Chapter 6: I Think I Love You

 Jasmin becomes a teen.

Gibson gives her a big birthday hug. She closer to him than to either of her half-brothers.

Jasmin is like a sister to Gibson, though they aren't actually related. Now that she's matured, his feelings towards her have become more complicated. It's all he can do to suppress them.

Foster invited Sandra over for a visit. He waited anxiously for her by the door, but quickly put on a relaxed air when she showed up at his door.

He kisses her warmly in greeting. "I heard you went out with Pelvis Eastly," he says, keeping his tone as even and unconcerned as possible.

"Are you jealous?" Sandra giggles.

"More like mystified," Foster lies, being plenty jealous but unwilling to admit it, "I mean, what could you possibly want with him when could have me?"

"It was just one date. Mostly out of pity."

"You know he stalks Kate Landgraab, right? Even one date with the Pelvis is dangerous," Foster warns,  "I hope you didn't sleep with him."

"You are jealous!" Sandra laughs, "And, no, I didn't sleep with him. Pity will only get you so far, and I would much rather sleep with you."

Foster wastes no time in reminding Sandra why he's better than Pelvis Eastly, or any other guy out there.

Gibson and Jasmin get home from school while Foster and Sandra are still in bed.

"School is a giant pile of suck," Gibson moans. And it's hard to concentrate on homework with the noises coming from Foster's bedroom, but Gibson won't complain about that to Jasmin.

Sandra strides past the teens and out the door without so much as a wave of acknowledgment.

"I wish my father wouldn't bring his girlfriends home," Jasmin complains, "Or least get them out before we get home from school."

"I think she's Dante's mother," Gibson says.

"Poor Dante," Jasmin responds.

Parker didn't come home from school right away. Instead, he went home with Haley Alvi, and got his first kiss. And then he asked her to go steady, wanting to plunge into commitment as badly as his father always sought to avoid it.

When Parker does get home he tells his sister and Gibson about his new relationship, expressing his wish to marry immediately out of high school.

"One kiss and you're already planning your wedding?" Jasmin asks in surprise, "You should at least meet other girls and have a life before you tie yourself down." Jasmin takes after her father a bit more than she realizes.

Foster has achieved pop icon status, and felt he should have a house that reflected his importance. It was almost more house than he could really afford, even with Carey's contribution, but they had enough to take it unfurnished, and could make do with moving their current furnishings with them until they could afford to fill the new space properly.

Jasmin isn't too surprised to see Sandra when she returns from school on the first day in their new home, she's just surprised they aren't in Foster's bedroom.

It's Dante's birthday, and he's the first of Foster's children to get a cake, or to have his mother over for the celebration.

 "You know, I think this is the longest time we've been in the same room together without having sex," Sandra remarks.

"I was hoping you'd spend the night," Foster answers, "Then we can make love all night, if you want."

"Well, how could I say no to an offer like that?"

Foster makes an attempt to be fatherly by helping Jasmin with her homework, while Sandra nervously chats with Dante, who she has yet to acknowledge is her son.

In the early morning hours, Sandra rises, wondering if she's doing the right thing. She got involved with Foster as a rebound thing, after her first break up with Jacob Martin, and she turned to Foster again when  Jacob left her the second time. It was never supposed to be more than a fling; Foster certainly was never the type to get involved in a serious relationship. But something had changed; impossible as it seemed, Foster was changing, and Sandra isn't entirely sure she's ready to change along with him.

Sandra could hear the kids getting up and ready for school, so she left Foster's bed to join them for breakfast.
Carey is pleasantly surprised to see Dante and his mother together. He often worries about Foster's motherless children, as he wishes his own son had more time with Roslyn.

Foster doesn't wake up until after everyone has left for the day. Everyone except Sandra, who he finds staring out the window.

"Hey," he says quietly, embracing her, "I was looking forward to waking up next to you, but you weren't there." It's a huge admission on his part, and once it's made, he plunges ahead, "I've never done this before. Had a girl spend the night."

"You've never had your heart broken, either," Sandra says, backing away slightly, "Maybe it's better to keep things casual."

 "Sandra, if anyone is going to break my heart, it will be you," Foster says, "I've tried keeping it casual, but it just isn't casual for me anymore. I think..I think I..."

"Don't say it," Sandra stops him before he gets the 'L' word out there. "One step at a time, okay?"

"All right, fair enough," Foster answers, "As long as you're taking these steps with me."

After Jacob, Sandra didn't ever want to get in another serious relationship, fearing its inevitable, heartbreaking end. Foster seemed liked the perfect partner for a non-relationship. And now he's asking for more than she thought she had to give. He'd been giving off signs of it for some time now, and Sandra had been considering ending it before it got this far.  "But I keep coming back for more," she finishes her train of thought out loud. Maybe she cares for him more than she was ready to admit to herself.

"I hope you do, Sandra," Foster responds.

Sandra blushes. "We have a video shoot in a few hours; we better get ready."

Getting dressed for the shoot doesn't take long, and the couple find themselves with time to kill before they have to go.

They avoid more awkward relationship conversations and stick to talking about their upcoming video shoot and the new songs they're working on.

They've taken one huge step in their relationship just by accepting that they are in a relationship and not just having casual sex. Sandra isn't ready yet to let the whole world in on it, so she doesn't want to show up with him to their shoot. She leaves a little earlier than he does so they'll show up separately.

They might as well just make a huge announcement of their affair to the media; with the paparazzi lurking outside his door, it will be made public whether they want it to or not.


Challenge Notes:
That's Change of Scenery twice in one generation, lol. Although I had enough rooms in the second house I built, I wasn't too fond of it as I had to build it as cheaply as possible. For this house I had more money to work with (though not enough to buy a full furnished house), so I got them into it before I started the Living Green generation, where I won't be able to buy new stuff.
The house is the Pondcentric house from Sunset Valley, with a 2nd story added and some other changes.  I put it on a 40x40 lot to give me more yard room (for the clothesline, since I can't have a dryer in gen 2, and for future garden space, should I have a grower.) I'm slowly adding more furniture as the guys bring in more money.
Because of the money crunch, Carey has been busking hard, which is why you don't see him much this chapter. While I have been able to use MC to get gigs for his band, I've been having issues with that. When you take a gig opportunity, it is scheduled a few days after the day you accept it. The issue I'm having is that if I have to quit the game before I get to the day of the scheduled gig, the opportunity drops out of Carey's oportunity panel the next time I play. So, I reschedule a new gig, but for the past few days I haven't had the time to play straight through from accepting a gig to getting to the time of the gig, so Carey hasn't gotten to play a gig in quite sometime.
Foster reached Rock Star level of the music career. That was his LTW.