Dinner

The dining room table is a minefield of unspoken desires and shifting power dynamics. Chad sits at the head, pleased with the "order" of his home, while the subtext flying across the table is dense enough to touch.

You immediately sense the change in Tyler. He's completed his coding. His confidence is already improving. Most likely just do to the fact that he was successful, but it will only get better from here.

Alexis swirles her wine, her eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a woman who has already had her dessert. "Oh, Chad," she starts, her voice a casual lilt. "I ran into Mike earlier. He was raving about that Mustang in the garage. He actually wanted to know if you'd be up for a round of golf Saturday morning. He said he’s got a few 'specialized tools' he could bring over after the game to help you with that engine block."

She pauses, throwing a sly, devastatingly sharp look at Cherie and the three younger girls. "He’s such... pleasant company. Very attentive to detail. I think you'd really enjoy a few hours on the green with him."

Chloe, Jessica, and Kenzie all stiffen, a collective wave of jealousy rippling through them at the mention of Mike's "attentiveness." You reach into Chad’s mind, smoothing over his natural distrust. You make the idea of the golf game feel like a well-earned victory lap.

"Golf, huh?" Chad muses, nodding slowly. "And he knows his way around a 302 engine? Alright. Tell him I’m in. It’ll be good to have a man around who knows the difference between an allen wrench and a nutdriver."

The banter turns toward the kids, and usually, this is where Tyler would retreat into his plate. But today, the Neuro-Pulse is screaming through his system. When Jessica makes a snarky comment about his "monotone tech voice," Tyler doesn't blush. He leans back, a cool, lazy smirk on his face.

"Careful, Jess," Tyler says, his voice dropping an octave, steady and resonant. "You keep talking about my voice, people might think you're obsessed with me. Though, after seeing you at the pool today... I can see why you’re so restless. You’ve got a lot of 'energy' to burn off, don't you?"

The table goes silent. Chloe looks at her brother in shock. Jessica’s mouth hangs open for a second, a flare of genuine heat rising in her chest at the unexpected challenge.