#we made fun of the Uber eats league because we were better!!!!

[clinicsharmartia]

Nobody speak to me, I am in mourning

[cuttergauthier]

New Leaf | Two

Au Summary: In which a hockey sister falls for her enemy who also happens to be her brother's new teammate.  Yn Matthews and Matthew Knies never got along, what happens when Matthew becomes a Maple Leaf.

Matthew Knies x Matthews au

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN

Social Media | Real Life

National Hockey League | Toronto Maple Leaf

Word Count: 1.8k 

Au's Masterlist

Warning: This Story will contain Mature Language, Alcohol consumption, Against, fluff, Time jumps

I woke up at 7 a.m. so I could take a shower and have time to get ready.

Tomorrow, Matthew is going to be making his NHL debut. I talked to his brother last night, he said he was going to be in town at around 8 a.m.  He said he would take an uber to my apartment before going to see his brother. The boys have an early morning practice today with the rest of the day off.

I know sooner rather than later I have to tell my brother about the fact that I know Matthew’s family. I’m so excited yet nervous to see the Knies family in Toronto I can’t even let myself worry about my brother right now.

I went and took a shower, once I was done, I curled my hair and did some natural makeup. I decided to wear some black washed high waisted skinny jeans with a beige long sleeve scoop neck bodysuit. Once I was done getting ready it’s 8:15 a.m.  i texted Phil to see if he was on his way.

Yn: have you guys landed yet?

Phil: Yes, i’m on my way to your place right now!

Yn: Perfect, i’m making myself some breakfast, do you want some?

Phil: Yes please, i’m starving!

Yn: You got it, see you soon!

I put my phone on the kitchen counter before making my way to the fridge. I opened the door and grabbed some eggs and an avocado. I made my way to the oven and started cooking the eggs. I put two pieces of toast in the toaster, one for me and one for Phil. Once they were ready I mashed the avocado and put it on the two pieces of the toast before putting the egg on top. As I was about to sit down to eat there was a knock on the door. I walked over and opened the door. Phil was standing there smiling.

“Hey Yn, I missed you” he said before wrapping me in a hug.

“I missed you too Phil, come in, I made avocado toast.” I said smiling.

“Yum.” he said as I closed the door and we made our way to the kitchen.

I put his plate on the table and he sat down.

“Do you want anything to drink?” i asked.

“Water please.” he said, i chuckled.

I went to the fridge and grabbed him a bottle of water.

“Thank you” he said when i give it to him.

“You’re welcome.”

We ate in silence, once we were done i put our empty plates in the sink and we both made our way to the living room and sat down on the couch.

“So I need to ask you something,” he said nervously.

I looked at him, raising my eyebrows.

“Oh no, is it bad?” i ask

“Depends how you look at it”

“What is it?”

“My parents are taking Matty out for dinner later on, they want you to join us, they miss you”

“Oh god” I groaned.

“Will you join us?”

“Yeah, but only because I miss your parents, if Matthew gets on my nerves I'm leaving.” I said seriously.

“Perfect and don’t worry he’ll be fine, especially since it’s with my parents” he said and i nodded.

“Does he know you’re here right now?” i ask.

“No, i didn’t tell him but i know he had practice this morning”

“True… what time are we going to dinner with your parents?”

“5:30, Then my parent’s want to explore Toronto with him and who better to show us around then you” he said smirking.

I rolled my eyes.

“Fine, I guess it can be that bad right?” i said

“Nope you’re going to have fun” he said, making me chuckle.

Phil left earlier to go to John Tavares’ house, that’s apparently where Matthew is staying, I told him I would meet them at the restaurant.

I am currently studying a little bit before I have to leave. My phone rang next to me, i looked to see that my brother texted me.

Auston: Are you busy later?

I stared at the text nervously, what do I tell him? I can’t exactly lie to him. But if he didn’t know about me knowing Matthew he’s going to now.

Yn: Going out to dinner! Why?

Auston: with who? And I wanted to see if you wanted to come over.

Yn: with a friend and his family, they want to explore Toronto after dinner, i thought i would since i’ve been living here for 2 years.

Auston: HIS?!?! Who is he? Is he not from Toronto? How do you know him? Please tell me it’s not a hockey player?

Yn: His name is Phil, HE is just a friend, no he’s not from here, yes he plays hockey but not in the NHL, you do know his brother thought.

Auston: How do you know this guy? And where does he play? Who’s his brother?

Yn: Stop being so overprotective, he’s from Arizona, he currently plays for a team in Slovakia.

Auston: Oh, so you went to high school with him? And you didn’t answer my question!

Yn: not exactly 5 years older than me, but he’s a good guy. We have a lot of the same friends back home, his brother is the same age as me. He and I have the same group of friends!

Auston: You still didn’t answer my question, who’s his brother?

Yn: He’s your new teammate, Knies.

Auston: YOU’RE FRIENDS WITH KNIES?!?!

Yn: Not exactly… he has all the same friends, but he and I aren’t exactly close, but yeah i guess.

Auston: Why the hell did you never tell me this before?

Yn: It’s not like it was a secret, I honestly thought you knew… he’s in some of my pictures on insta with our friends, i just never tagged him.

Auston: You are lucky that i love you… you still should have told me when he got drafted.

Yn: I know… i’m sorry.

Auston: he better not hurt you, or i’ll hurt him!

Yn: his brother and parents love me, they would put him in his place if he ever hurt me, you don’t have to worry!

After I answered him I saw it was now 4:30 p.m. so I put my stuff away and grabbed my purse and leather jacket since it’s still a little chilly outside and made my way to my car.

I didn’t want to be stuck in traffic so I made my way to the restaurant earlier.

I got stuck in a little bit of traffic so by the time I arrived at the restaurant it was 5:20 p.m. I’m 10 minutes early so I texted Phil to see if they are already here.

Yn: Are you guys here yet? I just parked.

Phil: Yes we just got here, just tell the waitress, my mom made a reservation it’s under knies.

Yn: Perfect on my way!

I got out of the car and made my way inside. The waitress looked at me and smiled.

“Hey, welcome to (Restaurant) do you have a reservation?” she asked nicely.

“Yes, it’s under Knies,” I said.

“Perfect, right this way” she said.

She led me to the table. When Michaela, Phil and Matthew’s mom saw me, she smile happily and got up to give me a hug.

“It’s so good to see you sweetheart, I missed you so much” she whispered in my ear.

“It’s so good to see you too, I missed you guys”

When she let me go, their dad wrapped me in a hug.

“I’m happy that you could join us” he said.

“Same here”

He let me go and we all sat down.

We ordered our food and talked.

“How’s university?” Michaela asked.

“It’s good, I only have one exam left and i’ll be done with my second year.” I said smiling.

“When is it?”

“Tomorrow morning” I said, her eyes wide.

“I hope we aren’t keeping you from studying,'' she said worriedly.

I chuckled. Matthew was staring at me.

“No, I've been studying non-stop. I need a break, so being here is perfect,"I said smiling.

“Good, you shouldn’t be overworking yourself”

“Matthew, are you excited for tomorrow?” I asked him, and he looked surprised that I actually talked to him.

“Yeah, but also nervous” He said

“You’ll be fine bro” Phil said, patting his back.

“The guys will have your back, you’ll be fine” I said, smiling softly. He gave me a smile and nodded.

Once we ate, we made our way into downtown Toronto, I showed them around. Once it was getting late, they made their way to their hotel. Matthew stopped me before I was able to leave.

I turned around and looked at him confused, he doesn’t like me so why would he want to be alone with me?

“Can we talk alone for a few minutes?” he asked.

I nodded slowly. We started walking on the sidewalk, he didn’t say anything.

“Are you going to say whatever you wanted to say?” I asked.

He sighed before his hand made its way to his hair.

“Just so you know, if you don’t feel the same way we can go back to hating each other” he said making me really confused, what the hell was he going to say?

I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

He took a deep breath before blurting out his feelings.

“I like you, like a lot… I just can’t keep hiding how I feel. I wanted to tell you last summer before I left for Minnesota but I never got the chance. I know this is probably the worst time to tell you since I’m about to be your brother’s teammate, but I really needed you to know.” He said.

I stared at him with wide eyes. My mouth kept opening and closing, I didn’t know what to say. I like him too but I just thought he hated me. Matt looked really nervous looking at me, he started shaking his head.

“Look, just forget I ever said anything, we can go back to hating each other… I’m going to go” he said and he turned around to walk away, I snapped out of it. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to me before smashing our lips together. Matt just stood there in shock before realizing what was happening before he started kissing me back.

Our lips moved in sync, Matt moved his hands on my waist and pulled me closer to him.

We pulled away breathing heavily, our foreheads touching, Matt smiled down at me.

“Does this mean you feel the same way?” he asked, smirking, I chuckled.

“Yes it does.” I replied smiling.

“Does this mean that I can take you out on a date after the game tomorrow night?” he asked

“I’d love that, but maybe we shouldn’t tell my brother right away since he doesn’t even know we know each other” I said and he nodded.

“Good idea,” he said.

We made plans for our date tomorrow before I made my way home.

That night I went to bed with the biggest smile on my face.

[datingintampafails]

Chapter 30: Richard*

Let me start by saying, nothing is wrong with Richard*. I match with Richard* right as the nightmare that is “the microwave” has come to a close. Now that I am mere days away from being fully vaccinated, I break the rules a little bit to give myself a headstart before I am able to actually go on the dates. I figure, what is the harm in working on getting back out there? I send a “Like” to him on Hinge, inquiring about a prompt that mentions he had broken both of his arms. The next morning, I get a reply with the story. After discussing that series of events briefly, he goes on to ask more about me and the video games I play. I step on my soapbox for a time. He tells me that he plays a video game called League of Legends, which has a reputation for having some of the most toxic players online. I ask him half-jokingly if that is his way of telling me he is toxic. He swears by his alibi of not having his microphone on when he plays with strangers, so as to not be tempted. We reminisce about Runescape, and he tells me more about some of the games he plays.

We get into the topic of pets, where he says my dog seems nice. I ask him if he has any pets where I am surprised to learn he has two snakes. We talk briefly about what it’s like having snakes, and we segue onto a conversation about television shows due to my dog having a character’s name in a show he watches, which then segued into a conversation about having coronavirus, and travel, and my changes in taste since aforementioned COVID-19.

I narrate to him a conversation I’m having with my best friend about the show of the moment, “Bridgerton,” on Netflix. Pretty randomly, he officially asks me out for drinks. I tell him I have a caveat, that it needs to be next week, as at this time I am still technically not supposed to be dating yet since I am awaiting my second COVID-19 vaccination. I make a joke that I bet he thought I was going to say I had a penis. He jokes back that he was hoping I would. I continue a joke saying I am pretty sure I don’t have one, but if I do have one it’s extremely small. We learn that we have opposing schedules, “we suck” is how I put it. I offer that in the meantime, we can text/call/video chat in order to continue getting to know each other. He sends me his number though offers that we can talk with a “different method.” Being the jester I am, I turn this into a joke of seeing how many alternate methods I can think of. A good sport, he plays along and adds a few of his own, ending in “Mongolian throat singing.” Despite the ingenious ideas we come up with, I opt to stick to contact him via text message.

Upon texting him and seeing my area code, he recognizes it as his cousins lived in that area. He grew up a couple of hours away in rural Maryland. It is late, so our transition to text is brief for now. In the morning I challenge him regarding who woke up the earliest; I win this challenge due to having a call in at work at four in the morning. We then bond over the legendary Mountain Dew Game Fuel, Citrus Cherry, that would come out at game releases; once my favorite drink, being reminded of its existence brought me anger and sadness, which I expressed I was feeling to him. We are getting along so famously, that I decided maybe I can make an exception to seeing him before my vaccine. He says he is fine either way. We start to plan our date and settle on a brewery I like near me.

Much of our texts are light-hearted jabs at each other, nothing super deep. He compliments my quirks often. He often makes jokes about having a smooth brain and sends me many diagrams. He tells me about his major in college. I then realize I don’t know what he does for a living. I ask him what his job is, that’s when he tells me he is in the Army. The stereotype for men in the military is that they usually get engaged quickly, without knowing a person for very long. Being the jokester I am, I take this opportunity to jab at him. My response to his career is, “oh sorry I don’t want to get married next month.” He says that that is why he doesn't have his job in his profile, because of the stereotypes. I joke that I have been misled to believe he had been a chill down to earth guy.

When it is the day of the date, I jokingly keep saying I am going to wear an evening gown; I mention it a couple times. When I arrive, in my skirt and crop top, I see he’s actually dressed pretty nicely and is sitting outside, wearing long khaki pants and a dress shirt. It is a decently warm day, so I hope he's okay. I compliment him, saying he looks nice and he didn't need to dress up for me. He admits that because I kept talking about the evening gown, that he thought I might have been serious, so he wanted to match my formality. I do notice over the course of the date though that he is sweating through his shirt, especially at the underarms; not the most attractive, but a person cannot help these things.

The conversation goes well, we have a nice time and I regale him with the drama in my video game community and just talk about random things. I have a couple drinks and although we weren't planning on eating dinner there, he ends up eating a burger and I opt to just "steal some fries" since I had a late lunch. He is craving dessert so we walk a block to a local ice cream place and get some ice cream as well. When we return back to where the cars were, I realize that he had Ubered there, because another joke of mine was taken seriously regarding getting super drunk. I feel bad and offer to drive him home. We get in my car and I have him put in his address into Google Maps. I drive him there and when approaching his apartment, I see a lot of construction. He instructs me where I can drop him off and suggests that I turn around in a certain lot. He gives me a hug goodbye and I drive off.

I get completely confused and lost in the construction, between closed streets and cones blocking lanes, so I get stuck in the vicinity of his apartment for five minutes before being able to find my way back to the main road. I let him know of my troubles driving, and also when I got home. He thanks me for going out and says he had a great time. Whereas I also had a good time, I found it strange he made no moves whatsoever during the night and I didn't really feel a romantic urge with him.

I get my second COVID-19 Vaccine and take a day off to recover. We still talk at least daily while he is away on his trip; while he is gone I focus a little more on the other guy I am chatting with, John*. I've told my mom of my predicament between the two men, and between her and I, I decided I'll go out with Richard* again, give him another chance. If things still aren't progressing or feelings startup, I will end it and entirely focus on John*.

Richard* asks me when he can see me again and offers to cook for me. I give him my Friday night, which is a day after I am seeing John* again as well. On Thursday, he texts me to verify, saying "I'd like to see you tomorrow, did you still want to do dinner?" I told him I meant to confirm that day. We don't talk besides that, which is good for me because I don't have to worry about getting texts from him when I'm with someone else. The day of my second date with Richard*, I text him to ask for his address again and ask for suggestions on parking, since the construction was such a fiasco for me, I'm still traumatized lightly. He tells me and after a few hours, I get some complicated news regarding my gaming community, so I ask Richard* if I can reschedule to tomorrow, Saturday. He says it is fine and so we just chat for the rest of the day.

On the day our date will actually happen, he again seems to verify the date, asking me if I'm planning on coming over "today." I snarkily replied, "yeah I don't bail, you said 730." He asks me what I want to drink, as he must be grocery shopping. I panic and say seltzers. I take a quick nap and then let him know I am headed to his apartment. When I arrive, I try to follow his parking suggestions but get confused and don't see anything. After driving around for over five minutes, I start to panic as I don't see anything. I find a random gravel lot that is in earshot of where I had dropped him off on the first date, and I call to admit defeat. I send him a photo as well to show where I am. He comes out to find me and almost walks past my car. I flash my high beams at him to indicate it's me and he hops in the car. We drive around a few minutes and luck upon a spot that is close to one of the side entrances to his apartment complex.

I follow him to his apartment, he is again dressed nicely, and I am wearing more comfortable clothes. He is wearing a nice shirt, but with jeans. We get to his apartment and it is slightly better than a typical bachelor pad, but definitely not overly showy. He is still finishing up dinner, chicken pad thai, and he gets me out a white claw to drink. We chat briefly but he starts acting weird, just off. I just sit in his gaming chair and spin around, look at his one snake, and stay quiet. In a way, I am fine with the silence, as it solidifies my unease about this going anywhere. He eventually speaks up, saying he just got a killer headache and isn't feeling well. Due to his travels, I joke about him having coronavirus.

When the food is ready, I let him serve me, I tell him to go light as I don't eat much. He had talked a lot of game regarding his pad thai being good, and unfortunately, it was pretty disappointing. He used chicken thighs, which I am not a huge fan of, and the noodles seemed almost soggy. Richard* was aware of this, however, and commented that this wasn't his best dish and had used a new kind of noodles. I don't like and say that it's just alright, at least palatable. We watch some Brooklyn 99 and eat on his couch, sitting on opposite sides of the couch. After dinner, I get an official introduction to the snakes and get to pet them, it is bizarre, but kind of cool. Definitely not as fun as playing with, say, a dog. Shortly after that, I say it's getting late and I should probably go home. He walks me back to my car, which is a need since his complex is a maze. Again, he makes no moves and gives me a hug goodbye. For me, it's easy to see that something isn't quite right here. We chat briefly, for the next few days, as I'm not ready to immediately break his heart.

When he texts me four days after our date, explicitly saying the following, I see it is a perfect opportunity to come clean:

He took things very well, and I didn't hear from him again. I commend myself for being a real human and telling people how I feel, rather than ghosting and not giving others closure. I wish more conversations could go this way. I feel bad for the guy. It isn’t his fault that I ended up “playing the game” and doing what you’re supposed to do when you’re dating, which is, not to get stuck on one person and date around. It just so happens, he ended up being the one I obviously didn’t like as much and had to sacrifice for his own good. It’s possible that only due to my extreme attraction to the other guy, that he never had a chance as it was shadowed by my feelings for someone else.

[justlookfrightened]

Houston Chronicles, Part 23

Read the beginning here. Read the last installment here.

Once the playoffs started, time compressed and telescoped in weird ways. Game days seemed to take forever until the puck dropped, then it was time to play, and each shift seemed like its own day, but the game was over in the blink of an eye.

Off days were for sleeping and eating and time with the trainers.

For eight days, Jack’s interactions with Bitty were limited to texts -- an encouraging note before every game, a congratulatory text after the wins, a commisterating text after their one loss to the Blues -- and a handful of phone calls. There were also the glimpses of Bitty Jack caught at the home games, behind the net Sully minded in the first and third periods.

Just knowing he was there settled something in Jack and made it easier to play.

Once, on the day off after the Game 3 loss, Jack texted Bitty when he knew he’d be off work and said, Tell me about something that happened at the bakery?

Bitty called and went on for nearly an hour, talking about what sounded like a not-very-serious series of conflicts between Quinn and Thelma, over everything from his punctuality and dress to whether the orange-lavender scones were better than the red velvet cupcakes.

“I know, sweet pea, it makes no sense,” Bitty said. “They’re completely different foods. How can you compare? I think Quinn just likes to push back on Thelma to see what she’ll do.”

“What does she do?”

“Mostly shakes her head -- and maybe a spatula -- at him,” Bitty said. “And she’s not above picking at him, either. It’s like she’s the grandma he needs. He knows she’s in his corner, but she has high standards and she expects him to meet them. And he’s learning how to disagree and have fun with it instead of it being the end of the world.”

“How’s Quinn been with you?”

“A little standoffish,” Bitty said. “Which I’m telling myself is not necessarily a bad thing. I did tell him that my personal life isn’t his business, and I think he’s embarrassed.”

“I’m sorry,” Jack said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No, sweet pea, it’s not your fault,” Bitty said. “And I honestly think it would be worse if I did the whole ‘I’m flattered but we can’t do this’ thing. Better make him just think I can be an asshole of a boss.”

“You think he’ll quit?” Jack asked.

“I hope not,” Bitty said. “I do like him, and he’s good at his job. And he does really like Thelma. I think I’m going to see if she wants to increase her hours and be an official manager. She can open some days, and then maybe I can join a beer league for hockey.”

“Yeah? You miss it?”

“More than I realized until I got on the ice with you.”

“Some of the guys want to play some shinny with you once the season’s over,” Jack said.

Because while he was able to get the ice with Bitty, he hadn’t been able to get any privacy. Bitty was a little rusty -- he couldn’t beat Jack in an all-out race any more, but it was close -- but he was still more agile on his skates than just about anyone in the league, and Foxy and Marcus were impressed

“Let’s hope that’s a long time,” Bitty said.

When he hung up, Jack said “Love you,” before Bitty could get the words in first.

Knowing Bitty was watching even at home helped, and the Aeros won Game 4 in St. Louis.

With a three-games-to- one lead, Jack texted Bitty.

Can I leave you a dressing room pass for after the game tomorrow?

The reply took a few minutes.

Are you sure?

Yes, Jack said. Win or lose. You don’t have to stay long, but I miss seeing you.

Ok, Bitty replied.

Now the game and the series were over and media was done. Jack showered quickly and returned to see Bitty standing by his stall, deep in conversation with Marcus.

“If you give me a recipe, I’ll see if I can make it,” Bitty was saying. “I might have to figure out where to source some of the ingredients, though.”

“Hi there,” Jack said.

“Hi yourself,” Bitty said. “Congrats on that sweet goal in the third. Marcus invited us to go out with some of the team. What do you say?”

Jack hesitated. He’d like to have Bitty to himself, but this was a team win.

“Sure,” he said. “One drink?”

“One drink,” Bitty said. “That’s all you ever have anyway.”

Marcus grinned.

“Jack never comes out with us,” he told Bitty. “You have a good influence on him.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Bitty said.

“I am,” Foxy said. “Guy almost never smiled until you showed up.”

“I was here all the time,” Bitty said.

Jack dressed quickly and headed out with Bitty after getting the address of where they were going, a small bar where they’d likely be left alone.

“You sure you don’t mind?” Jack asked.

“Thelma’s opening tomorrow,” Bitty said. “I’m tired, but I’m good for one drink. You can take me home then if you want, or I’ll get an Uber.”

“I’ll take you home,” Jack said. “It’ll be a good excuse to leave.”

The bar was different with Bitty there, or maybe Jack was different with Bitty there. He ordered a beer and nursed it for a half hour, and mostly listened to Bitty talk to his teammates. Fox had Deborah with him; a few other guys had significant others, too. Having Bitty at his side seemed to make the rest of the team treat him like one of the old married guys. Which was better than being an old pathetic loser.

Maybe it was more that he’d been thinking of himself that way.

Bitty finished telling Deborah something about a birthday party he had catered -- they wanted purple ponies? And glitter on the cupcakes? -- and set his empty glass on the bar.

“Want another?” Jack said.

“Lord, no,” Bitty said. “I’m about falling asleep standing here. Take me home, Mr. Zimmermann.”

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

A/N: There is one more installment, which I plan to post tomorrow. I’ll continue posting sections to AO3 every few days.

Read the last installment.

[seouledbysisi]

A Time Like No Other

Chapter 23

One Month Later

“Let’s give it up for the best of the best of the best. Look at her stance! She looks like she’s been bowling all of her life. Ma’am did you come out the womb bowling?” Minhyuk exclaimed as he shoved his phone in Misun’s face as if it were a microphone. He was acting as a sports commentator.

Everyone burst out laughing at his antics.

Things had calmed down since the altercations. Things were finally starting to feel normal again somewhat.

Shownu sat back and watched their interaction with a small smile. He wasn’t very talkative anymore, which he wasn’t to begin with but he seemed a lot more serious at times now.

Misun shoved Minhyuk’s hand out of her face with laughter. “Why are you like this?”

Minhyuk smirked. “What’s your secret? How did you become a pro?” He joked some more.

Misun rolled her eyes and rolled the ball down the lane.

She miraculously hit a strike. She rolled as she stared at all the pins that were knocked over. She couldn’t believe it. She actually wasn’t very good at bowling at all. “What the-“

Minhyuk grabbed her and hugged her. He raised his hand up for a high five. “Maybe you really are secretly a pro. Good Job MiMi!”

Misun smiled. “That was pure luck!” She shoved him and sat down beside Nori.

Nori smiled up at her. “Remind me to tell you something when we get home.”

Misun cocked an eyebrow. “Is it bad or good?”

“Just an observation.” She smiled.

Jooheon jerked Nori up. “Your turn babe!”

Misun got up and stood beside the seat that Shownu was in. “You okay dude?”

Shownu looked up at her. “Yeah. Good job on that strike.”

“Thank you. Why are you so quiet?” She asked him. She was a bit concerned with his new behavior.

Shownu shrugged. “I don’t know. Just thinking.”

“About?” She asked. They were clearly still on hiatus from being in a relationship and the only thing that had changed was that physically they spent more time together but emotionally he was distant. Something was off with him and he wasn’t willing to talk about it.

“Just stuff. We go back on tour in a few weeks. We’ll be in your home country.” He acknowledged.

She smiled big. “Oh really? That should be fun. Y’all love going to the states!”

“Yeah. We’ll be there for a month or so. We’ll have a new English speaking manager too while we’re there, so I’m a little nervous about meeting her.” Every thing he was saying was with no emotion.

Misun’s eyes widened. Did he just say ‘her’. “So y’all will have a female manager traveling with y’all in the US?”

Shownu looked up at her. “We have female managers here too. You look stunned....”

“No I was just making sure I heard you correctly. You’re not going to bowl?”

He shook his head. “I’m cool just watching y’all.”

She nodded and went back up to the lane for her turn.

After the games had finished they grabbed a bite to eat and went back to the guys dorm for a little while.

“I’m taking a nap. I’ll see y’all later, Nori and Misun!” Hyungwon announced and disappeared to his room.

Minhyuk popped some popcorn and handed a bowl to Shownu. “Hyung, don’t forget to share with MiMi.” He chuckled and winked.

Shownu simply nodded with a little grin. “What are we watching?”

“Something scary!” Nori suggested loudly.

Jooheon shook his head quickly. “You know I don’t do scary movies!”

“Me either when I have to go home alone!” Misun added.

“You’ll have me, Misun!” Nori assured.

Misun rolled her eyes. “You’re not spending the night here?”

Nori shook her head. “No, I’m going home with you.” She grabbed her hand and squeezed it with a smile.

“You can stay if you want. I know you want alone time with Joo. Don’t go home because of me.” Misun whispered to Nori.

Nori giggled. “I’m going home. Case closed! Plus we have to talk.”

“So a comedy?” Minhyuk suggested. “I’m always in the mood for laughing!”

“When do you ever stop laughing?!” Misun joked with him as she threw a pillow in his direction.

He caught it and glared at her. “I’ll get you back when you least expect it!” He said in his evil voice.

After the movie had finished, the ladies arranged for an Uber to pick them up and drop them off at their apartment.

Shownu and Jooheon walked the ladies to the vehicle.

“Cheer up! You’re way too serious nowadays.” Misun told Shownu as she pulled him into a hug.

Shownu nodded. “I’m working on it.” He smiled and hugged her tightly.

Misun exhaled into his chest. “I don’t like you being like this. I know we’ve gone through a lot in the past months but you gotta get out of this rut.”

“I will. Just give me time. I promise I’m working on it.” He kissed her hair and opened the car door.

She noticed in the doorway of their building Minhyuk was smiling and waving. He had been in the shower when they were getting ready to leave. She waved back. Shownu looked around to notice him as well. He sighed a bit.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about anything?” Misun urged once again.

Shownu shook his head. “I’m okay. I promise! I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow. ”

Jooheon grabbed Nori’s face and held it in his embrace. “I’m going to miss you. Are you sure you don’t want to stay? Our house manager is out for the rest of the night, we could get to know each other better.” He winked.

“We already know each other well!” She countered with a laugh.

Jooheon pouted. “How will I sleep?”

“Like you always sleep! You act as if we sleep beside each other often.” She continued laughing.

Jooheon pecked her lips. “You’re a good ass friend! Misun should be very grateful for you.”

“Don’t worry she is! We’re the perfect fit.” She hugged him and then finally got in the car. “I’ll call you before I go to sleep, okay?”

He nodded and shut the car door and walked back into his building.

The girls finally made it home and Misun immediately jumped into the shower. After she was finished she went to the kitchen to load their dishwasher. She could hear soft music sounding from Nori’s bathroom. She knocked.

“Come in.” Nori yelled through the door. She was covered with bubbles in the tub.

Misun sat on the toilet beside the tub. “What’d you have to talk to me about?”

“How are things with Shownu?” Nori asked her with a smile.

Misun smiled. “We’re okay!” She said a little too enthusiastically.

“You’re lying!”

“No I’m not. Why would you think that? I mean we’re spending more time together and-“

“You’re rambling! What’s going on with y’all?” Nori probed.

Misun shrugged. “Nothing. We’re just trying to get back to how we were before. . .”

“But?”

“But i don’t think it’s working.” Misun said under her breath.

Nori frowned. “I could tell. Why though?”

Misun shrugged. “You know I went to see Minhyuk after all that shit went down and after that things changed. He finally admitted all of his feelings and-“ Tears began to well in her eyes.

“What Misun? What happened? You never really told me what ya’lls conversation was like.”

“It just made me see him differently. He’s so sweet and he literally cried while pouring his heart out to me and somehow his words replay in my mind every night. I can barely sleep. I feel terrible because I love Shownu but I feel like we’re going no where. I feel like too much has happened for us to get back to how we were before.”

Nori nodded. “There’s a disconnect with Shownu and everyone. It’s like he’s lost his mojo.”

“Exactly! It’s like he’s trying so hard to do all the right things that he’s fucking up in different ways than before. We hang out but he’s emotionally unattached. He’s in his own little world.” Misun revealed.

“I mean it’s not hard to see that you and Minhyuk have a connection. Maybe he has noticed and that’s why he’s being that way?” Nori shrugged.

Misun sighed. “I wish we didn’t have this strong connection though. It makes things just that much harder to deal with!”

Shownu sat on the couch. Minhyuk was curled up in one of the chairs watching another movie alone. It was awkward silence for a while.

“You okay, man?” Minhyuk asked as he looked over to Shownu.

Shownu nodded. He was staring at the tv. “I realized something tonight.” He started.

Minhyuk’s attention shifted to Shownu. “Okay?”

“I realized that I wronged you in the worst way possible”

Minhyuk shook his head. “We’re good, Shownu. We don’t have to relive this again.”

“No we do. I knew you liked Misun before i talked to her. That’s why I approached her first. I didn’t want you to have her.”

The air went dry. Minhyuk’s face fell. “It’s cool. She probably wouldn’t have picked me anyway. I’m nothing like you.”

“That’s why she would’ve picked you. That’s why she’s choosing you now. She doesn’t even realize that she’s choosing you. It’s everything about y’all together that tells me I’m out of my league. Y’all have so much fun together. Y’all are so comfortable with one another. You bring out a side of her that I could never!”

Minhyuk shook his head. “It’s just a rough patch. Things will get better for y’all.”

“No we won’t. As much as I want it to work, I know she deserves someone better. You give her a element that I can’t. You give her friendship and a lot of times that’s the key element in a relationship. You give her your time unconditionally. I couldn’t even do that.” Shownu ran his hands through his short hair. “I’m going to bed.”

Minhyuk sighed. He was beyond confused. “What am I supposed to do now?! You’re making things even harder.”

“Be whatever she needs you to be! Make her happy. My goal is for her to be happy whether it’s through me or someone else.” Shownu got up and patted his brother on his shoulder and disappeared to his room.

Minhyuk stared up at the ceiling. His life was becoming more and more complicated.

[ramajmedia]

10 Guest Stars We Forgot Were On Married With Children

When you’re on the air for over a decade, your show is bound to attract a few guest stars. Before the advent of eight thousand different ways to make your mark in the entertainment industry, aspiring stars only music, TV, or movies and that’s about it. So, when you got a chance to get your face out there, network TV was usually the best place to go. Movies are nice and all, but your face is only available to paying customers. On a network TV show, anyone and everyone - literally millions of viewers can see you instantly from the comfort of their living room.

Married...With Children was on the air for eleven seasons. The series featured a litany of guest stars from all walks of life. Since Al and his friends were would-be macho men, there were plenty of scantily-clad current and future stars, like Traci Lords running around. There were also some of the greatest sports stars of all time such as Kenny Stabler and Bubba Smith. Not to mention some of the funniest comedians at that time had strolled over to Jeopardy Lane to pay the Bundys a visit. Cheech Marin was the voice of the family dog; Buck and the bombastic Sam Kinison was the Al’s guardian angel. Here are 10 Guest Stars We Forgot Were On Married...With Children.

10 Milla Jovovich

With the Bundys starving to death and eating leftover pizza crust for dinner, they decide to apply to be a part of the Foreign Exchange Program. Not for any altruistic reason, solely for the stipend they’ll receive for her! In “Fair Exchange,” Milla Jovovich guest stars as little Yvette, or “Why-Vette,” as Kelly pronounces her name at first. Bud is instantly smitten (can you blame him?), and Jovovich shows a playful side to her that is seldom seen in her action films.

9 Matt LeBlanc

In “Oldies But Young ‘Uns,” Al can’t remember the name a song he heard on the radio. Kelly’s new boyfriend, Vinny Verducci’s dad, who happens to be Al’s old friend, Charlie knows the name of every song ever made.

Related: Top 10 Married With Children Vacation Episodes (According To IMDb)

Matt LeBlanc Will now forever be known for playing Joey Tribbiani on Friends, but before that, he was developing parts of that character as Vinny on several episodes of Married, along with two spin-offs - Top Of The Heap and Vinny And Bobby.

8 Tia Carrere

If you grew up in the nineties, chances are some of you felt like Wayne in Wayne’s World, upon first sight of the Hawaiian beauty, Tia Carrere. The stunner was a part of several popular movies from this era like True Lies and Rising Sun. Later years saw her in more family movies, using her island heritage to her advantage in films like Lilo And Stich. She also guest-starred in the episode, “Kelly Bounces Back,” as one of her fashion school competitors, Piper. She uses her feminine wiles to coax secrets out of Bud and steal a modeling gig from Kelly.

7 Jerry Springer

It makes perfect sense that one of the kings of schlock and shock TV would have had a guest-spot on Married. Jerry Springer turned his ringmaster persona on its ear when he played himself as “The Masculine Feminist.” In the episode, “NO MA’AM,” we meet plenty of Al’s friends for the first time and their newly formed group. After feeling like their male rights are being taken away, NO MA’AM kidnaps Springer and forces him to watch hours or pro-wrestling in order to make a man out of him. That did not age well.

6 Pamela Anderson

Before she was the undeniable goddess of the nineties, the Canadian cutie known as Pamela Anderson was starting on her acting career. Married...With Children realized that she would become the girl of a lot of people’s dreams, because her first appearance on the series was as one of Al’s dream girls.

Related: Married With Children: 10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Kelly Bundy

In “Al...With Kelly,” she plays Yvette, one the ladies who wants Al in a dream his sick daughter keeps waking him up from. She again would show up in one of Al’s dreams as Cashew, in a fantasy sequence in “Route 666, Part 2.”

5 B.B. King

The music legend and King Of Blues, B.B. King leant himself and Lucille to Married...With Children for the show’s take on Lady And The Tramp. In “Look Who’s Barking,” Buck feel neglected by his owners and sets out on his own to find food and girl dogs. King provides the backing vocals and music to Buck’s journey.

4 Tiffani Amber-Theissen

For anyone that though Kelly Kapowski was the sweet and innocent girl next door, check our Tiffani Amber-Theissen’s appearance as Heather McCoy in “What Goes Around, Came Around.” She played a girl who once humiliated Bud in the sixth grade and now she’s back, and she asked him out to the Reunion Dance. Bud has a revenge plan of his own up his sleeves. However, Heather still was able to get the better of Bud and humiliate him again. However, since making fun of Bud is Kelly’s job, Heather learns not to ever mess with a Bundy.

3 Bill Maher

After years of failing miserably on the dating scene, Bud decided to try his luck on a dating show; which is also the episodes title - “You Can’t Miss.” Bud gets to date a girl way out of his league and then return a week later to fight for her affections against an uber-hunk-mimbo, Rodrigo.

Related: Married With Children: The 5 Best Episodes (& 5 Worst)

Currently political pundit comic and host of Real Time, Bill Maher guest starred as the show’s host and “poor man’s Chuck Woolery,” Adam.

2 Keri Russell

 Out of all the actresses who plays dimwits and airheads on the show, Keri Russell might be the only actress who didn’t come across as a dullard or a nympho. Perhaps that’s because she was starring in “Radio Free Trumaine,” where she was playing April Adams, a college girl dating both Bud and big man on campus Nikolai. The episode didn’t make the Pilot season, and watching Russell do her thing was great, but she did seem out of place on a show as crass as Married.

1 Chris Hardwick

Over the years, Chris Hardwick has turned his love of all things geeky, combined it which his penchant for comedy and has cultivated all of it into becoming the king of all of Nerd Culture. Shortly after he was the host of MTV’s dating show, Singled Out, he was part of Married’s “Spring Break” two-part episode. He essentially played a version of himself, hosting the Spring Break beauty competition.

Next: Married With Children: 10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Al Bundy

source https://screenrant.com/10-guest-stars-forgot-married-children/

[yourfriendlillykennedy]

From The Life of Lilly Kennedy

When I was 19 years old, I fell

In love with a girl, such an amazing woman.

I thought that things would

go right for one.

I thought for once I would somehow 

be happy

But the world isn’t like that 

Unfortunately

But you know. I’m fine.

Everything is good.  

When I first met this woman 

I thought that she was the worlds

most amazing girl. I tend to think this about every woman I meet.

Women are amazing humans.

Don’t argue with me on this, you can’t

Change my mind .

Anyways

This girl was in my mind 

perfect.

Biology Lab a row behind me 

Her smile could light up a room. No

The World

Her mind was fast. I thought

she could probably explain everything

if she felt like it 

I just wanted her.

The problem was I 

thought she didn’t bat for my team 

It wasn’t until she spoke

up one day that I realized that she

wasn’t 

Straight

How my heart soared!

but.....

but was she

but was she single

I’m shy 

I can’t just ask this beautiful princess

no

QUEEN

If she wants to have coffee

I can’t do that

I’ll keel over and

Die

This woman is so beautiful, 

out of my league.

I don’t want sex

I just wanted her. 

to hold her.

Things started going right 

sort of.

We started talking and

Yeah it took me a while to 

finally get things going But

I did.

Oh boy.

My heart was so happy 

man

Things were good 

Life was good.

Christmas break was

Interesting

I found out about the

drinking problem. She

wasn't exactly 

sober.

When she wasn’t drunk she was

hungover.

My heart hurt.

I cared so much

about a woman who didn’t giver a flying 

fuck about me.

Live by the rule 

Treat people the way you 

want to be treated 

But she, in my mind, could not do anything 

wrong.

I just wanted her.

oh God.

I have never been so 

worried about a person in 

my entire 

life.

Our conversations went from 

“How was your day”

to

“Are you safe”

I knew she was at home but

Who knew what she was

doing.

I should’ve just stopped.

Stopped there.

But my heart said 

NOPE

This girl made me happy 

and all I want in life is to be

Happy.

Thats all I want

When we got back to school 

I couldn’t wait to see her.

but I messed up 

I said something that I shouldn’t have

I wasn’t thinking 

I was stupid

She wouldn’t talk

 to me

Wouldn’t even look 

at me

I was sad and I

really didn’t know how to deal

with anything 

But then.

A miracle 

She said she was

sorry 

and that she tends to over react 

Oh my heart 

it soared

I was happy.

There were days when she

wouldn’t be in class 

and I would get sad

stupid, I know.

But she was my 

reason 

Yes, I was paying for the class

but my motivation to pay

attention was nothing 

but this woman.

There would be weeks were

I would say something 

and she would get mad and wouldn’t

talk to me 

for days

I was depressed 

Constantly

She drove me mad

There was a day where she

got drunk

in the library

on gummy bears

god damn vodka gummy bears 

I went there 

to make sure she was okay  

to make sure she

got home okay 

she was beautiful 

Even while completely trashed

she was a queen 

I brought her some apple

juice and a cookie 

because she loves cookies,

but milk hurts her 

“Tummy”

She ate the cookie

and drank the juice 

I had to take the stupid 

gummy bears because 

she wouldn’t

stop eating 

them.

It was cute.

The library closed 

but she still needed to finish 

her assignment 

we walked together to another

study place

She worked, and worked

until she was finally done.

She said she was

going to drive home.

I said no

I said take an uber or 

whatever

or I would walk her home

But she needed her 

car. 

She needed it 

I don’t have my license 

Just a permit 

Its expired 

But I didn’t want to 

call my father and explain 

to him and explain to him 

about how I needed a ride 

not for me 

but for this beautiful queen who

wouldn’t stop calling me

Niglet 

So I said okay 

Give me your 

keys and lets

go.

She has an SUV

fuck.

I’ve never driven a SUV

before.

Its fine. Everything 

is great 

I’m scared.

I haven’t driven  in moths 

but I’m not going to tell her 

that. Its for the best 

I guess.

She guides me to her apartment 

we drive past a cop 

and I nearly 

shit myself

but I feel alive 

more alive than I’ve felt 

in 19 years.

It’s fine. Everything is fine.

She wants me to 

Parallel park.

fuck.

I can’t even do that 

in a regular car.

I tell her that I

can’t and that she needs

to do it 

She laughs at me 

and says okay 

while flashing 

That amazing smile

the one that melts my 

heart every time without

fail.

She parks. Pretty damn well 

for being completely trashed 

I grab her bag 

as she runs ahead.

My short legs can’t 

really keep up.

Wait for me woman 

please

This stupid girl. 

Why am I here.

She opens her door and 

she greets her dog like she

hasn’t seen seen him

In weeks.

It cute as hell. I’ll admit

She lets her dog out to do his

business and we stand on the balcony

watching him run around. He comes back in

and she goes to get more

vodka bears 

“You want some fish sticks?”

“No, not really”

“Take them please, we have too many”

“I’m sorry I can’t”

I say I can’t but

I probably could.

Oops.

She sits on the floor 

“You should sleep”

“Okay”

She lays down 

and doesn’t move

I don’t really know

what to do. Minutes pass and

I’m still sitting there 

Suddenly

The girl jumps up and says something 

about doing

her makeup.

This should be fun.

I follow her and watch 

this beautiful woman drunkenly 

do her eyebrows.

“Are you drunk doing your eyebrows?”

“I AMMM”

“..... Hows it going?”

“NOTT WELLL”

She finishes and then asks

if she can do my makeup 

Oh God.

This is high school 

all over again 

But its okay. Whatever 

makes her happy.

She tells me to stop

making stupid faces. I don’t want

to tell her that its only 

because I’m just enjoying my time with her.

I’m enjoying her. Thats all.

Done. I look good. 

But you know who looks 

better?

Her. Without makeup 

I sit there and watch

her do her makeup

Doh God.

At this moment  I

realized something.

I loved this girl.

Just watching this woman 

live her life

fuck. 

She listens to music the

ways she moves 

its intoxicating.

Hours have passed and 

I remember I have practice early

tomorrow morning. I

have to go but not before she

hugged me and kissed me on the forehead

I thought my heart was going to 

explode.

We said our goodbyes

I walked home and I

get a text from her 

“Did you get home okay?”

such a sweet girl, but why 

does it seem that she only really

cares about me when shes

drunk.

Sigh

Its fine. not really. but its fine

for the moment.

A week later 

were talking. 

“I promise you I’m not here to fuck you over.” 

She says

Weeks later she’s mad at

me. Whats new.

She doesn’t talk to me for days. I 

know she driving home from home 

“Drive safe.”

Radio silence

Days later I find out that 

she got into an

accident.

My heart dropped.

She was fine just

a bad concussion

I asked her how she was

“How the fuck did you find out”

Oh okay

thats cool.

A couple days later I ask again and 

she says she's lonely and

her memory is shit.

Next day she says

shes moving back home

The woman who I loved will

not talk to me now.

Fuck

I miss her.

But deep down I know 

she never

really cared.

She did what she 

said she wouldn’t do.

she fucked me over.

[3one3]

The Sequel - 829

Eeny, Meeny

André Schürrle, Juan Mata, other Chelsea/BVB players, and random awesome OC’s (okay they’re less random now but they’re still pretty awesome)

original epic tale

all chapters of The Sequel

“I have until like 2, so I would like to go shopping somewhere- I’m desperate for shopping. I haven’t bought anything but food and diapers in forever- and then take a nap. Also I would like for someone to remind me later tonight when I say I want to wake up extra super duper early to ride on the beach in the morning, that I in fact do not want to do that again. No, no, no, no, no. Nein. Nuhuh.”

“To be fair, you don’t compete until after 10:30 tomorrow morning, so you could do it without having to wake up that early.”

“Stef rides at 8 though.”

“Never mind. Go do the shopping, then. Make sure to have something for lunch.”

“Yes, Dad.”

The Jumping International de France event in La Baule had a few things going for it, in Christina’s opinion, that set it apart from other Nations Cup qualifier venues in Europe’s Division I. The CSIO5* show took place at a permanent equestrian center, with permanent stabling. Most of it was shed row style but the Nations Cup teams were in an annex building with central aisles, so it was quite comfortable. The show ring was grass, and enormous, and featured a small hill with two step-down jumps. The schooling ring was dirt and enormous, and very close to the stabling. Most uniquely, the venue offered riders two different opportunities to ride in water. It was just a few blocks from the beach, and the Atlantic Ocean. Anyone with a horse well behaved enough to follow the established walk through the city streets down to the surf could enjoy the beach until 10 every morning. That was a novelty offered to members of the equestrian club year-round, and tourists too. Riders competing in the 5* classes would also get to ride through water on course in the Nations Cup, Derby, and Grand Prix. There was a 35’-ish tract of shallow water to pass through between regular fences. Christina had been to La Baule before and so some of her horses were familiar with that test, but she had Socks and Calvin with her and neither of them had ever been through that sort of water before. She took Socks to the beach to get familiar with the idea on the first morning, and considered taking Calvin over on the second. It just meant waking up really, really early, and at 9:30 in the morning on the first day she was already feeling tired.

The individuality of the La Baule event mattered for one reason: it wasn’t boring. Christina was happy to be there once she arrived. Meeting up with her Germany teammates and her coaches was actually nice. Lukas and Espen weren’t there with her, but she wasn’t lonely because there was actually a sense of the existence of a team mentality right off the bat. The Nations Cup team for the French event consisted of Daniel, Marcus, Christian, and Marco in addition to Christina. Christian wasn’t so harsh to her face anymore, thanks in large part, she believed, because her success were undeniable and couldn’t be bought in the form of great horses. Marco was still just a colleague, not a friend, but one that she was getting to know more all the time. He was perfectly nice, and content to defer on some things to his more experienced teammates. He’d been competing a lot longer than she had, but not as part of the top Germany squad. It was unlikely that Heiner and Holger would select him to actually ride. Stefanie was there with Julian for the Under-25 classes. Heiner took “the girls” to dinner on Wednesday night and got them a little drunk, which didn’t help with the whole wake up very early to ride on the beach thing but did help set a nice tone for the show week.

“Should we change first or just go to the avenue with the stores?” Stefanie asked while Christina gave Dirk nose kisses on the crossties in one of their stalls. The King Of The Barn was there to compete for his country in the Nations Cup, and his rider was very into that. There was a derby on the undercard, which normally would have been a Dirk class. Christina thought it more important to do the Nations Cup with him and continue his legacy as a great team horse, and she didn’t want to over-jump him and make him do the derby too coming off his little injury. She bravely put Calvin in it instead, and had low expectations for success and high expectations for hilarity. Her attitude was that it didn’t matter if they didn’t do well, that it would be a good learning experience for him, and that it might be really fun and/or funny to try to get him around the extra-long and extra-difficult derby course. Heiner said he liked that- that she thought the still young and still dopey Hanoverian stallion would find cantering through water and jumping off hills challenging and potentially terrifying, and that she would enjoy whatever antics ensued as a result. It took the drinks at dinner to get her to explain that attitude. The story she gave Holger, the horse’s owner, was about how well prepared Calvin was for a derby class because he loved to gallop out at home and jump natural obstacles. She hoped he hadn’t forgotten about that since moving to Germany, away from the field and the natural obstacles.

“Let’s just go. I need coffee on the way. Can we walk there or do we need to get a cab or an Uber or something?”

“It’s raining. Why would we walk? Get coffee in the gourmet village and I’ll get a car to meet us on the street behind there.”

“Mkay. You have the rest of the day off, bro,” Christina told her favorite Holsteiner. “Enjoy your blanky and your hay and stuff and I’ll bring you something nice later.”

“I like presents too,” Tom interjected. He was drying the horse’s legs. She patted his head and tried to look a certain kind of way while strutting out of the stall, but then tripped on the lip between the stall and the concrete aisle. Everyone, including the horse, laughed at her.

Shopping tiiiime, she sang to herself once she zipped her team jacket on in place of the show coat and down vest she’d had on since she finished her second round of the morning. What’s boyfriend doing, she wondered, liberating her phone from the pocket she forgot it in earlier. The temperature was in the 50’s when she left the hotel to get her horse and go to the beach, and it rose to about 60 since then, but also grew damp and drizzly, so the Germany star had been changing layers constantly to adapt to the conditions and the level of physical activity she did in them. There was a text from a Chelsea midfielder on her phone that couldn’t keep up with the wardrobe changes.

“What time is your qualifying competition this afternoon? I want to watch on the train to West Brom,” he told her with the train emoji. He’d only just sent it.

“It starts at 1:45 your time, so you’ll probably still be on the training pitch. It’s nothing that special anyway. Watch the Nations Cup tomorrow while you’re sitting around getting nervous about THE TITLE WINNING MATCH.” It’s not possible to make him nervous, Christina smiled to herself, falling into step with Stefanie. The two girls were going shopping in white breeches, knee socks, and sneakers. One wore black and white Chelsea socks, and the other wore the stocking variety. The West London club was three points from the Premier League title and the one in the tributary hosiery was practically giddy about it. The team put in a professional but swaggering performance on Monday evening to relegate Middlesborough, and fans everywhere couldn’t wait for Friday. Their biggest fan in the German show jumping team warned everyone that if they won the Nations Cup that afternoon and wanted to celebrate a little that evening, they’d have to do it without her. She had an appointment with the TV in her hotel room.

“I will. I’m trying to keep that off my mind. You better help with that tonight. I’m counting on you cariña.”

“Moviefone once you get settled in the hotel for the night? I have team dinner but we’re ahead of you.” Juan’s best girlfriend knew he was teasing her. He didn’t get nervous that far ahead of playing. He got pumped during warm ups, and he could become a little ball of Spanish nerves on the pitch during crucial moments, like penalty shootouts, but not the night before. Nevertheless, Christina wanted to spend bedtime with him, virtually at least, to make sure he went to sleep feeling relaxed and ready.

“Yes. What are you doing? Have you ridden yet today? I don’t want to get out of bed.”

“I’ll get the coffee since you bought breakfast,” Stefanie offered as they neared the tent in the gourmet village- a small section of exhibitor tents set off the main drag of regular horse show shopping. There was an extremely Parisian bakery tent with way more coffee options than were available in the rider’s restaurant. The 5* riders were entitled to free breakfast at the hotel, lunch in the rider’s restaurant, and dinner in another nicer restaurant at the show facility. The U25 riders were not. The girls got smoothies from the continental buffet at the hotel after their workout, and then Christina sprang for baked goodies between the beach ride and her morning class. She felt sad going back to the tent for just coffee instead of coffee and another delicious Nutella croissant.

“I did Cal and Dirk in a little warm up class already, and we rode Socks and Jules on the beach at sun up. I made an Instagram story. What do you do in bed before getting up besides look at social media? That’s all I do.”

“I think about what I’m going to eat when I get to Cobham.”

“Cafe au lait again or something different?”

“Nah I need it with espresso this time or I’ll run out of battery.”

“Un grand crème, s’il vous plait, avec le lait à part...and...un café noir,” Stefanie shrugged to the lady behind the domed platters of fresh baked treats. She then went back to looking at her phone, like her coach, to get them a ride to the city center for shopping purposes. Her coach was actually glaring at her, jealous of her knowledge of the French language.

“Since when do you drink black coffee?”

“I don’t. I asked for a double espresso for you with the steamed milk on the side so you don’t end up with way too much. I just want a few drops in mine, so we can share.”

“Mkay.”

“If you win tomorrow, will Conte play the kids on Monday and let you guys stay home?”

“Yes but probably me too because I missed so many games. I would go down there to see you if I could.”

“I just wish we didn’t have to wait until Cannes.” Especially because Cannes might be super weird, Christina thought, leaving the coffee conversation aside and allowing herself to feel sad about how much she missed her ex-boyfriend. She hoped he might be available to come to the horse show on Saturday night and hang with her throughout Sunday. Her own packed schedule dictated that she had to go home Sunday night so that she could have some time there with her husband and her son and her other horses before heading to Madrid on Thursday for the next round of the Tour. After that, it was just one full day at home and then on to another round in Hamburg, which André would probably be able to attend for a day or two if he still couldn’t train. Even if he could go, it would only be for the beginning of the event, during the non-consequential classes, because his team would play their cup final on Saturday in Berlin and he wanted to be there whether he could play or not. Christina would be home for two and a half days after Hamburg, and then travel to St. Gallen for her second Nations Cup qualifier of the season. She’d get a couple of days at home before then heading to Cannes for the Tour. The plan was for Juan to be there with her for 5 days, on the boat.

The wait was far too long for her, firstly, and she didn’t know how exactly to explain to the Lilly XO crew that she was spending the better part of a week with Juan, sharing the same bed, being affectionate, and then say goodbye to the Spaniard and hello to her husband and son, who were spending the next week with her on the boat. Obviously their employment contracts demanded their silence on such matters, but the rider feared their judging looks. The situation actually seemed completely impossible. The choice was to try to hide the nature of her relationship with Juan and thus not fully enjoy the experience, to actually explain it to the chief stewardess and assume she would explain it to everyone else onboard but not go sell the story to the media, or carry on however she wanted and just not address the appearance of an affair at all. She cringed uncontrollably at the thought of the looks she’d get from the crewmembers when they saw her sitting in André’s lap or something a few days after they watched her do the same with another guy.

“Come here Sun night. Even if I play Mon, the manager will probably allow us to sleep home. Night time kickoff, meaningless match. Stay just the night.”

“Maybe.”

Christina had to put the text chat on hold to assemble her coffee and get in the taxi to the shops. She was most interested in the Lacoste store, and buying a polo shirtdress. They were a staple of her wardrobe when she was a little kid, and for some reason were staging a comeback in her mind. Also, she was determined to play more tennis despite no longer having her own court. André joked that she should have made better use of the one they had, and his joke fell flat. His wife reminded him that she wasn’t the one who wanted to leave her tennis court behind in the first place. She also reminded him that Juan had a tennis court. That went over about as well with him as his joke did with her.

He was waiting for her to call home on Thursday morning. They discussed her plan to work out and ride on the beach, and he knew she had a class at 8, so it didn’t surprise him that Christina hadn’t called yet at 10 when he left for training. It was going to be day-two of individual training for him, and that was great. He was out of the gym and off the treatment table and back on the pitch instead. It felt great. Getting to do some work with the ball felt great. The possibility that he could play some role in the cup final felt great. What didn’t feel so great was knowing what Christina’s schedule looked like for the coming weeks. She was taking Lukas away with her for some of it too. And then there was the whole holiday with Juan in the south of France thing. That really rubbed him the wrong way. André told her so, but he also told her that he accepted that she wanted some time to see her friend. She invited him too. If he wasn’t going to be with the Germany squad for the pre-tournament camp, he was invited to Cannes. It was pretty obvious that joining his girl and his ex-teammate would be weird for everyone, and perhaps even more so than what she was envisioning with the guys being there separately. There were questions, like if they were all going to hook up again, or if he would be expected to stand by why they cuddled on the top deck or shared a kiss in the water or something. He wasn’t entirely sure what it would all look like, in part because he stopped asking what went on when Christina visited her best friend. It was more palatable to just let them go on their own, for at least part of the week. That left him with a month of very little face time with her. He tried to Face Time her on his way to Brackel. The rider declined the call and then rang him back normally.

“Mooooorning,” she greeted him cheerfully. “I’m just getting out of a cab and it’s raining and my phone is safer in my hood by my ear than if I hold it in front of me. Watcha doin?”

“Driving. Did you ride yet?”

“Yeah, it was fine. How’s Lulu Schü?”

“He had his first poached egg today. Not made by me, obviously.”

“Did he like it?”

“He likes everything.”

“Does your ankle hurt?”

“No. Does yours?”

“Always.”

“How are the horses? Are they behaving?”

“They’re good. I miss you.”

This is why her showing sucks, André sighed with disappointment inside after hearing Christina switch from giving a conversational update to making an unhappy plea. She said she missed him as if she wanted him to be there with her- like it was serious, and not some throwaway “I miss you”. Sunday night she starts crying because all she wants is to feel the way she used to, which she can’t even explain but apparently hinges entirely on me but not in any way I can actually control because it’s just some subliminal effect I have on her, we spend every minute together possible after that and she says it makes her start to feel better, and then she goes away. We’ll have to go back some steps. It goes backward when we don’t see each other enough. I hope it’s like it used to be, and it’s okay, and that our problems before were just because we were apart so much for so long. We used to be fine when she had shows. It was hard to be apart but we didn’t have to re-establish our relationship together each time she came home. Being apart for 5 days didn’t damage how we relate to one another. That’s got to stop.

“Get out of your head, Prinzessin. Don’t think so much. You’re going to have all sorts of fun with your horses and your friends and you have to experience that when it happens instead of missing out on it because you’re thinking about how you want to feel. When we made everything okay for each other, that was true no matter where we were, apart or together. You were still calm and all right at your horse shows without me and I was still calm and good at home without you. We’ll get back to that.”

Wasn’t his whole argument for what was wrong between us for most of the last year that we can’t be okay when we’re not together? He’s so...hypocritical lately, Christina reasoned while hopping over puddles behind Stefanie to get to the protection of an awning over the front of a shoe boutique. Every problem is something to do with my career and definitely not something between us, and now we’re fine when we’re apart? I don’t even think he’s this way deliberately. I think he’s so busy trying to find an answer that makes everything okay and nothing to worry about that he doesn’t bother to actually examine the situation and find the RIGHT answer.

“Chris?”

“Yeah.” And yet, it was working for him earlier this week, the equestrian countered herself. We had a few days together that almost felt normal- like the “olden days”. I was so upset on Sunday because it’s like...It’s like I’m never going to feel the way I did when I last really loved my life. Or like I’m never going to get back to true north or something. I’m always lost, and unsettled. And I told him about it and he actually did make me feel better. It wasn’t anything he said, or did. I just cried on him and then when I stopped, it was better. Maybe it’s not even him. Maybe I have to purge the unsettled-ness from myself. How long does it take to cry out a year of bad feelings? I’ve tried sweating it out. That doesn’t wor-

“What are you doing?”

“Um, shoe shopping? I just got inside.”

“Okay...”

“I’m fine. I- I was just- I miss you, is all. You sounded...I don’t know, some way, when you asked if the horses are behaving, and I had like a rush of missing you.”

“I’m here.”

“I know, babe.”

“What sort of shoes?”

“Uhhdunno.” Christina turned around and looked up to survey the shoes on the walls and on some tables around the store. The selection included a mix of trendy and classic styles, with no obvious theme. Her student was already browsing in the casual sandal section. “All kinds?”

“Get some slutty stilettos for when you come home.”

“K. Let me go. I have a coffee I really want to enjoy, and Stef’s holding a hideous espadrille. I must go talk her into putting it down.”

“Have fun, Prinzessin. Love you.”

“Love you, byyyye.”  

“I don’t want to get up,” was the message waiting for her from Juan. She rolled her eyes and started to write back that he was a lazy bum. Instead of finishing the thought, she deleted it and told him she wished she could be a lazy bum with him. This horse show would be amazing if I could take a break between classes to drink delicious coffee like this in bed with Juanin and do nothing. Actually, what would be amazing is if someone could tell me why Schü can ask a joking question and make me desperately wish I were home with him and looking at his dopey face, and then a minute later I’m dying to go snuggle with Juanin and espresso and milk. That would be amazing. A guide to my own brain. It would be wonderful.

“Chris, do you like these sandals?”

“No.”

[knowthewayblog-blog]

How To Think Like A Billionaire

Billionaires never think... Why are some people rich and successful while others work hard but struggle just to get by? Why does it seem so easy for other people to get laid? How did some of these jokers on YouTube get so big? Why can’t I ever keep my new year’s resolutions of getting fit and being healthy? Or, how do people afford nice cars or a nice house, let alone Lamborghini's and a baller mansion?

That’s how losers think.

Be it in Money, Sports, Fitness, School, or Sex…we all want to succeed in something. It’d be nice to be filthy rich, right? So why haven’t you achieved your dreams? Maybe you never got motivated, or you’ve given it a shot but quickly got discouraged and flamed out.

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It’s not just you… most people don’t KNOW THE WAY to achieve success. They have no idea how to get what they want in life.

But this guy does.

Scott Adams is the creator of the comic strip Dilbert, and author of How to Fail at Almost Anything and Still Win Big. Packed with ideas, tips, and strategies for success, How to Fail… is an easy, fast, and entertaining read. In it Adams details his many failures and how he went from hapless office worker to creating one of the most popular and widely read comic strips ever. Along the way Adams teaches the thought processes and mindset that propelled him to success… the secrets to why successful people win and unsuccessful people lose…

So, why should we listen to a fucking cartoonist for advice? Well, for starters he’s rich from his comic and books. If that’s not enough he is also quite insightful. In his popular blog, he brilliantly writes about many topics, and predicted that Donald Trump would be president of the United States before anyone else. And at 60 years old his girlfriend is Instagram star Kristina Basham.

Get it on Amazon:

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

Get FREE Audio Book Here!

Scott is also a trained hypnotist and master persuader, so there’s a chance just reading the book will mind fuck you into being rich or… getting hot chics. So, why not read it? And check out Scott’s blog here http://blog.dilbert.com/

We’ll get to Scott’s life changing ideas in a minute, but one of the biggest problems most of us have with success is How. To. Start. The greatest journey begins with a single step, right?… unfortunately, the first step is always the hardest.

Key #1

The 1st key to success in anything is this:

Do not wait until you are confident or feel you are qualified to get started. Because, you will never feel confident enough, and you will never be qualified enough. All you need is a little courage. Basically, just don’t be a bitch.

Think about when you were first learning to ride a bike (without training wheels). No doubt you weren’t very confident and you weren't qualified (in a sense) to ride it since you’ve never done it before. How did you get started? Some help and encouragement from someone, but also I guarantee it took some courage. Here’s an interesting question...Did you actually think to yourself, my goal is to ride this bike? Did you set goals when you were 4 or 5 years old. I’m pretty sure I didn’t. I thought, well, that kid can do it and it looks fun, I’m gonna do it too even though i’m a little scared….Billionaire Richard Branson says, 

“Those who achieve great things are the ones willing to be scared but not scared off.”

Key #2

The next key to success. The keys to your Lambo! The reason you’re not rich:

Scott Adams says — Goals... Are for Losers

That sounds ridiculous at first. I was always told to create S.M.A.R.T. goals to achieve them (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). We always hear, the most successful people in the world set lofty goals. “Tom Brady sets a goal every year to win the Super Bowl and he’s won 5! The CEO of blah blah blah’s life goal was to become a CEO. Even self help guru Tony Robbins says,

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”

Ok, Goals aren’t bad per se, but I agree with Scott Adams that they are a terrible way to think about success.

When you got on that bike did you pick your feet up and expect it to move? No. But that’s how most goal oriented people live life. They set a goal and hope or wish to achieve it. They hope for things to happen and get depressed when they don’t. Goal-thinkers are fighting feelings of discouragement when things aren’t working out.

Scott Adams explains it like this,

”if your goal is to lose ten pounds, you will spend every moment until you reach that goal—if you reach it at all—feeling as if you were short of your goal (he calls that feeling pre-success failure). Goal-oriented people exist in a state of nearly continuous failure that they hope will only be temporary. That feeling wears on you and in time it becomes heavy and uncomfortable."

In other words… Goals make you feel like shit.

"If you actually achieve your goal, you celebrate and feel terrific for a time, but only until you realize you lost the one thing that gave you purpose and direction. Then what do you do? Set a new goal and re-enter the cycle of pre-success failure?"

So, if you achieve your goal, you lose your purpose. And on the way to that goal, you’re constantly feeling like a loser because you’re not there yet. If you don’t achieve your goal, you are a loser, both in your mind and the mind of others.

“Goal-oriented people exist in a state of continuous pre-success failure at best, and permanent failure at worst if things never work out.”

So you are a damn loser whether you achieve the goal or not.

How many times did that bike fall over when you first attempted to ride it as a kid? I know I crashed a lot, but I don’t think it made me feel like a failure? Why was that? I’d just get back on and try again. Goal-thinkers feel like failures and then usually give up when they crash and can’t go anywhere.

So if goals are for losers, what’s the alternative? What’s the SECRET?

Scott Adams uses Olympic Athletes as an example in How to fail… But since I brought it up earlier, Let’s use Tom Brady.

Whether you like him or not the guy’s been to 7 superbowls, most ever, and won 5, again most ever. He also has or will have a slew of other records by the time he retires including most wins ever by a QB. And he’s uber rich and has a super model wife. I’m not a Tom Brady or a Patriots fan myself, I just have to recognize the fact that he’s very successful. 

All NFL Quarterbacks set a goal to win the Superbowl every year. But what separates the “Elites” specifically Brady from every other NFL QB? We can argue over things like athletic talent, his team, his coach, his leadership, his IQ, or even his luck, all of which I don’t think are better than any others.

Key #3

The Keys to your Balla’ Mansion - The SECRET to Success - A SYSTEM is The Way

What I think separates Tom “Golden Boy” Brady from most other QBs is the idea of Systems. He is systematic in everything he does from eating to practice. He follows a repeated regimen of workouts, preparation, game film study, and working on his game “Every Single Day - No Matter What” that makes him the G.O.A.T. On top of that Golden Boy is in a Systems Driven organization with a head coach that is also very systems driven. At the core of the New England Patriots system, is the simple mantra of “Just Do Your Job”.  

Another famous Systems thinker from sports is  Major League Baseball executive Theo Epstein.  Using a systems driven, data analytics approach (often referred to as moneyball or sabermetrics) to building baseball team rosters, he ended the 2 longest championship droughts in sports history. 1st In Boston, where he was the youngest general manager ever at 28 years old, he ended an 86 year drought.  Then in Chicago where the Cubs had not won a World Series since 1908. After 5 years of running his system in Chicago, the Cubs won the world series in 2016. 108 years between world series championships! He literally used systems-thinking to break 2 curses! Curse of the Bambino in Boston and Curse of the Billy Goat in Chicago.

Billionaire Mindset

Think for a moment about the most successful individuals on the planet. Self-made billionaires like Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk.

They didn’t have experience when they started, and they had many set backs and failures, but knew they would figure it out as they went along. They are all Systems Thinkers. They repeatedly try business ventures and keep doing what works while discarding or fixing what doesn’t. That way of thinking is what separates systems from goals. Scott Adams defines a System as

"something you do on a regular basis with a reasonable expectation that doing so will get you to a better place in your life."

For the majority of people, Goals, as Scott says,

“are a reach-it-and-be-done situation...."

whereas systems,

"are ongoing repeatable strategies. Systems people succeed every time they apply their systems, in the sense that they did what they intended to do.”

Systems thinkers feel good every time they apply their system because the end goal isn’t a big deal. That’s an important point. The losers lose so often because they place too much emphasis and focus on a specific end goal or result. Systems people are constantly learning.  Each time they apply a system the better they get at whatever it is they’re doing. In a sense they can only win, they can’t lose.

"A good system is something you do every day that leads you to better outcomes, not specific objectives."

A good system also breaks seemingly impossible, or complicated tasks into smaller, manageable, chunks or steps. Take for example a Rubik’s Cube.

I have made it a “goal” many times to solve the Rubik’s Cube. I would pick it up, twist it around for awhile, and eventually get frustrated and discouraged and give up. It felt impossible to solve. Many people think it takes a genius mind to figure out. But that is a GOAL mindset. I finally stopped thinking that way.

I took a systems approach and found the CFOP method(Cross, First 2 Layers, Orient Last Layer, and Permute Last Layer). It sounds complicated but it’s not. Following CFOP it was like it solved itself! Soon I was able to solve the cube in about 120 seconds. Master speedcubers can solve it in less than 10 seconds. The world record is less than 5 seconds! Cool story bro. The point is, anyone can solve impossible problems by changing their mindset. Don’t focus on the end result — instead focus on using a repeatable strategy — a system.

When you learned to ride a bike, you systematically got on it, pedaled, crashed and repeated until something “clicked”. Each time you crash you are still succeeding in a sense because you learn something and apply it. When you ride a bike successfully you  systematically pedal, and maintain a center of gravity, to keep the bike upright and moving. But if you screw up and stick your foot in the front tire and smash your face on the pavement, it’s ok, because you have a system. And you figured out that putting your foot in the front tire does not work with that system. Get back on the bike and do what works, don’t do what makes you crash.

Simple Systems

So… you want to be rich? Don’t wish to be rich or make it a mere goal. Create or do something that is easily, cheaply, or passively reproducible and that provides something of value to the world. Make increasing amounts of money reproducing it until you are rich. Want to get laid? Don’t set a goal to make one particular person your boyfriend or girlfriend, systematically talk to and ask out lots of people — who cares if you get rejected. You will learn what works and what doesn’t and build confidence. Want to be fit and healthy? Don’t set a goal to lose 10, 20, or whatever pounds. Pick an eating healthy system and exercise systematically at the same time every single day no matter what. Want that YouTube money? Don’t set out to make a viral one shot video. Make lot’s of videos and get better and better until something clicks with you and the audience. The more you put out there, the more chances that something will catch fire.

These illustrations may seem overly simplistic, but the way of looking at life through a systems “lens” is useful and very powerful. Simplicity is also another key to success Scott Adams talks about in How to fail. The simple illustrations I give, of the bike and the Rubik’s cube and the simple systems examples, are designed to subconsciously change your brain to start looking at EVERYTHING with a systems mindset — to start THINKING like a billionaire.

Next time we’ll get more practical. We'll talk about tips, tricks and more details on being Systems Driven. If you like this idea of having a Systems Mindset, why not make subscribing part of your life system. I’ll be posting regularly about applying that mindset to just about everything.  And You will soon ditch your POS bike for that Lambo.

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