AMA - The Divorcee: Day 03-07

Second of all, if you do plan to do something about it, then buying the fucking trait was for a fucking reason then.

Lastly, if Celeste does want to fucking bang you after flirting with her, who ends up getting hurt? Society? Your family? How could it, if they accept that it's perfectly fine?

You start nodding your head, as you start to believe in your own bullshit more and more. All you've done is basically buy a chance to flirt with your first crush without anybody being judgy about it. That's it. No big deal.

Right?

"Right! Like I'd believe that bullshit." You hear Stella say as her bedroom door opens and they make their way to the living room in their Girls' Night Out outfits.

[Image of Stella's Girl's Night Out outfit]

"Baby! You're killing me here!" you shout at Stella as you see her dress.

"I do look killer right?" Stella replies, just deflecting whatever parental concern you have over how short her dress is.

"I am not paying for your drinks tonight!" Cassie shouts, reclaiming Stella's attention.

"Oh yes you are! You broke a House Rule. You must face the consequences." Stella calmly replies. "I did not!" Cassie shouts, annoyed that Stella won't believe her.

"Am I missing something here?" you ask the girls. "Stella thinks we slept together last night and —" Cassie explains to you. "We did sleep together last night." You interject to Cassie's horror.

"AHA! I knew it!" Stella excitedly reacts. "Mr. Craig! We did not have sex last night!" Cassie shouts.

"Oh~ slept together, not slept together." You say in realization. Cassie just can't help but facepalm at your delayed understanding of what she meant.

"Nope! No take backs. You're paying for drinks!" Stella declares while laughing. "No! If I'm paying for drinks, we might as well have slept together last night! That's so unfair!" Cassie reacts in protest. Seeing as Stella's certainty in her assumption of what happened last night is your fault, you come to Cassie's rescue and take out one of your credit cards and hand it to Cassie.

"Tonight's on me. I'm sorry for getting you in trouble Cassie." you tell them. Stella's eyes light up at the idea that they have an open tab tonight, and you're having none of that. "This card has a 200$ spending limit. If I get a call that you went above that limit, you —" pointing to Stella, "— are paying tonight, and that's a Dad rule." you warn her.

"Don't you mean a 'sugar daddy' rule?" Stella claps back jokingly, but she nods that she understands that you were serious and that she'll follow the rule.

Cassie gets closer to you to kiss you on the cheek as a thank you and jokingly whispers to your ear, "Has Ms. Tanya texted you yet? If we still have time, we may as well commit the crime we were found guilty of, Mr. Craig." She suggests seductively.

"Are we back to Mr. Craig now?" You jokingly ask her.

"Oh Mr. Craig, you know I only like calling you Daddy in the bedroom." she answers flirtatiously.

"Oh, yeah. You guys definitely kept it in your pants last night." Stella says sarcastically.

"I totally believe it."

CHAPTER 45.1

What happens next?

Overcompensating

"Hey papi!" Tanya greets you with a hug and a kiss as you two meet in her office's lobby. "Thanks for picking me up at my office, Jay. You really didn't need to." Tanya says, flattered, but still a bit embarrassed at the effort you were showing.

"It's no biggie. Just wanted to put my best foot forward." you tell her, downplaying whatever meaning she might be reading into your actions. "You ready to go?" you ask her, and she wraps her arm around yours and she tells you to lead the way.

You made your way to your car that's parked on the street and you opened the passenger side door for her and took the mini-bouquet of flowers you bought for her from the seat, and gave it to her.

"Oh. Wow. I-uh —" Tanya tries to react, but is at a loss for words. You're a bit embarrassed now, as her loss for words is less 'happily surprised' and more 'the fuck are you doing?'. "I-uh, I wanted to thank you for sharing dinner with Stella last week. That was really nice of you." you tell her, making the reason for the flowers a little less desperate for her to see you romantically, and more just as a sign of appreciation. The recontextualization of the gift makes Tanya less tense and more appreciative of the gift.

"Oh. Thanks papi, but you didn't have to buy me flowers!" she says before awkwardly laughing. "I was going to invite both of you to dinner but Stella said you were busy on a date." Tanya says suggestively, and you couldn't help but rub the back of your neck in embarrassment. Tanya laughs at your reaction and reassures you by saying, "You don't need to be embarrassed about that, papi. I'm actually glad you're heeding my advice."

"It's nice you're dating around, Jay." Tanya adds, before proceeding to enter the car head first, and she places her hands on the seat to support her, making her ass stick out of the open car door, giving you a perfect view of her incredibly round behind. Brooke's greatest achievement, as you're reminded by how proud Brooke is about Tanya's ass. Tanya looks back at you from this position and gives a naughty smile.

"— but It's even nicer that you can't get enough of me."

"Oh, wow. We're eating here?" Tanya asks you as you stop the car in front of 'L'endroit Trop Cher', the fanciest casual dining restaurant you can find in the city. Worryingly, her tone is once again one of confusion than one of excitement.

"Yeah. I-uh, I booked a reservation. Um-uh, we can eat somewhere else if you'd like to have dinner somewhere different." You reply, not really sure how she's feeling as you can really tell something's off.

Tanya just gives you an awkward smile and replies, "I might be underdressed for this place.", referring to her wearing only Casual Friday office attire. You assure her you checked before reserving a table that it's not one of those formal dining places, and that there's no dress code; so she shouldn't worry about that. She just gives a forced chuckle and gets out the door as the valet helps open the door for her and helps her out of the car.

The two of you talked to the Hostess who asked if you had reservations, which you informed her you did. She replied that since you're a bit early for the reservation, you'll have to sit at the bar first, which you both agreed to. Once seated at the bar, you ordered a whiskey double for yourself and the cocktail Tanya ordered when you went out drinking last time.

For the first time since you gave her flowers, Tanya has a genuine reaction to you remembering her preferred drink order. However, she soon looks at the restaurant and loses the genuine happy smile with a look of concern again. Not wanting to prolong this uncertainty any further, you ask her, "Is something wrong?"

"Um, this just doesn't seem very casual, you know?" Tanya replies, referring to the restaurant. You rub the back of your neck again, knowing now that she's feeling uncomfortable with the vibe you set for this date. "Oh, uh, we can eat somewhere else if you're not liking the place. Really. I guess I didn't pick a good place." you apologize.

"No. No. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate all the effort you put into this — picking me up at my office, the flowers, this restaurant — it's just..." she trails off.

"A little too much?" you guess at what she's trying to say. Sadly, she replies

"Yeah." with a tone of sympathy.

Oof.

"What are we doing here, Jay?" she asks you bluntly.

"Having a date?" you answer her, knowing that's not what she meant at all.

"Este puto chico —" she says under her breath, sounding annoyed. Before you can address her annoyance though, your drinks arrive.

She seems happy to see her drink, so at least her mood has shifted positively before you reply...

~and it's gone.

"¿Qué diablos es esta mierda?"

"Okay, yeah. Let's go. This place sucks." She says the last word with pure disgust, making the bartender stare daggers into her. Not at all fazed by the bartender's angry stare, she asks him for the bill. Both of you remain silent, and you don't even bother drinking your whiskey since it seems you're going to have to drive to a second location anyway.

"Drink that. This puto can't mess up a drink from a bottle. We should get our money's worth." Tanya recommends.

"Nah, it's cool. I'm driving so I don't want to drink too quickly." you tell her.

"I have another place in mind that's kinda near here. I can drive to find parking again, and then you can walk it off when we're going to the place I'm suggesting, if you're that worried about it."

The bartender hands over the bill to you with the fakest smile. Before you can place your card, Tanya yanks the bill from you. As soon as she sees how much it is, her eyes widen in shock. "Drink that." she says, now it's definitely a command. You drink all of it in one swig, and you lower your glass and let out an audible "Aaaah" as the alcohol stings you on its way down your throat. She angrily places her card on top of the bill and hands it to the bartender with an intentionally fake smile too.

"Hey, thanks for that. You really didn't have to." You thank her, surprised at her initiative.

"You paid for everything last time. So we're even." she says sincerely, then lets out a sigh. "Like, we're probably literally even. That shit was way too fucking overpriced." As soon as Tanya gets her card back, she stands up and grabs you by the wrist to drag you out of the restaurant.

"Excuse me! It's customary to leave a tip." the bartender calls out to both of you. Tanya lets go of your wrist and walks back to him. Even from this distance you can see she's only pretending to get something from her purse before placing her empty hand on the bar and saying

"Here's a tip — mix better fucking drinks."

CHAPTER 46.1

What happens next?

Pho the second time

"Fresh start?" Tanya asks you.

"Fresh start." you reply.

You and Tanya made your way from that overpriced place you initially brought her to, to this cozy Vietnamese restaurant that's currently in its soft opening. Luckily, there was an empty table for two, and one of the waitresses seated you immediately.

The restaurant is a lot less pretentious than that first place. It has a semi-open kitchen design, as you can see the kitchen through large windows. You look around some more and you can see other diners happily dining and conversing, and you can't help but compare it to the very intimate setting you brought her to, where there was a live piano performance and the other diners were speaking so softly to one another it barely registered as ambient noise.

A waitress comes by to take your orders and Tanya takes the initiative to order for both of you, "Two medium beef phos, spring rolls, and what are those crispy mini pancakes with shrimp on them?" she asks.

"Oh, those are banh khots." the waitress replies.

"One order of those to share." She confirms.

"What about your drinks?" the waitress asks, and Tanya looks at you to signal she's not ordering drinks for both of you. Seeing as you've already drunk two shots of whiskey in a hurry, you just ordered water and Tanya did the same.

"So, you come here often?" you ask her with a chuckle, and she initially replies with a smile to your cliche question.

"They just soft-opened a week ago. One of the new tenants on our floor is the head chef here, and she invited me to try the place out during their soft opening. All the stuff I ordered were her recommendations when I came here the last time."

As if the entire first attempt at that overpriced French restaurant never happened, you and Tanya begin to enjoy each other's company like you did last time. You decided to catch up on each other's week, and Tanya went first by talking about some goings-on in her office, until eventually the mini pancakes with shrimp arrived with drinks you didn't order.

"The drinks are compliments of the chef. It's a sugar cane juice with a bit of calamansi. Calamansi are sort of like mini limes, to balance out the sweetness. We hope you enjoy it." The waitress explained. She then points her hand towards the kitchen where you see the woman who interrupted your first time with Cassie giving you a kind of casual two finger salute, and Tanya gives her a small wave while you just awkwardly smile at this development. Having been acknowledged by you and Tanya, she turns around to head the kitchen once more.

You try the drink and it's not even that sweet at all, but the citrus of whatever that lime she mentioned really balances it out. You'd want to give a thumbs up to the kitchen and the head chef who you really can't remember the name of right now, but she's focused on her work now so you let go of that idea quickly.

"What about you? How was your week?" Tanya asks you as she takes a bite off of the mini pancake. "I heard you're working out with Brooke now." she adds, with somewhat a suggestive tone for some reason.

"I am." you answer her, not really sure how much you want to reveal at this point in the date.

"Ay papi, you don't need to be shy. I'm not the jealous type. Brooke told me there was a girl who made out with you in the middle of the gym. You can admit it." she tells you casually.

"Don't blame Brooke by the way. I didn't tell her we hooked up, and she may have shared thinking it was just a harmless story. After she found out Stella knew of my famous ass and that I knew you, she told me that that's the story of how you guys met. " Tanya explains, preempting you from thinking that Brooke was spreading gossip about you behind your back. There was no point in denying what Tanya already knew, so you admit that that did happen.

"Yes. That is how we initially met Brooke." you answer her, not seeing any point to denying it. "To be fair to us, Cassie only did it to stop a gym bro from hitting on her." you add for context.

"Oh, you mean Chad? He makes bad first impressions, but he's not a bad guy once you set boundaries. I can't blame this Cassie girl though, Chad can be grating the first time you meet him." she says. "Then again, maybe she just chose to make out with you because she can't get enough of those magical lips?" Tanya adds flirtatiously.

Before you can respond, the waitress comes back with the fresh spring rolls, and you and Tanya each get one. The two of you start talking about how good the food has been so far, before Tanya asks more about Cassie, "So, this Cassie... um, is she the same girl you had a date with after our night together?"

You rub the back of your neck preemptively embarrassed to admit the truth, but you answer Tanya nonetheless, "Yes. My first date with Cassie was on that night."

"Hey~, I told you not to be embarrassed about that papi. Like I said, I'm not the jealous type." she reassures you. "I have to ask though — you went on a date with her last Sunday, went to the gym with her and your daughter the day after, and went back again with her on Wednesday — are you and her getting serious?"

You know there's no point in half truths since Tanya will have to find out eventually if you really are serious about exploring a possible relationship with her, but outright admitting that Cassie's your girlfriend still feels like it'll lead to more confusion than clarity.

Your silence speaks volumes for Tanya. She doesn't seem shocked or angry at the idea that you, at least only to her knowledge, are getting serious with someone else... even though you're very much in a serious relationship with Cassie already. Instead, what she's more concerned about is about something else.

"If you are getting serious with this Cassie, I'll have to ask it again... what are we doing here Jay?"

...

"Here are your two medium phos. Enjoy your meal!"

CHAPTER 47.1

What happens next?

The Bachelor

The bowls of pho remain untouched at your table as the question Tanya asked looms over the both of you. The waitress dropping off the food helped give you a few seconds to think of a way to phrase your answer without sounding like the greediest man alive, but you're really drawing a blank here. You're here because you want to explore a relationship with Tanya, while also hoping she's okay with you having an existing relationship with Cassie.

Fuck... why didn't you just buy 'Normalized Polyamory' first!?

"Should I just go?" Tanya breaks the silence.

"What? No! No. Tanya —" you pause, inhaling deeply, preparing for the consequences that may result from the words you're about to say next.

"Tanya, I'm here because I had an amazing night last time. An amazing night for the first time in a long time. That includes even before the divorce." She seems genuinely happy that that's how you felt about your night together.

"I invited you to a date because maybe it doesn't have to be just one amazing night. Maybe it could be more than that." you add, hoping that your certainty in wanting a relationship with her would make her less confused about her own feelings for you too.

"And then what, Jay? You'll date two girls until they fall in love with you? Then when the time comes you'll give one of them a rose at the end of the show while the other one is sent packing?" Tanya asks, genuinely worried that the drama your greed will cause will end up like bad reality television.

"No, Tanya. That's exactly what I don't want to happen. I don't want to choose. Cassie doesn't want me to choose either. She's encouraging me to not limit where I find my happiness. Similar to what you told me to do during our first night together." Tanya smiles while releasing a huff upon hearing your reminder of what she said.

"I also did say don't fall for the first girl you fuck." Tanya reminds you.

"She's not the first girl I fucked." Tanya just laughs that you had the nerve to use that as a technicality. "I know what you mean, but I couldn't help myself. Not with her... and not with you either." You admit, and this sort of stuns Tanya. "A part of me would like to believe that a part of you can't help yourself either." you add, which makes Tanya smile and release a huff like before.

"Cassie believes you can make me just as happy as she does, if you and I are both willing to explore that. She believes I can make you happy too, but not just you. Both of you, together... and I agree with her." You finally say, hoping that Tanya doesn't take your greed the wrong way.Tanya now inhales deeply, upon understanding that you have nothing more to say, possibly preparing her thoughts like you did earlier.

"That was really sweet, Jay." she says with a genuine smile on her face. "I'm not gonna lie papi, that night, I thought you were just going to be a night of free drinks and possibly mediocre sex that I'll forget the next day." she says with a chuckle. "To my surprise, you were only one of those things." which makes you chuckle now.

"So you did want me to pay that night. I feel so used!" You jokingly interject.

"That's why I wanted to pay for tonight!" She quickly defends herself. "Then you had to pick that pretentious ass restaurant!" she says with a laugh.

"I'm really sorry about that. I haven't been there before and the girls and I just searched on the internet about romantic date spots around the city." you admit, a bit embarrassed.