for flowers or plants were often accompanied by a female who was picking out more things than their cart or the male could hold, but, this was obviously not the case for this man. "I'd like to say no, but, I think to some degree there actually is some sort of flower language." she laughed, shaking her head again. In her own hand was a calla lily, a flower that she'd grown to recommend to a lot of people that wanted something they could just plant and forget about. This one in particular had been mixed with some roses that clearly had been misplaced. "I will just say, as much as I love looking at roses, if you want a bouquet to mean something, stay away from them." she added with a shrug. "Very common for people that want to buy flowers that don't actually mean anything." she paused again. "Are you looking for a premade one or something more custom?" @omarxmorrison

Omar listened to the woman's word, a quiet huff of laughter passing over his lips as she said she would have liked to say there wasn't a secret flower language. "I knew it." He teased with a flicker of a smile against his lips. Nodding his head, he continued to take in what she was saying. "That's good. I'm not lookin' for roses. Or honestly, flowers for anyone in particular. At least not this trip," his own smile grew at the thought of Sawyer. "I'm a tattoo artist and I've got a client that wants a flower piece for her thigh. She gave me full reign to come up with what I wanted. I just like havin' a reference to go off of and I'm not sure what flowers are all going to mix together. If that makes any sense at all." @monetrousseau