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Baking cookies was always a nice break from the toils and troubles of the real world but it was even more fun when she got to share the experience with someone else. And, considering how few people were actually around in Jules' world, it was a special treat in itself for her to actually have someone over to experience the fun with.

It hadn't taken long to make the dough, Jules freezing the night before the designated meet-up day she'd arranged with the younger woman. Julianne wanted to spend the majority of their visiting time decorating, not simply prepping, so she'd gone ahead and done the boring stuff to allow Knot the ability to maximize her time on cooking decorating focusing.

Rolling out the dough and cutting the shapes with the cutters had been fairly simple, Knot picking up the knack for it as natural as Jules had, when she was a child. Rewarded with cocoa, the white haired girl had stepped back to allow Jules to transition the tray from counter to oven, the older woman soon collecting her own mug to enjoy while the smell of gingerbread filled the kitchen.

"What exactly did you challenge him to?"

A quick sip and Jules found herself pausing, the mental images springing up all involving either illegal or inappropriate things. Closing her eyes, she shook her head.

"Wait." "Do I want to know how you challenged him to it?"

The smile on her face perked up in amusement as Knot explained about the wrestling match. It was a curious choice, especially judging by how... well, massive Dallas was. Did Knot really feel like she had a chance against the larger man in a game of strength? Not that Jules didn't think Knot wasn't strong... but she lacked the sheer muscle that the cowboy displayed and...

Julianne's smile faltered at the mention of poker and panties.

She'd played strip poker with the horn dog?

It fell completely, twisting into a scowl when the snowy haired girl mentioned her purity streak. Jules had a feeling that Knot wasn't a virgin - not that it was really her business - but for Dallas to put sex on the line for a woman who wasn't interested...

She took a deep breath and struggled to hold back the urge to grab the nearest, biggest wooden spoon that she had and not teleport herself over to his ranch as Angelite and whap the absolute crap out of that giant of a man.

"You'll have to take me out sailing sometime, if you know how to steer something like that." Her voice was a little flat as she fought to keep her cheerfulness intact. God, she knew she should have added a little alcohol to the cocoa - that man was going to drive her into being a drinker, before the end of the year.

"Sounds like he got the beating he deserved - man could use a little more humility in his life."

The hand wave snapped her attention away from the imaginative scenario playing out in Jules' head on how she was going to punish Dallas for being an uncouth cad to such a precious girl. Knot must have sensed the tension because she was quickly trying to defend him - bless her heart, she was a good kid, looking after that handsome mutt the way she did.

Wait. Were they... what?

"Oh, I don't know if I'd call it that."

Fingers squeezed the mug she was cupping, a pink flush crossing her cheeks as she allowed herself a moment to dwell on the question. They had never really... talked about it, Dallas and her. He simply showed up whenever he felt like it and if she needed a hand with something or wanted company when going somewhere, she shot him a text.

Did that... did that qualify as dating or were they just friends with frequent benefits?

Was friends with benefits even a thing, anymore?

"He's got his good qualities, I suppose."

Sipping on the cocoa, she hurried her way over to the oven, flipping on the light so she could peer inside at the rising cookies, doing her best to distract from the line of questioning she'd been addressed with.

He doesn't go sauntering his way back to any other woman repeatedly.

Granted, knowing that Dallas was hopping beds wasn't the most romantic gesture but the comment in itself had little butterflies fluttering in her stomach all the same. To be considered special to someone was... refreshing. Nice.

Jules couldn't help the flush, one hand moving up to gently fan herself as if she blamed the warmth of the oven as the culprit behind her colored cheeks. As Knot continued to muse aloud, the smile softened significantly as fingers nervously rubbed on the outside of her mug.

"Commitment can end pretty terribly, though." A quick sip and she struggled to find the right words for what she was thinking. "Sometimes people may have found themselves hurt by in, so they're a little gun shy about pulling the trigger a second time."

Silence fell over Jules as she contemplated the notion. It wasn't that she was against the idea, it just...

Well. Having your life turned upside down once because of a man was bad enough, allowing a second the chance to do the same thing was...

It was something she wasn't going to think about at the moment.

"I think the cookies will be ready soon," Her mug was set aside as she moved towards the oven, glancing inside before sweeping across the kitchen and fetching supplies here and there, "We should probably get started on the icing, if we don't want to be stuck in here all day."

Knot was far too clever for her own good and Jules had a feeling if she let the woman to her own devices, she'd be playing matchmaker faster than she could get the cookies out of the oven.

"You can't really do it wrong," she offered back, amused at how quickly the snowy haired girl was ready to jump into things. The cookies were shuffled from tray to cooling rack, icing collected and prepared in cozy, neat little dispensers.

After all, she wouldn't be much of a baker if she wasn't organized.

"So no pansy gingermen, I see." It was Julianne's turn to smile, a sly one spreading as she offered the girl the blue icing. "How about an officer? If we're talking about men on our mind, it could be cute to see how a little police officer turned out~"

As if to prove her point, she leaned over with the black icing and drew a simple face -- and a very distinct scowl to go along with it.

"Does that look serious enough to you?"

At seeing the crestfallen look on the younger woman, Jules's maternal instinct had her reaching out to take the girl's shoulder. She hesitated though, not wanting to draw more attention to the issue than it needed as Knot seemed to be eager to avoid chatting about it.

She was worried, though, and it came across in her expression as she quickly forced a smile and shifted the conversation back to her companion's tangent.

"A side man? Goodness. I don't know how you manage to juggle all of that in and cookie decorating. Busy woman, I see." The older woman took a step to the side, pulling out a faceless, plain cookie for herself as she listened to her friend chatter, all the while debating what to do with her John Doe.

The icing paused, however, when the mention of birthday came out.

"Your birthday? You had your birthday and you didn't even tell me?"

Horror stricken, blue eyes widened and Jules made a mental note to smack Jimmy Wayne an extra time or two with her rolling pin for letting such an important tidbit slide by without her knowing. The poor girl had a birthday and Jules hadn't done anything for her! And, god only knew Dallas hadn't done anything - besides probably offer up his services, the dog.

"We'll have to celebrate -- I'm not going to take no for an answer, ma'am," she clucked her tongue and shook her head, mostly ashamed at herself for letting such an event get missed by the usually highly-organized woman.

The icing made it halfway across the mouth when the mention of a cowboy had her hand freezing. A five o'clock shadow? On a cookie?

"I... we could test it out?" The color was back and Jules found herself surprisingly satisfied with the half-made smile, the line having curved up into a smirk of its own. Leave it to Jimmy Wayne Dallas to manage a smirk, even in cookie form.

Turning around to the cabinets, she dug around until she found her canister of cinnamon and her sugar container. A quick mix and she had her material - spreading out a very, very thin amount of icing provided a sticky surface for the cinnamon-sugar mixture to cling to.

"You do realize that we're going to have to eat our cookie men after we're finished, right?"

Pleased that her impromptu birthday plan hadn't been protested, Jules was already busy trying to come up with a quick way to celebrate on last minute's notice. No doubt the white haired girl would have New Year's plans with her special --- well, side piece, if she was on the outs with her officer, but young pretty women like her surely had plans for the major holidays.

Oh, how it'd be nice to be young and carefree like that again.

"Now Knot, we don't wear hats in the house, after all~"

Still, fingers were searching around their array of confectionery supplies in search for anything that would aid her in crafting a quick, tasty little hat for the cookie version of their incorrigible cowboy. Once finished, she lifted the small treat up carefully, showing it off as if she were waiting to pose for a camera.

"I think you might be right -- taking a bite out of my friend here may do me some good this evening, ha."