AMA - The Divorcee: Day 11

"Okay, that's part one. Part two addresses your concern." You start telling her. "There's a trait here called 'Youth and Love'—" you say before reading the trait description for her. "If I understand it correctly, as long as I keep one of you girls in love with me, I'll age much more slowly—" You begin to explain.

"Making age literally just a number." Cassie continues for you. Her eyes widen upon realizing how that addresses her particular concern. "That means we can wait until I'm ready!" Cassie says in excitement, and you nod, making her give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "That's perfect!" Cassie reacts, not breaking the hug.

"I'm glad you think so." you tell her, genuinely happy that she's back to being happy. "Part three is discussing what we tell Stella. My idea is that we say you compromised as long as I bought the 'Infertile' trait for you, and that we'll remove it once you're ready to become a mother." You explain to her, and she agrees to that proposal as well.

"Part four is us discussing—" You start before Cassie cuts you off.

"How many parts is this plan of yours?" Cassie teases.

"Almost done, I promise." You answer, chuckling at her tease. "Anyway, we need to discuss when I'll start buying those traits. The trait for infertility I can buy already without issue, but I'm saving up points so I can buy 'Normalized Polyamory'. Are you willing to wait and let me age a few more days before I buy 'Youth and Love'?" You ask her teasingly.

"Ugh! I thought part four was serious!" Cassie reacts, before kissing you on the cheek again. "Of course I'll be fine with it." She answers. "If you suddenly age horribly before buying it though, don't blame me." Cassie teases back.

"I'm willing to take that chance." You tell her, before returning the kiss on the cheek.

"I'm guessing things turned out great?" Stella asks upon leaving her room and seeing you and Cassie hugging.

"Nah~, this is a break up hug. We're breaking up. We're now going to the bedroom for some break up sex. So you can practice on your own for now. I'll catch up with you later." Cassie teases her.

"Ha. Ha. You're so~ funny!" Stella says, laying the sarcasm thick. "Seriously though, is everything good?" Stella asks.

"Couldn't be better." Cassie answers her, and you nod in agreement.

"So I could stop taking the pills then?" Stella asks. Before you can answer, Cassie does it for you; except, she gives one that's different than what you talked about.

"I'll answer it for you later. He said you and I get to decide if you take your pills or not, and that he doesn't want to know the answer so it wouldn't affect how he acts in bed. His assumption is that you're still going to take the pills until we both finish college. Whether that will be true or not is up to our conversation later." Cassie answers, and you don't break and act like this is new to you and just nod, so that Stella doesn't pick up that that wasn't exactly what you two agreed on.

"That's fair. I guess we do still need to talk about what could happen if I do get pregnant before graduating, and how we'll address it without you feeling like I'm leaving you behind if we push through with it." Stella says, and Cassie smiles at Stella's understanding. Cassie then went on to get changed to her workout outfit.

"Shouldn't you get changed too? Aren't you coming with us for the morning run part?" Stella asks you.

"Oh, right." You answer her before standing up to go to your room and get changed as well.

After getting dressed, you leave your apartment with the girls for your morning run. While locking up your apartment door, you see Maddy on the opposite side of the hall just leaving her grandparents' apartment and making her way towards the three of you.

"Oh, are you guys going to the gym today? I thought that was on Wednesday?" Maddy asks.

"Nah. The three of us are just going on a morning run before Cassie and I go to the Sports Complex to get a few practice sets." Stella answers her.

"Wanna come with?"

CHAPTER 117.1

What happens next?

Afternoon Chat

"No, thank you. I'm good." Maddy answers.

You and Maddy are now at Viv's restaurant for lunch, waiting for Stella and Cassie to arrive after their volleyball practice. You just asked Maddy if she wanted to try anything else from the menu after she decided on just having a Bánh mì, leading to her answer.

You and Maddy have hung out for more than an hour now after your morning run. After Stella messaged you that they were almost finished with practice, you and Maddy made your way to Viv's for lunch. The four of you agreed during the run to take Maddy to Viv's, as Maddy was curious what the place was like after meeting Viv last night.

Most of your hour with Maddy was her talking about her thoughts on your book series back at your apartment. Like with Brooke the other day, you're happy she's talking about something she's passionate about. Although, this time, it has an added layer of awkwardness for you since what she's passionate about is something you've made. You've always been bad at taking compliments, so you mostly just smiled and nodded whenever she shared her complimentary thoughts on your works.

"The way Cassie and Stella teased you before our run, I thought you'd be feeling a lot worse after the run, Mr. Craig. You seem to be holding up pretty well." Maddy observes, after her latest gush of praise for your books has ended.

"Thanks, Maddy; but that was a really light run compared to what those girls usually do. They probably just used it as a warm-up for their volleyball practice." You reply. "It seemed like a light run for you as well." You tell her.

"It was. I guess swimming helps with my cardio, so light jogs like that aren't so bad. I do miss swimming in the lake though." Maddy shares with you.

"You guys live near a lake?" You ask.

"Yeah. I grew up near a small lake town. Dad hated living here in the city with Grammy and Grandpa Rick when he was growing up. He was more of a 'nature guy', as he liked to put it. I can't say I blame him. The air's so fresh where I grew up since there are a lot of pine trees; and during winter, we can ice skate on the frozen lake." Maddy shares with you.

You finally found a topic that you're much more comfortable talking about with Maddy, so you dive in and ask more about her upbringing and childhood living in an area that wasn't as densely populated as this city.

As Maddy told you more about herself, your phone vibrates and you apologize to Maddy for breaking her train of thought. It was another message from Stella, telling you their orders and also asking if it's okay if they brought a friend with them for lunch. She obviously knew you were going to say yes, since part of the text already included their friend's order. You replied it wouldn't be a problem and called for your waiter afterwards to make your orders and inform him you'll be adding another person to your table.

"Oh, who's joining us Mr. Craig?" Maddy asks you.

"Stella only mentioned it was a friend. I didn't ask for more details since it's probably someone I don't know anyway, or she would've mentioned who." You answer her. Maddy just nods in understanding, and a pause occurs between the two of you. As the pause becomes longer, you notice she's just staring at you. You smile awkwardly, and you guess it made her realize what she was doing and she immediately looks away.

Maddy looks around the restaurant for anything to focus on other than you, even looking at the ceiling. Her eyes finally find something, and she immediately becomes glued to the kitchen watching Viv and her staff work through the big glass windows.

"She seems so different when she's at work, doesn't she?" You observe to break the silence between you and Maddy.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Mr. Craig." Maddy answers. You're reminded that the Viv Maddy saw last night was incredibly tame to what you've been used to these past few days.

"Oh, right. She wasn't as flirty last night as she usually is." You say out loud, remembering Viv was actually pretty chill last night... outside of threatening to kill you, of course. Although, you admit to understanding her frustration last night.

"Trust me when I say this, once you see her party, you'll know what I mean." You tell her. Maddy smiles with excitement at that little tidbit, maybe taking it as an invitation to go out with you and the girls some time in the future.

"I'd love to see it someday! I haven't been to many parties, in general; and the ones that I've been to have been with family." Maddy shares with you, and you don't have it in you to tell her that you don't even consider family gatherings as a 'party' anymore. Especially when the last party you went to was with Viv.

"Well, I'd say we should hold off on you partying with Viv just yet. Unless you want to make out with her at some point in the night." You say jokingly.

"What?" Maddy asks in surprise, making you explain to her Viv's tendency to get girls to make out with her as a joke when they've had some to drink.

"Oh my! That seems so unethical!" Maddy reacts.

"You're the second person to point that out to me." You tell her with a chuckle, not defending Viv's modus operandi.

"You don't mind if she does that?" Maddy asks you.

"It didn't initially, no. Stella called me out on that double standard though." You say before chuckling. "I really don't have a defense for it other than the idea of it was pretty hot in my caveman brain, as my girlfriends like to call it." You joke, making Maddy laugh. "Seeing it in person was way hotter than what I could have imagined too." you overshare, and Maddy's eyes widen in shock.

"She did it in front of you?" Maddy asks.

"Yeah. I had a lot to drink by that point and so did Stella and Viv. Viv dared Stella to make out with her half-naked, and I can't say I was complaining about it when it happened. I'm well aware I should be more concerned about somebody else taking advantage of my girlfriends, especially my own daughter, but I just don't seem to when it's Viv. Maybe because I know I'll be dating her anyway... or maybe Stella's just right about me liking the idea because she's another hot girl." You tell Maddy.

"Maybe you also knew she was a good person deep down, and you were giving her the benefit of the doubt?" Maddy suggests.

"Maybe." you reply. Maddy is mostly right though. Tanya and Cassie vouched for her. Celeste and Viv also seem to have a deep friendship, and you trust your cousin to be as good of a judge of character as your girlfriends. It could also be because of that, that you never really considered the idea that Viv's actions ever came from a malicious place.

You still need to talk to her about that though, if you and her dating is going to work. It's not that you find her flirting bad, you really only want to talk to her about going about her naughtiness in a way that doesn't need some form of manipulation.

Maddy looks back at Viv, spending a moment deep in thought, before looking back at you.

"You really like her, don't you, Mr. Craig?" Maddy asks.

"I do. I like her. I'm not going to deny that." You answer Maddy honestly, which brings a smile out of her once more. She continues to stare at Viv, thinking deeply about something.

"You and her seem to agree to be honest with your feelings." Maddy shares with you. "Ms. Viv advised me about being honest with my feelings too." Maddy adds.

"Oh? How'd that come about?" You ask her, afraid of where Maddy wanted to go with that statement. If it was what you were afraid of, then you're not sure that now would be the right time for it. Her grandparents are still pretty much going to be in a tight spot with their son if you start going out with Maddy, and you haven't checked the app yet to see how to best address that. So you asked the question just to prolong having her confession come about sooner.

"Oh, um, Ms. Viv asked me if I had a crush on someone... and Ms. Tanya and Cassie started teasing Ms. Viv about her crush on you, saying she wasn't one to tease me for having a crush on y—uhhh... for having a crush. Sorry. Brain fart." Maddy says with an awkward chuckle.

Despite Viv's advice, it seems Maddy is unsure about being honest with you just yet, catching herself at the last moment. You know what she was about to say. You're not that dense. At least, not anymore. Okay, maybe it's just a broken clock being right twice a day sort of thing.

In any case, a part of you does want to just let her say it and tell her there's nothing wrong with having a crush. Especially after seeing her blush after almost confessing by accident. If you thought Cassie's blushes were noticeable, Maddy's are undeniable. Her pale skin is unable to mask it even by a little.

As much as you want to make her feel comfortable again, you're not prepared for the consequences of her confession and your response to it might cause, if you allow it to happen now.

Thankfully... at least you hope it's a good thing, someone came to interrupt your conversation.

"Adding another girlfriend to your harem, Jay?"

CHAPTER 118.1

What happens next?

Fifty Grand Girl and The Intern

"Adding another girlfriend to your harem, Jay?" Becca asks you teasingly, and Maddy continues to blush even further, which Becca notices immediately. "Apologies. I was only joking. It seems the lack of humor in my voice has come to backfire on me once more." Becca apologizes to Maddy.

"Oh! No, no! It was funny! I wasn't embarrassed. At all." Maddy tells Becca with a forced laugh. "See? I knew it was a joke." Maddy continues to say, forcing out an even more awkward laugh.

"Indeed." Becca tells Maddy, her eyes wide in confusion as to why Maddy was acting like that. Becca doesn't address Maddy's awkwardness any further and turns to you instead to formally greet you. "Good afternoon, Jay; and to your companion as well." Becca greets, trying to reset the awkwardness of the conversation. You instinctively stood up, like Celeste and Viv did back at Dorsia, making Maddy stand up as well.

"Hey, Becca. Good afternoon to you too." You greet her. "This is Madeleine. She's the granddaughter of one of my neighbors." You formally introduce Maddy to Becca, and Maddy offers Becca a handshake before introducing herself to Becca as well.

"Would you like to join us?" You ask her politely.

"I'm sadly only here on business and will have to return to the office once I'm done. I wouldn't say no otherwise. I only wanted to say hi and update you that Celeste got to her flight without a problem the other day." Becca belatedly gives you an update. You already knew that, of course, as Celeste messaged you that she got home safe yesterday.

"Yeah. Celeste messaged me yesterday." You tell Becca.

"Did Celeste mention anything about me by any chance?" Becca asks you, taking you by surprise. Unsure as to what Becca might be curious about that Celeste may have told you.

"No. Can't say she has. Why? What would it be about? I can ask her if it's important." You reply.

"No, no. It's fine. I only wanted feedback if she enjoyed her brief stay in my home. That's all." Becca explains.

"Oh, she didn't mention it to me anymore. I'm sure she enjoyed her stay with you though. Thanks for having her over and taking her to the airport by the way." You add.

"It was the least I could do. Based on the security footage from The Aphrodite, I could have done more and asked if you wished to continue the party at my place. At least you wouldn't have had to be carried by Brooke across the club to get home." Becca teases you, making you sink into your chair a bit and force out an awkward laugh. You notice Maddy has a confused look on her face.

"I'll tell you about it later." You tell Maddy. "We wouldn't have wanted to intrude on your meeting." You tell Becca, and she looked a bit confused for a moment before remembering that Celeste stayed with her because of that meeting.

"Ah, yes. Of course. The meeting I asked her to help me with." Becca replies.

"Besides, you were already more than generous that night. Thanks for that by the way." You address Becca again.

"It was no big deal. Celeste and Vivian are my friends; and, like you said, Celeste helped me with my 'meeting'. It was a fair trade." Becca replies.

"You're friends with Ms. Vivian, Ms. Becca?" Maddy asks.

"Yes, Madeleine. Viv and I are friends. I'm also her business partner at this restaurant. It seems you and Vivian know each other, as well?" Becca explains. "Also, please, Becca's fine." Becca tells her.

"Yes. We only met each other last night, but she's been really friendly to me. Also, you may call me Maddy." Maddy replies.

"Becca!" you suddenly hear Stella call out. You turn towards her direction and you see her, with Cassie and the friend she was referring to in her text, making their way to your table. Their friend looks somewhat familiar to you, so she's probably someone you've seen Stella hang out with before; just not regularly, you suppose.

[Image: Paige Halliwell - Viv's Restaurant Introduction]

"It's nice to see you again Stella, Cassie, and... I apologize, I don't think we've formally met." Becca greets them.

"Hi Ms. Hoffman, I'm Paige Halliwell." Stella's friend introduces herself.

Paige Halliwell? That name does sound familiar...

"Oh, have Stella and Cassie talked about me?" Becca asks, and Stella and Cassie shake their heads, seemingly just as surprised as Becca that Paige knew her already.

"No, Ms. Hoffman. I was an intern at Hoffman Enterprises' Marketing Department last summer. We haven't formally met. I used to—" Paige explains.

"Understood." Becca says, cutting off Paige while also raising her hand to signal Paige to not continue her sentence. You notice Becca's demeanor changed back to what you originally saw at Dorsia, upon hearing that Paige worked at Hoffman Enterprises at some point. She's back to exuding authority, unlike when she initially said hi to you and Maddy. You notice Becca didn't bother answering Paige any further and went back to talking to Stella.

"I must say, I preferred your outfit the last time we met." Becca says teasingly.

"Thanks! I liked that dress too." Stella replies, although you could swear that Becca says "Dress?" under her breath; and you're reminded that the last time Becca saw Stella, she was in her underwear due to Viv's dare.

"I have to admit that I prefer you calling me Becca than the last monicker you picked." Becca adds.

"Oh crap. What did I call you when I was drunk?" Stella asks her.

"Fifty Grand Girl." Cassie chimes in, making Stella react in embarrassment.

"Why'd you call her Fifty Grand Girl?" Maddy asks.

"It seems you haven't told Maddy the story of your night out yet." Becca observes. "I'll leave you to it then. It was nice meeting all of you once more." Becca adds. "Jay." She says as a way to say goodbye.

"Becca." you reply, mirroring her.

Stella sits next to you on your right, while Cassie sits next to Maddy opposite you and Stella, and Paige sits to Stella's right.

"You guys know Rebecca Hoffman!?" Paige asks in disbelief.

"We don't know her that well, to be honest. We only just met her the other night." Stella explains to Paige.

"You guys were talking so casually! Everyone at Hoffman's quakes in fear of her. Even my bosses stutter when they speak to her." Paige shares with you.

"Yeah, well, once you see her makeout with one of your neighbors just to demonstrate how she doms her, you'll be a lot more casual with her too." Stella jokes.

"Oh my gosh! She's the gazillionaire dominatrix you were talking about last night?" Maddy reacts, upon connecting the dots in her head.