#well there's also the ending of harvey's box but it's much easier to beat and less creepy

[flash-from-the-past]

Cube Escape: Case 23

[misha-moose-dean-burger-lover]

Lawyerspeak.

Warnings: NSFW-ish, but you’ll know it’s sex.

The bubbles glisten on Jess's skin like something ethereal, as she rests her arms on the edges of the tub.

"So what you're saying," Sam clears his throat, resting his head back against the white tile. The water's only supposed to come halfways up the height of his torso, but when he's sprawled out like this, it comes up to his collarbones. Jess is shoulders deep. "Is that you've never been in favor of bath sex?"

There's a smile lingering on his lips, and dancing in his earth-speckled eyes.

"Precedents imply," She answers, voice serious, and all the rest of it. "It is, and I quote, complicated."

Taking a bath together is rare, for them.

Sam's calves graze her thighs, his legs stretched out languidly, and heels planted on either sides of her hips. She's pulling a smirk to contain her smile - her own feet nonchalantly in Sam's space, and knees in the air - because that's the only way the two of them fit in the tub.

Bathing together is also kind of perfect.

"Objection." Sam flicks his hand up, palm facing her. "That's shower sex."

"Showers are in bathrooms. Overruled."

"They're not the only things in bathrooms. Sustained."

"Huh." Jess cocks her head, feigning passiveness. As she pretends to contemplate, her foot trails along Sam's skin, and within moments, he's blushing. "Prosecutor is allowed, and insisted upon, to elaborate."

"So you're defending now?" Sam returns, but keeps going. "Well, I was saying -" She keeps her foot moving, in lazy circles of expanding radii, slowly closer to his cock. Sam breaks off mid-sentence, coughing out a laugh. "That's how it's going to be?"

"Maybe." Jess winks. "Or maybe I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Guess I really am convincing." Sam points out, before resolutely continuing. "As I was saying," He repeats. "Shower sex isn't all that comes under bath sex, just as there's more to bathrooms than just showers."

Jess hums, agreeing.

"Such as, if I went down on you while your back was against the door, would that be so complicated after all?" And he proceeds to exploit his window of opportunity when Jess pauses speechless for a beat, and starts to brush against her skin, underwater. He has a vantage point in his position too, and his toes tickle her hipbones.

A shudder visibly goes through her, and Sam feels proud of himself. "I feel like such statements must be submitted with proof only, my esteemed contemporary."

"I'll ask the court for a later date on that one, dear opposing counsel." Sam replies, dismissively, already moving on to the next point in his metaphorical hardbound courtroom folder. "For now, I present to you Exhibit B."

"Oh?"

"Bathtub Sex." 

As he utters the words, she finally reaches her destination too, deriving obvious pleasure in the way he squirms when she strokes slightly along his length, and hissing when he reciprocates by squeezing her hips from both sides.

"The jury needs more information." She tells Sam, when they're both just a little more focused.

Sam thinks about it, pursing his lips. "Well, I suppose there's also more kinds of sex, like -"

"Objection." It's Jess's turn to tease, raising her hand. Sam rolls his eyes when she does it pointedly, calling him out for being theatrical earlier. "More information about the bathtub sex, please."

"Sustained." Sam leers exaggeratedly, and she laughs. "I guess my leading argument regards all the water saved in the process. Just imagine, two baths for the water of one, and you cut back on the cleanup after sex bit, too."

"But what about the water which spills?" She asks, managing to pull a straight face, as if proposing such a valid counterpoint dismisses the fact that they're both naked, wet and bubbly. And tangled in each other.

"Defense counsel refers to a different case than mine." Sam throws back, staring her heatedly in her smiling eyes, till the smile's worn off for a considerably more suggestive replacement. "I assure the courtroom that there's no room for negligence here."

"There's no room for me, either." She lets out, in a petulant whine, an entire era of a longheld stare later. It's the farthest they've gone to breaking character - and her lips revolt with a pout when he doesn't join her immediately in reality.

"Your honor." Keeping the mock trial running, even in it's last couple dialogues of existence, Sam turns his head to face a shampoo bottle. It's been implicitly, and mutely decided as the judge. "I'd like to summon my witness, Jessica Moore to the stand."

"All this foreplay to eventually kick me out of the tub?" Jess raises an eyebrow, almost complaining.

"There seems to have been a miscommunication." A corner of Sam's serious smile falls away, teasing, and the way it darkens his eyes enthralls Jess. Almost squinting as he smirks, his eyelashes stand out long and curved, and his jaw is clenched - because of course, he's not unaffected. He's frigging twenty one, and in a bathtub with his girlfriend who keeps dragging her foot along the insides of his thighs. He's extremely goddamn turned on, and she knows it too, and they're just playing things out to see how far they can.

"Meaning?"

"My side's the witness box?" He almost dissolves into a chuckle, and then barely doesn't, as he spreads his arms. Jess doesn't seem to have any qualms with giggling, as she props herself up by the edges of the tub, and traverses the rest of the distance in a single movement.

Sam helps, obviously - wrapping his arms around her waist, as she lands on his lap, and adjusts to be straddling him. The water makes it easier - but to be fair, it's been done on bedsheets before.

"I prefer girlfriend." She says, last thing before Sam breaks into a grin too happy for a courtroom, and closes the gap between their lips. "Or significant other. Maybe lover." She quips, between mouthy kisses. "Not 'witness'."

"Duly noted." Sam laughs breathily, hands pulling her close and wandering, until he's touched every inch of her a million times. He never thought he'd be lucky enough to get someone like her - and he just loves her so, so much.

"And by the way, babe," She has an arm around his neck, and another holding his face as they kiss. All words are punctuated with kisses, enthusiastic yet fleeting. "I'd say this counts as a win for you, but my lawyerspeak was definitely the better competitor."

"Must be all those hours of courtroom dramas." Sam agrees, only half parts kidding, his eyes closed as they kiss.

"Well, I keep asking you to join me."

"Binges are not my thing, Jess."

"Bath sex didn't used to be mine." She returns immediately, and as if to prove her point, rolls her hips. That shoots an almost painful wave of arousal through him, aiming straight for his cock, and getting there in record time as Sam throws his head back.

Jess chases his lips back to a kiss, grinning against his mouth as she adds, "We might need another trial for me to get you to bingewatch Suits."

"Petition to conduct all future trials in the bathtub as well." Sam grunts, quickly losing coherency, as she moves in all the perfect ways on top of him.

"Sounds like grounds for a trial." Jess teases, though her breath hitching on the last syllable ruins the solemnity, because Sam's hands have finally ended up south, and he's buried his face in her neck, biting and sucking a mark between her collarbones.

"Not really." Sam pants, but that's as far technical as his brain can get, while he tries to give his girlfriend a hickey, and finger her at the same time.

"Who's the to-be lawyer's girlfriend here, Sam?"

Sam can't help but laugh at her dramatic patronizing tone, though it's muffled into her skin. "It's you." And Jess gasps suddenly, less from Sam's easily accepted defeat, and more from the way he feels, sliding inside her as he lifts her up with his hands on her hips, and then brings her down on top of him, and she clings tighter to him, moaning and fully draped over his chest now. He strokes her hair with one hand, and kisses her neck again.

"It's always going to be you."

*

Later, when they're both drying their hair in front of the mirror, Jess with a hairdryer and Sam with a towel (which they'll soon exchange, though), and she's rambling about how Sam should probably choose Environmental Law (seeing as he cares about water conservation so frigging much), and how much Sam's going to adore Harvey Spectre (apparently, the designated rich, badass hotshot in a show of designated rich hotshots) - all he can think about is how he's finally done something right in his goddamn mess of a life.

And how unbelievably lucky he is, to get his chance at a happy ending with the most perfect woman in the entire world.

(They go to bed, soon after, flirting and kissing all the way through dinner, still coming down from their high as they drift off to sleep in each other's arms, but Sam ends up getting awoken at midnight by the unstealthy pacing of an intruder - who turns out to be Dean Winchester.)

[once-upon-a-spemily]

What You Really Need (2/2)

Summary: Hanna is sure (she’s sure!) that Spencer and Emily have slept together. Now she just needs them to admit it. And, preferably, fall deeply in love, while they’re at it.

Part 2 of the Hanna-POV-spemily-au. Part one is here

So Hanna like. Knows now. She knows Spencer and Emily have slept together. And she is, frankly, a little offended that neither of them have told her yet. She’s known Spencer since they were seven years old and she’s known Emily since they were both like eighteen so what the hell?

They’re two of her best friends, and if they had sex, they should’ve told her.

She decides to try and get it out of Spencer.

Emily is surprisingly stubborn. With Spencer, she can leverage their years of friendship.

She meets Spencer for coffee on one Sunday and waits approximately five minutes before asking, “so, any cute guys or girls lately?”

Spencer chokes on her coffee. “What?”

Hanna shrugs. “You stopped seeing Alex like, ages ago, and you haven’t told me anything about your current love life. So. What gives? Are you a nun, are you trying to friend-break-up with me? What’s going on?”

Spencer laughs. “Not a nun,” she says, and licks the excess coffee off of her stirrer. “Also not breaking up with you, sorry Han. You’re my forever friend.”

It makes Hanna’s heart so happy she almost forgets she’s supposed to be pissed that Spencer is keeping secrets.

“Okay, good,” she says. “But seriously, nothing?”

Spencer chews on the stick a moment before making a noncommittal noise. Hanna quirks an eyebrow. It works. Spencer lets out a long-suffering sigh. “Hanna, seriously? Do you need me to set up cameras in my bedroom?”

“Ew, no that’s sick,” Hanna says. “Just...keep me in the loop, okay?”

“You got it.”

--

So. That was a bust.

--

She doesn’t see Spencer and Emily together for a while. She doesn’t see them apart that much more.

Spencer’s got some big case, and lord knows Hanna’s client list only seems to grow each day. They’re all adults now, which blows, mostly, but hey, she gets to live alone with the love of her life and legally drink alcohol and eat cake whenever so. Perks?

When she does see them, apart of course, she can tell they’re both stressed. Emily’s patience is basically nonexistent and Spencer’s focus is never fully there. She’s always in her head, solving problems she can’t work on at the moment. Aria’s got deadlines upon deadlines, and is basically off the grid entirely.

Hanna’s casually looking at rental houses in the tropics because lord knows they all need to get away.

Her computer makes a small ping noise and a calendar notification pops up. They haven’t had a game night in months. They’re very overdue. She decides then and there that game night, next week, is the perfect remedy for all of their stress.

--

Emily brings someone to game night.

Hanna is short-circuiting.

Emily. Brings. Someone. To. Game. Night.

Someone named Sara Harvey who’s pretty but also looks a little feral and Hanna thought Emily meant bring a friend not bring a...whatever the fuck Sara is to her.

Hanna tries to be subtle about it but the first thing she does when Emily introduces the girl is to shoot Spencer a glance.

Spencer looks ten times more shocked than Hanna feels. She looks.

Shit. She looks like someone just kicked her in the chest.

Oh no.

--

Spencer recovers faster than Hanna does. She goes about the evening like. Fine. Hanna guesses.

She seems fine.

“Hey, Spence!” Emily calls from where she’s standing by the alcohol. “What’s your poison?”

Spencer casts a disinterested look at Emily. “I’m good, thanks.” And she goes back to talking to Aria.

Okay. Maybe ‘fine’ is a generous term.

For a second, Emily falters. She looks half-confused, half-sad, but she seems to brush it off and pours herself a drink.

It takes Hanna all of five minutes to realize that this game night is not going to relieve her stress. Aria is doing great, because she is utterly oblivious. Caleb is now on edge because he knows Hanna is. Spencer is being petty and, frankly, kind of bitchy, but in a way where you don’t realize she’s being a bitch until like a minute after she’s done talking.

Sara is. Weird. And Emily is visibly confused and frustrated by the whole thing.

She clearly has no idea why Spencer is so pissed off.

The room is full of tension, and maybe jealousy, and Hanna is trying to enjoy playing Hungry Hungry Hippos but it’s really, really hard.

They take a pause after Aria wins. Caleb goes to pick out the next game, and Hanna pretends she doesn’t see Spencer pour her next drink with a very liberal hand.

Hanna’s torn. She’s a little mortified, she’s a little angry at Spencer for being so careless, and she’s also a little heartbroken for her.

Caleb pulls out the scrabble box.

“No,” Hanna says quickly. “Hell no. I hate that game.”

She does. She always loses.

She also refuses to play with a tipsy, jealous Spencer. That’s a bad combination.

“What about Would You Rather?” Aria asks from her spot on the couch.

“No,” Hanna says firmly.

Aria lets out a sigh of impatience.

The next thing Caleb pulls out is Twister. Hanna’s heart catches in her throat. Jesus, they can’t really catch a break tonight, can they? Hanna can feel everyone getting impatient so she just swallows and nods.

“Sure.” She says. “Fine.”

Hanna sits the first round out to order pizzas, even though it’s a little late, but she still watches carefully.

It takes about a minute before everyone’s straining on the mat, Emily and Sara tangled around each other as they try to stay upright.

“Sorry,” Sara says.

“Don’t be,” Emily replies, in a tone that’s more than a little flirtatious and Hanna wants to gag.

Spencer tumbles not a second later. She gets up without a word and goes to pour herself another drink. She skips the wine and goes right for the tequila this time.

“Sit with me,” Hanna says, waving her over. Spencer does and Hanna rests her head on Spencer’s shoulder as they watch.

She wishes she could say something to comfort her. But she doesn’t want to make things more awkward than they already are.

The pizza arrives twenty minutes later and they stop playing for a little while. Sara leaves after they eat, claiming she has some work to do, and Hanna doesn’t really care, she’s just fine with the girl leaving. She’s weird.

They start playing twister again after dinner, and it’s way easier with four people than with five. That doesn’t stop Aria from falling in the first minute.

She’s short. She never does well at twister.

Hanna’s the next one out and it’s because Caleb tickles her, the cheater, even if he denies it. She knows she felt him tickling the back of her thigh.

Spencer gets right-foot-yellow on the next spin and that positions her...well. It positions her practically on all fours, face to face with Emily, mere inches a part as they try and retain their balance.

“Hi,” Spencer says. It’s the first word she’s said to Emily directly in over an hour.

Emily cocks her head and she smiles of all things. “Hi.”

Spencer blinks, slow and lazy, as she stares at Emily.

Hanna cannot believe they went from jealousy to this in like...three hours. What the hell?

Emily gets left-hand-blue and she’s trying to stretch past Spencer, but she can’t quite reach and she lets out this little noise and Spencer wobbles and then falls, and Emily falls immediately after.

“Dang it!” Emily says.

Spencer’s laughing, and Aria’s laughing, and Emily’s laughing, and fine, Hanna joins in too, because that was cute and also funny.

They wrap up twister and move onto pictionary.

--

At the end of the night, when everyone’s getting ready to go, Hanna notices Spencer and Emily standing together as they get on their coats.

“We’re good?” Spencer asks, ever so quietly.

Emily says something Hanna can’t hear, but based on the answering smile on Spencer’s face, they’re on their way to being okay

Thank god. Hanna doesn’t think she could survive another night like tonight.

--

Two weeks later, Hanna notices that Emily has unfollowed Sara on all social media.

Hanna scoffs. Yeah, there was no way that was ever going to be a serious thing.

--

Spring time means girls trip.

Spring time has always meant girls’ trip, and now, for the first time, Hanna gets to go with Aria, Emily, and Spencer all together.

She’d be worried about having Spencer and Emily in the same room, but the two of them shockingly behaved at Hanna’s birthday dinner so she thinks they’ll be fine. Probably. There’s still some weird tension but they’re like...civil now. So it’s fine.

Anyway. The place they booked is stunning. It’s this gorgeous house on the shore, overlooking white sand and clear blue water. It has it’s own private pool that has amazing views of the water, and everything is lush and green and sunny and tropical.

It’s already stocked with food and liquor and Hanna is already in love.

She claims the master bedroom, which opens right to a private balcony where you can jump right into the pool, basically, and no one argues with her.

“Okay!” Hanna calls once the others have claimed their bedrooms and put their suitcases away. “Everyone change into swimsuits now, and let’s start drinking!”

They’re all laughing at her, but they do as she says, at least.

Hanna takes a little bit longer because once she’s in her white bikini, with her sunglasses on, so what if she throws open the balcony doors and snaps a few pictures to send to Caleb. She’s hot, he’s her boyfriend, it’s like...practically her job to let him know!

“Hanna!” Emily calls her name from somewhere in the house. “Can you put sunscreen on my back?”

Hanna like. Really doesn’t want to do that. She’s busy. She gets an idea, and grins to herself. “Sorry, Em, my hands are full. Spencer, will get Emily’s back?”

There’s a beat of silence, and Hanna wonders if Spencer even heard her but then, out of nowhere, comes Spencer’s voice. “Yeah, I got it.”

Hanna smirks.

Hanna takes one more picture for Caleb and then goes back inside, winding her way through the house and outside to the pool. It’s an infinity pool, too. God she loves luxury.

She tries not to feel smug when she turns to see Emily sitting on one of the lounge chairs, with Spencer behind her, rubbing sunscreen into her back.

“Make sure it’s all soaked in!” Hanna practically sings.

Spencer shoots her a glare.

What? It’s not Hanna’s fault that Emily cares about her skin.

Hanna gets in the water - which is divine - and Emily and Spencer switch after a minute. Emily is trying very, very hard not to stare at Spencer, Hanna can tell.

Aria comes out a minute later, carrying a tray of gin and tonics, and finally. Vacation has begun.

--

They spend most of the day by the pool or in the pool, drinking gin and tonics and soaking up the sun. Once it starts to set, Emily towels off and ties a little wrap into a makeshift skirt around her waist before going into the kitchen to start prepping dinner.

Spencer floats around the water for a minute longer, makes a good show of it, and then towels off as well. Hanna tries not to grin as she watches Spencer go into the kitchen.

They’re actually tolerable on this trip. It’s amazing what a little bit of R&R will do.

“How’d you even find this place?” Aria asks.

Hanna shrugs and pushes herself up onto her elbows. She’s been out of the pool for a while, working on her tan. “Caleb,” she says simply. “He did some work on the resort’s site. They loved him. He even got us a discount.”

“Jesus, Hanna, you sure know how to pick em!”

Hanna grins.

Yeah, her boyfriend is great.

There’s a crashing sound from the kitchen, but instead of hearing Spencer cursing or anything, all Hanna hears is giggling and Emily shouting, “we’re fine! Keep relaxing!”

“I can’t believe you thought they slept together,” Aria says with a snort.

Hanna turns to stare at her, half-offended. “Excuse you.” She has half a mind to counter Aria’s argument but Spencer and Emily are right inside and they’re just starting to get back to normal and Hanna’s not going to be the one to ruin that. No way.

They finally get up to go inside when they can smell food, and Spencer and Emily are both moving around the kitchen in almost perfect sync, assembling dinner.

If nothing else, Hanna’s just really happy that all of her friends are such good friends. It’s her dream come true, really.

--

Their second day, they have a private surf lesson. It’s one of only a few scheduled activities they have, because Hanna prefers doing nothing on vacation.

Also, she really wanted to see her friends fall off the surfboard. Everyone knows it’s going to happen. And it’s going to be hilarious.

Their instructor is cute and Hanna is like 90% sure he and Aria will hook up before the vacation is over.

They start with their boards flat on the sand, learning the motions and the positions.

Emily’s done this before, because of course she has. Emily takes to water like...well, like a fish takes to water.

Hanna’s sitting on her ass at one point, watching the others, and Spencer’s got it, mostly, but her foot’s in the wrong position or something, so Emily hops off of her board and walks over, standing behind Spencer.

“Looking good,” Emily says. “But it’s a little more...here.” She reaches down, wrapping her fingers around Spencer’s ankle and pulling back. Then she stands up again and settles her hands on Spencer’s hips, shifting them so they’re parallel.

“Okay?” Spencer asks and yeah, her voice is a little strangled, Hanna notices.

“Yeah, you got it,” Emily says, and she does not, actually, take her hands off of Spencer’s hips yet. “You’ve got good form. Have you ever done this before?”

Spencer shakes her head. “No. I do tennis, and used to play field hockey and that’s about it.”

Emily hums a little and then shrugs, and then she releases Spencer, walking back to her board.

Hanna can’t believe Aria isn’t seeing this shit.

She can’t really dwell on it, though, because now they’re taking their boards down to the water to try this for real this time.

Aria wipes out first. The instructor helps her up out of the water, fetching her board for her. Hanna, unfortunately, is next.

People were not meant to stand on objects that aren’t attached to solid ground, she decides. This whole sport is stupid.

She comes up out of the water, and Spencer’s down too. Only Emily is left and Emily is like, good. Hanna reaches out for Spencer, grabbing her hand as they make their way to shore, but they both just kind of. Stop. And they stand in the shallows, boards under their arms and just watch Emily for a minute.

“Wow,” Spencer says. Hanna looks at her, looks at how bright Spencer looks, and how breathless she is and she smiles to herself.

“Yeah,” she says. “Wow.”

Emily finishes riding the wave, and starts paddling back to shore. She’s the only one of them that actually did something. Hanna starts clapping, and Emily blushes, tucking a strand of wet hair behind her ear.

“Seriously, Han?”

“You did great!”

“I almost fell off like, four times,” Emily says, rolling her eyes.

“Uh, hello, did you see us? You were amazing,” Hanna says.

“She’s right,” Spencer says, but she’s dead serious. “You looked great out there.”

“Oh,” Emily says, looking at Spencer now. She blinks and she smiles, then, all slow and surprised and content. “Thanks.”

--

Their third day is rainy. So they spend it inside drinking Tequila Sunrises and playing board games.

They have like, four days left, so Hanna isn’t too bothered, even if she’d rather rip out her hair than play scrabble again.

She drinks, she calls Caleb, she listens to the sound of the rain against the pool, against the roof, against the palm trees. It’s a good day.

Spencer wins at poker, again, and they order some food from the hotel to be brought to their guest house. One of the perks of staying on site.

They watch movies that night, still drinking, and when they all go to bed, Hanna cracks her bedroom door open so she can listen to the rain.

--

Hanna wakes up at midnight, and it’s still raining. The wind has picked up, too. It’s not enough to rattle the house, or anything, but it is enough to spray some rain onto her bed. She yawns, and debates putting up with it, but she gets another spray of rain in the face and untangles her legs from the sheets.

She pads across the floor, and closes the door to the balcony. Then, she turns around to go back to bed. Except. You know. Now she’s awake, and her head’s kind of killing her from all the tequila. It’s not quite a hangover, but it has the makings of a future hangover and Hanna so does not have time for that.

She decides to get some water before going back to bed.

She slides open her bedroom door and she. Well.

She hears it before she sees it.

“Spencer.”

Hanna’s mind is still half-asleep, so it takes a while to catch up to her eyes, which have adjusted to the light just enough to see that Spencer has Emily pressed against the kitchen counter and oh my god, they’re kissing.

They’re kissing and it’s...shit, it’s a lot, there are hands everywhere, and Spencer is trying (somewhat successfully) to tug Emily’s shirt down.

“Spencer, please,” and then there’s a moan, and Hanna yelps before she can help it because she does not need to see this!

They both freeze up and, thank god, detach from one another. They have the decency to look at least a little embarrassed and Hanna can’t help it. She can’t. She just can’t!

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she blurts.

Emily and Spencer trade a sheepish, and confused, look. “What?”

“You two!” Hanna huffs. She throws her hands in the air. “God, it took you two long enough!”

“Hanna–” Spencer starts, but Hanna holds up her hand, stopping her.

She crosses the kitchen, gets a glass. Pours water in it, and then she looks pointedly at both of them. “Carry on,” she says, and then she starts off towards the bedroom again.

Before she gets there, though, she pauses and she turns around, shooting them a glare. “I’m so fucking sick of this back and forth between the two of you and I know this isn’t the first time that this is happened so listen to me very, very carefully.”

“Okay?” Emily asks.

“When we get home, you two are going on a date, already. Okay? Just like,” she gestures vaguely at both of them. “Fucking suck it up and go on a real date. Jesus.”

She walks into her room, kicks the door closed, downs the water, and then she puts in earbuds before going to bed. She really doesn’t need to hear whatever happens next.

--

She really only half-expects them to listen to her, because they’ve been frustratingly stubborn up to this point.

She’s back at home, sketching out a new design for a client, and eating one of the ice cream bars that Caleb bought her as a concession for the fact that she was right about Spencer and Emily (thank you very much) when her phone beeps.

She looks down at the screen and nearly squeals.

Spencer has texted her a picture. Of her and Emily. All dressed up. At a fancy restaurant.

A real date.

She’s so happy she could die.

Instead, she just gets back to work.

--

They all get together at Aria’s place, for once, and Hanna actually doesn’t hate the fact that she doesn’t have to host. It’s a nice change of pace. Hanna doesn’t even have to worry about cleaning. She can’t remember the last time that happened.

She and Caleb get there a little late (definitely not Hanna’s fault or anything) but they’re still there before Emily or Spencer, so she figures they’re fine.

Hanna feels pretty fucking smug when Spencer and Emily have the nerve to show up together and don’t even try to hide it.

She loves winning.

“Hey!��� Aria calls from her perch on the couch. “Welcome! There’s alcohol on the counter, feel free to help yourselves!”

Emily is saying hi to Caleb, and Spencer goes over to the alcohol, looking over the selection. “Babe!” she calls. “Whiskey?”

The entire world slows for a minute, and Hanna can feel her jaw dropping. Caleb is staring. Aria is staring.

Emily just nods. “Yeah. Thanks!” she says, as if nothing just happened.

Well. That’s one way to announce you’re dating.

Aria is at Emily’s side in a minute, demanding answers, demanding the whole story, and Hanna has never felt so vindicated in her entire life, thank you very much.

They do tell a version of the story (clearly with some missing details), but Hanna can at least piece together that she was right, and they definitely slept together before New Years. She has enough tact to not blurt it out in front of the whole room, but she is definitely going to tell both Caleb and Aria “I told you so” like a million times later.

A million. Exactly.

For the first time in ages, Hanna is able to enjoy a party without like, checking to see if Emily and Spencer are still glued to each other. She doesn’t have to. She knows they are. She drinks, and she chats to people, and she snuggles up against Caleb and just kind of...goes with the flow.

It’s pretty perfect.

As usual, everyone trickles out except for Hanna, Caleb, Spencer, and Emily. No, they stay to help Aria clean up.

Hanna is walking the living room with a trashbag, picking up crumpled napkins. Caleb is scrubbing some something that spilled on the floor hours ago and left a sticky residue.

Spencer is loading the dishwasher. Emily is cleaning up the bar area.

Or at least that’s what they’re supposed to be doing.

And Emily is, ostensibly, stacking cups and wiping down the counter. But Spencer is behind her, whispering in her ear and Emily is pressing back against her, smiling to herself. Hanna rolls her eyes and goes back  to picking up trash.

Then she hears Emily’s breath hitch (like...all the way across the room. What the hell) and when she looks up again, Spencer’s hands are on Emily’s hips, one slipped under the hem of her shirt, rubbing small circles on the skin there, and Emily’s eyes are all dark. She says something that has Spencer squeezing her hips and okay, Hanna’s seen enough now.

“Yo!” she shouts, snapping to get their attention. “Get to work or get a room, just cause you two are official now doesn’t mean you can feel each other up in front of us, yeah?”

They both stare at her for a moment, and then they burst out laughing, Spencer removes her hands, but they still stay pressed together.

“Right,” Emily says. “Cause you and Caleb have never packed on the PDA.”

Hanna rolls her eyes. “PDA is one thing, foreplay is another!”

She’s just walking into a trap really, because Emily gets this slow, lazy grin on her face and she says, “oh, that’s not the foreplay.”

“Gross,” Hanna says, sticking out her tongue. She throws a wadded-up napkin at them. “Spence, take your girl home.”

Spencer quirks an eyebrow and takes Emily’s hand, pulling her away from the counter, towards the door. “Gladly.”

Hanna didn’t even realize they were done. They both call goodbye to Aria before disappearing out the front door.

She feels Caleb come up behind her, and he picks up the napkin that she threw.

“You were right,” he says. He kisses her temple quickly. “As usual.”

“Let’s be gross like them,” Hanna says, turning to face him so she can kiss him for real. “And let’s go home.”

Caleb laughs, but he takes her hand and she deposits the trash bag down the chute as they make their way out of the building.

--

Hanna gets the stomach flu. She gets the fucking stomach flu the day after her busiest week at work and she’s been dying emotionally week and now she’s dying physically.

She got it from Aria, too, so thanks for that.

In all fairness, she was the one who insisted on taking care of Aria so it’s probably her fault but still.

She’s driving home after her last, and biggest, meeting, and in the rearview mirror she can see that she’s white as a sheet. She’s sweating, but cold, and she feels like she’s about to pass out so she pulls off the interstate early.

Spencer’s place is closer than her own, so she pulls into Spencer’s parking lot and bangs on the door as loud as she can.

She really, really hopes Spencer’s home.

The door swings open, thank god, and Spencer’s there, her brows knit together.

“Hanna?”

“Hi,” she says, offering a weak smile. “Need to lay down. Maybe puke. Got a bucket?”

She stumbles into the house and Spencer grabs her arm, guiding her to the couch. Hanna squeezes her eyes shut and hears Spencer moving around the kitchen.

When she opens her eyes again there was an empty trashcan in front of her and a glass of water on the table. Spencer presses a hot washcloth to Hanna’s forehead and rubs circles on her back.

Hanna lets her eyes flutter closed and wraps her arms around herself.

She hears some feet shuffling and then, softly, someone says, “Is she okay?”

Hanna opens her eyes and sees Emily standing in the door to Spencer’s bedroom. She’s wearing one of Spencer’s old Stanford hoodies.

“I think she has whatever Aria had last week,” Spencer says. “Can you call Caleb? He should come get her. I don’t think she can get home.”

Emily nods and Hanna goes to lie down on the couch, Spencer still rubbing circles onto her back.

“Sorry,” she mumbles. “Didn’t realize Em was here.”

She feels Spencer shrug. “It’s fine. She’s here more often than not. No big.”

Hanna hums to herself. It is big, she wants to say. Love is always big. But she feels like crap and neither of them have even said the l word yet so she just closes her eyes and hopes Caleb comes to get her soon.

--

She and Caleb are having a picnic when she gets the text. From Spencer. She feels bad. Caleb’s brought her out to this gorgeous mountainside, and they’re overlooking this lake and he brought all of this fancy supplies so she doesn’t even have to sit in the dirt, and made like, real food, and she’s drinking wine and it’s perfect. But she can’t stop squirming with anticipation, wondering what the text says.

He nudges her. “Just look.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, Han.”

She does, and nearly squeals.

“They moved in!”

There’s a picture there of Emily carrying boxes into Spencer’s house.

They’ve been together about seven months now, and it’s honestly a little overdue if you ask Hanna, because they started doing this dance almost a year ago.

She texts a quick little reply, mostly exclamation points, and then puts her phone away again, leaning into Caleb. She put her phone on silent, too.

It’s a good thing, because her attention is completely on him when, twenty minutes later, he pulls a box out of his pocket and presents her with the most gorgeous ring of all time.

--

Two years after Spencer moved to town, she proposes to Emily.

It’s not quite the “wedding in two years” estimation that Hanna had  put out there, but it’s pretty damn close and she’ll take it.

She still takes the opportunity to tell Caleb, her husband, “I told you so” when it happens.

She still cries.

She still is the undisputed queen of matchmaking.

[walkonwalkonwithhopeinyourheart]

Summary of how our Lads Performed tonight via /r/LiverpoolFC

Summary of how our Lads Performed tonight

Harvey Elliott (Finland U17s v England U17s)

It was quite tough to get information for this game, but I know that he started and they won 5-0. He didn't score.

Rhian Brewster (Turkey U21s v England U21s)

Started the game on the bench, but made his debut in the 79th minute, coming on for Reiss Nelson. He looked really positive for the last 15 minutes, with exceptional pressing, good control and was always in the right places. He nearly got on the end of a Foden cross and had a shot which was saved from the edge of the box. England won 3-2.

Virgil Van Dijk (Germany v Netherlands)

Virgil played the full 90 in which Netherlands beat their rivals 4-2. Overall, he was defensively solid as always but some people could say he was at fault for Germany's first goal for allowing the winger onside but he did well as the Dutch captain.

Dejan Lovren (Slovakia v Croatia)

Dejan started and played brilliantly throughout the game. He wasn't really tested but when he was, he proved why he is still around at the European champions. He also scored at the end, which is always really positive.

Andy Robertson (Scotland v Russia)

Robbo started as captain. He got a bit unlucky with the Russian goal, as the interception he made rolled striaght to Dzyuba to slot it home. He obviously wasn't been as attacking as he is for us but defensively I think he's done the job. For the second goal Robertson was nowhere to be seen as a ball was played down his flank, allowing a cross in for Russia to score. Overall, it was one of the poorer games I have seen him play, he probably felt out of place in such a poor defence.

Gini Wijnaldum (Germany)

Gini started in midfield for Oranje and was the best player on the pitch undoubtedly and was all over. He proved himself as one of the best midfielders in Europe and being underrated. He made a brilliant pass to put Netherlands ahead late on, and then he added to that byscoring in stoppage time. What a player.

Divock Origi (San Marino)

Divock started tonight but didn't really shine. He didn't pass well, was very sluggish and didn't put in any proper effort. This resulted in him being subbed off in the 54th minute.

Harry Wilson (Azerbaijan)

Harry Wilson started after winning Bournemouth POTM but wasn't that good. Wales won 2-1 but he got subbed in the 63rd minute. Made a few tactical fouls and had a nasty stamp on someone which he was lucky to get away with. Overall, slightly above average and a bit unlucky not to get something from the game.

Caoihmin Kelleher (Armenia U21s)

Source of safety for the back line, playing as a sweeper he prevented a clear chance on goal by sprinting out and clearing the ball away from the Armenia striker. Looked much more in command of his box when tested in the air. Made a decent save on a long range Armenia chance, blocked and prevented from rebounding in the box. His throwing power and accuracy helped Ireland get on the front foot multiple times. Combined with Conor Coventry's passing range this would have proved lethal had the chances been finished. Looks promising for the future.

​

​

I've also added this to my International Break Megathread. I'd really appreciate it if people discussed the upcoming games on there just so it's easier to gather information.

Submitted September 06, 2019 at 10:23PM by Charlie_M7 via reddit https://ift.tt/2ZVbh7Q

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/nfl-roundup-chargers-beat-rams-falcons-lose-andy-dalton-looks-good/

NFL Roundup: Chargers beat Rams, Falcons lose and Andy Dalton looks good

Hurrican Harvey is causing plenty of problems for Texas, but it's also caused the Houston Texans to uproot and head inland until things calm down and dry out. The Houston Texans say they are unable to return home because of Hurricane Harvey and are instead flying to Dallas following Saturday night's exhibition game in New Orleans. Texans coach Bill O'Brien says he's been told flooded roads are part of the reason for his teams' diversion to northern Texas. O'Brien says he's unsure how long the Texans will remain in Dallas. He says he's also uncertain where Houston would practice, but adds the Dallas Cowboys would probably share their training facilities if needed. The Texans are hoping to return to Houston as soon as possible, so they're not able to announce plans beyond Sunday because they're waiting to see how Houston comes through the storm. Players say they're praying for Houston and confident its residents will pull through as well as possible. Even before they showed the boxing spectacle of the summer on locker room TVs after the game, the Broncos showed some fight in their 20-17 preseason win over the Green Bay Packers - among themselves. Cornerback Aqib Talib and linebacker Todd Davis got into a shoving match in the first half that bled onto the sidelines before tempers finally cooled. "Nothing serious, we're all good," said Talib, who started the fracas with a too-hard shove of Davis as he tried to get him away from doing some jawing with the Packers. Davis took exception and hit him back. "Nothing serious, we're all good," Talib said. Jamaal Charles and Von Miller provided the other fireworks before the teams pulled up chairs to watch Floyd Mayweather Jr. knocked out Conor McGregor in the 10th round in Las Vegas. Charles' impressive Denver debut included four rushes for 27 yards, two catches and a declaration afterward by coach Vance Joseph that he's in the Broncos' plans this season. "I felt like a Bronco when I got here, but putting on that uniform for the very first time, that's when I really feel like this is a new beginning," said Charles, Kansas City's all-time leading rusher who was released by the Chiefs over the winter. The last player introduced before the game, Miller made his cameo count by sacking Aaron Rodgers for an 11-yard loss, forcing the Packers to settle for a 52-yard field goal and ending Rodgers' night after 10 snaps (he was 3 for 5 for 12 yards). "A-Rod, he's a great quarterback, a Hall of Fame quarterback," Miller said. "So, especially in the preseason if you can get some practice against that, it's dope. It's great." Miller spun past Jason Spriggs, who was subbing for injured right tackle Bryan Bulaga, and split a double team on his way to dumping Rodgers. "It was a good move by him. He's an athletic guy," said Rodgers, who was harassed into the worst game of his career the last time he came to Denver in 2015. "He likes to line up on our right a lot. And we had help on the outside on that play, but he just made that quick spin move inside. "By the time I felt it I was heading to the ground." After Green Bay safety Kentrell Brice returned an interception 42 yards to the Denver 2 minutes after Rodgers was sacked, backup Brett Hundley trotted out to hand off to Ty Montgomery for the touchdown plunge and a 10-0 lead. "The plan was for Aaron to play two series," Packers coach Mike McCarthy explained. "I was trying to get Brett as much work as I possibly could." "It's the preseason. We don't play a whole lot anymore around here," Rodgers said. "We just kind of get in try to find a rhythm and get out." Miller's day was over after Montgomery's TD. "You know you're not going to be playing much anyways, so to get a sack on those few plays, it feels great," said Miller, who called his sack dance the "sexy T-Rex." Trevor Siemian, in his first game since coach Vance Joseph declared him the starting quarterback over Paxton Lynch, bounced back from his interception to lead Denver on three impressive drives, Lynch came in and got hurt on his only series. Siemian engineered a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by C.J. Anderson's untouched 16-yard trot but marred by the loss of top receiver Demaryius Thomas to a thigh injury. Siemian also was efficient in the 2-minute offense, and Brandon McManus kicked a 28-yard field goal to tie it at 10 as the first half expired. Siemian finished 13 of 22 for 127 yards and had one interception. Lynch guided Denver on the go-ahead scoring drive - McManus was good from 46 yards - to start the second half. The second-year QB hurt his right (throwing) shoulder on the drive, apparently when he slid on it after a scramble. Joseph said X-rays were negative but that Lynch would go for an MRI on Sunday to confirm it's not a serious injury. Joseph said he's prepared to play Kyle Sloter the entire fourth preseason game. Sloter replaced Lynch and threw a 17-yard TD pass to Hunter Sharp that made it 20-10. Hundley's 6-yard keeper made it 20-17 early in the fourth quarter. TAKE A KNEE: Broncos right tackle Menelik Watson gave new meaning to the term "take a knee" when he proposed to his fiance after the starters were taken out of the game. Azania Stewart, a member of the British national basketball team, said yes. "Just spontaneous," said Watson, who has known Stewart since they were 14. "It was her first NFL game. She's about to head overseas to start her season. She leaves tomorrow. It's something I've been thinking about for a while, been contemplating it, so what a perfect time to do it: in the stadium, our first game, in front of a beautiful crowd. I'm not really a public person, but I thought it would have been special." SITTING OUT: In addition to Thomas, DE Zach Kerr (knee) and S Will Parks (hip) got hurt in the first half for Denver, and Packers OLB Nick Perry was shaken up before halftime. Philip Rivers, Joey Bosa and the rest of the Los Angeles Chargers appear ready to start wooing their new home market for real. Rivers capped the game's opening drive with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Travis Benjamin, and Bosa's strip sack of Goff led to Melvin Ingram's 76-yard fumble return for a score. The Chargers raced to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and held on to beat the Rams 21-19 Saturday night at the Coliseum. Knowing they have to win to attract fans in a saturated market that doesn't tolerate losing, the Chargers hope to see much more mayhem from Bosa and Ingram. After Rivers capped the opening drive with the long TD pass to Benjamin, the Rams moved to the Chargers 8. But as Jared Goff dropped back on third down, Bosa hit him and jarred loose the ball. Ingram scooped it up and was gone. "It's just fun to finally get to the quarterback," said Bosa, who added he's focusing more on knocking the ball loose than simply hitting the QB. He said he knew Ingram "was going to get there. He better not let some O-lineman run him down. I was watching him pick it up and hoping he didn't fumble it and have to fall on it. I was cheering for him, but I didn't run all the way down there. I was cheering from afar." If Bosa and Ingram stay healthy, they're expected to be major forces. Bosa, the Chargers' first-round draft pick in 2016, missed his rookie training camp in a contract spat and then missed the first four games with a hamstring injury. He finished with 10 ½ sacks in 12 games and was voted Defensive Rookie of the Year. Ingram signed a four-year deal that can be worth up to $66 million after making eight sacks last year, giving him 18 ½ in two years. "That whole D-line, we're deep, and we've got guys who can rush the passer," Bosa said. "So It'll be a fun year." Seeing Bosa and Ingram up front, "Man, that makes my job a lot easier," said cornerback Jason Verrett, who had an interception in his first game action since tearing a knee ligament in the fourth game last year. This was the most significant exhibition game, when most starters played into the second quarter. Few if any are expected to play in the fourth and final exhibition. After a bitter split from their home of 56 years in San Diego, the Chargers relocated to the Los Angeles area in January, a year after the Rams moved back from St. Louis. The Chargers train in Costa Mesa in Orange County and play at the StubHub Center, a 27,000-seat soccer stadium in Carson in Los Angeles County. They have some work to do after winning only nine games the last two seasons. But after losing their first two exhibition games in front of less-than-capacity crowds at StubHub, the first-teamers looked sharp. Verrett's pickoff set up Melvin Ingram's 2-yard touchdown run for a 21-0 lead. Rams rookie coach Sean McVay said that over the course of a full game, Goff would get a chance to redeem himself. "What you like about Jared is he is unfazed by that," McVay said of the two plays fans will remember. "There was obviously a couple I'd like back," Goff said. "I felt like we moved the ball pretty well on that first drive, got all the way down there and, unfortunately, turned it over, and they were able to take it the other way. But it's all good stuff to learn from." Rivers was 6 of 6 for 85 yards. Goff was 4 of 6 for 49 yards. LINEUPS The Chargers held out star tight end Antonio Gates, 37. The Rams held out running back Todd Gurley and wide receivers Tavon Austin and Cooper Kupp, who have injuries. BACKUPS The Rams' Sean Mannion played well, including throwing a 38-yard TD pass to Josh Reynolds in the third quarter. Travis Coons kicked a 53-yard field goal after starter Greg Zuerlein made field goals of 42, 21 and 57 yards. But Coons was wide right on a potential go-ahead, 33-yard try with 7:50 to go. Cardale Jones, obtained by the Chargers from Buffalo just before training camp, threw an interception for the second straight week when Dominique Hatfield muscled the ball away from Benjamin late in the second quarter. RIVALRY? After failing to get a new stadium built in San Diego, Chargers chairman Dean Spanos announced on Jan. 12 he was moving the team to the saturated Los Angeles market. Their marketing slogan, "Fight For LA," has been roundly mocked by fans in San Diego and by Rams fans. When the Chargers took the field before the game, they were greeted by the War song "Why Can't We Be Friends?" as well as by boos. INJURIES: Chargers: WR Isaiah Burse left with a concussion in the third quarter. Rams: TE Temarrick Hemingway injured an ankle in the second quarter and was taken off the field on a cart. G Jamon Brown tweaked a hamstring trying to run down Ingram on fumble return, but could have returned if it was a regular-season game. Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals' starters looked regular-season ready, while Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins still have some work to do. Dalton was 8 of 13 for 70 yards and Cincinnati's first-team offense and defense looked sharp against Washington on Sunday as the Redskins won each team's third preseason game 23-17 on the strength of their backups. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict intercepted Cousins' pass and returned it for a touchdown, stiff-arming the quarterback at the end zone and jumping into the stands, before leaving with a back injury. A.J. Green had four catches for 43 yards, Jeremy Hill ran for 15 yards and a touchdown before his day was cut short with an ankle injury and the Bengals' starters were 4 of 6 on third down. Chris Smith and rookies Jordan Willis and Carl Lawson each sacked Cousins as defensive coordinator Paul Guenther seems to have the edge rushers he was looking for. Cincinnati running back Giovani Bernard ran for 25 yards on four carries in his first game since tearing the ACL in his left knee last season. The Bengals had taken a cautious approach in bringing Bernard back. The Redskins got tight end Jordan Reed back after he missed the first two preseason games and almost the first month of training camp with an injury to the big toe on his left foot. Reed had two catches for 12 yards and didn't look hampered by the injury. After generating 1 whole yard in the first quarter, the Redskins' starters eventually put together a touchdown drive, but also went three-and-out three times. Cousins was 10 of 19 for 109 yards, and an interception as Washington's first-team offense finished its exhibition action with nine three-and-outs on 15 possessions. Both teams are 1-2. SITTING OUT Bengals TE Tyler Eifert and Redskins WR Josh Doctson were surprise scratches, though Doctson has missed time in camp with a hamstring injury. Washington rookie LB Ryan Anderson, who got a shoulder stinger in the first preseason game, was not in uniform after being considered a game-time decision. INJURY UPDATE Bengals: Along with his game-ending back injury, Burfict was evaluated for a concussion but cleared. ... RB Cedric Peerman suffered a left shoulder injury, and TE Mason Schreck left with a knee injury. Redskins: DL Phil Taylor injured his left quadriceps muscle on the first defensive series and did not return. ... LB Junior Galette, who had been out with a hamstring injury, saw his first game action since Dec. 28, 2014. ROOKIE WATCH Bengals: WR John Ross flashed some speed on a jet sweep in his preseason debut. Ross, who set the 40-yard dash record at the scouting combine and was a first-round pick, had been held out to recover from shoulder surgery. ... RB Joe Mixon, getting extra carries with Hill going out with an injury, ran eight times for 31 yards and fumbled an exchange with Dalton. ... DT Ryan Glasgow made a fourth-and-1 stop in the third quarter. Redskins: C Chase Roullier, starting in place of the injured Spencer Long, had some good downfield blocking on a day most of the offensive line struggled. ... RB Samaje Perine didn't do much to challenge Rob Kelley's starting job, gaining 5 yards on 5 carries. ... CB Joshua Holsey had a sack and looks Undrafted free agent CB Fish Smithson picked off A.J. McCarron in the fourth quarter and returned it 63 yards. POSITION BATTLES Bengals: Hill versus Mixon got derailed by injury, and Bernard's return adds him to the mix. ... K Randy Bullock made a 53-yard field goal, while rookie Jake Elliott was wide right from 45 yards, his first miss of the preseason. Redskins: Zach Brown and Mason Foster again started at inside linebacker, leaving Will Compton to play with the second team. Brian Hoyer had the San Francisco offense humming after sputtering through the first two preseason games, passing for 176 yards and two touchdowns in the first half before the Minnesota Vikings rallied for a 32-31 victory over the 49ers on Sunday night. Sam Bradford and the Minnesota starters again failed to reach the end zone, though Bradford was sharp when given time to throw. Jerick McKinnon scored on a 108-yard kickoff return in the third quarter, boosting his bid to take over that role. Backup quarterbacks Case Keenum and Taylor Heinicke led a late charge, with Heinicke's hurdle over the pylon for the 2-point conversion on the final play giving the Vikings the win after Terrell Newby's touchdown run with no time left. Hoyer found Marquise Goodwin wide open for a 46-yard touchdown strike and Carlos Hyde out of the backfield for a 24-yard connection, some evidence of how new coach Kyle Shanahan's scheme could pick up the pace after the 49ers were one of the league's lowest-scoring teams the last three years. Goodwin, the former Olympic long jumper who had the fastest 40-yard dash time at the 2013 NFL combine, ought to help. Injuries buried him in Buffalo. The backups were buzzing, too, with an 87-yard score by Raheem Mostert off a screen pass from C.J. Beathard on third-and-22 in the third quarter and a short touchdown run by Mostert in the fourth quarter. An unchallenged starter for the first time in his nine-year career, Hoyer finished 12 for 17 with a 143.3 passer rating. He completed his first nine passes. Beathard took another step toward solidifying himself as the backup, too, despite having a pass picked off by Antone Exum. The depth chart behind Hyde at running back is wide open, with Mostert (130 yards, six touches) and rookie Matt Breida (34 yards, eight touches) standing out. With left tackle Riley Reiff, running back Latavius Murray and wide receiver Laquon Treadwell all playing their first preseason game, Bradford and the Vikings were close to full strength. But the protection was again problematic, and Stefon Diggs dropped two passes. In 13 possessions for the first team over their first three games this month, the Vikings produced 11 punts and one field goal. They reached the 6-yard line in the second quarter but ran out of time before they could try another play. REID PROTEST RESUMES San Francisco strong safety Eric Reid took the American anthem from one knee, in an apparent resumption of the human rights protest he joined last season with then-teammate Colin Kaepernick. Goodwin and others had their hands on Reid's shoulders. Reid later drew the ire of Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen after lowering his shoulder into Thielen's chest during a reception in the second quarter. Reid kissed his flexed biceps muscle like Kaepernick used to do, before receiving an earful from Thielen in response to the necessity of the hit. KICKING CONTEST Marshall Koehn made a 58-yard field goal for the Vikings with room to spare, keeping the competition with Kai Forbath for the kicker job close. Koehn missed a 47-yard attempt a few minutes later after the interception, but he converted a 38-yard extra point after a penalty pushed it back. SITTING OUT 49ers: FS Jimmie Ward (hamstring) was held out after being taken off the physically unable to perform list earlier in the week. Vikings: TE Kyle Rudolph (leg) and DE Brian Robison (undisclosed) didn't suit up. NOTABLE INJURIES 49ers: Five-time Pro Bowl LT Joe Staley was sidelined in the first quarter because of a knee injury, but he was walking around without displaying obvious discomfort or discouragement. ... LB Brock Coyle (knee) departed in the third quarter. Vikings: LB Emmanuel Lamur left in the third quarter for a concussion evaluation. FS Anthony Harris (leg) was out in the fourth quarter. Chicago coach John Fox thinks having a whole week to prepare for an opponent helped Mike Glennon turn in a strong performance for the Bears. How much Glennon helped himself to the Bears' starting quarterback job remains to be seen. Glennon capped an opening 96-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Dion Sims as the Bears beat the Tennessee Titans 19-7 Sunday in the third preseason game. "We're very happy with the way Mike responded as far as a real game plan and what he did, I thought he played very well," said Fox, who also noted coaches will keep evaluating. Glennon was an efficient 11 of 18 for 134 yards passing despite losing starting wide receiver Cameron Meredith late in the first quarter. Meredith was carted off with a suspected left ACL injury, which Fox said must be checked by an MRI exam first. Having a week to prepare and study for an opponent fits Glennon's strengths. "That's kind of what I pride myself on, being well-prepared and working hard through the week," Glennon said. Mitchell Trubisky, the second overall pick out of North Carolina, opened the third quarter with the Bears' starters. But Trubisky threw two incompletions as the Bears (2-1) went three-and-out. Trubisky also fumbled a snap on his next series, though he rebounded with a 45-yard TD pass to Tanner Gentry for a 19-7 lead in the fourth quarter. The Titans (1-2) had issues on offense, defense, and special teams. The Bears could have led 14-0 if Adam Shaheen controlled the ball before going out of bounds after Roy Robertson-Harris blocked a punt into the end zone early in the second quarter. Instead, Chicago led 9-0 after referee Ed Hochuli finally changed his ruling of a touchback to a safety. Tennessee's offensive struggles prompted coach Mike Mularkey to keep his first-team in until Mariota tossed the ball to Derrick Henry on the first play of the fourth for a 3-yard TD run that kept Tennessee from being shut out. Mularkey said he wanted the first team to finish the drive in a game that featured too many mistakes. "We've got a lot of work to do," Mularkey said. "We've got two weeks to do it." COSTLY EXHIBITION Chicago left 11 Bears at home, and the injury list only grew longer early in Sunday's game. The worst injury came late in the first quarter when Meredith, who led Chicago with 66 catches for 888 yards, hurt his left knee when tackled low at the end of a 16-yard catch. Trainers braced his leg and carted him off the field. The Bears already had left three receivers at home. Cornerback Prince Amukamara played one series before leaving the game with an injured ankle, and the Bears also declared long snapper Patrick Scales out early in the second quarter with an injured knee. Both were on crutches after the game. Bears linebacker Leonard Floyd hurt a foot. HEY ROOKIE The Titans started Adoree Jackson at right cornerback, the first start this preseason for the 18th overall pick out of Southern California. Glennon threw at Jackson on the Bears' first play, a 9-yard completion to Zach Miller. Jackson also tackled Cameron Meredith at the end of a 28-yard catch on the opening drive. Sliding inside on passing downs, Jackson tackled former Titans receiver Kendall Wright on consecutive third down plays. Then Jackson was flagged for interference in the end zone, and Glennon capped the 96-yard drive on the next play. Jackson, who's trying to win the punt returner job, was tackled at his own 3 off his first attempt. TITANIC STRUGGLES The Titans gave up two sacks of Mariota along with a handful of penalties, including a face mask and a hold on Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan in the first half. Linebacker Wesley Woodyard sacked Glennon in the second quarter. Mariota finished 12 of 21 for 193 yards passing but was just 7 of 13 for 106 in the first half. EJECTIONS The Bears and Titans each lost a starter early in the second quarter. Titans left guard Quinton Spain kept his right arm on Bears defensive end Jaye Howard Jr.'s left shoulder as the play ended with Howard throwing a right at Spain's left shoulder. Spain threw a left at Howard's helmet who responded with his own right at Spain's head. Tyler Marz replaced Spain, and Mularkey said responding with a punch is "unacceptable." John Brown's recovery from a lingering quadriceps injury is not complete, as he says he's only about 80 percent healthy. Tell that to Atlanta's defensive backs. Brown caught two touchdown passes to lead the Arizona Cardinals to a 24-14 preseason win over the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday night in the debut of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Brown showed off his speed when he caught a 28-yard scoring pass from Carson Palmer and a 21-yarder from Drew Stanton, each in the second quarter. "I'm not 100 percent, but I'm feeling way better than I did during training camp," Brown said. There are ongoing issues with the stadium's complicated retractable roof, which is expected to remain closed indefinitely. There were no glitches in the stadium's other bragging points, including a big halo video board. Brown's potent showing confirmed his status as the Cardinals' top downfield threat after he had been slowed by the injury. Last week, coach Bruce Arians said if Brown "can't run long enough, we've got to replace him." Arians was encouraged to see the deep threat have success against Atlanta's secondary. "It was good to see smoke out there," Arians said, confirmed Brown is not fully recovered but is "close." Brown's ability to recover quickly from injuries is affected by his 2016 diagnosis with sickle cell trait. He also left camp this week for a funeral in Miami and rejoined the team Friday night in Atlanta. The Atlanta offense fell flat in the stadium unveiling. Matt Ryan's pass on the Falcons' first play was intercepted by Tyrann Mathieu. "Turning the ball over on the first play is obviously not what you want to do," Ryan said. "We just never really got into a rhythm offensively, and that's something that we would have liked to have done in that first quarter of work." In the second quarter, Falcons backup Matt Schaub lost a fumble on his first snap when hit by linebacker Markus Golden. Chandler Jones recovered for Arizona (2-2), and one play later Brown made an over-the-shoulder grab for his 21-yard TD. Arizona rookie James Summers had a 5-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones made his preseason debut but did not have a catch. He has made a full recovery from offseason foot surgery and was targeted on a long pass from Ryan in the first quarter. "He wanted some shots down the field," said Falcons coach Dan Quinn of Jones. "He was anxious to show he had really put the work in from his rehab." Atlanta's No. 3 quarterback Matt Simms threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to rookie Josh Magee late in the game. Cardinals starting running back David Johnson did not play. Chris Johnson had six carries for 31 yards with a fumble that was recovered by guard Evan Boehm. QUARTERBACK COMPARISON Ryan, sharp in limited playing time in the first two preseason games for the Falcons (0-3), completed only 4 of 11 passes for 36 yards. Palmer completed 8 of 13 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. Stanton, who beat out Blaine Gabbert to be Arizona's backup, completed 4 of 6 passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. TICKET COUNT There were 70,237 tickets distributed. The capacity for the new stadium is 71,000. It appeared at least one-third of the seats were empty. RIGHT GUARD BATTLE CONTINUES The Falcons' competition between Wes Schweitzer and Ben Garland for the starting job at right guard is not settled. Schweitzer started but shared time with Garland. "Next week it might be different," Quinn said, adding he expects the competition to continue through the preseason. "We're going to take this all the way," he said. INJURY UPDATE Cardinals: Backup DT Olsen Pierre suffered a concussion. ... OT Ulrick John walked off the field with an ankle injury. Arians said he didn't know the severity of John's injury. Falcons: Rookie RB Brian Hill, competing with Terron Ward for a backup spot, left in the third quarter with an ankle injury after rushing for 17 yards on 10 carries. Backup OT Kevin Graf also suffered an ankle injury, and LB LaRoy Reynolds suffered a shoulder injury. ... RB Devonta Freeman (concussion protocol) did not play. He was on the field but not in uniform for pregame drills. The New York Jets have acquired safety Terrence Brooks from the Philadelphia Eagles for cornerback Dexter McDougle in a trade of 2014 draft picks. The Eagles announced the deal Sunday. The moves provide depth for both teams' secondaries. The Jets are expected to start rookies Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye at safety but were thin at the position beyond them, with Rontez Miles dealing with an eye injury and Doug Middleton out for the season with a torn pectoral. Ronald Martin and Robenson Therezie were the only other safeties. Brooks was drafted in the third round by Baltimore, 79th overall - one pick ahead of McDougle. He spent his first two seasons with the Ravens and played with the Eagles last year. McDougle dealt with injuries during his first three seasons but has been having a solid summer for the Jets.

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Leicester 3-1 Fulham: Jamie Vardy scores 100th goal for Foxes as Fulham lose again

There has been some discussion at Leicester about Jamie Vardy's total number of goals for the club before the kickoff. Some had it on 98, others 99.

Vardy scored against Manchester United in the Community Shield, but the club did not officially count it. (Pity with the person who had to have that conversation with him.)

So Vardy did the honorable thing and scored a support against Fulham to bring him in one go to a century of Leicester goals and also Brendan Rodgers to victory over his first home game that is in charge.

[bewerken] [lijst toevoegen] [bewerken] [lijst toevoegen] share [bewerken] [lijst toevoegen] -three system at Watford, Rodgers moved to the familiar form of Leicester for his first home game. Demarai Gray replaced Wes Morgan with an additional attacker and Rodgers clearly instructed his players to push high.

It was a strategy that worked repeatedly in the first half, with Fulham vulnerable defensively and offering room to Jamie Vardy in the back. In one move, Leicester won the ball back and James Maddison and Harvey Barnes exchanged a quick sequence of passes before Vardy was forwarded. Only a salvage from Havard Nordtveit saved the situation for Fulham.

But in the 21st minute Fulham paid for the re-cut. Wilfred Ndidi was sharp on Calum Chambers in the midfield and seized the opportunity to slip through Vardy. Vardy signed Sergio Rico and saw Tielemans running in his peripheral view, rolling the ball square. Tielemans put Tim Ream aside and went in for a stylish finish.

Leicester continued to create without completely putting Fulham on the sword. The shot from Maddison from the distance went just wide and Vardy saw his finish blocked by Joe Bryan after Ndidi had won the ball well again. Rich defeated a Tielemans strike. Leicester (4-1-4-1)

Schmeichel 7; Ricardo 6.5, Evans 7, Maguire 6.5, Chilwell 7; Ndidi 7.5; Gray 7 (Okazaki 72 & # 39; 6), Tielemans 7.5 (Ghezzal 72 & # 39; 6), Maddison 7.5 (Mendy 81 & # 39;), Barnes 8; Vardy 8.5

Brendan Rodgers 7.5

Fulham (4-2-3) -1): Rico 7; Odoi 6, Nordtveit 6, Ream 6, Bryan 7; Chambers 6, McDonald 6 (Vietto 82 & # 39;); Sessegnon 4 (Ayite 46 & 7), Cairney 6, Babel 5 (Seri 68 & # 39;);

Babel, Bryan

Parker 6.5

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Nordtveit made a great pass to the wing and Ayite went past Ben Chilwell with his first touch, in a rare result for the left back Leicester. Ayia continued to enter the area, controlled Harry Maguire and then benefited from deflecting the English defender.

Caused thus unexpectedly influenced Leicester, and tension crept into their game.

Tielemans, who was loaned from Monaco until the end of the season, found it just in the 21st minute of the game

The player of Leicester congratulates Tielemans after their early goal to put them ahead against Fulham Eventually Fulham shot himself in the foot 12 minutes after the time. Perhaps encouraged by his previous success, Nordtveit tried a wide pass from the defense, but this time he was poor and intercepted Maddison. With his head up I played it straight away with Vardy, who went free and beaten to a fantastic shot past Rico.

Vardy got his 100 with four minutes left. Barnes kept kicking brilliantly by Schmeichel and muscle by Denis Odoi. In the box I threw the ball into Vardy, who first glided in with his left hand, making it look much easier than it was.

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Pat Keep Rolling, Crush Raiders

By Michael Vallee

It’s amazing how fast perceptions can change over the course of an NFL season.  Through four weeks the Patriots record was an unimpressive 2-2 and the only thing preventing them from being 1-3 was a dropped late-game interception by the Houston Texans.  New England had the worst defense in the NFL and looming on their schedule was a potentially brutal two-game road swing against the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.  So much for that perception.  On Sunday the Patriots pounded the Raiders like they were a Mexican pinata stuffed with Super Bowl rings, coasting to a 33-8 win.  This completed the Patriots two-week-high-altitude road trip where they glided thru the thin air of Denver and Mexico City with the ease of a 62-yard stephen Gostkowski field goal, outscoring their opponents 74-24.

Of course, as has been the recent trend, Patriot greatness was only half of the equation.  The Raiders committed eight penalties, had two turnovers and in general performed with an almost staggering level of bumbling incompetence.  What the hell happened to that team?  I know Jack Del Rio isn’t going to be mistaken for Vince Lombardi any time soon but his teams are generally, at least, competitive and display a modicum of preparation.  What did Oakland do all week to prepare for their Mexico trip, take lessons on burrito making and listen to Rosetta Stone?  This is a team that was 12-4 last year and was on the short list of AFC teams that might actually make the Patriots sweat a little.  Instead they join the long list of Houstons, Denvers, Chargers and Chiefs that can’t get out of their own way and will be lucky to finish the year at .500.  

And if you think the AFC Conference is bad, how about the AFC East.  I hope you don’t watch the Patriots for entertainment purposes, if so, you might want to shut it down until the playoffs.  The Patriots have exactly one interesting game remaining, Pittsburgh week 15, otherwise it’s five games against their laugh-out-loud awful divisional opponents.  The Bills have lost three straight, the Dolphins have lost four straight and the Jets are 1-4 in their last five.  Boston’s subway system the morning of a blizzard runs with more precision than this collection of stiffs.  As long as Brady is the Patriots quarterback and Belichick is the Patriots coach the league should mandate that all of their AFC East opponents change their team logo to a white flag.

The Patriots are 8-2.  They are a virtual lock to win 13 or 14 games.  They are going to have a first round bye.  They are going to crush a lousy team with a lousy quarterback in the divisional round of the playoffs.  The only pressing question left from now until the AFC Championship is whether or not that game will be played in Foxboro or Pittsburgh.  So much for the unpredictability of sports.

Notes

Inside the Numbers:

-In Brady’s two games on the high altitude swing through Denver and Mexico City he was a combined 55 for 71, for 605 yards and 6 touchdowns.  His QB rating was 130.3.

-In Brady’s last 22 regular season games he has thrown 50 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

-When Brady has faced a team with Jack Del Rio as either the head coach or defensive coordinator, including the playoffs, he has thrown 25 touchdowns and one interception.  Hey Jack, whatever you’re doing, it’s not working.

-On Sunday Belichick recorded win number 271 as a head coach, passing Landry for third place on the all-time list.  He is still a staggering 76 wins shy of Don Shula for the top spot.

-The Patriots have won 13 straight road games.  It is the 2nd longest streak in NFL history.  The 1988-90 Niners are the current record holders with 18.

TB12 Method:  In his constant battle to kick father time’s ass Brady was spectacular Sunday, completing over 80% of his passes for a 131.9 quarterback rating.  Is it possible at age 40 that Brady is actually getting better?  He is the current favorite to win the NFL MVP award; he continues to move in the pocket as well as he ever has; and he might be throwing the ball downfield with more precision than at any point in his career.  Brady completed two perfect bombs to Brandin Cooks against Oakland, including a 64-yard touchdown that effectively iced the game in the first minute of the 2nd half.  Brady currently leads the NFL with 43 passes over 15 yards.  If they’re smart every quarterback in the NFL has ‘The TB12 Method’ on their Christmas list.

Center of Attention:  One of the most impressive things about Sunday’s win over Oakland was that the Patriots were without starting center, David Andrews.  Andrews is having a Pro Bowl caliber year and was replaced by a guy, Ted Karras, with virtually no game experience, and the Patriots offense didn’t miss a beat.  15 years ago the Raiders organization learned the hard way of the potential impact of losing a quality center, when their Pro Bowl center, Barret Robbins, went missing before Super Bowl XXXVII.  Robbins never played in the game and their offense imploded in a 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  

Strange side note: We later learned from Robbins’ ex-wife the bizarre details of his pre-Super Bowl disappearance.  The episode was apparently triggered by Robbins not taking his depression medication, and it must have been some strong medication because he spent the day before the big game partying in Tijuana, Mexico where he thought he was celebrating the Raiders “victory” in the Super Bowl that had not yet been played.

Bowl Cut:  They should add a Mark Davis cam to every Raiders broadcast.

Into Thin Air:  This game might have been won before the ball was ever kicked off.  The Patriots not only played Denver in the thin air of mile high last week but Belichick wisely kept the team in the high altitude of Colorado, holding practices at the Air Force Academy.  By the time the Patriots reached Mexico City, which is 2,000 feet higher than mile high, they were fully acclimated to the conditions.  The Raiders, on the other hand, rolled into town the day before the game and looked completely gassed right out of the chute.  The Raiders used the same approach last year when they beat the Houston Texans in Mexico City so they went with it again.  Makes perfect sense to think that something that would work against the Texans would also work against the Patriots.

A Week in the Life of:  Marshawn Lynch recently had a rather unusual week as far as NFL running backs go.  He was tossed from a game for contacting an official, spent the rest of the game watching from the stands, then after the game took the train home, was eventually suspended for one game and during his suspension practiced with his old high school, causing them to be investigated for violating local high school bylaws.

Sensitivity Training:  Belichick reportedly ruffled a few feathers when he said this about the game in Mexico City on WEEI Monday,  “I think we’re fortunate there was no volcano eruptions, earthquakes or anything else…”  A bunch of overly sensitive types freaked out on Twitter including one guy who countered that Mexicans should be happy when they visit America and are not killed in a mass shooting.  Now that is a perfectly valid point considering that Mexico is a completely non-violent and safe country.  I read recently that drug cartels in Juarez just instituted a new policy of meting out discipline with hugs and kindness.

He Said What Now?:  Don’t expect Jerry Jones to be invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Kraft’s this year.  ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines’ recently reported that Roger Goodell called Jerry Jones in August to inform him of Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension and Jones responded with this poetic gem, “I’m gonna come after you with everything I have.  If you think Bob Kraft came after you hard, Bob Kraft is a pussy compared to what I’m going to do.”  While Patriots fans have likely used similar language to describe their beloved owner’s response to Deflategate, Jones is shameless hypocrite.  Not long ago he was telling Kraft to stand down and accept his Deflategate punishment but when it’s Jones’ team that is being adversely affected suddenly he is singing a different tune.  As far as picking sides in the Jones v. Goodell feud that would be like asking a woman who she’d rather date, Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein.  Sophie had an easier choice.

Gridiron Death Star:  Mark Davis might be a clown but is he also about to become the first owner of an NFL team in Las Vegas, where the Raiders are building one helluva a badass looking stadium.  The only thing missing from this virtual tour video is a Darth Vader voice over declaring, “The battle station is almost fully operational.”

For The Record:  Gostkowski’s high-altitude-aided 62-yard field goal at the end of the first half got me thinking, who is the true record holder of the longest field goal in NFL history.  This title comes with two stipulations:

-The kick cannot be assisted by thin air (sorry Denver)

-The kicker has to have a human foot.  As impressive as Tom Dempsey’s then record 63-yard kick was, I am looking for a field goal that was made by someone that doesn’t have a shoe shine box attached to their leg.

True Record Holder:  David Akers, San Francisco 49ers

Akers kicked a 63-yard field goal in 2012 at Lambeau field which means it was both outdoors and on grass.  Impressive.

Terry Glenn, 1974-2017:  Tough news hearing about the sudden death of Terry Glenn from an automobile accident.  Apparently Glenn had an infamous reputation as a driver, a sentiment echoed on Twitter by WEEI’s Gerry Callahan, “I spent a day with Terry Glenn once upon a time. Nice enough guy, but I remember one thing above all others: He drove like a maniac”.  People might not remember that Glenn caught Brady’s first touchdown pass and it came during Brady’s breakout came as a pro.  After two unspectacular starts Brady lit it up in his third start, a 29-26 win over the San Diego Chargers, throwing for 364 yards and two touchdowns.  More significantly Glenn was at the heart of the infamous power struggle between owner Bob Kraft and then coach Bill Parcells.  It was just before the 1996 draft and the Patriots held the seventh spot in the first round.  Kraft and Director of Player Personnel, Bobby Grier, wanted a lightning fast wide receiver out of Ohio State and Parcells reportedly wanted to take a defensive lineman.  Kraft would eventually side with Grier and the Patriots drafted Terry Glenn.  

This move was the beginning of the end for Parcells’ time in New England.  After the season Parcells was hired to run the NY Jets and Grier was promoted to general manager.  Glenn had a highly productive rookie year, hauling in 90 catches for over 1,100 yards, but a disappointing career plagued by injuries and attitude problems.  If, however, you believe in the butterfly effect, Glenn proved to be the catalyst for Bill Belichick ultimately landing with the Patriots and taking them on this historic run.  His Patriots career may have been disappointing but his impact is still being felt.  Glenn was 43-years old.