Gen 5 Ch 3: We're Moving Slow

"So all those awards he showed me--"

"Yep, those must have been Charlie Ray Buckshot's. He used to be a really famous country singer."

"And that dirtbag claimed they were all his! That cheating, lying..."

Emily was too nice to utter the 'I told you so' hanging in the air. Instead, she had found out everything there was to know about Finnegan Sawyer - or the dirtbag, as they now referred to him - and passed her new knowledge on to her little sister.

"Madeline divorced Charlie not too long ago and kicked him out. The poor guy lives in the pool house now," Emily continued her steady flow of information. "I don't know why exactly he let her kick him out of his own house like this, but Madeline Buckshot seems to be... strong-willed. Rumors say she's just doing all of this to somehow punish Charlie Ray. To show him who's boss, or something like that."

"She sounds a bit like Mom," Evelyn observed, keeping her eyes looking straight at the road ahead.

Emily was silent for a moment before replying, "Yeah, I guess so."

Emily had spent many hours on top of her taxing job as a private investigator to satisfy her younger sister's curiosity. Now she was in a hurry to finish up some last minute work before getting back to planning a trip she was going to take with her new fiancé Javed Meir.

Meanwhile, Evelyn was off to visit another sibling - Eric hosted a pool party to celebrate his recent string of promotions.

The mood was a little dampened when his wife Bridgette didn't show up. Two people wasn't much of a party.

Despite working together at the local police station, the two of them had been drifting apart lately.

Both of them were very closed-lipped about the reasons behind this.

Evelyn was determined to be in a good mood, however. Learning everything there was to know about Finnegan had been cathartic and she decided she was ready to move on. There would be no time wasted mourning this relationship.

She spent most of her time enjoying the city's night life and barely got home to her little apartment at all.

She met a lot of new people.

And a lot of new available men.

Some of them were charming and smooth.

Others sweet and funny.

Unfortunately, far too many of them weren't quite so available after all.

While she danced her nights away in the city's many clubs, Evelyn's days were spent driving around Starlight Shores, delivering Sing-A-Grams to its residents.

Between her job and the partying lifestyle she took as seriously if it were a job, her life was full. But sometimes, in the stray moments in between, she found herself feeling wistful.

She had torn the photos of Finnegan off her wall in rage and tossed them in the trash, but sometimes she thought back to the day they were taken. It wasn't the relationship itself she missed - the dirtbag had been using her from the start, she knew that now - it was her own feeling of giddiness and excited planning for the future that she wanted back.

It wasn't like Evelyn at all to feel melancholy.

So it was no surprise that she jumped at the opportunity when one of her new acquaintances invited her to see him perform at SimFest.

With the city's notorious traffic however, she arrived late. She barely caught the end of this SimFest's last performance.

"I'm sorry I missed your show," she told Steve Cupp. "I would have loved to watch you perform."
"I didn't ask you to come to see my show, Evelyn," he explained, fixing her with his bright blue eyes. "I asked you to come so I could see you again."

Dating Steve Cupp was an entirely new experience for Evelyn. He was a much older sim than she was, and he had the manners to match. Dinners at expensive restaurants, long conversations and chaste good-night kisses on the cheek were all that happened between them for a long while.

He entertained her with the many exciting things he had seen throughout his life and during his travels. She, on the other hand, told him all about her hopes and dreams for the future. Steve was a true gentleman, always listened with great interest and was lavish with his praise and encouragement.

Things were moving slowly between them, but there was an undeniable, growing attraction. Evelyn had always been the type to rush into things, but Steve's dignified composure somehow balanced out her youthful impulsiveness.

As mature as he was, he still had a certain boyish charm that Evelyn loved.

He was a skilled illusionist, but the simplest tricks were often the best.

She was delighted whenever he made gifts for her appear, seemingly out of thin air.

It was a long while before Evelyn stayed over at his house for the first time.

"I hope you don't have a sugar mama hidden away here somewhere," she mumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, nothing. Your place is magnificent, Steve!"

"I mainly got it for the view," he gestured, smiling humbly.

Sitting down on the grass and pulling her gently down to sit beside him, he gazed deeply into her eyes. "See? Now this view, Evelyn, is truly magnificient."

"This constellation over there, with the one bright reddish star on top - it's called the Red Plumbob. Normally, in cities as large as this one, the light pollution would make it impossible to see so many stars. But that's how this place got its name - Starlight Shores. Most people think it has something to do with all the celebrities, but the name is much older than that. This place was called Starlight Shores long before there ever was any city to speak of."
Evelyn loved listening to Steve going on about his many interests. He was so knowledgeable!

More often than not, Evelyn would spend her nights at Steve's house. Her apartment was cute, but she would have felt too embarrassed showing it to a man who was obviously used to living in such luxury.

Just like his way of courting a woman, Steve's lovemaking was slow, deliberate and attentive.

He might have been an older sim, but he managed to channel his experience into tireless energy.

In the mornings, however, Evelyn would always wake up alone.

Old habits die hard, and Steve had been used to having a bed to himself for far too long to even consider attempting to change now.

Sometimes, Evelyn would wake up and wander the vast mansion, only to find Steve staring out the windows of one of the many bedrooms.

"Steve, there you are! I've been calling you."

No reply.

When she carefully put her hand on his shoulder, he startled as if woken from a dream. "What?! Oh, sorry Evelyn, did you say something?"

When he was in one of the contemplative moods, it was difficult to break through to him. Evelyn wished Steve would tell her what he was feeling at those times, but asking never got her a straight answer. "Just that I missed you and that I was looking for you."

"Well, you found me now," he smiled.

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Notes:

Why didn't Emily find out all this stuff about Finnegan before her little sister got too involved with him? Well, let's just say she's a noobie P.I. and didn't find this page right away :)

Sappy, sappy romance. Ugh. So hard to write!