Breakfast Surprise!

[SEBASTIAN DAVENPORT]

"Pomegranate again?" Sebastian groaned and held the pink tinted bottle of body wash up to his nose taking a whiff. The sweet, girly scent left him winkling his nose and reluctantly poured a glob into his palm. Stepping away from the water he lathered up the soap between his hands and started to rub it over his shoulders and chest, staring at the bland white wall of the shower and letting his mind wander. He'd been staying with Aly for so long that her place was beginning to feel more like home. It was an odd feeling considering he'd lived in the same condo for well over two decades.

It was time to start looking for a new place to buy. He preferred to stay in the city, keeping everything close and within a reasonable walking distance. But the thought of buying a house just outside of the city kept popping into his head. If he bought a house he'd be responsible for anything that went wrong. Sure, he could hire people to fix small things but what if the sky cleared up and he started turning to stone again. The neighbors would notice that he didn't leave the house during the day. In the city people didn't give a damn what your schedule was.

He just couldn't live with this damn woman forever.

Alyson wasn't the crazy, obsessed girlfriend type. Not that she was a girlfriend, but she was as close to one as Sebastian would ever get to having one. He cared for this stupid little blonde with the loud mouth. They fought, they fucked and then they fought again. It was a nice little thing they had going between them. For now anyway.

Sebastian didn't take long to scrub himself down with the body wash, still a little sour about the fact he forgot to grab a bar of soap before stepping into the shower, and stepped back under the water to rinse off. The water was starting to get cold. That was another thing he didn't like but was getting accustomed to.. the damn water didn't stay warm there as long as it did at his condo. Once rinsed off by the cooling water he twisted the knob to the off position and pulled back the shower curtain to grab a towel. He wrapped it around his waist and stepped out of the shower, dripping water down to the floor without a care.

When he'd stepped into the shower he'd left Aly still asleep in bed. But from the sounds of rustling and movement down the hall he could tell that she was up. "About time you got up," he called down the hall as he came out of the bathroom, feeling a chill that sent goosebumps all over his bare skin. He stood in the hall and listened to see just where she was. The bedroom or the living room? He paused and silently waited until he heard her make another sound and headed in her direction. "There's no hot water left, hopefully you don't need to shower."

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

Life with Sebastian was aggravating at best. He rarely picked up after himself, he often didn't contribute unless it was to shut Aly up, and he was often rude.. but Aly enjoyed their strange existence together. She wanted for nothing since all she had to do was mention she wanted something or even hint at it and it was hers. At first it was sort of weird but now she sort of expected it. Her apartment was nicely furnished, all at Sebastian's expense, but the real price came with her turning into a sort of housewife. Yes, she focused on her studies and she worked a lot, but otherwise she kept house and put out for the gargoyle who could no longer turn to stone. They fought constantly but Aly suspected they both did it simply for the makeup sex. Sebastian was always nicest after a fight, and though he often threw cruel words at her, she knew he just said those things in the heat of the moment and that he didn't mean them. Not that she was innocent herself. She said plenty of nasty things to the man, but mostly to get him riled up. It was a habit that both of them had picked up; saying exactly what would piss the other off. It was a talent, really, and they had both mastered it. It was a strange relationship, but Aly flourished under it.

The shower turning on stirred her and she rolled over and groaned. She would have liked a shower and Sebastian never left her any hot water. she would have to wait at least an hour or so to get clean herself. She laid in bed for a while, just waking up, before finally crawling out of bed. Her hair was a mess of crazy curls as it often was in the morning. she didn't even bother getting herself cleaned up and nice for Sebastian anymore, knowing he liked her just-woke-up look fine enough. She slipped her feet into her fuzzy purple slippers and grabbed the little gray hoodie off the back of her chair and moved slowly to the kitchen to make some coffee, yawning as she went.

Alyson wanted to make breakfast but she was too tired to, and the clock on the wall told her it was almost lunch time anyway. Her stomach grumbled, but the coffee seemed to settle it for the moment. She wandered to the fridge and opened it, finding a leftover eggroll in there from a couple nights ago. "Scooore.." She said softly, grabbing it and her coffee and moving to the living room to see what was on TV.

"About time you got up," She heard him call out as she sat down on the couch. "Eat me." She called back grabbing the remote and yawning again as she flipped the TV on. She could hear his wet footsteps making their way down the hall. Alyson set the coffee down and grabbed the eggroll, taking a bite out of the cold Chinese appetizer. "There's no hot water left, hopefully you don't need to shower." She turned up and offered her best surprised face. "You mean YOU used all the hot water?" She asked sarcastically looking back at the TV and flipping the channels. "There's something new." she grumbled. She already knew there was going to be a puddle on the floor in the bathroom. Sebastian was notorious for leaving the bathroom sopping wet in his wake. "And for your information this is, like, my only day to sleep late so shove it. I have to open tomorrow morning for Cass. Lilly has some sort of play date music something or other, I don't know.. but Carter won't take her so Cass does which means I have to open since I'm her only reliable worker. Sort of ironic.." She scoffed taking another bite of her eggroll and looking up at Sebastian. God, why did he need to be so damn sexy? "Aren't you cold?" She smirked seeing his small nipples erect, knowing he was. "You're getting the floor all wet.."

[SEBASTIAN DAVENPORT]

”You mean YOU used all the hot water? There’s something new.” He smirked at her sarcastic little remark, knowing that it was true. He did enjoy taking long showers and used up every bit of hot water that he could before he was forced out when the showerhead started spouting cooler waters. He stood there just beside the couch looking between her and the television. He didn’t say it directly but he always thought she looked beautiful when she just woke up in the morning. Maybe it was because he wasn’t used to seeing people as they got up in the morning. But she pulled off the natural, no make-up I-just-got-out-of-bed look perfectly.

”And for your information this is, like, my only day to sleep late so shove it. I have to open tomorrow morning for Cass. Lilly has some sort of play date music something or other, I don’t know.. but Carter won’t take her so Cass does which means I have to open since I’m her only reliable worker. Sort of ironic..” He watched her take a bite of what looked like an eggroll from the night they’d gotten Chinese. It hadn’t been the best Chinese but it was decent enough to stomach.. but he couldn’t imagine eating it again after it had been in the refrigerator for a while. It was disgusting yet a little arousing at the same time.

”Aren’t you cold?” Yes. He was cold. Very cold but he didn’t want to get dressed just yet. There were other ways to warm up, like receiving heat from another person’s warm body.. ”You’re getting the floor all wet..” Why was it the very sight of this stupid girl with her bed head, eating an eggroll was getting him worked up? They’d done it so many times he’d lost track and yet it wasn’t enough. It didn’t satiate that desire that he had for her. It confused him and occasionally he started fights with her just so that he could have her.

“So what if the floor gets a little wet?” He rolled his eyes and tried to scowl at her but he was having a hard time with it. Should he try to start a fight, hoping that it would lead up to make up sex or should he just take a more direct approach instead? Everything had to be a game for him and the way he asked for sex wasn’t any different. Though if he waited too long then he was going to have a hard time doing any kind of physical activity with how cold he was getting.

A direct approach was the plan.

“Come warm me up. By the time we’re done there will be hot water for you.” He told her trying to keep his voice silky as he reached down for her arm, hoping she’d let him guide her to the bedroom. Although they could just do it right there. They’d done it before and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last time.

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

“So what if the floor gets a little wet?” Alyson rolled her eyes and tried not to get too annoyed with the comment. Of course he wouldn't see the big deal. It was Alyson who would end up stepping in the puddle in her slippers, making them wet and making her have to take them off which would lead to cold feet, until she got her socks and then she would tread back into the living room and by then would have forgotten about the damn puddle he'd made and step in it with her fresh, dry socks and the whole process would simply start over again until she wised up and got a towel because Sebastian sure as fuck couldn't be bothered to. "Really?" She asked incredulously peaking up at his mostly naked form before she slipped a little lower on the soft, comfortable couch he'd gotten since her last one was too old and if he was going to be staying there he was going to get a couch he could sit on. It was a good thing he had a seemingly endless supply of money because he certainly knew how to piss it away according to Alyson. Not that she would complain. Her apartment had never looked nicer and it was certainly more comfortable.

“Come warm me up." She snorted as if it were a silly request, but she felt his words swish around in her stomach. It seemed no matter how many times she went to bed with him, it wasn't enough. She had told him from the get go that he shouldn't make a habit of this sex thing, but she always caved. He was a good lover and she felt surprisingly comfortable with him. "By the time we’re done there will be hot water for you.” Alyson rolled her eyes and looked up at him as he took her arm. "You realize it takes, like, an hour for the water to heat up enough for me to have a hot shower." She reminded, but she knew he could find ways to keep her busy for an entire hour if he wanted and her body suddenly grew hot for him.

Alyson thought about it for a second, meeting his cold gray eyes with her greenish brown ones. Finally she made up her mind and tugged her arm in such a way that she was pulling him towards her instead of pulling away from him. "You're making a damn puddle on the floor." She growled, trying to get him to join her on the couch. "I don't feel like drying the floor all the way to the bedroom when I'm already perfectly comfortable right here." Once he was with her she looked at him a little more bashfully, her eyes wide an almost innocent, her teeth grazing her bottom lip as she watched him.

"So.." she finally asked softly, liking the look he was giving her. "You were saying something about getting warm for an hour..?" She asked, her tone still quiet. She reached a hand up touching his chin lightly, her thumb brushing over his bottom lip before she pulled it away, the corner of her lip turning up slightly.

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

"No, what I said was I wanted purple lace, not puke orange plaid!" Cassidy had been swamped at The Lily Pad all morning long. First, they were flooded with customers, which Cassidy found rather odd for what day of the week it was. Second, the computers locked up so they had to ring customers up with a pen, paper and a calculator. And finally, the boxes upon boxes that were crammed into the back room from that morning's shipment had just been open. And it was a nightmare.

"No. I didn't order that." Cass held the store phone up to her ear while she was elbow deep in one of the boxes pushing bundles of fabric around. She was getting really upset, and the damn woman on the other end of the line was trying to tell her that she had ordered this atrocity! "This is a baby boutique not a Scottish kilt shop!" Her smokey voice raised, stepping away from the damn boxes and heading out to the front, where one employee was balancing the hook of a hanger on her nose. She rolled her eyes and hung up on the woman on the phone. It was time for her to take off for a while.

"I'm taking an hour for lunch. Watch the store and do not leave. If you have an emergency you call me and I'll come back, okay?" She might have been a little harsh but the girl was known to have sudden 'emergencies' on a day to day basis. Her emergencies had been things like 'my cat peed on my bed' or 'I think I left the toaster on'. They were the dumbest excuses but Cassidy wasn't going to force someone to stay when they didn't want to. So out the door she went with a destination in mind.

It only took Cass fifteen minutes to run over to the cute little Greek restaurant down the street to grab a box of fries and two orders of their greek parfaits with honey. Then she'd gotten her angry - but very firm - butt over to Alyson's neck of the woods. She'd only have forty-five minutes but she needed someone to vent to, and she was sure that Alyson would love her for bringing over some food to nosh on. They hadn't had much time to hang out together and since it was Aly's day off, she hoped the girl would be at home.

She headed up the walkway of the house and stopped at the door to ring the doorbell while balancing the bag of snacks, her purse and her cell phone in one hand. Maybe she should have called..

[SEBASTIAN DAVENPORT]

"You realize it takes, like, an hour for the water to heat up enough for me to have a hot shower." Sebastian smirked at her comment, knowing exactly what she was getting at. If she was concerned about whether he had the stamina to keep her pleased for an hour she had nothing to worry about. From the looks of it she wasn't planning on getting off her lazy ass and following him into the bedroom. Instead she decided to pull him down to her.

"You're making a damn puddle on the floor." He put his free hand on the back of the couch and kneeled on the couch. "I don't feel like drying the floor all the way to the bedroom when I'm already perfectly comfortable right here." His eyes moved down to her lips, watching as she played with her bottom lip with her teeth.

"So a better plan is to get the couch wet," he said jokingly and moved closer to her, practically hovering over her. "So.. You were saying something about getting warm for an hour..?" So Alyson was game.. this made his smile grow as he reached a hand under her shirt. "I think I can find a way to keep you busy for a while.." he told her while his hand moved higher, his fingers tickling her soft skin on the way up. He tilted his head to the left and pressed his lips to the nape of her neck, letting his weight fall on her and pin her down against the couch. It didn't take much to get Sebastian aroused. He had an addiction. Luckily he had Aly to feed said addiction whenever he felt starved. He pressed his hips against her and sighed deeply against her neck before flicking the flesh with his tongue.

That's when he heard the doorbell and tensed up. Looking over his shoulder, Sebastian slowly rose up off the couch with a sour expression. Was Aly expecting someone and she forgot to tell him? There wasn't anyone that he knew coming over, unless Prestine decided to have a surprise visit. Not that she would do that sort of thing. They weren't visiting siblings. He turned his attention about to Aly down on the couch and then nodded to the door. "I'm going to put some pants on." And with that he was off towards the bedroom. He could always take his pants off later.

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

That hungry look in his eyes did little to stave off her desires for him. She smirked recalling briefly how she had always played hard to get with him, but that was mostly before turned up on her doorstep a few months back. He had been living with her long enough that she accepted his cheesy advances and even offered her own. His hand was cold on her hot, covered stomach and it made her suck her belly in a little in response. "I think I can find a way to keep you busy for a while.." Her body responded immediately and she gave a sultry sort of chuckle. "You better, or else I'll be mad you didn't leave me any hot water." She offered in return, tilting her head to allow him better access to her neck.

Alyson let Sebastian pin her beneath him, now genuinely liking his domineering personality. At least in the bedroom. Everywhere else? Well, Alyson could do without the 'tude, but she didn't necessarily hate his bossiness anymore. His tongue sent shivers down her spine, and goosebumps sprang up over her arms. She adjusted herself more on the couch, getting comfortable for the hour of fun they were planning and now really feeling how excited Sebastian was for it, too.

Then there was a knock at the door.

Sebastian moved to look over his shoulder and Aly pushed herself up on her elbows to grab a peak herself, almost as though they were both waiting for the intruder to show themselves, which of course would never happen. Sebastian looked back at her and nodded to the door. "I'm going to put some pants on." He sad and Alyson sighed. She watched the nearly naked sex god climb off the couch and head towards her room, watching his deformed back as he went. "You can clean up the water you left on the bathroom floor while you're at it." She called after him, flumping back on the couch and staring at the ceiling for a minute, her curls sprawled around her like a lions mane.

Aly sighed and finally got up, her sweatshirt hanging off her shoulder. She opened the door to see who was there, a questioning look in her eyes until she saw her boss standing there with a bag of food. Her wide eyes grew and she looked at Cassidy in horror. Sebastian was there! Cassidy knew Sebastian had been her abductor! She suddenly pushed a smile on her face, reaching a hand up to push her sweatshirt back onto her shoulder. "Hey!" She greeted with enthusiasm, opening the door and coming into the hallway and pulling the door partially closed behind her. "Uhh.. what's up? Everything okay?" She looked at the bag and then Cass unsure what this was all about. She and her boss had become friends, which was nice since Aly didn't really have a lot of female friends. Or male friends.. Friends weren't something she actually possessed a lot of. Still, even as friends, it wasn't like Cass to pop up without warning. At her house. Where Sebastian was naked in her room..

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

Although Cassidy had two able hands she was only actively using one to keep everything steady. She needed to have one free to ring the doorbell didn't she? While waiting for someone to come to the door she tapped her foot impatiently before glancing down at the watch on her left wrist. Thirty-seven minutes left before she had to get back to the store and make sure it was still standing. She stopped tapping her foot when she thought she heard movement inside and leaned an ear closer to the door. When the footsteps grew she stood up straighter and watched the door open up to show none other than Alyson Montgomery dressed to impress.

"Hey! Uhh.. what's up? Everything okay?" Cass took a step forward but had to quickly take two steps back because Aly wasn't opening the door to let her in but came outside the door instead. She looked like she didn't know why Cass was there and she started to feel bad for just dropping in the way that she was. It wasn't like she went to Aly's to hang out usually, but today she just needed a break and Aly was one of the few friends that Cass had.

"Hey! I had some time to myself today and thought I'd bring you over something to eat. I bought the amazing fries from the Greek restaurant and some parfaits. I needed to get away from Sara before I sewed my ears shut to stop listening to her whine about her freaking cat." Cass said and rolled her eyes to show that it was ridiculous the stuff she had to deal with when Sara was working. "You're not on your way out are you? Dressed like that?" Cass wasn't usually mean but if Aly was planning on going anywhere in that sweatshirt and with that hair then the poor girl needed some serious help and Cass would just have to tell Sara that she wasn't going to be back for a couple of hours!

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

"Hey! I had some time to myself today and thought I'd bring you over something to eat." Eat? She felt nauseous suddenly but did her best not to show it. "I bought the amazing fries from the Greek restaurant and some parfaits. I needed to get away from Sara before I sewed my ears shut to stop listening to her whine about her freaking cat." Aly actually let out a small laugh. Sara was sort of known for being an annoying little blabber mouth.

"You're not on your way out are you? Dressed like that?" Aly looked down at herself and then blushed a little, letting out a nervous laugh. Her hands slipped up into her sleeve a little and she grabbed the cuffs into her fist, moving to wrap the sweatshirt tighter around her body as she folded her arms over her stomach. "Oh, uh.. no, I just got up a little bit ago." She licked her lips and turned to look at her door. Would Sebastian still be getting dressed. She turned away from Cass and peaked the door open to see if her former abductor was hanging out in the main area of the apartment. Luckily, he wasn't. She turned back to Cass and smiled. "It's my only day to sleep late, so.. yeah. Uhh.. come on in." She smiled and headed into the apartment, leaving the door open for Cass to follow and looking around quickly. She turned around and smiled at Cass, walking backwards. "I'm just going to pull my hair up. I'll be just a second." She turned and headed towards the bedroom, stepping right into the damn puddle Sebastian had left, making her slipper all wet just as she had predicted it would. She felt herself heat up up shook it off as she headed into the bedroom.

She found Sebastian in her room drying off his hair, pants on, looking like he was about to head on out. She shut the door behind him and pushed her finger into his chest. "Listen, my boss is here, the one who came to your house the night you decided to go all postal on me so you," she growled, jabbing him with her finger again, "need to stay in here until she goes. Got it?" She realized immediately by doing her mini threat that she was practically begging him to fuck with her. "I'll do whatever you want, okay? I don't have time to negotiate, just.. please? Just stay in here." Her hand pointing a finger into him flattened and she placed her palm flat on his hard chest and then patted it. "Yeah.. okay." She nodded, obviously frazzled and headed out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

She moved quickly back to the living room, hair still a tangled mess of curls. Cass had set up their food on the coffee table and she went over and took a seat with her boss and pushed on a forced smile. "So did you leave Sara alone at the store?" She asked, reaching for a fry and popping it into her mouth.

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

"Oh, uh.. no, I just got up a little bit ago." Well Cass was glad to hear that Aly wasn't planning on going out looking like a hobo! Not when Cass could dress her up in pretty things. That was Cassidy's new favorite past time.. dressing everyone up in pretty things. What else was there to do in this boring city?! It wasn't like New York where there was an abundant of awesome things to do to stay busy. All she had now was her work. Not that it didn't keep her busy! "It's my only day to sleep late, so.. yeah. Uhh.. come on in." Maybe it was just her but Aly seemed to be acting really strange. Strange for Aly. But the girl let her in and she followed her down the hall with her hands full. "I'm just going to pull my hair up. I'll be just a second."

"Don't take too long I only have half an hour before I have to get back to the shop," Cass said but knew Aly wasn't going to take forever. She wasn't a girly girl and that was why she liked her so much. Cass had been like her not too long ago, before she had Lilly and had to make a plan for herself in life.

Heading into the living room Cass dropped her bag and phone onto the couch then opened up the bag of food, placing them out and picking up a fry to munch on while she waited. Her phone started to vibrate on the cushion just as she sat down and she tipped it to check and see who was calling. Sara. "..an hour! That's all I asked for.." She groaned and answered her phone with a huff. "Yes, Sara? Oka-- alri-- now hold on!" The girl on the other end was frantic, talking so fast that she couldn't tell if she was even speaking English! "Sara!" She snapped trying to get her to shut up.

According to Sara an old woman came in and tried to buy a tutu for her granddaughter... in freaking pennies! And instead of taking the money she had to call Cass and ask what to do. "...just take the money! Money is money no matter how you-- she wants a discount? Fine, ten percent. Ju-- twenty percent?! No. Nnno no no.. ten percent or there's no sale." With a little whining and a few groans Sara finally obliged and she hung up the phone. Just in time too because Aly was coming back out.

"So did you leave Sara alone at the store?" She tilted her head to the left and looked at her friend strangely.. didn't she say she was going to put her hair up? Obviously she was preoccupied with something else instead but she didn't want to be nosy. Well.. not too nosy."Yes.. and she's doing a horrible job. She just called me to ask if we'll accept pennies for payment." She shook her head and reached for a couple more fries and stuffing her face. "Didn't you go to put your hair up? Or are you out of hairties?" She teased her with a sideways smile.

[SEBASTIAN DAVENPORT]

Sebastian headed into the bedroom and let the towel drop to the floor. He'd long ago moved his wardrobe into her room and even took over a few drawers in her dresser to make himself feel right at home. He stepped into a pair of boxer briefs and then a fresh pair of black pants. He scooped the towel back up and put it on his head trying to dry out his hair so it wouldn't drip down his shoulders anymore. When he dropped the towel a second time he saw Alyson standing there in his way. He was hungry and wanted to go into the kitchen and scrounge for something to eat.

"Listen, my boss is here, the one who came to your house the night you decided to go all postal on me so you," He cocked a brow at her as she poked him. "need to stay in here until she goes. Got it?" Sebastian didn't like being told what to do but he also knew that if he went into the living room then there would be a chance that her boss would call the police. Unless Alyson told her about him being there and told her not to. Then again there was always Sebastian's way of doing things.. "I'll do whatever you want, okay? I don't have time to negotiate, just.. please? Just stay in here." He snorted at this, "you do whatever I want anyway," he remarked and then shrugged as if he could care less about her little offer. "Fine. I'll stay here." "Yeah.. okay."

He watched her shut the door behind her and looking like she was stressed out about her boss being there. Why didn't she just kick the bitch out if she didn't want her there? Once again, Sebastian could do it his way.. then she'd never come back and bother Alyson again. But for now he'd find something to keep him occupied in her bedroom. Wasn't like he had many options.

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

Cass was giving her sort of a funny look and Aly wondered briefly if somehow her boss knew she was harboring her captor in the other room. She snatched a fry and shoved it in her mouth as Cass spoke. "Yes.. and she's doing a horrible job. She just called me to ask if we'll accept pennies for payment." Alyson actually smiled and nodded. She recalled how an elderly woman had tried to pay for a purse with pennies the day she met Cassidy. That had been about a year ago, actually.. Had she been working at the Lilly Pad that long already? Where had the time gone? "I remember that lady." She offered back with a chuckle.

"Didn't you go to put your hair up? Or are you out of hairties?" Cass was clearly teasing her but Alyson froze for a second. Shit! She had gone to put her hair up and hadn't! Her face paled for a second and then she let out a nervous sort of laugh to try and brush it off. "Uhh.. yeeah.. I just couldn't find one." she licked her lips and broke eye contact, not wanting to give herself away. She needed to be cool! Alyson was probably the worst at trying to keep cool, though. "Morning jitters.." She offered softly, reaching for one of the yummy parfaits. How many times had she and Cass gotten these on lunch breaks, munching as they did inventory together.

"So, anywho.." She started, wanting to change the topic so that she could maybe dig herself out of the ditch she was creating for herself, fall break is coming up and I'll have a few extra hours to kill, so if you want me to pick up some of Sara's shifts I can. I swear she has to be one of the dumbest girls I know, and I've known a lot of really dumb girls." She smiled a little, taking a bite of the sweet parfait. "Oh! Have you started Lilly's halloween costume yet? Your kid always has the cutest costumes! mean, yeah this is really only her second halloween, but, uhh.. well you dress her up really nice and all." She let out an embarrassed, nervous sort of laugh. Her eyes moved towards the bedroom, glad to see the door shut and no noise coming from the room. Sebastian had better behave! It was only a half hour!

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

”I remember that lady.”

Cass was confused about what she was talking about at first but after a moment of pondering it she recalled the first time she had met Alyson! That old woman had been counting pennies and kept forgetting how many pennies she counted. Meanwhile, Alyson had come up and helped diffuse the situation before Cassidy blew up on the old bat. She had offered Aly a job right on the spot and she didn’t regret it yet.

”Uhh.. yeeah.. I just couldn’t find one.” She knew what that was like. She lost hair ties all the time they were like socks that got lost in the dryer. It didn’t matter where you put the darn thing it would just wind up vanishing. ”Morning jitters..” She laughed and shook her head. “I wish I was able to sleep in again. If you ever have kids you can kiss sleep goodbye,” she reached forward and got another fry, scooping it into her mouth and grabbing the other parfait and spoon.

”So, anywho..” She looked at Aly curiously, sounding like she was going to say something. ”Fall break is coming up and I’ll have a few extra hours to kill, so if you want me to pick up some of Sata’s shifts I can. I swear she has to be one of the dumbest girls I know, and I’ve known a lot of really dumb girls.” Having Alyson there a little more full time would be amazing! She could cut Sara’s hours and actually pay someone who would actually work. “That would be a lot of help. I know you don’t want to spend all your free time at the store so just write down the hours you want and I’ll write up a schedule.” Maybe Cass played favorites with Aly when they were alone but she’d never do it around her other employees.

”Oh! Have you started Lilly’s halloween costume yet? Your kid always has the cutest costumes! I mean, yeah this is really only her second halloween, but, uhh.. well you dress her up really nice and all.” Cass had to laugh at Aly’s awkwardness. Sometimes she just seemed so nervous and out of place and Cass had no idea why. Some people were just awkward apparently. Finally she let out a long exasperated sigh, “not yet. Halloween’s almost here and I’ve just been so busy. Carter’s been working late hours at the office.. I don’t even know what I want her to be yet. I was thinking of Tinkerbell. It’s an easy costume to make, right?” She rolled her shoulders carelessly and let out another long sigh. Relaxing and having a normal conversation without stressing about Lilly or the store was real nice.

[ALYSON MONTGOMERY]

“not yet." Cass said with a long sigh and Aly found herself paying attention to her bosses words, but also a little distracted listening for Sebastian to screw this up for her somehow. "Halloween’s almost here and I’ve just been so busy. Carter’s been working late hours at the office.. I don’t even know what I want her to be yet. I was thinking of Tinkerbell. It’s an easy costume to make, right?” Did Carter ever come home on time? Aly had been witness to plenty of rants about the woman's husband over the last year and she still found it a little weird that this playboy rich kid from New York had turned out to be such a workaholic. Aly couldn't help but wonder if he was being unfaithful. She had gotten the hint now and then that he might have done some things with another woman in New York, but it had been out of revenge. Aly never pressed for details since it wasn't her business and really sounded like a plot from some lame WB show or something. But that was Cassidy's life and she didn't judge the woman for it or say an ill word about her husband. Last thing she needed to do was plant weird thoughts into her already neurotic bosses mind.

"Tinkerbell would be cute." She said with a nod. "You could be Peter Pan and Carter could be Captain Hook." She offered with a smile, knowing that suggesting Carter be Peter Pan would get plenty of eye rolls from Cass. As it was she was certain carter wouldn't dress up. What did Cass see in him anyway? She'd met him before and he wasn't all that great. Yeah, he was sort of easy on the eyes, but he had a gap between his front teeth wide enough for a Mac truck to make its way through. "I'll be your Wendy." She offered with a but smile, and shook her head. "Actually I don't think I'm dressing up this year." Like she ever really dressed up... "I'm going to be lame and sit in here with the lights off and watch scary movies or something. Alone. Eating all the candy I bought for the trick or treaters." She added the alone part so Cass wouldn't get the idea that she would be doing that with someone, though it was extremely likely she would be. Scary movies with Sebastian might be fun.. maybe.. He had bought her a really nice, big HD TV. There were definitely perks to being his... whatever she was. Girlfriend? No.. maybe? Bitch? Fuck buddy? Friend with benefits? Who even knew, the point was he showered her with presents and though she knew they were really more for him than her, she still appreciated them.

"I suck at getting into the Halloween spirit." She added with a laugh.

[CASSIDY MERRYWEATHER]

”Tinkerbell would be cute.” Tinkerbell would be cute! It would be a piece of cake to get her a green onesie with a matching tutu. A little wand? No problem! ”You could be Peter Pan and Carter could be Captain Hook.” Captain Hook sounded about right for Carter. He could be a grouch at times. Cassidy laughed at the thought of Carter dressed as a pirate with a hook in place of his hand. She could whip up three costumes in a jiffy if she did it during work hours when it was a little less busy. ”I’ll be your Wendy.” Aly would make a beautiful Wendy! But before Cassidy could get her hopes up Aly corrected herself. ”Actually I don’t think I’m dressing up this year. I’m going to be lame and sit in here with the lights off and watch scary movies or something. Alone. Eating all the candy I bought for the trick or treaters.”

“Sounds like fun,” She gave her a tensed smile and nodded softly. It wasn’t that she had any problem with what Aly did with her own time - not that it was any of her business - but in a way she was a little jealous of Aly’s plans. She’d love to stay indoors and watch scary movies all night long. Maybe she could get someone to sit Lily the day before Halloween and she could ask Carter to come home early. They could have a night alone.

”I suck at getting into the Halloween spirit.”

“Whaaat? I LOVE Halloween! It’s one of my favorite holidays. And staying inside with scary movies is a perfect Halloween.” The joys of being a single college student. It seemed like decades ago since she was just in college majoring in art. “Well if you don’t mind, I’m SO bringing Lily by and you better have some amazing candy or you might find something spoiled in your mailbox,” Cassidy teased with a wink and went to scoop some more of the parfait into her mouth but missed and dripped some down the front of her top. “...seriously?” She mumbled to herself and set the parfait down on the coffee table. The coffee table looked different... in fact everything looked different! “This looks new.. anyway -- I’m going to use your bathroom real quick. I have to head back to the store soon.” She got up and turned at the waist, pointing in each direction before she saw the hall and figured the bathroom must be that way.