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bad date: j.l
summary: you find yourself on a bad date. in desperation, you call your ex, jake lockley, hoping he can help you. which he does, in ways you never could've bargained for.
warnings: smut (eek), dry humping, kissing, light choking ig??? jake puts his hand around reader's neck, fluff, teasing, reader's date is a twat like he seriously sucks, angst but not with jake, no use of y/n or pronouns :) ~part of the ex! mk series but can be read standalone!!!~
word count: 3.4k
ex!mk series: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
It felt wrong to be on a date. Extremely wrong. You felt as though you were being disloyal, despite having no commitments, no one to be disloyal too. The events of a couple of weeks ago were still freshly embedded in your brain. It was as though every time you blinked, you remembered a different detail from your conversation with Marc, or a different look from your car ride with Jake, or a different touch from your comforting of Steven.
You had never been quite so confused.
You almost cancelled the date that had been scheduled for quite some time. But doing that would admit you werenât over your exes. And admitting that would put all the work you had done in getting over them to shame.
So, you got ready, put on your finest outfit with the glamour you desired, and got a taxi to the restaurant you were meeting him at.
He seemed nice enough over text. You had shared stories, even laughed at his pick up lines. He was handsome in a way which felt⌠unnatural. You struggled to find attraction to other people after so long denouncing everyone. It felt odd to look at a person, that wasnât your person, in any way other than politeness.
He had embraced you, even kissed your hand, and you worried as you felt nothing. He had opened the door for you, even pulled your chair out, waiting for you to sit and still⌠nothing. He was perfectly nice.
Until he started talking.
âI just do not understand the people who say looks mean nothing. I mean, obviously, I am attractive, I know that. And youâre decent looking. Weâre attracted to each other, nothing wrong with that.â You cocked an eyebrow, taking a long sip of wine as you hummed.
âRight. I mean, I think appearance is surface level. Other things matter more, like how much you laugh together, your morals⌠good conversation.â He scoffed, waving over the waiter with just his hand. Ew.
âShouldâve known you would think like that. Crickey, wonder what other opinions you have in that brain of yours?â
âActually, I have a lot.â
âRight, Would love to hear about those, thatâs why I came on this date.â The sarcasm dripped off his words and anger bubbled in your stomach. You opened your mouth to talk when the waiter came over, notepad in hand. âIâll have the steak -rare- with the potatoes and veg. Gotta get the protein in after a work-out.â You cringed and the waiter shot you a sympathetic look.
âAnd for you?â
âIâll have the lasagne, please. With garlic bread.â The man in front of you chuckled, but it felt cold.
âAre you sure? Donât want to have to kiss you with garlic breath.â Your stomach lurched at the thought of kissing him, but it was by no means a positive feeling. You would rather be sick.
âMake that extra garlic.â You said, and the waiter nodded with a smug, âcertainly.â
Your date talked at you for the next fifteen minutes. He told you his life story, his career, about his friends and their âabsolutely wild times, we go kinda crazy, you probably wouldnât be able to handle it.â You were relieved when the food came out, so you had a moment of silence.
You wanted to leave. To shout at him, get up, and go. But you knew that wasnât smart. He seemed like the type to follow you out the restaurant and ridicule you for making a scene, before claiming he was a ânice guyâ.
You stuffed another piece of garlic bread in your mouth as you attempted to plan your next move. âThese potatoes are vile. God, you want something done right, I canât even eat this.â You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, instead shrugging.
You had eaten at supersonic speed to rush the date, to get home and snuggle under your covers watching a shitty romcom whilst eating the leftover cake in your fridge. You were relived as he swallowed the last bite of food, putting his cutlery down and sighing deeply. âWell that was a load of shit. The food, I mean, not you, darling.â You almost threw your food back up but managed to keep it down.
âHmm. Right, should we-â
âDessert first, right? Not that either of us need it but canât have a date without something sweet.â The wink he sent you made your whole body curl in disgust. If you had to spend more than thirty seconds more with him, you were sure youâd end up stuffing your ears full of cheese just to never him speak again. This was the worst date youâd ever been on. You werenât expecting the best date ever, but at least something to distract you from-
The idea hit you all at once.
Pulling out your phone, you pretended to look concerned, opening the one contact you knew would be readily available right now. âExcuse me, I have to take this.â You said as your date just shrugged.
Standing from your chair, you found an empty corner, hitting the call button and desperately holding the phone to your ear. It only took a couple of rings before you heard the familiar, âYes?â
âJake, you gotta pick me up. Iâll act like you have an emergency and you need my help or something, and then Iâll hastily leave, and you can get me in your cab and-â
âWoah, woah, slow down. Whatâs goinâ on? Estas en peligro? Are you in danger?â You shook your head, even though he couldnât see you.
âNothing like that. Iâm just⌠this is kinda awkward but Iâm on a date.â You could imagine him tensing up as his breathing changed slightly. âBut itâs terrible and awful and I just, if I spend one more second with him Iâll end up killing someone.â Jake chuckled, and you scoffed. âIt isnât funny! Look, you owe me. And hereâs your chance to pay me back like right now. As fast as you can. I donât care how many laws you break getting here.â
âRelax, Carino. I got in the car when you started talking.â You smiled, feeling your cheeks heat and your heart skip.
âThanks, Jake. Iâll send you my location.â He hummed, and you hung up, quickly sending the restaurant name before returning to your date.
âIâm so sorry but my friendâs had an emergency. This has been⌠lovely⌠though.â
âYouâre leaving?â
âI have too, yeah.â
He scoffed, and you noticed a shift in his persona. âFigures. Everyone leaves me.â
âNonono, it isnât anything like that! My friend-â
âLikely story. You know, Iâm too good for you anyway. You wonât get a date with someone like me again.â
âWell, thank fuck for that. In fact, Iâm deleting every dating app I have just to make sure I never do!â It came out before you could bite your tongue, but fuck, it felt good.
âWhatever. Didnât want to fuck you anyway.â
âExcuse me? Thatâs all this was? God, youâre such an arsehole! Fuck you, Iâm leaving. Iâll pay my half at the till.â He started ranting about something, about how you âprobably couldnât afford itâ and how âyouâre lucky heâs being niceâ but you were already walking away.
You paid for your meal, apologising to the waiter for the arseholeâs rude behaviour, but she just smiled and handed you a piece of dessert in a takeaway box; âItâs on the house.â You smiled, ignoring the shouts from your date as you left the restaurant.
You were beyond grateful to see him. He was wearing his driving gloves, the rough leather ones that you loved. He had got out the car, waiting anxiously to see you. You saw his sigh of relief when he did. You couldnât help yourself.
You practically ran toward him, watching his face of shock turn to acceptance as you reached his arms. You wrapped an arm around his waist, careful not to drop your food as he engulfed you in a hug. âHi.â You whispered into his chest, beyond grateful he was there. You knew you could look after yourself. You didnât need a man to come to your rescue.
But he wasnât just a man.
Secretly, you were looking for an excuse, any excuse, to call them again.
âThat bad, huh?â He said as you pulled away, scanning your face as if he hadnât seen you in years.
âWorse.â You wanted to convey a serious composure. It had been terrible. But if you didnât laugh, youâd definitely cry. Jake rose an eyebrow as you began chuckling, covering your mouth to try to contain it. But eventually, it started pouring out, until you were out of breath laughing.
âWhatâs so funny?â Jake asked but couldnât help smiling himself. âHuh?â
âIt was the worst date ever.â You managed to get out, and even though Jake couldnât quite understand, your laughter was so contagious, he couldnât stop himself from joining in. People passing by shot you a few weird looks, but you couldnât find it in yourself to care as you released your emotions in the healthiest way you had for a while.
Eventually, you calmed down, wiping a tear from under your eye as Jake looked at you in admiration. âWant a ride?â You smiled, glancing back at the restaurant before nodding. Jake opened the door for you as you climbed in the cab.
âWe have to stop doing this.â You said as Jake had pulled up to your flat. You had told him every detail about your date from hell, down to what seasoning you had on your food.
Jake had listened neutrally, apart from whenever you mentioned that man. His blood boiled as he thought about you on a date, thought about another man looking at you, making comments about you.
But he ignored the jealously, instead focusing his negative feelings on your date. âHe sounds like a fucking asshole. Shouldâve gone in there and given him a pieceâf my mind.â He had said,gripping the steering wheel, but you brought him down, assuring him you had taken care of it and would be deleting him off every app you had him on.
âDoinâ what?â He asked, and you gestured between the two of you.
âPicking each other up? Calling each other? Seeing each other at all?â Jake nodded, but smirked.
âAlmost like we canât get enough of each other.â He teased and you tried to ignore the effect he had on you.
âAlmost like you canât get enough of me.â
âEy? Howâd ya reach that conclusion? You called us.â
âYou called me first! I thought it was just something we did now.â
âSounds like itâll become a bad habit.â
âMaybe. But sometimes, I like being bad.â
âI remember.â The air shifted and suddenly, there was too much space between the two of you. You watched as he gulped, watched as the vein in his neck tensed and his lips twisted up in the familiar way they did.
âThanks for the lift. Again.â You said, chuckling lightly, trying to clear the fog in your mind.
âRight. Anytime.â
âAnytime huh? Thatâs dangerous.â
âMaybe. But I like danger.â
âI remember.â You teased his words from earlier, and he shot you a small smile. Fuck, you wished he hadnât looked over; and so did he. You held eye contact a beat longer than you had intended, your heart skipping a beat as his eyes flicked briefly towards your lips. You swallowed harshly, pulling yourself away from the moment, forcing yourself to make a move out of the car. âI should reallyâŚâ You pointed toward your flat, smiling awkwardly as he nodded.
âRight. You should rest. Iâll see you, well, whenever either of us need a lift.â
You chuckled, nodding, âWell, thanks.â
âPor supuesto, anytime, seriously.â You didnât want to leave. This felt different from every interaction with them since you had broken up. Something was screaming at you to stay, and you didnât think it was the remnants of wine left in your system.
No, it was as if an invisible force was willing you to him, to his scent, his warmth, his stupidly attractive smirk. He noticed your hesitation, eyebrow raised in question. âIf youâre gonna sit here all night, lemme know so I can turn off the engine.â He teased jokingly, and you forced a laugh.
â âm going now, just⌠preparing for the cold.â He nodded but didnât look convinced, amusement lingering in his features. âOkay, ready now!â You felt suddenly embarrassed, deciding to get the inevitability of your leaving over with. âGoodbye, Jake.â You said quietly, sticking your hand out as if to shake his hand.
âYou want me tooâŚâ
âI donât know! I thought it was a nice, civil gesture to end this terrible evening with!â
âA handshakeâŚ?â
âFine, it was dumb anyway-â You began, retracting your hand before he grabbed it with his gloved one.
âNo, no, câmon.â He squeezed your palm with his own, and your skin tingled at the contact. The friendly gesture was corrupted in your brain as he shook your joined hands, a smug look on his face at the way your breath hitched. âThere, happy now?â
You couldnât think. Could hardly breath as you shook your head, ânoâ. Because it wasnât enough. No amount of contact would ever be enough.
You didnât think about the possible aftermath of your next action. You couldnât think about anything but him. With zero hesitation, you were shuffling forward in your seat, hands falling on his jacket as you pulled him toward you slightly. Your lips barely grazed his, but it was enough to send your heart soaring.
No sooner than you had done it, you pulled away. It was his move. His cho
Jake looked to your gaze, then down to your lips, repeating the action twice. His eyes were glazed over, and you were sure his mind was reeling, his alters talking over each other, but he couldnât hear anything apart from your heavy breathing and all he could smell was your perfume-
His hands cupped your cheeks, a small groan leaving his lips before they were on yours. You sighed in content, moving your lips with his as if you had never stopped. Your hands found his hair, tugging on the familiar locks gently as he traced your jaw with his fingers.
You didnât ever want to stop kissing him. It felt so familiar yet so distant, as if you had only ever dreamt of moments like this. When in reality, you had kissed him thousands of different times. And it all came flooding in to this moment.
Jake pulled back slightly, breathless. You wondered why he had stopped, about to ask when you felt his thumb trace your bottom lip. Your breath hitched as he pulled lightly, your mouth obediently opening for him. He smiled before pulling his own lip between his teeth, eyes dark as he gently pushed his thumb into your mouth.
You made a noise of shock, but quickly pushed it away as you swirled your tongue around the tip of his thumb, inviting him to push further. Jake groaned, almost in disbelief, eyes never leaving yours. âFuck, baby.â His words were drawn out, like they always were in situations like this. It drove you crazy. âCâmere, need you tâ be closer.â He said, voice husky as he apprehensively removed his thumb from your mouth, quickly silencing your groan of disapproval with his lips.
Jake pulled you over the gearstick, careful you didnât hurt yourself, not that you cared at all about your safety right now. He sighed in relief as you swung your legs over his lap, straddling him as your arms looped around his shoulders, bringing him impossibly closer. âRelax, Carino, âm not goinâ anywhere.â He chuckled against your lips, but you hardly heard as you rolled your hips forward.
His chuckles turned into groans as you found a pace, desperate to feel him against you, everywhere. Jake held onto your waist, helping you move rougher against him, trying to keep kissing you but fuck it felt so good.
You pulled away first, breathing heavy in pleasure as small moans left your lips. Every sound you made only amplified what he was feeling, and he couldnât help but clash his lips to yours just to swallow them.
âJake.â You whimpered, and he couldnât recall a time his name had ever sounded so good. It was euphoric, just hearing you say his name.
âFuck, baby, you sound ruined, and Iâve barely even touched you.â His words elicited another moan from you as your head fell into his shoulder, hips rolling faster to chase a high you couldnât reach on your own, or with any other partner you had tried with since them.
Jake squeezed the flesh of your waist, still guiding your movements as his other hand went to the back of your neck. He tugged you up, watching as your bottom lip slipped between your teeth. âLet me hear you, sweetheart. Lemme hear what I do to you.â He pulled your lip out from your teeth, and you let out a broken moan, eyes squeezing shut as his teeth bit possessively at your neck.
âWhoâs makinâ you feel this good?â His voice had an edge to it, dark and dirty. It made your thighs clench harder around him.
âYou.â You whimpered, eyes rolling back as you felt yourself hurdling closer to the edge.
âNot that prick from your date, huh? Ey, look at me. Who makes you feel like this? Needâta hear you say my name.â
âYou, Jake! Always you!â You practically sobbed, overwhelmed and so, so close. All your senses were heightened, and you couldnât recall the last time you had felt this level of pleasure. And he hadnât even touched you yet.
Jake chuckled darkly, his hand slipping up to your neck, squeezing only slightly, but it was enough to send your mind reeling. âThaaatâs it.â His words were drawn out in arousal. You were at the edge, practically falling off, and Jake could tell. Even after all this time, he could read your body perfectly.
âYou can let go, Carino. Let go fâme, câmon, there you go.â He cooed as you clutched onto him, gasping and repeating his name like a mantra as you reached your peak. Jake kissed your shoulder, stroking at your back as your body shook with aftershocks. âDid so good fâme, baby.â He whispered and you practically melted against him.
The windows were covered in perspiration from the events inside the car, and your heavy breathing filled the car. Jake whispered terms of endearment in your ear as you snuggled into his body. It was hot inside his car, yet somehow, you couldnât get enough of his heat.
Eventually, you felt strong enough to speak, lifting your head up to face him, skin glowing in a thin layer of sweat and euphoria. Jakeâs smiled matched your own as he cupped your cheeks, bringing you in for another kiss. âWow.â You whispered against his lips, and he chuckled, agreeing.
You stroked the side of his face, tracing the details of his skin with soft fingertips. Jake leaned into your touch, savoring the softness of your actions. Neither of you were thinking about the consequences. And if you were, neither of you cared. Not right now. He hadnât felt like this in a long time. He had almost forgotten that happiness existed outside of you.
âItâs late.â He said suddenly, and you sat up straighter. âYou need rest, especially now. I donât wanna disrupt that.â
âWait, what? I just kinda figured⌠you donât want to come up with me?â
âWell⌠I thought you were finished.â
âYeah, but you didnât get toâŚâ You looked down at his lap, at the prominent issue still there, and you smiled teasingly. Â
âTrust me, baby, that was all I needed.â
âBut I want to make it up to you.â You innocently ran a hand down his chest, stopping just before his belt and he tensed.
âYou donât have to-â
âI want too. If you want too.â You watched as he tutted, before nodding. âPlease?â Your voice was soft but seductive as you ran a hand through his hair, placing a gentle kiss to the side of his jaw, then his cheek, then just next to his lips.
You felt drunk on him and you didn't care about what this could mean. How far it could set you back. You were too far gone, too deep already. You needed him. You always needed him.
Jake groaned, squeezing the flesh of your waist. âJoder eres tan bueno -fuck youâre so good- Â when you ask so nicely, how could I ever refuse?â
a/n: i have never written smut before so this was a fun venture into it!!! i promise more parts are coming. i was conflicted on how to do this chapter but it kinda found it's own end. the next one will involve our other two boys yayyy :) i am really enjoying writing this series. thank you so much for reading!!!
tags: @rmoonstoner @marinalor @readingfan @neteyamsluvts @howellatme @nana90azevedo @midgardian-witch @daddyjackfrost
#moon knight#jake lockely x reader#jake lockley fanfiction#jake lockley fluff#jake lockley#jake lockley smut#moon knight smut#moon knight x reader#moon knight angst#moon knight fluff#ex! jake lockley
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KINKTOBER 2024 / Day Two
EDGE PLAY / LOVE BITES / TERATOPHILIA (@my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction)
Starring: Benny Miller x F!Reader
Summary: There was only one problem youâd discovered about dating Benny Miller and that was that he loved to give you hickeys.
Rating: Fluff
Warnings: Marking, pet names, no use of Y/N, language, mentions of food/eating.
Word Count: 1.2k
There was only one problem youâd discovered about dating Benny Miller and that was that he loved to give you hickeys.
The act was cute at first, it was like being back in high school, a form of childish affection that proved that someone liked you enough to leave a mark for everyone to see. He would always give you one on the crook of your neck, occasionally on the side and in the summer months, he would place a hickey on your shoulder.
During the colder season, youâd happily allow him to decorate your inner thighs, your hips, your stomach. Heâd suckle on your skin with accurate precision and youâd gladly wear them, safe in the knowledge that no one would know.
âBenny, did you have to make it so obvious?â
You angled your head so you could get a better view of the mark developing on your neck, front and centre. Eyebrows furrowing, you questioned whether youâd be able to cover it with your concealer.
âI just want everyone to know youâre mine.â
You grumble as he envelopes you, squeezing at his elbows to bring you closer before planting a soft kiss to your temple. Looking at him in the mirror, you watch as his eyelids grow heavy, the tip of his nose pushing into your hair as he breaths you in.
âI hate you.â
Craning his neck back, he peeks at your reflection.
âNo, you donât,â he swiftly kisses your cheek, unraveling himself from you. âI gotta go.â
Where he was going was obvious, the gym branded logo on his loose vest gave it away. He readjusted his cap as he walked, snatching up the last few things he needed from the bedroom with one last look at you.
âSee you tonight,â he called from the hallway as he left.
âHave a good session!â
There was a slam that rattled the living room of your apartment, something light definitely falling over but you focused back on the love bite. Dabbing a bit of concealer, you gently rub it into your skin.
âYouâve got to be shitting me.â
You spent the day tactfully covering up your mark. At the office, you continuously rested your chin on your palm, your arm strategically placed in front of your neck. The only person to notice was the barista who made your lunchtime latte whose eyebrows quirked when he looked at you for far too long. You snatched your drink from his hand and hightailed it back to work, hiding in your walled cubicle to plot your revenge.
Benny came to find you when he heard the door.
âHey, baby, how was your day?â
He takes your face in his hands and starts to smother you in kisses.
âFine,â you say with a sigh, âother than the fact I had to cover the massive hickey on my neck.â
He froze, âYouâre mad?â
âA little.â
âDidnât you trââ
âUh-huh.â
âAnd it didnât ââ
âNope.â
âDid your boss ââ
âNo, thank good.â
âIâm sorry,â he ran his thumbs back and forth. âHow can I make it up to you?â
You grab his wrists, âTell me youâve made dinner.â
He made you his signature loaded fries even though it pained him. Benny had been surviving on meat and veg for what felt like weeks, mostly in preparation for his first fight of the month. You admired his dedication but felt his eyes on you as you delved your fork into every ingredient, moving to the opposite sofa to ensure he resisted.
âI thought you would have saved loaded fries for the weekend.â
âI could have but Iâm planning on going to all you can eat.â
âWhereâs my invite?â
You pout jokingly.
âYouâre quite welcome to join us,â he says, throwing an arm out so you can tuck snuggly into his chest. âWeâd love to have you.â
Him and the boys always followed the same post-fight ritual.
Benny chooses the restaurant, Will comes and picks him up, Santiago and Frankie meet them there. The majority of the time, they just have a couple of drinks, eat a load of good food before he returns home. There was once where Will carried Benny through the door because he somehow had too many but you never probed any further.
You didnât need to.
âI wouldnât want to step on your toes.â
He chuckles, the vibration running through his chest underneath your palm.
âIâd move them out the way before you had the chance.â
You smile sweetly up at him, see his free hand move out of the corner of your eye. He brings his index finger and thumb to your chin, craning your neck further so he can inspect the blooming love bite.
When his eyes narrow, a shiver travels quickly down your spine.
âWhat?â
Your single word query is breathy.
He tilts your head from side to side, honing in on the open canvas.
âMaybe I should give you another one⌠or two.â
Though you were cursing him for the idea, your pussy was saying something else, clenching helplessly around nothing. You whine as you think about where you put that high neckline top in your wardrobe.
He cocks his head to one side, âWould you like that?â
âNot really,â you answer in a nervous giggle.
His smile curls further, he loved how on edge he could get you when he was playing with you. Your whole body was becoming rigid, your throat bobbing as you swallowed and you looked up at him like a deer caught in the headlights.
He had to keep his composure, he couldnât let you break him.
His tongue flicked over his lips, glossing their pink hue and your heart starts to race. As he begins to lean down, you place a hand to his chest in an attempt to push yourself back. He firmly locks his hand around your jaw, slowly coming closer to the right side and you put as much effort as you can to get away.
âNo, Benny!â
You manage to get your legs out from underneath you but when you place your feet on the floor, he uses his weight to bring your back to the couch. You release a sweet grunt as he gently pins your legs down with one of his, squeezing your face slightly tighter.
âStay still,â he growls.
Immediately, you swat his chest repeatedly as a last stitched attempt to get him away from you, it doesnât even hurt. What hurt was when you stuck your palm right in his face, your fingernails grazing his nostrils as he battled against you.
His other hand flies to your wrists and holds them steady, moving them a fraction so he can get to you.
You mewl as his hot breath trickles down the slope of your neck, his slicked back hair falling onto your delicate cheek.
His next move is swift, the sudden sensation of his lips against your skin, teeth scraping the surface. He soothes with his tongue before he buries himself into the crook of your neck and suckles.
You melt, sinking deeper into the couch with a honeyed sigh.
There was a twitch in his lips where he wanted to smile. Under his grip, he feels your wrist loosen and as he lets go of the other. Your head falls to meet his, your jawline lining his crown, your breath teasing his hair as he goes in for more.
Sure, Benny giving love bites was a problem but it was a good fucking problem to have.
#kinktober 2024#kinktober#triple frontier#triple frontier x reader#benny miller#benny miller x reader#benny miller x you#benny miller x f!reader#fanfic#short but sweet
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Vigilance (Chapter 22 Part 1)
Word count:Â 18.0k
Pairings: Jake x Reader
Warnings:Â Alcohol, Cursing, Dramatic Themes. Angst Including: Talks of Infidelity, Toxic Themes, Stalking, Arguing, Yelling, Extreme Portrayal of Sadness, Crying, Abandonment, Heartbreak, Talks of Illness, Extreme Illness, Fainting, Hospitalization, Hospital Procedures and Protocols, Talks of Death and Dying. Smut Including: Kissing, Touching, Fingering, Oral F!Recieving Fluff.
This story is a collaboration with my best pal @gretavanmoon.
JAKE POV
âHow was your breakfast dateâŚâÂ
She shrinks back at your words, a look of confusion crossing her face.
âMy what?â she asks.
âYour date. Your breakfast date with Logan.â you say firmly.
She turns her head in shock, before turning to look back at you, âIt wasnât a date Jake. He is my friend. We just went and got breakfast and walked over to the farmerâs market across the streetâŚâ
âSure looked like a date.â you quip.
âWhat? What do you mean?â she asks, shaking her head.
You pull your phone from your pocket, and pull up your texts from Danny, holding your phone towards her to take from your hand.
Her eyes scan over the glass flipping through the photos. âThis is so weird. Who is taking photos of me? Why?â she asks.
âFans. People who know weâre together. Or were.â you paused. âWent to the store. I waited all damn day for you to come back.â
âOh god. Jake⌠I am so sorry, Iââ
âGot caught up? Forgot we had plans when a better offer came along?â you ask, an edge to your voice.
"Jake..." she said, a flash of pain in her eyes.
She walked over to you and grabbed your hand, âHelp me carry these bags into the study.â she smiles sweetly.
âWhat? No. We arenât finished talking.â you respond.
âJust! Help me, please.â she says, grabbing a few bags in her hands.
You huff and pick up the remaining bags, setting them on the floor before positioning yourself on the couch.
âWas itâŚa date?â you ask.
âNo. Not at all.â she says. âLogan and I met for breakfast, had a few mimosas, and as I was leaving I saw a farmerâs market across the street. We missed the last one because we were in Vegâ well, we just missed the last one, and I wanted to go. Logan said he didnât want me to walk alone, so he came with me.â she said, reaching for a brown paper bag on the floor.Â
She opened the bag and started pulling out all kinds of fresh vegetables and fruit, way better stuff than you saw at the store today.Â
âI saw these tomatoes and I remembered that spaghetti sauce you made that one time and I just⌠I donât know, I thought maybe we could make it together. So I got a couple, and a few zucchini and some squash, and I thought these beets looked good too. I know you donât cook with them a lot, so I thought maybe you could find a new recipe or something while youâre locked away in the house. We could test it and see if we like it.â she said, looking at you with eyes full of hope.
Shit. You read this completely wrong.
You let a guilty smile cross your face, and as you went to respond she smiled and started talking again, âSo I kept walking down the path looking at the little booths and there was this sweet little man, and he had all these homemade pastas, and I was like, âokay spaghetti sauce needs pastaâ so I ended up with way too many bags, because he was so sweet and he told me about his wife and⌠Well we are set on pasta I think.â she smiled.
You rested your right arm across the back of the couch and let your fingers graze her neck, as she tilted her head back at your touch. She swallowed, and put the items back into the paper bag and set it on the floor.Â
âSo, after that Logan walked me back to my car and as I was driving home I thought, âwait, we can't have spaghetti with no wineâ, so I stopped at that big liquor store and I found that one red you liked a few weeks ago from that restaurant.Â
âYou remember that?â you ask, just staring at her.
She looked at you and hesitated as she answered, â...well, yeahâŚâ
âSo dinner was all set right? As I was driving home, I passed that old music shop and decided to just peek and see if they had anything new for you. I ended up with theseâŚâ she said, pulling 3 albums from the white plastic bag, and placing them in your hands.
âWow, some old, old motown. These are good finds. Perfect cooking music.â you smile, staring into the face of a woman who no doubt knows you better than you know yourself.
âReally? I just thought maybe something new would be fun. New memories, I guess.â she says bashfully.
âYeah, but I like the old ones too.â you smiled, letting your thumb trail over her skin again.
âYou know right next to the music store is that Pageâs place, and I know hanging out at home all day can be so so boring, so I looked around for a while, and tried to see if anything really stuck out and said âJakeâ.â she said, with a curious look on her face.
âAnd did anything say âJakeâ?â you laughed.
âYes, just these two. They kind of reminded me of that one I just finished. All in the same vein I think. I hope you donât already have them. But if you do I can takââ
âThey are perfect. I donât have them, and I canât wait to read them.â you encouraged.
She grabbed them back from you and put them back into the paper bag, grabbing one final bag from the floor.Â
âOkay and I made one last stop on my tour of Nashville today. But there are two things in the bag, neither of them related at all.â she giggles.
You nodded your head for her to continue.Â
âGoing back to the home all day thing, I thought maybe you might want to try painting a little bit? There are just the basic colors and brushes in here, but I know you are really getting into drawing again, and thought maybe painting would be a fun new outlet.â
âI have actually been thinking about that, itâs like you read my mind.â you grinned.
âOkay the last thing. Donât laugh. I justâI just thought it would be fun. I know youâre going to absolutely kill me at it butâŚâ she said, pulling out a large square box.
You took it in your hands with a huge smile, âTrivia?! Rolling Stones Trivia!?â you asked.
âYeah! I saw it by the register and I was like, âI thinkâŚJake needs this in his house?ââ she laughed.Â
You nodded your head and set it in your lap, looking into her eyes, âOur house.â
Her eyes search yours, flicking back and forth as she nods. She hands you the bouquet of flowers and smiles down at it.Â
âI also picked these up for you. I know it's not typical for a man to receive flowers but, I saw them andâŚI thought of you.â
God. You were wrong. You were so so wrong. You didnât even give her a chance to say anything before you started grilling her.Â
âI hope you believe me when I tell you that it was just breakfast and nothing even remotely close to a date. I know what you were thinking after seeing those photos and thatâs not it at all. I know what I did to you probably has you feeling like you canât trust me and I get that. I deserve that. But I spent the whole day going around town finding things for you. For us to do together. If you want to. Things to make you happy because really, all I want is for you to be happy. But I specifically got these flowers for you because they reminded me of the ones we used to pick by the lake. And I want to keep doing that with you. I want to sit here and pick every single petal until the very last one is âshe loves youâ.â
You felt your heart drop into your stomach. She told you, time and time again, that she would never do anything to make you doubt her feelings for you ever again. And still you did. Told you flat out that she loves you and wants to spend the rest of her life with you, but as she came home tonight you were so quick to jump on her about Logan. She was right, you did have a new issue with trust, but you knew you could fix it. Mend it. Together.Â
âAnd I am so sorry I forgot about going to the store with you. That was my fault. I should have come straight back after breakfast, but I was just thinking about waking up next to you this morning, and how a few days ago that wasnât promised, and how scared I was for you and what if I never got to do this againâŚâ
She started getting teary eyed talking about it, and you felt your heartstrings being pulled at the sight. She really loves you.Â
âI just know things are weird with us right now, so I thought maybe I could just show you that I was thinking of you and how much I want to fix this, and hope you felt the same.â
You grab her hands and pull her across the couch into your chest. You arenât sure but you thought you felt a tear slip out onto your shirt as you held her face to you.Â
âI do. I do feel the same. Thank you, so much. For all of it. Everything.â you say rubbing circles into her back.
âSo you want to then? We can make the spaghetti sauce and play the trivia game?â she asks, voice slightly shaky.
âI donât want anything more than to do that as soon as possible.â you smile, pressing your face into the top of her head, and breathing in deeply the smell of your girl.
You release her from your grip and she pulls back from you, looking at you with pure adoration.Â
âHow about we get this all put away, and I will start us some dinner?â you ask, rubbing your fingers over her hand.Â
She smiles and nods, collecting a few of the bags, before standing from the couch.Â
You carry the bags to the kitchen and pull one of the bottles of wine you bought today from the pantry, pulling the cork, and pouring it into a glass. You reach the glass towards her and as she takes her first sip, her eyes widen and she looks at you.
âThis is that one I like?â she says, shocked.
You spin around and smirk at her, âMaybe I was thinking about you today, too.â
â
As you stand at the sink, loading the last of the dishes into the dishwasher you look over at her, finishing wiping off the counters.Â
âIâve got the rest.â you smiled, placing the plate on the rack.
âYou sure? I canââ
âYeah, I know youâve had a long day.â you reply.
âI think Iâm gonna go take a shower then, if youâre sure.â she says, walking over towards you.
âIâm positive. Thereâs hardly anything left to do.â You respond standing back up to look at her.Â
âThanks for making dinner. That chicken was so goodâŚI would love to have that recipe.â she says.
âWhat do you mean, Iâve got it right here?â you say pointing to your temple.
âWell, yeah butâŚWhat ifââ
âNope. Nope. Nope. Go take a shower.â you say, whipping the dish towel towards her.Â
She scurries off into the guestroom, and you toss the towel back over your shoulder as you smirk. What if⌠Like youâre ever letting that woman go again.
You close up the dishwasher and set the coffee maker before heading to the front door to shut off the lights and set the alarm. You glance down the hallway and see the guest room door shut, knowing she's probably in for the night, as you make your way to your bedroom.Â
You step inside and turn on your lamp, as you gravitate into the bathroom for a shower of your own. You let the soapy water rinse of the guilt of earlier as your mind flutters with thoughts of her. Minutes later you are stepping out, and wrapping yourself in a towel as you brush your teeth.Â
The house is still quiet as you put on your boxers and turn off the closet light. As you climb into bed you grab your glasses and one of the books she got you from your nightstand, and relax into your pillow.Â
She was right, this book did have your name all over it, and you wondered how youâd never seen it before. Within minutes you are flying through the pages, hanging on the words of every sentence, pulling you into a world you could only read about.Â
You heard a creak at the door, causing your eyes to dart over the top of the page. Peeking her head into the room you saw Y/N, damp hair hanging over her bare shoulders as she looked at you.Â
âIâm sorry. I-I didnât mean to bother you. I didnât know you were reading.â she says, rooted to her spot at the door.Â
You put your book down on your chest and push your glasses up, âItâs okay, whatâs up?â
She takes one step closer to the door, now half of her body visible, âWell nothing. I didnât know you were reading, so itâs okay, nevermind.â she says bashfully, stepping backwards.
âHey, no, wait! Come hereâŚâ you say, motioning for her to come over to you.
She rocks back on her heels before stepping into the room in a barely there black silk pajama set, causing your heart rate to skyrocket. She has her pillow in her arms as she walks over to your side of the bed, and sits on the edge right in front of you.
âI was just wondering if we were gonna watch tonightâŚâ she admits. âBut I see you are reading that book, so I want to let you do that. We probably shouldnât be watching in your bed anyways.â
You let your hand settle on her silky smooth thigh, âBaby, I was only reading because your door was shut. I thought you were going to bed. Of course I want to watch.â
âReally?â she asks.
You dog-ear your page, and fold up your glasses, setting both on your nightstand before grabbing the TV remote.
You turn off the lamp as she stands up and walks around to the other side of the bed. You pull the fluffy duvet back as she slides in, putting her pillow behind her head. Sometimes you wish it wasnât a king. Sometimes you wish it was a queen, just so you could be closer to her. Times like right now.
You press play on the remote, happy to have her here with you after wanting her to be here all day. You kick yourself again for doubting her.
âWhatcha thinkinâ bout?â she asks, rolling on to her side, to face you.
âYou. All the cool stuff you found today.â you answer, listening to the theme song play.
âHope you like it.â she grins.
âI love it.â you say, reaching out and squeezing her hand.Â
You pull your hand back but only let it drop a few inches from hers, not touching but still close.
Itâs quiet between the two of you for a while, the climax of the episode just passing as she finally turns to you again.
âDo you think theyâre in love?â she asks, her voice sleepy.
âWho, Scully and Mulder?â you ask.
âYeah. I think Scully is in denial that she loves him.â she says.
âI think they both love each other but their job makes it difficult for them to have a relationship. If they pursued it, and something happened, not only would they lose each other but they would lose their investigative partner too. They are both so committed to their jobs they aren't willing to risk doing anything that might take it away from them.â you said, turning to look at her.
âBut how do you know he loves her?â she asks.
âSee how he looks at her when she talks? And how is always just kind of there, ready to act if something were to happen to her? I donât know, I guess I can just tell. Same things I do, I think.â you answer.
âYou think you would save me if the aliens tried to take me?â she giggles.
âYeah, of course I would save you. Or I would make them take me, too.â you said, letting your fingers trail over her arm.
She twitched, âOoh, donât do that! It tickles!â she squeals.
âWhat, this?â you said, repeating the movement with a little more force causing her to squirm closer to you.Â
âJake! StoooooppppâŚâ she pleads.
You do it once more, hearing her laughter fill the room as she playfully fights you off.
The credits start to roll in the background, and you both look up at the screen.Â
âOne more?â she asks.
âOkay, one moreâŚâ you agree, knowing youâd watch ten more if she asked like that.
Throughout the entirety of the next episode, the two of you have inched your way closer and closer to each other, until she is practically laying on top of you. You run your fingers through the ends of her hair, as her hand rests on your stomach. Her finger tips are making small circles on your bare skin, and it is taking every single ounce of willpower to not jump her bones right here.Â
She thinks you donât notice her hand moving lower and lower on your stomach, grazing the top of your boxers with her pinky finger. Sliding the soft tip of her finger through your happy trail. You wanted her. No, needed her. But you couldnât. You couldnât break the rules.
As the credits rolled once again, she didnât move. She laid perfectly still on your chest, as you reached over to grab the remote, turning the TV off. The room was left in darkness, as you resettled yourself on the pillows.Â
âAre you staying? You can stay if you want toâŚâ you whisper into her hair.
âI know I shouldnât, Iâm just so comfyâŚâ she groans, sliding her legs together.
âYour call baby.â you reply.
âJust tonight. Tomorrow we start over. Following the rules.â she says.
âOkay. Start over tomorrow. Fresh start. All good.â you repeat back to her.
The room goes silent for a few minutes, just the sound of your heart beating in your chest, as her fingers continue to graze the elastic of your boxers.Â
âI can hear your heart beating fast you knowâŚâ she giggles, sliding a finger into the hem.
âWell you have your fucking hand halfway down my boxers, and my dick is throbbing so hard they can hear it in Knoxville.â you quip.
You feel her laugh against your chest, âI should probably stop. Iâm sorry. I didnât mean to.â she says, pulling her hand away.Â
Fuck.
âItâs okay baby. Just miss you is all.â you reply, wondering how youâre going to fall asleep with this situation going on.Â
You turn towards her, letting your hand cup her face as you press your lips to hers, âGoodnight.â
You know the second it happens that you fucked up, âShit Y/N. Iâm sorry. I didnât mean to. Itâs just habiââ
Youâre cut off by the feeling of her lips on yours, begging and pleading for you. You put your hands back on her face, pulling her closer to you as her tongue licks into your mouth. You can taste her and her mint toothpaste, as your tongues tangle together the way they have always just known how.Â
You pull back from her, all panting and heavy breathing, âBaby, the rules⌠we arenât supposââ
âDo you want to stop?â she breathes.
âNo.â you answer, reattaching your mouth to hers, continuing to devour her completely, in all the ways you dreamt of over the past three weeks.Â
You pull your lips down the curve of her jaw, moving to hover over top of her as you press soft kisses into her neck and shoulder. You grab her arms in your hands as she writhes beneath you, her breathing telling you everything you need to know.Â
You bring your head back down to her chest, placing a wet kiss on her sternum, dragging your tongue up to the hollow of her throat.
âJakeâŚâ she breathes.
âMhmmâŚâ you hum.
You let your hand run up underneath the thin black silk of her tank top, ghosting your hand over her hardened nipple, before letting your thumb and forefinger pinch the sensitive skin.
âTell me to stop, and I willâŚâ you offer.
âWe canâtâŚâ she whines.
âBut we areâŚâ you reply, taking her nipple into your mouth. Her back arches up off the bed and a whine leaves her lips.
âBaby⌠god. I miss you so badâŚâ you say before reattaching your lips to her.Â
Her hands come up from the sheets, fisting into your hair as you continue to trail kisses down her stomach.Â
âKeep going JakeâŚâ she breathes.
You run your finger under the band of her silky shorts, as her hips arch into your touch.
âWhatâs wrong baby? You miss me too?â you tease, pulling yourself lower on the bed, pushing the blankets out of the way.
âYes⌠Yes, I miss you tooâŚâ she pants.
âBeen so longâŚDid you forget me?â you ask, hooking your fingers into her shorts, and pulling them down her legs.
âNeed me to refresh your memory?â you ask.
âPleaseâŚâ she begs.
You press a kiss to her thigh, causing her hips to jerk forward again.Â
âMaybe just⌠a little reminder of what it was likeâŚâ you taunt.
Her hand reaches for yours, holding her hip bones, twisting her finger with yours. You use your free hand to slide your middle and ring fingers through her center, collecting the wetness.Â
âMmmm⌠thatâs my fuckinâ girl right there. Gorgeous little thing so ready for me.â you say, letting your thumb connect with her clit.
âJacobâŚâ she groans.
âItâs been too long hasnât it?â you ask, letting your middle finger slide into her.
Oh shit. You feel your dick twitch in your boxers and you know that this is doing just as much for you as it is for her.
You let your finger slide against her walls, pressing into her sweet spot as her body begs for more.
You pull your finger out of her and push her legs apart as you attach your mouth to her center. You let your tongue swipe through her folds, before positioning it at her opening and pressing forward. The sounds leaving her mouth are pure ecstasy, and you wish you could bottle it for a rainy day.
You let your tongue begin to flick back and forth over her clit as you push two fingers inside of her again.
Her hand returns to your head, pulling you down onto her harder as you feel her insides fluttering.Â
âTaste so fucking good baby. So fucking perfect. Never get enough of you.â you groan against her.Â
You let your other hand come up and roll her left nipple between your fingers as her hips begin to buck into your mouth.Â
âJake, Iâm close, I donât want it to be overâŚâ she whines.
âI know baby, me either. You feel so fucking good on my tongue, wanna stay here forever. But I want you to cum for me. Want to make you feel good. Miss hearing my girl say my name.â you coax.
As you continue to flick your tongue across her clit you feel her legs snap up around you, and her walls tighten against your fingers. With a blow of cold air against her clit and reattaching your lips to suck it into your mouth, your name is echoing through the house as she releases onto your tongue. She rides the high for a minute or two, before letting her legs fall back to the side. You place a kiss on her groin and slide off the bottom of the bed to the bathroom to grab a washcloth.Â
When you return you see her sitting up in the bed, waiting for you to come back.Â
âHere, I tried to wait for the water to warm up, I just didnât want to be too long.â you say, handing her the cloth.Â
A few minutes later she is pulling her shorts back on, and fixing the strap of her top.Â
She stands up from the bed and grabs her pillow, before attempting to fix the sheets. You grab her hand as she starts to walk away, âNo, nonononoâŚ.please stay baby.â you plead.
She lets out a sigh, clearly conflicted about what to do.Â
âThe rules are already broken babe. Come back to bed. Let me hold you. Sleep so good with you hereâŚâ you beg.
She climbs back in and cuddles up next to you, letting another deep breath leave her lips.
âWhatâs wrong love, was it not good?â you ask.
âNo, it was amazing, JakeâŚSo good⌠I justâŚâ she says, fighting off tears.
âWhat, tell meâŚâ you breathe.
âI just love you so much and miss you so bad, and I feel like youâll regret doing that in the morning. We have so much to work on andâŚâ she says, a tear slipping out of her eye.Â
âNo. I will never, ever regret making you feel good. Not ever. I know we both decided we werenât going to do that, and that we were going to take things slowly and give ourselves time. But we live together, and we are bound to slip up. Itâs human nature. Iâm attracted to you and youâre attracted to me. I want to make you feel good and you want to make me feel good. As long as we donât make it a habit, I think itâs okay. At least, Iâm okay with it.â you giggle.
âNo, youâre right. I justâŚfeel like I am the one who should beâŚmaking amends.â she sniffles.
âBaby youâve already made more amends than you know. Everyday we are getting better, even if it doesnât feel like it. A small step forward is still a step. And I need to make amends to you too.â you say.
âOkay. Iâm sorry I didnâtâŚyou know.â she said.Â
âDonât be sorry, that was as satisfying for me as it was for you. You know that is one of my favorite things. I miss you too, you know. All of you. All the time.â you say, kissing her forehead.Â
She twists around in your arms, fitting her body perfectly with yours. You pull the duvet up over the two of you, before sliding your hand under her top, and letting your thumb gently glide over the set of stars marked in her skin. Itâs not long before she is passed out in your arms. And as you held her close, you closed your eyes feeling perfectly content to stay right here with her, like this, for the rest of your life.
â
You startled awake, sitting up in the bed to find her gone once again. You rested back down into the pillows, a familiar smell filling your nose causing your mouth to water. Surely notâŚ
You grab your phone and look at the texts waiting for you, deciding none of them were more important than what was going on in your kitchen at the current moment.
You threw the duvet off of you and stood from the bed, hearing your joints pop and crack. You stretched your arms over your head with a yawn, before opening the bedroom door and peeking into the hallway. Soft music was playing from the kitchen speaker as you quietly made your way down the hallway. You stopped just short of the kitchen, standing back and watching as Y/N ladled pancake batter into the skillet as she hummed along quietly to the music.
You snuck up behind her, wrapping your arms around her waist as she jumped with surprise.
âJake! Holy shitâŚâ she pants.
âI thought part of this deal was that we were going to listen to Sam CookeâŚâ you growled into her neck as she flipped the pancakes.
âItâs a Sam Cooke playlist⌠Does that count?â she laughs.
You nodded and released her, walking over to the coffee pot, grabbing the mug she left for you and filling it to the top. You took a seat at the island, resting your elbows on the counter as you watched her continue to cook. She peered over her shoulder at you a few times just smiling, probably feeling the same way you were feeling.Â
âIâve decided you canât wear that anymore.â you say, gesturing to her pajamas.
âWhat?â she asks, turning to face you.
âThat little thingâŚIf we are following the rules you cannot wear thatâŚâ you plead.
âWhy, you like it?â she smirks.
âSomething like that.â you say, raising your eyebrows.
âWhat happens when you find out I have like 5 more in different colors?â she asks.
âI become a tortured man.â you laugh.
âOkay tortured man, come get your pancakes.â she quips.
You stack them high on your plate, ready to completely devour the meal you'd been craving for weeks. As you sit across from her at the table you look up at her, smiling as she watches you eat.
âWhat?â you laugh.
âNothing, youâre justâŚâ she trails off.
âIâm what!â you prod.
âSweet.â she smiles.
âSweet, huh?â you say, dipping your finger in the syrup and swiping it over her lips playfully.
âHey!â she says, swiping her syrup finger over your lips.
You tap her cheek, leaving a sugary sweet drop on her dimple as she laughs.
Next thing you know her finger is brushing your cheek, mirroring your actions.Â
You both pause, looking at each other for just a second too long before she's launching into your lap and connecting your lips to hers. You wrap your sticky hands around her waist, pulling her down onto you as your tongue tastes the sweet maple sugar on her lips.Â
Your hips press up into her causing a whimper to leave her mouth. She pulls away, staring at you so closely you can see your own reflection in her eyes, âStarting fresh.â
âYes. Starting fresh.â you say, pulling her in for one more kiss. She lets her tongue swipe across your lips before peeking in ever so slightly. Suddenly she's pulling away, and standing from your lap, leaving your noticeable erection in open view.Â
Her eyes flick down to it, and her breath catches before swallowing back her emotions.Â
âThank you for the pancakes... Same time next week?â
---
HER POV
âBaaaaabe!â You hear Jake call from his study.Â
âYeaaaaah?â You call back smiling, hearing his voice call you by your favorite name in the world again, making your insides do flips.Â
âJosh is coming over in a little bit! Donât be naked or anything!â He says.Â
Jesus, Jacob. You laughed as you folded the laundry on the couch. You scoffed again, picking up a giant unfolded pile of his clothes and rushing through the house. You found him relaxed back in his giant leather chair, strumming away in nothing but his boxers. You snuck behind him, dumping all the clothing in your arms overtop of him before running away.Â
âYou donât be naked!â You giggled as you ran back to the guest room and locked yourself away before he could jump up and catch you.Â
âHey! What the hell!â You heard him yell and chuckle as you heard his heavy footsteps hitting the wood floor toward you. You held your ear against the door to listen to him try and get in. He jiggled the old door handle, knocking quietly right against your ear on the other side.Â
âOpen up, loveâŚyou canât get away that easilyâŚâ he muttered quietly, rapping his fingernails against the door. You giggled, staying quiet to see what his next move would be. âY/N, you canât stay in there all dayâŚâ
âYeah I can, Iâve been doing it for the past few weeksâŚdonât underestimate me, babe.â You said through the door.Â
You spoke on deaf ears, hearing his footsteps trail away. Ah. Guess he doesnât want to play anymore. You walked backwards to the bed, sitting on it gently still waiting for something to happen.Â
A few seconds later you heard the handle rustle again, as you watched it turn in completion, and the door slowly push open. He stood in the threshold, left arm full of wrinkled laundry, and his right hand lighted high, holding something small that hung from an old long piece of leather string.Â
âYou forget Iâve got a skeleton key, love?â He said through a sly smile.Â
Oh shit.Â
The pile of laundry was suddenly thrown back on you, making a mess of your perfectly made bed. He ran back out of the room as you gathered the clothes and ran off toward him for your revenge. You found him seated on the couch where you just were, silently folding the laundry left behind. He raised his eyebrows to you, knowing that he was in a place that you couldnât get him.Â
âTouchĂŠ, Jake. TouchĂŠ.âÂ
Just then you heard knocks on the front door as you saw the poof of Joshâs hair poke inside. âHello! Anybody home? I come bearing gifts!â
You walked toward the door, meeting him there and taking a few things from his hands. âHey! Whatâs going on?â You greeted him with a smile.Â
âNothing just stopped by the store and thought Jake might want these.â He said, pulling a pack of something out of a brown bag. Jake trodded into the kitchen, still in just his boxers, and started digging around in the bags.Â
âHere, look what I found!â Josh said, throwing the pack through the air to Jake. He caught them and read the packaging.Â
âPedialyte popsicles?! I didnât even know they made these!â Jake said, rushing to the freezer to throw them in.Â
âMe neither. We used to tear a whole pack of those things up in one day as kids. Mom would keep extras in the freezer all summer long, remember?â Josh said, pulling more things from the bags. âAnd youâre probably still dehydrated, so. Itâs a win win!â
âThanks brother, Iâm actually very excited to eat those. How are you feeling?â Jake asked.Â
âMuch betterâŚmy throat, though.â He said, grabbing across his neck. âStill scratchy as hell. Iâm actually glad that we decided to take some time. I wouldâve sounded like shit.âÂ
âYou always sound like shit.â Jake quipped, popping some cashews into his mouth.Â
âFuck you, you sing then.â Josh said.Â
âNo, I donât want to. I canât anyway.â Jake said, pulling some gatorades from the plastic holder.Â
âYes you can, Jake are you joking?â You added. âYou should hear yourself in the shower.â
He blushed a little. âAhh, nah. Not my forte, unfortunately. Maybe one day.â
âOne day like the next album, one day?â Josh said, silencing the room and raising one eyebrow to Jake.Â
Jake stood puzzled. âUhh, probably not, why? What is that brain of yours cooking up now?â
Josh stole the can of cashews from Jakeâs hand. âOh nothing, just had some cool thoughts about the next round.âÂ
âUh huh, and?â Jake pressed.Â
âI dunno. Iâve been wanting you guys to all sing with me for a long, long time. I know you know you can sing. Danny absolutely doesnât care to, Sam only agreed to backup, which is good too. I dunno, the fans always go nuts when you even speak, thought it might be cool to do something a little more intimate maybe.â You watched Jakeâs face as he listened to Josh talk, his own wheels spinning.Â
âLike something acoustic?â He added.Â
âExactly.âÂ
âHm. That might be a really neat switch up. Very interesting.â He said, leaning his elbows on the countertop. âCould bring back some oldies, evenâŚâÂ
âYes, I was thinking that too. We already know the basic premise of this next one, and how we wanna do it. Itâd be really cool to touch back to the past a little bit. Really reconnect with the roots of things, you know?â Josh said, licking his teeth. âAnyway, thatâs for a later discussion. Just thought Iâd put it in your head.â
âIâll definitely think about it. I hate to be a bad host, but Iâm gonna go take a nap. These meds are still kicking my ass.â Jake said, running his hand through his hair.Â
âGoodnight brother.â Josh said, continuing to pull some random items out and put them into the fridge.Â
âYou can hang out, Josh. If you wanna. Iâm just bustling around the house today.â You said, wanting some company from him. You still felt like you needed to continue to connect with Josh, letting him see that you were serious this time.Â
The two of you went to sit on the porch, taking a couple of wine spritzers with you. Josh insisted that they were good, so you pulled out the red that Jake had gotten you last night and threw a little ice and sprite overtop. To your surprise, he was right.Â
âItâs warm today, huh?â He said, making his way to the porch swing.
âYeah, it is. Kinda weird for MarchâŚâ you let the conversation rest while you swang, watching the barren tree limbs sway in the wind. âJosh, I have a question. And be honest, okay?â You said, turning to face him.Â
âOkay, shoot.â He said.Â
âDo you think I should really come on tour with you guys? I mean, after everything, and Jake and I wanting to give each other spaceâŚI donât know. I didnât tell him I was thinking about it, but. I just wanted your opinion.â You relented.Â
He sighed, tilting back the last of his spritzer. âYou kind of donât have a choice, babe. Remember that little piece of paper you signed?â He winced, not wanting to remind you of your contract.Â
Shit. âYeah, I remember that. I justâŚwant to give him what he needs. And if Iâm there all the time, ya know.â
âI know. I get it. Maybe this can be like, your allâs first challenge together. If youâre both wanting to grow and start fresh, this can be what tests you the most. Maybe look at it like that.â He said, offering an alternative thought process. âMaybe look at it as a blessing in disguise, that you each still get to be with your favorite person, watching over each other while growing together. Growing into the person each of you needs. Think of it like that.â He smiled.Â
Hmm. You really hadnât looked at it that way.Â
âThatâs actually a good way to put it, Josh. Everything with us has always been cut and dry, weâve given each other more heartache than I care to admit. Me more on the giving side of it than him. And I donât know, Iâm just. Ready to be away from that version of myself.â You said, being completely honest. âIâm tired of her. Iâm too young to be wasting my good years on being a bad person.âÂ
He looked to the sky again, before he took a short breath. âDo you love yourself, Y/N?âÂ
Your face fell. Your stomach fell, your entire body felt shifted by that question. Wow, youâd never asked yourself?
Your expression scrunched up. You looked away into the trees again as the breeze picked up, pushing some forgotten leaves across the yard.Â
âNo, Josh. I donât think I doâŚâ you whispered, admitting it to yourself and him at the same time. You felt a spring of tears well up in your eyes, drowning your eyesight.Â
You felt his hand rest on the back of your neck, his touch feeling similar to Jakeâs, but in a more comforting way. âWell then, how do you expect to give all your love to him when you donât even have enough to give yourself?âÂ
The tears fell harder now as you nodded, looking to him while catching them as they tumbled. âYouâre right, Iâve neverâŚIâve never thought of that. Like that, beforeâŚI guess.âÂ
âY/N, when was the last time you felt truly happy with yourself, by yourself, alone? Like everything was gonna be okay, everything was going to positively work out?â He asked, his fingers grazing your neck.Â
You thought long and hard over the past few years, all the ups and downs, all the heartache. All the terror from Andy, the uncertainty with Sam, and with Jake, and the world you more recently chose to put yourself in. The one that brought you nothing but heartache. The bad decisions and the good ones, the true happiness and the times you put only yourself first instead of everyone else.Â
âI donât know, I donât know.â You shook your head, truly unable to answer him. âI donât think I can remember, Josh.â
He brought his lips between his teeth and bit them hard. âWell then, letâs start there.â
You looked to him, feeling confused. âWhat do you mean?â
âLetâs figure out ways to make you love yourself again. I know itâs in there, weâve just gotta find it.â He said again through a smile, shaking his glass of watery ice.Â
âWe?â You asked.Â
âYeah, we. Us. We donât have to tell anybody. Just our secret.â He said, training his eyes on the clouds moving quickly over the sun.Â
You felt overcome. You didnât deserve thisâŚdidnât deserve him and his kindness.Â
âJosh, I canât let you do that, help me like this. I- this is my shit, not yours.â You complained.
âShh. You love my brother, right?â He asked.Â
âYes, more than anything in the world.â Honestly.Â
âAnd so weâre family, right?â He asked again.Â
âRight, yes. But, Josh, you still should hate me right now, be so disappointed in me that you could hardly stand to be around me, the way I hurt him.â You said.Â
âHate is a big word, Y/N. And I donât have enough room in my heart for it. Iâd rather fill it up with good things, with love and acceptance. So thatâs what Iâm going to do for you. Fill my heart back up with love for you, even though itâs going to take me a while. Iâm human. Iâm still disappointed in you.â He sipped from his glass. âBut Iâll take that journey. As long as you can promise me youâll fill your heart back up with love for you. Does that make sense?âÂ
You nodded. âI think so, yeah, it doesâŚâ
âLoveâs a two way street. And you owe it to him to give yourself enough grace to find it yourself. So you can repay him. Heâs not at all innocent, either but. Thatâs another conversation.â
The two of you continued to swing, falling silent again as you watched birds walk through the grass, the cold ground giving them little sustenance.Â
âYou know Josh, they really donât make them like you anymore, seriously. Youâre a one in a million person. And Iâm truly thankful for you.â You said, already feeling more at peace than you had in a while.Â
He started laughing. âWhat? Whatâs so funny?â You asked, your remnant tears turning into giggles.Â
âThe universe didnât make me one in a million, babe. It made me two in a million.â He joked.Â
âShut up!â You said, pushing his shoulder, laughing as hard as him now.Â
âWeâd be too much for one earthly body to handle anyway, yeah?â He said, throwing the rest of his now watered drink into the grass.Â
âYeah. Iâm glad you guys split up in the womb. Now I can love you both double time.â You gave him a cheesy smile.Â
He grinned hard. âJust make sure you give him a little bit more, okay? Promise?â
âI promise, Josh.â You put your hand over your heart. He clinked his empty glass with yours.Â
âDo you ever feel like youâre only half of a person?â You asked him, catching him off guard.Â
âUm, yeah actually. Sometimes.â
âWhen?â You pressed.Â
âWhen I havenât been around Jake in a whileâŚI start to feel kinda. Strangely incompleteâŚ? I guess is the best way of putting it. And like my compass starts to go haywireâŚâ
âLike you never know which direction to take? Because none of them make sense until youâre back with him?â You answered blankly, eyes fixed on a knot in the wood of the porch.Â
âYeah, exactly like that, actuallyâŚWhy?â he trailed off.Â
You perked up, moving your eyes to meet with his. âNo reason, just. Wondering.âÂ
âShall we have another?â He asked.Â
âAbsolutely, if youâre offering!â You said, getting up to follow him back into the house.Â
After mixing another round, you both retreated back to the porch swing again, talking about life and music and traveling, all the places you were excited to visit.Â
âHave you ever kept a journal, Y/N?â He asked.Â
You crunched a large piece of ice. âNo, I donât think I have. Not since I was a kid.â
âMaybe you should. Might help you out a little. Also would be cool for my nieces and nephews to have a day-by-day account of their parentsâ journey on the Dreams in Gold circus, huh?â He said, raising his eyebrows and drink into the air.Â
You felt your body warm, and your cheeks grow pink, the lump in your throat growing too large to ignore.
âIâll go get one tomorrow. Promise.â
ââ
After a couple more spritzers and really good conversation with Josh, you found yourselves relaxed still on the porch swing, letting the warm air take you away. Youâd thrown your legs over his lap now as you swung, talking more and more about nothing at all. The sun was beginning to set, and the warm glow of the early spring sunlight was illuminating everything it touched.Â
âYour eyes turn caramel in the sun just like Jakeâs do.â You told him as he swung.Â
âAh, thank you dahling. Arenât they pretty?â He joked as he flicked his long eyelashes at you over and over. âSpeaking of, that jackass has been asleep for hours. He sleep like this a lot?âÂ
âYeah, his medicine makes him exhausted. Iâm just glad heâs resting.â You said.Â
âYeah, me too. Hey, yoga tomorrow at 9am. Wanna go?â Josh asked.Â
You sighed. âYeah, sounds good to me. Gotta start somewhere, huh?â
âYep. Youâll love it, I promise. Also, what do you think about maybe doing a family dinner tomorrow? Like old times, everybody really misses each other.â He suggested.Â
âOh, yes please! I think that would be great. I miss family dinners. Everyone can come here?â you said.Â
âPerfect! You think Jake will be up for cooking?â He asks.Â
âHe will be if we tell him he isâŚâ you laughed, sipping the last of your spritzer.Â
ââ
JAKE POV
You can hear her voice, it's muffled and jumbled and you canât quite make out any words, but you know itâs hers. You can almost picture her, floating above you reaching her hand out to have you follow her into an unknown place where the two of you can just exist together, and nothing bad ever happens.Â
Your eyes crack open, the room bathed in the light coming in between the curtains. You yawn as you realize how long you had slept. You heard her voice again, and figured out her voice was drifting into your dream, as she sat on the porch talking to Josh. He must not have left after you went to sleep.Â
You got up and walked over to the front door, but just as you were about to open it you stopped yourself. Whatever they were talking about seemed almostâŚprivate. You peeked out the window and saw him talking to her, using his hands as he explained whatever it was they were talking about, and you smiled. You loved seeing him talk to her. Bond with her. You hoped he loved her too.Â
As you walked up the stairs you let your mind drift off, wondering what would have happened if you never left that hospital. Would he have helped her? Would she have helped him? Would they have made it through something like that? You couldnât imagine the roles reversed. Youâd never be the same without him.Â
You walked into the spare room, sitting down at your desk, so carefully crafted with art supplies, seeing the new paint and brushes sitting at the top. You smiled, thinking back to last night, and how excited she was to show you all of the things she bought you. It felt good to know that you were on her mind just as much as she was on yours.Â
You knew your fans were on pins and needles waiting to hear any kind of update after the cancelation of the shows. You were going to write to them, and tell them everything. Give them hope that you would be back, and stronger than before. Because truthfully, you would.Â
You grabbed a pen and your sketchbook, opening it up and flipping through to find the first blank page. You spent the next thirty minutes meticulously crafting a letter of hope and resilience in the face of uncertainty, and you hoped your message came through. You signed your name with all the love you had, and capped your pen, carefully tearing the page from the book.Â
As you went to close the book, you flipped through, seeing a few old drawings you started and abandoned, telling yourself you'd come back to them one day, but always having a reason not to. But one, your favorite one, was finished. You stared at it, taking in the curves of her body as you drew them that night from memory, wishing now, that you could go back.
Something caught your eye in the very bottom left hand corner, something that looked like pencil markings from the other side of the paper. Puzzled, you flipped it over to find something that tore your heart to shreds with the first words.
To my JakeâŚ
I never knew youâd drawn thisâŚdrawn me, in such a perfect way that I really donât resemble in the least.Â
If I could re-pose, and have you draw me from memory again, Iâd be filled with holes, and tears and scratchesâŚbecause thatâs how I feel right now. Like I donât deserve to be looked at in the light that you always saw me in.Â
Iâm so sorry I did what I did.
Iâm so sorry I canât take it back.
And Iâm so sorry I never got to be the picture of perfection that you always said I was. Â
Thank you for being the best thing in my life.
Iâll never love another thing as much as I love you..
Youâll never leave my mind.
She loves you, always.
Then perfectly at the bottom, a lyric from the song you danced to in the kitchen, not long before both of your worlds were changed forever.Â
âHoney, nothinââŚnothinâ can ever change this love I have for youâŚâ
It felt like your heart had been ripped from your chest. How could she ever think she was anything less than perfect? Sure she had made her share of mistakes but you didnât realize how deep those wounds were for her. She had to have written this before you left for Michigan. When you left her here sad and alone without a second thought. Before you said all of those terrible things. You had only made it worse for her.Â
 You knew she wrote this with hopes that one day you would find it. That one day when she was long gone and a distant memory, maybe youâd forgive her for what she did. She never thought it would be this soon, or that sheâd still be here, or that youâd already forgiven her. Though you hadnât told her that, it was true. It was true the second you saw her in that hospital.Â
You gently ripped the page from the leatherbound book and read it over and over, her heartfelt ode to you made in some of her darkest days. You pushed your chair back standing and grabbing your letter and hers, making your way downstairs. You found your way into your study, examining the walls, looking for a frame to repurpose. You grabbed the thick gold frame near the door, and popped the back off of it, pulling the magazine cover out and tossing it on the couch. You grabbed her letter, and placed it inside before securing the back again and hanging it on the wall.Â
You took a step back and swallowed your emotions, seeing her love for you, physically hanging on the wall in front of you. Something you could look at every single day and know was real.Â
You grabbed the old magazine and placed it on your bookshelf, before grabbing your letter and clearing your throat. You walked to the front door twisting the knob and stepping out into the slightly warmer than normal air.Â
âWell there he isâŚâ Josh crooned.
âYeah, yeah, I told you, that shit makes me tired.â you said, stepping up to the two of them on the swing.
âSo I wrote this, I was going to post it on my instagram later if you think itâs okay.â you said, nervously handing the note to Josh.
He raises his eyebrows at you and begins to read it. You nervously flick your eyes over to Y/N, seeing her pink cheeks and a buzzed smile on her lips.
âSleep okay?â she grins.
âYeah, was a little cold though.â you say sending her a wink.
âI think this sounds great Jake. But I have to ask which version of Thesaurus youâre using, because I don't think mine has some of these words in it.â he says handing the paper back to you.
âKiss my ass.â you quip, snatching the paper from him.Â
âCan I read it?â she asks looking up at you.
You hand it to her watching her eyes read over each line.Â
âItâs perfect Jake.â she smiles.
âYou think I should post it?â you ask.
âYeah, people are going to absolutely flood your socials though, but you already know that.â Josh laughs.
âThat I do.â you smile. âOkay, Iâm gonna go post it and thenâŚIâll start on something for dinner. Josh you staying?â you ask.
âNah, Iâm about to head out, but hey, Iâll swing by tomorrow and pick you up okay?â he says, tapping Y/Nâs knee.Â
âYep! Iâll be ready!â she smiles, both of them standing up from the swing.Â
âLater!â he says, skipping down the steps to his car.Â
You open the front door, letting her walk in as you wave him off and shut the door behind you.
â
You watched the comments filled with love and encouragement roll in as you sat at the table eating. You flipped your phone over, and continued to eat, as she looked over to you.
âDoes it ever get annoying?â she asks.
âWhat, my phone?â you ask.
âYeah, just the constant notifications and stuff.â she says.
âNo, not annoying. You just have to know how to manage it and youâre golden. There were once days where we wished people would just leave one comment on our post. Just like one of our videos. Share our music with their friends. Now look. I wish I could respond to every single comment or message but, I would be buried in seconds. I just mute my notifications, and when I get bored I will look through them. Usually on the bus after a show when my adrenaline is still high. I see people's posts from the shows and all that. Kind of exciting. Feels like we made it, ya know?â
âJake, you guys are playing with Metallica in a few weeks. Youâve most definitely made it!â she laughs.Â
âYeah, thatâs true. Sometimes I canât believe it myself. I always wonder what life would be like if we never made it out of the garage. If I never dragged Josh and Sam in there in the first place.â you ponder.
âGuess weâll never know.â she says, smiling.Â
âOh, Josh and I were talking about maybe reinstating family dinner night?â she says.
âWere you⌠I was wondering what you two were talking about out there.â you reply.
âWhat do you think about everyone coming over here tomorrow night. Danny and Sammy miss you.â she says, knowing exactly how to pull on your heartstrings.
âMmmmâŚOkay, yeah I can probably do that.â you agree.Â
âMaybe we can make that spaghetti sauce tomorrow and have that for dinner?â she asks.
âYou wanna help me make it?â you ask.
âYes!â she says.
âAre you sureâŚIt takes all dayâŚâ you taunt.
âYes, JacobâŚâ she grins.
âOkay. Sounds like a plan. I can text the guys.â you say grabbing your phone.
âIâm going to yoga with Josh in the morning, then I am your sous-chef all dayâŚâ she says as she grabs your empty plate. âIâll clean up tonight. You go relax.âÂ
âYou sure, love?â you ask.
âYep, take a popsicle!â she giggles.
âYou know what I think I will.â you say, opening the freezer and tearing one from the package. You stare at her for a second, dying to kiss her, but taking a deep breath instead and turning on your heels to head down the hallway.
â
A little while later as you are flipping through the pages of your book, you hear the guest room door open and smile. You sit up in your bed and push your glasses onto your head, folding the page to keep your place.Â
A few seconds later you hear a gentle knock at your door and see her head peek in.Â
âJake?â she calls out.
âHello strangerâŚâ you reply.
She steps into the room, in a big t-shirt and a pair of shorts, her hair hanging damp around her shoulders.Â
âJust coming to see if my nightly attire is more suitable for your liking.â she says.
âCome here, let me get a better look.â you tease.
She walks over to the side of your bed, sitting on the edge as you look her up and down.Â
âWell, this is one of my favorite things to see you in, though I prefer the no shorts version.â you say tugging on her shirt. âThis definitely leaves more to my imagination, though to be completely honest I am still picturing you in the other thing, so it doesnât really matter.â you laugh. âIâm wholeheartedly convinced you could wear a potato sack and I would still want you.â
She laughs and pushes your shoulder back, seeing the book on your chest.Â
âDo you like it? Is it good so far?â she asks.
âItâs so good. So so good, can hardly put it down.â you admit.Â
âYou want to just read your book tonight? Those drinks earlier have me feeling a little sleepy anywaysâŚâ she says.
âWhatever you wanna do baby, up to you.â you answer.Â
âI mean, I really do want to watch our show but I donât know if I will even make it five minutes if I lay down in this bedâŚâ she says.Â
âSo?â you question.
âSo, we canât keep sleeping togetherâŚâ she says.
âWhy not?â you ask.
âBecauseâŚI donât know⌠we arenât together. We shouldnât be sleeping together. I donât know, it makes sense in my head. Itâs been like every night since we got backâŚâ she tries to reason.
âHmmm. I see your point. But the first night was an accident, and last night was⌠well, whatever that was. If you want to sleep separately that's fine, I justâŚknow we both sleep better together.â
âWell I donât want to, but I feel like we have to.â she says.
âIâm playing by your rules here, so again, your call, I'm fine either way.â you respond.Â
âOkay, how about we watch one, but if I fall asleep you wake me up, and I will go to the guest room?â she asks.
âOkay.â you nod.
âOkay.â she says.
You close your book and glasses and set them on the nightstand, turning on the TV and turning off your lamp. She walks around to the other side of the bed, claiming her place as the episode starts.Â
By the 10 minute mark you look over and see her completely passed out. She wasnât kidding. You pause the episode and turn off the TV, pulling the blankets up over her arms as a gentle snore leaves her chest.Â
You reach over and grab your book and glasses, turning the lamp back on, careful to see if it wakes her up, and when it doesn't you find your place in your book and listen to her quiet breathing as you drift back into the pages.Â
An hour or so later, you find your eyelids growing heavy, and she has barely moved. You put your things back on the nightstand, and turn off the lamp. You roll over towards her, and smooth your hand over her peaceful face, causing her eyelids to crack open.Â
âHey babyâŚyou fell asleepâŚâ you whisper.
She groans as she shuts her eyes closed tight.Â
âDo you want to go back to your room?â you ask.Â
âNooooâŚ.â she whines.Â
âYou told me to wake you up. You donât want to sleep in here with me, remember?â you say, trying to gently remind her.Â
She doesnât respond, instead grabbing your hand to try and quell you.Â
âY/NâŚâ you whisper.
âShhhhhâŚ..â she breathes pulling herself closer to you. You feel guilty that youâre letting her go back on what she said she wanted but you werenât going to pass this up.
Giving it one last attempt you run your hand up her arm, âYou want me to carry you in there?â you ask.
âNo, gonna stay hereâŚâ she mumbles.
You give in, wrapping your arms around her, pulling her tightly into you as you feel her body relax.Â
âDonât want you to be mad at me in the morning, love.â you breathe.
âNot mad. Start fresh tomorrow. Start over tomorrowâŚâ she says, right before falling back asleep.
You pull her close to rest on your shoulder, kissing her forehead as you release a relaxed breath, âYeah baby, we can start fresh tomorrowâŚâ
â
The sound of rummaging in your closet woke you from your dreamless sleep, and the blurriness that covered your eyes only half revealed her silhouette fingering through your hangers.Â
âWhatcha doin sunshine?â You growled, chest still heavy from the lingering cough.Â
âOh gosh, Iâm sorry. I didnât mean to wake you up. Iâm justâŚheading to yoga with Josh and I was gonna borrow a flannel. Itâs not cold enough for a jacket, and not warm enough for nothingâŚah, here it is.â
You grinned as you sat up, finally seeing her full figure in plain view. âAnd who says you can steal my clothes anytime you want?â You joked.Â
She slipped the oversized shirt on her arms as she walked toward your side of the bed, clad in tight black leggings and a beige sports bra. You felt your eyes grow huge as she came into better view.Â
âThe person that does all your laundry, Iâd suppose.â She winked as she tapped your nose with her pointer finger.Â
âUhh, are you wearing that? To yoga? Can I come? I donât want to participate I just wannaâŚyâknow, watchâŚâ you had no shame in letting your eyes travel up and down her body, taking in the sight of her.Â
âThereâs not much to watch, Jake. What do you mean?â She asked as she sat on the bed to slip on her tennis shoes.Â
âI dunno, you just lookâŚreally goodâŚtoday.â You felt your mouth salivating as you watched her bend to tie her shoelaces, an act so mundane but had you absolutely enraptured. Yeah, youâve still got it bad. So, so bad.Â
She stood up from the bed, turning to face you again. Her barely-covered midriff was right in front of your face, and it took everything in you not to wrap your arms around her, grab her ass and pull her forwardâŚ
âWell thank you, babe. Thatâs nice. And yes, you can come to yoga, but you have to participate. And I donât think you want to do that, do you?â She said softly, trailing her fingertip lightly down your cheek and under your chin, lifting it to look her in the eyes. You felt yourself physically gulp.Â
âNo, but can you show me what you learned when you get home tonight? Maybe like, donât change clothesâŚand maybe, here, on the bed?â You rubbed your hand along the sheets, smiling as you talked your talk.Â
She giggled hard. âNo Jake, thatâd be breaking the rules. But maybe once Iâm an expert, I can show you what Iâve learned without my workout clothes on. You know⌠how flexible Iâve gotten?â
Jesus ChristâŚ
âYeah. Yes, please. Go on, youâre gonna be late. Go become an expert, like... Tomorrow. GoâŚâ you pushed her out of the way, urging her to go in before you let your urge get the best of you.Â
âIâll see you later, donât forget your pills! Last ones and youâre a free man!â She laughed as she bounded out your bedroom door, her braid swinging down her back as she left.Â
HER POV
You climbed into the passenger side of Joshâs car at promptly 8:35am, throwing your backpack into the backseat.Â
âMorning! I got you a juice from that new place downtown, theyâre so fuckin' good, I had to share.â He said, pointing to the cup holder.Â
âOh my god, Josh! Thatâs so nice of you, you didnât have to do that!â You said, picking up the small cup full of bright green liquid. âWhatâs in it?â
âI dunno, kale and greens and carrots and shit. But itâs really good. Iâm keeping it a secret from Sam so he doesnât claim he found out about it first.â He said, pulling his sun visor down to block the morning rays. âSo, you can buy your mat there, they sell nice ones for pretty cheap. And youâll get to meet our instructor, Ms. Opal. Sheâs been doing this for like 25 years. She owns the place, too.â
âPerfect. Iâm really excited!â But you were also nervous, and anxious to be starting something so new, and so out of your comfort zone. But you had Josh by your side, so you knew it was going to be great no matter what.Â
He drove you down some backstreets that twisted and turned, until you finally pulled through a cluster of old Oak trees, revealing a tiny cottage-like structure that looked too old to be in the middle of the now bustling town. It had an old wooden front porch, an orange door, and wind chimes hanging from the roof of the porch, catching the sun and sending tiny rainbows all over the parking area.Â
There were a few other cars there, but not many. As you walked inside, you could smell the faint smell of patchouli and Nag Champa, and the sound of peaceful flute music playing from a room in the distance. All of the doors and windows were open, despite the chilly morning air. Immediately upon entering the cottage, you felt an overwhelming peace that you could hardly even describe.Â
âJoshua, my love! How are you this morning? I thought you wouldnât be joining us for a few months?â A middle-aged woman came floating into the room, two long gray braids falling in front of her shoulders, her dark-complected face worn with years of smiling too much. She brought Josh into a big and friendly hug, her presence and energy matching Joshâs so perfectly you could cry.Â
âMorning Ms. OpalâŚlittle change in plans, weâll be here for a little bit longer. Ah, this is my friend, well, sister, really. Y/N.â He introduced you. âWeâre going to do the beginnerâs class today.â
âHello, child. A beginner, hmm? Itâs so great to meet you!â She brought you in for a warm hug, too, moving her hand up and down your back like sheâd known you for years. âI hope youâre excited to be here, itâs a beautiful morning. And, the moon is a waxing crescent tonight, perfect timing to bring her to me, Joshua.â She winked to him.Â
âI am excited, maâam. Itâs so nice to meet you, too.â You offered her your kindest smile. Josh walked you over to pick out the perfect new mat, and to enroll you in the beginners classes. You entered the room, along with just a few other people who seemingly didnât know, or didnât care, that they were in the presence of a famous rock star. You flattened your mat out in the corner. Josh placed his mat and himself next to you taking a seat at the base of his mat.Â
He looked your way, giving you a soft smile. âYou ready?â
ââ
JAKE POV
The security system chimed as the front door opened, your eyes shooting to the clock on the wall.Â
Shit.
You jumped up from the couch and turned off the TV knowing she was going to be stepping in any second. You looked around the room looking for anything you could pick up to make it seem like you were productive while she was gone, and hadnât sat on the couch flipping through Premier League games all morning.Â
âHi!â she says, tossing your flannel on the couch.
âHey, how was your yoga classâŚâ you said, resting against the door jam.
âActually, it was so great. I wasnât sure about it but, the instructor was so nice and so helpful, and Josh really knows his stuff too. I will definitely be going back.â she smiled.
âYou were gone for a while, how long are those things?â you joked.
âOh, it was only an hour but I stopped at the store to get thisâŚâ she said, pulling a small blue journal from a plastic bag. âJosh said he thought it might be helpful for me to keep a journal, so⌠we went and got one after class before he dropped me off.âÂ
âCool babyâŚHe has always had one, not surprised he suggested that.â you laugh.Â
âYeah, might be cool to look back on one day and see what was going on in our lives.â she said, walking over to you.Â
âWe gonna start that sauce soon?â she asks, stepping in front of you.Â
You let your hands grip into her bare waist and pull her closer, âMmmhmâŚbut youâŚare gonna have to change or stay far, far away from me.â you growl.
âYou have seen me wear this stuff a million times Jake, what is your deal?â she laughs.Â
âWell, seeing you in it and knowing I canât have you makes it about a million times worse.â you admit, sliding your hands down to her hips.
She sighs and steps back, heading towards the guest room, âHopefully soonâŚIâm gonna take a shower, then we can start okay?â
You nod your head and release a deep breath as you watch her disappear into her room, wishing you were the one taking her clothes off.
â
Sadly, she did change, but still she was tempting you, in a little green dress youâd seen before, years ago. It tied at her shoulders and hit just at the middle of her thigh. So simple but still had your brain begging you to take it off of her.Â
You stood at the island finishing chopping the vegetables to dump into the simmering sauce, as she prepared the salad and put it in the fridge.Â
âIt smells so good, I am starvingâŚâ she whined.Â
âIt is always hard to wait, but itâs always worth it.â you winked.
âShould we do something with those beets tomorrow?â she asked.
âOh, yeah, I will google some recipes tonight and we can pick. Sound good?â you ask.
âBefore or after our show?â she smiles.
âI donât know, someone couldnât keep their eyes open last night. Didnât even make it ten minutesâŚâ you quip.
âUgh, I knowâŚbut I told you I didn't think I wouldâŚâ she says, placing the cutting board into the sink.Â
âMmhmm⌠then you didnât want to leaveâŚâ you said, flicking your eyes up to her as you slid the vegetables into the pot.Â
She turned around quickly pretending to ignore you.Â
âYou know you donât have to stay in the guest roomâŚâ you lilt.
âNo. No. I do.â she says, trying to convince herself. You smirk as you shake your head, wondering how much longer it will be before she caves.Â
âOkay baby, whatever you want.â you say, stirring the aromatic sauce.Â
She makes her way over to the pantry, grabbing a bottle of red wine from the shelf and spins to face you with a smile.
âIs it time?â she asks, cheerfully.
âYeah lover, go ahead Iâm not stopping you.â you encourage.Â
âWell, you finished your pillsâŚYou can have some with me?â she asks.
âOh yeah, I guess youâre right arenât you?â you say rubbing your chin, âPour me up, we can toast to good health.â
She grabs two glasses from the cabinet and hands you the bottle to remove the cork. She takes it back from you pouring the crimson wine into the glasses.Â
You each take one and tap them together, as she smiles and says, âSo glad you didnât leave us JakeâŚâ
You sip the sweet red and look at her, âCould never leave my girlâŚâ
â
As the sun started to set, a knock at the door had both of you turning to look.Â
âIâll grab it.â you said, mind already fuzzy from just two glasses of wine. Damn had you really been out of the game this long?
You twisted the knob seeing Sam and Elle bounding inside with smiles on their faces. Elle wrapped her arms around your neck and hugged you tight. âOh my gosh! You look so much better Jakey, so glad you are feeling better!âÂ
She let go and scampered off to the kitchen to find Y/N. Sam stepped in and shut the door behind him with a nervous smile.
âHey Sammy boyâŚâ you said, voice a little gravely.
âJake.â he nods.
You saw his lips turn upward with hope, his eyes still flicking around, nervous to make eye contact with you. He thinks you hate him. Time to fix this.
âHey come in here with me real quick.â you said, nodding towards the study.
He swallows nervously and follows you inside, sitting down on the couch. You walk over to the bar car and hold up a bottle of scotch towards him, âCare to partake?â you ask.
He shrugs his shoulders and nods, as you grab two glasses and pour a finger of the alcohol. You walk over to the couch taking a seat next to him as you hand him his glass.Â
You let out a deep breath as you relax into the cushion, âListen Sammy, I know things seem fucked up. They are. I know I was harsh the other night, I was still really mad. At you, at her, at myself for how I reacted. At the situation I was in. I have had a little bit of time to think about it and I just need you to know that I forgive you. Iâm not saying that itâs okay, itâs definitely not, but I am saying I want to move forward. Y/N are working through this. I want you and I to work through this. You're my little brother. My band mate. I donât want you to feel like you need to walk on eggshells around me. Everything's out in the open now. Part of me feels just as guilty for planning to sleep with your girl. None of us are innocent. I love Y/N, and I love you, and I want all of us to be happy again, okay? I found out that life is short, and Iâm not gonna spend it hating two of my favorite people.â
He nods his head and sips the scotch, âI really am sorry Jake. Neither of us were in our right minds. We both knew it was a mistake. I know that both of us wish we could take it back. I know that we canât, but I can tell you Iâm sorry, really truly sorry. In the hospital⌠shit Jake, you scared me so bad. I kept thinking about losing you and what I did, and how it left you and Y/N, and you couldnât even see her and⌠I never hated myself more than in that moment. I begged God or whoever was listening to let you pull through. To not let you lose that lung. Just wanted to hear you tell me to fuck off one more time.â he laughed.Â
âAnyways, Iâm planning to talk to Elle about it soon. Want to clear the air with everyone, make things right. Whatever that is going to cost me. Want to do right by you, too. Need to keep you around. Not gonna do this life without ya.â he smiles nervously.
âWell, consider it cleared between us. I love you. Promise Iâm not gonna leave ya, okay?â you say, putting your hand on his shoulder.
âOkay. Love you too.â he says shyly. âWow, canât believe we have said we love each other, again. Someone call Guinness!â
You shake your head and stand from the couch, raising your eye brows and smiling as you head towards the kitchen, âFuck offâŚâ
â
As you all stand around the kitchen island you hear the front door open and see Josh walking in with a bag of wine bottles.
âHelloooooâŚ.â his nasally new accent rings through the house.
âOh god, he is doing his Elle voice!â Y/N laughed, putting her hand on Elleâs arm.
âHis what?!â she scoffs.
âHe started doing this new voice and Iâm so sorry but it sounds just like you when you get tipsy.â Y/N says, laughing. âMe and Danny were talking about it the other day.â
You poke your head around the door frame to signify your location as he joins you all in the kitchen.Â
âI brought some bev-era-jiss for the gai-lsâŚâ he continues, placing the bag on the counter.
You raise an eyebrow to him and smirk, âWhat a lovely mustache you have, maâam.â
âOooh, yiss, tank you, I must cawl my waxa with the sticky pay-pasâŚâ he smiles.
âWe are not twins. There is just no fucking way.â you laugh, hearing the door chime again and Dannyâs booming voice fill the hall.
âHope you donât mind I brought a friendâŚâ he says, stepping into the kitchen with Logan behind him.
No fucking way.
âHey dude, nice place!â he says looking around the house.
âYeah, no problem at all, sup man.â you say shaking his hand.Â
âOh my gosh! Why didnât you tell me you were coming!â Y/N says, making her way over to give him a hug.
Itâs fine. Itâs totally cool.
Sam shoots you a side smirk, clearly knowing exactly what youâre thinking.
âI think everything is ready if we want to eat!â Y/N says.
âYeah, everybody grab a plate, help yourselves.â you say, motioning towards the stove.
Y/N makes her way over to you, leaning her head onto your shoulder as you both watch everyone happily fill their plates with the food the two of you prepared together, in the house you shared, and you smiled. She loves you, always.
â
âSo Logan, I heard youâve worked some pretty cool gigsâŚâ Sam said, striking up conversation as he twirled his spaghetti.
Great, here we goâŚ
âWell, yeah, right out of college I apprenticed with this guy Chuck, who was managing crew for Foreigner. Went all over with them. Those guys have still got it, let me tell you. Busted my ass on that tour.â he laughs. âBut it was great experience. Chuck got me in touch with someone else when the tour ended and I ended up going out with Joan Jett and her crew for a while. Just a short tour but that somehow ended up getting me on tour with Paul McCartney this last year. Man is a wealth of knowledge in the industry.â
âPaul McCartney?! Dude, you didnât tell me that!â Danny says, dropping his fork.
âYeah man, really nice guy. Super funny, plays jokes on his crew all the time.â he said.Â
Okay so he worked with Paul McCartney, big deal. Probably doesnât even know his music.Â
âDamn I am so jealous, and now youâre with us, what a downgrade.â Sam laughed.
âNo, actually, the few shows I have done with you guys have been phenomenal. Of course weâve had a few hiccups to work out, but when we hit the road again, itâs gonna be golden. No pun intended.â he laughed, granting him a chuckle from Josh.Â
You shot a look at Josh silently telling him not to laugh at his well timed jokes, to which Josh rolled his eyes.Â
âSo Logan, you listen to any McCartney after working with him?â you asked, ready to put him on the spot.Â
âYou know what, after hearing the songs he played on tour I have to say, I was a bit disappointed he didnât play some of his deep cut stuff. I was hoping for some good shit to pop up every once in a while, but of course he had to stick to the classics. The man keeps a stacked setlist though, plays like 40 something songs a night.â
âJesus Christ, I can barely make it through twelve.â Josh laughs.
âBut, to answer your question, yeah I listen to the good stuff.â he says.
You smirk, âWhatâs your favorite album?â you ask, knowing he is going to pick something generic. Thereâs no way he actually likes good McCartney. Wings McCartney.
He sets down his fork and looks at you with a smirk, âAhhh, most definitely Ram, but Wild Life is a close fucking second.â
Fuck me, maybe he does.
âAnd you know what, this may be somewhat of a controversial opinion, but his work with Linda and Wings was some of his most brilliant stuff. Venus and Mars? IconicâŚâ
You took a breath, trying to seem unphased, âYeah Iâm going to have to agree.â
âAnd Jakey finally has a challengerâŚâ Danny taunts.
âChallenger?â Logan questions.
âYeah, like, no one can go head to head with Jake when it comes to music trivia.â he explains.
âOhâŚâ he laughs, âTry meâŚâ he says.
âI will. I will. Everyone has their weakness.â you smirk.
âWait, speaking of Ram, has Y/N ever made you her famous monkberry moon delight drink?â he asks.
âNoâŚ.â you answer, confused.Â
âOh shit she used to make it all the time in college...it was her specialty drink. Everybody loved it. Y/N! Can we make monkberries soon?!â he asked, turning to her.
âY/N you have to!â Danny said.Â
âYeah, I want to try this famous drink, babe.â you said, making sure he heard you.Â
âOh my god yeah! I forgot about that. I can definitely make it! But, actually Jake, I donât think youâd like itâŚnot really your style.â she said, turning to you.
âYou think so, huh? Haven't met a liquor drink I didnât likeâŚâ you say.
âWell maybe I will make it for us soon. Next off day when we are on the road.â she smiles.
âY/N, remember when you made it for that party and we carried that cooler in through the rainâŚI swear that thing weighed 100 poundsâŚâ he laughed.
âOh my god yes, and I slipped and you tried to catch me and you fell too and we almost spilled all of it?!â she laughed.
You felt yourself grow hot under the collar hearing about all the little memories they shared together.
He laughed and smiled, âYeah, yeah, and then we got so fucked up on it we made Chris Horath drive us out to Frain Lake to go to that orchard because we were convinced we were going to steal apples and put them in the drink and it would taste even better!â
âHoly shit I totally forgot about that! We ended up lost as fuck in that cornfield in Ypsi! Made it back into civilization and stopped in a Meijer parking lot while I puked my guts out.â she laughed, damn near in tears.Â
You swallowed down the words begging to leave your lips and sat back in your chair.
âGod, that was so fun. Gotta love college right?â he said looking over at you.
âWouldnât know. Was busy touring the world with my band.â you spit.
âAnnnyways, speaking of hitting the road, Sammy and I are leaving tomorrow to drive up to Cape Cod for his birthday!â Elle says sweetly.
âOh my gosh! That is going to be so nice, I have always wanted to go there! Take lots of pictures okay?!â Y/N says.Â
âIâm excited, Iâve never been there either.â Sam says.
âIt was kind of last minute. We were supposed to be in New Jersey on his birthday, so I figured I could try to throw something together, and this is what I came up with.â Elle replies.
âItâs perfect baby, I canât wait.â Sam says, kissing her sweetly.Â
âAlso, happy birthday Sammy!â Y/N smiles at him.
âThanks mâladyâŚâ he laughs.
âYeah Sam, we can hit up that game place you like when you get back, okay? All the tokens you want, my treat.â Danny said.Â
âYou got yourself a deal.â he said.
You began collecting up the empty plates and carrying them to the kitchen, Josh hot on your heels with another handful.
You started rinsing them in the sink as he stood next to you, leaning against the counter.Â
âDudeâŚYou canât be serious.â he whispered.
âWhat?â you ask, pretending to be oblivious to what he was insinuating.
He huffs out a breath, âHave another drink and relax. Weâre gonna talk later.â he says, slapping your back and rejoining the crew.
â
After a few more drinks, everyone found themselves huddled around the TV in the study arguing over Mario Kart. Y/N was in the middle of a deep and heated drunken debate with Danny about why they are called the Mario Brothers, when Luigi is just as important as Mario. You laughed as you watched her from the doorway, her cheeks pink from the bottle of red, as she drove her point home.
Josh appeared behind you, grabbing your arm and nodding towards the front porch. You grabbed your wine glass and followed him, taking a seat in the wooden chairs. The air had cooled just slightly, the hot summer weather looming as the days passed. He sat across from you in the matching chair, kicking his feet up onto the table.Â
âWhatâs up Jake.â he asked, sipping his drink.
âWhat do you mean?â you ask dismissively.Â
âItâs very clear to me that you are having some sort of internal pissing match with Logan. Itâs written all over your face.â he says, challenging you to disagree.
âNope. Iâm fine.â you lied.
âLie to me again, Jake.â he said.
âI just donât like him just popping up out of nowhere, having all these inside jokes and shit with Y/N.â you admit.
âHow come?â he asks, rubbing his mustache.
âI donât know.â you mutter.
âI think you doâŚâ he says.
You sigh, âI donât know. I guess I just hate that he has something with her that I donât. Which sounds stupid to say. She went back to college and left me and picked him up like I never existed. I thought about her everyday and she was busy partying withâŚhim. Now heâs back in her life and I just feelâŚI donât know, protective.âÂ
âAnd that's a valid way to feel. He was with her when you couldnât be. Look at it that way. He watched out for her and was a friend to her⌠she came back to you, Jake. And as far as feeling protective over herâŚâ he smirked, âI donât think you have anything to worry about.âÂ
âWhyâs that?â you ask.
âHeâs just doesnât strike me as a threat. They are just friends.â he says.Â
âWhatever. I guess he is kind of cool. Likes good music.â you admit.
âI think the two of you have a lot more in common than you are willing to admit.â he raises an eyebrow.
âOkay whatever⌠are you done lecturing me?â you scoff.
âNo, there is something else I want to talk to you about.â he says.
âAnd that would be?â you ask, tossing back the rest of your glass of wine.
âI was talking to Y/N yesterday, and I spent the morning with her todayâŚSheâs changing Jake. She is really, really trying. She is looking for any and every way to try and better herself. She has been incredibly open to everything I am throwing at her, and she is taking responsibility for her shit. I am really hopeful for you two and I donât know if she has talked to you about it, but⌠she was thinking about stepping back from the tour.â
âWhat?!â you ask, sitting forward.Â
âShe wants to make sure she is giving you both space to heal and grow, and she said she felt like her being around wasnât going to give you the space you need.â he says.
âNo, no. She canât drop out. Shit, I canât leave her here. I donât even want space. Iâm just going along with whatever she wants to do becauseâŚfuck, because I donât want to spend a single second without her.â you started to panic.
âRelax Jake. She isnât going to. I talked her out of it. I wasnât telling you that to freak you out. I was telling you that because I want you to understand how serious she is about trying to fix things with you. I donât know exactly where you two stand, but I hope that you are willing to be receptive to her wanting to mend things with you.â he says.
âI am, I know how she feels, and I finally believe her. I thought I knew how much she loved me before butâŚthe past couple of weeks have really shown me. As much as I hate to say it, part of me feels like something like this had to happen for both of us to wake up and realize that weâre it for each other.â you say, rubbing your mouth.
âShe wrote me this noteâŚThis horrible fucking note. A goodbye basically, telling me how sorry she was, that she could never see herself the way I saw her. That she didnât deserve to. Fucking killed me. Bared her soul to me, left it on the back of a drawing, not knowing if I would ever see it. I know how much she loves me. I know how sorry she is. Her and Sam made a horrible mistake, but I will be goddamned if I donât spend every second of forever reminding her that even though she has made mistakes, even though she is flawed, she has been and will always be perfect to me.â
âI know, brother. We all knowâŚâ he says.
Itâs quiet between the two of you for a while, just staring out into the night watching the cars pass.Â
âYou know, dad gave me great-grandma Amelia's ringâŚâ you say, breaking the silence.
He turns to look at you, âIs that soâŚâ
âYeah, when I went homeâŚafter everything. Made me feel sick. She was asleep on the fucking couch in the other room after we played pretend all day in front of mom and dad.â you said.Â
âOuch.â he quipped.
âI didnât want to take it. Wanted to tell him to give it to Sam. There was no thought in my head of ever wanting it.â you said.
âSo whatâd you do?â he asks, finishing his drink.
âI took it. Mom made me. Told me âya never know when you might want itâ. So I took it and now itâs burning a hole in my pocket. I think mom was right. I canât stop thinking about it on her finger. But look at us⌠I donât know man, itâs justâŚI love her. She loves me. Why canât it just be simple?â
âI know itâs tough right now. But I know things are going to work out. Just give her time to figure herself out. Let her deal with her demons. You canât expect her to love you how you need, if she doesnât love herself.â he says.
âShe doesnât love herself?â you ask.
âNo. But sheâs trying. Thatâs what Iâm saying. She wants to be what you need Jake.â he says.
âDonâtâŚtell anyone thatâŚabout the ring. I hid it where no one would find it. ButâŚâ you ask.
âI wonât tell Jake. I promise. But I will admit, I canât wait for the day that girl becomes my sister for real.â he smiles, standing up from his chair.
âYou think she would say yes?â you ask.
He smiles and shakes his head, âJake⌠sheâs not meant to be anyone elseâs. Sheâs been waiting her whole life for you to simply, ask.â
â
After everyone left the two of you found yourselves in the kitchen, drying wine glasses and wiping the counters down after a successful family dinner. Y/N put on one of the new albums she bought you, letting the music spin through the house and into your ears, a sweet relaxing jazz ballad. As it came to a close she turned to you, âShould I flip it, or are we done?â
âFlip it, and come back to me...â you say.
You put away the last of the wine glasses, tossing the dish towel over your shoulder as she walks back into the kitchen. The music is floating through the air and the wine is still swirling through your system. You grab her hand and pull her towards you, wrapping your right arm around her waist, and holding your clasped hands in the air. She smiles as she realizes what youâre doing, relaxing her body and letting her head rest on your chest as you dance with her to the moody music.
âI forgot how sweet you are when you drink wineâŚâ she utters.
You rest your head on top of hers and sigh, letting your fingers lace with hers.Â
âJust missin' you baby.â you breathe into her hair.
âIâm right here.â she says.
You slide your hand from her waist up to the back of her neck, holding her close to you, âYou know what I meanâŚâ
Her hand slides under the back of your shirt, resting on your lower back as her fingers lightly scratch into your skin, âYeah, I know.â
You press a kiss to the top of her head, and let her go, letting her step away.Â
âGonna take a showerâŚâ she says.
âIâll be in the study.â you smile back, watching her walk down the hallway.
You turn off the lights in the kitchen and make your way to the study, grabbing your guitar and sitting down in your leather chair. A content sigh leaves your chest, as you finally feel like you are getting some of your normal energy back.
You start to strum against the worn in strings, the feeling of your favorite guitar back in your hands, like nothing you could imagine. You toss your head back onto the cushion and close your eyes, trying to pick out the notes to the song that's been stuck in your head all day.
You think back on your talk with Josh, and really consider what he told you. Maybe it's because youâve ended every night with her in your arms, but you are hopeful that heâs right about the two of you. You hope that she can learn to love herself. You hope that she feels like she is learning and growing and becoming the person that she wants to be. All you really want is for her to be happy.
Your mind drifts again wondering what it would be like if she did leave the tour. You wonder what she would do. Where she would go. Would she stay here? What would happen between the two of you? Would she call you? Text you?
You snap out of your thoughts when you hear the guest room door open and the soft padding of her feet on the hardwood floors. She looks into your bedroom, before turning around and seeing you sitting in the chair behind her.
âLooking for me?â you ask.
âYes.â she answers.
âYou wanna start the next season?â you ask.
âJake?â she asks.
You sit up and set your guitar on the stand, âYeah?â
âCan I talk to you?â she asks.
âOf course you can, câmereâŚâ you say waving her towards you.
âCan weâŚtalk in thereâŚâ she says pointing to the bedroom.
âOh, sure. Let me just lock up.â you say, standing and turning off the lamp, and locking the front door. You set the alarm, and turn off the hallway light, guiding her into the bedroom with a hand on her back.
You shut the door behind the two of you, as she makes her way over to her side of the bed. You quickly strip down to your boxers and pull back the blankets, before sliding into bed. You plug your phone in and set it on the nightstand, turning on your side to face her.
You notice the look on her face and feel worried, âWhatâs wrong babeâŚâ you ask.
You can tell she is nervous about what she wants to talk about, and suddenly youâre feeling a little bit nervous too.Â
âJake, when I came home the other day, you were mad. You thought I was on a date with LoganâŚhow come?â she asks.
âHow come I was mad?â you ask.
She nods, and bites her lip.
âWell, to be honestâŚI wasnât mad, I was more jealous.â you answer.
âBut if we arenât together anymore, why?â she asks.
âI think because I still have hope that we will be.â you say.
âDo you want that?â she asks.
âOf course I do.â you answer.
âDo you hate Logan?â she asks.
âNo.â you say.
âIt felt like you did during dinner tonight.â she says.
âI know, I know. I just⌠remember when you left the first time and went back to school?â you ask, watching her nod her head.
âI was soâŚlost. For a while, really. Took me a long time to get my life straightened out after that. I always thought it was the same for you. Hoped you missed me as much as I missed you. Wondered if you were thinking about me at all.â you paused. âSo hearing Logan talk about all the fun you had together, and having all these inside jokes and stuff⌠hurt a little. Made me feel likeâŚyou had forgotten me. I know itâs stupid because here we are now, but⌠I just felt like you replaced me.â
âJake, noâŚâ she said, reaching out grabbing your hand.Â
âIâm sorry I was being a dick. I will talk to him. He seems like a really cool guy.â you admit.
âHe is Jake. You two are so similar. I think⌠I think thatâs why he and I got so close. He was just like you, but different. Sometimes talking to him felt like talking to you. And I missed you so bad. You donât even know how many times I almost called you. Or almost texted you⌠College wasnât all fun and parties. I had some of the worst days of my life while I was there, and I had no one. All I wanted was you. I wished I did. Biggest regret of my life is missing out on those years with you. Anyways, I swear it was never like that between me and Logan. We were and still are, just friends.â
âI know. Iâm sorry Y/N. I didnât mean to accuse you of⌠going on a date or whatever, I guess I just thought if anyone was going to take you on a date⌠it should be me. That you would want it to be me.â you say, meeting her eyes.
âI do, Jake.â she replies.Â
âMe too.â you smile.
You feel her foot brush yours and a rush runs through your body. You let out a deep breath and roll over to grab the remote, turning on the TV. âJust one? That wine is hitting me pretty hard.â
âJust one.â she smiles, scooting in closer to you.
You open your arms to her, letting her make the decision, and you watch as she pauses to think, âDo you thinkâŚdo you think us doing this breaks the no touching rule?â she asks.
âI think that you like to lay with me, and I like to hold you and thatâs the end of it.â you answer. âI donât think we are breaking the rules, I think we are just letting them evolve to meet us where we are.â you reply.
She settles down into your arms, and nuzzles her face into your neck. You feel a tingle rush through your body again, feeling her leg tangle with yours under the blankets.Â
You close your eyes and just lay there for a second, knowing you could fall asleep right now thanks to the wine, but instead you press play on the remote and turn off the lamp.
You rub your fingertips over her bare shoulder as the episode plays, feeling her hand rest on your stomach in your very favorite place. Suddenly a thought pops into your mind, overwhelming your brain and causing you to reach for the remote and pause the show.Â
âCan I ask you something?â you question.
âYeah?â she turns her face to look at you.
âWhy did you tell Josh you wanted to leave the tour?â you ask.
âOhâŚâ she pauses. âWell, I donât want to, I guess. I justâŚI was feeling like, how could either of us grow up and move forward if we are always with each other? But then, Josh kind of reminded me I signed a contract and then explained to me how this would be the biggest growth challenge we would face together, and that if we could make it through that, we could make it through anything.â
âI canât imagine you not being there, you know.â you say.
âI just⌠wanted to give you space if thatâs what you needed.â she says.
âDoes it seem like I want space?â you asked, holding her tightly to you.
âI guess not.â she laughs.
âDo youâŚwant space?â you ask.
She rubs her fingertips over your collarbone, âNot really. I think we owe it to ourselves to be ânot togetherâ but still, kind of, âtogetherâ, I guess. I like how things are now. I think we are justâŚin a rebuilding period. I think we will both know when we are ready.â
âYeah. Rebuilding. I like that. But, I guess all that being saidâŚgod it feels weird to even say thisâŚyou know that Iâm not going toâŚsee other people or anythingâŚâ you say nervously.
âI donât want to either. I want to spend every night just like this.â she says.
âYou know thatâs what I want too, right?â you ask.
âI do nowâŚâ she whispers.Â
âI want to kiss you so bad Y/NâŚI have all dayâŚâ you say.
You see her eyes flick from your eyes to your lips, biting her own as she tries to battle within herself. âFuck, just oneâŚâ she says, pressing her lips to yours.Â
You grab her face with your right hand, pulling her harder into you as you feel her pillowy soft lips on yours. You bite her bottom lip as she pulls away, releasing it as she settles back on your chest.Â
âShit, Y/NâŚâ you pant, âYou're gonna kill meâŚI swear.â
âIâm gonna go get in bed JakeâŚâ she says.Â
âWhat? Youâre leaving?â you ask.
âIâm afraid if I donâtâŚâ she trails off.
âIâll behave. Donât leave me, loveâŚâ you plead. âWe still have fifteen minutes left in this episodeâŚâ
âOkay and then I will go to my bed.â she says, nodding.
âIf thatâs what you want. Now come back, I want my last fifteen minutes.â you say, pulling her back down to your chest. She snakes her arm around your waist letting her fingers slide in to rest just under the waistband of your boxers. A comforting feeling you didnât even know you missed until now.
You press play and let those minutes pass, but as her breathing starts to even out and she tangles her leg between yours, you know sheâs not leaving, and you smile because you know she never really intended to.
â
As the sun peeked into the room you squinted as your eyes opened, feeling her back pressed against your arm. You rolled over towards her, wrapping your arm around her, as she stirred awake. She turned to face you, stretching beneath your arm and letting out a yawn.Â
âSleep well?â you asked.
A shy smile crossed her lips, âYesâŚDid you?â
âAlways do when youâre here.â you admit. You release her as she rolls over to grab her phone, just watching her as she continues to wake up. She shoots up in the bed completely stricken with panic.
âWhat baby?â you ask, concerned.Â
âJakeâŚâ she says, her hands shaking.
âWhat? What!â you urge.
âJust lookâŚâ she says, handing you her phone. You take it from her and see a message from an unknown number sent at three in the morning, with a link to an Instagram page. Fuck.
You click on the link and are brought to a profile filled with photos, but they arenât just any photos. They are photos of Y/N. Photos of her taken by someone watching her. You scroll to the very bottom, and see that the very first one is from 2017, while she was still in school. As you continue to scroll you see the years pass, 2018, 2019, 2020⌠all photos taken of her without her knowing. Out in public, going home, at your showsâŚPhotos of her with friends, photos of her with you, with Josh, with Sam and Elle. You all thought his stalking started in Austin but you couldnât have been more wrong. He was truly hunting her.
âJake what the fuck is this?â she asks, nervously.
âWell, it looks like he just sent you his photo diary. Showing you every time he has been around you without you knowing. Showing you heâs here and heâs still watching. Fucking creep.â you answer.
âJake those are recent!â she says clicking on the newer photos. Pictures of her walking into the hospital in Saginaw. A picture of her at the farmers market just a few days ago. A picture of her and Josh walking into the yoga studio. He was back and he was getting more bold.
âY/N, you cannot leave here by yourselfâŚnot without someone with you. Preferably me.â you urge. âGod what the fuck does he want! What is his end game here?â you yell.
She grabs her phone and throws it down onto the bed, running her hands over her face, still very shaken as she realizes how unsafe sheâs been this whole time.Â
You roll over to grab your phone to text the guys and let them know, but your own message was waiting for you. You looked at her, before looking back at it, swiping your finger across the looming notification.Â
Unknown
3:10am: An eye for an eyeâŚ
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@gretavansara@jordie-gvf-admin@starshine-wagner @eyelinerjake@gretavanfvckface@gretavanmoon@misshunnybeebee@fretaganvleet@gvfpal@joshkiszkas@ascendingtostardust@raviolilegs@sammysprincess@gvfpal@objectsinspvce@lallisonl@gvfpal@raviolilegs@jaketlover@ascendingtostardust @violet-hayes@indigostreakmorgan@jakemarrymeibeg@fakeplastiqtree@radmads-gvf @fwzco @katelynn-gvf @writingcold @jakesgrapejuice @jakekiszkasbabymama @emsfallingsky @gretavanbear @ejoygvf @beebloopbleep @mackalah @weneedsomehealing123 @reesetrippingthelight @lightmylove-gvf @wetkleenex-gvf@fulltimecynical@ageofbajabule@ageofsinners@indigostreakslut @katelynn-gvf @ohgodthefeeling-gvf @joshskittytickler21 @mp0801@starcatcherry @samsbirks @darianh07 @cassiesgreta @becinabubblegvf @hanntisocial @demonrat444 @mrbrownstne @gretabyss @bizzielisteningtogreta @samsbirks @jakes-archer @laneygvf @jaketsword @hangvf @indigostreakmorgan @sadiextricia @thunderstomp-and-tequila @farfromthehomelands @takenbythemadness @lyndz2names @brujamagik @overtheehillsandfaraway @gretavanfan @ohgodthefeeling-gvf @slightly-russian
@gracev0609 @sammiboo162 @jakekiszkasmommy @jaketkiszkalover @everyglowinthetwilightknows @literal-dead-leaf @ghostlyâphotography @aintthatapity
If you'd like to be added to my taglist, please send in an ask!
#greta van fleet#greta van fleet fan fiction#greta van fleet smut#greta van smut#greta van fic#danny wagner#sam kiszka#jake kiszka#jacob thomas kiszka#daniel robert wagner#samuel francis kiszka#greta van fluff#gvf smut#gvf fic#gvf series#jake gvf#sam kiszka gvf#gvf#josh gvf#sam gvf#gvf danny#jacob kiszka#gretavangroupie#Samuel kiszka#jtk x reader#sfk x reader#sammy gvf#gretavanfluff#greta van angst#vigilance
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Thank you đŤ my sister used to do it for me too but we don't live close to each other anymore so it's quiete of a rare thibg now but at least my friends eat everything i can't eat đ
Can we maybe have landos reaction to the first time martin does that? I would just strsight up cry but i think lando is much cooler than i am đđ
I'm glad your sister was able to do that for you and that you've good friends đĽşâ¤ď¸
They were barely seated when Lando could feel the anxiety creeping in.
The menu's were set down in front of them, and Lando almost felt like getting sick. His stomach was swirling as he lifted a thumb to his mouth. He thanked the waiter politely, shared a soft look with Martin and bit at the edge of his thumb. The little sting of pain helped in ground him for a moment.
He stared at the menu as if it was an enemy.
In a way, it was. Lando had always had a complicated relationship with food that people tried to label as 'picky', but that wasn't it. The taste and text of fish genuiely made him gag. He couldn't stand certain spices without feeling gross. He was suspicious of new foods after so many attempts to get him to 'grow up', and all that had left him with was this fear almost of outing out.
It was fine when he knew the restaurant. The anxiety he was feeling didn't creep in in familiar places because he knew what he could eat. He didn't have to struggle through the menu trying to figure out if he could eat something or pick around parts of a dish. He could simply order his favourite thing, joke with his friends or Martin about it and have a good night but this place was new.
Lando had wanted to try here, and he had meant to google the restaurant but he just hadn't had time. He had been too caught up in life and racing to find time to analyse the menu and now he could feel the embarassment creeping in along with the frustration.
He reached for the menu after a moment, gaze flicking to Martin who was scanning his own menu, and he took a deep breath to steady himself as he opened it.
"If you look under the pasta dishes, there's a pasta you love that is okay for you to eat. They have a chicken dish here too. It comes with some veg I don't know if you'd like but I think I'm going to get the steak and we can swap my chips for your veg", Martin spoke up before Lando even started making his way through the starters, "We can get the veg in a seperate dish so it doesn't mix, makes it easier to swap. There's a few other dishes you like too, but some of them have ingridents you're not fond of, but I could always taste test it if you wanted to try one"
Lando almost dropped his menu as he stared at Martin.
He almost wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't imaginging what had just happened. There was no way that this was real. That Martin had scanned the menu, not for himself, but to make sure that there was something Lando could eat and that he had just come up with solutions to any possible issues.
There was a little bit of a lump in his throat as he reached for his water, needing something to ground him for a moment because this was overwhelming in the best of ways as Martin looked at him with a soft smile.
"Everything okay?", Martin offered Lando his hand across the table, squeezing his fingers around his gently before soothing a thumb across his knuckles, "I looked up the menu a few days ago but wanted to double check it was the same. That's why I was quiet, I know trying new places is not fun for you so I wanted to be able to help. Is that okay?"
Lando could feel tears prinking his eyes as he nodded, trying to find his words as he lifted their hands to kiss Martin's knuckles.
"It's perfect. You're perfect" Lando managed to get out a little hoarsely, "No one has ever done that for me before"
Martin just gave him a bright smile, soft and sweet and loving as he squeezed there fingers together again.
"Well, I want to. I want you to be comfortable and enjoy this", Martin said as if it was just that simple, and maybe it was.
Maybe it could be as simple as Martin helping him navigate tmenu's and coming up with solutions to allow Lando to enjoy eating out in a way he never had before. Always too nervous and too concious of his choices and habits to feel comfortable eating out.
Maybe that could change.
"Thank you", Lando whispered, ducking his head a little to hide the tears pricking his eyes as he sniffled.
"You don't need to thank me", Martin replied, thumb brushing his knuckles again, "I love you, and this is something I can do for you so no thanks you, yeah?"
"I love you too", Lando smiled, finally relaxing fully as took in the loving look on Martin's face.
Maybe it could really be this easy.
#norrix#lando/martin#martin/lando#tw for eating issues#tw for food sensitivities#tw for discussion around eating
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Would Satoru and Suguru enjoy taking the initiative to plan trips and dates for themselves and the Reader, or do you think they'd not see the point in that sort of thing when they could all just stay home together and order in food or something else similarly easy?
Absolutely!
They are more than happy to have a quiet night at home together; vegging out on the couch together (preferably with her snuggled up between them) with snacks and binge watching whatever movie or series has caught their interest, but they are also more than eager to spoil her rotten with dates and trips.
They would probably realize pretty quickly that because of the way her parents raised her, she's likely never been spoiled or truly cared for in any meaningful way. She's never been anyone's first priority and no one has likely ever made her feel special or important, so they are going to want to do their best to make all that up to her and show her what she's been missing out on.
I think it's safe to say though that the boys would have far different ideas on what to do and it would probably lead to a bit of bickering between them, but they would eventually find some sort of middle ground to agree on;
Satoru strikes me as the type to 'go big or go home', and he would probably be the one who would want them to take her on all the overseas trips to exotic places or plan exciting adventures like going to amusement parks and zip lining tours, and he would also be the one to love bomb her with expensive gifts, clothes, chocolates and bouquets of rare flowers. He'd be the one to make every date and outing an entire production.
Suguru on the other hand is the much more subtle of the two, and while his plans would be no less thoughtful, they wouldn't require nearly as much work to set into motion. He would be the one to take them all to local places around the city, like art galleries and museums, a concert featuring live music and dinner at a delicious hole in the wall restaurant afterwards. I could definitely see him planning more quiet getaways for them too, like trips to well known ryokans/onsens (traditional Japanese inns and hot springs), or even just day trips to places outside of Tokyo that he thinks they would all enjoy.
#ask response#anonynous#yandere!suguru/satoru#fem!reader#yandere!suguru/satoru x fem!reader#typical yandere behavior#yandere jjk
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I have a few questions for the gang!(Lidija, Anemone, Myr and Tristam)
1. What's their favourire place to eat out, do they have a specific cuisine they burn for whennthey eat out or do they very loyaly hold to italian food?
2. Hot and-or cold? What's their favourite cold and or hot baverage?
3. How screwed would they be if they had suddenly bodyswapped with their crush/love interest and had to pretend to be them for a day? if they dont have one- how screwed would they be if they suddenly bodyswapped with TSUNA?
Thank you for passing by again Lou!! I'm planning to attack your ask box soon in return stay tuned đ assuming my burnout doesn't take me first
1. Unfortunately, Myr and Lidija never experienced eating at a nice local restaurant outside the Cavalieri grounds, so their experience is very limited. The most daring thing would be the annual Cavalieri Christmas party, but even there it's just their typical Italian cuisine with a couple more dishes than normal.
Anemone, being a member of the administration council called Cornice, did have a few occasions where she could leave the Cavalieri grounds for parties with other mafia families. However, being a vegetarian in high-class Italy is harder than finding a needle in a haystack, so whenever she can she resorts to Indian food! From my research I saw it's one of the most veg-friendly cuisines so I can imagine Anemone enjoying Indian dishes like vangi bath, lentil curry, tofu tikka masala and so on.
If I had to assign a favourite cuisine to Myr and Lidija... Myr likes spicy food but in general she likes dishes with many different tastes, so I think Thai food would suit her greatly. Lidija is a little more sensitive to spice but would still like the variety of tastes, so Vietnamese? Japanese too for the milder flavours and pretty visuals. Honestly I'm not too versed on food so hopefully I got things right-
Oh shit I almost forgot Tristam- I don't see him being *too* adventurous with food. Perhaps he's the only one of the main 4 who would stick to Italian cuisine if given the choice. Given his fine tastes though, I think he'd enjoy Japanese food too.
2. Favorite beverages~
[Myr] - plain hot milk (occasionally choccy milk)
[Lidija] - Blue Lagoon, peach juice, pink grapefruit juice, cappuccino
[Anemone] - Franciacorta, vin brulĂŠ
[Tristam] - Espresso Martini mocktail, lemonade when absolutely NO ONE is looking
3. Myr and Anemone will both scratch and bite begging to be let out. Especially Anemone since ...yeah. And Myr trapped in a small frail boy's limbs... nightmare fuel. Lidija would swap with Teodoro atm though which would make her feel very handsome hehe, she'd be very good at imitating him since she spies on him at any given occasion đ
#khr oc#khr killer whale#khr fanfic#ask answered#ask the myell#myr killer whale#lidija killer whale#anemone killer whale#tristam killer whale
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Enid questions:
Drink of choice? (Ex tea w cream and two sugars)
Favorite way to destress?
How is her relationship to her parents now after switching careers?
What is Joaquinâs favorite thing about her?
What animal does she relate to the most and why?
PLS AND THANK YOU
YESSSS
Drink of choice? (Ex tea w cream and two sugars)
an iced chai with almond milk to get her day started/whenever she needs a boost (she has a low tolerance for caffeine- so she tends to order teas over coffee)
for alcoholic bevs: enjoys cocktails w/ notes of citrus- so lemon drops, moscow mules, and palomas
Favorite way to destress?
enid's brain is always on- so whatever she does needs to be mind-numbing. she's a hard worker and on the flip side, a veg master
she's indulgent (and has the means to be) so she's the type to book a vacation and spend the day in her room enjoying the amenities
on a more lowkey level- she is a foodie at heart, so on her days off, she likes to explore the city and try out new restaurants
How is her relationship to her parents now after switching careers?
ooo this is a good question
enid was able to hide her lack of interest in medicine very well from the family- and since her grades appeared fine, they never thought to question it
on the day she was scheduled to take the MCAT- she made it to the waiting room of the testing center. when she was called to check in for the exam, she got up and left the building completely. just kept walking until she couldn't recognize the street she was on anymore
she knew she was fucked if she went to her parents without a plan- so she doesn't tell them anything until she submitted the last of her law school applications
the initial response was rage- which she argued her way out of (already lawyering lol); their apprehension over her decision lasted until she was hired at park & davis
their relationship improves as enid advances in her career. she spoils not only herself but her parents with gifts whenever they visit
What is Joaquinâs favorite thing about her?
you want me to think of one????
i'd say it's enid's wit. finding someone who can go toe to toe with him with ease was eye-opening for him (and a big reason why he kept coming back to her)
What animal does she relate to the most and why?
okay this took some thinking- and i'm gonna go w crows based on how enid operates
crows have an excellent memory- they remember faces of those who've caused them harm + those who've been kind and treat them accordingly (feed the crow, there's a chance they give you a gift in return)
#tyyyy#playchoices#choices#laws of attraction#enid mendoza#ascindio#into the windverse#joanid#joaquin morales#joaquin x mc
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Here's a quick tour of my storage scheme! It essentially has three tiers:
Tier 1: Main home storage, which is basically the "inbox" and gets cleared out at the end of every session. I have player houses and the vintage chests scattered at strategic points for easy pocket clearing
Tier 2: Chests in my main house. I want my main house to be like a fancy hotel/high-rise, so I try to have the storage blend a bit. Essentially I keep 1-2 stacks of each material here. When I hit a full stack, I pull it out an either sell it or move it to...
Tier 3: Overflow storage in another house. This is only for the most commonly used items like wood and core recipe ingredients.
Pics!
Welcome to the lobby! House storage is in the front right corner. That aquarium has 1 stack of each fish A-P. (Fish P-Z are in an aquarium in the bar, which is the room on the left.)
The back room here is an office/break room.
Storage from left to right:
2 stacks of each fruit in the white chest
2 stacks of each veg in the wood chest
1 stack of each protein, dairy, and seafood in the fridge
2 stacks of each spice (and 1 stack each of tea leaves) in the smaller wood chest
1 stack each of ore and ingots in the safe
The second floor is the restaurant. In one of the front fridges I have two stacks of each EI vegetable, and the other one has a bit of overflow from the downstairs fridge. The rear fridge is not currently in use.
The back room on the second floor is the storage room.
Potion cupboard contains potions and manuals
Yellow chest contains 1 stack each of timebending materials. Excess is dismantled or sold
Brown chest contains 2 stacks each of crafting materials
Concrete wardrobe contains 1-2 stacks of refined materials (fabric, glass, vials, etc)
This room on the 4th floor is going to be the jewelry store, but I haven't gotten around to decorating. The left chest has 2 stacks of each regular gem, and the right chest has 1 stack of each shiny gem.
And finally, one of the overflow rooms (they're all like this). Mostly alphabetized, with their contents represented on the floor of each. The goal is to fill each wardrobe completely. Excess beyond that is sold.
And that's it! I find this works well for me, allowing me to keep enough on hand while not having to spend a huge amount of time organizing or hanging onto stuff that will never get used.
How about you, what's your storage scheme? Are you gonna change it up for the new DLC?
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It's my birthday and my fiancĂŠ is taking me to a (veg) sushi restaurant and after we are going to the Barbie movie premiere. I am so excited to go out and have fun âĄ
I wanna take a moment to thank everyone that's following me. My blog is only a few weeks old and has been growing so fast and that's bc you guys are so supportive and want to share positivity together, which I love. I am so lucky to have this lil community and I find you guys so awesome. If you read this and ever wanna be friends, DM me ⥠love you âĄ
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Notes: this is an rp between me and Sunny that was originally on quotev, that's why this first post is like this. I'm fine with others reading this (not sure about Sunny) but please don't rb this as it'll get confusing trying to figure out if it's a response or not. Cheers! ^^
Also, colour coded this to make it easier to know who responded with what. Does not need to be upheld throughout rest of RP!! ^^
Lucia looked around the kitchen, doing one last check that everything was in order before hitting start stream on the phone that she had set up. "Hi chat!" She exclaimed, waving as people began to join the livestream. "As you all can clearly see, this isn't our usual set up, buuuut, I'm doing a cooking stream!"
Her cat, Cookie, jumped up onto the counter, she she walked over to get her off the counter, while chat began spamming variations of "cat<3" and "cookie<3". "Bad Cookie, you know I'm gonna be cooking." Lucia mumbled, gently dropping said cat onto the ground, before turning back to her stream.
"Have you picked something to cook yet?" Popped up, a message from a donation. Lucia hummed to herself for a moment before shaking her head. "Thanks for the money, and no I have no picked something yet. I was thinking we could pick that all together." She said, smiling before adding, "so! Best look for a recipe now!"
Lelan just finished up his shift at a fancy ish restaurant and was headed to a coffee shop. When he got there he got a chai and sat down to watch his favorite streamer. He logged on to the stream and popped into the chat. He typed out âŚHi Chat, a cooking stream! How fun!⌠and watched as Lucia was searching for a recipe.
Lucia scrolled through her phone, having put on a screen share that let the viewers see what recipes she was looking at. There was a couple recipes that seemed good, and that she had the ingredients for, but chat ended up telling her to find something else instead each time, be it that the dish took too long, didn't taste good or was too difficult to make.
Eventually, after a good fifteen minutes of debating with chat, someone posted a link to what looked to be a nice dish, using spices and veg that she liked. Though that wasn't the only thing that caught her eye."Oh! Hey! It's an L name!" She declared, as was a mini tradition that she had started, every time that she found a name that started with the name letters as hers, she'd point it out.
Lelan just smiled and watched. He took a sip of his coffee. He watched everything unfold and he started laughing at the cat walking along the counter.
Lucia scrolled through the recipe, already thinking that this one would be a good one to make. "So chat, what's the verdict? We make this one?" She asked, looking over at where she had set up a screen to show the chat, seeing that the majority of them agreed with her, saying that the recipe would be good.
"Alright then! Majority vote wins! I'll be right back, don't do anything illegal." She told chat, before moving out of frame. The opening of cupboards and stuff being grabbed could be heard, before she got back into frame, carrying a whole bunch of cooking utensils. She quickly set them down onto the counter, before shooing her cat off it again. "Damn it Cookie."
Lelan laughed again, he noticed itâs his recipe that sheâs about to make. He took at sip of his coffee, and started typing out a reply to go with a small donation. chefLelan: Thatâs a hard one, I should know I made it đ
Lucia took one last look at the chat, planning on just glancing at it before heading off to being cooking, but immediately made a double take when she saw Lelan's donation, doing the human equivalent of a computer blue screening.
"What?! No way!" She shouted, slightly louder than usual, before composing herself once more. "No way the actual chef is watching this stream." She said, with almost disbelief in her voice, though she was still smiling."Well, let's hope this goes as well as it can, and i hope you enjoy watching!" Lucia finished with a wave, before moving back over to her counter. "Aight, time to do this." She mumbled to herself.
Lelan shook his head with a small smile. He loved watching Luciaâs streams. He typed out in the chat : Do you have any questions that I can answer?
Lucia read the notification, before shaking her head. "None at the moment, but if I get any, well you'll probably know." She replied with a grin to the camera. "Okay! What's the first step again?" She said aloud to herself, looking back at the recipe, and beginning to follow it, carefully measuring the needed ingredients as best as she could.
Lelan sat back and watched as she tried to make this recipe. It started off fine then it slowly went down hill. âGood lord.â He mumbled to himself. He began typing again. chefLelan: The heat is too high on the stove,the milk mixture is about to burn. Take it off the heat now!
Yeah, it went down hill quicker than she thought it would. Lucia had thought that she'd at least manage to get to the fifth step before something went wrong, but here they all were.
"Thanks for that." Lucia said aloud, having noticed the message before rushing over to the stove and pulling the pot off the heat, though not before the fire alarm went off, causing a high pitched sound to go through all of the ears within fifty meters. "Lovely!" She grumbled, throwing her arms up into the air as she went to go turn of the noise before someone came knocking, either concerned or annoyed by the sound.
âJesus Christ.â Lelan mumbled as he watched the chaos unfold before his eyes. At least she took the mixture off the stove, but itâs still burnt. He decided to send her a whisper with his instagram just in case she wanted any cooking tips or lessons.
Finally, after a minute of struggling against the screaming fire alarm, Lucia finally managed to get it to stop, and luckily nobody had come knocking to ask about it. She slowly moved back into the frame of the video, a somber looking expression on her face, looking at the burnt food. "Should have stayed playing videogames." She complained, just loud enough for the microphone to pick up on.
With a reluctant sign, she went to go clean up the mess that had been made, which she was luckily much better at than cooking, so it wasn't long before everything was spick and span once more. "I think that's enough chaos for one day," Lucia said, turning back to the livestream. "Probably just gonna order out today. Bye bye guys!" She waved before ending the stream.
After a moment of debating, she picked up her phone, and noticed the notification from Instagram. Clicking on it, she read the message from Lelan. She faintly smiled before responding.
ItsaLucia: omg, hi!! Thank you for the offer! Yeah, I'd love either of those if you're up to doing it!! You can probably tell just how bad I am, so anything could help!
Lelan watched as the stream ended and he shut his laptop and stowed it away. âGood lord Lucia.â He mumbled. His phone vibrated and he picked it up the see a notification from Lucia.
cheflelanrossiofficial: Np! I can give you tips but I think it would be easier to teach you. :) Lmk how a lessons could work and we can figure out details :)
ItsaLucia: oooo!! Yeah lessons can maybe work! I'm free most days after 2pm so any time after should be good!! :)
As she waited for a response, Lucia pulled up the app that she had for a local takeout restaurant chain to see what she could order for the day. She is definitely not going to be trying to cook anymore today.
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Re: the some form of potato can fix a bad time post.
Back when dad was working in Japan, he couldn't find anything proper to eat as a vegetarian. After a lot of searching around he found a Sikh family (?????) that owned a restaurant but they only opened for dinner, served Japanese cuisine (again, non veg) and all they could make for him was daal chawal.
So for lunch, he'd have aaloo ke parathe, since that was the only thing he knew how to cook with the stuff available at the time. He'd buy a few potatoes in the evening while coming back from work and make a few parathas for himself in the morning which he'd pack for lunch.
Sooo yea, dad lived there for 6 months only on buttered bread in the morning, aaloo ke parathe for lunch and daal chawal for dinner.
Ok pls this is so𼺠like atleast he was able to have proper food and not switch to non veg and like that sikh family was helpful to AND YK MY LOVE FOR AALOO PARATHE IS SO MUCH THAT WOULD EAT IT FOR 6 MONTHS STRAIGHT
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Day 9&10 - Looking at old stuff
Saturday morning Jo, Jose and John went for a ride. Itâs one of my favourite rides but has some pinchy bits so I need to be a little bit fit.
Jose headed back early to pick up Sara and they went for a gravel ride. When John and Jo got back John took the kids to Reills beach. When Jose and Sara got back I met them for a glass of cava.
Being Saturday it was rotisserie chook day and then a relaxed afternoon watching Le Tour (and trying not to fall asleep).
Everyone was pretty relaxed, some having a sleep, some playing Spanish monopoly so we quickly headed to the butcher for some meat to bbq. The evening was spent on the balcony listening to the Havaneras.
Sunday morning John, Sara and I headed out early to the fruit and veg market before heading back to round up the troops to head out the door.
After breakfast at the beach we walked around to the ruins, first stopping at one of the many beaches for a swim. I went to the ruins with the family while Jose stayed on the beach minding bags and towels. They all loved the ruins but inevitably it got super hot so after a few hours we headed back to find Jose and moved along to another beach for a swim.
We had lunch at St Marti, the same restaurant we went to with Joseâs Mum. Again it didnât disappoint. After a stroll around St Marti it was time for another swim before heading back home, some on the tourist train and others on foot.
In the evening it was the final of Eurocopa 2024. We left the kids chilling at home and the four adults headed to a bar at the beach to watch the match. What a great day for Spain! Alcaraz won Wimbledon and they won the Eurocup! đŞđ¸ đ
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planning way ahead
for rosh hashanah i am hosting and we have a new family member (my labor commie meet cute friend is also a Bad Jew!) and heâs veg. not a problem for anything iâm making but matias may bring a brisket so i want to have a really good alternative. notes
- if matias brings a brisket then my oven is out of commission. stovetop recipes only
- i will be asking mara to bring a noodle kugel, otherwise iâll be doing all the baking myself. traditionally i do at least two carrot dishes for this holiday because iâm a carrot zealot. this year iâm going to do a sushi restaurant style carrot ginger dressing salad
itâs going to obviously probably have to be a soup. my go to holiday stunner is borscht but i donât want to do it this year because it takes like 8 hours of beet manipulation. SO iâm soliciting special soup recipes
- strongly leaning toward doing a chinese soup because thatâs what ben and i like to cook and i would love to find a new go to recipe. most importantly, i would love to do a tofu soup. huge bonus for anything that leans sweet (for the holiday), is carrot (for the holiday), and doesnât rely overly on coconut milk profile (which is not a special treat for veg people). laksa? the woks of life veg hot n sour? they also have a sour cabbage stew that looks promising⌠for obvious reasons iâd especially love a new yorkerâs brainstorm here :)
lunar new year observers: is there an associated celebration soup in your area? this could be a fun appropriation
as a cook iâm not super comfortable with meat substitution materials otherwise, so iâd prefer a recipe that i can more or less remove the meat without missing it and just substitute a broth with some success. i would love love to do a nice and honorable tofu treatment!!
other potential angles:
- invent a carrot soup thatâs like as good as the borscht
- could be a good time to try to do a plum stew that meets my childhood plum soup memoriesâŚ
please keep me updated on interesting soups! sweet/sour/spicy, fruit and carrots, tofu especially
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idk if you still want uk tips, but here they are if you do:
people will be weird and/or excited about your accent, especially people who live near you
brits love a budget german supermarket, lidl and aldi have a lot of fans in the cost of living crisis
gp visits are a nightmare, and if you're moving from another country there will be LOADS of paperwork, but you should get signed up with a surgery ASAP - also, you can go to the pharmacy for a lot of stuff
queue culture - we love standing in lines
if you don't like tea, don't bother (lots of us don't) but it's a pretty big cultural thing so give it a go (we're such a nation of tea drinkers that the national grid [electricity] has to compensate for the number of kettles we use daily
wear whatever you like - nobody really cares
if you drive, you'll need to retake the test for UK roads
greggs is the iconic lunchtime place for mid tier pastries (sweet and savoury) and lunches
also, pie in the UK is typically savoury, filled with meat and/or veg and gravy
meal deals - a sandwich, crisps/chocolate/another snack, and a drink - are absolutely everywhere and an incredibly common lunch
we love double carbs - chip butty anyone?
fish fingers are such a good food that i don't think americans have? baked beans are nice but you can add spices/flavourings to them
you don't have to like marmite - if you try it, ONLY HAVE A SMALL AMOUNT. any american who puts a full spoon of marmite in their mouth is basically unknowingly undertaking the british cinnamon challenge
basically everywhere has a chippy (fish and chip shop), at least one curry place (thanks, colonisation(!)), and a chinese. curry's almost always good, chippies can vary, and be VERY careful with the chinese, because they're iconic for food poisoning (although absolutely delicious as well)
all restaurants have a food hygiene rating on the front door - 3 or less is questionable
find out if you qualify for any travelcards and get familiar with your local public transport - buses are often late, coaches are typically on time, trains often don't come at all
seriously. don't take the train if you can POSSIBLY help it - it's BONKERS expensive and often cancelled and replaced with a coach
know a bit about uk geography, if poss - lots of usamericans don't seem to know what wales is, or how north and republic of ireland are different
main tv networks are channel 4, itv, sky, and the bbc. c4 & itv are free with ads, sky requires a subscription, and the bbc is free but can only be watched by households with a tv licence (if using iplayer, the bbc's website, you can just lie about this, but there's a whole debate about whether they can/will catch you - look up tv detector vans)
british people end their texts with 'x'. it is NOT FLIRTING, we literally do it to everyone and often you'll get two or three - it's basically a punctuation mark. don't look into it
york specifically is like the north ? with emphasis on the question mark. england has a lot of perceived cultural differences between the north and the south, with the south stereotypically richer, ruder, entitled, busy, unfriendly, and the north stereotypically more rural, insular, prejudiced, and working class. it's not always true, and afaik york's a pretty afluent area, but it's something to be aware of
ahhhhh you are so kind, thank you for sending me all this! unfortunately, I am no longer moving to the uk because I was tragically fucked over by the university, so I'm moving to canada now. but if I ever end up moving to the uk after getting my master's (which is not out of the question!) this advice is incredibly useful, thank you so much for going into such detail, I really appreciate :')
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im cravingggg the broccoli you get from american chinese restaurants in broccoli & chicken sm rn but im veggietarian & the recipes im finding have veg fish or oyster sauce which i have neither of. i just want that sauceeeee
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