Note: NSFW for nudity

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“Yes! Yes! Come on… Almost…” Gigi leaned closer and closer to the screen with each word.

Phoenix smiled to himself. “We’ve got this… One more… YES!”

He pumped his fists in triumph as his wife jumped up and down, laughing brightly. He felt a brief rush of warmth through his heart at the sound.

Number Two: I love her laugh. Number Three: We make a good team. Phoenix thought to himself with a smile as Gigi gave him a high-five.

“Nice one… We kicked total ass!” She grinned widely at him as she spoke.

Beside them, Tam and Jasper looked anything but disappointed. “Next time, we won’t go so easy on you.” Jasper smiled as he spoke. “You guys up for another round?”

“Sure, after we eat, maybe?” Gigi suggested, placing her hand over her stomach for a moment and smiling at her friend. “Lady Rosebrook demands her supper.” She teased. “And we can’t leave her Royal Highness waiting.”

“Definitely not.” Tam agreed with a smile. “The heiress to the Rosebrook throne needs her sustenance.”

Phoenix shook his head, chuckling a bit as he followed them to a table.

Tam and Jasper had recently taken to referring to their unborn niece as ‘Lady Rosebrook’. Gigi was totally onboard with the joke, and so was he. It was nice to have a bit of levity back in their lives. Because right now, they definitely needed it.

As he had feared, going to therapy together almost seemed to be making things worse instead of better. But that was normal at first, wasn’t it? Phoenix could tell that Cassandra was an amazing therapist, and she was doing all she could to try and help them. It was just difficult being forced to confront their issues head-on. And even after two months of therapy together, the aftermath of their appointments often included arguments and tears.

Their most recent session had been particularly challenging. Cassandra asked them to come up with a list of all the reasons they should stay together. “And you aren’t allowed to say ‘for the baby'”, she’d added.

The question had thrown both of them for a loop. And, in the moment, neither of them could come up with a single reason, but one. “Because we love each other,” they’d insisted. But Cassandra said that wasn’t enough. And so they’d each been tasked with coming up with their own personal list before the next session.

For the first few days, Phoenix had come up completely empty. But that was because they’d been bad days, spent arguing with one another, or avoiding each other. That’s what most days were like now. It felt like they were strangers sometimes. Because when they tried talking, even about the simplest things, it almost always seemed to end in a fight.

But today… Today was a good day. A great one, in fact. They’d had a few of those since he and Gigi had arrived home, and he savored every one of them. Those were the moments when he remembered why he fell in love with her in the first place. Those were the moments when his mind was finally at peace from thoughts of Lola and Brindleton Bay.

And those were the moments when that list felt so much easier to make.

Phoenix tried his best to bring his mind back to the present as the thought crossed his mind. He still had a list to work on.

Number Four: We always make each other laugh. He added yet another item to the list as he chuckled at the amusing story his wife was now sharing with Jasper and Tam.

“I sounded like such an idiot. He was staring at me like I had two heads! But it was so funny… I’m telling you, pregnancy brain is totally a real thing.” Gigi giggled as she finished her story.

“Hey, I believe it!” Tam smiled as he spoke. “Pretty sure being pregnant gives you a -2 penalty to a lot of stuff.”

“Don’t have to put up with it for much longer though, right?” Jasper asked.

Gigi shook her head. “Less than four months… Then Lady Emberlynn gets to make her grand entrance.” She shot her husband a dazzling smile as she spoke.

Number Five: She’s so beautiful.

“Emberlynn…” Tam seemed to be savoring the sound as he spoke. “Have I told you guys yet how much I love that name?”

Phoenix turned his eyes back toward his friend. “Only about a dozen times.”

“Well, the next time I need a name for an NPC I’m totally stealing it.” He teased.

“Hey, no fair! We’ve got dibs!” Phoenix tried his best to feign anger, but he knew his smile betrayed him.

“Unless you make your Emberlynn a total badass…” Gigi chimed in with a laugh. “Then maybe we’ll consider sharing.”

It was amazing how happy and normal things felt in that moment. Phoenix wasn’t sure what made that day so different, but it was probably the best day they’d had together since they’d come back home. Even before they met up with Jasper and Tam, things started out on a good note. And they’d stayed that way.

It was just like old times — like back before he and Gigi had left Germany. Why couldn’t things be like that every day?

Because things AREN’T like how they used to be. He reminded himself. They never will be again.

Phoenix did his best to chase the thought from his mind. Enjoy today. You need this.

After dinner (and a few more rounds of Galaxy Quest), he and Gigi headed back home. And the high they both felt from their day together still had not faded. Phoenix felt closer to his wife than he’d felt in a long time. And he knew she felt the same too.

Which quickly led him to the next item on his list…. Number Six: We have amazing sex.

Phoenix held Gigi’s warm body in his arms and closed his eyes, trying his best to hold on to the incredible feeling he’d felt just moments before.

This was a huge step for them… He and Gigi hadn’t had sex in over three months… Not since they’d both learned of their infidelity. How could they? It was hard enough even looking at each other at first, let alone being so intimate with one another.

It had been so strangely cathartic for him. And he wondered whether Gigi felt the same. He was able to get out so much of the anger he held inside of him… and the lingering love he still felt for her too.

To his surprise, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sniffles and the feeling of warm tears against his bare chest. He sat up slowly, his face etched with concern. “Gigi? What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” He’d tried to be a bit more gentle than usual, especially for the baby. But had he still gone too far?

He watched her shake her head as she pulled herself to the edge of the bed. “No… it’s just stupid hormones.” She insisted. “Don’t worry about me.”

Phoenix sighed. “Gigi… come on.”

“What? I told you, I’m fine.” She gave him a small, forced smile. “You did wear me out pretty good though… Let’s go to sleep.”

“Not til I know what’s bothering you.” He pushed gently. “You know what Cassandra would say… Let’s talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about!” She snapped back at him, her smile vanishing. “So let’s just drop it, okay?”

She’s doing it AGAIN?! You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me… Despite his best efforts, Phoenix could not help the burst of anger he felt bubble up in his chest. It was so much easier to feel angry now than it used to be. “Seriously? After all we’ve been through, you still can’t be honest with me?”

“It’s nothing, Phoenix! I’m just having a ‘moment’, or whatever the hell you wanna call it. But it’s fine and it’ll pass. Can’t you trust me on that? For once?”

This time, he said nothing. He was too afraid to answer that question honestly.

“Why do I have to talk about every little thing I feel?” She continued. “Why can’t I just have some feelings that are mine? Am I seriously not entitled to that anymore?”

“You are, but… But Gigi, you know that was what helped start this whole mess in the first place, right? Not talking about these things…”

“I’m sad, okay? Is that what you wanted me to say?!” She cried. “I’m sad because today was perfect and the sex was amazing and I missed feeling like this. And I know that we’ll wake up tomorrow morning and none of this will have mattered. We’re gonna go back to how things used to be. And I’m just sad it has to end. Okay?” Gigi narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. “But I guess you decided to make sure it ended even sooner than that, huh?”

Phoenix felt regret almost instantly at her words. “I’m sorry. I was just… worried.” He replied, suddenly feeling deflated as the anger left his body. “But you’re right. I shouldn’t have pushed like that. I should’ve dropped it.”

“Yeah, you should’ve.” Instead of looking angry, this time, Gigi’s sadness seemed to have returned full force. “But I probably shouldn’t have yelled either.” She admitted softly. “Goodnight, Phoenix.”

“Goodnight.” He watched as she walked around to the other side of bed and disappeared beneath the covers behind him.

And, with a soft sigh of defeat, he did the same.

And Gigi was right. When they woke up the next morning, it was like the spell was broken. Things were just as awkward and sad between them as they’d always been.

Phoenix wished he’d thought to write down some of the reasons he’d come up with for the list the day before. Because right now, he couldn’t remember a single one.

He felt so relieved when his phone rang that afternoon and he saw his best friend’s name on the caller ID. He needed something to lift his spirits.

“Hey, Tam.” Phoenix said with a smile as he lifted the phone to his ear. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Phee.” Tam’s voice instantly betrayed him. He completely failed his Bluff rolls as he fought to keep his tone light and casual. “Yesterday was a lot of fun… Things really seem to be going good for you guys. That’s awesome.”

Phoenix ignored the smalltalk. “Dude, what’s going on? Is everything okay?”

The sound of his friend’s sigh filled his ears for a moment. “Probably. Hopefully. Maybe…” Tam paused. “You, uh, probably don’t follow Lola’s YouTube channel anymore, do you?”

He felt his heart tighten at the mention of Lola. “I don’t.” He confessed. It was just too painful. “Why?”

“She posted this new video last night, and… Look, it might be nothing. I don’t really know.” Tam muttered nervously. “But I just think you should see it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just watch it, okay?”

“Um… alright. Thanks, I guess?” Though Phoenix felt anything but grateful. Instead, he felt an unpleasant sense of unease rising up within his stomach.

“Sorry to spring this on you and run. I had to wait til Jas went to class before I called. And now I’ve gotta go get ready for work, but… Call me later, okay?”

“Sure… Bye, Tam.”

“Bye, Phee.”

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Note: Hey guys! Just wanted to let you all know that my casting call will officially be ending at Midnight EST this Friday, November 23rd. So please make sure you have your sims submitted by then 🙂 I’ve gotten SO many awesome submissions already, and there’s definitely time for a few more. Thank you!