BROKEN

“That’s such a shame, by the way,” she teased as their lips parted from one another. Dalila prided herself on her cooking, something she had learned from her mother growing up. “I can make just about anything you want,” she flicked her tongue against her lips, “but my favorite and most signature breakfast dish is classic pancakes sprinkled with chocolate chips. It’s my favorite,” not that she expected the man beside her to care, watching him as he slipped into his boxers “I don’t,” she shook her head to his question, pulling herself from the bed. Dalila slipped into her own underwear, snagging just her t-shirt to put on next. “shockingly they convinced me not to come into the restaurant today.”

...

Tobias chuckled. “Now you have to make something for me,” he murmured as he walked around the bed towards her. “I could eat pancakes,” he told her as he watched her slipping into the clothing he had practically ripped her out of the night before. “Are you telling me I get you the whole day to myself?” He brushed his tongue along his lower lip as he reached out, snatching the hem of her shirt between his index finger and thumb, tugging her closer. “You know how dangerous that is?” He smirked devilishly. 

Tobias sat under the Emergency Services tent, looking through each of the first aid kit bags to make sure they had everything on the list. So far the small town vibes hadn’t matched the way New York City had been but the way the paramedics were all supposed to be packed with all the stuff that they were asking made him wonder what the hell happened at these events. He heard someone clearing their throat, his head lifting up to see legs right in front of him. Brushing his tongue along his lower lip, the man let his eyes slowly take in the sight in front of him as his gaze raised up to look up at Avia who was standing above him. He stood up with his signature smirk coming along his features. “Miss Fletcher,” he murmured. He glanced down towards the hickey she had been sporting. “Have a little fun?” He mused as he lifted up his hand, brushing his index finger along the side of his neck.

Tobias had been settling nicely in the small town the last few months. Only a tiny part of him missed New York mainly because the life of a firefighter and paramedic had been more intense up there. He glanced around him, listening to the laughter of the citizen's children and the chatter of everyone else around him. He reached out, taking a cookie off the bakery table that Maddox Mcclain was running. “You know the few weeks I stayed at the B&B I could have lived off all the sweets you were baking,” he muttered causing her to laugh as he took a bite of the cookie. “Oh my God, you’ve done it again, Mcclain.” His eyes didn’t move from the woman even though he knew someone else was standing next to him. “If you don’t stop here to get a cookie you’ll regret it,” he chewed, not looking at the person standing next to him.

With her body resting on the doorframe and one arm extended, holding onto the door, she was effectively blocking the man from stepping into her apartment. Avia tapped her fingertips against the dark oak as he talked. How had he not even cracked a smile at her greeting? Maybe Tobias really was something else. Avia cocked her head with his sort of and then swallowed back a half scoff/half laugh at the invitation. She couldn’t help but wonder what about her face said that she was someone who loved talking to sweaty and sticky children all day. “Only if you promise that I’ll get to see you in uniform.” She teased, knowing that rejecting the offer wasn’t in the cards when she’d most likely have to be there regardless. If it wasn’t Tobias asking her then it’d be her co-host and she preferred the man in front of her much more. At least he hadn’t proven himself to be a sleezeball yet. “Don’t look so surprised, it’s hard saying no to that face and you know it. Marcos knows it too, that’s why he sent you instead of asking me himself.” Yeah, she was aware of who was organizing pretty much everything in town and Avia figured that the pretty Morrison girl who had a knack for events was probably helping him too. “You busy? Or can you give me a hand?” She stepped to the side, finally allowing passage into her home. 

...

Tobias shoved his hands into his pockets, dropping his gaze to look at the way she was preventing him from entering her apartment. Pressing his lips together, the man knew Marcos would murder him if he ruined the chances of Avia coming to tell the children about what it was like being a newscaster so he kept the sweet innocent smile on his features. He tilted his head to the side as he chuckled lowly as he brushed his tongue along his lower lip. “I can not only promise you that you’ll see me in uniform I can guarantee it... Given the fact it’s a career day. It would be kind of stupid of me to show up in this.” He slightly raised his shoulders instead of pulling a hand out to point at his outfit. He knew that’s why Marcos sent him and being the new face in town always had some people agreeing to whatever he said to show him that southern hospitality but he had a feeling that’s not why Avia said yes. “Great.” He drifted his gaze to look past her before looking at her again. “What exactly am I helping you with?”

Dalila knew she shouldn’t sit around and wait for Damien - though part of her knew that she was despite the bed she currently awoke in not being her own. With his lips pressed against her shoulder, she felt a growing smile. “Mm, me too,” she rolled over to face him to press her lips slowly against his own, her fingertips resting against his chest. “what are you thinking? Pancakes? Crepes? French toast?” Dalila questioned as she trailed her fingers down the length of his chest and back up in a teasing manner. 

...

Tobias let his eyes drop down towards her face as she rolled towards him. He leaned down to meet her, pressing his lips delicately against hers as he hummed. “Well, I have to ask what your signature breakfast dish since I have yet to taste anything you’ve made,” he teased as he shifted to stand up from the bed, grabbing his boxers and pulling them up as he turned his head to look back at her. “You got anywhere you have to be today?” Maybe he was looking for an excuse for another round or two.

My bad habits lead to wide eyes stare into space And I know I'll lose control of the things that I say Yeah, I was lookin' for a way out, now I can't escape Nothin' happens after two, it's true, it's true My bad habits lead to you

The name definitely rang a bell for the bar owner, but it was likely someone she wasn’t particularly close to, so she hadn’t truly made a firm connection. But the moment she heard Hargraves, she raised her eyebrows and nodded with a smile. “Ya know, the Hargraves are lovely people. I actually am incredibly happy with Natalia as my sons’ principal. He’s going into middle school now, though.” Cordelia meant it, she loved Nat, as did her son. “It’s a little thing I call the Aero special. It’s on the house this time.”

...

Tobias lifted his eyes up towards her, nodding his head slowly. “It’s what I’ve been hearing around town,” the male said as he put his hands around the glass. “Isn’t the middle school in the same school as the elementary?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. He remembered it being different in Williamsburg and knowing that Fallbrook was the smaller town between the two he assumed it would be like that here too. He took another sip of the drink, nodding his head at her words. “Well, it’s amazing. Thank you.” He chuckled. “My taste buds are thankful too.”

Jaylen nodded his head smiling. “New York, eh? How did you like that?” He said thinking about his time in college, and then his time in California. “I was in Maine for college, and then moved to California” he said nodding his head. “Lived in San Francisco for a couple months, and then spent my time in Los Angeles. Just moved back here actually.” He said nodding his head. 

...

Tobias shrugged his shoulders. “Big town. My job was a lot more fast paced than it is now.” The small town emergencies were never like New York. Thoughts of that night flashed through his mind, his fingers gripping the glass in front of him as he raised it up to take a long sip. He turned his head to look over at him, listening to the different places the man next to him had been. “What took you all the way to Maine for college then back to California.” He asked, nodding his head. “Something always brings us back home, doesn’t it?”

Where: Mack’s Trinkets (Downtown) Who: OPEN

Ava-Kate had spent her weekend morning off at Hilltop Cafe with a delicious blueberry muffin and iced shaken expresso before she made her way over to Mack’s Trinkets, a local thrift shop. The blonde loved nothing more than thrifting shopping, well shopping in general actually. “Oh my gosh, is that real wood?” She had wondered aloud when she spotted the bookcase for sale near the back of the store. “Hey, excuse me, are you a wood kinda person? Do ya know if this is real or that fake crap Walmart sells?” Ava-Kate asked another shopper with hope on her face.

...

Tobias shifted through Mack’s Trinkets. Maybe during his off time he could do something to keep his mind off everything that reminded him of his brother. He walked through the aisles, carefully plucking items off the shelf and putting it in the cart. He turned his head to look over at the blonde who captured his attention, a low chuckle leaving his lips. “It’s real wood. In small towns like this... They really don’t do the whole fake thing,” he teased.

Being labeled was definitely a rational fear when it came to Fallbrook. Not only had she been pinned as the bougie city girl by many of her peers despite being born and partially raised in Fallbrook but now she was a divorcee and single mother. “Your niece? I wonder if I know her..” in the meantime, she was pouring him a sangria with a smile on her face. “This one is on the house.” he was a newer face around town after all, and she wanted to give him a proper and polite welcome.

...

Tobias let his eyes rest on the woman in front of him as his hands slid forward, wrapping around the glass and pulling it in his direction. “Ivey Bernthal? Dominique Hargraves’ daughter.” It was still odd to address her as only Dom’s, his brother’s name always on the tip of his tongue whenever he talked about his niece and her mother. He tapped his thumb against the side of the glass and brought it up to his lips, taking a long sip of it. He lowered the glass, smacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “What is this?” He asked, brushing his tongue along his lower lip. “It’s fucking delicious.”

Jaylen nodded his head in agreement, but still knew that it was wild to turn down a free drink “yeah I’m sure, still would blow my mind” he said nodding his head. Jaylen looked at the guy smiling, realizing why he didn’t know this guy, cause he was new “oh I’m a native, but I’ve been away.” He said shrugging his shoulders. “Where do you come from?”

...

Tobias chuckled. “It would blow my mind too,” he muttered as he picked up his drink, bringing it to his lips to take a sip of it. “Yeah, I was born in Williamsburg but moved out of there ten years ago. I lived in New York until now... I came to Fallbrook to be closer to family.” He turned his head to look over at the male sitting next to him as he took another sip of his drink. “Where did you move to?”