#Elena's cowboy | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lonely-ey3s · 17 days ago

Text

With All My Love : Chapter 13 | road trip - part one

Chapter 13 : Road Trip pt. 1

Pairings: joel miller x f!reader (no outbreak)

Word count: 11.5k

Chapter Summary: After your engagement party you struggle to understand how you feel. However, after meeting with your therapist a couple times, Joel thinks a road trip would do you all good.

Chapter warnings: Chapter warnings: SMUT (18+ MDNI), public-ish sex, unprotected piv, anxiety, flashbacks of traumatic memories, mentions of PTSD anxiety, mentions of thoughts of unaliving, FLUFF, joel being an absolute lover, soft!joel, possessive!joel use of Spanish but with translations, use of y/n, and therapy session.

a/n: requests are open! please send prompts or things you would like to see more of!

Dividers by: @saradika-graphics

Main Masterlist

Joel woke up before you that next morning, finding you still wrapped in his arms, sleeping peacefully. Your facial features relaxed, a small smile etched into your lips, nothing harming you in your sweet dreams.

He turned his head and looked at the time, seeing it was close to 10 am.

He gently kissed your head and stroked your cheek which caused you to make a hum in your sleep and turn off of him, cuddling up to the pillow as you turned around, staying deep in sleep.

He took that opportunity to get up and get some sweats and a t-shirt on before coming over and kissing your cheek, stroking your hair back, whispering, “I’m just going to make some calls downstairs… I’ll be back.” he kissed your cheek again as you sleepily nodded and smiled, “Ok cowboy…” you said heavy with sleep.

He brushed your hair back and then grabbed his phone from the nightstand and headed down the stairs dialing Diane’s number, Sarah and Elena were already up and cooking breakfast.

Within a few rings, Diane answered, “Diane speaking…”

Joel cleared his throat, “Mornin’ Diane, it’s Joel Miller, how are you?”

Diane smiled, “Joel, it’s so good to hear from you. I hear congratulations are in order!”

Joel smiled softly and chuckled, “Yes, thank you. I uh… I was wondering if I could talk to you however about somethin’ else, do you have a few moments to talk?”

Elena saw him coming down the stairs and went to greet him when she saw he was on the phone and looked at him, holding up the pan she was cooking with, nonverbally asking if he wanted any, he nodded and smiled, walking into the living room, sitting on the couch.

“I uhm, I know Y/N doesn’t have another session with you for another week but I think she may need an emergency session, we had an incident last night that may have knocked her back a few steps.” Joel held the bridge of his nose between his fingers as he explained your mental state, still feeling frustrated by it.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I appreciate you reaching out and would love to fit her for an emergency session today or tomorrow. What happened if you don’t mind me asking?” Diane asked softly.

Joel sighed softly and thanked her before explaining the chain of events. He also explained more in-depth where you seemed to be mentally, how you were anxiously telling yourself you were too much for him and worried that mentality could make you depressed or even potentially suicidal if it continued without intervention.

Diane agreed and said that was a concern of hers too after hearing how you were. She offered to see you sooner rather than later and said she had some time this evening to see you, said it would be best for him to come with, and depending on what you wanted, he could sit in the session or not, but she wanted him there in case anything happened with triggers. He agreed and said he would bring you to her office at 4 pm.

Joel ended the call and sat on the couch for a moment, thinking what he needed to do from now until then, he looked at his phone and dialed Tommy’s number as he said he’d call him this morning.

It rang a few times then Tommy picked up, “Hey, how’s she doing?”

Joel cleared his throat, “Still in bed but she’s ok. I just got off the phone with Diane, she’s worried about some things she said when I got into bed last night and is getting her in for a session later today.”

Tommy sighed softly, “What did she say? Is she going to be ok?” he worried he did something more than just trigger you. He knew the fragility of someone’s mental and emotional state once they got home and worried somehow he set something a lot bigger.

“She was sayin’ things like how she was too much, how she’s a burden. She kept apologizin’ too… like somehow her reaction to the trauma she went through was her fault.” he said softly, feeling anxiety creep into his mind now, “What if I’m not enough Tommy? What if she needs more than what I can give her?” Joel said quietly, almost close to a whisper.

“Joel, you’re kidding right? If you aren’t enough for her, then what does that make me for Maria? You are ten times the man I am… you move mountains for that girl, you’d rearrange the constellations and planets for her if it made her smile. You can’t seriously think you aren’t enough. You…” he sighed softly and chuckled, “Joel, she looks at you when you aren’t lookin’ like you molded the moon to hang for her in the night sky. She was lookin’ at you yesterday with every ounce of love that woman possesses in her heart… you’re it for her. Now you’ve got that ring on her finger, she’d go down to the courthouse in a matter of seconds if it meant becoming your wife. You never have to worry about bein’ enough.” he said bluntly.

Joel lightly chuckled and put his head in his hand, leaning on his knee, “I just always worry I’m not doin’ enough, you know?”

Tommy tsked and chuckled, “I constantly feel the same way. We are though, we just need to start believin’ it.”

Joel nodded and looked up at the wall in front of him, it had a photo of you, him, and Sarah hanging from one of her soccer games which made his heart warm and made him smile, “Anyway… I need to get back to things but I’ll keep you and Maria posted throughout the next couple of days. Maybe we can have you over for dinner or something, yeah?”

Tommy smiled and nodded, “We’d like that.”

Joel softly took in a breath and told his brother goodbye, sitting on the couch a moment longer before getting up and heading back upstairs with two plates of food that Elena had made for you two.

Joel had woken you up and made sure you were fed but after you had eaten you went back to sleep after taking a shower, the events of the last few days and especially last night wearing down on you.

Around 3 pm Joel softly woke you up and told you he got you an appointment with Diane to help with what happened last night but he needed you to wake up so you could get there on time.

You slowly got up, getting dressed in some oversized jeans, in a vintage sports pullover of Joel’s, and doing your hair up in a messy bun. The goal was to be comfy and get through the rest of the day.

To be completely honest you weren’t only sleeping because you were exhausted, you slept because it avoided the growing panic attack you felt growing inside your mind, feeling at any moment you were going to explode.

Elena said she’d stay another night to help out so that he wouldn’t have to worry about Sarah or the house when he got back. You two could focus on what you needed as she assumed this session would take a lot out of you that already was low and fragile.

Joel held onto your hand as he drove to Diane’s office across town, you focused on counting stop signs while he drove, trying to distract yourself.

He didn’t push conversation or try to talk, he knew you had a lot going through your head as he saw how quickly your eyes would move from one thing to another, how you were starting to pick at your cuticles again, and your knee would bounce when you sat still. He put the radio on low and let the music fill the air. Occasionally gently squeezing your hand or pulling it to his lips to gently kiss it as he drove.

He pulled into her parking lot, shut off the truck and turned to look your way, “Do you need a minute? We are here a little early if you need some time…” he gently ran his thumb over the top of your hand.

You looked at the office doors and shook your head, you knew you were safe there, you knew that Diane’s office was somewhere you could seek help in times like this when your mind wouldn’t stop.

“I’m ok. I think I’d like to go in now… sit down for a moment.” you said quietly, keeping your eyes on the door, reading the address and phone number on the door over and over again, not letting yourself think about anything else.

Joel nodded and leaned over, kissing your temple gently, “Ok mi vida, one sec, I’ll come ‘round and get your door…” he opened the truck door and was careful to close it gently, then walked around and got your door, holding out his hand.

You were staring at the door still, reading the numbers and spelling the street out letter by letter in your mind, your lips moving but not saying anything.

Joel looked at you then followed your eye line to the door, seeing what was on the door then looked back at you, “1124 Teterbeen Street, Suite B, what’s the phone number baby?”

You looked at him for a moment and saw his hand out, his big brown eyes eager to help you. You took his hand and got out of the truck, repeating the phone number to him softly.

“Good, now remind me what’s the address again?” he kissed your temple as he gently shut the door of the truck and walked with you towards the door, listening as you read out the address.

He opened the office door for you and walked with you inside.

Diane’s office smelled of lavender and eucalyptus which instantly calmed you. Joel could feel the rigidity in your body melt just a little as you held onto his arm.

Diane’s receptionist smiled at you and Joel and then pushed a button on the desk, which silently let Diane know her next appointment was here by illuminating a lamp in her office just a tad that sat behind her patients so it never felt like they were being rushed but let her know to start wrapping up the session.

“She’s just finishing up, please make yourself comfortable.” she offered softly.

You took a seat by the waterfall wall she had to bring a calm presence to the waiting area, it was somewhere you always sat before your sessions.

Joel had never been inside the office, just always dropped you off as Diane always recommended you come in alone so you wouldn’t build a co-dependence on him but today was different, today Joel was there if you needed him you told yourself. 'I'm not alone.'

Joel looked at the wall and moved his hand to take yours, “This is pretty… has it always been here?” he spoke softly.

You nodded, “She usually has it on. I think it’s to help calm us beforehand… she’s Pavlov-ing us.” you let out a soft snort.

Joel chuckled, “Pavlov-ing? Like the dog and bell thing?”

You nodded, “Positive reinforcement I imagine can be conditioned in many ways.” you shrugged, “After all, she is a psychologist, an expert in mind control…” you joked.

Joel shook his head softly and kissed your head, chuckling, “She’d find that funny…”

Diane’s office door opened and a young man walked out, thanking her and shaking her hand before he walked to the reception desk to schedule his next appointment.

Diane smiled at you and cleared her throat, “Y/N… it’s so good to see you.” she came over and you stood, putting on a fake smile for her.

“It’s good to see you too.” you nodded and put your hands behind you, starting to pick your cuticle, Joel sat and looked at Diane, smiling softly.

“Well, in today’s session I’d like to speak with you about what happened last night and you’re welcome to have Joel sit out here or if you want, he can come in with you, but the choice is yours. I’ll just have him leave for a few minutes towards the end for you and me to talk about a few things one-on-one.” she smiled kindly and held her notepad against her chest, waiting for you to lead the way.

You looked back at Joel and then at her, nodded, “Yeah um… can he come?”

She nodded and smiled, backing up a could steps, “Of course. Let’s take a seat in here.” she held her arm out to guide you into her office.

Joel stood and put his hand on the small of your back gently, “I’m right here…” he whispered to you, then walked with you as you hesitantly walked inside, all of a sudden feeling very anxious.

You came around and sat down on the couch she had against the wall facing her chair, Joel joined next to you and softly offered his hand which you took and gently squeezed.

She sat down and smiled at you, watching you very closely as you looked around and analyzed everything, zoning in on a new photo she had hanging behind her chair, “New photo I see… that’s uh… the Oregon coast, Lincoln city, yeah?” it showed a famous landmark from Lincoln City, Oregon’s beach.

You were deflecting and she knew it. It was something you did in the first couple of sessions you had with her when you started, she had a hard time calling you out on it without you getting defensive, telling her there was nothing wrong with making conversation.

She knew today was not a day to call you out, instead acknowledged but slowly crawled into talking about what was going on.

She nodded, “Exactly. You ever been there?” she smiled, leaning back in her chair.

You shook your head and softly exhaled, “No… but there’s a resident pod of whales that visit there every season… it’s a bucket-list trip Joel and I have talked about doing eventually.” you smiled and looked down at his hand holding yours.

She smiled and looked at Joel, who was watching you very attentively, gently stroking your hand with his thumb, “I hear it’s a beautiful place to visit. Maybe you two can go on your honeymoon…” She nodded towards your ring and smiled, “Congratulations by the way.”

You looked at your ring and then at her and lightly let out a breathy chuckle, “Thank you…”

“When did that happen?” she probed carefully.

You kept your head down, starting to fiddle with the ring, “Um… two days ago…” you smiled softly and cleared your throat softly, looking at her.

She nodded, “Joel told me that you guys had a lovely engagement party thrown by some friends and family last night, can you tell me about that? What was your peach, and what was your pit?” she smiled softly.

You two had used this term often, a good way to express the positives but also negatives of situations without tying them to negative ideas and behaviors. It helped you express things when thinking about it in this way, she seemed to get more out of you when you thought of traumas or events this way.

You nodded and chuckled, “Uh… peach was Joel’s toast. He uh…” you looked over at him and smiled warmly, “He has a way with words, knows how to make a girl feel like she’s god’s gift to this world.” you chuckled and he smiled, gently bringing your hand to his lips and kissing it.

“Just speak the truth, mi vida… you are god’s gift to my world.” he winked and smiled softly.

You blushed and looked down shyly, leaning against him, looking back at your hands connected.

“Sounds like a good peach. It’s a lovely experience and opportunity we get when we have someone love us that type of way isn’t it?” she said as she wrote something in her notebook.

You nodded and inhaled, “Makes the pits not so horrible.” you admitted softly, focusing on anything but her, feeling under a microscope by how she was unwrapping you and the last 24 hours.

She hummed in agreement, “I like that point of view.” she smiled and wrote something more down.

“Now, on the other end, what was your pit?” she looked up at you.

You bit the inside of your cheek, and focused on picking your thumb cuticle that was near raw, “I think you’re aware of what was the pit…”

Diane took a soft breath in and cleared her throat, “I do… but I need you to tell me it in your own words… what made it a pit?”

You stayed quiet, your foot gently tapping the ground, tears were starting to well up in your eyes, you didn’t want to relive what happened. You knew talking about it would take off the soggy Band-Aid you were using right now and that it would open up an already aching wound.

“I know it’s painful and perhaps a little hard to talk about…” she leaned forward, “What went through your mind when it first happened? Start there…”

You swallowed and looked at the corner of the coffee table in front of you, “When I was back in…” you jutted your jaw out and let out a breath, trying to keep yourself calm, “... on our last field assignment, we were out running a damn missile. Same… fuckin’ whistle when it comes down from the sky echoes the field.” rolled your shoulders back and tightened your jaw.

“Same sounds that fireworks make when they fly up, right?” Diane softly asked.

You nodded.

“Tell me why you took cover by the shed, what made that spot feel safe?”

You shrugged, looking up at her.

“What made you run to that place rather than inside?” she pressed.

Joel looked at Diane then you, gently squeezing your hand to give you a little boost of support.

You looked at him for a moment then looked down at your hands, again tightening your jaw, speaking softly, “Joel was in there… and for a moment I thought I wasn’t safe… that I was back in an active zone… which meant he wouldn’t be safe with me going in there…” you let out a breath through your nose, “So I went as far as I could from his point of location…” you admitted.

Joel looked at you as you admitted that and then looked at Diane who nodded at him, letting him know that’s what she suspected.

You looked at Diane, “I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Diane wrote something in her notebook then bit the inside of her cheek, “I’m curious… let's say if Joel is with you when these moments happen- do you think he experiences the trauma you do, or do you know he isn’t in harm's way? Are you able to separate that in your mind?”

Your body went rigid and you shook your head, eyes going numb and cold as you looked across the room at her, “I… I don’t know but I don’t want to think about that… I…” you looked down at the floor, “...there’s a peace knowing he and Sarah never will know that fear…”

Diane nodded, taking a moment before asking, “Do you think that if he had been around when those fireworks would have gone off you would have felt safer?”

You shrugged, “I… I don’t know.” you had a few tears fall down your cheeks, “Sometimes I can’t separate where I am from where I’ve been…” you sighed softly.

She wrote something else on the pages then swallowed softly, “When you first took cover, what did you see, feel, hear that made you think you were somewhere you weren’t?”

You closed your eyes trying to remember, and your knee began bouncing anxiously, “I remember hearing a faint siren in the distance.” your eyes began scanning behind your eyelids, “... the air was thick and dusty, like something may have been hit nearby… I… I could smell something burning…" your lip trembled, "...someone burning…” you whispered, voice breaking, “I couldn’t move… I… I felt cemented into the ground, heavy and…” your breathing became uneven, small jagged breathes as you started remembering details, feeling right back there, making it all too much, “I couldn’t breathe… couldn’t think, couldn’t hear… I felt like…” you shook your head feeling overwhelmed and stood up abruptly, snapping your eyes open, “No… I… I need to get out...” you began looking for the door.

Diane and Joel's eyes snapped up to you, Joel gently reached out to touch your leg while Diane tried to hold your gaze, “Woah… ok… it’s ok… you’re safe.” Diane said softly, holding up her hands to ease you from her seat, using her hand to tell Joel to stay seated which he did, “Hey, eyes on me… let’s count down from 10…” she said calmly but firmly.

Your hands shook next to your side, fidgeting open and closed, “I can’t… fuck… I can’t do this…” You began to hyperventilate, eyes scanning for an exit, then quickly moving around the table, tripping slightly on the leg, hitting your shin, hissing, “Ah... fuck…” You kept moving and quickly opened the office door, making for the exit.

Diane pushed a button on her table next to her chair which signaled the front door to lock automatically. Her office was by a busy road, and she learned very early on with dealing with patients with PTSD to have this safety tool.

She followed you out calmly and slowly, putting her notebook down on her chair before leaving the room, Joel standing with her and following, eyes filled with concern.

You pushed the door to open it but weren’t able to open it, which just pissed you off and made you panic, "Open the door…” you jiggled the handle again, trying to open it, “Diane, open the damn door!” your breathing became faster and panicked.

Diane looked at the receptionist and nodded, she turned up the volume on some white noise that was playing around the office to help ease you.

“I’m not opening the door sweetheart, it’s not safe…” she said, easing her way closer to you.

You stood facing the door, placing your head against its cold glass, breathing frantically, “F-fuck… I…” you rolled up your sleeve and started flicking your wrist with a hair tie you had again and again, shutting your eyes. You were told that shocking your senses would help snap out of moments like this in the army.

Diane heard the band snap against your wrist and nodded, “Good. Senses needing to be shocked I see... good job… you’re doing great.”

You continued to snap the band against your wrist, slowly falling to your knees, “I can’t go back…” you whispered over and over.

Diane’s receptionist heard what she had said and reached into a mini fridge she had below the desk and handed Diane an ice pack, something to shock the senses that wasn’t so abrasive to you.

She knelt slowly, listening to what you were saying, “You aren’t going back… you’re staying here… staying safe. Shhh…” She waited for a moment then cleared her throat “Let’s try holding onto this, yes?” she said reaching out with the cold pack.

You turned around, your wrist red and raw from the continuous stimulus to it, and sat against the door, facing them, taking the cold pack and holding it against your forehead, after a moment letting out a breath of relief and shaky breathes being taken in and out.

Joel came and knelt by Diane, careful not to move too quickly, gently reaching out to put his hand on your knee, you looked up at him and saw how worried he looked, how he wanted nothing to do more than help you.

You looked up at Diane and sadly sighed, looking hopeless, defeated.

She softly smiled, “Whenever you’re ready we’ll go back and talk about how to help these moments, yes?” she reassured.

You nodded and closed your eyes, “I’m sorr-”

Diane cleared her throat, “What is our one rule in here about that…”

You opened your eyes and softly chuckled, “Right… no apologies are allowed if they are due because of a trauma response…” you mocked her voice teasingly.

Joel looked back at Diane then quickly back at you, “Ok, so that rule is carrying over into our home…” he chuckled and gently rubbed your knee.

You rolled your eyes jokingly and smiled softly, “How did I know you’d jump on that rule?”

He leaned forward and kissed your head, “Because you’re notorious for apologizin’ when it’s not warranted sweet girl…”

Diane nodded, “We've found that’s a good indicator a person has been in toxic relationships where you are constantly accessing people’s emotions and reactions.” she sighed softly, “You most likely have it from your parents but mostly Charlie.” she suggested.

You nodded and scoffed, “Lovely… one more thing from him.” you rolled your eyes and moved to stand up, handing the ice pack back to the receptionist who smiled and handed you a new one, “Keep it… seems to help.” she smiled kindly.

You nodded softly and slowly took in a breath after a few moments, “I’m ready to go back…”

Joel and Diane rose together from the ground and nodded as you led the way back into the room.

You sat back down where you were and held onto the ice pack, taking a few deep more steady breaths. Diane and Joel sat back down as well where they had been.

Diane pulled her notebook back out and talked to you a little more about what happened, and why it happened. She advised that if things happen like that again, you use things like the ice trick or something else to shock your system into snapping out of that mindset. She advised Joel on things he can do to help in moments where things like this could happen but advised him to avoid triggers if possible as the more you’re exposed early, can lead to bad habits of coping outside of your own timing.

She looked at the clock with 5 minutes left and looked at Joel, “Could you give us a few minutes to wrap up?”

Joel nodded and looked at you, “I’ll just be out by the waterfall, mi vida…” he kissed your temple softly and then hand before letting you go and smiled and nodded at Diane as he walked out and softly shut the door behind him.

The moment the door closed you looked at her and chuckled, “Am I in trouble or somethin’...?” you joked.

She chuckled, “No, not in any trouble. I just like to check on some things that people tend to not speak honestly about in front of their partners…” she smiled softly, “I need you to answer me honestly when I ask what I’m going to ask, and either way I’ll take your word for it.”

You bit your cheek, “Damn, sounds like you’re about to ask me if I’ve killed someone…” you joked, deflecting.

She looked at you and nodded, “Well... we’ve never talked about it, and it would help possibly explain some triggers you have." she tilted her head and then softly and calmly asked, "Did you have to take any life back in Afghanistan?”

Your breath got caught in your throat and you held tightly onto the cold pack, looking down shamefully, fidgeting with the edge of the square you held, nodding after a few moments of silence “4 lives…” you clenched your jaw, holding back tears.

She nodded and wrote it in her notes, then softly cleared her throat before clasping her hands together and softly, carefully asking, “Because of that, have you ever considered taking your own due to guilt?”

You kept your head down and tears fell before you looked up at her, “Once.” you cleared your throat, “It was for less than a day back before I got to go home. It was after I got back from Delta 42 and 30…” you looked away for a moment, looking out the window, “Maria had gone home, Reggie was pretty much unavailable from the time I got to base to when I left. The days got long… I was alone for a big chunk of it because they wouldn’t let me work.” you set the ice pack down on the coffee table and swallowed, “All your left with is your thoughts, you know?”

Diane sat forward, giving you her full attention, “Sometimes silence is the most terrifying thing we can be left with…”

You nodded and sadly smiled then bit your cheek, “I uh… I got low. Couldn’t sleep, kept having echoes of what happened in Delta 42 taunt me every time I closed my fuckin’ eyes it felt like.” you looked down at your hands, “Joel was busy one day, couldn’t talk much and without that… without having some connection to the outside, I felt so fuckin’ alone… so consumed by the loss and fucked up shit I’d done in the last 72 hours…” you lightly chuckled, tears welling in your eyes, “For no more than maybe an hour or so, I saw my pistol on the desk as a way to ease the pain, stop the chaos from swarmin’ my head…” you fidgeted with your hands, “But then something just clicked and it was like a switch toggled on in my head. I felt lighter, could fuckin’ think and breathe… I can’t explain why or what did it- but never touched that pistol again until I turned it in the day I left.” you looked up at her, eyes etched with regret, "Please don't tell Joel..." you said sadly.

She listened and nodded along with you, making notes here and there with details you had told her, making notes on things you said then looked at you when you stopped talking, “What's said in here, stays in here." she reassured.

After a few moments of silence, she asked, "Have you had any itch to harm yourself since being home?”

You shook your head and cleared your throat, “No… Joel… Joel’s been so…” you smiled softly at your hands, “He’s been so supportive and loving that I’ve not had much time to get that low, you know?” you looked up at her.

She smiled softly and nodded, “Joel’s a good one, he’s solid, has a big heart, and he adores the ground you walk on which adds to it all…”

That made you blush and smile. You couldn't have asked for a better partner, a better fiancé.

She lightly chuckled, “Compared to what we’ve talked about with regards to Charlie… Joel’s been good for you.”

You blushed deeper and nodded, “I’m really lucky to have him… consider myself blessed to have even met him the way we did, you know?”

She nodded and smiled warmly, “Now you’re engaged… how does that make you feel?”

You looked down at your hand, messing with your ring, “I honestly had no idea he’d ask this soon, but… it feels right, you know?” you looked up, “He looks at me like there’s somethin’ worth lookin’ at. Fills my life with color.” you shyly looked back down, “I’m just ramblin’ cheesy stuff now…”

She chuckled, “Rambling about what makes you happy, nothin’ wrong with that...” she smiled.

You nodded and cleared your throat, “He makes me happy. I… I don’t think I’ve ever felt this happy in my life… never felt so… free…?” you chuckled.

She nodded, “After what you’ve been through, that’s an understandable feeling.” she smiled and nodded a little then after another few moments of quiet she spoke softly, “I’d like to see you again in a few days, just for a short check-in, would that be ok?”

You nodded and looked down, “Am I free to go?” you chuckled and then looked up.

She nodded and stood, softly chuckling, “You call me if anything happens, even if it’s in the middle of the night, ok?” she opened her door.

You nodded and walked out of the room, “Thank you for your time today…”

Joel stood hearing you come out and smiled at you.

Diane nodded and looked at Joel then you, “Mind if I talk to Joel for a moment? Just to let him know how to best help you in the next few days?”

You nodded and swallowed, “Yeah, no problem.” you came and sat in the chair next to where Joel was sitting, crossing your legs, grabbing a magazine, and looking down at it.

Joel looked at Diane and nodded, coming into the room with her, standing with his hands in his pockets as she closed the door behind her. She cleared her throat and offered for him to sit, “Oh… it’s a sitting conversation?” he asked nervously as he sat down on the couch.

Diane chuckled softly, “Not necessarily, although what she’s going through is very serious… but nothing like… that.” she sat down and smiled softly.

“So, what’s going on? How can I help her?” Joel asked, clasping his hands in his lap nervously but eager to listen.

“She’s dealing with PTSD, so avoiding triggers will help, which I know can be done… you’re very aware of her environment and very protective of her.” she smiled warmly.

Joel felt empowered by that. To know his love and devotion to you traveled and was noticed by others.

“But what I’m concerned with is that if she gets to a low point she’ll… she’ll get low, really low.” she pursed her lips together to accentuate the meaning.

He took in a breath and nodded, understanding, “What are warning signs to look out for?”

“She’ll start to remove herself from normal social situations, she may start to say things that feel off... you’ll know what those are. I think the best thing is to keep her busy, check in daily, and maybe encourage her to write in a journal, she’d do well with that… but just, be there and let her feel her feelings but don’t let her be absorbed by them…” she said softly.

He nodded and cleared his throat softly, “Sarah has a break comin’ up... Y/N mentioned that beach in Oregon earlier. While ya’ll were talkin’ I made some calls… I was thinkin’ of doing that in a week when Sarah's off school, do something to keep her busy but also somethin' to look forward to? What are your thoughts?” he sat a little closer to the edge of his seat.

“I’m going to see her again in a few days, how about I let you know how she is then? She’s in no way to travel so soon based on today’s session but she might be ok in a few days after she settles mentally…” she said softly.

He nodded and bit the inside of his cheek, “Anything I shouldn’t do?”

She shrugged, “Ask her what her boundaries are. I think right now she just needs a lot of support, love, and patience. Some light distractions to keep her somewhat busy and not lame would be good. Things like movie nights, going to the grocery store, small car rides, things like that.” she suggested.

“My brother, the one that set off the damn fireworks, should I keep him away? Would he be triggering?” he asked, sounding concerned.

She shook her head, “Tommy and Maria… it would be good for her to be around them. She needs all the support she can get right now and Maria knows what she’s been through. Besides, what happened wasn’t anyone's fault, at least purposely, right?” she pressed.

He nodded, “Right… it was all done with good intentions… just poorly executed.” he shrugged and chuckled lightly.

Diane nodded, chuckling, “Tommy unfortunately has a record for poorly executing things like this doesn’t he?”

Joel chuckled knowing what she was referring to; a work incident that Tommy was a little clumsy in after taking the three of them out to lunch and all of them coming back a little under the influence, “James had a hand in that too, you know?” he teased.

She nodded and let out a louder chuckle, “I’ll never let him live that down.”

They both chuckled and then Diane stood, “Anyways, she’s doing great, she’ll have a rough few days, but I think she’ll be ok, just keep me updated if anything gets bad enough where you can’t get her out of a… funk, you know?” she started walking towards the door.

He stood and nodded, “I’ll keep you posted. Thanks, Diane.”

She nodded and smiled before opening the door. You were reading a cooking magazine, deep in thought that you didn’t hear the door open.

Joel smiled at you and walked over, sitting beside you, kissing your cheek then looking down at what you were reading, it was a recipe for a Tuscan Chicken pasta, “That looks good baby… wanna go to the store and get the stuff to make that tonight?”

You nodded and looked at him, “But isn’t your mom cooking?”

He smiled and looked at you, “If she is we can just cook it tomorrow but we can still go to the store? I’ll call her in the truck and ask…” he touched your cheek softly then tucked a strand of hair behind your ear delicately.

You blushed and looked back down at the recipe then pulled out your phone and went to take a picture when Diane cleared her throat, “Take it home, just bring it back when you come back…”

You looked at her and smiled, nodding then standing up, “Deal.”

A week later

You had gone in again to see Diane a few days ago and were doing much better. Elena stayed a couple of days after to keep you busy and monitor you while Joel had to go to work for a few important meetings regrettably.

You’d never admit it, but Joel going back to work and not coddling you was what you needed. The less that you felt like a baby, the more independent you felt and the faster you adjusted and adapted.

You still had a few hard moments over the past few days with being alone for too long after Elena had left. However, it pushed you to ask for help or reach out to friends like Rose or Maria.

You found yourself over at Rose’s offering to help with whatever she needed from day to day, not caring how small or silly it may be, you just sometimes needed to be around someone.

Joel found when he’d come home most days he’d need to go get you from Rose’s as you would stay there until you knew someone was back home.

After getting the 'ok' from Diane at your last session, Joel let you know that you guys were going on a road trip to the Oregon coast over the next two weeks and when you'd be leaving.

That in itself kept you busy as you packed for everyone, ran errands to prepare, and one morning instead of going on a run, cleaned the truck completely out.

---

His alarm went off at 5 am and you were already awake, buzzing with excitement. You leaned over and smiled as you kissed his cheek and brushed his hair back off his forehead, “Time to wake up, we gotta get goin’...” you giggled softly, kissing his shoulder.

He chuckled sleepily and turned off his alarm before he wrapped his arms around you, humming, “5 more minutes darlin’...” he pulled you to lay on his chest.

You giggled, “Joel you and I both know what ‘5 more minutes’ means and it’s not truly 5 minutes it’s another hour…” you tried getting out of his hold, smiling.

The more you tried, the tighter he held you, keeping his eyes closed, trying to go back to sleep, “Shh, just let it happen… shh…” he teased as he held you tighter to him, starting to wrap his legs around you.

“Damn it, Joel, you’re like a boa constrictor with your hold…” you couldn’t help but laugh and give up, “Fine, 5 more minutes…” you sighed and cuddled into him.

He smiled and kissed your head, letting go of his hold a little, “Good girl, smart choice…”

You blushed and laid your head on his chest, “How far are we drivin’ today?” you traced shapes on his chest.

He hummed, partially back asleep, “We’re drivin’ to uh…” he drifted back to sleep, his arms starting to go limp around you as he was taken back deep into sleep.

You smiled and chuckled and moved your head to watch the clock, letting 5 minutes go by before you sunk beneath the sheets and began kissing down his body, slotting yourself between his legs, dragging your lips across his bare cock making it hard quicker than you expected.

Joel stirred and took a deep breath in, still somewhere between being awake and asleep. You kissed the inside of his thigh before spitting into your hand and began stroking him slowly, letting your saliva coat him while you pumped him in your palm.

He groaned and turned his head in his sleep, feeling himself become aroused, smirking as he started to wake up.

You loved hearing those sounds come from him. It instantly made you wet against your panties.

You were satisfied with your work and dropped your head to take the tip of your tongue from the bottom of his shaft up to his tip, dragging him out of his slumber, “Mmm still need 5 more minutes, amor?” you smirked as you kissed his tip making him grunt, slowly starting to wake up.

“F-fuck…” he said as he felt your tongue swirl around his tip before sinking your mouth over him slowly, tongue flat against his shaft, softly moaning.

You slowly bobbed your head up and down his shaft, taking more of him every time you went down.

He grunted and smirked, “Oh fuck, you’re takin’ me so good.”

You moaned softly and pulled off with a small pop, licking your lips, “Mmm you taste so good baby…” You dragged your tongue up his shaft slowly, eliciting goosebumps up his body, “Can’t get enough of you…” you drew your lips back down and then started to suck on his balls softly.

He gasped and gripped the sheets, cursing under his breath. He shut his eyes and swallowed a groan, making you kiss the soft spot of skin in his groin, “Mmm don’t you dare hold back on makin’ those sounds cowboy…” you stroked him in your palm.

He chuckled and let out a groan, “Fuck…” he hissed and let out a strangled moan, “Want you ‘round me…” he pleaded.

You thought he meant your mouth so you went back to wrap your mouth around him, taking him deep and slow down your throat, gagging slightly at the size of him stretching your throat out.

He groaned and his hips involuntarily bucked up, making you cough and moan as he went deep down your throat.

You pulled off him and had saliva dripping out of your mouth, panting heavily, trying to catch your breath for a second, swallowing before you went to go back on him, starting to bob your head up and down again, this time a little faster.

Joel grunted in absolute pleasure but shook his head, “Oh fuck... I need you… need you on top of me…” he groaned, jaw dropped and letting out a moan as you went down on him, moaning around his cock.

You pulled off and smirked, kissing up his thigh, “You want me to ride you?” you asked breathlessly, slowly moving to kiss his stomach and up his chest.

He smirked and panted softly, moving the sheets off to see you before leaning up on his elbows, looking down at you with those big brown eyes full of lust, “We’re gonna be sleepin’ in the same area as Sarah for the next 4 days… which means I don’t know the next time I’m gon’ feel your pretty pussy wrapped around my cock…” the smirked and looked up as you straddled him, your face hovering over his.

You hummed and took off your panties, then took your shirt off, eyes bouncing back and forth between his eyes and lips, “I’m sure we can find ways… sneak around…” you started to grind him through your wet folds.

He panted and grunted, laying back against the pillows, putting his hands on your hips, “Yeah? How would we do that?” he moved your hips at a slower rhythm than what you were, wanting this to last.

You leaned down and started to kiss his neck sucking it softly, letting out a soft moan as his tip brushed against your clit, “We can always swing a quickie in the shower early in the mornin’ before she wakes…” you reached down between your bodies and lined him up at your entrance.

“Think you can be quiet enough to do that? We tend to…” he grunted feeling you tease him at your entrance, “...fuck baby… you’re bein’ a tease…” he groaned feeling your lips suck against his pulse point.

You grinned and kissed up his jaw then hovered your lips over his, “Finish that sentence handsome… we tend to what?” you looked down at his lips.

He smirked and was lightly panting in anticipation, “We tend to enjoy each other in the shower, be a little louder than usual in there…” he bit his bottom lip, looking at yours, hungrily.

You smirked, “I can be quiet if need be…” you sat onto his cock, slowly sinking him into your warmth, moaning softly against his lips, “I can be a good girl…”

Joel gripped onto you tightly, grunting as he felt you fully sit onto him before he sat you onto one of his elbows and cupped your jaw, “Yes you can be a good girl…” he said before pulling you down to kiss him deeply a few times before you pulled away by putting your hand on his chest and pushing him to lay down.

You started rocking your hips up and down on him, “Call me that again…” you panted as you softly moaned.

He smirked up at you and bit his lip before lowly growling, “That’s a good girl, ridin’ my cock like that…”

Your eyes fluttered shut and you smiled, nodding, leaning back to put your hand on his thigh then began riding him at a faster pace, up and down on him, moaning softly.

He watched and groaned, seeing your tits bounce and the sight of him going in and out of you, “Fuck... you like that don’t you? Bein’ called a good girl…” he moved his hand up your body slowly before kneading your breast and playing with your nipple, keeping one hand on your waist.

You gasped at the stimulation and nodded, “F-fuck that feels good…” you sat fully on him, his tip pressed up into your cervix, you swirled your hips, earning a grunt from him.

“Fuck baby, you like me that deep huh? Stretchin’ you out?” he cooed, sliding his other hand from your waist to between your bodies and using his thumb to draw circles into your clit.

You gasped and bit your lip, “Y-Yes sir…” you cried out softly, suddenly feeling that coil start to wind up tight.

He growled and he twitched inside of you, “Careful now…” he warned, “Callin’ me sir’s gonna get you in a different position where we’ll for sure wake up Sarah…”

You opened your eyes and grinned down at him, continuing to circle your hips, “We aren’t road-trippin’ yet are we… sir?” you moaned softly feeling him twitch again inside you.

His eyes went dark and he sat up quickly and smirked, before leaning forward and laying you on your back.

He pulled out of you, “On your stomach… now…” he growled.

You bit your lip and giggled then turned to lay on your stomach, “Yes sir…”

He smirked and grabbed a pillow from behind him, and put his arm under your torso, pulling your hips up and sliding the pillow under you. Your hips are now slightly elevated, creating the perfect angle for him.

He laid over you, squaring up behind you, lining up at your entrance, “You’re gonna be a good girl and cum for me?” he said lowly into your ear.

“Yes… yes please…” you begged.

He kept himself at your entrance and used his free hand to brush your hair to one side of your body before sucking softly on your earlobe and plunging deep into your warmth.

You gasped and your hips rose up a little into him, gripping the sheets in front of you.

He grunted and growled lowly into your ear, “Oh that’s it… fuck…”

He started rocking his hips into you, making you breathlessly moan as he whispered into your ear while letting out small grunts or groans,

“That pretty little pussy takes me so well…”

“Don’t cover your mouth. I wanna hear you…”

“I know you can be louder than that…”

“Such a good girl takin’ my cock like this…”

You’d come undone within the first few minutes of him rocking slowly and deeply against that sweet spot. Your legs would quiver under him, becoming weak and melting into the sheets, mumbling how good he feels deep in you.

He’d eventually start to buck into you faster and harder, putting his hand on your waist and one planted next to you to hold himself up, panting hard and quick, “Fuck baby you feel so tight around my cock…”

He’d look to where you both were connected and the way your ass would shake as he slammed into you and smirked “Fuck mi vida, tu culo se ve bien rebotando así mientras me follo tu apretado y perfecto coño…” (Your ass looks good bouncing like that while I fuck your tight, perfect pussy…)

You’d arch your ass up a little with what strength you’d have left and try to thrust back into him to give yourself some added stimulation which only made things more sensitive and launched you into euphoria, “F-fuck don’t stop baby…” You pleaded as you moaned into the mattress to muffle yourself.

Joel gripped onto you and grunted, “F-fuck…” he snapped his hips into you and then groaned as he spilled deep into you, his forehead falling against your back, panting as he stayed still inside you.

After a few moments of silence, both of you came down from your highs.

He smiled softly and leaned his head up, “You were askin’ where we gotta drive today…” he kissed your shoulder softly, “We’re drivin’ to Albuquerque…” he softly rubbed your hip, kissing your spine, “But we should leave as soon as possible… it’s an 11-hour drive…” he kissed down your spine softly.

You hummed and smiled feeling his lips, “We should get goin’ then… we already stayed in bed longer than we should of Mr. 5 more minutes…” you teased and turned your head to look at him as he kissed down your body.

He looked up at you with those big brown eyes of love and adoration and smiled softly, “Touche… soon to be Mrs. 5 more minutes…” he came up and met his lips with yours, kissing you gently.

After another hour the car was packed, and you guys were on the road towards Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The first couple hours were spent with Sarah sleeping against the window and you reading a book while Joel listened to the radio softly in the background.

Around the 5th hour, you put your book down and discussed some activities and stops along the way you all could take with Sarah and Joel needing some type of stimulation as the drive was getting boring.

Sarah insisted on stopping in Moab, Utah at Arches National Park as well as the Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. You agreed as you thought you could get some really good photos with your new camera and could get some practice taking photos of Sarah and Joel.

Joel said he had purchased some Boise football tickets as their football field is blue and he’s always wanted to go to one of their games, he also agreed about going to Moab and said that your motel would be less than 45 minutes away from the park, it would be a good thing to do on your way in from Colorado.

Sarah eventually got bored after the list was made and started going off with ‘eye spy with my little eye’ however there wasn’t much to go off of so you and Joel guessed things pretty easily.

She pulled out a portable DVD player after 5 rounds ended in less than 10 seconds, frustrated.

You chuckled and looked at Joel as she put headphones on, “Is this the longest drive we have for this trip?”

He nodded and took your hand, bringing it to your lips to kiss it gently, “Yeah, I think the longest after this will be 8 hours from Moab to Boise…”

You nodded and looked out the window, “You wanna switch after our next stop? I don’t mind driving…” you smiled looking back at him.

He smiled softly and shook his head, “No, I like drivin’... keeps me busy.”

You looked back to make sure Sarah couldn’t hear before you smirked and looked over at him, “I could think of a few things I could do to keep us busy while you drove..." you teased.

Joel chuckled, “As tempting as that might be, we aren’t as sneaky as you think…” he winked at you.

You giggled and smiled at him, “Well for the record, if you need to take a break, let me know.” you kissed his hand and then leaned against the window, watching the road as he drove.

—

With a few pitstops and several hours later, you drove into a quaint little motel in Albuquerque, NM.

By the time you got there, it was around 9 pm, all you were doing was sleeping the night there and then leaving tomorrow for your next stop.

When you all got checked in and into your room, the three of you took turns taking showers as you all felt gross from the drive.

You ordered some pizza for dinner and then you all watched a movie before passing out asleep around 11 pm.

Around 3 am you woke up sweating, feeling your heart pounding but don’t remember having a nightmare so you just assumed it was due to the room being warmer than you were used to.

You slowly got out of bed and went to adjust the A/C but seemed to not be working so you bit the inside of your cheek and tried to open a window but nothing was working to cool you off.

You came over and checked on Joel and Sarah, both seemed fine, most likely used to the heat. You leaned down and kissed Sarah’s head, pushing her hair softly out of her face, and then came over to Joel and kissed his head, making him stir but fall right back asleep.

You took the notepad on the nightstand and wrote, ‘Going to sit by the pool, A/C sucks’, then grabbed a room key, and your book, and left quietly to go sit by the pool.

You had short shorts on and a t-shirt, so you just walked out barefoot to the pool so you could put your feet in by the edge to cool off.

You sat there for a few minutes before another younger guy came in, lighting up a cigarette.

You smiled softly and nodded to be kind and acknowledge him then went back to your book thinking he would just smoke and then leave.

After a couple of minutes of lingering, he cleared his throat, “Too hot for you too?”

You looked up, “Pardon?” as you missed part of what he said, head stuck in your book.

He smiled and started coming closer to you, “I asked if it was too hot in your room for you as well…”

You chuckled lightly, “Oh, sorry. Yeah, it is.”

He came and sat a few feet from you, rolling up his pants to put his feet in as well, “Not from the heat?”

You shook your head and chuckled, “I should be used to it, I live in Texas but was born and raised in Washington.” you shrugged and looked back to your book, hoping he’d get the hint.

He nodded and took a drag of his cigarette, “Ah I see. What part of Washington?” he let it out, filling the air around you with the thick odor.

You kept your nose in your book, “Oak Harbor.”

He chuckled and smiled, “Ah, so cold Washington.”

You nodded and hummed.

He took another drag and then flicked his cigarette, “Whatcha readin’?” he nodded towards your book.

You took a breath, “Uh, just a self-help book… nothin’ exciting.” you smiled and then looked back at the pages.

He nodded and bit the inside of his cheek, “I’m Danny…” he stuck his hand out.

You looked up and said your name, taking his hand and shaking it firmly.

He chuckled and cleared his throat, looking up at the sky, “Nice night, huh?”

You bit your tongue to avoid saying something rude, “Yeah, it’s not too bad.” you tried to read the same passage you’ve had to go over now 3 times due to him trying to talk to you.

He turned and looked at you after a few moments of silence, looking down at your bare thighs that were showing due to the shorts you were wearing, “So, uh, what’s a pretty girl like you doin’ here in Albuquerque?”

You were about to say something when Joel came in through the gate and cleared his throat, hearing him hitting on you, “There ya are, mi vida…” making his southern drawl really evident.

Danny looked at Joel and then you, confused by the name, “Mi vida?”

You smiled immediately hearing his voice and blushed, “My life.” You looked at Joel and then Danny.

Joel walked over confidently, “It’s Spanish, somethin’ of a term of endearment that I call my fiancé…” he came and sat by you, sitting purposely between you and Danny, offering his hand to him, “Joel… and you are?”

Danny swallowed and smiled somewhat nervously, “Danny…” he took Joel’s hand to shake.

Joel clenched his jaw and nodded, gripping onto his hand quite firmly, attempting to send a message, “Pleasure to meet ya…”

He nodded, pulling his hand away, and then slowly rose to his feet, “Well I think I hear my buddy callin' for me..." it was silent, "But it was nice meeting you both." he nodded his head towards you both.

Joel nodded and chuckled lightly, “Nice to meet ya… Dan was it?” he smirked knowing he was making him uncomfortable.

Danny chuckled and nodded frantically, “Sure… yeah. Well have a good night.” he gathered his shoes and quickly made it out walking towards his room.

You chuckled looking at your book, starting to finally read again now that you felt safe, “You’re horrible, Miller…”

Joel chuckled and turned towards you, leaning down to kiss your temple then cheek, humming, “Just making sure he knew what’s mine and who I was, that’s all…” he smirked seeing you blush.

You smiled, “Why are you out here? You and Sarah seemed fine when I left…” You kept reading the page you were on but kept some of your attention to Joel.

“I have a hard time sleepin’ without you next to me…” he softly said, looking over his shoulder to make sure Danny left and there wouldn’t be any trouble.

You hummed and smiled moving the book for a moment to kiss his cheek.

After a moment, he stood and started to take off his shirt and pants, leaving him completely bare aside from his boxers before he walked into the water.

“Your note said you were too hot…” he swam up to you and floated in front of you, “How about you join me? It’s nice and cool in here…” he kissed your knee softly.

You looked down at him and smirked, “Are you skinny dippin', Joel Miller, or did you leave boxers on?” you couldn’t tell from the angle you were at.

He smirked, “I can gladly remove ‘em if it gets you to skinny dip with me darlin’…”

You chuckled put your book down beside you and smiled down at him, “10 minutes then we're out and dressed in case we get caught…” You bit your lip and blushed.

He pushed himself up from the edge and captured his lips onto yours, gently kissing you, before pulling back and nodding his head, “Strip.” he commanded.

You turned a darker shade of red and then got up to put your book on a lounge chair, then stripped and covered your breasts with one arm and groin area with your other hand as you ran to get into the water.

Joel removed his boxers and set them on the side of the pool then dunked his head under the water completely before slicking his hair back and swimming over to you.

You stepped into the water and smiled feeling the water wasn’t completely freezing, humming softly “Slightly heated I see…” you dove your head down and begin to swim deeper into the pool.

Joel nodded and chuckled watching you, seeing where you were going.

After a few seconds, you popped up in the deeper end, slicking your hair back, softly gasping for air.

“Did I ever tell you I swam for sport when I was younger?” he smiled.

You shook your head, “Wait like swimming laps?”

He nodded and smiled, “Exactly. Was pretty good at it too…” he said before he did as you did and dove down to swim towards you.

You inhaled to hold a breath then sunk into the water to watch him swim towards you, you waved at him.

You let out a giggle seeing him wave back and blow a kiss at you underwater before coming to the surface and gasping for air softly then looked down at the water to see him swim up to you and then breach the water in front of you and grin, “Come ‘ere you…” he gently grabbed onto your waist and pulled you close to him.

You wrapped your legs around his torso and arms around his neck as he held you as you both floated.

You smiled and played with his hair to slick it back, softly humming then smirking as you looked at him as you played with some curls at the base of his neck, “I seem to remember that the thought of me being wrapped around you in the water made you do some pretty naughty things in a specific boat’s bathroom cowboy…”

He lightly nibbled on your jawline, growling, “You are correct my love…” his hands wandered between your bodies and he pressed his thumb against your clit, slowly drawing circles, “You wanna help me make my fantasy become reality?” he moved to suck on your neck softly.

You gasped and let out a moan as you felt his thumb stimulate you, you felt like you melted with how slowly he was building you up, “Why don’t you describe to me what that fantasy was cowboy?”

He nipped your earlobe with his teeth lightly and groaned, “I wanted to feel every inch of you while you wrapped around me… kissing your sweet lips…”

You moved your head back a little and cupped his cheek, “These sweet lips?” you leaned in slowly and kissed him deeply and slowly, slowly tangling your fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to you.

His hands were everywhere, touching your waist, grabbing the meat of your ass and thighs. They’d carefully trial up your back and sides like he was afraid he might break you if he was too rough, continuing to kiss you passionately and deeply.

You started to feel him rock your hips as you felt his cock begin to harden up against you. He mumbled against your lips, “Wanna mark you up baby, wanna claim you right here…” he said as he feverishly kissed your lips, slowly moving to you were pressed up against the side of the pool and him.

He moved his lips to start marking up your neck, sucking small love bites into your skin.

You moaned softly and ran your fingers through his hair, slicking it back as he did this, grinning, “Danny got under your skin I see…”

He growled and pulled back a little, “Talkin’ to you when you have a ring on your finger…” he hovered against your lips, moving his hand down to line up his cock at your entrance, “Now that’s downright disrespectful talkin’ to a man’s wife like he was…” he panted and grunted feeling his tip sink into you.

You gasped and moaned, “Mmm fuck... you mean someone’s fiancé?” you teased.

He smirked, “When someone’s flirtin’ with you like that, you’re my wife…” he said as he sunk deeper into you and groaned looking into your eyes and watching your reaction.

Your jaw dropped and you could feel the air start to leave your lungs as he filled you so tightly, nodding, saying with a hoarse whisper, “I’m your wife…” you put your forehead against him and moaned softly.

��I didn’t get you a dainty small ring for a reason…” he whispered, groaning as he bottomed out, feeling himself completely fill you up, “I got this ring to make a statement…” he started to pump back and forth, slowly, “…to show every other man that you’re mine.” he gripped onto your waist with one hand and cupped his other hand on your cheek, lightly gliding his thumb over your bottom lip as he thrusts up into you, watching your lips part for him.

You moaned and lightly gripped his hair and shoulder, grinning as you felt his thumb on your lips, leaning forward just a tad, taking his thumb in your warm mouth, sucking on it as you moaned.

His eyes turned dark and he twitched inside you, making your eyes roll back into your head and pussy tighten around him.

“Oh fuck baby… that’s hot…” he growled and started thrusting up into you a little faster, holding onto your hip, to keep you as tight down on him as possible, hitting your cervix over and over.

You tightened your legs around him and moaned louder against his finger, panting quickly feeling yourself about to come undone.

He moaned and grunted feeling himself close, “Can you cum for my baby? I need you to cum for me…” he pleaded pulling his thumb out of your mouth, “What do you need?” he groaned feeling you tighten around him.

You panted as you moaned softly, then cupped his cheek, “Kiss me…” you whispered then pulled his lips to yours, kissing his lips deeply and passionately, moving your hips with his as he continued to thrust up into you deeply, needing more friction.

He put his hands on your hips and panted heavily as his lips crashed over yours, feeling a deep pull in his navel.

You pulled away from his lips and stalled your hips as you came undone, fluttering around him, tightening your legs around his hips, moaning and leaning your head back against the wall, feeling waves of pleasure crash over you.

He clenched his jaw and within moments of you tightening around him spilled into you, grunting and panting as he kissed anywhere his lips could touch; neck, jaw, cheeks, he was everywhere.

You chuckled as your head leaned against the wall and panted softly, humming, “I should let more men flirt with me if that’s the side of you I’m gonna get…” you teased.

Joel softly nipped your jaw and moved his hands up your body, groaning softly as he pulled out of you, “Nuh-uh… you’re all mine.” he smirked as he kissed your throat softly, “All mine…” he leaned up and connected your lips with his, kissing you deeply, holding you up against him.

You two returned to the room without being caught in the pool or Sarah waking up about 15 minutes later.

In the morning Joel’s alarm went off around 7 am. You all got up with some groaning and moaning, still tired but got showered and ready then left within the hour, grabbing breakfast on the way.

A little over 6 hours later you ended up in Mesa Verde National Park, driving to Cliff Palace. Sarah finally felt excited about something since driving up to this point was quite boring for her.

You all went and saw the cliff palace, Sarah took a bunch of photos with her phone, you had your camera out and were taking photos of not only the landmark but taking candid photos of people around you as well as Sarah and Joel.

Joel found you focused on taking a photo of an older couple holding hands as they watched the landscape together, it was a sweet sight to see, they both saw new things and enjoyed each other’s company. He snapped a photo of his phone of you in your element.

Once you were done outside, Sarah begged to go inside to see the museum they had in a building nearby to which you all three went in and finished within a half hour.

Sarah got into the truck as you were leaving and leaned forward between the two seats, “How long is it to the next stop?” she asked nervously, not wanting to be in the car longer than she had already been in the last 24 hours.

Joel looked at her from his mirror and chuckled, “Moab is only a 3-hour drive baby girl… I promise from here on it shouldn’t be so boring.”

She smiled and nodded then pulled out the DVD player, putting on a movie for herself.

You pulled out your camera and started looking through the photos you had taken, mentally marking which ones you may want to edit when you got to the hotel before you fell asleep against the window, feeling the sun warming you up as he drove for the last couple hours.

—

Almost 2 hours later Joel leaned over and kissed your cheek, “Hey, we’re here…” You opened your eyes to see you were starting to drive through Arches National Park after he paid a park ranger for entrance.

You sat up and smiled, eyes wide at its beauty, “Holy shit…” you rolled down the window and grabbed your camera, starting to snap photos of things as you drove by.

Sarah rolled down the window and looked at Joel, “Can I stick my head out a little?”

Joel looked back and saw there wasn’t any traffic behind them, “Yes but be careful…” he chuckled.

She stuck her head out and you turned and took photos of her laughing, and smiling, the red rock in the background.

You giggled and then turned in your seat and took photos of Joel, “Give me a smile, cowboy…” you smiled at him.

Joel looked at you and smiled as you took a few shots before putting his eyes back onto the road, putting his hand on your thigh, feeling utterly happy in this moment with the two most important people in his life.

You looked ahead and saw you were heading into a tunnel, you giggled and looked at Joel, “Roll down your window baby…” he looked at you a little confused, and you nodded, smiling encouragingly.

He rolled it down then you stuck your head out of the window as you entered the tunnel and yelled, “Woohoo!” letting it echo down the tunnel.

Sarah realized what you did and yelled as well and giggled.

Joel let out a loud whistle and shouted as well before chuckling to himself at how ridiculous this all could have sounded to the people in front of you.

The echo was filled with sounds of you and your family’s utter pure joy.

To you, this was the best sound in the world.

Previous chapter - Next chapter

a/n: this will be a three-part chapter i think instead of two, there are certain elements I want in the next chapter/part of this trip but don’t want to over wash it so just warning ya’ll there may be an extra chapter

taglist: @sarahhxx03, @blahkateisdone, @sunnytuliptime, @pedroscurls, @docharleythegeekqueen @pedritosgirl2000 @fancyyoouu @greendudenumber7

43 notes · View notes

secretswiftymarvelfan · 11 days ago

Text

Boston Bears: Fake Out - Rugby Player! Ari Levinson x Reader (Part 3)

Summary: It's time to get the fake relationship underway and straight away you realise it's going to be harder than you thought.

Word Count: 7.5k words

Warnings: Language! Angst! Sexual Tension! Fluff!

Rugby Explained

Dividers by Me!

Fake Out Series Masterlist /Boston Bears Masterlist / Masterlist

Chapter 3

Ari: what are you planning on dressing as for Storm’s party

Y/N: I don’t know yet

Ari: do you think we should go in matching costumes?

Y/N: no we’re supposed to ‘meeting’ at this party

Ari: it could be cute, like we’re fated to be together or something

Y/N: that doesn’t happen in real life

Ari: and this isn’t a real relationship remember

Ari: at least give me a hint

Y/N: no.

Ari had been pestering you to find out what your costume was going to be all week. You hadn’t actually given him your number, he must have gotten it from Elena or Chris. It made sense to have his number so you could plan ‘dates’ but if he was gonna keep pestering you it wouldn’t be long until you ‘accidentally’ lost it.

Especially since you had spent the last week trying to get him and that damn kiss out of your head. That kiss haunted you. Not because it was a bad kiss, no it had been the best kiss you’d ever had. Every time your mind wandered it would go back to that moment, it even invaded your dreams except in your dreams it lasted so much longer.

It didn’t help that you had spent part of your workday planning strategies for this fake relationship. A fake relationship where you shouldn’t be thinking this much about a kiss. You tried to rationalise it. It was practice just like he said. Intimacy had been lacking with Dan for a while before you found out he cheated so it was probably just your body reacting to something it had been missing. It meant nothing. It was nothing.

Even if you wanted to tell him what your costume was you couldn’t because you had no clue what you were gonna go as. You had been so busy with work too that you hadn’t had a chance to go shopping for one until the evening before which was a bust. The only costume left were the god-awful ones or slutty ones and while you were supposed to ‘attract’ the attention of Ari at this party you didn’t want to do it in a way that wasn’t you.

You had to slump for a homemade costume instead, one that was pretty obscure too. If it wasn’t for the sharpie on your tee it would look like you hadn’t bothered at all. You tried not to feel self-conscious but you were sure that everyone was gonna have amazing costumes and you’d stick out like a sore thumb.

Chris and Elena looked amazing in their couple's costumes. They’d gone as Woody and Jessie from Toy Story and you heard Elena mutter something like ‘save a horse, ride a cowboy’ when you complement it as you got in their car.

You hadn’t spent much time with Johnny, only the odd occasion that the PR team turned up at training. You only really knew what Elena had told you which was that he was the stereotypical player but also a secret softie. You had only seen the player side so far and when you walked into his apartment it definitely screamed bachelor pad. It wouldn’t have surprised you if he had customised it like Barney Stinson.

“Hey, who’s this that you’ve brought along” Johnny smirked as he walked over to greet the three of you.

“Johnny this is my best friend Y/N, she just moved from LA she is working with the media team at the Bears” Elena said introducing you.

Johnny flashed you a charming smile and held out his hand “Ah yeah I’ve seen you around” he lifted your hand to his lips and kissed your knuckles “Pleasure to finally meet you, are you here alone?”

“Storm” Chris warned.

“She’s with me,” Elena said as she linked her arm through yours.

“Well if you ever want a bit of fun you can always call me, I know some great-“ Johnny smirked before a deep voice warned him again.

Except this time it was Chris, it was Ari that practically growled “Storm”

It was like he appeared out of nowhere. One second there was just space behind you, the next here was there. You looked over your shoulder as Ari towered over you, he was dressed in some sort of Greek armour costume which showed off his biceps which were bulging as he clenched his phone in one hand. You guessed he must have just gotten off a call and walked back into the party.

You turned back to Johnny who looked up at Ari and then you and then back at Ari before chuckling and shaking his head “Sure thing, let me know if you guys need anything” he said before turning around and leaving the four of you.

You turned around to scold Ari because this was not part of the plan at all, you were supposed to mingle first and then ‘meet’. But just as you opened your mouth he held out his hand “Hi I’m Ari nice to meet you” he winked.

You gaped up at him completely taken by surprise, it took you a second to recover and reach out to shake his hand “Y/N”

“Ah yeah I’ve heard a lot about you from El” Ari smiled, you blinked a couple of times because he was a natural at this and you were a floundering idiot. You were supposed to be the expert here.

“Only good things I promise” Elena played along “Um do you want me to grab you a drink?”

You stuttered slightly which must have sounded like a yes because Elena looped her arm through Chris’ and the two of them walked off leaving you with Ari.

“So what are you dressed as?” He asked nodding down to your homemade costume which consisted of jeans with a Yankees cap tucked in the back pocket and an orange tee with Greek writing across it.

“Oh um I’m a book character from one of my favourite series, I doubt you’ve read it,” you said glancing down at your costume “It was the best I could do at short notice”

“What’s the series about?” Ari asked seeming like he was actually interested.

“Uh a bunch of teens who are Greek demigods and have to go on quests and save the world, they’re all dyslexic and ADHD, the author originally came up with the main character as a story for his son who was dyslexic to show him that heroes could be just like him”

That really seemed to pique Ari’s interest, you could see a spark as he nodded his head “Well I guess we kinda match then” he smirked.

“Let me guess Hercules,” you asked, you wondered how this could have happened because you hadn’t told anyone what your costume was, not even Elena.

Ari smirked as he posed and showed off his very impressive biceps “the one and only”

You rolled your eyes and decided to scan the room. You spotted Elena near the kitchen holding up an alcoholic drink in your direction, you smiled grateful for the escape.

“Well it was lovely to meet you but there’s a drink with my name on but I’ll see you around maybe” you said taking a couple of steps back.

Ari gave you a lopsided smile “There’s no maybe about it, enjoy mingling and I’ll see you in a bit” he agreed.

You nodded before turning on your heel. You felt his gaze on you as you walked away, your suspicions confirmed when you glanced over your shoulder and caught him looking at your ass.

Over the next couple of hours, you somewhat successfully managed to mingle and avoid Ari. You stuck by Elena’s side most of the time, letting her introduce you to other players on the team and friends she had made over the past few months. You could feel Ari’s gaze on you most of the time, catching him looking over at you as he spoke to others at the party. On the occasions you didn’t feel his gaze you found yourself distracted and looking around the party, your eyes catching on him every time.

You were currently sat on a couch next to Elena who had discarded her own hat and replaced it with Chris’. She was caught up in a heated debate about women’s rugby so you once again found yourself looking around the party. Except this time you couldn’t spot Ari at all, your initial reaction was concern. What if he was off flirting with another girl, there were plenty of bombshells walking around, you wouldn’t blame him but it would jeopardise the whole plan.

Your eyes then zeroed in on a closed door for some unknown reason but a second later Ari stepped out, holding his phone to his ear. You watched as he nodded and said one last thing before letting out a long sigh and hanging up. His expression seemed unguarded for a moment, he looked exhausted from that call. It made you wonder what it was, maybe his parents? He said they were travelling maybe they got into a bit of trouble somewhere.

You watched as he tapped away at his phone for a moment before looking up, his eyes met yours and the tired expression shifted to a charismatic smirk. You quickly adverted your gaze and tried to look like you were involved in the debate when you saw him walk over towards you.

It didn’t work though as you felt the couch cushion sink next to you and heat enveloping you as he rested his arm on the back of the couch behind you “Hey”

You bit your lip to hold back a curse as you shifted to turn to him, forcing a smile “Hey”

“Thought you could do with some company, us Greek heroes need to stick together” he tapped your shoulder with his finger and you tried to ignore the sparks of electricity that you felt when he did “So how do you know El?”

“We were roommates in college, been best friends ever since,” you told him unable to stop the smile that grew as you recalled your college days with Elena.

She had been the best friend you had needed your entire life. She really helped pull you out of your shell and become much more confident. Thanks to her you got up to so much stuff that you wouldn’t have dared to do before.

“Nice, what did you major in?”

“communications, did you go to college?” you asked him, you were pretty certain that he was one of the popular jocks that everyone wanted to hook up with.

“Nope, went straight into playing rugby, although I did do a semester in International Politics when Barber made us all take a class to ensure we had something to fall back on” Ari explained with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

“Really?” your eyebrows rose in surprise, you hadn’t expected that answer.

“Yeah his career got cut short due to injury so he’s been really on at us to be careful with our money and have something to fall back on because even if we don’t get injured we typically retire at around 35 and there’s a lot of life left to live after that,” Ari said with a deep sigh.

“What do you think you’ll do? When you retire?”

Ari let out a long sigh, his gaze shifting to the distance as he thought. It gave you an opportunity to study his face in better detail. The freckles that poked out from beneath his beard and the way his eyes were the same colour as a tropical ocean.

“I don’t know” he finally said with a small huff of a laugh “might just see where my life is when it comes to it, if I have responsibilities to take care of”

You tilt your head, curious as to what he meant “like what?”

A small smile tugged at his lips as he looked back at you “I’m not sure” There was a long pause where it felt like neither of you knew what to say until Ari finally spoke “You moved from LA right? Is that where you’re originally from?”

You shake your head “East Coast girlie, New York to be specific”

Ari’s smile perked up “I’m from New York too, which part?”

“Upstate, didn’t actually get into the city very often, we lived closer to Canada than the city,” you said.

Whenever you told someone you were from New York they always assumed the city and would ask you so much about it and most of the time you didn’t have an answer because you’d only gone into the city a couple of times in your whole life.

“Ah nice upstate is really beautiful, I’m from Queens” Ari smiled “If you ever want a tour guide the next time you go to the city”

You chuckled “I’ll hit you up” You smiled “Do you go back often?”

Ari’s smile seemed to falter for a split second, you weren’t sure if it even did or if you imagined it “A bit, not as often as I’d like but it’s difficult with my schedule” he said with a small shrug.

“I guess with your parents travelling there’s less of a reason too” you add, Ari hummed in response “Are they away long?”

“Two years so far”

Your eyes widened “two years!”

Ari chuckled, the warm sound of it sending chills down your body “Yeah they’ve always wanted to travel the world, experience different cultures so when they retired they sold up and started travelling, they’ll visit a country, rent a place for a few months and do a bit of work to get some money before moving onto the next place, I get postcards from them when they get to a new country”

You shook your head in disbelief “That’s incredible” you muttered in amazement.

“Yeah I have no clue when they’ll be back, probably when they get a bit too old but they also might just find a remote tropical island to live on” Ari chuckled.

“What about you though?” you frowned. You didn’t particularly like living so far away from your parents but at least they were in one place, it’s expensive but not impossible to visit them.

Ari tilted his head slightly like he was surprised by that question, like no one had thought to ask him that before “I’m okay with it, they deserve it, they did so much for me growing up and to help me achieve my dream of playing rugby professionally, I can’t not let them have their dream” he smiled “and maybe when I retire in a few years I’ll just join them on the island” he chuckled.

“That does sound like a good retirement plan” You smiled, you then felt a blast of cold air from where someone had opened a door to step out onto the balcony. It instantly made you shiver, your costume wasn’t great for New England fall temperatures.

“You cold?” Ari frowned as you wrapped your arms around you, goosebumps appeared on your skin.

“Just a little, thought a jacket might ruin the look” you tried to joke.

You also didn’t own any jackets, you didn’t need cold-weather clothes back in LA which meant you had none now. Elena had lent you a few jumpers and coats, like the red one you’d worn the day Ari came to your office to apologise. You’d promised that you would go out and buy a proper coat and warmer clothes but hadn’t found the time, you also worried about how expensive it would be.

Ari sat forward and tugged at his shoulders, the purple cape that was attached coming loose “Here, it's not thick but it's an extra layer” he said as he offered it to you.

“Oh no it's okay I’m fine,” you said shaking your head.

Ari shifted closer to you, the heat from his body doing enough to warm you up “Take it” he pressed, wrapping it around your shoulders before you could protest again “Think of the pictures” he added quietly.

You blinked a couple of times. Right. Yes. The pictures. It would look good for the ‘relationship’ if there was a picture with you wearing his cape. There would be no explanation as to where else you got it from, no one else here was wearing a bright purple cape. It would be the perfect crumb to lead people to believe this relationship.

You nodded and wrapped and cape around you “Thank you”

Ari gave you a lopsided smile “Not a problem sweetheart” he grinned leaning back into the couch, except this time there was less than a couple inches between you.

Ari didn’t really know much about PR, he typically just did whatever he was told by the team to fix whatever mess needed fixing. But if he had to guess how well the Halloween party went he would say it went really well.

He’d seen a few photos circulating online and all of them looked good. There were a few where both you and him were in the photo either in the background or in the group shot. Not all of them had you standing or sitting close to him, but someone had taken a photo of you and him chatting on the couch.

That was Ari’s favourite photo from the night, you were mid-chuckle as you looked back at him. His purple cape wrapped around your body. He’d saved it to his phone so he could look at it whenever he wanted.

He was just glad you warmed up to him again. He could tell you were pissed at him when he went all caveman over you but he couldn’t help himself. Ari was an impulsive man at the best of times and when it came to you that impulsivity increased by a million.

Johnny Storm was notorious for being a playboy, often seen at parties with multiple girls hanging onto his every word. It was surprising that he got away with it some much, but it never seemed to affect how well he played and he hasn’t gotten into serious trouble so maybe the coaches were happy to turn a blind eye. Ari and Johnny got on well enough on the pitch and at training but he still didn’t trust him with you. He wouldn’t trust him with anyone.

Ari was looking forward to today, it was the first official fake date. The team had the morning off so the plan was to go to brunch. Ari had met the three of you a short walk away from the bunch spot that you and El had picked.

He was currently walking a few paces behind with Chris, watching as you and Elena walked ahead chatting and laughing with each other. You were wearing that red sweater again, but this time you’d paired it with a pair of black jeans. You’d tucked the sweater in giving Ari the perfect sight to behold. He couldn’t help but smile as you threw your head back and laughed at whatever El had said.

“I’m surprised you agreed to all this,” Chris said as the two of them walked, his pace slowing so that the distance between him and the girls grew.

Ari shrugged as he matched his pace “Want to make the team, I’d do anything”

Chris hummed and nodded his head “So it’s got nothing to do with the crush you have on her”

Ari let out an unconvincing snort “I do not have a crush… crushes are for children” he huffed.

Chris chuckled and shook his head “Fine but you were definitely into her back in LA, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment you got shot down, it so rarely happens”

Ari took a deep breath, recalling the moment he saw your engagement ring “Yeah, that lunch was a bit of fun” he agreed “but this is just a deal so I have my best chance of getting called up and if it means her asshole ex doesn’t rock up and try and win her back then it's a win-win”

Chris hummed and glanced back over at you “So you don’t still have feelings then?” he asked.

“Nope” Ari lied “we’re just friends who are helping each other out”

“Good” Chris nodded “I don’t know Y/N very well but she means a lot to El which means she means a lot to me too so I don’t want to see her getting hurt because you lead her on or made her uncomfortable”

Ari swallowed and nodded his head “You don’t have to worry about that at all, we’ve got clear boundaries and we’re not gonna cross them” he promised as he looked back over at you.

Ari cared a lot about you and the last thing he wanted was to hurt you or for you to get hurt more than you already have been. If that meant pushing his feelings aside then he’d do it. At least he was getting a taste of what it would be like.

“Glad to hear it man because honestly, I don’t think I’d win the fight” Chris chuckled as he slapped Ari on the shoulder.

Ari smirked over at him “You right about one thing”

When they turned the corner onto the street that the restaurant was on, Chris changed the topic to the league and how he thought the other teams were doing. Ari wasn’t paying much attention though, he kept his sights on you. He knew there were some paps across the street, the plan was to tip them off so they could capture everyone arriving and leaving together.

The girls both paused when they reached the restaurant waiting for Ari and Chris to catch up. Chris opened up the door and gestured for everyone to go ahead, Ari followed closely behind you resting his hand on your lower back. He flashed you a smile when you glanced over your shoulder at him.

At the table Ari pulled out the chair for you, making sure to be the perfect gentleman “Thank you” you muttered as you sat down.

The two girls ordered mimosa while Ari and Chris settled for coffee “To brunch” Elena grinned “And new friendships” she winked over at you and Ari.

You chuckled lightly as you lifted your glass “to brunch”

The conversation quickly returned back to rugby, Chris continuing what he’d been saying to Ari outside. This time Elena joined in with her own inputs as they discussed the Bears' next opponents and how well they’d been so far this season.

Ari glanced over to see you sat back in your chair your gaze set on the plate in front of you as you absentmindedly twisted your glass of mimosa around. Ari wondered why you weren’t participating before remembering that you weren’t a fan of rugby so you had nothing to add.

“Why don’t we talk about something other than rugby?” Ari interrupted “I think Y/N might fall asleep if we carry on” he added with a smirk.

You rolled your eyes “I was not about to fall asleep, if you guys want to talk about rugby you can talk about rugby” You waved your hand dismissively.

“No it's fine, I’m sorry that was my fault” Chris apologised “What would you like to talk about Y/N?” he asked with a sincere smile.

“Oh um” you muttered shrinking back into your chair. That made Ari frown because it was not like you to shrink away, he expected you to come back with some witty response. “I don’t know, I don’t mind” you shrugged.

“Why don’t you tell us some wild college stories, I bet you two got up to a lot of trouble” Ari smirked, nudging you in the side.

Elena snorted into her champagne glass “We were the perfect citizens”

“Bullshit” Chris laughed “You’re trouble, trouble” he grinned as he looked lovingly over at Elena.

“We had a lot of classwork, didn’t leave much time for antics” You shrugged, you were trying to look innocent but Ari could see the smirk playing on your lips.

“There might have been a few dares here and there when we went to parties” Elena shrugged her shoulders taking a sip of her mimosa.

“Now we’re getting there” Ari smirked twisting in his seat to face you more “What kind of things did you have to do?”

“Y/N usually went for truth” Elena supplied, ignoring the pointed look you gave her.

“That’s not true, I did dares” you argued.

“Only when that guy on the hockey team called you out, you know the one you had a cru-”

“Sh-sh-sh” you interrupted flapping your hand in an attempt to silence her, your cheeks turning a cute shade of pink.

“Hockey player? I thought you didn’t like athletes” Ari asked arching a brow.

“Where do you think that dislike came from?” you retorted, making his look with your own.

“Well don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll change your opinion” he winked, the roll of your eyes he got in response just made his smile grow wider. Seeing that feisty side of you seemed rare now but Ari wasn’t gonna give up on it.

“Well I’m sure whatever you had to do wasn’t as bad as what we all had to do during our first pre-season with the Bears,” Chris said, shaking his head as a shiver ran through his body.

Ari felt the exact same, he’d been with the bears for a few years but the memory of his initiation was still fresh in his mind. He hadn’t looked at a pint of milk in the same way since.

“What did you have to do?” you asked sitting forward, intrigue clear in his voice.

“We have to down a pint of milk and then run the full length of the pitch and back, if you puke you have to spin a wheel to decide your punishment” Ari explained, unable to hold back the smile when he saw your horrified reaction.

“Does anyone ever succeed?”

“Nope, Curtis came close though, kept it down until the next newbie started chugging the milk and that's when he went” Chris chuckled “he had to shave his eyebrows”

Your jaw dropped as Elena threw her head back laughing loudly “Wait is this where Jensen got his frosted tips?” Elena asked in between breaths.

Ari nodded his head as he laughed along “Yeah that one didn’t really end up as a punishment”

“What did you two have to do?” You asked nodding to Ari and Chris.

“We both had to shave our heads, I didn’t mind it to be honest it was easier to manage” Chris said as he ran a hand through his hair.

Elena pouted “Please don’t shave it again, I like your fluffy hair”

“Don’t worry trouble, it's staying” Chris grinned as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Wow stealing a pig doesn’t seem so bad now” you muttered under your breath but Ari heard it.

“You stole a pig?” he huffed in surprise.

“Yeah that hockey guy convinced me to help steal the rival team’s mascot” you said with an embarrassed wince.

“That’s amazing” Chris laughed his hand slapping his chest as he leant back in his chair.

“They sent her in the distract the team while our guys took the pig” Elena recounted.

“What did you do with it after that? And please don’t say bacon or sausages” Ari asked.

You looked back at him horrified “god no! We actually took it to the ASPCA, it was in awful conditions the poor thing” you pouted “A bunch of their players got suspended because of it”

“Meant our team went ahead in the division” Elena smirked victoriously.

“Wow so you’ve been pulling the strings behind the scenes for a long time” Ari noted with an impressed nod.

“There’s a reason I’m so good at what I do” you smirked.

Ari smiled back at you glad to see you feeling far more comfortable. It was almost like the lunch back in LA all those months ago. The rest of brunch was great too, Ari just enjoyed sitting there and watching you open up more and more. The dynamic you had with Elena was like two sisters who were also best friends. He was happy for you that you were back with your best friend.

Far sooner than Ari would have liked brunch came to an end. He wanted to stay longer but he had to get back to the training facility for afternoon training. This time though he made sure to walk out next to you. Chris and Elena walked a few paces ahead.

When you stepped out of the restaurant Ari noticed you shiver and wrap your arms around yourself “You cold?” he asked.

“Yeah still used to LA weather” you explained as you hugged yourself closer.

“Not used to needing a coat” Ari added with a playful smirk.

“I don’t actually have one” you admitted.

Ari paused and turned to face you “You don’t own a coat? Like at all?”

“Not a winter one no” You went to walk off but Ari held out his arm to stop you.

“Why not?” he asked unable to wrap his head around it.

“I didn’t need one in LA, my closet is full of summer clothes, this jumper is El’s not mine” you explained gesturing down to your sweater. Ari noticed how it was slightly too large for you and it wasn’t a design choice. Elena had a much broader and more muscular frame than you. “I just haven’t had the chance to go out shopping yet, that and money is tighter now, I can’t really afford a whole new wardrobe”

“You need to get a coat at least, it's only gonna get colder, especially when the snow finally arrives” Ari pointed out.

You shot a glare up at him “Yes I am aware of that” you huffed spinning on your heel and speeding off away from him.

Ari cursed under his breath before shrugging off the jacket he was wearing. He jogged to catch up with you and draped the jacket around your shoulders. You startled slightly and looked up at him in confusion.

“Let me keep you warm in the meantime,” Ari said softly.

“But what about you?” you asked as you pulled his large jacket around you more.

“I run hot” he shrugged.

You looked down bashfully as you carried on walking “Thank you”

“It's nothing, and you can keep it until our next date” Ari winked.

“Are you sure?” you asked surprise clear on your face, pausing and turning to face him.

“Never been more sure sweetheart” he smiled as he leant down to press a kiss to your cheek.

Ari: I want to plan our next date

Y/N: Oh okay, yeah sure what do you want to do?

Ari: It’ll be a surprise

Y/N: But I need to know so I can tip the right people off

Ari: I’ll get Steph to deal with it

Y/N: I don’t know, how am I supposed to make sure this works if I don’t know what we’re doing

Ari: just trust me, it’ll be fun and will work perfectly

Y/N: Okay fine

Ari: Great I’ll pick you up at 11

Ari jogged up to the front door of your apartment block and pressed the button for your apartment “Hey c’mon up I’m not quite ready yet” you said through the intercom.

“Sure, see you in a second sweetheart” Ari grinned as he pushed open the door and made his way up to your apartment.

You greeted him at the front door, a smile growing on Ari’s face when he saw you were wearing his jacket. It was definitely too big for you but it looked adorable so Ari had no intention of taking it back. Plus it meant you hadn’t had a chance to go shopping yet which worked perfectly with his plan.

“I just need to grab my bag,” you said as he stepped inside the apartment.

He glanced around and noticed how sparse it was. It had all the necessary furniture and a few things like a rug, but there was nothing specific to you. It looked like a showhome rather than an apartment that had been living in.

“Had El moved all her stuff out?” Ari asked glancing over at you as you sorted through your bag. While he never visited he knew this used to be Elena’s place but moved out when you turned up so you could have your own apartment.

“Uh yeah, she left things that she didn’t need any more,” you said as you shouldered your bag “Once I get the rest of my stuff it’ll look less barren”

Ari hummed and nodded his head, maybe after today it’ll be less barren. He made a note of that for later “Let’s get going, I’ve got a lot planned” he grinned as he moved to head back out.

“You gonna tell me what we’re doing now?” you asked as you shut and locked the door behind you.

“Nope that would ruin the surprise” Ari grinned as the two of you walked down the stairs together.

You groaned in annoyance “Have you at least let Steph know?”

“Yeah she’s sent someone from the media team to take the odd photo of us while we’re out and she suggested that we post a couple things to social media ourselves” Ari explained as he opened the car door for you.

“Like Instagram stories?” you asked as you climbed into his jeep, Ari putting his hand on your hip to help you up.

“Yeah nothing crazy” he nodded “and trust me you’re gonna love it, I have good intel that girls love this sort of thing” he winked before shutting the door.

It wasn’t a long drive to get where Ari was taking you and he was relying on you not knowing Boston very well. The drive was pretty quiet which Ari didn’t mind, it didn’t make him feel uncomfortable and he was just happy to be in your company.

When he pulled up in the parking lot you looked up from your phone and frowned as you looked around and realised where he’d taken you “A shopping mall?”

“Yep, you said you needed a winter wardrobe but didn’t have time, we also needed a solo date so two birds, one stone” Ari grinned and he killed the engine.

“Yeah but the date should be a dinner date or something” you argued, shaking your head.

Ari shrugged “There’s a food court, why do you think I picked you up before lunchtime?” he offered with a lopsided grin “If you want something fancier I’ll keep that in mind for next time, I just didn’t think you were that kind of girl”

Your mouth opened to argue but you didn’t say anything, which told Ari that he’d gotten that assumption right. He grinned to himself as he got out and rounded the car to open your door.

“I don’t dislike fancy restaurants” you supplied as he held out his hand to help you down.

Ari grinned “Noted, now c’mon sweetheart as much as I love seeing you in my jacket… let’s get you a winter coat”

You rolled your eyes but took his hand and let him help you out of his jeep. Once you were on firm ground Ari shut the car door but didn’t let his hand drop from yours. He loved the feeling of it, your hand was so much smaller than his. The feeling of your soft skin against his callused palms felt magical and he wondered what they would feel like on other parts of his body… his chest… his thighs… his cock.

Ari shook that thought from his head. As much as he wanted otherwise, this relationship was fake. There would be no sex at all and once this was over you would be leaving Boston for bigger and better things. He had to make do with and make the most of this time he had with you, at least that way when it came to an end he had something even if it wasn’t real.

“So do you want to get some food first or straight into shopping? I know they say it’s bad to shop on an empty stomach” Ari asked as you walked into the shopping mall hand in hand.

“That’s food shopping” you pointed out making Ari snort with laughter “but I guess it would be a good idea energy wise”

“Good plan, what would you like?” Ari asked as you rounded the corner towards the food court.

“I don’t mind, what fits with your diet plan?” you asked looking up at him.

Ari smiled softly, he found it cute that you cared enough about that, most people didn’t “None” he answered honestly “but one meal won’t hurt, I’ll just have to pump more iron in the gym” he winked not missing the way your cheeks pinkened as you looked away quickly.

“Okay well, how about Panda Express?” you suggested pointing over in its direction.

“Perfect, that’s actually my favourite” Ari grinned as he started walking over it.

“Me too” you hummed quietly as Ari led you through the crowds.

He arched a brow and looked over his shoulder “Really?” he asked surprised.

“Yeah me and Elena ate way too much of it during college” you chuckled softly.

“I’m jealous, I rarely get to have it, mostly during the off-season,” he told you as he reached the back of the line.

“What’s your go-to order?” you asked as you looked up at the menu.

“Never the shrimp” Ari snorted shaking his head, he’d had a bad experience with the shrimp before, it wasn’t bad enough to put him off the chain but he learnt never to get seafood from a fast food chain “I go for the shanghai Angus steak and brown rice if its during the season and white or noodles for my end of season meal”

“You get it for your first meal after the season ends?” you asked turning your attention to him.

“Yeah, look forward to it every season” Ari grinned.

“You don’t go for something more fancy?”

“Nope, what better to celebrate or drown your sorrows with than some greasy, unhealthy food” he smirked, “what do you go for?”

You let out a bit of a dramatic sigh “I’m basic and I love the orange chicken and noodles and extra fortune cookies”

Ari chuckled “Nothing wrong with being basic” he smiled warmly down at you.

“I beg to differ” you snorted shaking your head, Ari heard the hint of self-consciousness in your voice and immediately knew you were referring to what happened with your ex.

“There’s nothing wrong with it” Ari reiterated firmly “Why mess with perfection?” Your lips parted in surprise before you looked down at your feet “Plus the orange chicken is iconic”

“I guess” you mumbled still looking down at your feet.

Ari squeezed your hand a couple of times before stepping forward to place the order, making sure to order extra fortune cookies for you. He didn’t miss the small smile that you tried to hide when he did so.

Once he had the food he kept hold of your hand and carried the tray over to a free booth with his other hand. He placed the tray down and gestured for you to slide in, he slid in next to you and rested his arm behind you. You were so close that Ari could smell the scent of your shampoo and he loved it.

“This okay?” he asked quietly, “Steph said she’d position someone in the food court”

You turned to look at him, your eyes widening as if you only just noticed how close he was, these booths weren’t really meant for two people to sit together, especially not a rugby player “Yeah” you muttered breathlessly.

A smile twitched at Ari’s lips “Let's tuck in then, we’ve got a lot of shopping ahead of us”

You flashed him a smile before turning your attention to the food. As the two of you ate Ari asked you more questions about your life before moving to Boston. He tactically avoided anything that involved your ex since you always closed in on yourself when that happened so he focused on your life back in upstate New York.

“I’d say that’s given me enough energy to do some shopping, without filling me up enough that I can sneak a pretzel later” Ari smirked as he stacked the empty containers “Can’t forget these though,” he said pushing the multiple fortune cookies your way.

“I can’t have all of them” you argued pushing some back towards him.

“Of course you can, I brought them for you” Ari pushed them back to you with a smirk.

“You have to have at least one,” you said grabbing one and holding it out to him.

Ari grinned and took the cookie from you “Deal but you have to tell me your fortune”

You rolled your eyes but didn’t argue, cracking open a cookie and munching away as you read out the fortune “Be curious. Be present. Embrace uncertainty”

“That sounds like good fortune” Ari hummed as he rested his arm behind you again.

You hummed in agreement “Guess so, what’s yours?”

Ari opened up his cookie and smirked to himself “You will place your trust in others and be rewarded… in bed” Ari said wiggling his eyebrows.

You laughed and threw your fortune at him “You added the in-bed bit”

Ari shrugged “Maybe, maybe not… maybe in bed is where I want to be rewarded” he winked.

You rolled your eyes and gave him a playful shove which made Ari laugh, he dropped his arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his side. His smile turned warm when you didn’t pull away from him.

“Should we get shopping?” you asked looking up at him.

“If you’re ready” Ari hummed as he collected up all of the leftover fortune cookies and put them in your bag for you for later.

“Yeah let's go, it shouldn’t take too long”

“It’ll take however long as you need or want” Ari smiled as he stood up from the booth and held out his hand to help you up.

You smiled softly and took his hand “It’ll take however long as my bank account can handle” you said with a pointed look.

“Don’t you worry about that” Ari winked.

You frowned over at him “You are not paying for my clothes” you stated.

“We’ll see about that” Ari grinned “I save money for situations like this, so let me spoil my girlfriend” he said we you walked out of the food court.

“Fake girlfriend” you corrected quietly.

“Shush, we’re in public” Ari whispered as he leant in closer to you and pressed a kiss to your temple.

Your head snapped in his direction, your eyes wide like saucers.

“Sorry should have asked” Ari apologised, squeezing your hand.

“No, no it's fine” you muttered looking down and clearing your throat.

Ari grinned “Good” he lifted your hand up so he could kiss your knuckles.

Over the next few hours, Ari took you into every shop that sold warm clothes. You were pretty reluctant at first but after the first couple of shops, where Ari practically had to block you from the card machine so he could pay, you started to warm up to it and have more fun. Even Ari was enjoying it, he didn’t mind sitting in the designated chair outside of the fitting rooms especially when you came back out to show off and get his opinion on a few things.

His favourite moment though was when he took you to buy a proper winter coat suitable for heavy snow. He made sure to get you the best one possible and when you tried it on he grabbed a bobble hat and scarf to go with it. Laughing when you were all bundled up and your beautiful eyes were the only part of you visible. It was such a cute sight that he had to take a photo which he saved so he could look back at it later.

Once you were done Ari carried all the bags out while you carried the pretzels, the only thing he had let you buy “Thank you for doing this Ari, you really didn’t need to” you said softly, tearing a piece off your pretzel as you both sat in his jeep.

“I know but I wanted to” Ari smiled softly as he tucked into his own pretzel, the perfect after-shopping trip treat.

“I promise to pay you back”

“It's okay, I had the money and you’re helping me get onto the national team” Ari shrugged as he demolished the last of his pretzel, he wasn’t going to admit that he would have done it anyway, he did it just to see you smile and to make sure you were warm.

“Well at least you can have your jacket back” You nodded down to his jacket that you were still wearing.

“You can keep it, it looks good on you” Ari winked, not missing the way you blushed and looked down at yourself.

Sharing is caring so please reblog and leave a comment to really make my day!

This series has no schedule, please don’t ask when it will be updated! Same goes for Masterlist, AO3 and Wattpad!

Fake Out Series Masterlist / Boston Bears Masterlist / Masterlist

I don’t have a taglist but follow @secretswiftymarvelfanlibrary and turn on post notifications to stay up to date!

#niamhwrites #boston bears series #boston bears: fake out #ari levinson #rugby!au #rugby player!au #rugbyplayer!ari #ari levinson x reader #ari levinson x you #ari levinson x y/n

41 notes · View notes