AMA - The Divorcee: Day 12

"I kinda overplayed my hand since the app said she was confused about wanting to sleep with me." You explain to Cassie that Viv might not be able to wait for the explanation.

"Viv doesn't want to sleep with you!?" Stella couldn't help but react loudly.

"Shhh~! Not so loud!" You tell her in a hushed voice.

"Sorry. I just can't believe it!" Stella apologizes, lowering her volume to copy yours. "So that's why she didn't wake us up with her screaming through the walls." Stella jokes.

"It's not that she didn't want to, I think she did based on her explanation. She's just afraid of the consequences." You explain to Stella.

"What consequences? Getting pregnant?" Stella asks.

"No. Not that." You answer Stella shaking your head and hands to answer her a little too emphatically, as you really don't want that conversation up right now. "She's afraid she'll find me bland."

"HA! Bland!?" Stella reacts back at her previous volume, making you shush her again. "The cheek, the nerve, the gall, and the gumption." Stella adds in reaction.

"Maybe it's because you undersold me when Brooke asked you about my sex skills." You joke with Stella.

"Then you should've just banged her and got it over with!" Stella argued, and you couldn't help but roll your eyes at how simple she thinks the solution is. "You think I'd be bland in bed? Spank. Who's bland, now? Spank, spank!" Stella started doing a bit, while pumping her hips and simulating 'spanking that ass'.

"I think you've made your point." You tell her to stop.

"Okay. Sorry. I'm back to serious mode again." Stella apologized. "Why not just tell Maddy too? She'll find out eventually once you start dating her." Stella suggests.

"No, baby. First of all, Maddy's off limits as per her family's wishes. Second, I don't even know what she even likes about me other than being one of her favorite authors. Lastly, having access to a reality altering magical phone app should be on a need to know basis sort of thing, don't you think? Viv needs to know. Maddy doesn't." You answer her. Stella was about to argue her point some more, but stopped after feeling her phone vibrate. She reads it for a quick moment before looking at you.

"Cassie says she found an opening to delay having to tell Viv." Stella informs you.

You and Stella go back to the dining table where Maddy, Viv, and Cassie are already transferring the Thai takeout into plates so you can all share what you guys ordered.

"Cassie told me she knows how you knew why I'm hesitant to sleep with you." Viv says, upon seeing you and Stella make your way to the dining table.

"I thought you said you had a way to delay telling Viv!?" Stella asks Cassie accusingly.

"Well that confirms it." Viv reacts with an annoyed chuckle. "I'm guessing you messaged all of them my insecurities already? Thanks for divulging my personal fuck ups, Junior." Viv adds sarcastically.

"I don't know what you're insecure about." Cassie admits, raising her hands innocently.

"I do." Stella admits. "Dad just told me while we were talking." Stella adds, making Viv raise an eyebrow.

"I thought you were looking for your earring?" Viv asks Stella skeptically.

"We were." Stella answers.

"Seems like you didn't find it." Viv adds.

"Nope." Stella answers.

"Seems like you talked more about me than looking for that 'missing' earring of yours." Viv observes.

"Yep." Stella answered, confirming Viv's suspicion. Viv just stares daggers at you.

"She's my daughter, Viv. I tell her everything." You point out to Viv, defensively. Cassie looks away after hearing your statement, reminding you that you technically don't tell Stella everything anymore; now that you have to hide that you bought a trait that removes the pregnancy risk without her knowing... or maybe she's concerned that you told Stella about Viv's insecurity and not her.

"And the only reason Cassie doesn't know is because she was here with you guys." You quickly add, assuring Cassie that you would've told it to her too if the situation between her and Stella was reversed. Cassie seemed to give you a reassuring smile that you didn't need to add that last part.

"So you know what I'm insecure about because he just told you; but she doesn't know... but she says all three of them, even Tanya, already know how you would know why I was unsure earlier. Did I get that right?" Viv asks to confirm, and Stella just asks, "What? Could you repeat that?" as her response.

"That's how I understood it too, V." Maddy confirms for Viv. "That means that the 'how Mr. Craig knows you were unsure earlier' is separate from knowing the insecurity behind what's making you confused." Maddy explains, making Stella go react with an "Oh~" now that she gets it.

"That's why we need Tanya here. So all three of us can confirm that we all know how he'd know, even though we don't know why you would be unsure in the first place." Cassie tells her.

"Are you guys mind readers or some shit?" Viv asks you.

"Trust me, if we were, we'd stay away from your brain as much as possible." Stella jokes.

"You sure? You might like what you see." Viv answers in her flirtatious tone.

"Mind reading would mean they'd know the reason behind your hesitancy, V." Maddy points out to Viv. "My guess is that they all knew you were less than sincere with your flirtatiousness with Mr. Craig. I did kinda point it out to them yesterday." Maddy tells Viv.

"Oh yeah, Paige did say she was a lot more comfortable flirting back with you since she kinda felt it was just all play and you weren't being serious." Stella recounts. Maddy didn't seem to like that the credit went to Paige though.

"Well that rules out that idea, M. Stella barely remembered you even pointed it out." Viv reacts, resulting in Maddy's suppressed but obvious annoyance.

"Look, to be blunt, how Jay knows is his secret that only girlfriends get to know." Cassie says.

"Is that why you're not telling Ms. Viv? I mean V. Sorry." Maddy asked. All four of you, including Viv, look at Maddy awkwardly; unable to say out loud the reason why all three of you couldn't reveal the secret to Viv. "Oh." Maddy reacts in realization and in disappointment. "You could've just said so. I can excuse myself so you guys can talk." Maddy tells you before standing up from the table abruptly.

"Woah-woah-woah. Wait a minute, M. We're having lunch. They can tell me later." Viv tells Maddy, asking her to sit back down next to her so you can all continue your lunch. Maddy looked at the four of you, and you all gave her reassuring smiles that this conversation can wait.

Afterwards, Cassie gives Stella a smug look of 'I told you so' as Viv confirms Cassie's earlier statement that she could get Viv to delay wanting to find out.

"Like I said, we can wait to tell her once Tanya's with us. After we all go to the gym later? Sound good?" Cassie asks. Viv nods, while Maddy could only shyly eat her Pad Thai knowing she won't be involved in that talk.

"Oh, wait. Why not tell Brooke this secret too? I mean, if it's a secret only your girlfriends can know. If you and I are officially dating, that should mean you and her are officially dating too. She deserves to hear it too." Viv asks.

"You skipped a step there, Viv. What's with Brooke already being Dad's girlfriend? When'd that happen?" Stella asks.

"Brooke and I made a pact. We only date Jay as long as he dates both of us. If he's dating me, that means he's dating Brooke." Viv answers with a finality in her tone, signifying she wouldn't accept any other set-up.

"We'll all tell Brooke eventually. After Brooke and I make it official." You answer Viv.

"Then make it official tonight. What's the point of waiting?" Viv asks you.

"We haven't even gone out on a date yet." You point out to Viv.

"If I remember correctly, the first time we met a couple of days ago, Stella already said she was a girlfriend but you were only having your first date that night." Maddy recalls. "If that's the case, there's precedent that a date isn't necessary for you to become official with someone." Maddy points out the technicality.

"Last night wasn't a date either and you still ended up saying we're officially dating now." Viv says.

"I kinda considered last night as our first date, to be honest." You tell her, making Viv just widen her eyes in embarrassment; and shyly looking away from you, flustered.

"Okay. I'll rephrase my reason why I don't want to tell Brooke yet." You preface. "Brooke and I haven't been able to honestly and openly talk about our feelings for each other yet. It's only assumptions and inferences at this point. Unlike when I decided to consider all of you my girlfriends." You explain to Viv.

"Not all of us." Maddy points out dejectedly under her breath, making all four of you look at her, which she notices immediately. "I mean..." Maddy tried to explain, blushing red with embarrassment at her slip up. Viv immediately tries to comfort her and assure her.

"Come on, M. You heard what Jay said. If all it takes for him to consider someone his girlfriend is an honest talk about each other's feelings, then you know what to do." Viv tells her.

"What?" Maddy asks, blushing an even brighter red before looking at all four of you in embarrassment once more.

"M... if Jay could figure out a master con-artist like me was being less than truthful about my true feelings with his secret mind reading technique..." Viv points out, not having to continue it any further. It was pretty obvious she was trying to say that everyone knew Maddy liked you... including you.

Maddy looks around the room at all four of you, and you all kind of confirm that you all kinda knew she had feelings for you already.

"I--" Maddy stutters.

Oh God. Are you having this conversation now too?

Maddy stands up abruptly, not even finishing her plate, and immediately rushes to leave the apartment before any of you could stop her.

Apparently not.

"Do we really have to tell you what to do, Dad?" Stella asks you.

"GO!" All three of them shout at you.

Apparently yes.

CHAPTER 134.1

What happens next?

Curbside Confrontation

You run out the door to follow Maddy.

You hear someone running down the stairs and assume it was her. You run down to try and catch her. You see her red hair rushing down the stairwell, so you chase after her.

"Maddy!" You shout out to her to grab her attention, but she descends the stairs even faster now.

"Go away, Mr. Craig!" Maddy shouts back as she rushes towards the exit.

"Maddy! Stop!" You tell her as you start skipping steps to catch up to her.

"I just need to be alone! Go away!" Maddy shouts at you before she opens the door to exit the apartment building, giving you precious seconds to be able to close the gap.

Both of you are outside the street now, and she's only a few more feet away so you outstretch your hand to grab her arm to prevent her from going further away from you.

"Maddy--" You tried talking to her in a calm tone, but she cut you off.

"Let me go!" Maddy shouts at you.

"Hey! Let the girl go, creep! I have pepper spray!" You hear a familiar voice shout from behind you.

"Wait, wait, wait! Relax! It's me!" You inform the good samaritan, before turning around to reveal yourself to them.

"Jay!?" Brooke reacts in surprise.

"Hey~ Brooke. Weird seeing you here." You say with a chuckle, and Maddy has an obvious look of surprise at the coincidence of Brooke being here.

"Unless you were hiding a secret red headed daughter from me, you have some explaining to do with that arm grab." Brooke tells you, making you release your grasp on Maddy.

"I'm sorry for grabbing you, Maddy; but I can't have you run off when your grandparents entrusted me with looking after you." You tell her, and simultaneously inform Brooke what was going on.

"That's it!? That's the only reason why you chased after me!? Because you're my babysitter!?" Maddy reacts in frustration and annoyance.

"What reason do you want me to give, Maddy?" You ask her calmly, feigning innocence, and trying to not escalate the situation.

"That you were... I mean... Because I thought..." Maddy stumbles trying to say what she wants to say.

"I'm definitely missing something here." Brooke reacts.

"Maddy, this is Brooke." You formally introduce Brooke to Maddy, trying to divert her focus into a non-panic-inducing topic.

"It's nice to finally meet you Ms. Brooke." Maddy formally greets her, raising her hand to say hi. She's obviously still processing her current emotions as she awkwardly sways in place standing next to you.

"It's nice to finally meet you too, Maddy. I've heard so much about you from Tanya and Viv already." Brooke greets back. Maddy just smiles shyly back at Brooke.

"Let's go back up, Maddy. You didn't finish your lunch." You try to persuade her.

"No! I'm not going back up there! I'm too embarrassed!" Maddy admits in panicked honesty. "Also, can you please stop acting so normal about this!? I understand you're used to women confessing their love for you, but can you at least empathize with how embarrassing this is for me!?" Maddy adds.

Love?

"Love?" Brooke reacts in surprise as well.

"I mean..." Maddy says, incredibly red from embarrassment.

"Maddy, are you sure that that's what you feel for me?" You ask her

...

Because you're pretty sure what she's feeling is Lust.

SHUT UP BRAIN!

"I think what you're feeling for me is just a crush, Maddy. Something that's understandable for your age, and something I try not to make a big deal out of, since people grow out of those eventually." You explain to her your calm demeanor.

"Like with your cousin, Celeste?" Brooke asks you, disproving your point.

"That's different! I mean... I meant to say 'most' people grow out of them eventually." You tell Brooke, who you can see is smiling amused at your qualification of your earlier statement. "In any case--" You say in order to get back to the topic at hand. "There's nothing for you to be embarrassed about, Maddy. If you do have a crush on me and you want to explore if it's more than that, I'm open to it as long as my girlfriends are open to it too." You tell her, and her eyes light up at the idea.

"On that note..." You preface ominously to Maddy. "They're not the only ones you need approval from. Your grandfather has expressly warned me not to even dare think about it." You inform her, and Maddy's eyes flash a look of betrayal that she didn't expect coming from her grandfather. "You're his granddaughter. The fact that he let a man with four girlfriends babysit you is more leeway than even I would possibly allow Stella." You explain to her.

"More than that, your own father doesn't want you around boys while you're at your age. He wants you to become a doctor, which is a long and difficult road that you should be focused on as much as possible, so I understand him in that regard." You point out.

"What I'm saying is, as much as I would want to date you, there are still a lot of things that need to happen first before I can even think about it." You tell Maddy sincerely.

This time, Maddy's expression was one of calm too, maybe finally understanding where you were coming from and why you were being calm about this whole situation. She realized there were just too many hurdles...

At least you thought that was what was going on.

Maddy's calm demeanor turns into anger once more and she immediately walks by you, even hitting you in the arm, before walking back into the apartment.

"At least she didn't run off deeper into the city." You sigh in frustration, not knowing why Maddy suddenly got angry again.

"You know, for a man with... what was the number you just said? Four girlfriends? Two of them being teenagers. You really have no clue about handling teenage crushes, do you?" Brooke asks while laughing.

"What?" You ask her, surprised at her comment.

"I only know bits and pieces of what just happened, but if my understanding is correct, you're going to hear the exact same thing from your girlfriends. So I'd rather let them tell you so I don't have to assume." Brooke answers you, effectively telling you your caveman brain totally missed the obvious reason why Maddy would be furious with you.

"Fair enough." You tell her, just accepting the inevitability that the girls will tell you how you fucked that up anyway. "What brings you by, by the way?" You ask her, now noticing that she's carrying a paper bag with her.

"Tanya messaged me what happened this morning. Thought I'd drop by to help you guys comfort Viv." Brooke explains before raising the bag she was carrying. "Bought ice cream." Brooke says with a chuckle. "From the increased number of girlfriends you have though, it doesn't seem that this was necessary." Brooke jokes.

"Well, you can have a celebratory lunch with us then. We can have ice cream for dessert." You tell her, not denying her assumption. She tells you to lead the way and make your way up the stairwell. You can even hear Maddy's stomping echo from above, and you can't help but sigh.

What the fuck is up with this week? It's only Wednesday!

"I guess Viv couldn't wait for Sunday, huh?" Brooke jokes, trying to get your attention away from worrying about Maddy. You have to thank her for that, since you couldn't help but chuckle. "So~, did you do it normally, or did Viv get freaky?" Brooke teasingly asks you.

"We didn't actually do it yet." You answer Brooke, withholding the part that her question actually touched on why Viv was hesitant to sleep with you. Brooke slaps you on the side of your arm hard. "Ow!" You flinch, making Brooke immediately apologize.

"Viv didn't sleep with you!? No way! You're pulling my leg." Brooke reacts in disbelief, and all you could do was shrug, and tell her that's what happened.

The two of you go back to your apartment, where the girls immediately greet her enthusiastically. Although they are confused why you came back with Brooke, but not Maddy.

"Where's Maddy?" Cassie asks you, concerned.

"She's not here?" You ask them.

"No! We thought you ran after her!?" Stella asks with a raised voice in confusion.

"She stomped back up here!" You tell them.

"Oof. She probably went back to their place then." Cassie points out, and you immediately realize what's about to come if Maddy went back to their apartment in the mood you last saw her in.

"What happened downstairs? She doesn't want to hang out anymore?" Viv asks.

"I'm not surprised she didn't come back here. It was the farthest thing from romantic, I can tell you that much." Brooke tells them with a chuckle, as she makes her way to sit at the dining table, while you stay put near the door, knowing what's to come.

Cassie hands Brooke a plate so she can join you for lunch. All the while, the girls just look at you silently, waiting for an explanation of what Brooke just said. Unaware of the shitstorm coming.

*KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!*

There it is.

"You'll break your hand, Mary! Use the doorbell!" You hear Mr. O'Brien shouting from the other side of your apartment door.

CHAPTER 135.1

What happens next?

Growing Up

"Why is our granddaughter locking herself up in her room!? Explain yourself!" Mrs. O'Brien shouts at you upon opening the door to your apartment.

You try to remain calm, as you know that getting just as emotional as Mrs. O'Brien will just complicate things and not have either of you listen to each other. You motion for them to enter your apartment so that you can talk more formally.