#for jennlee44

[backtothestart02]

If Only She Knew - 7/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: An angsty mess. Enjoy! lol.

Commissioned by @jennlee44

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.

...

Chapter 7 -

She ran to get her dad who was perched on his beach chair, pointed Barry out to him, and once she was sure he had spotted him, she ran back into the lake.

Joe was briefly confused. “Iris, wa- Aren’t you gonna…?”

But she was too far gone and splashing too loudly to hear him, so he shook his head and muttered something Barry could only imagine was about not going too far out.

“Son, what in God’s name happened?” Joe asked, concern rather than panicked over Barry’s scratched up feet and knees. The sand lightly covered them and made for more painful movement when Barry tried to bend and flex.

Barry looked up at him and sheepishly explained how there had been unexpectedly sharp rocks where he and Iris were running, and how the first set of them had sent them toppling over onto the sand.

“Jesus.” His ran his hand over his face and gingerly got Barry to his feet. “Can you bend your knees a little? It’s not exactly a short distance from here to our spot on the beach.”

“Oh, yeah,” Barry squeaked. “I’ll be fine.”

But one step and he nearly folded, the sand having coated the cuts and making the pain worse.

Barry sucked in a breath of air through his teeth.

“Okay, okay,” Joe said, gently helping Barry back to a sitting position on the sand. “You stay here.” Barry nodded. “I’ll go get some clean water and the first aid kit. We’ll have you patched up in no time.”

Barry forced a smile and nodded.

“Okay. Thanks, Joe.”

Joe shook his head, marveling at Barry’s wounds for a moment.

“It’s a miracle Iris didn’t get hurt. What do you think stopped her?”

“Uh…I think she just…tripped on top of me after I fell, so I…I cushioned her, I think.”

Joe nodded slowly, slightly suspicious as to what that had looked like and meant, at least for Barry. But he accepted the explanation since Barry had nothing more to say.

“Right. Okay, I’ll be back.”

Joe jogged lightly across the beach, gathered supplies and was back before Barry could even think to move again. Joe watched him like a hawk from that point on, making sure he didn’t move a muscle while the cold water, Neosporin, and bandages were applied. Barry hissed in pain but tried to keep his reaction under control so Barry wouldn’t worry too much. After all, he wasn’t bleeding that excessively. The cuts should be cleared up within a day or two at the most.

And that was how Barry wound up sitting on a beach chair under a large multi-colored umbrella in the sand, watching Joe and Iris build sandcastles down by the shore.

Iris was very particular about how her sandcastles should be made. In fact, she probably would’ve been happier if Joe had made a separate sandcastle and they’d competed to see who made the best one. Barry would judge, of course, and Iris would win. Not just because she was his best friend who he was also madly in love with, but because she was an expert sandcastle builder. Both Joe and Barry paled in comparison when it came to their sandcastle-making skills.

Under normal circumstances, Barry would either compete against her or build with her, and Joe would judge. But these were not normal circumstances. These circumstances involved him not only being injured physically and able to really move around in the sand, but he’d been an absolute idiot and not kissed Iris West back when she surprised him by pressing her lips to his after they fell over the sharp rocks.

He didn’t know how to make up for it, but he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Iris was embarrassed and she was convinced his inability to act in time meant he didn’t feel the same way. He knew exactly how she acted under those circumstances. She avoided. She avoided constantly. And when she wasn’t avoiding she was heartbreakingly vulnerable to the point that you just didn’t know if there was anything you could say that would make her feel better.

And to top it all off, he couldn’t tell Joe, his number one confidant when it came to all things Iris – though he still hadn’t told him how he felt about her. That was one secret he intended to take to his grave. That was, of course, until Iris made it blatantly obvious that she had feelings for him.

That still didn’t mean he was going to tell Joe, though. He’d split up their sleeping arrangements for sure, afraid them sleeping so near to each other risked pregnancy; and damn if his baby girl was going to get pregnant on his watch, even it was by the only boy he approved of in the present and the future.

In that tent was the only place Barry was going to get through to Iris and talk to her about what had happened on the beach. She’d probably pretend to be asleep or cry. Or both. But she wouldn’t be able to run away from him. She would have to at least hear him out.

Did that mean he’d have to tell her he was in love with her?

Oh, God.

In a tent? On a camping trip? After she made the first move and he failed to reciprocate?

That was not how he had imagined telling her at all.

Under the circumstances that he would tell her.

Oh, boy. He did not know if he was up for this. After all, it could mean risking their entire friendship. Over one kiss? One miraculous kiss. He still remembered the pressure of her lips against his, those beautiful, luscious lips he’d dreamed of kissing one day.

Damn it to hell, he’d have to risk it.

Iris Ann West was his best friend, but he also firmly believed she was his soulmate. He was going to fix this. Tonight.

…

It was worse than he thought.

The day at the beach had been cut short by Iris getting upset that Joe wasn’t doing his part in making the best possible sandcastle with her. She stomped all over it, walked back to their spot on the beach, ignored Barry when he asked her what was wrong, and strutted back to the campsite.

Joe told Barry what happened as soon as he reached him, and then of course pushed him to gather up the supplies and head back as fast as he could – that his wounds would allow.

“Honey, wait a minute. Would you just slow down? Let’s talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. And you can slow down yourself. I’m just going back to the campsite.”

Well, Iris did not just go back to the campsite. She also grabbed her bike to presumably go take a shower at the bathrooms near the entrance – those were the nice ones. Only, she was gone an hour, and even Iris didn’t take that long taking a shower.

“I’m going to go check out those bathrooms,” Joe said, prepared to take his own bike and barge into the Ladies’ room.

“Joe, I don’t thin-” Barry protested, and was soon added in by Iris who suddenly showed up in cozy clothes and the flip-flops she’d left in.

“Barry’s right, Dad. I’m right here.”

He was briefly elated. That was the first time she’d said his name all afternoon since the ‘incident’.

It didn’t last, though.

“Young lady, have you been showering this whole time?”

She scoffed. “Of course not. You know I don’t take that long of a shower. Those stalls were icky anyway.” She scrunched up her nose.

“Then where the hell have you been?” Joe demanded.

“No need to raise your voice, Dad. I’m here now.”

“Iris Ann West, where did you go?”

She sighed dramatically. “Just took a lap around the lake on my bike. That’s it. Okay? God.”

Joe’s eyes widened, and so did Barry’s. Iris could be rebellious in theory, but it was usually behind her dad’s back, not to his face.

“Get in your tent.”

She scoffed. “What?”

“Get in your tent right now.”

“What did I-”

“Iris,” Barry warned under his breath, and she shot him a glare.

“Go,” Joe ordered, and she dramatically spun around and went into the tent, zipping it hard and fast behind her and miraculously not catching her finger in it.

“I didn’t do anything,” she muttered on her way.

Joe shook his head after she’d quieted down and was no doubt pouting on top of her sleeping bag.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into her. I was doing the best I could on that damn sandcastle.”

Barry swallowed.

“Do you know?” He turned to look at Barry who pretended to not notice. “Bear.”

“Hmm?” He looked over at him. “Oh, what? Me? Nope. I have no idea, Joe. It’s just…” He looked away towards the tent. “Weird.”

Joe sat down in a chair and sighed.

“Maybe she’s…” He lowered his voice. “On her period?”

Barry blushed fiercely, unable to find the words to answer.

The sound of a zipper unzipping quickly was suddenly heard and Iris popped her head out of the tent.

“I am not on my period,” she seethed, then quickly shut herself back in the tent again.

Joe looked back at Barry.

“Guess not?” Barry offered.

Joe pressed two fingers to his forehead.

“I’m gonna take a nap.”

Barry nodded. “I would but…” He gestured towards the tent with the currently angry Iris in it.

“You can sleep in mine if you’d like to, son,” Joe said. “I can always sleep in the hammock.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“Suit yourself.”

And so, he did. And by the time dinner rolled around, Iris had calmed down and was acting like nothing had happened. Joe managed to squeeze an apology out of her when Barry left to change into more comfortable clothes. It was difficult though, so there was still some tension when Barry returned, but he was confident that all would be well after their conversation tonight. If he had anything to say about it, at least.

Iris excused herself for bed after toasting just one marshmallow that evening. She didn’t even make a s’more out of it. Barry excused himself shortly after, because she was not going to be asleep by the time he made his grand gesture.

“You sure, son?” Joe asked as he was leaving. “You don’t want to wait until…you know who is asleep?” He lowered his voice to a whisper.

Barry shook his head.

“I’m gonna try to talk to her.”

Joe’s eyes widened, but he nodded anyway.

“Don’t stay up too late.”

“You either,” he joked lightly, but it was quiet, and Joe was already looking up at the stars through the trees, so Barry figured he probably hadn’t heard him.

As he had suspected, Iris was turned away towards the wall of the tent on her side and was pretending to be asleep when he stepped inside the tent. He went along with it till he was tucked into his own sleeping bag and then turned on the light between them.

A slight irritated moan was heard from her end, so he knew for sure she wasn’t sleeping.

“Iris.”

She tried to level out her breathing, so her body wasn’t moving so quickly with each breath.

“Iris, I know you’re not sleeping.”

She tried to snore. Barry had to suppress laughter. He just barely managed it.

“That’s the worst snore I’ve ever heard.”

She made to kick him from inside her sleeping bag, but she’d moved herself so far away from his that she ended up hitting nothing instead and looking foolish.

“Aiming for something?” he asked, amused.

“Jerk,” she muttered.

“Oh. She speaks.”

She huffed, then turned towards him.

“What do you want, Barry?”

“I want to know why you’re taking out what happened between us out on your dad.”

Her jaw dropped.

“And Iris��” He tried to reach for her, but she moved out of the way. He sighed. “Are you going to avoid me forever? We’re best friends.”

She frowned, apparently not knowing what to do with that.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I know you don’t, but-”

She turned around in her sleeping bag again and faced the wall.

“Goodnight, Barry.”

“Iris-”

“You don’t have to go hiking with me on Friday anymore, Barry. I know you never wanted to, anyway.”

“Iris, I want to go with you!”

“No, you don’t. You were just doing it because I begged. And you can’t now anyways, because of your cuts.”

“They’ll be healed up in a couple days. That leaves plenty of time between then and Friday.”

“Please go to sleep, Barry.” She sniffled.

Darn it. She was crying.

“Iris, please…please don’t cry.”

She flinched hard when he touched her shoulder lightly.

“Please stop, Barry.”

He sighed and relented.

“Okay, Iris. I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to.”

That made Iris shake, and Barry knew she was fighting not to cry out loud. And it was all because of him, and his stupid lack of kissing reciprocation. Ugh. He hated himself.

“Goodnight, Iris,” he whispered, then turned the light off and turned towards his side of the tent to fall asleep.

Somehow Iris fell asleep before him. He stayed awake for hours, wondering how this camping trip could possibly improve for the better when he’d already ruined it so sufficiently.

Unable to fall asleep while next to her, he finally got up quietly and snuck out of the tent. One of the doors was left open in the car and there was a pillow and blanket inside from the ride up, so Barry took both and scrunched together his tall, lanky frame as best as he could to sleep in the car.

Hopefully, things would look better in the morning. Somehow…

...

*Also posted on AO3 and FFnet.

[backtothestart02bts]

Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.

Also posted on FFnet.

[smileyscorner04]

You definitely deserve this! 😘 BEAUTIFUL PERSON AWARD! Once you are given this award, you’re supposed to paste it in the ask of 8 people who deserve it. If you break the chain nothing will happen, but it’s sweet to know someone thinks you’re beautiful inside and out. ❣️❣️❣️

Lady, I sent you this earlier today. You definitely deserve this too! Thank you so much for thinking of me. And thank you for all of our talks, texts, fanfic recs, and words of encouragement.

[cbsnforeverandalways]

Congratulations on graduating! That is an amazing accomplishment!

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!

[ao3feed-westallen]

Three times Barry & Iris were almost caught in the act, and the one time they were. (S.T.A.R. Labs)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2OOV8wd

by Jennlee44

Barry recalls the few times he tried to make his move with Iris and was unsuccessful. The one time he was, they got caught.

Words: 1013, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Three times Barry & Iris were almost caught in the act, and the one time they were.

Fandoms: The Flash (TV 2014)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow

Relationships: Barry Allen/Iris West

Additional Tags: They are still dating, Mild Smut, really mild, Accidental Voyeurism, Barry has a high sex drive

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2OOV8wd

[jonesywrites]

Once you get this you have to answer with 5 things you like about yourself, publicly, then send this on to 10 of your favorite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is super cool!)

Ooh! How’d I miss this? Ummm, okay! Here’s goes...

1. I like my taste in music. It’s all over the place, has been since childhood.

2. I like that I’m pretty tall. 5′11 with long ass arms and a lanky gait. 6′1 in the right heels, unashamed. You need something off that shelf? I got you.

3. I love being a twin. It’s nice to have constant moral support and someone who just GETS ME. 

4. I like my writing, more and more lately. It’s hard for me to get into the zone sometimes, but when I’m there I have such a good time all the anxiety is worth it.

5. I like that I’m not giving up on my dream. I was tempted to, but I went another way and I’m proud of myself for that.

Thanks so much @jennlee44 ! I’ll pay it forward to 10 of my favorite followers!

-K 

[backtothestart02]

Hot to the Touch - 4/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: Y’all do not even know the pain and suffering I went through trying to get tumblr to cooperate with me and open a text post. Oy. Anyway, here’s my next commission made by @jennlee44 AND the next fic in my fics-for-icons arrangement with @izzyllewis. I hope you both - and everyone else! - enjoys this update. I had a lot of fun with it. :)

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.

...

Chapter 4 -

She didn’t understand. It had been a long time since she’d had sex, sure, and this time had been good – really good. But not so good that she couldn’t get a hold of herself. Or maybe it was just the thrill of public sex and the discomfort that came from fucking somewhere other than a bed.

She cleared her throat and looked over at him when she felt put together enough to put some snap back into her voice.

“That was…uh…”

“Good?” he asked, a smirk she could only think to call aggravatingly adorable on his lips.

Really good, she thought again but decided not to give him too much of a boost to his ego.

“Yeah,” she said breathlessly, nodding and screwing up any chance of keeping him humble.

His smile was wide and smug and gorgeous, and she felt her cheeks heat up as she rolled her eyes, dipping her head down so their gaze didn’t meet. Her heart was bursting, and she was starting to smile too, and she couldn’t help but feel this very familiar crush-like feeling blossoming inside of her.

Stop it. It was just good sex. That’s all.

Really good.

Was it possible to be starstruck by really good sex?

“So…” She licked her lips, hesitant to look him in the eyes again lest she melt. “I should go.”

He looked at her curiously.

“I have a class,” she explained, glad that he didn’t know that said class was about to be let out in roughly five minutes.

He nodded once, still smiling, though now with closed lips, no brilliant teeth shining back at her. He didn’t ask any questions, and he let her skirt by him so she could get to the end of the aisle.

She paused briefly, then turned to look at him, feeling as flustered as he must have felt yesterday morning.

“Thanks,” she said lamely, lingering a second longer than necessary in case he said anything else.

His amused laugh was the sexiest thing she’d ever heard in her life.

“Any time, Iris.”

She swallowed her gasp with the smallest gulp she could manage and fled the scene, her heart still thudding away in her ears as she made her way down the back stairway and out the alley door. She was too embarrassed to look back and see if he was standing by the window watching her the way she had done the day before.

At least she wasn’t running like he had been; now she was more like power walking. She was power walking with purpose, and her arms definitely weren’t flailing about.

It wasn’t until after she turned the corner that she realized she wasn’t carrying any books or a backpack or even a purse. She’d gone to the bookstore solely with the purpose of getting herself off, so Barry probably knew by now that her excuse of going to class was complete bullshit and just used to get away from him.

Not that she wanted to get away from him. God, she wanted anything but.

She had to be careful though. All she’d wanted was a one-night stand, and that was definitely what she got. There was no need to even see him again. At least not for anything but sex.

Anything but sex…

She bit her bottom lip, imagining a ‘next time’ with Barry. She wasn’t sure, but she could’ve sworn her panties were getting wet again.

“God dammit,” she muttered under her breath. How could he have this effect on her?

She needed to talk to Linda, and she needed to do it fast. She had to figure out what her next move would be, because right now all she wanted to do was run back to that bookstore, hope Barry was still there, and jump his bones again. She wanted to spend the whole day doing nothing but having sex with him. It would be pure ecstasy, and she would relish in it.

But what kind of impression would that leave him with?

That she wanted to be with him? That she wanted to date him?

That was absolutely not something she wanted to ever do. At least not right now.

No. Never.

She was not going to date ever again, and if she did, it wasn’t going to be with this nerd she’d spontaneously hooked up with.

But why not?

She couldn’t answer that, so instead she trudged onward, back to hers and Linda’s tiny apartment. She put the key in the lock and opened the door, shutting it quickly behind her.

“Lin!” she called out. “Linda!”

No sound greeted her. She frowned and pulled out her phone. She saw she’d missed a call from Linda when she was… Well, when she was otherwise occupied. Heat rose in her cheeks again.

She put the phone to her ear and listened to the message.

“Hey, Iris, so I thought it might be fun if we stayed in my parents’ place all weekend! No more parties, I promise. Just us. I’m sure my folks won’t mind. Let me know what you think. I’ll be back at the apartment around noon. See you then!”

Iris lowered the phone from her ear and checked the time. 10 a.m.

Linda had an early morning Saturday class too, but hers started an hour later than Iris’ at nine, so she had no reason to be suspicious. Yet.

She didn’t know why Linda was going to take two more hours to get back to their place when her class would be over at 10:30, but Iris supposed it didn’t matter. Maybe she was running errands, maybe she was relaxing in the park, maybe she was settling in at her parents’ place after assuming she’d convince Iris to go with her. Regardless, she wasn’t home, and Iris was alone.

She kicked off her shoes, moved from the room to the even smaller room at the end of the short hall and fell back on her bed.

She sighed loudly and closed her eyes.

“I had sex with Barry Allen.”

…

Barry had watched Iris “power walk” away from the bookstore from the window where they’d fucked.

He’d stayed there a while too, smiling to himself, reliving the feel of his dream girl inside his mind over and over, wondering how she knew his name too, because he definitely hadn’t told her. Not that it mattered how she knew. All that mattered was she knew, and she’d cried it out as he thrust up into her, and wow, that sex had been good. It’d been a while for him, but he couldn’t remember sex being that good before.

After a good half hour, he left the bookstore the same way Iris had and grabbed himself a coffee at the local coffee shop before heading back to his and Cisco’s apartment.

He could not stop smiling.

The sex had been great, but what really made him beam was how easy it had been to convince her. Just cut her off and kiss her? Who would’ve thought? Caitlin was definitely right in that all he needed to do was keep pursuing her. In the back of his mind, he did worry if Iris would keep her distance now that they’d had sex once, but he hoped not. He hoped he could win her over again. He wanted to see her, be with her. He still wanted more than just sex, even though he hardly knew her.

But he knew her name, and he knew what her body wanted, and he knew where her secret hideaway was, and for right now that was all he needed to know.

The cry of “Damn it!” was heard just as he put the key into the lock of his and Cisco’s apartment door. The voice was most definitely Cisco’s, and the bleating that immediately followed definitely belonged to his goat.

Barry couldn’t help but chuckle before turning the knob and stepping inside.

“So, are you going to name it?” he asked, beaming as the baby goat trotted across the room, toilet paper dragging under one hoof, and Cisco sitting on the couch looking about ready to pull his hair out.

Cisco lifted his head up slowly and glared at his roommate.

“You left early,” he accused, his voice low and gravelly.

Barry shrugged nonchalantly, nothing able to get him into a bad mood this morning.

“I had somewhere I had to be.”

Cisco started walking towards him, daggers in his eyes, so Barry held up his hands in surrender.

“It was Caitlin’s idea,” he insisted.

Cisco paused, grimacing as he stepped into a tiny pile of goat poop. He was shoeless and sockless and looked about to scream.

“Here, okay, let’s just-”

Cisco’s groan turned high-pitched.

“This stupid goat!”

The bleating turned cheerful and then quieted as the goat turned to go into Cisco’s room.

“Oh, no you don’t! You don’t get to poop in my room, you little…shit!”

“Cisco!” Barry went after him with some paper towels, but Cisco just limped around, trying to ignore the squish of his foot every time he walked until he made it to the doorway of his room.

Cisco was fuming, his hands braced on each side of the doorway. Barry had to slowly unclench his hands and turn him aside as his gaze turned deadly. He handed him the paper towels for his foot and went into his room, fetching the goat who bleated happily again.

“I’ll put him in my room. If he poops, he poops.”

Cisco scoffed, wiping his foot clean and then hobbling back into the kitchen to disinfect it with soap and water and a real towel. He shuddered as he tossed the paper towels away and threw the towel into the laundry basket.

“You must be in a real good mood to be fine with a goat pooping in your room,” he said sarcastically as he made his way to the couch again and took a seat.

“Nothing a little disinfectant can’t fix. We just have to potty train him is all. I’ll pick up a litterbox when I’m out later today.”

Cisco stared up at him in disbelief, a million questions running through his head, but only one blatant fact emerged.

“We’re not keeping it!”

Barry’s grin faltered slightly.

“You better find out who it belongs to, then,” he teased, coming to sit beside him after wiping up the floor and washing his hands.

“I don’t understand,” Cisco whined. “Why are you in such a good mood?”

Barry shrugged. “Can’t I be in a good mood every once in a while?”

“You wouldn’t even speak to me when I came home last night.”

“That’s because it was three in the morning, and I’d been sleeping for four hours already.”

“Nah, there was more to it. Something happened at the party, didn’t it? Something bad. Something that upset you.” Barry was silent for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shook his head, then smiled cheerfully again.

“It doesn’t matter now. Everything is right in the world.”

“Everything is not right,” Cisco said. “That goat is out to get me.”

Barry chuckled. “Well, everything is right in my world at least.”

“And why is tha-” The dots fused together in his mind. “No.”

“Yep.”

“You. You and-”

“Uh huh.”

“But last night…?”

Barry sighed, realizing he’d have to tell the whole story.

“Last night, she jumped me in a bedroom at the party and I ruined it by not wanting a one-night stand.”

“Dude.”

“I know, I know.” He waved him off. “But I called Caitlin to drive me home, and she told me that Iris was probably just playing hard to get, and I should just keep pursuing her.”

“Hmm.”

“Turns out she was right!” He grinned gleefully. “I went to the bookstore this morning and turned the tables on her. She gave in instantly.”

“So, you had sex.”

“Well, yeah!”

“And…are you going out?”

Barry’s smile slipped.

“Well…no. I mean, we didn’t discuss that. She just…she said she had to leave to go to a class…”

“Oh, Barry.”

“She said the sex was great though!” More or less.

“That only makes it a one-night stand.”

Now Barry frowned.

“You gave her what she wanted, Barry. She’s not going to want anything to do with you now.”

His brows furrowed.

“Why do you have to be so negative? You don’t know that for sure.”

He shrugged in a ‘maybe I’m wrong’ way, but it didn’t make Barry feel any better.

“I’m going to take a nap,” Cisco said, heading for his room. “The goat’s doo-doo is on you.”

He closed the door behind him, and Barry sunk back into the couch, as his heart plummeted in his chest.

Had he really seen the last of Iris West?

…

At half-past one Iris decided Linda had to have gotten settled in at her parents’ place and headed over. It was a half hour walk, but she could use the additional time to try and sort her feelings out – as if she hadn’t already been doing that for the past two hours…

Regardless, the time was well spent, and when she knocked on the door to the mansion half an hour later and Linda appeared on the other side, she knew it was well worth the wait.

“I slept with Barry.”

Linda’s jaw dropped.

“Thanks for finding out his name at the party for me by the way,” she said, moving past her into the house. “It would’ve been awkward to cry out ‘book boy’ into his ear as he fucked me.”

“Well.” Linda shut the door and spun around. “You’ve had quite the morning.”

“Yeah…I skipped class, went to the bookstore, and…he showed up. Then, we-”

“I think I got it, Iris.” Linda grinned.

“I wanted to tell you right away, but you weren’t home. Then you weren’t at noon when you said you’d be, so I waited a little bit longer, and-”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Guess I caught up with stuff here. You good with staying here over the weekend? I called the folks. They’d love to have you staying here with me while they’re gone. In fact, they want us to stay to look over the house! Isn’t that great?”

“Fantastic,” she said on a sigh.

“Oh, what’s wrong, honey? You don’t want to stay?”

“No, it’s not that…” She shook her head. “It’ll be fun to stay here a few more days. I’d love to.”

“Then what?” She folded her arms.

“What do I do now?”

“What? With Barry?”

She nodded.

“Well, you got your one-night stand, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“And that’s all you wanted, right?”

She was silent.

“Right?”

“Right,” Iris said, after hesitating a bit too long. “Of course. I don’t need any entanglements right now. I need to take care of me, and that means not jumping into a relationship. I mean, that scares me. I don’t want it. I don’t want to risk anything. I need to protect myself before I go thinking there’s a guy out there that could actually-”

“Hey, hey.” Linda closed the distance between them and grabbed Iris’ shoulders. “The choice is yours. No one is forcing you to do anything. Okay?”

Iris nodded slowly.

“I’m just not ready.”

“Then don’t jump into anything.”

“Okay.” She forced a smile. “Thanks, Lin.”

“Any time,” she said, reminding Iris of Barry’s last words to her. A chill ran down her spine. “How about I put a movie on and we just relax for a whi-”

“Actually-”

Linda frowned. “Yeah?”

“Could you get me Barry’s number?”

Linda blanched.

“You got me his name. Why can’t you get me his number?”

“Iris. You just said-”

“Every girl needs a booty call, right?” she said, avoiding her friend’s gaze.

Linda laughed. “Sure.” She shook her head. “Why don’t you get the movie set up, and I’ll do some digging.”

Iris couldn’t be 100% certain, but she was fairly sure she heard Linda mutter something on the way to another room, something about how good the sex must’ve been for her to want him as a booty call.

She probably should’ve kept the information to herself, but she couldn’t help it. How was she going to see Barry again? Just wait in the bookstore and hope he showed up?

Because yeah, she’d decided this was not going to be a one-time thing. Today had been euphoric, heavenly even. She’d felt alive in Barry Allen’s arms, as rough as that fuck had been. She missed his arms around her, his lips on hers, his tongue swirling her nipple, his hard cock thrusting up into her core, his hot breath in her ear. She missed it all.

And why should she be deprived of really good sex just because she wasn’t ready for a relationship? Why couldn’t this be just one really epic fling before she was ready for the real thing? It didn’t even have to mean the real thing would end up being with Barry. If she made the rules clear, and he agreed, then…well, she deserved this. After everything Eddie put her through, she deserved to feel alive every day. Multiple times a day. Multiple times an hour sometimes.

Her heart leapt into her throat at the thought of it.

She wanted to see him again. She wanted him to want her. She wanted to see his eyes roving over her body, taking her apart piece by piece. She wanted him inside her, all day, all night. She wanted to forget her fear of heartbreak and just enjoy the heat of his flesh against hers.

The very thought made her shiver.

“Okay, I texted you,” Linda said, re-entering the room.

Iris felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and quickly took it out to put Barry into her contacts.

“But Iris.” She put her hand over Iris’ phone to draw her attention back to her. “Be careful with this, okay? You don’t want to get caught up into something you can’t get out of. Sex is exhilarating, but it shouldn’t become an addiction.”

“Lin-”

“And it shouldn’t be used as coping mechanism to deal with heartbreak.”

Iris sighed, slightly aggravated.

“Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I promise,” she said sincerely, then threw all caution to the wind and excused herself to go to the bathroom…and text Barry Allen.

…

Late that night, after movies and dinner and painting nails and prank calls and gushing about the good ol’ days of high school gossip and homecoming after parties, Iris and Linda fell asleep on the couch in the huge living room in the center of the Park mansion.

Or at least, Linda did. Iris pretended to and then snuck out of the house where a cab was waiting for her. She had the driver let her off across the street from the bookstore, and then walked over to the back entrance in the alley, hoping her risqué suggestion wouldn’t be shot down at the last minute.

She needn’t have worried.

“You came,” she said, relieved when the tall shadow coming out of the alley was Barry and not some guy trying to kill or rob her.

“You asked me to,” he said easily.

She smiled brightly, then pulled a hair pin out of her pocket.

“C’mon.”

Once inside the rickety old door, Iris took Barry’s hand and led him up the stairwell in the dark. Moonlight shown through the windows on the second floor. It was deadly quiet, and the floor squeaked a little when they walked, but once they reached the center of the room and were in complete darkness again, Iris came to a stop, and so did Barry.

“You’re beautiful, Iris,” he said, smoothing some of her frizzed hair out of her face.

The compliment made her heart flutter and drop at the same time. It scared her and made her feel alive.

“Do you want me, Barry? Like you did this morning?”

His voice was rough when he answered.

“Yes.”

“I want you, too.”

“Iris.”

“This can be our spot, Barry. Every day…or a couple times a week…however often you want to do this.”

“Every day,” he said instantly, and her smile turned into a laugh.

“I missed you today,” she said, rising up on her tip toes to kiss him. “I missed your hands and your lips…” She pushed his jacket off his shoulders. “I missed your arms and your tongue.” She unbuttoned his shirt and spread her hands beneath his t-shirt. “I missed your breath in my ear and your eyes on my body.”

She met his eyes in the darkness.

“I missed you, too.” He gulped.

“But Barry?”

“Yeah?” he rasped.

“I’m not interested in a relationship. It’s just sex or nothing at all. That means no dates, no compliments – unless they’re sexual in nature, no being seen together. Hell, we have to keep us a secret just for good measure. Can you do that, Barry? Because if you can’t…”

He put a finger over her lips.

“I don’t like option two,” he said. “Anything is better than nothing at all.”

Happiness and heat exploded inside of her.

“I’m glad you think so.”

She dragged him down for a kiss, and he started to undress her. Moments later her clothes and his were piled into a heap, and Barry was lowering them down onto the soft carpet they’d stepped onto in the center of the room.

Iris sifted her fingers through his hair and drew her hands down his naked body. Her nailed traced the lines of his arms and face.

Feeling insecure in front of her perfection, Barry pinned Iris’ hands by her head, positioned himself at her core, using his knees to push her legs apart and leaned down to kiss her. Then he released her to slide on a condom and thrust into her soaking pussy.

She arched up and clung to him, digging her nails into his back as his teeth sucked on her neck. In and out he moved, his chest brushing her breasts and her mouth occupied, always occupied with his skin or his lips.

And so they moved in almost silence, exhilarated in the pleasure of their bodies winding around each other and writhing in the darkness, just shy of the moonlight seeping into the windows a few aisles away.

...

*Also posted on AO3 and FFnet.

[backtothestart02]

It Started with a Blizzard - 1/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: Sequel to Blizzard in July (I just liked that as a two-shot too much to continue it with another chap). Commissioned by @jennlee44.

Enjoy!

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.

...

Chapter 1 -

Not a fleck of snow in the air or on the ground since take-off, the plane ride was smooth and comfortable for all the passengers. It improved the mood of even the grumpiest passenger, who had been perturbed by last night’s blizzard delaying flights. That probably would’ve been Iris had she not run into Barry – and spent the night with him. That had a way of slowing things down and even being grateful for a delayed plane ride to a meeting she didn’t really want to go to anyway.

Barry, on the other hand, was still trying to process how lucky his night had turned out to be. Of course, he was sad to have missed his mother’s birthday party, but he’d texted her to explain his delay, and she’d understood. He would stop by his parents’ house first thing after the plane landed.

But Iris…

Well, Iris was a complication he wasn’t quite sure what to do with.

He didn’t want her out of his sight. That much was certain. He’d told her he thought what they had would definitely go somewhere, and he’d meant it, but once they landed, reality outside the blizzard, outside the airport and the hotel room, and hell, out of the bed, was very uncertain.

He didn’t know if Iris lived in Central City. He guessed she didn’t if she was flying there. He didn’t live in Central City either, but he planned to stay the week at his parents’ place, since he hadn’t seen them in a while.

What happened once they both got their luggage from the baggage claim and exited the airport doors?

He hadn’t even asked what the situation was with her meeting. There had to still be one if she had gotten on the same plane as him, right?

He was overthinking, and he knew it, but he couldn’t help it. His dream girl had unexpectedly been at the airport the same time as him, in the same place, in front of the same gate, planning to go on the same plane, and – once drunk, had dragged him into a bathroom and made love to him.

Made love?

Okay, maybe that time it had been the booze talking. But when they reached their hotel room and landed on the bed together, and oh, yeah – when he halted the sex to tell her he had a crush on her in high school and she said she’d had a crush on him too – that had to be more than a hot fuck driven by drunkenness in the middle of a blizzard.

Barry probably wouldn’t have had any hope at all for a future with Iris in it if she hadn’t so wistfully asked if they had one. Now he was determined they would. He just didn’t know all the details, and that worried him.

A yawn from Iris interrupted his thoughts just as the pilot interrupted the silent atmosphere to announce they’d be arriving soon in Central City.

“Ohh, I hate this part.” Iris frowned, covering her ears.

He had to smile at how adorably worried she looked.

“Why’s that?”

She turned to look at him.

“Do you have some gum?”

He laughed lightly but dug around in his pocket.

“I think so, yeah.” He handed her a stick. “Your ears pop going down?”

She nodded with a shudder. “Terribly. It’s the one thing I hate about riding in planes.”

“Thankfully, I don’t have that problem.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Are you gloating?”

He laughed again, then quickly silenced himself.

“Of course not.”

She looked at him suspiciously, not believing him one bit, then stripped the gum of its foil and stuck it into her mouth, chewing immediately and madly, lowering her head between her knees and covering her ears tightly as the plane started to lower.

Barry almost chuckled once more, but her soft moan when the pain hit her eardrums made him sympathize, and he rubbed her back gently until the plane came to a stop on the runway, slowly finding its way to the appropriate gate.

“Better?” he asked when she came up to look out her window.

“I will be,” she said. “Still can’t hear very well, but I’m sure that’ll go away as the day goes on.”

He smiled. “I’m sure too.”

They waited for the pilot’s go ahead for everyone to get off the plane, and then were painfully reminded of the fact that they’d chosen to sit in almost the back row.

Iris groaned, but Barry took her hand and kissed the back of it.

“I don’t regret sitting next to you,” he said.

Iris’ heart leapt in her chest.

“I don’t regret sitting next to you either.”

She leaned towards him, nuzzled his face, then kissed his lips, sighing contently.

A grumpy old man in the sole seat behind them groaned in disgust, which made them lift their heads, but they decided not to let it bother them, continuing to kiss until the row a few ahead of them had been emptied.

“Come on,” Barry said. “Let’s get our things.”

He took her hand, intertwined their fingers, and led her down the aisle after they’d retrieved their carry-on bags.

Iris took a breath of air after they’d emptied the long passageway ramp leading from the plane to the gate and sighed in relief.

“Oh, my God, we’re free.”

Barry laughed.

“Do you need to call anybody or should we head to the baggage claim?”

Her eyes widened at his words.

“That’s actually…a good idea. I texted my boss to tell him I wouldn’t be able to make it yesterday, and he never responded. I hope I’m not fired.”

Barry frowned. “You still came on the flight even though it was just one meeting?”

“Oh, it’s not. Didn’t I mention that? It’s a convention. All day meetings for the whole weekend. Yesterday was just one meeting because it was the check-in day.”

“Oh.” His eyes lit up. She’d be in town for a few days. Busy mostly, but she’d still be nearby. That was hopeful. “Well, go ahead and call then. I have to call my mom anyway.”

“Okay.”

Iris pulled her phone out of her pocket, bit her bottom lip, and waited for her boss to pick up her call.

“Please don’t fire me. Please…please…please…”

…

Barry hung up the phone, pleased that his last-minute plan to bring Iris along with him to his parents’ house was a raving success – at least with his parents. He still had Iris to convince, but he had a good feeling about it. They’d met her before and liked her and knew of his borderline obsessive crush on her. His mother, Nora, was practically ecstatic on the other end when he told her how they’d run into each other. Though he neglected to inform her that they shared the same hotel room or got drunk together, let alone anything else. He’d need to tell Iris an amended story that wasn’t quite so scandalous but was still believable.

Nora Allen was sweetly innocent and oblivious to all things he didn’t tell her. His father, on the other hand, could see right through him and would probably pin him down later, demanding he tell him what really happened. That would be awkward, as it tended to be, but he would endure it if it meant spending a little more time with who he hoped he could call his girlfriend in the near future.

“Barry!”

He was too stuck in his own head to hear him the first time she called out to him, but he turned just in time to see her running towards him and calling his name multiple times as he did. His lips quirked at the corner, seeing her so silly, so joyful, and directing that energy at him. He almost fell over when she used her weight to lunge up and hug and kiss him.

“Long-awaited reunion?” An older woman nearby asked.

“We saw each other five minutes ago,” Barry shared, which made Iris’ face fill with heat, but she was still smiling.

The older woman’s counterpart slipped his arm around her waist and guided her away.

“Let’s leave the lovebirds be,” he chuckled, muttering something about their luggage and transportation that neither Barry nor Iris paid much attention to.

“What is it?” Barry asked, holding her close, his smile so wide his cheeks hurt.

“I’m not fired!” Iris said excitedly, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to kiss him again. “Oh, my God. I thought I was going to be, and now I’m not.”

“What happened?” he asked between kisses.

“My boss was sick, so they cancelled the meeting. They sent an e-mail notifying me, but it ended up in my spam folder somehow. They’ve rescheduled it for a few hours from now. Isn’t that great news?!” She squealed, and Barry couldn’t help but laugh; though a part of him felt unsettled, since a few hours from now didn’t give him much time with her. He hid his minor disappointment well though.

“That is great news.” He chuckled. “Is there anything you need to do before you get there?” he asked.

She bit her bottom lip, thinking.

“Well, I definitely have to shower and change clothes. I can do that at the hotel, though.”

“Or,” Barry hedged, introducing the topic daringly.

She blinked. “Or, what?”

“You could come with me to my parents’ house and get ready there. We could spend the afternoon together, and I could pick you up after your meeting…we could do ice cream or something.”

He noticed the exact moment she pulled away from him emotionally and worried he’d ruined everything.

“Your parents’ house, huh?”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah… They’re real sweet people. I’m sure they’d love having you.”

“I’m sure they are really nice, but…Barry.” She lowered her voice. “Isn’t that a bit soon? We haven’t even been on a date yet.”

“Yet,” he said, with a grin, deciding to focus on the positive. “I like the sound of that.”

Iris rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

“Focus, Barry.” She hit him playfully.

He sighed, then pulled her close.

“Look, okay, I know this feels a lot like ‘meeting the parents’.”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded, worry in her voice.

“But it’s not really,” he said.

“How?”

“They’ve met you before,” he said cheerfully.

“When?” she demanded.

“In high school,” he said. “You came over a few times. We were friends, remember?”

“Yes, but Barry, that was 10 years ago. They probably don’t even remem-”

“I just called them. They definitely do.”

Heat flooded her cheeks again.

“Do they remember me as your friend or your crush?”

Barry turned a bright pink.

“Does it matter?” he squeaked.

“Kinda,” she offered. “I don’t know…maybe not. I just…don’t want to spend the whole time with your parents knowingly looking at me, wondering if we…did anything.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” he said. “My mom is a saint. She won’t suspect a thing.”

“And your dad?” Barry paused. “What about your dad, Barry?”

“My dad won’t…be a problem…for you.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Just…trust me, okay? We don’t have to spend the whole time there, but I have to stop by to say Happy Birthday to my mom properly. We’ll have to do a little small talk since you’ll be with me, but then we can go, I promise.”

She sighed.

“I have to be at that meeting at 1 o’clock, Barry.”

“You will be.”

“That means getting to the hotel before then to get things arranged. And I can’t eat lunch, because they’ll serve it at the meeting.”

“No lunch. Got it.”

“And promise you won’t embarrass me.”

“I promise. You have my word.”

She looked at him suspiciously, and then finally relented.

“All right. Let’s go meet your mom and dad.”

He took her hands, bent his head to kiss her lips again, and smiled mischievously when they parted.

“What?” she asked, barely suppressing a giggle.

“Well, we have to get our luggage first.”

She hit him playfully again, and he laughed, recoiling out of reach before wrapping his arms around her waist and picking her off the ground for a few steps.

“Come on.” He gestured his head towards the long walkway. “It’s this way.”

She shook her head at him, but quickly caught up, sneaking her hand into his as they made their way to the baggage claim.

...

*Also posted on AO3 and FFnet.

[backtothestart02]

@jennlee44 pointed out this section of The Updraft out to me in her review, and OKAY. I’m moved by my own fic.

The idea of Nora and Iris slightly annoyed every time Nora has to be referred to as West and not West-Allen just... my HEART. 😭❤️

[backtothestart02]

Hi Lauren aka FicFlash⚡aka The Writing Speedster. Just wanted to say "Hello" and Thank You for all the wonderful fics you've been writing lately. I don't know if you hear this enough but your writing talents are amazing and greatly appreciated! Your fics give us new stories and fill in the blanks where they need to be. I so wish you were part of the writing team for TF. 😄You are a gem! Thank you so much for all you do!😘

Oh, wow. This is really sweet. Thank you so much!! ❤️

[backtothestart02]

To last Anon -

@jennlee44 was helping me brainstorm for The Girl in the Black Cadillac, since I was clueless as to a plot besides slowburn enemies-to-lovers and know nothing about cars, which is troublesome since Barry is a mechanic in it.

Turns out she dated a mechanic (hope this is ok to reveal!).

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT.

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES.

Anyway, I have a much better idea of where to go w/ the story now, thanks to her. Blessings, blessings, blessings to Jennlee44 and her family. 😘

[backtothestart02]

Happy Birthday Lauren!

I hope you have the best birthday ever! 😘

...

Oh, my gosh, this is the sweetest thing.

Thank you!!! 😍

[smileyscorner04]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you. Spread the positivity! ♡

1. Hair behaving

2. Mani/Pedi’s

3. Solo road trips

4. Getting a good seat on movie premiere night

5. Reading a smutty fic while everyone else is sleep

[backtothestart02]

That fic was hot 🔥🔥🔥. Thank you so much for the fic (Just Us) based on the deleted scene from 4x14. After I saw that scene I wanted to read a fic about it, and low and behold here you come to the rescue! You are awesome! 🙌🏽🙌🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Ahhh, thank you so much!! 😍

[smileyscorner04]

💐🌷🌹🌺 SEND THIS TO TEN OTHER BLOGGERS YOU THINK ARE WONDERFUL. KEEP THE GAME GOING!!! 🌺🌹🌷💐💕 Right back at you. 😘 You know I think your wonderful! Since I got this from you, you don't have to do it again.

I just sent this to you! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Thank you!

And you're welcome. You are all kinds of wonderful, and I want the whole world to know!

[backtothestart02]

Yoga Pants and Gray Sweatpants - 1/1 | grandice fanfiction

A/N: Soooo, I’ve decided to make a grandice fics series about them dating secretly while filming Flash. Idk what my next one will be, but this takes place after the previous one. Enjoy!

Inspired by convos I’ve shared with @jennlee44 & @smileyscorner04. Thanks, ladies!

...

Synopsis: Grant and Candice are not so good at breaking up.

...

There had been a leak.

Paparazzi had gotten some particularly intimate-looking photos of Grant and Candice onset. While they weren’t doing anything more than laughing and standing close to each other in most, there were a few where they were holding hands and their faces were particularly close.

The internet went wild while speculation.

No one had reached out to either of their agents yet, but Candice figured it was only a matter of time. This thing she had going with Grant had become too obvious. She broke it off, and no matter how hard Grant protested, she refused to go back on her decision.

She and Grant were done.

A week later Grant sat in his trailer, trying to memorize his lines, knowing that even if he did there was no way his acting would portray it properly. The break-up with Candice had started to affect his performance when the cameras were rolling, which had been Candice’s biggest fear from the beginning. He knew it only solidified her decision to break things off. If they got back together and broke up for real, because of an actual blow-up, their chemistry onset would never recover. At least with this it was something he just needed to force himself to get over and then everything would be fine.

But that was just it. He couldn’t ‘get over it’.

What had started as something mostly physical had grown quickly into something much deeper.

Grant wouldn’t say he was in love. He wasn’t that far gone. But he was definitely falling, and he wasn’t a fan of this new arrangement at all.

Unable to focus on his lines, he decided to go for a walk. After slipping on his shoes and a light jacket, he pushed open the door of his trailer only to find the object of his affection and anguish walking past wearing work-out clothes, particularly yoga pants.

He nearly fell out of his trailer.

“Candice!” he called, taking the steps carefully before closing the door behind him. “Wait up.”

She looked over her shoulder, and he had to force himself to look up from that delectable ass of hers, accentuated in those pants, to those deep, brown eyes that he nearly found himself drowning in.

“Grant,” she said, almost coldly.

He stopped dead in his tracks, wondering if he’d done something wrong. Had she caught him checking her out? Was this just how she was going to interact with him now that they were broken up? That didn’t seem fair. They could still be friends.

“Wh-Where are you going?” he asked, skipping over to her in two easy bounds.

“The gym,” she said, as if it was obvious. He supposed it was. “You?”

“I was going to go for a walk,” he said.

“Mm.” She nodded once.

“I could join you,” he suggested softly, leaning in a little closer.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she said, tone clipped.

He frowned. “Why not? We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

“We’re exes, Grant,” she said, determined not to look at him. “Exes are not friends.”

He stopped suddenly, but she kept walking. His heart fell into the pit of his stomach.

Exes are not friends.

Well, hell.

…

Two days later, Grant and Candice, along with the crew and the director were all on set, and Candice thought she was going to die. She’d been avoiding Grant like the plague, ever since she’d broken things off with him. She hadn’t been cold to him since she’d met him. He was just so fun to be around, and she fed off that energy without even meaning to. It was what had drawn them together. He fed off her contagious energy too.

But she had to put a stop to that before any more rumors spread. For all she knew, their magnetic energy had been reported to the media by one of the crew eager for their 15 minutes of fame.

She knew it was affecting Grant’s performance though, and she felt bad about that. In the time she’d known him, she’d come to the realization very quickly that he had a difficult time separating what Barry was going through and what he was going through personally. Barry having such strong feelings for Iris, for example, had amplified his own feelings for her – Candice.

Now that they were broken up, she could see the struggle in him to light up as Barry around her as Iris when in reality she kept pushing him further and further away.

She couldn’t help it!

She was as upset over the break-up as he was. There was nothing more in life she wanted than to take it back and pick up where they’d left off. There were so many places they hadn’t hooked up yet. It had only been a week and a half, but she was already feeling sex-deprived. Specifically with Grant. She was feeling Grant sex-deprived, like she was in withdrawal.

But more than that, his magnetic energy, his smile, those gorgeous green eyes, and how he could just pick her up as if she was light as a feather, how he just understood her as no one else did, how they almost had their own language because they were just that in tune with each other.

She was falling for him.

That wasn’t going to stop whether they were broken up or not, and she hated it.

She hadn’t put on yoga pants the other day hoping to lure him out of his trailer. She’d legitimately intended on going to the gym to work out. Though more to work out her frustrations on not being able to work Grant out instead than actually maintaining her figure and staying healthy.

In fact, the reason her tone had been so clipped with him was in fact because she worried if they were in the same space for too long when they weren’t filming that she’d throw everything to the wind and seduce him right there in the gym.

She bit for bottom lip just thinking about it, and tried not to moan. The on-site gym was one of the many places they hadn’t hooked up yet. Ironically, there were no cameras in there. It would be the perfect spot on top one of those treadmills or bicycles…or in the locker room shower.

She shook her head, ridding herself of that thought.

This was crazy!

She’d been celibate for months. Surely she could handle being celibate again. She could even go out and have a one-night stand if she wished. She was sure there were plenty of guys that-

Stop it.

You are not a one-night stand kind of woman.

And you want Grant, plain and simple.

She sighed and looked back at her script. Grant was across the room rehearsing his own lines quietly to himself. She’d memorized hers already, but there was no harm going over them again. Especially when the alternative was to not check Grant out when wardrobe had given him gray sweatpants to wear.

Damn it.

He was walking after her in the scene. She was supposed to be mad, pissed off. And her current mood definitely helped her performance when the cameras were rolling, she decided. But sexual frustration ebbed off of her in waves, and she wondered if maybe that wasn’t what the director was going for with Iris in this particular scene.

Still, what was she supposed to do?

Grant’s cock moved so effortlessly beneath those pants when he walked. It was just a reminder of what they’d had and could still have if only she’d take back breaking things off.

But she couldn’t do that.

No one could know about them, and the most effective way to do that was to not be together at all. Soon any speculation of them being an item would be gone, and then maybe – maybe – she could think about being friends again.

“I need a break,” she announced to the crew and director.

Grant looked up from his script curiously.

The director frowned.

“We haven’t even started filming, Candice.”

“Well…I need a few extra minutes to get ready.”

His brows furrowed suspiciously, but he nodded.

“Ten minutes. Then we start.”

She dropped her script on her chair and made a quick exit for the lounge via the long hallway. She spotted Carlos inside and felt relief. She could relax with him, get Grant off her mind and then be ready to film in the 10 minutes that had been allotted to her.

“Candi-” Carlos started, and was immediately cut off.

“Candice.”

Carlos pursed his lips as Candice turned around and found Grant staring at her from just inside the doorway.

“Grant.” Her eyebrows narrowed. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

Carlos downed the rest of his coffee and threw his cup in the trash.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” he muttered, shutting the door to the lounge behind him as he left.

The implication was obvious. He thought the two of them were going to have sex.

That irritated Candice more than she cared to admit, because how could he even think that? The whole cast and crew was well aware of how they weren’t sleeping together. Their unresolved sexual tension could be felt a mile away.

“What?” she asked, crossing her arms beneath her breasts, enhancing her cleavage the slightest bit.

She could see Grant fighting with himself to not look.

“I think we should get back together.”

She scoffed. “Of course you do.”

“It’s affecting my work! Yours too.”

“It’s not affecting my work. I’m a professional. You’re-”

“I’m what?” he dared her to say.

“You’re too attached to your character.”

“I’m not attached enough right now or I’d be able to channel Barry without memories of us fucking flooding my brain at every minute.”

She swallowed and her eyes lowered briefly to his crotch, nearly gasping when she thought she saw…

Did his cock just twitch?

She lifted her eyes to his again.

“That is not my fault.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No.” Her eyes narrowed.

He took a step towards her, and she tensed.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.”

“Grant-”

“All the time. When I’m awake, when I’m asleep…” He sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration, as he often portrayed Barry doing. “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

She swallowed her gasp just before it emerged past her lips. It took her a few seconds to compose herself.

“You think that-”

“I know it.” He took her hands in his own, holding them tightly when she tried pulling them away.

She refused to look at him, though her heart was beating rapidly inside her chest.

“You haven’t had sex in a week and a half. You’re acting like a hormonal teenager, thinking this is more than it is when it’s not. For God’s sake, our careers are on the line here. Why can’t you just-”

“Candice.”

She tipped her head to look up into his eyes.

“Are you falling in love with me too?”

Her heart leapt into her throat.

“I…” Tears formed in her eyes, so she quickly shut them and shook her head. “No, there’s no way. I’m just…sexually frustrated.”

She gasped, realizing she’d said the words out loud and completely mortified.

“Shit,” she mumbled under her breath.

Grant smiled slowly, and she knew there was no going back.

“I can help with that too.”

“Grant, no- No, you can’t-can’t do that.”

She was backing up, but he pulled her back to him before she could get far.

“Relax, Candeez, I promise to make it good for you.”

And in that moment chills ran up her spine, and she melted. His lips came down on hers, and she moaned into the kiss. She jumped up into his arms when she felt his hands on her ass, and he squeezed her cheeks as he backed up slowly against the counter.

Kissing madly, he spun them around so she was sitting on the smooth granite and lifted her shirt up over her head, quickly unlatching her bra from behind her back. Candice shoved his pants and underwear down in one, swift move and immediately wrapped her hand around his shaft.

He groaned and dropped his head onto her shoulder.

“Candice.”

“Those damn sweatpants have been driving me out of my mind,” she muttered as she continued to pump him. “Do you know how clearly you can see your cock moving in them when you walk or get up?”

He chuckled darkly.

“I know. I requested them.”

“Bastard.”

“You don’t mean that.” He smirked, tipping her head up.

“No, I really do.”

He kissed her.

“I also mean this.”

She released his cock and yanked him closer.

“Fuck me.”

His green eyes turned dark, as he roughly yanked her pants and underwear down to a puddle on the floor.

“With pleasure.”

…

Fifteen minutes later, Grant and Candice came strolling back onto set. The director took one look at them and called for hair and make-up to come over.

“You good now, Candice?” he asked.

Grant quietly smirked to himself.

“Better than ever,” she said brightly.

After hair and make-up had finished and scattered, Grant and Candice took their places and waited for the director to call ‘action’.

As luck would have it, they only needed one take.

...

*will post on AO3 and FFnet when beta’d.