#Calvin Klein try on haul

[moominchan]

Instagram: ruuna_070 Twitter: ruuna_070 Twitch: lunalorrain Facebook: Luna Lorrain

[firefly-in-darkness]

The Lost Converse

Pairing → Bucky Barnes x Reader

Characters → Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, other Marvel characters are mentioned.

Summary → Last nights party was a bit of a mad one, what do you do when you wake up in someone else's bed?

Word Count → 3k

Warnings → Alcohol consumption, hangover, waking up in a stranger's bed, memory loss due to drinking but its fun and fluffy in the end :) mischievous Alpine…

Betas → @bccky & @kalesrebellion // all mistakes are my own.

Prompts → Lost shoe at a party - @tarithenurse for their 1k follower celebration writing challenge thingy!!

SSB2021 Square Fill → Pulling a blanket over them when they sleep @star-spangled-bingo

A/N → Hope you like this one - I've written a fair amount of angst lately so have something that's a bit more fun! & a huge shoutout to Vee @bccky for bouncing ideas around and helping me getting the story on the right track!

As always, comments and reblogs are appreciated💕

Firefly’s Masterlist

The thumping motion in your head made you wince, and the light streaming through the haphazardly thrown curtains had your eyes scrunching in an instant. The dryness in your throat had you reach out blindly to your side for water and only finding an empty nightstand. You groaned as you hauled yourself up, the hangover churning in your stomach.

A glance to your other side showed a dark-haired man lying away from you on his front, fast asleep. Luckily for you, even though you had scrambled to get out of the sheets, you were clothed. Well, partially, you only had a shirt and a pair of boxers on.

Wait, boxers?

You frowned at the suddenly offensive item of clothing and inspected them. They were a decent pair of Calvin Klein’s. They must belong to the stranger, right?

Your fuzzy brain screamed at you as you tried to recall the events of the previous night, but it was just a drunken blur, and thinking back was causing too much strain.

Looking around the room, you spotted your jeans on the floor, and as you slipped out from the cover, they caught on your foot. You dropped with a thud and grimaced at the pain shooting through your knees. A quick glance at the man in the bed showed him to be still settled and undisturbed. You audibly sighed in relief, then clamped a hand over your mouth when he turned over onto his back, but thankfully, he remained asleep.

That was when you looked at his face for the first time, his body no longer concealed.

It was James Barnes, your best friend’s boyfriend’s roommate. And there he was, lying on the bed that you had only been in just a few minutes prior. The next thing you saw was the mouth-watering abs that peeked from his top that had accidentally raised during his sleepy movement.

Your eyes involuntarily went wide.

Oh no, oh no no no no!

You internally berated yourself as you tried to remember, how could you have been that drunk? To not even remember how you ended up here, at all?

A wave of nausea roused the memory of tequila and many, many other shots that were well past the count you had tried to keep. That was all on Natasha and Sam.

But this whole situation was a completely inaccessible memory and more than likely your fault. Of course, you had a crush on him, but this was most definitely nothow you wanted to go about it. You wished that you’d at least be able to remember 'the deed' if anything did happen.

Finally, you succeeded in untangling yourself from the sheets and were able to gather up your clothes from various parts of the room. You ducked out of the bedroom, slowly pulling the door close to not make any noise.

It felt comical trying to tiptoe from the bedroom to the bathroom, you knew the route easily enough from your many visits with Natasha to see her now-boyfriend Steve, but with the unconscious bodies sprawled out everywhere in the hallway randomly, it was a little more difficult.

Luckily enough, the people who were crashing on the couch and floor weren’t anyone you recognised, but you couldn't be too careful when you were doing the walk of shame.

You spotted your satchel next to the TV and grabbed it before you dived into the bathroom, locking the door. A wave of relief washed over you.

You’d made it to a place that could be considered neutral. Nobody had seen you sneak out of James’ room, so it was as if you had never been in there… if you didn't tell anyone, of course.

Once you pulled on your outfit from the night before, you shoved the borrowed top and boxers into your bag. Fortunately, it had been a casual party, so simple jeans and a t-shirt were appropriate. You had the decency to wash his clothes before you returned them, but you’d have to think of a way to bring it back, maybe Natasha or Steve would help.

All of that you'd think about later because right now, all you wanted was some painkillers, a gallon of water and your own warm, comfy bed.

Unfortunately, there was only one issue, and it was the shape of your converse. You groaned and glared at the solo sneaker on the bathroom floor, swearing to yourself that you had grabbed both.

Even though you tried to think of a way to get home without your second shoe, you knew it was difficult, if not impossible to walk through New York with nothing on your feet. You had a little more dignity than that, not that you were showing it with how you’d woken up in a man’s bed with no recollection of how it happened.

With a quick splash of cold water on your face and a deep breath later, you were ready to find the missing item as quickly as possible. You twisted the lock with a soft click and slowly walked out of the room, your socks muffling the sound of your footsteps. If anyone could see you now, you looked exactly like a creeping villain in the Scooby-Doo cartoons.

After a few minutes of looking around the living room and kitchen, you realised that the only logical place it could be was in James’ room... and it was the last place you wanted to go back to.

The embarrassment of not remembering and dealing with the whole 'morning after' talk, just wasn’t something you wanted to deal with in your current fragile condition.

You tip-toed to his door and gently pushed it open, peering in ever so slightly and noticing James was still fast asleep on the bed, rolled back over with the sheets wrapped around him like a burrito. Your stomach sank with disappointment - you wouldn’t mind seeing his face and that little delicious sliver of torso again, but you reminded yourself that now was not the time to whine, you had a mission at hand.

One - Get the converse.

Two - Get out.

Three - Hope that James doesn't remember anything... or at the very least, has the decency to not bring it up the next time you see each other.

You snuck around the room, which was a lot cleaner now that the sheets had been moved back onto the bed and around him. You’d find the shoe in no time, for sure.

Which, of course, wouldn't happen. Luck was not on your side today.

You huffed as you dropped to your knees once more to check under the bed. A glimmer of hope came in the familiar silhouette of your shoe just out of reach, so you flattened down and stretched out your arm. A blur of white fluff whizzed past you with the laces between her teeth, dragging the converse to the other side of the bed.

You instantly straightened up and hit your head on the edge of the bed frame, making you wince. The pain made the thumping in your head ten times worse, and you decided that now was as good a time as any for the floor to split open and swallow you whole. You rolled onto your back and stayed there with your eyes closed, waiting for the inevitability of James waking up.

“Alpine, give Y/N her shoe back.” A deep gravelly voice came from the bed, it was stern but gentle for a scolding.

You stealthily peeked an eye open and saw that James was sitting up against the headboard, a soft smile on his lips. His hair was in an adorable fluffy mess, sticking down on one side from where he'd slept on it. The sheets were pooling at his waist, and you couldn’t help but ogle at the cotton top that was tightening across his chest and biceps before you forced yourself to look away.

“Looking for this?” James asked huskily pointing to the converse being held protectively by Alpine.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.” You reached over and grabbed the converse before Alpine could get her claws on it again, “and yeah, I was looking for this. Um, about last night-”

"-Don't worry about it,” James interrupted.

You shook your head, “please let me finish. I just want you to know that this,” - you gestured between you two with your index - “wasn't something I thought would happen, and erm, I'm not really sure what this means.”

You looked away, the embarrassment heating up your cheeks as you tried to ignore the nerves causing your stomach to flip instead of the alcohol.

“Nothing happened,” James commented, supposedly agreeing without much concern.

You twisted around to look at him with a raised eyebrow, not sure if you had heard correctly, “What do you mean?”

James smiled, a dimple forming on his cheek as he recalled the previous night’s events.

Bucky couldn’t believe his eyes, it was only the third time he had met you but there you were with Alpine on the sofa, the cat neatly snuggled in your lap.

He wasn’t sure what to think or do, or who he was more jealous of.

Was he jealous of you? The way his cat had made a connection with you quicker than any of his friends, apart from Steve but he lived in the apartment too, it was a given.

Or was he jealous of Alpine? The way the cat had so easily wormed her way into your heart, and how your fingers gently stroked through the white fur.

He was jealous of you both, he concluded to himself. He would never admit how he felt for you. His friends had already ridiculed him for his crush and Steve had consistently encouraged him to get to know you better, to do something about it. He always chickened out, you were way out of his league and probably didn’t feel the same about him.

But tonight, had been different, he could feel your presence more than ever before.

It was in the way your eyes lingered on his face a few seconds longer or the way you sent him a sheepish smile when he’d catch you staring. Your laughter made him feel warm and the attempt to dance in the kitchen was a sight to behold, even if he could tease you about the terrible dance moves later.

Bucky noticed you were too drunk when you started stumbling around the living room and slurring your words. He signalled to Steve, and he came over instantly, “Think we need to put this one to bed.”

Steve nodded, “Come on, Y/N, it’s time for you to rest your little head. Your room okay, Buck? I’d offer mine but Nat’s staying over tonight.”

Bucky gulped inaudibly but nodded, helping Steve carry your out-of-balance body to his bedroom.

You were going to be in his bedroom, on his bed, sleeping? He didn’t know if he’d be able to cope with you so close and he knew that the couch was off-limits. Sam lived on that thing whenever he dropped in saying it was the best part of the whole apartment.

Steve gently placed you onto Bucky's bed, and you attempted to remove your t-shirt, which Steve immediately stopped. The growl you gave him made Bucky chuckle and call your attention straight to him.

“I can’t sleep in my clothes.” You whined, the blank look in your eyes making you look even more adorable with the little pout.

“Well, you can wear these, if you want.” Bucky pulled out a top and boxers and threw them your way and he swore that you grinned at him, but your face was hidden in an instant as you slumped onto Steve’s shoulder.

“Okay boys, let me sort her out.” Natasha appeared in the doorway, making a beeline for her best friend.

Steve and Bucky headed back into the party, the latter heading straight to the kitchen to get another beer, to hopefully help him forget about the beautiful woman lying in his bed and how, at some point tonight, he’d have to join her if he didn't want a backache from sleeping on the floor.

Upon his return to the lounge, Natasha was already sitting in Steve’s lap and with a quick glance down the hallway, Bucky saw that his bedroom door was closed. But another surprise was Alpine pawing at the wood panel.

Bucky’s heart melted at the sight of his cat pining for the person behind the door, and he decided what the harm would be in letting Alpine check in on you, for the former's sake of course. He slowly opened the door, hoping not to disturb you if you were asleep.

Alpine instantly rushed past him and jumped up onto the bed. She did a little walk around before settling by your feet at the end of the mattress. Bucky’s mouth went dry and was unable to move from his spot. If you had super hearing, you’d be able to hear his heart thumping in his chest at the sight of you hugging onto his pillow, wearing his clothes.

Looking like you were his.

Bucky pulled a blanket over your legs then shuffled back to look at you and Alpine. Maybe one day, he’ll have the courage to ask you on a date. And maybe, just maybe, Alpine would be the catalyst to whatever might happen between you two…

Bucky clarified that there was no funny business and that you just went to sleep, “And that’s what you get for mixing your drinks without proper supervision, I warned you that Sam could be a menace.”

You remained silent and chewed your lip, appreciating the way he’d looked out for you when most people wouldn’t. It warmed your heart at the thought of him being the one to care, the uncertainty that painted your features was replaced with a smile, even if you were still mortified by your drunken antics.

“But I see now that waking up in a stranger's bed might have made you panic.” James rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly then got off the bed, putting on a pair of jeans.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” You muttered, the heat on your cheeks sizzling from your embarrassing behaviour, “but thank you, for not letting me make a fool of myself, well, more than I already did.”

“S’all good.” James grinned.

You stood up, not quite sure what to do next. With your bag hung over your shoulder, you headed to the door, “Well, I guess I’ll be off then, goodbye James.”

“You can call me, Bucky. It’s what friends call me.” He commented.

“Well, if you consider me a friend,” You looked back at him with a small smile, “see you around, Bucky.”

You did hope that you’d see him again because, even though you tried to fight it, your little crush on the man was growing with each second that you spent in his company.

A soft small body began weaving between your legs, “oh hey, Alpine.”

“She does that when she's hungry, I’ll see you out.” Bucky motioned out into the hallway like a gentleman.

Bucky stopped abruptly and you almost collided into his side, your hand immediately grabbing his arm in surprise. You couldn’t help admiring the thick muscle underneath and you subconsciously bit your lip.

“About time,” Steve sighed, sipping from a coffee mug, in his spot on the couch, “We thought we’d have to send Thor in to wake you both.”

Natasha chuckled and put an arm around Steve’s waist, “I’ve seen how Y/N is first thing in the morning, wouldn’t risk sending him in. He’d come back like a mewling quim.”

You dropped your hand from Bucky’s arm, but it wasn't long before he interlaced his fingers with yours. You looked up at him, heart thumping in your chest and he winked, legit winkedat you.

He headed straight for the kitchen and literally pulled you along with him. You caught Natasha’s mouth drop in surprise, which later turned into an impressed smirk as you shrugged in her direction with a grin.

Alpine remained at your ankles until Bucky placed the bowl on her designated mat, and she instantly nudged his hand out of the way and began eating, leaving you and Bucky in the kitchen in awkward silence. That was until your stomach began to grumble, very loudly, like it always did in situations like this.

Bucky gave you a lopsided smile, “Do you wanna grab some breakfast? I’m starving too.”

His eyes looked so stunning that you could get lost in them. You already had done that, if you were being honest, on the rare occasion that you were close enough to see the brilliant blues, just like now.

You grinned back and nodded, a little too eagerly at first, then you laughed, “yeah, that would be nice.”

“It’s a date then,” Bucky winked, again, setting off the butterflies in your stomach, “there’s a great diner a couple of blocks away.”

Steve shouted from the hallway, “Tash, we’re going to Peggy’s Diner. You owe me ten bucks, he finally asked her!”

You both groaned and rolled your eyes at the intrusion, but really, you couldn’t complain as you were still able to spend more time with Bucky.

He pulled you closer to him by your waist, whispering in your ear that caused a shiver to run up your spine, “I’ll take you on a proper date later, just us. Promise.”

fin.

As always, comments and reblogs are appreciated💕

Firefly’s Masterlist

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[aceopmari]

If The Straw Hats + Other One Piece Characters Were Famous Influencers

The Straw Hats + Law, Kid, Hancock, Ace, and Sabo as influencers.

Luffy:

•Niche: Food

•Makes content consisting of restaurant food crawls and meat mukbang ASMR.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: All of them

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: Ace and Sabo would appear as guests for ramen mukbang ASMR video.

•Side notes: Luffy is able to rack in a solid million views per video with his monstrous appetite, but often forgets that his job is to actually give a decent review of the restaurants he visits.

Nami:

•Niche: Fashion

•Makes content consisting of bikini try on hauls.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Fashion Nova, Shein, & Pretty Little Thing.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: Vivi would appear as a guest on vlogs where they would go shopping together.

•Side notes: Her viewers mainly consist of thirsty guys (Sanji), and said guys always splash the cash on her Onlyfans account.

Nami will also waste no time dragging shitty swimwear brands (Kylie Swim), after all they did ask for honest reviews. So long as she was getting paid, it didn’t matter.

Zoro:

•Niche: Fitness

•Makes fitness and protein shake tutorials

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Planet Fitness, Gymshark, Champion, Adidas

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: With Killer. The two often do challenges at the gym to see who can lift the most weights.

•Side notes: His 2nd stream on income is offering personal training. Link in bio to book a session.

Sanji:

Niche: Cooking.

•Makes cooking tutorials, TikToks, and just like Luffy, goes to restaurants to review the food.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Olive Garden, Red Lobster

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: He sometimes invites Chopper along to try his sweets for a review.

•Side notes: Sanji sometimes fail to meet deadlines since he would be up all night watching Nami’s Onlyfans.

Robin:

•Niche: Luxury Travel

•Content from floating breakfasts, fancy suites, hot tubs, and fine dining.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Marriott and Four Seasons Resorts.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: With Hancock. She also liked the finer things in life. Instagram posts of them wearing robes, head wraps, and sharing glasses of champagne from their hotel room always performed well.

•Side notes: She’s one of the top travel bloggers of the Grand Line. Her travel recommendations include Sabaody and Water 7.

Franky:

•Niche: Drinks

•Franky gives the best soda drink recommendations. Some of his videos include mixing mentos with soda to make crazy cool explosions.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Coca-Cola, Sprite, Dr. Pepper & Fanta.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: None. He flies solo.

•Side note: Eventually moved away from content creating to becoming the new face of Coca Cola. Expect to see him in every commercial and advertisement. He’s living large at his TikToker sized mansion.

Brook:

Niche: Women’s Lingerie. Here me out!

•Brook’s obsession with panties took him pretty far. Expect to find videos of recommendations of his favorite high quality lingerie from cashmere, lace, and even satin. Men look to him for advice on what to get as gifts and women look to him for advice on what lingerie to buy to please their lovers.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Calvin Klein and Savage X Fenty.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: None.

•Side notes: If some woman calls him out for pervertedness, his fans would rush to Brook’s defense and drag them until they stop.

Chopper:

•Niche: Sweets

•Chopper was a fan favorite with his reviews on sweets. Expect to see cute little Tiktoks of his favorite sweet shops or candy and cake ASMR.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Hershey, Haribo, Cotton Candy Brands

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: With carrot. Their exploits on Whole Cake Island made then go viral for eating cake from the Tea Party and managing to escape Big Moms wrath.

•Side notes: Although Chopper is beloved by many in the sweets industry, he is hated by Big Mom for managing to get more followers, subs, and taking her spot for cake commercials. She tries so many times to have his videos demonetized but always fails.

Ussop:

•Niche: Hair

•Does a lot of haircare tutorials to suit hair types that are similar to his own. He wants to make others feel seen too.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Pantene & Garnier.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: Jimbei. He has a similar hair type to his and will sometimes bring him along for hair care tutorials.

Side note: Eventually, Ussop was able to come up with his own unique hair care inventions which in turn made him very rich.

Jimbei:

•Niche: Self Defense

•Jimbei’s videos consist of self defense fighting moves in the form of karate. He’ll sometimes drop some tips on TikTok.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Any brand that sells karate gear.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: He definitely brings on Koala to demonstrate some karate moves.

•Side notes: Rather than looking for fame, Jimbei only wants to expand to a more human audience to stop discrimination against Fish Men.

Law:

•Niche: Health

•His content consists of ASMR doctor roleplay and facts about doctoring on his TikTok.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: None. He prefers just to get paid for the views he gets on his platforms. He does offer his own special services to add to his income.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: Doesn’t Collab but will have bepo play a patient when he’s doing demonstrations.

•Side note: People in the industry like his style. Law was asked to guest star on a few episodes of Grey’s Anatomy.

Kid:

•Niche: Gaming

•Loves fighting snd violent games. Kid became a popular Twitch streamer after going viral for rage quitting for failing a mission in Call of Duty. Hates Twitch e-thots (jewelry bonnie and her food porn while she “games” on her PlayStation).

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Sony, Nintendo, Raid Shadow Legends.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: None. Everyone is afraid of him.

•Side note: Kid was a valued guest at E3 until he got banned for getting into a fight with a fellow Twitch streamer for beating him at the Smash Tournament.

Hancock:

•Niche: K Beauty.

•Hancock is the most beautiful if not the most toxic name in the industry. She has a cult following and many haters who seek to have her brought down. Her videos consist of makeup and skincare tutorials. She also doesn’t hesitate to drag a brand she doesn’t like.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: None. All brands want her but she rejects them all nowadays.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: She’ll bring on a random female guest to do makeup on. Mainly to humiliate and drag them if she spots any imperfections on their skin.

•Side notes: She now has her own K Beauty empire with a net worth of 2 billion berries. Now that she has everything, her one wish is for Luffy to move in with her and live comfortably together at her mansion.

Ace:

•Niche: Adventure travel

•Yknow those influencers who climb those risky. tall, high places for the gram? Ace is one of them. A lot of his videos also consists of death defying stunts like doing backflips on different balconies of tall buildings.

•Favorite Brand Collabs: Tourism boards.

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: Prefers to travel solo but wouldn’t turn down his brother Luffy if he asked to go with him on an adventure.

•Side notes: Ace is on thin ice with the PR people who hired him because sometimes he wanders off, passes out during a meal at a bar and forgets to create the content needed. It’s a good thing he’s charming, polite, and the fans love him, otherwise he would have been fired.

Sabo:

Niche: Luxury Fashion

•He’s very popular on TikTok, showcasing his favorite style through a series of cool dances and amazing transitions. This man managed to make hats with goggles a trend all over the world.

•Favorite Brand Deals: Gucci, Louis, and Versace

•Favorite Influencer Collabs: You know your doing well in the industry when you get Mihawk to be in one of your videos. He’s not going to dance though. Most likely going to collab with Sabo with a simple IG post of them in luxury clothing at a fashion show event.

•Side notes: Sabo became so popular, that he transitioned out of content creating and became a world famous model for luxury brands. His cover on Vogue earned him a cult following of fangirls.

[searchingwardrobes]

Valentine Throwbacks: Day 2

This was written a few years ago for the 14 Days of Valentine’s Prompts on tumblr. This was for day three: the meet-cute.

Summary: Emma Swan doesn’t do “cute.” So when she meets Killian Jones for the first time, well, she meets ALL of him. Or what happens when gym employee Emma walks in on Killian in the tanning bed.

Making a picset for this fic was simultaneously fun and frustrating. Colin’s chest hair is one of a kind, isn’t it? ;) I also didn’t want this to be NSFW, so the tanning bed pic isn’t exactly as described in the story, lol.

Words: almost 3k

Rated: High T ? I mean, Emma accidentally sees him nude, but that’s about it. I just can’t bring myself to rate this an M because it’s overall just funny and cute.

Also on Ao3

Tagging the usuals: @snowbellewells @whimsicallyenchantedrose @kmomof4 @let-it-raines @teamhook @bethacaciakay @xhookswenchx @tiganasummertree @shireness-says @stahlop @scientificapricot @welllpthisishappening @resident-of-storybrooke @thislassishooked @ilovemesomekillianjones @kday426 @ekr032-blog-blog @lfh1226-linda @ultraluckycatnd @nikkiemms @optomisticgirl @profdanglaisstuff @carpedzem @ohmakemeahercules @branlovestowrite @superchocovian @sherlockwhovian @vvbooklady1256 @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @delirious-latenight-laughs @jennjenn615 @snidgetsafan @xsajx​ @itsfabianadocarmo @spartanguard @hookedonapirate​

Emma Swan did not work her butt off just to wipe things. She practically crawled and scraped her way into a meaningful life after getting out of prison. She worked multiple jobs, lived in her car, ate nothing but beans straight from the can, and when the misery was all said and done, she had a college degree in exercise science. But like any field these days everyone wanted experience, so until she somehow got some, she was relegated to wiping things. Wiping down the equipment, wiping down mats, wiping, wiping, and more wiping. And she only made slightly more than the teenagers at the reception desk and the college guy who made the smoothies.

Emma sighed as she grabbed yet another fresh rag after her boss told her the tanning machines needed . . . you guessed it, wiping. She was paying more attention to her internal raging about how much her life sucked than she was to her superior telling her which beds were occupied. She was pretty sure she said they were all being used except for bed three, so Emma went all the way to the end of the narrow hallway that housed the tanning beds and stopped at the last door. If she hadn’t been distracted and moody, she might have thought to knock. Maybe. Then again, most people locked the damn door.

Well, not this guy. He also didn't wear underwear to tan like most people. Nope, he was completely nude. He lay there, in all his glory, shimmering under the UV bulbs like the god Apollo or something. And the Greek god comparison wasn’t an exaggeration between the light shining on him, and the chiseled muscles, and the perfect . . . He was sort of like a living version of the statue of the David, but tanned and with lots of chest hair.

“Who’s there!” he called out.

Emma gasped, then cursed under her breath as she turned and left, slamming the door behind her. She sagged against the heavy oak door, her heart racing. She groaned and covered her face with the hand that wasn’t still clutching the bottle of cleanser and rag. Had she just stood there and stared at the guy? Oh god, she had.

Suddenly, the door behind her gave way and Emma fell backwards with a yelp. From her place on the floor, she looked up to see Apollo himself standing above her, smirking, wearing nothing but a pair of tight, white briefs. Did he look . . . pleased with himself? She suddenly realized she was clutching the bottle of cleanser to her chest.

“Like what you saw, darling?” he asked with an arched brow. He had a British accent. Of course.

Emma rolled her eyes at him as she struggled to her feet, irritatingly brushing off his attempts to assist her. “Please, I didn’t even look. Do you think I want to burn my retinas?”

His eyes, which were an amazing shade of blue, seemed alight with mirth as he regarded her. “Then why the blush?” He leaned towards her slightly, his encroachment upon her personal space made all the more infuriating by his lack of clothing. She took a step back towards the doorway.

“Oh great,” she snapped, “you’re that type.”

His brow furrowed, and for a moment he actually looked slightly hurt. “What type?”

Emma crossed her arms across her chest, despite the awkwardness of the cleaning supplies clutched in her hand. “Isn’t it obvious? I mean, seriously, who uses a tanning bed in the middle of the winter? Except for –“ she vaguely gestured up and down his person, “wanna-be Calvin Klein underwear models.”

It was his turn to scowl and cross his arms over his chest. His very appealing chest that Emma was trying really hard not to stare at.

“Or maybe some people do it for their health. You ever think of that?”

“Yeah right,” Emma bit out, “health of what? Your sex life, playboy?”

His blue eyes sparked with indignation. “Oh, you get an eye-full and you suddenly know me?”

Guilt pricked at her for a moment. She was in the wrong here for barging in without knocking. But his smirking and innuendos had her defenses up. “I know your type,” she told him smugly with a tilt of her chin.

“You walk in on me, and I’m the bad guy?”

He had a point, and she knew it. She took several more steps backwards into the hallway and turned on her heel, her ponytail swinging with irritation all its own. “Ugh, I’ve got work to do. Wipe the bed down, I get tired of cleaning up other people’s sweat all day.”

Emma half expected him to get in one last word, but as she marched away, all she heard was the slamming of the door to tanning room three.

***********************************************************

The week of her little embarrassing tanning bed episode, there had been a slight lull at the gym. It had been the last week of January, when New Year’s resolutions were waning and the cold weather dampened people’s motivation. But now people seemed to suddenly realize that Valentine’s Day was only two weeks away, and the gym was once again packed. Even the indoor pool had been in more frequent usage, so Emma’s boss sent her to check the chlorine levels. With the flu epidemic, they couldn’t afford to let germs spread in the warm water.

It had also been a week since Emma had seen “Apollo the sun god,” much to her relief. But when she exited the women’s locker room, into the pool area, there he was: his muscular back an appealing sight as his arms cut through the water. He was evidently an experienced swimmer as he turned off the wall expertly and did a strong backstroke across the length of the pool. Emma shook her head and cursed herself. Damn it, she was staring again!

Emma was leaning over the edge, a nice distance away from the tanning god, getting samples of the water in little test tubes. She was shaking the first one to get a result when she was sprayed with little droplets of water. She looked up, her eyes angry, narrow slits, to see him, treading water easily with a maddening grin on his face. The pool water made his blue eyes almost glitter like sapphires, and he looked unfairly sexy wet.

“I’ve been hoping to see you again,” he told her. “We didn’t exactly get off on the right foot. I’m sorry I teased you, I was just trying to help you see the humor in the situation. It came off wrong, obviously.”

Emma purposely ignored him, staring at the little tube in her hand and trying to remember what the hell she was looking at. He cut through the water towards her, and rested his arm on the edge of the pool inches away from where she crouched.

“I’m Killian Jones by the way,” he said. Emma pressed her lips together in frustration as she blushed for absolutely no reason. She still refused to look at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him cock his head. “And this is the part where you say, hello, I’m Emma Swan.”

She jerked her head so fast, she almost dropped the test tube. “How did you –“

“I can read, love,” he laughed, gesturing towards her right shoulder.

Emma groaned as she glanced down at her employee name tag. She got hit on all the time at the gym, and had heard a million different pick-up lines involving her last name. But she had sworn off men since Neal, except for an occasional one night stand. But those were never men from work; too much familiarity.

“Some men would take your silence as off-putting,” Killian told her then with a smirk, “but I love a challenge.” Then he had the audacity to wink before diving back under the water.

Emma rubbed her forehead wearily as she stood. The water was low on chemicals, so she pushed the handsome swimmer/sun bather from her mind as she collected what she needed from the supply closet. She measured the chlorine as well as a small dose of shock and added it to the filtration system, then she headed back for the locker room.

Emma wasn’t sure exactly what happened next. There was a puddle of water on the tile floor deep enough to send her sensible sneakers sliding out from under her. Then her arms were wind-milling in empty air, and the pool water seemed to be rushing up to meet her. But before she could hit the water, a hand shot out and grasped her by the elbow. She was hauled from the pool edge, colliding with a warm, wet, very masculine chest.

Killian Jones chuckled as his other arm came around her. “Next time, don’t stand on ceremony.”

Emma blamed her shocked surprise for her delayed reaction in pulling away from him. “Please, Jones, don’t flatter yourself.”

He tucked his tongue into his cheek and waggled his eyebrows, “Remembering yesterday?”

Emma fumed as she gave him a disdainful once-over. “I’m just shocked you’re not in a speedo, mister tighty-whitey.”

Killian’s eyes widened and his gaze went from playful to irritated. “You wouldn’t even know I wore tighty-whities if you hadn’t walked in on me!”

Emma threw up her hands in frustration, resisting the urge to shove him. “It was an accident!”

He arched one brow. “Like you almost falling in the pool?”

Emma scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, “Who said I was falling?”

“Fine,” he spat out, “next time, I’ll just let you fall.”

He brushed past her then, grabbing his towel angrily as he marched towards the men’s locker room. Emma started to stomp her way in the opposite direction, but then decided she better tread more carefully on the wet floor.

Not that she had needed Killian Jones to catch her. She was just fine on her own.

********************************************************

Several hours later, Emma walked into her apartment and kicked her gym shoes off by the door. Her feet ached as she dragged herself over to the couch and plopped down next to her roommate. She groaned and Elsa laughed, handing her a slice of pizza from the pie resting on the coffee table.

“Rough day?”

“Yeah,” Emma muttered around a bite, “tanning bed guy showed up again.”

“Oh,” Elsa laughed, wrinkling her nose, “that must have been embarrassing.”

Emma waved her hand. “Don’t want to talk about it. I just want to stuff my face with pizza and zone out in front of the TV.” She narrowed her eyes at the screen and groaned, “Not this, Elsa, seriously?”

Her best friend shook her head as she chuckled at Emma. “Dr. Oz gives lots of good advice.” She poked Emma in the shoulder. “You should listen to him, junk food junkie. How you’re ever going to be a personal trainer when you eat like a fourteen year old, is beyond me.”

Emma smirked and lifted two fingers, “One, I was gifted with an amazing metabolism. Two, my clients will just need to do as I say, not as I do.”

They both laughed then and continued devouring the pizza. Emma’s brow furrowed as she tried to follow the show, since she had missed the first half. “What’s wrong with this girl he’s talking to?” she finally asked Elsa.

“Seasonal affective disorder,” Elsa explained, “lots of people get it in the winter.”

Emma snorted. “Is that a real thing? It sounds made up.”

Elsa shrugged, “I don’t understand it, since I love winter. The snow is so pretty, and the cold – I just don’t get why it bothers people.”

Emma rolled her eyes and tossed a throw pillow at her friends’ head, “Okay, you’re weird, we’ve established that.”

Elsa whacked Emma with the pillow then hugged it to her chest instead of giving it back. “Seriously though, it is a real thing. My friend at work struggles with it. I finally talked him into seeing a therapist, and Killian says it really helps him. Some things that help are physical, like –“

The blood had drained from Emma’s face as she choked out, “like a tanning bed?”

Elsa’s eyes widened, “Yeah, actually, and he swims in an indoor pool, too. Why?”

Emma groaned, dropping her pizza back to the box. She covered her face with both hands. “Please,” she muttered between her fingers, “don’t tell me his last name is Jones and that he has a British accent.”

“Yeah, he –“ Elsa’s words cut off as understanding dawned, “oh my god, you’re not saying he’s the tanning bed guy?”

Emma peeked through her fingers, “Yes, that’s what I’m saying. He introduced himself today – at the pool. Trying to be nice, actually.” She moaned as she lowered her head to Elsa’s lap. “I’m a bitch,” she whispered.

Elsa just gave a tiny, soft laugh as she worked the tangles out of Emma’s hair with her long fingers. “Well, so am I, that’s why we’re friends.”

*****************************************************

Emma hoped that good intentions justified quasi-stalking. She had to make it up to Killian for being so horrible, and she couldn’t just wait around to bump into him again. She pulled his account up on her work computer and learned his gym routine. Killian Jones was an extremely punctual person of habit. On Tuesdays and Thursdays he got to the gym at 5 am and left at 6:30. Emma didn’t get to her shift on those days until 8:00. But on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, he arrived at 7:00 pm and left at 8:30, which were the same days that Emma worked late.

Unfortunately, Elsa informed her that Killian had come down with the dreaded flu. By the time he came back to the gym, and Emma had figured out how to approach him, it was February the 14th. It wasn’t ideal to approach him on Valentine’s Day. After all, she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. But if she put it off any longer, she knew she would chicken out. So on Valentine’s Day, when Killian Jones exited the gym, he found Emma Swan leaning against his black SUV with a smoothie in her hand. (That had taken additional stalking. To ascertain the smoothie he usually ordered and which vehicle in the parking lot belonged to him.)

“A peace offering?” Emma asked, hating when her voice cracked a bit. When he just stood there with his mouth hanging open, she rushed on, “And an apology? For walking in on you and then. . .well, for being a bitch.”

That finally got a chuckle out of him. He shuffled forward, and for the first time looked nervous. He tossed his bag in the back seat then turned to her with a smile as he leaned against the car with his arms crossed. “What brought on this sudden change?”

Emma’s face fell, and her eyes lowered to stare at the cup in her hand. “Your friend, Elsa Arrendale? I’m her roommate.”

“Oh,” Killian said, scratching behind his ear.

“And she didn’t tell me much,” Emma rushed to explain, “just enough to make me see how quick I was to judge you.”

Killian nodded. “So she told you I’m a mess this time of year, huh?”

Emma smiled and shrugged, “Hey, not everyone loves freezing their ass off the way Elsa does.” That got another chuckle out of him. “And besides, I’m a mess pretty much year round.”

“Well,” Killian said with a long sigh, “I was too, for a while. Right after my Milah died, I could barely get out of bed each morning. That was five years ago.”

Emma frowned. “I’m so sorry. Who was she? Your wife?”

“Aye,” Killian answered softly, “she died in a car accident. This time of year. We were going out on a nice date.”

“Valentine’s day?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head and a false grin, “my birthday, actually, end of January.”

“I’m so sorry, Killian. No wonder this time of year is so hard for you.” She bit her lip. “Can you ever forgive me for being such a jerk to you?”

He ran his hand down his face, and afterwards, he gave her a more relaxed smile. “Of course I forgive you, Swan. I do make an arse of myself at times, so I can’t really blame you.”

They shared a laugh at that. Emma cocked her head, studying him and seeing him in a whole new light. “You have Valentine plans?”

Both his eyebrows lifted, “Can’t say I do. Why?”

She shrugged, “How about I buy you a drink?” She shook the smoothie cup still in her hand. “A bit stronger than this.”

Killian gave her a sinful smile, cocked his head, and tapped his lips. “I’d say you owe me a proper apology, love.”

Emma wanted to scoff, to roll her eyes, but all she could do was smile as a blush crept up her face. “That’s what the drink is for.”

Killian pouted then, quite affectively. “That’s all I get? When this time of year makes me so, so sad?”

What Emma did next was partly to shut him up. However, she had to admit, it was also because she had imagined what it would be like to kiss him a thousand times since the tanning bed. So she lunged for him, the smoothie falling to the ground forgotten with a thud and a splash. She hauled him in by the collar of his shirt, her mouth hungrily taking his.

Because she could admit it now: Yes, she liked what she saw.

[innuendostyles]

Umm maybe Ben exploring his ‘feminine’ side more????? How bout him asking u to paint his nails? Or him asking if he can wear your makeup? Idk thought it would be cute hahah

ben wants to try something different

2.8k -> masterlist

waking up next to ben was one of her favourite things on the planet. something about the way his hand would rest underneath her shirt (if she had one on) and rub small circles under her breast settled her like nothing else could. she normally woke up to ben cooing to her, usually murmurs of how beautiful she was when she slept, or if she’d overslept it would be gentle reminders of where she had to be - which was why she was surprised to wake up to dead silence.

she yearned to feel his hands on her skin, as she was so used to, but instead, her hand simply rested in ben’s. her palm face down on ben’s larger hand while he traced one pointer finger over her freshly manicured nails. they were painted a pastel blue colour, completely matte except for a shimmery top coat applied to her ring finger. she’d been on the phone ben while she was getting her nails done, asking him what he thought she should get done when the nail lady asked her what colour she’d like. he asked her what clothes she had on at that moment, to which she replied a light blue jumper that had a sparkly carebear printed on the front of it. he simply gave a ‘well then…’ and told her he’d ring her back when she was done. so to see him admiring her fresh set wasn’t surprising.

his eyes flashed to hers as she roused herself from sleep, carefully removing her hand from his to wipe the drool from her chin. he gave her a light chuckle as her body strung completely taught before laying entirely limp back on the bed and stretching her arms across his chest. she clung to him like a koala, pressing a couple of kisses to his neck when she had enough energy.

“you like my nails?” she whispered, pressing one final kiss to his neck before sitting up.

“yeah.” he chuckled, resting his hand on her hip as she reached to the bedside table to retrieve her phone.

“i’ll make some breakfast.” she said, leaning down to place her hand on ben’s cheek before leaving the bedroom.

she walked down the stairs, calling for frankie as she reached the bottom step, happy to receive many sloppy kisses to her face when she bent down to give the dog her favourite behind the ear scratches.

there was a pink bottle stuck in her mouth, which y/n speedily removed and wiped on her t-shirt to get rid of all the dog spit. it was her nail polish, a cheaper dupe of some dior varnish she’d seen on instagram. the colour, effectively called ‘cha-ching cherry’ was a hot pink, and she’d bought it purely because it was on sale at the drugstore and reminded her of the dior version.

“how’d ya get this, silly girl?” she cooed to the dog, stamping kisses on the top of her head. she wondered how she even reached and opened the polish in the first place, she was sure it had still been in the plastic wrap it came in when she went to bed last night… no, it definitely was. she remembers placing it on the shelf next to the tv when she emptied her bag after she came home. so how had a three year old dog opened protective packaging? it was a mystery to her. instead of going full sherlock mode, she cracked some eggs into a pan and discarded the thought to the back of her mind.

she had to shout ben downstairs, which was unusual, because normally he’s downstairs as soon as she is, offering to help her make breakfast and playing whatever music he was in the mood for over the apartment speakers. he came down the stairs looking rather sweaty and she wondered what he’d been up to. looked like he’d just run a fucking marathon, but he was still dressed in his pyjamas (a pair of calvin kleins couldn’t be classed as pyjamas, surely?) so she knew that answer was out of the equation. maybe he’d been brushing his teeth super violently. she knows that’s not true when he goes to kiss her cheek as a good morning and she shies away from him with a ”morning breath!” and a playful grimace. he chuckles at her, bending down to pat frankie on the head.

he got frankie’s food ready before even realising he had a plate of eggs and fruit waiting in front of him. he sat at the rather small dining table, pouring them some orange juice and handing her the glass once he’d finished. even gave her a little more than he had, because he always complains she doesn’t get her 5 a day.

he just wants her to feel happy and healthy! can he complain, when she treats him so well and even leaves his eggs on for a whole minute longer than hers because she knows he doesn’t like it when the yellow is all runny? when she takes care of a dog that originally was the shared pup of him and his ex?

he has no time to think before she’s giggling a little, pointing to frankie in the corner of the kitchen who had somehow managed to eat all her food and drink all her water in the space of 2 minutes. he giggled as well, taking a bite of his eggs and calling out a ”good girl” to the beagle.

“yeah, well our ‘good girl’ somehow managed to open my new nail polish and came to me this morning with it in her mouth like it was some sort of present she bought! might have to start calling her father christmas!” she jokes, taking a bite of banana before breaking some off and making a kissy sound to garner frankie’s attention before placing some on the floor next to her for the dog. she did love her banana.

ben places his hand quickly onto his thigh beneath the table after he caught sight of it on top of the tablecloth, hoping she hadn’t noticed how quickly he made the movement. she simply furrows her brows at him, tilting her head as she asked if he was okay.

“yeah, ‘m fine just got a cramp.” he lies straight through his teeth, not being able to look her in the eyes and instead offering frankie a piece of watermelon to frankie, which was unusual for him as he never gave his food to her, claiming it ‘only gives her a bad tummy and then i’m the one who has to clean up all the sick she leaves on the bathroom floor!’, which y/n notices and gives a sigh.

“ben.” she deadpans, setting the banana peel down.

he removes his hand from his leg and sets it upon the table, in a fist originally, before he unclenches his hand and then she sees it. his ring and middle finger nails are painted pink. he looks carefully at her reaction, even though there isn’t much to go off, just a look back to his eyes after she’s seen his hand.

“are you… angry?” he questions, eyes still avoiding hers.

“i’m not angry at you for using my nail polish without telling me ben…” she says with a slight chuckle, her face looking awfully confused, “...what’s mine is yours, and all that.”

his eyes flit to her’s at this, a brow raising as he asks, “so you’re not… weirded out?”

she can’t actually tell if he’s joking or not until she looks at his hands, where he’s nervously pulling at his knuckles in hopes to make them crack. it was one of his worst habits, something he only did when he was really going through it. she realises he must have been embarrassed or feel ashamed when she tells him she wasn’t, if the way his shoulders fell from near enough above his head showed her anything.

she decides he wants to leave the conversation at that when he picks up his fork and begins eating his eggs, looking a hell of a lot less stressed than he did before.

“why were you so sweaty when you came down before?” she questions, though she’s careful to make her tone sound as least judgemental as she possibly can, offering an inquisitive smile at the end.

“i um- wanted to get it off. before you saw it.” he purses his lips before he speaks again. “i couldn’t find any of that horrid-smelling remover stuff so i was trying to scrub it off with that lemon exfoliating shit you’ve got in the shower. worked up quite a sweat.” he chuckled, and she smiled at his first genuine laugh this morning.

“ben, why did you think i’d care so much?” she asks, and she can actually feel a pain in her chest as she realises it must have been eating away at him all night after his reaction to her seeing it. the pain in her chest only deepens when she hears a muttered, “i thought you’d think it was … really weird and like… not normal.” he continues, his voice getting louder and louder as he carried on, “cause it’s like… a girls thing. and i’m not a girl. and i know you’d never think that i was stupid or weird so i don’t even know why it ran through my head cause i did it last night when you went to bed and i was still downstairs… i saw it and i just wanted to put it on me like… for fun. and then i thought you might be angry at me for opening it so i just went to bed but i couldn’t sleep cause i was worried you’d be annoyed at me so i just… spent all night looking at yours. your nails, i mean.” once he’d finished rambling, she reached a hand out to his, pulling him along until they’d settled onto the sofa in the living room.

her on her back against the arm rest, with him on his stomach laying between her legs. maybe not the most flattering position on her part, but she felt closest to him this way. she reached a hand up to his hair, running her fingers through the golden locks before sighing.

“ben, i need you to listen to what im gonna say really closely, yeah?” she whispered.

he nods, and she takes that as her cue to continue.

“it isn’t ‘a girls thing’. and i’m not angry at you, and you’re right, i’d never think you’re weird for doing anything ever. i love you, and i’m in this for the long haul, so speak to me. tell me when you wanna try new things. ‘cause you know i won’t be angry, or annoyed, or weirded out… because it’s you.” she could see his eyes softening as he stared directly into hers.

it felt like he was reaching deep inside her mind and pulling out every honest word he could find. he laid his head down on her stomach, before giving a simple, “i love you.”

“do you want me to paint the rest of them?” she asked after a couple of minutes of stroking through his hair.

“please.” he replied, and she felt his smile on her stomach as he heard frankie pattering through the doorway and coming to lie on ben’s back to join them both. he lifted his head up and formed his lips into a kissy shape, to which she leant down and pecked him.

he followed her into the kitchen to retrieve the nail polish, clapping like an excited kid as she led him upstairs. she walked into the bathroom and sat on the countertop, ben bringing a chair from the bedroom to sit in front of her. she spread her legs and placed his hand flat on the surface of the counter, protected by an old sheet of newspaper in case of a polish accident.

once she’d painted one hand, he rested it on her thigh, only beginning to stroke it once she told him his nails were dry enough. she’d finished his other hand, commending her own painting skills as she skipped the two nails he’d already done the night before, he kissed her thigh, just below where his dry hand sat, before lifting himself off the chair to press a kiss to her forehead, then her left cheek, and finally her lips. she pulled her head back as soon as she felt how dry his lips were, telling him he needed some vaseline.

he looked behind her, seeing her collection of lip products before picking up a familiar tube. it was one she used constantly, which meant it must have been good, which was the reason why he asked her to put some on him a couple of seconds later.

“vaseline isn’t the same as lipgloss, but i’ll let this one slide, my dear.” she chuckles, opening the tube of clear, strawberry scented lipgloss. it had a slight shimmer to it, especially when in the sun, and she was unbelievably excited to see it on him.

“i only picked it cause it tastes nice.” he mentions before she has the chance to apply it.

“ben! you’re not meant to eat it!” she scolds, pulling back and taking the applicator with her.

“i know! i don’t do it purposefully, i just get a mouthful sometimes after you snog me.” he says,

smiling when she laughs.

“yeah, well i think i might have to see just how it tastes the next time we snog, which i have a feeling might be in just a second.” she smirks before applying the gloss.

[tabloidtoc]

Life & Style, April 26

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Khloe Kardashian is a total fake

Page 1: Lady Gaga in a wedding dress on the set of House of Gucci in Rome

Page 2: Contents

Page 4: The Top 10 SAG Awards Looks -- Mindy Kaling, Jamie Chung, Amy Adams, Sarah Levy, Kerry Washington

Page 5: Kaley Cuoco, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Morales, Viola Davis, Lily Collins

Page 6: Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen celebrated their 12-year anniversary, posting heartfelt tributes to each other on social media, but their relationship hasn't always been so rock solid -- Tom admitted that Gisele has made a lot of sacrifices for their marriage and she hated living in Boston because she had no friends there and felt so alone because Tom was never around; things got so bad they sought counseling, which was the wake-up call that Tom needed -- he promised to make changes and he agreed to quit the Patriots and sign with a team in a location that was more desirable to Gisele and Tom stuck to his word and he came the new quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and since moving to Florida, Tom and Gisele have never been happier and they have date nights every week and always make sure to communicate -- it wasn't easy, but they're both really proud of how far they've come

Page 7: After multiple delays, David Schwimmer, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc have finally filmed the highly anticipated Friends reunion special and they all got really emotional when they saw the set and being there brought back so many fond memories -- it's the first time in 17 years that fans will get to see the entire cast together since the show went off the air in 2004 -- afterwards, everyone went to Jen's house for dinner -- each of the stars was paid $2.5 million to appear in the special

* Throwback -- Dolly Parton in 1965

* Biggest Spenders of the Week -- Bobby Flay, Aaron Rodgers, Vanessa Hudgens, Angelina Jolie

Page 8: Drew Barrymore revealed that, after three divorces and a string of failed romances, she's sworn off marriage altogether -- Drew doesn't need a man to feel complete and she's happiest hanging out with family and friends -- if the right guy comes along later down the line, great, but for now, she's content with being single

* Becoming one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood has gone straight to Ana de Armas' head -- the cast and crew are often left waiting for the actress to emerge from her trailer on the set of the new action thriller The Gray Man -- Ana's got a lot going on and she's juggling several different projects, as well as photo shoots and phone calls with her team and people don't stay mad at her for too long, but they have nicknamed her Ana de Diva, but she isn't upset by the scathing moniker because she's a big name now, and with that comes a lot of responsibility and the way she sees it, there are worse things than being called a diva

Page 10: The Week in Photos -- Orlando Bloom got a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny

Page 11: Jennifer Lopez in jeans at a photoshoot for InStyle, Priyanka Chopra dancing around her backyard in a bright yellow dress

Page 12: Animal Tales -- Gilles Marini posed for a pic with his African grey parrot Anya, singer Madison Beer leaned in for a kiss from a caramel-colored stallion, Kate Beckinsale's feline Clive seemed less than thrilled when Kate strapped him to her chest in a carrier

Page 13: Kaia Gerber and her precious pooch Milo snuggled up in bed, Malin Akerman and a goat

Page 16: Stars Behaving Badly -- Lisa Vanderpump let her parched dog drink from her water glass at a restaurant in West Hollywood, Maisie Williams went topless under a translucent jacket while shooting a new TV series about the Sex Pistols in London, HGTV Design Star host Allison Holker used a megaphone to give out instructions to Property Brother Jonathan Scott on the show's finale, Calvin Klein wasn't worried about stains when he shoved a pile of spaghetti into his mouth at West Hollywood's Mauro Cafe

Page 18: Say What?! Helena Bonham Carter who turns 55 in May, Chelsea Handler who admits she consumes mushrooms almost every day, Olivia Munn who is the proud pet parent of rescue dogs Frankie and Chance, Melissa McCarthy on doing her own stunts in Thunder Force, Brian Tyree Henry on Godzilla vs. Kong co-star Millie Bobby Brown

Page 20: Pete Davidson has officially moved out of his mother's home and into a $1.2 million luxury high-rise condo on Staten Island, and it's all thanks to his new girl girlfriend, Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor -- the Saturday Night Live star showed off his two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom bachelor pad during a Zoom call -- Phoebe is a down-to-earth girl, but she doesn't want to date a man who lives in his mom's basement and she thinks Pete's mom, Amy, is awesome and says it's a great thing that they're super close, but being in a long-distance relationship is difficult enough so Pete and Phoebe need some alone time when they're together, which was almost impossible with his mother hanging out upstairs -- Pete knew it was time; he just needed that gentle nudge

Page 21: Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell were spotted in NYC together, sparking speculation that the former Bachelor couple have rekindled their relationship -- the pair parted ways while the show was still airing after photos of the graphic designer at a plantation-themed college party in 2018 surfaced on social media -- Rachael made a mistake but she owned up to it and was willing to learn from it and it didn't change her feelings for Matt or vice versa and Matt was in love with Rachael too and he couldn't just turn those feelings off so no one would be surprised if they decided to reconcile

* Michael B. Jordan's girlfriend Lori Harvey was left reeling over photos of the actor sharing a smooch with Chante Adams on the set of their new movie A Journal for Jordan -- of course, they were just shooting a scene for the film, but Lori was still annoyed and she asked Michael about it, and he brushed it off and explained it was part of the job but Lori still has her suspicions and she's been thinking about dropping by the set just so she can keep a very close eye on them

Page 22: Cover Story -- Khloe Kardashian living a lie -- devastated by an unretouched photo leak, Khloe faces claims she's a body positivity hypocrite as she demands the viral image be taken down

Page 26: Alex Rodriguez to Ben Affleck: Back off my fiancee -- Ben gushes about ex Jennifer Lopez in a new article and A-Rod isn't happy about it (not quite Bennifer yet :)

Page 28: Prince Harry overwhelmed with work -- Harry struggles to adjust after trading his cushy royal role for a variety of normal gigs -- though his job for BetterUp is primarily remote, added stress comes in the form of Harry's Spotify and Netflix deals, plus growing charity work -- Harry finds all of his new, non-royal titles fresh and exciting, but while he's a great person, some in his inner circle say Harry's kind of dumb and worry whether he can handle the pressure

Page 30: Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli life after prison -- reunited following months spent behind bars, Lori and Mossimo try to pick up the pieces -- prison definitely took a toll on Mossimo and he doesn't expect sympathy, but he's still struggling to adjust to what he went through; it really broke him down and forced him to reevaluate his life

Page 32: Who Lives Here? Lil Nas X

Page 34: Entertainment

Page 35: Star Review -- Jonathan Van Ness

* As Seen On-Screen -- Meghan Markle wore a dark green coat while walking through Archie's Chick-Inn during her CBS interview which was J. Crew's Perfect Lightweight Jacket

Page 36: Go Green at Home -- reduce your carbon footprint even more with these eco-chic essentials, because our planet can use all the help it can get

Page 37: Beauty Crush -- get Jurnee Smollett's look from her makeup artist Emily Cheng for the SAG Awards

Page 38: Spring Beauty Must-Haves -- these product picks aim to reign as new-season favorites -- Camila Mendes

Page 40: Diva or Down-to-Earth? Rihanna bagged her own haul at Bristol Farms in Beverly Hills -- down-to-earth, Shay Mitchell worked from home with help from her most trusted assistant daughter Atlas -- down-to-earth, during a photo shoot in Malibu Brooke Burke got a makeup refresh from a personal primper -- diva

Page 42: Social Stars Posts of the Week -- Sofia Vergara sneaking Heidi Klum a chip on the set of America's Got Talent, Neil Patrick Harris finished the first season of The Irregulars while quarantining in Toronto, Jared Leto pretended to pluck the moon straight out of the sky during a masked outing in Italy, Beyonce treated her daughter Blue Ivy to a meal at Nobu in Malibu

Page 44: Horoscope -- Taurus Gigi Hadid turned 26 on April 23

* They're Not Together, But They Should Be -- Capricorn Charles Melton and Virgo Zendaya

Page 48: What I'm Into -- Kameron Westcott of The Real Housewives of Dallas

[aesthetical-bucky]

The Neighbour Upstairs (Part 2)

Pairing: Biker!Bucky x Fem!Reader

Summary: Bucky finally apologises for the mistake he made. 

Words: 1.1k

Warning(s): Brief mention of a one night stand, slight awkward encounter.

Authors Note: Part 2 of 8 of my first series. I’m giving a special thank you to @becs-bunker​ for her patience and willingness to proofread the whole series for me. Thank you my love!!! 

TNU Masterlist

In truth, Bucky didn’t really know what to do. Since that day he got back from shopping and heard you crying in your apartment from what he assumed was from his music blaring upstairs at the time, he hasn’t stopped thinking about you. He couldn’t just knock on your door and apologise out of the blue. He wanted to do it properly.

But weeks went by, and he didn’t hear so much as a pin drop from your apartment below. Usually from his bedroom, he would be able to hear your television, and sometimes if he really concentrated long enough, he would be able to guess what you were watching. 

Since he kind of gathered you were a huge fan of two shows; Friends and Supernatural. Often more than not, he would hear the Friends theme play and he would smile to himself. 

But the past couple of weeks, he’s heard nothing. He hasn’t even heard you leave your apartment to go to work. Bucky was beginning to worry, he couldn’t help it and believe it or not, it was his nature to worry about people more than himself. It wasn’t like he could go downstairs and knock on your door to ask if you were okay because he hasn’t heard the Friends theme or the opening of Supernatural for a while. 

But then an idea came to him. 

Since your anxiety flared up weeks ago, you’ve been home and trying to relax. Your boss was more than understanding of your situation and had even offered to help you move out, but you couldn’t, your tenancy was renewed just a month ago, so you were still here for five more months. 

You’ve noticed a significant difference in the noise level above you. There was no loud rock music blaring, no over-the-top action scenes from the movies he was playing and as hard as you tried not to listen to him, there was no obnoxiously loud sex above your bedroom anymore. 

You didn’t know what to think, did he move out? Unlikely, since he was a new resident in the block. Maybe he was afraid of being evicted if you had reported him to your landlord? Maybe for some reason, you thought he knew you would do something like that, considering the hard time he gave you when you politely asked him to turn his shit down the first time. 

And the thought had crossed your mind, many times. But you weren’t that kind of person, knowing if he was evicted over noise complaints, he wouldn’t get another apartment so easily once they received a letter from the current landlord asking what kind of tenant he was. 

So you stayed in your cosy apartment, sipped your tea or coffee and read through your books. Trying to listen to any sign of life above you, but all you heard was the occasional running of tap water and sometimes the kettle whistling on the stove. You sighed and took advantage of the peace and quiet since you were unsure how long it would last for. 

As the weeks went by, the apartment above you was still as quiet as ever. The resident upstairs hardly received visitors anymore, or so you noticed. And you thought it was creepy, but anytime you heard the communal door open and close, you would peek through your peephole and watch him haul bags of shopping up the stairs. 

You hated to admit it, but with his black leather jacket, black-clad jeans with the chains hanging from the belt loops, and since his hair had grown, he slicked it back and he had a scruff on his face, he looked damn fine. Not the kind of guy you would normally be attracted to, and your mother certainly wouldn’t have approved, but you haven’t been able to get rid of the image of him opening his door to you shirtless from that time.  

One time though, you had seen him coming out of the communal doors just as you arrived home. You didn’t speak to each other, but he did give you a sheepish smile. And since then, you didn’t know whether karma was out to get you, but you would bump into him a lot more frequent. But then you realise, his living room looks directly out, so he would have easily spotted you walking back. 

The first time he spoke to you since your altercation, was when he was outside working on his bike, shirtless and his pants hanging lowly, his Calvin Klein waistband making itself known. 

You were too busy staring and drooling over his broad, muscled and tattooed back that you didn’t even notice he was looking in your direction. 

“Hi, there!” He waved, wiping the black grease from his hands on a cloth that was hanging out of his back pocket.

“H-hi!” You stumbled over your words and he started walking over to you. 

“I uh, I just really wanted to say I’m deeply sorry for what I did before, with you know, the noise and everything. And I’m sorry for talking to you the way I did. There was no need for me to be so rude.” He smiled.

This is kind of what you needed, an apology; a meaningful one from him. Though you knew it would take a little while to totally forgive him for the hell he unnecessarily put you through. 

“Oh, well thank you for the apology…”

“Bucky.”

“Bucky.” You repeated. “It’ll take me a while before everything can be fine again.” You explained to him that your anxiety has hit an all-time low

“I’m really sorry, doll. I don’t know why I acted the way I did, but listen, if you ever need anything from the store, let me know and I’ll be more than happy to get it for you.”.You ignored the fact the pet name he called you rolled off his tongue so naturally. 

“Thank you. And I’m Y/N, by the way.” 

“Nice to meet you, officially. Well, I best get back inside to-”

“Your girlfriend.” You spoke for him and he chuckled with widened eyes. He shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. 

“Bold of you to assume I’m into girls, doll. But, no definitely not. I’m single, so,” He shrugged and your eyebrows knitted together in confusion. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just thought-”

“A one night stand, doll. If you really wanted to know.” He laughs at your flustered state and you cringe, mentally facepalming yourself for being so personal.

“Right. Well, I best get in as well. I’ll see you around, Bucky.”

“See you around, Y/N.” Bucky smiled to himself as he watched you walk away from him. You were unbelievably sweet and he couldn’t believe he was responsible for breaking you down. 

But no matter what, from this day forward, Bucky pledged to do everything and anything in his power to make it up to you.

Taglist: @criminal-cookies​ @hailmary-yramliah​ @jobean12-blog​ @scuzmunkie​ @nano--raptor​

[leam1983]

Car Manufacturers as the Inverse Incel Meme

Let me explain:

In Quebec, or most of Eastern Canada, most Japanese brands could be considered as the "Beta" type, but with a twist.

They're bland, unremarkable, uninventive as far as their design language is concerned - they're sedans and SUVs. They blend in everywhere and are noticed by no-one in particular. They're the automotive equivalent of wallflowers. The catch is that they're fucking reliable.

They won't break down in our apocalyptic winters, they shrug off rain and sleet, they don't give a shit if they're taken in the most pothole-ridden corner of Quebec - if you have a Honda, a Mazda or a Nissan dating from a few years back, that shit's gonna run until your children's great-grandchildren are sent off to preserve the human race in a Martian colony. It might even witness their death and live to bury them, actually. Small, dinky Japanese sedans are unkillable.

On the other hand, you've got the Gigachad brands, usually off-brand Japanese and German concepts with fancy-pants design language and a price tag that's more ostentatious and desperate than seeing last year's Calvin Klein haul in Costco. We're talking Lexus, Acura, Audi, Land Rover and the like. Drive up to their dealerships and they'll pull out the big fucking guns to greet you: Classical music, champagne, maybe even an actually decent selection of Nespresso single-cup brewer pods, and their sales rep take their sweet time making sure you sink in the lap of luxury before so much as quoting a figure.

Here's the thing: I've noticed that as far as the chip shortage is concerned, the economy brands are faring better with reduced profits, and aren't yet trying to massively undercut themselves for the sake of having some sort of deal on offer. The deals aren't great, but they're honest, and about on-par with what you're getting: 500 smackaroonis in rebates, an APR of about 0.2%, and a limited selection that they're not shy about presenting as such. Fuck, one of my openers for a Hyundai event exactingly stressed the need for patience if some 2021 models were ordered. We're told not to push too hard, and to just - humbly present an offer. That's it.

Compare and contrast with the "baller" manufacturers: they reel you in with what the kids probably call Gucci treatment, drop breadcrumbs in front of your feet and then fall on their knees and dramatically wail. Ratioed for the price of an Audi Q5 in the entry-level selection, we're talking a single measly thousand bucks off. Considering what you're forced to pay for it, it's more than a little insulting for the average consumer.

"It's the best deal you'll get this season!" they crow, even as the leaves have just started to turn. "Your car's in ridiculously high demand, we'll pay good money for it!"

Sure, they will - and then neglect to mention how they won't listen to any requests to keep the same monthlies. They'll cringe and moan and go Nnnnyyyeeeaaah, about those payments... and then state they absolutely need to be increased to "lighten the load" on the long term.

In my experience, if you buy an Audi or a Lexus anywhere near the East Coast, you're committing financial suicide. I mean, unless dropping by the garage for busted brake pads and frayed timing belts that can't last a single winter is your idea of fun.

It affects the sales reps, too. The Japanese companies' reps and entry-level Americans and Germans are super friendly, even in situations where one or two specific dealerships' performance can make or break certain quarterly projections. Even with the entire fucking world losing its marbles over onboard computers being crazy hard to produce, consoles being near-on-impossible to come by, or other electronic components being hard to source, all you'll get is smiles and nods. They understand we're all doing our best, and that chip scarcity depends on one of several potentials: the end of the strikes with mine workers, the consumer-friendly advent of an alternative to common silicon and the stability of the affected regions.

Again, compare and contrast with the brands that spend so much time flexing: the reps call us - and sometimes call me - several times per day, most of them sounding like Leia recording her message for Obi-Wan. These douchers are obsessed with sales metrics, even in a context where even Texas Fucking Instruments has trouble manufacturing scientific calculators as a result of that shortage!

So, yeah. Your dinky brands? They're basically the meme's Beta male, except he's self-confident, natural, empathetic and well-balanced. Straight spine, relaxed gait, eyes set out in front - but not with too much emphasis. The luxury brands are the meme's Chad, except Chad's shoulders are sloping, his hands are stuck in his pockets, obsessively clutching his formerly-bulging wallet, and he scans the horizon line with the look of a wounded animal that's expecting a killing blow to come from anywhere.

Go cheap. Go Korean or Japanese. They've heard the message, as far was global warming's concerned. The other ones? They're mad scrambling, only now realizing that several gas-powered 2022 lineups and 2023 prototypes probably need complete revisions. The future's resolutely hybrid, if it isn't full-on electric. Someone needs to undercut Tesla and to produce a car that has the stamina of a gas-guzzler and the energy footprint of a Bougie, subsidies-only electric vehicle.

[abarbaricyalp]

The Sun Will Rise (and we will try again)

@pynchpromptweek

Pynch // Prompt: Missing Scene // Rated: T, for discussion of intense topics

No archive warnings, exposition of bruising, demonic possession, and night terror injuries

Even the darkest night will end

AO3 Link

The Lynch Home bathroom was illuminated only by a dream on the sink counter. A sort of home grown nightlight. It looked like lightning bugs in a jar. Adam dragged Ronan into the dim bathroom and both of them collapsed against the cool tile floor, too exhausted to hold each other up any longer.

The black sludge on Ronan’s face seemed even darker and deeper in the dim and Adam had to look away or risk his stomach revolting. Again. Ronan swayed backwards and Adam barely got an arm around his waist before he fell. Adam had no idea what he was doing. His hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't keep a grip on Ronan's shirt and he'd stopped being able to feel his legs half an hour ago. Every time he caught a glimpse of his red wrists, he gagged and had to collect himself.

He didn't know how he managed to get Ronan's shirt off or how his knees were supporting him long enough to tug off his boots and socks, how his fingers could still on the clasps of Ronan's bracelets to take them off. But he did manage because that's what he fucking did. Adam Parrish figured shit out, especially in times of the worst fucking duress of his life. Jesus, less than a year ago, he was newly half deaf and alone in a hospital, and thought it'd never get worse than that.

"Come on, Lynch. Stand up again. I can’t just drop you in the shower in your jeans." He was torn between looking at Ronan's face for any sense of camaraderie and partnership and seeing the black shit that was still all over him. It was worse than Adam's wrists.

Ronan protested weakly, fingers scrabbling towards his bracelets like they were a life line he needed. And though Adam completely understood in the moment, he also knew Ronan had to get in the shower. He set them on the counter and grabbed Ronan’s hand instead. “Up, Lynch,” he ordered, hauling Ronan up with him.

A height difference that normally barely noticed was working against them as Ronan leaned heavily on Adam’s shoulder while Adam tried to undo the button and zipper of his jeans without sending them careening to the floor again.

“Move, Parrish. Got it. I got it,” Ronan finally muttered, swatting at Adam’s hands, one arm going to the counter to support himself while he got to fight with his jeans.

Adam took a shaky breath, watched him for a second, and then turned to get the shower started, stripping out of his shirt and pants too while he waited for it to warm and adjust. He wanted to bur his clothes and never look at them again and hated that it probably wasn’t a possibility since somehow they were still going to have to go to school and take classes and pretend that everything was okay because it felt like things were never going to be okay again.

“Adam,” Ronan said smally, and Adam turned in time to catch Ronan against his chest. His mind was a million miles away from the bare skin on his, his hands sliding over Ronan’s lower back and legs as he tried to half carry him into the shower. Ronan collapsed to the ground as soon as they were past the door, but that was fine, because the shower had a showerhead with a hose and Adam could bring it to Ronan. He grabbed a washcloth and kneeled in front of Ronan, smoothing a hand over Ronan’s arm until Ronan looked over at him. “Where’s Gansey?” he asked, voice weak and wrecked.

“He’s at the hospital with Blue. Remember, I drove all of us over there but you couldn’t go in because of your face. Blue’s gonna take him home. He’ll be with the psychics tonight,” Adam explained softly.

He gently wiped at Ronan’s face, scrubbing soap into the rag when he needed to. The sludge didn’t come off easy and Adam kept stopping every time Ronan’s skin turned red with scrubbing, so it was a long process. Ronan’s eyes were hazy or shut for most of it, not that he was trying to be a burden on Adam. Hell, two weeks ago, he was losing his fucking mind over Adam maybe wanting to hold his hand and now he had Adam piled into a shower with him.

But it was all wrong. Adam’s wrists were bruised and he was covered in dirt and rain and sweat and his eyes, usually so unbelievably bright and knowing and sharp, were red rimmed and exhausted. “I’m so sorry, Parrish,” he eventually said, eating an edge of the wash rag unintentionally.

Adam physically jolted in front of him and looked up at Ronan. “What? What could you possibly be sorry for? You didn't do anything If anything I should..." Adam’s words choked off and Ronan saw him look to the bruises around his throat before glancing away. Ronan had been going to let Adam kill him, without a second’s hesitation. It wasn’t even a question. And he knew he should be sorry for that. Sorry that Adam, who needed to control every single damn part of his life and his narrative, was taken over by something that Ronan and all this Greywarren bullshit had brought on him. Without Ronan, Adam would be safe working too late and sleeping too little and half living in an auto shop. Without Ronan, Adam would’ve never found a dream forest, would’ve never had a dream forest, to give himself over to.

Jesus, from the very beginning, Adam had been giving up his control for Ronan. To Ronan, if he wanted to read too deeply into the connection between him and Cabeswater.

And now it was missing from his head like a physical ache and he could tell by the way Adam’s fingers twitched towards a solution, a spirit that wasn’t there anymore, he felt it too. And it was all Ronan’s fucking fault.

“I should’ve done more,” he eventually said.

“"Ronan, you're...bleeding, or whatever, from your literal eyes. If you'd done anymore..." Adam cut himself off when he realized he was about to say 'I wouldn't still have you.' Instead, he pressed his hand over Ronan's ribs and then stood so quickly he almost fell over. Ronan reached for him, selfishly wanted to keep him there, keep him close.

But Adam just reached out of the shower to flick on the heater and then kneeled back down in front of him.

“Why are you wearing boxers if I have to be naked?” Ronan asked, going for anything to get Adam out of his own head, even though he was exhausted himself and wanted silence and Adam pressed up against him.

But it seemed to work because Adam blushed furiously and pointedly kept his eyes at Ronan’s chest and above. “My boxers cost a dollar a pair. Yours are designer.”

“They still go into the wash, Parrish. Calvin Klein made them with water in mind.”

Adam glared at him, but it was half hearted. Then he shifted and laid across the shower floor and Ronan followed, resting his head on Adam’s shoulder. The water pooled around them and they were both freezing in the cool air and their wet skin, but neither of them moved to get the hose put somewhere useful.

“You’re the first person to ever touch me like I’m in danger,” Ronan muttered softly. “And not the dangerous thing that needed to be controlled.”

“A demon crawled into my head and liked what it found, Lynch,” Adam muttered. “You’re not the dangerous one here.”

And wasn’t that the fucking kicker? Since the night terror and his wrists, everyone in his life--Gansey and Declan, really. That made his whole life--treated him like he was about to explode and hurt everyone around him. But that hadn’t ever been his goal. Hurting himself, fine. But not the people around him. (Except maybe Declan every now and then in a fist fight) But then the demon from his own quests and magical abilities decided Adam Parrish, unassuming and kind and smart and beautiful Adam Parrish, was the most dangerous player on the board.

And Ronan had seen why. It didn’t have anything to do with the biting comments and rash decisions Adam was so good at, or the quick temper he was slowly, so fucking slowly, learning to control, or the diabolical way his mind worked when he had a goal in mind. It was that everyone around Adam loved him and no one wanted to hurt him. The demon that undid all the light and goodness that Ronan made, saw Adam Parrish as the brightest light in his life and tried to snuff it out.

“I need to get your neck,” Adam said and sounded fucking terrified at the idea, so Ronan reached for his hand and worked the cloth free to scrub at his own neck. He could feel enough of the black shit to know when he was making progress and when he wasn’t and he kept the cloth between his skin and Adam’s eyeline so he couldn’t see the bruises.

“Done,” he said and his throat hurt even worse. He just wanted this night to be over. He doubted he’d feel any better tomorrow, but at least they’d have put time between themselves and the demon and the...loss. Jesus, it felt like insurmountable loss. His mother, Adam, Matthew, Cabeswater. Gansey.

“Where’s Gansey?” he asked and felt Adam turn his head to look over at him.

“He’s with Blue,” Adam said softly, worrying tinging his voice. He held onto Ronan’s hand tightly and moved them over his own chest so Ronan could feel his heartbeat. “We can call her if you want.”

Ronan shook his head roughly. “I want to go to bed,” he muttered.

It took several minutes for either one of them to think about sit up. It was too easy to just lay with each other on the cold tile and know that they were alive and as safe as could be.

“Your eyelashes are so long,” Adam muttered eventually.

Ronan’s eyes fluttered open--he hadn’t even realized he’d shut them--and he looked at Adam intently. “They’re not that long,” he muttered. “Your eyes are so fuckin’ blue.”

“They’re not that blue,” Adam teased, leaning his forehead against Ronan’s temple. Ronan could feel him grow more serious in the next seconds. “I’m so sorry about what happened.”

“I am too, Parrish. But...it’s not on either of us. And I know it don’t feel true right now and maybe we don’t want to hear it, but it’s not our fault.”

Adam nodded softly and rubbed his hand over Ronan’s chest gently. “It's not our fault," he agreed. "It's not any of ours fault. It was fated from the beginning. We were meant to all be there. Gansey in Henry's coat and Blue with her curse and me and you there to sway Cabeswater's sacrifice. It had to happen like this. Nothing we did would've changed it. Blue and I saw it in Cabeswater, in that tree.”

Ronan swallowed and held his hand over Adam’s, clumsily lacing their fingers. “This shit in my mouth tastes like literal fucking death,” he said, and a second later, Adam was passing over the shower head for him to rinse his mouth out with.

They had to awkwardly sit up, slick skin sliding on the wet floor, feet and knees and elbows finding body parts along the way. Ronan washed out his mouth  and then hosed himself down again, just in case they’d missed something that had dripped into his clothes, even tried to clean his ears out, though that may have to wait until tomorrow. 

He turned off the water and shakily got to his feet, pulling Adam up with him. Without saying anything, they crashed into each other, hugging each other tight enough that their ribs ached.

Adam reached for the towel on the door of the shower and dried them off, moving between their bodies like they were the same person. He dried off his own hair last and then kicked his soaking boxers off. Ronan stayed as modest as Adam had, but only because there were dark bruises along Adam’s waist and thighs, from the demon thrashing Adam’s body around in the car, that kept him distracted.

They stayed wrapped around each other as they made their way to the bedroom, pulled on some of Ronan’s boxers, and fell into bed together.

“Where’s…” Ronan started, before he relaxed in the warm blankets. Hospital. Blue. Psychics. They were all alive and okay. He’d call Declan tomorrow, give him a more in depth explanation than what Adam got out in broken pants and choked off sobs earlier on the drive home. “It’s over,” he muttered. Glendower, Noah’s painful fits, the demon, Cabeswater. “It’s all really over.” 

“It can only get better,” Adam pointed out a little drily.

Ronan curled an arm around Adam’s waist and pulled him close. He was never letting go.

[macbetha]

Preview of SouRin Sugar Daddy AU: Death of a Bachelor “Chapter 21″

Sousuke’s first week back at work is shit – more like slapping on a condom full of fire ants, to put it lightly – though he hadn’t anticipated leaving his bed for a freezing office would be a pleasant affair. He’s grown accustomed to Rin’s presence, bodily and internally addicted. Sousuke needs him like sleep, a requirement for rest and fulfillment; the way he buries his cheek against Sousuke’s chest in the night, god, the fucking stars can’t compare to such fire. Being around Rin is secure and rebellious all at once. Justified. The reliver and the fever. There’s a panic to it all, waiting for this good thing to explode and come crashing down – but Sousuke likes the feeling. It’s powder, fuse, and friction. He and Rin are maneuvering a delicate space as they try to figure out the balance of public image and authentic emotion, but at least Sousuke knows which way Rin might be leaning.  Sousuke can most certainly confirm what his own heart is singing.  Needless to say, he is a bit addicted to being around Rin, and it was in no one’s best interest for Sousuke to part from him and spend days in a conference so infuriating that it ices his goddamn blood over. To quote Makoto, Sousuke is positively lemon-sour and intimidates potential investors; to quote Nagisa, his personally drops to that of the Wicked Witch of the T.E. West Wing.

“What in the risen fuck was that meeting,” Sousuke hisses on the walk out of the conference room. Nitori scurries after him, peeking over the tower of files in his arms. “Sir, I know you need a break, but you have a call from the Chou Ward waiting on Line 3 –” Sousuke throws a hand up. “I don’t have time to ignore Isana-san, tell him I’ll call him in the morning.” He shudders at the dreadful thought. “Put Baileys in my coffee tomorrow.” Nagisa bounces to Nitori’s side, scribbling on a clipboard before handing it off to Makoto. Nagisa takes a primp sip of his latte, swinging his hips with the demeanor of someone absolutely content while the building goes up in figurative flames. Nagisa says, “Sou-chan shouldn’t have any irritants while he’s recovering, Ai-chan.” “You’re an irritant,” Nitori pouts. The rest of Sousuke’s people follow him to the elevator, but he’s too frazzled to recall which floor he’s on. Not remembering directions is a staple of his character at the office, but that doesn’t make his grumble any less embarrassed. “Up or down?” Natsuya raises his brows as he scrolls through his phone and Makoto sighs, “It’s a miracle you have a driver’s license.” He pushes the button to take them to the appropriate level and everyone hunkers down in Makoto’s office with the door locked. Sousuke pours square glasses of whiskey for himself and his brother, Natsuya pulls out a Cameroon cigar, and Seijuro haggardly smokes a cigarette. The redhead hisses grey through his teeth. “Well, that could have gone better.” “A root canal would have gone better,” Sousuke fumes. Seijuro flicks ashes into the tray he always keeps in his breast pocket. “Amazing that you have to call in every department to the main branch just to make an executive decision of shareholders.” Seijuro isn’t even full-time on T.E.’s payroll, but as their prime freelancing marketing consultant, it was necessary for Mikoshiba Incorporated to witness the meeting. Natsuya yanks his tie loose and flops in the nearest chair. “It’s democracy, one of the two greatest contributions to society.” His face slates over as he takes a pull from his cigar. “That and getting fucked up the ass.” “I’ve tried both and they’re overrated,” Nagisa says, tossing his empty coffee cup over his shoulder and into the trashcan. He spreads his notes across Makoto’s desk, organizing in a way that only the P.A. can understand. Nitori comes over to view the conference transcript and braces his hands on his hips, grim-browed. “What was that one gentleman’s name that wanted to buy half your stocks?” Sousuke snorts into his glass. “Which one? The guy that looked like he should be underground worshiping rats?” “No,” Nagisa says, leafing through some folders. “The one with the personality of a sentient enema.” “Ito-san,” Makoto supplies, half-asleep on the lounge. Lemon is his office-cat of the day and she cuddles his shoulder. Nitori nods. “Right, him.” His eyes skim through the appropriate folder and he sighs over at Sousuke. “If you aren’t comfortable with Ito-san being a shareholder, you’ll have to do what he can’t.” Seijuro scoffs, “What, drive sober?” “That and prove Tachibana Enterprises is still a mom-and-pop business.” Nitori crosses his arms. “Yamazaki-san, you and Tachibana-san are still the figureheads of this company. You don’t have to blindly grab anyone’s money just because there’s a lot of it.” He hesitates. “But you’ll have to make a choice. You’re at a crossroads of identity as a company.” Natsuya says, “Ito-san is a shareholder at Kirishima International as well, my father said that man is so radioactive that he can read newspapers in the bathroom from the light of his own shit.” Sousuke stares in disbelief before kneading his forehead, which pulses to the touch. “Even if we omit Ito-san, none of the investors were good candidates. The youngest prospect talked like he had never seen the world outside a limo with a hot tub; he doesn’t understand how decisions can affect our individual employees.” “If he’s absent-minded, then he won’t pull out if the stocks drop,” Makoto tries. Sousuke balks. “Kinjou Kaede is a goddamn animal. No one thinks rationally when they’re nineteen and just inherited a fortune.” He takes a drink and holds the whiskey in his mouth, letting it burn his insides and fuel his indignation. “Kid prowled into the building like a fucking Bengal tiger.” Nagisa makes a face. “It was pretty hot, though.” “ – and he watched us like he was waiting for us to pour honey on his cock and suck it.” “Mm, too forward,” Nitori nods solemnly. “There’s no way I’m answering to some smug teenager.” Sousuke takes another angry drink. Having a bad shareholder, especially one to the caliber that Kinjou wants, is like being declawed, defanged, and neutered. Not a good equation for a productive work environment – Sousuke is too stubborn to try and improve such a fate. Nagisa considers. “Kinjou might not be that bad, he’s cute. But like, kind of how lions are cute: from a distance with an electric fence between you.” “Kinjou told his P.A. that you’re too busy cutting eff-holes in peaches to do your job right,” Nitori drones, not glancing up from his paperwork. Nagisa looks stunned in the most pleased way. “Do I radiate that much Top Energy? I better keep wearing this Calvin Klein shit I snagged from Haru-chan’s bedroom.” Makoto startles an excited blush with eyes tripled in size before Sousuke cuts everyone off. “If we go with Ito-san, we’re playing it safe and this company won’t be seen as ours anymore. He’ll get all the credit for any forthcoming success because he took a chance on two young CEOs, and everyone will think our profits are due to his wisdom.” Makoto’s frame tightens and he heaves a defeated breath, shaking his head. He looks as trapped as Sousuke feels. Sousuke continues, “If we go with Kinjou, we are going to catch hell from any other long-standing corporations, not to mention the media.” Seijuro nods, lifting his brows. “You’re new money.” He says it with a smirk. “At Mikoshiba Incorporated, my father actually likes that. New money is all cash – it’s no bullshit.” He shrugs as he takes another pull, seeming hopeful. “We’re the next era of business. If the older people can’t evolve, that’s their problem. Money is money and cash is king. That’s all that matters.”   His speech invigorates something deep in Sousuke – a reckoning. He sits up straighter as he regards his brother, who considers. Makoto casts a miserable look at the floor before he shakes his head, giving in to the determination pouring through his veins. His gaze hardens before he nods at Sousuke with grim consent. “All right. We give Kinjou some shares, but not as many as he wanted. Start him out small, see what he does with it. Let the media get used to the idea of him before he’s got the chance to do anything irrational.” Sousuke nods in response, petrified to move forward, but as satisfied as he can be with their circumstance. Everyone slips out to leave the brothers alone and after a while of sharing miserable silence, Sousuke hauls himself to his feet. “Well, I’m headed to take a swan dive off the roof. Care to join me?” “Maybe later.” Makoto keeps scrolling through his phone, inspired. “Are loofas a decent Christmas gift?” Sousuke’s expression dries with disappointment. “You’re rich.”   “They make nice loofas.” “Who the fuck thinks about fiber count when they’re washing their ass, Mako?” Makoto grimaces with a shudder. “It’s for Haru.” He takes off his glasses to rub his eyes in frustration. “He likes baths, I don’t know. I just want to get him something he’d like.” Lemon wanders over and Sousuke picks her up to cuddle the cat against his chest. “Taking baths is a staple of his character? He doesn’t sound that interesting.” “He’s very interesting,” Makoto pouts. “I’m just bad at gifts. What are you getting Rin for Christmas?” Sousuke shrugs, though it’s a confidant motion. “Whatever he wants.” “That’s not interesting,” his brother scoffs. “Or personal.”   Sousuke leans against the wall, careful how he angles his shoulder. “I don’t know, I need to think about it. I don’t want to freak him out or anything.” Makoto glances up from his phone to shoot him a flat look. “I don’t think you could freak him out if you tried, and I mean that nicely. Haru told me that Rin’s obsessed with you.” “Mm.” He doesn’t say more, though he flushes with pride, and he smirks when Makoto rolls his eyes. His brother sighs, “Well, I need to hurry up and choose something since he and Rin are taking a flight back home tomorrow.” Sousuke’s smirk drops and his arms fall slack. Lemon squawks in the air before landing on her feet. “Huh?” “Did you forget?” “Rin never told me.”

[hattywatch]

Tyler Seguin - Back Road

Author’s Note: This entire fic is for @hockeyandtaylorswift - I adore her. She has waited 84 years for this and she is a blessing.  Get ready for the long haul, because this is 17 pages and 7k+ words. The only thing I’ve ever written that was longer is my college thesis. This is way better. This is a plus sized fic and will have a smutty part 2. My idea bank is dry, it may take a few weeks.

“Okay, I have mozzarella sticks,” you look over the table and match the order to its orderee. “These go to Red Beard.” You slide them along the table until they're in front of him.

Grabbing the next plate off of the tray you drop it in front of the man sitting next to him, “Aaanndd a quesadilla for Scruffy here- which makes the grilled cheese with bacon Smiley’s.”

Placing the last plate down in front of the male closest to you, you catch a glimpse of the tattoos peeking out of his sleeve, well that's hot as fuck.

“Who are you calling Smiley?” He looks up and cocks his eyebrow while taking a fry off of his plate and shoving it in his mouth. Its way too hot still, so he tries to subtly do that quick intake of air to cool his mouth down, serves him right. You tip your tray flat so you can hold it against the flare of your hip.

“Apologies, sir, can I get you anything else.” You raise the pitch of your voice to ensure it's sugary sweet and he swallows his fry.

“Your number,” he gives a cheesy smile and you're pretty sure you can see his molars it's so wide.

“Enjoy your dinner.” You walk away with a nod, overly tired of humans on this late Friday night.

You go back to refill their drinks, waiting until the tattooed grilled-cheese aficionado has left for the bathroom. Scruffy, who introduces himself as Jamie, stops you before you can walk away again. “Sorry about Tyler. He drank a bit before we got here. He's a little friendly when he drinks.” He gives you the apologetic smile of a put upon friend and you can't fault him.

“It's not the worst I've heard. No harm no foul, right? Did you need anything else, guys?” Jamie says no, that they're good, but that Tyler said something about dessert, so he asks you to wait before closing out the bill.

With only 30 more minutes left to your shift, they're the last of your tables and the call of your bed is so near and so sweet. You see Tyler, apparently, trying to catch your eye from the booth so you paste your smile back in place and walk over with your pad in hand.

“Anything else, Smiley?” You lay emphasis on the last part, hoping you can at least leverage his drunkenness into a nice tip.

He smiles again and pulls his right sleeve up before gesturing with his hands while he starts talking, “See now, you know my name, but I don't know yours. That's not fair.” His eyes are drooping sleepily and there's no real malice or nasty intent behind his words, so you allow the flirtation.

“Boy, he did drink a bit didn't he?” You point to your name tag which lies on  your chest. Right where it’s been all night. He squints at it, like he's having a hard time getting his eyes to focus, which make sense.

“Did you want dessert, Segs? We can't hang out here all night. It's getting late.” Red beard is talking now, he's got less patience than Jamie it seems.

“Good question, Jordie. Yes. I do. Can I have that brownie thing you guys have with the ice cream?” He keeps gesturing with his hands and it's super distracting because of those damned tattoos. If he catches you staring he's too drunk to notice.

“Yes of course. Three spoons?” You ask, holding up three fingers trying to get Tyler to stop making overwhelmingly direct eye contact.

“You can bring two if you want to share, but I'm not sharing with them,” he motions to Jamie and Jordie sitting across from him, and looks proud of himself for a beat before Jamie heaves a sigh and Jordie covers his eyes with the heels of his palms and groans.

“One spoon, then.” You wink at him, “Got it. I'll be right back.” You flip your pad closed and 180 back to the kitchen. You hear Tyler as you walk away, defending himself, “What? That was smooth? Girls love dessert!”

It's like, not a big deal that he's drunk and flirting. The restaurant is open late, and it's nestled in downtown a few blocks from the strip of bars that attracts the younger crowd on the weekends, so you're used to it.

What you're decidedly not used to is how disgustingly handsome he is. Usually the guys that flirt with you err on the less devastatingly attractive side, pushing more towards awkward and cute. Your round face and curvy frame usually preclude guys that look like they walked out of a Calvin Klein ad from being the ones who come calling.

It's fine, you shake your head and grab the order from the kitchen, trying not the think about his sleepy brown eyes and backwards snapback. He's drunk and you're here, surely he dates supermodels or something with a face like that.

“‘Brownie thing’, one spoon.” You place the plate down in front of Tyler and he says thank you. You finish up their bill and drop it to the table. “No rush, gentlemen. Take your time,” is what comes out, even though there's 4 minutes left in your shift and please rush is what you want to say.

You're completely blissed out when you see them pass you as you're standing and chatting with the hostess. They say thank you again and wave good-bye. Tyler brings up the rear and winks, which makes you roll your eyes. Drunk men.

Going over to pick up the check reveals two things. One: these guys are welcome back anytime, you pocket the $50 tip they left on their barely $50 bill with a smile. Two: Across the back of the check, in a slightly tilted scrawl you can read, “Hey I just met you and this is crazy…” There’s a phone number underneath it and it’s signed with a heart and a smiley face.

You pocket that too, knowing you’re definitely not going to use the number. It’ll just be nice to look at whenever you have a bad body day; you’ll be able to remember how a handsome, tattooed guy tried to pick you up. We all need a little self-esteem boost every now and then.

When you finally get home, you drop a bath bomb in the tub and lie back and relax. If your mind starts to wander to what maybe could have been if you were a little braver and he was a little less drunk… well that’s not really anyone’s business.

_________________

It's not too much later, barely a week, and it's your friend’s birthday. You took off of work the whole weekend in anticipation of drunk shenanigans and brunch and general fun girl times.

There's just a handful of you, some close friends from college and a few from grown-up, adult life. You're all getting ready at the birthday girl’s place, sipping champagne and getting pretty together. It's a blast and it makes you long for when you were a little younger and had nothing but time to hang around with friends and do each other's hair.  

The outfit you decided on is a little outside of your comfort zone, but you like the way you look despite that. The cropped tank top has a sweetheart neckline and it gives the girls a little help, you purchased it despite kind of hating showing your arms. It's summer and it's hot and you want to be comfortable, but it brings you back to high school insecurities for a split second before you scoff at yourself and remember that literally no one cares if you haven't done any tricep extensions in a while… or like, ever.

Because you weren't 100% committed to being bare, you paired it with some high-waisted distressed jeans and  wedges. The jeans are your favorite. They're lived in and the denim is buttery soft. Most importantly they fit comfortably around the waist, butt, AND thighs which is a trifecta that no other denim can ever seem to replicate. Plus, you're pretty pleased at the way the absence of back pockets makes your butt look fantastic.

As you all pile out of the two Ubers you’re taking to the bar, you're getting a little worried about the outfit you chose. It's just that you feel a little out of character. You know the feeling? Like when you try a new shade of lipstick and constantly feel like every stranger on the street can just tell you're trying something new? It's ridiculous. You reach into your purse and feel the check with a cheeky message on the back and remember that you're obviously still banging enough to get a number and decide your midriff showing is A-okay.

You're all excited when you get to the bar and you know a drink or two will loosen you up as will the DJ who is currently settings up to the side of the bar. What is totally not helping you loosen up is the fact that you see the guy who left you his number sitting over on the other side of the bar with his friends. He hasn't looked this way yet and you're not even sure if he'd remember you, but boy do you remember him.

He's got a short sleeved shirt on this time and the sleeves are out in full force with this stupid backwards hat on and as much as you want to hate it, you also want to go down on him in the bathroom of this bar. It's a very tough position to be in. The duality of man.

Sure enough though, girls are dripping off of him. They come and go every few minutes, some taking photos and leaving and some staying for a drink or two before making their exit. You watch for as long as you think you can without getting caught, but decide it's probably best to ignore it all and get your own drink.

To kick off the night you guys do a round of birthday shots. You all whoop and clink a cheers before downing them, but while the rest of the girls continue with heavy liquor, you decide to pace yourself and follow up with a water. The night is young and there's no reason to be the first one to be a mess who tries to leave the bar in favor of finding french fries.

The DJ has finally started up and enough people flood the dance floor that you decide to join, even though you're still sober. It's supposed to be a fun night and it is shaping up to be just that. After a few songs your friends need a refill and leave the dance floor. You're considering grabbing another shot with them but as you get to the edge of the dance floor Tyler is standing there, eyes on you.

He has to speak into your ear to be heard over the music so he's leaning in pretty close when he says, “You never called me.” You're so shocked you actually laugh out loud.

Standing on your tiptoes, even in your wedges, is barely enough to get your mouth to his ear. He's polite enough to drop his head down so you can answer, “Drunk guys leave me their number a lot. How am I supposed to know who's serious?”

He laughs then, before you can even move away from his body. You're up so high on your tiptoes and the music is pulsing through the floor and you haven't had more than that first shot from when you walked in, but you're swaying a bit. Or at least that's the excuse you're going to give when someone asks why in the world would you grab onto his shoulders?

It's not like he minds, because he drops his hands to your waist trying to steady you and is smiling through the whole ordeal. “I have that effect on women. They fall for me all the time.”

You still want to blow him in the bathroom, but you'd really like to slap him first.

“It's good to see you again, I'm just going to go-” you shout up at him while pointing to the bar. You're honestly trying to not get within speaking distance of his ear again; whatever cologne he's wearing is entirely too enticing.

You aren't aware he's followed you back to the bar until you're trying to wave down the bartender and catch a glimpse of his forearm come over your head. He's way taller, so the bartender sees him straight away and comes over. He orders his drink and looks down to you with his eyebrows up, asking you to order yours.

“Vodka seltzer with lemon, please?” You're not above a free drink if he's offering. The bartender grabs him whatever he asked for and you watch him make your drink next. When he places it down Tyler leans in and tells him to put the drinks on his tab. The bartender nods and you grab a few singles from your pocket and leave a tip.

You start walking back to the dance floor after smiling and waving at Tyler in thanks, but he gently grabs your wrist and you turn back to him.  

“Yes?” You try to keep a neutral face, because he's incredibly attractive and buying you drinks which is really all anyone could ever ask for, right? But he's also go the whole fuck-boy vibe going on and you're good on that front, but thanks anyway.

“Can I call you if you don't want to call me?” He's slid his hand down from your wrist into your hand and your heart stutters a little, but you take a deep breath and listen to the voice playing like a siren in your head- fuck boy, fuck boy, fuck boy.

“I'm sure you’ve gotten a lot of numbers tonight. Give a willing participant a call, huh?” He furrows his brows at you, but the smirk never leaves his face.

“Nah, I like a challenge.” You roll your eyes at him, sure that his interest will wane in the face of the willowy blondes that seem to appear out of thin air and onto his side every time you look over at him.

Bless him, it doesn’t though. He keeps making eyes at you all night, but never joins you on the dance floor or approaches you again.

At some point your friends notice and you give them the run down. They're fully committed to trying to get you laid, but you laugh them off and tell them you're all-in on this ladies night. No men allowed.

He does however, pick up yours AND all of your friends tabs that night. You don’t discover it until you all go to pay and the bartender hands you your cards back and says it's closed out already. He asks which one of you is (y/n) and hands you a piece of receipt paper that is inscribed, “Just in case you lost it” with a phone number and a smiley face.

You want to be annoyed, because you all have jobs and there was no reason for that. But, to his advantage, it was a smooth move, since all of your friends are now begging you on the cab ride home:

“Give him a chance,”

“He’s such a nice guy,”

“Have you SEEN his face?”

“Or his body for that matter?!”

You want to slap him a little harder than you did only hours earlier.

As you start peeling off your clothes and taking off your makeup to get into bed, it hits you all at once. This is the first time a guy has purchased you a drink (or all of your drinks) and not expected to end up in your bed or for you to end up in his. He never approached you again after you rebuffed him, and you had to at least give him credit for being a decent human being. It’s a rare find these days.

Laying on your clean sheets and staring up at the ceiling you can be honest, he’s hot and he seems like a nice enough guy. He's not pushy or demanding or intimidating. You’re single and looking, so you’re not really sure why you can’t bring yourself to just text him or allow him to text you. He wasn’t even drunk this time, so your excuse from the first night doesn’t hold water any more.

As you start getting more honest with yourself the closer you get to the cottony-soft feeling of sleep, you decide it probably has something to do with the tiny women that seem to throw themselves at him.

_______________

Here’s the thing: you’re not really self conscious, perse. You’ve spent a lot of your youth being a little upset that you weren’t slim or athletically built, but as anyone can see from a quick scroll through instagram, curvy is in. People are loving some thickness, and even if they didn’t, it’s still helped you embrace the softness in your body instead of poking and pinching at every ounce of fluff.

But, despite all of the acceptance and appreciation you have for your body, you can’t help but be slightly suspicious of Tyler’s motives. Obvious jock, frat-boys have never been your type and the inverse is also true.

You want to write him off as a frat douche, but you are also smart enough to recognize that you're judging him based on his good looks and not his actions- which have been pretty respectful- and realize you're being a little unfair.

__________

You’re going to have to seriously reconsider your thinking though, because as big as Dallas is, this is the third time you’ve run into him in a month and it’s getting a little ridiculous. It's like the universe is pushing you to give into the ruggedly handsome stranger you keep bumping into.

A stupid coffee. You had to stop for a stupid coffee. It’s beautiful out and it’s a day off of work; a walk to the library sounded so nice and then so did a coffee. That’s all you wanted; a nice quiet day off.

But now, arms laden with books and sipping deeply on your straw, you hear your name being called. Recognizing the voice before you see him, he’s already crossing the street by the time your eyes start tracking his movements. He looks like he just came from a run: tanned, flushed, and sweaty. To top it off, he’s got three leashes in his hand and you’re silently promising yourself you are not going to fall for the dogs. Easier said than done, honestly.

You try to keep your eyes on his face, but quickly decide that it’s less dangerous to look at the dogs. Squatting down, you ruffle their heads and chant repetitively “who’s a good boy,” to all three of the labs and do your best to collect yourself.

“I feel like you may be stalking me,” you risk a glance up from your spot around Tyler’s knees, sitting amongst various colored wagging tails. He looks soft and dopey and you’re not sure if it’s his usual face or if it’s glazed over with love for his pups. Probably both.

“I swear I'm not. The boys were just a little cooped up so I took them for a run,” he smiles that dopey smile and it's squeezing your heart, the obvious love he has for his pets.

“All three are yours?” He's squatting down next to you too, nodding and letting them lick kisses all over his face.

You stand, thighs burning from the prolonged squat and he stands back up with you. The air between you is a little charged, and you feel like you need to fill it up.

“I never got to thank you, by the way.” He does a good impression of a dog then, head tilted and eyebrows curious; you're sure one ear would be cocked if he could.

“For paying our tabs that night at the bar? I think my friends are halfway in love with you after that stunt. But, thank you.” You're still holding your books and your coffee and you feel decidedly like you're in high school again, lusting over the star football player.

Tyler smiles big and bright. “Oh, yeah. Well, you could have called me, ya know?” He puts the hand not holding the dogs’ leashes deep in his pocket. “But I'm glad I won your friends over. How about you?”

The charming bastard.

You can barely help yourself from smiling. The attention is so nice and it's emboldening you to say yes, to just give in and go with it. At the very least you have to let him know it isn't unwelcome anymore, lest he decide to stop trying.You don't want this warm, tingly feeling to leave just yet.

“I think you're well on your way,” you have to look down now, glad you're wearing sunglasses that hide a bit of your embarrassed face and block out some of the happiness radiating off of Tyler.

“So, can I maybe get your number now? Maybe run into you somewhere on purpose?”

You can't even help yourself from tapping your number away into his phone. He's got this beatific smile plastered on his face like you just made his whole day and it's been so long since a man made you feel so fizzy inside.

When he says goodbye to you on the sidewalk as the dogs start pulling him, he assures you he'll call soon and begs you, “Just don't change your mind on me, okay? I worked really hard to get to this point.” He takes your hand and kisses the back of it in parting and you laugh before telling him that he's a “huge dweeb.” He laughs too, head back and mouth open.

“I'm just trying to be a gentleman. Let me charm you!” He waves one last time as the dogs get impatient and tug him away. You can hear him talking to them as he walks away, his voice high and spewing baby talk.

You're so fucked.

_______________

He doesn't even wait 24 hours to call you. You get home from your walk and get comfy on the couch with a book and your phone is buzzing with an unknown number.

“Hello?” You prop your feet up on a pillow and lay back, ready to hang up on a pushy salesman.

“Um, hey. It's Tyler. I was just wondering what you were doing this weekend?” Your mouth drops open in shock because you were just so sure he was going to text you to try to make plans or even worse maybe send out a 'You up’ text late Saturday. But he didn't, he called and he's trying to set up a date.

“Tyler. Tyler? Do I know a Tyler?” He can't see you but you tap your finger against your lip anyway, pretending to be confused.

He takes it in stride, “I'm sure you remember me. Devilishly handsome? Tattooed? I have three dogs? Been trying to get you to go out with me for about a month?”

You decided to skip the first two and you fake an intake of breath, “Right! Rightttt! The dogs. Why didn't you say that earlier. I remember you now- I'm working on Saturday but I'm free on Sunday.”

“Okay. Okay. I can work with that.” He stops talking and you sit there waiting.

“That's it? That's all I get?” You thought for sure he'd be floundering a little. Trying to pick a restaurant or activity or something, but no.

“That's all you get.” You can practically hear that fucking smirk through the phone.

“How will I know how to dress? I need something to go on.” Sure that you've snaked him into giving something up, your smile drops when he responds.

“Well, that sundress you were wearing today was pretty great. Something like that will work just fine. I'll call you Sunday morning to tell you what time to be ready.”

You're still sputtering out half formed arguments when he ends the call, “I'll talk to you soon. Don't change your mind on me.”

After you hang up your phone you kick your feet against the couch in a mini tantrum. “Well, now I have to go shopping,” there's no one home with you except the goldfish on the end table. He looks nonplussed about the whole ordeal.

____________

You work the lunch rush Friday, but as soon as you leave you head to the mall, because that maybe was the only sundress you own and you're not about to wear it again.

After about two hours of futility you finally find the dress. 

It's a little fancy, he’s a guy and they don’t always know appropriate attire, but you decide to stick with flat sandals and a denim jacket, in case it needs to be dressed down, but still hoping he'd have the good sense to tell you if you needed to dress up. Overall you're really pleased with the way you look in it and you twirl a little in the mirror when you get home and consider how you're going to wear your hair and makeup.

What you're less than pleased about is that by Saturday he hadn't contacted you at all and you're starting to get a little worried. You haven't heard from him in days and maybe he forgot? You saved him in your phone after that first time he called you… the only time he called you, so you could easily text him to make sure he remembered.

You decide against calling him and do your best to smile and hustle for tips all day Saturday. It takes your mind off of Tyler and leaving your phone in your locker after your break keeps you from obsessively checking to see if he tried to contact you.

By the time you get home you're well and truly pooped; ready to shower, moisturize, and hibernate. With your hand shoved deep in your bag, you search for your keys to unlock your door and you feel your phone buzzing somewhere towards the bottom. Rummaging through, you grab your phone too, but see that it's just a text so it can wait.

When you've stripped down, showered, and put on your pajamas you finally crawl into bed and peek at your phone.

Tyler: I hope you haven't forgotten about me.

Attached: 51218a.jpg

The photo is of his dogs and you're smiling before you even open it all the way and zoom in. They're laying on the bed, all over lumps in the sheets which are probably Tyler's legs.

You breathe a sigh of relief, because as much as you didn't want to give in to the obvious attraction you have for him, you're still excited for the date and happy he's not standing you up.

Pecking away a response, you end up sending:

Right! The labs! Tom is it? Ted? I'm so sorry, I'm just terrible with names.

You think he's going to make you wait for a response, since your message was sent almost a full hour after his original one, but he answers immediately.

Your breath catches in your lungs when you open it.

Tyler: Are you better with faces?

Attached: 51218n.jpg

It's a selfie and he's shirtless.

You're really glad it wasn’t a dick pic, because then you'd be forced to never speak to him again and that would have been a devastating outcome, since you are back to wanting to climb him like a fucking tree at the moment.

It's not even like you can see much, he's obviously in bed, head propped up against the headboard. You can only really see a few inches below his shoulders and up. It's not terribly risque, but his shoulders are all tattooed and tanned and well within frame, not to mention his fucking face just, existing like that. Overall it's just a lot to cope with while you're lying in your bed.

After a few deep breaths (and a quick pep-talk that involves you reminding yourself even if you are a thirsty bitch you will certainly not act like a thirsty bitch) you are ready to reply.

Oh yeah. Much better with faces. Thanks for that. I haven't forgotten. What time should I be ready?

He tells you to be ready around 7, that he'll pick you up at your house and not to eat beforehand. Like a little kid on Christmas, you actually have a hard time falling asleep when you send your final message of the night, “I'll be ready,” followed by your address.

_______

The house has never been so spotless. Of course you wake up an hour before you have your alarm set and can't stop the frenetic energy you have coursing through your body. The anticipation is killing you and it's not even close to 7 yet. So, you start and finish 3 loads of laundry, clean your bathroom, vacuum your floors, and run the dishwasher all before noon.

Deciding that self care is next on the docket, you shower, exfoliate, shave, apply a face mask. It's just barely 4 when you're through, but you start getting ready in earnest anyway.

You've never spent so much time on your hair and makeup, but you know that if you just sit around you'll end up driving yourself insane thinking of all the things that could go wrong tonight.

It's… it's been a while since you've been on a date, if you're being honest. If you're being completely honest, it's been over a year, so you can't help but become a little squirmy at the thought of what lies ahead for this evening.

By 6:30 you've just about worked yourself into a tizzy. You're sat in the kitchen in your robe, sipping a tea you made to calm your nerves when you see the Jeep pull up. It's clearly custom, all black, and you can make out a man sitting in the front seat.

Closer inspection reveals that it is indeed Tyler, aaaaand he's early. Great.

One last sip of tea and then you rush to the bathroom to brush your teeth, for the third time today, and slip into your dress. With one sandal strapped into place you hear three knocks on your door and shout “Just a sec!” in the general direction of your front door. He must not hear you, since the bell chimes about 45 seconds later.

With both sandals buckled up, you race down the hall and stand frozen in front of the door. A few deep breaths do little to calm you down, but you know you don’t have much choice in the matter and you can’t keep him waiting outside forever, no matter how bad you sort of want to crawl under the covers and forget this whole idea.

Opening up the door, you pull it back to find a smiling Tyler, it seems to be his default expression, and it’s really nice for someone so attractive to be so genuinely happy all the time.

He looks incredible, because of fucking course he does. He's got on dark blue jeans with a plain black T-shirt and a backwards hat. Super casual, but somehow still looking like a GQ model. You're glad you didn't choose heels, but are secretly hoping the dress makes you look like a fox, so people don't wonder why there's such a handsome bad boy out with a rumpled potato.

If his reaction can be believed you look fantastic. His eyes do a quick sweep of your body from bottom to top and it's not nearly as stealthy as he thinks it is. When he finally makes full eye contact, he finds your head knocked to the side and a tilted smile, not quite a smirk, but enough to let him know he got caught.

His smile gets impossibly bigger, “Sorry,” he says on a breathy exhale. “Uh, you look… you look really nice.”

It's such a pump to your ego that you can't help but match the smile stretching over his face and you poke a little fun when you reply, “You uhh, look nice too.”

His eyelids drop closed for a second before he looks back over his shoulder, jerking a thumb towards his Jeep, “You ready? I think you're going to like what I have planned.” Nodding, you grab your bag and lock the door behind you.

He’s pulling out all the stops apparently, since he walks next to you the whole way and opens your door before you can get there to do it yourself. Hopping up into the truck you make sure your skirt is free of the door and he gently closes the door for you before walking over to the other side and climbing into his own seat.

He smiles over at you before starting the car. The radio is low and playing a Top 40s station in the background. You can barely contain yourself, you're so nervous.

He must pick up on it because he starts talking. “I was really glad you finally said yes. You were starting to give me a complex.” He looks over at you has he slows his car for a red light.

“I was starting to think you were stalking me,” you say, keeping your tone light.

“I bet it looked that way, but in reality it was just really good luck on my part until I was able to wear you down.”

The light turns green and he accelerates. “Well, the dogs helped.” He does that open mouthed laugh, you watch his eyes crinkle and decide that this was a good idea.

“So, it’s Tyler, right?” He scrunches his nose in your direction, “Where are you taking me?”

He boldly grabs your hand off of the center console and holds it softly before taking the entrance for I-45 and shrugs a shoulder.

“It'll take about half an hour to get where we're going. Tell me about yourself.” He has dropped your hand to the console but is resting his in yours still.

“Ugh, I feel like I'm back in college and the professor is making us talk about ourselves on the first day of class. What do you want to know?” You don't move to pull your hand from his, though.

“Start there, what did you go to college for? I didn't graduate, did you graduate?” His hands are damp and it's sweet that he might be a little nervous, since you're pretty sure you might puke at the continued exposure to him and his entire existence.

“I went to college for human resources. I thought I liked it, but as you know, I waitress now, so I didn't love it as much as I thought I did. I did graduate though.” He asks some follow ups: why didn't you like it, do you like waitressing, where did you go to school, where are you from. He's like a two year old with the barrage of questions that he hits you with.

After the 6th or 7th one you squeeze his hand, and tell him to slow down. “It's your turn. I'm in your car, you could kill me and dump me in the woods and I don’t know more than your first name.”

“You barely know that!” He jokes and you laugh but assure him, “It would be hard to forget your name…” he preens so you knock him back down, “you won't let me!”

He tells you he has two sisters and three dogs, but you already knew that part. He's from Canada and he's here for work. He's been down in Dallas for about 5 years. You ask what he does for work but it makes him look a little squirmy, so you drop off your questioning and instead ask about his childhood up north.

It's the right question; you can tell he's lighting up and you get a beautifully nostalgic recount of boats and fishing on the lake, the stories painted yellow and warm by the bright summer sun.

He slips into talking about hockey and winter, skating around a homemade rink in his backyard with his sisters in the cold after school.

Deciding that this man is deceptively sweet for how fratty he looks, you're getting more blushy by the minute when he pulls into Galaxy Drive-In Movie Theater.

You're officially gone for him.

__________

You haven't been to a drive-in before, but a friend at work mentioned this a few months ago and you've been itching to go ever since.

He finds a open spot and parks his car.  It's in the middle, far enough from the screen that you're not on top of it, but close enough that you're not squinting. He turns his car off and jogs around to let you out, which is nice. The Jeep is pretty high and you have to literally hop out of it.

“You didn't eat yet, right?” He hasn't dropped your hand from when he grabbed it to help you down out of your seat but you're cool with it, even if his hand is still a little clammy.

“I didn't. You told me not to. I follow directions.” He looks down at you and does this waggling thing with his eyebrows and you groan, tugging him over to concession.

The inside of concession is painted bright colors and it just looks so retro and fun that you can't help but look up at Tyler and smile.

“I did good, right? This is cool?” He looks down at you, but you're too busy deciding on what you want to play into him fishing for compliments.

“It'd be a lot cooler if you brought your dogs. Maybe next time,” you shrug before you realize what you said, but he catches it and is posturing worse than before.

“Next time, huh? Good to know.” Ignoring him, you order a cheeseburger while he grabs two slices of pizza. Moving to the table to wait for it, he continues his interrogation from earlier.

“Favorite movie food?”

“Popcorn. What about you?”

He tells you he likes cookie dough bites and asks the first movie you ever saw in theaters.

“I saw The Little Mermaid with my parents. It was amazing. I felt like such a grown up; they even let me hold the popcorn.”

He gets all smiley at your memory and starts to open his mouth, but the food is called and he gets up to get it and bring it over to your table.

Starting in on your cheeseburger, he tells you he saw Hercules in theaters when he was 5 years old with his grandparents. He smiles as he tells you, but gets that squirmy look again when you start to ask questions so you stop and instead let a companionable silence fall over you as you eat.

When you're both finished he's instantly fidgety. “There's mini-golf here too, but I don't really think we have enough time. We can go across the street though and visit the horses, they're pretty friendly. Then we can grab you some popcorn and hop back in the Jeep before the movie?” He shrugs and looks so unsure of himself that you can't possibly say no to him.

“Yeah, I love horses. Let's do that.”

It's probably a bad idea, because you’re wearing sandals and the dirt surrounding their stable is making your feet dusty, but the horses are beautiful and he was right about them being friendly. They walk right up to you and let you pet them through the fence.

“You know, I've been living in Texas for three years and I haven't ridden a horse yet,” you muse while you stroke the nose of the paint that is leaning against the fence looking for love.

“Me either,” Tyler's attention is focused on a small palomino that has taken a shine to him. “Maybe that can be our next date.”

The way he's scratching into the horses mane like he would a puppy is making your heart flip in your chest, so he's hardly being presumptuous assuming you'll say yes to him again.

Honestly, you'd say yes to a lot of things if he asked right now, looking all rugged and farm-hand chic.

_____

He does grab you popcorn and an assortment of candy for himself before you settle into the Jeep and get cozy watching some thriller you would never have chosen if asked. He was super prepared though, the back seats are missing and he turned the Jeep around so you could pop open the trunk and watch the movie while lounging in a nest of blankets.

You're glad he had the foresight to bring blankets, since you have them pulled up over your eyes during the scary parts as he laughs openly at how wimpy you are.

_______

You're surprised to say the least when the movie is over and he hasn't tried anything at all during it- not even the fake yawn and reach! You're worth a fake yawn and reach!

One would assume he picked something scary so you'd cuddle up to him seeking protection, but he never did more than nudge you with his elbow to get you to drop the blanket from over your eyes.

On the drive back to your house you're mulling it over and considering if maybe he decided he isn't as into you as you thought. The chase was over the second you say yes and he would be moving on to the next.

You're sure you made your attraction to him obvious enough with how you mooned over him as the credits rolled and assured him that even if scary movies weren't your thing, you had a really great time and it was a really good idea for a first date. You even made the move to hold his hand on the ride home.

Now that you're approaching your block you're frantically nervous that you may have let your guard down against your better judgement and will have to nurse your bruised ego after he moves on.

He has to sense how withdrawn you've become, and when he stops the car in front of your house he turns the car off and glances at you. This, right here, is why you haven't been on a date in months. You don't want to play the games.

______

He walks you up to the door and says goodnight and starting to back up a little, but it seems you're feeling brave because you blurt out what you're thinking. “I had a really good time, did you not have a good time?”

He looks taken aback for a split second before he shakes his head, “No, I had a really great time too. Did I give you the impression that I didn't?”

“Oh, well-” no backing out now. You shift from foot to foot uncomfortably, “-you uh, you… you didn't like-” you scrunch your eyes closed because looking at him is zapping you of all of your courage, “-try to kiss me or anything?”

As s soon as the words leave your lips you regret it. You open your eyes because you need to see his reaction and smug doesn't even describe the face he's making.

“Oh, did you want me to kiss you? I didn't want to impose.” As much as you're feeling feisty because he's being a butthead, you're a little calmer because he didn't balk at the idea of kissing you, so he's clearly not averse to it.

You decide he's had enough of the upper hand tonight and even if you can't stand the stupid gleam in his eye that says he won, you step forward and grab the collar of his t-shirt to pull him down to your height.  

He's stunned enough by how quickly you decide you're going for it, so his mouth is gaped open when your lips meet his. You keep it pg and kiss him chastely. It's all too quick, by the time you're biting and tugging on his bottom lip before pulling away, he's just managed to get his hands onto your hips to pull you forward.

You back away. That's all he's getting tonight. His eyes open only halfway, and he's got some seductive bedroom eyes going on, but you're strong in your resolve.

Keys in hand, you look up at him innocently, “I had a really nice time tonight, maybe we can go out again soon, Terry.”

You're inside your house with the door shut behind you, holding in a laugh as you hear him shout through the door, “What the hell was th- IT’S TYLER?!”

[chyneashlytoo]

#GlowGurl: BEAUTY FAIR 2018 by CHALK.PH (and Haul?) [UPDATED 2020]

Posted: 3 September 2018 (Wordpress blog) Note: this is not beta-ed  |  Photo (top): Chalk.Ph facebook page, (bottom) Mine

~~~

This marks my very first beauty fair because to me, it’s only recently that I’ve gotten into makeup – fairly ‘recent’ at least two or two and a half years now. It was all the “mom pressure” my mom did with her constant banter of, “Ikaw lang ang kilala kong Fine Arts student na hindi marunong mag-makeup! (You are the only Fine Arts student that I know of who doesn’t know how to do makeup)” She always emphasizes the ‘Fine Arts student’ part whenever she would tell me off. To be honest, I think my mom regrets it at times because of the money part in the equation wherein I – more like my mom and I – spend buying products and tools to add to our collection.

~ Brief backstory ~

My forced interest in the makeup department started when I was in my 3rd Year in College and it started with my first mascara, I’d consider that late already since I studied in an all-girls high school and I kept seeing some of my classmates back then wearing the go-to cheek and lip tints and powder. One or maybe two of the factors that didn’t really peak my interest in makeup was because my mom kept telling me I was ‘too young’ to wear makeup (I was in high school) and that I have sensitive skin – sadly that part is true, these held everything back in at least trying new products. I couldn’t really do anything at that time since I was too scared to put what I considered “gunk” on my face. But that gradually changed throughout the years between my senior year in high school and my junior year in college.

Brief product review: The Calvin Klein mascara that was given to me enhanced my already long and curled lashes (Thank you, genes from the father’s side LOL) and it did the job quite well – from lasting a very long time and keeping my lashes volumized and curled all day long…but it wasn’t waterproof so that’s a bummer. But nonetheless, it was a good product that started off my interest.

From curling my lashes and wearing mascara, I went on to perfect the brow game for a good year and a half. And after ‘perfecting’ – still working on it – what people would consider ‘on-fleek’ or Instagram brows, I moved on to blending eyeshadows and after half a year moved on to doing full-face makeup. I watched and watched tutorials on YouTube and I would practice them on my face in front of my mirror as well as on someone else’s face.

~ End of the brief backstory ~

The Beauty Fair by Chalk.Ph was held in UP Town Center last August 18 and 19 (Saturday and Sunday), which gave me the chance to experience my first beauty fair. Our trip there was very short though and I didn’t get enough time to roam around and actually participate in their programs because I still had other things to attend to that day – we went there on Saturday and arrived at UPTC just before lunchtime and left just before 1 PM.

It kind of made me sad because I wanted to see all the beauty gurus and experts that Chalk.Ph had in store for the people who were coming – maybe even take a picture with them, if I’m not mistaken, Ms. Anne Clutz (better known as Mama Anne) was present and dropped by – and I wanted to participate in their talks that would eventually give me more advice, tips, and ideas on how to do my makeup, skincare, and etc. better.

Chalk.Ph also had a gimmick where the first 100 people who were coming would receive a goodie bag (the photo with the white eco bag), just present the receipts that you’ve bought from the brands/booths and/or products that were a part of their program. It was filled with food as well as other products like makeup, facial wash, hair products and even napkins/pantyliners.

Everyone was very nice and very welcoming that they were very engaging (good sales talk LOL) with their customers, I was tempted to even buy some eyeshadow palettes that I have been eyeing for a long time. But I only got to buy a few things because I still was saving money – I was a broke fresh grad looking for a job – to buy other makeup products that would be of a better deal since some came in bundles which are a steal than the ones I saw in the beauty fair booths.

~~~

PRODUCT REVIEW TIME!

1. ANNE CLUTZ BRUSHES A. Ultimate Beginner Brush Set [watch here] -  PHP 500.00 B. Eye Essentials Set [watch here] -  PHP 800.00

When doing a full face makeup without the right tools is quite hard, yes fingers can be used to blend but there are certain things that I prefer using a brush. So with it, I have been waiting and saving my money to buy the Anne Clutz Brushes – both the Ultimate Beginner Brush Set and the Eye Essentials set – which will ultimately be the very first complete brush collection I have on my vanity. These brush sets honestly surprised me because not only are they at a cheaper price than most sets out there, but there are of good quality!

I watched Ms. Anne introduce the brushes on her YouTube channel where she told all the details there is to know about the brushes, from the design to the type of bristles it has and all of that. But that didn’t solely cement my plan in buying those brushes. It was also her vlog videos where I got to witness her and her family, as well as the Anne Clutz Brushes team, do a quality control with each brush that is delivered to them from the manufacturer – seeing that convinced me that the brushes I plan on buying will be good.

And they are.

The brushes were not only aesthetically pleasing to me but the way they feel made it even better. The bristles of the brushes weren’t the type that would feel prickly on the skin, a pet peeve for me especially remembering the brushes the makeup artist used on my face when I got my graduation photo taken. It is not the type of brush na kinakaskas na yung mukha mo at kulang nalang mabalatan na, it was definitely soft!

The product pick up is also good and the blend-ability of the brushes are A+ that I wouldn’t need to go in for another dip or dab on my makeup products unless I needed to layer them on.

A little tip!

Have a container that is not as tall or taller than your shortest makeup brush because then you’ll have to dig through and ‘contaminate’ your other brushes, or you’ll be holding/getting your brush by the bristles which will dirty and ruin them faster.

A quick fix is to put pebbles/marbles, or in my case, old chubby stars I did back in high school for it to be more leveled higher than the lid if my brush holder. This will then let me hold them by the handle of the brush itself.

2. SUNKISSED ORGANIC CLAY BLUSH - PHP 200.00

*This shade is perf for the tisay-naarawan-lang look*

Since everyone’s raving about this ‘dupe’ for the Luna Clay blush, that has apparently been ‘faked’ (not sure if you knew about the hearsay of what happened but to make the story short, the online shop RMK ay naloko ng supplier with regards to the Luna Clay Blush so they had to hold and replace all products with this one instead.. that’s from what I read so far, but please still do your research because I haven’t been updated with what really did happen.).

I’m not sure what the brand is or if the brand name really is ‘Clay Blush’ but I have to mention that I was quite hesitant in trying this one because as I’ve mentioned in the backstory that my skin is considered sensitive. But I’m glad that despite the simple packaging, this product had the good sense of stating what the ingredients are in it.

Components:

Candellila Wax

VCO

Grapeseed oil

Iron Oxide

Shea Butter

That’s basically everything that is said on the back, like in plain text that’s just it – no design whatsoever, there are a lot of video reviews of this product on YouTube so go check that out too.

The product is like a deodorant stick but smaller, it’s small with an estimate of 3 1/4 inches from top to bottom of the product. But it packs a punch. By that, I mean it’s very VERY pigmented so I don’t just go swiping it across my cheeks because I wouldn’t look sun-kissed anymore – I would look like a tomato or someone who was having an allergic reaction from something because of how red my face turned out.

But if I were to directly put it on my face, I would do a dabbing motion that will be enough to put color on my cheeks na parang naarawan lang 😉 It smells like a scented candle, by the way, but it doesn’t really bother me as much.

Another tip!

If I accidentally put too much, I would not rub it off. I will lightly dust it with my pressed powder (that matches my skin color) which will not only settle the product on my face but will also mute down the intensity of the color.

UPDATED REVIEW (2020) I was not halfway the product when I started to notice little bumps on my skin, it basically clogged my pores (for your info, I am a combination oil and dry skin type). No matter how much I washed/exfoliated my face after using the product, I still ended up having those tiny bumps on my skin. I proven this because after taking a break from using it, my skin cleared but when I tried it again, they all returned the next day. Sadly, it was a no for me. But maybe it might work for others.

3. FACEMASKS A. Tomato Face Mask - PHP 25.00/ea B. Charcoal Face Mask - PHP 25.00/ea

Ever since I got interested in makeup, skincare suddenly became a priority in my life. And within my 3rd year in college, I was introduced to face masks! My first face mask was a Tony Moly Snail Face mask, a friend of mine told me to put it in the ref before putting it on my face so it felt much cooler. That also started my mom’s “addiction” to using face masks - she’ll keep asking me what were good face masks for certain problems a face would have like wrinkles, sagging, redness etc.

These Face Masks (Tomato and Charcoal) are also from the same booth/shop I bought the Sunkissed Clay blush. RMK is an online shop, they have a physical store in Pure Gold Libertad, where they have a lot of products that they sell and the reviews are really good. The face masks were more for my mom than me, each was worth 25 pesos so mom bought them immediately.

Tip!

When we use our face masks, we specifically use it AFTER our weekly Aztec Clay Mask session because it cools down our faces and settles the redness that came when using the clay mask.

~~~

That’s about it for my product reviews, but I’ll show you some of the freebies I got in the goodie bag that we got.

We got (LEFT TO RIGHT)

A hair lotion (I gave those to my sister) that oddly smells like a salon. It claims to define and hold curls longer. And my sister confirmed this to be a good product.

Sun gel & cleanser from Face Republic that I have yet to try

Liquid metallic lipsticks from Revlon that I gave to someone else because it wasn’t my type

Lipsticks from Skin Potion which has a sheer finish, they both have the same red shade.

A pantyliner/napkin that I will be giving to someone else

and lastly, a Facial exfoliating cleanser from CURE that I have yet to try out

And that’s basically it!

[essential4you]

BEST BIKINI ON AMAZON | PRIME WARDROBE HAUL TRY ON & FULL REVIEW (2019) | LULI FAMA, CALVIN KLEIN

BEST BIKINI ON AMAZON | PRIME WARDROBE HAUL TRY ON & FULL REVIEW (2019) | LULI FAMA, CALVIN KLEIN

Welcome back to my channel! I am not monetized, but accept crypto tips. If you are feeling generous, scroll down for wallet info.

Don’t forget to like and subscribe, I would love to have you with me on my try on journey.

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So, I ordered about $500 worth of bras and swimsuits from Amazon Prime Wardrobe. All free to try and free returns! Find out which items I loved…

[nekoklepto]

Mall Haul!! Was pretty difficult to get around the mall and lift, most things are tagged bc the mall is very expensive but in a highly populated area with high crime. Cameras in nearly every corner of the store, couldn't lift from P1NK bc the employees are on constant high alert agh Still pretty proud of the lift, but gonna try P1NK maybe next week,, The H0+ +0pic was fairly easy to lift from bc there's literally no cameras in any location I have been in but can't be sure for all places. Still, there is a sensor above the door so be very careful, just bc there's no visible sensor doesn't mean it's not there!! All the shirts were unfortunately tagged and I have no tools as of yet to remove them. Ma<y's and J-Cpnny were a huge pain in the ass in this location bc there's cameras angled in nearly every location towards you, so your only option of a blind spot would be by hiding your hands with your stuff in between the coat racks to slip into your bag. If you feel uncomfortable, leave the store immediately! Don't risk SA following you around. My bf and I tried to lift from the Lu$# but there were far too many employees for such a small store, the store was too spacious leaving for little room to hide in, and the SA would bombard you with help and conversation. I decided it wasn't worth the high risk for just a bath bomb. H0+ +0pic Pink Heart Girdle: 9.90 Leather Choker: 10.50 Pins: Corgi Mermaid - 5.90 Totoro - 6.90 Calcifer - 6.90 Gigi the Cat - 6.90 each, x2 : 13.80 Morty - 5.90 each, x2 : 11.80 Ma<y's and J-Cpnny Calvin Klein undies 12.00 each, x7 : 84.00 TOTAL : $149.70 ✨

[dawnasiler]

Perfume Direct Spring Fragrance Haul

-This is a sponsored post in collaboration with Perfume Direct - With Valentine's Day (and the new season of Spring too) just around the corner there couldn't be a more ideal time to pick out a new fragrance for a loved one, even if said loved one happens to be yourself; let's face it there's only so many times a person can drop a hint before you have to take matters into your own hands!

I'm more than confident in stating that you don't need me to tell you that Perfume Direct offer literally hundreds of scents from all the huge perfume houses and all that is in-between but as I am only one person and really who has time to read about just about every current fragrance available in the UK, I have narrowed it down to my absolute must-try scents of the moment - all of which make wonderful gifts too should you want to find the perfect Valentine's Day present.

As we aren't quite into Spring yet (the snow outside is currently testament to that), it is tricky to find the balance between fresh and floral, without it being so light it gets lost on the several layers of woollen clothing I'm currently sporting. If that sounds familiar then you need to try Calvin Klein Euphoria Blossom Eau de Toilette (£17.99); it is light and airy with watery notes of lotus, pink peony and orchid and yet it has a certain depth that makes it perfectly suited to the current cold snap or Winter in general. If you are worried it may not last the pace of the day, I fully recommend purchasing the Calvin Klein Euphoria Blossom Gift Set (£34.99) and making the most of the shower gel to layer up and lock in your fragrance for hours on end.

A modern classic reinvented? Do you or have you ever worn Paco Rabbane Lady Million Eau de Perfume? Maybe it is a long forgotten about favourite and something you mean to revisit, or maybe you just want to try a chic, refined and powerful fragrance? Then please try Paco Rabbane Lady Million Prive (£65.99), it is the very height of opulence and luxe yet has a certainly familiarity that makes it so easy to wear. With notes of juicy raspberry, cocoa bean and honey, it is deep, sexy and one that never fails to grab the attention of others - perfect for work, play and of course date night!

Lastly a fragrance that I have yet to hear anyone talk about is the utterly beautiful Nina Ricci L'Extase Eau de Parfum (£52.99) - a warm, slightly caramel tinged rose floral that is both gentle and impactful. It is one of those rare scents that whenever I wear it someone is simply bound to comment and ask me what I'm wearing and where can they get it too. If you dare to be different then you need to try this rich pink pepper, rose and musk concoction on for size. What are you currently wearing in terms of fragrance and why?

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  Perfume Direct Spring Fragrance Haul syndicated from The Sunday Girl