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shewritestheblues · 4 years ago

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The Elevator Bae x Chapter 7

Chapter SEVEN

Erik x Black OC (Phoenix)

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Phoenix’s morning was easy. She woke up feeling refreshed and started her day with morning yoga on her balcony. She sat out there when she was done just taking in the stillness of the late morning. It had been awhile since she actually woke up before 1pm. As she sat outside, her mind trailed off into last night’s events. She realized just how much she enjoyed learning something new about Erik. She almost thought that she was crazy for being so understanding of his actions. But she knew that sometimes people are given the short end of the stick and have to make decisions differently. She didn’t fault him for what he’s done. She meant what she said about believing he wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her and she still liked him… maybe even more now. He trusted her and that alone let her know that the feeling was mutual.

Her show was tonight and he promised to be there. That has to be like a huge step or something. Phoenix never invited a guy to her shows. Not even her sorry ass ex. He had never been to an event she was a part of. When it came to her work, she was serious and never wanted any distractions and niggas were distractions. But Erik didn’t feel like a distraction. Thanks to him, she has been making amazing music. He felt like motivation, inspiration and Phoenix was grateful. Even if things didn’t go how she hoped, without even knowing it, he has already made a mark on her life.

Phoenix enjoyed her moment of peace but it was time to go back inside. She had a few errands to run before her show tonight. She sat on her bed, picking up her phone. This was the first time she’s looked at it since waking up. Phoenix tried to stay off her phone until she accomplished her morning routine of yoga, reading or journaling. (Whenever she did actually get up in the morning) She had a few messages from Alyssa. The usual schedule of to-do’s before a show. She also had a few notifications of emails and social media bs. Stuff that wasn’t important to her. She opened her text thread with Erik.

Phoenix: Hey, good morning Stevens. My show tonight is at Club X, 10-2. You better still be coming or that’s your ass. 😊😊

Now that that is done, a hot shower was calling her name. Phoenix wrapped her hair as best as she could and put on her scarf. This would be the last day with straight hair. She missed her curls.

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Erik was on his way back home when he got a text from Phoenix. He had a late start to his morning, but still got in a good five mile run and stopped to get food at a juice bar. As he traveled through some lite traffic, he checked his text.

Baby Girl: Hey, good morning Stevens. My show tonight is at Club X, 10-2. You better still be coming or that’s your ass. 😊😊

Erik rolled his eyes at the fact that she had to ‘make sure’ he was still coming. He never broke promises. Sure, she wasn’t aware of that yet but she would have to get to know that about him. Erik’s actions always matched his words.

Erik: Good morning, baby girl. Hell has frozen over for you to be up this early. I told you I’ll be there so I’ll be there. That lil threat was cute though.

He laughed at himself and continued his route home.

--------

Time was winding down and it was almost time for Phoenix to head out to the club for her show. Her playlist was blasting through her apartment as she got ready. She laid out a few outfit choices on her bed. As she stood over her bed debating, she hears a knock at the door. Confused because she wasn’t expecting anyone, she storms to the door standing on her tippy toes to look through the peephole. “Shit!” It was Erik. She had completely forgotten about their text conversation from earlier.

Phoenix: I kinda hate that I have to get there a little earlier to set up. I don’t be wanting to drive. I might Uber.

Erik: I understand but yo’ ass aint Ubering nowhere.

Phoenix: I don’t wanna drive. How am I gonna get there?

Erik: I’ll take you.

Phoenix: No. You don’t have to do that.

Erik: hm, I don’t remember asking you if I HAD to do it. Did I ask you that Phoenix?

Phoenix: 🙄 no.

Erik: Alright then. What time you need to be there?

Phoenix: 9:00.

---------------------

She opened the door to find him standing there dressed for the night with his locs braided back. “Hey, E.” she smiled, leaning on the door.

“Wassup.” He walks in. Phoenix closes the door.

“You came at the right time because I’m struggling to pick an outfit. C’mon”

She takes his hand, leading him to her bedroom. Erik had imagined this happening but Phoenix was wearing a lot less in his fantasy. They stopped inches from her bed and she let his hand go, motioning to her options that were laid out. “Which one?” she asked.

Erik crossed his arms over his chest and bites his lip in thought. To the left she has ripped denim jeans and a baby blue, lace bodysuit and the right, she has an all black legging and tube top set. “What shoes are you wearing?” he finally asks.

Phoenix goes into her closet, grabbing her Doc Martin boots. She just holds them out of the closet door. “These!” He comes over to where she is, taking the boots from her. He notices a reflective jacket she has hanging up. Phoenix is still looking at her shoes to see if she has other options. Erik grabs the jacket.

“Aye,” she turns around to him. “Add this jacket and wear the all black fit.”

“I like that.” She takes the jacket and boots from to set them up with the black set she has on the bed. Nodding in approval. She turns and smiles at Erik. “Thanks.”

“Now get dressed.” he says walking out and closing her bedroom door behind him. He waits on the couch, strolling through social media on his phone. After about 15 minutes, she comes out of her room and goes into the bathroom. She applies mascara and lipgloss. She wasn’t really feeling makeup at all tonight. She takes off her scarf, unwrapping her hair. She combs it down with a middle part and pushes her hair behind her ears. She joins Erik in the living room. She stands in front of him, holding her arms out. “How do I look?”

His eyes scanned over her figure and he notices parts of a tattoo peeking from under her tube top. Phoenix had an underboob tattoo that resembles Rihanna’s and Erik was curious now as to what the tattoo was. Did she have more? He has seen her in crop tops before. Why hasn’t he noticed it before? Then again, his main focus is usually looking at her ass. “You look good, girl. But something is missing.”

Phoenix looked confused. “What?”

Erik stands, reaching behind his neck and taking off one of the two chains he was wearing.

“Erik…” she whines.

“Girl, hush and move your hair.” She does what he says, allowing him to put the chain on her. He steps back, smiling at her finished look. “Looks good on you.” he says. She tries to hide her blushing face with her hands. She grabs her backpack with her laptop and her signature blue beat headphones from the kitchen counter, putting them in her bag. He takes the backpack from her, tossing it over his shoulder.

“Ready?” he asks. She simply nods and they head out the door.

Phoenix locks her door. She and Erik start their short journey to the elevator. She pushes the call button and not long after, the doors open. Sydney is already in the cabin. This is the first time Erik had seen her since he’d texted her about not being interested. Phoenix had seen her in passing and they continued sharing their ‘hi’ and ‘byes’ but judging from Sydney’s face as the two of them stepped onto the elevator, she was curious as to why they were together when Erik didn’t live on the 7th floor.

“Hey Philly.” she said looking at Phoenix with piercing eyes.

“Hey, Syd.” she responded with a small smile and a wave.

“Erik…”

“Wassup, Sydney.”

“What are y’all up to?” she was more so asking Erik. He looked at Phoenix.

“Erik’s taking me to my show tonight.”

“Oh, yeah. I did see that on your Instagram. At ‘X’ right?”

“Mhm.”

Sydney stares at Erik. “That’s so nice of you Erik… to take her.”

“I’m a nice guy. What can I say?”

“Yeah you are.”

Erik and Phoenix could sense the sarcasm in her words. Phoenix tried to ignore her but she knew Sydney very clearly felt a way that Erik was with her. She took a deep breath to push down her frustrations. As the cabin came to a stop, Phoenix slipped her hand into Eriks, interlocking their fingers and started exiting the elevator, dragging him along with her. She knew Sydney would notice and that it would piss her off even more than she was. Phoenix hated when people were passive aggressive instead of just saying what’s on their mind. Sydney wasn’t happy that Erik was hanging with Phoenix and it was obvious. She wanted him but he didn’t want her. She could just get over it, right? She had men throwing themselves at her. It was so easy for her to move on to the next. Phoenix didn’t think she was someone that Sydney could feel intimidated by but tonight, she figured out that she was wrong.

As they walked out into the parking garage, Erik unlocked his doors, causing his car lights to flash and Phoenix lead them right over to his car. Ironically, Sydney’s car was parked nearby. Great! Phoenix thought. As Erik opened the passenger door for her, she let go of his hand and placed her hand on the side of her face, leaning up and kissing him. Erik was taken aback by this but kissed her back. She pulled back and looked passed his shoulder to see Sydney looking at them with disgust and jealousy in her eyes as she got into her own car. Erik blinks a few times to pull himself back into reality. He opened his mouth to say something but Phoenix cut him off. “Get in the car.” she whispered to him. She sat down in the car and he closed her door and walked around letting himself in. He starts the car but sits back and looks at Phoenix. She puts on her seatbelt and sits back, looking forward.

“You wanna tell me what that was about?”

“What?” she asks as if she doesn’t know what he’s referring to.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m sure you enjoyed it so let’s leave it at that. There’s nothing to discuss here.”

“I definitely enjoyed it.” he said to himself, knowing she heard him too. Without another word, he pulls out of the parking garage and head to the club. The ride was smooth as they listened to music. Phoenix sat there, bobbing her head to the music and texting her friends in the group chat about what they’ll be arriving at the club.

When they pulled up to the club, valet took Erik’s car, parking it and the two of them made their way in. As she walks through the club toward the DJ booth, she runs into Shawn. He was doing his job as the top promoter, making sure everything was set up right. “Blue, wassup girl?” he says hugging her. He looks up to see Erik behind her. “Yo, E! What the fuck are you doing here?” he greets his friend. Erik motions to Phoenix, who is completely thrown at moment, “I’m with her.”

Shawn raised his eyebrows, “You with her? Like with her, with her?”

Erik smirks at her, “Something like that.”

He and Shawn share a look before a huge smile creeps up on Shawn’s face. He daps Erik’s hand, “I see you my nigga.” He looks back toward Phoenix. “C’mon Blue. Let’s get you set up.” He takes them up into the DJ booth. Erik gives Phoenix her backpack so she can begin her set up. Shawn and Erik talk amongst themselves as she does so. As she is finishing up, Shawn pats Erik on the shoulder, “Aye man, y’all need anything, let me know. I got you.”

“Will do.”

Shawn goes off to finish his duties of the night before the club goers start showing up. Phoenix starts with her pre-show playlist to make sure everything is sounding right. The music flows through the speakers of the club and she’s satisfied. She lets the playlist play and motions for Erik to come to her.

“So…” she leans back on the turntables, “You and Shawn know each other.”

“Yeah, that’s the bro. We go way back.”

“Wow. wasn’t expecting that one.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting some things too.”

Her cheeks become hot, knowing what he’s referring to and she playfully rolled her eyes and turn toward the turntables. She tries to distract herself by playing around with some miscellaneous buttons. She feels a warm hand slide over hers and looks up to find Erik right on the side of her. “Show me something.” he says.

“Show you something?”

“Yeah,” he motions to her equipment. “Show me how you do what you do, Blue.”

Hearing him call her by her DJ name made her giggle. It was weird. She liked it. So she started explaining and showing him how she did her work. It was a bit different from what she did in the studio. Erik listened intently and asking questions. This lead to her giving him so much more detail about why she loved her line of work and how she actually got into DJing in the first place. He was interested in every word she spoke.

Eventually time has passed and it was opening time. She continued letting her pre-show playlist go until more bodies started to fill the club. The bar began to fill up with people ordering drinks. More parties began showing up and sitting in their pre-booked sections. Finally, Phoenix was ready to start. Erik sat down on the couch in Phoenix’s personal section and she put on her headphones. Shawn introduced her to the crowd and they showed her the deserved love. Phoenix had worked hard and people loved her and her work. A lot of people came out just to see her. She always had the most lit music. Her mixes hyped people up and Phoenix being the beautiful woman that she was added to the love. Women and men would come to the DJ Booth asking for a pic to post on their social media. They wanted to post about being at the club with one of the hottest upcoming DJ and Producer.

The club was in full effect. Bodies dancing everywhere. Shot girls with sparklers delivering bottles. The Bar was packed. Erik was enjoying himself as he watched his girl work. She interacted with the crowd so effortlessly. Shawn had come back to their section to talk more with Erik.

“Philly!” Phoenix hears a loud, high pitched voice call out to her. It was Ava coming into the section with Coby. Mica and Camren right behind them.

“Hey!” she greets them all with a hug. She waves Erik over. “I’m sure you remember Ava and Mica.”

“How could I forget?”

“Nice to officially meet you Erik.” Ava says with a smile.

“This is Coby and that’s Camren.”

Coby and Erik do the ‘man hand shake’ dap and he waves at Camren. Camren looks at Phoenix with a cheesy smile.

“DON'T START WITH ME!” Phoenix yells at Camren, pointing a knowing finger at her.

“Let’s drink!” Mica says going for a cup. They all pour themselves drinks. As everyone gets settled, Shawn comes back over to greet Phoenix’s friends. He and Erik have another small discussion before Erik approached Coby.

“Aye man, you blow?”

“Hell yeah. Y’all got something?”

Erik nods and Coby follows Erik and Shawn out. Phoenix notices them walking away from the section, toward the exit. She looks at Ava, “where they going?” Ava shrugs, taking a sip of her drink.

Mica and Camren puts in a large order of wings. Ava tells the waitress to bring another bottle of Hennessy. Phoenix zones back out working and completely forgot that the guys were gone. They had been missing for so long she forgot they were even there. Phoenix had been going strong since the club opened and she needed a small break. She could smell the wings that her friends ordered and it made her mouth water. She pieces together a small mix to play while she takes a seat to enjoy said wings. But when she turned around to her section she finds that Ava, Mica and Camren aren’t there. But who is there is Coby and Erik with bbq sauce and ranch all over their fingers and lips as the both of them are scarfing down the wings. From what she can see immediately was there were only four wings left in the basket.

“Aye, how many did y’all eat?”

The men look at each other and then at Phoenix. Neither of them answer the question. Phoenix folds her arms over her chest. “Am I talking to myself?”

Camren steps up into the section with the two behind her. “What’s going on? You look mad.” she says to Phoenix. Phoenix motions to the basket full of chicken bones. “ARE Y’ALL SERIOUS? Y’ALL ATE 3O WINGS!”

The two men burst into laughter.

“I’m glad y’all find this shit funny. What the fuck am I suppose to eat?”

“I’ll get you some food baby girl, alright?” Erik says as his body bounces.

Ava stands next to Phoenix, “These niggas high. The night is almost over. We can get food when we leave. They were taxing on the chicken anyways.”

Phoenix looks at Ava, frustration all over her face. “Is this my life?” Before Ava could respond, Phoenix goes back into the DJ booth to finish her set. The club would be closing in 3o minutes. She could push through that. She definitely planned on cussing Erik and Coby out about this later. Nobody told them to go off and get high, miss majority of her set and then come back and eat all of the food. Phoenix didn’t play about her food.

-------

Club goers flooded the streets and parking lot as they were leaving. It took another 30 minutes after the last song to actually get everyone to make their way outside. Phoenix had packed up her equipment into her backpack and was waiting with her girls by the door. Erik and Coby had gone off with Shawn somewhere.

“I’m so fucking hungry.” Mica spat.

“Join the club,” Phoenix says. “They need to hurry up.”

“I got my keys. We can leave they ass and go hit In-N-Out.” Ava says. Camren grabs her hand. “I love that idea. Let’s leave them.”

The four of them start walking out of the club. They were almost to Ava’s jeep when Coby calls out to them. “Aye!” They all stop with an eye roll. Coby comes up to Ava, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m sorry baby. You know Shawn just be talking.”

Erik slowly approaches Phoenix with apologetic eyes. He takes her backpack from her, putting it over his shoulder. “You mad?” he asks.

“I’m hungry!”

Mica raises her hands, pointing at each man. “And if y’all don’t mind, we’re leaving and going to In-N-Out.”

“Are we not invited?” Erik asked.

“NO!”

“We’re sorry, damn!”

“Aye,” Coby says, “We can all go to In-N-Out and me and E got y’all.” Erik nods agreement.

Phoenix looks between the two men in disbelief. E? These two were just the best of buds now huh? Regardless, she couldn’t resist free food. She released a deep sigh, “Fine.”

--------------

They all met up at IN-N-OUT. They went around through the drive-thru to get their orders but got out of their cars and sat at an open table in front of the restaurant. The women wasted no time with getting started on mashing their food. Erik and Coby watched with amusement at how the women showed no mercy on their burgers and fries. “See E,” Coby pointed to the eating women, “You gotta feed these beasts. Especially, yours. She be tripping the hardest when she dont get food.” Erik bounced with laughter. Phoenix elbowed him in his side. “Don’t laugh at his shit.” she said with a mouth full of fries.

A beat a silence sits over them until the women are just about done stuffing their faces. “So… Erik” Mica starts, “Did you enjoy yourself tonight as much as you enjoyed those wings?”

“Yes, Mica… I did.” The two of them stare at each other.

“Remember what I told you, right?”

Erik rubs his beard, “Nah. I don’t actually. Wanna refresh my memory?”

“Okay, this nigga wanna play games.”

“You know,” Erik says pointing at Mica, “You remind me of a little chihuahua.”

“Nigga! You remind me of a pitbull.”

“Wow,” Phoenix rest her hands in her palms on the table, “I’m glad to see you two are getting along well.”

Everybody laughs. Phoenix knew Mica liked Erik. They all did. Mica only went back and forth with people she respected. If she didn’t like you, she’d move around you like you weren’t even there.

Camren silently got Mica, Phoenix and Erik’s attention, pointing to Coby and Ava. They were whispering and giggling in each other’s ears like no one else was at the table. Mica let out a fake, loud cough, patting her chest that gained the caking couples attention. Camren, Phoenix and Erik tried to keep their laughs inside at how dramatic Mica’s cough was. Trying to look normal, Camren pretends to be on her phone and Phoenix moves closer to Erik as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They leaned into each other as they hid their faces to laugh.

Ava noticed all of them doing a poor job at trying not to laugh. “You good, Mica? You need something to drink?”

“Nah, I’m good. But y’all two may need a sip.” Mica says sliding her cup toward them.

“You real fucking funny Mica.” Coby states.

“I’m just saying, from this angle, y’all thirsty asses look like a two headed body,” she laughs. “Like damn Coby, back up off my girl.”

Camren chokes on her drink from laughing at Mica’s comment.

Ava had to laugh herself, “Y’all ain’t shit.”

“But what’s up though?” Phoenix ask, “We deserve to know like… what’s up with y’all? Are y’all official now or what?”

Ava cuts her eye at Phoenix, who is currently wrapped up under a large man’s arm. “I don’t know Phoenix,” sarcasm in her words, “Are you two official now or what?”

The smile on Phoenix’s face drops. She walked herself right into that one. But she knew how to handle this. “This isn’t about me and Erik right now. It’s about you and Coby. Two of my bestest friends. You know, I thought we were all so close here and that y’all would tell us if you two made it official. I mean… I know you would be the first person I’d call when Erik and I made that decision. But I get it. Maybe we’re not like that anymore.”

Erik is taking in all of what Phoenix is saying, reading between every single line. He smirks knowing what she ISN’T saying. Taking notes.

Ava is sitting there, listening to Phoenix go on but she’s no fool. She knows what Phoenix is doing. Coby on the other hand… his soft spot for her blocks his common sense most times. He always fall for her antics and Phoenix knew this. And just like she always did, she got him to break.

“Damn, Philly, relax. We’re official okay?” Coby says, feeling bad for not telling her.

Everybody burst into laughter. Coby looked confused. Did he miss the joke?

“What the fuck is so funny?” he asks.

Erik looks at him. “She just played you, bro.”

“Yeah, bae, you fall for that shit every time.” Ava added.

Coby looks at Phoenix. She gives him a closed mouth smile. “I hate you Phoenix.”

“I love you too brother.”

Coby stands, “You know what, fuck this. I don’t deserve this kind of treatment. It’s been real. Ava grab your shit. We out.”

Everyone continues laughing as Coby and Ava grab up their garbage, throwing it away. Coby gives Erik dap and walks past Phoenix to hug Camren and Mica. Phoenix laughs at him being childish. Ava says her goodbyes.

“Will we be seeing more of you Erik?” she asks as she hugs Phoenix.

“Of course. Phoenix ain’t going nowhere.”

“i’ll hold you to that..” he gives her a hug.

“We might as well all take our asses home.” Camren says standing. They all follow her lead in gathering up their garbage, tossing it and saying their goodbyes. As soon as Phoenix got comfortable in Erik’s passenger seat, the group chat was live. The women talked about how they approve of Erik, Phoenix did an amazing job DJing tonight, etc.

Erik pulled out onto the road, taking them home. Phoenix slid down in her seat. Her tired is finally catching up to her. “Thanks for coming, E.” she says.

He looks over at her. He didn’t respond. Instead, he slid his hand over to hers. Repeating her earlier action and interlocking their fingers. He pulled their conjoined hands up and kissed the back of hers. That was all she needed to know that he was glad he came out too. He laughed to himself. Curious, she asked what was funny.

“I’m going to put your girl, Mica in the headlock. I see she’s the one that likes to talk.”

Smiling at their interactions thus far, “Yeah, that’s Mica.” Phoenix says. “She has to test you to see if you can hold your own. Not everybody makes it passed her.”

“Did I get by y’all guard dog?”

Phoenix laughs, “You did. She likes you.”

“Cool. I don’t have to sneak by security to get you.”

“You would do that huh?”

“Hell yeah.”

Phoenix takes her hand from his and reaches over to rub her fingers through his beard. Erik didn’t miss a beat and simply slid his now free hand onto her thigh. They rode the rest of the journey like this.

———

They arrive back at their apartment building. Erik parks his car and turns the ignition off. Phoenix whines, “I don’t feel like getting out yet.”

“We can chill here for a minute.” Erik says, rubbing her hand that is resting on the side of his face.

He notes how touchy Phoenix is with him. He’s now curious if this is how she is when she likes someone. He didn’t mind at all though. If simply just touching him is soothing to her, he’d let her touch him anywhere, anytime.

“OH MY GOD!” Phoenix sits ups in her seat fully, looking at Erik. He’s confused by her sudden outburst. “I just realized what you said.” She continued.

“What? What did I say?”

“When we were on my couch. You said your dad was the prince of Wakanda.” Erik nods, confirming that he did in fact, say that. “So… that would mean you’re a prince.”

“Yes, baby girl. You didn’t put that together when I said that?”

“No! I wasn’t thinking that far at the time.” She softly hits him on the chest. “You’re a whole prince, E.” The lazy smile on her face made him realize it was time to get this girl up to her bed. She was sleepy talking now.

“You need to go to bed.” He gets out of the car and walks around to let her out. They walk to the elevator. Erik pushes the call button and as they wait, Phoenix stands behind him and snakes are hands around his abdomen. She lays her cheek against his back, ‘resting her eyes.’ When the elevator arrives, she moans in protest at having to move. He grabs her hand from her stomach and pulls her into the cabin. He pushes the button to her floor. She repeats her movements of wrapping her arms around him. This time, they’re face to face. He looks down at her with tired eyes. She smiles up at him, sliding her hands up his shirt. She softly drags her fingertips over his scars. She rest her chin on his chest. He moves a stray hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She watches as he licks his lips. Phoenix wanted so badly to taste them again. The kiss they shared earlier was simply a ploy to piss Sydney off but now, she wanted a real one. She needed it. Now! She pushed herself up on her tippy toes and crashed her lips into his. He kissed back immediately. The warmth of his lips was everything she knew she needed and wanted in that moment. The kiss became more and more passionate as they continued. Erik swiped his tongue over her bottom lip and she gladly welcomed him in. She sucked on his tongue and he let out a moan into her mouth. Her hands still pressed on his skin, she pulled herself more into him. He held both sides of her face. The cabin came to a stop. Erik pulled back, cussing to himself.

Without words, she slid her hands into his, pulling him off the elevator and into her hallway. Still standing in front of the elevator doors, he pulls her back against his chest. “I’m not done with you.” His voice low. She lets out a slow breath. He leans down, kissing her again. Just like before, she opened graciously for his tongue to explore her mouth. Their lips wet and smacking. Phoenix gripped his shirt, pulling him as close as he could be. He backed her up against the wall. He trailed wet kisses down to her neck. Phoenix closed her eyes, allowing the attack on her neck. Suddenly he stopped. Resting his face in the crook of his neck, he whispered, “I have to leave Tuesday.”

Her eyes snapped open, “Why?”

He leaned up to look at her. “Work.” disappointment was written all over her face. “I just…” He continued, “I don’t wanna do this and then just leave. I don’t wanna do you like that.”

She nods, understanding. He pulls back away from her, holding her hand. She looks down in thought for a second. “Well, you have to make some time for me tomorrow. Even if it’s 5 minutes.”

“Deal. It’ll definitely be more than 5 minutes though.” He smirked.

The smile that crept onto Phoenix’s face was all Erik needed to settle the small bit of anxiety in his chest. This would be his first mission since they’ve become this close. Since exchanging numbers, the moment he woke up to the moment he falls asleep, his time was spent texting her. And let’s not forget their long studio session. Phoenix has become a part of his daily in what seems like a short time. The first time he’d seen her, getting into the elevator a month ago, he had in his mind she would definitely be a girl he was going to smash. But it was something about her that intrigued him. He actually wanted—no, needed to know more than just her body. He needed to know her. There was a pull between them since that first day in the elevator and the way she just kissed him, let him know she felt that same pull too. He shared his darkest parts with her and she stuck around. Granted, he’d never told anyone that and wasn’t sure what to expect. But everything in him was yelling at him to be honest with her. Erik was going to go with it. Allow the pull to bring them closer and closer. He was open to falling no matter how fast it was for her. She was willing to do the same.

Phoenix had been around some of the most sought out men in the entertainment industry. Some of them showed interest in her but she was more than unimpressed. When she would talk to them, she didn’t feel anything. With Erik? She felt everything. The jelly legs she got the first day she seen him was enough to convince her that it was something about him. Phoenix couldn’t recall a time where she really had a ‘crush’ on anyone. But… Erik. Phoenix has always been one to believe in fate and soul mates though. She believed she had one, somewhere and that they’d find their way to her somehow. She always imagined it would be this intense feeling. Tingles in her hands when she’d talk to them. They’d make her think about them every second of the day. She would just melt at the thought of them. She melted at the thought of Erik. He hands tingled when she would text him. The crush thing didn’t add up. Crushes couldn’t have felt like this. During their kiss, all she could think about was, this isn’t a crush, this is some soul shit.

————

Erik made sure Phoenix got into her apartment, ending their time with a few more pecks on her lips. He got into the elevator, going up to his penthouse. He didn’t even bother turning on any lights when he walked in. He let his instincts carry him into his bedroom. He came out of his clothes, getting into his king bed. He licked his lips over and over, still able to taste Phoenix on them. He drifted off into sleep.

————-

As Phoenix slowly opened her eyes to the morning sun, her brain rushed with the memories of the night before. She held herself in the center of her bed as she reminisced on Erik. The feel of his rough hand in hers. The warmth of his hand when he held her thigh in the car. The way his beard tickled her fingers as she played with his thick, facial hair. His solid, thick form when she rested her head on his back… and then his chest. His soft, keloid skin when she slipped her hands under his shirt. And his lips… his soft, full lips. She wanted more of them. To kiss her in more than a few places. The thoughts caused her face to heat up. She crossed her legs trying to keep the heat from traveling below. She replayed everything in her head. Time passed and she couldn’t get up just yet because she wasn’t ready to put them on hold. That is, until her phone buzzed on her nightstand. The universe had to have been listening to her thoughts because Erik’s name popped up onto her locked screen. Butterflies found way into her stomach before she could even swipe the message open.

Erik: Good morning baby girl. You up?

Phoenix: yes, I’m up. Good morning E.

Erik: how you sleep?

Phoenix: pretty good. I was KO as soon as I landed on the bed. How did you sleep?

Erik: not bad at all. Wyd?

Phoenix: still in bed. Feels too good to get up.

Erik: damn, for real? Lol, I guess I’ll ask someone else to go get breakfast with me.

Phoenix: hmm, suddenly I’m so hungry I can’t stay in this bed another second.

Erik: lmfao. I knew your eat’em up ass couldn’t resist.

Phoenix: you + food = a good ass time to me

Erik: *kissy face* can you be ready in an hour?

Phoenix: I’ll do my best!

Phoenix put her phone back on the nightstand and rushed into the bathroom. Her hair was ready to be washed but she definitely didn’t have time to do that. She tossed it up into a top knot bun and continued pushing. Brushing her teeth, washing her face and getting in the shower in thirty minutes. She was making good timing. She stood in her closet, going through possible options.

It’s just breakfast. No need to get super cute, she thought. But then again, they’re going out. Is this a date? Or are they just hanging out? After last night, this has to be beyond ‘hanging out.’ The man practically had his tongue down her throat. She didn’t give any fucks. Her brain settled for: This is definitely a date. She would still sport her usual, casual and comfy look but still hella cute. She picked out her signature biker short in dark grey and paired them with a Snoop Dogg graphic tee and Nike’s. She moisturized her body in her Vanilla scented shea butter and got dressed. Her bun was decent so she swooped her edges and put on some mascara and lip gloss. As Phoenix hooked the last of her layered necklaces, there’s a knock at her door. She knew it was Erik so she tossed her phone in her purse and moved quickly to open the door.

“Hey, E.” She said when she swung the door open. She jiggled her keys in her hand, joining him in hallway. He remained silent as he watched her lock her door. Once it’s all locked, she turned to him and his stare on her was intense. He looked her up and down, biting his lip. She watched him curious to know how long they’d stand there with him eye fucking her. After just a few seconds, Phoenix couldn’t take it anymore. She dramatically cleared her throat, breaking his gaze. He covered his smile with his fist. “My bad.”

“I understand. You like what you see. But I’m hungry so we should go.”

They started walking to the elevator. “Yeah, I’m aware of how you get when you’re hungry.”

She nudges him in the arm. He could chill on her. Food was an important piece of Phoenix’s life. If he was going to continue this thing with her, he was going to need to grasp that ASAP.

When Erik opened the door for Phoenix to get into his car, he leaned down, looking her in the eye, “if I catch any nigga looking at yo’ ass in these shorts, I’ma break his fucking face.” He closed the door before she could react and walked around the vehicle, getting in himself.

———

Erik sat at the exit of the parking garage waiting for traffic to clear. He slid his hand over to rest on Phoenix’s thigh.

“So, where are we going?” She asked as they turned out onto the road.

“What if I wanted to surprise you?”

“I don’t really like surprises,” she smiles at him. “so just tell me.”

He shakes his head. “Madea’s Fish and Grits.”

“Ohh, I’ve been wanting to go there.”

A sly smirk crept on Erik’s face. “I go there all of the time. One of my favorites.”

——-

The drive was short. Phoenix stomach thanked her for that. They walked in and the hostess greeted them. She smiled at Erik, raising a brow in Phoenix’s direction. “One second,” She said before walking away and speaking loudly to someone in the back. “Madea, your boy is here.”

Moments later, an older black woman with long, grey and black hair pulled into a low pony walked out from the back, smiling at them. She wiped her hands on her apron. “Hello, Mr. Erik.” She opened her arms out for a hug. He smiled big at the woman, hugging her. “Hey, Madea.”

“I haven’t you seen you in awhile boy. I thought you forgot about me.”

“C’mon now. I could never forget about you.”

Madea’s eyes shoot to Phoenix and back to Erik. “And who is this pretty lady?”

Erik turned to introduce her. “This is Phoenix.”

Madea took Phoenix’s hand in both of hers. Phoenix smiles at the woman. “Nice to meet you.”

“Are you a friend of Erik’s?”

Phoenix looks at Erik who is trying to hide his embarrassed, red face. “You can say that.”

“Hmm, well let’s get you two seated.”

Madea grabs two menus and guides them to Erik’s favorite booth near the front window. They take their seats. “Reese will be over in a second.” Before she walked away, she leaned down to whisper something in Phoenix’s ear that made her laugh. Erik eyed the women suspiciously. When Madea was out of site, Erik glared at Phoenix. She pretended to be really into the menu. She could feel his eyes on her but she refused to look up at him. Reese approached them. “Good morning. Can I start y’all off with some drinks?” She doesn’t take her eyes off of Erik.

“What you want baby girl?” He says to Phoenix. She smiles up at him. “Orange juice.”

“We’ll both have orange juice.”

Reese walks off. Erik picks up the menu, looking through it and trying to look extra focused.

“She likes you.” Phoenix says.

“Hm? What?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. Ya’ girl Reese ain’t take her eyes off you for one second.”

Erik waves his hand, dismissing that idea. “Ain’t nobody worried about her.”

“Who you worried about then?”

He winks at her. “You… and what Madea said to you before she walked away.”

“You’re nosey.”

Reese brings them their drinks. “Are you two ready to order?”

“I am. You ready baby?”

Phoenix looks up from the menu at Erik and catches his wink. “Yes.” She looks at Reese. “I’ll have the catfish and grits, with cheese. Turkey bacon and my eggs, scrambled.” She ends her order with a closed mouth smile. Handing her menu to Reese, Erik gives his order of the French toast, bacon and sausage, egg whites and hash browns.

As the two of them waited for their food, Erik pushed more for Phoenix to share what Madea whispered to her.

“You really wanna know Erik?”

“Yes.” He sipped his juice.

Phoenix rested her face in her palms. “She said… I must be special. She’s never seen you bring a lady friend in here before.”

Erik’s face blushed with redness. He didn’t have a come back for that. It was true. He has never brought anyone into Madea’s place with him. He’s always sat alone. Women would come in and try to talk to him. Reece being one of them. A few he exchanged numbers with, meet up with at a later moment. Reece was Madea’s niece. Erik couldn’t disrespect Madea that way. He had so much love and respect for the older woman. She reminded him of a mother/grandmother figure. She would sometimes join him and they’d talk about random things going on in the world. It had been about a month since he’s been in the soul food restaurant. (Hmm, he’s known Phoenix for a month.)

Phoenix pretended to not notice how shook Erik was. When he didn’t give her a smart response to what Madea told her, she looked off, scanning the restaurant. She caught the eye of a small boy, no older than 6 years old. They made eye contact and the little boy smiled and waved at her. She winked and waved back.

“Who the fuck you waving at?” Erik snapped his head around to see who was the brave soul to be waving at his girl. He looked over the booths seat, seeing the little boy. When the little boy seen Erik, he covered his mouth, snickering. Erik pointed to his eye and to the boy, signaling that he’s watching him. The little boy sticks his tongue out at Erik. Phoenix burst into laughter. Erik turned back to her. “So that’s yo mans huh?”

Phoenix is laughing so hard that she can’t say anything. Tears are forming in her eyes. Erik is being his dramatic self, talking shit. “Can’t believe you girl. In front of my face. Just gonna flirt with this lil nigga like I won’t lay hands on his ass. The disrespect.”

“Erik, be quiet. He’s a baby.”

“I don’t care! I fight kids Phoenix.”

Phoenix shakes her head at him, finally being able to control herself. She sighs. “You are crazy.”

“I am. Crazy as fuck.”

Reece approaches the table with their food. Erik’s mouth is practically watering.

“Here y’all go. Is there anything I can get y’all?” Reece asks.

“We’re good. Thank You.” Phoenix says.

The two of them get started on their meals. Phoenix was admiring the buttery, perfect grits when the young boy from earlier is slowly following behind his mom as they walk to the exit of the restaurant. He waves at Phoenix again. As they continued to pass by their table, the boy stops and turns to Erik. He balls up his tiny fist and scrunches up his face at him. Erik pretends to get up from the table like he’s going to go after the boy and he jumps and takes off running, catching up to his mom. He turns around one last time to stick his tongue out again.

“You see this little nigga?” Erik says, motioning to the boy leaving.

With a mouth full of food, Phoenix holds her mouth to keep it all in as she laughs.

“I should go whoop his little ass.” Erik continues.

Phoenix and Erik laugh off the encounter. They finished their meals but continue sitting and talking. Reece had retrieved their empty dishes. They both ordered some coffee and Reece made sure to keep their cups full. Their conversations drifting between aliens and supernatural things. Their favorite movies. Their stance on BLM, women’s rights and how much they both hated Trump. The more they talked, the more they discovered just how much they had in common.

Their cups had found themselves to be empty. Reece has gone on break, so this time Madea came to the table with a fresh pot of coffee. She filled their cups with a smile. Erik was her favorite customer. She never had an issue with him, so serving him was her pleasure.

“Thank You.” Phoenix says.

“Oh, baby, it’s my pleasure.” Madea looks over at Erik and pinches him on the arm. “Your big head butt better not stay away from here again.”

“Ouch! I’m sorry, Madea. I’ve been caught up with work.”

“Work, huh?” Madea looks to Phoenix, “Has he been caught up with work, Ms. Phoenix? Or has he been caught up with you?” She asks with a wink.

Phoenix’s mouth opens and shuts, not sure how to answer that. She looks at Erik for help. He simply raises an eyebrow at her.

“Um, I guess you can say a little bit of both.”

“So how long have you two been dating?”

Another question Phoenix didn’t know how to answer. Erik opens his mouth to answer and Madea swats his hand for him to shut up. She wanted to hear it from Phoenix.

“Well, we’re getting to know each other. It’s been a few weeks, I guess.”

“Hmm.” The slim woman moves the coffee pot to her left hand and leans down onto the table with her right. “Well, Ms.Phoenix,” she peeks over at Erik, “And you too, Mr.Erik, I’m no expert but I know a thing or two. I know when two people have an undeniable connection. I am by no means saying to rush into anything, but if your intuition says jump, you ask how high. I can’t put my finger on it just yet, but there’s definitely something here with you two. I’m gonna say this last thing and I’ll be out of y’all hair. You can meet someone today and they’ll love and cherish you better than someone you’ve known for 10 years.”

Phoenix nods. When she looked over at Erik, he was biting his lip, looking down at the table at nothing in particular. Madea gave Phoenix’s shoulder two pats and left the two to sit with her words. They sat in silence for a moment, not really sure how to pick back up from that. Erik finally looked up, catching Phoenix’s eyes. She gave him a soft smile before asking, “How long are you gonna be gone?” her voice was low, but he still heard her over the busy sounds of the restaurant.

With Erik leaving the very next day, he knew this question would come up at some point during their time together.

“Two weeks.”

The same disappointment from when he told her he had to leave the night before showed up on her face right then. Erik knew he would never be able to deal with that face from her.

“When I get back, it’ll be awhile before I have to leave again.”

“Okay.” She whispered.

The silenced that say amongst them wasn’t so comfortable after that. Neither of them could really bear it but neither of them had anything to say. It had gotten too uncomfortable and Erik suggested that they head back home. The car ride was silent. Both of their brains going over what Madea said to them, as well as the both of them trying to process the fact that just when they were getting closer, they have to be separated for two whole weeks without any form of communication.

#the elevator bae #erik x phoenix #shewritestheblues

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luckysevenwrites · 4 years ago

Text

Illicit Affairs

Taylor Swift has really been putting me in the feels lately. So here’s another one based off of her new album. I’ll probably end up doing one for each of her songs. We’ll see though.

You stare out at the city below you that is lite up in color and pull the sheet wrapped around you tighter. The view from up here is amazing, you could stare out at the city for hours and you’d never get bored of looking at it you think. Off in the distance you hear the shower turning off and turn towards the bathroom door that is now opening. Kai comes out with a towel wrapped low around his waist; another is being used to dry his hair. He looks up at you and gives you a boyish grin. You can’t help but return the smile. You honestly didn’t know how someone could go from looking like sin to a cute playful puppy in a matter of second, but Kai somehow was able to pull it off.

“I thought you would have left by now.”

“Got caught up in the view.” You tell him as he makes his way towards you. You turn back to the view and feel Kai wrap his arms around your waist. He leans in to kiss your neck, then rest his chin on your shoulder.

“It is a beautiful view. Almost as beautiful as you.” He whispers.

“When did you get so corny?” You laugh as Kai kisses your shoulder.

“I’ve always been corny,” pulling away from you Kai starts to collect your clothes and sets them on the bed for you, “You should probably get going it’s getting late.”

You try to hide your disappointment as you reach for your clothes and start to dress. You should be used to it by now. You have never once stayed at Kai’s place and he has never stayed at yours. It’s to risky someone could see you and then everyone would know that you two are a thing. And you couldn’t have that or at least that what you tell yourself to make the pain of hiding hurt less. You tell yourself that his fans and the press would be all over you and would make you miserable. That his members wouldn’t be supportive of your relationship. That his company would make you two break up. These are all things that you tell yourself to justify why you two continue to sneak around.

“Let me know when you make it home.” Kai laces your fingers together as he walks you to the door. He leans in to give you a sweet kiss before he opens the door for you.

You step out and watch him close the door on you. You wait until you hear the lock turn before you turn away from the door and pull your hood up over your head. You keep your head down as you make your way out. Hoping that you won’t run into any of his members. Even if you do run into one of them you have gotten so good at hiding and lying that you are positive that they’ll never catch you.

It’s as your leaving the building that you hear their voices. Looking down the street you see Baekhyun and Sehun making their way towards you. But they are not alone, Sehun has his arm thrown around a girl’s shoulder and pulls her in close to his side before he kisses the top of her head. Baekhyun is holding hands with a girl as well. He is swinging their arms back and forth while signing some song loudly to her, causing her to throw her head back and laugh. They are doing all of this in the open, not hiding the fact that they are clearly dating. For a moment you are frozen in place, you can’t believe that they are dating and not hiding it. What were you and Kaidoing then? Why were you and Kai hiding? You don’t have time to think about this though, they are getting closer and you really don’t want to be seen by them now. You quickly head in the opposite direction of them your head filled with questions.

3 days later

You’re sitting at your kitchen table when your phone goes off. You glance over at it and see that it’s a message from Kai. Unlocking your phone, you stare at the message and debate on how to respond.

K: Are you free to come over tonight?

The answer is yes you are free. You are always free for him. You made it that way, from the moment that you and Kai started your affair you made sure that you were able to meet him whenever he was free. Because that was what you thought you had to do. You wanted to be with him, so it didn’t matter if you were out with friends, family, or swamped at work. You somehow found a way to free up your time so you could be with him. Because Kai had changed your world, he made you feel special and when you were with him it was like the rest of the world melted away, and the only thing that matter was you and him, and you would do anything for that feeling, you loved that feeling. Now, you wondered if that feeling was worth it when you always felt like crap afterwards.

If you were being honest with yourself, you hated hiding your relationship with Kai. You wanted everyone to know that you were his and he was yours. You wanted to go out on dates, to leave the bedroom, to not have to settle for glances across the room to each other. You wanted to be able to hold his hand, to kiss his cheek in public. You wanted what you saw three days ago. You wanted what those two girls with Baekhyun and Sehun had. Didn’t you deserve that? You deserved more than secret meetings, stolen glances, and touches.

Y/n: I don’t think I can meet tonight

K: Do you have plans?

Y/n: I just can’t meet tonight

K: baby please I miss you

Y/n: I can’t

You turn your phone off and bring your knees up to your chest. Resting your chin on your knees you think back to how all of this started. How you were so stupid to have even agreed to this type of relationship but, you liked him, and you believed him when he said it wouldn’t be like this forever.

“What are we doing Kai?” You breathed as he continued to kiss down your neck. Your fingers are tangled in his hair and you give him a gentle tug. Pulling his face away from your neck he leans in, so your noses are touching and smiles.

“We’re kissing.” He teased. Rolling your eyes, you gave him a shove.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“I like you y/n.” You knew that but you were glad to hear him say it.

“I like you too.” That made Kai smile even wider.

“Good to know. So, we both like each other and we are kissing and I’m really hoping this kissing will lead to more.”

“Kai, we’re hiding in a storage room.” Leaning his head onto your shoulder you tense waiting for Kai to speak.

“No one can know about us.” He said into your neck.

“Why?” Even back then you knew that hiding wasn’t the way to go. But you still listened to what Kai had to say. You waited for him to straighten himself, he moved his hands from your waist to cup the side of your face and looked into your eyes. It was in that moment that you knew you were going to believe whatever came out of his mouth. Because in that moment you saw how much Kai wanted you no, not even wanted you how much he cared about you and you felt that whatever his reason was would be worth it.

“It’s better if we keep this a secret just for a bit. I just want it to be the two of us without anyone else weighing in their opinion on us. I want us to be solid before we tell anyone about us.”

You should have asked then why you had to keep it hidden from his member. You knew them well enough to know that they all supported one another. They would have supported yours and his relationship but, you were scared of losing Kai and you trusted him and figured that he knew what was best.

“We won’t keep it a secret forever, right?”

“No, just a few weeks.”

That was over eight months ago. You two were quickly approaching a year and still haven’t told anyone about the two of you. You hadn’t said anything because you trusted Kai and figured that he knew when a good time would be to make the two of you public. Besides anytime you brought up the subject he would just say, “baby trust me.” Trust him? Trust him, that’s what you’ve been doing for eight months now, and your trust was starting to fade. There was a knock on your door that broke you out of your musing. You opened the door not bothering to look to see who was out there. You wish you would have looked, because standing at your door was Kai.

“You look busy.” He nodded towards your outfit that consisted of yoga pants and a sweatshirt.

“What are you doing here?” You crossed your arms over your chest, refusing to let him in.

“You weren’t answering your phone. I was worried.”

“I’m fine. I turned my phone off because I didn’t want to talk to you.” Kai’s eyes widen in surprise that was not what he was expecting to hear.

“You don’t want to talk to me?”

“No, I don’t want to see you either so I would really appreciate it if you left.”

“Baby…”

“No, don’t call me that.” You snap.

“Y/n why don’t you let me in so we can talk about this.” You knew that you had two options either let Kai in tell him how felt and then he would leave or continue to argue out in the hallway and considering how stubborn Kai was do that for hours.

“Fine.” You step aside letting him in and close the door behind him. He turns to face you and waits for you to start.

“I know that Sehun and Baekhyun are dating.” You throw at him.

“And?” Kai questions. You let out a humorless laugh, was he really being serious right now.

“You’re joking right? Please tell me that you’re joking. Kai they are dating, and they are not hiding it at all. I’m willing to bet based off of your reaction that you’ve known for a while that they have been dating and you are fine with them dating. I bet the company is fine with them dating, and if I were to look up online most fans are fine with them dating.”

“What are you getting at y/n.”

“Why are we still hiding hmm?” You throw your arms out and let them slam back down to your sides. “Why does no one know about us. I want to be with you Kai and you know that. I have been bending myself over backwards to be with you, lying to my friend and family when I’m going out to meet you. I’ve been sneaking around for months hiding our relationship and here I come to find out that not one but two of your members are dating and doing it openly.”

“I’m a mess Kai because of you. I’m meeting you in secret places, I know all the hiding spots in your company, there are no photos of us together or text messages saved between us just in case I were to lose my phone and someone got into it. I think that it’s normal to not spend the night with the person you sleep with. I can’t keep doing this.”

“Y/n I just need some more time.” Kai calmly tells you.

“More time? How much more time do you need?”

“I don’t know I just need more time.”

“No Kai, no more time either you want to be with me and let everyone know or we’re done.” You couldn’t keep going on like this. You didn’t deserve to be hiding in the shadows. You deserved so much more.

“I’m not ready for people to know about us.” Kai whispers. You know he cares about you; you can see it in his eyes. But you can’t keep doing this it’s hurting to much.

You could feel your throat getting tight and tried to stop the tears that were forming but they came anyway. Kai had given you your answer. He may want you, but he didn’t want people to know that he was with you. For whatever reason he wasn’t willing to take your relationship public and you couldn’t do it anymore.

“Then we’re done.” You croak.

“Y/n I love you. But I just can’t tell anyone about us yet.” Kai’s voice sounded heavy and you knew that he was fighting back tears.

“I love you too. But I won’t continue to live like this.” You pull open your door and wait for him to leave. Once he’s out you shut the door and slide down onto the floor and cry. You promise yourself that this is the only time that you will allow yourself to cry over him and then you are going to move on. So, you let it all out you cry for yourself, for what you two could have had, and for Kai.

One Year Later

Kai is sitting at one of the outdoor tables at a coffee shop when he sees you across the street. You’re in a sundress and your hair is flying behind you as you quickly make your way down the sidewalk. You stop at the crosswalk waiting for the sign to turn so you can safely cross. As Kai watches you, he feels his lips twitch as you bounce on your feet. Something that you always did when you were in a rush and had to wait. The lights change and you make your way across the street. You stop outside a restaurant that is two buildings down from where he’s sitting.

You look up and down the sidewalk and then down at your phone. When you look up again you look his direction and for a moment Kai thinks that you’ve seen him. You’re face breaks out into a smile and your eyes light up. It’s a look that you have given him a thousand times. The thing is though this time it isn’t being directed at him. You’re looking off to the side of him. Kai follows where you’re looking and sees a man making his way towards you. As soon as he’s within arm’s reach of you, he pulls you into him and wraps his arms around your waist. You lean deep into him practically putting all your weight into him. Tilting your head back you go up on your tip toes as he bends down to kiss you. When you break apart, he reaches down for you hand and laces your fingers together, the two of you then disappear inside the restaurant.

Kai rubs at his chest and feels like he’s going to be sick. He should have known that you would move on. You were more than just beautiful, you were fun to talk to you, smart, understanding, and funny. Of course, you would find someone. He just didn’t think that you would move on so quickly. Ever since he walked out of your apartment that day Kai knew he made a mistake. But he was scared. He was afraid that if people found out about you two, they would be mean to you and you wouldn’t be able to handle it. He was afraid that you would listen to all the rumors that swirled around him and would believe them. But most of all he was afraid that you would realize that you deserved better than him. So, in his twisted mind he convinced himself that if you kept it all a secret you would never leave him and that you would always be his.

“You okay? You look like you saw a ghost?” Baekhyun asks as he sat down a coffee in front of Kai.

“Hyung, I’ve messed up and I need your help.” Baekhyun tilts his head to the side studying Kai. Kai took a deep breathe and looked his hyung right in the eyes prepared to tell him everything. From how you two started to how you ended. He wasn’t going to hide anymore and he if he could he was going to fix what he broke between the two of you.

#exo kai #kai angst

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dreamgirl4certain · 5 years ago

Text

The Elevator Bae

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX

Chapter SEVEN

Erik x Black OC (Phoenix)

Warnings: FLUFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!

Phoenix’s morning was easy. She woke up feeling refreshed and started her day with morning yoga on her balcony. She sat out there when she was done just take in the stillness of the late morning. It had been awhile since she actually woke up before 1pm. As she sat outside, her mind trailed off into last night’s events. She realized just how much she enjoyed learning something new about Erik. She almost thought that she was crazy for being so understanding of his actions. But she knew that sometimes people are given the short end of the stick and have to make decisions differently. She didn’t fault him for what he’s done. She meant what she said about believing he wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt her and she still liked him… maybe even more now. He trusted her and that alone let her know that the feeling was mutual.

Her show was tonight and he promised to be there. That has to be like a huge step or something. Phoenix never invited a guy to her shows. Not even her sorry ass ex. He had never been to an event she was apart of. When it came to her work, she was serious and never wanted any distractions and niggas were distractions. But Erik didn’t feel like a distraction. Thanks to him, she has been making amazing music. He felt like motivation, inspiration and Phoenix was grateful. Even if things didn’t go how she hoped, without even knowing it, he has already made a mark on her life.

Phoenix: Hey, good morning Stevens. My show tonight is at Club X, 10-2. You better still be coming or that’s your ass. 😊😊

Now that that is done, a hot shower was calling her name. Phoenix wrapped her hair as best as she could and put on her scarf. This would be the last day with straight hair. She missed her curls.

--------

Baby Girl: Hey, good morning Stevens. My show tonight is at Club X, 10-2. You better still be coming or that’s your ass. 😊😊

Erik: Good morning, baby girl. Hell has frozen over for you to be up this early. I told you I’ll be there so I’ll be there. That lil threat was cute though.

He laughed at himself and continued his route home.

--------

****Phoenix: I kinda hate that I have to get there a little earlier to set up. I don’t be wanting to drive. I might Uber.

Erik: I understand but yo’ ass aint Ubering nowhere.

Phoenix: I don’t wanna drive. How am I gonna get there?

Erik: I’ll take you.

Phoenix: No. You don’t have to do that.

Erik: hm, I don’t remember asking you if I HAD to do it. Did I ask you that Phoenix?

Phoenix: 🙄 no.

Erik: Alright then. What time you need to be there?

Phoenix: 9:00.****

She opened the door to find him standing there dressed for the night with his locs braided back. “Hey, E.” she smiled, leaning on the door.

“Wassup.” He walks in. Phoenix closes the door.

“You came at the right time because I’m struggling to pick an outfit. C’mon”

“Aye,” she turns around to him. “Add this jacket and wear the all black fit.”

“I like that.” She takes the jacket and boots from to set them up with the black set she has on the bed. Nodding in approval. She turns and smiles at Erik. “Thanks.”

Phoenix looked confused. “What?”

Erik stands, reaching behind his neck and taking off one of the two chains he was wearing.

“Erik…” she whines.

“Ready?” he asks. She simply nods and they head out the door.

Phoenix locks her door and her and Erik start their short journey to the elevator. She pushes the call button and not long after, the doors open. Sydney is already in the cabin. This is the first time Erik had seen her since he’d texted her about not being interested. Phoenix had seen her in passing and they continued sharing their ‘hi’ and ‘byes’ but judging from Sydney’s face as the two of them stepped onto the elevator, she was curious as to why they were together when Erik didn’t live on the 7th floor.

“Hey Philly.” she said looking at Phoenix with piercing eyes.

“Hey, Syd.” she responded with a small smile and a wave.

“Erik…”

“Wassup, Sydney.”

“What are y’all up to?” she was more so asking Erik. He looked at Phoenix.

“Erik’s taking me to my show tonight.”

“Oh, yeah. I did see that on your Instagram. At ‘X’ right?”

“Mhm.”

Sydney stares at Erik. “That’s so nice of you Erik… to take her.”

“I’m a nice guy. What can I say?”

“Yeah you are.”

“You wanna tell me what that was about?”

“What?” she asks as if she doesn’t know what he’s referring to.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m sure you enjoyed it so let’s leave it at that. There’s nothing to discuss here.”

“I definitely enjoyed it.” he said to himself, knowing she heard him too.

Without another word, he pulls out of the parking garage and head to the club. The ride was smooth as they listened to music. Phoenix sat there, bobbing her head to the music and texting her friends in the group chat about what they’ll be arriving at the club.

Shawn raised his eyebrows, “You with her? Like with her, with her?”

Erik smirks at her, “Something like that.”

“Will do.”

“So…” she leans back on the turntables, “You and Shawn know each other.”

“Yeah, that’s the bro. We go way back.”

“Wow. wasn’t expecting that one.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that kiss either.”

Her cheeks become hot. She playfully rolled her eyes and turn toward the turntables. She tries to distract herself by playing around with some miscellaneous buttons. She feels a warm hand slide over hers and looks up to find Erik right on the side of her. “Show me something.” he says.

“Show you something?”

“Yeah,” he motions to her equipment. “Show me how you do what you do, Blue.”

“Philly!” Phoenix hears a loud, high pitched voice call out to her. It was Ava coming into the section with Coby. Mica and Camren right behind them.

“Hey!” she greets them all with a hug. She waves Erik over. “I’m sure you remember Ava and Mica.”

“How could I forget?”

“Nice to officially meet you Erik.” Ava says with a smile.

“This is Coby and that’s Camren.”

Coby and Erik do the ‘man hand shake’ dap and he waves at Camren. Camren looks at Phoenix with a cheesy smile.

“DON'T START WITH ME!” Phoenix yells at Camren, pointing a knowing finger at her.

“Aye man, you blow?”

“Hell yeah. Y’all got something?”

Erik nods and Coby follows Erik and Shawn out. Phoenix notices them walking away from the section, toward the exit. She looks at Ava, “where they going?” Ava shrugs, taking a sip of her drink.

Mica and Camren puts in a large order of wings. Ava tells the waitress to bring another bottle of Hennessy. Phoenix was so zoned out mixing, she completely forgot that the guys were gone. They had been missing for so long she forgot they were even there. Phoenix had been going strong since the club opened and she needed a small break. She could smell the wings that her friends ordered and it made her mouth water. She pieces together a small mix to play while she takes a seat to enjoy said wings. But when she turned around to her section she finds that Ava, Mica and Camren aren’t there. But who is there is Coby and Erik with bbq sauce and ranch all over their fingers and lips as the both of them are scarfing down the wings. From what she can see immediately was there were only four wings left in the basket.

“Damn! How many did y’all eat?”

The men look at each other and then at Phoenix. Neither of them answer the question. Phoenix folds her arms over her chest. “Am I talking to myself?”

Camren steps up into the section with the two behind her. “What’s going on? Why you look mad?” she says to Phoenix. Phoenix motions to the basket full of chicken bones. “ARE Y’ALL SERIOUS? Y’ALL ATE THIRTY WINGS!”

The two men burst into laughter.

“I’m glad y’all find this shit funny. What the fuck am I suppose to eat?”

“These niggas high.” Ava says, “The night is almost over. We can get food when we leave. They were taxing on the chicken anyways.”

Phoenix looks at Ava, frustration all over her face. “Is this my life?” Before Ava could respond, Phoenix goes back into the DJ booth to finish her set. The club would be closing in thirty minutes. She could push through that. She definitely planned on cussing Erik and Coby out about this later. Nobody told them to go off and get high, miss majority of her set and then come back and eat all of the food. Phoenix didn’t play about her food.

-------

“I’m so fucking hungry.” Mica spat.

“Join the club,” Phoenix says. “They need to hurry up.”

“I got my keys. We can leave they ass and go hit In-N-Out.” Ava says. Camren grabs her hand. “I love that idea. Let’s leave them.”

Erik slowly approaches Phoenix with apologetic eyes. He takes her backpack from her, putting it over his shoulder. “You mad?” he asks.

“I’m hungry!”

Mica raises her hands, pointing at each man. “And if y’all don’t mind, we’re leaving and going to In-N-Out.”

“Are we not invited?” Erik asked.

“NO!”

“We’re sorry, damn!”

“Aye,” Coby says, “We can all go to In-N-Out and me and E got y’all.” Erik nods agreement.

Phoenix looks between the two men in disbelief. E? These two were just the best of buds now huh? Regardless, she couldn’t resist free food. She released a deep sigh, “Fine.”

--------------

Silence sits over them until the women are just about done stuffing their faces. “So… Erik” Mica starts, “Did you enjoy yourself tonight as much as you enjoyed those wings?”

“Yes, Mica… I did.” The two of them stare at each other.

“Remember what I told you, right?”

Erik rubs his beard, “Nah. I don’t actually. Wanna refresh my memory?”

“See, this nigga wanna play games.”

“You know,” Erik says pointing at Mica, “You remind me of a little chihuahua.”

“Nigga! You remind me of a pitbull.”

“Wow,” Phoenix rest her hands in her palms on the table, “I’m glad to see you two are getting along well.”

Everyone laughs. Phoenix knew Mica liked Erik. They all did from what they knew so far. Mica only went back and forth with people she respected. If she didn’t like you, she’d move around you like you weren’t even there.

Ava noticed all of them doing a poor job at trying not to laugh. “You good, Mica? You need something to drink?”

“Nah, I’m good. But y’all two may need a sip.” Mica says sliding her cup toward them.

“You real fucking funny Mica.” Coby states.

“I’m just saying, from this angle, y’all thirsty asses look like a two headed body,” she laughs. “Like damn Coby, back up off my girl.”

Camren chokes on her drink from laughing at Mica’s comment.

Ava had to laugh herself, “Y’all ain’t shit.”

“But what’s up though?” Phoenix ask, “We deserve to know like… what’s up with y’all? Are y’all official now or what?”

Ava cuts her eye at Phoenix, who is currently wrapped up under a nigga’s arm. “I don’t know Phoenix,” sarcasm in her words, “Are you two official now… or what?”

The smile on Phoenix’s face drops. She walked herself right into that one. But she knew how to handle this.

“This isn’t about me and Erik right now. It’s about you and Coby. Two of my bestest friends. You know, I thought we were all so close here and that y’all would tell us if you two made it official. I mean… I know you would be the first person I’d call when Erik and I made that decision. But I get it. Maybe we’re not like that anymore.”

Erik is taking in all of what Phoenix is saying, reading between every single line. He smirks knowing what she ISN’T saying. Taking notes.

“Damn, Philly, relax. We’re official okay?” Coby says, feeling bad for not telling her.

Everybody burst into laughter. Coby looked confused. Did he miss the joke?

“What the fuck is so funny?” he asks.

Erik looks at him. “She just played you, bro.”

“Yeah, bae, you fall for that shit every time.” Ava added.

Coby looks at Phoenix. She gives him a closed mouth smile. “I hate you Phoenix.”

“I love you too brother.”

Coby stands, “You know what, fuck this. I don’t deserve this kind of treatment. It’s been real. Ava grab your shit. We out.”

“Will we be seeing more of you Erik?” she asks as she hugs Phoenix.

“Of course. Phoenix ain’t going nowhere.”

“i’ll hold you to that..” he gives her a hug.

Erik pulled out onto the road, taking them home. Phoenix slid down in her seat. Her tired is finally catching up to her. “Thanks for coming, E.” she says.

“I’m going to put your girl, Mica in the headlock. I see she’s the one that likes to talk.”

Smiling at their interactions thus far, “Yeah, that’s Mica.” Phoenix says. “She has to test you to see if you can hold your own. Not everybody makes it passed her.”

“Did I get by y’all guard dog?”

Phoenix laughs, “You did. She likes you.”

“Cool. I don’t have to sneak by security to get you.”

“You would do that huh?”

“Hell yeah.”

———

They arrive back at their apartment building. Erik parks his car and turns the ignition off. Phoenix whines, “I don’t feel like getting out yet.”

“We can chill here for a minute.” Erik says, rubbing her hand that is resting on the side of his face.

“OH MY GOD!” Phoenix sits ups in her seat fully, looking at Erik. He’s confused by her sudden outburst. “I just realized what you said.” She continued.

“What? What did I say?”

“When we were on my couch. You said your dad was the prince of Wakanda.” Erik nods, confirming that he did in fact, say that. “So… that would mean you’re a prince.”

“Yes, baby girl. You didn’t put that together when I said that?”

Her eyes snapped open, “Why?”

She nods, understanding. He pulls back away from her, holding her hand. She looks down in thought for a second. “Well, you have to make some time for me tomorrow. Even if it’s 5 minutes.”

“Deal. It’ll definitely be more than 5 minutes though.” He smirked.

————

————-

Erik: Good morning baby girl. You up?

Phoenix: yes, I’m up. Good morning E.

Erik: how you sleep?

Phoenix: pretty good. I was KO as soon as I landed on the bed. How did you sleep?

Erik: not bad at all. Wyd?

Phoenix: still in bed. Feels too good to get up.

Erik: damn, for real? Lol, I guess I’ll ask someone else to go get breakfast with me.

Phoenix: hmm, suddenly I’m so hungry I can’t stay in this bed another second.

Erik: lmfao. I knew your eat’em up ass couldn’t resist.

Phoenix: you + food = a good ass time to me

Erik: *kissy face* can you be ready in an hour?

Phoenix: I’ll do my best!

“I understand. You like what you see. But I’m hungry so we should go.”

They started walking to the elevator. “Yeah, I’m aware of how you get when you’re hungry.”

She nudges him in the arm. He could chill on her. Food was an important piece of Phoenix’s life. If he was going to continue this thing with her, he was going to need to grasp that ASAP.

———

Erik sat at the exit of the parking garage waiting for traffic to clear. He slid his hand over to rest on Phoenix’s thigh.

“So, where are we going?” She asked as they turned out onto the road.

“What if I wanted to surprise you?”

“I don’t really like surprises,” she smiles at him. “so just tell me.”

He shakes his head. “Madea’s Fish and Grits.”

“Ohh, I’ve been wanting to go there.”

A sly smirk crept on Erik’s face. “I go there all of the time. One of my favorites.”

——-

“I haven’t you seen you in awhile boy. I thought you forgot about me.”

“C’mon now. I could never forget about you.”

Madea’s eyes shoot to Phoenix and back to Erik. “And who is this pretty lady?”

Erik turned to introduce her. “This is Phoenix.”

Madea took Phoenix’s hand in both of hers. Phoenix smiles at the woman. “Nice to meet you.”

“Are you a friend of Erik’s?”

Phoenix looks at Erik who is trying to hide his embarrassed face. “You can say that.”

“Hmm, well let’s get you two seated.”

“What you want baby girl?” He says to Phoenix. She smiles up at him. “Orange juice.”

“We’ll both have orange juice.”

Reese walks off. Erik picks up the menu, looking through it and trying to look extra focused.

“She likes you.” Phoenix says.

“Hm? What?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. Ya’ girl Reese ain’t take her eyes off you for one second.”

Erik waves his hand, dismissing that idea. “Ain’t nobody worried about her.”

“Who you worried about then?”

He winks at her. “You… and what Madea said to you before she walked away.”

“You’re nosey.”

Reese brings them their drinks. “Are you two ready to order?”

“I am. You ready baby?”

As the two of them waited for their food, Erik pushed more for Phoenix to share what Madea whispered to her.

“You really wanna know Erik?”

“Yes.” He sipped his juice.

Phoenix rested her face in her palms. “She said… I must be special. She’s never seen you bring a lady friend in here before.”

Erik’s face blushed with redness. He didn’t have a come back for that. It was true. He has never brought anyone into Madea’s place with him. He’s always sat alone. Women would come in and try to talk to him. Reese being one of them. A few he exchanged numbers with, meet up with at a later moment. Reese was Madea’s niece. Erik couldn’t disrespect Madea that way. He had so much love and respect for the older woman. She reminded him of a mother/grandmother figure. Madea would even sometimes join him and they’d talk about random things going on in the world. It had been about a month since he’s been in the soul food restaurant. (Hmm, he’s known Phoenix for a month.)

“Who the fuck you waving at?” Erik snapped his head around to see who was the brave soul to be waving at his girl. He looked over the booths seat, seeing the little boy. When the little boy seen Erik, he covered his mouth, snickering. Erik pointed to his eye and then to the boy. signaling that he’s watching him. The little boy sticks his tongue out at Erik. Phoenix burst into laughter. Erik turned back to her. “So that’s yo man huh?”

“Erik, be quiet. He’s a baby.”

“I don’t care! I fight kids Phoenix.”

Phoenix shakes her head at him, finally being able to control herself. She sighs. “You are crazy.”

“I am. Crazy as fuck, actually.”

Reese approaches the table with their food. Erik’s mouth is practically watering.

“Here y’all go. Is there anything I can get y’all?” Reese asks.

“We’re good. Thank You.” Phoenix says.

“You see this little nigga?” Erik says, motioning to the boy leaving.

With a mouth full of food, Phoenix holds her mouth to keep it all in as she laughs.

“I should go whoop his little ass.” Erik continues.

“Thank You.” Phoenix says.

“Oh, baby, it’s my pleasure.” Madea looks over at Erik and pinches him on the arm. “Your big head butt better not stay away from here again.”

“Ouch! I’m sorry, Madea. I’ve been caught up with work.”

“Work, huh?” Madea looks to Phoenix, “Has he been caught up with work, Ms. Phoenix? Or has he been caught up with you?” She asks with a wink.

Phoenix’s mouth opens and shuts, not sure how to answer that. She looks at Erik for help. He simply raises an eyebrow at her.

“Um, I guess you can say a little bit of both.”

“So how long have you two been dating?”

Another question Phoenix didn’t know how to answer. Erik opens his mouth to answer and Madea swats his hand for him to shut up. She wanted to hear it from Phoenix.

“Well, we’re getting to know each other. It’s been a few weeks, I guess.”

With Erik leaving the very next day, he knew this question would come up at some point during their time together.

“Two weeks.”

The same disappointment from when he told her he had to leave the night before showed up on her face right then. Erik knew he would never be able to deal with that face from her.

“When I get back, it’ll be awhile before I have to leave again.”

“Okay.” She whispered.

Tags: @purple-apricots @abeautifulmindexposed @lostennyc @missshae @tip222u @janelledarling @lushloaded @chaneajoyyy @thadelightfulone @raysunshine78 @toniilaney @purpleskiesxhopefuldreams

#the elevator bae #erik killmonger #erik stevens #black panther #erik killmonger x OC #erik killmonger x black oc #erik x phoenix #shaebewriting

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svetlanabelikova · 5 years ago

Text

JOURNALING V

content warning:

weight loss/talking about weight

medical/surgical discussions

it has been awhile since i updated anyone casually interested in this part of my life, hasn’t it.

well, part of that is b/c i’ve been busy. holidays and everything, also i’ve started a work out routine, but i’ll get into that in a moment. also i didn’t have any doctor appointments for like, literally 3 weeks straight, which was nice. much better than speed running it like i had been.

today is 11.11.19, (make a wish if you believe in that sort of thing) and i’ve decided i no longer want surgery.

let me back up here.

so, let me re-read my last post just to remember what i need to fill in... ah yes, the fun i had w/ the x-ray. that feels like it happened months and months ago.

well, since then , i’ve been trying to get my life a lot more organized. i’ve started a (bullet) journal (mostly b/c i love watching the aesthetic set-up videos on youtube) and in it have been tracking my progress by the numbers. for the first few weeks of trying to lose weight, i was weighing myself every other day, sometimes more than that. i became obsessive and felt like the numbers weren’t enough. i wasn’t losing enough and one weekend i had gained back like 1.7 lbs or something. but seeing any increase in the numbers upset me. even though when we are talking about 1 or 2 pounds in someone that’s got over 300 of them, it isn’t the same as if someone is more like a buck fifty.

being able to put it down somewhere physical and then keep a log so i can see the numbers adding up or going down in a catalog has been very helpful for my mental health. having just the numbers on a paper has allowed me to watch my weight go from 349 in the beginning of october to where it currently is (or was as of 11.6 i only weigh myself every other wednesday. why wednesday and why every other week, i don’t know. it just seemed like more than once a month but less than every week. a good distance between not enough and too much) which is 329 lbs.

when put to paper, 20 pounds in a month is, i think, great. i know everyone says “oh the first 10-12 pounds comes off so easily!” but not from where i’m standing. i have been working for those 20 pounds.

speaking of working, let’s dig into that piece of proverbial pie i teased earlier.

i have a work-out routine. which is the first time i’ve said that in,,, probably ever. i know while in school i technically had one in p.e. class but let’s be honest. i did not give it my all and would take any opportunity to skip if i could. now it is just me, alone w/ my dark synthwave music and the pedometer built into pokemon go.

yeah, i could download a real work-out app that would track this stuff for me, but my phone’s memory is full to bursting and listen, i need to walk my buddy and eggs. i’ve got friends on pokemon go that need gifts and it is already built-in w/ this new adventure sync, so might as well use what i have.

so, i work out every monday, wednesday and friday night. i usually leave the house a little before 9pm and try to be back a little after 10pm. just about an hour. in that hour i walk down my street (which is pretty long imo), around the corner to the pokestop at the park, around the park, back down my street and return home. in the beginning i just walked around my street, or just to the stop (which is 0.7km from my front door) but as i’ve built up stamina, i’ve been able to walk all the way around the park. actually my goal for november, is to start walking around the park twice a night, at least once a week.

on average it is about 3,400 steps(or roughly 3.5 kms) and an hour of activity, 3 nights a week. i doesn’t seem like a lot but:

1. it is an hour of cardio every other day that i was not doing before, and 2. additional movement that adds up

i walked a combined 40,881 steps in october 2019 while working out. that is on top of whatever else i did while shopping or playing w/ the kids or what have you.

and i plan to add more. i found a great video on youtube that is all about basic, beginner yoga for curvy people. the instructor talks about doing yoga to your size and abilities and not letting anyone tell you that you can’t do yoga b/c you’re fat. i don’t buy into the idea that yoga can directly help you loose large amounts of weight, but what it will do is help build up muscle in my legs and relieve tension in my back, which will then allow me to walk longer and w/ less pain. after forty minutes or so of fast walking, my knee starts to scream and my back burns. hopefully by adding in this yoga that concentrates on thighs, calves and back, where most big people have issues, it will help me target issue areas, deal w/ them in a low-impact way, then save energy and build up stamina to push myself in other ways.

i also want to eventually start adding weight training into my work-out routine. gods, it still sounds so bougee to say i have a ‘work out routine’, but there you have it.

i’ve also begun to overhaul my eating habits. for breakfast, 6 days a week, i have a protein shake. water and soy milk mixed w/ a plant-based protein powder and an additive of instant coffee. sugar free, dairy free. and awful. i hate them. i’ve tried a few different ones and they are all fucking awful, but i drink them anyway.

i also usually eat a salad or soup for lunch. i’ve been finding a lot of really great salad combinations on top of rediscovering my love of salads. when i first went vegetarian, i was big into salads but eventually, it became easier to buy those premade, frozen veggie-friendly meals. like all that Amys’ food or the MorningStar brand (which still conjures ideas of satan-worshipping vegans, but hey, i can dig it). i’m trying to find pre-paired salad meals. i found this really good asian inspired salad that had friend wonton strips and a wonderful sesame seed sauce. so good. each bag can make 3 lunches for me, so it is great to stretch them out. also did you know that most cans of soup are technically 2 servings? i didn’t.

that was probably my biggest problem w/ food that i’ve addressed: what constitutes an actual serving size?

before last month, i assumed a serving size was what looked right. like in the case of the soup, i assumed if it all fit in a soup bowl, it was 1 serving. 1 can of soup can fit in 1 soup bowl so it would make sense, right? nope. 1 serving of canned soup is actually about half the can or roughly 1 cup of liquid. which doesn’t seem like a lot.

so i’ve stuck to salads. 2 and a half cups of salad is like, i don’t know, 35 cal. so, i can go hog wild, prepare a giant ramen bowl full of salad w/ carrots, onions, a sprinkle of slivered almonds, a splash of lite raspberry vinaigrette, and some sliced, uncured ham and that is lunch, baby!

dinner is pretty untouched, other than i eat on children’s plates now. i heard somewhere from some dietian on a show or something that eat on smaller plates, like children’s plates, helps trick your mind that you are eating more than you actually are. your eyes see a plate full up w/ food rather than eating a little food on a large plate, it is the same amount of “little food” but looks more filling on a little plate. i don’t know if it is true, but i feel like it helps me portion food out better. if a helping of potatoes can’t fit in the little sectioned off children’s plates, it is probably too much potatoes. rip

dessert has been downsized, if i have it at all. 3 thin oreos rather than like, a bowl of cereal. a 1/4 of soy ice cream rather than however much i can pile into a small bowl.

so that is the update: breakfast is a protein shake lunch is soup or salad dinner is served on a child’s plate dessert is 3 thin oreos.

maybe this week i will start keeping a calorie count, just to get an idea of what my average is compared to the 2,000 cal/day suggestion.

ok, so that was already a lot, but i did mention that i had suddenly taken a large left turn when it came to the surgery. my last journal update was all about how i was excited to blind, no walkthrough, speedrun this so i could get cleared for the surgery on like january 1, 2020. well, ha ha, nevermind.

this latest class i went to was enlightening. i mean they all have been so far, for different reasons and in different ways. the first class was about what kind of choices we had. did we want to take mediation? did we want to go to food addicts anonymous? did we want surgery? so this new class i went to on 11.7, was a follow-up to the surgical path.

i was already on the fence about disfiguring my insides. the idea of slicing off 2/3 my stomach rearranging my intestines already sounds horrifyingly frankenstineian to me. it sounds like something midevil doctors would come up w/ while snorting morphine or something. but, i was assured that it was the best option, that it was incredibly safe, it was done all the time, it had great success, etc.

i allowed myself to be talked into it. i relented and bought into the dream they were spinning for me.

not after this class. the amount of insanity that is involved, even beyond, again, the whole cutting off and throwing away 2/3 of your stomach, there is some buck wild rules you have to abide after the surgery. i wrote them down (which i was the only one that did. in a class of 9-10 people, i was the only person taking notes and the only person horrified by what i was hearing):

- lose hair first 3-9 months (me, a person w/ thin hair: oh yikes) - will need to take as many as 12 vitamins a day (me, a person that hates taking any medication) - will not be able to take any medication other than liquid/pills will pass thru tiny stomach too fast to be effective (me, a person that hates liquid medication w/ a passion), only tylenol allowed; all medication from doctors must be liquid or chewable - 70% of patients need a follow-up surgery (WHAT) - no smoking (that’s fine) no alcohol (hang on....) after surgery. ever - ideal meals after surgery: 60-100g protein, 40-80g produce, no carbs, no sugar (wait...) - eat a meal every 4 hr.s or so (that seems like overkill) - no carbonated drinks, no drinks w/ sugar/cal (but i love my fizzy drinks :c this is bullshit) - chew each bite 20-30 times, every meal should last a half hour (that’s normal for me anyway, i’m a slow eater but idk how i’m supposed to chew soup 20-30 times) - 30 min.s of activity/day (got that covered, chief) - go to support groups (no thanks, don’t wanna listen to other ppl complain and the idea of being open to other ppl,,, in real life, where they can see me? absolutely not, how dare you) - 64oz of liquid/day (is that not normal? i already drink that much, if not more) - only able to drink a shotglass amount of liquid at a time or risk vomiting (WAIT) - drink every 15 min.s, possibly even during the night (HANG ON) - no drinks w/ meals, stop drinking about 30 min.s before meal and don’t resume until 30 min.s after meal otherwise it will wash food away too quickly to be absorbed by tiny stomach (HOLD THE HECKIN’ PHONE)

at w/ that, the instructor ended the class b/c there were no questions. i was in shock. all i wanted to do was be like those tik tok kids that recreate meme images but i wanted to become the living embodiment of this gif:

literally, i looked over at my mom, who was sipping on a soda and scrolling through facebook for most of the class and went “nevermind, i don’t want surgery”.

i think she thought i was joking. she laughed and waved it off, but the... the existential dread i felt in that moment. this,,,, this was what old howard was shooting for when he wrote about all that cosmic horror. this feeling that i was the only one seeing the insanity in that classroom.... i was the only one that realized that it was madness. how would a person drink 64oz od liquid a day, broken down into 1oz at a time, but not w/n an hour of eating and also having to eat every four hours. that means you’d have to somehow shove 64oz, broken down to 4oz an hour, for 3 hours, then not drink anything for an hour, over only 16 hours. you couldn’t drink anything for 4 of those hours while you eat your tiny baby meals for your tiny baby stomach. i’m not great at math but it doesn’t seem physically possible to me and yet everyone in the class were just nodding their heads like “yes, of course old chap. perfectly reasonable.”

i’d rather continue to starve myself, and work-out. theoretically, if i continue to lose about 20 pounds a month, i will lose my goal weight by may 2020. sure it would be faster w/ surgery. it might be technically easier w/ surgery but everything in my mind tells me that the surgery is wrong. that it isn’t sustainable. i don’t want this surgery and i certainly don’t want the second stage of this surgery 10 yr.s down the road. if you think cutting 2/3 of your stomach out is upsetting, the image of the second step surgery in which they take that rough banana shape of a stomach and stretch it out into what is effectively, A STRAW.

A STRAW.

and once more: A STRAW!!

i could get behind having a banana-shaped stomach, but a straw in which the food literally just,,, falls through you is grotesque.

gonna be a big, fatty NOPE from me, chief. hard pass.

#;journaling series #personal

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casuallysuperbkitten-blog · 7 years ago

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When To Boost Weight When Lifting.

We have actually prepared a couple of brand-new hats themed for the period in addition to covering some minor insects that really did not fit the theme in event of the vacation. Any kind of void left by Hazelwood would certainly be loaded by other power stations in La Trobe or potentially in New South Wales, he said. Jayden, Kevin, Emily, Mia and Mike are tested by the Nighlok monsters more so compared to ever before when Master Xandred sends Steeleto to strike the Power Rangers, Antberry as well as Octoroo attempt to open a website, and Splitface catches human spirits. Whether it's Quid Pro Quo or Hostile Workplace Harassment, the perpetrator is putting in a type of power when they sexually pester. Bernie is choked, thinking back to that day in healthcare facility when her 12 year-old was attempting to take his very first steps after a fall in the gym had actually left him mind damaged. In their initial week of energetic fitness center membership, consumers spend 34% more at style merchants. Since like the Clean Power Strategy, every one of those pollution control steps result in changes in where power is created, as unclean plants are phased out and cleaner ones constructed. Very academic yet primarily obtainable, the book asserts that the idea of power needs to be taken a look at in '3 dimensions.' It is insufficient to state that 'A has power over B to the degree that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwi This is a 'mini-classic,' thus it obtains the 5 stars typically scheduled for classics. Proving himself deserving by assisting the Rangers a number of times, Rocky was offered the power of the Red Ranger by the leaving Jason. Selected this up for concepts to supplement my barbell-based regimen, for when I can not get to the gym, as well as to help my other half with ideas to do in the house & gym. His mid-day training sessions at the health club have actually allowed more youthful boxers to work along with a master, and interested onlookers to enjoy. Instructing your employees all facets of power device training as well as safety can reduce the chances of injury and also maintain your workforce efficient and secure. The health club consists of dumbbells, cardiovascular tools, security rounds, equipments as well as resistance bands. Mirrors on all walls do not just simulate the look of the majority of fitness centers - they in fact make the room look bigger. A new age of considering power reveals that it is provided to us by others instead of ordered. There are few much better exercises for targeting full-body power than the medicine-ball bang. These deck PL-RA wheelchair system lift has an automated folding ramp at the reduced corridor and a door at the top landing. Boat lifts on the Edwin Clark (site as above) price ₤ 8 adults, ₤ 6 children and ₤ 22 households (two grownups and also three youngsters) or ₤ 12.50, ₤ 9.50 or ₤ 34.50 for a 90-minute combined lift as well as river journey. The Global Wind Power Council in Brussels declares that wind power alone got to 432.42 gigawatts of set up capability at the end of 2015 - greater than the 382.55 GW of nuclear for the first time ever. Very little occurs, as well as it has the look of a TV flick; yet the pace never ever seems to allow up, the screen never seems empty, as well as its hold on your focus does not fail. Power is always connected with that which supports the relevance of life itself and also adorns- ennobles. http://kiss-szepseg-blog.info/choco-lite-velemenyek-ar-hol-lehet-megvasarolni/ went back to the Central Accessibility Complicated to inform Billy of their dilemma. Lower on the deal with of the chisel to prise the board up. Repeat on the other side till the entire board has actually been raised high enough for you to put the claw of your hammer. Directly I extremely recommend this movie only and also solely to Power Rangers' followers, not to the general audience. A variety of health-club chains now have several Power-Plates as component of their fitness center tools. Among one of the most impressive aspects of the book is how it uses a brand-new schematics of sex and also power to illuminate our fact, with Tunde's experiences showing what it's like to find old as the weak sex. Conversely, you can ditch the fitness center and join a running club, register a routine fitness class, or purchase a workout DVD. The success of the Gamings has elevated hopes of a rise in interest in handicap sports involvement, yet the survey of gyms as well as recreation centres, performed in support of the charity Leonard Cheshire Handicap, located that several facilities are unprepared to capitalise on the potential demand. With a vast array of products made particularly for home exercise enthusiasts, anybody wanting to enter far better shape should consider a Bowflex Sporting activity home fitness center. Balance and also resistance devices can be used independently or with dumbbells. The exceptionally high nitrate level in the supply of water is leaving hundreds of newborn babies in danger of poisoning. I'm horrified to see the variety of females who bowel movement then stroll on out on the fitness center flooring. After that I needed to take a month company journey out of the nation as well as in that month I subscribed in another health club. They acknowledge the potential to economically decrease exhausts by supplying even more power from cleaner plants and much less from the dirtiest ones. Some movements, such as the bench press, require a watchman to help lift the bar off of the pins in order to keep the lifter secure. Ashley gasped as she found herself in the forest she had seen minutes before all the power cut off, with the threatening voices of loads of animals throughout. What does it cost? weight you lift throughout any offered exercise depends mostly on how high you established the slope rails as well as whether you're utilizing the wheels or the wing add-on to removal the glideboard. The action taken versus the three gym chains is part of a recurring examination the OFT started in January 2012, and also originates from a litigation entailing Ashbourne Monitoring Services, which draws up contracts and collects settlements for fitness centers. dig this believe, naturally, that their leader should be the one with one of the most army power. Santana is an expert to strength-equipment makers and acquisitions state-of-the-art devices. After numerous fights against the Wind Rangers, the Thunder Rangers ultimately found the fact in the Cave of Spirits, where the spirits of their deceased parents appeared to them. Best as well as worst bit Holding a squat on a Power Plate is agonising, which just talks with just how well it functions. The scissor lift could only be increased in an upright setting as well as uses a collection of supports which fold up in an X setting. However the power plant's future then agreement is uncertain, and its proprietors are currently speaking with on whether to destroy it as well as build a gas-fired one in its area. A strategy he devised agaonst the Rangers got him promoted to General, but after the plan failed, he was not only benched, yet ousted. Wonder was transforming every little thing right into a fully grown title then, and so Supreme Power was born. This paralyzed your enthusiasm and also you surrendered not due to the fact that you should, yet since you felt like it. Your feelings caused you to transform a Phase 1 or Stage 2 failing right into a Stage 3 failure. The traditions of the Exodus from Egypt, which Jews, Christians, as well as Muslims share in typical, speak about a problem in between God's power as well as the power of Pharaoh and also the development of alternate power which was arranged by Moses, Aaron, and their sister Miriam. Shane is gradually discovering his all-natural leadership capabilities as a Power Ranger. Bonjour Nathalie, Je suis moi-même à la recherche d'un centre power plate sur Bruxelles. An early morning yoga exercise session given by the health club authorities keeps you fresh all day. PC players will have the ability to experience Pneuma's one-of-a-kind puzzles in a special digital reality mode via the power of the Oculus Break DK2. A professional trainer understands the best ways to come close to people in a positive, effective manner to earn the health club member really feel risk-free, not picked on or embarrassed. They are likewise hired once again to combat at the Abyss of Evil with the remainder of Mesogog and Lothor's forces; against the Ninja Rangers and also Dino Rangers. A great deal of individuals have survived illness, harsh life circumstances, awful connections or terrible childhoods, and also instead of being targets, they have actually located power in those occasions as well as become more powerful. This power has to be utilized for business performance and except personal gain. If you are not doing the appropriate workouts after that you run the danger of putting your body in problem, working out in a fitness center Sydney will certainly look simple however. Either through taxes, armed forces task, support (defending/praising them publicly), or other approach, power pertains to a leader by the assistance of others. Pure Fitness center claimed that in spite of solid capitalist rate of interest, the ₤ 500m listing prepares revealed last month will certainly not go ahead because it can injure the lasting passions of its stakeholders.

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mindthump · 7 years ago

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The Million Dollar Case Study: Europe – Session #2: Advanced Product Research http://ift.tt/2x7sUns

Our favorite time of the week is Million Dollar Case Study time – and this week we kicked off the second session of the Europe edition of the case study, with some advanced product research tactics to find private label product ideas.

Phew! Since last week it's been a whirlwind of doing my product research that I had some great guidance from Greg for in last week's session, as well as putting together all of my thoughts to share with you guys.

I spent about three hours poring over the Web App and browsing Amazon.co.uk to find a list of product ideas (which I will share with you shortly). The main thing that stood out to me was that, although it is time consuming, it's definitely something you can do alongside your full-time job or other commitments. If you just dedicate 1 hour a day every other day, you will have a list of up to 50 ideas within a week! How cool is that?

In this weeks session we cover:

How to critically assess your list of product ideas and narrow them down to a shorter list of viable products

Advanced product research tactics to define market depth and trends, product details and the competitor landscape

Your homework: to follow in our footsteps and reduce your own list of ideas to the top 3-5 for next weeks session

Here's the full replay: VIDEO And this weeks slides:

What We're All Here For

Greg started the Million Dollar Case Study primarily to help people unlock their potential and build their own lifestyle by documenting a proven blueprint to building your own business and growing it successfully. Additionally, we are donating all of the profits of this case study to Pencils of Promise and are aiming to help build 5 schools around the world with the donations!

You have a chance to get involved too – first of all by participating each week, asking us questions and most importantly, following along in real-time to launch your own successful product on Amazon.

But other than that, you can also enter our giveaway every single week at http://ift.tt/2x6Y0vv. We are gifting 1 Jungle Scout Lite Extension and 2 Jungle Scout T-shirts each week throughout 2017.

Here's an inspirational story from our recent giveaway winner, Keoki:

That's all the motivation I need to inspire me to dive into my advanced product research! Let's begin…

I have a list of product ideas… what's next?

Last week we ran through the “basic” (read: super important) product research criteria. This was the top level stuff that you need to be thinking about constantly when building a larger list of product ideas. These criteria were:

Must have:

Existing Solid Demand

Low Competition

Good Margins

No Legal Issues

Nice to have:

Small/lightweight

Easy to source and ship

Able to improve

Low Seasonality

Depending on which marketplace you are researching, the level of demand and competition you are looking at will vary. If you need to recap, we have covered this for the US marketplace here and Europe here!

My List Of Private Label Product Ideas For The UK

With Greg's words of wisdom, I went and did my own research using these criteria alone, and curated a list of 43 product ideas for Amazon UK. Here's a list of those ideas, all of which have varying levels of demand and competition:

Main Keyword Category Dog Rocks Pet Supplies ABS Hard Shell Suitcase Cabin Luggage Luggage Strong Cardboard Boxes DIY & Tools Clothing Rails Home & Kitchen Full Face Snorkel Sports & Outdoors Double Skin Dome Tents Sports & Outdoors Milk Steamer Home & Kitchen Kids Scooters Toys & Games Wireless Meat Thermometer Home & Kitchen Automatic Pet Feeders Pet Supplies Sleep White Noise Machine Health & Personal Care Foldable Travel Cot Mattress Baby Products BBQ cover Garden & Outdoor Jam Jars (bundle) Home & Kitchen Giant Pool Floats Toys & Games Glass Water Bottle Home & Kitchen Vacuum Water Bottle Home & Kitchen Baby Sling Wrap Baby Products Maternity Pillow Baby Products Cotton Crib Sheets Baby Products Baby Cutlery Baby Products Garage storage shelving Home & Kitchen / DIY Tools Metallic Plastic Cutlery Home & Kitchen Abs Trainer Sports & Outdoors Garden Waste Bags Garden & Outdoor Giant Tumble Tower (Jenga) Toys & Games Glass Food Storage Home & Kitchen Oil Diffuser Home & Kitchen Inflatable Lounger Sports & Outdoors LED spa light Garden & Outdoor Key Safe Box DIY & Tools Sleeping Bags Sports & Outdoors Shower Organiser Home & Kitchen Bathtub Caddy Home & Kitchen or Beauty Silicone Cooking Utensil Set Home & Kitchen Folding Camping Bed Sports & Outdoors Cotton Baby Muslins Baby Products Travel Pillow Home & Kitchen Bath Pillow Beauty Solar Garden Lights Home & Garden Waterproof Picnic Blanket Garden & Outdoor Yoga Mat Sports & Outdoors Badminton Nets Sports & Outdoors

Hopefully, if you tuned in last week, you did the same and have a similar list of ideas? I would love to hear more about what you found in the comments!

Picking Out Your Top Ideas

Prior to this weeks session, I started to narrow this list down to my top five product ideas, which I wanted to bring to the table this week to discuss with Greg and get his expert opinions.

The top 5 I picked out are highlighted in the list above, and this was very strongly based on the level of existing demand and the top-level view of how competitive these products may be.

Other things I was already thinking about include:

Will it have low seasonality

Is it easy to manufacture

Will it be profitable

Now, a lot of this boils down to my own intuition and from listening to Greg's advice in the last session. I don't actually know for sure how much these products would cost to manufacture and I need to find out more about the seasonality.

This is exactly where the advanced product research comes in. We need to take a much deeper look at our top products. I am using 5 as an example, but if you wanted to spend more time and investigate more than 5 products in more detail, that's cool too.

Advanced Product Research Tactics

There are a whole host of things to consider to weigh in on which product would be the best one to launch! Greg went over some of these in the slides before he took a look at my top 5 products. Here's the advanced criteria that you need to be investigating for your top product ideas:

Here's a breakdown of this and how you can start researching each topic:

Keyword relevancy

do a quick search on Amazon for your top keywords. If the first couple of pages have products that aren't the product you are looking to sell then this can be a good sign and indicate lower competition

PPC ad spots used?

it's a good sign of demand if the top keywords are bringing up the product idea that you are looking to sell. Plus you can also gauge the competition levels by doing this quick check.

Legal Issues

If a product looks like it might be a unique design, or even if it doesn't, it's always worth double and triple checking you won't infringe on any intellectual property by launching this product. I found a few useful UK websites when doing my research, including a European IPO search website and the UK government website for information about patents.

Of course, at this point, you just want to do as much research as you can. Later on, you might need to seek legal advice if you are unsure if a product would have any legal issues.

How strong are competitor listings?

The Jungle Scout Web App database shows a listing quality score out of 100 (LQS) which is our own proprietary scoring system. Although this is a quick way to assess the competitor product listings, you can do this manually really easily. Here's what you need to look out for in a poor listing:

Only 1 to 3 images on the listing

A title that is not explanatory and does not contain main keywords

Less than 5 features (bullet points)

A short, poorly written and unformatted product description

Number of reviews

If you find that there are a few sellers with poor listings, and especially if those sellers are still making sales each month, then you know you have something that you can improve on right away (because we are going to cover how to create the best listing ever, of course!). If you see a lot of high quality listings, then you might find that the competition is a little higher, or that you need to find other ways to differentiate… see next point.

Can the product be improved?

A really simple way to find out if you could source and manufacture a better version of a product is to read customer reviews for all other sellers of this product. Take a look at what people are unhappy about and figure out if you can improve that. We did this with Jungle Snugs, by sourcing the thickest and snuggliest baby hooded towel, and we also made it larger in size so that it would be suitable for a longer period of the child's growth.

Don't forget to also take a look at the positive reviews to see what people like about a product to make sure you don't miss any unique selling points!

Can you bundle it?

This is a really easy way to improve a product. Take a look to see if other sellers are already doing this. If not, get creative. What could you add? Using Jungle Snugs as an example again, we added a free bonus washcloth using the off cut material. So it didn't cost us any more and it makes our customers really happy. Win win!

There's an endless list of things you could bundle with a product, whether it's a free case, a low cost item that makes for a nice addition, or even a free guide that becomes a lifestyle addition

Is seasonality low?

You can usually guess which products are going to have high seasonality. By this I mean products that only sell well at certain times of the year. Even though your gut instinct is probably right, make sure you head to Google Trends (you can access this directly from the Jungle Scout Chrome Extension), and double check. Trends will show you when people are searching for keywords related to your product idea, so you can quickly assess if there are huge spikes at certain times, like the holiday season.

Are there plenty of suppliers on Alibaba?

Especially if you are a new seller, you may not have any experience of sourcing and manufacturing capabilities in China. The quickest way to ease your fears is to head to Alibaba and search for your product idea. You will very quickly be able to see at a top level if there are plenty of suppliers that specialize in your product, or the components that make a product.

Is it profitable?

Saving the best until last here. Once you have been through all of the above and you still think “yep, this is a kick-butt product idea”, you need to start investigating if it is going to be profitable. Being as you have just been searching for suppliers on Alibaba, you will also notice that you can see some estimated cost prices right on the search results:

Greg advised me to take this with a very fine grain of salt, but it is a good top-level indicator of how much the product would cost to manufacture. From there you can take a look at your Net (price minus FBA fees) and calculate some rough profit margins.

For example, if a product cost $10 to manufacture per unit, and your Net was $20, then you would have $10 profit.

Real Life Examples: Greg Reviews My Product Ideas

Although all of those things above seem like a lot, it really is worth spending the time assessing all of the products you are considering investing in. This ensures you are exploring all avenues and making sure your final decision is one that you are confident in, and that suits you and your future business.

Greg shared his thoughts on my top 5 products as follows.

Cardboard boxes – Greg thought this was an interesting idea and liked the high demand but was unsure about whether this would be a good item to get manufactured in China. He mentioned that you may actually be able to source this type of product in the country you want to sell it in, but that's not something he has experience with. Therefore, this is one idea where research into suppliers and shipping would be very important. (I was making notes for my homework, your homework is coming up very soon).

Full face snorkel – This is a really hot product right now, and they are pretty unique. Greg liked this and the fact that the demand was high. His two initial thoughts were: would there be any legal issues and is their seasonality. In terms of legal issues, because it's such a unique product, there may be an existing patent or even a patent pending. However, Greg felt some comfort in the fact that there were lots of other FBA sellers making money from this product. So legal issues, definitely one to look into.In terms of seasonality, it looked like there were two spikes, one around the December holiday period and one in July. Greg didn't seem too worried about this, though. This would be a medium level of seasonality and it's not a total deal breaker.

Baby sling – This product is essentially a large piece of fabric that sells for quite a high price (£20 and over). Greg mentioned that this would mean high-profit margins which is great news. The demand wasn't as high for this product as the others but it seemed like it would be a good product to market. Greg's views were that price is not always about the cost of manufacture. In this example, it may be that a parent would be willing to pay more money for a baby sling that is stronger and guaranteed to keep their baby safe, whilst also making them look good wearing it. Wise words on product marketing!

Sleeping bag – This product has high demand and quite high competition, but when Greg took a look, he could see that the sales were spread out across the top 10 sellers and beyond. Therefore the depth of market is sufficient. Though this is quite a competitive product, for the purposes of this case study we would feel comfortable launching this product. Greg mentions that if you were a new seller and this was your first investment, then you may pick a less competitive item to start out with! I had a concern in that I could see a fairly well known UK brick-and-mortar retailer selling sleeping bags in the top 10. Again, for Greg this was not a deal breaker. The thing that he would look out for is “do the consumers care?”. Because of the depth of market with this product, it seems that consumers aren't brand aware when purchasing sleeping bags on Amazon.Conversely, if you see a product where one seller is killing it and everyone else is trailing behind, then you should be seeing red flags.

Travel pillow – Again this item has strong demand and mid-level competition, but Greg liked it because it is one that could easily be bundled. Think eye masks, ear plugs, free carry case. Another fabric product too, so we should be able to see strong profit margins from this. Greg also took a look at some of the existing sellers and saw some poorly put together product listings, so that looked promising too.

Session #2 Homework

You knew it was coming – it's time to do your homework alongside me. Together we can use Greg's advice and ideas that he shared in this session to do further research covering all of these advanced criteria. I've put together a template that you can use to keep a note of your findings for your top products which you can download here!

Remember, the point of this case study is to help guide to find your own opportunities, not just use exactly what we are doing. So just add your own list of ideas into this spreadsheet, and all of the relevant information for your product:

You can also use these tactics and this same spreadsheet to find product ideas in any Amazon marketplace, not just the UK. Make it work for you 👌

Conclusion

It's going to be a tough call, I really like all five of my product ideas. But I need to let my research, and most importantly the data, determine my final decision.

Spending your time on product research is wise because it's going to be your investment in your future. Following these guidelines helps to minimize risk and maximize the chances of success!

Next week…

Before we decide on our product, we are going to do some supplier outreach to double check that we can find a reliable supplier and pick a product that is going to be most profitable. Join us to find out how to start your supplier outreach and also find out which product I decide to launch next Wednesday!

When she's not being an SEO geek or crafting content, Kym can be found making friends with cats, taking photographs, cycling and traveling.