Overstimulated

Deliberately

No one ever told Aurora that making pancakes was so hard. Well, mixing pancakes was easy. Whisking flour, baking powder, milk, and eggs amongst other things in a bowl had been easy, fun actually. But flipping over the tender pastries had been a learning curve Aurora was not prepared for at eight in the morning.

"C'mon you fuckin' piece of shit," she growled, grinding her teeth as she fought to get the pancake to flip all the way over and not in on itself. She flicked her wrist quickly and almost squealed with glee when it landed fully on its other side.

"Fuckin' yes!" she whooped as she pressed down on the golden-brown circle, humming a nameless tune.

She stacked the latest one on top of her other three perfectly made cakes, pushing the plate of burned and misshapen mistakes to the side to dispose of later. Cooking this morning had been therapeutic compared to the night she'd had last night. Ari had fallen asleep hard after she'd sent the last text to Erik only to be woken up a few hours later by a pretty vivid dream of what would have happened if he hadn't stopped kissing her in the kitchen. She closed her eyes slowly and sighed wondering if she should address the situation, but quickly dismissed the idea. If he was cool about it then she was cool about it. No need to make the situation out to be more than what it was.

He was just stressed out and needed a friend to help calm him down, she thought as she sat at her island and began spreading strawberry jelly on her pancakes. The excuse was weak but she didn't care, she regretting nothing that happened last night.

Neither does he sis, her inner voice quipped.

Aurora rolled her eyes and picked up the jug of Aunt Jemima's, drizzling a generous amount over her plate and tucked into the food. She moaned around the first bite, it was good. Ari did a silly dance in her seat as she munched happily. She had a plan for today: some light shopping for a cute top and maybe some shoes for tomorrow, lunch at the new ramen bar they'd just added to the mall, stopping at the little jewelry store that opened nearby for some cute accessories and then back home to give herself a mani and pedi. If she was fast and discreet enough she figured she could get it all done before her two best friends were done with work for the day.

She opened her online banking app, checking her dwindling funds with an annoyed quirk of her mouth. Thank god she had paid her rent in six-month intervals. With the timeline Kamia and Jade had made for her book release, she had just enough to survive for the next few weeks. Aurora switched over some money from her savings to her checking account and blew out a breath. Writing was rewarding but the absence of a normal check was something she missed. Maybe she should get a part-time job...

Aurora sat her phone on the table with a heavy sigh. There had been several times in the past where she contemplated moving back home. Her mom always stressed how much she missed her since her move to California three years ago. Telling her that she was always welcomed to come back whenever she wanted.

"I always miss you when you're gone, mon chou," Donna would tell her, pinching the apple of her cheeks.

Aurora bit her lip, she missed her maman, but returning home somehow felt like a failure. Not to mention that it was a ways away from her life and friends here. She could find a new therapist...but she didn't want to. Her relationship and the understanding she achieved with Dr. Brown was irreplaceable and the idea of starting over with someone else she didn't trust was wholly unappealing.

And Erik. He was also a heavy reason to stay where she was, she could admit that. The idea of giving up her friendship made her heart thud uncomfortably in her chest.