Now that Rosie’s legs were strong enough to carry her as far as she wanted to go, she rarely stayed home, and I kinda missed her. Just as she dashed all over the house and yard when she was a little tyke, she spent her days running around the neighborhood, going on every kind of adventure a dog could imagine. Honestly, she was kinda like me in that regard, young, active, and full of energy. But one morning, I woke up and found her sitting quietly next to my bed. Maybe she missed me too. I took full advantage of the gesture to give her some love. But as I said, we were both young and active, so I took her out for a jog while Kooper and Sophia snored. While I was out, Chi Chi called, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear from her. She invited me to go to the flea market, and I accepted. It was the perfect opportunity to tell her about me and Sophia.
“Hiiiiii,” she sang. “It’s been ages how are you? And where have you been?? It’s like you disappeared!”
“Ha ha! Well…yeah…I guess I kinda did. I live in Oasis Springs now.”
“Oasis Springs? Why on earth would you move to that place?”
“Because…I’m in love.”
She gasped, and her eyes got ten times bigger.
“WHAAAAT??!?!? OH MY WATCHER!! Forget the flea market! We need drinks!!! Tell me everything about this girl!”
She grabbed my arm and yanked me into the nightclub where we met. I laughed as she dragged me up the stairs to the bar. Women were so funny how they reacted sometimes to news like this with their flamboyant animations and expressions. But truthfully, I was glad for it. I had a strong feeling Chi Chi would take kindly to hearing about Sophia. She was more mature than Yasmine and had a clearer picture of how she wanted to live her life. We both knew she wasn’t trying to be in a relationship with me. I would even go so far as to say she wasn’t even trying to woohoo with me. She just wanted a little fun and ended up with a friend.
“So, what happened??” she asked as we collected our drinks and found a table. “You were single when I last saw you!”
“Ha, yeah. I guess I was single with an asterisk, heh. Her name is Sophia.”
“Okay, cousin!”
“We met like right after my birthday. We were both on vacation, and I literally ran into her and almost knocked her down.”
“Awwwwww! It’s just like a movie!”
“Yeah, and just like in the movies, there were fireworks.”
Chi Chi leaned in and listened anxiously, catching every word that dropped from my mouth like a beggar looking for scraps.
“I’d never seen anyone so beautiful, and I felt like I she had me under a spell or something. I couldn’t move or talk…I mean, of course I made sure she was alright, but I couldn’t say okay and go back to my family. And when she spoke to me, I was like oh my Watcher she’s talking to me! I tried to keep my cool and went with it. No clue what we talked about, but we ended up at the bar and spoke some more, exchanged information, and went our separate ways.”
Chi Chi groaned and shoved me.
“That is CLEARLY not the end of the story, so keep going! And don’t leave anything out!”
I laughed, knowing I wouldn’t get away with an abridged version. I realized she was the first sim I didn’t feel the need to skirt around various parts of the story. She wanted to hear the whole story, and I wanted to tell her.
“Okay, okay! So, I got back home, and I wanted to see her again. She lived in Oasis Springs, so it wasn’t a huge haul, but I was so scared. I sent her a message on Social Bunny instead.”
“What?? Whyyy? After that magical moment?? And you know she was feeling you???”
“I know! I know. I had some issues I needed to work through because of my parents’ divorce. Plus, I had more growing up to do.”
She sighed.
“Okaaaay, I guess I’ll accept that. So how did you get here?”
“Well…I moved in with my dad, and he helped me with a lot of things. I met different sims, like you, and had new experiences. With all of that plus lots of talks with myself, I saw what I needed to see.”
She looked skeptical.
“Okay…I can see how you were able to pick up the phone after that, but you moved in with her. How did that happen?”
“Simple. She asked me to.”
“NO WAY!!”
“Sure did. I already loved her. I was just afraid to admit or even recognize it. But when she asked me, I felt like it was a test. Like…man vs. himself, or something. If I said no, she’d get hurt, but I’d also hurt myself. If I said yes, I’d have to force myself to get it together and stop hiding from my feelings. So I said yes and put all of that behind me.”
“AWWWWWWWWWW LUCA!!! I am like SOOOOOO happy for you!! You were such an awkward turtle before, but now look at you!”
I hoped she couldn’t see me blushing.
“Thanks. That means a lot to me. I didn’t think you’d be mad about this, but there was a chance since I kept promising you a date and never followed up. I was a little nervous about telling you before.”
She sucked her teeth.
“Oh please. We both know you were never going to ask me out.”
“Oh. Well, that’s embarrassing, heh. How did you know?”
“Men are very simple. If you want something, you go after it. If you don’t, you don’t. Even a scared man will eventually drum up the courage to ask a girl out.”
“Well, damn. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry if I led you on or anything.”
“Oh, Luca, please. I might be younger than you, but I’m grown. And I know us being friends could present a problem, so I’ll understand if this is the last time we see each other. But if there’s a chance we could stay in touch, I would love that! And I would sooooooo love to meet Sophia!”
“I’d like that too.”
“Yay! Ugh! It’s almost time for the kid to be home. I guess I should go. It was so good to see your face!!”
“Yeah, same! Uhh, actually…would you mind if I came with you? I want to go to Gilbert Gardens and walk around the lake.”
“Sure! But only if you promise you’ll be thinking about your proposal!”