#oops. meant to schedule this and ended up hitting post. oh well.

[thecapricunt1616]

Sunflower 🌻

Syd x Carmy one-shot

♡ Summary: A/U where after graduating from the CIA at the top of her class, Syd goes on a food tour in NYC & ends up hooking up with the most talented CDC, at the best restaurant in the world.

♡ W/C: 3,434

♡ Posted Date: 04/12/2024

♡ A/N: This is pure filth I tried adding some plot- I hope it turned out the way I saw it in my head. As always requests are open - for SydCarmy, CarmyxReader as usual! I hope you enjoy :)

♡ Warnings for BTC: Smutsmutsmut nsfw 18+ - Oral (m receiving) , Barely edited bc we die like men.

➵ 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 ♡

Sydney Adamu had just graduated top of her class at the Culinary Institute of America. She’d been hunkering down with her dad, for a long four years, she was desperate to get out of there. She already had a plan all set up. 

She’d take the last bit of money her grandfather had given her for college, and make a catering business of her very own. It would be dedicated to her parents, (of course) Syd’s hopeless romanticism was thanks to their perfect, beautiful love story of course. She’d known since sophomore year of culinary school - Sheridan Road would be her baby. 

She’d settled on this idea - with any possible odd’s and ends money she’d made during her CIA training - she’d go out for as long as it would last her. She’d learn, study, and observe, then- create her catering business, with the confidence she’d gotten a taste of the very goal she had, a star. Well - three would be absolutely fucking insanity to her- but one? One she felt like if she had it? Her father would believe she was in a real line of work, instead of just happy she was perusing her own happiness. 

It was the perfect plan in her mind. She’d already set aside the amount of money, with extra safety net, for all of the licensures, and documentation she’d need- as well as her commercial kitchen rental she’d make the food out of. Then - with the extra 5k she had left over, she booked a full food tour of the most prestigious, luxurious restaurants in NYC. 

She’d planned the tour 6 months before she graduated, since the 3 restaurants wouldn’t even accept a reservation if it wasn’t made out any later then that, and when she walked the stage, 3 days later she was on the train into the city. 

She’d be staying at a decent hotel for 12 days. Each day, she’d be having one large meal including an app, two main courses, 2 cocktails, and 1 dessert from a Michelin starred restaurant. She would be staying 4 days for 1 star, 4 for 2 stars, and 4 for 3 stars. 

The schedule was as followed; 

Monday - Hirohisa *

Tuesday - Dirt Candy *

Wednesday - The Musket Room *

Thursday - The Red Paper Clip *

Friday - Atera **

Saturday - Jungsik **

Monday - Saga **

Tuesday - Daniel **

Wednesday - Per Se ***

Thursday - Le Bernadin ***

Friday - Masa ***

Saturday - 11 Madison Park ***

When she’d got off at Penn station- she was nearly vibrating with excitement - she quickly brushed passed people grabbing their obnoxious suitcases in the overhead compartments. 

“Sorry! ‘Scuse me! Fuck- shit sorry- exscuse me!!!- whoops! Sorry- scuse me- aah! Ugh- I Didn’t mean to- oop- oh- Jesus!! Excuse me!!” She rambled, frustration building in her chest. Getting off The L wasn’t this hard- why did Amtrak feel worse?!

She took a deep breath, her nose scrunching. 

Mm. So instead of cow shit - smog, I feel at home already. 

She’d thought to herself as she briskly walks with the crowd towards the exit she meant to take onto fifth. 

She slipped her wired headphones into her ears, texting her father 

‘made it!! Love you daddy!!’

Before opening her Spotify, hitting one of her comfort albums, Broken Clocks, as she walked briskly outside - the crisp city air hitting her like a ton of bricks. 

She leaned against the brick of the McDonald’s next door, avoiding the streams of people going down and up the sidewalk, taking a deep breath. She’d not been to New York before, she’d grown up in Chicago- been to the city more times then she can count, but the suburbs were her home. Being in the city- and let alone- a city like Manhattan versus Chicago- she was looking around, trying to gather her wits - and quickly.  She clicked the maps application on her iPhone 7, tugging her umbrella out of the water bottle pocket of her backpack and tucking it under her arm as she typed the address to her hotel and clicking for the walking directions.

It honestly kind of pissed her off that each day’s food was better than the last. She’d wanted to not give a shit about stars and just focus on giving people an experience to remember - but it was cut & dry that now that she’d tasted this kind of food - she was going to do whatever she could to become as talented as the chefs that made it. 

But - she hadn’t even tried the best yet. 

The best, the best, THE best. 

She honestly couldn’t believe she was going to be trying the food from Eleven Madison Park - but she couldn’t help but be so nervous. Every other Michelin starred restaurant she’d been to - the dress code was Formal attire. But this one? THE best restaurant in the fucking world? Oh- they just say on their website ‘many of our guests dress up for the occasion, but we do not have a dress code’  

Her entire trip, She’d been cycling through 2 very different floor length gowns. One of which she wore to her graduation, and the other she’d found at Windsor on sale but it did the job. She didn’t wear luxury attire often, okay? She was too busy being Culinary school for Christ sakes! And tonight she couldn’t for the life of her choose which one she’d wear. 

This being because she was attending a main dining room tasting, which was ten courses. Easy, luxury dining courses were stupidly small. But- she was also trying their bar tasting menu which was an extra four courses. Sitting at a bar in that stupid fluffy dress for two hours would not be comfortable. But- again- best. restaurant. in. the. WORLD!!! 

She knew for a fact that she would be mad at herself if she got there and everyone around was dressed to the nines, but - for comfortability sake she went with the simple silken red gown. 

The front of house service was literally perfect. She was glad she’d brought a new notebook, because she’d never have had enough space to take all the notes she was taking tonight in the one she’d been using the majority of the trip. Their staff was very casually mannered, and they made it very easy to order. Everything was very calm and comfortable, the furniture felt very luxurious in the sense of comfortability. 

After she just had the best meal of her entire life, she knew she had to speak with the person who made it. Her mind was blown for lack of a better word. The food was fucking incredible. She had a rule to keep herself able to taste as much as possible: she was only allowed one bite of each dish, but here- she couldn’t just limit herself to one. Each dish she was taking 2 even 3 bites- but when she got to the sunflower dish? It was brilliant. She finished every bite, she couldn’t not. It would be sinful to waste it. And the only thing on her mind was that she had to talk to the chef who’d made it.

Her waiter comes back to her table, giving her back her card and receipt. 

“Thank you for dining with us this evening, have a wonderful night” he told her 

“Thank you- Um- may I speak with the chef who made the sunflower plate please? I’d like to pay my compliments in person if possible.” She asked hopefully. 

“Of course, that would be Chef Carmen- give me just a moment I’ll go get him for you” he nodded and headed back to the kitchen. She looked over her notes, remembering the questions she’d wanted to ask about the dish. 

Carmen, she wondered if he’d been named after the saint. His talent was surely straight from the hands of the Mother of Christ. 

Shes interrupted from writing in her notebook by a husky, silvery voice 

“Excuse me- I was told you’d like to speak to me, I’m Chef Carmen, I made your sunflower dish this evening.” 

“Hey- I’m Sydney - that dish was- ” she stood up to face him- and when she realized who was in front of her, her heart began to race. Of course, she’d thought, of course - only a JBA contestant could come up with a dish so ingenious.

 “Oh- um…Hi.. Hello- you’re like -” she blinked a few times, in utter shock. “You’re Carmen Berzatto“ She swallowed thickly. 

Sydney was obsessed with this industry- she stalked the JBA website every year to see who would be nominated, dreaming that some day she’d be on that list. Being even nominated would allow her to die happily feeling as if she’d won a fucking Nobel Prize. That was how much she respected those damn awards. 

“I am” he said and cleared his throat nervously. 

“Well- firstly congratulations on your nomination- you like- if it was up to me you’d win because that sunflower dish was-” they’re interrupted by one of the food runners coming over 

“Chef Carmen- Chef Daemon requests you in back of house now.” she said urgently, the girl looked like she was on the brink of tears as she continued taking the tray of food over to the table it was meant for. 

“So sorry, i’d love to hear what you have to say but uh…” he trailed off. 

“Yeah- yeah- sorry, sorry I wont keep you-” she said and he shook his head a bit 

“No- no- um… I mean -” he wouldnt usually be so bold, but his ass was going to literally be kicked if he didnt get back there in the next 5 seconds. “I’m gonna go out for a smoke at 11:15. If you wanted to keep talkin’ ill be there” he said before heading back to the kitchen.

Sydney was nearly shaking - there were so so many things she wanted to ask him. She also realized he was much - infinitely hotter in person - how that was even possible? She remained unsure. She had reapplied her lipgloss and her perfume, nervously pacing back and forth along the sidewalk. 

She hears the back door open and she looked over, out emerging the greek god incarnate she somehow got so lucky as to run in to tonight. “Hey!” she said with her famous warm smile. 

He didnt return it, actually- he looked pissed. She swallowed thickly, rubbing her lips together nervously “Hey - sorry again I uh- fuckin’ boss” he muttered, fishing his cigarettes out of his pocket. 

“No- don’t apologize please, I totally get it. I mean, you're the CDC at literally the best restaurant in the world. I wouldn’t have bugged you if I knew, I mean- my table, like- I’m not a critic..I guess I should have clarified cause of the notebook thing but they usually are more…low key? I thought? Do they usually just come and whip out a notebook? That would make it easier I think… But nonetheless I’m so so grateful to have been able to eat a meal that-“ she rambled on anxiously but he stops her.

“You talk when y’nervous” he said with a small smirk, lighting the cigarette between his lips and inhaling, leaning against the brick.

“Uh-” she stuttered, her face feeling hot suddenly. “Sorry- I’ve uh… i’ve been told” she chuckled a bit, taking a few steps towards him and leaning on the brick only 2 feet or so between them.

“It’s charming, y’smoke?” he offered her the pack with a red top, she looked down at it.

“I don’t- not- not yet anyways” she joked, crossing a slim arm over her waist. He couldn't help but realize how the action made her breasts more prominent. 

“You’re a chef?” he asked, taking a drag of his cigarette.

“Yes! Yes- well.. Just graduated, not working anywhere yet- I’m going home soon to try and start my own catering thing…” she explained and he nodded.

“Where’d y’graduate from?” he asked, exhaling the smoke away from her direction.

“CIA - 2 weeks ago, Valedictorian actually, y’not the only chef around here with street cred” she joked and he chuckled.

“Really? Word. Thats sick, good job. Y’said y’re headed home? Where’s that?” he asked, taking another drag of his cigarette.

“Chicago! Can’t wait to get back, Hudson life is… not for me- I forgot how convenient public transportation was” she said. 

He raised his brows in surprise, “Chicago huh? Thats my old home base.” he said 

“I know! You’re actually… really famous did you know that? Like- they talk all about you during lectures, you’re the new golden child of the culinary world” she teased and he rolled his eyes playfully.

They’d been inching closer and closer without realizing throughout the whole conversation, she was now so close that she could see the barely there scar on his cheek, her focus locked on it. His gaze was locked on her plump lips and he was imagining how they’d feel around his cock.

“I do unfortunately - you’ll learn soon enough that praise means being a target in this industry.” He said 

She bit her lip, meeting his striking blue eyes once again. “I really meant to tell you earlier was that sunflower dish was the best meal i’ve ever had. And i’m not just…sucking your dick because you’re you - I knew that before I knew you made it” she laughed a bit.

He followed suit, “Well if you want to- i’m not gonna say no.” he said and her eyes widened a bit, feeling her core pooling with heat at the idea. Of course he was half joking. It was so sudden and out there he would have never expected her to indulge him. 

“I mean- here? What if your boss comes out?” she asked, a bit quieter as if she was trying to assure they’d not be caught.

He nodded towards the row of 12-wheeler trucks parked 50 or so feet away. “Haven’t moved in 6 weeks” he shrugged casually  “Lead the way Chef”  she motioned with her hand, a frisky smirk on her lips.

“Holy fuuuck” Carmy groaned, pushing his cock deeper into her tight hot mouth. “Y’like takin cock like this mmm? Y’like bein’ my little fuckin slut?” he muttered, thumbing away the warm tear that was gathering in the corner of her right eye. “So fuckin’ good f’me-” he growled, moaning at the wet gurgling noises emitting from her.

She swallowed around him, looking up at him with tear-filled dark lustful brown eyes, widening her jaw further and tonguing over the pulsing vein on the underside of his length, gently squeezing his thighs to urge him further. 

“Y’want me t’fuck y’throat? Mmm? Dirty fuckin girl” he gathered her braids into his fist, wrapping them around his palm and roughly tugging her off. 

She whined hotly, the sensation of his rough hand sending waves of pleasure through her being. “Please” she said wantingly, tonguing over his slit before wrapping her lips around the tip of his head in a sensual kiss.

He took his thumb, pulling her jaw open wide and thrusting into her mouth with a satisfied grunt. “Y’know-shhhit y’know what? I think this is the only way t’shut y’ass up? Mmm?” he inhales sharply as she pushed his foreskin back and spit on his exposed sensitive tip.

“Jesus fuckin-” he sharply inhaled through his teeth as she gently grazed her teeth over the sensitive head, his abs clenching in pleasure and hips quivering from the overstimulation “fuckin-h-aaaa-ahhh-mm-shhhhit-jesus fuckin christ” he whimpered, his head falling back against the metal with a sharp bang as she took the flesh into her mouth, flicking her tongue sharply over the weeping tip before smoothly sucking over the buzzing stimulation. He knew if she kept up the act he’d be filling her mouth with his seed within seconds.

“S-sooo fuckin filthy - y’want my cum in y’throat? Mmm? Little fuckin whore- h-holy-oh god- i-” he nearly suffocated her as he buried his cock further down her throat. He reached down, his fingers rubbing along his thick length buried in her warm tight throat. 

“F-fuuuuuck- ah- oh shhh- mmm- thats it- thaaaaaat’s it- good fuckin girl” he grumbled, roughly and sloppily guiding her head in such a way that the noises being made if it weren’t her he would think theyre overdramatic and disgusting. He also didn’t know where the hell all of this talking was coming from. 

Normally in the bedroom, he was quiet. Very quiet. The only way the women he was with knew he’d enjoyed himself was if he even came at all. Sex usually wasn’t about his own pleasure since in the presence of another he found it so hard to get off - it was more about giving him imagery that would help him later in regards to finishing. 

“You are so fuckin good at that huh? You take my cock so well such a good fuckin girl” his jaw goes slack as she put her hands on his hips to steady him and slowly sinks her mouth all the way down to the hilt, her eyes shut in focus. 

She gently rubbed her thumbs over his hips, swallowing around his length in a way that made whimpers fall past his lips he didn’t know he could make himself. “Holy shit y’fuckin- oh- ohhh fuck” he grunts as she takes one of her hands and begins massaging his balls and looking directly into his eyes, pulling off his length to breathe and gently pushing the foreskin back, kissing over the sensitive flesh with her plump lips. 

“You can fuck my face- but deepthroating after a meal like that is pretty hard, id love if I can keep it down” she said, even with spit running down her chin, teary eyes, and swollen lips - she still looked adorable to him. 

“Sorry- sorry” he muttered, loosening his grip on her hair “keep doin’ that fuck yesss” he breathed out as she swirled her tongue around his head. He thrust in and out of her mouth, gradually moving faster but being careful as to not slam into the back of her throat. 

She stroked the bottom half of his length with her other hand, eyes closing and doing her best to swallow around him all the excess saliva that was dripping down her throat. She hollowed out her cheeks, looking up at him as she slowly and carefully sunk down once again, keeping her eyes locked on his. 

“Mmm-shhhit-I’m fuckin-“ he groaned, his knees nearly going weak and head falling back with a thud. Blood roared in his ears, his hands shook slightly from the tension rolling off him in waves. 

She nearly choked at the amount rolling down her throat. She pulled off slightly, swallowing - more like gulping, assuring to hollow her cheeks and swirl her tongue as she pulled off with a pop as to not waste any of the sweet salty mess. 

“You- you- you are fuckin crazy” he breathed, looking down at her. 

She wiped off her mouth, chin, and neck with a tissue she’d kept in her purse before saying “I’d say you’re crazy, “ she got off her knees, picking up the chefs coat he had thrown down for her to kneel on, to which she insided it out before she did so it wouldn’t show any dirt. “If I had that coat? It would never touch the floor” she shook it off carefully. 

He quickly fixed his pants “he’s a friend it doesn’t matter I can always get a new one” he countered, putting the coat back on and buttoning it. 

Her eyes widened “friends?! How the hell did you run into him?!” She asked. 

“You- y’re into fashion ‘n shit?” He asked and she nodded enthusiastically 

“Are you fucking kidding me?! Thom Browne is insane all his shit Is absolute fire. I wish I could afford one of his jackets like- it’s totally a dream wishlist kinda thing” she took some gum out of her purse. 

“When do you uh…go back?” He asked. 

“Tomorrow. Headed to Chicago on Wednesday” she said and he nods. 

“Oh- yeah okay..It was uh…it was nice t’meet you” he said awkwardly “I should probably um..” he trailed off, clearing his throat nervously.

“Totally- yeah great to um…great to meet you too chef.” She nodded 

“Could I um…” he rubs the back of his neck anxiously “could I maybe get y’r…” he trails off, cheeks pink with embarrassment. 

“My number?” She asked, grabbing her phone out of her purse. 

He nodded, cheeks bright red with embarrassment “yeah sorry-“ he mumbled

“Yeah- if I can get yours” she teased, clicking open the blank contact screen

[existslikepristin]

Dramatic Crime Drama

No image for this one because I am ashamed so fucking proud of this accomplishment of a smut. And however stupid this seems, it is the prequel to Get To Blow You. Also I meant to schedule this to be posted later. Oops. Please feel free to not reblog this bullshit stained glass masterwork.

Tags: TheLounge, Aespa, Monsta X, Winter, Shownu, Jooheon, Hyungwon, so drama, much cops, absolute masterpiece, deepthroat, prime time TV worthy, intense interrogation, the best smut ever written, this took years of hard work and definitely not half an hour, you dare enter my realm, you are not prepared, my potions aren't fit for a beast let alone a man

~~~~~

"Tell us where the bomb is!"

"I already told you Officer Shownu. There is no bomb," Winter said with her head held high.

"Don't bullshit me!"

"Yeah, don't bullshit him!" Officer Jooheon shouted from the other side of the table.

Shownu continued, "You know damn well there's a bomb that will level Seoul Block G, because you and your team planted it."

Winter looked in every direction except at Shownu, twirling her blonde-blue hombre hair around a finger. "Wow, officer. We've been over this offscreen already. Why did you need to exposit like that?"

Shownu roared and threw his pen on the floor.

The interrogation room speaker cracked on, ~"SON! LEE! GET IN HERE!"~

The officers stormed out of the room and around the corner.

"She's getting to me, Captain Hyungwon!" Shownu threw his sunglasses on the floor.

"You think I can't see that, officer?! I've got half a mind to take your badge right now!"

"Captain!" Jooheon shouted, "We joined this precinct to save lives and by jove that's exactly what we're gonna do! If you take his badge, you'll have mine too!"

"Dammit Lee, you're right!"

The three of them glared through the one-way mirror. Winter was standing up against it, caressing it sensually. But most unsettlingly of all, she was doing it while staring directly at all three police!

"Men, get back in there and make her talk."

"Aye aye, Captain," both officers said simultaneously and walked around the corner to back into the interrogation room.

Winter was already back in her seat. "Well boys? Did you find the bomb?"

Jooheon pointed accusingly at her, "You said earlier that there was no bomb!"

She laughed a light, cold laugh, "I must have... lied."

Officer Shownu threw his badge on the floor. He turned his back to her and shouted at Jooheon, "Dammit, she got us!"

"Don't lose your cool, Shownu! This is for the good of the city!"

"You're right, Jooheon! We joined this precinct to save lives!" Shownu stomped over to Winter, looming over her.

She looked up at him through the corner of her eye and sighed out with a single word, "Well?"

Shownu took a deep breath and shouted down, "Tell us where the bomb is!"

"I'm afraid," Winter said cooly, "You'll have to facefuck the answer out of me."

~"SHE CAN'T BE SERIOUS!"~

"Oh, I'm deadly serious, Mr. Police Captain Hyungwon."

"Egad, Shownu! Do you really think you can do it?!" Jooheon gripped Shownu's shoulder tightly.

The two officers turned to each other, putting their foreheads together.

"I have to Jooheon. If I don't make it... Tell Jennifer I love her."

Jooheon shed a tear and lightly smacked Shownu's cheek. "I don't know who that is."

Shownu turned on Winter once again, fire in his eyes and dick out of his pants.

"Seems your Black Mamba is happy to see me," Winter chuckled chilly.

~"DAMMIT SON, MATURE SPECIMENS COMMONLY GROW TO THREE METERS!"~

With determination, Shownu stepped forward so his dick rested on Winter's shoulder. With equal determination, she grabbed it and hefted it to her lips. She didn't hesitate for a moment to open her mouth and immediately swallow half of it. Shownu threw his head back.

"No! Shownu!" Jooheon shouted, his arm outstretched.

Officer Shownu put a hand back. "It's okay Jooheon! I can do this!"

Winter looked up at Shownu, a mischevious, icy glint in her eye. She inched herself down, agonizingly slowly. Like a glacier or something I'm running out of winter puns.

Shownu glared back down, grabbed the back of her head, and pulled hard. The moment her nose touched his pelvis, Shownu climaxed, releasing Winter's head. His groan and a loud slurping noise practically echoed through the room as she came all the way off, getting hit in the cheek with the last spurt of his cum.

Shownu stood there, dazed, but doing his damnedest to shake out of it. He managed to get in a deep breath. "Tell us where the bom-- Where did she go?!" He threw his shirt on the floor.

Jooheon pointed at the interrogation room door that was slowly swinging itself shut.

~"DAMMIT! SHE'S GOT A GUN!"~

~"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? NO I DON'T. LORD, YOU ARE SO WEIRD. I'M OUTTA HERE."~

"Should we go after her, Shownu?" Jooheon asked, looking quite concerned.

Shownu smirked, "No. I got all I needed."

THE END, BITCHES.

[currywaifu]

𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: mutuals 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: miyoshi kazunari/reader 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: sfw 𝐰𝐜: 1.9k words, 2 images

𝐚𝐧: me? back w/ fluff? it’s expected at this point! his speech is hard for me to replicate, but I rly do love Kazunari so I hope I did this scenario justice! I, uh, got too excited at the prospect of “insta mutuals” oops~ hope you don’t mind the additional media TT

The Insta notification that popped up on the top of your screen distracted you from the game you were playing. Normally you’d flick the notif away, but as soon as you realised what it was about, you rushed to finish the rest of the stage.

You and Kazunari have been Insta Mutuals for nearly a year now, ever since he hit you with a follow and you proceeded to stalk his readily-available socials. 

The two of you had been liking and commenting on each others’ posts for weeks on end, starting off with you praising his most recent graphic design work to him sending a paragraph of heart emojis on the most recent fan art you drew.

Somewhere in between following each others’ spam accounts to tagging each other on Insta story games, he finally slid into your DMs and the rest was history. Sort of.

You knew what people said about online dating, or even just long distance relationships in general, but try as you might it was hard not to fall for Kazunari.

The more you talked to him, the less he stayed as your “funny artist mutual” and soon enough he progressed into the “still funny but also really sweet and cute artist online friend, 10/10 would date if asked” category.

You didn’t bother stifling your laugh as you looked at the message he sent you, immediately liking his selfie before saving it on your phone.

Okay, no. He can’t just hit you with an “I do wanna meet u already” and then take it back but not fully commit to it!

You waited for him to respond through text, but instead got hit by your ringtone blaring loudly at such an ungodly hour. At the sight of your contact nickname for him, you eagerly answered his call. You rushed to get the first word in, him doing the same unbeknownst to you.

“Kazu-“

“Babe, I-“

The both of you paused, his eventual laughter easing up your tension as you let out a giggle of your own. You mentally told yourself not to be so nervous— Kazunari and you would have this conversation eventually anyway; besides, it wasn’t as if you didn’t want to see him in person. It was quite the opposite, actually. You just figured that conversations like this needed to happen in call, at least.

“Shoot, should probs shut up so Mukkun doesn’t wake up,” Kazunari commented, his voice volume already lowered, “do you wanna go first?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you replied with resolve. You gathered up your thoughts, formulating the next set of sentences that would leave your mouth, before ultimately deciding on one question. “I just need to know first… how serious were you about meeting up irl?”

“I mean, that wasn’t what I meant when I sent the message? But like, it’s still valid, you know?” he paused, but when you didn’t say anything he decided to continue, “it’s not the first time I’ve thought about meeting you. I think about it a lot, actually.”

It was a bit of a shame the two of you chose to voice call instead of video call. You would’ve loved to see your boyfriend’s face just about now, though you supposed it wouldn’t be a good idea to have a heart attack a quarter to 4 in the morning.

Plus, you weren’t sure you could handle him teasing and throwing compliments at you due to your clearly visible elation, if the upwards stretch of your lips was anything to go by.

“Babe? You still there? Did you pass out, or…” In reality it had only been a few seconds, but still you didn’t want to leave him hanging. Not when the two of you were talking about something that meant taking the next step in your relationship.

“I’m still here, Kazu,” you reassured him. Your voice shook slightly, a sliver of your excitement slipping through the cracks. “I’m the same. Like, no lie I was shocked we brought it up like this, but, um… I’m ready, and if you’re ready, too, I want to meet up with you.”

“Wait, wait, wait— hol’ up! So we’re finally going—“ he laughed for the second time tonight, a fuzzy-wuzzy warmth escaping as its sound equivalent. “Wahh! Of course I’m ready! Can’t wait to finally see what a cutie you are irl♪ Hngg, how am I supposed to sleep now? I’m too hyped up!”

You rolled your eyes, despite understanding exactly how he felt. His infectious cheerfulness amplified the blossoming commotion occurring inside your brain. Despite not making any official plans yet, the prospect of finally meeting up had you frenzied.

Still, one of you had to be at least slightly responsible. While you wouldn’t claim to know his daily schedule, if Veludo Arts was anything like your university, he should be as swamped with workload as you were. Actually, maybe that was the reason he was up so late? That’s how it was for you, anyway excluding the fact that you took a break to stamina clear.

“It’s nearly 4 am… do you wanna continue planning this tomorrow? Err, rather, in a couple hours? After our lectures end, maybe?” You asked, though by the tiny whine Kazunari let out you had a feeling he wasn’t going to agree so quickly.

“Ehh? Why don’t we do it now? I have so many ideas about where we could go, and what we could do… oh! I could introduce you to everyone in Mankai! I’m sure they’d love-“

“I’d love to meet them too,” you cut him off, tone as firm as you could manage at this time, “and I want to hear your ideas, really, but I just know if I let you keep talking the sun will rise before we’ve even decided on a date.”

You chuckled as Kazunari let out a sound of protest, though you had a feeling he knew you weren’t wrong about your assessment. “Zuzu~ Let’s go to sleep now, okay?”

His phone microphone picked up on an audible gasp. “Ehh, how come you rarely call me Zuzu? It’s cute when you say it!”

“Because it sounds like a nickname you’d give to a Pokemon!”

“Uwu, maybe I’ll get Itarun to lend me a copy? Then I’ll catch the cutest Pokemon and name it after you~” you nearly groaned at how fluffy he was being. Seriously, he was distracting you from your agenda of going to sleep!

“Kazu! Stop flirting with me at 4 am or we might not fall asleep!”

Though you couldn’t see him, you were 200% sure he had a wide grin plastered on his face right now. “Me? Using tactics to get you to keep talking with me? Never,” he claimed, professing his false innocence.

“Well, I’m not falling for it! I may not be able to physically tuck you in bed right now, but I can in spirit!”

“Oh!? Then can you give me a goodnight kiss in spirit, too?”

At this point, you were sure that even with just a poke on the cheek you’d be able to feel the heat beginning to envelop your face.

As Kazunari finished laughing, you let the quiet lull of the night seep in the conversation for a few moments before gently breaking it.

“I’d rather give you a kiss irl, though.”

And just like that, you claimed victory over the game he started. With how Kazunari sputtered, a part of you worried that he’d disturb his roommate’s slumber. Still, an even bigger part of you was smug to have him speechless for that much of a duration.

“Babeeeee,” he drawled, “you’re so, so, so unfair… I, like, really want to hold you tight right now…” he murmured, the rustle of his bedsheets discernible through the call. You found yourself nestling onto your bed, too, snuggling up to a soft pillow.

“Soon,” you suddenly yawned, your tiredness seeming to have settled in the comfier you got on the bed. “We’ll have a lot of time to plan tomorrow and the days after, yeah?”

Kazunari let out a hum in agreement, a comfortable silence following suit.

“Kazu?” You muttered quietly, careful not to disturb your peaceful atmosphere.

“Yeah?”

“I love you. Good night,” you said, heart aflutter as you heard his response.

“I love you, too, cutie~ sweet dreams♪” he said in an unbelievably soft tone, before ending the call.

After quickly connecting your phone to a charger, you fell back atop your bed and hugged your pillow tight, already anticipating the day you’d be able to hold Kazunari in your arms, and you in his.

…

Morning come, you hastily prepared for class as you always did. You fell into your usual routine— as soon as you were out of the bathroom, you selected an outfit and went over the things you needed to bring to uni today.

You stopped for a minute; taking a quick selfie to post on your story and emphasise your exhaustion to your close friends, before making yourself some breakfast. Within less than 5 minutes, your phone pinged— a recorded message from one of your favourite people this early in the morning.

"Mornin' piko☆ You're looking cute as always today♪”

There was no way you would admit to how many times you replayed it to Kazunari, but even so it was a good way to keep you positive for the rest of the day.

You don’t remember Veludo Way being this rowdy, though it was hard to trust your memory when it’s probably been years since you’ve last visited. Somehow, it was not tough to imagine Kazunari walking around and performing here— the liveliness of the streets difficult to not associate with one of the liveliest people you knew.

While the original plan was to meet up at a cute and trendy cafe you saw all over people’s SNS, the two of you agreed to meet up somewhere less crowded and more meaningful to him— the theatre which he’d performed at multiple times in the past.

As you saw the building from a distance, you wondered when you’d be able to see him on stage, too.

A shout of your name pulled you out of your thoughts, and you couldn’t help yourself from running over to meet up faster with the figure that was jumping and waving around in your direction.

Had you any sense left, you probably would have told him that you didn’t want him embarrassing himself in public, but in reality it was quite apparent that you were just as excited to finally see him in person.

“Kazunari!” you can’t help the little shriek you let out as you finally embrace him, only joyous laughter and each others’ names escaping the both of your lips. When you finally got a good look at Kazunari, you nearly wanted to bury yourself into his shirt again.

Everything still seemed so unbelievable. That this was real. That it was finally happening. It almost felt like the dreams you’ve had of this moment many times before.

“How are you so beautiful in person, too?! It’s totes like I’m falling in love with you again♪” Kazunari exclaimed, squeezing you one more time before finally settling on holding hands with you. “Ahh! I super, duper love you!”

Except it wasn’t. There was nothing imaginary about his warmth, and the way his words made you feel, and the beaming sunshine of a smile he aimed at you.

“I love you, too!”

want to order again?

[myhockeyworld87]

Love Me Anyway - Tyler Seguin - Part 4

Word Count: 5728

POV: Changes, Reader first, then Tyler

Warnings: The norm, cursing. 

Notes: This is a long one, it’s the first date. Hope you guys enjoy. Happy reading!

READER POV

Why had you agreed to go on a date with Tyler? You were questioning your sanity as you search your closet for something to wear. And why in God’s name did you say you would plan the date? This was way too much pressure. Maybe you should just text Tyler and cancel. Just then your phone dinged. It was a text from the guy currently occupying all your thoughts.

“Hey, beautiful can’t wait for tonight.”

 What did you text back to that? “Me either…” or, “I think I came down with the chickenpox.” More like you were just being a chicken. In the end, you text back, “Me too. Dress casual.” You went back to searching in your closet. Finding a cute pair of jean shorts and a black button-up blouse that you may have left one too many buttons undone at the neck. It was perfect for the date you had planned. You spent extra time getting ready, making sure your makeup was perfect. 

 You had about an hour until Tyler came, so you popped open a bottle of wine and had a glass to calm your nerves. You were sipping your wine when the phone rang. Jenna’s face appeared on your screen.

 “Hey, Jenna. What’s up?”

 “I called to make sure you’re not bailing on your date with Tyler,” she harassed you. 

 “No, I’m not backing out on him. Though I thought about saying I had the chickenpox.”

 Jenna laughed. “Well, at least you weren’t going to say you had gonorrhea.” You both laughed harder at that.

 “I might be nervous but not that nervous.” 

 “It’ll be fine. You two will have a great time.”

 “I hope he doesn’t think my date idea is lame.”

 “Why would he. I think it’s something everyone likes to do.” Jenna reassured you. “Besides it’s not your typical sit at a restaurant type of thing. I’m sure he’s going to love it. Are you dressed and ready to go?”

 “Yeah, I was just having a glass of wine to calm myself. So tell me about what happened with Derek at Tyler’s? That will take my mind off things.”

 “Oh sure, make me nervous now,” Jenna chuckled.

 “I noticed you were two were gone after the beer pong game.” You could hear the grin in her voice as she answered you.

 “Yeah. He had to get up early, and offered to share an Uber with me,” Jenna told you. “Then he walked me to my door and kissed me.”

 “OH MY GOD!” you shouted on the phone. “And you waited this long to tell me. This is headline news shit. You lead with this story not make me drag it out of you.” Jenna was laughing at you.

 “I just don’t want to jinx it or anything.”

 “Give me more details. Are you going out again? What’s the scoop?”

 “He texted me today and wanted to know if I wanted to do something tonight.”

 “So are you?” you questioned.

 “Yeah he’s coming over and we’re just going to chill here.”

 “Netflix and chill huh?” you teased her. “You know what that means.”

 “Shut Up,” you could feel her blushing.

 “I need all the details tomorrow.”

 “Well duh, so do I. Let’s do lunch tomorrow.”

 “Sounds like a plan. Have fun tonight. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” You told her.

 “Well that leaves the door wide open,” you both laughed. “You too! And try and behave yourself. Remember nothing good happens after midnight.”

 She tossed back at you an old saying your mom used to tell you, girls, in high school. “I’ll try and remember that mom,” you answered back sarcastically. “Talk to you tomorrow.” You hung up the phone and checked the time. You had about 15 minutes before Tyler got there. So you went and checked your hair and makeup again; and finished off your cabernet. You threw some money, lip gloss, your phone, and some mints in your small purse. Can’t forget the mints you thought. Tyler hadn’t kissed you last night, which was kind of weird because you expected him to. But he was surprising you at every turn. You tossed on a strappy pair of wedge sandals and you were ready to go. The doorbell rang just then, signally Tyler was here. You took a deep breath to calm yourself and headed to answer the door. He stood there in a black polo shirt that fit him in all the right places and a pair of khaki shorts. He was holding a bouquet of beautiful pink roses. “Hi,” you said. 

 “Hey (Y/N). These are for you.” He said handing the flowers over to you.

 “They’re beautiful. Thanks. Come on in while I put them in water.” You had a cute little one-story home with 3 bedrooms. It wasn’t near as glamorous as Tyler’s house was. In fact, you couldn’t even compare the two. But you were quite proud of your little home. “I’m just going to grab a vase and I’ll be right back.” You quickly scrambled into the kitchen.

 “Your place is really nice,” you heard Tyler say from the living room.

 “Thanks. It’s not much but I like it.” You headed back out to find him standing there with his hands in his pockets looking at the pictures that were above the fireplace. “That’s me with my niece Rylyn and my nephew Reese. They’re my brother Matt’s kids.” 

 “Their cute, just like their aunt,” Tyler replied.

 “Thanks.”

 “And who are these guys?” 

 Tyler had picked up the picture with you and your two brothers. It was one of those silly ones that people recreated from a childhood photo. You three had done it about four years ago when your mom was finally going to throw out your old toy box. It was all three of you inside the toy box with stuffed animals, G.I. Joe and Barbie. The recreation was quite hilarious considering all three of you couldn’t fit in there now. But it was a photo that spoke volumes to the relationship you had with your brothers. “Those are my brothers, Sean and Matt,” you chuckled. “Not the best picture of us.”

 “No, it’s a great photo. I should get Candace and Cassidy to do something like this.”

 “We should get going. I made the reservation for 7:30 and it’s about 15 minutes away.”

 “So where are we headed.”

 “That’s a surprise,” you teased.

 “Kind of hard to do that when I have to drive there,” he teased back. 

 “No worries, I’m just gonna plug the address in my phone or your car navigation and we’ll get there just fine without you knowing where we’re going.” You winked at him.

 “Are you taking me to a strip club or something” Tyler smirked.

 “Oh yeah, I pretty much know all the guys by name at the place. They told me they’d give you a free lap dance.” You taunted him on the way out the door.

 “Wait, I meant a female one.” He laughed.

 “Hmmm, sorry male is what you get when you leave me in charge.” Tyler opened the door to his G wagon for you to get in. You were relieved he didn’t bring one of his showy sports cars. 

 “You seriously aren’t going to tell me where we’re going?” he asked as he got in and started the vehicle.

 “Nope. You are at my mercy.” You replied, punching the address into the navigation system. You hit go, and the two of you were off. The fifteen-minute drive didn’t take long as you both chatted about nothing in particular. You made the final turn into the parking lot and looked over to see his reaction.

 “K 1 Speed? We’re going to go drive go-carts?” Tyler asked excitedly.

 “Yep. I got a need for speed Seguin and I need to see if you can keep up with me,” you winked.

 “This is awesome.” You both hopped out of the car. Tyler frowning at you. 

 “What?”

 “I was gonna get the door for you. I’m trying to be a gentleman here.” 

 “Oops sorry” you replied. “Are you gonna be a gentleman on the racecourse as well and let me win.”

 “Hell no. You’re gonna eat my dust (Y/L/N),” he challenged.

 “Really? Care to place a small wager on that?” you retorted. 

 “What’d you have in mind?”

 “Loser buys dinner,” you answered.

 “Nope, not happening. I asked you out; I’m buying.”

 You rolled your eyes and replied, “Yes but I planned the date. So it’s a great compromise.”

 Tyler stopped right as the two of you were about to enter the indoor track. “You can’t seriously think I’m going to let you pay.” 

 “What makes you think I’m paying? I plan on ordering lobster tonight,” you laughed as you slid through the door.

 Tyler followed behind you shaking his head and smiling. You walked over to the counter and gave them your name for your reservation. It was towards the end of the night so there weren’t many other drivers racing. Which was nice. The clerk handed over two balaclavas for you both to put on under the helmets. It was more for cleanliness than for safety. You had scheduled 3 races for the 2 of you. “So, best of 3 is the winner.” you winked at him as he slid the mask on.

 “I’m not going easy on you,” he answered back.

 “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 You received a quick lesson from the instructor on safety and what all the flag meant. Before you suited up and headed to your go-cart.

 Tyler had the cart behind you the first race. There were 5 other racers with you. Your speed and time for each lap would be posted at the end of the race. “Good luck.” You called back to him. He gave you the thumbs up and you both slid behind the wheel.

 The signal went off and you put the pedal to the floor. Taking the first couple turns with ease. You put some distance between you and Tyler in the first couple of laps. But then his car overtook yours on the one turn. Which meant he was definitely going to win this race. You needed a better strategy for race number 2. As the first race ended you were correct, Tyler’s time and speed were faster than yours. 

 “That’s one (Y/N)” Tyler cheered “I’m going for the triple crown.”

 “Don’t put that tiara on yet.” You taunted back. Tyler’s car was in the front this time around. You knew you needed to pass him early so that you could get the win this time. So as soon as got the go-ahead, you floored it. Taking the inside corners on the turn you were able to catch up to him easily. You weren’t even slowing down as each turn came up, and by lap 4 you were able to push past Tyler to win Race 2. “How’s that crown fitting now Ty?”

 “There’s still one race left (Y/N). Winner takes all.” He answered.

 The third race began and you were both fighting for the lead. At one lap you would have it and then in the next turn, Tyler would overtake you. You knew it was going to come down to the fastest speed this time around. The checkered flag waved signaling the end of the race. As you pulled the cars into the spaces your eyes went to the leader board to see who won. Tyler jumped out of the go-cart and headed straight to you, to help you out. The board still not showing the winner. You lifted your helmet off leaving your balaclava on, Tyler doing the same. Suddenly the board lit up and Tyler’s name was in the number 1 spot. “Sorry babe looks like I won,” he said smugly.

 “Only by 2 seconds. I demand a recount.” You giggled. You grabbed the mask off your head. You knew your hair was going to look a mess. The loose ponytail you had put it in was half falling out at this point. You removed it and shook your hair out. Hopefully making your long locks look somewhat presentable. You looked over at Tyler. His mouth was slack, just sort of staring at you. “What do I look that bad?” you asked. 

 He had taken his balaclava off as well and his cute curly locks were all messy on top his head. You wanted to reach up and thread your fingers in his hair. But you were too self-conscious of your own look to do so. He finally shook his head no as he ran his fingers through his messy mane; and said. “You look absolutely gorgeous right now.”

 Your body was already flush from driving around the track, but you turned an even deeper shade of red at his words. Somehow you managed to speak, “Thanks but I doubt that. Come on, I owe you dinner.” You held out your hand for him to take. The two of you walking hand in hand out to the parking lot.

 “I gotta tell you (Y/N), this is the best date I’ve ever been on.”

 “It’s not over yet, silly. It could all go downhill from here.”

 “Somehow I highly doubt that.” You made it back to the passenger side of the G Wagon when he turned you to look at him. “I think I thought of a better prize for winning.” 

 You looked up at him expectantly, asking “oh really?”

 His hand that had been holding yours let go and rested on your waist. While his other hand moved to your cheek. You knew at that moment he was going to kiss you and every fiber of your being wanted it to happen. He was looking in your eyes as you stared into the depth of his. Your lips curved upwards in a smile telling him that you wanted this as much as he did. His thumb caressed your cheek as he tilted his head and leaned down to meet your lips. The kiss was soft and tender. You let your eyelids close as you gave into it. Your hands gliding up his chest to entwine around his neck. His hand at your waist pulled you in closer; your lips parted giving him access to you. You moaned softly into his mouth as his tongue danced with yours. Tyler deepened the kiss sending shivers down your spine and leaving you breathless. He gently pulled away ending the kiss and leaving your head spinning. You two kissed a couple of small short times before his head rested on your forehead. “That was a much better prize than you buying me dinner,” he smiled down at you.

 “Oh I’m still buying dinner,” You said as you gave him a quick peck on the lips before turning to get in the car.

 TYLER POV

 (Y/N) looked amazing when she opened the door. You had hoped that the pink roses you got were ok. You didn’t want to seem to forward with red, and the pink ones reminded you of the way that she blushed. She put them in some water as you wondered around her living room looking at the photos she had on display. There were a couple of her with two young kids. You hadn’t thought to ask her if she had any. You glanced around the house it didn’t look like any toys were hanging around. Not that kids were a deal-breaker or anything. You just realized you didn’t know a ton about her, and you were hoping to change all that tonight. She came back in and told you they were her niece and nephew. You saw a crazy ass picture of her in a toy box with two guys, who she explained were her brothers. You were glad to see she had a fun side to her. 

 “So where are we headed?” you asked.

 (Y/N) wouldn’t tell you. You joked that she was taking you to a strip club, but it backfired on you when she said it was a male strip club. She definitely was keeping you on your toes and you liked that. She put an address in the GPS and you followed the direction. You weren’t sure what she had up her sleeve considering she told you to dress casual but go-carting was the last thing you would’ve thought of. You were stoked about it. 

 “This is awesome,” you told her once she confirmed this was where you were going.

 She wanted to bet you on who would win. Winner buying dinner, but there was no way you were letting that happened if you won. You’d figure something out when you crossed that bridge. The races were fun and you were learning (Y/N) had a competitive side in her. You liked it. You each had won a race and it was down to the wire in the third. The times hadn’t posted by the time you pulled the go-carts in. So you jumped out of yours to go help (Y/N). By the time you both had your helmets off the times came up, declaring you the winner. “Sorry, babe looks like I won,” you exclaimed. It was the first time victory had tasted bittersweet. Now you needed to come up with a way so that (Y/N) wouldn’t want to pay for dinner. You whipped off your mask only to look over and see (Y/N) shaking her hair out. You were mesmerized. It was like you were 14 again, watching Baywatch and seeing the girls run down the beach slowly. She looked so beautiful. Her hair was a bit messy but that’s what made her look even more stunning. She was flushed from driving around the track, which gave her this rosy glow. She was literally your walking, breathing dream girl. You knew you were staring but you couldn’t help it. 

 She broke you out of your spell by asking if she looked bad. Looked bad? You thought. Hell, it took everything in you not to just grab her in your arms and take her right there on the track. You ran your fingers through your own hair, embarrassed where your thoughts were running and told her how gorgeous she looked. Which of course she doubted, as most women do. You needed air. She stretched out her hand for you to take so you two could go have dinner. As you headed to the car it came to you that you’d already won the best prize, an evening with her. The only thing that would complete it would be a kiss. 

 You decided then, that a kiss would be your trophy. You moved your one hand to her waist, as the other went to caress her cheek. You gave her a second to say no if she wanted to, but she just looked into your eyes and smiled. It was all you needed. Your lips touched hers tentatively. In the back of your mind, you wanted this kiss to be a promise of all that you could give her if she’d let you. You added gentle pressure, seeking access but not forcing her to give it. Her hands went behind your neck and so you drew her closer to you. That’s when she gave in, a soft moan escaping her lips. It was all you needed. You deepened the kiss, letting your tongue mingle with hers. You weren’t sure how long the kiss lasted. You knew at some point she was leaning against the car for support. You were glad because your head was starting to spin with how intoxicating the kiss was. You gently started to end the kiss. Your lips still seeking hers for tiny pecks, not wanting it to be over yet. You rested your head on her forehead, calming your body. When you were finally able to catch your breath, you whispered, “That was a much better prize than you buying me dinner.”

 “Oh I’m still buying dinner,” she said with one last quick kiss. She snuck out of your embrace and jumped in the car. Damn woman. You thought as your hands now rested on the G wagon. You inhaled sharply and headed over to the driver’s side, glad the night wasn’t over yet. “So where are we headed now.”

 “You’ll see,” she replied, fingers already putting the address in. You just shook your head. If the rest of the date was anything like the first part you’d go wherever she wanted. 

 “So you’ve got a competitive streak in you,” you asked her.

 “Maybe a little. I didn’t have much of a choice growing up with 2 brothers. Though I’m sure they’ll tell you as the baby of the family, I got everything.”

 “Yeah, I can see that Cassidy has us all wrapped around her finger,” you quipped back.

 “Hey, it’s tough being the baby, not to mention the only girl.” She turned to look at you, all serious. “My brothers made Barbie do bad things to Ken, and don’t get me started about what she had to do to G.I. Joe.”

 You couldn’t contain your laughter. That had to be one of the funniest things you’ve ever heard. She was laughing along with you and when you finally stopped you turned and asked, “They didn’t really do that, did they?”

 “Oh yeah,” she answered nonchalantly. “I walked in one night and Barbie was naked on her knees in front of Ken with his jeans down in the dream house. It was a life lesson, and trust me I got them back eventually.”

 You could just see a defiant little (Y/N) standing there berating her brothers over a naked Barbie doll. It was a totally adorable image. “I can’t say I ever did that to Candace or Cassidy, though I’ve definitely put them through some shit.”

 “I don’t doubt that,” she teased back. “They probably could tell me some good stories about little Tyler.”

 You deadpanned over at her. “There was never anything little about me.” Laughter breaking out between the two of you after what you said.

 She just shook her head and blushed becomingly. God, she was adorable you thought. The GPS told you to take a left turn and your destination was on the right. You should’ve known it would be more fun with how the evening was going. There you were pulling into the parking lot of Dave and Busters. She grabbed her purse and pulled out two cards. “I took the liberty of getting these earlier. You want to eat first or play some games?”

 You had all kinds of games going through your mind, especially after you heard what her Barbie used to do. “How about we grab something to eat first.” You suggested. It would give your mind and other parts of your body a chance to cool off. 

 This time (Y/N) let you go around and open her door for her. You instinctively grabbed her hand as you walked through the parking lot into the place. 

 “Are you here to play or dine?” the hostess asked. 

 “Both,” you both said at the same time.

 You asked for a table in the back where it was a little quieter. She was happy to oblige. There was a more adult crowd at this hour of the night you noticed, as she seated you in the last booth in the back. You were a bit bummed you weren’t at a table so you could sit closer to (Y/N) instead of across from her, but at least you’d be able to stare into her gorgeous (Y/eye color) eyes.

 “The food is just so, so here,” (Y/N) proceeded to tell you. “But I thought it would be fun to play some games.”

 “No this is great. Honestly (Y/N), I wasn’t kidding when I told you this is one of the best dates I’ve ever had. I’m so used to girls wanting me to take them to some stuffy old restaurant. You really can’t get to know anyone that way. This is just so much better. More relaxed.” You admitted to her. “I think you should plan all our dates from now on.”

 She raised her eyebrows. “So, you think there’s going to be more dates,” she chuckled.

 You ran your fingers through your hair again. You did that a lot when you were nervous or embarrassed. This time you were feeling both of those. “Well…I kind of hoped there would be.”

 She winked at you as she said, “Me too.” 

 You laced your fingers with hers on top of the table and you two were just sort of staring into each other’s eyes when the waiter came over. Instead of removing her hand from yours like you thought she would. She simply turned to him and placed her order. You ordered as well. The conversation was endless during the meal. You talked about hockey a little more this time and how training camp was coming up. She told you how she and her friends usually went to about a half dozen games during the season. In the back of your mind, you were already hoping she would be at every home game to watch you. She told you more about her family and you reciprocated with stories about yours. She snuck a couple of your fries which you thought was totally cute; and offered you a bite of her mac n cheese; which she fed you off her fork. It was almost like you’d known her forever; you were so at ease.

 The two of you split a cheesecake dip for dessert. “You got some right there,” (Y/N) pointed out to you. You stuck your tongue out to lick it off when she shook her head. Apparently, you had got the wrong side. She reached over wiping the dip off the corner of your lip and then sucked the dip off her finger. It was sexy as hell and you had to shut your eyes for a second to gain your sanity. The waiter came over just then with your bill and (Y/N)’s hand whipped out to grab the check.

 “No way, woman! I told you I got this.” You protested.

 “What’s fair is fair, and you won the race. I’m totally buying.” (Y/N) replied grabbing her credit card and giving it to the server.

 “(Y/N) please. You’ve already planned the best date of my life. At least let me pay.”

 “Tyler, I have a job, a good one at that. I can pay this lousy little bill. You can just plan the best date of my life. I’ll let you pay then.”

 With the smile she had on her face you couldn’t fight her anymore. Besides she’d just agreed to go out with you again. “Fine, but I’ve got some big shoes to fill,” you agreed.

 “Alright now let’s go win some tickets.”

 You grabbed her hand and headed off into the gaming section. You two played some video games, skee ball and a game that looked like beer pong without the beer. You walked over to shoot some hoops. “What no bet this time?” you questioned her.

 “Sadly, my basketball skills lack; as I was a cheerleader.” She laughed. You could just picture her in a short cheerleading skirt; the image making your mouth water. “So I’m not going to bet when I’m sure to lose.”

 You bent down and gave her a quick kiss. Nothing heated, just a quick peck. “Well, you can be my cheerleader any day.” She shook her head and laughed. “What too corny?”

 “Just a little, but I like corny on you,” she replied.

 A couple of teenagers were in line behind you waiting for their turn at the basketball game. You could see out of the corner of your eye they recognized you. You were just waiting for them to interrupt your date. You didn’t mind stopping and taking pictures with fans at any time. You just weren’t sure how (Y/N) was going to handle it. You’d dated enough women to know that sometimes they hated when they weren’t the center of attention. 

 “Excuse, Mr. Seguin,” the one kid finally got up enough nerve to ask. “Could we possibly have a picture with you?”

 You looked over at (Y/N) she didn’t really seem bothered by it.

 “Sure kid,” you responded.

 He was trying to take a selfie and get you all in. When (Y/N) came to him and said, “How about I take it for you.” 

 “Thanks.” She took his phone and snapped a couple of shots. “Good luck this season.”

 “Thanks, kid,” you answered back. “Sorry about that.”

 “What are you sorry about? That was sweet of you to do that.”

 “Well, it can be bothersome to some people at times.”

 “Not to me,” she replied. “It’s nice that you take time out with your fans.”

 (Y/N) really was one of kind. “Hmmm. I think this card is almost out of money. Should we put some more on?”

 “No, let’s go turn these points in for a sucker or something.” She giggled. 

 In the end, you two decided to combine your points and you had enough to pick out a small stuffed bear for her. “Here, you keep him. That way you can remember our first date.” You went to hand her the bear but instead, you put him up to your ear. “What’s that you say?” you said to the bear. “Oh, ok I’ll let her know.” You went and handed the bear to her, as she looks at you quizzically. “He said he promises not to do bad things with Barbie when he gets home.” You both started cracking up. Laughing the whole way out the door. 

 “I hope not.” (Y/N) responded after catching her breath. “They haven’t even met yet.”

 God, you loved that she got your sense of humor. You opened the door to let her in and then went around to the driver’s side. You glanced at the clock noticing that it was after midnight. You frowned knowing the date was coming to a close. You reached over and grabbed her hand to hold it as you drove back to her house. “Thank you for tonight,” you finally stated.

 “It was a lot of fun. Actually, one of the best dates I’ve ever had as well.” She admitted.

 “Can I be honest with you,” you asked glancing over at her. You felt a shift in her body, but only because you were holding her hand. She assumed you were going to say something bad about the date.

 “Always.”

 “I don’t want this night to end,” you whispered looking over at her and smiling. 

 She relaxed as your words sank in. “Me either.” She told you as she squeezed your hand.

 It seemed like no time that you were pulling into her driveway. You reluctantly turned off the engine and got out to walk her to the door. “So when can I see you again?” you asked.

 “I’m not sure what my schedule is like this week.” She said. “And no that’s not just some excuse I’m making. Call me tomorrow?”

 “Of course,” you answered right away. You were standing at her door feeling like a 16-year-old. “I’m pretty free most night’s this week. I only leave next Sunday for camp.” 

 “Ok well, I’m sure we can figure out something before then.”

 She put the key in the lock and opened her door. You took hold of her waist to draw her near. You saw her bite her lip in anticipation of your kiss. You leaned down, bringing your lips together finally. The kiss was slow, you weren’t in any hurry with (Y/N). You wanted to make it last. Give her something to think about at night as she lay in bed. God knows that’s what you’d be doing. You weren’t sure who moaned first, you or (Y/N); but you both deepened the kiss then. Tongues whirling around learning what each other liked. Her fingers threaded into your hair as she pulled you closer to her body. Your hands shifted down to her ass lifting her against you. Things were getting heated fast. The chemistry between you was undeniable. You knew you had to hold back before things got carried away. You loosened your grip on her, not pulling away but slowing things down. Her hands slid back to your shoulders resting there as the two of you continued kissing. She finally broke away. You were both out of breath. Your hands roaming up and down her back. 

 “I should probably go inside,” (Y/N) whispered.

 “Yeah,” you answered back, yet neither of you made a move to go.

 You felt her inhale sharply. Building her resolved to break away from your embrace. “I’ll talk to you soon,” she said as you kissed her one last time. She moved into the house then, closing the door softly behind her. You heard her turn the locks before you made a move to head back to the car. God this night was perfect. There were so many things running through your brain. It was crazy how you just left her but wanted to see her again already. You headed home, greeted the dogs and let them out. You were laying in your bed staring up at the ceiling thinking about your date with (Y/N). You grabbed your phone, you had to send her a quick text.

 Thanks for an amazing night. Can’t stop thinking about you….

 You knew it was lame, but you text it anyway. You set the phone back on the nightstand. Then picked it up to see if she was going to reply. You stared at the message willing it to send something back. She could be asleep for all you knew. Pretty soon those three little dots popped up, indicating she was typing.

 I had an amazing time too. Can’t wait to see you again. 

 You had a freaking perma-smile plastered on your face. You sent back the heart emoji. You laid the phone back down and rolled onto your side. Closing your eyes, your mind immediately pictured (Y/N) and you fell asleep dreaming of the next time you’d see her. 

[tarmairons]

aaaaaaand here’s part 2 of the extensive (book & netflix) masterpost of all my fave eslaf moments!!!! again, fair warning, this is a very long post

[part 1]

i wish i could have done all this in one part but i hit a size limit oops

NOW ONTO SEASON 3!!! which was a nightmare but i’ll try to pretend it wasn’t for the sake of this post

to begin: the constant endearments in the book (and the show... “darling dearest dreamboat” damn esmé) have me losing my wholeass mind like

next up we have the indisputable fact that they f*cked in the tent on mount fraught. my proof is that they shared a tent and it was cold and so they had to generate heat. thank you

and then another instance of their shared brain cell evaporating

olaf being super proud of scoring the world’s hottest girlfriend and bragging to his parental figures is surprisingly wholesome 

aaaand their brain cell is still missing in action

it’s very very cute how olaf obviously has zero artistic talent but esmé is always out there looking at him putting on a show like he’s the most amazing actor alive

and next on the list of scenes we were robbed of: p h y s i c a l  a f f e c t i o n

but at least the most important line, that is:

was included:

so i won’t torch netflix hq just yet!!!! oh but WAIT they cut this next part, so i might change my mind about the arson after all

and also this line ???? ugh they’re disgusting i love them

and then this whole entire scene of olaf being so proud of his murderous gf was. beautiful. spectacular. legendary 

and then someone pointed out that their hug looks like that draco/voldemort hug and it’s TRUE but i’m still gonna include it bc netflix is eslafphobic and i’m clinging to scraps here

this next line isn’t an eslaf scene but the phrasing is sending me shddhhdjsh

ok submarine time!!!! aka netflix making the sugar bowl esmé’s priority whereas in the book it is olaf’s as well AND netflix making it look like olaf was against carmelita joining them whereas it was his idea in the book… so basically all the reasons they fight in the show are unsubstantiated but go off i guess

very grateful for this Old Married Couple Bickering tho

and i know this whole scene is very problematic and talked about profusely on tumblr dot com but i’m including this screencap bc it’s soft how esmé considers them all a family

and Oh Wait olaf does too i’m melting

it’s like in TPP they wrote him bitching about “pretending to be a family” but he didn’t have any issues with it earlier, he just ran with it when esmé called carmelita their daughter

and was like “i know” ok netflix so why have him complain about it later on smh… he’s clearly not THAT mad about it, like:

next up!!! i’m a big fan of them disagreeing over something…

…and then 0.5 seconds later they’re getting along again:

^ that is the essence of their relationship

and now back to the topic of olaf not being annoyed at esmé’s Fashion Diva moments:

see he’s lowkey impressed ok

i’m now realizing that 99% of my alleged fave eslaf scenes from s3 are just me complaining about how the books are superior but ok

anyway this next scene deserves an emmy. give lucy an emmy for the delivery of “BUT DARLING”

and this is also soft bc olaf is like :/ and then esmé says something and he turns to her and is like :) so that always has me on the floor in tears

out of context this sentence is wild but like… netflix back at it again with robbing us of all the affectionate scenes huh

and here’s another instance of Couples Scheming being a fun activity to do together

and then we have their joint brain cell screaming for help but it’s adorable so

and then they go off to f*ck again

next up this whole beach scene is just more old married couple behavior and i absolutely adore it

and then we have Bonding Over Arson ~just couple things~

the fact that as the series progresses they go from “count olaf’s gf” to “esmé squalor’s bf” is legendary

and now this isn’t really a fave scene per se BUT considering the mess netflix made of the breakup i have to give a shoutout to the book version bc in comparison to the show version it’s.. beautiful how Mutual Agreement it is

but yeah lucy is spectacular here and it adds fuel to the Esmé Did Have Feelings For Olaf Because Otherwise She Wouldn’t Be Crying fire, which is great for me bc i love my otps with a side of angst

and of course netflix confirmed that esmé squalor, the city’s sixth most important financial advisor, has a daddy kink, so that’s incredible

you may think i’m done bc they broke up but no

here we have them a millisecond away from murdering each other but they’ll still take time out of their busy schedules to menacingly glare at children together. a spiritual bond that no breakup can destroy

but the real gem is the massive horny on main energy in the opera flashback (which was awful, but horny, so i have mixed feelings)

subtle, esmé

you too olaf, good job

and ofc it’s [luciana voice] imperative to remember that in the book esmé was out there trying to stop the premeditated murder of olaf’s parents so that’s nice of her

and last but not least the only valid s3 scene aside from esmé menacing the kids in the burned vfd headquarters:

sexy noir aesthetic fire escape rendezvous that ignited a revenge scheme spanning decades. if that’s not peak romance idk what is

and not to be controversial but i’m gonna drop this here anyway

ever since i read the end a billion years ago i always used to think olaf meant kit in this scene but like ?????? over the past few months i’ve been thinking, what if he meant esmé?? i mean, nothing directly negates that possibility, the books are so ambiguous and so open to interpretation that i might as well twist them to fit my headcanons, as we all do, so why tf not 

and i’m gonna add some final Thoughts and Opinions in case i get more anons asking why i ship eslaf even though they’re constantly bickering &/or about to Snap and kill each other:

i’m hopelessly weak for villainous ‘us against the world’ power couples and it’s like.. even though in the series they ultimately have different end goals, they have a great time being awful people together along the way and that’s all that matters, that familiarity and mutual understanding between them. neither of them ever tried to change the other, they’re both garbage people and that’s why they get along, and what makes them so compatible

and while i’m still hesitant to use the word ‘love’ in regard to their relationship bc it just doesn’t feel Right to me (i know there’s people out there who feel otherwise but i’m still meh about it), i don’t doubt that they had feelings for each other deep down, even if they didn’t always outwardly express them

so that’s my massive essay with so much source evidence that tumblr made me divide it into 2 separate posts thank you for your attention i need a vacation from tumblr now bc this took me HOURS

[cessanderson]

Home Chef Review: Home Cooking Made Simple (No, Really) https://ift.tt/2Vcutfu

Does Home Chef make it easier to get dinner on the table? Let’s find out. Image courtesy of Home Chef.

We hope you like the products we recommend. Just so you are aware, Freshome may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. 

Ah, the joy of cooking. If Julia Child taught us anything, it’s that there is pleasure in putting together a well-crafted, delectable meal. At least, in theory. But anyone who’s ever run out of an ingredient, nicked a finger while dicing or overcooked the shrimp knows that not every meal preparation experience is a delightful one. And with the busyness of daily life, grocery shopping for the necessary ingredients and getting dinner on the table can feel overwhelming. That’s where Home Chef comes in.

Home Chef, like many of the other meal subscription services cropping up today, purports to deliver “home cooking made simple.” Does it? I got a week of meals delivered to my door to put it to the test.

The ingredients for each Home Chef meal come conveniently packed in their own bag. Image provided by Kacie Goff.

The Home Chef delivery: neatly packaged, nicely done

Remember what we were saying about how life gets busy? That was underscored for me as I boarded a plane to Colorado the day I had scheduled my Home Chef delivery. Not ideal. I was only going to be gone for a few days, but that meant it fell to my husband to make sure everything was put away so that it would keep. And I had to wonder, after already being exposed to who-knows-what during the shipping process, would the produce still be fresh upon my return? What about the shrimp-based meal I so boldly ordered?

I’m happy to report that Home Chef makes every step of the process, including storing food until you’re ready to prepare it, a no-brainer. One of my least favorite things in the world is putting away groceries. Home Chef takes the legwork out of it for you. Each meal comes packed in a convenient zip-top bag. All my trusty partner had to do was load our three bags into the fridge and — bam! — he was done.

And the simplicity of the system is brilliant on both ends. It means it takes seconds to put your Home Chef meals away, and it also means that when you’re ready to cook, you literally just need to grab a bag and go. That is, in my opinion, genius.

Home Chef Pricing

Unlike other meal delivery services (e.g. HelloFresh, Blue Apron), Home Chef doesn’t have set meal plan pricing. Instead, you pay per meal based on the recipe you choose. Their standard meals are priced at $20 for two servings or $40 for four. For premium meals, you’ll pay market price.

Here’s a look at all the ingredients one of my meal bags contained. Image provided by Kacie Goff.

The Home Chef meals: delicious and delightfully simple to prepare

Okay, moment of honesty here: I don’t love cooking. I don’t hate it, necessarily, but after a full day of work, I’d rather be in the bath with a big glass of wine than standing over the stove. Some people truly find joy in preparing a meal, but I’m not one of those people. I cook out of necessity. And, occasionally, I like the end result enough that I retroactively decide I had a nice time preparing a specific meal.

We received three meals in our Home Chef shipment and I went three for three on actually enjoying the creation of them. Not bad!

It’s also worth noting that I’m a pescatarian so all of my meals will be mostly plant and fish-based. Now, let’s talk details.

From bag to table in under 30 minutes! Image provided by Kacie Goff.

Meal #1: Avocado & Beet Poke Bowl

First up, I made the Avocado & Beet Poke Bowl. I figured that after a few days of sitting around in my fridge, this mostly produce-based meal might leave a little something to desire. But everything was so cleverly packaged that the whole meal shone. The carrots were crisp, the avocado was perfectly ripe and the edamame and beets were delicious. Home Chef nailed it with the sauce, which was easy to customize for my picky husband. After a stint of quick-but-exhausting travel, this meal felt as nourishing as it was flavorful.

The recipes are easy to follow and have pictures to guide you. Image courtesy of Kacie Goff.

Meal #2: Baja Shrimp Bowl

I love eating shrimp, but I hate cooking them. The cook time is just so short that I feel like I’m always tiptoeing the line between raw and overdone. But, with the help of my Home Chef recipe, I nailed it in their Baja Shrimp Bowl.

This is a perfect time to talk about these recipes because, while I prepared the shrimp, my husband did the rest of the meal. And he really hates to cook, so I tip my cap to both him and Home Chef. Their recipes have pictures to guide you at every turn (very helpful for amateur cooks) and the steps are broken down so you never feel rushed. Plus, Home Chef makes it super easy by doing a lot of the legwork — like tailing the shrimp or making the sauce — for you.

Oh, and as for the meal itself? It was so good we forgot to take a picture. Oops!

Meal #3: Umami Miso-Mushroom-Cream Gemelli Pasta

Ever since we gave up meat, mushrooms have become a staple in our house. Their earthy, meaty texture can really take a meal to the next level — when they’re used properly. Or they can just be weird brown-grey masses in your dish. I’m very happy to report that the Umami Miso-Mushroom-Cream Gemelli Pasta definitely landed in the realm of the former. This meal felt decadent without leaving us weighed down. And as a lover of umami, earthy flavors, this one definitely hit home with me. Plus, how cute is that little round pat of butter?

Here’s what you should know about Home Chef before you order your first box. Image courtesy of Home Chef.

Home Chef pros and cons

All in all, I was really thrilled with every meal I got from Home Chef. Here are my key takeaways.

Home Chef pros:

Easy and quick to prepare (everything took us 30 minutes or fewer)

Good portion size

Convenient packaging

Creative meals

Free shipping on orders over $45

Competitively priced (everything I tried was about $10 per serving)

Home Chef cons:

Lots of plastic packaging (some is recyclable)

Pre-made items (e.g. sauces) could feel limiting to someone who wants to learn to cook from scratch

Would I order another week of Home Chef meals? Absolutely. While $10 a serving might feel comparable to delivery, you’re getting a fresh, flavorful meal and you control the ingredients. Plus, the time it saves in menu planning and grocery shopping offsets some of the cost in my mind because I dislike both of those activities.

Want to try Home Chef for yourself?

If you’re interested in checking out Home Chef, we’ve got you covered. Get 3 plates for free with our code “3platesoff” — just head here and get started.

You don’t have to be a gourmet chef to live a gourmand life. I’d definitely recommend taking Home Chef for a spin.

The post Home Chef Review: Home Cooking Made Simple (No, Really) appeared first on Freshome.com.

Kacie Goff

[lastbluetardis]

Met Their Match 2/2

This was a collaboration between me and @dimensionhoppingrose, and was inspired by this post by @tinyconfusion.

Ten x Rose AU

At the insistence of his sister, James Noble stops by Rose Tyler’s shop, but what he doesn’t know is that Rose runs a matchmaking business. While Rose tries to match him with a perfect partner, James starts to realize he’s falling for the woman who is trying to set him up on a date with other women.

Part 1 | AO3

She felt like someone had knocked all the wind out of her when she saw he had agreed to a second date.

…Oh.

The world seemed to spin for a moment as Rose stared blankly at the email, blinking back tears. This was supposed to be a good thing. A second date was brilliant, right? It meant he had finally found a match.

And it wasn’t her.

Rose didn’t even bother emailing either of them back; they could arrange another date without her help. She just closed her laptop and threw it aside before she curled around a throw pillow and buried her face in the fabric.

So stupid. She never should have gotten her hopes up. When she’d first started her business, she swore she would never let her personal feelings get in the way of making a match, and above all, she swore she would never ever fall for a client. Look how well that worked…

Across town, James sighed and tossed his phone onto the couch. He did it. He finally agreed to go on a second date with one of Rose’s matches.

He had genuinely liked Reinette. She was smart and funny and utterly gorgeous. She loved to travel, just like he did, and they had spent most of their date swapping stories about the various countries they’d each been to, and of the places they still wanted to see.

She had been utterly captivating, and James couldn’t, in good conscience, reply to the Rate Your Date email by saying the date didn’t go well. Because it did. Better than any of the others.

No matter. A second date would be good for Rose’s business, right? She could finally rest easy knowing she had matched him with someone he had clicked with. And even as James grabbed his phone to email Reinette, asking her on a second date, he tried ignore the tight knot that was lodged in his stomach.

Rose was taken, he told himself firmly. Might as well get over it. No use in pining over someone I can’t have. Might as well see if I can be happy with someone like Reinette.

oOoOo

Rose probably shouldn’t have been surprised when Jack called. He, like Rose, had assumed James’ date wouldn’t go well, because none of them had, and he wanted to find out what Rose planned on doing now.

It was tempting to ignore the call, but that was rude. Rose forced herself to pick up, letting out a shuddering breath. “Yeah?”

Jack was quiet for a moment. “What’s wrong?” he asked finally, and Rose made a small noise that was somewhere between a sob and a laugh.

“His date went great. They’re going out again. He sounds really happy.” Really, how could she have been stupid enough to get her hopes up? Of course Reinette and James were perfect for each other. How could they not be.

Jack was quiet for another moment. “Guess it’s time for me to kick his ass.”

“Jack, no.” Rose sighed, scrubbing her eyes. “It’s fine. Really. I’m happy for him. Reinette’s great. I’m sure they’ll be happy together.”

“You don’t sound too thrilled about it.”

“It doesn’t matter what I think, does it? He came to me for a service, he paid for the service, and I gave him that service. He was a client. I did my job.” She had to keep telling herself that. It was the only thing keeping her from utterly breaking.

James was too good for her anyways.

“Want me to stop by?” Jack asked quietly.

Rose sighed. “No, I’ll be fine. I’ve been falling behind with my other clients anyway. I’ve got more matches to arrange.” Besides, she was sure she would be rubbish company at the moment.

“Let me know if you change your mind.”

A lump formed in Rose’s throat, and she barely managed to say, “Thanks, Jack,” before she ended the call.

She really did have loads of matches to arrange, but she wasn’t exactly in a matching mood. Every time she tried to arrange a couple, James and Reinette infiltrated her thoughts, and she found herself wondering what would’ve happened if she had intentionally given James a poor match to ensure he would be free the next time he stepped into her office.

That type of thinking was doing nothing for her frame of mind, and she slammed her laptop closed and instead decided to go for a run.

oOoOo

Reinette was wonderful. James couldn’t deny that. She was smart, and funny, and very pretty, and they had a lot in common. Out of everyone Rose had matched him with, she was by far the best. He felt as though he could talk with Reinette for hours, and that was good, right?

Though, as their date progressed, he found his mind wandering—more than once—to a different blonde. One who wouldn’t have minded a date to a chippie—when James suggested that as a location for their second date, Reinette had come back with a different option: dinner at a higher-end restaurant that overlooked the Thames.

As Reinette spoke of the countries she had traveled to, James wondered if Rose liked to travel, and if she would appreciate his style of travel—hop on a bus and disembark wherever it stopped—or Reinette’s style of having everything perfectly planned out months in advance.

As Reinette regaled him with tales of her days from university, and how she’d always loved attending the theater performances put on by the students, James couldn’t help but think back to the way Rose’s eyes lit up when she spoke of being involved in the performing arts department, designing costumes and sets and props.

James sighed quietly when he realized he’d been spending most of their dating thinking of another woman. He felt terribly guilty about that. He wanted to like Reinette. He just… couldn’t force himself to.

And really, that was a horrible attitude. If he had to force himself to like someone, it was never going to work. He had been on the receiving end of that, when his previous girlfriend stayed with him for months, despite the fact she had fallen out of love with him. He would never wish that upon anyone.

“But listen to me, going on and on,” Reinette said, snapping James out of his stupor. “Tell me more about yourself. What do you do for fun?”

James stuttered for a minute, taking a sip of his wine to cover himself. He had kind of been hoping to just spend the entire dinner zoned out. Reinette liked to talk. Okay, so did he, but he at least tried to make it a conversation rather than a CV of his achievements. “Ah, well… I like video games. Computer games, especially.”

He was surprised—and a little offended—when Reinette laughed. “Isn’t that a little juvenile?”

Rose likes computer games. He shoved that thought down. “They’re what I like,” he said, a bit hotly.

“I would have thought you’d have more interesting hobbies, is all,” Reinette said, as if it wasn’t a big deal at all that she was mocking something he enjoyed. James bristled a bit, looking down at his plate.

Rose wouldn’t have laughed even if she didn’t understand it.

“Then what do you like to do?” James asked stiffly.

Reinette cocked an eyebrow as she said, “Weren’t you listening to me at all earlier?”

Oops. James floundered for a way to save face, but thankfully she beat him to it.

“Do you even want to be on this date?” she demanded, setting down her fork.

James grimaced and scrubbed his hand through his hair.

“I thought I did,” he said truthfully. And he really did. He thought if he just tried hard enough, maybe he could make himself forget about Rose and eventually fall for someone else. He thought that, given time, he might be able to click with Reinette as he had done with Rose.

“I suppose this is it then,” Reinette stated, and she pushed herself up from the table and walked out of the restaurant.

James’ cheeks burned as he felt the eyes of nearby patrons on him, looking at him sympathetically. He grabbed his wallet and tossed a few notes onto the table, more than enough to cover their drinks and appetizers, before he, too, stalked out of the restaurant.

He wondered how on earth he’d fallen so hard and so fast for Rose Tyler, and he wondered if she might possibly feel something for him? There was no denying they’d hit it off during that lunch, and they spoke so easily to each other whenever he stopped by her office. But was that just her being a good businesswoman, or was there more behind her teasing grins and easy conversations?

oOoOo

Rose had tried not to think too much about James being on a second date, but over the course of the weekend, she found herself wondering if it went well, and if James and Reinette were going on a third date together.

She should be happy for him. She should be happy for herself, too, that she’d managed to find a suitable match for one of her pickiest clients.

So Rose had been understandably surprised when she walked into the office the next morning to find an email from Reinette Poisson requesting another match. There was nothing from James, which made Rose wonder if maybe he didn’t know the date hadn’t gone well. Oh, that would break his heart.

And he certainly didn’t deserve that. He’d seemed so excited that he finally hit it off with someone. How was she supposed to call him and tell him that his enthusiasm wasn’t reciprocated?

Rose now felt horribly guilty that she had wished James’ date would fail. What sort of business woman hopes to see her clients fail?

She fired up her computer and was working on getting Reinette matched up with someone else when there was a knock at her office door. She looked up, calling, “Come in?” in a confused voice. She didn’t have any meetings scheduled for the day…

Her heart jumped into her throat when James walked through the door. “Hi,” he said quietly when Rose didn’t say anything. “I just wanted to tell you I’m done. I don’t want to do anymore matches.”

So apparently he did know the date hadn’t gone well. That was something of a relief—at least she wouldn’t have to witness his heart break at the news…

…Wait, what had he just said?

“You’re done?” Rose repeated stupidly.

James nodded. “Yeah. It’s clearly not working out. And that’s no fault of yours. This is all on me. I’m just not… I’m really sorry I wasted your time. Thank you, though, Rose.”

He turned to leave, looking so dejected.

“Wait!” Rose burst out, her mind racing as she quickly typed a few things. “Wait, let me just… one more match, okay?”

“No, really, I don’t think that’s a great idea,” James insisted.

“Just one. On the house, even.”

James narrowed his eyes at Rose. She’d never been this pushy before, and she was frantically typing on her keyboard. What are you up to?

“Oh, all right.” James sighed and walked around her desk to look at her computer. His eyebrows shot way up when he saw Rose had put together a quick profile of… herself. “What…?”

“Go on a date with me?” Rose asked quietly. And after one heart pounding moment, James’ lips split into a wide grin that sent Rose’s heart fluttering.

And then his smile disappeared.

“No, wait, what about Jack?” James asked, willing away the excitement in his gut. He was all too familiar with being cheated on, and he refused to partake in it, no matter how much he wanted to go on a date with Rose Tyler.

“Oh, we broke up right after I matched you with Reinette,” Rose said, biting her lip shyly. “We decided we make better friends than a couple.”

James blinked at her for a few moments, and Rose exhaled in relief when a bright smile crossed his face once more.

“Then in that case,” he said happily, “I would love to go on a date with you, Rose Tyler. Dinner? When are you free? I’m free most evenings. I could come pick you up after work one day this week?”

Rose giggled happily at his enthusiasm, and the way his gob seemed to take over in his excitement. She leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek and said, “I’m free right now.”

“You are?” he asked dubiously. It was nine o’clock in the morning. Surely she had work to do, matches to make, appointments to keep.

“Yep.” James found himself grinning when she popped her ‘p’ like he did. Did she pick that up from him? He liked to think she did. “Perks of being the boss, you know.”

“But it’s not dinnertime,” James argued. Romantic dinners, soft candlelight, gentle jazz music… Wasn’t that what women liked in a date?

“An astute observation,” Rose teased, and James nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw hers peeking out from the corner of her mouth. “Y’know, breakfast dates are just as romantic. If you’re interested?”

James was desperate to wipe that look of uncertainty off her face, and he announced, “Oh, yes! Absolutely! Breakfast it is!”

“Perhaps the seventh time’s the charm?” Rose asked. She shut down her computer before she grabbed her coat and purse.

“Perhaps.” James grinned and took her hand in his as he walked with her to a nearby diner.

As it turns out, the seventh time was indeed the charm. Not only did date number one with Rose Tyler go smoothly, but dates two, three, four, and one hundred and sixty-nine went smashingly too.

And then came date one hundred and seventy.

“Y’know… I only kept paying for the matchmaking so I could see you.”

After over a year of dating, James felt more or less secure in admitting that to Rose, knowing she would never make fun of him for anything he revealed to her. She did, however, seem rather surprised.

She blinked, raising her head to look at him. They’d been lying on the couch together, enjoying a movie, when James had finally decided to confess.

“What? Seriously?” Rose asked in disbelief. “I set you up on five paid dates. That’s a hundred quid, James! Plus the cost of your dates!”

“Money well spent,” James said with a grin, and Rose didn’t know whether to laugh or slap him.

“Oh, my God, you’re such a dork,” she groaned, shaking her head. “Do you at least want your money back?”

“Nah, it’s fine. I consider it an investment. Besides, don’t married couples share assets anyways?”

Rose rolled over to stare at him, gaping. “What?”

Oops. Right. He hadn’t actually asked yet. He had rehearsed his proposal so many times in his head, he’d forgotten he hadn’t done it yet. Well this was going brilliantly.

“Ehm… I mean… that is to say… ehm… marry me?” he asked meekly.

Rose burst out laughing. “Jesus Christ.”

“Ehm, is that a yes?” he asked faintly, feeling as though his heart was about to beat right out of his chest.

“Yes, you muppet!”

Rose launched herself at him, knocking him to his back as she straddled him. James settled his hands on her hips as she pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss. Their mouths moved in a familiar rhythm, a series of nipping and sucking and kissing that felt so brilliant.

“I love you,” she murmured against his lips.

“I love you, too,” he whispered, pulling her closer as he enjoyed the feel of her warm weight in his lap. “Does this mean our photo goes on your successes bulletin board at work?”

“Oh, absolutely. Front and center. Best match I ever made.”

“Well, you did fail with matching me six times,” James tease. “Statistically speaking, you and I were bound to work out.”

He giggled and caught her hand in his before she had a chance to smack his chest. He pressed a kiss to her knuckles before he sat up and dropped his hands to his pockets. He wriggled beneath her for a few seconds, trying not to dislodge her from his lap while he rooted around in his pockets. He crowed triumphantly, and a moment later, his hand reappeared holding a little black box.

“How long have you been carrying that around with you?” Rose asked, her heart hammering in anticipation.

“Ehm… a few weeks?”

Rose smiled fondly at him, then gasped as James flicked open the box to reveal a beautiful platinum ring nestled in the soft velvet. He tugged the ring free and took her left hand in his to slide the ring onto her fingers with shaking hands. Rose admired the gleaming sapphires and diamonds that comprised her ring, before she cradled James’s cheeks in her hands and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips.

“I love you so much, Rose,” he whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

“I love you, too.” Rose rubbed the tip of her nose against his, feeling happier than she ever thought she could be. She’d spent most of her adult life matching couples and finding happiness for other people; she was so relieved that she finally found it for herself. And for James.

oOoOo

They were married fifteen months later.

It was a beautiful ceremony, though if James was honest, he only remembered one part of it. It was the most important part, though—the part where Rose walked down the aisle toward him, just moments away from becoming his wife.

He’d never forget that for as long as he lived.

Nor would he forget their first dance together as husband and wife.

“You know, people keep telling me we’re cute together,” James murmured to Rose as they moved slowly around the dance floor. “Maybe we should get married.”

“Regrettably, I’m spoken for,” Rose teased. James put on a mock hurt look.

“Really? Who is it? I’ll fight ‘em.”

Rose burst out laughing, resting her head on his chest. “Dork,” she murmured fondly.

“Your dork,” James corrected her, brushing his lips across the top of her head.

“Yeah. My dork.”

“Oh, save it for the honeymoon, you too.”

They looked up when they saw Jack dancing towards them with a bloke on his arm and a champagne flute in his hand.

“If you two are quite done, the toasts are about to start,” Jack said. “And yours truly gets the first one.”

James rolled his eyes and dipped down to give his wife another kiss before he took her hand and walked them to their table.

Jack clinked his knife against his glass, garnering everyone’s attention.

“I met Rose five years ago,” Jack said, “when we met on an online gaming chatroom. We hit it off immediately. Which isn’t surprising; everyone who meets Rose can’t help but fall in love with her.”

Jack winked at Rose, and she smiled shyly at him, hiding her red cheeks with her hands.

“Anyways,” Jack continued, “we realized we lived in the same city, we met up, and after a few years, we started dating.”

“You know this is my wedding,” James growled at his friend.

“It’s rude to interrupt a toast,” Jack said sweetly, and Rose giggled at the two of them.

James rolled his eyes, but still scooted his chair closer to Rose so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders.

“However, it wasn’t long before I realized that we just weren’t the right match,” Jack said. “And that was perfectly fine. Because Rose here was destined for someone else, a man much more Noble than myself.”

“Oh, you did not just say that!” Rose groaned.

Jack wiggled his eyebrows at her, looking so pleased with himself. Rose rolled her eyes and shook her head at her friend as he continued his speech.

Truthfully, she stopped paying attention after his horrid pun; she instead leaned back against her husband and took his hand in hers. As she played with his new ring, she spared a thought to her company’s tagline: There’s a match out there for everyone. She pressed a kiss to James’ fingers, happy that the sentiment held true for her. James truly was her perfect match.

[itstherandomestthing-blog]

Teaser of a Thing I Wrote

Author’s Note: Hi so I’m really nervous about posting this here just because I've never posted any of my writing before (sort of a new poster here), but I just felt like I wanted to share this little piece of a thing I’m writing/ working on. For a little background, it’s based off of a prompt that I got from Stephen King’s book On Writing (I’ll write it below before the part that I wrote). It’s also a little creepy for Halloween. So yeah, that’s kind of all I’ve got right now. Hope you enjoy :)

Prompt (to paraphrase): it was to take the “ Estranged Hubby Beats up (or murders) Ex-Wife” (Stephen King’s words, not mine) story and switch the genders. A few finer details that were mentioned (and I included) were there should be a child (but they are safely somewhere else) and that your protag should be house sitting/ pet sitting/ doing something at someone else’s house (I chose watering plants didn’t want to have to agonize over what to do with another characters pet). 

Warnings: There is obviously mentions of abuse and there’s a bit a swearing because that’s how I write. 

           Elliott stood frozen in place, his hand poised over the potted plant getting ready to water it. The light footsteps, that had taken years for him to forget, stopped inside the doorframe five feet away from him. His heart hammered against his chest and he swallowed roughly. The smell of her perfume overwhelmed him, he wasn’t used to it anymore.

           “Miss me?” the once familiar voice asked. Elliott could hear the smirk in her voice, as if she knew exactly what his answer would be.

           How’d she know? The thought made his heart skip a beat. How had she known? He’d been careful, so careful, to erase any evidence of the life he’d lived in New York. To erase the evidence that this woman, the mother of his beloved daughter, had ever existed in the first place. He could still remember the feeling of the steak knife held against his throat. The way she’d locked their daughter, Molly, in the closet for the whole day. She could’ve killed him. There was nothing else he could’ve done, he’d been too afraid of her at that point. So afraid that he’d uprooted their three-year-old daughter and fled to Washington, hoping that he’d never have to see his ex-wife’s face ever again.

           He’d added the ex himself, not long after he had purchased a small apartment big enough for himself and Molly, he’d done it online. It took maybe 20 minutes, but it was done. Every picture of the three of them together and happy had been burned or sent through the shredder. Any proof that he’d been married in the first place was erased. His wedding band was pawned off for a decent chunk of change that he happily used on groceries or rent, he figured the money was being put to better use. Molly had adapted well to change, she had been three after-all, and five years had given Elliott enough time to figure out how to juggle her schedule and keep her occupied in between working. He thanked God that Molly was safely at a friend’s house for a birthday party.

           Her light footsteps picked up again as she walked towards him, her perfume growing stronger. Elliot tensed as he felt her hands trail up his back to his shoulders, where she attempted to massage out his tension, but he wouldn’t allow it.

           “Why so tense?” she whispered into his ear, as her hands trailed down his arms to rest on the tops of his, much like she used to do before she’d almost killed him. Her hair tickled the side of his face and he flinched away, violently enough to spill water from the cup in his hand. She laughed and removed her hands from his. She hummed, almost out of satisfaction, as she turned to the sink.

           He’d met Whitney in college while drunk at a party. She’d been carting around the dead weight of some other poor bastard who’d fallen into the trap she’d laid out for him. She’d laid it out the same way for Elliott, and presumably every guy before him too. It took months of his own personal therapy after moving to Washington for him to figure it all out. The guy Whitney had been with at that college party was a pawn. Elliott had most likely also been a pawn toward the end of their marriage. Whitney’s pawns were the ones who took the blows the hardest, literally and figuratively. They were the punching bags until Whitney laid her eyes on someone else and decided her current play thing was broken enough. Her trap was that she was the one in the abusive relationship, that the guy who trailed her around everywhere wasn’t doing it because he was afraid she’d verbally assault him if he didn’t, but because he wanted to keep an eye on her. Elliott had fallen for it and, admittedly, punched the previous dude in the face for the violence he’d supposedly inflicted on Whitney. Later, much, much later while sitting on his therapist’s couch, Elliott would remember the almost relieved and thankful look he’d seen on the guys face when he’d looked up at Elliott after being punched in the face.

           The Punch, as his therapist referred to it, endeared him to Whitney and for the first few months, everything seemed normal enough. Sometimes she’d hit him a little harder than she’d meant to, sometimes she’d ‘accidentally’ knee him in the groin while they were making out, but she’d insist that he was the love of her goddamn life and that fate had brought them together. Elliott didn’t necessarily believe in karma, but his father had said he must’ve shat on someone’s grave for the universe to screw him over as badly as it had. 

           A year or so into their relationship, when both Elliott and Whitney had graduated from college, Elliot’s mother started noticing bruises popping up all over Elliott’s body whenever he’d come home to visit. None of that hickey type shit either, real fat black and blues all over his arms, legs, back, and, occasionally, face. It worried her, considering Elliott was the only child she had. When she finally met Whitney, she knew instantly that the girl was bad news. She saw the way the way this tall blonde girl gripped her sons arm whenever he was about to say something he wasn’t supposed to. She saw the way she flicked her hair over her shoulder, dragging her son back under whatever spell it was she’d cast on him. But she saw the way Elliott looked at her, at this girl who treated him like he was an untrained circus animal, rewarding him for standing on his head or doing a double back flip. It was only a year into their relationship when Whitney decided Elliott would propose.

           There was no church bells or white dresses when Elliott married Whitney. Whitney insisted they get married in Vegas. No family members or friends there to object on Elliott’s behalf, just the two of them: The Devil and her prisoner. Of course, Elliott tried to get the emotional, verbal, and physical abuse to stop. Most days he’d wake up feeling like one giant bruise, like he’d been hit by a bus the day before and, instead of going to the hospital, taken two Advil and sucked it up. Which, most of the time, is what happened. Elliott kept his head down in public, wore his sunglasses on inside, wore long sleeves in the summertime, and stopped going to work. He let her keep him home where she could torture him some more, and he let her, because he didn’t know what else he could do.

           “How I’ve missed this,” she said. Elliot heard a cabinet open and the sink turn on. This wasn’t even his house, and she was walking around like she owned the damn place. “Where ever did you find a neighbor old and senile enough to trust you?”

           The TV to his left snapped off, but Elliott kept his eyes on the plant in front of him. The newscast he’d turned on, the one that informed him of the escape from the psych ward in New York, was the only slight comfort he’d been getting. The glass hitting the floor came next. He felt stray splinters fly against his leg, once again thanking God Molly wasn’t here, thanking God that he was the only one here.

           “Oops,” Whitney said. Elliott finally turned to look at her smiling face. It looked the same as it had five years ago, flawless, but the eyes. What did the kids call them? Crazy eyes? “You look good after five years.” Elliott swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’m sure you’re just dying to say the same to me.”

           “What are you doing here?” he finally asked, ignoring her previous comment.

           “Oh, I don’t know. I missed Molly. I missed watching you squirm every time I laid my hands on you. I missed the little things, I suppose.”

           “When did you…”

           “Few days ago,” she interrupted. “If you watched the news you’d know, but I counted on you not doing so. I figured I’d conditioned it out of you. Speaking of the precious brat, where is she?”

           “She’s at a sleepover.”

           “Wow, she must feel like such the big girl, getting to stay the night away from daddy for the first time. How old is she now? Seven?”

           “She turned eight two months ago.”

           “Does she miss me at all? Ever ask where I am or what I’m doing? Why I’ve been away for so long? A little girl needs her mother Elliott.”

           “Whitney…”

           “Do you ever tell her about the night you had me admitted to a psych ward? Does she even remember being locked in that closet? Or living in New York? No, she was a stupid toddler, what would she remember?”

           “You need to leave. Now!” She threw her head back and laughed. He hated that laugh. Truly hated it. When her eyes fixed on him again, she smirked.

           “Ah, I see we’ve been emboldened.”

           “I’m serious, Whitney, you need to leave.” She practically snarled at him as she stepped over the shards of glass to him. She pressed her chest to his and glared into his eyes.

           “You know what I need?” she hissed. “I need you to drive to wherever it is our daughter is and bring her here. Her mother wants to see her. It’s been too long. I believe the three of us have some catching up to do.”

           “I’m not afraid of you.”

           “No?” she asked, running one hand up his arm and then digging her fingernails into his flesh. The pain was still familiar after five years, and Elliot did everything he could to not groan uncomfortably. “Well, you should be.”

           “Our daughter’s cat has a better temper than you do,” he spat. She scowled at him and he felt her dig her nails deeper into his flesh. And then the doorbell rang.