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hellfirehottie · 4 months ago

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California Dreamin’ - Eddie Munson

Chapter Three - Freak

Content warnings: mentions of dr*gs (w**d), alcohol use (everyone is of legal age!!), Eddie being a drunken pathetic simp, lots and lots of fluff! Enjoy!

“Baby if you wanna leave, come to California, be a freak like me, too.

Screw your anonymity, loving me is all you need to feel, like I do.

We can slow dance to rock music, kiss while we do it, talk till we both turn blue.

Baby, if you wanna leave, come to California, be a freak like me too.”

Freak - Lana Del Rey

Thursday / 3:30pm / Detention

Principal Coleman: “Alright kids, you know the drill, get on with your homework, quietly please.”

Nina is sitting at a desk in the library with her History book in front of her, drawing the unamused expression on Principal Coleman’s face in the margin of the page. Eddie bursts through the door.

Principal Coleman: (pinched, annoyed) “Late to detention? Bold move, Mr Munson.”

Nina perks up from her desk, turning around to see Eddie and smiles at him.

Eddie fails to respond with his usual witty remark and finds himself sweating nervously as Nina watches him enter the room.

He takes a deep breath to calm himself and dumps his bag down beside Nina. With faux confidence, he sits beside her and pulls out his Maths book.

Eddie: (quietly) “Hi.”

Nina: (softly) “Hey, Eddie.”

Eddie’s heart flutters in his chest when Nina says his name. His cheeks and nose go pink.

I am so doomed, he thinks.

Eddie: [looking at her doodles] “You’re good at drawing.”

Nina: (shyly) “They’re just doodles.”

Eddie: (softly) “I think they’re good.”

Principal Coleman: [In Eddie and Nina’s direction] “Quiet please, this is detention, not a social.”

Jason: “Yeah, freak!” [Principal Coleman gives him a pointed look, he shifts uncomfortably and carries on with his work]

Eddie rolls his eyes and opens his book.

Ten minutes go by.

Eddie looks in confusion as Nina tries to quietly rip a piece of paper out of her workbook. He smiles softly when he sees her writing something on the paper.

Nina: How did you get caught?

Eddie tries to stifle his laugh as he replies with a smirk.

Eddie: Not my first time deflating Jason’s tires. It’s become a monthly thing.

They both look over to Jason who is glaring at Eddie. Nina looks at Eddie with eyebrows raised, Eddie grins smugly.

Nina: I’m impressed.

Eddie gets butterflies in his stomach as he reads her note. Eddie replies:

Eddie: Someone’s gotta keep him humble.

Nina laughs out loud and snorts, then realises how loud she is in the quiet room and clamps her hand over her mouth, blushing. Eddie’s eyes soften and he smiles at her cute reaction.

You are so fucking cute, Eddie thinks.

Principal Coleman: “Munson! Sloan! This is detention, not a date!” [Both Eddie and Nina go red as other students giggle] “Eddie! Go sit over there.”

Eddie grabs his things in his arms awkwardly, legs like jelly, and slumps down at another desk.

Nina and Eddie shyly look at each other, hearts racing.

Throughout detention they both exchange stolen glances, sticking their tongues out at each other and pull funny faces when they lock eyes.

An hour passes and the students gather up their things and head home.

Nina: (sincerely) “Thank you for detentioning with me, Eddie. It was fun.”

Eddie: (jokingly) “We should do it again sometime. I’ll take any opportunity to piss off Jason.” [Nina shakes her head, laughing.]

Nina: (bashful) “See you around, Eddie.” [Nina walks off to her car.]

Eddie: (softly) “Bye, Nina.”

Friday / 8pm / Hawkins Record Store

Eddie is organising the shelves as Jonathan enters.

Jonathan: [walking through the shop door, the wind chimes by the door ringing] “Hey dude.”

Eddie: (half asleep) “Hey man, what can I get you?”

Jonathan: (sheepish) “Oh, nothing like that today. I’m looking for some music actually.”

Eddie: (sarcastically) “You’re in the wrong store then.” [Jonathan looks at him confused] “Just joking, man.” (bored) “Around the corner to your left is what you’re looking for.”

Jonathan: “Cheers man.” [walking around the corner, shouting back to Eddie] “You got anything suitable for a party?”

Eddie rolls his eyes, annoyed he has to move from his stool in front of the small television. There had been three customers since the start of his 5pm shift.

He walks over to the tape selection, he points to a few pre-made music tapes. Jonathan is looking at the wrong section, eyes red with a dumb grin on his face: clearly stoned.

Eddie: (amused) “Will these do?”

Jonathan: “Sure, I’ll take them all.”

Eddie walks him over to the till. Jonathan comically dumps all five cassettes onto the counter.

Eddie: [scanning the tapes] “What’s the occasion?”

Jonathan: “Steve’s having people over at his tonight and Robin said his Mom’s collection of Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springsteen records wouldn’t suffice.” [a lightbulb goes off over his head] “Oh yeah! He told me to tell you to come along.”

Eddie: (sarcastically) “Thanks for remembering.”

Jonathan: [embarrassed, awkward] “Sorry man, mind is a bit, y’know.”

Eddie: (laughing) “Stoned?”

Jonathan: (laughing) “That shit you got me blew my head off.”

Eddie: (smiling) “So when is the party?”

Jonathan: (confused) “Tonight? Did I not say that?”

Eddie: “I meant what time.”

Jonathan: “Oh! Come any time after 9. Or whenever you finish work.”

Eddie: (curiously) “Who is going?”

Jonathan: “Everyone.”

Eddie: [pressing the matter] “Everyone as in our group or everyone as in everyone?”

Jonathan: (dumbly, oblivious) “Everyone as in… people.”

Eddie: (sarcastic) “Super informative, thanks.”

Jonathan: (oblivious) “No problem! See you then!” [Jonathan walks out the door]

Eddie: “Wait!” [the door closes behind Jonathan, Eddie is talking to himself] “I mean, will Nina be there?”

Friday / 11:11pm / Steve’s House

When Eddie enters Steve’s house the music is playing loudly, but he is relieved to see only Nancy, Nina, Jonathan, Robin and Steve there, rather than the whole school. Eddie says ‘Hi’ to everyone and walks into the kitchen to grab a beer. When he turns around from the fridge, Nina is there to greet him.

Nina: “Hello again, stranger.”

Eddie: [breathless] “Hey Nina.”

Nina: “Glad you could make it.”

Eddie: “You too. I mean, obviously you’d be going, what with Robin going and you being with Robin and Robin being Steve’s best friend and…” [flustered, embarrassed] “I’ll be shutting up now.” [Nina giggles at Eddie, he smiles] “Nice to see you. Again.”

Nina: [smiling] “You too.”

Eddie and Jonathan are on the couch, beers in hand, talking. Nina, Nancy and Robin are chatting in the kitchen. Steve is setting up beer pong.

Jonathan: “You should go up and talk to her.”

Eddie: [eyes snapping away from Nina, dumb] “Huh?”

Jonathan: (teasing) “You’ve been staring at Nina all night.”

Eddie: “We’ve only been here an hour.” [Jonathan scoffed, Eddie peeled the label off his beer, shy] “I don’t really know her that well. We sat next to each other once in Science, and had detention together.” [twiddling part of the beer label] “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

Jonathan: “She’s really nice.” [thoughtful] “You two would have a lot in common actually.”

Eddie: [surprised] “We would?”

Jonathan: “Yeah, she’s into the whole tarot-cards-voodoo-witchy-hippie shit you are into.”

Eddie: (curiously) “I thought that was just a rumour?” (offended) “And I’m not into tarot-cards-voodoo-witchy-hippie shit!” [scoffing] “Jesus, didn’t think you, of all people, believed I was some cult leader like the rest of Hawkins.”

Jonathan: “She’s keeping it on the downlow. Trying to avoid attention from Jason and his group.” [Eddie rolls his eyes. Jonathan responds, amused] “And the way Will and his friends follow you around, you almost are a cult leader.”

Eddie: (laughing) “They’re good kids.”

Jonathan: (joking, amused) “Cult leader turned father figure, apparently.”

Eddie: (scoffing) “Fun uncle at best.” [his eyes go back to Nina who happens to catch his eyes, she blushes and continues her conversation with Nancy and Robin.]

Jonathan: “Seriously dude, go talk to her.”

Eddie: “What about? I’m no good with girls and shit.”

Jonathan: (laughing) “And you think I am? I got Nancy by a miracle alone.”

I need more than a damn miracle, Eddie thinks.

Jonathan: “Come on, you haven’t liked anyone since Chrissy.” [Jonathan freezes and winces as Eddie’s eyes cast to his lap] “Sorry man.”

Eddie: [looking at Nina who is dancing in the kitchen with Robin, smiling] “Look at how happy she is.” [looking down at his lap again, taking a gulp of his beer] “She doesn’t need my bullshit.”

Jonathan: [to himself] “Oh boy, sad drunk Eddie came early tonight.”

Eddie: (offended) “I’m not sad.” [hiccuping] “And I’m not drunk either.”

Jonathan: (laughing) “Whatever you say, lightweight.” [shouting over to the kitchen] “Nina! Come here!”

Eddie: [through gritted teeth, to Jonathan] “What are you doing?”

Jonathan: “Wingmanning you, you’re welcome.”

Nina: [walking into the lounge, bottles of beer in hand] “What’s up Jonathan?” [handing Jonathan a bottle] “Refill?” [handing Eddie a bottle]

Eddie: [quietly] “Thanks.”

Nina: (smiling, to Eddie) “Don’t mention it.”

Jonathan: “It seems like Eddie here would like his palm read.”

Eddie: (stuttering) “Huh- I- What?”

Nina: [wary, suspicious] “Sure.” [sitting cross-legged on the couch next to Eddie]

Jonathan: [standing up, clutching his bottle, smug] “Well I’m going to find Nancy.” [smirking at Eddie] “See you guys in a bit.”

An awkward silence lies between Eddie and Nina. Nina looks at Eddie expectantly, Eddie is still fiddling with his beer bottle, not looking at Nina.

Nina: [awkwardly] “So, uh, you want me to read your palm?”

Eddie: [stuttering] “Uh, sure, yeah.” [he wipes his hand nervously on his jeans, placing the palm facing up in front of Nina.]

Nina dramatically clears her throat and takes Eddie’s hand in hers, Eddie smiles nervously, watching Nina’s every move.

Nina: “So this here…” [she trails a pointed black nail across a line on his palm] “Is your life line. It trails off a little bit here which could mean a change in environment or circumstance, maybe a big reality check?” [tracing line on his hand, Eddie holds back a shudder] “And this line is the ring of Solomon, which represents the mental state in the pursuit of mysticism. It sort of reflects your intelligence outside of literary subjects.” [looking up at Eddie, who is looking at her in awe, barely able to pay attention ] “Does that make sense?”

Eddie: [stuttering] “Y-yeah. What does mine mean?”

Nina: [looking back at the lines on his hand] “Yours is a semi circle which means you are talented in performance and have great musical ability, but also show your emotions on your face.” [looking back at Eddie, laughing] “Does that sound like you?”

Eddie: (shy, blushing) “Oh, I don’t know. I’m in a band, I guess.” [eager, awkward] “Keep going.”

Nina: (smiling) “This here, is your intuition line. It’s strong, that’s good.”

Eddie: [smiling brightly] “It is?”

Nina: “Yeah.” [shying from Eddie’s gaze, looking at his palm, frowning] “This here is your health line. There seems to be a bit of a break here, and here, but after that it’s pretty stable.”

Eddie: (sad) “Yeah, that sounds about right.” [Nina looks up at him confused, Eddie shrugs it off, lying] “I was in hospital last year, a few broken bones.”

Nina: [frowning, changing the subject, can sense Eddie’s uneasiness] “This is your heart line.” [Her nail strokes the line softly. Eddie’s heart catches in his throat and he shifts uncomfortably in his seat] “It seems pretty solid, a few stray lines at the start, childhood crushes maybe? But when you’ve found the one, you’re with them till the end.”

Eddie: (breathless) “Really?” [looking at his palm]

Nina: (smiling brightly) “Really. Impressive.”

Eddie: [staring at Nina in awe] “Amazing.” [coughing himself to reality, looking down at his hand] “That’s so cool, thanks.”

Nina: “No problem.” [still holding Eddie’s palm, awkward] “Oh, sorry, here, you can have your hand back. It is yours after all.”

Eddie: (shy) “Thanks.” [gaining confidence] “Where did you learn to do that?”

Nina: [laughing] “California is full of hippies.” [tucking her hair behind her ear, keen] “I like your rings.”

Eddie finds himself fiddling with the silver rings on his fingers, then looks at Nina’s hands; fingers almost as ring-clad as his.

Eddie: (shy) “I like yours too.”

Nina: “So you said you’re in a band?”

Eddie: (shy) “Yeah, Corroded Coffin. We play at the Hideout on Tuesdays.”

Nina: (excited) “No way! I’ve seen your posters around town! That’s so cool!”

Eddie: (smiling but nervous) “Thanks. We don’t get a massive turn-out but it’s fun.” [trying to continue conversation] “So, did you like that album I recommended you?”

Nina: (sheepish) “I actually haven’t listened to it yet.”

Eddie: (hurt) “Oh.”

Nina: (smiling) “It’s been a bit chaotic with unpacking and school, but I will, I promise!”

Eddie: [glancing up at Nina, smiling] “I’ll hold you to that.”

They look at each other for a moment, smiling, happy to be in each other's company.

Nina: [taking a sip of her beer] “So how do you know Robin and everyone?”

Eddie: “We kinda all got thrown together last year. Nancy’s brother Mike is in a club I run.”

Nina: “Hellfire, right?”

Eddie: [blushing] “Right.”

Nina: “What’s the club?” [Nina knows the answer but feigns ignorance; wanting to talk to Eddie more.]

Eddie: [blushing hard] “It’s lame.”

Nina: “Tell me.”

Eddie: [peeling more of the label off his bottle] “It’s a Dungeons and Dragons club.”

Nina: “That’s not lame.”

Eddie: [scoffing] “Yeah, right.”

Nina: “It’s not. Some of my friends back home used to play.”

Eddie: (surprised) “Really?”

Nina: (smiling) “Yeah!” (Shy) “I used to play occasionally.”

Eddie: “No way!”

[cutaway - in the kitchen]

Steve: [entering the kitchen, looking at Nina and Eddie] “They both look snug.”

Nancy: “Leave them be, Steve.”

Jonathan: “He’s finally talking to her.”

Robin: “Wait, Eddie likes Nina back? Fuck yes!”

Jonathan: (laughing) “Are you kidding? He’s been drooling over her since he met her, he’s not subtle.”

Steve: [determined] “Not to cockblock, but beer pong is ready.” [walking out the kitchen]

Nancy: “Wait, Steve!” [she tries to grab Steve but he’s already walking to the couch where Eddie and Nina are, Eddie turns back to face Nancy, holding his hands up dismissively] “Nice one, Steve.”

[back in the living room, cont.]

Nina: (blushing, fiddling with her beer bottle) “I was the group’s sorcerer.”

Eddie: [with wide eyes] “Wow.” [staring at Nina, catching himself, looking at his bottle intently] “Not helping the witch rumours, are you?” [Nina giggles and Eddie smiles shyly] “You could join our group if you’d-“

Steve: [slumping down beside Nina, causing her to fall into his side, he effortlessly puts his arm over her shoulder] “Hey guys, what are you doing?”

Nina: [disappointed by the intrusion but playing it off coolly] “I’m reading Eddie’s palm, Stevie.”

Eddie’s jaw clenched with jealousy at Steve’s nickname and the arm around Nina’s shoulder.

Steve: “Ooh, do mine!”

Nina: (fake enthusiasm) “Sure!” [Nina takes Steve’s palm, faking intrigue] “Hmm, interesting.”

Steve: [dumb, oblivious] “What? What does it say?”

Nina: [with a cheeky grin] “It says you’re an asshole.”

Eddie snorts with laughter and Steve rolls his eyes. Robin and Nancy try to hide their laughter in the kitchen.

Steve: “Nice Nina, real nice.”

Nina: [cheeky] “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

Robin, Nancy and Jonathan enter the living room. Nancy sits over Jonathan on the loveseat, Robin sits on the floor.

Robin: “Are we playing beer pong or what?”

Steve: (whiny) “Nina is bullying me.”

Robin: (smirking) “I take Nina’s side on this, always.”

Jonathan: “Sounds like it was deserved, personally.”

Steve: “I did not invite you guys over to bully me.”

Nina: (smug) “But it’s so easy to do, Stevie.” [she pinched his cheeks and he rolls his eyes]

Eddie: [hiding his jealousy, changing the subject] “So, beer pong!”

1:20am

Robin: [frustrated, drunk] “This is rigged.”

Nina: (smirking) “You can’t rig beer pong, idiot.” [She bounces the ping pong ball into the cup, landing with a splash. Steve and Nina cheer as Eddie and Robin groan] “Yes! Drink up, Eddie!”

Eddie: (groaning) “Fucks sake!” [Eddie chugs his fifth drink of the night] “I think you’re going to kill me.”

Steve: (smug) “Don’t be such a sore loser.” [Eddie rolls his eyes and finishes the drink]

Robin: “I don’t know what you’re talking about King Steve, you’re shit at this!”

Steve: “Am not!”

Eddie: (smirking) “Nina is clearly pulling you through.”

Steve: (offended) “She is not!”

Robin: “She’s cheating, she’s rigged this!” [to Eddie, drunkenly, whisper-shouting, giggling to herself] “She’s a wizard, y’know!” [Nina laughs at Robin’s drunken state] “She’s using witchcraft! Hawkins is doomed!” [Eddie raises his eyebrows at Nina, questioning Robin’s statement. Nina smirks and mouths ‘Sorceress’ back at him, which makes him grin, blushing pink.]

Eddie picks up the ping pong ball and, with some accuracy, manages to get it in Nina’s drink. He bows dramatically as Robin whoops, Nina smiles coyly and picks up the drink.

Nina: [chugging her drink] “Alright Munson, you got one in, don’t let it go to your head.”

Steve takes his turn and dunks the ping pong ball into Robin’s drink, causing her to groan, while Steve runs around the kitchen chanting ‘King Steve!’, ‘King Steve!’ ‘King Steve!’.

3AM

Steve: “So what’s next guys? Spin the bottle?” [he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively]

Nancy: (giggling) “We’re not fifteen anymore, Steve.”

Jonathan: “Truth or dare?”

Robin: “Hell no! We don’t need to see Steve kiss Eddie’s hairy ass again, I will throw up.”

Steve and Eddie turn bright red with embarrassment and Nina giggles on the couch, falling softly into Eddie’s side. Eddie’s heart pounds on his chest and he finds himself smiling down at Nina who is unaware of his loving looks.

Nancy: “What about 20 questions? We can quiz Nina.”

Nina: (blushing, shifting nervously) “We can?”

Nancy: “Not in a bad way! Like a ‘this is your life’ thing, so we can get to know you better.”

Jonathan: [teasing] “Nancy wants to be a journalist, she insists on finding out everyone’s life stories.” [Nancy blushes and shoved Jonathan playfully]

Nina: (uncomfortable, smiling awkwardly) “My life isn’t very interesting, I can promise you.”

Robin: “Sure it is! You’re the coolest person I know!”

Nina: (teasing) “You know about five people Robin, that doesn’t count.” [Robin sticks out her tongue at Nina and she laughs in response] “How about ‘never have I ever’? That way I can find things out about you guys too.”

Everyone agrees and shifts in their seats, awakened by the idea of a new game.

Nancy: “How do you play?”

Nina: [shuffling off the couch to sit on the floor opposite Steve, much to Eddie’s disappointment] “I say something that I’ve never done and if you’ve done it, you drink!”

Robin: [sniggering] “Nina always gets hammered at this game.”

Nina: [scalding] “Rude.” [smirking, cheeky] “I just happen to have a lot of life experience, that’s all.” What kind of life experience? Eddie thinks. “Besides, I’ve had more than enough, I'm the designated driver, I’m not drinking anymore.” [smirking at Robin] “So drink up, bestie!”

As the secrets and laughter are shared and drinks flow, Eddie drunkenly lies down on the couch behind Nina, fiddling with the ends of her hair.

Jonathan: “So how do you and Robin know each other if you’re not actually related?”

Robin: “You know how you have a friend but they’re like family but not related? Nina’s Mom and my Mom are basically sisters.”

Nina: [moving back to the couch beside Eddie, Eddie flops beside her] “My Mom and Aunt Sheryl grew up and went to university together, thus making Robin and I best friends and practically cousins.”

The group nods with an understanding “Ohh!”

Eddie: [suddenly, unaware of how loud he is, dopey, to Nina] “You’re pretty.”

Nina: [grinning, ignoring the jeers from the others] “Thanks, Eddie.”

Eddie: [slumped, drunk, head on Nina’s shoulder, mumbled] “You smell nice too.”

Nina: [blushing] “Thank you.”

Eddie: “Good enough to eat.” [Eddie slaps his face, perhaps a bit too hard in his drunken state] “No! Bad Eddie! No pizza rolls for you tonight.” [Nina laughs hard, careful not to shake Eddie too much]

Jonathan: [shaking his head at Eddie, amused] “Smooth Eddie, so smooth.”

Eddie: “Do you like pizza rolls Nina? I like pizza rolls.”

Nina: [smiling down at Eddie] “Never had one.”

Eddie: (aghast) “What! No way! We must have pizza rolls this instant.” [Eddie grabs Nina’s hand and gets up, going to grab his car keys]

Nina: [jumping up, stealing his keys] “Woah there! No driving for you.”

Eddie: [pouting] “But pizza rolls!”

Nina: [soft, smiling] “We can get some another time.”

Eddie: [eyes hazy, smiling drunkenly] “Yeah?”

Nina: (smiling) “Sure.”

Nancy: “I don’t want to alarm you Nina but Robin has passed out.”

Nina looks over at Robin and sighs, laughing airily at her friend's inability to handle her alcohol.

Nina: “I better take her home.” [Eddie has to hide his disappointment that the night is over] “Come on Eddie, home time.”

Eddie: [blushing] “Huh?”

Nina: “I’ll give you a lift home, you’re in no state to drive.”

Eddie: [wobbly] “I’ll have you know I am perfectly fine-“ [Eddie stumbled pulling on his jacket and knocks the vase off the table, fumbling quickly to catch it, smiling sheepishly at Steve with the vase in his hands] “Oops.”

Steve: [to Nina] “For that, you should make him walk home.”

Nina laughs and grabs her keys, shaking Robin softly to wake her up.

4AM / Nina’s car

Eddie: (giggling drunkenly) “She’s a witch, did you know she’s a witch, Robin?” [Robin mumbles in her sleep, pushing Eddie away] “She’s a witch, and I’m a wizard, and we’re going to start a magical coven thing together!” [Nina smiles with amusement as she looks at Eddie and Robin in her rearview mirror] “She’s put a spell on me, she’s hexed me, she’s bewitched me!” [shaking Robin] “Robin! She’s bewitched me, you’re my beer pong partner, you’re supposed to protect me!”

Nina: (smirking) “You’ve bewitched me, body and soul.”

Eddie: (blushing, confused) “Huh?”

Nina: (smiling) “Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin.”

Eddie: (in awe) “Wow.”

Nina: “And for the record, I’m not actually a witch. I just find that sort of stuff interesting.”

Eddie: “So you’re like a nerd, huh?”

Nina: [eyebrows raised, surprised] “Pardon?”

Eddie: [drunk] “You like D&D and can quote literature from memory, you’re a closet nerd.”

Nina: [offended but laughing] “I am so not!”

Eddie: (teasingly) “I’ve seen you in Science, you’re a massive nerd.”

Nina: “I am not!”

Eddie: [cheeky] “You so are, behind that tan bad girl exterior you’re a big nerd like the rest of us.” [Nina stares at him, mouth wide in shock] “It’s okay, we’re all nerds too, you’ll fit right in with us freaks.”

Nina: (flirty) “Wow, a giant nerd and a freak? You’re wooing the pants off me here, Eddie.”

Eddie: [to himself, not realising how loud he is] “Ha! I wish!”

Nina: [concerned, laughing an airy laugh] “You’re trying to get into my pants, Munson?”

Eddie: (drunk, drawing on the condensation on the window) “I just want to be around you. I think you’re really cool.” [Nina blushes, Eddie tracing his palm, giggling to himself] “You read my palm. It tickled.” [Nina watches him, smiling] “Felt all tingly.”

Nina: [warmly] “You okay there tiger?”

Eddie: [slumped in the seat] “I’m great! Happiest I’ve been in a long time.”

Nina looks at him concerned, picking up on Eddie’s slight sombre tone.

Eddie: [hiccuping, words slurred] “I’m not usually like this, you should know.”

Nina: (curiously) “What are you usually like?”

Eddie: “Loud, usually don’t give a fuck.” [quieter] “I feel different when I’m around you.”

Nina: (worried, hurt) “Why? You don’t have to be.”

Eddie: [shyly] “You make me nervous.”

Nina: (teasingly) “Cute.”

Eddie: [bluntly] “Do you like Steve?”

Nina: [concentrating on the road] “Well, yeah! He’s really nice.”

Eddie: “Oh.”

Nina: (confused) “I think everyone’s really nice.”

Eddie: “You shouldn’t like Steve.”

Nina: (amused) “I shouldn’t?”

Eddie: (cheeky) “Nah, he won’t get you like I get you.”

Nina: “And how’s that?”

Eddie: [looking at her lovingly, giddy] “He’s too normal. You don’t need normal. You need a freak, like me.”

Nina: (warmly) “Freaks together, right?”

Eddie: [with a sleepy drunk smile] “Exactly!”

Next Chapter : Chapter Four - Fall for Me

15 notes · View notes

gravity-barbie · 2 years ago

Text

First kiss with the Sparrows HCs

Request

First date with the sparrows

First time telling the sparrows you love them

Masterlist

Marcus Hargreeves

-Marcus spends a fair bit of time thinking about your first kiss before it’s actually happened, some might say ‘planning’ it, you’re just the first person he’s properly liked and he wants to be a gentleman about things

-Unsurprisingly the right moment comes out of the blue though, the mood and atmosphere suddenly perfect, and while he hesitates a moment that flies out the window as soon as you lean in slightly

-He takes the lead, but he knows what he’s doing, like he’s really putting his all into this, and easily manages the balance between being neither too tame or too pushy

-When you pull away he’s still on cloud nine, chuckling out a flirty compliment and bringing you into a regular embrace to prolong the connection he feels with you in that moment

Ben Hargreeves

-If you didn’t know any better you’d think Ben was a bit shy on the subject, which isn’t quite the case, usually he would of made a move by now, but his deep care for you makes him hesitate, worried to screw things up (not that he’d admit that)

-Though after missing a few obvious chances to make his move, the anticipation drives him crazy, and then seemingly out of the blue he’s bluntly asking to kiss you

-He goes into it way more respectful and restrained than you would of guessed but will gladly heat things up if you signal that that’s what you want

-When you part Ben is giving you the most adoring look imaginable, and you’ve got at least a few minutes with his more vulnerable side before his tough-guy mask comes back up, which never stops being how he reacts to kissing you

Fei Hargreeves

-You and Fei talked about it in advance, you didn’t even know if she’d be in to that kind of thing after all, and really she could take it or leave it, but if it makes you happy then she’ll be happy

-It’s only just a peck but it’s sweet, there’s obvious affection behind it, and more than anything else you both love how close and connected you feel

-When she pulls away she scans your reaction, nearly smug but mostly just heart-warmed about the relaxed contentment she finds on your face

-While she quickly gets the appeal of this act of affection, going forward she does tend to opt for cheek and forehead kisses more than anything else, and surprisingly often at that

Alphonso Hargreeves

-While looking forward to your first kiss enough, Alphonso doesn’t really think about it all that much in advance

-He’s a little impulsive with it, the mood is definitely right, but he moves so quickly that it probably startles you and he pulls back a second later to apologise before you kiss him again

-He’s just a bit clumsy, he doesn’t do this a lot so he’s only guessing things like where to place his hands or how long to go before getting air, but he mostly just follows your lead

-When you pull back it’s unusually tender between the two of you before he ruins (or depending on your outlook improves) the moment a few second later with a eye role worthy joke

Sloane Hargreeves

-Having so much love she wants to express, Sloane can hardly wait, she’s wanted to kiss you for almost as long as she’s known you and is only waiting for confirmation that you’re ready

-When the moment finally comes and you both lean in, she’s in heaven, you consume her every thought and sense, if the world was being blitzed around you two she’d die happy and oblivious

-The kiss only breaks because/when she can’t fight back a smile any longer, but she takes the opportunity to very sweetly check in, wanting to make sure you feel as happy as she does before she proceeds at all

-She gets used to this intimacy very quickly and for the next few days it feels like your faces are nearly inseparable

Jayme Hargreeves

-You’ve initiated most the physical affection in your relationship but understandably hesitate to make a move so intimate, wanting to make sure you’re on the same page

-Jayme however has been waiting, almost anxiously, for you to do so and is eventually just like ‘hey, what’s the deal?’ and way too flippantly asks if she can kiss you already

-The last thing you see is her rolling her eyes before she’s kissing you with more passion than she has shown in the entirety of the time you’ve known her

-She actually smiles when you pull away and won’t stop even if you mention it, only affectionately teasing you right back and then getting her mouth on yours again as soon as possible

#the umbrella academy #tua #the sparrow academy #marcus hargreeves x reader #ben hargreeves x reader #sparrow ben x reader #sparrow!ben x reader #fei hargreeves x reader #alphonso hargreeves x reader #sloane hargreeves x reader #jayme hargreeves x reader #tua x reader #tua x you #the umbrella academy imagine #the umbrella academy preferences #the umbrella academy x reader

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papcrrings-arch · 2 years ago

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Violentine’s Day Plotting/Starter Call Part 2

Below the cut, you will find plots for half my muses for the event. Please reply with any starters you would like (specify for who) or like and I’ll message you about plots. If we have already discussed starters for our pairs, no need to reply but feel free to like for further plotting or reply for starters !!

Isabela Madrigal

Paired with Jamie/Nine

Current Plots: Isabela is going to accidentally discover her powers (that she’s forgotten she had) while she fights Jamie but she is going to end up with serious burns while coming up against the pyro.

Starter Ideas: Someone she runs into before or during the spell, someone who wants to use her newly discovered chlorokinesis, people who will try and help her defeat someone with pyrokinesis, surgeons/doctors who help heal her.

Starters to Write: ?? (0/6)

Jessamyn Redfort

Paired with Jeyne Arryn

Current Plots: Jessamyn is fiery so will put up a good fight but is gonna end up dying in Jeyne’s arms for some dramatic/poetic irony.

Starter Ideas: Current connections running into her during any stage of the event (except after she dies lol), new connections that can be made through random threads, people from her world she can interract with, soldiers/warriors she may ask for help fighting Jeyne.

Starters to Write: ?? (0/6)

Kate Denali

Paired with Rosa Diaz

Current Plots: Will be killing Rosa because she is immortal vampire and is undefeated no matter how badass Rosa is (love her tho), she will not be happy about her actions after the fact though and will try and help Rosa even if it’s too late.

Starter Ideas: People she runs into before or during her “date” or after the spell hits, someone she will help kill others before she gets Rosa, someone she runs into after killing Rosa and is trying to help her.

Starters to Write: Rosa Diaz (1/6)

Kate Sharma-Bridgerton

Paired with Anthony Bridgerton

Current Plots: Both of them are going to try and fight it and therefore be quite irritable throughout the whole event. Once the spell starts to affect them, they’re going to avoid each other so there’s plenty of opportunity for threads here.

Starter Ideas: People she meets while on her horse-riding date before or after the spell hits, someone she may use as a distraction to keep her from looking Anthony because she will need it, random threads with current connections or to create new ones.

Starters to Write: ?? (0/6)

Marcus Flint

Paired with Oliver Wood

Current Plots: Baby’s first Valentine’s Day out and proud with his man and they want to kill each other. No plans for either of them to die as they’ll be evenly matched but doesn’t mean Marcus won’t try (too competitive not to)

Starter Ideas: People he meets before or after the spell hits, people who he will use to help him kill Oliver, people he will help to kill in return, random threads to create connections.

Starters to Write: ?? (0/6)

Mark Sloan

Paired with Lexie Grey

Current Plots: Mark is gonna overpower her and think that he kills her which is enough to snap her out of it but then he’ll resuscitate her before it’s too late (surgeon skills bro), watch him be an apologetic hot mess after.

Starter Ideas: Someone he runs into/interacts with before the spell hits, a friend he vents too after what could have been the biggest mistake of his life, random threads to make new connections.

Starters to Write: ?? (0/6)

Morgana Pendragon

Paired with Lorna Dane

Current Plots: No plans for either to die but they’ll put up a ruthless magical fight so decided that they’re evenly match. Get ready to see some proper Morgana going on though.

Starter Ideas: Morgana will almost definitely use this spell to her advantage and be willing to help people kill others and plot to kill them even if she doesn’t succeed so some of that, also people she will ask to help her (preferably with magic, more powerful the better), random threads for current or new connections.

Starter to Write: ?? (0/6)

Nadia Shanaa

Paired with Guzman Nunier Osana

Current Plots: Just some serious injury. Nadia still has too many of her morals to kill anyone. She’ll just feel that rage and throw things to hurt him, apologise later.

Starter Ideas: To be honest, just any starter for current and new connections that could occur before or during the spell. I don’t have anything specific.

Starters to Write: ?? (0/6)

Prince Phillip

Paired with Princess Aurora

Current Plots: Plans for him to kill Aurora (big sad) and this will likely devastate him as you can imagine. He may not even realise she’ll come back and remember yet, he’ll just think she’s gone.

Starter Ideas: Someone he talks to before or during the spell, maybe someone who offers to help him in exhange for his help to kill (not sure whether he’d accept or not), someone who finds him after he kills her and is a hot mess so will need consoling.

River Song

Paired with the Twelfth Doctor

Current Plots: Sad times for River who is going to kill her husband (”again”). It will not be a fun time, believe me.

Starter Ideas: Someone looking for her help to kill (because you know she would be loads of help), someone who finds her trying to pull herself together after the fact and will probably witness her breaking down.

Starters to Write: Twelve (1/6)

Salazar Slytherin

Paired with Helga Hufflepuff

Current Plots: He will almost die at her hand. He is gonna fight every fibre of his being not to hurt her (but may get some blows in) and it’s going to be a close one.

Starter Ideas: Anyone he runs into before or during the spell, anyone who could be linked to his criminal life (fellow criminals, police officers, etc.), someone who might entice him to help them (succesfully or unsuccessfully), random threads for new or current connections.

Starters to Write: Helga Hufflepuff (1/6)

Tiabeanie Grunkwitz

Paired with Heiya Akane

Current Plots: Unintentionally evenly matched. Bean is very good at keeping herself alive, even when drunk (which she will be here) so she’ll just fight back as necessary and stay alive. No plans for her to kill either.

Starter Ideas: Someone she drinks with before or after the spell hits (she’ll be doing it at both times), someone she runs into while trying to kill Heiya and she may even accidentally or on purpose help them, random threads for new or current connections.

Starters to Write: ?? (0/6)

#violence tw #murder tw #death tw #hw: plot call #hw: starter call #event : violentine's day

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tmisaccidentreportbook · 2 years ago

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MAG033, Boatswain’s Call

Case #0110201, Carlita Sloane Release date: August 18, 2016 First listen: 6th November, walking into work, remember crossing the overflow car park

The Big Boy Man, Oh Lord, He Cometh. Our first look at Peter Lukas, the other Sad Sea Dad of Rusty Quill.

- TIMOTHY STOKER! THE STONKER! MY BOY! MY SWEET CHEESE! MY ROTTEN LIL’ SOLDIER BOY!

- Reasons I love Tim: He gives me ‘bi guy who uses finger guns’ energy, he is not above weaponising his charms, and he’s also concerned about hoW SOME SHIT DOESN’T ADD UP JONNY!

- I’m being overly critical and harsh, and God knows, if I’d been putting a project like this together, I’d need a warehouse for all the wall space my cork boards would need to take up, but I’m grateful that they are addressing some of this in universe.

- I feel sorry for Jon and Jonny both. For Jon, he got yeeted into this position with no warning, he’s trying his best but he doesn’t quite know what he’s doing so he’s clinging to professionalism and academia like his life depends on it. These mistakes must be hugely embarrassing for him, eating away at him. And if these mistakes are just honest writing slips, then I feel for Jonny. It’s a new, big project, the early days were fucking chaos because of a perfect storm of issues, mistakes get made. But I love how it’s handled in universe.

- ‘Oh, and don’t get me started on the other case numbers around the Hill Top hauntings, they’re a mess…’ BIG MOOD.

- Please tell me Josh Cole and Samantha Emery were listeners who heard the inconsistencies and got in touch. Also, what sort of degrees are these guys doing, because I want in on that.

Supplemental: THEY WERE! Oh I love that! Heck yeah!

- Tim’s trying to be so kind about it and making it out to be no big deal, even using it as an opportunity to introduce Jon to some other people around the institute, and Jon is snapping and snarling like a cornered, wounded animal.

- Tim being the audience surrogate to give us a clear explanation of the file numbering system, thank you sweet child. Also possible that he does in fact know the system, and it pitching a soft ball at Jon to rebuild his confidence a little.

- Tim is like the office emotional support golden retriever and I love him but that role can take its toll on a person and my boy’s got hidden depths. I think he can just see Jon struggling and it trying to throw him a line.

- ‘Martin keeps showing me his tongue and asking if it ‘looks infested’.’ You can hear the ‘bi panic’ in that uncomfortable laugh because you KNOW my boy Martin is a snacc.

- Jon just sounds so beaten down and tired. I don’t suppose any of them have been sleeping terribly well of late, between Sasha’s encounter with The Distortion and Martin’s encounter with The Flesh Hive. The Institute probably isn’t the most welcoming or homiest of bolt holds.

- Straight out the gate, needed to google where Porto do Itaqui was because I had next to no idea. Also, Brazil if flipping huge and its’ shore line is a lot wigglier than I gave it credit for.

- The Tundra, what a name for a ship. Ugh, it’s brilliant, I hate it. The world’s Arctic Tundra is estimated to have a population of 4 million. That’s 0.05% of the world’s population for about 10% of the world’s land mass.

- ‘A lot of people don’t think shipping is a job for women. Hell, a lot of people who work on ships don’t think it is.’ The 2021 BIMCO/ICS Seafarer Workforce Report records women making up 1.2% of the global seafarer workforce, and that’s a 45.8% increase compared with the 2015 report. Carlita has has to fight for her place and I bloody respect her for that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had, indeed, made men bled for it.

- ‘…at that point I was starting to get a bit desperate’, and that’s just how they get you isn’t it. The Entities have a wonderful knack of rolling in when all the other doors are closing and you believe that the alternative for what you reaching for has to be worse. I wasn’t sure what ‘workaway’ meant, as far as I understand it, she’d be working for passage and food.

- Peter Lukas. The Big Boy Man himself. Wonder if the lil bit of pepper Jon is putting on the name is the result of a few jigsaw pieces falling into place?

- ‘He sat there at a small table, completely alone, drinking a cup of black coffee.’ There is zero joy in this man. Just none.

- The way Carlita describes it, with the feeling of a door closing, it almost feels like Lukas is maintaining a little pocket of the lonely in this seedy bar, one that Carlita unwitting steps into, leaving the rest of the world behind.

- ‘We have one space.’ Well… isn’t that fucking convenient.

- The lack of activity and the shipping containers already in situ, I’m trying to remember, does Carlita discover that they’re empty?

- I looked up a boatswain’s call whistle and played a few mp3, shrill little things. Got a lot of different calls to relay different messages over the noise of work and the sea, but my favourite thing I learned is that in Star Trek, the boatswain's call can be heard before anytime Kirk speaks to the crew over the comms.

- Not sure what the pay difference is between ordinary and able seaman, but the ranking system was introduced in1652. I think it is just a case of experience at sea.

- Must have been a quick cast off and she must have been desperate if she didn’t have time to discover the bearing until they were already out of port. One advantage to being OS as opposed to an AS I suppose is a drop in responsibilities. In theory, she just needed to pull her weight and get home.

- ‘Hell, not being too comfortable around people is a damn fine reason to go to sea.’ Big mood. But you can’t really take that with you an apply it to the crew that same way. Not when you’re working on the sea and need to work together for survival in so many instances. As well as the isolation, there’s the added threat of isolation in a hostile environment. Also kudos to her for not going insane, I really like my own company, but I’m not a fan of extended silence. Don’t like the thoughts getting in, so I turn to podcasts, and podcasts lead to these sort of fucking things…

- Kinda feel for Lukas a lil, even on your own boat, you’re hiding from folks.

- What was it about Sean Kelly that made him scared? Had he been a recent addition to the crew? Fresh enough to not be hardened to it but there long enough to know what’s happening? Also, making him a quasi countryman to Carlita, there was a foothold for camaraderie there, but it never happened.

- Containers rusted in place, never moved on or off of the Tundra, only painted and repainted. The cargo isn’t in the containers. There may have been worries about Carlita’s previous ship possibly trafficking people, but I think this vessel is of more concern.

- I appreciate that she’s smart and savvy enough to not go poking around when she first sees something amiss. We’ve had some idiots, and Ms Sloane is not one of them.

- Gotta love a woman with a pair of steelies.

- EMPTY CONTAINERS! CALLED IT!

- The boatswain's call, the ‘old-fashioned boat, with oars and a winch’, there’s something archaic about The Lonely. Something very old, or rather, behind the times.

- Yup, Sean Kelly’s the sacrificial lamb and the whistle is the dinner bell. It’s a little bit of a take on the ‘Appease the Volcano God’ trope, swapping heat and lava for cold and fog.

- ‘…it “hadn’t been an easy choice”.’ Yeah I would have stuck to myself after that too.

- ‘…twenty-five thousand pounds. For barely two weeks work. I don’t mind telling you, it was almost enough to tempt me back. Almost.’ So that’s why folks stay. For the pay. I wonder how many folks on that vessel were desperate enough that they chose to roll the dice and keep sailing?

- ‘…here does not appear to have been anything explicitly supernatural occurring in this statement.’ Jon’s right, from the outside it just appears real weird and probably a murder was committed.

- ‘…the Tundra is a currently-active cargo ship operating for Solus Shipping PLC, a company founded and majority-owned by Nathaniel Lukas.’ Solus… solo… urgh. Also, where in the line of Jonah’s Lukas sugar daddies does Nathaniel fall? Actually, that’s a present tense. Is that Elias’ ex-to-the-power-of-twelve brother-in-law or something?

- ‘It doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to do any further investigations into this.’ Proceeds to list off a shopping list of hinky shit that warrants a lot of digging getting more salty and rabid with each word. Starting to see a little bit of season 2 Jon come through there.

#MAG033 #the magnus archives #The Lonely

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daysofourlivesrecaps · 1 year ago

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Thursday, 18 May 2023

The biggest news today is that I solved my screencapping issue! Now, going forward, I can actually show you clear pictures of the dumb shit I'm watching!

It's a fun game in our household to hear Amanda shout BITCH!! at the television whenever someone uses that word in Our Stories. And we're less than 10 seconds into this episode when she gets her first opportunity!

Belle just heard that Eric (her brother) is dating Sloan (the lawyer most of the town doesn't care for). So she confronts him thusly.

Said bitch (she's actually a lovely woman) was last seen at the hospital, discovering Nicole's badly-kept secret about being pregnant. Sloan absolutely despises Nicole (as any sensible person would) and confronts Nicole about the time she talked Jada into aborting Eric's baby. Nicole does what Nicole does: lies, deflects, avoids. But she somehow manages to convince Sloan to keep the pregnancy a secret, at least for now?

Back at the pub, Marlena walks in to enjoy her lunch break and, for the second time in a week, has to assert her mom-hood in this place. The kids agree to stop fighting, but Belle still makes it abundantly clear that she hates Sloan and even Marlena implies the same. Marlena, you're better than that. Also I hate that jacket.

Meanwhile, Abe and Paulina are meeting with the health inspector in hopes that Chanel's bakery can be reopened. Only the inspector is actually Colin, clearly wearing his dad's suit and doing the least convincing American accent since this guy.

His disguise lasts all of three segments before he just basically says *I fucking hate you and I wish I could hit you over the head with a rolling pin.* Then he actually does that to Abe.

Meanwhile, Talia continues carrying out Colin's gross "seduce someone you're not into, who is a gender you are also not into" plan. Chanel, like pretty much everyone on this show whom we watch get intimate, does a consent check at several points. This isn't funny or even particularly interesting. I just like it.

Talia insists she's okay with all of it, but then she does put the brakes on and I'm so glad because seriously, *this plotline squicks me the fuck right out.* Then she says she has a confession to make, and maybe she's just going to come clean about the whole thing? We don't get to know this information today, but my money's on "probably not; that wouldn't be nearly dramatic enough."

Back at the bakery, Paulina tends to her unconscious husband and reacts the way any sensible partner would: by asking the assailant, relatively calmly, why he did that. (?!?!?!)

Colin responds by rearing up for another rolling pinning. This guy's a regular Jack the Ripper, if Jack the Ripper attacked two people in their sixties in a bakery and was kind of a gross pervert.

#Days of Our Lives #DOOL #soap opera #Peacock

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argus-news · 2 years ago

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Indian-Origin Professor Sues US College For Racial Discrimination

An Indian-origin associate professor at the Wellesley business school, Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit alleging that she was subjected to racial and gender discrimination, according to a media report.

New York: An Indian-origin associate professor at the Wellesley business school, Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit alleging that she was subjected to racial and gender discrimination, according to a media report.

Lakshmi Balachandra, associate professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College alleged she lost career opportunities and faced economic losses, emotional distress, and harm to her reputation because of mistreatment and administrators' failure to investigate her concerns, The Boston Globe newspaper reported on February 27.

Lakshmi Balachandra joined Babson's faculty in 2012 and earned tenure in 2019.

In her lawsuit, she called out Andrew Corbett, a professor and former chair of the college's entrepreneurship division, as the "primary direct perpetrators of the discriminatory work environment." According to the complaint filed in US District Court in Boston dated February 27, Lakshmi Balachandra alleged that Corbett, who oversaw teaching assignments, class scheduling, and annual reviews, only allowed her to teach required courses in entrepreneurship despite her requests to teach electives - even though she had taught such classes previously at MIT Sloan School of Management and Harvard Business School.

"Babson favours white and male faculty and predominantly reserves awards and privileges for them," Lakshmi Balachandra's complaint alleged.

According to the complaint, despite her research record, expressed interest, and service to the college, she was denied numerous leadership positions and opportunities for more time to conduct research and write.

"Such privileges are routinely given to white male faculty in the entrepreneurship division," the complaint read.

Lakshmi Balachandra's attorney, Monica Shah, said that the professor has also filed a charge of discrimination with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Meanwhile, Babson College has responded that it takes concerns or complaints seriously and has well-established protocols and resources in place to thoroughly investigate and address them.

"The college is home to a diverse global community where equity and inclusion are valued and incorporated across every facet of campus, and where discrimination of any kind is not tolerated," a spokesperson of Babson College was quoted as saying.

Lakshmi Balachandra, who is currently on leave for a fellowship at the National Science Foundation, is seeking unspecified damages, the report added.

#US #Racial Discrimination

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abimess · 3 years ago

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A homemade white Christmas

Taylor Sloane x Reader

gif is not mine

Summary: Taylor is the best thing that ever happened in your life and from the very first day you started dating you promised yourself you would do anything for her. That includes making it snow in Los Angeles.

Warnings: none

Pronouns: not used || Word count: 1.035

As someone who lives in a place that doesn't snow, I understand you, Taylor 💔 haha I just wanted someone to do for me what reader did for her... Anyway, enough ranting haha hope you enjoy the story!

You do NOT have permission to repost or translate my work on any platforms (even with credit)

For this request I Christmas Special Masterlist I Masterlist | Library Blog

───── ⋅ ⋇ ❅ ⋇ ⋅ ─────

It's Thursday night and you and your girlfriend are snuggled up in the living room to binge-watch Christmas films. Well, at least that's what she said you guys would do an hour ago.

"And I thought we were going to watch a movie." You complain amusedly, watching Taylor take what must have been the hundredth picture of that night. The popcorn and juices, the blonde's muse, were probably cold and warm, respectively.

"You're very annoying," Taylor replies rolling her eyes. Not surprising you one bit at that point, she prepares to take another one.

"And you're very-" you start to retort, but your girlfriend's glare directed at you makes you change your mind, "within your rights to do whatever you want, my dear." You opt for the safer option.

"That's what I thought," Taylor says with a smile, pecking your lips briefly before turning her attention back to the photo and you chuckle, shaking your head.

"Baby, hold that pillow for me, please." She points and you huff heavily, but comply. "Like this." She instructs, positioning your hand so that the item is in the exact place she wants. Not long after, she takes the picture.

"There. Do you think that's good?" She asks unsurely, showing you her phone, but you honestly see no difference between this one and all the others. "I hope so, it's been forty minutes."

"You're too exaggerated." She rolls her eyes playfully, but when you show her your phone so she can see that, indeed, forty minutes have passed, she shrugs. "Photography takes time."

"Yeah, I noticed." You reply with a light chuckle, leaning back on the couch again.

Luckily, that photo was finally enough for Taylor, and it wasn't long before you two finally started watching the movies.

It is in moments like these that you are sure that genuine happiness exists. With the girl of your dreams snuggled into your side, your hand playing with the locks of her hair as hers lovingly caresses the side of your body, you feel genuine peace that you are sure nothing and no one will ever be able to offer.

"God, I've always wanted this," Taylor says softly against your chest, waking you from your thoughts, and you blink your way back to the present. "What?"

"A white Christmas." She replies, pointing to the snow on the movie, and you frown. "You never had one?"

"No." She answers, raising her eyes to you, and you get lost in their brightness for a moment as they reflect the light from the TV. "Have you?"

"I used to live in New York before I moved here, it snowed all the time." You answer and she nods in understanding, a shadow of sorrow on her face that makes your insides turn, so you hasten to add, "hey, we can take a trip somewhere with snow!"

"I can't, I have that event on Saturday morning. I'll lose the sponsorship if I don't go." She replies with a sad smile and you nod, remembering the party in question.

"Well, there'll always be other opportunities, am I right?" You add the next moment, offering her a reassuring smile to which she returns with a grateful one.

"Yes, there will be." She agrees sweetly, kissing your lips before snuggling into your chest once more.

You both turn your gazes to the TV then, but while Taylor's attention remains on the movie, yours is far away.

⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅ ⋇ ⋅

There are no limits to the things you would do for Taylor. Whatever you could do to make her happy, you would do it without a second thought.

So, getting a fake snow-making machine was not the least bit out of reach for you.

It turns out that they are much harder to get working than you expected, and the process took almost your entire morning.

Luckily for you, Taylor was busy shooting some videos to advertise some make-up brand whose products arrived last night, so the blonde didn't even notice you were outside.

When everything is ready, the fake snow spread all over the yard, you smile proudly.

"Taylor! Get out here!" You call out, as you admire the result of your hard work around the backyard.

"What's up with you calling me by name?" The answer comes the next moment and you laugh to yourself. "Sorry, love of my life." You correct yourself amusedly, and smile when Taylor shouts from inside the house, "Better."

"Get out here!" You call out again, and when the blonde says she's working, you roll your eyes, about to go inside and get her yourself. "Come on out, woman!"

"Babe, what's so-" The question dies in Taylor's throat as she steps outside, her eyes scanning the surroundings as a stunned expression frames that beautiful face of hers.

"What's all this?" She asks softly, looking at you still in shock, and you smile excitedly. "Snow! Well, it's not exactly snow, because it would melt before I even finished setting up. It's fake snow, but it's pretty similar to real snow."

"You made all this for me?" She asks, her eyes glistening with tears as she looks around again. You smile fondly, feeling your heart warm inside your chest.

"Of course!" You reply, your hands positioning themselves lovingly on her waist, hugging her from behind, and Taylor hugs your arms in front of her, her eyes locked on the yard.

"You said you wanted a white Christmas." You say against her ear, resting your chin on her shoulder as you relish in her reaction, fulfilled. "Here it is."

"You are not real." She says spinning on her heels, a watery giggle escaping her lips as she wraps her arms around your neck, and you smile.

"I love you." She says softly, making the butterflies in your stomach fly rampant. "I love you too." You whisper before closing the distance between you, connecting your lips to hers.

And as the two of you kiss, Taylor feels on cloud nine, knowing that she can count on you to always make her days better.

───── ⋅ ⋇ ❅ ⋇ ⋅ ─────

#Day 30: 'Tis the damn season (Natasha Romanoff x Reader/ Wanda Maximoff Reader)

And that's it for today! I hope you enjoyed it, thoughts and comments are always welcome ツ

Taglist: @yuhloversxx @madamevirgo @an-evergreen-rose @helloalycia @wandas1mp @cantcontroltheirfear @diaryoflife @cristin-rjd @ensorcellme @aimezvousbrahms @natasha-danvers @purplemeetsblue @randomshyperson @peggycarter-steverogers @b0mbdotc0m @ethereal-pxradise @stephanieromanoff @tomy5girls @gingerbreadcookieforlife @imapotatao @musicinourlips @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @allfiguredout @olsensnpm @magicallymaximoff @nothing-isimpossible @mionemymind @itsmionet @xastrydx @sxfwap @nicole-rayleigh-hot @wellsayhelloaagin @midnight-lestrange @1-800-depressedlesbian @b-5by5 @blackwow34 @nervoustrack @somewhatgreatexpectations @yeetus-thyself @chelleztjs18 @franfineashell @mrromanoff (if you wanna be tagged check the form on my BIO)

#taylor sloane x you #taylor sloane x reader #taylor sloane #taylor sloane imagine #ingrid goes west #elizabeth olsen x reader #elizabeth olsen #elizabeth olsen x you #elizabeth olsen imagine #elizabeth olsen fanfiction

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nightwhispcrs · 2 years ago

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⊹˳⁺ ☽ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛ ᴘʟᴏᴛᴛɪɴɢ & ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀ ᴄᴀʟʟ !!

a brief description of how my muses plan to spend the event and little plot ideas for each can be found below. would love to plot with any & all of you even if our muses are currently strangers. dates can be platonic or romantic. like this & i will dm you on discord. if you fill any of my plot ideas, i will happily write & draft the starter for us.

roman roy ( 36 yrs old, from succession )

alcohol tw roman will certainly act very too cool for school. he believes he is above halloween and, truthfully, above the president himself. still, he’ll attend in a well-tailored suit to mostly people watch, harshly judge costumes, compare the unimpressive white house to extravagant places he’s been to before, and drink far too much.

date: tyrell wellick plot ideas: someone he drinks too much with (mark sloan,) someone he gets into a verbal altercation with (wei wuxian, leia)

katniss everdeen ( 22 yrs old, from the hunger games )

ptsd tw, violence mention tw with all the memories of the hunger games starting to ( very slowly ) return to katniss, they are going to get easily overwhelmed by the blood and gore of halloween— even just decor. babe will prob be goin’ thought it, can’t lie. she’ll show up in costume but probably soon seek quiet outside.

date: finnick odair plot ideas: date (finnick), someone who comforts katniss when they’re overwhelmed (orpheus, peeta, margaery, eurydice), someone they argue or physically fight with because she’s on edge (cato)

jack shephard ( 35 yrs old, from LOST )

you will never, ever find jack shephard dressing up in a halloween costume. he’ll show up in a nice suit ( you’re lucky he’s dressing up that much ) and be pretty laid back. he’ll take the opportunity to schmooze politicians and wealthy people for more funding for the hospital where he works as a surgeon, but will quickly grow tired of that bc he hates that part of his job.

date: michael corleone plot ideas: politicians or wealthy people he can schmooze for donations (phillip,) someone jack helps ( if they’re upset, hurt, drunk, etc. ) isaac, people he generally hangs out with (xie lian, phoebe halliwell)

craig manning ( 21 yrs old, from degrassi )

craig has been on his best behavior lately and honestly i’m a little tired of that. he’ll definitely wear a stupid costume ( haven’t deciced on it yet ) and be acting a fool all night. sneaking around, exploring closed off areas, causing arguments, flirting with anything that breathes, and potentially getting arrested are definitely in the cards.

date: jules vaughn plot ideas: date (jules), someone who explores the grounds/white house with him (sprig, marco), someone who arrests him or gets arrested with him, someone who bails him out of jail ??, partner in crime (cook,) open to anything dramatic

naomi pierce ( 32 yrs old, from succession )

drugs tw naomi pierce will come dressed in full costume ( decided later ) and charm anyone in her sight. she will use this chaotic occasion to participate in some illicit activities ( potentially using drugs and also swiping small artifacts from the white house for her smuggling operation. )

date: ??? open to anyone plot ideas: date, someone who catches naomi trying to steal (cassian, river), someone who helps naomi steal, someone who partakes in illegal substances with her, other (salazar)

mariana adams foster ( 24 yrs old, from good trouble/the fosters )

mariana will arrive in a sexy & elaborate costume ( decided later. ) she will want to dance and drink and be the center of attention. if she crosses paths with you, expect plenty of flirtatious compliments. it’s just her personality.

date: kiara plot ideas: date (kiara), someone she explores and/or gets in trouble with, people she generally hangs around drinks and dances with (omega), someone she hooks up with by the end of the night ( could be her date or someone else … mariana is messy )

arnold [novak] ( 27 yrs old, from please like me )

anxiety tw although arnold is socially anxious and a party may seem like a nightmare for someone like him, he’s actually very relaxed and excited because 1) he loves parties even if they make him stressed and 2) he can wear a mask and hide himself— so there is very little of his usual anxieties.

date: ??? open to anyone, though only males for romantic dates as arnold is canonically gay plot ideas: date, dancing partners where he hides his true identity (marcus), people he can run around with and be relaxed for once with, one night stand

adam newman ( 33 yrs old, from the young & the restless )

you’d think the adam newman would be too good for halloween, but he actually leans into this tradition. he enjoys seasons changing and holidays and dressing in costume in this socially acceptable event actually makes sense to him. he’ll be as a bloody prince or something and lean into his perception of being a bad guy/fuckboy lmao. he’ll be charming tho

date: rikki chadwick plot ideas: date (rikki), general people he hangs around that evening (faith, vex), a fellow bad influence he can get into trouble with (darcy), hookup w/e

ronald ‘mac’ mcdonnald ( 44 yrs old, from it’s always sunny in philadelphia )

honestly who the hell let mac into the white house. this should not be allowed. he’s going to self-appoint himself covert security ( in costume ) and probably piss everyone ( including actual security ) off. he’ll be under the delusion the president himself wanted mac’s assistance.

date: ??? open to anyone but sorry to that person lol plot ideas: people he pisses off (actual security, criminals, etc.) (steve), someone who tries to get him to chill tf out and have a good time, hookup (must be a guy), general (dennis)

charlie dalton ( 19 yrs old, from dead poets society )

oh you can bet ur ass that mr. charlie dalton will show up dressed as tom cruise in risky business, no pants and oversized white shirt because nothing else makes more sense in the world. he will be an absolute menace all night having the time of their life.

date: dart plot ideas: date (dart), people willing to be a menace with him (ayra, neil perry)

enjolras ( 26 yrs old, from les misérables )

enjolras doesn’t understand halloween, as he is from early 1800s france … but he will be using this as an opportunity to figure out how the government in this weird country and century works. he’ll come dressed as a lowly rebel because that’s how he feels most comfortable; and if he has to take up arms against this govt too then so be it lol.

date: ??? open to anyone, though enjolras is not a very romantic person so good luck plot ideas: date, someone who tries to get him out of his comfort zone, someone who will explore the grounds with him (caitlyn)

sarah walker ( 25 yrs old, from chuck )

sarah is on a mission, surprise surprise. the cia has directed her to covertly look for bad actors and locate specific people. she’ll be dressed as an angel and act extra friendly to blend in to the crowd.

date: mona vanderwaal plot ideas: date (mona), anyone in secret service/fbi/cia or government she is working with on her mission (stiles), anyone criminal she could be searching for (salazar)

lee jordan ( 25 yrs old, from harry potter )

ironically, lee has no idea that he’s a wizard. and he loves sports. funny enough, he will be wearing an nba jersey dressed as a basketball player of the washington wizards ( yes that’s the real team name in dc if you aren’t a sports fan— lol ! ) he’s been a bit of a recluse since arriving in washington. he is an emo sad boy for now, unaware and mostly alone, so this will be his first time being around a crowd in a looong while.

date: erin quinn plot ideas: date who drags him out for the evening (erin), people who force him to explore/have fun at the party, a drunk hookup idc

#hw: starter call #hw: plot call #( ✰ event 014 )#hwevent14

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theweasleysredhair · 4 years ago

Text

I Wanna Be Yours [G.W.]

Character: George Weasley

Word Count: 6025

Requested?: Yes/No

Summary: Love is complicated. Especially when the boy you love likes someone else. Or does he? [Based on the film Some Kind of Wonderful].

WARNING: brief mentions of alcohol and drinking

Tags: @gracemayhateyou @criminalyetminimal @firewhisky-kisses @obsessedwithrandomthings @angelinathebook @iprobablyshipit91 @potterverseimagine @slytherineheir @kpopgirlbtssvt @rexorangecouny @mytreec @hemmoporro @thisismysketchbook @acciotwinz @shadowsinger11 @aaannabbanana @lestersglitterglue @anyasthoughts @lxncelot @harrypotter289 @starlightweasley @slytherinsunrise @valwritesx @hufflrpuffforfred @cappsikle @kiwi-sloan @potter-redheads @pigwidgexn @twinkyjohnson @tinylumpiaa @locke-writes @user12345321 @wand3ringr0s3 @ickle-ronniekins @sehunasbitch @cryingforcrystalpepsi @kashishwrites @girl-next-door-writes @susceptible-but-siriusexual @crissdanvers @whizbangs-78 @heart-of-tempered-steel @oh-for-merlins-sake @heavenlymidnight @aylinw3asley @andineversawyoucoming | message or send an ask to be added/removed!

Disclaimer: Gif isn't mine, credit to whoever made it

A/n: i am again naming my fics after arctic monkeys’ songs - fun fact this one is named after my favourite one of theirs, i’m considering having it for my wedding song bc it cute af

also yes i watched some kind of wonderful whilst writing this and cried. it’s not even a sad fic, i’m just emotional smh

~*~

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST MY WORK! REBLOGS ARE ABSOLUTELY FINE! <3

+ + + + +

“Y/n! Wait up!”

You span round on your heels, wiping away a stray tear that had fallen, “I said I’m fine, Fred! Okay? I’m fine. Absolutely fabulous, in fact.”

Fred stopped in front of you, a shimmer of pity in his brown eyes that made you feel even worse than you already did, “I just want to make sure you’re okay. I-I’m sorry-“

“I know. I know, Freddie,” you replied, your voice quiet as you pressed your lips together, reaching out to grab his hands in yours, “It’s okay. It is, really. I just... I need to be alone.”

“But I- I just... it’s his loss, just so you know!” He pleaded, shaking his head at you, and swore under his breath at the sight of one of his closest friends in tears over his brother, “Merlin, he shouldn’t have given that to her- I shouldn’t have said anything-“

And that’s where your problem had started. Because a few weeks ago, you were, as you claimed, fine. Well, you had a few essays due and were having trouble finding the textbooks to help you write them, but that was all really.

How you wished you could steal a time turner and go back in time.

And yes, when this all started you knew that George had his heart taken by someone else. It’s not his fault, not really, that his whole plan, scheme, escapade turned into something that would completely crush your heart.

Affairs of the heart. That’s where this started. Because before a few days ago, you were unaware of your own feelings. Before a few days ago, you were unaware of any feelings towards him at all.

But that fateful moment - the one where you were sat with George in front of the fireplace, a half-drank bottle of firewhisky sitting between you, laughing and joking - was the one that changed everything.

You hadn’t even realised yourself, until Fred pointed it out to you the morning after, when he’d found you curled up by George’s side, empty firewhisky bottle laying on the floor in front of the couch, George’s arm around your waist, your face buried into his chest.

In Fred’s defence, he thought you knew. He thought you’d be aware of your own feelings.

How was he supposed to know that you didn’t know you were in love with his twin?

_________~*~_________

“This is the year I reckon,” George announced to you as he collapsed onto the sofa beside you, throwing his legs over your thighs as he rested his back against the arm of the couch, his arms resting behind his neck, “She’s finally single, first time since second year. Now’s my chance!”

You popped a Bertie’s Every Flavour Bean into your mouth and closed the book you weren’t really paying attention to, before dropping it on the table in front of the couch, “And how long have you liked her again?”

George blinked at the way you raised an eyebrow at him and sat up a little, “Since I found out she was single again.” At your pointed look, he shot you a grin, “Nah, since before the summer. Point is, I reckon I could really like this girl.”

“Poor love, having you snivelling around her all the time. I wonder how she’ll cope,” you grinned back, throwing one of the jelly beans at his head.

“Well you seem to cope just fine,” he retorted, batting another jelly bean away from his head.

“That’s just because I’m desensitised to you by now.”

“Is that so?” George asked with a raised eyebrow, a grin etched onto his face as he sat up properly, leaning a little closer to you. You turned your head to face him, meeting his stare as you nodded, “Course, how else would I have put up with you so long?”

He leant further forward and pressed a quick kiss to your forehead, “Willingly, because you love me, stupid.”

You nudged him, making him laugh as he went back to lying down comfortably, “Yeah, yeah.”

You watched a few first years clamber through the portrait hole, laughing to each other as they made their way through the common room, an absent-minded smile gracing your lips as you recalled being the same in your first year with your friends.

“How do you reckon I should ask her out?” George’s voice brought you away from your reminiscing as you looked over at him, “She deserves something amazing, something no other guy will have thought of for her.”

You rolled your eyes, knowing this would be the topic of conversation for the rest of the evening, but nevertheless gestured for him to continue on. “I wanna go all out if she’s gonna turn out to be everything I’ve ever wanted in a girl,” George finished, a dreamy, faraway look crossing his features.

Reaching into the box of jelly beans, you grabbed a handful and threw them at him, ignoring his indignant “hey!” as you replied pointedly, “Don’t go mistaking paradise for a pair of long legs.”

Because truthfully, that was why a lot of guys were interested in Kiara. She was smart - being a Ravenclaw and all - surprisingly funny, and, as far as you knew, was really kind too. Not that this mattered to many of the boys in your year (and the years above and below), apparently, because she was also beautiful, with long, glossy brown hair, perfect doll-like features and, yes, long, lean legs.

“That’s not why I like her,” George insisted, grabbing one of the jelly beans that had fallen onto his lap and throwing it back at you, laughing as it hit you on the forehead. You playfully glared at him, rubbing your forehead in mock-hurt.

“Sure it’s not, stupid,” you replied, using his minor insult from before. “Ohhh, I’m the stupid one now, am I?” He scoffed, though the smile on his face told you he wasn’t offended in the slightest, “Now you’re in for it.”

He moved his legs off you and poked your sides, knowing you were ticklish, making you laugh out and push him away, “George, stop!”

“Take it back then, love. Say I’m the smartest wizard you know,” he grinned, continuing his minor tickling assault, making you move away from him so abruptly that you fell off the couch and onto the carpeted floor, bringing him down on top of you.

“Ouch- never! You are stupid, stupid!” You laughed, laying on the floor as you tried to catch your breath, George’s hands either side of your head, holding his weight up above you.

Both of your laughter faded a little and you found yourself staring into his brown eyes, his face barely centimetres from your own. You could have almost sworn that he started moving closer - though maybe it was your imagination - before he rolled away and lay beside you on the floor, his hand brushing yours.

“You’ll help me right?” He asked after a moment. You turned your head to look at him, taking in his side profile as he stared up at the ceiling.

“I’ll help you what?”

“Get a date with her,” he said as if it were obvious, turning his head to meet your gaze. You shot him a smile, “You’re George Weasley. You could get a date with anyone you wanted.”

“Just not you, right?” He turned onto his side, resting on his elbow as he looked down at you. You shook your head with a laugh, “Yeah well, I don’t count. I’m not just anyone.”

The smile he gave you made your heart beat a little faster, “You’re right about that.”

***

“All I’m saying is, is it such a bad idea if you just, I don’t know, asked her out simply? By using words? I really don’t think you need to wax poetic, or write her a bloody song to ask her out,” you shook your head in despair at the nerve-wracked boy sat across from you in the Great Hall.

“I can’t just ask her out,” George replied in a horrified voice, “What if she thinks I’ve not put enough effort into it and rejects me?”

“Trust me, Georgie, if she’s going to reject you, it won’t be because of the way you asked her out, I can guarantee that. It’ll be because you’re annoying, or because you smell, or, and I can’t stress this enough, because of your below-average skills in potions,” you laughed at his unimpressed look, taking the opportunity to grab a slice of toast off his plate.

“You’re supposed to be my best friend, you know,” he grumbled, waving his fork at you. “Yes,” you replied, “And as your best friend, I say to just ask her out. Look, joking aside, you’re a great guy, George. She’d be lucky to have you.”

He nodded, smiling gratefully at you as he reached forward and grabbed your hand to give it a squeeze, “Okay, I’ll trust you on this one. I’ll just... ask her out. How difficult could it be?”

Turns out, extremely difficult. You felt second hand embarrassment as you watched George head over to the Ravenclaw table, to where Kiara was sitting, wincing as he nearly dropped a goblet of pumpkin juice over her.

“Who’re you watching?” A voice said from beside you, making you jump. Fred laughed as you rolled your eyes at him, before replying, “For your information, I’m watching your brother ask Kiara on a date.”

“Wait, he’s asking another girl on a date?” Fred frowned, his eyes darting from George, who was currently speaking to Kiara, his cheeks reddening as she touched his shoulder and laughed, to your confused expression as you looked up at the older twin. “Yes?” You replied, bemused, “Why?”

“Does it not... bother you?” He asked gently. You laughed, “Why would it?”

And as you watched Kiara throw her arms around George’s neck, his hands coming to hold her waist, you swallowed thickly, before shaking your head at the odd feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Why would it bother you?

You forced a smile onto your face as George made his way back to his original seat, a smug grin adorning his features. “Well?” You asked, rather redundantly as you had seen the whole thing yourself.

“She said yes,” he replied excitedly, picking up his fork and popping some bacon into his mouth. “I told you!” You grinned at him, though you pushed your own plate away, no longer hungry.

“Attaboy, Georgie!” Fred congratulated his twin, “When’s the date?”

“This Saturday, at The Three Broomsticks,” the younger twin replied. You zoned out of the chatter on the table about this newest revelation, feeling your heart plummet at George’s words, though you couldn’t place your finger on why.

George was your best friend, you should be happy for him... right?

***

Saturday arrived quicker than you wanted, after a week of tedious lessons, and a bombardment of questions over what George should do on his date.

You watched him pull out two different jumpers, holding each one up at a time and looking at you expectedly. Tilting your head to the side, you pointed to the red one, “Was always my favourite one.”

“Red it is,” he nodded, throwing the other jumper onto his bed as he held the red jumper out to you for you to hold. Without warning, he pulled the t shirt he was currently wearing off, leaving his toned torso on show as he dropped said t shirt onto the floor and held his hand out for the jumper.

You handed it to him, gulping a little as you forced yourself not to stare at his abs. It was no secret the George was good looking - you’d always known it - but knowing and seeing were two different things. Being a Beater had done tremendous things to his body, you noted.

“Do you reckon I should bring her flowers?” George asked you, looking at you through the reflection of his mirror as he messed his hair up a little.

“Couldn’t hurt,” you shrugged, sending him a half-hearted smile as you grabbed your wand, muttering ‘orchideous’ and handing him the bouquet that was produced.

He thanked you, before taking a deep breath, “Well, what do you reckon?”

The smile that spread across your face this time was genuine, a soft look in your eye as you replied, “You look great, Georgie. Now go get her!”

He shot you one last grin, pressing a kiss to your forehead, before heading out of his dorm, leaving you alone. You picked up the t shirt he’d dropped, folding it and placing it at the end of his bed, before grabbing the jumper he’d discarded.

You took a breath before deciding to put the jumper on, relishing in the smell of George’s aftershave as you pulled it over your head, before rolling up the sleeves and heading out of the dorm.

***

“How many dates has it been now, three? Four?” You asked, wrapping your coat further around yourself as you trudged through the thick snow of Hogsmeade, passing by a couple of cute shops.

“The Yule Ball will be the fifth.”

You froze at the mention of the Ball. Somehow you’d assumed you’d be going with George - you didn’t even think about the fact that he’d have a girlfriend he could take, “Oh! So you um, asked Kiara to the Ball then?”

“Last night,” George bit his lip as he smiled, “Can’t wait!”

Your stomach clenched and mind raced, eyebrows furrowing as you realised you now had just under a week and half to find a date to the Ball - if anyone was still available, that was. You thought about every single eligible boy you knew of, wondering if you had the courage to even ask any of them, before you were pulled from your thoughts by George’s voice.

“I wanna buy her something for Christmas, what do you reckon?” George asked, picking at a strand coming off his woollen hat before placing it back onto his head.

“I don’t really know the girl,” you said truthfully, forcing yourself to stop thinking about George and Kiara dancing and him holding her all night, “I assume you’d have better judgment.”

He nodded over to a small shop on your left, one that you’d passed by many times but never had the chance to look in.

“The jewellery shop?” You asked, raising your eyebrows at him. He grabbed your hand and pulled you over to the door, “Let’s just have a look, yeah?”

The bell chimed as you stepped inside and you instantly became enamoured with the little shop, rows of glass cases showing off sparkly pieces of jewellery and adornments. Most, you noticed quickly, were much too expensive for you - and by default, much too expensive for George, too.

“Are you sure about something from in here?” You asked, staring down at a ring adorned with sapphires, “These are pretty pricey.”

“They might be, but she deserves it. Besides, gotta prove I’m better than all the guys that want to date her, right?” George replied from across the shop.

“Georgie,” you looked over at him with a pointed look, “I can promise you are better than all the other guys.”

“No harm in making sure.”

You gave up arguing, knowing he wouldn’t listen anyway, your eyes taking in the beautiful products, before your focus was taken by a rather stunning necklace. Stepping over to it for a closer look, you breathed out in shock at the price, but nevertheless knew you were in love with the chain, a little pendant surrounded by crystals displayed at the centre.

“What’ve you seen?” George spoke, suddenly standing behind you and leaning over your shoulder.

You pointed at the necklace, “Someday, I’m gonna buy that one.”

George glanced down at the look on your face and grinned to himself, “Someday, I’ll buy that one for you.” You turned to look at him, shaking your head in amusement, “You need to choose something for your girlfriend before you start promising me presents.”

“What’s the fun in that?” George laughed as you both left the shop.

You sat beside George on the couch later that night, resting your head on his shoulder as you shared a bottle of firewhisky between you.

“It was not!” You screeched, your laugh echoing through the empty common room as you nudged the ginger boy, making him laugh along with you. “It absolutely was,” he insisted, grinning before taking a sip of the firewhisky, taking in the sight of you looking so happy, and realising your laugh was one of his favourite sounds, “You were the one who wanted to sneak food from the kitchens, so it was your fault we got caught!”

You shook your head, “It was you tripping into that metal armour. All that noise when the bloody head fell off.”

“You pushed me, stupid!” George scolded indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting like a child.

“I shoved you,” you corrected, laughing as George playfully nudged you, causing you to nudge him back, and soon you were play fighting on the couch.

He, once again, was above you, almost pinning you to the couch as he looked down at you, and it was only then that you realised just how inebriated you both were, the empty firewhisky bottle having fallen onto the floor.

George’s tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip, “You know I love you, right?”

You smiled softly up at him, arms around his neck as you nodded, somehow feeling like those words had more weight to them than usual. Leaning up to kiss his cheek, you replied, “Of course, Georgie.”

Morning arrived quickly, much to your dismay, and you were woken abruptly by the sound of heavy footsteps stomping down the stairs. You couldn’t bring yourself to move to see who it was, too comfortable with your head resting on George’s chest, his arm securely around your waist, but luckily for you, said culprit of the noise came right by your line of sight, wiggling his eyebrows at you.

“Well what do we have here?” Fred cooed, rocking back and forth as he looked at you curled up in his twin’s arms. “Me and George falling asleep after drinking maybe a tad too much?” You replied as if it were obvious.

“You look awfully cosy,” he grinned, “But then, I suppose I would too if I was cuddling someone I was in love with.”

You felt like your heart stopped and you nearly choked on air, “Wait wait wait, someone I what?!”

“‘Someone I was in love with’?” Fred repeated slowly, narrowing his eyes at you, “You do know... right?”

At your blank expression, Fred raised an eyebrow, “You do know you’re in love with George... right?”

“I’m not in love with-“ You paused as you thought back over the years of your friendship. You’d never really thought about it before - never really had to. But you treated George differently to any other friend you had. No one could make you laugh like he could, or make you feel as protected and safe as he did. And no one ever made you feel like you were flying, like he did.

“Oh Godric... I’m in love with George!” You whisper-shouted, a hand coming to cover your mouth as the realisation dawned on you.

Fred nodded, “I didn’t know that you didn’t know.”

“That’s why you asked me if it bothered me when he asked out Kiara, isn’t it?” You suddenly realised, gulping harshly.

Fred nodded again, though a tad more hesitantly than before, “Hey, but listen- I really think he feels the same, if it makes you feel any better! He just doesn’t know it either.”

You moved out of George’s grasp and stood up, pressing your lips together as you looked at Fred, “He’s got a girlfriend, who he’s taking to the Yule Ball and who he adores and they’re probably gonna get married and have kids and I’m going to be alone forever!”

“Hey, that’s not- that won’t happen,” Fred replied, his gaze softening as he saw a tear fall down your cheek. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his chest and stroking your back comfortingly.

“He loves you, I know it. And he knows it too. He just doesn’t know that he knows it.”

***

Ever since your realisation in the early morning, you’d tried your best to act normal around George. It wasn’t easy, and you felt that maybe you were being a little more distant than usual, however you quickly pushed that thought aside as you noticed George being equally - if not more - distant, sitting at the end of the table beside Fred, Kiara on his other side as he whispered things in her ear, making her laugh.

You felt a pang of hurt, one that got worse the longer you stared at them, watching as they kissed, as George stared at her lovingly, as he pushed her long, brown, stupidly perfect hair behind her ear and making her blush.

Sitting on the opposite side of the table, you made yourself look away, instead immersing yourself in the conversation Ron and Harry were having about the Yule Ball.

“This is mad, at this rate we’ll be the only ones in our year without dates!” Ron hissed at Harry as you were all sat in the Great Hall, supposedly studying. You hid a laugh as Snape walked past and pushed his head.

“Well, us and Neville,” he continued with a small laugh. Harry leant over to him, “Yeah but then again, he can take himself.”

“It might interest you to know that Neville has already got someone,” Hermione interrupted their laughing with a frown.

Ron sighed, catching your gaze as you laughed at him - which made him sigh again, “Now I’m really depressed.”

You observed from the other side of the table as Fred threw a piece of parchment over to his younger brother, winking at you when he noticed you watching, as Ron frowned at the words on the page.

Ron handed the parchment back, glancing around to avoid Snape and whispered, “Who are you going with then?”

Fred grabbed the parchment and crumpled it up into a ball, before throwing it at you, the paper bouncing off your shoulder. You looked down at the paper, before meeting Fred’s gaze with a raised eyebrow.

He grinned at you, before miming the Ball, nodding over at you. You rolled your eyes, glancing round for Snape before throwing the parchment back at him, hitting him square in the face and causing half the table to hid their faces as they laughed.

“Well?” He asked, seemingly unfazed by the parchment that was now resting at his feet.

“Yeah, go on then, I suppose,” you whispered, shaking your head at him as he winked at Ron. When all the attention went back to school work, you caught Fred’s gaze again and smiled thankfully.

He saluted playfully, making you laugh, neither one of you noticing George’s frown and clenched fists beside him.

***

You hadn’t seen much of George since Fred had asked you to the Ball, him being too busy spending practically all of his time with Kiara.

It hurt, you had to admit, that he was constantly choosing her over you. Though you assumed it was only natural, what with Kiara being his first proper girlfriend.

Didn’t mean it hurt any less. And the fact you were so used to having George to yourself didn’t help - sometimes turning to ask him something, and then realising he’s not there.

He’d moved seats in class to sit by Kiara, meaning in some classes you were sat with whoever happened to be her previous partner, which therefore meant you were forced to watch as the boy you loved flirted with another girl, his hands constantly on her waist, sneaking kisses when the professor wasn’t looking, and, more often than not, simply not even acknowledging your existence, not even saying a simple ‘hello’.

In other classes you were sat by Fred, who, by all accounts, was actually a pretty good partner, being able to make you laugh and distract you from the show that tore your heart every time you saw it.

In fact, Fred had pretty much mastered exactly how to make you laugh until you cried, his aim in most lessons now, as he hated how sad you were because of his twin.

You were both giggling in the back of the classroom at something he’d said when McGonagall had pointed it out, asking you both to “Please quieten down.”

You bit your lip to muffle your laughing as Fred looked down at you, just happy he could make his friend smile when he knew how much you were hurting.

Much to the dislike of a certain redhead towards the front of the room, who immediately frowned every time he heard your laugh, knowing he wasn’t the one causing it, but his older twin.

His twin who was taking you to the Yule Ball.

George clenched his jaw as he heard you whispering something to Fred, barely being able to focus on anything else.

He knew you and Fred were friends, but since when were you both that close?

***

By the time the Yule Ball arrived, you and George were barely speaking at all. You’d cried about it more times than you’d like to admit, but you had decided that tonight, at the Ball, you would make it a night to remember, not wanting to mope and ruin Fred’s night since he had asked you pretty much as a favour - despite the amount of times he’d insisted he wanted to ask you, you knew he fancied Angelina Johnson, and had things played out differently, you were sure she’d have been the one he’d thrown the parchment at in the hall that day, not you.

Either way, when you’d made your way down the steps to the Great Hall, your dress swirling around you, hair and makeup perfect, Fred made a huge deal of wolf-whistling and complimenting you.

“Well aren’t you bloody gorgeous,” he grinned, taking your hand and bringing it up to his lips to kiss the back of it, “I am one lucky guy.”

“You clean up pretty good too, Weasley,” you grinned, reaching up to straighten out his tie.

George scowled as he watched you with Fred, hating you being in such proximity to his brother, hands clenching and knuckles turning white as he watched Fred kiss the back of your hand. He had to force himself not to run over and shove Fred’s hands away from your waist, as he guided you off to the Hall. He was so distracted by firstly how stunning you looked, and secondly by how forward his brother was being, that he barely even noticed when Kiara had arrived by his side, until she nudged him a little and he forced out a smile.

He complimented the brunette girl, guiding her into the Hall as his hand reached into his pocket, brushing over a box to make sure it was still there.

Fred had been the perfect date all evening. He was a gentlemen - besides the occasional flirty comment - and insisted on staying by your side and dancing, even when you tried to usher him to ask Angelina to dance.

He was just about to give into your insistence with a laugh, when he noticed your expression changed as your attention was taken from him to whatever was going on behind him.

He cursed under his breath as he watched George hold out a small black box to Kiara, who had a huge smile on her face as she took the lid off. She pulled out a necklace, bringing George into a hug immediately, pressing kisses to his face.

Fred stood in front of your view of them, taking your hands in his, “Y/n... I’m sorry. He’s an idiot- he doesn’t know he’s got such a good thing, and wouldn’t know it if you punched him in the face - which, for the record, I think you should do.”

You wiped a stray tear from your eye, forcing yourself not to cry, “He gave her the necklace.”

“I know. I know, but he-“

“No Fred,” you interrupted gently, “He gave her the necklace. That necklace is one I saw when we were in Hogsmeade, and I said I wanted it. He-He even said he’d buy it for me one day! Not that I’d let him but- He bought it for her.”

Fred’s gaze softened, his heart breaking at the sight of your sad face, wrapping his arms around you and swaying a little to the music absent-mindedly.

“I’m sorry,” Fred whispered in your ear. You nodded, leaning against his shoulder, “Not your fault your brother is stupid.”

The song that was playing ended, and Fred grabbed your hand, leading you over to the table where the food and drinks were, pouring you a glass and offering it out to you. You took it gratefully, thanking him before taking a sip.

“Didn’t know you two were that close,” a voice came from behind you. A voice you knew well, one you could pick out anywhere. Fred reached out to squeeze your hand reassuringly, as you placed your glass down, nodding at him before turning around.

“Fred and I have always been good friends. I do have friends, other than you, you know. Which is a good job, considering you’ve been so distant with me,” you replied, focusing on keeping your voice level, rather than on the fact that he’d just given your necklace to his girlfriend.

George felt himself get angry as he noticed yours and Fred’s intertwined hands, swallowing harshly and shoving his hands into his trouser pockets.

“You know I’ve been trying to impress Kiara, being in a relationship takes up time. Not that you’d know, but I thought you’d understand. Didn’t think you’d replace me that quickly,” George retaliated in the midst of his anger, only being able to focus on you and Fred, and how close you were.

“Replaced you?” You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest, “You barely even say hello to me! So yes, I turned to a friend so I wasn’t alone. You’re the one who replaced me! And you gave her the necklace, George. The necklace you knew I wanted. You gave it to her.”

Not waiting for a response, you shot an apologetic glance towards Fred before rushing out of the Hall, suddenly needing some fresh air.

“Look what you did now!” Fred almost growled, before storming out after you, in an attempt to find you.

George took a shaky breath, cursing as he watched the two most important people to him leave.

“George?” A soft voice spoke from beside him.

“Kiara?”

The brunette girl smiled, pressing her lips together as she looked at the ginger, “I um... I think we should break up.”

George frowned, though he was surprised to find he didn’t feel too badly about what she’d said.

The girl held out a black box and placed it into George’s hands, “This should be hers. It’s more her style than mine, I think you know that too.”

The redhead hesitated, unsure of what to say in this situation, “Look, Kiara, I’m sorry-“

“She likes you,” Kiara interrupted him, grinning despite the situation.

“She doesn’t-“

“She does. And you like her. Now go find her.”

With one last hug, and another muttered apology, he nodded determinedly at her, and ran off in the direction of his brother and, he realised now, the girl he truly loved.

***

“Y/n! Wait up!”

You span round on your heels, wiping away a stray tear that had fallen, “I said I’m fine, Fred! Okay? I’m fine. Absolutely fabulous, in fact.”

Fred stopped in front of you, a shimmer of pity in his brown eyes that made you feel even worse than you already did, “I just want to make sure you’re okay. I-I’m sorry-“

“It’s okay, I promise. It was always bound to happen right? I was always destined to fall for him, whilst he fell for her. Even if you hadn’t said anything, I would’ve realised. I’m- I’m so stupid, aren’t I? Falling for my best friend,” you let out a broken sob.

“You’re not stupid.”

Your breath hitched in your throat and you swallowed back another sob as you turned around slowly, your eyes catching George’s gaze.

He stood, hair messy as if he’d raked his hands through it a few too many times, tie askew and shirt almost untucked in his haste to run and find you. He felt his heart clench, knowing he was the one to make you feel like this, and stepped forward reaching a hand out towards you as you blinked back tears, allowing him to bring you into his arms as you finally let the tears fall.

You knew you shouldn’t, that you should leave to your dorm, but being in George’s arms had always made you feel safe, made you feel protected.

More tears fell as he whispered sweet nothings into your ear, muttering over and over again how sorry he was. How he was a fool, a git, a complete idiot.

You finally calmed down a little, looking around the empty hallway, not being sure exactly when Fred had disappeared but thankful for the privacy.

You wiped away the last of your tears, cursing mentally as you realise your makeup would be a mess - if the state of George’s shirt was anything to go by.

“Kiara told me you like- I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” he breathed out, a hand cupping your cheek as you blinked up at him.

“Yeah well, you’re stupid. I always knew you were stupid,” you replied with a sad laugh.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked with a frown, his hands moving to hold your waist.

“You never asked. And then you-you got a girlfriend. What was I supposed to do?” You asked quietly.

“I’m in love with you,” George said suddenly, earnestly, genuinely as he held you against him.

“Not Kiara?”

He shook his head quickly, “She knew I liked you before I knew I liked you. Maybe I am stupid.”

“Maybe you are,” you let out a watery laugh, looking away from his gaze.

George suddenly reached into his pocket and brought out a familiar box, “This is yours. I don’t know what I was thinking, giving it to her. It’s yours - it’s always been yours.”

He opened the box, taking out the necklace you loved so much, and offering you a sheepish smile, “It’s not a good enough apology, I know. But I’m hoping it’s a start.”

He gently turned you around, placing the necklace around your neck, you shivering at the feel of his fingers brushing against your skin, before turning you back around to face him, this time much closer than before, his forehead resting against yours.

“So, and correct me if I’m wrong,” he spoke as he leant forward a little more, his lips almost touching yours, “Does this mean that I like you and you like me and we both don’t think of each other as friends?”

You nodded a little, offering him a soft smile, “I don’t want to be friends, George,” you whispered just as his lips brushed your own, “I wanna be yours.”

#george weasley x reader #george weasley imagine #george weasley imagines #george weasley

2K notes · View notes

talesofstyles · 4 years ago

Text

Stitches and Pucks

i swear i tried writing the whole fic from the 3rd and 2nd pov in the beginning but hockey harry is so dang loud he’s like hang on honey this is MY story so let me tell this one ☠️ so here we are. i had loads of fun getting inside his head though, i hope you like it!

massive thank you to my biggest cheerleader @smokeinherperfume 🥺💛 and ken i’m so sorry for making you read an LA Kings fic 😂 @emotionally-imbruised

warning: smut. there’s no actual bow chicka wow wow stuff though but there’s some thigh riding 👀

[17k]

Harry

I swear I’m gonna kill Zayn.

That fucker just slammed my face into the boards, and as I’m trying to push back while flexing my jaw because that’s the right thing to do when you’ve got your face smashed into the boards, he tries to push me back again. Well, not a fucking chance. I give a particularly hard push back to get him off my back and I’m able to free my stick from the boards and put the blade to ice.

Because we’re playing on home ice here at Staples Center and I know its speed and consistency like the back of my hand, it takes nothing but a short tap on the puck and it shoots back between both of our legs. We scrabble, throwing elbows and shoulders and even kicking at it with our skates to expel it out. It’s a hard-fought battle, probably not lasting more than a few seconds, but it’s starting to wind me up because fuck if I’m gonna let them score. We’re up 4-2 against The Sharks, and with only under six minutes left to play in the game, I’d like to keep it that way.

I really don’t see it coming. And as much as we hate each other’s guts, it probably wasn’t even intentional, but it still hurts like a mother when Zayn’s stick pops upward, the end catching me just above my left eyebrow. I don’t feel any pain at first, but red, blurred vision definitely lets me know I’ve got blood streaming down my face. The ref blows the whistle and the play stops as the penalty is called.

The pain hits me next, and I bend over at the waist, my clear eye watching as a stream of blood hits the ice and freezes. In just about a few seconds, I feel a towel covering the cut and I hear the new team doctor say, “alright… let’s get you off the ice.”

Her hand stays steady at my back as I lift up straight, taking the towel in my own hand to hold it in place. The doctor walks alongside me while I skate to the bench, which has an exit door on one end that will lead back to the locker room. A few of my teammates slap me on the shoulder as I walk past. Harvey, who plays the same position as me but on the second-line yells out, “get stitched up so you can come back out and kick his pansy ass.”

I can’t help but chuckle, because that’s exactly what I plan to do.

“Up on the table,” the doctor says briskly and I watch with my one good eye as she quickly starts preparing the necessary supplies. I hop up onto the table, and in just under four minutes, my very own Doctor McSteamy has my injury evaluated, lidocaine injected, and is now closing the cut with stitches.

Good grief, she’s a fucking vision. Has a slammin’ body too, which no doubt would feel fucking fantastic underneath me. She probably doesn’t even realise it, but she’s got her little tongue sticking out the side of her mouth and I bet that’s something she does when she’s trying to concentrate on what she’s doing. I can feel my dick starting to twitch, so I close my eyes and get my mind out of the gutter before I get a hard-on. Fucking embarrassing.

When I’m sure I’ve got my downstairs head situation under control, I open my eyes again. She’s placing what I’m guessing the last suture on the cut and I make sure I put on my most dazzling smile as I look at her because I can be devastatingly charming when I want to be.

“Hey Doc,” I lean a bit closer to her when she’s done and murmur, “you should let me cook you dinner at my place tonight. You know, as a thank you.”

“No, thank you,” she replies without even looking towards me, preferring to busy herself with putting away the supplies that she used to tend to my cut. “I was just doing my job.”

“Alright then, no dinner at my place tonight,” I say with a sly smile. “But how about giving me your number so I can take you out sometime?”

She snorts in reply. “I’m not one of your puck bunnies.”

“No, you’re not,” I smirk at her. My tone is matter-of-fact when I add, “you’re one hot doctor.”

Not sure what I’m expecting, but this is definitely not it. Most women would blush and drop their knickers in an instant when I give them the tiniest bit of my attention, let alone a compliment, and let’s just say that’s why my bed is rarely empty. But it seems like my charms don’t work on this doctor since all I get is a fucking eye-roll.

“Are you always this forward?” She asks, still not looking at me.

“I’m a simple man, Doc,” I tell her with a shrug. “I see something I like, I go and get it.”

“Good for you,” she says dismissively, but I don’t miss the hint of amusement in her tone.

“Does that mean I get your number?”

She lets out a chuckle and finally turns to look at me. “That means I like your way of thinking.”

“So, no number?” I pout like a damn child, and apparently, the sight is hilarious to her. She throws her head back and laughs, and when she looks back to me, I get a wink.

“Sorry sunshine,” she smirks at me and I can’t help but ogle at her lips.

Perfect fucking lips.

“I don’t shit where I eat,” she adds.

Now, this is funny, so this time I’m the one tipping my head back laughing before I bring my gaze back to her. “You know our General Manager, Sloane Knightley?”

“Of course,” she replies, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“She’s with Alex, right-winger,” I tell her with a grin. “Now, Brynne Adams, have you met her yet?”

“The Athletic Trainer?”

“That’s the one, and she’s dating Matt, left-winger.”

“What?” Her jaw drops and it’s the cutest fucking sight. I’ve always thought of myself as a tits-man, but apparently now I’m a jaws-man too.

“Oh I’m not done yet,” I smirk at her. “Sarah Jones, Head of Equipment Manager, do you know her?”

She nods. “I’ve met her twice.”

“She’s with Mitch, right defenseman. Now, you probably haven’t met this one yet, but our goalie, Adam, is the only one married between us first-line players. His wife, Rachel, is the head of our in-house legal team. So look around Doc, everyone’s bloody shitting and eating around here,” I finish with a grin.

“Yeah, that doesn’t change a thing,” she insists. “That won’t be me.”

I give her one last glance as I hop off the table before I walk towards the door, pretty sure my eyes glitter with mischief as I say, “yeah, we’ll see, sunshine.”

—

The Owner’s Box is a local sports bar in El Segundo. Located only a stone’s throw away from the team’s practice facility at Toyota Sports Center, it has become the go-to hangout for a lot of the players ever since the facility opened in 2000. I like this place because it carries 140 types of beer and I like beer, and honestly the food is great as well.

As much as we like to mix and mingle with the fans, which is super fucking cool in my opinion, the manager always ropes off an area on the second floor for the players so we can drink and chill out without fans swamping us. Usually when we arrive, we’ll hang around the first-floor bar area for a bit to give the fans an opportunity to take pictures and ask for autographs before we head upstairs.

It’s always crowded after the game because everyone knows they can find us here, but it always gets extra busy whenever we win. Tonight, there’s an actual line of people waiting to get inside.

I nod at a bouncer and enter, and it takes me a good half an hour to make it to the second floor where I find several of my teammates sitting at some of the tables or standing around talking.

Winding around tables, teammates, and hot women since several puck bunnies have been allowed to go up the second floor and are doing their best to get noticed by the players wearing outfits that fit them like a second skin, I make my way over to Alex and Matt who are already sitting at one of the tables nursing their beers. Those two are my best friends since we’re linemates, but normally I’d go stand over with the single guys and start my selection process for whatever woman who’d warm my bed for the night.

Not tonight though. Never thought this day would come but I’m not here for a hookup tonight.

Alex gives me a knowing grin as I sit down since I told him in the locker room after the game about my exchange with the hot doctor earlier when she tended to my cut and how she turned me down. Well, he and several other of my teammates since there were a few there in the locker room with us and they had ears to listen. I’m pretty sure I could even hear Mitch chuckle, which is honestly one of the world’s seven wonders since the guy barely talks let alone laughs.

“How’s that cut feeling?” Matt asks as I take a seat in front of him.

“Feels like a butterfly kissed me there,” I tell him, which gets a deep belly laugh from both him and Alex. We hockey players would never admit to being hurt in a fight. Ever.

The voices in the second floor immediately go silent and I see all eyes swing towards the stairs, and when I look there I see our General Manager walks in alongside Coach Higgins, followed by some staff of the team. Cheers start ringing as she walks towards our table, no doubt to sit next to her man, and then I hear a low chant, “Sloane! Sloane! Sloane! Sloane!”

Matt and I do the same since not only Sloane is more of a close friend rather than a boss who signs our paycheck once she steps outside of the GM office, but as the only female GM in the league, she managed to turn our team into champions. We won the Stanley Cup last season and no doubt she’s going to push us to victory again this season. Alex has a shit-eating grin plastered across his face as his gaze focuses on his girl, looking so damn proud of her. Man, my best friend is fucking whipped.

Sloane blushes, slides a grin to Alex, and when the sound dissipates and the guys all start sitting back down, she says, “shut up you big jerks, do you want me to cry?”

We all bark in laughter.

I stand up to give her access to the booth so she can sit between Alex and I, and Alex immediately wraps his arm around her shoulders when she’s within his reach to pull her closer to him and proceeds to give her a searing kiss. I whip my head at Matt and we both make a fake gagging noise.

“God, I think I’m going to be sick,” Matt says and Alex flips him off, still giving his woman a hell of a kiss and without even looking at us.

“I know, right? Not used to you being so fucking mushy mate,” I add. “Gives me the willies.”

Sloane laughs as she breaks the kiss. She leans over and playfully punches me in the arm. “You’ll have a good woman one day, Harry.”

“Yeah,” I drawl, then I give a faux shudder to make sure they understand I like being single. “No thanks.”

“You sure?” Matt cocks an eyebrow, but before I can reply, something behind me catches his attention. “Ooh, isn’t that the new doctor?”

I whip around so fast I fucking knock a bottle of ketchup off the table and it goes flying across the floor. Matt is laughing so damn hard he almost falls off from the booth, Alex is leaning over as he laughs, pressing one palm down on the sofa with the other to his ribs as if they hurt from laughing and Sloane is dabbing at her eyes as she laughs hysterically.

But yes, holy shit, that’s the doctor stepping off the stairs and onto the second floor with Brynne and Sarah. Now, I know Brynne will most definitely walk towards our table since Matt is here, but Sarah will most definitely walk towards the bar where Mitch is talking with some other guys.

Come here. Come here. Come here.

Fuck, she goes with Sarah to the bar.

“Oh no,” Alex says low and in warning. “I know that look.”

I don’t bother to give him my attention, keeping my eyes pinned on my girl. But I do ask him, “what look?”

“Your gaze just became predatory,” he says with a laugh.

“God, you have it bad for her,” Sloane teases but I ignore her as I stand up. Brynne gives me a wink when I walk past her and now I have a suspicion that my teammates blabbed to their women about what happened earlier tonight and now they’re trying to set me and the hot doctor up. Otherwise, why would she even be here? Fucking crazy, I know, but they’re all nuts.

“Go get her, tiger!” Matt quips as I walk towards the bar without looking back at their table.

The doctor has ditched the white lab coat that she wore earlier tonight at the arena, and I’m glad she has her back to me since I don’t make a secret of my ogling. My eyes are pinned to her ass in those skinny jeans and fucks sake I need to get a grip.

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine,” I say with a smile as I stand next to her, trying to get her attention. That was lame, I know, and I feel like I want to punch myself for not being cool.

She laughs and fuck if that’s not the best sound in the world. It’s warm, rich, and husky, which warms my blood and speaks to my dick for some reason. Not sure if she’s laughing because she genuinely thinks I’m funny or is that just a pity laugh, but honestly I could listen to her laughing all day. Wouldn’t be opposed to hearing her moan one day, preferably with her underneath me, but if her laugh is all I can get at this moment then I’ll take it.

“Can I get you a drink?” I ask her and I mentally prepare myself for her to decline since she turned me down earlier in the arena, so it totally takes me by surprise when she only shrugs and says, “eh, why not.”

I’m sure my smile is ten times wider and she sees it. “What’s your poison?”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

“What if I want the hard stuff?” I raise a single brow. “Sure you want that?”

“What?” She smirks at me and my inner caveman is screaming for me at the sight to just throw her over my shoulder and take her home right this instant. But obviously I won’t do that, since I’m pretty sure that’s called kidnapping and I know I won’t look good in prison stripes. “You don’t think I can take it?”

“Oh honey, I know you can take it,” I laugh as I lift my finger to the bartender. “I’m only wondering how you’ll handle it.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to wait and see.”

—

It’s three hours and many beers later, well for her anyway since I limit myself at two because I’m driving, and we’re stumbling out of the bar, laughing our asses off.

She’s telling me about the funniest thing that happened at the hospital a few months ago. At the beginning they thought they had a domestic situation because the couple came separately; one via ambulance and one via police car. But when they finally got the whole story, it turned out to be an anniversary celebration gone wrong since the wife had a seizure when she was going down on her husband and bit down on him.

“Are you joking?!” I stare at her, mouth gaping in astonishment before I burst out laughing hysterically.

She shakes her head and laughs with me. “I wish.”

“Did you manage to save his manhood?” I ask with a half-grin and half grimace.

“My colleague did,” she replies. “I was busy with the wife, she had rather extensive head trauma.”

“From the seizure?”

“Well, in panic and pain, her husband didn’t think much and just grabbed the closest thing he could find to try to get her to loosen her bite, which sadly was an old rotary style telephone and hit her in the head with it. She was okay in the end, though.”

“That’s one hell of an anniversary to remember for sure,” I chuckle, and the giggle she emits pretty much confirms she’s bladdered. Well, not the kind of drunk where she wouldn’t remember tonight I’m sure, but I bet she’ll wake up with a massive headache.

“I sure hope you’re not driving,” I say as I steady her by the elbow when she wobbles as we step down the stairs.

“Sarah, Brynne and I took an Uber here from the arena earlier,” she mutters as she pulls out her phone from her handbag.

“Let me drive you home,” I quickly say before she gets the chance to order a ride. Not sure why I did that because I certainly have never offered women a ride home without the promise of getting in their knickers, and I can assure you that I won’t be getting anywhere near hers tonight, but maybe I just don’t want this night to end yet.

We’ve been glued at the hip from the moment I bought her first drink, and three hours purely just talking with the same woman? That’s a record in my book. While I’m not ashamed to admit that I also like looking at her, honestly, to me that’s just an added bonus. I think it’s safe to say that I have never met anyone like her before. Granted, with most women usually there wasn’t much talking, but from what I learnt in just the span of three hours is that this doctor of mine is a hell of a lot of fun.

I swear she’s just a pure fucking joy to be around. Conversation with her is like a never-ending merry-go-round and she makes me laugh a lot. She’s bright and witty and she’s one of those people that knows no strangers. She can easily talk about anything from politics to sports even to crude jokes, and add on to that, she’s just so kind and inclusive that several times tonight I actually had to drag her away to one of the back tables so we could have a proper chat without the crowd around us.

“You don’t have to,” she gives me a hesitantly sweet smile.

“But I want to,” I gallantly insist as I turn and offer my arm to her. “Come on, I just want to make sure you get home safe.”

“Well, alright then,” she smirks, her hand easily slides into the crook of my elbow. “I could save a few bucks.”

I roll my eyes and tease her, “didn’t take you to be such a skinflint.”

“Hey!” She playfully slaps my arm with her other hand as she laughs and I’m glad I amuse her.

No, seriously... I like her laugh.

There’s no doubt that she wants me, just as there’s no doubt that I totally want her. We’ve got this really heavy flirting going on all night, and plenty of innuendo, but I won’t be surprised nor disappointed if she doesn’t invite me inside when we get to her home and nothing happens tonight.

We’ll get there, I’m sure.

Until then, I’m completely fine drinking beer, being her personal chauffeur, and getting to know her a little better.

—

We always finish team practice with battle drills. From the end zone face-off spot to either the left or right of the goalie, we pair up and battle for a goal. One on offense, the other on defense, we shoulder, bump, and juke our way across the short distance to the net. It’s a four to five second drill that will make us sweat, and then it’s over. We skate to the end of the line, where we wait to do it again.

“Saw you left with the new doctor last night,” says Matt, my battle partner today, with a shit-eating grin as he taps his stick against my leg. “How was she?”

I ignore his question not only because I don’t have the answer that he’s looking for because nothing really happened after I dropped her in front of her house, but also because this feels different. She is different. Had it been just another one night stand, I wouldn’t think twice before I blab all about the dirty details with my teammates. Great lays, lousy lays, I honestly have no filter and I tell them all.

But this is YN, and fuck if I know why and what this really means. All I know for sure is that I want more than to just tap that. The thing is, my teammates will probably not understand because they can’t really see past the fact that the new doctor is a gorgeous woman who I’ve been lusting after for about a week.

“Dude,” Matt says to get a reaction from me, smacking me a little bit harder with his stick. “How many times did you score her last night?”

“Don’t talk about her like that,” I growl.

“Whoa, dude,” he apologises and I swear his grin gets even wider. “Sorry. I guess you’re serious about her?”

“Serious about what?” Alex pipes up from in front of us. He’s paired with Adam, our goalie. There are four pairs of skaters in front of Matt and me, but there’s an equal number on the other side. We’re alternating.

“None of your fucking business,” I mutter, willing the line we’re in to go faster so I can escape from my nosy teammates and head to the doctor’s office.

Alex and Adam take off, Alex with the puck. They ram their shoulders into each other, legs braced and skates digging hard all the way to the net.

“Did you at least kiss her?” Matt nudges me with a sly grin, still trying. Man, he’s not a quitter.

“No,” I answer shortly, hoping that will satisfy him. “Just dropped her at her house and left after I made sure she got inside safely.”

“No. Fucking. Way,” he quips dramatically. “Who are you and what have you done to my teammate?”

Play continues, the next set of skaters in our line taking off and I ignore Matt but apparently he’s not done poking his nose in my business. “Oh, we’re not done yet buddy. Let’s go out tonight so we can squeeze some more gos out of you. Just you, Alex and I, how does that sound? Brynne said the girls are going to have a girls night out so I know he’ll be game.”

The girls means my teammates’ better halves, and honestly, hanging out with just my bros does sound good. Don’t get me wrong, those girls are cool—yes, my boss, Sloane, included—and they’re fun to hang out with. My teammates sure hit the jackpots with their women. But before Sloane and Brynne came along, the three of us were thick as thieves. There was a time where we went out almost every night and that’s why we’re more like brothers than teammates. Sometimes I miss that since we don’t get the chance to do it as often now that they act like old married couples, so yes, this does sound nice.

However, as tempting as it sounds, I want to hang out with my hot doctor more than my mates. That is if she’ll have me though.

“I can’t,” I say, clearing my throat. I lean in towards him and whisper, “I want to take YN out to dinner tonight.”

“Seriously,” he drawls dramatically. “Who are you and what have you done to my best friend?”

Again, I ignore his comment.

“Alright, I guess that’s a definite no to dinner with me and Alex then, huh?” Matt says in an exaggeratedly glum tone.

“The doctor is way prettier than you,” I reply blandly.

“Fine, go on your date,” he says with a slap on my back. “But I want to book some time with my best friend in the near future if it’s not too much trouble.”

“We’re going on a four day road trip in two weeks,” I mutter as I roll my eyes at him. “I’ll snuggle you then.”

Matt sidles up to me, lays his head on my shoulder, and bats his eyelashes. “Oooh, I can’t wait.”

I shove him off with a chuckle. That bastard.

—

“Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope,” I say after two knocks on her office door. I can hear her chuckle as she tells me to come in.

God, I have turned into such a dork. But I like hearing her laugh and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to hear that sound again and again.

“Hey,” she smiles at me as she looks up from her computer. “What’s wrong?”

“Knee’s a little sore,” I tell her, not feeling the slightest bit of guilt for my lie just so I can have a few moments to talk to her. “Thought you could take a look at it.”

Her brows draw inward with concern and she motions towards a table. “Did something happen?”

“Nah,” I shake my head as I hop onto the table with my legs hanging over the edge and kick off my slides. “Just came off the ice and noticed it.”

“Alright, go ahead and lie back,” she says as she turns to the sink and washes her hands. “I’m going to do some range-of-motion tests.”

I stay silent as she maneuvers my leg, trying not to focus too much on the feel of her soft hands against me or the smell of her perfume. Fuck, she smells good. Fruity and flowery. Like berries and the heart of rose and bitter wormwood, and the scent is fucking delicious.

“Do you feel any pain when I do this?” She asks with one hand on my calf, the other on my thigh as she rotates my knee.

“Not really,” I shake my head. What happens here today will go in my chart and I don’t want to call any attention to my knee.

“How about this?” She asks, rotating the opposite way.

I shake my head again. “Nope.”

The hand on my calf slides down, grasping the bottom of my foot firmly. With the other hand still holding onto my thigh, she pushes hard into my foot. “This cause any pain?”

“Nope,” I say quickly, and then add, “I think it’s nothing more than my muscles getting back in shape. But I figure some ice can’t hurt, right?”

She slowly lowers my leg and gives me a sweet smile. “Well, I don’t think anything’s loose or torn, but if you’re worried about it, I can schedule an appointment with Dr Green.”

She is the team’s orthopaedic surgeon, and hell I’m not about to do that. Talk about an unnecessary red flag. “I think it’s just a lack of conditioning. Got lazy this summer.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I nod firmly. “I just need some ice and I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Well, alright then,” she says as she turns back to wash her hands again at the sink. “I’ll let Brynne know and have her prepare you an ice bath.”

“Oh hell no,” I quickly shake my head and grimace. “That bloody thing is pure torture and my balls will go into hibernation until next summer. Just an ice pack will do, Doc.”

She laughs again. “Okay, just an ice pack. I’ll be right back.”

She turns and heads through the door to the treatment room and I take a moment to admire her gracefulness as she moves. She looks delectable today in her scrubs, which are the typical light blue you see in the hospitals, and they hang on her tiny frame loosely. I’d actually never seen her in them before since she usually just wears normal clothes underneath her white lab coat in the arena, but I swear this might possibly be the sexiest outfit I’ve ever seen her in. I’m sure that has to do with the fact that I respect her so much as a doctor that it just heightens my attraction to her, and I can’t help but wonder if she’ll play dress-up games with me in the bedroom when the time comes. Because, well… I certainly wouldn’t mind getting a thorough exam from her.

“Here you go,” she says when she comes back. “Scoot back on the table and stretch your leg out. Keep this on for twenty minutes, then you can go.”

She places a towel over my knee, then lays the bag of ice on top.

“Thanks, Doc,” I tell her.

“Just doing my job,” she quips, and then walks back over to the box of supplies she had been unloading.

“Well, you’re very good at it,” I add and I can hear her chuckle. But I got nothing in response, so I add, “speaking about good things… I had a good time last night.”

“Did you?” She quips, still not looking at me but I can hear from her tone that she’s smiling.

“Well, yeah,” I say with a confident nod. “Didn’t you?”

“Eh, it was alright,” she smirks at me over her shoulder as she walks towards her desk.

“I want to do that again,” I tell her nonchalantly before I ask with a lopsided grin that I hope she finds charming, “will you let me take you to dinner tonight?”

“I can’t,” she shakes her head as she turns to look at me.

“Why? Got a hot date already?”

“Nah,” she chuckles. “Sarah invited me to a girls night at her place. I wasn’t gonna go because they seem like a tight-knit group and I don’t want to intrude, but Sloane came by here earlier to ask me again and she’s bribing me with tacos and margaritas, and well… I can’t say no to both.”

“Fair enough,” I laugh. “But have fun then. They’re all really nice, you’ll fit right in.”

“Thanks,” she gives me an easy smile, and I hope it’s subtle enough that she doesn’t realise this, but my breath actually hitch a little while I stare at her lips.

“How about tomorrow night then?”

“Well-” she begins, but she’s cut short when she hears her pager beeping. “Oh shit, I need to go back to the hospital. You think you’re okay there? Go to Brynne if you need something else.”

“Okay, don’t worry,” I tell her with an encouraging smile. “You go and save some lives, Doc.”

—

The arena is packed, the fans are at a fever pitch, and we’re in the midst of a fierce battle with the Anaheim Ducks. We’d taken them on in the first round of the playoffs last season, and while we swept them, they’re still a formidable opponent. Not to mention there’s a long-standing rivalry between the two teams, and add on to that, we’re in the regular season now so every win counts. The pressure is on.

As a center, I’m a shooter, not a fighter. That means I’m relied on to score, not to play defense or get tough with other players. My body is too valuable to mess it up in a slugfest, so I’m rarely enticed into a fight. Sometimes it takes everything in me to keep my cool, but I know I’ve got to trust Mitch and Marcel, our defensemen.

Just like right now. We’re late in the second period tonight, and one of the Ducks players, Jeff Azoff, is being a dick. He cross-checked me in the back, not strong enough to slam me into the boards, but it was enough to alert Mitch who’s skating right behind us.

“Do that again and I’m going to kick your ass,” I hear Mitch tell him. That guy doesn’t really talk, but he wouldn’t think twice before beating the hell out of someone if they mess with our team. He takes his job as a defenseman seriously. When he’s on the ice, nobody dares to touch his guys.

The fucker did it again, still not forceful enough for a penalty to be called, but Mitch was quick to drop his gloves and took on that Azoff guy. He kicked his ass good.

Man, I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. Mitch is a badass. Unfortunately though, the fucker did land a lucky hit to his temple and his skin split just to the side of his eyebrow. Knowing Mitch, that will be nothing but a ten-minute trip to the treatment room where YN will stitch him up. I’m sure as hell he wouldn’t let her give him anaesthetic so he can get back on the ice as soon as possible. As I watch him skate towards the exit, I make a mental note in my head to buy him a beer tonight as a thank you.

The play resumed, and there are about forty seconds left on the clock before intermission. The Ducks are down 3-0, and they pull their goalie once they gain possession of the puck since they have nothing to lose. Luckily our stamina is stellar, so our legs are still fresh as we defend.

They pass the puck back and forth, looking for the long shot or a quick dump inside for a goal. My back is to Adam, our goalie, as I keep myself facing the action, letting my stick play loose.

The crowd’s screams escalate in tune to the clock ticking closer to zero. With a sharp flick of the wrist, the puck makes it past Alex, our right-winger, to the inside. Players crash the net, Marcel poke checks, and the biscuit shoots out towards me.

It’s a full-on breakaway as I shoot down the ice, one on one against the goalie.

Tap, tap, tap… back and forth… puck to blade of stick.

I close in on the goalie and juke left.

He goes left and I juke right.

He keeps going left, so I keep going right and flip the puck up and over his shoulder into the back of the net. The red light burns bright behind the net and the fans go wild. That was my third goal tonight, and it’s the perfect timing for intermission since there’s no way we can play with all the hats being thrown onto the ice.

It takes merely a second before I’ve got my teammates surrounding me. Alex, Matt, Marcel, Adam and Niall, one of the defensemen from the second line who’s filling in for Mitch. Pats of their gloved hands on my helmet, stick blades gently against my calves.

We skate to the gate that would lead us to our locker room. We all trudge there, taking up spots around the open space as we wait for Coach Higgins to address us. It’s what he does at the end of every period. If we play poorly, we get our asses handed to us. If we play stellar though, like tonight, he’d be effusive in his praise.

But as much as I’d love to hear nice things from the Coach, there’s nobody I want to see more than my very own Doctor McSteamy. And yes, just to put it out here since I’ve been calling the hot doctor by that nickname, I’ve got to admit that I did watch too much Grey’s Anatomy in the summer because there’s not much I could do during the off-season. My sister didn’t let me watch past season 10 though, because she said it’s not worth it.

“Need to get my knee taped,” I tell Alex on my right as I stand up. We have 17 minutes before we start the third period and I figure that should be enough time to see the Doctor and secure a date in the near future. “I’ll be right back.”

“Bullshit,” he grins and there’s a clear amusement in his eyes. “You want to see your girlfriend.”

“Shut up,” I growl.

“What’s this?” Matt asks curiously as he takes a seat next to Alex.

“Our buddy here wants to see his girlfriend,” Alex’s grin doesn’t lessen as he tilts his head at me. “Needs to get his knee taped, he said.”

“Conjugal visit in-between periods? Classy,” Matt says with a salacious grin and I glare at him. When his laughter dies down, he points out, “okay, jokes aside, that’s a shit excuse. If you really need your knee taped, you’d see Brynne and not YN.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got nothing else here,” I grumble like a stroppy child. “Can’t hit my own head just to get a cut, can I?”

“That would be outright dumb,” Alex laughs. “But come on, I’ll go to Brynne and make up something so at least you can tell the doctor that she’s busy.”

The treatment room is just down the hall from the locker, and when I get there, I notice the door is half open. I see her sitting on the little desk with her computer, so I knock lightly on the door to get her attention.

“Hey, you got a minute?” Her head swings up when she hears my voice and it takes everything in me not to just march there and kiss the fuck out of her when she offers me the sweetest smile. Crazy how much effect this woman has on me. “I need my knee taped but Brynne’s busy.”

“Sure, I was just reading the players’ medical chart,” she replies. “You were on fire out there by the way.”

“Thanks, Doc,” I smile at her.

“Skates, socks, shin pads and pants off,” she says as she walks towards the supply cabinet.

“Jock strap too?” I can’t help but smirk.

“No,” she rolls her eyes playfully as she grabs a towel and hands it to me. “Put this over your lap.”

“Do I have to?”

“Well, yeah, unless you want me to get a peek of your dick.”

“You know I wouldn’t be averse to that, Doc,” I say with a waggle of my eyebrows.

She gives me a school teacher, disapproving-type look but the slight twitch of amusement in the corner of her mouth is hard to miss. “You’re so bad.”

“You have no idea,” I grin, but she doesn’t see it because she has her back to me. She’s pulling another cabinet open to get adhesive, gauze and tape before knocking it close with her shoulder.

This is ridiculous but I’m actually a bit self-conscious of getting practically half naked in front of the hot doctor. I have absolutely no clue why and this had certainly never happened before.

I shed my gear from the waist down and she keeps her back to me until I get on the therapy table and the towel is covering my lap. She lays out her supplies on the table beside us, her slender fingers using a pair of scissors to open a new package of tape.

I take a moment to admire her as she cuts off uniform lengths of tape and attaches them to the table. She’s not in the scrubs I saw her in last week, but if you think I’d be disappointed, even just slightly, then you’d be wrong because you could put her in a burlap sack and to me she would still absolutely look edible.

Tonight, she’s rocking a mustard-yellow trouser suit with wide legs and a cross-over pleated blouse underneath her white lab coat. The crisscross swath of silk that wraps around her upper body does lovely things to her tits, and I realise I’m quite the pig to be thinking about her this way.

“Left knee?” She asks. “I’ve just finished reading your medical chart when you came in. Arthroscopic medical meniscus repair two years ago.”

“Yeah,” I nod. “Sometimes it feels a little loose. A good taping is all it needs.”

“Any soreness?” She asks as she steps up in between my legs that dangle over the table.

I shake my head and say, “nope.”

“Clicking or popping?”

“Nope.”

“Locking?” She inquires as she lifts her face up to mine.

She’s fucking close enough I can smell her minty breath. I could easily kiss her, but I’d probably get kneed in the nuts, so I just shake my head and say, “nah, just feels a little loose.”

“Okay,” she says, laying a soft pat on my thigh. It’s nothing but a move of reassurance, but fuck if I don’t feel it all the way through my gut.

She grabs her supplies and I can’t keep my eyes off her as she gets to work taping my knee. It takes merely a few minutes, and then she finishes the wrap, holding the end while taping it with the precut pieces. “There you go,” she says, stepping back.

“I’ve got something to confess. My knee was absolutely fine,” I blurt out, the words popping out of my mouth so suddenly, I’ve got no clue where they came from. Clearly my subconscious decided to overtake my sensibility and make itself known. “I came here because I wanted to see you. Thought I’d try to get your phone number and a date one last time before I give up.”

She gives a tinkling laugh. “You’re not a quitter, are you?”

“Well, no,” I reply with a grin. “So, tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up at seven. How does that sound?”

“Listen,” she smiles at me sweetly as she begins, but I don’t like the sound of it. Nothing good ever comes after ‘listen’. “You’re a nice guy-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I cut her as I hold my hands up. “Don’t go with the ‘nice guy’ brush off. Clearly I’m not if you won’t give me the time of day.”

“I just don’t think we’re looking for the same thing-”

“What?” I ask incredulously.

“Look, please don’t take this the wrong way, but you seem more like the bang ‘em and leave ‘em type to me.”

“Is that really how people see me?” I ask her curiously, without an ounce of defense in my voice because there’s no point in denying that. I really don’t care what people think, but I’d like to hear her opinion.

“You’re a player, Harry,” she says with a chuckle. “And there’s nothing wrong with that. You’re young and in your prime. You should totally be sowing all your wild oats. It’s just… I’m at the point in my life where I realise that meaningless sex without something deeper isn’t very fulfilling. I don’t want that anymore.”

I feel a metaphorical light bulb goes off in my head.

I know she doesn’t mean to, but fuck, she hits me right where it hurts. She’s called that exactly right. This is something that I’ve actually realised and known for a while, especially after seeing my best mates being the happiest they’ve ever been after they found their women. There’s not an ounce of regret in what I did though, because just like my girl right here said, there’s nothing wrong with that. There was a time when burning my way through all the hot women in LA and having them take turns warming my bed had its appeal, but not anymore.

Maybe this is why I’ve been feeling unfulfilled lately. I know I’ve got a great career, more money than I could ever need in a lifetime and endless selection of gorgeous women to warm my bed every night. What more could a man possibly ask for, right? But at the end of the day, it’s just me in a monstrosity of a house that I call home.

Maybe deep down I know I don’t want it to be just me anymore.

“I think I’ve actually known that for a while, but the way you point that out, I think it’s drilled home now,” I admit as I face her.

“What do you mean?”

“That casual, meaningless sex without something deeper isn’t very fulfilling,” I say with a smile. “I mean, yes what I did was fun, but then I look at my best mates and see how happy they are with their women. Of course I rib them good because hey, that’s my job as their best mate…”

She laughs.

“...but that doesn’t mean I never look at them and think, fuck, I want that one day. Maybe the idea didn’t really appeal to me because I had never found the right person, who knows. But I swear I don’t want just sex with you. I want more. Do I know what I’m doing? Fuck, no. I haven’t even been on a proper date in years. But I do know that I genuinely want to get to know you better, Doc, that is if you give me the chance.”

She gives me a dopey smile when she asks, “you mean all that?”

“I really do,” I nod solemnly. “Now let me prove it to you. Go on a date with me.”

“Tell you what,” she begins, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “If you go back on the ice and win the game, we can go to The Owner’s Box when you’re done to celebrate just like the other night. And if you behave, I’ll give you my number this time.”

“Want me to behave, huh?” I say teasingly with a waggle of my eyebrows. “Don’t fancy a bad boy?”

“Oh I actually have it bad for bad boys,” she smirks. “My favourite character in Harry Potter is Draco Malfoy.”

“Okay, I’ve got a counter offer,” I say as my laughter dies down. “If I get MVP tonight, which I’m pretty sure I will since you said it yourself that I’m on fire tonight, you give me your number straight away after the game and let me take you out to dinner. I’m thinking seven tomorrow night.”

Another roll of those gorgeous eyes that twinkle slightly at me. “Pushy, aren’t ya?”

“Only when I want something,” I tell her with a grin. “And I want you.”

“So do you want me or do you want to go out with me?” She asks slyly, tilting her head to the side.

“You gonna kick my balls if I say both?”

“I admire honesty,” she murmurs softly in that sexy, husky voice that seems to flow through my body and straight down to my dick.

“Hey boyfriend and girlfriend,” I hear Matt chirps from the doorway and my spine stiffens involuntarily. His shit-eating grin doesn’t lessen a bit even when I give him a glare. “Hate to steal your man, Doc, but the game is starting again soon and we kinda need our favourite asshole right here.”

“You two break a leg,” she chuckles. And then as an afterthought, she adds, “just so we’re clear, I don’t mean that literally.”

—

Manhattan Beach’s high-end strip of boutiques and restaurants are hugged by the beach on one side and some of California’s most expensive real estate on the other. It’s southern end blends seamlessly into smaller Hermosa Beach, which is similarly quiet but has a tight concentration of bars and restaurants near the town’s pier that attract bar-hoppers at night and sun-bleached dropouts during the day.

The Kings players’ houses are scattered evenly across the two towns. Some of us are clustered within a block or two of several teammates; others sprinkled little more than a mile or two away. All but one of the first-line players live in Manhattan Beach though, and we can easily walk or ride a beach cruiser to everyone else’s house.

YN lives in Silver Lake, and the drive to pick her up takes me about forty minutes. I know she must make a pretty good bank being an ER doctor, not to mention that she works at two places, but her house doesn’t scream that. It’s rather tiny, I’m betting not more than seven or eight hundred square feet max, and there’s not much of a porch but on the outer edge is a hanging basket of flowers.

There’s no doorbell so I rap my knuckles on the door. Flecks of peeling paint get knocked loose and fall to the concrete porch.

“Coming,” I hear her yell from inside and I can imagine her plopping in an earring, grabbing her handbag, and wondering if she turned the curling iron off. She sounds frazzled and rushed and I can’t wait to fucking see what she looks like when she opens the door.

And there she is.

She has a black dress on, and it’s not little but it’s spectacular. The neckline of the dress skims just below her collarbone so no skin or cleavage is exposed, but it doesn’t matter because the narrow waist and flared hips, all cocooned in black is sexy as shit. The hem of her dress comes down below her knees and the dress is so well fitted that I know there has to be a slit up the back so she can walk.

“Good grief you’re a sight for sore eyes,” I mutter as I let my eyes roam down and then back up again to find her smirking at me.

She’s got an off-white clutch bag tucked under an arm, and her head is leaning to the side so she can put her last earring in, exactly as I’d imagined.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” she says, still smirking at me. I’d worn my best suit tonight in black with black shirt underneath and no tie. Glad she likes what she sees.

I step back so she can lock her door, and she turns to me as she tosses her keys in her clutch. I hold my arm out to her and ask, “ready?”

She nods and smiles as she curls her fingers in just below my biceps, then I escort her to my car.

I’m taking her to this new restaurant that both Alex and Matt recommended when I asked them last night for the finest restaurant in LA. It had been so long since the last time I took a woman out for a proper date, so I knew I needed to ask my mates and that they would have the answer. They both swore by this place called Apron, but then told me it took at least two weeks to get a reservation. Luckily though Alex had booked a table for him and Sloane tonight, and they gladly gave me the reservation. Sure I had to take a good deal of ribbing from my teammates and their women last night at the bar where we celebrated our win, but I knew it would be worth it.

The drive to the restaurant is short, only about ten minutes. And we lapse into the same easy conversation right away, just like we did the other night at The Owner’s Box. Today was my day off and I did absolutely nothing so I’ve got nothing interesting to tell, but she had plenty of exciting cases at the emergency room today, which included a toddler swallowing a penny.

“Holy shit, how did you get the coin out?” I ask her.

She laughs. “You don’t take it out. You’ve got to let the kid pass it naturally.”

“He can do that?”

“Well,” she begins. “I did take an X-ray first to make sure that it was small and could pass safely.”

“Okay, okay, okay… what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever had to remove from a patient?” I ask her with childish curiosity.

“Honestly, I think I’ve removed everything on the surface of the earth,” she snickers. “Coke bottle, tapeworms, coins, candles, but the strangest has got to be a stuffed animal. It was a Curious George doll, and… let’s just say that he’s no longer curious.”

“You’re joking right?” I bark in laughter as I park my car. We’ve arrived and I swear that was the shortest ten minutes of my life. “I mean… who does that?!”

“I wish,” she says with a wrinkle of her nose. “You’d be surprised if you know how many weirdos out there.”

I’m still chuckling as I exit my car, then I walk over to the passenger side to get her. I hold my arm out to her, and her hand so very easily slides into the crook of my elbow.

“You don’t think I’m one of them, right?”

She gives me a playful shrug. “Well, I don’t know, you might be a weirdo... I mean, I don’t know you well enough yet.”

I give her a smart-ass smirk. “Let’s remedy that then.”

—

“How’s that one?” I ask her as I finish a mouthful of this chocolate thingy. It was a chocolate ball concoction the waiter had poured more hot chocolate over, which then melted the ball to reveal a raspberry chocolate torte inside. She had a bite, but it was too rich for her. I agree though, it was a lot of damn chocolate.

“You’ve got to try this,” she says, spearing the lemon meringue pie with her fork, top it with a little bit of pine nut ice cream and holding it over the table to me.

It’s a completely intimate move and one that I didn’t expect from her tonight. I mean, she was reluctant to go out with me in the beginning and needed some convincing, so I expected her to be reserved and cautious. But hell I’m not complaining.

I lean in and let her feed me the dessert. The flavours explode on my tongue and I think that’s the best we’ve had tonight.

I don’t normally indulge in dessert, but they all sound good so I told her we should order all the ones we like the sound of. Which was most of them except that cucumber mousse and pickle ice cream because those sound like disasters on a plate.

“Good, huh?” She asks with a smile.

“Really good,” I tell her. “I think I like that one best.”

“Finish it then,” she says as she pushes the plate towards me. “I can’t possibly take another bite. I’m stuffed to the brim.”

“Alright,” I say with a chuckle as I pull the plate closer to me. “So, when are you free again so I can take you out to another date?”

She chuckles. “We’re not even finished with this one.”

I roll my eyes at her, then I ask, “are you having a good time?”

Her smile turns dopey and I know she’s just as smitten with me as I am with her. “This is definitely the best first date I’ve ever been on.”

“If we were finished, considering how things have gone, would you go out with me again?”

“I would.”

“Good,” I say with an emphatic nod. “So, weekend or weekdays? When will it work best for you?”

—

I slow the speed on the treadmill, taking me down from a brisk run to a slow walk so I can cool down. Normally I like to run outside in the morning, but I woke up late this morning and we had a team skate scheduled at ten, so I figured I’d just do my workout afterwards at the arena.

Only a few of us actually have a gym membership outside. Most of us prefer to work out at the arena because not only is the equipment better, but we also have an abundance of teammates to work out with and that’s always nice.

I walk for about five minutes to cool down, then I turn the machine off and wipe my face with a towel. I grab my phone and water bottle and turn for the barbells, as today I’m working my chest and shoulders. Mitch and Marcel are already lifting, both defensemen who tend to focus on brute strength versus speed and stamina, so I’m not surprised they didn’t go for the treadmill. I also see Matt there, and I bet Alex will join us too after he’s done cooling down.

“Have a nice run, princess?” Marcel asks dryly as I set my stuff down near the bench press.

“I’m not the one who has to prove my manhood by how much weight I can lift,” I return with a sly grin.

“Yeah, well, your manhood is in a dry spell,” he says as he loads some weight onto the bar. Pre the hot doctor, both Marcel and I were the only single guys in the first line. He’s just as much as a player—on and off the ice—as I was, but now I gladly pass the title to him.

“Not true,” Matt quips with a grin. “He went on a date last night.”

“No shit,” Marcel turns to me in astonishment. “With who?”

Before I can even answer Alex throws a quick glance at us, flashes a shit-eating grin, and yells from the treadmill, “the new doctor.”

“But I saw you two got pretty cosy at The Owner’s Box last week,” Marcel says, as if he’s still confused as hell.

“Well yeah, she was cool, so I took her out again,” I say firmly.

“Dude, what’s wrong with you?” He blinks at me. Eyes all round and not comprehending. “You never look at the same woman twice.”

“So?” I ask, playing dumb.

“Ooh, I get it,” he says with a smirk. “Pussy that good, huh?”

“Hey,” I cut in with a warning. “I’m not there yet.”

They all suddenly stop whatever they’re doing and turn to me with raised eyebrows. Yes, Mitch included, which I’m actually quite surprised.

“Whoa, hang on,” Marcel says. “You haven’t tapped that yet?”

“You’re serious?” Matt looks at me in disbelief. “Not even last night?”

“Dude, I gave you that reservation last night to give you the opportunity,” Alex says as he walks towards us. “I was genuinely worried about your balls.”

They’re still looking at me confused, but Adam howls with laughter. “Don’t listen to these pigs. Rachel and I took it real slow at the beginning of our relationship too, and I got to tell you, the anticipation was half the fun.”

It’s true. I’m in no rush with YN because I know we’ll get there sooner or later. I can be patient when I want to be, and right now I honestly want to. I want to prove to her that when I said I wanted to get to know her, I meant her as a person and not just carnally.

I could tell that I confused her last night when I dropped her off at her doorstep after our date. I gave her nothing but a soft, brief kiss to her cheek, then told her to get inside, lock up and get some rest. Sure, she was confused for a few seconds, but the smile that I got after she realised that I really did want to take things slow was so much more than worth it.

“So you think this thing with the hot doctor is going to go the distance?” Matt asks me.

“I do,” I say confidently. I’m not dumb enough not to realise that she hasn’t fully let her guard down yet for whatever reason. Maybe she’d been badly hurt in the past, maybe it’s my past that causes her to be a little bit sceptical, I mean... let’s be honest, I was a player through and through. But that doesn’t scare me though, because I know I’m in it for the long haul. So yes, I can say it with confidence that this thing between us is going to go the distance.

“Well, if you fuck it up, I’ve got the first crack at her,” Marcel says with a salacious grin. I don’t think twice before I grab my wet towel and throw it at him. It hits him right in the face, and my teammates howl with laughter.

All this talk about her makes me want to see her again. I’ve secured a second date last night for next Wednesday since that’s when both of us will be free, but that’s still four days away and I can’t wait that long. So I pull up my phone and type out a quick text to her.

Hey, what are you doing today?

I grab my water bottle and take a slug. Before I put my water bottle down, I already got a response. I need to go and get a new bed frame. Really can’t stand this old thing anymore.

I can’t help but chuckle. She did tell me last night about her bedroom set which was apparently really old, but she couldn’t get rid of it since it’d been in the family for a few generations and her grandmother gave it to her when she bought her house.

Want some company? I quickly type.

She’s just as fast in her response. You want to go with me buy a bed frame?

Well, yeah. I’ve finished the team skate this morning and will be done with my workout soon. I’ve got nothing to do after and I want to see you. I reply.

Alright then. She texts me back within a minute. But I’m on-call though so I can be called to the hospital any time.

Doesn’t matter, I still want to see you. I text her back. When can I pick you up?

Give me half an hour.

Perfect.

—

I’ve bought three houses in my twenty-seven years of life; the one I currently live in, one in Toronto when I was still with the Leafs before I got traded to the Kings and one for my mum back in London. And yet not once have I ever gone on a furniture shopping.

Until today.

That was something I never in a million years would have dreamed to do, simply because I hated shopping with a burning passion. Hell, I didn’t even buy things for my own house because I paid the previous owner to leave everything behind. That kind of thing was honestly just something that I would have never taken the time for.

And yet, in shuffling through my memories, I really can’t remember having such a great time before. All I know is that I don’t want the day to end, and I also know that it has everything to do with the company.

I know we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, and technically we’ve only been on one date even though we saw each other quite often at the arena. But there was nothing odd when my hand would find its way to her thigh, or when she’d drape her arm across my shoulders so her fingers could play with my hair as we cruised along from one furniture shop to another. I love that we’re at ease with each other as if we’d known each other forever, not to mention that she’s also one of the easiest women I’ve had the pleasure of talking to in a long time.

Sadly though, it had to end when she was called to the hospital. Luckily, it was just in time after she chose a particular bed frame that she liked. It’s a classic canopy bed in live-edge oakwood with a brushed brass iron base, and I felt like a pig because even as we were still at the shop, I was already thinking about which ties from my collection would work best.

They offered same-day delivery since they had it in the storage, and since she was needed at the hospital, I offered to wait for the delivery at her home for her. She agreed, so she gave me her key after I dropped her at the hospital.

And here I am. Sitting on her bedroom floor trying to build this bloody nightmare because apparently they didn’t offer assembly service. I’ve been at it for an hour and a half now. Okay, no, more like an hour and ten minutes because I spent about twenty minutes fixing the sink in her en suite. I noticed the faucet was leaking, and I needed to step away from that bloody bed for a little anyway.

Now I don’t have another excuse, so I’m back on hammering one of the bazillion nails into the wood. I’m so focused on the task that I didn’t realise YN is home until I hear her chuckling as she walks into her bedroom and say, “you know, that is the kind of pounding that’s supposed to happen after you’re in the bed.”

I can’t help it. I fucking throw my head back and bust out laughing. “Sod off.”

“You don’t have to do it, that looks complicated. I’ll just hire someone to put it together tomorrow,” she says with a sweet smile. “Just get up and go sit on the couch. I just need to go to the bathroom real quick and then I’ll join you.”

“Yeah, that won’t do, Doc,” I say firmly. “I’ll still finish this bloody thing even if it kills me.”

“Stubborn,” she quips affectionately with a roll of her eyes as she heads towards her en suite.

“Smart-ass,” I reply with my eyes pinned to one of the million pieces of her bed frame, also with affection.

“Harry?” She calls out from her en suite.

“Yeah?” I answer, when I look up, she’s leaning against the doorframe and looking at me confused.

“Am I crazy or did you actually fix my sink?” She asks with an arched eyebrow. “Because I swear the faucet still leaks a little this morning.”

“Yeah, I did,” I say with a wave of my hand. “I needed to walk away from this for a minute and when I went to your en suite, I noticed it leaked. Not a big deal though, took me only about fifteen minutes.”

“Well, good to know that if you ever quit your day job, you have a career in plumbing,” she snickers. “But seriously, you didn’t have to do that, and you certainly don’t have to finish that.”

“It��s what any boyfriend would do, Doc,” I say with a nonchalant shrug.

“You’re not my boyfriend.”

“Yes I am,” I roll my eyes. “I took you on a date last night and I’m taking you out again on Wednesday. I’m not seeing anyone else, so that means we’re dating. And technically that makes me your boyfriend.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she sputters but I can see the amusement twinkling in her eyes. “Besides… I might be seeing someone else.”

“You’re not,” I say with relative certainty.

“How did you change just like that is beyond me,” she murmurs, the appreciation in her voice evident.

I let out a chuckle. “Just get your butt in there and go chill on the couch after. I’m pretty sure I’ll be done in about half an hour, then we can order something for dinner.”

“Yes sir,” she says with a mock salute, which makes me snort.

—

An hour later, her bed is finally built and as I walk into her kitchen I see her putting the plates on the table. It smells phenomenal here, and I’m surprised when I look at the table because how the hell did she manage to cook all that in an hour?

I take advantage of her back facing me by putting my hands at her hips and pressing my chest onto her back. I nuzzle my face into the crook of her neck and it takes everything in me not to kiss her there. The combination of her perfume and the faint smell of antiseptic is sexy to me. So I can’t help but hum and mumble, “smells delicious.”

“The chicken?” She murmurs.

“Among other things,” I reply softly.

She chuckles. “Come on, let’s dig in while it’s still hot.”

I take a seat in front of her before I select a drumstick from a plate of fried, spicy goodness and put it on my plate. There’s something about the fact that YN made it that makes me believe it will be the best chicken I’ve ever had. Today will no doubt go down as one of the best days ever, which I seem to think a lot when I’m around this woman.

As she dishes me some salad, I honestly can’t wait anymore and take a bite of the chicken. Her eyes snap to me when I let out a groan.

“Good?” She asks with a grin.

I can’t help but let out another groan of approval as I take another bite. “Damn, Colonel, you never told me you make a mean fried chicken.”

“I’m not just a pretty face,” she shrugs smugly.

“Or a fine ass,” I tease. “If you want to quit your day job you can totally open up a fast food chain. Your fried chicken puts KFC to shame.”

She laughs as she cuts some cornbread and puts it on my plate. “Now try this, I make a mean cornbread too.”

“Mmm,” I say in pleasure as I take the first bite.

“Okay, you need to stop with the sexy moaning,” she grumbles with a tiny smirk before she turns back to her dinner. “You’re so bad. I think you’re trying to take advantage of me.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” I laugh. “And besides, you’re just as bad.”

“True,” she replies with a sly smile. “I can be bad too.”

“But just how bad are we talking here?” I ask with a smirk.

“Not bad enough to sleep with you tonight,” she says before she takes a sip of water. After she swallows, she adds, “but totally bad enough I might get frisky with you.”

I give her a mock groan and look up to the ceiling. “A tease. I’ve saddled myself with a tease tonight.”

She laughs.

We talk about what she did at the hospital today as we eat, and her job in general, and it never fails to thrill me the things that she can do. She’s a jack of all trades when it comes to medicine, needing to be able to diagnose and stabilise, often in pressure-filled situations where time is of the essence. I can’t even imagine having the responsibility of someone’s life in my hands like that, and yet she seems to be able to leave it all behind. She talks openly and often with humour about her work, but she also admits that sometimes she can’t help but bear the burden of death too when her skills just don’t make a difference.

I admire her so fucking much. Never admired a woman before, but in fairness… I never looked too deeply at them.

I’m seeing YN through unfiltered eyes and I like everything that I’m seeing.

—

Something is squirming in my arms and it wakes me up.

I tighten my arm around it in response to the movement and pull it back slightly against my body.

Wait? What?

Sleep.

Couch.

We fell asleep on her couch while watching a film.

It all comes back in a rush. Our totally awesome conversation over equally awesome food she cooked that I couldn’t stop raving about all night. I had three pieces of chicken by the way. We talked more about our backgrounds, me growing up in Cheshire and her childhood in South Carolina. We had a few beers, and when she asked me if I wanted to stay a bit and watch a film or something, of course I said hell yes.

The fact that she asked made me smile, because it meant that she was having a good time too with me. So we ended up on her couch watching Jaws, and I liked that she didn’t even hesitate when I lay down on her couch, pressed my back against the cushions and patted the area in front of my hips. I’m pretty sure she can see the devilish gleam in my eyes when I said, “come on… let’s cuddle.”

“Wow… Harry Styles, big bad hockey player, shameless flirt, total panty dropper. Didn’t peg you as a cuddler.”

“I’m a big teddy bear, honey,” I said with a grin and open arms.

She fell asleep first, and I know I should’ve left but the slightest movement from me would definitely wake her up. I know she must be tired so I decided against it and closed my eyes instead.

“Morning,” she says in a husky, raspy, ‘I just woke up’ voice and it’s sexy as fuck.

“Morning,” I reply, my own voice is still rough with sleep. I wonder if she thinks that’s sexy too. “You slept good?”

“Mhmm,” she hums softly, but then immediately groans as she glances at the clock above the telly. “Ugh, I have to be in the hospital in about an hour.”

She then tries to extricate herself from my arms, but I pull her back in close and nuzzle her neck as I point out, “you work a lot.”

“Ha, tell me about it,” she says with a dry laugh. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my job. It’s just I wish I could sleep for three days straight sometimes.”

“Do you even have a day off in the week?” I ask curiously.

“I do,” she answers with a nod. “It was actually my day off yesterday, but I was filling in for a colleague.”

I loosen my hold and let her sit up in front of me. “Go get in the shower, I’ll make us both a quick breakfast.”

“You can cook?”

“Well, if I give you food poisoning you’re heading to the hospital anyway,” I chuckle.

In the kitchen, I grab some eggs and a pack of English muffins from her fridge. A quick breakfast sandwich sounds good, and portable just in case she needs to eat on her way to the hospital. I crack open a couple of eggs, scramble them with a fork and add salt and pepper while my skillet heats up. I put a bit of olive oil in the pan before I toss the English muffins into her toaster to crisp, then set coffee to brew in her Keurig. I’m moving around her kitchen as if I was born here.

By the time I pour the eggs into the pan, she walks out of her bedroom in her scrubs. I smile and nod at the Keurig as I say, “coffee’s ready.”

“And damn, you’re hot in those scrubs,” I add with a grin, giving the eggs a last scramble before pulling them off the heat.

“You’re joking right?” She says, wrinkling her nose as she grabs the milk from the fridge and turns my way, letting the door swing shut on its own.

“I’m serious, Doc,” I say with a smirk. “I wouldn’t mind getting a thorough exam from you. Preferably in your new canopy bed though so I can tie you up after for a payback.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter. It’s eight in the morning,” she laughs and I snort in return.

She then pours some milk in her coffee, pulls the cup to her mouth, and blows across the steaming surface. Her eyes meet mine over the edge of the cup as she takes a tentative sip. “Are we still on for Wednesday?”

“Of course,” I say with a confident smile.

“What have you got planned?”

“Well, you’ll have to wait and see,” I tease her. “Just to warn you though, I may or may not gonna put my hands all over you.”

I don’t tell her that by putting my hands all over her, I mean on the ice to keep her from falling since I plan to take her ice-skating on the team’s practice rink. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, and besides, I’d be lying if I said I never thought of other ways too. The way she’s looking at me right now assures me that she does too, and well, that’s good.

We can compare notes on that later when we get there.

—

Blinking at me with a sleepy smile on her face, YN stands up from my couch. I walk up to her and she pushes me down into her seat, and then crawls onto my lap.

This is nice.

Our date on Wednesday was amazing, and as we walked inside, she turned to me and asked, “so this was your big plan to put your hands on me?”

I just laughed in response, and I did have to put my hands on her quite a lot in the end since she didn’t know how to ice-skate. Fuck if I’m complaining though.

Now we’re snuggled up on the couch at my house with full bellies. Last weekend she cooked me amazing food, so today, I wanted to impress her by cooking a roast dinner and introduced her to Yorkshire pudding. Sure, I was on the phone with my mum the entire time so she could give me directions, but I only almost burnt down my kitchen once so I’d call that a success.

I lean forward, which pushes her slightly to the edge of the couch, then I reach an arm over her and grab a packet of KitKat from the coffee table. I’m glad when I learnt that it is actually her favourite chocolate too, because KitKat is elite and it’s good to know we’re on the same page.

“Want another?” I ask her.

“No,” she groans. “I’m so full.”

I chuckle and awkwardly unwrap the chocolate. Awkward because I have to open it in front of her face since I have my arms around her, and once I got it opened, I hold the naked little chocolate bars in front of her mouth and tease, “want a bite?”

She shakes her head.

I wave it under her nose and I guess the smell of the chocolate changes her mind because then she says, “okay, a little bite.”

I break the bars and feed one of it to her, letting her take a bite and then chucks the rest in my mouth. We chew silently as we watch Marlin looking for Nemo, and I sigh in contentment when she tucks her face into my neck and drapes one arm across my chest.

It takes no more than ten minutes before I notice her breathing has slowed down and she’s fallen asleep. I rest my cheek on the top of her head and continue watching these fishies. I’m a little drowsy from all the food, but I resist the urge to fall under. For now, I just want to savour my existence at this moment because as Dory says to Marlin, “I look at you and I’m home”, I truly realise that’s how she makes me feel.

I’m sitting in my house, but for once, it doesn’t feel empty anymore. I just had a wonderful meal where we talked and joked and flirted, and now I have a gorgeous woman who I’m crazy about curled up on my lap.

There is absolutely no other place I’d rather be right now.

—

“Dude, you’re so fucking whipped,” Alex says as he punches me on the shoulder. I jerk slightly and reluctantly take my gaze off YN to look his way.

“What do you mean?” I ask as I take a swig of my beer and promptly look back at my girl. She’s standing just ten feet away, sipping on her own beer and talking animatedly with Sloane and Brynne. We’re at The Owner’s Box tonight having our first triple date, and I’m having a brilliant time. The only thing better would be if YN would quit chatting with the girls and get her sweet ass over here to sit next to me.

“Fucking hopeless,” Matt mutters and Alex snickers.

I blink and turn to look at them. “What? Why am I hopeless?”

“Because you can’t fucking take your eyes off of your girl for more than two seconds,” Alex jeers at me. Then he leans in towards me and murmurs with a mocking sneer, “pussy.”

“Bollocks that,” I say haughtily. “I can take my eyes off of her longer than that.”

“Good,” Matt says, handing me an empty beer bottle. “Go get us some more beer.”

“Assholes,” I say with good nature and head towards the bar. Stopping beside my girl, I kiss her on the temple. “You girls want anything else to drink?”

Sloane and Brynne shake their heads, smiling coyly at me as they watch my uncharacteristic display of affection. I’m immensely pleased when YN smiles at me and rests her hand on my chest. “I’m good, but thank you.”

“Be right back,” I tell the girls, and then I set out to prove Alex and Matt wrong.

I swivel my gaze back to Matt and Alex, and I give a sheepish grin when Matt mouths the word pussy at me. I flip him off and head towards the bar, intent on not looking back at my girl for at least the next few minutes it takes me to get the beers.

“Excuse me,” I hear and feel a tap on my shoulder. “Harry, can we get an autograph and a picture?”

As I turn around with a warm smile in my place, the word sure is out of my mouth before I even see who’s asking. I’m met by a vision of holy hotness as two women stand there with tight-as-hell t-shirts cut obscenely low and with plenty of silicone boobs pouring out.

Just a mere month ago, I would have whispered a prayer of thanks to the big man upstairs for sending these two my way, knowing well that I’d be banging the hell out of one of them before the night was finished. Instead, my stomach tightens and I glance past them to see YN still deep in conversation with Sloane and Brynne.

I bring my gaze back to the women… a brunette and a blonde, both looking at me with promise in their eyes.

“Do you mind taking your picture with us?” The blonde asks with a bat of her eyelashes.

I give her a quick smile and say, “sure, no problem.”

She steps up to me as she hands her phone to the brunette. I lift my arm to sling it companionably around her shoulders, but she uses that opportunity to press intimately into my side, bringing both arms around my waist and mashing her breasts against my ribs.

“Thanks so much,” the blonde says in a seductive voice. “Can we buy you a drink?”

“No, thanks,” I decline with a smile. “I’ve got some friends waiting for me.”

“An autograph, then?” She asks.

“Sure.”

The blonde digs in her handbag and pulls out a sharpie. She then hands it to me and says, “can you make mine out to Kourtney with a K?”

“You got it,” I say, eager to get this over with because it feels awkward to me to have this woman coming onto me with my girl standing just a few feet away.

“Just sign here,” she says and my jaw drops as she pulls the edge of her t-shirt down her chest, practically exposing her entire right breast to me.

“Uh, you got a piece of paper instead?” I ask her. “I don’t think my girlfriend would like that.”

“You bet your ass she won’t,” I hear my girl quips from behind me and I’m trying my best not to laugh. I like that she immediately snuggles into my side so those women now would have no doubt that I’m totally hers, “wanna go play some pool, baby? Loser buys the drinks.”

“You’re on,” I tell her, Kourtney with a K and her friend are long forgotten. “But just to warn you, I’m really good.”

“Honey, I was practically born on one of these tables with a beer in my hand,” she says smugly, “you’re going down.”

—

“Do you want to come in?” YN asks as she pulls out her keys from her handbag. We’ve just got back from The Owner’s Box and as usual, I walk her to the door.

My tone is low, soft, and barely audible when I say, “Doc, if I come inside tonight, I don’t think I can promise you to keep my hands to myself.”

“I don’t want you to promise me anything,” she replies firmly. “Whatever happens, happens. Now, let’s not dawdle on my porch and get inside. Want some more beers?”

“Whoa, don’t hand me ammunition,” I joke and she laughs. “I’ll take some water though.”

“There’s some water bottles in the fridge,” she says, pointing to the tiny kitchen that sits at the rear of the house, past the living room. “I’ll be right back.”

I get two bottles of water out of the fridge and head back into her living room. I take a seat on the couch and pull out my phone, scrolling mindlessly as I wait for my girl.

When she reappears, she’s wearing a pair of sleep shorts and a white t-shirt. Her hair is pulled into a ponytail and her makeup has been washed off. Her in a t-shirt and tiny shorts is a hundred times sexier than her in literally anything else—yes, including her scrubs—and there’s no stopping my downstairs head from waking up.

“Come here.”

Her eyebrows rise, but I don’t miss the clear interest in her eyes. “Come there?”

I tap my thigh, “right here.”

Her cheeks flush and a little puff of breath blows out of her. With absolutely no hesitation, she crawls onto my lap. Our gazes are locked tight and her eyes darken with intensity. When her chest comes level with mine, and her knees are pressed into the cushion just inches from my crotch, she asks me softly, “you going to finally kiss me?”

“I’m thinking about it,” I tease her as my hands come around her lower back, pressing her onto me.

Fuck, she feels good against me. Just her soft curves and warmth and I’m already starting to get hard before I even lay my mouth on hers.

She looks at me with sizzling eyes as we stare at each other, knowing that once we take this step, our relationship is going to another level.

Leaving one hand on her lower back, I slide the other up and over the shoulder, letting my palm glide up her neck so my fingers can tangle in her hair. She shivers when my thumb strokes her jaw before I cup my hand around the back of her head.

Her hands reach out and circle behind my neck. Then she whispers as she licks her lower lip, “so this is it?”

“This is it,” I tell her, and because I absolutely cannot wait one second longer, I put pressure on the back of her head to lock our mouths together. The first touch of her lips against mine causes pleasure to punch straight through my groin, and the world just absolutely melts away.

There’s nothing else but her.

Lips so fucking soft, tongue tentative and sweet. Her hair silky to the touch and her skin warm as my hand snakes up just under the edge of her t-shirt.

She tilts her head, opens her mouth more and kisses me deeper. I groan and pull her tighter to me. My hand fists tighter into her hair, hampered by the hair tie somewhat but not giving a fuck. Her hips start to rotate slightly, rubbing herself along the top of my thigh. My dick gets achingly hard as she starts to make tiny sounds of need in the back of her throat.

My other hand slips down her back and palms her backside, then I give a tentative squeeze. I think she likes that, because her hips shift forward and she starts to grind her crotch on my leg. I press against her ass, encouraging her to keep moving against me. She does it again and shudders in my arms, so I know it’s hitting her in the right spot.

Pulling on her hair, I break the kiss just enough so I can growl at her, “get yourself off, darling. Right here. On my leg.”

Her eyes fly open and they’re full of fire and sexual need as they stare back at me. Her lips curve up in a wicked smile of acquiescence and I pull her back down to my mouth for a hard kiss.

She rotates her hips in circles, then alternates flexing back and forth. I clench my thigh muscle, wanting to give her as hard a surface as possible to stimulate herself. I slip my hand down the back of her shorts, finding bare skin. I squeeze and push her down on me, helping her to move faster on my leg.

She pants and moans softly as she works herself up. I have to force myself not to push my hand down further between her legs. I’m bound and determined not to go there yet, and besides, this is hot as fuck and completely satisfying to me.

She moves faster and faster, making tiny cries of yearning into my mouth as we kiss. Then she punches her pelvis down hard onto my thigh, going still for a moment before her entire body starts quaking in silent orgasm. I hear nothing but a soft sigh of pleasure escape her lips and slither over my tongue.

Her body goes limp in my arms. She lifts her head, our lips parting, and looks down at me with glazed eyes. I press my lips to her briefly just once more, before I pull my hand out of the back of her shorts and roll her body off me. As I stand up and hover over her for a minute, I see her cheeks flushed rosy and her nipples pebbled hard, even through her t-shirt.

Placing a hand on the couch cushion, I lower myself to her and brush my lips across her forehead. “Get a good night’s sleep.”

“Wait- you’re leaving?” She asks, confusion coating her expression.

“Yes,” is all I say.

“But-”

“I’ll take a cold shower when I get home, no worries,” I assure her with a smile. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“I had a great time tonight, Harry,” she tells me, still looking like a wet noodle on the couch so I don’t think she’ll be getting up anytime soon.

“I did too,” I smile at her over my shoulder as I reach for her door.

It’s in this moment that I’m pretty sure I’m a goner for her.

—

I see the hottest, sexiest, most adorable doctor walking across the darkened parking lot towards me. Well, towards her car. Her head is tucked down and she looks tired. When she finally looks up and locks her eyes on me, the exhaustion melts away and I’m rewarded with a happy, welcoming smile from her.

“You really have to stop stalking me in parking lots,” she quips as she walks closer.

Then closer still until the tips of her shoes touch the tips of mine and she’s offering her mouth to me for a kiss. Obviously, I take it, because who wouldn’t? Her lips are perfect. She tastes like mint gum and smells faintly of antiseptic, and that right there is my favourite combo.

When she pulls back, she tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear and asks, “seriously, what are you doing here?”

“I wanna take you somewhere,” I tell her as I grab her hand and take her towards my car that’s parked the next row over.

“Where?”

“Just get in the car, Doc.”

“You’re being vague,” she says with an arched eyebrow. “Is this where you kidnap me, take my kidney and sell it on eBay?”

“This is where I’ll find a way to occupy that beautiful mouth of yours if you keep asking questions and ruin the surprise,” I tell her and she gives a tinkling laugh.

“Promises, promises,” she singsongs and I just roll my eyes.

It only takes about fifteen minutes from Cedars-Sinai Hospital where she works to the closest beach where I plan to take her for an impromptu picnic date night. We only had to stop by to get some pizza because I already have a cooler with a six-pack of beers loaded in the back of my car. It’s a little too late for sunset, but the purplish black of twilight is lush.

“The beach, huh,” she deadpans. “You brought me out here to seduce me?”

“You naughty girl,” I clutch a hand to my chest and make an exaggerated gasp of disbelief. “That’s indecent exposure that is.”

She laughs as she opens the door of the car and hops out. I do the same, then I open the back door to pull out the pizza, blanket and the cooler with beers inside before letting her help by taking the blanket.

Somehow we have the beach to ourselves tonight, and she points out a nice spot for us to sit. I agree, so I let her spread out the blanket. After both of us have our butts firmly planted, side by side, facing the ocean, I take two beers out and hand one to her.

“Ooh, we’re going fancy tonight,” she says when she sees that I brought microbrews instead of cheap beer.

I chuckle as I open the pizza box and grab a slice of the cheesy goodness that will probably clog my artery, then we talk about our day as we eat. I tell her the funny things that happened at practice today, including a joke that Marcel told us in the locker room which most would probably find insulting, but I know my girl is used to locker room talk and would find it hilarious, and she tells me what she did in the hospital. Apparently, they were so busy today that her lunch break lasted less than ten minutes.

“You never cease to amaze me, Doc,” I tell her honestly. “It’s so cool what you do for a living. Impressive as hell.”

“Thanks, Harry,” she says softly. “That means a lot.”

It’s completely dark by the time we finish our pizza, but the view is still lush since the moon is bright, causing the water to look like it’s covered in floating, crushed diamonds.

We’re silent as we sip our beers, and I love that we can sit in comfortable silence as well as talk for hours. It’s crazy to think that it’s only been a few weeks that we’ve known each other yet I just feel such a strong connection with her. I love that we’re so in tune with each other that sometimes we say the same things and steal lines from one another. We have a similar sense of humour and we can even exchange an inside joke with just a glance.

I loosen my hold of her when she pulls away from my side embrace. Her head swivels to me, and I can see the moon glittering in her eyes. “I owe you an apology.”

“What?” I look at her in confusion.

“I misjudged you, Harry,” she says with a tender smile. “When you asked me out, I outright told you that you’re a player without even giving you a chance to explain yourself. I made an assumption, and that was wrong of me. I’m sorry.”

“And your assumption was right,” I tell her honestly with a light chuckle. “There is nothing to apologise for. It was common knowledge, I was a manwhore.”

She snorts. “Shut up, I’m serious.”

“Me too,” I squeeze her hand. “You didn’t misjudge me, Doc, you knew exactly the type of guy I used to be.”

She has a dreamy smile on her face when she says, “kiss me.”

“No, you come here and kiss me,” I say, and I’m pretty sure she can see my eyes sparkling with mischief.

She rolls her eyes and mutters “fine” under her breath as she plants her knees on the sides of my legs, but I don’t miss the light in her eyes which tells me that she likes the idea.

Closing her eyes, she dips her mouth to mine and now I’m wondering if the two years of jail time and a fine for indecent exposure is worth it if I were to take her right here right now.

—

We’re in New York for two away games in a row, tonight against the Rangers which we won 3-1, and tomorrow night against the Devils. I’m chuffed not only because we won and I played great, but I also had a great day today before the game with my girl. We didn’t do much since she wanted me to save my energy for the game tonight, but we did walk around our hotel and ended up napping on the couch in the room that I share with Marcel.

We all ride on the team bus that takes us from the hotel to the arena and back to the hotel after we finish the game. I wanted her to sit next to me, but for both trips, to the arena and back, she gave me a slight shake of her head and sat with the girls along with the rest of the staff in the front.

When I hop off the bus though, I see her waiting for me with a grin on her face. I kiss the fuck out of her, not caring about my teammates who whistle and yell, “get a room.”

“Which floor are you on again?” I ask her as we enter the lift. I want to walk her to her room just to spend a few minutes more with her.

Yeah, laugh all you want. I know I’m fucking whipped.

“Tenth,” she says, pulling her room key out of her handbag and hands it to me so I can scan it then tap the button on number ten.

“Wanna catch an early breakfast with me tomorrow?” I ask her as we approach her room that she shares with the team’s orthopaedic surgeon, Callie.

“Sure. What time?”

“We’re leaving for light skate practice at 9:30, so we should have plenty of time if we meet down there at 8:30.”

“Sounds good,” she nods as we reach her door.

There’s a handwritten note stuck in between the door and the jamb. She puts her key in the card slot, opens the door slightly, and snag the piece of paper. She opens it up and I look over her shoulder at the note as we read it silently together.

YN,

Marcel and Joslynn are hooking up and they’re in his room which means Harry has been kicked out. I’m going to sleep with Macy instead, so you and Harry can have this room. Unless you want Harry to go sleep with Macy?

No? Didn’t think so.

Have fun you two.

Callie

“This is Alex, Matt and Marcel’s doing,” I tell her with absolute certainty as she twists her neck to look at me. “I’ll just get an extra room for tonight.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she chuckles. “You can sleep here. We’ve spent the night together before.”

“Yeah, but that was different. We fell asleep on the couch, it wasn’t intentional,” I point out. “I don’t trust myself sleeping in the same bed with you, Doc. I’m not going to be able to help myself.”

“Well, good,” she says, smiling mischievously. “Cause I’m done wait-”

That’s as far as she gets before I push her through the door, backing her into the room. My mouth hits her only moments before her legs hit the edge of the bed and we both go tumbling onto it.

This is when we realise there’s a huge box of condoms with 144 packs inside it in the middle of the bed. On the top, there’s another note and I recognise Matt’s handwriting on it.

You’re welcome by the way

“I freaking love your teammates,” she says with a laugh.

I guess I owe those fuckers some beers.

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