Life in Christophe Harbour

Ari wrote:

Quote :

Well we knew the two would run into each other eventually. It's ok for Carolyn to reminisce about all times, there were some good ones, after all. But I like how her dream changed into 'that kiss' and I like how often she yearns for Marco. I do hope they get back together soon

Well said girl. I am all about Team Marco..lol

Aaaaaah...ladies, ladies, ladies....so, so very much is yet to happen! *maniacal laugh*

And yes, Ari...I made Andre especially for my Simself, but they haven't met yet. I'd like him to get a few notches under his belt first so to speak. And as for my sim self....she needs to get her emotions toyed with a bit so she can appreciate a good man when he comes along.

And now (you are seriously going to need to fasten your seat belts for this installment...and put down your coffee 'cause you might choke )

*ahem* [insert seriously dramatic music here]

---
Marco, Andre and Cassie quickly settled into life at the Academie. Marco was having the best time in his theatre classes, and getting to meet some very cool people.


But he thought about Carolyn a lot. They stayed in touch by email and Facebook, and chatted occasionally online. They kinda flirted. There was so much he wanted to say, but just didn't know where to start. How do you tell your friend that you think you're in love with her? He still remembered the kiss, and wondered if she did too. They never spoke about relationships...but based on their conversations and from scoping out her pictures on Facebook, he got the impression that she wasn't seeing anyone.

A few weeks into their first semester, the house mates decided to take a road trip to Fiesta Tech. The Tech Llamas football team looked like they stood a chance at making it to the College finals, and they were playing for a spot in the semi finals that weekend. Cassie was dying to see her boyfriend Johnny and of course her sister Maxine, and she convinced the guys that a 12 hour drive down the coast would be a breeze if they took turns at the wheel. If they left at 5:00 o'clock on the Saturday morning, they'd be at the Tech by late afternoon. They would head back first thing on Sunday. Andre wanted to see what the big deal was with Fiesta Tech (most of their friends went there) and see his sister Ophelia.

Marco wanted to see his brothers Vinnie and Joey...and he needed to see Carolyn and figure out once and for all if there really was something between them. They made their plans: Cassie would stay with Maxine, or try to sneak into the dorm with Johnny, Marco would crash on the couch at the Farm where Joey lived with the guys...and Andre would do the same thing across the street at Ophelia and Maxine's house.

They packed up Andre's car with more food than clothes and hit the road before dawn that Saturday. Marco hadn't seen Carolyn online for a few days and so hadn't told her he was coming down. He hoped desperately that she would be happy to see him.

12 1/2 hours, a lot of junk food and several pit stops later they pulled into the driveway of Ophelia and Maxine's home.

The girls and Joey and Johnny and Vinnie were all milling around outside when they got there, and there was much squealing and hugging and back-slapping as the trio tumbled out of the car.

Then there was a mad dash to get everyone showered and dressed and ready to head to the game. Everything was close by, so walking was the major form of transportation around the campus. The game was loud and crowded and lots of fun, and the Llamas beat the Sim State University Beavers, securing their place in the Semis. Marco's eyes searched the crowds for Carolyn, but he didn't see her anywhere. Afterward some of them went for pizza and then straggled on over to Laguna Lounge, the post-game hangout. He'd decided if he didn't see Carolyn there he'd text her and tell her he was in town.

As they entered the Lounge, Marco's eyes scanned the room, and immediately spotted her thick mane of ebony hair. Her back was to him as he headed over, feeling as though he was floating a few inches off the ground.

He was just a few feet away from her, when he stopped dead in his tracks, realizing who she was talking to...and as he stood there, Marco saw him lean over and brush a hair from her face, and then whisper something in her ear.




....Sam Wade.

The last time he had seen her, Sam had been leading her away into the garden after the prom. Had they been together all this time?!


Marco felt as though all the air had left the room...He turned away, heading back to the door and nearly ran over Vinnie. Vinnie looked at his brother's face, and then back where he had come from.

"Oh," he said knowingly.

Then..."Ooooh," when he saw who Carolyn was with.

"I'm cool," Marco mumbled. "Just going to get some air. Maybe walk around a bit."

"I'll come with," his twin brother said.

"No, it's cool. Go look for that girl you were chatting up at the game."

"I can find her anytime."

"I actually kinda want to be alone for a bit," Marco said with a crooked smile. His heart was screaming, "I just want to get out of here!"

Vinnie hugged him right there in the middle of the crowded club.

"Catch you later or in the morning," Marco said, his voice cracking.

He couldn't get out the door fast enough.

Outside, he ran into Ophelia leaning up on a wall watching the full moon.

She smiled at Marco. "I'm a moon watcher," she said.

He smiled back.

"You don't look very happy," she said.

"I'm pretty sure I just got my heart broken," he said matter-of-factly.

"Well that doesn't sound very nice," she said, making a sad face.

He couldn't help smiling.

"Do you think you'll live?" She asked.

"Unfortunately, yes...I think I will," he said.

"Well in that case. I'd recommend a bottle of wine and some Bob Marley. What say you?"

"Su...sure," he stammered, laughing softly in spite of himself.

"Right! This way," she said, pushing herself away from the wall. She grabbed his hand gently and lead him to the street.

They took a shortcut across the Student Union compound, stopped at a store and picked up a gallon of some really cheap wine, and some bags of Doritos and headed back to the girls' house. A couple of hours and a few plastic cups of wine later, sitting on the floor of Ophelia's bedroom in the loft, he had told her the whole story.

A few more cups of wine later and with Bob Marley serenading them from the speakers of her computer, Ophelia decided to help the smoky-eyed Freshman forget his heartache.

The next morning, Marco sat on the edge of Ophelia's bed, staring at the wall. "What have I done?" he moaned to himself. "Andre's sister!"

Ophelia bounded out of the bathroom. "Coffee?" she asked chirpily. "You guys have got to be on the road in an hour."

"That'd be good," he said with an apologetic smile slipping past her to use the bathroom.

A few minutes later he was following her down the stairs to the living room, his heart in his toes, knowing that Andre had slept on the couch. And sure enough, there was his best friend sitting up on the pull out sofa watching TV. [Note: This was a seriously tough shot to set up and capture. I'm vwery vwery proud of myself ]

Andre raised his eyebrows as they came down.

But before anyone could say anything, the unimaginable happened...

The front door burst open and there was a breathless and beaming Cassie (Cassie was always breathless and beaming)...and right behind her was Carolyn...

And ..then what....then what......what....??

Oh....don´t stop there!!!

Very good update Toni.

gimme mooreee.....

I second what Ulli said...MOAR!!

Ok THAT was a seriously bumpy roller coaster ride but now I feel like I'm stuck at the top of a tall hill and am looking down, down, down. I'm filled with anticipation and dread and I can't wait to see what happens next. I want it to be all over with but never want it to end. Marco is seriously hot. I'm shocked and surprised, but not angry with him. Awesome difficult shot (I always really hated the hard shots). Yours turned out nice. I sure hope Carolyn isn't leading Sam on...especially after breaking up with him. I can't wait to see what happened there. You see what you've done? I've typed all this out - a bunch of random thoughts, and didn't even bother to separate them into paragraphs for easier reading. Now...we...need...more.

You guys are the best! I love how emotionally invested you are in my simmies' adventures! There's lots of other stuff going on in my game, but I've decided to focus on Carolyn's tale (for now! ). I'll give you guys peeks at what's going on with Cassie's life too (some interesting things in store for her)...and of course I'll give neighbourhood updates. We don't want to lose touch with Nina, Brandi, Don and the Pleasants.

Well, here's a quick update. I had all the pix already sorted and uploaded anyway. I just stopped the story there yesterday for effect...and to torture you guys a little

And now...back to Fiesta Tech......

-------

Carolyn stared at Marco in utter shock. There was no mistaking where he was coming from, and based on his rumpled appearance how he had spent his night...

Clueless Cassie, just prattled on, "Well, it ooks like I wasn't the only one who had a good night!" she said grinning at Marco and her cousin.

"But what happens at Fiesta Tech, stays at Fiesta Tech! Look! Marco!" she said giggling, not even taking a breath between sentences.

"I found Carolyn last night, and she was so excited when she heard you were here, but we couldn't find you, so I dragged her over this morning. I thought I'd have to go next door to wake you up...but look! You spent the night here! How handy!" she said laughing, totally oblivious to the fact that no one else was laughing with her.

"Well! That's great!" Ophelia said smiling brightly and cutting Cassie off before she said anything else. "Hi Carolyn!"

"Hi," Carolyn said dragging her eyes away from Marco's face to look at Ophelia.

"I'm making coffee and French toast. Who's in?" Ophelia said heading towards the kitchen.

"Well apparently Marco!" Cassie said, descending into peals of laughter as she followed Ophelia.

Andre stifled a laugh, trying to disguise it as a cough. He crossed the floor to where Carolyn stood in the door feeling shell-shocked. Marco was still standing at the bottom of the steps. He was looking at the floor.

"Carolina!" Andre said, giving Carolyn a big hug "You are looking ravishing."


"You too," she said with a forced laugh.

Marco still hadn't said a word. He cleared his throat.

"Hey Garcia," he said scanning her face and then dropping his eyes again.

"Hi." She felt like someone had punched her in the stomach.

Andre stepped outside onto the veranda leaving them alone in the living room.

"I didn't know you were coming down," she said simply.

"I...I thought I'd surprise you," he said, looking really, really uncomfortable.

"Well, I certainly am surprised," she said, hearing herself again give that tinny, forced laugh.

"I..I'm sorry we don't have more time," Marco stammered. "I..I've got to go and grab my things from across the street."

"Of course," she whispered, looking at him confused.

He just wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I...guess, I'll see you online," he said awkwardly taking a few steps towards her and then seeming not to know what to do when he reached where she was standing. He touched her hand lightly and slipped past her out the door.

"It was good to see you Carolyn," he whispered.

"You too," she replied softly.

Andre came back into the living room, and smiling at her gently began packing away the fold out bed. Then he took her hand and led her to the kitchen. As they approached, they could hear the cousins giggling.

"It was incredible! He was so passionate!" Ophelia was saying.

Andre and Carolyn looked at each other and both made a face. Her eyes were glistening. Without a word, he turned and led her onto the veranda. He squeezed her shoulder, seeming to understand what was going on.

"So how is Sam? I saw you guys last night. I didn't know you were still together," he said leaning up on the railing.

"Oh gawd! We're not!" Carolyn said quickly. "He's still crushing on me, and came up this weekend, with all his charm, and chocolates and a very nice diamond bracelet...to try to convince me that we were meant to be together."

"Poor guy," Andre said with smile. "Did you keep the bracelet?"

"No I did not!" she said with a little laugh. "Kept the chocolates though," she added, with a sad grin.

"Atta girl!" He laughed. "I see you've got your priorities right!"

That chatted for a while, and then Carolyn excused herself from joining them for breakfast, and headed off down the street back to the Sorority.

An hour later it was time to hit the road. Marco slipped into the front seat next to Andre, looking completely forlorn.

"Remind me never to show my face in this town again," he muttered slipping on his sunglasses and laying his head against the headrest.

"Will do!" Andre said starting the engine.

Ouch ouch ouch! Poor Carolyn! Sort of poor Marco! This is going to be a hard thing to recover from. Can't wait to see what you got up your sleeve next. Well done!

Astral Faery wrote:

Ouch ouch ouch! Poor Carolyn! Sort of poor Marco!

Oh, I do feel sorry for Marco! He was devastated! Plus there was cheap wine influencing his decision-making processes. Everyone makes mistakes

Sooooooo......"What happened next?" I hear you ask.


-----

Carolyn was bombarded with thoughts of Marco...She was surprised at how hurt she was about his spending the night with Ophelia.

After just a few days, she got over the part about them hooking up. She pointed out to herself that she and Marco were not involved with each other, so she had no right to be upset with him for being intimate with another girl.

But what she had a harder time coming to terms with, was that he had come to town, and hadn't looked her up...and then he had spent his time with someone else instead of her. It didn't matter who, or how they spent the time, it was the fact that he chose to be around someone other than her. Why did that make her feel so rotten?

"Teenage boys are driven by hormones." Her mother's words echoed in her head.

"Well...I just won't date teenagers!" Carolyn resolved.

And so after a few weeks of secret moping (she just didn't want to tell her friends about her inexplicable relationship with Marco)...she accepted a date with TWENTY-year old Akil Duru. Akil was Cassie and Maxine's young uncle (he cropped up in an earlier post...he's their grandfather's son from a second marriage)

He was a Junior studying business and marketing. They had met before in Christophe Harbour at some party at the Benoits and he lived next door at the Frat House, so they were always running into each other. He was charming and bright and easy on the eyes. One date led to another, and eventually they were an item. Carolyn grew quite fond of him, though she did find herself holding something back. She just didn't want to get hurt again, and simply was not ready to give her heart away. She told him that (minus the specific details of the heartache), and being young and bold, he seemed to take it as a challenge, pulling out all the stops to impress the dark-haired beauty.

"Well, a little attention never hurt anyone," Carolyn told herself. Settling into a comfortable routine of classes, cooking (she was the best cook in the house), the drama club, parties and dates with Akil.


She occasionally ran into Kyle. They were at the stage where he'd smile and say hi. She would say hi back. Once in a while, she'd see him with a girl. It bothered her less and less. Besides, the girls always seemed to be fawning over him instead of the other way around.

She was doing well in her drama classes, though she struggled a bit with her electives. But generally, her was life was buzzing along.

Back at the Academie Marco threw himself into his classes, and got lost in his love of the theatre.

Over the rest of the semester, his communication with Carolyn dropped off significantly. Just the occasional comment on an FB post, no emails...no talking online. He saw her on MSN once or twice, but they just said hi. They didn't start a conversation.

He and Vinnie spent Christmas with their grandparents Angele and John Preiano (their mother's parents) who were both professors at the Academie.

The twins had a special bond with the grandparents. Their parents (Maria and Carlo) had gotten married right out of high school much to Angele and John's dismay. They told their daughter and her husband that they would have to make it on their own. The young couple had Joey a few months later, with Carlo supporting the family working as a mechanic during the day and a nightclub DJ at night. Then the twins came along and Teresa 10 months later, and Carlo and Maria were really struggling. John and Angele softened their stance and took the twins to live with them for a couple of years to help out. A total of 10 grandchildren later, they still had a special attachment to the Marco and Vincenzo (they always called Vinnie by his proper name).

Hey! 'I' have a special attachment to the boys! Who wouldn't?! (I love this shot! I was taking pictures and they both looked right at me! )

Marco was thrilled when Carolyn sent him a funny e-card for Christmas. He really hoped their relationship could get back to where it was.

If he couldn't have her as his girl, he would happily settle for close friend. I love this shot which he did on his own (ok, I teleported Carolyn into the room, because I knew it'd make him think of her, but right at that moment he was thinking of friendship...he ended up with a double thought bubble, with little hearts around hers! Thank you Marco! )

As the school year progressed he was fast becoming the star theatre student of freshman year. His professors were very impressed with him.

Very warm and friendly, he soon became a big man on campus, and in the new year he began dating. Nothing serious, a few dates here and there.

But he felt sucker-punched a few weeks before the summer holidays, when he found out in casual conversation over dinner with Cassie and Andre, that Carolyn was dating Akil.

Marco struggled to swallow the piece of chicken he had been chewing.

"Wasn't she seeing Sam Wade?" he asked.

"Sam?" Cassie said. "No. I don't think so. Like for a few weeks last year, back in high school."

"But I saw them together at Fiesta Tech when we went down last fall," Marco responded, too taken off guard to even try to hide his disquiet.

"Yeah, he came up to try to convince her to get back together with him. She wasn't interested" Andre said, studying Marco's face.

"When did they stop seeing each other?"

"They broke up at the end of school. I think the night of the prom," Andre said, having gotten the details from Carolyn when they talked that morning back at the Tech.

"Oh," Marco said, staring at his plate.

Cassie and Andre looked at each other, and finally, finally it began to dawn on Cassie that Marco had feelings for Carolyn.

"Oh Maaarco," she said sympathetically, leaning across the table to rub his arm.

"You like Carolyn. I mean like, like!" she said.

Marco looked at her with a sad but amused smile.

"Cas, I love you and all," Andre told his cousin. "But you are just not the sharpest pencil in the box, are ya?" he said with a grin.

Cassie didn't skip a beat, swatting at Andre with one hand even as she reached to grab Marco's with the other.

"Well you have to tell her! She should know! I've seen you two together. You're like an old married couple!"

"That's what I keep saying!" Andre said.

Marco rolled his eyes. "Yeah, an old married couple...that's really romantic, guys," he said, but he was smiling at his friends.

"Anyway..." he said, making a face. "There's nothing to be done about that now. She's seeing someone, and that's that. You can retract your matchmaker antenna now Cassie"

"I guess," Cassie said, seeming crestfallen.

"Oh my gawd!" she continued as though some shocking thought had just occurred to her.

"Is that why you hooked up with Ophelia back at Fiesta Tech in the Fall?!"

"Cas,' if it's all the same to you, can we drop this?" Marco said, standing with his plate of half-eaten food in his hand.

"Weeelllllll.....for now," Cassie said. "I still think you should tell Carolyn."

"And I still think we should change the subject," Marco said glaring at her as he reached to pick up her empty plate. But the corners of his mouth were twitching and you tell he was trying not to smile.

"I feel a huge bout of procrastination coming on," Andre said. "Movies anyone?"

"Oh yes please!" said Cassie slapping her hands on the table, and pushing herself out of the chair.

"Yeah, why not?" said Marco dropping the dishes in the sink. "We can make the 9:00 o'clock"

And their lives raced on...

Another thing I really enjoy about your story is that your conversation always flows smoothly and realistically. Nothing is ever forced, and you share a lot of information through it.

I saw some Vinnie yumminess in that post.

Nicely done scene at the dinner table - well done!

Oh, these kids, misinterpreting everything and not saying how they really feel. How frustrating! But it makes for good storytelling. Great work, as always, Toni. Keep it up!

Thanks Ari and 'Em. Will have to remember to post more Vinnie yumminess for you Ari

Oh yes 'Em...that misinterpretation and not saying how you really feel thing is going to create quite a bit more heartache (and juicy drama) in the years ahead for my simmies. Hope you guys can handle the stress!

Here's a quick update. Tried to jam in a whole buncha livin' in this one.

---

Other happenings:

Back on Thurston Road Maxine and Ophelia (both romance sims) were living it up. But by the end of second year, Maxine had narrowed it down to two: Mike from the frat house (also a romance sim) and a very-tattooed dormie named Jace, a popularity sim who was hankering to get engaged to her, but had a fear of being rejected (good thinking there Jace!).

Ophelia dated a number of folks including their other roommate Stara's dad, a divorced professor (older brother of Marc and Carolyn's mother Chaya). But she ended up going steady with Damien Duval (Dirk Dreamer) - though according to her memory panel, she was none too happy about it.

Here they are having supper with frat boy Mike and Damien.

Anil and Elisabeth had broken up (amicably). He was seeing a dormie and she was now dating Vinnie.

Johnny and Cassie were trying to make their long relationship work, but the distance was putting a strain on it.

Joey and Shoba were still together.

Andre was dating my version of Delilah O'Keefe (seriously prettified thanks to some plastic surgery and a new hairdo.). Her boring house, also got an over haul.

Marc was still dating Lilith.

Max was going steady with my Simself, Toni (who he thought about kissing and doing other romantic things with a lot), though he did manage to squeeze in some time to see a couple of other girls. So far, Toni was none the wiser, still completely smitten with him. She kept rolling wants to get engaged to him, but I totally ignored them! (I got new hair!)

Kyle dated a few girls...Surprise! Surprise!

...but ended up mostly with Zahra (Shoba and Anil's sister). Here're the three siblings, now all at Fiesta Tech.

You may remember that their younger sister Raishma is Kyle's sister Lauren's best friend.

Zahra is a popularity Sim with romance as a secondary aspiration. Her parent's first child, Zahra had always been very close to her maternal grandmother. She had promised her that she would marry a nice Indian boy, and intended to keep her promise.


So she devised a plan, which she shared with Kyle. She would have her fun while she was in university, and when she graduated, she'd find a nice Indian boy, and settle down and get married. She was happy to spend time Kyle (they had three bolts for each other), just as long as he knew that it was not going anywhere. It was the dream relationship for the conflicted Kyle. They never asked each other where they had been or who they had been with when they weren't together. They quite enjoyed each others' company, and the two settled into a easy relationship based on friendship and mutual attraction.


Back in Christophe Harbour:

Angela and Dustin had another baby, Liam, though toddler Sean might be a little jealous of all the attention his new brother is getting from Mommy.


Dennis Duval (Darren Dreamer) and Noelle had a baby girl, Danielle.

Daniel Pleasant and Don Lothario continued their cheatin' ways.


Nina's live-in boyfriend Chandler found out she was cheating on him with a jock named Gunnar. There was a big fight and he moved out.

...And Brandi got married to Todd and suspected she was going to have a baby.

Toni wrote:

Oh, I do feel sorry for Marco! He was devastated! Plus there was cheap wine influencing his decision-making processes. Everyone makes mistakes.

You took the words right out of my mouth, Lady T!
That kinda stuff happens. And Marco DID feel remorseful afterwards.

Em wrote:

Oh, these kids, misinterpreting everything and not saying how they really feel. How frustrating! But it makes for good storytelling. Great work, as always, Toni. Keep it up!

Well said, Emily!
I hated that about teen life. There sure was a lot of misinterpreting and rumors going around (more often than not).

I, like Jen, am a proud member of Team Marco, btw.



I have to marvel, once again, at your amazing decor, landscaping, screenshots and storytelling ability.
You truly do have a gift for capturing stunning snapshots. They're all so lovely to look at.

I really like the Angele and John Preiano fam collage. Niiiice!

This was so much fun, as always, Toni.
I remain happy and honored that you are sharing Life in Christophe Harbour here with us.

Yay! Team Marco

Been away a week Toni (or some days more) you posted a lot, I look on all the pictures and read some, but I have to take an houer to read and see everything again, just wanted to post and tell you I'm back and still thinks your story and pictures are great!

Team Marco has a fan poster now?! Oh my goodness! You guys are a trip!

I just popped in to say thanks for your continued support and interest. I'll be posting some more pix soon, just writing up the story to accompany the pictures. Nice to see you back here Jackie. We missed you!

I also wanted to issue a warning. How do I say this: There is A LOT...I mean, LOT of drama ahead! Some of you will pull your hair out over the cliff hangers and the wild twists. Some might even hate me a little bit. But I promise you it will be interesting. I just thought I'd indicate that proceeding beyond this point is not for the faint of heart, or anyone looking for a quick and tidy ending. Please relax (perhaps have a cup of tea) before you read future updates, and practice some relaxation breathing techniques.

Ok, you were warned. Continue forth at your own risk! :praying1:

All your warnings are what make a good story, Toni. If people want neat and tidy endings and stories about pink unicorn farts, they should go elsewhere. Real drama comes from torturing your characters and your audience - and we all love it in a sadistic way, or else we wouldn't keep coming back. People express emotion about what happens in your story or to your characters because they care about them - and you're the one that made that happen by fleshing out your characters so well. So that being said, Bring It, Sista! And let us all wallow in our misery - then feed off it and write some more!!

I can´t express all that Ari says in english words ..well I´m probably to lazy to learn.
Anyway I´m a Team Marco member aswell so now bring it on.
I have practised some of that relaxation breathing thingys ...... sooooooo Give it to me!

Oh, I'm excited now! I can't wait to see all of the twists, turns, and cliffhangers to come! I'm with Ari and Ulli, bring it on!

Well now that I've got you guys salivating...I'm afraid all I have this morning is a quick transitional update...but rest assured the plot is about to thicken...and get a little steamy too, I might add

-----

Marco had gone home to Christophe Harbour over the Easter vacation, but hadn't seen Carolyn, as her family had gone to visit her grandmother Garcia for the holidays. That summer (following Freshman year) he stayed on campus participating in a drama workshop for the first few weeks.


Then Vinnie and their 17-year old brother Tony joined him for the last few weeks of the summer. It was great to spend time with his brothers.


Carolyn and Cassie spent their summer in downtown Simmiewood where they shared a condo (owned by Cassie's Dad, movie star Clayton Benoit).

They hardly ever saw each other though. Carolyn got a job in the swanky offices of Belladonna Motion Picture Studios (thanks to Clayton). Cassie meanwhile, had a slew of modeling jobs that often went late into the night.


She even flew to a few exotic places like the Dominican Republic and St. Lucia on shoots during the summer.

Kyle was in Simmiewood that summer too.

He was interning in the graphic art department of a Marketing Firm and after doing a photo shoot for a last minute pitch to a client, Cassie's modeling agency asked him to sign with them!

He ran into Carolyn a few times over the summer. By then they were on "hello" terms, and sometimes they even exchanged a few pleasantries.


After one particularly amiable exchange, he sent her a friend request on Facebook. She ignored it. "Let's not push it Kyle," she muttered under her breath.

But she was amused. As far as she knew he didn't have a serious girlfriend, and as much as she hated to admit it to herself, she actually felt a bit smug that he'd never had a steady girlfriend since they had broken up.

Meanwhile, as tempted as Cassie was, she didn't say a word to Carolyn about Marco's feelings for her, but on the rare occasion that they spent time together she brought his name up in conversation to try to read Carolyn's expression. Carolyn however, usually managed to deftly shift the conversation.

"You talk about Marco a lot," she finally said to Cassie one afternoon as they were eating a late lunch at a sidewalk cafe. "Is there something going on between you two?"

"Drat" Cassie thought to herself. The shadow from the umbrella over their table had fallen across Carolyn's face. She couldn't see her expression!

"Marco? Naw! He's too nice. I kinda like bad boys," she said grinning and trying to adjust her position to get a better look at Carolyn's shadowed face.

"I've had my fill of bad boys," Carolyn said with a dry laugh. "Thought you'd learned your lesson after Max."

"And god help me, I still think Max is hot!" Cassie blurted out, almost falling off her chair as she leaned over to try to see Carolyn's expression.

"What?! Max! No! Cassandra! Oh no!" Carolyn cried.

"What can I say?" Cassie said laughing.

Their conversation shifted to a discussion about their randy exes Kyle and Max, and once again, absentminded Cassie completely forgot about her plan to find out how Carolyn felt about Marco.

Well done - I really like the cafe scene. You are good about getting into your characters' heads and making them behave realistically.

Everybody's all growed up!!

Oh ... Kyle have a scar ... He, he ... did he cut him self when he was study toilet seats, or when he shaved?

Beautiful pictures Toni

Howdie everybody! Yes Ari, the kiddies are growing up, but they're only 19...just teenagers, who think they're adults! I'm enjoying using dialogue to flesh out their characters and their stories. I hadn't envisioned Cassie being quite so ditzy, it just sort of happened....and I like it!

Jackie, Kyle's had the scar since he was a teenager. He's quite athletic, so I'm putting it down to a basketball injury..unless perhaps he got it while scaling the fence to escape Nine Caliente's house before her boyfriend got home!

I thought today I'd give you guys a wee flashback. I've had these pix uploaded to photobucket for ages, so I thought I'd post and get it over with.

Several pages ago, we read all about Brandi, and her unceremonious abandonment by Don Lothario....who within a year or so ended up getting married to geeky (but very attractive in my version of the hood) Cassandra Goth. I thought seeing as I had the pix of their own little drama, I'd share them with you.

----

It didn't take Don long to recover from the news that Brandi was going to have his baby. In fact, it really didn't exactly stop him in his tracks...though perhaps he was a bit more 'careful' about making more contributions to the population.


In case you missed it, in one of my earliest posts, my version of Don had a couple of kids when he was a teenager with his then high school girlfriend Jayne Simmonds. They weren't really in love, just hormonal. She had Pheonix when they were seventeen and a few months later he went off to play football at Sim State University. Visiting her and the baby at the tiny trailer where she lived in the summer after his Freshman year, one thing led to another and nine months later she had a baby girl, Raine.

I didn't take any pix of Pheonix and Raine when they were toddlers (at least not that I can find in my 1000's of pix). I don't play them much...just enough to keep their memories in order as they grow up. I have plans for them when they get older. They live miles away from Christophe Harbour on the outskirts of Pleasantview (where Don grew up), and barely know their father...though he does support them.

Jayne, is a bit of a hippie, she does pottery, gardens and tends a couple of fruit trees to supplement the child support money she gets from Don...and is generally pretty happy.

A pleasure sim, she seems content to have an occasional fling with a townie, and tend her garden and play with the kids. Not the tidiest person in the world, the children do most of the cleaning up.

They're also the only household with a pet. This is Jimmy...yes, he is really, really teensy .

But back to Don.

After the Brandi saga and even before their baby Alison was born, he met Cassandra Goth. Recently graduated from university and unlike any girl he'd every dated. She was shy, but warm and he was mesmerized.

The first time he kissed her, it was like kissing a girl for the first time!

Of course, he still spent time with other girls, especially the red-headed vixen Nina Caliente.

Until they were caught!

Nina left, and Cassandra told Don it was over. He was rocked to realize he didn't want to lose Cassandra,

And did the only thing he could think of...


They were married a couple of months later (is it me, or is Cassandra monumentally naive?).

And spent their honeymoon in Fiji


About a month after the wedding, Nina had baby Mia (another Lothario spawn). This is a recent picture. I couldn't find any baby pix of Mia.

Within three years, he and Cassandra had three of their own: Nella and twins Joshua and Roman.

Brought together of the purposes of this picture, Don's offspring...so far...

Oh, and on a completely different note: this is a present for the members of Team Marco

Go Marco Go Marco!!




He looks like this in my game




Don you are such a .........

Ha haaaaaa! That's Kyle!!!! Is he a good guy in your game?! Would you like me to upload the real Marco?

I must say though, when Kyle's hair is long they really do look a lot alike. But Marco's nose is a bit more hooked than Kyle's and their eyes are different. Marco's are smoky and sensual...and you can't really tell from this picture, but Kyle has a pointier chin, and fuller lips. Marco's jaw is more square.

You must admit though that they're both GOR-GEOUS!!!!

I was sure he was the same man.

We need Marco!!

I'll upload Marco before the end of the week. Right now he appears with my default skintone, so I've got to package him up with the right custom one, so he shows up like he does in the picture, make sure he's not wearing clothes from creators that don't want their stuff shared and remove his BV jewelry. I think if I don't it will create a problem for people who don't have BV...and of course, also make him an adult so people who don't have university can have him too! I'll PM you once he's uploaded.

He and Kyle and Max's brother Peter and Cassie's brother Patrick (they are YAs already in my game, but I haven't reached that far in my story yet) - are my favourite boy simmies. But in the story so far, my Kyle's hair is short now because he shaved it all off when Carolyn broke up with him. It's growing back, but I'm trying to make it realistic, so every school year, I make it a little longer. This is how it looks now.

Yummy!

What's a gal to do eh?

Oh, here's a picture of Peter (Max and Elisabeth's brother)


And Patrick (Cassie and Maxine's brother)

And you know who didn't turn out half bad in my game? Alexander Goth! (ok, he had some work done on his chin, mouth and nose, but I figure my version is close enough to the original to make him recognizable).

He and Patrick have been best friends since they were children and now live in the same residence.

But of course, I'm jumping ahead~


Oh, oh, oh! And we have an emergency! After the little photo shoot with Kyle, Marco and Carolyn (which was done purely for the benefit of this thread)...Kyle rolled a want to go on a date with Carolyn!

I don't think so Kyle!!!!