How to Live Single in the City, 2004

Havar, fall, 2004
Li is 32

When starting over your life as an urban professional, there are certain requirements. An apartment with a great view so you can day dream while working on your latest design. It helps if the apartment you inhabit is one you designed and your company is allowing you to live there at a highly discounted rate.

The view from most of the windows should be glamourous, even the back of the buildings should be asthetically framed.

The apartment should also have a great lounge to sip coffee or juice and watch the sims walk by.

You should also not forget to get a cute cuddly pet to share your one bedroom loft apartment with bonus room and rooftop terrace with.

Li did all those things within weeks of her divorce. In addition to securing her urban oasis, work was going great. There was talks that if Apple Valley moved to a combined terrain then Li would be awarded the position of City Planner to design the new area. It made sense since she played such a large role in the reconstruction of the hood after the great flood. However that desicion was simyears away and Li needed to concentrate on the tasks at hand.

Sometimes she couldn't concentrate and needed to call a very special friend to request a mutual favor. While waiting for her friend, Li would often observe the lounge of the apartment and make design notes. She tried to keep the fact that she designed the building a secret as she polled the residents of why they enjoy (or not enjoy) living in the lofts. Most of the residents loved the closeness to the amenities of the metro, such as the nearby theater.

Finally her guest arrived.

"This doesn't mean anything, ok?" she whispered as they slid into bed.

Tobi nodded, "Ok."

Besides bedding ex-husbands, Li made freequent visits to the spa on her company's expense. They wanted her to keep a certain image to potential clients and Li was happy to oblige in the weekly trims,

and deep tissue massages that her insurance covered.

She knew that her job had a lot of perks, but she never expected one such perk to be in the form of a client. Glen was from Kimikura and only had two simweeks to spend to review the progress of his design.

Li was instantly attracted, as was Glen. They continued thier conversation over dinner in Li's loft, followed by some shy flirting in the kitchen.

Flirting lead to dancing in the changing light of the sunset, which

very quickly lead to kissing

and more kissing and finallythe short trip upstairs to Li's bed.

It was only supposed to be a fling, something to do while Glen was in Apple Valley. However, does one really know when a fling ends? Is it over when the partners start to spend as much time outside the bed talking as inside the bed playing?

Does it end when one sim surprises the other by fixing dinner?

Or is it over when silence tends to loam, neither wanting to discuss the fact that only simdays remain until a plane takes Glen back to Kimikura?

To get her mind off the serious issues, Li invites Bradford and Suzanna over.

"You look amazing," Bradford said entering the apartment.

"You said that this morning in the espresso line."

"Well, you do. Whatever is going on in your life, you need to continue it."

Li and Glen happily watched the couple giggle in the kitchen. Each wrapped up in thier own thoughts. Should they try to make the relationship a little more seriously...or leave well enough alone?

"I can't believe that you're trying for another baby already. Lilly isn't even a year old."

"When you get my age, there isn't a lot of time to try to have children. We both want another child and decided that now is the time."

"Wow, well you could always look into fertility treatments, that's how we got the triplets."

After the couple left, Li and Glen quickly got more comfortable.

"What are we going to do, Li?" Glen asked painfully.

"I don't know."

"I want to-"

"Ssh, your plane leaves tomorrow, let's just enjoy tonight."