#I myself felt like I was in a fucking skit

[look-at-the-stars-tonight]

There’s one guy from the four month training program I did who always walks by me in the hall when I’m saying the wackiest shit and I love him so much

[eminsunnytoons123]

(these are another two vents I need to get off my chest for all my besties, Sisters, Brothers, pen pals, my two girlfriends And my boyfriend. Im now doing this just for comfort, im only saying this so they can all know....)

Okay, so first.... I have told some of my cousins that im bisexual (I didnt told them that im trans, genderfluid and polyamourous), And when I told them that, they gave me dirty looks And Said: "girl.... Whyy?" And they started telling me: "you're not a muslim if you are part of them" And "thats haram" And that stuff, so I told them I was just joking, but I wasnt.... And I told them this a few Days ago And I felt really bad I did that... And this same thing happend yesterday when I became active on my tiktok account again... So clearly, when I made a new introduction post, I Said I am a bisexual, genderfluid, trans and polyamourous Lady/Guy, And then this one girl Said: "you ain't muslim 💀💀".... LIKE GIRL I FUCKING AM A MUSLIM!!!! WHAT!? NOW I CANT LIKE BOTH GENDERS!?!? And that girl was a muslim too because of her display name....

Second, I had another dream about my blue haired auntie And my former five besties, And I dreamed that she And them five forgave me for my actions, but when I woke up, I realized it was just a dream.....

Im very sorry again, y'all.... Im not saying im a horrible person and that I hate myself. I really LOVE myself And I think im a good person, its just that my blue haired auntie And five former besties of mine make me feel like that... (⁠｡⁠•́⁠︿⁠•̀⁠｡⁠)

And I really want to cry after hearing whats been going on with @s4gefr0g lately... And I feel like Bella @moshywoosh is still going through lots of pain from her family...

And again, this is for all my besties, Sisters, Brothers, pen pals, my two girlfriends And my boyfriend to know..

@splashy900 @kxllboii @cheezekennith @muppet-fan-real @aquamarine-dream-queen @dayzsaclark @oscarandgrinchfan @moshywoosh @ilovescaredysquirrel2 @nuggetaubrey @sharkyy599 @nightkit92 @familyoffood @mysafespaceblog13 @thelazzyblogzz @sugar-miss1 @shrimpathizer @shypeachrunaway @iggyguyy @sophia-does-skits @typical-sophie @peaceforpeople @ben5569 @itsmyaltaccountforshiitybloglol0 @ducktoonz903707 @artismeyou-12 @blackstar044 @acen402 @diego-r-the-artist-2009 @nia1sworld @rumplestiltsbear @s4gefr0g @beeware-of-lulu @leafith @bluebird-in-a-cagedrawing @muppet-fan-frr @thegroovyskull @blo0st4r

[punks-never-die205]

Hey there, it’s the Anon that sent the “Not responding to them when they say ILY to see how they would react” for the the first time.

Just wanted to say that I am so sorry for sending that ask! I have seen it a few times done through memes and skits as like a little prank. I must have stepped a bit out of line when I ask that and I am really sorry may have caused hurt or discomfort to you in anyway or anyone else who follows your blog. Definitely a lesson learned here, I didn’t mean for it to be so harsh, I got influenced by watching some other creators and wanted to see how other blogs and creators view these certain takes. But I have now seen the negative aspects of those influences and may have stepped over the line a bit here.

Sorry if this is a bit lengthy, but I have been following your blog for sometime and after seeing your response it really made me feel frustrated and angry with myself, I could not just carry on, 😣 I wanted to take responsibility and hold myself accountable for this because that was very insensitive of me to ask, and I’m terribly sorry. 😞 I’ll be sticking to Fluff and Smut from now on.

I Hope you have a wonderful evening

Allow me to apologize a little too -

Anon, if I felt YOU directly had been out of line, I would've just deleted the ask. It's on me for not being clear about that when I was answering the ask.

I'm not surprised to learn the idea came from memes and pranks - it's been a frustrating trend lately, a kind of casual cruelty I've seen in pranks and such lately. That's not a fault of yours specifically - it's certainly been a trend. (Which, man, let me get into the rise of cruelty as pranks and bullying, alongside the rise of fucking purity culture. whew.)

I'm glad for two things - one, that my reaction caused you to step back and look at things more clearly. And two, that you were inclined to reach out and say so. Those are great reactions!

You absolutely do NOT have to stick to fluff and smut - angst, dark content, etc. is welcome here - and I recommend you continue to dive into it. By approaching the width and breadth of topics you're able to grow and continue to be even better. It'll help you recognize in the future when cruel things are layered with a veneer of "oh it's just a prank/joke".

That not only helps you put nuance into your asks for a blog like mine, but it would also help you put it into your own creations.

My point is: manipulative behavior in fiction is not something to be avoided. I don't want you to avoid it because of my answer - which I only meant to provide in context, not as a statement of YOUR morals. (this is what I'm apologizing for, honestly, because my disgust was at the IDEA, not at YOU, and I wasn't clear about that, otherwise I would not have caused you to feel thus.)

But thank you ^_^ I hope you have a wonderful evening as well, and hey - we'll both come away from this having learned something, and I think that's perfect.

[crazybojoe]

Asylum's Delusion

I didn't know what to call myself, but there were 3 paths I could possibly undergo if it weren't for my case to be a hallucinating drunkard. I could only remember the day I was left by my wife Cris, bittersweet like the play of Romeo and Juliet. The following memory felt a blur to my alcohol. Some sort of realm called Outworld was what I fought up against, I wasn't the chosen champion among them. My memory could only sum me up to meeting a descendant of the Taira which then was followed by a Fire God and two ninjas behind him called the Lin Kuei. It all felt so surreal, as if the world I live in, or should I say Earthrealm perhaps, was technically in danger. The smoke alarm should've rang the moment those fires ablaze in anger from the Fire God, but it didn't. Yet I still question why did I hear it go off when it didn't blare its red flash, perhaps it was just the battery of the light running off...

Or was it?

And continuing on, I went off to a new realm called Outworld. Yet when I walked through the clean slate of stone slabs beneath me, it felt like barbed wires and broken glass, I couldn't tell if my feet were bleeding but they looked fine or so I thought. Princess Kitana and Mileena's skin felt like bones, the vision of their skin coating their muscle anatomy and organs but again it didn't feel like they were alive at all. Then this problem about Shang Tsung conspired around the man who called himself the Keeper of Time, which all led to a conspiring destruction of the world called Armageddon. I could've sworn I climbed up those steps and reach the top but instead of blazing fire I felt at my feet, my legs sunk into the cold feeling of snow...? I don't even see any of it, but I could feel it. Once I beat the asses off Shang Tsung and that Kratos looking weirdo, the Keeper of Time felt an earthquake. Though I couldn't shake as I didn't feel a thing or two, which made me think it was just all a skit. I vaguely remember his words about saying "Thank you for your aid, may we meet again Johnny Cage."

...

After that I just found myself strapped with white cloth and belts inside a room of pure white walls and floor, there was no window or door. It was just a room covered in white, nothing else to see but the plain and lifeless color as my mind stares into the unknowingly blank room. The edges are barely seen and traces of a door were camouflaged into the bright empty color, then I heard his voice again.

"Jonathan Carlton."

I recognize the voice as I turn to see the Fire God again, it was him. But how did he get here?

"Join me once more Johnny Cage."

His voice eerily calls to me, a crooked smile forming into his face as he looked deformed. What the actual fuck am I looking at? His eyes are just as empty as the room, why is he looking down at me like that!?

"Worry not of the room that will cure you again, you will drown in madness of our existence."

From each word, I could see more people appearing as the begin to surround me. They were all there, but I know they don't exist. Kenshi, the Edenian royalty, Raiden, Kung Lao and many more of the people I remember. Screaming in fear and agony as I try to escape.

The words they chant and beg into my ears deafened me as I write this log. They said...

LISTEN.

[the-catboy-minyan]

I have mixed feelings about ארץ ‏נהדרת, but the Ben Gvir ‘Objection!’ bit in the icj skit was so great, actually made me and my mother laugh out loud when we watched it

same, I stopped watching them like 3 years ago I think? I never fully understood their humor anyways because I don't follow the news closely enough to get all the jokes.

a couple of months ago I walked in to my parent's living room to see Eretz Nehederet on and it was a skit about "Queers for Palestine" that completely made fun of their intelligence and didn't criticize them for being "people on the left who are misinformed about the situation in a country that's miles away from them and projecting US politics on us", but as "dumb lgbtabc with their blue hair and pronouns calling terrorists freedom fighters". ignoring all the actual issues on the american left and summarizing it as "lol gay people are idiots".

I just felt really offended, I was a queer leftist at the time (still am but distanced myself more from the crowd they were making fun of), and I was witnessing the left descent to becoming terrorist apologists in my own friend groups and online circles, and here they are showing it as a problem of intelligence when it's so much fucking deeper than that.

(also idk what skit you're talking about did I reblog it? I only remember reblogging one about how a lot of charities go straight to Hamas leaders)

[mannatea]

Hi! For the ask game: 🌈 💞 🪄

🌈is there a fic that you worked *really fucking hard on* that no one would ever know? maybe a scene/theme you struggled with?

Hoo boy. Yeah. Three fics.

Fireside Dreams. The original was written in 2008 and this rewrite done in 2020. The rewrite was extensive and I DO MEAN EXTENSIVE. In 2008 I was well into adulthood already (lol) but I didn't have a great grasp of who I was as a person yet. I don't mean this in any sort of negative way, but Oscar as a character always spoke to me deeply and it wasn't until I rewatched and reread RoV in 2020 that it hit me square in the face why that was. In my rewrite of this story, I managed to convey a lot of themes I was incapable of putting words or solid feelings to back in 2008, and I wrote Oscar as asexual. I never outright stated it in the story or the notes (because I wanted my readers to feel they could kind of choose that specific for themselves) but that was where my mind was when writing it. Also, I very much wanted to hint at The Incident Scene being as complex as I view it, so I was able to do that too, something I could have NEVER put into words in 2008.

If It Takes a Lifetime. I was actually very happy with the original story, also posted in 2008. The original was more or less a cathartic love letter to the fans; it was my definitive proof that the author knew what she was doing by ending the series the way she did. When I reread it to work on, though, I found that the original was a classic example of what a friend criticized my writing for, once ("too emotional"). I reread it in 2020 as my first foray back into writing after some time away, and it was my first RoV rewrite. I found the story felt underdeveloped and a bit uninspired-feeling, and there was a lot of emotion that didn't really feel real or earned (which is something I've trained myself to notice; I did not have this skill in 2008). I also Get the characters in a way I did not in 2008 which helped a lot. In the rewrite I tried to mimic the manga tone more; the French translation (which is all I had until recently lmao) has this sort of...waxing poetic narration and I needed it for this story to work. I also had to retool basically the whole thing due to the PoV moving from omniscient to limited and the aforementioned issues. Rewriting this damn thing was a labor of love if ever there was one. I was so happy with this rewrite that in my notes I said it felt more like a Rose of Versailles fic than any other RoV story I wrote.

A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose. I probably should not have labeled this a romance; it's more character study + friendship than anything but sometimes I'm stupid. Anyway, this was the first extensive rewrite I did since 2020 and it was pretty much a complete retooling of the original story, which had a fun premise but was way too short to make the idea work properly. This one was another serious labor of love; the story concept was good but the actual structure had to be tossed out, so I had to more or less just write a whole new story while still keeping the parts of the original that worked for me. And while I was at it I made certain it acted as a bridge to Raine's skit with Regal (where they agree that Lloyd surviving is of the utmost importance) as well as an easier segue into her ending, since I felt the game did a poor job of getting us from "she lied about her identity" to "she's so comfortable with it now she's out trying to end discrimination." (Not that the game did a great job with like, any of the character endings save a few, though lol.)

--

💞what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

This is tough because it depends on the story.

Short pieces: Characterization > Metaphors Make Sense > Technical Stuff > Plot > Worldbuilding

Longer works: Characterization > Plot > Worldbuilding > Technical Stuff > Metaphors Make Sense

Like obviously if the technical stuff is dogshit people won't read the story at all, but if we're just talking a few nitpicky details, they matter a lot less in a long fic than in a short one. In a short story you're presenting a bite-sized (or like, cupcake-sized) piece for your reader, and the things that matter in the short-term have to be the most important (like, it's a short story...please edit it before posting, it takes a few minutes to look for typos). I think having a technically sound story is important no matter what but sometimes in long stories you do miss a small thing here or there.

I don't think a short story needs much or any real worldbuilding to be great. Obviously these details are nice in short bursts and fun to see, but they can also REALLY bog down a story if you include too many or the intention is to present something short & punchy. For a long story though, you DO need it, and depending on the canon you're writing for, you may need a lot of it to keep your readers engaged, to help your characters feel more grounded in the world, and/or to help the world feel real.

Metaphors making sense is ranked higher in the short story section because this is where they are most often encountered. It's very very noticeable if you make a terrible metaphor and that metaphor is the crux of the whole 2,000 word long story you're writing. In a long fic you don't see a lot of metaphors generally (and I find most of them just make the story a slog to read) so it's not that big of a deal because you probably won't even use them.

Plot ranks high with longer works because it's literally the second biggest reason people are reading the story. For shorter pieces it's quite low because there is always an audience for pwp and WAFF, which oftentimes have little or no plot.

Characterization remains #1 because nothing jolts me out of a story faster than characters feeling unlike themselves. I understand that sometimes people do drastic AUs and that's great, but if a character I love doesn't feel like the character I love anymore, then I'm out; it's just a personal preference for me. That said, in most situations, characterization makes or breaks any story. Plot matters a lot in a long story but the characterization will always matter more. I'd rather read a basic bitch plot with great characterization than a god-tier plot with mediocre characterization. Also, I do not think this can be overstated, but this is fandom and people are here for the characters; they should ALWAYS matter the most in this medium.

--

🪄what is your post-writing/sharing aftercare? How do you take care of yourself or celebrate yourself when you've finished a fic?

I tried to take a break since I finished writing Break Open the Sky and I've just been bored out of my damn mind, honestly. Started planning the sequel because I can't take it.

Usually when I write something and post it, I just do something else for a while: watch a movie, play a game. I'm an idiot who can't stop working on things to do simple tasks like eat or shower (hyperfocus or die), so usually when I finish something extensive I go look at something that isn't a screen for a while and shower, put in eyedrops, do a load of laundry or vacuum, and get myself something to eat.

Also my biggest writing care tip is CUT YOUR FINGERNAILS. Especially if you're a fast typist like me or if you have arthritis—or there's a history of arthritis in your family (osteo or rheumatoid). Got this advice years ago from @kippielovesyou, I think before a NaNoWriMo; it had never really occurred to me before but now if my hands hurt too quickly I cut my nails and feel like a brand new person again. It's truly wild.

Most touch typists like me use touch so extensively that when our nails get too long we have to use more pressure to feel. To be clear, I'm worse off than most people because I have the aforementioned arthritis + nerve damage in my hands (I have very very little feeling in the tips of my fingers), so I notice the extra pain in my joints very quickly BUT!! It could be a gamechanger for anyone, so I like to pass the knowledge on.

If you DO have the start of carpal tunnel or arthritis or tendonitis PLEASEPLEASE for the love of God don't overdo it. You WILL NOT get your hands back. Please. I'm literally begging. I fucked up my hands and arms in a factory years ago and I am not even 40 and have the hands of a 70 year old woman and permanent restrictions to keep my tendons from rupturing. Don't push through pain; it will not get better. I learned this the hard way and I am passing that knowledge on to you guys. Stretch, drink a lot of water, and give your hands a break when you need it!!!!

[syrupspinner]

i just beat Retro City Rampage DX

if grand theft auto was good

im not fucking around. sincerely, i had infinitely more fun with this game that with gta5. first of all, the story: every time a character in gta 5 spoke i liked them less. i care about none of the people the story focuses on, and the poison levels of caustic south park assholery just suck all of the enjoyment out of the serious crime drama. even then, the game feels stuck between being an irreverent self-parody and a serious crime drama. retro city rampage just chooses one thing to be and does it successfully. sure, im not the target demographic of the Ready Player One nerdy 80s references, but i can respect picking a fucking lane. also, unlike gta5, i never felt the need to skip a cutscene! trevor and michael gave me a fucking migrane after a few hours, but RCR just uses silly skits to introduce the next gameplay setpiece. it feels WAY more congruent with the vibe of a chaotic sandbox, its quick its entertaining and it doesnt ruin anything, its fucking congruent.

a lot of this is thanks to the scope of RCR as an indie game. every time gta5 introduced something new, like the stupid app you need to pick up dog poop or that shallow buisness-purchasing mechanic, it just felt like it was a corporate mandate to make the game more "Triple A" whatever that means. since RCR doesnt have the bloated expectations of an industry breathing down its neck, it can just be a video game. like, the driving sections between gta5 missions are drawn out and waste player time for no reason, because the map is soooooo big and cinematic and its really big and graphics cool big gigabyte. RCR just has a city big enough to be a fun sandbox.

gta5 and RCR both use missions to introduce things you can do in the world, but the later's sillier tone lets the missions be more interesting, less grounded, and feel like one mission isnt less relevant than another. when (i had to google his name) franklin starts a story mission with seven minutes of strip club gameplay, im annoyed because i want to get this drive over with so i can see if this next mission is another repetitive shootout. when Player, the actual name of the character in RCR, has to take shifts from the grim reaper for a few minutes to come back from the dead after being killed by his babymama, im on board for the cartoon shenanigans. this is the importance of tone and cohesion, and just plain 'ol gameplay variety

this game like, made me realize why people like gta. theres a lot of fun in just fucking around and cause chaos, but the missions and story mode give you a direction to point the destruction in. i think the biggest thing turning me off from gta was just how... much it was. its like a demanding, greedy child. RCR feels more like its just a buddy that wants to have a good time.

i dunno, im worried im not articulating myself well enough here. maybe im just biased towards indie games? i mean, i definitely am, but i just feel like AAA games are way more likely to preoccupy themselves with things other than making the game more engaging and enjoyable until they collapse under their own weight. meanwhile, RCR has a a reasonable scope, a concise and pointed direction, and more than anything a respect for the player's time and enjoyment.

so yeah, i totally recommend this game! it goes on sale for like, 4 bucks canadian, so its probably even cheaper with real money. if the reference humour isnt your thing theres the gameplay, and youll know if you like the gameplay after >2 hours in the sandbox.

[slimmestslime]

just went to a con yesterday, pretty decently sized and wasn’t like. fifty people this time. was really fun though

(rambling \/)

saw sooo so many hazbin cosplayers and merch. lord fucking above i was drowning. BUT. i did see a cool as shit daft punk cosplay duo, some hyperspecific guys that im pretty sure handmade their cosplays from scratch. one guy’s stuff was like half articulated and it was a mecha type of thing. so that was pretty awesome. one girl came in on stilts for this like. monster-girl type cosplay? i could be stupid. but it was really cool

the merch booths were half/half. its convention prices As always, but there was some pretty banger shirts and stuff like terrariums and bonsai displays. There was a guy ripping us the FUCK off for 50 dollars a shirt (which were poorly printed), when directly across thw convention a guy was selling 3 for 50.

found a booth that i coined the Plushie Emporium because it was all entirely licensed plushies in like. a box you could walk into. was really cool but by the time i did my 10th lap or so i walked in. realized im five bucks short of buying anything in there nd walked back out. told the lady that i really liked her stock and i dont think she understood me. which um. i feel really bad for.

obligatory japanese food booth, and also two 3dprinted stalls which were neat. one of the stalls decorated like, ram sticks with a pokemon figurine and then other stuff. and im regretting not buying them now… fuck… and they had really nice 3d printed pokemon that were low-poly esque. …my only regret is not buying anything at that booth..

anyway! apart from merch, me and a friend attended some panels. one documenting 90s-late 2000s cosplaying, and another talking about oold old anime. and how anime evolved into the mainstream. both were pretty cool and funny. but we attended this one panell, “who’s line is it!” or, something. and its an improv panel. and holy fuck was it good. like it was rising improv artists doing really funny skits. was genuinely awesome

OH and. ONE person recognized me. he went “Hey Hank.” and i did the fucking thing where you freeze up and all you can say is “Hi!”. nd i felt like such ass i was about to go find the guy again and freak out and be like “YOU KNOW MADCOM TOO?!” but um. my friend told me not to worry abt it. but he was the first person to point me out!!! And of course he sounded like the fucking nerd emoji!!!! i think my brain forgot i Was indeed cosplaying as the wimbleman himself. and i just factory defaulted. sucks but whatever. he probably forgot by now (But i didnt

+before i forget, we played taiko and the controllers they had fucking Sucked. i dont know what wronged them but it SUCKED. i would have been FINE if i knew the KA placement WAS AT THE TOP OF THE RIM!!! I WAS HITTING THE SIDES!!! evil.

anyway. photos! Which isnt many.

^ obligatory wimbleisms, i didnt get many photos of my cosplay cause. i was mainly just Roaming around

^ funny stuff we found. and yes there was unironically good plushies there!! Really good. but then they had these too.

all in all. good convention. got myself a sakura miku figurine, wanted a nendoroid, Didn’t find any at all. but otherwise was fun. and this is technically my first proper convention, my first one was…. small. AND my first time cosplaying!!

i hope i can evolve Walmart Wimble out of the clearance section and actually upgrade the coat, figure out a better headwrap that isnt a cap, aand wire LEDS into the goggles. <- ( took engineering classes for 3 years, I Just Need Materials and a slight handholding. ) OH and bandages. cant forget about bandage wrap for the arms and head.

but yeah im sore as shit. :3!

[klfoxartcommtext]

So an absurdist Norwegian comedy duo I was completely and utterly obsessed with for many years announced that they are playing their first ever live show in November this year in Oslo. Although I haven't been actively fangirling over them for 5+ years, I loved them so fucking much that I felt I just...had to go! I initially decided against it after much painful deliberation. My hyperfixation has moved on of course, with my JxB AU story being the main focus of my life currently. I had the ticket sales open at the launch time - and due to going to a relative's wedding this month in a different part of the country I was beyond skint - so I was completely torn. I thought about how much money I'd have to shell out for it over the next few months (and I don't have much to spend to begin with) and all the commissions I could purchase with the money instead - and I backed off. Decided not to. I'd moved on - they made me manic - I didn't want to be like that anymore, they were in my past etc. etc.

Cut to 3 days later and I hadn't been able to stop thinking about them. My subconscious was bugging me with it and I was dreaming about the show nightly - part of me was hoping the show would sell out and take the decision out of my hands. I looked back at their website - and indeed, the gig sold out in less than 2 days. But - they added a special extra gig the day after! 😭 Clearly the universe (and my heart) was trying to tell me something (LOL) - so I caved. Completely caved - bought a ticket with money I didn't have.

Just to give some additional context, because I do enjoy talking about it - I was such a huge fan of these guys that one of them actually 'discovered' me and got in contact with me. He added me as a friend on FB (he is literally made of sunshine fyi. Part of the reason for said obsession ofc) and saw how much fangirl content I was posting about them on my personal FB. Not only was he not creeped out (or if he was he hid it very well) he eventually asked me if I'd like to post content on their official social media sites. Being that they were my complete existence and his interactions with me were literally adding years to my life, I of course accepted. Went ahead and posted on their sites for about 3 years, loving every motherfucking second. I made fanvideos for them for their Birthdays which they both responded so incredibly to. Although I loved the one who contacted me, the other member - well, he was my super special pash. Completely and utterly delicious - and even though he didn't nearly interact with me as much as his wonderful comedy partner, he did eventually add me on FB himself and would wish me Happy Birthday/Happy Christmas etc. - completely lush. Not only were they aware of me but they apparently 'talked about me a lot' - fuck offfff and when I first went to Oslo on my 'pilgrimage' as I called it (it wasn't to try and stalk them or anything. I just wanted to visit all the places they'd filmed their skits) - my main contact between them (who was following me on all my social medias) literally 'tracked' my movements via Instagram, liking all my posts as I was posting them, and messaged me saying he wished he could be there to show me around. These guys are legitimately famous in Norway, and also around the world through some viral videos. They're actors and composers in their own right - just amazing, amazing guys. Completely and thoroughly lovely. I obsessively collected every bit of work and merch I could get my hands on from them, both physically and digitally - amassing a huge collection including a lot of crafty creations and fan merch I made myself (don't pity me please, I had so much fun. I was living my best life) - got a tattoo dedicated to them - yeah, huge fan. Eventually I ran out of fan fuel and 'moved on' - didn't really follow them for many years, changed my social media accounts for various reasons, started a new phase. Didn't stop my main contact tracking me down on my new Instagram and following me there though. LMAO!

So long story short, I have to do this. I have to be in the same room as them - watch them perform their songs - it'll be incredible. I'm not banking on meeting them, but if I did, it would of course be insane. Again though, just seeing them live will be more than enough.

I worked out that this 3 day trip will knock me back around £500. I've been working overtime this month so I'm hoping I can pay for most things this month and still be able to start new commissions soon, as I have so many plans still. My Mum's Bday is next month as well, so I think July will be pretty brassic for me. I'm holding out hope that I can commission at least 1 new piece next month, but I'll literally have to see how things work out. I don't want this trip to stop me from commissioning new works over the next 5 months, and if I'm thrifty it won't. Especially from August on, I should be back on track will full(ish) force.

[makesitprecious]

It hit me when Em asked "what really happened?" And he immediately deflected to saying brightly "oh you haven't seen the SNL sketch?" An SNL sketch mention felt like a rock dropping in my stomach. He could have been completely honest - no cameras were on, it was just the three of them in his Not Coping In A Healthy Way memorabilia cave, he could have said to these people he's already swindling the honest truth: "it was really fucked up. I saw all my coworkers die. I thought this animal was my friend and it ripped my first crush's face off. Additionally, I blame myself for the chimp's death because the first bump - our friendship - distracted him long enough for the sniper to take the shot."

I remember being horrified when SNL did a "COVID bacteria doesn't have a Christmas party date" sketch and they dressed up an actor with a headpiece that looks like the known scientific bacterial drawing. The social distancing or commentary on people buying toilet paper skits before this had been funny I'll admit I laughed, but this felt too far. People were still dying in the thousands of this disease every day when they did this "poor COVID is dateless :(" sketch. At that time in some countries they had to line deceased bodies in sports stadiums because they couldn't be buried fast enough. The united nations workers were having mental breakdowns because they're accustomed to war and natural disasters like hurricane or earthquake aftermath, but not this sheer level of death and grieving without a cure.

SNL's skit didn't feel like "coping with trauma" like London Bridges or Ring Around The Rosy or the witty test posts here. Covid skit was immediately what I thought of when Juke talked about the chimp skit in a creepy parallel to his past then petered off when he started getting PTSD just from talking about it. Also wtf Mad Magazine for that cover

i think the moment i really Got what nope was trying to say was when jupe was talking about the gordy’s home snl sketch and it cut to a flashback of him as a kid, terrified and bloody after a horrible trauma - and then cut right back to him gushing about the performance of the actors that turned that trauma into entertainment

[the-mothmaam]

The Cycle

I blamed Jessica for being caught in a narcissitic cycle. But I've been caught in a cycle of my own. My research into narcissim helped show just how close its always been to my life. I'm almost certain my dad had it now that I reflect on the kind of person that he was.

He loved to be in the limelight. He never liked to share the stage much when he was Pack Master. All the cool things he did he hyper inflated their importance, because they gave him importance. This usually became more about his skits and inventions, like the Pinewood Derby tracks, which - yes, dad that was both cool and impressive as Hell.

But I didn't have the support I needed from him. And he kept leaving. Mom did the best she could, but she was emotional enough for three parents. The truth of the matter is that I had a pretty fucked up childhood, between the physical abuse and the devaluing my parents put onto my sincere best efforts.

It makes a lot of sense why I would be attracted to someone like that. My presence helps give them the attention they desire. My need to emotionally reinforce people inflates them. And so I feel useful. And if I'm not useful, I'm a nuissance - or at least that's what I was trained to believe. It's why I self sacrifice so much.

I'm shit at self soothing too. I'm always lonely. Always so needy. And that's my cycle. I find people who "need" me and then because I don't know how to self soothe I become clingy, hoping for someone to fix the abyss inside of me that never seems to be filled. And when they don't I break down or lash out. It happened with Glynn, it happened with Cody, it happened with Eto, and it happened with Jessica. In each instance I felt my usefulness slip away and so I became needy and drove them away.

If I can't be enough for myself. I'll never be enough for other people. My inner critic tears me down so often, and with such conviction that I find it hard to believe I can ever permenantly get a leg-up on it. But something tells me that if I don't try then I might end up doing the same thing with Amy, who, since I have a business relationship with, she'll be even less tolerant of it.

Nobody can fix me except myself. And while I have flaws I need to get it into my head that I'm not broken. I don't know how or when I got it in my head that I am, but I have surrounded myself with people who only reinforce that throughout my life.

I wish this mattered for anything in the past that I've screwed up, but I guess that's what life is, fallling down, getting back up and trying better next time. My emotions are just so painful when I think back on everything that I've lost. It's hard for me to cope with loss. Mom talked about her eventual death last night and I nearly broke down in tears. Why can't I be more okay with the transient nature of people AND life? Why do I feel that any of it is due to me to be static? Maybe I'll ask Amy. Something inside me makes me think its just human nature. But that's really fucked up because the human condition runs counter to that axiom. So it seems like, if that's the case everyone, everywhere is always going to exist more stabily. When is it ever going to be enough for any of us?

Shit. I guess I need to work at just being more appreciative of what I have while I have it.... just like they suggested I do in the hospital.

I hate that there is so much Truth that I've never been privlage to just floating around me like some miopic miasma. But that's another problem for another entry / time / session.

[burnthewarlock]

I could feel my head pounding, the blue blood from within running from so many different places on my body. I felt the concrete digging it's claws into my body, like a knife stabbing your back. My powers of flight and fire weren't enough.

I wasn't enough.

The sound of thick rubber hitting the ground at 2 second intervals hit my eyes as I attempted to loom up, the sweat and blood caused my hair to stick to my forehead. The sight of Vulgana's black spandex hit my vision as hard as his punches from earlier did. Fuck, the blood loss was really starting to hit me. Vulgana looked down at my face, his grin stretched for so long, letting me get a terribly good look at his sharp teeth.

"My, my, my, what a pathetic fight that was really. I expected better from the city's top hero, it's a shame. But, I guess that being labeled a murderer," I hears a soft click sound and the shuffling of cloth. Then, a needle being pointed at me. I would have held a hand up to defend myself, I would have set him on fire, but... I could barely move my thumb, my powers had exhausted me too much and the sweat felt thick and suffocating against my skin.

"Wouldn't be so bad." Vulgana' voice was so... it was so rich, it felt to smooth to come from such a person. But as the needle was moved closer to my face and I prepared for death, it suddenly dropped from the gloved hand that held it. I fluttered my eyes opened once more, God, when had I closed them? I couldn't remember. But in front of me, was Hex.

Hex and I had been fighting since I had first became a hero. They may have just been a comedian with a simple goal, but that's what made her unique. They always wore their bright pink hair in a long braid which seemingly went on forever, and they always wore an outfit that felt like a mix between lingerie and actual clothes you'd wear to an office job. They always made me smiled, even though I hated to beat them.

But they were here, right in front of me, their braid scattered from it's usual neatness and flowing freely all around them. Besides having unusual fashion and methods, they'd also been gifted unusual abilities. Healing those within an eighty foot radius at will, which helped make them popular enough to gain minions, and acid control. Despite control over acid seeming like it would act similar to water manipulation, which was well documented, it was difficult to combat and operated much differently. Her shoulders heaved up and down in accordance to their breathing, light groaning was heard in front of them.

"Out of my way, Hex. I'm here to finish the job you're too weak to do." Vulgana's words rung true.

Or so I thought.

I lifted my hand, reaching out for the pink ocean that was my vision.

"Hex... please... you need to run... please..." I hated begging. I never do it and never did it even when a situation required it, but I didn't want Hex to die in my name. She looked at me, her red eyes brighter than the sun in midday. She shook her head.

"Focus on resting, I think this one needs a lesson on why *I'm* your arch nemesis." The conviction in their voice was stronger than any fire I could make, any knife that could come at a civilian. Vulgana laughed, starting out as a chuckle, before descending into a loud and hollow cackle. Hex strolled towards him as if this fight would be over and done with in mere moments. But this felt different from their normal ways of villainy, even their normal ways of helping me. Usually they cracked some sort of joke, or made some unusual noise, or monologued about their plans to take over the city and become my lover.

But there was nothing. No joke, no noise, no monologs or funny comedy skit.

Just silence.

Vulgana' laugh lowered back to a hollow chuckle as he bent his head forwards once more. "You think *you* could defeat me? Me? The one who took out your *pathetic* excuse of a nemesis? You can't even beat them in a regular fi-" The hissing sound of acid raining upon skin and dissolving it was louder than I thought at that moment. An unusual attack, not often used by Hex. The pink mess of knee-length hair continued strolling forth, even after the glob was thrown. An ear piercing scream echoed in the hollowed out lair, no doubt Vulgana's.

"MY FACE! MY FACE FUCKING BURNS! IT BURNS FUCK! YOU BASTARD!" Vulgana took two steps back, a circle of swords dancing back into existence. Hex's acid has never dissolved metals before, I'd rarely even seen it dissolve more than flesh and regular cotton cloth. And yet, when the army's worth of knives hurdled towards her, Hex's small amount of acid, barely more than you'd pour into a regular scientific beaker flowed around them, zipping from one sword to the next and reducing them to nothing but rusted dust. Vulgana, after recovering quickly from the acid attack, ran at them and charged.

"I'LL BRING YOU ALL DOWN TO YOUR KNEES!" Vulgana's one liners were terrible, absolutely terrible, if I may clarify, yet in that moment I believed him. I had been the city's top hero for four years of my eight year career span, yet even I couldn't defeat him. I attempted to stand so i could rush to get them out of the way, but Hex's ability wasn't working quite as fast as I would have liked. And as they stopped strolling towards him, an acid vat was summoned to right in front of them, shaping itself into a cone like structure. Any other person, any sensible person, would have stopped running to punch, yet Vulgana ran forth.

And Vulgana's flesh hissed, and his bones fell to the ground.

The silence in the area was deafening loud. Hex had never been so stoic, so serious and calm. Every time I fought them they were more like a looney tools character. But honestly? I didn't know if I would survive another encounter with them. And as they turned around to face me, I lifted my arms in front of my now no longer bleeding face, holding one eye open to peak at her.

Yet, all I saw on her face, was the same loving grin she gave me every time we fought.

"So, same time next week?"

Your supervillain nemesis is little more than goofy comedy relief, always coming up with clunky machines and insane, nonsensical schemes. When a new dangerous villain appeared, your nemesis utterly destroyed them, and then continued on like nothing happened.

[babyboibucky]

The Match - Part 2

Pairing: CEO!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: The aftermath of matching with your boss on Tinder.

Word Count: 3,344

Warnings: FILTHY SMUT, boss x employee affair, oral (f receiving), fingering, unprotected office sex 🤷🏻‍♀️

A/N: Hmmm yes, part 2 of The Match is finally out and I hope this did not disappoint 😂

The Match Masterlist || MAIN MASTERLIST

“Am I really doing this?”

You asked yourself in the mirror before making a face, “Of course I am.” You huffed out and adjusted your breasts inside your bra.

After your brief yet tension-filled encounter with James, you sprinted to the bathroom as soon as you reached your floor. And mind you, you did that while wearing a tight pencil skirt and a pair of heels. It really surprised you how your thirst made you do that with ease.

If there was an olympics dedicated for thirsty bitches trying to get some, you’d probably bring home the gold with how fast you moved.

You checked your watch for the time, you still had ten minutes left so you made sure to fix yourself up. Of course, the logical part of your brain was screaming for you to get a grip because really? You were going to let your boss fuck you? In his office? During work hours? You were at a damn risk here; you could get caught or even worse, lose your job. But was that going to stop you?

Hell fucking no.

Checking yourself out in the mirror one last time, you let out a deep breath and walked out. Maybe you were just being hyper aware given that you were headed to your boss’ office to get fucked, but you felt uncomfortable as you passed by your colleagues. You offered them polite smiles and tried to act normal. Thank god the elevator was just a few steps away.

“Oh thank goodness, there you are.” Your manager immediately blocked your way and handed you a couple of folders.

“I need you to make a report out of these. I have a presentation before lunch.” She explained.

You frowned, “I’m sorry but aren’t you supposed to do these, not me? Besides, Ja— Mister Barnes called requested me to see him in his office.”

Your manager used to be on the same level as you were but was promoted a couple of months ago. Why? You absolutely have no idea. She wasn’t the best at her job, in fact, you felt like the promotion should’ve been yours. Since she became your manager, she had been passing some of her tasks to you and snatching away the credit like a fucking bitch.

Your managed narrowed her eyes at you, “The James Barnes requested for you? Why?” She asked suspiciously, hands on her hips.

Of course she would be suspicious, you never worked with James before. But the fact that you were going there for a completely different reason made you sweat.

You breathed out through your nose, shaking your head and avoiding your manager’s gaze. “I...who knows? I mean, I have no idea why. He just told me to see him in his office and that’s about it. I really don’t know the reason, why would he even ask for me? Probably not a big deal, it’s very normal to ask a subordinate into your office, right? Do you know why he asked for me?” You were a blabbering mess at this point.

Your manager scoffed, “If I did, I wouldn’t ask you.” She responded before waving a hand. “Anyway, I’ll take care of him. Go and work on the reports now. Before lunch, remember.” She commanded, pointing a finger at you before walking away.

“Wait! But I...” you trailed, looking at the folders in your hand before checking your watch. Five minutes left. “...I was gonna get fucked...” you whispered in disappointment before stomping your way back to your cubicle.

The tantrums you made when you reached your desk didn’t go unnoticed. Who wouldn’t be grumpy anyway? Your manager just cockblocked you on your way to get some D, and it’s not even some regular D. James would probably be balls-deep in you now but instead, you were getting fucked by a report that wasn’t even supposed to be your responsibility.

You were typing away on your computer when you noticed the office chatter start to die down, the loud conversations transforming into hushed whispers. The HR probably paid your floor a visit, you thought and continued to work on the report.

“Any reason why you’re here and not in my office?”

Shit.

Your whole body froze at the sound of James’ voice. No wonder the entire floor grew silent, he was always in his office or out for a meeting. He wasn’t one to visit his subordinates but here he was, standing by your cubicle and looking down at you with dark eyes.

You stood up and noticed that your colleagues were watching, whispering to each other and most definitely wondering why James paid you a little visit.

“I’m sorry, I uhh there was a—“

“Mister Barnes!” Your manager greeted, a little too chirpy, when she saw James. “I was just about to head to your office to tell you that she’s working on an important report. She’ll come to your office when she’s done. I’ll make sure of it.” She said, offering James a huge smile that made you want to gag.

James kept his eyes on you, completely ignoring your manager. You licked your lips and tried your best not to break eye contact.

“And when was it okay to bypass your boss’ orders?” James asked your manager, his eyes still trained on yours.

You bit back a smirk when your manager ended up sputtering out an apology while you and James continued eye fucking each other. While being surrounded by your colleagues. This should worry you actually, the attention you were getting from everyone else seeing that the James Barnes went out of his way to see you. You couldn’t care less at the moment though, not when James was undressing you with his gaze.

“She’s not doing any report this morning. I need her in my office.” James said and tipping his head, asking you to follow him.

You were out of your cubicle in a second and quietly trailed behind James on his way to the elevator, ignoring the curious looks from every colleague you passed by. As soon as the both of you stepped inside the elevator, the torture began yet again.

Standing beside James, a little bit closer now than before, you could feel your skin prickle with goosebumps. The thought of him being all over you in a few minutes was driving you insane. Shit, you were really down to fuck him.

“You know, I don’t like waiting.” He said, turning to you.

“I’m sorry, James. I really—“

“Ah ah ah.” James tutted, backing you up against the corner of the lift— a blind spot, to keep the both you away from the CCTV inside. “That’s not how you called me earlier. Why stop now?” He asked, resting an elbow against the wall caging you with his body.

You let out a tiny whimper, your eyes landing on James’ lips as he bit them. “I’m sorry, sir.” You whispered.

He hummed, leaning forward until his nose touched your cheekbone. “Good girl.” He whispered roughly into your ear.

Your hands found their way onto James’ necktie, tugging him down when you were unable to hold back your desire. But then the elevator dinged and the both of you scrambled away from each other when the doors slid open, revealing a few employees coming from a different floor.

A chorus of greetings for James echoed as they slowly filed into the elevator, pushing you and your boss into the very back. You let out a soft gasp when you felt James’ hands on your waist as he moved behind you, feeling his erection press against your back.

“Can’t wait to have you to myself.” He whispered, sliding a hand down to you ass, giving it a firm squeeze that almost had you keening if not for the company.

-

Just a few hours earlier you were worrying about crossing paths with your boss whom you matched with on Tinder. Now, you were still worried but only about whether you and James would get caught while his face was in between your legs as you sat on his desk.

“Oh my god, right there...fuck...” you breathed out, head thrown back when James’ tongue circled your sensitive clit.

The moment you James’ office door slammed shut, he was immediately all over you. Pinning you to the wall as he hungrily kissed you, hands wandering all over your body, gripping whatever he could.

James was desperate to have a taste of you, his eyes showed it all. But surprisingly, he managed to make you even more desperate for him than he was for you. He pulled away from the bruising kiss, made you stand still as he walked over to his desk, plopping down on his seat.

His eyes scanned you hungrily as he removed his coat, followed by his tie and then unbuttoning the cuffs of his sleeves before rolling it up to his elbows.

“Take your panties off.” James had ordered.

Your breath hitched at the roughness of his voice. Following his orders, you reached beneath your pencil skirt and slipped off your underwear and letting it fall to your ankles before stepping out of them.

“C’mere.” James said and his voice was so tender it made you feel soft.

It’s amazing how James could go from sounding soft to almost feral, now that he was lapping up your cunt like a starved man while his subordinates went on about their work just outside.

“Let me see those tits. Been wanting to see them since I saw that bikini photo you had on your profile.” James growled, reaching up to pull down the cups of your bra, setting your breasts free.

Okay, maybe you sort of overdid your Tinder profile for someone who wasn’t really interested to hook-up. It was only one beach photo though, but now you weren’t regretting uploading it, not even a bit.

You keened when James pinched a nipple at the same time he started tongue-fucking your cunt. The entire scene was straight out of a porno, like one of those Naughty America skits minus the bad acting and terrible monologue between a CEO and his secretary.

“Keep it down, will ya? Gotta stay quiet, else we might get caught.” James warned, pulling back to watch your wetness drip down from your cunt to your asshole.

You blinked your eyes as you panted, watching James as he inserted two fingers into your sopping pussy. “Fuuuuck, James...” you whimpered.

“That’s not my name, baby.” James said, stilling his fingers and chuckling when you began wiggling your hips to get some friction.

“Sir, please...” you pleaded.

“You’ve always been an obedient one, aren’t you?” James cooed, bending down to lick a stripe against your folds while pumping his fingers in and out.

“Even doing a report that isn’t even yours, so fucking obedient.” He grunted.

Your moan was cut short when James’ phone began to ring, your eyes widening in panic when he answered it with nonchalance as if his fingers weren’t knuckle deep in your pussy.

“Hi, about time you called. You have any updates about the deal? He asked casually as he stood up from his seat.

James went on to discuss business with whoever it was on the other line. And this was all the while you sat on his desk with your skirt bunched up to your waist and legs wide open. You were about to close your legs, thinking that this rendezvous needed to be put on hold, but James was quick to grab your thigh to stop you from doing so.

You made a face at him, incredulous that he didn’t seem to have any plans of stopping. In fact, he started unbuckling his belt while keeping his eyes on you.

“Excuse me, can you hold for a sec?” James spoke into the phone before putting his mic on mute.

“Not a damn sound.” He told you and raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response.

Your mouth parted and you weren’t sure anymore whether you were nervous or aroused that your boss was about to fuck you while having a conversation over the phone. James pinched the inside of your thigh when you failed to respond.

“Yes, sir.” You quickly breathed out with a nod.

“Hi, sorry about that. Where were we?” James asked as he unzipped his pants.

Tinder never really piqued your interest that much. It was truly boredom that made you download it. There have been times when you felt like the app had its favorites; hearing your friends gush about this amazing guy they met through the app and all that shit. You almost gave up on the app that Friday night but thank goodness James appeared right before you called it quits.

If your friends were lucky for bagging an amazing guy on Tinder, it was safe to say that you hit the fucking jackpot because not only was James an amazing guy in general, but he had a very, very impressive cock as well.

You felt your pussy throb at the sight of his cock, springing free from the confines of his Calvin Kleins. It was thick and the vein on the underside of his shaft was so prominent you might as well give it a standing ovation.

James ran a tongue over his bottom lip, taking it in between his teeth when he stepped in between your legs to slide his cock along your folds. That gesture alone made your eyes roll to the back of your skull as you threw your head back from the pleasure.

James casually talked on the phone as he lined the tip of his cock to your entrance. Placing a finger on his lips to remind you to stay quiet, he watched your face as he slowly slid inside. You choked on your moan when you felt a slight sting from how his cock was stretching you out. Inch by inch, James pushed himself inside of you until he was fully sheathed.

He stretched you out so fucking good that you suddenly clenched around him, making James cough into the phone to mask the grunt that escaped his lips.

“Fuck.” He breathed out. “That sounds like a tight plan, Sam.” James said through gritted teeth, looking at you pointedly as if warning you to stay put.

James started off with slow, languid thrusts, gauging for your reaction to ensure that you wouldn’t make any noise. Unfortunately for you though, James was hitting all the right spots and it would only be a matter of time that you’d end up whimpering as he fucked you onto his desk.

He sped up his thrusts, pushing into you with more force making you slide up onto his desk every time he slammed back in. Your elbows were aching from how you were leaning your entire weight against them but fuck, you wanted to remain in that position to watch James’ cock disappear into your cunt.

James appeared to be struggling from holding back as well, seeing how his face was turning red and how the veins on his neck were starting to show up. His free hand gripped your thigh tightly, keeping your legs open as he began to speed up his pace.

One particular thrust made you see stars and unconsciously, you let out a moan that immediately turned into a gasp when James wrapped his free hand around your throat.

“That sounds great, Sam. When are you free to meet to further discuss the details?” James asked, his eyes glued onto yours as he pounded into you mercilessly.

His grip around your throat tightened each time you squeaked out the tiniest noise. You were so out of it now; James was fucking you so good that it slipped your mind that you were at work and that James was, well, your boss— the CEO of the company actually.

James could feel your pussy flutter around his cock and quickly put his phone on mute before grunting, “C’mon, baby. Cum for me, make a mess on my cock.”

His command spurred you on and your climax hit you with no warning at all. The coil in your abdomen simply snapped, reducing you into a trembling mess as you came around James’ cock the same time he let go of your throat, only to cover your mouth with his hand as you let out a long, muffled whimper.

“Great, I’ll have my secretary schedule the meeting then. It was great talking to you, Sam.” James literally let his phone slip from his hand as soon as the call ended.

He held your waist with both hands as he chased his own orgasm, fucking you harder until he slipped out and came on your mound.

“Fuck...” he panted as he jerked off his cock, milking it until your folds were covered in his release.

Holy fucking shit, your boss was truly down to fuck. And it was one hell of a fuck too.

-

You had just finished cleaning up yourself when you somewhat regained your consciousness. Now what? This was what you were worried about, the aftermath of fucking the CEO.

“You good?” James asked as he sat down on his chair.

You nodded and tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear, “Yes, sir.”

“Bucky.” James corrected.

“I’m sorry?” Wait, what?

James shrugged, “If we’re going to start working closely, I prefer if you called me by my nickname.” He explained.

You frowned, “I don’t understand?”

What the hell was going on? James sorted through the stack of his papers on his desk (most of which were crumpled when you ended up grabbing them as he fucked you) and handed one over to you.

“You’re promoted as the head of your department.” He announced with a small smile.

Now you were offended. Did he promote you for letting him fuck you? Was this his plan all along? You couldn’t understand a single thing that was going on and James was attentive enough to figure out what you were thinking. You stared at the formal letter discussing your promotion and then back up at James.

“The promotion has nothing to do with us fucking.” He reassured. “Do you think I don’t pay attention to my employees? I know each and everyone in this company, their performance and how they do their jobs. And you...” James said, standing up and walking around his desk until he stood in front of you.

“I’ve been watching you for quite a while now. You have impressive skills. Your reports are exquisite, you know how to manage a team, you’re very smart. Quite the entire package.” He explained with a shrug.

“I’m not sure how my manager will take this given that—“

“That promotion was supposed to be yours but I asked the HR to give it to her instead. You deserve being more than just becoming a manager so now you’re a department head. You’re required to directly report to me moving forward.” James bit his lip as he tipped your chin.

You were at a loss for words. All this time, you thought that your hardwork and efforts haven’t been paying off.

“What do you say?” He asked, tilting his head. “And just so we’re clear, the promotion has been decided before I even stumbled upon your Tinder profile.” He explained.

You let out a chuckle, still unable to believe what had just happened. Your boss fucked you, gave you one of the best orgasms in your entire life and also gave you a promotion. Talk about good fucking luck, all thanks to Tinder.

“Uh I...yes...I’m accepting the promotion.” You said excitedly.

“Good.” James said, taking a step back from you giving you your space back.

“The announcement of the promotion will be e-mailed in a few. Congratulations and I’ll see you tonight.” James said with a smirk.

You narrowed your eyes at him, “Tonight?”

“Yeah, we’ll celebrate your promotion. You’re not just the head of your department, baby. You’re mine now.”

-

Everything Bucky Tag List:

@ddowii @jessou893 @stealapizzamyheart @bagelofthelord @mxnt @dontputyourfckingdrinkonmytable @jeeperky @ohladymacbeth @wildflowergubler @supraveng @twinerd14 @buckysmar  @bakugouswh0r3 @sweetcoldharmony @wintersfilm @charminivy @amelia-song-pond @iamvalentinaconstanza @mcubqrnes @i’m-squished @tcc-gizmachine @sipsteacasually @prettyintopeerpressure @weloveyasmin @est19xxshit @bloodhon3yx @dressed-in-prada @lizette50 @thatfangirl42 @sunflowerbunny2​ @unmagically​ @okiegirl24 @sugarpunch-princess @enlyume @vvipgotbb @slimeyderp @lyoongx @just-deka @nobody-will @jaziona92 @elisebuitron @dpaccione @suvikamahes98blr @buckybarneshairpullingkink @earthtonav @x-judyjude-x @nani-kenobi @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @belladonnabarnes​ @iloveangstposts @weenersoldierr​ @asemistablehundredyearoldman​ @reidbuck​ @lizzarooni​ @girlfriday007​ @5-seconds-of-mendes​ @whoth3hellisbucky​​ @bonkywobble​ @lost-in-the-stars03 @its-yasbxtch @twinerd14 @bluehour-553​

The Match Special Tags:

@marvelslag​ @weird-mumbling​ @propertyofpoeandbucky​ @lostinthoughtsandfeelings​ @mostly-marvel-musings​ @squishybabies​ @megzdoodle​ @little-baby-vixen​ @annathesillyfriend​ @xhollycowx​ @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog​ @5-seconds-of-mendes​ @gogolucky13​ @countonthesun​ 

[storiesforallfandoms]

backstage ~ pete davidson

word count: 1960

request?: yes!

“Can you do a Pete Davidson smut on the set of SNL”

description: in which a backstage tour turns into something a little more

pairing: pete davidson x female!reader

warnings: swearing, smut

masterlist (one, two)

“And this is the writer’s room,” Pete said as he led me into a room with a large desk surrounded by multiple chairs. “This is where we come up with the skits and the jokes. There’s John, being the loner he is.”

“You say that like it’s a joke but you’re my best friend so what does that say about you?” John asked, not looking up from his laptop.

Pete chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist. “Moving on - ”

“Hold on!” I cut him off. “We are not just sweeping past John Mulaney like that. You know how much I love him.”

This made the older comedian look up from his laptop and smile at me. “Oh, I like this girl. She’s got good taste.”

Pete rolled his eyes at the two of us. “You can come back and talk to John before we start filming. This is a big set and I told you I’d show you all of it.”

I playfully pouted at him before waving goodbye to John and continuing to follow Pete through the unfamiliar building.

Pete had been dying to give me a tour of the SNL backstage basically since we had started dating. Our schedules never lined up enough to be able to, but I had finally managed to get a full weekend off and Pete decided to take advantage of that.

The set was much larger than I thought, with every castmate having their own dressing rooms, plus special rooms for the hosts and musical guests. So many rooms for writing and editing, and the massive set where everything was filmed, usually in front of an audience. I didn’t understand how Pete didn’t get lost every day, even if he was familiar with the place.

“And finally,” he said once we neared the end of his tour, “my home away from home.”

He pushed open the door with his name written on a wooden plaque. The room definitely screamed “Pete”. Besides the smell of weed smoke that seemed to linger no matter how long Pete wasn’t there, the room was also littered with little things he liked to have with him at all times: pictures of his dad, his mom, the two of us, little gifts I had always given him for every season premiere, little things from his other friends.

There was a comfortable looking couch along the wall that was begging for me to lay down on it. I sighed in relief the moment my back touched the couch, my legs and feet aching from the heels I decided to wear.

Pete chuckled at my reaction. “I told you to wear something comfortable.”

“And I told you I wanted to make a good impression on your co-stars, which includes a nice outfit.”

I had decided on a long sleeved white shirt and a short, plaid skirt to wear on set, with a pair of black booties that were nice when I put them on, but now that I had been walking around in them for almost an hour I was regretting my wardrobe choices.

Pete smiled and came to lay down on the couch on top of me, his legs between mine and his hands on either side of my head. “Baby, you could wear a garbage bag and everyone here would still be impressed by you.”

“Well, I’ll do that next time then.”

He chuckled and lowered himself so he was kissing me. It was a quick kiss on my lips before he dipped his head to kiss my neck. I giggled as the slight stubble he was starting to grow tickled my neck, followed by a moan as he found the spot on my neck that always drove me wild.

“The skirt does give me some easy access, though,” he mumbled against my neck as one of his hands traced up my bare leg and dipped under my skirt. I gasped as he ran a finger over my clothed clit - or, just barley clothed as I was wearing a G-string. “God, baby, I’ve barley touched you and you’re already soaking wet.”

I moaned as his finger slipped under my G-string and inside of me. He was quick to cover my mouth, a cheeky grin on his face at my reaction.

“You have to be quiet, baby,” he said. “Anyone could come catch us at any time.”

I bit my lip to try and keep quiet as his finger slid in and out of me, first at a slow pace. My moans came out as squeaks and whimpers of pleasure as his pace began to pick up and he slipped another finger into me. I was basically writhing underneath him, which I could tell he was taking a lot of pleasure in.

With two of his fingers in me, he pressed his thumb against my clit and began to rub painfully slow circles, causing my body to arch against him. It was becoming harder to hold back my moans and I had to cover my own mouth with my hand.

“God, this is so fucking dirty,” Pete commented. “Finger fucking my beautiful girl on the couch of my dressing room? Where all my co-workers come in and hang out with me? Man, I’ll never be able to look at this couch the same.”

“It’ll be a nice memory of me,” I said, trying my best to smile up at him but another whimper being let out instead.

“I’ll never not think of you when I’m in this room again,” he confirmed, lowering himself to kiss my neck again.

I was already nearing my climax when Pete’s fingers were removed from my wet core. I looked up at him with puppy dog eyes and my lips pouting. He brought his wet fingers to his lips and took them in his mouth.

“Fuck,” I breathed. I didn’t think it were possible, but I managed to become even more wet at the sight.

“Flip over on your hands and knees baby,” he told me.

I excitedly did as he told me, spinning to be back on to him on my hands and knees. I started reaching for my panties to take them off, but his hand caught hold of my wrists before I could.

“Leave them on,” he said. “I think it’ll be extra hot to fuck you with your skirt and panties still on.”

I nodded excitedly and got back into my position. Pete stood for just a moment, long enough to undo his jeans and let them, and his underwear, fall to the floor. My heart was racing as I felt the couch dip behind me again and Pete pulling my panties to the side as he lined his head up with my entrance.

As he pushed himself inside of me ever so slowly, his other hand came to rest on my back, pushing me down till my head was buried in the couch cushions.

“Best way to keep you quiet,” he said. “I don’t intend to go easy on you.”

“I don’t want you to go easy on me,” I responded.

I looked over my shoulder to see the smile on Pete’s face. He took hold of my waist with both hands and started to thrust slow at first, making sure I was comfortable and fully stretched around him. Once he was sure I was okay, his thrusts gradually got quicker and rougher until he was pounding me so hard that the only sounds in the room were that of skin slapping against skin.

I buried my face in the couch again, trying my best the muffle the moans that were basically turning to screams of pleasure. However this process was basically moot as the sound of our skin slapping against each other and Pete’s own moans and groans of pleasure would definitely alert any passersby of our activities.

Being adventurous with our sex was definitely nothing new to Pete and I. Whenever one of us was in the mood, we’d initiate it wherever we wanted. In bathrooms, fitting rooms, in the back of his car, wherever we could get some form of privacy while also being a little too out in public.

But there was just something different about having him rail me in his dressing room mere minutes before he was set to go live. At any moment someone could walk past, or one of the producers could come knock on the door. Or, heaven forbid if he didn’t lock the door, someone could just walk in and catch the two of us. All of that just made our secret rendezvous a little more naughty and sexy. While I didn’t want to be caught by any means, the thought that it would be so easy to be caught drove me wild.

Pete’s thrusts became so rough that I could hear the couch legs scraping across the floor as it moved. My legs were already feeling like jelly and I had a feeling I was going to have trouble walking to set with Pete when this was over.

His hand ran up my back and through my hair before giving my head a rough tug back. I yelped at the sudden pain that I felt in my head before it dissolved into a moan. Pete pulled me back till my back was against his chest and leaned in close to my ear.

“You feel so good,” he breathed into my ear. “God, even after all this time, you’re still so tight around me.”

“You keep talking like that and I’ll cum around your cock in no time.”

The hand in my hair crept around my front to grab me by the throat. “You say that as if it’s not what I wanted.”

His other hand slipped between my legs and began rubbing at my clit, causing all sorts of pleasure to run through me. My body started to tremble as I felt myself nearing my climax. The hand around my throat squeezed slightly as I let out a cry of pleasure, my walls tightening around him.

Pete grunted in my ear a few more times before I felt him filling me up as well. I took a deep breath in when he let go of my throat, although my head was still spinning.

Pete pulled out of me just in time for a knock to come on his door. “Give me a second!”

He quickly pulled his pants and boxers back on as I adjusted my skirt and panties. Although I was sure whoever was at the door wouldn’t notice the wet spot that had suddenly appeared on the couch, I still decided to cover it with a pillow just in case.

One of the producers was stood at the door. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that we’re starting in roughly five minutes!”

“Thanks, I’ll be there soon,” Pete responded. He shut the door and looked back at me. His eyes travelled down to my legs as an amused look crossed his face. “You got something on your leg there hun.”

I looked down to see a single string of warm liquid running down my inner thigh. “Oh fuck.”

I reached for a tissue but Pete stopped me. “Wait, don’t clean it yet. I’d love to know you’re in the audience watching me with my cum running down your legs.”

“Okay, that’s hot, but I don’t want your co-workers thinking I peed myself or something.”

“I’ll tell them the truth if you want.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved him towards the door. “Go to set! Let me clean up. I’m sure there’s more there that can fulfil this fantasy you have.”

Pete smiled down and gave me one last kiss before rushing to set.

[asylumwise]

I've just started watching the rerun and I think I'm gonna cry??? The brainrot is real. Gonna just liveblog in this post so I can reread my train of thought later. So, for your entertainment: my rundown of the KPWT

(edit: added skit titles for clarity)

That intro is just... ✨cinematic masterpiece✨

But can you image how it must have felt for them? Standing there in their swag outfits just waiting for the screens to rise while that thriller music is making your heart race and you hear a whole arena screaming?

They all look so fucking proud of eachother during the introductions 😍

Them welcoming us in different languages is also verrrrry... 🥵

I know live translating/subtitling is a noble art but was there no way to prepare the scripted parts in advance?

(TayTimeTem skit)

Love this first song, had it in my spotify playlist since watching the live stream 😂 I'm also getting really good at singing in phonetic Thai

Having not read the original novel, I was never really into the TayTimeTem-thing, but omg this show makes me wish we had 20 eps so they could have explored that storyline thoroughly as well. Especially Us would have given us everything

(Jeff solo)

I can't begin to explain the way "Why don't you stay" pulls on my heartstrings. For me, it's up there in my top 5 of most beautiful songs ever (with Harry Styles' Sign of the Times & Pink Floyd's Wish you were here, for example). It breaks my heart to hear how Jeff's still a little hoarse after his covid infection 😭 there were definitely some flat notes there that wouldn't have been there otherwise

(Slot Machine performance)

Wish I could see a live performance of Slot Machine one day, looks like they're amazing live. I've been listening to them on Spotify and I really love their music!

Pretty sure that Mile's more showing off and having a good time than actually playing and I love that for him. He's so fucking precious.

Jeff. Look at you. Jeff. Gorgeous rockstar. You were born to stand on such big stages. Jeff. Please conquer the world. I wanna see you live one day. Love you Jeff

My mouth fell open the first time I heard him hit those notes in Lost Stars - he's a fucking talent and I'm sure he can be the next big thing in rock. It's quite hard to explain to people in the real world how much I love him 🤣

(VegasPete skit)

Bible YES. Do it to me. Props to the music and choreography team. And the scene setting 👌 also A+ on the BibleBuild acting.

(Nodt solo)

OMG the Big sequence 😭😭 I don't know who came up with it but Nodt is killing it. You can almost touch the pain on his face. I also love it how the crowd goes wild when he confirms Big was in love with Kinn.

(Us & Build duo)

Having just been to Tomorrowland, that amount of EDM and laserlights is really triggering 🤣 But omg their dancing looks so much fun

(Anita & Barcode stuff)

YES MOM. Having Anita dance to Doja Cat makes no sense at all (not for her character nor for her amount of screentime) but I'm so here for it. Might be the pansexual in me speaking.

And BAM suddenly we understand why everybody's always hyping up Barcode. That kid is gonna be BIG. He's a totally different person when he's on stage doing his thing - hard to imagine the cute and shy kid he is rest of the time.

Love how Anita/Namphueng is like 'let me put a coat over you' while he's already wearing like, 5 layers

'My older son is handsome, my younger son is sweet' - 'isn't my mom handsome?' WE WERE ROBBED

I know it's controversial but I love that little grain of KimChay closure they've given us. I liked how they ended in the series: Kim realising that he has a lot of groveling to do and Chay taking agency - but not ending together, giving Chay space and time. He's 19 - I like to imagine he takes a few years to grow up and learn to be himself before they collide again, and take it from there.

(Jeff solo WDYS english version)

THERE IT IS. I was waiting (after having watched the clips on youtube for daaaaays). This is devastatingly beautiful for me (again, for reason I can't explain myself). It's not even the fact that it's in English - by now I've become so used to the Thai version that the sounds are wrong. But omg the scenery and setting. The piano, the build-up, the choir and Jeff just releasing it. I honestly don't know why this man isn't world wide famous yet (yes I will die on this hill). It will take a long time before I'm over this.

(KinnPorsche beach skit)

Honestly the beach bar part is one I liked less. Even if we have KinnPorsche being adorable and MileApo going 60% tiddies again. Mile has an amazing and soothing voice tho. And his fingers while playing guitar are 🥵

At first I thought the places on the those wooden signs might be clues to future stops of the world tour, but 'Iceland' is on them and although that would be awesome, I don't see it happening anytime soon 😅

(Minor family skit)

It will never not be funny to me how they give us a Minor family montage with the melancholic music and sad Vegas moments and then have Bible flying over the stage half naked to Imagine Dragons' Believer.

And that's not even mentioning what comes next.

Ta entering on skateboard is such a Macau thing. But I have conflicting feelings about the outfit - but only because I thought Macau was like 15 and that makes my tingly feelings very inappropriate.

Ex is the finest daddy to ever daddy (or more like, ultimate zaddy). Do you think this is just a regular friday night in the Minor family household?

Just, what was the train of thought behind this act? What was the process? Who came up with the idea "the minor family is hot, let's put them in leather and harnesses". I have questions.

Ex has a very peculiar accent, lots of rolling r's.

(Sailor Moon skit)

Oooh this is the part I missed during the livestream! I know what's coming tho and I have even more questions.

But Perth is clearly living his best life so good for him.

I should have watched Sailor Moon as a kid.

So much respect for them doing that skit in high heels. And omg their legs? How are they so elegant??

Tong, you absolute king. MVP.

The state of Perth's wig is atrocious.

(Justice Bao skit - had to look that up)

Next part. I love how Apo is hanging there literally going 'This was all Mile's idea and I'm just going along for the right because I (platonically) love that bastard'.

(Bodyguard/Magic Mike skit)

Wait you're telling me there was a poledance and it wasn't Bible doing it?

As someone who often comes into contact with high-end events & awardshows in their professional life, I'm really impressed with the production value of this show 😳

That bodyguard/Magic Mike part. How did the people on the front row SURVIVE???? 🥵🥵🥵

I've been using the 🥵 emoji a lot.

(Pond intermezzo)

Oh those clips 😊 little babies <3

I want that t-shirt. What was the deal with the merch again? When is it open for international orders?

(Cast speeches)

Hello I'm in love with Perth's Australian accent. Hello Perth baby sending love from Belgium!

Even though I only understand half of what they're saying (due to the slow subtitles), I'm so fucking touched by all of them. Love how they're all getting emotional the longer it takes. I'm really enthralled by these sixteen (16) men. How they clearly like and love eachother and lean on eachother. How they all express their gratitude to everyone and especially P'Pond. I love that man so much for what he did for them. And us ofcourse!

STOP IT BUILD I'M GONNA CRY WITH YOU

Apo's speech I'm - 😪 And omg Bible?? Who ever made these babies feel bad? Imma smack a bitch.

I feel like the translator just gave up halfway Mile's speech. Fair enough 😂 he's giving off real "I do what I waunt" vibes, mr. one-of-the-CEOs-of-BOC. But oh the 'family' part 😭

(Cumulus)

Aaah the long awaited Cumulus. They're really good musicians and what they're lacking in the vocal department, they're more than making up in fun.

Thai pop/rock music has some absolute bangers. These are alle going in my spotifiy playlist.

Yeah I'm gonna need about 200 high quality photo's of Jeff and Barcode singing together with the latters foot on Jeff's knee.

I hope they're saying sorry to those background singers for being such a bundle of chaos

(Finale)

THAT TRAILER I don't know what to say guys, this movie can actually only disappoint after the expectations that trailer raised.

I want to go clubbing with these guys so bad. Or even better, go to Tomorrowland (biggest and best EDM festival in the world) with them. I'll secure a spot on the bill for Ta, he's doing better than 50% of the dj's I've heard there.

Their dancing is... sorry sweating and dirty thoughts only

How is this WHOLE cast so exceptionally beautiful?

However much I love this and however much fun they seem to be having, they also look dead on their feet. But who wouldn't be after this marathon of a show?

Ooooh the famed Macarana remix! This is actually... really good? I want this in clubs this summer! (not that this mom of two is doing a lot of clubbing nowadays)

Wow Ta is actually a really good dj

(the end)

Bye boys, love you. So happy I got to see this show in full and with complete concentration. Thank you for giving it your all!

I don't think this full show is going to be the one that's going on tour, it'll probably a much smaller version. I'm very curious about what it's gonna be tho and if it's coming to Europe (to an easily accessible city), I'll sure as hell go see it!

The show's over and I have 6 minutes to spare so that's me rewinding tot 01:58:00 for Jeff's WDYS on piano kthxbye

[readingiskeepingmegoing]

The fact that I was even awake when you dropped this, the rest of the house is asleep, and I had to muffle my squeals of glee!

Buckle up because I have many thoughts and I need to share them.

I had never experienced anything like it before. It only further proved that this woman fucking owns me - mind, body, and soul. The scariest part is that I was willingly giving her all of myself. I didn’t second guess it. I knew I was falling hard and was suddenly open to dealing with any pain that might come from it.

Oh! 🥹 Sweet boy, you are so ready for this.

“You’re so fucking perfect. You know that? You’ve absolutely ruined me for anyone else,” I mumbled against her mouth.  

He's finally getting the attention and affection that he has always deserved.

I loved that she was making an effort to be involved with one of my favorite hobbies. No one else had bothered to even try or cared to.   

She's definitely the one!

I was relieved to know that she knew about the two of them already. I could tell that she was hurt by the pictures, but she wasn’t letting it get to her. Luckily, it was our day to film the Dirty Dancing skit. I made it my mission to keep her laughing all day, making a complete fool of myself as we filmed.  

This makes me quite emotional. He was so concerned with making Kat feel better. It could be said that that's growth for Dieter, but I like to think that it's actually the real Dieter finally coming into the light.

The foot massage incident followed that conversation. I had to laugh about that now. I legitimately hadn’t intended to get her worked up the way I had.

That whole things lives in my head rent free now 🥵

My hope was that we might finally talk about things, given how the day had gone. However, I never expected it to go from zero to a hundred in an instant.  

The moment she finally kissed me, I felt like I was having an out of body experience. It didn’t seem real. I had wanted it so badly for so long that I couldn't believe it was actually happening.

Oh, sweet boy 🥹 Hehqs needed this for so long

I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had sex while sober. It had been a very long time, but I knew without a doubt that it hadn’t been like this. I didn’t feel the things I was feeling with her. I had never felt them with anyone. She had awoken something inside of me and brought me back to life. It was scary but also sort of freeing. It solidified the fact that I was irrevocably in love with her, and I knew I would do anything it took to keep her happy and safe.  

This is so incredibly beautiful. He has deserved this all along, and now he's finally getting to experience it with Kat. It's perfect.

I needed to show her that she deserved more, and I would happily give her everything. Even if that meant opening myself up to the things I was afraid of. 

I don't think even Dieter realises quite how deeply he has fallen for Kat. She is changing everything for him.

My smile faded, “I’d like to avoid drama with Alec as well since we have to put up with him for a bit longer. I worry about what he might do too... As far as Stacia and Joe go, they can fuck right off. I’m not playing their games.”

I feel like Alec will be expecting Kat to be pining away for his sorry ass, hahahahahahaha! Too bad, so sad.

And as for Joe and Stacia, hmmmmm. They will for sure try to play even more nefarious games. Shit-stirring little twat-waffles.

My eyes widened as I looked at Kat. I could see her jaw clench before she forced a fake smile and a polite laugh, “He is a good dancer, even better so now that I’ve spent many long days and nights helping him perfect his technique…” 

Yes! Mark your territory, Kat!

#HeLostHisPantsAgain 🤣🤣

I reached down to the hem of her dress, running my hand up the inside of her thigh, but she smacked it away, “No sir. You can have me after the show…when we go back to our hotel suite.” She paused, then wiggled her ass again, “I wanna take my time with you.”  

Bloody hell! Dieter, my love, you have met your match.

For the movie buffs, you may know me from my Oscar winning role in Hunger Strike. I know, it was a while ago…but I’m still an Oscar winner…so suck it, Darren Eigen.” (Darren Eigen is the Director for Cliff Beasts 6) 

I chuckled against her ear, “Yeah? Did I get you all hot and bothered, sweetheart?”  

She pulled back, peering up at me through her lashes with a smirk. She nodded. “Yeah?” I asked with amusement. She nodded again. I leaned back down next to her ear, “Do you wanna have sex with me?” 

Her eyes softened as she reached up to run her fingers through the hair at my temple, “I trust you, ya know. You make me feel…differently…when it comes to this. I know you’ll respect me. I want us to be able to communicate openly about what we’re feeling…and wanting. I’ve never felt safe enough to be like that with anyone until now.”  

Daaaaaaaaamn! Kst, Dieter wants to hear everything. EVERYTHING!

“Truth be told…the only answer I can give…is you. I only want you…as much as you’re willing to give me…and I want you to have all of me. I’m yours.” 

These two are reducing me to sn emotional puddle!

Her head turned so that she could glance at me over her shoulder, “I don’t remember telling you that you could touch yourself.”  

After a few minutes passed, my arms snaked around her waist so that I could shift us both to our sides. I made a point to pull her closer against me, making sure she knew that I was here for her. Something about that moment felt vulnerable. Not just for me, but for her too. Neither of us were used to having this after. For the first time, it really hit me how much I had been craving her intimacy. Not just taking but giving too.  

He's such a caring soul. Quite frankly, it's criminal that no one chose to get to know that side of him before now.

Her eyes widened at the comment as I took a moment to realize what I had actually said, “Oooooh, looks like you’ve got a new nickname…and you’ve earned this one.”  

When I pulled up the pillow on the far side, it revealed something purple wedged between the mattress and headboard that caught my attention. I crawled across the bed to grab it. I nearly snorted when I realized what it was. Then it hit me, she definitely wasn’t doing yoga yesterday morning. I fucking knew it. Was she thinking about me then? I felt my dick twitch and had to change my train of thought.  

This made me cackle. This has given him so many ideas!

“It’s just that Alec was weird about it…said it created unreasonable expectations…and that it was probably the reason I had trouble having an orgasm with him. When in reality it was just him apparently, because I definitely do not have that issue with you.”  

I really want Kat to say that to Alec 🤣🤣

Kat sighed quietly, then smiled as her fingers twisted tighter around the strands she was gripping, “Where’ve you been all my life, Dieter Bravo?” 

My stomach felt like it was doing flips from the way she was looking at me. She was literally taking my breath away. After closing the distance between us, I kissed her deeply. Trying to convey the depth of my feelings for her without words. I kept it brief, soon breaking away to meet her gaze with a smirk, “I’ve been waitin’ for you to find me, honey.”  

Her tinkling laugh caused my heart to race as she leaned in to capture my lips with hers. She was so fucking perfect. At that moment I knew I would do anything to make her happy and keep her in my life, including staying sober.  

🥹 This is so incredibly huge. I wondered what Dieter's therapist will say about all these realisations he's having

Then the images in my mind shifted slightly to include a sparkling ring set on her left hand and a simple band on mine. This was another first. I had never considered giving myself to someone like that, but now I longed for it.

This is making me so emotional and hopeful.

She was actually making me feel happy. It was overwhelming, making me feel breathless as she smiled at me.  

🥹 This is beautiful to see, but also quite heart-wrenching. Who was the last person to Dieter feel truly happy?

Evan could sense that I was getting worked up. He subtly nudged me with his elbow, “D, I got it. Just go wait in the car so this guy will fuck off.” 

Evan is fantastic, I'm really glad Dieter has someone like him in his corner.

He stopped at a red light, then turned in his seat to look between us, his eyes immediately dropping down to see our entwined hands on the seat. Kat and I looked between each other and Evan, wide-eyed as a huge grin spread across his face.  

“I fucking knew it!” 

I sighed and raked my free hand down my face, “Evan, please shut up.”

Hahahaha 😆 I absolutely love Evan

I cleared my throat and gave her a questioning look, “I-Is that a sex swing?” 

I knew this was coming. I knew it would be happening. But I still wasn't prepared for those words to come out of his mouth 🤣

He bumped me with his elbow, “You guys are too damn cute. Dude, you’ve got it so bad. I’ve never seen you like this…” 

I raised my hand, “Stop. I don’t wanna hear it.”  

He held up his hands in surrender, “Ok. Ok. All I’m gonna say is, I approve. She’s fucking awesome…and hot. She makes you look like less of a hot mess.”  

Evan is hysterical. Everyone should have an Evan!

My eyes immediately sought out Zee so I could scoop her up and cuddle her. I found her sitting at the edge of the couch. I don’t know what sort of reaction I expected from her, but sassy indifference wasn’t it. She gave me serious side eye as I sat my keys, wallet, and phone down and toed off my shoes.  

Oooooh, you are in so much trouble 🤣🤣

I easily found it on the top shelf because Evan had apparently printed a label for it that said ‘Queen Zee’s Fucking Chicken’. 

Hahahaha 😆 Evan and Zee have their relationship. It might not be the most cordial, but it is theirs.

I chuckled, “Uh, I didn’t know that was an option. Do I get extensions too? I think it would look fabulous. I could give Fabio a run for his money.” 

That image is in my head now 🤣🤣

The side-eyed glances as we joined the rest of the cast did not go unnoticed. I couldn’t figure out why they were all looking at us like that. If looks could kill, Alec would have definitely taken us out right then. Our gazes had locked for a brief moment. There was something about his glare that sent a shiver down my spine as he calmly turned to leave the staging area. I tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in my gut as I turned back to Kat, who was smiling up at me with her face flushed from the adrenaline of the moment.

What the hell is going on? What has been going on while they've been away?

His smile slowly faded, his eyes turning emotionless. This was different. For the first time, I was truly concerned for my safety.

Shit! Dieter’s gonna kill him.

How do we think things are going with our two love birds so far? This chapter brought us lots of smut, more smut, flirting, and ridiculous cuteness during their last days in NYC. They are definitely going for it. I think Kat is going to learn a thing or two from Dieter, for sure.

I think things are going wonderfully with them so far. Obviously, there are going to be ups and downs. This week's ending is going to cause issues. I doubt Dieter will willingly let Kat out of his sight once he finds out about it. But they are building a good foundation based on mutual trust and mind-blowingsex, and I have high hopes for their future.

We all knew Dieter would be a menace (shame on him for the SNL monologue change up), but did we expect Kat to be just as bad?

They both have devilish senses of humour, so I'm really not surprised that Kat gave as good as she got.

We got to see Kat get a little territorial over her man. Do we think she is going to get sick of people hitting on him at some point?

I think it's going to irk her, because she can't be open about their relationship yet. But the second that they decide to announce and let people know, she will probably get a shirt printed for him saying "Claimed by Kat," and we all know he'd wear it. Hell, he'd probably get it tattooed on his ass!

How about that bit with Kat mumbling in her sleep, did anyone see that coming after last chapter?

She's been through a lot in quite a short space of time. It makes sense that she is working through things in her dreams. Her asking Dieter to stay in her sleep just goes to show how safe and secure she feels with him.

What do we think about Kat's new nickname?

Oh I love it! It's adorably sweet and just the right amount of sexy.

And we got the Dieter/Zee reunion! We all knew she wasn’t going to let him off easy.

Good girl Zee, for making him pay in chicken and snuggles!

We all know Stacia and Joe are going to be up in their business after NYC. There will 100% be antics on Dieter and Kat's part when it comes to that. What do we think they are going to do?

Dieter and Kat are going to play them like fiddles. They're not going to let Joe and Stacia call the shots they think they're calling anymore. Those two have bitten off more than they can chew with Dieter Bravo.

We all knew Alec was going to continue to be a problem. Did you see that ending coming? How do you think this situation is going to go?

I didn't see him going this far, to be quite honest.

Alec is going to get more than a little boo boo this time. My only hope is that it's not Dieter who walks into that room and finds them. Let it be anyone but Dee, because I fear he will give into the fear and rage the scene will invoke in him and that will just play into Alec's hands.

But at the same time, I want that bastard to pay for his actions. This is wholly unacceptable, and he needs to have the harshest sanctions imposed and should absolutely be facing criminal charges. How dare he lay hands on Kat! I'm wrathful!

Closed Position: Week 5 (Rumba Part 4)

Closed Position Masterlist ||| Main Masterlist Dieter Bravo x OFC (Katarina)

Series Summary: Dieter Bravo, now sober, was looking to change his bad boy image after hitting rock bottom. His team hoped that having him join the nationally televised family friendly dance competition, Dancing with the Stars, would be a good first step, if they can keep him out of trouble. 

Katarina Stamos expected her last season as a professional dancer on the show to go the same as it had for the past thirteen seasons. That all changed when she was partnered with the infamous Dieter Bravo. 

Dieter and Katarina are reluctantly thrown into their partnership and must learn to work together to succeed in the competition. In the process they form a deeper connection beyond the dance floor that neither anticipated.

Chapter Word Count: 25.2k (I know, I'm sorry!)

👉 Warnings: Themes dealing with intimate partner violence (not by or toward Dieter), past alcohol abuse, and past drug abuse. There will be fluff, tears, spicy language, and smut. This will be a slow burn. Read at your own risk. Dieter Bravo comes with his own warnings.

👉 Chapter Warnings: Dieter and Kat both being a menace, smut, fluff, and physical assault

Chapter Quote: “Use me, fucking destroy me, and put me out of my misery. Please.” 

Dieter’s POV  Early Saturday morning, I awoke from the best night’s sleep I’d had in some time. I laid there with my eyes closed, reveling in the soft citrus and plum scent that surrounded me as I snuggled against Kat’s warm body. I felt the need to pinch myself to make sure this wasn’t a dream. It was a vision that often danced behind my eyelids, but it never felt like this. It felt better than I could have ever imagined. The connection between us was indescribable. Sure, the release that came along with the sex was great, but it didn’t compare to the feelings and intimacy. I had never experienced anything like it before. It only further proved that this woman fucking owns me - mind, body, and soul. The scariest part is that I was willingly giving her all of myself. I didn’t second guess it. I knew I was falling hard and was suddenly open to dealing with any pain that might come from it. I wasn’t sure if it was growth, or if Kat just had that kind of effect on me.  

Kat shifted in my arms, snuggling in closer with a content sigh. My eyes blinked open, now focusing on her relaxed face that was nearly nose to nose with mine. I took the time to study her features in a way I had never had the opportunity to until now. She had the faintest scar just under her left eyebrow, one small freckle on her cheek, and another on her nose. Her lips were full and pouty with a deep rosy color. They still looked a little puffy from the previous night’s exploits, which made me smile over the memory of the way they felt against mine. The sun was beginning to sneak through the gaps in the curtains, emphasizing the subtle copper undertones in the darker strands of her hair. I couldn’t help reaching to run my fingers through it, gently pulling the stray bits away from her cheeks.  

A lazy smile slid across her lips at my touch, “I can feel you staring at me.”  

The way her voice sounded gravelly from sleep was doing things to me. It was so fucking sexy.  

“I’m sorry…I’ve told you, a work of art is meant to be appreciated. I can’t resist.” 

Her thick lashes fluttered open, amber eyes focusing on me with a playful glint as she leaned forward to nuzzle her nose against mine before placing a firm kiss on my lips. She pulled away, laying her head back down as she reached to run her fingers through my hair. I grasped her arm, placing gentle kisses on the inside of her wrist before settling her hand between us. I reached toward her face, rubbing my thumb over her lips.  

I couldn’t help smiling, “Your lips look swollen.”  

She kissed my thumb, then smiled back. “Good. I guess I won’t need that plumping lip gloss after all.” 

We both chuckled, before settling into a comfortable silence, taking each other in. Our eyes danced around each other’s faces as our hands began to glide over any bare skin they could reach. Kat’s fingers snaked around my neck, pulling me closer to her. I shifted, settling between her thighs. She wasted no time, wrapping her toned legs around my waist, hugging me tightly to her as she ran her fingertips through the scruff on my chin. My hand roamed the length of her body, feeling the softness of her skin against mine. We took turns placing soft kisses on each other's faces, noses rubbing together as we got lost in each other’s eyes. Kat gently sucked on my bottom lip. I couldn’t help the groan that slipped out as she smirked up at me.  

“You’re so fucking perfect. You know that? You’ve absolutely ruined me for anyone else,” I mumbled against her mouth.  

She let out a sultry laugh, her voice somehow lower as she spoke, “And I’m only getting started.”  

I could feel myself getting hard as her warm center brushed against me, but oddly enough, I didn’t want to escalate things. I just wanted to be wrapped up in her - enjoying her touch, her smell, and her warmth.  

Somewhere off in the distance, I could hear my phone going off. I sighed, raising my head to glance over at the clock on the nightstand.  

“That’s probably my alarm.” My hand ran down the side of her body, giving her ass a firm squeeze, “I’m gonna go get us some breakfast. Get yourself a little more sleep while I’m gone, Ok?”  

Kat pouted as I leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. She settled back into bed, hiking the duvet up to stick one leg out as she cocooned the rest of her body in the heavy bedding. I could see her eyes peeking out as I stood to go shower and get dressed. I couldn’t fight the urge to lightly run my fingertips down the bottom of her exposed foot as I walked by. Her toes curled as she jerked her foot away and let out a frustrated huff. I chuckled, exiting her room to go to mine. 

After getting presentable, I threw on a hat and sunglasses and headed out the door. I remembered seeing a small diner a few blocks north that looked worth trying, so I set out in that direction. I was in a bit of a daze after the evening I spent with Kat. I had admittedly been laying it on thick the last few days, hoping that something would happen between us. By Wednesday, I was certain there was something there after the hair straightening incident. I hadn’t intended for that to turn into such an intimate moment. I felt like I was really pushing it with the light grazes along her neck, but she seemed to be responding positively to it. Her reaction only egged me on. I didn’t even try to avoid flirting with her after that.  

I wanted her to know where I stood, if she was receptive to it. She definitely seemed to be later that afternoon as I playfully pulled her into my arms and began dancing with her to the song she had been singing along with. There was no doubt in my mind that if my phone hadn't rang, she would have kissed me. It figures that the call turned out to be about Alec, because of course that guy was still cock-blocking us from the other side of the country.  

One of the highlights from our week was when we popped into the plant boutique. I half expected her to hate it, but she seemed to genuinely enjoy herself as she listened to me rambling and browsed the merchandise. We had a good laugh over the penis cactus, taking the opportunity to let loose and be ourselves more than usual. After our near kiss earlier in the day, the experience had my emotions all over the place. I loved that she was making an effort to be involved with one of my favorite hobbies. No one else had bothered to even try or cared to.   

I was trying not to overdo it with her, but I couldn’t resist the casual touches as we moved through the shop. She seemed to reciprocate them by mussing my curls at one point and leaning into me as we stood staring at the shelves. Then there was the moment where I ran my fingers through her hair. She seemed to momentarily get lost in my touch, closing her eyes and savoring the feeling. When her eyes opened and met mine, I was breathless from what I saw there. I knew she was feeling this too. I wanted nothing more than to tell her how I was feeling right then, but I needed it to be on her terms. I needed her to want it too and I wasn’t fully convinced that she was willing yet. It was obvious that she was feeling something, but I couldn’t work out if she was ready to act on it.  

Later that evening, we rehearsed on the terrace, eventually being met with rain. After we gave up and I got us some towels, we had another moment that honestly took me off guard. I was eager to get her dry and warm once I realized she was shivering, but I did not expect her to lean into me like she did. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I wrapped my arms around her from behind and rested my cheek against the side of her head. We were definitely edging into new territory in that moment. The tension between us was palpable. I could tell she was sensing it too as she seemed lost in thought, almost stuck - afraid to initiate things further, but also not wanting to end it. She eventually did though, pulling away to head to her room for the night. I was disappointed, but I knew she needed her space. I would give her as much as she needed.  

That following morning, I had been lying in bed doing my morning scroll through social media when I got a message notification from Evan. He had forwarded me a post with the text “FYI”. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at first. All I could see was two people kissing from a distance, but then I clicked to view the post and swiped through the pictures. It was Alec and Lana. I felt my stomach drop. I was instantly worried about how this would affect Kat. At that point, I still didn’t know what had happened between them. I didn’t know if this would be a surprise or not. I was worried this would cause her to build that wall up between us again, but also, I was concerned that she would be hurt by it. 

I was relieved to know that she knew about the two of them already. I could tell that she was hurt by the pictures, but she wasn’t letting it get to her. Luckily, it was our day to film the Dirty Dancing skit. I made it my mission to keep her laughing all day, making a complete fool of myself as we filmed.  

The flirty atmosphere still seemed to thrive between us as the day went on, so much so that I didn’t even think about what I was doing when I kissed her on the forehead as we wrapped up filming. I tried to play it off as a friendly thank you but wasn’t sure if I succeeded. She seemed a bit stunned by it, causing me to worry that I took it too far. My worry faded when I caught sight of her after an attractive blonde had approached me about a date. She was watching the exchange, appearing to be anxious over our interaction. Once we were alone, I felt the need to make it clear that I wasn’t interested in anyone but her. I even went so far to say that she and Zee were the only women in my life. I didn’t know how to be any blunter about it without actually saying it. To further emphasize my point, I offered to take her to dinner that night. That seemed to smooth things over. Dinner went well, even though we did have to behave ourselves since eyes were on us.   

Later that evening, she finally opened up to me about what happened with Alec. I honestly wasn’t shocked to learn she caught him cheating with Lana. I just wasn’t prepared for how she caught him cheating. I knew that had to be hard on her and I wished she would have confided in me sooner so that I could support her through it. However, I understood her need to process it. I was still the first person she had talked to about it, which made me feel good. I appreciated that she trusted me enough to confide in me like that.  

The foot massage incident followed that conversation. I had to laugh about that now. I legitimately hadn’t intended to get her worked up the way I had. I just sort of noticed it happening as she talked to me. She wasn’t exactly subtle about it when she began to rub her thighs together. Curiosity got the best of me, so I started paying a little extra attention to a certain part of her foot that has been known to stimulate an orgasm for some people. I watched her cheeks flush as she squirmed under my gaze. I could see that her breathing was picking up as her muscles tensed. I was honestly shocked she hadn’t stopped me by that point. The moment her mouth fell open, I really thought she was going to let it happen, but then she jerked her foot away. I was amused by her trying to play it off and couldn’t help teasing her a bit.  

The following day while I was at the studio rehearsing for SNL, Kat had gone to my dressing room to rest. I was happy she took me up on the offer because I could tell she wasn’t feeling the greatest, despite what she said. I had offered to come get her during our next break so we could rehearse the monologue. I wasn’t shocked to find her snoozing away on the couch. I sat on the edge next to her, briefly pausing to take in her sleeping form and admire how beautiful she looked. As I reached to shake her awake, she mumbled something in her sleep. I froze, hoping to hear more. I watched her lips turn to a pout. Something was clearly making her unhappy. I sat with my hand still extended, debating on how long I should wait. She snuggled against the blanket tucked around her as her pout faded to a small smile, then she mumbled something else. I could only make out two words, “Dieter” and “stay”. I thought my heart was going to explode at the realization that she was dreaming about me. Those two words gave me so much hope that she was feeling the same things as me. They were the driving force behind the way I handled things as the day progressed. 

I was feeling further emboldened and wasn’t holding back by the time we all piled into the car to go to the blues club later that evening, not hesitating to pull Kat into my lap and hold her tight against me. Our faces were mere inches apart from each other the entire ride, which only increased the tension and spurred the innuendos between us. The heated glances continued to pass between us throughout dinner and I found that I couldn’t keep my hands off of her. She didn’t seem to mind, often leaning in to my touch or returning it in some way.  

I was honestly shocked that we ended up on stage after dinner. Sure, I had been joking about getting her up there, but I never thought she would actually do it. I took full advantage of the moment and chose the songs strategically. I knew Kat tended to connect with music in a way most people probably didn’t. Honestly, we both do it. That became obvious to me early on as we planned out our dance routines. So, I knew the lyrics would get through to her and mean something. I could tell she had picked up on it, especially since she asked why I chose those songs. I ached to tell her how I was feeling, but this wasn’t the time or the place. I opted to keep my response vague but gave her enough to make her think. At that point, the only thing I could think about was getting her back to the hotel. I needed to be alone with her. My hope was that we might finally talk about things, given how the day had gone. However, I never expected it to go from zero to a hundred in an instant.  

When we first started rehearsing after getting back to the hotel, it was obvious Kat wasn’t on top of her game. She seemed distracted. As we continued on, the atmosphere between us shifted. I had no doubt that she was willing to meet me halfway after seeing the way she was looking at me. Her touches had become more sensual as she closed the space between us to the point that there was none. I could tell she was hanging on by a thread and I knew I was probably pushing it to suggest that we keep dancing, but I wanted her to know that I was all in. I also wanted to make it clear that it was her decision. It always would be.  

The moment she finally kissed me, I felt like I was having an out of body experience. It didn’t seem real. I had wanted it so badly for so long that I couldn't believe it was actually happening. I was set on keeping it soft and sweet so as not to overwhelm her, but then her hands dropped to the hem of my shirt and pulled it off. I was briefly stunned, shocked she was going there. I had to make sure it’s what she really wanted. I needed her to know that this meant something to me before we took it too far and ruined our friendship. The second she told me she was sure about it, I let go. I wanted to show her how I was feeling, to worship her like she deserved.  

And worship her I did. I took it slowly. Learning how her body responded to my touch. She was so easy to read, eliciting quiet moans when I found the right spots. Her brows would pinch together in pleasure as she arched into me, seeking more. It was so fucking hard for me to keep it together so that I could take care of her. She had me on edge from the moment she kissed me, but I somehow managed.  

I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had sex while sober. It had been a very long time, but I knew without a doubt that it hadn’t been like this. I didn’t feel the things I was feeling with her. I had never felt them with anyone. She had awoken something inside of me and brought me back to life. It was scary but also sort of freeing. It solidified the fact that I was irrevocably in love with her, and I knew I would do anything it took to keep her happy and safe.  

After we finished, I suddenly felt vulnerable, retreating into myself and expecting the inevitable dismissive attitude that I typically get from people afterward. I braced myself, waiting for it, because I knew that it would crush me coming from her. I should have known better though. She’s not like the rest of them. She cares about me and made it perfectly obvious from the start. However, some emotional scars are harder to overcome - always screaming at me from the back of my mind. It would take time and a good person to condition me away from that way of thinking. I wanted that person to be her.  

The relief I felt when she asked me to stay was indescribable. It caused a flood of new emotions that I didn’t really understand. I tried to unpack them in the moment, but I couldn’t. Instead, I shifted my focus to caring for her. I wanted to make sure she was OK after our time together. Then it kind of hit me, what she had mumbled in her sleep, “Dieter, stay.” I suddenly felt more connected to her, realizing that maybe she understood things more than I realized. She confirmed it as we talked afterward. Alec didn’t stick around after either. It pissed me off, and further stoked my need to take care of her. I needed to show her that she deserved more, and I would happily give her everything. Even if that meant opening myself up to the things I was afraid of. 

As I walked through the door of the diner, I wondered how this would go when we got back to LA. I wondered if she would want to be open about us or keep it on the down low for a time because of everything we were already dealing with. As I sat filling out my order ticket, I decided to suggest that we keep it quiet for a while. Mostly for her safety because I was concerned about Alec. He may not even care now that he’s moved on, but I didn’t want to chance it.  

I handed my ticket to the lady at the counter, and she added it to the queue. It only took minutes for the food to be ready since it was all pre-prepared. I was a little shocked when she handed me three bags. It was enough to feed at least four people. I had been completely zoned out as I filled in the ticket, I couldn’t even remember what I ordered. I knew Kat was going to give me a hard time over it for being a little extra. 

When I got back to the suite, I could hear the sound of the shower running. After setting the food down, I walked toward Kat’s room. She had left the doors to the bedroom and bathroom wide open. I smiled to myself knowing that she would never have done that before last night. As I got closer to the bathroom, I could hear her humming a tune to herself. Steam filled the room, fogging up the glass, but I could still make out her form as she ran her hands through her hair.  

“I’m back with food,” I called out to her. 

“Mmm, my hero. I’m starving. I’ll be out soon…almost done.”  

I sighed, “Don’t make noises like that or I’m liable to jump in there with you, clothes and all.”  

She giggled, “If we had time for it, I’d totally let you.”  

I groaned, “Don’t be a tease…” 

She scoffed, feigning offense, “I would never do such a thing.” 

“Somehow I doubt that…” I said through a chuckle as I turned to make my way to the dining table to unpack our breakfast. Kat came out to join me just as I was finishing up. She was wearing a bathrobe and towel drying her hair as she surveyed the spread.  

Her eyes widened as she let out a breathy laugh, “Dieter, what the hell?”  

I shrugged and plopped down in a chair with a smirk, “I didn’t realize how much food I was actually getting, OK? It just kind of happened…but to be fair, the portions they gave me are not for two people. I said two, not five.”   

She sat down beside me, shaking her head with a smirk as she piled food on a plate. We ate in silence, exchanging side-eyed glances and shy smiles. After I was finished, I slid my plate away and leaned back in the seat. Kat finished off her cup of coffee, then stood, coming to lean against the table in between my spread legs. 

“I guess we should talk about…us…make sure we’re on the same page.” 

My brows furrowed as my heart began to pound out of my chest. Does she not want this?   

“What do ya mean?” I asked nervously. 

She stepped forward, her hand gliding around my neck as she sat in my lap. Her eyes roamed my face, “I think…for now…we should keep this between us. I’m afraid Alec may try something if he finds out. There’s also Joe and Stacia…they wanted this to happen. I don’t want them to exploit it for the show. I refuse to let them. I want us to control the narrative.”   

I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding, “I can understand why you would want that…and I’m OK with it. I’ll follow your lead.” 

Her forehead pressed against mine as she smiled, “I was worried you’d be upset about it.” 

I shrugged and gave her a cheesy grin, “I mean, it’s not ideal…I’d really love it if everyone knew I was taken by an amazing woman...but I can wait until you’re ready. I’m yours no matter what.” 

My smile faded, “I’d like to avoid drama with Alec as well since we have to put up with him for a bit longer. I worry about what he might do too... As far as Stacia and Joe go, they can fuck right off. I’m not playing their games.”  

Her fingers twisted in my hair as she smiled at me, “Thank you for understanding. I do want everyone to know…eventually. I just want it to be on our terms. If it were to get out now, I feel like it would be chaos with all the hype around the show.”  

I nodded, “I don’t disagree with that. Stacia and Joe would make sure of it…and we have enough to worry about as it is.”  

She leaned in, giving me a quick kiss as I hugged her a little tighter against me. The moment was surreal, domesticated, and comforting. I wanted all of my mornings to like this, with her. My hand shifted to cup her cheek as her lips tugged upward, “You excited for tonight?” 

I sucked in a heavy breath, “Umm, yes and no. I’m nervous as fuck.”  

My fingers combed through her damp hair, “I’m happy you’re here with me though. I don’t know if I could’ve made it through this week without you.” 

I tilted my head forward, giving her a soft kiss before pulling away, “Speaking of, we need to get going or we’re gonna be late for dress rehearsals.”  

She shifted in my arms causing the front of her robe to fall open slightly, revealing the top curve of her breast. My hand dropped down so that my finger could tug the edge of it open a little more, pursing my lips as I playfully peaked inside, “We’re definitely gonna be late if you don’t go get dressed…like now.” 

She laughed loudly, jokingly pushing my head away as she stood. I smacked her ass as she turned to walk toward the bedroom. She yelped out laughter as she went.  

After much rushing around, we made it to Studio 8H just in time for dress rehearsals. Kat hung around to watch, seemingly amused every time I caught sight of her. When I had a free moment, I was at her side. We tried to act normally, but I’m not sure how much we succeeded. I couldn’t stop touching her. It wasn’t anything inappropriate, just small touches to her hand, arm, or lower back. I reasoned it wasn’t any different from what I would normally do. We were friends prior to this after all, and Kat didn’t seem to mind. The flirty smiles and intense stares were another story though. I had to watch myself with those.  

The dress rehearsals finished around 1 PM. We had some time to kill, so Kat and I decided to sneak out for lunch at a nearby Italian restaurant. I threw on a hat and sunglasses, joking that I was in disguise even though that shit never works. Kat of course had to snap a picture for Instagram and make a joke about it in her post. After I saw it, I reached under the table and squeezed just above her knee, nearly making her dissolve into a fit of laughter which drew some confused stares from the nearby tables.  

(More after the jump.)

After a long lunch, we made our way back to the studio so we could sit through hair and makeup. By the time that was done, we had a couple of hours before the first live audience show at 8 PM. Kat joined me in my dressing room and had the pleasure of watching me go through my pre-show warm-ups, which set her off into a giggling fit. The mouth stretches, tongue twisters, and lip trills in particular really got her going. Especially when I leaned in for a kiss and trilled against her mouth. She snorted out a laugh as she turned away from me, trying to contain her laughter.  

Goofing off with her helped settle my nerves, keeping me focused on her rather than the task that lay ahead. Just for fun, I sat down on the leather sofa and pulled her down to straddle my lap so that she was face-to-face with me. I coaxed her to try some of the warmups, both of us giggling through it like fools every time she messed up a tongue twister or tried and failed to trill her lips. She never said it, but I could sense that she was nervous too. I felt like the distraction helped her just as much as it did for me.  

Before we knew it, it was time to get dressed and make our way backstage for the first live audience show. I gave Kat a quick pep talk, before she disappeared to take her seat in the audience so she could roast me during my monologue. We nailed it, getting a good laugh from the audience. The rest of the show went as planned with no major fuck ups. 

The minute the live audience show was over, the cast and producers convened to discuss any needed adjustments for the live broadcast and decide on the final order of the skits in the event something needed to be cut for time. Overall, everyone seemed to be feeling good about the plans and how the first round went.  

Kat and I took a few minutes to chat and hang out with the cast. There were lots of other friends, family, and visitors milling around as there usually were before the live broadcast. The sight of one person in particular had me feeling anxious. Sophie West, an actress I had worked with several years ago, was across the room. Her eyes continuously searched for me as Kat and I socialized. I had never been interested in Sophie as anything other than an on-set hookup. It happened a few times after some late night cast parties, but once I realized she wanted more I avoided her like the plague.  

We had just finished a conversation with Judy when the tiny redhead approached from nowhere to get my attention.  

“Dieter, it’s so good to see you again! It’s been too long!”  

My hand instinctively slid around Kat’s waist and pulled her closer, I’m sure she could feel how tense I was.  

I nodded, “Sophie, nice to see you again.”  

Her eyes briefly dropped to my hand on Kat’s waist before meeting Kat’s gaze and reaching out to shake her hand, “And I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are. I’m Sophie, Dieter and I did a movie together a while back.” 

Kat’s brow arched. She didn’t look amused, “I’m Katarina, Dieter’s dance partner.”  

Sophie chuckled, “Oh that’s right, you're on that dance show.” She paused, smiling mischievously, “Dieter’s always been such a good dancer. We spent several late nights dancing at cast parties, among other things…”  

My eyes widened as I looked at Kat. I could see her jaw clench before she forced a fake smile and a polite laugh, “He is a good dancer, even better so now that I’ve spent many long days and nights helping him perfect his technique…” 

Her tone told me she wasn’t just talking about dancing in the literal sense. Fuck me. I didn’t see that coming. Kat’s not gonna take her shit. I had to bite back a laugh. 

Sophie didn’t look impressed as she turned her attention back to me, “So, Dieter, you wanna get together after the show to celebrate? Just like old times?” She asked with a suggestive tone. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.  

“Sorry Soph, I don’t really do the party thing anymore. I’m sober. Also, Kat and I have a super early flight in the morning. So, we’ll be heading back to our hotel suite after the show.”  

Her mouth dropped open slightly as she looked between us and nodded, seeming to finally take the hint. “Well, I’m back in LA most of the time now. Call me. We can grab dinner and catch up.”  

Seriously? Give it up woman. I was beginning to get second-hand embarrassment for her. I gave her a tight-lipped smile and a curt nod before turning my attention to Kat, “You wanna go over our lines again? Looks like we have just enough time left to do that…” 

Kat took the hint, laying her hand on my chest and she leaned in with a smirk, “Yeah, let’s go to your dressing room so we can focus.”  

I could’ve kissed her right there in front of everyone, but refrained. That didn’t stop a heated look from passing between us though. Seeing her possessive side was making my dick twitch. Sophie seemed to get the hint at that point, awkwardly smiling before walking away.  

Kat snickered, “That was subtle.”  

I smiled sheepishly, “What do ya mean?”  

She scoffed, “Our hotel suite?”  

I laughed, “Oh, shush. You weren’t much better with that ‘perfecting his technique’ line. Besides, she wasn’t taking the hint. She’s been a little obsessed with me for years. I’m not tryin’ to give her mixed signals. Respectfully, she can fuck off.”  

Kat chuckled as we made our way to my dressing room to get away from the crowds. I needed to decompress before the live broadcast and didn’t want to chance any more run-ins with Sophie. I also just wanted to be alone with Kat.  

After we entered, I made sure to lock the door behind us, not wanting visitors. Kat plopped down on the sofa as I pulled my jeans off. She raised a questioning eyebrow as I sat down in front of the vanity. 

I snickered, “I’m hot…I’m sorry. Figured you would’ve noticed by now that I hate pants.”  

She stretched her legs out in front of her as she sunk back into the plush cushions, “Oh trust me, I’ve noticed.”  

I started doing some of my warmups again, I could hear Kat giggling behind me as she snapped a few pictures in the mirror, “I hope you’re enjoying yourself.”  

(More after the jump.)

She smiled as she tapped away on her phone, I assumed to post the pictures on Instagram, “Oh, I am. This has been an experience.” 

She dropped her phone down beside her, “I’m glad you asked me to come with you. I think we both needed this…to get away from LA and everything that comes with it.”  

I turned to face her, “Do you think this would have happened between us if we hadn't come here?”  

She thought for a moment, “Yes, I think it would’ve…but maybe not as soon?”  

I smiled, “Thank god you agreed to come…or else I may have spontaneously combusted if I had to wait for you much longer.”  

There was a knock on the door followed by the voice of one of the producers, “Dieter…just a heads up…we need you guys ready to go and backstage in 30.”  

I sighed before yelling back “We’ll be there.” 

My eyes met Kat’s, “You ready to do this on a live broadcast?”  

She groaned, “Why did you remind me?” 

Minutes later, I began getting dressed in my monologue attire. Kat wasn’t a fan of the bright yellow pants, but she didn’t seem to mind the blue blazer with nothing underneath it. I noticed how her eyes kept drifting down to the exposed skin of my neck and chest. 

As I stood in front of the vanity, fiddling with my hair, Kat approached and squeezed into the space between me and the countertop. She leaned forward, applying more lipstick as she pressed her ass against my dick, slightly swaying her hips from side to side as her eyes met mine in the mirror. My hands sought out the globes of her ass to pause her movements, “Are you tryin’ to get me hard before I go on live TV?” She feigned a look of innocence. I laughed, “You’re a fucking menace…which I did not expect.” 

I reached down to the hem of her dress, running my hand up the inside of her thigh, but she smacked it away, “No sir. You can have me after the show…when we go back to our hotel suite.” She paused, then wiggled her ass again, “I wanna take my time with you.”  

I groaned, then away from her as I muttered, “Fucking tease.” 

She turned to face me with a playful glint in her eye as she booped my nose, “You have no idea, Bravo.”  

Before we knew it, we were making our way backstage. Our nerves seemed a lot worse this time, knowing it was a live broadcast in addition to the live audience. Kat and I stood facing each other as I grabbed her hands and playfully shook her arms, “Loosen up, Kit Kat. You’ve got this. We’re gonna be hilarious! The people love us!”  

She laughed as I pulled her in for a tight hug and leaned in next to her ear, “Just think of me naked and you’ll forget all about the nerves.”  

She laughed louder this time, “Yeah, that’s probably not a good idea. Though, your lack of a shirt definitely makes that easier to do.”  

I winked at her, “Good, that means my plan is working.”  

A production assistant approached us, “Kat, it’s time for you to take your seat.”  

She nodded and smiled at me as she gave my hand a squeeze, “Good luck, Bravo.”  

I took my place behind the double doors that led to the stage. At exactly 11:29 PM the weekend update skit began, then the first note was played by the house band as the announcer went through the opening credits. I took this time to shake off my nerves to the beat of the music until my name was called to take center stage for the monologue. I just needed to keep my shit together and focus for the next 92 minutes.  

I went through the usual spiel of welcoming everyone to the show and promising an excellent lineup. Then it was my time to shine in endless self-deprecating humor.  

“I’m Dieter Bravo, I’ll be your host for tonight. Some of you may recognize me from my endless tabloid drama, rumors of on-set chaos, or the completely unhinged interviews I’ve done in the past. For the movie buffs, you may know me from my Oscar winning role in Hunger Strike. I know, it was a while ago…but I’m still an Oscar winner…so suck it, Darren Eigen.” (Darren Eigen is the Director for Cliff Beasts 6) 

That got a good laugh from the audience. I paused briefly allowing them to settle, then clapped my hands together to draw back their attention. 

“Speaking of Darren…my most recent movie role was in Cliff Beast 6, but I doubt any of you have seen me in it because…well…no one watched it.” 

Quiet laughter followed as a voice from the audience interrupted me, “You definitely didn’t win an Oscar for that performance!”  

My brow furrowed as I played along, “Excuse me?”  

A spotlight dropped down on Kat as she stood from her seat which triggered whoops and whistles from the audience, “I said, you definitely didn’t win an Oscar for that. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen. That’s two hours of my life I would love to have back. I can’t believe you would even admit to being in that atrocity.”  

I laughed nervously, “Kat, what’re you doing? I said you could come watch, not provide commentary. You do that enough during dance rehearsals.”  

“She shrugged. Sorry, it’s a habit. I’ll try to behave.”  

I nodded, giving her a look of annoyance, “Sorry about that everyone. That’s my dance partner…which brings me to my current project…I’m participating on a little show called Dancing with the Stars. You heard of it?”  

More appreciation sounded from the audience. I nodded along with a smile, waiting for them to settle. “You know, I’ll admit, I was nervous about that one. I’m not exactly a spry young thing anymore, but I like to think I’ve always been a decent dancer. I was pretty excited to hear my partner say that I had loose hips, which would serve me well in the Latin dances. I guess my mind-blowing thrust game finally paid off for something…if you know what I mean, ladies.” I shot a cocky grin and wink toward the camera.  

Kat scoffed and cut in, “Don’t get too excited ladies…he may have loose hips, but he has no rhythm.”  

The audience lost it. Kat was looking pretty smug over her remark. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, fighting a smile as I waved the comment off. In a split second I decided to get her back for teasing me earlier. My eyes narrowed on her, my voice taking on a suggestive tone, “Now sweetheart, you know that’s not true.”  

That wasn’t the line she was expecting. Her eyes widened as gasps, whoops, and catcalls sounded through the audience. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth as she shifted in place where she was standing. I was almost certain she was pressing her thighs together under that flowy dress. I held up my hands, shushing the audience, “Hold on now, get your minds outta the gutter. I’m talking about dancing here…you bunch of pervs. Geez Louise.” 

That got another good laugh out of them as Kat narrowed her eyes at me. I made it through the last bit of the monologue with perfect timing and delivery. The show seemed to be starting off perfectly. 

The Dirty Dancing skit went over well. The final product had turned out more hilarious than we originally expected. I managed to keep it together through most of the live skits, only breaking once. Overall, I felt like the show had been a success as I ran out to do the closing credits. Kat was at my side, my fingers laced with hers as I said my ‘thank yous’ to the cast and crew for inviting me to host.  

I let go of her hand and pulled her into my side, “Special thanks to my Kit Kat for suffering through this week with me! This wouldn’t have been possible without her.”  

I glanced down to see her face flush, then wrapped things up. The cast began mingling and hugging as they often did while the credits rolled. I pulled Kat in against me as she wrapped her arms around my neck, “Dieter, you were amazing.”  

I chuckled against her ear, “Yeah? Did I get you all hot and bothered, sweetheart?”  

She pulled back, peering up at me through her lashes with a smirk. She nodded. “Yeah?” I asked with amusement. She nodded again. I leaned back down next to her ear, “Do you wanna have sex with me?”  

She chuckled, “Why don’t you take me back to the hotel and find out.”  

Little Bravo stood to attention as I let out a breathy laugh, “Fucking hell, woman.”  

We were interrupted by Judy who ran over to hug us both. The rest of the cast and crew soon followed. We hung around for as long as we felt was socially acceptable before giving the excuse of our early flight and headed out.  

The sexual tension during the ride back to the hotel was stifling. We were trying our best to behave, but that didn’t stop us from sitting close together and sharing teasing touches while avoiding eye contact. Kat rested her hand on my thigh, slowly inching it higher with gentle caresses. I captured her hand with mine, causing her eyes to cut in my direction and narrow as I tried not to smirk. After flipping her palm upward, I set it on my leg to lightly rub up the inside of her wrist with my fingertips. I could feel her skin breaking out in goosebumps as she pressed her thighs together. She turned toward the window, tucking her bottom lip between her teeth as she let out a controlled breath through her nose. I could tell she was getting worked up. It was too easy to read her now.  

Once back at the hotel, we entered the elevator. A small group followed us in, crowding us into a back corner. Kat took it upon herself to stand in front of me, pressing her ass into my groin as she leaned back against me. My hands gripped her hips, pulling her tighter against my hardness as we waited to reach our floor. We were the last ones left after a couple of stops. As soon as the door closed behind the last of the exiting occupants, my palm slid up the back of her neck, lifting her hair out of the way to place open mouthed kisses along the newly exposed skin.  

“Mmm, you’re playing dirty now,” she purred.  

My lips moved toward the curve of her ear, chuckling quietly as I sucked on the lobe. She melted into my embrace just as the elevator doors dinged open. She moved to exit, my hands reaching for her hips as I stumbled along behind her. She was fighting a smile, pretending to ignore me as she keyed in. She peered at me over her shoulder, giving me a sly smirk as she removed her jacket and walked toward her room. I took the hint, following behind her like the lovesick puppy that I was. She moved to stand in front of the dresser mirror, removing her earrings as I approached her from behind, pulling her against my chest and nuzzling my nose into her neck. I didn’t hesitate to deeply inhale her scent, not even caring if she knew what I was doing. It was like a drug to me now, causing me to salivate at the thought of tasting her again. 

Our gazes connected in the mirror as my lips trailed up to her jaw. Kat suddenly turned, her mouth crashing against mine for a deep sensual kiss as she worked to remove my boxers and jeans. We broke apart only long enough for me to kick them off. Her hands found their way to my chest, pushing me backwards onto the bed. She stood between my spread thighs, smiling down at me as her fingers ran through the top of my hair. My hands found the hem of her dress, sliding under and up to grab at her ass. I arched a brow as my eyes shifted upward to meet hers when my fingers were not met with any fabric. Her smile widened. 

I chuckled quietly and shook my head, “I can already tell, you’re gonna drive me insane, aren’t ya sweetheart?”  

She moved closer, lifting her legs to straddle my lap. Both of my hands slid up her bare thighs to grip her ass and pull her closer. Our noses nudged together as she rolled her hips against my hardness, “You have no idea what I’m about to do to you, Bravo.”  

My forehead fell forward against hers. I couldn’t help the whimper that slipped out. Her assertive confidence was so fucking hot I could have blown my load right then. Her tongue darted out, lightly licking up the center of my mouth before sucking on my bottom lip as her right hand snaked downward between us, cupping and gently squeezing my balls before rolling her fingertips in a wave like motion. My head dropped backwards, mouth falling open with a low groan at the sensation. That’s definitely something new. My head lulled forward, blurry eyes taking in the look on her face. Her eyelids were heavy, teeth biting into her bottom lip as she fought a smile. I could tell she was on a mission to completely wreck me, and it was working.  

Her brow arched slightly. “You like that?” she asked in a teasing tone.  

“Mmhmm,” I managed to hum out as I shook my head.  

She leaned in and smiled against my lips as she began to rock her hips, still managing to massage my balls as her slick center slid backward and forward over my fully erect cock. My eyes nearly rolled back into my head as the tip repeatedly grazed her entrance with each movement.  

My head tipped forward to lean against her shoulder as a low “Fuuuuuck” slipped out of my mouth.  

Kat let out a quiet snicker, “You like that too?” 

Her voice sounded sultry in a way I had never heard it. I somehow managed to whine out an incoherent sound in response, not even sure what I was actually attempting to say. Her free hand moved to the back of my head, tangling her fingers in my hair to pull it upward, tilting it so that her lips found my ear, sucking on the lobe briefly before whispering, “You gonna be a good boy and let me have my way with you tonight?” 

My fingers gripped her ass tighter, causing the rocking of her hips to cease. I was so close to losing it before we had even gotten started. I needed her to slow down. She was pushing my buttons in new ways that I was nowhere near prepared for and I was about to lose my fucking mind. She was invading all of my senses - her touch, the taste of her skin, her fruity scent, the sultry sound of her voice, her words, the feel of her hot breath and wet cunt all overstimulating me like never before. I could tell she was enjoying herself from the way she had completely drenched my dick with her slick, which definitely wasn’t helping the situation. I took a deep centering breath and let it out slowly as she pulled back to look at me with arched brows and a smile.  

I somehow managed to sputter out, “You can have me any way you want me, honey.”  

A mischievous grin slid across her face, her hands resting on my shoulders for support as she shifted to stand between my thighs. Her hands reached down to pull my shirt over my head before she leaned in to kiss me deeply as she sank to her knees in front of me. Her hands got back to work, one around my cock while the other resumed the thing she had been doing with my balls. She leaned down, licking up the underside of the head before taking the tip in her mouth and sucking. Of fuuuuck, she’s gonna be the end of me. 

I leaned backward, placing my hands on the bed behind me for support. My eyes slid shut from pleasure as my head dropped back between my shoulder blades. I couldn’t look at her. I knew the sight of it would be too much and cause me to fall over the edge. It was taking everything in me to fight off my impending orgasm as it was. I could feel that familiar tingling sensation creeping up at the base of my spine as my core muscles tightened. My breathing elevated as a sheen of sweat broke out over my entire body. I didn’t even try to fight the whimpering moans slipping out between my lips as she worked me over with her mouth. I somehow managed to crack my eyes open, only to be met with our reflections in the metallic ceiling tiles. I looked completely wrecked already. My focus shifted to Kat’s head bobbing between my thighs, and I nearly lost it. My right hand reached down, gently caressing her hair to get her to stop. She pulled away, peering up at me with wide eyes through her lashes. 

“Sweetheart, you’re about to make me lose it before I’ve even had you.”  

A rather smug smile formed on her lips as she moved to stand up on her knees and wrap her arms around my neck, kissing me gently. 

“Tell me what you like. How do you want me?” she asked against my lips in a velvety voice. She was so fucking sexy and she wasn’t even really trying.  

I gave her a small smile and chuckled, “I’m not very hard to please. Your mere existence is enough to send me over the edge these days.”  

She arched her brow, “That’s not very helpful.”  

I was feeling a little hesitant with her, sexually. I had a history of being adventurous in that aspect of my life, but something told me that wasn’t the case for her. It wasn't something that I needed to be satisfied. I was perfectly content going at her pace and letting her lead things. However, she seemed to sense my hesitancy.  

Her eyes softened as she reached up to run her fingers through the hair at my temple, “I trust you, ya know. You make me feel…differently…when it comes to this. I know you’ll respect me. I want us to be able to communicate openly about what we’re feeling…and wanting. I’ve never felt safe enough to be like that with anyone until now.”  

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding as my hands moved to her hips and pulled her closer to me. A smile crept across my face as I studied her eyes. She looked determined. I could tell she meant every word she said which caused a warmth to spread over my entire body. I suddenly felt the need to lay myself open bare so she could take anything she wanted. If I hadn't already known that I was completely in love with her, it would have hit me like a ton of bricks at that moment. She was being open and vulnerable with me, and suddenly I was no longer afraid to do the same.  

“I don’t think anyone has ever asked me what I wanted…” I leaned forward, nuzzling my nose against her, debating on how far I should take things - how much I wanted to say.  

“Truth be told…the only answer I can give…is you. I only want you…as much as you’re willing to give me…and I want you to have all of me. I’m yours.” 

The air felt thick around us as she considered my words. I wasn’t just talking about sex. She owned every part of my being, and I wanted her to understand that. I wanted to tell her everything, but it was too soon. This was my way of saying it without actually saying it.  

I felt her grip tighten in my hair as she closed the distance between us. The need between us intensified as our tongues tangled together and hands explored each other. Her mouth drifted down my jaw, teeth biting at the scruff before moving upward. That action alone had my dick at full attention and weeping for her.  

“Have you been thinking about me when you’re alone?” Kat asked quietly into the shell of my ear.  

I sighed, “Mmhmm.” I couldn’t help squirming against her abdomen for some type of friction against my raging hard-on as she licked up my neck. She murmured quietly, “What do you think about?” before tugging the lobe of my ear between her teeth.  

I whimpered, struggling for a coherent thought as her fingers danced over my chest. My hands found the globes of her ass, squeezing to pull her tighter against me.  

She nipped at my neck, “Answer me, Dieter.”  

Seeing this side of her had my head spinning, I wanted more. My hands trailed up and down her sides as her lips continued to explore my jaw. I sputtered out a response, “I think about your body…and the way it moves…especially your hips…the control that you have over every muscle…the control that you have over…me.”  

She pulled away, eyes meeting mine with a mischievous glint in them, “What else?”  

I suddenly felt shy under her gaze. I couldn’t recall ever sharing these types of desires with anyone before. I was terrified she would be bothered by the way I had been thinking about her. Her hand moved to cup my face, “Tell me.”  

“I tried to imagine what it would be like to have you moving the way you do on top of me…how it would feel…what sort of sounds you would make...” 

She smirked, placing a chaste kiss on my lips before whispering, “Then let's find out. Lay on the bed for me.”  

She pulled away to stand. I sat there a little dumbfounded with my mouth gaping open. It wasn’t like it was a crazy ask, but the thought of my fantasy coming to life nearly had me coming without even being touched.  

Kat paused in front of me, staring with raised brows and her hands on her hips. Once my senses finally came back to me and I was sure I wasn't going to blow my load, I scrambled up to lay in the center of the bed. She chuckled, turning her back to me as she unzipped her dress. My hand involuntarily made its way down to stroke my cock as I watched her slide the straps off her shoulders. Her head turned so that she could glance at me over her shoulder, “I don’t remember telling you that you could touch yourself.”  

I let out a nervous laugh, sliding my hands down to rest on either side of my hips while I waited for her. I was so fucking turned on by the way she was taking charge. She seemed to understand what I needed better than I did.  

I watched as her dress slid down her body and pooled around her feet, revealing her to me. She hadn’t worn anything underneath it which only further spurred my need. My entire body was aching for her by this point.  

She slowly crawled up the bed, trailing gentle touches and kisses along the way. Allowing her hair to lightly graze over my skin, sending shivers up my body. As she straddled my hips, she ran her hands up my chest, then drug her nails downward. With her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, she began to rotate her hips, rubbing her wet center against my hardness. My breath caught in my throat as she peered down at me with darkened eyes. She was so fucking beautiful like this that it had me frozen in place. My hands were still at my sides, fisting the sheets.  

Her hand slid up the center of my chest then grasped firmly under my jaw, angling my face toward her as she leaned down to place an opened mouthed kiss on my lips before asking, “You wanna know what I think about when I’m alone?” All I could muster in response to her honeyed voice was a small nod as I looked up at her with wide eyes. I was completely dumb struck by her while also trying to focus on not coming all over myself. 

That mischievous smirk was back on her face as she sat upright. Her hands moved to trace a path along her neck and breast as her body began slow undulations above me - her center absolutely drenching me with every twist of her hips. It had to be the sexiest thing I had ever laid eyes on. 

She began to massage her breast, her smirk fading to a more sensual look as she continued, “I wondered what your hands would feel like gliding across my skin. I tried to pretend my hands were yours as I touched myself…but it was never satisfying enough.”  

Her hands dropped down to mine, loosening their grip on the sheets and lifting them to guide their movements across her body. I was completely mesmerized by the sight as she let out a soft moan. “Definitely doesn’t compare to the real thing,” she added in a whisper.  

Kat continued writhing on top of me as she showed me the way she liked to be touched, adding pressure to the tops of my hands and guiding them to knead her flesh in certain areas. The intimacy of the moment was almost overwhelming. I had never experienced anything like this. The trust she had in me to share this side of herself was causing me to feel emotions that were almost foreign.  

She released my hands, allowing them to explore on their own as she briefly rose up on her knees, notching my throbbing head at her entrance and slowly sinking down to the hilt. My jaw fell slack as her wet heat enveloped me. I felt like my chest was going to explode as my eyes pooled with tears from the pure ecstasy I was feeling. I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from professing my deepest feelings for her. I couldn’t tell her that I was in love with her. It was still too soon for that, but I felt it just the same.  

My hands gripped her hips as she leaned back to support herself on my thighs and began agonizingly slow movements, rolling her torso and hips as she rode me with abandon - giving me a show and the most amazing pleasure I had ever felt. I should have been embarrassed by the sounds I was making. It was guttural groans mixed with pathetic whimpers and near sobs as I fought the urge to come. Her soft hums of pleasure and intense gaze definitely didn’t help my situation any.  

She must have sensed my impending release, slowing her movements to lean forward and plant her hands on my chest for support to give me some time to come back from the edge. My spine tingled and cock throbbed inside of her as I let out a steady chant of curse words trying to focus on anything but the goddess sitting on top of me. I stared at the mirrored ceiling, realizing how absolutely wrecked I looked. She chuckled, gently rubbing her hands over my chest as she took in my fucked out expression.  

After a few deep breaths, my eyes shifted back to her. Her body looked dewy with sweat and flushed with arousal as she stared down at me. The sight of her had my balls aching for release. I couldn’t help the lazy grin that spread across my face as I reached up to cup her cheek, “You’re so fucking beautiful and perfect.”  

She leaned into my touch, smiling at the praise.  

“You’ve absolutely wrecked me, sweetheart. I don’t know how much longer I can last seeing you like this. I need you to come…I need to see it…to feel it. Use me, fucking destroy me, and put me out of my misery. Please.”  

Her smile widened, “Be careful what you wish for, Bravo.”  

Leaning on my chest, she began to slowly lift herself until only the head remained inside of her. Her cunt clenching as she did so, squeezing me so fucking tight as she rolled her hips. After relaxing, she quickly sunk back down to the hilt, only to repeat the movements - over and over again. It was a new sensation that I thought might actually end me where I lay.  

Each time she clenched around me, it took everything I had not to explode. My head sunk back into the pillow as I slammed my eyes shut, trying to focus on anything but the way she felt. My jaw clenched as I fought to control my heaving breaths and the urge to rut into her. I was absolutely unraveling underneath her control, and she loved every second of it. My grip on her hips tightened, stilling her movements. I could feel the sweat trickling down my face as my mouth fell open, gasping for air. I couldn’t look at her, because if I did, I was done.  

Kat’s fingers trailed down my chest. “You doing ok?” she asked innocently. 

I nodded, still panting, “Yep…just need…a minute.”  

I could feel her eyes on me. Her tone told me she had a satisfied grin on her face as she watched me try to keep it together for her. After calming down some, I tilted my head to look at her. Our gazes locked as I guided her hips to rock against me, “I need for you to come. Please.”  

My voice was pleading. I really couldn’t hold on much longer and she knew it. She began grinding against me, her clit rubbing against the wiry hair at the base of my cock. It didn’t take long before I felt her walls fluttering around me, her release slowly building. Her eyes never left mine as her body began to tremble before finally tensing. As her mouth fell open, I sat up, pulling her to me with one arm while bracing myself with the other on the mattress behind me, allowing me to snap my hips up into hers. She collapsed with muffled moans against my neck as I drew out her release and finally crashed over the edge with her. A low growl ripped from my chest as I came hard inside of her. The growl turned to whimpers as my body began to shake from the release. I fell backward to the bed pulling her to lay against my chest, not saying a word for a while as we tried to settle our breathing and heart rates.  

After a few minutes passed, my arms snaked around her waist so that I could shift us both to our sides. I made a point to pull her closer against me, making sure she knew that I was here for her. Something about that moment felt vulnerable. Not just for me, but for her too. Neither of us were used to having this after. For the first time, it really hit me how much I had been craving her intimacy. Not just taking but giving too.  

My face nuzzled against the top of her hair, inhaling her scent as my hand trailed up and down her body. She hugged me a little tighter and sighed contentedly against my neck. 

I massaged at her hip, “Everything feeling ok? You didn’t overdo it I hope.”  

She chuckled, tilting her head back to look at me, “I’m good. Are you?”  

A dopy lopsided grin spread across my face as I reached to rub my fingertips along the curve of her jaw, “I am now…I don’t think you realize the effect you have on me. I’ve never experienced anything like this…like you.” 

Her cheeks reddened at my words as she tried to bury her face against the pillow. I snickered, “Don’t go getting shy on me now, because I know that’s a lie…you little sex kitten.”  

Her eyes widened at the comment as I took a moment to realize what I had actually said, “Oooooh, looks like you’ve got a new nickname…and you’ve earned this one.”  

She snorted, “Fucking hell, I guess I did walk into that one.” 

I leaned down with a mischievous smile and pressed my forehead against hers, “Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret. I’ll only call you that when I’m horny.”  

She laughed, “That’s all the time.”  

I scoffed, “It is not. How would you know?”  

Her fingers combed through my hair, “I’ve learned to read you like an open book this week.”  

My nose grazed along hers, “It’s not all the time, but you do have a way of driving me insane without even trying. I mean it, you’ve ruined me for anyone else. I crave you…your presence…your touch. I’d be eternally happy only having those things. The mind blowing sex is just a bonus.”  

She smiled against my lips before wrapping her leg around mine and kissing me. We went on like that for a few minutes until she finally pulled away with a sigh. 

My brows furrowed, “What’s wrong?”  

She rolled her eyes and huffed dramatically, “I really need to pee, but I don’t wanna leave you.”  

I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. I felt like my heart was going to explode over her words.  

“I’m not going anywhere. Go…then we can get ready for bed.” 

She groaned and rolled out of the bed, shivering slightly as she stood. She grabbed a robe that was thrown over a chair in the corner and put it on as she walked toward the bathroom. I too got up and threw on my underwear. After running to my room to get my toothbrush, I grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge. Kat was coming out of the bathroom just as I came back into the bedroom. She smiled as I offered her a bottle of water, leaning in to murmur a quiet “thank you” against my lips before giving me a chaste kiss. She took a long drink before digging around in her makeup bag and pulling out a hair tie.  

I gave her ass a little pat as I moved to the bathroom and began brushing my teeth. She followed to do the same. It was an odd feeling to share the space with her while doing such a mundane task. I couldn’t really recall ever having brushed my teeth or gone through my bedtime routine with someone, let alone someone I had just had sex with. It was domestic and intimate in a strange sort of way. I found myself wanting more experiences like this with her.  

I realized she was eyeing me in the mirror with a smirk. After spitting out a glob of toothpaste, her eyebrow arched, “What are you thinking so hard about?” Busted. 

I shrugged, then spit. “I was just thinking…I’ve never done this with someone before.”  

Her lips tugged upward, “What, brushed your teeth?”  

I shook my head, “I’ve never gotten ready for bed with anyone. It feels…I dunno. I can’t really put it into words.” I want this every night for the rest of my life. 

Her brows furrowed before she turned to rinse out her mouth. When she was finished, she peered at me with a soft gaze.  

“It’s a good feeling though…right?” she asked.  

I nodded, “Definitely.”  

Her hand rose to rest on my chest, right on top of my fluttering heart. My hand instinctively moved to rest atop hers.  

“Are you ok? Your heart is racing.” That explains the light headed feeling.  

I swallowed thickly, then gave her a weak smile, “Yeah, I’m good. Just excited to be in your presence I guess.” I fucking love you.  

She gave me a skeptical look as she turned to pick up her brush and comb it through her hair. Then, I watched her fingers work the long strands into a simple braid down her back, causing me to randomly have an urge to learn how to do that. She seemed to enjoy when I had fixed her hair earlier in the week, and oddly enough, it made me feel closer to her. I wanted more. You’re down bad, Bravo. So fucking bad. 

My fingers reached for the braid and rubbed it between my fingertips. I smirked at the thought of being able to do that for her.  

“Do you usually braid your hair for bed?” I asked. 

She shrugged, “A lot of the time…or just a messy bun on top of my head, but that usually doesn’t end well the next morning.” 

She pulled a makeup remover wipe from a package sitting on the sink and began wiping her face. I watched her for a beat, still soaking in her nighttime routine. I was fascinated by it for some reason. Her eyes caught mine in the mirror and she smiled. I leaned in and placed a kiss on the top of her head, “I’m gonna go attempt to fix the bed. I think I pulled the sheet off.”  

She laughed, letting her free hand grope my ass as I walked out the doorway.  

“Better watch that or else you might not get any sleep tonight, Kitten.” 

I could hear her muttering something to herself as I moved toward the bed. I couldn’t help snickering because I knew it was over her new nickname.  

I began pulling the pillows off the bed so that I could put the top half of the sheet back on the mattress properly. When I pulled up the pillow on the far side, it revealed something purple wedged between the mattress and headboard that caught my attention. I crawled across the bed to grab it. I nearly snorted when I realized what it was. Then it hit me, she definitely wasn’t doing yoga yesterday morning. I fucking knew it. Was she thinking about me then? I felt my dick twitch and had to change my train of thought.  

I scrambled to finish making the bed, then sat on the edge waiting for her to finish up in the bathroom. I was curious how she would react to me finding it.  

As soon as she walked into the bedroom, she paused. Her eyes caught sight of the purple happy stick in my hand almost immediately. My brows arched up at her as I fought a smile.  

“Where did you find that?” she asked nervously. 

I tried not to laugh, “Under your pillow.”  

She looked horrified, “And you just picked it up without knowing whose it was or if it’s clean?”  

I shrugged, “I mean, it looks clean. I just assumed it was yours.”  

She shook her head as her cheeks tinged red, “Nope. Don’t know where that came from.”  

I clicked my tongue, “So, you’re telling me you’ve been sleeping with someone else's vibrator under your pillow all week and didn’t notice?”  

She stared at me with wide eyes, seeming unable to respond.  

“It’s ok, I know you were not doing yoga yesterday…If it makes you feel better, I beat off in the shower before I went and got us breakfast.”  

I tried my best to keep a serious face as she fought a smile. I knew that would get her.  

“It doesn’t bother you…that I have one of those?” she asked quietly.  

My brows furrowed, “Of course not…why would it? Hell, I have a few myself.”  

I could see the tension leave her body, now realizing for the first time that she thought I would be upset over it. That fucking asshole.  

“It’s just that Alec was weird about it…said it created unreasonable expectations…and that it was probably the reason I had trouble having an orgasm with him. When in reality it was just him apparently, because I definitely do not have that issue with you.”  

A goofy grin slid across my face. I liked the fact that I could get her off when he couldn’t. I motioned for her to come sit on my lap, she acquiesced, wrapping one arm around my neck as she did. I reached to cup her face as I spoke.  

“That guy was a fucking idiot. They’re meant to be a friend, not an enemy… to enhance the experience for both parties. Sex is about giving pleasure just as much as receiving it, how you get there shouldn’t matter.” 

Her fingers found their way to my hair as I leaned in, resting my head against hers, “Obviously what he failed to realize is that you get what you give. For me, I get just as much pleasure out of being the reason that you come undone as I do from sex itself…and ultimately the sex is better because of that. If you need a little extra help to get off, so be it. Everyone is wired differently and has different needs, but he obviously missed that memo.”  

Kat sighed quietly, then smiled as her fingers twisted tighter around the strands she was gripping, “Where’ve you been all my life, Dieter Bravo?” 

My stomach felt like it was doing flips from the way she was looking at me. She was literally taking my breath away. After closing the distance between us, I kissed her deeply. Trying to convey the depth of my feelings for her without words. I kept it brief, soon breaking away to meet her gaze with a smirk, “I’ve been waitin’ for you to find me, honey.”  

It wasn’t a lie. I really had been stuck in an endless cycle of self-sabotage, waiting for a lifeline - a reason to get it together and figure my life out. I only needed to put in the work to meet her halfway and prove that I was trying.  

Her tinkling laugh caused my heart to race as she leaned in to capture my lips with hers. She was so fucking perfect. At that moment I knew I would do anything to make her happy and keep her in my life, including staying sober.  

With a groan, I pulled away, “I think I need to get you to bed. We have to be up ridiculously early for our flight.” 

She puffed air out of her cheeks in annoyance, “Fine. If you insist on being responsible and getting some sleep…” 

She stood from my lap, untied the robe, and dropped it to the floor with a sly grin before crawling under the covers. My head slumped downward, chin to chest, as I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to ignore the arousal the sight of her naked body had caused. She already knew how to push my buttons in ways no one else did.  

Once she was settled, I stood, moving to the opposite side of the bed before setting the vibrator on the nightstand and stripping off my boxer-briefs. I climbed into bed behind her, not hesitating to reach out and pull her against my chest, burying my face in the top of her hair to take in her citrus scent.  

Within minutes, her breathing shifted to deep, steady breaths. It was a testament to how tired she was, but she would never admit to it. I laid there for a time, in the dark, surrounded by the scent of her…of us. For the first time, maybe ever, I felt content. It was a foreign feeling, but I could definitely get used to it.  

As her body heat sunk into the depths of my soul, I dared to imagine what it would be like to go to bed with her every night and wake up together every morning. The strong desire for it took me off guard. Then the images in my mind shifted slightly to include a sparkling ring set on her left hand and a simple band on mine. This was another first. I had never considered giving myself to someone like that, but now I longed for it. I knew she was it for me and I wanted it more than anything, but I knew it was still too soon. It was too soon for the both of us. I still had shit from my past to work through before going there and she probably did too. I didn’t want to rush this. It needed to be nurtured and grow organically. I couldn’t let my impulsiveness get in the way. 

With a soft sigh, my eyes finally slid closed. It didn’t take long for me to drift off with Kat wrapped up in my embrace. 

Hours later, I awoke to Kat wiggling her ass against me. After squinting one eye open, I could see that it was nearing 5:30. I groaned, tightening my arms around her. 

“Is there a reason you’re squirming?” I asked gruffly. 

I could hear the smile in her sleep filled voice, “I can’t sleep.”  

I sighed, trying with massive effort to ignore the morning wood she kept rubbing her bare ass against, “We don’t have to be up for another hour.”  

I felt her hand slowly sneak down between us, her fingers wrapping around the hard length of my dick as I hissed through my teeth. 

“You better be prepared to do something about that if you insist on waking him up.”  

She let out a deep throaty chuckle, “I told you, I can’t sleep.”  

She released me, her hand trailing up to mine, guiding it between her thighs. She was already soaking wet. It was my turn to chuckle as I leaned down peppering kisses along her neck and jaw, my fingers gently spreading her slick over the sensitive bundle of nerves that was already throbbing. 

“It looks like my little sex kitten wants to come out and play.” My fingers slightly increased pressure as they danced around her clit. “Is that what you want sweetheart? You need me to play with you?” 

A soft moan escaped her as she nodded. Her teeth biting into her bottom lip as she tried to hold in her sounds, failing miserably.  

“Look at you, already being a good girl and purring for me.” 

She let out a breathy laugh, “You’re so fucking ridiculous.”  

My fingers slipped lower to her entrance, teasing. “I know, but I think you kind of like it.”  

She shook her head in disagreement as I easily slipped two fingers inside of her, curling them against just the right spot and causing her to shiver as she began to grind against my hand. Small sounds still escaped her no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. Her eyes slid shut as she got lost in the feeling. 

I licked up her neck, stopping to allow my lips to graze the shell of her ear as I echoed the words she said to me the previous night, “You gonna be a good girl and let me have my way with you this morning? It’s only fair.” 

She smirked, turning to peer up at me through her lashes. It was enough to make my dick jump against her. Her smile widened as she arched back against me ever so slightly. I fought a smile, shaking my head in disapproval as I withdrew my hand from her wet heat. She let out a whiny groan as I turned toward the nightstand, grabbing her vibrator. She may have spent the previous evening edging me within an inch of my life, but I was determined to spend the next hour making her come over and over again until she was a quivering mess of tears from the pleasure.  

I turned back toward her, tucking one arm underneath her torso and pulling her tightly against my chest. She giggled, dropping her head down against the pillow allowing me access to her neck. I wasted no time leaning down to place open mouthed kisses along her collarbone, clicking the vibrator on with my free hand to drag it against her nipple. She gasped at the unexpected sensation, knotting her fingers in my hair as I moved it to the other side. My nose trailed along her slack jaw as her breaths began to come out in soft pants against my face.  

My lips found her ear again, “Show me how you like it.” 

Her eyes met mine. She seemed almost hesitant at first, but eventually reached for the hand holding the vibrator, leading it downward between her thighs. She held my gaze as she guided the tip up the center of her slit, then proceeded to move it in tight circles over the small nub. She let out a heavy sigh, melting into me as her eyes drooped and her hips moved in time with our hands. Tremors ran through her body, each one becoming more intense as she got closer to the edge.  

My gaze never left her face, watching as her brows pinched together and her teeth dug into her bottom lip. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. She struggled to hold her eyes open, determined to keep them on mine. I could feel her stomach muscles tightening under my arm as she arched into it, her breathing becoming heavier as she let out quiet whimpers. Her hand gripped my wrist firmly as I quickened my motions. She fell over the edge with a with a deep groan.  

I chuckled, “You’re being such a good girl for me...coming already. Let’s see how many times I can make that happen before the alarm goes off.”  

I turned the vibrator off as she lay there with her eyes closed, panting. I didn’t stop my movements. Instead, continuing to gently stroke up and down her center with the slightly curved head, spreading her slick and dipping it into her opening ever so often. I noticed her hips bucking upward just a fraction, seeming to crave more.  

“Show me what else you like,” I whispered into her ear.  

She swallowed thickly as she looked up at me, sliding her leg upward then lifting it over the top of my thigh, giving me better access to her dripping cunt. I smirked down at her as she shifted to grind her backside against me a little more, her hand dropping down to guide the vibrator to her entrance. She inserted it a few inches, the curved tip angled slightly toward the front. Her eyes clenched shut as she began to move it in and out - slowly. Always at the same angle and always just a few inches, stimulating that elusive spot inside. Her hand released mine once I got the motion down, allowing me to hit the on button before continuing. She gasped, her eyes drooping closed as her next orgasm began to build. Within minutes she was writhing against me, falling off the edge for a second time. Her body was trembling incessantly and covered in sweat. She had a blissed out smile on her lips as she came down from her release.  

I gave her a few minutes, gently rubbing up and down the length of her naked body as her breathing returned to normal. When she finally opened her eyes, I smiled down at her as I reached to brush the stray hairs from her sweaty face, “Can I try it my way now?” 

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, arching a brow as she gave me a slight nod, seeming intrigued by my offer. I shifted lower, notching my hard length at her sopping wet entrance from behind. I sunk into her, just a few inches - in and out, adjusting her leg over mine and the movement of my hips to get the angle right. When I heard her gasp and felt her press back into me, I knew I had found that spot again. I set a slow, but steady rhythm as I held her in place against me with the arm that was tucked under her.  

With my free hand, I reached for the vibrator. Again, switching it on to the lowest setting and using the rounded tip to make tight circles around her clit. It didn’t take long before she fell apart again, and I was loving every second of it. My lips found her ear, “I want you to know…I’ll never deny you pleasure.” 

Her face turned toward mine, our heads leaning together as she panted against my mouth. Her hand reached up to twist in my hair, pulling it tightly. I groaned from the sting as my hips moved against her a little faster, “You’re mine now…I’ll give it to you any way you want it, whenever you want it…without question.” 

She suddenly tensed and moaned loudly against my lips, coming again for the third time without warning. I slowed my movements, drawing it out of her for as long as possible. I swallowed her gasps with a searing kiss as she continued to tremble against me. She returned the kiss with fervor, seeming more needy now than before we got started. 

My hips never stopped, but I gave her a brief reprieve from the vibrator. Once I placed it back at the apex of her thighs, she began to squirm and whine.  

“You got one more for me, Kitten?” I asked. 

She shook her head, still panting, “I-I dunno…” 

She looked absolutely wrecked, but I wasn’t done with her yet. It was taking everything in me to stay focused so that I didn’t lose it myself. I could tell I was getting close but was determined to hold out a little longer for her. I wanted to show her what she had been missing.  

I set a relentless pace, thrusting a little harder and faster now. I clicked the button on the vibrator to bump up the speed. Kat turned her head, burying her face in the pillow to muffle the sobbing moans that she could no longer hold back. I could feel her walls fluttering around me again, she was close, but the tension in her shoulders told me she was holding back. 

I nuzzled against her ear, shifting the arm that was looped under and around her so that I could grasp her chin to turn it toward me, “Look at me, sweetheart. I wanna see you.”  

She twisted her torso toward me the best she could given our current position and captured my lips with hers. Her hand cupped my cheek as she continued to groan against my lips. Her hot breath coming out in a rush between kisses. 

“Come on, Kitten. You’re so close…I can feel it. Give me another one,” I said in a soft, but commanding voice.  

“I-I can’t,” she said in a near sob. 

“Yes, you can, you’re almost there. Just let go.”  

“I can’t…I…can’t do it…”

After a little more coaxing, she finally did. I didn’t stop or slow down. Instead, I went faster and applied more pressure with the toy. Her jaw tensed as she fought to hold back her sobs, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes as she shifted to clench her thighs together, squeezing my thigh between hers. I somehow managed to keep the vibrator moving through it as her walls continued to contract around me - over and over again.  

I couldn’t hold on any longer, now thrusting deeper to chase my own release as I felt a rush of her slick covering my hand and thigh. It only took a few more thrusts before I was falling over the edge with her, completely losing it over the intensity and duration of her latest orgasm. Mine seemed to be just as intense as hers, causing my toes to curl and making me feel completely euphoric as I got lost in her. 

I collapsed on the bed behind her, gasping for air as she did the same at my side. I couldn’t help chuckling as I pulled her back against me. She turned, burying her face in the crook of my neck as she tried to get herself together. 

“You ok? Was that too much?” I asked quietly. 

She shook her head, “No…but I don’t even know what just happened. Was that one long orgasm or multiple?”  

Her words bubbled into quiet laughter against my chest. I couldn’t help hugging her tighter against me and laughing along with her. She settled in on her back, staring up at me as her giggles subsided. Her fingers found their way to my hair like they always did, and she began scratching at my scalp. Her mood seemed to shift suddenly, her expression serious as her eyes danced over my face.  

“You ready to head back to LA today?” I asked as my fingers trailed down the curve of her waist. 

She was quiet for a moment, eventually shaking her head, “No, I’m not ready for this trip to end.” 

I gave her a sad smile. I’m not ready either. “Why not?” 

Her brows pinched together, “Honestly, I’m afraid of what’s waiting for us when we get back. Drama is gonna be coming at us from all sides. Stacia and Joe are gonna have us under a microscope now after everything that’s happened. At least here, it’s just us. I don’t feel like we have to constantly be on guard. Ya know?”  

I tried not to frown but failed. I knew she was right. They weren’t going to make it easy on us. “It’s gonna be fine. We’ll get through it together. And it’s not like we’ll be under a microscope ALL the time. We can be together in private when we’re not doing show stuff. We just have to make sure we keep our hands off each other in public and you stop looking at me with gooey eyes all the time.”  

She scoffed, “Excuse me!?!? I do not.” 

I smirked, “Yeah ya do…have been for weeks.” 

She let out a nervous laugh, “Whatever, Bravo. You’re the one with that problem.” 

My smile widened, “Oh I absolutely have that problem. Admitting to it is the first step. You’re just so fucking perfect…I can’t help it.”  

Her cheeks flushed, “Stop it. I am not.” 

I chuckled as I shifted above her, caging her in to shower her with kisses through her giggles. We were interrupted by my alarm going off. My hand blindly reached for the phone on the nightstand as I hovered above her. After shutting it off, I leaned down to suck on her bottom lip eliciting a deep groan from her. I continued to pepper kisses along her jaw between my rambling words.  

“I actually can’t wait to get you home…in my house…in my bed…I wanna cook dinner…and breakfast for you. Maybe snuggle on the couch and watch a movie…make you fall apart…over…and over again.” 

Kat wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me against her center. Little Bravo was definitely taking notice. She sighed, “Dieter, if you don’t stop now, we’re gonna miss our flight.” 

I snickered, “I can be quick too…” 

She rolled her eyes and laughed, “That may be the case, but I don’t want you to be.”  

I gave her one last peck on the lips, “Ugh, fine. I’ll go take a cold shower.”  

“Can I…” she paused, seeming unsure of herself.  

My brow arched at her, “You know the answer is yes…whatever it is.” 

She laughed, her cheeks flushing as she asked, “Can I take a shower with you?”  

I gave her a lopsided grin, “I thought we had a plane to catch?”  

“We do. I mean it…just shower. Nothing else.”  

I had never ‘just showered’ with anyone. Hell, I don’t even think you could call those showers at all. There was no getting clean involved. The idea of it had my heart racing. I wanted the intimacy of it. No, I needed it. I just wanted to be with her in every way possible.  

My smile softened, “I would honestly really like that.”  

I gave her a quick peck on the nose, then shifted to get out of bed. She watched me stretch as I stood, my dick was half hard and I didn't even bother to try and hide it. She chuckled, pulling the blankets back to get up. Her brows furrowed as she rubbed her thighs together.  

“Something wrong?” I asked.  

She snickered, “Yeah, you made a fucking mess of me.” 

“Yeah? Well…you made a mess of me too. Pretty sure you squirted all over my thigh.”  

Her mouth fell open, “Oh my god...I-Is that what happened?” 

I nodded. 

She looked a little stunned, “Well…that’s new.” 

I couldn’t help feeling a little smug over it, “That’s what happens when you have someone that cares to figure out what they’re doing.” 

She rolled her eyes and huffed out a laugh as she stood, “Shush you.” She paused, “Ugh, my legs feel weak.”  

I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her middle for support as I guided her toward the bathroom. Kat got into the walk-in shower and turned on the water, adjusting the nozzles to get the right temperature before stepping under the spray. I stepped in behind her, snaking my arms around her waist to hold her against me as we let the warm water run down our bodies. She turned, kissing me gently as she reached up to run her fingers through my hair, making sure it was saturated before reaching for the shampoo. We continued on like that, placing light kisses and caresses as we took turns washing each other. 

As she rinsed the conditioner from my hair, I began to feel somewhat emotional, and I didn’t really understand why. My chest felt tight, and I could feel a lump forming in my throat, but it wasn’t in a bad way. The only conclusion I could settle on was the fact that I could feel how she cared for me. It wasn’t fake. She wasn’t trying to take from me. I really felt like we were bonding in a way that I never had with another person, causing our connection to evolve and deepen. She was actually making me feel happy. It was overwhelming, making me feel breathless as she smiled at me.  

We didn’t take things further, but the shower still lasted a little longer than it probably should have given that we were on a tight schedule. We had to rush to get ready and pack up so that we would make it to the airport on time. We barely managed it, but did make it. Luckily, the studio had booked us a set of seats in business class. Where we were situated gave us a little privacy, allowing Kat to comfortably snuggle into my side without prying eyes. She slept for most of the flight, citing that she felt completely spent from our morning exploits. I slept some, but mostly split my time between watching some cheesy movie and watching her. Watching her sleep seemed to be my new favorite pastime. There was something about seeing her cuddled up at my side, completely relaxed and unguarded. It made me feel even closer to her somehow, knowing this was a side of her that not many people had the opportunity to see. I reveled in every second of it.  

Once we landed, she and I both had to make a conscious effort to behave ourselves, avoiding touching or looking at each other directly. It was obvious that eyes were on us as we made our way over to pick up our luggage. I wasn’t shocked to find paparazzi milling around as we moved toward the exit. They didn’t hesitate to approach us, attempting to make small talk about our time in New York and complementing our SNL performances. We smiled and politely went along with it until one of them began prying.  

“A source has reported that you two were sharing a hotel room, is that true?”  

Kat and I both tensed from the question. I could sense her eyes glancing in my direction as he continued to push for an answer. Sighing, I rolled my eyes at the guy, “Might wanna get a new source, dude. Not true.”  

“Really, you were seen coming and going from one room together the whole time you were there.” 

My jaw clenched as I took a deep centering breath. Who the fuck is feeding them information? “The studio put us up in a multi-room suite. We had separate bedrooms. We didn’t reserve it,” I finally said.  

“So, you’re sticking to your story that you aren't together then?”  

Kat scoffed and shook her head.  

“Kat, do you have any comments on those photos of Alec and Lana that came out a few days ago?”  

She tried to ignore him, not giving any reaction to the question at all as we continued walking. However, he kept pushing, each question about Alec getting more and more personal as he crowded her space to shove his camera in her face. I couldn’t take it anymore, moving to position myself between them as I gently guided Kat to the other side of me with a hand on her upper back. The pap tried to go around me, but I held out my arm to block him, “Dude, what’s your problem? Leave her alone or I’ll get security over here.”  

“You’re awfully protective of her, Dieter. You sure nothing’s going on with you two?”  

This guy was about to make me lose my cool, which I think might have been his goal. I had to remind myself that’s something the old Dieter would have done as I took another deep breath, refusing to give him anything to work with. Instead, I focused on getting Kat out of here. Luckily, we didn’t have to put up with them too much longer as the pickup exit came into view.  

Once we made it outside, Evan was there waiting for us. I told Kat to wait in the car while Evan and I put our bags in the back. The paps were still there, with the one guy continuing to be an absolute asshat.  

“Hey man, how’s sobriety going? You think you’re gonna stick to it this time? Have you ever been sober this long? What’s different about this round?” 

He just kept going, on and on. I really wanted to punch him in the fucking face. My frustration intensified when I couldn’t get the bags to fit in the trunk. Evan could sense that I was getting worked up. He subtly nudged me with his elbow, “D, I got it. Just go wait in the car so this guy will fuck off.” 

I gave him a tight nod, ignoring the camera and incessant questions as I moved to the back door to get in. The paps hung around, snapping shots of us in the back seat. Kat gave me a tense look, “I really hope this doesn’t become the new normal. This is fucking insane. Why are they being so pushy?” 

I looked out the front window and narrowed my eyes on them as they continued to snap pictures of us, “I dunno. Somebody is obviously feeding them information, right?”  

She sighed, “Have to be. I think we’re really gonna have to watch ourselves. They’re gonna be analyzing everything we do.”  

Evan got into the driver’s seat, quickly starting the ignition and pulling out into traffic. Kat and I both visibly relaxed as we left the paparazzi behind. We didn’t move any closer together, but I did reach over to take her hand, entwining our fingers to rest on the seat between us.  

“Sorry that guy was giving you trouble, D. If I had known that was going to be an issue I would have called ahead for security.” 

I squeezed Kat’s hand a little tighter, “It’s fine, it was really just the one guy that was a problem.” 

Evan nodded, looking at me in the rearview mirror, “Thank God for that…Anyway, how was your trip? Everything else go OK without me being there to hold your hand?” 

I scoffed, “I can follow a schedule without assistance you know.” 

Evan laughed, “Yeah, when you’re in the mood to do it.” 

I rolled my eyes at him, “Zee still doing OK?” 

He nodded again, “Yeah, she's a little mopey, but still feisty and still doesn’t like me. She’ll be happy to see you, I’m sure.”  

I chuckled. It still warmed my heart a little that she didn’t seem to like anyone but me or Kat. I liked to think that maybe it was a sign of some sort. 

Evan briefly glanced back over his shoulder in Kat’s direction, “Oh, Kat, the locksmith guy should be at your place just after we get there…said it should take an hour and a half tops to change everything out.” 

Kat smiled, “Thanks. I appreciate it, but really you didn’t have to do that.” 

He laughed, “I get paid to do what Dieter tells me to do, so yeah, I did. Really, it was no big deal.”  

Kat shook her head at me, biting back a smile.  

We drove in silence for a few minutes until Evan eventually spoke, attempting small talk, “So, aside from the crazy paparazzi, how was your week in New York?” 

I couldn’t control the smile on my face, as I glanced over at Kat. She turned to look out the window, covering her smirk with her hand. 

I cleared my throat, “It was good. We had a good week.” 

I could feel Evans' eyes on my face in the rearview mirror. Tucking my bottom lip between my teeth, I too turned to look out the window.  

“That’s it? Just…a good week?”  

My gaze met his in the mirror, “Yeah. I mean…it was work. All week.” 

His eyes narrowed on me. Fuck. He knows. 

“You're being dodgy, D. What did you do?” 

I laughed nervously, “Nothing. I behaved myself.” 

He stopped at a red light, then turned in his seat to look between us, his eyes immediately dropping down to see our entwined hands on the seat. Kat and I looked between each other and Evan, wide-eyed as a huge grin spread across his face.  

“I fucking knew it!” 

I sighed and raked my free hand down my face, “Evan, please shut up.”  

A horn blared behind us, Evan laughed loudly as he turned forward realizing the light was now green.  

“Don’t worry, D. You know I won’t say anything. I’m so fucking excited for you guys though…greatest news ever! He’s been pining over you for weeks, Kat. I hope you know that.” 

Fucking hell. “Evan, shut up. Please.” 

Kat chuckled beside me, “No, Evan. Please keep going.”  

Evan was about to say something else, but I cut him off, “Remember who pays you, dude.”  

His mouth snapped shut. He huffed through his nose, “Sorry, Kat. He has a point.”  

I looked at Kat with a smug grin, “For the record, I’ve said nothing to him. He just made assumptions. You can’t believe anything he says.”  

Kat laughed at our banter, now relaxing some and scooting just a little closer. The three of us slipped into easy conversation after that, filling Evan in on our week and chatting about SNL. Kat and Evan took the opportunity to gang up on me and affectionately give me hell about my plant obsession. I loved that they seemed to be getting along and felt comfortable enough around each other to laugh and joke around. My circle was very small, so it was important to me that they got along.  

Sometime later, Evan pulled into Kat’s driveway. We all exited the vehicle. Evan and I dug through the trunk, pulling out my bags to get to Kat’s. Evan was just shutting the trunk when the locksmith pulled into the driveway. Kat took a moment to talk through what she needed done with the locksmith. Afterward, he disappeared to the back of his van to gather his supplies.  

I grabbed Kat’s luggage, then glanced over at Evan, “Can you handle that from here? I wanna make sure there aren’t any assholes lurking around.” My eyes shifted to Kat, “Assuming that’s OK with you, of course.”  

Her lips tugged upward on one side, “Yeah, that’s…OK. I would appreciate that.” 

I followed her to the front door, suddenly feeling nervous that I was about to see her place for the first time. She keyed in, holding the door open for me as I drug her luggage inside.  

I gave her a nervous smile, “Where do you want these?” 

She looked anxious, fidgeting with the keys in her hand, “Ummm, just leave them in the living room.”  

I followed her further inside and set the luggage down next to the couch. She ran her hands through the top of her hair, “Sorry, it’s sort of a mess in here. Not as squeaky clean as your place.” 

I looked around, it wasn’t bad. She had a pile of laundry at the end of the love seat, mail piled on the coffee table, and a blanket and pillow strewn across the couch. There were other little things lying around - an iPad, book, glasses, and an empty coffee cup. Otherwise, the place was pretty clean. I shrugged, “It’s not that bad. My place looked a hell of a lot worse than this before I hired a housekeeper. I was also a drunk and an addict…sooo, use your imagination.”  

Her brow furrowed, “Fair enough. I just usually don’t feel like doing much while the show is in season. It takes a lot out of me these days.” 

I reached out to rub her arm, “That’s understandable. I promise I won’t hold it against you. You know…I could send…”  

She poked me in the chest, “Dieter, no. Stop it.”  

I held my hands up in defeat, “I know, I’m just saying…A little help never hurt anyone.”  

She rolled her eyes, “No. I don’t need it. Now, let's check for lurking assholes.”  

After a quick peck on my lips, she grabbed my hand, leading me through the house to check things out. My eyes scanned over the surroundings, taking in the spaces for the first time. She kept things simple, with minimal decor all in earth tones with small splashes of color. She did have several paintings, all abstract pieces of dancers. I had to smile to myself knowing the pieces I had been working on. They would fit right in with the rest of her collection.  

I followed her downstairs to find she had her own mini dance studio - hardwood floors with a wall of mirrors. The room was basically empty aside from a loveseat on the far wall and a small table with speakers.  

Kat moved toward a door at the bottom of the steps, “Let me just go check the garage. I’m not seeing anything out of place. All of his junk is still here. It doesn’t look like he’s been around. Maybe he was afraid of running into Evan again?” 

I nodded as my eyes focused on a mess of fabric hanging from ceiling gliders in the corner, “Yeah, maybe…”  

She poked her head in the garage and looked around before closing the door again, “Everything looks good in there too.”  

I could feel her eyes on my face as she came to stand beside me, “What are you looking at?” 

I cleared my throat and gave her a questioning look, “I-Is that a sex swing?” 

Her eyes drifted to where I had been staring moments before, then she snorted. “Really? That’s the first place your mind goes?” 

I gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged, “It’s what it looks like.” 

She laughed and shook her head, “No, those are aerial silks. I do aerial yoga.”  

Her hands slid around my waist as she leaned in next to my ear to whisper, “It’s how I stay bendy.” She pulled back, smiling at me. 

I gave her a wolfish grin as I pulled her in closer to press my forehead to hers, “I don’t actually know what that is, but it sounds fucking hot. I’d like to watch you do that some time…and maybe participate…in some way.” 

She laughed against my lips, “Life with you is never boring, Dieter Bravo.”  

I gave her a quick peck, “I like to keep you on your toes…and keep your toes curling.”  

She cackled, moving to wrap her arms around my neck. I leaned in and kissed her again, more deeply this time. My hands gripped her hips, gently squeezing and pulling them against mine.  

She hummed against my lips, then pulled away, “We still need to rehearse, and we have spray tans this evening, so we can’t get too carried away.” 

I rolled my eyes and groaned, “Can we please skip the spray tan?” 

She sighed, “You know what…I don’t wanna do it either. I vote we skip it. Fuck’em. We need to rehearse and I’m in no hurry to run into Alec. I think we can get away with it this week.”  

I snorted, “You might be spending too much time with me…”  

She shrugged with a smile, “I’ll let production know not to expect us. Do you need to run home before we go to the dance studio?” 

My hand scratched at the back of my neck, “I dunno, if I go home just to leave again, Zee might not let me back in the house…” 

Kat giggled, “That’s true…I certainly wouldn’t make it easy on you if I were her.”  

I huffed out a laugh, “Gee, thanks. Maybe I’ll just send Evan back with my luggage for now and have him pick me up later? We can go grab an early dinner then head to the studio if you want? Ooor…we can rehearse here…”  

Her eyes narrowed, “Dieter, I’m fairly certain that if we tried to rehearse here, there would be no rehearsing.”  

I barked out a laugh, “You’re probably right. To the studio then…where we have to behave.”  

I gave her one last kiss, this one a little more heated as I hugged her tightly against me. We were interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind us at the top of the stairs. Our attention averted to Evan standing there, hands in pockets with a shit eating grin on his face.  

“Sorry to interrupt you two, but Kat, the locksmith is ready to work on the side door that goes into the garage.”  

Her cheeks flushed as she nodded, “Got it. I’ll go open the door for him. Thanks for helping with that.”  

After Kat walked out into the garage, Evan looked at me and silently mouthed “Oh. My. God.” as he bounced down the stairs to meet me.  

I couldn’t help smiling, “Shut up. Don’t say anything.”  

He bumped me with his elbow, “You guys are too damn cute. Dude, you’ve got it so bad. I’ve never seen you like this…” 

I raised my hand, “Stop. I don’t wanna hear it.”  

He held up his hands in surrender, “Ok. Ok. All I’m gonna say is, I approve. She’s fucking awesome…and hot. She makes you look like less of a hot mess.”  

I scoffed, “Oh fuck off with that.”  

As we waited for Kat to finish up with the locksmith, I filled Evan in on the plans for the evening. He agreed and left soon after that. Kat and I weren’t far behind him, first driving to grab some take out and eating in the car. We weren’t in the mood to be bothered by fans or paparazzi if they happened to appear as they seemed to have a way of doing lately. We ate quickly and mostly in silence, realizing the day was getting away from us. It would be our only chance to rehearse in the studio before the live performance, so we did want to try and take advantage of it. 

It was weird rehearsing in the dance studio after being completely alone and uninhibited in New York. We were cognizant that anyone could walk by and see us through the glass, making sure to keep a reasonable distance between us throughout the evening. The vibes, however, were completely different. We were focused and only discussing the dance, but the electricity buzzing between us was at an all-time high. There was a new intensity in the way we moved together, perfectly synchronized and connected. We could read each other so effortlessly in how our bodies shifted around the dance floor. There were no more verbal cues passing between us, only looks and guiding touches. I could feel her unyielding trust and confidence in me more than ever and honestly, it was making me fall for her all over again.  

After a few run throughs, Kat mentioned that we might need to take it down a few notches. Even we could sense the chemistry sparking between us now. There was no denying it. We decided to try and take a more playful and flirty approach. Not changing the choreography but executing it in a way that didn’t look like we were seconds away from having hot passionate sex on the dance floor. It was a major feat, but we finally got it figured out - or so we thought.  

Before we knew it, it was nearing 10PM and Evan was texting to let me know he was outside waiting. I sighed, bumping Kat with my shoulder, “I think I’ve gotten spoiled being with you this week. Going to bed without you is sort of a depressing thought. You sure you don’t wanna come home with me?”  

She chuckled, “I do, but you need to spend some time with Zee when you get home. We also need to actually get some sleep tonight.”  

She has a point. I nodded in agreement, but that didn’t keep me from whining, “Fiiiine. I’ll suffer through it.” 

I reached out, subtly grabbing her pinky with mine, “I’d really like to give you a goodnight kiss, but I know that’s probably a bad idea.” 

She shook her head, “Probably not a good idea while we’re here.” 

My lips set into a tight line, “This is gonna be a tortuous seven weeks, isn’t it?” 

She laughed and nodded, “Probably…but it’s not like we can’t see each other outside of the studio, so calm down.”  

“Fair point. Ok, I’ll walk you to your car and I will behave myself.”  

Kat grabbed her bag, then we made our way toward the exit. As soon as we stepped outside, I noticed a car across the street that had someone sitting inside it.  

“I’m probably being paranoid, but that might be a pap over there,” I said, nodding my head in the direction of the vehicle.  

Kat’s eyes shifted and squinted off in the distance. She blew air out of her cheeks, “Yeah, you might be right.”  

“Fucking hell.”  

I followed two steps behind Kat as we walked toward her car and where Evan was parked next to it. I took a minute to open the driver side door for her as she tossed her bag through to the passenger seat. She smiled up at me, “I guess I’ll see you bright and early.”  

I nodded, “Yep, I’ll be there with my dancing shoes on. Text me when you get home and are locked inside, please…wanna make sure you’re safe.”  

Her lip tugged upward as she sat in the seat, “I will. Give Zee some hugs for me? Goodnight.”  

I nodded, “Night, Kit-Kat.”  

I reached down and hit the lock button on her door, then shut it. I could see her smiling and shaking her head as she started the ignition. I watched her back out, giving a brief wave as she put the car in drive, then turned to get in the passenger seat of Evan’s car. I was met by his smirking face.  

“What?” I asked in a clipped voice.  

“You’re down bad, dude.” 

I let out a controlled breath, “I am. So fucking bad.”  

Evan barked out a laugh as he backed out of the parking spot, “At least you’re aware.” 

We were quiet for a few minutes. Suddenly, Evan opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but snapped it back shut.  

I crossed my arms over my chest, “Spit it out.”  

His grip tightened on the steering wheel, “It’s just that…you’ve been doing so well. I don’t want this to derail you.” 

My brows furrowed, “Why would it? I haven’t even thought about doing any of that shit since I’ve been spending time with Kat.”  

He chewed on his cheek, considering his next words, “And if it doesn’t work out with her?”  

The question felt like a punch to the gut. I hadn’t even considered it. The way it stood right now, I couldn’t imagine a path to that. We seemed to be fitting together seamlessly. 

“IF that were to happen…I like to think that I could handle it. I’m in a better place now and I’ve learned healthier coping mechanisms… I’ve surrounded myself with good people who won’t take advantage of my troubles.”  

I paused briefly, shrugging as I thought through my next words, “I got here without her so it’s not like I need her to stay where I’m at. However, she’s making me happy…it’s like she’s the last missing piece. I…” 

I wasn’t sure if I dared speak the next words out loud. I could feel my heart racing at the thought. I could feel Evan’s glances in my direction, patiently waiting for me to continue. 

He sighed, “Just say it, D. What’s on your mind?” 

I puffed air out of my cheeks, raking my hands down my face. I could feel the sweat beading at the base of my neck as I swallowed thickly, “I can imagine myself being with her…like, long term. Fuck, I’d move her in with me tomorrow if she’d do it. I-I’ve never wanted that with anyone before.” 

Evan’s eyes widened, “Woah, that’s pretty heavy, D. That’s a big step for you.”  

I laughed nervously, “Trust me, I know. I mean, that’s not gonna happen…not tryin’ to rush things. I’m trying to be realistic about it. We still need to get to know each other and all that…but I feel…hopeful.”  

“Damn, D. I’m proud of you man. For once you’re not acting impulsively.” 

I chuckled, “Na, I don’t think she would let me. She totally calls me out on my shit.” 

He smacked the steering wheel as he laughed, “Good. You need that…and for what it’s worth, I do like her so far. She seems genuine.”  

I couldn’t help smiling at his words. I loved that he liked her.  

He pulled into my driveway a short time later. After a quick thanks, I made my way to the front door and keyed in. My eyes immediately sought out Zee so I could scoop her up and cuddle her. I found her sitting at the edge of the couch. I don’t know what sort of reaction I expected from her, but sassy indifference wasn’t it. She gave me serious side eye as I sat my keys, wallet, and phone down and toed off my shoes.  

I approached her, speaking in a soft voice, “Hey baby girl. Did you miss me?” 

I squatted down in front of her just as she stood, turned her back to me, flicked her bushy tail in my face, and jumped from the couch. She sashayed over to her cat tree, then made her way up to the very top. She perched with her back to me, still flicking her tail with attitude.  

I snorted out a laugh, “Really? I’m gone for a week to work so I can fund your extravagant freeloading lifestyle, and this is what I get?”  

More side eye and tail flicking.  

“Ok. Fine. No cuddles means no bedtime snack.”  

Her tail paused as she finally turned to look at me with her rounded green eyes. “Ahh, that got your attention, huh?”  

She stood and meowed loudly, eventually making her way down to the lower level of the tree before jumping down and walking toward the kitchen with determination. “You’re about to hardcore swindle me aren’t you, you little shit?”  

She proceeded to chatter at me. I felt like I was being scolded as I made my way over to her personal cabinet for a bag of treats. She wasn’t interested in any of them. Instead, she kept trying to lead me to the refrigerator. I sighed, knowing what she wanted and hoping that Evan had boiled a chicken breast for her. I had started something with that. It was now a thing she demanded.  

“I gotta hand it to you…you’re a confident little thing and you definitely know what you want.” 

She jumped up on the island, staring at me intently as she swished her tail around. I rolled my eyes and pulled the refrigerator door open, scanning the shelves for a glass bowl with chicken. I easily found it on the top shelf because Evan had apparently printed a label for it that said ‘Queen Zee’s Fucking Chicken’.  

I chuckled, “You gave uncle Evan hell, didn’t you baby girl?”  

She let out a low mewl, looking somewhat smug now as I pulled out the bowl and popped the lid off. I pulled off a few tiny shreds of meat, letting her take them one-by-one from my hand. After they were gone, she began to meow loudly again and rub her head against my hand. I sighed, “Fucking swindler…fine. One more and that’s it. We gotta get ready for bed.”  

She seemed satisfied after that. After putting her bowl back in the fridge, I moved to wash my hands. I heard my phone ding with a text just as I was drying them. As I figured, it was Kat. 

Kit Kat: I’m home, locked inside, and in bed. I already miss having you with me. ☹️ 

Her words caused a rush of excitement, but also longing. I would have loved to have her with me, at her place or mine. I didn’t care where, but I did have Zee to think about too. 

Me: I miss you too, sweetheart. Maybe you can come over after rehearsals some this week? I’d love to make you dinner again. Something Greek, maybe? 😏 

Kit Kat: I love it when you talk dirty to me. 😉 

Kit Kat: Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you bright and early. Goodnight. 😘 

I couldn’t keep the goofy grin off my face as I read her latest messages. I loved it when she was playful and flirty.  

Me: Sweet dreams, Kitten. 😘 

I couldn’t help wondering if she would roll her eyes or clench her thighs together over the mention of the new nickname. I could picture her doing both simultaneously and it caused a snicker as I made my way upstairs to get ready for bed.  

Minutes later I was settled in, trying my best to fall asleep, but I couldn’t. Without Kat’s warm body snuggled against me, I felt restless. I hated the lonely feeling that her absence left in the pit of my stomach. I only had a small taste of what it was like to have her with me, but it was all I needed to get hooked.  

Zee eventually made her way to bed, obviously over her anger as she snuggled up in the crook of my arm and purred herself to sleep. That seemed to help me relax enough to doze off. At least I wasn’t alone.

 My 5:30 AM alarm came fast. I felt like I had just closed my eyes as I rolled out of bed. I went through my usual routine of getting ready, feeding Zee, and stopping to get Kat and I some breakfast and coffee before heading to the production studio. I was feeling a little on edge, somewhat worried about Alec causing drama. However, I reasoned that he had had a week to cool off and had clearly moved on with Lana. Maybe he would just let it go. I hoped so, for Kat’s sake. She tried to act like his behavior didn’t bother her, but I knew it did.  

Kat and I arrived early, as usual. We were both smiling like fools when we caught sight of each other. I couldn’t help touching the small of her back as I leaned in to tell her “Good morning” and hand her coffee and breakfast over. A heated look passed between us that set my heart racing. I could already tell that it was going to be so hard to act normal while we were around others.  

She smirked, leaning in to speak in a low voice, “Careful Bravo, you’re gettin’ the gooey eyes when you look at me.” 

My brows arched, “Yeah? So are you, sweetheart.”  

We both laughed as we made our way to the ballroom. Our early arrival made us first in line for camera blocking and run throughs of the performance. The crew was still getting things set up, so we took a minute to finish up our breakfast and coffee as we waited. Other couples soon began to filter in. I could tell Kat was getting more and more tense each time the door opened.  

“You ok?” I asked her in a near whisper.  

She nodded, “Yeah, I’m just afraid he’s gonna cause drama.” 

I reached out to give her hand a small squeeze, “If he does, he’s gonna have me to deal with. I’ll break his fucking face this time.”  

She peered up at me through her lashes with a smirk, “While I find your protective side to be incredibly hot, you will not do anything. He’s not worth it.” 

I couldn’t agree to that. Luckily, I didn’t have to because our attention was drawn to the band Director who wanted to discuss the music arrangement before we got started. After that, things were in full swing as we began our run throughs. By that point, Alec and Lana had arrived. I swear I could feel their eyes on us. I think Kat could too, which would explain the tension running through her body during our first round.  

As we waited for the cameras and lights to reset, I grabbed both of her hands and gave her arms a shake, “Loosen up. We’re supposed to be making this flirty and fun, remember? Ignore the asshole and focus on me.”  

She chuckled, “I think I’m the one that’s supposed to be telling you to loosen up…” 

They gave us the signal to take our starting position, which I took advantage of as I gripped her hips and pulled her backside against me more than necessary. I could see the hint of a smile as she tilted her face to the side toward mine. My lips leaned in next to her ear, “Relax, I’ve got you.”  

That seemed to do the trick. I could feel the tension leave her body as she all but melted into me just as the music started. We did try to keep it fun and flirty, but there was no denying the sparks between us no matter how hard we tried to hide them. By the time we finished, all eyes were on us. It had clearly drawn everyone’s attention.  

Surprisingly, they didn’t ask us to go through it again and gave leave for us to head out for our final wardrobe fitting. There was a quiet murmur of voices and a weird vibe as we walked off the dance floor. Kat and I made sure to keep our distance from each other as we walked toward the exit, but I could sense her uneasiness. I was feeling it too.  

As we stepped into the empty hallway, our eyes connected.  

“Is it just me or was that weird?” she asked. 

I nodded in agreement, “No, that was definitely weird.” 

She puffed air out of her cheeks, “Maybe it’s just because they all know about the Alec thing now. I’m sure that’s caused some gossip in our absence.”  

That thought did nothing to alleviate the uneasiness I was feeling, “Yeah, maybe…”  

Our wardrobe fitting went quickly as no alterations were needed. Kat looked amazing as always. The sheer fabric they had swapped out on the skirt half of the dress was flowy, yet hugged her curves perfectly. It emphasized her hips, taking my mind back to how those hips moved on top of me in New York. Her eyes had caught mine drifting up her body in the mirror as she turned and twisted to get a good view of the new sparkly material. The smirk on her lips told me that she knew exactly what I was thinking about as she innocently twisted her hips a little more.  

We were ahead of schedule as we made our way down to hair and makeup, quickly taking a seat with the ladies that had worked on us the previous week. They had made the process a little less painful, actually chatting and having fun with us. I made an attempt to learn their names this time. Holly, who had done Kat’s hair the previous week, began combing through her long locks as she eyed me, “Dieter, do you have any hair recommendations this week?” she asked.  

Kat and I laughed, “I’m not sure why you would ever want my recommendations. I’m sure Kat doesn’t.”  

Samantha, who was working on my hair, smiled, “I dunno, your recommendation sort of pulled the look together.”  

Kat’s foot kicked at mine, “You always have an opinion. Share it.”  

I snickered. She wasn’t wrong, “Hmmm, with that dress…I think down in soft, romantic waves would be best. I’m not a fan of it being slicked back with a gallon of hair gel.”  

Samantha paused with the container of hair gel in her hand, “You want yours down in soft, romantic waves too, honey?” She had a teasing look on her face. Kat and Holly both snorted out laughter.  

I chuckled, “Uh, I didn’t know that was an option. Do I get extensions too? I think it would look fabulous. I could give Fabio a run for his money.” 

All the ladies burst into laughter just as Alec and Lana came strolling in. Alec had a stony look on his face as he sat on the opposite side of the room. Lana on the other hand, seemed amused about something as she glanced our way. It was sort of bizarre. Kat gave me a questioning look. She had seen it too. I shrugged in response.  

Our small group continued to be boisterous, not caring about our new company. Several other couples soon filled the stations, but it didn’t seem to lessen the tension in the room. Even though we pretended to ignore it, it was definitely there. Kat had turned her seat to face me, with her back to Alec. I, on the other hand, could see his reflection perfectly. I didn’t miss how his eyes flicked over in our direction ever so often. His expression remained neutral, giving nothing away as he alternated between watching us and listening to his partner. My gut was telling me he was a ticking time bomb, waiting for the perfect moment to go off.  

Holly finished up with Kat’s hair, smiling as she asked me what I thought of the final product. I looked Kat over, not even paying much attention to her hair. I knew my sappy face had to be giving me away, but I sort of didn’t care, “I think she looks fucking amazing.” 

I felt Kat nudge my foot with hers as her eyes widened. I quickly looked away and glanced at myself in the mirror, “I mean, not as good as me, obviously.” It had the intended effect as Samantha and Holly laughed. 

As they worked on our makeup, I blabbed about how Zee gave me hell when I got home the previous night. That topic seemed to keep everyone entertained until we were finished. I could feel Alec’s eyes on us as we got up to leave. I made sure to block his view of Kat as much as possible, allowing her to walk ahead of me to exit. We did a quick change into our costumes then headed back to the ballroom for our final dress rehearsal. After going through it once, we were free until showtime.  

Evan was kind enough to bring us lunch after we found catering to be less than satisfying. He joined us in my dressing room while we ate. It was a nice distraction and gave him and Kat a chance to get to know each other a little better. It was nearing showtime when he left, but it still gave Kat and I a few minutes to ourselves. As soon as he closed the door behind himself, Kat’s eyes were on me. She stood from the chair she had been sitting in and moved to perch on my lap, resting her arms around my neck as she looked at my gelled back hair, “I really should tell them to leave your hair loose too. It doesn’t look very touchable like this.”  

I laughed, “No kidding. It’s like fucking concrete.”  

One hand trailed down my cheek, then her thumb brushed over my lips, “I really wanna kiss you right now.”  

Her voice was low, her eyes dilating as I looked into them. I couldn’t help tightening my grip on her hip, “What’s stopping you?”  

“It’ll fuck up our makeup and we’ll have explaining to do.”  

I sighed, gently nuzzling our noses together, “Fucking makeup.” 

She laughed quietly as I leaned my head against hers, “I’m perfectly content with a good cuddle too. I hate not being able to be affectionate whenever I want to.” 

There was a flash of emotion on her face. I couldn’t place it. Sadness maybe? Regret? Both? Her arm tightened around my neck slightly. I shifted, leaning my head down to place a kiss on her bare shoulder. Our moment was interrupted by staff calling out the 20 minute warning in the hallway. Kat reluctantly pulled away and began fiddling with the buttons on my shirt, undoing two of them. I chuckled, “What’re you doing?”  

Her hand dipped inside and laid flat against my chest, “Encouraging your button allergy and…maybe showing you off a little.”  

Her eyes shifted up to meet my gaze, “And I just needed to feel you.”  

That same look from a moment ago returned. I could see it now, she was anxious. My hand dropped down over hers on my chest, lacing our fingers together before bringing them to my lips for a soft kiss. My eyes never left hers. We stayed like that for a beat until I begrudgingly broke the spell, “We probably need to get to the staging area now.”  

She nodded, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”  

She stood, not letting go of my hand, pausing to grab her phone and give herself a quick once over in the mirror, then pulled me along to the door. I wrapped my arm around her waist, stopping her and pulling her back against my chest, leaning in to speak quietly against her ear, “Just for the record, you look like a fucking goddess today.” 

She smiled, “You’re not looking so bad yourself.”  

I chuckled as she opened the door and stepped away from me into the hallway. We silently made our way through the hustle and bustle to the staging area to wait for the show to begin. It was nice to have Kat there with me the entire time since she didn’t have to worry about the professional dancers performance this week.  

Throughout the show, we stayed huddled close together, watching and critiquing the performances of each couple. After tonight, it would be down to eight couples, which meant the competition was about to become much more intense. There were several groups that had really improved, and at least four of them appeared to be serious competitors for Kat and me. As if there wasn’t enough fuel on the fire, one of the four couples happened to be Alec and Lana.  

Our performance was scheduled to be last this week. So, we had a pretty good idea of what we were up against. As our performance got closer, we stepped over to the hair and makeup team for some quick touch ups, then Kat pulled out her phone and headphones, not deviating from our routine of getting us hyped up. I, however, didn’t feel like we needed hyping up for this one. I wanted to be in the right mindset for the performance, to feel the emotions of the music we were dancing too. I also felt like she was still a little anxious and wanted to help her relax.  

I reached for her phone, “Can I make a suggestion this week?”  

She gave me a quizzical look and nodded, opening her music app and passing the phone to me. I found the song that we were dancing to this week and hit play. She smiled at me. 

I winked and grabbed her hand, “Just setting the mood.” 

I wanted so badly to hold her, but I knew that probably wasn’t a good idea. Instead, I pulled her hand to my chest where she had placed it earlier, resting mine over hers, I began doing some of the basic footwork for the Rumba, before transitioning into the quick, quick, slow box pattern in the small open space we had to ourselves. I hoped that it would appear that we were practicing a bit before going out onto the dance floor, even if we weren’t framed in the proper position.  

It seemed to have the intended effect on her as her eyes locked with mine. I could feel the tension leaving her body as we moved together and blocked out the flurry of activity around us, only focusing on each other. We went on like this for a good portion of the song until I eventually pulled her in for a hug and continued swaying to the music. We didn’t say anything. We didn’t need to. I felt like the lyrics of the song were doing a lot of the talking for us - at least they were for me. There was a new intensity and focus that passed between us as the last notes played. It gave me goosebumps and had my heart fluttering in that way it tended to do when I was with her.  

Nearby movement caught my attention. It was one of the camera operators tasked with getting behind the scenes footage. I sighed, knowing he had probably caught a lot of that, but I also kind of didn’t care. A production assistant appeared at our side, letting us know that we needed to get in place. We nodded as Kat grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the ballroom floor entrance.  

The minute we took our starting position, the air around us was crackling with that strange electricity that I always felt between us. As soon as I slid my left hand around Kat’s waist and pulled her backside against my front, I knew there was going to be nothing playful or flirty about this performance. She melted into me and seemed to be all in for taking the sensual route. My right hand reached to lift hers to the back of my neck and slid down the underside of her arm. She turned her head to the side, our lips nearly touching as my right hand took her left to fan her outward. It was almost like we were back on the rooftop in New York, completely alone and lost in each other.  

We didn’t miss a beat, executing each move perfectly. Our footwork was completely in sync as we twisted and twirled around the room. I could feel a rush of something run through me each time our eyes met. Hers were blazing with the fire that I had longed to see there since I first noticed it, and they were blazing for me. The connection that I felt with her in that moment seemed almost otherworldly and had definitely ascended to a new level. There was no hiding whatever was happening between us. It was on display for everyone to see, more so than it had been during the morning rehearsals.  

By the time we got to the lift, Kat had completely thrown all caution to the wind. After wrapping her legs around my waist and rolling her torso upward, her hands found their way to the sides of my face, grazing her lips against mine as I turned us to transition to the next move. We damn near kissed on live national television. We didn’t hold back through the last half of the song, feeling every word, every note, and pouring it into our performance. By the time she spun into me for the last lift and ending pose, I felt like I could have kissed her right there in front of the world, but I refrained. I let her take the lead on how she wanted to end it. After dipping her backwards, her right hand found its way to my cheek as she nudged our noses together. Her eyes were bright as she broke into a dazzling smile and leaned her head against mine. I stood, wrapping my arms around her middle to lift her with me. She pulled me into a tight hug as the audience broke into near deafening applause.  

We made our way over to the judge’s table for feedback. All they gave were words of praise, emphasizing how the chemistry between us had reached new levels and was off the charts for this performance. They also mentioned that we oozed sensuality and were perfectly in step with one another. Their enthusiasm blew me away and I honestly hadn’t seen them that excited for any of the other performances this week. No one had gotten a perfect score yet, but three of the couples were within 5 points of it after tonight. I was hopeful that we could at least get one of the high scores for the night based on their reaction.  

Once they were finished with their feedback, Kat and I made our way over to the interview area and waited for a commercial break to end to receive our scores. Her right hand wrapped around my bicep while the other squeezed my hand tightly. I shot a nervous glance in her direction as she leaned in, “Don’t worry, the whole thing was perfect. We’ve got this.”  

We held each other's gaze, both of us with a small smile on our lips. Her confidence helped me relax some. Our attention was pulled back to the host who was now talking to the camera. He turned to us, asking about our challenges for the week and wondering how we managed to pull it off while also preparing for SNL too. I was in a daze as we answered his questions, not even really remembering what I had said by the time they went to the judges for scores.  

I could feel Kat’s hold on me tighten with each score of ten that we received. Once it was down to the last judge, she and I both waited with bated breath. If she had squeezed my hand much tighter, she might have broken some bones. When the final ten was called out, we looked at each other, wide-eyed and shocked. It was a delayed reaction as she let go of my hand and nearly jumped into my embrace, wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me tightly as I spun her around. Both of us laughed loudly and enjoyed the moment together.  

The side-eyed glances as we joined the rest of the cast did not go unnoticed. I couldn’t figure out why they were all looking at us like that. If looks could kill, Alec would have definitely taken us out right then. Our gazes had locked for a brief moment. There was something about his glare that sent a shiver down my spine as he calmly turned to leave the staging area. I tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in my gut as I turned back to Kat, who was smiling up at me with her face flushed from the adrenaline of the moment. I tucked her into my side as we waited for the bottom three to be announced. Unfortunately, Alec and Lana were not included in that. They had received the second highest score of the night, just behind us. I could only hope they would have a massive fuck up and be voted off soon. 

Kat’s POV  After the show ended, Dieter and I leisurely strolled toward our dressing rooms. Both of us were still vibrating from excitement having earned a perfect score for our performance. We were the first couple to do so this season and it was the first time I had ever accomplished it since being on the show. I knew it was because of him. Not because he was a good dancer, which he was, but also because of the trust we had in each other and our ever strengthening bond. I don’t think I could have managed it with anyone else. I now felt confident that we had a real chance of making it to the finale and maybe even winning. No matter the outcome, I would have Dieter. Even if he was the only thing I got out of this, I knew that had the potential to be enough.  

We were making plans for dinner to celebrate our success as we reached Dieter’s dressing room. He told me to think about what I wanted to eat as I continued past his door down the hallway toward mine. I noticed that he kept a watchful eye on me until I got to mine, which I appreciated.  

I felt my phone vibrate in my hand just as I stepped inside my space. I glanced down to see a text notification from my sister as I closed the door behind me, realizing too late that Alec had been waiting in the nook behind it for me to enter. His hands were on me in an instant, roughly twisting my arm behind my back and pinning my face against the wall.  

I watched as he locked the door with his free hand, then felt him lean in, brushing his lips against my ear as he spoke in a deep, threatening voice, “You didn’t really think you could make me out to be the bad guy and get away with it, did you?” 

He twisted my arm harder, “That little stunt you pulled with the paparazzi was not the way to go, baby. You should’ve kept your fucking mouth shut.”  

I felt pain shoot through my arm and panic taking over my body. There was something off about him this time. He seemed out of control and vengeful.  

He turned me to face him before shoving me back against the wall. I managed to keep my head from smacking against it, but it did knock the air out of me a little. He moved closer, caging me in with his arms, “And now you come back from spending a week with that asshole and try to embarrass me with that fucking performance? Pawing and rubbing all over him…acting like a little bitch in heat. I knew you were lying about him.” 

I let out a shaky breath, “N-No…I didn’t lie. Nothing happened between us.”  

Both of his hands shifted from the wall to my throat, gripping firmly, “I don’t believe you.”  

I tried pushing him away, but he didn’t budge. Suddenly feeling defiant, I asked, “Are you forgetting the part where I caught you fucking your dance partner? I don’t give a damn what you believe anymore. You're a manipulative asshole.”  

His eyes darkened as a sinister smile spread across his face. His grip on my neck tightened, “Your behavior still has consequences ya know. If you wanna publicly shame me, I’ll turn this around on you so fucking fast. I’ll ruin you both.” 

His grip continued to tighten, causing me to claw at his hands. It was getting harder to breathe. 

“Alec, I…can’t….” 

His smile slowly faded, his eyes turning emotionless. This was different. For the first time, I was truly concerned for my safety. My eyes filled with tears as I gasped for air, desperately trying to loosen his hands or push him away, to no avail. The more I fought him the harder he squeezed. It didn’t take long for my vision to begin clouding with darkness around the edges and it was clear he had no intention of stopping. 

Next: Week 6

A/N: I am leaving this note from an undisclosed location to avoid the angry mob and pitchforks over that cliffy. 👀😂

So...BIG chapter. I think this may be the longest one I have ever done. I refused to break week 5 up into another section, so this is what you get. I hope you survived it...hopefully the subtle Dirty Dancing references kept you entertained. 😏

How do we think things are going with our two love birds so far? This chapter brought us lots of smut, more smut, flirting, and ridiculous cuteness during their last days in NYC. They are definitely going for it. I think Kat is going to learn a thing or two from Dieter, for sure.

We all knew Dieter would be a menace (shame on him for the SNL monologue change up), but did we expect Kat to be just as bad?

We got to see Kat get a little territorial over her man. Do we think she is going to get sick of people hitting on him at some point?

How about that bit with Kat mumbling in her sleep, did anyone see that coming after last chapter?

What do we think about Kat's new nickname?

And we got the Dieter/Zee reunion! We all knew she wasn’t going to let him off easy.

We all know Stacia and Joe are going to be up in their business after NYC. There will 100% be antics on Dieter and Kat's part when it comes to that. What do we think they are going to do?

We all knew Alec was going to continue to be a problem. Did you see that ending coming? How do you think this situation is going to go?

We are finally going to be moving into week 6 in the next chapter. We will pick up right where this chapter leaves off to cover the drama and fallout that follows. Then we will move into the Argentine Tango. There will be lots of bonding between Dieter and Kat, a Dieter therapy session, all the Latin dances are going to start catching up to Kat, and some dressing room antics. 😏

The video for this chapter comes from one of my fav couples on the show (seriously, they have so much chemistry and are very Dieter/Kat coded). It's pretty steamy. Check it out.

👉Click HERE for this chapter's rumba video.

👉If you're interested in hearing the song they are dancing to in week 5 and seeing the rumba in that video, you can view that HERE.

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