✦ ⋆ ࣪ . ABOUT TIME! 🗯️ . ‹𝟥
━━━ chapter 019 ( real life )

vinnie 😘
outside baby
now

amara grins at her phone as she shuts her bedroom door behind her, eventually sliding it into the waistband of her pajama shorts. she walks through the hallway to turn the corner to the living room, her eyes lighting up with amusement when she sees larray and nailea huddled together watching a movie on the couch.

nailea is the first to notice amara, her eyes leaving the tv and focusing on the phone charger in her hands. "oh mars," she acknowledges her presence first, instantly causing larray to curiously turn his head and find her lingering at the end of the hall. "where are you going?"

"vinnie's," she answers pridefully, causing the pair to return her same grin, just teasingly.

"so you guys really are full blown back together?" larray asks, assuming it to be obvious, but not missing the chance to giggle over it with her. he looks to nailea and chuckles, "miracles are real."

nailea begins to laugh and amara groans. "stoppp," she says lightheartedly, walking over to the couch and standing to the side of them. "but, yeah," she tells him with a happy sigh, earning giddy looks from them before she continues after a beat of silence. "basically."

"basically?" larray repeats with a raising of his eyebrows. "wait, has he not actually asked you out yet?" he then asks, feeling hit with a wave of confusion.

amara pulls her lips together. see, things have been going too good for them to even think about that. she's been so caught up in him that she's barely even realized that they're not technically officially together. now that it's being brought to light though, she can't help but frown when nailea throws in, "but i thought that was one of the problems last time too though?"

"yeah, but he said he was serious about me this time," she tells them defensively, not liking how her words sound like a toddler picking an argument. she knows it can't be that big of a deal, because the other day when they woke up in bed together, he had lightly mumbled 'i needed this back.' she remembers beaming at the feeling of his chest pressed against her from behind, his arms wrapping around her further when she whispered, 'what are you talking about?' he then answered, 'waking up next to you.' amara might not be the smartest girl in the world, but she really feels like you don't say that to someone you don't picture waking up next to for the rest of your life, especially when you two used to live together, but maybe that's just her. either way, she wasn't second guessing anything until she stepped foot in here.

larray and nailea seem a little unconvinced and amara knows that they only want what's best for her, so she tries to get them to see it. "guys, i wouldn't have gotten back together with him if i didn't think he was ready for a relationship now, but i know he is," she tells them reassuringly, pondering on the topic for a moment before she adds, "plus, i can definitely make sure he knows it's time for him to step up." when she receives raised brows in response, she shrugs. "it's not that hard."

larray and nailea both share a look before ultimately shrugging. "i trust you, mars," nailea assures her with a smile, causing only a little of the anxiety now in amara's stomach to settle.

"yeah, if you say so, then i believe it," larray agrees, amara now managing a smile as she begins to exit the living room. she feels their gazes stay on her when larray calls, "don't come back a single woman!"

"you got it!" she calls back, knowing she should be resisting a giggle as she walks to the door, but now a frown sits on her face. should she be worried?

she attempts to shut her mind down and makes her way outside, but she grows anxious at the sight of vinnie's car rather than relieved. how can only one conversation ruin her mindset so much? with a sigh, she approaches the vehicle.

once she opens the passenger door, vinnie is immediately grinning at her from behind the wheel. she feels some of her nerves settle, but not all of them as she closes the door behind her. when she looks back to him, his arms are leant crossed over the console waiting for her. "hi, baby," his voice is as low as it usually is when he leans in to greet her with a kiss. the second their lips meet, he reaches a hand to cup her cheek, but he's taken off guard when amara separates from him with only a peck. his eyebrows draw together, pulling back and lowering his hand as amara seems to act completely normal, beginning to buckle her seatbelt. vinnie decides not to mention it as he readjusts to face the wheel, but internally acknowledges the weirdness from her. she's usually as clingy as him, but she's got him feeling like a freak right now. "i missed you," he says instead.

a smile grows across amara's lips as vinnie begins to pull out of his parking spot, soothing some of the unease she caused for him. "we were just together yesterday, you know," she tells him lightheartedly.

"i know," he only shrugs, sparing a glance over at her to catch her eye. he feels relieved at the smile she gives him, but he feels like her mind is elsewhere. he continues keeping his thoughts quiet, and reaches for his phone to hand out to her. "you're on aux."

"'kay," she hums, taking the device from him with ease. she then enters his password which she's gotten to know as well as her own with all the time they've spent together recently, and begins scrolling through spotify.

a silence that vinnie would usually find comfortable forms after amara selects the first song, but for some reason, he doesn't feel the same this time. he frowns when the first song passes, and then the next, and every time he looks over at her, her gaze is fixed on her window. after knowing her for so long, it's kind of impossible not to be able to tell when she's clearly upset and attempting to hide it. he just doesn't know what could have possibly upset her when she was texting him completely herself moments ago, so he decides to take a careful approach.

"you're quiet," he states, looking over to her to gauge the reaction on her face. she seems surprised by him calling her out, but she doesn't turn her head to look at him, so he turns his attention back to the road. "what's on your mind, mars?"

"nothing," she responds quietly, almost with a sigh. at this point, vinnie is narrowing his eyes at his own drivers wheel.

he looks over to her again, knowing she knows damn well that he's not buying that. "amara," he says her full name now, finally causing her to turn her head back to him. her expression is guarded, and he doesn't know why, so he removes a hand from the wheel to place over her thigh for reassurance instead. "talk to me," he says, eyebrows scrunched together.

she sighs, and this time, he takes special notice of it, because it sounds full of irritation. she glances down his hand on her thigh which he thought would calm her, but only seems to worsen whatever is bothering her as she glances back to the road ahead. "you're really comfortable," she speaks under her breath, stating it like it'a fact, which confuses him.

"what?" he replies, his eyebrows pulling together. he keeps his eyes ahead of him now, but he draws back his hand from her thigh. "what is that supposed to mean?"

"nothing," amara sighs at first—with that same irritation. vinnie scoffs now, loud enough for her to hear apparently, because he feels her turn her head to look at him. "i was just thinking today..." she trails off for a moment, internally deciding how to choose her next words. "you aren't even really my man." the second scoff that leaves vinnie's lips tells her that she made the wrong choice.

he doesn't respond to her at first, which causes her stomach to drop. she looks at him through her peripheral vision and can see his jaw ticked, leading her to believe she's gone about this the wrong way. she sucks in a breath, prepared to backtrack, when he suddenly makes a turn she knows that he's not supposed to. it's her turn to furrow her eyebrows. "why are you turning into some parking lot?"

vinnie remains silent, making her awkwardly pull her lips together. she can now feel his frustration building in the tense silence, which has her wishing she thought this through more. he begins pulling into a parking spot, and amara is glad she at least has the quiet song playing to listen to when the only sound made is the gearshift changing after they've parked. she looks down to her lap and absentmindedly reaches to pull at the fabric of her shorts, but vinnie pulls her hand away. "what are you even talking about?" she's forced to turn to look at him as he lets his grasp on her go, his face concentrated. "tell me what's wrong."

a huff of breath leaves her lips and vinnie already knows what she's going to say when she opens her mouth. "noth—"

"enough with the fucking nothing's, my god," vinnie interrupts her before he can help himself, running an aggravated hand over his face. amara frowns at his tone, and he softens his gaze, analyzing her complexion. "i'm serious," he tries to tell her.

"are you?" her response catches him completely off guard, his face screwing up in total confusion. she sighs at the look on his face, and he's visibly growing sick of that sound, so she continues speaking, "you should show it better."

"what does that mean, amara?" vinnie responds frustratedly, getting tired of her indirect comments. "can you just tell me what the sudden problem is instead of expecting me to be a mind—"

"maybe i just wish you would ask me to be your girlfriend already," she cuts him off exasperatedly, getting straight to the point like he asks and crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly due to her having to actually speak her mind. "god, you'd think you'd get the memo the first time," she then additionally mutters under her breath.

"what?" amara's blood boils at the sound of vinnie's laughter. her jaw comically drops in offense from her place in the passengers seat, and she sinks further down as she watches him. "that's what you're upset about?" he asks playfully, voice full of enough amusement for amara to know she's made a big dumb deal out of nothing. he glances over her pursed lips and only sighs, now relieved. "god, baby, you had me thinking you were about to break up with me."

amara quickly snaps her head around at him, letting her crossed arms drop. "we can't break up if we're not even together," she tells him pointedly, although he seems to not take the words very seriously, judging by the smile now busy taking up all of his face. "are you seeing my point at all?"

vinnie only shakes his head. there is no point to him; he's considered her his girlfriend since he first woke up with her in his arms again. "we are together," he tells her confidently, causing her to tilt her head as he continues, "i just didn't want to push labels so fast."

amara frowns, now knowing completely that she never should have felt worried in the first place. quickly, she sighs, allowing all her doubts to leave with the breath exhaled from her lips. vinnie watches the frustration drain from her face contently, feeling relieved at the sound of her usual sighing rather than the upset type. "fuck that," she says, knowing she's a lover girl at heart and that's the way she always will be. when she loves, she loves, and she'll be damned if she feels unable to call her man her man. "i want all the labels."

"yeah?" the grin that takes over vinnie's lips is a cheesy one, his arms resting over the console as he leans over to her. she leans into him as well, and into the short distance between them, he speaks, "what do you say then? let me be your boyfriend?"

"well, duh," she responds obviously, the same grin reflecting on her face as they stare at each other. she reaches forward for his chin to pull towards hers, and his expression grows smug, just as amara likes it. "about time, vincent," she teases, keeping her eyes on his growing smirk.

he can only playfully roll his eyes, lifting a hand to rest against her jawline when he responds, "shut up and kiss me."

💌

i wish paisley wasn't such an opp so we could just stay here but

<3
jaden