tak3mealiv3

[tak3mealiv3]

From the get go, Xander had been nervous about inviting Scarlett to the wedding. It was a big deal for them, relationship wise. At least, whatever it was that they were. Even still, he had every right to be concerned. It was the first time that Scarlett was around his family, and though Scarlett's job as Charlotte's assistant was a good thing to talk to people about, they did have to fabricate how they met at the first place. But that was fine. As long as Xander didn't leave her side, which he hadn't. Any time he needed to, one of his sisters swooped in to make sure that she was never alone. Thankfully, the evening was going well so far. Xander was mostly happy that Scarlett seemed to be enjoying herself. He was worried that she would find it a little overwhelming, surrounded by all these people that she didn't know, at a price that would make her eyes bulge out of her head. But she seemed to be having a good time, and Xander was determined to keep it that way. That was until he had to be pulled away for photos. It had been happening, on and off, for the past hour. He was in the wedding, and related to the groom, so it made sense. But for every session, he was able to make sure one of his sisters or Danny stood with Charlotte, to make sure that no one approached her without someone there by her side. But this time it was different. It was a family photo, for both sides, which meant that Xander had to be there. He promised Scarlett he'd be right back, and though he was walking towards the area where they were taking photos, he tried his best to keep his eyes on her the entire time. Which is how he watched, almost like a car crash, as Conner approached her. Xander was sure if he was closer, he would see the way his eyes lit up with recognition. Conner would be the only one to know Scarlett the way Xander did, having hired her for his birthday. As he posed for the photo, he watched the way Scarlett's body language changed, a fake smile frozen in place as he watched almost in horror while Scarlett started walking away. Xander's mind went blank. As soon as he was given the all clear to step away, Xander charged towards Conner, his hands balled into fists as he shoved Conner towards the bar without thinking, jaw tight. "What the fuck did you say to her, man? What the fuck is your problem?"

closed to: @tak3mealiv3

It was Scarlett's first time attending a wedding, more or less with an actual date, and suffice to say, she was actually enjoying herself. For once, her mind wasn't wandering off into a dark place. For once, she could smile and laugh without worrying about anything else going on in her life. She was simply living in the moment and loving every single minute of it. Scarlett was worried she wouldn't feel welcomed at the wedding considering she didn't know anybody besides Xander, his siblings and parents, but everyone was super nice to her and she couldn't have been more relieved. After a song that Scarlett and Xander were dancing to, he informed her he was going to take pictures with his family, which she was a little on edge about being left alone with no one else to talk to or interact with. But she didn't want to keep him away from his family, so she sucked it up and made her way to the open bar after Xander left her to get another drink. A tequila sunrise, it was always her favorite. Scarlett quietly thanked the bartender for making her drink, then started to walk away, but was abruptly stopped by someone she didn't recognize. She parted her lips to speak, but the man quickly stopped her again. "Aren't you the prostitute I hired for Xander's birthday?" He asked, and right then, Scarlett knew exactly who it was. Fucking Conner. She was sure her face was as white as a ghost just at the sheer mention of her previous job as a full-service sex worker, but it was the term he used that ultimately upset her. She shook her head, eyes cast downward to the drink in her hand before she squeezed them shut so the tears that quickly formed wouldn't fall. "N-No... I—" She started, but was cut off by Conner again. "Did he hire you again? Damn, dude's finally getting lucky tonight." That was the last straw for Scarlett. Instead of answering him, she set her drink down somewhere and quickly darted for the exit out of the venue with tears streaming down her face. Scarlett didn't know exactly where she was going, but what she did know was that she didn't belong there. She never did. This life wasn't for her, Xander deserved someone better than her.

[tak3mealiv3]

"Well, there's nothing wrong with like...finding time to squeeze each other in. Like if we each have a free hour for lunch, we could grab it together. Or we could both work out at the gym at the same time. Little things like that." She shifted in her seat, looking at him. "I just think that if we really want to make it work we have to try to like...put energy into it, you know? Make the effort outside of just the nights when all we do is have sex."

"Well, sometimes it's hard for us to find time to hangout during the day because we both work during the day. For long hours, might I add," he shrugged. Jamie wasn't sure how they'd be able to work around it, unless there was ever a time when they had off days. Which wasn't often, even during the offseason. "But I can at least agree to everything else."

[tak3mealiv3]

"Well, there's hanging out on a more regular basis for one. And not at night, like actually out and about during the day. We have to be more effective at telling each other what's bothering us. Getting to know each other better, our likes and dislikes and stuff. Actually make a solid effort to enjoy each other's company, and not just for sex, though there will be plenty of that too." Carter's nose crinkled at the mention of the other girl Jamie was seeing, and she quickly shook her head. "None of that, either. We purely focus on each other."

"Okay," Jamie nodded in agreement. That felt simple enough. He only hoped they could do that without their persistent issues getting in the way. "How do we do that, then? I really haven't done this sort of thing in so long. You know who doesn't even count, either, because her and I barely knew each other."

[tak3mealiv3]

Carter nodded along as Jamie spoke, the whole time rubbing her thumb against the back of his hand. Admittedly, it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would hearing Jamie that he didn't know how to answer her question. They had jumped from constant emotional turmoil to love to devastating consequences in the span of a short time, and they hadn't exactly had time to properly sort out how to even like each other, let alone be in a loving relationship. "I feel the same way," she said. "I love you, I don't want to be with anyone else. I'm fine with not labelling anything, I think we need to just take the time to...properly get to know each other without being at each other's throats all the time. We jumped the gun pretty fast."

"I don't know if I can answer that truthfully, but—" Jamie cut himself off, only to reach out for Carter's hand to intertwine their fingers together. "I did mean it when I said I loved you. I'd never say that just for the fuck of it. Or saying it just to tell you what you wanted to hear. It wouldn't have taken me all this time to admit it to you and to myself if I didn't mean it. But I think... No, I know I don't want to see anyone else. Not now, not ever. Just maybe... We don't put a label on anything and we both don't see other people. It feels like that's the first step for us to stop hurting each other so much."

[tak3mealiv3]

"Is a relationship what you even want?" She leaned into the couch, looking over at him. "I feel like we should start with that first."

"I've been tired all my life," Jamie said, lifting his shoulders into a shrug. "But clearly, we have a lot of problems with each other that I don't know how we're supposed to fix. How are we supposed to be in a relationship with all these issues?"

[tak3mealiv3]

"Yeah, yeah I guess we do. Thank you for letting me come by so late, I'm sure you must be tired."

closed to: @tak3mealiv3

"So... I guess we have some things to talk about."

[tak3mealiv3]

It was like a fever dream. Usually, every time Carter came to Jamie's place, she hardly ever made it into the kitchen, much less upstairs to Jamie's room. She wanted to spend every moment looking at all the details, the pictures on the walls, what color the upstairs walls were painted, how many doors there were and what they could lead to. But obviously, none of that mattered in the moment, what mattered was that she was being taken upstairs. Into Jamie's bedroom. Carter felt her heart beating in her throat, knowing that there was so much she wanted to say, but none of it truly mattered. Because the second Jamie brought her into his room, it was like Carter's entire vocabulary disappeared. It felt real, all of a sudden, this thing between them. She couldn't help the way her fingers trembled as he set her down on the bed, though all nerves quickly disappeared when he climbed over her, and she let out a muffled groan as he kissed her. This is what she was used to, this is what felt most like them. Even with the added caveat of their feelings, this is what she was familiar with. Instinctively, Carter freed her legs out from underneath Jamie's body, wrapping them around his waist as she kissed back

Jamie didn't really expect a response back from Carter after he shared what was going on in his mind. He kind of deserved it, so he could live with not knowing what was going on in hers. However, he followed her line of sight to the stairs across the room, then settled his gaze back on hers when she turned to look back at him. Jamie could say for certain he once again didn't expect a word of what Carter said, but there was no way he was going to let her offer go to waste. There hadn't ever been a point in time throughout their sexual relationship where Jamie would let them have sex in his bed for his own reasons, but now that their feelings for one another were out in the open, he felt like showing her how much he loved her in his own bed was the least of what Carter deserved. And without question or hesitation, Jamie was standing up with her still wrapped up in his arms, then made the journey upstairs to his bedroom at the end of the hallway. Once there, he crossed the short distance to where his bed resided in the middle of the room, then gently placed her down on the center of it. Wasting no more time, he climbed on the bed and crawled over her petite body to finally connect their lips for a much-needed, starved and urgent embrace.

[tak3mealiv3]

It was, admittedly, a little disappointing to hear that Jamie couldn't give her the big, long answer that Carter hoped for. Truthfully, she hoped that if it did ever come down to this, that they would be able to have a big, long talk about their feelings and where they were coming from. Hearing something like 'I don't know' wasn't exactly the emotional hurdle she was looking for, but hearing that he wanted her all to himself was a bonus. Something else, though, was biting at the back of her mind. Something that she had brought up to him during their constant arguing, that she was almost afraid to bring up now. With hesitation, Carter spared a glance at the other end of the living room, towards the stairs. She then looked back at Jamie, unable to help closing her hands into fists, as if building the tension within herself. "I want to go upstairs," she said, almost whispering. Carter swallowed, before speaking again, finding her voice this time. "I love and want you and you love and want me so I want to go upstairs...to your room." She nodded slowly as she spoke, finding her confidence as she told him what she wanted

As soon as Jamie saw the tears in Carter's eyes, he wished he could back and do things differently. Back to when they first met on the job, to when they didn't know each other at all. Just to give himself the chance right his wrongs. Those tears were solely because of him, maybe laced with some frustration and relief, but he knew he was the root cause. Jamie sighed, bringing his hand up to wipe away the rest of the tears she missed with his thumb. "I don't know," he finally responded. It was the cowardly thing to say, but it was also the truth. From the moment they met, he wanted Carter to himself and he truly hated that it took him this long to accept that. "I've always only wanted you to myself, and I wish I could tell you why it took so long for me to admit that to not only you, but to myself. But I truly don't have an answer for you and I'm sorry that I don't."

[tak3mealiv3]

For just a moment, Carter's heart spiked with anxiety when Jamie pulled away, and she wondered if he might have come to his senses. This was so unlike them. Normally, she would have to do something stupid or threaten backing out of their arrangement to get his attention like this, and even then, it was never like this. The way the air seemed to shift around them, not suffocating but instead warm, like they had been draped with a blanket. She had felt his hands on her dozens of times, but for the first time, they felt...new. Like they were awkwardly dancing with at least a foot of space between them. Not an unwelcome awkwardness, to be sure. Carter couldn't help but imagine this feeling on a regular basis. When he spoke, Carter's eyes filled with tears once more, and she hastily pushed them away. Slowly, she nodded, unable to help the way her throat tightened as she spoke. "I'm sorry, too." She took a deep breath. "I just...there's so much going around in my head. Where did this...I mean how long, you know? How come it took so long?"

Even when they had sex before they confessed their feelings together, they wouldn't really kiss that much. But now that they were kissing, with feelings out in the open without being able to take them back, there was definitely a shift between them. Things felt different, but hardly in a bad way at all. It was obvious the feelings between them had been there all along, neither of them just wanted to say anything in fear of ruining the simple friends with benefits situation they had. If one could even call it that. Without breaking the kiss and still firmly holding Carter in his arms, Jamie began to walk over to the couch nearby, sitting down and pulling her with him once he was close enough. That was when he pulled away to finally look at her, his eyes searing into her own deep blue pools — feeling as if he could get lost in them, if given the chance. "I'm sorry," was all Jamie could manage, the apology being the only thing on the tip of his tongue and in his mind. An apology was the least she deserved after all the pain he's caused her.

[tak3mealiv3]

Any time that Carter and Jamie were intimate, there was always something charged in the air. Some type of anger or sexually charged desire that they just couldn't rid themselves of. It was usually angry, or rough, or some combination of the two. Maybe she would be tied up, maybe all of their clothes wouldn't make i off. But that didn't matter when they had nothing but carnal desire in front of them almost as if it were an obligation that was needed in order to get through the rest of the day. This time felt different, though. He seemed so much more focused on actually listening to what she had to say, and when he picked her up, it was as if they had all the time in the world. Fresh tears threatened to spring to her eyes as she thought about it, but luckily Jamie's lips against hers quickly squashed them down. There were plenty of other things to think about too: would Jamie's brother be mad if he eventually found out? Had Jamie spoken to his girlfriend? What would happen after this? All of that melted away as Carter kissed Jamie back, unable to keep the smile off her face as she did so.

Jamie shrugged when Carter asked if she could come in without directly saying it, sliding his hands into his pockets as he stepped aside to let her in. He started preparing himself for the worst ahead of time. Sure, she told him she wanted to tell him that she loved him back in person, but there was still a part of him that thought she was joking. Maybe saying it just to throw it back in his face all the times she felt disrespected by him. It was possible. However, when Carter launched into her explanation, Jamie let go of a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding for the longest time. She wasn't running from him, but instead embracing him. And returning the same feelings he felt for her, too. He listened to Carter intently, making sure that every single word that left her mouth would leave a permanent indentation in his brain. When she was inevitably finished, he knew there was nothing else he needed to say. Jamie would rather let his actions speak for themselves instead of trying to find the right words. Without hesitation, he bent down to Carter's height and lifted her into his arms with ease so that he could kiss her for the first time since admitting their feelings for one another. Finally.

[tak3mealiv3]

Hearing Jamie say her name, actually say it, instead of any other ways it could come out of his mouth, almost made Carter start crying again. Admittedly, she was fully expecting him to laugh in her face and shut the door. Instead, she stood there, not daring to make direct eye contact with him just yet. She needed a moment to fully catch herself before she stepped forward and unleashed a potential nuclear bomb that could alter the course of their situation forever. Because as of right now, that's all it was. A situation. They were never anything, and she had never thought that they could be, he was never interested. With a deep breath, Carter lifted her gaze to his. "Is it okay if I..?" She gestured inside, and when Jamie let her in she stepped into his home, closing the door behind her. "Well," she said, not sure how else to start. "It's...it's like I said, I've been crazy about you since the beginning. When we first hooked up I though it was going to be one of those things where we had all this tension and we just kinda...let it out of our system and could go about our lives, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since." She could feel her eyes well with tears, and she quickly pressed her fingers into her eyes to stop it from happening. "And I thought that you had given up on everything about us when you started seeing her, and I was so mad and hurt but I was just...so so devastated that I thought I lost you, because I was...and am in love with you." Carter looked at Jamie again, no longer bothering to stop the tears from falling. "I do love you, and I know that this will only complicate things, but I don't really care. Your brother and I are done, and I just...I just want to be with you."

Maybe it wasn't in Jamie's best interest to tell Carter he loved her over text messages. But the more they conversed, the more it felt like he was losing her in all the ways he used to have her. It didn't matter that both of them were in relationships now, nothing else mattered except making sure he didn't lose her for good. So, naturally, that was the first thing that came to his mind. And he meant every word of what he said. He spent way too long denying he ever had any feelings for Carter and it was simply because he was afraid of having actual feelings for someone, of allowing someone to love him back. It was easy with his girlfriend because it was new and he didn't love her, so he could drop her at any time. Jamie would deal with her another time, though. Right now, all he wanted to do was see Carter. To hear her say it back to him in person. And to actually tell her in person, too. He was pacing back and forth by the front door, anxiously awaiting for her arrival. She didn't live far from him, maybe five minutes give or take, depending on traffic, so he wasn't sure what was taking her so long. Was she backing out? That had to have been it. However, as if the universe had someone heard the thoughts reeling in his mind, there was a knock at the door and he hoped to God it wasn't his girlfriend showing up unannounced. But when he stopped pacing to quickly pull the door open, Carter was right there on the other side. But she looked... Different? Almost like she'd been crying. "Carter," Jamie finally said after a short bout of silence.

[tak3mealiv3]

Closed for @seriallcver

The moon shone brightly into Carter's car as she drove, trying very hard not to speed. It was difficult; her mind was racing just as fast as she wanted to push this car. She had no idea what she was doing, and if what she was doing was even the right thing to do. How could Jamie love her? As far as she knew, he hated her guts. Wouldn't even look at her most of the time, and when they did meet up, it was quick and without much emotion. Well, unless fighting counted as an emotion. But love? That was completely different territory, territory that Carter wasn't sure was even real. Her heart pounded in her throat as she took the short drive to Jamie's house, and with each turn she wondered if she should turn back. Would he just reject her? Was this all a way for him to get back at her for seeing his brother? Was the girl he was seeing going to jump out and try to catch her for trying to cheat with Jamie? All these thoughts plagued Carter's mind as she continued to drive, barely paying attention to where she was going until she could see Jamie's place. It was like she was on autopilot, even if she hadn't been there in weeks. She pulled up, parked, took the exactly 23 steps (maybe if her legs were longer, it would be less) from her car to his front door, and knocked, her breath caught in her tight throat as she waited. Her heart ticked in her ears, as if counting down the seconds to her doom.

[tak3mealiv3]

hello hiiii. gonna be peaking through my follows today and see if there's anyone i might follow back so if you see me helloooo

[tak3mealiv3]

Huh. Well that was a bit...pushy. Then again, she had randomly approached him in the parking lot of a place he probably liked to frequent. Again. The same way she had randomly called him out about the billboard. Way to go, Summer, you fucked up again. If they ever met again in person, she hoped he wouldn't remember her so that she had a chance to redeem herself. Still, it was a fun little anecdote to tell her mom, and then her dad, about. They both gushed over how exciting it was for Summer to run into him like that, and both agreed that she could have handled the situation a little bit better. But after a lovely afternoon with her family, she was happy to leave the situation behind. Still, she couldn't help the flicker of shame she felt when she told them she had to leave to take care of work things, which to them meant filing patient notes and taking care of "online therapy" stuff. They were so supportive of her, sometimes she almost felt like signing up to do one of those things anyway, just to be telling the truth. She couldn't imagine how they would react if they knew what she actually did. What she was about to do, because once Summer was home, and showered, and had dinner, she was catching up on her actual job, scrolling through messages and comments and checking new subscriber counts. She didn't have plans to do much, just send a general update post and post a poll about the upcoming post she had planned, when a notification caught her eye. Admittedly, even though at the end of the day it was just another faceless name, this random subscriber had become one of her favorites to talk to for one-on-one sessions. He certainly paid her enough, but their exchanges were admittedly exciting. Summer settled onto her bed, pulling her laptop onto her lap so she could message him back serenity_heart: tragically, no, but I don't feel as bad about it now. How can I help you, baby?

Jesus Christ, he felt like he'd been suffocating in there. CJ was glad when he made it to his car quick enough, but before he was able to get inside, the sound of her voice rang in his ears again. As if this moment couldn't get any worse. He almost decided to ignore her and disappear in the car without another word, but on one hand, that'd feel rude. The least he wanted to do was unknowingly give himself a bad reputation amongst the civilians in the city that supported him to the ends of the Earth. Stopping in his tracks, CJ clutched the paper coffee cup in his hand a little tighter, refusing to look over at Serenity—no, Summer? What the hell was he supposed to call her now? "Had nothing to do with that, but thanks, I guess," CJ shrugged, finally getting the chance to unlock his beloved Porsche. "Like I said, it was nice to meet you, but I'm running late for my meeting." With that, he was once again disappearing before giving her the chance to respond. This time, he turned the car on as quick as he could and pulled away from the curb where he was parallel parked, then ventured off to where his meeting was being held for the day. Even if CJ had left her behind, she was the only thing on his mind now. All throughout the day, all throughout the meeting, up until he finally got back to his penthouse apartment for the night. That was when he knew he had to open up his laptop to confirm if she was actually the girl he ran into earlier. Sure enough, when CJ pulled up the subscriptions tab on the website, there she was. Serenity Heart. The only girl he was subscribed to on OnlyFans, the girl he had literally just unknowingly met in person. The same girl he he just had a conversation with last night. "Fuck," he mumbled under his breath, pure anxiety coursing through him. Without thinking twice, CJ's fingers seemed to move faster than his brain could comprehend, automatically typing up a message to Serenity like he was so used to doing. jamesst96: You booked and busy today?

[tak3mealiv3]

"Even if I didn't, it's hard to miss that face blown up to like...ten million degrees." It was a billboard that she drove past nearly every day, so it would be hard to miss. Plus, he was stupid handsome, so it would be hard to forget what he looked like. Still, Summer didn't miss the way he clammed up when he saw her, and for a moment, it looked like he had seen a ghost. It wasn't a look unfamiliar to her. On the rare (very rare) occasion, a guy would look at her the same way, usually at a bar or somewhere where they were bold enough to approach her, and ask her if she was that girl from the website. They would never admit out loud what website it was, and usually Summer would tell them that there'd been some kind of mistake, that she would never. When they insisted, he would usually joke and say that it wasn't her, but her twin. And since the last thing she wanted to do was let the most famous man in the city know what she did for a living, she felt obligated to chase him down and tell him the same thing. Though, was that really the best idea? She couldn't go accusing him of subscribing to her content. Hell, he had a girlfriend, and though she was never in the business of judging or shaming people for what they chose to do, it was a pretty public relationship. He likely wouldn't be doing any of that. Maybe he didn't recognize her, maybe she just had something on her face. Or maybe he just didn't want to be bothered. Duh, of course that's what it was. She had called him out about the billboard and probably embarrassed him. How stupid could she be? After a quick exchange with the barista (in which they both expressed how weird and fun it was that someone like CJ just randomly frequented this place), Summer grabbed her mom's coffee and her croissant before heading back outside. In a moment of serendipity, Summer noticed CJ still out by his car, right next to hers. Maybe now was her chance to apologize. Summer stepped up to the driver's seat of her car, putting her drinks on the roof of her car so she could get her keys out of her purse. "Hey, I'm sorry about that weird billboard thing," Summer said, calling out to CJ on the other side of her car. "I bet you get that a lot, so it must be weird and uncomfortable. I didn't mean to call you out like that."

CJ hadn't even gotten a good look at who he bumped into, but he shouldn't have been surprised that she knew who he was. Though, really, he got recognized anywhere he went in the city, regardless. It was nothing new for him. "I take it you know who I am, then," he chuckled, reaching out to grab his coffee from the counter. At least she wasn't really making a big fuss out of him. A nice change from what he was used to. However, when the woman finally looked up to meet his gaze, CJ stopped dead in his tracks. He was frozen in place, his face probably as white as a ghost. He knew exactly who she was, too. This was the same girl he'd been subscribed to on OnlyFans for the past few weeks, the same girl he'd been virtually having sex with the entire time. He hadn't really meant to join the platform, but when things started becoming rough between him and his girlfriend, he stumbled upon it and wanted a distraction from all the bullshit. And a distraction from feeling lonely while his girlfriend was on tour. What were the odds of them even running into each other? It's not like CJ even knew she lived in the same fucking city as him. CJ hadn't meant for things to progress as far as they had, not at all. It was meant to be purely innocent fun. But once he got started, he couldn't stop. He became addicted to talking to her every night. He knew the woman as 'Serenity Heart', he figured that was just her stage name, but now he unwillingly knew her real name when they called her up for her order at the counter. Summer. CJ was hiding behind an alias himself so that nobody could figure out it was him on the platform, but he wasn't sure if she knew it was him she'd been messaging and having virtual sex with. "Uh—" He stammered, awkwardly clearing his throat. "Yeah, it was nice meeting you, but I gotta go." Without giving her the chance to respond, he disappeared out of the coffee shop faster than either of them could blink.

[tak3mealiv3]

"Friendly rivalry?" The more Kate spoke, the more curious Charlotte become. But she couldn't just ask Kate inside and ask her to spill all her secrets, especially not with her mother in the living room. "Of course, we're okay. Hold on one second." Charlotte stepped back into the loft, exchanging a few words with her mother (she remembered Kate, didn't she? From when they were young? Charlotte was going to spend some time with her in the city, she wouldn't be back late) and quickly putting on shoes and a coat before she stepped back outside, shouldering her bag as she did so. "We should go out and talk somewhere. Like for real. So you can catch me up on everything."

kate  still  couldn't  wrap  her  head  around  the  fact  that  lottie  wasn't  mad.  but,  it's  a  win  right?  she  should  take  it?  but  why  did  it  still  feel  as  though  something  could  make  her  mad?  maybe  it  was  just  her  brain  overthinking  it.  kate  was  one  to  overthink  every  single  thing  in  her  life.  “i  mean,  it's  not  so  bad..”  she  attempted  to  downplay.  “have  some  friendly  rivalry  here  and  there.  nothing  big  yet…  so..we're  okay?”

[tak3mealiv3]

It was one of those days where things were going pretty great. All of Summer's bills were paid and on time, she had put some more money in her savings, she was on her way to meet with her mom for the day. But first, coffee. Though she was meeting her mom in the afternoon, Summer had woken up late, and she was exhausted. She hadn't bothered to make coffee at home, so she took the short drive from her place downtown to the nearest cafe she liked. Their croissants were the best, and she needed a little snack pick me up and an iced coffee (yes, even in winter). Of course, even though she had done a mobile order, once she told her mom she was in the coffee shop, she insisted that Summer pick something up for her as well. So now, after waiting for her mobile order to be ready, waiting in line to order her mother's drink, she was waiting again, sipping on her iced coffee while she waited for both her mother's drink and her croissant. As she waited, however, a bit of a hush fell over the place. Not much of one, but enough of one for someone to notice that something had shifted. Summer glanced around, wondering if someone had spilled something, or if someone had said something that someone else had heard when things got quiet. She glanced around, though couldn't really see anything. Summer shrugged. Oh well. Maybe people were just weird today. Summer's phone buzzed in her hand, and she glanced down at it briefly, right as her name was called. With her path clear, Summer attempted to move forward, though without even realizing, someone had stepped into her path, bumping into her shoulder. Thankfully, the one that was attached to the hand holding her phone and not her coffee, so nothing was spilled. Summer glanced up at the person who had crashed into her, who was now speaking, her eyes widening briefly before she quickly got a grip on herself. At least now she knew why the energy in the building had shifted. She saw his face on tv at least once a day, and her dad had his jersey. It would be hard not to recognize him. "Oh, no, that's totally okay. I mean you pass a billboard with someone's face on it enough you can totally forgive them for knocking into you at a place like this." She heard her name repeated, and she gestured towards the counter. "That's me. It was nice to meet you."

closed to: @tak3mealiv3 | muse: cj turner

It had been an unusually busy offseason day for CJ. Normally, he'd have the time to rest, but lately, he'd been all over the place without the chance to even breathe. He supposed it came with his growing popularity over the years into his NFL career, but he was lucky he found just a slight pause in his busy day to at least get some coffee at the local coffee shop near his place in Downtown Cincinnati. It was a place he frequented ever since he got drafted there and they hardly even treated him as if he was a 'celebrity' which was why he loved going there so much. They made him feel normal again. Of course, the occasional fan would always stop him and ask for a picture whenever he was there, but it never bothered him. He wouldn't be where he was at today if it weren't for the fans, anyway. CJ had been on the phone with his girlfriend while he waited for his name to be called; it being one of the very rare moments he even got to talk to her lately, what with her being an international popstar on tour at the moment. Things hadn't exactly been great between them lately, there had been a lot of fighting and accusing each other of stupid shit, but today was one of those days where the phone call was actually decent. "Yeah, I'm just waiting for my coffee, then I've got a meeting to go to. Oh, hang on—" CJ spoke into the phone, but cut himself short when they finally called his name. "My order is ready, so I'm gonna grab it, then head out of here. I'll call you later after my meeting, yeah? Okay, love you, bye." He hung up then, walking up to the counter to retrieve his coffee, but in the wake of being quick to get out of there, he had accidentally bumped into someone he hadn't realized was there because he was still eyeing his phone. "Shit, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there."