#my sister had a business trip this weekend and texted me

[pianokantzart]

Went out today and did a 1 hour plein air watercolor sketch.

Never have been very good at depicting water 😅

[despressoslatte]

not the zoey you wanted (seven)

pairing: zach maclaren x female reader!

summary: you waited all weekend for your boyfriend, Zach, to call or text, anything, to explain why he had just went and ghosted you when you were supposed to go with him on a family ski trip to meet his parents, his sister Avery, and his cousin, Miles.

content warnings: angst; victims of catfishing; miscommunication trope

a/n: so so sorry this came so late!! First it was the holidays, then near year, and then LA is (still) on fire and I live right by the Eaton fire soo…. Anywho here’s more of our fav Zach & Y/N!!

Masterlist | <  part six | waitlist is closed

ᯓ⟢

“Go on a ski trip with me.”

“What?”

Not what you were expecting to hear when you had texted Zach asking if he had time to talk. You stood outside of his apartment, and when he swung the door open, you didn’t even get the chance to get a single word in before he was asking you to go on a ski trip with him. You were going to ask him if he was busy this weekend, but it appears he was. And that he wanted you to be busy with him.

“Go on a ski trip with me,” he repeated, a small little smile on his face and that little chuckle of his following.

“That went horribly the last time you asked me that, Zach,” you softly shook your head, but the way he was smiling made it impossible not to smile back.

“This weekend… we’ll go, we’ll have a do-over,” he implored you, reaching out to grab your hands, determination inked into every line on his face. “You and me.”

A ski trip… just you and him? You wouldn’t loved going with his family, getting to meet all of them finally, but of course, that went horribly the last time it was attempted. But Bree was right that you and him needed to figure things out, the two of you. You just needed to know that it really was you he wanted, unable to get the thought of him falling for Zoey out of your head no matter how many times you’d tried.

Probably didn’t help that you had to sadly see her everyday.

Yeah, maybe a break from campus and just some time with Zach would make this better. Maybe taking time to think is why you keep thinking the worst.

“That sounds like a lot of money…” you said back.

He squinted his eyes at you, letting out an exasperated, “Wh-wha… that… that’s your main concern right now?” 

“I did buy some new snow gear that would go to waste if we didn’t go…” you trail off, holding his hands back and squeezing.

But his small smile got bigger when he heard thta. “...Ski trip…?”

“Fine,” you whispered, nodding your head. “Ski trip.”

He tugged you in for a hug, the two of you still standing halfway in and out of his apartment, before he even remembered why you were there.

“What did you wanna talk to me about?” he asked, pulling away from you.

“Well, I was gonna ask if you wanted to go out this weekend, but you sprung this whole ski trip thingy on me instead…” you shrugged playfully, and he just chuckled.

“You were gonna ask me on a date?” he teased.

“To get coffee…” you exaggerated the word with a roll of your eyes.

“Coffee dates have always been your favorite, baby,” he pointed out. “You can take me out to coffee before we head out, how’s that sound?”

“Who I’m taking you out for said coffee?”

“You were the one who asked me out.”

“You got jokes tonight, MacLaren,” you pointed out.

He wrapped his arm around your shoulders, tucking you in under his chest and letting out a sigh of relief. “Gotta remind you of all my good qualities if Imma get my girl back.”

ᯓ⟢

You opened the passenger seat to Zach’s car as he waited on the street in front of your building, throwing your weekend bag into the backseat, and then you glanced down at the cup holder’s of his car.

Your favorite drink from your favorite coffee shop sat there next to his and two toasted croissants, a cute little pick up line written on the lid of yours.

Something he used to do pretty often.

“I thought I was taking you out for coffee?” you teased him as you picked up the cup to take a sip.

“Maybe when we’re at the ski lodge,” he shrugged as he pulled back onto the street, only glancing at you for a second before looking solely on the street. “Wanted to see that look on your face again.”

“What look?” you asked.

“The one when you’re reading the new note on the lid,” he shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. Zach MacLaren was anything but nonchalantly. The grin he could never get down was proof of it.

“Wait, so… we’re staying at the actual ski lodge?” you asked as one of your favorite songs started playing softly in the background.

He was playing his Y/N Playlist. Oh, how this boy is pulling out all the stops for you.

“Yeah, I thought you’d prefer being able to crash after and not have to sit through a drive back if I rented a cabin, plus the room being on the third floor so that means you get all your cute little views,” he nodded, looking at you when he stopped at a red light. “Why, did you not want to?”

“No, that sounds lovely,” you said with a soft shake of your head.

And you definitely didn’t want to be staying at the cabin that he caught feelings for Zoey at. 

You pick up one of the croissants, pulling back the little wrapping bag over it, but hold it out towards Zach. With most of his attention on the road but the tiniest bit of his periphery on you, he leaned over to be able to take a bite. You laughed when the flakes got all over his cheek.

And it felt nice. Right. Like being in his passenger seat laughing is where you should always be.

About two and a half hours until the ski lodge, you noted when you looked down at his GPS. Two and a half hours of just you and Zach, and then a whole weekend of just you and Zach.

You liked it when it was just you and Zach.

ᯓ⟢i will be putting the taglit in the replies from now on hoping that works better! please let me know if it did or didn't tag you <3

[kooksvspogues]

Happy 1st Birthday Lilian!! 🥳

Part 1 -

Authors note: this is to do with Drew and his Sisters Mackayla’s baby Lilian first birthday party. Just thought it would be cute context. Always remember, any feedback is greatly appreciated ❤️

When Mackayla texted me, telling me that they were having Liliana’s first birthday party next weekend, I couldn’t pass it up. The last time I had seen Mack was at her baby shower.

I just recently graduated from the college of veterinarian medicine in Florida. Haven’t been able to go back home for a while. But, since I’ve graduated, I’ll be going back home within the next month or two to start working, so what better time to take a little break and go home and finally get my hands on that precious baby.

~~~~~~ next Thursday ~~~~~~

I decided to fly to North Carolina this trip. Since my parents were gone on a trip this weekend, I asked Mack if Logan could come pick me up if she was busy. She immediately told me one of them would be there.

When I walk outside after grabbing my bag, I hear a car going nuts with honking before I see Logan jumping out across the street.

“Hey gorgeous!” He said smiling ear to ear

“Hey handsome” I say as he get closers to me, wrapping an arm around his side.

“How the hell have you been, bout time you got you ass back here, also, congratulations on graduating Dr. Madison Taylor” he says planting a kiss on my forehead

“I’m making it lol, thank you, and I’ve been trying, I swear” I say throwing my hands up as he grabs my suitcase and starts walking towards the car

“Well Mack is ecstatic to see you” he smiles

“I’m excited to see her too, how is everything? How are you?” I ask as he opens the door for me

“Eh” he starts but closes my door, goes to put my suitcase in the trunk and comes to the driver side hoping it, “I’m making it” he laughs

“All we can do, right?” I offer and he nods.

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

Mack was determined to have me in front of her as soon as I placed my feet on North Carolina ground so that’s where we went.

When we walk in, I’m met with Garrett walking towards the door

“Well hey girl” he says pulling me for a side hug

“Hey Garrett, how are you?” I ask smiling up at him

“I’m great, how are you Dr. Taylor?” He asks grinning

“Relieved that the school part is over” I say taking a deep breath

“I bet,” he laughs, “Logan, Drew’s here, him and Mack are in the living room, I gotta run to the store” he says

“Okay, thank you” I say already feeling my heart skip a beat

“Y’all are staying for dinner, right?” He asks

“If that’s a, you want us to, for sure” Logan answers and Garrett smiles, nodding before walking out the door.

I remember the layout of the house somewhat since I’ve been here before but I was still hesitant to walk in like I owned the place. When I walk into the living room, I see Mack on the floor with Liliana, and Drew on the couch, his back facing us.

“Oh my gosh” I say immediately smiling real big down at the little girl

“Mads!” Mack yells as I drop down giving her a quick hug before putting all my attention on Liliana

“She’s so stinking cute!” I squeal as she looks at me and smiles, clapping her hand, “oh and you know it too, don’t you” I tease reaching out to tickle her side

“Oh! Maddie, I’m not sure if you two have ever been formally introduced before, but this is Drew, my other brother” Mack smiles gesturing towards the man on the couch… the very attractive man… I realize once I look up, “Drew, this is Maddie” she smiles as smile up at him

“You were at the wedding, yeah?” He asks pointing towards me, raising his eyebrows

“Yeah, I walked with Logan” I say smiling

“Yeah, yeah… I remember you..” he says softly before smiling and leaning back watching me. I can’t help the blush creeping onto my cheeks with the way he’s looking at me.

I quickly shake it off and put my attention on Liliana, “I can’t believe this is my first time seeing this precious thing in person” I say as she grabs my hand, wanting to stand up, “oh my gosh, she’s already standing!” I squeal as Mack laughs at me

“You are coming back home right? Like permanently?” She asks me and I nod

“Within the next two months, yes” I assure her and she grins even bigger

“About time.. you want to hold her?” She ask me and I quickly nod as I stand up and let her hand her to me that way before I take a seat in the chair next to Drew on the couch.

She sits in my lap facing me, as I keep a good hold of her arms as she wiggles around and smiles at every little thing I do.

“I think it’s about time you have one of your own” Mack says

“Who?” I ask raising an eyebrow

“You, you’ve always been a kid magnet” she says

“Would like to have a decent guy first, Mack” I say and she shrugs

“I’ll give ya one Mads” Logan winks at me, making me laugh

“In your dreams, cowboy” I laugh shaking my head

“Done and done” he says making my throw my head back laughing

“You’re so weird” I say laughing, “so.. uh.. Drew, how’s the tv star life treating ya?” I ask glancing over at him

“It’s an adjustment but I do love meeting all the fans, some days are crazy, some days are amazing, how about you? Mack said you just graduated” He asks

“Well, I just graduated, Dr. Taylor DVM now, I’m currently helping out at the place I interned at until the end of next month, then once I come back here, I’ll be working at the vet clinic not to far from here.” I explain

“Oh cool, so are just small animals or?” He asks

“A little, but my specialty is in livestock” I answer

“That’s.. impressive” he says widening his legs, manspreading, locking his eyes with mine, looking deep into my soul as I fight so hard to not let my nervousness show.

“What.. what do you mean?” I clear my throat

“Just that, a nice petite woman such as yourself is going to be working on animals possibly taller than you, does that not scare you any?” He asks me

“Sure, there are days I’ve come across and will come across an animal that’s gonna give me a run for my money, but I find a lot of joy in the rough ones, cause I may or may not be the only vet they can depend on. I want to be the vet that everyone can call and know I’m not giving up till the job is done” I answer and he smiles really big along with Logan and Mack

“She’s amazing, isn’t she” Mack says

“Sounds like it” Drew says crossing his arms, grinning like a mad man at me

“Mom is coming in tomorrow morning, I was going to see if after Liliana’s party tomorrow if y’all wanted to go downtown, just hang out, drink a little?” Mack asks us all

“Just us and Garrett?” Logan asks

“Yeah” she answers

“I’m down” logan said winking towards me making me roll my eyes

“Me too” Drew said before all eyes landed on me as I used Liliana as a small distraction

“Maddie?” Mack says

“Hm” I say

“She’ll be there” Logan cuts in

“I was gonna try to run some errands Sunday before I leave” I admit

“You still can” Mack says

“Yeah b—“ I start but she immediately gives me ‘the look’… “fine.. fine! I’ll go” I agree

“Good girl” she says giving me a wink making me laugh. Good girl had become an inside joke between me and her when we were going to college together. Had plenty of hilarious stories come up with that phrase.

“Also, the big guest room is yours while you’re here, mom is getting the smaller one tomorrow” she tells me

“Are you sure? I hate for her to not get the big room” I say

“No, no, no, she insisted you get the big one since she’ll only be here a few days, and you’ll be here a week, longer if you want to” she says wiggling her eyebrow

“Yes ma’am and we’ll see” I say throwing my fingers up in defense while my thumb and index finger stay wrapped around Liliana’s arm before making a funny face at her.

Mack’s phone started ringing catching all of our attention, “be right back” she said.

“So, how’s the obx crew doing?” Logan asked Drew

“They’re doing good, I think Chase and Austin are actually in South Carolina right now” he said

“You should tell them to come tomorrow” Logan suggest

“Yeah I might” he shrugs before giving me a slight smile, “would you be okay with that?” He asked

“From what I’ve been told about them from your sister, sounds like it would be a good time, that’s all up to you” I smile

“Logan!” Mack yells from in the kitchen making him rush in there. I look over at Drew raising an eyebrow to which he just shrugged.

“How are you enjoying the uncle life?” I ask grinning

“Love it and adore her” he said “so uh..” he started but got cut off

“Drew, will you run to the liquor store for me? Garrett can’t find what I sent him after.” Mack says coming around the corner.

“Um.. uh.. yeah, of course sis, what are you wanting?” He asked going to stand up

“Here’s a lists of everything” she said handing him a notepad.

“All this by myself? You coming Logan?” Drew asks

“Sorry but Mack needs me, why don’t you get Maddie to tag along?” Logan suggest as they all turn to me

“But I’m getting baby lovinnnnggss” I pout, “can’t be that much stuff” I say before watching Drew turn the list to me, “well damn Mack” I say laughing going to stand up placing Liliana on my hip.

“So you’ll go?” Drew asks with hopeful eyes, catching mine quickly

“Um..yeah” I say handing Liliana to Mack, “all we’re going for is alcohol, nothing else?” I double check

“Yea, unless y’all find something you want” she smiles as we walk out the door as I follow Drew’s lead to the black ford truck parked in the drive way.

He walked me to the passenger door before opening the door for me, and closing it once I got in. He hurried on over to the driver side and hoped in giving me a big toothy grin as he started up the ignition, music coming through the speakers immediately, cutting any kind of awkwardness out for the time being. That is, until Drew cut the music off while sitting at a stop sign before turning to look at me.

“What are you doing?” I asked raising my eyebrows

“Are we really just gonna pretend we don’t know each other?” He asked

“Drew, we really don’t know each other though” I point out

“You knew me well enough to let me put my tongue down your throat” he said placing his hand on his chin cocking his head at me.

To be continued…

[empressdede]

Disrespectful

Chapter one

London’s heels clacked as she walked down the hall, her eyes focused on the paper in front of her. Anyone who saw her and was in her way made way for her to pass through.

It wasn’t easy taking over her father’s company, especially when it was a male dominated career to begin with. But it never stopped her from putting her foot down and letting everyone know that she had what it took, regardless if she was a women or not.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt” her assistant, Mariah, stated as she walked beside London. “Your husband’s on line 1.”

London let out a sigh, she wasn’t really in the mood to deal with her husband’s complaining about her always working and taking business trips. She just wanted to finish this day so she can go home and pack for her weekend getaway.

“Okay. Come get me in fifteen minutes to come get me for my 2 O clock meeting.”

Mariah furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She swore her boss’ schedule was clear for the rest of the day.

“We don’t have a meeting at-“ Her words were cut short with the daring glare from London. “It must’ve slipped my mind, won’t happen again Mrs. Murphey.”

“It’s London.” She corrected quickly before walking into her office to pick up the awaiting call.

“Hello love.” The excitement in her voice was very fake, but she figured she’d faked it enough times that it sounded like her regular happy tone.

A deep chuckle was heard through the phone that caused her to really smile.

“I haven’t heard from you all day and all I get is a fake ‘hello love’?”

“I’m sorry baby, your calls are supposed to go straight through to my office or Jada’s. I miss you.” She sighed, this time longingly.

“I miss you too and this weekend it’s just going to be us. We’ll go wherever you want to go, get away from all the white noise and I can take care of you.”

“I hear Singapore is nice this time of year.”

Another chuckle ran through him again, it was no secret that London’s next desired vacation spot was Singapore, she’s been talking her ear off about it since her sister came back from her own trip a couple months back.

“I already booked the room for our hotel, I texted Paul to get the jet prepared for everything. When you finish work, pack your bags and come see me at work. We’ll go straight after.”

And that was all she really needed to hear.

London laid her head back onto his shoulders as she caressed Roman’s arm. They both were relaxing in the tub after fucking their brains out all over the hotel room. Her eyes were laser focused on the ring around his finger, the gold jewelry looked good against his skin.

Her eyes slit over to the ring that was placed on her own hand. The ring always shined in the hotel lights the brightest.

She moved her hands to interlock their fingers, his gold ring settling right to her silver one.

She smiled at the memory of how their day started. After the jet had landed, Roman was quick to hurry and get them to the hotel so that he could really take care of her the way he desired to.

“My wife and I are celebrating our one year anniversary.” Roman had told the receptionist when she asked if their stay would be for business or pleasure.

“Whatchu thinkin about?” Roman had asked to break the silence that had filled the bathroom.

A lazy smile spread across London’s face. “You…. Us.”

Roman let out a small hum of acknowledgment, his hands rubbing her legs. “What about us?”

“How we’re perfect for each other.” London had replied. Roman pressed a kiss to her temple, trailing it down her face from her cheek till he reached her neck.

London moved her head to allow him more access to her neck as she let out a sigh. This reminds her of their activities from not even 20 minutes ago.

“Fuck Roman I’m bout to cum” she had announced as he continued to poke at her spot.

Roman’s forehead stayed placed on London’s as he watched as he took her there. Hair sticking to her brown skin, sweat making her body shine under the hotel lights - she was beautiful like this and it was because of him.

“C’mon baby, cum on daddy’s dick. It’s yours right?”

“Yessss”

“So cum. Let ‘em know how I’m making my wife feel.” Roman rasped in her ear and London came with a cry.

Their hands interlocked above her head as their mix matched rings were placed next to each others. It didn’t matter though, it never mattered because even though their rings were tied to their own marriage…. It didn’t stop them from claiming each other as husband and wife.

“I love being here. With you in my arms, traveling the world with you, I love you.” Roman claimed, raising his arms to wrap it around her body.

“I love you more. And one day, once the smoke in the mirror’s clear up; one day I wanna wear your ring instead.”

These moments were the moments London kept close to her heart. Was it wrong to love another man other than her ‘husband’? Maybe. But in her mind, those marriage documents meant nothing, Roman was her husband as much as she was his wife.

She never tried to hide him either. If they were out in public and anyone seen, they never cared. Roman was who her heart called out for, and there wasn’t a person in the world who could take that away from her.

Not James, her documented husband and surely not Tiara, his documented wife.

____________________________________

London had met Roman five years ago, at a mutual friend’s wedding. At first, her first instinct was to cuss out the person who bumped into her, making her spill the expensive champagne on her equally expensive dress.

London took pride in dressing to impress, and for someone to just bump into her as if they were being careless around her didn’t sit right with her. The curses she was going to fly in the mysterious persons way died on her tongue when she made eye contact with who the person was.

Roman Fuckin Reigns.

To say he was fine was an understatement. Dressed in an all-black fine wool Dior suit, Santos de Cartier watch on one wrist, gold wedding band on his finger. He screamed big dick energy and that stopped her angry turmoil right in it’s tracks.

It had taken her a moment to compose herself; still finding herself tongue tied as he got napkins and helped usher her to the bathroom to clean up.

Imagine her surprise when she seen he waited for her to get herself together.

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t see you. Lemme pay for the dry cleaning bill for you.” He had offered and London raised an eyebrow at his offer.

Before she could reply, she heard someone call his name and a gorgeous woman approached.

She was a baddie. Form fitting dress, buss down jet black middle part lace front, and plush lips. She looked London up and down like she was a fly getting too close to the food at a barbeque.

“Babe, I was looking for you everywhere.” The women stated, her hands moving to clutch onto Roman’s upper arm.

“I’m sorry baby, I had accidentally bumped into…” He trailed off looking back at London as he realized he never got her name.

“London. London Murphey.”

He gave her a curt head nod. “Right, well London, I’m-“

“Roman Reigns, and I’m his wife; Tiara Reigns.” His wife had cut in to introduce herself and London bit back her laugh.

“I accidentally bumped into her and she spilled Champagne on her dress.” Roman finished explaining and London nodded her head, agreeing with him.

“Your husband was just offering to take care of the dry cleaning bill. And since this is a custom from Dolce and Gabbana, I’ll be taking you up on your offer.”

London had pulled her business card out of her clutch purse and told him to call during her official business hours so they could set something up.

London flashed Tiara a friendly smile, seeing as the women obviously didn’t like her talking to her husband. She lifted her left hand to show off her own, silver wedding ring. “Now, I’ll be off to find my husband.” She stated before bidding them goodbye and strolling right past them.

The orange of her dress looked really good against her skin complexion. The melanin really popped with the dress and Roman couldn’t help but stare. Not that anyone could blame him, London is a beautiful woman.

London on the other hand, even after finding her husband, couldn’t keep her eyes from wandering to the corner where Roman kept himself. Damn he’s fine. She thought to herself every single time she looked. A couple times their eyes would catch each other’s and a teasing smile would be formed on both their faces. It was obvious they found each other attractive.

Now usually her panties didn’t get wet for a married man, especially seeing as she is married herself. But when Roman had called two days later to settle the bill for dry cleaning, she couldn’t stop herself from engaging with him; especially when it seemed like he was flirting with her.

He paid for the dry cleaning and even went out of his way to buy her another dress, for her troubles.

“You know you didn’t have to go through all that trouble of buying me another dress.” London stated kindly with a smile.

Roman smirked, “Oh, it wasn’t any trouble at all. A beautiful women like you deserves to be in a beautiful dress like that.”

London had bit her lip, walking around her desk to stand in front of him.

“It’s just such a shame you’ll never see it on me… ya know… since it’s such a beautiful dress.”

“Who says I’ll never see it on you?”

“I do. Unfortunately for you, this’ll be the last time you look this beautiful woman in her face.”

Roman let out a hum, as if he understood. But he didn’t move, he kept his eyes on the women in front of him. She displayed her confidence very well, but her eyes couldn’t hide the fact that she found him attractive as well.

“Let’s go to dinner. Not only did I ruin your dress but I spilled the rest of your champagne. Let’s go to dinner and that’ll be the last time you see me.” Roman stated with a small smile, he didn’t know what it was about her that made him wanna see her, but he knew he wanted to see her again. And as beautiful as she is, he wouldn’t cross that line with her…. He’s married after all.

“Dinner? Roman I’d hate to be the one to remind you that I’m married.” London reminds.

“I’m not asking you to go to dinner as a date Mrs. Murphey, I’m asking to be friendly. We can have a friendly dinner can we not?” He asked, an eyebrow raised at her almost challengingly.

Well, if anything it beats not having any plans for the weekend. And who was she to turn down free food.

“Alright Reigns. Friendly dinner.” She confirmed, nodding her head at him.

“Perfect. I’m free on Thursday, at 8. I’ll have my driver come get you.”

“Okay. Thursday at 8. Don’t be late.”

“I won’t.” He promises and the room goes still as they stare at each other again.

It wasn’t until Jada comes in to tell London that she has 10 minutes before her next meeting, that they finally broke eye contact.

And it was no surprise on anyone when London actually wore the dress to the dinner; he did buy it for that purpose of course. Roman knew the dress would look divine on her and with the way his eyes trailed over her body as she walked to the table, he knew he made the right choice.

____________________________________

Albeit their strong attraction to each other Roman and London didn’t cross that line with each other. London had found out that Roman had been married for eight almost nine years, but had been with Tiara for 11 years.

Roman also had the pleasure of finding out that London had been married for six years but has been with James for 12 years.

And they respected that. London respected Roman’s marriage. In fact, she thought the two looked very good together, and even though she’s been friends with him for a year and a half now, she couldn’t seem to shake the desire to have him.

Especially like nights like tonight.

Tiara was throwing a huge birthday bash at their vacation home and to her surprise Tiara had invited her to come. Tiara had claimed she wanted to meet the lucky man in her life since she’s never seen him.

Which meant James would be attending with her to the event. Not one of her favorite pass-times.

You’ve used the excuse of not having anything to wear for every other event I’ve invited you to. Now you don’t have an excuse, see you tonight XX ROMAN

London bit her lip as the notecard, and it was things like this that made it hard for her to keep things strictly platonic with him. It’s why she almost never went to anything he invited her too, she feels like once she’s consumed enough champagne, she’d jump his bones.

She pulled the dress out of the bag that it came in and she laughed. It almost resembled the dress that she had on when they first met. No wonder he bought it.

“Babe are you ready? The driver’s gonna get here in 30 minutes.” James voice called out from the living room and a sigh left her mouth.

James was a good man, he was one of the top selling real estate agent in Florida and helped his brother run his family business. He was a good provider, made sure she would want for nothing, not that she needed him for that anyways, her money was long too. In her father’s eyes, James was the perfect match. Together they were an over educated black couple from proper families on the road to the American dream of corporate America.

He just didn’t give her the excitement Roman did. Didn’t really engage with her like Roman did, and that made it hard because she didn’t want to step out of her marriage. But the more she spent time with Roman the more found herself almost not caring.

She contemplated on wearing a different dress just to throw him in a loop, but she couldn’t find it in herself to do it. He bought the dress for her to wear tonight… so that’s exactly what she’d do.

After she fixed herself up, getting dressed and placing her heels on; She stood in front of her vanity mirror to fix her hair, making sure her faux locs were swooped in the right place and James walked in, face scrunched in confusion when he seen her dress.

“I thought you were gonna wear the black dress I picked out for you?”

“Something got on it. I didn’t want to take too much time getting ready so I just threw this on.”

James nodded his head, before tilting his head toward the door. “Drivers downstairs. I don’t want us to be late.”

“Okay, grab my purse and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

She watched as he left the room through the mirror and quickly moved to her closet, there was just one last thing she needed to do before they left.

____________________________________

When they pulled up to the house, London couldn’t help but nod her head in approval. The house was damn near a castle, and she believed that a guy like Roman definitely would live like a king.

She held onto James hands as she walked into the house. There wasn’t that much going on, the music was playing but it wasn’t playing loud enough that she couldn’t hear the chatter of people talking to each other.

Her eyes roamed the place to take in the scene in front of her. She hoped to catch sights of Sienna, their only mutual friend, hopefully she would take her mind away from the married man who plagued her mind ever since they met.

“So tell me how you know these people again?” James asked, he doesn’t remember a Tiara being fully aquatinted with his wife.

“You don’t remember Sienna’s wedding where her idiot of a husband ruined my dress?”

The memory almost immediately click when he remembers London fighting her way through the crowd with an irritated look on her face. He remember wanting to find the gentleman to make him apologize for ruining his wife’s dress but London told him he already had apologized before she left the couple alone to find him before they managed to piss her off even more.

His eyebrows raised with a surprised look on his face. “You’re still cool with her after that?”

London let out a soft laugh. His shock was not misplaced, but if only he knew the real reason why she kept herself acquainted with Tiara. “She’s not so bad; plus she wants to meet you, meet the lucky man in my life.”

That made James smile, he leaned forward to press his lips against hers in a quick kiss. London and her husband locked eyes, and she could see the soft smile on his face. She knows its because of the knowledge that she’s been flaunting him around, but in truth her marriage was her only shield to be around Roman when Tiara was around.

The silver ring on her left finger reminding the other married women that she really had nothing to worry about. Gave Tiara a sense of security that London wouldn’t put the moves on her man.

And she’s been respectful of her marriage and their marriage. No matter how nervous Roman seemed to make her, butterflies in the stomach and brings a low simmer of lust in her loins.

She’s done her very best to keep him at arms length when she felt herself getting tempted.

“Well if she wants to meet me, that means you’ve been telling them what a great husband I am?”

London nods her head at him as if to agree but that wasn’t necessarily the case. And in all honesty, James really wasn’t a bad husband. She didn’t know what it was but something about Roman was gaining her attention.

“London." She heard a familiar voice call her and she turned her head to catch Sienna walking towards her direction.

A sense of relief washed over as she seen her friend with her husband. Thank God, I won’t have to spend the entire time here alone. She thought to herself. She flashed a smile at the couple when they walked up, London stepping forward to press her check against her cheek, kissing the air as a greeting.

"Hey girl, I was hoping I would catch you here." London stated with a smile.

"Me too, I have so much to catch you up on. Babe." She turned towards Khalid, her husband, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You mind keeping James company? I’m gonna take London to the bar."

Before he could even agree, Sienna’s hand held onto London’s as she dragged her to the bar so that they could have the conversation Sienna obviously couldn’t wait to have.

"Girl, what’s so important that you have to tell me?"

"I wasn’t invited to come here." Sienna started, which caused London to raise her eyebrow at her in confusion. "Tiara didn’t invite me because I had already told her I was supposed to be out of town. Which isn’t really the truth, but that’s neither here nor there. But imagine my surprise when Roman calls me begging me to come because he didn’t think you would show if I didn’t."

"I didn’t even know you were coming. And Roman didn’t even know I was coming because I got a personal invite from Tiara."

"The real question is why does he care that you show face at his wife’s birthday bash?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

It was a good question to ask, especially since the two have have not crossed those boundaries with each other but it was obvious that they wanted to. London did her best to prevent any opportunities where she would let temptation take over.

Roman would try to invite her in almost all the events he was going to make an appearance at or that he was throwing; and she would always come up with an excuse as to why she couldn’t make it. She couldn’t blame him for the way he’s been acting though, because even though she keeps her distance with events; she found herself not caring when it came to communications.

Any time he called, she answered. It didn’t matter what time it was, if he texted her or called her, she would answer. She gave him all her time, and give him advice when he needed it. And maybe that’s why he cared if she showed up or not.

“Do you want me to answer truthfully?” London asks which causes Sienna’s eyes to widen.

“London please don’t tell me you’re sleeping with him!” She hissed out and London smacked her in the arm.

“I’m not! Jeez, Sienna have some faith in me. We are both married.”

“And yet, here we are at his wife’s birthday bash and he’s practically begging to see you.”

London rolled her eyes, that aspect wasn’t something she could control; but she knew that if there was someone she could trust with valuable information, it’s Sienna. "I’m wearing the dress he bought for me to be here. Ever since I met him Si, it’s almost like I can’t get him out of my mind. And I’ve been avoiding coming to anything he invites me to because for some reason whenever it’s just me and him… I forget that we’re married to other people."

Sienna’s eyes widen at the confession. She always thought that Tiara and Roman were happily married…. She knew that London and James were okay, but obviously there was something she was missing.

"Is there anything I can get you two?" The bartender asked once he finally showed up.

"Two Malibu sunsets for the both is us." Sienna replied to the man before turning toward London. "So… you’re trying to sleep with-"

"No! I am not." London hissed at her, smacking her arm again to shut her up.

Sienna lets a small laugh. This was definitely worth coming out the house for. "Okay, so you’re not but you want to."

London let out a defeated sigh, because she really did want to. But she also wanted to respect his marriage and hers as well. "God; Sienna, if I could just forget about the real world for just 10 minutes. And who knows…. Maybe this is just an infatuation. Once I do it, it’ll be like I got him out of my system."

"Two Malibu sunsets for the beautiful ladies."

London reached in her purse to pay but - "It’s already paid for." The man informed her. That caused her to raise her head and look around the bar area to look for him. She just knew it had to have been him. But when she couldn’t find him, she lowered her head to search through her purse anyways. She grabbed two singular hundred dollar bills and handed it to him. "As a tip." She stated and she watched the younger male smile at her with appreciation.

"Thank you; I really appreciate it." He thanked before walking to the other side of the bar with a little pep in his step.

"Sounds like to me you want a little more than just getting him out of your system." Sienna suggested but before London could respond to her friend, she felt the gift Roman left for her go off.

The panties she decided to put on last minute started to vibrate.

"Good afternoon ladies." She heard from behind her. The amused smile on Sienna’s face would not disappear.

"Roman." Sienna greeted. And London turned around to face him.

"Roman." She greeted and Roman stared at her… he wondered if she had it on. He wouldn’t be able to tell cause he had it set on the lowest setting but he was going to found out in a millisecond.

With his hands stuffed in his pocket, he discreetly pressed on the button to the remote to increase the vibrations and the way London leaned forward to grip onto the counter gave him the answer he was looking for.

"You ladies enjoying yourselves?" He questioned, a small smirk on his face.

"Well…. Some of us more than others obviously." Sienna replied, before stepping closer to the two. "I’m going to disappear for 20 minutes. Hopefully you guys can get everything ‘out of your systems’ then huh? And just incase you lose track of time, I’m gonna call you London. Come find me immediately after Kay?"

And was it wrong for her friend to encourage her to sneak off with a married man at his wife’s party? Yes, but who was Sienna to judge. Plus…. This definitely made for great conversation when London would come back. So with a small wink, Sienna grabbed her drink and whisked away from the two.

20 minutes.

"Roman." London breathed out because the panties were still vibrating against her clit.

"You look gorgeous in my dress." He whispered in her ear and a soft moan came from her lips as a response.

He scanned the area to see if anyone important was around. None of Tiara’s close friends that he could recognize were around, so he grabbed London’s hand to pull her away from any lurking gazes. Plus, he was granted only 20 minutes to disappear with her. He wasn’t going to waste any time.

When The door closed to one of the guest rooms, he made sure to lock it and push her against it. "Imagine my husband’s surprise when I decided to wear this instead of the the dress he picked out." London breathes out, her hands clutching at his shoulders.

"How surprised would he be when I send you back with soaking panties that I caused? Would he get a big head and think it’s for him? Would you lie to him and tell him that you’re wet for him when you’re really wet for me?" Roman questions, his hands trailing over her body.

London never got the chance to reply because Roman had closed the distance between the two and pressed his lips against hers in a feverish kiss. He’s been wanting to do this for some time now, and with his little window of opportunity, he was gonna make sure he got what he was looking to achieve.

Their lip’s moved against each other’s frantically, tongue swirling around the others and Roman’s body was pressed against hers, the hidden bullet that was vibrating against her clit had an applied pressure on it now and it caused her to moan against his lips.

"I want you to cum for me before I send you back to your husband. You think you can do that for me gorgeous?" He asked huskily in her ear, causing goosebumps to rise against her skin. She felt her nipples harden against his chest and her fingers were clawing at his sleeves.

"Roman" she moaned out and he was tempted to suck on her neck. Return her back with his mark littered over her neck.

"C’mon, want you cum untouched." He whispered to her, grinding his hips into hers.

The moans were freely falling from her lips, her head thrown back against the door and Roman felt his temptation take over. He leaned forward to press his to her neck.

All the sensations took over body. He heard London take a small intake of breath. Roman kept his hands on her waist and continued to move her hips with a rhythm against his. The feeling sending a euphoric feeling throughout London’s body which causes her to buck her hips against his to chase the feeling. The buzzing of the vibrator along with their bodies grinding against each other’s gave a delicious feeling that she never knew she would experience.

"Fuck Roman." She breathed out. "Don’t stop." She begged. Everything seemed to fade around them, the room being filled with London’s moans and Roman’s quiet groans. The bullet presses even closer to her clit, which causes a shaky breath escape from her. She felt herself clench around nothing and in that moment, she really wished she had more than 20 minutes.

"Gettin close for me? It’s okay, let it go." He cooed softly. The churning in her stomach was taking over her, the stimulations taking over her body and she couldn’t believe she was going to cum untouched for this man.

Roman grabbed both of legs in a swift motion to wrap it around his waist to bring himself even closer to her. The fast motion made London moan aloud; the change of position allowed her to be able to truly feel how hard he is….. how big he is.

The way she was moaning in his ear was tempting him to push her panties to the side and fill her up with everything he could give her.

"M’gonna cum." She slurred out and it was the only warning she gave before a small cry left her lips. The vibrations of the bullet taking her there. She tensed against his body, her nails creasing his suit as she held onto him as she fell apart right before him.

Roman leaned forward to capture her lips in another kiss, and it was one she found herself getting lost in before her phone rang, vibrating in her purse that ended up on the floor somehow.

"Turn it off." London whispered to him, referring to the still buzzing toy that was overstimulating her. And he was tempted to make her cum twice but they didn’t have the luxury of time.

He didn’t peel himself away from her though, just slipped his hand in his pocket to turn off the toy.

"I’ll give Sienna whatever she wants if she adds ten more minutes to our time."

"What I really want to do to you is gonna take more than ten minutes. Plus, I have to go. James will probably be-" Roman kissed her again. He didn’t care to hear about him, not when she came so beautifully for him.

"Roman I have to go." She whispered, pushing him away from her.

And he watched her try to support herself on trembling legs, fixing her dress to try to present herself. He was almost tempted to let her walk out with her lipstick smeared but he knew better…. Knew that he had to play his cards right with London.

"Your lipstick is smeared." He quietly muttered into the room.

Watching her fix herself filled his chest with pride, how disheveled she looked by the quick session. And before he could say anything else, she quickly existed the room without looking back.

Roman stood frozen, he couldn’t believe what just transpired between them. He basically just stepped out on his marriage at his wife’s birthday bash and yet…. He couldn’t find it in him to feel guilty. The desire that burned for London was lit for over a year now, how could something he wanted be so bad when it felt good?

He took a couple breaths to calm himself down, he had a semi boner that he needed to get rid of so he thought of anything he could to help him get rid of it.

When Roman appeared again to the party, he searched for his wife; wanted to see where the lady of the hour was. In the midst of searching, he saw London with a man he could only assume was her husband if the way she was dancing with him was any indication.

The slow wining of his hips against her backside made him green with envy. Especially since he didn’t get the time that he wanted with her.

But when she lifted her head and their eyes locked as she danced with her husband, he couldn’t help it when his chest was filled with pride again. Her eyes were filled with the same burning desire that he left her with.

He left her hot and bothered and now she was looking for an outlet to release her pent up emotions. If he ever had the opportunity to be alone with London ever again; he would make sure he took care of her fully.

And thats how it started between the two.

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

I teased this a long time ago so here it is! This might be a quick series, lmao idk yet but I had this part written and I’m ready to release it. Please give me your honest opinions and feedback. Please show lots of love; I’m still new to posting my stories publicly. Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist for part 2 if you’re not on it yet!

Tagging The Lovelies: @whatdoeseverybodywant @gomussy @theninthwonder @christinabae @2-muchsauce @alichesmi @pitlissa22 @sassginaswanmills @harmshake @po3ticb3auty @unfriendly--blvck--hottie @dersha89 @serena004 @reci1996 @scarlettnoir01 @venusesworld

[newtthetranswriter]

heLLOOOOO can i ask for some baji scenario?? a fluffy one, where baji and reader have to babysit some relative's child and then the child starts to have fun with baji's hair? yk the braids, some cute clips etc... and then baji shows up to the gang's meeting with the new hairstyle....

rest is up to you!!!! it doesn't have to be romantic tho, i see it as a more platonic/friendly scenario?

YOU GOT THIS MY FRIEND AND REMEMBER TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!! love u 💞💞

Word count:982

Warning:none I think other than people may be a little ooc as I haven't written much for Tokyo revengers but I do want to do more.

Pairing: Keisuke Baji x reader (platonic)

A/n: Hello Ness, thanks for requesting, I enjoyed writing this even if it seems a little clunky. I gotta say writing on my phone on a long ass road trip is a little difficult but I hope you like it. Also in this everyone is alive and well. The kids in the story are modeled after my own niece and nephew, who I will hopefully see on this trip. Let me know if you like it or want more. My requests are still open. Anyway, remember to hydrate or diedrate, and have a good day.

It was supposed to be a relaxing weekend hanging out with my best friend Baji, but unfortunately my older sister decided she wanted an afternoon without her kids. Being the only one without 'important' plans, I was volunteered to take care of them for the afternoon. Being busy with a nine year old and a six year old I forgot to cancel my plans with Baji.

While trying to get my nephew to sit and watch a movie with his sister, I heard a knock at the door. I quickly ran to the door hoping it was nothing, only to be greeted by a slightly upset Baji.

"Oh shit, Keisuke I'm so sorry. I was in the middle of getting ready to meet up with you when my parents told me I had to stay home to watch my sister's kids and they haven't stopped running around since. I completely forgot to text you." I ramble out my explanation.

As he was about to speak my nephew ran up behind me grabbing my arm. "Y/n, Amara took the remote and won't put it back. She's trying to buy movies." The nine year old tattled on his younger sister.

"Sorry I have to deal with this, you can come in if you want." I said moving back to the living room and grabbing the remote from my niece's hand. "I will put on a movie and that's what we are gonna watch." I said turning on Frozen, knowing it'll keep the kids attention for at least a little while.

I then remembered Baji was here and turned back to him. "So, we can reschedule or you can chill here with this circus, it's up to you?" I asked.

He paused for a moment before responding. "I can help you watch them, it can't be much different than keeping Chifuyu and Kazutora out of trouble." Baji then sat on the couch next to my niece and started talking with her about the movie.

After finishing both Frozen movies, I got the kids a snack before they decided they wanted to play with some of the toys they keep here. My niece immediately grabbed a brush and butterfly hair clips from her little makeup kit.

She ran up to Baji with the cutest smile before asking her questions."Mister, could I do your hair? It's so pretty, like a princess." She was so sweet but knowing Keisuke isn't a fan of people messing with his hair I was about to tell her to find something else to do, when he spoke first.

"Sure why not. Just don't pull any out, get it." He said picking her up and placing her where she could get to his hair.

After about twenty minutes of My niece doing Baji's hair, she proudly announced she was done. Baji accepted the little hand mirror he was offering inspecting what had become of his hair. "I love it thank you, Amara, it looks wonderful. Don't you agree Y/n?" He asked, turning for me to see.

I held back a laugh as I took in what my niece had done to his hair. The longest part of his hair was in what looked like the best attempt at an Elsa braid my niece's little hands could manage, while there were also different colored butterfly hair clips throughout the braid and his bangs. "It really suits you Kei." I complimented.

At that moment my nephew then grabbed Baji's arm and pulled him to help him play a video game, saying something about it being 'his turn with Baji'. I smiled glad my friend was here to help me with these two.

Eventually the kids decided they wanted to sit at the table and color. Keisuke and I both seemed to space the fact that his hair was still in the messy style my niece had done. We also lost track of time because it was starting to get dark out and a sharp ringing blared through the dining room.

Realizing it was his phone, Keisuke excused himself saying he'd be right back. Only a moment later he walked in and explained he forgot there was a Toman meeting tonight and that the phone call was Chifuyu trying to figure out where he was. After saying goodbye to my niece and nephew he said a final good night and hopped on his bike to the meeting.

P.o.v change to the Toman meeting

As Baji arrived at the shrine he realized his hair was still in the messy braid and full of butterfly clips. He sighed as he decided the best way to prevent him tearing out his hair was to wait till he could take it down when he got home. With one last sigh, he made his way to the meeting ready to deal with the inevitable jokes to come.

"Nice butterflies dude, finally decided to spice up the look for once" Came the slightly teasing voice of Chifuyu as he noticed Baji had arrived.

The brunette just rolled his eyes and shoved the blonde's shoulder. Walking to his place towards the front of the meeting, ignoring all the comments being thrown his way.

When the meeting was dismissed it seemed all of the division captains decided to make their own jokes.

"I like the braid but the butterflies are too much. Maybe try a bow next time dude." Came Kazutora's jest at his best friend.

"Hook me up with your stylist, they did a great job" was shouted by Smiley as he laughed walking away with his twin.

Mikey even made a few comments about the look. But Baji just brushed the comments off, he had a fun afternoon sure it was what he had originally had planned but it was fun. The guys can make all the jokes they want.

[jrob64]

Silly Songs With Killian - a CS Modern AU One-shot

You can blame @sotangledupinit for this silly, but sweet, little story! She posted a prompt on Discord which caused my muse to jump to attention, and I wrote it in two days. If you're not familiar with the Veggie Tales videos, you'll still be able to enjoy this, but do yourself a favor and check out the songs on Spotify here. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy them and I guarantee they'll make you laugh!

Special thanks to Kit for making young Henry look even younger for the pic set, Mary for being my beta, and Krystal for being a second set of eyes for the Silly Songs lyrics and also for the pic set I created. It pays to have wonderful fandom friends!

Summary: After a frustrating and exhausting day, Emma Cassidy is relieved when her little boy, Henry, is entertained by a gorgeous musician at a restaurant, giving her a chance to sit back, relax, and enjoy the music (and the view!) It gets even better when the singer, Killian, sings some of Henry’s favorite Silly Songs from his favorite videos, Veggie Tales. 

Rating: T

Words: 3946

Also posted to Ao3 and ffn

*********

It’s been one hell of a day. It wasn’t supposed to be this exhausting, but of course my ex, Neal, had to complicate things.

I was looking forward to going wedding dress shopping with my future sister-in-law Mary Margaret and her other bridesmaids, sipping champagne and giving my input on each of the possibilities. It was going to be so much fun.

And then...remember the saying that was popular many years ago - shit happens? Well, Neal can be used interchangeably with shit - they’re one and the same.

It was his scheduled weekend with our three-year-old, Henry, which was one reason why Mary Margaret chose this day. Then on Friday, almost an hour after Neal was supposed to pick Henry up at my apartment, he sent me a text: Something came up. Can’t make it this weekend. Tell Henry I’m sorry.

Apparently he turned off his phone after sending it, because he didn’t answer any of my increasingly volatile texts - eighteen of them, to be exact - or phone calls. I had to sit Henry in front of the television so I could go into my bedroom to leave some choice words on Neal’s voicemail.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for my sweet little boy) Henry is used to being let down by his father. In the eighteen months since we called it quits, Neal has skipped out on more weekend visits than he’s kept. I guess being a lying piece of shit takes up way too much of his time and he can’t spare any for his son.

Also unfortunately, all of the people who usually babysit for Henry were unable to watch him. Most of them were included in the shopping trip, my brother David was busy because he was painting the living room of the house he and his fiancée just bought, and Ruby’s Granny was off bowhunting with her new beau. (Bowhunting with her beau has been a running joke ever since she left a week ago.)

So instead of enjoying a carefree day of shopping with Mary Margaret, Belle, Ruby and Elsa, I had to keep an active, inquisitive toddler entertained in one bridal shop after another. We were all relieved when he finally fell asleep in the third shop, until the manager woke him up by screeching about how he was going to drool on the green velvet upholstery. That cost her any business she might have had from us (though in all honesty, her gowns were all hideous and looked like something only the Wicked Witch of the West might wear.)

Eventually, Mary Margaret said ‘yes to the dress’ in the fifth shop late in the afternoon, then we all decided to get an early dinner at a nearby restaurant that serves kids’ meals and has outdoor seating. If Henry has to spend one more minute inside today, I think he might have a complete meltdown.

After placing my order and getting Henry situated with the provided coloring sheet and obligatory four crayons, I hear someone speaking into a microphone and look over to see a guy standing on a small stage with a guitar. A very, VERY attractive guy.

“Good evening, everyone,” he says, and my jaw drops at the sound of his British accent. “My name is Killian and I hope you enjoy the music tonight. I do take requests. Feel free to sing along or dance in this nice, open area in front of me.”

“Oh, wow!” Belle gasps. “He’s very handsome, isn’t he, Emma?”

My jaw snaps shut and I turn to look at her. Seeing her sly smile, I teasingly say, “Why are you asking me? We all have eyes, you know.”

“Yes, but we all have significant others, too,” Ruby adds, which is completely unnecessary but, sadly, also completely true.

While my self pity begins to set in, the guy - Killian - strums his guitar and launches into the Eagles classic “Take it Easy”. Henry, who by this point has scribbled all over the coloring sheet, somehow managed to break his crayon into at least four pieces and, judging by the color of his teeth, took a bite of it as well, looks up with bright eyes. Since I allowed him to kneel on a chair instead of trying to strap him into a booster seat, he takes advantage of it and hops down.

Before I can chase after him, he makes a beeline for the open space in front of the admittedly gorgeous singer and begins jumping around in what passes for a three-year-old’s version of dancing. I sigh and start to get up, but Mary Margaret stops me with a hand on my arm. “Let him go. He’s been very good all day and deserves to burn off some energy. Besides, he’s only a few feet away and we can see him clearly from here.”

It doesn’t take much convincing for me to heed her advice. If someone else can entertain Henry for a while, I’m not going to complain.

When the song comes to an end, Killian acknowledges the smattering of applause and plays the extremely recognizable first chords of “All Right Now”. Henry doesn’t miss a beat, throwing himself around like a rag doll while all of us at our table, as well as most of the other diners, laugh delightedly at his exuberance.

By the time Killian is in the middle of his third song, “Old Time Rock and Roll”, our food arrives and I face the dreaded task of dragging my son back to the table to eat. I nibble at my fish and chips until the song ends, then dash to the makeshift dance floor to cajole Henry. When he shows the expected resistance, Killian chuckles and helpfully says, “Go with your mum, lad. I’ll play a slow song that’s not as much fun for dancing.”

True to his word, he croons the song “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” as Henry acquiesces and comes back to his seat to shove French fries into his mouth as fast as possible. It might not be a good song for Henry’s style of dancing, but Killian’s smooth voice singing the beautiful lyrics is sending pleasant chills down my spine.

Another song with a slow tempo follows, during which my little man polishes off his fries. But when Killian starts “Footloose”, all bets are off and Henry is back on the dance floor with a chicken nugget squeezed into both of his chubby fists.

After we finish our meals, Belle, Ruby and Elsa leave to spend the rest of the evening with their boyfriends. Mary Margaret lingers, telling me she’ll stay to keep me company, because she’d rather not have to help David clean up his painting mess. We don’t want to take up a table, so we move to some empty seats along the edge of the patio from where we can still see my little dancing king.

“You’d think his battery would run down soon,” Mary Margaret comments.

“Are you serious? That kid is like the Energizer bunny, plus he’s been cooped up in stuffy dress shops all day. My money is on the singer wearing out before Henry.”

She’s uncharacteristically quiet for several minutes. When she finally speaks, she says quietly, “He really is very handsome and seems like a nice guy.”

Her statement is out of left field and I’m confused. “Who?”

“The singer - Killian,” she clarifies.

I narrow my eyes at her. “What’s your point?”

“No point. I was just making a comment,” she shrugs, all innocence.

I don’t believe her. Mary Margaret is the queen of set-ups and wears the crown proudly. She introduced Belle to Will, Ruby to Jefferson and Elsa, well, she introduced Elsa to Victor, but that didn’t work out very well. Elsa met Graham on her own.

“I’m not looking for someone to date, Mary Margaret. I’m still dealing with my idiot ex and trying to concentrate on raising my son not to follow in his father’s footsteps.”

“I understand, but…”

And it’s at this point I resign myself to the fact she’s going to spout some argument that’s going to weaken my resolve not to date.

“If Henry had a really good male role model in his life, it would help you in raising him to be a gentleman.”

“Seems to me David does a pretty good job of that, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“I know,” she sighs, “but between working, getting the house ready and planning the wedding, his time with Henry is very limited.”

“The house will be ready before you get married and the wedding is in less than five months. After the honeymoon, he’ll have more time.”

“Oh, but then we’ll have children of our own, and you know how much time that takes.”

“Is this your way of telling me you’re pregnant, Mary Margaret?”

‘’What?” she gasps. “No! I’m just saying…”

“I know what you’re saying and I hear you. If the right guy comes along, I wouldn’t be opposed to dating him, but I’m not gonna try to force something to happen.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a date for the wedding, though?” she presses.

“Henry will be my date. He’ll be very dapper in his little tux.”

“But…”

“No buts, Mary Margaret. I don’t want to be set up with someone just so I don’t look pathetic at your wedding.”

We both fall silent as we watch Henry continue to dance in front of the bemused musician. Glancing at the time on my phone, I realize he’s been at it for well over an hour and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. It’s beginning to get dark and I know I’ll have to wrangle him into the car before too much longer for his bath and bedtime.

I feel a little sorry for Killian, though. Nobody else has taken him up on his offer to dance, despite his repeated invitations. In fact, most of the diners aren’t paying attention to him at all. I hate to take his number one fan home, especially when I’m able to sit back and relax while listening to some seriously good music.

“I’m going to take a little break and then I’ll be back,” Killian announces, lifting the guitar strap over his head.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to take Henry home,” I say to Mary Margaret.

“I suppose so,” she agrees. “Let me say goodbye to him and then I have to be on my way, too. According to his text, David is anxious for me to see how the living room turned out.”

We both stand up and move toward the stage, but I stop in my tracks. Killian is squatting down in front of Henry, listening to him with a huge smile on his face. I don’t know what Henry is saying, and I’m not sure Killian will be able to understand it anyway. Henry has an extensive vocabulary for a three-year-old, but I listen to him with ‘mom ears’, which means I can actually decipher what he’s trying to say.

When we reach them, Killian looks up at us and whatever I was going to say flies right out of my head. From a distance, the man is handsome. Close up, he’s nothing short of breathtaking. Carefully trimmed scruff covers a jawline sharp enough to cut glass, his cheekbones would put every male model to shame, and his dark hair is swept back from his forehead with a few rogue strands hanging down enticingly. Even his slightly pointed ears are adorable.

But it’s his eyes that shut down the functioning part of my brain. To say they are blue is like saying the sun is a tad bit warm, and the way the waning light catches them makes them shine like sapphires. I’m aware that my mouth is hanging open like a fish on dry land, but I can’t seem to make it form actual words.

“Hello, Killian. We’ve been thoroughly enjoying your music tonight, even if we haven’t been showing it as much as this little guy.”

Thank God for the natural chattiness of Mary Margaret.

Killian reaches out to ruffle Henry’s sweaty hair, then stands up. “I’m very happy to hear that,” he says in that beautiful, lilting accent. “I was just telling young Henry here that I’ll play some special songs for him after the break.”

I finally find my tongue. “Oh, but I was coming to tell Henry it’s time to go home.”

My little con artist turns his baby browns on me. “Please, Mommy. I be a good boy, I pwomise.”

That’s just great. Now if I take him home, I’ll have to forfeit my Mom of the Year award.

Mary Margaret laughs. “Well, Henry and Emma may be able to stay, but I really have to go.”

Why did she emphasize my name so much? As if I don’t already know.

She hugs Henry and me, tells Killian goodbye, and winks at me as she passes by. Even without trying to set me up, she’s setting me up.

I look back at Killian, who finishes chugging a bottle of water and grins at me. Reaching out to take my hand, he shakes it and says, “It’s nice to meet you, Emma, and little Henry.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Killian. Thanks for entertaining my son tonight.”

“It’s been my pleasure. I love how uninhibited kids are, and how joyful.”

“Well, his day certainly didn’t start out joyfully at all.” I shouldn’t have said it, but I’m still boiling about what Neal did to his own son, especially when this stranger seems so happy to spend time with him.

“No?” Killian questions. “May I ask what happened?”

I glance down at Henry, not wanting to bash his no-good father in front of him. He’s happily lining up little stones he collected along the edge of the patio, oblivious to the conversation going on above him.

“He was supposed to be with his dad this weekend, but he canceled. Again. So Henry was stuck shopping for wedding dresses with us all day.”

“I see.” He ponders for a second. “Would that wedding dress be for the lovely lass who just left…or someone else?”

“Yeah, it’s for Mary Margaret. She’s engaged to my brother.”

“I’m very glad I was able to make Henry’s day better, because his dancing did the same for me.” We watch Henry play, babbling to himself. “He seems like a happy little lad,” Killian observes.

“I do my best, but as a single mom, I make a lot of mistakes.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Love. All parents make mistakes. It’s a good thing kids have perfect aunts and uncles,” he says with a smirk.

“So, are you an imperfect father or a perfect uncle?” Am I really flirting with him right now?

“I have two nieces, so that would make me the latter.”

“Do you get to see them very often?”

“Aye, they live just a few miles from me, so I spoil them as often as possible. They’re my brother Liam’s girls.”

“Doesn’t sound like you’re originally from the U.S., if you don’t mind me saying.”

He chuckles again, rubbing his finger behind his right ear. “We were born in England and lived there until I was fourteen, then my father took a job here so we moved across the pond.”

“That explains the accent.”

He nods and checks his watch, blowing out a breath. “I should probably get back to my set. Will you allow young Henry to stay for a few more songs?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Sure. What’s another fifteen minutes in the grand scheme of things?”

A genuine smile splits his face. “Excellent! I think he’ll particularly like the next three or four songs I play.” He looks around and grabs a nearby chair from an empty table, setting it down beside me. “Won’t you please have a seat, Emma?”

“Such a gentleman,” I say, sinking onto the offered chair.

“Oh, I’m always a gentleman.”

Somehow I don’t mind him flirting with me.

He steps back on the stage, slips his guitar into place, and positions himself in front of the microphone. After giving me a wink, he announces in an overly accented, squeaky voice, “And now it’s time for Silly Songs with Killian. The part of the show where Killian comes out and sings…a silly song.”

I burst out laughing at the very familiar words. Henry is addicted to Veggie Tales, the wacky shows featuring talking fruits and vegetables. I love them because they teach good moral values; he loves them because they’re hilarious. His favorite part of every video is Silly Songs with Larry the Cucumber, which we watch over and over and over again. Apparently he conveyed this obsession to Killian.

Killian closes his eyes, somberly strums his guitar, and sings, “Oh, where is my hairbrush? Oh, where is my hairbrush? Oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh wherrrrrrrre…is my hairbrush?”

Henry is jumping up and down like a kangaroo on a pogo stick, shouting, “Mommy! Mommy! It’s the Lawwy song! Keeyin is singin’ the Lawwy song!”

Wiping tears of laughter from my eyes, I look around at the half-dozen people at the tables, who are looking at the musician like he’s lost his damn mind. Bunch of sticks in the mud. Lighten up.

But Killian isn’t bothered by their response, or lack thereof. He smoothly transitions to another of Henry’s favorite silly songs. “Oh, everybody’s got a water buffalo. Yours is fast, but mine is slow. Oh, where’d we get them, I don’t know. But everybody’s got a water buffalo, oooooo.”

Henry is beside himself with excitement. He’s running around in a circle, waving his arms in the air in his best impression of a rabid chimpanzee.

Killian moves on to sing a few lines of “I Love My Lips” (I can’t help thinking I’m quite fond of them, too), followed by “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything”.

By this time, the diners have relaxed, laughing and clapping along with the crazy tunes. Meanwhile, my son has finally worn himself out, collapsing in a small heap in front of the stage, looking up at Killian adoringly.

“...and we’ve never been to Boston in the falllllll,” Killian concludes with a flourish and takes a deep, dramatic bow.

I dig into my purse and pull out a twenty dollar bill. I always try to watch my budget, but I’ll skip getting a chocolate caramel latte for a few days to compensate. It’s worth it for what Killian did for Henry tonight.

Walking up to the stage, I drop the bill into the tip jar, smiling up at the singer. He’s between songs, so I say, “Thank you so much, Killian. You’re my hero for entertaining Henry tonight. It was great and he loved it, didn’t you, kid?”

Henry jumps to his feet. “I weally did, Keeyin! I love Lawwy songs!”

“What do you tell him?” I prompt.

“Thank you, Keeyin,” he says obediently.

“You’re very welcome, lad. I play here again in three weeks. Perhaps you can stop in and see me again?” He’s talking to Henry, but he’s looking at me.

“Can we, Mommy?” Henry pleads.

I know we probably can’t. This restaurant is all the way across the city from where we live, plus it’s pretty expensive. Mary Margaret footed the bill today, but twelve bucks for a kid’s meal is a little steep and I won’t pay it. I don’t want to say any of this though, because my tired son is walking a thin line between lingering happiness and an emotional collapse. So I use the parental standard, “We’ll see.”

Taking Henry’s hand, I say, “Thanks, again, Killian. Have a good evening.”

Something that looks like slight panic flashes through those gorgeous eyes of his and he speaks into the microphone, “I’ll be back in five, folks.” He slides his guitar around to his back and steps off the stage, placing himself directly in front of me. “Emma, if I may be so bold, and if you’re not already dating someone, would you consider going out with me?”

“Wh-what?” Apparently, getting asked out by the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on renders me a bit stupid.

He lightly wraps his hand around my wrist and pulls me further toward the side of the patio for some privacy. “Even though we just met, I would really like to get to know you better.”

“But…but you don’t even know my last name.”

“What is it?”

“Cassidy.”

“Mine is Jones, so now we know each other a little better already.”

I stare at him, trying to think of a single reason why I should say no to him. “I…we…um…Henry and I, we…uh…we come as a packaged set.” That’s the way, Emma. Use your kid to try to scare him off. And you did it so gracefully, too.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m really quite fond of your son. That’s not a deal breaker,” he states firmly. He still hasn’t let go of my wrist and now he’s rubbing his thumb over it. I find I don’t mind at all.

“I…”

“Mommy, potty!” Henry announces.

Oh, geez. Killian has to get back to his set and Henry has to pee. I’m running out of time.

Dropping Henry’s hand, I rummage through my purse, trying to find a pen. “Got a piece of paper?” I ask, mid-rummage.

Killian dashes to his guitar case and pulls out a piece of sheet music, returning with it just as I locate the elusive pen. He plants his foot on a chair and slaps the paper down on his knee so I can scribble my number on it.

When I finish, I lift Henry into my arms and take off to find a bathroom. Before disappearing inside the restaurant, I glance back at Killian. He’s still standing where I left him, a broad smile on his face as he grips the paper in his hand. Raising my free hand, I give him a little wave and he returns it.

After I’ve had time to think about it, I might regret giving him my number. Right now I just have to keep my kid from peeing down the front of my dress.

*********

A year ago, Killian Jones was my hero for giving me a chance to relax while he entertained my son. Five months later, he was once again my hero by being my date to Mary Margaret and David’s wedding. Today, he’s still my hero because he’s continuously proving that not all men are incomparable asses.

On the contrary, he’s everything I dreamed a man should be, once upon a time. Killian Jones is talented, intelligent, funny, considerate, masculine, caring, loving, passionate, and a great conversationalist, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous (if I didn’t mention that, it would be a crime.) He’s the total package and I’m head-over-heels in love with him.

Oh, and he’s a fantastic role model for my little boy. I usually hate to admit when Mary Margaret is right, but in this case, she was unequivocally correct. He and Henry absolutely adore each other and it makes my heart so happy. They do everything together - read books, play Star Wars with lightsabers, build block towers, climb trees, ride bikes, you name it.

And Henry loves singing silly songs with his soon-to-be stepfather. What more could a mother want for her son? Except, perhaps, a sibling.

Killian and I are working on that…and thoroughly enjoying every second of it.

*********

Thank you for reading. I hope it brightened your day!

Tagging: @hookedmom​​​​​​ @kmomof4​​​​​​ @cs-rylie​​​​​​ @qualitycoffeethings​​​​​​ @grimmswan​​​​​​ @wyntereyez​​​​​​ @the-darkdragonfly​​​​​​ @ultraluckycatnd​​​​​​ @paradiselady19​​​​​​ @xarandomdreamx​​​​​​ @motherkatereloyshipper​​​​​​ @julesep3026​​​​​​ @courtorderedcake​​​​​​ @lfh1226-linda​​​​​​ @pawshapedheart​​​​​​ @vampcoffeegyrl23​​​​​​ @tiganasummertree​​​​​​ @captainswan4life85​​​​​​ @bluewildcatfanatic​​​​​​ @eleveneitherway​​​​​​ @elfiola​​​​​​ @kday426​​​​​​ @julieenchanted-swans​​​​​​ @gingerchangeling​​​​​​ @andiirivera​​​​​​ @djlbg​​​​​​ @jonesfandomfanatic​​​​​​ @snowbellewells​​​​​​ @huntressandlioness1​​​​​​ @anmylica​​​​​​ @booksteaandtoomuchtv​​​​​​ @pirateherokillian​​​​​​ @cocohook38​​​​​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​​​​​​ @laschatzi​​​​​​ @zaharadessert​​​​​​ @jennjenn615​​​​​​ @yasbio2015​​​​​​ @lyssapup27​​​​​​ @nachocheese-itsmycheese​​​​​​ @singersdd​​​​​​ @mie779​​​​​​ @undercaffinatednightmare​​​​​​ @winterbaby89​​​​​​ @xsajx​​​​​​ @jackieorioncat​​​​​​ @teamhook​​​​​​ @bdevereaux-blanche​​​​​​ @soniccat​​​​​​ @searchingwardrobes​​​​​​ @jarienn972​​​​​​ @apiratewhopines​​​​​​​ @softkilly​​​​​​​ @goforlaunchcee​​​​​​​ @kymbersmith-90​​​​​​​ @captainswan217-blog

[theunnieteume]

Yoshi_Surprise!

Not really smut just heavy make out and a clingy Yoshi ehe_

Walking through the busy streets, the lamp posts lit up one by one, a few stars freckle the sky as the sun begins to set. Orange skies and street lights…Ahhh what a sight. Walking up to my house I see my parents seemingly packing up their stuff into their car.

“Mom?” I ask, confused. “Oh sweetie finally you’re here, could you help me with this last bag?” My mom turns towards me, holding up a medium-sized bag gesturing me to help her “uhm yea sure” we hold up the bag and place it inside the back of the car, with a grunt my mom dusts off her hands “now I know this was so sudden but me and your dad are going over your sister’s for a while” my mom guiltily tells me as she places a hand on my shoulder “but what about me??” I ask in visible frustration, can’t believe they’re leaving me all alone! “I’m sorry Y/N but your sister needs help with something and I couldn’t bother you with school, we won’t be away too long, I left some money and some food in the fridge.” Hmph what a way to start the weekend. “Well..have a safe trip, I guess” She hugs me goodbye and enters the car, dad then trails behind and also does the same to me adding a kiss on the forehead “we’ll be back soon” he smiles jogging towards the car while waving me goodbye. They drive off the garage and finally onto the road….I don’t really feel comfortable being alone, especially in this house but I guess I should learn to be independent every once in a while..Staring off the road for a little while I sigh looking at the time. Finally deciding to enter the house as my feet glumly walk down the pavement. I step in and the lights suddenly flicker and so my eyes frantically snap around the room..phew it was probably nothi-

A sudden force pushes my body against the door. I gasp at the impact but barely had time to catch my breath as a pair of lips connect to my own. “MmMmmHmm” I struggle in their grasp, trying to push whoever it was. But unfortunately my efforts were useless. They continued to devour my lips, their tongue clashing with mine as they grab the back of my head, deepening the kiss. Tears started forming in the corner of my eyes but after one last hit they finally let go of me, I catch my breath before slapping them across the face. They hold onto the side of their face in shock, the force also causing them to stumble a few steps back. Giving me an opportunity to finally see this bastard I-oh sht “Y/N that hurt!” Yoshi exclaims, pouting as he holds the side of his left cheek “oh my God Yoshi I am so sorry!” I apologize almost immediately but stopped myself remembering what he just did to me “Wait why am I apologizing when you’re the one who should be!” Arguing back, pointing out how he appeared out of nowhere. And kissed me.. when we’re not even dating or anything….“I thought I should surprise you!” He says still pouting and massaging the side of his face. I sigh at his dumb filled cuteness, finally giving into his charms “fine you dummy” I walk up to him, checking the mark where I hit him “it’s fine” slowly reaching in, he holds my hand, placing a kiss behind the palm of it, slowly embracing me in his arms while trailing kisses on my neck “well atleast .you have .good fight or flight .reflexes “ he says between kisses, chuckling while still holding you. I frown at his comment, but realized something “Didn’t you have like a date a while ago?” I ask as I recall him texting me he had a blind date at 6 p.m. “yea but I ditched them” he replies while detaching himself from me. I eyed him curiously but decided to brush the feeling off. “Oh right. By the way my parents are out of town” Yoshi then tilts his head to the side questionably “really? For how long?” I wish I knew the answer to that question… “I don’t know but they said they’d be gone for a while” I reply shortly after as visible disappointment fills my mood. Yoshi’s eyes light up as an idea came popped into his mind “why don’t I stay over for a while?” He excitingly exclaims while his smile reaches his ears. I stare at him for a while, gosh I love his smile. And I ponder on his idea. Hmm doesn’t sound bad, I walk towards my phone on the counter to text my parents he’s staying over and while waiting for their reply Yoshi walks up behind me, snaking his arms around my waist and places his chin on my shoulder “You’re awfully clingy today” I say, questioning his actions. It’s not that I don’t like it though. But Yoshi is usually not this touchy, which is foreign to me. “I just want to hug my bestest friend is that so bad?” he asks innocently, pouting as he kisses the side of my cheek..friends don’t do these kind of stuff though…a notification was heard coming from my phone and my screen lights up to a message saying;

sure sweetie, it’d be better if Yoshi is there anyway to take care of you

I glare at the message they sent. I don’t need someone to take care of me! Plus Yoshi is only two years older! With a huff I turn my attention towards Yoshi “I guess you’re good to stay Kanemoto”

Turning from my back to face him, he suddenly grabs your face out of nowhere and closes in, breath fanning over yours, his lips part to take mine in his. I slowly kiss him back, wrapping an arm around his neck. Holding onto my hips, he lifts me up to a table nearby. He continues his way down my jaw, then to my neck, all while caressing the sides of my hips. He then stops, trying to catch his breath for a second “you wanna know why I needed to go on a blind date today?” He asks head down pressed against my chest. But I sat there speechless, not knowing what to say… “I was feeling needy…” he says lifting his head up as he faces me and the look in his eyes I couldn’t describe…was it lust? His eyes were hazy, his breath hot, my body tensed at the sight in front of me..a subtle scent of mint of his breath and the usual scent of his cologne washes over my senses..”and I was trying to get you off my mind” he quietly says, placing a kiss on my forehead “but“ then places another kiss to the bridge of my nose “I just” and then to my jaw “couldn’t do it” he pauses, staring at me with those eyes…his face centimeters away from mine and I sat there motionless. Hadn’t really thought he would feel this way about me.. his eyes studying my face and as his gaze finally lands on my lips he does so at it in some type of way..“Yoshi I-“ finding the courage to speak but he instead cuts me off “Be mine” he says nonchalantly eyes still on my lips as I struggle to reply, my heart pacing faster than ever hearing those words leave his mouth.. I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life yet I sat there frozen..I couldn’t find the words to speak and so decided not to say anything..but instead I reach for the back of his neck , pulling him closer. Closing the gap between our bodies and as our faces inches closer I connect his lips on mine. His movements synced with my own, slow and steady. Savoring the moment and it takes a while for one of us to pull away. But I had to catch my breath, I breathlessly look up to him proudly smiling at me

“I’ll take that as a yes”

[heylabodega]

a week

I wanted to write this sequel (lolol) last weekend, but so busy was it, and so busy this next week that here we are. I've been working, working so much, working on this project that has had me in tears. Twice from being overwhelmed with the project and at least three times from the other people in my firm being so supportive about it -- in combination with my tiredness from having been working on it and thinking about it for weeks.

I've been miserable but GOD I've been happy. GOD to jog to coaching, to lead the coaching session because the lead is out and someone has to do it, to run with my runners, to run home with my fast songs in my ears thinking, 'I am so strong and smart and bright and busy.' To go to trivia with two unsentimental friends, but to really and truly feel that we are all SO happy to be there, all understand the strange inextricable *ping* in the brain that comes from surfacing a fact that we forgot was there. To explain to a friend that I'm having an existential crisis and have him fully engage with that in its most fundamental meaning.

To RUN to move to go to the gym and lift weights, press weights, pull weights. To text my sister who is getting her personal training certification and tell my progress, to send her videos of my lunges for form critique. To feel my body strong and supportive around me.

To go DANCING, to spend days and nights with a group of friends wandering the streets of Brooklyn, to book vacations and trips and cabins.

To WORK and work and WORK to type and type to try to pull thoughts out of thin air into solid things on a google doc like MAGIC to have other people you respect and like read them and say, "this is excellent," to recognize the magic trick, to not know an answer and know people smart enough that you want to hear their answer.

The thing is, the thing you have to understand is, I've had bad jobs, I have had BAD jobs. Both in the service industry, in the poor people genre, jobs no one else I know would ever take and they would be right not to, and in the "knowledge industry" email click click jobs that made me want to die or paid me $50k to spend 25 hours a week thinking I was about to be fired. I won't elaborate but I'm comfortable with my bad-job-having credibility, and more importantly with my i-think-i-might-have-bad-jobs-forever credibility. All of which to say: this is a good job. For all I complain, for all this week genuinely drained me, if me this week talked to me in February 2021, me in February 2021 would be like you joked with your coworkers and bosses about things both trivial and deep? You and your coworkers went out for drinks and they made you cry laughing? You look forward to logging on? You feel smart and valuable in Zooms? When you express complicated thoughts about the structural nature of these problems your coworkers understand and appreciate them? IT'S PART OF YOUR JOB TO HAVE COMPLICATED THOUGHTS ABOUT THE STRUCTURAL NATURE OF THESE PROBLEMS?

Anyways I feel so smart and strong and funny and lucky and as a bonus I've been so pretty the past couple of weeks, which has to be from happiness because the only other alternative is that the $3 undereye masks I bought made a material difference in my beauty and charisma, and that seems impossible

[oraclekleo]

Update:

So I have been up to some things during the weekend, was pretty busy.

My sister came for a visit and because she went by car, she brought me a water melon! Yummy! It's 18 kg, though. I still have a second half of it here with me. It's so much of a water melon! 😂 They didn't have smaller in the store. So I guess I'm just gonna eat nothing else but a melon today (just as I did yesterday and day before... too much of a water melon).

My sister also volunteered to be my test dummy for me to learn how to hypnotise people. It went well from the beginning. I managed to calibrate my voice to a calming monotonous tone, I was slowly guiding her towards calm and relaxation of her body... Then I wanted to guide her to the deepest level of calm and relaxation and the usual way how to do it is to tell the person you are hypnotising to imagine themselves at the top of stairs and with each step down they take, they become more and more relaxed and calm, right? So I did just that and...

MY DUMBASS SISTER TRIPPED ON THE VERY FIRST STEP OF THE IMAGINARY STAIRS AND ROLLED DOWN!

No joke! I told her to take a first step and she suddenly twitched and started laughing telling me she tripped on the stairs! How wrecked does your brain have to be that it makes you trip on imaginary stairs? 😂 So there was no way we could continue. We will try again next time but I'll probably use different metaphor than the stairs. 😂

Apart from making my sister roll down imaginary stairs, I was sorting clothes this weekend. It's becoming hotter so I need to unpack the summer clothes. I also still have so much of mom's clothes here. She passed away nearly a year ago and it's time for me to just put it all away but it's pretty hard to do. I'm gonna be donating a great deal of of it all to charity. But it's not a finished process, there's still a lot of work to be done.

I have also set up a little private tarot corner for myself.

It's cute and in a place where my home office screens and laptop used to be.

I also had a weird dream... I described it to my friend so let me just copy/paste the messages so I don't have to type it all down again:

Although… I did have a dream last night… No dogs involved 😂 Which is already weird, right? But it was like… I had a guy friend… I don't remember his face clearly… I only know he had like black longer and slightly wavy hair. Probably a latino type? I'm not sure. Anyway! I was on video call with him and while the dogs weren't present in the dream, he said he liked the last vid I shared where I cuddled Dachi in the morning in bed (why would I record it and also share with anyone, I don't know) and that he's envious of it. And because it's something I hear all the time that people are envious about my dogs' life, I was just joking about it. But he seemed to be a bit fixated on the topic and started to asking what he would have to do to be also cuddled like that by me. And clearly we had a video call because he was far away so I brought up the geographical distance. And he suggested he could visit me and kept asking whether I would give him a cuddle and head scratch (thanks for putting this into my dreams, btw.) if he came for a visit. So I wanted to turn it into a joke and told him only if he wears a collar. I'm starting to feel like I'm dodging a bullet in the dream but that guy says he's booking a flight right now. And then I woke up because dogs smelled a fox a or cat outside through the open windows or something and growled and barked… Anyway, in like 2 minutes I fell back asleep And I was back in that dream only… like… later on. And I was living in my own house, not in an apartment. In a house with a garden. And interestingly enough with one of my former co-workers as my roommate (female co-worker). But the house still had like guest bedroom and this latino vibe giving guy for a visit and was in that guest room, apparently. And in that dream… It's a bit confusing for a little. I think he sent me a text message that he's waiting in bed for the morning cuddles and also sent a me selfie with him wearing a collar. I still have no idea what his face looked like but the collar was purple… like bright purple colour. I did went to see him in the bedroom. He did have a pretty torso and neck, yes 🤣 And I remember like combing his hair with my fingers and his hair was like really nice, too. That was good. I don't know what products he used but worked great 😂 I should have asked… Yeah… This guy was like purring and burying his face into my neck as I was scratching his head. That was a bit… too touchy for my usual taste but clearly I didn't mind in the dream too much. I mean, I also usually don't have this type of dreams. Must be all the audios I listen to recently 😂 They start rewiring my brain to be more open towards physical intimacy 

So yeah... That's what I have been up to this weekend.

How did you do?

[lifeinahole27]

I promise I'm alive

Eventually, I'm gonna sit down and write out where I've been for the last six months. I owe a huge apology to @grimmswan for never finishing her Christmas fic, first and foremost. And mostly I just wanted to let everyone know I'm still around. Here's the Sparknotes:

Last June, I got passed over for a promotion to AGM at the hotel I was working at. I was promoted instead to "Front Office Manager" and finally got to move to a daytime schedule after we found a new auditor to replace me.

On September 1, I had to fire my first employee ever - that same auditor that I was so excited to replace me - and so that was a fun experience. It meant that I was back to splitting audit duties with the other guy.

We tried to get one of the other desk agents to learn audit. The first attempt did not go well. He was supposed to cover during the weekend of my brother's wedding when I was off work and I genuinely don't remember how we worked the schedule for that now, but I know it was tenuous for a minute.

That same guy that didn't do well on the audit quit via text message the week of Thanksgiving, when the General Manager was on vacation, essentially fucking the rest of us for the rest of the week. He was my best friend at the job. I have not spoken to him since.

At Christmastime, the AGM essentially yelled at me as if I was a child for correcting her on something that she was doing improperly. Her mindset was that she had been working (at another property) for 15 years so she knew how to do her job and there's more than 1 way to do something and I needed to accept that. (Fun sidenote: I had been at that property for almost 4 years and she was doing something wrong. That's the fun thing about different properties. What works at one may not work the same at another.)

After that incident, I was job hunting. I finally got to go to a Christmas luncheon at this hotel (I was always working audit in the years before, so I had never gone before) but I was so miserable the entire time I was there but did a great job acting.

I was forced to work until 12:30am on NYE because my manager was convinced it was going to be a busy day. As I had worked NYE twice before and J had worked it once, we knew it was not going to be busy enough for two people. But still I was forced to work the one day I hate working (thanks to SA memories) and that was the final straw for me.

On January 4, I got a call from the company I had applied to at the recommendation of one of my previous GMs from my old hotel. A few days later, I did a pre-interview/info session with the Talent Manager. Two days after that, I did my interview with a group of managers. And on January 10, I handed in my notice to the hotel.

January 30, I left the hotel at 7:15am, no longer employed by it.

On February 6, I flew out to Denver and spent a week with a BFF I made in the CS community. We had a writers' retreat while I housesat for my sister while she was on vacation. I flew home on February 13 and got my company issued computers set up.

I started the new employment on February 14. My entire upstairs is almost completely renovated after three months of working on it after 7 years of depression. I have quit smoking. I am slowly getting my writing mojo back. My GP and therapist are both astonished at how happy I am.

In the months since I left, I have fully realized that I was essentially being abused at my last job. I was just so driven by my goals there that I was willing to excuse all of the bullshit in hopes of making it in my career. I asked for my vacation time a couple months ago and no one guilt-tripped me because I'm going on vacation in June. I told them I would be happy to take my laptop and work while I'm there and they told me to not even think about it. To go have fun and enjoy my vacation.

I don't know what all of this means for my CS writing. I don't know if that will come back. I would like to. I would love to finish some projects that are half-written. I would love to do another year of cards and finish that not-so-secret santa fic for @grimmswan. I just have to be a little more patient with myself and see what happens.

Okay, that wasn't as short as I expected it to be, because I guess it was a lot. Anyway, hi everyone. This is the happiest I've been since 2015. I'm happy to be back. <3

[takes1]

bokuto flirting with inexperienced!reader

nobody asked for this but i can't get this idea out of my head. second time i've written a kuroo's little sister thing and it just seems to read well imo?

warnings. nsfw themes, minors DNI

details. fem!reader / kuroo's little sister!reader / touchy!bokuto / flirty!bokuto / corruption kink!bokuto / virgin!reader / nerdy!reader / kuroo cockblocking / house party / protective kuroo / bokuto being a bad friend / bokuto crushing on you / 2.7k nsfw to follow, reply to be added to taglist

links. my masterlist. my ao3. more haikyuu. my request box. part two here. part three here. part four here.

"The guys are comin' over at twelve." Tetsurou informed you with a flat tone. He didn't even look up from his phone as he swiped a banana from the counter.

"Don't care."

Your parents were gone on another business trip, meaning this weekend was a free for all. Your version of fun wouldn't sway far from your usual path, staying up, playing games on your laptop after you were done studying for finals; your older brother gravitated towards more social hobbies.

"Sooo, like," He spared a glance to see what you were doing, "Fuckin' scram. Before then."

Papers, handouts, and notebooks littered the breakfast counter. Your laptop played an educational video from one of your classes and you had propped your phone to look at another online text. One highlighter hit the floor a while ago but you hadn't picked it up yet.

When you didn't acknowledge him, completely in the zone, he scrunched up his nose.

"Did you hear me, dumbass?"

"Shuuuut-the-fuck-up-I'm-doooiiing-somethiiing."

In a colored pen, you inked in a corresponding bar from a practice problem so you could visualize the axes.

If you had checked the time, you would know you had maybe ten minutes before twelve to 'scram.'

One could smell the attitude coming off of him from a mile away. Though he didn't say anything to you, it was made crystal clear in the way he sucked his teeth at you and shoved a chair before he walked upstairs.

It wasn't, and would never be, explicitly spoken, but the reason he didn't want you around was because he knew some friends were just too weird around girls. Kenma was the only friend he trusted to be alone in a room with you, and that was because he didn't like anyone. The roster of guys coming over to play some Xbox, play a match in the backyard, drink up your parents' liquor, and sleep over could've been a suspect line if was asked to judge their moral character.

Your slow, neat line of pen for your next graph became a scribbled mess in less than a second as the doorbell started ringing in a slew of rapid presses.

DINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDING

"Get the door!" You yelled to the stairway, frustration waning only after a nasty sigh.

There was too much to move to your room. You didn't have enough space on your desk for a spread like this, even if you moved every current thing off of it.

Footsteps padded swift back down the steps, not even getting the opportunity to do what he intended to upstairs, and he jabbed a finger at you but you couldn't see.

"Hey!" He shouted. Like he was offended you raised your voice at him to grab the door.

You slammed your palms on the counter and took a breath to yell, just before he called to you from the door, incredibly stern, "Fuck off somewhere else."

"Get the stick out of your ass!" You rolled your eyes and, then and there, decided to not move for anything.

Tetsurou gritted his teeth and pulled open the door, but it didn't nothing to stop Bokuto from pressing the doorbell. Next to him was Akaashi, patiently watching the button-pressing. It was raining, so that meant no practice match; they would have to stay entertained inside.

His big, cheesy grin was hardly a relief, "Hey hey heyy, buddyy!"

"Hey," He said, distracted, thinking about how disastrous this might turn out. He wondered if it was too late to reserve space in the gym, or even cancel.

"Woah-ho-ho," Bokuto giggled at his less-than-enthusiastic greeting and squeezed past him, unwilling to wait outside for any longer, "Don't sound so excited!"

The big, hulking presence stopped in the doorway, hastily removing his wet jacket and shoes. He retold the events of getting here in the rain, sparing Akaashi a few seconds in between to fix his embellished details. He was speaking to Tetsurou at such a volume that you had to search for your earbuds to drown his loud mouth out.

DINGDINGDINGDINGDING--

Maybe all of his stupid friends would ring the bell the same way. Thankfully, he was right there to open it and tell the next two groups to stop.

Soon, your living room was filled with almost all of Nekoma (only a few of which you could recognize from the handful of his games you had attended), and some guys you had never seen before.

It got so loud, so fast.

Your stubborn streak wasn't serving you well. Despite the separation you got from the one wall between you and the entryway, all the sound still poured into the kitchen through the open layout. Your technology wouldn't hold up to how loud a bunch of high school guys could get.

Tetsurou slinked into the kitchen, slow, quiet despite you both staring at each other.

He slid next to you, elbow scrunching one of your precious papers. He had that shitty, low-lidded smirk on his face.

Another boisterous laugh sounded through from the other room and your wince was only proof of your predicament. It sounded like they were fighting, or wrestling, or something that needed to be done outside.

He whispered, "Are you ready to give up?"

"Once you drop dead," You whispered back, clicking your pen ready.

His nostrils flared at your resilience. "You aren't even studying--,"

"Sooo! Where's all that liquor you promised, Kuroo?"

You watched your brother freeze up at the new voice coming into the kitchen. It was genuine distress that flashed across his face for half a second - you wouldn't have had the chance to see it, if he wasn't so up in your business. You turned just in time to watch a guy who didn't go to your school strut in.

"Woah!" He looked straight past your brother, right to you, "Who's thiiis?"

Tetsurou put his hand on your shoulder, something he never did, so you brushed it off as he started, "This is my--,"

"Heyy, Pretty," Bokuto sang just to you, big eyes trailing up, down, and back again, blatantly ignoring his friend.

You laughed at the interaction between them and his nickname for you. He was super hot. It left your brother impatient.

He closed the distance to shake your hand, unable to keep his eyes on just your face.

"This is my little sister," Tetsurou asserted, louder, this time.

The palm on the guy was so huge that you couldn't grip it. His hand could've easily crushed yours but he chose to shake it gently, then held it with both hands when he closed more distance.

"Hmm," He chuckled, "Hey, little sister. My name's Bokuto, but you can call me Ace."

You told him your name in an enamored giggle- biting your lip when he cupped his ear to hear it again, so you repeated it, surely less intelligible.

"(Y/n)?" He asked, jovial, like he was trying to make you keep laughing. He succeeded, "That's nice, but I like Pretty better."

Tetsurou moved himself between you, not a big enough presence to make Bokuto stop touching you or talking in the slightest.

"It suits you, yeah?"

Your brother cleared his throat so loud that it sounded cartoonish. Your fingers slipped from his hand, despite his attempts to keep them all to himself, and you wrapped your arms around yourself, looking down and away. His anger was tangible.

Tetsurou stepped in front of you and faced him. They went just outside of the open doorway. It left you to clean up your papers, laptop, pens, highlighters, books. He muttered many things, but you only caught:

"You serious?" Met with: "Relax, dude!"

"Do I need to worry about you the whole fucking weekend, bro?" Answered with: "Obviously not!"

"This is a line. Don't- don't cross it." Satisfied with: "Have some faith in me, bud, come on."

His friend drama wasn't your problem, but it was oh-so-entertaining to listen to. You fixed up your belongings very slowly so that when they came back, you didn't look so suspicious.

To your dismay, only Tetsurou came back in. He squinted at your gathered things.

"Good. Go upstairs," He said, so simple, with half of his attention on you, half on his friends horsing around in the living room, as if it was normal- as if you had ever tolerated him speaking to you like that before.

You threw a pen at his face, laughing loud with pure delight when it left a streak on his jaw. You had incidentally left it open.

There were few times you had seen him so indelibly angry.

The speed at which he nabbed the pen off of the the floor and hurled it back at you was worthy of a world-record. You only managed to dodge it because you knew what he was going to do before he did.

It shattered on the cupboard, ink exploding all over the floor, staining the counter.

There was almost no time to make a smartass comment, because as soon as you conjured one and inhaled to say it, something crashed in the living room. It sounded eerily mother's-favorite-vase-like.

He was teeming with contempt.

You didn't say anything back when he held his hand up, silently forbidding you from following him to investigate the now-silent room.

It was all his fault, when you thought about it. He dug his grave, since he decided on his own to have all of his rowdy friends over. It wasn't on you that he broke a pen, his friends broke a vase, and his best friend was so sweet to you in the first thirty minutes of the weekend starting.

While you could have left the mess for him to clean up, you didn't want to go upstairs just yet. Once you did, you'd have to justify coming back down. So, you pulled out some cleaning supplies under the sink and started picking up the little sharp plastic pieces of pen.

"Woah, what happened in here?"

You perked right up at the voice, somehow embarrassed to be found like this.

Bokuto threw a look over his shoulder before he fully came in. When he decided to enter, a big smile took up his whole face, making all his handsome features super friendly-looking.

He wasted no time sliding over the tile to squat next to you and inspect the damage.

"Tetsurou threw a pen," You said, quiet, avoiding his attentive stare.

He shook his head, disapproving, and started collecting the pieces with you. He gladly took your hand in his so he could place them in your palm. It was so unnecessary, but it made you giggle again.

"You like studying?" His head dipped to see more of your face, eyes bouncing around to take in all of your features.

It made you shy away and stand to throw the pieces out. But he followed just to watch you, amused at your mannerisms.

"Not really-," You squeezed past him, beginning to spray at and wipe off the ink, sparing a glance to your stuff on the counter, "I mean, there is something nice about it- but,"

Bokuto was too entranced by your lips to properly listen to you ramble. He glanced up to your eyes only on occasion, otherwise sporting an intense stare at your cute mouth, or the way you used your already busy hands when you spoke.

Soon you had told him too much, and there was no ink to clean up anymore, so you returned to sit on the stool next to the counter.

"I didn't know Kuroo had a sister," He sighed.

He chose not to sit, but to stand over you, just so that you had no option but to look up at him.

"Especially not one so cute," His knuckle grazed your warm cheek as you smiled at the floor, "God, you really are such a cutie, huh? You got a boyfriend?"

Your body braced at his touch. He took a step forward, one hand on the counter behind you.

"Mm-mm," You tried to meet his eyes, but it was impossible.

Staring at his body wasn't a bad deal, though. His shirt fit him nice and tight at the shoulders, then loosened, a little flowy at his waist thanks to his impressive build.

"That's good," His fingers dipped to your chin, gently bringing your face to look at him.

This you could only stand for a moment or two. You pushed his forearm down so he would stop touching your face, making you look this way and that.

He sighed, keeping his arm near you in case you wanted to keep your hands on him, but once he understood it wouldn't happen, he put it on the other side of you.

"I've- never had a boyfriend," You admitted, breathless at the pressure of such proximity.

It was mostly as a way to excuse your bashfulness, in partial hopes that he didn't take your hesitation as a sign of rejection.

You loved the attention. It was difficult to keep up with, but it didn't mean that you didn't want it.

His knuckles were white against the counter behind your back. His breath shallowed out. He had a hard time catching it, left recovering from the carnal reaction to such a perfect opportunity sitting before him.

All he heard was the chance to be unrivaled- a white knight of the bedroom, in a sense. To drag out that cute, adoring look on your face for as long as it took to break you in. His jaw tensed, his friendly smile faltering at the thought of what he could show you, teach you, be the very first to do to you.

He grinned, "No wonder he wants to keep you locked up, then."

♕VIP♕

@integers @yuchacco

my masterlist. my request box.

reply to be added for future parts!

[starjxsung]

Hello my lovely, lovely Star 💕 I am sorry for disappearing for like two weeks - I was working full time the past two weeks at my speech arts academy (done work for the summer now though!!!)

I'm so glad you're boss has been supportive!!! I hope you've been able to get some rest... work sounds so busy and tiring for you... HOW'S ATEEZ!??!?! I HOPE IT'S AMAZING AND EVERYTHING YOU COULD'VE DREAMED OFFF IM SO EXCITED FOR YOU AND ALL THE CONCERTS I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING TIMEEE rahhhh I hope you're doing SO GOOD 💖 pls tell me how ur doing I hope you've been taking care 🫶 Life Update: I'm so excited for Europe hehehe I fly out in two daysss ALSO I got my uni courses all figured out now after many days of stress :') As for south africa guy... okay so like we talked about being in something more comitted and stuff (he brought it up) and it was like a good healthy talk and he was super mature about it and bringing it up and making sure I feel comfy and stuff and letting me know like I shouldn't feel any pressure to say or do anything I don't want to and like we've been taking it "slow" cause I expressed uncertainty around it (for various reasons I won't get into) but I was willing to give it a try ... anyways so like we hung out this past weekend and everything was great we texted for the couple days after that but then like four days ago he just... stopped texting. And he hasn't read my messages either ;-; like I know he takes breaks from his phone/being online pretty regularly for like two days at a time so I didn't really worry too much at first tho I was kinda miffed cause I've told him before to let me know if he was gonna go mia but now it's been like four (five?) days and I'm like worried but also upset and like rethinking this whole thing and like idk I know he left for a trip yesterday so now he probably won't get back to be until he's back but why did he just stop texting like three days before his trip??? Like mid convo too... MAN IDK IM SO UPSET BUT ALSO WORRIED ABOUT HIM AHHH anyways, I love you always <3 thank you for being you Star 💖🫶💕 🌱

MY ANGELLLLLLL I hope work was good !!! I can’t believe it’s already done for the summer! Time’s really flying 😦

ATEEZ WAS AMAZINGGGGG my twin sister wasn’t able to make it but I did meet up w my older sister briefly for the LA show and she loved it !!!!!!! I stayed in merch line for 5 hours and I am sunburnt so badly my arms physically sting 😀 worth it for a Seonghwa jersey ofc

I CANT BELIEVE YOU’RE GOING TO EUROPEEEE OH MY GOD THAT’S SO EXCITINGGGG I can’t wait to hear all about it !!!! And I’m glad uni courses are all sorted! Figuring out uni courses is always so stressful I hated it so much in college lmao

Also :((( I get that people can have their reasons for ghosting like that but imo it is SO fucked that people do that after communicating about where the relationship stands. Is he looking for something committed? Or have you both agreed for just something more casual? My ex boyfriend did that after our second date and it felt terrible bc for like 2 days after we had sex he just….. disappeared. And then came back and said he was drinking and sorta off the grid and missing classes and stuff. But I think I cried for 2 days bc I just felt so used. People should just communicate !!! Why they’re ghosting !!!! Instead of leaving their partners to guess :( I’m so sorry he did that and I hope it’s just bc he’s busy or has a genuine excuse. But to leave you hanging like that is just so fucked up imo :(

Keep me posted what happens & I hope you have so much fun in EUROPE in the meanwhile!!!! Try not to stress about him during ur trip, he’s not worth wasting a good trip on if he isn’t a member of skz. I love you so so much !!!! Be safe my angel !! 👼🤞💓💕♥️💜💖💞

[annieintheaair]

Won't you take me home? Send me shivers somewhere I used to go; wrap my name across your mouth when I let my feelings out.

On Sunday, after texting a few close friends my big news, Jillian called me, "You're coming home!" I felt so overwhelmed with emotions that I didn't know if I was happy or sad or a little bit of both. Tears streamed down my face and my voice crackled. It didn't really feel completely real yet.

After writing on here on Friday night, I decided to check Zillow before leaving for work. Sometimes Zillow has listings that aren't on MLS because they're posted by private landlords. My previous rental in my old town had been similar -- it popped up on Facebook Marketplace one day and the next thing I knew, I was moving into my new house. I've been searching for a place for months with my realtor but never found the right place and I continued to pray about it all, asking God for there to be some miracle and for a house to appear for me like it had over five years ago.

When I opened Zillow that night, before even entering search information, there on the main screen appeared a house in my old neighborhood. It had just been listed. Immediately, I messaged the owner on Zillow and also sent them a text. We arranged for them to show me the house the following morning at 8:30am.

Everything went smoothly with my work trip that night and we actually got back early on Saturday morning. I had a little bit of time to run some errands and grab a Starbucks on my way to see the house. In the same way, as it was over five years ago, walking into my old house for the first time, something told me that it just felt right when I walked into this new one. The house just felt perfect for me and the landlord and I had a great conversation, and I explained to him how much I loved the house already and desperately wanted to be back in the neighborhood. When I walked out that morning, he encouraged me to apply and get in contact with his wife and said that he felt it would likely be a very good fit. I felt even more sure about it when he reassured me that they had no plans to sell it anytime soon.

The rest of the day was super busy. I went to the Aussie Grind for breakfast and had my favorite breakfast gnocchi and a mimosa before heading to my hair appointment. After that, I ran to my favorite nail salon for a manicure and then met up with my friend Jillian for chai. The day went by so incredibly fast. I ended the day meeting my realtor to see one more house (which I hated) and then picked up my dogs, stopped at the pharmacy for my prescriptions, and then headed home.

I ended up passing out on my couch for a bit once I got home, after finishing my application for the house, and then woke up in the evening. Matt ended up coming out to Fort Worth so we went out for the night to Birdie's until it closed and then ventured to West 7th for a few bars before heading home.

When I woke up on Sunday morning, I had a text from the owner of the house that I applied for. I was nervous because she asked if we could talk on the phone whenever I got a chance. She eventually called me and asked me a few questions and then told me I could rent it. As soon as I got off the phone, the first people I knew to text were my old neighbors, Marx, and then Jillian, who called me to welcome me home. It all felt so surreal.

I finally felt motivated to pack a few more boxes and so I did before heading to my sister's house to go to their pool with them.

It's only Tuesday and this week has already been looking up. I've been busy getting things ready for my move and Matt volunteered to help me with moving everything-- loading it all into a U-Haul and then driving the U-Haul for me since I'm terrified of driving a truck that size. I've had to set up all of the electric, gas, and water, and I'm making progress. I'm hoping to be able to get a few things over to the new place this weekend so that I'm not completely overwhelmed when I rent the truck.

I somehow managed to get an ODAN last night and got another tonight, with the plan to be off tomorrow and hopefully fly another ODAN from Thursday to Friday so that I'm home early Friday morning. It's so far a very busy week but I'm already looking forward to the weekend. Even though all of this right now is so overwhelming in many ways and so much of me is sad but also excited, I know that even on the worst days, God has this amazing plan for my life.

I'm looking forward to being home again, back at church again, and in all of my favorite yoga classes and walking my dogs on our neighborhood trails. I can't wait to be back at the neighborhood pool with my old neighbors, finishing out and enjoying the rest of summer.

In all that has happened in the last few months and all of the sadness I've felt, I realized on Monday, while talking to my therapist, that moving will be so good for me in so many ways, especially for my mental health. Even though I felt sad at first about ending things with Todd, I realize now how much all of that was for the best. I was able to choose my own new place, considering no one else's opinion but my own, and best of all, I get to go home, again. I never could have planned this better myself. God's plan is always the best plan.

xoxo

Annie

[crmsnmth-journal]

7/5/2024 10:19 PM

What a miserable night. Not as in that it was bad, but it was crazy busy. It's the weekend of the fourth and all the campgrounds around here are packed. And of course, like most of this summer, it rained like crazy. The Alley is really the only place within thirty miles that is something families can do. And tonight they did. Every lane was full. We had a table of 25 at five, which is already a hellish show. Especially considering Sherry was really bad tonight. I'd tell her to hold on something so I could get the timings right, and she would just drop it anyway. It was almost as if she was going out of her way to be stupid. And I know she wasn't. Sherry isn't that type of person. She's not malicous in any way. So it was just her normal behaviour. Maybe I just noticed it more tonight since I'm already on edge. My youngest brother is starting to really get on my nerves. Right now, he and his friends are sitting in the living room, smoking weed. The whole house reeks of it. I am on probation. This stuff can't happen and I've explained to him numerous times not to, but what do I know? It's just disrespectful and I'm getting past the point that I can handle it. I guess at least I'm clean if anything were to happen. I can prove that. I kind of hope he does get caught. It's not legal here in WI. And it won't be for awhile. Maybe that's what he needs. he really does need to grow up and start having some consideration for other people. I cannot wait until he gets a real room mate, because nobody will put up with his shit for long. He doesn't wash his own dishes. His laundry is sitting on the stairs, even after I almost broke my neck tripping over it this morning. I get he's young and stupid. I was there once, but at least I gave a damn about the people around me, other than my shit head friends. Sorry. I know all I've been doing is complaining lately. I know it gets old. Even I'm tired of it, but I don't have anything else going on. It feels like I have nothing good going on right now.

It's been four years since I've seen my son. Four years. My GAL won't respond to my calls, texts or emails. I finished numerous parenting classes, passed anger management, am maintaing therapy, have a reliable income, am taking my medications has directed, drug and alcohol free, and blah blah blah. It doesn't seem to matter. I just want to see my son. I want to hear his voice, his laugh. I want to hug him. I want him to know his father didn't abadon him. I'd give everything I have just to see him again. He was just an infant when everything went down. He probably doesn't even know who I am, or even if he does, I'm positive his mother does not have anything nice to say about me. She didn't when we were together, so why would she now? That stuff bothers me the most. My parent's divorced when I was fifteen, and as much as I don't like to admit it, it did affect me in major ways. It was a brutal divorce, brought on by my parent's immense drug and drinking problems, and my mom having an affair (It's done and over, I've forgiven them both years ago) and one thing that always bothered me was that they would talk shit about each other to me and Alex. All the time. I swore I would never do that if I was ever in that situation, and I intend to stand by that. I won't talk bad about T, even though I've quite a bit to say. Not to my son. Besides, even with all the bad blood between us, I cannot deny the fact that is a wonderful mother. She is there for those my son and his sister. She may be a truly horrible person, but god, she is an excellent mother. There's no love at all for her. None. But that doesn't mean I don't respect her. At least as a mom.

[dorefasolsido]

43. Omg it's been a while

10 HOW’S

How did you get one of your scars?

Two years ago I was rollerskating with my sister and a tiny rock got stuck in my wheels, so I basically flew forward and slid headfirst into some debris. Luckily, I have plenty of experience falling on rollerskates, so there was no significant damage, but my elbows were hella scraped. So I still have a scar on one of them.

How did you celebrate your last birthday?

I didn't do anything for my birthday, really. I wasn't feeling it anyway, and one friend was celebrating her move to Germany on that day with a picnic, so I just went to that instead. But I am planning to do something for this one! I haven't received any presents in two years lol

How are you feeling at this moment?

Pretty good right now! I finished all my work for this month, so I can take a bit of a break, and thank god for that.

How did your night go last night?

Well I was working my ass off until like 1:30 AM lol. It's not that I had to, but inspiration hit hard, and I couldn't let it go to waste.

How did you do in high school?

Pretty well in the academic sense, that was never too difficult for me. Very poorly in the social sense, though I did have some friends, only one of which I am still in touch with today.

How did you get the shirt you’re wearing?

I think my mum bought it for me ages ago, it's probably from my high school days.

How often do you see your best friend?

I saw her last in 2018 since we live in different countries, and lots of things came up in the meantime that prevented us from visiting each other. I want to do that soon, though.

How much money did you spend last month?

I feel like I was more thrifty in June? Aside from the Scandinavian trip I paid for, I think I tried to contain myself a bit.

How old do you want to be when you get married?

I don't want to get married.

How old will you be at your next birthday?

I'll be 29 very soon.

9 WHAT’S

What is the most important part of your life?

Hmm, my family and my writing. I do a lot of the latter, but mostly not for myself, which is something I want to change.

What did you do last weekend?

I was working throughout the weekend (the joy of end of the month deadlines), and aside from that, nothing special. For the past week I barely even left my house because I am on a socializing break, and it's been so wonderful.

What did you last cry over?

I don't really remember tbh. But I must have cried recently because June is somehow always such a bad month for me. So I was in a pretty gloomy mood before I went on my socializing break. But that has been really healing.

What are you worried about?

About the book translation deadline lol. I'm not even halfway through, and they already asked me when I am going to deliver it. At the same time, though, I can't force myself to work on it now.

What is your mother’s name?

I'm too paranoid to answer that.

What always makes you feel better when you’re upset?

Run BTS or any BTS content really, driving around aimlessly while blasting music, those awful sweaty dance cardio workouts. And like, renewing my hair colour.

What would you rather be doing?

Right now, nothing. I'm happy I finally got to do this, since I either wasn't in the mood or was too busy for months.

What’s the most important thing you look for in a significant other?

I guess what would be the most important is just understanding and respecting each other. Everything else can fall into place if those two things are there.

What did you have for breakfast?

Nothing.

EIGHT HAVE YOU’S

Have you ever done something outrageously dumb?

Oh for sure. Just recently I've texted someone I know I absolutely should have no contact with. But eh, so far so good.

Have you ever had sex on the beach?

Nope.

Have you ever been backstabbed by a friend?

I don't think I've ever been outright backstabbed, but I've had moments when I realized, yeah, this person is not my friend.

Have you ever been out of the country?

Yup.

Have you ever dated someone younger than you?

Nope.

Have you ever liked someone who already had somebody?

Well yeah, I sometimes get these platonic crushes on taken people lol. I would never do anything about it, and I genuinely think it happens because I know they are unavailable and therefore are "safe".

Have you ever been brokenhearted?

Sure have.

Have you ever read an entire book in one day?

Oh yeah, Stephen King's Carrie just last year. It's a short book and it hooked me right in, I spent the whole day in my room just reading.

SEVEN WHO’S:

Who is the last person you saw?

My sister.

Who is the last person that you texted?

My best friend.

Who called you last?

My dad, I think? But I missed the call, and he talked to my sister instead.

Who is the last person you hung out with?

Aside from my sister and grandma, no one in particular in almost two weeks. But I've had more than enough hanging out at the beginning of June.

Who did you hug last?

No idea, maybe my parents when I came home?

Who is the last person that texted you?

My best friend.

Who was the last person you said “I love you” to?

Oh I have no idea, I don't say that very often.

SIX WHERE’S:

Where does your best friend live?

In Lithuania.

Where is your favorite place to be?

Depends, but right now, I enjoy nothing more than being right here in my childhood home alone.

Where did you sleep last night?

My bed.

Where did you last hang out?

Two weeks ago I met two of my friends at one lake in Belgrade.

Where do/did you go to school?

Elementary and high school in my hometown, university in Belgrade.

Where did you last adventure to?

Well, I did quite a bit of mountain climbing at the beginning of June.

FIVE DO’S/DOES

Do you ever wish you were someone else?

Yup, quite often. Not because I hate my life or anything (well, most of the time lol), but because I would like to experience how it is to be, I don't know, a famous singer, or an astronaut, or an explorer, or all these other things. I can't do all that in this one life, I've chosen my path and I don't regret it, but still, it would be cool to have all these other experiences.

Do you think anyone despises you?

I'm not really sure. I don't think anyone full-on despises me, but I can think of at least one person who might dislike me. Yet, at the same time, she does like texting once in a while.

Do you like someone right now?

Nope.

Does the future scare you?

Eh, sometimes. It depends, sometimes I feel like I can take on anything, and sometimes I have no idea how I'll make it past 30.

Do you have any secret powers?

Not that I am aware of.

FOUR WHY’S:

Why are you best friends with your best friend(s)?

We've been there for each other through good and bad, it's easy to talk to her about anything, and we are both very different but also match really well.

Why did your parents give you the name you have?

I have no idea lol. I think my dad wanted to name me after my grandpa if I was a boy, my mum was against it, but it didn't matter anyway, because I turned out to be a girl. I mean, Mila can be seen as a shorter version of my grandpa's name, soooo, maybe that's why?

Why did you get a myspace?

I actually never had it lol.

Why are you doing this survey?

This looked fun! I like surveys that have some kind of a theme or a special style or something like that.

THREE IF’S:

If you could have one super power what would it be?

Teleportation because ho boy, I could spend a 15-minute break literally anywhere in the world.

If you could go back in time and change one thing, would you?

I wouldn't after all.

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Germany (probably Berlin) or maybe Lisbon. Japan is high up on my list of countries I want to visit, but since I haven't gone there yet, I can't say if I'd like to live there.

TWO WOULD-YOU-EVER’S:

Would you ever shave your head to save someone you love?

Yeah, why not. I mean, hair seems like a small price to pay for someone's life.

Would you ever get back together with any of your exes if they asked you?

Hopefully not.

LAST ONE:

Are you happy with how your life has turned out?

I'm okay with it

[babylizzz]

And the saga continues. This is very healing for me. Please excuse me as I take full advantage of this outlet. This is all so very fresh.

K and I met on a dating app. I was just looking for some casual fun, someone to get me out of the house on nights when the kids were with their dad. He was looking for his person. What stood out to me right away about K was that he's funny. Most guys are so bland on dating apps. I swiped right and it was an instant match. The conversation flowed so well. He's so interesting and intelligent, and we have so many shared interests. We moved to text that night and met that weekend. By the end of the first date, I was smitten. I wasn't even looking for anything serious, but in walked this whole man. By that I mean he had spent the last 6 years intentionally single and just growing as a person. He was a complete, whole person who knew exactly what he wanted and was ready for it. We were both so real and open and vulnerable with each other. It was refreshing. By the third date, I was sure our souls were old friends. By the fifth, I was without a doubt in love.

We spent the following months adventuring together. We learned from each other, grew together, pushed each other toward our goals, and made each other better humans. He quickly introduced me to his best friends, parents, and sister. I even grew to love all of them because they were all amazing, like-minded people. 

The first time he told me he loved me, I told him I had loved him for a while already. He responded that he thought he knew he loved me from the very first date but waited to tell me because he wanted to be absolutely sure. This made me love him even more.

K and I would lie in bed and talk until we fell asleep. We would wake up in the morning and wrap ourselves up in a blanket on the back porch, stare out at the forest behind his house, and work through a book he owned called "101 Questions to Ask Before You Get Engaged" - not because we were gearing up for that step, but because the questions in that book were nothing compared to the depths our conversations had already taken us to. But we knew that's where we were headed. We talked about what our future would look like together - what it would be like living together, when we got married, when I gave him a child of his own. We referred to ourselves as LPIT, "Life Partners In Training." We were on this journey to becoming fully known. That's all either of us ever wanted our whole lives, and we were really close if not already there.

At this point, K and I were so sure of us that I decided and we agreed that it was time for him to meet my parents and my kids, respectively. My parents thought he was nice, and my kids made fast friends with K. My son would not stop talking about his new friend and asking when we would see him again. They met once more before I had to go out of town, and once again, they hit it off swimmingly. My world felt complete. I had brought the two halves of my heart together, and they fit so perfectly.

I went out of state for a week for an event, and it was hard to catch K with the time difference, but he texted me as much as he could and FaceTimed as well. I noticed after a few days that he stopped saying "I love you" back, but I figured it was just an oversight because he was always so busy and stressed at work. When I got back from my trip, communication was back to normal, and we were so excited to see each other at the end of the week. Friday came, and I jumped into his arms and kissed and hugged him for a good minute. I'd missed him so much. I walked into the kitchen to put some things in the freezer, and instead of leading me to his room like he always did, he asked me to sit with him at the dining table. I thought at first he was going to show me a new game or something, but the table was bare. He explained that he had something very difficult to tell me. He was roommates with his best friend whose girlfriend was moving in in a couple of weeks. K was asked to find his own place within 6 months. He said he'd been doing a lot of thinking because buying a house is a big change for him. But when he pictured his future in a new house, he couldn't picture me in it. He just didn't see a future for us anymore.

That was it. Nothing had happened. It wasn't anything to do with me. He didn't regret one bit of our relationship. He was grateful that I'd taught him so much and helped him grow and made him a better person. He just had a feeling. I couldn't argue; I knew him too well. He'd broken up with his first and only other serious girlfriend for a similar reason. She was a negative person and he just couldn't see a positive future with her anymore. Another girl he'd very briefly dated was fun to hang out with, but he didn't see it going any further. How could I fault him when I always admired that he knew exactly what he wanted and didn't waste time with anything that wouldn't lead him to that very thing? So I shed a tear and said, "Okay, I understand." He said he was so sorry, and I told him I knew he was, and I turned for the door. He pulled me in for a hug, which I just couldn't handle, so I pulled away and slipped out.