f o r w a r d .

[sofiaflxres]

jason cash‌.

                      “––Alright,” The word was spat out in a mutter, gruff and defensive beneath his breath. A looming pair of footsteps had been following him for some time now, winding and meandering through Westbrook’s side streets on his tail for a reason that, to him at least, had to be sinister. A deep drag of his smoke, a pivot in his footing, and he was turning to ‘stalker’, “Fuckin’ enough already.” Paranoia was a dear old friend to Jason Cash; the devil on his back, if you will. It was what you got when you dabbled in the felonious–– even worse when you lived it, breathed it, and drank it, too, “I know my ass is nice on the eyes, real nice, but it ain’t nice enough to be stalkin’ for ten blocks. So? The fuck you want?”

                            Like every other millennial, Sofia had her eyes glued to her phone as she made her way through Westbrook. She had no plans for the day and decided on a whim to go visit her dad and his family, to spend some time with her younger siblings— if they were home. 

It was the sharp word from someone else that finally made her look up however, surprised to find that the word was aimed at her, and that more quickly followed. 

“Whoa dude,” She said, taken aback by his tone of voice and overall body language. She recognized him from Kube, well aware who he was, with the exception of his side of him at least— he usually seemed so smooth and charming. 

“Conceited much? Not saying your ass isn’t nice, it could be, but I wouldn’t know— I’m on my phone, and FYI I didn’t even see you before now. Why would I care where you’re going anyway?” She asked, not spiteful, just curious as to why the paranoia. 

“What I want, is to make it to Haverford— sorry if this happens to be the quickest way.”

[sofiaflxres]

rowan fitzgcrald‌.

               Adorned in a gray knitted cardigan that was double the size of her lithe frame, a soft melodic hum to some song about jackie chan that currently infiltrated nearly every radio station flitted into the brisk mid September air like a music box. A nimble hand glided against one of the benches with a paint roller, staining the wood a mahogany brown. The two benches in front of the flower shop were in dire need of a paint job - the original wood hidden behind graffiti, and a horrid white paint job. The corner of her eye caught wind of a figure sitting down on the opposite bench she was currently working on, one that she had just finished painting. “Oh.” The syllable ushered out of her lips, barely audible as her eyes widened to match the word. She pressed her fingers to her lips, unsure of what to do before taking a step towards her newest company, “– maybe um, not the best choice to have a seat there…” She murmured, her nose crinkling as she pursed her lips, waving the brush in her hand, “I’m - sorry. I should have put a sign up, or something.”

                           “Huh?” Sofia looked up from her the book she had stopped to rifle through, frantically searching page after page for a specific paragraph she needed a quote from to answer a semi-important email. 

She probably should’ve waited until she got home, but hadn’t felt like she could, and instead she’d ended up on the bench that she soon realized had been painted just mere moments before she sat down. 

“Oh,” was all she could say after getting up, inspecting the back of her jeans that now had very obvious marks on them. “That’s just my luck today,” She admitted and sighed, but not without a light chuckle at the end. 

“It’s fine. Sorry I messed up your work though, it looks really good. You want me to help cover it up?”

[sofiaflxres]

scarlett fairchild‌.

“ —– So my captain is getting a little concerned with my work habits,” Scarlett began, eyes boring into the person before her. Casually dressed with a smirk on her lips, it was her usual ammo for a day on the job. Her captain complaining — which Scarlett liked to call morbidly suggesting — that she wasn’t doing things correctly was a day-to-day basis thing as well. She knew she was good at what she did, he could shove it. “According to Captain I-Have-An-Electric-Rod-Shoved-Up-My-Ass, telling someone a dead body looks ‘gross and like it hasn’t been to the Bahamas in a few thousand years’ is not an accurate description to put on a police report. Like dude, I’m aware I can’t actually put that on a police report, but live a little maybe? Take a joke, damn,” she breathed out, a roll of her eyes at the thought of her repressed captain. “I was just speaking the truth, making an idle comment; my eyes don’t deceive. I know a good tan when I see one, and that honey did not have it.” For the most part, she was joking, but she knew what it looked like to the outside eye — not that she minded, she thought with a carefully crafted smirk and tilt of her head. 

                    “Your work habits?” She repeated and quirked a curious brow, leaning her elbows on the table to move a little closer so she wouldn’t miss a thing. She wasn’t one for gossip, but hearing about a detective’s life was interesting by default.

Laughter erupted next, bubbling up from her chest as she listened to Scarlett explain the interaction with her boss, in what seemed like an unnecessary conversation. She couldn’t imagine anyone smart enough to make detective would ever actually write something like that in a report after all, but joking about it seemed plausible— and innocent in her opinion. 

“Wow, he really does sound like he had an electric rod shoved up his ass,” She commented, laughter tagged onto the end of the sentence while mirth treaded her features. “Any chance he’s due for retirement anytime soon?”

[sofiaflxres]

ava blake‌.

              “Insurance–– that is a great idea. It’s lunch time and this place is blowing tumbleweeds,” Observed the elfin waitress, glancing around, “Everyone loves love, but no one loves love this much… that made sense, right?” Ava laughed, cringing a bit at how many times she said ‘love’ in a single breath, before shaking her head, and eyes the hue of caramel darting to the jut of Sofia’s thumb. They lingered for a moment or two, but the string of saliva that her eye caught had her whole body racking with shudders and fawny features screwing in a gag, “I feel like I’m on Fear Factor,” She whispered, eyes screwing shut.

              When they opened again, they were like a pair of magpies; searching for the prettiest thing in the room, and oh, how lucky she was for it to be right in front of her, a beacon; Sofia. “Forever,” She echoed the word, wiping her hands free of crust crumbs on the lap of her apron, “And besides,” Ava began, lips in her coy curve, shrugging as she readied thought to tongue that bore on the more risqué side of things, “The only couple really worth… ‘participating’ with, was Brangelina, but that window’s long gone now.”

              “You’re welcome,” Ava commended with a smile, returning to wrapping silverware in napkins, but her attention remained dutifully honed on Sofia, “You say that now, but if I ever see you in here, eskimo kissing and turning innocent children’s characters into phallic innuendos, I totally get to say ‘I told you so’.”

                           “Yeah, I mean, I was just about to leave because of them,” She said, “That’s a total lie, because I love greasy food more than I hate to witness something as disgusting as that over there, but that’s only because I have an unhealthy love for diner food.” A grin was pinned to her wide mouth, laughter ensuing, though she wasn’t joking entirely. She was a sucker for a piece of pie, or a basket of fries, for that matter— not to forget the classic cheeseburger.

“Totally,” She assured her, “It made all the sense, because love is cute and love is great, but that right there is too much of it.” She didn’t dare look over her shoulder more than necessary, scared to find out what horrible sight might become her. It was anybody’s guess at this point, the pair as unpredictable as they came, or so Sofia thought. But she was also far from an expert on love. “Yeah,” She laughed, when Fear Factor was mentioned. “We should’ve won by now though, right?”

At the mention of Brangelina, a celebrity name no more, she put on an exacerbated frown, puppy dog eyes galore and a lower lip that protruded like nobody’s business. “Still bummed about them,” She said. “I mean, I know it’s probably for the best because we know Brad likes his weed too much, but still! They were supposed to be forever. Did you hear about all the Jennifer Aniston rumours though? That they’re getting married again or something, it’s so weird.” She shouldn’t care, and maybe she didn’t, but a little gossip was harmless every now and then.

“I can do you one better than that,” She said with a snort, the idea of herself ever becoming one half of the couple over there enough to make her shudder at the thought, “If I ever do end up like that and you’re there to witness it, I hereby allow you to shoot me in the goddamn head,” She japed, morbidly perhaps, but the humorous smile was pinned to earnest lips.

[sofiaflxres]

mason janes‌.

                    He awoke to the sound of what sounded like exuberant knocking, eyes faintly opening to, now, the sound of nothing and his dark room, lit dimly by the open blinds and full moon. Again, it sounded, just a few seconds later and he realized rather quickly that it was coming from his own door. He glanced over at his bedside clock–– 2 a.m. it read, and started to clamber out from under his bed sheets.

                    He tossed the covers aside, standing up, loopy and not well footed to the ground as he made his way to grab a t-shirt off of the floor, putting in on as he made his way out of his room. His knee knocked into his coffee table, a minor swear leaving his mouth in a mutter as he slipped the rest of the fabric on, straightened it out and starting unlatching the lock he had fastened on his front door. 

                    Mossy eyes adjusted to the bright hallway light, squinted, a hand lifted briefly rubbing at his lobe as he fully awoke, eyes slightly widening, the tall visitor evoking an immediate, strong feeling of familiarity, “Sofia,” He greeted, groggy; mildly confused but a lot more pleasant than he would’ve been had it been anyone else. His hand dropped, and he opened the door a little wider, something stirring and bubbly about her, “What are you doing here?”

                    He’d given her his address, but she’d never been over. He hadn’t had anyone over, actually, since Skye had left. It didn’t feel right. The apartment had felt out of place without her touch, dry and vacant, even though that wasn’t the case. The blonde inspected her, eyes scanning the leggy, auburn-haired girl. It was a funny sight surely, with her clad in a pretty dress and heels that let her reach up to his height while he stood in briefs and a worn white tee, “Is uh–… Everything alright?” He asked, brows slightly knotting, a faint, amused smile on his lips. She’d been the last person he’d expected: a dream sequence, her presence felt.

                          Just as she expected, Mason looked just as good at 2am as he did in the pm. The look of mild confusion, grogginess, the ruffled hair and the t-shirt that didn’t sit on his shoulders quite yet, like it had just been slipped on, it all came together nicely— he was a sight for sore eyes no doubt, especially to the inebriated kind, and Sofia was nothing but curved lips and electric eyes on his doormat.

“Thought it was about time I saw your place,” She answered and closed the space between them, arms around him, mouth on his in the kind of kiss that was meant to be felt everywhere, like every last drop of energy was poured into it to make it last, to galvanize.

She pushed, the toe of her heeled shoe digging into the floor as she stepped forwards to bring herself further inside Mason’s place, face pulling back an inch only to change direction, to tilt to the other side before she brought her lips onto his again and kissed him harder. He was warm and inviting, solid muscle and soft skin, hands of creation, unafraid to grip, and she could feel herself melt into him, a delirium of the sweetest kind, before she willed herself to pull back and track air into her lungs again.

“You don’t mind, do you?” She asked, the curve on her lips nothing but unholy, but her voice as innocent as it could be, purity treaded through it like her twelve year old catholic self on a Sunday.

[smudesmud]

[mcavoy]

THE NICE GUYS dir. Shane Black 

[rafedelgado]

@sofiaflxres

[sofiaflxres]

@mason-janes.

                     Rounding up all the interns after a day’s hard work was easy, especially under the pretext of drinks and crunchy bar snacks, never mind the fact that the offices were right across a small bar with reasonable Manhattan prices. 

An hour turned into two and three, and by the time she was back in Lanford again, it was nearing 2am. She could make it by foot home, but it was dark and she was in heels that she had been in for about 18 hours— besides, there was a lone cab waiting in the TAXI lane in front of the station, the driver appearing to be in a light slumber when she tapped the window and eventually got in the backseat. 

Instead of saying her address though, Mason’s slipped out instead, visage suddenly laced with the makings of a mischievous smile, tender excitement bubbling in her veins. 

She tipped the driver generously on arrival, slipping out of the car and inside the building that held the tall blonde in one of its homes. She tried to make herself as quiet as possible, but her heels were probably waking up everyone on her way, the heavy sound of it making her laugh up the last flight of stairs before his landing. 

She knocked gingerly at first, punctuating it with a couple of heavier set ones as well to make sure he heard her, waiting impatiently for all of six seconds before she knocked again, unable to wipe the grin off her face— placed there by sheer anticipation.

[sofiaflxres]

dexter kincaid‌.

Relief flooded through Dexter at her initial response, even though he wasn’t entirely sure where the hesitation or uncertainty came from in the first place. Of course Sofia would want a cupcake; of course she’d help them out and take the last treats of the day so they could close the bakery… with enough persuasion. “Not to be that guy, but like – yolo. Buy the cupcakes. Spend the money. What’s a savings? We don’t know her.” Flashing a grin, he held out the tray, whilst falling in a comfortable step close to her. Conversation continued with ease, Dexter’s salesman aura dropping without care or thought. “If you want to put forth an argument for me there, I would absolutely not be against that. Then I could be the one buying the cupcakes with all my extra dollars and be a literal sugar daddy. Geddit.”

                       “You know, I was talking to your boss at this bar the other night, and I casually blamed her for any extra pounds I might be unable to lose, but come to think of it,” She said and paused thoughtfully, pointing an index finger at Dexter, “I think you’re just as much to blame.” A jape, innocent and soaked in mirth.

"But I will help you out, and not at all because I haven’t learned how to say no to a cupcake in my life. And as you said, savings? No, we don’t know her.” She shook her head and watched the colorful cupcakes all but beg anyone watching to eat them. 

At his joke, she looked up at him, grin wide and laughter trapped behind her lips. “Literal sugar daddy for sure. That’s the goal from now on. But jokes aside though, how much are these? How many do you need to sell before you’re off for the day?”

[sofiaflxres]

helena keller‌.

       “Well good thing you have me around to teach you.” Helena commented back, only reason she knew how to do such a thing was because of her mother’s past boyfriends who at the time she thought was more of a father figure than the dead one she barely recall any sort of memories with. The thought about her own life to speak about, she tried to push the conversation else where, where does she even start with on how she’s feeling…if she was feeling anything. “Uhm….well it’s been busy, trying to buy some art pieces and sell art pieces. The whole nine yard you know? Also my coworker suggested signing up for Bumble or Tinder? Something about a quick hook up as if going to the bars isn’t enough.” 

                        “I’m blessed honestly,” Sofia replied with a hearty laugh, her mouth curved in a genuine grin. Her dad had probably taught her at some point back before she got her license, but Sofia had long since forgotten.

“I don’t know how you do it, but I also don’t know what person would ever turn down a sale if you were behind it. I mean, don’t try to sell my any art, I might be inclined to say yes even if I definitely can’t afford it,” She japed.

“Bumble or Tinder? No way, do the old school thing i you’re just looking for a lay— it’s way better to size people up with your own eyes beforehand, instead of through a screen.”

[sofiaflxres]

isabel meadows‌.

Sofia’s words immediately made Isabel laugh and she nodded her head in response, she certainly couldn’t say no to that. A cupcake, a drink, there wasn’t much difference between the two. “Consider it done,” she answered the other woman, flashing a smile in her direction. Sofia was one of her regulars, although more of a good friend now than just a customer, and so it was never a problem.

With compensation decided, attention was turned toward the loser that had been following her around all night so far, a frown forming on her features when she was informed he was heading in their direction. Seriously, why couldn’t he just leave her alone? She didn’t ask for this, she definitely wasn’t in the mood for this right now. “Alright,” she murmured back to Sofia, letting her handle it as he reached where they were standing.

It seemed to work, anyway, but then the younger woman had always had a certain confidence about her that worked in her favour. Isabel on the other hand, had never been that way, and probably never would be. “You’re way too good at that,” she chuckled.

                       “You’re the best, but probably also responsible for those last three pounds I can’t lose,” She joked, a laughter pinned to the statement to make it clear that she was indeed only jesting. Sure, everyone cared about their looks, but Sofia wasn’t the type to obsess over her own weight, nor anyone else’s for that matter.

Men in numbers were usually a lot more persistent than those working alone, especially if they were up against women in numbers as well, which was initially why Sofia wasn’t the least bit surprised when the man deflated and actually did what he was ‘told’ without fighting it, sulking off.

Chuckling lightly, she picked up her drink and clinked it against Isabel’s. “It’s not my first time. Men are so obvious, and so annoyingly entitled sometimes, you know? Like, just leave us alone.”

[teflonjane-deactivated20181203]

[sofiaflxres]

helena keller‌.

         “I told you I knew how to fix a flat tire.” Helena chuckled as she wiped away the dirt from her hands. “You know it should be required before they give you a licenses to drive. Know where the oil is at, what’s under the hood, how to change out the flat to a donut, the fun stuff.” She leaned over to grab her iced coffee and took a drink, “But back onto the subject, what were you saying?” 

                       “Hey, I didn’t doubt you for a second,” Sofia quipped back in lighthearted jest, the corners of her mouth curved earnestly and her features no less than impressed by the quick and handy work of the brunette woman before her. 

“And I agree, by the way— it should’ve been a mandatory part of getting your license. Maybe then I would’ve Wonder Woman’ed this whole thing myself.” A light chuckle left her lips and she punctuated it with a humble shrug. 

“Ah, nothing important,” She replied, “I was just bitching about one of my professors. What’s up with you? How’s life?”

[sofiaflxres]

isabel meadows‌.

“Hey, so can I buy you a drink in exchange for helping me avoid that guy over there?” As Isabel asked the question, she glanced back very cautiously, trying to indicate where the problem lay. He’d been following her around the bar for the last twenty minutes or so and seeing as who she’d been meeting had been waylayed, with no idea when they’d be arriving, she was kind of stuck now —- with extremely unwanted attention. “He’s, uh, a little full on… I’d blame the drink, but I’m not so sure anymore.”

                     “No, but you can set aside one of those blueberry, white chocolate cupcakes for me tomorrow?” Sofia suggested with a brimming grin on her visage, quick to jump at the opportunity to have an excuse to swing by For Cupsake.

Actually leaning back to peer over the dark haired woman’s shoulder to get a good look at the guy in question, Sofia’s nose wrinkled in disdain. He was nursing a drink with his eyes glued to the poor woman. 

“Don’t you worry about that. I got your back,” She promised and stuck her head out when he started coming towards them. “Okay, full disclosure— he’s on his way here now, but just, uh, let me handle this,” Sofia said and put a gentle but decisive arm around Isabel and pushed her behind her own bar chair. 

“Dude, get lost,” She said before he could get the first word out, now seemingly stuck in his throat. “Girl’s night— you’re not invited so don’t bother, okay? Okay, good.” She made a sweeping motion with a flick of her wrist, motioning for him to go back the way he came from. He looked from Sofia to Isabel and then back to Sofia with a sigh before he sulked off again.

[sofiaflxres]

ava blake‌.

                Finding that earthy eyes her own had locked with were Sofia’s, her expression so at a loss she thought the blonde’s would drop to hardwood if it went any lower, was either a godsend or a curse–– Ava’s smile only stretched, and the laugh she stifled came back like a freight train in the night, stifled in time by her hand, barely, and a hearty snort left her instead, almost enough to disturb the love birds. Key word: Almost. They didn’t notice it, nor Sofia’s flee to her, and Ava couldn’t be more thankful for the strength of numbers, lissome body slumping in a relieved sigh.

              “No memory erasers, no… but that pie and ice cream is on the house. Consider it compensation for the trauma endured,” The jest was infectious, the brunette now letting herself laugh out loud, unable not to in Sofia Flores’ jocose company. 

              Mirth still dusted her features as she fixed Sofia’s plate, “I’m a bit scared that if I try to break it up, I might get sucked into the heat of the moment, become their third,” Her clear jest was punctuated with a scoop of ice cream to top off a picturesque apple pie. She slid the plate to the blonde, a fork too, before leaning on her elbows over the counter in a comforted settle. Her next words came out a little more curious, a little more earnest as she watched the pair, “… So that’s what it’s like, huh? Being that in love–”

                     The ‘lovers’ were the tunnel, and Ava the light at the end of it, the petite waitress with the kind inviting eyes a savior in the absurd exchange of praise and four letter words delivered at break-neck speed, none of it ever sticking long enough before it turned into something else. 

The fact that those two people, not her and Ava but the couple, had found each other in the first place was baffling to Sofia, who couldn’t imagine two people that weirdly screwed together existed in the first place.

But they did, and the moment she could get away from it, she felt better. Not good enough to say no to pie and ice cream of course, but better for sure. “You’re a life saver, you know that? You should talk to your boss and get the insurance to cover any loss of customers because of those,” She said and shot a backwards thumb in the couples direction, not looking their way though. 

“Yeah,” She crinkled her nose, features pinching in disapproval, “Don’t chance it. You don’t wanna end up in a sandwich between those two— that would left you scarred forever,” She japed and watched the ice cream soften atop the delicious piece of apple pie, just waiting for teeth to sink into it. 

Picking up the fork, she looked at Ava with a wide grin brightening her visage, mien light and full of mirth. “Thank you so much, this is just what I needed.” When she mused about the pair, Sofia couldn’t help but shoot them a glance over her shoulder, a shrug ensuing. “I don’t know, but I hope it’s not, because that’s too disgusting.”

[sofiaflxres]

mason janes‌.

                    He was happy she had taken it; he’d rather her be as comfortable as she could be, a desire, certainly more potent than for others, to see her complacent. Even better if he is the one who brings her there. He took the popcorn back, popping a few kernels into his mouth, glancing from her to the screen, settling back into his spot until she was ready to take the carton back. The male looked over, a smile widening on his expression, his hazel eyes searching her torso–– something difficult with the dark hoodie that enveloped her frame. It was an older one, plain navy, except for the red, white and blue ‘Champion’ logo sewn to the chest.

                    His eyes settled from her thick, palmed hair to her lips as her hand found his forearm, checking if he was cold. Born at the end of summer he’d been and of the summer he liked to stay, but regardless he ran warm. He’d be fine, the notion secured with a smirk and a nod of his head in her direction, defined features subsiding close to her own soft, “–You keep doing that and I might get a little too warm,” The blonde japed, pupils momentarily dropping to her hand, tan like his own but much smoother; much softer and lithe.

                    Hazel eyes, resolute and favoring brown under the blue light of the screen pulled back up to her own gaze, his arm turning, forearm up, palm relaxed and long fingers slightly bent. He pulled his elbow back, less certain than his eyes, but just as softened in their movements as his fingertips matched with hers, all opportunity given for her to accept his interlaced touch. He’d never found much fear in making a notion, with girls or with life, because the latter was certainly too short not to do what you wanted when you knew you wanted it. 

                    “You ever been to one of these things before?” He asked, curious if this was a casual event up north, though he hadn’t heard of anything like it since he’d arrived. Then again he hadn’t gone looking. She was, in that sense, a greater wealth of information: a college girl in the big city, surely, far more at ease.

                    She gathered her hair in her palm and pulled it out from under the hoodie, letting it rest against her shoulder on the other side of her face to keep it from curtaining her view of Mason, glances stolen with a frequency higher than she cared to admit perhaps, or even fully realized. His features were shadowed in the darkness, yet illuminated in the silver light from the screen ahead, and he truly was beautiful— not just attractive and handsome, but breath-catching-in-your-throat beautiful, which was frustrating on so many levels, but galvanizing too.

“A little too warm, huh?” She pushed a brow teasingly, her lips curving widely and her fingers pushing up his arm despite his words. Keeping her hands off of him was a problem in general, and for a second she forgot all about James Dean.

“Don’t tempt me.” Palm resting against the inside of his elbow, long digits just reaching under the hem of t-shirt’s sleeve, warm and soft and hard too, her nails scraped lightly against his skin for a couple of seconds before she retreated and slid her hand back down again with an effervescent bout of laughter, sweet and young, summer incarnate.

When his palm turned upwards, fingers spread, she glanced down at his hand and leaned into the invitation, sliding her digits in between his and closing with a soft smile on her visage, covered in the shade of the late hour. Yes, she could definitely fall for this guy if she let herself; maybe even if she didn’t.

“A couple of times, yeah,” She replied and leaned her head back against the truck and looked at Mason, “We were a group of girls in high school who went a couple of times between our junior and senior years. I don’t even remember what we watched though— I think we might have just… talked through the whole thing.” She shrugged and then scooted a little closer to him, resting their hands in her lap.

“What about you? Catch a lot of these before?”

[sofiaflxres]

elijah parrish‌.

Elijah rolled his eyes, but there was no distain in the action. “Yeah, because my idea of a good time is watching men ogle you.” Okay sure - maybe he sometimes worried about Sofia’s choice of jobs; maybe he sent more texts than were strictly necessary, making she was okay and that she got home safe. It was just- he’d done the hands-off approach before, and it didn’t work. He was trying something new. “Y’know, it wouldn’t hurt if you tugged up your shirt just a bit. It’s kind of low cut…” 

                  Pulling her hands away from the counter again, she crossed her arms decisively in front of her chest and shifting her wait, hip jutting out to one side while her gaze inspected her friend closely. 

“Honestly Elijah,” She started, her voice harmless but clear, “I have no idea what your idea of a good time is.” She challenged him with a cock of her brow, a firm tilt of her head. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard him laugh, and when that dawned on her, she could barely keep the grin on her lips, something in her chest collapsing instead. That’s probably what she missed the most... hearing him laugh.

“Oh, you mean like this?” She mocked and pulled at the front of her shirt, all the way up to her chin so it instead exposed her midriff and the lace covering the underwire of her bra.