#No not really. But during my Vegas trip I noticed that my arms kinda looked like they grew more hair

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

I swear, y'all, my arms get hairier by the day

[gubler-me-up]

Big, Open Arms (MGG request)

Request: Hi, a MGG request for you.  You're a famous comedian and are cast as the new agent for CM. The cast/crew all love you, even before you come on set as you're hilarious, especially Matthew which EVERYONE knows about. As a huge fan of the show you're nervous, but you get welcomed into the CM family pretty quickly, and adore them all. You become best friends with Matthew, and after a while he asks you out on a date, and you say yes then after the media get involved, Matthew asks you to be his gf.

A/N: Thanks for the request, anon! This was a fully loaded request, so I hope I encompassed every aspect to your liking! Hope you enjoy!!

Couple: Spencer Reid/Fem!Reader

Category: Fluff

Content warning: None

Word count: 2.5k

——————–

You were rehearsing your lines before you had to go on set for the day. You had to admit you sucked at memorizing lines, so there were a lot of blooper reals of you stumbling over your words. You hadn’t even been part of the Criminal Minds cast for a whole year yet. Good thing the cast and crew understood how hard it was to memorize masses of technical dialogue.

Your character was named Bianca Johnson, an SSA with a background in technology. She was basically Garcia, but could kick ass instead of petting cute animals. A lot of your lines were heavy technical geek talk, which was hard to say in a scene, let alone the whole episode. Whenever you messed up you’d joked around and said Shemar’s biceps were distracting you from actually getting your lines right.

Your favourite scenes were with Matthew though. He was such a great actor and hilarious as well. When you first introduced yourself to him he told you he thought you were such a hilarious comedian. One of his favourites actually. You told him your greatest joke of all time was landing the role of such a smart character when you only had two functioning brain cells. He let out a hardy laugh before agreeing with you by saying he also had barely functioning brain cells.

Everyone was full of the same excited energy when they met you. It was like having a family gathering every time you were on set. AJ was the sweetest, coolest person you’ve ever met, Shemar was charming, Paget was completely down to earth and Kirsten was such a character. Matthew was the standout cast member for you though. His portrayal of Dr. Spencer Reid was amazing to watch on T.V., but was even more amazing to watch in real life.

He would just spur out lines on lines of facts without messing up once. When he did though it was funny and adorable. You’d try to cover your laugh every time, but he would automatically turn to look at you with a goofy smile. Your laugh would escape immediately and then everyone else would join along.

You looked up from your script as you heard two loud bangs on your door. You looked at the time on your phone and saw it was already 8:55 a.m.

“Y/N, set in five,” you heard the producer yell.

“I’m surprised you’re here early today, Jeff,” you joked.

You heard him laugh. “If Shemar can be early on set anything’s possible, right?”

You gasped. “Shemar’s on set before I am? I have to see this.”

You got up from your chair and rushed towards the door to leave for set. Before you left, you went back to your mirror. You fluffed up your hair and adjusted your breasts. You wanted to make sure you were presentable as possible. For the camera, of course.

As you walked on set you were greeted with a welcoming hug from AJ. She literally gave the most mom-like hugs ever. It was comparable to eating cookies from the cookie jar.

“Happy wrap day,” she said as she let you go.

“I can’t believe we’re wrapping the season already. I feel as if we’ve only been filming for a week,” you said.

“I know, time flies around here. One second you’re in season one and then boom you’re in season 15,” she said.

“If I can look flawlessly good throughout 15 seasons like you I think I can get used to this job.”

She giggled and playfully rolled your eyes. “Are you kidding me? You always look so great. Trust me, a little someone keeps talking about how great you are.”

You looked at her curiously. If she was talking about who you thought she was talking about than you were ecstatic. Shemar, her and some crew members had told you when you first joined that Matthew was a huge fan of yours. Had talked about you quite a few times during the downtime on set.

“More Matthew gossip? I’m in,” you heard Shemar say from behind you.

You turned around and smiled at him. “Well, well, when Jeff said you were early on set I didn’t believe it, but now that I see it with my own eyes I still can’t believe it.”

He chuckled. “Well, baby, here I am in the flesh. If it’s opposite day maybe you’ll have a flawless run with your lines.”

“Good one. Maybe we should trade characters so I can look hot and kick down doors while you talk nerdy to me.”

“You don’t have to kick down doors in your case to look hot, Y/N. I think a certain someone thinks you’re pretty hot as is.”

You gave him a suspicious stare before looking back at AJ. She smiled and looked around the set. You folded your arms as you were waiting for further details to be spilled. They both remained quiet as you stood there waiting. Good thing your attention was soon shifted towards Matthew when you saw him walk on set. You unfolded your arms and softened your face up as you saw how good he looked.

“I guess this is our cue to go, AJ,” Shemar chuckled.

“I agree. See you in the bullpen, Y/N,” AJ said before she left with Shemar.

“Yeah,” you faintly said as you stared at Matthew.

He hadn’t noticed you. He seemed to be looking for someone though as his head continuously darted around the room. When he finally turned your way, his face instantly lit up. He lightly jogged towards you with a big smile on his face. It was as if he was looking for you.

“Hey, Y/N. Happy wrap day,” he said before embracing you in a hug.

You hugged him back. “Happy wrap day, Matt. What adventures are you going to get up to after we wrap?”

“Well, that’s kinda why I was looking for you. I was going to ask you that same exact question.”

“I don’t have anything booked until later next month, so I’m going to be relaxing mostly. Why what’s up?”

“Well, remember when we went to that Arcade Fire concert a few months ago?”

You smiled and nodded. “If you mean the best experience of my life than yes.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad you liked it. Vegas always holds the Life Is Beautiful Music and Art Festival and I was wondering if you were free to go.”

You felt your heart pumping with delight at him inviting you to go to his hometown. The last few months of your friendship were situated strictly in California. You had never really explored Vegas outside of a few shows at hotels and theatres on the strip.

“You wanna take me on a Vegas adventure?” You asked.

“Something like that.”

Before you could say your answer, the set bell rang. Sometimes that stupid bell could be so annoying, especially when you had a moment like this with Matthew. You don’t think there had ever been a more intimate moment between you two.

He smiled. “Think about it.”

As he started to walk off towards the bullpen set, you ran up to him to hug him from behind. He was caught off guard by your hug, but grabbed your hands that clung in front of him. You could say it was the first time you two had held hands.

“I’d love to go.”

“Awesome.”

—————

Going to Vegas with Matthew was such a different experience than anything you had ever done before. Everywhere he took you felt as if it were a new chapter in a life you’ve never lived. You always found Vegas cliche in its gimmicks and exaggerated neon lights. However, Matthew made it seem as if it were a faraway land yet to be discovered.

He showed you to little places outside of the flashy hotels and bright neon lights that filled the strip. You two spent a lot of time at ranches nearby. You told him since the first day you two met how much you loved animals, so going to those ranches was a dream come true.

What you weren’t expecting though was going to the ranch his mother owned. When you two were driving there, you felt your heart beating fast. You had never met his mother before but you knew he was a big mama’s boy. Even with all the nerves running through your body, you felt honoured to be meeting his mother. You didn’t even know whether to consider this whole trip a big first date or what, but it was something you weren’t expecting to happen.

You had a feeling Matthew had a crush on you for a while and the feeling had always been mutual. Guess the both of you had been crushing on each other through a screen for all these years. To be together in that moment was borderline unreal and probably long overdue.

“We’re here,” he said as he pulled up to the ranch.

You looked around the area. It was massive. Just a stretch of land with no buildings in sight. It was beautiful. You looked at Matthew with a huge contagious smile. He couldn’t help smiling back.

“Your mom knows beauty,” you said.

He laughed. “Yeah, I guess she does.”

“I mean if she created you she definitely knows what beauty is.”

He grabbed your hand and squeezed it. It was his fifteenth time holding your hand. Not like you were counting or anything. You blushed as he moved your hand closer to his lips and kissed it twice.

“I’m glad you came, Y/N. I’ve been meaning to ask you on a date for the longest time, but I couldn’t think of the perfect date to take you on,” he confessed.

“Matthew, you literally could have taken me to 7/11 for a shitty cup of coffee and I would have had the time of my life,” you said.

He laughed. “Well, even though 7/11’s cool, I thought you might like a trip to Vegas and concert better.”

“I have to say this is probably one of my favourite first dates ever. I just feel as if it’s missing a little je ne sais quoi.”

“A little je ne sais quoi you say.”

You then saw him let go of your hand and reach for the side of your neck. He brought you in closer as his face moved closer to yours. You hated dramatics, so you rushed in and embraced him with an enormous kiss. You grabbed his face to deepen the kiss. You had never been so excited to kiss anyone in your entire life. The way he kissed you was just different.

You two pulled apart from the kiss before anything went any further. You knew you were satisfied with that kiss but the way Matthew beamed made you believe he was even more satisfied. You covered your face with your hand as you couldn’t stop smiling to yourself.

“I didn’t mean to attack you like that,” you joked.

He chuckled. “No, no, it was great. Maybe we could continue this after we go see my mom.”

You smiled ear-to-ear. “I couldn’t dream of anything better.”

The two of you got out of the car to go greet his mom as she walked out to where he had parked his car. Her smile was just as magnetic as his. You were automatically drawn into her. So much so you found yourself approaching her ready to give her the biggest hug ever. She wasn’t shy to embrace you with big, open arms. It felt as if you were already apart of his family.

————

Back in your trailer to film another season of Criminal Minds and you thought you could get better at memorizing your lines. You didn’t. You swore to yourself you would get better over the summer break, but that plan went out the window as soon as Vegas happened. Matthew had turned what was supposed to be a mundane summer into a long-lasting experience. A long-lasting experience with a lot of making out and wandering hands.

You looked at your watch and saw you had a few minutes to kill before you had to go on set. You tossed your script aside and reached for your phone. The lines could wait a minute or several as you indulged in looking through Twitter.

You scrolled down your timeline, liking and retweeting a few things that caught your eye. One thing caught your eye in particular though. It was from TMZ out of all gossip media showing pictures of you and Matthew holding hands and kissing just a few days ago when you two went to the beach. They must have been hidden well because you knew for a fact no one was around the area you two set up.

Your shock was interrupted when a few knocks were made at your door. You put down your phone and picked up your script to pretend you were still trying to memorize your line. You knew if it was Jeff coming in he’d much rather see you trying to memorize your lines than scrolling through Twitter.

“Come in,” you said.

You saw Matthew come in with a sheepish smile on. You looked at him strange as you had never seen him seem so shy. Then you saw a magazine in his hand. You could only guess what it was. He held up the magazine, so you could see it. Right on the front cover was a picture of you on top of Matthew making out with him on the beach.

You smiled. “At least People Magazine finally put some eye candy on the front page.”

“I didn’t even know they were allowed to publish pictures of soft porn,” he chuckled as he handed you the magazine.

You laughed. “In this day and age anything’s possible.”

“Anything huh?”

He took your hand to take you out of your seat. You gladly got up as you tossed the script and magazine on your vanity. He pulled you in close as his hands moved from your hands to your waist. If this was his way of proposing a quickie in your trailer, you weren’t about to turn him down.

“If anything’s possible, how about we make it official?” He asked.

You would have screamed out of delight, but you were worried he might take it back if you did. You did the next best thing that had come to mind and grabbed his face, so you could kiss him. He wrapped his arms around your waist and embraced the kiss even further. The only reason you two broke apart was because you could hear the director calling everyone to set.

“I guess we should go before this ends up being our last season,” you said as you let go of him.

“I think it might be your last season if you can’t remember those lines,” he joked.

You laughed. “If I can still have you at the end of the day I’d be okay with that. Besides, I think Vegas might have an opening for me.”

—–

MASTERLIST

[maadorii]

taste my disaster— i. matsukawa x gn! reader

max.note’s: i really thought about not posting this and just keeping this in my dungeon to never see the light of day but i really like this concept so here it is, mattsun romcom hehe 

synopsis: where a supposed “one time fling” during iwaizumi’s bachelor trip turns into something more. somehow.

warnings/tags: strangers to lovers, fluff, implied sexual content, suggestive themes, slow-burnish, mutual pining, recreational drug-use, food mention, pancakes

w.count— 3.8k

if there was one thing matsukawa was expecting to do on this trip, it was to get drunk while speeding down the strip at 2am from a night of gambling from the most expensive casinos las vegas had to offer. right? it was iwaizumi’s 2-week bachelor trip that oikawa had so meticulously planned mostly because he didn’t want to throw some measly little party like everyone else. he was getting married, why wouldn’t they all go out for him this one time.

but, if there was one thing matsukawa was not expecting to do on this trip, was somehow end up black out drunk; the only thing he could remember was hanamaki losing a game of black jack at caesar’s palace–– and wake up in a unfamiliar bed, naked, with a unfamiliar warm body next to him still sound asleep. who was just as naked as he was. 

it took him a minute, but when everything clicked together in his brain, matsukawa let out the deepest sigh he could muster. sinking deeper into the plush bed below him, dragging his hands across his face, pulling at the skin. his head was pounding, unbearably so, the luminous rays of the sun that filter through the curtain drapes making it worse. he looked over to you, your back turned towards him as you slept away peacefully. matsukawa’s indolent eyes leisurely scanned the expanse of your back, how it bloomed with hickeys and teeth marks. your muffled snores were the only thing that filled the stark silence of the room. 

matsukawa didn’t know what to fear more, the fact that he had sex with a random stranger last night and is now laying in their bed or iwaizumi’s wrath when he eventually gets back to the hotel. 

iwaizumi’s wrath, he chooses. definitely. 

peering over the bedside to the floor, he sees the clothes he had on yesterday strew haphazardly along with your own clothes. in the mess he finds his phone just barley alive and about several hundred text messages and missed phone calls. most of them were from oikawa, unsurprisingly. a lot of “where are you’s” and “please call us” and even a “did you die on us bro?” but that’s when he noticed the time. 

[12:42 pm]

“aw fuck.” matsukawa cursed as he flopped back on the bed, his arm lifting up to cover his eyes in annoyance. as he contemplated his options on potentially surviving this fuck up of his, you shifted next to him which caught his attention. he watched as your body turned to face him and how your eyes slowly fluttered open, the way your pupils dilated to welcome the grating sunlight. 

and when your eyes met his, you stared for a moment before closing your eyes again and snuggled back into your pillow. “––mornin’ random person in my bed...” 

matsukawa looked back confusingly, opening his mouth to say something back, when your eyes shot back wide open and jolted out the bed, dragging the duvet with you. 

“random person in my bed?! how–– how did get into my room,” you paused as matsukawa’s naked and lean body was on full display for you to gaze upon, inevitably resulting in your face burning up like a sauna. 

“and why are you naked, why am i naked?!” you screeched, wrapping your duvet around yourself, completely drowning yourself in the material. and then it sunk in for you. 

“oh no, don’t tell me––”

“that we fucked? yes.” if any more possible, you could feel your face grew hotter at his... extremely blunt statement at your predicament. you watched as matsukawa reached over the bed and slipped his legs through his boxers. at least he had the decency to cover up you thought to yourself as he shifted his way towards you on the other side of the bed. 

“look... i- i’m just as surprised and quite frankly, embarrassed about this too. i’m really sorry about all this. i’ll... just grab my stuff and i’ll be out of your hair in no time.” you didn’t get the chance to say anything as he backed away to start pulling on the clothes he had on the night before, watching him silently as he did so. you couldn’t help but feel bad as he took his time to dress himself. your gaze lingered on his eyes, and how they droop in remorse. 

just as he was pulling on his right sock, you stepped closer into his field of vision. “can i... at least know your name?” you take note of how the dark umber in his eyes seemed to glow for a split second, his gaze shifting over to you. still draped in that damn duvet like a fucking burrito. 

“it’s issei, issei matsukawa.” 

you nodded your head, jutting your chin out confidently. 

“well then, issei matsukawa. i, (y/n) (l/n), kindly ask you to join me for breakfast–– wait time is it... brunch? lunch? ahhh, fuck it. just come get something to eat with me. please?”

––

matsukawa watched as you shoved half of your omelette in your mouth, your eyes gleaming as you chewed happily, savoring the flavor.

the table was loaded with an assortment of all kinds of food, mostly breakfast food. from sweet honeyed pastries to smoky, charred sausages. in front of him was a stack of warm and fluffy buttery pancakes, dripping in warm gooey syrup. matsukawa could feel his mouth water just simply staring at it, his fingers twitching to inch towards the fork next to the plate, dying to have a bite. 

you noticed his tentative actions towards the plate in front of him, the way his teeth pulled on his bottom lip in slight anticipation. swallowing the mouthful of food, you nudge him with foot, catching his attention. 

“eat, i know you’re hungry. you don’t need my permission to eat,” you chastised, returning to your omelette. 

matsukawa didn’t waste any time digging into his food, practically shoving the whole pancake in mouth. his nostrils flared out as he chewed, moaning at the flavor bursting on his tongue. you chuckled as he quickly shoveled another one in his mouth. 

“woah, slow down there tiger. good aren’t they?”

he nodded frantically and continued to shovel bite after bite. and you smiled at that. it still was kinda crazy how you’re out eating with someone that you... just had sex with last night. a one night stand? can you even call it that? was this even a normal thing? you weren’t entirely sure considering you couldn’t remember a single damn thing from last night.

when you both finished most of the food, tummies full and satisfied, a slightly uncomfortable silence fell between you two. 

“so...” you started, tapping your fingers against the mug as you looked anywhere but the man in front of you. 

“so...” matsukawa copied your actions. you sunk lower in your chair, blowing the hair that landed on your face. why was this so hard? oh wait...

“since we...we, well you know where i’m going with this––”

“since we had sex? fucked?” his eyebrow twitched upward.

“well shit, you didn’t have to put it so... bluntly, issei.” you remarked.

“shit, i was just simply stating what we’re both thinking, (y/n).” the corner of his lips tugged with mirth at your annoyed face, his eyes crinkling at the corner.

you couldn’t help your own lips tug the same as his, your body shaking as laughter struck between the two of you. as you both laughed, the waiter brought over the check, clearing some plates out the way while doing so. matsukawa was about to reached out to grab the bill before you snatched it out of his reach. he was about to argue but you pulled out your card, already handing it to the waiter as he returned. 

––

“oh, so you’re from new york?” you asked as you both weaved through the heavily dense sidewalks of the vegas strip, an assortment of performers and tourist, big and small accompanied you. nothing new you haven't seen before. all while dying in the blistering heat that did nothing but sit on your backs. 

“well technically, i was born in a small town in japan, but moved when my parents decided to immigrate here when i was about, ahhh i don’t know 4 or 5 years old.” matsukawa explained, wiping the sweat beaded at his brows. “what about you?”

“me? i was born and raised here in good ole' nevada. but i didn’t move here to vegas until high school.” you cheered unenthusiastically with just as unenthusiastic jazz hands. "it's nothing really special, vegas i mean."

“really? well, i guess that makes sense. you did take me a hole in the wall restaurant with damn near the best pancakes on the fucking earth. ” you chortled at his statement, hanging off matsukawa’s arm as you laughed loudly, catching the attention of a few bystanders.

“oh god, you’re still on about those damn pancakes?”

“yes i am! those beautiful, golden brown cakes of pure buttery fluffiness that just basically melt in your mouth at the first bite?” he rambled, basically foaming at the mouth. conversation was light between the two of you, it felt natural. not forced. matsukawa didn’t make things awkward. it felt so carefree talking to him, almost as if you’re floating. 

but it was when you came to, that you realized that you made it to the hotel that matsukawa was supposed to be staying at. a part of you grew glum at the thought of having to separate from the man next to you. within the last few hours that you spent with matsukawa, you came to the conclusion that you really, really liked him. what wasn’t there to like about him? he had a great sense of humor, he was charming and gentlemen like. and, that fact he was incredibly attractive was just the cherry on top of the sundae. 

you didn’t want to leave, in fact, you can bathe in the attention he showered you in. 

“welp, i guess it’s time to die.” he said dryly as he turned to you, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. 

“good luck with that. i hope your friend doesn't kill you, but based on the description of him you gave, it seems likely.”

“yes, highly.” 

a silence fell over the both of you again for the second time that day, avoiding each other's lingering gazes. why was this shit still hard?

“can- can i have your number?” he blurted out randomly, voicing your thoughts out loud for the both of you. staring into his umber eyes, you broke contact first to pull out your phone from your back pocket to hand it to him.

“i’ll be honored.”

––

surprisingly, matsukawa wasn’t murdered by iwaizumi when he walked into the hotel room ten minutes later. though, he did get a hard scolding from not only iwaizumi but oikawa as well while hanamaki snickered in the background.

“i feel like a five year old who's been caught with sticky fingers.” matsukawa slumped, crossing his arms over his broad chest. 

“as you should! what the hell were you thinking last night? getting drunk and having a one night stand with someone else, jesus mattsun, and i thought maki was bad.” oikawa grumbled frowning, but it didn’t last long when hanamaki threw a dirty sock at the back of his head. matsukawa rolled his eyes at the two childish adults began fighting with each other, wrapping each other up in headlocks of the sorts.

he sighed again, lifting himself up from the so called “interrogation” chair as hanamaki called it to head towards the shower. “hey, mattsun.” 

perking up at the nickname, he turned around to see iwaizumi standing behind him with an unreadable face. earlier when he walked in, his face definitely was the face of anger and rightfully so. but now...

“just be careful next time, okay?”

and matsukawa knew exactly what he meant.

“yea, okay.”

––

later that evening, after contemplating whether or not you should send a “hi!” or a simple “hey,” you finally texted matsukawa. and almost immediately you got a text back from him. you bounced up and down in your room, feeling like an excited teenager who just talked to their crush for the first time all over again. is this what it was? a crush? maybe, and you should be mad at yourself for feeling like this, but you didn’t have the heart to do so. 

and over the span of the next week, the messages never seemed to end. on some nights, he would call you instead of texting you to tell you about his day. what attractions he went to see that day, what places he went to eat at that day and how much money he lost playing poker at the casinos. and he would ask you about your day, about your day at work. did you eat today, are you taking care of yourself? 

your heart melted at the sweet messages he would send you throughout the day, reminding you to care of yourself and heck, maybe even be a little selfish if need be. some of your coworkers caught onto your starstruck gaze when you looked at your phone and few even tried to ask why but you’ll brush them off. oikawa, hanamaki and iwaizumi even noticed matsukawa’s sudden interest in his phone recently. and even when they're all laughing at oikawa losing again for the third time at russian roulette, matsukawa wasn’t entirely in the moment.

 because he’s waiting for a text from you. 

they noticed the way his eyes glowed when his phone ping, indicating that you texted him back finally. the way his ears perked like dog. although they were suspicious, they didn’t say anything, knowing he’ll come around eventually. 

–

it was the friday before they all had to fly back to new york, the cool desert night air filled his lungs as matsukawa perched himself on the balcony of the hotel room. the gleaming lights of the vegas strip below illuminated the curves of his face in a soft glow of blue, magenta and gold. 

suddenly, his phone started ringing in his back pocket. he smiled when he saw it was your contact lightening the screen of his phone. answering, he brought the phone towards his ear, “well hello my dear (y/n). nice of you to call me on this fine evening we’re having here.” 

he hears you snort on the other end over the slight static of the phone. there was muffle shuffling before you replied, “nothing much my dear issei, just sitting here bored as hell so i thought, why not give you a call.”

matsukawa felt his heart skip a beat at your statement, trying to contain the smile that was tugging on his lips. 

“haha, how thoughtful of you...” and then it was quiet again, save for the occasional horns of cars stuck in traffic.

“hey, uh… issei?” you interrupted.

“yeah?” 

“can i… can i see you tonight?” 

––

matsukawa stood outside the place you asked him to meet at 30 minutes ago on the phone, which just so happen to be a very crowded and loud nightclub not far from the hotel he was staying at. he could hear the bass of the music thump against inside of his bones, the rhythm sending chills up his spine. he watched as people filed into the building like a swarm of files. 

it was another 5 minutes until he heard your voice call out to him from behind. and when he turned around to say hi back, his jaw dropped to the floor at the sight of you. but he quickly contained himself as you approached him, trying to blow away the rouge that tinted his cheeks in the slightest. 

“hey, ready to go inside?” you questioned, reaching out to hold his hand, pulling him slightly towards the entrance of the club. and he nodded dumbly behind you, cursing himself inside his head for acting like a hormonal teenage boy in front of you. he couldn’t help it, especially when you’re holding his hand. you can blame it on being touch-starved.

when finally inside, bulbs of black light were hung overhead on the ceiling, making everything brighter, making the sea of club goers nothing more than blobs of fuchsia, tangerine, and aqua. you and matsukawa wormed your way through the swarm of adults, bodies sweaty, sticky and hot, shaking and bobbing their heads to the music that blasted in the overhead speakers. finding two available seats at the bar, you both situated yourselves onto the stools overlooking the crowd. 

“this is an interesting place you’ve brought me here, i honestly wasn’t expecting it.” you hear matsukawa say next to you, turning his attention to you. 

“yeah, this is one of the few clubs here in vegas that i actually go to from time to time. plus security is pretty tight here, so hopefully you won’t end up fucking someone else.” you gave him a thumbs up, a dorky smile making its way onto your lips. matsukawa’s shoulders shook as he laughed, turning towards the bartender, ordering two old fashioned’s. 

“an old fashioned? wow, i didn’t take you for a rye whiskey type of guy.” you teased, reaching out to grab your drinks when the bartender placed them in front of you. matsukawa shrugged nonchalantly, taking a sip of his own drink. 

“well, i’m always full of surprises, they say.” and when he looked at you from the corner of his eye, you could’ve sworn a you felt a chill borrow itself into your bones from the predatory gaze he sent your way. that, mixed with the half-buttoned up shirt with the gold chain he wore exposing so much skin–– much to your own liking; the way his inky curls were slicked back away from face. you swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling incredibly hot under the neon lights. 

this was simply a recipe for absolute disaster, but you didn’t mind at all. 

an hour later, after several drinks later, you found yourself being dragged onto the dance floor by a slightly tipsy matsukawa leading the way. reaching the center, the lights dimmed down even lower, the neon lights appear more luminescent in the room. The nerves you felt moments ago seemed to vanish as your body began moving to the beat of music along with matsukawa, feeling lighter than the air around you. matsukawa started doing these stupid dance moves to the song currently playing, getting a rise out of you. and at some point, the mini circle formed around the two of you as you danced the night away together, encouraged by the cheers and whistles of the crowd. 

matsukawa didn’t want this to end.

the way you’ll cling to him whether it was from laughing too hard or when you danced together to another song.

then this one song started crooning over the speakers, catching his attention. 

almost instantly, it was like time stopped around him, bleeding into a colorful flurry of fireworks. illuminating your face even more so with explosions of lavender and magenta, hints of quinacridone gold and phthalo blue.

his body relaxed seemingly watching you jump around without a care in the world. the beaming smile that radiated on your face that could argue the sun. your eyes glittering with such mirth. he hasn’t even known you for very long, but was really going to admit to himself that he… that he was possibly in love with you?

no, no, no, it’s too early to say something as... drastic as something like that. but was it?

he’s never felt like this with anyone before at all, but with you, he felt at ease. like he could be himself without having to worry about what’ll think. but there was no denying that he felt something for you.

“issei? hey, are you okay?” it was you who snapped out of his daze. 

“oh yea, i’m fine… say, how about we get out of here?”

––

you drove yourselves just outside the strip to the open desert, gazing up the phosphorescence of stars in the pitch black sky on the hood of your car. no words were shared between the two of you as you let the alcohol sink into your systems. And it was like that for a while, until you interrupted that silence. 

“you have to go back to new york on monday, right?”

matsukawa didn’t answer right away, letting your question digest in his mind, word by word. he wanted to say no, he really did, but y’all both knew that’ll be a lie. 

“yes…” 

at his answer, you sat up from your lying position on the hood, matsukawa following right behind you. your eyebrows were scrunched in distress, and he was about to say something before you beat him to the punch line. 

“issei, i… i know this whole thing is really out of the ordinary for both of us, but i can’t get these feelings off my chest. i’ve only known you for what–– two weeks? but it feels like i’ve known you my entire life and i don’t know what to do— a-and you’re leaving and i don’t want you to leave and—” you rambled on before matsukawa leaned forward to press his lips against yours, ultimately shutting you up. you didn’t waste any time returning the kiss. the same fireworks from before were going off like crazy around you like it was new year’s or the fourth of july. the moment was too surreal for any of you to believe it was real. 

and when he pulled just enough where your lips barely met, he the corner his lips twitched upwards, his hand coming around to cup the supple roundness of your cheek, his thumb gently grazing the warm skin, “it’s okay, (y/n). i feel the same way.” 

“then, promise me you’ll come back.”

“for you and those pancakes? a thousand times over.”

smiling, your lips dove to meet his again, this time harder, steamier. matsukawa slowly pulled himself on top of you, trapping you as you lie back down on the hood of the car, intensifying the kiss. he moved his lips away from yours to latched them onto your cheek, leaving a trail of glowing kisses, trailing down to your jaw as a small mewl slipping past your teeth. you weaved your fingers through the ringlets of curls of his hair, gently tugging on the strands. 

matsukawa’s hands felt up and down your torso underneath your shirt, feeling the expanse of skin beneath the pad of his finger tips, leaving burning trails in its foot. 

“issei, p-please…”

“with pleasure.”

turns out he wasn’t wrong, he was certainly always full of surprises. 

copyright © 2021 maadorii. all rights reserved. 

[houseisekai]

House Isekai Short: Time with Doomguy (Part 1, Phantom Thieves)

With Doomguy's fight against the forces of hell finally over, he disappears from his world, until they need him once more.

...Until then, he has plenty of time to kill instead of demons. He decides to pay a visit to the members of House Isekai, the first stop being Tokyo with the Phantom Thieves...

======

Time: 1 year after the events of House Isekai: Shadowbringers, DOOM Eternal/Persona 5 Royal...

[Beneath the Mask (Instrumental) - Persona 5 OST]

- Doomguy sat calmly on the train, looking at the map on his visor.

- He had never been to Japan before. Well, when it wasn't on fire.

- Now that he thought about it, he had never visited Earth during a time of peace.

(VEGA) "The members appeared to be scattered, with Akira and Morgana being the farthest. Sumire and Akechi are unable to be found. However, some appear to be in Yongen Jaya, the members being Futaba, Ann, and Ryuji."

- Doomguy nodded and shut off his map. When he got a look at everyone else, they appeared to not be paying too much attention.

- Maybe they thought he was cosplaying.

- Doomguy made no comment as he just patiently waited for the train to arrive at the station...

...

- Ann, Ryuji, and Futaba exited the supermarket carrying all sorts of goods with them.

(Futaba) "Oof, this is heavy!"

(Ryuji) "Here, lemme help with that!"

Ryuji took some of the bags as Ann set some of the bags on the floor.

(Ann) "Think we should've grabbed a few baskets?"

(Ryuji) "Nah, we can do it all in one trip. Saves us time!"

(Futaba) "Yeah, we can speedrun it no problem! Just gimme a sec and we can pick up the pace."

- Futaba stretched her arms as a couple passed by them.

(Man) "Did you see that weird man in green armor?"

(Woman) "Of course I did, kinda hard to not notice someone that huge!"

(Man) "I-I think he had a gun! We should get moving home."

(Woman) "I-I think it was just a costume, at least I hope."

(Ann) ?

(Ryuji) "Wassup?"

(Ann) "Doesn't that sound...familiar?"

(Futaba) "What does?"

(Ann) "They were talking about a huge guy in green armor carrying a gun."

(Ryuji) "Eh? In the city or...?"

(Futaba) "It's probably just a cosplayer or something."

(Ann) "Hm. I think we should probably keep our eye ou-OH MY GOD!"

(Ryuji) "What are ya-HOLY SHIT!"

(Futaba) "EEP!"

[My Homie - Persona 5 OST]

- The three of them jumped when they saw Doomguy towering over them.

(Ann) "S-Slayer-sensei?!"

(Ryuji) "THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, MAN?!"

(Futaba) "How did we not hear that?! N-No wait!"

- Futaba was the first to notice his shotgun on his back.

(Futaba) "You gotta put those guns away, you're probably freaking everyone out!"

- Doomguy shrugged and grabbed his shotgun by the stock.

(VEGA) "Opening portal now."

(Everyone) !!!

(Ann) "W-WAIT A-"

- A portal opened behind Doomguy, catching everyone's attention as he tossed his weapon in there, making the portal casually close.

(Man) "WHAT IN THE WORLD?!"

(Woman) "Did you see that?!"

(Ryuji) "OOOOH MAN, YOU JUST MADE THINGS WORSE!"

- Doomguy looked around him and noticed the panic, but he simply just shrugged.

- Trying her best to ignore the screaming, Ann got behind Doomguy and started to shove him towards Leblanc.

- Well, try to anyway. She just angrily leaned against him, trying with all her might to even make him budge.

(Ann) "C-COME ON NOW, INTO LEBLANC!"

(Futaba) "MAKE LIKE A BANANA AND SPLIT, SLAYER!"

- Doomguy shrugged again and headed towards the cafe with Sojiro.

DINGALING!

(Sojiro) "Oh, welco-" ?!

(Futaba) "H-Hey, Sojiro."

(Ann) "Hiiiii....boss?"

(Ryuji) "...Yeah, I ain't got nothing."

- Doomguy offered a simple wave, but Sojiro couldn't find a response.

- Doomguy made his way over to the stools and sat down, pointing to an item on the menu.

(Sojiro) "...Uh-"

(VEGA) "He wishes for the house special."

- Sojiro's head slowly turned to Futaba.

(Futaba) "Heheh uh...long story."

(Ryuji) "You see he's from another-"

(Ann) "COUNTRY! Yeah, he's American, HUUUGE cosplayer nerd!"

(Futaba) "Y-Yup! Scarily good looking too! That voice you heard is like a text to speech device!"

(Sojiro) "And...he's your friend?"

(Ryuji) "Uh, oh totally! He's helped us with our English courses!"

- Sojiro slowly turned to Doomguy.

(Sojiro) "...I see. I'll go ahead and get his order..."

- He slowly reached under the counter, keeping a close eye on him.

(Sojiro) "Anyways, you kids get the ingredients for the party?"

(Ann) "...OH CRAP WE TOTALLY FORGOT!"

(Futaba) "W-We'll be right back! Slayer, be nice!"

(Sojiro) "Wait, his name is 'Slayer'? The hell kinda name is-"

- The three quickly left the cafe before he could get his answer, leaving Sojiro and Doomguy alone.

(Sojiro) "..."

(Doomguy) "..."

(Sojiro) "...Hmph."

...

DINGALING!

(Makoto) "Hello!"

(Yusuke) "We have arrived with our supplies."

(Haru) "I hope we didn't keep you-" !!!

- Ryuji, Ann, and Futaba sat awkwardly at the booths as Doomguy was calmly drinking from his coffee cup and eating the curry.

(Haru) "...U-Um..."

(Ryuji) "Before ya ask, no, we have no idea why he's here."

(Sojiro) "You kids know this guy too?!"

(Yusuke) "He was our combat instructor in Fodlan..."

(Sojiro) "...What?!"

(Futaba) "INARI!"

- As chaos erupted among the group, Doomguy continued appreciating Sojiro's cooking.

- 'This is REALLY good', Doomguy thought to himself.

(VEGA) "We are simply here on vacation. He decided to visit Tokyo first."

(Ann) "You'd think he would at least put away his weapons before arriving to our place first, jeez..."

(Makoto) "He what?!"

(Ryuji) "Opened an 'effin portal too in front of the public..."

(Haru) "Oh...Oh dear."

(Yusuke) "I only pray the authorities will not question him, I remember too well how the Knights reacted to him-"

(Sojiro) "Would someone tell me who he is?! What are you all even on about?!"

(Makoto) "W-Well Boss, we call him the 'Doom Slayer'."

(Sojiro) "...In a way that makes sense?!"

(Futaba) "I mean we DO have a few hours before Akira comes back..."

(VEGA) "Shall I get the recordings?"

(Ann) "I think that would just confuse him more..."

- Doomguy nodded in agreement.

(Ryuji) "Screw it, kinda hard to hide the truth when we got a gorilla in plate armor in front of him."

- Doomguy raised an eyebrow.

(Ryuji) "SH-SHIT! NOT AN INSULT, I MEAN, I DIDN'T MEAN-"

(Haru) "I can only pray Akira arrives faster now..."

[To be Continued]

[anotherbeingsworld]

vegas adventures

Pairing: Bryce x F!MC (Casey Valentine) , a pinch of Ash Tanaka x MC (Melanie)

Book: (BP x Open Heart crossover, rewrites of Chp 15 Book 2)

Summary: The rewrite of their trip to Vegas with an extra helping hand.

A/N: this is a belated birthday gift to the one and only @robintora ! We talked about this fic before, and this is my best attempt at bringing it to life. It was a tough one, but I'm satisfied with it! And Tanu, happy (belated) birthday, and I hope you enjoy this! Love you! <3 // I did manage to add some bryce x mc fluff along the way, which I hope again you enjoy!

-

The workload has been released upon her shoulders, as she arrives at Donahue where the others have been seated. She took a seat besides Bryce, as he placed his arms around her in the booth.

“Okay, so what’s going on here…” Her eyes made its way to Jackie’s somehow questioned about the text that was sent earlier.

“It is something important -..”

“But, don’t worry – we got some good loaded fries to entertain us through the briefing right Jackie?” Bryce interrupts as he take a piece of it with a happiness planted on his face.

Aurora breaks the silence, ‘Since we are all here – so spill.”

Jackie took a deep breath explaining the whole situation on Declan trying to leech onto some doctors from Mass Kenmore, followed by the partnership to push Panacea drugs onto MK’s patients as well.

Realization dawn to her face,

“Hence, the perks that made the others join then.”

Jackie nods, with an angry expression on her face.

“That’s why we need to stop them.”

Elijah looked at her with shock, “Wait…I thought you were in with the perks. What changed?”

Casey’s eyes, meet with hers somehow both knowing what happened the other day at the gas station has somehow a connection with her sudden revelation.

Jackie clears her throat suddenly upon the awkward silence that follows, clasping her hands together.

“I guess – it's not worth it anymore if it costs others misery. I don’t think I want to be part of it anymore.”

A surprising look was painted on Casey’s face which disappears in a second as Elijah interrupts with a resolute nod.

“So, how are we gonna bring the monster down? Technically Declan Nash is the kind of person who can get away with anything.”

Jackie looks resolute, as she lays out the plan which involved a company retreat in Vegas which will be happening during the weekend.

“…They have extended the invitation to doctors they’ve worked with…including me.”

Casey nods, “I am officially intrigued, count me in.”

“The situation is gonna be sticky, but a few drinks in and we can stop them. As a fact that he and his scumbag friends will be bragging about the ways they are scamming the system – all we gotta do is a tape and we can catch them.” Her tone is commanding.

The whole table went silent, as Bryce replies.

“And then what…blackmail one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world?”

There was silence, as the others were contemplating the pros and cons of the situation but, in the end, they decided to stick together.

“If something happens to me while I’m gone, I at least wanted you all to know where I am.”

The others looked at her in surprise before Bryce breaks the silence,

“You mean – what happens to us.”

Casey nods,

“You don’t think we will let you go alone right? We are with you all the way Jackie, the group who heist together, stays together as we are should.” Casey said before Jackie can protest. The night ended with possibilities of the implication as Casey gets on the phone with a friend from afar that could help her with the situation.

-

A few days later.

The bright lights of Vegas were the reason for their wide smiles – as they stepped into the suite that was provided by Mass Kenmore. All of their jaws dropped in an instant – as the lights of the strip sparkle outside of the panoramic windows.

“This is the single coolest room I’ve ever been in, like legit.” His eyes wander in awe along with the others.

Jackie snickers, “Just remember that this luxury is from blood money.”

They all nod in agreement as they started to form a plan, as Casey finds herself texting a mysterious friend.

“Let’s get dressed shall we,” Bryce stated as the others get ready to dazzle for their night at Vegas.

As the others get ready, Casey finds a message from Rafael – wishing them good luck. She smiles at the message, as she took the phone call from the familiar number.

-

“Hey! We are in Vegas already – getting ourselves ready for the night.” Her voice is slow, as she stood facing the strip.

“That’s good! My friends and I had arrived yesterday, and we will meet you at the lobby! I brought a very special helper for you.” A knowing smile occurs on the caller’s face through the phone.

“Let me guess – it's your famous magician boyfriend Mel?” Casey raised an eyebrow at the statement – disbelieving but kinda curious as well.

“That’s right! He decided to join us tonight – plus, he is actually a vegas master. All of you will be lost without him.” Melanie replies from the other line.

Casey just shakes her head, but the smile remains.

“I’ll see you soon, say hi to the girls for me!” Casey ends the call, to be met with Bryce looking dashing in his suit.

-

“You look nice Lahela.” Her eyes are equivalent to the heart-eyed emoji as he models in front of her, making her chuckle happily at him.

“I always look nice, Casey! It's my specialty, but – why aren’t you dressed?” He asked as he loops his arm around her, eyes falling upon the Vegas scenery.

“I was making a phone call, but you definitely look stunning. You are gonna beat everyone here Bryce.”

He laughs at the comment, but somewhat smiles – “Thank you, now get yourself ready – we shall be the good-looking couple here shall we?” She looked at him in shock but brushed it away. The word ‘couple’ caught her somewhat off-guard but she somehow adores it.

“I will” She replies placing a kiss on his cheek before moving on to change.

Moments later, she walked out to a room, as all of their eyes fall onto her.

“You look…beautiful.” Bryce walks in front of them, as he pulls her in her arms – as she blushes furiously by the compliment.

“The lovebirds are at it again, let's move on before they hog the spotlight with their PDA,” Jackie said sarcastically as they walked out of the room – meeting with a specific group in the lobby.

-

The lobby was filled with people, yet the familiar pink hair caught her eye.

“Guys, I brought us some help – and, they have an expert for it.” She said as the others follow her, meeting a group of friends.

“Casey!!!! HI!” Melanie a.k.a the woman with the pink hair, pull her into a hug – as they were finally reunited.

“Hii, have you been waiting long?” She asked gesturing to the other familiar faces, Aisha, Courtney, Diana, and a mysterious guy who she assumes as the one and only infamous Ash Tanaka, the guy Melanie won’t stop gushing about to her.

“Casey! We have just arrived earlier – it's good to see you again!” Diana pulls her into a hug, as Courtney and Aisha did the same.

“Also, this is my friends! Bryce, Jackie, Elijah, Sienna and Aurora.” Casey introduces them to the group, as they all exchange introductions.

“Nice to meet you all, this is the men of the hour – Ash Tanaka, he will be a huge help as he knows the deep unknowns of Vegas itself.” Melanie introduces him to the gang, as he and Bryce ended up bro-hugging one another.

The reunion was cut short as they began to devise a plan, which went out smoothly, as Ash leads Declan to a game where he was surrounded by the group. They went in randomly, as it would avoid any alarms from Declan himself, and with the help from Melanie’s buddies – they were undetectable.

The information that was received, was priceless – as they found out upon that Solomon Health is making moves into vertical integration – however, it didn’t help their issue at the moment as they regroup once more to create another plan.

In the end, it went well, as Declan Nash was confronted – and he was captured on tape. The group manages to bring their best together – and the satisfied look on Jackie’s face is a very good sight to see.

“Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?” it erupts the cheers of victory, as the air from the rooftop makes the winning of the night felt much satisfying. Sienna, Aurora, Elijah, Aisha, Diana, and Courtney were found socializing at the dance floor, as they recapped the whole situation again – somewhat like a televised situation that made Casey smile.

Jackie stood there, letting out a breath – somewhat feeling the calmness in her lungs again.

“How are you feeling Jackie?”

She met her eyes, and somehow – she was met with a hug. Jackie hugged her, and it feels like they did something incredible at the moment.

“Thank you…I feel like, tonight – I think I can sleep really well tonight.” She said happily, as Jackie joined the others.

Casey felt her heart in happiness – somehow, seeing Jackie in peace is such a sight. Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar presence, Melanie who smiled at her.

“You did this tonight – and, I couldn’t even be more proud.”

“Hey, all of your friends and ehem…your boyfriend helped as well.” She gestures at Ash and Bryce who are having a conversation that follows a series of laughter.

“We love to be here – and, it's actually where I met him.”

“I remember the story. It involves mobs, a missing suitcase and a lot of chaotic stuff am I right?” Casey recalls their meeting before, as Melanie laughs in agreement.

“Yeah, that’s about right. It's an adventure, and being here with my girls – meeting Ash; it doesn’t feel real sometimes. But, I’m grateful for it.”

Casey nods, as they took a sip upon the drink they were holding.

“Thank you again for coming – I know it's such short notice.”

Melanie shakes her head, with a wide smile.

“It's okay, you helped us years ago – it's our turn to repay back. A silver lining too, I got to see Ash for the weekend.”

At the mention of his name, Ash appears at the scene.

“I heard a mention of the magician here?”

Both of them let out a hearty laugh, as he placed an arm around Melanie.

“I wanna thank you – it means a lot for your help,” Casey said, as he smiles at her.

“It's no problem at all, and if all of you ever hit vegas again – just give me a call; I can show you some of the best-secret locations here.” He winked as Melanie nods in agreement.

“It's true – he knows this place in its depth and, you will not regret it.”

Casey nods, excitedly as the others join them – somewhat looking panic suddenly.

“We don’t want to end this party yet, but the flight back home is in 4 hours.” A panic Diana stated, as the widening of Melanie’s eyes brought her back to reality.

“Oh crap, we have to get going.” She stated as all of them walked out of the club.

It’s a farewell with the whole gang, as they left for the airport.

“I’ll call you when we land? But, it's definitely a good time seeing you again Cas.” Melanie stated as they hugged once more, along with the group.

“Definitely, I’ll see you guys soon.” It was somehow an emotional farewell in a short amount of time.

The car vanished in a second, as they decided to make their way back to the suite after the success of the day.

-

The suite was quiet – as it was past midnight. However, the bright lights of Vegas are still shining brightly as ever. The room was dimmed, as the others had fallen onto slumber, leaving the pair to be awake.

She was dressed in her pyjamas as she settled down upon the squishy couch from the hotel. With a cup of coffee in her hand, as there was someone who decided to join her. She smiles at his sight, as she filled the gap as Bryce pulled her into his arms, both of their gazes fall upon the neon lights of the city that filled the dimmed room.

“What are you thinking about?”

He smiles softly before answering,

“Jackie. She did an incredible job tonight – but the grudge she held against Declan on what he did. It felt like someone else that we were seeing tonight.” He paused biting his lip, a pinch of anxiousness can be sensed from him.

“I just – I cant help to think about all the anger I am carrying around for my parents. I wonder – what its done for me?” His gaze falls onto her, somewhat pleading for an answer.

It was followed by silence for a few moments – before she spoke again.

“Are you ready to let it go?”

He shrugs, somewhat confused upon his decision too.

“I honestly have no idea, I don’t like to see them in myself – especially the times of arguing with Keiki. It feels like the past has repeated itself.”

“So, are you ready to forgive them?”

His stare falls upon the view in front of them – as he stares wistfully as his mind is filled with thoughts.

“Forgive feels like a huge action – but, maybe for now…I’m ready to let go and, start a new book with those who actually love me.” A smile appeared on his face, as he kissed her on top of the head.

“That sounds very healthy, for you and Keiki.”

He laughs as he nods in agreement, “I hope so too.”

They sat together in silence, as she stayed in his arms closing her eyes against the bright lights of Vegas, a beautiful ending of the day.

“Bryce, I’m proud of you.” She said as they lay upon the bed, her eyes looking at him in wonder.

He looks sleepy, yet the smile didn’t leave his face – today was a good day. A start of new beginnings for all of them – as he replies before both of them fall into another slumber once more.

“I’m proud of you too.”

THE END.

tags: @bitchloveskcbaseball , @mvalentine , @storyofmychoices , @princess-geek , @lahellacute ,   @annekebbphotography , @mrsbhandari , @dcbbw , @choicessa , @fantasyoverreality98 , @baltersome , @ofpixelsandscribbles , @thundergom @starrystarrytrouble ,  @kelseaaa  , @choicesficwriterscreations  , @lalizah , @drethanramslay , @eleanorbloom , @openheartfanfics , @brycessgirl  ,  @freckles-spangledvampire , @agentnolastname , @robintora , @adriansbiss , @appiomofchoice  , @ariondevereux , @natureblooms24 (comment if you want to be tagged or removed 💜💜)

[badcowboy69]

Homeward Bound part 4

Yeesh...long time no write on the continuation to this saga. The story continues on Travis’ trip back to his parents’ ranch in Arizona where he tries to find any lost memories and most importantly tries to reconnect with his family.

@fuzzyelves it’s about time, huh? lol  Hopefully part 5 won’t take as long.  Previous chapters can be found in my #writings section.  Enjoy!

Placed under the cut due to length.

“Here’s to the rest of this visit going easier,” Travis muttered with a pessimistic tone in his voice while pouring a small portion of moonshine.  He toasted no one in particular then downed the liquor in one gulp.  With the very condensed tale of the past years over with, Travis felt slightly at ease.  Slightly.  He even dared to admit that he was starting to feel curious about what stories his parents had to share about his forgotten past.  Setting the jar down on the coffee table, Travis gave Riley a nod indicating to follow him and together they headed towards the bathroom.

After both men washed the day’s sweat and desert dust off their faces, necks, and arms, they proceeded back down the hall to the door that Mrs. Blackfox indicated was to Travis’ room.  However, instead of charging right in, Travis simply stood in front of the door, his hand hovering scant inches away from the worn, brass door knob.  

“Are you ok?”  Riley asked.  “I’m sure this is going to be overwhelming.  Just take your time and…”

“Ain’t that.  Lookit this,” Travis grunted, pointing at a bouquet of dried sunflowers tacked to the door.  “Thought she said this is supposed to be my room, but what’s with the flowers?  I might not remember much of anything on my past, but I know hanging flowers on my door ain’t something I’d ever do.”

Riley frowned deeply and uncomfortably ran his fingers through his red hair.  “Well,” he started slowly, trying to carefully choose his words.  “I’m not sure what traditions or cultures are out here, let alone fully in the wasteland these days, but back in my time something like this meant the person had...ummm...passed away.  It’s a memorial of sorts.”

“Buncha shit,” Travis snorted and smacked the door making Riley quirk an eyebrow.  However, Travis didn’t explain his remark.  In the back of his mind he knew all the years of torture his parents must have went through thinking he was dead was his own fault.  He knew all he had to do was ask Mister House for help or even simply get on his motorcycle drive to Hackberry, but fear of rejection always held him back.  Regardless of his memories being lost or not, the last thing he wanted to do was try to connect to where he might not be welcome or wanted.

Riley sighed heavily and felt his shoulders slump seeing that Travis’ dour mood was starting to return.  He hated seeing him like this and hoped that Travis would relax and cheer up or, even better, find a forgotten memory soon.  There was nothing he could say or do at this moment to help as this was something Travis had to overcome on his own.  Taking a quick look around, Riley spotted a few frames on the wall near the door.  Hoping to break the tension and distract Travis from the flowers, Riley offered, “Check out these photos, Travis.  Do any of these spark anything for you?” 

Without even turning to look at the pictures, Travis replied with disinterest, “Ain’t got the foggiest.”

The response was almost what Riley anticipated, but he still tried.  “Your folks seem to really like photographs.  Maybe during this reunion they can add some new pictures to their collection.  I’m also willing to bet they’d love to see those pictures you have back in the Lucky 38 showcasing your adventures through the years.  I’m sure they’d especially love the ones of you performing on stage at the Tops.  I know those are my personal favorites.”

“Maybe.”  Travis stared intently at the dried flowers on his door and twitched his moustache in annoyance.  He reached to remove them as he wasn’t “dead” anymore, but immediately changed his mind.  Although this was his room and he could probably do whatever he wished, Travis felt the removal of the flowers should be decided by his folks.  This may be his home, but being absent for so many years he felt he had to earn his place again.  Taking a deep breath and twisting the knob, Travis exclaimed, “Here goes nothing!”

The door opened with a soft whine to an average sized room.  The room was dim, but the afternoon sun managed to peek through the sides and small holes of a worn, red drape covering the single window.  Travis slowly made his way to it across the wooden floor which gave the occasional creek under his boot heels.  Leaning over a desk and carefully taking the drape, he pushed it aside allowing the sunlight to enter.  He blinked his eyes from the sudden brightness and once adjusted, Travis saw that the room faced a large corral.  He frowned seeing it was empty and briefly wondered where all the livestock could be.  Furrowing his brow, he continued to gaze at the vast property that made up the ranch while an odd sensation of longing slowly spread through him.  He wasn’t sure if it was his broken brain trying to connect back to his forgotten past or something else.  Either way, he felt an unfamiliar calm and the ends of his moustache slowly lifted into a wistful smile.

On the right past the corral, he spotted his father and two men out in the distance rolling what appeared to be wooden barrels towards the barn.  All three men seemed to be laboring hard over their work indicating that whatever was inside of the barrels was very heavy.  Travis wondered if it was alcohol of some sort in the barrels and that momentary distraction suddenly pulled him out of the previous longing.  He returned back to the present with a disappointed sigh.  I sure could use a drink about now.

Seeing Travis had come out of his momentary fog, Riley smiled and gestured towards the small, makeshift bookcase he was standing in front of.  An assortment of different Nuka Cola, Sunset Sarsaparilla, and other types of bottles were arranged neatly on it.  Aside from a light covering of dust, they were all in decent condition.  “Look, Travis, it seems like you were a collector of bottles like you are now,” Riley commented, hoping that finding a small connection like this would help trigger something for his man’s destroyed memories.

Travis stepped to Riley’s side and looked over the bottles with mild interest.  “Dang, some of these I don’t even have back in Vegas.  Pretty cool.”  

Unfortunately, the spark Travis seemed to have got from seeing the bottle collection was temporary and it vanished as quickly as it came.  He flicked his fingers against a glowing Nuka Cola Quantum before turning away and drifting towards the center of the room.  Hooking his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans, Travis slowly turned in a full circle as if trying to take in everything all at once in hopes he would find something familiar to him.  However, as he expected, he recognized absolutely nothing.  Still, he was slightly determined to find something and figured the best place to start would be his bed.  After all, there’s nothing more personal than that little bit of space.

The neatly made, full sized bed was in the corner against the wall.  It had faded, red patterned sheets and a folded patchwork quilt rested at the foot.  A rag doll of an animal that seemed to resemble a pre-war bison was laying against the pillows.  Over the headboard hung a dreamcatcher made from dried vines and adorned with feathers and colorful beads.  Next to the bed was a nightstand with an oil lamp, harmonica, a book about Native Americans that has seen better days, and a small frame with a photo inside of a teenage Travis and his father holding up two large fish, obviously proud of their catches. 

Travis sat on the bed, snatched up the frame and stared at the photo, his brow furrowed in concentration.  “Reckon we ate good that night,” he said glumly as nothing in the photograph triggered any bit of memory.  As he set the frame back on the nightstand, his eyes caught sight of a guitar wedged between the bed and the wall.  Reaching over the bed, Travis grabbed hold of the instrument’s neck and freed it.  He held it against him and gave a few strums, wincing at how out of tune it was.  “Shit, gonna have to fix that later if we stick around,” he mumbled more to himself than anything.     

Setting the guitar against the nightstand, Travis stood and chose the desk that was directly in front of the window as his next focal point.  The desk was made of wood and both it and its chair had seen better days.  The desk was far from organized and it made Riley smirk seeing that not much has changed with Travis in that aspect.  The desks back at the Lucky 38 were neat for the most part, but every now and then they could be found with stacks of papers and jalapeno stems scattered about.  Here, instead of papers and peppers, was a thick homemade journal open to a random page and a tipped over soup can with its contents of pencils strewn about.   

Reaching for the chair, Travis noticed there was a gun belt and holster draped over it, but no gun.  Taking a quick look around he found the pistol in question, half-buried under the papers on the desk.  He carefully brushed them aside to discover a .375 revolver and gun cleaning kit.  Disinterested, Travis placed the papers back over the gun then turned his attention to a crude wood carving of a yao guai.  Arching a curious eyebrow, he examined it with mild interest noticing the few chips and gouges in the wood betraying the creator’s inexperience.  “Wonder if I made these?  I mean, it sorta looks like my carving style, but ain’t as good...kinda rough and not too detailed.”

“It’s still very nice and maybe they have been recently learning how to carve.  Certainly much better than anything I could ever do.”  Riley took the yao guai from Travis and looked it over for any identification of the artist like initials or a date.  “Maybe whoever made this was your inspiration of sorts for you to do your own creations?”

Travis took the figure from Riley’s outstretched hand while his shoulders suddenly slumped.  “I reckon,” he responded softly.  He set the figure down and noticed the initials TB that were carved deeply into the wood of the desktop.  He smiled wistfully and traced over the letters with his finger.  “I mean I wish I could remember at least one damn thing around here.  Bad enough my folks are off the list, but if I could find only one thing I can remember growing up in this place…just one...”

“I understand, but the day is still young.  Don’t be discouraged.  Something might crop up when you least expect it and if not, that’s ok too,” Riley said gently while reaching for the worn book on the nightstand and carefully flipping through its pages.   

“I reckon,” Travis repeated and slowly made his way to the closet on the opposite side of the room.  He stood in front of the door and looked over the variety of cowboy pictures that were tacked all over it.  The pictures were from pre-war magazines or books and showcased cowboys in all sorts of situations and scenes either in shootouts, riding the range, or participating in a rodeo.  Some were even from advertisements promoting clothing and farming equipment.  However, the vast majority of cutouts were of shirtless cowboys striking seductive, sultry poses.  Travis smirked, “Man, if my folks don’t know I’m a confirmed bachelor, they’re really clueless.”  

Riley looked up and saw the pictures Travis was directing the comment about.  “Not necessarily. Some people can be very well aware of that fact, just...might not like to acknowledge it, unfortunately.”

Travis frowned and rolled his eyes.  “Well, gee, that’s encouraging.”

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t…”

“Don’t worry about it, Riles.  I get what ‘cha mean.”  Travis did his best to flash his partner a smile then opened the closet door.  As expected it was filled with a variety of plaid and solid colored shirts as well as plenty of jeans.  Resting on the floor were a few pairs of worn and dusty cowboy boots as well as random leather gloves and a few coiled ropes.  Travis pulled out a blue shirt and placed it against himself as if checking the size before returning it.  He continued to sift through the clothes, but like everything else, nothing seemed familiar to him.  Besides the bed, clothing would be the most intimate connection a person might have with something, but none of the articles sparked any recollection.  This is getting ridiculous, he glumly thought while shutting the door with a frustrated sigh.

Glancing around the room to see if there was anything he might have overlooked, Travis spotted a shelf he hasn’t yet examined.  It was adorned with an assortment of neatly arranged trinkets, but what really caught his attention was hanging above it.  The item in question was a long spear made out of a tree branch.  It was adorned with feathers and beads and its pointed rock tip was attached with leather straps and a strip of gray fur.  He stared at it for long moments wondering what the story was behind it.  He saw plenty of spears used by Tribals in parts of Utah and this one looked similar to them.  It got him thinking if he was truly a descendant of Tribals or even pre-war Native Americans.  He had his suspicions and hopes, but nothing was ever validated.   

Not wanting to strain his frazzled brain on thoughts about his heritage until he could speak to his parents about it, Travis focused on the items on the shelf instead.  Aside from random things such as a few nice rocks and a large pine cone, there was also a carving of a coyote and a two mason jars filled with bottle caps and marbles respectively.  However, a framed photo of a teenage Travis holding a baby animal of some kind caught and held his attention.  He stared intently at the picture for a long time, more intrigued as to what kind of creature he had rather than if the picture sparked any sort of memory or not.  The animal looked similar to the horses he’s seen in pre-war books and magazines or even the toy, Giddyup Buttercup, except this was a real being.

Noticing Travis had found something of apparent interest, Riley looked up from the book.  He could see the concentration on his partner’s face and it made him fidget in hopes that maybe Travis finally recognized something.  “What has your intense attention, babe?” Riley asked while returning the book to the nightstand then joining Travis at the shelf.

Travis gave him a side glance while nodding towards the photo.  “Check it out.  What kind of critter is that?  I mean, it looks like a pre-war...ummm….horse.  At first I thought it was one of those Buttercup toys, but this looks like the real deal.”

When Riley saw the animal in question he couldn’t believe his eyes.  He adjusted his glasses and peered closer for a better look at the photo in disbelief.  “I’ll be damned.  If I didn’t know any better I’d swear that is a horse, but from what I’ve gathered they’re long gone.  Well, at least in Boston anyway.  Travis, think back during your time at the Big Circle for that brahmin drive.  Do you remember anything like this?  I mean, you can’t exactly herd cattle on foot...at least I wouldn’t think it’d be too practical.  You and the other cowboys had to have a mount of some sort.”  Riley felt excitement rising inside of him over the possibility of horses in the Mojave. 

Sadly shaking his head no, Travis picked up a carving that was resting against the picture frame. This one resembled the animal in the photograph, but apparently as an adult.  Travis stared at it for long moments while tracing over it with his finger, admiring the craftsmanship and details.   “The few random things I remember about Big Circle, these critters ain’t one of them,” he said sorrowfully.  Suddenly furrowing his brow in frustration, Travis walked back to the bed and dropped heavily on it, still clutching the wooden horse.  He rubbed his face with a groan before resting his elbows on his knees.   Shifting his gaze up to his partner, Travis twitched his moustache and gave a weak laugh while shaking the carving.  “Ya know, had this been any ole room I would be fascinated by all of this stuff...especially the animal in the photo.  But knowing this is all my stuff and not having any recollection of it...well...it’s...it’s kinda surreal.  Does that even make sense?”

Taking a seat at Travis’ side, Riley put his arm around his shoulders and pressed an affectionate kiss on his cheek.  “Yes, it does, babe.”

“At least I got some cool stuff,”  Travis weakly laughed, leaned against Riley and closed his tired eyes.  “All this stuff and especially the photos don’t mean anything to me.  Not a damn thing.  It’s so weird seeing me doing shit in pictures, but have no memories of it.  Ain’t just surreal, it’s downright frustrating.” “Well, like I said, maybe something random will crop up for you when you least expect it.  Don’t try to force it.” Riley hoped he sounded encouraging, but deep down he knew he really couldn’t offer much.  This was all something Travis had to figure out and discover on his own.

Travis glumly nodded against him and felt Riley press a kiss on top of his head.  Pulling back, Travis nuzzled against his neck, placing a few kisses on the freckled skin.  “Thanks, Riles.  This all feels so hopeless, but I’ll try and not give up.”  

Riley heard the tiredness and frustration in his partner’s voice and his heart sank.  Had they been anyplace else but here, he would have laid back on the bed pulling Travis against him and would do his best to dole out comfort with his hands and mouth.  However, that was not an option at this point and time and instead he put his fingers under the whiskered chin of Travis and tilted his face towards him.  “That’s all you can do.  Like I’ve said earlier, you aren’t facing this alone,”  Riley said gently then pressed his lips against his partner’s.  “You have my full support in all of this and I’ll respect and honor any decision you make on how to keep moving forward here.” 

“Dang, I love you so much,” Travis smiled gratefully and returned the kiss while wrapping his arms tightly around him.  “I really cain’t wait to get outta here later and show you just how much.”  

Riley playfully nudged him and chuckled.  “There will be plenty of time for that.  I only hope there’ll be a nice, clean place in town for us to stay.” “If not, we got the camping gear.  That’s good enough for me anyways, you know that.”  Travis snickered seeing Riley flinch over the mention of camping.  “You know you love it!”

“If I wanted to get hot and sweaty at night, I’d much prefer to do it in our bedroom with you back at the Lucky 38,” Riley scoffed earning a frisky nip on his neck from his partner.  “Oh, you’re so lucky we’re not somewhere more private or I’d have to have you put your mouth to better use than that.”

Travis’ moustache lifted to a grin and Riley noticed a small spark of mischief in his crystal blue eyes.  Even though he knew Travis was caught up in the moment and the emotions were probably fleeting right now, it was still good seeing him in better spirits than the frustrated, somber mess he’s been since they arrived at the ranch.

As Riley bowed his head down to press a gentle kiss on Travis’ lips, a sharp knock at the door caused both men to jump and instantly scoot away from each other on opposite ends of the bed.  Riley found himself blushing fiercely from almost being caught and he immediately turned away, grabbing for the Native American book as a distraction.  

Although not as embarrassed, Travis still felt awkward and he cleared his throat to try and compose himself.  Grabbing the wood carving, Travis glanced at Riley to make sure he was ready before calling out, “C-come in!”

The door opened and a smiling Mrs. Blackfox stepped in.  “Dinner’s about up.  It’s your favorite, fried prairie fowl and maize,” she directed at Travis while her eyes caught the wood carving he was clutching.  “That right there…” she began, but stopped as she felt a sudden wash of emotions going through her.  “Do...do you remember that at all?” Tracy reached for the carving and held it lovingly while her finger traced over the animal’s ears and snout.  Travis shook his head no making his mother sigh softly.  “This was the last thing you did the night before you left for that New Vegas delivery.  You were so proud of this and it was the best one you made since you began learning the craft.”  She looked around the room and gave a nod to nowhere in general.  “All the figures in here and the few that are out around the house were done by you.  Each one you tried harder and harder to perfect, but this one...this was a true labor of love.”  Sighing, she handed the figure back to Travis and mustered up a supportive smile.  “Reckon that’s a story for later.  Now then, come and eat before your father inhales everything.” 

Travis sighed as he watched her go then dropped his gaze downwards to the carving.  He stared at it for long minutes, suddenly feeling rather sentimental over what his mother said about it being the last thing he did before his fateful journey to New Vegas.  He bit his lower lip as he felt tears wanting to build up in his eyes.  Furrowing his brow, Travis set the figure on the nightstand and snorted.  “Let’s make tracks...I’m gonna pass out from starvation.”

to be continued...

[gilbertandanne]

AU College Fic. Farkle never figured out how Riley really felt about Lucas, so it never got out. Now she’s turning 21 and the gang decides to go to Las Vegas to celebrate. Sometimes what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.

Rating: M

Pairing: Rucas

Word Count: 8,708

Cross-posted at ff.net            

Soundtrack (although not at all organized and subject to edits)

A/N: This song got dropped today, but it’s P E R F E C T to listen to as you read this chapter: “It Won’t Kill Ya” by The Chainsmokers.  

Also, 21 is now rated M.  And yes, I do take a little advantage of that switch in this chapter.  This chapter is dedicated to @gmwpluto because she held my hand and kicked my butt throughout multiple rewrites and edits.  She is the best sounding board ever cause she makes you kinda fight for what you’re doing and explain the reasoning behind it and yeah, I’m gonna get killed for this chapter, but I stand by everything that happens and considering the meltdown I had about it, I’m pleased with the result. Thank you Amy.

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | A | J |

                                      Chapter Ten: Tension

Her brain couldn’t process anything that was running through her chaotic mind.  She had hurt him.  She knew that much, but he had hurt her too.  He accused her of trying to pit Asher against him, of trying to create this buffer between whatever was growing between them, but that wasn’t true.  It wasn’t true because she knew that whatever this was couldn’t possibly last longer than the next few days.  He had always been non-committal when it came to his girlfriends.  A few weeks or even a few months would be the most she could possibly hope for.  She wasn’t willing to sacrifice her friendship with him when they were in middle school, and as strained and practically non-existent as it was now, she still didn’t think she could bear it if he completely vanished from her life.  That’s what would happen next, wouldn’t it?  They would go out for a while and he would realize that she wasn’t what he was looking for, so he would break up with her.  Afterward, she wouldn’t be able to be around him because it would hurt too much.  Their friends would be forced to take sides, and the entire group would fall apart.  She couldn’t let that happen.

As tears streamed down her cheeks, she knew that one day, she’d look back on this whole experience and know that she made the right decision by walking away from this before it was too late.  As she watched the fountains dance to the beat of the music, her heart finally declared war on her brain.

She wasn’t sure how long she stayed on the patio by herself.  Part of her had hoped that he would come back outside so they could go ahead and completely annihilate one another with more accusations and resentment.  Maybe it would be better to get it over with in one fell swoop as opposed to prolonging the inevitable.  It was her fault, anyway.  She was the one who suggested they play ‘seven minutes in heaven’ for real.  She was the one who could have walked away after her alarm went off the first time.  Maybe then, they wouldn’t be like this.  Maybe then they wouldn’t act like two complete idiots who, if she didn’t know any better, seemed to be completely in love with one another.

She scoffed as she wiped her eyes.  That was impossible.  While she knew that it was true on her end, she knew that if he wanted to figure everything out, if he really wanted to work through it, that he wouldn’t have left her the way he did.

She didn’t even want to have the stupid conversation in the first place—not now anyway.  She was drunk.  He was drunk.  She knew it would end badly, but he kept pushing her until he finally figured it out.

As Riley turned away from the show to go back inside, her head was spinning.  He knew now.  After seven years of hiding it from him, he now knew that she didn’t step back from him because her feelings for him had changed.

She took a deep breath as she made her way back to the table.  She had never felt more sober in her entire life.  She hated it.  She was never a huge drinker, and didn’t anticipate that trend changing just because it was suddenly legal for her to do so, but the battle her heart and brain waged was beginning to take its toll on her.  All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep through the next 48 hours.  She wanted to wake up in her dorm room in New York and chalk this whole trip up to being a bad dream—a cautionary tale about the perils of giving into temptation.

Her eyes locked on to Maya’s as she slowly approached the table.  She wrapped her arms around her body as a shiver rippled through her.

As soon as Maya saw Riley, she stood up and quickly made her way toward the quaking brunette.  “Riley?”  When Maya reached her, she rubbed Riley’s arms in an attempt to warm her up.  “You’re freezing.  Are you ok?”

Riley shook her head.  She was the complete opposite of ok.  How did everything get this complicated?  She just wanted to go out and have some fun and now she wasn’t even sure which way was up anymore.

“What happened?”

Riley shook her head once more.  She didn’t want to talk about it, not now anyway.  “Maya, I-I need…I…” She looked all around them.  What she was in search of, she didn’t even know.  She suddenly wanted to claw through her own skin, shed herself of her own body and simply float away.  This was all too much right now.  

As her frantic eyes continued to search the room, she spotted him.  He was seated at the main bar, and he wasn’t alone.  He wasn’t with the same woman as before, but it was another blonde woman and she wasn’t alone either.  A brunette woman had her arm looped through the blonde’s as they giggled at something Lucas said.  Riley felt a fresh batch of tears sting her eyes as her mouth fell open.

Maya furrowed her eyebrows together when she noticed anguish slowly seep into Riley’s eyes.  “Riley?  Riley, what is it?  Do we need to leave?”

Riley blinked several times as she stared at the three people who didn’t seem to have a clue that they were being watched.  Lucas seemed completely unfazed by their earlier conversation.  He laughed at something the blonde woman said, and made no move to remove the hand that the brunette woman had placed on his arm.  Riley’s throat ran dry as the blonde slid onto the barstool on the other side of him.  He was perfectly nestled between both girls now.

What a happy little threesome they seemed to be.  

The agony Riley felt when she stood outside rapidly faded.  Her desire to finish their conversation evaporated as she watched him take a sip of his scotch.  From where she stood, their conversation was over and he seemed more than content enough with the outcome.  

She’d be damned if she’d ever allow him to see how deeply he had gotten underneath her skin and into her heart.  If he was about to fulfill his quest to bring multiple women back to the suite, then she was hell bent on doing what she had set out to do the entire night—not think and not second-guess a single move she made.

But first, she needed to reclaim the buzz she had before she stepped outside with him.

“No,” she finally answered as she turned back to Maya.  She wiped her eyes.  “I want to stay.  I-Is my makeup ok?”

Maya wiped underneath Riley’s eyes to get rid of the slightly smudged eyeliner.  “Yeah.  You’re fine.  Why?  Riley, if you’re upset, then maybe we should—“

“Drink,” she offered even though she knew that wasn’t what Maya had in mind.

“No.  Maybe we should call it a night?”

Riley shook her head.  “No,” she answered as a slow smile tugged at the corners of her lips.  “The night’s only just begun.”  She glanced at the bar.  “I just need to find my buzz again.”

Maya was grateful that Riley’s master plan only seemed to consist of more vodka and dancing.  She had no idea what had transpired during Riley’s dance with Lucas, and while she wanted nothing more than to lock both of them in a closet and let them duke it out, she also knew that tonight wasn’t the best time to do it.  Everyone was intoxicated and she knew that Riley’s emotions were at an all time high.

Although Riley had taken to dancing with any guy who showed a remote interest in her, Maya knew that it could only go so far as long as she were nearby.  She was grateful that Zay and Farkle had joined them a few songs in.  Initially, Farkle had only shown up to give them each another drink, but Riley insisted that he stay with them and dance for at least a few songs.  She batted those beautiful brown eyes and told him that all she wanted for her birthday was to dance with her friends.  Farkle never stood a chance.  Her entire group of friends always ended up giving in when she pouted.

Maya noticed that not once since they hit the dance floor did Riley look back at Lucas.  She considered it a small victory.  She wanted nothing more than to see Riley and Lucas give it a shot, but she also knew nothing good would come out of a drunken conversation right now.  They had a lot to work through and discuss.  If they could make it through tonight, then maybe, just maybe, they would be able to work it out when their heads were a little clearer.

Riley laughed as she wrapped her arms around Zay’s neck and pressed her body against his.  “Dance class has really paid off, huh,” she grinned as they moved to the beat of the club music.

“You all laughed at me in middle school, but it’s always been a lady magnet,” he answered a he focused on the best place to hold Riley.  The last thing he wanted was to get in between whatever was going on with her and his best friend.  Incurring the wrath of Lucas Friar was one thing he did not want to do tonight.  He glanced over his shoulder as Maya cozied up behind him.  He turned back to Riley as he gestured at the blonde behind him.  “See?  Total lady magnet.”

“You’re in the middle of a Riley and Maya sandwich,” Riley laughed as she wrapped her arms around Maya as the trio rocked to the beat of the moderately slow R & B song.  “Do you know how many men would kill to be in your shoes right now?”

Zay chuckled nervously.  She was right.  He was nestled in between two beautiful women, and he knew damn well that if Lucas caught a glimpse of him right now that he might not live to see the sunrise.  “I know of one guy who probably would like to kill me right now if he saw this.”

“Make way for me,” Farkle announced as he ducked in between Riley and Zay.  The entire group laughed as Farkle slithered in between his friends.

“Farkle, I’m not that drunk yet,” Zay smiled before he spun around to dance with Maya.  The genius was one of his best friends, but his dance moves could prove to be lethal.  Farkle needed space to dance, and in his currently inebriated state, Zay wasn’t sure that he would understand that he only had a small space to work with.

Riley laughed as she placed her hands on Farkle’s shoulders.  “Oh Farkle…how are you doing?”

“Pretty good right now,” he smiled as he placed his hands on her waist.  He wasn’t really sure what he had been drinking or even how much he had.  He had placed Zay in charge of everything he consumed since he had never been much of a drinker.  “I can’t really feel my face right now.”

Riley’s eyes widened for a moment before she nearly doubled over in laughter.  “Oh my God,” she snorted as she gasped for air.  He couldn’t feel his face?  She had never been that drunk in her life.  That couldn’t possibly be normal, could it?  “I am so not on your level yet, Farkle.”

“Try me,” he grinned.  “I’m not kidding.”

“So, you can’t feel this?” She lightly touched his cheek.

He shook his head.  “Not at all!”

She tapped his cheek as her smile widened.  “And that?”

He shrugged.  “Nope.”

She lightly smacked his cheek.  “Still nothing?”

He laughed.  “Not a thing.”

“Wow.”  She was more than a little impressed.  Maybe she should get Zay to dictate the rest of her drinks for the night?  She moved her hand back down to his shoulder.  “If you were ever going to get into a fight, tonight would be the night to do it, Farkle.  Only…please don’t do that because then the night would be over and I’m having way too much fun to get kicked out of this club.”  She spun around before she placed her hand over top of his as she moved her hips from side to side.  “I love that you’re dancing right now,” she called out over her shoulder to him.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had been able to dance with him.  It had to have been high school.

“I told you guys that I would loosen up once we got here tonight,” he called out from behind her.

“I know, but I haven’t seen you have fun in a long time.”  She spun back around to face him as the song ended.

He shrugged as a more upbeat song began to play.  “Comes with the territory, I guess.”  He leaned in to speak directly into her ear as the DJ increased the volume of the music.  “I know you wanted this trip and it was your idea, but I needed it.  I needed to spend time with you guys…get out of New York for a few days.”

Riley frowned at his words.  He never talked about the breakup—not since the night it happened.  She turned her head to speak in his ear.  “Does it hurt?  Seeing places that you shared with her day after day?”

He nodded.  “Not as much as it used to, but sometimes I’ll walk past a coffee shop or restaurant or even somewhere that we only went to once, but I’ll think about her and it’s like…it’s like I can’t breathe.”  He sighed.  It was the worst form of torture he could possibly think of.  “For six months I felt so claustrophobic everywhere I went.  I thought I was going crazy.”  He rubbed the back of his neck.  “Maybe I am.”

“That’s how you know it was real.  I know it doesn’t help anything, but we’re here for you.  We’re all here for you, Farkle.”

“You know, the worst part is that…she’s gone.  She’s still in the city, but Riley, she might as well be in another country.  I haven’t talked to her since it happened…I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to be friends again.”

Riley nodded slowly.  It made sense.  Even in her muddled thoughts, it all made perfect sense.  Her heart broke when he called her that night and told her that Smackle broke up with him.  There wasn’t any build up or longstanding issue between them.  She simply told him that her feelings for him had changed and while she wasn’t sure how or in what way, she needed to take some time for herself to figure it all out.  Six months later and Farkle hadn’t heard a word from her.  “So you not only lost someone you loved, but you also—“

“I lost my best friend.”

Riley’s eyes scanned the club.  She couldn’t see much of anything past the dance area.  Was he still here?  Had he already left with those girls?  She had easily been on the dance floor for half an hour, maybe longer than that.  As Farkle’s words echoed through her hazy mind, her heart ached.  Her brain was winning the battle, despite the fact that she had subconsciously turned off both organs the moment she saw Lucas with those women.

It wouldn’t take her long to find out where he was.  As the small group made their way back to the table, she spotted Lucas, the blonde woman, and the brunette woman at their table with Asher and Dylan.  Instead of sitting down or even acknowledging the strangers who seemed to be latched onto him, Riley headed directly toward the bar.  The conversation with Farkle still rang in her ears as she ordered a shot.  As soon as she downed it, the bartender smiled at her.  “You’re the birthday girl, right?”

She cringed as her throat burned.  She nodded as she sat the glass back down.  “Yeah, I’m Riley.  And you are?”

“Mark,” he smiled.  “Listen, I know this might sound a little weird, but are you willing to help us out with something?  I can guarantee you that you’ll have fun and you won’t have to pay for another drink tonight.”

She raised her eyebrows.  She came here to have a memorable birthday.  Judging by the smile the bartender gave her, she knew that she had to do whatever it was he wanted her to do.  She needed some fun.  “Mark, you had me at fun.  What do you need me to do?”

Lucas looked up at the bar as he watched one of the bartenders whisper in Riley’s ear.  When he saw her laugh in response, his jaw twitched.  He couldn’t stand this.  The air around them felt so thick.  How was she able to laugh and carry on like this when the entire future of their already fragile friendship seemed so uncertain?  He reluctantly looked away from her when he heard the cackling of the brunette seated next to him.  Why did Dylan insist on inviting them back to their booth?  He had hoped to pawn the women off on Asher and Dylan and kill two birds with one stone, but Dylan didn’t quite get the hint that Lucas had no interest in either woman.  How could he when the one woman he wanted was so close, yet so far away from him?  

He hated the way they left things outside.  He hated that he stalked off, but he was so frustrated and so mad that she would think, for even a second, that if they became something more, that he would eventually end it.  Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he had earned the reputation he had for a reason, but she didn’t know the whole story.

“Why is she standing on top of the bar,” Zay suddenly asked as he watched one of the bartenders help Riley climb on the bar.

“Seriously?”  Maya stood up as she turned toward the main bar.  “I thought she was only going to get a drink…not let the whole world see up her dress,” she groaned as she watched Riley run a hand through her hair.

Lucas snapped his head up to look at Maya.  “Excuse me?”  He turned his head toward the brunette.  Sure enough, Riley Matthews had climbed on top of the bar.  Apparently the members of their table weren’t the only ones to notice as a group of guys crowded around her.

Maya glared at the back of Lucas’s head before she walked toward Riley.  The others followed closely behind.

“Tonight at Hyde, we are very fortunate to help celebrate this beautiful woman’s 21st birthday!”  Mark gestured to Riley who grinned when the crowd cheered.  “And she has so graciously decided to help us deliver a round of shots for anyone who might be interested.  It’s an apple pie shooter and the way it’s gonna work is that Amber will pour some apple juice into your mouth.  After that, I’ll come by and add in some vodka, then Miss Riley over here will top it off with a dab of whipped cream!”

“Well,” Farkle smirked as he watched the bartender hand Riley a can of whipped cream, “She said she wanted to have fun tonight.”

“She’s making memories that she might not actually be able to remember tomorrow.”  Zay glanced at Lucas.  He could practically feel the anger and jealousy billowing from his best friend.  At least that anger couldn’t possibly be directed at him.

As Mark grabbed a bottle of house vodka, he gestured to the area around them.  “So, line up around the bar if you want one.  First come, first served!”

“I don’t know about you guys,” Maya smirked as she slid up to the middle of the bar, “But I’m getting a free shot.”  She couldn’t believe what was happening, but she had to admit that it would definitely make one hell of a story.  Riley Matthews was serving whipped cream to a bunch of strangers on her 21st birthday.  As she heard Riley laugh, Maya figured that maybe doing something a little crazy like this could be good for her.  She had played it safe for her entire life.  She was due for a semi-wild night—as long as it didn’t involve some sort of exchange of bodily fluids with a random stranger.  

Most of the group followed Maya’s lead as they stood in front of the bar.

Lucas didn’t want to do it, but he knew there was no way she would willingly climb down and forget the whole thing.  If he could prevent her from spraying whipped cream into just one stranger’s mouth, then he’d stomach what was sure to be a disgusting shot.  Instead of lining up with the rest of his friends, he moved to the end of the bar.  If he had any luck, he would be the last one.  If he had a little more than luck—and if his brain hadn’t been completely thrashed by the jealousy he knew he’d have by watching her doing this—then maybe he could get her attention long enough to apologize for running away from her earlier.

He watched her slowly bend down to spray the whipped cream in the first few guys’ mouths.  Lucas noticed that there were a few women by the bar, but most of the patrons consisted of guys—guys he knew couldn’t wait to get their chance to hit on Riley.  Lucas’s focus never wavered as she moved from person to person.  She laughed when she saw Maya and the guys about midway through her trek around the bar.  After she squeezed some of the contents of the can into the blonde’s mouth, she kissed her cheek.  Both girls giggled as Maya swallowed the shot.

Lucas noticed that Riley seemed to be getting more and more into what she was doing as she skipped down the line.  He clenched his fist as she slowly slid her index finger down Asher’s cheek before she squeezed the whipped cream into his mouth.  Did she know he was watching her?  Was she purposefully trying to drive him insane with jealousy?

It was a great exercise in patience and test of his growth as a person to watch her casually flirt with about twenty-five random strangers.  It felt like an eternity had passed by the time she reached him.  Luckily, their friends had retreated back to the table, as had most of the other people who had gotten a shot.

As he opened his mouth for the apple juice and vodka, he wondered if she even noticed that he was there.  As the two bartenders turned back to make drinks for the crowd that awaited them, Riley’s eyes finally locked onto his.

She was surprised to see him.  She thought that if he had wanted a shot, he would have been lined up with the rest of their friends and the two girls he had been with for nearly an hour.  She had never been so tempted in her life to drown the two women in whipped cream, but she managed to avoid a murder charge as she breezed by them.  Now, as she looked down at Lucas, she wasn’t so sure she’d be as successful with him.  She crouched down as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.  She wasn’t sure that she had ever been this angry with him.  It was new territory for her, but she gladly welcomed it compared to the agony she felt when she first saw him with the two girls.  “Thanks for proving my point by walking away earlier,” she snarled before she sprayed the substance into his mouth.

Lucas swallowed the shot the moment she began to spray the cream into his mouth.  He thought for sure she would try to use up whatever was left in that can on him in an attempt to cover him in the frothy concoction.  While she did end up giving him more whipped cream after he swallowed, it wasn’t nearly enough to make him choke on it.

As she turned to leave, all thoughts of an apology escaped him.  He wanted to apologize, but he couldn’t remember the speech he had formulated as he watched her dance around the bar.  So, he acted completely on instinct when he grabbed her arm and gently tugged her back down to him.  He lifted his head slightly as his lips met hers in a searing kiss.

The first thing Riley could taste was the whipped cream in his mouth.  She was shocked that he had pulled her to him, but as she felt his tongue slip into her mouth, her anger melted into an unbridled passion that she had no idea how to subdue.

When she heard herself moan into his mouth, she snapped herself out of her daze.  She pulled back from him without saying a word and turned to the bartenders.  “Is that it,” she asked as she wiped a little bit of the whipped cream from her mouth.

“Not quite,” Mark smiled.  “It is your birthday, and what good is a birthday without a birthday cake?”

Riley smiled as she spun around to see one of the other bartenders bring a cake over to her table.  She quickly climbed down from the counter as she walked over to the chocolate cake lit up with sparkler candles.  Lucas trailed several feet behind her as her friends sang “Happy Birthday” to her.

She pushed the brief interlude with Lucas to the back of her mind as she looked at the friends who surrounded her.  This was the moment she knew she’d remember for the rest of her life.  She had made it to twenty-one.  She had no clue what the future held, but if this group of people remained in her life, she knew she’d be ready for anything.

After the song was over, Riley closed her eyes as she made a wish.  Her wishes over the last eight years hadn’t changed, but this one was slightly different.  It still centered on the Texan she had just kissed, but instead of wishing to be with him, she wished for some sort of sign to know what to do, whether to let go or to hang on.  She pulled her hair back as she leaned over and blew out the candles.

Everyone around her cheered as she raised her head back up.  “This is so incredible,” she happily smiled as she sat down in the booth.  She turned to Farkle.  “It’s perfect, Farkle.  The place, the cake…everything.”  She glanced around the club.  “You know…if I had to pick anywhere in Vegas to celebrate my 21st, it would have been here…the fountains, the dancing, the ambience…it’s perfect.”

He smiled.  “I wish I could take the credit for it, but I can’t.”

She frowned.  “What are you talking about?”  She thought Farkle had planned the entire trip out.  If he didn’t set all of this up, then who did?

Farkle searched the club for his friend.  He couldn’t believe that after everything, Lucas missed the cake being brought out, especially after how specific he had been about where and what cake to get.  “I thought for sure he would have told you, but it makes sense why he didn’t.  He’s not one to really brag, but…Lucas set up the whole thing.”

Riley glanced at Maya before she looked back at Farkle.  “What are you talking about?”

“I had no idea where to even begin to look for a place.  Lucas told me that he wanted to plan your birthday celebration.  He’s the one who booked the table here, got us all into VIP, and he even picked out the cake.”

“He planned it?”

Farkle nodded.  “I thought I knew you better than anyone…well, except for Maya, but…I think Lucas beat me on this one.  This place screams Riley to me.”

Just then, Lucas walked around the table as he sat down at the other end of the booth.  Riley couldn’t help but to stare at him.  He planned the whole night?  How did he pay for this?  Riley didn’t even want to think about how much it all must have cost him.  

She watched as the two girls she still didn’t know the names of turn their attention away from Dylan and back to Lucas.  As she reached for the drink Maya ordered for her while she was on the bar, her inebriated brain began to weigh her options.  On the one hand, she could continue to ignore him to the best of her ability and watch him accomplish the mission he had set out for himself at the beginning of the night—or—maybe she could be the mission.

As the vodka slipped past her lips, she figured that it would actually be pretty poetic to lose her virginity to him in Las Vegas on her 21st birthday.  He had been her first everything—first date, first kiss, first boyfriend, first love.  Why not complete the circle?  Why couldn’t she be the hookup he craved tonight?  It was only sex, right?  If she could keep her heart silent, then maybe it would actually help her begin to move on.  Maybe they wouldn’t be physically compatible?  Maybe this was the first step to letting go?

She smirked as she continued to consume the contents of her glass.  There wasn’t enough liquor in the world to convince her that sex with Lucas wouldn’t be good.  A few heated kisses told her everything she needed to know about their physical compatibility.  Still, she was feeling completely light and free.  Maybe she needed one night of passion with him in order to finally close the door on her first love.

Once she finished the drink, she slowly stood up and walked to the other end of the booth.

Lucas’s attention immediately shifted to Riley the moment she stood up.  He was more than a little surprised when she stopped right in front of him.  He had no idea what to expect.  Was she going to yell at him in front of everyone?  Was she going to get back on the bar and do something else that would surely test his self-control?

“Hey Huckleberry,” she smirked as she casually drummed her fingers on top of the table.  “Are we dancing or what?”

He knit his eyebrows together in confusion.  He knew that he must have misheard her.  She wanted to dance with him?  After their argument outside and after everything that had transpired between them in the last 24 hours, she actually wanted to dance with him?

“It is my birthday.”  Her smile never wavered as she watched him reach for his drink.  She raised one inquisitive eyebrow at him as she waited for him to finish drinking the amber substance in his glass.

Lucas finished off his scotch and sat the glass down next to her hand before he looked back up at her.  “Lead the way.”

He thought for sure that she would take him to where she had spent the better part of the night with most of their group.  Instead of going to the dance floor, she led him back outside, back to their hidden corner, back into the darkness.  Only a few people mingled outside, as the temperature must have dropped another five degrees in the hour since they were last out there.  Riley felt a chill ripple through her as soon as she stepped outside, but she didn’t care.  This was the only place she knew of that they could have a little bit of privacy.  They were nowhere near the music, although they could still hear the bass beat as clear as day.  

Riley didn’t say a word as she spun around and placed his hands on her waist.

“Riley, what are you doing?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck.  “I don’t want to talk.”  She knew that this would go a lot better if neither of them said a word.  Every time one of them opened their mouths, they ended up in some ridiculous fight.  If they could just somehow float together, let things happen naturally without having to discuss the past or what it all meant, then maybe they could work this out without a fight.

“What do you want to do?”  Lucas swallowed as he stared at her.  He had no idea what was going through her mind.  She didn’t want to talk.  That was fair enough.  Every conversation they attempted in the last 24 hours was disastrous to say the least.  He never wanted to ruin her birthday.  If she wanted to dance with him in silence, then he would take that time trying to commit every millisecond of it to his memory.

“Have fun.  Not think.”  She shrugged her shoulders as she glanced at the fountains for a moment before she looked back at him.  “I’ve spent the first twenty one years of my life thinking about every move I made…doing the right thing…saying the right things.”  She shook her head.  “I don’t want to do any of that tonight.”  She was tired of having to be perfect all the time.  She was tired of her brain stopping her from doing the things she wanted to do.

He sighed.  Despite the canyon between them, he knew who she was.  He had always known.  “And what happens tomorrow when you wake up?”  She was saying all of this now, but he knew that once she sobered up, she would regret it if she did something completely reckless.

She shrugged.  “I don’t want to think about that.”  Didn’t he understand?  She wanted to give into her emotions for once.  Maya always led with her heart while Riley had always led with her brain.  Leading with her brain had only made a huge mess of everything, so why couldn’t she simply give into her feelings for one night?  What was so terrible about that?

“But I do.”  He wanted to step back from her.  He wanted to remove his hands from her waist and go back inside, but he couldn’t.  He wasn’t strong enough to separate himself from her right now.  He was a man who had been starving for a third of his life over the woman who stood before him.  At this second, he was holding the only thing he had ever really wanted.  He couldn’t let go.  Maybe if he was a little more sober, he could.  Maybe if she wasn’t looking at him in the way he had always wanted her to, he could let her go and walk away.  

“You’re not pulling away from me,” she murmured as she stepped forward and pressed her body against his.  She lowered her right hand to the nape of his neck as her fingertips brushed through his hair.  She bit her bottom lip as her eyes lowered to his lips.

“I need to,” he groaned as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek.  The alcohol in his system worked against him as he felt himself slowly give into whatever she wanted to do.  He knew that he was wrapped around her finger, but he never knew how much until tonight.  He’d die to try to give her the world if she wanted it.  He’d move heaven and earth for her if she asked him to.

“You don’t need to do anything,” she responded softly before she began to plant open-mouthed kisses along his jawline.  

Lucas felt his earlier anger dissipate with every connection her lips made to his skin.  It wasn’t fair.  None of this was fair.  Every single emotion he had felt tonight was placed into extremes.  He was certain he had never been angrier with someone in his entire life, but at the same time, he knew that he had never loved her more.  It wasn’t just the fact that she was stirring up every single hormone he possessed, but it was the fact that for the first time ever, he finally realized that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her.

He swallowed as she moved her attention to the other side of his neck.  He craned his neck back and stifled a moan as she scraped her teeth against the base of his neck.  He was rapidly becoming putty in her hands.  Whatever she wanted, he was prepared to give her.  Anything—everything.  He just had to know that she wanted him and only him.  

Finding some inner strength that he didn’t know he possessed, he slowly moved his hands up to her shoulders as he nudged her back slightly.

Confused, Riley lifted her head.  “Isn’t this what you want?”

The way her eyes had darkened nearly set off an explosion in the Texan’s mind.  Dear God, he knew that no matter how much alcohol he consumed, he would never forget the way she looked at that exact moment.  Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her breathing had become slightly labored, and the way she pursed her lips immediately made a certain body part of his throb in sheer anticipation.  He knew he had to maintain his composure for at least another minute.  He had to know she really wanted this and she wouldn’t claim it was some drunken mistake tomorrow.  “Is it what you want?”

She smiled as she slowly, purposefully so, closed the space between them once more.  “Yes,” she purred as her lips quickly covered his.  She wanted to silence him before he had a chance to think, a chance to ruin whatever moment they could have together.  

Lucas felt most of his remaining defenses slip away as her fingers slowly danced down his chest.  As her tongue slipped into his mouth, his hands slid up her back as he quickly guided them further into their little oasis.

As soon as her back hit the wall, she shoved one of his hands down to her thigh.  “I want to feel your hands all over me,” she murmured as she hooked one of her legs around his waist.  She smashed her lips to his once again as she wanted nothing more than to feel him explore her entire body.

He squeezed her thigh as her tongue met his once more.  When she moaned into his mouth, he felt the last shred of ‘Lucas the Good’ slip away.  Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that while whatever they were doing was completely and utterly right, the timing of it and the location of it was not at all how he had imagined it.  Still, the alcohol in his system and eight years of dreaming about the woman in his arms night after night tipped the scales into Lucas the not-so-Good’s favor.  When she placed his hand on her thigh and told him that she wanted his hands all over her, he nearly took her right then and there.  As soon as she moaned into his mouth, ‘Lucas the Good’ ceased to exist all together.  His hand slowly crept up her thigh.  He knew that if she didn’t want this, she would push his hand down, pull away from him and tell him that they were going too far.

But she didn’t.  As her nails scraped across his back, she wiggled against him in a desperate attempt to get his fingers toward their destination quicker.  She needed to feel him. She needed him to touch her in a way that no one else had before.

Up until that moment, Lucas didn’t know that his brain possessed an off switch.  As his fingers slowly disappeared under her dress, Riley whimpered in sheer anticipation.  How many times had he dreamt about them like this?  How many times had he woken up and taken a cold shower because the woman he fantasized about wasn’t next to him?

“Please,” she murmured desperately in between kisses.  “I want you to.  I need you to.”  Goose bumps peppered her entire body as she felt his fingers graze the outside of her underwear.  “Please, Lucas.”

All he wanted to do was to make her happy and to make her feel good.  She wanted this.  He wanted this.  As he opened his eyes, he noticed that hers were already opened as they continued to kiss one another.  He looked for a sign of hesitation, any indication that it was merely the alcohol talking and not something she really wanted.  It was the only thing that could possibly hold him back from doing this.  A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she lightly bit his bottom lip.  “Please,” she begged once more.

At that moment, no one on Earth could have resisted her.  

She gasped as soon as she felt his fingers slide into her underwear.  She dug her nails further into his back when his lips reclaimed hers while his fingers slowly explored a new uncharted territory.  Was this real?  As his fingers paid homage to her most private of regions, Riley sighed into his mouth.  God, it felt so much better than she imagined, and it wasn’t even the real thing.  Her entire body felt completely electrified by his motions.  As insanely wonderful as it felt, she wanted more.  This was becoming an addiction.  He was becoming an addiction.   She had to have more of this.  She had to have more of him.

Lucas wished that she had left with him earlier when he mentioned it.  It was a mile and a half back to their hotel, but with traffic, it could easily take 20 minutes to get back to their suite.  He wasn’t sure about her, but he knew he couldn’t wait that long.  He wasn’t even sure they could make it to a room at the Bellagio at the rate they were going.  

Riley couldn’t stand it anymore.  She thought she could be placated with a tease, with a glimpse into a world that had been forbidden for so long, but it only made her demand more.  She dragged her fingernails down the length of his back before she brought them in between their bodies.  As she lowered her lips to his neck, her fingers grazed the outside of his pants.

He groaned the moment he felt her fingertips against him.  Did she have any clue how close he was to taking her right then and there?  All it would take is one word, one indication of consent and he would happily spend the rest of the night—the rest of forever—worshipping her like the goddess she was.

He used his free hand to run through her slightly tangled hair.  As she lifted her head up, he pulled her face to his in a scorching kiss.

Lucas quickened his pace as his mouth desperately sought contact with hers.  Riley could hear her heart race in her ears as the pressure within her began to build more and more rapidly.  She wasn’t exactly sure how she was able to pull in any oxygen between the breath Lucas commanded and the fact that his ministrations had already labored her breathing.  She felt like she could pass out at any moment from sheer pleasure.  If she died right here, she would die the happiest woman in the world.  She never wanted this feeling to end.      

He kissed her with every single feeling she was giving him in return.  A lethal combination of love, lust, anger, jealousy, and passion swirled within him as he desperately tried to tell her everything she was doing to him without ever saying a word.  He was a man possessed.  He couldn’t control anything anymore.  “Tell me,” he commanded as he slid his lips across her bare shoulder.  His free hand fell to her lower back in order to support her when she threw her head back and desperately gasped for air.  “Tell me that I’m the only one you want.  Tell me you don’t want him.  Tell me, Riley,” he pleaded as his lips brushed against her collarbone.  “Tell me that when we wake up tomorrow, we’ll be together.”  He kissed his way toward the base of her neck as he waited for her answer.

Riley’s heart pounded even harder as she listened to his pleas.  As her mind desperately tried to fight through the thick fog of alcohol and lust, she replayed his words again.  Be together as in dating?  Her mind raced as the logical side of her brain tried to dissect his words and the meaning behind them.  She couldn’t do this right now.  She was hammered.  She told him that she didn’t want to talk.  She didn’t want to make a life altering decision while they were intoxicated.  

She thought this would be easy.  She thought that maybe they could get whatever this was out of their system tonight—chalk it up to the city, to the alcohol, to being young.  She knew that on some level, she had waited for him, had wanted him to be her first because he had been her first everything else and that maybe she could begin to move on if she got some sort of closure from the last seven years.  She knew that at least for her, it wouldn’t be so simple to walk away, but maybe it would be for him.  Maybe getting the tension out of the way could somehow pave the way for them to repair their friendship.  At least, that was what the inebriated side of her had foolishly thought.  

She closed her eyes a newfound embarrassment filled her.  For one moment, she had successfully turned off her brain.  For one moment, she led with something other than the sense that had kept Lucas Friar at arm’s length for a third of her life.  In one foolish moment of weakness, she might have just wrecked an eight-year friendship.  

She slowly opened her eyes when she felt his lips slowly pull away from her neck.  They weren’t on the same page at all.  She knew that couldn’t risk this anymore than she already had.  Her body still cried out for him, but her mind had finally taken control once again.  She thought she could give into this for one night, but she wasn’t that kind of girl.  She never was.  “I can’t,” she answered weakly as she braced herself for the fallout she knew she deserved.

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on the Texan.  He felt completely paralyzed as the weight of those two words fell on his shoulders.  She had driven him completely insane.  He never would have allowed things to get this far between them if he thought that she didn’t want to be with him when morning came.  As he slowly pulled away from her, it felt as if a thousand knives had penetrated his heart.  He couldn’t do this anymore.  He couldn’t be around her while he was still in love with her.  If the last seven years were any indication, he knew that trying to get over Riley would be nearly impossible.  As he shoved his hands into his pockets, he knew that he had to get away from her, but first, before he threw himself off a cliff, he had to know why.  “Why,” his voice cracked with the weight of emotion that flowed through his heart, “Why is it so hard for you to understand that I want to be with you?”

Riley slid her dress back down before she wrapped her arms around herself.  She wanted to tell him it was because of what she had overheard earlier that night, but the real problem extended beyond that.  “Because,” her voice shook, “it was so easy for you to accept what I told you we were and move on.”  She looked down.  “If you did it back then, I know that you’ll do it now.”

“But I didn’t accept it!”  His eyes widened as he waited for her to say something else.  Was there no other reason than the stupid label that she put on them when they were in middle school?  “Don’t you get it, Riley?  Everything that’s happened since then has been because of this ridiculous idea you got into your head that Maya and I liked one another.”

She cut her eyes up at him.  “Didn’t you?  Even for just a second?”

“No!”  He shook his head as he tried to pull himself together long enough to explain to her what actually went on in his confused fifteen year old mind.  “I thought that…that maybe there was…or that there could be…but I realized later that I only thought about that after you told us there was something there.”  He scoffed when she said nothing in response.  “Do you not understand that Maya and I only dated because the person we loved the most in this world told us that we had to see how we felt about one another?  I’ve been chasing you ever since then.”  He shook his head as he looked away from her.  This was completely ridiculous.  Was he supposed to pay for her decision for the rest of his life?

Riley furrowed her eyebrows.  “What did you say?”

His eyes fell to the ground.  “I’ve been chasing you, Riley.”  Was she going to laugh in his face?  Was she going to completely pulverize the last shred of hope he had for them?

She shook her head.  “Before that.”

He took a moment to think about what he had actually revealed to her.  When his words came back to him, he realized that after seven years, he finally told her how he felt.  As he lifted his gaze, he knew that he had never intended for it to come out like that.  He had always imagined some huge romantic reveal—something that would rival the white horse he rode in the gymnasium at John Quincy Adams Middle School—but perhaps some of the purest moments didn’t need to come with pomp and circumstance.  Maybe they were best received when spoken from the heart, even if it’s outside of a club at 2:00 in the morning.  “Maya and I only went out because the person we loved the most in this world told us that we had to see how we felt about one another.”

Riley was convinced that the entire earth was currently spinning at a rate that would perplex scientists for the rest of eternity.  She swallowed in a desperate attempt to ensure that her voice didn’t shake when she finally asked him the most important question she had ever asked anyone.  “You loved me?”

“Yes!”  He looked all around them as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  Had she not been listening to anything he had said or done in the last 24 hours?  Could she not see it before then?  Did she never suspect how destroyed he was over what happened to them in middle school?  Did she never catch on to the fact that his gaze always seemed to stay on her no matter where they were, who they were with, or what they were doing?  Did the woman before him have zero clue that he not only wanted to give her the world but that she had been his entire world for the last eight years?  “I loved you then,” he finally declared.  As she lifted her eyebrows in surprise, he realized that she really had no idea what he had sacrificed just to be able to continue to orbit around her.  “I love you now,” he confessed.  She had to know.  She had to see that this wasn’t some random hookup to him.  She had to know that this was the culmination of seven years of emotional repression.  “I never stopped loving you, even for a second…even though you told me that you only saw me as a brother.”

[suzannebyrne]

Drake’s Dad Has the Best Night Ever at the Billboard Music Awards

Drake and his dad, Dennis Graham, at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 21. (Photo: Getty Images)

A man with the amount of style that Drake’s father, Dennis Graham, has needs to be in the spotlight — and that’s where he found himself last night at the Billboard Music Awards.

Everyone — not just Drake — should stop and point at Dennis Graham, wearer of purple suits and shoes. He’s got it going on. (Photo: Chris Polk/BBMA2017/Getty Images for DCP)

The “One Dance” singer, 30, won a record-breaking 13 awards at the Sunday night show, and during one of his trips up on stage couldn’t help but call out his dad’s style. “My dad got on a purple suit with purple shoes!” he said excitedly. “Boy, if you don’t stop.”

Did #Drake really #BoyIfYouStop his dad at the #BBMAs ????????????????????‍♀️that's my grandma repeating it after ???????????? pic.twitter.com/p3pUWj0Knp

— The Mogul Minute (@TheMogulGirl) May 22, 2017

Later, Graham took the stage with his rapper son as he received Top Artist honors at the show. And, yes, he was in all purple — and he waved his arms in case you didn’t notice him.

Drake’s dad, Dennis Graham, helped him celebrate his Top Artist win at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards on May 21. (Photo: Getty Images)

As if global attention wasn’t enough, Graham — and his incredible mustache — later met Celine Dion backstage, and he enjoyed it. Drizzy (real name Aubrey Graham) posted a black and white version of his shot on Instagram and wrote, “My dad might have walked away from this pic and said ‘Da Celine Way.'”

Drake and his dad, Dennis Graham, cheesed with Celine Dion at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards on May 21. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/BBMA2017/Getty Images for dcp)

For the record, the Internet loved Papa Drake:

THOSE PICS OF DRAKE BRINGING HIS DAD ONSTAGE, I'M CRYING!!!!

— eliana del lols (@misowithlizo) May 22, 2017

wake me up when god replaces all my friends with Drake, Drake's dad, and Celine Dion

— Rula Saeed (@_rulasaeed) May 22, 2017

Drake's dad dressed like he's about to takeover Gotham city

— 01' Taker ⚰️⚱️ (@NegroDamus__) May 22, 2017

Drake's dad is lit af ????

— A' (@SmileyAlmighty) May 22, 2017

Everybody on Twitter looking for a pic of Drake's dad in his purple suit and purple shoes. #BBMAs2017 pic.twitter.com/ezTLgNhDYC

— Jo (@mostlyjudgy) May 22, 2017

Graham, who regularly pops up on his son’s Instagram has an account of his own, where you can see him stylin’ in hats and living his best life — meeting Katy Perry, Chance the Rapper, and the A-list:

Sunshine on a cloudy day my girl @katyperry

A post shared by Dennis Graham (@therealdennisg) on Apr 17, 2017 at 4:13pm PDT

And you’ll also see that he loves purple suits. Last night wasn’t a one-off.

May God have so much more in store for this young man and his father and family,so humble and gracious ????????@chancetherapper suit by @maksmensware

A post shared by Dennis Graham (@therealdennisg) on Feb 13, 2017 at 4:12am PST

  Maybe we’ll be seeing more of Dennis Graham onstage. While he’s regularly popped up on his son’s tracks through the years (Dennis split from Drake’s mom Sandi Graham when Drizzy was 5), the Memphis native has musical ambitions of his own — from when he was younger — and released a single late last year, “Kinda Crazy.” But if it doesn’t work out, that’s OK too. He already feels like he’s achieved stardom through the success of his son.

“I always thought that I would be that big star, and I never made it,” Graham, who doesn’t reveal his age, told Billboard in January. “But Drake did it and I felt like, by him doing it, I had made it.”

Well, if last night is any indication, Daddy Graham has made it. We need more of him in our lives. Preferably while wearing purple.

Read more from Yahoo Celebrity:

Cher Parades Around Billboard Music Awards in Pasties at Age 71

Vanessa Hudgens Meets Celine Dion After Doing Impression of Her at Billboard Music Awards

Pregnant Beyoncé Shows Off Her Bare Belly at the ‘Carter Push Party’

[megaphonemonday]

Prompt if you're taking them: Mike finds out that during a boozey weekend in Vegas Ginny gets his number tattooed and now I he really needs to see it.

oh that’s too good!! too too good!!! I tweaked this just slightly for the ~slow burn~ but oh god i love the idea of Mike being a total shit trying to wheedle info from a slightly surly Ginny.

got you deep in the heart of me | ao3

Before exiting her dressing room, Ginny poked her head out the door and looked both ways, feeling like a little kid again, waiting to cross the street. Only, the danger here wasn’t some inattentive driver about to mow her down. In fact, she would welcome some negligent, self-centered behavior right now. It sure as hell beat what was actually happening.

Sighing in relief at the empty hallway, Ginny ducked back into her room, snagged her tablet and headphones, and snuck out the door.

That’s what she’d been reduced to. Peeking around corners and creeping through the clubhouse like some kind of criminal. If this kept up, Ginny was pretty sure she was well on her way to be the youngest, healthiest woman to die of a heart attack. She’d become a paranoid mess, constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting for the inevitable moment when—

“Just a hint, Baker.”

That. 

Ginny managed not to jump out of her skin this time, but she did whirl on the source of her constantly suspicious state. 

“Christ, Lawson. Wear a bell or something,” she complained, pushing past six feet of solid major league catcher. She strode down the hall, ignoring her bearded shadow in favor of nodding to her other teammates. He was pretty hard to ignore, especially considering the way their teammates didn’t. They’d flick him curious looks, which, at first, Ginny thought meant they were in the dark, wanting to know why the hell he’d been hounding her lately. 

She kept thinking that right up until Stubbs asked him, “You find out what it is yet?”

Though he’d been quiet, Ginny was standing literally three feet away. Of course she heard him. The hissed chorus of “Shut up!” didn’t help anyone’s case.

Ginny leveled Mike an exasperated glare. “You told them?”

“About your ink?” he asked, chomping on a wad of gum and somehow managing to give her a shit-eating smirk at the same time. “I may’ve mentioned it.”

Taking a look around the clubhouse and clocking too many faces turning away, trying not to get caught, Ginny narrowed her eyes in consideration. She sighed in defeat and slouched into an empty seat, beckoning them on. Mike’s face lit up and several of their teammates perked up, too. 

“What have you heard?” she asked first, looking around at the room full of gossipmongers parading around as her teammates. 

There were a few guilty looks thrown around, but Sonny got the ball rolling. 

“You really get tatted up in Vegas, Baker?”

She rolled her eyes, thinking the tiny bit of ink hardly qualified her as “tatted up,” but confirmed anyway. 

“Why Vegas, mami?” Livan splayed out in his chair and smirked at the dirty look Ginny threw him.

“Haven’t ever been,” she replied, sticking to the bare facts, “aside from road trips with the Chihuahuas. My friend was driving out for the weekend and invited me along.”

Cara, upon learning that they both had free weekends—practically unheard of in the middle of baseball season—had declared a girl’s trip to Vegas was in order. Ginny was more than happy to oblige, even bankrolling a room in a real hotel rather than the rundown motel they would’ve been stuck in otherwise. Any argument that rundown motels were part of the experience was trumped by the thread count of the sheets at the Wynn.

It seemed that the Wynn was just as excited to have Ginny Baker as a guest as she and her friends were not to worry about bed bugs. Several bottles of complimentary champagne awaited them in the room.

What was it about being champagne drunk that made bad decisions seem so rational?

Whatever it was, Cara went home covered in a stripper’s body glitter while Ginny left permanently branded.

“It hurt?”

“Just ‘cause you need someone to hold your hand while you get yours doesn’t mean we all do.”

A low “ooh” echoed through the room, like it was full of a bunch of teenagers and not pro ballplayers. The guys ragged on Sal good-naturedly and Ginny grinned to soften the blow. Salvi still clutched at his chest like he’d been mortally wounded. 

“So. Where is it?” That was Voorhies, waggling his eyebrows. 

A hush fell over the room and Ginny considered for a moment. Her gaze darted over to Mike and his head was tilted inquiringly, though the corners of his mouth were tugged down in a faint frown. Like he was thinking too hard. 

That decided it.

“Well,” Ginny rubbed her neck, a little sheepish, before plowing on, “it’s kinda personal, you know? I put in a lot of thought to what I was going to get. I had to. It’s gonna be on my body forever, right?” 

She gestured up and down and was pleased to see nearly every pair of eyes trace the movement. Several guys nodded along, wide-eyed and hanging on her every word.

“Since it’s so personal, I knew it had to go somewhere that wasn’t always on display. Somewhere that not many people would get to see. Just someone special,” she breathed, smiling soft and biting her lip for emphasis. 

It was utterly silent in the San Diego Padres’ clubhouse. Pin drop silent. Twenty-four fully grown men waiting with baited breath as Ginny’s fingers toyed with the hem of her jersey, flirting with the seam.

“But you guys are my teammates. You’re all important to me and,” she drew a deep breath and scanned the room, making eye contact with each and every Padre, including the now scowling catcher and captain, “I’ve decided…”

Ginny paused, waiting until the tension in the room was palpable, every man on the edge of his seat in anticipation, before springing her trap.

“… that none of you losers are ever gonna see it,” she finished firmly, pushing to her feet and striding off to the cardio suite.

A chorus of disappointed groans followed her, but Ginny didn’t care. They deserved it, the busybodies. And no one more than her captain, who couldn’t keep his mouth shut, apparently.

She set herself up on a bike that faced that door—no more sneak attacks from Lawson, thank you—and started going over hitters for her next outing in a few days. Better to concentrate on that than her teammates’ apparent inability to mind their own damn business. 

Of course, just because he couldn’t sneak up on her the way he’d been doing for the past week, didn’t mean Mike was going to leave her in peace. 

Watching Mike amble around the otherwise empty room like he just so happened to wander in, not even ten minutes after Ginny’d gotten there herself, she couldn’t help but curse Eliot’s big, fat mouth. Again.

To be fair, she hadn’t told him that her tattoo was a secret, but really. Some things didn’t need to be said, did they?

Though, she never would’ve thought that Mike would be the one Eliot told. Honestly, she didn’t want to know what conversation had led to that information being in play. Or how that conversation even started. If she’d ever thought about it, she would’ve put money on Mike not even remembering Eliot existed half the time. 

Which was why it was such a surprise when her captain showed up outside her changing room one afternoon looking like the cat that ate the canary. 

“A little birdy told me your secret, Baker,” he’d sung, leaning in the door frame.

She’d spared him a glance, by now used to the way he made her heart speed up and her brain fuzz over. But he was her teammate and they weren’t talking about it, so she ignored the way her body wanted to rebel and fold itself up in his arms.

“Got a lot of secrets, Lawson,” she’d drawled. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

A flash of frowning surprise passed over his face, like he hadn’t realized he might not know everything there was to know about her, but it was gone in a blink. He hadn’t been put off for long. 

“Something about a little bit of body art you may have gotten over the break?” Her dumbstruck look must have spoken for itself because his expression turned self-satisfied. “So it’s true? Ginny Baker got a tattoo?”

“How d’you even know that?” she’d demanded. The only people who knew were Cara, who’d been in the parlor with her, and—

“Eliot,” she and Mike had said at the same time, Ginny with a grimace and Mike with a cocky grin. She sank back into her chair and groaned in annoyance. She’d told Eliot about the tattoo so he’d keep any hint of it off her social media accounts, keep it private. Not tell a man—one who loved to hear himself talk—all about it.

Then, he’d cocked his head and given her a considering look. A look that Ginny was becoming more and more familiar with the longer they kept not talking about it. His cocky grin turned a little dangerous and Ginny would deny to her dying day the way it made her body thrum with awareness. 

“So, what’d you get?” A simple question complicated both by the low rumble of Mike’s voice and it’s answer. 

So, in defiance of the way his voice made her knees turn to jelly, Ginny’d stood, marched straight up to Mike, and slammed the door in his face with a “None of your goddamn business!”

And she’d stuck with that answer in the week since Mike found out about the tattoo, though he’d done his best to goad her into letting something slip. He popped up where he was least expected—waiting outside her changing room, showing up to her bullpen sessions, following her to her PT appointments—leaving Ginny on high alert at all times. For the past seven days, she’d been constantly aware of the better than good chance that her captain and catcher was lurking somewhere nearby, ready to ambush her. Now that he’d roped the team into his information gathering mission, Ginny was positive her stock answer would be put into even heavier rotation. 

One eye on her heat maps and one eye on the catcher trying to casually roam the cardio suite, Ginny waited. 

Not long. Within a few minutes Mike ambled over as if he’d just noticed he wasn’t alone. 

“Fancy seeing you here,” he greeted sunnily, leaning against the bike’s console. Ginny leveled him with her best unimpressed stare, though it seemed to bounce right off Mike’s layers of studied nonchalance and self-importance. “You wanted to get away from all the questions, I’m sure.”

“And yet I’m positive you’re itching to ask one of your own,” she replied dryly. “Spit it out, Lawson.”

He grinned and inclined his head in acknowledgement. Ginny definitely didn’t track his tongue as it darted out to wet his lips. No, her attention was entirely focused on her scouting reports as she braced herself for the interrogation. 

Surprisingly, Mike led off with a new question. Well, for him, at least. “You’re really not gonna show anyone?”

Her eyes narrowed, and she cut him a sideways glance. “Not any of my teammates, no.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not any of their damn business what I put on my body.”

Mike’s head tilted in consideration, but he nodded slowly. Ginny wanted to sigh in relief. If he accepted that, then maybe that was the end of it. 

She should have known better.

“What about someone who’s not your teammate?” he asked, studying her intently enough that she wanted to squirm.

“It’s not like I’m running around showing it off to everyone who’s not a Padre,” she grumped under his scrutiny. She punched up the resistance on the machine and hoped Mike would take the hint.

He didn’t.

“So, you’ll show someone special.”

“Someone special,” she echoed, at a loss. Sure, she’d said it out in the main area, but that was a joke. What was with the significant looks he was giving her? Should she know where he’s going with this?

“Who’s not a Padre.”

And it clicked. What Mike had been asking all along.

Ginny’s heart stopped. They didn’t talk about this. They’d agreed not to talk about this. And yet, if the serious expression on Mike’s face was any sign, that didn’t matter. She swallowed and her heart sputtered back into rhythm. Her legs started pumping again, feeling strangely disconnected from her brain.

“Who’s not a Padre,” she agreed hoarsely. And then, because she couldn’t hold it in: “Anymore.”

Mike’s dropped any pretense of nonchalance. His gaze cut straight to hers and he leaned in a little, his sudden intensity making her mouth go dry. Ginny looked back and tried to will herself not to flush, or break eye contact. She wasn’t going to compromise on this. 

There were still two seasons left on Mike’s contract. Even if his knees didn’t last the whole time, that was a long stretch where they were going to be teammates. Ginny was sure that her career, only in its first full season in the majors, wouldn’t withstand the scrutiny and scandal that would descend if it ever got out that she involved herself with her captain while they were still playing together. She wasn’t even sure that it would survive if they kept everything above board, but at least she’d be able to live with herself. 

They’d gotten so good at reading each other, Ginny knew Mike would know exactly what she wasn’t saying.

He looked away and sighed. “You’re really gonna make me wait that long to see it?”

“Yeah,” she breathed, still reeling a little from the surreal turn her day just took.

He nodded his understanding, but didn’t crack a smile. Knuckles rapping softly against the bike’s hand grip, Mike pushed back, and turned away. 

“It’s—” Her mouth went dry, but she had to give him something. “I think you’ll like it.”

“It’s on you, Gin,” he replied, though he didn’t bother to stop or turn back to face her. “Of course I’ll like it.”

Ginny watched him go, the 36 emblazoned on his back taunting her. She rubbed self-consciously at her ribs. 

Just under her fingertips, navy ink outlined in gold, that same number lay etched into her skin. 

What Mike would say when he finally got to see it, Ginny could only imagine. Although, the imagining was pretty fun all on its own.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, thoughts that were decidedly not helpful to her resolve to wait, Ginny turned back to her tablet. She didn’t need to figure things out right now. 

After all, she had two seasons to figure out a good comeback.

[garden-of-succulents]

Time for more BITTYPOOTS AU, meaning the story @gutsybitsy and I are working on where Jack is the tormented audience to Bitty and Poots’ unhappy and unsatisfying relationship (Original post / fic tag). NOW FEATURING: established relationship Patater and excerpts from Bitty’s twitter!

(Also accidental outing to a safe/sympathetic audience, and gay gossip.)

Away games in Las Vegas have gotten a lot easier these days. During his rookie year, they meant pitched arguments with Kent that lasted hours and left them both exhausted in the morning. After Kent broke up with him, they meant a couple years of holing up early in his hotel room and eating room service while watching tape.

But now Las Vegas trips are, quite tentatively... nice.

Somehow the crucible of two Stanley Cup finals against each other in the last four years have left the Falcs and Aces with a permanent rivalry that is enthusiastic, respectful, warm, and friendly. It could so easily have been bitter--but if Jack were to name a single factor that turned the tide, it was Tater's defection to Vegas. You couldn't quite hate a man who skated over during breaks and asked how your children liked their birthday presents, who complimented you on your improved form and laughed about your inability to score on his goalie, and then laughed again when you did before putting his head down and putting all his energies to beating your pants off. Tater's shoulders are broad enough to carry all of the game's spirit, its pettiness and nobility, its competition and comradeship--and Kent, the burden of the C removed from him by Tater's presence, began finding it easier to be magnanimous in victory, graceful in defeat.

And the two of them know Jack doesn't like big parties, so they leave Tater's other A to lead the grand night out with the Falcs and whisk Jack away to a quiet dinner at their apartment instead.

Jack indulges in a beer while Kent grills steak on the balcony and Tater uses a feather toy to make the cat run laps around the living room. He's relaxed, amused, comfortable, and his worries and concerns ease up enough to spill out past his lips.

"There's this guy I know," he says, picking at the label on his bottle. "He has this boyfriend who's... really nice. But they're not out, right, and I'm the only one who knows, so they kinda talk to me about it? And..." He wrinkles his nose as the label comes off imperfectly, then licks his thumb and starts rubbing at the ragged edges. "He complains about his boyfriend. Clingy, embarrassing, needy... because he does things like pack lunches or text him for no reason. I just wanna tell him to smarten right up and stop being so ungrateful."

"Fuck yeah," Kent sings from the grill. "I want someone who packs me lunches."

"He wants not me to pack him lunches," Tater says, flicking the cat toy.

"The gods are jealous of perfection, kotyenok. We all have our flaws." Kent puts down the sauce brush and closes the lid on the barbecue again, then comes back in to throw himself onto the arm of the chair Tater's sitting in. Tater's arm comes around his waist to steady him.

"I just--" Jack covers his face with one hand. "I talk to the boyfriend too. He was really happy the other week because he got an anniversary present, and I had to shut up because I was so close to telling him his boyfriend bought it at the last minute in an airport gift shop. Because I told him to. Because he said, 'I can't go out tonight, it's our six-month anniversary and he's making dinner' and I asked what he got as a present and he said, 'You think I should get something?'" Jack gestures, helplessly. "I know I'm not good at this stuff, so how much worse is he?"

"Terrible, obviously," Kent says. "My love, could you assemble the salad?"

"Oh, you trust me with salad now!" Tater grumbles, but he gets up and moves to the kitchen. When Jack gestures, Kent passes him the cat toy, and Jack tries to figure out why Kit Purrson will do backflips for Tater, but ignore him when he tries to do the exact same thing.

After they've demolished half a cow and a small Irish town's supply of potatoes, plus some salad on the side, Kent leans back in his seat and says, "Tell you what, Tates. Let's seduce Fitzgerald's poor boyfriend out from under him."

Tater's making some rumbling noise about that being a good idea while Jack sits bolt upright. "It's not--!" he says. "I didn't say who it was. You don't know it's Fitzgerald."

"Yes, I do," Kent says calmly.

"Elementary deduction," Tater chimes in.

"Someone you spend a lot of time with," Kent says, ticking points off on his fingers. "That you put up with even when he annoys you. That's only someone on your team. Six Falconers are single, and Fitzgerald--what do you guys call him?"

"Poots," Jack says, miserably unable to stop them.

"Poots? Well, anyway--Poots is the only one on your line, and only one of two under 20; Marks came straight out of Juniors, while Poots came out of Gaytopia U."

“It could be--one of the trainers, or--”

Kent swats that away. “The only new hires you guys have made this year have been female. Try another one.”

"You play good with him on ice," Tater contributes. "He is happy to sit next to you when he comes to bench, but when he is the one sitting, you choose somewhere else."

Jack stares at Tater, mouth agape. One, not even he noticed that; two, Tater has a fucking hockey game to play while that kind of thing is happening. Where does he get off paying that kind of attention?

"Some people follow sports," Tater shrugs. "We follow you love life."

"Well you must be bored then," Jack snaps.

"Fuckin' right we are," Kent yawns. "This is the most excitement we've had since Collins left for England."

"I won't confirm or deny anything," Jack says, and the hand with Tater's phone in it bumps Kent's arm. Kent looks down.

"Oh damn, he's cute," Kent says.

Jack's eyebrows furrow. "Poots?"

"Eric Bittle," Kent replies, and Jack's stomach turns to ice. "Oh, don't look like that, Zimmermann. You're talking to two of the most closeted people in the sport. You haven't come out because you've had a sad-sack social life, but we haven't come out because we have people to protect. We're only gossip-mongers like this when we're around you, because it's so fucking nice to not be alone for once."

Jack's mouth twists, and he looks away.

"Very cute tweet from last week," Tater says. "'That feeling when you have the cutest boyfriend in the room.' And a little heart."

"Not hard to find if you know what you're looking for," Kent says, scrolling through Tater's phone. "Your guy's got 30k Twitter followers, follows 22 people in return. Eleven are Falconers, four are official feeds, three are girls, two are guys in Toronto, one's a guy backpacking through Asia, and one is Eric R. Bittle in Boston."

"You're just constructing a theory--" Jack tries again.

"New tweet," Tater says. "Just posted. 'Is it really too needy to want to cuddle?'"

Jack can't help scowling, and Kent says sardonically, "Tell me how I'm making shit up again."

Jack rubs his face with his hands again, and says equivocally, "He deserves so much better."

"We steal him," Tater says calmly. "Make him happy with us."

"You can't do that!" Jack retorts, nettled. "Look, you two, leave it alone. He doesn't need your nonsense."

"Nonsense," Kent says to Tater.

"No, I mean it! He's a nice guy and it won't help to get pulled into your stupid sex shenanigans, he doesn't need you two, he needs someone stable, someone steady--"

"We have shenanigan?" Tater asks Kent.

"No babe, we got tested by the clinic, we're clean."

Jack makes a frustrated noise, and pitches a napkin at them. It lands unsatisfyingly short of either man. "Stop it."

"I don't hear you calling dibs," Kent says archly.

"Dibs," Jack retorts. "Dibs, dibs, dibs. Leave him alone."

The moment he says it a smile blossoms across Kent's face, like Jack's sprung a trap. He scowls fiercely back. "You like him," Kent says, delighted.

"So what if I do? He's taken. And it's none of your business."

"All right," Kent says, but he concedes like it's a victory, grinning to himself as he nestles into Tater's side. "Just remember, Zimms. He might not stay taken forever."

"I... have something to confess," Jack says awkwardly, while they watch Poots at the billiards table. So long as they keep their heads close together, they're muffled by the overall noise of the bar. "I told two friends about you and James? I tried to stay general, 'a guy I know', but they figured out who it was. They won't tell anybody, but they know, and I'm sorry that I kind of outed you."

Bittle gives him a brief frightened-rabbit look, then bites his lip and watches his boyfriend thoughtfully for a minute. Then he turns back to Jack. "You trust them?"

Jack nods, then leans into add, "It's my ex and his boyfriend. And if you ever want to leave James for an NHL captain, um... apparently that's a possibility."

Bittle blinks at him again, looking astonished and absolutely edible, then says, "Your ex is an NHL captain?"

Jack grins uncertainly. "Yes?"

Bittle blinks those enormous eyes a time or two, and looks over at his boyfriend with a smile spreading across his face. He looks back to Jack once, for another second disbelieving, but Jack pastes on a smile and nods, and Bittle's features relax with relief and joy. He knocks his shoulder against Jack's in a friendly way, then turns and asks, "Can I tell James?"

"Sure you can."

"God, maybe it'll help to know he's... not alone," Bittle says, and reaches out for his beer. "Make him relax."

"Anything to help the two of you," Jack says loyally, and reaches out for his glass of water to hide his expression.

[hazel-wolf]

The Boarding House Damon and Elena - "She is…cute.”

Damon was getting his things together for his trip to Vegas with Alaric and Stefan. He hadn’t spoken to Elena since they’d had their argument. He didn’t try to contact her in anyway, and honestly he was starting to feel a little guilty. Things had been crazy. He knew that Katherine wasn’t exactly happy with Elena either. She felt betrayed and Damon hoped that during their weekend in New York they would patch things up.

The last thing Damon wanted to do was be in a house with two pissed off Petrova women. Even though Elena was a Gilbert she had that Petrova fire that some wouldn’t believe.

He headed down to the cellar to get a blood bag. He needed to have enough blood in his system to keep him from falling apart while he was in Vegas. Even though he was sure he could compel people to ignore the blood, he didn’t want to take that approach. He wasn’t sure if they were driving or taking a plane to Vegas, and he preferred to take every precaution. He was coming back upstairs when he heard the front door open. He listened carefully and he knew it was Elena.

Damon tore open the blood bag and began drinking. He was going to keep himself under control. He didn’t want to argue with her. They had a wedding to go to and they were supposed to walk down the aisle happy for Jenna and Alaric. He didn’t want to spend the entire wedding ceremony fighting the urge to scream at her in front of everyone.

Once he was on the main level his eyes fell onto Elena and he gave her a faint smile. “Hey.” He said softly. He wasn’t sure what to say exactly. Sorry I was a dick and shoved my bleeding wrist in your face because I was pissed off. Wasn’t exactly the best ice breaker. So hey would suffice.

Elena walked into the boarding house. She’d spent two nights down at the lake house with Hazel, and would’ve stayed longer but she had to get back for the hen’s weekend. Stefan had come and stayed both nights, and left soon after. He wanted to be stocked up on animal blood before he went to Vegas with the boys.

On the way home, she’d stopped in at the Gilbert house to talk to Jenna. There she had introduced Hazel to Jenna and Jeremy. She didn’t go into details about Hazel’s situation, figuring they could be saved for another time. She had made it clear that Hazel was Elena’s ‘responsibility’, so that would cause problems for the Hen’s night. Thankfully Jeremy and Bonnie were there, and Hazel ended up staying with them for the rest of the day.

After dropping her and Hazel’s stuff in her room Elena walked downstairs. The getaway had been enough for Elena to calm down at Damon. She couldn’t stay mad at him for long. When she saw him she looked up at him, noticing he didn’t look anywhere near as mad as he had last time. She couldn’t find it within herself to return his half smile. He wasn’t going to have the satisfaction of thinking she gave up the fight first. “Hey.” she said succinctly.

When Elena didn’t return his smile Damon quickly lost it. He gripped the blood bag in his hands and awkwardly shifted his weight. “I-I was just getting some stuff together.” He stated defensively as he struggled to get the words out of this mouth. He didn’t really know what to say, so he said the first thing that came to mind and it sounded like he was hiding something.

He hadn’t said anything to her since their fight, so standing there not saying anything just made him extremely uncomfortable. He didn’t know what else to say, and Elena wasn’t giving him much to go off of. He cleared his throat and took a sip from the blood bag his eyes wandering. He didn’t want to just stand there staring at her.

Was she still mad at him? He looked her over quickly trying to get a feel for what was going through her mind. His face scrunched up slightly as he listened to how quiet the house was. After he finished drinking he looked at Elena curiously. “Where’s Hazel?” Good one Damon. He thought to himself. Obviously she wasn’t in the house, but he really had nothing else to go with.

Elena looked away from Damon, feeling apprehensive with him staring at her the way he was. “Before you go to Vegas?” she asked, attempting small talk. Small talk had never been a strong point of hers, and nor was it Damon’s. The conversation was doomed for awkwardness.

“Hazel is at Jenna’s place. I’m hoping that I might be able to pull a favour with Jeremy and Bonnie and have them babysit her while we’re all away.” Elena shrugged, eyes flashing up to look at Damon. At least he wasn’t staring at her like he was trying to read her now. Not that he ever really struggled with reading her emotions. They were similar like that, they read each other like an open book.

“I don’t hate you, Damon.” She wasn’t going to say she forgave him, because she didn’t yet, but stating that she didn’t hate him was always a good way to break the ice.

“Yeah. You know, blood.” Damon said drawing attention to the blood bag in his hand. He felt really awkward. Small talk wasn’t exactly his best skill. He nodded when she said that Hazel was at Jenna’s. “I’m sure Bonnie and Jeremy don’t mind babysitting.” He tried to sound sarcastic, but he doubted it came out that way.

He brought the blood bag up to his lips once again and took another long sip. He stopped though once she spoke again. He raised a brow to her and released the bag from his lips. “I don’t hate you either Elena.” I just want to shake some damn sense into you. He added to himself. He was quiet again for a moment then cleared his throat. “I guess once the wedding’s over Katherine and I will start moving out.” It was going to quite some time to get all their things out of the house and into another one. Katherine wardrobe alone was enough for an entire bedroom.

Elena heard the sarcasm in Damon’s voice. She fought hard to not say anything, and won the battle, but she couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes. She wondered if he knew that she knew all about how cute he got around Hazel. Hazel had told her about how Damon acted like a dad. As amusing as it was, it also meant that Damon couldn’t act like he didn’t care about Hazel.

“No.” Elena said firmly. “Not until the Klaus deal is over.” Elena continued before Damon could protest. She’d figured everything out in her head already. “When it comes to full moon time, I’ll take Hazel down to the lake house again. The cellar in that house is secure enough to lock her up, and there are all kinds of weaponry and stuff that my family stored down there. When full moon is done and dusted we’ll come back.” She walked up to Damon and put a hand on his arm, looking him in the eyes, “I don’t want you guys leaving until we’re done with Klaus.” She wasn’t sure he’d agree, but it was always worth a shot.

Damon went to argue with Elena that he and Katherine would be moving out soon, but then he knew that it was best that way. He nodded. “I’ll talk to Katherine about it.” He wasn’t say yes, or no. He couldn’t make these decisions by himself, he couldn’t speak for the two of them, but he knew it was probably safest that way.

“Well…it’ll take awhile to get a place that fits us you know. You’ve seen all of Katherine’s clothes. We’ll need an entire pool house to fit all of it.” He joked hoping that he was lightening the mood.

He was quiet again for a moment. He looked down at the floor trying to figure out the best way to say what he had to. “You know I get it.” He started looking back up at her. “Why you’re so motherly to Hazel.” He emphasized motherly, because it was the only word he could think of. “Next thing you know it’ll be your’s and Stefan’s wedding.” He added softly.

His talk with Katherine got him thinking a lot. About everything that Katherine had lost, things that Damon thought were no longer in his future. Hazel coming around kind of brought all those things to his mind. He gave Elena a light smile. He’d forgiven her, and since he talked to Katherine he understood her even more. Plus, she was his best friend, it wasn’t like he could be mad at her forever.

“Oh,” Elena pretended to frown, finally feeling the last of the tension go between her and Damon. “I was hoping she would stay here so I could wear her clothes.” She bought her arm back to her side and looked away when Damon started talking.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t hear about that.” She said softly. Deep down she knew telling Katherine anything was essentially telling Damon, but she still didn’t want him knowing about it.

Hazel was Elena’s vulnerability at the moment, and she didn’t want Damon knowing she was vulnerable, as childish as it was.

Elena groaned at Damon’s comment. The way he had said it hadn’t made it sound like a joke or sarcastic comment, and she realized it probably wasn’t. Not knowing exactly how to reply, she laughed. “I’m pretty sure we have to make it through this wedding and then a sacrifice before that can be considered!”

“It’s confusing enough to other people to figure out who’s who, now you wanna start wearing her clothes? Please don’t.” Damon said chuckling to himself. He stopped though once Elena spoke about wishing he hadn’t heard that she was vulnerable. “Elena, it’s alright…she is…cute.” He looked at her very seriously then. “Don’t you dare  repeat that.” Damon figured his confession made them even in the vulnerability department.

“It’s kinda weird having a kid in the house, it makes me take the Stefan approach to things.” He groaned. He looked at her seriously then wondering and nodded. “True. You know, I think we’ll be just fine.” He said giving her a sincere reassuring smile.

“But they’re so pretty!” Elena said, putting on her girly-ish voice possible. She wasn’t lying either, Katherine owned some amazing outfits.

Elena’s eyes opened wide and a smile appeared on her face, she wasn’t expecting Damon to ever admit that out loud. She liked that he did though, it made her feel like they were on a par with the secrets they didn’t want to admit. Putting on a serious look, she said. “You’re secret’s safe with me, Mr Sappy! I mean Salvatore!” she grinned mischievously.

Her teasing smile was replaced with an honest one. Damon’s reassurance didn’t really reassure her at all, but it was still nice to hear it. “I hope so.” she agreed simply, looking up at Damon, shrugging. *** Damon Salvatore written by takeawaymyhumanity. Elena Gilbert written by judgeylittleeyes. Starter by takeawaymyhumanity. Because they deleted their account, the reply to the starter can be found here.

[fitnetpro]

Thankful for a good week #1 and pumped for week #2-

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Sun, 2012/08/26 – 1:21pm — BuffMother

HI!! I am very pleased with how week #1 went…I didn’t exactly stick to my POA but it was a good start.  I got my starting stats and pictures done too, which showed me that I have made some very nice progress in the past 4 weeks.  I wasn’t “seeeing” the progress in my mirror, but the inches and pictures showed good progress.  It’s amazing how much more belief I have in my workouts after seeing those results– I’m so much more fired up now for the 10 week contest!!

  Here is my week #1 in review- Monday:Chest/Tris/Ran intervals outside Tuesday:Leg workout Wednesday:off- felt a bit icky from allergies– a headache Thursday:Back/Sh/Biceps and intervals on tredmill- took starting stats and pics Friday:chest/tris/abs– didn’t do intervals Saturday: off but was very active- farm work Sunday: cleaned garage- no workout How many weight workouts did I complete:4 How many intervals training sessions did I complete:2 How many days of the week did I workout: 4

Who did I encourage this week? I encouraged a bunch of people online and also my DH, he’s going to have me be his trainer for a bit!I

  MY POA for week #__2_________- date:____8-27-12_

Monday:Legs – BUTT!! Tuesday:Back, sh, bi, run intervals Wednesday:Chest, intervals Th- Sat: REPEAT Mon- Wed Sunday: OFF What is my main goal this week with my workouts? to buff hard, sticking to POA! What is my main goal this week in my diet? EAT fruits and veggies and my protein – NO BREAD!

Well, it’s actually been raining here today– but now it’s clearing off, so I’m off to go enjoy the cool beautiful day.

Have a great Sunday!!

-Michelle

  P.S. don’t forget about OUR CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK~

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread

Are you wondering what is considered bread?? Honestly I want you to choose your own definition but in general terms~ NO BREAD simply means what YOU feel NO BREAD means, lol!

Here’s more info: http://ift.tt/2kn9MzX

Have fun with the CHALLENGE…a Challenge is supposed to be CHALLENGING!!Am I really that OLD?

View

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Mon, 2012/08/27 – 12:29pm — BuffMother

Am I really old enough to be married for 19 years?  I guess so, lol! Let me recount my anniversary’s by the years: We got married August 28th, 1993…just 3 months after I graduated HS and turned 18– I was young, but Travis was wise to get me before I went off to the WORLD, lol!!

1994- I was just 19 and transfered to a different college after a successful freshman year of Track.  Travis was in College also– almost finished, but we were SO POOR!

1995- I  had spent the summer in a walking boot due to a stress fracture in my left tiba; around the time of our anniversary I won the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Fargo, ND title and we won a trip to Hawaii in Nov

1996- It was my Senior year in college…I had been training hard all summer in prep for cross country, but then one day I coudn’t run without extreme knee pain– My track career was over

1997- I was done with college courses, but we still lived in Fargo, I worked at a gym and hooters– kinda in limbo– We visited UTAH and SNOWBIRD around our anniversary for Travis’ best friend’s wedding.  IT was a blast!

1998- We had moved to Dallas and I was working for a home builder selling homes and being the “activities director” there- Dallas was fun!!

1999- I had given birth to Gunner Berger and we were getting ready to move back to MN

2000- We lived in Fargo, ND again…I was SCARED at the prospect of having to deal with another winter in the NORTH

2001- We had moved to AR and I was pregnant with Gracie Berger

2002- We were almost ready to move into our “FIRST HOUSE” and I was pregnant with the TWINS!

2003- I had just got a van and a gym membership the month before.  I was looking into finding a SCARY GOAL.

2004- I had competed in and won several NPC contests that spring/summer– I was training clients at the gym and fired up about sharing my passion with others

2005- BuffMother.com was well underway and I remember “business planning” at Outback on our anniversary http://ift.tt/2BIS3am

2006- We got to spend the night in a hotel, “kidless!” and I was prepping for my last NPC figure contest (Nationals in Sept)

2007- I was totally in love with MMA fighting and my poor DH was sick on our special day- http://ift.tt/2kjRhfP

2008- Travis and I were hard at work on making our “BuffMother” infomercial a reality http://ift.tt/2BG6tIu

2009- We went golfing for our Anniversary date- http://ift.tt/2kjRijT

2010- Travis had just started a new posisiton with Infusion Brands- and we celebrated our anniversary a bit late with a trip to VEGAS (I “trained with AVA”)

2011- WE celebrated with a trip to Cancun Mexico and we also celbrated the start of a new season in our life — owning a country home

2012- we are “HOME”…we love the peace of having that finally HOME feeling– Travis almost went to TAMPA this week but the Tropical Storm allowed him to stay home!!

Then, for our 20th  anniversary our plan is to take a trip to Germany!! We’ve been wanting to go there for years!!

It was fun to recount the years– they certainly do go by FAST!!  I am very thankful to have such a wonderful man to share each of my years with…God has blessed me for sure!!

In Love,

Michelle

Good times!

Thu, 2012/08/30 – 9:20am — BuffMother

Hey everybody!! I’ve been having some really GOOD times this week~ Tuesday was our 19th anniversary, so we basically HUNG OUT as much as possible.  It was a fun time with my MAN!! We ate together, bought stuff together (one item was our “gift”- a mulcher), built a fire together (the burn ban just got lifted, yay!!) and hunted together + PLUS Other activities too!!

Then yesterday I had to get rollin’ early for my tennis lesson.  I’ve never had one before and had no idea what to expect.  The tennis pro is a son of a family friend– he was super nice, very informative, and easy to work with…. it was really good! I learned alot already and my body responded nicely to the activity. I was a little worried that my shoulder would get aggravated, but it’s hanging tough.  After the lesson I stopped by to see my nieces- they live right above the courts.  Tuesday was one of their birthdays and so I brought them a gift since I had “missed” the other one’s b-day early this year.  Anyhow- it was great to see them!

Then I ran  few more errands, got to have a quick lunch with DH and then on my way home I hit the gym for a “quickie” upper body lifting workout:

Seated rows Lat Pulls Tricep Push downs Shoulder press Straight arm press downs (with cable machine- hits the rear delts/lats a bit)

I didn’t have much time since I had to get home and prep to GO again- Gracie has guitar lessons on Wednesday nights and I also needed to get shopping done–

Needless to say, I’ve had very little computer time over the past 2 days.  It feel like I’ve been missing out on everyone’s progress during week #2 of our contest!  I expect you are KICKIN’ tail and getting your workouts and eats done.  Don’t foget that there are tons of resources in our Rally ROOM Super STAR Success book— http://ift.tt/2kkqxMn AND  on my blog http://ift.tt/2klCOjy and YOU TUBE http://www.youtube.com/buffmother

My plan for today is to hit my weight room for a chest workout and get in some good “outside” time with a run before it RAINS tomorrow from the hurricane.  Travis and I also want to get some more fields planted before it rains– we’ve already planted 3 food plots for the deer– a couple more would be good to get done ASAP!

OKAY, I’m off to interact with you all!!

Love,

Michelle

P.S. here’s the Latest From My Blog

SSS week 02: Coaching

SSS week 02: Coaching You’ve had a GREAT start to the week!! fun to see many of your…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video)

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video) LEGS- Beginner Buffing workout (from…

READ MORE..

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA Phase 2Buffing Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Mini-Challenge NO BREAD

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread Eliminate BREAD from your diet this week…notice…

READ MORE..

SSS Starting Stuff

#3-Starting Thoughts: Where are you in your journey? I’m in a transition…I’ve…

READ MORE..

published first on http://ift.tt/2kRppy7

[nelliwenigrxr]

Thankful for a good week #1 and pumped for week #2-

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Track

Sun, 2012/08/26 – 1:21pm — BuffMother

HI!! I am very pleased with how week #1 went…I didn’t exactly stick to my POA but it was a good start.  I got my starting stats and pictures done too, which showed me that I have made some very nice progress in the past 4 weeks.  I wasn’t “seeeing” the progress in my mirror, but the inches and pictures showed good progress.  It’s amazing how much more belief I have in my workouts after seeing those results– I’m so much more fired up now for the 10 week contest!!

  Here is my week #1 in review- Monday:Chest/Tris/Ran intervals outside Tuesday:Leg workout Wednesday:off- felt a bit icky from allergies– a headache Thursday:Back/Sh/Biceps and intervals on tredmill- took starting stats and pics Friday:chest/tris/abs– didn’t do intervals Saturday: off but was very active- farm work Sunday: cleaned garage- no workout How many weight workouts did I complete:4 How many intervals training sessions did I complete:2 How many days of the week did I workout: 4

Who did I encourage this week? I encouraged a bunch of people online and also my DH, he’s going to have me be his trainer for a bit!I

  MY POA for week #__2_________- date:____8-27-12_

Monday:Legs – BUTT!! Tuesday:Back, sh, bi, run intervals Wednesday:Chest, intervals Th- Sat: REPEAT Mon- Wed Sunday: OFF What is my main goal this week with my workouts? to buff hard, sticking to POA! What is my main goal this week in my diet? EAT fruits and veggies and my protein – NO BREAD!

Well, it’s actually been raining here today– but now it’s clearing off, so I’m off to go enjoy the cool beautiful day.

Have a great Sunday!!

-Michelle

  P.S. don’t forget about OUR CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK~

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread

Are you wondering what is considered bread?? Honestly I want you to choose your own definition but in general terms~ NO BREAD simply means what YOU feel NO BREAD means, lol!

Here’s more info: http://ift.tt/2kn9MzX

Have fun with the CHALLENGE…a Challenge is supposed to be CHALLENGING!!Am I really that OLD?

View

Edit

Outline

Track

Mon, 2012/08/27 – 12:29pm — BuffMother

Am I really old enough to be married for 19 years?  I guess so, lol! Let me recount my anniversary’s by the years: We got married August 28th, 1993…just 3 months after I graduated HS and turned 18– I was young, but Travis was wise to get me before I went off to the WORLD, lol!!

1994- I was just 19 and transfered to a different college after a successful freshman year of Track.  Travis was in College also– almost finished, but we were SO POOR!

1995- I  had spent the summer in a walking boot due to a stress fracture in my left tiba; around the time of our anniversary I won the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Fargo, ND title and we won a trip to Hawaii in Nov

1996- It was my Senior year in college…I had been training hard all summer in prep for cross country, but then one day I coudn’t run without extreme knee pain– My track career was over

1997- I was done with college courses, but we still lived in Fargo, I worked at a gym and hooters– kinda in limbo– We visited UTAH and SNOWBIRD around our anniversary for Travis’ best friend’s wedding.  IT was a blast!

1998- We had moved to Dallas and I was working for a home builder selling homes and being the “activities director” there- Dallas was fun!!

1999- I had given birth to Gunner Berger and we were getting ready to move back to MN

2000- We lived in Fargo, ND again…I was SCARED at the prospect of having to deal with another winter in the NORTH

2001- We had moved to AR and I was pregnant with Gracie Berger

2002- We were almost ready to move into our “FIRST HOUSE” and I was pregnant with the TWINS!

2003- I had just got a van and a gym membership the month before.  I was looking into finding a SCARY GOAL.

2004- I had competed in and won several NPC contests that spring/summer– I was training clients at the gym and fired up about sharing my passion with others

2005- BuffMother.com was well underway and I remember “business planning” at Outback on our anniversary http://ift.tt/2BIS3am

2006- We got to spend the night in a hotel, “kidless!” and I was prepping for my last NPC figure contest (Nationals in Sept)

2007- I was totally in love with MMA fighting and my poor DH was sick on our special day- http://ift.tt/2kjRhfP

2008- Travis and I were hard at work on making our “BuffMother” infomercial a reality http://ift.tt/2BG6tIu

2009- We went golfing for our Anniversary date- http://ift.tt/2kjRijT

2010- Travis had just started a new posisiton with Infusion Brands- and we celebrated our anniversary a bit late with a trip to VEGAS (I “trained with AVA”)

2011- WE celebrated with a trip to Cancun Mexico and we also celbrated the start of a new season in our life — owning a country home

2012- we are “HOME”…we love the peace of having that finally HOME feeling– Travis almost went to TAMPA this week but the Tropical Storm allowed him to stay home!!

Then, for our 20th  anniversary our plan is to take a trip to Germany!! We’ve been wanting to go there for years!!

It was fun to recount the years– they certainly do go by FAST!!  I am very thankful to have such a wonderful man to share each of my years with…God has blessed me for sure!!

In Love,

Michelle

Good times!

Thu, 2012/08/30 – 9:20am — BuffMother

Hey everybody!! I’ve been having some really GOOD times this week~ Tuesday was our 19th anniversary, so we basically HUNG OUT as much as possible.  It was a fun time with my MAN!! We ate together, bought stuff together (one item was our “gift”- a mulcher), built a fire together (the burn ban just got lifted, yay!!) and hunted together + PLUS Other activities too!!

Then yesterday I had to get rollin’ early for my tennis lesson.  I’ve never had one before and had no idea what to expect.  The tennis pro is a son of a family friend– he was super nice, very informative, and easy to work with…. it was really good! I learned alot already and my body responded nicely to the activity. I was a little worried that my shoulder would get aggravated, but it’s hanging tough.  After the lesson I stopped by to see my nieces- they live right above the courts.  Tuesday was one of their birthdays and so I brought them a gift since I had “missed” the other one’s b-day early this year.  Anyhow- it was great to see them!

Then I ran  few more errands, got to have a quick lunch with DH and then on my way home I hit the gym for a “quickie” upper body lifting workout:

Seated rows Lat Pulls Tricep Push downs Shoulder press Straight arm press downs (with cable machine- hits the rear delts/lats a bit)

I didn’t have much time since I had to get home and prep to GO again- Gracie has guitar lessons on Wednesday nights and I also needed to get shopping done–

Needless to say, I’ve had very little computer time over the past 2 days.  It feel like I’ve been missing out on everyone’s progress during week #2 of our contest!  I expect you are KICKIN’ tail and getting your workouts and eats done.  Don’t foget that there are tons of resources in our Rally ROOM Super STAR Success book— http://ift.tt/2kkqxMn AND  on my blog http://ift.tt/2klCOjy and YOU TUBE http://www.youtube.com/buffmother

My plan for today is to hit my weight room for a chest workout and get in some good “outside” time with a run before it RAINS tomorrow from the hurricane.  Travis and I also want to get some more fields planted before it rains– we’ve already planted 3 food plots for the deer– a couple more would be good to get done ASAP!

OKAY, I’m off to interact with you all!!

Love,

Michelle

P.S. here’s the Latest From My Blog

SSS week 02: Coaching

SSS week 02: Coaching You’ve had a GREAT start to the week!! fun to see many of your…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video)

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video) LEGS- Beginner Buffing workout (from…

READ MORE..

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA Phase 2Buffing Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Mini-Challenge NO BREAD

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread Eliminate BREAD from your diet this week…notice…

READ MORE..

SSS Starting Stuff

#3-Starting Thoughts: Where are you in your journey? I’m in a transition…I’ve…

READ MORE..

published first on http://ift.tt/2jYy0ej

[fitnetpro]

Thankful for a good week #1 and pumped for week #2-

View

Edit

Outline

Track

Sun, 2012/08/26 – 1:21pm — BuffMother

HI!! I am very pleased with how week #1 went…I didn’t exactly stick to my POA but it was a good start.  I got my starting stats and pictures done too, which showed me that I have made some very nice progress in the past 4 weeks.  I wasn’t “seeeing” the progress in my mirror, but the inches and pictures showed good progress.  It’s amazing how much more belief I have in my workouts after seeing those results– I’m so much more fired up now for the 10 week contest!!

  Here is my week #1 in review- Monday:Chest/Tris/Ran intervals outside Tuesday:Leg workout Wednesday:off- felt a bit icky from allergies– a headache Thursday:Back/Sh/Biceps and intervals on tredmill- took starting stats and pics Friday:chest/tris/abs– didn’t do intervals Saturday: off but was very active- farm work Sunday: cleaned garage- no workout How many weight workouts did I complete:4 How many intervals training sessions did I complete:2 How many days of the week did I workout: 4

Who did I encourage this week? I encouraged a bunch of people online and also my DH, he’s going to have me be his trainer for a bit!I

  MY POA for week #__2_________- date:____8-27-12_

Monday:Legs – BUTT!! Tuesday:Back, sh, bi, run intervals Wednesday:Chest, intervals Th- Sat: REPEAT Mon- Wed Sunday: OFF What is my main goal this week with my workouts? to buff hard, sticking to POA! What is my main goal this week in my diet? EAT fruits and veggies and my protein – NO BREAD!

Well, it’s actually been raining here today– but now it’s clearing off, so I’m off to go enjoy the cool beautiful day.

Have a great Sunday!!

-Michelle

  P.S. don’t forget about OUR CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK~

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread

Are you wondering what is considered bread?? Honestly I want you to choose your own definition but in general terms~ NO BREAD simply means what YOU feel NO BREAD means, lol!

Here’s more info: http://ift.tt/2kn9MzX

Have fun with the CHALLENGE…a Challenge is supposed to be CHALLENGING!!Am I really that OLD?

View

Edit

Outline

Track

Mon, 2012/08/27 – 12:29pm — BuffMother

Am I really old enough to be married for 19 years?  I guess so, lol! Let me recount my anniversary’s by the years: We got married August 28th, 1993…just 3 months after I graduated HS and turned 18– I was young, but Travis was wise to get me before I went off to the WORLD, lol!!

1994- I was just 19 and transfered to a different college after a successful freshman year of Track.  Travis was in College also– almost finished, but we were SO POOR!

1995- I  had spent the summer in a walking boot due to a stress fracture in my left tiba; around the time of our anniversary I won the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Fargo, ND title and we won a trip to Hawaii in Nov

1996- It was my Senior year in college…I had been training hard all summer in prep for cross country, but then one day I coudn’t run without extreme knee pain– My track career was over

1997- I was done with college courses, but we still lived in Fargo, I worked at a gym and hooters– kinda in limbo– We visited UTAH and SNOWBIRD around our anniversary for Travis’ best friend’s wedding.  IT was a blast!

1998- We had moved to Dallas and I was working for a home builder selling homes and being the “activities director” there- Dallas was fun!!

1999- I had given birth to Gunner Berger and we were getting ready to move back to MN

2000- We lived in Fargo, ND again…I was SCARED at the prospect of having to deal with another winter in the NORTH

2001- We had moved to AR and I was pregnant with Gracie Berger

2002- We were almost ready to move into our “FIRST HOUSE” and I was pregnant with the TWINS!

2003- I had just got a van and a gym membership the month before.  I was looking into finding a SCARY GOAL.

2004- I had competed in and won several NPC contests that spring/summer– I was training clients at the gym and fired up about sharing my passion with others

2005- BuffMother.com was well underway and I remember “business planning” at Outback on our anniversary http://ift.tt/2BIS3am

2006- We got to spend the night in a hotel, “kidless!” and I was prepping for my last NPC figure contest (Nationals in Sept)

2007- I was totally in love with MMA fighting and my poor DH was sick on our special day- http://ift.tt/2kjRhfP

2008- Travis and I were hard at work on making our “BuffMother” infomercial a reality http://ift.tt/2BG6tIu

2009- We went golfing for our Anniversary date- http://ift.tt/2kjRijT

2010- Travis had just started a new posisiton with Infusion Brands- and we celebrated our anniversary a bit late with a trip to VEGAS (I “trained with AVA”)

2011- WE celebrated with a trip to Cancun Mexico and we also celbrated the start of a new season in our life — owning a country home

2012- we are “HOME”…we love the peace of having that finally HOME feeling– Travis almost went to TAMPA this week but the Tropical Storm allowed him to stay home!!

Then, for our 20th  anniversary our plan is to take a trip to Germany!! We’ve been wanting to go there for years!!

It was fun to recount the years– they certainly do go by FAST!!  I am very thankful to have such a wonderful man to share each of my years with…God has blessed me for sure!!

In Love,

Michelle

Good times!

Thu, 2012/08/30 – 9:20am — BuffMother

Hey everybody!! I’ve been having some really GOOD times this week~ Tuesday was our 19th anniversary, so we basically HUNG OUT as much as possible.  It was a fun time with my MAN!! We ate together, bought stuff together (one item was our “gift”- a mulcher), built a fire together (the burn ban just got lifted, yay!!) and hunted together + PLUS Other activities too!!

Then yesterday I had to get rollin’ early for my tennis lesson.  I’ve never had one before and had no idea what to expect.  The tennis pro is a son of a family friend– he was super nice, very informative, and easy to work with…. it was really good! I learned alot already and my body responded nicely to the activity. I was a little worried that my shoulder would get aggravated, but it’s hanging tough.  After the lesson I stopped by to see my nieces- they live right above the courts.  Tuesday was one of their birthdays and so I brought them a gift since I had “missed” the other one’s b-day early this year.  Anyhow- it was great to see them!

Then I ran  few more errands, got to have a quick lunch with DH and then on my way home I hit the gym for a “quickie” upper body lifting workout:

Seated rows Lat Pulls Tricep Push downs Shoulder press Straight arm press downs (with cable machine- hits the rear delts/lats a bit)

I didn’t have much time since I had to get home and prep to GO again- Gracie has guitar lessons on Wednesday nights and I also needed to get shopping done–

Needless to say, I’ve had very little computer time over the past 2 days.  It feel like I’ve been missing out on everyone’s progress during week #2 of our contest!  I expect you are KICKIN’ tail and getting your workouts and eats done.  Don’t foget that there are tons of resources in our Rally ROOM Super STAR Success book— http://ift.tt/2kkqxMn AND  on my blog http://ift.tt/2klCOjy and YOU TUBE http://www.youtube.com/buffmother

My plan for today is to hit my weight room for a chest workout and get in some good “outside” time with a run before it RAINS tomorrow from the hurricane.  Travis and I also want to get some more fields planted before it rains– we’ve already planted 3 food plots for the deer– a couple more would be good to get done ASAP!

OKAY, I’m off to interact with you all!!

Love,

Michelle

P.S. here’s the Latest From My Blog

SSS week 02: Coaching

SSS week 02: Coaching You’ve had a GREAT start to the week!! fun to see many of your…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video)

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video) LEGS- Beginner Buffing workout (from…

READ MORE..

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA Phase 2Buffing Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Mini-Challenge NO BREAD

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread Eliminate BREAD from your diet this week…notice…

READ MORE..

SSS Starting Stuff

#3-Starting Thoughts: Where are you in your journey? I’m in a transition…I’ve…

READ MORE..

published first on http://ift.tt/2kRppy7

[nelliwenigrxr]

Thankful for a good week #1 and pumped for week #2-

View

Edit

Outline

Track

Sun, 2012/08/26 – 1:21pm — BuffMother

HI!! I am very pleased with how week #1 went…I didn’t exactly stick to my POA but it was a good start.  I got my starting stats and pictures done too, which showed me that I have made some very nice progress in the past 4 weeks.  I wasn’t “seeeing” the progress in my mirror, but the inches and pictures showed good progress.  It’s amazing how much more belief I have in my workouts after seeing those results– I’m so much more fired up now for the 10 week contest!!

  Here is my week #1 in review- Monday:Chest/Tris/Ran intervals outside Tuesday:Leg workout Wednesday:off- felt a bit icky from allergies– a headache Thursday:Back/Sh/Biceps and intervals on tredmill- took starting stats and pics Friday:chest/tris/abs– didn’t do intervals Saturday: off but was very active- farm work Sunday: cleaned garage- no workout How many weight workouts did I complete:4 How many intervals training sessions did I complete:2 How many days of the week did I workout: 4

Who did I encourage this week? I encouraged a bunch of people online and also my DH, he’s going to have me be his trainer for a bit!I

  MY POA for week #__2_________- date:____8-27-12_

Monday:Legs – BUTT!! Tuesday:Back, sh, bi, run intervals Wednesday:Chest, intervals Th- Sat: REPEAT Mon- Wed Sunday: OFF What is my main goal this week with my workouts? to buff hard, sticking to POA! What is my main goal this week in my diet? EAT fruits and veggies and my protein – NO BREAD!

Well, it’s actually been raining here today– but now it’s clearing off, so I’m off to go enjoy the cool beautiful day.

Have a great Sunday!!

-Michelle

  P.S. don’t forget about OUR CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK~

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread

Are you wondering what is considered bread?? Honestly I want you to choose your own definition but in general terms~ NO BREAD simply means what YOU feel NO BREAD means, lol!

Here’s more info: http://ift.tt/2kn9MzX

Have fun with the CHALLENGE…a Challenge is supposed to be CHALLENGING!!Am I really that OLD?

View

Edit

Outline

Track

Mon, 2012/08/27 – 12:29pm — BuffMother

Am I really old enough to be married for 19 years?  I guess so, lol! Let me recount my anniversary’s by the years: We got married August 28th, 1993…just 3 months after I graduated HS and turned 18– I was young, but Travis was wise to get me before I went off to the WORLD, lol!!

1994- I was just 19 and transfered to a different college after a successful freshman year of Track.  Travis was in College also– almost finished, but we were SO POOR!

1995- I  had spent the summer in a walking boot due to a stress fracture in my left tiba; around the time of our anniversary I won the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Fargo, ND title and we won a trip to Hawaii in Nov

1996- It was my Senior year in college…I had been training hard all summer in prep for cross country, but then one day I coudn’t run without extreme knee pain– My track career was over

1997- I was done with college courses, but we still lived in Fargo, I worked at a gym and hooters– kinda in limbo– We visited UTAH and SNOWBIRD around our anniversary for Travis’ best friend’s wedding.  IT was a blast!

1998- We had moved to Dallas and I was working for a home builder selling homes and being the “activities director” there- Dallas was fun!!

1999- I had given birth to Gunner Berger and we were getting ready to move back to MN

2000- We lived in Fargo, ND again…I was SCARED at the prospect of having to deal with another winter in the NORTH

2001- We had moved to AR and I was pregnant with Gracie Berger

2002- We were almost ready to move into our “FIRST HOUSE” and I was pregnant with the TWINS!

2003- I had just got a van and a gym membership the month before.  I was looking into finding a SCARY GOAL.

2004- I had competed in and won several NPC contests that spring/summer– I was training clients at the gym and fired up about sharing my passion with others

2005- BuffMother.com was well underway and I remember “business planning” at Outback on our anniversary http://ift.tt/2BIS3am

2006- We got to spend the night in a hotel, “kidless!” and I was prepping for my last NPC figure contest (Nationals in Sept)

2007- I was totally in love with MMA fighting and my poor DH was sick on our special day- http://ift.tt/2kjRhfP

2008- Travis and I were hard at work on making our “BuffMother” infomercial a reality http://ift.tt/2BG6tIu

2009- We went golfing for our Anniversary date- http://ift.tt/2kjRijT

2010- Travis had just started a new posisiton with Infusion Brands- and we celebrated our anniversary a bit late with a trip to VEGAS (I “trained with AVA”)

2011- WE celebrated with a trip to Cancun Mexico and we also celbrated the start of a new season in our life — owning a country home

2012- we are “HOME”…we love the peace of having that finally HOME feeling– Travis almost went to TAMPA this week but the Tropical Storm allowed him to stay home!!

Then, for our 20th  anniversary our plan is to take a trip to Germany!! We’ve been wanting to go there for years!!

It was fun to recount the years– they certainly do go by FAST!!  I am very thankful to have such a wonderful man to share each of my years with…God has blessed me for sure!!

In Love,

Michelle

Good times!

Thu, 2012/08/30 – 9:20am — BuffMother

Hey everybody!! I’ve been having some really GOOD times this week~ Tuesday was our 19th anniversary, so we basically HUNG OUT as much as possible.  It was a fun time with my MAN!! We ate together, bought stuff together (one item was our “gift”- a mulcher), built a fire together (the burn ban just got lifted, yay!!) and hunted together + PLUS Other activities too!!

Then yesterday I had to get rollin’ early for my tennis lesson.  I’ve never had one before and had no idea what to expect.  The tennis pro is a son of a family friend– he was super nice, very informative, and easy to work with…. it was really good! I learned alot already and my body responded nicely to the activity. I was a little worried that my shoulder would get aggravated, but it’s hanging tough.  After the lesson I stopped by to see my nieces- they live right above the courts.  Tuesday was one of their birthdays and so I brought them a gift since I had “missed” the other one’s b-day early this year.  Anyhow- it was great to see them!

Then I ran  few more errands, got to have a quick lunch with DH and then on my way home I hit the gym for a “quickie” upper body lifting workout:

Seated rows Lat Pulls Tricep Push downs Shoulder press Straight arm press downs (with cable machine- hits the rear delts/lats a bit)

I didn’t have much time since I had to get home and prep to GO again- Gracie has guitar lessons on Wednesday nights and I also needed to get shopping done–

Needless to say, I’ve had very little computer time over the past 2 days.  It feel like I’ve been missing out on everyone’s progress during week #2 of our contest!  I expect you are KICKIN’ tail and getting your workouts and eats done.  Don’t foget that there are tons of resources in our Rally ROOM Super STAR Success book— http://ift.tt/2kkqxMn AND  on my blog http://ift.tt/2klCOjy and YOU TUBE http://www.youtube.com/buffmother

My plan for today is to hit my weight room for a chest workout and get in some good “outside” time with a run before it RAINS tomorrow from the hurricane.  Travis and I also want to get some more fields planted before it rains– we’ve already planted 3 food plots for the deer– a couple more would be good to get done ASAP!

OKAY, I’m off to interact with you all!!

Love,

Michelle

P.S. here’s the Latest From My Blog

SSS week 02: Coaching

SSS week 02: Coaching You’ve had a GREAT start to the week!! fun to see many of your…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video)

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video) LEGS- Beginner Buffing workout (from…

READ MORE..

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA Phase 2Buffing Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Mini-Challenge NO BREAD

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread Eliminate BREAD from your diet this week…notice…

READ MORE..

SSS Starting Stuff

#3-Starting Thoughts: Where are you in your journey? I’m in a transition…I’ve…

READ MORE..

published first on http://ift.tt/2jYy0ej

[fitnetpro]

Thankful for a good week #1 and pumped for week #2-

View

Edit

Outline

Track

Sun, 2012/08/26 – 1:21pm — BuffMother

HI!! I am very pleased with how week #1 went…I didn’t exactly stick to my POA but it was a good start.  I got my starting stats and pictures done too, which showed me that I have made some very nice progress in the past 4 weeks.  I wasn’t “seeeing” the progress in my mirror, but the inches and pictures showed good progress.  It’s amazing how much more belief I have in my workouts after seeing those results– I’m so much more fired up now for the 10 week contest!!

  Here is my week #1 in review- Monday:Chest/Tris/Ran intervals outside Tuesday:Leg workout Wednesday:off- felt a bit icky from allergies– a headache Thursday:Back/Sh/Biceps and intervals on tredmill- took starting stats and pics Friday:chest/tris/abs– didn’t do intervals Saturday: off but was very active- farm work Sunday: cleaned garage- no workout How many weight workouts did I complete:4 How many intervals training sessions did I complete:2 How many days of the week did I workout: 4

Who did I encourage this week? I encouraged a bunch of people online and also my DH, he’s going to have me be his trainer for a bit!I

  MY POA for week #__2_________- date:____8-27-12_

Monday:Legs – BUTT!! Tuesday:Back, sh, bi, run intervals Wednesday:Chest, intervals Th- Sat: REPEAT Mon- Wed Sunday: OFF What is my main goal this week with my workouts? to buff hard, sticking to POA! What is my main goal this week in my diet? EAT fruits and veggies and my protein – NO BREAD!

Well, it’s actually been raining here today– but now it’s clearing off, so I’m off to go enjoy the cool beautiful day.

Have a great Sunday!!

-Michelle

  P.S. don’t forget about OUR CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK~

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread

Are you wondering what is considered bread?? Honestly I want you to choose your own definition but in general terms~ NO BREAD simply means what YOU feel NO BREAD means, lol!

Here’s more info: http://ift.tt/2kn9MzX

Have fun with the CHALLENGE…a Challenge is supposed to be CHALLENGING!!Am I really that OLD?

View

Edit

Outline

Track

Mon, 2012/08/27 – 12:29pm — BuffMother

Am I really old enough to be married for 19 years?  I guess so, lol! Let me recount my anniversary’s by the years: We got married August 28th, 1993…just 3 months after I graduated HS and turned 18– I was young, but Travis was wise to get me before I went off to the WORLD, lol!!

1994- I was just 19 and transfered to a different college after a successful freshman year of Track.  Travis was in College also– almost finished, but we were SO POOR!

1995- I  had spent the summer in a walking boot due to a stress fracture in my left tiba; around the time of our anniversary I won the Miss Hawaiian Tropic Fargo, ND title and we won a trip to Hawaii in Nov

1996- It was my Senior year in college…I had been training hard all summer in prep for cross country, but then one day I coudn’t run without extreme knee pain– My track career was over

1997- I was done with college courses, but we still lived in Fargo, I worked at a gym and hooters– kinda in limbo– We visited UTAH and SNOWBIRD around our anniversary for Travis’ best friend’s wedding.  IT was a blast!

1998- We had moved to Dallas and I was working for a home builder selling homes and being the “activities director” there- Dallas was fun!!

1999- I had given birth to Gunner Berger and we were getting ready to move back to MN

2000- We lived in Fargo, ND again…I was SCARED at the prospect of having to deal with another winter in the NORTH

2001- We had moved to AR and I was pregnant with Gracie Berger

2002- We were almost ready to move into our “FIRST HOUSE” and I was pregnant with the TWINS!

2003- I had just got a van and a gym membership the month before.  I was looking into finding a SCARY GOAL.

2004- I had competed in and won several NPC contests that spring/summer– I was training clients at the gym and fired up about sharing my passion with others

2005- BuffMother.com was well underway and I remember “business planning” at Outback on our anniversary http://ift.tt/2BIS3am

2006- We got to spend the night in a hotel, “kidless!” and I was prepping for my last NPC figure contest (Nationals in Sept)

2007- I was totally in love with MMA fighting and my poor DH was sick on our special day- http://ift.tt/2kjRhfP

2008- Travis and I were hard at work on making our “BuffMother” infomercial a reality http://ift.tt/2BG6tIu

2009- We went golfing for our Anniversary date- http://ift.tt/2kjRijT

2010- Travis had just started a new posisiton with Infusion Brands- and we celebrated our anniversary a bit late with a trip to VEGAS (I “trained with AVA”)

2011- WE celebrated with a trip to Cancun Mexico and we also celbrated the start of a new season in our life — owning a country home

2012- we are “HOME”…we love the peace of having that finally HOME feeling– Travis almost went to TAMPA this week but the Tropical Storm allowed him to stay home!!

Then, for our 20th  anniversary our plan is to take a trip to Germany!! We’ve been wanting to go there for years!!

It was fun to recount the years– they certainly do go by FAST!!  I am very thankful to have such a wonderful man to share each of my years with…God has blessed me for sure!!

In Love,

Michelle

Good times!

Thu, 2012/08/30 – 9:20am — BuffMother

Hey everybody!! I’ve been having some really GOOD times this week~ Tuesday was our 19th anniversary, so we basically HUNG OUT as much as possible.  It was a fun time with my MAN!! We ate together, bought stuff together (one item was our “gift”- a mulcher), built a fire together (the burn ban just got lifted, yay!!) and hunted together + PLUS Other activities too!!

Then yesterday I had to get rollin’ early for my tennis lesson.  I’ve never had one before and had no idea what to expect.  The tennis pro is a son of a family friend– he was super nice, very informative, and easy to work with…. it was really good! I learned alot already and my body responded nicely to the activity. I was a little worried that my shoulder would get aggravated, but it’s hanging tough.  After the lesson I stopped by to see my nieces- they live right above the courts.  Tuesday was one of their birthdays and so I brought them a gift since I had “missed” the other one’s b-day early this year.  Anyhow- it was great to see them!

Then I ran  few more errands, got to have a quick lunch with DH and then on my way home I hit the gym for a “quickie” upper body lifting workout:

Seated rows Lat Pulls Tricep Push downs Shoulder press Straight arm press downs (with cable machine- hits the rear delts/lats a bit)

I didn’t have much time since I had to get home and prep to GO again- Gracie has guitar lessons on Wednesday nights and I also needed to get shopping done–

Needless to say, I’ve had very little computer time over the past 2 days.  It feel like I’ve been missing out on everyone’s progress during week #2 of our contest!  I expect you are KICKIN’ tail and getting your workouts and eats done.  Don’t foget that there are tons of resources in our Rally ROOM Super STAR Success book— http://ift.tt/2kkqxMn AND  on my blog http://ift.tt/2klCOjy and YOU TUBE http://www.youtube.com/buffmother

My plan for today is to hit my weight room for a chest workout and get in some good “outside” time with a run before it RAINS tomorrow from the hurricane.  Travis and I also want to get some more fields planted before it rains– we’ve already planted 3 food plots for the deer– a couple more would be good to get done ASAP!

OKAY, I’m off to interact with you all!!

Love,

Michelle

P.S. here’s the Latest From My Blog

SSS week 02: Coaching

SSS week 02: Coaching You’ve had a GREAT start to the week!! fun to see many of your…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video)

SSS Week 02: Beginner Lower Body Buffing workout (Video) LEGS- Beginner Buffing workout (from…

READ MORE..

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA

SSS week 02- Michelle’s DETAILED workout POA Phase 2Buffing Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday…

READ MORE..

SSS Week 02: Mini-Challenge NO BREAD

SSS Week #2 Mini Challenge- Eliminate Bread Eliminate BREAD from your diet this week…notice…

READ MORE..

SSS Starting Stuff

#3-Starting Thoughts: Where are you in your journey? I’m in a transition…I’ve…

READ MORE..

published first on http://ift.tt/2kRppy7