#forest hill spa

[revolvemedspa]

Botox Specialist Queens

In today’s fast-paced world, looking and feeling your best has never been more important. Whether you’re aiming to smooth out fine lines, enhance your youthful appearance, or simply boost your confidence, Botox has become a popular and effective solution. If you’re searching for a “Botox specialist near me” in the local area, look no further than Revolve Medspa. With a team of highly trained professionals and state-of-the-art technology, Revolve Medspa is the premier destination for top-notch Botox treatments tailored to your needs.

[greenishghostey]

Peppermint Haze

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Warnings: 18+ content MDNI, bath sex, p in v, unprotected sex, handjob, hair pulling, fluffy smut, established relationship, Eddie getting to chill out, dirty talk, creampie, soapy boobs, winter themed porn, lots of grinding, this is really just mushy fluffy porn so yeh

Word Count: 3,361

Author’s Notes: Please pretend that bath sex is not a logistical nightmare and that bubble baths aren’t terrible for vaginal health. The cosy, comfy vibes were too good to pass up so here we are :))) DO NOT REPOST OR EDIT MY WORK

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Hawkins always got indescribably cold by the middle of November. Snow would pile up on tree branches and sidewalks - becoming less of a Christmas card backdrop and more of a slushy inconvenience.  

That was definitely the case at Forest Hills Trailer Park. The dirt track roads were frozen solid and covered in a thick layer of powder and wintery mush. A lot of the park’s residents took turns digging out sections of the roads since everyone still had to get to work. Winter wouldn’t stop the likes of Wayne Munson from making it to his Friday night shift. 

Eddie and Wayne had been shovelling out Patty, their hippy elderly, neighbour’s grey hatchback when you showed up at their trailer. Friday night was date night, and the shitty weather meant it would be an evening in Eddie’s trailer. 

Both you and Eddie had planned an extremely relaxing night since the week had been hell for you both. Eddie had been working late at the craft store because the holiday rush was beginning - he‘d kept you updated on his projects that mainly consisted of measuring fabric and lifting all of the heavy boxes. You had been dealing with an influx of school kids at the library - rushing to get books for their last-minute assignments and begging you for help finding specific titles. So, a little indulgent date was much needed for the pair of you. 

Gloria, one of your coworkers, had gifted you with a small Christmas “spa” hamper as a thank you for all your hard work. It consisted of peppermint bath oil, vanilla body wash that doubled as bubble bath, and a cocoa butter lotion. It was all super nice stuff which made you feel a little bad for only having Christmas cards to give to your colleagues. However, the festive kit led to you and Eddie agreeing on your main date night activity. 

A really really long bath. He was the one to suggest the idea after you gushed over the gift - the suggestion was mostly innocent, surprisingly. Honestly, you both just wanted to be all cosy and gross in the privacy of his home. 

That’s how you found yourself submerged in an amazing soapy bath that smelled like heaven. Only your face was poking out from the bubbles as you breathed deeply - floating and listening to the muffled sounds of Eddie rummaging around his room for tapes. He said he’d made a tape, especially for the evening, making you melt even further into the minty bliss. Your sinuses were going to be so clear after this. 

Eddie barged into the steamy bathroom in his usual loud, sort of clumsy way. The tile floor was more slippery than he’d anticipated so he had nearly crashed into the room. You poked your head up and gave him a little wave from the bubbles - hair soaked and a touch of foamy stubble on your jaw. 

Once your sleepy eyes focused on him properly, you saw that he was butt naked while fiddling with his stereo on the counter. 

You leaned on your forearms on the edge of the bath. “I don’t tell you enough how nice your butt is.” You sighed, smiling up at him when he glanced at you.

“I’d say it’s a little better than “nice”, at least “premium goods” status.” Eddie huffed jokingly, now slapping his stereo in an attempt to get the tape deck to stay closed. He was a firm believer in if you smacked technology around a little and showed it who’s boss then it would work. “Babe, you’re objectifying me while I’m trying to set a romantic mood, all for you.” He shot you an exaggerated pinch glare over his shoulder. 

In reality, he really liked when you ogled him and made him feel hot. “This is a small bathroom and your ass is right at my eye level. Get over it, dude.” You smirked, sinking back into the warm water. 

“-I bet you say that to all the boys,” purred the voice from the stereo. Damn, Eddie knew how to set a weird, but really good mood. Meat Loaf wasn’t exactly his usual music choice, but he knew you loved a good ballad. 

“Hey hey! See? A few loving taps and viola, she sings.” Eddie grinned, turning to you with a flourish of his arms, “kinda like you.” He sniggered as you splashed some water at him. 

“Hurry up and get “the goods” in the water. I’ll give you a head massage.” You sighed, letting your body sink back into the water. 

Eddie laughed again, softly, and dipped his foot in the water - testing the temperature so it wouldn’t burn his balls. He slowly sank down, the warm water being a stark contrast to the chilly trailer outside the bathroom. 

“By all means, take your time there.” You chirped, forming a bubble beard while you watched him. Eddie was so pretty in the steamy, honey light. A small sheen of sweat painted his chest, and he couldn’t hold back a giggle when he saw your foamy facial hair. 

“Once I’m balls deep, I’ll be all good. Don’t rush me.”

You snorted, “not the first time I’ve heard that.” 

“Give me like… ten minutes and you might be so lucky, sweetheart.” Eddie winked, finally sitting down fully in the bath with a deep, satisfied groan. The sound shooting down your spine and fuelling the budding ache between your thighs. “I’m a fucking genius for this idea. God.” Another groan faded into a purr. 

“You’ve really outdone yourself. Using my work present for your benefit. What a gentleman.” You sniggered, hiding behind the suds when he lightly kicked your leg. 

“Let me soak in peace, woman.” He grumbled, trying to hide his sleepy smile and failing. 

You watched Eddie quietly and full of adoration. His eyes were closed and his face had relaxed significantly, any harsh lines or fatigue melted away with the steam from the bath. Eddie allowed himself to slide fully into the water, soaking his wild curls and pushing his bangs out of his face. He started working his calloused fingertips into his scalp. You watched, unblinking, as his large brown eyes rolled back into his skull and he sighed. 

Eddie had said he needed ten minutes but you weren’t going to be able to wait that long. 

You wiped away your soap beard. As much as Eddie adored you being a goof with him, you knew when it was time to get serious. Both of you knew where the night was heading, so you may as well speed things up a little. The cosy air and the melodic cries of Meat Loaf were perfect. 

“Eds? C’mere. Said I’d give you a head massage, and I’m a lady of my word.” You stated, giggling as he quickly started to twist himself around, making the porcelain squeak. 

Eddie situated himself between your legs and rested his wet hair on your chest. The bastard even started twiddling his thumbs while he waited for you to start, “I’m ready when you are.” He shot you a bright, toothy smile, swaying a little to really drive home his oh-so-innocent intentions. Eddie was always such a tease. 

You gathered some of the vanilla and peppermint-scented foam and started lightly massaging Eddie’s scalp. Your blunt fingernails slightly scratched him as an added luxury, but mostly because you wanted to make him feel extra special. Eddie’s hair was such an integral part of him. Not only was it for his own self-expression, but he fucking loved when you played with it and pulled it just enough that a shot of pain coursed through him. 

“That good?” You whispered, one of your hands wandering down his chest to caress his spider and demon head tattoos. The spider was your favourite. One time when he had picked up from a party after getting too drunk, you’d named it Edith, and kissed her goodnight. Eddie had damn near melted under you when you did that. You were just too sweet to him sometimes. 

“I’d even go as far to say it’s nice.” Eddie breathed. The feeling of you rubbing his hair and scalp was the greatest high he could ever experience. 

“Oh my god,” you groaned, pretending to be annoyed. “Change your tune and I’ll keep this hand going lower?” You breathed into his ear, your wandering hand now grazing the wispy dark hair on his belly. 

“See, I don’t think you’re gonna stop either way.” Eddie groaned. He started nuzzling his head against your tits, leaving a few small pecks between them. “Promise I’ll make it worth your while later.” He sang. 

“Aw, aren’t you just my best guy.” 

“Would hope that I’m your only guy - oh f-fuck.”

You finally traced your hand down Eddie’s thick cock. He twitched under your touch, your pruned fingertips dancing along the prominent veins on the underside of his shaft. Eddie’s pleased whining and soft panting showed you that he wanted you to wrap a hand around him and drive him crazy. But your goal was lower. 

Your warm hand caressed and massaged his balls as he let out a surprised moan. “God. Harder.” 

The pressure of your hand increased as you rolled his heavy sack in your hand. “You’ve been saving these for me, haven’t you?” you purred, Eddie having shifted to starting mouthing at your hard nipples. “Neglecting your balls when you're jerking off because they’re all for me, yeah?” 

“They need a woman’s touch, what can I say - shit, yeah, don’t stop.” Eddie groaned, almost shouting. Your hand that had been massaging his scalp was now slowly pumping at his cock. All teasing, soft touches - you knew it wasn’t enough for him. Eddie liked to be handled with an intimate roughness that only you could give him. 

Eddie’s large hands were moving everywhere. Massaging your legs, squeezing your arms and running up your neck blindly. The distinct warmth and softness of your body were addictive to him. You were the first person to let him touch you everywhere - no grimacing, no catch. Just encouragement and admiration. Said admiration came in the form of a low moan when Eddie’s fingers caught on a piece of your hair and tugged. 

“Babe, babe. We gotta stop or I’ll blow my load too fast.” Eddie huffed, pushing himself up and back to his original position across from you. He held out his arms wide, gesturing excitedly for you to come to him. 

You really loved how excited he still got when it came to you. In any scenario, he was always happy that it was you. 

Eddie grabbed your ass as you straddled him. Reaching up to bring you into a hungry, wet kiss. His mouth was restless. Lightly chapped lips pressed to yours, teeth nibbling on your bottom lip, tongue massaging yours just enough to drive you crazy - he always drove you crazy. 

The flushed, hard head of Eddie’s cock rubbed against your clit as your hips wiggled in his lap. “Fu-fuck yes.” Eddie groaned, pulling you down on him more. Your warm-up was one of his favourite parts. “You want your cock? You gotta wait, sweetheart. I’ve barely gotten my hands on you yet.”

You whimpered, hips still grinding with more impatience. “But you're all wet and warm.” 

“And now I’ve got to get you like that,” Eddie chuckled with a smirk. “Do me a favour. Get some of the bubbles and play with your pretty tits for me?” 

“You just wanna see soapy boobs.” You quipped, already gathering large handfuls of foam in your palms. The mint and vanilla scent had weakened, but it was still comforting. 

“I do. Now, get to it.” 

Eddie had moved one of his rough hands down to your aching cunt. Pinching your clit between two fingers, and rubbing it with his thumb. 

God, yes. You could feel yourself becoming slick under Eddie’s touch. Your clit slipped under his calloused thumb as your wet hard nipples rolled between your fingers. Both of you released any and all noises that felt right. The needy moans and heavy pants harmonised with the lapping of the bath water. Eddie loved watching you play with your tits for him, applying just the right amount of grip to the soft mounds to make you whimper and hiss. 

Such pretty, sensitive tits were a heaven he wasn’t sure he deserved, so he was going to make sure they were looked after. 

“Someone’s having fun,” Eddie chirped, picking up the pace of his massage to your clit. God, he was evil. How were you going to hold a conversation under this level of pleasure? 

“Woman’s touch, right?” You moaned and ground harder onto his hand, catching the hot tip of his cock at the entrance of your weepy cunt. Eddie whimpered and his smirk melted into a delirious smile. 

The grinding, the moaning and the messy kissing continued for some time. Both of you basked in the intimate little world you had created in the steamy, trailer bathroom. There was nothing but time for relaxation and ecstasy - the night was still young and outside was just so cold, it was too horrible to think about. 

Eddie had started to angle his hips and yours so that the head of his swollen cock prodded your hole. When your movements synced up perfectly, his tip slipped into you - providing a delicious tease. 

Large hands were now groping and spreading your ass cheeks. The occasional short, sharp slap joined in. “Can I fuck you? Please. I know we got time, but I need it.” Eddie panted, his eyes laser-focused on your soapy tits that were in his eye line. “Promise you won’t be walking for the rest of the night. Fuck, rest of the weekend if you let me.” 

Now that was a tempting offer. “If you get to be inside my pussy now, then you won’t be leaving any time soon.” You smirked, playing with his soaking hair and twirling it around your fingers. 

Eddie didn’t respond to you. He lifted your hips up, thumbs massaging your love handles and slammed you back down onto his cock. Your gasp fizzled into mewling as Eddie started moving to grind into your sweet spot. He really wasted no time when it came to making you feel incredible.

“Aw, there she is.” He teased, one hand running up your back to tangle in your hair. “You were getting a little mouthy there. But I’m gonna help you turn that brain off, isn’t that right?” 

“Mhmm, please.” The sensations coursing through your sweating body were exactly what you needed. Big hands tugging lightly on your wet hair, Eddie’s fat cock fucking into your g-spot and his growling breath tickling your chest. You needed to stop thinking for at least a little while. You needed Eddie. 

Eddie needed you - maybe even a bit more than air at that moment. The embrace of your hot, spongey walls always had him reeling. You allowed him to see you in a vulnerable light, and he did the same. It was like a small weight off his shoulders that he hadn’t fully noticed was there. 

“This pussy - my pussy. F-fucking god. Lean back for me, I wanna see you, pretty girl.” Eddie had started to work you on his cock, thrusting slowly and so deep into your cunt. 

You gripped the rim of the bathtub and leaned back, an amazing tension forming in your thighs. “Want - sh-shit - more, Eds.” 

“Fuck yeah, I’ll give you everything, baby.” A thumb started flicking your puffy clit again and Eddie grinned up at you. “Uh-huh? Taking such a big cock so well, like a good girl.” Christ, he was almost too good at speaking absolute filth. 

“Can - can you cum in me? Please. Please, oh my fucking god.” 

The entire image of you on top of him set his blood on fire. Tousled, wet hair. Soap-dripping tits. Heavy-lidded eyes trained on where he was fucking you down onto his cock. You sparked something almost animalistic in him, and now you wanted him to empty his balls inside your cunt. 

Huff. Huff. Groan. Eddie couldn’t find the words to respond to you. So, he fucked you harder, causing desperate pleasure to pulse through both of you. He tugged your head back and began sucking along the column of your throat. 

“Gonna fill up my gorgeous girl. God, your pussy’s gonna be so fucking messy.” Eddie was essentially delirious by that point. The only thoughts in his head were fucking you, cumming in you and suggesting that bath sex became a regular thing. The vanilla-scented stuff had you smelling like some fancy dessert, the poor guy was losing his mind. 

You wanted to be messy. Eddie was pounding into you so well that your mind was calm and blank. The bathroom could be swimming with sudsy water and you wouldn’t even know. 

“Oh fuck, fuck,” you squealed. “Want to be full all night. Need it, Eddie. You need it too. Uh-huh?” 

“That’s right, babe. Always so smart for me.” His voice sounded far away, but in the best way possible. Eddie had a single goal in his sight and the tightness in his balls felt so fucking amazing. 

The way you begged always short-circuited Eddie’s brain. You were so lovely, so amazing. Hearing you say his name in your hoarse, needy tone made his cock twitch violently. 

Your cunt clung to his thick cock, trying to milk him dry and chase your own orgasm. Your release washed over you in a pulse of heat and electricity - momentarily making your body go limp from the euphoria. It didn’t stop. It wouldn’t stop until Eddie did. His cock was splitting you open roughly as he used your sopping hole to cum inside. 

“I’m gonna fucking cum.” He groaned, his jaw hanging slack. “Can you say my name, babe? Tell me who’s gonna fill you up.” 

“Eddie - you, Eds.” A fucked out whimper is all you could manage. But it worked just as well, if not better. 

Eddie came deep inside your slick cunt with a deep scream and a slurred string of curse words. Panting and water lapping were suddenly the only sounds in the green-tiled room. It was a sticky but not unpleasant atmosphere. You loved it. 

You had collapsed onto Eddie’s chest as he ran a weak hand through your hair. “I feel all tingly.” You sighed. 

“Like good or bad? Swear my jizz isn’t radioactive or anything.” Eddie snorted, his voice sounding sleepy. Christ, he was almost too warm, but like hell was he moving from his current position. 

“I meant good tingly, like romantic tingly. Way to ruin the post-sex mood.” You huffed, flicking one of his nipples until he let out a little shriek. 

“Okay, okay, easy there.” Eddie splashed some water up into your face. He was lucky he was so cute. “That was an incredibly romantic start to the night, in my humble opinion.” 

You hummed in agreement as you lifted yourself off of Eddie’s softened cock, settling back to straddling his thighs. Bath or not, you were getting your post-sex cuddles. 

“Want to be full all night. Need it, Eddie.” Eddie whined, mimicking your high-pitched moans as best he could. As much as you hated when he teased you like that, the impression was actually pretty solid. “That’s what you said. That’s love right there.” 

“And I was being entirely honest.” You replied. “Bear my horny little soul to you and look where it gets me? Bullied.” The next few seconds moved by quickly. One second, Eddie was fixing you with an eye roll, and the next he was pouring foamy water over your head. “Dick!” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll blow dry your hair before round 2.” Eddie grinned, moving close to you and pressing a kiss to your now dripping face. 

“I want some of that conditioner stuff you use in your hair too.” Demands would have to be made as a form of repayment after your boyfriend tried to waterboard you. “The one that smells like coconuts.” 

“I’ll braid your hair too, how does that sound?” 

[urbanrelics]

HERMANN DUNCKER HOTEL

This beautifully dilapidated building in the German hills has seen many purposes throughout its existence. It would appear that at one point an effort was made to restore the magnificent builsing to its former glory. Unfortunately (and lucky for us, urban explorers, those works were abandoned aswell...

Due to the wide hills and forests in the area, Schierke became known as a place where one could fully enjoy "healthy air". At a time when spas were becoming popular, it was only a matter of time before the first spa hotels appeared here too.

This particular one, built between 1909 and 1912 in the hamlet of Barenberg, opened its doors as "Villa Waldpark" in 1912. The spa did not have a long life. During the Second World War it was used as a military hospital.

In 1924 the building was expanded with a dining room and after the renovation work was renamed hotel "Barenberger Hof". From then on it was used as a holiday home, or "Erholungsheim".

The building remained in use by successive operators until German unification in 1989. It has been empty since then. A Berlin investment group bought the dilapidated building with the intention of restoring it to its former glory and operating it again as a hotel. So far nothing has come of those plans and the building soon fell prey to vandals and arsonists... Renovation works came to a standstill as quickly as they had started and it looks more and more like that "Villa Waldpark" will not be possible. more will be able to escape the demolition hammer...

[linksystemfailure]

Build a headspace series

A mountainous forest region

images from unsplash, used free canva templates

Name ideas: Woodland/misty/foggy basin, Forgotten Woods, Veiled Woods...

About: A woodland wonderland, hills surrounding a forested basin, various rivers winding down to meet at a central lake. Cabins are scattered about the area, typically connected by accessible pathways, however some remain disconnected. Zip lines and gondolas bring people up and down the mountains, mainly for entertainment. Caves and crevices dig deeply into the mountains.

Climate: Cool, misty most mornings and nights. Snows in the autumn and winter. Rains often throughout the year.

Services: cabins, well-made paths, bathrooms, hot springs, lake ferries, cafes, restaurants, a tavern or two, gondolas, zip lines, white water rafting, kayak hire, library/book swap.

Senses:

Smells of pine or other woods, rotting leaves and wood, coal and wood fires from the cabins. The fresh smell of the earth after rain, moisture from the mist filling your lungs.

Sounds of birds, perhaps woodpeckers (depends on what kind of birds you want here. Bellbirds are a nice one), wind rustling the trees, branches creaking in the wind, the occasional footstep and crunch of leaves or snow. People cutting wood in the distance.

Lighting is not too bright, dark in the deeper parts of the woods. Mist can make seeing difficult, dull lights light the walkways. The sun filters through the treeline.

Blackberries are sweet and tart, earthy mushrooms, the air is crisp as you breath in. Hot drinks of your liking, pine cone candy, hearty soups or stews.

Ground soft beneath the feet, wooden pathways slippery, stay on the safe parts. In winter the wooden walkways are frozen over, fun slides. Tree bark rough against the hands, cold air prickling the skin. River's waters are freezing year round and refreshing.

Aesthetics: dark naturalism, gloomcore cabincore, dark paradise, cryptidcore

Sub-area ideas:

Cafe and book swap

A cozy cafe where you can read and have food and drinks of your choosing. There may be several of these in the area, or just the one, depending on the size. There's a good hangout spaces for quieter people wanting to get out of the house.

Central lake

The lake in the center of the region. May be dotted with cabins, with a ferry across. Surrounded by woods. In full winter lake may freeze over enough to skate on. Perhaps in the depths of the lake, underwater species could make their home. Plenty of nice picnic spots.

Hot springs spa

A great place to relax, natural hot springs outside along with indoor private ones for those who want it. Sauna rooms and massage rooms also a good idea, with a place to get something to eat and drink as well. All sort of aromatherapy items and soaps are available.

[virgo-mess]

The Birds and the Bees

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Chapter List

1.Alexithymia- The Inability to Express your Feelings Parts 1 and 2

2.The Woes of Adolescence/ What the heck Happened that Summer Parts 1 and 2

3.Caught in a Summer Storm/ What the heck Happened that Christmas.

4.Summer Bluffs? Part 1

5.Disco, Strippers, and Margaritassss Part 2

6.Sleepless in a Hotel Suite Part 3

7.Shades of Pink

8.The Things I’ve Dreamed Part 1

9.Renewal Part 2

🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝

TW: None really just two angsty pretty people that can't communicate, flirting, with a little fluff ....ENJOY!

Alexithymia- The Inability to Express Your Feelings Part 1

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“For adults, summer was different- flatter, the way everything became flatter when you grew old, like the hills you once sledded and stood on your pedals to climb, like the Christmases and birthdays you once anticipated, even after you discovered they disappointed, again and again, until you became numb to their disappointment.”- Dana Cann

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Shay’s Pov

Shay hummed softly to the radio while she inhaled the salty scent of the New England coast, she watched the deep blue of Plymouth Harbor flit past her car windows for the first time in two years. The ocean and their pretty beaches were one of the things she missed the most about coming back to her hometown of Plymouth Massachusetts, at least when they weren’t hidden under a thick blanket of winter snow. Winter was usually the only time of year Shay could afford to slip away from her job as Vice President of an investment banking firm on Wall Steet and make the nearly four-hour drive back home. She had moved to New York what felt like a lifetime ago to attend school at NYU but in reality, it was only seven years. She had only intended on majoring in marketing, but the allure of upper-class New York City living was too strong. Shay ended up toughing college life out for one more year to earn an MBA and before she knew it, she was calling NYC home and worked her way up the investment banking chain. The hours of being a VP of investment banking were grueling, but the pay was good with extra perks like end of the year bonuses and paid time off, but Shay had come to find the life of a workaholic was also incredibly lonely. The only reason she was even able to swing this trip home was because her boss, Harold Weber, had suggested she take a sabbatical after having a mild mental breakdown in front of a few clients a couple of weeks ago. A breakdown that landed her in the back of an ambulance. Needless to say, Shay jumped at the opportunity to expand her horizons for a few months and oddly enough home seemed like the best place to do it.

So, here Shay was back in her hometown about to meet up with some of her oldest childhood friends, her breakdown had conveniently lined up well with some major life events. Her best friends Daisy and Pete were getting married in a few weeks, and Shay was sweetly bestowed the title of Maid of Honor. Daisy had gone all out and had showed up at Shay’s New York loft to hand deliver the biggest bouquet of flowers and spa basket Shay had ever seen about three months ago. How could Shay say no after such a grand gesture? Truthfully, she would’ve accepted if Daisy had just shown up with a cupcake and a big hug it had been so long since she had gotten one of those. Shay turned her forest green Audi R8 into the 1620 Wine Bar parking lot at exactly 12 o’clock for her scheduled lunch date with Daisy Martin, soon to be Daisy Foster. They were meeting to not only catch up but to also put together some of the last-minute touches on the wedding Shay had promised she’d help her with as soon as she got the time. Luckily for them both, Shay seemingly had all the time in the world now after this sabbatical she wasn’t sure if she was going to stay in the world of investment banking or New York in general.

Shay sighed stepping out of her car and taking in the warm summer rays as she made her way up to the small wine bar at a leisurely pace. She only made one stop the entire four hour drive up and that was to put actual clothes on, so she didn’t show up to a fancy wine bar in a pair of skimpy pajamas with a set of hair rollers in her hair. Instead, she opted for a simple mint green floral mini sundress and a matching cardigan that matched her misty green eyes. She even took the time to apply some make up and the hair rollers helped her achieve her routine picture perfect 90s blowout in a sketchy gas station bathroom. Shay looked at her reflection in the glass for a moment before pushing the heavy door open and walking into the dim wine bar with an awed expression on her face. Soft jazz music lulled through the overhead speakers as Shay’s green eyes took in the antique furnishings, beautiful stone walls, and gilded ceilings.

“Welcome to Sips at 1620, do you have a reservation?” a girl’s voice came from behind the hostess stand pulling Shay out of her thoughts with a polite smile on her face. She couldn’t help but feel a bit underdressed and fidgeted with the hem of her sundress as she took the last few steps up to the hostess stand.

“Yeah, it should be under Daisy” Shay said feeling a bit out of place in such a pretty place despite how polite the hostess was being to her. She wondered why Daisy picked such a romantic looking establishment, it seemed more suited for a date night than to just be planning parts of your wedding with a childhood friend but perhaps they weren’t going to be alone, and Daisy was looking to make a good impression.

“Looks like you’re the first one here, do you have a seating preference we have our main room off to your left here or our patio overlooking the harbor is just through doors.” The hostess said with a knowing look in her eyes as she watched Shay fidget with the hem of her dress again.

“The patio sounds perfect” Shay admitted letting out a faint sigh of relief. She could push her suspicious train of thought to the back of her mind for a little while and worry about surprise guests later, for now all she really needed was a glass of wine.

“Good choice, I know it can be a little intimidating in here, but I promise we aren’t nearly that fancy you’re not underdressed. You can go out and have a seat wherever you want, I’ll send someone out to bring you refreshments while you wait.” She said with the same knowing look in her eyes and a soft smile. Shay let out a soft, embarrassed sounding giggle and wondered how some people were able to get a read on her so easily.

“Thanks, could you make the first refreshment a glass of sangria please” Shay asked with a sheepish smile on her face, the host chuckled nodding her head as she began to shuffle out from behind the desk.

“Sure, thing hon, I’ll be with you in just one second sir.” The hostess said giving her one last smile before disappearing through a back door. Shay took one last look around the bar to get a closer look at some of the pretty furnishings before heading towards the patio doors and stepping out into the warm late June sunshine. The patio was empty but had a much more relaxed feel to it than the main room. The tables were covered with black and white striped umbrellas and the chairs were a pleasing assortment of cushioned patio loveseats and cute wicker chairs with brightly colored pillows. Shay all but skipped to one of the tables closest to the rippling blue of Plymouth harbor, she sat her purse down and quickly discarded her cardigan before taking a seat on one of the comfortable loveseats. Her green eyes fixate on the crashing waves and a loved-up couple in the distance, the faint lull of soft music could still be heard floating through the balmy air. Only instead of smooth jazz, the soft notes of a dreamy sounding indie pop song graced Shay’s ears. She couldn’t help but get dewy-eyed as a small wistful type of smile made its way across her face because the music and the couple on the beach reminded her of the happy summers of her girlhood. Most of which were spent with the boy next door, her first crush, and also her best friend before she and Daisy got really close.

“Hey gorgeous, what are you doing over here by yourself?” a deep, flirtatious voice asked, Shay jumped slightly in surprise halting her daydreaming to focus on the tall man standing in front of her table with a flirty smile on his face. Shay blushed under his gaze as she let her eyes trail over the man’s tall, muscled body for a bit longer than socially acceptable. He’s dressed in a pair of dark fitted jeans, a white button down that gave her a very teasing display of his muscled chest, and a dark blue blazer. Cropped gray hair sits atop his head and a pair of dark sunglasses shield his eyes from Shay’s view but even with the sunglasses on she can tell he’s incredibly handsome in a mysterious, brooding type of way. Something about the man feels remarkably familiar to her but she can’t quite pinpoint what it is.

“I’m um, waiting for my friend and my glass of sangria” Shay said awkwardly letting her eyes sweep the patio to find it still completely empty save for her and the mysterious man wearing sunglasses in front of her that almost seemed to appear out of thin air. The man let out a soft chuckle under his breath that somehow had Shay’s stomach doing flips and her eyes giving him another quick once over because she swears, she’s heard that chuckle before.

“Sorry I startled you; would you mind if I keep you company while you wait pretty lady?” he asked in the same deep coquettish tone, Shay felt her cheeks flush a darker shade of pink as she gazed up at him for a long time. She couldn’t see his eyes but part of her knew he was gazing right back at her in a way that made her feel like he was undressing her and staring into her soul at the same time in a sensual, tantalizing sort of way.

“You’ve complimented me twice in under a minute that can’t be good, have a seat Casanova” Shay said coyly motioning to the two other chairs around the table. Mystery man let out another soft chuckle before plopping in the empty spot next to Shay on the patio chair close enough for his large thigh to ghost hers in the most teasing way. He flashed her another flirty smile as he propped an arm on the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. Shay rolled her eyes and let out a soft giggle of her own as she teasingly mirrored his action, placing her chin in the palm of her hand as she flashed him a coy smile before deciding to break the brief silence the pair of them had seemingly fallen into.

“Have we met before Mr…?” Shay trailed raising an eyebrow at him expectantly as her eyes continued to try and pinpoint why on earth, he felt so familiar yet oh so different at the same time. She watched him bite down on his lip like he was trying to bite back another chuckle. She concluded that the sunglasses were what was throwing off whatever picture she had of him in her head.

“Right or Perfect for you, whichever you prefer darling. You know I think we have met, in my dreams…” his tone had a playful edge to it this time and Shay could see one of his eyebrows peek up at her from behind his glasses, mirroring her expression with a teasing grin. Shay giggled, shaking her head as she felt the familiar fluttering of butterflies in her stomach.

“Yeah, okay Casanova. Let me guess, you’re in town for that big rodeo happening down at the fairgrounds and you need some ‘eye-candy’ in your cheering section…” Shay said with a coy smile on her face at her artfully subtle tack of asking the silver haired mystery what he’d be getting up to while he was in town. It’d been ages since Shay actually let loose and entertained a random guy that had the guts to brazenly flirt with her like this but part of her felt like the guy sitting next to her wasn’t just a random guy and that she’d known him her whole life. There was only one other guy Shay had felt such a thing for, someone she knew a lifetime ago back in those carefree days of her youth…

“I’m no cowboy, doll but you aren’t too far off about me wanting some eye candy and luckily I just happened to stumble upon the prettiest girl in Plymouth.” He all but purred, reaching out to brush his thumb against her flushed cheek affectionately, too affectionately for a supposed stranger… Shay eyed him suspiciously but couldn’t find it in her to pull away from him because everything about him had her utterly transfixed and once again feeling oddly homesick, homesick for a person rather than a place.

“Let me guess, you’re in town for that over-the-top Foster wedding, aren’t you blondie?” he crooned in a teasing tone. His long fingers left Shay’s flushed cheek to toy with a lock of her blonde hair and Shay found herself biting down on her lip to prevent a displeased whine from escaping her throat at the loss of contact. Familiar waves of conflicting feelings coursed through her veins as she gazed over at him with the same coy smile on her face.

“That obvious huh, seems a bit unfair that you know what I’m doing here when you still haven’t told me your name or what you’re doing here. To think I let you sit at my table with me and everything.” Shay said letting out an exaggerated sigh and ditching her coy smile for a playful, mock pout of sadness. He chuckled shaking his head to himself for a moment before settling his shield gaze back on her with a teasing smirk on his face.

“Oh, I’m just here looking for my soulmate maybe you’ve seen her. She’s wearing a cute little green dress that matches her eyes and has an adorable albeit, fake pout on her pretty face right now” he said in a teasing tone, still twirling a lock of her blonde hair on his long finger. Shay rolled her eyes playfully and found herself biting back a giggle.

“Do you use that line on everyone, Casanova?” Shay said nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow at him as she rested her chin back in the palm of her hand, she silently wished she could take his sunglasses off not just because she wanted to see who was behind them but more so to getting a better feel for what he was thinking. Interpreting his thoughts and expressions based on eyebrows alone was getting tedious.

“No, just a cute little blonde with pretty green eyes and an adorable button nose who also happens to be my soulmate. Haven’t you been listening?” he said in a low borderline seductive tone as he bit down on his lip and gave her a teasing bop on the tip of her nose with one of the long fingers that had just been toying with her hair. Shay didn’t resist the urge to giggle this time, finding the action mildly ridiculous but strangely adorable all the same. Her giggles took a second to die down but when they did, she found herself analyzing his face again.

“She’s got a cute laugh too…why are you staring at me like that ch…blondie?” he all but cooed, dragging a finger down her thigh delicately, staring at her in a way that implied he was searching her eyes for something. Shay tensed a bit at both the action and the intensity of his shielded gaze as she felt an unexpected wave of arousal creep up on her.

“You remind me of someone…” Shay breathed out tearing her eyes off the man for the first time since he had magically appeared in front of her table a mere twenty minutes ago because it finally dawned on her to dig through her purse for her cell phone. She doubted it was a coincidence he showed up at the exact time Daisy was supposed to be meeting her here. No, Daisy Martin was playing matchmaker again and she was in for an earful when she finally decided to grace her and mystery man with her presence.

“A good someone I hope, tall, handsome, pretty blue eyes, might be a cop, could’ve got suspended for beating up a dirtbag named Tyler in a hotel lobby in New York…” he trailed nonchalantly.

“Huh” Shay said though she wasn’t really listening to what he was saying as she unlocked her phone to see about ten text messages from Daisy.

“…Nothing, what’s your favorite flower?” he asked in the same nonchalant tone, pointedly running his fingers up Shay’s thigh again in a teasing matter to get her attention. Shay sighed, pausing her skim through Daisy’s messages to arch her brow at him again though this time it was in a snarkier manner than the previous ones she raised at him. He smiled over at her almost seeming sheepish under her gaze for the first time in the last twenty minutes or so.

“Why does that matter, you gonna buy me some Casanova?” Shay sighed, forcing a tight smile on her face before glancing back down at her phone to read the first few messages her meddlesome friend Daisy had sent her. Apparently, Pete had convinced Daisy to go up to Boston with him early this morning to take a look at some incredibly last-minute ideas for their reception décor, they hit a ton of unexpected traffic on their way back down but would be here at 12:40 by the latest.

“I don’t know maybe, women like that stuff you know, and I bet a favorite flower says a lot about a person. Looking at your phone when someone is trying to talk to you is rude blondie…” he said letting out an exasperated sigh before placing a long finger under her chin, urging her to look at him with a teasing grin plastered on his face. Shay scoffed, narrowing her misty green eyes at him.

“Well, if we’re really soulmates shouldn’t you be able to guess what my favorite flower is. Pretty sure I read that in the soulmate handbook, I can fact check that for you on my phone if you want…” Shay said coyly. Looking past him, she finally spotted a glimpse of Daisy’s black curls in the afternoon sun coming  out of the  patio doors with a disheveled looking Pete Foster in toe. “Sure… stuck in traffic…” Shay said sarcastically under her breath as she watched Daisy try to discreetly readjust her denim skirt.

“You don’t have to do that; I already know the answer is cherry blossoms Shay” he chuckled. Shay sharply settled her green eyes back on the not so mysterious man’s amused-looking smirk at the sound of her name and her childhood nickname coming out of his mouth in the same sentence. There was only one person that ever actually used that nickname for her on a regular basis, he had dark curls and a pair of carefree, captivating blue eyes.

“CASHTON MICHAEL EWING!” Shay all but snarled, reaching up to aggressively tear his obnoxious sunglasses off his face and carelessly tossed them down on the patio harder than necessary. Cash let out a deep annoyed sounding sigh as he watched the glasses clatter and skid against the stained wood with an audible smack.

“I just bought those, that was rude Cherry Blossom, bad girl” Cash chided her though his amused smirk and spread into a full grin as he teasingly bopped her on the tip of her nose with his finger again. Shay scowled at him through her lashes and swatted at his shoulder as hard as she could before finally scooting away from him. Shay crossed her arms over her chest and tried to process everything that happened between them in the last twenty minutes.

“You haven’t seen me in almost seven years, I was hoping to get a warmer greeting especially from you, Cherry Blossom. You’re not being very neighborly, you know.” Cash sighed with an unreadable emotion swirling in his eyes. Shay let out a sigh of her own but refused to meet his gaze even though he was in fact the person she’d been thinking of in the back of her mind this entire time. The someone she had known her whole life, the someone she was feeling homesick for. Cashton Michael “Cash” Ewing was Shay’s neighbor, the first friend she made when her parents moved into the Manomet neighborhood and her first crush though looking back on it now, it was more than just a crush. From the ages of four to fourteen Shay and Cash were basically inseparable, they did everything together back then and Shay had so many happy memories of those years. The innocent years, the ones before the dreads of awkward adolescence crept in on them both and set them down different paths to live separate lives that no longer involved the other.

“Well, we haven’t been neighbors in like eight years Cash… I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you with the hair…it’s looks great though really suits you, brings out your eyes” Shay tacked on awkwardly finally meeting his gaze with a timid look in her eyes. Cash gave her a half smile in response though there seemed to be a million thoughts running through his head as he gazed back at her with almost affectionate eyes. Shay was sure she was misreading the look in his eyes though; she felt the all too familiar bundle of conflicting emotions  Cashton Ewing often brought upon her were still coursing through every fiber of her being.

“You don’t have to apologize Cherry Blossom it’s not your fault, I figured Daisy didn’t tell you I was coming when you checked in with the hostess. I’m just surprised and only mildly offended it took you so long to piece it together” he said lightheartedly though his blue eyes were sincere as they stared back into her green ones for what felt like an eternity. Gazes like this always had Shay’s mind flooding with happy memories from those early years of their friendship but then she’d remember all the more dreadful, angst filled memories of her adolescence and somehow some way, Cash Ewing was at the center of them all. She could remember all the summers their families spent together down in Cape Cod and all the days she and Cash spent running up and down the beaches, the day trips up to Boston during Christmas, stargazing in her backyard, eating ice cream every Tuesday at the parlor downtown, and movie nights with pizza in Cash’s basement. The Cash in those memories was like the one sitting beside her, gazing at her with sincere blue eyes yet something about him still felt so foreign. In the early days they told each other everything and sought comfort in each other when one of them was upset or cried. Shay missed the way things used to be between them before she knew the depth of the feelings she had for her then best friend. Shay knew the distance between them was her fault, they say girls mature faster than boys and that was definitely the case for her and Cash. She still remembered the summer, everything changed though sometimes she really wished she could forget it.

“Shay… are you okay?” Cash asked, pulling Shay out of her moment of reminiscing by running his thumb along her still rosy cheek almost tenderly. Shay nodded her head in acknowledgement without even thinking about it, a habit she picked up that summer between middle school and high school. The summer she no longer felt comfortable letting Cash Ewing know every thought and feeling she ever had because the weight of her feelings and the heartbreak that came with having a crush on her best friend were too embarrassing to admit.

“I’m fine” Shay replied softly, not really knowing what else to say to him because she still felt mostly confused by his charade of choice. Shay knew she should be used to Cash giving her a hard time by now but given her still ever-present feelings for the doofus she can’t help but feel hurt by it. Cash and Pete had been routinely teasing her since they were Sophomores in high school. Shay always assumed it was just because she spent most of her time with Daisy after she pointedly distanced herself from Cash that sour summer, but she didn’t know why he bothered to keep it up after all this time.

“Good, I thought I lost you again” Cash said, flashing her an almost sheepish grin as his finger trailed the length of her thigh again. Shay gave him a weary look before gently pushing his hand off her leg and rising to her feet to greet Pete and Daisy, clad in their matching pastel pink polo shirts and denim bottoms like a couple out of a magazine spread.

“Hey guys, you’re a little late don’t you think” Shay said giving Daisy a pointed yet playful look as she pulled her into a hug. Daisy rolled her eyes but hugged her back, nonetheless before pulling away with an unmistakable impish glint in her brown eyes.

“Didn’t you get my text messages, Pete insisted on driving on up to Boston at the crack of dawn like a deranged rooster because we simply have to have this over-the-top archway at the end the isle. Long story short we’re already way over budget so this fanciful archway ain’t happenin’.” Daisy said giving Pete a pointed look of her own, Pete let out an exasperated sigh before pulling Cash into a brief half hug.

“Yeah, I did get your text messages and you failed to tell me Cash was gonna be joining us for lunch in all ten of them Daisy Martin. Also, don’t think I didn’t see you readjusting your skirt on your way out the door over there, stuck in traffic huh.” Shay said in a hushed tone, Daisy blushed giving Shay a sheepish smile.

“I could’ve sworn I told you that, what’s it matter anyway? You two sure looked nice and cozy together from what I saw. Love is definitely in the air” Daisy said wiggling her dark eyebrows suggestively. Shay let out a sad sounding sigh and gave Daisy a weary look.

“What you saw was Cash toying with me like always. Made a whole show of flirting with me because I didn’t recognize him right away. I’m sure it meant nothing…it never does” Shay said quietly, Daisy’s brown eyes softened a bit, and she reached over to place a comforting hand on Shay’s shoulder the same way she’d been doing since they were kids.

“Shay, you don’t know that alright. I think Cash just has a hard time flirting with you as himself, you can come off a little cold towards him sometimes you know. That doesn’t mean he isn’t being genuine, maybe you make him as nervous as he makes you. You two should really talk…” Daisy trailed; her tone implied that she knew something Shay didn’t, but Shay was already feeling too vulnerable for her comfort level.

“Cashton Micheal can’t have an honest conversation to save his life, Daisy even you know that. Let’s just eat alright, I’m starving, and the hostess forgot to bring me a glass of sangria” Shay said in a lighthearted tone, but sadness was swirling in her green eyes even as she glanced over at Cash and Pete who were having a hushed conversation of their own. Shay could still recall the last two serious conversations she and Cash Ewing had on the last Christmas Cash had come home for and the one on Thanskgiving seven years ago. A conversation that landed her in tears on a train to Cleveland, she was headed back to reassemble the shambles of her first traumatic break up with her ex-boyfriend, Tyler. The second break up happened a mere two years ago but Shay knew their relationship was over the first time around. She just didn't want to be alone...

“Okay, are these yours?” Daisy asked, grabbing Shay’s attention she held up Cash’s battered looking sunglasses with a raised eyebrow. Shay bit her lip to stifle a chuckle as Cash grumpily walked over and took the sunglasses out of Daisy’s hand. The annoyed look in his blue eyes as he looked over the scuffed lenses left Shay feeling oddly satisfied.

“No these are mine, Shaylee Rose thought she’d try her hand at being Walter Johnson before you got here. You owe me a new pair, Cherry Blossom, I know you can afford it, I saw you pull up in that fancy green Audi” Cash smirked with an all too familiar mischievous glint in his ocean blue eyes as he glanced at a surely grinning Pete behind her. Shay rolled her eyes and mentally prepared herself for Cash Ewing and Pete Fosters routine teasing session to begin.

“It was awful nice of you to take a break from your upper Manhattan circle and spend some time with us poor people, Shay. After you ditched us these last two Christmases, I was beginning to think you turned into Scrooge on us.” Pete chuckled, reaching over to pinch Shay’s cheek playfully. Shay scowled and let out an annoyed sounding sigh as she plopped down on one of the wicker patio chairs instead of the loveseat Cash weaponized to entice and torment her just for fun as it would seem.

“You didn’t come home for two whole years, and you couldn’t even come see me an hour car ride over in Jersey City, Cherry Blossom. I’m not too sure she hasn’t turned into a Scrooge after all Petey. That’s not your spot, Shaylee.” Cash said pointedly, sitting back down on the loveseat with a raised eyebrow. Shay stared back at Cash blankly watching his large hand patting the spot next to him almost…seductively. Shay felt her cheeks flush despite her growing annoyance towards him and his cocky attitude at the moment. She knew Cash moved a few years back, but she never realized he had only been a half hour drive from her on a good traffic day.

“Doors work both ways Cashy, I didn’t know you moved to Jersey City but if you wanted to visit me all you had to do was show up Daisy does it all the time.” Shay said flatly, pointedly ignoring his adamant ‘pleas’ for her to sit by him even though part of her wanted to more than anything. She was sure his insistence was just part of whatever this playful act of flirting with her was, she wouldn’t allow herself to fall for it this time.

“Well, I figured if you wanted anything to do with me you would’ve at least answered one of the letters I sent you. Now get out of Pete’s seat.” Cash said, matching her flat tone with a serious expression on his face. Shay furrowed her brows at his words, she hadn’t gotten a letter from Cash since her sophomore year at NYU. She’d received it shortly after that sad Thanksgiving at his mom’s house but at the time she’d been trying her hardest to forget about that day all together. So, she just never answered it with the vague after thought she’d just talk to Cash about it at Christmas if he ever brought it up. Of course, that was because Shay didn’t know Cash had no intention of ever coming back home for a holiday again…

“Pete can sit by you, what letters are talking about?” Shay asked in a gentle but serious tone as her green eyes searched his blue ones for an answer. Cash sighed and shifted uncomfortably under her gaze for the first-time since he walked up to her table which took Shay a bit by surprise. She could count the number of times Cashton Ewing had ever looked this vulnerable on one hand and most of those times were back when his abusive, alcoholic father, Huck Ewing was around. Seeing him like this had forgotten memories of a battered Cash crawling through her window with tears streaming down his face and Shay couldn’t help the twinge of guilt that came along with them. Shay wasn’t sure how her brain ever let her forget the way they used to cling and hold each other back then. Or why neither of their parents seemed to care Cash and her slept and cuddled in the same bed every night until they were fourteen, innocently of course, but Shay can’t recall them ever being supervised. Shay glanced over at Daisy and Pete who were looking between her and Cash like they were watching a daytime soap opera.

“Pete doesn’t want to sit by me, do you Pete?” Cash asked him sharply, taking a turn at ignoring part of Shay’s words this time. Shay sighed feeling some of her guilt subside to make way for her growing annoyance towards Cash once again.

“Nope, I’d very much like to sit by my future wife Shay, so, mosey on over there by your silver fox why don’t ya” Pete replied almost instantly, almost as if he and Cash had rehearsed it beforehand. Shay felt another blush sweep across her cheeks as she looked at the two feeling equal amounts annoyed, suspicious, and embarrassed that Cash had told him about her complimenting his hair.

“No can-do Pete, Daisy and I are planning for the wedding and the bachelor parties. I know Cashton is insufferable, annoying, and obnoxious but do you think you can manage sitting next to your best friend just for today?” Shay asked in an overly sweet tone. She stared up at Pete and batted her eyelashes while a trace of a smirk made its way onto her face at the annoyed look, she could see Cash making out of the corner of her eye. Pete looked like a deer in headlights, his brown eyes darted between Shay and Cash before settling on an amused looking Daisy.

“You didn’t find me that insufferable when you thought I was a total stranger Shaylee Rose. In fact, it looked like you were contemplating letting me get you out of that cute little dress before they got here, and all I had to do was touch your thigh.” Cash said with a coquettish smile plastered on his face. He barely even had to move from his planted spot on the loveseat to trail a pointedly teasing finger up Shay’s leg because his arms were just that long. Shay felt her whole face flush a bright shade of red as she swatted Cash’s hand away from her sharply despite the wave of arousal she felt radiate throughout her body.

“Don’t flatter yourself Cashton and mow I know better than to let someone sit at my table so, trust me it won’t happen again” Shay replied with a scowl on her face, Cash’s coquettish smile didn’t falter, and he opened his mouth to say something snarky back to her, but Daisy cut him off.

“Okay let’s pause the bickering like an old married couple just for a second here…” Daisy said clearing her throat awkwardly though her brown eyes looked very much amused as they looked between them. Shay narrowed her eyes at her comparison of choice but managed to not snap back at her even though she could feel Cash tugging on a few of her curls teasingly.

“Actually Shay, I think it would be easier to talk about things if you sat across from me so, you and Pete should switch. Cash will behave himself, won’t you Cash” Daisy said sharply, Shay heard Cash let out an annoyed sigh and his pestering pulls on hair stop immediately.

“Sure, I’ll behave myself but only if you do darling” Cash said, reaching over to bop Shay on the nose with the same coquettish smile on his face. Shay narrowed her eyes and looked between him and Daisy with an obvious pout on her face.

“Daisy, I don’t think that’s necessary…” Shay said through gritted teeth, Daisy batted her eyelashes innocently, but Shay didn’t miss the impish glint swirling in her eyes. Shay had a sinking suspicion her original train of thought had been correct; Daisy Martin was playing matchmaker and for whatever reason she’d decided Shay and Cash were going to be the new couple that emerged from her wedding party.

“Shay it’s just for lunch” Daisy said reassuringly but it did absolutely nothing to soothe the influx of conflicting thoughts and emotions running through Shay right now. Part of her wanted something to happen between her and Cash and yet part of her didn’t. Part of her wanted to believe Cash was being sincere and that his flirting wasn’t just him toying with her but part of her still felt like it was and ultimately, she’d be the one hurt in the end because she always was…

“Daisy…” Shay said looking at her with pathetic and pleading green eyes that seemed to be having Daisy rethinking something at least. Cash let out a dissatisfied sounding grunt and Shay felt him wrap his arm around her waist firmly enough that she couldn’t wiggle free.

“You heard her, Cherry Blossom, come on now, be a good girl and sit with me, please…I won’t bite you without your permission” Cash said, his tone was more playful than anything this time, but Shay couldn’t help but still feel annoyed with him and everyone really. She made sure to shoot every one of her friends with a menacing glare before she begrudgingly let Cash guide her into the spot next to him with one strong arm.

The minutes ticked by with a long-awaited waiter finally coming out to take their order. He returned sometime later with a pitcher full of sangria and a heartfelt apology for Shay never getting her glass. Shay was mildly aware the waiter was flirting with her at some point during said apology, but free wine is free wine, and she wasn’t about to let it go to waste. Cash had mostly stayed true to his promise to behave by the time the appetizers came out and Shay and Daisy had finally got around to discussing plans for the bachelor party. Shay noticed that Cash seemed to become increasingly grumpy every time, said waiter emerged from the wine bar but she chalked it up to him being annoyed he couldn’t pester her the way he really wanted to.

“Instead of doing separate parties for bachelor parties we could do one big, combined party and pick a fun theme” Shay said, trying her best to ignore the way Cash resumed twirling a lock of her hair. She could see him staring at her intently out of the corner of her eye but kept her gaze trained on Daisy. Daisy nodded her head and pondered the idea with a smile on her face.

“That could be fun everyone could dress up, what do you guys think?” Daisy said animatedly, looking over at Pete with hopeful eyes. Pete nodded his head in agreement because his mouth was full of spinach and artichoke dip at the moment.

“Depends what theme Shay thinks up in this pretty head of hers. I for one don’t fancy dressing up and I know a lot of the guys feel the same way” Cash shrugged nonchalantly. Shay rolled her eyes because you could always leave it up to Cashton Ewing to be a party pooper for the sake of being the cool tough guy. Shay hadn’t seen him dress up for anything other than a school dance since they were kids and of course he wasn’t dressing to impress her. Shay took a long swig of her glass of sangria as names of Cash’s past connections flashed in her head in big angry letters.

“Then I guess you won’t be coming to the party, how sad” Shay said dryly though her gaze was still fixated on a now uncomfortable looking Daisy. Cash didn’t reply but his finger halted twirling her strand of hair and his ocean blue eyes bore into the side of her face for a long moment.

“Well, I’m sure it’s okay if not everyone dresses up…it’ll still be fun” Daisy said, Shay shook her head just as their waiter reemerged from the bar with a tray full of their food.

“Nope, I’m putting it on the invite dressing up is required if people don’t want to dress up, they’re welcome not to but then they aren’t coming. They can stay in their suites and pout, I’m sure they’ll find someone to keep them company and warm their bed…” Shay shrugged, she felt Cash’s hand fall from her hair and another dissatisfied grunt escape his lips.

“Or we could just have separate parties like traditional people. The guys can do what they want to do, and you girls can play dress up and throw your party like you want to do. Then everyone wins because like I said a lot of the guys share my stance, right Pete?” Cash said, Pete once again looked like a deer in the headlights and didn’t seem to want to pick a side for once. His brown eyes grew wide as saucers and pleaded with Daisy to rescue him.

“Oh, please believe it or not, not everyone is a party pooper like you. Some people enjoy having fun and even if they don’t the party isn’t about them. I think you can afford to not be selfish for once and go to a party, smile pretty, and dress up for your best friend Cashton Michael. You can take Pete to the strip club on a different night, can’t you?” Shay said coolly, finally turning to meet his gaze with harsh green eyes. Cash’s face hardened into a glare and his blue eyes turned icy as they met hers in a way that oddly enough had her stomach doing flips again.

“Who said anything about a strip club, I just don’t want to dress up in a stupid costume for a party you just started planning five minutes ago and Pete already knows I don’t like dressing up. And why do you keep saying ‘your best friend’ like that when you’re the one who decided you didn’t want that title anymore, I didn’t take it from you. So, I’m really failing to see how you think I’m the one being selfish here Shaylee Rose, what about you” Cash said sharply, Shay stared at him blankly for a minute before rolling her eyes.

“What about me Cashton when have you ever done anything for me or anyone for that matter just to make them happy, huh? Because last I checked I was always the one bending over backwards to make you happy in our friendship and I just couldn’t do it anymore, sorry. I bet if Opal May, Winnifred, or any number of your girlfriends from Boston wanted you to dress up for their party you’d do it in a heartbeat, wouldn’t you” Shay said dryly, gulping the rest of her wine before angrily pouring herself another heaping glass. Cash stared at her with disbelief swirling in his blue eyes, he opened and closed his mouth several times appearing to finally be at a loss for words. “Yeah, that’s what I thought” Shay muttered taking another long swig of her fruity beverage.

“I don’t know what Opal May has to do with any of this…Is that why you planned a whole trip to Cancun for spring break and didn’t invite me because you think I’m selfish and prioritize other people over you…Are you talking about what happened at Thanksgiving with Winnifred because…” Cash asked her in a soft, careful tone with an unreadable expression swirling in his eyes. Shay pursed her lips and took another small sip of wine as she focused her seething gaze on the waves crashing on the shore in the distance.

“I didn’t invite you because I didn’t think you’d detach yourself from dear old Winnie long enough to get on a plane. Besides she shot down the idea about sunny vacation after she whisked you away to help your mom in the kitchen said something about redheads and the sun being mortal enemies or something… Where is Winnie anyway, not enough glory being the plus one to a small-town wedding?” Shay grumbled; she heard Cash let out a frustrated sounding sigh behind her, but she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze as unwanted flashbacks from that Thanksgiving trampled her brain. A thick layer of silence fell over their table with a level of awkwardness that matched the one that loomed over them the last holiday the four of them had spent together. That Thanksgiving was the first holiday and last, to Shay’s knowledge, that Cash had brought one of his girlfriends home only he seemed to fail to tell everyone about her including his mother. Everyone was shocked when a redheaded Winnifred Howards popped up out of seemingly nowhere, at least that’s what Daisy told Shay after she’d already gone back to Tyler and New York. Shay wasn’t stupid, she knew when nothing came of her seemingly unrequited crush on him in high school the day would eventually come that Cash showed up with someone better than her in every way on his arm. She had just hoped it would happen at the point in time when she was finally able to put her feelings for Cashton Ewing to rest. All her efforts to do so over the years had failed and Thanksgiving had been Shay’s biggest failure to date.

“Well gee, I guess I see where I fall on your friend roster Shay. You didn’t know I moved less than an hour from you and you apparently didn’t know Winnie and I haven’t seen each other since that Thanksgiving seven years ago either. You can say we broke up I guess but I’d hardly even call her my girlfriend, I just…” Cash trailed, his tone was low and serious but somehow had Shay’s annoyance and anger flaring tenfold. In her eyes Cash put her at the bottom of his friend pool long before she ever put him at hers, sure she distanced herself emotionally that sour summer but after that they still saw each other every day. They still talked regularly, which can only be expected when both of their other friends were dating each other. The emotional distance was more a necessity to protect what was left of her pride because she’d been stupid enough to fall for her best friend, the most desirable boy at their school. She’d also had been stupid enough to let herself believe that there might be something between them on far too many occasions for her liking. The last of which was that heavy conversation on Thanksgiving they had in his bedroom, which seemed more like a confessional more than anything to Shay now. Whatever hope of requited love she had during that conversation walked right out the door when an overtly perky redhead came in and insisted Cash help her and his mom in the kitchen. No amount of Cash pleading with Winnie to give them a few more minutes could ever make that level of heartbreak go away. It was a level that surpassed the angsty melodramatic one she felt most of that lonely summer with her aunt in LA but still it wasn’t quite as gut wrenching as walking into Tyler’s hotel suite in Cleveland later that evening.

Shay felt her green eyes well up with bitter, vulnerable tears before she finally turned her gaze back to Cash. Cash gazed back at her with intense, melancholy looking blue eyes that seemed to be searching hers for something. You could cut through the growing tension between the two with a knife as another awkward type of silence overtook their table.

🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝

“Daisy, she really looks like she might kill him right now maybe this wasn’t a good idea…” Pete said in a hushed voiced, his brown eyes were fixated on the two friends he’d known since his grade school years with a fearful type of fascination. Daisy sighed, still looking at the pair like she was very much watching a soap opera.

“I know, I don’t even know what happened. They looked so cute when we got here, maybe we should just let them have lunch alone. Cash seems to perform better that way, I know he’s nervous but this… this is just sad” Daisy muttered, Pete stifled a chuckle as he finally let his eyes fall on the love his life adoringly.

“We still can you know, lovely. Honestly, they probably won’t even notice at this point. We could go to the beach and sip cocktails, we could even…” Pete trailed, Daisy furrowed her dark brows at him although she was smiling at him as brightly as ever.

“We could even what?” Daisy asked.

“Leave the rest of the planning for the wedding and the parties up to them. The two of them working together might implore them to finally unpack allll of this” Pete said in the same hushed tone as he motioned between their two glowering best friends. Daisy bit her lip, pondering his proposal for a moment. Honestly, nothing could be worse than whatever was going on between the two now.

“I love it when you encourage me to play matchmaker, my lovely but what if Shay actually kills him?” Daisy said in a joking tone as she started jotting a quick letter for their unsuspecting best friends on a piece of paper. Pete stifled another chuckle.

“She loves him too much besides you and Shay weren’t going to get any real planning done with Cash doing… what his doing now?” Pete said letting out an almost disappointed sounding sigh as he took in the sight of Cash gripping Shay’s face in one of his large palms and gently squeezing her cheeks with a serious look in his eyes.

🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝

Shay glowered at Cash for what felt like forever partly because she couldn’t decide if she just wanted to argue with him some more or just cry her eyes out. Those always seemed to be the only options she ever had with him since she was fourteen and she hated it.

“I don’t know how that’s my fault Cash, you bring him flings home and treat them like regular girlfriends and somehow it’s my job to be able to spot the difference?” Shay said in a low bitter tone, Cash sighed and with it his blue eyes softened up a bit.

“No, I’m saying you could’ve just asked me, Cherry Blossom, you used to ask me things you know and now you just shut me out…” Cash said in a careful tone, Shay opened her mouth to argue with him but part of her knew she couldn’t because he was right. She had shut him out and she wished she could tell him why, but her words always seemed to fail her when it came to him, and she could never figure out why. Talking to him used to be so easy and now it just felt like an up-hill battle, an endless trek that seemed to lead her nowhere.

“I don’t know what to ask you anymore, Cash, okay. Everything between us is weird and different and awkward, and I just don’t know how to talk to you anymore, I guess. So…” Shay’s rambling was cut short by Cash reaching over to grip her cheeks in the palm of his hand, gently squeezing them between his thumb and fingers with amusement swirling in his blue eyes though his expression was serious.

“So don’t talk, Cherry Blossom” Cash chuckled softly, Shay felt her cheeks flush at both the action and his words as familiar nervous, smitten butterflies swirled in her stomach. His squeeze loosened the slightest bit as the two of them stared deeply into each other’s eyes for what felt like an eternity. Unlike the previous silence they had fallen into over the twenty or so minute emotional rollercoaster they went on, this one was more comforting, more wholesome, and dare Shay allow herself to think it almost loving in an odd way because she for once felt like Cash heard her loud and clear.

“Your foods getting cold, Cherry Blossom…” Cash said just above a whisper though he made no move to let go of Shay’s face for some time even after the words left his mouth and hung in the air. The faint lull of another dreamy indie pop songs floated between them in a way that seemed oddly fitting for the odd little moment they were sharing.

“Well, I can’t really eat until you give me my face back, Cashy. Unless you want to feed me” Shay said almost timidly, she watched Cash’s lips curl into a genuine smile that reminded her of the ones he used to give her when they were silly kids running up and down the sandy beaches. And she swore she felt her heart flutter when his blue eyes lit up at her before looking over at Pete and Daisy.

“I’ll feed you if you want me to darling and I’ll even drive you home, preferably in that fancy new Audi of yours if you’ll let me but you’re definitely going to need a designated driver after lunch…” Cash chuckled,  turning Shay’s head to face their table full of food and cocktails with an amused smirk on his face.

“They ditched us” Shay gasped in disbelief taking in Pete and Daisy’s now vacant chairs with wide, mildly offended eyes. Surely the last twenty minutes of her and Cash’s bickering couldn’t have been that bad, no this was all part of meddlesome Daisy’s plan.

“Oh look, they left us a cute little note, how sweet of them” Cash said finally letting go of Shay’s face to grab the piece of paper neatly tucked under one of the cocktail glasses.

“It says and I quote, Dear Shay and Cash, if you're reading this it means you’ve finally noticed Pete and I ditched you bickering old bats to go to the beach or Cash is dead and the detectives assigned to solve his case are reading this…in which case it definitely was not Shaylee Harris. Cash is pretty and all but he ain’t that smart and I’m sure he just pissed off another blonde and got himself shot in the shoulder nothing to worry about…. Any who, during your insistent bickering Pete and I decided your problems would best be solved by you two spending some quality alone time together 😉. From here on out you two will be tasked with working out our wedding details and planning those parties TOGETHER. We know you can do it just put those pretty heads of yours together and figure it out, talk it out, kiss it out…. DO WHATEVER IT TAKES, just get on with it already. Lunch and cocktails are on us. Have fun, lots of fun, Love Pete and Daisy” Cash finished reading out loud.

“Ugh, they planned this you know” Shay said glancing over at Cash with the fainted pout on her face and rosy cheeks. Cash flashed her yet another uncharacteristically sheepish smile that had Shay narrowing her eyes at him in suspicion because she swore, he was blushing.

“Were you in on this too…Casanova?” Shay asked him pointedly, Cash shook his head and busied himself by twirling her pasta on a fork.

“No, Cherry Blossom, I can honestly say this…was all them but I’d be lying if I said having an excuse to be attached at your hip for the foreseeable future wasn’t making me giddy. Now be a good girl and eat some of this for me, I’d hate to see you hurl all over those nice leather seats of yours, beautiful” Cash said raising the fork to her mouth with a teasing smile on his face.

“This is going to be the longest few weeks of my entire life…” Shay muttered, picking up her wine glass with a soft, defeated sounding sigh despite how many flips her stomach was doing….

🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝🐦🐝

[kobalttheelemental]

Map of Elementia- Biomes of Gusano Desert

🏜️ Mega Mesa- A colossal mesa biome with amazing rock formations, canyons, hidden caves, and gold scattered everywhere.

🏜️ Cacti Forest- The cacti forest is home to different kinds of unique cacti species. Travelers must be very careful walking around this prickly biome.

🏜️ Salty Flats- A barren salt pan with small salt pools you can swim in, and giant salt cubes as big as boulders. Many miners come here and mine salt.

🏜️ Wormtooth Dunes- Travelers must be cautious when entering the wormtooth dunes, lurking under the sands is a carnivorous worms that can ambush you when making to much movement.

🏜️ Grand Oasis- Hidden in the wormtooth dunes is a lush oasis biome where elementals come here to have a relaxing vacation

🏜️ Mud Pools- A biome of small mud volcanoes and muddy pools rich with minerals, a perfect place to have a spa day.

🏜️ Geode Hills- A rocky hills biome covered in giant crystals and geodes. The hollow geodes make perfect homes for Gemlings

🏜️ Crystal Caverns- Deep below the geode hills is a cavern full of giant crystals, crystal fauna species, and crystal clear pools. Weapon smiths come here to collect rare minerals and create crystal weapons and armor.

🏜️ Rock Garden- A tranquil rocky biome of amazing hoodoo rock formations and unique desert flora species.

[pinkbussycunt]

Bloodbath: Caleb/Killer

@alphastoworship

Caleb Anderson was an eighteen-year-old fraternity pledge at Haddonfield University. Sweet, lovable, and eager to belong, Caleb was just like any other freshman. But now, he was missing. Not just him—his entire fraternity, Sigma Phi Alpha, had vanished. The entire university was looking for them. They were last seen heading into the Ebon Woods, a forest that was infamous in this small college town. They were on their way to initiate Caleb into their brotherhood at the Deadman’s Moor, a notorious grove hidden deep within the woods. No one expected it to be the last time the's school's most famous fraternity would be seen.......alive

Sigma Phi Alpha was more than just a fraternity; it was a legacy. Doctors, lawyers, politicians—they all came from SPA. It was the most prestigious fraternity house in the country, renowned for being incredibly selective. Freshmen dreamt of being chosen, but very few ever made it. This year, only one pledge was selected. His name was Caleb Anderson.

Caleb couldn’t believe it. He was an absolute nobody, far from what anyone would expect from SPA. Coming from a violent and abusive home, the little redhead fled from home the first chance he got. Through sheer determination, he earned his place at this renowned university, and he made history as the sole pledge of Sigma Phi Alpha. Caleb was small, pretty, and effeminate—not the typical fraternity material at all. In fact, what he really wanted was to pledge to a sorority. But desperate for companionship and a place to belong, he took the first chance he got. Little did he know, this decision would change his life forever.

The Deadman’s Moor had a dark history; an old legend everyone in Haddonfield knew of but rarely spoke of. It was said that for generations, a family of cannibal hill billies lived deep within the woods, dragging their victims into the moor, where they were never seen again. For years, the people of Haddonfield believed the spirits of those lost souls still haunted the moors. Though the rumors were never proven, the local police had long since declared the moors off-limits. The townspeople said the moor was cursed, and no one would go near it. No one, that is, except Sigma Phi Alpha.

That night, the brothers of SPA, drunk and high off their asses, wanted to see if Caleb could handle a night in the infamous woods. They wanted to see if he had what it took to survive a night in the moors like a true Sigma. But as they ventured deeper into the woods, their true motives were revealed. The President of SPA—the very one who had chosen Caleb for this so-called honor—revealed the truth. They had no intention of making Caleb a brother. Their real plan was to take turns defiling Caleb and abandon him in the moors, leaving him to fend for himself. What was meant to be a dream come true had turned into a nightmare—and for Caleb, it was only the beginning.

The President of Sigma Phi Alpha had an eye on Caleb ever since the beginning of term. There was something about the red head's soft features and pretty face that made the President think the boy was perfect for their twisted initiation. This wasn’t just about scaring Caleb; they wanted to strip him of his sense of self and humiliate him. As the brothers circled Caleb, their intentions grew darker. Stripping the boy of most of his clothes, the frat house was ready to push Caleb to his limit. Caleb fought as hard as he could, but he was out numbered and he was terrified. The president and his brothers reveled in their power, fueled by the thrill of dominating someone smaller and weaker than themselves.

But just as they closed in, ready to do the most horrible of things, there was a shift in the air and an unsettling stillness enveloped over the moors. A dark and menacing presence lurked just beyond the trees, and it was watching those that had intruded on his land. The brothers, who moments before were full with confidence, began to feel a chill run down their spine as the most horrible growl filled the air. The President tried to brush it off, but there was no denying it—something else was out there in the moors with them.

One by one, they started glancing around, each of them loosing their courage. That’s when they knew that something was not right. Whatever was in those woods was far worse than anything they had planned for Caleb, and it was coming for them.

That ominous growl reverberated through the trees, slicing through the currents of cold nightair. Then, suddenly, there was a silence. An unnerving stillness settled over the fraternity house, thickening the tension. That’s when it happened. A swift swoosh sliced through the air, when suddenly, the President crumbled to the ground, a giant axe having crackled his skull wide open. He was dead

From the shadows emerged a towering figure, a man well over six and a half feet tall. He was built like a brick wall, his body draped in tattered clothes that were drenched in blood. His face was obscured by a wild bush of unkept black hair, but it was his piercing blue eyes that stood out the most. Those eyes held an intensity that could make a grown man piss his pants. This terrifying behemoth didn't say a word, he didn't have to, he proved that all the town legends were true, and he was hungry.

The giant of a man was a horrifying sight. The remaining fraternity members revealed themselves as cowards when they abandoned Caleb and bolted for their lives. But they didn’t get far. Outnumbered or not, the giant was a relentless killing machine. One by one, he overpowered and mercilessly slaughtered the rest of the fraternity, their strength proven useless against his ferocity. He killed with cold efficiency, leaving no chance for escape. In mere minutes, Sigma Phi Alpha was no more, and the man responsible stood covered in their blood and entrails. Only one person remained: Caleb.

Caleb stood frozen in fear, his heart racing in terror as he was surrounded by corpses. He instinctively covered himself, begging for his life with trembling words. " Pl....ease. Pl....ease don't hurt me." He said in a voice riddled with fear. " I'll leave. I.....iii..I'll never come back. I won't tell anyone, I swear. Please.....please let me go." Trembling, the boy's words and face were laced with terror.

[baronsvilla]

Top Luxury Resorts In Ernakulam

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The accommodations at Barons Villa redefine luxury. Each room, suite, and villa is meticulously designed to provide the utmost comfort and elegance. The interiors feature a blend of modern aesthetics and traditional elements, using high-quality materials like polished wood, marble, and local art. Large windows and private balconies offer stunning views of the surrounding landscapes, allowing guests to immerse themselves in the beauty of Ernakulam without leaving their rooms. State-of-the-art amenities, plush furnishings, and personalized services ensure that every stay is a memorable one.

World-Class Amenities

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Culinary Excellence

Dining at Barons Villa is a gastronomic journey that reflects the rich culinary heritage of Kerala. The resort’s restaurants offer a diverse array of dishes, from traditional Kerala cuisine to international gourmet delights. Emphasizing fresh, local ingredients, the culinary team crafts menus that celebrate the region’s flavors and traditions. Guests can dine in elegant indoor settings or choose al fresco options with views of the lush landscape. The resort also offers private dining experiences for special occasions, ensuring a personalized and intimate dining experience.

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The scenic beauty surrounding Barons Villa is one of its most compelling features. Nestled amidst verdant hills, forests, and water bodies, the resort provides a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. Guests can explore the natural surroundings through a variety of outdoor activities. Guided nature walks and hiking trails offer opportunities to discover the local flora and fauna, while water-based activities like kayaking and boating provide a unique perspective of the area’s natural beauty. For adventure enthusiasts, the resort organizes excursions and safaris that delve into the heart of Ernakulam’s wilderness.

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Barons Villa is committed to sustainability, implementing eco-friendly practices across its operations. The resort employs renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, to reduce its carbon footprint. Water conservation measures, including rainwater harvesting and wastewater recycling, are integral to its operations. Waste management practices focus on reduction, reuse, and recycling, minimizing the resort’s environmental impact. These initiatives ensure that Barons Villa not only provides luxury but also promotes environmental stewardship, preserving the natural beauty of Ernakulam for future generations.

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Ernakulam is rich in culture and history, and Barons Villa offers guests the chance to immerse themselves in the local heritage. The resort organizes cultural tours and experiences, including visits to nearby historical sites, traditional dance performances, and culinary workshops. These activities provide guests with a deeper understanding of the local culture and traditions, enriching their stay at Barons Villa.

Personalized Services

At Barons Villa, personalized service is a hallmark. The dedicated staff is trained to anticipate and cater to the individual needs of each guest, ensuring a seamless and luxurious experience. From personalized welcome amenities to bespoke itineraries, every detail is carefully curated to exceed guest expectations. The concierge service is available around the clock, ready to assist with any requests, be it arranging transportation, booking excursions, or providing local recommendations.

Conclusion

Barons Villa epitomizes the essence of luxury and hospitality, making it one of the top luxury resorts in Ernakulam. Its exceptional accommodations, world-class amenities, and stunning natural surroundings provide an idyllic retreat for discerning travelers. Whether seeking relaxation, adventure, or cultural immersion, guests at Barons Villa can indulge in a truly unique and memorable experience. By combining luxury with sustainability and personalized service, Barons Villa sets a new standard for luxury resorts in Ernakulam, offering an unparalleled escape into the heart of Kerala's natural beauty and cultural richness.

[cazzyf1]

My Favourite Quotes from: Niki Lauda Das Dritte Leben

So it's been 4 years since Niki has passed now. Over a year since I became so involved with Niki's life here. It's crazy how short of a time it's been.

It's been a while since I made one of these, but as I have brought two new Niki books recently, I figured I should make this to share. The book is fully in German, which I have had to use google translate on; so there will be grammatical issues in this but for the most part, I'd say this is accurate.

Enjoy

"Only Graham Hill and Chris Amon had private planes, and they were simple propeller mills. It had more to do with sport than luxury or gaining time when they came to the races in Fleger. Once they flew from Spa to London in Graham's Piper Actec, and because I was going the same way, they took me with them. Back then, you didn't travel 20 minutes after crossing the finish line of a race, but on Monday morning. It all started with Graham complaining about a headache that morning from drinking so much at the Grand Prix party. It was raining miserably and the runway was a grass runway. We barely made it over the embankment and darted rather noncommittally into the laundry room over the canal. Hill and Amon constantly argued and yelled at each other. Hill was a captain but only had a visual pilot's license, Amon understood instruments, and I think that's where the trouble came from. I sat in the back and had no idea of ​​anything. Anyway, we ended up in London. I didn't feel like I wanted to be a pilot or have an airplane." - 8

"The impression improved when my cousin of a clear friendly tone took me in his Cessna 150 for a sightseeing flight over the Inn Valley. Everything was nice and smooth and friendly, and flying so easy. The view over both sides of the Alps suggested a direttissima between Salzburg, where I now lived, and Ferrari. I became a student pilot and I loved practicing in Salzburg-Bologna. That's how flying got a meaning." - 8

"Stay in your own house on the edge of the forest. Breakfast with Marlene. Fifteen minutes drive to Salzburg Airport, Kemetinger has already fired up the Golden Eagle, an hour later she sails into Bologna. Sante Ghedini picks me up. Two hours at Ferrari's circuit. Enzo Ferrari himself comes over from his office. We're going to Cavallino for lunch, I can do Polsk at the old man's (unfortunately very important). Another hour of testing. Off to Bologna. At half past five I walk in at Marlene's door, like someone who comes home from the office happily. To imagine that day with a scheduled airliner was impossible to fit in twice a six-hour drive: a horror." - Niki's routine

"A few years earlier I had been a hopelessly incompetent loser in high school, in my apprenticeship as a mechanic and then again at high school, and now I was playing the great analyst of Formula 1. I had a good sensorium in my butt, I could feel it Car lived, also in details." - 10

"I met Marlene in the summer of 1975. She was Curd Jürgens' girlfriend and as such the lady of the house at a party in Salzburg. She has a Spanish mother and an Austrian father, was born in Venezuela and mostly grew up there. She has a lot more Spanish than Austrian character. The name Niki Lauda meant absolutely nothing to her. Marlene was infinitely far away from racing and asked the most hair-raising questions, like a child. A few months later she definitely didn't marry the racing driver in me, she took that with her without realizing what she was getting into. As a racing driver you need naïve optimism ("nothing's going to happen to me anyway"), otherwise you wouldn't be able to get into the car at all, and Marlene was willing to believe in it just as I said she would. She was endlessly carefree, and before she knew she was right in the middle of the horror. I was 27, world champion and on my way to my second title. Before I got into the Ferrari on August 1, 1976 at the Nürburgring, Austrian journalists told me that the Reichsbrücke in Vienna had collapsed a few hours earlier. It was a strange feeling: that the biggest bridge in the city, in the whole country, could simply collapse in a second." - p11

"Frank Gardner in a Cortina Lotus had won. At the podium he put down the wreath and descended with tears in his eyes. He had just been told that Jim Clark had died in Hockenheim. Jim Clark was also my big idol, so that also affected me. What particularly bothered me about it was that it was caused by a technical defect, back then there weren't safety bolts in the rims, and if you had a puncture, the tire could jump off the rim. So Clark simply took a turn on the long straight in Hockenheim and pulled straight into the forest without it being his fault. That kept me busy for a long time." - p16

"First, there were these microscopic slivers of burned face shield (balaclava) that had been transplanted with the fresh skin I had developed an allergy to. He got 70 such things out of me in a three-day ordeal with tweezers, carefully treating everything with peppermint oil. The ears, or what was left of them, were raw flesh and painful beyond belief. Willy called the surgeon, who said: The rest of it will probably rot off as well, then the pain will be gone." Willy marched down to Lake Fuschi and dug up some roots, to which he said things like: That helped the Crusaders. As a result, I was able to sleep for the first time in three days, and for 15 hours, and two weeks later I had skin again over what was left of my ears. Then it happened incredibly quickly, also because I was so eager to return to normal life. I soon started running and strength training, and I noticed the progress every day." - p25

"Hannes was a good conversation partner in my euphoria for the future Lauda Air, which was already going through my head in 1977. He had an idea for the "style" that we wanted to develop, for our self-representation and our self-image. We talked about flying, about upcoming planes and an upcoming airline. No detail was too small for us, no fantasy too big. It "It was just fun to sand the contours of a vision. Hannes sketched a jumbo tail and painted a red L in it. This is what the logo could look like. No type of aircraft was better suited than the jumbo, because of the corresponding slant of the towering tail. However, since there was no company yet, the corporate design of the Lauda Air could initially only be applied to my crash helmet: a double red L, lightly scripted, on a white background." - p31

"In the years that followed, Hannes Rausch accompanied me to almost every Grand Prix. Of course there was also Bertl Wimmer. Bertl lived in my (Salzburg) area, worked as a salesman for motorcycles and mopeds for KTM and, through his enthusiasm for motor sports, came into contact with Walter Wolf and finally mine. Our common interests were motorcycling, flying and all kinds of nonsense, and by about 1975 we were friends. Ideally, I packed a team of four as a Grand Prix accompaniment in the Citation or the Lear Jet: Marlene and Messrs. Willy Dungl, Bert! Wimmer, Hannes Rausch (one for the body, one for the heart and one for the brain", at least according to Hannes' interpretation)." - p31

"I only passed the theory part of the exam on the second attempt in Braunschweig. For the practical part, I needed a long-range flight, so I shipped the flight instructor and examiner to the Lear in New York and then flew on to the US Grand Prix in Long Beach. Bernie Ecclestone was already waiting there, saying he urgently needed to go to Las Vegas. So I flew him there. Before I left, I flipped through the messages that Bernie had brought me from the hotel. I should urgently call Frau Maier, our housekeeper in Salzburg. In the phone box at the airport I was told: "An Buam ham S', an Buam ham S'." Our first child was born: Lukas." -p44-45

"Of course, I also drove a full Formula 1 season. When I came home from the Monaco Grand Prix, our kitchen was slightly damaged. Did the dogs behave like that?" I asked Mariene. "No," she said. I had a tantrum" She had her fit during the TV broadcast from Monaco when she saw Didier Pironi try to pass me at Mirabeau, riding on the back of my Brabham and missing my neck by six inches before slamming into the guardrail . Pironi's maneuver was so bloody stupid that you could get angry about it. But that wasn't why Marlene dismantled the kitchen. She was just so incredibly angry because she once again had to watch what she had been doing since the Nürburgring in 1976 knew exactly: That racing is idiotic. Everyone who takes part is idiots, and I, right in the middle, played a brilliant leading role: Congratulations!" and a kitchen box was due. When I got back into the car six weeks after the fire accident, she didn't stop me because she basically allows everyone every freedom, but she thought I was stupid. She thought the whole racing sport was stupid, our rituals, the rush, the heartlessness, and that you can cripple yourself. Marlene never again had a relaxed relationship with racing. My selfishness was strong enough not to let that deter me. I believed, and I do the same today, that in a partnership, too, the free development of the individual must be out of the question. If there isn't room for it, it's just not the right partnership." -p47-48

"Back then, I actually wore beige lace-up velvet trousers every day that had a burn hole over which Marlene had sewn blue fabric in the shape of a fish. I also wore a beige Niki sweater and the shoes painted by Hannes." - p51

"Gilles Villeneuve died in Zolder on May 8, 1982. I liked him for his charm and naturalness, admired his willingness to surrender unconditionally to sweet madness (which, however, had nothing to do with his death fall). In the last hours of his life I had two typical experiences with him. Thursday night at the hotel: I was about to go to bed and heard the flop-flop-flop-flop of a helicopter gone mad. It was pitch black and a searchlight scanned the area in front of the hotel, trying to sort out pylons and cables. The thing did land, it was Villeneuve's Agusta 109, a nice twin engine with retractable gear, Gilles had an immaculate Clarification: "I flew away from Nice when it was still quite light." The next day, first training, first ride. I happened to come out of box right behind Gilles and saw him in the allerer. flew out of the first curve. When we stood together later, I asked him out of genuine interest why a person would throw themselves out in the very first corner of a training session. He said: "Niki, I can't do it different." There was something in him, that simply does not allow him to drive in a calculating or cautious manner, no matter what the track (at the beginning of a training session, the ideal line is not yet sanded clean, that only becomes apparent after a number of laps) That was the last thing I heard from him heard: "I can't help it." - p61-62

"Now, sitting still on the plane, sadness, worry, anger and the burning uncertainty, of course also self-pity seeped into me: What had I done that I had to be the center of such an oversized disaster? In Kennedy I was finished, physically and mentally. I trotted to the PanAm counter, handed over my ticket. The Man looked at it, looked at me, made two dashes through, gave me the ticket and said Stand By". I hadn't bothered with the ticket before, no- had no idea I was stand by to Washington. When the PanAm man said "stand by", I didn't give a damn for the first time in six days. I thought I did like me Out of. Tilt Then again: I have to go to Washington. But how? should i cry shouldn't I cry? I was remote controlled, but the helmsman was not at the post I turned and walked back into the hall and squatted down. I couldn't do more. As if I had been beaten and can no longer hit back. I stared at the ticket without any realization. I almost passed out, I didn't care, I couldn't take it anymore. I would sit here, just sit there I couldn't sleep either. Except for race fans, no dog in America knows me, but now everything was different. - p139

"I flew from London to Salzburg to see Marlene and the children. Marlene was still completely distraught. The ten days that had passed since the crash hadn't lessened her shock. Lukas also showed concern, only Mathias was quite relaxed, listened to a lot and said he was going to play tennis." - p149 (about the plane crash)

"Lukas then came out with the fact that jokes about it were already circulating at school. For example, if you don't love your wife anymore, then send them with the Lauda Air."" -p150

"Niki Lauda's wife loves the neighbors was the headline in August 1989. With a photo (not of the neighbors on Ibiza, but of me), the report took up half the front page. The lover was not only described ("he is 33, tall, blond, blue-eyed"), but also called by name. It was the partner, now husband, of Marlene's sister Renate and one of our closest friends So they didn't bother with even a minimum of research. Since Renate was pregnant at the time, we were able to win the lawsuit against "Bild", which is otherwise hardly possible in such cases in Germany. By and large, the tabloid writes what it wants." - p240

"When the first journalist somewhere heard that I had an illegitimate child, he confronted me about it. "That's right," I said, but it doesn't help anyone if it's in the newspaper, not the child, not the mother, not the father and his family." right Okay, said the journalist and didn't write a word. Over time, others found out about it, too, and I said to them: 80 Yes, it's true, but anyway, he's known about it for a long time. He doesn't write it because he's helping me with it." They didn't write it either, and at some point quite a lot of people knew about it, at least beyond the narrow circle. None of them developed the ambition to make a particularly nice headline with the private life of Niki Lauda. Until at some point a German writer from wind and put it boldly in his newspaper, then followed short confirmations in the Austrian newspapers, but Christoph was already in kindergarten age. That's how my mother experienced it, for example. In her slightly crumpled Schönbrunner German she said: Niiiki, did that have to be?"- and never a word of it again." - p241-242

"Christoph is a bright fifteen-year-old growing up in Vienna and with whom I have little contact. We see each other about three times a year, so of course no sensible father-son relationship can develop from that. I only have one family, it stays that way, married or divorced, it doesn't matter. I have a bad conscience that it happened," and I can't get rid of it either. The situation presents itself as unsolvable in the sense of a result that could make everyone happy. I don't want to cut myself in half, and I can't see a middle ground that I could reasonably walk. Christoph grew up completely differently than the children under Marlene's and my influence. I feel the difference very strongly, but of course it's okay." -p242

"Marlene is my life person. She has uncanny strength and security, and she rests in the midst of a chaos she beautifully crafts." -p242

"I had lived with a very disciplined young lady for seven years and married Marlene within a few months. I didn't take it that terribly seriously, I just wanted to know what it's like: being married, and Marlene was exactly the kind of person who could understand it well." - p243

"When I confessed the illegitimate child to her, she was hurt but decided that if I wanted that to happen, nothing about our family should change. Of course I wanted. If we did eventually divorce, she demanded, "I'll have the kids, the dogs, the camera." So we continued this weird kind of marriage that we were both comfortable with. A relationship can only be based on how two people understand each other, and we got along well. I remained stubbornly focused on my egocentric life, racing, company, and Marlene accepted that. Normally you can only choose between family and freedom, I could choose as much as I wanted from both. I could lean my head back when I felt like it and when I felt fit I could run away and do whatever I wanted. Everyone knows that I wasn't a saint anyway. But even there it depends on what is ultimately the case remains. It's easy for me because I can decide for myself in this constellation. We do not need to discuss the responsibility for the three. If Marlene pulls the lace and says, what now?, I'm there immediately. Just: She has never pulled the lace. I know exactly the limits. And if the boundaries need to be shifted, then we'll shift them against me too. But since Marlene gives me such freedom, thank God, I also live it. But when push comes to shove, she always wins. Just as we got married, we divorced in 1991. It didn't matter and it didn't change anything. The official in Thalgau asked about the reason for the divorce. ..There isn't one, I want a divorce." "It's impossible without a reason." ..What could be a reason, for example?" ..If someone wasn't at home for six months." I haven't been home for six months." ..Are you sure?" Yes, of couse." "The marriage is divorced." On leaving, Marlene said: "The children, the dogs, the camera." I was flabbergasted. It had worked the way she always said it would. And nothing changed. Of course I took all the steps to protect her, and also signed the house in Salzburg over to her." -p244

"For five years only the very closest circle knew about it. Marlene wanted to spare the children who went to school in Hof near Salzburg the public discussion of our private lives. So we kept quiet" - p244

"Accordingly, it turned out that Lukas had nothing in mind with cars and motorcycles. He just got comfortable with cycling, that was all. I resented how he grew up with no technical spark. I had to do something. When he was about thirteen, I bought him a small motocross bike for his size. He was super excited about it, but for two months he just started the thing up in the garage and went wrrrrmmm, wrrrrmmm. No, he doesn't want to drive, he doesn't want to. One Saturday the whole family was sitting at the Schloßwirt in Anif, it was a wonderful day. I said to Lukas, let's drive home quickly, I'll show you something. On the lawn in front of our house I put him on the front of the motorcycle, sat on the back, grabbed the handlebars, showed him how to use the gas and clutch. But he only stopped in the middle of the handlebars and wasn't willing to move his hand towards the accelerator. So we drove around in the meadow, two on a small bike. It seemed like a solid hour before he finally parted his hands enough to get the gas and clutch. I suddenly jumped off. He roared like crazy, made a slow giant arc, and I had to run alongside. In the end I had to catch him because he couldn't get his feet on the ground properly. Very slowly, in first gear, he trembled through the meadow and scolded me. Anyway, he was on his way. - p246

"The next time I came to Salzburg, Lukas said: So what?" Come down with me. I'm going to go motocross." "Come down." He dressed carefully. Leather outfit, boots, fall home, the whole fuss. I stood there bored and waited for him to shake his way out. He jumped on his motorcycle and sped out of the garage on the back wheel - an image I'll never forget become. I ran to Mathias.,,What's the matter?" The little brother then told me that the day after our first trip, Lukas had gone down to the farm boys on his motorbike, and he had driven with them until he could, becoming more and more ambitious, and in the end totally stupid." - p247

"With Mathias, the result was the same, only the way to get there was much easier. He wouldn't have gotten up on his own, so I put him on the bike, said that's the gas, that's the clutch, he said yes, I know. He drove away, made a detour, came back and drove unsharpened to the garage door. ,,Are you dumb?" "I don't know where the brake is." He was fearless. Full throttle from the first second. And his brother was such a protégé. Anyway, they started riding motocross together" - p247

"If you really aspire to a motocross career, you should start just after walk school. So it was by no means too early when Lukas and Mathias, aged 14 and 12 respectively, asked for decent motocross machines for further training. Marlene had a fit, but I told her to let her go: Motocross is the hardest thing there is. You will never get ahead. There's no money to be made, the sport is just exhausting, dusty and dirty, they'll soon stop doing it." Marlene accepted and I bought the boys two 125 Hondas. They drive it really well and there is no longer any difference between the two. They are equally wild and equally good. I hope that it doesn't turn into a motocross career, and that suggests that they're jumping around like crazy out of sheer jokes and frolics. But they lack the seriousness of cardio, running and weight training every day, so I believe I think the racing bacillus will eventually suffocate in the eternal dust of motocross. Marlene has now fully embraced the kids' hobby, drives the machines back and forth, checks in between Barcelona and Ibiza." - p248

"My mother survived him by eighteen years. I didn't see her very often either, but there was always a bond and affection, maybe there was also a hidden longing for the family that had been lost so to speak. Her last days were moving. She had cancer, only wanted therapy up to a point, and then no more. Brother Florian and I took turns at her bedside for the last week and never left her alone. They were important days for me and for this last remnant of family. I think after all our mother understood that she had sons who loved her. Now only Florian is left. We had always had little contact, but after the death of our mother we became closer again. He lives his life completely differently from me, hasn't done anything in all his 46 years that I would call work, but that's by no means criticism, on the contrary, I admire him for it. He studied but didn't finish, did this and that, was always happy, and because of them Family circumstances he could also afford it." - p250

"I never had a problem with my appearance after the accident. problem That's what I look like, that's it. I therefore only had the medical technically necessary operations on the eyes and ears chen, but no plastic surgery. James Hunt, my 1976 World Cup rival, said the accident was the best thing that could have happened to me: "You finally have a face to look at." - p253

"In the meantime, an Austrian brewery had expressed interest in providing me with a Gösser"-Kapperl, green of course. Practical and unsentimental as I am, I thought five million schillings is a lot of money these days, so why shouldn't I have one green Kappl marching around?” I really didn't have any major concerns and made a preliminary contract. Then I showed up at the company with the green Kapperl on a trial basis. The employees were stunned. They thought I wasn't quite tight anymore. Lauda can't wear a green cap, he can't have any other cap but this red thing, and the fact that it says Parmalat isn't an advertising message, it just happens to be written on Lauda's cap. Of course, I have so much respect for symbols and the opinions of the employees that I allow myself to be taught. So I canceled the Gösser lecture with difficulty, wept briefly and violently over the beautiful coal and politely put the red cap back on. It will probably stay that way, I think." P254

"I had just come back from Miami, with the flu, overworked, overtired, came to the Viennese apartment next to the Hotel Sacher and suffered a heart attack. I fell to the ground, unable to move. With the utmost effort, I crawled to the phone, but who should I call? Emergency call, ambulance? It was the time of my worst argument with the AUA, and even in my fear of death I couldn't give them the triumph that the red Kappl was being carried out of the Sacher-Haus on a stretcher. So Willy Dungl, but he wasn't there. I asked for a call back, extremely urgent. Meanwhile, still on the ground, I scribbled notes for Marlene, account numbers and so on, farewell. After hours I think Dungl finally called. I'm having a heart attack, I said, please take me to the hospital discreetly. Willy and his wife picked me up, took me out of the house and straight to the general hospital, where on the Cardiac station everything was already prepared. First check: everything ok. healthy heart, as in the last pilot examination. Infinite relief, however wrong with unchanged Pains. So it could only be a misaligned vertebra, a pinched nerve, which is Dungl's specialty anyway (actually it was the fifth thoracic vertebra, I think). I'll take you straight to Gars, where I can treat you properly," said Dungl. I was dragged to Willy's car in the hospital yard. It came to me like a rocket from the subconscious Remembering Willy Dungl's car skills. ..Who's driving?" I asked, suddenly wide awake. I'll drive," said Dungl. I whimpered, "Let me drive, Willy."- p272-3

"The greatest driver personality over my 25-year span has been Ayrton Senna. The strongest, the best, innovative, extremely sensitive as a driver and as a person. He dealt with racing perfectly and with unbelievable intensity. He had everything under control and was creative in all his ideas. He was warm-hearted and friendly and inspired me as a person, although his religiosity was completely alien to me" - p291

"At the time of the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix, I tried to lure him to Ferrari. I met him in his Barcelona hotel room and told him how great it was to immerse himself in the Ferrari myth. But he didn't give a damn about myth and said he was only interested in a car that he could win races in. We didn't even get to talk about money, and in the end he probably drove for Williams almost free of charge in 1994 because he basically had to buy Prost out." - p292

Hope you enjoyed the read! When I finish the next book I'll try to get it out. Also tagging @f1yogurt

[brandrise]

The Must-Visit Destinations Germany

Germany, with its rich history, vibrant culture, and stunning landscapes, offers a diverse array of attractions that cater to every type of traveler. From the bustling streets of Berlin to the fairytale castles of Bavaria, Germany is a treasure trove waiting to be explored. Whether you're a history buff, a nature enthusiast, or an art lover, Germany has something special for you. Here are some of the best places to visit in this captivating country.

Berlin: The Heart of Germany

Berlin, the capital city, is a dynamic blend of the old and the new. Its historical significance is palpable as you explore iconic sites like the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, and Checkpoint Charlie. The city is also a hub of modern art, culture, and nightlife. The East Side Gallery, a preserved section of the Berlin Wall covered in murals, and the Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are must-see attractions. Berlin's diverse neighborhoods, each with its unique vibe, offer endless opportunities for exploration.

Munich: Bavarian Charm and Oktoberfest

Munich, the capital of Bavaria, is renowned for its picturesque architecture, world-famous beer gardens, and vibrant cultural scene. Marienplatz, the central square, is the perfect starting point to explore the city's historic buildings, including the stunning New Town Hall. Munich is also home to the legendary Oktoberfest, the world's largest beer festival, which attracts millions of visitors each year. Don't miss a visit to the Nymphenburg Palace and the English Garden, one of the largest urban parks in the world.

Neuschwanstein Castle: A Fairytale Come to Life

Nestled in the Bavarian Alps, Neuschwanstein Castle is straight out of a storybook. Commissioned by King Ludwig II, this 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace served as the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The castle's picturesque setting, surrounded by lush forests and towering mountains, makes it one of the most photographed sites in Germany. Guided tours offer a glimpse into the opulent interiors and the fascinating history of Ludwig II's dreamlike creation.

The Romantic Road: A Scenic Journey

The Romantic Road is a picturesque route that winds through some of Germany's most charming towns and villages. Starting in Würzburg and ending in Füssen, this scenic drive takes you through medieval towns, vineyards, and castles. Highlights include the walled town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, known for its well-preserved medieval architecture, and the baroque city of Würzburg, with its impressive Residenz Palace. The journey culminates at Neuschwanstein Castle, providing a perfect end to this enchanting road trip.

The Black Forest: Nature's Wonderland

The Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, is a region of dense forests, rolling hills, and quaint villages. Famous for its cuckoo clocks, thermal spas, and scenic beauty, the Black Forest is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts. Hiking, cycling, and skiing are popular activities in this area. The town of Baden-Baden, with its luxurious spas and casino, offers a touch of elegance, while Triberg is home to Germany's highest waterfalls and the Black Forest Museum, which showcases the region's rich cultural heritage.

Hamburg: The Gateway to the World

Hamburg, Germany's second-largest city, is a bustling port city with a unique maritime charm. The historic Speicherstadt, the world's largest warehouse district, and the modern HafenCity, with its striking Elbphilharmonie concert hall, showcase Hamburg's blend of old and new. Take a stroll along the Reeperbahn, known for its nightlife and entertainment, or relax at the serene Alster Lakes. Hamburg's rich musical heritage is evident in its numerous theaters, live music venues, and the Beatles' early performance venues.

Conclusion

Germany's diverse landscapes, rich history, and vibrant culture make it a destination that promises unforgettable experiences. Whether you're exploring the historic streets of Berlin, sipping beer in a Munich garden, or marveling at the fairytale beauty of Neuschwanstein Castle, each destination offers a unique glimpse into the heart and soul of Germany. Pack your bags and embark on an adventure that will leave you with memories to cherish for a lifetime.

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Footsteps and Fellowship: Tales from the Camino de Santiago

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there existed this pilgrimage route called the Camino de Santiago. It was like Disneyland for medieval Christians, right up there with Rome and Jerusalem. Imagine millions of people from all over the world strapping on their sandals and embarking on a journey for spiritual enlightenment, personal reflection, or just to spice up their Instagram feed with some epic adventure pics.

Legend has it that this guy named James, or as his pals called him, St. James the Great, decided to take a little trip to Spain to spread the good word of Christianity. Now, whether he made it there or not is still a topic for history buffs to argue over, but what we do know is that Spain kinda took a shine to him, thanks to his relics chilling in Santiago de Compostela. And thus, the Camino de Santiago was born—a network of routes that crisscrossed Spain and even spilled over into other parts of Europe.

But who was this St. James character, you ask? Well, he was your average Galilean fisherman turned apostle, hanging out with Jesus and witnessing all His miracles, like turning water into wine and walking on water. Unfortunately for James, his story ended on a rather grim note when he became the first apostle to bite the dust, courtesy of King Herod Agrippa I. Ouch.

Now, why on earth would Gladys (@gladiatorGlasyl), one of my closest and weirdest friends, and I decide to tackle this medieval pilgrimage? Oh, let's blame it on Gladys and her wild ideas. She was all set to do the Camino in June, and I just had to chime in with, 'Why not April? I could join!' Because, you know, I just couldn't bear the thought of missing out on her adventure. So naturally, she couldn't say no to me hijacking her plans. Bernard was supposed to complete our fabulous trio, but alas, other priorities got in his way. And that's how Gladys and I found ourselves preparing for a totally "planned" journey—not because we're seasoned hikers (far from it), but because we've always had a knack for turning mundane situations into questionable adventures. Plus, trying to sync our leave schedules was a delightful nightmare, but hey, when opportunity knocks, you grab it, right?

Hence, we settled on the Camino Inglés, the glamorous trek from Ferrol to Santiago de Compostela. Here, blisters became our new best friend, and complaining about sore feet was the main event! So, we strapped on those hiking shoes and got ready for a six-day journey filled with laughter, storytelling, banter, sarcastic quips, and scaring each other—better than any reality TV show.

As we embarked on an unforgettable journey starting from Ferrol, where anticipation filled the air, we passed through rolling hills, occasional glimpses of farm animals, Gladys bullying the dogs (like dogs everywhere and the diva cats!), and the earthy scent of the countryside—nature's unique fragrance. Amidst the chirping of birds and the gentle rustle of leaves, the footsteps of fellow pilgrims set the rhythm for our adventure.

As we progressed from Pontedeume to Bruma, we braced ourselves for a challenging ascent. Yet, this climb was akin to ascending nature's staircase to paradise, offering breathtaking vistas at every turn. The route from Bruma to Sigueiro was among the most remarkable walks we had ever experienced, showcasing the grandeur of Mother Earth in all her glory.

The highlight awaited us on the final leg from Sigueiro to Santiago. We pictured ourselves meandering through an enchanted forest, where the ethereal melodies of Celtic (its actually Galician) music seemed to dance on the breeze—enticing even the most hesitant of dancers to join in the revelry.

Forget about luxurious spa treatments; on the Camino, blisters are the ultimate souvenir. You'll collect them like badges of honor, right Steffi? (at least for me, apparently Gladys has a thick skin), and proudly displaying your battle scars to anyone who dares to ask about your "vacation." And let's not forget the colorful characters we encountered along the way. From the other pilgrims, we chatted with at every rest stop to the mysterious locals who seemed to materialize out of thin air, greeting us with 'Buen Camino,' there's never a dull moment on the Camino. But hey, it's not all doom and gloom. Amidst the pain and exhaustion, you'll forge bonds with your fellow sufferers that will last a lifetime. Nothing brings people together like shared misery, right? What was the saying? It's about the journey, not the destination.

Speaking of colorful characters, I'm always grateful for the belief that everything happens for a reason and that every twist and turn in our lives serves a purpose. We might not grasp it right away, but eventually, it unfolds before us. Coincidences? I'm not sure. The folks we encounter in our journey? They've got their own mission, their own motivation. The late-night chats, the stories swapped—they're like nuggets of wisdom wrapped into one.

Big shoutout to Steffi, our towering pal (we're vertically challenged, okay?). And to Veronica and Theresia, longtime pals who've been traversing this camino many times over. Thanks for the wild tales, ladies. And to Sharon, the queen of suggestions and hype, cheers for keeping us going. And to our tapas-and-tinto-de-verano companions—Kathleen, Janine, Noah, Jasmin—y'all rock for sharing your journey with us.

What made our experience even more ridiculous is the fact that Gladys and I are about as outdoorsy as a penguin in the Sahara. We're more likely to be found at a hole-in-a-wall restaurant than trudging through rugged terrain. But hey, life's all about stepping out of your comfort zone, right?

As we stumbled our way to the Cathedral of St. James, I had a revelation: I actually missed writing. Like, with a pen and paper, not just typing away on a keyboard. Who knew walking for miles could reignite my passion for writing? So here I am, not really scribbling but typing away on my phone (I was on the plane, okay?), realizing that life is full of surprises, like finding a gourmet meal in a gas station or discovering a hidden talent for playing bagpipes!

Well, well, well, looks like our Camino expedition is just getting started! Picture this: another journey awaits, but we'll need to put our persuasive hats on for BK. Resistance is futile; he's joining the fun! What do you say? Portuguese Way, perhaps? And so, with a grateful heart, I bid farewell to the Camino de Santiago (for now), carrying with me a renewed sense of purpose and a treasure trove of memories (and perhaps a few extra pounds, that's more on Gladys though, I gave all mine to her). For some time, it's the adventures that leave us weary, longing for a hot shower, that truly enrich our souls. Here's to the journey, my dear amigos, filled with somber reflection and boundless joy. Until our paths intertwine once more in our next grand adventure! May we meet again, fueled by the memories of this unforgettable journey.

[emelinecormier]

— maya lee maya's home, bighorn hills.

She'd told her wife over text that she was planning on working late at the restaurant and crashing at her apartment that night. Most of which was true. She was at the restaurant late that night and she did, for the most part, do some work. However, that work ended up slightly intermingled with a red wine bottle she'd found in the back of a supply room, dusty and forgotten, and when there was usually red wine involved, there were usually questionable decisions to follow soon after. Nothing made Emeline Cormier a sloppy drunk like a dry dark red. Thankfully, there were no voicemails with declarations of love only for her to take back this time, just a late-night Uber and a trip to Bighorn Hills to interrupt what was probably a relaxing night for her friend. With her ride gone, she let her fist wrap against the door in two muffled knocks before leaning against the frame and taking a deep breath, the evening forest creaking around her as she waited for the door to open and, when it did, she burst into an explanation. "I know you weren't expecting me to show up until our little spa night tomorrow and I know I'm a little early, but I may have had a bottle of red wine when I was closing tonight and if I didn't come here, I would have done something stupid and I just... don't think I can handle more stupid decisions right now."

@mayxlee

[vampiricfruitcake]

1. Song of the year? - Going to say two, both with good memories and emotions:

We were roadtripping with a friend in the middle of the night in a forest and my spotify was playing just some songs by itself and this hit the vibe perfectly.

Was visiting grandparents' cabin in the summer and grandma was watching a show about Edu Kettunen and we listened to the songs together. Later I listened to him by myself and this one makes me cry every time. Love is so precious.

4. Movie of the year? - I fell in love with Suspiria (1977) this year<3

8. Game of the year? - probably Silent Hill 3, finally finished it and I find myself wanting to replay it on a daily basis

11. Something you want to do again next year?- nightly roadtrips, hiking a lot and visiting a spa <3