#never have i ever felt such a strong urge to throw a fictional guy across the room

[deus-ex-mona]

ok but. looking at yujiro’s nonexistent a(.)b(.)s(ecret), i think i could take him on 1v1 ezpz

[binniedeactivated]

➥ PAIRING ||  taehyun x beomgyu

➥ GENRE || soulmate au! , enemies to lovers!, fantasy fanfiction

➥ W/C | 10k+

➥ SYNOPSIS || in which the both of them were admitted to Halls of Brotherhood: University of Magic.  They were soulmates. yet they hated each other. But the marks on their skin said otherwise. 

→ soulmate au where the thoughts of their soulmate inscribe themselves on one another’s skin

➥ WARNINGS || profanity, slight violence, angst I think?, fluff, mutual pining,  slow burn kinda?

a/n; okay guys, this is my first time writing fantasy fiction so pls forgive me if it isn’t good. I’ve been trying to write this genre for years but couldn’t get it right. @moonlit-lixie your ask inspired me to write a soulmate au 🤲🏿

“You promised me I’d go to a normal school. You promised that I wouldn’t have to practice any of that stuff”. beomgyu whines to his mother from the passenger seat. It was the middle of the night and his heart was pounding in annoyance. He takes a hefty glance out the window through his bifocals and loses himself in the fast paced scenery. He wished he could be one of them. You know. a part of nature. Like a tree, a flower on the side of the road or something. He would do almost anything to escape this. 

“Gyu sometimes things just have to change”.  She swiftly replies. her beautiful face was calm and sullen while her hands rested on the steering wheel. That was one thing beomgyu always envied about his mother. She was so full of serenity in the midst of anything. she was a brave woman in the dust of any type of chaos. 

“I don’t want to dabble in that stuff ”. 

beomgyu swallows the leftover spit trapped in the space around his tongue. Magic has done nothing for him in life and in his mind, it never will. Magic was a nuisance. Magic was unforgiving. Magic killed his father.

She sluggishly presses her foot on the break and the both of them lean forward a bit at the sudden halt. beomgyu peers out of the windshield loathing in nervousness. They arrived at the train station and to his luck the boys were still boarding. His mother unbuckles her seatbelt shortly and beomgyu could only take a dreadful gander at her in shock. He wondered how she could be so comfortable  mindlessly sending her only child away to practice the very thing that did his family no good. 

“Why do I have to go? What difference will I add to them?”. 

“gyu what did I tell you about talking like that?”. 

He bit his lips feeling a little sorry for himself. He could’ve backtracked but he didn’t. That’s how he felt about himself and he couldn’t help it. He  was too puny to do much of anything. Puny, anxious and hot tempered. And without those thick round glasses he could barely see what was right in front of him. 

She gets out of the vehicle and once she did that beomgyu realized there would be no further discussion in the matter. He pushes open the passenger side door and tugs his luggage with him. He stuffs a hand in his pocket while the wind tousles his lengthy, black hair across his forehead. It was cold as hell outside and he wished he could just go back home to his bed. His mother approaches the conductor, showing the piece of mail she’d gotten days prior about beomgyu’s admission. Although the wind was tossing his hair a great deal beomgyu could still make out the sight of the conductor nodding in confirmation, gesturing him over. His mother awaited him at the entrance of the train to which he approached her with hesitance. Almost as if he were waiting for her to stop him in his tracks and admit this was all a prank. Or  shake him vigorously, admitting this was just a dream But no, everything was just as surreal as the hopeful sparkle in her eyes when she looked at him, as if she knew something he didn’t. 

She clutches either side of his head and plants a kiss on his forehead. 

“I love you okay? You know I'm not doing any of this to spite you. Magic is in your bloodline. I’ll be in contact with you always alright?”. 

He clutches her wrist. “I don’t want to do thi-”.

“Be strong for me beomgyu. Please”.

His heart ached at the agony in her eyes and he obliged. Magic was never his dream. It was hers. He nods his head though, telling her that he loves her and bids his farewell while stepping into the train cart. When he stepped on he was immediately pissed, assuming maybe he got the wrong cart. Out from the cold he was immersed into a noisy train, with loud and rowdy boys who were either talking at an ear piercing volume or pointlessly horsing around. none of them paid any mind to beomgyu though. Which was good, beomgyu hoped they kept that behavior up for as long as he were there. He swallows and pulls his varsity jacket sleeves over his fingertips, suddenly feeling anxious whilst walking down the aisle eyeing the empty seat in the back by the window. He hated settings like this. So lively and obnoxious it felt like the walls around him were closing in. 

“Bro! Let me see!”. 

A voice shrieks at a distance behind him before his footsteps grew closer, sounding as if he was sprinting. Within a blink of an eye beomgyu’s shoulder thrusted forward and he fell to the side, a result of the boy roughly running past him hitting his shoulder with no regard. Beomgyu felt his elbow suddenly press into the plastic bottle that the seated boy beside him was drinking from, leaving it now dented and water spilling all over the boy’s shirt. just by the way the boy was breathing beomgyu could tell he wasn’t too pleased. He pushes beomgyu off of him, so hard that his back almost hit the seats across from him. 

“Yo! Watch where the hell you’re going!”.

Beomgyu peeled himself off the seat and fixed his ruffled clothes. His heart rate quickened just seeing the boy’s face drawn into an angry expression. Overwhelming fury coiled in beomgyu’s stomach. 

“It was an accident!”. He hisses. 

“Well don’t make accidents you just spilled my water all over me you fucking idiot!“. 

Beomgyu clenches his jaw and balls his fists until his knuckles turned white. 

“Don’t call me that”. 

“Yeah? Or what? What are you going to do?”. 

Once beomgyu charged forward he was immediately braced back by a long arm stretching across his chest. A clean shaven, outrageously hefty man who they would later know as Cyprus-- one of the headmaster’s faithful subordinates--had made it his duty to prevent the dispute from going any further. 

“choi beomgyu”, he bellowed, his voice much more hoarse and gruff than beomgyu, or any of the boys expected. The cart grew quiet once the man spoke, they were tight lipped--  as if he used his hands and closed their mouths himself. beomgyu swallowed nervously and casts his eyes up at him.

“kang taehyun”, he bellows next. his dark eyes loomed over the both of them. taehyun breathed. 

“yes?”. he mutters, something in him refusing to sound as scared as he looked. 

“when you speak to me you use yes sir or no sir. do you understand?”. Beomgyu could only rest his eyes on the boy who was on the verge of beating the living shit out of him minutes prior, now mumbling with a speck of fear in his eyes. 

“yes sir?”. 

Cyprus then peers over at beomgyu. Beomgyu shifts his eyes from taehyun to cyprus a couple of times before realizing what he wanted. 

“oh um--um yes sir?”. 

“violence is not tolerated here. unless you want to face your discipline before you even get your room key, I suggest the both of you sit yourselves down somewhere”.  

Like the fall of a microphone cyprus unhands be0mgyu and continues his journey along the carts making sure the rest of the boys were in order. Even after his disappearance the cart was dead silent. 

Beomgyu tugs his luggage along with him to a random seat in the back, throwing himself down and laying his head back on the head rest as soon as he touches the chair. The doors were closing and the train was about to take off soon. The chatter on the cart began to sprout back up again. beomgyu sighed with his attention out the window. He wanted to be anywhere but here. 

“don’t worry about tyun, he’s been like that ever since we were kids”. A rather mellow, wistful voice spoke beside him. 

Beomgyu rolls his head over tiredly to the direction of the voice. He hadn’t even realized he was seated next to someone. 

“He’s been what? A sensitive piece of shit?”, 

The blonde haired boy smiled and laughed a little. Beomgyu had never seen a smile so bright in his life. His face was sort of angelic too, it had this shrill glow to it that beomgyu couldn’t stop looking at. He wondered if the boy was even real. 

“No-- i mean he’s hot tempered like that all the time. So don’t sweat it. You’ll eventually learn to just stay out of his way”. 

Beomgyu sucks his teeth. “or he can learn to stay out of mine”.

The boy laughs again, his face glowing so uncontrollably bright that his smile was a little contagious, spreading the disease of a small smile on beomgyu’s face also. The boy offers his hand, 

“You’re funny. I’m heuning kai. Maybe we should be friends”. 

Beomgyu was hesitant at first but nonetheless he shook it. 

“I’m choi beomgyu”. 

Heuning kai nods, thinking it was pretty odd to respond with “I know who you are”. Even though he did. He knew exactly who beomgyu was.

Beomgyu continued staring at his face-- it was obviously glowing at its edges. A sharp, pretty silver lining coasting along his jawline and over the crown of his blonde hair. Either that,  or maybe beomgyu was just sleepy. 

“So? Heuning kai …. what are you? Are you even a human?”. Beomgyu jokes. He really couldn’t fathom the other’s angelic appearance. 

Kai’s cheeks began to tint pink in embarrassment.  He thought he was blending in pretty well for the most part.  “What makes you ask that?”.

“You’re glowing”. 

Kai’s hands immediately touched his face which was incredibly warm. “Oh gosh I thought I had this under control”. he reaches into his bag and pulls out a small bottle of milk to drink. 

“Have what under control?”. 

“The glow. I’m half human and um--half fairy. I applied here so I can practice my magic”. 

Beomgyu had an urge to touch him. He looked so pretty and perfect he wanted to see what he felt like at least once.  He reached his hand out slowly to press his hand against kai’s. His skin was so velvety and pillow-like their hands practically melted into each other. 

“Wow you’re so soft. I’ve never really met a fairy before”.

“Half. I’m a half fairy. A hury”.  

“What’s the difference?”. 

“Well, full blood fairies are incapable of feeling human emotions and they lack human-like qualities. They act off of magic instead of logic. But since I’m half, I’m able to use my magic wisely”. 

Beomgyu nods in response, yawning with a sudden weary feeling washing over him all at once. 

“That’s pretty cool. Can you do me a favor though and wake me when the train stops? I’m beat”. 

Kai agrees, even though he wanted someone to talk to for the duration of the ride. He knew the other boys would think of him as a weirdo or freak of some sort. He was glad that beomgyu didn’t. No one ever took fairies too well. Beomgyu turned over though, curling his legs in the seat and allowed the moving moon to be his lullaby until he fell into his slumber. 

By the time the train arrived at their destination the morning had already beat them to it. Kai had done his duty by waking beomgyu as he asked, even though it wasn’t easy. He remembers his mother--who was a full blooded fairy-- used to sprinkle sleeping pixies over his face when he was younger to get him to wake up. Oh how he wished he could’ve used them for gyu. Hopefully when kai gained some more experience he’d have those under his belt. 

Beomgyu tugs his luggage and tiredly walks through the grassy quads of the campus  which was utterly beautiful. The blades of grass reflected hues of vivid greens he only saw in his dreams. Even the shadow stone architecture of each building was built into a modern piece of art. Each building had different words carved into the stone at the top of the building. Words such as “Magic Engineering house”,  “Magic Alchemy”, and even “Philosophy of Magic”. along these Multi colored stone walls and lining them occasionally were these big glass windows that were shiny and the cleanest he’s ever seen. But of course his moment of fascination came to an annoying end when he saw a big arrow sign, pointing first years to the direction of the auditorium. 

“Oh gosh”, beomgyu whined. “I just wanted to sleep”. 

“It’s morning time now. Plus you didn’t even get your room key, where are you going to sleep?”. Kai spoke from beside him. Beomgyu shrugs. 

“I’ll sleep on this grass if I have to”. 

Beomgyu meant it too. He really would’ve if he wasn’t so afraid of looking like an idiot. Instead he followed kai into the crowded auditorium,�� it was filled with all of the first year boys babbling excitedly about what kind of magic they were going to be best at. Pft. as if they knew. Beomgyu refused to sit by himself so he followed kai to the end of the seventh row. 

Once beomgyu sat down he only looked up in demise, of course kang taehyun was also sitting at the end of the array of seats across from his. Beomgyu pretended he was taking short glances around the auditorium just so he could let his eyes fall on taehyun every once in a while. He happened to be conversing with his own friends looking as smug as can be. Beomgyu watches him talk with his hands. So sophisticated-like. Like he knew what he was talking about all the time. He watched as his black hair sat so neatly over his eyes, how cool he kind of looked with his red hoodie falling off his shoulder a little. Or how cute he looked with his dimples pushing into his cheeks whenever one of his friends said something funny. 

No, no way. No way could he be this cute. 

“Good morning first years! Headmaster Hutton welcomes you to Halls of Brotherhood: University of Magic!”. 

The applause after those words were extravagant. The boys clapped like they were at a concert or something. It was so loud it actually made beomgyu blink back from his small trance. Taehyun shifted in his seat uncomfortably amongst the applause. While he was clapping he felt a stinging sensation along his forearm. He was going to ignore it thinking maybe his hoodie sleeve had scratched him a little. But it felt as though something was writing into his skin. He hesitantly pushes his hoodie sleeve up his arm with black ink catching his eye. His forearm was stained with sloppy yet surprisingly legible handwriting. 

No way. No way could he be this cute. 

Taehyun shakes his head and pulls his sleeve back down over the dark mark with his stomach churning. He’d just gotten on magical grounds and his soulmate had already begun thinking about him. In a way taehyun felt selfish. He wasn’t thinking of his soulmate at all nor did plan to at any point. He just wanted to study magic and that was all. 

He couldn’t help his curiosities though. He snakes his eyes through the overstuffed auditorium full of boys, trying to decipher one by one who could it possibly be, who was looking at him at the moment or even sneaking glances his way. But from what he could tell everyone was paying attention to whatever the headmaster was saying. He still searches around even circling his eyes to beomgyu a couple of times. Of course beomgyu was paying him no mind, sneaking whispers over to heuning kai ever so often. After the episode they both had on the train it was safe to say that taehyun wasn’t fond of beomgyu at all. hell, he still wanted to beat the shit out of him for that. But in this moment he felt quite different. He watched as the boy's lengthy sleek black locks fell all over his head each time he moved and even the strands in the back reached down the nape of his neck. With the numerous piercings in his ear and the tan colored varsity jacket he was wearing taehyun noticed that beomgyu’s face starkly contrasted his look. A cute, rather anxious boy who dressed confident, maybe taehyun found that to be a little attractive. 

Maybe he’s a little attractive.

He quickly casts his eyes back on the headmaster though, catching up on the instruction of where to get room keys and uniforms. Beomgyu thought uniforms were kind of stupid, then again he didn’t mind waking up in the morning not having to think of an outfit. He wasn’t much of a morning person anyway, so that situation seemed pretty glorious. What wasn’t so glorious though was the tingling sensation crawling across his skin. He smacked himself, thinking it was a bug or something but the scrawling only insisted.

“You alright?”. Kai whispers. 

Beomgyu breathes and lifts his shirt sleeve up glaring at what looked to be a tattoo in someone's  handwriting. It was slanted and italic, quite beautiful actually. 

Maybe he’s a little attractive. 

“wow already?”.  Kai whispers again. “Your soulmate is already thinking of you”. 

“I don’t know why. I’m just sitting here. I’m not even worried about a soulmate. I don’t want one.”. 

“nonsense. You should think about them more. Having a soulmate is quite nice you know”. 

Beomgyu shrugs it off, ignoring his words and anticipating the end of orientation. He was grateful to finally get his room key, class schedule and uniform-- khaki pants, a yellow argyle sweater vest, a red tie and a white long sleeve button up to wear underneath. They were going to be sent an extra supply of them later, but for now they were required to wear them to each class. To his great fortune he was rooming with heuning kai. Well, to his fortune and misfortune. He wasn’t sure how kai would be as a roommate yet. 

On the other hand the room they were given was nice though, the typical two bed duo with a good amount of space in the middle as well as their very own desks and top cabinets on both walls. Kai throws his things down just to look around. And beomgyu did the same, trying to figure out what kinds of things he could put on his desk to encourage him to study. god, he hated studying. Just the thought alone made him want to pack his things and go home. But studying was the only way he'd get stronger in magic, so he had to learn somehow. He hoped kai had good studying habits. Perhaps he could copy off his paper every once in a while. 

“Wow. This room is pretty nice. I was expecting something smaller”. Kai spoke, walking around a bit. 

“Yeah me too. I wonder where we shower and stuff though”. 

“Headmaster says the showers are down the hall for each floor”. 

“Shit. so you’re telling me I can’t have my privacy either”. 

Kai laughs. “Well, the showers have curtains you know. They’re like little stalls. It isn’t like a group shower or anything. Like the ones in prison”. 

“Great. How awkward it’ll be to walk out the shower in front of a bunch of boys with just a bathrobe on”. 

“You’ll be fine hyung. Don’t sweat it”. 

Beomgyu sighs and plops himself down on the vacant bed, lying in a fetal sleeping position. “Can you wake me when another big event happens that requires my attendance?”. 

“Going to sleep already? You don’t want to go to breakfast?”. 

“Breakfast? We have breakfast?”. Beomgyu asks, still lying in his position contemplating on getting up. 

“yeah it’s still early. They can’t have us settle in without feeding us. You coming or what?”.

Beomgyu sighs. “You know what I guess I’ll come. I guess I am a little hungry anyway and I should take advantage of this food while I can”. He gets up and straightens his jacket a bit before following kai to the refectory. It wasn’t a long walk persé but  it did take quite some time to get there. He was glad he tagged along with kai because it would’ve been kind of sad for him to have to walk this path alone. 

“So? Heuning kai? Why aren’t you as excited and obnoxiously outgoing as the other boys?”. Beomgyu couldn’t help but ask on their way. Kai gives him a light shrug. 

“It’s just college I mean, what’s there to be excited about? It isn’t like anyone is going to take me seriously anyway. I might as well stay out the way”. 

“Take you seriously? Why wouldn’t they take you seriously?”. 

“Wow you seriously don’t know much about the world of magic huh?”. 

“Growing up I forced my mother to raise me like a regular kid. It was only until now where she decided that she wanted me to follow the mages in my bloodline. I’m practically a human. Anyway though, why wouldn’t they take you seriously?”.

Kai exhales with shame creeping up his throat. “Well in the world of magic, you have the big leaguers kind of like the NBA. the mages and the wizards and all. And then you have those in the middle, who are really good alchemists and magical engineers. And then all the way at the bottom there are the fairies. That is where I come in”. 

“Why are you guys at the bottom?”. 

“Well the others don’t think we’re as capable of having strong magic. They think we all just dance in glitter and glow in happiness. Like we’re completely oblivious to the world around us which isn’t true. And since fairies are kind of rare, there hasn’t really been a single fairy that proved otherwise. Meanwhile we hear about these great mages and wizards all the time,  so it’s kind of like we have nothing to go off of for ourselves”. 

beomgyu takes some time to think for a moment. In a way it was kind of true, he hasn’t really heard of fairies and their capabilities throughout the span of his life, hence why kai is the first fairy he’s ever met. Well, half fairy. The dilemma was still kind of surprising to hear about nonetheless. They were now opening the door to the entrance where beomgyu sits his hand on kai’s shoulder. 

“Well, I believe in you heuning. I think you can prove these bastards wrong”. 

Kai chuckles as his gesture, more appreciative than gullible. “Thank you but you don’t have to say things like that to cheer me up. I know mages and wizards are very strong in magic so maybe I won’t ever be able to top them. But as long as I’m perfecting my craft I guess that’s okay”. When he said that it kind of hurt him a little even though he internalized it prior to even attending the school. I guess it just hurts more when saying it aloud. 

Once they opened the double doors it wasn’t a surprise to see a little over one hundred first year boys in there already. The dining hall looked like something out of a Victorian era movie. There was a big beautiful bright chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling and elegant designs engraved in the stone walls along the drapes. Even the floor was pure marble, sparkling and shining as if they were inviting every foot possible to walk on them. There were four extremely long dining tables in the center of the hall and buffet styled food around them at a distance along the walls. The boys were noisily eating at the tables and conversing with their friends. It made beomgyu kind of wonder how these guys made friends so fast in the first place.

Okay, so maybe beomgyu hadn’t been thinking about the pros and cons to this school before but after seeing the food he realized that it was definitely a pro. He’s had his fair share of good meals but he hadn’t ever seen food as perfect and well cooked as the food there. 

“Wow,”. beomgyu tones with his eyes grazing over the strawberry banana pancakes, topped with whipped cream and melted butter. Kai withdrew two metallic trays from the stack, one for him and one for beomgyu. 

“I know right. I was not expecting this”. 

And taking a few glances from a couple of tables behind them was taehyun who was chewing into his food and half listening to the conversation with his friends. There had to be some way he could get revenge on beomgyu. Especially with how unapologetic he looked when he did what he did to him. And then arguing with him after that made it much worse. Taehyun didn’t like disrespect of any kind, and he especially wasn’t going to take it from some puny kid. 

“I think, when we get really good at magic we should form a larger friend group you know? Like one of us could be good at alchemy, one at spells, one at history, you know”. Soobin begans, forking a big glob of rice into his mouth and finger combing his hair.

Yeonjun chews with his cheeks full, “who ever told you that you’d be good at magic?”. Earning a slap on his shoulder from soobin. 

“To have you know both of my parents were great mages that graduated from this school”. 

Taehyun sips orange juice from his straw. “Yeah and you’re they’re idiot son”. To which yeonjun tries his best to laugh without the contents of his mouth making a disgusting mess all over the white table cloth. Soobin rolls his eyes though and follows taehyun’s line of sight. 

“Hey isn’t that the kid who spilled water on you on the train last night?”. 

“Yeah. that little bastard”. 

“Tyun give it a rest, man. Mistakes happen”. Yeonjun consoles while wiping the corners of his mouth. 

Taehyun ignores him and gathers the small plates of food he hadn’t planned on eating, settling them onto his tray. 

“I’m going to go throw this stuff away I’ll be right back”, he uttered, removing himself from the table before even getting a chance to hear what they had to say. He breaks his way through the crowds of kids clutching his tray tightly in his hand until he was finally in the spot he was aiming for. He squeezed into the space in line,Just behind beomgyu where the trash can was located. He fake trips over some boy’s shoe, leaving him and his tray flying directly into beomgyu’s back. The metallic tray flipped and smeared the food all over the back of beomgyu’s jacket and fell to the floor obnoxiously loud. So loud in fact that it caught the attention of everyone in the refectory. 

Beomgyu stood there stunned, hoping what he thought happened to him hadn’t just happened. He could feel the heat of the food slide down his jacket and onto the floor below him and he turned around to see taehyun, stepping back and holding his hands up in surrender innocently. “It was an accident”. He admitted. But beomgyu knew full well it wasn’t. He could hear the animosity laced in his tone. Anger pooled in his chest and he grits his teeth. He automatically reaches his hand out to push taehyun back a couple of inches, almost knocking him into the heads of the boys behind him. 

“What the fuck you moron!”. 

Taehyun stumbles back to his feet and clenches his jaw even angrier. He pushes him back twice as hard. Beomgyu runs back and tackles him to the ground, trying his best to wrap his hands tightly around the younger’s neck. 

“Get the hell off me!”. Taehyun grumbled, snaking his hand from his side and finally managing to punch beomgyu in his jaw with it. 

After escaping his trance of shock kai rushes over to beomgyu’s aid and tugs him off of taehyun, trying his best to hold him back from going for a cheap shot. Soobin and yeonjun finally decided to amble to the scene also; they too were in too much shock to do anything the first time. Soobin helps taehyun off the ground and yeonjun acts as the safeguard to prevent taehyun from going back for another punch. Not that he could anyway, they could hear the sound of heels clashing against the marble floors gradually breaking their way through the group of boys until taehyun and beomgyu found out who they belonged to. 

A gorgeous woman who wasn’t any much shorter than them but was visibly older. A loose black bow tie clung around the collar of her white button up which she tucked into her long, plaid green and purple skirt that kissed the floor. Her dark spiral curled hair sat on her shoulders, unwilting and uptight, just like her displeased face when she approached them. She had this beautiful staff in her hand, it was purple and it had a pretty crystal ball at the top of it, like she withheld all of her magic within it’s confinement. She held her head high with pride before she spoke, 

“Mr. kang? Mr. choi? come with me please”. She beckoned before strolling out of the exit door. Kai pats beomgyu’s shoulder before letting him leave with taehyun following shortly after. The two boys were nervous as they followed her, for she hadn’t turned around once but it was like she could sense where they were behind her. 

“Look around yourselves dear. I want you to ask yourselves whether you see a campus or a boxing ring”. her high aristocratic voice bellowed as she walked, placing her staff in the space in front of her as if to help her get there. however beomgyu noticed she could walk just fine, she had perfect posture even. well she had the posture of a stuck up snob. 

“I expect an answer,”. she adds after their silence. 

“I see a campus mrs”. beomgyu rushes to speak in hopes of lessening the punishment they were already set on getting. he wishes he wasn’t so quick to talk though, his jaw was still aching in pain. he clutches it softly.

“It’s madam genevieve to you darling. kang taehyun? I’m assuming you see a campus as well?”. 

“yes madam genevieve”. 

she kept her thin red lips pursed into a fine line. 

“hm. I want you both to know that violence is never tolerated here. now since this is your first quarrel I shall start you off with a warning. anything after this will be detention and grade point deductions. do I make myself clear?”. 

beomgyu swallowed. cyprus obviously didn’t tell her about their train incident but he wasn’t going to be the one to tell her. And from the look on taehyun’s face taehyun wasn’t going to be the one to tell her either. 

“yes madam Genevieve”. The both of them stated in unison. 

“this university isn’t called halls of brotherhood without reason. we’re all on the same team and we should treat each other as such. now run along. mr. choi I suppose you need a slip to visit the medi?”. 

beomgyu was still stunned on how she could see him painfully rubbing his mouth when she hadn’t turned around. hearing her say that made beomgyu want to punch taehyun back twice as hard but he rather not risk his grades when the first day of classes hadn’t even started yet. he deserved to be in just as much pain as him.

“yes madam”. 

she curved her hands at an angle and blew into them softly, a signed slip of parchment paper gradually appeared in beomgyu’s hand. he jumps a bit at the sudden use of magic but he figured these are the kinds of things he’d have to get used to in this school. he bowed to her and graciously thanked her before going on his way to find the medical building. 

taehyun hated himself for feeling a little guilty after beomgyu departed. he deserved it didn’t he? he was trying to convince himself that he gave him a taste of his own medicine. But the tinge of guilt still hadn’t gone away. 

beomgyu was laying down when he felt the scrawling on his skin again. the medi-wizard was rubbing the scented magic oil along his jaw, it smelled of hints of chocolate and cocoa butter. beomgyu wondered what would happen if he licked it. but he was still a newbie at magic and didn’t want to risk those types of experiments with himself. as the oil settled on his skin he felt the aching pain go away. he could finally move his jaw properly.

“there you go. that should do it. you’re all set to leave lad”.

beomgyu sits up promptly and thank him, not expecting this visit to go by as fast as it did. after what happened though he lost his appetite. so instead of going to the refectory he went to back to his room and plopped himself back on the bed like he was before. the stinging sensation in his forearm resurfaced and he lifts his sleeve up to read. 

I wonder if he’s okay.

beomgyu sucks his teeth wondering why his soulmate had sat and watched the incident occur instead of helping him. Or preventing it from happening even. This is why he didn’t care much for a soulmate. He thought the only thing they’re good at is thinking. he withdrew his soiled jacket and he turns over in fetal position, ignoring the fact that he still hadn’t put his sheets on the bed yet and fell asleep anyways.

he hadn’t known how much he was tired though. by the time his eyes fluttered open the sky had darkened, and kai’s half of the room was already set up with posters on his wall, yellow and blue sheets on his bed, and his clothes folded neatly and put away. the room was dark but glowed a soft dark blue due to the string lights that kai had along the top borders of the walls. music was playing from somewhere though and beomgyu blinked again this time trying to find where it was coming from. he found kai sitting at his desk on his laptop, the soft + chill indie playlist was coming from his computer. 

beomgyu breathed. “kai? what time is it?”. he says groggily.

“hm? oh you’re up. it’s around 8pm or so. you missed dinner so I brought some back to the room for you. It’s on your desk”. 

beomgyu was grateful, as soon as kai mentioned dinner his stomach practically wanted to bite him. “god you’re a lifesaver thank you”.

he got up and approached his desk clutching the container, “what is it?”. 

“Steak, mashed potatoes with gravy and snow peas”.

immediately upon opening beomgyu grabs a fork and shoves a piece of steak in his mouth and sighs in relief. he was starving. he hadn’t eaten all day. 

“Is your jaw alright? What happened in the refectory today?”.

beomgyu sighs before sitting at his desk across from kai. 

“yeah I’m fine. the medi rubbed some chocolate magic oil on me. But that little son of a bitch taehyun threw his food all over the back of my jacket. On purpose”.

Kai furrows his eyebrow, “the medi rubbed chocolate magic oil on you?”. 

“yeah”.

“And then what?”. 

beomgyu thought for a moment trying to figure out what the younger was getting at. once it came to mind he grabbed one of his salt packets and playfully launched it at kai’s head. kai laughed in response and dodged it. he dodged it way too late though. 

“It wasn’t like that”, beomgyu starts, “he only rubbed it on my jaw. plus that medi wizard is old as hell”. 

“for all I know you could be one of those people who likes when old men rub oil on you”.

beomgyu chuckles and clutches his plastic knife in launching position. “you say another fucking word heuning and I will dart this at your eye”.

kai chuckles again. “Anyway. taehyun was probably just trying to get revenge”.

“revenge for what? the train thing was an accident. that kid is insane”. beomgyu sits his bowl down eyeing kai’s laptop. “what are you doing online anyway? classes aren’t until tomorrow morning”.

“our class schedules were posted. you should check yours to see if we have classes together”.

“I will after I take a shower or something. I think that breakfast food settled into my clothes a little”. beomgyu pulls up his collar and sniffs, crinkling his nose at the weird scent. 

“I think now is a good time. earlier when I went it was a bit crowded”. 

beomgyu huffed and looked through his luggage to find his pajamas and toiletries. he threw a towel over his shoulder and promised kai his return. It was weird being away from home. I mean it was college, of course it’s what beomgyu expected but he wasn’t expecting all of it to happen so soon. it was what his mother wanted for him. 

beomgyu was coming near the bathrooms and he was happy to hear how empty it was. well, he thought it was empty. he strolled inside, hearing quite a few voices and laughter. he immediately stopped in his tracks though when he spotted taehyun in the wide bathroom mirror in front of the sinks, shaving his face with a towel wrapped around his waist. beomgyu immediately stood back by the wall near the entrance where taehyun couldn’t see him. 

it wasn’t like he was afraid. but it was late and he didn’t feel like dealing with taehyun’s shit right now. it had been a long day, only the first day in fact. He couldn’t afford any deductions this soon. 

beomgyu stepped up inch by inch, peeking over the other side of the wall. he saw taehyun’s wet black strands of hair falling over his forehead. he was focused, in the mirror trying to shave as much as he could. beomgyu’s eyes fall onto the younger’s arms and body. his abs were chiseled and he built quite a bit of muscle in his biceps from what beomgyu could tell, they were glistening every single time taehyun shook the can of shaving cream. beomgyu curses at himself. 

fuck. why is he so good looking?

Beomgyu places his head back on the other side of the wall where taehyun couldn’t see him. He decided to get a towel and throw it over his head just to get himself safely to a stall. although he looked like an idiot, his plan worked and he was sure to lock the stall behind himself and immediately stripped himself of his clothes. 

taehyun ran the razor underneath the warm water. he felt that sensation again. The one he felt earlier with the feeling of something inscribing itself on his skin. he glanced at his forearm to read, 

fuck. why is he so good looking?

taehyun laughs a little to himself.  he looked around at the few guys that were in the bathroom. most of which were either talking to their friends or in the shower stalls but neither was paying him any mind. he didn’t want a soulmate but he also thought the little aggression in his soulmate’s tone was kind of cute. maybe it wasn’t so bad not knowing who his soulmate was. 

he goes back to shaving and looking at himself in the mirror, thinking about the message on his forearm over again. 

*********

“You look fine hyung, really”. Kai tried to encourage, but beomgyu wasn’t having it. He could feel his body growing hot inside the uniform and to make matters worse, he looked too preppy for his liking. He stood in the mirror, tugging on the collar of his button down with disgust. 

“Why does it have to look like this?”. 

Kai clutches the notebooks in his hand, “it’s school orders to wear our uniforms to each class or it’s a deduction. And speaking of, being late for class is a deduction also. So you might want to put your shoes on”. 

“Shit”. Beomgyu grumbles, clutching a shoe off the ground and trying his best to quickly shove it over the heel of his foot. “I’ve already got several warnings. Hey what class do you have first?”.

“I’m in the philosophy building. What about you?”. 

“Damn it. I have alchemy”. Beomgyu shoots up after he was finished, taking another glance at himself in the mirror before swinging his backpack over his shoulder. “I look like an idiot. But whatever”. 

Kai laughs and opens the door, “let’s go”.

Parting ways with kai was kind of hard, beomgyu will admit. He wasn’t fond of making friends on his own. If it was up to him he’d rather talk to kai for all of his years enrolled. He didn’t mind kai being his only friend. Anyways though, it took him a good amount of time to even find the alchemy wing, much less arriving on time. And  professor harlow made that known as soon as beomgyu walked in. wasn’t scribbling on the chalkboard, no-- rather the chalk was scribbling for her while she leaned on her desk and took sips of her black coffee. 

“you’re late mr. choi. had trouble finding the room?”. 

Shit. beomgyu thought if he said nothing and just kept walking it would keep her from speaking to him. But no, of course she discussed it out in the open and everyone’s eyes were on him now. 

“yeah sorry about that. gonna try and be earlier tomorrow”. 

Beomgyu quickly informed as he kept walking to the back of the room where the empty seats were. He wanted the interaction to be over with as soon as possible. 

“In Alchemy we have labs and lab question discussions. Everyone is assigned to a three person group. Mr. choi you’ll be in group #4”.  

Beomgyu took a breath and searched around the table numbers. A solemn feeling of relief washed over him once he found that it was on the other side of the room, he probably was looking like an idiot in front of everyone. He pulled out his chair and threw his backpack down, nodding at his tablemates. It was only a matter of time before professor harlow began speaking again, laying out the rules and expectations of the class. The pink haired boy held his hand out to beomgyu with a small smile, 

“What up. I’m yeonjun”. He whispers. 

The blue haired boy beside him held his hand out also, chewing on a snack he snuck in. 

“I’m soobin”. 

Beomgyu nods and shakes both of their hands firmly. He didn’t understand why they were so fond of handshakes at a young age. I mean, he didn’t want them to jump into an extravagant hug or anything but gosh, It felt like he was greeting a professor or something.

“I’m beomgyu”. 

Yeonjun nods. “how are you doing? I’m sorry about taehyun the other day”. 

Beomgyu rolls his eyes at the reminder. “It’s alright I’m fine, thanks for asking’. 

“yeah he’s a little hot tempered. Don’t worry about him though. We’re going to do our best to keep him cordial with you in this class”. Soobin adds. 

Beomgyu could almost snap his pencil in half with his hand. “he’s in this class?”. 

Yeonjun turns a little and points his head in Taehyun's direction. beomgyu’s eyes followed and he saw tahyun seated with his own tablemates, highlighting due dates on the syllabus. By that gesture alone beomgyu already knew what type of student taehyun was. And he always hated those types of students. The know-it-alls.

Beomgyu annoyingly shook his head, making a pft noise before turning his attention back to the chalkboard. “this is going to be such a shitty year”. he told himself, frankly not caring if the others heard him or not. whether or not they heard him throughout class, all he could hear was them. each and every day they were consistently arguing back and forth over stupid things. most of which beomgyu tried to ignore for the most part. but it was hard to get a lab done when his partners just wanted to get on each other’s last nerve. maybe this is why they repeatedly failed alchemy.

“I totally won that bet. hand over the cash soobin”. 

“no because you didn’t win”. 

“yes I did. I won it fair and square and you know it”.

“you always want to win everything hyung. how about you learn to lose sometimes?”.

beomgyu shook his head and adjusts his safety goggles and lab coat, placing the beaker full of liquid on the weighing scale and recording the data on the sheet of paper. he hadn’t known making potions would be exactly like chemistry. he was never particularly good at chemistry but since yeonjun and soobin were no help he had no choice but to put his own skills to the test. 

“that’s why I can’t play these types of games with you soobin. you’re a sore fucking loser”. 

“I’m not you’re just a big brat who thinks he needs to win every possible thing in life”. 

looking right past them two though beomgyu glances over at taehyun who was at the other table across from him, of course doing the lab as he was told. he was talking to his group mates and for some reason a tinge of jealousy stained beomgyu’s heart. 

beomgyu hadn’t realized that his thought provoked an inscription in taehyun’s forearm.  he faltered a little while pouring the bits of sodium in the hydro flask before turning away to check the message. 

I hate the fact that I’m so jealous of everyone who has access to you

access to your humor , your friendship, your heart. 

possessiveness comes so easy for me I feel like you’re mine.

taehyun’s cheeks tinted and his heart flutters in a way he never felt before. He decides to continue with the lab experiment so his groupmates wouldn’t question him about anything. He couldn’t help but to think of it over and over. before thinking of something else.

I am yours. always and forever, sweetheart.

“they called you sweetheart? that’s so cute!”. Kai jeers at the dinner table, making the boys around him look at him a little oddly. Beomgyu rolls his eyes and spreads the butter on his piece of bread. “Stop it kai. It isn’t that serious. And I also think you’re glowing a little”. Beomgyu said the last part rather quietly. Kai settles himself and smooths his hands over his hot reddening cheeks. He couldn’t wait to learn more magic so he could control it a lot better. 

“I’m sorry I just got a little excited. You should be excited though. who knows what can happen. Maybe you’ll fall in love”. 

“pft I will not”. 

“ I think you will. especially since you’ve never been in love before”. 

beomgyu takes a pause before chewing into the buttered bread. “wait--how do you know that?”. 

“oh um well it’s another hury trait of mine. we know a lot about the lives of different humans”. 

“so you’re telling me you knew who I was this whole time?”.

“yeah but i know everyone. everyone just doesn’t know me”.

beomgyu chews on a sweet potato fry. he glanced over kai’s features, thinking the boy was way too innocent for his own good. 

“have you ever been in love before kai?”. 

“yeah but I think it was one sided. I hope to find true love someday”. 

beomgyu smiled a little to himself, sliding his arm around kai’s shoulders. “you will. don’t worry. for now we can have fun and fool around until then”. 

kai’s heart grew warm and beomgyu could tell he was a happy about the gesture, his face started glowing again. 

“thank you hyung”. 

“so like are you guys dating?”. beomgyu heard someone ask from the other side of him.  he turns to look and by the boy’s face he could see that the ginger haired boy wasn’t genuinely curious at all.  he looked as though he was on the verge of laughter, like someone sent him to their table as a joke. 

“why the hell do you care? who even are you?”. beomgyu rebuttals.

“just wanted to tell you that you guys look cute together”. The boy adds, cupping his hand over his lips to keep from laughing. kai didn’t like feeling like this. he hated the feeling of becoming angry. it was a feeling his fae family had felt way too often, they were evil creatures and kai didn’t want to be that way. 

“go away”.  kai mumbled underneath his breath in a tone that beomgyu had never heard out of him before. it was dark and didn’t sound good at all. the boy stands up, making a scene. 

“or what? no one is scared of you, softie. you look soft you can’t be a wizard or a mage. what the hell are you? a fairy?”. 

at the sound of that word almost everyone around them dropped their jaws and stared, just waiting to see what kai’s reaction was going to be. and by this time kai’s face grew hot but it didn’t glow. this time it was almost crimson red.  he reaches his hand over and pulls the boy by his collar. the boy’s heart dropped at the sight of kai’s pupils growing larger, and not in a cute way. no, kai’s eyes had become all black. 

“offuco”. he growls, with pixie dust flowing from his mouth and into the boy’s. and sure enough the command did exactly as kai expected, the dust sneaking into the boys throat made him choke to the floor. his neck and face had begun to turn red, so much that his friends had to practically drag him to the medi wing. 

beomgyu’s heart was pounding and he was terrified. So was everyone around him who had now turned around back to their tables, not wanting to partake in anything else. beomgyu swallows with his eyes peering over at kai. he looked much more normal and his pupils even decreased in size. the red in his face had seized and his milky skin was arriving again. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I have to go— take my meds or something”. he quickly clutches his backpack and makes his way out before beomgyu could even say his next word. dinner wouldn’t be anything without kai though and he truly felt bad for him. he didn’t want to just sit and eat alone not knowing what was possibly running through the boy’s mind. so beomgyu grabs his backpack too and takes an early exclusion from dinner. 

he trudges down the hallway cursing at himself for taking this way. to his luck taehyun, soobin and yeonjun were all standing by the vending machines at the end of the hall. he needed to get to kai though and this was the quicker option. he sucked up his pride and tried not to make eye contact but of course yeonjun had something to say anyways. 

“beomgyu? what’s up”.

shit. 

“yeah what’s up gyu. I’m going to try to work on the lab questions tonight. I feel sorry that we didn’t do the experiment”. Soobin adds. 

beomgyu shrugs. “yeah it’s alright. I’ll try to work on them too”. 

Yeonjun nods, “later on we’re having some drinks in my room if you want to stop by”. 

taehyun glares at the pink haired boy. 

“what? he can come along if he wants”. 

“no he can’t. him and his weird ass boyfriend can stay where they are”. 

“oh shut the fuck up taehyun”. beomgyu harshly replied. 

“you shut the fuck up. I can say what I want to say. you’re not coming”. 

“tyun relax a little”. soobin warned, eyeing Cyprus who was already down the hallway. 

“don’t mind him he’s just being an ass. you can come if you want”. yeonjun continues. 

“no thank you. I don’t want to go to a place where I’m not invited by everyone”.

“so keep walking then”. taehyun adds with his arms folded. 

beomgyu shoves him back into the vending machine.“you fucking have issues”. taehyun gets off of it getting ready to shove him back but yeonjun acts as a safeguard once again, preventing anything else. 

“guys. relax alright? you both aren’t going to be practicing shit but detention if you’re just going to fight all the time”. 

“fuck that. fuck him. I have to go”. beomgyu snatches yeonjun’s hand off his chest before continuing the walk back to his room. 

he knocks, barely hearing anything before he walks in. he was happy to see Kai sitting on the edge of his bed with a pill bottle in his hand and a bottle of water. he looked normal for the most part, just a little spaced out. which is completely normal after the episode that just occurred.

“you alright kai?”. beomgyu asks, shutting the door behind him. 

“I’m okay hyung. I'm sorry about earlier”. 

“you don’t have to apologize for your traits. stop doing that. I’m your friend and I just want to learn more about you”. beomgyu takes a seat on his own bed, rubbing his hands on his slacks. “so what was that?”. 

“remember when I told you everyone thinks that fairies dance in glitter and glow in happiness?”. 

beomgyu nods. “yeah?”. 

“fairies are evil hyung. and the worst thing you could ever do is use the word fairy as an insult to any of us. and some fairies don’t like being called that”. 

beomgyu’s eyes widened. It scared him a little. “so what are you called?”. 

“we’re called the good people”.

“geesh kai. I wish that boy knew that. you practically choked him to death without even touching him. I think next time I have alchemy I’ll try my best to make a potion for that. that was kind of cool”. beomgyu laughs a little in attempt to lighten the mood. kai smiles a little along with him. 

“don’t use your magic to hurt people. I didn’t want to do that but I was angry and evil magic is the only thing I was really taught when I was younger”.  

“It’s alright. that’s what we’re here for. to get our magic under control.”

“you’re right. thanks hyung. well thanks for checking on me”. 

“no problem. I was trying to get here faster but I almost faught taehyun’s dumb ass again”.

“Again?”.

“he’s such a bitch kai. you out of all people should know that. yeonjun invited me for drinks in their dorms or whatever— and taehyun got all defensive saying that I couldn’t come”.

“drinks? you should’ve gone and had fun with the third years”. 

“without you? If I would’ve gone tonight you would’ve been coming with me”.

this was true. If beomgyu had gone he would’ve bought kai along. but taehyun knew if beomgyu tagged along he didn’t know what would come out his mouth while he was drunk. perhaps he would’ve admitted everything he thought about him. and he couldn’t afford for beomgyu to know any of that.  he hated him yet he was attracted to him all at once. this is what mainly had his heart racing as soon as beomgyu walked through the door. 

“gyu! wassup man”. yeonjun for some reason yelled a little louder than he intended. there weren’t many people in the third year suite drinking along with them but it was quite enough. more than beomgyu or kai been around at least. the room was dimly lit and there was music playing amongst the chatter between the boys in the room. 

“what’s up. I bought heuning with me”. 

“that’s no problem I’m glad you came. thought you were going to ditch us after you were about to beat taehyun’s ass”. 

Beomgyu swatted his hand as if to discard the statement. “never mind that shit. we’re just here to experience the fun with third years”. 

a drunk soobin immediately pushes a bottle of whiskey to kai’s chest. “let the fun begin”. 

and truly beomgyu wasn’t expecting kai to drink as much as he did. beomgyu drank a little, but not out of control. he was too busy laughing at the piss poor job the third years were doing at karaoke. kai was too, he was laughing so hard on the ground next to him that his face flushed pink. 

taehyun had been on the other side of the room talking amongst his other group of friends, eyeing beomgyu every chance he got. he didn’t want him here but he was too drunk and weak to do anything about it. especially when beomgyu locks eyes with him back, the both of them stared each other down for what seemed to be five minutes before they nervously looked elsewhere. 

If only you knew how pretty you are to me.

taehyun’s drunk thoughts were scrawled across beomgyu’s arm. to which beomgyu slides his sleeves down and tries to hide the blush in his cheeks. 

If the sun could laugh or smile I’m sure it would look a lot like yours. stunning, and it takes my breath away.

I know I can’t have you 

and I hate the fact that a small piece of me wishes that I could 

I’ve grown weak for you and It feels like I’ve known you before. It feels like I’ve loved you before. 

and the more taehyun watched him laugh and smile he realized it was true. he did. he loved beomgyu so much. and when beomgyu locked himself in a bathroom stall just to read the numerous tattoos all over his body he had realized he loved them too. whoever his soulmate was, he was in love. and he couldn’t help it.

[jade4813]

The Lies We Tell Ourselves, Chapter 9

Fandom: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Title: The Lies We Tell Ourselves

Rating: PG (I’m assuming it’ll stay there?)

Pairing: Zoey/Max

Synopsis: Max would do anything for Zoey. Including posing as her fake boyfriend to give her father one last “big moment” to celebrate with her. Nothing could possibly go wrong. After all, it’s only his heart that stands to be broken. Right?

Chapter: 9/?

Author’s Notes: Takes place after Zoey’s Extraordinary Glitch.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

“Hey, guys. Sorry we’re a little late. You didn’t start the movie without us?” Zoey asked as she opened her parents’ front door and walked inside. Reluctantly, she shrugged out of the coat he’d wrapped her in, wishing she could think of an excuse to keep it on. She didn’t really need the warmth, but it smelled like him and so it brought her a measure of comfort. She turned to ask him if he wanted it back, but he was looking in the other direction, and she wasn’t strong enough to get his attention. So, instead, she hung it in the coat closet.

“Of course not,” her mom replied cheerfully, giving her a hug. “Your dad decided he wanted to start with charades anyway. I decided to have a little fun with it, so tonight’s theme is movie titles. Max, everyone’s in the other room, setting up, if you want to go on in.”

He brushed her, heading into the living room, and Zoey found herself starting at his back with such longing, it took her breath away. What would he do if she called out to him? Asked him to come back? Told him she needed him to hold her?

Maggie made a soft sound. “Zoey, I was just about to grab drinks for everyone. Do you want to help me?”

“Is this another one of those things where you pretend you need my help, but secretly you want to grill me about something?” she asked dubiously as she followed her mom into the kitchen.

“Of course not!” Maggie lied smoothly. Then, her eyes wide with deceptive innocence, she asked, “Why? Is there something I need to grill you about?”

She reached into the refrigerator with a sigh as she asked morosely, “If I said no, would you believe me?”

Maggie reached for some glasses. “I’m your mother; of course I would believe you,” she answered. “And I wouldn’t even think of mentioning the fact that you look like you’ve been crying. Or the way Max was looking at you until you turned to look at him. Or the way you looked at him when his back was turned.”

“He was looking at me?” she asked in a tiny, hopeful voice.

“Zoey, what is going on? Is everything okay with you two?” she asked, in lieu of answering the question.

Her shoulders slumping, she admitted softly, “I don’t know what to say, Mom. I…I screwed up, and I hurt him. A lot. He’s…he’s giving up on me, and I just don’t know how to fix it.” She felt the urge to cry again, but she fought back the tears, scared that if she cried now – in front of her mother – she wouldn’t be able to stop.

Maggie gave her a sympathetic look. “I can’t imagine you did anything as bad as all that.”

Resting her shoulders on the counter, she placed her chin in one hand and threw her mother a morose look. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

“Have you tried talking to him?”

“I’ve tried! But he doesn’t believe me, and I don’t know how to make him! What if I can’t, and I lose him completely? I can’t even imagine my life without Max.”

Putting the glasses on the counter, her mother wrapped her in a tight hug. “Oh, Zoey. I know it’s hard, and you’re scared, but if there’s one thing I don’t doubt for a second, it’s how much the two of you love each other. And if there’s one thing that I’ve learned from a lifetime of loving your father, it’s that as long as you love each other, you can work through this together.”

Zoey pulled back and threw her mother a skeptical look. “I appreciate the advice, but I don’t think you and dad ever screwed up as badly as I just screwed things up with Max.”

Her mom laughed. “I know it seems like that now, but we were still so young when we met; we still had so many things we had to learn. You don’t think we ever did anything stupid or thoughtless? That I never worried that I’d driven your father so crazy, he might just be done with me?”

“But…you guys always have always seemed so solid! You have, like, the perfect marriage!”

Maggie snorted. “Oh, sure, it seems like that now, but it took us some time to get there. You know how Mitch loves his big moments? Well, we’d only been dating for a couple months and he decided he wanted to take me to a basketball game and do this huge gesture using the Jumbotron. In retrospect, it was very sweet, but I wasn’t really ready for anything like that.”

As Maggie dropped her arms and started to gather the drinks onto a tray, Zoey asked, “But you love those big gestures!”

“I do now! But back then, it was so different from anything I’d been used to. I mean, when you’re having an affair with a married man, you don’t really do big gestures. It’s more discrete sneaking around and clandestine rendezvous. So, needless to say, I didn’t respond very well, and we ended up having a huge argument.”

Zoey bit her lip. “So how did the two of you get through it?”

Lifting the tray and turning towards the living room, her mom replied, “We remembered how much we loved each other, and holding on to that was more important than any argument we could have.”

Grabbing the two bottles of beer her mom couldn’t fit on the tray, Zoey followed her into the other room. As she walked in, she saw Max sitting on the couch, next to her dad. Emily was standing in front of him, and Zoey watched as she took his hand and pressed it against her stomach. “Do you feel it?”

If Zoey didn’t love him already, she thought she would have fallen for him all over again when she saw the look of wonder on his face at the feel of the baby’s kick. “Emily, that’s…incredible. Thank you.”

Oblivious to her daughter’s emotional turmoil, Maggie walked towards the group, calling cheerfully, “Okay, who needs a drink? Max, how about a beer?”

“Ah, sure,” he agreed, pulling his hand off Emily’s stomach and throwing Maggie a smile. “Thank you.”

“Oh, gee. I don’t seem to have one,” Maggie replied, the regret in her voice a little over-the-top as she thrust the only one on her tray into David’s hand.

Somewhat startled, David began to protest, “Actually, I was going to ask for -” Since Maggie’s back was to Zoey, she couldn’t see the look on her mother’s face. But whatever David saw there, he wisely changed course. “A beer, of course. Thank you.”

Plowing ahead, Maggie continued brightly, “But I think Zoey has a beer for you. Zoey?”

Max watched as Zoey, blushing bright red, crept forward, holding out one of the bottles for him to take. It was all he could do not to laugh aloud at Maggie’s not-so-subtle maneuvering. He didn’t know what the two had talked about in the kitchen, but he’d learned long ago that nothing much got past the heads of the Clarke family. But knowing Zoey as he did, he also knew she was equal parts touched and desperate to set herself on fire, so he threw her a week and a cheeky grin, mouthing, “Subtle.”

“Sorry,” she mouthed back, blushing even brighter red if that were possible, but he just shook his head slightly, silently reassuring her. She handed over his drink, and he let his hand linger a little longer than necessary when it brushed against hers.

“Okay, now that I have the beer I definitely wanted, let’s get this party started!” David interjected cheerfully, rubbing his hands together. “Zoey and Max, Emily and I are willing to take pity on you this time and let you go first. It’s the least we can do, since we’re about to totally obliterate you.” It was possible David took charades a little too seriously.

Max snorted. “You say that, but you’re going to need that beer to have something to cry into when we’re done with you,” he joked in return. “Zoey, swee –” He caught himself mid-endearment, choked slightly when he realized what he was saying and the word got caught in the back of his throat, then tried to continue when he remembered that it was just the sort of thing that would continue to sell their fictional relationship. “-eetheart,” he finished, the word tumbling awkwardly off his tongue, broken in half by a strange hiccup in the middle. With a strangled cough, he tried to recover. “Do you want to go first?”

He’d seen Zoey flinch when he mangled the pet name, but she plastered a smile on her face and nodded. “Of course.” She took a quick drink of her beer, then he watched as she reached into the bowl and grabbed a piece of paper, giving it a quick glance before tossing it aside.

God, she was so beautiful.

He shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought. If he was ever going to convince his heart that it didn’t love her anymore, he had to stop thinking like that. Though he imagined the heat death of the universe would happen before he managed to fall out of love with her, he had to try. Picking at the peeling label on his beer bottle, he pondered the cute girl at the gym that flirted with him every time he came in. It probably wouldn’t be fair to ask her out just yet, but maybe one day…

He shouldn’t be thinking about this now. Not in front of her parents, when they were supposed to be pretending to be a couple. The more he thought about it, the more miserable he became, and he was struggling as it was to smile and keep up the act. When all this was over, he was going to need to ask Zoey for a break. He needed to take some time to get his head in order. As much as he kept telling himself to close off his heart and keep his distance, one look in her eyes shattered his resolve. When she cried, his body ached to do anything he could to take away her pain. Which only left him with his own.

Lost in thought, he didn’t hear what David said, but he chuckled softly when he heard the rest of her family laughing in response. Rubbing his hand across his forehead, he tried to stifle his melancholy sigh. He had to pull his mind off her, off his heartache, off the bewilderment he felt when he tried to decide which was worse – the ache in his chest now, or the emptiness he would feel if he couldn’t get a hold of himself and lost Zoey completely.

No, he was getting ahead of himself. He wouldn’t lose her. He just needed some time. If he couldn’t stop loving her, perhaps he could find a way to lock those feelings deep inside himself and move on with his life. Yeah, maybe he would ask out that girl at the gym. What was her name? Sandy? Carol? Maybe it was Alice…

“All right, enough fooling around, you guys. We need to focus,” Emily cut in, leaning forward and staring at Zoey with the kind of laser-like intensity usually reserved for scientists tasked with splitting atoms. David wasn’t the only one who took charades very seriously.

Max chuckled and caught Zoey’s eye, subconsciously wanting her to share in his silent amusement as he took another long sip of beer. He was going to have to slow down a little if he didn’t want to get tipsy and make a fool out of himself, but he wouldn’t mind a slight buzz, if it helped take away his memory of his earlier breakdown and confession. Not to mention, well, everything else.

“Okay, Zoey. You ready?” Maggie asked as Mitch reached for the button to start the timer.

Her eyes locked on Max, she opened her mouth, presumably to respond. Instead, she started to sing. “What did you think I would do at this moment…”

Surprised, Max sucked in a sharp breath mid-swallow, accidentally inhaling his sip of beer. He spluttered, choking, trying to catch his breath as he sat up abruptly on the couch. Zoey clamped one hand over her mouth and stared at him in horror, a tiny, frantic shake of her head the silent answer to his unasked question. She was not doing this intentionally.

Maggie let out a small, surprised laugh. Emily threw Zoey a confused look while David slapped Max on the back, trying to clear his airway. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” he wheezed, scrambling to his feet.

Zoey clearly tried to hold her hand in place, and it shook as it fell away. She continued, “When you’re standing before me with tears in your eyes…” She snapped her jaw closed, pressing her lips together in a futile attempt to bite back her song.

“Zoey, what are you doing?” Emily pressed. “This is charades, not karaoke.”

Max forced a loud laugh, trying to divert her family’s attention from the impromptu musical number that was about to play out in front of them. He had to do something to get Zoey out of there. Fast. Before the situation got any worse. Boxed in on both sides, he realized it would take too long to scoot around the coffee table in front of the couch, so he jumped over it instead, nearly stumbling in his haste to get to her side. “Ha! Oh, yeah. It’s okay, Emily. This is…um…this is just a little thing…Zoey and I do. She, uh, lost a bet earlier and, um -”

“Trying to tell me that you have found you another, and you just don’t love me no more…”

Raising his voice to drown out her singing, he blurted, “Actually, would you guys excuse us for a second? We should really…” he gestured vaguely. “Outside.”

Zoey couldn’t stop herself from singing, so he bent down and pressed his lips against hers. She made a tiny little squeak of surprise, but when she opened her mouth, he deepened the kiss. Anything to help her stop singing until he could get her someplace private. The day would probably come when she would have to tell her family about her mysterious superpower, but this was probably not the place, and it was definitely not the time.

She grabbed onto him, cupping his face in her hands, and he honestly didn’t know if she was clinging to him because she wanted to continue their kiss, or if she was just desperate to stop herself from singing. Max shot a quick look towards the front door out of the corner of his eye and, at a loss how else to move her without breaking off the kiss, swept her into his arms.

“All right, all right you two! Take it outside!” David grumbled good-naturedly, and Max raced to the exit as fast as he could while still trying to act casual.

Behind him, he heard some movement, the soft crinkle of paper, and then Emily mumble in a bewildered tone, “Okay, but what did that song had to do with The Princess Bride?”

Max was in such a rush to get out of the house, he tripped on the threshold and tumbled, having to shift his hold on Zoey as they careened down the porch steps. Off-balance by her weight, he did a strange half-spin as he hit the ground, barely breaking his stride on his mad dash down the walk. If he could only get her to the street. Surely her parents wouldn’t hear her from the street. Just a few more seconds, Zoey. Give me just a few more seconds.

She made another surprised squeak and moved her hands to his shoulders to keep from tumbling out of his arms, but it was enough for their kiss to break off, and she began to sing again. “What did you think I would say at this moment? When I’m faced with the knowledge that you just don’t love me…”

She began to wiggle in his arms, trying to regain her feet, and he barely made it to the street before he had to put her down. Panting from the exertion, and almost certain he had pulled something when he fell off the front steps, he didn’t struggle when she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him closer, pressing her forehead against his as she crooned, “Did you think I would curse you, or say things to hurt you? ‘Cause you just don’t love me no more…”

“Zoey,” he moaned, squeezing his eyes shut. “Please.” If this was a heart song – and he was certainly willing to believe it was, since he doubted she’d have started singing in front of her family – he knew she couldn’t control herself. That didn’t make it any easier to hear.

Nuzzling him with her cheek, she sang softly in his ear, “Did you think I could hate you? Or raise my hands to you? Now, come on, you know me too well. How could I hurt you, when darling I love you. And you know I’d never hurt you.”

She trailed a line of kisses along his jaw, and he moaned again. He knew he should release her and step back, but he couldn’t force his arms to let her go. She trailed her hands along the line of his neck and then down his chest, her fingers exploring a soft path across his stomach. His knees buckled, and he pulled her harder against him.

She brushed her lips against his, and he told himself he shouldn’t kiss back. True, it was a heart song, but she wasn’t entirely in her right mind at the moment. She wasn’t in control of her words. Or her actions, he reminded himself when she nipped his lower lip with her teeth.

“What do you think I would give at this moment? If you’d stay, I’d subtract twenty years from my life. I’d fall down on my knees -”

He couldn’t look at her and retain any self-control, so he kept his eyes squeezed shut as he caressed her collarbone, his fingers caressing the back of her neck as held her to him. Tilting his head, he breathed her in. He shouldn’t kiss her. He told himself he shouldn’t kiss her. But how much could a man take? As soft as a whisper, he pleaded, “Damn it, Zoey. Tell me to stop. Tell me to walk away. Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you.”

She hesitated, but he sucked in a ragged gasp when she relaxed against him, her body pressing against his. Her breath was as warm and soft as the caress of her lips against his as she whispered, “Max? I think…we have a lot to talk about. Take me home.”

[loose-leaf-teacanons]

Can you do also kikasa for the otp questions please?

1. Who liked the other first?

Kise. XD He’s not even surprised by it initially, because he gets temporary mini-crushes on people who impress him really easily, especially if they give him a hard time. With Kasamatsu, it’s kind of embarrassing, though – the guy is his captain, and a sour-faced hardass, and he’s not that impressive, okay, self??? Just because he ripped you a new one on your first day doesn’t mean he’s worthy of the dokis! You have standards!

He fully expects the stupid mini-crush to fade, and maybe it would, except Kasamatsu-senpai– (what the hell, self?! could you stop getting the dokis from calling somebody “senpai”? Urgh! …okay could you at least stop getting the dokis harder? /Please/?).

Well, except Kasamatsu-senpai keeps doing all those things Kise never even knew he needed (except for the whole throwing-stuff-at-his-head, though okay, if Kise is perfectly, entirely honest, sometimes he needs that, too. But don’t tell Senpai!!!), and he’s so passionate about basketball, and he works so hard, and he looks after everyone, and he’s got kind of a cute smile (one that sits a bit crooked like it’s not sure it should be staying on his face), and he’s actually pretty cool to be around, and he doesn’t talk down to Kise at all even though he’s really big on the senpai-kouhai stuff, and there’s something about his hard-won but earnest praise that makes Kise want to try ten times harder every time he’s on the receiving end of it, and how weird is that?

It doesn’t fully click for Kise until the Interhigh, where he ends up so taken care of and comforted (and he didn’t even know that was possible after failing to win, because at Teiko you just didn’t fail, period), only to then catch a glimpse of all the hurt and disappointment and frustration that Kasamatsu-senpai went off to bear alone, without letting on how he’s feeling to anyone, and that’s… yep, that’s the sound of Kise’s heart breaking.

That’s when he’s hit with something he hasn’t ever felt before, this overwhelming urge to not just bask in somebody’s company, care and attention but to give something back to them, to do even a little bit for them what they do for him.

That’s the moment it kind of starts dawning on him that this is love. He’s always thought of love as this burst-into-song thing with lots of flirting and pursuing and hearts and flowers and dates, that he never even thought it would actually be this, this “I will protect you and your happiness even if I die trying and even if you never know about it (actually it’s better if you don’t or you’d throw a basketball at me >.>) and I can’t imagine anything better than just seeing you proud and victorious and content.”

So yes, suffice it to say, he is so very, very screwed.

Kasamatsu, for his part, has Kise rather firmly in his “kouhai” drawer the entire time. Yeah, Kise’s special to him (special in the head! *eyeroll*), someone he feels responsible for and who is actually a good kid and pretty good company once you get at the passionate, hard-working, sharp personality buried under all that Teikou crap and the celebrity bullshit.

It’s not until he leaves for university that Kise even gets shuffled into the “friend” drawer (though they’ve been friends before that, obviously, it’s just Kasamatsu’s archaic and painfully earnest idea of senpai-kouhai dynamics that stops him from thinking of them as such), and sure, it’s probably a bit weird for Kise to remain so attached to him (seriously, did I clock him on the head too hard or something?), and it’s probably considerably weirder that Kasamatsu remains attached right back, but whatever, right?

And if he calls him rather more than he calls anyone else, if he schedules all his course load and homework so they get the occasional free weekend to meet up, if he shows up to watch all of Kaijou’s championship matches without fail, if he keeps sending Kise music mixes and remembering his birthday when he can’t remember anyone else’s without consulting his phone first (including his own; July… somethingsomething, right? *checks ID card*), well… anyway, that’s just how it’s always been with Kise.

(That sound you’re hearing, btw, is Moriyama and Kobori synchro-smacking their heads against the wall)

So yeah, Kise has his work cut out for him. XD

2. Where is their ‘special spot’?

Where indeed, senp– ow. Mean!

Kidding aside, I don’t think they really have one. Kise is always drawn to new places – he’s like a human Siri for trendy cafés, shops, movie theaters, music venues, etc. Kasamatsu calls it a skill that’s both amazingly useless and uselessly amazing, and Kise just sticks his tongue out because whatever, Senpai, you just admitted I’m amazing~~~! *sidesteps rib jab*

Kasamatsu himself tends to attach more significance to the events/memories than the places they happened in.

3. How do they cheer one another up?

Depends on what’s wrong, tbh. Kise is kind of a melodramatic handful to begin with, and he can bitch endlessly about small things like some kind of workplace rivalry or whatever, though in such cases he’s usually content to fling himself on the couch in an epic fit of pique and complain about it loudly and emphatically.

Kasamatsu will mostly leave him to it and go about whatever it was he was doing before Kise made his dramatic entrance, and then come back a couple of minutes later and be like, “So, you good?” (and Kise will whine for a while about how callous and disinterested Yukio-san is in his terrible plight, you go to get coffee while the light of your life is suffering from the cruelty and injustice of the wo–ow ow ow not my nooooose!!!)

But yeah, it’s easy to tell when Kise is truly upset because his entire being just dims. In those instances, Kasamatsu doesn’t say much, just holds Kise as he attempts to fold up all 189 cm of himself against Kasamatsu’s chest and maybe have a good cry. Kise will usually tell him what’s wrong after he’s all cried out, and Kasamatsu just stays and listens and tries to help him untangle whatever issue it was for as long as it takes.

Kasamatsu’s upsets are really quiet, and tense, and you can just watch the furrow in his brow deepen, and every fiber of his being tightening, and still he doesn’t say anything and keeps it to himself out of some idiotic idea that he has to be strong and work it all out himself. It’s incredibly frustrating for Kise, who knows he’s not nearly as experienced at comforting people or that good with giving advice, but that doesn’t mean he can’t try, dammit!

What usually happens is he human-barnacles himself to Kasamatsu before he can vibrate out of his skin from all the tension, puts his chin on Kasamatsu’s head and tells him to talk, Yukio-san in a tone that brooks no argument, so Kasamatsu eventually deflates and does.

4. What is their favourite movie to watch together?

They like watching action comedies and sports movies together (and man do they love to rant about how inaccurate the latter often are, seriously, that coach should be fired for such an untenable training regimen and that captain is a complete idiot).

Kise also loves cheesy romance movies and tearjerky K-dramas, though those frustrate Kasamatsu endlessly with their idiotic cliché plots and people’s inability to just fucking talk to each other, what the fuck, so he usually goes to do something else while Kise catches up with the 537th episode of Passion Island or whatever.

Though occasionally he can’t help but overhear something or other and comments on it semi-automatically from across two rooms, like telling the crying heroine to “Just dump that guy, he’s a fucker” and he’s not even doing it to be a smart-ass or anything – like for a moment he’s genuinely giving advice to this idiot character he doesn’t even care about, and Kise suddenly can’t with the cute.

5. When did they know that they are each other’s soul mate?

Oh good god, no. I mean, Kise will sometimes jokingly call them soul mates, but as romantic as that concept is in the context of a movie, he much prefers this relationship where they have to compromise and learn to fit around each other’s little quirks and smooth out each other’s edges, and sometimes they fight, too, but that’s all part of what makes working things out together so worthwhile.

Kasamatsu just doesn’t get the concept, not even in a fictional sense, and it continues to baffle him that people like Moriyama can actually go on a hunt for a “soul mate” in real life, honestly, are you an idiot??? He just finds it so unrealistic that people expect to find someone “perfect” for them, and then have a crisis at the first sign of disagreement or whine about actually having to put in an effort. Moro––hmmmfhfhgh! *snogged within an inch of his life by Kise*

6. Where do they primarily kiss one another out in public? Examples forehead, cheek, hand etc.

They usually don’t? Kasamatsu gets easily embarrassed by PDA in general, plus they’re both mindful of the fact that Kise is becoming an increasingly public figure (once his career really takes off), and one thing they can both do without is having their relationship splayed out and picked apart in stupid gossip columns or lived through vicariously by crazy fans or whatever.

That said, Kise is really good at picking moments or places where nobody’s paying attention. Kasamatsu has found himself tugged into alcoves and behind clothes racks, or pecked in the half-second before he gets out of the car, and then he has to spend fifteen minutes getting rid of his flaming face. Urgh.

7. Who goes all out for the other persons birthday?

Nah. They’re both pretty low-key with each other. It’s all small, practical gifts and cake, mostly. Sometimes they’ll organize old team get-togethers for the occasion, but yeah, it’s all pleasantly uncomplicated.

8. Whose clothes is too big for the other, but they wear them anyway?

I’ve said it before, but I will say it again: Kise is simply heart-broken that Kasamatsu refuses to wear any of his clothes, and that he himself is too big to fit any of Kasamatsu’s. Sometimes he’ll steal a sweater to drape over his shoulders and be all pouty because that’s the best he can manage.

9. Who is the one who stays up late baking brownies and dancing in their underwear wearing a baggy shirt, and who is the one who comes down to see the other being all cute?

I’m sorry, I still find the idea kinda creepy in general. XD And they? Are so not the type to do this, even if this were a thing people actually did.

10. Would they cuddle even though it is super hot outside?

Kise tries, peels away ten seconds later to complain about how it’s too hot to do this, tries again half a minute later only to establish that it’s still too hot to do this, and this’ll go on until Kasamatsu threatens to dump his ass on the floor.

[mysteryshelf]

FRIDAY SF & FANTASY - Thunderstruck

Welcome to

THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF!

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by Xpresso Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Thunderstruck Brenda Drake Published by: Entangled Crave Publication date: September 11th 2017 Genres: Mystery, Mythology, Romance

Stevie Moon is famous…at least to the subscribers on her comic review vlog. At school, she’s as plain as the gray painted walls in the cafeteria. So when Blake, the hot new guy at school, shows an interest in her, she knows trouble when she sees it. Been there. And never doing it again.

As the son of the god Thor, Blake Foster’s been given an important mission—to recover the Norse god Heimdall’s sacred and powerful horn before someone uses it to herald in the destruction of the entire universe. But while Blake is great in a fight, the battlefield that is a high school’s social scene is another matter.

Blake knows his only choice is to team up with the adorable Stevie, but she’s not willing to give him even the time of day. He’ll need to woo the girl and find the horn if he hopes to win this war. Who better to tackle Stevie’s defenses than the demi-god of thunder?

“Every page brims with captivating Norse mythology and deliciously creative worldbuilding.” Pintip Dunn, New York Times bestselling author.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

After disposing of the troll, Blake rushed to May’s house and showered. His thoughts kept going to Stevie. After hearing what Jörd said to him, he wanted to see her. The pull to go to her was too strong. He had no choice but to give in to it.

He climbed the tree outside Stevie’s room and sat on the branch. A blue light blinked on and off inside the room. He lightly tapped on the window. Muffled voices from within the room hummed against the glassed pane.

The curtain pushed aside. Amira was close to Stevie’s back when the curtain slid to the side. Stevie said something to Amira that Blake couldn’t hear through the thick glass. Amira turned away and dropped onto the bed. Stevie flipped the locks and opened the window.

“You scared the shit out of us,” Stevie snapped.

Amira crossed her arms. “Yeah, we’re watching scary movies here.”

Blake tried not to laugh, but he couldn’t hold it in. “My apologies. Can I have a moment alone with you, Stevie?”

“With me?” She glanced back.

“No.” Amira heaved a sigh. “With the other Stevie in the room.”

“Where do you want to go?”

He reached his hand out to her. “Out here is fine.”

She narrowed her gaze on him. “I don’t think so.”

“Come on,” he said. “It’s perfectly safe. This branch is thick. Trust me.”

“Stop being a chicken and go already. I have to pee.” Amira shuffled off.

Stevie hesitated before grabbing his hand and letting him guide her out the window and onto the branch. “This is crazy, you know that?”

“If you never throw caution to the wind, you’ll never be rewarded.” He sat on the branch and held her hand as she came down beside him. Her hand was warm and soft in his, and he wanted to hold it forever.

The loose pajama bottoms she wore had cats on them. Her pink tank top rode up a little and exposed a bit of her midriff. Her light-brown hair, the color of the acorns he’d gathered with his grandmother when he was a boy, rose in the wind behind her. Wide, dark eyes met his, her full lips parted in a smile.

“What did you want?” She glanced at the ground. “Wow, this is pretty high.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall.” He slid his hand across her lower back and held her waist. She shivered. “Are you cold?”

“A little,” she said.

“Hold on.” He let her go, shrugged off his hoodie, and draped it around her shoulders.

“Thank you.”

She held it closed at the zipper. He returned his arm around her, grasping her waist. She shuddered, and he smiled at her response to his touch.

“You didn’t answer me,” she said. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Actually, I’m not here to talk,” he said. “Have you ever had an urge to do something, and once it’s in your head, you can’t sleep or think until you do the thing?”

“I guess.” When she looked over at him, they locked eyes and an intensity passed between them like the energy he felt in the handle of his hammer after catching lightning with it. He noticed a faint scar just above her cupid’s bow.

“How did you get the scar?” he asked.

“Scar?” She glanced down at her chest.

“Not there,” he whispered, lifting her chin to look into her eyes. “On your lip.”

She touched it. “Oh this? It’s an embarrassing story. Let’s just say, I learned to watch where I’m walking, especially when poles are around.”

He chuckled. “I can imagine what happened.”

She lowered her head again, her feet kicking back and forth.

He decided to take his chance and cupped her face in his hands, bringing her face to his and kissing her. It was a gentle, wanting kiss. Her lips were soft and warm against his. She tasted like May’s brownies. When Stevie hadn’t responded to his kiss, he was about to release her, but then her lips began moving with his. He cradled her in his arms and they balanced together on the branch.

  Author Bio:

Brenda Drake is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. She grew up the youngest of three children, an Air Force brat, and the continual new kid at school. Her fondest memories growing up is of her eccentric, Irish grandmother’s animated tales, which gave her a strong love for storytelling. So it was only fitting that she would choose to write stories with a bend toward the fantastical. When she’s not writing or hanging out with her family, she haunts libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops, or reads someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment).

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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FRIDAY SF & FANTASY – Thunderstruck was originally published on the Wordpress version of The Pulp and Mystery Shelf with Shannon Muir

[inloveandwords]

It works like this

Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.

Order on ascending date added.

Take the first 5 or 10 books (I’m doing 20 because I have way too many on my list)

Read the synopsis of the books

Decide: keep it or should it go?

Penmort Castle (Ghosts and Reincarnation #1) by Kristen Ashley

CLICK FOR SYNOPSIS

Cash Fraser is planning revenge and to get it he needs the perfect woman. So he hires her. Abigail Butler has lost nearly everything in her life and she’s about to lose the home she loves.

Cash meets Abby, who is posing as a paid escort, and the minute he does he knows he’s willing to pay for more than Abby being his pretend girlfriend. A lot more. Abby needs the money or the last thing that links her to her dead family and husband will be gone. The deal is struck but both Cash and Abby get more than they bargained for.

Cash realises very quickly that Abby isn’t what she seems and while he changes strategies, Abby discovers that Cash’s legacy, Penmort Castle, is like all the tales say – very, very haunted. Making matters worse, the ghost in residence wants her dead.

Abby’s found herself in the battle of her life so she enlists Mrs. Truman, her nosy neighbour; Jenny, her no-nonsense friend; Cassandra McNabb, white witch and clairvoyant with a penchant for wearing scarves (and lots of them); and Angus McPherson, dyed-in-the-wool Scot (which means he hunts ghosts in a kilt) to fight the vicious ghost who has vowed that she will rest at nothing to kill the true, abiding love of the master of Penmort.

Date added to TBR: 1/24/17 Keep or Ditch? Keep Comments: This actually sounds really interesting and I believe I have it on audio.

    Moonstruck (Diablo Lake #1) by Lauren Dane

CLICK FOR SYNOPSIS

In Diablo Lake, Tennessee, a town populated by werewolves, witches, and more, magic woven deep into the earth protects the town’s secrets from outsiders.

Katie Grady left Diablo Lake to get over a humiliating breakup; but her family needs her help, so she’s back, in a sublet right across the hall from the guy she’s lusted after for years. Jace Dooley is hotter than ever, and their friendship picks up along with massive doses of grown-up chemistry.

The very scent of Katie sharpens Jace’s canines, makes the wolf within him stir. There’s nothing more alluring to a Pack Alpha than a sexy female who is so very in charge. She won’t be coddled, but if he plays his hand just right she might be convinced to become his.

Katie presents a challenge to Jace’s wolf nature, whose chief instinct is to protect. Especially now that she’s coming into the magic that is her birthright – and suddenly Jace isn’t the only one who’s interested in Katie, or the raw power she’s just learning to use.

Date added to TBR: 1/24/17 Keep or Ditch? Ditch Comments: I’m not super interested in this one anymore and the ratings aren’t that great on Goodreads.

    Doing It Over (Most Likely To #1) by Catherine Bybee

CLICK FOR SYNOPSIS

Voted Most Likely to Succeed, Melanie Bartlett ended up anything but. The down-on-her-luck single mom wants a complete do-over—is that too much to ask? With her family long gone from River Bend, strong, independent Mel is as surprised as anyone to end up in the quaint small town she once called home. But with her friends, Jo and Zoe, by her side, and a comfortable room at Miss Gina’s quirky bed-and-breakfast, she just might have turned the corner on a new life.

Wyatt Gibson never liked the big city. River Bend suits the ruggedly handsome builder just fine. Wyatt knows he’s home, even if that means being charmed by the appearance of Melanie and her spunky, adorable daughter. Is Wyatt’s calm devotion—even amid a coming storm—enough to convince Mel she may have found a home to call her own, a family that never leaves, and a true love to last a lifetime?

Date added to TBR: 1/24/17 Keep or Ditch? Ditch Comments: I think I owned this at some point (given to me by my mom), but I don’t see myself reading it any time soon.

    Staying For Good (Most Likely To #2) by Catherine Bybee

CLICK FOR SYNOPSIS

Zoe Brown may have been voted Most Likely to Never Leave River Bend, but the paper-thin walls and suffocating air of her family’s double-wide trailer were not what she wanted for her life. Other than BFFs Melanie and Jo, the only thing that kept Zoe sane during high school was her boyfriend, Luke.

She didn’t just leave, she escaped—turning her back on the shame of her black-sheep siblings and imprisoned dad. Now a celebrity chef in Dallas, she can afford all the things she never could have growing up. But when she returns to rustic, ruggedly beautiful River Bend, Zoe has to face all that she abandoned—including Luke.

While Luke was a refuge for Zoe in the past, he knows they inhabit totally different worlds now. Anchored by his parents and his job as a mechanic in his father’s shop, Luke never felt the urge to leave River Bend—until Zoe’s return.

But when the two rekindle their old flame, Zoe is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: remain in River Bend and confront her past before it destroys her, or say good-bye to everyone she’s ever loved…again, this time for good.

Date added to TBR: 1/24/17 Keep or Ditch? Ditch Comments: Same as above.

    The Rosie Project (Don Tillman #1) by Graeme Simsion

CLICK FOR SYNOPSIS

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don’s Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.

Date added to TBR: 1/25/17 Keep or Ditch? Ditch Comments: I used to have this on my bookshelf, but I unhauled it recently.

    Worth the Wait (McKinney/Walker Brothers #1) by Claudia Connor

CLICK FOR SYNOPSIS

He broke her heart. When he finds out just how badly, it will break his too.

Nick Walker found the love of his life when he was just nineteen.

Found her. Loved her. Lost her.

It’s been ten years since Nick watched the only woman he ever loved walk out of his life. Now this FBI Special Agent will do anything to win her back.

But it won’t be easy…

Mia’s heart was shattered by Nick. They’ll have to face their painful past if they want a future, including Mia’s own secret about that day it all fell apart.

Do you believe in second chances?

Date added to TBR: 1/25/17 Keep or Ditch? Keep Comments: This is available on Kindle Unlimited and it has great ratings on Goodreads.

    All That Lies Within by Lynn Ames

CLICK FOR SYNOPSIS

How far would you go to hide who you really are inside? And what do you do when you find the one person from whom hiding your true self isn’t an option? Glamorous movie star Dara Thomas has it all-an Oscar nomination, dozens of magazine covers proclaiming her the sexiest woman alive, and people of both sexes clamoring for her attention. She also has a carefully guarded secret life. As Constance Darrow, Dara writes Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction, an outlet that allows her to be so much more than just a pretty face. Rebecca Minton is a professor of American Literature in love with the work of the mysterious, reclusive author Constance Darrow, with whom she strikes up a correspondence. A chance phrase in a letter leads her to a startling conclusion about the author. What happens next will change the course of both of their lives forever.

Date added to TBR: 1/26/17 Keep or Ditch? Keep Comments: I’m not a big fan of the famous trope.

    The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett

CLICK FOR SYNOPSIS

What if you had said yes? The moments that change everything… One Day meets Sliding Doors in this outstanding debut that is causing a buzz across the publishing world Some moments can change your life for ever. Have you ever wondered, what if…?

A man is walking down a country lane. A woman, cycling towards him, swerves to avoid a dog. On that moment, their future hinges. There are three possible outcomes, three small decisions that could determine the rest of their life.

Eva and Jim are nineteen and students at Cambridge when their paths first cross in 1958. And then there is David, Eva’s then-lover, an ambitious actor who loves Eva deeply. The Versions of Us follows the three different courses their lives could take following this first meeting. Lives filled with love, betrayal, ambition but through it all is a deep connection that endures whatever fate might throw at them.

The Versions of Us explores the idea that there are moments when our lives might have turned out differently, the tiny factors or decisions that could determine our fate, and the precarious nature of the foundations upon which we build our lives. It is also a story about the nature of love and how it grows, changes and evolves as we go through the vagaries of life.

Date added to TBR: 1/26/17 Keep or Ditch? Ditch Comments: Ehhhhhhh

  Decluttering my TBR #3 It works like this Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf. Order on ascending date added. Take the first 5 or 10 books (I’m doing 20 because I have way too many on my list)

[cathygeha]

REVIEW:

You Send Me by Jeannie Moon

Compass Cove #2 Pneumonia is not fun…it is painful and it can kill you…so Jordan Velsor is a lucky woman to have Dr. Nick Rinaldi check on her just before a big storm sets in…perhaps even more than lucky? One thing leads to another and before the two know it they are in a fake engagement that begins to feel a whole lot more real than either thought possible. Jordan wants Nick to be more open and Nick is not willing to verbalize about some of his demons so there are a few tense moments along with sadness, loss and big decisions to be made by both. I like this small town community that feels like family and know there are many more stories that can be written with the compass of Compass Cove at the center of the story. I am glad Nick finally shared with Jordan but at one point wrote “I don’t understand her leeriness” and guess that I felt she was a bit too protective and wanted more from a war veteran than perhaps she should have. Anyway, I did enjoy it and loved the couple together. I wish them happiness and much love in the future! Thank you to NetGalley and Tule Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review. 4 Stars

Title: You Send Me

Author: Jeannie Moon

Genre: Women's Fiction

Release Date: May 29, 2018

Publisher: Tule Publishing Group

Series: Compass Cove

Format: Digital/Print

AISN: B07CGJGDPZ

 Synopsis:

 Jordan Velsor didn’t want to need anyone. After dumping her cheating fiancé, caring for her sick dad, and nearly being crushed along with her car during a violent storm, she’s pretty much at her breaking point. If anyone needs some luck, it's Jordan, but the last thing she wants is gorgeous Nick Rinaldi, her landlord’s grandson, hovering over her while she nurses a bad cold. The wounded Navy doctor seems too good to be true... which means he probably is.  Nick Rinaldi left the Navy broken and adrift, wondering if he would ever practice medicine again. When his grandparents' tenant is almost killed by a falling tree during a storm, he discovers Jordan is not only in shock, but suffering from pneumonia. Not one to miss an opportunity to play white knight, Nick arrives at her cottage to take care of her during the storm... But the lovely teacher has a fierce independent streak, and as he learns more about her, he wants to do more than merely help. 

 Can Jordan and Nick let go of their separate pasts and seize their future together?

 Available at:

 Amazon: https://amzn.to/2HzVSES

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2vpQ6ki

iBooks: https://apple.co/2IVOqof

   Other books in the Compass Cove series

 THE CAME YOU

Available at:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

  Enter to WIN a $25 Amazon Gift Card or one of 12 print books of THEN CAME YOU or one of 5 print books of YOU SEND ME!

 http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29525/?

You Send Me Excerpt

Copyright © 2018 Jeannie Moon

         The deep rattling cough woke her from a restless sleep. This cold was kicking her ass, but even though all she wanted to do was burrow under the covers, she was out of tissues, and the dog needed to go outside.

       Glancing out her window, the weather had worsened. She almost would have been content putting out a pad for Gertie to go inside, but her tissues and cough medicine were in the back seat of her car. She had to go out regardless.

       “Come on, Gertie, time to pee.”

       With a whimper and a moan from her spot at the other end of the couch, her little rescue buried her face in the corner. Gertie was no dummy.

       “Look, if I have to go out, so do you. Your bladder is the size of a thimble, and it’s going to get even worse later.”

       The dog sighed—sighed her annoyance at Jordan. A dog with an attitude. Didn’t it figure? Gertie practically rolled off the plush cushion and settled on her back on the blue patterned rug. Her short little legs were straight up in the air, feigning death.

       Jordan felt pretty dead herself, but they still had to go outside.

The wind howled, and all the windows in the cottage shook like it was going to lift up and fly away. Gust after gust provided a not-so-subtle reminder that the nor’easter currently blowing across Long Island was going to make all their lives miserable. This storm was brutal. It had been wreaking havoc for the last twelve hours and based on the latest weather report it had slowed down to a crawl, meaning it was going to stick around for a while.

       Grabbing the dog’s leash, Jordan gently nudged the little furry blob on the floor. Nothing. She didn’t budge. “Gertie! Come on!”

       Ninety-nine percent of the time, she loved the little mutt. This moment definitely fell into the one percent.

       After she broke her engagement, Jordan had the sudden urge to have a pet. A lot of people told her it would pass, but she knew that wasn’t the case. Jordan needed unconditional love in her home, so she kept her eyes open for the right opportunity. She couldn’t handle a puppy or a kitten, so when she wandered around a rescue fair one Sunday this past September, she found herself completely enamored with Gertie. A stubby-legged little mutt, Gertie was a tube of golden fur with a pointy snout and big, soulful brown eyes. She was about five years old, and her owner had just died, leaving the little dog all alone.

       Jordan felt a kinship with the pooch, and took her home that day.

       Lina Rinaldi, who usually frowned on her cottage tenants having pets, took to the dog right away, and Gertie loved the older woman right back.

       As Jordan stared at the lump still upside down on the floor, she was about ready to offer Mrs. Rinaldi full custody. Then a deep, rasping cough shook Jordan to the core. It racked her body violently, and pain shot around her chest. God, she felt awful.

       “Come on,” she said firmly to the pooch. “We’ll skip the leash this time. Out and in. Let’s get this over with.”

       Gertie rolled over and trotted to the front door, giving Jordan the side eye as she waited. Donning her parka and a pair of lined wellies that she pulled over her pajama pants, Jordan grabbed the remote and unlocked her car. When she opened the front door, she was hit by a blast of wind, rain, and sleet that stung her cheeks and chilled her to the bone. “Lord, it’s miserable.” Looking down at Gertie, she nodded. “Okay, let’s make this quick.”

       The two of them bolted outside, with Gertie heading for her favorite patch of grass and Jordan heading for her car. She stopped when she coughed so hard she could barely breathe. It hurt. She’d never had a chest cold that hurt so much. Finally, yanking open the door, she heard her pooch barking from the small covered porch. Jordan grabbed the bag that was filled with some basic food provisions, juice, tea, tissues, and a selection of over-the-counter cold remedies. She slammed the car door shut, and on her way back inside she noticed the whitecaps on Jennings Bay. The wind was forcing massive amounts of water into the coves and harbors around town, and she hoped the it didn’t breach the seawall surrounding the property. Jordan’s cottage was closer to Cove Road, but the Rinaldis’ big house was at risk.

       Without any further delay, Jordan made it back to the porch, feeling chilled and soaked to the bone despite all the foul weather gear she’d put on. Gertie was barking frantically, having positioned herself under the old wooden swing, and Jordan was starting to lose her patience.

       “Gertie, what the hell is the problem?”

       That’s when she heard the groan and crack. Jordan looked up just as a large section of an old oak tree, about fifty feet from the house, gave way. Throwing her body against the wall to avoid any debris, Jordan watched as the massive tree split in half and came crashing down, crushing her car in the process.

       If she had waited ten more seconds to head outside, Jordan would have been killed.

       Frozen in place for—she didn’t know how long—Jordan startled when a large, strong arm wrapped around her.

       She looked away from the wreckage in the front yard and into the gorgeous face of Nick Rinaldi.        “Damn. Are you alright?”

       Was she? She wasn’t sure. Jordan tried to answer, but she had trouble catching her breath. Sucking in air, he kept her steady when they walked into the house.

       Waiting for the dog before he closed the door, Nick sat her on the bench in the entryway. Glancing in the canvas tote from the market, his brow furrowed.

       “You’re sick? What’s wrong?”

       With a low rattling cough that had him pressing the back of his hand to her forehead, she muttered, “Chest cold.”

       Shaking his head, he helped her off with her boots and jacket. “Let’s get you settled in bed, and I’ll go get my bag. You’ve got a lot more than a chest cold.”

       “My car…”        “We can’t do anything about your car until the storm passes, so put it out of your head. It’s the last thing you need to worry about.”

       “Are you kidding? Not worry about it?” How was she supposed to get to work or see her dad? How was she supposed to do anything if she didn’t have a car? The pain in her chest wasn’t just from her cough at that moment, but at the wave of dread—helplessness—that rushed through her.

       “One thing at a time.” Nick, a former Navy doctor, was single minded. And as much as Jordan didn’t want to admit it, he was right. In this weather, there was nothing she could do.

       “Come on,” he said. “Lead the way.”

       “I’ll be fine,” she said, stopping in her tracks. Those few words taxed her already strained system. She coughed painfully into her arm while Nick guided her into her room. The coughing spell was so violent, ripping at her tender lungs, she couldn’t even object as he tucked her into bed.

       Sick as she was, Jordan wasn’t blind. Nick Rinaldi had been on her radar since he landed back in Compass Cove the previous fall. The guy was gorgeous, smart, and a gentleman to the core. But he’d settled back in with his grandparents almost six months ago, and other than a token hello, or a polite smile, he rarely spoke to her.

       Still, with his lean frame, dark hair, and kind eyes, he checked a lot of boxes.

She thought she heard him mutter something about being stubborn, but her lack of breath didn’t allow a response. If anyone was stubborn, he was. The man of mystery was a well-known do-gooder, and obviously she was his next project. There was only one problem with that. She didn’t want his help. Needing people was a slippery slope, and Jordan had no intention of heading down that way again.

  About Jeannie Moon:

 Jeannie Moon, author of fifteen novels, has always been a romantic. When she’s not spinning tales of her own, Jeannie works as a school librarian, thankful she has a job that allows her to immerse herself in books and call it work. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jeannie has three kids, three lovable dogs and a mischievous cat and lives in her hometown on Long Island, NY. If she’s more than ten miles away from salt water for any longer than a week, she gets twitchy.

 Connect with Jeannie at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

http://www.barclaypublicity.com/

[cathygeha]

Have you Pre-ordered YOU SEND ME yet?

 In YOU SEND ME, Jordan and Nick must let go or their separate pasts in order to seize their future together in this charming fake engagement romance.  Fans of Susan Wiggs and RaeAnne Thayne have fallen in love with the Compass Cove series from International Bestselling Author, Jeannie Moon.

 Pre-order YOU SEND ME and add it to your TBR pile on Goodreads! Then keep reading to get a sneak peek and to enter the giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card or books from Jeannie Moon!  

 Title: You Send Me

Author: Jeannie Moon

Genre: Women's Fiction

Release Date: May 29, 2018

Publisher: Tule Publishing Group

Series: Compass Cove

Format: Digital/Print

AISN: B07CGJGDPZ

 Synopsis:

 Jordan Velsor didn’t want to need anyone. After dumping her cheating fiancé, caring for her sick dad, and nearly being crushed along with her car during a violent storm, she’s pretty much at her breaking point. If anyone needs some luck, it's Jordan, but the last thing she wants is gorgeous Nick Rinaldi, her landlord’s grandson, hovering over her while she nurses a bad cold. The wounded Navy doctor seems too good to be true... which means he probably is.  Nick Rinaldi left the Navy broken and adrift, wondering if he would ever practice medicine again. When his grandparents' tenant is almost killed by a falling tree during a storm, he discovers Jordan is not only in shock, but suffering from pneumonia. Not one to miss an opportunity to play white knight, Nick arrives at her cottage to take care of her during the storm... But the lovely teacher has a fierce independent streak, and as he learns more about her, he wants to do more than merely help. 

 Can Jordan and Nick let go of their separate pasts and seize their future together?

 Available at:

 Amazon: https://amzn.to/2HzVSES

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2vpQ6ki

iBooks: https://apple.co/2IVOqof

   Other books in the Compass Cove series

 THE CAME YOU

Available at:  Amazon   Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

  Enter to WIN a $25 Amazon Gift Card or one of 12 print books of THEN CAME YOU or one of 5 print books of YOU SEND ME!

 http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29525/?

You Send Me Excerpt

Copyright © 2018 Jeannie Moon

         The deep rattling cough woke her from a restless sleep. This cold was kicking her ass, but even though all she wanted to do was burrow under the covers, she was out of tissues, and the dog needed to go outside.

       Glancing out her window, the weather had worsened. She almost would have been content putting out a pad for Gertie to go inside, but her tissues and cough medicine were in the back seat of her car. She had to go out regardless.

       “Come on, Gertie, time to pee.”

       With a whimper and a moan from her spot at the other end of the couch, her little rescue buried her face in the corner. Gertie was no dummy.

       “Look, if I have to go out, so do you. Your bladder is the size of a thimble, and it’s going to get even worse later.”

       The dog sighed—sighed her annoyance at Jordan. A dog with an attitude. Didn’t it figure? Gertie practically rolled off the plush cushion and settled on her back on the blue patterned rug. Her short little legs were straight up in the air, feigning death.

       Jordan felt pretty dead herself, but they still had to go outside.

The wind howled, and all the windows in the cottage shook like it was going to lift up and fly away. Gust after gust provided a not-so-subtle reminder that the nor’easter currently blowing across Long Island was going to make all their lives miserable. This storm was brutal. It had been wreaking havoc for the last twelve hours and based on the latest weather report it had slowed down to a crawl, meaning it was going to stick around for a while.

       Grabbing the dog’s leash, Jordan gently nudged the little furry blob on the floor. Nothing. She didn’t budge. “Gertie! Come on!”

       Ninety-nine percent of the time, she loved the little mutt. This moment definitely fell into the one percent.

       After she broke her engagement, Jordan had the sudden urge to have a pet. A lot of people told her it would pass, but she knew that wasn’t the case. Jordan needed unconditional love in her home, so she kept her eyes open for the right opportunity. She couldn’t handle a puppy or a kitten, so when she wandered around a rescue fair one Sunday this past September, she found herself completely enamored with Gertie. A stubby-legged little mutt, Gertie was a tube of golden fur with a pointy snout and big, soulful brown eyes. She was about five years old, and her owner had just died, leaving the little dog all alone.

       Jordan felt a kinship with the pooch, and took her home that day.

       Lina Rinaldi, who usually frowned on her cottage tenants having pets, took to the dog right away, and Gertie loved the older woman right back.

       As Jordan stared at the lump still upside down on the floor, she was about ready to offer Mrs. Rinaldi full custody. Then a deep, rasping cough shook Jordan to the core. It racked her body violently, and pain shot around her chest. God, she felt awful.

       “Come on,” she said firmly to the pooch. “We’ll skip the leash this time. Out and in. Let’s get this over with.”

       Gertie rolled over and trotted to the front door, giving Jordan the side eye as she waited. Donning her parka and a pair of lined wellies that she pulled over her pajama pants, Jordan grabbed the remote and unlocked her car. When she opened the front door, she was hit by a blast of wind, rain, and sleet that stung her cheeks and chilled her to the bone. “Lord, it’s miserable.” Looking down at Gertie, she nodded. “Okay, let’s make this quick.”

       The two of them bolted outside, with Gertie heading for her favorite patch of grass and Jordan heading for her car. She stopped when she coughed so hard she could barely breathe. It hurt. She’d never had a chest cold that hurt so much. Finally, yanking open the door, she heard her pooch barking from the small covered porch. Jordan grabbed the bag that was filled with some basic food provisions, juice, tea, tissues, and a selection of over-the-counter cold remedies. She slammed the car door shut, and on her way back inside she noticed the whitecaps on Jennings Bay. The wind was forcing massive amounts of water into the coves and harbors around town, and she hoped the it didn’t breach the seawall surrounding the property. Jordan’s cottage was closer to Cove Road, but the Rinaldis’ big house was at risk.

       Without any further delay, Jordan made it back to the porch, feeling chilled and soaked to the bone despite all the foul weather gear she’d put on. Gertie was barking frantically, having positioned herself under the old wooden swing, and Jordan was starting to lose her patience.

       “Gertie, what the hell is the problem?”

       That’s when she heard the groan and crack. Jordan looked up just as a large section of an old oak tree, about fifty feet from the house, gave way. Throwing her body against the wall to avoid any debris, Jordan watched as the massive tree split in half and came crashing down, crushing her car in the process.

       If she had waited ten more seconds to head outside, Jordan would have been killed.

       Frozen in place for—she didn’t know how long—Jordan startled when a large, strong arm wrapped around her.

       She looked away from the wreckage in the front yard and into the gorgeous face of Nick Rinaldi.        “Damn. Are you alright?”

       Was she? She wasn’t sure. Jordan tried to answer, but she had trouble catching her breath. Sucking in air, he kept her steady when they walked into the house.

       Waiting for the dog before he closed the door, Nick sat her on the bench in the entryway. Glancing in the canvas tote from the market, his brow furrowed.

       “You’re sick? What’s wrong?”

       With a low rattling cough that had him pressing the back of his hand to her forehead, she muttered, “Chest cold.”

       Shaking his head, he helped her off with her boots and jacket. “Let’s get you settled in bed, and I’ll go get my bag. You’ve got a lot more than a chest cold.”

       “My car…”        “We can’t do anything about your car until the storm passes, so put it out of your head. It’s the last thing you need to worry about.”

       “Are you kidding? Not worry about it?” How was she supposed to get to work or see her dad? How was she supposed to do anything if she didn’t have a car? The pain in her chest wasn’t just from her cough at that moment, but at the wave of dread—helplessness—that rushed through her.

       “One thing at a time.” Nick, a former Navy doctor, was single minded. And as much as Jordan didn’t want to admit it, he was right. In this weather, there was nothing she could do.

       “Come on,” he said. “Lead the way.”

       “I’ll be fine,” she said, stopping in her tracks. Those few words taxed her already strained system. She coughed painfully into her arm while Nick guided her into her room. The coughing spell was so violent, ripping at her tender lungs, she couldn’t even object as he tucked her into bed.

       Sick as she was, Jordan wasn’t blind. Nick Rinaldi had been on her radar since he landed back in Compass Cove the previous fall. The guy was gorgeous, smart, and a gentleman to the core. But he’d settled back in with his grandparents almost six months ago, and other than a token hello, or a polite smile, he rarely spoke to her.

       Still, with his lean frame, dark hair, and kind eyes, he checked a lot of boxes.

She thought she heard him mutter something about being stubborn, but her lack of breath didn’t allow a response. If anyone was stubborn, he was. The man of mystery was a well-known do-gooder, and obviously she was his next project. There was only one problem with that. She didn’t want his help. Needing people was a slippery slope, and Jordan had no intention of heading down that way again.

  About Jeannie Moon:

 Jeannie Moon, author of fifteen novels, has always been a romantic. When she’s not spinning tales of her own, Jeannie works as a school librarian, thankful she has a job that allows her to immerse herself in books and call it work. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jeannie has three kids, three lovable dogs and a mischievous cat and lives in her hometown on Long Island, NY. If she’s more than ten miles away from salt water for any longer than a week, she gets twitchy.

 Connect with Jeannie at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest

http://www.barclaypublicity.com/