#thirsty for cox February challenge

[e-dubbc11]

Crazy in Love

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Some swear words, mentions of verbal abuse, fluffy bunnies and unicorns, and some physical violence

Word Count: 5.8k-ish

Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and Billy has already spoiled you rotten and made plans to take you out for a nice dinner. But a run in with an ex boyfriend stirs up some old painful memories and lands Billy in a little bit of trouble.

A/N: This is part of the February writing challenge that my lovelies over on the Thirsty for Cox server decided to do. The prompt was “Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” I had a lot of fun writing this, it seemed like a good one. I did write a part 2 for this which hopefully will be out tomorrow, February 16. Oh, yes the title is a Beyoncé song but I used the Sofia Karlberg version for this.

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

The essence of rose saturated the apartment, the bouquets were everywhere, red ones, pink ones, yellow ones, white ones, and even purple ones.

He had told you the purple ones meant “love at first sight,” Billy Russo was such a smooth talker, the velvet tone to his voice was soft yet assertive and gave you butterflies every time. “That’s how I felt when I first saw you. At least, I think it was. I never had those feelings before…about anyone.” He had said. It was love at first sight for you too when you met him a few years ago, right around Valentine’s Day.

***************

After finally getting the call that you landed the job, your friends decided they wanted to take you out to celebrate. Dinner first, then they took you for a few drinks at a local bar close to the restaurant which is where he first laid eyes on you.

Coming in from the cold, he saw that your cheeks were flushed and your nose was red like it had been pinched by Jack Frost but your smile lit up the entire room. Billy couldn’t take his eyes off of you, he studied you carefully but quickly turned away when you would look in his direction.

You swore you could feel someone staring at you but a quick glance around the bar made you think maybe you were wrong, there wasn’t anyone looking at you…or so you thought.

You noticed him too, the charcoal gray suit, burgundy tie, but his eyes are what pulled you towards him like a magnet. They looked like endless pools of black ink. A pair of eyes you could get lost in.

And his smile, you don’t think you’ve ever seen a more perfect smile to go along with his handsome face. He was probably the most handsome man you had ever seen but completely out of your league…again, so you thought.

Just like he studied your movements, you studied his. The way his long willowy fingers wrapped around the beer bottle he was drinking from, the way he narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened intently to his friends telling a story, or when you would catch a phrase or two escape his lips. A hint of a New York accent combined with the sarcastic comments, he was a man after your own heart. It was…love at first sight.

As much as he was trying to pay attention to his friends, Billy was trying to listen in on your conversations. Mostly, he was listening to your laugh, it made him smile, watching the way you would throw your head back in a fit of laughter and not hold back.

Your whole body smiled when you laughed and he loved nothing more than to watch you wipe the tears out of your eyes when something made you laugh extra hard. Love at first sight indeed.

In between stories from his friends, he observed one of your friends had given you a small heart shaped lollipop. A “small congratulatory gift for getting that new job you wanted so much” he heard your friend say. After thanking her, you placed the lollipop in the back pocket of your jeans and forgot about it. That’s when Billy made his move.

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched him get up from his table and start to walk towards the bar to retrieve another drink, he thought you were even more beautiful up close. While you were talking, he had positioned himself in between you and another person at the bar, your body pulled forward slightly away from the back of the chair while talking to your friend.

You knew he was there, your cheeks suddenly felt warm and a knot had formed in your stomach. He let out a long exhale after taking the last sip of his beer, his breath traveled down the back of your neck and goosebumps erupted all over your body.

That’s when you felt it. The lollipop that you had forgotten about was being pulled from your pocket, slowly, carefully making sure he didn’t touch anything except that lollipop. With your eyes closed, you took a deep breath and turned around in your chair. The wrapper was discarded on the bar, you turned around just in time to see him place the lollipop in his mouth, and extend his hand to introduce himself.

“Billy Russo.” The tone of his voice was warm and low but full of confidence.

You swallowed hard and felt a slight tingle in your core. Just his voice alone did that to you, it sent shivers down your spine and caused your hands to shake slightly. But somehow you managed to just give him a sly smile, not letting him know you were nervous, and extend your hand to shake his.

“Y/f/n Y/l/n.” You said to him. “And that was my lollipop.”

He cracked a smile and the ice was broken.

The two of you spent the rest of the night making each other laugh, trading sarcastic remarks, staring into each other’s eyes, and Billy making any man that even looked in your direction wish they hadn’t.

You hadn’t even been out on a date with Billy Russo yet before he showed you how jealous he could get, how protective he could be, more like overprotective. It was a desire he had, to show every man close by that you were spoken for, that you were his, and to show they dare not touch what was his.

Billy told you he didn’t really “do” dancing but a slow song came on the jukebox, Crazy in Love by Sofia Karlberg, and you just needed to have his hands on you, holding onto you. Billy held you close, his hand encased over yours against his chest, while his friends and your friends had conversations all around you. Instead of his long, slender fingers being wrapped around a beer bottle, they were tightly wrapped around you and he didn’t want to let you go…ever.

'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can. Got me lookin' so crazy right now. Your touch's got me lookin' so crazy right now

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You didn’t want to let him go either but when you finally did, he didn’t waste any time asking to take you out on a proper date. The following weekend happened to be Valentine’s Day but you said no to a date ON Valentine’s Day.

There was just too much pressure for THAT day so you put it off for a week, instead opting for a coffee date before the formal one. You never looked back after that, and although it had been tough going sometimes, Billy Russo was the man for you.

***************

Billy always tried to outdo himself every year for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion, really. That was why you were sitting in the middle of your shared apartment, surrounded by bouquets of beautiful roses.

You had stopped counting them after the flower delivery service brought in the tenth bouquet, it was a bit excessive but it brought a smile to your face anyway. “He really knows how to make me feel special.” You said to yourself as you picked up your phone to call him at work.

He picked up on the first ring, Billy Russo was not a patient man. “Hey there, sweet girl.”

A smile tugged at your lips at hearing his pet name for you. “Billy, they’re SO beautiful!” You exclaimed as you bit down on your bottom lip.

“I’m glad you like them, my love.” He said.

“Like them? Billy, I love them! Thank you.” You excitedly said into the phone.

Billy chuckled a little. “Well I’m just getting started, baby. You don’t think the flowers are your only present, do you?”

You looked around the apartment at all of the bouquets of roses, all of these must have cost him a small fortune. “Oh…Billy, no that’s too much. The flowers are plenty.”

“I’ll be home around 6 to pick you up for dinner, ok?” He said, completely ignoring the fact that you said you didn’t need another gift.

Billy didn’t say where he was taking you, only telling you that it was “nice.”

“Ok, handsome. I’ll see you at 6—I love you.” You said with a smile.

You could tell he was smiling on the other end. “I love you too, beautiful.” And he hung up.

Making sure you were home in plenty of time to get ready for your evening out, you had left work early and arrived home just in time for your flower delivery. Billy knew exactly what time you would be coming home, he planned this like he planned everything else.

You knew he would probably come home bearing more gifts, even though you told him it wasn’t necessary. Billy didn’t really show his softer side to many people, to everyone else he was a marine, a scout sniper, a CEO…a leader. But to you, he was sweet and charming, a doting and loving boyfriend who would do absolutely anything for you.

Always in charge, he made sure he never showed weakness, appeared defenseless or powerless. It was a strange feeling for him, that feeling of love when it’s something that he’s never experienced. “Am I doing this right?” He would ask himself. “Can she tell that I’ve never done this before?” And “I’m just protecting her.”

The urge to keep you close to him at all times was intense, it was borderline too much but he loved you and even though he couldn’t always say how he was feeling, he tried to show it. You were his weakness.

Billy could stay calm in almost any situation, he never cracked under pressure except when it came to you, he felt like it was his duty to protect and defend you anytime the universe told him he had to. Tonight would end up being one of those times.

First came the flowers, then the balloons that spelled out “I Love You” were delivered, followed by the chocolate covered strawberries. They came with a note from Billy “Enjoy them, beautiful. But don’t spoil your dinner. Love, Billy.” You could only shake your head and smile reading the note, it all felt like a fairy tale.

***************

He always made you feel so loved, although at times you had to remind him he didn’t have to try so hard. It didn’t always have to be about gifts and fancy restaurants, sometimes coffee and a doughnut says “I love you” just as much as a designer bag or a new necklace does.

The gifts were especially extravagant after a fight or one of his fits of jealousy. Billy didn’t really know how to just say “I’m sorry,” or how to admit he was jealous, possessive at times, or overprotective.

He would just shut down and leave, only to return later with a little blue box or flowers. When you would tell him you didn’t want them, he would get angry. He didn’t know what to do so it just made him frustrated with himself.

“I don’t know what you want from me, y/n!!” He had shouted.

All you had wanted was an apology, to have his arms draped around you and to say “I’m sorry, my love. I’m sorry.”

“I want you to tell me that you’re sorry, Billy! Gifts can’t tell me that you’re sorry, YOU need to tell me that! You can’t just fly off the handle every time a guy looks at me in a way you don’t like!” You told him.

His dark chocolate like eyes quickly changed from angry to sad, he didn’t know what to say, it was just so hard for him because he’s always kept everything buried deep down inside, hidden away from everyone, hidden from the world. No one had ever taught him how to love.

“It’s hard for me y/n. Do you understand how hard this is for me?! I don’t know how to do this!” With his head buried in his hands, he paused, the look of guilt had washed over him and it made your heart hurt to watch the agony he must be in because he couldn’t say exactly what he wanted to.

The silence was excruciating but he finally pulled you in close, his body felt warm, and your shoulders relaxed as he brushed his hands up and down your back, whispering over and over again “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.”

These were the times Billy needed reassurance. He needed to be told you loved him and “I’m still here, Billy. I’m not going anywhere.” But you urged him to try to communicate with his words how he was feeling, no matter how difficult it was.

“I really need you to try, Billy. Please? Can you do that for me?” You pleaded.

He brushed his knuckles over your cheek and leaned forward to kiss you. The energy behind the kiss was passionate and full of love, he loved you with everything he had, and he truly was sorry. He would try harder.

That was then, but it was getting easier for him now, especially with your help. He felt like he could do anything as long as he had you by his side, helping him to learn about what it all means, about what had eluded him for all these years…love.

***************

Always on time, Billy arrived home promptly at 6, threw his keys on the table and called out for you.

“Baby? Where are ya? Are ya ready for din—ho-ly shit.” Billy started to say as you walked out from the bedroom in your black cocktail dress. The deep V and puffed sleeves were sexy without being too much.

It was difficult to surprise him but you had managed to sneak the dress home without him seeing it before tonight.

A slight smile stretched across your face as Billy continued to stare at you, his jaw practically on the floor as you said “Welcome home, my love. What’s wrong? Is there something on my dress?” You gave him a slow turn all the way around so he could take in ALL of you, biting down on your lower lip as you teased him. You knew exactly what you were doing.

As you finished turning around, Billy was right there, his hands swiftly cupped your face and he brushed a stray hair away from your eyes. “You look—so beautiful. Maybe I should just have you for dinner.” He started to kiss up and down your neck. It turned you on.

As much as you wanted that, you said “Come on, Mr. Russo. You promised me a nice dinner, so let’s go. You can enjoy your dessert later.” You smacked him on his ass, gave him a wink, and grabbed your clutch and your coat.

Billy couldn’t keep his hands off of you, from the elevator ride down to the lobby, in the car on your way to the restaurant, and even at the bar while you waited for your table.

And now that the date was finally here, he mentioned that it took him a couple of months to get a reservation there. It was a beautiful Italian restaurant called Scarpetta on Madison Avenue.

“You didn’t have to do this, Billy. I would have been happy if you brought home Chinese food.” You said.

He kissed you on the forehead. “It’s a special night, baby. I wanted to take you some place really nice.”

A flash of heat burned through you as he smiled a slightly wicked smile at you. You weren’t sure you deserved to be spoiled like this but you let him because Billy always did what he wanted to anyway.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight, princess?” He asked.

You continued to blush as the hostess led you to your corner table. “Not in the last ten minutes, baby.”

You continued walking towards your table, and even in the low warm glow of the restaurant lights, you recognized him as you sat down. The smile faded from your face and without warning, you felt a tightness in your shoulders.

Your ex—Eric was seated at a table not too far from yours. He looked the same, the woman he was with was wearing a ring, and he was too. He was married. Better her than you, that’s for sure.

Billy could tell something was bothering you. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Hmmm? Oh nothing. Everything’s fine, Billy.” You lied, glancing down at the menu in front of you.

He knew you were lying, he tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at you. “Y/n, come on, what is it? What’s wrong?”

You came clean. “Ok, you see that guy across from us? Sitting with the blonde.” You turned away as Billy turned and glanced towards Eric’s table.

He rotated back towards you. “The guy with the big ears? Yeah, what about him?”

You let out a slight cackle and gently elbowed him in the ribs. “Y-yes, the guy with the big ears. Stop making me laugh like that, this is a nice place. Anyway, that’s my ex.”

You shuddered slightly, as Billy took your hand in his. “His back is towards us, my love. It’s ok, I’m here.” He had a worried look in his eyes when he noticed how nervous you were. “My god, what did he do to you?” Billy gnashed his teeth and his eyes glazed over darker than they were before glaring in the direction of Eric’s table.

You took your hand back, placed them both on Billy’s face, and brushed his beard with your thumbs. You knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with an answer of “I don’t wanna talk about it.” So you gave him an answer that was the truth but generic.

“Billy…” You paused, closed your eyes briefly and let out a long exhale. “Let’s just say he didn’t treat me very well and was—“ You were scared to say the next part out loud in fear of what Billy might do. “He was very—verbally abusive, degrading, and made me feel terrible about myself. And he…he scared me sometimes.”

Billy tightly gripped the cloth napkin in his hand, the whites on his knuckles noticeable as you looked down at his shaking hands. White, hot anger displayed all over his face, as you tried to calm him down.

“Hey, hey Billy look at me please. I don’t want to do this here, ok? I want to have a nice romantic dinner with you and then go home so you can rip this dress off and kiss every inch of my body, ok?” You had a feeling that might calm him down.

Billy let go of the napkin, his expression softened and he chuckled a little. He pulled you closer so your thigh was touching his, Billy always felt better when his body was touching yours in some way.

Without another word about it, Billy leaned closer to kiss you, forced the server to wait while he did then ordered you both a glass of red wine and the creamy polenta to start with.

Dinner conversation was a combination of funny and extra funny. Billy told you some old stories of his days in the marines, stuff that he and Frank would get up to on down time. They sounded like quite the duo and it was so nice to see Billy laugh reminiscing about the fun times he had in the marines and not worrying about your ex who was only a couple tables away.

You both traded work stories, laughed with each other like you were the only two people in that restaurant, he just couldn’t take his eyes off of you, and the two of you were having a really nice time. At one point during one of Billy’s stories, you let out a laugh that caught the attention of your ex.

His ears perked up like he recognized your laugh, Eric’s head swiveled in the direction of where your laugh came from and out of the corner of your eye, you noticed he was getting up and walking towards your table.

Oh shit.

Billy could see that your expression had hardened, your whole body had tensed, and you had his hand under the table in a death grip. The very sight of Eric so close to you made you feel like retching and wanting to punch him right in the face. Billy was trying to calm you down as he whispered in your ear “I’m right here, baby.” And he tenderly kissed your temple.

Eric stopped in front of your table, you and Billy were staring up at him with slight disdain written all over your faces. “Wow, y/n! It’s been awhile. I recognize that laugh anywhere.”

Sitting up straight and trying to smile, you responded. “Uh, yes it has Eric. Yes it has.” You turned towards Billy to introduce him. “Eric, this is my boyfriend Billy Russo.” Billy stood up to shake Eric’s hand, narrowed his eyes at him and squeezed his hand to the point where it probably was quite painful.

“Nice to meet you, Billy. That’s a nice suit.” He paused so he could look Billy up and down, like he was sizing him up and turned his gaze back to you. "Oh I’m married now, yeah.” He pointed to the ring on his finger. “That’s my wife, Laura over there.” Eric pointed towards his table.

You put on a fake smile. “That’s great, Eric. I’m happy for you. I’d really like to get back to my dinner now though, if you don’t mind.”

With a shocked look on his face, Eric said “Oh! Right, absolutely. My apologies, I’ll let you get back to your dinner, it was nice meeting you, Bill. And it was really nice to see you again, y/n.”

All you could manage to say was “Thank you.” And he walked back to his table.

Your entire body had seized seeing Eric again but having Billy next to you, holding your hand, made it easier for you and he helped to calm and soothe you so you could get back to enjoying your night out.

Carrying on with your dinner, you didn’t notice that Eric had gotten up to presumably use the restroom but Billy did, so he kissed you on the forehead and excused himself.

Billy wasn’t sure what he was going to do, maybe he wouldn’t even do anything but it didn’t mean he wasn’t prepared. Billy was a very good judge of character, he had a theory and wanted to test it out.

“But Billy, your food. I don’t want it to get cold.” You said.

He smiled slyly at you. “I’ll be right back, baby.” He said, and then he was gone.

You shrugged your shoulders slightly, took a sip of your wine, and continued to eat your dinner before looking straight ahead, noticing that Eric was not at his table. “Oh fuck…Billy. What are you doing?” You whispered to yourself out loud, almost choking on your wine.

Inside the restroom, Billy exited the stall and started to wash his hands, when Eric slid in beside him and started washing his hands also. He looked over at Billy. “Heyyyy, Billy Russo, right?”

“You’ve got a good memory.” Billy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes slightly.

Eric reached over with his wet hands and put one on Billy’s shoulder, drenching his white dress shirt. “Ya, know…you sure do have quite a grip there, Bill. You squeezed my hand pretty hard.” He said as he put pressure on Billy’s shoulder. “I’m glad I ran into you again. I wanted to tell you that Y/n is lookin’ reeeeeally good.”

There it is. Billy had a feeling if the opportunity presented itself, Eric would try and provoke him.

Billy was starting to get angry, it infuriated him at the very mention of your name coming from that asshole’s mouth but he tried to keep his cool. “Eric…Take your hand off me. NOW.”

Eric didn’t listen, he did have more to say, however. “I’m sure she told you alllllll about me, didn’t she?” He had a smug look on his face as he continued. “I’m sure she told you all about how mean I was to her, and yeah sure I called her names sometimes but for the most part I treated her pretty well. She just sat back and took it, I kept her in her place.”

Billy made a fist as he glared at Eric in the reflection of the mirror, he could feel his blood start to boil as Eric continued to talk about you.

“I will say, she was always a little firecracker in bed. One of the best lays I’ve ever had. That’s probably why you keep her around, am I right?” He smirked.

“No. I’m with her because I LOVE her.” Billy said curtly. His patience wearing thin.

Still, Billy kept calm even though he was shaking with rage as he tried to walk away. Eric followed him out of the men’s room, grabbed Billy’s shoulder and spun him around so they were nose to nose. “She is lookin’ really good though. What do ya say, Bill? How ‘bout you let me hit that one more time—“

Billy cracked, this guy said the one thing that made him forget all about trying to keep calm and not fly off the handle. It all went out the window when Eric made that comment.

Acting like he was going to walk away, Billy then drew back and punched Eric so hard in the face that one of his teeth came flying out of his mouth. Another punch to the stomach and to the face, Billy couldn’t stop, pretty soon Eric’s entire face was bloody.

As you continued to eat, you heard commotion coming from around the corner. People were leaving their tables to see what was going on, then came the screams and the sounds of broken dishes. You didn’t need to see what was going on, you knew Billy was involved somehow. There was no need to get up and look, you would find out soon enough.

After the screams and shrieks died down, the hostess came to your table.

“Uh, miss? I am very sorry to tell you but, Mr. Russo has been arrested.” She said while you happened to notice another hostess telling Eric’s wife, what you imagine was, the same thing.

You were shocked but not really and a little embarrassed. “What?!!” But you collected yourself and stayed calm. “Well ok, do you mind if I finish my dinner first before I leave to go get him?” You asked, feeling all of the stares from strangers pointing in your direction.

You could tell the hostess felt a little bad for you. “Absolutely, miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?” She asked.

“Would you box up his food for me and I’ll take a piece of the Valrhona chocolate cake to go, please?” You said.

Your server wrapped up Billy’s food and you enjoyed the rest of your Valentine’s Day dinner alone before going to bail him out of jail.

When you arrived at the police station, they took you to Billy’s holding cell where he didn’t notice you at first. He was leaning up against the bars with his eyes closed, small spatters of blood were sprinkled on his shirt and it looked like he had a small cut on his lip, Eric must have hit him at least once.

“Hey there, Rocky.” You gave him a half smile.

Opening his eyes, Billy looked happy to see you but his face had “sorry” written all over it. “Baby, I am SO sorry. I just—he pushed and pushed—and what he said. I wasn’t gonna let him talk about you like that—“ He said.

You interrupted him. “What did he say, Billy?”

“I don’t wanna tell you.” He said shaking his head.

“I wanna know what he said that made you that upset. I saw his face, Billy. You beat him pretty badly.” You told him.

Billy hung his head in shame. “He said that you always were a little firecracker in bed, one of the best lays he’s ever had. Then asked me if—if I’d let him ‘hit that’ one more time and I don’t remember much after that.”

You felt violated in a way, closed your body off from Billy by wrapping your arms around yourself and looking away from him, disgusted with Eric talking about intimate details of your relationship.

“I tried not letting him get to me, I tried walking away but when he said that—“ Billy violently shook his head back and forth. “I just couldn’t let him get away with it. I snapped—I’m sorry, my love.”

What Billy didn’t know was there was someone else in the restroom at the time Eric was provoking him. He told the owner of the restaurant and the police that he was surprised Billy didn’t punch him sooner than he did.

The restaurant wasn’t pressing charges and after the witness told the police what Eric had said and how he kept provoking Billy, he declined to press charges also so Billy was free to go.

“Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” You said.

He extended his arms and reached out for you to pull you close to the bars. “Well, my love if you wanna get technical, I’M the one that’s in jail.”

You let out a little laugh. “This is true.”

Billy suddenly had a confused look on his face. “Hang on…did you stay and finish your dinner before coming here?” He asked, holding up a one finger to playfully scold you a little.

You knew he was joking with you so you scolded him back in a lighthearted tone. “I had to pay for it anyway Billy so yes, I enjoyed my food while it was hot! Don’t worry, I had them wrap yours.” You shook the bag in front of his nose. “I got a piece of chocolate cake for you too, even though I’m not sure you deserve it.” You said with a wink.

Billy’s eyes widened. “I said I was sorry, baby! Wait. Did—did you say chocolate cake?”

The man’s sweet tooth was insatiable.

“Oh you are gonna have to earn this chocolate cake, Billy Russo!” You snapped. “And you owe me for having to pay for my own Valentine’s Day dinner!”

But your expression softened, and you remembered that Billy apologized without being prompted to do so. It was the first thing he said when he saw you, he was getting better at communicating, so he was trying harder even though he still lost his temper.

What happened wasn’t about him this time though. It wasn’t about him being jealous, it was about defending you, wanting to protect you so that Eric couldn’t hurt you or say anything about you that would upset you.

You pulled back away from the bars and removed your phone from your clutch.

“Anything you want, sweet girl.” He said. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Well first, I’m taking your picture to send to Frank. He’s gonna get a kick outta this.” You started to laugh, Billy wasn’t really amused but he cracked a smile anyway. You always seemed to be able to pull a smile from him even when he didn’t want to.

Slowly, you walked towards him. Reaching through the bars, you snaked your arms around his waist and tried to kiss him as best as you could without the bars getting in the way.

“Thank you, Billy.” You said.

With a surprised look on his face, he replied “For what? For getting thrown in jail and ruining our Valentine’s Day?” He asked, his voice still apologetic for what he had done.

“Well besides that…even though it may not look like it, you did show a lot of restraint tonight. Eric pushed you too far and I bet he’ll think twice before running his mouth about anyone else like that ever again. And you didn’t ruin my Valentine’s Day, Billy—the day isn’t over yet, my love. Let’s go home.” You said as the two of you exchanged smiles through the bars of the jail cell.

When you arrived at home, you told Billy he owed you a dance. You knew it wasn’t something he was very fond of doing but he did say you could have whatever you wanted plus he still had to earn that chocolate cake. The song starts.

I look and stare so deep in your eyes. I touch on you more and more every time. When you leave I'm beggin' you not to go. Call your name two, three times in a row

Billy smiled warmly at you and extended his hand for you to take it and pulled you flush against his chest as you moved together slowly to the music. He held your hand in his over his heart as he kissed the top of your head, just like he had done the night you met.

Such a funny thing for me to try to explain. How I'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame, yeah. 'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can

He danced with you anytime you asked him to, albeit reluctantly, he did it because he loved you. He knew how much you loved that song and he would never do it for anyone else.

“I still have one more present for you, my love.” He whispered to you as the music continued.

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You hummed into his chest, your eyes closed, and a wide smile spread across your face. “Hmmmmm…Oh yeah? Well I’m enjoying just listening to your heart beat right now, handsome.” You pulled away gently to look into his deep brown eyes as you said “How about you give it to me tomorrow.”

He looked down at you and kissed you on the forehead. “Whatever you want, beautiful. I love you.”

“I love you too, Billy.” You said as you finished the dance in the warm glow of the candlelight and the city lights outside, shining brightly through your living room window.

Billy would never let anyone say anything malicious about you, the woman he treasured, the woman that taught him the real meaning of love. Billy Russo never failed to show you how deep his love was for you, so if slow dancing with you in the living room was what you wanted from him, then he would happily do that until you told him to stop or until his very last breath, whichever came first.

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Local Brew Happenings in Tidewater VA

PINT NIGHTS / TAP TAKEOVERS / KEG TAPPINGS:

(Scroll down for Brew Festival listings)

Tue, Mar 28

- YVBC Trivia Night, Young Veterans Brewing Company, 6 - 8:00 pm, 2505 Horse Pasture Rd., Ste. 104, Virginia Beach. Join us at 6 pm! We will charge $2 entry fee that will then be applied to your first beer. We have a limited number of spots available so get in early, get your spot, drink beer and have some fun!

- Tap it Tuesday, Back Bay Brewing Company, 7-10:00 pm, 614 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach. Each Tuesday, we will introduce a New Real Ale Cask, brewed by our Head Brewmaster Travis Powell. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to learn which new beer we'll be pouring for you this Tuesday!

- Trivia Tuesday, Home Republic, 7 - 9:00 pm, 328 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach. What goes better with beer than a friendly competition for prizes? We are excited to have Trivia Tuesdays with Smartmouth Trivia and of course, food and drink specials!

- Tap Takeover & Trivia Night, Bottlecraft Virginia Beach, 6:30 - 10:00 pm, 1560 Laskin Rd., suite 156, Virginia Beach. Join us for Trivia Night & a Coelacanth Brewing Company Tap Takeover and Sipping Session. Sipping session starts at 6:30 pm, Games start at 8 pm! As an added Bonus, Mark & Kevin will be the hosts for Trivia Night. Free to play & prizes will be awarded!

- Beer Nerd Forum: Yeast the Beast, Next Door bottle shop, 2238 W. Great Neck Rd., Virginia beach. Join us for this unique presentation from Drew Stephenson at Pleasure House Brewing! For our first Beer Nerd Forum, Drew will be discussing the role that particular yeast strands play in creating unique flavor profiles. We'll be tasting some wonderful Pleasure House beers alongside some traditional Belgian ales that Drew has chosen to help us better appreciate the starring role the yeast takes in making these beers great. These won't just be normal tastings but will be opportunities for beer nerds to let their geek flags fly. Knowledge will be dropped, beers poured, secrets shared, and bonds made. #NextDoorIsNotaLie

- Taco Tuesday, Mix it Up Growlers Flights & Pints, 5 - 10:00 pm, 2973 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. It's Tuesday! Can you say 1$ Taco Night? Every Tuesday starting at 5 pm: 1$ dollar shrimp, chicken or beef tacos! Come hungry!

- Two-Fiddy Tuesday, Pleasure House Brewing, 3 - 10:00 pm, 3025 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. It's Tuesday. The weekend is a dim memory, and Friday is so far away it might as well be in China. Break up your week with a trip to the friendliest brewery in Virginia Beach. We can't tell you here what the Two-Fiddy is all about, but we're pretty sure you'll like it!

- Books on Tap, Commonwealth Brewing Company, 7:30 -8:30 pm, 2444 Pleasure House Rd., Virginia Beach. "Books on Tap" is an adults-only book club that meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month to discuss selected books in an open forum over a pint or two. Books are provided by the Virginia Beach Public Library and there is no cost to attend! Join us at Commonwealth Brewing Company as we meet and discuss the books selected at the previous Book Club meeting. Plus 'Cooked 2 Go' food truck will be here Tuesday, Mar 28th. Come out and enjoy gourmet paninis, burgers, wraps and breakfast sandwiches.

- Sensible Seafood Beer Dinner, 1608 Crafthouse, 7 - 10:00 pm, 1608 Pleasure House Rd., Virginia Beach. Join us as we partner with the Sensible Seafood program. Plus we are mixing it up a bit for this dinner, collaborating with 2 local breweries.... The St. George Brewing Company and Alewerks Brewing Company. Menu and more details coming soon!

- Hardywood Tap Takeover, Tap It Local-Chesapeake, 6:30 - 9:00 pm, 648 Grassfield Parkway Suite 12, Chesapeake. We welcome Hardywood Park Craft Brewery from Richmond. Tap Line Up: Hardywood Singel, Belgian Abbey-style Blonde Ale; Hardywood Pils, German-Style Pilsner; Hardywood VIPA, Virginia IPA; Quadrahop, Imperial IPA with Amarillo, Nelson Sauvin, Mosaic & Citra Hops; .

- Tasty Tuesday, O'Connor Brewing Co., 3 - 9:00 pm, 211 W 24th St, Norfolk. Come join us every Tuesday for special discounts on draught beer from 3-9 pm.

- Oozlefinch Board Art Night, The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, 6 - 9:00 pm, 81 Patch Rd., Fort Monroe, Hampton. With the change in seasons we thought we would mix things up a little and let you get really creative. We are excited to team up again with our friends at Starving Artist Studio for our first Board Art Night. So, we thought to ourselves what would be really cool for our first board art night, how about if you get to take home your own little piece of Oozlefinch. We are giving you the opportunity to create the Oozlefinch Bird or the Oozlefinch Logo for your Board Art. This will be an instructor lead class, so don't worry if you think you can't do it. You can!  For reservations follow the link or use the Book It App. http://www.starartiststudio.com/oozlefinch-board-art-reservations   Come take home your very own unique, custom piece of The Oozlefinch Brewery!

- Weekday Happy Hour, Bull Island Brewing Company, 3 - 6:00 pm, 758 Settlers Landing Rd., Hampton. Enjoy special pricing on pints to start your night Happy.

- Virginia Beer Night, Hampton Taphouse, 4 - 9:00 pm, Downtown, 17 E. Queen's Way, Hampton. Tuesday Night is Virginia Beer Night at Hampton Taphouse! Support Local Brewing and enjoy Virginia draft beers at a special price from 4 until 9 pm.

- Thirsty Taco Tuesday, St. George Brewing Company, 4 - 8:00 pm, 204 Challenger Way, Hampton. Tonight is Taco Tuesday! 'Stuft- Not Your Average Street Food' with the best tacos and more! 'Sinful Treats' providing the sweet treats everyone needs.

- Military Appreciation Night, Tradition Brewing Co., 4 - 9:00 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. Show your military ID for a Pint Promo. Plus, 'The Scottish Pig' will be parked out front tonight!

- Growler Power Hours, Hair of the DoG Bottle Shop, 3 - 7:00 pm, 401 W Duke of Gloucester St., Williamsburg. Every Tuesday in January & February from 3-7 pm at Hair of the DoG Bottle Shop 15% off all growler fills. *discount does not apply to the growler vessel itself but to the delicious beer you fill it with!

- Elijah Craig Bourbon STG Night, TRIANGLE, 6 - 11:00 pm, 601 Prince George Street, Williamsburg. For our final STG Event of March, we welcome back our friend Matty Cox from Republic National Distributing Company for a night of Elijah Craig Bourbon! Buy the Bourbon, "Steal" the (Shot) Glass! Subscribe to our Events for updates on featured cocktails for the night! Trivia at 8 pm! $10 Gift Certificate for 2nd Place, $20 Gift Certificate for 1st Place!

- One Tribe One Day hosted by William & Mary Williamsburg-Peninsula Alumni Chapter, The Virginia Beer Company, 6 - 8:00 pm, 401 2nd St., Williamsburg. Every day for 324 years, William & Mary has made a powerful impact on our communities and the world. Now it's our turn to pay it forward. William & Mary will celebrate our fourth annual One Tribe One Day - one extraordinary day of giving back. From Tokyo to San Francisco, the Tribe community will gather to celebrate all that makes William & Mary special. This event is free to attend; appetizers and one drink ticket provided. Special thanks to Robby Willey '05 & Chris Smith '07, Co-Founders of The Virginia Beer Company, for their generous support in hosting this celebration.

- Vinyl Night, Alewerks Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm, 189 B Ewell Rd., Williamsburg. Every Tuesday we celebrate the history of music with a walk down memory lane. No digital streaming here. Just sweet analog vinyl albums spinning on the turntable all night long. We'll play ours, but it's even better if you bring some to add to the fun.

Wed, Mar 29

- Code Word Wednesday, Young Veterans Brewing Company, 3 - 8:00 pm, 2505 Horse Pasture Rd., Virginia Beach. Code Word Wednesday's have begun. Whisper the Code Word to our bartender and you can receive half off the featured beer of the day. Check our Facebook page to find Today's beer and Code Word!

- Wednesday Food Truck, Green Flash Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm (open 12 - 10:00 pm), 1209 Craft Lane, Virginia Beach. 'GastroHub 757' food truck will be here offering their high quality pub fare.

- Pilates & Pints is Back, Back Bay Brewing, 6 - 7:15 pm, 614 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach. You asked for it VA Beach....Pilates & Pints IS BACK! Join us at Back Bay Brewing where Pilates Mat & Beer have joined together for a perfect after work fitness event! Pilates Mat Class is a low-impact, full-body, strength training workout for everyone and this class will be presented by our Studio Partner, FLO Pilates! Stay after class for a Tasty Pint and hang out with old and new friends. Please bring your own mat, blanket (or beach towel), and water. $15 includes class & beer/ FREE to RF Members!! www.realflexi.com  Click here to enroll: https://realflexi.frontdeskhq.com/e/52151705

- Half Price Wednesday, Tapped Gastropub, East Hilltop, 1550 Laskin Rd #198, Virginia Beach. Join us every Wednesday; any and every bottle of craft beer and wine is half off!

- Bingo Night, Bottlecraft Virginia Beach, 8:00 pm, 1560 Laskin Rd., suite 156,Virginia Beach. Join us for B.I.N.G.O night, now every Wednesday! Games start at 8 pm! Free to play & prizes will be awarded!

- Pint Night, Hair of the Dog Eatery, 6 - 10:00 pm, 4000 Virginia Beach Blvd., Ste. 210, Virginia beach. It's Wednesday, and what is a better way to reward yourself for almost getting through the week you ask??? Pint Night, featuring some of the area's best acoustic acts and great breweries! We say the best reward is an AMAZING happy hour combined with food, beverages and awesome smiling faces.

- Randal Wednesdays, Mix it Up Growlers Flights & Pints, 5 - 10:00 pm, 2973 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. On Wednesdays we Randal! Each week we'll run a featured beer through a selection of fruit, spices and other treats to create a one-of-a-kind draft!

- Trivia Night, Pleasure House Brewing, 7 - 9:00 pm, 3025 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. Team Trivia Night!  Join us every Wednesday from 7-9 pm to test your general trivia knowledge. The winning team gets a $40 gift card!

- Hump Day Food Truck, Commonwealth Brewing Company, 3 - 10:00 pm, 2444 Pleasure House Rd., Virginia Beach. 'Ferg’s Missing Ingredient' will be on the patio, Wednesday, Mar 29th with their Southern Cooking & Seafood for you to enjoy.

- Big Ugly Running Posse BURP Run, Big Ugly Brewing Company, 6:30 - 7:30 pm, 1296 Battlefield Blvd S, Chesapeake. Do you like to run and drink beer? Are you looking for something to do on Wednesday evenings? Join the Big Ugly Running Posse for a 1, 3 or 5 mile run starting at Big Ugly Brewing. Brews and great conversation to follow! Walkers are welcome. Run at your own risk. Run will be on, rain or shine.

- Vinyl Night, O'Connor Brewing Co., 3 - 9:00 pm, 211 W 24th St, Norfolk. If you like good music, good beer, and the sound of vintage vinyl, then come by and check us out every Wednesday, when we make this threesome happen. And feel free to bring in your own records to throw on our turntable, we'd love to see what you've got! We've got many draft options to choose from while enjoying the music.

- Free Tasting, bottleBOX-Craft Beer to Go, 5:30 - 8:00 pm, 325 W 21st St, Norfolk. Hey Norfolk! Looking to try some more great craft beers?!? This Wednesday Mike from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery will be joining us. In bottles, he'll be pouring VIPA (Virginia Pale Ale). On draft for growler/crowler fills, we're featuring their Bourbon Barrel Sidamo (Imperial Coffee Stout w/ Lamplighter Coffee Roasters Coffee Aged in Bourbon Barrels) and their recently released Quadrahop (Imperial IPA w/ Amarillo, Nelson Sauvin, Mosaic, & Citra Hops). Come say “Hi!”, sample some new brews, and discover a new favorite.

- Growler Power Hours, ExceptionAle, 3 - 8:00 pm, 2000 Colonial Ave., # 6, Norfolk. Come in and get your mid-week growler fill fix and save. All size growlers filled from all 41 taps are discounted.

- Bingo with Fair Winds Brewing, Colley Cantina, 8 - 10:00 pm, 1316 Colley Ave., Norfolk. "Pints and Prizes Bingo" Every Wednesday from 8-10 pm at Colley Cantina! Join us this week with our friends from Fair Winds brewing of Lorton, VA. Beers are tapped at 5 pm, and a representative from the brewery will be hanging out with us during the event. Here's your chance to try some new beer and win some sweet prizes right from the brewery!

- Pint Night, Hair of the Dog Eatery ODU, 6 - 10:00 pm, 4820 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk. Pint night at Hair of the Dog ODU every Wednesday! We say the best reward is an AMAZING happy hour combined with food, beverages and awesome smiling faces.

- Specials on Draught, The Bold Mariner Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm, 2409 Bowdens Ferry Rd, Norfolk. Happy Hump Day! Come out and enjoy a brew or two, with specials on Draught every Wednesday.

- Pizza & Growlers, Benchtop Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm, 1129 Boissevain Ave., Norfolk. The Bakehouse at Chelsea delivering handmade wood-fired pizzas, and we'll have growler specials.

- Pete's Pub Trivia, Smartmouth Beer, 6 - 8:00 pm (open 4:30 - 9:00 pm), 1309 Raleigh Avenue, Norfolk. Now every Wednesday! Let Pete challenge your knowledge of random facts and information. No charge. Starts promptly at 6 pm. Teams of 6 or less. Winners may choose either glassware or growler as prize. Plus tasty street food from 'Sofrito' food truck.

- The Birch's 7 Hours of Almanac, The Birch, 5 - 10:00 pm, 1231 W Olney Rd, Norfolk. We will be hosting a mini tap takeover welcoming Almanac Beer Co to the Commonwealth! "The Almanac Beer Company was founded in 2010 by Jesse Friedman and Damian Fagan. Farm-to-barrel brewing is about selecting the best in locally sourced fruit and blending it into beers inspired by the great brewing traditions of the world."  http://www.almanacbeer.com/ourbeer/ Tap List: Farmer's Reserve Blackberry, Grand Cru White, Hoppy Sour Citra, Peach de Brettaville, Vanilla Cherry Dogpatch.

- Alive Music, Wharf Hill Brewing Co., 7 - 10:00 pm, 25 Main St, Smithfield. Come on out and hang out at the pub while listening great local music. See you at the pub!

- Drink & Draw at The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, 6 - 9:00 pm, 81 Patch Rd., Fort Monroe, Hampton. Calling all local artists!! We brought Drink & Draw back for another night just for you! Once again we are teaming up with Peninsula Arts Collective to bring you a night of art, brews, and connecting with other local creative minds. All you need to bring is your creativity and any supplies you'd like to use (sketch pads, paints, charcoals, pencils, etc.) and your willingness to drink beer and hang out while making some awesome art. We are excited to see more beautiful creations come from all of you! Remember, the more beers you drink and the more into the music you get, who knows what will transpire on your canvas! Plus, we'll have 'All about the Cheese' here at the brewery serving up cheesy goodness.

- Trivia Night Wednesdays, Bull Island Brewing Company, 7 - 9:00 pm, 758 Settlers Landing Rd., Hampton. Weekday Happy Hour from 3-6 pm, followed by Wednesday Night Trivia with Quizmaster Kyle! Come in, and bring your friends! First place team gets a grand prize from the brewery!

- Trivia Night! (Every Wednesday), St. George Brewing Company, 6 - 8:00 pm, 204 Challenger Way, Hampton.  Get your team together and come out for this week's TRIVIA NIGHT! 1-6 people per team, with prizes ranging from 1st - 3rd place. Come have some good beer & and fun!

- Oozlefinch Steal The Glass, Craft 60 Ale House, 4 - 9:00 pm, 13361 Warwick Blvd., Newport News. Join us for a great night of craft food & brews with The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, from Fort Monroe in Hampton.

- Weekly Group Run, Tradition Brewing Co., 6:00 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. Burn and Brew tonight with Flat-Out Events & Point 2 Running Company! Join us at our group run at Tradition Brewing Co! We will meet there,  run a 3-mile loop around City Center, and finish back at Tradition. Following the run, there will be a Food Truck at Tradition and, of course, beer! There will also be complimentary Nuun hydration at the end of the run. Meet in front of the tasting room at 6:00, all levels welcome.

- Trivia Night, Tradition Brewing Co., 7 - 9:00 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. Trivia Night: PIZZA, PINT, & A POLAROID. The 1st place team gets the winners' table right next to the bar the following week, and the other trivia teams will know your team because our NEW Trivia Mascot will be sitting on the table signaling you were last week's winner! The 1st place team will also be served a freshly delivered pizza with up to 2 toppings and one pint of Tradition Brewing Company beer for every team member (up to 6 pints). Finally, the 1st place team will also have a team photo taken and added to the board. Plus 'Sliders 757' food truck will be here to fill your hands with made-to-order goodness.

- William & Mary Tribe Discount Night, The Virginia Beer Company, 4 - 9:00 pm, 401 2nd St., Williamsburg. Offering discounts on all liquid with a valid W&M ID. And, we'll fire up the week with 'Two Drummers Offbeat Eats' food truck out on the patio to help you get over the 'Hump'. Drinks + dinner anyone?

- Trivia Night in the Taproom, Alewerks Brewing Company, 7:00 pm (Open 12 - 9:00 pm), 189-B Ewell Road, Williamsburg. Wednesday night means the Taproom is the place to be for this battle of the brains. Bring your friends (or your enemies) and prove just how smart you really are. And everyone knows that craft beer makes you smarter. That's just good science.

- 5K Family Run/Walk featuring O'Connor Brewing, Water Street Grille, 6:00 pm, 323 Water St., Yorktown. Come join the Water Street Grille Run Club every Wednesday at 6 pm for a 5k run/walk through historic Yorktown and return to Water Street Grille upon completion for great deals on O'Connor Brewing Brews and food specials from Chef Brian Hines and his culinary team.

Thu, Mar 30

- Thursday Food Truck, Green Flash Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm (open 12 - 10:00 pm), 1209 Craft Lane, Virginia Beach. 'Vicki Vail's Gourmet Burgers' food truck will be here serving their made-to-order burgers and made from scratch sides.

- Virginia Craft Beer Night, Tapped Crafthouse, 2181 Upton Drive, Virginia Beach. Happy VA craft beer Thursday! $3 Pints of local and regional craft beers. Come get them while they last!

- Vinyl Night and Bingo, Back Bay Brewing Company, 7-10:00 pm, 614 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach. Chris will be calling the numbers and spinning the records each Thursday downstairs in the Tasting Room. We have a mix of our own house records to pull from and invite you to bring in your favorites to mix it up!

- Draft Beer Night, 11th Street Taphouse Bar & Grill, 4 - 9:00 pm, VB Oceanfront on the Boardwalk, 1011 Atlantic Ave., Virginia Beach. Every Thursday we offer 50% off our rotating Drafts!

- Pint Night, Chicho's More Than Pizza, 29th St., Virginia Beach. Each Thursday we switch out one of the taps with a new IPA or other craft beer. When you buy a pint of it you get the glass as a gift.

- Virginia Craft Beer Night, Tapped Gastropub, East Hilltop, 1550 Laskin Rd #198, Virginia Beach. Happy VA craft beer Thursday! $3 Pints of local and regional craft beers. Come get them while they last!

- Pizza & Pint Night, Baker's Crust, Hilltop, Ghent, Greenbrier & Williamsburg. Every Thu from 5 - 9:00 pm. Originating in Naples, Italy, our Neapolitan pizzas mimic that of the traditional Neapolitan Pizza using only 00 flour, hand-stretched dough, house-made fresh mozzarella & Italian tomatoes. Our pizzas are brought to life in our oak wood-fired oven, creating pizzas with an added layer of texture and flavor. $6 Pizzas, PLUS a Special Happy Hour from 4-9 pm.

- Pi(e)nt Night, Your Pie Hilltop, 5 - 9:00 pm, 754 Hilltop North Shopping Ctr., Virginia Beach. Every Thursday night, order a pint from our Brewery of the Month and keep the glass.

- Beer School, The Porch at Whole Foods Virginia Beach, 6:30-8:00 pm, 1800 Laskin Rd, Virginia Beach. Join one of our beer experts on The Porch for a different topic each week. 21 years of age or older with valid ID, $6.50

- Free Beer Tasting, Grape & Gourmet, 4:30-7:00 pm, 4000 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach. Come see what Gabe is pouring for tonight's tasting. Five new beers every week!

- Connect4 Tournament, Mix it Up Growlers Flights & Pints, 6 - 10:00 pm, 2973 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. Go 4 it! Connect Four! See you for our first tournament this Thursday! 100$ Cash Prize! Sign-ups at 6 pm; Games start at 6:30 pm!

- Day Early Weekend, Commonwealth Brewing Company, 3:00 pm - 11:00 pm, 2444 Pleasure House Rd, Virginia Beach. 'Waffletina' will be joining us for dinner at the patio on Thursday, Mar 30th, offering Amaaaazing waffle sandwiches and spectacular sides!

- Big Ugly Beer Dinner, The Butcher's Son, 7 - 9:00 pm, 500 Battlefield Blvd. S, Chesapeake. The Butcher's Son is proud to present our first collaboration with Big Ugly Brewing. Our dinner will feature four courses of seasonal and local food perfectly paired with Big Ugly beers. Join us for a one-night-only experience. Seating is very limited for this exclusive dinner, so we encourage to have reservations made early. The price per person is $60 plus tax and gratuity. Call now to book your reservation. (757) 410-5466

- Tap It Thursday, Big Ugly Brewing Company, 5:30 - 8:30 pm, 1296 Battlefield Blvd S, Chesapeake. Join us for Thirsty Thursday! Tyler from Tap It Local will be chef-ing up a tasty sample menu, including burgers & crab cakes, so come thirsty and hungry!

- Pi(e)nt Night, Your Pie Pizza Norfolk, 5:00 pm to close, Wards Corner, 7550 Granby St., Norfolk. Every Thursday night, order a pint from our Brewery of the Month and keep the glass.

- Growler Fill Thursday & Beers n Que Night, O'Connor Brewing Co., 3 - 10:00 pm, 211 W 24th St, Norfolk. Join us every Thursday for tasty drafts and discounts on all growler fills! Come out and grab some of 'Rustic Roots Gourmet's' authentic BBQ with complex flavors and upscale flair from 3-10 pm! Cheers!

- Win Brews or Draw / T-shirt Thursday, Coelacanth Brewing Company, 4:30 - 9:00 pm, 760 A W 22nd St., Norfolk. The ridiculously fun game that’s a weird combination of Pictionary, Trivia and random acts of stupidity. Join us this Thursday. And be sure to bring your drinking shoes - and your pockets stuffed with random crap - because you just never know…. Remember every Thursday is also T-SHIRT THURSDAY where you save when you support local business. 1 - Wear a T-shirt from a locally-owned Norfolk business or any Hampton Roads Brewery & get 10% off. 2 - Wear a T-shirt from Coelacanth & get 15% off. 3 - Buy a T-shirt for 25% off.

- Pint Night, The Public House, 5:00 pm, 1112 Colley Ave, Norfolk. Join The Public House for our weekly Pint Night. Pours start at 5 pm! Glassware and beers are limited!

- Expedition Brew Release / Thirsty Thursday's at Bold Mariner Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm, 2409 Bowdens Ferry Rd, Norfolk. Our newest Expedition Brew goes on tap Thursday. This week's clue is: 'Sprinkles'! There's only one keg so don't miss out. Plus, come out every Thursday and enjoy specials on Growler Fills.

- Pizza Night, Smartmouth Brewing Company, 4:30 - 9:00 pm, 1309 Raleigh Ave, Norfolk. The 'Bakehouse at Chelsea' will be on-site taking pizza orders to help keep your tummy full.

- Cider Thursday, The Birch, 5:00 pm - 12:00 am, 1231 W Olney Rd, Norfolk. Come in for our Cider Thursday! All draft and bottle ciders are on Happy Hour until 9pm. A special board is made to pair with the featured cider of the evening, and if you get a cheese or charcuterie plate you get an additional cheese free!

- Brewery of the Month Pint Night, Roger Brown's Restaurant and Sports Bar, 4 - 7:00 pm, 316 High St., Portsmouth. Join us every Thursday in March at Roger Brown's in Portsmouth, and steal a pint!!!

- Releasing Legend Brewing Co, Ütebier, The Bier Garden, 5 - 8:00 pm, 438 High St., Portsmouth. With Legend Brewing opening this Spring in Old Town, we are releasing one of their seasonal brews: Ütebier, which means "to welcome in the spring season." Ütebier pour a deep orange color and is very crisp. Additional Motueka hops are added towards the end of the boil to bring out a light, tropical aroma. Prost!

- Pint Nights at The Point, The Point at Phoebus - Spirits and Comfort Foods, 6:00 pm, 30 Mellen St E, # E, Hampton. Every Thursday, come enjoy a local craft brew and keep the pint for a penny. Join us for Point Pint Night and our featured brewery of the month, Virginia Beer Company, from Williamsburg. We'll be pouring Free Verse IPA and Wrenish Rye Amber Ale, and the kitchen will be preparing a beautiful pairing to enjoy with these super brews.

- Trivia Night, The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, 7 - 9:00 pm (open at 1:00 pm), 81 Patch Rd., Fort Monroe, Hampton. Trivia every Thursday night 7-9 pm hosted by Team Trivia VB! We’ll have 'Poor Boys Burgers’ food truck on site at 4:30 pm. Trivia and fresh burger goodness, what could be better!?! Put on your smarty pants and head on over. Cheers!

- Thirsty Thursday, Bull Island Brewing Company, 3 - 6:00 pm, 758 Settlers Landing Rd., Hampton. We'll tap a Thirsty Thursday Beer of the Day! Plus, Weekday Happy Hour from 3-6 pm. Enjoy special pricing on pints to start your night Happy.

- Thursday Night at St. George (BrewTunes), The St. George Brewing Company, 4 - 8:00 pm, 204 Challenger Way, Hampton. Check twitter and Facebook for who will be here for the sweet tunes and beats. We usually have agreat local food truck to provide yummy food for the night!

- Virginia Beer Company Pints & Pies Dinner, Mellow Mushroom (Newport News, VA), 5 - 10:00 pm, 12090 Jefferson Ave., Su. 1500, Newport News. Ladies and Gents! Back by popular demand, Mellow Mushroom Newport News will be hosting another very special craft beer dinner! This time featuring the amazing brews from our personal friends at The Virginia Beer Company! Come by March 30th around 5pm for a one night only menu featuring select pairings arranged by team Mellow & The Virginia Beer Co. Team! Stay tuned for more info. Hope to see you then, cheers!

- Alewerks Night at Quaker Steak & Lube, 6 - 9:00 pm, 12832 Jefferson Ave., Newport News. Alewerks comes to Newport News for the evening to hang out with our friends at Quaker Steak & Lube on Jefferson Ave. Come out and say hi and drink good beer.

- College Night with College Tunes, Tradition Brewing Company, 4 - 9:00 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. Flash your current college ID & enjoy pint promos open 'til close! Must have a valid ID and 21+ college. Plus our College Night Pint Promo now has college bands, Felicia Hoyos from 5:30 - 8:30 pm. And we'll have 'Potheads Mobile Catering & Eatery' food truck starting at 4 pm.

- Slider Night, Dog Street Pub, 5:00 pm, 401 W Duke of Gloucester St, Williamsburg. Every Thursday is Slider Night. Three unique sliders paired with three taste size beers ready to start your weekend early. Slider night tempts us, so get them while you can.

- Oozlefinch Craft Brewery Beer Dinner, TRIANGLE, 6:30 - 8:00 pm, 601 Prince George Street, Williamsburg. TRIANGLE presents... a beer dinner with one of Hampton Roads newest breweries, The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, located next to Historic Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia! Beer Dinner Draft Lineup: Creekside Lager amber lager, Lady in White hefeweizen, Racing Submarines American brown ale, Ox Cart imperial porter, Sergeant Patches grapefruit pineapple IPA. Pairing Menu coming soon! https://www.facebook.com/events/1455077271178412/permalink/1462426487110157/

- Thursday Food Truck, The Virginia Beer Company, 4 - 9:00 pm, 401 2nd St., Williamsburg. Join us as 'All About The Cheese' rolls in to get the weekend started early with big, bold cheesy flavors on the beer garden! We'll be waiting for you!

- Randall Night at Alewerks, Alewerks Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm, 189-B Ewell Road, Williamsburg. Thursdays are Randall Night at Alewerks. Come out and enjoy Corbin's latest creation. We take one of our premium beers and enhance the flavor as it pours with ingredients that change weekly, creating new and exciting combinations worth coming back for again and again.

- Trivia Night at Brass Cannon Brewing, 6:30 - 9:00 pm, 5476 Mooretown Road, Williamsburg. Think you know a bunch of stuff you don't need to know? Brass Cannon Brewing is hosting trivia nights every Thursday. Hosted by our own Sarah Adams, our trivia nights cover a wide range from the boring current affairs to the weirdest bits of history and entertainment. Come show off how smart you think you are! And everyone knows great beer gets even better when paired with great food! We’ll have 'Dezzie Rae's Grill' food truck bringing us great grub to pair with our cold fresh brews.

- Deschutes Brewery "Steal the Pint" Night, Oceans & Ale, 5:00 pm - Midnight, Prime Outlets 5601-1 Richmond Rd., Williamsburg. Join us when Deschutes Brewery comes to Oceans & Ale. We'll be tapping some great beers so make sure to swing by. More details to follow.

Fri, Mar 31

- Food Truck Friday, Green Flash Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm (open 12 - 10:00 pm), 1209 Craft Lane, Virginia Beach. We'll have 'Vicki Vail's Gourmet Burgers' food truck here serving their made-to-order burgers and made from scratch sides.

- Beers with the Brewer, Back Bay Brewing Company, 12 - 6:00 pm, 614 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach. Stop in anytime between 12-6pm to chat up our Head Brewer, Travis Powell! This is a great opportunity to ask any questions you may have about craft beer, the brewing process, hops selection and more!

- Charlotte Hour, Lynnhaven Pub, 5-8:00 pm, 2236 W Great Neck Rd., Virginia Beach. Join us out on the patio sampling some tasty brews. Come by, talk beer, and grab a ready brew.

- Growler Fill Night, Mix it Up Growlers Flights & Pints, 5:00 pm - Midnight, 2973 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. 20% off Growler Fills!

- Liberty Call, Pleasure House Brewing, 12 - 11:00 pm, 3025 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. We will open at noon on Fridays for Liberty Call-an early start to the weekend for our many friends in the armed forces!

- Food Truck Friday, Commonwealth Brewing Company, 3:00 pm - 12:00 am, 2444 Pleasure House Rd, Virginia Beach. We welcome 'Thai Express' Food Truck to the patio Friday, Mar 31st, with their Extensive menu of all your Thai favorites.

- Food Truck Friday, Rip Rap Brewing Co., 4 - 10:00 pm (new hours), 116 E. 25th St., Norfolk. Start your weekend here in Norfolk and hang out in our Dog friendly, and Family friendly tasting room and pair our tasty fresh beer with treats from a great local food truck.

- Beer Release, O'Connor Brewing Co., 3 - 10:00 pm, 211 W 24th St., Norfolk. Walk Off Kolsch: In baseball, you can rocket a double into the left-center field gap or try and beat out a perfectly placed bunt down the third base line. You can make an incredible diving catch, or your knees can buckle on a filthy curveball with the bases loaded. But only on the rarest of occasions will you see a Walk Off-a game-winning hit by the Norfolk Tides that sends the crowd home from Harbor Park with an unforgettable memory. Our version of this famous Kolsch-style Ale-which we have brewed in collaboration with the Norfolk Tides-is extremely clear, very crisp, and has subtle hints of pineapple and pear. A very sessionable and easy-drinking brew that pairs perfectly with warm summer days and cooler nights at the park, Walk-off Kolsch is the ideal beer to start (and end) the game.

- O'Connor Food Truck Challenge: CHILI, O'Connor Brewing Co., 3 - 10:00 pm, 211 W 24th St., Norfolk. Do you love chili? Come to our O'Connor Food Truck Challenge, presented by the Street Food Revolutionaries! Guest judges will be choosing the area's best chili...from a food truck! Come sample chili from Cast Iron, Ferg's Missing Ingredient, and Get Stuffed to let us know who YOU think has the best chili!!! Make sure to getting a judging form in the tasting room!!!

- Firkin Friday, Cogan's Pizza North, 6:00 pm, 4311 Colley Avenue, Norfolk. Every Friday, we tap a cask of ale from one of our local craft breweries. Come out and enjoy some REAL BEER!

- Food Truck Friday, Bold Mariner Brewing Company, 4 - 9:00 pm, 2409 Bowdens Ferry Rd, Norfolk.  We'll have 'GastroHub' food truck in the beer garden to pair their great treats with our tasty brews.

- Food Truck Friday, Benchtop Brewing Company, 3 - 10:00 pm, 1129 Boissevain Ave., Norfolk. We are back at it again this week, with Pints, Flights and Growler Fills. We'll have another great food truck here to pair with our beers.

- Food Truck Friday, Smartmouth Beer, 4:30 - 9:00 pm, 1309 Raleigh Avenue #300, Norfolk. Come start your weekend with tasty treats from 'Cubania' food truck with their authentic Cuban fare.

- Special Friday Night Beer and Cheese Pairing Menu, The Birch, 3:00 pm - 2:00 am, 1231 W Olney Rd, Norfolk. A way to offer a bridge between our beer menu and our cheese! The pairings can be ordered individually or they can be ordered together as a flight!

- Beer Tasting with COTU, Great Bottles LLC, 7 - 8:00 pm, 1901 Governors Pointe Dr., Suffolk. Free Beer Tasting. Charlotte from Center Of The Universe Brewing from Ashland, VA will be here with us tasting some delicious beers!

- Live Music and Food Truck Friday, The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, 7 - 10:00 pm, 81 Patch Rd., Fort Monroe, Hampton. The 'Chisman Creek Band' is one of the premier bands of the Tidewater, Virginia area. Wade in a little bit, and you may find that you're in for some surprises, because Chisman Creek Band flows in many musical directions, blending traditional and contemporary bluegrass, classic rock, modern hits, and original songs to create its own unique and impressive style. Plus we'll have 'Capt'n Crabby' food truck on site with their Maryland style seafood and crab cake creations.

- Firkin Friday, Bull Island Brewing Company, 11:00 am - 11:00 pm, 758 Settlers Landing Rd., Hampton. We're going to have a special blend of our brew on tap to tempt your palate this Friday for Firkin Friday! It's so good; don't miss out on this spin on our beer! We'll be serving it until it runs out starting Friday morning! Plus we have Happy Hour from 3-6 pm.

- Kickin' Off the Weekend (Friday Night), The St. George Brewing Company, 4 - 8:00 pm, 204 Challenger Way, Hampton. Every Friday night we've got a great band and food truck along with our amazing craft beer to help you close your crazy week! Check our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for details because the line-up changes weekly.

- Live Music / Friday Night Flights, Tradition Brewing Company, 4:00 - 11:00 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. We'll have The 'Kevin Brinson' Live on stage from 6:30 pm. Plus, we'll be featuring 'Your Pie Norfolk / Ward's Corner' with their made to order pies! And as always we'll help you kick off your weekend right with discounts on flights of 4 and 6 samplings of our great local craft beer!

- Free Beer Tasting, Hair of the DoG Bottle Shop, 5-8:00 pm, 401 W Duke of Gloucester St., Williamsburg.  Come by every Friday to try what's new and grab a growler to go from one of our 8 Taps, or large selection of craft bottles and cans. See you at 5 pm!

- Friday Night Live, The Virginia Beer Company, 12 - 9:30 pm, 401 2nd St, Williamsburg. Did you know we create a one-off Brewmaster’s Pin for EVERY Friday? Did you know we tap a new brew EVERY Friday? Welcome the weekend with 'Poor Boys Burgers’ food truck in the bier garden from 12-9 pm, and a new Brewmaster’s Pin (Pineapple Habañero Free Verse) tapped around 3-ish, and Live music with BILLY JOE TRIO from 6-9 pm! Come on down and kick-off your weekend the right way!

- Live Music Friday / Cask Tapping in the Taproom, Alewerks Brewing Company, 12 - 9:00 pm, 189-B Ewell Road, Williamsburg. This Friday Night. Great beer from Alewerks. Great music from Aaron Enright, starting at 5:30 pm, all in our cozy taproom. Sounds like you should be there. Plus every Friday night we tap a new cask in the Taproom. Each cask beer is a unique creation, giving our brewers a chance to enhance the flavors, as well as add new ones never before tried. Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is unfiltered and unpasteurized beer which is conditioned (including secondary fermentation) and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure. Many consider it the best way to drink a beer. Come celebrate the end of the work week with great beer and great music in the Alewerks Taproom.

- Live Music Friday, Brass Cannon Brewing, 6 - 9:00 pm, 5476 Mooretown Road, Williamsburg. Dave McKenney will be joining us at Brass Cannon for a night of fun, music and delicious beer. A singer/songwriter from Richmond, Dave has performed as far north as New England and as far south as Key West. Citing Jimmy Buffet as inspiration, he has released 4 albums of original music since 2013. 'Potheads Mobile Catering & Eatery' will be here serving delicious food and we'll be pouring the brews all night!

Sat, Apr 1

- Saturday Food Truck, Green Flash Brewing Company, 12 - 9:00 pm, 1209 Craft Lane, Virginia Beach. 'Malbon's BBQ' food truck will here will be here specializing in hand-pulled whole hog BBQ and sides.

- World Championship Bingo to benefit CHKD, Back Bay Brewing, 4 - 6:00 pm, 614 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach. Come join Host Ricky Miller and The Mermaid Circle of the VBCU for a fun afternoon of World Championship Bingo to raise funds for Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD). The first game will start promptly at 4 pm and bingo cards will be on sale starting at 3 pm. Games are being sponsored by Catch Surf, Back Bay Brewing, Bottlecraft Virginia Beach, Pizza Chapel, Volcom and Wave Riding Vehicles!

- LADIES NIGHT!!! Back Bay Brewing Company, 6 - 8:00 pm (open 12:00 pm - Midnight), 614 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach. Saturday Night is LADIES NIGHT! Huge discounts for ladies from 6-8 pm!

- Live Music & Food Trucks, Mix it Up Growlers Flights & Pints, 2973 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. Hang out at our own backyard beach, grab some grub, and chill to tunes.

- Saturday Food Truck, Commonwealth Brewing Company, 12:00 pm - Midnight, 2444 Pleasure House Rd., Virginia Beach. We'll have a great local foodt truck on the patio Saturday, Apr 1st.

- Mercy Killer bottle release party, Big Ugly Brewing Company, 12 - 10:00 pm, 1296 Battlefield Blvd. S, Chesapeake. We will be releasing our 2017 Mercy Killer barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout on April 1! Two bottle limit per person. Variants released every two hours all day long. Live music with Rob Snyder and Brian Grilli! Mark your calendars!

- Free Tours, Food Trucks, & Fun, O'Connor Brewing Co., 12 - 10:00 pm, 211 W 24th St, Norfolk. On Saturdays we have free brewery tours each hour from 12-4 pm. There's plenty of cornhole, shuffleboard and giant Jenga, and of course, fresh, tasty beers, all day and evening. Join us for a pint and live music with DJ Greg, starting at 6:30 pm. Plus, 'Cast Iron BBQ' will be serving up their mouth-watering BBQ and southern morsels from 12-10 pm!

- Saturday Food Truck, Rip Rap Brewing Co., 12 - 10:00 pm, 116 E. 25th St., Norfolk. There's nothing better than Saturday's in Norfolk! Come hang out in our Dog friendly, and Family friendly tasting room and pair our tasty fresh beer with treats from one of our local food trucks. Come out and have a beer!

- Beer Release, CBC - Coelacanth Brewing Company, 12 - 10:00 pm, 760 A W 22nd St., Norfolk. Please join us on April 1 for the release of FOOL'S GOLD New England IPA. This beer is dedicated to the little known Gold Miners of Vermont, who spent a lot of time searching for gold, but usually found only PYRITE - better known as "Fool's Gold". NE IPAs are known for their tropical, citrusy flavors and the hazy appearance, but above all "juiciness". We'll have Bottles available; a PIN/Firkin of the IPA with something special, and we'll run Fool's Gold through our Randall for some alternative flavors. Food Truck Redwood Smoke Shack! Rubbed. Smoked. Handcrafted. Our mobile food trailer brings the best Texas style 'que to all of Hampton Roads!

- Saturday Food truck, Benchtop Brewing Company, 12 - 10:00 pm, 1129 Boissevain Ave., Norfolk. We are back at it again. Come and get a taste of our delicious beers paired with great food from a great local food truck from 12-10 pm.

- Beer Release, Smartmouth Beer, 12 - 7:00 pm, 1309 Raleigh Ave, Norfolk. Sommer Fling Hefeweizen. Making its long-awaited return to growlers, coolers and tall, curvy pint glasses everywhere, is your favorite German-style hefeweizen, Sommer Fling. This warm-weather seasonal is brimming with no-strings-attached deliciousness and will be available on draft and in 12oz six-packs. So raise a glass (or a can) of this effervescent brew and welcome spring's arrival. 'Capt'n Crabby' will be on-site all day to complement this fine brew, and live music c/o Derek Smith, from 4:30-6:30 pm.

- Yoga on Tap, The St. George Brewing Company, 9:30 am, 204 Challenger Way, Hampton. Every Saturday morning we host 'Yoga on Tap', a one hour Vinyasa flow yoga class, by Yaz Yoga.

- The Birch's April Fool's Day Special, 3 - 11:00 pm, 1231 W Olney Rd., Norfolk. We thought up the most ridiculous April Fool's Day joke ever, so ridiculous that we are actually going to do it! Stay tuned at our FB page for hints all week!

- Saturday Live Music, The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, 7 - 10:00 pm, 81 Patch Rd., Fort Monroe, Hampton. Dikon Vallet Trio. This Saturday come enjoy the incredible trio of Harmonica player Tom Dikon, guitarist/vocalist Jon Vallet, and their new bass player Rich Ridolfino! This group comes together in perfect harmony to play a set of incredible music that you won't want to miss. Plus, we'll have 'All about the Cheese' here at the brewery serving up cheesy goodness.

- Saturday at the Brewery, The St. George Brewing Company, 4 - 8:00 pm, 204 Challenger Way, Hampton. St. George Brewing Co. is just the place to drink amazing beer and relax to the tunes of 'Mimsey Mack and The Mannequins'. Music starts at 6 pm.

- Come Run Remember Trooper Chad Dermyer, Tradition Brewing Company, 12 - 3:00 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. Hosted by End Of Watch (EOW) Run INC. The event is free. You can walk, run, skate, and even bike ride! The most important part of our event is to remember.

- Saturday Live Music / Food Truck, Tradition Brewing Company, 12 - 10:30 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. We'll have Jacob Vanko live on stage, starting at 6:30 pm. And we'll have 'Two Drummers Offbeat Eats' & 'Sinful Treats' food trucks starting at Noon.

- Saturday Food Truck, The Virginia Beer Company, 12 - 9:30 pm, 401 2nd St., Williamsburg. Come out and grab a piece of heaven with the return of 'Karnage Asada' from 1-8 pm at 401! Plus, FREE brewery tours at 3 & 4 pm! Call ahead or let your beer-tender know you’re interested in joining! First come, first toured!

- Five Year Birthday Party, Brass Cannon Brewing, 12 - 9:00 pm, 5476 Mooretown Road, Williamsburg. Brass Cannon Brewing is turning 5 years old! We sold our first beer ever on April 1st, 2012 (no joke) and have been rocking since then. In appreciation of all our fans both old and new, we are throwing a celebratory bash to commemorate half a decade of brewing beer. There'll be multiple bands, two food trucks and at least two new specialty beers served from the cask! Come on out and help us have a grand birthday bash!

Sun, Apr 2

- Growler Power Hours, Reaver Beach Brewing Company, 2 - 4:00 pm (open from 1 - 6:00 pm), 1505 Taylor Farm Rd., Virginia Beach. The weekend's not over, from 2-4 pm we offer discounts on all growler and grenade fills.

- Sunday Food Truck, Green Flash Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm (open 12 - 10:00 pm), 1209 Craft Lane, Virginia Beach. 'All About the Cheese' Food Truck will be with their custom-made cheesy goodness.

- Service Industry Sunday, Back Bay Brewing, 12 - 6:00 pm, 614 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach. ALL DAY specials for people working in the Food Service Industry + EMT, Military, Police and Firefighters on Sundays!

- Nomarama Presents: Ultimate Kitchen Takeover, Wasserhund Brewing Company, 12-9:00 pm, 1805 Laskin Road, Suite 102, Virginia Beach. Pizza, Beer AND Wings?!? Nomarama is hosting Wasserhund's first Kitchen Takeover, featuring wings from Chef Moe Stevenson owner of My Mama's Kitchen! All your Wasserhund favorites will be available but, for the day, Wasserhund will feature specialty wings from Chef Moe that he's paired with some of our signature taps! Prost!

- Sunday Funday, Mix it Up, Mix it Up Growlers Flights & Pints, 11:00 am - 8:00 pm, 2973 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. Sunday Funday Backyard Party and $1 hot dogs all day long!

- Crocks for a Cause, Pleasure House Brewing, 6-8 pm (open 12-10:00 pm), 3025 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. Every Sunday at 6 pm, for a donation of just $5 you can try all of the crockpot creation entries in our cooking contest, and you too can be a judge! The winner gets a PHB gift card! All proceeds go directly to K-9 New Life charity.

- Sunday Food Truck, Commonwealth Brewing Company, 11:00 am - 7:00 pm, 2444 Pleasure House Rd., Virginia Beach. We'll have another great local food truck out on the patio Sunday, Apr 2nd.

- Tap It Local Pop Up Kitchen, Big Ugly Brewing Company, 12:30 pm, 1296 Battlefield Blvd. S., Chesapeake. Our friends from Tap It Local will be grilling up some burgers, bbq, crab cakes and shrimp to go with that Big Bold Beer at Big Ugly Brewing on Sunday’s from Noon to 4 pm so come hungry and thirsty.

- Rustic Brunch / SIN, O'Connor Brewing Co., 12 - 7:00 pm, 211 W 24th St, Norfolk. Come out and grab some of Rustic Roots Gourmet's authentic BBQ with complex flavors and upscale flair from 12-7 pm! And of course it's Service Industry Night, so if you work in a bar or restaurant, we've got an exclusive happy hour just for you!

- Exception(andall) beers, Exception(ale), 12 - 6:00 pm, 2000 Colonial Ave, # 6, Norfolk. We have exception(andall) beers every Sunday. We'll offer up extra flavors infused into already great beers issuing out Dogfish Randall.

- Sunday Food Truck, Coelacanth Brewing Company, 1 - 7:00 pm, 760 A W 22nd St., Norfolk. We welcome 'GastroHub' food truck, offering high quality pub fare.

- Sunday Salute, The Bold Mariner Brewing Company, 12 - 6:00 pm, 2409 Bowden’s Ferry Rd., Norfolk. Discount on draught for all Active Duty Military and Veterans.

- Sunday Funday, Benchtop Brewing Company, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm, 1129 Boissevain Ave., Norfolk. Come in for our Sunday Funday draft specials. Plus, we'll have 'Vicki Vail's Gourmet Burgers' food truck here serving their made-to-order burgers and made from scratch sides.

- Tour de ORF Bike Ride, Smartmouth Beer, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm, 1309 Raleigh Ave., Norfolk. Join us for Tour de ORF, a 28-mile bike trek to the Norfolk Airport, starting and ending at the brewery. Meet at 9:45am in the Smartmouth parking lot and leave at 10am. Ride should take about 2 hours. Helmets & cell phones required - no SAG (support and gear). Spare tubes recommended. This ride is intended for folks on road bikes with some experience. We are planning on a B Pace, 16-18 mph as conditions permit with perhaps a sprint on Miller Store Road. Depending on turnout, we may separate into two groups (with one having a lesser pace and/or distance) although one group is preferred. C Pace if needed will be self-guided - no ride lead. Immediately after the ride participants can refresh with a nice cold beer (market prices). The ride is free, but donations are requested to benefit local waterways charities.

- Smartmouth Sundays, Smartmouth Beer, 1 - 5:00 pm, 1309 Raleigh Ave., Norfolk. Our tasting room will be open from 1-5 pm serving up delicious craft beer in its many vessels and offering all the Smartmouth swag and brews you can get your hands on. Plus authentic German fare from the 'Deutscher Imbiss' food truck.

- Mikkeller Running Club Norfolk Run #21, The Birch, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm, 1231 W Olney Rd., Norfolk. Join us for our 21st installment. 3.1 miles through West Ghent followed by delicious beer and waffles. All abilities are welcome. See you there!

- Waffletina Pop-up, The Birch, 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 1231 W Olney Rd., Norfolk. Waffletina will be taking over our kitchen and serving up some delicious waffle creations! They are bringing LOTs of waffles since you all have been so hungry!! Mikkeller Running Club Norfolk meets at 10 am for a 5k! Enjoy a coffee stout and the best waffles in Norfolk!

- Chuggers Running Club, Wharf Hill Brewing Co., 10:30 - 11:30 am, 25 Main St, Smithfield. Join the Wharf Hill Chuggers each Sunday at 10:30 am for a conversational paced 5k through Smithfield. All runners, walkers, and joggers welcome at any pace! Meet at the pub for introductions before the run, then hang out after for great beer, food and conversation!

- Cubbies Home Opener, The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, 7:35 pm, 81 Patch Rd., Fort Monroe, Hampton. We're open 1-9 pm, but we're staying late for the Chicago Cubs Home Opener at 7:35 pm. Plus, we'll have the 'Peninsula Food Truck' here to satisfy all your beer pairing and hunger needs.

- Oms & Ale with Zenya Yoga, Tradition Brewing Company, 10 - 11:15 am, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. Zenya Yoga & Massage Studio and Tradition Brewing Company Present Oms & Ale - Yoga & Beer, every Sunday! Tap into the fun and bliss of brewery yoga. Suitable for beginner and experienced students, this class will challenge your balance, strength and flexibility through guided poses and breathing techniques. Experience balance as you alleviate the physical tension and mental stresses of the day. All levels welcome. Wear comfortable clothing you can move in and bring a mat and a friend! $15 includes yoga & a pint

- Family Fun Day April 2, Tradition Brewing Company, 12 - 6:00 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd, Newport News. We'll have the bounce house ready (Space Walk of Yorktown-Poquoson) for the littles and the brews ready for YOU! Potheads Mobile Catering & Eatery will be with us all day, serving up their delicious menu items just for you and the fam.

- BRUNCH at the Brewery, The Virginia Beer Company, 12 - 7:00 pm , 401 2nd St., Williamsburg. Come for brunch and stay for dinner with craft beer and Comfort food cravings met with ' Foodatude..Food With Attitude’ food truck at 401! Plus, Sunday Specials! With specials on cases of 12 oz. cans + 3-packs of 32 oz. Crowlers.

- Cornhole Tournament, Alewerks Brewing Company, 1 - 5:00 pm, 189 B Ewell Rd., Williamsburg. Come out and join us for a very special Cornhole Tournament, hosted by Alewerks, to benefit the American Liver Foundation. This event is supporting Amanda Running's fundraising efforts on behalf of the American Liver Foundation's Boston Marathon team. Entrance fee is $20 per 2 person team, and 100% of the proceeds will go to the American Liver Foundation. There will be prizes for the top teams, 'Hungry Hungry Arrow' food truck, and obviously, great beer! Space is limited, so contact the taproom to reserve your spot. Or you can just wind down your weekend the right way. Great beer from Alewerks. Great music from Tony Bob. All in our cozy taproom. Sounds like you should be there. Remember, every Sunday is Steal the Vessel on American style growlers and grunts.

Mon, Apr 3

- New Beer release, Young Veterans Brewing Company, 3 - 8:00 pm, 2505 Horse Pasture Rd., Ste. 104, Virginia Beach. Join us for the release of our newest Pale Ale, The Bends. A Single Hop Pale Ale brewed exclusively with Idaho 7 Hops. You read that correctly, we will be releasing a new beer on a MONDAY! Starting April 3rd we will be OPEN on Monday's for the foreseeable future! Cheers!

- Craft Beer Mondays, Ynot Italian, Great Neck, Kempsville, Greenbrier, Great Bridge, Ghent. Every Monday $3 Craft Beers. *Must be 21 years old to purchase. Valid for a limited time. Valid till 9 pm on Mondays only.  http://www.ynotitalian.com/craftbeer/

- Trivia Night, Wasserhund Brewing Company, 7-9:00 pm, 1805 Laskin Road, Suite 102, Virginia Beach. Mondays are the new Fridays at Wasserhund! Come test your skills with Trivia every Monday, from 7-9 pm. Drink beer, eat pizza, and win some great prizes! Bring yourself or a team of your smartest friends. You can win 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes!

- Steal the Pint/Wings Night, HK on the Bay, 6-8:00 pm, 4600 Lookout Rd., Virginia Beach.  Here at Hk on the Bay we have a Steal the Pint Night EVERY Monday! Grab a pint of craft beer from our Brewery of the Month and receive a FREE brewery pint glass! Plus, we have All You Can Eat Wings for $14. With wing sauces ranging from Hell to Wimpy to Honey BBQ, there is a sauce for everyone!

- Draft Mondays, Brixx Pizza - Greenbrier, 801 Eden Way N., Chesapeake. Don't like Mondays? What if we tell you all drafts are just $3 on Mondays at Brixx?

- Military Monday, O'Connor Brewing Co., 3 - 9:00 pm, 211 W 24th St, Norfolk. It's Military Monday, so all of you who currently serve, or have served, come join us for a pint & let us treat you like the MVPs that you are! As a token of our gratitude for your service, we will be offering a special discount EVERY MONDAY to all active duty, retired, and veteran military members. (Please present valid proof of service to receive discount)

- Monday night Penny Pints, Supper-Southern Morsels, 5:00 pm, 319 W 21st St, Norfolk. Join us Monday to kick off Penny Pint Night with this month's featured brewery, as well as exciting beer-centric additions from the kitchen!

- Chuggers Running Club, Wharf Hill Brewing Co., 5:45 - 6:45 pm, 25 Main St, Smithfield. We will be starting our Monday night runs back up on March 13th at 5:45 pm. Join the Wharf Hill Chuggers each Monday evening at 5:45 pm for a conversational paced 5k through Smithfield. All runners, walkers, and joggers welcome at any pace! Meet at the pub for introductions before the run, then hang out after for great beer, food and conversation!

- Mamma's Monday Night, The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, 1 - 9:00 pm, 81 Patch Rd., Fort Monroe, Hampton. We'll have delivery from Mama Rosa's Italian Family Restaurant! Monday just got even better!

- Pint Night, Park Lane Tavern, 5:00 pm, Peninsula Town Center, Hampton. Our regular Monday Steal the Glass Night. Stealing starts at 5 pm, Live Music by Brian 'Big Daddy' Sewell will start at 6:30 pm.

- Point 2 Brew Pub Run, Point 2 Running Company & Whole Foods Newport News, 6:00 pm, 12080 Jefferson Ave, Ste. 910, Newport News. We're partnering with Point 2 Running Company every Monday for a Point 2 & Brew Pub Run! The 3 mile runs will begin at Point 2 in The Marketplace at Tech Center and end with Happy Hour at Oyster Point Pub at Whole Foods Market Newport News. No registration required and runners of all levels are welcome. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

- Burger & Pint night, Craft 60 Ale House, 4 - 9:00 pm, 13361 Warwick Blvd, Newport News. Every Monday Burger & Pint night. Enjoy discounts on all of our hand crafted burgers and pints until 9 pm.

- MugShot Mondays, Mellow Mushroom (Newport News, VA), 12090 Jefferson Ave., Su. 1500, Newport News. MugShot Mondays all day Monday every week! Come by for one of the best drink specials on the peninsula!

- Steal the Glass, The Sandbar Grill and Pub, 11:00 am - 9:00 pm, 736 J Clyde Morris Blvd., Newport News. Our weekly steal the pint night. $5 takes the pint with the glass and $5 fill ups til 9 pm.

- Dog Street Pub Running Club, 5:00 pm, 401 W Duke of Gloucester St, Williamsburg. A family & dog friendly casual running club in the Colonial area. We meet every Monday at DoG Street Pub. Run starts at 6 pm.

- VBC’s Treat Yo’ Self Day, The Virginia Beer Company, 4 - 9:00 pm, 401 2nd St., Williamsburg. That’s right on Mondays we feature Industry Night Specials on pints for all food/beverage industry staff friends. Now…bigger & better than ever as food trucks join the fray! 'Suck On This BBQ’ will be here taking advantage of pint specials. Will you?

Tue, Apr 4

- YVBC Trivia Night, Young Veterans Brewing Company, 6 - 8:00 pm, 2505 Horse Pasture Rd., Ste. 104, Virginia Beach. Come join us and test your Super Hero Knowledge! It's Trivia Night at YVBC at 6 pm! We will charge $2 entry fee that will then be applied to your first beer. We have a limited number of spots available so get in early, get your spot, drink beer and have some fun!

- Tap it Tuesday, Back Bay Brewing Company, 7-10:00 pm, 614 Norfolk Ave., Virginia Beach. Each Tuesday, we will introduce a New Real Ale Cask, brewed by our Head Brewmaster Travis Powell. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to learn which new beer we'll be pouring for you this Tuesday!

- Trivia Tuesday, Home Republic, 7 - 9:00 pm, 328 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach. What goes better with beer than a friendly competition for prizes? We are excited to have Trivia Tuesdays with Smartmouth Trivia and of course, food and drink specials!

- Trivia Night, Bottlecraft Virginia Beach, 6:30 - 10:00 pm, 1560 Laskin Rd., suite 156,Virginia Beach. Join us for Trivia Night & a Sipping Session. Sipping session starts at 6:30 pm, Games start at 8 pm! Free to play & prizes will be awarded!

- Taco Tuesday, Mix it Up Growlers Flights & Pints, 5 - 10:00 pm, 2973 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. It's Tuesday! Can you say 1$ Taco Night? Every Tuesday starting at 5 pm: 1$ dollar shrimp, chicken or beef tacos! Come hungry!

- Two-Fiddy Tuesday, Pleasure House Brewing, 3 - 10:00 pm, 3025 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach. It's Tuesday. The weekend is a dim memory, and Friday is so far away it might as well be in China. Break up your week with a trip to the friendliest brewery in Virginia Beach. We can't tell you here what the Two-Fiddy is all about, but we're pretty sure you'll like it!

- Tuesday Food Truck, Commonwealth Brewing Company, 7:30 pm, 2444 Pleasure House Rd, Virginia Beach. Taking their restaurant favorites on the road, 'El Taco Loco' is now mobile and will be here for dinner on the patio, Tuesday, Apr 4th.

- Bull Island Brewing Tap Takeover, Tap It Local-Chesapeake, 6:30 - 9:00 pm, 648 Grassfield Parkway Suite 12, Chesapeake. We welcome Downtown Hampton's oldest (and only) waterfront brewery, Bull Island Brewing Co.

- Tasty Tuesday, O'Connor Brewing Co., 3 - 9:00 pm, 211 W 24th St, Norfolk. Come join us every Tuesday for special discounts on draught beer from 3-9 pm.

- Alewerks Night at Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint Norfolk, 6 - 9:00 pm, 131 Granby St. A, Norfolk. Alewerks comes to Norfolk for the evening to hang out with our friends at Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint on Granby Street. Come out for good times, great food, and, of course, great beer.

- Weekday Happy Hour, Bull Island Brewing Company, 3 - 6:00 pm, 758 Settlers Landing Rd., Hampton. Enjoy special pricing on pints to start your night Happy.

- Virginia Beer Night, Hampton Taphouse, 4 - 9:00 pm, Downtown, 17 E. Queen's Way, Hampton. Tuesday Night is Virginia Beer Night at Hampton Taphouse! Support Local Brewing and enjoy Virginia draft beers at a special price from 4 until 9 pm.

- Thirsty Taco Tuesday, St. George Brewing Company, 4 - 8:00 pm, 204 Challenger Way, Hampton. Tonight is Taco Tuesday! 'Stuft- Not Your Average Street Food' with the best tacos and more! 'Sinful Treats' providing the sweet treats everyone needs.

- Service Industry Night, The Oozlefinch Craft Brewery, 6 - 9:00 pm, 81 Patch Rd., Fort Monroe, Hampton. JOIN us for Service Industry Nights at the brewery! We will be offering discounted beers and retail, we will have board games to play, and if you want to bring your own Vinyl to share for the night on our record player, we would love to hear it! If you work in a bar, restaurant, brewery, etc., then we want to celebrate you and your hard work, so come on out and have an awesome time with us! Plus, we'll have a great food truck here to satisfy any hunger. We look forward to seeing you on the first and third Tuesday of every month!

- Military Appreciation Night, Tradition Brewing Co., 4 - 9:00 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. Show your military ID for a Pint Promo.

- Growler Power Hours, Hair of the DoG Bottle Shop, 3 - 7:00 pm, 401 W Duke of Gloucester St., Williamsburg. Every Tuesday in January & February from 3-7 pm at Hair of the DoG Bottle Shop 15% off all growler fills. *discount does not apply to the growler vessel itself but to the delicious beer you fill it with!

- Vinyl Night, Alewerks Brewing Company, 5 - 9:00 pm, 189 B Ewell Rd., Williamsburg. Tuesday is Vinyl Night at Alewerks. Come out to enjoy some vintage sounds, or bring your own favorite and we'll get it spinning. Great music, great beer, and you. Sounds like a winning combination.

Tue-Sat, Apr 4-8

- The Birch's 5th Annual 43 Hours of Bitter, 1231 W Olney Rd, Norfolk. Hops, herb, and all kinds of bitter. And we will end the week with 11 Hours of Virginia Bitter!! Remember these can go on at any time and in any order! Kegs for 43 Hours of Bitter: Alewerks Cafe Royale, BFM Sqrt 225, Blackberry Farms Classic, Bullfrog Jong Bruin Kriek Cocoa, Bullfrog Single Hop Mosaic, De Dochter Sans Pardon, Del Ducato Brett Peat Daydream, Dugges Tropic Punch, Evil Twin No More Brunch, Evil Twin Saguinem Aurantiaco, Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion no. 5, Italiano Tipo, J Wakefield Harbinger, J. Wakefield Citrus Spectrum, Mad Fox Love is Love, Mad Fox The Funk, Off Color Bare Bear, Oxbow Crossfade, Perennial Hopfentea, Perennial Sump, Schneider Hopfenweisse, Stillwater $$$Tree, Tilquin Stout Rullquin, Troll Shangrila, Urban Family Imagined History, Weyerbacher Sunday Morning Stout.

Wed, Apr 5

- Wasserhund Bingo Night, Wasserhund Brewing Company, 7-9:00 pm, 1805 Laskin Road, Suite 102, Virginia Beach. Every first Wednesday of the month we will be hosting BINGO from 7-9 pm. Come out, grab a board, and set up shop to win Wasserhund swag and gift certificates!

- Trivia Night, O'Connor Brewing Co., 6 - 9:00 pm, 211 W 24th St, Norfolk. Every 1st Wednesday of the month at OBC our ultimate master of ceremonies Nick Simmons of Video Game Heaven hosts Trivia Night! So round up your team of smartypants friends & come on down to OBC for a night of craft beer, trivia, prizes & some friendly competition! Game starts @ 6 pm & there is a $1 cash buy-in! Limit of 10 people per team! Tasting Room hours are from 3-9 pm; last call is at 8:30 pm! Plus, 'Get Stuffed' will be slinging their tacos, wraps, burritos, and bowls from 3-9 pm!  Come thirsty, my friends! Cheers & beers!

Thu, Apr 6

- Monthly Trivia with Troy Trivia, Big Ugly Brewing Company, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, 1296 Battlefield Blvd. S, Chesapeake. Come test your wits against the Beertenders, Boris the Snake, Smarty Pints, Cheese Puffs and our other regular trivia teams on the first Thursday of each month at Big Ugly Brewing! Troy Trivia will provide the questions and Tap it Local will provide the brain food. Come early to get a seat!

- National Tartan Day, O'Connor Brewing Co., 3 - 9:00 pm, 211 W 24th St., Norfolk. Virginia International Tattoo, presented by Virginia Arts Festival, has been brewing up the nation’s greatest spectacle of music & might for the last 21 years! O’Connor Brewing Co. is proud to honor the Tattoo’s 21st, bringing you MUSIC & MIGHT RED ALE. This red ale has a robust malt backbone with a hint of smoke and a kiss of hops. And guess what? It’s National Tartan Day! Enjoy a special bag-piping performance. And wear tartan to receive a special discount on MUSIC & MIGHT!

- Brewery Of The Month featuring Virgina Beer Co., The Public House, 5 - 8:00 pm, 1112 Colley Ave., Norfolk. Join us ALL MONTH long as we feature Williamsburg's own, Virginia Beer Company. We will kick it off on Thursday April 6th with a pint night featuring Batch 100 Imperial Oatmeal Porter with Vanilla Bean. We will also have some of their core brands including Free Verse, Saving Daylight, and Wrenish Rye throughout the month. Look out for special releases and giveaways all month long. Cheers to a month of great beers!

- Smartcade // Retro Video Game Night, Smartmouth Beer, 4:30 - 9:00 pm, 1309 Raleigh Ave., Norfolk. Relive the glory days when video games had pixels and were played alongside other humans. Mall arcades may be long gone but their spirit lives on at Smartmouth. Choose from several stations including Nintendo, Genesis, Super Nintendo and N64 and a variety of games. Enjoy delicious Smartmouth brews and tasty pizza from The Bakehouse at Chelsea as you put your button-mashing skills to the test. Admission is free all you have to do is press start!

- Beer Release, Smartmouth Beer, 4:30 - 9:00 pm, 1309 Raleigh Ave., Norfolk. Join us for the release of Indecision Pale Ale, a simcoe and mosaic dry-hopped beer ideal for those who can't decide whether to enjoy another. Its 5.5% ABV and fruity citrus notes make it a sessionable pick for those venturing into hoppy styles. The addition of oats to the malt lineup gives this beer a nice body which also helps sustain the gentle hop aromas. Indecision will be available on draft and in limited 16oz 4-packs. Limit of (4) 4-packs per person on release day. Plus, the 'Bakehouse at Chelsea' will be on-site taking pizza orders to help keep your tummy full.

Fri, Apr 7

- Beer Release, O'Connor Brewing Co., 3 - 10:00 pm, 211 W 24th St., Norfolk. Lil SIPA 2017: Each year we introduce a new hop into our recipe for this easy-drinking India Pale Ale. THIS YEAR WE BREWED THIS BABY WITH NELSON SAUVIN HOPS FROM NEW ZEALAND! Along with our 2-row pale malt, some honey malt, and a healthy dose of flaked rye, this brew showcases a single hop variety, added throughout the brewing process. At just 4.5% ABV Lil S.I.P.A. is great to enjoy and share a few times over. Session IPA | 4.5% ABV | Available in 12oz and on draft.

- First Fridays Downtown Norfolk Street Party, 5 - 8:30 pm, TCC Plaza, 300 Block of Granby Street, Downtown Norfolk. Get ready to grab some friends & have some fun: Downtown Norfolk's favorite Friday night street party is back for its fifth season! Each First Fridays event runs from 5-8:30 pm and features music, food and merchandise vendors and a beer and wine garden all in an authentic downtown setting. Tonight we'll have live music from 'The Special Guests' - Dance, funk, rock, hip-hop, blues, jazz, rock.

- Season Opening, Berret's Taphouse Grill, 4:00 pm, 199 S Boundary St., Williamsburg. The Taphouse Grill opens for the season Friday, April 7 at 4 pm. Join us for live music Wed-Sun, starting in May, weather permitting, and Beer, Wine and Cider Flight Nights on Thursdays.

Sat, Apr 8

- Beerd on Fleek: 2nd Annual Beard and Mustache Extravaganza, Commonwealth Brewing Company, 1 - 5:00 pm, 2444 Pleasure House Rd, Virginia Beach. Rocking a face sweater? Got some dashing handlebars? Get confused for being Wyatt Earp? Come hang out with us at Commonwealth Brewing Company on Saturday, April 8th! We are teaming up with Vintage Barber Co. and hosting our 2nd annual beard & mustache contest with sick prizes to the best in the following categories: Best Porn Stash, Best Partial Hair (Goatee, Fu Manchu, Porkchops), Fullest / Burliest Beard, Hipster Style Head to Toe, Freestyle (where the wild, unique and serious beard enthusiast can play). Registration begins at 1 pm and judging will start at 3 pm. Winners in each class will compete for Best in Show! Prize baskets will be provided by Vintage Barber Co. There will also be a merchandise table with everything one needs for looking dapper with Vintage Barber Co. providing onsite product demonstrations throughout the day on how to keep your whiskers in top shape! Cultivate your best facial hair, enjoy a craft beer and get your dapper on! See your hairy mugs there!!

- Spring Crafted 2017 hosted by Crafted Indie Arts and Craft Market and Handmade Hampton Roads, 12 - 6:00 pm, 211 W 24th St., Norfolk.  is one of the most anticipated indie art and craft shows in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area. A gathering of makers, crafters, artists, designers, craftsmen and DIY'ers from Virginia and beyond selling their handmade crafts at our home base at O'Connor Brewing Co. Mobile Eats: All About The Cheese, Your Pie Norfolk / Ward's Corner Pizza Kitchen, and drum roll please! Sugar Shack Donuts & Coffee VB. LIVE MUSIC BY Who We Are Not AND Chamomile and Whiskey.

- One Year Disco Get Down Celebration, Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint Norfolk, 11:00 am - Close, 131 Granby Street, Suite A, Norfolk. Hussle in to Jack Brown's and help us celebrate our one year anniversary! We will be throwing down 70's disco style. Costumes encouraged, and best dressed will have a chance to win prizes. We will be bringing some of our local favorite beers, and will have opportunities throughout the day to win prizes. On Draft: TBA, All local! Freestyle burger: We will be bringing back the Nauti Burger: our Wagyu patty with house-made crab dip topped with an old bay seasoned chip.

- Truckin’ Good Time, Tradition Brewing Company, 12 - 11:00 pm, 700 Thimble Shoals Blvd., Newport News. 2nd Saturday of every month the food trucks invade Tradition Brewing Company. FOOD TRUCKS: 'TasteSpuds LLC', 'VA Blue Crab Co.', 'The Scottish Pig'. LIVE MUSIC: Celeste Kellogg, 2-5 pm; 'Buckshot VB', 6:30 - 10:30 pm. BREWERY TOURS: 12 & 3 pm, *30 minute tour, limited spots available.

Sun, Apr 9

- Poses & Pints: Sunday morning yoga, O'Connor Brewing Co., 10:30 - 11:30 am, 211 W 24th St., Norfolk. Come join us at OBC for the blissful moments of Yoga on Sunday mornings. On the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month Alicia Morris leads a class from 10:30am - 11:45am, followed by the opportunity to have a couple of post yoga beers at a great discount! The class is donation based & a portion of the donations go to a different charity each class! All levels are welcome! B.Y.O.M. (bring your own mat)!

UPCOMING BEER FESTS AND FESTIVAL FORECAST:

Sat, Apr 22 - The 2nd Annual York River Beer Festival, presented by the Watermen's Museum, 12 - 5:00 pm, 309 Water St., Yorktown. Featuring over 20 craft breweries at this historic location in Yorktown, Virginia, this scenic venue is like no other located on the York River, including beach access, museum tours, cannon fire kick-off and a large deck overlooking the river. Throughout the venue you will find live music, cornhole, arts and crafts, the best food trucks in Hampton roads and 40+ beers available from over 20 craft breweries. The cost of general admission is $30 early bird, $35 pre-sale and $40 day-of; designated driver tickets are available for $15 early bird, $20 pre-sale and $25 day-of. General Admission includes unlimited complimentary 4oz. samples, a tasting glass, and live music performances.

Sat, Apr 22 - Phoebus Spring Fling and Craft Beer Festival, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Mellen St., Phoebus, Hampton. Historic Phoebus will transform into a vibrant outdoor street festival featuring handmade arts and crafts, community exhibits, food trucks, live music and craft beer.

Sun, Apr 23 - Town Center Craft Beer Festival, Virginia Beach Town Center, 12 - 5:00 pm, Market St., Virginia Beach.  Virginia Beach Town Center presents the best of craft beer. Sample different beers from throughout the nation. Maybe you will find a new favorite beer! It won't be hard to find one you love because there will be over 50 different brews to try. Tickets bought in advance will be $25. Tickets bought at the door will be $30. Tickets include live entertainment and, of course, craft beer sampling. This Virginia Beach event is 5 hours packed with food, fun, and of course, BEER!

Sat, Apr 29 - Second Annual Belmont Spring Beer Fest, Featuring Veteran Owned Breweries, Belmont House of Smoke, 2117 Colonial Ave., Norfolk. 10 + Veteran Owned Breweries. 25+ Veteran Owned Brewed Taps Available. Proceeds Benefit The Navy Diver Foundation. Family Friendly Activities Sponsored by The Navy Diver Foundation. Tasting Tickets: $15 in advance/ $20 at the Door. Live Music: Anthony Rosano & The Conqueroos, & The Kings of Ukulele. Tickets available at: Belmont House of Smoke, Cogans Pizza, Cogans Pizza North, Colley Cantina, and through The Navy Diver Foundation. Learn more about The Navy Divers:  http://www.navydiverfoundation.org/

Sun, Apr 30 - Williamsburg Craft Beer Festival, 12 - 5:00 pm, on the lawn across the street from the Williamsburg Community Building at 401 N Boundary Street, Williamsburg. We look forward to a wonderful day for our third annual Williamsburg Craft Beer Festival - Williamsburg's Biggest Beer Benefit! The beer festival will be completely tented so we will be pouring, rain or shine! Food trucks will be parked at the event. Outside coolers and large containers are NOT permitted.

Sat, May 6 - 2017 Coastal Virginia Beer Fest & Food Truck Rodeo, Hunt Club Farm, 12 - 5:00 pm, 2388 London Bridge Rd., Virginia Beach. Enjoy Craft Beer from Virginia Breweries, Wine Tastings in the Wine Garden, and Food Truck Cuisine! http://www.coastalvirginiamag.com/BeerFest/

Sat, May 6 - 2nd Annual Revolutionary Beer Fest, Chesapeake City Park, 2 - 7:00 pm, 900 City Park Drive, Chesapeake. Benefiting the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways History Foundation. Enjoy unlimited free samples of over 30 beers, food available for purchase from your favorite local food trucks, and live entertainment. Tickets are limited; purchase yours today! Purchase a growlette, or bring your own from last year's Revolutionary Beer Fest, and buy a fill of your favorite beer. Free pint cups will also be available with fill purchase (while supplies last). Please note that all containers must be empty before leaving the festival. No outside food or drink. Chairs and/or blankets are allowed and encouraged! 21 and Over ONLY - NO EXCEPTIONS, and please, NO PETS! Event Held Rain or Shine. No Refunds. https://revolutionarybeerfest2017.eventbrite.com/

Sat, May 6 - Chic's Beach Festival 2017, Hk on the Bay, 1 - 10:00 pm, 4600 Lookout Rd., Virginia Beach. Chic's Beach Festival is a one-day, outdoor music, craft beer & arts festival. There'll be Live Music all day by: The Record Company, Anderson East, People's Blues of Richmond, The Shifty South, Bennett Wales & The Relief. The Market Under The Oaks is proudly sponsored by Crafted Indie Arts and Craft Market! It is the perfect go-to for a shopping break. You'll be sure to find something you like by handpicked vendors! We are excited to partner with Chic's Beach's own Commonwealth Brewing Company to create a Beer Garden under the beautiful oak trees. This will be your one stop shop for the best local brews, games and hangs! Full variety of beers (even some one beers you can't get anywhere else), corn hole and games for you to kick back and relax all day long. We'll be bringing a variety of food trucks to Chic's Fest in an effort to provide you with a well-rounded experience. We want you to feel good about what food you're eating to fuel yourself throughout the day. Visit hkonthebay.com/chicsbeachfestival for more details!

Sat, May 6 - Blues, Brews, and BBQ: A Festival on the River, Riverwalk Landing, 12 - 6:00 pm, Water Street, Historic Yorktown. Hosted by York Foundation for Public Education. The Blues, Brews, and BBQ festival on May 6. Great music, great food, great cause!

Sun, May 7 - The Mariners' Craft Beer Festival, The Mariners' Museum and Park, Noon - 5:00 pm, . Enjoy a selection of 50 craft beers from local, regional and national breweries. Listen to live music. Brewery representatives will be on-site to answer questions and offer several "Beer Talks" throughout the event. Food trucks will be on-site with food for purchase. Your ticket includes 20 four-ounce craft beer tastings, a souvenir tasting glass and day's admission to tour The Mariners' Museum! http://www.marinersmuseum.org/beerfest/

Sun, May 7 - Bluegrass, Beer & BBQ in the Berg, Muscarelle Museum of Art, 1 - 5:00 pm, 603 Jamestown Rd., Williamsburg. The Muscarelle Museum of Art invites you to the third annual Bluegrass, Beer and BBQ in the 'Burg. The event will feature five kinds of BBQ and over twenty-five sauces prepared on site by Craig Reeves of The Catering Company, and a selection of craft beer from The Virginia Beer Company. The event also features two of the area's premier Bluegrass Bands. The Wampler Brothers Band brings you some contemporary Bluegrass and Americana like only they can do. Then The Chisman Creek Band will play your Bluegrass favorites featuring their wonderful harmonies. Take a break from finals and come have some fun.

Fri, May 19 - Suds & Buds 2017, Norfolk Botanical Garden, 6 - 10:00 pm, 6700 Azalea Garden Rd., Norfolk. (757) 441-5830 / http://bit.ly/2jMzFol

Sat, May 20 - The 6th Annual Pungo Wine Festival 2017 Benefiting Connect With A Wish, Back Bay Farms, 12 - 6:00 pm, 1833 Princess Anne Rd., Virginia Beach.

Sat/Sun, May 20/21 - 16th Annual Virginia Beer Festival 2017, Town Point Park

Thu, May 25 - 2017 Bacon Bash: A Bacon, Beer & Bourbon Affair, The Virginia Living Museum

Sat, Jun 3 - Common Grounds: A Collaborative Brewer's Festival, Commonwealth Brewing Company

Drink Happy - Be Safe

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[e-dubbc11]

I’m glad you enjoyed this Anastasia! I do have that song on my Love for Billy Russo playlist 😉 Thank you for reading, I appreciate it so much! 💜

Crazy in Love

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Some swear words, mentions of verbal abuse, fluffy bunnies and unicorns, and some physical violence

Word Count: 5.8k-ish

Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and Billy has already spoiled you rotten and made plans to take you out for a nice dinner. But a run in with an ex boyfriend stirs up some old painful memories and lands Billy in a little bit of trouble.

A/N: This is part of the February writing challenge that my lovelies over on the Thirsty for Cox server decided to do. The prompt was “Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” I had a lot of fun writing this, it seemed like a good one. I did write a part 2 for this which hopefully will be out tomorrow, February 16. Oh, yes the title is a Beyoncé song but I used the Sofia Karlburg version for this.

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

The essence of rose saturated the apartment, the bouquets were everywhere, red ones, pink ones, yellow ones, white ones, and even purple ones.

He had told you the purple ones meant “love at first sight,” Billy Russo was such a smooth talker, the velvet tone to his voice was soft yet assertive and gave you butterflies every time. “That’s how I felt when I first saw you. At least, I think it was. I never had those feelings before…about anyone.” He had said. It was love at first sight for you too when you met him a few years ago, right around Valentine’s Day.

***************

After finally getting the call that you landed the job, your friends decided they wanted to take you out to celebrate. Dinner first, then they took you for a few drinks at a local bar close to the restaurant which is where he first laid eyes on you.

Coming in from the cold, he saw that your cheeks were flushed and your nose was red like it had been pinched by Jack Frost but your smile lit up the entire room. Billy couldn’t take his eyes off of you, he studied you carefully but quickly turned away when you would look in his direction.

You swore you could feel someone staring at you but a quick glance around the bar made you think maybe you were wrong, there wasn’t anyone looking at you…or so you thought.

You noticed him too, the charcoal gray suit, burgundy tie, but his eyes are what pulled you towards him like a magnet. They looked like endless pools of black ink. A pair of eyes you could get lost in.

And his smile, you don’t think you’ve ever seen a more perfect smile to go along with his handsome face. He was probably the most handsome man you had ever seen but completely out of your league…again, so you thought.

Just like he studied your movements, you studied his. The way his long willowy fingers wrapped around the beer bottle he was drinking from, the way he narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened intently to his friends telling a story, or when you would catch a phrase or two escape his lips. A hint of a New York accent combined with the sarcastic comments, he was a man after your own heart. It was…love at first sight.

As much as he was trying to pay attention to his friends, Billy was trying to listen in on your conversations. Mostly, he was listening to your laugh, it made him smile, watching the way you would throw your head back in a fit of laughter and not hold back.

Your whole body smiled when you laughed and he loved nothing more than to watch you wipe the tears out of your eyes when something made you laugh extra hard. Love at first sight indeed.

In between stories from his friends, he observed one of your friends had given you a small heart shaped lollipop. A “small congratulatory gift for getting that new job you wanted so much” he heard your friend say. After thanking her, you placed the lollipop in the back pocket of your jeans and forgot about it. That’s when Billy made his move.

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched him get up from his table and start to walk towards the bar to retrieve another drink, he thought you were even more beautiful up close. While you were talking, he had positioned himself in between you and another person at the bar, your body pulled forward slightly away from the back of the chair while talking to your friend.

You knew he was there, your cheeks suddenly felt warm and a knot had formed in your stomach. He let out a long exhale after taking the last sip of his beer, his breath traveled down the back of your neck and goosebumps erupted all over your body.

That’s when you felt it. The lollipop that you had forgotten about was being pulled from your pocket, slowly, carefully making sure he didn’t touch anything except that lollipop. With your eyes closed, you took a deep breath and turned around in your chair. The wrapper was discarded on the bar, you turned around just in time to see him place the lollipop in his mouth, and extend his hand to introduce himself.

“Billy Russo.” The tone of his voice was warm and low but full of confidence.

You swallowed hard and felt a slight tingle in your core. Just his voice alone did that to you, it sent shivers down your spine and caused your hands to shake slightly. But somehow you managed to just give him a sly smile, not letting him know you were nervous, and extend your hand to shake his.

“Y/f/n Y/l/n.” You said to him. “And that was my lollipop.”

He cracked a smile and the ice was broken.

The two of you spent the rest of the night making each other laugh, trading sarcastic remarks, staring into each other’s eyes, and Billy making any man that even looked in your direction wish they hadn’t.

You hadn’t even been out on a date with Billy Russo yet before he showed you how jealous he could get, how protective he could be, more like overprotective. It was a desire he had, to show every man close by that you were spoken for, that you were his, and to show they dare not touch what was his.

Billy told you he didn’t really “do” dancing but a slow song came on the jukebox, Crazy in Love by Sofia Karlberg, and you just needed to have his hands on you, holding onto you. Billy held you close, his hand encased over yours against his chest, while his friends and your friends had conversations all around you. Instead of his long, slender fingers being wrapped around a beer bottle, they were tightly wrapped around you and he didn’t want to let you go…ever.

'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can. Got me lookin' so crazy right now. Your touch's got me lookin' so crazy right now

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You didn’t want to let him go either but when you finally did, he didn’t waste any time asking to take you out on a proper date. The following weekend happened to be Valentine’s Day but you said no to a date ON Valentine’s Day.

There was just too much pressure for THAT day so you put it off for a week, instead opting for a coffee date before the formal one. You never looked back after that, and although it had been tough going sometimes, Billy Russo was the man for you.

***************

Billy always tried to outdo himself every year for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion, really. That was why you were sitting in the middle of your shared apartment, surrounded by bouquets of beautiful roses.

You had stopped counting them after the flower delivery service brought in the tenth bouquet, it was a bit excessive but it brought a smile to your face anyway. “He really knows how to make me feel special.” You said to yourself as you picked up your phone to call him at work.

He picked up on the first ring, Billy Russo was not a patient man. “Hey there, sweet girl.”

A smile tugged at your lips at hearing his pet name for you. “Billy, they’re SO beautiful!” You exclaimed as you bit down on your bottom lip.

“I’m glad you like them, my love.” He said.

“Like them? Billy, I love them! Thank you.” You excitedly said into the phone.

Billy chuckled a little. “Well I’m just getting started, baby. You don’t think the flowers are your only present, do you?”

You looked around the apartment at all of the bouquets of roses, all of these must have cost him a small fortune. “Oh…Billy, no that’s too much. The flowers are plenty.”

“I’ll be home around 6 to pick you up for dinner, ok?” He said, completely ignoring the fact that you said you didn’t need another gift.

Billy didn’t say where he was taking you, only telling you that it was “nice.”

“Ok, handsome. I’ll see you at 6—I love you.” You said with a smile.

You could tell he was smiling on the other end. “I love you too, beautiful.” And he hung up.

Making sure you were home in plenty of time to get ready for your evening out, you had left work early and arrived home just in time for your flower delivery. Billy knew exactly what time you would be coming home, he planned this like he planned everything else.

You knew he would probably come home bearing more gifts, even though you told him it wasn’t necessary. Billy didn’t really show his softer side to many people, to everyone else he was a marine, a scout sniper, a CEO…a leader. But to you, he was sweet and charming, a doting and loving boyfriend who would do absolutely anything for you.

Always in charge, he made sure he never showed weakness, appeared defenseless or powerless. It was a strange feeling for him, that feeling of love when it’s something that he’s never experienced. “Am I doing this right?” He would ask himself. “Can she tell that I’ve never done this before?” And “I’m just protecting her.”

The urge to keep you close to him at all times was intense, it was borderline too much but he loved you and even though he couldn’t always say how he was feeling, he tried to show it. You were his weakness.

Billy could stay calm in almost any situation, he never cracked under pressure except when it came to you, he felt like it was his duty to protect and defend you anytime the universe told him he had to. Tonight would end up being one of those times.

First came the flowers, then the balloons that spelled out “I Love You” were delivered, followed by the chocolate covered strawberries. They came with a note from Billy “Enjoy them, beautiful. But don’t spoil your dinner. Love, Billy.” You could only shake your head and smile reading the note, it all felt like a fairy tale.

***************

He always made you feel so loved, although at times you had to remind him he didn’t have to try so hard. It didn’t always have to be about gifts and fancy restaurants, sometimes coffee and a doughnut says “I love you” just as much as a designer bag or a new necklace does.

The gifts were especially extravagant after a fight or one of his fits of jealousy. Billy didn’t really know how to just say “I’m sorry,” or how to admit he was jealous, possessive at times, or overprotective.

He would just shut down and leave, only to return later with a little blue box or flowers. When you would tell him you didn’t want them, he would get angry. He didn’t know what to do so it just made him frustrated with himself.

“I don’t know what you want from me, y/n!!” He had shouted.

All you had wanted was an apology, to have his arms draped around you and to say “I’m sorry, my love. I’m sorry.”

“I want you to tell me that you’re sorry, Billy! Gifts can’t tell me that you’re sorry, YOU need to tell me that! You can’t just fly off the handle every time a guy looks at me in a way you don’t like!” You told him.

His dark chocolate like eyes quickly changed from angry to sad, he didn’t know what to say, it was just so hard for him because he’s always kept everything buried deep down inside, hidden away from everyone, hidden from the world. No one had ever taught him how to love.

“It’s hard for me y/n. Do you understand how hard this is for me?! I don’t know how to do this!” With his head buried in his hands, he paused, the look of guilt had washed over him and it made your heart hurt to watch the agony he must be in because he couldn’t say exactly what he wanted to.

The silence was excruciating but he finally pulled you in close, his body felt warm, and your shoulders relaxed as he brushed his hands up and down your back, whispering over and over again “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.”

These were the times Billy needed reassurance. He needed to be told you loved him and “I’m still here, Billy. I’m not going anywhere.” But you urged him to try to communicate with his words how he was feeling, no matter how difficult it was.

“I really need you to try, Billy. Please? Can you do that for me?” You pleaded.

He brushed his knuckles over your cheek and leaned forward to kiss you. The energy behind the kiss was passionate and full of love, he loved you with everything he had, and he truly was sorry. He would try harder.

That was then, but it was getting easier for him now, especially with your help. He felt like he could do anything as long as he had you by his side, helping him to learn about what it all means, about what had eluded him for all these years…love.

***************

Always on time, Billy arrived home promptly at 6, threw his keys on the table and called out for you.

“Baby? Where are ya? Are ya ready for din—ho-ly shit.” Billy started to say as you walked out from the bedroom in your black cocktail dress. The deep V and puffed sleeves were sexy without being too much.

It was difficult to surprise him but you had managed to sneak the dress home without him seeing it before tonight.

A slight smile stretched across your face as Billy continued to stare at you, his jaw practically on the floor as you said “Welcome home, my love. What’s wrong? Is there something on my dress?” You gave him a slow turn all the way around so he could take in ALL of you, biting down on your lower lip as you teased him. You knew exactly what you were doing.

As you finished turning around, Billy was right there, his hands swiftly cupped your face and he brushed a stray hair away from your eyes. “You look—so beautiful. Maybe I should just have you for dinner.” He started to kiss up and down your neck. It turned you on.

As much as you wanted that, you said “Come on, Mr. Russo. You promised me a nice dinner, so let’s go. You can enjoy your dessert later.” You smacked him on his ass, gave him a wink, and grabbed your clutch and your coat.

Billy couldn’t keep his hands off of you, from the elevator ride down to the lobby, in the car on your way to the restaurant, and even at the bar while you waited for your table.

And now that the date was finally here, he mentioned that it took him a couple of months to get a reservation there. It was a beautiful Italian restaurant called Scarpetta on Madison Avenue.

“You didn’t have to do this, Billy. I would have been happy if you brought home Chinese food.” You said.

He kissed you on the forehead. “It’s a special night, baby. I wanted to take you some place really nice.”

A flash of heat burned through you as he smiled a slightly wicked smile at you. You weren’t sure you deserved to be spoiled like this but you let him because Billy always did what he wanted to anyway.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight, princess?” He asked.

You continued to blush as the hostess led you to your corner table. “Not in the last ten minutes, baby.”

You continued walking towards your table, and even in the low warm glow of the restaurant lights, you recognized him as you sat down. The smile faded from your face and without warning, you felt a tightness in your shoulders.

Your ex—Eric was seated at a table not too far from yours. He looked the same, the woman he was with was wearing a ring, and he was too. He was married. Better her than you, that’s for sure.

Billy could tell something was bothering you. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Hmmm? Oh nothing. Everything’s fine, Billy.” You lied, glancing down at the menu in front of you.

He knew you were lying, he tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at you. “Y/n, come on, what is it? What’s wrong?”

You came clean. “Ok, you see that guy across from us? Sitting with the blonde.” You turned away as Billy turned and glanced towards Eric’s table.

He rotated back towards you. “The guy with the big ears? Yeah, what about him?”

You let out a slight cackle and gently elbowed him in the ribs. “Y-yes, the guy with the big ears. Stop making me laugh like that, this is a nice place. Anyway, that’s my ex.”

You shuddered slightly, as Billy took your hand in his. “His back is towards us, my love. It’s ok, I’m here.” He had a worried look in his eyes when he noticed how nervous you were. “My god, what did he do to you?” Billy gnashed his teeth and his eyes glazed over darker than they were before glaring in the direction of Eric’s table.

You took your hand back, placed them both on Billy’s face, and brushed his beard with your thumbs. You knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with an answer of “I don’t wanna talk about it.” So you gave him an answer that was the truth but generic.

“Billy…” You paused, closed your eyes briefly and let out a long exhale. “Let’s just say he didn’t treat me very well and was—“ You were scared to say the next part out loud in fear of what Billy might do. “He was very—verbally abusive, degrading, and made me feel terrible about myself. And he…he scared me sometimes.”

Billy tightly gripped the cloth napkin in his hand, the whites on his knuckles noticeable as you looked down at his shaking hands. White, hot anger displayed all over his face, as you tried to calm him down.

“Hey, hey Billy look at me please. I don’t want to do this here, ok? I want to have a nice romantic dinner with you and then go home so you can rip this dress off and kiss every inch of my body, ok?” You had a feeling that might calm him down.

Billy let go of the napkin, his expression softened and he chuckled a little. He pulled you closer so your thigh was touching his, Billy always felt better when his body was touching yours in some way.

Without another word about it, Billy leaned closer to kiss you, forced the server to wait while he did then ordered you both a glass of red wine and the creamy polenta to start with.

Dinner conversation was a combination of funny and extra funny. Billy told you some old stories of his days in the marines, stuff that he and Frank would get up to on down time. They sounded like quite the duo and it was so nice to see Billy laugh reminiscing about the fun times he had in the marines and not worrying about your ex who was only a couple tables away.

You both traded work stories, laughed with each other like you were the only two people in that restaurant, he just couldn’t take his eyes off of you, and the two of you were having a really nice time. At one point during one of Billy’s stories, you let out a laugh that caught the attention of your ex.

His ears perked up like he recognized your laugh, Eric’s head swiveled in the direction of where your laugh came from and out of the corner of your eye, you noticed he was getting up and walking towards your table.

Oh shit.

Billy could see that your expression had hardened, your whole body had tensed, and you had his hand under the table in a death grip. The very sight of Eric so close to you made you feel like retching and wanting to punch him right in the face. Billy was trying to calm you down as he whispered in your ear “I’m right here, baby.” And he tenderly kissed your temple.

Eric stopped in front of your table, you and Billy were staring up at him with slight disdain written all over your faces. “Wow, y/n! It’s been awhile. I recognize that laugh anywhere.”

Sitting up straight and trying to smile, you responded. “Uh, yes it has Eric. Yes it has.” You turned towards Billy to introduce him. “Eric, this is my boyfriend Billy Russo.” Billy stood up to shake Eric’s hand, narrowed his eyes at him and squeezed his hand to the point where it probably was quite painful.

“Nice to meet you, Billy. That’s a nice suit.” He paused so he could look Billy up and down, like he was sizing him up and turned his gaze back to you. "Oh I’m married now, yeah.” He pointed to the ring on his finger. “That’s my wife, Laura over there.” Eric pointed towards his table.

You put on a fake smile. “That’s great, Eric. I’m happy for you. I’d really like to get back to my dinner now though, if you don’t mind.”

With a shocked look on his face, Eric said “Oh! Right, absolutely. My apologies, I’ll let you get back to your dinner, it was nice meeting you, Bill. And it was really nice to see you again, y/n.”

All you could manage to say was “Thank you.” And he walked back to his table.

Your entire body had seized seeing Eric again but having Billy next to you, holding your hand, made it easier for you and he helped to calm and soothe you so you could get back to enjoying your night out.

Carrying on with your dinner, you didn’t notice that Eric had gotten up to presumably use the restroom but Billy did, so he kissed you on the forehead and excused himself.

Billy wasn’t sure what he was going to do, maybe he wouldn’t even do anything but it didn’t mean he wasn’t prepared. Billy was a very good judge of character, he had a theory and wanted to test it out.

“But Billy, your food. I don’t want it to get cold.” You said.

He smiled slyly at you. “I’ll be right back, baby.” He said, and then he was gone.

You shrugged your shoulders slightly, took a sip of your wine, and continued to eat your dinner before looking straight ahead, noticing that Eric was not at his table. “Oh fuck…Billy. What are you doing?” You whispered to yourself out loud, almost choking on your wine.

Inside the restroom, Billy exited the stall and started to wash his hands, when Eric slid in beside him and started washing his hands also. He looked over at Billy. “Heyyyy, Billy Russo, right?”

“You’ve got a good memory.” Billy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes slightly.

Eric reached over with his wet hands and put one on Billy’s shoulder, drenching his white dress shirt. “Ya, know…you sure do have quite a grip there, Bill. You squeezed my hand pretty hard.” He said as he put pressure on Billy’s shoulder. “I’m glad I ran into you again. I wanted to tell you that Y/n is lookin’ reeeeeally good.”

There it is. Billy had a feeling if the opportunity presented itself, Eric would try and provoke him.

Billy was starting to get angry, it infuriated him at the very mention of your name coming from that asshole’s mouth but he tried to keep his cool. “Eric…Take your hand off me. NOW.”

Eric didn’t listen, he did have more to say, however. “I’m sure she told you alllllll about me, didn’t she?” He had a smug look on his face as he continued. “I’m sure she told you all about how mean I was to her, and yeah sure I called her names sometimes but for the most part I treated her pretty well. She just sat back and took it, I kept her in her place.”

Billy made a fist as he glared at Eric in the reflection of the mirror, he could feel his blood start to boil as Eric continued to talk about you.

“I will say, she was always a little firecracker in bed. One of the best lays I’ve ever had. That’s probably why you keep her around, am I right?” He smirked.

“No. I’m with her because I LOVE her.” Billy said curtly. His patience wearing thin.

Still, Billy kept calm even though he was shaking with rage as he tried to walk away. Eric followed him out of the men’s room, grabbed Billy’s shoulder and spun him around so they were nose to nose. “She is lookin’ really good though. What do ya say, Bill? How ‘bout you let me hit that one more time—“

Billy cracked, this guy said the one thing that made him forget all about trying to keep calm and not fly off the handle. It all went out the window when Eric made that comment.

Acting like he was going to walk away, Billy then drew back and punched Eric so hard in the face that one of his teeth came flying out of his mouth. Another punch to the stomach and to the face, Billy couldn’t stop, pretty soon Eric’s entire face was bloody.

As you continued to eat, you heard commotion coming from around the corner. People were leaving their tables to see what was going on, then came the screams and the sounds of broken dishes. You didn’t need to see what was going on, you knew Billy was involved somehow. There was no need to get up and look, you would find out soon enough.

After the screams and shrieks died down, the hostess came to your table.

“Uh, miss? I am very sorry to tell you but, Mr. Russo has been arrested.” She said while you happened to notice another hostess telling Eric’s wife, what you imagine was, the same thing.

You were shocked but not really and a little embarrassed. “What?!!” But you collected yourself and stayed calm. “Well ok, do you mind if I finish my dinner first before I leave to go get him?” You asked, feeling all of the stares from strangers pointing in your direction.

You could tell the hostess felt a little bad for you. “Absolutely, miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?” She asked.

“Would you box up his food for me and I’ll take a piece of the Valrhona chocolate cake to go, please?” You said.

Your server wrapped up Billy’s food and you enjoyed the rest of your Valentine’s Day dinner alone before going to bail him out of jail.

When you arrived at the police station, they took you to Billy’s holding cell where he didn’t notice you at first. He was leaning up against the bars with his eyes closed, small spatters of blood were sprinkled on his shirt and it looked like he had a small cut on his lip, Eric must have hit him at least once.

“Hey there, Rocky.” You gave him a half smile.

Opening his eyes, Billy looked happy to see you but his face had “sorry” written all over it. “Baby, I am SO sorry. I just—he pushed and pushed—and what he said. I wasn’t gonna let him talk about you like that—“ He said.

You interrupted him. “What did he say, Billy?”

“I don’t wanna tell you.” He said shaking his head.

“I wanna know what he said that made you that upset. I saw his face, Billy. You beat him pretty badly.” You told him.

Billy hung his head in shame. “He said that you always were a little firecracker in bed, one of the best lays he’s ever had. Then asked me if—if I’d let him ‘hit that’ one more time and I don’t remember much after that.”

You felt violated in a way, closed your body off from Billy by wrapping your arms around yourself and looking away from him, disgusted with Eric talking about intimate details of your relationship.

“I tried not letting him get to me, I tried walking away but when he said that—“ Billy violently shook his head back and forth. “I just couldn’t let him get away with it. I snapped—I’m sorry, my love.”

What Billy didn’t know was there was someone else in the restroom at the time Eric was provoking him. He told the owner of the restaurant and the police that he was surprised Billy didn’t punch him sooner than he did.

The restaurant wasn’t pressing charges and after the witness told the police what Eric had said and how he kept provoking Billy, he declined to press charges also so Billy was free to go.

“Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” You said.

He extended his arms and reached out for you to pull you close to the bars. “Well, my love if you wanna get technical, I’M the one that’s in jail.”

You let out a little laugh. “This is true.”

Billy suddenly had a confused look on his face. “Hang on…did you stay and finish your dinner before coming here?” He asked, holding up a one finger to playfully scold you a little.

You knew he was joking with you so you scolded him back in a lighthearted tone. “I had to pay for it anyway Billy so yes, I enjoyed my food while it was hot! Don’t worry, I had them wrap yours.” You shook the bag in front of his nose. “I got a piece of chocolate cake for you too, even though I’m not sure you deserve it.” You said with a wink.

Billy’s eyes widened. “I said I was sorry, baby! Wait. Did—did you say chocolate cake?”

The man’s sweet tooth was insatiable.

“Oh you are gonna have to earn this chocolate cake, Billy Russo!” You snapped. “And you owe me for having to pay for my own Valentine’s Day dinner!”

But your expression softened, and you remembered that Billy apologized without being prompted to do so. It was the first thing he said when he saw you, he was getting better at communicating, so he was trying harder even though he still lost his temper.

What happened wasn’t about him this time though. It wasn’t about him being jealous, it was about defending you, wanting to protect you so that Eric couldn’t hurt you or say anything about you that would upset you.

You pulled back away from the bars and removed your phone from your clutch.

“Anything you want, sweet girl.” He said. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Well first, I’m taking your picture to send to Frank. He’s gonna get a kick outta this.” You started to laugh, Billy wasn’t really amused but he cracked a smile anyway. You always seemed to be able to pull a smile from him even when he didn’t want to.

Slowly, you walked towards him. Reaching through the bars, you snaked your arms around his waist and tried to kiss him as best as you could without the bars getting in the way.

“Thank you, Billy.” You said.

With a surprised look on his face, he replied “For what? For getting thrown in jail and ruining our Valentine’s Day?” He asked, his voice still apologetic for what he had done.

“Well besides that…even though it may not look like it, you did show a lot of restraint tonight. Eric pushed you too far and I bet he’ll think twice before running his mouth about anyone else like that ever again. And you didn’t ruin my Valentine’s Day, Billy—the day isn’t over yet, my love. Let’s go home.” You said as the two of you exchanged smiles through the bars of the jail cell.

When you arrived at home, you told Billy he owed you a dance. You knew it wasn’t something he was very fond of doing but he did say you could have whatever you wanted plus he still had to earn that chocolate cake. The song starts.

I look and stare so deep in your eyes. I touch on you more and more every time. When you leave I'm beggin' you not to go. Call your name two, three times in a row

Billy smiled warmly at you and extended his hand for you to take it and pulled you flush against his chest as you moved together slowly to the music. He held your hand in his over his heart as he kissed the top of your head, just like he had done the night you met.

Such a funny thing for me to try to explain. How I'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame, yeah. 'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can

He danced with you anytime you asked him to, albeit reluctantly, he did it because he loved you. He knew how much you loved that song and he would never do it for anyone else.

“I still have one more present for you, my love.” He whispered to you as the music continued.

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You hummed into his chest, your eyes closed, and a wide smile spread across your face. “Hmmmmm…Oh yeah? Well I’m enjoying just listening to your heart beat right now, handsome.” You pulled away gently to look into his deep brown eyes as you said “How about you give it to me tomorrow.”

He looked down at you and kissed you on the forehead. “Whatever you want, beautiful. I love you.”

“I love you too, Billy.” You said as you finished the dance in the warm glow of the candlelight and the city lights outside, shining brightly through your living room window.

Billy would never let anyone say anything malicious about you, the woman he treasured, the woman that taught him the real meaning of love. Billy Russo never failed to show you how deep his love was for you, so if slow dancing with you in the living room was what you wanted from him, then he would happily do that until you told him to stop or until his very last breath, whichever came first.

Tag List: @mindidjarin @saintmurd0ck @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @xdervyxccgh @mattmurdocksscars @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialams @idek-what-to-put @anastasianeedstoread @ariesbutalibra

TFC Ladies: @itwasthereaminuteago @thisishellfire @officialjanetsnakehole

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

TFC Ladies: @itwasthereaminuteago @thisishellfire @officialjanetsnakehole

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

[e-dubbc11]

Katherine, thank you so much. I’m happy you liked this one, I thought the reader taking a pic for Frank would be really funny, I’m glad you thought so too. Thank you again, I really appreciate it! 💜

Crazy in Love

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Some swear words, mentions of verbal abuse, fluffy bunnies and unicorns, and some physical violence

Word Count: 5.8k-ish

Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and Billy has already spoiled you rotten and made plans to take you out for a nice dinner. But a run in with an ex boyfriend stirs up some old painful memories and lands Billy in a little bit of trouble.

A/N: This is part of the February writing challenge that my lovelies over on the Thirsty for Cox server decided to do. The prompt was “Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” I had a lot of fun writing this, it seemed like a good one. I did write a part 2 for this which hopefully will be out tomorrow, February 16. Oh, yes the title is a Beyoncé song but I used the Sofia Karlburg version for this.

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

The essence of rose saturated the apartment, the bouquets were everywhere, red ones, pink ones, yellow ones, white ones, and even purple ones.

He had told you the purple ones meant “love at first sight,” Billy Russo was such a smooth talker, the velvet tone to his voice was soft yet assertive and gave you butterflies every time. “That’s how I felt when I first saw you. At least, I think it was. I never had those feelings before…about anyone.” He had said. It was love at first sight for you too when you met him a few years ago, right around Valentine’s Day.

***************

After finally getting the call that you landed the job, your friends decided they wanted to take you out to celebrate. Dinner first, then they took you for a few drinks at a local bar close to the restaurant which is where he first laid eyes on you.

Coming in from the cold, he saw that your cheeks were flushed and your nose was red like it had been pinched by Jack Frost but your smile lit up the entire room. Billy couldn’t take his eyes off of you, he studied you carefully but quickly turned away when you would look in his direction.

You swore you could feel someone staring at you but a quick glance around the bar made you think maybe you were wrong, there wasn’t anyone looking at you…or so you thought.

You noticed him too, the charcoal gray suit, burgundy tie, but his eyes are what pulled you towards him like a magnet. They looked like endless pools of black ink. A pair of eyes you could get lost in.

And his smile, you don’t think you’ve ever seen a more perfect smile to go along with his handsome face. He was probably the most handsome man you had ever seen but completely out of your league…again, so you thought.

Just like he studied your movements, you studied his. The way his long willowy fingers wrapped around the beer bottle he was drinking from, the way he narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened intently to his friends telling a story, or when you would catch a phrase or two escape his lips. A hint of a New York accent combined with the sarcastic comments, he was a man after your own heart. It was…love at first sight.

As much as he was trying to pay attention to his friends, Billy was trying to listen in on your conversations. Mostly, he was listening to your laugh, it made him smile, watching the way you would throw your head back in a fit of laughter and not hold back.

Your whole body smiled when you laughed and he loved nothing more than to watch you wipe the tears out of your eyes when something made you laugh extra hard. Love at first sight indeed.

In between stories from his friends, he observed one of your friends had given you a small heart shaped lollipop. A “small congratulatory gift for getting that new job you wanted so much” he heard your friend say. After thanking her, you placed the lollipop in the back pocket of your jeans and forgot about it. That’s when Billy made his move.

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched him get up from his table and start to walk towards the bar to retrieve another drink, he thought you were even more beautiful up close. While you were talking, he had positioned himself in between you and another person at the bar, your body pulled forward slightly away from the back of the chair while talking to your friend.

You knew he was there, your cheeks suddenly felt warm and a knot had formed in your stomach. He let out a long exhale after taking the last sip of his beer, his breath traveled down the back of your neck and goosebumps erupted all over your body.

That’s when you felt it. The lollipop that you had forgotten about was being pulled from your pocket, slowly, carefully making sure he didn’t touch anything except that lollipop. With your eyes closed, you took a deep breath and turned around in your chair. The wrapper was discarded on the bar, you turned around just in time to see him place the lollipop in his mouth, and extend his hand to introduce himself.

“Billy Russo.” The tone of his voice was warm and low but full of confidence.

You swallowed hard and felt a slight tingle in your core. Just his voice alone did that to you, it sent shivers down your spine and caused your hands to shake slightly. But somehow you managed to just give him a sly smile, not letting him know you were nervous, and extend your hand to shake his.

“Y/f/n Y/l/n.” You said to him. “And that was my lollipop.”

He cracked a smile and the ice was broken.

The two of you spent the rest of the night making each other laugh, trading sarcastic remarks, staring into each other’s eyes, and Billy making any man that even looked in your direction wish they hadn’t.

You hadn’t even been out on a date with Billy Russo yet before he showed you how jealous he could get, how protective he could be, more like overprotective. It was a desire he had, to show every man close by that you were spoken for, that you were his, and to show they dare not touch what was his.

Billy told you he didn’t really “do” dancing but a slow song came on the jukebox, Crazy in Love by Sofia Karlberg, and you just needed to have his hands on you, holding onto you. Billy held you close, his hand encased over yours against his chest, while his friends and your friends had conversations all around you. Instead of his long, slender fingers being wrapped around a beer bottle, they were tightly wrapped around you and he didn’t want to let you go…ever.

'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can. Got me lookin' so crazy right now. Your touch's got me lookin' so crazy right now

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You didn’t want to let him go either but when you finally did, he didn’t waste any time asking to take you out on a proper date. The following weekend happened to be Valentine’s Day but you said no to a date ON Valentine’s Day.

There was just too much pressure for THAT day so you put it off for a week, instead opting for a coffee date before the formal one. You never looked back after that, and although it had been tough going sometimes, Billy Russo was the man for you.

***************

Billy always tried to outdo himself every year for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion, really. That was why you were sitting in the middle of your shared apartment, surrounded by bouquets of beautiful roses.

You had stopped counting them after the flower delivery service brought in the tenth bouquet, it was a bit excessive but it brought a smile to your face anyway. “He really knows how to make me feel special.” You said to yourself as you picked up your phone to call him at work.

He picked up on the first ring, Billy Russo was not a patient man. “Hey there, sweet girl.”

A smile tugged at your lips at hearing his pet name for you. “Billy, they’re SO beautiful!” You exclaimed as you bit down on your bottom lip.

“I’m glad you like them, my love.” He said.

“Like them? Billy, I love them! Thank you.” You excitedly said into the phone.

Billy chuckled a little. “Well I’m just getting started, baby. You don’t think the flowers are your only present, do you?”

You looked around the apartment at all of the bouquets of roses, all of these must have cost him a small fortune. “Oh…Billy, no that’s too much. The flowers are plenty.”

“I’ll be home around 6 to pick you up for dinner, ok?” He said, completely ignoring the fact that you said you didn’t need another gift.

Billy didn’t say where he was taking you, only telling you that it was “nice.”

“Ok, handsome. I’ll see you at 6—I love you.” You said with a smile.

You could tell he was smiling on the other end. “I love you too, beautiful.” And he hung up.

Making sure you were home in plenty of time to get ready for your evening out, you had left work early and arrived home just in time for your flower delivery. Billy knew exactly what time you would be coming home, he planned this like he planned everything else.

You knew he would probably come home bearing more gifts, even though you told him it wasn’t necessary. Billy didn’t really show his softer side to many people, to everyone else he was a marine, a scout sniper, a CEO…a leader. But to you, he was sweet and charming, a doting and loving boyfriend who would do absolutely anything for you.

Always in charge, he made sure he never showed weakness, appeared defenseless or powerless. It was a strange feeling for him, that feeling of love when it’s something that he’s never experienced. “Am I doing this right?” He would ask himself. “Can she tell that I’ve never done this before?” And “I’m just protecting her.”

The urge to keep you close to him at all times was intense, it was borderline too much but he loved you and even though he couldn’t always say how he was feeling, he tried to show it. You were his weakness.

Billy could stay calm in almost any situation, he never cracked under pressure except when it came to you, he felt like it was his duty to protect and defend you anytime the universe told him he had to. Tonight would end up being one of those times.

First came the flowers, then the balloons that spelled out “I Love You” were delivered, followed by the chocolate covered strawberries. They came with a note from Billy “Enjoy them, beautiful. But don’t spoil your dinner. Love, Billy.” You could only shake your head and smile reading the note, it all felt like a fairy tale.

***************

He always made you feel so loved, although at times you had to remind him he didn’t have to try so hard. It didn’t always have to be about gifts and fancy restaurants, sometimes coffee and a doughnut says “I love you” just as much as a designer bag or a new necklace does.

The gifts were especially extravagant after a fight or one of his fits of jealousy. Billy didn’t really know how to just say “I’m sorry,” or how to admit he was jealous, possessive at times, or overprotective.

He would just shut down and leave, only to return later with a little blue box or flowers. When you would tell him you didn’t want them, he would get angry. He didn’t know what to do so it just made him frustrated with himself.

“I don’t know what you want from me, y/n!!” He had shouted.

All you had wanted was an apology, to have his arms draped around you and to say “I’m sorry, my love. I’m sorry.”

“I want you to tell me that you’re sorry, Billy! Gifts can’t tell me that you’re sorry, YOU need to tell me that! You can’t just fly off the handle every time a guy looks at me in a way you don’t like!” You told him.

His dark chocolate like eyes quickly changed from angry to sad, he didn’t know what to say, it was just so hard for him because he’s always kept everything buried deep down inside, hidden away from everyone, hidden from the world. No one had ever taught him how to love.

“It’s hard for me y/n. Do you understand how hard this is for me?! I don’t know how to do this!” With his head buried in his hands, he paused, the look of guilt had washed over him and it made your heart hurt to watch the agony he must be in because he couldn’t say exactly what he wanted to.

The silence was excruciating but he finally pulled you in close, his body felt warm, and your shoulders relaxed as he brushed his hands up and down your back, whispering over and over again “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.”

These were the times Billy needed reassurance. He needed to be told you loved him and “I’m still here, Billy. I’m not going anywhere.” But you urged him to try to communicate with his words how he was feeling, no matter how difficult it was.

“I really need you to try, Billy. Please? Can you do that for me?” You pleaded.

He brushed his knuckles over your cheek and leaned forward to kiss you. The energy behind the kiss was passionate and full of love, he loved you with everything he had, and he truly was sorry. He would try harder.

That was then, but it was getting easier for him now, especially with your help. He felt like he could do anything as long as he had you by his side, helping him to learn about what it all means, about what had eluded him for all these years…love.

***************

Always on time, Billy arrived home promptly at 6, threw his keys on the table and called out for you.

“Baby? Where are ya? Are ya ready for din—ho-ly shit.” Billy started to say as you walked out from the bedroom in your black cocktail dress. The deep V and puffed sleeves were sexy without being too much.

It was difficult to surprise him but you had managed to sneak the dress home without him seeing it before tonight.

A slight smile stretched across your face as Billy continued to stare at you, his jaw practically on the floor as you said “Welcome home, my love. What’s wrong? Is there something on my dress?” You gave him a slow turn all the way around so he could take in ALL of you, biting down on your lower lip as you teased him. You knew exactly what you were doing.

As you finished turning around, Billy was right there, his hands swiftly cupped your face and he brushed a stray hair away from your eyes. “You look—so beautiful. Maybe I should just have you for dinner.” He started to kiss up and down your neck. It turned you on.

As much as you wanted that, you said “Come on, Mr. Russo. You promised me a nice dinner, so let’s go. You can enjoy your dessert later.” You smacked him on his ass, gave him a wink, and grabbed your clutch and your coat.

Billy couldn’t keep his hands off of you, from the elevator ride down to the lobby, in the car on your way to the restaurant, and even at the bar while you waited for your table.

And now that the date was finally here, he mentioned that it took him a couple of months to get a reservation there. It was a beautiful Italian restaurant called Scarpetta on Madison Avenue.

“You didn’t have to do this, Billy. I would have been happy if you brought home Chinese food.” You said.

He kissed you on the forehead. “It’s a special night, baby. I wanted to take you some place really nice.”

A flash of heat burned through you as he smiled a slightly wicked smile at you. You weren’t sure you deserved to be spoiled like this but you let him because Billy always did what he wanted to anyway.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight, princess?” He asked.

You continued to blush as the hostess led you to your corner table. “Not in the last ten minutes, baby.”

You continued walking towards your table, and even in the low warm glow of the restaurant lights, you recognized him as you sat down. The smile faded from your face and without warning, you felt a tightness in your shoulders.

Your ex—Eric was seated at a table not too far from yours. He looked the same, the woman he was with was wearing a ring, and he was too. He was married. Better her than you, that’s for sure.

Billy could tell something was bothering you. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Hmmm? Oh nothing. Everything’s fine, Billy.” You lied, glancing down at the menu in front of you.

He knew you were lying, he tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at you. “Y/n, come on, what is it? What’s wrong?”

You came clean. “Ok, you see that guy across from us? Sitting with the blonde.” You turned away as Billy turned and glanced towards Eric’s table.

He rotated back towards you. “The guy with the big ears? Yeah, what about him?”

You let out a slight cackle and gently elbowed him in the ribs. “Y-yes, the guy with the big ears. Stop making me laugh like that, this is a nice place. Anyway, that’s my ex.”

You shuddered slightly, as Billy took your hand in his. “His back is towards us, my love. It’s ok, I’m here.” He had a worried look in his eyes when he noticed how nervous you were. “My god, what did he do to you?” Billy gnashed his teeth and his eyes glazed over darker than they were before glaring in the direction of Eric’s table.

You took your hand back, placed them both on Billy’s face, and brushed his beard with your thumbs. You knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with an answer of “I don’t wanna talk about it.” So you gave him an answer that was the truth but generic.

“Billy…” You paused, closed your eyes briefly and let out a long exhale. “Let’s just say he didn’t treat me very well and was—“ You were scared to say the next part out loud in fear of what Billy might do. “He was very—verbally abusive, degrading, and made me feel terrible about myself. And he…he scared me sometimes.”

Billy tightly gripped the cloth napkin in his hand, the whites on his knuckles noticeable as you looked down at his shaking hands. White, hot anger displayed all over his face, as you tried to calm him down.

“Hey, hey Billy look at me please. I don’t want to do this here, ok? I want to have a nice romantic dinner with you and then go home so you can rip this dress off and kiss every inch of my body, ok?” You had a feeling that might calm him down.

Billy let go of the napkin, his expression softened and he chuckled a little. He pulled you closer so your thigh was touching his, Billy always felt better when his body was touching yours in some way.

Without another word about it, Billy leaned closer to kiss you, forced the server to wait while he did then ordered you both a glass of red wine and the creamy polenta to start with.

Dinner conversation was a combination of funny and extra funny. Billy told you some old stories of his days in the marines, stuff that he and Frank would get up to on down time. They sounded like quite the duo and it was so nice to see Billy laugh reminiscing about the fun times he had in the marines and not worrying about your ex who was only a couple tables away.

You both traded work stories, laughed with each other like you were the only two people in that restaurant, he just couldn’t take his eyes off of you, and the two of you were having a really nice time. At one point during one of Billy’s stories, you let out a laugh that caught the attention of your ex.

His ears perked up like he recognized your laugh, Eric’s head swiveled in the direction of where your laugh came from and out of the corner of your eye, you noticed he was getting up and walking towards your table.

Oh shit.

Billy could see that your expression had hardened, your whole body had tensed, and you had his hand under the table in a death grip. The very sight of Eric so close to you made you feel like retching and wanting to punch him right in the face. Billy was trying to calm you down as he whispered in your ear “I’m right here, baby.” And he tenderly kissed your temple.

Eric stopped in front of your table, you and Billy were staring up at him with slight disdain written all over your faces. “Wow, y/n! It’s been awhile. I recognize that laugh anywhere.”

Sitting up straight and trying to smile, you responded. “Uh, yes it has Eric. Yes it has.” You turned towards Billy to introduce him. “Eric, this is my boyfriend Billy Russo.” Billy stood up to shake Eric’s hand, narrowed his eyes at him and squeezed his hand to the point where it probably was quite painful.

“Nice to meet you, Billy. That’s a nice suit.” He paused so he could look Billy up and down, like he was sizing him up and turned his gaze back to you. "Oh I’m married now, yeah.” He pointed to the ring on his finger. “That’s my wife, Laura over there.” Eric pointed towards his table.

You put on a fake smile. “That’s great, Eric. I’m happy for you. I’d really like to get back to my dinner now though, if you don’t mind.”

With a shocked look on his face, Eric said “Oh! Right, absolutely. My apologies, I’ll let you get back to your dinner, it was nice meeting you, Bill. And it was really nice to see you again, y/n.”

All you could manage to say was “Thank you.” And he walked back to his table.

Your entire body had seized seeing Eric again but having Billy next to you, holding your hand, made it easier for you and he helped to calm and soothe you so you could get back to enjoying your night out.

Carrying on with your dinner, you didn’t notice that Eric had gotten up to presumably use the restroom but Billy did, so he kissed you on the forehead and excused himself.

Billy wasn’t sure what he was going to do, maybe he wouldn’t even do anything but it didn’t mean he wasn’t prepared. Billy was a very good judge of character, he had a theory and wanted to test it out.

“But Billy, your food. I don’t want it to get cold.” You said.

He smiled slyly at you. “I’ll be right back, baby.” He said, and then he was gone.

You shrugged your shoulders slightly, took a sip of your wine, and continued to eat your dinner before looking straight ahead, noticing that Eric was not at his table. “Oh fuck…Billy. What are you doing?” You whispered to yourself out loud, almost choking on your wine.

Inside the restroom, Billy exited the stall and started to wash his hands, when Eric slid in beside him and started washing his hands also. He looked over at Billy. “Heyyyy, Billy Russo, right?”

“You’ve got a good memory.” Billy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes slightly.

Eric reached over with his wet hands and put one on Billy’s shoulder, drenching his white dress shirt. “Ya, know…you sure do have quite a grip there, Bill. You squeezed my hand pretty hard.” He said as he put pressure on Billy’s shoulder. “I’m glad I ran into you again. I wanted to tell you that Y/n is lookin’ reeeeeally good.”

There it is. Billy had a feeling if the opportunity presented itself, Eric would try and provoke him.

Billy was starting to get angry, it infuriated him at the very mention of your name coming from that asshole’s mouth but he tried to keep his cool. “Eric…Take your hand off me. NOW.”

Eric didn’t listen, he did have more to say, however. “I’m sure she told you alllllll about me, didn’t she?” He had a smug look on his face as he continued. “I’m sure she told you all about how mean I was to her, and yeah sure I called her names sometimes but for the most part I treated her pretty well. She just sat back and took it, I kept her in her place.”

Billy made a fist as he glared at Eric in the reflection of the mirror, he could feel his blood start to boil as Eric continued to talk about you.

“I will say, she was always a little firecracker in bed. One of the best lays I’ve ever had. That’s probably why you keep her around, am I right?” He smirked.

“No. I’m with her because I LOVE her.” Billy said curtly. His patience wearing thin.

Still, Billy kept calm even though he was shaking with rage as he tried to walk away. Eric followed him out of the men’s room, grabbed Billy’s shoulder and spun him around so they were nose to nose. “She is lookin’ really good though. What do ya say, Bill? How ‘bout you let me hit that one more time—“

Billy cracked, this guy said the one thing that made him forget all about trying to keep calm and not fly off the handle. It all went out the window when Eric made that comment.

Acting like he was going to walk away, Billy then drew back and punched Eric so hard in the face that one of his teeth came flying out of his mouth. Another punch to the stomach and to the face, Billy couldn’t stop, pretty soon Eric’s entire face was bloody.

As you continued to eat, you heard commotion coming from around the corner. People were leaving their tables to see what was going on, then came the screams and the sounds of broken dishes. You didn’t need to see what was going on, you knew Billy was involved somehow. There was no need to get up and look, you would find out soon enough.

After the screams and shrieks died down, the hostess came to your table.

“Uh, miss? I am very sorry to tell you but, Mr. Russo has been arrested.” She said while you happened to notice another hostess telling Eric’s wife, what you imagine was, the same thing.

You were shocked but not really and a little embarrassed. “What?!!” But you collected yourself and stayed calm. “Well ok, do you mind if I finish my dinner first before I leave to go get him?” You asked, feeling all of the stares from strangers pointing in your direction.

You could tell the hostess felt a little bad for you. “Absolutely, miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?” She asked.

“Would you box up his food for me and I’ll take a piece of the Valrhona chocolate cake to go, please?” You said.

Your server wrapped up Billy’s food and you enjoyed the rest of your Valentine’s Day dinner alone before going to bail him out of jail.

When you arrived at the police station, they took you to Billy’s holding cell where he didn’t notice you at first. He was leaning up against the bars with his eyes closed, small spatters of blood were sprinkled on his shirt and it looked like he had a small cut on his lip, Eric must have hit him at least once.

“Hey there, Rocky.” You gave him a half smile.

Opening his eyes, Billy looked happy to see you but his face had “sorry” written all over it. “Baby, I am SO sorry. I just—he pushed and pushed—and what he said. I wasn’t gonna let him talk about you like that—“ He said.

You interrupted him. “What did he say, Billy?”

“I don’t wanna tell you.” He said shaking his head.

“I wanna know what he said that made you that upset. I saw his face, Billy. You beat him pretty badly.” You told him.

Billy hung his head in shame. “He said that you always were a little firecracker in bed, one of the best lays he’s ever had. Then asked me if—if I’d let him ‘hit that’ one more time and I don’t remember much after that.”

You felt violated in a way, closed your body off from Billy by wrapping your arms around yourself and looking away from him, disgusted with Eric talking about intimate details of your relationship.

“I tried not letting him get to me, I tried walking away but when he said that—“ Billy violently shook his head back and forth. “I just couldn’t let him get away with it. I snapped—I’m sorry, my love.”

What Billy didn’t know was there was someone else in the restroom at the time Eric was provoking him. He told the owner of the restaurant and the police that he was surprised Billy didn’t punch him sooner than he did.

The restaurant wasn’t pressing charges and after the witness told the police what Eric had said and how he kept provoking Billy, he declined to press charges also so Billy was free to go.

“Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” You said.

He extended his arms and reached out for you to pull you close to the bars. “Well, my love if you wanna get technical, I’M the one that’s in jail.”

You let out a little laugh. “This is true.”

Billy suddenly had a confused look on his face. “Hang on…did you stay and finish your dinner before coming here?” He asked, holding up a one finger to playfully scold you a little.

You knew he was joking with you so you scolded him back in a lighthearted tone. “I had to pay for it anyway Billy so yes, I enjoyed my food while it was hot! Don’t worry, I had them wrap yours.” You shook the bag in front of his nose. “I got a piece of chocolate cake for you too, even though I’m not sure you deserve it.” You said with a wink.

Billy’s eyes widened. “I said I was sorry, baby! Wait. Did—did you say chocolate cake?”

The man’s sweet tooth was insatiable.

“Oh you are gonna have to earn this chocolate cake, Billy Russo!” You snapped. “And you owe me for having to pay for my own Valentine’s Day dinner!”

But your expression softened, and you remembered that Billy apologized without being prompted to do so. It was the first thing he said when he saw you, he was getting better at communicating, so he was trying harder even though he still lost his temper.

What happened wasn’t about him this time though. It wasn’t about him being jealous, it was about defending you, wanting to protect you so that Eric couldn’t hurt you or say anything about you that would upset you.

You pulled back away from the bars and removed your phone from your clutch.

“Anything you want, sweet girl.” He said. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Well first, I’m taking your picture to send to Frank. He’s gonna get a kick outta this.” You started to laugh, Billy wasn’t really amused but he cracked a smile anyway. You always seemed to be able to pull a smile from him even when he didn’t want to.

Slowly, you walked towards him. Reaching through the bars, you snaked your arms around his waist and tried to kiss him as best as you could without the bars getting in the way.

“Thank you, Billy.” You said.

With a surprised look on his face, he replied “For what? For getting thrown in jail and ruining our Valentine’s Day?” He asked, his voice still apologetic for what he had done.

“Well besides that…even though it may not look like it, you did show a lot of restraint tonight. Eric pushed you too far and I bet he’ll think twice before running his mouth about anyone else like that ever again. And you didn’t ruin my Valentine’s Day, Billy—the day isn’t over yet, my love. Let’s go home.” You said as the two of you exchanged smiles through the bars of the jail cell.

When you arrived at home, you told Billy he owed you a dance. You knew it wasn’t something he was very fond of doing but he did say you could have whatever you wanted plus he still had to earn that chocolate cake. The song starts.

I look and stare so deep in your eyes. I touch on you more and more every time. When you leave I'm beggin' you not to go. Call your name two, three times in a row

Billy smiled warmly at you and extended his hand for you to take it and pulled you flush against his chest as you moved together slowly to the music. He held your hand in his over his heart as he kissed the top of your head, just like he had done the night you met.

Such a funny thing for me to try to explain. How I'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame, yeah. 'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can

He danced with you anytime you asked him to, albeit reluctantly, he did it because he loved you. He knew how much you loved that song and he would never do it for anyone else.

“I still have one more present for you, my love.” He whispered to you as the music continued.

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You hummed into his chest, your eyes closed, and a wide smile spread across your face. “Hmmmmm…Oh yeah? Well I’m enjoying just listening to your heart beat right now, handsome.” You pulled away gently to look into his deep brown eyes as you said “How about you give it to me tomorrow.”

He looked down at you and kissed you on the forehead. “Whatever you want, beautiful. I love you.”

“I love you too, Billy.” You said as you finished the dance in the warm glow of the candlelight and the city lights outside, shining brightly through your living room window.

Billy would never let anyone say anything malicious about you, the woman he treasured, the woman that taught him the real meaning of love. Billy Russo never failed to show you how deep his love was for you, so if slow dancing with you in the living room was what you wanted from him, then he would happily do that until you told him to stop or until his very last breath, whichever came first.

Tag List: @mindidjarin @saintmurd0ck @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @xdervyxccgh @mattmurdocksscars @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialams @idek-what-to-put @anastasianeedstoread @ariesbutalibra

TFC Ladies: @itwasthereaminuteago @thisishellfire @officialjanetsnakehole

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

TFC Ladies: @itwasthereaminuteago @thisishellfire @officialjanetsnakehole

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

[e-dubbc11]

Mindi, my love you really make my day with your sweetness, I adore you for taking time to read my Billy fics. Thank you so much!

As far as the reader finishing her dinner, I thought to myself “what would I do if Billy got arrested while we were out at a nice restaurant? Yep I’m definitely finishing my food” 🤣🤣🤣

Sometimes he needs tough love but sometimes a softer approach is the way to go.

Thank you again my love for reading and I wish I had a Billy of my own too 😘😉

Crazy in Love

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Some swear words, mentions of verbal abuse, fluffy bunnies and unicorns, and some physical violence

Word Count: 5.8k-ish

Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and Billy has already spoiled you rotten and made plans to take you out for a nice dinner. But a run in with an ex boyfriend stirs up some old painful memories and lands Billy in a little bit of trouble.

A/N: This is part of the February writing challenge that my lovelies over on the Thirsty for Cox server decided to do. The prompt was “Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” I had a lot of fun writing this, it seemed like a good one. I did write a part 2 for this which hopefully will be out tomorrow, February 16. Oh, yes the title is a Beyoncé song but I used the Sofia Karlberg version for this.

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

The essence of rose saturated the apartment, the bouquets were everywhere, red ones, pink ones, yellow ones, white ones, and even purple ones.

He had told you the purple ones meant “love at first sight,” Billy Russo was such a smooth talker, the velvet tone to his voice was soft yet assertive and gave you butterflies every time. “That’s how I felt when I first saw you. At least, I think it was. I never had those feelings before…about anyone.” He had said. It was love at first sight for you too when you met him a few years ago, right around Valentine’s Day.

***************

After finally getting the call that you landed the job, your friends decided they wanted to take you out to celebrate. Dinner first, then they took you for a few drinks at a local bar close to the restaurant which is where he first laid eyes on you.

Coming in from the cold, he saw that your cheeks were flushed and your nose was red like it had been pinched by Jack Frost but your smile lit up the entire room. Billy couldn’t take his eyes off of you, he studied you carefully but quickly turned away when you would look in his direction.

You swore you could feel someone staring at you but a quick glance around the bar made you think maybe you were wrong, there wasn’t anyone looking at you…or so you thought.

You noticed him too, the charcoal gray suit, burgundy tie, but his eyes are what pulled you towards him like a magnet. They looked like endless pools of black ink. A pair of eyes you could get lost in.

And his smile, you don’t think you’ve ever seen a more perfect smile to go along with his handsome face. He was probably the most handsome man you had ever seen but completely out of your league…again, so you thought.

Just like he studied your movements, you studied his. The way his long willowy fingers wrapped around the beer bottle he was drinking from, the way he narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened intently to his friends telling a story, or when you would catch a phrase or two escape his lips. A hint of a New York accent combined with the sarcastic comments, he was a man after your own heart. It was…love at first sight.

As much as he was trying to pay attention to his friends, Billy was trying to listen in on your conversations. Mostly, he was listening to your laugh, it made him smile, watching the way you would throw your head back in a fit of laughter and not hold back.

Your whole body smiled when you laughed and he loved nothing more than to watch you wipe the tears out of your eyes when something made you laugh extra hard. Love at first sight indeed.

In between stories from his friends, he observed one of your friends had given you a small heart shaped lollipop. A “small congratulatory gift for getting that new job you wanted so much” he heard your friend say. After thanking her, you placed the lollipop in the back pocket of your jeans and forgot about it. That’s when Billy made his move.

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched him get up from his table and start to walk towards the bar to retrieve another drink, he thought you were even more beautiful up close. While you were talking, he had positioned himself in between you and another person at the bar, your body pulled forward slightly away from the back of the chair while talking to your friend.

You knew he was there, your cheeks suddenly felt warm and a knot had formed in your stomach. He let out a long exhale after taking the last sip of his beer, his breath traveled down the back of your neck and goosebumps erupted all over your body.

That’s when you felt it. The lollipop that you had forgotten about was being pulled from your pocket, slowly, carefully making sure he didn’t touch anything except that lollipop. With your eyes closed, you took a deep breath and turned around in your chair. The wrapper was discarded on the bar, you turned around just in time to see him place the lollipop in his mouth, and extend his hand to introduce himself.

“Billy Russo.” The tone of his voice was warm and low but full of confidence.

You swallowed hard and felt a slight tingle in your core. Just his voice alone did that to you, it sent shivers down your spine and caused your hands to shake slightly. But somehow you managed to just give him a sly smile, not letting him know you were nervous, and extend your hand to shake his.

“Y/f/n Y/l/n.” You said to him. “And that was my lollipop.”

He cracked a smile and the ice was broken.

The two of you spent the rest of the night making each other laugh, trading sarcastic remarks, staring into each other’s eyes, and Billy making any man that even looked in your direction wish they hadn’t.

You hadn’t even been out on a date with Billy Russo yet before he showed you how jealous he could get, how protective he could be, more like overprotective. It was a desire he had, to show every man close by that you were spoken for, that you were his, and to show they dare not touch what was his.

Billy told you he didn’t really “do” dancing but a slow song came on the jukebox, Crazy in Love by Sofia Karlberg, and you just needed to have his hands on you, holding onto you. Billy held you close, his hand encased over yours against his chest, while his friends and your friends had conversations all around you. Instead of his long, slender fingers being wrapped around a beer bottle, they were tightly wrapped around you and he didn’t want to let you go…ever.

'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can. Got me lookin' so crazy right now. Your touch's got me lookin' so crazy right now

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You didn’t want to let him go either but when you finally did, he didn’t waste any time asking to take you out on a proper date. The following weekend happened to be Valentine’s Day but you said no to a date ON Valentine’s Day.

There was just too much pressure for THAT day so you put it off for a week, instead opting for a coffee date before the formal one. You never looked back after that, and although it had been tough going sometimes, Billy Russo was the man for you.

***************

Billy always tried to outdo himself every year for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion, really. That was why you were sitting in the middle of your shared apartment, surrounded by bouquets of beautiful roses.

You had stopped counting them after the flower delivery service brought in the tenth bouquet, it was a bit excessive but it brought a smile to your face anyway. “He really knows how to make me feel special.” You said to yourself as you picked up your phone to call him at work.

He picked up on the first ring, Billy Russo was not a patient man. “Hey there, sweet girl.”

A smile tugged at your lips at hearing his pet name for you. “Billy, they’re SO beautiful!” You exclaimed as you bit down on your bottom lip.

“I’m glad you like them, my love.” He said.

“Like them? Billy, I love them! Thank you.” You excitedly said into the phone.

Billy chuckled a little. “Well I’m just getting started, baby. You don’t think the flowers are your only present, do you?”

You looked around the apartment at all of the bouquets of roses, all of these must have cost him a small fortune. “Oh…Billy, no that’s too much. The flowers are plenty.”

“I’ll be home around 6 to pick you up for dinner, ok?” He said, completely ignoring the fact that you said you didn’t need another gift.

Billy didn’t say where he was taking you, only telling you that it was “nice.”

“Ok, handsome. I’ll see you at 6—I love you.” You said with a smile.

You could tell he was smiling on the other end. “I love you too, beautiful.” And he hung up.

Making sure you were home in plenty of time to get ready for your evening out, you had left work early and arrived home just in time for your flower delivery. Billy knew exactly what time you would be coming home, he planned this like he planned everything else.

You knew he would probably come home bearing more gifts, even though you told him it wasn’t necessary. Billy didn’t really show his softer side to many people, to everyone else he was a marine, a scout sniper, a CEO…a leader. But to you, he was sweet and charming, a doting and loving boyfriend who would do absolutely anything for you.

Always in charge, he made sure he never showed weakness, appeared defenseless or powerless. It was a strange feeling for him, that feeling of love when it’s something that he’s never experienced. “Am I doing this right?” He would ask himself. “Can she tell that I’ve never done this before?” And “I’m just protecting her.”

The urge to keep you close to him at all times was intense, it was borderline too much but he loved you and even though he couldn’t always say how he was feeling, he tried to show it. You were his weakness.

Billy could stay calm in almost any situation, he never cracked under pressure except when it came to you, he felt like it was his duty to protect and defend you anytime the universe told him he had to. Tonight would end up being one of those times.

First came the flowers, then the balloons that spelled out “I Love You” were delivered, followed by the chocolate covered strawberries. They came with a note from Billy “Enjoy them, beautiful. But don’t spoil your dinner. Love, Billy.” You could only shake your head and smile reading the note, it all felt like a fairy tale.

***************

He always made you feel so loved, although at times you had to remind him he didn’t have to try so hard. It didn’t always have to be about gifts and fancy restaurants, sometimes coffee and a doughnut says “I love you” just as much as a designer bag or a new necklace does.

The gifts were especially extravagant after a fight or one of his fits of jealousy. Billy didn’t really know how to just say “I’m sorry,” or how to admit he was jealous, possessive at times, or overprotective.

He would just shut down and leave, only to return later with a little blue box or flowers. When you would tell him you didn’t want them, he would get angry. He didn’t know what to do so it just made him frustrated with himself.

“I don’t know what you want from me, y/n!!” He had shouted.

All you had wanted was an apology, to have his arms draped around you and to say “I’m sorry, my love. I’m sorry.”

“I want you to tell me that you’re sorry, Billy! Gifts can’t tell me that you’re sorry, YOU need to tell me that! You can’t just fly off the handle every time a guy looks at me in a way you don’t like!” You told him.

His dark chocolate like eyes quickly changed from angry to sad, he didn’t know what to say, it was just so hard for him because he’s always kept everything buried deep down inside, hidden away from everyone, hidden from the world. No one had ever taught him how to love.

“It’s hard for me y/n. Do you understand how hard this is for me?! I don’t know how to do this!” With his head buried in his hands, he paused, the look of guilt had washed over him and it made your heart hurt to watch the agony he must be in because he couldn’t say exactly what he wanted to.

The silence was excruciating but he finally pulled you in close, his body felt warm, and your shoulders relaxed as he brushed his hands up and down your back, whispering over and over again “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.”

These were the times Billy needed reassurance. He needed to be told you loved him and “I’m still here, Billy. I’m not going anywhere.” But you urged him to try to communicate with his words how he was feeling, no matter how difficult it was.

“I really need you to try, Billy. Please? Can you do that for me?” You pleaded.

He brushed his knuckles over your cheek and leaned forward to kiss you. The energy behind the kiss was passionate and full of love, he loved you with everything he had, and he truly was sorry. He would try harder.

That was then, but it was getting easier for him now, especially with your help. He felt like he could do anything as long as he had you by his side, helping him to learn about what it all means, about what had eluded him for all these years…love.

***************

Always on time, Billy arrived home promptly at 6, threw his keys on the table and called out for you.

“Baby? Where are ya? Are ya ready for din—ho-ly shit.” Billy started to say as you walked out from the bedroom in your black cocktail dress. The deep V and puffed sleeves were sexy without being too much.

It was difficult to surprise him but you had managed to sneak the dress home without him seeing it before tonight.

A slight smile stretched across your face as Billy continued to stare at you, his jaw practically on the floor as you said “Welcome home, my love. What’s wrong? Is there something on my dress?” You gave him a slow turn all the way around so he could take in ALL of you, biting down on your lower lip as you teased him. You knew exactly what you were doing.

As you finished turning around, Billy was right there, his hands swiftly cupped your face and he brushed a stray hair away from your eyes. “You look—so beautiful. Maybe I should just have you for dinner.” He started to kiss up and down your neck. It turned you on.

As much as you wanted that, you said “Come on, Mr. Russo. You promised me a nice dinner, so let’s go. You can enjoy your dessert later.” You smacked him on his ass, gave him a wink, and grabbed your clutch and your coat.

Billy couldn’t keep his hands off of you, from the elevator ride down to the lobby, in the car on your way to the restaurant, and even at the bar while you waited for your table.

And now that the date was finally here, he mentioned that it took him a couple of months to get a reservation there. It was a beautiful Italian restaurant called Scarpetta on Madison Avenue.

“You didn’t have to do this, Billy. I would have been happy if you brought home Chinese food.” You said.

He kissed you on the forehead. “It’s a special night, baby. I wanted to take you some place really nice.”

A flash of heat burned through you as he smiled a slightly wicked smile at you. You weren’t sure you deserved to be spoiled like this but you let him because Billy always did what he wanted to anyway.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight, princess?” He asked.

You continued to blush as the hostess led you to your corner table. “Not in the last ten minutes, baby.”

You continued walking towards your table, and even in the low warm glow of the restaurant lights, you recognized him as you sat down. The smile faded from your face and without warning, you felt a tightness in your shoulders.

Your ex—Eric was seated at a table not too far from yours. He looked the same, the woman he was with was wearing a ring, and he was too. He was married. Better her than you, that’s for sure.

Billy could tell something was bothering you. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Hmmm? Oh nothing. Everything’s fine, Billy.” You lied, glancing down at the menu in front of you.

He knew you were lying, he tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at you. “Y/n, come on, what is it? What’s wrong?”

You came clean. “Ok, you see that guy across from us? Sitting with the blonde.” You turned away as Billy turned and glanced towards Eric’s table.

He rotated back towards you. “The guy with the big ears? Yeah, what about him?”

You let out a slight cackle and gently elbowed him in the ribs. “Y-yes, the guy with the big ears. Stop making me laugh like that, this is a nice place. Anyway, that’s my ex.”

You shuddered slightly, as Billy took your hand in his. “His back is towards us, my love. It’s ok, I’m here.” He had a worried look in his eyes when he noticed how nervous you were. “My god, what did he do to you?” Billy gnashed his teeth and his eyes glazed over darker than they were before glaring in the direction of Eric’s table.

You took your hand back, placed them both on Billy’s face, and brushed his beard with your thumbs. You knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with an answer of “I don’t wanna talk about it.” So you gave him an answer that was the truth but generic.

“Billy…” You paused, closed your eyes briefly and let out a long exhale. “Let’s just say he didn’t treat me very well and was—“ You were scared to say the next part out loud in fear of what Billy might do. “He was very—verbally abusive, degrading, and made me feel terrible about myself. And he…he scared me sometimes.”

Billy tightly gripped the cloth napkin in his hand, the whites on his knuckles noticeable as you looked down at his shaking hands. White, hot anger displayed all over his face, as you tried to calm him down.

“Hey, hey Billy look at me please. I don’t want to do this here, ok? I want to have a nice romantic dinner with you and then go home so you can rip this dress off and kiss every inch of my body, ok?” You had a feeling that might calm him down.

Billy let go of the napkin, his expression softened and he chuckled a little. He pulled you closer so your thigh was touching his, Billy always felt better when his body was touching yours in some way.

Without another word about it, Billy leaned closer to kiss you, forced the server to wait while he did then ordered you both a glass of red wine and the creamy polenta to start with.

Dinner conversation was a combination of funny and extra funny. Billy told you some old stories of his days in the marines, stuff that he and Frank would get up to on down time. They sounded like quite the duo and it was so nice to see Billy laugh reminiscing about the fun times he had in the marines and not worrying about your ex who was only a couple tables away.

You both traded work stories, laughed with each other like you were the only two people in that restaurant, he just couldn’t take his eyes off of you, and the two of you were having a really nice time. At one point during one of Billy’s stories, you let out a laugh that caught the attention of your ex.

His ears perked up like he recognized your laugh, Eric’s head swiveled in the direction of where your laugh came from and out of the corner of your eye, you noticed he was getting up and walking towards your table.

Oh shit.

Billy could see that your expression had hardened, your whole body had tensed, and you had his hand under the table in a death grip. The very sight of Eric so close to you made you feel like retching and wanting to punch him right in the face. Billy was trying to calm you down as he whispered in your ear “I’m right here, baby.” And he tenderly kissed your temple.

Eric stopped in front of your table, you and Billy were staring up at him with slight disdain written all over your faces. “Wow, y/n! It’s been awhile. I recognize that laugh anywhere.”

Sitting up straight and trying to smile, you responded. “Uh, yes it has Eric. Yes it has.” You turned towards Billy to introduce him. “Eric, this is my boyfriend Billy Russo.” Billy stood up to shake Eric’s hand, narrowed his eyes at him and squeezed his hand to the point where it probably was quite painful.

“Nice to meet you, Billy. That’s a nice suit.” He paused so he could look Billy up and down, like he was sizing him up and turned his gaze back to you. "Oh I’m married now, yeah.” He pointed to the ring on his finger. “That’s my wife, Laura over there.” Eric pointed towards his table.

You put on a fake smile. “That’s great, Eric. I’m happy for you. I’d really like to get back to my dinner now though, if you don’t mind.”

With a shocked look on his face, Eric said “Oh! Right, absolutely. My apologies, I’ll let you get back to your dinner, it was nice meeting you, Bill. And it was really nice to see you again, y/n.”

All you could manage to say was “Thank you.” And he walked back to his table.

Your entire body had seized seeing Eric again but having Billy next to you, holding your hand, made it easier for you and he helped to calm and soothe you so you could get back to enjoying your night out.

Carrying on with your dinner, you didn’t notice that Eric had gotten up to presumably use the restroom but Billy did, so he kissed you on the forehead and excused himself.

Billy wasn’t sure what he was going to do, maybe he wouldn’t even do anything but it didn’t mean he wasn’t prepared. Billy was a very good judge of character, he had a theory and wanted to test it out.

“But Billy, your food. I don’t want it to get cold.” You said.

He smiled slyly at you. “I’ll be right back, baby.” He said, and then he was gone.

You shrugged your shoulders slightly, took a sip of your wine, and continued to eat your dinner before looking straight ahead, noticing that Eric was not at his table. “Oh fuck…Billy. What are you doing?” You whispered to yourself out loud, almost choking on your wine.

Inside the restroom, Billy exited the stall and started to wash his hands, when Eric slid in beside him and started washing his hands also. He looked over at Billy. “Heyyyy, Billy Russo, right?”

“You’ve got a good memory.” Billy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes slightly.

Eric reached over with his wet hands and put one on Billy’s shoulder, drenching his white dress shirt. “Ya, know…you sure do have quite a grip there, Bill. You squeezed my hand pretty hard.” He said as he put pressure on Billy’s shoulder. “I’m glad I ran into you again. I wanted to tell you that Y/n is lookin’ reeeeeally good.”

There it is. Billy had a feeling if the opportunity presented itself, Eric would try and provoke him.

Billy was starting to get angry, it infuriated him at the very mention of your name coming from that asshole’s mouth but he tried to keep his cool. “Eric…Take your hand off me. NOW.”

Eric didn’t listen, he did have more to say, however. “I’m sure she told you alllllll about me, didn’t she?” He had a smug look on his face as he continued. “I’m sure she told you all about how mean I was to her, and yeah sure I called her names sometimes but for the most part I treated her pretty well. She just sat back and took it, I kept her in her place.”

Billy made a fist as he glared at Eric in the reflection of the mirror, he could feel his blood start to boil as Eric continued to talk about you.

“I will say, she was always a little firecracker in bed. One of the best lays I’ve ever had. That’s probably why you keep her around, am I right?” He smirked.

“No. I’m with her because I LOVE her.” Billy said curtly. His patience wearing thin.

Still, Billy kept calm even though he was shaking with rage as he tried to walk away. Eric followed him out of the men’s room, grabbed Billy’s shoulder and spun him around so they were nose to nose. “She is lookin’ really good though. What do ya say, Bill? How ‘bout you let me hit that one more time—“

Billy cracked, this guy said the one thing that made him forget all about trying to keep calm and not fly off the handle. It all went out the window when Eric made that comment.

Acting like he was going to walk away, Billy then drew back and punched Eric so hard in the face that one of his teeth came flying out of his mouth. Another punch to the stomach and to the face, Billy couldn’t stop, pretty soon Eric’s entire face was bloody.

As you continued to eat, you heard commotion coming from around the corner. People were leaving their tables to see what was going on, then came the screams and the sounds of broken dishes. You didn’t need to see what was going on, you knew Billy was involved somehow. There was no need to get up and look, you would find out soon enough.

After the screams and shrieks died down, the hostess came to your table.

“Uh, miss? I am very sorry to tell you but, Mr. Russo has been arrested.” She said while you happened to notice another hostess telling Eric’s wife, what you imagine was, the same thing.

You were shocked but not really and a little embarrassed. “What?!!” But you collected yourself and stayed calm. “Well ok, do you mind if I finish my dinner first before I leave to go get him?” You asked, feeling all of the stares from strangers pointing in your direction.

You could tell the hostess felt a little bad for you. “Absolutely, miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?” She asked.

“Would you box up his food for me and I’ll take a piece of the Valrhona chocolate cake to go, please?” You said.

Your server wrapped up Billy’s food and you enjoyed the rest of your Valentine’s Day dinner alone before going to bail him out of jail.

When you arrived at the police station, they took you to Billy’s holding cell where he didn’t notice you at first. He was leaning up against the bars with his eyes closed, small spatters of blood were sprinkled on his shirt and it looked like he had a small cut on his lip, Eric must have hit him at least once.

“Hey there, Rocky.” You gave him a half smile.

Opening his eyes, Billy looked happy to see you but his face had “sorry” written all over it. “Baby, I am SO sorry. I just—he pushed and pushed—and what he said. I wasn’t gonna let him talk about you like that—“ He said.

You interrupted him. “What did he say, Billy?”

“I don’t wanna tell you.” He said shaking his head.

“I wanna know what he said that made you that upset. I saw his face, Billy. You beat him pretty badly.” You told him.

Billy hung his head in shame. “He said that you always were a little firecracker in bed, one of the best lays he’s ever had. Then asked me if—if I’d let him ‘hit that’ one more time and I don’t remember much after that.”

You felt violated in a way, closed your body off from Billy by wrapping your arms around yourself and looking away from him, disgusted with Eric talking about intimate details of your relationship.

“I tried not letting him get to me, I tried walking away but when he said that—“ Billy violently shook his head back and forth. “I just couldn’t let him get away with it. I snapped—I’m sorry, my love.”

What Billy didn’t know was there was someone else in the restroom at the time Eric was provoking him. He told the owner of the restaurant and the police that he was surprised Billy didn’t punch him sooner than he did.

The restaurant wasn’t pressing charges and after the witness told the police what Eric had said and how he kept provoking Billy, he declined to press charges also so Billy was free to go.

“Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” You said.

He extended his arms and reached out for you to pull you close to the bars. “Well, my love if you wanna get technical, I’M the one that’s in jail.”

You let out a little laugh. “This is true.”

Billy suddenly had a confused look on his face. “Hang on…did you stay and finish your dinner before coming here?” He asked, holding up a one finger to playfully scold you a little.

You knew he was joking with you so you scolded him back in a lighthearted tone. “I had to pay for it anyway Billy so yes, I enjoyed my food while it was hot! Don’t worry, I had them wrap yours.” You shook the bag in front of his nose. “I got a piece of chocolate cake for you too, even though I’m not sure you deserve it.” You said with a wink.

Billy’s eyes widened. “I said I was sorry, baby! Wait. Did—did you say chocolate cake?”

The man’s sweet tooth was insatiable.

“Oh you are gonna have to earn this chocolate cake, Billy Russo!” You snapped. “And you owe me for having to pay for my own Valentine’s Day dinner!”

But your expression softened, and you remembered that Billy apologized without being prompted to do so. It was the first thing he said when he saw you, he was getting better at communicating, so he was trying harder even though he still lost his temper.

What happened wasn’t about him this time though. It wasn’t about him being jealous, it was about defending you, wanting to protect you so that Eric couldn’t hurt you or say anything about you that would upset you.

You pulled back away from the bars and removed your phone from your clutch.

“Anything you want, sweet girl.” He said. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Well first, I’m taking your picture to send to Frank. He’s gonna get a kick outta this.” You started to laugh, Billy wasn’t really amused but he cracked a smile anyway. You always seemed to be able to pull a smile from him even when he didn’t want to.

Slowly, you walked towards him. Reaching through the bars, you snaked your arms around his waist and tried to kiss him as best as you could without the bars getting in the way.

“Thank you, Billy.” You said.

With a surprised look on his face, he replied “For what? For getting thrown in jail and ruining our Valentine’s Day?” He asked, his voice still apologetic for what he had done.

“Well besides that…even though it may not look like it, you did show a lot of restraint tonight. Eric pushed you too far and I bet he’ll think twice before running his mouth about anyone else like that ever again. And you didn’t ruin my Valentine’s Day, Billy—the day isn’t over yet, my love. Let’s go home.” You said as the two of you exchanged smiles through the bars of the jail cell.

When you arrived at home, you told Billy he owed you a dance. You knew it wasn’t something he was very fond of doing but he did say you could have whatever you wanted plus he still had to earn that chocolate cake. The song starts.

I look and stare so deep in your eyes. I touch on you more and more every time. When you leave I'm beggin' you not to go. Call your name two, three times in a row

Billy smiled warmly at you and extended his hand for you to take it and pulled you flush against his chest as you moved together slowly to the music. He held your hand in his over his heart as he kissed the top of your head, just like he had done the night you met.

Such a funny thing for me to try to explain. How I'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame, yeah. 'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can

He danced with you anytime you asked him to, albeit reluctantly, he did it because he loved you. He knew how much you loved that song and he would never do it for anyone else.

“I still have one more present for you, my love.” He whispered to you as the music continued.

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You hummed into his chest, your eyes closed, and a wide smile spread across your face. “Hmmmmm…Oh yeah? Well I’m enjoying just listening to your heart beat right now, handsome.” You pulled away gently to look into his deep brown eyes as you said “How about you give it to me tomorrow.”

He looked down at you and kissed you on the forehead. “Whatever you want, beautiful. I love you.”

“I love you too, Billy.” You said as you finished the dance in the warm glow of the candlelight and the city lights outside, shining brightly through your living room window.

Billy would never let anyone say anything malicious about you, the woman he treasured, the woman that taught him the real meaning of love. Billy Russo never failed to show you how deep his love was for you, so if slow dancing with you in the living room was what you wanted from him, then he would happily do that until you told him to stop or until his very last breath, whichever came first.

Tag List: @mindidjarin @saintmurd0ck @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @xdervyxccgh @mattmurdocksscars @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialams @idek-what-to-put @anastasianeedstoread @ariesbutalibra

TFC Ladies: @itwasthereaminuteago @thisishellfire @officialjanetsnakehole

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

TFC Ladies: @itwasthereaminuteago @thisishellfire @officialjanetsnakehole

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

[e-dubbc11]

Definitely!! Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! 💜

Crazy in Love

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Some swear words, mentions of verbal abuse, fluffy bunnies and unicorns, and some physical violence

Word Count: 5.8k-ish

Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and Billy has already spoiled you rotten and made plans to take you out for a nice dinner. But a run in with an ex boyfriend stirs up some old painful memories and lands Billy in a little bit of trouble.

A/N: This is part of the February writing challenge that my lovelies over on the Thirsty for Cox server decided to do. The prompt was “Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” I had a lot of fun writing this, it seemed like a good one. I did write a part 2 for this which hopefully will be out tomorrow, February 16. Oh, yes the title is a Beyoncé song but I used the Sofia Karlburg version for this.

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

The essence of rose saturated the apartment, the bouquets were everywhere, red ones, pink ones, yellow ones, white ones, and even purple ones.

He had told you the purple ones meant “love at first sight,” Billy Russo was such a smooth talker, the velvet tone to his voice was soft yet assertive and gave you butterflies every time. “That’s how I felt when I first saw you. At least, I think it was. I never had those feelings before…about anyone.” He had said. It was love at first sight for you too when you met him a few years ago, right around Valentine’s Day.

***************

After finally getting the call that you landed the job, your friends decided they wanted to take you out to celebrate. Dinner first, then they took you for a few drinks at a local bar close to the restaurant which is where he first laid eyes on you.

Coming in from the cold, he saw that your cheeks were flushed and your nose was red like it had been pinched by Jack Frost but your smile lit up the entire room. Billy couldn’t take his eyes off of you, he studied you carefully but quickly turned away when you would look in his direction.

You swore you could feel someone staring at you but a quick glance around the bar made you think maybe you were wrong, there wasn’t anyone looking at you…or so you thought.

You noticed him too, the charcoal gray suit, burgundy tie, but his eyes are what pulled you towards him like a magnet. They looked like endless pools of black ink. A pair of eyes you could get lost in.

And his smile, you don’t think you’ve ever seen a more perfect smile to go along with his handsome face. He was probably the most handsome man you had ever seen but completely out of your league…again, so you thought.

Just like he studied your movements, you studied his. The way his long willowy fingers wrapped around the beer bottle he was drinking from, the way he narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened intently to his friends telling a story, or when you would catch a phrase or two escape his lips. A hint of a New York accent combined with the sarcastic comments, he was a man after your own heart. It was…love at first sight.

As much as he was trying to pay attention to his friends, Billy was trying to listen in on your conversations. Mostly, he was listening to your laugh, it made him smile, watching the way you would throw your head back in a fit of laughter and not hold back.

Your whole body smiled when you laughed and he loved nothing more than to watch you wipe the tears out of your eyes when something made you laugh extra hard. Love at first sight indeed.

In between stories from his friends, he observed one of your friends had given you a small heart shaped lollipop. A “small congratulatory gift for getting that new job you wanted so much” he heard your friend say. After thanking her, you placed the lollipop in the back pocket of your jeans and forgot about it. That’s when Billy made his move.

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched him get up from his table and start to walk towards the bar to retrieve another drink, he thought you were even more beautiful up close. While you were talking, he had positioned himself in between you and another person at the bar, your body pulled forward slightly away from the back of the chair while talking to your friend.

You knew he was there, your cheeks suddenly felt warm and a knot had formed in your stomach. He let out a long exhale after taking the last sip of his beer, his breath traveled down the back of your neck and goosebumps erupted all over your body.

That’s when you felt it. The lollipop that you had forgotten about was being pulled from your pocket, slowly, carefully making sure he didn’t touch anything except that lollipop. With your eyes closed, you took a deep breath and turned around in your chair. The wrapper was discarded on the bar, you turned around just in time to see him place the lollipop in his mouth, and extend his hand to introduce himself.

“Billy Russo.” The tone of his voice was warm and low but full of confidence.

You swallowed hard and felt a slight tingle in your core. Just his voice alone did that to you, it sent shivers down your spine and caused your hands to shake slightly. But somehow you managed to just give him a sly smile, not letting him know you were nervous, and extend your hand to shake his.

“Y/f/n Y/l/n.” You said to him. “And that was my lollipop.”

He cracked a smile and the ice was broken.

The two of you spent the rest of the night making each other laugh, trading sarcastic remarks, staring into each other’s eyes, and Billy making any man that even looked in your direction wish they hadn’t.

You hadn’t even been out on a date with Billy Russo yet before he showed you how jealous he could get, how protective he could be, more like overprotective. It was a desire he had, to show every man close by that you were spoken for, that you were his, and to show they dare not touch what was his.

Billy told you he didn’t really “do” dancing but a slow song came on the jukebox, Crazy in Love by Sofia Karlberg, and you just needed to have his hands on you, holding onto you. Billy held you close, his hand encased over yours against his chest, while his friends and your friends had conversations all around you. Instead of his long, slender fingers being wrapped around a beer bottle, they were tightly wrapped around you and he didn’t want to let you go…ever.

'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can. Got me lookin' so crazy right now. Your touch's got me lookin' so crazy right now

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You didn’t want to let him go either but when you finally did, he didn’t waste any time asking to take you out on a proper date. The following weekend happened to be Valentine’s Day but you said no to a date ON Valentine’s Day.

There was just too much pressure for THAT day so you put it off for a week, instead opting for a coffee date before the formal one. You never looked back after that, and although it had been tough going sometimes, Billy Russo was the man for you.

***************

Billy always tried to outdo himself every year for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion, really. That was why you were sitting in the middle of your shared apartment, surrounded by bouquets of beautiful roses.

You had stopped counting them after the flower delivery service brought in the tenth bouquet, it was a bit excessive but it brought a smile to your face anyway. “He really knows how to make me feel special.” You said to yourself as you picked up your phone to call him at work.

He picked up on the first ring, Billy Russo was not a patient man. “Hey there, sweet girl.”

A smile tugged at your lips at hearing his pet name for you. “Billy, they’re SO beautiful!” You exclaimed as you bit down on your bottom lip.

“I’m glad you like them, my love.” He said.

“Like them? Billy, I love them! Thank you.” You excitedly said into the phone.

Billy chuckled a little. “Well I’m just getting started, baby. You don’t think the flowers are your only present, do you?”

You looked around the apartment at all of the bouquets of roses, all of these must have cost him a small fortune. “Oh…Billy, no that’s too much. The flowers are plenty.”

“I’ll be home around 6 to pick you up for dinner, ok?” He said, completely ignoring the fact that you said you didn’t need another gift.

Billy didn’t say where he was taking you, only telling you that it was “nice.”

“Ok, handsome. I’ll see you at 6—I love you.” You said with a smile.

You could tell he was smiling on the other end. “I love you too, beautiful.” And he hung up.

Making sure you were home in plenty of time to get ready for your evening out, you had left work early and arrived home just in time for your flower delivery. Billy knew exactly what time you would be coming home, he planned this like he planned everything else.

You knew he would probably come home bearing more gifts, even though you told him it wasn’t necessary. Billy didn’t really show his softer side to many people, to everyone else he was a marine, a scout sniper, a CEO…a leader. But to you, he was sweet and charming, a doting and loving boyfriend who would do absolutely anything for you.

Always in charge, he made sure he never showed weakness, appeared defenseless or powerless. It was a strange feeling for him, that feeling of love when it’s something that he’s never experienced. “Am I doing this right?” He would ask himself. “Can she tell that I’ve never done this before?” And “I’m just protecting her.”

The urge to keep you close to him at all times was intense, it was borderline too much but he loved you and even though he couldn’t always say how he was feeling, he tried to show it. You were his weakness.

Billy could stay calm in almost any situation, he never cracked under pressure except when it came to you, he felt like it was his duty to protect and defend you anytime the universe told him he had to. Tonight would end up being one of those times.

First came the flowers, then the balloons that spelled out “I Love You” were delivered, followed by the chocolate covered strawberries. They came with a note from Billy “Enjoy them, beautiful. But don’t spoil your dinner. Love, Billy.” You could only shake your head and smile reading the note, it all felt like a fairy tale.

***************

He always made you feel so loved, although at times you had to remind him he didn’t have to try so hard. It didn’t always have to be about gifts and fancy restaurants, sometimes coffee and a doughnut says “I love you” just as much as a designer bag or a new necklace does.

The gifts were especially extravagant after a fight or one of his fits of jealousy. Billy didn’t really know how to just say “I’m sorry,” or how to admit he was jealous, possessive at times, or overprotective.

He would just shut down and leave, only to return later with a little blue box or flowers. When you would tell him you didn’t want them, he would get angry. He didn’t know what to do so it just made him frustrated with himself.

“I don’t know what you want from me, y/n!!” He had shouted.

All you had wanted was an apology, to have his arms draped around you and to say “I’m sorry, my love. I’m sorry.”

“I want you to tell me that you’re sorry, Billy! Gifts can’t tell me that you’re sorry, YOU need to tell me that! You can’t just fly off the handle every time a guy looks at me in a way you don’t like!” You told him.

His dark chocolate like eyes quickly changed from angry to sad, he didn’t know what to say, it was just so hard for him because he’s always kept everything buried deep down inside, hidden away from everyone, hidden from the world. No one had ever taught him how to love.

“It’s hard for me y/n. Do you understand how hard this is for me?! I don’t know how to do this!” With his head buried in his hands, he paused, the look of guilt had washed over him and it made your heart hurt to watch the agony he must be in because he couldn’t say exactly what he wanted to.

The silence was excruciating but he finally pulled you in close, his body felt warm, and your shoulders relaxed as he brushed his hands up and down your back, whispering over and over again “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.”

These were the times Billy needed reassurance. He needed to be told you loved him and “I’m still here, Billy. I’m not going anywhere.” But you urged him to try to communicate with his words how he was feeling, no matter how difficult it was.

“I really need you to try, Billy. Please? Can you do that for me?” You pleaded.

He brushed his knuckles over your cheek and leaned forward to kiss you. The energy behind the kiss was passionate and full of love, he loved you with everything he had, and he truly was sorry. He would try harder.

That was then, but it was getting easier for him now, especially with your help. He felt like he could do anything as long as he had you by his side, helping him to learn about what it all means, about what had eluded him for all these years…love.

***************

Always on time, Billy arrived home promptly at 6, threw his keys on the table and called out for you.

“Baby? Where are ya? Are ya ready for din—ho-ly shit.” Billy started to say as you walked out from the bedroom in your black cocktail dress. The deep V and puffed sleeves were sexy without being too much.

It was difficult to surprise him but you had managed to sneak the dress home without him seeing it before tonight.

A slight smile stretched across your face as Billy continued to stare at you, his jaw practically on the floor as you said “Welcome home, my love. What’s wrong? Is there something on my dress?” You gave him a slow turn all the way around so he could take in ALL of you, biting down on your lower lip as you teased him. You knew exactly what you were doing.

As you finished turning around, Billy was right there, his hands swiftly cupped your face and he brushed a stray hair away from your eyes. “You look—so beautiful. Maybe I should just have you for dinner.” He started to kiss up and down your neck. It turned you on.

As much as you wanted that, you said “Come on, Mr. Russo. You promised me a nice dinner, so let’s go. You can enjoy your dessert later.” You smacked him on his ass, gave him a wink, and grabbed your clutch and your coat.

Billy couldn’t keep his hands off of you, from the elevator ride down to the lobby, in the car on your way to the restaurant, and even at the bar while you waited for your table.

And now that the date was finally here, he mentioned that it took him a couple of months to get a reservation there. It was a beautiful Italian restaurant called Scarpetta on Madison Avenue.

“You didn’t have to do this, Billy. I would have been happy if you brought home Chinese food.” You said.

He kissed you on the forehead. “It’s a special night, baby. I wanted to take you some place really nice.”

A flash of heat burned through you as he smiled a slightly wicked smile at you. You weren’t sure you deserved to be spoiled like this but you let him because Billy always did what he wanted to anyway.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight, princess?” He asked.

You continued to blush as the hostess led you to your corner table. “Not in the last ten minutes, baby.”

You continued walking towards your table, and even in the low warm glow of the restaurant lights, you recognized him as you sat down. The smile faded from your face and without warning, you felt a tightness in your shoulders.

Your ex—Eric was seated at a table not too far from yours. He looked the same, the woman he was with was wearing a ring, and he was too. He was married. Better her than you, that’s for sure.

Billy could tell something was bothering you. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Hmmm? Oh nothing. Everything’s fine, Billy.” You lied, glancing down at the menu in front of you.

He knew you were lying, he tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at you. “Y/n, come on, what is it? What’s wrong?”

You came clean. “Ok, you see that guy across from us? Sitting with the blonde.” You turned away as Billy turned and glanced towards Eric’s table.

He rotated back towards you. “The guy with the big ears? Yeah, what about him?”

You let out a slight cackle and gently elbowed him in the ribs. “Y-yes, the guy with the big ears. Stop making me laugh like that, this is a nice place. Anyway, that’s my ex.”

You shuddered slightly, as Billy took your hand in his. “His back is towards us, my love. It’s ok, I’m here.” He had a worried look in his eyes when he noticed how nervous you were. “My god, what did he do to you?” Billy gnashed his teeth and his eyes glazed over darker than they were before glaring in the direction of Eric’s table.

You took your hand back, placed them both on Billy’s face, and brushed his beard with your thumbs. You knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with an answer of “I don’t wanna talk about it.” So you gave him an answer that was the truth but generic.

“Billy…” You paused, closed your eyes briefly and let out a long exhale. “Let’s just say he didn’t treat me very well and was—“ You were scared to say the next part out loud in fear of what Billy might do. “He was very—verbally abusive, degrading, and made me feel terrible about myself. And he…he scared me sometimes.”

Billy tightly gripped the cloth napkin in his hand, the whites on his knuckles noticeable as you looked down at his shaking hands. White, hot anger displayed all over his face, as you tried to calm him down.

“Hey, hey Billy look at me please. I don’t want to do this here, ok? I want to have a nice romantic dinner with you and then go home so you can rip this dress off and kiss every inch of my body, ok?” You had a feeling that might calm him down.

Billy let go of the napkin, his expression softened and he chuckled a little. He pulled you closer so your thigh was touching his, Billy always felt better when his body was touching yours in some way.

Without another word about it, Billy leaned closer to kiss you, forced the server to wait while he did then ordered you both a glass of red wine and the creamy polenta to start with.

Dinner conversation was a combination of funny and extra funny. Billy told you some old stories of his days in the marines, stuff that he and Frank would get up to on down time. They sounded like quite the duo and it was so nice to see Billy laugh reminiscing about the fun times he had in the marines and not worrying about your ex who was only a couple tables away.

You both traded work stories, laughed with each other like you were the only two people in that restaurant, he just couldn’t take his eyes off of you, and the two of you were having a really nice time. At one point during one of Billy’s stories, you let out a laugh that caught the attention of your ex.

His ears perked up like he recognized your laugh, Eric’s head swiveled in the direction of where your laugh came from and out of the corner of your eye, you noticed he was getting up and walking towards your table.

Oh shit.

Billy could see that your expression had hardened, your whole body had tensed, and you had his hand under the table in a death grip. The very sight of Eric so close to you made you feel like retching and wanting to punch him right in the face. Billy was trying to calm you down as he whispered in your ear “I’m right here, baby.” And he tenderly kissed your temple.

Eric stopped in front of your table, you and Billy were staring up at him with slight disdain written all over your faces. “Wow, y/n! It’s been awhile. I recognize that laugh anywhere.”

Sitting up straight and trying to smile, you responded. “Uh, yes it has Eric. Yes it has.” You turned towards Billy to introduce him. “Eric, this is my boyfriend Billy Russo.” Billy stood up to shake Eric’s hand, narrowed his eyes at him and squeezed his hand to the point where it probably was quite painful.

“Nice to meet you, Billy. That’s a nice suit.” He paused so he could look Billy up and down, like he was sizing him up and turned his gaze back to you. "Oh I’m married now, yeah.” He pointed to the ring on his finger. “That’s my wife, Laura over there.” Eric pointed towards his table.

You put on a fake smile. “That’s great, Eric. I’m happy for you. I’d really like to get back to my dinner now though, if you don’t mind.”

With a shocked look on his face, Eric said “Oh! Right, absolutely. My apologies, I’ll let you get back to your dinner, it was nice meeting you, Bill. And it was really nice to see you again, y/n.”

All you could manage to say was “Thank you.” And he walked back to his table.

Your entire body had seized seeing Eric again but having Billy next to you, holding your hand, made it easier for you and he helped to calm and soothe you so you could get back to enjoying your night out.

Carrying on with your dinner, you didn’t notice that Eric had gotten up to presumably use the restroom but Billy did, so he kissed you on the forehead and excused himself.

Billy wasn’t sure what he was going to do, maybe he wouldn’t even do anything but it didn’t mean he wasn’t prepared. Billy was a very good judge of character, he had a theory and wanted to test it out.

“But Billy, your food. I don’t want it to get cold.” You said.

He smiled slyly at you. “I’ll be right back, baby.” He said, and then he was gone.

You shrugged your shoulders slightly, took a sip of your wine, and continued to eat your dinner before looking straight ahead, noticing that Eric was not at his table. “Oh fuck…Billy. What are you doing?” You whispered to yourself out loud, almost choking on your wine.

Inside the restroom, Billy exited the stall and started to wash his hands, when Eric slid in beside him and started washing his hands also. He looked over at Billy. “Heyyyy, Billy Russo, right?”

“You’ve got a good memory.” Billy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes slightly.

Eric reached over with his wet hands and put one on Billy’s shoulder, drenching his white dress shirt. “Ya, know…you sure do have quite a grip there, Bill. You squeezed my hand pretty hard.” He said as he put pressure on Billy’s shoulder. “I’m glad I ran into you again. I wanted to tell you that Y/n is lookin’ reeeeeally good.”

There it is. Billy had a feeling if the opportunity presented itself, Eric would try and provoke him.

Billy was starting to get angry, it infuriated him at the very mention of your name coming from that asshole’s mouth but he tried to keep his cool. “Eric…Take your hand off me. NOW.”

Eric didn’t listen, he did have more to say, however. “I’m sure she told you alllllll about me, didn’t she?” He had a smug look on his face as he continued. “I’m sure she told you all about how mean I was to her, and yeah sure I called her names sometimes but for the most part I treated her pretty well. She just sat back and took it, I kept her in her place.”

Billy made a fist as he glared at Eric in the reflection of the mirror, he could feel his blood start to boil as Eric continued to talk about you.

“I will say, she was always a little firecracker in bed. One of the best lays I’ve ever had. That’s probably why you keep her around, am I right?” He smirked.

“No. I’m with her because I LOVE her.” Billy said curtly. His patience wearing thin.

Still, Billy kept calm even though he was shaking with rage as he tried to walk away. Eric followed him out of the men’s room, grabbed Billy’s shoulder and spun him around so they were nose to nose. “She is lookin’ really good though. What do ya say, Bill? How ‘bout you let me hit that one more time—“

Billy cracked, this guy said the one thing that made him forget all about trying to keep calm and not fly off the handle. It all went out the window when Eric made that comment.

Acting like he was going to walk away, Billy then drew back and punched Eric so hard in the face that one of his teeth came flying out of his mouth. Another punch to the stomach and to the face, Billy couldn’t stop, pretty soon Eric’s entire face was bloody.

As you continued to eat, you heard commotion coming from around the corner. People were leaving their tables to see what was going on, then came the screams and the sounds of broken dishes. You didn’t need to see what was going on, you knew Billy was involved somehow. There was no need to get up and look, you would find out soon enough.

After the screams and shrieks died down, the hostess came to your table.

“Uh, miss? I am very sorry to tell you but, Mr. Russo has been arrested.” She said while you happened to notice another hostess telling Eric’s wife, what you imagine was, the same thing.

You were shocked but not really and a little embarrassed. “What?!!” But you collected yourself and stayed calm. “Well ok, do you mind if I finish my dinner first before I leave to go get him?” You asked, feeling all of the stares from strangers pointing in your direction.

You could tell the hostess felt a little bad for you. “Absolutely, miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?” She asked.

“Would you box up his food for me and I’ll take a piece of the Valrhona chocolate cake to go, please?” You said.

Your server wrapped up Billy’s food and you enjoyed the rest of your Valentine’s Day dinner alone before going to bail him out of jail.

When you arrived at the police station, they took you to Billy’s holding cell where he didn’t notice you at first. He was leaning up against the bars with his eyes closed, small spatters of blood were sprinkled on his shirt and it looked like he had a small cut on his lip, Eric must have hit him at least once.

“Hey there, Rocky.” You gave him a half smile.

Opening his eyes, Billy looked happy to see you but his face had “sorry” written all over it. “Baby, I am SO sorry. I just—he pushed and pushed—and what he said. I wasn’t gonna let him talk about you like that—“ He said.

You interrupted him. “What did he say, Billy?”

“I don’t wanna tell you.” He said shaking his head.

“I wanna know what he said that made you that upset. I saw his face, Billy. You beat him pretty badly.” You told him.

Billy hung his head in shame. “He said that you always were a little firecracker in bed, one of the best lays he’s ever had. Then asked me if—if I’d let him ‘hit that’ one more time and I don’t remember much after that.”

You felt violated in a way, closed your body off from Billy by wrapping your arms around yourself and looking away from him, disgusted with Eric talking about intimate details of your relationship.

“I tried not letting him get to me, I tried walking away but when he said that—“ Billy violently shook his head back and forth. “I just couldn’t let him get away with it. I snapped—I’m sorry, my love.”

What Billy didn’t know was there was someone else in the restroom at the time Eric was provoking him. He told the owner of the restaurant and the police that he was surprised Billy didn’t punch him sooner than he did.

The restaurant wasn’t pressing charges and after the witness told the police what Eric had said and how he kept provoking Billy, he declined to press charges also so Billy was free to go.

“Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” You said.

He extended his arms and reached out for you to pull you close to the bars. “Well, my love if you wanna get technical, I’M the one that’s in jail.”

You let out a little laugh. “This is true.”

Billy suddenly had a confused look on his face. “Hang on…did you stay and finish your dinner before coming here?” He asked, holding up a one finger to playfully scold you a little.

You knew he was joking with you so you scolded him back in a lighthearted tone. “I had to pay for it anyway Billy so yes, I enjoyed my food while it was hot! Don’t worry, I had them wrap yours.” You shook the bag in front of his nose. “I got a piece of chocolate cake for you too, even though I’m not sure you deserve it.” You said with a wink.

Billy’s eyes widened. “I said I was sorry, baby! Wait. Did—did you say chocolate cake?”

The man’s sweet tooth was insatiable.

“Oh you are gonna have to earn this chocolate cake, Billy Russo!” You snapped. “And you owe me for having to pay for my own Valentine’s Day dinner!”

But your expression softened, and you remembered that Billy apologized without being prompted to do so. It was the first thing he said when he saw you, he was getting better at communicating, so he was trying harder even though he still lost his temper.

What happened wasn’t about him this time though. It wasn’t about him being jealous, it was about defending you, wanting to protect you so that Eric couldn’t hurt you or say anything about you that would upset you.

You pulled back away from the bars and removed your phone from your clutch.

“Anything you want, sweet girl.” He said. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Well first, I’m taking your picture to send to Frank. He’s gonna get a kick outta this.” You started to laugh, Billy wasn’t really amused but he cracked a smile anyway. You always seemed to be able to pull a smile from him even when he didn’t want to.

Slowly, you walked towards him. Reaching through the bars, you snaked your arms around his waist and tried to kiss him as best as you could without the bars getting in the way.

“Thank you, Billy.” You said.

With a surprised look on his face, he replied “For what? For getting thrown in jail and ruining our Valentine’s Day?” He asked, his voice still apologetic for what he had done.

“Well besides that…even though it may not look like it, you did show a lot of restraint tonight. Eric pushed you too far and I bet he’ll think twice before running his mouth about anyone else like that ever again. And you didn’t ruin my Valentine’s Day, Billy—the day isn’t over yet, my love. Let’s go home.” You said as the two of you exchanged smiles through the bars of the jail cell.

When you arrived at home, you told Billy he owed you a dance. You knew it wasn’t something he was very fond of doing but he did say you could have whatever you wanted plus he still had to earn that chocolate cake. The song starts.

I look and stare so deep in your eyes. I touch on you more and more every time. When you leave I'm beggin' you not to go. Call your name two, three times in a row

Billy smiled warmly at you and extended his hand for you to take it and pulled you flush against his chest as you moved together slowly to the music. He held your hand in his over his heart as he kissed the top of your head, just like he had done the night you met.

Such a funny thing for me to try to explain. How I'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame, yeah. 'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can

He danced with you anytime you asked him to, albeit reluctantly, he did it because he loved you. He knew how much you loved that song and he would never do it for anyone else.

“I still have one more present for you, my love.” He whispered to you as the music continued.

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You hummed into his chest, your eyes closed, and a wide smile spread across your face. “Hmmmmm…Oh yeah? Well I’m enjoying just listening to your heart beat right now, handsome.” You pulled away gently to look into his deep brown eyes as you said “How about you give it to me tomorrow.”

He looked down at you and kissed you on the forehead. “Whatever you want, beautiful. I love you.”

“I love you too, Billy.” You said as you finished the dance in the warm glow of the candlelight and the city lights outside, shining brightly through your living room window.

Billy would never let anyone say anything malicious about you, the woman he treasured, the woman that taught him the real meaning of love. Billy Russo never failed to show you how deep his love was for you, so if slow dancing with you in the living room was what you wanted from him, then he would happily do that until you told him to stop or until his very last breath, whichever came first.

Tag List: @mindidjarin @saintmurd0ck @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @xdervyxccgh @mattmurdocksscars @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialams @idek-what-to-put @anastasianeedstoread @ariesbutalibra

TFC Ladies: @itwasthereaminuteago @thisishellfire @officialjanetsnakehole

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

TFC Ladies: @itwasthereaminuteago @thisishellfire @officialjanetsnakehole

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

[e-dubbc11]

Thank you for reading Stef! My Billy will never be perfect, he will still mess things up once in awhile, more often than you probably want him too but he’s always very sorry afterwards. He needs to learn these things. Full disclosure, I would stay to finish my dinner too 🤣🤣🤣

Crazy in Love

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Some swear words, mentions of verbal abuse, fluffy bunnies and unicorns, and some physical violence

Word Count: 5.8k-ish

Summary: It’s Valentine’s Day and Billy has already spoiled you rotten and made plans to take you out for a nice dinner. But a run in with an ex boyfriend stirs up some old painful memories and lands Billy in a little bit of trouble.

A/N: This is part of the February writing challenge that my lovelies over on the Thirsty for Cox server decided to do. The prompt was “Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” I had a lot of fun writing this, it seemed like a good one. I did write a part 2 for this which hopefully will be out tomorrow, February 16. Oh, yes the title is a Beyoncé song but I used the Sofia Karlburg version for this.

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

The essence of rose saturated the apartment, the bouquets were everywhere, red ones, pink ones, yellow ones, white ones, and even purple ones.

He had told you the purple ones meant “love at first sight,” Billy Russo was such a smooth talker, the velvet tone to his voice was soft yet assertive and gave you butterflies every time. “That’s how I felt when I first saw you. At least, I think it was. I never had those feelings before…about anyone.” He had said. It was love at first sight for you too when you met him a few years ago, right around Valentine’s Day.

***************

After finally getting the call that you landed the job, your friends decided they wanted to take you out to celebrate. Dinner first, then they took you for a few drinks at a local bar close to the restaurant which is where he first laid eyes on you.

Coming in from the cold, he saw that your cheeks were flushed and your nose was red like it had been pinched by Jack Frost but your smile lit up the entire room. Billy couldn’t take his eyes off of you, he studied you carefully but quickly turned away when you would look in his direction.

You swore you could feel someone staring at you but a quick glance around the bar made you think maybe you were wrong, there wasn’t anyone looking at you…or so you thought.

You noticed him too, the charcoal gray suit, burgundy tie, but his eyes are what pulled you towards him like a magnet. They looked like endless pools of black ink. A pair of eyes you could get lost in.

And his smile, you don’t think you’ve ever seen a more perfect smile to go along with his handsome face. He was probably the most handsome man you had ever seen but completely out of your league…again, so you thought.

Just like he studied your movements, you studied his. The way his long willowy fingers wrapped around the beer bottle he was drinking from, the way he narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened intently to his friends telling a story, or when you would catch a phrase or two escape his lips. A hint of a New York accent combined with the sarcastic comments, he was a man after your own heart. It was…love at first sight.

As much as he was trying to pay attention to his friends, Billy was trying to listen in on your conversations. Mostly, he was listening to your laugh, it made him smile, watching the way you would throw your head back in a fit of laughter and not hold back.

Your whole body smiled when you laughed and he loved nothing more than to watch you wipe the tears out of your eyes when something made you laugh extra hard. Love at first sight indeed.

In between stories from his friends, he observed one of your friends had given you a small heart shaped lollipop. A “small congratulatory gift for getting that new job you wanted so much” he heard your friend say. After thanking her, you placed the lollipop in the back pocket of your jeans and forgot about it. That’s when Billy made his move.

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched him get up from his table and start to walk towards the bar to retrieve another drink, he thought you were even more beautiful up close. While you were talking, he had positioned himself in between you and another person at the bar, your body pulled forward slightly away from the back of the chair while talking to your friend.

You knew he was there, your cheeks suddenly felt warm and a knot had formed in your stomach. He let out a long exhale after taking the last sip of his beer, his breath traveled down the back of your neck and goosebumps erupted all over your body.

That’s when you felt it. The lollipop that you had forgotten about was being pulled from your pocket, slowly, carefully making sure he didn’t touch anything except that lollipop. With your eyes closed, you took a deep breath and turned around in your chair. The wrapper was discarded on the bar, you turned around just in time to see him place the lollipop in his mouth, and extend his hand to introduce himself.

“Billy Russo.” The tone of his voice was warm and low but full of confidence.

You swallowed hard and felt a slight tingle in your core. Just his voice alone did that to you, it sent shivers down your spine and caused your hands to shake slightly. But somehow you managed to just give him a sly smile, not letting him know you were nervous, and extend your hand to shake his.

“Y/f/n Y/l/n.” You said to him. “And that was my lollipop.”

He cracked a smile and the ice was broken.

The two of you spent the rest of the night making each other laugh, trading sarcastic remarks, staring into each other’s eyes, and Billy making any man that even looked in your direction wish they hadn’t.

You hadn’t even been out on a date with Billy Russo yet before he showed you how jealous he could get, how protective he could be, more like overprotective. It was a desire he had, to show every man close by that you were spoken for, that you were his, and to show they dare not touch what was his.

Billy told you he didn’t really “do” dancing but a slow song came on the jukebox, Crazy in Love by Sofia Karlberg, and you just needed to have his hands on you, holding onto you. Billy held you close, his hand encased over yours against his chest, while his friends and your friends had conversations all around you. Instead of his long, slender fingers being wrapped around a beer bottle, they were tightly wrapped around you and he didn’t want to let you go…ever.

'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can. Got me lookin' so crazy right now. Your touch's got me lookin' so crazy right now

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You didn’t want to let him go either but when you finally did, he didn’t waste any time asking to take you out on a proper date. The following weekend happened to be Valentine’s Day but you said no to a date ON Valentine’s Day.

There was just too much pressure for THAT day so you put it off for a week, instead opting for a coffee date before the formal one. You never looked back after that, and although it had been tough going sometimes, Billy Russo was the man for you.

***************

Billy always tried to outdo himself every year for Valentine’s Day or any special occasion, really. That was why you were sitting in the middle of your shared apartment, surrounded by bouquets of beautiful roses.

You had stopped counting them after the flower delivery service brought in the tenth bouquet, it was a bit excessive but it brought a smile to your face anyway. “He really knows how to make me feel special.” You said to yourself as you picked up your phone to call him at work.

He picked up on the first ring, Billy Russo was not a patient man. “Hey there, sweet girl.”

A smile tugged at your lips at hearing his pet name for you. “Billy, they’re SO beautiful!” You exclaimed as you bit down on your bottom lip.

“I’m glad you like them, my love.” He said.

“Like them? Billy, I love them! Thank you.” You excitedly said into the phone.

Billy chuckled a little. “Well I’m just getting started, baby. You don’t think the flowers are your only present, do you?”

You looked around the apartment at all of the bouquets of roses, all of these must have cost him a small fortune. “Oh…Billy, no that’s too much. The flowers are plenty.”

“I’ll be home around 6 to pick you up for dinner, ok?” He said, completely ignoring the fact that you said you didn’t need another gift.

Billy didn’t say where he was taking you, only telling you that it was “nice.”

“Ok, handsome. I’ll see you at 6—I love you.” You said with a smile.

You could tell he was smiling on the other end. “I love you too, beautiful.” And he hung up.

Making sure you were home in plenty of time to get ready for your evening out, you had left work early and arrived home just in time for your flower delivery. Billy knew exactly what time you would be coming home, he planned this like he planned everything else.

You knew he would probably come home bearing more gifts, even though you told him it wasn’t necessary. Billy didn’t really show his softer side to many people, to everyone else he was a marine, a scout sniper, a CEO…a leader. But to you, he was sweet and charming, a doting and loving boyfriend who would do absolutely anything for you.

Always in charge, he made sure he never showed weakness, appeared defenseless or powerless. It was a strange feeling for him, that feeling of love when it’s something that he’s never experienced. “Am I doing this right?” He would ask himself. “Can she tell that I’ve never done this before?” And “I’m just protecting her.”

The urge to keep you close to him at all times was intense, it was borderline too much but he loved you and even though he couldn’t always say how he was feeling, he tried to show it. You were his weakness.

Billy could stay calm in almost any situation, he never cracked under pressure except when it came to you, he felt like it was his duty to protect and defend you anytime the universe told him he had to. Tonight would end up being one of those times.

First came the flowers, then the balloons that spelled out “I Love You” were delivered, followed by the chocolate covered strawberries. They came with a note from Billy “Enjoy them, beautiful. But don’t spoil your dinner. Love, Billy.” You could only shake your head and smile reading the note, it all felt like a fairy tale.

***************

He always made you feel so loved, although at times you had to remind him he didn’t have to try so hard. It didn’t always have to be about gifts and fancy restaurants, sometimes coffee and a doughnut says “I love you” just as much as a designer bag or a new necklace does.

The gifts were especially extravagant after a fight or one of his fits of jealousy. Billy didn’t really know how to just say “I’m sorry,” or how to admit he was jealous, possessive at times, or overprotective.

He would just shut down and leave, only to return later with a little blue box or flowers. When you would tell him you didn’t want them, he would get angry. He didn’t know what to do so it just made him frustrated with himself.

“I don’t know what you want from me, y/n!!” He had shouted.

All you had wanted was an apology, to have his arms draped around you and to say “I’m sorry, my love. I’m sorry.”

“I want you to tell me that you’re sorry, Billy! Gifts can’t tell me that you’re sorry, YOU need to tell me that! You can’t just fly off the handle every time a guy looks at me in a way you don’t like!” You told him.

His dark chocolate like eyes quickly changed from angry to sad, he didn’t know what to say, it was just so hard for him because he’s always kept everything buried deep down inside, hidden away from everyone, hidden from the world. No one had ever taught him how to love.

“It’s hard for me y/n. Do you understand how hard this is for me?! I don’t know how to do this!” With his head buried in his hands, he paused, the look of guilt had washed over him and it made your heart hurt to watch the agony he must be in because he couldn’t say exactly what he wanted to.

The silence was excruciating but he finally pulled you in close, his body felt warm, and your shoulders relaxed as he brushed his hands up and down your back, whispering over and over again “I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.”

These were the times Billy needed reassurance. He needed to be told you loved him and “I’m still here, Billy. I’m not going anywhere.” But you urged him to try to communicate with his words how he was feeling, no matter how difficult it was.

“I really need you to try, Billy. Please? Can you do that for me?” You pleaded.

He brushed his knuckles over your cheek and leaned forward to kiss you. The energy behind the kiss was passionate and full of love, he loved you with everything he had, and he truly was sorry. He would try harder.

That was then, but it was getting easier for him now, especially with your help. He felt like he could do anything as long as he had you by his side, helping him to learn about what it all means, about what had eluded him for all these years…love.

***************

Always on time, Billy arrived home promptly at 6, threw his keys on the table and called out for you.

“Baby? Where are ya? Are ya ready for din—ho-ly shit.” Billy started to say as you walked out from the bedroom in your black cocktail dress. The deep V and puffed sleeves were sexy without being too much.

It was difficult to surprise him but you had managed to sneak the dress home without him seeing it before tonight.

A slight smile stretched across your face as Billy continued to stare at you, his jaw practically on the floor as you said “Welcome home, my love. What’s wrong? Is there something on my dress?” You gave him a slow turn all the way around so he could take in ALL of you, biting down on your lower lip as you teased him. You knew exactly what you were doing.

As you finished turning around, Billy was right there, his hands swiftly cupped your face and he brushed a stray hair away from your eyes. “You look—so beautiful. Maybe I should just have you for dinner.” He started to kiss up and down your neck. It turned you on.

As much as you wanted that, you said “Come on, Mr. Russo. You promised me a nice dinner, so let’s go. You can enjoy your dessert later.” You smacked him on his ass, gave him a wink, and grabbed your clutch and your coat.

Billy couldn’t keep his hands off of you, from the elevator ride down to the lobby, in the car on your way to the restaurant, and even at the bar while you waited for your table.

And now that the date was finally here, he mentioned that it took him a couple of months to get a reservation there. It was a beautiful Italian restaurant called Scarpetta on Madison Avenue.

“You didn’t have to do this, Billy. I would have been happy if you brought home Chinese food.” You said.

He kissed you on the forehead. “It’s a special night, baby. I wanted to take you some place really nice.”

A flash of heat burned through you as he smiled a slightly wicked smile at you. You weren’t sure you deserved to be spoiled like this but you let him because Billy always did what he wanted to anyway.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight, princess?” He asked.

You continued to blush as the hostess led you to your corner table. “Not in the last ten minutes, baby.”

You continued walking towards your table, and even in the low warm glow of the restaurant lights, you recognized him as you sat down. The smile faded from your face and without warning, you felt a tightness in your shoulders.

Your ex—Eric was seated at a table not too far from yours. He looked the same, the woman he was with was wearing a ring, and he was too. He was married. Better her than you, that’s for sure.

Billy could tell something was bothering you. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Hmmm? Oh nothing. Everything’s fine, Billy.” You lied, glancing down at the menu in front of you.

He knew you were lying, he tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at you. “Y/n, come on, what is it? What’s wrong?”

You came clean. “Ok, you see that guy across from us? Sitting with the blonde.” You turned away as Billy turned and glanced towards Eric’s table.

He rotated back towards you. “The guy with the big ears? Yeah, what about him?”

You let out a slight cackle and gently elbowed him in the ribs. “Y-yes, the guy with the big ears. Stop making me laugh like that, this is a nice place. Anyway, that’s my ex.”

You shuddered slightly, as Billy took your hand in his. “His back is towards us, my love. It’s ok, I’m here.” He had a worried look in his eyes when he noticed how nervous you were. “My god, what did he do to you?” Billy gnashed his teeth and his eyes glazed over darker than they were before glaring in the direction of Eric’s table.

You took your hand back, placed them both on Billy’s face, and brushed his beard with your thumbs. You knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with an answer of “I don’t wanna talk about it.” So you gave him an answer that was the truth but generic.

“Billy…” You paused, closed your eyes briefly and let out a long exhale. “Let’s just say he didn’t treat me very well and was—“ You were scared to say the next part out loud in fear of what Billy might do. “He was very—verbally abusive, degrading, and made me feel terrible about myself. And he…he scared me sometimes.”

Billy tightly gripped the cloth napkin in his hand, the whites on his knuckles noticeable as you looked down at his shaking hands. White, hot anger displayed all over his face, as you tried to calm him down.

“Hey, hey Billy look at me please. I don’t want to do this here, ok? I want to have a nice romantic dinner with you and then go home so you can rip this dress off and kiss every inch of my body, ok?” You had a feeling that might calm him down.

Billy let go of the napkin, his expression softened and he chuckled a little. He pulled you closer so your thigh was touching his, Billy always felt better when his body was touching yours in some way.

Without another word about it, Billy leaned closer to kiss you, forced the server to wait while he did then ordered you both a glass of red wine and the creamy polenta to start with.

Dinner conversation was a combination of funny and extra funny. Billy told you some old stories of his days in the marines, stuff that he and Frank would get up to on down time. They sounded like quite the duo and it was so nice to see Billy laugh reminiscing about the fun times he had in the marines and not worrying about your ex who was only a couple tables away.

You both traded work stories, laughed with each other like you were the only two people in that restaurant, he just couldn’t take his eyes off of you, and the two of you were having a really nice time. At one point during one of Billy’s stories, you let out a laugh that caught the attention of your ex.

His ears perked up like he recognized your laugh, Eric’s head swiveled in the direction of where your laugh came from and out of the corner of your eye, you noticed he was getting up and walking towards your table.

Oh shit.

Billy could see that your expression had hardened, your whole body had tensed, and you had his hand under the table in a death grip. The very sight of Eric so close to you made you feel like retching and wanting to punch him right in the face. Billy was trying to calm you down as he whispered in your ear “I’m right here, baby.” And he tenderly kissed your temple.

Eric stopped in front of your table, you and Billy were staring up at him with slight disdain written all over your faces. “Wow, y/n! It’s been awhile. I recognize that laugh anywhere.”

Sitting up straight and trying to smile, you responded. “Uh, yes it has Eric. Yes it has.” You turned towards Billy to introduce him. “Eric, this is my boyfriend Billy Russo.” Billy stood up to shake Eric’s hand, narrowed his eyes at him and squeezed his hand to the point where it probably was quite painful.

“Nice to meet you, Billy. That’s a nice suit.” He paused so he could look Billy up and down, like he was sizing him up and turned his gaze back to you. "Oh I’m married now, yeah.” He pointed to the ring on his finger. “That’s my wife, Laura over there.” Eric pointed towards his table.

You put on a fake smile. “That’s great, Eric. I’m happy for you. I’d really like to get back to my dinner now though, if you don’t mind.”

With a shocked look on his face, Eric said “Oh! Right, absolutely. My apologies, I’ll let you get back to your dinner, it was nice meeting you, Bill. And it was really nice to see you again, y/n.”

All you could manage to say was “Thank you.” And he walked back to his table.

Your entire body had seized seeing Eric again but having Billy next to you, holding your hand, made it easier for you and he helped to calm and soothe you so you could get back to enjoying your night out.

Carrying on with your dinner, you didn’t notice that Eric had gotten up to presumably use the restroom but Billy did, so he kissed you on the forehead and excused himself.

Billy wasn’t sure what he was going to do, maybe he wouldn’t even do anything but it didn’t mean he wasn’t prepared. Billy was a very good judge of character, he had a theory and wanted to test it out.

“But Billy, your food. I don’t want it to get cold.” You said.

He smiled slyly at you. “I’ll be right back, baby.” He said, and then he was gone.

You shrugged your shoulders slightly, took a sip of your wine, and continued to eat your dinner before looking straight ahead, noticing that Eric was not at his table. “Oh fuck…Billy. What are you doing?” You whispered to yourself out loud, almost choking on your wine.

Inside the restroom, Billy exited the stall and started to wash his hands, when Eric slid in beside him and started washing his hands also. He looked over at Billy. “Heyyyy, Billy Russo, right?”

“You’ve got a good memory.” Billy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes slightly.

Eric reached over with his wet hands and put one on Billy’s shoulder, drenching his white dress shirt. “Ya, know…you sure do have quite a grip there, Bill. You squeezed my hand pretty hard.” He said as he put pressure on Billy’s shoulder. “I’m glad I ran into you again. I wanted to tell you that Y/n is lookin’ reeeeeally good.”

There it is. Billy had a feeling if the opportunity presented itself, Eric would try and provoke him.

Billy was starting to get angry, it infuriated him at the very mention of your name coming from that asshole’s mouth but he tried to keep his cool. “Eric…Take your hand off me. NOW.”

Eric didn’t listen, he did have more to say, however. “I’m sure she told you alllllll about me, didn’t she?” He had a smug look on his face as he continued. “I’m sure she told you all about how mean I was to her, and yeah sure I called her names sometimes but for the most part I treated her pretty well. She just sat back and took it, I kept her in her place.”

Billy made a fist as he glared at Eric in the reflection of the mirror, he could feel his blood start to boil as Eric continued to talk about you.

“I will say, she was always a little firecracker in bed. One of the best lays I’ve ever had. That’s probably why you keep her around, am I right?” He smirked.

“No. I’m with her because I LOVE her.” Billy said curtly. His patience wearing thin.

Still, Billy kept calm even though he was shaking with rage as he tried to walk away. Eric followed him out of the men’s room, grabbed Billy’s shoulder and spun him around so they were nose to nose. “She is lookin’ really good though. What do ya say, Bill? How ‘bout you let me hit that one more time—“

Billy cracked, this guy said the one thing that made him forget all about trying to keep calm and not fly off the handle. It all went out the window when Eric made that comment.

Acting like he was going to walk away, Billy then drew back and punched Eric so hard in the face that one of his teeth came flying out of his mouth. Another punch to the stomach and to the face, Billy couldn’t stop, pretty soon Eric’s entire face was bloody.

As you continued to eat, you heard commotion coming from around the corner. People were leaving their tables to see what was going on, then came the screams and the sounds of broken dishes. You didn’t need to see what was going on, you knew Billy was involved somehow. There was no need to get up and look, you would find out soon enough.

After the screams and shrieks died down, the hostess came to your table.

“Uh, miss? I am very sorry to tell you but, Mr. Russo has been arrested.” She said while you happened to notice another hostess telling Eric’s wife, what you imagine was, the same thing.

You were shocked but not really and a little embarrassed. “What?!!” But you collected yourself and stayed calm. “Well ok, do you mind if I finish my dinner first before I leave to go get him?” You asked, feeling all of the stares from strangers pointing in your direction.

You could tell the hostess felt a little bad for you. “Absolutely, miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?” She asked.

“Would you box up his food for me and I’ll take a piece of the Valrhona chocolate cake to go, please?” You said.

Your server wrapped up Billy’s food and you enjoyed the rest of your Valentine’s Day dinner alone before going to bail him out of jail.

When you arrived at the police station, they took you to Billy’s holding cell where he didn’t notice you at first. He was leaning up against the bars with his eyes closed, small spatters of blood were sprinkled on his shirt and it looked like he had a small cut on his lip, Eric must have hit him at least once.

“Hey there, Rocky.” You gave him a half smile.

Opening his eyes, Billy looked happy to see you but his face had “sorry” written all over it. “Baby, I am SO sorry. I just—he pushed and pushed—and what he said. I wasn’t gonna let him talk about you like that—“ He said.

You interrupted him. “What did he say, Billy?”

“I don’t wanna tell you.” He said shaking his head.

“I wanna know what he said that made you that upset. I saw his face, Billy. You beat him pretty badly.” You told him.

Billy hung his head in shame. “He said that you always were a little firecracker in bed, one of the best lays he’s ever had. Then asked me if—if I’d let him ‘hit that’ one more time and I don’t remember much after that.”

You felt violated in a way, closed your body off from Billy by wrapping your arms around yourself and looking away from him, disgusted with Eric talking about intimate details of your relationship.

“I tried not letting him get to me, I tried walking away but when he said that—“ Billy violently shook his head back and forth. “I just couldn’t let him get away with it. I snapped—I’m sorry, my love.”

What Billy didn’t know was there was someone else in the restroom at the time Eric was provoking him. He told the owner of the restaurant and the police that he was surprised Billy didn’t punch him sooner than he did.

The restaurant wasn’t pressing charges and after the witness told the police what Eric had said and how he kept provoking Billy, he declined to press charges also so Billy was free to go.

“Well…I did not picture spending my Valentine’s Day in jail.” You said.

He extended his arms and reached out for you to pull you close to the bars. “Well, my love if you wanna get technical, I’M the one that’s in jail.”

You let out a little laugh. “This is true.”

Billy suddenly had a confused look on his face. “Hang on…did you stay and finish your dinner before coming here?” He asked, holding up a one finger to playfully scold you a little.

You knew he was joking with you so you scolded him back in a lighthearted tone. “I had to pay for it anyway Billy so yes, I enjoyed my food while it was hot! Don’t worry, I had them wrap yours.” You shook the bag in front of his nose. “I got a piece of chocolate cake for you too, even though I’m not sure you deserve it.” You said with a wink.

Billy’s eyes widened. “I said I was sorry, baby! Wait. Did—did you say chocolate cake?”

The man’s sweet tooth was insatiable.

“Oh you are gonna have to earn this chocolate cake, Billy Russo!” You snapped. “And you owe me for having to pay for my own Valentine’s Day dinner!”

But your expression softened, and you remembered that Billy apologized without being prompted to do so. It was the first thing he said when he saw you, he was getting better at communicating, so he was trying harder even though he still lost his temper.

What happened wasn’t about him this time though. It wasn’t about him being jealous, it was about defending you, wanting to protect you so that Eric couldn’t hurt you or say anything about you that would upset you.

You pulled back away from the bars and removed your phone from your clutch.

“Anything you want, sweet girl.” He said. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Well first, I’m taking your picture to send to Frank. He’s gonna get a kick outta this.” You started to laugh, Billy wasn’t really amused but he cracked a smile anyway. You always seemed to be able to pull a smile from him even when he didn’t want to.

Slowly, you walked towards him. Reaching through the bars, you snaked your arms around his waist and tried to kiss him as best as you could without the bars getting in the way.

“Thank you, Billy.” You said.

With a surprised look on his face, he replied “For what? For getting thrown in jail and ruining our Valentine’s Day?” He asked, his voice still apologetic for what he had done.

“Well besides that…even though it may not look like it, you did show a lot of restraint tonight. Eric pushed you too far and I bet he’ll think twice before running his mouth about anyone else like that ever again. And you didn’t ruin my Valentine’s Day, Billy—the day isn’t over yet, my love. Let’s go home.” You said as the two of you exchanged smiles through the bars of the jail cell.

When you arrived at home, you told Billy he owed you a dance. You knew it wasn’t something he was very fond of doing but he did say you could have whatever you wanted plus he still had to earn that chocolate cake. The song starts.

I look and stare so deep in your eyes. I touch on you more and more every time. When you leave I'm beggin' you not to go. Call your name two, three times in a row

Billy smiled warmly at you and extended his hand for you to take it and pulled you flush against his chest as you moved together slowly to the music. He held your hand in his over his heart as he kissed the top of your head, just like he had done the night you met.

Such a funny thing for me to try to explain. How I'm feeling and my pride is the one to blame, yeah. 'Cause I know I don't understand. Just how your love can do what no one else can

He danced with you anytime you asked him to, albeit reluctantly, he did it because he loved you. He knew how much you loved that song and he would never do it for anyone else.

“I still have one more present for you, my love.” He whispered to you as the music continued.

Your kiss's got me hoping you save me right now. Lookin' so crazy, your love's got me lookin'. Got me lookin' so crazy in love

You hummed into his chest, your eyes closed, and a wide smile spread across your face. “Hmmmmm…Oh yeah? Well I’m enjoying just listening to your heart beat right now, handsome.” You pulled away gently to look into his deep brown eyes as you said “How about you give it to me tomorrow.”

He looked down at you and kissed you on the forehead. “Whatever you want, beautiful. I love you.”

“I love you too, Billy.” You said as you finished the dance in the warm glow of the candlelight and the city lights outside, shining brightly through your living room window.

Billy would never let anyone say anything malicious about you, the woman he treasured, the woman that taught him the real meaning of love. Billy Russo never failed to show you how deep his love was for you, so if slow dancing with you in the living room was what you wanted from him, then he would happily do that until you told him to stop or until his very last breath, whichever came first.

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If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕

TFC Ladies: @itwasthereaminuteago @thisishellfire @officialjanetsnakehole

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕