AMA - The Divorcee: Day 02

You start preparing eggs for the three of you, creamy scrambled eggs for you and Stella, and over easy for Cassie. Meanwhile, she starts putting bread on the toaster and starts preparing a pot of coffee afterwards. You guys work silently at first, but Cassie breaks the silence by saying

"I'm happy you're looking much better today, Mr. Craig." It makes you smile.

"It's not really a high bar to look better than how I did yesterday" you jokingly respond, which makes her giggle.

"No, I mean, I saw you and Stella bonding on the couch before the shouting match happened. I couldn't see Stella's face, but I could see yours. You looked really happy." she adds.

"Yeah. I was... I am. I am happy. Happier than I've been in months. I'm glad you girls are here." you tell her.

"I feel like I'm intruding, actually." she says with a chuckle to try and hide that that's what she genuinely feels. "I feel like you guys would be able to bond more closely if I wasn't here".

Good thing the eggs are done.

You put the eggs on a plate, and turn towards her. You get closer to her and put your hands on the side of her arms.

"Cassie, I'm sorry if Stella and I are making you feel that way. We just had some... 'catching up' to do. But I don't want you to think that you're not welcome here. Stella needs your support too. God knows I wouldn't be enough, I'm too busy trying to support myself from crumbling down." you say the last sentence half-jokingly.

"Stella aside, I'm happy to see you again too. It reminds me of better times when I babysat you and Stella. It feels like those times again when you're here." You tell her. There it is again. That longing look from your dream. She's doing it again.

"I-I'm not a baby anymore Mr. Craig", Cassie says shyly.

"Hey--" you start rubbing her arms with your thumbs, "With the amount of times your mom left you with me, I practically helped raise you. So I'll always see you as my baby". She bites her lower lip, obviously struggling with something in her mind. She seems to find the courage.

She hugs you. A tight squeezing hug around your back. Unlike Stella, she's tall enough to reach your shoulder to rest her head instead of your chest. You return the hug with one arm and rub her back. She moans, and you notice her lifting leg. She pulls away and asks you the question while she still has the courage, "Mr. Craig, why'd you leave last night?"

~DING!~ Toasts done. The sudden noise makes you break away from Cassie.

"The coffee smells so good!" you hear Stella say from the living room.

Saved by the bell.

CHAPTER 22.1

What happens next?

Jay has a decision to make

It was a quick breakfast before the girls headed out to the park to have their run, leaving you alone in the apartment. The three of you had a peaceful breakfast together due to an unspoken agreement, between you and the girls, to pause all of the things that need to be discussed for now: Stella making amends with her mom, your night with Tanya, and why you left Cassie all of a sudden.

If this morning was any indication about how those conversations are gonna go, all three of you are going to need a breather first. Especially with what you're seeing right now.

- Jones, Cassandra - Affection Score: 100. (+9)

Love Score: 53 (+18)

Lust Score: 100 (+22)

+50 Friendship Points. Total: 230 (For reaching the 100 Affection Score goal with a person)

+50 Love Points. Total: 50 (For reaching the 50+ Love Score goal with a person)

+50 Lust Points. Total: 50 (For reaching the 100 Lust Score goal with a person)

Available points: 230 Friendship points / 50 Love points / 50 Lust points

How is that even possible!? You're not even doing anything!

As much as you'd like to doubt those numbers, the Affection Multiplier has made you believe that it is most definitely real. It's given you enough evidence to completely believe that. You haven't thought about lighting up a cigarette since you bought the 'Non-Smoker' trait for yourself yesterday, and although you don't know how it's affecting Stella, she did make the pinky promise with you after you bought the trait for her, so it's not a logical leap to assume it's the trait's influence on her.

More than that, the Advanced Trait 'Magic Touch' definitely fucking works. No way you could give Tanya whatever she experienced with you last night without the help of magic. Holy shit! Magic Touch! Did Cassie derive pleasure from you just touching her arms, or from her hugging you? Is that how her Lust Points are so high?

Wait... what about Stella!?

- Craig, Stella - Affection Score: 100.

You breathe a heavy sigh of relief. You can't imagine unintentionally giving your daughter sexual pleasure just by touching her innocently.

So if the app's real, then these numbers are accurate. Which begs the question, how do you deal with Cassie moving forward? Without intending to, you made Cassie as devoted to you as your own daughter is... with the added wrinkle that Cassie really, really, really, wants to have sex with you.

Is that why she asked about why you left last night? Did she want to have sex with you last night already? If that's the case, shouldn't she be angry with you that you left and had sex with Tanya? It doesn't make any sense!

Speaking of Tanya, there's a complication there now too.

- Ramirez, Antonia - Affection Score: 76 (+26).

Love Score:??

Lust Score: 71

-This person is confused about their own feelings-

'I'M confused about my own feelings, app! Don't give me this shit right now.' you mentally shout to your phone.

You remember Tanya's words last night 'Don't fall for the first girl you fuck'. Now she's the one who doesn't know if she has feelings for you or not. You'd make a snide remark about that, but you realize you don't know what you want with Tanya either. She was right with what she told you last night, you just came out of an almost two decade long relationship, do you really want to jump into a monogamous relationship already? What about wanting 'more'? Do you nip it in the bud while she's still unsure about it, or do you take the risk and see where that goes, or... or do you actively pursue a relationship with Tanya?

But what about Cassie?

Jesus Christ, this girl is living in your head rent-free.

As you contemplate what to do, the little shopping cart button in the app that leads you to the Trait Catalog has a push notification that pops-up. You tap it and it and a message pops up:

New Trait suggested for Wishlist!

Normalized Polyamory (350 pts): Everyone accepts the fact that you have two or more romantic and/or sexual partners. Partners will not feel jealousy towards your pursuit of more relationships.

You can't afford this trait right now, but it's nice to have a goal! Add to Wishlist?

YES/NO

Okay, so the app can read your mind. You'd be creeped out, but you realize this thing is literal magic that tells you how much people like you, even amplifies how quickly they grow to like you, and even gives you trait options to accelerate the process even further. Being able to read your mind is par for the course you suppose.

You take into consideration the suggestion of the app and do the math in your head. You realize that you need to max out three people's Romance Scores and get one more person at 50 to be able to afford this. How do you even go about doing that? You failed miserably with your one and only romantic relationship, so you can't even fathom dating two people at once and making it work, let alone four. Then you start thinking about not having to go that far, how you can game the system entirely. If you can get seven people to just 50 Romance Score... and you mentally slap yourself.

You remind yourself that these are people's emotions you're talking about. They're not just numbers on a magical phone app. If you go down that road, it stops being about having genuinely good and loving relationships with people but instead becomes just about having enough people to like you so you can buy magical traits for yourself. You're mature enough to know it'll lead you to a dark path. A path where you can discard people like yesterday's garbage once you got the numbers you need. If you recall correctly, 55 is even the lowest average score happily married couples have. If you get someone close to that number and discard them because you weren't being honest with them and just wanted points, how would that make them feel? You've recently been discarded yourself, so you know the pain it causes. You wouldn't wish that on anyone.

You take a breather and try to think clearly. You go back outside to the external fire escape out of habit as this is the place where you did most of your thinking in the past few months. Granted, what you were thinking during those times weren't exactly healthy. You're reminded it was just yesterday that you looked down to the alley below and contemplated ending it all. Now, you're wondering how to go about pursuing two possible romantic relationships. You chuckle at the thought, thinking it's a better problem to have.

Losing someone you loved and being betrayed by them hurt you more than you can imagine, which resulted in a months-long spiral. It was only after being reminded that there are still people who care for you and love you that you're beginning to recover. It's here that you realize that you don't want to lose any of these relationships you've unintentionally built with the help of the app, because it's these relationships that makes you want to continue living. You don't want to risk finding out what kind of pain you'd feel if you lose any of them by having to choose one or the other.

You look away from the alley and back to your phone.

Add to Wishlist?

YES/NO

...

YES.

CHAPTER 23.1

What happened during Stella and Cassie's run?

Cassie has a decision to make

The following is written in the perspective of Cassie Jones

You should've just gone back home. You wouldn't have had to worry about this any further. You were getting over him already. Why'd you agree to come back here? Because you did want to come home. This is home. Home will always be where Mr. Craig and Stella are. You even consider Stella's bedroom as your actual childhood room rather than your room back at 307, because your mom always came back home late after a night of partying, so you just slept at Stella's.

Even if you did just want to come 'home', you still hoped coming back here would make you more sure that what you felt for him was nothing but a childish crush. Instead, you've fallen far deeper than you've ever fallen for him. The moment you saw him through the doorway you knew you were screwed. He was in his underwear, and he looked like he hadn't showered in months, looked like he hadn't slept in months, looked like a homeless person with his beard and long hair... but what you cared about was what you saw underneath all that.

You saw he was lost, hurting, and languishing in depression -- and all you wanted to do was take care of him, the way he took care of you for most of your life.

One conversation with Stella later and you see the spark back in his eyes, and you see the man you've had a crush on since forever. Not to mention the fact that after he went to the barber, he looked so much hotter than you remember with his beard and trendier hairstyle. Calling it a crush now seems so childish, because what you feel for him seems way more than that now. It's undeniable, you have the hots for him.

The question is: "What do you plan to do about it?"

"Keep it in your pants, or go all out. There's no in-between" Stella tells you after you asked her what you should do. You guys were done with your run and are now taking a rest before heading back to the apartment.

"You know we're talking about your Dad, right?" you ask her. "Like you've ever talked about another guy other than my Dad." Stella answers you bluntly. "I've talked about my ex-boyfriends with you!" you say defensively, feeling like Stella was basically calling you obsessed; but she already had a comeback, "Boyfriends that you eventually compare to..." she says with a knowing smile. "Your Dad." you admit in defeat. "Hence, EX boyfriends" Stella smugly concludes.

She's known about your crush on her dad, maybe far longer than you have to be honest. She asked you once back in middle school if you thought her Dad was attractive because she noticed how you look at him differently. You didn't even really know you looked at him differently until that moment, but you realized she was right; and you admitted to her you did find him attractive. You still do, now more than ever.

She chalked it up to what she called 'Daddy Issues' and told you you'd grow out of it eventually, but when you told her while you guys were cleaning the apartment yesterday how you felt after seeing him again, she just said "Okay." with no hint of surprise, and you guys haven't talked about it again until now.

"So you're okay with me..." you start to ask but couldn't muster the courage to finish the question, but Stella got the point "Banging my Dad?" you blush as she finishes your question for you. "You're both adults, he's single now, I have no right to stop him if he wants to too". Stella tells you, but you notice she didn't answer your question. "But will you be okay with it?" and she answers you immediately, "Yeah." It shocks you how nonchalantly she answered you. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why?', you're the one I should be asking that" she retorts. "I mean, wouldn't it be weird for you?" you inquire. "Of course it would be weird. You're my best friend and he's my Dad. But who gives a shit about 'weird'? If you're both happy, then that's doubly good for me, because, well... you're my best friend and he's my dad." Stella answers you with a smile and holding your hand.

"Why are you so calm about this?" Cassie asks. Stella takes a deep breath, taking a moment to think about the honest answer to that question.

"Because I know both of you, and I love both of you. I know you both won't hurt each other, and I know both of you won't do anything that would hurt me either. So if I'm the only reason stopping both of you from being happy, then I'm neither being a good friend, nor a good daughter. So, go--", she grips your hand tighter to reassure you that she's really fine with what you're asking her. "Be happy". You surprise her with a tight hug.

"But you have to do it soon." she tells you while you squeeze her, which suddenly feels like she's pressuring you and you let go of your hug to look at her. "Because if you wait too long and it works out, you'll regret not having done it sooner and we'll both be back at college and all you'll be thinking about is how you could've spent more time with him if you just did it sooner."

"You're acting as if he's already comfortable with the idea," you remark. "He was muttering your name in his sleep, Cass," she tells you. You blush, but you don't want to get your hopes up. "That could mean anything", you tell her. "Oh, I know what it meant." Stella replies, and proceeds to repeat your name over and over in a fake breathy aroused voice, inserting moans in-between, sounding like a pornstar. You blush beet red, but couldn't hide the excitement from your face. You're lucky that no one's really around your area of the park or she would have made quite the scene.

After asking Stella to stop, she laughs and proceeds to ask you, "You know what that means, right?" Your excitement turns to curiosity as you're not exactly sure where she's going with her question. "It means he dreamed about you... AFTER sleeping with another woman". Okay, now you're even more confused where she's going with this. "It means when he was fucking her, he was probably thinking about you" poking you afterwards. You tense up at the idea and just look at the ground, blushing like a fire hydrant. Stella laughs at your embarrassment. "God, you're so easy to tease."

"Hey, I wanted to ask, you're not jealous of her are you?" Stella asks, becoming serious again. You think about it, and you don't really feel any jealousy against this neighbor Mr. Craig apparently slept with last night. A part of you even feels it was your fault it happened in the first place. You made him uncomfortable by not being able to help yourself. You got too familiar too quickly, and you scared him away. You shake your head to reply to Stella that you weren't jealous.

"Good, because my next question is going to be a lot harder to answer," she says, and you give her a look of concern. "If this happens, and you guys start being a 'couple'..." she pauses, but the idea of being with Mr. Craig clouded your brain a bit too much that when she did continue the question, you weren't able to hear it. She snaps you out of your daydream by literally snapping her fingers in front of your face. "Cass!"

"Would you be okay if you and my Dad won't be exclusive?"

CHAPTER 24.1

What happens when the girls get back home?

The Talk: About Last Night

The girls get home from their run at around lunch time, so you prepare lunch while the girls take showers. You know the conversation over lunch is going to be a difficult one as the amount of topics the three of you need to discuss have piled up after just one night together.

First order of business, at least for you, is to discuss your night with Tanya so that you can get it out of the way, and it can lead to the more important topic, convincing Stella to make amends with her mother. Lastly, and probably the most difficult topic of conversation, discussing your feelings and Cassie's feelings for each other.

"So, spill it." Stella says once the three of you have settled into your lunch. "What happened between you and Ms. Ramirez?" Stella asks.

You try to answer the question as casually as you can, and without going into details. You basically say you bumped into her when you went out to the hallway last night, and she invited you out, so you agreed. You concluded by saying you had a wonderful night together. Stella was having none of your generic retelling of the story though. So before you can transition into convincing her about talking to her mom, she parries it by asking you some questions.

"First of all, was it a date?" she asks you.

You really don't know the answer to that. You said yes to going out with her because you thought it was just going to be two friends hanging out, and also you didn't want to deal with your feelings for Cassie yet.

"No, I don't think so. I thought we were just hanging out as friends. In hindsight, it was naive for me to think that though," you answer Stella.

"Did you flirt with her?", "Uhh... it was more her flirting with me, but it wasn't like I wasn't unresponsive to her advances" you answer again.

"Did you pay for everything?" "Yes."

"Did you discuss the divorce at all before you slept together?" -- you were surprised at how nonchalant she was about that. "No."