salem let out a small laugh, they were both in the same boat. she had almost no impulse control when it came to treating herself and seemed to be everyone's go to shopping partner back home and with everything she had going on in her personal life currently the retail therapy served as a good distraction. "you put me in a thrift store or a street market this one and i could do actual damage. so unfortunately i'm not going to be the friend to steer you away from spending a little too much." she teased before giving jamie a smile. "i'm kidding don't be sorry, but if you want we can go grab something?i'm pretty flexible when it comes to dining out. i actually wouldn't mind some coffee." salem said reassuringly.
jamie’s always been the time of person who enjoys exploring whenever he’s on vacation or at a new place. his mother was the complete opposite, always having an itinerary of places she wanted to visit or dine at, and while jamie can see the appeal, nothing beats just wandering around to see what a city has to offer. that’s how he came across the street market one day and it’s become a staple for him to visit and meander about. it’s even better when you come along with a friend who can point out things he may have originally missed. ❝ i always end up walking out here spending more than i probably should have, ❞ jamie admits with a slight chuckle as he unconsciously twists one of the rings around his finger. what’s said next has chocolate hues widen and blink over. ❝ oh, shit. do i not seem excited ?? sorry. i bet your place is gonna look awesome. my stomach is kinda raging war on me right now i was just thinking about what i was gonna eat for lunch. ❞
salem let out a small chuckle and shook her head. "i promise it's okay, don't apologize. if i could i'd find a way to bring the band to you." luna's disappointment was valid despite whatever salem had going on. she shrugged a bit at the question. things were weird at the moment between her and leon and it was particularly hard to put into words why. "honestly? things are kinda just...up in the air at the moment i guess?" ( if that's what you would refer to hookups and constant bickering with your ex as anyways ) despite being the one that ended things in a moment of distress she deeply regretted it but had the feeling she'd done enough damage in the relationship. "you'd have to make a salem voodoo doll if that's the case. i'm sad to admit that i'm the fuck up in this relationship and this is now the second time that i left him because i'm just allergic to stability apparently."
at the mention of the way salem's life was progressing, luna felt immediate guilt for her pouting. luna had only been separated from drew for a few months and the entire world felt like it was coming to end; and they hadn't even been together that long before the break up. leon had told luna was that he was going to propose. that kind of unimaginable love had to come with some unimaginable pain, and there they were moping about a band. " i don't need it more than you, i'm sorry. " luna conceded, pushing salem's hand that held the necklace into salem's chest. " i'm just more dramatic than you. " luna was probably more dramatic than the entire valparaíso region, but they didn't want to think about that. " how are you holding up ? all things considered. do you wanna talk about it ? i have some voodoo dolls i can die the hair a blonde color and you can really let your anger out. it really works. " luna knew from experience.
salem, what's your ideal first date? would you agree to a kiss by the end of it?
“i like to leave that up to whoever is asking me on a date but ideally it would be something super fun. i hate the pressure of first dates so the less stress the better. but if the person wanted to be extra that’s okay too i just hope both teams have fun. as far as a kiss i guess it depends on how well the date went but can’t i just kiss the person mid date if the vibe is right?”
salem wasn't sure what exactly was in a terremoto but after taking the first sip it already tasted significantly better than the everclear. "this is tasty which is probably super dangerous considering i could easily down like ten of these..." she sipped on the drink as esme spoke and shrugged, not really wanting to admit staying away from him was much easier said than done. "it's just so hard. im very out of sight out of mind when it comes to people but the more im away from him the more i miss him. that's actually super fucked up when i say it out loud isn't it?" taking another sip of her drink she nodded. "honestly? yes but i kinda feel like he's better off without me sometimes. did i mention how amazing this drink is by the way?" salem said slurring her words a bit, her body starting to feel warm from the alcohol.
esme has to think about that one for a moment. she doesn't think everclear is actually ... sold in chile, you'd have to get it from out of country, " short answer ? probably not. i'll make you something tastier, don't worry – no promises it won't get you just as fucked up, though. " she slides salem a very pretty terremoto, because if she's going to get her drunk she's going to do it kindly. the look for reassurance has esme looking away, unable to help the little cringe she does with her face, nose scrunched up, " i mean – will you ? you said that last time. where are we now ? " she leans against the counter, propping her chin on her hands, " do you want to get back with him ? or was that kind of a ... ' just for funsies ' thing ? "
in a split second the two went from arguing to kissing one another. she gave in immediately, her fingers running through his hair as she kissed him back hungrily. salem wanted him badly and was almost immediately turned on by the feelings of his hand spanking her. it had been what seemed like forever since the two of them were able to touch one another and salem hadn't been with anyone else since splitting from leon about a month ago. she missed him terribly even if she wasn't willing to admit it out loud. as he pulled back she looked up at him in a daze and nodded with a smirk, his hair was messy and her lipstick was all over his mouth. "of course i'm going to let you." hooking up probably wasn't the best idea but she was so drawn to him (since the day they'd met) and it had been so hard to stay away every time. "god you're so insatiable." as she felt leon press up against her she bit down on her bottom lip, her mouth immediately opening at his demand. "are we really going to do this here? what if someone catches us?"
leon rests both hands on the wall, one on either side of her head. he listens to her words, but he doesn't want to hear them. so, the second she stops talking, the man grabs her face and kisses her. lips pressed against her own, biting and sucking and kissing her as if the world's gonna end. "you really like making me mad, don't you girl?" he smirks as one of his hands travel down to her ass and he spanks it. "what is it gonna be, huh?" he pulls away for a moment. her lipstick's all smeared and he knows he has the same color around his mouth. god he missed kissing the shit out of her. "are you gonna stop this nonsense and let me fuck you?" before salem can answer, the man presses his body against hers, letting her knows he's already turned on. he doesn't really know how it works, but seeing salem flirting with someone else really messed with him. because there's no way in hell someone else can make her feel as good as he does. "open," he demands as he pushes his thumb between her lips. "be a good girl and i might let you cum."
status: closed for @alkaliineee // solana
salem beamed as she strolled through the vineyard with solana. she couldn't contain her enthusiasm as the two picked grapes and placed them in the basket. "i'm super excited for this, can you believe i've never done a wine tasting before either?" she said to the other. grape picking and creating your own wine was completely different from salem's typical idea of fun but she was quickly starting to adapt to trying new things while living in valpo. "please don't roast me too hard on how little i know about it all." she said a bit embarrassed. "my parents are more of the whiskey in a dive bar types than wine sipping on a vineyard you know?"
"wait...you're serious?" salem whispered before looking around for a moment; there weren't any other people in sight so they technically could get away with it. would it be bad karma though? "i love the universe and it's creatures but a tarantula is completely out of the question." the suggestion quickly snapping her out of her deep thought. she chuckled as she watched drew struggle with the poor animal. "here, give it to me-" reaching for the cat she smiled while placing gentle pats along it's fur. "i see you didn't learn anything the whole month stevie was with luna. speaking of which, you think they'll be mad about us stealing it? what if we get caught and she has to bail us out of jail?" the potential consequences raced through her mind.
drew scoops up the cat with great effort, grimacing as the creature struggles and squirms within his awkward grasp. "open your bag," he instructs anyway. pets who couldn't be confined to a tank or a cage, shed often, made noise, emitted an odor, or all of the above were strictly forbidden by his mother, so he has little experience with wrangling common household animals. "excuse me," drew inevitably huffs as the cat continues fidgeting. "okay, are you sure that you don't want a tarantula instead ? i can recommended a few different species that are great to start out with," he offers, glancing anxiously at salem as the animal continues to wiggle around in his hands.
as salem plucked a few grapes off the vine she chuckled at solana. the age difference between the two of them seemed to slip her mind until it was mentioned. solana always reminded salem of a big sister no more than a few years older than herself. "you talk as if you're like....prehistoric babe. you're still pretty young. there's no real reason why you can't go on a bar crawl with me or be backstage at a concert." giving the other a playful nudge. she didn't have many older friends but it was refreshing to be around new people with different hobbies than hers. "i'm just now getting into it really and the most i know is that i hate those dry bitter red wines." she scrunches her face up at the thought. "i just don't have the taste palette for it honestly. whats your favorite?"
the joy radiating off of salem was infectious, and the slight ache in solana's cheeks from smiling so much was proof of that. " oh, super believable. " the comment accompanied by a soft bout of laughter. " now don't get me wrong, that's not a dig about who you are as a person. " she told her, plucking a few more grapes from the vine before tossing them into her basket. " you're young, there are way more fun things to do at your age. " truthfully, she would have been more surprised if she was a wine connoisseur. " i know i didn't do my first wine tasting until i was at least your ago. i just didn't have the palate for it back then. " now having a glass at the end of a long day was one of sol's preferred ways to unwind. at the admission, she rested a hand on salem's forearm, giving her a faint shake of her head. " i would never. "
salem loved coming to secondhand style. she considered briefly at one point applying for a job with the amount of time ( and money ) she often spent in there. girl time with astrid was much needed since being back from la and salem never could say no to a shopping trip. fashion as a career never did bite for her but she did inherit somewhat of an interest from spending so much time with her mom at shows. she had a decent pile of finds for the colder weather draped over her arm as she waiting outside the dressing room for astrid, mentally contemplating if she needed this many sweaters. as her friend stepped out of the dressing room in a cute pair of low rise jeans salem grinned with approval. "i love those on you! the whole y2k style is thriving right now so you'd be right on trend. plus they make your ass look amazing if that's a factor." she glanced down at her phone for a moment to quickly reject a call from her ex leon. "the cargos are too safe for you. get out of your comfort zone babe."
───✮ ˙ ̟ closed starter ft. salem ( @cybermuses ) ── at secondhand style
⋆.˚ astrid had always fancied herself a strictly business employee, showing up when she wasn't on shift was normally an activity she did her best to avoid seeing as she rarely wanted to be there when she did have to work. for such an occasion though exceptions were to be made; her negotiation skills — honed by the job itself — and the employee discount she couldn’t remember officially having made secondhand style the only store that made even a modicum of sense. it was just a pit stop anyways, she needed a new pair of jeans seeing as the inner seam of the ones she still happened to be wearing had torn apparently without rhyme or reason at the very beginning of what was set to be a very eventful day. she’d grab a new pair, change in a dressing room and they’d be on their way. but first, she had to find a pair she loved as much as her well-worn boyfriend cut.
❝ ok, what do we think about low rises ? you know, getting out there… trying new things… at this rate we’re probably going to miss pre-bar brunch anyway so it’s not like it’d be outrageous yeah ? ❞ she poses the question to salem, an embroidered pair of jeans in hand, ❝ or i mean i could just grab some cargos… what do you think ? ❞ ─ ✶⋆.˚
closed- for @bvlladonnas // esme location - los fantasmas
"if i ask you to make me the strongest drink you guys have here you promise not to ask any questions right?" salem said a bit stressed as she sat down at the bar. she was relieved to see esme was working tonight, spilling her guts to locals would probably be a new low for her. "i did something kinda bad to leon...again." regretfully that was becoming a reoccurring theme in her life. "does it count as ghosting if you just leave early in the morning without saying goodbye? or am i really just a horrible person? i'm the worst aren't i?" she let out a groan before resting her head on her arms.
salem let out a quiet chuckle wishing that were true but honestly she was very fucked up. she'd been dealing with her mental illness since she was was fifteen, among other things she never really talked about. life for her would always be a constant battle mentally and emotionally. she looked up at leon with tears in her eyes as he spoke. they both loved each other, that much was apparent but she hated knowing just how much she hurt him. "and i love you leon but it's just-" she let out a sigh before continuing. "sometimes i feel like you'd be better off with someone who's more stable. i try really hard to make sure whatever problems i have don't spill over into our relationship and i hate that i make you feel so pathetic when things get like this." she knew what she was about to say next would probably definitely be harsh words to hear but it was the truth. "i can't promise that we'll get back together right now and everything going forward will be easy. that i won't get in my head again and do this to you a third time..." she fidgeted with one of her rings trying to distract herself from the small wave of anxiety that was coming over her. this conversation was too uncomfortable and she wasn't the best with confrontation. she hated knowing that anyone had ill feelings towards her or that she was able to hurt anyone to that capacity, especially leon who'd been the absolute best to her even before they were dating.
leon sighs. there's so much sadness in his eyes. "you're not fucked up, sal." he empathizes with her because he knows the feeling so well. that feeling of being a mess and not knowing why or how to explain it. he feels bad. he doesn't want to be angry at her, but she really hurt him. is he supposed to act like everything's fine? "i... i fucking love you," he looks into her eyes. "i fucking love you so much that every time you leave i-" he chokes up a bit. "i feel pathetic, you know? i feel pathetic and i do fucked up shit, too. i don't know how to deal with it." leon feels so ashamed that he fucked kala right after salem dumped him over the phone. who is he to judge her? "i love you. but you can't keep doing this to me. you need to talk to me, too. before everything blows up." he wants to forgive her so badly. reset and repeat. erase and rewind.