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

[potionbarrel]

science team-tober day 3: cascade

prompt list | science team-tober sideblog

[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

[jovialsoulinfluencer]

Home Chef Review: Home Cooking Made Simple (No, Really)

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.

from https://freshome.com/home-chef-review/ via Home Chef Review: Home Cooking Made Simple (No, Really)

[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.

[sunnybimbo]

tfw i meant to post this late night but i put it in my queue by accident

ao3 link here

have some garrison trio for hunk’s birthday because B O N D I N G and also i was riding a big sugar high so it isn’t as Epic as i wanted it to be

but it was fun!

It was early morning. Or late night?

It was 4 a.m., about.

Target: Asleep. Probably having a good dream by the looks of those drool stains. His covers half thrown off the bed, and he was near suffocating in his snores.

Perfect.

Lance launched himself from his balcony to Hunk’s, nearly slipping on a clump of ice.

“Toss the goods, Eagle Two!”

Pidge rolled her eyes, but threw the ‘goods’ (an old backpack, stuffed to the brim with… secrets) at him nonetheless.

“Do you even remember how to pick a lock?”

“Uh duh. I’ve watched like… a million spy movies.”

Pidge shook her head exasperatedly. “Your funeral when you set off every alarm in the house.”

Lance flipped her off as she hopped over the banister, joining him on the other side.

Alright. Bobby pin? Check.

Credit Card? Expired, but that didn’t matter.

Spare key to the front door in case he couldn’t pick the lock? Back pocket.

“Let’s do this.” He grinned, cracking his knuckles. The bobby pin was then unceremoniously shoved into the keyhole.

And the door creaked open with the motion. No fiddling with locks needed.

“Huh.”

Pidge just barely resisted smacking her forehead. “You dingus. Rule one of anything ever is to always check if the door’s locked.” She climbed over him, and nearly face-planted into Hunk’s dresser as Lance tripped her.

“Oops.” He feigned innocence, fluttering his lashes at her as she rounded on him.

They began to loudly whisper out an argument. Pidge’s arms crossed, and then she flicked him. Lance gasped, offended.

They were just about to resort to a slap-fight when a loud groan interrupted them.

“What are you guys doing?” Hunk asked, sitting up to rub sleep from his eyes. His bedhead was a thing of beauty, hair framing his forehead like a crown. Or a halo.

“Oh, you’re awake! Good, good.” Lance didn’t bother with keeping his voice down any longer. Instead, he jumped on the bed (shoes and all) and began to bounce up and down excitedly. “Hurry up and get dressed, dude! It’s time!”

Hunk curled up in his fluffy comforter as his eyes drifted shut again. “Time for what?”

“Summertime.”

Pidge pulled on the back of Lance’s shirt, tugging him from his perch. “Don’t you dare quote High School Musical.”

“Pidge, you’re the one who showed it to me.”

“And that was a mistake.”

“Yeah, well - Hunk! Don’t fall back asleep, ya party-pooper. Sun’s shinin’!”

“No it’s not.” Hunk whined, but sat up again as requested. “What are we doing this early, anyway?”

Lance dug into his backpack and pulled out a badly drawn map. “We’re going on an adventure!”

“I swear, Lance, if you don’t stop with the movie quotes I will find every DVD you own and-”

He interrupted Pidge. “Hey, see, I wasn’t even trying to quote anything that time. You nerd.” Lance rolled up his map. “Now, help me get him out of bed.”

The two rounded on either side of Hunk’s bed and flipped the covers off.

Lance shrieked.

“Dude, where are your pants?” He cried, covering his eyes.

Pidge rolled her own again. “He’s wearing underwear, Lance. It’s not like you haven’t seen him naked, anyway.”

Hunk grumbled as he rolled out from under his covers, finally.

“Yeah, well… I know you are but what am I?” Lance stuck his tongue out.

Pidge didn’t grace that with a response. Instead, she jumped on the bed behind Hunk and shoved her phone under his face. “Get up, Oh Yellow One. If we’re gonna beat traffic, we have to leave in five.”

“Where are we going?” Hunk yawned, ambling to the bathroom.

Lance stopped his feet exasperatedly. “I already told you. Road trip!”

“But- why?”

“It’s a secret.”

Pidge tapped idly at her phone. “It’s your birthday, dude. We’re taking you to the beach. You and Lance can spend your day being burnt by U.V. rays and swallowing dirty, salty water all you want.”

“Aw, Pidge. You know I’m gonna drag you along to do all of that with us.” Lance cooed, peeking over her shoulder. “But also, we are a little behind schedule. Our first plan was to kidnap you and shove you in a truck, which would have been a lot faster.”

“Thanks for not doing that.” Hunk said behind his toothbrush. “I’d rather not pee myself on my birthday.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now hurry up!”

---

They were stuffed into Pidge’s tiny Punch Buggy and were soon holding on for dear life as she barely kept within the speed limit.

“Hunk, if we die I want you to know I love you!” Lance squealed as Pidge cut between two cars in the left lane, only to swerve in front of another as she overtook it.

“You babies. I’m barely going that fast. Besides, we have to get onto the main highway by 5 in order to really beat rush hour. So hold onto your toes!”

Hunk screamed as it looked like they were about to rear-end someone. Then, Pidge turned at the last second to an empty H.O.V. lane.

“There we go. Smooth sailing from here, probably!”

With a groan, Hunk covered his eyes, shoving his head between his knees. “Oh, no.”

“Projectile, incoming!” Lance cried, flying from the front seat to the back to give him something to throw up in.

---

Hunk did not throw up, but Lance took over as driver as soon as Pidge pulled off at the next exit. She pouted as she climbed into the back. “We were making good time.”

“Yeah, but we’d rather get their late with our lives than on time without any bones.”

“Lame.”

---

Lance, unfortunately, was just as good a driver as Pidge.

“You son of a mother- USE YOUR BLINKER!” He pushed his hand on the horn and held it for a solid five seconds.

Hunk was going to die. He was definitely going to die on this, the day of his birth.

“I swear to all that is holy in heaven… GO! The light is green!” Lance revved the engine. The car in front of him flipped them off and Lance-

“Lance, no.”

Lance hunkered down, shoulder up to his ears as he squinted at the car. Target: sighted.

“Lance, yes.”

The car took off and Lance was hot behind it in pursuit.

They hadn’t even made it back on the highway yet.

---

Hunk sighed, apologizing once again to the police officer as they made their way back to their car. Lance had his arms crossed as he sat shotgun, and Pidge was barely holding in her mirthful laugh at his expense.

Looks like it was up to the birthday boy to actually get them where they needed to go.

“You guys are ridiculous.” He sighed, clipping in his seatbelt. “I’m gonna have a heart attack.”

Pidge burst out laughing, holding her stomach as she rolled around in the backseat. “Did you see his face? And the cop, and-” Her laugh evolved to breathless squeaks, and soon the other two were laughing along with her.

“Sorry, dude.” Lance nudged Hunk in the arm.

“No problem. Just remind me to never leave my balcony unlocked again, yeah?”

“Mm… I’ll see what I can do.”

---

Eventually, the other two passed out. Pidge, probably because she hadn’t gotten any sleep that night. Lance, most likely from the amount of food he’d stuffed into himself from the gas station. Seriously, a chilli dog, chilli cheese fries, a bowl of chili, three kinds of potato chips, and a slushie?

Hunk gagged thinking about it. But whatever made him happy?

He was given time to think, though, about his friends.

This was his first real semester away from his family back in Hawaii. Of course he couldn’t just drop money to buy a ticket to visit for one weekend, not when he was drowning in that much debt. But, they’d sent him well wishes through various phone calls and texts, so he knew they didn’t forget. They’d never forget.

But he knew that if he’d been left alone that weekend, he’d probably have fallen into a depression. Lance and Pidge probably knew that, too.

He needed to remember to thank them for thinking about him, later.

---

Rush hour came and went, and they passed numerous car accidents, construction workers, and hitch-hikers.

Pidge slept through most of it. Lance, however, woke almost as soon as Hunk reached a comfortable cruising speed about two miles under the speed limit.

“How’s the time?” His lanky friend yawned, curling his legs up to his chin. How he did that in such a tiny seat, Hunk would probably never know.

“We’ll be there in like an hour.” Hunk hummed, turning down the radio. “Maybe a little over. Looks like some traffic ahead.”

“Gross.”

Hunk smiled. “Yeah. You can go back to sleep though. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”

“Nah… I feel bad making the birthday boy drive, anyway.” Lance fiddled with the radio stations, boredly rolling his eyes as they were stuck on commercial for every single channel.

“Let’s play a game. I Spy? Never Have I Ever?”

“I Spy doesn’t seem like a lot of fun when there are only cars, trees, and you know… highway stuff sitting around us. And don’t you need to drink something for Never Have I Ever?”

Lance threw his hands up exasperatedly. “Details!”

---

They ended up just singing karaoke.

Then some upbeat electronica popped on and Pidge gasped, throwing herself over the middle armrest to turn it up. “I love this song!”

“Pidge, seatbelt!” Hunk shrieked, narrowly avoiding a collision. She blew a raspberry directly into his ear before she plopped back into her seat, loudly clicking her seatbelt.

“I thought you only listened to country music.” Lance says, as if the words physically repulse him.

“Don’t make me bring up your song choices, Mister ‘Naruto Opening 7 Is In My Playlist Eight Times In A Row’.” She huffed.

Lance turned around in his seat, nose high in the air. “I’m blocking you.”

Pidge flicked him. “You love me.”

---

Their impromptu argument ended when Hunk accidentally flipped stations, and his favorite song was on.

This began the karaoke battle to end all karaoke. If they started a band, they would’ve risen to the top mere seconds after their first album dropped.

Traffic was at a stand-still, so Hunk was free to drum his hands across the dashboard. And so he did, not only hitting every single beat, but also able to find the right notes. Or, as close as he could get, on the plastic interior.

Lance was a master of air guitar. And head-banging. But the fact that he actually knew how to play the instrument made it that much more interesting to watch. Especially the way his fingers curled and flicked over the imaginary strings? It was captivating. Lance just had that kind of aura, though.

Pidge was… not as into it as the boys. But she was an amazing singer. Her voice was loud, unafraid, and boy could she hold a note. Hunk whooped every time she reached a high note, and whenever she sped through a rap, the other two went crazy.

It was a hell of a show, and Lance commented as much once they’d slumped back in their seats, voices dead and energy palpable.

“We should do this more often.”

“Only if you pay for my gas.” Pidge griped, rubbing at her throat.

---

They made it within 45 minutes instead of the assumed hour, despite the strange influx of traffic. And the beach was surprisingly empty, despite it being a weekend.

Lance just tugged a bundle of beach towels over his shoulders and raced off into the sand. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!”

Hunk and Pidge shared a look, but they followed suit. Hunk grabbed the cooler, and Pidge grabbed the umbrella and backpack.

It was only about midday, but it was the perfect time to snack and sunbathe.

---

Lance had already flipped out of his clothes, revealing his bathing suit underneath.

“You’ve been wearing that the entire time??” Pidge’s eyebrows shot up beneath her bangs as she pulled her short hair into a tiny ponytail. “Wasn’t it uncomfortable?”

“Nah, it was just like plastic boxers.”

Pidge grimaced, but decided not to comment. Instead, she pulled her bag over her shoulder and left to look for somewhere to change.

Hunk had not brought a swimsuit (since he didn’t really have prior warning). But he didn’t really mind, since he didn’t plan on swimming much anyway. He always preferred building sandcastles to riding waves, anyway.

Lance, however, was probably born for the ocean. It showed, when he dove in and reappeared like a million miles away from where he started in the span of three seconds. Hunk shot him a thumbs-up as he began to fill in a moat for his sand-tower.

There was a quiet peacefulness between them for a long while. Mostly because they couldn’t really talk while Lance was neck-deep in the water, and Hunk shoulder deep in sand. But it was good. Relaxing.

Er, rather… it was, until Pidge rushed back to Hunk on the beach, flipping the beach towel from underneath him and nearly crumbling his sandcastle.

“Woah, woah. See a ghost, Pidge?”

“We have to go now.” She shrieked, face aflame. Hunk shot up, reaching out to place a worried hand on her shoulder.

“What happened?”

Pidge mumbled something into her hands as Lance dashed to meet them, saltwater dripping from him in every direction.  

“What’s going on?”

Hunk shrugged. “Something happened to Pidge.”

She made a frustrated noise and covered her eyes. “I can’t believe I didn’t research this.”

Lance and Hunk shot each other a frightened look. “Research what, Pidgeon?” Lance spoke up.

“This is, uh…” Pidge couldn’t seem to stop fidgeting. “A nude beach. As in… full-on… penile action.”

“Oh.” The two pulled back. “Ohh…”

Pidge looked absolutely mortified, and Lance couldn’t stop himself from laughing at her misery. “Aw, Pidge! I already knew this was a nude beach!”

“You what.” Hunk deadpanned.

“Yeah, dude. This part isn’t really used, but yeah. It’s technically all a nude beach.”

Pidge shouted indignantly as she began to slap his arm with her tote bag. “You didn’t think to tell us that?”   

“Ow.” Lance whined, hiding behind Hunk, who had honestly given up on them already. “Sorry, Piggy Wiggy. I forgot.”

“Tell that to my retinas. I’ll never unsee that taint.”

Hunk made a disgusted noise at the back of his throat.

---

Despite the… slight disruption, the trio did end up having the time of their lives. Lance was 100% correct when he said that the part of the beach they were on wasn’t used. Throughout the entire five or so hours they loitered around, they saw maybe five other people tops.

Hunk and Pidge joined forces to create the grandaddy of all sandcastles. Complete with a miniature dragon that circled a tower. Pidge mostly did the structural engineering, but Hunk did the design.

Once Lance had had enough of tiny fish swimming up his trunks, he let out a low whistle as he took in the sight.

“Remind me to bring you guys in when Keith needs help with his art projects. This is amazing.”

Hunk grinned. “Thanks. I’m probably never gonna get sand from under my nails, though.”

Pidge put the finishing touch on the bridge over their moat and stood with a victorious dusting off of her hands. “Worth it.”

It truly was, though. Four identical towers (with one dragon) circled a large castle that tapered at the top. The moat took most of the eye, and was in a flowing, intricate design that probably should have been researched by professionals with how smoothly it stuck together.

“Looks like a spaceship, though.”

“A space-castle.” Hunk amended. “Sounds like a dream to me.”

Pidge turned up her nose. “Sounds like a hassle to clean. Who knows what kind of gunk gets stuck in a “space-castle” engine. And where does the waste go?”

“Hush, hush.” Lance checked an imaginary watch on his wrist. “We have to get going, so pack up your bags, little children. We’re already gonna get stuck in traffic.”

Pidge snapped a picture of their piece of art, and Lance instantly struck a pose behind it. Then, she took a few more of all three of them together, if only for Lance to post on his social media.

“Rest in pieces, space-sandcastle.” Pidge mourned, before shoving her foot directly through the middle of it. Hunk clutched his heart dramatically, and Lance clapped his hands together, holding them up to his mouth.

“It lived well.”

“May it find peace.”

---

“Did you have fun, though? Birthday boy? Light of my life? Hunky-hunkster?”

Hunk grinned, stretching his arms above his head before he closed the car door. “I did. A lot.”

Lance let out a cheer that Pidge weakly mimicked from her sprawled out position. She’d taken shotgun this time, and her feet were smudging the windshield as she spread them across the dashboard.

“I really appreciate it, you guys.” Hunk shyly spoke up, “I know we didn’t do much but… It means a lot that you spent all day with me.”

“Ohoh, Hunk… don’t think this is the end of it. We have a whole dinner-show combo planned out!” Lance reached up to hook his arm around Hunk’s shoulders. “We may have finagled the dining hall for private use for an hour or so.”

“You did not.”

“Never question what Pidge can achieve.” Lance said sagely, and Pidge shrugged as she nodded along with him. Hunk was inclined to agree.

“Wait, so…”

“Yep! Prepare your butt, birthday boy. The activities have only just begun!” Lance dropped back into his seat. “So, let’s hit the road! I convinced Shiro to put on a malo and do that dance you taught us a while ago.”

Hunk probably would have choked if he’d been drinking something.

“There is no way. Shiro??”

Lance grinned, and Pidge snickered at him.

“Guess you’ll just have to see, yeah?”

Hunk shook his head. “I have the most amazing friends in the world.” Seriously. Hunk probably would have started to cry, if he wasn’t trying to focus on the road.

His two best friends shared a meaningful look, and they winked.

“And don’t you forget it!”

Mission accomplished.

[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.

[mill3nniumforc3]

2017: A Year in Review

“Vonnie, what happened to 2016: A Year in Review?” It got wiped out of my computer before I could publish it. While I very much could create a 2016 one now, I feel that it is far too late.

Anyway... so, 2017. What. A. Year. Some good happened, a lot of bad happened. Shall we just dive into it?

You don’t actually have to read this if you don’t want to. I’m making this for me and me only. If you choose to read, enjoy reading about my year! :)

January

January 1st. I started the new year full of sugar and drunk. My body didn’t exactly thank me for it in the morning, but I was happy, so....

January 16th, I went back to school for the spring semester. My whole college career was going to be different. I was no longer an RA, meaning it was time to get a roommate for the first time in two years. I was in a brand new major after finding out at the super duper last minute that elementary education wasn’t the career path I wanted. I was SCARED. I felt like I was a freshman all over again.

Thankfully, the start of the semester wasn’t bad. My classes weren’t too hard (except for GBUS. Fuck GBUS). On January 21st, I officially moved out of Bonar Hall (where I had lived for 3.5 years!) and into Krise Hall (where I would have lived if it hadn’t been for Barbie). I met my new roommate, and we got along quite well!

February

The month of February was pretty boring, honestly. I didn’t have a Valentine.

February 13th was my dad’s 50th birthday. I’m pretty open with talking about how I don’t get along with my dad. He constantly treats me like an inconvenience. Well, while I was between classes, I summoned the courage to pick up the phone and give him a call. I thought he’d be mad when he answered, but he was happy. We talked for about 20 minutes until I had to leave for class again. It was actually kind of sweet.

March

During the month of March, I decided to go summer job hunting again. While I was guaranteed my position at Eastern 4-H, I had an odd feeling inside of me to stay close to home. I started by looking for a camp-like position around home, but couldn’t find one. I applied to a few different places, including America’s Rockin’ Roller Coast (I’ll come back to that).

While I was home for spring break, I went to the dentist for the first time in years (I had been getting $5 cleanings at school). I found out I had three cavities. Oops! They were all small, so it wasn’t too big of a deal, but still bad.

Because the semester started late, spring break was late, meaning I was home for my favorite day of the month: St. Patrick’s Day! I got drunk, went to Honey Hut for their grand reopening (it’s tradition!), and went to my grandma’s house for dinner. SPOILER ALERT: this would be the last time I would see my grandma awake.

On March 18th, I went to see Beauty and the Beast! I loved every second of it.

Shortly after returning for the second-half of the semester, I got an email from Ride Operations at Cedar Point. They reviewed my resume and wanted an interview! I was so surprised because I had submitted my application just a day prior. I couldn’t reply right away lol. I got around to it after dinner, and my phone interview was scheduled for Friday, March 31st.

So, I woke up early on March 31st. Even though I didn’t have to look nice for the phone interview, I wanted to make sure I had everything taken care of (going to the bathroom, eating something, etc). I went into the floor lounge for the interview because my roommate was sleeping. The phone rang around 10:30am, and the interview began. I was so nervous, but I kept a smile on my face and enthusiasm in my voice. At the end of the interview, I received a job offer. I couldn’t believe it! Just like that? My interviewer added, “Before the job offer is official, I want to schedule a Skype interview with you, since I don’t want to make you travel all the way from West Virginia.” My Skype interview was scheduled for Wednesday, April 5th. I felt so good! I had an unofficial job offer... 

April

THE DAY BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY! April 1st was my 23rd birthday, and I woke up feeling... sick. I had a bad cold and the weather was awful! What a lousy way to spend my birthday. It was too bad because I was going to go out with some friends for my birthday. Oh well! I had pizza in bed and watched Netflix. That cheered me up.

April 2nd was the day that started to turn my life upside down. I got a text that afternoon from my mom, saying my grandma had collapsed at home. While they got her back, they weren’t sure what would happen. I was a mess until that evening when my mom texted me again. Grandma was awake and acting like her normal self...

The on April 4th, that night, Grandma coded. They intubated her and got her back again, but I was upset. My Skype interview was the next morning, so I put on a brave face for it. It went well. After class on April 5th, I called my mom in tears, wanting to know how Grandma was. Mom said Grandma was off the ventilator, and I cried tears of joy. After I calmed down a bit, Mom asked how my interview went, and I told her the job offer was official. YEAH!

I received an appalling text from my mom on April 11th. It wasn’t about Grandma. It was about our family friends! Her best friend found her son (who was 19) dead from a drug overdose! At the time, we didn’t know it was an OD because the family didn’t want to make that information public yet, but I was devastated to know he was gone! When I read a post his older sister put on social media, I hypothesized it was either a drug overdose or suicide. Shortly after his funeral, after autopsy results were in, the family revealed it was heroin. Quite a sad time.

On April 14th, I went home for Easter- the same day Grandma was having surgery to put in a pacemaker. Mom took me to visit Grandma, and she was asleep. I was kind of nervous seeing her hooked up to a bunch of machines because I didn’t want to do something wrong. Mom led me closer to her. I kissed her forehead, said hi to her, and told her I loved her. I didn’t know what else to say because she was asleep, so I left it at that.

That was the last time I saw her alive.

April 16th was Easter. I went to church with the fam and then my dad’s side of the family held a brunch. Yay, brunch!

*the next few paragraphs are sad. If you don’t want to be sad, just skip to May*

April 19th was the day my world went completely black. It started off as a good day. After I was done with classes for the day, I was hanging out with my roommate when I got a text from my mom. When I saw the text was from her, I thought it was going to be a “we got home safe” text (she had went to North Carolina for her best friend’s son’s funeral). What it said was, “I don’t know how to tell you this. Grandma coded again, but this time her body was too tired to come back.” I was stunned for a moment, trying to piece together what it meant. Then it clicked. My grandma was gone. My roommate noticed the change in the environment (we had been laughing, and there I was devastated). She asked what happened, and all I said was, “I think my mom just told me that my grandma died.” Then the waterworks hit. I was inconsolable for hours. I went for a walk and decided to go to the chapel to see if anyone I knew was around. My friend Tiana was in the lounge doing homework. I knew she wouldn’t mind if I sat in the lounge with her. She asked me why I was crying and, after I told her, she dropped everything to comfort me. She texted Pastor Deb (the chaplain) to let her know. While waiting for Pastor Deb to arrive, Tiana invited me to get dinner. Even though I was in no mood to eat, I knew Grandma wouldn’t me to starve, so I went. I couldn’t hold myself together for more than five minutes and cried while waiting for my food. It was not a good time. We went back to the chapel lounge with our food (where J.R. and Brandon were hanging out) and, when Pastor Deb arrived, she first gave me a huge hug, and then she said, “Have you ever heard The Dragonfly Story?” I shook my head, and she told it to me. I started feeling a little better. After I was done eating, I went into sanctuary of the chapel. I opened a hymn book and started playing a few songs on the piano. After I finished Be Thou My Vision, Tiana found me and asked me if I wanted to join fellowship, and I agreed. After fellowship, J.R. took me to get ice cream because he hated seeing me so upset and thought it might make me smile. We got to Dairy Queen minutes before they closed. I felt kinda bad, but I was glad we were able to get ice cream.

The next few days were a blur. I didn’t go to class for the rest of the week and asked if I could reschedule my presentation for Philosophy so I could go to the funeral. Thankfully, it all worked out.

On April 25th, I went home for the visitation. I was quiet the three hour drive home. I couldn’t even sing along with the radio. I stopped at home on the way to the funeral home because my dad wanted to shower. I sat on the couch, and Seamus (my dog) got onto the couch next to me and put his head on my lap. I was completely surprised because Seamus HATES cuddling. I pet his head and thanked him. After my dad showered, we went to the funeral home. I felt so sick in the car. We got to the funeral home, walked inside, and as soon as I saw my grandma’s name displayed, I lost it. I couldn’t just pretend this wasn’t happening. It was! My sister found me and took me to my mom. Mom sat me down and I kept saying, “I can’t look at her. I don’t want to see her like that!” and Mom told me I didn’t have to. After a while, I got out of the viewing room and went to mingle with some of the mourners in the hallway. 

The next morning, the 26th, was the funeral. We went to the funeral home to have a prayer service before going to the church. I hung back while waiting for other people to arrive when Aunt Char came up to me, trying to convince me to go up to my Grandma to say goodbye. I shook my head, and she offered to go with me. I kept saying that I couldn’t because I didn’t want to remember my grandma laying in a casket completely lifeless. The prayer service started at 9:30am. At the end, we all had to walk by the casket. I made eye contact with Aunt Char and mouthed, “I can’t do this.” She nodded at me, and I stepped forward. I kissed my fingers and laid them on Grandma’s cheek. I then quickly walked out of the room, tears filling my eyes. My mom held me and told me I didn’t have to remember her like that, and I just said, “I might not remember what that looked like, but I’ll never forget the waxy feel she had.” Aunt Char soon walked out of the visitation room, and she held me, telling me I did good. We then lined the foyer and Grandma’s casket was shut and locked. The pallbearers carried her out of the funeral home, and we followed. The drive to the funeral home wasn’t long, since the church was down the street, but it seemed to take eternity because I wished that it wasn’t happening. I got a program with Grandma’s face on it, and smiled because that was the Grandma I knew I’d remember. The opening song was Here I Am, Lord. That song typically doesn’t make me cry, but it did then. I read an intercession at the Mass, and I held myself together just fine. I even smiled a bit while reading to put some inflection in my voice. I cried again minutes later when Hail Mary: Gentle Woman played. I was fine throughout the rest of the Mass... til I saw my mom’s best friend (the one who had recently lost her son) during communion. I was sitting on the end because I read, and she tapped my shoulder. I put my hand lovingly on her and started to cry. On Eagles Wings was the song that was playing, and I was surprisingly fine during that song. The closing song was Be Not Afraid, and I couldn’t sing a single note without crying. It was pretty bad. Upon exiting, we stood outside... and my dad’s mom (whom I also call Grandma. We’ll call her Grandma Marge for the duration of the AYiR) walked up to me. I bawled, and Grandma Marge hugged me. I felt so guilty, because I was here crying over Grandma’s passing, and Grandma Marge was here. I want to say that moment was the worst I felt, especially because that day was Grandma Marge’s birthday and I was too upset to remember. Mom’s best friend came up afterward, and she hugged me and thanked me for my words of support since I couldn’t go to her son’s funeral. My mom joked that hopefully their next meeting would be a happy occasion. After the mourners left, we went to the cemetery for the burial. Because Grandma was being buried in a military cemetery (Grandpa is a Korea vet), we couldn’t watch the actual burial, but we had a brief prayer service (a lot of praying happened that day). After that was done, we had a light luncheon at a dining hall. 

I didn’t go to school the next day. I wanted to spend more time with my mom. That Friday, I forced myself to go back to school.

May

The first half of the month of May was pretty sad/boring. I was still having days when I would just be sad. Sad because I missed Grandma. Sad because I was going to miss my friends, West Lib, and everything. I spent as much time as I could with my Krise Krew (Daniel, Brandon, J.R., Walker, Noah, Jasmine, Jaylyn, and Chris). 

On May 6, I threw myself a goodbye party in the Krise lobby. Ordered pizza, cheesy bread, desserts, etc. Some people actually showed up, which cheered me up a little.

Finals week was interesting. I fell asleep in the Krise lobby trying to cram for a final once (I had always wanted to sleep in a residence hall lobby. Too bad for me, it was freezing and I ended up going to my bed around 5am. So nice and warm!). I wrote papers while sitting at my usual spot. I drank so much coffee that week that I ended up getting super bad caffeine headaches. On May 11 (my last full-day on campus), I hung out with my Krise Krew while bringing things down from my room to donate. I found a bunch of condoms from when I was an RA (kept them for my residents) and decided to be a jerk and give them to Brandon. He threw them at me, and Chris scattered them throughout the different donation areas (food, clothes, books, etc). Brandon then tried to beat me up, but my self-defense background ended up backfiring on him. We laid on the ground laughing for five minutes, and everyone started shipping me and Brandon. Yuck!

May 12 was my very last day on campus. After everything was packed into my mom’s car, I said goodbye to all my friends that I saw along the way, stopped by the Housing office to say goodbye to Marcella, Luke, Kate, and Kimber (though Kimber was out of the office. I was quite sad about that), and swung by the campus coffee shop to get one last iced mocha and chocolate chip cookie while also saying goodbye to Linda (a barista whom I had grown close to). I got a little teary eyed as I walked out of the union for the last time. West Lib had been my home for five years, and my journey there was ending.

I didn’t have too long to be sad though. May 17th was my first day at Cedar Point! Well, ok, not really. I had orientation at the training center (outside of the park) and then I moved into my new place, where I met my new roommates: Allison, Becca, and Shama. Shama was first to open up to me and I asked her a bunch of questions. 

May 18th, I had to get my uniform, take a drug test, and then had a class on ride operations. The uniform part was easy. I showed up, gave my size info, tried on clothes to make sure everything fit (the pants were the hardest to fit because my hips are bigger than my waist), and signed a contract. The drug test... that didn’t go too well. I have high anxiety, and peeing in a cup isn’t something I was able to do. I spent three hours chugging water, but I didn’t have to go, no matter how hard I tried. The first aid staff was nice about it and found a swab kit. Because it did take three hours, the rides manager just told me to take the class the next day.

So I took my ride operations class on May 19th. It was fun! Hands-on activities (which is how I learn best) along with some lecture. Also, that’s where I met Austin, my first CP friend! At the end of class, the instructor told me to be at GateKeeper at 7:30am. I wasn’t too keen on that, but I put on a smile anyway.

May 20th, I woke up feeling nervous as all heck! Was I going to work GateKeeper or just observe? I stood around the GateKeeper entrance waiting for someone to talk to me, and luck was on my side that day, because I was greeted by Destiny (the team leader). She showed me where to clock in, put my stuff, and meet the person in-charge to start opening the ride. A guy named Kadeem was also being trained that day, so Destiny took both of us for a track walk. We went into the low-zones to look for lost items and make sure everything was intact. She was also going to take us on the midbrake run, but there wasn’t enough time. She instead took us for a lift walk (which sounded worse!). We walked up the lift hill, and I started shaking because I’m not a fan of heights. We got to the top, and Destiny took my picture. The walk down was better. When we got done, Herbert (the ride sup) started test running the trains. When it was cleared for test riding, none of the contracted workers wanted to, so Herbert asked me if I would. I said yes, and pretended to be scared when getting my restraint checked. Jes (who would later become a friend) asked if I was actually scared, and I said no. I learned at class that test riders are to listen for weird sounds and feel weird vibrations, so we weren’t allowed to make noises (though I did hum to myself going up the lift hill). Destiny asked me if the ride felt normal, and I told her it was perfect. After test riding was done, I got to do what would become my least favorite task: emptying water dummies. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been so terrible if it weren’t so cold outside, but my feet were cold by the end of the emptying. Riding the transfer track was also quite the experience. Soon after we were done, the ride was opened. I was placed at merge for starters (because I figured sit-downs would be a good place to start). Destiny threw a lot at me, but it was ok because I picked up rather quickly. Around 11am, it was time to train on platform. Destiny did the first few cycles at all four positions to teach me how to do each one. I then did each one. A few times, Destiny would correct me or remind me about something, but it was nothing major or life-threatening. Before being sent to lunch around 2pm, Herbert came by to shadow me while Destiny signed us out. I did exactly as I was taught, and Herbert decided to quiz me. “Why do you look both ways before putting up your clear? Is it just for fun?” I answered him saying it was to make sure nobody was in the ride area so they wouldn’t get hurt. Herbert put his thumb up and said, “That is exactly right.” When Destiny returned, Herbert told her what he did, and then took my spot so we could go to lunch. Destiny proceeded to tell me that Herbert wasn’t trying to trick me. He just wanted to make sure I was paying attention. She led me to the employee cafeteria, and we ate lunch. After lunch (which was only 45 minutes), it was more training. At some point, the ride went down for wind (as GK is a winged coaster and high winds can cause the ride to valley), so Herbert and Destiny used that as an opportunity for me to sign my training sheets. I was perfectly comfortable at sit-downs, but wasn’t as confident with my platform. Both of them were confident in me, but decided to let me do some more platform training after the ride was back up. Around 8pm, while I was on platform, I ended up pulling a muscle in my back. It was terrible! Destiny saw how much pain I was in and sent me to Herbert. I told Herbert, and he sent me to first aid. I ended up taking an ibuprofen and getting some ice. It didn’t help, so I decided to just push through the pain. Destiny didn’t want me to get injured further, so she put me on sit-downs for the rest of the night. 

On May 21st, I was sent to my contracted ride: Cads! I again had to arrive at 7:30am, and I again was trained with another person. I walked through the exit at Cads and immediately met Eric (the ride sup). First thing I noticed was he wasn’t as talkative as Destiny, which made me a little sad. We were joined by Audrey (who was training to be the TL since Cads didn’t have one at the time). Eric showed both of us around the ride, and because I was a safety liability with my back injury (which hadn’t healed yet), I was solely at sit-down (Cads only has one, whereas GK has 4). I later met Katelyn, Mary, Tatiyana, Aaron, and Angel. Because Eric had to train Audrey everywhere, Katelyn watched me since she was in-charge. We ended up becoming good friends right away. For the most part, everything went well! At the end of the night, shit hit the ceiling. I accidentally wrote on the DOR in pen. Eric yelled at me. Because I didn’t want to cry on my first day at a new location, I laughed and apologized, and Aaron stood up for me. “She’s the new girl. You can’t yell at her! You didn’t yell at me when I did it!” Eric realized Aaron was right, apologized for yelling at me, and told Aaron that he should have yelled at him because he wrote in pen on his third day. #PoorUs

Things got a lot better from there! A few days later, my injury healed and I was cleared to work platform. Yay! Eric trained me on platform (he made fun of me) and at Cedar Downs (my initial reaction when he told me he was training me there: I get to work there too!? Yay!). He watched me run a few cycles and asked if I would be ok if he left. I said yes, and he actually left (which made me laugh).

By the end of the month, Audrey was officially our TL. Yay! Eric called for a staff outing after work to celebrate. I wasn’t hungry for dinner, so I ordered dessert and a margarita. I showed my ID (which nobody saw me do) and thanked the waitress when my marg came (which everyone saw). I drank it, and everyone stared at me. “Wait, you’re 21!?’ Tatiyana broke the silence with. I informed them I was 23, and everyone just went, “What!?” Eric looked horrified and asked when I turned 23. “In April.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “Ok, good. I’m still older than you.” Before that moment, I thought Eric was like 21 (because he had mentioned being old enough to drink). I felt a little better knowing he was older than me.

Oh, and this month, my high school class lost our first sister. Cancer really sucks! It takes great people far too young. RIP Morgan.

June

Ah, the month of June. Filled with meeting people, goofing off on my days off, and annoying my coworkers!

Well, it wasn’t all that great. I broke my toe in the beginning of the month by dropping the transfer track on myself. Eric witnessed it and sent me to first aid. After I had my toe splinted and iced, Eric then told me to be more careful with the transfer track (I knew he wanted to yell at me, but remembered what happened the last time he did that).

On June 12th, I saw someone whom I hadn’t seen in a long time: my high school BFF Julie! I was on spiel when I came across her and just said, “Look who it is!” Julie didn’t recognize me at first, but one look at my nametag, and she knew exactly who I was. We hugged (awww!) and I happened to remember that day was her birthday (my good memory is a blessing and a curse), so I wished her a happy birthday, and she was so surprised that I remembered! I couldn’t talk to her too long because we’re on a clock, so I dispatched her car and moved on. Funnily enough, her car broke at the end of the track. I joked that Julie did it, and Julie just said, “The powers of renewed friendship!”

Oh, and in June, I got over my fear of tall coasters and rode Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. 

July

Fourth of July weekend is the busiest weekend of the season... and I was off for TWO DAYS OF IT. HAHA!

July was kinda a rough month. The park no longer ran on a 10a-10p schedule (well, because I worked early entry, 9a-10p). We were now 9a-11p on weekdays, and 9a-12a on weekends! Though O-C shifts were pretty rare during this time, they still happened. I once had to O-C after a day off (i was supposed to be a split, but the 1:30p got sick and couldn’t work) and I was less than thrilled. Audrey wasn’t apologetic at all (she just wanted her cutback), but Eric bought candy for everyone who had to O-C (myself, Katelyn, Camilo, and Aaron).

Oh, and speaking of splits, I once woke up one morning (I want to say it was July 18th) not feeling right. I was a split shift that day and thought that maybe I was just tired. Well, when I got off at 1:30, I still was feeling bad, so I went to first aid to get my temperature taken. Welp, my temperature was 101 degrees! I was given some ibuprofen and then went back to my place to take a nap. I messaged the group and asked if they still wanted me to come back at 6pm. Audrey pleaded me to return, saying she would keep me at sit-downs and give me ibuprofen, so I did. At 9pm, Katelyn sent me to rotate at Cedar Downs, and I wasn’t happy about it because I felt so sick and dizzy. Katelyn calmed me down by saying it would be just for an hour and, if I seriously felt faint, to call first aid and then Cads. I thankfully made it the whole hour, and Mary came to rotate me out. She looked mad, so I asked what was wrong. “You shouldn’t be here right now. Just by looking at you, I can tell you aren’t feeling good! Audrey only asked you to come back because she didn’t want to lose her cutback. I’m angry, Katelyn’s angry, Aaron’s angry. We’re all angry. If you aren’t feeling well tomorrow, you call off. I’ll be the first to stand up for you.” I went back to Cads and finished the night feeling awful.

The next morning (July 19th), I was still hot to the touch and feeling lightheaded. I called park op immediately, and explained to the operations manager what was going on. She said to me, “I know you aren’t feeling good, but I do need you to put on your uniform and go to first aid. I can tell by the sound of your voice you aren’t feeling good, but I still need to have it verified.” I went in and got my temperature checked. It was out of the triple digits, but still borderline. Kelsey (the area sup) then looked at the note and said, “Go home. I don’t want you to get worse. Rest up and feel better tomorrow!” By 5pm, my fever had completely broken and I felt a lot better, but so I showered and spent the rest of the day in bed...

That night was one I’ll never forget. Allison (who slept on the bunk below me) had her boyfriend (?) Ismael over for the umpteenth time. The first (and only) time Allison asked if I cared, I said that I didn’t as long as they didn’t have sex. Welp, at 2:30am, I woke up to the bed shaking and Allison moaning. It was like being in the middle of a bad porno! I didn’t want them to know I was awake, so I kept quiet and wrote a note on my phone to remind me that this happened. 

The next morning, I left for work... but not before stopping by the front desk to inquire about changing rooms. I had to go to the Commons office first, but the guy at the desk asked me for Allison’s name because sleepovers weren’t allowed in the complex (haha!). I was a split shift that day, so I went to the office as soon as I got off work. I thankfully was approved to move immediately because of the situation, and I moved out ASAP. 

I learned that Allison got kicked out shortly afterward. Bye, Felicia!

August

Well, this was the beginning of the end. Everyone started leaving! Mary was first to leave, followed by Camilo, Audrey (who returned Labor Day weekend), and Aaron. Alyssa stayed during the weekends. The only ones who could still work every day were me, Katelyn, Eric, and Gulbay (who was leaving in September), so we ended up getting a lot of people to cross-train. I met Zach (who worked Wicked Twister and would become my work buddy), Pearl (who was already trained there but mainly worked in Area 3), Mariah (who worked Raptor), and Jay (who worked Dragster). 

August 22nd was like a stab in the back. Katelyn was in-charge that day because it was Eric’s day off, and Gulbay deliberately didn’t come to work. Katelyn was PISSED because Gulbay threatened not to come into work because she wanted to go to Niagara Falls that day. Ben (who worked Kiddy Kingdom and occasionally came to Cads to help) worked in her place. Gulbay proceeded to tell Ben that she planned to skip every Tuesday until her last day... which she did, which pissed off both me and Eric (on the 29th, we were the only two who showed up on time). Zach was scheduled to work but was sick, and since Gulbay decided to no call, no show again, Zach was forced to work anyway.

On August 26th, I snapped. It was the end of the night and I was trying to put away a car that had bad steering. I got frustrated and just completely snapped. I said, “I suck at my job. I don’t know why I’m even here. Why haven’t you just fired me because I can’t do anything right?” I fucking BAWLED because I was that frustrated. Eric was in complete shock and didn’t know how to even address that. He eventually said that he didn’t think I sucked at my job and that he knows the car has bad steering. He then demanded to know who told me that I sucked, and I told him Audrey did. “Ohhhh! Audrey? I’ll have you know that we’ve all talked to her about her rude comments. Hopefully, when she comes back, she’ll have something nice to say about you. She shouldn’t have gone as far as telling you that you suck. I’m the supervisor, and I don’t think you suck.” He then asked if he could hug me (aw!).

The next day, after I got back from rotation at CD, Eric called my name on the spiel. I looked over at him and he waved me over, asking me to sit at crowd for a few minutes so he could go to the bathroom. I obliged (even though I reaaalllly didn’t want to be at crowd). When he returned, he said, “All’s well. I thought I was dying, but I’m not.” “You’re not dying?” I asked him as I stood up to leave crowd, and Eric shook his head, muttering, “I bet you’d be glad if I were though.” I gave him a look and went “what?” “I feel like you secretly hate me.” I then said that no, I did not hate him. The look on his face was priceless, and I began wondering why he would think that. I knew I felt conflicted around him because my gaydar went off within five minutes of meeting him, but at the same time I felt like he liked me. Maybe my repulsion to that came on my face (repulsed by him liking me, that is. He’s nice, but he low-key looks like Drew Carey and it’s kinda disturbing. Also, because I made the presumption that he’s gay, I couldn’t unsee it).

September

Things only got worse for Cads, schedule-wise. Gulbay left a week early (much to my relief because NOBODY wants to work with someone who deliberately skips work for no reason), Audrey and Katelyn both quit, and Alyssa walked out during her break while at Blue Streak, immediately getting herself fired. With nobody else, Eric had no choice but to promote me to in-charge... but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Labor Day weekend (which little did we know was Audrey’s last weekend), I was scared to be around Audrey... but she was nice to me. We chatted a bit about what had happened during her absence and I asked her about school and marching band. A little later, I was at CD and saw a guest illness on the midway. I called it into park services, and as I was finishing up the call, Audrey came over to do DOR math. She asked who I was calling, and I explained the situation. Audrey then said two words I never thought I’d hear her say to me: good job! 

After Labor Day, the park was only open on weekends.

September 10th was Katelyn’s last day, and also TWLOHA day. I wrote “love” on my wrist in permanent marker, and Eric got mad because “visible tattoos aren’t allowed.” You couldn’t see it with my pullover on, so there! While I was at CD, I heard a weird noise. I called Cads to report it, but Eric was talking to Katelyn and couldn’t take care of it at that moment, so I continued running the ride. When Eric finally showed up, I explained the situation and he listened to the ride. He noticed how horrible it was and told me to take the ride down for mechanical. For the rest of the day, he joked that I broke the ride. Ironically, while waiting for maintenance, Eric made me decobweb the lights on the ride and I ended up breaking a lightbulb. I jumped back as the lightbulb fell to its death, covered my mouth in shock, and looked over at Eric. His face looked like the surprised emoji, and it made me laugh so hard. At the end of the night, Katelyn came back to say goodbye to us, and Eric got the two of us saying goodbye on video.

The next weekend was brutal! Friday wasn’t too bad. Shelley (who worked the train) was trained at Cads since the train didn’t operate on Fridays during Halloweekends, so we were full-staffed. Saturday, shit hit the fan. Me, Eric, Mariah, and Karly (who worked GateKeeper) were the only employees working Cads (we had a “ride pride” working at sit-down, so we only needed four of us). Audrey was supposed to work that weekend, but called off for school reasons. Me and Karly were the only two people who could work at CD. It started off with us alternating every two or three hours or so. Because Karly was the only in-charge, at one point, I was at CD for FIVE HOURS (!!) because Eric was sent to Raptor for break help (though Mariah could have been sent and Karly volunteered to cross-train, the manager was adamant that Eric go). Karly was nice enough to call me to let me know what was happening. When I saw Eric walking by CD during the fifth hour, I shot daggers at him with my eyes. He stopped by to do DOR math and thanked me for staying at CD for so long. After he left, Karly came over to rotate me out and said she was staying the rest of the night, I gave her a big hug and let her borrow my watch. 

On Sunday, Eric asked me to be his in-charge. “Because Katelyn quit and Audrey called off, will you please be my in-charge so I can go on break?” I initially was hesitant because I wasn’t interested in any type of leadership, but after Eric said he trusted me to hold down the fort, I just said, “If you’re saying you trust me, I guess I’d have to take you up on it.” He high-fived me, and then rotated me to CD (which I didn’t WANT to do, but I had to). Thankfully, being an in-charge wasn’t too bad. A car broke on the track though (which became a running joke with me. “Every time I’m in charge, a car breaks!”). After we closed for the night, I had to fill out paperwork to make my promotion official.

Of course, I wasn’t always automatically in-charge. If Pearl or Karly were at Cads, they’d be in-charge because they have seniority (though I think I was actually once in-charge over Karly. She was sent to the ride while I was in-charge though).

By the end of the month, Audrey had officially left her job because she had a lot of school work. Good on her for taking care of her academics... but that just meant Eric pushed me that much harder, and went as far as to call me “acting TL.” I wasn’t impressed with that.

October

My, oh my. October was a very stressful month.

The weekend of October 13-15th is what we all called The Weekend from Hell, and what a well deserved title that was! October 13th: probably the less evil of the days, ironically. Pearl was at our ride that day, which meant I didn’t have to be in-charge (yay!) and Eric could have a cutback (because he didn’t trust me to close the ride). I had a pretty good day that day, but poor Eric got sent to Raptor for break help... and never returned because the ride sup and TL both took a cutback and the Raptor in-charge never closed the ride on his own, meaning Eric had to stay at Raptor til close (haha!). October 14th: the worst day of the weekend. Cars kept breaking (more to Eric’s dismay than my own), guests were about 500x more rude, and the night ended with me and Eric screaming at each other. I’m not going to delve into the cars breaking, since that happened nearly daily anyway. I had the worst guest ever while working CD. There was a kid too short to ride. I explained to the parent that the kid had to be 48″. The parent wasn’t upset or angry, but said the kid rode Corkscrew earlier that day. I then said that kids’ heights tend to vary throughout the day (which IS TRUE!!) and some lady who wasn’t even with them butted into the conversation. “I work in the medical field, and that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Why don’t you release your medical journal so I can read it? I’ll still think you’re a crock.” I let the parent and the kid out of the ride area (honestly, they did nothing wrong. It was the rude woman who wasn’t even with them) and the woman kept gunning for me. “Someone needs to educate you. Stupid white trash, you are. Cedar Point needs to start asking for IQs before hiring people!” I was done listening to that lady, so I locked the magnetic gate in front of her (even though there was plenty of room still) and went about my safety checks. The rude woman’s son was kind of mad. When I returned to my control booth, he asked if he could get on. I felt kinda bad because the kid didn’t do anything wrong, but I said, “Once safety checks are completed, I can’t let on more people. You’ll have to wait til next cycle.” I did my final spiel before starting the ride, and said, “This is what happens when mommies piss off the ride operators” before giving out my all-clear and starting the ride. The rude woman then took pictures of me without my permission (probably to put on Facebook and talk shit about me. Whatever...). I concentrated more on the ride since MY JOB is to ensure SAFETY. After the cycle ended, I got right into my “oncoming riders” spiel. The rude woman kept taking pictures (I tried SO HARD not to roll my eyes at how juvenile she was acting). When I went to let people on, she decided to get one last picture of me... by sticking her camera RIGHT IN MY FACE. I reacted, and she got a picture of my reaction. “Now I have a nice snarky picture to show everyone. I’m going to your manager with this picture right now! Thank you, smartass!” Then she smacked me before saying, “I’m just going to exit now.” In that moment, I should have called security. I’m a tough cookie when it comes to words, but the fact that she deemed it appropriate to hit me crossed the line! My reason for not calling: she obviously craved attention, and I thought I’d be told it wasn’t that serious of a deal. I kept on a tough face while letting on people who witnessed the whole ordeal (many asked if I was ok. I wasn’t, but I said I was). The rude woman wasn’t done yet though. She stood by the entrance telling people shit like “the person running this ride is stupid” and “she won’t let a goddamn child ride the horses!” When I turned away a child who was a lot under the height requirement, the rude woman shouted, “Don’t be sad! Your kid probably SHRUNK!” and laughed maniacally. I ignored her because she literally wasn’t making any sense, but that wasn’t good enough for her. She jumped into the area by my control booth and said, “Aren’t you gonna call your supervisor?” I told her no because he was doing his job. “You mean he’s doing YOUR job.” I just said that my job was Cedar Downs, and he was doing what he needed to do. “Fine then. Do your job. I have AAAAALLLL night. I can’t wait to watch you get fired, bitch!” She then left. I kept on a brave face while doing my safety checks and spieling... and then I broke down in tears during the cycle. I couldn’t do my other spiels. When the ride ended, I couldn’t say to leave, but people knew it was ok to leave when they saw me unlock the magnetic gate. A woman who witnessed the whole thing (including her coming into my booth) came over to me and said that the woman wasn’t very nice and she didn’t blame me for anything I said/did. I then called my manager to report what was going on, and she asked if I called security. When I said no, my manager said that if I saw her again, to call security, and to leave a description in the booth so anyone else could call. This then got around to Eric... and he was PISSED that I didn’t call security. From what I heard, the rude woman was eventually found and kicked out of the park, but Eric was still so angry that I didn’t call. He had nothing nice to say to me at the end of the night, and when I tried to defend my decision, he screamed at me that once she laid a finger on me, I should have called. I screamed back that the ride was also very busy and I didn’t want to waste people’s time. Eric then made me turn in lost and found as punishment, and we ended the night on a very sour note. October 15th: On a scale of 1 to 10, I was 500 scared to go to work. I was scared to see that woman or be verbally harassed again. I knew seeing Eric after our screaming match would be hella awkward. I was expecting the day to be that much worse. I clocked in at five-til like I always do and went to the ride, listening to music on the way. I stood at the closet where personal items are kept while finishing my song, and Eric sat at the desk. After my song finished, I put my phone away and inhaled deeply. I approached Eric and broke the silence with, “Hey.” Eric looked at me and, even though his mouth didn’t smile, I saw his eyes light up as he said, “Hello.” Neither of us wanted to talk about last night, so we just moved forward with the morning. It was pretty warm throughout the day, but it was FREEZING by the afternoon. I ended up wearing my hoodie and fleece pullover because of how cold I was. By 6pm, I knew me and Eric were cool again because he asked me if I wanted a cutback. He easily could have taken it himself (I knew how to close the ride, and the TL from Power Tower was with us that day), so I thought it was nice of him to let me have it. The ride was dead as a doornail because of the cold and rain, so Eric asked me which cars we should take off. I suggested 18 because it was fast and had good steering, and then Eric suggested 03 because it was also fast and right by 18. We high-fived and I said, “We’re smart!” 03 didn’t have as nice as steering as 18, so I hung back with 18 while 03 was being straightened. I then jumped 18 off the track... accidentally hitting my butt against a pole. I reacted, and Eric just stared at me, asking what I did that time. “My butt bumped into the pole.” We got the cars organized, and I went to close the transfer track. Eric proceeded to tease me. “Did you hurt your butt?” I nodded. “Are you butthurt?” I cracked a smile and just replied, “That too.” By 6:30pm, I was released for cutback, and, right before I left, I said to Eric, “Have fun in Florida, and see you Friday!”

The next two weekends (and the last two of the season) weren’t nearly as bad. Still had to deal with rude, entitled guests (thankfully none as awful as that woman), still had cars breaking all the time (my favorites were out for the rest of the season), and still had disagreements with Eric (though none topped that night from hell). The major disagreement we had the last two weekends were I forgot to transfer my nametag to my hoodie after putting it on and Eric decided to poke my boob instead of just reminding me. Well, ok, he was touching my nametag over the hoodie, but he accidentally (I hope) went too far and ended up poking my boob.

On October 27th, the last Friday of the season, I FINALLY had my instinct straightened. For five months, my gaydar was saying that Eric was gay... and I was right! Eric had a cutback that night, so me, Pearl, and Shelley hung out on the platform (it was cold and raining, so nobody was riding). Pearl asked if I was going to the Halloween party that Sunday, and I said no. “Why not!?” Because I’m too ugly to go to the bar. “Who said you were ugly!?” I mentioned that Eric did one time (to this day, he denies this happened). While Shelley said that Eric needed to get his glasses checked, Pearl said, “Eric’s gay!” Yeah, I know, but that doesn’t mean he’s allowed to call people of the opposite sex ugly. I also mentioned how the bar scene isn’t my thing. We were then given permission to double cutback because they were sending David from Kiddy (one of my friends!!). Shelley declined the cutback because she took it last week, and said I should take it because I gave Shelley priority for the cutback last week (I was in-charge while Eric was at Raptor). Zach (who was at CD) wanted to gas cars that night and Pearl couldn’t take it for herself, so I took it. My last cutback of the season (I think the only time I ever turned down a cutback was when Zach had to cycle CD for a whole hour and I wanted him to have it).

October 29th was the last day of the season... and it was actually kinda sad! Guests were rude as ever (no surprise), but when we were cleaning up/out everything, it hit me that my “best summer ever” was officially ending. I emptied our closet, throwing out things that nobody wanted/claimed. After both rides were completely cleaned and the area sups cleared us to leave, I said goodbye to Eric and thanked him for putting up with me and my bullshit for the past five months. He then hugged me (aw!) and said that he knew he pushed me a little too hard at times, but it worked out for the best. He then asked if I applied to leadership, and I said no because I would suck at it. “I don’t think that. Be a little more adult and less sensitive, and I think you’d be great.” That was the nicest thing he said to me all season! I left and clocked out for the last time.

The next morning (the 30th), I processed out. I signed my paperwork, returned my uniform (including the hat that I grew to love), and even picked up a stuffed pillow that I found and decided to keep as a souvenir. I then packed up all my stuff and processed out of housing. I turned in my key and was back to Cleveland.

That Halloween, I stayed at home and passed out candy. 23 years old is too old to go trick-or-treating without a child.

November

Well, I went to church for the first time in almost six months (I worked nearly every Sunday from May-October. Even if I wasn’t working that Sunday, I wasn’t near a church).

On November 1, I started attending ballet class. I kept saying I was going to in September and October, but somehow never made good on my promise because I was so tired from working all weekend. With work no longer a thing, I went to class. It felt great to be back!

I attended a grief counselling meeting on November 19th. It was my first holiday season without my grandma, and some tips and tools were much needed and appreciated.

Thanksgiving that year was more of a blur. We went to my dad’s side for dinner. I fasted til dinner, and made the mistake of drinking with an empty stomach (I did that once in 2016 while at a house party, and I got drunk very quickly!). I was drunk before dinner. Classy. I ate my food and acted as normal as possible. We then went to my mom’s side for dessert... and I was offered hard apple cider. I took it and drank some, but I ended up not liking it. I ate some pumpkin pie and a slice of cake and was happy.

The next morning, how I wasn’t hungover, I’ll never know. I got up to go Black Friday shopping with my mom and aunt. We didn’t go to many places like we normally do. We just went to Kohl’s, Target, and Walmart. There weren’t many sales going on either, sadly. I saw my friend Carissa at Kohl’s (we danced together for years, and ended up going to the same high school). After we got back to my aunt’s house, me and Mom went to get lunch. I got the best deal of the day at Sheetz: a free cookie! Yay!

December

*the next paragraphs are a little TMI. I had the flu, so you don’t have to read this part if you don’t want to. Just skip ahead to Christmas Eve*

I woke up at 7am on December 1st not feeling right. I didn’t know what was wrong with me! My stomach started churning, and I just thought, “Crap. I’m gonna puke.” I got out of bed and opened my bedroom door. Fiona (my 15 year old sis) was getting ready for school and asked what I was doing. I told her I thought I was going to throw up. I went into the bathroom, sat by the toilet, and a minute later, I vomited. A lot. I asked Fiona to get me a water bottle and she brought me one. I put a little in my mouth, gargled it to get the puke-taste of my mouth, and spat into the toilet. I did it a couple more times and then got up and flushed. I went back to bed afterward... only to wake up an hour later to puke again. I thought maybe I had food poisoning because I had Papa John’s the night before (to this day, I can’t even think about pizza without gagging). When it started coming out of both ends at the same time, I texted my mom while she was at work to bring me some fruit juice. She did and put her hand on my forehead. I was burning up. Mom concluded that I had the flu. I didn’t eat anything all day.

I got an appetite back the next day (the 2nd). I was hoping for something light like broccoli cheddar soup or a pb&j from Panera when Mom asked if I wanted food while she was out. She brought me mac n cheese bites. I ate them... only to puke them back up later. 

I had no appetite or energy the following day (the 3rd). I slept a lot of the day... til Mom decided to wake me to take Christmas photos! I was pretty fucking pissed about it. I managed to smile for them, but my hair looked awful and you can see how sick I felt. We then went to get dinner, and I didn’t want anything. Dad yelled at me and called me a brat, and it made me upset because I couldn’t help being sick! 

Thankfully, by the 4th, my appetite had returned again and I had some energy. I felt better than I did on the 2nd. I made myself a sandwich to test how I was actually feeling, and the sandwich stayed down. I unsmartly went full out and ate cookies and milk, but that stayed down too. YES!

On December 14th... I woke up at 7:30am and vomited in my mouth. I think it happened because I was too warm under my blankets, but I was fine the rest of the day. Yay for not being sick again!

Christmas Eve, there was so much to do and so little time! I feel like that’s everyone’s Christmas Eve though. I wrapped up all the presents I bought, baked cookies from scratch, and then made the time to dress festively. My family decided to open presents while I was busy mixing cookie dough (I didn’t want to waste energy by keeping the stove at 375 doing nothing), so I ended up opening my presents after everyone else had finished. I got a CD/DVD drive from Bridgid (because the laptop I bought with my own money doesn’t have one. Oops!), a pink tiger onesie, sparkly hairbrush, and cat ears from Moira, socks from Fiona (I love socks, so it wasn’t an insult at all), and a Fitbit from “Santa” (my mom). I set up my Fitbit right away!

Christmas Day, since we did presents last night, we slept in and went to church at 11am. I was happy that we sang 5 verses of O Come All Ye Faithful (the three verses, the Latin verse, and then the first verse again) because it’s one of my favorite Christmas church songs. After church, we got ready for Christmas dinner. My mom decided to spend Christmas solely with her side of the family (first Christmas without her mom/my grandma) and my dad decided to just go to his side. We were then split on which side to go to. Bridgid decided to go with Dad, and Fiona decided to go with Mom. I basically did eenie-meanie-mynie-mo, and ended up going with Dad. As much as I love my mom’s side of the family, going with Dad was the better decision because I didn’t feel like crying that day, I had a present for my goddaughter, and the food on my dad’s side is better (lmao!).

This year is at an end, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Here’s to a better 2018. Here’s to positivity, great times, and maybe/hopefully finding my future spouse.