Chapter 4.14

Burton and Ember never made it to the top peak. Weather struck and the two were too tired so they all went back to the lodge.

In the morning, Burton tries his hand at cooking breakfast.

That didn’t go so well.

Shayne to the rescue!

(At least he’s thinking about putting out the fire!)

But instead, the handy dandy butler comes through.

“Good God, it stinks in here,” Shayne says, sniffing.

Burton cleans off all that soot and the three get ready to CLIMB!

“Why are we eating pizza out here?” Burton the proper boy lifts his upper lip in disgust.

Shayne doesn’t seem to mind. Anything to fill his stomach! He’s a man with low standards when it comes to food. 😅

They’ve set up camp just in case the weather gets bad. They won’t be going back until they’ve conquered the last cliff!

Winter wind howls as snow dumps on the trio, but they each scale the tall rocks.

Ember has a bit of trouble and has to start again.

Burton isn’t in a good mood. His muscles are aching and he needs something to amp up his emotions!

Finally, Ember conquers the cliff of the second climb but where are her men?

Aha! I find Burton dancing by a fire. Looks like we’ll have to wait until morning to finish the trek.

The sun peeks through the snowy peaks and the team is ready to get on with their expedition. Will they make it this time?

Those smiles say it all. They did it!

Burton isn’t sure about what will happen next. What does Ember have planned?

They survey the beauty of the top of the mountain. It’s covered in clouds. So dream-like.

(Ember…what’s going on? Where are you taking the men?)

“You’ll see, Creator. I have everything planned. I know who I want to be with for the rest of my life and I’m going to make it official.”

(***SHOCKED*** You DO???? 👀 OMG. This is it!)

She leads them up to the very tip top of the mountain.

She looks over her men whom she’s grown to love and adore. But only one can have her heart forever.

Who will she choose? Shayne or Burton?

She calls Shayne over.

Omg….he feels it. She might tell him to go home, saving Burton for the last one standing. His heart grips into his throat.

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Taking him by the hand she says, “Shayne, you’ve always stuck by me no matter what went on. You weren’t needy or pushy and you respected me throughout this process…but…

“I think it’s time I made our love official and tell the world how much I adore you. Shayne, will you accept this final rose?”

Heart fluttering, Shayne sputters, “Y-You mean it? You’re choosing…ME?”

“Yes, my love.”

With a heavy heart, Ember turns toward Burton.

Tears in his eyes, Burton blurts, “But darling, I thought you loved me. We were planning our family together.”

“I know, Burton. And I could see exactly how great we’d be together, but in the end, I fell madly in love with Shayne. The heart just knows what it wants.”

Hanging her head, she adds, “I’m so sorry.”

Struck in the gut by this loss, Burton can’t believe it. He thought he’d be the one in the end all this time.

Walking up to Shayne, Burton says, “I don’t like it but I wish you well with her, Shayne. Make her happy or else.”

Then he wanders to the cliff to make the long sad climb down the mountain.

Ember cannot contain her happiness. The two lovebirds stare at each other, reveling in their new confessions.

Suddenly, Ember drops to one knee. “My darling Shayne, will you make me the happiest woman on earth and marry me?”

“You’re…proposing? Now?” Shayne doesn’t know what to think.

(Accept it, you doofus! This is your moment!!!)

He puts the glittering diamond on his gloved finger.

(Omg…I can’t believe it fits!)

“I cannot wait to get married to you, babe,” Shayne gushes.

“Really? Well, that’s good because…”

She runs away from him, beckoning her fiance to follow her to the very top of the peak.

There’s a wedding arch. Shayne knows what his love is up to. “You’ve thought of everything.”

Embarrassed, Ember says, “Is this okay? We could wait until you meet my parents. They’re kind of ah…um…different.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t want to waste one more second. This is the start of the rest of our lives, sweetheart. I love you.”

With that, confetti pops as they seal their love with a marital kiss.

(Aww…they’re so cute together!!! ***cries happy tears***)

(Um…Ember? The cliffs are the opposite direction. Where the heck do you think you’re going? ***Hands on hips***)

But she ignores me.

When the two newlyweds get to a cave, clothes fly off and they pounce on one another.

(***hides eyes*** Oh MY!!!! I guess caves might be nice for…that! 😏 Watch out for bat guano!!!!)

The screeches of bats and blooming love billow out of the mouth of the cave.

And all is right in the world of Dim Sims.

Congratulations to SoulGal7 for Shayne’s win! They were fairly strong throughout. You’ll see there was a power shift from Burton to Shayne and even Mike TRIED to get the steal–he had more romance points at the end there but didn’t have a strong enough friendship to overrun Burton! First score is friendship points and second score is romance. I add them together for a final tabulation! Gotta have a mix of both. At the ending, Burton got jealous a lot and it was like Shayne was taunting him. Shayne got a little jealous too but not as much so it worked out for him.

Sorry to VanPelt on Burton’s loss. It was hard fought by both men. I have something special in mind for Burton’s character so we’ll be seeing more of him in the future! Thanks for sticking this out. Up next is the start of this legacy’s ISBI. And it’s crazy!

Shayne	E1 48	E2 58	E3 67 + 9= 76	E4 88 + 21=109	E5 100 + 59 = 159	E6 70 +66=136
Burton	57	62	71+7= 78	88 + 8= 96	100 + 52 = 152	61 + 41= 102
Mike	45	58	69+ 6= 75	88 + 22=100	79 + 71=150
Drake	45	54	65 + 7= 72	77 + 9=86
Michael	45	55	61 + 7=68
Jake	42	43
Omari	38