When Emily spotted a familiar police officer on the other side of the street, she decided to cross the street after a moment of hesitation. Moving over, her hands curled around the straps of her backpack, her lips curling up into a smile when she stopped in front of Chris. “Hey you,” she greeted him, voice light. “Tell me, what are you doing that makes you so much more interesting for my best friend than me? Are you holding her hostage?”, she asked jokingly. ( @thechristophermiller​ )

Chris stood outside the precinct nursing a cup of coffee, the lull of the day affecting him more than it should have. He needed something to wake him up, and as if the world had read his tiredness, out popped Emily. “Hey, yourself,” he answered with an amused expression, “Who, me? Steal your best friend? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Honestly, she might be the one who’s holding me hostage.”

“Are you going to tell my dad?” Matti asked, a quiet voice that was a distant echo compared to Chris’s thoughts.

“Are you serious, kid?” Chris asked incredulously, stealing an astonished glance at Ethan’s son. The kid looked so much like his dad that every time Chris looked at Matti all Chris could think about was punching Ethan in the face. “You’re lucky I was nearby,” he continued, “If it had been anyone else, you would’ve been taken to the station and processed, and your dad would’ve gotten a pretty frightening phone call from the police precinct. So yeah, I’m gonna tell your dad.”

Chris pulled up Ethan’s house, aware that the last time he had been there, Chris and Ethan were about to head out for a night of drinks, but as he looked at the house, lit by only the light of the front porch, Chris only felt a sense of dread rather than anticipation. Walking Matti up the walkway, Chris brought his knuckles up, rapped at the door, and awaited a response.

Lottie watched Chris’ eyes light up as he took in the kitchen, unable to stop herself from smiling. It was so incredibly sweet and she had a feeling that the kitchen would likely be his favourite room in the house, and she had the fleeting thought that wherever they ended up in their lives together - whether she ended up a pauper after being cut off from the family or they would always have that financial security - that they could get a place with an amazing kitchen for him. She was definitely getting ahead of herself, it’d likely be a long time before they considered renting a place together or even living together but that didn’t change the fact she saw her future with him, and wanted to find their way towards that point. His teasing knocked her out of her reverie, and the soft expression turned to a laugh. ‘’I already told you that I’m only with your for your body, Detective Miller.’’ She informed him teasingly, spare hand swatting his rear as they exited the kitchen. 

Glancing up at the pictures in the hallway, she always felt a pang of regret when she realised that no-oneof the pictures contained sight of her sister. It often felt like Meredith was dead, because no-one spoke about her or acknowledged her existence, and it was hard on Lottie to know her parents could be so heartless, but even harder to realise she could end up in that position if she didn’t play her cards right. ‘’There’s 7 bedrooms. Play your cards right and I’ll show you which one is mine soon.’’ Lottie quipped with amusement, winking at him even as she lead him towards the staircase, pointing out a few extra rooms downstairs that he would be free to explore. There was a few bathrooms, offices, and entertaining rooms downstairs, and she’d never really stopped and thought about how three people didn’t need so much space.

‘‘God, I wish there were some secret passages. I think me and Meredith– well, I think I would have found them as a kid.’‘ She corrected herself as she began to talk about her sister, nose wrinkling almost instinctively. Lottie was used to her sisters name being met with stony silence, and it was a hard habit to break.

Completely oblivious to her thoughts, Chris just took her teasing in stride, walking out of the kitchen before feeling her hand patting his ass, a laugh leaving him as he swatted her hand away. “Typical,” he teased her as his arm came around her shoulder, and he pulled her into him to press another kiss to the side of her head before he let her go. If anyone were ever to ask what he was most grateful for about their relationship, it was that she had just the same type of humor that he had, causing their interaction to feel light and easy when things were light and easy. He just felt so comfortable being in her presence, and that comfort only deepened as time went on. 

It was hard to imagine that March was eight months ago, and pretty soon, their relationship would approach a full year. They found themselves in such an odd limbo, being able to know each other so well emotionally but unable to explore physical aspects like what her room looked like in person, the weight of which lay heavily on him as they toured her house and he followed her up the stairs. There were seven bedrooms, and he had no idea where she slept at night, feeling grateful they could afford an opportunity like right now. 

As Lottie let her sister’s name slip out of her mouth, he noticed the sudden shift in her sentence, aware that her sister was a touchy subject to begin with. They had talked about Meredith a couple times, and every time, he could see Lottie’s face drop whenever she thought about her sister. He had never been one to press if it wasn’t something she felt comfortable talking about, but seeing her disappointment hurt him all the same. “I’m sure you both would have,” he answered her gently, his hand finding hers and his fingers lacing through her own and a reassuring smile on his features. 

“C’mon. I still want to see your room,” he said, switching gears and shifting the subject. 

A breathy laugh left her lips, one had tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear when it fell in her face. Lottie knew that Chris would love her whether she had thousands in a trust fund or pennies to her name, but the teasing just made her giggle. He was one of the least materialistic people she knew, and it was such a breath of fresh air compared to most of the people she spent her time with. They were vapid and vain, they thought about the money first, but it wasn’t like that with her boyfriend. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t tease him, though, a mockingly affronted look on her face as she clicked her tongue. ‘’Oh, I knew it. You don’t think I’m pretty, you think the sex is subpar, and you’re just here for the cash. Golddigger.’’ She listed the things on her fingers, unable to keep a straight face for long before she laughed. Mostly, the idea of their sex life being anything but mind-blowing was just amusing. 

The way he looked at her never failed to make her heart skip a beat, and there was a soft look in her hazel eyes as she gazed up at him. It shouldn’t have been a novelty to be able to kiss him in her living room, but it was. The most he’d seen of her house was through their Facetime calls and they were limited to her bedroom, or outdoors like she’d done in the Summertime occasionally, and that did make her sad. Lottie had immersed herself in his life as much as possible while only one of his friends knew about them, but she hadn’t been able to let him do the same and she worried desperately that he’d come to resent that soon enough, or that it would at least bother him. These small opportunities were ones she would grab with both hands, even as her hands lingered against his shoulders, his own on her waist. ‘’I missed you too.’’ She returned gently, squeezing his arms as she allowed her hands to slide down, away from his body.

Reaching for his hand, she hummed softly and tugged him out of the living room, towards the kitchen. Lottie had planned on ordering take out, probably a pizza, for them to share that night but she had a feeling he’d probably enjoying the solid oak countertops and appliances that they had in the kitchen. ‘’Shall I just point out all the horizontal surfaces that I’m hoping we can christen in the next 24 hours?’’ Lottie spoke with a grin, giving his hand a squeeze as she led him along, room by room.

As he watched her tease him with all the possible non-reasons he was with her, he had to bite back a smile, finding it cute that she managed to play along with his jokes so naturally. He appreciated that she knew him well enough to read his jokes, knowing that she trusted him more than anything. He felt nothing but love for Lottie, and as she listed every reason on her finger, all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her, lift her up, find his way through her maze of a mansion, and throw her onto her bed. Combined with the novelty of being in a new environment, he was compelled to give her another kiss before parting with her just long enough to get a tour of her house. 

He took her hand and followed her into the kitchen, his eyes continuously shifting around to take in the space as much as he could. His eyes were drawn to the countertops, noticing how everything was practically covered in some expensively polished stone. He could imagine himself cooking in this kitchen so freely, and he was tempted then to start rifling through their fridge and their cabinets to see what they could whip up, his thoughts a product of his love for making food and from the fact that he was slightly hungry, only having gotten off his shift less than an hour ago before coming over. He was pulled out of his reverie when she spoke then, his brows furrowing as he glanced back at her. “Wow, you are a fiend, Charlotte Baker, but you don’t have to worry. I’ve already noticed a few places of interest,” he answered coyly before giving her hand a squeeze. 

He started to follow her out of the kitchen, and his eyes fell onto the hallway, which was littered with pictures of the Baker family, mostly of Lottie and her parents sans her sister, who Chris only knew about from stories. “Speaking of places of interest, where’s your room in this whole scheme? Also, how many rooms do you guys have? This place is just so big,” he noted, starting to ramble off his thoughts, “Is there a hidden room? Do you guys have a secret room? A secret hallway to connect those secret rooms?”

They did have a security system, mostly because of the fancy area they lived and the risk of their home potentially being targeted, but she didn’t think it was checked unless there was a reason to. Lottie was good with computers, she could always delete the footage of Chris arriving at the home if she really needed to, but she’d assured her boyfriend that her Father was not a spy, he wasn’t omniscient and he wasn’t going to simply know that someone else had been in their home. After a little reassurance and comforting, she’d managed to convince him to come over, so they could actually spend some time together. She was aware that she was becoming a little more reckless, becoming less considerate of her family all the while, her feelings for Chris growing stronger and that concern about their opinion lessening, but it hadn’t gone completely. 

A breathy laugh left her as he entered, distracted as he leaned in to kiss her forehead and his attention clearly more on the room that anything else. Lottie didn’t mind, not really, and instead giggled at his reaction. It left her grinning when he released her, following him into the living room where the sun was slowly sinking beneath the clouds. The view was gorgeous from the long, floor length windows and she almost wished it was Summer, so she could take him outside to enjoy the water properly, but she wasn’t sure he’d agree to potentially catching hypothermia if she suggested skinny dipping right now. Instead, she just watched his awe, arms wrapping around him when he returned to her. 

‘‘Ah, I knew you were only with me for my money.’’ She teased playfully when he claimed he’d been seduced by the house, amused by his enamoured reaction to her home. Her arms circled his shoulders, stealing another kiss. To her, the wealth that she was surrounded by had, rightly or wrongly, become very normal at this point. It was just her home, somewhere that she was very much used to, and she hadn’t really considered that it would seem so strange to him. They came from very different backgrounds, but she knew money wasn’t an issue between them.

‘’Do you want a proper tour?’’ 

As he pulled her into his arms, he let out a sigh of content, his arms squeezing tightly around her. His worries had clearly dissipated, feeling right at home knowing that it was just the two of them in one of the most beautiful houses he had ever seen. Growing up in his dilapidated two-bedroom home, he wasn’t used to these expensive pleasures, but he clearly didn’t deny himself the luxury even if he couldn’t necessarily afford it. He always knew the Baker name was synonymous with money, but he never quite understood the extent of it until stepping into their home. Even just standing in the living room was impressive enough, and he could only imagine what waited for him on this tour. But none of it really mattered at the end of the day. At the bottom of it all, he was just happy to see Lottie and happy that he could do something remotely normal such as going over to his girlfriend’s house for a change, aware that she must have been growing tired of having their dates in his apartment over and over again.

“Absolutely, I am in it for the money. Don’t get it twisted, Baker. If you ever lose any of this, we’re done,” he teased her, a wide grin spreading across his features, before he leaned in to return her quick kiss. He couldn’t help himself when he leaned in for another, fuller kiss, his hands moving to cup her jaws and guide her back to him. Feeling comfortable enough to so openly kiss her in a home he never thought he could set foot in was a delicacy he couldn’t get enough of. He had to take advantage of such a special occasion and felt humbled by how a simple visit to his significant other’s home was more of a spectacle than something that would have been considered routine in his past relationships. 

His thumbs brushed over her soft, rosy cheeks as he pulled away, staring down at her with what was going to be a permanent grin on his features. His hands found their way to her waist, his fingers familiar enough with every inch of her body that they could easily find her waist without a moment’s hesitation. “I’m glad I could come over. I missed you today,” he murmured before his hands found her backside, giving her butt a couple of pats before he nodded toward the room, “C’mon. Before we do anything, I want this tour though. I want to see how my girlfriend lives when she’s not coming over to steal my food.”

Getting to spend some time with her boyfriend at the Halloween party had felt like a breath of fresh air. It hadn’t been perfect and she’d had to hide underneath the hood of her costume on the few occasions that they’d come across other people but the guise of darkness and the general aura of mystery that took place on Halloween had been a good cover for them. It made Lottie even more convinced that she needed to figure out a way to keep her family happy and slowly introduce them to the idea of her dating a cop like Chris, because she wasn’t sure how long she could keep living in secrecy, nor did she think it was fair on her boyfriend to force him to hide. He deserved to be able to do what he wanted at parties, and she felt so terribly guilty that she had to make him lie about such a large part of his life. 

Luckily, her Father was supposed to be out of town for a few business meetings, and her Mom had gone up to D.C with him for the night, and it left her alone, presumably for the next 24 hours. Usually, she would have taken their absence and gone to Chris’ apartment to spend time with her boyfriend but with her home suddenly free, she had decided to invite him over to her own home - somewhere that they hadn’t really spent very much time together. Her parents would be back tomorrow, they’d only have a night, but she was trying to open her life up to him as much as possible, to avoid him thinking that she was trying to keep it separate purposefully. Sometimes Lottie felt like she was living a double life, but for a little while, she could merge those two worlds together. 

‘‘Hey, baby. Come inside.’‘ She welcomed with a grin as she pulled him through the front door, hand wrapping around his own eagerly. Lottie closed the door behind them, bouncing on the balls of her feet, actually quite excited to have him in her home properly, just the two of them. ‘‘Mi casa es tu casa.’‘

@thechristophermiller​

It felt like he was crossing an invisible barrier when he stepped past the threshold and into the Baker home—more correctly labelled as a mansion. He had been nervous about coming over to her home, afraid that Gary Baker had some unknown security system set up or that he would just know Chris was there to begin with. The two had been treading dangerous grounds being in public at the Harvest Festival and then at the Halloween party together, but this felt a little too close to home, literally. After some convincing, Lottie’s reassurances became more and more comforting until his anxieties began to wash away, and what was left was just pure awe, his eyes taking in the large mansion and his thoughts drifting to how a place like this could exist in the first place. 

“Holy crap,” he said aloud, his stare shifting around the brightly lit home, “This house is more enormous when you’re inside.” He couldn’t take his eyes off of his surroundings, but he was aware enough to realize his girlfriend was still right there, leaning in to give her a kiss on the forehead while distracted eyes continued to take in his surroundings. He couldn’t even bother to take his coat off, too busy trying to soak up his surroundings and grow acquainted to the Baker household. He let go of her hand then when he spotted the living room, making a quick beeline towards the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the water. “Jesus,” he murmured to himself, his hands coming to his hips as he looked out the window and stared out at the water, enamoured by the view. In all of his life, he had never seen so much wealth put into one home, especially not in person.

“Wow,” he said with a shake of his head, slowly coming back to reality as he turned back to look at Lottie, his eyes alight with excitement. “Hi, babe,” he finally said with a sheepish laugh, crossing the room to meet her again. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Sorry, I think I just got seduced by your house,” he joked before adding, “I wish we came here more often. This place is insane.”

November 1st 

To anyone merely passing by, Maggie appeared to be just like any other of countless people nursing a hangover the day after Halloween. Her eyes were sunken and bloodshot, and she was in major need of caffeine through an IV drip, but there had been no revelry for her last night. No, just another night shift. And Halloween was always the craziest night of the year. 

“I don’t mean to sound like a scrooge, but candy and kids should not mix. We had eleven kids with nut allergies come in after accidentally eating snickers and four who ate so much sugar, they caused themselves gastrointestinal distress… Halloween is wildly overrated.” 

Chris watched as Maggie nursed herself back to life with her cup of coffee, his eyes watching her sympathetically as she huddled over her warm drink and talked about her night. He was grateful he had the night off, leaving the policing duties to one of his more unfortunate partners. “Shit, that’s a lot of kids,” he murmured with a nod, bringing his cup off coffee up to his lips for another sip, “No wonder you look like hell. Sorry you had to pick the short straw like that, Mags. My night, however, was great, and no offense, but your terrible night is only making mine sound even greater.”

A breathy giggle left her, her back resting against Chris’ chest as he arms snaked around her, a little shiver running through her when she felt his breath against her ear. Lottie pressed back against him, giving a teasing wiggle of her hips even if she knew it was a dangerous game. ‘’Well, now you mention it, is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?’’ Her voice was teasing, playful, tilting her head to look at him with a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. She was teasing him, aware that finding a secluded closet somewhere was not a good idea, but that wouldn’t stop her playful nature. They just had insane chemistry, and she wasn’t sure she would ever stop being insatiable when it came to her boyfriend. Maybe it was risky to be together like this, because Leo had walked in on them last time they’d stolen a moment at a public event, but she ignored those worries for now. 

Her eyebrows rose at hearing he’d forgotten it was Halloween, a breathy laugh leaving her as he spun her round, her cape almost falling off of her head as she did so. A hand reached up to right it, aware that it was a good kind of protection from anyone who might walk around near them, a grin on her lips. ‘’Next year, remind me to plan us some matching costumes. Would Wendy and Peter Pan do it for you?’’ She teased him, even if part of her was entirely serious and she was very willing to do that if they were able to be public with each other. Lottie certainly hoped so, because she’d done well over half a year with them sticking to the shadows and she wasn’t sure she could take another 12 months of it all. The blonde loved the idea of getting to do those sweet couple things one day, and she looked forward to it. She loved going that extra mile on the holidays, whether that was dressing up for Halloween or decorating like crazy during Christmas and she was sure her boyfriend was slowly discovering that. 

Grinning as Chris mentioned her costume, Lottie took a step back so he could look at her outfit properly, giving him a slow and purposeful twirl so he could get a look at it properly. The little wicker basket that carried her purse and cell phone added to the outfit, and she swung it on her arm.  ‘’What do you think?’’ She questioned him airily, brightly. 

He wrinkled his nose as she joked about them getting matching costumes. He’d never been the type to publicly display his relationships like that, but a part of him knew he was more than likely going to give in, especially since it was Lottie, a woman he could rarely say no to. However, the image of him dressed in green tights, green tunic, and a green hat made him feel like he was going to look like a spinach leaf more than anything. “Where did that even come from?” he asked, his brows furrowed as he swung their arms, “Peter Pan? I don’t know, baby. Do I look like a Peter Pan to you? Does this really sexy but a little ridiculous facial hair scream Peter Pan to you? You know what? We’re tabling this conversation because we’re here, and we’re gonna enjoy ourselves without worrying about anyone making us out as anything other than a really good looking couple.”

As she spun around, he couldn’t help but admire her costume, his words ringing true as she showed off her outfit for him. He loved seeing how much she enjoyed the holiday, her effort to put together a well-constructed outfit obvious in the smallest of details. “I think I’m looking at the best-looking Red Riding Hood of all the Red Riding Hoods in this mansion,” he answered, holding her hand up as she spun around for him, pulling her in to press a quick kiss to her lips. “You look great, babe.”

“Listen, I know you said you were here with some of your friends, but I can steal you away for a little bit, right?” he asked, looking down at her, “‘Cause if so, I say we should walk around, grab a drink, grab a dance, and--I don’t know--do whatever. This is a pretty exciting chance to do whatever, don’t you think?”

Chana didn’t want to come to this. Avi had convinced her to come out, take Mady through the different booths, try and regain some normalcy to her life. However, she donned a pair of light pink scrubs like the nurses at the hospital wore, instead of her usual maroon ones, hoping to kind of half-ass a costume. She noticed Chris out of the corner of her eye and couldn’t help a small chuckle, cut short by the man’s grumpy comment. “Nothing, just find it funny we both kind of subconsciously dressed as our professions.”

Chris let out a snort when he realized Chana was in the same boat, but he had enough visits to the ER to wonder why her usual scrubs were switched out for a different color. “Yeah, this was entirely an accident,” he admitted, “I got off my shift late, so I threw on these holsters. Now I’m a cop. Just like the rest of these other bozos.” Chris folded his arms together, and he leaned against the bar, his eyes shifting around the room before finding Chana again. “You, on the other hand,are dressed like a nurse,” he stated aloud, “Why’d you trade out your scrubs for more scrubs?”

Reaching a hand to adjust the blood red hood on top of her head, Lottie felt pretty pleased with her costume. Her blonde hair was curled loosely around her shoulders, red and white ensemble making it pretty evident that she was supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood. She had to toe a fine line between picking out an appropriate Halloween costume that wouldn’t make her flash her underwear to the entire city, and one that stayed true to her character so she felt pretty pleased with the one she’d picked out. She’d told Chris about her costume so he knew what to look out for if they happened to come across one another, and she’d tried not to think about how much she missed him as she roamed around the Halloween themed mansion.

Her breath caught as she heard someone behind her, felt a presence against her back, freezing. This was supposed to be a Haunted Mansion, after all, and she’d somehow gotten separated from her friends from earlier trying to find the exit. It was only when she heard the familiar voice that Lottie relaxed, a grin tugging at her lips. ‘’Oh no, please don’t put me in cuffs. I’d hate that.’’ She spoke in a mockingly scared voice, pleading with him, even as she grinned to herself, both of them well aware that she was usually quite happy to be tied up by her boyfriend. Cop and suspect roleplay was something she definitely wasn’t opposed to, though she wasn’t sure they were in the right place. A breathy laugh left her at his words, shaking her head at him even as she felt his arms wrapping around from behind.

Lottie rested back against him, head resting back against his shoulder and tilting her head to look at her Chris. ‘’Well, you finally found me. I guess you deserve a reward.’’ She murmured with a grin, craning her neck to press a light kiss against his lips. ‘’Don’t tell me you dressed up as yourself? That’s not very creative, babe…’’  

Despite his eye-roll, a grin persisted on Chris’s face, the mocking tone in her voice causing a quiet laugh out of him. As his arms started to snake around Lottie, he pressed a kiss to the side of her head, her back pressed against his front and his lips by her ear. “You and I both know just how much you’d enjoy that, so you better quit while you’re ahead, Baker. Otherwise, we’re both not gonna stay here for long,” he warned her, trying his best to feign a threatening tone but ultimately failing, the sound of his smile evident in his words. Chris knew that if he stayed in their current position, his hands would have been too tempted to wander, and she would have more than willingly pushed back against him to tease. 

Not wanting to draw that kind of attention, he pulled away, his hands reaching for hers to spin her around and face him. “What? You don’t like my costume?” he asked jokingly before continuing, “I actually forgot it was Halloween until Leo reminded me, and when that happened, it was too late. So I threw on these holsters, and now I’m a cop from the ‘70s or ‘80s or whenever. It’s fitting, right? Good thing I grew this mustache just in time for the holidays.” He flashed her a wide grin, aware that she’d been the most vocal about how bad she thought he looked, but that didn’t quite stop him from keeping it.

“Now, come on,” he insisted, “I wanna see my girlfriend’s costume. I’ve been hearing all about it through my texts, and I had to come see it for myself.” 

A fucking asshole, that was pretty rich coming from him, but she didn’t say that. No instead she just stared at him steadily as she let him say what he needed to say, hoping she didn’t fall through the cotton floorboards before they managed to finish the conversation. Would be a bit of a waste of time if she did. “I don’t think anyone can read my mind, in fact I put a lot of effort into making sure no one can read my mind. Or my expressions. Or my actions. Because if I let people do that then they start thinking they can make assumptions about me that are very often not even correct.” Breaking off she took a breath, and a couple more steps, to a different part of the dilapidated room, watching where she stepped carefully as she did so. “Yesof course it’s hard for me, you know how I feel about children, do you think I really wanted any of my own? Not fucking now if I did at all, so yes it’s been pretty hard for me to get to grips which what is happening, and having people explode at me isn’t exactly helpful.” Pressing her lips together she shoved both hands into her pockets, swallowing. “Do you really think if it was your baby I wouldn’t have told you until I hit five months, and would then let you find out the news from someone else’s instagram? That’s just insulting Christopher. I might be an asshole but I’m not a liar, and I’m not cruel, so of course I wouldn’t do that. For someone who is incredibly smart you sure can be a fucking idiot sometimes.” The brunette snapped, trying to take a calming breath as she got more irritated by the second, as did he. Neither had the best of tempers so putting them both together in a situation that was already tense enough it was hardly going to go smoothly. “Real enough for you, champ?”

As she wandered around the room, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being circled by a clumsy, wounded hyena, her steps careful and calculated as she found pieces of wood that weren’t yet rotting. How fitting was it then that they were fleshing out three months of their festering frustrations in such a dilapidated setting, surrounded by rot and soil in what was a sad excuse of a trailer home. He couldn’t help the immediate eye roll that ensued with her pointed words, a deep sigh leaving him as he took a moment to reconcile with what she was saying. “Are you fucking listening to yourself, Casey?” he started, the disbelief riddled on his features, “You don’t tell people anything about yourself to avoid people making assumptions? You realize that’s how one hundred fucking percent of assumptions start? When you don’t tell people shit, people make up shit! It’s that fucking simple, and you can’t wrap your head around that?” His hands found his hips again, the lack of logic in her words causing him to pause for a moment, wondering how did things become so ridiculous between them. “And you know what? Forgive me for having a hard time believing you when you lead me to believe that was my kid,” he added, throwing his hand up, his shoulder lifting up into a shrug, “Ever heard of how omission is a form of lying, or is that just not a thing in Britain? Fuck you, Casey. Fuck you because I would’ve dropped everything for that kid, and fuck you for not realizing the weight of your actions. You’re a grown woman. Act like one.” 

He withdrew his hand, if only to raise his sunglasses and try to get a better look of her as he craned his neck to see past the hood. “Oh, thank god,” he said with obvious relief, a wide grin etched onto his features, “It’s actually you this time. I can’t tell you how many other Red Riding Hoods I’ve surprised who were not happy. Sunglasses at night aren’t the best idea, huh? But whatever. Anonymity, right? I figure people won’t really know who we are since it’s Halloween, so I thought I’d come find you.” He pushed his glasses up on his head, the pair of sunglasses sitting on the top of his head as he wrapped his arms around Lottie and peppered several kisses to her face. “You look great, baby,” he said ecstatically. 

Lottie: And what do you think is?

Lottie: Don't say blow jobs

Lottie: Even though I'm very good at them

Lottie: Hey, we both know how charming I can be without really trying it's my best skill