That evening, Niko was discussing with his wife his trip to Los Santos to meet some friends - both old and new.
"I honestly think it sounds a little... iffy, sweetie." Alejandra voiced her mild concern as she sat in bed. "PLEASE buy a gun as soon as you get there - the gun laws there are far more agreeable than here."
Niko sighed. "You sure you can't come with me?"
Alejandra giggled. "Baby, you know I have work. Besides, you're only going for a couple of weeks."
Meanwhile, Tracey sat in her bedroom all dolled up, and had built up enough courage to call Franklin. "Please pick up, please pick up..."
"Hello?" Franklin answered the phone.
"Franklin! Hey! How ya doin'? So, listen, um, how 'bout we hang out again? Y'know - just us two?" Tracey asked somewhat nervously.
Franklin raised his eyebrows. "Uh, yeah - fo' sure, girl. You want me to come pick you up?"
"I mean, I could drive my car over to your place and pick you up..." Tracey offered.
"Man, you don't hafta do dat." Franklin replied.
"Oh, please, let me - after you showed me such a good time the other night, I feel like I owe it to you!" Tracey insisted.
Franklin chuckled. "I guess you ain't gonna let me say no, huh? A'ight, I'll be here, Trace. It's at 3671, Whispymound Drive."
"Great, see ya soon!" Tracey then hung up and shrieked excitedly.
"Keep it down, moron!" Jimmy called out from his bedroom as he sat on his bed.
"Shut it, twerp!" Tracey shouted back.
Jimmy rolled his eyes as he looked at the laptop resting on his belly. "Just my sister."
On the other end of the video chat, Taliana rolled her own eyes and chuckled in understanding. "Man, tell me about it. Anyways, if you're gonna play first-person shooters, you gotta play the best! Like the oldies! I mean, the Righteous Slaughter and Call of Doody games are okay, but if ya wanna get a REAL thrill? You gotta play the TimeShitters games, Jimmy - they'll blow your mind!"
"Yeah, I played those a little as a kid, but I'll have to buy one of the older consoles to play 'em." Jimmy replied.
"Hey, then why don't I just buy ya one? I got the money." Tali offered.
"Man, come on, you don't have to spend your money on me, Tali."
Tali then lifted up her shirt and revealed her bare chest in an effort to persuade. "You sure?" She teased as she swayed slightly from side to side.
Jimmy's eyes opened wide. "Okay, sure." He responded with an enthusiastic monotone, making Tali chuckle.
A short while later, Tracey had arrived at Franklin's house in her yellow car, thanks to her sat nav. She got out the car and rang Franklin's doorbell, and she was shortly greeted by him.
"Ay, baby!" Franklin greeted warmly as he hugged Tracey. They both kissed each other on the cheek and went to the car.
"I wanna treat you to the best club I know, Franklin." Tracey said with a smirk as she revved the car's engine.
"A'ight, shit, I'm down - nothin' too crazy though, right?" Franklin responded, getting a reassuring nod in return.
"You have a really nice house, by the way, Franklin. Maybe I could visit some time?" Tracey commented as she drove.
"Hell, it'd be rude of me not to let you!" Franklin chuckled.
"Well, thank you." Tracey smiled. "Do you have a pool by any chance?"
"Yeah, I do actually." Franklin answered. "How'd ya guess?"
"Oh, just the beautiful house and the nice location an' all." Tracey replied.
"Well, thanks, I appreciate it. Ay, maybe you could use the pool some time - test it out, if you will." Franklin offered.
"Really? That's cool of you, thanks!"
"Man, it prob'ly ain't as good as your pool, but hey, a pool's a pool." Franklin admitted.
Tracey chuckled. "It's probably not that bad, Franklin."
Several minutes later, they had arrived at Bahama Mamas West. "This place? I wouldn't've guessed." Said Franklin.
Tracey giggled and took Franklin's hand. "C'mon, let's have some fun."
Just after midnight, Franklin decided they both get back to the car before they both got too hammered.
"Agh, you're such... a buzz-kill!" Tracey complained in her semi-drunken state. "But thanks for the night out, Frankie!"
"And thank you for introducin' me to the world of martinis and shit. You think you can drive?" Franklin responded, sounding quite tipsy himself.
"Sure!" Tracey replied confidently.
Some time later, they arrived back at Franklin's, at which point they'd both sobered up a bit.
"Hey, thanks for the drinks, Frankie." Tracey said sincerely. Franklin chuckled.
"Ain't nothin' to it, baby." Franklin replied as they both got through the front door and went towards the couch.
"Wow, nice place!" Tracey commented. "It's even better tha- *hic*- than MY house!"
Franklin rolled his eyes in amusement. "I think you better siddown, girl."
Tracey rolled her own eyes and smirked. "Whatever you say..."
Franklin went to get a couple bags of potato chips. "Ay, you want a snack?" He asked as he held the bag in front of Tracey.
"Yeah, thanks!" Tracey took the bag with glee and began chomping down on the crunchy snacks, whilst Franklin sat beside her and did the same. Tracey then noticed Franklin's bong on the coffee table. "Oh, do you smoke pot?"
"Huh? Oh, not anymore. I used to sometimes, when I had nothin' else goin' on. I still keep that though, like a sentimental ornament or some shit. An old friend bought it for me a while ago."
"Man, Jimmy just smokes it non-fricking-stop. He's definitely an addict." Tracey commented with an eye-roll.
"You don't smoke then?" Franklin asked.
"Nah, but I do have coke occasionally. Just for the parties that are REAL crazy."
Franklin shook his head lightly. "Man, I stay away from that shit - I lost my mama that way."
Tracey gasped as her eyes widened in guilt. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry, Franklin - I had no idea!"
Franklin let out an understanding chuckle. "Ay, don't worry 'bout it, girl. Just sayin', you wanna cut down on that shit, that's all I'm sayin'."
"Okay..." Tracey said softly. "Still though, I'm REALLY sorry you had to go through that. Must've been horrible."
"It was. But it's been a long time now - I've had plenty o' time to cope, ya know?" Just then, Tracey saw Franklin's Rottweiler wander in from the downstairs area, making her gasp out of shock. "Ay, don't mind Chop. He don't bite." Franklin told Tracey, just as Chop walked over to Tracey and sat on the floor in front of her with his tongue out.
"Does he want me to pet him?" Tracey asked.
"Sure. Here, gimme yo' hand." Franklin then took Tracey's awaiting hand and guided it over Chop's soft fur, and began stroking him. "He likes you, Trace." Franklin smiled as Chop panted. Tracey also smiled as she stroked Chop, then looked at Franklin and caught herself grinning at him. She quickly looked back at Chop as her smile dropped out of embarrassment. "So, uh... you goin' to college soon, right?" Franklin asked.
Tracey nodded. "Mhm. Yup."
"What you studying?"
"Absolutely no idea. I'm surprised I even made it this far in life, even with Dad's support." Tracey admitted.
"Man, you don't hafta feel like that; somethin'll come up eventually. Man, just last year I was broke as a joke, doin' the same thang as I'd done for ages - day in, day out - when I happened to come across yo' dad, and he changed my life, man. Now, I can afford a proper house and plenty of food with plenty of recreational time, and I got him to thank - I owe him my life, man. So, if it happened to me, it's bound to happen wit' you at some point, Trace."
A hopeful smile slowly crept onto Tracey's lips. "Ya really think that?"
Franklin let out a light chuckle. "Ha. Definitely."
Tracey smiled, then she thought. "Gosh, I... didn't realise that you and Dad were so close. Must be great to have such dependable friends. I'm really glad that Dad met you; otherwise, I never woulda met you!"
"Well thanks, Trace - I'm glad I met you, too." Franklin said with an honest smile.
Tracey and Franklin stared at each other for what felt like a long time, when Tracey's instincts took her over and she practically lunged forward, kissing Franklin with infinitely more passion than she'd kissed anyone until this moment. It was a soft kiss, but a long one; Franklin's eyes closed and he got into it as he gently held Tracey's shoulders. Finally, Tracey pulled back, just as Chop walked away in bemusement.
"I... I'm sorry, I just... I wasn't thinking." Tracey stuttered. Franklin reassured her by kissing her again; more deeply this time. As they kissed, they held each other. Franklin pulled back this time.
"I ain't thinkin' neither." Franklin said as he stood up and held out his hand to Tracey, prompting her to take his hand and do the same. After walking hand-in-hand downstairs to Franklin's bedroom, they shut the door behind them and began kissing even more as they slowly undressed each other.
