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youcouldmakealife · 3 months ago

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SOTM: Luke/Andreas; wined and dined

For the prompt: Andreas and Luke meeting/hooking up the second time

I literally finished this before I realised you guys probably meant like, the second time they hooked up, not the whole second time 'round. Mea culpa, everybody. And for those who interpreted it the same way I did...you're welcome?

Andreas can’t remember the last time he was wined and dined.

Though maybe that isn’t the best way to describe it — Andreas has dinner meetings all the time, has sat beside clients at the best restaurants in almost every NHL city, sampled from the menus of half of New York's most exclusive restaurants. Always on the agency’s dime, of course, or his multi-millionaire client’s, or the teams they play for, or the teams who want to sign them.

There’s plenty of wine involved — though Andreas always restricts himself to a glass when it's business — plenty of dining. But a meeting’s a meeting, whether it’s in a conference room, patiently waiting for a GM who’s been around since there were still six teams in the league to figure out how to unmute his mic, or eating something exceptional at a Michelin Star restaurant.

So obviously that’s not what he means. It’s not that he hasn’t been dating either, though admittedly, he had less and less time to spare for it as he got older. And not that he hasn’t gone on dinner dates specifically, where he allows himself a second glass of wine, orders what he’d like, rather than ‘what he’s having sounds good’, unless, Andreas supposes, it truly does sound good. So there has been wining and dining, in fact. Possibly even a surplus of it.

And yet.

At a certain point Andreas thinks he just stopped expecting romance. It wasn’t any sort of resigned, jaded disappointment at the dating scene. Not that it isn't a shitshow, but it's probably better here than just about anywhere else. More an acknowledgment that most guys didn’t seem to be looking for romance, at least the ones Andreas was dating.

And that was fine, because Andreas wasn’t really looking for it either. Romance was undeniably nice, but he worked long hours, put almost all of himself into his job, and what he had left didn’t require much more than good conversation and some companionship, a spark of attraction, mediocre or better sex. Romance might have come along down the line, but things didn’t tend to last long even when he did find someone who met his simple — yet almost impossible to find — criteria.

That one, he thinks has more to do with him than it does with them. Andreas’ career is one of those things that’s attractive in theory, but significantly less endearing when he’s slipping in and out of bed at all hours, constantly checking his email or ducking out to make a call, flying off to who knows where, sometimes with plenty of notice, sometimes with none at all.

Maybe his life just isn’t conducive to romance. He doesn’t like to think that, but there would be worse things, wouldn’t there? He has a job that he finds fascinating, a job that offers something different every day, a job that, incidentally, pays him more money than he has the time to spend. He could retire tomorrow if he wanted to, live the rest of his life in comfort, dedicate all his time to searching for true love, but why would he want to? It sounds excruciatingly boring.

So he works — he works a lot, works more than he should, at least according to everyone he knows, including Dave, the giant hypocrite — and he — well, he works. But it’s fine. Most people have to search for meaning in his life, but he has his. If anyone asks about it — and they all ask, except Dave, that gem of a fucking man — he says he doesn’t feel like he’s lacking anything. He’s not lying, either.

That doesn’t mean something doesn’t squeeze tight when Luke conveniently ‘happens to be in town’ — though if there’s any town that actually applies to, it’s New York — when he figures they should ‘catch up’. Even as he tells himself that he’s just catching up with an old flame, one who doesn’t even live in the same country as him anymore. Even as he tells himself once for old time’s sake, and then twice doesn’t hurt considering they’ve still got chemistry, then when it’s been three, four, half a dozen, and if Luke’s got a return ticket Andreas doesn’t know when it’s for, but it doesn’t feel like it’s any time soon.

Luke has always been a romantic. He’d deny it up and down if Andreas said it, and it wouldn’t even be a kneejerk macho shit — Andreas doesn’t think Luke even knows he does anything out of the ordinary. Andreas doubts he was thinking ‘I’m going to woo Andreas’ as he asked him out to dinner, not the first time, or the second, not when he came with a bag of groceries and a bottle of wine from a vineyard Andreas mentioned in passing, said he’d cook for him, laughing as he fought with Andreas’ temperamental bottle opener, scoffing when Andreas impatiently intervened before he could ruin a good bottle of wine.

Technically, he doesn’t even know if 'wooing' is Luke’s aim at all. He could just need the change of pace, miss the city, the speed of it, the convenience, and while he was here, Andreas was just as convenient as the rest of it — good conversation, good companionship, Luke more attractive than ever, the sex still fantastic. And they didn’t even have to get to know one another. What could be easier?

But Andreas doesn’t think so, at least not judging by the way Luke’s started looking at him.

Andreas doesn’t think anyone has ever looked at him like Luke does, the complete focus of it. Looking isn’t a strong enough word — it’s more like he’s taking him in, trying make sure that he gets every single detail correct, the way Andreas imagines a painter would gaze at their subject, a poet at their lover. Luke’s no poet, but, well — maybe he is, a little, minus the words. There’s something about the way Luke looks at the world. Something about the way Luke looks at him.

It used to unnerve Andreas, a little, especially because Luke wasn’t only looking at him like that over romantic candlelit dinners and endorphin fueled pillow talk, but also during the most mundane moments. Andreas would be scowling at his phone, pecking out an answer to a client who decided he urgently needed to discuss his contract on a Sunday morning, a full season before it expired, and he’d look up and there Luke was, visibly taking him in. Sometimes there’d be a little smile on his face — the moments Andreas let himself be a little cranky there often was — but often there wasn’t, just Luke’s eyes on him, taking him in like he was never going to see him again.

It was — a lot. Luke was a lot, almost from the very beginning. Andreas thought he was going to get a regrettable hook up out of things, and then he thought it was going to be a few of them, and it was like a switch was flipped, and Luke went from the hot, fun, surprisingly good in bed client Andreas had completely unprofessionally fucked — and not just once, but a few times, and then a handful — to even more surprisingly good company outside of bed, to something Andreas didn’t quite have a name for. Someone who was gone even more than Andreas was, someone Andreas started to miss when he was gone. Andreas was the one staying put, most of the time, but Luke was the one always watching him like he’d disappear the moment he closed his eyes.

The look hasn’t changed, and Andreas imagines it means the same thing now as it did then, Luke who doesn’t blink, Luke who jumps both feet first, Luke the romantic.

It doesn’t feel as overwhelming now, though Andreas suspects he’ll be spending some time thinking about just how quickly Luke was on board. How quick they both were — Andreas can’t pretend he doesn’t know what’s coming, what’s already here, can’t pretend that isn’t something he wants, when he could end things with a word.

But he doesn’t. This time Andreas lets himself look back, and when Luke catches him at it, he doesn’t let himself look away.

#fic snippet #andreas krause #luke morris #SOTM

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sc0tters · 1 year ago

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Wildest Dreams | Luke Hughes

summary: as the biggest test comes for you and Luke you begin to realise that maybe he was only ever meant to be a dream.

request: yes/no

warnings: sexual themes, oral (fem receiving!), swearing.

word count: 3.5k

authors note: this is the piece that you guys actually picked for us to write about this week! to the nonnie that actually suggested this I hope I did the request justice and I absolutely loved writing this, like hands down favourite of the year. I tried to incorporate a bit of everything because the votes for how this one should go were so divided to! Whilst this is a part two fic you don’t have to read the first instalment before however it is advised for context!

pt 1

Luke was your best kept secret.

The light shone through the half drawn curtains as it made you groan “where I am?” You grumbled as you blew by to pull your duvet over your face and instead pulled a blanket over you. You looked around finally noticing the pictures on the wall and the hockey gear scattered on the floor, you were in Luke’s room.

As you went to get out of bed the door opened “you’re awake.” Luke smiled seeing the sight of you in his sweater “how are you feeling?” He asked handing you an Advil and a bottle of water “did I kiss you last night?” You didn’t know if that was a dream or not and part of you was terrified to hear the truth.

Luke winced as he thought you had regretted it making him weary of sitting next to you “I know I shouldn’t have kissed you but I just realized that if I didn’t do it then I really never-” you cut him off as you hooked your fingers under his chin as you pecked his lips making him go quiet.

He brought his hand to your hair as he tugged as the hair on the nape of your neck “woah.” Luke mumbled as he stared at you “meant it if I said I liked you.” Again you were unsure of if you had said it to him “that makes two of us.” The hockey player nodded in agreement as he ran his hand over your thigh.

The boy did everything in his power to make sure he kept his cool “what do we do about Jack?” He asked suddenly feeling the image of his brother appear in his mind “we can tell him when it feels right.” You grabbed his hand as you sighed “and if he isn’t happy we can reevaluate then.” You cringed knowing that Jack had always been protective of you, this was never going to end well “hope to give you the world pretty girl.” He mumbled as he went to kiss your lips again, pushing the worries out of your mind.

That was over three months ago and you swore you never intended for it to stay like this for that long. But as Luke moved to New Jersey and you found yourself landing a job in LA it only felt right to keep things light hearted. Sure there was a silent agreement that you guys had met a level of exclusivity where you were no longer sleeping with other people. You tried to say that Luke didn’t have time for another girl with the addition to being an NHL player, hell he barely had time for you. Even as the texts came at the most random hours you still ever found yourself growing irritated because you truly did find yourself falling in love with Luke.

Now the biggest test for you two had come and it was at the lake house. Two whole weeks of you in nothing more than you in shorts and your bikini was bound to be torture for Luke. The fact that you couldn’t have Jack finding out about you guys either only made Luke’s desires for you increase tenfold.

To top it all off Luke had to listen Cole and Trevor talk about how you were as hot as you had ever been. That’s how the youngest Hughes boy ended up sat on your bed as you were in the shower leaving the rest of the boys on the boat “what happened to going with the boys?” You were surprised that he was home “wanted to see you.” The innocence of his words made your cheeks feel warm as you ran your towel over your wet hair.

Luke patted his shorts as he motioned to sit with him “couldn’t listen to him talk about you anymore.” His finger ran over the edge of the red satin robe that was pressed against your body “didn’t know you could get jealous.” You teased letting out a laugh as it made him press his finger harder into you.

His gaze sharpened as he scoffed “why would I need to care when you’re on my lap, not his?” Luke grumbled as he pinched at your hip “think it’s cute you care.” You rolled your eyes as you caught your lower lip in your teeth.

The boy smiled as he sighed “glad you think that.” Luke rolled his eyes as he brought his hand to your cheek. It was killing him how you established a stupid rule that meant he couldn’t touch you over the time at the lake house.

You figured that it would make things easier for you if you weren’t worrying about the inevitable hickies that Luke would leave on you ��fuck you look so kissable right now.” Luke groaned as his throat went dry staring at your lips “Luke we can’t.” You warned going to get off of him as his grip on your thigh tightened.

Desire roamed his mind as the only thing that he wanted was you “the boys are out baby.” The boy complained as he pulled you onto his lap properly “they won’t know a thing.” He added pecking your lips.

But as you fought the sexual frustration that built in your body you couldn’t help but sigh “we shouldn’t.” You mumbled as you pulled away “baby please I can be quick!” His huff made you laugh “Hughesy thinks he could really get me off that fast?” You teased only going quiet as you were flipped over.

Luke hovered over you as he glared “I know you like the back of my fucking hand pretty girl.” That was the truth, over the last few months even if there was one you two actually spent together Luke knew the was to make you squirm. So much so that once he moved to the garden state he knew how to get you off by the mere sound of his voice. Whilst Jack was teasing Luke about the mystery girl that let moans roll off of his bedroom walls.

A gulp caught in your throat as his hand pulled at the ribbon on you robe letting the fabric hit your sides. Luke loved how your eyes grew full as you went silent “not so tough when you’re on the bottom now are you?” He smirked running his finger over your body “fuck Luke.” You whined as your skin grew warm in wake of his touch.

But you were never going to have it that easy “what about your rules?” There was this set of about four or five that you had in the hopes that it would make you keep your hands to yourself and the sexual frustrations to a minimal. You rolled your eyes “fuck my damn rules too.” You grumbled making him laugh.

Luke finally found himself getting what he wanted as he kissed you. No longer was it one of emotion but instead was full of lust as it sucked the oxygen out of the room “Luke.” You gasped feeling his lips move to your jaw and he continued peppering soft kisses on your body all the way until he got to your breasts “you don’t have all day.” You grumbled feeling his hands run over your stomach.

A laugh left his lips as his face hovered over yours “like seeing how needy you get f’me.” The boy mumbled as he shifted down your bed aiming to go to your now soaking cunt that had you squirming to press your thighs together “and so wet too.” He teased propping your legs up at an angle giving him space lay down “please.” You begged writhing in your sheets full of anticipation.

Luke pressed his tongue flat against your slit as it almost made you jump “fuck Luke.” You groaned quickly finding your hands in his hair as his arms locked around your thighs.

He loved having you like this as he looked up to see your eyes already screwed shut. His tongue lapped up against your cunt as though you were his last meal “s-so good.” You gasped tugging at his curls as his teeth grazed over your clit.

Your feet pressed against his back as you swore your were going to pass out as you looked to the heavens for help “so sweet.” Luke’s words sent vibrations through your body and with that it made your nipples harden as you brought one hand up to tease your sensitive peaks “please.” You begged as his movements were relentless making you contemplate who was enjoying this more.

A feeling of being on fire captured your body as you didn’t care about keeping your moans and whimpers quiet when the boy had you clenching around nothing “let go f’me pretty girl.” Luke nodded as he smirked knowing that his time away from you was enough to make you want him ten times more.

Sexual frustration was one way to put it and was probably what you would have tried to argue but instead as Luke’s skilful tongue had you forgetting what language you spoke there was no doubt about it just being him. You wanted to still prove your point by holding out on him but the moment he had his fingers pinching at your thighs you knew you were gone “fuck dear lord!” You cursed letting your body shake against the mattress as your chest heaved making him continue his movements until your cunt finally came and it was so hard it had your toes curling.

Just as your orgasm came down and your breathing began to go straight you brought Luke up to kiss you again “we’re home!” Cole called out as he slid open the glass door. It reminded you that your door was wide open as the youngest Hughes boy seemed to fail to shut it.

You were quick to push the boy off of you “baby!” Luke whisper yelled as he looked down at his now painful boner “go have a shower and I can stall them?” You proposed with a shrug as you began to grab things out of your suitcase to wear.

The boy crossed his arms as he sent you an unimpressed look “you’re like so not funny.” He grumbled as you pulled your shirt over your head walking back over to him as you smiled “promise I’ll make it up to you later big boy.” You winked as you had convinced him to join you as you went looking for your apartment in California.

Luke let out a sigh as he pecked your lips “you’re lucky you’re cute.” The hockey player clicked his tongue as he sighed heading out of your room just in time for Jack to come up the stairs “good shower?” The middle Hughes boy teased seeing your reddened cheeks “great shower.” You nodded watching him come into your room and sit on your bed as though that wasn’t where his brother just had you seeing stars.

The rest of the day was relatively quiet for you both and of course it couldn’t last too long. As the next day Trevor thought it was funny as he had caught Luke staring at you as you sunbathed that morning. So much so that every single chance he got he teased the younger Hughes boy at every chance that he got. But as the celebrations for the fourth of July finally began the teasing stopped as Luke found himself sat next to you “you’re just as pretty as the fireworks.” He confessed making you blush.

Luke smiled at your reaction “like seeing you smile pretty girl.” The hockey player placed his hand on your knee before you quickly swatted it away “you know my rules.” You pointed your finger at him accusingly as you tried to not smile.

Even his pout couldn’t make you break as Jack sent you a confused look wondering what made you both so quiet “Luke c’mere!” Trevor’s called out as a group of girls arrived “want you to meet Isabel.” He added instantly making you furrow your eyebrows.

It made Luke laugh as he placed his hand on your knee again “trust me no girl is gonna make me not want you.” He reminded you of where he stood as you brushed him off “trust me those girls wouldn’t be competition even if you weren’t mine.” It make a spark land in his belly hearing you say that he was yours.

Yet when you heard the sound of the girls voices get louder you both turned to see Luke walk over to them. Sure you trusted the boy but it was moments like this that you wished there was more between you both as everyone would have then known that he was yours.

The night was a little lonelier than you’d admit because even as Trevor ended up sat next to you, the sound of Isabelle’s voice as she flirted with Luke echoed in your ears. It left you wanting to reach up and hit the ducks player for trying to help the youngest Hughes boy out.

When you went out the morning after for groceries you should have known that it was dangerous letting Luke come with you. But after last night when Trevor spent the majority of his evening trying to get Luke a girl, you were feeling jealous and you missed his company and attention. So you brought Luke along figuring as the rest of the boys weren’t awake so what was truly the worst thing that could happen?

Luke smirked as he watched you struggle to get the bag of chips from the top shelf “need some help pretty girl?” He teased watching you push onto your tippy toes “I think I can get a bag of chips Lu-” you were cut off when he pressed himself against you reaching above to get what you wanted.

Your mouth went dry as you felt his bulge hit your lower back “Luke we are in public!” You whisper yelled turning to see his face drop to your neck “just want you to see what it is that you do to me.” The hockey player mumbled he peppered soft kisses on your open collar bone “god you are dangerous.” You groaned as you turned to face him with his shit eating grin.

If this was any other moment with any other guy you would have thought that it was cute that he was a little bit needy, but after the earlier events of the week it only made your hunger grow more for Luke. That was why you honestly let Luke win, the front of the cart had your hand wrapped around it s hard that your knuckles turned white. The music that echoed through the overhead speakers went quiet in your mind as you stood there watching in awe as the mere feeling of his lips on yours had you feeling like a moth to a flame, with your mind entirely captivated by him. As his scent invaded your nostrils you were so close to being entirely enthralled by him, but you were far enough that the sound of a basket hitting the cold floor had you pushing Luke away.

The color drained from your face as you locked eyes with him “wait.” You gasped seeing him freeze “you guys a thing now or something?” Jack blinked silently praying that this was just some bad dream that he could wake up from “sort of?” With your hesitancy on getting into it Luke proposed that you guys spoke about what you were after the summer, with or without his brother’s knowledge. Jack scoffed as he sent the taller boy a glare “out of all of the girls who fucking fell at your feet you just had to take her huh?” The forward felt sick knowing that Luke had a crush on you, but he thought he would act on it.

Tears fulled your eyes as you frowned “did you run out of girls your own age and just wanted the one thing you knew you couldn’t have?” The boys never had an agreement about it but as Quinn and Luke both had male best friends, Jack just figured that because you were his, you’d be off limits. Luke frowned as he shook his head “I really fucking like her dude so don’t talk about her like that.” Luke took a step forward as you stepped between the duo wanting to avoid a fight “you are such a pain in my ass!” As Jack went to take a step at his brother you stopped him by pressing your hand against his chest.

The boys glared at each other as you finally spoke up “I’m so sorry.” Your voice wavered as your lips quivered “and you just had to go spread your legs for him.” Jack spat not even letting himself look at you “don’t talk to her like that!” Luke was quick to go to your defense as he hated what it implied.

Jack shook his head as the sight of Luke wrapping his hand around your waist “you both make me sick.” His voice was barely a whisper as he sent you a look that truly made you feel like the worst person on the planet.

The middle Hughes boy turned to leave as he sighed leaving you two alone “Jack!” You sobbed as Luke held you in your spot “please!” Your throat was sore as tears rolled down your cheeks.

Luke also kept you from collapsing onto the ground “Luke please.” you begged trying to push past him as you continued to cry “I need to go to him.” You were finally strong enough to get away from Luke as you brought your hands up to wipe your eyes “just give him a second baby.” Luke reached out to grab your hand but you shook your head not wanting it “we aren’t like that anymore.” You announced practically breaking his heart in the process “you don’t mean that.” Luke now felt his tears kicking in.

But even as it was all so emotional, you still remained strong “I said I’d end it if he wasn’t happy.” You reminded him of how Jack was important to you “what about our happiness?” These past few months with Luke had been the best thing you had ever had. The highs were like a drug that you were constantly addicted to and now it was your oxygen.

You sighed as Luke looked at you, somehow with all that love still in his heart “Jack is my best friend.” You reminded Luke all that his brother meant to you “I love you!” Luke knew it wasn’t the right time to tell you that but he had felt that way since he watched you get out of the pool when you were fifteen. Sure your hair might have been in some messy braids but the sight of you in that red bikini was enough to make him feel things that no other girl has ever made him feel.

As a tear rolled down his cheek your thumb wiped it away “Luke you are young, you could-” as you tried to tell him that there would be plenty of other people for him Luke the boy that he could find someone else it was no use “I love you.” He repeated as he frowned “if you love me then you’ll let me go.” You pleaded as you kissed his lips one last time.

Still Luke couldn’t understand why you were doing this “why are you doing this?” Luke felt sick as his heart throbbed watching you step away from him again “because you can find any girl who will love you.” It was still no secret that Luke was gorgeous and as he was a new hotshot hockey player, the girls who wanted him only increased “but f’me there is only one Jack.” You didn’t mean that you only had one Jack Hughes, no you meant that there was only ever going to be one man in your life who could make you feel the way you did. He was the man who could make you laugh so hard you’d have milk coming from your eyes, he could have you telling him everything about you - so much so that he knew you better than you knew yourself -.

But beyond all that you had grown so close and comfortable with Jack that your life before him wasn’t something you could remember anymore. You needed Jack in your life to keep you sane and you couldn’t cope with the idea of losing him, even if it meant you could finally be happy “I’ll miss you.” You mumbled as you walked back leaving the isle as you went to chase after Jack.

The last few months might have formed a relationship that you could no longer call yours, but the memories you held could’ve been kept for a lifetime.

#amber writes fics #Luke Hughes imagines #Luke hughes smut #nhl imagines #nhl smut #hockey imagines #hockey smut #oneshots #nhl oneshot #imagines #nhl imagine #hockey imagine #Luke x Jack bsf series!

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elitecam72 · 2 years ago

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goldenseresinretriever · 16 days ago

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False Confidence: Chapter 16

Pairing: Javy “Coyote” Machado x Reader

Part of the San Diego Dogfighters universe

Summary: The Athletic named Javy Machado the fifth sluttiest player in the NHL last year. He’s a known playboy who leaves every game with a different girl. As far as he’s concerned he’s living the dream, playing his dream job with the dream lifestyle. Unfortunately his friends and bosses don’t agree. At 33, they think it’s time for him to settle down. You’re a kindergarten teacher at an esteemed private school. You don't expect much when you finally accept your colleague’s invitation to attend her husband’s hockey game but when you accidentally get separated in the post-game rush, you find yourself in a compromising situation with the last person you’d ever expected to meet. When his PR rep suggests a mutually beneficial agreement, your hands are tied. How long will you have to keep up the act? And how long will you be able to?

Series CW: 18+ ONLY, swearing, angst, fluff, fake relationship, suggestive language, anxiety, school system inaccuracies, hockey inaccuracies etc. There will be individual chapter warnings. No use of Y/N.

Word Count: 3.8k

A/N: Only a 4-5 more chapters to go!

Previous Chapter // Series Masterlist // Next Chapter

You let out a groan as you finally collapse into your chair. Even though today’s a half day, you’re exhausted. Your legs still throb with soreness from skating over the weekend and you’ve spent the morning on your feet running activities with your students. You’d do anything to go home and you gaze at the clock longingly, but your day is far from over. This week you’re hosting parent-teacher conferences. So while your students get to go home early, you’re still expected to be at the school for the rest of the day as parents and guardians come to speak with you on a one-on-one basis. Truth be told, it’s your least favorite part of this job. You love your kids, even at their most exhausting, they’re the light of your day. Their parents, however, are quite the opposite.

The biggest downside to working at a private school like Acadia Academy is that most of your students’ parents are rich, sometimes outrageously so. With that money comes power and authority, and they feel no qualms about exerting in whatever way gets them their desired results. It also means that their usually too busy being rich to have an active role in their children's lives. The resulting conferences are usually akin to talking to a brick wall. The parents are usually concerned with little more than visible and sometimes exclusively numerical results when it comes to their children rather than taking constructive feedback on how they can get involved in their child’s education, or in some cases, raising. Worse, they're usually more than willing to achieve those results by material or financial means. You’d been shocked the first time you’d been presented with the barrage of gift baskets, cards, and bottles of wine during your first Christmas at Acadia Academy. They were either sent with your students who were none the wiser, or dropped off personally with saccharine smiles paired with a threatening gaze that communicated the true intentions of the lavish gifts.

You’d been gripped with a sense of guilt and shame as you tried to decide what to do with them when Simon had given you some good advice. “Do whatever you want, it’s your job at the end of the day. But don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. They don’t bat an eye at the expense, so you shouldn’t either. I save a boatload on groceries in December just living off the free food and even more on gifts themselves. If you’re going to be a part of the system, you have to play the game too, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying your winnings.” And so you did. You regifted the wine, and even some of the baskets, taking Simon’s advice and living off the rest of it. And he was right. While you’d had the odd complaint later down the line, you had yet to face any real retaliation from any of the parents when you didn’t automatically hand their children the grades they paid for.

You glance at the schedule on your desk, in an effort to mentally prepare yourself for whoever you’d have to face first. Your lips turn down as you read Allison’s name in the first slot.

Allison is the unofficial head of the parents, a perfect, polished, model PTA mother. She’s informed, always on top of the class and school’s goings on, and eager to help when volunteers are needed, always going above and beyond. Sometimes you wonder if she’s gunning for your job, but that’s highly unlikely. Allison is a private yoga instructor, allowing her the freedom to be involved with the school and her children’s lives whenever she wants. When she’s not bending over backward for a living, she’s busy running PTA meetings, escorting her children to their multiple extracurriculars, and being the doting wife to her husband, Ted, whom you’ve only met once. He works in some kind of local governmental office, one that he and Allison would have you believe is incredibly important and thus a very pressing commitment that unfortunately results in his constant absence from his children’s lives.

A sharp knock at your door snaps your attention back to the present and you sit up straight, clearing your desk of papers from your morning classes as you call out for Allison to come in. Your attention lingers on your desks for a moment longer than it should before you look up at Allsion’s approaching figure. Her high heels click against the linoleum and you’re struck by how much she reminds you of your first impression of Zam.

When you’d first met the PR manager of the Dogfighters, her sharp appearance and no-nonsense attitude had instantly made you think of Allison. As you’ve gotten to know her, however, you’ve learned that that persona is reserved for work and she’s much more relaxed and loose in her personal life. While Zam’s wardrobe is bright pastels, Allison opts for deep jewel tones that ooze luxury and wealth. Today she’s wearing a silk blouse in a vibrant royal blue that compliments her piercing blue eyes. Her blonde hair falls in glossy waves that bounce with every sharp step she takes. Allison deposits a purse that probably costs your month’s salary on your desk with a clunk before sitting across from you, back straight not touching the back of the chair, and ankles crossed daintily.

Before you can open your mouth to greet her, Allison speaks up “Ms. Roadie, this meeting couldn’t have come at a better time. I have something of critical importance that I need to discuss with you.” With Allison, something of critical importance ranges from another mother’s lack of attendance at this week’s PTA meeting to a child suffering a severe allergic response due to them innocently sharing another student’s lunch so you’re not quite sure where she’s going with this. You wrack your brain, trying to remember if you’d received any emails from her or another parent that could help you identify what she’s about to share. Nothing, however, could prepare you for when the words leave her mouth. “We need to speak candidly about your relationship with Javy Machado.” You wait for the punchline as your stomach roils in response to the one-two punch of hearing Javy’s name from Allison’s lips. Anxiety starts to bubble up as your great rate picks up and fear starts clawing up your throat. You clasp your hands in your lap in anticipation of their incoming trembling. The swallow you try to force down is physically painful as you fight to keep your face neutral.

“Oh? Why so?” As you panic internally, you do your best to think about what Josie would do. She’d probably point out that your personal life has nothing to do with your professional life. Allison’s ruby-red lips purse together and her perfectly manicured nails clack on your desk as she leans in, face somber despite the intensity in her eyes.

“Ms. Roadie, I’m sure you’re aware, but if you aren’t, your boyfriend has a bit of a,” she pauses as if considering her words but you’re sure she rehearsed this interaction on her drive here, “reputation.” She gives you a pointed look. “And a rather poor one at that.”

Anger flares in your chest, the lick of its flames further boiling the butterflies in your stomach. You don’t recognize your voice when you speak. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” Maybe it’s the fragility that comes with your anxiety but you’re furious. How dare Allison bring Javy into this? It was common knowledge among both the staff and the parents that Jeremy was more than a little cavalier in his personal life, and you’re sure he’d never had to deal with a meeting like this from the administration let alone a parent.

Allison looks surprised at your response, whether it’s faux or genuine you’re not sure. “But Ms. Roadie, of course, it is! Mr. Machado is a celebrity!” You grimace internally at the emphasis she puts on the word. “He’s a person of prominence, especially in the media! Imagine how that reflects on the school when one of its teachers is involved with him and so publically at that.” She speaks about it like you’ve been caught doing something illegal in public. The media has some photos of kisses at most as well as your attendance at some games, it’s hardly anything worthy of Allison’s reaction.

“Allison, I’m aware that my boyfriend is a public figure, but what I do in my personal life is none of your business, especially when it doesn’t involve or hinder my performance at my job.”

Allison raises an accusatory eyebrow. “Oh, but doesn’t it? Mr. Machado has visited this class at least twice that I’ve been here, maybe more.” Your stomach drops. She does have a point there.

You swallow painfully as you struggle to keep your ground. “Both instances involved days where parents and guardians were invited to attend and participate in class activities. For Octopus Soup Day, he participated as a volunteer the same as any other guest, and for Career Day I thought it would be a fun surprise for the students and a unique opportunity to learn about a career that otherwise wouldn’t have been represented at the event. He hasn’t visited any other classes. Neither of those are examples of unprofessional behavior.”

“Perhaps not in theory, but blatantly flirting with your partner in front of your students would be, would it not?” You feel your cheeks flame with heat as Allison’s accusations get more and more intrusive. Your stomach twists in guilt as you remember Javy feeding you octopus stew while your class was enjoying their food. Sure, you hadn’t been actively teaching at the time, but you’d still been working, so she wasn’t wrong. Your behavior had been unprofessional.

“I apologize for any behavior that seemed unprofessional, Allison.” The words are bitter on your tongue as you speak them. “I’ll take this into consideration and Mr. Machado will not be invited to future class events if you feel his presence is distracting to the students.” There, that should placate her enough so that you can change the subject back to the actual reason for this meeting. Allison clicks her tongue in what you hope is resignation. “Now, we’re going to shift this conversation to Penny since that’s the purpose of this meeting and I have a back-to-back schedule for the rest of the afternoon.”

***

Thankfully, Allison had allowed your change of topics to her daughter, and the rest of the meeting went off without a hitch. After she left you’d had to go straight into your next meeting, however, and by the time you’re finally done meeting with parents for the day, you’re exhausted mentally and emotionally. You hadn’t expected Allison to bring up Javy but if you’re honest, it had only been a matter of time until someone did. None of the other parents had brought up Javy at all for which you were thankful and hopefully, Allison would drop the topic now that you’d had a conversation about it.

You grab your stuff and prepare to leave for the day. The boys are in town for the next week until they leave on another road trip that will culminate in the game in Dallas. While part of you knows you should be speaking as much time with Javy as possible before he leaves, the conversation with Allison has you feeling odd. Unsubstantiated guilt gnaws at your stomach as you make your way to the parking lot. You’re so wrapped up in your thoughts that you’re taken completely by surprise when arms wrap around you, swinging you off the ground. “Hey Meep, how was your day?” You shriek in surprise, pushing against Javy so that he puts you down, laughing. “Sorry, sorry, I thought you saw me coming!” Your heart is racing and your eyes scan the parking lot around you, looking for parents that maybe haven’t left yet.

“Javy, what are you doing here?” You grimace internally at the accusation in your tone but your emotions are still on edge after your conversation with Allison. You see something in his eyes shift as he reaches a hand out to touch your arm.

“We got let out of practice early so I thought I’d surprise you. Roadie, you okay?” You swallow as your eyes make another scan of the parking lot and you fight the urge to shrug off his touch.

“Yeah, I’m just tired, sorry. I had a long day, and you scared me, but I’m okay.” His thumb swipes a soothing motion across your arm and you feel some of your nerves settling even as anxiety churns in your stomach.

“Josie said parent-teacher conferences are tough, so I figured you could use a pick me up. I was thinking maybe we could have a night in, maybe get some pizza and ice cream?” Your heart aches at Javy’s thoughtfulness.

“That sounds perfect.” He smiles and you feel some of your nerves ease as his expression relaxes.

“Come on, I’ll drive. And don’t worry about your car, I can drop you off tomorrow if you feel safe leaving your car here tonight.”

“Can you just drop me off on the way home tonight? I’ll drive it home from here.” Javy nods.

“That works, but I hope you don’t mind if I follow to make sure you get home safe.” You nod as Javy’s sweetness continues to untangle the jumble of nerves in your stomach.

You climb into the Landrover and the two of you fall into a comfortable silence as you crawl through San Diego traffic. The silence gives you a chance to relax and slowly you’re able to get yourself back to normal. Your brain moves on from Allison’s words to other things.

“Javy, can I ask you something?” Javy glances over to where you’ve leaned up against the window, letting the glass cool your skin.

“Sure thing, Meep, what’s up?”

“Why don’t you and Bradley get along?” You watch his eyebrows raise in surprise even as his lips purse slightly.

“It’s not that we don’t get along per se,” you give him a look that says you don’t believe a word of it. “What?”

“Javy, every time I go to a game I’m more worried that the two of you are going to get into a fight than I am that you’re going to fight someone on the other team.” Javy chuckles at that and you reach out to poke his arm and he turns to smirk at you.

“It’s that bad, huh? Don’t worry, Meep, I wouldn’t risk a penalty for that.” You poke him again, harder. “Ow! I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Look, do I get along with Bradley? Not really. I get that you’re supposed to be closer to your D partner but I’ve tried and he just won’t have it. Hell, even when he was sullen and hostile all the time, he was too busy being grumpy to consider that we could be self-destructive together.”

“Have you tried talking to him about it?” You suggest and Javy barks a laugh.

“Talk to him? The guy’s a stone wall. You try talking to Bradley, you’ll see what I mean.”

“I have and he’s actually quite the talker once you get him to open up.” Javy looks at you like you’ve grown a second head.

“You've talked to him? When?”

You shrug. “On family day, he needed my help corralling Taz.”

“So that’s where you were,” he mutters and you see something unreadable cross Javy’s face as his hands tighten on the steering wheel.

“Javy… what is it?” You don’t particularly feel like having this conversation now, you’re exhausted, but you can’t stand the idea of something else wedging its way between you and Javy right now. “Nothing happened, we just talked.”

“I know. I wouldn’t accuse you of…,” Javy drags a hand down his face, “Shit. Roadie I just…” You reach over the console to place a reassuring hand on his knee.

“I’m here, take your time.” You whisper and he gives you a pained smile.

“It’s just…” he shakes his head. “Bradley’s a good guy, Roadie. He wasn’t always, but you didn’t know him then. He’s really cleaned up his act and now he’s like this perfect boyfriend. Zam’s always going on about how sweet and thoughtful he is, and I’m so happy for her, don’t get me wrong. She’s one of my best friends, she deserves the world and I’m glad Bradley gives it to her, but I just…” Javy pauses for a long moment like he has to force the words out. “I can’t be him. I try, but I just can’t. I’m always making mistakes, and I’m trying, I really am. I want to be better. I know what everyone thinks of me, and I try to make it look like I don’t care, but I do.”

“Jake’s my best friend, and he’s always been this perfect golden boy. He doesn’t seem capable of doing anything wrong. I’ve known him long enough to know that isn’t true, but overall, he’s a good person. I always felt like I couldn’t measure up. No matter how much I tried, I always came up short next to him. And it was tearing me up so much that I had to let it go, because I realized if I didn’t it was going to tear us apart and I couldn’t bear the idea of losing him. When he went to Dallas, as much as I resented him for leaving, I realized I could breathe again. I became more sure of myself and more confident in my abilities, but without him to challenge me, I got arrogant. I let my ego get in the way of my professional and personal life. You know, I used to be embarrassed about all my one-night stands? And then the more arrogant I got on the ice, the more I felt like I’d earned that privilege to be cavalier. I was good at my job so my actions outside of it didn’t have consequences.”

“When I came to San Diego, I was so excited to see Jake, to be playing on a team with him again. I wasn’t surprised when he made me an alternate captain because that’s how we’ve always been. We’re a great team, and we work well together. But while I’d grown past the part of myself that made me feel small when I played on the ice with him, I didn’t expect him to turn my moral compass on its head.” Javy lets out a dry laugh. “He was all grown up, ready to settle down. He bought a house, he had a dog, and then he got Bugs, and they became this perfect little family. Meanwhile, I was out every night with some girl whose name I didn’t even bother to know. And I didn’t let it bother me, because sure Jake was perfect but at least Bradley had baggage up to his eyeballs. I was playing with this guy who had anger issues that put the team in jeopardy every game but he had that same A on his chest as me. So surely, I wasn’t an imposter. And then Bradley had to go and get perfect too. He got with Zam and suddenly he was this great guy, thoughtful, sweet, and responsible, and everything changed. Suddenly both our captain and one of our alternate captains were these perfect guys, model players, and good role models to the other guys. And then there was me.”

“Honestly? Every day, I get closer to just telling Jake I can’t wear that A anymore. I didn’t earn it, and I haven’t worked to prove I deserve it either. And now we’re together, and I feel it even more. I don’t deserve you, and I wouldn’t blame you if you were more interested in a guy that has his shit together. It’s not that I don’t trust you, because I do. I just… sometimes I just wonder why you even bother to put up with me.” The last line rushes out before Javy takes a heavy breath like he’s waiting for you to climb out of the car in stand-still traffic and walk back to your apartment. Instead, you squeeze his knee where your hand still rests.

“Have you ever considered, Javy? That maybe I don’t want someone perfect?” He turns to look at you and the surprise in his eyes breaks your heart. “I’m anxious. I’m anxious all the time, and I’m also human. I make mistakes all the time.” Your stomach twists as you hear Allison’s accusatory tone in your mind again. “And the only thing more anxiety-inducing than my own mistakes would be being with someone perfect.” You shrug. “Is it easy? No, of course not. But I’m not easy either.” You chuckle. “I mean you literally had to talk me down from a panic attack on our first date.” You give him a pointed look as you squeeze his knee again. “You’re not perfect? So what, neither am I, but we’re both aware of it and trying to get better and that’s what counts. We’ll work together. You said it yourself, Bradley wasn’t always perfect. I’m sure Zam didn't just snap her fingers to make him change overnight, as amusing as that would be. So if Bradley can do it, who says you can’t?” Javy brings a hand down off the wheel to lace his fingers with yours.

“And another thing,” you squeeze his hand, gently. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. You’ve been pretty perfect to me,” he gives you a skeptical look, “well, mostly perfect. I mean, just look at today. You could have gone home and enjoyed the rest of your day, but you came to pick me up because you thought I’d be tired after parent-teacher conferences. Even if you did want to spend the evening with me, you could have just texted and asked me to come over, but you knew I’d appreciate not having to drive. So even if you don’t see it, I do, and I appreciate it. I appreciate you.” Javy looks away and you think you catch light reflecting off the wetness in his eyes.

“Thank you, Roadie.” His voice is rough. “I think I really needed to hear that.” You squeeze his hand in yours before leaning across the console to rest your head on his shoulder.

“I really needed this too,” you whisper and Javy turns to press a kiss to your head. While you couldn’t shake the nerves that still bubbled under the surface from your conversation with Allison, Javy had managed to soothe most of your anxiety from the day. You’d have to talk to him about what had happened today eventually, but for today, you were content to bask in this moment of peace with your boyfriend.

A/N: Yikes, conflict is brewing, why can’t Allison just mind her own business…

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