✦ ⋆ ࣪ . THE PASTA, VINNIE! 🗯️ . ‹𝟥
━━━ chapter 022 ( real life + social media )

vinnie has to resist the urge to shout 'honey, i'm home,' after sliding his key into his apartment door and swinging it open, since he's had to go about his whole day knowing that amara is somewhere inside waiting for him.

he maneuvers through his suspiciously quiet apartment, glancing around the living room as he passes by it to find a paused netflix show on the tv. he then continues to the kitchen, the corners of his lips immediately lifting once he finds his girlfriend behind the counters. her hair is put into a messy updo held together by a claw clip and she's dressed in his clothes from head to toe. she's mouthing the lyrics of some song, the headphones on her head drowning out the sound of his keys hitting the island counter as she approaches the stove.

vinnie steps into the area still going unnoticed, silently observing what she is doing long enough to figure out she's making spaghetti. his expression grows into a full smile, coming close enough to her to hear the quiet words she sings underneath her breath.

"like a loser like me will be fine," she mumbles, vinnie's eyes landing on her phone set aside when she continues stirring her boiling pasta still without noticing him. he smiles to himself at his idea before reaching forward and tapping the screen, deciding to disconnect her bluetooth when the display turns on.

instantly, the song begins to play from her phone's speakers instead. amara frowns, curiously glancing to her phone and faltering when she finds vinnie stood there, his keys already tossed aside. her eyes automatically widen and vinnie chuckles, finally walking from behind the counter to the side she's stood on. "hey, baby."

at the sound of his voice, she snaps out of it and melts into a smile. once he's close to her, she instinctively reaches out for his face, causing him to softly smile as he reaches down to pull her headphones to her neck. she intends to greet him with just a peck, but she also knows vinnie better than that, and the second she closes her eyes to connect their mouths, she feels his arms smoothly slide around her waist.

her hands slide around his neck, meeting in the back as vinnie pulls away from her to whisper, "i missed you."

amara's smile widens, teasingly tilting her head to reply, "it hasn't even been a full day."

vinnie only shakes his head, muttering, "all i could think about was you." he pulls her close with his arms still wrapped around her, unable to help his grin. "here," his voice lowers before he leans in to peck her lips. "waiting for me."

vinnie feels accomplished at the crinkles which form by her eyes, her hands dropping from his neck as she playfully rolls her eyes. "should've come home sooner then," she teases, stepping aside so that he drops his hold on her, and walking to her pot of boiling water. he watches her stir and examine it before reaching to turn the burner off. she then turns back to him, telling him, "i took a shower and i cleaned your room."

"well, aren't you perfect?" vinnie replies cheekily, causing amara to press her lips together to resist rewarding him with a smile. his eyes follow her as she walks to the cabinet she knows the strainer is in. and he loves that she just knows. sighing, he can't help but say, "you should just move in."

he watches her pause in the midst of reaching down to grab the strainer, slowing her movements before she fully stands back up. her eyes find his and she smiles, but she also gives him a look. "vinnie."

he chuckles at the way she's looking at him like he's crazy. "what? i'm serious," he says nonchalantly, shrugging when amara narrows her eyes. he steps closer to her when she walks over to grab the noodles on the stove, making her falter for a second at his stare. "i want to come home to you every day," he says honestly, leaning back on the counter as amara's eyes linger on him. he catches a hint of a smile on her lips before she turns around with both the strainer and the pot, shaking her head as she approaches the sink.

as she pours the steaming water into the strainer, vinnie glances over to the stove. he notices that she left the burner the sauce is on, on low, and reaches forward to turn it off. he goes ahead and stirs it as well, glancing back at amara when he no longer hears any water, and finds her eyes already on him, a smile at her lips.

he smiles like a fool as she walks to him with the steaming noodles already stored in tupperware, setting it aside on the counter as she comes to stand next to him in front of the stove. she has two bowls in her other hand and hands one to him. "you know i love playing house with you, vin," she starts, her voice soft, and with the combination of the nickname, able to easily make his grin widen. "but we just got back together." although he knew the but was coming, that doesn't make him want to sigh any less. "moving in together is too much too fast, don't you think?"

vinnie shakes his head, setting aside the spoon he was using to stir the sauce and then stepping away to grab some tongs. he comes back with them and hands them to amara, who grins appreciatively before taking them from him, and he answers, "i think we both know how we feel." she begins grabbing noodles to put into her bowl and glances over to him to catch his cheesy grin before he says, "and i sleep better next to you."

she decides she has enough pasta and looks up to meet his eyes, playfully muttering, "shut up and make your spaghetti." he scoffs amusedly as she scoots past him to get to the sauce, and takes her previous spot to fill his bowl with noodles.

the two fall into silence as they both get their dishes ready, and vinnie finds himself enjoying how normal this feels as amara walks to the fridge to grab parmesan cheese. he's able to focus on the song still playing aloud in the midst of their comfortable silence, the corner of his lips uplifting at the lyrics.

'cause i don't wanna be in love with another, even in another life

he looks back to amara sprinkling cheese over her bowl and comes to stand next to her. she passes the cheese to him and once he begins sprinkling his, he hears her let out a breath. "you were serious about wanting me to move in?"

vinnie peers over at her to see the gears turning in her head and resists from smiling. as he goes to put the cheese back in the fridge, he answers, "of course i was. i am."

a beat of silence follows his words and he can see amara debating herself internally. he smiles, as he hadn't expected her to even consider it in the first place, and attempts to look like he wasn't smiling when she looks back to him. "but my apartment with nai and larray is so cozy. all my stuff is there." she creates an argument.

vinnie only shrugs, his counter-argument immediate. "your stuff could be here though," he replies surely, amara biting her cheek so that she doesn't smile so quickly. vinnie notices the habit and leans closer to her. "and you can do whatever you want with my place. make it yours."

her face practically lights up as the distance between them shortens, the smell of pasta still floating in the air around them. "you'd let me yassify your apartment?"

he rolls his eyes at her choice of words, but still, obviously answers, "sure, mars."

no longer able to fight her grin, she lets it take over her completely. "okay," she gives in.

vinnie's heart skips a beat, not sure he's heard her correctly. "okay?" he repeats, in disbelief it could be that easy.

"okay," she repeats, confident enough in her answer now to shrug as if it's no big deal.

instantly, the second vinnie realizes she's being serious, a grin the same as hers takes over his features as well. he quickly leans forward to kiss her, passionately connecting their lips by gently grabbing ahold of her jaw. he has every intention of showing her how much he cares for her with the kiss, but he also forgets how much he struggles with growing all too consumed by her the second their lips meet.

he feels her tilt her head to grant him easier access to her, but when he tries to slide his tongue into her mouth, she lightly pushes his chest with a giggle. "the pasta, vinnie," she reminds him.

vinnie immediately feels snapped back into reality. as much as he wants to say fuck the pasta, he's much too hungry, and amara is a phenomenal cooker. "right," he blinks repeatedly, dazed as he separates himself from her. "the pasta."

vinniehacker added to their instagram story

♫ heavy, the marías
❛ 'cause i don't wanna be in love with another,
even in another life. . . ❜

💌

there needs to be a vinnie hacker wattpad resurgence so bad cus why am i the only one out here rn 😞

<3
jaden