#bartender!curtis Everett x reader | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

krirebr · 2 days

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Luck Be a Lady

Pairing: soft!dark Curtis Everett x female reader

Word Count: ~10.1k

Summary: Desperate for money, you accept a job as a cocktail waitress at an underground casino. You think you know what you're doing, but when you meet Curtis, will you realize you're in over your head?

Warnings: Mob AU, violence, allusions to murder, explicit language, dubcon touching, noncon touching (not Curtis), willfully oblivious reader, SMUT - facefucking, dirty talk, light d/s dynamics, praise kink, other explicit sexual content. This is definitely on the darker end of the soft!dark spectrum, so proceed with caution! All of my work is 18+ - Minors DNI

Dividers by @thecutestgrotto

Masterlist

A/N: And here it finally is! This is my first real attempt at soft!dark. I hope I did it right! 😂

This was inspired by two things: 1) me going to a rep screening of Goodfellas and spending the entire time wondering why I hadn't done a mob au yet and 2) @bigtreefest saying "enforcer!Curtis Everett and mob boss!Andy Barber" in my general direction. Thanks for the inspo, friend!!

And big thanks as always to @paperweight91 who not only came up with Curtis's name for reader but also offered heaps of encouragement and was a great sounding board. And thanks to @stargazingfangirl18 for helping me figure out how exactly we'd get to the smut. Thanks Siri!

Any comment, reblog, or ask to let me know what you think will be greatly appreciated. Please come scream at me about this! 😄 As always, thank you so much for reading! 💜

You fruitlessly tug down your very short skirt as Holly talks at you. You’re both standing in the corner of the bar’s basement waiting for the night to start in earnest—your first night.

“Lloyd’s not so bad,” she says of your boss, the man who runs this little underground gambling ring. “You’ll have to split your tips with him at the end of the night, but he doesn’t take that much, and you’ll make enough that you won’t really notice. As long as you do that, he’ll mostly keep his hands to himself.”

You nod along, glancing at the mustachioed man conferring with the bouncer at the door. The interview process for this job had boiled down to a thorough once-over that’d made you feel naked in your jeans and t-shirt and a “You’re not too stupid to take a drink order, are you?” and then you had the job.

Holly had vouched for you. Neighbors for almost half a year, she’d come home early one morning last week and witnessed you trying to convince the landlord that you were good for your past-due rent. She’d taken you for coffee and told you she might be able to help if you were good at keeping your head down and mouth shut. And now you were here.

“The customers, on the other hand,” she continues, smacking her gum, “you’ll have to let them touch, at least a little bit. Within reason, you know? But if anything gets out of hand, you can just tell Jake at the door and he’ll take care of it.”

“Within reason?” you ask, voice shaking, just the littlest bit, as the pit that started forming in your stomach when you agreed to this grows a little more.

The look she gives you verges on exasperated. “Well, you want to make money, don’t you?”

Yes, you do. Very much so. It’s a need, not a want. So you nod and try to listen as she keeps giving you the rundown.

Before you’re ready, the first patrons start trickling in and then you’re off to the races. It’s not too bad. No one’s orders are too complicated, mostly just bottles of beer and glasses of straight whiskey. The bartender, Colin, is friendly enough, although you learn that he’s another person you’ll need to split your tips with.

As for the touching, there are hands on your hips, pats to your ass. But you’re rewarded with folded-up bills held up between fingers or tucked into the strap of your top. Or, twice, slid behind the waistband of your skirt. Once you realize that the majority of these bills aren’t ones or fives, but twenties, you care about the touching that comes with them much less. Plus, you’re too busy to really think about it that hard.

You can’t believe how busy it is for a random Tuesday night, multiple games of poker, craps, and who knows what else all going at once. But when you mention that to Holly, she just laughs and shakes her head. “This is nothing,” she says. “On the weekends there’ll be three more of us and another one of Jake. Things get wild.”

You don’t have time to decide whether that makes you nervous or excited before someone is signaling for your attention again. You manage to suppress your grimace when he slides his arm around your waist to tell you what he needs from the bar. You’re rewarded for your troubles by a wad of twenties. You aren’t sure who these men are to tip so freely, but you know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It’s an hour or two later that Lloyd calls you over to where he’s speaking to a large, impossibly broad man, dressed in a soft-looking henley under a leather jacket with dark jeans. There’s dark ink all over his hands that disappears up his sleeves and reappears on his neck in intricate lines. He’s got close-cropped hair and a full beard that’s neatly trimmed. His deep blue eyes drill into you right away and you do your best not to shiver.

“Got a new girl tonight, Everett. Still learning the ropes, but she’ll take good care of you, won’t you, Cupcake?”

“Yes, of course,” you say, before Lloyd wanders off to check on one of the poker games.

The man, Everett, lets his eyes rove over you. “Cupcake, huh?” His voice is deep, gritty, but there's something there that's much gentler than you expected.

You give him what you hope is a coy smile. “Sure. If you want.” Lloyd was treating him like he's important. You hope important means deep pockets.

He hits you with a penetrative stare, so strong you almost have to take a step back. “No,” he finally says. “I don't think so. I'll find something more fitting.” Then he turns and starts to walk away, before calling over his shoulder. “I'm gonna get dealt in. Bring me a whiskey once I'm settled.”

You watch him go for just a moment, and then head to the bar, asking for a whiskey.

“This for Everett?” the bartender, Colin, asks. When you nod, he grabs a fancy bottle off the top shelf. “This is all he drinks. And he doesn't pay for it, alright? Don't ever think about giving him a bill.”

You look back at the man in question, seriously looking at the cards he’s just been dealt. Who is he???

You collect his whiskey and move back to him. As you set it down, he turns to you. “How about this?” he asks as he holds up a crisply folded hundred-dollar bill between two fingers. Your eyes widen at the money. All you’ve done is bring him one straight pour. “There’s another one of these in it for you if you make sure I never see the bottom of this glass tonight. Sound good?” And then he folds the bill one more time in his thick fingers, before sliding it under the low-cut neckline of your blouse. Your skin tingles where he brushes against it.

“Yeah, you got it,” you just breathe out, a little shocked you’re able to form words. He gives you a smug smile that you can only describe as shark-like before turning back to his cards, and you understand it as the dismissal that it is.

You move around the room, collecting empties, getting refills, trying to goodnaturedly accept unsolicited touches. The whole time you feel eyes on you, but whenever you glance Everett’s way, he’s focused on his poker game.

Eventually, a down moment finds you catching your breath against the wall. The moment Holly sees you standing still, she’s quickly making her way to you. “You need to be more careful around Curtis,” she hisses, lowly.

You look at her, confused. “Curtis?” Jake’s at the door. Colin’s behind the bar. You don’t know a Curtis.

“Curtis Everett!” You glance at the man at the poker table. He’s running a poker chip across his knuckles mindlessly. Then he looks up and you briefly make eye contact before you quickly look away. Holly is staring at you and she looks worried. But the name still doesn’t mean anything to you, so you shake your head and shrug. She groans as quietly as she can. “He’s Barber’s top enforcer!”

This whole conversation feels so out of the blue that it takes you a minute to catch up. Barber. Andrew Barber. The most feared mob boss in the city. Probably the state. Maybe even more. Ruthless and exacting was how the papers described him. He’d been the subject of multiple stings and taskforces and whathaveyou but nothing ever stuck. “He works for Andrew Barber?” you ask, shocked and a little appalled.

Holly stares at you in a way that you can only describe as dumbfounded. It takes her a few moments to find her words, then, “Bitch, you work for Andrew Barber!”

Everything stops. “What?” you gasp.

“Oh my god,” Holly groans. “This was such a mistake. It’s an underground card game in his city! Who did you think was running things?”

“I– I don’t know,” you stutter, stupidly. The god’s honest truth is that you’d never really stopped to think about it. You’d been staring down an eviction, struggling to afford groceries. Unable to make ends meet no matter what you did. When Holly told you about this job, all you saw were dollar signs. You didn't think about anything further. Of course, you’d known these games were illegal, but it seemed so minor in the grand scheme of things. You hadn’t connected it to anything bigger because you just hadn’t wanted to.

But now– Now that you know the truth, what are you going to do? You know what you should do. You should walk out the door right now. You should find some other legitimate way to pay your bills. It’ll be safer. It’ll be better. It’ll be so much harder.

As you bite your lip, trying to process all of this information, Holly continues. “Listen,” she says, “still get him drinks, be friendly, whatever you need to do. But keep your distance however you can. Don't encourage him. He's just– He's really dangerous. They don't call him Barber’s attack dog for nothing, ok?”

“Yeah,” you say. You start to look back in Curtis’s direction but stop yourself. You think about the hundred you already have and the one promised to you at the end of the night. You think of how empty your pantry is. But then you see the genuine fear in Holly's eyes. You let out a shaky breath. “Yeah. I got it. Thanks.”

“He doesn't even come in here that often. I'm surprised to see him tonight, so I'm sure it’ll be fine,” she says, but you can tell she’s nervous.

You nod, absently, finally letting yourself glance over at him. His drink is getting close to the bottom. “Shit,” you mumble. “I gotta get him his refill.”

“Do you want me to do it?” Holly asks.

You should let her do it. You absolutely should. But you just can’t give up on that tip. You shake your head. “No, I’ll be fine. But thanks.”

You head back to the bar and grab Curtis’s top-shelf whiskey of choice from Colin, then make your way to his table. You set it down next to him, hoping to move away without him even noticing, he’s so engrossed in the game. But as you take a step back, his hand shoots out to grab your wrist. He holds it tightly until you meet his eyes. “Good girl,” he murmurs, and you can’t help the sharp intake of breath or the way you feel his words in your knees. He strokes his thumb down the inside of your wrist, then abruptly lets go, pushing his chips to the middle of the table. You step away, gathering yourself as subtly as you can, and get back to work.

The rest of the night goes quickly. The crowd gets a little rowdier as they drink more, but you find that it’s nothing you can’t handle. The reality of who these people are, what they’re connected to, never leaves your mind. But really, they’re not so bad. None of this feels so bad at all. And soon, people start heading out. You’re beginning to clean up, when a recognizable voice rings out, “Bambi!” You turn and lock eyes with Curtis. He crooks two fingers at you and you quickly make your way over to him.

“Bambi?” you ask.

He grins at you and it feels more than a little predatory. You’ll never admit how much you like it. You try to keep Holly’s warning at the forefront of your mind. “Wide eyes and just getting your legs under you,” he says. You instinctively duck your head at that, which earns a dark chuckle. “Here,” he continues, as he pulls a genuine, fat money clip out of his back pocket. You’ve never seen something like it in real life before. He peels off two bills and holds them out to you. “This is what good girls get,” he says, a low rumble in his voice.

You swallow as you take them from him. Two hundred dollars. Twice what you were expecting. “Thank you,” you say quietly.

He shakes his head. “You earned it.” Then, after one last long look at you, he turns around and leaves.

You stand and stare after him. You don’t doubt anything Holly said, but three hundred dollars, just for bringing him drinks. He doesn’t seem that bad, not really. A little intense maybe, but there’s some sort of interest there, and it can’t be that bad to encourage it, just a little if it earns you these sorts of tips, can it??

Any hesitance you have about this entire endeavor completely disappears as you count your money at the end of the night.

Your first week flies by. You're starting to get the hang of the job. You get along with your coworkers. You get to know the regulars. You like it. Even Lloyd isn’t so bad as long as you give him his cut at the end of every night.

And you’re making so much money.

In your downtime, you pay your landlord what you owe him. You go grocery shopping without scouring for coupons first or calculating exactly what you can afford beforehand. You make a Pinterest board of what you want your apartment to look like now that you might actually be able to buy things to fill it. For the very first time, you’re thinking about things you actually want, not just desperately trying to figure out how you’ll pay your bills. You’ve never felt this calm, this relaxed, this free before. It’s an incredible feeling.

And Curtis. Despite Holly’s reassurances that you wouldn’t see him much, he seems to be there whenever you are, trying to capitalize on his winning streak at the poker tables, you assume. His tips are still insanely generous. You don’t think he carries anything less than hundred dollar bills.

And there’s just something about him. The way he looks at you. The way he touches you. It’s not like the other men here. His touch is like fire, warming from the inside. There’ve been times when his hand on your hip has almost made your knees buckle. That doesn’t happen with anyone else here.

But you’re being smart and you’re being safe. You are. You’re going to set a savings goal, you think. And once you hit that number, you’ll be out of here, onto something more legitimate. And until then, you’ll just keep your head down and mouth shut, like Holly said. You haven’t even really seen anything. It’s a good plan. It’ll be fine.

She’s right that the weekends are wilder. Even with three additional girls working the room, you’re kept running. You do your best to keep an eye on Curtis’s drinks, but it’s much harder than on weeknights. And you aren’t really able to pause when you drop them off. It’s one of these times, as you’re pulling away from the table as soon as you’ve set his glass down, that you’re stopped short by his hand on you. He pulls you back in by the wrist and says, “They’re just running you ragged tonight, huh, Bambi?”

You smile and shrug. “It’s busy.”

He holds out a bill and you try not to smile even wider as he slips it into the waistband of your skirt. “For all your hard work.”

You bat your lashes a little. “You spoil me.”

“I like spoiling you,” he says, lowly.

“You’re too sweet,” you say softly. Then, pulling your arm away with a wink, you add, “Gotta run,” and you’re onto the next table.

You’re getting good at this, figuring out what level of harmless flirting is just enough to keep the money flowing. And you’re having fun. You’d never expected that.

Holly and two of the other girls, Jane and Kristi, are congregated at the end of the bar, waiting for drinks, when you join them. They’re all watching you warily. “So, uh,” Jane starts quietly, “you seem to be getting pretty cozy with Curtis.”

Before you can respond, Holly scoffs behind her. “I’ve tried to warn her but she won’t fucking listen.”

You roll your eyes. You’re tired of hearing this. “I seriously don’t get what the big deal is. He’s nice and he tips well. It’s harmless!”

Kristi just gapes at you. “He’s nice?!”

Holly slams the drinks she was waiting for onto her tray. “Whatever,” she grumbles. “It’s her fucking funeral.”

You shake your head as you watch her go. It’s fine. You can take care of yourself.

The rest of the night goes by in a blur. You don’t get much of a chance to talk to Curtis, but you feel his eyes on you before he disappears a little before closing.

At the end of the night, once you’ve helped clean up, you cash out with Colin and Jake and then go to find Lloyd in his office. You think it’s kind of ridiculous that you’re basically paying him to work there, but it is what it is. And Holly was right, you’re making so much that you barely even notice.

Lloyd is sitting at his desk, looking a little more disheveled than you’re used to. He startles at your approach, which is also new.

“Oh, hey,” he says, with slightly rounded eyes. “What can I do for you?”

You look at him, a little confused. “Just here with your cut,” you say as you hold out his money.

His hands immediately fly up to his chest, palms out. “No, no,” he says. “You made that fair and square. You just– you keep what you make from now on, Cupcake. Sound good?”

You swallow and nod, preparing yourself for whatever other price you’ll have to pay for keeping your job, mentally calculating what you’re willing to do. But Lloyd doesn’t do anything, doesn’t make any move to get closer to you. Just stays there at his desk, turning back to his work. “You have a good night,” he says, clearly dismissing you.

You leave confused, but richer, telling yourself not to question it too hard.

Things go so smoothly for a few weeks that you’re a little shocked when the bubble bursts.

It’s a relatively quiet weeknight. There are a few games going, but nothing compared to the weekend. The pace of the night feels leisurely. It’s nice.

It’s maybe the first night you haven’t seen Curtis there. It feels weird. He’s become such a part of this place for you. A fixture, like the bar or the carpet. Just one of the elements that make it what it is. But it’s fine. Of course, he doesn’t come every night. He probably has a whole life outside of this. He must’ve gotten bored of playing cards. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted.

You’re passing the time talking to one of the regulars at the bar, Vinny. He’s in his fifties, you think, with gray hair and laugh lines. He’d gone bust at the poker table (or maybe it was craps tonight) earlier and then had moved to the bar to drink away his sorrows and bad luck. That was how his nights tended to go.

He’s sitting on a barstool, his arm around your waist where you stand next to him. He’s a little close for comfort, but he’s always just been a friendly guy, so you’re alright. Which is why you’re so surprised when, in the middle of a story about the good old days of the Copa Cabana, his other hand suddenly finds its way between your thighs. You freeze. For just a second. Then you force out a laugh and try to push his hand away. “Bad boy,” you try to tease, your voice shaking. His hand will not move. What is happening? “Come on, let’s keep our hands to ourselves.”

Instead of doing what you’ve asked, his thumb briefly brushes the inside of your leg and then his whole hand begins moving higher. You stop breathing. You push again but he won’t budge.

“You’re such a pretty doll, aren’tcha?” he says.

Tears start to gather in your eyes. You look around wildly to see if anyone’s noticing what’s happening. Colin’s busy making drinks. Jake and Lloyd are talking by the door. Everyone else is engrossed in their own business. “Vinnie, stop, please,” you whisper. You don’t know why you can’t get your voice to work, can’t get your body to move.

“Come on,” he cajoles, “I’m being nice, aren’t I?”

Then his thumb brushes against your panties and your entire body jolts into action. You wrench your leg out of his grasp and take several steps away from him. Your whole body is shaking now. “I gotta–” you start, trying to keep your tone casual and failing miserably. “I gotta get back to work, Vinny.” Then you grab your tray off the bartop and walk away as fast as you can.

You don’t really have a destination in mind. You pick up a few empties as you wander between tables. You can feel his eyes on you, following you. You try to take a deep breath, calm yourself down. It isn’t very helpful. You look up to see Jake by himself now. You make your way over to him, Holly’s words on your first night in your ears. That was out of hand, wasn’t it?

He looks up as you approach. His big golden retriever smile on his face. “Hey, what’s up?” Then he actually takes you in and his smile drops. “What happened?”

“Um, Vinny, he, uh–” You feel a few tears fall down your cheeks and you just shake your head.

Jake’s face darkens. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, uh, he– he just–” You shake your head again. “No, he didn’t hurt me.”

Jake doesn’t say anything for a moment, just looks at you. There’s something about the way he does it that makes you think he understands everything you just can’t say. He nods once. “Alright. I’ll take care of it. You go take your time in the back. Do what you need to do. He’ll be gone by the time you’re done.”

You let out a shaky breath. “Okay, thank you,” you say so quietly. Then you get yourself to the back room as quickly as you can.

It’s really more of a hallway than a room, small and narrow. All of the storage space for the building is in the legitimate bar upstairs. But there’s enough room for you to crouch down, your knees pulled up tight to your chin. You bury your face in your thighs and let the tears you’ve been holding in finally fall. You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re safe. You’re fine.

You don’t know how long you’ve spent trying to calm yourself down when a large shadow suddenly looms over you. It takes you a moment to gather your strength to find out who it is. You hope it’s Jake telling you Vinny’s gone. You’re afraid it might be Lloyd, here to tell you to get back to work. There’s a slowly building terror that it might be Vinny himself.

After a deep breath, you look up to find Curtis staring down at you, concern on his face and fiery anger in his eyes. “What happened?” he growls.

You shake your head and turn away. He crouches down in front of you. “Are you alright?”

A humorless, uncontrolled laugh escapes you. Once you finally stop, you ignore his question and ask your own, “Why are you here?”

It takes him a very long time to answer. He just looks at you seriously for several moments. Then, finally, “Jake called me.” While you try to figure out why on earth Jake would do that, he continues, “I'm sorry I wasn’t already here.”

“Why?” you blurt out without thinking.

He looks away without saying anything. You both just sit in the silence for a few moments. Then, you try to change tactics. “Where were you?” you ask out of morbid curiosity. You can't imagine what his life is like outside of here.

“Working,” he says curtly. He plays with a ring on his middle finger and the movement draws your eyes to his hands, specifically his knuckles. They're scraped and caked with dried blood.

You swallow and you catch how his eyes track the movement. His eyes are always on you. He catches everything.

“Someone touched you?”

“Lots of people touch me,” you say, flatly. “It's part of the job. You touch me.”

His eyes narrow at that. “But this was different.” It isn’t a question.

You look down at your hands in your lap and don't say anything.

“Tell me who it was.”

“No,” you say instinctively, something about the moment feeling incredibly dangerous.

He huffs in frustration. “Are you trying to protect him?”

“No!” you say, sharply. “I’m protecting myself.”

“You don’t have to do that. Not from me. Not ever.”

You don’t know how to tell him that every atom in you knows that that isn’t true. You can’t explain it, and it wasn’t until the moment he joined you in this little closet, but you’d swear that he’s a danger to you. You just can't articulate how, but you feel it in your bones. And still, here you stay.

At your silence, he grits out, “If you don’t tell me who it was, Jake will.”

Jake probably already has, that’s what you’ve figured. “Great,” you say. “Then you don’t need me to say it.”

“Bambi,” he lets out in an exasperated growl. “I'm trying to help you.”

You just look at him and then figure you may as well ask the main question that's on your mind. “Why did Jake call you?”

He ignores you and stands up. “Come on,” he says and extends his hand, “I'm taking you home.”

You just blink up at him. “My shift isn't over.”

He shakes his hand at you impatiently. “It is now. Come on.”

You shake your head. “Curtis, this is my job. I can't just– Lloyd will–”

“I'll take care of Lloyd. Let’s go.”

You think about going home. About sitting alone in your small apartment. At least here you'll have something to do, things to focus on, to keep you busy. At home, there'll be nothing to think about other than that hand between your legs and– “No,” you say as firmly as you can manage. “I'm staying here. I'm finishing the night.”

His jaw ticks but he doesn’t say anything, just tries to stare you down. You stare right back. You will not concede this.

Finally, he exhales through his nostrils, then growls out an unhappy “Fine. But I'll–” He's interrupted by his phone ringing in his pocket. He takes it out and glances at the caller ID and sighs. “I have to take this.” He steps away as much as he can in the tiny area and answers with a curt “Everett.” There's a slight pause. “Yeah, I took care of it.” Another pause that has him glancing at you. “No, something else came up.”

You don't wait to hear the rest of the conversation. You take the opportunity to go back to the main room and get back to work.

You don't see Curtis again that night. You don't spare much thought to where he might've gone. You're too focused on getting through the remainder of your shift. When it's done, Jake insists on seeing you home. You don't ask why. You already know who's behind it.

The next few days are fine. You try to put what happened behind you, doing your best to ignore it. But that becomes impossible when three days after the incident you watch Vinny walk in. You can’t help the little burst of panic you feel as you warily watch him sit down at his usual table and get dealt in.

As subtly as you can, you make your way over to Jake. You don’t even say anything before he’s looking at you, chagrined. “I know,” he says. “I’m sorry, but I had to let him in. I promise it’s all going to be taken care of. It’s just– You can ignore him tonight, ok? Just trust me. You don’t need to worry about him. I promise.”

“Ok,” you say reluctantly, trying to resist looking back at Vinny. “I just– I didn’t think I’d have to see him again.”

“I really think that after tonight you won’t,” he says sincerely.

You don’t really understand what that means, but you nod anyway. “Ok,” you say. “I, uh, I should get back to work then.”

He just nods after you, looking a little concerned and a little sad. But the room is filling up, so you don’t have time to delve into it.

Sometime later, as you’re taking a brief moment to idle by the bar, a strange hush descends over the room. You’re facing away from the door, away from the rest of the room, but you see Colin take in whatever it is that’s caused this. His face pales and he lets out a quiet, urgent, “Shit.”

You turn around to see what on earth could be going on and you immediately freeze. Curtis is here. But that’s not what’s garnering all of this attention. Well, not all. Because he’s not alone, there’s a man with him. A little shorter, not quite as broad. But you’d be able to feel the power radiating off of him, even if you didn’t recognize him. Soft dark hair, thick beard, an immaculately tailored suit. You’ve seen him in the papers, on the news, but in real life, he’s even more intimidating. Andrew Barber.

Barber leans in close to say something to Curtis, who nods, eyes scanning the room until they land on you. Your breath catches, but luckily Colin calls your name behind you and you have an excuse to turn around. He places two glasses of dark liquor on the bar. “Everett,” he says, gesturing to one, then “Barber,” while waving his hand over the other. “Got it?” You nod and place them on your tray. They’re identical to your eyes except for the fact that Barber's has a muddled black cherry at the bottom of the glass.

You carefully bring them over, trying to force yourself to breathe. Curtis intercepts you and grabs the drinks when you're a few steps away. “Thank you, Bambi,” he says, lowly.

Barber perks up. “This is Bambi? Really?” He extends a hand and you have no choice but to take it. “Andy Barber,” he says with a disarming smile. “It's a pleasure to meet you finally.”

His handshake is firm, demanding. He is terrifying in his friendliness. And he knows who you are. Has known, for who knows how long. You glance at Curtis, but he's just calmly drinking his whiskey. You don't know what to say, what are you supposed to say?? So after too long a pause, you practically whisper, “Thank you, Mr. Barber.”

He chuckles lightly as he takes back his hand. To Curtis, he says, “You're right, Bambi does suit her.” Then he turns back to you and adds, “Andy, please.”

“O– Okay, Andy,” you say, with what you desperately hope is a benign smile. You look over at Curtis, you’re not entirely sure why, but out of these two dangerous options, he, at least, is familiar. “I should get back to work.”

Curtis is staring at you, but it’s Andy who answers. “Mmm, and we have a game to join, don’t we?” Curtis nods but still doesn’t break his gaze. Andy smirks, “No rest for the wicked.”

You have no idea what to do with that sentiment, so you take the opportunity and get out of there. You walk through the tables, checking to see if anyone needs anything, but the mob boss’s physical presence seems to have ground all action to a halt. The room is collectively holding its breath.

You go back to the bar for want of anything else to do. Colin is standing ramrod straight, coiled in case he needs to spring into action. Lloyd is sitting down at the end of the bar, drumming his fingers, eyes moving all around the room. You settle next to Holly, who looks just as scared as she did that first night when she was trying to warn you off of Curtis. “Is this,” you start to ask, your voice shaking. “Is this normal? Does he come here a lot?”

“No, never” she shakes her head. “Why would he come here? He has real clubs and restaurants. He doesn’t need to hang out in a shit hole like this.” She shakes her head again. “He’d only come here for a reason.”

You turn your head back to the room and find that Andy and Curtis have settled at Vinny’s table, joining his game across from him. Your heart lands in your throat. That can’t– No. You’re just some cocktail waitress. Even with Curtis’s obvious interest in you, you aren’t important enough to bring the most powerful man in the city here. You’re nothing. He must have other reasons.

The room is quiet enough to hear a pin drop as everyone waits for something to happen, which is why when Andy does start speaking, you don’t have to strain your ears to pick up every word.

He looks at his cards carefully, then over at Vinny. “You know, Vinny, you’re a hard man to track down.” His voice is so calm, it sends a chill up your spine. “You don’t go home, we can’t find you at work. I was starting to get worried.” He runs a few chips through his fingers before tossing them into the center of the felt. “That’s why, when I heard you were showing up here, I sent my best man to investigate,” he nods towards Curtis, “just to make sure you were ok.”

You don’t have a great view of Vinny from where you’re standing, but you can see how stiff he is, how silent. But he still calls when it’s his turn.

“You can imagine my relief when I found out you were alright. Except,” he raises again, a few more chips into the pot, “you’re losing a lot of money, aren’t you? Now, this upsets me. Not because you’re losing your own money. But because it’s mine, isn’t it?”

Vinny finally tries to pipe up. “Andy, hold on. I can ex–”

“You owe me $150,000, Vinny. With interest, that total’s climbing every day. And yet, you sit here and you just keep losing, don’t you? At my own game. What would you do if you won, huh? Would you really try paying me back with my own money? I thought maybe you’d at least have the smarts to cross the border and try this at one of Roger’s casinos. Huh? Paying me back with my enemy’s money, at least that I could respect. But no, it’s only me you think is stupid enough to fall for your bullshit. So now I’m here to give you the chance to fucking do it to my face.” With that, he violently pushes all of his chips into the center of the table.

Everyone else has folded. It’s just Barber and Vinny now. You’re not sure Curtis even actually played. He’s just staring Vinny down, although occasionally his eyes will flick up and meet yours. You hate feeling like you’re a part of this, but you don’t know what else to do besides watch it play out.

Vinny is just spluttering, while Andy calmly looks on. It’s all the expected, cliche stuff you’ve seen in gangster movies. He’s got the money, he swears. He just needs a little more time. Andy has to know he’s good for it! You want to roll your eyes right along with Andy.

“Call, Vinny,” Andy cuts him off, sternly. “That’s $150,000 I just put in the pot. Call. And if you win, we’re even. Your debt’s erased. But if you lose, well then that’s $300,000 you’ll owe me. And you know I won’t be able to tolerate that. So call. And let’s find out where we stand.”

You can’t see what Vinny’s doing, but you can imagine the way his fingers must be hovering over his chips, his eyes moving down to his cards to check, one more time, if they’re as good or bad as he remembers. You know there’s no way out for him either way. He’ll have to call. He’s just delaying the inevitable.

You feel like you can't breathe as you wait for him to just finally do it, but Andy cuts in again. “The thing I can't understand, Vinny, is why you kept coming here after Curtis showed up. Either you're very stupid or really fucking greedy.” He looks at Vinny carefully. “Maybe a little of both. I hear you've been touching something that doesn't belong to you.”

You gasp. No one notices, but you do. He can't be talking about you. He can't. He can't.

Vinny seems even more confused than you. “What are you talking about? I haven't touched anything!”

Andy continues to ignore him. “So you're stupid and greedy. That's why you aren't afraid of him like you should be. They call him my attack dog, did you know? Have you heard that? Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe you think he’s some puppy that follows me around. You’d be stupid to underestimate him, underestimate me. But maybe you only do that because you've never seen my dog off his leash.”

Curtis springs into action, lunging across the table to grab Vinny by the collar, and then slams his head into the felt. Before there’s even time to react, he’s stood and he's picking Vinny back up and hurling him onto the floor. Curtis comes around the table to stalk after him and the look on his face has you gasping for breath. You've never seen Curtis like this. There's a glint in his eye that might be the scariest thing you've ever seen. Who is this man? What is he capable of?

Vinny is dazedly trying to crawl away, but Curtis catches him easily. He grabs Vinny’s collar and hauls him back up, delivering two punches to his face in quick succession. The sound it makes. There's no other sound in the whole room. No one's saying anything, no one's doing anything. Everyone's just watching, hypnotized. You turn away, your stomach churning. Your eyes catch on Andy, sitting back in his chair, placidly drinking the whiskey you brought him, completely relaxed, like he's watching anything else. You can't look at him either.

The room is completely silent except for the crunching of bones, Vinny’s whimpers, and Curtis’s grunts. You look up again to be startled by eye contact with Curtis. His eyes are wild, unhinged. Feral. But there's something else in it, like all of this is for you. That all of you are there, everything is happening, because Vinny dared to touch you. It takes your breath away. It’s mesmerizing.

Andy finally stands and strides over to where Curtis is holding Vinny up in the middle of the room. He looks down at Vinny, then spits in his face. “I'm tired of trying to draw blood from a stone,” he says. Then he turns to Curtis and finishes, “Get rid of him.”

Curtis gives you one last long look, his face unreadable. You feel it in your knees. Then he drags Vinny out, leaving a bloody trail behind him.

The moment they're gone, it's like the entire room can breathe again. “Lloyd,” Andy calls out. “How ‘bout a round for everyone? On me.”

Lloyd nods to Colin who hurriedly starts pouring drinks. And you, so grateful for something to do, instead of just standing there, shaking, start loading the glasses on your tray.

As you begin to pass them out, Andy of all people, pulls you aside. “Bambi,” he says quietly, “I hope you know now, we take care of our own.”

You gaze at him, shocked. It feels like a comfort and a threat. But why? It's not so much the implication that this all had something to do with you, but you can't for the life of you imagine what you've done to get yourself to a place where Andy Barber might consider you his, however distantly. It can't just be that you work here. You can't picture him doing something similar for Holly or Colin. Once again, this all feels so incredibly dangerous.

While you're struggling to come up with anything to say to that, he grabs a drink off your tray and downs it quickly. Then, with a wink, he turns and leaves. You’re left staring after him until someone calls after you and you're scrambling to pass out drinks again.

The night ends quickly. No one seems eager to stay and drink and play after everything that's happened. Not when there's still blood on the floor.

You do what you can to help clean up, but when you stare at the stain helplessly, Lloyd tells you not to worry about it. He's got a guy.

Colin walks out with you so you aren’t in the parking lot alone. You're grateful. You're still so shaken. As you approach your car, your beater that you still don’t quite have the money to replace, you see someone leaning against it. You stop short, looking to Colin for help, but he just keeps walking to his own car, his head down. That’s when you know it’s Curtis.

You take a deep breath and then force yourself to keep walking towards him. You can't begin to parse how you feel to see him now. Your keys are ready in your hand like you might just get in and drive off without speaking to him. You know you won’t.

When you reach him, his voice is rough as he asks, “Are you ok?” He’s cleaned up. There’s no more blood on his hands, his clothes have been straightened.

You open your mouth to answer, even though you have no idea, so instead what comes out is “Did you kill him?”

“Did you want me to?” is his immediate reply.

It stops you in your tracks as all sorts of feelings come bubbling up, ones you can not, will not examine. This is about his propensity for violence, how terrifying he became, not– No. “Did you?” you insist.

He looks at you carefully then shakes his head. “I don't think you actually want me to answer that.”

“But you've killed before?” You can't stop yourself from pressing, from pushing. You don’t know why.

He just sort of smiles, gently almost, in a way that is deeply unsettling. “You need to stop asking questions you aren’t ready for me to answer, Bambi.” And it’s the way he says the nickname, like you really are that babe in the woods, just born with no knowledge of the world around you, that has your hackles rising.

“Andy called you his dog,” you say, like he should be offended.

To your surprise, he laughs, his head thrown back. Then he takes a step closer to you, and you take the opportunity to sneak in behind him, get to your car. You realize your mistake immediately when he turns back around and cages you in, your back pressed against the driver’s side door. “Everyone calls me his dog. Because he’s the civilized man in the designer suit, and I’m the animal just begging for a reason to slip my leash.”

Your heart pounds wildly in your chest. You should get into your car. You should drive away as fast as you can. You should never come back. But you don’t. “You did it for him,” you say, mustering all the strength into your voice that you can. “You didn’t do it for me.”

He leans over you, the space between you shrinking rapidly. “Yeah, he asked me to do it,” he nods. “But if he hadn’t, I still would have done it. For you.”

You try to shake your head, to tell him that that can’t be true, even as a wild, loud part of you starts to rise up and claw out of your chest. You try to tamp it down, deny it, but before you can, Curtis is leaning in further, his whole body pressing against you, and then he covers your lips with his.

There’s a heat that comes up out of him that fills you, the instant his skin touches yours. His hands are on you, your neck, your hip. You can’t keep track, can only say that his hands are there, everywhere, that his body touches all of yours, that his lips and his tongue are demanding, unrelenting. You are burning up from the inside.

Too soon, but ages later, he pulls away. His eyes are on fire as he looks at you. Then he tears his gaze away, and hits the roof of your decrepit car twice, looking at it disdainfully. “You get home safe,” he says, then steps back to allow you the space you need to get into your car.

You do what he wants you to do. You get in your car, sit in the driver’s seat, and then stare blankly out the windshield. You’ve never felt so out of control in your life. How did this happen? You were flirting for tips, that was all! You encouraged it for money, that was it, and now– You press your thighs together, trying not to pant. You will not be unmoored.

A slight movement in your periphery makes you notice that Curtis is still standing just to the side of your car, watching you. You turn your keys in the ignition and shift into drive.

It doesn’t mean anything it doesn’t mean anything it doesn’t mean anything, you chant to yourself all the way home.

It’s your next shift back, and everything seems to have changed. You don’t understand it. You keep doing laps of the room, keep sidling up to regulars you were so friendly with just a few nights ago, but now, they won’t even look at you, let alone touch you. No one’s ordering anything.

Or at least, they aren’t ordering from you.

Holly has been running around nonstop all night, basically having to take care of the entire room by herself. You watch man after man after man slip her little bundles of money.

You want to scream. What the fuck happened? What did you do? What are you going to do?

You go to stand by the bar to wait for something you can do. Colin gives you a brief nod of acknowledgment but that’s it. He’s been cold, too. No. Not cold, distant. You don’t understand what’s changed.

You take a deep breath. It’s one weird night. Things will be better tomorrow.

Things don’t get better. The next night is the same. You’re starting to panic. This job was supposed to be your lifeline. Without it, without the money you were making, you’re not sure how you’ll survive.

Curtis comes in after a couple of hours of nothing. You could cry you’re so happy to see him. But terrified too. If he gives you the cold shoulder, this job really is over. But you have no idea how he’s going to act, not after what happened last time. You’re not sure how you’re going to act either. You can still feel his lips on yours.

You bring him his whiskey immediately and he greets you with an arm around your waist, pulling you in. “Hey Bambi,” he says quietly. Then he gets a good look at you. “What’s wrong?”

You look at him carefully, not sure what to confide. You aren’t even sure what the problem is. You shake your head. “Not my best night,” you say with a tired smile. “But I’m fine.”

He stares at you for a moment, then stands up. “Come on,” he says, grabbing your hand and leading you to the little back room. You feel eyes on the two of you the whole way there.

Once he’s closed the door behind you both, he asks again, “What’s wrong?”

You sigh. “The last two nights have been weird here. I don’t– I don’t know. I’m just worried. I don’t know what happened but I’m not making any tips. No one’s treating me like they used to.”

“Mmm,” Curtis hums thoughtfully. “I think,” he says as he takes two steps closer to you, which in this small space is significant, “everyone else here has figured it out.”

It’s suddenly a little hard to breathe with him standing over you like this. His presence, his attention is always so much. “Figured what out?” you ask, confused.

“That I have lost my patience for watching other men touch you.”

It hits you like a freight train. “What?” It comes out in a whisper.

“I’ve let this go on for too long,” he says, his voice is calm, casual. “I don’t want you working here anymore. This is done.”

“I– What? Curtis. What?! I have to work! I have to pay my bills! I don’t understand. I don’t–”

He takes one last step forward. You feel the heat coming off of him. “Shh,” he soothes, cradling your cheek in his hand. “It’ll be alright. I’ll take care of you. I take care of what’s mine.”

You pull your face away, even as the urge to nuzzle into him is so strong. You feel like you’ve missed something, a thousand things. You feel too many steps behind. “Curtis, I’m not– I’m not yours.”

Something comes into his eyes and you’re reminded of him standing over Vinny, covered in blood. His hand travels down from your cheek. He strokes your throat once, and then his hand closes around it. “Look me in the eye,” he growls, “and say that again.”

His hand is firm, snug, but it doesn’t tighten. But you can imagine so easily how it might. You look him in the eye. You open your mouth, ready to say it again. But then– then you see it. In the way he looks at you, the way he’s always looked at you. You feel it in his grip on you, now. You can’t deny it anymore.

Curtis shoves you into his bedroom. You’re panting already. You need his hands on you, right now. You don’t have to ask for it. He gets you to the center of the room and yanks down your skirt, tearing it in the process. You step out of it and take your blouse off, throwing it on top of your skirt. Curtis’s eyes are cataloging your body, the swell of your breasts spilling out of your bra, your soft tummy, thick thighs. His gaze, as always, takes your breath away.

You reach out for Curtis’s shirt, but he grabs your hands. “I want you on your knees,” he growls and you immediately kneel for him. He throws off his shirt, revealing the expanse of his chest, the muted blacks and grays of his tattoos. You’re desperate to run your hands over them, trace the art, but instead, they just twitch at your side. He'll tell you what you're allowed to do.

He begins unbuttoning his jeans and your mouth drops open. He chuckles darkly. “Perfect little slut.” He takes his phone out of his back pocket and aims it at you, taking a picture as you gaze up at him under your lashes, your mouth wide open. “I've been dreaming of getting you on your knees for me.” He puts his phone on his dresser, then continues taking off his pants. “You ready to choke on my cock, baby?”

“Please,” you whine. You're practically salivating now. His bare thighs are as thick as tree trunks, the muscles corded. His abs ripple as he moves. His shoulders, his back. You want.

He frees his cock and rolls his black boxer briefs down his legs, stepping out of them. It's long and thick, just like the rest of him. Your breath catches. You don't think you've ever taken something that big before.

He takes a few steps so he's completely in your space, his cock bobbing right in front of your face. He takes it in one hand, the other firmly on the back of your head and slowly feeds the tip into your mouth. You taste his musk on your tongue. As he rocks into your mouth, going a little further each time, your hands come up to grasp his thighs. On his next thrust in, you run your tongue along the underside of his dick. His movements stutter just a little and then he looks down at you, a smirk overtaking his face. It's just a touch mean, in a way that has you soaking your panties. “You ready?” he asks, his voice rough. And then without waiting for the answer, he thrusts in all the way, making you take him deep in your throat.

You flail, slapping his thigh as you try to swallow around him, breathing frantically through your nose. After holding you there for a moment, he sets a brutal but steady pace. It takes you a moment, but you find your rhythm, your panic subsiding. Once you feel steady, you lift one hand from his thighs and bring it up to cradle his balls. “Fuck, Bambi,” he grinds out. “You're gonna– I– fuck!” His hand moves from the back of your head down to the back of your neck, which he grips firmly, pulling you off his cock. As you cough and splutter on the floor, he growls, “The first time you make me come is gonna be inside that perfect cunt.”

He helps you stand on wobbly legs, then shoves his hand between your legs, cupping your pussy over your panties. “Shit, fucking soaked just from deepthroating me?”

You let out a needy little whine, trying to push further into his hand, but he withdraws it, instead settling on your hip. “Well,” he grins, “if they’re ruined anyway…” then uses that hand to rip the black lace down the side, letting them fall to the floor. He makes quick work of your bra as well, then takes a step back and sighs, “Shit, Bambi, look at you.” It’s the reverence in his voice and on his face that has you launching yourself at him, unable to keep from kissing him any longer. He lets you, quickly taking control, letting you feel all his hunger, the want he’s kept barely bottled up since he first laid eyes on you. You understand it all now. His erection brushes against you, and now it’s his turn to whine, just a little.

He pulls away, brushing a hand down your cheek, then says “Get on the bed, on your stomach.” You quickly comply, laying in the center of the bed with your knees pulled up and spread beneath you. He brings his hand down on one asscheek harshly and you can’t help the lewd moan that escapes you. He chuckles, “Oh, I will definitely remember that for later.” He grabs your hips and cants them up, then whistles at your exposed cunt. “I knew it. Absolutely beautiful.” Then he unceremoniously shoves two fingers into your hole and you choke on nothing. “Shh,” he coos. “You can take it. My cock’s gonna be a lot thicker.”

As he starts scissoring his fingers inside you, you can’t hold it in any longer and start babbling. Mostly a combination of “please,” and “Curtis,” and “I need,” over and over.

“I know, baby,” he says as he pulls his fingers out of you. “I’ve got what you need right here.” You have a brief moment to feel the tip of his cock on your pussy lips before he’s thrusting it into you, as far as he can go without making it hurt.

“Oh my god,” you cry, pressing your forehead into the mattress and balling his dark blue sheets in your hands. You feel so full. It’s so good. He’s working himself into you as quickly as he can, desperate now. You both are. Once he bottoms out, fully seated in you, he pauses. Then with one hand on your stomach and the other around your neck, he pulls you up onto your knees, your back flush to his chest. You cry out at the new angle; he’s somehow even deeper now. He starts thrusting up into you at a punishing pace. You’re bouncing up and down in his firm grasp. The hand on your neck turns your head to face him, his lips brushing against yours. He holds eye contact with you as the hand on your stomach snakes down your pelvis so his thick fingers can begin circling your clit. “Fuck! Curtis, please!” you shout.

“Yeah, come on,” he breathes, “you can let go. You can do it. Come for me like a good girl.” It’s those words that send you careening over the edge, your cunt pulsing around his cock, squeezing him until he’s coming too with a grunt, filling you up until both your cum is leaking out around him.

He holds you there, on your knees, as you both come down, your twin pants all you can hear.

You wake up slowly, the sun shining on you through the soft drapes. You start to shift then groan at how stiff you are. The night before comes back to you. Curtis took you two more times before you both collapsed in satisfied exhaustion. He’s still out like a light beneath you.

You take a moment to look at him. It’s odd to see him so peaceful, so still. There’s nothing of the feral predator he projects to the world. It makes you feel oddly close to him, seeing him like this.

You carefully get up without disturbing him and begin collecting your clothes. You put on your bra, but there’s no saving your panties. Same for your skirt; it’s ripped along the seam. So instead you pick up Curtis’s t-shirt from last night and put it on. It smells like him. You breathe it in shamelessly knowing there’s no one to witness it.

You savor the soreness as you move out of the bedroom. It’s like you can still feel him inside you, how much he wanted you, needed you. It makes you feel a little powerful, having that effect on a man like him.

You make your way into his living room. You didn’t really have a chance to look at his house last night, as determined as he was to get you into the bedroom. If you’d ever thought to picture it, this wouldn’t be far off. It’s all rich blues and greens and grays, leather and dark wood. Masculine. It suits him.

As you’re admiring the room, you hear footsteps behind you and then two big arms are encircling your waist, pulling you into him. “Good morning,” he rasps.

You turn your head to him. “Good morning,” you say with a smile.

“Fuck, Bambi, you’re even hotter in my shirt than you were last night.”

You smirk at him even as your face heats. “Mmm,” you hum. “It’s comfy. You might not get it back.” He nuzzles into your neck as you continue. “I was hoping you might have something I could wear for bottoms, too. You destroyed my skirt.”

His beard roughly drags against your skin as he asks, “Why the hell would I let you wear bottoms?”

You laugh. “Because I have to leave the house, Curtis.”

“No, you don’t,” he says as his hand begins to move between your thighs.

You playfully swat him away, even as you feel yourself getting wet again from his attention. “I have to go home.”

“Why? You’re staying here.” It’s how certain he sounds that has you turning around in his arms.

“What?”

“I don’t like your building. It isn’t safe enough. Now that I finally have you, of course, I’m going to keep you here with me.”

Once again, you feel too many steps behind. You just blink at him, confused. How does he even know where you live??

He takes your chin in his hand, his fingers gentle. “I told you, Bambi, I take care of what’s mine.”

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biteofcherry · 1 year

Text

This is just a collection of very short scenes from Ruby Garden, focused on adventures in tangerine theft 😆

for @dumbgothbunny who asked for some crumbs of Ruby Garden 💗

Ruby Garden Masterlist

Each separated bit is about different Reader (meaning each Dom has a different Reader).

Dom!Lloyd Hansen x sub!reader

Dom!Ari Levinson x sub!reader

Dom!Andy Barber x sub!reader

Dom!Nick Fowler x sub!reader

Dom!Steve Rogers x sub!reader

Dom!Bucky Barnes x sub!reader x Dom!Curtis Everett

warnings: none really; it's pure playfulness and teasing; only brief mentions of punishments and filthy shmexy times; BDSM setting; Dom/sub dynamics; safe, sane and consensual; power imbalance

Intro

Out of all the snacks available for members of the Ruby Garden, it's the tangerines that somehow gained a status of most desired gold.

It happened as anecdotes and inner jokes happen - because of a one time incident.

A mistake in the order led to double quantity of bananas and complete lack of tangerines. Since Ari Levinson wasn't about to let anything go to waste, the buffet served bananas for a month in various forms (thankfully along with other available fruit, small salads and canapes). And not a single tangerine.

So when finally tangerines were ordered again when the bananas were all eaten, the submissives jumped on them like starved.

Which led to the decision of making little citrus fruit a rarity, so that their appearance brought joy and laughter.

It also started a game of tangerine theft.

Lloyd

You winked at your co-conspirator as the both of you followed Master Lloyd.

Well, you followed the crate of tangerines that were carried to the bar. It just so happened that Master Lloyd was the one who brought in the first crate and now the other.

You leaned against the bar, your friend along with you, bouncing in excitement. And a bit in impatience, as you waited for him to acknowledge your presence.

That he was aware of you standing there, you were sure.

Somehow Master Lloyd was always aware of his surroundings, like a predator in vigil.

You didn't know his line of work, but perhaps he was simply attuned to submissives so much he's aware when they sneak around. Especially when they try to avoid him and his whip.

You kicked your friend when she opened her mouth, undoubtedly to call for him.

No, no. If you're not another Master, you didn't call for Lloyd. You waited for his permission to speak.

Or accepted if he ignored you, since it meant he wasn't interested at all.

But thankfully, after a few more heartbeats, he turned around and arched a single eyebrow as he eyed you.

"What can I get you, bunnies?" He tilted his head, throwing a dishcloth over his arm as if he was a bartender.

You grinned and your friend giggled.

"We'd like tangerines," you stated boldly.

The game was mostly about theft, but no rules applied, meaning that asking for it counted as well. Besides, your goal was to distract Master Lloyd enough that the actual theft could happen...

"Tangerines?" Lloyd whistled. "Wow. You play big game, bunny."

"How big?" You licked your lips and gulped.

A part of you itched to feel that lick of whip, but a bigger part of you wanted to run fast - like the bunny he called you - and hide in a hole.

"You need to earn a tangerine." Lloyd crossed his arms. "With a trick."

"A trick?" You narrowed your eyes, trying to think of something you could do. You weren't a magician, nor a gymnast who could do flips.

Then it suddenly downed on you, your grin broadening.

Maybe you didn't knew some cool tricks, but you had a few from the past college party girl life.

"Can I earn two tangerines, if the trick is really neat?" You asked, linking your arm with your friend's.

"Sure, bunny," Lloyd chuckled.

Head held high, you went over to the counter loaded with smoothies in tall glasses. You picked one and brought it over to where you were standing earlier.

Taking the straw out of the glass, you tossed it aside. Then you crossed your wrists behind your back and leaned forward.

You opened your mouth wide and hovered above the glass for a few deep breaths. Then your mouth was on the glass, cheeks hollowing in a strong suck to keep the glass from falling out as you lifted up your head.

Slowly, not to choke on a rather thick smoothie, you tilted your head back and downed it all.

When you put the glass back down - still without using your hands; you felt slightly dizzy for a second. Then the sense of hilarious euphoria kicked in as you realized you managed to do that.

Judging by Master Lloyd's face, euphoria was the right feeling for the rest of your evening too.

"Bunny," he said, smirk curving his lips, "your mouth can earn a whole crate of tangerines, if you put your mind to it."

He held out two tangerines, which you accepted with a giggle.

"Tell you what," Lloyd leaned forward, "you can earn yourself two more, if you repeat that trick on my cock. And another two for your friend, if you manage not to cum while she licks you when you choke on my dick."

Ari

The girls were doing great job occupying Master Lloyd, giving you the perfect opportunity for your self-proclaimed ninja stealthy skills.

Having tiptoed to the other side of the bar countertop, you slid yourself across it; hand diving straight into the crate of tangerines, which was left there earlier.

Quickly, you grabbed two in one hand and two in the other. Hugging them to your chest, you wiggled back down.

However, your smile of triumph froze and then fell from your lips as soon as you turned around.

Your Master was standing right behind you, with arms crossed and a displeased look on his face.

Damn it!

You weren't even aware he was anywhere near to spot you. You made sure there was no one other around this side of the club, but somehow Ari detected you.

And sneaked up on you instead. How, you had no idea either. At least you were barefoot, which allowed extra silence to your step. Ari was wearing shoes and still moved so quietly you didn't hear him.

For a split of a second, your gaze drifted above his shoulder, before returning to his beautiful, but stern face.

Slowly, you lowered your arms as if ready to give him the tangerines in defeat.

Before that happened, however, you suddenly tossed the fruit over Ari's shoulder. Surprising him completely.

"Run girls, run!" You yelled.

Two other submissives, who were standing further away, caught the flying tangerines and ran off in opposite directions.

That was the whole main game plan for tonight. All of the submissives working together, so that at least some of them managed to steal and eat tangerines.

Ari's head whipped around the second you yelled. He watched two subs run like mad, squealing in delight (and partly in excitement upon the chase being now on their tail).

When he turned back to you, there was a look of utter disbelief on his face and you barely stopped yourself from snorting in amusement.

And then he burst out laughing. A roaring sound, with head thrown back and arms falling to his sides.

There were crinkles in the corners of his eyes as he looked down at you. Your own lips were curved in a happy smile, feeling blissful joy from making your Master laugh.

"Sacrificing yourself for the greater good, huh?" Ari chuckled, stepping closer.

"Sacrificing?" You asked nervously, taking a tentative step back.

Ari's hand shot up instantly, gripping the back of your neck and yanking you forward.

"Oh, definitely, Cherie." His voice dropped lower.

All of your blood seemed to flood lower, too; pulsing in your clit.

"Theft is punishable. Severely. We'll start by taking your thieving hands out of equation as you serve your atonement."

Though his words evoked a wave of heat, they also made you gulp. Ari's versions of punishments were unpredictable, always wicked. Inquisitors could learn from him.

"Will I get a tangerine afterwards?" You asked, trying for a cute face when he gripped your chin.

"If you're conscious." Ari declared in a deadly dark tone.

Andy

Having caught two flying tangerines, you made a quick swerve and then purposely slowed down.

Keeping a soft smile on your lips, you walked as if nothing happened. As if you weren't holding a tangerine in each hand, which you tried to hide with the layers of frilly, sheer dress you were wearing.

You passed another sub on your way, right by the bathrooms as you previously agreed. Brushing her hand against yours, seemingly casually, she took one of the tangerines.

You continued on, taking steady steps toward the actually empty submissive's nook - a cozy lounging space for submissives to sit between scenes or wait for their Masters.

Hiding in plain sight.

No one would even think you're bold enough to eat your tangerine of victory out in the open.

Peeling it quickly, you popped first piece into your mouth and smiled. Then another piece. And another. Though you often bought tangerines on your grocery trips, they never tasted like those in the ruby Garden.

Humming in giddy happiness, you scooped the orange peels and wrapped them in a wipe. Boxes of wipes were available all around, quite a necessary item in this kind of club.

You took another layer and wrapped it for good measure, then tossed it into a small bin in the corner.

"Hiding the evidence?" Andy's voice startled you.

You jumped with a squeak, accidentally kicking the bin as you straightened.

"Sir?" You twisted your hands behind you.

Quickly rubbing your palms on the fabric of your dress, you hoped to wipe off any remnants of citrus scent and flavor.

"Everything points to you stealing and eating a tangerine, Birdie." Andy neared, placing both hands on your shoulders and gently massaging them.

"I-" a part of you wanted to confess immediately.

But a part of you - the one that learned under Master Andy's care that playfulness was rewarded too - stopped you from blurting your citrus sins.

"I don't know what you mean, Sir," you replied instead, biting your lip.

"I see." Andy's blue eyes darkened, but his jaw remained relaxed, meaning he wasn't really cross with you.

His hands swiped down your arms, fingers encircling your wrists in a firm grip.

"You've never seen me put a suspect on a stand. Now you'll see it first hand." He linked your wrist cuffs together in front of you. "Let's see how your line of defense holds up after a few rapid rounds."

Nick

Swiping a tangerine from the other sub's hand, you trotted to the corner of the club that still was marked as unopened after a small renovation.

There was this black lacquered cocoon, not unlike the garden ones, which you wanted to hide and sway in for a while now.

It was supposed to be officially free to use as of the next day, so you didn't think that you hiding there would do any damage. And a hiding place you definitely needed, to follow with your tangerine crime.

You climbed into the cocoon, huffing at the height it was hung on. You snuggled into dark, soft cushions and stuck out one of your foot to push against the wall and get the cocoon rocking slightly.

Then you peeled the tangerine and ate it, with a cheshire grin on your face.

Frowning, when your hideout stopped swaying, you tried to get it into motion again. But it wouldn't budge.

You added more force, but nothing happened.

It downed on you why.

Gulping nervously, you quickly swiped tangerine peels under the cushions and sunk further into them, hoping to disappear.

"Funny," the drawl of Master Nick's voice sent a shiver down your spine, "I can smell citrus, but it's impossible for any to be here, right? Not in the still locked area. Far away from the buffet where the tangerines are supposed to be."

He appeared in your line of vision slowly, hand gliding along the lacquered wicker of the cocoon.

It was his strong hold that stopped the movement of the swing.

"Um, no, Sir," you looked up at him, sweet smile on your face. "Definitely no tangerines here."

"Mhm." He tilted his head to the side, gaze sliding over your body. His tongue swiped over his bottom lip in a slow, tempting motion. "Yet I still can smell it."

"Maybe it's my perfume," you shrugged, surprising yourself with the bold bullshit.

"Could be." Nick nodded, as if taking your argument seriously. "Or a sneaky submissive could've broken the sacred tangerine law and is in need of punishment."

Suddenly he was in your space, half of his body in the cocoon as he caged you in.

"You won't mind, if I sate my curiosity, right Bonbon?"

He took one of your wrists into his hand, lifting your arm and trailing the tip of his nose so slowly against it. From your shoulder to your wrist.

He gently pressed your arm back against the wicker backrest, above the cushions.

Then suddenly your wrist was trapped.

"What the h-" you barely stopped yourself from cursing. You turned your head, neck craning uncomfortably. Only to see your hand cuffed to the backrest.

You haven't noticed the shackles before! Damn it!

Nick was quick to cuff your other wrist as well. When his big hand gripped your ankle, you squeaked.

He forced your leg up, bending it at the knee and pulling it slightly to the side. Your ankle was secured in a cuff at the bottom rim of the cocoon. So was the other.

Leaving you spread like a little frog ready for dissection.

"I'll just probe around, Bonbon," Nick's smile was cruel as he ran his fingertips down your inner thighs.

You realized then, why the cocoon was at this particular height.

Since your exposed pussy was almost perfectly aligned with Master's hips.

Bucky and Curtis

One of the two tangerines flying from above Master Ari's shoulder almost smacked you right in the face, but you managed to catch it.

With a squeal, you hugged them to your chest and sprinted right.

You hurried to the little nook you have scouted for yourself earlier. Behind a huge potted Areca palm that stood between two couches in the Dom's lounging corner.

Kneeling behind it, you peeled both tangerines. You stuck the peels inside the plant's pot - a win win, really: you got the sweet citruses and hid the evidence, and the palm got free compost.

You were about to munch on your tangerine, when heavy steps neared your tiny corner.

Two sets of heavy steps. Crap.

Trying not to move too rapidly, you peeked from behind green fans of palm leaves. Hoping that they simply walked over to sit and lounge, and that they would go away soon.

Unfortunately for you, Masters Curtis and James (who liked to be called Bucky outside of scene) were standing right in front of the palm, their eyes settled on you.

"Gonna come out of your den, little fawn, or do you need me to yank you out?" Curtis' firm, gruff voice was marginally colored with amusement.

When you didn't move right away, Bucky crouched down. It allowed him to be more at your eye level, but you knew it wasn't to make you feel equal. But so you could really see the icy blue of his ice shine with promise of repercussions.

"See, little fawn," Bucky said, "the worst mistake a prey does is making a sound. And your cute squeak was like a beacon that called to us."

He grinned and you felt your heart rise to your throat. Then it dropped down straight to your clit, making it pulse so rapidly you thought you may come just from their overwhelming, dangerous aura.

Your gaze skittered around, fingers clenching around the two small fruit. There really was no place to run. And you didn't even get to eat your tangerine yet.

Maybe you could stuff one right into your mouth, before you walked out to them?

Just when you were considering defeat, you noticed that the backrest of one of the couches was sloped. There was a nook right at the bottom, a corridor between the wall and the couch.

If you were fast, you could make it.

Especially since there was a set of two coffee tables the Doms had to move around before they could reach the other end of the couch you'd be crawling behind.

You made it look as if you were rounding the big pot, hoping to fool them.

And then you sprinted on your hands and knees, squeezing yourself between the back of the couch and the wall.

Somehow you managed to get free, without getting caught right away. So you fled.

This time not knowing where, only that you had to run away from the big bad monsters. You also really, really hoped they would catch you. Oh God, how you hoped this thrill of chase would explode into another surge of adrenaline and endorphins upon being caught.

As you ran, you passed another submissive. You forced one of the tangerines (slightly squeezed) into her hands and darted forward.

You were sure you're hearing heavy footsteps behind you. You were about to glance over your shoulder to check how close they were on you, when suddenly you slammed into a warm wall of muscles.

Bucky caught you, chuckling at your loud squeak.

Then Curtis was pressing behind you, his shadow cutting out any light and making you breathe harder.

"What to do with a naughty fawn?" Curtis hummed, curling his fingers around the front of your neck and pulling your head backwards, until it rested on his chest.

"I say a spry, sweet venison is best to be roasted," Bucky's arms were still around you, caging your own arms at your sides.

His breath tickled your cheek before he nipped your earlobe.

"Spitroasted."

Steve

You were obediently staying in place as your Master prepared the bench for what he had planned for you tonight. Already naked, you kept your gaze mostly to the ground, still battling your insecurity to look upwards and bravely face whoever may be glancing your way.

Which is why you didn't see the bolt of heavily breathing submissive darting your way.

Only when you heard the commotion did you look up. Just as she ran past you.

As she did, she dropped something small and sticky into your hands.

Eyes wide in surprise, you watched her run away and Master Curtis prowling right after, determined smile curving his lips.

There was no Master James in sight, which meant he was probably already cutting off the submissive's escape rout.

Your eyes shifted back to what was in your hands and they widened further.

A peeled tangerine.

Sacred, forbidden, so so tempting.

You glanced at Steve, who still had his back to you as he readjusted the straps. For s second you got distracted by the way the muscles in his back flexed as he worked.

But a trickle of citrus juice tickling your finger reminded you of the gold in your hands.

You ripped away one tiny piece and quickly stuffed it in your mouth. In the very last moment you stopped yourself from moaning around it.

Then you popped another piece into your mouth, smiling as the slightly sour flavor mixed with sweetness.

You munched on two pieces at once, squeezing your eyes shut when the juice grazed your throat, nearly causing you to cough.

"Don't choke, Darling." Steve's amused voice almost made you do that.

You turned to him swiftly, one hand flying to cover your still chewing mouth, the other squeezing tangerine tighter.

Blue eyes shimmering with laughter, Steve took your hand and pried it off your face. Crinkles around his eyes seemed to deepen when he saw your puffed cheeks and puckered, juicy mouth.

"I always knew you're magical, but to summon a tangerine without moving from your spot is an astonishing trick," he teased.

He brought your hand to his lips, then licked the juice off your fingertips.

When he let go of your hand, but kept his outstretched, palm up, you knew what he demanded. You placed the tangerine in Steve's hand, with a little regretful sigh.

"Quite a few pieces left still, Darling." Steve glanced at the remaining tiny, orange moons.

"Since I know you're my good girl, I'm sure you'll deserve them when we're done." He ran a single finger along your cheek, then used it to tilt your chin up.

"I'll feed you them myself. Each piece for every orgasm you give me."

Your pupils dilated and your thighs clenched.

There was still at least half of a tangerine remaining. More than three or four pieces. Five perhaps.

"And then-" Steve leaned closer, his lips brushing against yours- "I'll tell you how to steal tangerines, so no one catches you."

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sweater-daddiesdumbdork · 6 months

Text

Kiss Me, I'm-

A Curtis and Honey Holiday Special

Summary- 3.2k Curtis x Plus Sized Reader. Saint Patrick's Day is in full swing at Paulie's Bar. You and Paulie play a friendly game of flip cup, that results in the whole bar getting a special holiday round of beer. As well as an opportunity for Curtis to get you all to himself.

Warnings- Dirty Talk, Sexual Activities, Alcohol Consumption, Buzzed/Drunk.

A/N- Thank you so much @mumbles411 for reading through this piece as well as all our conversations about Curtis and Honey. I really appreciate all the times you just drop a random thought and we weave whole scenarios around it. @bigtreefest thank you so much for dropping that ask in my inbox that prompted this. To all the readers, gosh you guys are incredible. Thank you!

If you happen to celebrate the holiday, please stay safe.

If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment and/or give a share.

Life Is Short So Make It Sweet Masterlist

“You can try to kick my ass at this.” You smirked as you flicked the cap off of a jameson bottle, the top spinning across the bar's counter till Paulie smacked his hand against it to keep it from spinning onto his floor.

“Oh girl, I know I am going to.” Paulie set down a line of red solo cups between the two of you, his eyes narrowed at your challenge. “Saint Patricks Day is a bartender's Christmas, I’m not about to let you out-flip me at flip cup.” He informed you while taking the bottle of Jameson, pouring some whiskey down the line and finishing the rest of the cups with his green beer.

Edgar at your side scrunched up his face. “So instead of Santa, you have little leprechauns you look forward to? Just fucking creepy man, I hate those little bastards.” He shuddered.

You laughed while bumping your shoulder against Edgar’s. “Even Lucky the lucky charms leprechaun?”

“ESPECIALLY HIM! You know he is a scheming little bastard. You’ve seen the movies, those leprechauns will murder you just because.”

Paulie scoffed at Edgar, setting the bottle and pitcher aside.

“Oooh! That was such a terrible set of movies.” You glanced over your shoulder towards where Curtis was in a game of pool with Ella. “We should watch the leprechaun movie later!” The balls clanked loudly after he took his shot and straightened up, leveling you a look.

“Honey, you taking that line of shots with Paulie, you’re gonna be out of commission tonight.” You scoffed to hide your grin, knowing he was right. After this topped off with the green beer Paulie was serving to celebrate, you were gonna be wasted. “Okay, tomorrow then.”

Ella piped up from the other side of the pool table. “Oh, I vote sleepover and we build a fort in the living room to watch them. Curtis can make us his hangover cure.”

“Deal.” You gave her some cheesy finger guns while Curtis eyed you, a playful gleam in his expression.

“Remember that when I’m trying to get you out of bed tomorrow.”

“Wait, can I crash this sleepover?” Edgar pouted and you slung your arm over his shoulder, drawing him in close.

“The more the merrier, of course you're invited.” From behind you, you could hear Curtis and Ella debating about the best hangover cures and just how committed Curtis was to cooking for all of you in the morning.

“Okay! Back to what we were doing… Paulie, you ready?”

“At drinking you under the table? Sweetheart I was born ready.” He curled his fingers on one of the cups at one end, preparing. You both stare at each other trying to intimidate the other. “The one with the most flipped cups wins.”

Curtis came up behind you at some point, his hands resting on your tense shoulders, squeezing lightly and you saw Paulie's eyes flicker behind you. “Bet’s on that Y/N gets in more shots. I know my girl, she doesn’t back down from a challenge.”

Oh did that make you tingle all over at his praise. Now you absolutely had to win.

“Prepare to lose your money Everett.” Paulie shot back but you just gave a cool smirk at the man. Edgar watched the clock above the bar and as soon as the second hand hit the new minute mark, his palm slammed down on the bar, making you leap into action.

You were good at this game, college had taught you the efficiency of keeping calm instead of trying to rush in flipping the cups.

Meaning while Paulie was fumbling with some of his flips, yours were steadily flipping in the correct manner, wincing whenever you came across the shots of whiskey, the beer though went down a lot easier.

“Son of a bitch, flip.” Paulie sputtered, seeming to get stuck halfway up the line. You were laser focused, the whiskey making your eyes water with every heavy swallow. Curtis was whispering in your ear about how you were turning him on right then.

“Come’on Pretty Girl. Show them how good my girl is.”

Between that and the burn of alcohol, you were swimming in the rush of it. The last cup flipped and you threw your hands up in victory with a cheer, just barely beating out Paulie by a matter of seconds. From behind you Curtis gave a victory yell, pulling you into him while you were still jumping and dancing in your win.

“Ya got lucky.” Paulie huffed while Curtis reached over you to grab the Jameson bottle and took a drag off it, claiming it for himself.

“My girl has fucking talent.” Curtis praised, his arms enclosing you against his firm chest. Warmth filled you, feeding you till you squirmed back against him, his grunt quietly muffled in your hair.

“Tease.” He whispered, flexing his hold on you to keep you still for now.

The whiskey as well as the rush of excitement had you floating on that feel-good sensation that you were ready to ride till it faded away.

“Alright Y/N, how are we celebrating?” Paulie leaned against the bar after cleaning up the pile of red solo cups and the remnants of jameson spilled across the bar.

“Beers.” You demanded. “St.Patrick’s Day demands it.”

“How about the next round on me then?” Paulie offered, gathering up the pitchers of beer to refill glasses.

“THE WHOLE BAR?” came a shout from somewhere in the room, you suspected it was Ella. Paulie conceded, waving over his customers to claim their free beer.

Curtis took his chance with the rush to the bar, tugging you away from the crowd and slipping the two of you through doors leading to the back rooms and the office. You giggled as he rounded on you, grabbing your hips and swinging you up to wrap your legs around his waist. “We aren’t supposed to be back here.” You chided, teasing as your hand wrapped around the back of his neck, hovering your lips close to his.

“Paulie is too fucking busy now losing part of his profits to notice where we are.” Curtis growled while continuing his mission to get you all to himself. Pushing open the office door with his shoulder, his hand fumbled on the lock while you crashed your mouth to his,

Pinning you back against the door, your head banged back with a soft thud while he traveled away from your lips, grinding into you.

“How's that whiskey treating you Pretty Girl?”

You whimpered when you felt his kiss at your pulse point turn harder, making you tingle at the sensation. “Good, really good…”

“Want me to make it even better?” His mouth finds your ear, teasing you enough to make you bite your lip at the loss of his mouth.

This man knew how to drive you crazy, your body arching to press against his all that much more although he already had you pinned tightly against the door. “Please Curtis?” Your tone is aching and needy, lust filled.

“Fuck when you sound like that.” He growled as his mouth reclaimed yours, swinging you away from the door and falling back into the chair behind the office desk, while your hands reached between you two, tugging his belt open. “It makes me so fucking hard for you.”

“How long do you think we have?” You moved to kiss along his bristled jawline, nipping at his neck while he reached around you to shake the computer mouse and pull up the bar's cameras.

“Plenty of time Pretty Girl.” He wrapped a hand into your hair, pulling you back till you were sitting up straight and his eyes could roam up and down your body, licking his lips like you were just made to be devoured. “Get out of those pants and turn around.” His palm smacked against your ass, making a slapping sound but your jeans kept away any sting. You lifted yourself off to do as he asked, a glance over your shoulder showed him shimming his pants and boxers down off his hips. For good measure, you stripped your shirt off to drop it with your pants.

“We’re gonna have to buy Paulie a new chair.” You giggle as you finally get one of your legs free and Curtis grasps your hips to make you back up, his touch going between your thick thighs to tighten his fingers into your panties, making them rub right up against your clit. “Fuck.” You hiss, rocking your hips enough to create friction.

“Leather chair Pretty Girl, he will never know once I wipe it back down.”

The image of Curtis’s ass cheeks in the leather made you giggle between breathy moans, another glance over your shoulder catching sight of him spitting on his hand and rubbing it up and down his cock. You couldn't muffle the giggles while Curtis pushed aside your panties finally and had you start to lower on him slowly, gentle bounces and thrusts working him in. “Although your ass print should be considered a work of art.” The image of framing the chair with two distinct ass cheek imprints having you laughing harder until Curtis pushed you down into his lap.

“You're a fucking work of art, remind me to nail you up against a wall later.” He stated, his hands flexing in appreciation along the curve of your hips.

A gasp escaped you, falling back into his chest with a buzzed grin plastered on your face. “I ever tell you how much I love feeling you. Mmmhh when I first met you I said ‘Y/N, that man has a cock made to ride.”

Curtis snorted behind you, running his hands up your front to tease your breasts in his hands, pushing your bra out of the way. “Was that before you went all teacher mode or after you left?”

You moved your hands over his, making him squeeze harder till he was doing the exact pressure you wanted. “Oh definitely during, the whole time we were walking around and I had to ask those questions. Good thing I had my note cards or else I would have failed at being logical.”

You felt the press of his smile against your cheek and a groan coming from him, followed by a curse. Squeezing your cunt around him always made him a little more vocal and you loved hearing him. “Wanna know what I was thinking the whole time?” He muttered in your ear before pushing you forward to sit up, your hands landing on the desk edge in front of you and his own touch slid down to your hips.

Digging into you like he was holding on.

“How this perfect fucking cunt was made to take my cock.” He thrusted up hard, making you jolt in his lap and flutter excitedly. “Knowing how god damn sexy you would be when you went mindless, begging for more.” He started faster, making you bounce on him. Your hands tightened their grip on Paulie’s desk to keep you from falling forward, the jolts making your little sounds escaping broken sounding almost pathetic. “How you played sweet and innocent that day, but I knew that was just a show…”

Your head nodded, your ass slapping down onto his lap now, your body jiggling in the forceful movements. His cock pounding into you was making your eyes roll, how good it felt to feel him fuck into you over and over. “T’was Curtis, I wanted…”

“Wanted what Pretty Girl?” He asked, his tongue and teeth sinking into your shoulder blade and kissing your flexing back. Sure there would be a mark on you, his mark and that satisfied him on a whole other level.

“That.”

“What’s that?” Curtis let go of your hips, to roam his hands over you, palming your breast again and squeezing till you shuddered in his hold. Your own touch flew back to grab at the back of his head, holding on.

“To be dirty for you.”

He hissed when your cunt fluttered again, squeezing and sucking him back in, like you never wanted him to leave. “Fuck you are, you would get down right now and suck my cock, or bend over this desk wouldn’t you? All with the office camera rolling for a video.”

Your head nodded, tilting back with parted lips crying his name out louder than you should have. His hand at your chest slapped over your lips, muffling your cries. “My pretty little whore, we gotta be quiet.”

You didn't care, the alcohol buzzing in your system, sneaking off with Curtis and him talking like this to you was making you stupid with pleasure. Your pants were rushed, the slap of your body against his and the creak of the leather was just adding to it all. The small office felt heated, now smelled of sex, and you couldn't stop giggling behind his palm. “You gonna come for me, soak this cock?”

A firm nod had you grabbing at his hand still wrapped at your waist, shoving it between your thighs with a moaning yes when his fingertips pressed against your clit. A deep laugh, knowing that you needed to have that touch in order to get yourself off. “Come on Pretty Girl.” He grunted in your ear, the twirl of his fingers and the rub he was giving your clit making your heart race, the tension just before coming building, swiftly now. Like you were about to crash. “Someone is gonna come looking for us, and see you spread all out on this chair with my cock buried deep in this weeping cunt. You don’t want that do you?” The snap of his teeth signaling just how close Curtis was.

No? Maybe? You knew it gave you a rush, which just added to the moment. “Curtis!” His name falling from you like a prayer muffled behind his palm, ready to crash into shattered oblivious pieces, falling apart in his lap where he yanked you back, the slap of his hips underneath you had his cock pushing into your squelching cunt while chasing for his own orgasm now that you came.

Yours left you floating, giving yourself over to him to use you however he wanted while you just let yourself continue enjoying the buzz of sex and alcohol.

“Fuck, FUCK!” Curtis’s muffled roar was against your shoulder, biting onto you with a grunt as he pulled you hard onto him one last time, warmth making you clench on him again, rocking your hips slightly with a satisfied moan of your own. Your head tilted into his, both of you panting heavily to catch your breaths when his hand dropped from your mouth and rested against your heaving chest, his palm flattening against the racing of your heart.

“We should sneak in here more often.” You snickered while pushing up to sit, Curtis sliding his hands around your waist and following up to hug you from behind, letting his face press against your shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I know where Paulie hides his office keys for when he starts locking the door.” He muttered, pressing kisses across the top of your back to the other shoulder. “Move that mouse, see where he is.”

You leaned forward to shove the mouse enough to take off the old school screensaver, peering at the grainy screen. "Still at the bar, busy too. Looks like Saint Patrick's Day really is his Christmas.”

“Good…” Curtis gave a push to have the chair roll back away from the desk a bit. “Turn around so I can hold you proper for a few minutes before we go back out there.”

“Does he really have cameras in here Curtis?” Your eyes bounced around, searching. You certainly didn’t want Paulie seeing this on video.

“No Honey, I helped him set them up and he just has one facing the door, not inside.” His lips pressed against your shoulder and then helped you to stand, your legs a bit wobbly and twist around to sit back in his lap, the leather chair giving a groan once more, making you break out in a giggle.

Nothing was gonna ruin your mood tonight, not even knowing the chances you were gonna have a hangover could kill the high you were feeling right now. His arms wrapped back around you, palms brushing up and down your back while you tucked yourself in against his chest, silence filling the room. “You know I am really looking forward to tomorrow.” You tucked your face on his shoulder, letting your hand rest against his chest, playing with his chain, your fingers twisting in it.

“Mmhh, is it the fact you are making a fort on the living room floor with Ella and Edgar to watch Leprechaun? Or the hangover cure I’m supposed to make you guys?”

“Both.” You lifted your head, finding his lips with yours and giving him a slow affectionate kiss. “I love you very much. For much more than you making me feel really good in Paulie’s office, which he is gonna be pissed about.” You were sure to point out as his grin grew, his arms tightening just a little more to keep you in close to him. “Although I do feel really really good, and that's only a little bit from the jameson.” You rambled on and Curtis couldn’t help his reaction, his head tipping back and a deep chested booming laughter sounded, making you feel so happy to see him happy.

Maybe you were more than buzzed.

“I'm glad that it's seventy five percent me, twenty five percent whiskey?” Curtis ventured a guess, catching your chin in his forefinger and thumb to tilt your mouth back to his.

“More than that, like ninety-ten.” You mumbled against his lips, the two of you teasing each other with soft playful pecks. “But i'm definitely drunk now.”

“Mmh, I can tell Honey.” His answer was softer now, sighing against your lips. “I love you for giving me these moments in life.” His touch lingered on your face, cupping your cheek and this kiss was moved from your mouth up to your forehead, giving you a whole other satisfying sensation, one that curled into your heart. His gaze fell back to the computer screen with a soft shit under his breath. “Incoming Honey.”

Right behind you was a pound on the door. “You two better not be fucking in my office!”

You squealed, hiding against Curtis as if Paulie was gonna come barging in, which he wasn’t, he knew better. “Busted.” You loudly whispered while Curtis muffled his laughter once again.

“Give us five minutes…. TEN!” Curtis shouted, watching the camera to see Paulie storming back towards the bar, sputtering.

“I need to bake him some cookies to apologize.” You said solemnly as you too watched the camera’s with a twist of your head looking over your shoulder.

“You do that Honey so I can taste test them.” He gripped your chin to turn you back to look at him. “Kiss me Honey? I’m-”

You didn’t let him finish, your lips pressing to his, cutting off the last of his words.

#life is short so make it sweet #Curtis and honey #Curtis Everett and Reader #Curtis Everett and You #Curtis Everett and Plus Sized Reader #Curtis Everett Fanfiction #Curtis Everett Smut #Curtis Everett x You #Curtis Everett x Reader #Curtis Everett x Plus Sized Reader #Chris Evans Characters #amber writes #sweater writes #snowpiercer fanfiction

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jamneuromain · 1 year

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Highway to Hell - Shared

Series Masterlist

Series summary: A failed mission brought you once again back on earth, a punishment that’s more pleasurable than you'd normally expect punishments to be. Your punishment? Corrupting people’s thoughts. It’s easy, in a very simple way: sexual pleasure. Turns out no man can resist such a beauty like you.

And who were you? Oh, just the devil's child.

A/N: This is a drabble of what would the four men do when they find out you have been dancing among them. Spoiler alert: they decide to share. Applause to the amazing @rogerswifesblog / @rogerswifesblog-updates who help me write this series and provide many excellent ideas to put in the fic <333

Pairings: Cop Lloyd Hansen x Reader, Priest Steve Rogers x Reader, Bartender Ari Levinson x Reader, Uncle Curtis Everett x Reader

Warnings: Smut, Gangbang, Dub con, Double Penetration, P in V, Anal, Oral (Male Receiving), Handjob, Unprotected Sex, Age Gap (implied), Power Imbalance, Spanking, Threesome (implied), Overstimulation, Creampie (implied), Cum Play, Dummification (just a little), slightly dark(?

On second thought, you shouldn’t have trusted Steve, who told you he needed to speak to you in somewhere private.

And you trusted him. Following him to where he said it would be “peace and quiet”.

Or else, you wouldn’t be cornered by four fuming men in a hotel room, all knowing that you have slept with them separately, while thinking they must have been your only one.

Who would doubt an innocent girl that did nothing than to accept their “generous” offer?

Lloyd, obviously.

“Smart move, sunshine.” The man with a moustache twitches his lips, far from amused, “Telling us that you are shy and rather we won’t tell anybody? Intimate moves forbidden in public? Too bad your little plan didn’t work out.”

“I didn’t plan anything.” You lie to their faces. While in fact you did, carefully choosing your “target”. Lloyd was the unexpected one of them though, since he asked you to pull over as you should have gotten a speed ticket.

“Public?” Steve grinds his teeth before growling, his temper on the thin line of exploding, “I fucked her right in the church. There were only two of us. But still…” Drawing a cross in front of his chest, Steve murmurs a few prayers silently, regardless of the other three men watching him in curiosity.

Lloyd snaps his head back to you, flashing a wolfish glint in his eyes, “The point is, you made us feel very bad about ourselves, sunshine.”

“Yeah, well, you should be proud of yourselves. I wasn’t planning on expanding the list of the men I’ve slept with.” You snap back.

“And we’re supposed to … what? Gloat?” Curtis casually says, taking off his coat, blocking the window, and probably your only hope of escaping, as Lloyd leans on the door.

“If you don’t like it. Feel free to cancel my monthly subscription.” You retort his sarcasm, crossing your arm in front of your chest.

“Gentlemen,” Ari hums in a low voice so that everyone could pay him some attention. He’s been silent ever since Steve led you into this room, “obviously we need more than a ‘monthly’ drop-by.”

The men nod in unison.

“Although we haven’t clarified the specific terms, I believe we should use her whenever we please. And, of course, as we all agree to, share.” Ari smiles at you, but says the darkest thing you could ever imagine.

This was definitely not part of your plan.

“I’ll ask Jake whether he wants to be part of this.” Curtis throws an icy glare at you, “I doubt he would be a problem though. He has shared with me before.”

Lloyd mutters a “fuck”. While Steve is still mulling over his sin-clarification.

“Shall we start?” Ari is shrugging off his leather jacket as he speaks, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt.

“You can’t-” You cry in panic as the four men close in, surrounding you in the middle, “this is against the law … or something at least.”

“Oh sunshine, I am the law in this town.” Lloyd grabs your chin, his psychopathic grin gives you shivers down to your spine, “and you should be glad we decide to forgive you and share you. Or I could tie you up in my basement and invite my new friends over, occasionally.”

You draw a deep breath.

Tears burning. Your jaw hurting. Your dripping holes spreading wide open for two cocks.

“You like that, don’t you?” Lloyd groans as he squeezes your hand tighter, guiding you to stroke his hard cock.

“Yeah she does.” Steve agrees quietly before you could answer. He knees on the couch to push his cock further in your swollen pussy, “Christ. She’s so tight.”

“Wait till you’ve tried her ass, Priest.” Ari brings his hand firmly down your ass cheek, painting it red – as if it weren’t pink and hand-printed already, “that ass is fucking heaven.” He chuckles darkly, kissing the sensitive spot behind your ear, gripping your waist, making sure you are fully seated on his thick member, “or should I say hell?”

Stuffed to the fullest with two cocks in both of your holes, you couldn’t do more than let out a mere whimper.

“Can’t believe I’ve bought her stupid acts.” Curtis spits out through gritted teeth as he feels your throat takes his cock again as far as it could, your whimper vibrates his cock. In return, he tugs your hair without mercy, “all those innocent girly acts. Fuck.”

“We all bought it.” Lloyd eyes Curtis, raising his eyebrows, mocking Curtis, “and speaking from a man that has shared her with his son before, seriously? Innocent?”

Curtis huffs but does not bother to answer.

“My turn.” As Lloyd pulls your hair, and choke you on his cock, leaving Curtis slightly irritated.

You were used by these four men for hours. Each has painted your body, both inside and outside in milky-white substance, bringing you orgasms after orgasms. Your holes red, leaking, and abused.

“No more.” You grip Lloyd’s thigh to keep balance, sniffling when he lets your head go and breathe, battling your eyelashes, but they are heavy with tears that you can’t see his expression, “hurt too much.”

“Heard that?” Lloyd barks out laughter, wiping his cock on your face, leaving traces of your saliva and cum on your rosy cheek, “she said she can’t take it, boys.”

Ari grunts out of disagreement, his fingers dancing around your rim, attempting to squeeze one in alongside his cock, “she was screaming and moaning just fine for hours. Lies.”

“Ari, please,” The helplessness inside you bubbles and fuels to your tears, “I just can’t.”

Steve peppers a trail of kisses down your throat, nibbing your shoulder, while toying with your sensitive clit, “I guess you have to be a strong girl for us then. Don’t you want to be good for all of us, hmm? We’re prepping you. More might join, you know.” He speaks softly, comforting you as always. The panting on the joint between your neck and shoulder increases when your pussy grips him. Still, he mouths your breasts, sucking little red marks on them.

“Steve-” You feel torn apart. The four men bringing you pleasure, but in their own way. As if your body belongs to them separately. And the coil in your stomach threatens to snap with greater pain and pleasure than you could withstand.

A rough hand grips your chin, forcing you to turn the other way.

The hand that has hold you for countless times, on your back with a friendly pat.

Curtis.

“She’s not dumb yet. She can still talk.” Curtis talks about you as if you are an object in front of him, having you clench down your thigh involuntarily. It’s degrading, but it arouses you so much than you should admit. “I’d say she could take more.” The dark brooding man inspects your teary eyes and your cum-stained face, “yeah she’s alright.”

“Heard that, sunshine?” Lloyd taps your forehead with his knuckles, “not brain-dead yet.” He grins, “but it does sound empty, folks.”

Steve wipes the cum from your pussy lips, a mixture of the previous men who has thoroughly used it before he did, onto your soft stomach, which compliments your pretty skin and your cute bellybutton. He smiles warmly, though you are not even certain at this point, “she’s always the smartest. I’d say we work harder to satisfy this little devil, hmm?”

With the element of surprise, Ari starts bouncing you on his dick, shamelessly putting his flexing biceps to use, which earns him a few strangled sounds between cries and moans from you.

He simply shrugs, on receiving three other men’s looks, “I am working.”

And you gulp in fright. When Lloyd, with his sadist grin, taps your lips to open for his heavy cock as you still struggle for air.

This would be the start of some many long nights with men more than you could handle.

Taglist: @rosedpetal @dankoiseori @katcutie @peachlle @mrs-marc-spector

#highway to hell #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #steve rogers smut #ari levinson x reader #ari levinson x you #ari levinson smut #lloyd hansen x reader #lloyd hansen x you #lloyd hansen smut #curtis everett x reader #curtis everett x you #curtis everett smut

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buckets-and-trees · 9 months

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I read a lot of incredible fics in 2023, but these were the ones that blew me away beyond anything:

ASPEN'S FAVORITE READS 2023

Ted Lasso x Reader

Victory Lap by @ozarkthedog

Max Burnett x Reader x Nick Fowler

The Truth Will Set You Free and Reluctant by @navybrat817/Navy

Andy Barber & Ari Levinson & Ransom Drysdale & Nick Fowler & Steve Kemp x Female Reader

Giving Your Body and Soul to the Warlocks by @witchywithwhiskey

Nick Fowler x Reader

Home is a Heavy Heart by @sunshinebuckybarnes Partners in Crime by Navy Anew by Elsie Taking Care by @nickfowlerrr Clockwork AU by @sgt-seabass (plus many other characters) Sweet and Stained by @biteofcherry/Eva See Through You by Navy

Ari Levinson x Reader

Sweet Thrill by Navy Good With All Three by @blackleatherjacketz Down Again by Navy In a Field of Wildflowers with Ari by Eva Bartender FWB Ari series by @ghotifishreads +can we keep moving in the after hours? +domestic husband+Jukebox Jonesing+horny Monday to pining+make outs and more Yours to Have by Eva

M'Baku x Reader

From On High @boxofbonesfic

Curtis Everett x Reader

Sacred Hunt by Navy Branded by @stargazingfangirl18 Fulfilled by @stargazingfangirl18 The Fabric of Your Flesh by @ghotifishreads

Natasha Romanov x Bucky Barnes

Over and Over and Over Again by @drabbles-mc

Steve Rogers x Reader

Heat Inducing by Navy Make the Dust Fly by Eva A Deal with the Devil Comes with Wicked Strings by Molly Touch the Darkness by Eva A Shelter in the Storm by Molly Captain America's Sweetheart by @vonalyn And All Was Lost by Molly

Stucky

Timeless Desires by @smutconnoisseur

Stucky x Reader

A Monster, A Captain, and A Soldier by Molly

Bucky Barnes x Reader

To the Rescue by @ghostofskywalker Shatter by Navy Hot Girl Shit by @awake-dearheart You Don't Own Me by @bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky Send Me an Angel by Navy Tired Eyes by @lovelybarnes Bring Your Wife to Work Day by Elsie My Queen by @adrinktostopyourthirst Single Mom Reader by @buckyalpine Two Sides of the Same Coin by Navy Alcohol You Later by @bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky Hellfire, Take My Soul by @rookthorne A Tide of War and Broken Dreams by @sgt-seabass Metal Arm Kink by @adrinktostopyourthirst Lachrymose by @rookthorne Soft/Emotive Sex with Bucky by @adrinktostopyourthirst Warrior/Worrier by @delaber The Pineapple Contract by @buckyismybicycle Bucky with a virgin reader by Eva You Belong to Me, I Belong to You series by Molly drabble by @vonalyn Rooted in Love by @jobean12-blog Love in Bloom by Jo That's the Way Love Goes by Jo Unbound by You by @vonalyn Codename: Lazarus series by @sagechanoafterdark Halloween is the Perfect Time for Tricks–and Treats by Molly Missing You by @nickfowlerrr

#fic recommendation #fic rec list

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rogerswifesblog · 2 years

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Veras Masterlist

you can’t copy, translate or post my writing anywhere.

I don’t own any of the characters!

You are responsible for the kind and amount of media you consume. If you don’t like something on my blog, don’t read it:)

Specials:

500 followers special

1 k followers bingo

CE characters snippets

Birthday post for CE- Creampuffs

-> Steve Rogers

-> Andy Barber

-> Ransom Drysdale

-> Lloyd Hansen

-> Curtis Everett

-> Johnny Storm

-> Ari Levinson

-> Together Or Not At All

Life as a roommate can be tricky, especially when you are living with Steve Rogers, Johnny Storm, Jake Jensen and Nick Grant. You opted to be a therapist, but things didn’t turn out exactly as planned… (Steve Rogers x Reader, Johnny Storm x Reader, Jake Jensen x Reader, Nick Gant x Reader) A collaboration with @jamneuromain

-> Bucky Barnes

-> Lance Tucker

Stucky

-> Steve x Bucky

Mermaid AUs

Different au’s below

-> my treasure Avengers as pirates

-> Drowning siren

The Avengers found an old abandoned HYDRA base, that had been cleared after HYDRAs existence had been exposed. At least they thought it was cleared.

CaptainAmerica!Steve Rogers x mermaid!reader

Boxer au

-> Broken bones and broken hearts [ collab with @jamneuromain ]

Boxer!Steve Rogers x Reader

There was only one rule between best friends. Don’t have sex. But what happens when you break it anyway?

Highschool au

-> “Teach Me How To Be Good”

Student!Steve Rogers x tutor!reader

Tutor!reader helps Steve prepare for his math exams. He’s totally falling for her, but she doesn’t want him. She’s older, a college student. 25.

And he’s only a Highschool sweetheart turning 18.

Besides. He’s an inexperienced virgin.

And you? Oh you have a big secret he’s not ready to find out.

Stripper Au

-> It’s all about the…

Stripper Steve Rogers x Rich!reader

-> Better than boys

Boyfriends Dad Andy Barber x Reader

Demon Au

-> Highway to hell

Corrupting people’s thoughts. It’s easy, in a very simple way: sexual pleasure. Turns out no man can resist such a beauty like you.

[ one shots collection with; Demon reader x Cousin!Jake, x Cop!Lloyd, x bartender!Ari, x uncle!Curtis, x Stepdad!Andy, x priest!Steve

Requests are open! -> Chris E and Sebastian S characters

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cevansbrat0007 · 2 years

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The Lake House: A Trio Fic

Summary: After the camping trip disaster, the boys decide to plan a couples getaway at Curtis’ family lake house where shenanigans ensue. Andy Barber x Black!Reader, Ari Levinson x WOC!OFC, Curtis Everett x WOC!OFC

Warnings: Bossy Alpha Males, Angry Andy/Ari/Curtis, Daddy Kink, Bratty Reader, Bratty OFCs, Smut, Oral (m/f), Manhandling, Spanking, Cursing, Alcohol Consumption, Minors DNI

A/N: Part of my Trio Seres. Please enjoy and let me know your feedback. Once again written on my phone. All mistakes my own.

Three big, rough-and-tumble men sat around a table at their favorite bar sipping on whiskey. None of them said a word, each of them deep in thought.

It had been months since they’d taken their girls camping, which had been just shy of a disaster. Their women, whom they loved and adored, had spent the majority of the time bitching and moaning about the heat, the bugs, the lack of available running water...

It was safe to say that they had not become one with the land. A man could only take so much complaining before he began to question his own sanity.

By the end of it all, Andy had considered drowning himself in the river. Curtis had been ready to seek out and fight a bear. And as for Ari, well he had been ready to walk off into the woods and never come back.

But they had somehow resisted the temptation.

Because you see…

Andy, Curtis, and Ari were at a point where they actually wanted to hang out together sometimes…as couples.

And by as couples, they didn’t mean them sitting out back enjoying bourbon and the occasional cigar while the girls curled up in the living room sipping wine.

Living separate lives.

Truth be told, it made it much harder to keep an eye on their sweet brats. They were mischievous little things, those girls. They kept their Daddies on their toes at all times.

“Alright, I think I know where we can go.” Curtis finally speaks up. “We’ll still get to enjoy the benefits of the outdoors, and the girls will get the air conditioning and other amenities they apparently need to survive.”

“I’m all ears.” Andy mumbles as he polishes of his glass. He motions the bartender for another round.

Ari on the other hand just grunts.

“My parents have this beautiful lake house about two hours from here. It’s fantastic - four bedrooms, two and half baths, big bay windows, a full kitchen, a gorgeous view of the lake, a pool, and -“

“Okay, okay, Mr. Better Homes & Gardens, we get it.” Ari lets out a gruff laugh. “Consider me sold.”

Curtis flips him off.

“Yeah, that’s sounds like something my lady would love.” Andy mumbles in agreement as his mind drifts to images of his baby girl walking around in nothing but a teeny tiny bikini. “When do we wanna go?”

“Next weekend is a holiday. So how about we leave Thursday morning and come back Monday evening?” Ari suggests.

“Works for me.”

“Me too.” Andy mutters. He was going to have to take his lady shopping. Let’s see. They were gonna be gone for four days, so if you did the math…carried the two, plus the...oh, and then one had to plan for emergencies, so…

By his calculations, his girl was going to need at least twelve bikinis. Which meant they had some serious shopping to do.

Two Weeks Later…

“Wow!” You mutter as you stroll into the lake house arm in arm with Story. “This is -“

“Gorgeous.” She finishes for you.

And then you hear a gasp. “Hey babe! Hey Story!” Ruby grabs you both and pulls you into a hug. “Holy shit, is the place dope or what?”

“That’s what we were just saying!” Story laughs as she boings one of her dear friend’s glossy curls.

“Why don’t you give us the tour?” You ask, practically bouncing on your toes.

“Girl, my big oaf has never brought me up here.” She frowns with a hand on her hip.

“Curtis has never brought you here before? What a dick move, bro!” Story yells from across the room. Just in time for Ari haul their bags into the impressive entryway.

“Aye! Watch your mouth, Story-book!” He replies with a grunt, prompting her to roll her eyes.

Setting the luggage aside, he strides over to his little love and picks her up by her ass with one large hand. “Roll your eyes at me again, and I’m going to give you a real reason to roll ‘em.” Her giant of a man leans down to peck her lips. “Now, how about you and your pretty friends go explore while the men finish bringing in your mountain of luggage.

Ari sets her down and walks away.

“Don’t worry, girls.” You hook your arm through a slightly trembling Story’s elbow, and then you do the same to Ruby. “One of these days we’re going to hit our growth spurts, and then we’ll be the ones slinging them around like rag dolls. Mark my words!”

And then off you go exploring.

At some point, the three of you end up in what must have been the library. It wasn’t huge by any means, but it had the most adorable little reading nook.

“I call dibs!” You and Story shout at the same time.

“Oh, come on nerds.” Ruby huffs as she pulls your glaring bodies along. “We’re not here to read. Plus we have more to see!”

The pool is gorgeous, and there’s a little bar in the corner that would be perfect for cocktails. There’s a balcony that sports a perfect view of the lake.

You were already dreaming about curling up with your sweet Andy as you watched the sunset.

And the kitchen! Once you all had stumbled upon the kitchen, Ruby had nearly swooned. And truth be told, you weren’t too far behind.

Every appliance was the latest and greatest, and not to mention stainless steel. You were damn near close to having a fucking orgasm over this kitchen.

Story on the other hand had shrugged and said: “looks nice - I think I could work with it.”

By the time you all finish your unguided tour, you find your men lounging in the den, enjoying a Sam Adams.

You plop yourself in Andy’s lap before grabbing his hand to take a pull of his beer. He leans in to inhale your scent before nipping your ear.

“Told you they’d be back.” Curtis chuckled. “Our girls always miss their big, strong, incredibly handsome men too much to stay gone for long.” He flashes an arrogant smirk and then proceeds smother his wife’s neck with kisses.

“Stop it!” She giggles, pushing his head away.

Meanwhile, Ari has pulled Story somehow both into and beneath his big body, effectively holding her hostage.

“I can’t breathe, you beast.” She huffs.

“Aww, baby. So nice to know that after all this time, I can still take your breath away.” He purrs.

Still struggling for breathe to turns her head to you and Ruby. “Yeah. It's called suffocation. Ladies, whatsay we hit the pool?”

“I’m down!” You both shout. You try to scramble off your boyfriend’s lap, but his arm around your waist won’t budge.

“The guys and I were thinking that we could order in some lunch and just chill for a bit.” Andy’s tone implies that his words are a suggestion. But you know it’s not. He’s telling you what you’re going to do.

“Well you guys can chill and order whatever you want while my girls and I go get wet. Maybe it’ll help us work up and appetite.” Ruby purrs, subtly grinding her ass against Curtis’ hard lap.

“Aww, fine.” Ari finally lets his girl up for air. “Let ‘em go take a swim for a minute. Means we get to drink and watch gorgeous girls splash around in the water.”

He lifts Story off the couch and delivers a hard smack to her ass. “Let’s get this vacation started, fellas.”

Andy sighs before pulling you up as well. “Come on my little princess, let Daddy show you to our room.” He presses a hot kiss to your hand and leads you up the stairs.

Your room was gorgeous - a mix of purples, oranges, and pinks. It kind of reminded you of a sunset to be honest.

“Wanna test out the mattress little girl?” He murmurs. His tone soft and silky. Andy’s lips lower to yours, only to be stopped when your hand covers his mouth.

Undeterred, he sucks your ring finger between his lips, softly caressing the digit with his hot, wet tongue.

He finally releases it with a sweet pop. “I want to see you in that black and gold monokini with the matching wedges.” Andy tells you.

“Go get dressed, baby girl. Daddy’ll wait right here for you in case you need help.”

Digging the items out of your bag, you rush to follow instructions. Once you’ve slipped on the suit, you push your curls on top of your head in a pineapple style. And then you lace up your wedges. A couple of poses and a careful swab of lip gloss, you open the door.

“Does your baby look good, Daddy?” You purr as you lean against the doorframe, making sure to arch your hip just right.

The sound of his growl reverberates in chest. “Fuck yeah, my baby does. Let me eat you before we go out there.”

“No!” You squeal as he pulls you towards him.

“Just one taste, sweetheart. Just one little fix.”

He throws you down on the bed, hefts your legs over his shoulders, and pulls the fabric protecting your pussy to the side. And then he buries his face in your soft, sweet wetness.

“I wanna get in the water.” Story whines up at Ari from her place kneeling between his thick, muscled thighs as he sits on an adirondack chair.

“And I want to admire my little sprite.” One roughened hand slowly strokes it’s way down her throat to rest between her ample breasts. Aren’t you glad I made you get this suit, baby? Hm?”

His scruffy chin soon replaces his hand, breathing in her sweet scent. His girl always smelled like peaches and sunshine.

Without so much as glancing around, Ari pulls the right strap of her suit down her shoulder, exposing her plump breast to his heated gaze.

“Mine.” He growls softly before sucking a pouting nipple into his hungry mouth. “Mmm.” He moans, before toying with it. Nipping and biting with his sharp teeth.

Story’s back arches of its own accord. Her light pink manicured nails grasping his head, drawing him closer. “God, Ari!”

He briefly releases her breast, only to dive back in with vigor. Pulling as much of her delicious offering into mouth as he can take.

Ari repositions his girl so that her drenched cunt is resting on his thigh. He pulls back again, breathing hard. “Ride me, my little sprite. Ride your Daddy’s thigh.”

She once again pulls his head back to her aching chest. Her cries getting louder and louder as her messy core bears down hard thigh.

“Ahhh! Ari - Ari! Ahhh!”

“Call me by name, baby.” He snarls. “Say it! Make me fucking happy!”

“Oooh! Da-daa-daddy!” Story whimpers as she cums, her much smaller body collapsing limply against his own.

Chuckling softly, he quickly rights her suit and rubs her back, just in time for Andy and Y/N to join them outside, with the latter rocking a rather blissed-out look of her own.

Ruby and Curtis were the last ones to emerge from the house. His chest is puffed out, and there’s a little pep in his step, and a slightly stupid grin on his usually serious face.

She looks at you both and shrugs as if to say, “yeah, I blew him - so what?”

He doles out beers to his boys and sets out a metal bucket filled with more bottles next to his chair before announcing something about a seafood smorgasbord for dinner.

“Ladies, I’m hot. Come take a dip with me!”

The three of you grab hands, turn around to toss a saucy wink at your boys, and jump in with a scream.

Splash!

“Fuck! Are we some lucky sons of bitches or what?” Andy mutters.

“Cheers to that, brother!”

A Little While Later…

“Come in with us guys!” You yell up at them as you float around the pool on an inflatable raft. “Please, Andy?” You hold out your dripping hand to him, wiggling your fingers as you do.

“No can do, baby girl. Daddy’s too busy enjoying the view.” He tells you with a cigar half hanging out of his plump mouth.

Yes, you wanted him to join you, but you also wanted him to put the damned thing out. He didn’t indulge in that disgusting habit often, but you always refused to kiss him when he did.

And also you blamed Ari for handing them out. So now your men were too busy lounging around, wearing sunglasses, and puffing away.

Eventually, they do put the cigars down. But Curtis notes that they’re not done with them yet. And moments later, you and your girls are treated to the sound of soft snores.

You roll your eyes and motion for the girls to get out of the water and join you on land. The three of you grab your towels and pad into the house.

“Ugh. Remember when they used to be fun?” Story grumbles.

“Whatever.” You shrug.

“Bunch of grumpy old men.” Ruby agrees. Mind you, none of them were over forty, but still.

“I say we shower and watch a movie. I’m dying to try out that indoor theatre downstairs.” Your suggestion is met with unanimous agreement.

“And the boys?” Story murmurs.

“Eh, we slathered ‘em all with sunscreen didn’t we? Let ‘em bake.”

When your men find you later, you’re holed up in the basement eagerly watching the sequel to 365 Days.

Of course they walk in smack dab in the middle of what feels like the twentieth sex scene…

“Dinner’s here.” Ari growls. “If you all can manage to pull yourselves away from…whatever this trash is.”

“Maybe later.” You mumble, eyes glued to the screen.

“Yeah.” Ruby mutters.

“Shhh!” Story hisses. “Can’t you see Laura and Nacho are about to…

“Oh, they are more than about to.” You smother an excited giggle. “We’ll be up later guys. Go ahead and start without -

The screen suddenly goes dark, prompting the three of you to whip your heads around in outrage.

Andy crouches down next to you, grasping your chin in his hand. “As much as I hate repeating myself, I will make an exception for my baby. Dinner is here. Now come up and eat. Or do you need help?”

You jerk your chin out of his grip before standing up and heading to the kitchen, ignoring him as you do.

Story goes to brush past her man, only for him to wrap one brawny arm around her waist. “I ordered your favorite baby.” He sighs when she doesn’t respond. “Oh, now don’t pout. You know what it does to me.” Her beast of a man subtly leans down to lick the curve of her cheek.

“You seriously couldn’t have let us finish our movie, Curtis? Is your ego really that fragile?”

He thinks for a moment, lips pursed, his head slowly shaking from side to side.

“Nah. But you were starting to drool just a little. And I see red anytime my woman drools over a man who isn’t me.” Curtis’ growl is damn near lethal.

He holds out his big hand. “Now, come join your man for dinner.”

Dinner, of course, was delicious. The table was practically overflowing with dishes like clam chowder, creamy lobster bisque, crab legs, lobster, grilled shrimp, fried shrimp, roasted salmon, grilled mahi-mahi…

But the company, well, that was altogether something different.

Things weren’t bad, just a little tense.

“Who paid for dinner?” You ask as you take another bite of your delightfully fresh lobster bisque. “Or, I guess, how much was it?”

“Good question, lady! Who do we three need to Venmo?

“I’m pretty sure I have cash…” Ruby murmurs, looking around for her purse.

Andy’s shoulders tense. Ari frowns. And Curtis growls.

“There’s no need. We’ve got it covered.” Ari snaps, a little more forcefully than he intends.

Story makes a beeline for receipt attached to one of the bags. You watch as her eyes go wide. “Holy shit!” She mouths. “We oh ‘em a good $85 a piece girls.

“Don’t you dare.” Ari growls.

“Oh, be quiet.” You growl right back. “We eat, we pay.”

“You know how I feel about reaching into your wallet when you’re with me, princess.” Andy’s tone is filled with warning.

“Y/N is right. We eat, we pay.” Ruby repeats your words, her voice filled with just as much defiance.

Sometimes even the little things were hard with these cromagnon hunks of yours.

“No, Rubeena. And that’s final.”

With a huff, the three of you go back to eating, choosing to ignore your men. Fucking old fashioned assholes.

“So what do you girls want to do tomorrow?” One of them asks, as Andy sets another lobster tail dripping with melted butter on your plate.

You dive in without so much as a thank you.

“You know,” Story speaks up. “I saw a sailboat out there. I was part of a group in college that used to sail all the time, maybe the three of us can do that for a bit.” She pops another bite of grilled shrimp into her mouth.

“Mm, I like that idea. Out on the open water, the wind in our faces. I vote yes.”

Ari, Curtis, and Andy exchange both concerned and disapproving glances with one another. The idea of their girls out on the water on their own…

Let’s just say Andy wasn’t the only one of them having heart palpitations. Why couldn’t their ladies ever come up with any “safe” activities…like crocheting, or scrapbooking, or origami? Shit!

“Oh, and then after, all six of us could go shopping and cook dinner together! Music, dancing, cocktails, yummy food!” You and Ruby high-five and then go back to eating.

You lean over to steal a bite of your boyfriend’s Mahi-Mahi and some of the accompanying mango salsa.

Good mood seemingly restored, you all go back to enjoying your meal. Everything is quiet for a moment, until Curtis speaks up.

“I love the idea of shopping and cooking together. Love it! We all do, right guys?”

They nod enthusiastically.

“In fact, I’m envisioning helping our gorgeous chefs work while they’re wearing nothing but bikinis and sarongs.” Your man hisses through is teeth, while Ari’s look of approval is very, very evident.

“But no to the sailing. We don’t want you girls out on open water in a boat that we’re not sure you even know how to navigate.”

“Excuse me!?” Story rises in an agitated huff. “I know what I’m doing

“Sprite, sit down and listen please.” Ari warns, as one thick arm goes to rest behind his head.

“No, Ari. I am perfectly capable of safely sailing that boat. And if that’s what we want to do, then that’s what we’re gonna do.”

“Sit down, please. Or do you need to come eat with me?” He quirks one tawny brow at her as he pats his lap.

“Argh!” She sits back down in a huff and pushes her plate away.

Silence once again fills the room.

“Alright ladies. Let’s compromise here.” Andy interjects, trying to be the voice of reason. “The boys and I will go golfing tomorrow morning, while you ladies take it easy here. Grab your kindles, lay out and enjoy the sun. Maybe send us a couple pictures of you in your bikinis if you think about it.” He winks then.

“And then when we come back, we’ll go out to lunch. Have some cocktails. And then go shopping. Sound good?

“It’s fine.”

“Whatever.”

“I really don’t give a shit.”

You and Ruby push your plates away and rise from the table. “Thanks for dinner guys. Hope you don’t mind cleaning up while we girls go watch the sunset.”

It really was beautiful, watching the sun fade away, only to be replaced by the moon. Such a serene, cosmic shift.

“I love him you know.” You turn to look it Story. “My beast is sweet and wonderful. He dotes on me all the time…but he’s just so goddamned over protective.”

“Like, I can be somewhere doing whatever I want and he just picks me up and moves me like it’s nothing. He actually gets mad when I climb the countertops instead of calling for him first.” A smile smile graces her lips.

You nod. “But that’s how some Daddies are, I guess. I mean, I’m not an expert by any means. I wasn’t even looking for - for this. Andy is my everything, but sometimes I feel smothered by the big oaf. If I say “no” to something, I somehow end up hoisted over his shoulder doing it anyway.

Ruby is quiet for a moment. “Curtis is just so dominant. At first it was just in the bedroom, and now it’s become a part of our every day lives. Sometimes it turns me on, and other times it makes me want to punch him in the windpipe…” She trails off.

“…So you brat.” You finish for her. “You act up. Act out.”

“To show them that they don’t have all of the control.” Story mumbles.

“We all do it. Because it’s necessary. Plus, we deserve to have fun too. So the bastards said no sailing? Okay, fine. But ladies…” You motion for them to come close.

“They didn’t say anything about the jet skis.”

You all return to watch what was left of the sunset, three evil smiles gracing your lips.

The next morning you make sure to be as loving and affectionate with your man as possible. You ride his hard, fat cock as if your life depends on it.

“Come on baby, give it to me!” You hiss when his fingers dig into your hips.

“Cum for me, Daddy! Please!” You lean down so can accept a needy tit into his waiting mouth.

“Fill me up!” You beg. “Ungh ungh ungh! Wanna feel you dripping out of me all day, reminding me that I’m yours!

That’s all it takes for your man to explode inside you, forcing you to follow suit. Your greedy walls gripping him over and over, milking him for every drop of his hot, wet seed.

When you’re through, you roll over on your back and pat his chest.

“Have a good game, sweetheart.”

The men are off and out around 8:30am after a light breakfast of bagels and fruit. You and the girls clean up and then prepare to go shower and change.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Ruby.” You narrow your eyes at her.

“Let’s just say that my husband has a wicked tongue and decided to use it on me last night. Three goddamned times.” She blushes.

“So that was you we heard last night? Woah.” Story giggles.

“Shut up! Miss “oh that’s right you big beast! Oh eat me up!”

Story pinches her lips and goes back to putting leftover fruit in the fridge. You, on the other hand, try to hold back a snicker and fail, prompting both women to turn on you.

“Cum for me, Daddy! Please!” Ruby mimics.

“Fill me up!” Your friend, Story, mocks.

Now you’re the one blushing. “Okay, fine. Now that we’ve established this place has thin walls, can we get changed and play with the jet skis already?"

Once you’re outside, you check your water proof watches. You had a couple hours of fun ahead of you until the boys returned. As long as you timed things right, none of them would ever know about your shenanigans. Story, your master of all things aquatic, makes a point of checking out each machine.

“We’re all good. Everyone got their life jackets buckled? Good. Now let’s get these babies into the water. Uh, you’ve both ridden before right?”

You nod. It had been a while, but whatever.

“Once.” Ruby responds.

“Okay, well just stay close to me.”

You three push the skis until you’re knee deep in the water before climbing on. Story does a quick demo, showing you how to start the machine, gun the engine, take off, brake, and stop.

After that, you were off!

You took your time at first, but you grew more comfortable with each passing moment, as did Ruby.

“Woooo!” You cry out as you do a figure eight with Story. You increase your speed, loving the feel of spray as it hits your warm skin.

You and your girls, who were quickly becoming your best friends, we’re having the time of your lives!

Ruby reaches out to hi-five you as you pass each other again.

You all take turns racing each other, doing crazy spins. At one point or another, each one of you manages to fall off of your ride. And all you do is laugh and help each other back up.

See, this is kind of shit you’d love to do with your men if they weren’t so curmudgeonly. Handsome grumpy gooses.

When the boys finally arrive home, they’re excited to see you girls, albeit a little bummed that none of them had received any bikini pics. Leaving their golf bags in the garage, they enter the house and begin searching for their respective ladies.

Surprised to find that the house is quiet, they stroll outside, expecting to find you lounging by the pool. But they’re not there.

“Maybe their downstairs watching that 365 porno bullshit.” Andy shrugs.

“Or they could be in the library.” Curtis rubs his grizzled chin.

Ari takes a series of steps forward, his gaze trained on the scene before him.

“What is it, man?”

“They’re not watching a movie, in fact they’re not in the house at all.” He turns to face the other men. “Our little brats are out on the goddamned lake.”

You, Ruby, and Story meet in the middle of the lake and pause your engines.

“This was the best fucking idea ever!” Ruby exclaims. “Fuck our men. If they don’t wanna have fun then we’ll do it without them!"

“Hell yeah!” Story cheers.

You were just about to join the celebration when you hear the sound of faint yelling. Immediately the three of you begin looking around, trying to find the source.

And that’s when you make out the forms of three men, yelling and waving their arms.

Your men.

“Well, ladies. It was fun while it lasted.” You murmur, suddenly feeling sad.

“Yeah.”

“Yes, it was. How about one more lap?” Her eyes glinting mischievously.

“I mean, why not? We’re already in trouble.”

So, off you go. One last lap. Making sure to wave at your irate men as you do.

“Turn around and get your ass back here, Ruby!”

“Story! I swear Daddy is gonna bruise that butt!

“Y/N - I’m gonna set that bottom on fire, I swear it!

You three laugh harder. When it’s finally over, you walk the jet skis back towards land. They are immediately wrenched out of your hands so your men can put them up. Leaving you all with time to run up to the house.

Towels wrapped around yourselves, you wander into the kitchen and each grab a bottle of water.

Curtis, Ari, and Andy burst into the house a few minutes later. Their chests heaving, faces red.

They are livid.

“Hi big guys, how was your game? Did you get a hole-in-one?” You take a sip of your water.

Ari lets out a deep growl. “I thought we said no going near the lake.”

“No.” Ruby points out. “You said we couldn’t use the sail boat. You said nothing about the jet skis.” She and the rest of you can’t help but puff at your chests out a little.

“Ruby?” Story asks. “Why is your husband’s face turning so many pretty colors? And also...Andy doesn’t look like he’s breathing.”

Sure enough, he did not.

“Baby, you okay?”

You pale as you watch his hands go to his belt buckle.

“Okay, uh uh. Ruby is right here. You said nothing about the jet skis, so technically we are in the clear."

“Yeah? Let’s see if all your “technicalities” manage to save your sweet little ass."

“Ari, you know we’re right. You told me that I wasn’t allowed to sail. And I didn’t. So how about you guys pull your heads out of your asses and acknowledge the fact that we followed your directions, just maybe not the way you envisioned it.”

The man in question strides forward, throws her over his shoulder and takes her outside. “I’ll teach you to twist my words, fucking brat.” After slamming the door behind him, it’s not long before you hear the sound of pained wails and cries.

Andy takes that moment to bend you over the counter, his belt doubled in his hand.

And then you watch as Curtis carts a furiously flailing Ruby into another room. “Let me go, you ass!” She keeps struggling. “Daddy promises he’s gonna get your little rebellious streak under control, damn it.”

“Baby…” You breathe out.

“Honey, your Daddy is going to teach you all about how he feels about technicalities. And I’m going to use my belt to make you listen.”

Andy delivers a hard swat right at the spot where your ass and thighs meet, making you squeal.

Slap!

“You knew you weren’t supposed to go anywhere near the lake without me.”

“Ack! Oww!

Slap!

“Ahh! Oww oww!”

“You know better than to argue with Daddy when it comes to your safety.”

Slap! Slap! Slap!

“Aaahaaahaa! Ahhhh! Daddy! Please no.”

“Slap!”

“Gotta get you and your brat to open up your listening ears.” He growls.

Slap!

END

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bigtreefest · 6 months

Text

Outta Nowhere AU

Main Masterlist

How the chapters line up

Decks vs. Honeybee reader distinctions

You Catch More Bees With Honey

(Mob! Bucky x Farmer! Reader)

Handiwork

(Mechanic! Farmhand! Curtis x Bartender! Reader)

The Rainmaker

(Mob! Steve x Forensic Scientist! Reader)

122 notes · View notes

bigtreefest · 5 months

Text

Chapter 1: Shuffle With Me, Houston Stranger

From: Handiwork Series

Pairing: Mechanic! Farmhand! Curtis x Bartender! Reader

Summary: Curtis keeps a busy life between helping out on the farm and running the garage. There are some moments and places that give him reprieve, though, and one of them happens to be a bar where a certain sweetie works.

Word count: 3,386

Content/warnings: not many, mentions of drinking and alcohol, bar setting, weird vague emotional states, another guy hopelessly head over boots (what else is new, y’all should know this is how I write all my love interests at his point), menacing foreshadowing

Author’s Note: this takes place at the same time as chapters 3, 4, and 5 of YCMBWH and chapter 1 of The Rainmaker. You can technically read it alone, but the other stories help fill in some gaps. Check out the rest of the AU!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Outta Nowhere AU | Series Masterlist | Next >

Curtis walked into the shop with sore shoulders and a slight ache in his heels from a long day of unexpected work and standing. His cousin had called him in to help out with a few chores at the farm since she had to run the Friday farmer’s market, so the day was long and tiresome.

The last thing he wanted to do right now was go through and double check his books for the auto body shop, so he decided against it. Even if he went through everything tonight, it’s not like it would be quality work.

He figured he’d just quickly make sure everything was in its place in the office and the garage to make paperwork easier for him on Monday and work easier for the guys in the morning. Then, he’d be able to join his cousin and her new farmhand at the bar.

Curtis was organizing his socket wrenches by size when he heard a rattling sound become louder behind him. He turned as he sensed it coming closer, seeing an old truck pull into his garage.

He looked down to check his watch. The shop had been long closed by now, and he had places to be. Based off the noise though, he couldn’t deny something was definitely wrong with the vehicle. If Curtis weren’t such a good man, he would’ve turned the patron away, but there was no saying how far a truck that sounded like that could possibly get.

He tilted his head, examining the vehicle and attempting to peer through the glare in the drivers side window when the engine turned off and he saw a pair of old, comfy shoes step down from the cab. His eyes traced up the body before him and Curtis was speechless. Your hair was just tucked under an old ball cap, nothing fancy.

“Hi, I hope you don’t mind, I’m not sure what this sound means and was hoping you had time to take a look at my truck. I know you guys are closed, so it’s no rush, but I’d really appreciate it. I’d rather know where my car is than get stranded out in the middle of nowhere.”

Curtis continued to stand there, mesmerized by you until he shook his head back into the present. “Oh, um, sure. I think I have the evening free, so let me just check on a few things real quick and I can take a look at it.”

Curtis pulled out his phone to text his cousin that he wouldn’t make it to the bar tonight.

He stuffed his phone in his back pocket, going to grab a chair from the front office as you followed. “Never good when a truck that old makes a sound like that.”

You nodded along. “Oh trust me, I know. Darn thing’s even older than me. Usually I’m able to figure out the minor stuff, but this is beyond what I know.”

Curtis nodded when he went to set a metal folding chair down by where you had pulled the truck onto one of his lifts. It scraped against the concrete floor, and he was surprised by the way you simply looked at it, as if you were offended that he’d want you to sit down.

“Oh, by the way, I’m Curtis, I own this shop.” The mechanic stuck out his hand, cleaner than you would’ve expected, and you shook it, introducing yourself.

“Ah, it’s nice to meet you. One of my coworkers actually suggested I come here when the truck started acting up. Said his best friend was the big cheese.”

Curtis laughed. “Um, he used those exact words? Or are those yours? Where are you from?”

You shook your head. “Oh no, sorry, those were my words. I think he just called you the boss, he’s the bouncer at the bar?”

Curtis clicked his tongue as he walked over to the hood of your car, propping it open. “Okay, you’re talking about my buddy, Edgar. Yeah, I’m glad he sent you to me. He works some shifts for me now and then. So you’re new to town? I go to the bar pretty often, I’ve never seen you there.”

You nodded your head tentatively. “Yeah, didn’t think it would be so noticeable I just moved here from Houston, but I’m really from here and there, lived almost everywhere. Been working at the bar for about a week now.”

Curtis nodded as he looked deeper into your engine, testing the tightness of parts and how full each fluid was. “Well how about that. Yeah, we don’t get too many people moving here, but I’m sure it’s a nice change from the city.”

You nodded and hummed, walking over and leaning under the hood of the car with him. “Agreed. I don’t think many mechanics would be this patient with me out there.”

Curtis lightly chuckled as he looked up at you over his shoulder. “Well I’ll be honest with you, patience is one thing, but you probably won’t think I’m very kind when I tell you this truck probably wont survive the next time you take a far journey if you plan to move…”

His small smile was replaced with a grimace. Maybe if he knew you were leaving soon like you seemed to do so often, he could hold himself back more. He could tell himself that there was no point in being attached, being himself for you to see. He’d hold off on the kindness that poured out to everyone he knew and loved, because it would hurt for you to take it and leave.

Your face held a small smile, though, despite his look of worry. “Well what if I planned on staying?”

Curtis looked back into the engine in an attempt to hide the redness in his cheeks. He was warm at the thought of you sticking around. He jiggled the loose part he found, grunting from leaning over so far, before he spoke up, partially avoiding your question.

“Well, you see this right here. I’d replace it and say it would be good for another couple of years.”

You beamed. “That’s good news!”

Curtis stood up to his full height and for the first time, you noticed just how towering his stature was. Anyone else would be intimidated from a distance, but from this proximity, you could see the kindness in his eyes.

“Yes and no.” It came out softer than he had intended. “I’ve gotta make a special order, and it will probably take at least a week to come in. Do you have another way to get to work?”

You nodded. “Yeah, my apartment isn’t too far from the bar. Walking shouldn’t be an issue.”

He looked at you skeptically. “Are you sure? I know you guys have some pretty late shifts.”

“Curtis, I’ll be fine. I’m tougher than I look.” He sighed in response.

“Alright, if you say so. I’ll put in for that part and in the meantime, your truck can stay here.” He walked over to the workbench and scribbled on a piece of paper, tearing it off and handing it to you.

“Here’s my personal number. In case you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me. I could even set up a ride for you if you change your mind.”

You took the paper, creasing it in the middle and stuffing it in your pocket. “Well, I’ve got a shift tomorrow and I think I might get there on time if I start walking now. Bit of a ways to my place from your shop. Any chance you could drive me home so I can sleep?”

Curtis sighed and checked his watch. “Yeah, I guess so, considering I’m holding your car captive. Come on, I’ll close up and we’ll get you home.”

As you waited for the new car part to be delivered to the shop, you kept working. Bills had to be paid. You had to keep living.

You were surprised the next day at work when Edgar had offered to walk you home after your shift, and every night after then, but didn’t question it. You were just appreciative to have a nice coworker you could trust.

Another surprise was the amount of take out orders that you’d have to give out from the bar. Most of which were going to a certain handsome mechanic.

It was Wednesday night, and the fourth time he’d come to pick up dinner this week. The man must really like cheese curds. You didn’t question it, though, as you handed him his order, asking for updates and waving goodbye with a somber smile as he left too soon, and spoke very little.

What you didn’t know was that Curtis had food at home, sitting in his fridge as he opted for the extra opportunities to see you. You also didn’t know how much he feared opening up his mouth and exposing himself by saying the wrong thing to the first person to make him nervous in a long time. Curtis was generally steady, driven, easygoing, but he could feel that world, that demeanor, start to tilt.

Curtis had a long week. A week much longer than he expected with the extra work he had to do out on the farm instead of in the shop. Sure, he was getting along better and better with Bucky, but that didn’t change the fact that there was too much going wrong.

Cole, that little shit from high school, was back and Curtis’s cousin had gotten stuck in a mine. There was no time for sleep, let alone stopping by the bar with this much of a crisis going on.

As soon as the rocks collapsed in the mine, Curtis was freaking out. “We have to call the police, the fire department, someone to get her out of there. She might not be injured now, but I can’t say the same if there’s a secondary collapse. We need to do something. Now.”

Bucky grabbed him by his collar. “No. No police. It’ll ruin everything.”

Curtis put his hands up in surrender. “Okay then, what do you suppose we do, big guy?”

Bucky paced back and forth, biting his thumbnail with worry. “Gimme a second. I’m figuring it out.” He stopped in his tracks. “Who all knows about the mines?”

“What? What does that ha-“

Bucky cut Curtis off. “Who. All. Knows?”

Curtis shook his head and shrugged. “I-I don’t know, not many people. Me and her, her college roommate, and Jake. That’s it, I think.”

Bucky rapidly reached into the pocket of his jeans and handed Curtis a card from his wallet. “This is my associate Sam. You’re going to call him and tell him those names. We’re gonna need all the help we can get.”

Curtis immediately pulled out his phone, trusting the judgement of his new friend. He called Sam, telling him everything he could about those who were close enough to have heard of the mines. After that, he got to work.

He assessed what all would need done in the next day and did as many small tasks as he could, staying up until he could greet the helpers on the way.

All Curtis wanted to do was sleep, this was taking a toll on him, but he did his best to not let it show, to not become a grump. He just put his head down and made himself useful while Bucky waited back at the mine. At the first available opportunity, he was going to drop into a bed and nap. This week was stretching him thin.

Meanwhile, you continued to work at the bar. After seeing him for several days in a row, it was concerning that Curtis seemingly fell off the face of the Earth. Surely that wasn’t your business, though. Maybe it was just a coincidence he was ordering food so often before. He had better places to be, like work, or maybe on a date.

Why would you care, though? He was just the nice guy fixing your car. There was no way he was going out of his way to visit; probably just had some late nights at the shop and that’s why he picked up dinner, not to see you. Anyway, work was always busy enough for your mind to be occupied. You’d at least see him again hopefully once that coveted car part came in.

After a much easier Saturday at the farm, Curtis was ready to have a nice, relaxing time at the bar. As the crew he came with went inside, he hung back to talk to Edgar. He clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey man, how’s it going?”

Edgar patted him back. “Good, I’m good. Been walking your girl home like you asked. She’s working tonight.” A smirk crept onto his face as Curtis looked down.

“But besides that, what’s going on with you?”

Curtis sighed and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. He turned a picture of Cole Turner towards Edgar.

“Um, I’m alright. A little stressed, but I’m hoping you can help. I’ve got something for you.”

Edgar looked up from the piece of paper. “What’s this?”

“Someone who we need to make sure stays out of here. And if you see him, you let me know, okay?”

Edgar nodded. “Sure thing. Have fun with your girl.”

Curtis rolled his eyes and walked through the door to catch up with everyone else.

You were pouring out drinks for the group that came in when a familiar tall, broad form approached from the doorway. You took in the way his shoulders pushed at the flannel fabric of his shirt as he sauntered into the room. You couldn’t help the way the smile already on your face grew to see him again.

“Oh hey, if it isn’t the big cheese.” He laughed at the nickname, shaking his head as he moved to take a seat at the bar.

“Yeah, sorry I haven’t been in for awhile. Had some family matters to attend to. Speaking of which, that’s them over there.” He gestured toward the group who had just ordered food and drinks from you before heading towards the booths on the far side of the room.

“Ah! Okay, in that case, this is for you.” You grabbed a short rocks glass from the lower counter in front of you and set it up on the bar top in front of Curtis. The glass made a small thud against the finished wood as you looked at him.

Curtis tentatively grabbed it and sipped. After swallowing he hummed.

“Sweet. Like a cherry.”

You nodded. “Oh yeah. That’s because it’s got extra cherries. Your buddies over there said you’d drink whatever, so I made you my favorite.”

Curtis lowered the glass and looked at you deeply with his warm, burning sapphire eyes. His voice grew low and raspy. “I wasn’t talking about the drink.”

He winked at you and you had no idea how your legs didn’t fail you right then. You were able to quickly recover, though, shooting a remark right back.

“Maybe if you’re nice, I’ll let you test that conjecture.” You could see his cheeks grow warm at the suggestive statement. You grabbed your rag and threw it over your shoulder, leaning closer to the towering man who was just confident, now evidently bashful.

“Curtis, are you…blushing?”

His eyebrows were quick to arch as his attempt of a scowl failed to break through past a shy smile. “No! Blushing is fake. It doesn’t exist. That’s just an old wives tale.”

You looked at his skeptically, not even attempting to hide the laugh that burst out. “What do you mean you think it’s fake? You’re so red right now.”

Curtis’s eyes shifted around the room, unsure of how to respond. “I just feel really…warm…when I look at you.” He muttered so low you could barely hear it.

You wanted to keep pushing before his embarrassment made him turn away from you.

“Hey listen, I’ll be back. I’ve gotta check in with the group, but keep this stool saved for me?”

You nodded. “Sure thing.”

As soon as Curtis returned, he was glued to his chair. He spent the entire evening chatting with you, asking about your life, and telling you about his on the farm and at the shop.

You were honestly grateful for the one bit of peace on a busy bar Saturday night. Every chance you got, you were leaning against the counter by him to take a breath, watching his friends ride the bull and dance together. What a group of great people.

“So, have you been able to make it home alright this week? I’m sorry that truck part still hasn’t come in yet.”

You nodded as you poured a line of shots for a group of girls waiting on the corner. “Yeah, it hasn’t really been a problem. Edgar’s been insistent on walking me to my door, which helps me feel better when it’s that dark out. Just makes me feel bad, though, because I think I finish a little later than his shift time is supposed to be.”

“Well that’s nice of him. If you want, I can drive you home tonight. Might take some of that load off if you’re worried.” Curtis’s eyes watched you slide the shots to the patrons as you came back to his seat and sighed.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you staying here later than you have to, either. It’s really okay. I can definitely take care of myself.”

Curtis shrugged. “I don’t doubt that at all, Cherry. But I’m offering. And I’d be a fool to prematurely end one of the best nights I’ve had in awhile. I really don’t mind.”

“Okay, then. Sounds like a plan.”

As the night was winding down, and Curtis’s group had already come over to close out the tab, the two of you watched the remaining people prepare to head out. Who was Curtis that he knew someone with a black card? Supposedly they were business associates of the farm. Was farming really that lucrative? You guessed so.

You rejoined the present as the last few slow songs came on the juke box and Curtis held out his hand.

“You know how to dance?”

You scoffed, “Curtis, I’m still working. But yes, do you think I could’ve gotten by all this time without a little bit of knowledge?”

He shook his head. “I would’ve been worried if you did. Come on, there’s hardly anyone left. Shuffle with me, you little Houston stranger.”

You sidestepped the bar and walked out the small half door to join Curtis on the dance floor, holding both his hands and looking up into his eyes. “I’d say we’re hardly strangers now. You don’t learn nothing after hours of talking like that.”

You began to swing to the twangy music, holding each other close. Curtis twirled you and pulled you into his chest where your ear could hear his racing heart. The warmth and the scent of his cologne were comforting. His arms blanketing you, shielding you from all other thoughts besides this moment. As the song faded out, you realized you two were the only ones left besides the other employees doing the final tidying up before shutting down for the night. You reluctantly pulled your body from Curtis, left only holding each other’s hands.

“I should probably go help with the closing duties. Can you wait for me by the door?”

Curtis nodded. “Of course. I’ll be ready whenever you are.”

Curtis watched you go back to your cash register as he walked back towards Edgar, keeping an eye on you the whole time.

“So, anything interesting happen tonight?”

Edgar nodded with with wide eyes. “Um, yeah. That guy you gave me a picture of, he came by. Threw a fit when I wouldn’t let him in. Some dude in fancy clothes and a mustache was with him, too. Not sure what that was about, but they at least respected the badge.”

Curtis huffed and nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

This was not good. Curtis pulled out his phone and texted Bucky.

Next >

Bonus A/N: Tbh, even I don’t know where this story is gonna go, but I love Curtis a lot and will need some time to find a niche plot that will do him some justice.

I hope you enjoyed. Comments, reblogs, and likes are sooooo appreciated.

#Curtis Everett #curtis everett fanfiction #curtis everett x reader #curtis everett x you #mechanic! farmhand! curtis x bartender! reader #mechanic farmhand curtis x bartender reader #mechanic! farmhand! curtis #mechanic farmhand curtis #mechanic curtis #farmhand curtis #outta nowhere AU #handiwork series #handiwork chapter 1 #shuffle with me Houston stranger #bartender reader #bartender! reader #old truck #snowpiercer #Chris Evans

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bigtreefest · 4 months

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Chapter 2: Good Directions

From: Handiwork Series

Pairing: Mechanic! Farmhand! Curtis x Bartender! Reader

Summary: Curtis shows you a couple of his favorite spots around town.

Word count: 2,229

Content/warnings: Kissing, conversation, pet name usage, really not much else, a sprinkle of angst?

Author’s Note: Takes place directly after the last chapter, and then there are a few time skips, so it ends at the same place as YCMBWH ch. 8

All feedback is greatly appreciated. I love hearing back from you, even if it’s a keyboard smash. Thank you for reading!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

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Cleaning up went relatively fast after Curtis stepped away. After you finished counting the drawer and wiping down the counters finally, you saw him leaning against the wooden frame, chatting with Edgar. As soon as you walked up to them, Edgar bid the two of you goodbye.

“Okay, cheese curd, ready to go?” He laughed as his cheeks flushed a little pink. He nodded, opening up the door for you and leading you out to his truck.

He helped you to hop up into the passenger seat before jogging over to his side to get in. You’ve never seen a man that big move so smoothly. It must be the farming, really. Man, you had wasted your time with those city boys. Once he was settled in and had started the car, he sat there, still for a second, before looking over to you.

“So, Cherry, have a good day at work?” It was as if he had just simply picked you up. Like this was something he’d done before and he planned to do way more in the future. You let out a giggle at his playfulness and nodded.

“Oh yeah, great day. There was this one guy who kept begging for my attention, though. But I guess it was alright, because his friend with the fancy credit card left me a huge tip.”

Curtis teasingly scoffed, but it morphed into a smile to which you returned a wink when he turned his whole body towards you in the bench seat, propping his arm up across the back of it. His body looked so big, taking up the truck cab like that, yet so inviting.

“So where to, Missy? I know a lot about you, but not exactly where you live.”

You nodded. “Oh, right. Yeah, start driving and I’ll direct you.”

You took the opportunity to slide in under his arm before he could to move it, as he shifted back to face forward. As you settled into his side, Curtis kept his eyes forward, but it was impossible to miss the way the corners of his mouth turned up and his eyes sparked as he took a deep breath, still otherwise unmoving for a second.

Curtis moved his arm anyway, just for a second, to shift the truck into gear, then put it right back to where it was around you, squeezing you closer than before and starting his drive.

Curtis insisted on walking you up to your apartment after the short drive, which seemed like no time at all with how easy it was to talk to him. He’d been so kind, and you know Edgar had been just as decent lately, but this seemed different. It seemed like…more.

When you got to the door, you turned around and were met with the view of Curtis with his hands in his pockets, shoulders slightly slouched forward.

As your eyes met, you could feel the tension in the air, not sure where to go next. Not sure if maybe he felt the same static around the moment as you. Perhaps he was just being nice with everything lately, and that’s how they simply were in small towns, but again, it felt like way more than that. Either way, the easy conversation somehow escaped you now as your eyes shifted between his. Before you could even help it, you blurted out, “Would you just kiss me?”

Your hands gripped the collar of his flannel shirt and Curtis was taken aback by your directness. Hell, you were, too. His brain was screaming out to him. If he would’ve been able to decipher the internal screeching and put it into words, he would’ve said something along the lines of “Of course, I’ve been waiting to since the night I met you,” but instead, the wiring to his mouth must’ve been cut, since all he produced was a, “What?”

You laughed and shook your head at his expression and inability to register your words, before worry began to seep in. “I’d like to think I’m reading this right and was hoping you’d confirm it? Would you ki-“

Curtis’s brain finally caught up from the lag, and he immediately leaned down and smashed his lips against yours.

When he finally pulled away, you were the one wearing the brainless expression, eyes open and owlish at his confirmation of your feelings. You watched as his eyes slowly opened and a goofy smile came onto his face.

“I don’t think you read that wrong at all.” Curtis whispered between small pants.

“I, uh. I’ve got an early morning, but I enjoyed chatting with you tonight. I’d really like to see you again…maybe this coming week? Outside of your work and outside of the shop, you and me could do something?”

You nodded and bit your lip. “Yeah, I’d really like that. I’ll text you my schedule.”

You unclenched your hands from the fabric of his shirt and ran them down his chest. His oh-so-firm chest, before you realized maybe that was too far for tonight. You quickly moved your hands to be busy with something else, fishing for the doorknob behind you. “Good night, Curtis. Thank you for the ride.”

He simply nodded, watching you close the door and listening for the lock before turning on his heel and heading back to his car.

That week, Curtis kept his word. On Tuesday, he knew you had off work, so he surprised you by showing up at your door with a picnic basket in hand, only having given you about an hour of notice in advance, which was just enough time to get dressed and ready.

“Hey. I made us a little something. Wanna go for a ride?”

You nodded and grabbed his outstretched hand, heading out to his truck and hopping up. You could see the blankets in the truck bed already.

You watched the country roads and fields go by until Curtis pulled into a gorgeous meadow. The sun, low in the sky, was casting a reflective glow across the wildflowers and golden grasses.

Curtis put the truck in park and hopped down, reaching for you as you scooted across the bench seat and into his arms, where he helped you down. The calluses on his well-worked hands traced down your arms to grab your hands, sending a tingle through your body, as he led you to the tailgate. He helped you jump up before stepping up, himself, once again more gracefully than you would’ve expected for someone of his stature.

He laid out the blankets before helping you settle in to the laid out picnic.

It was a perfect date. After the meal, which was surprisingly good, you and Curtis just sat there, cuddled up in the corner of the bed, where you were squeezed in between his legs to watch the sunset. The warmth on your face mixed with that of his body behind you was comforting-almost too much.

You began to shift in his hold, the weight of everything kicking in. Maybe this was too much, too fast. You had just gotten here, the last thing you needed was to let yourself get sucked in, even if he was just so kind. Did you even know enough about him yet to say that?

Curtis took note of the change in the tone of the environment and moved around your side to look at you.

“Hey, everything alright?”

Sure, it was. You had been the one mostly pushing for things. You had been the one to kiss him, so why were you suddenly so on edge? You tried to swallow the lump forming in your throat before nodding.

“Uh, yeah. Just, um… this is really nice.”

Maybe the care he was showing was unlike what you were used to. Everywhere you went, it was just…you. But suddenly, someone else cared about what was going on in your life and made an effort to take part in it. You’re cleared your throat and attempted to clear the tears from your eyes before he could see them. You turned away from his knowing gaze and looked out towards the field.

“Everything’s really beautiful. Can you tell me about around here? I just wanna hear you talk.”

Curtis grabbed your hand with both of his, rubbing his thumbs along the back of it. He gave you a reassuring look and just simply a nod, leaning back once more and going through the history of the farm, what all the fields were used for, and the different animals, his deep voice lulling you back to a state of comfort. He told you about the old country store on the one corner, with an old Coca-Cola sign, and how his aunt used to make the best sweet tea. You settled back against his chest easily, taking in the warmth again, losing the sense of false alarm which threatened your enjoyment, and finally accepting the peace you thought you might find here.

After that night and the amount that Curtis opened up to you, seeing him was a much more regular occurrence, especially once you had gotten the call that the part for your truck came in. The repair took longer than anticipated, though, since Curtis had to be careful of the other parts of the engine with them all being so old. The wrong move could result in the necessity of ordering yet another part and essentially having to start the process over again. And as much as he would’ve liked to keep having reasons to talk to you, he wasn’t looking for more ways to dig into your pockets, or better yet, his since unbeknownst to you, he already had decided to comp this whole job.

The long-stretching work resulted in a few late nights of Curtis taking you back to the shop with him so he could show you the progress, teach you more about the other parts of the engine you weren’t as familiar with, and maybe kiss a little bit in the break room after he washed his hands for the day.

Some nights you’d snag him dinner from the bar and he’d drive you back out into the fields, instead, sharing snacks, and conversations, and a view of the unhindered stars that lit up and reflected in his eyes. He was made for here. He matched everything so perfectly, and you matched him.

Every so often, things would switch up, Curtis would sit with his head in your lap looking up at the sky while you told him stories of your travels, what life was like in various cities, and how all the people were different. Those places were never home, though. But this place felt like it, maybe he felt like it.

You ran your fingers through his cropped hair, staring up at the sky when he spoke up between your stories.

“So you remember my cousin? And Bucky?”

You hummed and nodded, tearing your eyes from the sky to look into Curtis’s and moved your hand from the top of his head to scratch through his beard.

“Well Bucky’s only got a few nights left in town, and I know you’ve got a day off coming up. I think we’re gonna have a bonfire. You wanna join?”

You thought for a second. This was essentially Curtis asking you to meet his family. If you hadn’t felt so secure with him, you would’ve hesitated, but there was no question and you’d take any opportunity to be with him and those he considered closest. They were funny from what you remember. Kind, polite, and seemed just as decent as him.

“Sounds good.”

The night of the bonfire was almost like any other time with you and Curtis. Warm, comfortable, enjoyable. Well, at least on your end.

You were sitting with your back up against Curtis, the bonfire smoke struggling to fight off the bugs, as you sensed something was off. Bucky and Bee sitting across from you seemed…sad. Like there was a cloud over their heads despite the wonderful weather lately.

You tried your best to make conversation and keep it. Maybe even avoiding the fact that you thought Bucky was simply a temporary farmhand, but now he seemed more like a boyfriend. Who were you to talk? Curtis was technically your mechanic. Your strong, smart mechanic who if you didn’t know better, you’d say was keeping your car for ransom so he could keep driving you places. Perhaps purposely walking through every repair step twice. That wasn’t the point right now, though, so you tried to talk to Bucky: the one who you’d heard less about.

He’d asked you what you thought of town, and if your time with Curtis was any indication, you loved it. So you asked him, as well. He seemed really locked in, like he wanted to stay forever, despite only being here temporarily as had been explained to you.

“But you’re not sticking around, right? Curtis told me this was one of your last nights in town.”

At that question, the already humid air thickened and you felt Curtis tense up behind you. Oh no, were you not supposed to say something about that? You tried to hold your expression in. Maybe if you didn’t acknowledge the discomfort, no one else would, but you heard Bucky’s quiet answer.

“Yeah.”

Next >

Bonus A/N: Did I write another truck bed date? Yes. And would I do it again? You can bet on it.

Taglist: @angelcavill66 @hawkeyes-queen @ronearoundblindly

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bigtreefest · 20 days

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Chapter 4: Caught up in the Country

From: Handiwork Series

Pairing: Mechanic! Farmhand! Curtis x Bartender! Reader

Summary: It’s a long night for both you and Curtis following his capture from the bar

Word count: 3,682

Content/warnings: depictions of light torture (punching, smacking), mentions of blood, bruises, mob themes, mentions of fire and guns, knives, kidnapping, sad vibes, I tried not to make it too graphic, threats, kissing, lil bit of sad vibes, happy ending tho

Author’s Note: it’s been awhile, so go easy on me as I jump back into writing. I’m still trying to figure out Cherry, but I hope you can see her toughness here, as well as how deeply she cares. Takes place at the same times as YCMBWH Ch. 11 and The Rainmaker Ch. 8

I can’t wait to hear your feedback in all forms! Thank you for reading!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

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Everything felt heavy as Curtis’s head lulled to the side. He was blinking back into consciousness as he awoke from a sleep that was anything but restful. The world was black. His muscles felt tight and sore as he tried to wiggle his fingers for sensation but his wrists were restrained by a familiar burning sensation: rope.

The smell around him was familiar, yet different. There was a rich fertilizer undertone, paired with the apparent moisture in the air. It was crisp, yet toasty almost. He knew this one: barn with a hint of hay, not one of his, but likely local? The only other farm owner around was-

Curtis’s eyes were presented to a searing light as a black veil was pulled away. He tried to blink into adjustment under the lamp that hovered only a few inches above his head as the world slowly became clearer. A dirt floor was under his feet and he was surrounded by four red walls. They weren’t worn like the ones on his family’s farm, though. They seemed new. As his gaze continued to search around, that’s when he finally saw her, the one woman who had been at the bar, and suddenly he knew exactly what was happening.

You bit your nail on one hand, the other wrapped around your torso for comfort, as you paced across the rug in the living room of the farm home. After the fight had been handled and dissipated at the bar, Decks had driven you back to Bee’s house in your truck, in near silence. The whole ride home, you’d have been trembling if it wasn’t for the way she let you hold her hand with a reassuring squeeze, but now she was nowhere to be found.

Perhaps she was out wherever Bucky and Steve were, but you were pulled out of your thoughts about where she or Curtis could have possibly gone as Bee burst through the front door.

“Hey, I’m not sure how to say this, but I think it’s about time for an interrogation? Bucky’s men have Lloyd and Cole in one of the old barns. Weren’t sure if you wanted to be there or not for it.”

Her normally bright voice held a tentative and gloomy tone, as did her eyes. You dropped your arms with a sigh and nodded, following her out the door.

When you got to the barn, you saw it was lined with twice as many guards as the bar earlier in the night. You looked around at the men standing tall and alert, a look on their faces like they weren’t about to make the same mistake twice. Good.

You stopped at the open doors as Bee went in to find Bucky and took a deep breath and a moment to steel yourself.

You walked into the barn, boots scuffing the hay floor, head turning, taking in the sights before you. In two metal chairs, tied up, were the men from the bar: Cole and Lloyd who crossed well, everyone here.

Bucky stood in front of them with a menacing glare, Steve off to the side, leaning back against a stack of hay bales, arms and legs crossed as he watched the scene occurring.

They must’ve been at this for a little while now based off the bruises you could see forming on the mob boss’s hand, but the look on the mustached rival’s face wouldn’t have given that away. He smiled through the grime that physically and metaphorically coated him. Cole looked as scared and unsure as ever, evidently not cut out for this. You weren’t either, if you were honest with yourself, but you’d seen your fair share of things in your day. And you wouldn’t let yourself dare to think if Curtis was going through worse than what you witnessed now.

You calmly made your way over and stood next to Bee, who had leaned next to Steve. Sensing your arrival, Bucky came over and began lowly whispering his strategy.

“I can’t get jack shit with Lloyd here, fucking bastard. I know Cole will squeal as soon as he’s alone, though. We just need to-“

He was cut off by a sound that made you all turn your heads. The rafters of the barn creaked and down swung Decks, before landing onto the soft floor. The action caught the attention of the captives, too, as the watched her stalk over to them. Her shoulders were stiff, unyielding.

Steve made a movement to go towards her, but Bucky barred him with an arm, likely curious to see where this went. You strained your ears to hear her.

“I’ll give you one more shot. I’m sick of watching this dance. Where. Is. Curtis?”

A stuttering voice came out of Cole. “I-I don’t know.”

Smack. In a flash, his head was tossed to the side.

“Wrong answer.”

She took a step to her left, putting herself directly in front of Lloyd.

“Where?”

Her voice was alarmingly even. Calm, yet rage-filled. All you could see was the back of Lloyd’s shaking head, paired with his shoulders that appeared to be raising up and down with laughter. You weren’t sure if he took notice, though, at the way Decks’s fists tightened.

“Oh, come on, Pumpkin. You’re a smartie. Bet you’re a sweet peach just like your friend, too, but I’m not giving up whe-“

Punch. Right to the jaw. It was almost in slow motion as Lloyd fell to the hay floor in a heap with a dull thump and a rustle. She had knocked him out cold.

Her eyes were fixed on Cole again.

“Is that motivation enough for you to help us now?”

Cole furiously nodded and looked back over his shoulder at you. “I’ll talk to her.”

Your eyes went wide. You knew the least here out of everyone. Well, you guessed Decks knew less since she was in the dark for so long, but you were the farthest removed from it all. You were saved, though, when Steve shook his head, this time stepping forward without being stopped.

“No way. You lost your right to negotiate when you let Lloyd cross that line. You talk to me or you don’t have a tongue to talk anymore. Got it?”

You could see Cole swallow even from your distance as he nodded. With that, Bucky tilted his head in reference for you and Bee to leave the barn. When you searched for Decks to follow out, she was already long gone on her way back to the house.

Curtis had been here for hours now, but with the adrenaline running through him, it simultaneously felt like minutes and days. His wrists and ankles were getting sore from the tight restraints, but at least he wasn’t gagged. He guessed that whoever these people were didn’t think they were in for a tongue lashing. Boy, were they wrong. Every ounce of politeness was wrung out of him by now, if not from the torture he faced, then from having to listen to Lillian yell at seemingly incapable henchmen. Bucky would never. Curtis had seen what a tight ship he ran.

After rolling her eyes at a man furiously typing on a computer, she made her way back over to Curtis.

“Do you know where you are?”

Curtis let out a dry, humorless laugh. He’d been sitting here for how long and that was what she had to say to him?

“Not really, but I’m sure you’re gonna tell me. I might have a couple guesses, though. But really, thank you for your hospitality for finally getting around to that.”

Lillian continued to circle him like a shark in her red bottom heels, doing her best to blow off his sardonic tone. The floor of this barn wasn’t dirt like the ones on his own farm property. It was wooden, so he heard the obnoxious clunk with every step she took.

She stopped and crouched down in front of him, hands on her knees over the grossly inappropriate pencil skirt she wore on this occasion.

“I thought you were supposed to be a nice, kind country boy. Chivalrous. Polite. Especially to women.”

Curtis tried his best to hold back a scoff.

“Perhaps I’d change my tune if you hadn’t…ya know, kidnapped me. But based on your behavior in general, how you were treating my girl? Calling someone a bitch knows no gender.”

Lilian slapped Curtis across the face at that and he leaned to the side, spitting, lucky to find no blood. At least she hadn’t gone in on him that hard. Yet.

She turned around and strutted to the table where the henchman sat with a computer and leaned back on her hands against it, crossing her ankles.

“When I’m done with you and your little friend group, you’ll be lucky to find yourself in a speaking position at all.”

Curtis’s body wasn’t sure whether to shudder at the coldness or roll his eyes. Maybe if he just kept talking, he’d be able to stall enough until help came.

“I thought Lloyd was supposed to be the unhinged one”

An eerie smirk crossed Lilian’s face at that. “Where do you think he learned his skills? I rarely spent time this far outside the city, but, you know, I’d like to think of myself as somewhat of a cowboy killer.”

Curtis shrugged before he remembered why he was hardly moving due to the jolt of pain that ran through him from the ropes. “While that’s mildly concerning, I do feel compelled to tell you that I’m more of a farmer and less of a cowboy. I’d say the closest thing you know to one of those is your boy Cole.”

Curtis was taking in every detail he could of his surroundings as he kept this conversation going. One of those details, though, included how Lilian’s eyes slightly widened at the mention of the prick Curtis had spent almost his whole life despising.

“Huh, that got something out of you….” Realization took over his features. “Oh my gosh, you’re sleeping with him, aren’t you?”

Her previously cool and deranged demeanor had shifted. “Psh, what? That’s absurd. You’ve known Cole for how long? Why would I want to be with him?”

If he wasn’t careful, he’d say he was almost enjoying seeing someone who seemed like they had it all figured out make such a terrible decision. He had to tread a line, though. Keep talking without fully upsetting her and making the torture worse.

“That’s a great question, but I mean, I didn’t have great taste in romantic partners in my twenties, so I can’t blame you, really. So what’s this all about? You’re attacking Bee because she turned down Cole’s business proposal? No, even he doesn’t have the brain capacity for this sort of a vendetta.” Another moment of realization accompanied a gasp. “Oh my gosh, you used to date Bucky, didn’t you? It’s because of that? You want to take her down because of that? Like, come on. This is a bit much, Lil.”

She scowled at the nickname and accusation. “You’re ridiculous if you think all of this is over a lost lover.”

Curtis cocked his head to the side. “Am I? Am I, though?”

Lilian sighed and threw her hands up at exasperation, not only at being exposed, but at the fact that Curtis wouldn’t believe her fake denial at the situation. “God, you hicks are so dense. Never listen. I’m sure I could say anything to you and it would go in one ear, out the other.”

Curtis droppped his head and shook it. Yeah, okay Lilian. Believe whatever you want. It’s your funeral. He looked back up at her through his eyelashes. So sass only got him more insults, what about compliments?

“You’re right, I think you’re probably the only one with a law degree within 100 miles of this place.”

She nodded. “You bet I am. And one would think tha-“

She was cut off by a henchman coming up behind her and whispering over her shoulder into her ear. Her ruby red lips turned down into a frown as she rolled her eyes once again behind a mask of mascara, eyeliner, and dark eye shadow. The more he looked at her, the more Curtis saw a person. One capable of making mistakes, several, sloppy mistakes, that were hopefully to his advantage. The henchman stepped back, awaiting further instruction.

Lilian groaned. “Ugh, fine. Alright.”

She pointed at Curtis with a menacing squint. “You stay here while I investigate. Move an inch and I’ll pull out the knife. You haven’t seen me yet with one of those.”

You waited anxiously in the farm house, pacing the floor once again before you gasped in alarm, stopped by a hand on the shoulder. When you looked up from your feet, you were met with concerned eyes before you were pulled in for a hug. It was Decks.

Her chin was tucked over your shoulder and she squeezed you close.

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. They’re going to find him. I bet they already have.”

You nodded and squeezed her back, holding tight to the baggy flannel shirt she wore. From the smell of it, you could tell it was an old one of Curtis’s. You couldn’t blame her, it was probably way more comfortable than anything she had left.

You pulled away, seeing the sincerity in her gaze.

“Yeah, I know. Doesn’t mean I’m not a little on edge, though. Thanks for what you did back there, by the way. I was afraid I was gonna have to jump in and show those guys who’s boss, but you had it covered.” You gave a watery laugh.

Decks gave a shrug. “Eh, anything for a friend. And you’re really the only one here that I’m not upset with right now.”

That brought a rare smile to your face. It was a little funny, but also sadly true. You knew she wasn’t dealing with this all as well as you, but admired her for sticking around. You could see so much honesty in her, probably a quality that drew her so close in her friendship with Curtis. It was comforting and exactly what you needed.

And speaking of comfort, a welcoming smell began to waft in from the kitchen. Bee was cooking, which didn’t seem super appropriate for the moment, until you looked at the clock above the stove.

It was early morning by now. Though the curtains were all pulled tight, through the seam in the middle, you could see the beginnings of daylight peeking through. It was then that you realized you’d been running for nearly twelve hours on sheer adrenaline and a need to stay strong until Curtis returned. It seemed like you should keep fighting, keep pushing for him to come back, but it was out of your hands now. Bucky’s men were on the job. All you could do was wait at this point. Hopefully this good meal could hold you over until then.

It was an ambush. All Curtis heard was a light shuffling inside his shielding of the barn, followed by dampened swift blows and brief screams. That must’ve been Bucky’s men.

The closed barn doors allowed him little room to see what was going on, but the scattered gunshots were enough to sense that something was coming closer. Only Lilian’s men were fools enough to cause that much of a scene.

As the sounds died down, the barn door slid open, and Curtis squinted at the morning light that was directed right towards his eyes. A shadow quickly covered it, though. Curtis couldn’t make out the face, darkened by the rays of sun that framed it, but he knew the outline of that build. It was similar to the one that was in his farm fields for weeks, but the waist was slimmer. It carried itself with just a little more proper posture and grace.

“Steve?”

The figure approached and his face was lit up by the overhead barn lights. A crooked, apologetic smile was there under a pair of sincere blue eyes. It was Steve. Curtis wasn’t sure whether to scowl or smile at his savior.

“Hey there, partner. I’m here for retrieval service.”

Steve walked around behind Curtis and crouched down, pulling the knife out of his breast pocket, flicking it open, and cutting the ropes from his wrists. Curtis immediately brought his hands to his front, rubbing the tender area.

“Did you get Lilian? She was outside. And all the guards? Is everyone else okay? How’s Cherry? Decks? Bee?”

Steve walked around to Curtis’s front, crouching once again to begin sawing at the ropes that held his ankles.

“The girls are good. Safe on the farm being guarded, but I think they can handle themselves. Your girl has taken this quite well all things considered.”

Steve broke through the ankle restraints and looked up at Curtis’s face. There was a cut on his cheek that appeared to be bruising slowly.

“Lilian got you pretty good, huh? Don’t worry, we’ve got her now. And Lloyd and Cole. They’re getting delivered back to an old friend in the city as we speak. Probably won’t have to see their faces ever again. That’s a blessing.”

Curtis nodded in assent. “You could say that again.”

Steve looked Curtis once over. “Can you walk?”

Curtis nodded and groaned as he threw his hands to his knees and pressed out of the uncomfortable metal chair.

“Yeah…you never really answered all of my questions, though, city boy, at least not fully….”

Steve walked with Curtis up to the edge of the barn, peeking out to check if the coast was clear and speaking into an ear piece. He nodded with confirmation and his shoulders relaxed a little, although Steve grabbed the gun from the holster on his hip just in case, keeping it low as they shuffled out into the open field.

When Curtis looked around, he could see it was one of the Turners farms, but not the original one. A newer one: one that had been taken over. Scattered all around him were other, smaller barns on fire. When he looked back behind him to where he had just been moments ago, that one was too, flames ripping through it like a warm knife in butter.

Once Curtis turned back to him as they approached a black SUV, Steve looked at him with his eyebrows pinched inwards.

Curtis got up in the driver’s seat despite the way Steve was very evidently guiding him towards the passenger side and held his hand out for the keys.

“Come on. While I drive home, you’re gonna walk me through your plan to get Decks back. If the next time I see her, she’s as mopey as she’s been this weekend, or worse yet, this hardens her, you’ll have hell to pay.”

Steve sighed as he settled into his seat. “Okay, okay. But I think I’m gonna need a lot of your input. Just be nice about it.”

Curtis raised a skeptical brow at Steve as he pulled out onto the country road, leaving the burning farm behind them and Bucky and his men to finish up.

You had finished you meal and sat back on the couch, leg bouncing as you worked out a plan. Curtis needed to get back safely. He had to. You didn’t know what you’d do if he didn’t. Probably beat up Bucky first for getting you all in this mess, then move. Far, far away. Run like you always needed to, even if this was the first place you really felt like you belonged. That would be easiest, your truck could probably handle it, right?

You were startled by the sound of the front door clicking and in an act of self defense, you grabbed your empty coffee mug off the table and threw it at the front entryway. As the door opened, it shut just as quickly from the startle of the ceramic shattering against the wall. From the outside, you could hear, “Holy cow. Um, good arm? But it’s me, darlin’…”

Your shoulders dropped in relief. “Curtis!?”

You ran to the front door, socked feet gliding on the wood, and you pulled the handle and whipped it open. He was standing there, Steve behind him. You threw yourself into his arms, hands wrapped around his neck as he squeezed around your torso.

“It’s me. Hi sweet girl. I’m okay.”

You pulled away with a smile on your face. Your hands ran along his beard and you leaned in for a deep kiss. When you looked at him, your eyes roamed over his face, bruised and slightly wincing at the gentle circles of your thumb. You moved to pull away and apologize, but he grabbed your wrist to keep you there. I’ll never let you go.

You simply nodded and smiled, before looking over his shoulder at the dark-haired mob boss walking up the driveway. His car had just pulled in.

Your eyes narrowed to slits as you gave Curtis a quick peck on the nose.

“You go on ahead and get in there. I think some people will be very happy to see you.”

Curtis nodded, sensing what was about to go down, and gave you a kiss on the top of your head as his hand rubbed your waist before walking through the threshold, and Steve followed behind him.

As Bucky scaled the front porch steps, about to take the same path as the other two men inside, he was stopped by your pointer finger to his chest. Your voice was threatening and low. “You, mister. If you ever let another threat like this, or one of your crazy ex girlfriends near us again, no one is coming out that unscathed. Am I understood?”

His eyebrows raised as he gave you a salute. “Yes ma’am. You have my word.”

You gave him a curt nod of agreement and went inside.

Next >

Bonus A/N: sorry for the dark vibes, but go Curtis and Cherry! Two badasses even in a hard situation imo, although she’s not so forward with it because she doesn’t have the direct threat. What do you think?

Taglist: @evelineangel66 @hawkeyes-queen @ronearoundblindly @mercurial-chuckles

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bigtreefest · 2 months

Text

Chapter 3: Outskirts

From: Handiwork Series

Pairing: Mechanic! Farmhand! Curtis x Bartender! Reader

Summary: You’re enjoying your time growing close with Curtis, until you learn something new about his friends and family that sets off an intense weekend

Word count: 4,510

Content/warnings: Teasing, kissing, mentions and consumption of alcohol, swears, kidnapping, rude people, observations, tiredness, mentions of the mob and light mob themes

Author’s Note: Takes place at the same time as Ch. 7 of The Rainmaker and Ch. 10 of YCMBWH

I can’t wait to hear your feedback in all forms! Thank you for reading!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

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You could consciously feel the way your body started to ignore the sound of metal clanging echoing through the garage on another Wednesday afternoon. Another day of Curtis walking you through repair steps, and every part of the engine, and demonstrating how they’ve all changed since your old truck was made, comparing it to the more modern versions sitting at the other stations.

Curtis was about to walk you over to the other, newer truck in the shop this morning for the third time when you cut him off.

“So it’s done, right? Everything looks in place, you just keep tightening random bolts, except the wrench doesn’t move, so that means it’s done… right?”

For someone who had just been rattling off every known fact about trucks that he could think of, Curtis was oddly quiet now. Silent. And looking at your feet until you placed your hand under his chin, bringing it back up. You scrunched your nose and tilted your head to the side, looking into his mischievously knowing eyes that simply blinked at you. Every time those irises are revealed, it’s dangerous, and he knows it, but you’re the one winning right now.

“I’m right, aren’t I? You’ve been finished with my truck for hours. Probably even days. Or perhaps weeks.”

He nodded, moving to put his hands on your hips, then thinking better from the grease caked into them, placing them on his own hips of his coveralls instead. “Yeah.”

You leaned in to give him a kiss on the nose, returned by raised, expectant eyebrows from you not leaning in for a full kiss.

“See? I listen. I pay attention. Caught everything you said. Now clean up and tell one of your boys they’re taking over for you today. I’ve got something special planned.”

Curtis smiled brightly. That was your favorite, a beautiful change from his normal serious face. He laughed all the time; with family, with friends, with you, but each smile was still a treat.

“Something special? For me?”

You nodded, smiling right back. “You bet. So go home, get showered, and I’ll do the same. Then I’m picking you up and we’re gonna head out because I finally have a car again.”

You closed the hood of the vehicle, grabbing the keys off his work bench, before giving him a quick peck on the lips and hopping up into your truck. He kept standing there, hands on his hips, shaking his head and laughing. Dang, he couldn’t pull one over on you, that was for sure, but he was excited for what the day held.

You pulled up in front of Curtis’s place, a small single-story home on a neighborhood street at the edge of town. After all this time, you were surprised you hadn’t seen it before. It had been over a month, after all. Most times, he really just came to your place, or took you over to the farm house, where you’d been much more often lately, keeping Bee company while Curtis did farm chores.

You turned off the truck and walked up to the front door, Curtis coming out onto the porch before you could even get there. He trotted down the steps to meet you on the walkway, reaching out his hand for yours, and using it to pull you close to him, finally perching his hands on your waist. He stood there, eyes looking between yours as the two of you swayed back and forth.

“So you gonna tell me where we’re going?”

You shook your head, snaking your hands around his waist, as well, tracing upward to feel the firm muscles of his broad back. You could physically feel the way he began to relax in your touch before you pulled away abruptly, seeing him rise an inch from tensing up again.

“Not a chance. Now get in the truck, can’t be late!”

Curtis groaned playfully and walked, taking his sweet time after you’d pulled away from him and ran to the car, rolling the windows down.

You pulled out of his driveway and started on your way, hoping you could remember the relatively simple directions since you didn’t want to give it away by putting it in the GPS.

The drive was pleasant, like all the others before, but this time, you got to savor sporadic glances at Curtis enjoying the landscape. Most of the time, it was you sitting close to him, staring out at the scenery, but with you driving, you got to see things from his side, and you loved it. He kept himself close on the bench seat, too, his arm over across the back of it, drawing circles on your other shoulder.

The breeze blew through the cabin, slowing down as you turned into the parking lot of the local distillery. Of course Curtis knew where you were going the entire time, but he let you be excited and proud of yourself for the destination. It was somewhere he’d never seen the inside of yet.

You pulled into the lot and threw your truck in park, finally turning to face him as much as you could in the seat.

“Surprise! One of the brand distributors came by the other day and offered us a free tour of the place. Plus, at the end, there’s an extra special surprise I negotiated with him for you.”

Curtis smiled and leaned in to kiss your nose at the bright look on your face. “Extra special, huh? We should get going.”

You went to turn and open your door when Curtis stopped you. “No, you already drove and surprised me with this. Let me at least do one nice thing for you.”

You rolled your eyes as you rolled up the windows and watched him scoot across the bench and out of the truck. Curtis could faintly hear your voice from the outside, saying, “You already covered my truck repairs. I think you’ve done enough,” as your arms were crossed and your gaze followed his walk around to your side.

He opened your door and helped you down, keeping your hand in his. “Sorry, didn’t quite catch what you said. Was it ‘never enough?’ I could never do enough for you? Because I agree.”

You took a step to bump your shoulder into his for the purposeful mishearing and continued to the door of the distillery.

The tour was great. The distributor you had met walked you and Curtis through the entire distillation process, showing you how they got the signature flavor and the differences between the batches.

At the end of it, he took you and Curtis to a back room with a bar and a bunch of whiskey barrels. Empty glass bottles lined the walls and you could see a bunch of mixing equipment all around. Curtis looked over to you with a curious cocked brow.

The two of you took your seats as the distributor walked you through the meanings of small batches, letting you pick your bottles and mix whatever barrels together that you wanted to create the best flavor. You had pulled him to the side, though, to ask a question, to which he happily nodded, bring out a third bottle and setting it in the counter. Curtis looked at you with a curious tilt of his head.

“What’s that one for?”

You shrugged. “Your cousin. I know her reserve of the good stuff has been getting low. Peter, that new little farmhand, told me she takes a shot with him after every time that Cole guy visits. I hope that’s over soon, though, he seems…how do I say this? Okay, don’t judge me for it, because I don’t want to put down the company she keeps…but, kind of awful? Despite all the gifts? Like, she’s miserable lately. Every time I see her, it’s like there’s a cloud over her head.”

Curtis dismissively nodded to you, although he didn’t really want to. He knew what was going on with Cole, and with Bee, but he hadn’t told you yet. He just wanted to enjoy this great gift with you first, and then he’d let you know. It was sort of important for what was coming this weekend with Decks coming into town, but instead of dumping all the information now, he just settled with, “well I think that’s a great idea. You’re right, she’s due for a new bottle and I think she’ll love it.”

His face was even, stoic almost, but you let it slide. It had been a long day, and maybe the two of you just needed to get out of here and eat.

Once you’d filled your unique, ornate glassware, they sealed and wrapped them up for you to take home.

As you were walking through the parking lot, skipping ahead of Curtis, who was carrying the three boxes with your precious bottles as he’d insisted, his face looked…concerned? Pulled in on itself.

Opening up the back door of the truck and sliding in the three boxes under the seat, you stopped Curtis from walking away when he had handed you the third one.

“Hey, hey. Wait up. What’s going on? Did you not like this? Was it too much?”

Curtis propped his one hand up against the side of the truck, hardly caging you in, more for his own support as he looked down at the ground. He sighed, thinking for a moment. Ain’t no time like the present.

“No, no. Not at all. Nothing like that. Just…what you said about Bee in there. I think she’ll really appreciate it, and I think she really appreciates you and the way you’ve been around for her, even if it’s only been a little, since Bucky left.”

Ah, so some of this was about Bucky? You turned around from tucking in the boxes, shutting the half door and leaning up against the driver’s side, trying to catch Curtis’s eyes.

“Well, I just did what any good friend would do. I think she’d do the same if you dropped off the face of the earth.”

Curtis looked up at you with a grimace. “True. But you should know, Bucky’s coming back.”

You perked up, running your hands up and down the front of Curtis’s shirt, trying to relax him, understand why he was having the physical reaction he was.

“Curtis, that’s great! Why do you look like it’s not?”

He looked up at the sky for a second, moving his hands to his pockets and standing up straight.

“Well, because he’s not coming back to the farm under the best circumstances. Why don’t we get in the car and I’ll tell you more on the way to the farm.”

You nodded, your face still covered in a tentative uncertainty of what he could be referring to, before you put your keys into his outstretched hand. No use driving if you were gonna swerve at some apparent earth-shattering news.

On the way to the farm, Curtis told you everything. Who Bucky truly was, the nature of his dealings with Bee, and how it all related to Cole and some guy named Lloyd.

As you were pulling into the long driveway to the farm, you had your eyes closed and your hand on your forehead, trying to remember the onslaught of information.

“So Bucky’s in the mob?”

“Yeah.”

“And Bee is partnered with him?”

“Right.”

“And Cole, who’s also a jerk you went to high school with, wants to take Bee’s farm?”

“Mhm.”

“And some dude named Lloyd, who’s associated with Cole, is Bucky’s…how would you even say this…mob nemesis?”

“Correct.”

“And Bucky used to date Lloyd��s sister?”

“See, that’s where I’m not sure. I’ve got my suspicions, but neither of them said such outright.”

You nodded along, seeing it all line up. “And Bee made a bet against the farm for both Cole and Lloyd to step away, once and for all? And that’s taking place this weekend? And Decks is playing in her place?”

“Yeah, you got it.”

You blew out a breath as you pulled up to the farm house, Bee and Peter already waiting outside to greet you since you’d all be having dinner together tonight.

“Well dang, I think we might need to crack that new bottle open already.”

Curtis gave a half-hearted laugh, opening up the car door and preparing to greet his cousin. “I think you might be right about that one.”

The weekend came, and preparations for the bet were in order. You had spent the previous night at Curtis’s house so he could get you up early to take you to the farm since he had chores and you had some last-minute details to smooth out. Bee had been busy the rest of the week doing farm chores, preparing to have this weekend open, so this was the first time you were going to hear the whole plan of the day.

Decks, Bee’s college roommate, was going to be coming into town for a single game of pool, winner takes all. You’d met her once before, and she seemed nice, but this entire ordeal felt…intense… and you felt terrible that it seemed like it all fell on the poor girl’s shoulders.

Far too early for your liking, considering you’d worked a shift the previous night, Curtis drove you over, dropping you off in the living room with a kiss, before heading out for the first round of chores. You took a quick nap on the couch before you were gently woken up by Curtis, already back from his morning rounds.

He took you out to the front porch where you sat bundled up in the blanket you had snatched, talking with Peter in mild conversation. He was a sweet kid, more than willing to do whatever was asked of him, but poor thing had been away from home for a month. Hopefully when today and everything was over, he’d get to go back home, but from the way he talked, you could tell he wasn’t sure if that would happen, either.

You watched as Curtis went up to chat with his cousin, the two of them watching a Black SUV pull into the driveway. Out of it stepped Steve, who you remember being alongside Decks the first time you met the two of them. Well, technically the only time. He happily greeted them before you were directed to come into the house and start making plans while Curtis stayed on the porch.

As you were sitting there on a stool around the kitchen table, you were half listening. Your brain was still tired, trying to catch up, but you were just there enough to comprehend and plan out the day. Apparently, Decks was coming soon in a car with Bucky, but you found it weird that she wouldn’t accompany Steve. They were all coming from the same place, right? So why drive separately? Ah, and then Bee said it. Decks was mad at Steve. Wonder what that was about.

Either way, they were set to arrive soon, but all you knew was that Decks was to be kept in the right mental state to win the game. That was the main focus. To get just the right mood and to distract the competitors, though, she needed the right clothes, but it didn’t sound like she had been informed of it yet, so you raised a question to Bee.

“So how are we going about that? If you didn’t already ask her to bring a dress?”

She smiled over to you, probably grateful you’d finally joined in on the conversation even if your voice was still raspy with sleep. “That’s the thing, I was hoping you might have a good outfit in mind. Something cute, but not too revealing. Comfortable in fit, but not in style. Shorts underneath, of course.”

You smiled back. “I think I have just the thing. But also, aren’t you a little worried to be doing this all in public? The bar will be busy tonight, I’m working, and I know they’re not gonna shut it down since it’s such short notice.”

You were nervous. This all felt like such a huge deal now that today was the day. The actual consequences, and your proximity to it were sinking in, but you were sure it was nothing compared to what poor Decks was going through. Being mad at Steve, plus having to see him today, plus being responsible for saving the farm? You were lucky you and Curtis were so far removed compared to that.

You watched her think for a second. “Well I assume a public environment makes them less likely to pull anything over on us, plus Bucky is sending a bunch of guards. But I’d rather have several of witnesses if I get shot-“ she gasped, looking at everyone with wide, imploring eyes, “but don’t tell Decks that’s a possibility! Don’t even plant a thought like that in her mind. Keep her feeling safe, and angry, and confident if you can. She needs it, okay? And if you forget your role, just remember it’s whatever Decks tells you to do, alright?”

You nodded. You’d do your best, but Peter seemed just as nervous as you about the whole thing. It was all put to a stop when you heard another car pulling into the driveway, though.

You walked out, watching Bee sprint to Bucky and jump into his arms. When they came back towards you, Bee stood by your side as Bucky quickly ran into the house. You watched as Peter went to get into the car to wake Decks, handing back a box of pastries to Bee that you gladly picked through, grabbing a croissant and offering Curtis a bite. As Decks emerged from the car, promptly after having decked poor Peter for waking her from her slumber, she greeted all of you, followed by snubbing Steve. Man, she really was mad.

Midday found you sitting in Curtis’s lap in the porch swing, listening to the ongoing conversations of the friends, catching up on what happened within the last month between planning events for the day. Everyone was heading out to do their own tasks, as Steve asked you for the keys to your apartment to set up for the afternoon where you and Bee would be taking Decks to eat and get dressed for tonight’s match.

Curtis had to leave you, heading back out for another round of chores with Peter, so you went to sit on the couch for a little while until Bee had a request.

“Hey Cherry, I’m not sure how Decks will react if I go up there. I’m pretty sure you’re the only one of us around that she doesn’t have a vendetta against, so could you grab her and tell her it’s time to head to your place?”

You nodded, immediately getting up and heading towards the steps, because if you hovered in anticipation, it probably wouldn’t happen. You were a little scared of Decks right now, with how angry she seemed this morning.

When you got to the door, you knocked softly, peeking in to see her sprawled over the bed. You spoke softly, with a smile on your face in an attempt to placate her.

“Hey, Decks. I know you’re probably in game mode, but Bee thought it might be a good idea for you to come over to my place. We can pick you out a nice outfit for tonight. Eat something, maybe? It’s my understanding you haven’t had anything since early this morning and apparently, from what I’ve been told, ‘the good stuff’ is waiting for you at my apartment. And it’s no boys allowed for this afternoon. You get to do whatever you need to get in the zone without distraction. How does that sound?”

She shot up from the comforter, and that was the first time you got a good look at her face today. She looked exhausted, and distraught. You were sure some time with just the girls might help, though, and you were more than willing to do her makeup if that’s what she wanted to feel her best.

You ran down the steps and out the front door where Bee was waiting for you in her truck. You hopped up and slid towards the middle.

“She coming down?”

You nodded, double checking the clock on the dash. Looked like you’d have plenty of time to relax at your place.

“Yeah, but I gotta tell you, she’s not looking so hot. Like, I know I’ve only met her once, but she looks worse than you did the first week Bucky left.”

Bee rolled her eyes with a light scoff. “Cherry, I was not that bad. I was fine.”

You tilted your head to the side. “I feel like we’re good enough friends now that I can say you were miserable. Why do you think I came around so much? You needed someone, and I feel like Decks might, too, but she also seems to be shutting us all out.”

Bee sighed, drumming her fingertips against the wheel. “Okay, okay, yeah. Whatever, you’re kinda right. Just…we’ll figure it out. Cater to her at your place if we can. Be around but not too clingy. Hopefully Steve got her some stuff she’ll like.”

After her surprisingly kind agreement to you, you finally saw Decks emerging from the house, coming and sliding into the passenger side of Bee’s truck, squeezing you between the two of them. She was quiet, but ready to go.

The time at your apartment seemed to do her good. She enjoyed the pasta Steve had left for her, as well as the music played from the record player that had been dropped off. It made it much easier to get along as you and Bee shuffled through your closet, pulling out potential outfits before settling on a nice tennis dress with shorts underneath. Decks was surprisingly compliant and calm as you applied light makeup per Bee’s instructions, an attempt to do anything necessary to distract Cole and whoever he might be bringing. You kept in soft conversation and let Decks continue to play through vinyl records in York room until you all had to go to the bar for your shift and the impending game.

Once you walked in, you immediately went to clock in, leaving the other two girls to head towards the guys at the booth they’d found. Curtis was quick to come up to you, discussing all the plans one last time and informing you on all the failsafes Bucky had in place. You were relieved to have not seen Edgar on guard anywhere, given the night off and replaced by Bucky’s men. That was good, he didn’t need to be put in that kind of danger, but you had to carry on like nothing wrong was happening, so you did.

It was a busy Saturday night that had you slinging drinks like usual, as you tried to keep an eye on all the action. You watched Steve rush Decks off somewhere after putting his hat on her head. You were sure that didn’t mean what it usually would around here. Her head was down, but it didn’t seem like they were up to anything. Her mood was far too sour and somber for that. Maybe he had to show her something important, but whatever they had done in the break room worked, because she emerged from it with a vengeance and energy you hadn’t seen all day. You watched as two men came into the bar, heading straight for Bee and Bucky in the meantime, joining for the pool game.

To anyone else outside, it probably would’ve seemed like a normal-ish interaction. Sure, it was sort of stiff, but that’s because you were looking for those subtleties. That was the last thing you observed, though, as you heard a customer calling for you at the other end of the bar.

She was shorter, with dark hair and pleasant features, which probably could’ve been admired if you couldn’t taste the bitterness of her aura.

“Hi, what can I get for you?”

She rolled her eyes as if you were wasting her time by simply asking that. “I need a Gin Fizz, and I want it long shaken with egg white. And then I’m going to need a gin martini, extra dry, shaken as well.”

You nodded and got to work, pulling together the ingredients for drinks that were far from what people usually drank around here. She looked the part of what she ordered, too, with her whole ‘wealth whispers’ aesthetic of unbranded, yet crisp clothes. The type that you don’t know the brand, unless you’re in the know. Every so often, you’d get an out-of-towner like that, home to see family, or maybe someone else’s family, or just passing through, unable to find a better place to stop, so you didn’t question it so much as feel a little annoyed.

You took the time to shake the ridiculous drinks, after being interrupted by her probably four times with an adjustment, and then a change of mind just a second later. You were pulling out the special glassware she requested each be served in, which were not the traditional choices you had already put on the counter, when you heard commotion break out. You went to quickly pour the drinks, but when you looked to hand them over and she wasn’t there. You went to look for Curtis to see if he saw where she went, but when you turned towards his stool, he was gone, too. Beyond the view of the gap where Curtis just was, you could see Steve was dragging a flailing Decks towards the you and away from her pool game, grabbing her attention and slipping something into her hand.

Patrons began pulling away from the bar and towards the pool tables as you continued to try to look and find where Curtis went. Decks jumped behind the bar with you, her eyes frantically searching the immediate area, but her body was facing you.

“So tell me what happened. When did Curtis disappear? Did you see anything?”

You frantically shook your head, the worry and gravity setting in that she couldn’t find him either. “No, a-all I know is that some girl asked me to pour her a drink. She had a bunch of specifications, and when I made it and turned back around, Curtis was gone, and so was she.”

Decks looked at you with surprise and concern, and…fear? “What did she look like?”

“I don’t know? Kinda short, dark hair? Annoyingly fit? Now that I think about it, kinda like the female version of the guy you were playing pool against. That’s not a coincidence, is it?”

You watched as she threw her head back and grumbled loudly in the bar that was essentially in a huge fight now. It definitely wasn’t a coincidence and seemed pretty bad.

“Ah, shit.”

Next >

Bonus A/N: I really liked this chapter for Curtis and Cherry until…ya know…the end of it

Taglist: @evelineangel66 @hawkeyes-queen @ronearoundblindly

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