Oh hey, it's pool time, eh? (Open)

[seismic_shockwave]

 It was a beautiful August afternoon. Almost disgustingly gorgeous, actually. The humidity had finally fallen to an acceptable level and it was showing up as a very lovely 80 Fahrenheit (27 Celsius to Kayla, it would always be 27 Celsius). It was beautiful and safe ... it'd probably be awhile before Kayla felt like going camping again. Nobody had been hurt too badly, but it'd still been an awful mess, and Rose hadn't really been the same after it. 

It was perfect weather for a dip in the lake. Not too hot, not too cold, no real wind. And it was also an absolutely perfect opportunity to take her new swimsuit on a trial run. 

Kayla had always loved water, since she was a little kid. She remembered her father always joking that she should have been born a dolphin or something. She'd never have made a swim team in any significant way, but swimming had come naturally to her- but even more so, just the feeling of being in cool water, floating, treading water, even just standing in it. 

If other people joined her, that was awesome, but she didn't mind being alone either. Like a complete goon, she started running down the pier and jumped into the water.

Comments

[kinetic_assault]

Brianna grinned at the splashing. She didn't really think Kayla would freak out but she was glad her girlfriend didn't lose it at the thought of meeting her father. Things with Mom went well but Brianna sensed it was because Betsy did the English "stiff upper lip" default setting rather than express what she was really thinking.

"Well, I was worried that you'd worry. Trust me, it'll go okay. Bring your best poker face because he wants to play poker with us." Brianna said.

"You can play poker, right?"

[seismic_shockwave]

Kayla had thought the conversation pretty frank, truth be told, though it had certainly been a little nerve-inducing.

"So ... he wants to fleece his daughter and her girlfriend." Kayla replied with a faint smirk. "Yeah, I can play poker all right. Though if you've got any hot tips, I'm all ears."

[kinetic_assault]

"Rule One is simple. If you're not cheating, you're not trying." Brianna said.

"Rule Two follows Rule One pretty closely: If you get caught, you aren't trying hard enough." she grinned.

[seismic_shockwave]

"Well, damn. I'll have to be on my worst behaviour." Kayla grinned broadly. "I'll have to put on my devil horns, clearly."

"So when's he planning on having this friendly little get-together?" Kayla asked brightly.

[kinetic_assault]

"Maybe tomorrow night? How does that sound?"

[seismic_shockwave]

"Tomorrow night? Well, hot damn, I'll put that on my social calendar then." Kayla grinned broadly. "Maybe I can make some of those beignets everyone loves so much. Their deliciousness might distract him from his A-game."

Because Kayla knew damn well she'd need every advantage she could get. They were talking about Gambit here. Poker was his thing. Or a big part of it at least.

[kinetic_assault]

"Do it. We'll need every advantage we can get." Brianna said, suddenly a little nervous at the prospect of this meeting. There was no reason to fear her dad not liking Kayla, but she wanted her whole family to get along with her girlfriend.

"Thank you for being so awesome about this. You don't have to and I appreciate it." she said, kissing her on the cheek.

[seismic_shockwave]

"It's important to you." Kayla replied sincerely, brushing away a few loose strands of Brianna's hair. "And you're important to me. I mean, it'll probably be fun. I imagine your dad's pretty chill."

She laughed. "So tomorrow night, then." She raised her eyebrow with a bit of a puckish grin. "Tomorrow night is good." A bit of emphasis on the word "tomorrow".

[kinetic_assault]

Kayla's words made Brianna feel better about everything. She smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yeah, he's pretty chill...but he's always got an angle. Always." she said.

"Tomorrow night is booked, then. Tonight, however, is totally free. Did you have any plans?" she asked.

[seismic_shockwave]

"Yeah." Kayla replied with a small grin. "Starts with some room service. I'm gonna make us some special treats. And we're not sharing any of it." She laughed. "And what happens after that, well, that's up for us to decide, yeah?"

"Any special requests?"

[kinetic_assault]

"I like the sound of that. I'd like rice krispy treats. I've been craving those all week but Mum's had me in training." Brianna said.

"I'm going to go batty if I don't get any."