she runs with the wolves

DIANA ADAMES 31. Guitarist & Poet. Murrayville. Some girls are full of heartache and poetry and those are the kind of girls who try to save wolves instead of running away from them.

[dianaadames]

CLAIRE KIM,

@wilmingtonstarters​

“Sorry, you wouldn’t be Frankie — would you?” The brunette asked at the nearest individual who had their back turned to her. Francesca, Franklin, she didn’t actually know. All she’d been told was that she would be going out with someone who her work friends believed she’d get along with. Now, she was certain she’d been stood up. “Never mind, I think It’s time for me to accept the inevitable and realize I’ve been stood up.” She groaned then, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “I think it’s time for me to get a real drink now. Would you like one? My treat.” 

           Aligning her chin with her shoulder, a soft smile touched her lips and Diana gently shook her head. “I’m sorry, no. I’m Diana.” As far as she could recall, no Frankie had appeared at the bar looking for anyone. So perhaps she was the first one there. “Oh no, don’t think that. They could just be late.” Of course, she had no idea how long she’d been waiting for this Frankie, but she still felt sad for being apart of the discouragement. “When did you last hear from them?” As she inquired, Diana gestured to the open seat at her side, welcoming her to join her. “I could use a refill, sure. Let me treat you, though. Being stood up, if that’s the case, is not fun.” Lifting her fingers she called for the bartender. “Whatever you want, on me.”

[dianaadames]

WESTON TAYLOR,

                    Weston had to calm himself just a bit to keep from getting too carried away… or frisky, per say, as it was pretty damn easy to do with the woman situated right into his side. After all, he had grown comfortable with having her there, thus prompting him to even ask her his proposition in the first place. “Careful? Me? I’m always careful, babe.” He smirked into the olive flesh then kissed her again, though only wiggled slightly upon her gripping his thigh. It was a reaction that he was expecting and looking for, giving the room a light hearted nature. “Nah, that ain’t what I’m sayin’──” He pulled back slightly and used the arm around Diana’s shoulders to massage into the side of her neck, then brush some hair behind her ear. “I definitely would like ya around here more.” He began. “Whadda say you move in here with me? How do ya feel about that?” 

          What actually came out of Weston’s mouth was equal surprise and relief. Diana wasn’t so sure what she’d gotten nervous for, maybe it was the struggle he had in getting the words out or the slow lead into his proposition. Either way, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. A kiss stolen right from his lips and smile planted on her own when she pulled away. Diana was relaxed at his side, in his home, and under the massaging fingertips gently moving into her neck. After a little more than a year of being together, seeing one another, and finding herself at his home more often than her own, she should have seen this coming. However, she hadn’t and this was such a pleasant surprise. “I’d like that,” she answered after simply peering at him and smiling at him for a moment. Her heart was skipping a few beats in within her rib cage and she was trying to settle an exhilarated pulse some so she could properly speak. “I feel like it’s a big move. So far to travel with my things,” Diana jested, keeping the light and soft mood going. She felt better than ever in that moment. “Really, I think that’s wonderful. I’d love to live with you. Have you all the time.” One playful wink and she was leaning in to steal another kiss. 

[dianaadames]

ALYSSA NELSON,

Aly knew that the prospect of her book actually being published was still a long way off - she had so much more left to do before she could even think about approaching publishers to try and get it on the shelves. The support of others helped though, helped relieve the pressure that she was putting herself under, and for no real reason at that. “I think you’ve been more help than you realise. I think sometimes it takes bouncing the ideas off of someone else to get the juices really flowing.” She explained, a small smile tugging at her lips. “I think I’ll take that advice. I scribble a lot down anyway when I’m sat in front of my laptop, but I might need to start whenever I get a wave of inspiration.” She agreed, exploring ways to enhance her writing was something she was always open to, especially when the suggestion came from a fellow writer. “Poetry? That’s incredible, I don’t think I could ever. Poetry takes so much emotion and power, I don’t know how you do it. It can be so raw, and here I am struggling with a world I have created in my own mind.”

          “I’m glad to hear that, honestly.” Never before in her life or career had she been influential to another to the degree that she was giving advice and they were taking it. Maybe she had been in other ways, with her music for sure. With her poetry, she mostly got notes and comments of those that were moved by them or had an experience to share. “And you’re absolutely right. Getting to bounce ideas off of someone and work things out in that method is great, in a similar way I work my way through music like that sometimes.” Like back when she used to play on the streets and she’d make up songs for people in passing or that stopped. It was one of her favorite things to do, and sometimes she still missed it. Playing like that wasn’t always as easy as it had once been though, she got recognized a little bit now. “It’s just the advice I’ve always received, to write as often and whenever you can. No matter where you are. Just make note of anything. Sometimes even the things we think are pointless or meaningless really aren’t.” The smile curving her lips etched deeper into her expression. Poetry truly was an entirely different beast. Though, it wasn’t a medium she considered any better than any other type of writing. “World building takes so much time and thought and detail. There’s so much to organize and tie together, my hat is truly off to those that have the capacity to do so. I’m honestly excited to hopefully see what you end up building.”

[dianaadames]

ALYSSA NELSON,

Alyssa say back in her chair, and listened intently to the other. Sometimes it took another’s creative outlook to shed some more light on your own project, a simple comment here and there could shift a whole perspective and lead to a whole new burst of inspiration that you might never have expected. “Best of both worlds, I like it.” Aly said with a nod, scribbling a few notes on the rough pad she always brought with her for such ideas. Maybe she was putting too much pressure on herself by being determined to make this a bestseller, but she couldn’t help it. “I’ll have to make sure you get a signed copy after all this help. I don’t know what’s the matter with me, I just can’t seem to actually get what I need down. It’s all up here, and yet everything seems wrong when it comes out.” she said, tapping her temple slightly as she spoke. “Are you big on literature? If you’re not, you should be. You’re a great help.”

          “That would be such a lovely gift.” A smile curved Diana’s lips at the thought of the novel taking up residence on her book shelf. With it being a signed copy, personally given by the author herself, she’d make sure the book had optimal placement too. “You’d be among some great company,” she tacked on, accompanied with an unfaltering smile. It was safe to say Diana had a decent library, a comfortable collection of her favorites in the world of literature, from novels to essays to collections of poetry. “I’ve been there plenty of times,” she confessed. “The words and ideas could be epic in your head, it’s hard to compete with the depths of creativity and imagination and find a way to convey that onto paper.” While she wasn’t a novelist like present company, Diana knew the hardships in conveying emotions in all their complexities when it came to her poetry. “I hope I’ve been helping you.” Quiet chuckling bubbled up her throat. “My best advice, or what’s helped me is to write down all your ideas as soon as you can whenever they come. Or use the audio app on your phone, record your thoughts and talk them out.” Then at the question, Diana nodded. “Nothing like your endeavor here. I write poetry and music and am an avid reader, though.”

[dianaadames]

CALEIGH GREER,

     “Yeah you’re right. I’ve just had pretty much no patience with any of this.” The baker gestured to her cast to showcase what she meant. Given that it was a freak accident that no one could have ever seen coming, to Caleigh at least, it made sense the fact that she was done with this before it even began. From the moment she woke up in the hospital and heard about all her injuries and surgeries and how she would have to overcome all of that, she internally screamed at how unfair it all was. “I miss baking. I really do,” she confessed. “I tried to come up with ways I could sit and do it and it only works a little bit and in the end would just. be a bit more frustrating. Thankfully Bake My Day is still doing pretty good regardless.” She had a good team working under her and taking care of all the baking needs while the raven topped Raleigh native still did all her office duties. It was hard not being able to get her hands in flour and make those cakes she had planned to for customers. Everyone understood. How could they not? But she still felt a bit awful about it. “I just know I’ve been nonstop these past months and ugh I think everyone will be relieved once I get my cast off.” Especially her boyfriend. Whom likely got the brunt of it, not that he ever really complained to her. “I know, I know…” That still wasn’t comforting though because getting there was still a struggle every day. With the refill on sangria she thanked Diana and smiled as her friend told her that she had been doing good. That made her feel best, to know her loved ones were happy. Naomi was on cloud nine as a wife and mom, Diana moved in with her boyfriend and was doing well with her music with Naomi, and Shay was happy with her man. At least in majority all their lives were going well because Caleigh was happy too with Cal and the success of the bakery. “Oh my god, yes! Naomi was telling me about the demo. I’m so freaking excited for y’all and I wanna hear it soooo bad! When are you gonna let us?”

          “I think...” Diana paused for equal parts in time to formulate her thoughts and have another sip of the too good sangria she had in hand. “...it’s impossible for anyone to have patience with what you’re going through. The result of the accident is a lot of physical and emotional healing, along with how much it’s changed your life currently. You’ve had to adapt and work around not being able to walk and get around freely.” Chin nodding, attempting another display of reassurance. “That’s difficult. Just keep in mind how temporary this is.” The hope, of course, was that it would somehow make her dear friend feel better and see if she could change the way Caleigh was thinking about it all. To some degree, at least. Given that Diana truly had no idea the hardships her friend was facing. “Of course you miss baking and of course Bake My Day is doing well.” Caleigh had taught her employees well, they had talents of their own, and the recipes hadn’t changed. There was no way her hard work and success would dwindle in a few months, especially not with her ever present attentiveness to her business. “Sure,” a nod paused her response after she’d had another sip and shifted forward on the couch, “we’ll all be relieved but not for the reasons you’re implying.” It would just be good to see her fully recovered. With how Caleigh was feeling there was some guilt in voicing, despite being asked, how well things were currently going in her life. The last thing she wanted was to make her friend feel worse or as though she was missing out — most everyone had been able to move on from the hurricane that ransacked Wilmington, Caleigh had not the same opportunity. “Soon,” Diana expressed with a laugh over her friend’s excitement. “We’re still putting finishing touches on it and whatnot, but... we’ll give you a listen soon. And there might be some additions, given the fact that Naomi talked with you about writing something? Maybe we could get you to put your voice on the record too?” Her entire expression lifted with hope.

[dianaadames]

LENNOX CARLSON,

Lennox shrugged. “I mean, yeah, I guess,” they said. “I get why it’s important, too, but, like, short of taking a Spanish class at the learning annex or whatever, I don’t really know what she expects me to do about it.” They snorted softly. “Yeah, that’s a little too, like, cozy for her,” they said. “I wouldn’t say fluent, but she could hold a conversation where both people can understand each other pretty well.”

          “Is that something you’d want to do: take classes at the learning annex?” It sounded a bit fun and intriguing to Diana, the thought of perhaps taking a French course or Italian filtered into her thoughts briefly. “Maybe there’s nothing and she;s simply a bit bitter. Could be that there’s something else going on underlying her upset over this particular issue.” Saying without saying: don’t take this personally, it likely has nothing to do with them. “Well, I think she should understand then. If she’s not fluent in English as well. She’s expecting what she can’t give herself, and it takes a lot to learn another language.”

[itsthecomet]

[euzbendjensjns-deactivated20200]

{ ♪ } Meet DIANA ADAMES, who is THIRTY TWO years old and a GUITARIST & POET. She was born in LIMA, PE and now calls MURRAYVILLE her home. You might have heard that she can be ALLOCENTRIC & SERAPHIC, but also be DOGMATIC & REMINISCENT. This is HER story.

trigger warning: drugs, overdose, death

At nine years of age, Diana Adames found herself at an unfathomable crossroads in life. She had always been aware that her mother was sad, though the depths of it evaded her young perceptions. Despite being inseparable, spending so much time together, Diana would have never been prepared to walk into what she saw coming home from school that day. Upon entering the house, she called out for her mother but the place was eerily quiet, too quiet, and that’s when she found her slumped on the floor at the foot of her bed in her parent’s room. There was a rubber tourniquet on the floor by her leg, drug paraphernalia on each side of her, and when she reached out to shake her in hopes that she was only passed out, her body was cold. Diana’s childhood was gone in an instant. She cried and screamed, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, instinctively knowing the worst while reacting mindlessly in efforts to revive her. Her mother’s chest refused to rise and fall again like it was supposed to, air would no longer travel in and out of her lungs, and of course there would come no answer from that almighty up in the sky somewhere. A trauma psychologist would later explain to Diana’s father, Matias, a sex crimes detective, that the girl’s blocking out of her childhood was due to Diana’s find and that she curled up next to her corpse, her mind and her body had shut down—didn’t think to call Diana just couldn’t leave her side. While she will not speak of it, the only memory Diana has of that time was her dad pulling her away from her mother and she’s still angry about it, no matter how unreasonable. When your system gets shocked and your heart and mind work to find a way to cope, to move on, life changes completely. For months Diana wouldn’t speak, she would barely eat, and her relationship with Matias only grew worse after her mother’s untimely death. The blame from the young girl was placed on her father’s shoulders. She and Matias had never been close, her father’s profession as a detective had always kept their relationship distant and strained. Diana would also learn later on as she got older that her father had plenty of affairs, cheated too many times and her mother knew about it. The betrayal attributed to the sensitive woman’s sadness and depression. However Diana was before was gone and she could hardly stay home, if her dad was there she found somewhere else to be whether it was at her uncle Tomas’s or a friend’s place. The girl’s father made more of an effort to be home, to be the single parent and care for his daughter that sometimes seemed beyond repair and the more Diana saw Matias, the more her resentment grew. Her mother had been lonely and sad because of him, she tried to find fixes and ease the heartbreak she felt at the core of her being because of him. Diana’s mind was made up on that and she never allowed anyone to tell her otherwise—she’d yell or walk away, likely to never talk to or see the person again. Tomas never pushed the subject and Diana was never sure why but she couldn’t ever bring it up to talk about, deciding on her own that he was sad over the loss too. Maybe even blamed his brother Matias as well. Somehow Diana managed to make it through school, though she hardly attended and created many problems for Matias with truancy. Her grades were never spectacular but she wasn’t failing and she was actually scoring very well on tests. Diana focused on music, teaching herself to play guitar after she’d received a hand-me-down with a missing string. Writing songs or music wasn’t a goal either, even if she was greatly talented at it. Playing was cathartic and it was always personal even though she’d allow other people to listen. Her lack of friends didn’t bother her, she had attention from people and some wanted to be close and tried but Diana was afraid of connection. Loss, losing someone, had become her greatest fear and found life to be easier without. She found ways to fill the void that loneliness leaves with music and whatever too short lived thrill could take her thoughts away. She didn’t bother to attend her high school graduation even though Tomas had told her he would go. Diana was sure her dad was busy and even though she couldn’t stand the man, it was another thing to be mad at him for. After high school life became a never ending routine of finding whatever she could to pass the time. She’d find people to play music with, stay with, and would work odd jobs. Matias mostly only knew what his daughter was up to by way of Tomas, whom Diana shacked up with at various different times and kept in the loop of what she was doing with her life. The young adult had no real ambition for anything and playing guitar or writing poetry were the only activities that eased her pain and kept the memories at bay, they were like wild dogs scratching at the door trying to get out. She remembered everything but would never tell anyone that, Diana felt she would lose her mom, Fay, forever if she did. Even girls that she spent any real time with reminded her of her mother in one way or another, she always found some connection but then it made her completely push away. With Matias often getting into her face when they’d have their run-ins, often to throw Diana into something constructive or try and get her to attend the university she had been accepted into, he’d yell at the young woman to grow up. Always saying that life goes on and it’s time she lets go of the past. She’s never coming back. It’s those visits with dad that send Diana spiraling out of control—she’d trash the place she was staying or go get drunk and then speed down the main drag of downtown running all the lights. Tomas and her guitar always bring her back and pull her out of the depths of the hell she goes into.

It was only a semester late that Diana began attending classes, after a dark night where she swore she heard her mother’s voice telling her she needed to save herself. So many years her life had been marked by grief and her inability to let go, and the change was to focus herself and settle down. The more she practiced and played on her skill, the more she opened herself up to writing and socializing on campus she was able to make real friends and find some happiness. The parts of her she kept shut down and buried opened up and blossomed. Diana even joined an all girl band, singing and playing guitar with a couple of girls she would grow very close to, close enough that Diana moved to Wilmington after graduation and still enjoys her friendship and band to present day. She kept on at university beyond a bachelor’s degree and worked towards a masters in english, thinking when it came to an actual job that she would work in writing in some fashion. Only, life seemed to have other plans for Diana. One of the good things that has come of her life has been her gift in in the ways of playing her guitar. A talent manager found Diana playing on the street one day and she has been booking her for gigs ever since. Dakota can sense that Diana has some deep troubles buried, yet there’s a light in her that comes alive when playing music or writing on her guitar. With music and playing with or for people, she’s allowed to do something she loves and something that connects for her spiritually—Diana will always cite it as her savior.

This character is portrayed by NATHALIE KELLEY and penned by SARAH.

[dianaadames]

Lennox Carlson,

Lennox huffed and nodded. “Exactly!” they said. “Like, I get it, heritage and everything is important, but it’s not my fault. And it’s not like I can’t speak Spanish at all, it’s just not, you know, perfect. It’s more like my second language where I guess she expects it to be like my first or whatever.”

           “I can understand where she’s coming from,” Diana reasoned, “and why it’s important to her. I just think she should recognize that you do speak it and language is a continual learning process. Plus, it would help if she perhaps guided you along a little more rather than chastising you for how you’ve come along so far.” Then a smile curved her lips. “Does she know English fluently?”

[dianaadames]

Alyssa Nelson,

Alyssa pursed her lips as she listened to the response she’d been waiting for, a habit that she had when she was thinking intently. The extremes of the choices bothered her, but when it came to the setting they were the only places she could see the story starting; there was no middle ground. “It’s dark, a journey of exploration into oneself that leads the protagonist down less than pleasant paths. More of a thriller than anything else, in terms of direct genre.” She explained, gesturing towards the empty seat in front of her as if to offer the seat should she want to take it. “Hawaii feels too bright, but with how dark I think it’s going to get, it might be a necessary contrast, you know?” She knew that others didn’t have the same interest in literature as she did, but this was her passion, and sometimes she didn’t know when to shut her mouth about it. “What do you think? Does starting a thriller in Hawaii scream best seller?”

          By no means was Diana a novelist, that was a whole different endeavor in comparison to her poetry. She appreciated the craft and creativity it required tenfold, however. So she easily took the offered seat across from the writer with a soft smile curving her lips. “Contrasts could be good, sets the reader up for something a little more unexpected when it comes to a thriller since I think most expect a darker setting with those.” Though, Diana did know there were plenty of thriller writers that mixed it up. “With Hawaii I suppose it depends on the time of year you plan on setting the story, or that particular scene. They do have a rainy season and plenty of cloudy days. In fact, you might be able to mix your two ideas here and have the best of both.” Without hesitation her head bobbed in an assured nod. “I think it could surely be a best seller. I think your arc and how you carry the suspense will be what really sells the book over all, though.”

[dianaadames]

Caleigh Greer,

     “Honestly…?” A bit of a rare smile these days took shape on her lips. “I’m pretty sure Naomi might cheer me on a little bit. Cal would scare every male away from the stage, maybe even out of the building, and just have himself a private show. You,” the little smile deepened some, “on the other hand, don’t act like you wouldn’t be making it rain. You saw me dance back in the day.” The baker couldn’t resist the tease or the wink she sent her best friend’s way. She’d met Diana not long after moving to Wilmington and their friendship had been slow to develop due to the Raleigh girl’s issues and bad habits and the poet moving away from that life. “I complain and bitch too much, don’t I?” The realization that while she’d gotten better, her mood was no longer so horribly in the dumps, she still wasn’t the picture of positivity. “It’s felt like forever already and I still have two to three months left. More toward three months and even then I might still have to be on crutches.” This road to recovery was a rough unpaved path. The doctor had said she was healing up well, so… that was something to be happy about. “Ugh,” she grunted, “I’m so jealous.” Then she nodded. “Always a refill. You know you don’t have to ask. But… how’s things with you?”

          Well, her dear friend did have a point. Diana was left sitting there sipping on her sangria without an argument to be made. As much as she wanted to chime in that she wouldn’t be pouring cash over her stripping friend’s body, the words died on the tip of her tongue at the thought that Calvin would have cleared out the entire building. With that, she would’ve been okay as fun amongst friends. “I did, and as good as you were, life is different now, love.” Reaching over she grabbed Caleigh’s hand and gave the appendage a caring squeeze, offering a smile as she did so. “You’ll be up on those legs in no time. No need to day dream of those club days. Your hands will be way too full running around that bakery making that magic you do.” At that point Diana wasn’t even attempting to be reassuring, she knew where her friend’s thoughts were coming from and knew how it would all change once she had her hands back into what she did best at Bake My Day. “No, you really don’t. I think it’s within reason that you do, love. Please don’t go feeling like you have to hold back with me.” With her friend having nearly lost her life and since battling through recovery, sitting and listening seemed like the least she could do. “A few months will fly by, Caleigh. Like these last few have,” she then reassured. Diana picked herself up off the couch and trekked to the kitchen to grab the pitcher of sangria and bring it back with her. Once she’d filled Caleigh’s glass she sat back down and shrugged with a smile curving her lips. “Things are good, honestly. Trying to be there as best as I can for Wes, book sales are good, trip to Paris was wonderful. I can’t really complain. We’re finished with our demo album too.”

[dianaadames]

Alyssa Nelson,

DOWNTOWN → BESPOKE COFFEE & DRY GOODS           ft. @wilmingtonstarters​.

Alyssa stared at her laptop, as she had been doing for what felt like hours. She just couldn’t seem to get started on her novel. She’d been planning and preparing it for what felt like decades, but now the time had come to actually put pen to paper (figuratively, of course), and nothing seemed to be flowing out of her. Everything seemed boring, mundane, or too been there, done that for her liking. She’d barely written the setting and that alone had taken her two coffees and an almond croissant. “This is going to be a long day.” She whispered to herself, having set herself the task of trying to get at least five hundred words down before she went home. “Oh! Excuse me?” Aly asked, grabbing the attention of the first person walking past. “Be honest: is using bad weather in the opening scene of a book too overdone? And if so… is a beach in Hawaii too far the other way?” She was hoping putting her faith in the hands of a stranger might provide her with the inspiration she was so desperately seeking.

          Being a writer herself Diana understood the troubles in undertaking the start of a new project. Thankfully, she was done with that for a bit of time before she’d attempt a start at putting together a new book, given that her latest release had only been on shelves for little more than a few months. In passing, looking for a table to enjoy her latte and open up her notebook, she was unable to glean the type of writer the other was as she was addressed with a question. Though, she could assume novelist. “I think opening on a beach in Hawaii is a great idea. Although, when it comes to the options you’ve laid out, it’s all really dependent on the tone you wish to set. Or, what your intentions are with the opener.” The best advice she’d ever been given was that if you couldn’t captivate a person’s attention with the first page then you needed to scrap and start again. “I’d say don’t worry of cliches, as long as you paint the scene well there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. What type of book are you writing?”

[dianaadames]

Lennox Carlson,

Lennox huffed and shrugged their shoulders. “Yeah, it’s fine, whatever,” they said. “She’s always annoyed because my Spanish isn’t, like, perfect. She’s fluent, obviously, and she raised my mom to be fluent, but then when my mom moved here and had me, she apparently didn’t keep up with it enough.”

          Lending and ear as the other opened up some and let her in on what the issue was with her abuelita, something resembling a frown settled into Diana’s features. “Well, I don’t believe that is your fault or wrongdoing if you weren’t raised on the language.” To her, it didn’t seem fair. “Instead of being upset she could assist you if you’re looking to learn.”

[dianaadames]

Lennox Carlson,

“Abuelita – !” Lennox cut themselves off with a sigh, rolling their eyes as a rattle of Spanish spilled into their ear, undoubtedly audible to anyone standing near enough even though Lennox wasn’t using speaker phone. “Abuelita, por favor, mas des–” They groaned softly. “Lo siento, pero yo–” They finally stopped and just let their grandmother yell at them in a language that they were only partially fluent in. “Sí, Abuelita, lo siento. Prometo practicar mi español, sí. Sí, lo prometo. Yo quiero. Adiós.” They hung up with a huff, shoving their phone into their purse, looking around to realize they’d have an audience. “What?” they said, a little grouchy. 

@wilmingtonstarters​

          Despite understanding the language coming across from the other side of the phone, Diana purposefully paid no attention. It wasn’t her business and in general she wasn’t all that intrusive of a person. In fact, Diana had gotten lost momentarily in thought wishing that she had known her grandmother that well. She wasn’t even sure if the woman was still alive, and she’d likely never know. “Nothing,” she answered simply and her petite shoulders shrugged. “Is everything alright, though? She sounded upset.”

[dianaadames]

Caleigh Greer,

SATURDAY, June 27th at Diana & Weston’s house.

     “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but… I miss dancing.” Blowing out a sigh, Caleigh was being a little dramatic, she knew that, but as she sat there drinking the sangria her friend had made the baker couldn’t help her mind wandering to the things she was missing out on. “Hell, I’d even take the stage at the strip club again if it meant I was out of this cast and could move freely.” This recovery process had been tough on the Raleigh girl but she hadn’t exactly expected anything less. If all continued to go smoothly then she was looking to be out of her cast and off the crutches in just two more months. Ceruleans fixed on Diana’s perfect legs for a moment and she smiled some, “don’t take those things for granted alright?”  ( @dianaadames​ )

           “I’ll bet.” Taking a moment to have a sip of the sangria she’d made, earthy eyes scrutinized her friend. Diana was trying to determine Caleigh’s mood, knowing that this entire recovery process had been up and down for her thus far. She nearly choked on her drink at the baker’s next words and laughed slightly once she’d cleared her throat. “Darling, my dear, no one is letting you take that stage again. Not me, not Calvin, and I’m sure not Naomi either.” Her friend was still incredibly beautiful and attractive, there wasn’t a doubt she’d make a killing if she ever went back to stripping. She was just much further in life than that now, plus she couldn’t imagine her boyfriend would be all too thrilled. “I get it though, and you’ll be back on your feet soon enough. You’re getting closer each day, before you know it you’ll be getting that cast off and we’ll celebrate by going for a nice walk.” Even then, once she was free without the brace, Diana knew Caleigh had to still take it easy and get back into usage slowly. Lifting a leg and smiling at her friend, “don’t worry, darling, I’m dancing for the both us right now.” Nodding at her friend’s glass, “need a refill?”

[dianaadames]

Weston Taylor,

                   "Nah, we ain’t going to bed yet. I’m not too keen on admitting that I’m old enough to turn in ‘round nine o’clock already.” The chuckle that rasped from his mouth was muffled by the kiss he dropped to the side of her head, opting to take the arm that situated around her shoulders and bring her in a tad bit closer. He had used the opportunity to title his head just right and bare pearly whites, jokingly nibbling on the area of skin that he knew would get her to squeal on her neck. “I was thinkin’, uh, I mean,” He shrugged his shoulders then kissed just below her ear. “You’re over here all the time already…” 

          “It has nothing to do with age, love.” A smile painted onto her lips hearing his chuckle, as it always did, and her earthy eyes shifted to his mouth for a moment. The simple yet stunning pleasures in life captivated her, and seeing Weston in some form of happiness was definitely counted in that. Diana leaned gently into the affection paid against the side of her head, though, she eased her chin in her direction and stole a peck from his lips. As teeth grazed and lightly dug into her flesh along the curve of her neck, she playfully squirmed some against him and let out a silly yelp. Her hand gripped his leg just above his knee and squeezed some. “Careful, you.” If it hadn’t been for the little touches and kisses, Diana could’ve launched into a mild panic at Weston’s words. However, given the press of his lips to that spot just below her ear, she encouraged him to continue. “Am I over here too much, love? Or, are you saying you want me here more?”

[nathaliekclley]