#Michael is a PR nightmare

[ingravinoveritas]

Have you seen his latest tweet? He’s having one of his moments and is blocking people left and right. I got myself blocked for commenting on a comment… TF is this poop? 😒

@phantomstars24 Okay, so...I have seen what's been going on on Twitter with Michael and there is...obviously a lot going on. Let me first put up the screenshots of his other tweets, which followed the initial one in @ourtubahero-blog's screenshot (the first one is most recent):

I think there are a few things (well, a lot of things) that are getting missed in all this, specifically the context for why Michael wrote the original tweet in the first place. It appears that it was meant to be a reaction to this incident, which just occurred today in the UK:

The wording of Michael's tweet was not clear, and I also don't think anyone outside of the UK would readily know what he was reacting to, so straightaway this seemed to lead to a lot of misunderstanding. A large portion of the criticism of that tweet stemmed from people thinking Michael was taking a neutral stance on the situation in Gaza/Israel, which is what then led to him making a clarifying tweet in that regard. For my part, I did not interpret Michael's original tweet as neutral, but rather that he is and does stand with innocent people of every stripe, and wishes for there to be no more bloodshed or further loss of life.

Michael's subsequent tweets only seem to have compounded the problem, as they appear to have been made out of an emotional response on his part, which is not a good thing when it comes across as defensive. Emotions are running incredibly high right now, and sadly that is the time when misunderstandings are most likely to occur. In the interest of clarity, in his second tweet, Michael did not say that he had no time to do research, but rather that he "has no time for people telling him to do research." What I took this to mean is that he already has done research and thought very carefully about this entire situation, and therefore felt slighted at people implying that he had not.

The problem inherent in all of this, however, is that this is an extremely difficult subject to have nuanced conversation about, particularly on social media and especially on Twitter. This then leads us to the issue of blocking. I think what Michael was attempting to say (again, badly worded) in his tweet about blocking people was that he was blocking people due to what he perceived as personal attacks. This would explain people being blocked for saying apparently innocuous things, as Michael was on the defensive and does not really have that button in his brain telling him to stop or back off once he gets going.

It goes without saying that Michael seemingly blocking people indiscriminately is definitely not a good look (though it is not without precedent, as I remember well him doing the exact same thing four years ago, albeit under different circumstances). But what is also not acceptable is people sending him death threats, or tweets such as this falsely accusing him of horrific things. In this instance, it is more than understandable that he would have a strong reaction to being dogpiled and block someone, because no one should have to accept threats to their person on their own social media page.

I think what is also happening is that a lot of fans (not either of you who sent in these asks, for the record) are correlating online activism to activism in real life. Michael has always been about walking the walk and not just talking the talk, to where we know he donated almost all of his money to the Homeless World Cup in 2019. He is also a UNICEF UK ambassador and has visited Lebanon, Chad, and Guatemala to meet and help refugee children. All this to say that we have no idea what he has done outside of social media to assist refugees and victims, or if/how much he has donated to Palestinian charities or other relief funds for victims and their families. And for my part, I would rather Michael be clumsy with his wording on social media (again, not defending the indiscriminate blocking) and taking tangible action in real life than engaging in performative Internet activism that ultimately goes nowhere.

(Also, I cannot help but facepalm at people asking Anna to weigh in, under the assumption that a) She would even care about this; and b) She has any influence whatsoever on Michael's behavior, which it is abundantly clear she does not or else he would have stopped flirting with David years ago. I just really hope people do not tag her or expect her to have the ability to somehow "rein him in," because they will be very disappointed...)

So yes, I think what made Michael make a statement tonight after all this time was the above-mentioned MP. I think his intentions were likely good and that his heart was in the right place--as are all of ours, in wanting to protect innocent civilians and stop the horrific violence that is happening. But I also think that if Michael wasn't prepared to handle certain types of criticism, then it probably would have been better for him to say nothing at all, or at least certainly to not escalate things by continuously tweeting. I am also sorry for the fans who were hurt by his actions, because I know fans who have been there before, and it really sucks.

I am hopeful, however, that we can all step back and breathe once emotions are no longer so heightened and try to find a way to listen to each other and engage meaningfully. Because it is truly disheartening to see how things escalated so quickly tonight, and I want to believe that we as a fandom and as human beings can do so much better. I suppose only time will tell...

[kaiijo]

CERTAINTIES — SHIDOU RYUSEI

pairing: shidou ryusei x gn! reader content: pro soccer player! shidou, pr manager! reader, shidou and kaiser’s behavior is a warning and of itself, shidou calls reader “sweetheart” and “sweets,” one suggestive joke notes: i <3 unhinged men

You’ve learned that there are very few certainties in this world. The trains are not always on time, your hair is not always how you want it to look, your coffee order is not always what you want it to be.

But if you can be certain of one thing, it’s that Shidou Ryusei is a walking PR nightmare.

Your colleagues all warned you about taking him on as a client. His reputation precedes him: he’s loud, generally pretty rude, and absolutely unpredictable; he had cycled through no less than five PR agents in just a month. One of his previous agents, who sits in the office besides yours, came back in tears one day, huffing and sniffling that she “can’t work with him anymore!” because “he’s an absolute maniac! A total psycho!”

But if the various first place trophies and medals that were displayed in your childhood home for spelling bees and baking contests and even a few sport competitions mean anything, it’s that you never back down from a challenge. And, not to be too self-congratulatory, but you’ve been in the job for three months now — the longest of any PR agent — and you’re fairly sure you’re not anywhere close to being fired or run off by Shidou.

You sit on the sidelines of the field, watching the practice match between PXG and Bastard München with heavy eyelids. You got very little sleep the past few days after having to mitigate a “Shidou Ryusei Disaster,” as your team has taken to calling whatever scandal Shidou stirred up. Your eyes slid shut for a few seconds before the shrill of the whistle indicating halftime break made you jump, pitching forward. You would have definitely eaten grass if the man sitting beside you, Harada Kaito, hadn’t grabbed your shoulder and pulled you back.

You and Kaito work at the same agency with Kaito representing the actual PR angel, Yukimiya Kenyu. You can’t say you’re close friends but you get along well and enjoy chatting with him when PXG played against Bastard. “You okay there?” he asks, brows furrowing in concern.

You sigh heavily, rubbing your eyes with the heels of your palms. “Yeah, I’m fine. Had to put out some fires in the last few days so it’s been kind of hectic.”

“Right,” he says with a nod. “You spun it well. Saying that Shidou’s outbursts are products of overwhelming passion for soccer that’s just a little misplaced sometimes is honestly genius. Might have to steal that from you one day.”

You snort, “Yeah, right, Yukimiya’s a saint. I’m sure you’ll never have to put out a statement like that.”

He chuckles, leaning back. “Probably.”

“You wanna go, Rat Tail?” Both you and Kaito whip your heads over to see Shidou toe to toe with Michael Kaiser of all people. Of all people, he has to choose Michael Kaiser to fuck with today. Kaito gives you a pitying look as you run a hand down your face, standing up and heading over to douse this blaze before it can turn into another Shidou Ryusei Disaster.

“I’ll squish you like the insect you are,” Kaiser bites back, mouth pulling into a vicious smile.

“How about I exterminate you like the rat you are?” And you already see the way Shidou shifts his weight, the way his eyes grow sharper and his gaze more wild, and you know you’re a millisecond away from pandemonium, broken bones, and a potential lawsuit.

“Shidou Ryusei, if you even think about it, I’m never making you yukhoe ever again!”

Kaiser and the small crowd of soccer players that had formed around him and Shidou look a little surprised to see you a few feet away, clearly unaware that you had been practically sprinting across the field to get to them. Shidou, on the other hand, looks like he expected it and there is something smug about his expression that makes your eyes narrow. “Ah!” he croons, only needing two strides of his long legs to reach you. “So you were paying attention to me!”

“What are you on about?” you huff, crossing your arms.

“Well, you were falling asleep on the job. And then you seemed a little preoccupied with your little boytoy over there.” His eyes slide over to Kaito, who’s checking something on his phone.

You roll your eyes. “We’re colleagues, Shidou, you’ve met Kaito before.”

“First name basis? Are you sure you’re just colleagues?” He throws a nasty grin at you but there’s a look in his eyes that doesn’t quite match the simper.

“Yes.”

“You don’t sneak into the conference room together for a little rendezvous?”

“No.”

Shidou tilts his head and rocks on his feet, balancing on his toes and leaning in close. His nose almost brushed yours and your face heats up to an unhealthy temperature. Then, he smirks and pokes your cheek. “You’re cute when you’re mad.”

You swat his hand away. “Shut up.”

“Aww, that’s not a very nice way to talk to your client.”

“It’s not very nice to go around physically assaulting people.”

“I beg to differ, sweetheart,” Shidou says with a wink. Your face burns more.

You massage your temples and instead turn to Michael Kaiser, suddenly acutely aware that the first strings of PXG and Bastard München are all witnessing your interaction. “I’m sorry about his behavior.”

Kaiser raises an eyebrow and you think he’s going to give you a hard time but he only walks over to you, brushing past Shidou, and offers you a charming smile. “I don’t blame you,” he says, placing a placating hand on your shoulder and glancing at Shidou derisively over his shoulder. He looks back at you. “Feral animals are hard to train. My suggestion is to get them a leash and muzzle.”

You frown at Kaiser and peer over his shoulder to look at Shidou, but his eyes are glued to the hand on your shoulder. “Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Shidou chuckles but there’s something flat and unsettling about his tone. It shifts into something colder. “And get your hand off them.”

“Oh?” Kaiser smirks. “I don’t see them asking me to.”

“They’re too nice to say it. I, on the other hand, have no qualms ripping it off.”

“‘Qualms,’ that’s a big word for a little insect.”

“That’s enough,” you say, finally stepping out of Kaiser’s grip. You check your watch; there’s still a little time in the halftime break. Your eyes zero in on Shidou and you give him a stern glare. “We’re going to have a talk. Come with me.”

You turn on your heel and you don’t need to look back to know that Shidou’s following. Kaiser calls after the two of you, “Aww, finally decide to obey like a good dog!”

And much to your chagrin and great embarrassment, Shidou fucking barks back.

You lead him into the hallway that lead from the locker room and you say, “You can’t just go around kicking your teammates, you’re going to get into real trouble one day!”

“Aww, you care that much about me?”

“It’s literally my job to care about your public image.”

“Don’t got breaking my heart like that.”

You roll your eyes and scowl. “I literally just cleaned up one of your messes, Shidou. I need you to take it down.”

Shidou studies you for a few moments, eyes roaming your face. You squirm a little under his scrutiny and then Shidou takes a step towards you. You instinctively move back a step. One step forward, one back. Forward, back.

You grunt a little when you hit the opposite wall, Shidou crowding you against the wall. He leans in close, mouth right next to your ear. “I’ll tone it down on one condition.”

Your heart is about to beat out of its chest. “What is it?”

He smiles slyly and purrs, “Let me take you out.”

You dare to meet his gaze, shocked by its intensity. Your reply is so quiet, like it’s meant just for Shidou to hear. “Okay.”

His eyebrows raise and he asks, “Really?”

Your traitorous mouth lifts into a soft smile. “Yeah.” And Shidou beams.

You’ve learned that there are very few certainties in this world. But if there’s one thing you’re very certain of, it’s that (for better or worse) Shidou Ryusei can make your heart race.

[dear-ao3]

hi it's me the person from like a week ago who's writing that college paper about f1 i was gonna respond and then i immediately forgot lol. the paper is on the different media strategies and narratives of the fia, teams, drivers, gp locations, etc, and how they interact with each other. and also how the ways liberty media and the fia are marketing the sport and drawing in new fans is actually alienating people and suppressing the authenticity of the sport. especially post drive to survive.

i'm a comms major lol i am a massive public relations nerd

also a couple questions: idk how well versed you are in business stuff but how would you say f1 has changed its branding, especially pre liberty media to now? and how were drivers marketed before the era of portraying them as like,, pop stars? when was that shift? also if you have any specific examples (or places i could find examples) related to that stuff or sexism in f1 or just how f1 tries to control the narrative i would appreciate it because jesus christ the lack of research is terrible

ok dump over the essays not due for another like 3 weeks but when its done i can send it to you if you want to read it :)

aaaaa this got lost in my ask box i hope i’m not too late posting it :/ unfortunately i have no real sources for you. i know the shift was post drive to survive, but i think it also depends on the country because like f1 hasn’t really been a huge Thing in the us, but like ferrari has been italys second religion for years. so it might make sense if you focused it on a country. like in the time since dts first released they added two more us gps: miami (2022) and las vegas (2023). i know there’s a lot of british bias, especially by sky sports and sometimes in the penalties as well. i think fernando alonso called that out this year (?) and max also usually mentions it a few times (at brazil this year he definitely called out the british press) i know there’s also interviews of drivers saying post dts people recognized them way more (maybe this was daniel? or lando?) but some of them really like it (daniel) and some of them don’t (like max) you could also play the angle from social media, like george used to i know at least run his own twitter way back in the day (might have been pre f1 but i think he was still running it loosely in 2019 or at least tweeting himself) and now he doesn’t really touch social media At All cause of the comments he gets. lando used to run most of his own social media also until i think like 2020? 2021? (as in i don’t think he had a social media team) before he passed it off to someone else, though i know he still goes on for sure. i think a lot of them definitely cleaned up their media presence post dts (like lewis was certainly a pr nightmare at one point earlier in his career which a lot of people don’t realize or remember and we’re not even going to talk about fernando alonso). the sport has gotten more tame for sure over the years, they used to get away with doing and saying way more but that could also just be a general cultural shift, there’s also i know pockets of people who are like oh this sport used to be so respectful and manly and blah blah blah and like. there’s photos of michael schumacher at a party in a wedding dress. david coulthard used to pretend to kiss his teammates on the lips in front of the cameras. as for sexism, there have been female drivers before, usually only doing short stints. i know susie wolff has talked about this with the f1 academy how pretty much only lewis consistently shows up to support it. i think max (?) said earlier this year that academy is great but if they want them to make it to f1 they need to give them faster cars. there’s also the whole horner fiasco from earlier this year.

idk if any of this is useful. or if you’ve already turned in your paper. in any case, good luck :)

[wanderingmind867]

My plans for my Justice League Canada series (if ever I manage to make such a series) regarding lineups and rosters on the team.

Issues #1-5: These first five issues serve as an introduction to the comic and to the Justice League Canada more broadly. The Justice League Detroit completely broke apart, and now it's the Justice League Canada! And the three new members of the team: Blue Beetle, Aqsarniit and The Angel of Dawn.

Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz)

2. Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)

3. Aqsarniit

4. The Angel of Dawn/Ange de L'aube (Samantha Guizzon)

5. Captain Marvel/Shazam (Billy Batson)

6. Gypsy (Cynthia Reynolds) (i know the name of gypsy is offensive, but i couldn't think of a new name).

7. Red Tornado

Issues #6-7: Booster Gold is added to the team. Introduced in the Blue Beetle's solo comic as a reluctant villian who gets redeemed and becomes a hero, Blue Beetle now insists the team add his buddy to the roster. Most of the team is against adding Booster to their ranks (knowing it'd be a PR nightmare for the already publically distrusted league if they recruited an ex-con), but Martian Manhunter insists they give him a chance.

So J'onn stages a test for Booster. He shapeshifts and pretends to be a supervillian, and he tests Booster's weaknesses. Can he overcome J'onn's death traps? Can he neutralize his super strength and telepathic powers? Can he resist the temptations a supervillian can offer (like unlimited wealth and power)? When the answer to these questions becomes clear, J'onn shapeshifts back and welcomes Booster onto the team!

Issue #7 is the story where J'onn finally departs from the League. After one last mission with them (and a tense press release where he defends the recruitment of Booster Gold), J'onn announces that he's leaving. He's off to go search for his brother, since he's heard rumours Ma'alefa'ak is in St Louis. And although he loves the Justice League, J'onn's brother comes first. He has faith in all of the leaguers present before him, and he knows they won't disappoint him.

Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) (leaves at the end of issue #7)

Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)

Aqsarniit

The Angel of Dawn/Ange de L'aube (Samantha Guizzon)

Captain Marvel/Shazam (Billy Batson)

Gypsy (Cynthia Reynolds)

Red Tornado

Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter) (joins in issue #6)

Issues #8-13: These issues feature no shake ups in the team's lineup. Just our 7 members going on missions. Possibly we'd see an escalation in the Red Tornado/Cynthia Reynolds romance, or we'd get more character development for some of our cast.

Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)

Aqsarniit

The Angel of Dawn/Ange de L'aube (Samantha Guizzon)

Captain Marvel/Shazam (Billy Batson)

Gypsy (Cynthia Reynolds)

Red Tornado

Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter)

Issues #14-15: The beginning of a new two part story arc, designed to introduce some characters who'll be relevant later. The Justice League Canada is called to investigate a weird disturbance over the skies of Vancouver, only to discover an alien invasion attempt by some renegade saturnians, led by K'os'che'i (although his name won't be revealed in this book until many issues from now, when Jemm joins the team).

In any case, The Justice League then has to deal with repelling a saturnian invasion of earth (just as the original Justice League had to deal with this years ago). And when in Vancouver, a new hero enters the scene: Guy Gardner, earth's newest Green Lantern! When a green lantern patrolling space is shot down by K'os'che'i's fleet, he lands on earth.

More specifically, he lands in the backyard of Guy Gardner, educational assistant for mentally disabled children! Guy Gardner proves himself to be pure of heart, and the dying Green Lantern passes the ring on to him. He had been considered for Green Lantern before, but Hal Jordan and John Stewart beat him to the punch. But now it's Guy Gardner's turn, and he's not gonna waste it!

Guy Gardner teams up with the Justice League Canada to help defend Vancouver (and the world at large) from K'os'che'i's invasion of earth. And together, the eight of them manage to repel the invasion! And when the invasion has successfully been repelled, the few human crooks who got roped into assisting the saturnians receive full prosecution from crown attorney richard raleigh (a man who will later join the Justice League in his superhero identity as The Red Bee).

1. Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)

2. Aqsarniit

3. The Angel of Dawn/Ange de L'aube (Samantha Guizzon)

4. Captain Marvel/Shazam (Billy Batson)

5. Gypsy (Cynthia Reynolds)

6. Red Tornado

7. Booster Gold (Michael Jon Carter)

8. Green Lantern III (Guy Gardner) (Joins officially at the end of Issue #15)

[dewdr0pz]

wilbur comforting reader after a nightmare? :0

…

(i tried to think of how to elaborate on that but i think i’ll just leave it up to you while my sleepy brain takes over LMAO)

🌙 I've Got You 🌙

a/n: this is such a cute idea wtf

tags: @zuuriell @somebody-v @vibestillaxxx @ax-y10 @joviepog@themonsterunderurmom @ogelizasoot @wilburstan@smolsleepykitten@funnyreally2009@crows-death@dykepunz@aresriiots@0miamor0@defonotval@chipch0p@mazzistar16@unmellowyellowfellow@justalittlebitofchaos@thosecolorfulsheets@vopix@taylors-version-from-the-vault@aine-lasagna@merianakross@veeislost@urfav-sapphic-siren@shazbaz58-blog @wifiatthetrainstation@mcr-pr-fob@shd454@rqvii@idioticion@m0thza@artistphantom @ace-call-me-what-youd-like @lexx-the-gay-rubber-ducky @finleyforevermore @poraphia @radio-to-trenchcoat-demons @mysticalsoot(let me know if u don't or do wanna be tagged!!)

word count: 613 (i need to write longer fics i feel like writing short fics is bad but oh well)

contains: reader having a nightmare, use of Y/N, crying, reader having a panic attack, reader thinking Wilbur left them, reader shows signs of depression & anxiety, reader has self-deprecating thoughts

You had awoken with a gasp as you tried to catch your shaky breath & stop your sobs. It was just a dream. A really, really bad dream.

Wilbur, in the dream, had gotten fed up with you. He had gone on a rant about how much of a terrible partner you were & how you were useless & a waste of skin; it was almost as if he had taken every single thought you'd ever had about yourself, soaked them in vitriol till it was dripping, & then spouted it out to make your ears bleed. It was a fear you always had. Maybe it did happen. Maybe he finally fell out of love with you. Maybe he never loved you. Maybe he--

"No, Y/N, that didn't happen," you whispered to yourself through the sobs. "Wilbur's right next to--" You looked over at where Wilbur was supposed to be in bed.

& he wasn't there.

& that's when all of the panic you've ever felt attacked you like a tsunami. You started hyperventilating & sobbing so hard to the point where you were seeing white & your head felt like it was being slowly drilled into & your brain was being turned to mush. Your heart didn't go one millisecond without beating so hard you swore you could see it beating out of your chest, & you were shaking so hard to the point where somebody could've compared you to a vibrating iPhone & nobody would be able to tell the difference.

In a desperate attempt to calm yourself down, you slowly got up & stumbled over to Wilbur's closet to grab one of his hoodies. You pressed the hoodie to your face as you stumbled back to bed & sobbed harder, the scent of his body wash & cologne, earthy & calming & perfect, still faintly there. What did you do? What did you do to make him leave you? You were aware that you were far from a perfect partner, & you were far from attractive, & maybe he had some sort of realization & decided that there were other, better fish in the sea to catch, leaving you at the bottom of the pond, away from the shiny, attractive fish that he was bound to catch.

"Darling?" his voice rang out & echoed against the walls, causing you to look up.

"Oh my God, honey," Wilbur, lovely, amazing Wilbur, whispered, practically jumping onto the bed to pull you into his lap & wrap his arms around you so tightly to the point where you thought you'd never be able to escape his embrace. Not that you were complaining, of course. "I've got you. You're okay, you're alright."

"Why're we crying? What's going on?" he whispered in your ear, rocking you back & forth & wiping your tears.

"I had a bad dream & I thought you left," you croaked through your sobs.

"Baby, I would never even dream of leaving you," Wilbur said. "You're everything to me. You're the reason I wake up in the morning. You're the reason I write songs & play music. You're the reason I'm still here." He kisses your cheek before continuing, "You're the Tori Spring to my Michael Holdman or whatever his name is."

"Michael Holden," you corrected with a tearful laugh.

He smiled at you. "There's my beautiful baby with their beautiful laugh," he whispered.

"Why weren't you in our room?" you asked.

"I was getting water, lovely," he said. "I wasn't leaving, not at all. I wouldn't even dare to think about it. I'd die without you."

"Promise?" you asked.

He linked his pinky with yours. "Swear on my life."

[starcrossedxwriter]

Wicked Fantasies Part 2 (MBJ x OC)

Warnings: noneeeee

“You fuckin’ idiot!” Alex seethed, the clicks of her heels reverberated throughout Michael’s living room as she stalked, TMZ playing loudly in the background. “What part of ‘cleaning up the image’ was difficult to understand?” 

Michael gripped the back of his chair in his office in frustration. It was not just the shitty situation he found himself in when he woke up this morning, it was also his manager’s attitude. However, he did not correct Alex. He had been working with her for most of his career and the reason Alex had lasted this long was that she was unafraid of calling Michael a ‘fucking idiot’ if he was acting like one. 

“Why didn’t you just call the ambulance and then wait to leave? Did you need to do the walk of shame across the hotel lobby with her??” 

Michael scoffed. “If you think I’m that type of nigga, you really don’t know me. She was unconscious. How was I supposed to know there were fuckin’ cameras in the lobby??” 

Alex threw his hands up in the air. “Because it’s 2022 at the fucking St. Regis! There’re cameras every fuckin’ where! Do you think I have you go in back doors and service elevators for fucking fun??? Because it is easier??? Why do you insist on making my job harder?? Do you hate me or something? We’re on the biggest run of your fucking career. And you jeopardize it for some pussy?” 

Michael’s fingers massaged his temples. He had not gotten a single break in the last three days. He felt like he was stuck in the deepest circle of hell since he drove off from Raven’s apartment days prior. Every moment of his day was consumed with one thought, one singular person: Raven. What was she doing? How was she healing? Did she come up with the money she needed? Should he write her a check and drop it off anonymously? Would she even accept that or appreciate it? Question after question ran through his brain regardless of how hard he tried to excommunicate her from it. She was stuck to him like super glue. He replayed their one night together over and over again, jerking off on more than one occasion dreaming of the things he wished to do to her body. So many disgusting and filthy things. 

This disgusting pining lasted for two days before he gave in, last night, and called Helen to schedule another date with her. And it was not even about the sex. She had a concussion so he would not feel comfortable fucking even if she was up for it. He just wanted to see her, check in on her. And that terrified him. Never had a one-night stand or woman he paid to sleep with captured his mind quite like this. He loved fucking Tasha but he did not pine for her or even really think about her outside when he was horny and needed release. But Raven… she was something he had never experienced before. And he hated it. So in a split second decision, he booked Tasha instead, in hopes that fucking another woman would get her out of his mind once and for all. And it worked for a moment. The few hours of sleep he got after leaving Tasha was the first Raven-free sleep he had gotten until he woke up to his face plastered all over TMZ as he followed the EMTs wheeling her out of the hotel. 

The angle of the camera blocked her face, thankfully, but there was no mistaking him. The media ran with their own stories, some neutral and some speculating things Michael would never have dreamed of. It was a PR nightmare, which is why his manager was at his house to do damage control. However, Michael did not particularly care about his own reputation. He just worried if there was another angle with Raven’s face visible. He was used to being in the press, often for being attached to different random women, but Raven did not seem like the type who would enjoy such attention. And he did not even have her number to call and satisfy the small part of him that wanted to check in on her. The part of him he despised. 

“Are you even listening to me??” Alex called out, ending her rant to realize Michael’s mind was clearly elsewhere. 

Michael straightened up and pushed Raven out of his head for a moment, a true feat. 

“My bad. Look, I didn’t jeopardize anything. You can’t even see her face! Besides, no matter what the press says, everyone loves me, we’re good.” 

Alex shook her head. “That isn’t the point. You don’t think they won’t try to figure out who this girl is?? Try to piece together some story about something nefarious or terrible that happened? You were seen leaving a hotel with an unconscious woman… there are only a couple ways I can spin this shit that it doesn’t look bad for you. And just so you’re clear, people want to fuck you. They don’t love you. At best, people think you’re neutral and at worst, they think you’re an asshole. The only thing they all agree on is that you’re one of those things with extreme talent, a cute face and award-winning smile. So they ignore that ambiguity because because every woman and some men want to fuck you.”  

Michael walked over to his decanter, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. He did not care that it was 10 am, it was 5 pm somewhere in the world, he supposed. 

“And now you’re drinking at 10 a.m. Should I add a stint in rehab to my list of things to spin this week?”

Michael chose to ignore that dig. “You made your point, Alexandra. I’m sorry. I’m an ass,” he admitted, which he knew was true. He would never win an award for sweetest personality. “So what can we do? What are the ways we can spin it?” 

She shrugged. “Well, the truth would be fine… embarrassing but unproblematic IF she wasn’t a prostitute. I’m all for the girls getting their money but now really isn’t the time in our culture for you to be attached to a prostitute.” 

“It’s 2022, who cares if I pay for sex?” 

“I think people care if you paid for sex and it was so rough you sent her to the damn hospital, Mike. That’s what people would care about. And then it’s a whole other thing… did she want it that rough, did she know it would be that rough, did she consent to whatever caused the accident? And the answer to all of those could be yes and we could say that but without her word, it’s murky as fuck. And then it begs reporters to ask the question, are there women with sorted tales of rough sex with Hollywood’s favorite movie star that they didn’t want even if this one was consensual? Also I don’t necessarily think it’s a good time to admit to the world that you pay for sex damn near every week.” 

“Plenty of men pay for sex, Alex.” 

“Sure and that’s fine. But people judge them too. When you’re handsome and could just be in a relationship. Look, I’m not judging but it sends a certain playboy, unattached message. And that shit was fine when you were 30 but we’re pushing 40. And you’re the one that said when Creed 3 comes out next year, you want to take the jump to directing more. Producers, studios need to see you as a serious person to take you seriously as a director. Denzel is serious, George Clooney is serious, John Krasinki is serious, Kevin Costner is serious. And studios trust them with projects because they are serious people! You know what all those men have in common?? They are settled, family men with beautiful wives who are kick ass in their own right and they DON’T frequent prostitutes! Or if they do, we don’t fucking know it because they aren’t plastered on TMZ. Look, I say this with all the love in the world for you… but you’re the definition of an unserious person and I need you to get serious before you’re a fucking 45, washed up actor wasting his incredible talent playin’ the same role in every action movie because no one takes you seriously.” 

Michael nodded. “I hear you. And I understand. I promised I’d clean it up and I slipped. But we can fix this… we always do. If the truth works, why don’t we just say that-” 

“Did you listen to anything I just said?” Alex immediately started to say before Michael cut her off. 

“With a minor lie… We say it was my girlfriend. We were enjoying a night after partying, had sex, fell off the bed, she hit her head, I took her to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. And we turn it back on the media and say they infringed on a private moment between us by turning a health emergency into a public spectacle.” 

Alex rubbed her forehead. “Thank God you are attractive,” she muttered to herself. “I mean in theory, that’s the ideal play but there’s one major flaw in that plan, you’re tragically single. Like I’ve known you for a decade and you’ve never even been romantically tied with a woman for more than a night. I can’t sell a girlfriend that doesn’t exist anymore than I can sell magic at Hogwarts. And there’s no woman that we could pass off as this girl in time. ” 

“What if we say it’s Raven… the actual girl?” The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. There were flaws in the plan, he could recognize that. But he wanted to see her again and this might be his only option to do so.

“I’m all for a PR relationship, don’t get me wrong. They can be successful. But it won’t help you if and when one of her old clients comes out later and tells the world she was a prostitute. Then we are back where we started but worse because everyone knows you were in a fake relationship.”  

Michael shook his head. “Nah, nah, she’s perfect. I was her first real date so there are no clients to come out to say shit. Helen is hella strict with her girls, no press, so if I had to guess, she’s gonna fire her,” though the thought frustrated him as she did nothing wrong. “So there’ll be no record of her working for an agency. We can say we were tryin’ to keep it under wraps because she isn’t used to the spotlight. I haven’t been seen with a fling in months so we can say it’s fairly new. Besides, if there’s a camera with an angle on her face, it covers our asses.” 

Michael did not want to admit why he was fighting so hard to enter into a fake relationship with Raven. Did not want to admit it to Alex or himself. This was a dangerous plan, he knew it. There were so many reasons it was foolish and would fall apart. But he did not care about a single one of those reasons. He reasoned that this was a logical course of action. She was probably the best person to enter a fake relationship with too. She understood how to put on a show and what she was being paid for and knew that no feelings would be involved. This would be a mere business transaction, he would get her and his own feelings out of his system, and everyone would be happy. 

“It… could work,” she admitted. “But you’d have to keep up a public relationship with all the fixings for at least six months to sell it. You’d have to do everything I say, NO more visits with Tasha or any other woman. We’d need to get through the premiere of your current film next month, the holidays, the Creed premiere, nominations, and the Oscars in March before you could break it off. Would she even agree to that? Most of these relationships work because it’s mutually beneficial. You know another celebrity who could use the PR bump. What would even be in it for her?” 

“Let me worry about that, aight? Just trust me. I messed up, let me fix it this time. My first step as a serious person.” He flashed her his award winning smile, which made Alex laugh. 

“You realize I am the only woman on the planet that shit doesn’t work on?”

He shrugged. “You’ve stuck by me this long… I think it works on you too,” he winked at her.

“Barely,” she mumbled. She stared at him for a moment before surrendering to his plan. She did not really have a better one at the moment. “Fine. I can give you 12 hours to convince her. We need to get a statement out tomorrow morning. Fix this, Mike.” 

“Consider it already fixed,” he vowed, determined to clean up his own image and get what he wanted in the process. 

***

“Helen, please! I need this job!” 

“And I can’t have my girls plastered across Page Six and TMZ. Press brings attention I don’t need.” 

“You can’t even see my face!” Raven argued. “No one knows it’s me. Please don’t do this.” 

She knew Helen could hear her pleas but she also knew the woman did not care. “Honey, the internet will figure out who you are like that,” Raven could hear the faint snap of fingers through her phone. “And I can’t have you on my roster when they do. I told you if it went left, you were out. Gotta cut you loose.” 

“B-” The phone cut out as Helen hung up on her, clearly exhausted from arguing when there was no changing her mind. 

Raven slid back into bed and tried to keep the tears from falling. Not out of pride this time, she was alone with no one to hear her sobs. But she knew crying would only make the dull pain in her head worse. She tried to hold it in until it became difficult to breath, small gasps filling her quiet bedroom. She grabbed her pillow and forced it over her face to muffle them as they turned into all out sobs. 

Helen was right, the internet would realize who she was in no time. And then her life would truly be over. She’d never get a job anywhere ever again, she’d likely lose the day job she had right now. She shuddered to think what her family would say. Likely, it would give her father the excuse he always wanted to toss her out of their lives for good, but part of her felt like that might have been the one silver lining to everything. And before that shoe dropped, she would have to figure out the larger looming financial problems barreling toward her. While her bills were just barely covered with her job and residuals, she had not come up with the rest of the money she promised her family and her only way of making fast cash was gone. .

She just needed a break, a break from the stress of life. The last 18 months had been hell and she just felt like she was dragging around a weight that only got heavier and heavier. But if she stopped or put it down, everything would crumble. She was exhausted and worn out. She curled up in her bed, crying to herself, praying God would send something to help her and fast.

***

Michael knocked at the door of Raven’s apartment. If he hadn’t been there a mere three days prior, he would’ve been convinced his driver took him to the wrong address. He teetered on his heels for a moment or two until the door swung open. 

“Hello?” The young woman, a cute curly-haired light skin girl, opened the door. “Oh umm can I help you?” 

Michael could tell she recognized him, however, he gave her kudos for not completely melting and losing all common sense like most women do when they saw him.

“Hi, I have the right building but I might have the wrong apartment,” he admitted. “Looking for Raven?” 

“Oh yea, she’s in her room. Come in. She’s a bit under the weather though… not sure if she’s up for company,” she gave him an apologetic shrug before calling out for Raven. “Rae!” 

Michael glanced around their small apartment. Though the building and neighborhood left a lot to be desired in his opinion, their apartment was a cute two bedroom. Fairly small, he decided, for two people, but it was quaint. His eyes went to the floor to ceiling bookshelf tucked in the corner. It was clear someone had started off extremely meticulous and organized with it, each row perfectly color coordinated. However, the person had acquired too many books to maintain that level of organization, many sat in neat stacks on the floor in front of the bookshelf, growing so tall, they obscured the bottom shelf.

“That girl consumes books like they’re air,” her roommate remarked, following Michael’s line of sight to the bookshelf.  

He did not even get to acknowledge her statement when one of the closed doors off the living room opened. 

Raven emerged, her eyes red and puffy, all of her curly hair piled on top of her head with a bright colored scarf. 

“What’s up Tiff?” Her words were punctured by sniffles, which let Michael know she had been crying. 

An inexplicable wave of concern hit him. He could guess what had caused it and immediately felt guilty, an emotion he rarely felt about anything. 

“You have a visitor?” 

Raven glanced up, almost jumping when she realized Michael B. Jordan was standing in her living room. He watched as she hastily wiped her eyes and glanced down at her disheveled appearance. She still looked insanely beautiful, even in an oversized sweatshirt and leggings.

“Umm.. h-hi. T-thanks, Tiff. W-what are you doing here?” 

“You two know each other?” 

“Yea we met the other night… at that party…” She shook her head quietly as Michael started to open his mouth. “Umm wanna talk in my room?” She gestured toward her bedroom, Michael nodding as he followed her. 

“Nice to meet you,” he threw over his shoulder to Tiffany as he followed Raven back into her room. Her face was neutral as she ushered him inside and shut the door behind him.

She had never been more displeased to see anyone in her life. Her date with him was supposed to be her big break and all it did was send her tumbling back to the bottom again. She was not mad at him, he had done nothing wrong. But between her concussion and the inability to stop thinking about him for the last three days and now losing her job, it was all too much to handle. And she knew he only came down there to talk about the photo and ensure she was not going to say anything to the media. 

“What are you doing here? In case you were confused, this counts as creepy stalker shit! Like right up there at the top of the list!” 

Michael was not expecting her visceral reaction to him, one of anger. However, he did not let it deter him. 

“I needed to talk to you.”

“About the photo?” she rushed out, just wanting to get him out of her room so she could go back to wallowing. “Look, you wasted a trip. I already lost my job so if they figure out it was me, it’ll just look like a one-night stand. And I don’t plan on selling our wild night together to a magazine or anything if that’s what you’re worried about. That wouldn’t be fair to you.” She walked over to her bed and plopped down. “So whatever you came to offer me to keep me quiet about your kinks and what happened, keep it. And if you want me to sign something, whatever, that’s fine. Just hand it over so we can get this over with.” 

He wrinkled his nose in offense at the assumption that he was there to pay her off. While he did have a certain “playboy, bad boy” image, he would have hoped he did not give off the vibe that he wanted to buy her silence. He knew it happened but it was not his style.

“That wasn’t what I came by to talk about at all. I do wanna talk about the photo but first, I just wanted to see how you were doing? I didn’t have your number and wanted to check on you. You got a concussion and then the leak… you were already stressed at the hospital, figured this didn’t make shit easier. Thought you could use a friendly face that knows what’s goin’ on?”  

Her expression softened. She had not expected that. Nor had she expected him to so accurately determine what she needed. It had been a hard day with this looming secret and no one to talk to without outing herself. Tiffany was a good friend but she would not agree with how Raven chose to make extra money. 

“O-Oh… umm… t-thank you. That’s r-really sweet. S-sorry for assuming the worst. I just figured you…” she stopped herself. “Never mind. I’m fine, or at least I will be. Head hurts less. Few more days, I’ll be healed a-and I’ll figure out the rest. Or just wait for my life to implode,” she grimaced. 

He stared at her. “You’ve been cryin’.” His eyes scanned the waste basket by the desk, which was overflowing with tissues and the ones that littered her soft rose and cream colored comforter. “A lot for just a few hours. You can be honest with me.”

She rubbed her eyes, trying to stop more from falling. “J-Just been a rough year and a half or so, rough life,” she whispered. “I take a step in the right direction and get knocked five back.” She cleared her throat before shaking her head, her body language telling Michael everything he needed to know. All he saw was exhaustion, exhaustion that clung to the bones and never let go, exhaustion so painful it was difficult to even admit it to yourself for fear of giving into it. “But it’ll turn around. So I’m good, I’m good,” she assured him. He could not tell if those words were more for him or herself. 

She stared at him for a few moments, feeling the awkwardness of having a movie star in her small cluttered bedroom. “That it?”

“Um no, actually. I might have a solution to both of our problems… if you’re interested.”

She laughed and shook her head, laying back down on her bed so she could rest her head. He had already seen her in the hospital, she figured he could deal with watching her lay down. 

“Unless you have a job for me, I don’t really know how you can help me.” 

“Well actually… I do. It’s not a traditional job or some shit but it'll be worth it. Be my girlfriend for the next six months.” 

He said the words so casually and easily, Raven would have thought he was asking her to be his dog walker. She immediately sat up, her eyes bugging out of her head. 

“What??”  

He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. “My movie is coming out next month and my directorial debut is next year. The role is already getting buzz for award season. But my team thinks I need to change up my public image ahead of the promo and seem like a more serious person.” She wanted to laugh at his use of air quotes around ‘serious.’ “The photo didn’t really help and if it comes out that you were hired, it just won’t be a good look. So you pretend to be my girl for six months, get me through the premiere, the holidays and award season. Then we can go our separate ways.”  

Raven could only stare at him blankly, shocked at the words coming out of his mouth. She thought this sort of thing only happened in tv shows and in the lines of spicy romance novels. But here, a rich man stood trying to “Pretty Woman” her.

What the fuck is my life right now??

At her continued silence, Michael added, “You wouldn’t need to see me every day or anything and I’d pay you your rate with Helen for every date. My stylist would get all your clothes and outfits for the events so you wouldn’t need to worry about that.” 

Admittedly, as a new girl, her rate was not as high as Tasha’s, she just got lucky taking a date from her. But even still, she knew that she would make a hefty chunk of change by the time the endeavor was over. Though she found the proposition insane, she would have been a fool not to ponder it. He promised a hell of a lot of money for six months of work. One major question trampled over all the other more logical and logistical ones, falling from her lips without a thought. 

“Why me?”

Michael had hoped she would not ask this question. He did not have a good answer. It would’ve been better, likely, to attach himself to an actual celebrity. But Raven was the more authentic choice. However, there was also the underlying reason he even suggested it in the first place and it had nothing to do with logic. 

“My team wants to spin the other night as the media infringed on a private moment between me and my girlfriend. It being you is the most plausible option in case someone got a photo of your face.” 

Raven studied him for a moment. “That's the only reason?” 

“Yea. What else would it be?” He offered, his tone short to avoid any further questioning on the matter. He could tell it did the trick, though it bothered him to see the hurt flash across her face. However, she recovered quickly. 

“Of course,” she muttered. “So what would it entail?” She gestured toward the chair at her desk for him to sit. 

Her room was incredibly neat for someone who spent the last week in bed. More books were neatly stacked in nooks and crannies across the space but her desk was immaculate. His eyes locked in on a poster above the desk, a Toni Morrison quote written across it. 

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” - Toni Morrison 

“Damn, how many books you got around here, girl?” 

She laughed, “Far too many to count. I have more… a whole collection back home at my dad’s. These are just the ones from my master’s and since I moved here.” 

“How many books you read in a year?” 

“I average about a book or two a week… some are shorter, some are longer.” 

“How do you find the time for that?” Michael was amazed. He had hobbies but he never had time to actually pursue them. 

“Reading is my job and my hobby,” she shrugged. “But you didn’t come all this way for that. So playing your girlfriend, what would it entail?” While she appreciated his interest in her hobbies and life, she did not want him to be interested in those things. Questions, trying to get to know her, implied something that she knew could not be there or be true. This was work and she did not need to add anymore fuel to the brewing idea that he cared for her beyond their business transactions.

“We just gotta appear like we’re dating. Dates when I'm in town, I go to an event or two a week but you probably ain’t gotta go to all of them. A couple instagram posts and shit like that to sell it.”

That did not sound terrible. She did not know if she wanted or was interested in the public scrutiny but even she could not deny that he was offering her a damn sweet deal. “Sex? Or would you continue to see Tasha?” 

“If you don’t want it to be, it doesn’t have to be. I wouldn’t see Tasha unless I can do it discreetly. But my manager would probably kill me. It would be easier on everyone if it was. Less opportunities for anyone to slip up. We had a good time, right? Besides, I still have a few things I wanted to do to you before our night got cut short.” He winked at her. 

Raven hated how cocky he was. He knew damn well she had the time of her life with him. But she refused to admit that she had been fiending for him like he was a highly-addictive drug since she last saw him. 

“I’d be amenable to that as long as no tables are involved.” 

“What if they’re bolted to the ground?” he teased. Though it ended poorly, he still thought about how that position felt, and could still hear her screams of ecstasy in his ears. They would most certainly be doing it again even if he had to bolt every table in his home to the floor himself. 

Her lips curled into the first genuine smile since he dropped her off three days prior at his joke. 

“I’d be open to that.” 

“So we have a deal?” 

She watched him, he seemed almost nervous. As if he was worried she would reject him, as if any woman with eyes and a brain had ever done that, she thought to herself. And even though every cell in her brain screamed that this was the worst idea possible and would end horribly, she could not find that reason enough to reject his proposal. Instead, she said, “Y-You know this is crazy right? These fake relationships and shit, people see right through them.” 

“Maybe, but it’s worth a try, right?”

“You know I thought this type of shit only happened in books… you’d rather pay me to pretend to love you than actually find a woman who does and build something real with her? I mean don’t you want a serious relationship and love and all that at some point?” 

He shook his head. “No, I don’t.” he answered shortly. “And even if I did, I ain’t got time to find it. Look, we both got immediate problems and this is an immediate solution. Besides a few months with me and you’ll make money… influencer shit, find another rich guy, whatever. But if you aren’t interested, all good. I’ll get outta your hair. I just thought we could help each other?”

Raven studied him for a moment before nodding. The reality was he was right. She had immediate problems that his money could solve. And regardless of what she thought of his choice to go down this path, it was a job and no different than what she did three nights prior. 

“We… have a deal. There are worse jobs, I suppose.” 

*** 

“No! Absolutely not. I’m not moving out of my place.” 

Michael scoffed, confused as to why Raven was insistent on fighting him on this specific point when he thought it was the most generous part of the deal. She had agreed to literally everything else with ease but the apartment was the first time he heard her pushback in the last hour. “You know most women in your position wouldn’t argue with a nigga tryin’ to give them a free spot for six months. Besides, I looked up the crime statistics in that neighborhood -” 

“You know you aren’t really disputing the stalker allegations at all, right?” She did not understand why he would even care where she lived. 

“Just doing my due diligence,” he offered lamely. “And it’s dangerous as fuck. Why you even live there? Someone like you ain’t built for those neighborhoods.” 

She sucked her teeth in annoyance. “It’s a true community, one of the last left in LA I imagine. Far more of a community than what you have with your neighbors in this high rise,” she gestured around him at his condo downtown where they were meeting, “Or in your mansion in the valley. It’s affordable and just because it doesn’t look the best or bad shit happens - which happens everywhere in LA - doesn’t mean it’s a bad neighborhood. I know every family on my block and almost every single one in the neighborhood. And everyone knows me and everyone helps each other out. Besides, it’s close to work.”

He let out a chuckle. “None of Helen’s clients live or would step foot in that neighborhood.” 

She rolled her eyes. “I have a day job… I work at the library a couple streets from my place.”

He raised an eyebrow. He supposed it was not that shocking even the mini library of books she had at her apartment. However, he had not stepped foot in a library since he was a kid. And none of the librarians in Newark looked like her. 

“Maybe I would’ve stayed in school longer if the librarians looked like you.” His voice was playful and teasing. “That can’t pay a lot?” 

“It's a public service so of course not. Hence my very cheap rent and moonlighting job as a prostitute.” She grabbed her glass of water from the coffee table and leaned back into the couch. “But it’s fun. And gives me a lot of time to read and write on my shifts when things are quiet. And I started some fun initiatives and stuff since I started last year. Anyway, the point is, I don’t need a new fancy apartment down here. I like my space. Why do you even care?"  

This part was harder than she thought, ironing out the logistics of their new arrangement. Michael had invited her to his spot downtown, a condo he stayed in when he had late nights in the city. She just figured they would be going with the flow of things. But here they were, debating how many events a week she would need to accompany him to and where she would stay. He kept offering her extravagant things that she quickly turned down. 

“I don't," he answered shortly. Or least, he knew he shouldn't. He tried to cover it up, but even he knew his cover stories were lame. "My manager just thought it would look more legit. But if you don't wanna move, fine. You should stay here a couple nights a week then. There's always cameras around here, they need to see you comin' and goin' like a girlfriend would. This can be where we stay after dates and shit. My team will fill the spare closet with new clothes.” 

“Fine. And new clothes? What’s wrong with my clothes?” 

He sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with your clothes as an everyday thing but you should look like your boyfriend is… well, me. And that means an… elevated take on your current style.” 

She rolled her eyes. “As long as I don’t have to change my whole style, fine. And look, everything you’re offering is nice but feels excessive. All I care about is keeping my life and reputation and stacking enough money to put myself in a better position.  If there’s an event you need me to come to or something you need me to do to sell it, just text me and I’ll do it. You’re paying me to do a job so I don’t really need anything else from you, whether it’s an apartment or a closet full of designer clothes. I’m not trying to milk this arrangement for all it’s worth or steal from you. You’re paying for my time on dates and for sex, that’s all I expect.”

Michael studied her for a moment. He was hoping she would have arrived at this meeting with demands and extravagant desires but she did not seem to care. She was willing to do everything he asked and wanted nothing but the money he promised in return. No extras, no frills, no anything. It was the exact opposite of what he expected from her. And he knew it should’ve made him happy. This would be the most straight-forward business deal he negotiated in years. However, something about it bothered him. He knew it shouldn't. He knew the words about to leave his mouth were dangerous. After all what business partner cared if the other person was short changing themselves when it benefited them? He knew he should not care but here he was… going against all the voices in his head that screamed that at him.

“Are you always this amenable? To everyone?” 

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m just not selfish. You act like it’s a bad thing?” 

“It is if you let people run all over you. Being amenable is why you paid some portion of $10k to bail someone out of jail when it was clear you didn’t have it.”

She cut her eyes, sending him a glare that was so unlike her, it was unnerving. “That is none of your business.” He had never heard such sharpness in her voice, quickly realizing he had struck a chord and not a good one.

“My bad,” he raised his hands in surrender. “I just… it isn’t selfish to demand what you want too, to ensure a situation favors you just as much as the other person. So if down the road, you realize there’s something you want out of this, aside from the money, just name it. Business transactions are not about just getting the bare minimum of what you need… you’re allowed to get the things you just want too.” 

Her heart somehow both inflated and sagged at his words. There he was again, seemingly caring about her beyond the parameters of their relationship. And she could not deny that she liked it, the idea that someone cared about what she wanted, not what she could do for them. But she did not let herself bask in it for too long. Because there was so much Raven wanted in this life, so much she wanted from Michael, but she knew she could not have any of those things and he could not give them to her. 

“Last thing, sex.” 

She stared at him, confused. “I thought we agreed that we were having it?” 

He laughed. “Yea we did. We can keep it to nights when you’re already working so it’s easier. And any other nights, I’ll pay you so don’t worry about that. But if we’re gonna keep doing what we did the other night, I’d like to make sure we have ground rules.” 

“Ground rules?” 

“Like what are your hard limits? Lines I shouldn’t cross?” 

“You spanked me and called me names… hardly need rules for that.” She waved her hand to dismiss him. “We’re good. Just do what you want.” 

Michael merely laughed and stood up. He continued chewing on the toothpick he had between his teeth while he stretched one hand out for her to take. 

“Come with me.”

He led her through the apartment, down the hall to the largest bedroom. She took the quick journey to study the apartment, shocked at how sterile it felt. It could’ve been an AirBnB, furnishings as generic as the ones she could pick up from Target. Though she knew his were far more expensive. She wondered what his other home looked like, this was clearly just a bachelor pad. But she had not spotted a single family photo or anything of note in the entire place. It was beautiful, just… cold. 

Michael turned on the light and led her to the middle of the room. He stood behind her and used his hand to move her kinks to the other side of her neck before resting his hands on her hips. 

“That bed has about six different ways for me to restrain you. The different configurations allow me to put you in any position I want and you can’t move. So much shit I can do with that.. My favorite thing is,” he lowered his voice and leaned in to whisper in her ear, not shocked at how her body stiffened slightly and her breathing skipped. “To tie your arms and legs to the bed and leave you there with a vibrator. See how long it takes you to beg me to cum. Most don’t last long.” 

“Have you ever heard of shibari?” 

She nodded. At his silence, she immediately corrected herself. 

“Y-Yes.” 

“Good girl. Ever tried it?” 

“No but I’d be open to it.” 

“I learned on my first trip to Japan, been studying ever since. Gotten pretty good at it.” A single finger traced intricate patterns across her skin as if he were envisioning exactly where those ropes would go on her skin. He had barely touched her and her panties were already soaked. “This ceiling fixture,” he gestured up to it above their heads. “Is rigged to hold 300 pounds. I can already imagine you suspended from there while I fuck you. You’d like that?” He stepped around to face her, smiling at the way her eyes darkened and her nipples pebbled beneath her thin shirt.  

“I-I think so,” she whispered. His fingers returned to her body, now lazily grazing the bare skin of her thighs, inching the fabric of her skirt higher and higher.

“That bench,” he jerked his head to the side, her eyes falling on a nondescript black cushioned bench at the foot of the bed. It was tall, taller than the average bench, which let her know it was not made for sitting. “Is the perfect height for me to spank you if you disobey me, which judging from the other night, I’m sure will be often. I already know you’d like that though, right?” 

His hand squeezed her ass as he leaned in and sucked on her neck. Her body fell forward and rested against his, giving into the tantalizing pleasure he was providing. She was embarrassed by the breathy moan she let out but could do nothing to stop it.

“I asked you a question,” he reminded her. 

However, Raven felt as if she no longer had a voice let alone coherent thoughts to offer him and answer his questions. She did not understand how he had this effect on her, how she was so willing to surrender to his every whim. But she was, everything he said ignited the most impure and wicked fantasies in her mind. She pictured his words and more so clearly, they might as well have been watching a porno. 

“Y-Yes, I w-would,” she offered through gritted teeth, desperate to hold onto some amount of decency. 

“And that chaise is perfect for any and every position I could ever want you in. And the mirror lets you watch yourself while I fuck you. Oh and I’m gettin’ a swing installed next week. Perfecting timing. And that chest over there,” her eyes went to the last thing of note in the room besides his other standard furniture. “Well, I’m waiting for everything to come in but by Friday, it’ll be filled with brand new floggers, nipple clamps, gags, vibrators, plugs, and a leash since you enjoyed crawling to me so much.” 

If it were possible, her face would have flushed with red at his words. 

“How do you know I enjoyed it?” She tried to sound defiant but she knew it was weak. 

He smirked. “Cause if I told you to drop to your knees and follow me around this apartment for hours, I’d bet my life you’d do it without a second thought.” 

She was thankful he did not phrase it as a question so she was not forced to answer him. The truth was, she would. She would do anything he told her. 

“So, I have a lot more than some colorful names and a spanking in mind if sex is part of this arrangement. This really ain’t the thing you want to be amenable to without thought. Tell me what you want and don’t want. Because when we step in here, I expect you to surrender. And that requires trust that I know your limits and won’t cross them.” 

He took a step back from her, his body reeling from how badly he wanted to fuck her. And how badly she clearly wanted him to. But as badly as he wanted her, he vowed that he would only see their time together as a transaction. They went on a date and had sex, he paid her. And that meant, he could not give into his every sexual whim or thought. Otherwise, he would be fucking her every day and they’d never leave this room. And there was no way he’d survive the six months like that.  

“You also don’t have to tell me today, either. Just think about it.”

She nodded, she really did not want to think about it. Not because he was wrong but because she did not want to think or admit all the things she desperately wanted him to do to her. 

Her phone buzzing pulled her out of the trance he had her in. Thank God, she thought to herself as she read the alarm on her phone. “Oh shoot, I better head home. I… host a book club on Wednesday evenings at the library.” 

“I’ll walk you out.” 

Raven was thankful to escape his bedroom, it was a danger zone for her and her thoughts. 

“So um… you have my number w-when you’re ready for a date. J-just give me advanced notice, if you can? You know if I need to adjust my work hours or something.” 

“How about Saturday evening? My team released the statement this morning and it's getting good play apparently so it’ll be good for us to post a picture or be seen out and about this weekend. We can start small with dinner, ease you into the spotlight.” 

“Sounds good. Just text me what I need to wear.”

“Don’t worry about that. They’ll pull an outfit and send it over to you.” 

“You sure? You really don’t have to,” she started to say before he cut her off. 

“It’s easier cause they’ll coordinate the look and make sure it looks good for photos. Don’t worry about it.” 

She made her way to the private elevator and hit the lobby button. 

Michael reached in and hit the P button. “Elevator will take you straight to the car, driver will meet you in the garage.”  

“Have him meet me out front. You said there’s always a paparazzi or two lurking around. Maybe they’ll catch me leaving?”

He raised an eyebrow, impressed. “You sure this is your first fake relationship? Already acting like a pro.” 

She laughed and shook her head. “No, I just want to make sure you get all the bang for your buck. I like to excel at every job I have… would hate for you to leave me a bad review with the fake girlfriend's business bureau.”

“Don’t see that happenin’ at all.”  

She thought the smolder was merely something actors did in movies. But here he was, smoldering and it made her want to rip her clothes off in the middle of his elevator and demand he fuck her. But she couldn’t. Self control. This was a transaction and she could not give into her desires outside the realm of payment. That would be dangerous. 

She cleared her throat, forcing her feet to take a step back into the elevator. “Ok, see you Saturday,” she offered awkwardly. 

However, before the doors fully closed, she stopped them. 

“Tying up is fine, just want a nonverbal cue if you’re gonna gag me and I can’t speak. I like pain but my pain tolerance isn’t that high so there’s a limit on what I can take. So if you’re like a sadist or something, we can go ahead and dead this. Oh and no bodily fluids aside from the ones that are naturally involved in sex, don’t make me explain what I mean… the stories I’ve heard,” she shuddered, causing Michael to laugh. “No hitting except spanking, of course. Choking is fine. And no threesomes or other people. Oh and I’m fine with no condoms, if we’re exclusive and you get tested for STIs and bring the results with you on Saturday. I will get one too. Oh and make sure the collar is padded or lined with something for my neck,” she clarified. “That’s all I can think of. I am willing to try anything else once and I’ll use the safe word if I don’t like it. How do those rules sound to you?” 

“That’s it?” Her list was perfect, aligned to his own personal limits fairly well. He would’ve expected more for someone so green. 

Raven seemed to pick up on his shock causing her to laugh. “I know the vibe I give off,” she admitted. “And I am all those things… innocent and straight laced. But you aren’t the only one with fantasies. You told me to get what I needed and I wanted. … I need the money and I want an escape from my reality, total surrender and escape with someone I trust to explore those fantasies with. And right now, that’s you.” 

He did a small double take at her words. “You trust me already? You don’t even know me.” 

She shrugged, for some reason, she felt as if that was not true. On some level, she did know him. Or at least, a piece of him. And that felt like enough… at least for now. 

 “I think I know enough. See you Saturday,” she smiled with a small wave, the elevator doors finally closing to take her to the lobby. 

Michael stood there in his living room, slightly dumbfounded. 

“This girl…” he whispered. He was already cursing himself for this ill conceived plan. He knew, at that very moment, he did not have the willpower to keep his feelings at bay for six months. The only question now was, how long would he last?    

Tag List: @readinghere2023 @blackerthings @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @physicxal @purplehairgawdess @miyuhpapayuh @rueruesclues @geemamii @certifiedlesbianbaddie @pipsqueak-98 @nyifly22 @twocentaur @gopaperless @musicisme333 @roguekiki @majesticbrownjawn @taurusqueen83

***

A/N: So we are in the thick of ittttttt. The babes are pining and entering in a fake relationship…. what could go wrong LOL the smut returns next chapter, promise! And we get their first real date.

Drop a comment and let me know what you think or if you want to be tagged! Thanks for reading!

[sea-owl]

Could we get the families reaction to Eloises drunken elopement?

Like did Anthony wake up to several messages from Instagram?

Did daphne head over to Violets to break it to her gently only to discover Violet has been up since 5 am and spiraling?

What about the other siblings?

Gregory and Hyacinth are the first to know about Eloise's wedding because they saw the posts and live stream first. They're sharing a flat since they're both in university, and they don't know what a sleep schedule is.

They watch the live stream all the way through and are immediately blowing up the rest of the families' phones because they're not even gonna think about missing any of this drama.

They get a hold of Colin first who's sleep schedule is also a bit messed up due to just coming back from one of his travel assignments. He's staying with Francesca and immediately bursts into her room, jumping on her bed.

Francesca is the one to figure out who the guy Eloise married is. She saw Michael in the background of the video and pulled up Michael's profile. Near the top of his friend's list is the guy Eloise married and the woman that was in the video with them.

Anthony wakes up to so many messages from so many people. He could already feel the headache coming. He hasn't had to deal with a pr nightmare like this since Benedict decided it was a good idea to propose while in a jail cell to a woman he wasn't even really dating.

Daphne is with Violet as they make the plans to gather at Benedict's. No way to avoid the whole family not coming.

Benedict laughs at first because only Eloise would pull this type of prank. Then he's informed that this was not a prank and Eloise, in fact, did marry a complete stranger. He and Sophie began preparing for his family to swarm My Cottage. He's not happy with Eloise either. She was staying with him out of his own good will while she was here for a business meeting, and she does this!? Benedict knows he's gonna get an earful from Anthony he just knows it.

[strideofpride]

On that note, can you imagine how INSANE the media circus would be if it did come out publicly that Chuck and Blair illegally backdated their marriage certificate and the case against them was actually re-opened? Especially in 2023, at a time when anti-billionaire “eat the rich” sentiment has become very mainstream, and true crime is one of the most popular and profitable genres of entertainment?

Like, the events of season six happen so fast that we don’t really get to appreciate just how wild they are from the outside looking in. Imagine if Michael Bloomberg or pre-presidency Donald Trump died in a car crash, and their then-teenage progeny took over their real estate empires. Everyone just gets used to the idea of a little boy real estate mogul, I guess, and a few years pass, and then - surprise! They were faking their death all along!! Yes there was a funeral, yes they were legally declared dead, but who cares! They’re back baby, and ready to go back to being the same shitbags they were before!

Except, a mere handful of months later, they’re dead again - this time having gone careening off the side of one of their company’s most famous buildings (imagine if Donald Trump died falling off of Trump Tower lmaoooo). Did they fake it again? Was it foul play? By the time rumors start to swirl of the alleged involvement of their recently deposed nepotism baby, the cops close the case and rule it an accident. Their heir, still barely an adult, retakes the reigns of leadership - newly married, a detail no one realizes is suspicious because they likely have no idea that the spouse was at the scene of the crime.

Years pass. YouTubers and online conspiracy theorists periodically bring up the case, but the public at large once again more or less accepts the public narrative. Another piece of shit real-estate mogul gets elected president, and the attitude of the general public towards the uber wealthy turns increasingly hostile. Then there’s 2020, and 2021, and 2022, and- And then. “Billionaire boy and family linked to father’s mysterious death after discovery of faked marriage license”.

Even though we, the audience, knows Chuck didn’t actually kill his father, do you think in a world where this was an actual case involving actual public figures anyone would believe that? The coverup is so ridiculously suspicious that the general public almost definitely assumes they really did do the crime.

And consider the players in this case - a terrible billionaire who died a deliciously ironic death, his somehow worse son who in a post-#MeToo world is already a PR nightmare waiting to happen, and the ex-princess of Monaco (?!) who just so happens to already be tabloid fodder. If they get especially unlucky, Dan (a pretty famous novelist, at least according to the reboot), Serena (a 2000s era “it girl” and semi-celebrity), and Nate (an ex-NYC mayoral candidate, media mogul, and in universe Kennedy equivalent) might just find themselves implicated too - or at least forced to testify - given they were at the very much in public wedding where any rando could have snapped a picture.

There is just soooo much fucked up entertainment value in a case like this I can’t imagine it being anything less than a public fucking spectacle, and not the kind Chuck or Blair could just shake off. I genuinely do not know how they could absolve themselves in the court of public opinion if it actually went to trial, even if they managed to prevail legally.

Oh my god. Okay well, first of all, I really want the fake Serial podcast that unpacks all of this lol. Someone should make that lmao.

"little boy real estate mogul" took me out lololololol

also like...faking your death is a crime right??? how was Bart just able to re-enter society so easily??? did they ever say???

i'd also like to point out that it's actually much vaguer whether or not Chuck killed his father. They cut away during their fight and then next thing you see is Bart hanging onto the edge. Chuck himself says that he isn't sure whether or not he pushed him or Bart fell over. but also Chuck and Blair both just stood there and did nothing to help Bart before he fell, which is involuntary manslaughter I believe

But seriously though, you're so right anon that all of this was made for true crime. In 2030, someone makes a "Jinx" style doc about Chuck I bet

[castlesrp]

The Winston Family

Zeus : Politics and Government

The Winston family, a modern echo of political royalty, stands as an iconic emblem of American legacy and privilege. At its helm is the venerable patriarch, First Winston (91), former President of the United States and his wife, former first lady First Winston (82). During his time in the White House, he made many important changes for the Democratic party, including federal appointments of judges like First Lancaster (87). Much like the Kennedy family, the Winstons are an enduring symbol of wealth and influence, ever ready for their close-up on the grand stage of American politics and high society. Poised, affluent, and with an air of calculated charm, the Winstons continue to captivate the nation, leaving an indelible mark on the pages of American history.

Their eldest daughter, the accomplished New York Senator First Winston (58), has been the subject of persistent presidential rumors with many wondering if she will follow in the footsteps of her father before her as the next election cycle looms closer and closer. The pressure is mounting and only exacerbated by the public declaration of a presidential run by First Lancaster (64), and while she has not made a public statement yet, the rumors are building that we may have another Winston in the White House before too long. Married to the affable financial entrepreneur, First Thornton (58), the power couple has raised three children to the best of their ability amidst the ever watchful eyes of the media.

The former President's son First Winston (55) has made his mark as a socialite over the years, alongside his wife, the former model First Winston (54). The power couple are often seen at any and all high society functions or events, taking time to speak to the press and continue to push out the good meaning agenda of the Winston family. With three children of their own, the family has been trained from the start to be able to answer any question with grace and avoid any PR nightmares.

Rounding out the former First Family is their youngest daughter, First Winston (52). She has always been extremely driven, resulting in her career as an esteemed attorney who runs her own practice alongside her husband First Keaton (52), a lawyer. They have two daughters that round out the family’s multifaceted legacy - a legacy that seems to only be continuing to grow with the new generation of Winston children.

First Winston: 91 Years Old, Former President, Morgan Freeman, Available + First Winston: 82 Years Old, Former First Lady, Phylicia Rashad, Available

First Winston: 58 Years Old, New York Senator, Octavia Spencer, Available + First Thornton: 58 Years Old, Financial Entrepreneur, Will Smith, Available ----- First Winston: 32 Years Old, Open Occupation, John Boyega, Available ----- First Winston: 30 Years Old, Open Occupation, Daniel Ezra, Available ----- First Winston: 28 Years Old, Open Occupation, Letitia Wright, Available

First Winston: 55 Years Old, Socialite, Idris Elba, Available + First Winston: 54 Years Old, Retired Model, Mädchen Amick, Available ----- First Winston: 27 Years Old, Open Occupation, Michael Evans Behling, Available * ----- First Winston: 27 Years Old, Open Occupation, Zendaya, Available * ----- First Winston: 25 Years Old, Open Occupation, Madison Bailey, Available * Note: Winston (27) and Winston (27) are fraternal twins.

First Winston: 52 Years Old, Attorney, Gabrielle Union, Available + First Keaton: 52 Years Old, Lawyer, Taye Diggs, Available ----- First Keaton: 27 Years Old, Open Occupation, Keke Palmer, Available ----- First Keaton: 23 Years Old, Open Occupation, Storm Reid, Available

[major-knighton]

HALLOW-LEE-N movie review Oct 21st : The Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968)

Boris Karloff returns, and so does Michael Gough who had previously been in Dracula and Dr Terror's house of horrors.

This witchy, campy film was quite nothing groundbreaking but it did keep me up till 3am so it certainly isn't boring. It felt very 60s in a fun way.

Our story is about big flirt Robert Manning, who is looking for his brother Peter. Peter last sent sign of life from a mansion in Greymarsh, so our good Bob goes there. He is greeted by a party of wild youngsters celebrating Burning Day, only they don't burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes but one of a witch, Lavinia, who was burned centuries ago.

In the house, beyond the party, live Mr. Morley, (Lee) and his niece Eve, as well as a servant, Elder. None of them have ever heard of Peter, but they invite Bob to stay while he conducts inquiries in the village. That evening, Eve takes Bob to the burning and they all have some jolly good fun.

Bob also meets Pr. Marsh, a creepy specialist of witchcraft and the village history.

That night, Bob finds clues that Peter did in fact stay at the mansion, then has spooky nightmares. The nightmare is about a blue-skinned witch wearing a truly scrumptious headpiece surrounded by sacrificed animals and people in bdsm gear, trying to get Bob to sign his name in a book.

Weird and spooky things keep happening, until Bob and Eve find a secret attic in the house with all the objects of Bob's nightmare, including the book. Looking through it, they figure out that those are all the names of descendants of the accusers at Lavinia's trial.

Turns out, ol' Uncle Morley was using hypnotism to find and then sacrifice descendants of the accusers to avenge his own ancestor Lavinia and now he's got Bob, and Eve will be sacrificed too because she "betrayed" Lavinia's blood. Rescue arrives just in time in the form of old Pr. Marsh as Morley is torching the entire place.

He ends up on the roof, surrounded by fire, laughing while transforming into Lavinia while I get to see a 60s firetruck in action. Very happy about that.

I like that the movie was a bit meta, at the beginning Bob comments that the house looks like a horror movie house and "you'd expect to see Boris Karloff any moment". The very very 60s vibe was fun, except for a few moments where Bob is quite too insistent in his flirting with Eve.

A fun flick that doesn't take itself seriously, 7/10.

[citrine444]

NOAH FONTAINE picked up his key from the front desk THREE MONTHS ago. The TWENTY-SEVEN year old uses HE/HIM pronouns and is a DJ AT CATCH ME IF YOU CAN from CLEVELAND, OHIO. According to his apartment application, people have told him he looks a lot like MAXENCE DANET FAUVEL and the character they identify with most is JAKE PERALTA FROM BROOKLYN99. (SOPHIE, 24, SHE/HER, GMT - 8)

Basics

full name: noah fontaine hometown: cleveland, ohio sexuality: yes age/ birthday/ zodiac: 27 / march 20th / pisces height: 6’0 languages spoken: english, high school-level french traits: fun-loving, immature, free spirit, frivolous, hardworking

Background

noah fontaine, originally born noah richard brown, came into the world on march 20th, to parents michael brown and camille fontaine brown. his upbringing was colored by fond memories of a bustling household with three older sisters, where he, the youngest, often found himself vying for attention. whether he was forcing his family to sit through impromptu one-man-shows or wreaking havoc on his sisters, noah always found a way to make his presence known amidst the chaos. as he transitioned into high school, noah's enthusiasm for traditional education waned, reflecting in his less-than-stellar grades and uncertain outlook on the future. instead, he found his place in the world of youtube. daily uploads became his creative outlet, ranging from movie and song reviews to vlogs featuring his friends. despite his efforts, success seemed elusive, leaving him questioning his path. however, noah's journey took an unexpected turn. learning his father had an affair shattered the stability he once knew, causing him to distance himself from his paternal ties. he decided he no longer wanted anything to do with his dad. he adopted his mother's maiden name, severing the last link to his father before pouring himself into his career as a distraction.  noah's breakthrough arrived with his viral one-man rap inspired by the movie  "frozen" went viral in 2013. he reshaped his youtube content to showcase his brand of humor, resonating particularly with a younger audience he labeled “fontainiacs”. hungry for new inspiration, noah's gaze turned to chile, where a wave of fellow creators had migrated. without hesitation, he packed his bags, ready to immerse himself in the city for his next big adventure.

Personality

a "himbo" and a "yes man," lacking that filter that cautions against impulsive actions. forever in pursuit of thrill and recognition, he embodies a carefree spirit. immaturity and recklessness define his approach to finances, yet he displays unwavering dedication to his career. though not renowned for his intellect, he compensates with an unmatched work ethic, ensuring that his career remains his top priority.

Head Canons

- he's gay, but he has a special connection to classical music, there are many things that are interesting about him - prefers the company of women because of his family dynamic - unapologetic swiftie - doesn't hate anyone except his dad and jake gyllenhaal - knows a lot about pop culture, who is dating who, etc - can’t have a single conversation without bringing up mr. beast (his idol) - swears he was at jake paul’s wedding (you can’t prove that he wasn’t)  - was supposed to be in the video - first adult purchase was a supreme bag -PR teams worst nightmare, doesn’t known when to stop talking, probably definitely cannot read the room

Wanted Connections

- content creators to collab with!! - fake relationship - perhaps he decides to pursue a relationship because it would be good for views and respects the creator, then if the vibes are right maybe they fall for each other - friends - i will never say no to a grumpy sunshine or sunshine sunshine friendship - enemies - give him ur worst ! needs someone to write a diss track about - ex flings/situationships - mans is a lover boy but there was probably someone he dated or was seeing before he started pouring himself into his career and they left things weird

[liquid-geodes]

I am no longer asking

So when they said "the party was for you" that means C.C. was killed on MICHAEL'S birthday, not his own. Michael deliberately had his party at Freddy's because he knew it would freak his brother out. That's why MICHAEL'S friends were there and not any of C.C.'s friends. Michael taunted his brother with the party mask he was going to wear all week leading up to his birthday, and that's probably why no one told him to stop. It was a mask for HIS birthday party at the end of the week, they couldn't get rid of it before his "big day".

Tying into point one: maybe 8:11 was the time the bite happened. No other information is filled out, and this is the only incident report Michael bothered to touch in the whole book, and it just so happens to be after the "The party was for you" message. It's already obvious that Michael is still thinking about it throughout the book (drawing of nightmare, a freddy bite related pr practice response was filled in). Perhaps this is the closest he'll ever get to facing the bite and accepting responsibility for it (though I doubt it with how quick he was to label the practice bite response as "an accident, not our fault") I think filling out at least the time of the incident is a step in the right direction for Michael to finally start moving on and letting his guilt go. He deserves to move on and be at peace, baby steps towards addressing the issue is HUGE. If I had to take a guess, I'd say it was 8:11pm... who has a birthday party at 8am anyway? Although it's not unreasonable to believe it was early in the morning either considering William works there... it would be a lot easier to pinpoint if we knew whether or not it was on a weekend. If it was a weekday, it'd be 8pm, since school would have interfered with morning attendance. Either way, there's no other incidents I can think of that Michael would even want to report that would have happened at 8:11... none of his incidents ever happened during operating hours for it to be work related.

Who is asking all these questions? It's easy to believe it's the vengeful spirit trying to get a read on Michael, but a lot of these questions seem pretty innocent. And why would a photo of Chica be included at the very end, unless it had something to do with all these questions? Susie has a whole story dedicated to her in the Fazbear Frights novels, where every night she returns home to try and help her family move on and be happy again after her death, and every night Chica comes to her house to bring her back to the pizzeria. Basically: Susie has a track record for trying to help people move on. If she was the first to be taken by William, then she truly has seen everything. Elizabeth is already gone by the time the bite happens, which means William is already on his bullshit trying to bring her back. Susie could have witnessed the bite herself (further strengthened by Withered Chica's "I was the first. I have seen everything." line with intentional stress on the word "everything") and wants to help Michael move on. Chica isn't a very aggressive animatronic throughout the game, she's never been a real game ender. She just.. hangs out in the kitchen until she gets bored. She's not as much of a threat as Freddy or Bonnie, with Bonnie being the most aggressive of the gang. With the last message of the book being "The party was for you" it DOES come off as accusatory, like even she put two and two together and realized Michael had his party at the pizzeria for malicious reasons. It's almost as if she was saying "it was your fault, he wouldn't have been there if it weren't for your party". There's no way C.C. would have been at Freddy's of his own volition. This is a great way to force Michael into thinking about the accident, because he's going to try and justify his actions to make it hurt a little less. It doesn't change what's happened, but it forces him to take the time to finally acknowledge the situation for what it was. It WAS his fault, even if he didn't mean to kill his brother, it was still his fault. He requested his party be at the pizzeria, he forced his brother to go see Freddy, Michael could have chosen against both of these options and he didn't. And idk about you guys, but there's no way Michael didn't know about the springlocks, like there's NO WAY they never once heard about the dangers of the suits from their father. William had warned Elizabeth about Circus Baby after all, why wouldn't he issue warnings about the rest? And maybe Michael just didn't believe the suits were that sensitive, maybe he thought they were just things his father said so they wouldn't mess with anything, yknow like kids do. Regardless, all of these questions pry heavily on figuring out who Michael is, and it all ends with the party, an incident report, and a picture of Chica. And maybe the reason why "my name" is such a recurring message in the book is either because 1) she KNOWS Michael knows the names of the missing children and just wants him to try them all until he figures out who he's speaking to or 2) she's starting to forget who she is. There's so many lost souls hanging around the pizzeria, they've all been there a long time... but no one has been there as long as Susie, except Charlie of course.

[veilfleur]

                                    CURRENT  MUSE  LIST   ...

ORIGINAL  MUSE   LIST.

*     AMRISH  PATEKAR   •   TWENTY8   •   SLICE  OF  LIFE     [  ...  ]    GREY’S  ANATOMY  INSPIRED.  NEUROLOGY  RESIDENT.   [  ...  ]    ANIRUDH  PISHARODY. *     ANTHONY  KING   •   TWENTY2   •   SLICE  OF  LIFE     [  ...  ]    AWKWARD  UNIVERSITY  STUDENT  +  RELIABLE  TECH  GUY.   [  ...  ]    ZETHPHAN  SMITH-GNEIST. *     CORDELIA  APPLETON   •   TWENTY3   •   MODERN  ROYALTY     [  ...  ]    AFF.  WITH  VERSUSLIGHT.  MODERN  DAY  PRINCESS  +  PR  NIGHTMARE   [  ...  ]    LILY  ROSE-DEPP. *     DEON  ABALOS   •   THIRTY6   •   AU  VERSES  AVAIL.     [  ...  ]    POLICE  DETECTIVE  +  WORKAHOLIC.  TEMPORARILY  DIED  ONCE  +  CAN  SEE  GHOSTS  NOW.     [  ...  ]    CHARLES  MICHAEL  DAVIS. *     GRIM  REAPER   •   UNKNOWN   •   SPN     [  ...  ]    ALIAS  CHANGES  EVERY  COUPLE  YEARS.  BECAME  A  GRIM  REAPER  AFTER  DYING  +  NOW  WORKS  ODD  JOBS  TO  COVER  HIM  GUIDING  SOULS  TO  THE  AFTERLIFE.    [  ...  ]    LEE  JAEWOOK. *     LIGAYA  CASTILLO   •   TWENTY6   •   SLICE  OF  LIVE     [  ...  ]    HAPPY  GO  LUCKY  BAKER.  AFF  WITH  A  GROUP  VERSE.  [  ...  ]    KATHRYN  BERNARDO. *     MARCO  TORRES   •   TWENTY   •   SPN     [  ...  ]    AFF WITH INK’S  MUSE.  ANGEL  REINCARNATE  +  STUDENT.    [  ...  ]   OMAR  RUDBERG. *     MISUN  KIM   •   TWENTY6   •   SLICE  OF  LIFE     [  ...  ]    PUBLIC  RELATIONS  MANAGER.  AFF  WITH  GROUP  VERSE.     [  ...  ]    MOON  GAYOUNG. *     MIYEON  GO   •   TWENTY3   •   SLICE  OF  LIFE     [  ...  ]    TWI/TCH  STREAMER  +  ANIMATIONS  STUDENT.     [  ...  ]    KANG  HYEWON. *     NARI  YOON   •   TWENTY6   •   CELEB     [  ...  ]    AUSTRALIAN  BORN  POP  STAR.     [  ...  ]    IM  NAYEON  +  CHOI  JISU. *     NOVA  PRICE   •   TWENTY3   •   CELEB  +  SPN     [  ...  ]    WITCH  +  CURRENT  ROCKSTAR.  INSPIRED  BY  HEX  GIRLS.     [  ...  ]    MAGGIE  LINDEMANN. *     NINA  SIN   •   TWENTY5   •   CELEB  +  SPN     [  ...  ]    INSPIRED  BY  JENNIFER’S  BODY  +  HELTER  SKELTER.  SHARING  BODY  WITH  A  DEMON  AFTER  BEING  SACRIFICED  UNSUCCESSFULLY.  CURRENTLY  A  FAMOUS  MODEL.        [  ...  ]    PARK  SOOYOUNG. *     PAVISHA   •   UNKNOWN   •   SPN     [  ...  ]    FORGOTTEN  DEITY  OF  ART  +  CREATIVITY.  HAS  ANONYMOUSLY  RUN  A  FAMOUS  ART  GALLERY  FOR  CENTURIES.     [  ...  ]    SIMONE  ASHLEY. *     RANDALL  BAEK   •   TWENTY6   •   SPN  +  MULT  VERSES  AVAIL.     [  ...  ]    HALF  DEMON  DRUMMER  IN  A  BAND.  ONLY  ANSWERS  TO  THE  NAME  JINX.     [  ...  ]    JUNG  JAEWON. *     ROSETTE  HARRISON   •   TWENTY4   •   CELEB     [  ...  ]    DAUGHTER  OF  CELEBRITIES.  TRYING  TO  MAKE  HER  OWN  NAME  AS  AN  ACTRESS.    [  ...  ]    MADELYN  CLINE. *     SAIRA JOSHI   •   TWENT9   •   CELEB     [  ...  ]   EMPLOYED AT RESEARCH INSTITUTE. AFFILIATED WITH GROUP VERSE.    [  ...  ]    PARVEEN KAUR. *     PAXTON  HILL   •   TWENT4   •   HORROR?     [  ...  ]     CAREFREE  ACTOR  +  MODEL.   [  ...  ]    AUBREY  JOSEPH. *     TANVI  GOWDA   •   VERSE  DEPENDENT   •   MULT  VERSES  AVAIL.     [  ...  ]    SNARKY  LAW  ATTORNEY  WITH  A  STRONG  PERSONALITY.    [  ...  ]    POOJA  HEDGE. *     VANESSA  THOMAS   •   THIRTY6   •   CRIME     [  ...  ]    CRIMINAL  MINDS  BASED.  FBI  PROFILER.   [  ...  ]    JESSICA  LUCAS. *     WINNIE  SOWE   •   TWENTY1   •   HORROR ,  AU  VERSES  AVAIL.     [  ...  ]   INSPIRED  BY  THE  FINAL  GIRL  CONCEPT.  INFO  DEPENDS  ON  VERSE  /  UNIVERSE  SHE’S  PLACED  IN.   [  ...  ]    YANDEH  SALLAH. *     ZION  JONES   •   TWENTY2   •   SLICE  OF  LIFE     [  ...  ]    MED  SCHOOL  STUDENT  TRYING  TO  FIND  HIMSELF.  AFF  WITH  GROUP  VERSE.    [  ...  ]    JONATHAN  DAVISS.

CANON  MUSE   LIST.

*     BETTY  COOPER   •   ARCHIE  COMICS   •   HC  BASED     [  ...  ]    MULT  VERSES  AVAIL.  WRITTEN  FROM  SENIOR  YEAR  HIGH  SCHOOL  -  UNIVERSITY  LIFE.    [  ...  ]    SAMANTHA  LOGAN. *     BUFFY  SUMMERS   •   BUFFY  THE  VAMPIRE  SLAYER   •   TESTING     [  ...  ]    PRIMARILY  BASED  IN  EARLY  SEASONS.  MULT  VERSES  AVAIL.    [  ...  ]    SARAH  MICHELLE  GELLAR. *     CHOYEON  JIN   •   ALCHEMY  OF  SOULS   •   TESTING     [  ...  ]    MODERN  VERSE  AVAIL.  PRIMARILY  FOLLOWS  EVENTS  OF  THE  SHOW.    [  ...  ]    CHOI  YAEWON. *     DAWN  SUMMERS   •   BUFFY  THE  VAMPIRE  SLAYER   •   HC  BASED     [  ...  ]    MULT  VERSES  AVAIL.  PRIMARILY  SET  IN  AU  VERSES.    [  ...  ]    MICHELLE  TRACHTENBERG  +  DANIELLE  ROSE  RUSSELL. *     DANG-GU  PARK   •   ALCHEMY  OF  SOULS   •   TESTING     [  ...  ]     MODERN  VERSE  AVAIL.  PRIMARILY  FOLLOWS  EVENTS  OF  THE  SHOW.    [  ...  ]    YOO  INSOO. *     KATE  BISHOP   •   HAWKEYE   •   TESTING     [  ...  ]    PRIMARILY  BASED  ON  THE  MARVEL  SHOW.    [  ...  ]    KAYLEE  BRYANT. *     IRIS  WEST   •   THE  FLASH   •   HC  BASED     [  ...  ]    STOPPED  WATCHING  THE  SHOW  FOREVER  AGO  SO  PRIMARILY  HC  BASED.   [  ...  ]    CANDICE  PATTON. *     RAPUNZEL   •   TANGLED  +  FAIRYTALES   •   TESTING     [  ...  ]    PRIMARILY  BASED  AROUND  MOVIE  +  HEADCANONS.    [  ...  ]    CHARITHRA  CHANDRAN. *     SABRINA  SPELLMAN   •   SABRINA  THE  TEENAGE  WITCH  +  COMICS   •   HC  BASED     [  ...  ]    MULT  VERSES  AVAIL.  INSPIRED  BY  THE  SITCOM  +  VARIOUS  COMICS.    [  ...  ]    EMILY  ALYN  LIND  +  SABRINA  CARPENTER. *     NORVILLE  ROGERS   •   SCOOBY  DOO   •   HC  BASED     [  ...  ]    INSPIRED  BY  THE  MOVIES  +  HEAVILY  HC  BASED.    [  ...  ]    FELIX  MALLARD. *     TALIA  BURNS   •   FIRST  KILL   •   TESTING     [  ...  ]    PRIMARILY  BASED  IN  AU  UNIVERSES.    [  ...  ]    AUBIN  WISE. *     TANDY  BOWEN   •   CLOAK  &  DAGGER   •   HC  BASED     [  ...  ]    HEAVILY  BASED  AROUND  THE  SHOW.  AVAIL.  FOR  AU  VERSES.    [  ...  ]    OLIVIA  HOLT  +  MADELYN  LCINE. *     YUL  SEO   •   ALCHEMY  OF  SOULS   •   TESTING     [  ...  ]     MODERN  VERSE  AVAIL.  PRIMARILY  FOLLOWS  EVENTS  OF  THE  SHOW.     [  ...  ]    HWANG  MINHYUN.

[introvertbookblog]

Hello everyone! I am here to participate the book tour of For The Love of Winter, Volume Two! Thank you RABT Book Tours and PR for having me as a host! Without further ado, let’s go!

◈ ━━━━━━ ⸙ ━━━━━━ ◈

Holiday Romance (varying heat levels and sub-genres)

Publication Date: September 24, 2024

Publisher: First Coast Romance Writers

Warm your heart with nine enchanting tales of love. From historical winter celebrations to modern sizzling New Year's Eve encounters, this anthology spans sweet to spicy romance across different eras and realms. Whether you prefer gentle courtship or steamy embraces, this collection has something for every romance reader.

Mistletoe Magic, by Leah Miles: A holiday romance rekindles when Navy SEAL Michael Rodriguez runs into his old flame, Nora Geller, and invites her to his family gathering. Will they mend old wounds and find love again, or will misunderstandings leave their hearts out in the cold?

Happily Ever After, Take Two, by Sara Walker: Will Dino and Hilde's second chance love overcome family doubts and past mistakes for a lifetime of happiness?

Love Under the Cold Moon, by Vanessa Kilmer: A headstrong Celtic woman and a reluctant Roman heir clash and connect in an arranged marriage during the Alpine winter festivals of 193 AD.

Finding a Date for Christmas by Vickey Wollan: Joan’s going to a Christmas gala and hires Mack on Rent-A-Date. If he reveals his secret, will he get a second date? Can two lonely hearts find romance in time for Christmas?

Snowbound Hearts, by C.L. Hart: When a divorced couple ends up stuck in a snowbound lodge in the Sierra Nevada mountains, it could either be the worst Christmas ever or a second chance to make things right.

A Fluffy White Christmas - A Tail of Love, by Sally Murphy: Can a half-starved stray dog help a lonely woman open up her frozen heart to a new love this Christmas?

Maiya’s New Year’s Wish, by Marie Morton: Maiya Collins finds herself swept into an unexpected holiday romance in the sun-kissed paradise of St. Croix. Yet, a misunderstanding threatens to shatter her dreams. As the New Year's countdown approaches, she must confront her doubts. Can love prevail, or will her island romance become another broken resolution?

The Naughty List Nightmare, by Erika Kilmer Freidley: Love, traditions, and a mythical menace collide as Thea and Bash get involved in a festive fight to save Pittsburgh's children.

Winter Wonderland by Elizabeth Edgar: Cinderella made her own gown and found her Prince Charming, but will they get their fairy tale ending?

Don’t miss your chance to purchase this collection while it is available.

Proceeds benefit First Coast Romance Writers, an independent non-profit organization that helps writers hone their craft and expand their knowledge of the publishing industry.

Snowbound Hearts by C.L. Hart

When Marta Benscoter gets stuck in a snowbound lodge with her ex-husband and his energetic assistant, she prepares for the worst Christmas ever.

Marta is proud of Adam's recovery from alcohol addiction. He is back to being the man she fell in love with. Giving him another chance is tempting. However, memories of the events leading to their divorce fill her with doubt.

Can Marta and Adam move beyond their past, or is a tenuous friendship all they can hope for?

◈ ━━━━━━ ⸙ ━━━━━━ ◈

Excerpt

Enter Adam

Although Adam Benscoter's hair had grayed significantly, he still looked the part of the handsome college quarterback he had been when Marta first met him a lifetime ago. She felt a warmth rising within her, which quickly cooled when she looked at his sidepiece. The tall young Asian woman was about twenty years younger than Adam. Her long, wavy hair was dyed amaranth, and she was dressed in a light coral coat that was entirely inappropriate for the climate.

“Whoo, I’m so glad to be out of that storm!” the young woman proclaimed. “You were a boss on that road, Ad-Man!”

“At least this one looks like she’s been out of high school for more than two years,” Marta muttered under her breath. “I’m so glad we never had any children. Imagine having someone your own age as your stepmother.”

“Hi there, Ladies, I’m Clara Wola,” the young woman introduced herself, extending a friendly hand. “Since it appears we'll be spending lots of time together, we might as well get to know each other.”

“Hi Clara, I’m Ophrah Pololáník. Oh goodness, your hands are so cold! Miss Tia, could we have a hot chocolate over here for this young lady?”

“Dear Ophrah, always the mother hen,” Adam said kindly.

“Wait—you two know each other?” Clara asked.

“Yes, and he knows me too,” Marta said coldly. “Hello, Clara, I’m Marta Benscoter, your��what is he to you, Dear?”

“He’s my boss,” Clara said, a puzzled expression on her face. “But we’ve also become good friends since he hired me six years ago.”

“We’re going to make our partnership official when we get back to Diamond Bar,” Adam said with a grin. “Then she can finally stop calling me Boss.”

“Well, that’s generous of you,” Marta quipped. “I hate to rain on your parade, Ms. Wola, but even if you aren’t officially marrying Saint Adam, I hope you’ve spoken to an attorney about protecting your interests in the event of an eventual dissolution of your partnership.”

“It’s not a romantic partnership; it’s purely business,” Clara corrected. “I’ve been Adam’s assistant at Cloud Limited since getting my doctorate from Oceanside Tech. You must be the ex-wife he won’t talk about. It seems like you two need to iron some things out.”

◈ ━━━━━━ ⸙ ━━━━━━ ◈

About The Author

C. L. Hart is an editor who writes or a writer who edits. She primarily writes Lovecraftian fantasy and horror with the occasional sweet romance thrown in to upset the cosmic apple cart. This is her second year participating in the annual For the Love of Winter anthology from First Coast Romance Writers. She is a member of ACES Editing Society, The Denver Horror Collective, First Coast Romance Writers, The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, Passionate Ink (writing as Lil DeVille), Regency Romance Writers, and Rocky Mountain Romance Writers.

Author Links

Purchase Today

[thomas-jefferson-jr]

Tj and my occ one.

@magnus-falafelking @alex-fierro-pr-nightmare @runest0nes whoever else idk

i found a cool tag game on twitter and i really wanna import it (o^ ^o)

this picrew + the last song you listened to :]

no pressure tags: @blood-loving-leech @overtaken-boredom @lesbianthatyaps @kameonerd566 @hexedvampire @laczki @anonymous-shxtposter @fleurafae @flovqy + anyone who wants to do it <3

[wishful-soda]

Speak of the Devil : Chapter Ten

Daniel Ricciardo x Reader

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 11.7k

A/N: smut warning yallll! Here it finally is. I hope you love it. I hope it was worth the wait. I'm so sorry it took so long and I love and appreciate all of you so much for sticking with me. 💖 ALSO this is not really edited but it's too fucking long, no regrets only memories.

ALSO! Special shout out to my love, Jump and Lift Anon 😘 thanks so much bby. 🥰

Playlist

Masterlist

Taglist: @its-astrotea-love @thatchickwiththecamera @stelena-klayley @fkrause @bekindbecoolbeyou @theduchessinme @sugardontbesweet @breadsquash @danielricciardhoes @i-love-thetragicallybeautiful @reallydeadpoet @hotmenfastcars @picturethosesmiles @happyselves @itsmycorneroftheinternet @frenchyjuju @alphalib22 @formulathot @fandomwallflower @justaddicted @spngi @207am @mgajdaaa @holy-macncheese-balls @mlhunt703 @jiminless @dri3 @altalin

Chapter Ten: A little mean

June 4th 2018

You were roused from your sleep by the incessant buzzing of your phone, you huffed loudly when you realized it wasn’t going to stop. You grabbed it off of the marble topped bedside table in the hotel room, frowning when you saw who was calling, but knowing you had to deal with this at some point. Might as well get it over with.

“Hello?” You rasped and then cleared your throat to try and rid the sound of sleep from your voice.

“What the fuck is going on?” Your best friend was not happy and it told you all you needed to know. The video was making its rounds.

“What are you talking about?” You feigned.

“Don’t bullshit me. There is a video of Daniel knocking the shit out of someone.” He paused, waiting for you to start talking and explaining, but when he was met with silence, he kept talking. “Someone holding on to you? And then you’re hugging Daniel?” Every sentence was a question, as if he wasn’t actually sure of what he was watching.

You squeezed your eyes shut and loosed a breath, trying to mentally prep what you were going to say before you started. You could tell Max was already amped up, it seemed more furious at the fact that he was left out of the loop.

“Chloe and I were at the concert, we didn’t even know Dan, Michael and Blake were there. It was a complete coincidence.”

“In America?”

“Yes, Max, in America.” You snapped.

“I can’t understand a coincidence like this happening.”

“What do you want me to say? That we met up in secrecy and got caught because Daniel knocked someone out?” You rolled your eyes, your guess of how this conversation was going to go was exactly correct.

“I want you to tell me the truth. What has been going on with you the past few weeks? Things have been weird and the only common thread is you and Daniel. Just tell me what is really going on and we’ll deal with it.” Max snipped, his tone short and fed up.

“Really? You’re going to call me up and say ‘Hey just admit you’re fucking Dan’, and not ‘hey it looked like some asshole was really messing with you. Are you okay? What happened? Thank God Dan was there!’” You sat up in bed, anger flowing through you now.

“You said you were going to America with Chloe. Not Daniel. How can you not expect me to be surprised that there’s now a PR nightmare involving you and my teammate? Have you spoken to him, Horner is…” Max took a deep breath in like he couldn’t even find the word to describe the level of pissed that Christian was on.

“Okay stop. First; I don’t have to report to you, so stop making it seem like you’re a parent who is disgusted that their child lied. I am telling you that I was just as surprised as you were to see Dan there, ok? I was not expecting to be harassed by a douchebag, I was not expecting to be saved by anyone, let alone Dan, and I was really not expecting him to knock said douchebag out, ok? So forgive me if I don’t really care that Christian is pissed off. He’s always pissed off. “ You were practically yelling now, your volume causing Chloe to stir and lift her head from under her pillow.

“You usually tell me what’s going on.” Max sighed heavily.

“I just did.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

“Max. I just did. There is nothing going on between Dan and I.”

“Alright. I’ll see you in Canada then. Expect a call from Christian.” Max sounded like he didn’t really believe you, but he was willing to drop it.

“I’m telling you the truth, you’re being kind of a dick.” You blurted, your cheeks heating.

“I’m telling you, that I’ve known you since you were 9 years old and I can tell when you’re lying.”

“See you in Canada.” You bristled.

“Yeah, see you there.” Max responded, and you could hear the smirk and laugh in his voice, like he’d won.

You hung up.

Austrian Grand Prix

July 1st 2018

The Canadian Grand Prix and the French Grand Prix that followed were mainly uneventful, but you felt you could have cut the tension that was rising between Max and Daniel with a knife.

Both weekends Daniel had just narrowly missed out on a podium in P4. Coming off of a big win, that would have been frustrating enough, but the fact that Max had podiumed in each, you could tell that was like salt in the wound.

On top of that, you and Daniel had endured what you could only describe as torture after what happened in Colorado, which was now referred to by Christian Horner as “the incident”. The team principal’s words still rang in your head.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, if it’s sabotage Max’s teammate or if you’re truly attempting to have a relationship with Daniel but-”

“A relationship?! No! Neither of those things are true, I-” You had interrupted him and it seemed to piss him off further.

“BUT.” He raised his voice, cutting you off. “It stops now. He is a talented young driver with an extremely promising career ahead of him and whenever he tangles with you, you cause him trouble.”

After issuing a statement that explained what happened, the two of you had received knowing looks and chuckles or smirks every time you were in the same room as each other.

You had assured everyone that even kind of alluded to something, that there was absolutely nothing going on between the two of you, but you knew that some people just wouldn’t ever believe that you two were really in the same place on your time off by coincidence. One of those people being Max.

In an attempt to squash any rumors of the two of you being involved or of even being friends, and to appease your boss, you had kept your distance from him as much as possible around the paddock. However, it wasn’t easy. You would never admit it out loud, but you found yourself missing his laugh and that grin that lit up his entire face. Whenever he wasn’t being an asshole, he could be nice to be around.

But no one could ever know that, least of all, Daniel.

So even though today was his birthday and you really wanted to make a big deal out of it, you just couldn’t. Any time you began to consider approaching him, the words clanged through your psyche.

Whenever he tangles with you, you cause him trouble.

All you were able to express before the Grand Prix was a casual but rushed “Happy birthday” in passing in the hall. His eyes had lit up as he saw you and then seemed to fall when he realized you weren’t stopping to chat. You hated how that made you feel, but you kept walking, head down, focusing on your feet.

You were sure that he’d go out after the race and celebrate his birthday. He’d get drunk and have a great time and get laid. You also hated how that made you feel, you felt jealousy simmer through every pore, even though you knew you had no claim on him, no reason to even kind of feel jealous. You had kissed him once.

As the Grand Prix progressed, you were silently hoping that he’d do well today. You weren’t exactly wishing that Max wouldn’t do well, but a win for Daniel on his birthday? That would maybe ease some of the guilt felt coursing through you.

When Max took the lead and the cheers rippled through his garage, you smiled, clapping a few times. However, your eyes dropped to Daniel’s standings. He was P5 and holding strong. You silently pleaded that he’d make up a few standings. A podium.

He was holding strong against Lewis when suddenly he braked, slowing to a stop in the middle of the track. Your heart sunk, a heavy sigh fell from your mouth, pulling your shoulders down into a slump with it. Fuck. On his fucking birthday.

When the radio confirmed he was retiring the car and Daniel didn’t respond, not even his usual “Understood.”, you knew he had to be devastated. Your eyes watched the front of Max’s garage where you stood, waiting for him to walk by, but he never did. You assumed you could catch him after the race, before he went out partying. It couldn’t hurt to just make sure he wasn’t feeling too down right? You wouldn’t have to get too friendly, just be a supportive teammate. Wasn’t Christian just begging for this a while ago? For the two of you to just “get along and be civil”? That man would never be happy.

And it made you loathe yourself, but for the rest of the Grand Prix you didn’t hope for Max to win, as you should have, but instead hoped for just a glimpse of Daniel. Pathetic.

When the checkered flag waved and Max finished P1, you knew your hopes of seeing Daniel were completely dashed. Could you even blame him? If you were in his situation, you’d probably get far, far away from the happiness and joy exploding from the Red Bull team.

So you did your absolute level best to celebrate with Max and be happy for him. You were. Happy for him, that is. You knew how much this win meant for him, his first of the season. It was an answer to the bar that Daniel had set with his Monaco win and he’d been talking about beating his senior teammate all season long. As if Max’s ego wasn’t inflated enough after a win, beating Daniel after the tension filled season they’d begun, just added to it.

You sat in the corner of the hotel bar, sipping your drink and throwing smiles towards anyone who glanced your way, trying really hard to sell the idea that you were here in the moment, no where else to be, instead of concocting daydreams that involved Daniel, wishing you could see that bright smile. It felt cold and empty without that smile in your life and you were tired of it. Especially after what he’d done for you in Colorado. You couldn’t let yourself think of it too long or your blood heated, your pulse almost instantly quickening, thighs pressed together tightly as you pictured that possessive and protective look on his face.

What the fuck is wrong with me? You shook your head as if it would erase the thoughts like an etch - a -sketch. I don’t even like the protective and possessive type. Guys like that are gross and egotistical. Why would being someone’s property to defend be something hot? No.

You blinked and realized Max’s lips were moving but you didn’t hear the words.

“Sorry what?” You shook your head once more, your cheeks pinking slightly, feeling as if everyone here could read your thoughts and had caught you in the act.

Max raised an eyebrow and then narrowed his eyes, like he was trying to really see what was going on with you.

“I asked if you needed another drink and when you said nothing, I asked if you’d ever ignored that question in your life.” He pressed his lips together into a thin line and then the corner of his mouth pulled up into a smirk.

“Oh, another drink, yeah sure.” You nodded and then glanced at the cup in your hand, which was completely full.

“What’s wrong with you today?” Max’s voice was a mixture of concern and confusion.

“Nothing, I’ve just been a little spacey.” You shrugged.

Max glanced around the bar and then looked back to you, giving you a look that said I figured you out and I could out you right now if I wanted to.

You averted your eyes from him, taking a small sip from your glass and pretending there was something interesting on the cushion below you to stare at. You started when someone plopped down into the seat next to you, causing your head to snap up.

“So I haven’t heard the story yet and I need you to fill me in on all the little details.” A tipsy Charles grinned at you.

“What story?”

“The story of Daniel rescuing you that you are trying to pretend was coincidence.”

“It was a coincidence, asshole.” You flipped him off, biting back a chuckle.

“Listen. It’s me. It’s Charles. You can tell me.”

“You’re a- wait a second.” You frowned, realizing what it meant if Charles was here, celebrating Max. “Why aren’t you with Dan? Celebrating his birthday?”

“He said he wasn’t doing anything for his birthday. Just went back to his room.”

Charles kept talking but you didn’t hear it, your stomach just felt sick. Dan was in his room. Alone. On his birthday. After a DNF. Something in your chest hurt. If you left right now, it would be too obvious where you went. You tapped your fingers on your thigh as you tried to come up with a reason to slip away that couldn’t be misconstrued.

You glanced down at the glass in your hand and as soon as Charles’ eyes were off you, you sloshed cold liquid on your skin tight dress and gasped loudly.

“Oh shit!” You feigned frustration and pretended to fumble around for a napkin, hoping anyone watching would think you’d just made a tipsy mistake.

Max and Chares flinched, both turning, their eyes questioning you.

“Jesus, your dress is ruined.” Charles commented, taking your hand to help you stand while looking around for something to hand you to help you clean up the mess. He handed you a tiny thin cocktail napkin and you laughed when it crumbled as soon as it touched the liquid that was soaking into the fabric.

“I gotta go change.” You gave a disappointed breath, shaking your head as if you couldn’t believe that you were such an idiot.

Max didn’t even look at you twice, he simply nodded in acknowledgement and got back to the conversation he was having with a dark haired female.

“Do you want me to walk you back or are you alright?” Charles asked. “I’m no Daniel, but I will do my best to protect you if there is a bad man.”

You laughed loudly and shook your head. “You would be more of a liability than protection.”

Charles giggled and hiccupped before handing you another napkin he’d found somewhere as you began to walk out, a sympathetic smile on his face. He absolutely bought it. Perfect.

You hurried out of the hotel bar, glancing over your shoulder to ensure no one was following you or watching you as you hurried to the elevator, pulling your phone out of your small purse.

What room are you in? You quickly sent the message, hoping Daniel would answer quickly.

1330. Daniel’s reply popped up quickly, much to your surprise. He didn’t even question why you needed to know?

You pressed the button to his floor before you could change your mind, busying yourself with trying to use the tiny cocktail napkin to lessen the soaking wet splotch on your dress, your mind still reeling.

What was Dan even doing in his room alone on his birthday? The king of partying was just skipping his birthday?

Once the doors opened, you hurried down the hall with a purpose, determined not to let him pout alone and feel sorry for himself. That wasn’t the asshole you knew.

You rapped on the door, looking down at your dress again and huffing. If this dress didn’t come clean, Dan better realize what you sacrificed for him.

The door opened, and there stood Daniel, in joggers and a hoodie, the hood pulled up over his head. He looked like he didn’t plan to leave his room at all. He looked cute though, you thought.

“Hey.” You said softly, giving him a small smirk, trying to pull a smile out of him. “Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks.” Daniel gave you a single nod of his head and you couldn’t find a trace of happiness in his eyes.

“Can I come in?” You raised an eyebrow, chewing on the inside of your lip nervously.

Daniel didn’t respond, but he looked surprised as he stepped aside, holding the door open for you as you walked in. The space felt so….Daniel. His smell was everywhere. You weren’t sure where to stand or sit. Why does it feel so awkward?

Daniel looked at you curiously as you turned to where he stood, leaning against the wood desk his stuff was strewn across, hands shoved in the pockets of his sweats.

“I was hoping I could borrow a dress.” You joked, gesturing to the mess on the front of yours. The corners of Daniel’s mouth pulled up slightly, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“I lent my only slinky dress to Pierre, sorry.” Daniel quipped back, his eyes calling you out, as if to ask why you were really here.

“Slinky?” You gasped, turning your gaze from him to glance around the room. It was too hard to keep looking at him. When he didn’t say anything, you turned back to him, that expectant look still on his face, like he wasn’t going to waste any more time with your bullshit.

“It’s your birthday. You’re in your room alone.” You sighed, gesturing to the room.

“I didn’t feel like going out, it was a hectic day.” He shrugged.

“Have you ever not gone out on a birthday?”

“Don’t pretend like you know me well enough to say that.”

You blinked, shocked that he snapped at you like that.

“Look, I know today sucked but you won in Monaco. Your season isn’t a total bust. Besides, there’s still so much of it left.” You took a step towards where Daniel sat on the bed, trying to assess if you could sit next to him or not. “And your pace was really good today.”

“You’re not a race engineer, what do you know?”

His tone. The look on his face. You knew he was upset and in a bad mood, and rightfully so, but there was absolutely nothing you could do to stop the way your blood boiled. There was nothing you could do to stop the rage that bubbled up when you looked at his smug face.

“Hey. Fuck you.” You spat back, your hands going to your hips. Anyone else would have been appalled. Daniel just took it in stride, you’d said much worse to him in the past.

“Anything else?” He asked, nodding towards the door to suggest you could leave.

“Yeah, actually. Several other things.”

Daniel gestured for you to go on, an uninterested look on his face. It pissed you off even more.

“I came up here to see if you were okay, if you needed anything, and you had to be a prick? I get that you’re pissed that you’re losing to Max, but I’m trying here.”

“I am not losing to Max. My season is just fine.”

“That’s literally what I just fucking said and you tried to argue with me. Now you’re arguing the opposite of what I’m saying again. You just want to fight don’t you?” He made you feel like you were going absolutely insane.

Your eyes searched his, looking for any trace of the Daniel that you saw in Colorado. The Daniel who had clocked a dude much bigger than him for your sake.

“You’re the one getting angry.” The lack of care in his voice drove you insane. He’s fucking gaslighting you. Why had you even cared about him? Enough to come up and check on him?

“Stop baiting me! I’m sorry you had a shitty day on the track. Happy Birthday.” Your tone was clipped as you turned on your heel to leave.

“Just tell me what you came up here for.” He said, his voice a little louder in an attempt to stop you before you walked out the door.

“I already did! Bye!” You opened the door, waving a hand behind you even though you weren’t sure if he could even see you. You didn’t dare look back, you wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.

The door slammed shut behind you and you collapsed against it, cursing under your breath, furious at yourself for being so fucking stupid. Tears pricked your eyes from the frustration. You wanted to scream. You wanted to throw the door open and demand to know why he always had to make it so fucking difficult. There were times where the two of you felt on the same page without effort and then times like now, where no matter how hard you tried, you two were miles apart.

You stood up straight and dabbed the corners of your eyes to brush off the tears of infuriation. The sound of the door opening caught your attention, causing you to whirl towards the now open door. Daniel looked annoyed as he leaned against the door frame, arms crossed at his chest firmly. That stoked the flames of your anger. What reason did he have to be pissed?! He was the one being a dick.

“Get back in here.” He said, gesturing with his head towards his room.

“Why?” You spit, your tone could cut glass.

“Because I’m sick of you always running away. Finish what you start.”

Your eyes flared with rage as you stormed into his room, your shoulder bumping his as you pushed past him.

“I don’t always run away.” You grumbled once back in the room. Some part of you knew he was right, but there was no way you’d let him know that. You’d go down fighting and denying until your last breath.

“In Shanghai? In Monaco?” When you didn’t respond to him and let your eyes meet his, his expression wordlessly said that’s what I thought.

“I had a reason in Monaco, you embarrassed me.” You blurted, not expecting your response to be so honest but once it was out there, it felt good.

Daniel looked like he didn’t expect it either, something that looked like shame flickered across his eyes.

“What? I embarrassed you at the party?”

“What? The party? No, I was talking about your shitty comment in front of Charles.” Your brows furrowed in confusion and you remembered you’d run from the celebrations as well.

“I was talking about the party. One moment you were there and it seemed like you were having fun, the next you were missing and I heard from someone you’d left upset.”

“I wasn’t upset.” You lied, shifting yourself from foot to foot, the hours you’d already spent in your heels were starting to cause your feet to ache. You didn’t feel like you could sit down so you moved your weight to your other foot. Daniel’s eyes glanced down at your shoes and then back up at your face and he frowned.

“Take your shoes off if they’re bothering you.”

“They’re not.” You bristled. How dare he care about your well being while you were furious with him? You pretended you didn’t know what he was talking about, not wanting to give him the satisfaction, firmly standing on both feet. Daniel rolled his eyes, shaking his head in exasperation.

“If you weren’t upset then why’d you leave?” He got right back to it, like he knew pushing you would only make you dig your heels in. Literally.

“How’d you even notice? You were busy with the blonde.” You put your hands on your hips yet again, popping your hip out to one side, a gesture suggesting just how fed up you were.

“Which blonde?”

“Which blonde?” You laughed breathlessly. Of course he didn’t remember her, he probably stopped thinking about her the minute her clothes were back on. “Maybe if you spent more time worrying about driving instead of worrying about who you’re fucking next, you’d be winning more.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize you knew so much about me. When’s the last time I was worrying about who I was fucking next then hm?” He challenged and you suddenly felt like you were trapped or set up.

“Monaco!” You threw your hands up, your face saying duh! “The blonde!”

“She was hospitality. I had obligations as the winner of the Grand Prix. I followed her to meet some important people. Y’know take some pictures, shake some hands. Then when I came back, you were gone.”

Shit. Shitshitshitshit. You could actually feel your face fall as you realized your mistake, the conclusion you’d jumped to.

Daniel’s eyes lit up in realization, his face breaking into a wide grin and you fucking hated how it made your heart flutter to see that smile.

“What.” You spit, your jaw clenched tightly. The muscle in your jaw started to hurt from gritting your teeth so hard as he plopped down on his bed, leaning back on his hands and still smiling. His legs were spread wide and your mind jumped to what it would be like to straddle that lap. It’s too warm in here.

“You tried to date Hunter because you thought I was going home with the blonde.” He crooned, smirking at you like he was just so proud of himself. Your cheeks suddenly felt like they were on fire and you felt the blush creeping down your neck to your chest.

Okay now it’s fucking hot in here.

“No.” You lied, hating how unbelievable your voice sounded. “I wanted to go on a date, it had nothing to do with you.”

“You wanted to come home with me after Monaco, didn’t you?” Daniel’s voice was suddenly an octave lower, his eyes simmering a touch darker, holding your eyes pinned to his. You could hear your heartbeat in your ears as you swallowed thickly, shifting from one strappy high heel to the other yet again, this time for an entirely different reason.

“No.” You rasped again, clearing your throat and forcing yourself to break the torturous eye contact he’d held you in. “Absolutely not. You’re the jealous one alright?” You knew you were scrambling and you had the feeling he knew too.

“Don’t try and spin it on me.”

“I’m not trying to do anything, Dan. I can prove it.” Thank God you remembered the ammunition you’d been packing for a while now.

Daniel raised an eyebrow, as if silently asking you to go ahead and prove it. You weren’t about to back down from the challenge. You kept your eyes on him as you pulled your phone from your clutch for the second time that night and held it up, a winning smile gracing your face. You wanted to see him squirm this time.

Now you were the one holding his gaze firmly and you could have sworn you saw a bit of panic behind his honey brown eyes.

“Whatever.” He thought he was calling your bluff. He was so wrong.

You tapped a few times on your phone and then took two steps towards where he sat, sitting down next to him on his bed and holding the phone up in between the two of you. You did your best to ignore how close he was to you now and ignore his gaze on your legs as you crossed one over the other and your dress rose up your thigh a bit more. You heard his breathing stumble.

“Heyyy, why aren’t you picking up the phone?” Daniel’s voice came through the speaker on your phone and your eyes shot to his face. His cocky façade held strong. So far.

“It’s Daniel. Daniel Ricciardo. You probably know that I reckon that’s why you didn’t answer eh? It’s like 3am or something here so... shit, I don’t know what time that makes it where you are.”

You bit back a smile. You could have recited the voicemail to him, you’d listened to it so many times. Daniel shook his head, a breathless laugh huffed out but his confidence remained in place.

“It just gets better from here.” You whispered, a genuine grin on your face.

“Anyway, you popped up on my screen, I got a...a….notification! Yeah, I got a notification that you liked my picture but when I clicked on it it was gone. Which picture was it?” Daniel’s eyes lifted to yours, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Well? Which was it?” He whispered. You ignored him. There was no way he was going to turn this into your embarrassment when you’d been dreaming of the moment you let him hear just how uncool he was, calling your phone at 3am in desperation.

“I don’t think you’ve ever liked anything that I’ve done.” Daniel’s voice on the phone was vulnerable and he shifted next to you. You could tell the honesty he spoke with was making him uncomfortable.

“Alright, I get it.” He said, clearing his throat roughly.

“Oh no, we’re not even close.” You laughed, shaking your head. Daniel curled his lips into his mouth, as if bracing himself.

“I know that you told her that I liked her a lot. She said that someone told her I really had feelings for her or something and that if I pulled away it was because that’s what I did when I felt shit or something and to not let me get away. It had to be you, you’re the only one who would do something that cruel. I know you told her…”

The two of you sat in silence now, just listening, neither of you wanting to even touch that subject right now.

“Which picture did you like? I was waiting all night for you to show up y’know. I was waiting and waiting and then you showed up, looking fucking incredible and smelling….delicious…”

His voice, so honest and raw, got you every single time. It had an effect on you even after the 50th time. You swallowed for the millionth time, uncrossing your legs, switching the other on top and squeezing them together tightly.

Daniel covered his face with his hands and groaned, falling backwards to lay back on the bed. It shouldn’t have made you grin like it did.

“And you laughed, you have a great laugh y’know? Anyway. I hope you’re having a nice week off and enjoying looking at my pictures. I hope you enjoy whichever one you like. If you take some time to really “enjoy” it…I won’t tell anyone. It’ll be our little secret…”

The voicemail ended and after a deep breath from Daniel and what seemed like a long time, he dropped his hands from his face. He sat back up. His mouth was a firm line and it looked like he was trying extremely hard to be aloof and uncaring.

“I had a lot to drink.” He shrugged.

You were actually speechless. His ability to cover up his emotions around you was unparalleled.

“Do you really not remember leaving that message? Or are you just mad that I didn’t reciprocate? Is this why you’re so insufferable? Because I’m the only girl you’ve ever wanted that told you no?” You weren’t sure why the words were tumbling out so aggressively, but you were absolutely desperate for him to show you something real, like you’d felt so many times in the past. How was he able to listen to that and not have a reaction?

“You haven’t told me no; I haven’t tried.” Daniel huffed.

“Australia?”

Daniel stood suddenly, whirling around to face you where you sat on the bed. You jumped at the sudden movement.

“Jesus fucking Christ! That’s not what was happening! How many times do I have to clarify that?!” His voice was louder now and you were surprised. You weren’t sure if you’d ever heard him start to lose it like this. You wanted more. More emotion. You didn’t care if it was anger, at least it was something.

“Then what were you doing?!”

“I was coming up to THANK YOU!” He blurted. “I was going to thank you for being nice to my mom because she really appreciated it ok?”

You tried to stammer a response but he wasn’t finished.

“But you couldn’t be anything but vicious for more than two seconds!” He paused and then his yelling turned into a low, thick cocky drawl of Australian arrogance. “If I wanted you, I would have had you by now.”

“You.” You growled, your voice breathy and full of deep, unchecked rage. “You are so unbelievably arrogant. I can’t believe I ever thought that there was even a possibility of us being friends.”

It looked like a flicker of hurt crossed over Daniel’s eyes but it was gone as soon as it appeared, cool confidence back right away.

“You’re warming up to me.”

“You helped me out in Colorado and I appreciate that, but it doesn’t change the fact that I hate you.” Your verbal assault was aggressive and loud.

“Because you can’t have me?” He laughed, the corner of his mouth pulling up slightly.

You saw red. You stood, not quite at eye level with him, but still staring him down.

“NO. Because you’re cocky. Arrogant. You think you’re the Sun and we all revolve around you. Because I’m the only one who can see through your bullshit, your charm. Because you’re a great fucking driver and yet you can’t get your head out of your ass and put Max in his fucking place.”

Now you were sure you saw hurt in his eyes but you couldn’t stop. It was like letting out everything that you’d been thinking for the past two years.

“Because when you met me, you were so misogynistic that you thought I couldn’t have a job as anything actually meaningful in your Formula 1 world. And you thought that I got where I was by sleeping my way there. And continued to think that and spread it around even after I told you it wasn’t true. Because you’re impossible! You never shut up, you never know when to stop! Because you fuck everything that moves and then move on, you’re the playboy type that I fucking hate!” You spit your words with such ferocity that you were surprised he stood there and took it.

Daniel blinked and again, hurt was gone. It was replaced by anger.

“Good, I fucking hate you too!” He snapped, his voice louder than you’d ever heard it, the way he shook his head causing the hood of his hoodie to fall off his head. Anger sizzled in his eyes as he pushed past you, stomping towards the door.

“This is your room, where are you going?!” You yelled, following after him.

“Away from you!”

“Look who’s running away now.” You sniped.

Daniel paused, hand on the handle of his door. He stood completely frozen and you could swear you could hear him huffing breaths in and out angrily. You had really pissed him off. He finally whirled around and strode back to you, standing face to face with you, towering over you a bit, his face just inches from yours.

“I am not running away.” He snarled.

“But you want to.” You raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to challenge your statement.

“Stop trying to piss me off.”

“Why? You do it to me all the fucking time. You did it to me when I walked into this room.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“You stood on that street in Monaco and pushed and pushed until I was furious and you knew exactly what you were doing.” Your voice was quieter now, but not any less aggressive.

“You keep saying you were furious, but you kissed me.”

“To shut you up!!”

“No, to ease the fucking miserable tension!”

His words made your stomach drop. You knew exactly what he was referring to but neither of you had ever acknowledged that out loud. It was unspoken, buried deep and never looked at. You weren’t sure if you could handle it being out in the open.

“What tension?” You feigned confusion and Daniel’s eyes looked at you like you had gone mad.

“THIS!” He gestured between the two of you. “Don’t think that I don’t know why you have to be so mean.”

His words started to hit home, they stung with accuracy and you hated the way they caused panic in your chest. Your fight or flight flared.

“Whatever.” Your voice wasn’t as sure and you’d hoped. “I was so angry that if I didn’t take it out on you, I would have lost it.”

Daniel didn’t look impressed, he just huffed a breath and you felt the air kiss your face.

“Well for as much as I fucking hate you, I don’t take my anger out on you.”

You looked eyes with him, searching for a sign that his words weren’t true. He didn’t actually hate you that much.

“Maybe you should.” You breathed, your voice quiet. Daniel blinked in confusion.

“What?”

“Maybe you should take it out on me.” You repeated, your voice gravelly and rough.

“Don’t test me.” The reverberation of his voice went straight through you, all the way down to that pit in your stomach. The anger and frustration was still present on Daniel’s face, but now his eyes were clouded with something else. The two of you stood inches away, neither of you backing down.

You lifted your hand and gestured to say well?

Daniel’s eyes left yours and glanced at your lips and then back up, as if asking permission. When you didn’t respond, he stepped back a bit and you felt the sting of disappointment.

“I knew it. Same as on track, just a whole lot of talk.” You pushed one more time, internally begging him to be the one to snap. It worked.

Daniel lunges, his lips crashing against yours roughly as he kisses you with mostly teeth and tongue, no tenderness whatsoever, causing you to stumble back, violently slamming the backs of your thighs against the desk behind you. You’re falling backwards, but Daniel’s hands are there in an instant, grabbing your hips and lifting slightly to make sure your ass is firmly planted on the desk, all the while his lips never leaving yours.

The kiss is hot and filthy, his tongue pushing into you like he means you fully taste you with it. It’s all you can do to keep up, a soft moan escapes you and he immediately swallows it. Your head spins, the taste and smell of him is intoxicating. One of his large warm hands is suddenly on the back of your neck, holding you to him firmly as if he was worried you’d slip from his grasp.

Your brain finally begins to catch up and you know that you should hate this. You should push him off of you, curse him out and leave. But even though you know that’s what you should do, you don’t even consider it for a moment.

Daniel’s teeth clamp down on your lip, suddenly and sharply, as if he knows you’re thinking too much and needs to bring you back to this moment, the right here, right now. You gasp in surprise at the sensation of pain and then shudder as it only increases the wetness that’s now pooling between your legs.

Your lips break apart for a moment, the two of you panting, his nose bumps against yours gently. When you get the nerve to open your eyes to try and assess him, his lips are already trailing across your jaw line, nipping and biting in spots along the way, his fingers sliding up the nape of your neck to tilt your head and move you exactly as he needs for more access.

Your eyes flutter shut again, your breathing ragged as you try to contain the whimpers that keep threatening.

His other hand is then on your thigh, pushing it to the side roughly so he can slide further into the space between your legs. Your dress slides up to your hips as his jogger clad groin presses firmly against your semi-exposed center. Your body responds, hips pushing forward to meet that pressure and try to direct it to where you need it most, your other leg now falling open widely without hesitation.

Daniel reciprocates by grinding into you roughly, and you catch the soft groan in the back of his throat before your eyes fall shut and your mouth forms a silent ‘oh’ as your stomach drops in a delicious way.

The sloppy kisses on your neck and collarbone stop and Daniel pulls back and you nearly whimper at the loss of contact. You open your eyes curiously and are met with the sight of Daniel breathing heavily, honey colored eyes blown wide with lust, lips swollen and bitten. You just about melt at the sight.

You aren’t sure if this is him giving you an out or if he realized he didn’t want to do this, so you learn up closer to him, removing the distance he just created. You give him a silent raise of your eyebrow.

Daniel swallows and you see the muscles in his jaw flicker as if he was clenching his teeth. Like he’d realized what just happened and leashed himself.

You realize you read him exactly right, he was giving you a chance to back out, a chance to leave. It makes something in your chest tighten and threaten your emotions.

“Was that it?” You smirk, your fingers slipping up under his hoodie.

“I want to make sure you meant what you said.” Daniel responds, his tone short and clipped.

“Which part?”

“That I should take my anger out on you.”

“I meant it.” You dig your nails in slightly on his back and he closes his eyes in response. “You just had a shit race. On your birthday. I know you’re pissed. Isn’t this how you always deal with emotions? By fucking someone? ”

When Daniel’s eyes open again they’re darker. You start to lift his hoodie, to suggest you want to take it off.

“Stop talking.” His arms cross in front of him and hands clamp over yours to assist you in pulling his hoodie off, throwing it to the floor with an alarming amount of force. You rake your eyes over his bare chest and stomach and you think your brain actually short circuits.

It pisses you off just how attractive he is. Every inch of him makes your mouth salivate.

“How does it work? Do you just find the most willing girl and bring her back so that you don’t have to lay in bed and think about the fact that you’re-”

Daniel kisses you harder this time and when he takes a step back, he pulls you with him by the fabric of your dress. You’re standing on weak legs as he kisses you with such force that your upper body is bent backwards slightly as his hands on your lower back try to pull you even closer to him. His bare skin is hot and you want nothing more than for him to rip your dress off so you can feel your skin against his.

His hands travel, running over the sides of your hips giving them a firm squeeze before making their way back to your lower back, this time not stopping there and sliding over your ass. You expect them to stop there, but he firmly palms your ass and then keeps moving, stopping at the spot where the back of your thighs meet your ass.

You feel him starting to lift you slightly, his lips still refusing to leave yours. It clicks and you know exactly what he wants. You jump and wrap your legs around his waist, his strong arms holding you firmly as you throw your arms around his neck, one hand tangling in his soft curls.

You feel him smirk into the kiss and you’re reminded of the first time you kissed him in Monaco. You had wanted to taste him again since that day. It makes you clench your legs around him tighter and bite his lip this time and he gives your ass a soft slap in response. You couldn’t hold in the whine that escapes even if that hadn’t surprised you. He responds with a low grunt, almost as if he’s agreeing with you.

His hands slide your dress up, exposing your bare ass, your small thong not giving you any sense of modesty. When his palms come in contact with your skin, he groans lowly into your mouth. He digs his fingers in firmly.

“Fuck.” He breathes against your lips. Now it’s your turn to smirk. You assume he’s going to move you to the bed, so when he slams your back up against the wall, you squeak in surprise.

“Don’t fucking smirk at me.” Daniel growls, still attacking your lips, his lips biting at yours unforgivingly. Now that he has the wall to assist, he thrusts his hips against yours and you feel him, rock hard and providing friction in just the right spot.

“You started it, asshole.” You try to quip, but when it comes out as a moan, it loses it’s bite.

Daniel’s hand slides between the two of you, the other still under your thigh, his body pressing you against the wall to keep you up. His fingers move in between your legs, finding your completely ruined underwear. Your cheeks flush.

“If I’m such an asshole, why are you absolutely dripping when I haven’t even touched you?” He whispers as he pushes your thong to one side and slides a finger through your folds, his voice sickly smug.

You bite your lip so hard you worry about drawing blood as you try to pretend that his touch isn’t making you come undone.

He pushes a finger into you easily and your cheeks heat further at how right he is, you’re drenched. You wonder if he’s thinking the same thing but when he presses his forehead against yours, commanding your attention as he curls his finger inside you, you no longer have the capacity to think about anything but how he’s making you feel.

“Hmm?” He questions, pulling his finger out, adding another when he thrusts them back in. You thought that question was rhetorical.

“Guess I get off on assholes.” You pant through gritted teeth, still trying to downplay his effect on you.

Daniel looks annoyed as he continues thrusting his fingers into you, his eyes studying you as if he’s watching for any sign of you breaking.

“All assholes? Or just me?” Under his firm, taunting tone, you knew what he wanted to hear.

“Don’t get cocky.”

That’s not what he wants to hear. He narrows his eyes and places the pad of his thumb on your clit and in seconds you’re gasping at just how expertly he begins working it.

“Yeah? Who else compares? Max?”

You know he doesn’t think that’s true. You know he’s only trying to push your buttons the way you’ve been pushing his.

It works.

Your eyes shoot open and his look excited at the anger held in them.

“You’re such a fuc-” You’re unable to even finish your insult, a moan rips through you as his fingers move with new intent. He leans forward, his mouth assaulting your collarbone, you know he has to be leaving a pronounced mark there.

“What? Sorry didn’t catch that.”

He sounds so fucking smug. So full of himself and fuck, it pisses you off. You know you’re on the edge, the anger boiling in you, the heat of his skin, the way he is looking at you, you’re already about to tumble into a blinding orgasm.

You fumble and start to grasp for any tiny semblance of control, squirming against him and the wall. When you realize it’s futile, you decide to switch tactics.

“Yeah, Max.” You pant out, hoping your face doesn’t tell him you’re full of shit.

His motions stop, fingers freezing, smug satisfied smirk dropping. You can see his eyes trying to process and calculate what you just said. You unwrap your legs and lets you stand, his hand slipping from between your legs.

“You and…Max?”

You let him stew for one more second and then place your hands on his chest and push him firmly, climbing on top of him as he falls back onto his bed. When you straddle him at his waist, a huge shit eating grin on your face, he catches on.

You know that if he really wants to, he could toss you off of him with ease, but when his hands land on your hips and squeeze, you realize he doesn’t want to.

“Y’know, you never even asked what happened to my dress.” You sigh dramatically as his hands quickly pull it up over your head, leaving you in only your bra and thong.

“I don’t care about your fucking dress right now.” Daniel growls moving to sit up and kiss you again but before he can, you push him back down firmly. He looks shocked and you wish you could take a picture of that expression and have it to look back on.

You shimmy down and then shift so you’re laying in between his legs, kissing your way down his abs the whole way. He moves to prop himself up on his elbows and you give him a glare in warning.

He bites his lip and stills and you can tell he’ll do anything as long as you continue. You slowly untie his joggers, and pull them down, his hips lift right away to help you. Once he’s left in just his tight boxer briefs, you can see the outline of him and your eyes widen. You hope he doesn’t notice.

He notices.

The corner of Daniel’s mouth pulls up into a smirk and it makes you even more determined to put him in his place. You waste no time, pulling his boxers down and letting him spring free. He’s thick and long and you silently curse the fact. Of course he’s this well endowed, there’s not a single inch of him that’s imperfect.

You take in the tattoo all gracing his right thigh and can’t help but swallow thickly at the sight of it.

He shifts under you and you realize you’ve been staring.

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen you stunned silent.” He drawls, smirk turning into a cocky grin.

“Again, so cocky.” You roll your eyes and growl, leaning forward and licking him from base to tip defiantly. Daniel throws his head back and you think you actually hear him whine. To have this level of control over him feels so good.

You lick at the precum bubbled around his slit and Daniel’s mouth drops open. His hips shift again impatiently. You look up at him under your eyelashes as you wrap your lips around his top and slowly take him into your mouth.

“Fuuuuuuuuuck…” He hisses, shifting his weight to one elbow so he can lift his hand and thread his fingers through your hair. He grabs a handful of your hair firmly and you can tell it’s taking everything in him to not pull or thrust up into your mouth.

You begin to guide your mouth up and down his length, your hand taking care of whatever you can’t reach and the sounds he starts to make are absolutely delicious. His hand on your head twitches, his other hand grabbing the bedspread and fisting it.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck. Shit, how-” He rambles, his mouth still hanging open, his eyes taking you in with stunned admiration.

You pull off for a moment, your hand quickly taking place and working him smoothly, the sound filthy as his cock is slicked with your saliva.

“What was that you were saying about me getting off on someone I hate?” You preened before dropping your head back down and taking him in your mouth again. You gave him a few seconds and when he didn’t respond you took your mouth off of him again, this time not using your hand at all, all stimulation stopping.

His head shot up and this time he really did whine.

“Please, fuck, you’re so- just please” He panted, shaking his head in disbelief. His words made you swell with confidence, you could listen to him beg like this all day. His hand on the back on your hand pushed, but not hard, just to try to urge you to keep going.

“Hmm? How many women that you hate, do you beg like this?” You ask with a smug closed lip smile before taking him into your mouth again, this time taking him faster and deeper into your throat before again, pulling off and stopping completely.

“Fuck! Fuck you!” Daniel hisses, his fist lifting and punching the bed in frustration. You grin.

“Well? How many?”

“None. You. Just you.” Daniel blurts.

You blink in shock, not expecting him to crumble so easily. It pulls at something in your chest.

“Wasn’t expecting you to fold so easily.” You hum, before lowering your head down and pushing his cock all the way to the back of your throat. You hold him there for a moment and feel him twitch and then pull off again completely.

Daniel looks like he’s in physical pain.

“I should have known you’d be so fucking difficult.” He growls, the hand in your hair now pushing your head down to his cock with force. You absolutely give in, letting him fist your hair roughly and direct your lips back onto him.

Once your mouth is around him again, he doesn’t push with his hand, instead he thrusts up into your warmth, shoving himself to hit the back of your throat. You gag around him slightly and hear him moan loudly.

“Maybe you didn’t realize what you were asking for did you, sweetheart?” He grunts as he thrusts into your mouth over and over, causing your spit to dribble from chin as well as soak his dick.

What he doesn’t realize is that this is exactly what you were hoping when you asked him to take out his anger on you. You wanted him to use you. You want him to know that he can give you his worst and you can take it. You will take it.

“Fuck- you’re taking it so- so good.”

You’re throbbing between your legs.

His rhythm begins to falter and he swells in your mouth, his breaths now fast and ragged and you realize he’s close.

Daniel must realize it at the same time because he moves swiftly, pulling you off of his cock by your hair. Your face must be a mess but before you can do anything to fix it, he’s sitting up and wrapping a firm arm around you. You’re on the same page as him as you move from laying in between his legs to scramble up to straddle his lap. His hands wrap around you, palms splayed on your back, pulling you to him as he kisses you with renewed passion.

His hands slide to your back and he makes quick work of your bra. Once it’s off, you press your chest against his, still trying to get closer to him. He flips you, holding himself up on his arm above you. He pauses for a moment and scans his eyes over you, taking every inch of you in.

He frowns when his eyes meet your bottom half and you feel self conscious. His fingers loop around your thong and slide it down your legs, leaving it at your calves. He then eyes you again and exhales slowly, licking his lips.

“God fucking damn you.” He says, shaking his head in disbelief. You raise an eyebrow in question.

“God fucking damn you for looking this absolutely delicious. Say something shitty so I can remember why I hate you.” Daniel leans down and punctuates his words with a deep, passionate kiss.

Daniel’s eyes are darker when he pulls away and his hand grabs your thigh roughly and pushes it open, his cock grazing your entrance. When he doesn’t push in further, you try to lift your hips and do it yourself.

“Were you serious? I can talk about Max more if you want.”

He looks like he’s ready to absolutely destroy you, but he’s still.

“I- I don’t have a condom.” He blurts.

“What?!” It’s not the disappointment, it’s the disbelief. “No way that’s true.”

“I swear to God. You think I want to derail absolutely fucking ruining you? Especially when you have the nerve to say another man’s name in my bed?” His words turn your stomach.

“I’m..” You stumble over your words, you can’t think when he’s looking at you like that. “I’m good if you are.”

“Are you sure?” Daniel’s tone is soft for just a second, his eyes searching yours. You nod eagerly.

“I haven’t been with anyone else in…a while.” You admit.

“It’s been a while for me as well. We’re good then?”

“What? A while? Don’t lie to me.” You frown, knowing he was with the girl from Ferrari a few months ago.

“I’m not!”

“The Ferrari? You’re telling me you didn’t take a ride in her Ferrari?”

Daniel busts out laughing, shaking his head. “I can’t stand you.”

“Answer the question!”

“No!”

“No, what?”

“No, I didn’t sleep with her.” Daniel says, exasperated.

You watch his eyes carefully to try and detect if he's lying or not. His eyes lock on yours and you believe him.

“Okay. Do your worst.” You smirk, watching the way his eyes darken again at your words. You lean up and kiss him again, your hand tangling in his hair and then pulling him down with you.

The laughter and lightness shifts immediately as Daniel pushes into you roughly. You gasp loudly, your eyes closing as you arch your back. He stretches you in the most perfect way, you’ve never felt so full. The burn is so good as he pulls out slowly and then pushes back in, rougher this time, causing you to cry out.

“Fuck, Daniel!” Your voice is a plea, begging him for anything and everything. He moans louder in response, lifting his head from where it rested in the crook of your neck.

“Good.” He croons. “That’s a good girl” His praise sends a shockwave through you and you’re unable to stifle the loud moan that rips from low in your stomach as he continues thrusting slowly, but incredibly hard, deep into you.

He must pick up on the way his words affect you. He pulls out of you briefly to stand and grabs your ankles and yanks you down towards where he stands at the edge of the bed. You let out a gasp. You hope he can’t tell that the rougher he is, the more you come undone.

Still holding your ankles, Daniel crosses one hand over the other, flipping you onto your stomach. His hands then clutch your hips firmly, pulling you up to your hands and knees.

You wait for a moment, but when you don’t feel anything, you turn to look over your shoulder.

“Just admiring how good you look like this. Waiting patiently for me.” He throws you an appreciative feline smile. “I want to remember you being so good for me.”

You drop your head back down, letting it hang loose in between where you’ve braced yourself on your hands, a petulant whine urging him to get on with it.

When you feel his tongue lick a firm stripe through your folds, it’s absolutely not what you expected and pleasure rips through your body.

“Fuckin’ hell…” He breathes against your core, the hot air teasing you. “I’ve thought about how you’d taste.” He licks you again, this time much slower and then following it up with a few short laps. Your legs shake and you drop your stomach, arching your back and pushing your hips back towards him in search of more.

“But you taste even better that I imagined.” His voice was full of exasperated disbelief as he dove in again, this time beginning his efforts in earnest. You have no defense against the sounds that spill out of you and after a moment, you realize you’re begging him.

“Oh God, please! Fuck, oh my God.” You pant, your voice breaking in the middle of your pleas. You’re reaching your peak already and can’t do much to slow the tightening deep inside you that’s threatening to snap.

“Dan-” You rasp. “I’m gonna- Fuck! I’m gonna come”

He hums against you, his tongue dipping into you before going back to his assault on your clit. Your legs shake and you’re about to completely shatter.

And then he stops.

“I’m going to give you a chance to make up for lying to me earlier.” He says, his ands on your ass, spreading your cheeks and digging his fingers in.

You want to scream. The bastard.

“Who compares?”

You don’t respond. You don’t want to give in.

His hand lifts from your right ass cheek and comes down hard, the slap ringing through the room, followed by the sound of you crying out.

“I know you want to be a good girl for me.” His voice sounds sweet and it makes your stomach flip again. Your head is dizzy and confused, sick with how much he drives you crazy.

He slaps your ass again and you shudder, this time crying out not from the sting of pain, but from the pleasure that suddenly continues to push you towards your orgasm. He notices.

“You like that don’t you?” Again his hand makes contact on your ass, you feel the skin there heating now. “You like it when I’m a little mean?”

You whimper and shake your head, trying to deny it.

“No? Want me to flip you over and fuck you in missionary like a jackhammer until I come and then roll over and go to sleep like every single other man you’ve been with?” Daniel’s words make wetness drip out of you, you feel it on your inner thigh.

“No!” You finally respond.

“Of course not.” He hums, leaning in and finally putting his mouth on you again, and you shudder in relief.

“You get off on me being mean, don’t you?” Daniel eats you like you’re his last fucking meal, sucking and biting at your clit in between dipping his tongue into you. When you don’t respond, he slaps your ass again, this time much harder.

“Yes!” You scream, feeling yourself clinch around nothing.

“Mmm, I knew it.” He coaxes and you fall over the edge, your orgasm wracking through your limbs and making you collapse onto the bed. Daniel’s hands quickly move under your hips to hold you up enough that he can continue you lick and eat you through each wave. You hear something over and over and realize it’s you, repeating his name over and over.

“Dan, Dan, Dan, oh fuck, Dan.” You sob in unadulterated pleasure.

Once you come down, he moves up you, his chest pressed against your back, his head right by your ear. He positions himself at your entrance again, roughly grabbing you behind your knee and splaying your leg out to the side.

Your face is still buried in the comforter of the bed as you try and catch your breath but you know that he’s waiting for the okay. You nod.

“I need you to say it.” He says softly, his tone even and you know this isn’t about control. That’s not why.

“Yes. I want you. Please.” You breathe into the bed.

He grabs your face in his hand, his palm cupping your jaw and turns you to look at him.

“One more time.” He smiles at you. “This time just because I want to see your face when you say it.”

You don’t have it in you to fight it anymore.

“Yes. Dan, I want you. Please. Please.” Your last word is a whisper.

Daniel kisses you sloppily as he pushes into you, filling you again and you wonder how you ever lived without this.

“You feel so fucking good.” He groans in your ear, each thrust harder than the last. One hand snakes around your waist and holds you in place firmly while he drives into you, over and over.

“You’re taking me so well, aren’t you baby?” Daniel praises into your ear, obviously zeroing in on your praise kink. You nod breathlessly.

“I’m going to ask you one more time.” His voice is a low, threatening growl. It makes you throb. “Who. compares.” he punctuates each word with a thrust.

“Who else turns you into such a pliant little slut so easily?” As if to add to his point, his hand around your waist is now at the apex of your thighs, rubbing circles on your clit. You gasp, hips writhing at the pleasure and oversensitivity mixed together.

“No one else.” You cry, turning your head up and desperately searching for his lips.

“Say my name.”

“No one else Daniel.”

His other hand finds yours and intertwines your fingers tightly, but he still doesn’t give you the kiss you’re asking for. You whimper and open your eyes. You see he’s been looking at you the whole time. When your eyes meet his, it clicks. Somehow you know exactly what he wants. Another moment where you’re on the same page.

“No one else” You start again, this time looking into his eyes as he bites his lip, holding in a groan. “Dan.”

He kisses you fiercely, his fingers squeezing tightly around yours as he roughly pulls your hips up higher with the arm around you, driving into harder and deeper, splitting you from the inside out.

“Such a good girl for me. My good girl.” He mumbles into your mouth, the words barely coherent through the kisses.

You moan and cry out into his mouth, somehow no longer able to even worry how embarrassing the sounds are.

“Y-you know how I knew you’d get off on me being a little mean to you?” He pants out the question, it takes him a while to get it out as his rhythm stumbles and stutters and you feel his cock twitch inside you.

“Tell me.”

Before Daniel answers, he sits back on his knees, bringing you with him, your back still pressed against his chest. He moves his hand with yours, the two still interlocked, and places it on your chest just below your throat, splaying your fingers open with his. His large hand engulfs yours as he holds you firmly in place and thrusts up into you, the position letting him go even deeper.

Your head swims as you drop it back onto his shoulder limply. His mouth presses a kiss to your ear.

“Because I know you’re fucked up in the same way I am.” He whispers.

It’s something real from him. It pushes you over the edge yet again. It’s an orgasm that starts small and then kaleidoscopes, spreading out to every limb, imparting every cell with overwhelming euphoria. You come, and come, and come, and at some point, he jumps over the edge with you, heightening what you thought for sure could not be heightened.

He whimpers your name and praises you over and over again as he comes inside you, his hand clenching yours incredibly tightly.

When it finally ends, he falls sideways onto the bed, taking you with him. The two of you lay still for a moment, the only sound in the room is your mingled panting.

After a moment of stillness, he places his hand on your right ass cheek as slips out of you and you wince, the skin tender there. He notices. Since when did he become so perceptive?

“Shit, sorry.” He whispers, placing a kiss on the red, angry skin before rolling away and walking to the bathroom. He comes out with a wet washcloth and without a thought, cleans you up gently, his touch an alarming contrast to earlier. You give him an appreciative smile and then take your turn in the bathroom.

When you come back, you glance around the room for your clothes, assuming you need to leave, but Daniel is waiting right there, as if he next what your next move would be.

“Hey.” He wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you back to the bed. You go limp in his arms, letting him rest your head on his chest and sigh, relieved. “ You never told me what happened to your dress.” He smiles down at you, his fingers tracing light circles on your hip.

You cheeks heat and you look away and you feel his chest shake as he laughs.

“That bad? C’mon tell me.” Daniel places his finger under your chin to gently raise your head to look at him.

“I need you to know something.” You say firmly.

“Alright.”

“I still fucking hate you.” You can’t get the words out without a smile pulling on the corner of your lips. But you’re absolutely serious! The situation just makes it hard to act serious.

Daniel laughs again, this time his head falls back against the headboard. You hold in your giggle and wait for him to finish.

“I’m serious!” You sit up, looking him in the eyes.

“Mhm. I know you are.” He grins and it’s infuriating. “Don’t worry. I still fucking hate you too.” He grabs your face in his hands and kisses you. You hated him, yes. But you couldn’t help but love that yet again, you two were on the same page.

As you started to doze off, your limbs tangled with his, one thought echoed in your head over and over again.

Whenever he tangles with you, you cause him trouble.