#leighanne believe

[legendofthe3divas]

I finished reading 'Believe' by Leighanne over the last week or so and it's so well written and structured to the point you get a full picture of how her life as a black women has affected her emotionally, mentally and physically. I really enjoyed learning more about her compared to what I already knew. I knew she has experienced racism and discrimination but reading about more deeper things that she has never shared did open my heart and has grown my knowledge on racism, colourism, discrimination and just fighting for equal rights and opportunities as a black women in England really is.

I think everyone should read this book. It doesn't matter if you know who she is, if you listen to any of her music (Little Mix or solo), what gender, race, ethnicity or sexuality you are, you should all go and read her memoir, or listen to the audiobook, or both!!

There is always space to learn more about racism, colourism and discrmnitation towards people of colour that occurs around the world.

[dashofmonsters]

Cream Tea Pt.1

Male Werewolf x Female Reader

It was time for a change and time to get away from mom and dad. Your life had been carefully constructed to a tee down to where you would work and what sort of man you were to marry. This was all you had known until you visited a small town during an exhausting weekend. It was quiet and peaceful and everything you wanted and felt deprived of. Back home you did everything in your power to make this secret move happen and it is happening. It's now or never though and with the help of your only friend, you make your move.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loading a moving van in the middle of the night is an absolute nightmare but you can't stand to be here any longer. Your folks had been irritating you with one thing after another. First it was the gala, then showing up at your office and demanding that your boss give you a better position, and now they're wanting you to meet with the eligible sons of their friends to find Mr. Future Husband. That had been the last straw in your opinion and there had been many many more prior.

Leighann, your only friend and savior had been helping you put together 'Operation Runaway' for the last year. It has been a labor of love and freedom and now it's in full force. You had everything planned out and ready and there have been no hiccups at all. Everything was boxed, your notice at work had been given in secrecy, and your parents have been none the wiser.

"That's the last of it," one of the movers grunts, shoving the last box into the van.

"Alright, thank you," you tell him as you fish out tips for the guys. They had worked fast and efficiently and more than deserved it. Their faces lit up and one of them tipped his cap to you.

You look around the parking lot at your apartment and cross your arms, your nerves on fire but in the best possible way. You're about to be hundreds of miles away from here and out from under your parent's thumb.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," you sigh.

"Feels kind of surreal huh? Just last week you were rubbing elbows with an elite crowd and now you're about to move to butt fuck nowhere that no one has ever heard of," Leighann wraps an arm around your shoulder and swings you around.

You laugh and roll your eyes, "It's a nice small town and it's the exact change I need."

Leighann pokes at you a few more times as you let the relief settle into your bones. You're finally getting out from under your family's thumb, you're finally getting away.

You've been the baby of the bunch, having four older brothers who tower over you physically and financially. Your parents saw you as an investment, something to make pretty and to show off to their equally well to do friends with sons.

For years you put on a mask, a well created facade of happiness as you went through pageants, galas, auctions and whatever horribly boring events you were dragged to.

Last year was the worst though, when you started having enough of them parading you around. The three of you had flown over to this beautiful resort where they had showed you off to every bachelor, for a couple years younger than you to nearly sixty!

You had to quietly retire saying all the mingling had made you light headed, something your mother understood quite well after enough glasses of wine.

Instead of heading up to your room, you went down and had your rental car brought to you. No matter where you were, you always made it a point of having your own vehicle, something your parents so painfully allowed you to have was your own freedom.

You drove around and around for a little over an hour until you ended up in a sleepy little town surrounded by trees and had cottage like homes and buildings. There was a group of elderly ladies walking together and they smiled and waved as you passed by.

For some reason that made you cry. You had to pull over at a nearby shop because you could barely see past your tears. You started rubbing your eyes and you knew at that point your makeup was absolutely ruined.

Someone tapped on your car, a little old lady with red cat framed glasses and red and white striped apron. Her grey curly hair was puffy and had a cartoonishly large red ribbon on the side. You rolled down the window and she shook her head at you and handed you a wad of napkins.

You couldn't help but to laugh as you took them and cleaned up your face.

"Now now, why don't you get out of that car and come and tell Mama Joy why you're crying the paint off your face?" she nods her head to the building she came out of, a small little tea shop.

You double check your face real quick before you unbuckle and exit the car. Mama Joy has you follow her into what is possibly the cutest tea shop you've ever been in. The front is filled with potted flowers and bells and wind chimes hang from the ceiling where fairy lights dangle. The tea room has mismatched chairs and tables giving it a whimsical personality.

"You like spiced tea dear?" she asked.

"Yes I do but-"

"Thomas! Throw on a pot of that spiced stuff you made earlier, we have a guest," she hollers towards the kitchen.

"Roger that," Thomas hollers back to her.

Mama Joy has you sit down in a comfy green chair and takes your hands, "Now then, why don't you tell me what's got you so upset today?"

You sigh and feel your chest tighten, "It's...it's a lot."

She smiles and gives your hands a reassuring squeeze, "Then you best get to talking then."

And you do, you tell her about that evening and all the other parties and galas you've been shown off at. About your parents and your brothers, about all the men your parents tried to set you up with. You told her everything.

You don't know when you finally calmed down but when you did, Mama Joy places a warm cup of tea in front of you. It smelled like oranges and chair and you couldn't wait to try it. You added in a little cream and sugar and took a sip. It warms you up instantly and you try not to cry again.

"I can't say that I've been in your position but it sounds to me that you're at the end of your rope with your folks. You're your own person, not a little doll or show dog. Why you haven't tired of this sooner is beyond me," she shook her head and sighed.

"I've been tired of it, but I've had to put on this fake smile for so long... I forgot how miserable I am," you frowned and ducked your head.

A cinnamon roll slid right in front of you as you're looking down causing you to look back up at the man who placed it there.

He was tall with long honey brown wavy hair that looked like it went down to the middle of his back, he had a well kept beard and the most gorgeous amber eyes you've ever seen.

"You look like you need a little pick me up," He smiled with so much warmth in his eyes.

"Oh and none for me?" Mama Joy huffed at him.

He laughed and tsked at her, "You know you can't have any Mama."

"I am nearly eighty, I can do without a foot," she scoffed before cackling.

He gave her a knowing look before rolling his eyes, "If she bothers you too much you can always leave."

You couldn't help but to smile at that, "No no, she's been... nice."

Mama slapped the table, "Why the pause? Did you really have to think about that?"

After that you, Mama, and Thomas spent what seemed like forever just talking, having tea and trying to keep the sweets away from the owner of the cutest little shop you've ever been to.

The night dragged on with Mama having you and Thomas accompany her to a little restaurant her cousin owned. It was a little bit of salsa club mixed with just the appetizers of a Mexican restaurant. You and Thomas had a mocktail while you both watched Mama Joy dance with a Mr. Emmitt.

"They have been into each other for so long I'm surprised they haven't started dating," Thomas commented.

"How long is so long?" you asked.

He shrugged, "Three years give or take."

"Wow, and this is as far as they get?" you watched Mr. Emmitt spin her around as she laughed.

"Yup. Though I think that they're both happy with this arrangement. I think they're still in love with their late spouse but too scared to try to love again," He sighed.

"Tragic and beautiful," you muttered.

"That it is, that it is. What about you? I came in on the ass end of whatever was making you cry, was it some jack ass?" He asked.

You laughed, "More like the lack of a jack ass. No, my parents want to marry me off and age doesn't matter anymore. I think the oldest guy was in his sixties."

Thomas cringed, "That's horrible!"

"I can't take it anymore, I just want to get away from them," you said, finally voicing the one thing you've been wishing for your whole life.

"Then why don't you?" he asked.

You smiled, took a sip of your mocktail and shrugged, "It's not that easy... I have very little in my name and I had to fight tooth and nail just to have my own apartment to have my own space."

Thomas shook his head and sighed, "What if you just up and left? Said nothing and got the hell out of dodge?"

You opened your mouth to argue with him then shut it.

"That," you started. "That's not a bad idea."

"Seriously?" He raised a brow at you.

"No no, you're onto something. I just started a job too and if I save up enough... This might actually work!" you set your drink down and fished out your phone.

"Woah hey, don't you think you should think something like this over a bit more? Make some plans first?" Thomas took your hand with the phone in it.

"Oh gods, you're right. I just... I feel like this will actually work and I just... I feel so stupid for not even considering just leaving," you smiled at him.

Thomas' eyes widened and he withdrew his hand, "Don't call yourself stupid, if anything call your folks' choices stupid. It's costing them a daughter."

Your lip blubbered and you felt like crying again just because you're not used to people being genuinely nice and sweet to you aside from your childhood best friend Leighann.

"Hey now, come on no more crying," Thomas extended his hand and nodded towards the floor. "How about it? Care to dance?"

For a brief moment you consider turning him down but something inside of you seems thrilled about dancing with him. He's rugged and absolutely sweet and saying no just doesn't feel right. So you took his hand and let him lead you to the floor.

He danced with you like you were two awkward teens slow dancing at prom. Your feet got stepped on so often that you laughed each time he shuffled onto them. He nearly ran you into the elderly couples who giggled at his horrible dancing. And he was so off beat.

But this was the most fun you've ever had dancing with anyone, ever.

After a while the dancing died down and Mama Joy pulled you both aside after Mr. Emmitt kissed her hand and waved goodbye.

"I said it once and I'll say it again, you have two left feet boy," Mama Joy poked at Thomas and he grinned.

"Well I was hoping that tonight I might have found my right foot, looks like it's still lost," he shrugged.

The two of them bantered until Thomas got a phone call he couldn't ignore from a relative leaving you and Mama Joy alone.

"You seem to have brightened up a lot, feeling better?" She asked.

"Much," you nodded. "I think I have a plan now."

You tell her the idea Thomas had given you earlier and Mama's face lit up with intrigue. She threw in a few other ideas and her phone number as well saying that she knows some people with homes for sale or rentals for when you start looking.

By the time Thomas got back you had a sense of relief fully settled into your bones. You had the base for a great runaway plan, support, and a place in mind. Things were looking up.

Mama Joy suggested that you head back since it's getting late but not without giving you the strongest granny hug you've ever received.

Thomas walked you back to your car at the tea shop and when you held the door open for you, you felt this odd sense of sorrow like you're really really going to miss him. You think of giving him your number but you fear he might take it the wrong way.

As you settled into the car and strapped your seat belt on you see Thomas from the corner of your eye kneel till he's at eye level.

"Whatever happens, just remember that change isn't easy, especially if it's for something you need. Sometimes it seems easy in the beginning until things destroy your expectations," He gave you a sad smile and took your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I'll try and keep that in mind," you said, squeezing his hand back.

Moments passed with the both of you holding hands not sure when either was going to break away, but eventually, Thomas did. He stood up awkwardly and bumped his head on the car but laughed it off.

He waved you away after telling you goodnight and walked back into the tea shop.

You drove back to the hotel and passed out after you peeled your heels off and bounced into bed.

The next day, you wasted no time getting things started. You called Leighann up and told her everything that happened last night and she was all ears. Things only got better once you were back at your apartment in New York. Leighann had a full on financial plan, movers, and so on planned out in a little according file for you.

A few months later, you called up Mama Joy and she was excited to hear that not only were you planning to move but you wanted to move to her sleepy little town.

Her friend Linda owned a few homes for sale and one of them was in your price range. After some back and forth conversations online, you eventually sign the papers. You'll have a house, you're own house, in a few months!

You spend time packing when you can and selling decor you don't really care for online for cheap. Most of the decorations you own were terrible holiday gifts from different relatives saying that your apartment lacked any personality.

Surprisingly, you made a good bit of money from selling the horrid things that adorned shelves and walls. Enough money to top the movers and for gas to get to the new house!

To keep your parents off your back, you'd kept up your attendance at their stupid events until a few days ago. You feigned being too sick to attend, saying that someone at work brought in a cold their kid had brought to them from school. Your mother sounded horrified and suggested that you rested for at least a month with little to no contact with the family. You feigned sorrow with a touch of understanding.

And now here you are, packed up and ready to move. Leighann was going with you to help with the long drive and to help get the boxes and furniture into your new place.

"Do you need to go back up and double check the place?" Leighann asks.

You shake your head, "Check listed everything. I think we're good to go!"

"Then let's do this," She grins and the both of you pile into the moving van.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took three days to go from New York to the sleepy little town of Daire Glen. Autumn leaves scattered about as you drive down the main road. Leighann points out to a group of little old ladies in hiking gear and bright colored scarves. You instantly recognize one of them as Mama Joy and quickly roll your window down to wave.

"Look who's finally arrived!" Mama shouts as she waves at you.

You feel a smile spread then and all the other ladies greet you as you slowly pass the group.

"Was that Mama Joy?" Leighann asks, having talked to her on the phone quite a bit.

"Absolutely," you reply.

Leighann then recalls all her conversations with her, from the hottest gossip from the tea shop to the little updates about Thomas she'd give you.

That, that was another thing.

As far as Mama Joy said, she hadn't told Thomas you'd be moving here. Something about a pleasant surprise for the both of you though you have no idea what she meant by that.

You did know that you'd be working with him though. Mama Joy had decided to hire you even though you had no background with the restaurant service or anything of the likes. But she did know that you'd need a job, even if it was part time when you got here.

"Turn right at the next light," Leighann gasps, having nearly forgotten she was on direction duty.

You follow the directions she gives you until you're in the nicest little neighborhood you've ever seen. All the houses were one story and had lush wildflower gardens and flowering trees. Some houses had large stones bordering their garden beds while some had moss covered grey bricks.

Slowly and in near disbelief, you pull up into your new driveway and almost start crying.

"I'm home," you smile, your lips still quivering.

"Yeah no, none of the photos did this place justice. It's gorgeous," Leighann gapes as she opens her door.

As you step out the first thing you notice is the smell of rain and spiced tea. The smell is so familiar that you're instantly taken back to the first night you were here.

"Want to unpack first or walk around the place and let it soak in that you've escaped your parents?" Leighann asks.

"You and your tough questions, but we should probably start unloading," You shrug and head back into the van to repark it to make it easier to unload.

You pull up the latch and the second you see your boxes and furniture, you realize you should have probably called some people over to help unload.

"Want me to see if there are any strong men around here to help us unload?" Leighann puffs out her chest a flexes jokingly.

You laugh and shake your head, "This is a retirement town Leigh, I doubt there will be a lot of any strong men around here."

Leighann groans but quickly perks up, "Oh really? Then what about him?"

Raising a brow, you look in the direction Leighann pointed to with her thumb and your jaw nearly drops.

"Thomas?" you say in disbelief.

As if he heard you, Thomas looks your way and drops whatever was in his hands and dashes over towards you.

Leighann tries to pull you away but you wave her off.

"What in the world are you doing here!" Thomas asks as he sweeps you up off the ground and into a big bear hug.

"I'm moving in," you squeak.

"Moving in? Here? At this house?" He asks, his brows high up on his face.

You grin, "Yes, I am moving in at this house, in this neighbor, in this town. Mama Joy helped helped me."

He squints and kneels to he's at eye level, "This isn't good, do you know what this means?"

You shake your head feeling nervous for the first time in a while.

"We're neighbor's now which means Mama Joy knows where you live which means she might try and kidnap you and convince you to give her sweets," he makes a fake pouty face then laughs.

"I'm messing with you of course, but she might come to bother you from time to time. She gets lonely when Mr. Emmitt gets too busy with his stained glass gig. Anyway are you waiting for help?" He asks, noticing the mountain of stuff and two noodle armed trust fund babies.

"Ah, about that...," you blush in embarrassment. "I kind of forgot to call ahead of time and-"

"We need help, like really really bad," Leighann butts in.

Thomas cocks his head to the side and pats his pants until he pulls out a phone, "I got a couple buddies who owe me a favor or two I can call over."

"That would be amazing," you clap your hands together.

"On one condition though," Thomas raises a finger and winks at you. "We all have dinner at my place afterwards."

You grin and nod, "Sounds like a deal."

Within fifteen minutes a group of guys show up and start pulling the boxes and furniture into your new house with you directing them where to put everything.

Thomas of course helps but with much more enthusiasm. He lifts the heaviest pieces of furniture, brings in the most boxes and even helps unpack some things. The other guys poke at him like they know something you don't but right now, you're just thankful for the help.

"Me thinks you've unintentionally made the very handsome neighbor fall for you~" Leighann elbows your side.

You glare at her, "I highly doubt that, he's just really nice."

"No no, I think your friend might be right," one of the guys, Tyler, agrees.

"Oh for sure, I've never seen him act all...," Rick starts and waves his hand about, "Swoony was it? Mama Joy said he pouted for days after you went back to wherever you went and regretted not getting your number."

Tyler laughed, "I don't think I've ever seen him that mopey either."

You roll your eyes, "I doubt that... And that," you pause and take a box from Ricks hand, "That is personal and I will be taking that."

Stomping off you feel a bit insulted for Thomas that his friends would joke about him like that, especially to you. For the short time you've known Thomas, and it was very short, you got the impression that he's just genuinely nice to everyone.

Sighing, you take your very very personal box of toys to your bedroom. Thomas is in there setting up your mattress on your bedframe and without a shirt on.

You nearly drop the box when he turns around and smiles at you, "Got everything in here."

"Oh um, great, thanks," you smile and try to casually toss your top secret toy box into your dresser.

"How's everything going out there?" he asks, running a hand through his thick hair.

"Pretty uh good, nearly got the kitchen set up. Leighann and I thought we'd be unpacking all week. At this point she'll be here just to visit," you shrug, still doing your best not to stare at his bare and hairy chest.

"That'll be nice for the both of you then. It gives you more time to settle in and find a job if you haven't already," he replies, grabbing his shirt off the bedframe and tossing it on his shoulder.

"Oh uh well about that, Mama Joy already sort of hired me," you give him a nervous grin.

Thomas' face goes blank for a second before he lets out a barking laugh, "Oh of course she did!"

"I'm really wondering why she didn't say anything to you," you groan and slap your face. "I feel like a nuisance just popping up like this now."

"Woah hey hey, none of this is your fault," He walks up to you and puts a hand on your shoulder. "And you're not a nuisance. Mama Joy just got bored and thought this might be funny or something like that. You're fine and it's great that you're here."

You want to believe him but you feel like he's just being nice about it again.

"Isn't it annoying though? I'm certain you had plans for the day and I show up out of nowhere like I did and you had to call in a favor an-"

Thomas puts a finger over your lips quickly silencing you, "Nothing about this is annoying, I promise you."

His amber eyes look stern on his uncharacteristically serious face. His finger on your lips moves slowly until it's under your chin, tilting your head back just a little, "Now say it back, that you're not a nuisance."

For a few moments you forgot what words are until you blubber back and repeat what he just said, "I-I'm not a nuisance."

Thomas smiles and before he can say anything there's a knocking sound behind you.

"We're not interrupting anything are we?" Leighann coos as she leans on the door frame with Rick and Tyler behind her with raised brows and kissy faces.

You instantly feels embarrassed and cover your face with your hands. You know how that looked, Thomas without his shirt on and right up in your face! You hear Thomas coming to your defense swearing up and down that nothing happened and that you were worried you were being annoying.

The guys pick on him relentlessly then while Leighann tries to coax you out from behind your hands, "Come on I was just teasing you."

"I know but now I really feel like a nuisance though," you mumble.

"Come on, why don't we leave these three weirdos to act like teenage boys and you and I will crack open a bottle of red," Leighann tugs on you and drags you to the kitchen.

You still hear Thomas talking to Rick and Tyler though their conversation no longer sounds lighthearted.

Leighann pulls out a few bottles onto the counter and has you take your pick though you just mindlessly point to whatever. Leighann rolls her eyes and grabs a different bottle, something that you usually like.

"Alright come on, spill," she says as she opens the bottle with a pop.

"I just... Maybe coming here was a mistake," you pout.

She rolls her eyes again and sets the bottle down, "No, the only mistake that was made was your parents not letting you have a fucking life."

You cringe at their mentioning.

"You have no preferences, no real likes or dislikes, and it took you till yesterday to admit that you actually don't care for salmon! They fucked up, they failed you, and now you have the greatest opportunity to be you! The real you that you've even hidden from me, your best fucking friend!" She tosses her hands out before grabbing a couple of mugs out of a cabinet a filling them to the brim with wine.

She's absolutely right and it hurts. Living a carefully crafted life you weren't allowed the luxury of preferences or opinions. Everything you had was what everyone else thought you should have. You were never really you. You cried for a solid hour when you admitted you hate salmon. What else do you not care for, what things do you actually care for?

You take the wine filled mug and chug some of it down before Leighann quickly grabs it from your hands, "Slow down girly, we're just taking the edge off."

"I know... I know," you sigh.

"Ugh enough of that ju-"

Leighann stops and looks over your shoulder with a curious expression. You turn around and see Thomas holding Rick and Tyler by their shoulders.

"Hey uh sorry about earlier, we uh went a little too far with the teasing," Rick apologizes.

"Yeah, we didn't mean to embarrass you or anything," Tyler adds.

"Oh uh... it's uh fine now, I'm just not used to getting teased like that is all. I know you were only joking," you try and smooth things over seeing how nervous both guys look.

Tyler and Rick breathe a sigh of relief but Thomas still looks somewhat upset. That's a bit unsettling to you.

"Well with apologies out of the way and the house basically unpacked. What's next on the agenda?" Leighann breaks the silence with grace.

Thomas snaps out of his mood and gives you a nervous smile, "If you're still up for it we can still have dinner at my place?"

Smiling back you nod.

He too breathes a sigh of relief then.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thomas' house is almost as nice as he is. His house is well decorated and he has an impressive library and a large photo of his family at the entry. You were surprised to find out that he's a triplet and how different he and his brothers look.

His kitchen is cute with a wonderful forest green color that has copper pots and pans hanging above the island.

He has Rick and Tyler help with the grill while you and Leighann lounge poolside with fresh made lemonade.

"Not going to lie, I'm now thinking about moving here," she laughs as she steals a glance at Tyler.

She's been messing with him since they've met and you can see something there. They bantered like they've done it their entire lives earlier and Rick and Thomas just stood watching impressed at her while you were impressed at Tyler for keeping up with her.

"If and when that happens are you going to move next to Tyler?" you ask.

She chuckles and sighs, "Oh no, I'd move across the street."

You roll your eyes and look over at Thomas. He was placing some steaks on the grill while talking to Rick. He turns his head enough and catches you looking at him so you just awkwardly smile at him.

Trying to play off that weird moment you turn to Leighann to say something but you're unable to get a word out before Tyler approaches her and the two walk away and start to conversate.

"He is really into your friend there," Thomas says as he approaches you.

"He's in big trouble then, Leighann's a tough cookie," you shrug.

There's a long stretch of silence then that's eventually broken by Thomas clearing his throat, "I'm uh sorry about earlier, that was really inappropriate of me."

"Oh it's f-"

"No, it's not. I also hear what Leighann said earlier as well. About not having any preferences. You told me last time you were here about how little control you had over your life but I didn't think it was that bad. What kind of pack would allow that?" Thomas looked at you with confusion then.

But now you're confused, did he just say pack? Maybe that's some slang for family around here.

"Rich families do this sort of thing all the time. I got too used to it and maybe I feel too guilty if I upset or annoy someone because of how often it was beaten into me," you shrug.

"Beaten?" Thomas asks, looking like he was about to explode.

"Not too bad either, just the usual ruler or pointing stick. And nowhere that would be visible. It stopped when I was fourteen though so it's been a long while," you reassure him as if this was perfectly normal.

Thomas looks like he's really about to explode now, "Your pack allowed that? What the hell is wrong with them? You were just a child!"

"I was expected to act a certain way and if I didn't, there were consequences," you reply though a bit more unsure of yourself than before.

He shakes his head and gets down to your level, "Are there any other children in your pack dealing with that?"

You shake your head, "No, there's none. I'm the youngest in my family so th-"

"Not your family, your pack," he repeats.

Furrowing your brows you cock your head to the side uncertain what he's asking now. Could it be a community thing then? You knew a lot of girls your age also went through what you did, often comparing stories at camps or pageants when you were younger. But that also doesn't feel like the right answer.

Seeing you take so long to answer, Thomas takes your hand ever so gently and gives it a squeeze, "You can tell me ok, I promise I won't mention you to your pack leader but the council doesn't tolerate the mistreatment of children. They can help."

Now you know that neither of you are on the same page. In fact you're one hundred and one percent confused.

"I'm sorry, I haven't any idea what you're talking about," you tell him.

He looks away from you for a moment and sighs, "I know it's not easy for you to open up but our kind has to stick together. You said you're from New York and I know the packs up there aren't the best but I didn't know they'd be that bad. How about this, I just list them off and if I say the one you're from just nod your head ok?"

Before he starts listing packs off you hold up your hands with panic running through you.

You remember your parents talking about the other folk at a gala they were at. Vampires, moth men, liches, and werewolves, how they actually existed and lived amongst us. Your dad swore up and down he was close with a werewolf pack.

Pack...

"Thomas, I think there's been a big misunderstanding here and please forgive me for my next question if it seems a bit odd, but you're a werewolf right?" you cringe your face hoping you're wrong.

"Of course I am... Wait a moment, oh goodness are you not one? Are you a different were or perhaps a vampire? No that can't be it's day time, then a li-"

"No no, none of the above. Thomas, I'm human."

[legendofthe3divas]

she’s AN AUTHORRR

leighannepinnock: She’s an author 😌🥲

Order here!

[wytchsbrew]

To keep everyone updated about why I've been gone.

One month ago today, I found a sweet little 4 week old kitten alone in my backyard. He was sick, starving, had a wound on his neck, and was covered in fleas.

When we rescued this tiny, sweet little dirty kitten (who we named Balkie), we knew he was sick, but we had no idea just HOW sick.

By week two of having him, we rushed him as an emergency patient to the vet because he was limp and unresponsive. He had a fever of 106 and he was having seizures. The vet said she'd speak with an internal specialist. Then, a few minutes later, we were told by this vet he had a bacterial infection, he was put on antibiotics, and sent home. He got a little better, but then, he tanked again. He still had a fever when he returned to his follow up appointment.

We said the antibiotics were not working, they just weren't the right kind for whatever he had, he was still hot as ever and sick and couldn't do anything. He needed a different medication. The same vet said no.

We had him back to the vet a week later, and he was seen by a different vet. She tried to help by giving him new antibiotics and medications, but she wasn't sure what it was, either, but she did try.

He only got worse on that medication. Scared of everything, anxious, couldn't remember things, couldn't remember faces, couldn't remember the cats he'd been living with. We were at a loss, we had no idea what to do.

Then, this past Saturday came.

Balkie was suddenly completely paralyzed. He could no longer move. He could no longer swallow on his own. He couldn't hold his head upright on his own anymore. He had a fever for the third time, and he was dying. Legitimately dying.

Mom took him to the vet that morning at 11 AM, fully believing they were going to put him down.

But, we got a new vet on Saturday. She went through his records from the previous visits, and realized, an internal specialist had written in his file that they believed he had Toxoplasmosis. And the first vet, WHO HAD SPOKEN TO THE SPECIALIST, simply would not tell us that and refused to treat him for that.

So this sweet little baby had a parasite from raccoons and rats that was attacking his brain and paralyzing him, and had been suffering with it for a month.

The new vet put him on Clindamycin, the only thing that treats Toxoplasmosis. Gave him a fever reducer and a steroid.

By the next morning, he could swallow on his own again and wanted to try walking. In 48 hours, he was no longer paralyzed, and could stand up in the litter box on his own without our help.

This morning, he is running around, he hasn't fallen over, he tried climbing the cat tree all by himself. He's happy, he's playing, he's the kitten I thought we lost when his fever came back the second time.

I can't believe how much he's improved. He's recognizing our faces, he's happy to be here, he wants to be held and is no longer terrified of everything coming and going. He's just my little man again.

I have spent $1,000 saving this sweet baby boy, and he will be special needs for the rest of his life because the Toxo damaged his brain. His head wobbles when he gets excited, he gets weak after a while of running, and his balance is not the best anymore, so he needs around the clock care for right now.

I had other people asking for my Ko-Fi account and to make a wishlist for things he might want/need while he heals and recovers, so I am including the links below. <3

[kylejsugarman]

💕💕💕💕Syd I love you and I hope you are doing well!!! Things may get tough but I know you can make it through them! You are stronger than you know and you will make such a difference in this world. I’ll be heading to St Jude with my brother tomorrow for his biannual checkup. Who knows, one day when you become a big shot peds oncologist you can work there you will be the doctor he goes to see!? 💕 I love you and I believe in you!

💕 leighanne i love u so, so much, thank u for being so loving and kind all the time and reminding me what im fighting for. i hope the trip goes smoothly with only good news :') can we hold hands until u leave?

[loveshotzz]

are we fighting? god leighanne, i can’t believe you’d post your masterlist for something you already showed me and talked to me about. how dare you write the same trope as me even though they’re different and i told you how fucking exciting i was for it and how happy i was for you, this is unbelievable!

but in all seriousness…let’s put our weapons down everybody! i adore leighanne with all my heart number one and number two she showed me/told me about her idea for her mini series already! i love older!steve and so does she and i’m so beyond excited to read this and more of him! i think we’re past the whole conversation of sharing tropes or putting our own spin on it. authors are allowed to write the same tropes and should be able to do so without fear of this happening! i’m not offended or upset and you shouldn’t be either!

i love you so much and i cannot wait to read this. i hope people can give their head a shake and stop being mean because i simply won’t allow it

I guess we are?? lmao! 🥺 i love you so much autumn, i don’t think people realize how much you and i talk behind the scenes. thank you for your endless support of my writing. I’ve literally been reading autumn’s fics since I joined tumblr last summer. I watched her pour herself in to its golden like daylight, i would never take that from her.

i love you autumn 💗 thank you 🥺 I hope you like it, it’s definitely something out of my comfort zone.

[mygrayzone]

My reading in may:

Five fall into adventure by Enid Blyton

One of us is lying by Karen M. McManus

Five goes to mystery moor by Enid Blyton

Witch you wouldn't believe by Lucy May

A spell to tell by Lucy May

Dead wrong by Leighann Dobbs

Dead & buried by Leighann Dobbs

I've been focusing on reading light things. It's some kind of escape from this world. So cozy mystery it is. I really enjoyed the ride in One of us is lying. Did not really feel Lucy May's A lemon tea cozy mystery - series.

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

I know it's a controversial topic, so apologies and feel free to just disregard if you don't want to talk about it, but I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the way that Louis has chosen to present his fatherhood. I'm like you, I think it's important as fans to accept that this is how Louis is choosing to present himself (even if you don't believe him), so I don't mean the choice to do so, but more the specific ways he's chosen to do so.

The thing that I've sometimes struggled with and that makes me wonder is that the trend/dominant cultural idea, especially for celebrities, seems to have solidly moved toward not showing children's faces, keeping them out of the spotlight, a focus on maintaining their privacy, etc (as I've seen a lot of people point out, Bear is only one year younger and we've never even seen his face), but the specific way that Louis chose to present himself as a father seems to go against that trend (bringing him to the LA show in view of fans, including him in the photos that Louis' family posts, and obviously including him in the documentary). Maybe I'm in the minority, but it has always seemed to me like the former, private approach was a clear alternative, and one that at least I would find a more compelling presentation of fatherhood. Louis could have chosen not to do the things I mentioned and in one or multiple interviews, mention the ways that Freddie's early life was made public to an almost excruciating degree and say that he wants to try to protect him from the spotlight and public scrutiny as much as he can. But Louis didn't choose to do that, and did choose to go the route he did, and I don't have any real theory or explanation for that choice but I do find it interesting, especially because it's not the current norm and because he is so otherwise focused on privacy.

I disagree about the current norm - I think there are a wide range of approaches to parenting and privacy among celebrities (as wide as there are among normal people). Just look at Little Mix - Leighanne doesn't show her children's faces and Perrie does. I don't think this requires any explanation any more than the variation in the way people I know show their kids on social media - people have different views and approaches.

[myobmaya]

✔️ wake up

✔️ get dressed

✔️gaslight sava into believing she’s from texas

[munsonology]

👀👀👀👀

Omg leighanne 🥹🥹

Ok so cut throat is an Eddie/Sinclair oc fic i thought about after watching volume 1. It’s my little passion project and I actually posted chapter 1 back in July but I don’t like it so I’m rewriting it. This is extreme angst and extreme slow burn and lots of sex 🤭 that will have the most trigger warnings I’ve ever seen in a fic BUT it will all be justified and worth it 🤓 we’re probably gonna be covering literally everything. I’ll def put warnings with each post I don’t wanna overwhelm anyone unexpectedly that’s not cool. and it’s been really therapeutic for me to write. I actually have notes on my phone and random pieces of paper of the plot points but I could never get the flow right so I think I found it finally. I made my oc look closer to Lucas than and blend of him and erica because of the freaky bond she shares with her brother 🤓 The original chapter is somewhere lost in the trenches cuz idk if I tagged it with the title oops so it’s somewhere lol

Twenty one candles is an AU based on one of my fav movies sixteen candles �� reader has a name but it’s written as ‘you’. Reader and her older sister are steve’s half siblings from his dad’s first marriage. I made the harrington’s involved with their kids because Steve deserves it 😭 and reader is biracial because there aren’t enough black reader fics and I didn’t want her to just be adopted I actually wanna explain the background and I actually created reader’s maternal family and the second mrs.harrington’s family 🤓 my idea is that this is a 3 or 4 part fic within a bigger series with reader and Eddie.

Now I have attempted writer in my bio for a reason but I really wanna post something by the end of the year but I make no promises cuz I’m the procrastinate QUEEN! But I believe in me 😭😭 I just move slow so I admire everyone who posts multiple fics with 1 word or more which is literally everyone 🥹

[legendofthe3divas]

is anyone else obsessed with leigh’s dress?

[liverpoolwfc]

The versatile defender has been a first-team regular since joining the Reds two years ago.

The 26-year-old is best known as a tough-tackling left-back but has also played on the right and as a centre-back.

“I’m really happy to be staying at the club for another two years,” Robe told Liverpoolfc.com. “I love it in Liverpool, the club’s amazing and the fans always make you feel welcome and a big part of the club, so I’m looking forward to staying.

“Liverpool’s a huge club so I’m delighted to still be a part of it, fighting to get us back to where we should be in the top league.

“We have a very close-knit group and we’re sticking together. There’s not many changes in the team and we want to fight for each other and fight for the club.”

Robe is already looking forward to getting back into training alongside manager Vicky Jepson and the rest of the squad after the Women’s Super League season was ended early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She continued: “Vicky’s great, she puts a lot of belief in me and we’ve got a good working relationship and that’s important to have.

“I’ve really missed it. It was hard especially in the first few months because you were doing a lot of training individually. We’re back in two weeks and I just can’t wait.”

The Reds will play in the Championship next season and Robe knows they will have a tough battle ahead to fulfil the aim of bouncing straight back to the WSL.

“Every team is going to raise their standards when they play us, it’s still a tough league,” she said. “It’s going to be like a cup final in every single game for us but we’re looking forward to the challenge.

“The fans are really supportive and it’s always nice to have them singing. Obviously last season didn’t go well for us but regardless of the results, they would still turn out and be singing.”

Jepson believes Robe was just the type of character needed for the challenge ahead.

The Reds boss commented: “Robey has shown great growth in the last two seasons. She’s proven she’s a tough defender to come up against and was leading the WSL tackling stats for much of last season, which highlights her out-of-possession qualities.

“She’s a natural competitor and has the right mindset for the challenge we have ahead to bounce straight back into the WSL.

“I’m delighted to see her commit to the club and I’m looking forward to working with her again.

“I’m sure all the fans will be as pleased as I am to see her stay with the Reds.”

[mercemerry]

     ( maya hawke, trans female, she/her, fire emblem: three houses ) * &. i know it must be scary for you, leonie pinelli, after surviving the takeover. to turn into someone like leighanne “leigh” phillips, a twenty-five year-old pool lifeguard at the delmare & student at castle town university, right here in castle town. just remember that you are as honest as you are competitive, and to be wary, be safe, be true to who you are : neutral through and through. ( hywia )

      hey howdy hey what’s UP my DEERS ( please don’t murk me ) i’m back with . . . hopefully my last character for a while ?? i don’t really have any plans for anyone else as of Yet - leonie is a character i,,, absolutely adore but never thought i’d pick up in the beginning but holy HELL i love her and i’m so excited to write her and i’m here to defend her from all slander. click for more abt her under the cut !!

BEFORE THE SNAP  /  L E O N I E  P I N E L L I .

soooOOOOO. okay. in FE3H , Leonie is a student of the Golden Deer house/class and like a few of the other students , she’s a commoner instead of a noble. and right off the bat you find out one thing - that she’s an apprentice of Byleth’s father , Jeralt , and he’s her hero and she idolizes him.

this !! was from an instance where Jeralt stopped by her little hunting village and rescued the people of her village from poachers ; he basically taught Leonie a few things she knows , and she referred to herself as his apprentice since. 

it was because of him that Leonie knew what she wanted to do - she wanted to be mercenary , especially one that could succeed the man she idolized.

so flash forward to years later at Garreg Mach’s Officers Academy - Leonie got in through her entire village basically paying for her to go , and for that she baaaasically accumulated a lot of debt from it. she’s really frugal with her money because of this. but turns out !! jeralt’s there , and he brings his kid , byleth , with him , and leonie sort of forms a one-sided rivalry with them since they’re pretty much the next-gen and Leonie wants to prove she’s on-par with them , if not better , because they’re pretty much Jeralt 2.0 in terms of fighting premise and that was Leonie’s goal.

eventually , though , this rivalry turns into Leonie being attached to Byleth through mutual grieving once ( spoiler alert ) Jeralt bites the dust , as well as Leonie making a promise to Jeralt that she’d watch over Byleth if anything happened to him - essentially , filling Jeralt’s role , but not in the exact way she expected.

a few cool things !! leonie is really skilled in hunting & fighting - she makes a very good cavalry unit with skills in lance & archery - i’m setting her up to be my bow knight on my current playthrough - and holy hell she has a LOT she can boast about. she’s just a really good unit and could probably level a battlefield by herself with minimal grinding in-game.

her personality is very honest & truthful , but blunt in a sense that more often than not , even if the situation doesn’t call for it , she WILL speak her mind and give brutal honesty if she believes in it. sometimes , she’ll immediately say what she’s thinking , even if it’s here jumping to conclusions or snapping impulsively. i... honestly really adore that about her , since it’s not very similar to me , but i kinda wish i had her bravery in that sense.

but hOLY HELL is she determined & hardworking and she’s actually a pretty cool person - she’s what i call a chaotic lawful because she’s,,,, a subtle kind of chaotic that still has her own code. she’s also REALLY GOOD at managing her time & money and kind of sees every single opportunity she has to train and work hard and yeah leonie is no fucking slouch and we gotta stan that.

she’s one of the gd members who regularly says ‘fuck’ but also ‘watch your fucking language’ if, like, lysithea or sb swears. the one who probably contributes to as many chaotic fuckshit shenanigans as she tries to fix.

anyways i’m gay and i am sOOOOO excited to write her !! i’m not exactly dECIDED yet in what path i want to pull her from out of either verdant wind or crimson flower , since i love leonie staying with the deer and can’t really see her wanting to ally with the people who killed her mentor ( twsitd , who worked with the empire briefly ) but also a timeline where she follows byleth and fulfills her promise to jeralt - who was also extremely suspicious of the church. it’s INTERESTING and i haven’t figured it out yet.

also she’s a chaotic bi bc i’m a chaotic bi that loves to project.

also okay i just also wanna say pls no. ‘leonie wanted to [REDACTED] ur dad’ jokes they kinda,,, sorta,,, make me rly uncomfortable esp since leonie sees jeralt as pm her mentor and Nothing More so if u could just refrain from tht i would b !! grateful.

AFTER THE SNAP  /  L E I G H  P H I L L I P S .

okay soooOOOOOOO. trigger warnings here for parental death & murder. 

so she survived the takeover , and remembers all of the events of her past life , but . . . leigh phillips did not have a good time here in castle town.

she grew up firstly with a family who wasn’t doing so well - they were happy , certainly , but they lived in a bad part of delaware & it wasn’t the best scenario because there were a lot of times leigh went without basic needs. but they made it , it was okay.

thought things really changed when leigh was a teenager , just shy of sixteen years old when her parents were murdered during a home invasion & she was the only survivor.

still a minor - scared & alone - she was taken in by a family friend and her husband who were perhaps waaaay more well-off than she was. this essentially was a tragic rags-to-riches story , where a girl who had nothing lost everything she had , but was taken in by a loving home that gave her everything she ever wanted.

and in castle town , that sorta-kinda was her reputation. she was coddled & cared for by her foster parents and didn’t really have to do anything to support herself - she got a job at the local rich people hotel as a lifeguard , but she didn’t need it. she had a full ride in college paid for by her foster family & anything she asked for. 

THEN SHE WAKES UP.

wakes up as in , she wakes up with this new past & life in castle town and the thing is . . . leonie ?? isn’t a fan of living the rich kid life. isn’t a fan of not having to work. isn’t a fan of allowing herself to be coddled & protected & sheltered and basically have everything served to her on a silver platter.

she finds out how this happened and while she doesn’t condemn the people who took her in - because they are good people - she starts defying it in any other way. she starts working odd jobs at other places and saving any penny she gets. and this is weird , because everyone else in castle town knows her as this spoiled rich girl who would get all of the best things she wanted and now ?? she wants to live on her own ?? support herself ?? she’s shopping at walmart and the thrift store ??

hell yeah.

leigh’s whole mission is to pretty much break away from that reputation that was created for her in this fake life ; and that , in turn , basically has her trying to morph back into one more like home. she currently is living by herself , but is still employed at the delmare since , yeah , it’s a job , and any job will do. but she doesn’t really want to rely on her foster parents anymore for support , since they did a lot for her but she doesn’t like the idea of overstaying her welcome.

so it’s sorta-kinda a case of leigh is acting . . . VERY DIFFERENT from how she would prior to her realizing she’s actually leonie pinelli from fodlan and not someone else. so it’s gonna be a reALLY interesting dynamic to play and i’m so so SO excited for it.

anyways !! i’m gonna be heading to bed , but tomorrow i’ll be back for plotting & stuff  and will do some replies/starters and maybe even some wcs to get the ball rolling for my girl !! love y’all xoxo

[kylejsugarman]

Hi syd!! ily and I hope you are having a great day! 💕💕💕💕

Ps. How does Jesse end up working with Sheila and how do Baby and Sheila get along?

hi leighanne i adore u!!!! ive been having a nice lazy day and it has been sick as hell 💕

so!! for the first couple of weeks in alaska, jesse basically doesnt leave his new place (ed left him a cache of supplies) for a lot of reasons and only very reluctantly goes into town for the first time because he's out of stuff. he stops off for groceries, then cigarettes from the general store and is walking back to his car when he sees a woman trying to get a chest of drawers through the door of one of the shops on the main street. she looks at him and says "you. come help me with this." jesse obliges because there's no way to run from this now and assists her in getting the chest un-stuck and into the shop.

it's a furniture shop, a sort of hybrid of antique store, restoration and repair place, and custom production store. he's kind of stunned: honestly, he didnt expect there to be anything in this town. then again, he doesnt know Anything about this place or even alaska at large. sheila immediately starts talking his ear off upon realizing that she's never seen him before, excited as hell to have another person to meet and know. jesse obviously doesnt tell her much and is initially dying to get tf out of there, but sheila is chummily determined to rope him into town. she makes them both some coffee (without being asked. she just makes it and gives him a mug and asks if he wants creamer or anything. it's so weird but it makes staying a little easier) and starts telling him about haines, where he can go for this and that, how things work here, has he settled in alright?? does he have a job?? jesse is like. "Um." because he hasn't been thinking that far (he truly can only think one day at a time rn) but he'll definitely need one. sheila immediately pounces on him and says that since she's added custom production to her shop, she's had trouble taking care of Everything by herself and has been thinking about hiring someone to work the store and help her with coordination and other tasks. he sheepishly admits that he actually kind of likes carpentry and building stuff and sheila basically HOWLS and is like "fate put u on my sidewalk, son!! they call this a miracle. oh, we're gonna be BEST friends. hold on, i have some cookies in my office, we need cookies—" even if this wasnt the kind of work he wanted to go into, sheila wouldn't have really given him a choice, but he kind of needs that direction and guidance right now

and sheila was made in a laboratory to be an aunt or a grandma. she and her wife bea don't have kids, but bea comes from a big family and has lots of nieces and nephews that sheila lives to spoil. she's aware of baby since demi's practice is down the street, but once she gets to know demi and baby a little better, sheila decides that she's going to be that kid's honorary aunt. sheila thinks baby is a hoot and wants to give her all the confidence and pride and security in the world (tbh sheila sort of believes that Everyone should act like Sheila). baby's never going to act like that, but it is good for her to have an adult around who is extremely self-confident and assertive to learn those traits from. for all of her brashness, sheila is extremely generous and very sweet to the whole family, but she loves to roll up to the function with a gift for baby and a "im gonna take this little sweet pea home with me" threat before she leaves the function. she loves that kid

[superbfics]

Wow wow wow wow where the fuck do I even begin????

I truly love anything Leighanne writes, she's a talented and gifted writer and I still can't believe she's just giving it away for free. But this...this fic is...God I don't have words.

Her imagery is sopowerful, Im there, I saw it all, I felt it all. Literally incredible. The music, the 90s references, the descriptions. This is full of wit and charm and so much hot and wonderful tension and build up that even just the kissing had me pressing my hands to my bright red face. I've read it twice already and I laugh and blush and get butterflies in my stomach like I'm actually there with Eddie. AND then she comes out and hits me with the hottest smut.

I just...I can't. This is a story you finish reading and you want to jump back to the beginning and read it over again immediately. Truly immersed and in love with this universe Leighanne created 💛

I don't wanna give away too much and it was REALLY hard to not just copy and paste this whole thing so I'm only choosing a few select lines that I haven't stopped thinking about:

Your lips twitch, the forced deep baritone in his voice isn’t fooling you, and you wonder if it fooled anyone when the signature beep of a Tomogatchi pet needing to be fed goes off in his back pocket.  

Focusoneddiefocusoneddiefocusoneddie

“This one’s on the house sweetheat, it’ll help make your date cuter.”  He winks with a sly grin, your stomach flutters with his full attention on you like this.

“Unfortunately is right, huh?” Winking, he pushes back leaving only the lingering scent of his cologne raising his shot in an offering of cheers. “To what could have been, baby.” 

Ducking his head down he nudges your nose with his, the heat of his breath fanning against your open mouth. His eyes go from yours back down to your glossed lips silently begging for your permission.

��What’s got you so needy, huh?” His words are whispered as he presses with the slightest pressure before pulling back again. “I didn’t kiss you good enough outside, you need more?”

“The sweetest, baby.” 

“That is tequila, sweetheart. Tsk, tsk, tsk are you even listening to what I’m saying? Or are you too…” Before he finishes his sentence he pushes his index finger past your entrance, your warm walls wrapping tight around his digit, “…distracted?”

Your pour is shaky when he counts low in your ear, nuzzling his nose in your hair calling you a good girl after each successful addition to the simple concoction.

“Asking me so sweet, how could I say no to you?” Murmuring against your lips, he finally gives in and kisses you. Wet and sloppy he only does it long enough to take your breath away before dropping to his knees.

"LONG ENOUGH TO TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY BEFORE DROPPING TO HIS KNEES."

He does the motions he would do when he ties the cherry stem into a knot against your clit, a strangled moan ripping from your throat when he does it again.

“Come on baby, give me another one. Be my sweet girl again and tell me how good I make you cum.” His fingers slip against your clit, fingers wet from how worked up he had you but his words are enough to have your world stop for a second.

“Only, the really, really cute ones. I take them to get pancakes at IHOP around the corner, too.”

bartender!eddie x fem!reader Eddie’s night.

🎵my man gives real love that’s why I call him killer, he’s not a ‘wham! bam! thank you ma’am!’ he’s a thriller.🎵

summary: After being stood up on a blind date, the cute bartender you’ve been ‘trying’ not to flirt with keeps you company.

word count: 12.6k

warnings: 90’s AU / 18 + no minors! /eddie is in his early 30’s, fingering, oral (f receiving), semi public smut (p in v), cream pie, dirty talk.

authors note: my love letter to the 90’s 💕after one month of brain storming and three weeks of writing here’s part one of Whatta Man! Eddie’s night. (This is a singular one shot. Steve’s night is part two, can you find the easter eggs for his night 😉)Thank you to my very talented friends who always brain storm with me and share ideas. This fun lil AU wouldn’t have happened with you. ily 💗 edit by @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

You didn’t want to go on this date. Not when your roommate set you up, and you certainly didn’t want to go when he picked The Foxy Lounge. But when Weather Man Mike predicted the first warm day after three months of bitter winter you’d take any excuse to wear your favorite dress. 

You’d been here before, always stumbling in after a night out with friends because they were the only 4am place in town. Those late nights turned to early mornings were more of a thing of the past now so when you got to the familiar chipped red door you didn’t recognize the bouncer standing outside. He has a head of honey colored hair that’s just long enough to run his fingers through. His toned frame sits pretty wrapped in a tight black tee and long legs covered in dark wash jeans tight enough for you to really have to focus on keeping  your eyes on his face. A freckle covered neck leads to a strong jaw and a chiseled nose. Leaning against the brick wall with his boots crossed at the ankles a toothpick twirls between his straight teeth.

The platform of your sneakers hitting the pavement as you come to a stop and the jingle of your power beads alerts him of your presence, hazel eyes going round like the moon in the sky. Straightening his posture he snatches the tooth pick out of his mouth, stuffing it in his back pocket. You swear you see a Tamagotchi tucked away as he clears his throat with a puff of his chest.

“I.D.?” 

Your lips twitch, the forced deep baritone in his voice isn’t fooling you, and you wonder if it fooled anyone when the signature beep of a Tomogatchi pet needing to be fed goes off in his back pocket. He coughs to try to cover the noise while you quickly pull what he needs out of your cross body. Holding it out for him to examine you look up with a glossed smile matching the one in the picture. Narrowing his eyes, you catch a glimmer of playfulness when he clicks on his flashlight. 

Examining it like it could be a fake, you bite back a giggle while he turns it around giving it one more once over before handing it back to you with a soft chuckle.

“Funny, we have the same birthday.” His voice comes out normal this time, soft and friendly just like you thought.

“Twins!”

A genuine smile lights up his face like the sign above your head, his boyish features coming out despite the stubble on his chin.

“Might as well call us the Olsen’s.” Throwing you a wink he pulls the gold handle to open the door for you. The sounds of Return of the Mack break through the hums of the street behind you. “Have fun tonight honey, be safe. If anyone bothers you, just come grab me okay? I’m steve.”

Your cheeks heat up at the endearment and you have to remind yourself that you’re here for a date. You catch a hint of his cologne when your shoulder brushes against his chest on your way in, the expensive scent making you dizzy when it hits your senses.

“I will, thanks Steve,”your words are shy when they come out, making his lips twitch in response. Nodding his head, you catch the tinge of pink on his skin before he closes the door with a small wave.

It's even louder inside with the drunk conversations battling for dominance against the music. Tugging nervously at the bottom of your dress you look around the bar for the vague description of this guy Craig your friend gave you. 

You scan the crowd a few times before your eyes catch the big brown ones of the bartender. The stool in front of him freeing itself at the same time your eyes connect, the corners of his plush lips pull up as he beckons you over with two heavily ringed fingers. The unruly dark auburn curls that hit just below his shoulders catch the low light behind the bar, the yellow glow softening up all his edges. 

Rocking back on your heels you pull the strap of your cross body closer, doing your best to collect yourself before you push through the crowd accepting his invitation. His smile widens, pulling up his stubble covered cheeks to reveal a set of perfect white teeth to you. The one you give him in return comes out a little shy as you plop down on the ripped vinyl that matches the red of the door.

Ink litters his arms disappearing under the frayed ends of his sleeves letting you know there was more under the tight fit of his worn faded black Metallica shirt. The two rips near the collar give you a glimpse of the chain wrapped around his neck. The scruff lining his jaw adds a few years from afar but from this close he looks your age. The silver hoop in his nose catches against the bright lighting under the bar like the rings adoring his fingers. Pulling out two empty shot glasses with a twirl he quickly fills them up with Jameson.

“This one’s on the house sweetheat, it’ll help make your date cuter.”  He winks with a sly grin, your stomach flutters with his full attention on you like this.

The glass is heavy in your grasp as you stare at the dark liquid with a faint grimace. His low chuckle catches your attention before the pop and hiss of the soda fills your ears. As if reading your mind he slides over a coke, letting you keep your pride by not having to ask for a chaser.

“How do you know I’m here for a date?” Raising a questioning brow, the sides of your lips twitch as you struggle to hold a straight face. “A girl can’t come to the bar alone on a Friday night?”

The chocolate in his eyes lights up at your playful banter, slinging a white towel over his shoulder he leans in, forearms pressing hard against the counter as he invades your space. The spice of his cologne and the burn of cigarette smoke joins with him and you find yourself sucking your bottom lip between your teeth.

“Are you telling me you’re available then?” Dropping his voice low enough to feel between your legs, you wished more than anything you had a different answer to give him.

The heaviness of his gaze has your cheeks warming, the intensity of the eye contact forcing your gaze away for a second as you clear your throat. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear you muster enough courage to meet his eyes again. 

“N-no unfortunately, you were right.” Exaggerating a heavy sigh, his confident demeanor never wavers despite his confirmed suspicions.

“Unfortunately is right, huh?” Winking, he pushes back leaving only the lingering scent of his cologne raising his shot in an offering of cheers. “To what could have been, baby.” 

A giggle bubbles past your lips when his fingers brush against yours meeting in the middle with a clink. Downing his shot like a professional, he’s left to watch the way you struggle with yours. Amusement is evident on his face while he watches the way your throat stays unwilling to open. Holding the alcohol in your mouth longer than anyone would want, it finally gives in letting the bitter liquid go down with a bite. Pushing the can of coke towards you with his knuckles, his laugh booms loud from his chest as you search for reprieve in the sweetness with desperation.

Chugging with abandon, you forget your surroundings for a second before your eyes meet his over the rim of the can and it’s almost enough to have you snort the rest of it all over yourself. 

Coming up for air you grumble a half assed “shut up” doing your best to try and fight the smile begging to spread across your lips as you wipe them with the back of your hand.

“Not a whiskey girl I take it?” Punctuating the ‘t’ harder than normal, his teasing falls on deaf ears when you get distracted at the way his thick fingers wrap around the shot glasses.

“Not a shot girl in general, I’d rather not taste the alcohol if I can help it.” Shrugging, you trace invisible patterns on the sticky quartz of the bar top with french tipped nails silently reminding yourself for the second time tonight you’re here for a date.

“So how’d you two meet?” He raises his voice so it comes out sickly sweet while a shaker and a lemon appears in his hands. Setting them down on top of the worn jagermeister logo that covers the drink mat he starts rolling the fruit against his palm.

“We haven’t met yet actually, a friend set us up.” 

Eddie’s movements freeze for a second, eyebrows furrowing together in a look of confusion as if that was the craziest thing that anyone had ever told him. He grabs the bottle of simple syrup adding more to what looked like it was going to be a sweet drink before he answers.

“Someone like you shouldn’t need to be set up, sweetheart.” He looks up at you from under the hood of his lashes quickly picking up on the effect he has on you.

He twirls another empty glass onto the counter top before he smashes the lid of the shaker on, not giving you a chance to respond he starts shaking it louder than you know is necessary. The bats tattooed on his arm dance across the muscles with the flex of every flick of his wrist.

“Really? Laying it on thick, huh?” Raising your voice enough to know he could hear you, he taunts you by cupping his free hand over his ear to make a show of pretending he can’t, mouthing a ‘sorry’ with a smirk. The laugh he earns from when he finally relents is the prettiest sound he thinks he’s ever heard. 

“Well I hope this ‘friend’ has a good vetting process. No less than three interviews or no dice.” He pours your drink with panache, like he’s putting on a show for you, like you’re sure he does with all the other girls.

Grabbing a straw he plugs one end with his index finger before he dips it into the slightly lighter liquid. The heat between your legs becomes almost unbearable when his lips wrap around the end tasting his creation with a low groan, his pink tongue pokes out to collect the sweetness left behind.

“I think, I think you’re gonna like this one. It’s an Eddie Munson original, I’m calling it "Wasting Love.” The roll of your eyes makes him bark out another laugh. The signs of the smoke you smell on him are more noticeable in this one’s rumble.

“I wonder what could have inspired it?” Biting your lip to hide your smile, you knew you shouldn’t be flirting with him while you waited for Craig, but you can’t help yourself. Besides, he was already ten minutes late.

“I think you know what inspired it sweetheart, I can tell you’re not just some pretty face.” Dimples poking through his cheeks, he finally takes notice of the glares from the customers filling up the bar. Everyone’s patience starting to wear thin while they waited for whatever this was to be over. 

“I gotta stop ignoring all the other people in here real quick, but I’ll be back for your review.” He throws you another wink and it has you shifting in your seat as he starts to walk away.

“Wait! I never opened a tab!” Calling after him as you reach for your purse, he tuts loudly, turning around to face you, continuing his path walking backwards. 

“You shouldn’t be paying for a thing tonight, gorgeous.” He waves his hand dismissively before his back is to you again giving his undivided attention to the bearded man who looked ready to murder the carefree metal head if he didn’t get his Bud Light in the next five seconds.

Trying not to get too caught up in someone that wasn’t your date you timidly bring the straw to your lips. Humming appreciatively when the sweetness hits your tastebuds you’re pleasantly surprised at how much you actually like it. Feeling bold enough to take a bigger gulp, you look around for Craig again. So lost in the little bubble you had been in with Eddie you didn’t realize how much more the bar had filled up since you arrived. A new kind of rowdy energy in the air — the low murmurs of conversation get loud enough to drown out Semi- Charmed Kinda Life.

Glancing down at your pink swatch watch, your date was now twenty minutes late. Turning around to check and make sure the lavender cross body you told him to look for was visible, you crane your neck around looking one last time. It’s easy to shrug off the sinking feeling of rejection when you turn back around to watch Eddie in his natural habitat. 

He moves behind the bar like he’s been doing it his whole life, like everything was muscle memory.  As if he could feel you staring he catches your gaze throwing you a smirk before he tosses a bottle of tequila in the air catching it with ease. Pouring it into four lined up shot glasses, the group of girls in front of him celebrating what looked like a bachelorette party with all their multi-colored hats and boas squealed with drunk delight. Your eyes hit the back of your skull in a hard roll when one of them bats their eyelashes at him with a hand on his arm.

Sucking down the rest of your drink, the slurping once you hit the ice is loud enough to annoy the guy next to you who shoots you a warning look over his shoulder. Mouthing an apology you push your empty glass away looking around the bar one more time. The guilt of flirting with Eddie starts to disappear when you look at your watch again and start coming to terms you were actually being stood up. Searching for his doe eyes again, your heart sinks when you find him this time.

Dimples in his cheeks again, he’s practically beaming at her. Their body language telling you this isn’t their first time meeting and how animated he is when he talks to her is like he’s known her for years. Gesturing wildly with his hands while she nods enthusiastically, something he says has her throwing her head back with a laugh loud enough you can hear it over the music. You huff through your nose, the sting of rejection sneaking its way back in. The reminder that he was just doing his job and you were here for a date, one that never showed up, slaps you right in the face.

Averting your gaze to spare whatever confidence you have left, your eyes find the bouncer at the front door. Inside the bar now with a hard glare set on his handsome face. His arms sit folded across his broad chest while his jaw clenches at the same time as the muscles in his shoulders flex. Steve looks pissed.

Interest piqued, you follow his line of sight despite it going in the direction of the bar you were trying to avoid. Somehow not surprised when your eyes land on her again, you notice Eddie has already busied himself with someone else. With his back towards both of you he fills two pints with Blue Moon, the uncomfortable look on her face couldn’t be missed. The greasy blonde hair on the man that was clearly invading her personal space told you he’d been drinking all day. The grimace on her pretty face says she could smell it on his breath too.

The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end when you see him grab onto her arm while trying to whisper in her ear. You feel yourself ready to stand up and help when she pushes him away, with the way the veins in her neck were flexing whatever she was saying to him wasn't nice. Shoving her hand in his face she storms towards the front door where Steve is waiting, looking seconds away from killing the man who followed her path out of the bar with a leer.

The scowl on her face softens instantly when she’s met with Steve opening the door, the glare on his face being replaced with a deep flush when you catch a “Thanks, Stevie” fall appreciatively from her lips.

SMACK

Jumping at the sound of metal hitting wood, Eddie’s dimples show themselves only this time they are for you as he leans forward on his arms again, eyes flicking towards the spot next to you. He pulls himself even closer when he notices no one new occupying the stool, making you search for friction with the fat of your thighs. 

“Penny for your thoughts, beautiful?” Flashing you his perfect teeth for the second time tonight the bruise to your ego already starts to disappear.

“I drank it without gagging, didn’t I?” Crossing your arms on top of the bar it's your turn to lean into his space and you swear you hear his breath hitch at your new boldness.

Licking his lips, your eyes greedily follow the path of his tongue. His smile stretches across his face even more when he notices, making no effort to move- unwilling to back down from the silent standoff you’ve challenged him too.

“‘I’ll have you know I take that as a very high compliment coming from you.” His breath fans across your cheeks from this close, mint and whiskey hitting your nose when he huffs a laugh. “Where’s Prince Charming?”

“Turns out there was no Prince, just an ugly old toad.” Tugging your bottom lip between your teeth, you look up at him through half lidded eyes, “Good thing I didn’t kiss him, huh?”

A low rumble shakes in his chest as he dares to lean in even closer, the tips of your noses almost brushing while the bubble you’d lost yourselves in reappears.

“Yeah baby, you can’t give those out to just anybody, they gotta be for someone special.” His voice is low, dripping with the kind of want you’d never had directed at you before. His eyes take in every inch of your face from this close while you try to keep up with his smooth tongue.

“Got anyone in mind, Eddie?” Doing your best to match his tone, his brows pinch together at the way his name sounds coming out of your mouth taking one last look at your lips before meeting your eyes again.

“Yeah, I know a guy actually. He’s a bartender with a great head of hair.” Wiggling his eyebrows when you snort, the front door swings open, breaking you two apart as the girl from before commands the room like a record scratch, silencing the bar for the first time all night.

“Eddie! It’s bad, Steve needs you!” The sheer panic in her voice is enough for the jealous monster inside you to stay at bay as Eddie pushes back on his heels.

An irritated sigh escapes him while he mutters ‘not a-fucking-gain’ under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose before his eyes find yours. You jump a little when he grabs your hands, the warmth of his palms enveloping yours while he gives you a pleading look.

“Don’t - I mean, please don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back, I need to go save my buddy’s ass again. But I promise I’ll be right back, this conversation is too important to leave unfinished.” He flashes you that million dollar smile like chaos isn’t ensuing outside and all you can do is nod, signaling that you’ll stay put.

Hopping over the bar his loose fitting combat boots squeak over the counter top, the black jeans that were hidden from your sight somehow fit him even better than his shirt. Your gaze is shamelessly hungry as it follows him until he’s out the door. The scuffle outside leaking through the music with a blur of bodies outside. 

Too focused on the glimpse of Eddie’s towering frame stepping between the two guys to break up the fight, you don’t notice the person who walks through the unattended door until it shuts behind him with a thud. Ready to glare at whoever it is your eyes widen when you meet the ones belonging to who you can only assume is Craig. The burnt auburn hair he sports and the way he zero’s in on your purse confirms your suspicions. This was Craig, you're incredibly late and not even remotely as attractive as the bartender, date.

“Shit, shit, shit.” No matter how quickly you averted your stare, you knew it was too late, he saw you. Panic sets in while your brain goes a mile a minute trying to think a way out of this.

Looking around the bar for some sort of escape, the thought of ducking into the bathroom sounds like a winner but then the image of Eddie coming back and seeing you gone seeps into the forefront of your mind making you quickly toss that idea out the window. Turning to the people on either side of you who are too lost in their own conversations to notice your dilemma, you try to decide which one you could interrupt the most naturally. 

The couple on your right looks like they’re on a date going really well and the one on your left seems like two friends catching up. The tap on your shoulder is enough for you to make a split second decision, clearing your throat you spare the newly blossoming romance next you from your desperate antics, choosing to interrupt the friends who are reconnecting with a loud fake laugh.

“That’s when she told me- um excuse me do I know you?” Gruff and confused, the man closest to you looks at you as if you’ve grown two heads. First your loud slurping and now this? This plan was never going to work from the get-go.

Another persistent tap on your shoulder has you grasping for straws. You open your mouth to try to sell whatever this was one last time. 

“Umm excuse me?”  Craig’s voice comes out loud enough to cut you off and for the poor guy next to you to give you the final cold shoulder. Unable to ignore him any longer, you force yourself to turn around and face him head on. Kind of. 

Channeling your inner Alicia Silverstone you try to give him the best Clueless look you can muster and he returns it with an even more confused expression, clearing his throat.

“Hey, sorry I’m late. I’m Craig, Ariana’s friend. I think I’m supposed to be meeting you?” Shoving his hands in the pockets of his tan slacks, the maroon sweater he wears fits loosely over his thin frame, dirty black chucks on his feet, his look screams ‘I listen to Nirvana’.

“Umm, I think you have the wrong person? I wasn’t supposed to be meeting anyone here tonight.” It’s not believable in the slightest when the words leave your mouth, your less than confident delivery giving you away. The look on his face lets you know you’ve definitely been made

“Are you sure? I was told to look for the girl with a lavender purse.”  As if to prove his point he points to the exact one he’s talking about slung across your shoulder. He scoffs when you keep up with your charade, “I know I’m late but this is ridiculous.”

“A lot of girls have purple bags, Craig.” His name comes out dripping in venom, the need to get rid of him before Eddie’s return throwing any logic out the window. You needed to believe your own lie.

The sudden harshness has him raising his hands in defense, backing down a little under the daggers of your glare.

“Whoa, chill out, my bad. You just match the exact description I was given, that's all.”

Clenching your jaw in frustration because he just won’t give up, you try to hold your composure while your eyes flick towards the door in anticipation for his return.

“Well you’ve told me you were late twice already so she probably just left. Rude of you to keep her waiting honestly.” Narrowing your eyes at him, you know that he’s aware of exactly what you are doing but you don’t care anymore.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what happened, and not her being bitter I’m one measly hour late.” The way his words clip signal the rejection sinking in, a glare setting firm on his face.

It’s the stare down of the century before Eddie comes barging through the entrance with a loud huff and a clap of his hands. Cheeks red from yelling and hair slightly more wild than before. He checks to make sure you’re still exactly where he left you before he glances over to Craig for a split second not registering who he is. Hopping over the bar with another skid of his boots, he still manages to give you a lopsided grin when he gets to the other side. Hitting the top of the bar in a series of beats - he’s a ball of energy.

“Sorry to keep you waiting sweetheart, Steve’s lucky the girl he took a knuckle sandwich for has a first aid kit. Rick keeps saying he’s gonna get one but I have yet to see it. Want another cocktail?” Talking a mile a minute with the leftover adrenaline from the fight, he still doesn’t notice the way Craig watches the two of you until he catches how awkward you’re being. Eddie’s face hardens, the softness he was giving you disappearing. “Something I can help you with buddy?”

You don’t even have to look at Craig to know he’s puffing out his chest with a point of his chin addressing Eddie.

“Actually pal, maybe you can.” His tone makes Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up, a tested smile spreading over his lips while he lets Craig continue. “I was supposed to meet someone here for a blind date, I was told to look for a girl with a lavender purse exactly like this one. You haven't seen another girl with this exact same bag have you?” 

Eddie’s wide eyes meet yours, amusement filling the specks of golden brown as he picks up on exactly what’s happening. The corners of his lips twitch before he nods his head licking his bottom lip holding your gaze long enough to make you squirm before bringing his attention back to Craig with a low whistle.

“Oh yeah, I remember that hottie, man. It’s a shame you were late, she took off with this dude she met waiting for you. She didn’t stand a chance, though, honestly. I know the guy, he’s too smooth for his own good. Pretty good looking too. Can’t be leaving your girl unattended around him. Probably wouldn’t have worked out between you two anyway.” Eddie catches the roll of your eyes at his self indulgent story as you cover your mouth with the palm of your hand to hide your face splitting grin.

“Why don’t you walk away with some dignity. What’s that saying? There’s always more fish in the sea or some shit.” Eddie adds more salt to the wound, finally breaking Craig enough to give up.

“Whatever you say man, this bar is fuckin’ lame anyway. Who wants to drink to Third Eye Blind.” Grumbling his insults as he slinks away, he takes one last look at you and Eddie before his final exit with a flip of his middle finger.

Eddie’s stare is hot on your face, while you bashfully avoid his gaze keeping your eyes lingering on the door. When you finally dare to meet his eyes the shit eating grin on his face makes you groan, the buzz of your drink pulling a giggle out of you. 

“Eddie, don’t —“

“Well, well, aren’t you just a little heartbreaker, huh?” His teasing only makes your cheeks grow hotter as you try to hide your face from his view.

“Don’t you need to go attend to all the customers you left?” Your words come out muffled from behind your hands as you slowly pull them down just enough to uncover the fake glare you were sending his way.

“I’ve got my favorite one right here.” Voice dropping low with a smirk, he was right, you didn’t stand a chance.

“I haven’t paid for a single thing, you refused my money if you remember.” Bringing your hands down to fully come out of hiding, he bites his bottom lip when he can take in your features again.

“It’s no good here, baby, I could actually get arrested if I take it and then how would I be able to take you out to get pancakes after my shift if I’m behind bars?” Bringing his hands together in mock shackles and a pout, the chain wrapped around his wrist catches your eyes for the first time.

“You’re takin’ me to get pancakes?” Flirting like a love sick teenager, you even start to kick your feet under the bar.

“It’s the least I can do since you’re my fill in bouncer for the rest of the night.” Smirking, he nods his head to the man at the opposite end of the bar flagging him down with a twenty dollar bill. His eyes sparkling with something new now that he had you.

“Me? A Bouncer? I’m not intimidating in the slightest!” Your cheeks hurt from how hard you smile at his retreating form, the game of ‘playing hard to get’ becoming a thing of the past now.

“Sorry, you owe me, heartbreaker.” He shrugs like it’s out of his control before flashing you the same lopsided grin leaving you a mess of nerves from getting to spend the night with him.

The hours till close go by faster than you anticipate with Eddie topping off your drink any time you ask, the buzz from the alcohol is just enough to handle the growing intensity of his flirting. Now that the only obstacle in the way of each other was time, he was relentless.

Enjoying the game of chicken the two of you had started unconsciously playing, you stop noticing the clock. Every six customers earns you five —sometimes ten minutes of his time and he makes sure to use every second of those breaks as an excuse to lean in close, whispering in your ear, holding your face close every time you talk. He was getting off on the way he could make you shift in your seat and hide your bottom lip between your teeth when he got close enough for his lips to brush against your ear. Your fingers find excuses to wrap around his wrist when he invades your space, playing with his chain, you keep him close making sure to tilt your head just enough for him to catch a glimpse down your neck into the low cut of your dress.

The small hand on the clock above the door hits the three and it’s not until his breaks start getting longer and your touches are able to get a little bolder that you notice the murmur of voices over the music disappears. The few stranglers left sipping their last drinks of the evening are paying the two of you no mind despite the way he’s tucking your hair out of his way to trace the shell of your ear with the tip of his nose.

The realization that you’re finally about to be alone with him brings your nerves to a head and the need to check yourself over in the bathroom mirror becomes urgent. The flick of his tongue along your earlobe distracts you for a second as your head nudges against his when it tickles making a giggle slip past your lips.

“I gotta go to the bathroom, Eddie.” You inhale the scent of pine lingering in his shampoo, giving him one last nudge with your nose before hopping off the stool. He gives you his best puppy eyes as you get up to leave, pushing out his bottom lip when you tug your dress down.

“Please, I’ll be like three minutes.” You roll your eyes at him but the smile that lights up your face tells him you’re eating it up.

“I’ll be counting every second you're gone, baby.” Holding his hands over his heart for dramatic effect the man at the end of the bar snorts loudly ruining the moment. He earns an annoyed glare from the bartender, “Better hurry up and finish that shit old man, it’s closing time.” 

You hear him grunt in response to Eddie’s rude reminder before disappearing into the fluorescent lighting of the bathroom. Stickers and writing with permanent marker cover every inch of the dark crimson walls. The doors of the black stalls barely hang from their hinges, dents from many reckless drunk nights at The Foxy Lounge punch random spots into the metal. The bottom of your sneakers stick to the floor with every step to the mirror where more stickers and black scribbles line the surface including a girl named Leigh’s phone number with the note ‘for a good time call’ attached at the end leaving just enough room to see your face.

The space buns on top of your head are messy from Eddie nuzzling his beard into your hair all night. You try to salvage what was left of them by tightening the knots a little more before deciding it's a lost cause. He was probably just going to mess them up more anyway. The thought of Eddie’s hands being free to touch you in every way you’ve wanted all night has you taking a deep breath while you hold your own eyes in the mirror.

“It’s happening, you’re gonna have sex with him. You’re gonna fuck the super hot bartender who flirts like it’s his second language tonight and you’re gonna be confident about it okay? You hear me?” Pointing to yourself in the mirror, the determination in your stare is enough for your tipsy pep talk to work its magic.

Taking one last look at yourself with a nod of your head you pull open the bathroom door ready to take on the rest of the night. Only to stop in your tracks when you notice the stool that was occupied is now empty and every inch of Eddie is also in full view from where he stands in front of the jukebox. Your eyes are insatiable taking in his tall frame like this for the first time all night. 

You notice the giant chain that hangs from his belt loop this time, and there’s even more rips in his jeans than before giving you a peek at the pale skin hidden underneath. His shoulder blades move under the thin fabric of his shirt when he clicks his choice on the machine. Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer spills out from the speakers of the bar as he turns on his heels, the smirk that plays on his lips dares you to catch the hint with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Very subtle.” Crossing your arms as if to act immune to his charms, you know he sees right through your facade but he plays along anyway raising his big hands up in the air in mock surrender.

“It’s just one of my favorite songs, I don’t know what kinda ideas you got going on in that pretty little head of yours.” He takes a few more steps towards you slowly closing the gap, daring to be closer to you than he had been all night without a wooden bar separating you.

“Interesting, I wouldn’t have pegged you for a Sixpence fan.” Raising your eyebrow, you have to look up at him when he finally takes the last few steps to stand in front of you. 

“Why? Cause I’m such a tough guy?” His grin grows wider when he looks down at you catching the roll of your eyes while you uncross your arms opening your body up to him with a laugh. 

“I can’t stand you.” Your swat is flirtatious with your palm hitting his chest. He’s quick to catch it, using your hand as leverage to pull you closer, biting back his groan when a breathy gasp slips past your lips when he tucks you into chest. First your giggle and now this? He just knew you were going to sound so pretty falling apart for him.

“I think Craig would call that bluff sweetheart.” He gives you a minute to let his words sink in, throwing his head back with a loud laugh when you huff at him embarrassed. “I’m teasing, I’m teasing. He needed to be dumped, a girl like you deserves someone that's gonna show up when they’re supposed to.”

The sweetness of his words has you melt against him, the playful pull from before surrendering to his touch and you swear there’s hearts in your eyes from the way he looks down at you after saying something like that. 

“Thanks for tonight Eddie,” your voice is small when it comes out laced with adoration, and it’s his turn to get bashful making your favorite dimples come out again.

“No problem sweetheart, honestly it’s my fuckin’ lucky night.” Pulling your knuckles to his lips, he places a gentle kiss to the skin stretched over them before letting your hand drop, noting the disappointment on your face that you’re quick to cover up. 

“Wanna get some fresh air while I smoke before I close this place down?” 

——

Eddie somehow looks even better under the twinkling stars and pink fluorescent lights of The Foxy Lounge sign. The low hum of the electricity filling your ears as you lean against the brick of the building. His eyes are brighter out here, catching them with your own when he looks at you over the end of his cigarette.

He winks when you meet his pointed gaze, the flame of his lighter casting shadows that dance across the strong lines of his jaw, the orange glow highlighting the stubble that covers it. Batting your lashes at him, you push your hips off the wall playfully while he keeps his eyes on you through his entire first drag, only breaking contact for the split second he needs to blow the smoke he inhaled away from you. 

“Don’t look at me like that.” His words come out like a warning before he takes another hit.

“How am I looking at you Eddie?” Biting your lip to hide your smile, you make sure to say his name extra sweet just how you figured out he likes. He shakes his head with a low chuckle blowing more smoke into the clear night sky. 

Despite only taking two drags, he flicks the barely smoked cigarette to the side before closing the distance with a few steps leaving him crowding you against the building. Your chest brushes against his with every shallow breath. Getting lost in the darkening amber inside his eyes, the calloused tips of his fingers catch against the soft skin of your chin. The pad of his thumb pulling the velvet of your bottom lip from between your teeth.

“Like you want me to kiss you.”

Ducking his head down he nudges your nose with his, the heat of his breath fanning against your open mouth. His eyes go from yours back down to your glossed lips silently begging for your permission.

“I think it was you that was hinting at kissing me earlier.” Pushing up on your tiptoes, you smile against him when your lips just barely touch. 

“Oh? You think that’s what I was doing hmm?” Asking the question he already knows the answer to, his tongue licks against your top lip as your hands find the material of his shirt, fisting as much of it as you can before yanking him down to collect his lips with an eager mouth, giving up winning whatever game this was. 

You swallow his moan when your tongues meet in the middle battling for dominance, teeth scraping, you taste the few puffs of tobacco still lingering on his taste buds as his muscle massages against yours. Sliding his knee between your thighs, he smiles smug into the kiss when your hips search for friction against the denim.

He breaks away from your mouth long enough to start trailing wet kisses down your jaw, the rough hair on his chin rubbing your skin raw as he starts nipping and sucking bruises along your neck. Biting hard enough at your pulse point to have to soothe it with his tongue after the mewls he pulls from you are enough to drive him insane.

Your fingers tangle into the curls at the nape of his neck, giving his roots a pull while you turn your head, opening more of yourself to him. Taking your silent invitation he nips at the dip of your collar bone before lifting his head to press his forehead to yours. 

“I gotta close up baby, but then…”rubbing his hands up your curves with a low groan he squeezes at the plush of your hips before finishing his sentence, “I think I promised you pancakes.”

Nodding your head because words are stuck at the tip of your tongue, he grabs your cheeks with a strong grip, smushing your lips together before stealing one last kiss.

——-

Eddie doesn’t give you the attention you’ve grown accustomed to all night when he starts the process of actually cleaning the bar. Your body still buzzes like a live wire from the drinks and the kiss outside. He’d been counting his tips with his back to you for the last ten minutes and you were growing impatient for more of him. You needed it. 

Counting the last bill he finally turns around and your thighs press together when you get to see his face again. Shifting in your seat when his eyes barely meet yours, he makes his way to the other end of the bar. Pushing yourself up to lean forward with puckered lips, he ignores your advances passing by without so much as a glance in your direction. Huffing when you plop back in your seat, he flips the knob starting to wash his hands in the mini sink with his back to you again. Your foot taps against the metal of the stool as you watch him grab the scratched up red bucket hanging below and a fresh rag quickly replacing his hands with it to fill up.

You wonder if he can feel your stare when he adds the soap, taking his time while he spins the rag in the steaming water, he starts ringing it out. Arms flexing and suds spilling over his knuckles, you were gonna lose your mind if you didn’t get your hands on him soon. 

He makes big swipes as he starts working his way towards you, keeping his eyes so focused on his task you’d think you were invisible if it wasn’t for the smirk that was getting impossible for him to hide. It only grows bigger when he stops in front of you, adding a low hum to his charade purposely wiping around the outline of your hands that were splayed out on the counter ready to push yourself up again. 

“Eddie - c’mon!”  

You’d be embarrassed if it wasn’t for the laugh that falls easy from his chest when he finally looks at you. His face softens and his eyes darken when he catches your angry pout, your fingers are quick to find his free ones making him tsk at you but he doesn’t pull away.

“My hands are wet baby.” He knew you didn’t care and the teeth showing in his wide grin told you he didn’t either.

Giving into your persistence like it hasn’t been a fight to keep his hands to himself this whole time, he leans forward brushing his nose with yours before nudging it against your cheek so your lips just barely touch. When you go to close the space he pulls back just enough to tease, a small whine escaping you at his games.

“What’s got you so needy, huh?” His words are whispered as he presses with the slightest pressure before pulling back again. “I didn’t kiss you good enough outside, you need more?”

“Please.” Your cheeks burn when you hear how your voice sounds, but his grip on your fingers tighten and a low moan breaks through his front at how desperate you sound just for a kiss.

“Gotta give my girl what she needs.” Your brain gets stuck on the words ‘my girl’ taking you a minute to realize he was finally giving you what you want.

It’s slower than outside, he’s taking his time with you this time. Untangling his fingers from yours, his hand comes up to wrap around the side of your neck. The water feels good on your skin as the pad of his thumb starts rubbing soft lines under your jaw while his tongue swipes at your bottom lip looking for more. You don’t give into his advances on purpose, keeping your mouth closed to get him back for all his teasing you feel his smile grow against your own.

Expecting him to stop and surrender, he only doubles down. Catching your top lip with his bottom, he pulls away just enough for you to open your eyes. God, you wished you kept them closed. The brightness from outside had turned them into nothing but black leaving no trace of the specks of brown from before. The knowledge that he was just as affected by all of this as you sends you reeling. Toes curling inside your sneakers.

“Whining over here for me to give you what you want, and here I am baby, and you’re playing hard to get.” Nipping at your bottom lip he meets your heavy lidded gaze again, “Gonna let me give you what you want?”

He barely lets you finish nodding before he’s on you, the hunger from outside coming back as he leans over the bar to deepen the kiss like you’d been begging him for. Opening your mouth for him without hesitation when he asks for permission again your tongues meet lazily, exploring each other like you didn’t get a chance to before. Pushing up again eager to get more of him he pulls back leaving you breathless with spit slick lips.

Despite the way his chest heaves trying to catch his breath, he does his best to play it cool, smirking when you have no shame chasing for more.

“I gotta finish closing up.” He gives you one more chaste kiss before he starts wiping the rest of the counter down. 

Jutting out your bottom lip into a pout, he laughs, throwing out a ‘you’ll survive five minutes baby.’

You leave him alone doing your best not to distract him, despite how much your fingers itch to have him close again. Grabbing the money from the register and the receipts for the night he disappears back into what you could only assume was Rick’s office. When he pops back out he looks a little more relaxed.

“Just gotta wipe the bottles down and then I’m getting the prettiest girl the best pancakes in town.” Clapping his hands together with a rub of his palms, he grabs another rag.

You were starting to hate pancakes. Not that you didn’t want them, you just wanted him more.

“Hey Eddie?” Trying to hide your ulterior motives in the sweetness of your voice, his eyes meet yours almost instantly and they narrow just as quick.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Setting the rag down he leans forward with his palms on the bar he gives you his undivided attention. An intimidation tactic. Unable to help yourself, your eyes trace up the ink covering his arms.

“Teach me how to make that drink?” Looking up at him from under your lashes, you see something flash across his face, fingertips digging into the countertop after the question leaves your mouth.

“Wasting Love?” 

“I mean, I wouldn’t call it that now, would you?” Laying it on thick, a slow smile spreads across his face. He saw what you were doing and he was going to fall into your trap willingly.

“Why don’t you come back here then, we’ll make our own.” His voice comes out low, his pupils taking over all the brown, pretty white teeth baring themselves at you.

His gaze is predatory when he watches you jump from the stool, the exaggerated sway of your hips keeps his eyes trained on the curve of your waist as you make your way into his space for the first time all night. Leaning against the back counter, his legs are spread wide leaving little to the imagination on how worked up you had him. His eyebrows raise when he sees the automatic press of your thighs at the sight. It wasn’t fair, you were trying to seduce him, not the other way around. He wasn’t even trying.

As if on cue the jukebox that had been left to play all night clicks, Ginuwine’s Pony pouring out of the speakers as he licks his lips unashamed at the way he’s drinking all of you in like this.

“Gonna teach me how to make something sweet, Eddie?” Trailing a finger along the bar while you close the distance, you drag out the ‘e’ at the end of his name just enough to get him to groan.

His hands grab your waist squeezing just hard enough to feel his strength before using it to pull you flush against him. The material of your dress doing nothing to hide how hard he is pressed into your ass. His lips trace the shell of your ear, the heat of his breath tickling your neck as you push back into him searching for more. The stubble on his face rubs rough against the soft skin of your cheek as he punctuates each word with a roll of his hips.

“The sweetest, baby.” 

You bite back your moan when his nose trails up your neck, his lips just barely grazing the warmth of your flesh before they settle back against your ear. You hold onto the wood of the bar in front of you when he hums low, feeling it deep in your core. His calloused fingers start a path up the bare skin of your thigh hiking up your dress when they catch the hem.

“Tell me,” your eyes close when his nose is pressed to your temple as he speaks, “Do you like cherries, baby?” His tongue catches your earlobe sucking it into his mouth, grazing it between his teeth when he lets it back out.

Your knees almost buckle at how good everything feels, the slow rock of his hips never stopping as he plucks at the lace trim of your underwear. 

“Y- yeah, I love cherries,” you whimper when his palms lay flat on the outside of your thighs, the cool metal of his rings biting into your skin when he squeezes at the fat working his way back up.

“Of course you do, pretty.” His thumbs hook the sides of your underwear, “You’re just so sweet all the time, huh?” Despite the need for friction, you spread your legs for him wondering if he can hear the way your lips pull apart sticky, arousal coating the inside of your thighs.

He chuckles soft in your ear praising you with a ‘so sweet’ before giving them a tug, letting the red lace fall to the floor. Keeping his hands on your hips, he presses himself against you hard enough to have the heels of your sneakers pick up off the ground. A low ‘fuck’ slipping out from under his breath when you whine a little.

“Red lace? Was Kurt gonna get lucky or was this just a ploy to get me all along, sweetheart?” Your cheeks burn at his question, his low chuckle tickling your ear when he hears you huff out an annoyed breath. “‘Cause if that’s the case all you would’ve had to do is walk through that door on any given night.”

He grinds himself against you one more time, but you can really feel him this time and it makes your legs shake.

“Are we gonna make this drink or do you wanna keep talking about Craig?”  The shake of your voice doesn’t go unnoticed despite trying to be sharp with him but the grip on your waist still tightens at the mention of the other man’s name

“Sure we can, if that’s really what you wanna do.” His words taunt you but with one hand holding you against him the other flips a clean cocktail glass onto the bar top with ease, like he wasn’t rock hard digging into your back.

Reaching around, his hand trails up the front of your thigh sending goosebumps across your heated skin. A shiver runs down your spine when he dares to dip between your legs inching his way towards where you want him most.

“We better not mix liquors so why don’t you be a good girl and grab the whiskey for me.” His lips brush against your ear with every word, his hand never faltering on their path even when his fingertips meet your slick folds. Feather light, he traces along your slit, not daring to break the barrier yet. Brain hazy with want you don’t even comprehend what bottle you reach for, blindly grabbing for whatever was in front of you.

“That is tequila, sweetheart. Tsk, tsk, tsk are you even listening to what I’m saying? Or are you too…” Before he finishes his sentence he pushes his index finger past your entrance, your warm walls wrapping tight around his digit, “…distracted?”

Your head lulls back against his chest, your eyes closing when he pushes two knuckles deeper. Your needy whimper makes him kick up again making you grind your ass against him in response. Licking your lips, you try to collect yourself only chasing for more of his finger once. 

“N-no, I can do it.”  Determined to prove him wrong, you focus just long enough to grab the Jameson bottle, “What’s next?”

He hums in approval while his smile grows against your skin. Deciding to indulge in your stubborn game still, he curves his finger enough just to make you gasp his name.

“Are we keeping this simple, or do you want something a little more—” Adding a second finger, you stretch easily for him now, dripping down his hand, “Complicated?” 

You shudder, a moan slipping past your lips while your grip on the bottle tightens so much you're scared it’ll shatter. Fuck, you gotta keep it …

“S- simple - oh.” His thumb finds your clit applying just enough pressure to have your mouth fall open and your brows to knit together, and just as quick as he’s there, he’s gone. 

Pulling himself free, he tries his best to ignore the way your pussy tries to suck him back in, your body begging him for more. You whimper at the loss, your eyes opening to remind you where you are.

“I’m gonna need both hands to do this, baby.” His fingers shine with your slick when he wiggles them for show, stepping back just enough for you to see the grin on his face but not enough to get out of your personal space. 

Grabbing his wrist, his eyes go dark when he realizes what you’re about to do. Gaze turning half lidded when your mouth opens, huffing out a deep breath when your tongue flattens against the pads of the two fingers that were just buried inside of you. Wrapping your lips around them, your arousal is tangy sweet hitting your taste buds.

Hollowing your cheeks as you suck them clean, you watch the confidence drain from his face, eyes rolling in the back of his head at the sight. The blunt ends of his nails dig through the soft material of your dress and he starts rutting into you with a little more force when you slide your tongue between each knuckle.

“Jesus christ,” his voice is strangled, words coming out through gritted teeth when you let him go with a loud pop.

“Now you can use both hands,” you say innocently, like you didn’t just suck them clean. You let his fingers tug at your bottom lip before dropping his wrist.

He fists a handful of your dress, a low growl rumbling from his chest getting a taste of his own medicine. Licking his lips, his eyes narrow at you before his teeth start to show, mischievous in the low light.

“Well if we want this drink cold, we need to fill this shaker with ice.” Just like the glass, he flips it on the counter one hand never leaving your waist despite his claim. 

Pressing his lips to your ear again, he makes sure to let his breath linger a little before he talks, enjoying the goosebumps that appear from such a simple touch.

“Fill it up for me, baby?” Your thighs clench at the deep rasp in his voice, both of his hands finding a home spread out on your thighs.

Nodding your head you slide open the silver metal door of the ice chest below you, bending over more than you needed to to scoop it up into the shaker. He groans loud when you press into him like this, his fingers making quick work to flip the back of your dress up. 

“Look at you, so fucking messy for me and I’ve barely touched you.” Grabbing a handful of your ass, he ruts into you, the rough denim hitting your clit in a way that has you moaning his name.

He laughs quietly at your neediness flipping your dress back down when you straighten out. Chests heaving in time with the other, neither one of you was ready to back down. Not yet.

“Might need to unzip those pants.” Looking over your shoulder at him you fake a pout, “Feeling a little strained back there handsome.”

Smugness dripping from the smile on your face, he raises his eyebrows at you in a challenge. 

“Since you wanted something simple sweetheart, we just need two more things.” One hand snakes its way back between your legs, squeezing at the inside of your thigh before he lets you go for the first time since you set foot behind the bar.

Craning your neck so you could follow him, you find him bent down grabbing lemon juice from the mini fridge under the shorter back counter. Shutting the door with his foot when he stands up, he throws a wink your way when he grabs the simple syrup.

Setting the bottles in front of you he steals a quick kiss that leaves you wanting more before he grabs the small tub of cherries from the fridge he forgot his first go around.

“Okay, so you’re gonna grab the Jameson, and I want you to pour it out to the count of three for me then cut it off.” He returns to his place behind you, his large hand swallowing yours when it shadows your movements.

Your pour is shaky when he counts low in your ear, nuzzling his nose in your hair calling you a good girl after each successful addition to the simple concoction.

“Alright, now you’re gonna shake it as hard as you can angel.” His hands squeeze your hips for encouragement.

Doing as he says he pulls you against him even harder when your arms start to go wild. Your chest bounces with each movement making you giggle and you almost don’t hear the hitch in his breath at the sight. 

He helps you by putting the strainer over the rim of the glass when you’re ready to pour. Mumbling soft words of praise while he nibbles at your ear lobe. The drink is much lighter than the one you had all night, the dark orange turning lemon as the white foam fizzed on top.

“I think I could take your job.” You smirk reaching for the cherries to top it all off. 

“You think you could take my job?” He snorts incredulous, watching you unwrap the plastic wrap from the small tub dropping three cherries into the already very sweet cocktail.

“Absolutely.” Grinning while ignoring his stare you reach for another cherry, “No doubt in my mind.” You grab the fruit between your teeth, finally meeting his eyes as you pull the stem, relishing in the burst of sugar and grenadine that erupts against your tongue.

“Tough luck princess, unless you know how to tie that cherry stem in a knot with your teeth, no bar in this town is gonna touch you.” Grabbing his own cherry, he dangles it in front of your frowning mouth for you to bite. Obliging him with it bumps your bottom lip you tug gently, taking the fruit before chewing slowly while he sucks the stem once before it disappears in his mouth.

“I’m calling your bluff now. No one knows how to actually do that.” Daring him to prove you wrong he mutters a ‘watch me’ between his working teeth.

You don’t lose focus on the way his hand on your waist starts to wander, the blunt ends of his nails scratching against the fat of your thigh while his tongue ties the stem like it’s easy. Jaw flexing with each twist of his tongue before he pushes it out to show you, a pleased look on his face when the small knot in the middle comes out perfectly placed. 

Swiping it off his tongue with the fingers that were inside you minutes ago, you wonder if he can still taste you when he sets it next to your drink satisfied by the way your jaw drops.

“How do you think I got this job? I’m more than just a cute face.” The touch of his hands grows bolder when they start working their way up your dress, a thickness in the air that wasn’t there before filling your lungs.

“That’s quite the skill set you have there Mr. Munson,” your giggle is breathless, your eyes going from his down to his lips as you try to play it off.  

“I can do more than that with my tongue sweetheart, if you wanna find out.” His nose nudges against yours, the smirk on his face making you sweat when his fingers trace up your wet folds again.

Surrendering instantly, you forget all about the drink the two of you made nodding without hesitation the desperation for him all night finally taking over.

“Yeah?” His voice breaks when his thick fingers push into your entrance again feeling just how worked up all his teasing had you.

“Please - Eddie,” the pad of his thumb finds your clit again making you beg, “Fuck.”

“Asking me so sweet, how could I say no to you?” Murmuring against your lips, he finally gives in and kisses you. Wet and sloppy he only does it long enough to take your breath away before dropping to his knees.

His big hands on your hips angle you to face forward, flipping your dress up over your ass again. The air of the bar is still hot against your folds, arousal dripping down your thighs, you’re fully exposed to him now. You hear him suck the skin of his teeth at the sight, a ringed hand coming down just hard enough on your right cheek to make it jiggle before both hands palm the fat.

“I can’t believe you were gonna let anybody else but me have this pussy. Should be a punishable offense.” Pulling your cheeks apart to expose more of you to his hungry eyes, he pushes at the small of your back signaling for you to bend over more for him.

He moans loud enough to make you jump when you listen to his command, even you can hear the sound of your lips pulling apart for him. 

“All this for me, baby, fuck, you spoil me.” He wastes no time burying his face between your folds, his talented tongue collecting your juices before finding your clit. The rough hair on his chin rubbing your sensitive skin raw as he shakes his head from side to side. 

Squeezing your ass to pull you closer to his face when you try to run away, he sucks your bundle of nerves harder when he gets you back to where he wants you, dipping his nose into your entrance every time.

He does the motions he would do when he ties the cherry stem into a knot against your clit, a strangled moan ripping from your throat when he does it again.

Your hands find purchase on the top of the bar, eyes closed tight while you see white behind your lids. Your nails dig into the wood when his tongue flattens, the lewd squelching of your arousal filling your ears when he pushes his face so deep between your legs you aren’t sure if he can even breathe. The moan that rumbles through his chest and vibrates to your core tells you he doesn’t care. Wrapping his lips tight around your clit he sucks even harder, not caring when your legs start to shake from overstimulation. 

“Eddie, Eddie, I’m gonna - fuck!” His name comes out long and drawn out when you fall apart on his tongue. Relentless, his teasing never stops, his hands holding you up while your body starts to shake. Humming low in satisfaction against your cunt.

“I n- need, I need…” willing your eyes to open, your vision’s blurry from how hard he made you cum. Pulling away with a loud smack of his lips, he palms your ass cheeks before craning his neck to try and get a good look at you.

“What do you need, baby?” He nips at the curve of your right cheek before pressing his face to it, dazed from getting what he’s wanted all night completely content.

“I just, I just need you to fuck me,” you don’t recognize the choke in your voice when you whine for him. Whine for more.

“Jesus christ.” His words tickle against your skin when he groans, kneading the soft flesh of your ass one more time before standing up. 

His hands are on your hips before you can fully register the change in position, spinning you around and lifting you up he sets you on top of the counter behind the bar. The one where drinks aren’t served and the one that’s low enough for Eddie to slot himself perfectly between your legs. 

Eyes blown black while his beard and nose ring shine with your slick, his lips part - swollen and pink from pulling your first orgasm out of you. Bangs clinging to his forehead, his hair is a wild mess on top of his head from your hands. The confident air about him is gone, replaced with nothing but the need to have you. Snapping out of your daze, you’re quick to find the metal of his belt buckle.

His forehead presses to yours, while he watches the way your dainty fingers work the leather out through the loop. The white tips of your nails catch his eye when you undo the button of his jeans and his cock twitches at the thought of them pumping him for all he’s worth.

He hisses when you push the denim down his hips, his hard dick springing out to smack against his shirt that you immediately wish wasn’t there. Precum leaks from the angry looking pink tip while your hands fist the hem of the worn cotton, silently begging him to get rid of it. The big vein that follows the curve of his length makes your mouth water as he obliges your pleas, ripping his shirt off and throwing it somewhere you’d have to find later. 

You’re able to really take all of him in like this, his chest is heaving covered with just as many tattoos as the rest of him, the silver chain you’d peeped earlier hanging right in the dip between his pecs. Your eyes follow the dark patch of hair that leads to his cock, long with the kind of girth that you know is going to be a stretch, a strangled whine bubbles out of you at the sight while your thighs spread begging for him.

“God, I want you so bad,” you whine wrapping your legs around his waist, you pull him even closer giving into your animalistic instincts. 

“I know baby, me fuckin’ too.” He pumps his cock a few times groaning loud, squeezing hard at the base before pressing the head between your dripping lips. Mesmerized at how they wrap around his tip, his precum mixes messy with your arousal making lewd noises as he sweeps it through your folds.

Body shaking every time he hits your clit, you finally hook your ankles growing impatient when he teases your entrance.

“Fuck. Me.” You get out through gritted teeth, the lopsided grin he’d been giving you all night turns cocky when he pushes the tip in, your head lulls back at the invasion, the silk of your walls desperate to start sucking him deeper.

“Not so sweet now are you, huh?” Pushing himself all the way in, his rough thatch of pubic hair hits your clit when he bottoms out. His confidence falters for a second when a deep moan rips through his chest at the feeling. “So fuckin’ tight baby - shit.”

Your nails dig half crescent moons into his inked skin while you adjust to his size, his nose skimming against your cheek while he whispers how good you take him when your walls start to milk him, your body letting him know it was okay to finally move.

“Feel so good, Eddie, fuck - so good.” Your hips start a slow rock, feeling every ridge and curve of him. Your dress sits rucked up at your waist giving a perfect view of the way you take him, and it’s even better than what his imagination had come up with all night. 

He lets you use him for a minute, big hands resting on your waist — content with just watching the way you coat his cock with everything you have left over for him from the first time he made you cum. 

“That feels good, huh?” Cooing at the way your brows knit together and your mouth falls open, he picks up the pace, taking control. 

Pulling you all the way to the edge, his strokes get deeper, the tip of him hitting the spot that you know Craig would have never found. He pulls his cock out half way, relishing how your velvet walls try to keep him in place, he holds his composure before pushing back in, filling you to the brim. Addicted to the way it makes you gasp his name and arch your back, your body asks him for more when you’re too cock drunk to get the words out.

The straps of your dress start slipping down your shoulders with every thrust, your breasts bouncing just begging for his attention. His cock twitches inside you, it's almost too much. Greedy for more despite fighting the urge to cum, he tugs the front of your dress down to reveal a matching bra to the panties on the floor. Hips stuttering for a moment he growls at the reminder of your date before tugging the lace down, your nipple pebbling instantly for him before he takes it in the heat of his mouth. 

Pushing yourself closer, needing more, your hands find their way to bury themselves in his curls, holding him close. You needed him close. His tongue flicks at your sensitive bud and it makes you suck your bottom lip between your teeth. Your hips finding a way to match his strokes, reigniting the flames deep in your gut. God, he was gonna make you cum again.

He grunts around your breast, spit dripping down your soft skin from his ministrations while the snap of his hips start to get harsher and you know he’s nearing his end. He lets your nipple go with a loud pop before his hand comes up to grip your chin, his lips finding yours in a frantic mess of teeth and battling tongues.

The wood creaks underneath you from the force of his thrusts and the bounce of your ass to meet them. Mouths tangled, you swallow each other's ragged breaths, both of you desperately searching for your end when his fingers find your clit. Rubbing circles with just enough pressure to have your body start to shake against his, he nips at your bottom lip grunting when he feels the way it makes you flutter around him.

“Come on baby, give me another one. Be my sweet girl again and tell me how good I make you cum.” His fingers slip against your clit, fingers wet from how worked up he had you but his words are enough to have your world stop for a second.

“Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, Ed-“ Going blind behind your closed eyes he coaxes your second orgasm out of you with a silent scream falling onto his turned up lips. Proud of his work, his hips start picking up their pace inching closer to his own release he’d been fighting off since going down on you. 

“God, - fuck I’m close - where d-do you-?” Sweat drips down his forehead while he struggles to find his words, his impending orgasm making him short circuit.

“Inside, shit - please, I need it, Eddie.” Still needy and barely coming down, your legs around his waist tighten their hold, locking him in place while you use the last of your strength to help get him there. 

“Whatever you’re doing - holy shit , Jesus - I’m cumming, I’m cumming.” His hips press hard against yours when his cock twitches, spilling warm inside your greedy walls that don’t stop asking him for more. His face hides in your neck, the heat of his breath fanning against your sweat kissed skin while his body shakes with his release.

The roll of your hips never stops, just slowing enough to make him shiver after he starts softening, spent inside of you. You know there’s a mess starting to drip but neither one of you has the energy to move just yet. His lips start leaving small kisses along your neck, nose nudging against the space behind your ear and you can feel his smile against your cheek before he finally lifts his head up. The brown in his eyes return to a warm auburn like before when they meet yours.

“Rick is gonna fucking kill me if he ever finds out what happened on this counter tonight.” Rolling your eyes, you snort at his joke before shoving against his chest.

“You’re telling me you don’t fuck all your cute customers behind the bar, Eddie?” Batting your lashes at him, he squeezes your hips with a smirk. 

“Only, the really, really cute ones. I take them to get pancakes at IHOP around the corner, too.” Something shifts in his eyes and you think for a second you might see self doubt in them for the first time all night, “That is, if they still want to.”

“Well lucky for you, I only let bartender’s from The Foxy Lounge take me out.” Nudging your nose against his, your smile touches his lips.

“Sweetheart, you know I’m the only bartender here right?” Grinning like someone who just won the lottery, he quickly gets rid of the space between you, kissing you like it too.

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[murderousmemories666]

The Jamison family, consisting of Bobby Dale Jamison (44), Sherilynn Leighann Jamison (40), and Madyson Stormy Star Jamison (6) went missing on October 8, 2009 and were never seen again. It was believed that the family from Eufala, Oklahoma drove to Red Oak, Oklahoma to view a 40 acre plot of land they intended to buy. The family had plans to move a storage container, already on their old plot of land, to their new plot of land in order to live in it.

On October 16, 2009, hunters stumbled across the Jamison’s truck abandoned on the side of the road. In the truck investigators found cell phones, jackets, Bobby’s wallet, Sherilynn’s purse, a GPS system, $32,000 in cash under the passenger’s seat, and the family dog Maizy, severely malnourished and on the brink of death. The truck showed no signs of damage or forced entry, and there was no evidence to conclude that the family were forced to leave their truck. It was speculated that the family left the truck willingly out of fear. Upon investigation of the items in the truck, Bobby’s cell phone had a picture of Madyson taken the day before the disappearance. The GPS system revealed that the car was driven further up the hill, and the location’s coordinates lead them to three sets of footprints.

On November 16, 2013 hunters searching for deer hunting spots in the deep woods found partial skeletal remains of two adults and a child. The remains were discovered only 2.7 miles away from where the truck was found. Investigators found items related to the family including shoes, bits of clothing, adult teeth, adult arm and leg bones, and bone fragments. The bones were confirmed to be those of the Jamison family, identified through dental records. Although a certain cause of death could not be identified due to the incomplete skeletal remains, the Coroner concluded that there was no evidence of trauma, although it could not be fully ruled out, and that the deaths occurred under suspicious circumstances. Items missing from the investigation were a briefcase and a 22 caliber handgun registered to Sherilynn Jamison.

There has been much confusion and speculation regarding the circumstances and behavior that followed the Jamison’s in the weeks leading towards their deaths. Security footage from the Jamison’s property records the two parents loading their belongings into the trunk of their car, but their behavior is strange and almost alien. The two adults are seen staring into the sky for long periods of time, as they make several silent trips from the car to their house, moving in a manner that is described only as “trancelike.”

Theory 1: Lost in the woods

A logical theory is that the family got lost in the woods and died from hypothermia and exposure. During the period of the disappearance, the area where the family visited experienced heavy rains, although they were not strong enough to cause their deaths. Weather forecasts showed temperatures of 40 degrees fahrenheit at the coldest, which is not enough to cause hypothermia. It is also very unlikely that the Jamisons got lost, as they were less than 3 miles away from their car.

Theory 2: Murder-Suicide

This theory arose when a mysterious 11 page hateful letter was found in the Jamison home. The letter was from Sherilynn to Bobby, who accused him of being a hermit. Another letter mentioning death was also found in the family home, a local sheriff investigating the case remarked that the Jamisons were “a family obsessed with death.” Connie Kokotan, Sherilynn’s mother, repeatedly stated that Bobby and Sherilynn were good parents, and also quoted “Like i’ve said from the very beginning, I think somebody killed them. There’s just no way that Bobby and Sherilynn would ever let anything happen to Madyson unless something had been done to them.”

Theory 3: Murdered by Bobby’s father

Bob Dean Jamison (67) had a history of violence towards his son. Six months before their disappearance, Bobby filed a restraining order against his father, as Bob had threatened to kill Bobby and his family on two separate occasions in November 2008, and April 2009. It was also stated that Bob had hit his own son with his vehicle on November 1, 2008. Bobby described his father as a “very dangerous man, who thinks he is above the law. Involved in prostitutes, gangs, and meth.” In his protective order, Bobby also stated that him and his family are “severely scared for their lives”, and that he is “fearful at all times.” The protective order was dismissed on May 18, 2009 after testimonies were given. Bobby was also in the process of suing his father, the issue was regarding unpaid work that Bobby would carry out at his father’s shop, in return for half the sales being promised to Bobby but these sales were never paid. Although the two Jamison parents were described as scammers, as they had previously sued three other people after a car accident. Jack Jamison, Bob Dean’s brother stated that although Bob Dean was “disturbed at the time” he was “pretty sure that he was not capable of being involved in that. (the murder)” Bob Jamison died in December 2009, and both Jack Jamison and Connie Kokotan both suspect foul play being involved in the family’s disappearance.

Theory 4: Murdered by a cult

It is believed by Sherilynn’s family that the family were murdered by a religious cult in south-eastern Oklahoma. Connie Kokotan stated that the cult had a hitlist that Sherilynn’s name was on. Niki Shenold, Sherilynn’s close friend received a phone call from an anonymous woman who told Shenold that she’d once been in a white supremacy group that kept a book of problematic people, and that sometimes she would look up somebody’s name if she remembered it. She then stumbled across multiple missing person’s cases, including the Jamison case. This is a credible theory, in the sense that the Jamisons once rented a room to a white supremacist in their house, but once they learned of his ties to the organization he was evicted from their house by Sherilynn. 1993 saw the rise of cults in eastern Oklahoma, although a U.S. Marshal added that there hasn’t been much activity from these cults in a couple of years. It has also been suggested that the Jamisons were into witchcraft, a witch bible was found in their home along with a copy of Anton LaVey’s Satanic Bible. Though, Niki Shenold told authorities that Sherilynn bought these items as a joke. The local pastor Gary Brandon claims that Bobby confessed to reading a satanic bible. Mysterious graffiti was found on the side of the Jamison’s storage unit, reading “3 cats killed to date by people in this area... Witches don’t like their black cat killed.”

Theory 5: Drugs

Rumors surfaced that the Jamison parents were involved in drugs, and it should be noted that meth was not uncommon in the area they lived in. A theory of the family being involved in a drug deal gone horribly wrong could explain the $32,000 in cash that the Jamison’s extended family did not know about. Connie Kokotan stated that the family were in financial trouble, and she does not believe drugs were involved. It is speculated that the money could have been intended to be used in a drug deal, but the lump sum of money is still unexplained. Drugs provide some explanation for the strange security footage, but it is said that there is no evidence of the Jamisons ever using or distributing drugs. On the contrary it cannot he fully ruled out that drugs did not play a role in their disappearance, if the situation were in fact a drug deal it is unlikely that the parents would have brought Madyson or the family pet along with them.

To this day, there are still no suspects in the death of the Jamison family, although the deaths were not attributed to natural causes. The case remains unsolved.