#Van Halen three
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Van Halenâs âVan Halen IIIâ album, launched on March 17, 1998, boldly introduced vocalist Gary Cherone, adding a fresh dynamic to the band. While it ventured into new sonic territories, the album sparked diverse reactions among fans and critics alike. Despite initial commercial expectations, debuting at number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart underscores its enduring relevance. âVan Halen IIIâ remains a testament to the bandâs fearless exploration, shaping a unique chapter in their legendary journey. #VanHalen3 #VanHalen #EddieVanHalen #GaryCherone #ExclusivelyVanHalen #johnnybeaneTV
https://youtube.com/shorts/WkVmWQwvtl8?si=0Kb0X2glcylHybpL
#johnnybeane#evh#eddievanhalen#vanhalen#guitar#guitarist#guitarplayer#guitarworld#evhgear#youtube#Van Halen three#vh3#Van Halen 3#Gary Cherone#exclusively Van Halen#Johnny Beane TV
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The closest "classic rock" station where I live doesnt even play The Beatles whats the point. They dont play a lot of bands but the bands they do play they'll only play the same few songs </3
Can this radio station please play a Metallica song that isnt Nothing Else Matters or Turn The Page and can it play Flesh For Fantasy by Billy Idol PLEASEEEEEE. That song is everything
When I get more CDs I will kill this radio station
#rexaid#music#classic rock#they play one fucking styx song and only three led zeppelin songs. they dont play bob dylan either like what? they play the rolling stones#but RARELY and they keep playing Jump by Van Halen even though that song is ASS.#im pretty sure you can request songs to radio stations but like thats scary and i dont know how to do that and have it work :P
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#music tarot#tarot#tarot card#tarot deck#tarot cards#music#history of music tarot#van halen#alex van halen#three of wands#Spotify
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I understand that I come off as someone (irl) who listens to only marianas trench, greenday and Van Halen (which is true), but like classical music slaps ngl. Like Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op 47 IV. Allegro non troppo by Dimitri Shostakovich has no right to da dum dum dum jingle the way it does.
#classical music#van halen#marianas trench#green day#i have a playlist over 50 hours long and i listen to the same three bands and musicals#i need music#help ive listened to the Gomens opening song on repeat#music#âšïž
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The Wild Life Music From The Original Pictures Soundtrack (1984)
Promotional Copy
MCA Records
#my vinyl playlist#bananarama#peter case#louise goffin#hanover fist#charlie sexton#ronnie wood#van stephenson#andy summers#the three oâclock#eddie van halen#van halen#what is this#mca records#hard rock#classic rock#80âs rock#movie soundtrack#record cover#album cover#album art#vinyl records
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hi jadey!! can i request something with steve? maybe where reader used to be in a relationship where the other person made her to do all the work ( put in the groceries, clean the house, etc.) and one day steve is taking care of some of the chores and reader freaks out cause sheâs the one supposed to be doing it?? itâs just an idea, no pressure lovely! hope youâre having a good day đ«¶đ«¶
ty gorgeous! fem!reader
Steve hums when he's busy. No pretentiousness, no shame, he sings lyrics, guitar, and occasionally drums, too. You can hear him in the kitchen singing that Van Halen song he loves, his voice twisted tight as he tries to hit a high note.Â
"Are you making a sandwich?" you ask hopefully, hanging your coat on the hook as you trudge in from the front door.Â
You're in the kitchen before Steve's collected the wits to answer you. Your jaw falls open.Â
"Hey, babe," he says. It's difficult to tell if the pet name is joking or serious, Steve in his pyjamas with his sleeves rolled up, his lips quirked into a funny smile as though he's pleased to see you but confused at the same time. "No? Did you want one?"Â
"What are you doing?"
Steve holds his games up in surrender, a cloth held in the left. "I'm wiping down the counters?"Â
"Why?"Â
"I do this every Friday before you get home."Â
"What?"Â
Steve takes the cloth to the sink to rinse it out. Bleach bubbles squeeze from the fabric. "Am I doing it wrong? This is how I always do it. Wipe the counters, vacuum, mop. Why are you back so early?"Â
"Steve, you don't have to clean. I⊠that's my job."Â
"Then what's mine?" he asks, turning off the faucet and dropping the wet cloth at the bottom of the basin. He wipes his hands dry with a hand towel, ushering your forward with a gesture of his index finger. "Come hereâŠ" He wraps his arms around you. "All you do lately is work." Steve kisses your cheek three quick times. "Miss you."
You blink a little, overwhelmed, still worried. "Do I not do it right? It's okay if I don't, I canâ"Â
"Do what? The counters? No. I just figured it's my turn before the weekend starts and you go on your cleaning frenzy. Which isn't your job, by the way. I don't know why you think that."Â
He's light-hearted, but your silence spurns him into a more serious tone. Taking your face into one still-damp palm, he narrows his eyes until they're more brown than anything else and says, "Do you really think it's your job?"
"I'm the girl."Â
"And I'm so stoked about that, butâŠ" He smiles, pulling your cheek with his thumb to encourage the same. "That's not right. Do you even like cleaning?"Â
"I don't have to like it, it's housework."Â
Steve can't seem to decide whether this is serious or not. He goes from smiling to frowning to impassive, his fingers rubbing a slovenly path down your cheek. Strands of hair like lace drift into his eyes as he ducks his head, his gaze on your chest. "It's housework for the house we both live in. I know you've been doing more of it since we moved in, and I'm really sorry. I'm lazier than you. I should've asked you about it, but now I've let you do more and you think you need to do all of it. I'm a dick."Â
"No, you're not."Â
"I'm a total dick. You think you have to clean up after me?" He brings you in for another hug. "Holy fuck, baby. I'm a grown up."Â
You bristle at first, but relax the longer he holds you, his words sinking in steady. He's not criticising you; Steve is apologising and self-deprecating. You slide your arms behind his back and breathe in his smell, all things boy but with the sharp smell of bleach lingering.Â
"I did it myself. You know, before. So that's why it feels like it's mine to do. Not your fault," you say into his chest.Â
Steve pulls away. "Thanks, but I'm a huge dick no matter what."Â
He marches you backwards and forces you back into one of the chairs at the dining table. You grab at his arms as he attempts to walk away, lifting your chin to kiss him. It distracts him for a while, the soft, slow press of his lips against yours, your hand in his hair scratching tenderly, but he can't be kept forever. Steve ends your kissing with a peck and beelines for the fridge.
"What are you doing?" you ask.Â
"Making you a sandwich. Dinner and a show tonight, did I forget to tell you? You can eat the best BLT in the western hemisphere and I'm gonna vacuum the crumbs from under the toaster. Perfect Friday night, right?"Â
#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington x you#steve harrington x y/n#steve harrington#steve harrington fic#steve harrington blurb#steve harrington drabble#stranger things x reader#stranger things fic#steve harrington imagine#steve harrington fanfic#steve harrington fanfiction#stranger things#stranger things 4
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Dean Winchester at your family Thanksgiving â Pt.2
Dean secretly enjoying being pampered by your mum
Dean, you and your dad singing loudly to Zepâs âRamble Onâ while youâre all three a bit tipsy (And Dean laughing as heartily as you rarely ever heard him)
Dean snaking his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder while he watches you chop the veggies (and distracting you by sneaking little teasing kisses up to your ear whenever no oneâs watching)
Dean keeps distracting you by discreetly squeezing your arse and you cutting your finger thanks to him
Dean teasing you about it while carefully patching you up. (And finishing by throwing a couple of cheeky kisses on your finger just to make sure they heal properly)
Dean swatting your arse as he walks by â just to realize that - wait fuck - your cousin wears a similar sweater and damn sheâs screaming like a siren now
Dean getting into a friendly argument with your dad about whether Led Zeppelin is better than Van Halen
You and Dean sneaking away for some alone time, only to get interrupted in mid-action by your nosy little sister
Dean holding your hand under the table, giving you little reassuring squeezes when your judgmental uncle starts mouthing off
When your auntâs getting too much in your faces, Dean would lean in real close to her, his voice low and sultry as heâd be whispering, âHey, auntie, you might wanna watch your mouth, or I'll have the same attitude when I see your daughter tonight.â
Extra:
You absent-mindedly patting Deanâs arm to direct his focus to the raw turkey. âCould you stuff it, please?â Dean looking between you and the turkey, a cocky smile spreading across his face. "Oh, sweetheart, Iâll stuff your turkey. In full view of your family too. Just to see the looks on their faces when I'm stuffing that thing with my damn fingers, making all kinds of innuendo dirty talk, and you're trying to look all innocent while knowing damn well what I'm doing." âJesus Christ, Dean.â
...and here's PART 1
A/N: I CAN'T STOP THESE, HEPL
Feedback is always welcome and appreciated!
#dean winchester x you#dean x female!reader#reader x dean winchester#dean x you#dean#spn#dean winchester#dean winchester blurb#dean thanksgiving#spn thanksgiving#dean winchester imagine#spn reader insert#thanksgiving
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IWTV Season Three Influences & References (so far) đ
The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx by Nikki Sixx
Black Metal Rainbows edited by Daniel Lukes & Stanimir Panayotov
The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx
The Art of Darkness: The History of Goth by John Robb
Set the Night on Fire by Robbie Kreiger
The Dirt: True Confessions of the Worldâs Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Mentioned at the SDCC24 panel by Rolin Jones and Daniel Hart:
David Bowie (particularly mid 70s/ Ziggy Stardust)
Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones
Jim Morrison of the Doors
John Cale of the Velvet Underground
Freddie Mercury of Queen
Nick Cave of the Bad Seeds
David Lee Roth of Van Halen
Nicki Sixx of Motley Crue
Iggy Pop
Prince
Otis Redding
Mark Sandman
Ryan Kattner
Chappell Roan
Brandon Flowers of The Killers
Bjork
Fiona Apple
Daniel HartÂ
T-Rex
Beastie Boys
The White Stripes
Redd Kross
Tim Rose
Serge Gainsbourg
Electric Light Orchestra
Sweet
Florence Welsh
Saint Vincent
Raleigh Ritchie
Benjamin Clementine
Moses Sumney
Douglas Dare
Jeff Magnum
Paul Westerberg of the Replacements
Franz Liszt
Shostakovich
Gustave Mahler
Lang Lang
Martha Argerich
Gustavo Dudamel
Maurice Ravel cited by Daniel Hart on X
Nirvana cited by Daniel Hart during Reddit AMA
Season 2 here
Season 1 here
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@corrodedcoffinfest Day 1: Firsts
Word Count: 883/Rating: G/Pairing: None/CW: brief mention of financial hardships/Tags: Eddie Munson, Wayne Munson, first concert
Divider credit to @silkholland
The first time Eddie Munson went to a concertâa real concert, not Hawkins Middle Schoolâs annual talent showâwas a night he would never forget.
Granted, it wasnât the traditional concert experience. He didnât see Black Sabbathâs members as they took to the stage, the lights illuminating Ozzy as he captivated the audience with only raw vocals and a microphone, the thousands of Bic-powered flames scattered throughout the cheering crowd when the band played âIron Man.â But nothing about Eddieâs life was traditional thus far, and it was only right that this concert followed suit.
Heâd first seen the advertisement in the record store one Saturday afternoon, three monthsâ worth of allowance in one hand and Van Halenâs self-titled album clutched in the other. The flier showed two pilots in their jumpsuits, standing in front of a fighter jet, with the following text in big, bolded letters:
BLACK SABBATHâS NEVER SAY DIE! TOUR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 @ 8 PM INDIANA CONVENTION CENTER TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
Eddie shoved the crumpled dollar bills at the cashier, waiting only to collect his change before bolting towards his uncleâs rusted Chevy.
âUncle Wayne!â Eddie climbed into the passenger seat with a toothy grin. âBlack Sabbathâs cominâ to Indianapolis! Can we go?â
Wayne glanced at his twelve-year-old nephewâs eager face, his heart lurching with the news he knew he had to deliver. âIâm sorry, kid. Moneyâs tight, and the plant still hasnât given me back the hours they cut during the recessionâŠâ He trailed off with a shake of his head.
Never one to be deterred, Eddie pressed on. âWhat if I save my allowance every week? I wonât even buy lunch; I can just get chips from the vendingââ
âYou ainât skipping lunch,â Wayne interjected sharply. âI bust my ass to keep you from going hungry, and I sure ainât gonna let it happen over a concert. Is that clear?â He didnât look away until Eddie nodded. âBesides, one ticketâll cost more than you can save, let alone two.â
The boy slumped in his seat, record snug against his chest, but the argument faded from his lips. He knew Wayne was right; even tickets in the nosebleeds would be well out of his price range.
Eddie had mostly forgotten about the concert by September 12, his mind occupied with learning new songs on the acoustic guitar heâd thrifted. Despite constantly falling out of tune, it wasnât a bad find.
Wayne was waiting for him in the trailer doorway when he got home from band practice, an unusual occurrence. He was normally sleeping when Eddie came home from school, trying to rest before a night shift.
âIs everything okay?â He didnât remember having a doctorâs appointment, and the only other reason his uncle would be awake at this hour was⊠âDid someone die?â
Wayne shook his head and chuckled. âNo one died. Weâre just taking a little road trip.â
âTo where?â
âYouâll see.â
After a long ride involving two separate McDonalds drive-thrus (Eddie was a growing boy, after all) and four separate bathroom breaks (in hindsight, the extra-large Pepsi wasnât a great choice), they pulled into the convention center parking lot.
Wayne turned to his nephew. âNow, I donât want you gettinâ too excited,â he started, but he was unable to mask the twinkle in his own eyes, ââcause this ainât exactly what you asked for. But youâre gonna follow my lead, and donât say a word.â
âAre we seeing Black Sabââ
âWhatâd I say?â Wayne raised his bushy, graying brows. âNot a word.â
Eddie nodded silently, trailing behind his uncle as they walked into the venue. His eyes widened at the throngs of people waiting in the lobby. Everything was just soâŠbig.Â
âNow we wait,â Wayne whispered. Eddie didnât bother asking what, exactly, they were waiting for. It only took a few minutes for the perfect moment to ariseâthe sound of fist striking jaw, security guards rushing to separate the two drunk men and leaving the entrance understaffed.
The older Munson gestured for Eddie to follow him, weaving through the sea of people until they reached the doors to the arena.
âShowâs sold out,â Wayne explained softly, âso weâre gonna stay out here, walk around, and try not to get caught.â He laughed when Eddie stared in disbelief that his straight-laced uncle was sneaking into a concert. âI used to have fun, yâknow. I wasnât always a hardass.â
Eddie smiled, the happiness thrumming in his belly growing to a stampede when he heard the crowd roar and the beginning notes of âSymptom of the Universe.â The music filled his bones and coursed through his veins, blanketing him in a warmth heâd never before experienced. He closed his eyes and pressed his ear to the wall, absorbing the vibrations from the deafening noise inside.
âIâm gonna be in there one day,â he murmured, âbut not in the crowd. Iâm gonna be on the stage.â
âDo I get backstage passes?â Wayne asked.
Eddie opened his eyes, not realizing that heâd spoken those thoughts aloud. Crimson colored his cheeks as he launched himself into his uncleâs arms. It had been awhile since theyâd hugged like this, not since Eddie had developed the false sense of machismo that comes with entering junior high. His answer was soft but definite.
âAt every show.â
--
#eddie munson#stranger things#stranger things fanfic#eddie stranger things#eddie munson fanfic#fanfic#wayne munson#corroded coffin#corroded coffin fest
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the Seattle Ryden story is fake.
Tumblr's new post format is way better than 2020, so Iâm expanding my old post here.
THE GENERAL STORY:
I just googled this...
REAL-LIFE AUGUST 2007 EVENTS:
The band did a string of shows & appearances in the UK (Decaydance Fest, Kerrang Awards, Reading, Leeds) in late August 2007. The last show was on August 26th and then the band flew back home (they lived in Vegas & Chicago btw... not California). They had a few days off before they needed to be in Seattle for their Bumbershoot performance on September 1st. Brendon and Ryan had a work obligation in NYC on August 31st, so it looked like Ryan went to stay with Keltie in NYC. There were pictures of them hanging out in places like Central Park and they did this photoshoot.
Yes, Keltie threw Ryan a bday party at Angels & Kings on August 30th. Ryan hung out at Angels & Kings with Keltie and her friends earlier that summer too. Plus, Travie McCoy had a birthday party at Angels & Kings that summer with a cake that looked very close to the one Ryan got. Their bday parties were good publicity for the new bar. Angels & Kings had opened around early May that year and other Decaydance bands invested in it, but the P!ATD guys had been too young.
Ryan's friends who lived in NYC were at the party, like Gabe Saporta, Eric Ronick, and Travie McCoy (who also performed at Bumbershoot). However, Ryan's crew of Vegas friends he'd been hanging out with that year weren't there. It just seemed like a NYC thing. I didn't think it was weird that the band members who weren't even in NYC were absent, even though I didn't know specifically why. A lot of fans assumed that the guys wanted a few days off nbd. Also, even if Brendon was in NYC in time for that party, he was still underage. A couple weeks later he and Spencer were turned away from Crush Management's party before the VMAs lol.
Anyways, on August 31st Brendon and Ryan needed to do the interview for Fuse that was chopped up to use in all of those Videos That Rocked The World daily episodes that came out after Thanksgiving:
youtube
These episodes covered some big names, so it was very cool that P!ATD's opinion was included... even if the ads seemed to feature Brendon & Ryan more than the actual episodes did lol. Here's an example of the first episode (others were for Madonna, Aerosmith, OK Go, Guns N' Roses, Van Halen, Britney Spears, Public Enemy, Alanis Morissette, and Beastie Boys):
youtube
here's more from that episode.
The band's Fuse interviews were usually done in New York City while they were on tour. A few years ago I emailed someone who worked on the VTRTW set because I wanted to double-check the date and location of Brendon & Ryan's interview before sharing that it wasn't Seattle. She gave me some other contact info and three very kind people looked into their old emails & call sheets. The director and the executive producer for the VTRTW series separately confirmed the NYC location and 8/31 date. Maybe they were both mistaken about the location, and Fuse randomly decided to film in Seattle despite the fact that their studio was in NYC... but the romantic motivation for Ryan to join Brendon is still erased.
Also, whoever made up the Seattle story seems to think that birthdays were important and meaningful to Ryan to the extent that he would fly across the country in the middle of the night to spend it with someone ~special. Ryan talked to Upbeet Music in fall 2005 about touring on his birthday and said "Birthdays were never a really huge deal in my family so itâs not like Iâm bummed out that I didnât get a party or anything so itâs cool." Obviously people can change over the years, so I'm just adding that as a side detail.
THE PICTURE:
Does anyone know who the fan is who shared the picture above? and what their original story was? Itâs repeated a lot but Iâve never seen a source, a direct quote, or anyone who even saw the original personâs post (which is super weird). The whole Seattle story sounds about as reliable as the current fandomâs âfuneral pictureâ tbh. There was also a problem in the pre-split years where some fans would steal other peopleâs pictures, claim it was theirs, invent a story about meeting the band, and then crop out or draw over the original person (and spin a story about how they looked ugly that day, didnât want their face online, didn't want the band to know who was sharing the story, etc). Maybe that happened here too.
side tangent: idk why people are saying that since Ryan's outfit in the picture above is the same as his birthday then he must have arrived in Seattle without luggage. Why even add that part lol. He clearly wore a different outfit of his for Bumbershoot.
Anyways, I do agree that the picture at the top of this post looks like it was taken around the same time as the interview based on small details with their hair & outfits (the fact that they're wearing the same general clothes isn't reliable because those guys could repeat outfits for daysss). Fuse was located on 7th Avenue across from Madison Square Garden. The background of the picture looks like it could potentially be in that whole area. Maybe a fan got a picture with them while they were heading to their interview, who knows.
OTHER SEATTLE THINGS THAT *SHOULD* BE UNRELATED:
Yes, Brendon changed a line in That Green Gentleman to joke about Ryan while they were doing an acoustic show at the Space Needle in Seattle in October 2008. That was a normal thing and shouldn't stand out in any way.
Please donât ruin Northern Downpour by dragging it into the Seattle theory and/or making it a Ryden thing. People are wildly misinterpreting some interview quotes & events (possibly because they donât understand Ryanâs role in the band), so thereâs more in this post about Northern Downpour.
Brendon, Ryan, Spencer, and Brent all talked about how much they loved the Pacific Northwest starting from the first time they played a show there in fall 2005. The boys were from a desert area and talked a lot in the early months about how they hadnât had the chance to travel much (except Brent had been to Canada). Each time they visited Seattle or Portland at least one of them would mention how they loved the weather, trees, etc. Their strong appreciation of Seattle started in 2005 and has nothing to do with a fake affair in 2007.
There are a lot of assumptions surrounding the Seattle story in general, most of which seem to come from a lack of knowledge about the band. Even this post still assumes & projects a lot:
Brendon was not Ryan's best friend in 2007. That was pretty easy to spot (there's more in this post).
idk what else people are saying about Seattle, but I'll probably add more here later
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G13
Spinning Now: "Finish What Ya Started" by Van Halen (1988)
Pairing: Josh x Female Reader
Word Count: 8.2k
Description: You and Josh, your favorite new co worker, decide to share more than drinks as what started as a normal night turns into something you never expected.
Warnings: Smoking, Drinking, Cursing, Drug Use, Heavy Flirting, Praise, Dirty Talk, Touching, Mention of Breakups and Heartbreak, Sadness. Smut: Kissing, Oral M!receiving
New town, new job, new life.Â
Thatâs always how things went in the movies, and every time, the girl always got her happy ending.
How hard can it be, right?
After youâd managed to knock the first new off your list when you moved out of your exâs house and to the next city over, the âjobâ part was next in line. After a week of filling out applications, you finally landed on the perfect selection, a serving job at Angeloâs Pizza.
Youâd started this new job about about three months ago, and you finally felt like you were getting your footing with the flow of things. Youâd been a server for as long as you could remember, but getting used to a new restaurant with new people and new menus and management could sometimes prove to be difficult. You were handling it with as much grace as you could, and the money was killer, so you stuck it out.
âYou coming to the bar with me tonight?â your new favorite coworker, Josh asked as he stared into the kitchen from the expo window, rolling a pile of coasters across the countertop.Â
âMmmhâŠâ You mumbled under your breath. âI dunno, Iâve been here since lunch and my feet are absolutely killing me.â
âUgh donât be such a prude, Y/N.â He responded, taking a pepperoni and cheese in one hand, and a supreme in the other. âWeâll be sitting down the whole time. Ya know. In barstools.â
âShut the fuck up.â You teased, elbowing him in the ribs. âI guess so, but I canât stay out late like last weekend. I open tomorrow.â
âOooo, a clopen. That sucks. Well, I donât. So I can get drunk, and you can watch me.â He flashed you a giant smile before taking off with the pizzas in hand, disappearing into the sea of people seated in the restaurant.
Josh had befriended you on your very first day, comforting you after your manager harshly scolded you for ringing something in incorrectly.Â
âDonât worry about it.â Heâd said as you pouted in the walk-in. âI still fuck my shit up all the time. The cooks donât really care, plus if you mess somethinâ up, we get to eat the fucked up pizza.â That was the only thing he said to you the entire day, but it really stuck with you, immediately making you feel a lot better about your tiny mistake.Â
Now, after a few months of working side by side with Josh, youâd actually gotten to know each other fairly well, and youâd even go as far as calling him one of your good friends. Youâd managed to get to know all your coworkers on a surface level, but Josh actually took the time to listen to you when you spoke, and showed real interest in the things you had to say, no matter how menial.Â
He was cute, and around the same age as you, but there was something about Josh that you couldnât put your finger on. It was something that struck you, making him stand out from the rest of the guys you worked with. His aura pulled you in, and the way his eyes sparkled in the neon that covered the walls of the restaurant didnât help the fact that he sometimes made your heart skip a beat. You decided that it was just his looks, though, catching you off guard every once in a while as you were around him more. Most importantly, he made you feel welcome. Like a good friend should.Â
The more you got to know Josh, the more open he became with you, and you quickly learned that his real personality outside of work was a little bit different than when you were on the clock. Itâd become almost a habit, now, joining Josh at his favorite dive bar down the street when youâd both end up on the same closing schedule. It was like Groundhog Day, Josh would ask you to come out, youâd find an excuse to turn him down, but you always left Angeloâs with your hand in his as you tiredly dragged yourselves down the street. Sometimes other coworkers would join you, but it was always the two of you left shutting the bar down, joking and laughing with one another as you waited for your Ubers.
Josh was quickly becoming a norm for you. A fun, platonic norm. And though you were both flirty with one another, it never felt as though it would go past anything but that. Just friends. And you were very content with that.Â
So tonight, as things wound down and the patrons closed out their tabs, you felt as if you really could use a nightcap or two to reward yourself for not making even one mistake on your orders today.
As you tied the oversized trash bag closed, you met eyes with Josh as he skillfully swiped the mop across the sticky, sauce-covered floor.Â
He grinned when he saw you looking, making your stomach drop. âWhat?â He asked, biting his lower lip in as he staved off a full-on smile.
âNothing. Just thinking about how you roped me into going out again tonight.â You said with faux aggravation.
Josh sucked in his teeth as he plopped the mop back into the big yellow bucket, rolling it over to where you stood. âActually, I asked you out with me tonight for another reason. I wasnât kidding when I said I was gonna get absolutely shit hammered, tonight.â His tone was serious rather than silly, and you instantly felt like something was wrong.
âWhatâs the other reason?â You pressed, lifting the bag from the can. âEverything okay?â
He shook his head and swallowed, opening the double doors to the kitchen to go and dump his bucket. You followed closely behind him with your trash.Â
âEh, not really. Iâll tell you all about it when we get there. Letâs lock this bitch up.â He flashed his eyes to the floor as he spoke, which was unlike him. He always spoke with such confidence and effortless ease.Â
The two of you finished up your closing tasks and said goodnight to the line cooks, grabbing up your things from your lockers and stuffing your aprons back inside. Josh was quiet the whole time, again striking you as out of the ordinary. You hadnât known Josh long, but you did know him well enough to know that something was off, and he wasnât handling it well.
âThink Iâm going straight for liquor tonight.â He said as you walked arm in arm down the crowded sidewalk to the bar. He tilted his head back, blowing a puff of air above you, watching as the cold air turned it into steam.Â
âDamn.â You answered. âYou must really be going through it, friend.â It was also unlike Josh to drink liquor; each time you were around him, heâd always chosen draft beer.Â
You both stepped inside the dimly-lit dive bar, letting the heat warm your chilly bones from the cold autumn air. You both took up camp on two stools at the end of the bar, closest to the back wall. The bartender Roy approached you, throwing down two bar napkins in front of you as you got comfortable in your seats.Â
âEveninâ, guys. Sex on the Beach andddd, Josh, weâve got a Kolsch and a pale ale on tap, and also aââ
âJack Danielâs. Neat, please.â Josh interrupted Roy, causing him to contort his face with surprise.Â
âBeen waiting on you almost five years and never known you to drink liquor. But, alrightâŠâ Roy responded as he left for a minute, returning and placing your drinks in front of you. âIâll keep the tab goinâ.â
It was silent between the two of you for the first couple of minutes, both of you sipping your drinks as you relaxed your muscles from the long workday. Finally, you decided you would have to be the one to speak first, for once.Â
âOkay, spill. Whatâs got you on the hard stuff tonight?â You asked, turning to face Josh in your stool.Â
He leaned on his elbow, his tight black t-shirt squeezing his toned arm just right. âI got dumped last night.âÂ
You felt your eyebrows jump to your forehead. âWhat?! Oh my god, Iâm so sorry, JoshâŠI didnât even know you had aââ
âNah, itâs okay. I could kinda tell shit was going sideways, anyway, ya know? Almost expected it. But, still doesnât make it hurt any less.â He disconnected his eye contact, tilting his glass back all the way and finishing off the last bit of his whiskey.Â
You were almost stunned speechless. You hadnât seen Josh show any emotion that even came close to sadness before, and you struggled with how you were going to react.Â
Roy brought the bottle of Jack over, filling Joshâs glass with another two fingers.Â
âHow long were you together?â You asked, tiptoeing with caution, given that he might not want to go into much detail.Â
âFour and a half years.â He said blankly.Â
âMy god, are you serious?!â You choked out with disbelief.Â
He nodded hard as he kept his eyes trained on the bar in front of you, spinning his stool in tiny tight circles. âYeah. Long time.â He sipped his drink again.Â
âI really am sorry, Josh. Thatâs a long time to be with someone for it to just...â You placed a hand on his arm as you spoke.Â
He crossed his arms in front of him. âYeah, itâs fucked.â He growled, leaning back in his stool.Â
âYou wanna talk about it?â You asked.Â
âNo, thatâs why weâre here.â He slammed his hands on the bar top, motioning for Roy to refill your already almost empty cocktail.Â
Roy brought your new drink over, stirring the drink with the tiny straw for you. Josh lifted his glass into the air, forcefully clinking it against yours. âTo moving on!â He said, finishing the drink off once again.Â
ââ
An hour or so later, you and Josh had managed to find yourselves significantly intoxicated once again, engaged in a deep passionate debate.Â
âEver since they banned smoking indoors, the American bar scene has been fucked!â Josh drunkenly yelled overtop of the loud music and large crowd that had joined you inside the bar.Â
You had to laugh. âJosh, not everybody loves breathing that shit in! It makes some people really sick!â You challenged.Â
âAh, hell. You come into a bar, you expect to be around smoke, all there is to it. All there is to it!â He crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders in defiance of your argument.Â
âYou can go outside and smoke, Josh. Easy as that. Just get over it!â The two of you were glassy-eyed and giggly, feeling your liquor take hold of you as you talked. Josh brought about a warmth in you that youâd never experienced before, and youâd be lying if you said yourâŠattraction? to him wasnât amplified when you were drunk.Â
No, not attraction.Â
Something elseâŠ
You had no idea what to label the feeling, because youâd never felt it ever before. You took it in stride, though, embracing the completely new emotion as it came. It was almost like you craved his attention, and fed off of him engaging with you. You wanted to please him, but not in such a way that was sexual.Â
âŠYou didnât think.Â
No. You just craved his recognition. Wanted his eyes on you and no one else. Wanted to make him laugh, be the one who made him forget about everything else. It wasnât a jealousy thing, it was a matter of possessiveness. You wanted to protect him like a best friend. And anyone who dared cause him unhappiness would have to deal with you.Â
Is this insane thinking?! Am I crazy for this? You drunkenly asked yourself as you washed your hands in the bar bathroom sink, giving yourself a disapproving look in the mirror. Probably, maybeâŠbut he seems to feel the same about you... You had noticed that the second youâd inadvertently struck up a conversation with another guy at the bar, Josh quickly stole your attention away again, bringing up a whole new topic of conversation that had nothing to do with the last.Â
He charmed you. Drew you in. Challenged your thoughts and opinionsâŠmade you talk like youâd never talked before. Laugh like youâd never laughed.Â
âYouâre really smart, Y/N. I didnât really notice that about you, before.â Josh smiled as he leaned over toward you on the bar. His cheeks were tinted the prettiest pink from the alcohol.Â
âUhh, thanks, I guess?â You chortled, feigning being offended.Â
âNo I mean, you surprise me. Keep me guessing, every time I turn around. Never had a friend like that before. Iâm usually so bored with everyone I meet. You make me like, think. Ya know?â He explained as you nodded sweetly in understanding. You knew you were blushing.Â
âLast call!!â You heard Roy yell across the still-crowded room. You made blurry eye contact with Josh again.Â
âDamn, we didddit agin.â You stammered. âLet me pay, youâve had a hard coupleâa days.âÂ
âNo no no, no you donât. I asked you here, my treat. Plus, my drinks were fuckinâ pricey tonight.â
âBut Josh, let me treat you, for once...â You jutted your bottom lip out as you begged him. You watched as his eyes landed on your lips, stealing his attention again. Suddenly, you felt excited.Â
âAlright, alright. But Iâm leavinâ the tip.â He agreed. âI just needed some sympathyâŠthatâs all I wanted tonight.â
âAnd you got it, didnât you? You forgot all about your messy breakup?â
âFor the most part, yes.â He laughed. âBut I like to look at the long run, ya know? Like to take each step, one by one. Let myself live in the sadness.â
You scoffed as you signed your name on the receipt and pulled your coat on. âPsh, Josh, didnât you just cheers me and say âto moving onâ?â
He stood from his stool, wrapping his arm around your neck tightly. The smell of his cologne mixed with the remnants of pizza filled your senses, temporarily making you dizzy as he squeezed you in his grip.Â
âI did, Y/N, I did. But Iâm also drunk, now. So. And also, I donât really wanna go home yet. âM gonna walk you to your Uber then hit up ChaunceyâsâŠthey stay open âtil 2.â
You turned in his grasp, your face within inches of his as he held you tightly. âDonât go back out, Josh. No sense in drinkinâ your sorrows away by yourself.â It felt like you were outside of your own body; all you wanted was to go home and strip down and crawl into bed, but for some reason, your mouth told Josh that apparently you didnât want to go home, either. âCome back to my place. Weâll have one more drink, and we can share the blunt that TJ gave me yesterday.â
âTJ? The linecook?â Josh seemed surprised. âYou letting strangers give you drugs now, Y/N?â
âHeâs hardly a stranger, Josh. Why, you jealous?â You teased, while also testing the waters of what the hell this feeling the two of you apparently shared could actually be.Â
âFuck no, Iâm not jealous. IâmâŠIâŠâ Josh opened his mouth, but nothing came out after that. âI donât know, I justââ You were still tightly wrapped up in the crook of his elbow, his face so close to yours that you could smell the liquor on his breath as he struggled to speak.Â
You decided to save him. âItâs alright Josh. You donât have to come over. Iâll smoke it allllll by myselfâŠâ you sneakily wrapped your arm around his back, giving it a couple playful pats.Â
He looked down at you through his lashes, his jaw clenched tightly together. âYou really want me to come over?â
You nodded. âI do. Come on, itâll be fun.â More than anything, you wanted him to know you were the reason he had such a good night, and the reason he was able to forget about his breakup.
âOkay, jackass. You talked me into it. Letâs go get high.â He released you from his grasp as you confirmed your Uber on your phone, and your overwhelming satisfaction of claiming his attention again propelled you out the door.Â
ââ
âCute place. You decorate it yourself?â Josh teased as you both entered your apartment. It was only half-decorated and you hardly had any furniture, spending most of your days working and saving up money to finish furnishing it.Â
âShut up, dick head!â You shoved him backwards as he laughed. âI havenât finished making it cute yet.â You pulled the bottle of liquor from the cabinet, shaking the little bit that was left. âI know youâve been drinking whiskey, butâŠvodkaâs all Iâve got.â
âAh, itâll work.â Josh responded, plopping down on your couch. âMâalready fucked with a hangover tomorrow, might as well do it up.â You caught sight of his pretty light brown curls sitting on top of his head, and you felt another rush of that strange excitement soar through you.Â
You made the two drinks and joined him on the couch, pulling the blunt up under your nose as you breathed in its earthy scent. Josh took the drink from your hand, raising his eyebrows as he watched you smell the rolled marijuana.Â
âTJ usually has good shit, I will say.â He winked, sipping his drink.Â
You pulled your feet up underneath you on the couch, scooting yourself closer to him. âThought you said I shouldnât take drugs from strangersâŠâ
âI never said you shouldnât, I just meant that next time you should get your weed from me.â He spoke without a care, taking the blunt from your hand and bringing it to his own nose.Â
âAh, well I was unaware I could do that, Joshua.â You snatched it back from him, taking the lighter from the table in front of you and lighting the end of the blunt. You inhaled the smoke slowly, noticing that Josh hadnât responded to you.Â
You glanced at him, finding the most devastating half smile on his face. You swore you felt your skin tingle.Â
âDid you just call me by my government name, Y/N?â He whispered, leaning his head down to you.Â
You exhaled the smoke you didnât realize you were holding, nodding slowly. âYeah, you mad about it?â
You passed him the blunt. âNah, kinda liked the way it sounded, actually.â You watched as his lips made a perfect O around the tip of the blunt, and you found yourself wondering what kind of chapstick he used to get them to lookâŠlike thatâŠ
You felt your eyes grow heavy as your first hit found you, the THC entering your system quickly. Josh must have noticed, as he giggled at your appearance. âTold you TJ had good shit.â
âI swear to god Iâm already fuckinâ highâŠâ you laughed, taking another big hit.Â
âMmm, no baby, youâre crossed. But not all the way. Yet.â Joshâs voice was gritty and buttery all at the same time. And the fact that he called you baby had you feeling that same feeling again. He calls everybody baby, thoughâŠall the girls at workâŠyouâre not special.Â
The two of you sat and smoked until the blunt was a roach, and the air around you was thick with haziness. Your entire body was heavy and floaty, and you swore you could feel the blood pumping through your extremities. The conversation with Josh was so easy, so effortless, and the way the two of you held the complete attention of one another continued to astound you.Â
âSo tell me about you. Whatâs your real story?â Josh asked, the both of you sitting facing one another completely, now.Â
You sipped your vodka drink. âWhat do you mean, real story?â
âI only know a little bit about you, where did you come from? Whatâs in your past?â
You took a deep breath. âWell, believe it or not, Josh, I kinda just got broken up with recently, too.â
âNo way, youâre kidding. When? What happened?â He pressed.Â
âAhh, about a month before I started at Angeloâs. Iâm from about twenty miles away, up north a bit. Came here looking to start completely fresh. Still close enough to my family, if I need them. Ya knowâŠâ you trailed off. Joshâs eyes were telling you to continue.Â
âI got dumped, too. After a year of being with him. I thought we were serious, but apparently not. It didnât hurt me too bad, Iâm alright. Liking my new life pretty well, actually.â
Josh dramatically leaned back on the couch cushion, throwing his free hand over his face. âUgh, godâŠhow embarrassing. You handled beinâ dumped like a goddamned rockstar. Iâm over here down in the dumps.â
You couldnât help but laugh. âItâs okay, Josh. Four and a half years is a lot longer than oneâŠâ
âYouâre right, I guess.â He sat back up, bringing his attention back to you. âSo what was his reason? What was his last straw?â He asked, moving his face closer to yours. Your body was vibrating from the alcohol and the weed, and the presence of Josh sitting so close to you on your couch. You were positively buzzing.Â
âHe uh, didnât really give me one. Just said it was over.â You whispered, feeling your emotions flying all over the place. Joshâs hand reached up, twirling a piece of your hair between his fingers. âHe also said I was a bad kisser, or something stupid.â
Josh winced at your words. âA bad kisser? I highly doubt that, Y/NâŠâÂ
âAnd why do you doubt that?â You giggled.Â
âBecause. I have a hard time taking my eyes off your lips, I can only imagine how hard it would be to take my lips off of themâŠâ he smirked a little, laughing through his nose.Â
âYouâre fuckinâ stoned.â You laughed, leaning your face onto his hand.Â
âAnd? I speak nothing but the truth, baby.â
âMmmhm, yeah. Shut up.â You complained.Â
âIâm serious. I bet you really are a good kisser. That guy was justâŠstupid.â
âMaybe Iâm a horrible kisser, how would I ever know?â You shrugged, feeling your body about to jump out of your skin simply from having this conversation with Josh.Â
He held his first two fingers up, motioning for you to come here. âCome on. Show me how you like to kiss.âÂ
âWhat?! No, Iâm not gonna do that.â You blushed, pulling away from him with shyness.Â
âBaby, itâs me. Iâm just trying to judge your kissing skills. Iâll be completely honest with you, tell you if that guy was right or not.â Josh said, holding his hands out to the sides.Â
You stopped, staring at Josh through your slit eyelids, trying to figure him out. He met you with sincere eyes, and though you were both extremely intoxicated, you didnât feel uncomfortable in the least.Â
âIâm serious. Just kiss me.â He said matter of factly. âSâno big deal.âÂ
You took a deep breath, feeling the air surrounding you heavy with normalcy, but also heavy with yearning.Â
You slowly pulled yourself in closer to him, gently wetting your lips as your mind went back and forth on whether or not to do this. Your breath became a little chopped, nerves bursting through the wall of your drunken carelessness.Â
Finally you were close enough to feel his breath on your lips, and your hands naturally shot up to cup his jaw. He clenched it, his eyes falling heavy again as his breath caught. Your heart was absolutely pounding from your chest.Â
âDo it.â He whispered. âShow me.â
You finally let your lips press gently to his, your hands still cupping his jaw, as his hands sat comfortably in his lap. The feeling of them was exactly what you had imagined, soft, supple, and sweet, with the tiniest bit of sting on them from the leftover liquor. You finally exhaled, pulling away a bit to gauge his reaction.Â
âYou can get into it, baby.â He smiled, urging you to push through your nerves. âIâm just here to help, sâjust meâŠâ his voice was like honey, the sound of it tearing through your body as he motivated you.Â
You leaned in again, this time letting yourself be a little more brazen, a little more steadfast as you worked to prove your ex wrong. Worked to impress Josh. Worked to show him. You opened your mouth a little, letting your tongue skirt across his bottom lip. The flavor of him almost knocked you down.Â
You began to get into it some more, letting your high take over, and letting your guard down as you found yourself really, really enjoying kissing him. You perched up a little bit moving to your knees to get a better stance.Â
âMmmhmm⊠keep goinâ babyâŠâ Josh mumbled when you broke away for a second. His words urged you on, and you felt brave enough to push your tongue further into his mouth, but only a little. You didnât want to overwhelm, just experiment. His tongue met yours in the process, tasting each other for the very first time.Â
Your hands curled up in his hair, squeezing at the roots a bit. He let out a little whine, so quiet that you almost didnât even hear it. It ignited something inside you again, and you knew you had to drive it home. Had to prove yourself. You pulled away for a second, hissing in air as you bit his bottom lip, pulling it out a little and making eye contact before pressing into him again, both of you moving in such unison that you were fully involved in the sultry kiss, now.Â
At this point you felt like you were teetering on the thin line of platonic kissing; you were still trying to prove yourself, but alsoâŠhe tasted so goodâŠ
You felt the need to be touched. You reached down and grabbed Joshâs wrists, pulling them up to rest on you- one hand on your thigh, and the other around the back of your neck. You wanted reciprocation. He obliged, and as you licked into his mouth, his hand squeezed into your thigh, strong and needing. His fingers felt like burning embers on your leg, and you wished that you had changed into shorts when you got home.Â
His hand pulled at the back of your neck, burying your mouths further into one another. âFuck, babyâŠhe was wrong, you proved him so wrongâŠâ Josh said, smiling against your lips as he delved back in. Your mind was swimming from his words of praise, and you decided that though this was simply an act between friends, you knew that you could kiss him all day long, never tiring of the feeling of his lips on yours. You were completely surrounded by him, by his warming presence. His scent, his sounds, his touch⊠It was all too much. You felt like you were drowning in him, but you didnât dare try to pull yourself from his waters.Â
Your hands squeezed at his hair one last time as you let them drift down his cheeks and neck, tickling the back of his neck before rolling across his shoulders. You slowly brought them down to his pecs, and finally rested them on his cheeks again, pulling his face away from yours for a split second before landing one last peck.Â
When you finally disconnected, you took in the sight of himâŠhair disheveled, eyes black and glazed, and his hands still rested gently in the places that you put them.Â
âHoly fuckâŠâ he breathed.Â
âOh my god, was it bad? It was bad, wasnât it? He was right, Iâm a horrible kisââ you were completely cut off by Joshâs lips on yours again, this time forcefully pulling you into him. This kiss was pleading, unbridled, and wanting, and each time you pulled away, you both were panting with want.Â
âWhat the fuck are we doing?â You breathed when you broke away.Â
âKissing contest.â He answered, his hand respectfully staying on the back of your neck. âI think Iâm winning, thoughâŠâÂ
âMmm, I donât know about thatâŠâ you said with a bit more confidence in yourself after seeing how you made him feel.Â
âYeah youâre right.â He agreed through an inhale. ïżœïżœYouâre kicking my ass at this experiment.â He drove his tongue into your mouth again, but it didnât make you want to retractâŠit made you want to pull it in further. You began to feel the heat that the two of you were emanating, and the sweat that was forming on your skin.Â
Youâd be lying if you said you werenât completely turned on, but you would never let him know that. You couldnât. Youâre just friends. One friend helping another get over his ex by having a kissing contest. Makes total sense.Â
Finally you pulled away again, covering your mouth with your hand. You laughed, making Josh in turn laugh with you. âWell? Whatâs the verdict? Was he right?â You asked.Â
âFuck no, he wasnât right. Youâre a hell of a kisser, Y/N.â Joshâs smile stretched all the way across his face, completely blissed out in his high. âGod damn, you left me a panting mess, baby.â
Your heart stopped at his words, feeling more confidence in yourself than youâd felt in a long, long time. Suddenly, the wildest idea to ever come across your mind escaped right through your lips.Â
âJosh, weâre just good friends, right?â You asked.Â
âYeah, baby. Real good friends.â He wiped his hand across his mouth before extending both arms across the back of your couch.Â
âDo youâdo you care if I finish what I started?â You asked in an absolute moment of weakness. The look on his face turned up into surprise, and you werenât sure how he was going to react to your question.Â
âWhat uh, what do you mean, Y/N?âÂ
You moved toward him again, wanting to feel him again. Feel his hands on you again. Be the center of all his attention again.Â
âCan you judge something else for me, Josh? Iâve always wondered how well IâŠperformedâŠand who better to be the judge than my very good friend? Who will be completely honest with me?âÂ
WHO even are you?! You felt like a person outside your own body. The confidence he was giving you wasâŠ
âThis ainât no way to treat the broken-hearted, babyâŠâ he replied, his voice a soft breath of air as his head lulled backwards. You paused again, unsure how to take him. âBut Iâll be your judgeâŠâ
âReally? You will?â You asked, feeling vulnerable, but also wanting to show out for him.Â
âMhm. If thatâs what you really wantâŠâ He bit his lower lip into his mouth, letting his eyes fall onto your lips like they had been doing all night.Â
âJust friendsâŠâ you reiterated.Â
âJust friends.â He parroted, lightly tapping your cheek with his hand.Â
This was absolutely something you never did, and definitely wasnât something you could ever even see yourself doing with Josh, of all people. You were supposed to be making him forget about his ex, letting him talk through it⊠hell, he was just dumped twenty-four hours ago. But there was something other-worldly spurring you on, whispering in your ear to just do it. And he was letting you. Was it wrong? Maybe, probably⊠but honestly, where was the harm in it? You were both obviously into each other, and as long as you were just making each other happy, you didnât see anything wrong with it.
Besides, this new need to make him think about nothing but you at every single second was making your head spin, and you wanted his focus completely on you, right now. You moved to press your lips to his again, letting things naturally heat up so that you could continue on with your intentions. You took a deep breath, confidently removing yourself, and placing yourself in the floor in front of him. It was at this second that you were extremely thankful for your liquid courage, and the fact that you were too stoned to care about much else besides pleasing Josh. He almost made it easy.Â
âTen.â Josh said out of nowhere.Â
âWhat?â you asked.Â
âI give your kissing a ten out of ten. Seriously.â He said, smiling from the corner of his mouth as he ran his hand along your arm, peering down at you as you kneeled on the floor.Â
You felt your face turn beet red, and you halfway didnât really believe him.Â
âStop playing, you donât have to be nice.â You erred.
âMânot just being nice. Seriously, I rate it a ten.â He stated, and you knew by the sincerity in his voice that he was telling the truth.
âWow. Didnât expect that, honestly.â you pulled a few strands of hair behind your ear. âThanks.â
âYouâre welcome. Now, you gonna finish what ya started, or not?â There was a darkness in his tone that you hadnât noticed yet, and it made your stomach turn over with nerves. But even more so, it lit a fuse in your chest that was slowly burning, ready to explode at any given second. And with each passing minute, you wanted to impress him even more.Â
You maneuvered yourself on your knees, gripping his thighs and pulling them apart so that you could place yourself between them. Your hands stayed there on his legs, squeezing and kneading at his muscles as you moved your hands closer and closer to where you both really wanted them to be. You could almost physically see him getting harder through his dark jeans, and you could hear his breathing picking up, too.Â
You let your hands drift to his groin, squeezing the muscles there as he leaned down in his seat, giving you extra space as his head fell back on the cushions. You found the button on his jeans, pulling the fabric sideways and undoing the button with one hand and unzipping the zipper. âDamn, alrightâŠâ Josh laughed, holding his hands up. âShow off.â
You took that as a tiny win, and decided to keep it going, playing on his words from earlier. âYou keep me guessing at every turnâŠâ
You pushed your hair back behind your shoulders, and leaned yourself down, letting your mouth meet his boxer-covered dick. You nipped your teeth lightly at it, making him hiss. You could tell just from this little bit of contact that he was well-endowed, and you felt your mouth physically watering for him. You needed to taste him. Your lips bounced around, peppering little kisses all over⊠the indirect contact making his hips jut up a little.Â
You sat back, motioning with your hands. âPull them down for me.â you demanded of him, and he gave you the sneakiest smirk, leaning back and pushing his pants and boxers down far enough to spring himself free.Â
You werenât wrong. He was perfectly sized, and it reassured you that you were okay with going forward with this. What you did notice, though, was he wasnât as hard as you wanted him to be. Your hands rested on his thighs again as you sized him up, licking your lips as you prepared yourself.Â
Josh had been the one urging you on all night, but suddenly, it felt like there had been a little bit of a shift. You finally brought your moistened lips to him, licking little circles around his tip, starting slowly at first, then picking up a little bit of speed. You swirled and gently suckled, and you felt him take in a big breath of air into his lungs. You glanced up at him, finding him looking up at the ceiling as he bit his lips.Â
âWhatâsa matter, Josh? You okay?â you pressed, knowing that you could stop at any second, if that was what he wanted.Â
âNo, yeah. Iâm fine. Iâm sorry, I just⊠this is the first time someone elseâŠsinceâŠâ he didnât need to say anything more.
âGod, yeah. Iâm sorry, your breakup is so fresh, Iâm sure this is more mental than anything, for youâŠâ you agreed as you sat back. âWe donât have toââ
âNo. Yes we do, Y/N. Iâm justâŠâ You could tell Josh was having a hard time with his words again, for the second time tonight.Â
âJust what? You can tell meâŠâ
He swallowed, placing a sweet hand on the side of your face. âThis is the first time Iâve umâŠbeenâŠwith a womanâŠin a very long time.â
âOh.â You muttered, his sentiment catching you off guard a little. You hadnât realized you never even asked the name of his ex, let alone any details about the relationship.
âBut itâs okay, Y/NâŠâ He smiled, letting his thumb brush your cheek. âI may be wallowing in my sorrows, but it doesnât mean I donât want this, want you to do this. JustâŠin my head a little bit.â He admitted, putting a hole through your heart.
You sighed. âIt doesnât feel wrong?â Your voice was tiny as it escaped you.Â
He quickly shook his head side to side as he layed back on his elbow behind his head. âNo. Thatâs whatâs making me freak out a little, it doesnât feel wrong in the least.â He swallowed. âMaybe IâŠMaybe I wasnât as in love as I thought I was.â
You smiled a pitiful smile as you rested your elbows on his knees, taking a deep, recentering breath of your own.Â
âYouâre really fuckinâ pretty, Y/N.â He complimented you out of the blue, his thumb still grazing your cheek. âAnd Iâm really into you.â
âYou are?â You asked.
âYeah. I know we said weâre friends, but friends can do this. Right? Doesnât stop the fact that Iâm attracted to you.â His glossy words made your stomach do flips again as you realized maybe his feelings were the exact same as yours. Unexplainable, but still overwhelmingly good.
âYeah. I really think friends can do this.â You agreed. And you were serious. If you were going to be this person for Josh, then he could also in turn be this person for you.Â
âPlus, the feeling of your lips on my cock just nowâŠâ He laughed through his nose. âMight be in competition with your ten out of ten kissing. And you hadnât evenâŠâ He stopped there, biting both his lips into his mouth as he slid his hips down again.Â
Good god, youâd hoped he would have a little bit of a dirty mouth.Â
âYou want me to keep going?â You asked.Â
âFuck yeah, I do. I gotta judge your skill, donât I?â He played, removing his hand from your cheek and running it through your hair. He gripped it a little, making you stiffen your neck. Your eyes flashed to his, and you didnât even need to say anything, he knew what you meant. He nodded, giving you the go ahead, and you prayed that he wouldnât remove his hand from tangling up in your hair.Â
You slowly leaned down to him again, starting things up just as you had before. Your tongue swirled on his tip, wetting it in circles as you let the saliva build up in your mouth. Around and around you took it, descending further and further onto him with every rotation. You heard him breathe out, his hips shaking a little beneath you. As you got as far as you could get, you pursed your lips down, tightening them around the base of his cock before sucking hard, pulling up and off of him completely. His hand tightened in your hair, showing you that he was liking it so far.Â
He let out a groan, followed by a little laugh. âFuck yeah, Y/NâŠâ
You quickly found a rhythm, letting your head begin to bob as you worked your tongue and cheeks, alternating forceful suction mixed with light little pops of your lips. His hips were jutting with every movement, and the sounds that were coming from him were enough to keep you going, keep you striving to impress himâŠ
You took him in your hand, gripping at the base and using the saliva that had dripped down as lubrication to move your hand, twisting and pumping it. âJesus Christ, youâreâŠâ You took a second to glance up at him, seeing his jaw tightly clenched and his chest heaving with labored breaths. He brought his other hand down, pulling the hair that had drifted down away from your face, pulling it all back to the nape of your neck and holding it tightly there. You nodded, letting him know you were okay with him guiding your movements.Â
âMhm.â You hummed on him. âShow me how you like it.â
He let out a choke of breath and readjusted in his seat, spreading his legs wider for you. He gripped a little harder on your hair, pulling you up and across his stomach, your faces almost touching as he brought his mouth close. He didnât say anything, just hissed through his teeth as he scanned over your face. He then used a little bit of force to push your head back down to where it was, and you resumed your work.Â
Fuck, what the hell is happening⊠your chemistry with Josh was absolutely off the chain. You felt like you would follow every command he would ever give you, let him use you in the worst ways, completely trusting him to do as he pleased. You were absolutely yearning to satisfy him.Â
âIâll show you exactly how I like it baby, but this is your show, remember? Youâre calling the shotsâŠâ he growled, his voice deeper and more grating than it was earlier. You shrugged one shoulder, replacing your hand around his base. You moved it up and down opposite of your mouth, making his whole body start to shake. Your tongue worked on him, as your mouth drifted down as far as it could possibly go, with the help of Joshâs light guidance.
The weed had contributed to your slow, languid movements while the alcohol made your inhibitions fly out the window⊠the beautiful combo of the crossfade sending you both into a blurry and slow-motioned entanglement. You swore you could listen to his noises and praises on repeat. âSo fuckinâ pretty, Y/N⊠so fuckinâ prettyâŠâ He mumbled, lightly thrusting himself into your mouth as your neck began to ache a little. âSlow and steady, just like thatâŠâ
He puffed out a quick breath with a blow of his lips, and you could tell that he was enjoying himself just as much as you were. Normally, you would finish up the job, and expect repayment, but getting Josh to even feel the tiniest bit of pleasure at your hand was enough. It was that draw, that need to make him feel good. Keeping him and him only in the spotlight. And if you had to guess, you were doing a pretty good job at it.
After a few seconds, his movements became jostled, and his once slow grinding movements started to falter. You felt him start to throb in your mouth, and you knew it wouldnât be long until he was crumbling beneath you, all at the mercy of your mouth.Â
âHey, you want me toââ he said, suddenly shuddering.Â
You nodded again, pleading with him to let it all go. You wanted the whole thing, wanted him to have the full experience. You needed to see what he tasted like.Â
His breath started to pick up as he gripped your hair tighter, his hips pushing his dick further into your mouth as you let him graze the back of your throat, tears pouring from the sides of your eyes. âCome on baby, come on⊠just a little bit longerâŠfuckâŠâÂ
Finally, he was letting it all go, filling up your mouth as you swallowed his bitter-sweetness down, savoring the taste of him on your tongue. His whole body went rigid as he came, shaking and jerking as you worked to make sure not a drop was left behind. You squeezed your hand around him, pulling him up into your mouth. His whines were like music to your ears, pathetic and pitiful as he worked to come back down to earth.Â
âSon of a bitch, Y/N⊠that wasâŠâ he said as you sat back up, wiping your mouth off with the back of your hand. He caught your jaw in his grasp, squeezing your cheeks together and forcing you to open your mouth. He pulled you closer, bringing you in for a heated kiss that left you smoldering for him.Â
When you finally pulled away, you met eyes with him, and you could tell he was completely blissed out. âSâbeen a long time since Iâve had anything like that.â He admitted, pulling your back up to sit by him on the couch again.Â
He tucked himself back in his boxers but decided to forgo buttoning back up. âReally? Even in a four and a half year long relationship?â You asked.Â
âAh, I dunno. We were long distance, so⊠it was few and far between but. Really I meant being with someone who actually showed passion about making me feel good. You know what I mean?â
You couldnât help but smile. That was exactly what you wanted out of this. For Josh to feel that you wanted to be there.Â
âYeah, I know exactly what you mean. I justâŠwanted to make you feel good.â You admitted, shrugging one shoulder up as you brushed your disheveled hair back into place. âSo, whatâs my rating, huh? Give it to me straight.â
Josh closed one eye and looked up with the other as if he was thinking really hard. âUh, nine and a half.â
Your mouth fell slack, and you felt the soreness in your jaw joints. âAh! Why the half?!â You argued. âNot a ten?â
He chuckled. âWould be a ten, but I only took away the half because I know that I wonât be able to feel you like that all the time.â You both stared at one another as you let his words sink in.Â
Could you, though?
âAnd because I feel like you were holding back, a little. Werenât you?â He pressed. His statement took you by surprise, because he was right.Â
â...MaybeâŠâ
âYou shouldnât have. Itâs just me, remember. Guess youâll have to show up and show out next time. See if you can get a perfect ten.â He said with nonchalance.Â
âNext time?â You spat without a thought.Â
He shrugged, squeezing his hand around your thigh. âSure, why not? If you want to, of course. Might be fun to have a little situation weâre both comfortable with⊠no strings attached type thingâŠâ
You ran over the idea in your head, not really seeing anything wrong with it. You nodded, agreeing with his outlandish proposal.
âBut, there is one thing, Y/N.â He swallowed, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. âObviously I⊠um. I didnât make you feel good, tonight. But, just give me someââ
You cupped your hand over Joshâs mouth. âJosh, honey, shut up. You donât have to explain it to me. I understand, and itâs okay. If weâre gonna do this, it's all gonna be in good fun, right?â
He nodded from behind your hand. âRight.â He mumbled.Â
âAnd I certainly didnât feel uncomfortable with you, so. Iâm pretty positive we could just sit here and look at each other and we would have a good time.â You laughed, pulling your hand from his face. He caught your hand in his, and gave it a sweet squeeze.Â
âNot sure Iâd be able to sit by you for too long without something happening. Youâre a fuckinâ treat, Y/N. I swear.â His eyes traveled down your body again, and you watched his gears turn as his gaze drifted over your breasts. âThank you, for tonight.â
âThank you.â You whispered. âWe still friends?â
He took your chin between his fingers. âYeah. Good friends.â
As the air between you finally started to settle and the intoxication turned into sobriety, you realized that the night was nearly about to turn into morning. You didnât have to be at work until 11, so you were going to be able to get at least a little bit of sleep before your shift tomorrow.Â
âItâs too late to get an Uber, Josh. Just stay here.â You more demanded than suggested, pulling the blanket from the back of the couch and tossing it overtop of his lap. You stood, stretching your body as you made your way toward your bedroom.Â
âWhat, you not gonna invite me to your bed?â He asked, throwing you off.Â
âUhh, I mean, sureââ
âIâm kidding, Y/N. Weâre friends. Friends donât sleep in beds together. Friends sleep on couches.â You watched as he burrowed himself under the puffy blanket and made himself horizontal.
âMaybe one day youâll end up in my bed.â You tossed the joke over your shoulder, walking down the short hallway.Â
âAnd maybe one day youâll get a perfect ten.â
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G13 - Finish What Ya Started
Spinning Now: "Finish What Ya Started" by Van Halen (1988)
Pairing: Josh x Female Reader
Word Count: 8.2k
Description: You and Josh, your favorite new co worker, decide to share more than drinks as what started as a normal night turns into something you never expected.
Warnings: Smoking, Drinking, Cursing, Drug Use, Heavy Flirting, Praise, Dirty Talk, Touching, Mention of Breakups and Heartbreak, Sadness. Smut: Kissing, Oral M!Receiving
New town, new job, new life.Â
Thatâs always how things went in the movies, and every time, the girl always got her happy ending.
How hard can it be, right?
After youâd managed to knock the first new off your list when you moved out of your exâs house and to the next city over, the âjobâ part was next in line. After a week of filling out applications, you finally landed on the perfect selection, a serving job at Angeloâs Pizza.
Youâd started this new job about about three months ago, and you finally felt like you were getting your footing with the flow of things. Youâd been a server for as long as you could remember, but getting used to a new restaurant with new people and new menus and management could sometimes prove to be difficult. You were handling it with as much grace as you could, and the money was killer, so you stuck it out.
âYou coming to the bar with me tonight?â your new favorite coworker, Josh asked as he stared into the kitchen from the expo window, rolling a pile of coasters across the countertop.Â
âMmmhâŠâ You mumbled under your breath. âI dunno, Iâve been here since lunch and my feet are absolutely killing me.â
âUgh donât be such a prude, Y/N.â He responded, taking a pepperoni and cheese in one hand, and a supreme in the other. âWeâll be sitting down the whole time. Ya know. In barstools.â
âShut the fuck up.â You teased, elbowing him in the ribs. âI guess so, but I canât stay out late like last weekend. I open tomorrow.â
âOooo, a clopen. That sucks. Well, I donât. So I can get drunk, and you can watch me.â He flashed you a giant smile before taking off with the pizzas in hand, disappearing into the sea of people seated in the restaurant.
Josh had befriended you on your very first day, comforting you after your manager harshly scolded you for ringing something in incorrectly.Â
âDonât worry about it.â Heâd said as you pouted in the walk-in. âI still fuck my shit up all the time. The cooks donât really care, plus if you mess somethinâ up, we get to eat the fucked up pizza.â That was the only thing he said to you the entire day, but it really stuck with you, immediately making you feel a lot better about your tiny mistake.Â
Now, after a few months of working side by side with Josh, youâd actually gotten to know each other fairly well, and youâd even go as far as calling him one of your good friends. Youâd managed to get to know all your coworkers on a surface level, but Josh actually took the time to listen to you when you spoke, and showed real interest in the things you had to say, no matter how menial.Â
He was cute, and around the same age as you, but there was something about Josh that you couldnât put your finger on. It was something that struck you, making him stand out from the rest of the guys you worked with. His aura pulled you in, and the way his eyes sparkled in the neon that covered the walls of the restaurant didnât help the fact that he sometimes made your heart skip a beat. You decided that it was just his looks, though, catching you off guard every once in a while as you were around him more. Most importantly, he made you feel welcome. Like a good friend should.Â
The more you got to know Josh, the more open he became with you, and you quickly learned that his real personality outside of work was a little bit different than when you were on the clock. Itâd become almost a habit, now, joining Josh at his favorite dive bar down the street when youâd both end up on the same closing schedule. It was like Groundhog Day, Josh would ask you to come out, youâd find an excuse to turn him down, but you always left Angeloâs with your hand in his as you tiredly dragged yourselves down the street. Sometimes other coworkers would join you, but it was always the two of you left shutting the bar down, joking and laughing with one another as you waited for your Ubers.
Josh was quickly becoming a norm for you. A fun, platonic norm. And though you were both flirty with one another, it never felt as though it would go past anything but that. Just friends. And you were very content with that.Â
So tonight, as things wound down and the patrons closed out their tabs, you felt as if you really could use a nightcap or two to reward yourself for not making even one mistake on your orders today.
As you tied the oversized trash bag closed, you met eyes with Josh as he skillfully swiped the mop across the sticky, sauce-covered floor.Â
He grinned when he saw you looking, making your stomach drop. âWhat?â He asked, biting his lower lip in as he staved off a full-on smile.
âNothing. Just thinking about how you roped me into going out again tonight.â You said with faux aggravation.
Josh sucked in his teeth as he plopped the mop back into the big yellow bucket, rolling it over to where you stood. âActually, I asked you out with me tonight for another reason. I wasnât kidding when I said I was gonna get absolutely shit hammered, tonight.â His tone was serious rather than silly, and you instantly felt like something was wrong.
âWhatâs the other reason?â You pressed, lifting the bag from the can. âEverything okay?â
He shook his head and swallowed, opening the double doors to the kitchen to go and dump his bucket. You followed closely behind him with your trash.Â
âEh, not really. Iâll tell you all about it when we get there. Letâs lock this bitch up.â He flashed his eyes to the floor as he spoke, which was unlike him. He always spoke with such confidence and effortless ease.Â
The two of you finished up your closing tasks and said goodnight to the line cooks, grabbing up your things from your lockers and stuffing your aprons back inside. Josh was quiet the whole time, again striking you as out of the ordinary. You hadnât known Josh long, but you did know him well enough to know that something was off, and he wasnât handling it well.
âThink Iâm going straight for liquor tonight.â He said as you walked arm in arm down the crowded sidewalk to the bar. He tilted his head back, blowing a puff of air above you, watching as the cold air turned it into steam.Â
âDamn.â You answered. âYou must really be going through it, friend.â It was also unlike Josh to drink liquor; each time you were around him, heâd always chosen draft beer.Â
You both stepped inside the dimly-lit dive bar, letting the heat warm your chilly bones from the cold autumn air. You both took up camp on two stools at the end of the bar, closest to the back wall. The bartender Roy approached you, throwing down two bar napkins in front of you as you got comfortable in your seats.Â
âEveninâ, guys. Sex on the Beach andddd, Josh, weâve got a Kolsch and a pale ale on tap, and also aââ
âJack Danielâs. Neat, please.â Josh interrupted Roy, causing him to contort his face with surprise.Â
âBeen waiting on you almost five years and never known you to drink liquor. But, alrightâŠâ Roy responded as he left for a minute, returning and placing your drinks in front of you. âIâll keep the tab goinâ.â
It was silent between the two of you for the first couple of minutes, both of you sipping your drinks as you relaxed your muscles from the long workday. Finally, you decided you would have to be the one to speak first, for once.Â
âOkay, spill. Whatâs got you on the hard stuff tonight?â You asked, turning to face Josh in your stool.Â
He leaned on his elbow, his tight black t-shirt squeezing his toned arm just right. âI got dumped last night.âÂ
You felt your eyebrows jump to your forehead. âWhat?! Oh my god, Iâm so sorry, JoshâŠI didnât even know you had aââ
âNah, itâs okay. I could kinda tell shit was going sideways, anyway, ya know? Almost expected it. But, still doesnât make it hurt any less.â He disconnected his eye contact, tilting his glass back all the way and finishing off the last bit of his whiskey.Â
You were almost stunned speechless. You hadnât seen Josh show any emotion that even came close to sadness before, and you struggled with how you were going to react.Â
Roy brought the bottle of Jack over, filling Joshâs glass with another two fingers.Â
âHow long were you together?â You asked, tiptoeing with caution, given that he might not want to go into much detail.Â
âFour and a half years.â He said blankly.Â
âMy god, are you serious?!â You choked out with disbelief.Â
He nodded hard as he kept his eyes trained on the bar in front of you, spinning his stool in tiny tight circles. âYeah. Long time.â He sipped his drink again.Â
âI really am sorry, Josh. Thatâs a long time to be with someone for it to just...â You placed a hand on his arm as you spoke.Â
He crossed his arms in front of him. âYeah, itâs fucked.â He growled, leaning back in his stool.Â
âYou wanna talk about it?â You asked.Â
âNo, thatâs why weâre here.â He slammed his hands on the bar top, motioning for Roy to refill your already almost empty cocktail.Â
Roy brought your new drink over, stirring the drink with the tiny straw for you. Josh lifted his glass into the air, forcefully clinking it against yours. âTo moving on!â He said, finishing the drink off once again.Â
ââ
An hour or so later, you and Josh had managed to find yourselves significantly intoxicated once again, engaged in a deep passionate debate.Â
âEver since they banned smoking indoors, the American bar scene has been fucked!â Josh drunkenly yelled overtop of the loud music and large crowd that had joined you inside the bar.Â
You had to laugh. âJosh, not everybody loves breathing that shit in! It makes some people really sick!â You challenged.Â
âAh, hell. You come into a bar, you expect to be around smoke, all there is to it. All there is to it!â He crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders in defiance of your argument.Â
âYou can go outside and smoke, Josh. Easy as that. Just get over it!â The two of you were glassy-eyed and giggly, feeling your liquor take hold of you as you talked. Josh brought about a warmth in you that youâd never experienced before, and youâd be lying if you said yourâŠattraction? to him wasnât amplified when you were drunk.Â
No, not attraction.Â
Something elseâŠ
You had no idea what to label the feeling, because youâd never felt it ever before. You took it in stride, though, embracing the completely new emotion as it came. It was almost like you craved his attention, and fed off of him engaging with you. You wanted to please him, but not in such a way that was sexual.Â
âŠYou didnât think.Â
No. You just craved his recognition. Wanted his eyes on you and no one else. Wanted to make him laugh, be the one who made him forget about everything else. It wasnât a jealousy thing, it was a matter of possessiveness. You wanted to protect him like a best friend. And anyone who dared cause him unhappiness would have to deal with you.Â
Is this insane thinking?! Am I crazy for this? You drunkenly asked yourself as you washed your hands in the bar bathroom sink, giving yourself a disapproving look in the mirror. Probably, maybeâŠbut he seems to feel the same about you... You had noticed that the second youâd inadvertently struck up a conversation with another guy at the bar, Josh quickly stole your attention away again, bringing up a whole new topic of conversation that had nothing to do with the last.Â
He charmed you. Drew you in. Challenged your thoughts and opinionsâŠmade you talk like youâd never talked before. Laugh like youâd never laughed.Â
âYouâre really smart, Y/N. I didnât really notice that about you, before.â Josh smiled as he leaned over toward you on the bar. His cheeks were tinted the prettiest pink from the alcohol.Â
âUhh, thanks, I guess?â You chortled, feigning being offended.Â
âNo I mean, you surprise me. Keep me guessing, every time I turn around. Never had a friend like that before. Iâm usually so bored with everyone I meet. You make me like, think. Ya know?â He explained as you nodded sweetly in understanding. You knew you were blushing.Â
âLast call!!â You heard Roy yell across the still-crowded room. You made blurry eye contact with Josh again.Â
âDamn, we didddit agin.â You stammered. âLet me pay, youâve had a hard coupleâa days.âÂ
âNo no no, no you donât. I asked you here, my treat. Plus, my drinks were fuckinâ pricey tonight.â
âBut Josh, let me treat you, for once...â You jutted your bottom lip out as you begged him. You watched as his eyes landed on your lips, stealing his attention again. Suddenly, you felt excited.Â
âAlright, alright. But Iâm leavinâ the tip.â He agreed. âI just needed some sympathyâŠthatâs all I wanted tonight.â
âAnd you got it, didnât you? You forgot all about your messy breakup?â
âFor the most part, yes.â He laughed. âBut I like to look at the long run, ya know? Like to take each step, one by one. Let myself live in the sadness.â
You scoffed as you signed your name on the receipt and pulled your coat on. âPsh, Josh, didnât you just cheers me and say âto moving onâ?â
He stood from his stool, wrapping his arm around your neck tightly. The smell of his cologne mixed with the remnants of pizza filled your senses, temporarily making you dizzy as he squeezed you in his grip.Â
âI did, Y/N, I did. But Iâm also drunk, now. So. And also, I donât really wanna go home yet. âM gonna walk you to your Uber then hit up ChaunceyâsâŠthey stay open âtil 2.â
You turned in his grasp, your face within inches of his as he held you tightly. âDonât go back out, Josh. No sense in drinkinâ your sorrows away by yourself.â It felt like you were outside of your own body; all you wanted was to go home and strip down and crawl into bed, but for some reason, your mouth told Josh that apparently you didnât want to go home, either. âCome back to my place. Weâll have one more drink, and we can share the blunt that TJ gave me yesterday.â
âTJ? The linecook?â Josh seemed surprised. âYou letting strangers give you drugs now, Y/N?â
âHeâs hardly a stranger, Josh. Why, you jealous?â You teased, while also testing the waters of what the hell this feeling the two of you apparently shared could actually be.Â
âFuck no, Iâm not jealous. IâmâŠIâŠâ Josh opened his mouth, but nothing came out after that. âI donât know, I justââ You were still tightly wrapped up in the crook of his elbow, his face so close to yours that you could smell the liquor on his breath as he struggled to speak.Â
You decided to save him. âItâs alright Josh. You donât have to come over. Iâll smoke it allllll by myselfâŠâ you sneakily wrapped your arm around his back, giving it a couple playful pats.Â
He looked down at you through his lashes, his jaw clenched tightly together. âYou really want me to come over?â
You nodded. âI do. Come on, itâll be fun.â More than anything, you wanted him to know you were the reason he had such a good night, and the reason he was able to forget about his breakup.
âOkay, jackass. You talked me into it. Letâs go get high.â He released you from his grasp as you confirmed your Uber on your phone, and your overwhelming satisfaction of claiming his attention again propelled you out the door.Â
ââ
âCute place. You decorate it yourself?â Josh teased as you both entered your apartment. It was only half-decorated and you hardly had any furniture, spending most of your days working and saving up money to finish furnishing it.Â
âShut up, dick head!â You shoved him backwards as he laughed. âI havenât finished making it cute yet.â You pulled the bottle of liquor from the cabinet, shaking the little bit that was left. âI know youâve been drinking whiskey, butâŠvodkaâs all Iâve got.â
âAh, itâll work.â Josh responded, plopping down on your couch. âMâalready fucked with a hangover tomorrow, might as well do it up.â You caught sight of his pretty light brown curls sitting on top of his head, and you felt another rush of that strange excitement soar through you.Â
You made the two drinks and joined him on the couch, pulling the blunt up under your nose as you breathed in its earthy scent. Josh took the drink from your hand, raising his eyebrows as he watched you smell the rolled marijuana.Â
âTJ usually has good shit, I will say.â He winked, sipping his drink.Â
You pulled your feet up underneath you on the couch, scooting yourself closer to him. âThought you said I shouldnât take drugs from strangersâŠâ
âI never said you shouldnât, I just meant that next time you should get your weed from me.â He spoke without a care, taking the blunt from your hand and bringing it to his own nose.Â
âAh, well I was unaware I could do that, Joshua.â You snatched it back from him, taking the lighter from the table in front of you and lighting the end of the blunt. You inhaled the smoke slowly, noticing that Josh hadnât responded to you.Â
You glanced at him, finding the most devastating half smile on his face. You swore you felt your skin tingle.Â
âDid you just call me by my government name, Y/N?â He whispered, leaning his head down to you.Â
You exhaled the smoke you didnât realize you were holding, nodding slowly. âYeah, you mad about it?â
You passed him the blunt. âNah, kinda liked the way it sounded, actually.â You watched as his lips made a perfect O around the tip of the blunt, and you found yourself wondering what kind of chapstick he used to get them to lookâŠlike thatâŠ
You felt your eyes grow heavy as your first hit found you, the THC entering your system quickly. Josh must have noticed, as he giggled at your appearance. âTold you TJ had good shit.â
âI swear to god Iâm already fuckinâ highâŠâ you laughed, taking another big hit.Â
âMmm, no baby, youâre crossed. But not all the way. Yet.â Joshâs voice was gritty and buttery all at the same time. And the fact that he called you baby had you feeling that same feeling again. He calls everybody baby, thoughâŠall the girls at workâŠyouâre not special.Â
The two of you sat and smoked until the blunt was a roach, and the air around you was thick with haziness. Your entire body was heavy and floaty, and you swore you could feel the blood pumping through your extremities. The conversation with Josh was so easy, so effortless, and the way the two of you held the complete attention of one another continued to astound you.Â
âSo tell me about you. Whatâs your real story?â Josh asked, the both of you sitting facing one another completely, now.Â
You sipped your vodka drink. âWhat do you mean, real story?â
âI only know a little bit about you, where did you come from? Whatâs in your past?â
You took a deep breath. âWell, believe it or not, Josh, I kinda just got broken up with recently, too.â
âNo way, youâre kidding. When? What happened?â He pressed.Â
âAhh, about a month before I started at Angeloâs. Iâm from about twenty miles away, up north a bit. Came here looking to start completely fresh. Still close enough to my family, if I need them. Ya knowâŠâ you trailed off. Joshâs eyes were telling you to continue.Â
âI got dumped, too. After a year of being with him. I thought we were serious, but apparently not. It didnât hurt me too bad, Iâm alright. Liking my new life pretty well, actually.â
Josh dramatically leaned back on the couch cushion, throwing his free hand over his face. âUgh, godâŠhow embarrassing. You handled beinâ dumped like a goddamned rockstar. Iâm over here down in the dumps.â
You couldnât help but laugh. âItâs okay, Josh. Four and a half years is a lot longer than oneâŠâ
âYouâre right, I guess.â He sat back up, bringing his attention back to you. âSo what was his reason? What was his last straw?â He asked, moving his face closer to yours. Your body was vibrating from the alcohol and the weed, and the presence of Josh sitting so close to you on your couch. You were positively buzzing.Â
âHe uh, didnât really give me one. Just said it was over.â You whispered, feeling your emotions flying all over the place. Joshâs hand reached up, twirling a piece of your hair between his fingers. âHe also said I was a bad kisser, or something stupid.â
Josh winced at your words. âA bad kisser? I highly doubt that, Y/NâŠâÂ
âAnd why do you doubt that?â You giggled.Â
âBecause. I have a hard time taking my eyes off your lips, I can only imagine how hard it would be to take my lips off of themâŠâ he smirked a little, laughing through his nose.Â
âYouâre fuckinâ stoned.â You laughed, leaning your face onto his hand.Â
âAnd? I speak nothing but the truth, baby.â
âMmmhm, yeah. Shut up.â You complained.Â
âIâm serious. I bet you really are a good kisser. That guy was justâŠstupid.â
âMaybe Iâm a horrible kisser, how would I ever know?â You shrugged, feeling your body about to jump out of your skin simply from having this conversation with Josh.Â
He held his first two fingers up, motioning for you to come here. âCome on. Show me how you like to kiss.âÂ
âWhat?! No, Iâm not gonna do that.â You blushed, pulling away from him with shyness.Â
âBaby, itâs me. Iâm just trying to judge your kissing skills. Iâll be completely honest with you, tell you if that guy was right or not.â Josh said, holding his hands out to the sides.Â
You stopped, staring at Josh through your slit eyelids, trying to figure him out. He met you with sincere eyes, and though you were both extremely intoxicated, you didnât feel uncomfortable in the least.Â
âIâm serious. Just kiss me.â He said matter of factly. âSâno big deal.âÂ
You took a deep breath, feeling the air surrounding you heavy with normalcy, but also heavy with yearning.Â
You slowly pulled yourself in closer to him, gently wetting your lips as your mind went back and forth on whether or not to do this. Your breath became a little chopped, nerves bursting through the wall of your drunken carelessness.Â
Finally you were close enough to feel his breath on your lips, and your hands naturally shot up to cup his jaw. He clenched it, his eyes falling heavy again as his breath caught. Your heart was absolutely pounding from your chest.Â
âDo it.â He whispered. âShow me.â
You finally let your lips press gently to his, your hands still cupping his jaw, as his hands sat comfortably in his lap. The feeling of them was exactly what you had imagined, soft, supple, and sweet, with the tiniest bit of sting on them from the leftover liquor. You finally exhaled, pulling away a bit to gauge his reaction.Â
âYou can get into it, baby.â He smiled, urging you to push through your nerves. âIâm just here to help, sâjust meâŠâ his voice was like honey, the sound of it tearing through your body as he motivated you.Â
You leaned in again, this time letting yourself be a little more brazen, a little more steadfast as you worked to prove your ex wrong. Worked to impress Josh. Worked to show him. You opened your mouth a little, letting your tongue skirt across his bottom lip. The flavor of him almost knocked you down.Â
You began to get into it some more, letting your high take over, and letting your guard down as you found yourself really, really enjoying kissing him. You perched up a little bit moving to your knees to get a better stance.Â
âMmmhmm⊠keep goinâ babyâŠâ Josh mumbled when you broke away for a second. His words urged you on, and you felt brave enough to push your tongue further into his mouth, but only a little. You didnât want to overwhelm, just experiment. His tongue met yours in the process, tasting each other for the very first time.Â
Your hands curled up in his hair, squeezing at the roots a bit. He let out a little whine, so quiet that you almost didnât even hear it. It ignited something inside you again, and you knew you had to drive it home. Had to prove yourself. You pulled away for a second, hissing in air as you bit his bottom lip, pulling it out a little and making eye contact before pressing into him again, both of you moving in such unison that you were fully involved in the sultry kiss, now.Â
At this point you felt like you were teetering on the thin line of platonic kissing; you were still trying to prove yourself, but alsoâŠhe tasted so goodâŠ
You felt the need to be touched. You reached down and grabbed Joshâs wrists, pulling them up to rest on you- one hand on your thigh, and the other around the back of your neck. You wanted reciprocation. He obliged, and as you licked into his mouth, his hand squeezed into your thigh, strong and needing. His fingers felt like burning embers on your leg, and you wished that you had changed into shorts when you got home.Â
His hand pulled at the back of your neck, burying your mouths further into one another. âFuck, babyâŠhe was wrong, you proved him so wrongâŠâ Josh said, smiling against your lips as he delved back in. Your mind was swimming from his words of praise, and you decided that though this was simply an act between friends, you knew that you could kiss him all day long, never tiring of the feeling of his lips on yours. You were completely surrounded by him, by his warming presence. His scent, his sounds, his touch⊠It was all too much. You felt like you were drowning in him, but you didnât dare try to pull yourself from his waters.Â
Your hands squeezed at his hair one last time as you let them drift down his cheeks and neck, tickling the back of his neck before rolling across his shoulders. You slowly brought them down to his pecs, and finally rested them on his cheeks again, pulling his face away from yours for a split second before landing one last peck.Â
When you finally disconnected, you took in the sight of himâŠhair disheveled, eyes black and glazed, and his hands still rested gently in the places that you put them.Â
âHoly fuckâŠâ he breathed.Â
âOh my god, was it bad? It was bad, wasnât it? He was right, Iâm a horrible kisââ you were completely cut off by Joshâs lips on yours again, this time forcefully pulling you into him. This kiss was pleading, unbridled, and wanting, and each time you pulled away, you both were panting with want.Â
âWhat the fuck are we doing?â You breathed when you broke away.Â
âKissing contest.â He answered, his hand respectfully staying on the back of your neck. âI think Iâm winning, thoughâŠâÂ
âMmm, I donât know about thatâŠâ you said with a bit more confidence in yourself after seeing how you made him feel.Â
âYeah youâre right.â He agreed through an inhale. âYouâre kicking my ass at this experiment.â He drove his tongue into your mouth again, but it didnât make you want to retractâŠit made you want to pull it in further. You began to feel the heat that the two of you were emanating, and the sweat that was forming on your skin.Â
Youâd be lying if you said you werenât completely turned on, but you would never let him know that. You couldnât. Youâre just friends. One friend helping another get over his ex by having a kissing contest. Makes total sense.Â
Finally you pulled away again, covering your mouth with your hand. You laughed, making Josh in turn laugh with you. âWell? Whatâs the verdict? Was he right?â You asked.Â
âFuck no, he wasnât right. Youâre a hell of a kisser, Y/N.â Joshâs smile stretched all the way across his face, completely blissed out in his high. âGod damn, you left me a panting mess, baby.â
Your heart stopped at his words, feeling more confidence in yourself than youâd felt in a long, long time. Suddenly, the wildest idea to ever come across your mind escaped right through your lips.Â
âJosh, weâre just good friends, right?â You asked.Â
âYeah, baby. Real good friends.â He wiped his hand across his mouth before extending both arms across the back of your couch.Â
âDo youâdo you care if I finish what I started?â You asked in an absolute moment of weakness. The look on his face turned up into surprise, and you werenât sure how he was going to react to your question.Â
âWhat uh, what do you mean, Y/N?âÂ
You moved toward him again, wanting to feel him again. Feel his hands on you again. Be the center of all his attention again.Â
âCan you judge something else for me, Josh? Iâve always wondered how well IâŠperformedâŠand who better to be the judge than my very good friend? Who will be completely honest with me?âÂ
WHO even are you?! You felt like a person outside your own body. The confidence he was giving you wasâŠ
âThis ainât no way to treat the broken-hearted, babyâŠâ he replied, his voice a soft breath of air as his head lulled backwards. You paused again, unsure how to take him. âBut Iâll be your judgeâŠâ
âReally? You will?â You asked, feeling vulnerable, but also wanting to show out for him.Â
âMhm. If thatâs what you really wantâŠâ He bit his lower lip into his mouth, letting his eyes fall onto your lips like they had been doing all night.Â
âJust friendsâŠâ you reiterated.Â
âJust friends.â He parroted, lightly tapping your cheek with his hand.Â
This was absolutely something you never did, and definitely wasnât something you could ever even see yourself doing with Josh, of all people. You were supposed to be making him forget about his ex, letting him talk through it⊠hell, he was just dumped twenty-four hours ago. But there was something other-worldly spurring you on, whispering in your ear to just do it. And he was letting you. Was it wrong? Maybe, probably⊠but honestly, where was the harm in it? You were both obviously into each other, and as long as you were just making each other happy, you didnât see anything wrong with it.
Besides, this new need to make him think about nothing but you at every single second was making your head spin, and you wanted his focus completely on you, right now. You moved to press your lips to his again, letting things naturally heat up so that you could continue on with your intentions. You took a deep breath, confidently removing yourself, and placing yourself in the floor in front of him. It was at this second that you were extremely thankful for your liquid courage, and the fact that you were too stoned to care about much else besides pleasing Josh. He almost made it easy.Â
âTen.â Josh said out of nowhere.Â
âWhat?â you asked.Â
âI give your kissing a ten out of ten. Seriously.â He said, smiling from the corner of his mouth as he ran his hand along your arm, peering down at you as you kneeled on the floor.Â
You felt your face turn beet red, and you halfway didnât really believe him.Â
âStop playing, you donât have to be nice.â You erred.
âMânot just being nice. Seriously, I rate it a ten.â He stated, and you knew by the sincerity in his voice that he was telling the truth.
âWow. Didnât expect that, honestly.â you pulled a few strands of hair behind your ear. âThanks.â
âYouâre welcome. Now, you gonna finish what ya started, or not?â There was a darkness in his tone that you hadnât noticed yet, and it made your stomach turn over with nerves. But even more so, it lit a fuse in your chest that was slowly burning, ready to explode at any given second. And with each passing minute, you wanted to impress him even more.Â
You maneuvered yourself on your knees, gripping his thighs and pulling them apart so that you could place yourself between them. Your hands stayed there on his legs, squeezing and kneading at his muscles as you moved your hands closer and closer to where you both really wanted them to be. You could almost physically see him getting harder through his dark jeans, and you could hear his breathing picking up, too.Â
You let your hands drift to his groin, squeezing the muscles there as he leaned down in his seat, giving you extra space as his head fell back on the cushions. You found the button on his jeans, pulling the fabric sideways and undoing the button with one hand and unzipping the zipper. âDamn, alrightâŠâ Josh laughed, holding his hands up. âShow off.â
You took that as a tiny win, and decided to keep it going, playing on his words from earlier. âYou keep me guessing at every turnâŠâ
You pushed your hair back behind your shoulders, and leaned yourself down, letting your mouth meet his boxer-covered dick. You nipped your teeth lightly at it, making him hiss. You could tell just from this little bit of contact that he was well-endowed, and you felt your mouth physically watering for him. You needed to taste him. Your lips bounced around, peppering little kisses all over⊠the indirect contact making his hips jut up a little.Â
You sat back, motioning with your hands. âPull them down for me.â you demanded of him, and he gave you the sneakiest smirk, leaning back and pushing his pants and boxers down far enough to spring himself free.Â
You werenât wrong. He was perfectly sized, and it reassured you that you were okay with going forward with this. What you did notice, though, was he wasnât as hard as you wanted him to be. Your hands rested on his thighs again as you sized him up, licking your lips as you prepared yourself.Â
Josh had been the one urging you on all night, but suddenly, it felt like there had been a little bit of a shift. You finally brought your moistened lips to him, licking little circles around his tip, starting slowly at first, then picking up a little bit of speed. You swirled and gently suckled, and you felt him take in a big breath of air into his lungs. You glanced up at him, finding him looking up at the ceiling as he bit his lips.Â
âWhatâsa matter, Josh? You okay?â you pressed, knowing that you could stop at any second, if that was what he wanted.Â
âNo, yeah. Iâm fine. Iâm sorry, I just⊠this is the first time someone elseâŠsinceâŠâ he didnât need to say anything more.
âGod, yeah. Iâm sorry, your breakup is so fresh, Iâm sure this is more mental than anything, for youâŠâ you agreed as you sat back. âWe donât have toââ
âNo. Yes we do, Y/N. Iâm justâŠâ You could tell Josh was having a hard time with his words again, for the second time tonight.Â
âJust what? You can tell meâŠâ
He swallowed, placing a sweet hand on the side of your face. âThis is the first time Iâve umâŠbeenâŠwith a womanâŠin a very long time.â
âOh.â You muttered, his sentiment catching you off guard a little. You hadnât realized you never even asked the name of his ex, let alone any details about the relationship.
âBut itâs okay, Y/NâŠâ He smiled, letting his thumb brush your cheek. âI may be wallowing in my sorrows, but it doesnât mean I donât want this, want you to do this. JustâŠin my head a little bit.â He admitted, putting a hole through your heart.
You sighed. âIt doesnât feel wrong?â Your voice was tiny as it escaped you.Â
He quickly shook his head side to side as he layed back on his elbow behind his head. âNo. Thatâs whatâs making me freak out a little, it doesnât feel wrong in the least.â He swallowed. âMaybe IâŠMaybe I wasnât as in love as I thought I was.â
You smiled a pitiful smile as you rested your elbows on his knees, taking a deep, recentering breath of your own.Â
âYouâre really fuckinâ pretty, Y/N.â He complimented you out of the blue, his thumb still grazing your cheek. âAnd Iâm really into you.â
âYou are?â You asked.
âYeah. I know we said weâre friends, but friends can do this. Right? Doesnât stop the fact that Iâm attracted to you.â His glossy words made your stomach do flips again as you realized maybe his feelings were the exact same as yours. Unexplainable, but still overwhelmingly good.
âYeah. I really think friends can do this.â You agreed. And you were serious. If you were going to be this person for Josh, then he could also in turn be this person for you.Â
âPlus, the feeling of your lips on my cock just nowâŠâ He laughed through his nose. âMight be in competition with your ten out of ten kissing. And you hadnât evenâŠâ He stopped there, biting both his lips into his mouth as he slid his hips down again.Â
Good god, youâd hoped he would have a little bit of a dirty mouth.Â
âYou want me to keep going?â You asked.Â
âFuck yeah, I do. I gotta judge your skill, donât I?â He played, removing his hand from your cheek and running it through your hair. He gripped it a little, making you stiffen your neck. Your eyes flashed to his, and you didnât even need to say anything, he knew what you meant. He nodded, giving you the go ahead, and you prayed that he wouldnât remove his hand from tangling up in your hair.Â
You slowly leaned down to him again, starting things up just as you had before. Your tongue swirled on his tip, wetting it in circles as you let the saliva build up in your mouth. Around and around you took it, descending further and further onto him with every rotation. You heard him breathe out, his hips shaking a little beneath you. As you got as far as you could get, you pursed your lips down, tightening them around the base of his cock before sucking hard, pulling up and off of him completely. His hand tightened in your hair, showing you that he was liking it so far.Â
He let out a groan, followed by a little laugh. âFuck yeah, Y/NâŠâ
You quickly found a rhythm, letting your head begin to bob as you worked your tongue and cheeks, alternating forceful suction mixed with light little pops of your lips. His hips were jutting with every movement, and the sounds that were coming from him were enough to keep you going, keep you striving to impress himâŠ
You took him in your hand, gripping at the base and using the saliva that had dripped down as lubrication to move your hand, twisting and pumping it. âJesus Christ, youâreâŠâ You took a second to glance up at him, seeing his jaw tightly clenched and his chest heaving with labored breaths. He brought his other hand down, pulling the hair that had drifted down away from your face, pulling it all back to the nape of your neck and holding it tightly there. You nodded, letting him know you were okay with him guiding your movements.Â
âMhm.â You hummed on him. âShow me how you like it.â
He let out a choke of breath and readjusted in his seat, spreading his legs wider for you. He gripped a little harder on your hair, pulling you up and across his stomach, your faces almost touching as he brought his mouth close. He didnât say anything, just hissed through his teeth as he scanned over your face. He then used a little bit of force to push your head back down to where it was, and you resumed your work.Â
Fuck, what the hell is happening⊠your chemistry with Josh was absolutely off the chain. You felt like you would follow every command he would ever give you, let him use you in the worst ways, completely trusting him to do as he pleased. You were absolutely yearning to satisfy him.Â
âIâll show you exactly how I like it baby, but this is your show, remember? Youâre calling the shotsâŠâ he growled, his voice deeper and more grating than it was earlier. You shrugged one shoulder, replacing your hand around his base. You moved it up and down opposite of your mouth, making his whole body start to shake. Your tongue worked on him, as your mouth drifted down as far as it could possibly go, with the help of Joshâs light guidance.
The weed had contributed to your slow, languid movements while the alcohol made your inhibitions fly out the window⊠the beautiful combo of the crossfade sending you both into a blurry and slow-motioned entanglement. You swore you could listen to his noises and praises on repeat. âSo fuckinâ pretty, Y/N⊠so fuckinâ prettyâŠâ He mumbled, lightly thrusting himself into your mouth as your neck began to ache a little. âSlow and steady, just like thatâŠâ
He puffed out a quick breath with a blow of his lips, and you could tell that he was enjoying himself just as much as you were. Normally, you would finish up the job, and expect repayment, but getting Josh to even feel the tiniest bit of pleasure at your hand was enough. It was that draw, that need to make him feel good. Keeping him and him only in the spotlight. And if you had to guess, you were doing a pretty good job at it.
After a few seconds, his movements became jostled, and his once slow grinding movements started to falter. You felt him start to throb in your mouth, and you knew it wouldnât be long until he was crumbling beneath you, all at the mercy of your mouth.Â
âHey, you want me toââ he said, suddenly shuddering.Â
You nodded again, pleading with him to let it all go. You wanted the whole thing, wanted him to have the full experience. You needed to see what he tasted like.Â
His breath started to pick up as he gripped your hair tighter, his hips pushing his dick further into your mouth as you let him graze the back of your throat, tears pouring from the sides of your eyes. âCome on baby, come on⊠just a little bit longerâŠfuckâŠâÂ
Finally, he was letting it all go, filling up your mouth as you swallowed his bitter-sweetness down, savoring the taste of him on your tongue. His whole body went rigid as he came, shaking and jerking as you worked to make sure not a drop was left behind. You squeezed your hand around him, pulling him up into your mouth. His whines were like music to your ears, pathetic and pitiful as he worked to come back down to earth.Â
âSon of a bitch, Y/N⊠that wasâŠâ he said as you sat back up, wiping your mouth off with the back of your hand. He caught your jaw in his grasp, squeezing your cheeks together and forcing you to open your mouth. He pulled you closer, bringing you in for a heated kiss that left you smoldering for him.Â
When you finally pulled away, you met eyes with him, and you could tell he was completely blissed out. âSâbeen a long time since Iâve had anything like that.â He admitted, pulling your back up to sit by him on the couch again.Â
He tucked himself back in his boxers but decided to forgo buttoning back up. âReally? Even in a four and a half year long relationship?â You asked.Â
âAh, I dunno. We were long distance, so⊠it was few and far between but. Really I meant being with someone who actually showed passion about making me feel good. You know what I mean?â
You couldnât help but smile. That was exactly what you wanted out of this. For Josh to feel that you wanted to be there.Â
âYeah, I know exactly what you mean. I justâŠwanted to make you feel good.â You admitted, shrugging one shoulder up as you brushed your disheveled hair back into place. âSo, whatâs my rating, huh? Give it to me straight.â
Josh closed one eye and looked up with the other as if he was thinking really hard. âUh, nine and a half.â
Your mouth fell slack, and you felt the soreness in your jaw joints. âAh! Why the half?!â You argued. âNot a ten?â
He chuckled. âWould be a ten, but I only took away the half because I know that I wonât be able to feel you like that all the time.â You both stared at one another as you let his words sink in.Â
Could you, though?
âAnd because I feel like you were holding back, a little. Werenât you?â He pressed. His statement took you by surprise, because he was right.Â
â...MaybeâŠâ
âYou shouldnât have. Itâs just me, remember. Guess youâll have to show up and show out next time. See if you can get a perfect ten.â He said with nonchalance.Â
âNext time?â You spat without a thought.Â
He shrugged, squeezing his hand around your thigh. âSure, why not? If you want to, of course. Might be fun to have a little situation weâre both comfortable with⊠no strings attached type thingâŠâ
You ran over the idea in your head, not really seeing anything wrong with it. You nodded, agreeing with his outlandish proposal.
âBut, there is one thing, Y/N.â He swallowed, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. âObviously I⊠um. I didnât make you feel good, tonight. But, just give me someââ
You cupped your hand over Joshâs mouth. âJosh, honey, shut up. You donât have to explain it to me. I understand, and itâs okay. If weâre gonna do this, it's all gonna be in good fun, right?â
He nodded from behind your hand. âRight.â He mumbled.Â
âAnd I certainly didnât feel uncomfortable with you, so. Iâm pretty positive we could just sit here and look at each other and we would have a good time.â You laughed, pulling your hand from his face. He caught your hand in his, and gave it a sweet squeeze.Â
âNot sure Iâd be able to sit by you for too long without something happening. Youâre a fuckinâ treat, Y/N. I swear.â His eyes traveled down your body again, and you watched his gears turn as his gaze drifted over your breasts. âThank you, for tonight.â
âThank you.â You whispered. âWe still friends?â
He took your chin between his fingers. âYeah. Good friends.â
As the air between you finally started to settle and the intoxication turned into sobriety, you realized that the night was nearly about to turn into morning. You didnât have to be at work until 11, so you were going to be able to get at least a little bit of sleep before your shift tomorrow.Â
âItâs too late to get an Uber, Josh. Just stay here.â You more demanded than suggested, pulling the blanket from the back of the couch and tossing it overtop of his lap. You stood, stretching your body as you made your way toward your bedroom.Â
âWhat, you not gonna invite me to your bed?â He asked, throwing you off.Â
âUhh, I mean, sureââ
âIâm kidding, Y/N. Weâre friends. Friends donât sleep in beds together. Friends sleep on couches.â You watched as he burrowed himself under the puffy blanket and made himself horizontal.
âMaybe one day youâll end up in my bed.â You tossed the joke over your shoulder, walking down the short hallway.Â
âAnd maybe one day youâll get a perfect ten.â
-xo, Jules
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#greta van fleet#greta van fleet fan fiction#greta van fleet smut#greta van smut#greta van fic#danny wagner#sam kiszka#daniel robert wagner#greta van fluff#gvf smut#gvf fic#gvf#sam gvf#gvf danny#sam kiszka gvf#jacob kiszka#jake kiszka#jacob thomas kiszka#Samuel kiszka#gretavanfluff#dannygvf#jake gvf#josh gvf#josh kiszka#josh kiskza smut#josh kiskza fanfic#josh kiszka x reader#josh kiszka fic#josh kiszka gvf#josh kiszka fluff
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Ao3 Wrapped
Tagged by @sam-loves-seb @energievie and @mybrainismelted <3
1. How many words have you written this year?
51,142, not including Galladrabbles or work on WIPs that haven't been published yet, so probably closer to 80k
2. How many works did you publish this year?
6 fics and 4 pieces of artwork
3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?
Probably The Blackwing Prophecy because it's my most ambitious work so far!
4. What work of yours has the most hits?
For fics only, 7 Minutes in Heaven with 3,369 hits
5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?
The Stowaway for sure. I was just expecting to write a silly pirate one-shot and everyone in the comments wanted more lmao
6. Favorite title you used?
Touch/Starved because it reminds me of something that like Hozier or Noah Kahan would use for a title of one of their songs
7. If you use song lyrics, which artistâs songs did you pull from the most?
I normally don't, but in my drawing Somethin' to Keep You Cool I quoted Ice Cream Man by Van Halen (because the original fic did as well hehe)
8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year?
Gallavich <3
9. Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?
Technically Gallavich but the scrubbed characters I re-wrote for The Menagerie, Mal and Rowan, have a special place in my heart <3
10. What work was the quickest to write?
Probably Locking Down the Locksmith
11. What work took you the longest to write?
The Blackwing Prophecy because it involed lots of lore creation and worldbuilding before I even started writing the fic.
Or Gallavich Week 2024 - Nine AUs because I had to fit 4 prompts into each 400 word ficlet and make them coherent.
12. How many WIPs do you have in your docs for next year?
3 so far! The Blackwing Prophecy, that priest!Ian fic that still has eluded me finishing it, and now The Stowaway
13. Whatâs your longest work of the year?
The Blackwing Prophecy with 20,048 words so far
14. Whatâs your shortest work of the year?
7 Minutes in Heaven with 2,832 words (not including artwork)
15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?
Same three as in question #12 (plus maybe a couple more shhh)
16. Whatâs your most common âAdditional Tagsâ tag?
Probably Alternate Universe! That's pretty much all I write lmao
17. Your favorite character to write this year?
I really loved exploring touch starved/touch averse Mickey in Touch/Starved.
18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?
Probably Ian in The Blackwing Prophecy because he's struggling with keeping secrets and that's something he's not very good at (and neither am I)
19. Whatâs one pairing you want to explore next year?
Always more Gallavich <3
20. Which work of yours have you reread the most?
The Blackwing Prophecy because I need to remember what happened lmao
21. How many kudos in total did you get this year?
2,307 đ„°
22. Which work has the most comments?
7 Minutes in Heaven with 38 comment threads
23. Did you do any collaborative works this year?
Nope!
24. Did you write any gifts this year?
I wrote Touch/Starved for @michellemisfit as well as drew art for various people!
25. Did you receive any gifts this year?
Yes! @mybrainismelted wrote Nuts for me because I got a flat tire and wanted someone to make a Gallavich version of the shitshow that it was lmao. And also I commissioned Old Habits and New Revelations from @whatthebodygraspsnot!
26. Whatâs your most common category?
M/M always
27. What do you listen to while writing?
Honestly either Legend of Zelda speedruns or lawn care videos because I'm a psycho
28. Favorite work you wrote this year?
Probably The Stowaway because I can't stop thinking about it
29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?
How does he describe feeling like youâre going to explode and implode simultaneously? How does he tell her that heâs been thinking about Ianâs hand on the back of his neck nonstop and aching to feel it again with every fiber of his being? But that the thought of it is so overwhelming that he canât actually bear it? â from Touch/Starved
Or, the scene in chapter 4 of The Blackwing Prophecy where Ian is deciding to heal Mickey or not.
30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?
Starting 2 new major WIPs and still not finishing the one I've been trying to write for like 2 years now lmao
Tagging @gallawitchxx @deedala @whatthebodygraspsnot @thisdivorce if you want to play!
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RX
Eddie Munson x Reader
Fluff, dealer!Eddie (kinda), self medication, reader is not in a good headspace my guys, completely unedited
2k words
Summary: You turn to weed in hopes it will help you finally get a break from your brain, but when all else fails, your so-called dealer knows how to help.
Tired.
It wasn't only what you were, it was the only word that had been repeating in your head for the past several days. Your constant state of autopilot only interrupted occasionally to remind you of how fatigued your limbs still were.Â
Sleep wasn't coming easy. It never had, but your insomnia only grew worse with every day you spent trying to pretend that life was currently business as usual.
It had been three months of this. This constant state of exhaustion. This inability to make it through a day without wishing your life had turned out any other way. This yearning for anything to take your pain away.Â
That was how you met Eddie. Your coworker told you about a friend of a friend. Some dude who used to deal back in high school. And although his new employment circumstances were legal, she said he could still get you something.Â
"Maybe it'll get that stick out of your ass," she had commented while writing down the number of this "dealer". Said "stick" was none other than depression brought on by the trauma you were still refusing to talk to anyone about. It didn't feel important anymore.Â
What was important was figuring out a way to just sleep. You were willing to try anything to make your brain shut up for a full 8 hours, and it would be an added bonus if it could shut up for the other 16 hours of the day.Â
Eddie got the call from your coworker, not you, a few days later. Although you were desperate for anything to make you feel better, you weren't able to build up the energy to pick up the phone and have a conversation with a man you'd never met. Especially not a conversation in which you plead with this stranger to sell you drugs.Â
He wasn't eager about the idea of selling again. He still got his shit from Rick, but that was his stash only. After being accused (and exonerated) for the murder of the most popular girl in town, he did his best to keep his activities legal. He didn't need to add any more fuel to the fire of the town hating him.Â
That didn't include partaking in the product himself though, the thought of quitting that barely crossed his mind.Â
He honestly tried telling your coworker no, that he didn't do that shit anymore, but he didn't know how to tell a begging girl no.Â
That was how you found yourself at his trailer at 9 pm on the coldest night of October. You felt guilty even showing up, you had heard the other end of his conversation with your coworker, and you knew he was just about as excited for this interaction as you were. But you needed to try something, and he couldn't lie, he could use the spare cash. Even if it was just a few bucks.Â
The man who answered the door was exactly what you were expecting. She hadn't told you what Eddie had looked like, but you figured anyone with a reputation like his wasn't going to look like your average Joe.Â
He was wearing a faded Van Halen t-shirt that had been poorly cut into a muscle tee, long curly frizzy and falling into his face. The chains attached to his belt loops were what really sold it though. He definitely looked the part of the high school drug dealer, the kid people only pretended to like for a discount on weed. The kind of kids you had been best friends with in high school.Â
"You y/n?" He asked the second he opened the door. You answered with a quick nod, and he welcomed your shivering body into his home.Â
He never would have done any deals in his trailer in High School. Not only did he not want Wayne caught up in all of his shit, but he never wanted to let anyone know where he lived. He knew better.Â
But now that he lived on his own, across the lot in the same trailer park he spent a majority of his childhood in, he was less worried. Especially knowing that the person he was selling to was friends with one of the few people from his past who didn't still think he was a murderer. He just hoped you were safe to have around.Â
He figured you were when he opened the door and took one look at you. Nothing about you screamed trouble, not to him at least. You dressed in the same way as him, and the most concerning thing about you was the dark circles under your eyes.Â
For a moment he thought you had been in a fight, but as you entered and came closer to the light coming from the kitchen, he realized that they were just the bags under your eyes.Â
Neither of you spoke much before you left with your goods. He told you to call him when you needed more, and smiled at you as he led you out the door. That hadn't been the plan.Â
He was going to tell you to buy from Rick next time, or one of his other dealers in town. He didn't plan on getting caught up as the middleman, but something about you made him want to make sure he was there next time.Â
Sure enough, a week later, you called to ask if you could stop by that night to pick up some more weed, and you were back on his doorstep by 10pm.Â
He did a sly once over of you when he opened the door, making note that you still looked like you hadn't slept since he saw you last. He tried making a bit more small talk this time, hoping to get you to crack a smile, but you left just as quickly as last week.Â
On the third week, you had been tempted to ask Eddie to double up on what he had been giving you. You were grateful to have a couple hours a day where your brain didn't feel on fire, but you still weren't sleeping. You weren't sure more weed could help with that though.Â
"Probably a dumb question, but you don't happen to have anything stronger, do you?" You asked as he handed you the same amount as last time.Â
Your question seemed to strike a nerve with him. Not one that angered him, but one that definitely upset him. You couldn't make out his emotions, but you thought he almost seemed concerned. Little did you know, that question had brought him right back to a conversation in the woods with a particular cheerleader. Nothing good happened after she had asked him that.Â
"What are you looking for?" He asked, though it sounded like it pained him.Â
"No idea, just something to make my brain stop for a while."
He deliberated for a moment, then tried to play nonchalant when he asked, "Not sleeping, huh?"
"Is it that obvious?" You laughed bitterly.Â
"You look like you got hit by a bus⊠to put it lightly," he replied earnestly, and got a chuckle out of you.Â
"It's been a long year," you gave him a half hearted smile. This was still a business transaction to you, and the last thing you wanted to do was trauma dump on your dealer.Â
But that was exactly what he wanted.Â
"Can I be honest with you?" He asked, unable to fully hide his concern.Â
"Shoot."
"I know you're paying me, but I dont think drugs are your answer."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, I mean I don't know what's going on in there," he gestured vaguely towards your head, "but there's other ways to feel better."
"Well I think I've exhausted all my other options," you sighed, dragging a hand down your face.Â
"When's the last time you got a good night's sleep?"
"What's today?"
"Thursday."
"OK, well that would make itâŠ. June?"
Eddie chuckled, but went right back to being worried.
"That's almost half a year."
"So you see why something stronger would do me wonders."
"I have a better idea. Do you trust me?"
You looked at him for a moment, deciding on how to answer. You barely knew him. This was your third time seeing him in person, and this was the most words you had heard come out of his mouth. Yet, the answer was yes. You trusted him wholeheartedly for some reason, but he didn't need to know that.
"Sure," you sighed, and allowed him to lead you to his couch.Â
He guided you to sit down, and left you with a blanket to cozy up with while he grabbed a joint from his bedroom, and an armful of snacks so you could stay put for the next few hours.Â
Now, taking your 4th puff from the lit joint before passing it back to him, you laid back and let him continue asking you questions.Â
"So you're friends with Cindy then?"
It took you a second to process who he meant. Cindy was the coworker who had recommended Eddie for weed.Â
"No, not really."
"Really? Because she seemed to have nothing but kind words about you."
"We're more of workplace acquaintances, I guess."
"OK. So do you live with any roommates?"
"No, just me."
"So no friends, no roommates, and no family within state lines?"
"Yeah, but it sounds more depressing when you put it like that."
"That's because it is depressing," he insisted, taking another drag from the joint. The room was just beginning to grow hazy from the smoke, and your brain was starting to feel the same.Â
"I think I know what's really wrong," he shot you a small smile from the other end of the couch.Â
"Oh yeah? Please tell me your diagnosis, Doctor Ed."
"You're lonely."
You froze for a second. Sure, it was obvious that was a big part of the problem. But how he said it, like it was almost a question. Like he knew that was the right answer, but there was still a blank he wanted you to fill in. It made you pause, unable to look him in the eye as you grabbed the joint from his hand and nearly inhaled the whole thing.Â
"Maybe you've got a knack for this therapy shit," you joked, hoping he wouldn't still be looking at you the same way when you returned his gaze. But he was. He was still looking at you with pity, though you could tell he was trying to hide it.Â
"How much do you trust me?"
"Less and less each time you ask."
"If I promise to stop asking, how would you feel about spending the night? We can watch a movie or something. And I'll drive you home in the morning."
"I dont knowâŠ"
"No strings attached, no ulterior motives. Just a guy trying to make a friend with someone just as lonely as him."
You considered for a moment. You hadn't meant what you said. No matter how many times he asked, you still trusted him. So you said yes.Â
You had to fight him on putting on a horror movie. It was the Halloween season after all, but you told him that watching people getting killed would make you rethink your decision to stay over.Â
"Feels too much like foreshadowing," you said, and he finally relented.Â
Instead, he found the old western he had inherited from Wayne when he moved out. You were much happier with that decision.Â
You fell asleep 30 minutes in, and Eddie would have complained in the morning that you had missed his favorite part, but he had fallen asleep right next to you. Your head rested on his shoulder, his head atop yours. The awkward untangling from each other was future you's problem.Â
For now, you were getting the full 8 hours you deserved.
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#eddie munson#eddie munson x reader#dealer!eddie#eddie munson fluff#eddie munson angst#eddie munson hurt/comfort#stranger things#eddie munson fanfic#eddie munson fanfiction#eddie munson imagine
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May + June, 1985
It was almost summer and Eddie was officially failing senior year for a second time, so his new goal was to find a summer job (probably working at the local mechanic), focus on practicing and writing for Corroded Coffin, and bide his time until attempt number three (at Wayneâs insistence).Â
Despite his double-super-senior status, Eddie wasnât as stupid as everyone seemed to think. For example - he knew hooking up with Billy was unhealthy, but he figured everyone deserved some self-destructive behavior once in a while. Itâs not like they had nothing in common, either. Theyâd even get high and listen to music together sometimes, though Billyâs tastes skewed more towards Van Halen and Hendrix than Dio and Osbourne.Â
And sure, often Billy would bite him so hard he bled, or choke him just long enough that his vision started to flicker black, but itâs not like Eddie didnât give as good as he got.Â
Billy was both bark and bite, sure, but Eddie realized almost immediately that, with the right poking and pressure, he could melt into a teary-eyed sweetheart just as much as he could fuck Eddie into the floor.
The few hookups Eddie managed to score all took one look at the leather and chains and let Eddie take charge - he was into it either way, of course, and heâd been happy to do it, but it was nice to satisfy both sides of himself, like he was with him and his âagreementâ with Billy.
Back when theyâd first started, after Eddie had first gotten on his knees for Billy, Billy hadnât instantly taken off like Eddie had expected. Instead theyâd shared another cigarette sitting on Eddieâs couch.Â
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#stranger things#steve harrington#eddie munson#billy hargrove#steddie#mungrove#harringrove#harringroveson#steddily#metalsandwich
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