Lebkuchen shouldn’t be available this early like this is the second time I’ve eaten my weight in Lebkuchen and it’s September !!
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Superior Specimen - Chapter 8
Summary: One night when you are following the Archaeology tag on instagram you stumbled across a fun looking dig… and an even more interesting Paleontologist who soon follows you back. Over the following weeks you start chatting and a friendship soon grows.
Relationship: AU Henry Cavill x Female Reader (No race or body shape mentioned)
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7
Warnings: Slow Burn, NSFW, 18+, Mutual Masturbation, Phone Sex, Drunken Piggy Back Rides, Oral Sex (Female Recieving), Drama, Theft, Amateur Heroics, Hospital Visit, Shower Sex, Oral Sex (Male Receiving), Blow Job, Fingering, Lavish lifestyle, Henry is loaded, The Shard, Expensive Gifts, Sixty nine, Unprotected Sex, Multiple Orgasms, Public Sex, Exhibitionism, Angst, Argument, Jealousy, Talk of car crashes, heroics, rough sex, use of safe words, Anal play,
I do not operate a tag list, but please follow @angryschnauzerwrites and put that blog onto notifications, as you will then be notified whenever i post something new.
I don’t have a masterlist, but all my works are on AO3, link here.
Usually i post oneshots to Tumblr and AO3, and multichapters exclusively to AO3, but as this is my first henry story and its going to be a short series, i’ll post to both places.
Chapter 8
On the tube an old woman had offered you a tissue and had whispered quietly;
“He’s not worth crying over my dear”
You swallowed and smiled weakly at her;
“Unfortunately he was… he was just an idiot too”
“They all are my dear, they all are”
She got off at the next stop, giving you a pat on the arm before leaving the carriage, leaving you ride the rest of the way to Fulham Broadway on your own.
You were on autopilot when you arrived, walking through the small shopping mall that had grown around the tube station, grabbing a pair of overpriced knock-off designer sunglasses from the concession stand to hide your puffy and red eyes, swollen from crying. As you stood in the crowd at the lights to cross the road, a stream of Ambulances and Police cars screamed past, lights and sirens blasting, but it was London, every day there was a crisis or accident and you were used to them.
The walk to your flat was quick, just a few roads from the tube, and you were thankful you’d brought your small clutch bag from the hotel room that had your phone, wallet, and keys in. Once inside you pulled off your clothing, everything Henry had bought for you, tossing it into a heap on the floor before you climbed into bed and curled into a ball, sobbing into the pillow.
-
You woke to the sound of a metal on plastic crunch from the street outside, familiar with the sound and you knew it was vehicle vs wheelie bin, an all too familiar occurrence when collection day was on a Friday and people went out that night, so the street would still be littered with bins the following day. Staring up at the ceiling you heard the doorbell ring, glaring at the ceiling but refusing to move. You didn’t care if your bin that had ended up a casualty of a car not looking where it was going, so when the bell finally timed out you closed your eyes… only to be rudely disturbed by a loud knocking on the door a minute later, a muffled voice from the other side;
“Princess… it’s me; Henry… please, just tell me you’re ok… I’ve got to know you’re ok…”
You could feel your emotions rising within you; a heat, an anger, and as the knocking continued you grabbed the dressing gown hanging on the back of the door and was still tying it as you pulled the door open, but surprised to see state of Henry, his clothes a mess and his face blotchy;
“What the hell happe…”
Your words were cut short as he pulled you into his arms, hugging you tight;
“You’re alright… my god, you’re ok…”
“Henry, what is going on?”
He let you go and started pacing;
“I was an ass, I didn’t follow you, I was stupid… I tried calling you but you never picked up…”
“I had it on silent… I didn’t want anyone to disturb our date”
“And then the accident, I’d gone back to the hotel, I knew it was the closest tube to where we were...”
“Accident?”
“There was an accident, on the road outside the London Bridge Tube, a bus and council truck collided and ran into the queue… I stayed and helped the emergency services; I was trying to find you… but you weren’t there…”
Your hand was over your mouth, tears pooling on your lashes as you looked at him, and realised he cared so much for you that he had literally pulled people out of the wreckage of an major accident because he thought he had lost you. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders you cradled the back of his head as he slumped to the floor, sobbing into your shoulder and the softness of your dressing gown.
Finally he pulled his head back, a weak smile on his face as he looked into your eyes, and you saw a different Henry, one that was fragile, one that needed you as much as you needed him.
“C’mon, let me put the kettle on”
-
Sipping on sweet tea as you both sat at the kitchen table, dunking Digestive biscuits in the deep brown steaming mugs, you looked him up and down;
“You are a mess”
He glanced down and realised his shirt and jeans were covered in dirt, grime, and in some places blood;
“You’re right” he paused before looking back to you; “Look, I’ve got a suggestion… pack a bag. Comfy clothing, overnight things. We’ll head back to the hotel and collect our things, then head back to my place. I’ll cook dinner and we can talk… ask all those things we’ve both wanted to ask since we met, yeah?”
He looked at you like a hopeful puppy, his deep blue eyes watery where he feared you would say no, but as you nodded he let out the breath he had been holding, and a genuine smile spread over his face.
-
Henry opened the door to his place and stepped aside, letting you enter and look around as he shut the door, resting all the bags from the hotel room on the shiny white tiles that covered the floor.
“This is your place?”
“It’s home for the next few months” he shut the door and wrapped his arm around you; “I gave up on having a permanent place about five years ago. I would always come back to a dust filled nightmare and a fridge that was a biohazard. I keep a PO box for any mail and a storage unit for my things that I don’t need when I’m away”
You looked at him;
“It sounds very… lonely…”
He paused, considering your words;
“I’ve never thought about it that way… but, you’re right” he wrapped his arms around you, his gaze intense; “I’m sorry I over-reacted earlier… about your flatmate. I was just… I don’t know, so focused I guess on this amazing thing we have now, and what we were talking about last night… how those I fall for push me away when I have to leave… I could only think ‘this guy will be around when I’m not’...”
You reached up and cupped his cheek with your hand, realising in that moment that for all the bravado and confidence, beneath that Henry was just like you, like anyone else, and feared losing those he cared for;
“I would wait… I will wait…”
You pressed a kiss to his lips, and the pair of you just held each other for the longest time, before he pulled away;
“What kind of host am I? I haven’t even offered you a cup of tea!”
Laughing you followed him into the kitchen, looking around at the sparse worktops, all the cupboards pristine white. Even the appliances were just plain brushed aluminium. As the kettle bubbled away you pushed yourself up onto the central island, sitting on the marble countertop as you watched Henry move around the kitchen, opening the fridge and pulling out the carton of milk, sniffing it and cringing;
“Okay, tea may be off the menu… the milk’s off”
Pausing he opened the cupboard, shoulders slumping when he saw the empty tea caddy;
“No tea either…”
Leaning back you pulled your phone from your pocket and opened google maps;
“This is Warwick Square, right?”
“Yes”
You pinched the screen and zoomed out, jumping off the counter;
“C’mon, there’s a Tesco Express just around the corner”
-
Walking hand in hand around Pimlico with Henry, it dawned on you that you had never visited this part of London, the sights and sounds much like most of the city, but where each little borough had its own character. Once you reached the supermarket he grabbed a basket and picked up the few things he needed, before his hand hovered over the selection of biscuits;
“Ok, make or break time to find out if we are truly compatible” his voice had an element of mischief in it as he spoke; “Milk or Dark Chocolate Digestives?”
You looked at the selection before you set your hand down on the bright blue packet;
“Trick question, we both know the true answer is Milk Chocolate Hobnobs”
He laughed as you dropped the packet into the basket, wrapping his massive arm around your shoulders and pulling you into his chest;
“I knew there was a reason I loved you” he turned to the row of refrigerators on the other side of the isle, unaware of what he’d said, and how your eyes were a little wider as you took in his admission; “Shall I make some burnt offerings for you tonight? I have somewhat limited culinary skills, but I can rustle up something with meat or fish…”
Nodding you were still a little stunned, finally finding your voice;
“Yeah, I’ll eat anything”
He cocked an eyebrow and you playfully batted at his arm;
“Oh shut up” you laughed
-
Dinner had been nice. An easy dish of roasted pork, Henry had thrown in some potatoes and had let them roast with alongside, and a simple salad. The one thing he did have readily stocked in his place was alcohol, and between the two of you an entire bottle of vintage Pinot Noir had been sunk over the course of dinner, and as you watched him stack the dishwasher you spread out on the massive white sofa that dominated the open plan space. You couldn’t help yourself but you popped the button of your jeans, letting out a sigh of relief.
Checking your phone you reopened your roommates’ email and read it again, before hitting reply. You knew deep down you wouldn’t be able to get a mortgage, but asked that you be kept in the loop and would start looking for another place come Monday. Having hit send you saw another email, this time from your Manager, requesting that you attend a review on Monday morning;
“Huh, so much for giving me a week off” you muttered to yourself, before looking up and seeing Henry approaching you, two full glasses of red wind in hand.
“Everything ok?”
Taking the glass you smiled;
“Yeah, work want me to go in for a review on Monday morning”
“Did they say what it was about?”
“No, but I’m guessing ‘playing heroics and injuring yourself on the job isn’t in your job description, please don’t sue us’ is probably on the agenda”
Settling next to you he rested a hand on your thigh, giving it a squeeze;
“I’m sure you’re right” he sipped at the wine before setting it on the small table at the side; “Hey I meant to ask, does your roommate have an Instagram account or Facebook page?”
“Yeah, I’ll pull it up. Its where he’s trying to do more serious photography”
He nodded and tapped at his phone for a few seconds before setting it aside, raising his glass again and clinking it against yours;
“Cheers”
-
By the time the last dregs of the 2nd bottle of wine were drained from your glasses you were drunk as skunks and just an amorous. You were draped over Henry’s lap, his hand was attempting to sneak under your t-shirt as you curled one hand in his hair, wrapping a deep brown strand around your finger as you kissed him lazily. When his hand finally found your breast you moaned at his touch, his lips brushing against your neck;
“I think we should take this to the bedroom”
You giggled;
“With the amount of wine we’ve had? Can you still get it up?”
He pushed his crotch up against you;
“Princess I’m already ‘up’, now I need to be in, and I don’t care which hole, I just want to feel you around my dick as we have some nasty drunk sex”
You attempted to slide off his lap and land on your feet, but what really happened was you tumbled into a heap on the soft white rug, one leg still on the sofa as the other hit the coffee table and your ass in the air;
“Help!” you cried out, giggling as Henry stood and swayed, before wrapping his arm around your waist and carrying you under his arm to the bedroom like a misbehaving poodle in Harrods.
He dropped you onto the bed and in the light from the lounge you watched as he yanked his t-shirt over his head, and started to unfasten his jeans, letting out a sigh of relief when the massive bulge in his boxers was allowed more room to grow. With a growl be bent over you and pulled your jeans down your legs, your panties following suit, before flipping you over so you were on your front. He went to reach for your ass but had forgotten his jeans were still around his thighs, and he proceeded to trip-tumble onto the bed beside you. You couldn’t help but to giggle into the soft duvet, and it earned you a single spank on your ass that make you squeal.
Rolling onto your back you looked at Henry as he huffed and puffed to take his jeans and boxers off, and you spread your legs as your hands strayed to your pussy;
“Are you doing to fuck me, or shall I just get myself started?” you said with more sass than needed, but it earned you a low groan and you could have sworn you heard seams ripping as he finally rid himself of his clothes.
“Cheeky wench!” Henry pounced on you, pulling your top over your head before fumbling with your bra, finally getting you out of it as he flung it across the room and you heard it hit something in the darkness; “I’ll show you, gonna fuck you so good you’ll have to sit on a cushion when you go into work on Monday”
He flipped you over and pulled your ass up, and you instinctively arched your back and bared yourself to him, prone and ready, begging for attention. You felt his hands smooth over your ass before dipping between your legs;
“Already so wet for me, you need me to fuck this cunt Princess? Fill you up with my cum? Or should I cum over your beautiful tits, so you can watch me as I spray my load on you, huh?”
He slid two fingers into your soaked hole, stretching you as his thumb found your clit and he rubbed harshly at it, the wine making him lose his finesse but up his pressure. When he pulled his fingers out you let out a needy whine, only to feel him press his dick against you, rutting into your crease and smearing your juices over himself.
The friction was delicious, and you found yourself pressing back and eager for more, earning a low chuckle to rumble up from Henry’s chest;
“You like that Princess? Like me rubbing my dick against your asshole?”
“Oh fuck… fuck… more…”
You felt him spit on your ass as he lowered his dick and slowly but firmly filled your pussy. As you were getting used to be filled so deep you felt his thumb press against your asshole;
“NERD!”
Suddenly Henry stopped;
“Princess?”
You turned, looking over your shoulder;
“Look Hen, I may be up for some anal play, but lube… you gotta use lube…”
You saw him look back and forth between your ass and his bedside drawers, as if trying to work out whether to forget the ass play and just fuck your pussy, or to give up your pussy for just a few seconds and get the lube. In the end the lube won, and he quickly slid out of you, leaning across the bed and yanking the drawer open, before pulling out a small bottle of Durex Lube. You saw it and grinned;
“Ooh nice one. Make sure there’s enough for a tit-wank in the morning”
Henry paused and looked at you, and you could almost see his brain short circuiting at what you’d said as it fought through the wine haze;
“Fuck, if I didn’t want to fuck you doggy style quite so much I’d say let’s do that now…”
He settled behind you and rammed his dick straight back into you, making you squeal as he filled you. You heard the quiet squeeze of the pump on the bottle before the cool gel fell on the crease of your ass and his fingers started to massage against your back door. He ran his finger around and around your brown rose, and you could feel yourself relaxing and trying to push back to get him to go further, making you whine;
“Please Hen… do something…”
He ran his thumb over your asshole and rested it on it before finally pushing in, holding the digit inside just up to the first knuckle, and that’s when he started to move in your pussy.
“So. Fucking. Good. My dirty little Princess…”
You whined for more, for him to go harder, deeper, and he did so with glee;
“You want more? Fuck yes, take my dick, can feel your insides parting for me, you like my thumb in your ass? Like being double stuffed?”
“Fuck…” your head was swimming, your chest resting against the bed as you snuck your hand between your legs and started to strum at your clit, urging your orgasm on as Henry turned into a feral beast behind you, fucking you raw and dirty, you pushing back for each thrust to feel him deeper and split you wider.
Your orgasm happened without warning, screaming out his name as you came so hard he was sure if he hadn’t pulled his thumb out your muscles would have broken the bones in it. Your knees gave way and you slumped down onto the bed, Henry still deep inside you, fucking you as you lay spent on the bed;
“So close… almost there…
“Cum on my ass Hen…” you muttered as he railed into you, and you heard a groan as he pulled out of you, seconds later the splash of his hot seed landing on your naked ass, back and thighs.
For a moment everything went quiet before you felt him wiping his cum from you, and he moved you in the bed until you were curled up in his arms, the little spoon to his big;
“You’re fucking amazing Princess, I fucking love you so much” he slurred, before the two of you feel asleep in drunken stupors.
Chapter 9 >>>
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Magic Pill
1.
Maybe there’s hope.
She knew the thought was ridiculous, irresponsible, even. They were being pursued by unrelenting forces and the world was coming to an end. They’d had their chance at having a family, and it seemed they’d been dealt a bad hand, as usual. But the hope remained.
It happened before. It could happen again, she told herself.
Months on the run and she hadn’t really had access to birth control. She could have gotten it, probably, if she really wanted to. But every time they made love she would look into his eyes as she felt his warmth spill inside her, his perfectly good sperm on a pointless journey, and although her rational mind told her never again, there was a part of her, perhaps the very part Mulder himself had helped cultivate, that thought maybe. Maybe this time.
Every twenty sixth of the month would come and go, and even as she watched the verifiable evidence fan out in the bowl, pink watery tendrils of truth against white porcelain, she still hoped.
Even with a medical degree under her belt she could never be entirely certain of what had been done to her during her abduction. She knew what Mulder had told her, what a couple of doctors had told her. The stories of the MUFON women. She was infertile, but the evidence indicated otherwise.
Fairly regular periods and one (1) miracle baby indicated otherwise.
His name rarely came up. Why would it? She certainly never mentioned him and Mulder seemed to be respecting her unspoken desire to never talk about him again.
By the time she wanted to talk about it, he’d stopped asking.
2.
After they’d settled into their new home, she’d given up on the notion entirely. She made an appointment with a brand new OB/GYN and rather than explaining her entire history, delivering the news she was infertile to yet another party, she accepted the birth control prescription that was offered to her without hesitation.
When she got home she didn’t tell Mulder. What was the point? They both knew the truth. They’d had one conversation about it back when they first began sleeping together and, ironically, she’d probably already been pregnant at the time.
She cursed her carelessness while on the run, but also her foolishness for allowing herself to hope.
She looked down at the tiny packet in her hand; rows of little pills that all meant no, no, no.
She was so tired of the no, but what she hated even more now was the hope.
She swallowed the pill.
3.
Three years into her new life with Mulder and she was really beginning to get used to just the two of them, alone. It was almost perfect; close to bliss, really. Bliss had been in short supply for them over the years. She clung to it now like a lifeline.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want another child. She did; desperately. But she wanted mostly to just forget.
4.
Mulder found the pills one day. She knew he had because they weren’t in her usual spot, tucked underneath the bathroom sink beside her tampons.
For a moment she thought he’d gone snooping but he hadn’t. She’d been careless. Maybe she’d wanted to get caught. Maybe she’d wanted him to yell and scream, get angry at her for giving up their first and only chance at parenthood, and now again for giving up all hope completely. It was smoking cigarettes on her mother’s porch. It was spending the night with a tattooed maniac.
Mulder never brought it up, however. It sat there between them untouched, just one more topic atop the pile of topics they wouldn’t discuss.
Over time, that pile became a mountain.
5.
She stayed at her mother’s for several weeks.
At first she thought this might blow over; she’d give in, run back to him, follow him the way she always had. But ultimately something was different, something had changed inside her and she couldn’t look away from that anymore.
She kept taking the pills. She had no idea why.
One morning her mother came into the kitchen holding the packet. She wasn’t upset, but her face was contorted with absolute confusion. “Dana, what are these for?”
Scully sipped her coffee calmly. She wasn’t prepared for this confrontation but she somehow knew what to say without missing a beat. “They’re magic pills, Mom,” she answered. “They help me forget what I can’t have.”
Margaret looked at her then nodded slowly, understanding. Scully loved that about her mother; when they could enjoy a moment of honesty, of clarity, and it required so little from both of them.
A few days later, she found an apartment. When she left her mother’s, she left the magic pills behind.
6.
She wasn’t dating anyone. She wasn’t having sex with anyone. Her cycles became erratic, irregular, and her cramps were unpredictable. But it never got bad enough to face the pills again. To face any of it again.
Almost two years passed. Maybe being back on the X-Files, being forced to confront all of it again, made her brave. Or possibly just reckless.
“Do you ever think about William?” she asked him. The words just came out.
“Yes, of course I do,” Mulder said. “But I feel like I've had to put that behind me.”
He doesn’t say why; that he’d been forced to put it behind him because she wouldn’t speak of it.
She wondered if what he said was the truth; if he really had put it behind him, or if he was living in denial the way she was. She desperately wanted to talk to him about it.
All we can do, Scully, is pull the thread, see what it unravels.
7.
Maggie Scully tugged at the thread the day she passed away.
My son is named William, too.
Even as Scully clung to Mulder, her legs giving way beneath her, mascara smudging and smearing his shirt, he held strong. He wrapped his arms around her and she cried like she hadn’t in years; since the day she left him, in fact.
She couldn’t pinpoint when or how she noticed Mulder had changed, but perhaps it began on this day. She spoke about William, and he listened. It was something.
She continued to pull at the thread, watching it unravel. It unraveled into a Mulder she could see herself with again.
8.
She hadn’t thought about the magic pills in years.
“Do you want to have more kids?” he asked softly. She could tell he’d wanted to ask this question for some time, that he’d seized an opportunity he probably thought he might never get again. She was literally within his grasp right now.
“I would have liked to have had another one,” she told him honestly.
“At the risk of sounding insensitive, what’s been stopping you?”
For the first time she thought it was entirely possible he’d never bought the idea she was infertile. Mulder never needed the evidence she’d always required. Perhaps one miracle baby was enough for him to believe.
She wanted to bring up the pills he’d found, the ones they’d never discussed. The ball had been in her court all these years, and she’d never had the courage to serve. When he’d seen those pills, surely it had been game over in his mind.
I’m at the end of that journey, she’d said. As the words left her mouth they felt like truth. She’d made her peace with that. Had he?
He leaned in to kiss her again, his mouth warm and familiar. Their bodies moved together like they had once before, and when he came inside her he whispered into her ear how much he’d missed her. She’d finally reached the end of the thread and all that was there was him, him, him. She felt absolutely content.
Maybe this was the way things were meant to be all along.
9.
“You’re pregnant.”
She blinked. She’d heard this before, and hadn’t believed it then, either. “Excuse me?”
“I know, it’s not common at your age, but it happens.”
I’m all out of miracles.
She hadn’t prayed for this, at least for this specifically, in that church. She believed what she’d told Mulder, that her journey of motherhood was already at an end. What she had prayed for was an end to the darkness. It was the only thing she wanted anymore.
Was God finally listening to her prayers, after all this time?
“But… I’m infertile, doctor.”
The doctor looked at her chart. “That’s not what I’m seeing. Who told you that?”
“Um.” An evil oncologist. A shady in-vitro doctor. The answers sounded so stupid in her mouth she didn’t dare utter them. “I just always thought…”
“Dana, this is your second pregnancy. If you’re infertile, your next call should be to the Vatican.”
She chuckled, her hand flying to her mouth. Tears formed in her eyes.
It wasn’t funny. It was a miracle.
10.
You are a father.
She saw in his eyes how much he truly hadn’t let go of that hope over the years. It broke her heart, and just when she’d finally begun to rebuild it.
Not now. Not again. This was going to be something good for them, for once. They deserved it.
She placed his hand against her belly and they stood there, the three of them. A family.
“That’s impossible,” he declared, two words Fox Mulder had never uttered in his life. For the first time he was afraid to believe.
She knew exactly how he was feeling. “I know it is. It’s more than impossible.”
Her hand covered his in hope as she looked into his eyes, watched them change from disbelief to certainty to just plain love. In the end, it truly was that simple.
It was more than impossible, she knew. But she preferred to think of it as a miracle.
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SasuHina Month 2020 - Day 5
Prompt –Collage AU
Long Distance- Part 3
Hinata POV
Sasuke drives like a pro; whenever I’m in the car with Ino I fear for my life, Neji drives really smoothly but he always goes really really and I mean really fast so, I find myself griping the side of my seat a lot. But with Sasuke the speed is good I don’t feel like we’re about to pierce to the vail of time and his movements are confident and easy; he seems to be at ease. We’ve been on the road for about 45 minutes and we haven’t really spoken much but the silence is pleasant and it doesn’t bother me.
“So, you’re from Konoha and about my age how come we never met in school?” Sasuke is the one to break the silence.
“I was homeschooled until 10th grade. And after that I went to Suna Academy for girls. I am what you would call ‘sheltered’. My mom told my dad I should attend public school before university but he just about had a heart attack. He didn’t really want me going to University either” I didn’t mind being homeschooled I’m more of an introvert and I know that; it’s not because I didn’t go to public school it’s just how I am and I’m ok with that. But I did want to go to university so I fought for that as well and when mom came to my aid too dad didn’t stand a chance. I’m happy with my decision; I’ve made a few really good friends and enjoyed the experience so far. I also loved the freedom of doing whatever I wanted without asking for permission. I’m not a party person but I did discover I enjoy certain things that mom or dad would never allow.
“Ah makes sense. My older brother was homeschooled for about 2 years but neither mom nor dad really liked that so when I started school, they sent me to public school from the get go”
“Are you going to be a senior this year?” he looks older and more mature than I do, or at least than I feel.
“Yep, what about you?” I look from the corner of my eyes at the way his muscles move in his arm when he changes the gear. He’s not built like most guys in my classes.
“I’m also going to be a senior. What’s your major?”
“I only declared my major last semester so despite it being my last year I’ll have a lot of courses to take. I’m majoring in education. I was accepted on athletic scholarship and have been a starter on the hokey team since the second semester of my freshman year so I plan to either go pro or coach. What about you?”
“I major in creative writing and minor in photography or as my dad says, I’m paying money to become a starving artist. I’ve never seen a hockey game; my sister likes it and played a little in middle school but I was away in Suna so I never went to any of her games.”
We talk a little more about collage, I find out that he lives with one of his teammates who is also his best friend and another friend that’s a tattoo artist and is majoring in fine arts at KU. I also applied there but the creative writing program is better at the UoA. I did hear that the graphic design department from KU has some of the pest teachers in the country. I told him about Ino who I met at orientation but, we also share the same minor; her major though is flower arts, surprisingly she has a lot of business-oriented courses to pretty much teach her how to run her own shop. We’re about 15 minutes away from KU and once again I feel guilty; he’s been on the road for 4 hours even though under normal circumstances he’d just now hit the road. After passing KU we finally hit the highway and Sasuke speeds up but it’s still comfortable.
We talk a little more for the following few hours and I’m surprised by how easy it is to talk to him. He even explains hockey to me as briefly as possible and says he’ll invite me to a game when the season starts. The implication that we will talk after the end of this pleases me. We’re about half the way to Konoha when we stop so Sasuke can fill the tank and so we can go to the bathroom, maybe drink another coffee since we drank the extra ones I packed as well already and eat something. Thankfully the gas station has a McDonalds next to it.
Sasuke POV
Once we hit the road again after eating the only noise is the radio but we don’t talk. The silence isn’t unwelcomed and awkward. After a couple more minutes I peek at Hinata and see she has fallen asleep. I dim the music a little and continue driving. We have about 5 more hours to go.
About 4 hours later I make another stop at the gas station; I need to go to the bathroom. Hinata hasn’t woken up yet. I’m debating whether to wake her up or not when her phone starts ringing loudly and waking her up anyway. She wakes up and answers in a hurry while rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.
“Hey mom. Yea we’re about…” she looks towards me and I mouth ‘1 hour away’ “1 hour away. We just stopped at a gas station. I’ll see you soon ok? I want to go to the bathroom. Bye” she hangs up not really waiting for a reply.
“Oh my god I’m so sorry I fell asleep for like 4 hours.” Her cheeks are red and I can tell she feel guilty and embarrassed but I shrug.
“No big deal” It looks like she wants to apologize again so I get out of the car. Each of us goes to the bathroom and then Hinata buys some snacks and I get myself a Pepsi and we get back on the road.
Hinata rips open the packet of candy she bought and eats a few. “Do you want some?” she asks. Usually I’m not a huge fan of sweets but I do want some sugar to get energy so I nod. I can’t take my hand that instant off the wheel so I make a small pause with full intention to extend it in a few moments but before I can do that Hinata leans over and pops a candy in my mouth. I am shocked and I look at her from the corner of my eye and she is frozen in place, her face red as a beat.
“I…umm I am sorry” her voice is barely a whisper and she leans back in her seat. “I did that without thinking sorry. I do that whenever Ino drives. In the beginning she would take her hand pff the wheel mid turn and it would freak me out so I developed this habit of feeding her rather than her letting go of the wheel. I am so so so sorry” she talks really fast and her hands are over her cheeks.
“It’s ok. You just surprised me” I say. Hinata I realize is very socially awkward. She blushes easily and apologizes a lot about everything. Despite me trying to reassure her she doesn’t talk much for the rest of the road.
Hinata POV
The candy incident happened almost 20 minutes ago but my heart still beats way too fast. I did that on instinct and the moment my fingertips touched his lips I was gone. I am way too aware of him now to be able to talk to him normally. Even if I don’t want to I notice everything about him. From his muscles that shift whenever he moves the slightest bit, to his beautiful profile, to his dark and shiny hair.
I keep my hands joined in my lap because I’m scared, I’ll do something embarrassing again. I want to touch him. I want to take pictures of him. He would be a great subject for a photoshoot. Images of him in a studio dim lighted and a bit destroyed fill my brain. He would suite something grunge or maybe something with neon lights to give him an eerie atmosphere. That is his attitude, if we were to talk about his looks, he is handsome and beautiful; he would look good surrounded by white, that would make him look like an angel. The angel analogy starts to run while when I imagine him naked with only a silk sheet over his lap. I feel my cheeks growing redder again.
I shake my head and look out the window. The familiar scenery tells me we’re only about 15 minutes away from my house, after waking up I gave him my address to put into the GPS. I curse myself for sleeping half of the ride. There’s no use lying to myself. I like Sasuke, he’s easy to talk and cool. His good looks only aid this predicament.
“We’re almost home” I say.
“You don’t sound that happy. You did say you didn’t want to return. Why is that?” He answers, eyes still focused on the road, his voice even. He really does not think about the candy incident. The knowledge hurts a little. I kind of wanted him to be as shook as I am.
“I liked the freedom I have at University. I’ve never really been the one in charge before” Mom and Hanabi are the only ones home which means we will be doing a lot of shopping. They’ll make me try on things I don’t particularly like. Most of my closet consisted of thing mom and Hanabi think look good on me but that I don’t like to wear so when I got to University I started selling them.
“I get that, I feel the same. That was also my reason for not coming back home” He admits and it shocks me a little, Sasuke doesn’t seem like someone that would let himself be controlled by someone else. This makes me relate to him, admire him for admitting something like that, Neji is very prideful and he would never say something like this.
When the car pulls to a stop in front of my house, I have to admit I am glad. I like spending time with him but I feel myself developing a crush on him that can only lead to my own demise. I look to the front door half expecting mother to come running outside but she doesn’t. Sasuke gets out of the car as well and helps me with the suitcases. I go to open the door but it is locked. I unlock it and the house is silent. Sasuke asks me where to take the suitcases and I abuse his kindness and tell him to follow me to my room. In the mean time I call mother.
“Hey mom I got home…but where are you?”
“Hinata baby I’m over at Mikoto’s come with Sasuke. She wants to meet you and we can all have a nice late lunch or early dinner” Her voice is chipper and light, is…is mom drunk?
“O….k?”
“See you soon baby” She says and hangs up on. I look at my phone and then to Sasuke.
“Um…she’s at your house” I say and he laughs.
“Of course, she is. How did we not see this coming?” Sasuke asks rhetorically as we walk back to the car. I top to lock the door. “I mean they are best friends so of course they are together.”
The drive to his home takes about another 10 minutes and this time when the car stops mom and another woman, I assume Sasuke’s mother wait for us on the front porch and they each have a wine glass in their hands. Mom is smiling wide and chats with Mikoto lively.
“Are they drunk?” I say out loud. Sasuke narrows his eyes.
“I don’t know about your mother but my mom is a lightweight. If she drank a glass of wine, she is not only drunk but wasted.”
“Mom can’t hold her alcohol very well either” I admit, we both turn to look at them still chatting away, obvious to the fact that we have arrived. We turn to look at each other and chuckle a little.
“Come o let’s go join them, drink a glass of wine too. Why should they be the only ones to have fun?” He says and gets out of the car. My heart is beating faster once again. I can’t move for a moment. Sasuke opens my door and extends his hand to me, I look at it and take it. His skin is warm and rough but I feel sparks going up my arm. I look up at him and he’s smirking at me. The sun is just now setting behind Sasuke and it gives him a golden glow. That is the moment when I realize that I already like him, this boy I met today. He lets go of my hand to go get his own bags but I can still feel his touch. I close my eyes and take a deep breath in. When I open them he’s next to me and nods towards out mothers, I nod back and we start walking up the driveway. The two of them finally see us, put their wine glasses down and come towards us for hugs. Mom kisses my cheek and tells me how much she missed me; than she hugs Sasuke and thanks him for bringing me while Mikoto hugs me and tells me how nice it is to meet me.
Looking at this scene with them so happy makes me realize that I don’t regret coming home. I’m glad I could make mom happy. I’m glad to see her having fun with a new friend. I peer from the corner of my eye towards Sasuke. I’m glad I came because I met him. I’m still looking at him when he turns his eyes to me as well and smirks. I wonder what he’s thinking. I wonder if he feels even remotely like I do. Even if he doesn’t, I hope he will still be my friend because Sasuke Uchiha is pretty cool and I’d love to have him in my life. If his mother is anything like him, I can’t blame mom for calling Mikoto her best friend already.
Part 1 (This happens after the 2nd and 3rd part)
Part 2
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1 - Were you glad to see the back of 2020? What were the best and worst parts of the year to you?
I was really, really grateful for making it through the crazy, scary year that was 2020 and my family and I were okay. We weren’t affected in ways so many people were and my heart truly goes out to everyone who experienced loss of any kind or got sick. I was still dealing with my own ongoing issues, but so many people were experiencing so much worse.
2 - If you’ve purchased something you love from a small business, are you likely to leave a review or anything afterwards? Why/why not?
No. I’m just not one who ever leaves reviews. Shoutout to those who do because they’re really helpful to me, but for some reason I never leave them myself. :X
3 - When was the last time you received some good news?
Hmm. I don’t recall.
4 - Does wearing masks cause you to get acne or oily skin on your chin and around your nose?
I haven’t had to wear one for a long enough amount of time at once or consecutively, so no. I only wear one for like a couple hours once a month when I leave the house for my doctor appointment.
5 - Do you prefer dogs or cats? Do you have a preferred breed as well?
I’m a dog person. I’m definitely biased, but German Shepherds and Labs are pretty damn awesome.
6 - Do you have any plans for the next few days? Are these plans something you’re dreading or looking forward to?
Just the same stuff I do everyday.
7 - Leggings, jeans, jeggings or sweatpants?
Leggings all the way.
8 - How often do you meet new people? Is this something you’d like to change in any way?
I don’t meet new people really at all anymore to be honest. As of now I’m okay with that.
9 - What time did you wake up this morning? Would you rather have slept in longer?
I haven’t gone to bed, yet. It’s currently 7:20AM...
10 - What’s your favourite meal of the day? What’s your favourite thing to eat for that meal?
Dinner and my late night bowl of ramen. For dinner my favorite meals are Wingstop, spaghetti and meatballs, or pizza from this local place.
11 - When was the last time you visited a zoo or aquarium? What are your favourite animals to see there?
I went to the zoo a few years ago. I like to see the giraffes, of course.
12 - Have you ever bought or sold anything via Facebook?
Nope.
13 - When was the last time you had to cross a railway line? Was it an automated crossing or a manual one?
I don’t remember. It’s been quite awhile.
14 - What was the last thing you received as a gift?
I received various Christmas presents from my family.
15 - Are you a fan of cheese? What are your favourite types?
I love cheese, various kinds of it.
16 - What’s your “go-to” hairstyle when you’re feeling lazy or in a rush?
My hair is always up in a messy bun because I don’t have the energy or motivation or care to do anything else.
17 - How do you travel to work or school? Would you rather get there in a different way if you had the choice?
I’m done with school and I don’t have a job.
18 - What was the last activity you did that caused you to be out of breath?
I don’t recall. I haven’t had to do anything that required much in awhile.
19 - When was the last time you changed your bedsheets?
A few weeks ago.
20 - What household chore do you hate the most? Are there any you actually enjoy or find satisfying in any way?
I don’t enjoy doing any chore. I’ve never been someone who actually enjoys cleaning or finds it relaxing or anything.
21 - How much money did you spend the last time you went to the supermarket?
I haven’t been to the grocery store myself since March of last year. I used to always tag along with my mom for the grocery shopping trips and I’d sometimes get a few things of my own, but yeah not since the pandemic happened.
22 - How often do you buy fast food or takeaways? What’s your favourite place to get those foods from?
A few times a week. My favorite is Wingstop.
23 - Do you prefer white, brown or granary bread? What other types of bread do you like to eat?
I like white, wheat, and sourdough the best.
24 - Are you in any kind of pain right now? What’s causing it?
I have chronic pain. My pain med helps, but there’s times where it doesn’t and I’m having a bad flareup. Thankfully, I’m not experiencing that at this moment.
25 - Can you hear anyone else in your house right now? What are they upto?
No.
26 - Do you find farts funny or gross?
I get it’s natural and all that, but it’s still gross.
27 - What are you wearing at the moment? Is anything you’re wearing new?
Leggings and a long sleeve shirt that has the Maruchan (the ramen brand) logo and cute little cartoony ramen bowls and packets on it. It’s in my avatar pic, currently.
28 - Who was the last person you spoke to via social media? Is this a person you’re close to?
My mom’s best friend’s daughter. No, not anymore. We were as kids because her mom babysat my brother and I back then so we spent a lot of time together. Then when that stopped we grew apart.
29 - Did you ever do surveys on a site other than Tumblr? Do you still take surveys anywhere else?
Yeah, I go back to the Xanga days. I’ve taken them on Myspace as well. And no, I just take them on here.
30 - Are you overweight, underweight or a healthy weight for your height? Are you happy with that or would you like to change it?
I’m too underweight and I’m not happy with that at all. It’s led to problems and I’m very self-conscious about it as well. This is no shade or anything to anyone else, it’s just how I see myself. I haven’t been able to put back on any weight the past few years because of some health issues and it’s just become an awful cycle of health issues from being underweight but not able to gain weight because of health issues.
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1093
survey by pinkchocolate
Hi there! This list is based on some things I've done recently. Let's say, within the last few days. Have you done any of these things in the last few days?
Worn make-up?
I never wear makeup. I’ve never felt the need to.
Worn perfume?
Sure. I went out last Sunday to bring Cooper to the vet and to take myself out to a coffee shop for a few hours, so I wanted to make sure I smelled decent.
Taken selfies?
I think I may have, but I’m sure I deleted them almost immediately.
Shared some photos on social media?
Yes, I posted a couple photos of Cooper because he was being super smiley the other day. I also shared a photo of my laptop, which was playing Friends, beside my Friends mug the other night.
Woken up to the sound of your phone vibrating?
Technically. But this usually happens when I’m trying to fall asleep in the evening, i.e. someone sending a late-night message, and not in the morning.
Heard the rain outside your window?
Yes. It’s literally happening right now haha it just started raining.
Added sugar to a mug of tea/coffee?
No. I use 3-in-1 coffee packets, which are already pre-mixed and all I have to do is add hot water. I’m terrible with measurements and starting from scratch and I doubt I’ll ever get the hang of manually combining coffee + sugar + milk + creamer + whatever else goes into coffee haha.
Refilled your drinks bottle?
I don’t use a tumbler. I’m at home nearly every day of the week so I always have access to our glasses.
Felt emotionally involved while reading a book?
This has happened before for sure, but not in the last few days.
Chuckled/laughed while reading a book?
Uhhh I guess. My employer recently lent me this book on PR that they thought would help me gain a richer appreciation of the industry and I guess I did lightly chuckle at a few humorous anecdotes in it.
Spilled a drink?
I don’t think so.
Eaten something that was sprinkled with sugar?
Nope. I’ve eaten sweets here and there but nothing sprinkled with sugar.
Googled the definition of a word?
At least a few times a day.
Read a Wikipedia article?
Yes, I love Wikipedia. The last entry I read was a list on notable last words.
Laughed at a video you watched online?
So many times. The main reason I watch videos is to be entertained and to laugh, to be honest; so it’s nice that a lot of creators make great, funny content.
Craved a savoury snack of some description?
I’ve been craving gourmet donuts for weeks now. Nothing sweet; I’m looking for those with creative, out-of-the-box flavors.
Cursed after dropping an item on the floor?
Probably.
Been amused by your pet's behaviour?
I am always amused at their behavior. Kimi’s approaching 13 years but he still makes me laugh every single day.
Recognized an actor in a TV show, from another show you'd seen?
I’ve only been watching Friends, soooo nothing to compare it to.
Seen an actor on TV that you thought attractive?
Courteney Cox, always.
Typed something in a word processor?
I had to look this up lol, but I guess I have if Google Docs counts as one? I use it a lot for work.
Been asked a question that you found awkward or difficult to answer?
Sure. My grandma called up when I was stuck in a particularly tough period of my shift and she was asking how it’s been. I didn’t want to worry her or overshare, so I paused for a bit and just said “it’s going great!”
Smelled a pleasant food aroma?
Yeah, my dad cooks up some great stuff al the time.
Dipped your food in ketchup, mayonnaise or another sauce?
Tartar sauce.
Forgotten a hot beverage, then found it had gone cold?
I don’t make hot beverages, so.
--
survey by kellyburnsred
What music video do you wish you were in?
I don’t watch music videos a lot, mostly because they’re usually not at all related to the song it corresponds to and I never saw the point. Buttt idk, the one I had some of the most fun watching was One Direction’s Best Song Ever because it was hilarious. It’d be cool to fuck around with the characters there.
Who makes you laugh the most?
I’d say it’s either Andi or Hans. JM and Kate are good runners-up.
You only can eat three things the rest of your life, what do choose?
That would make me sick of those foods so fast...but if it were a legit life-and-death situation, I would go with surf and turf (so that I at least have a bit of variety), rice (because I can’t live without rice), and macarons (for something sweet).
What's one thing you wish you had in your life right now?
Macarons. I recently liked a slew of local macaron shops on Facebook and even though I know it’s my fault, I hateeee that my feed is filled with macarons now haha.
If you had to give up your style, what other style would you choose?
I’m not really sure. I can think of more styles I’m not willing to adopt, than those that can be my back-up.
What's your favorite ice cream topping?
Hot fudge.
What is the bare minimum of sleep you could function on?
I guess 3 or 4, but that’s the barest of the bare minimum. I would still be cranky if I was only able to sleep for that few hours.
When you drive, do you generally speed?
Yeah, if I can. You’re always stuck in traffic in Manila so if you have the chance to press harder on the gas, you typically wouldn’t want to miss out on it.
Are you an animal lover?
Yes, except for pests and insects I don’t like, like cockroaches.
What's the dumbest thing you've done because someone dared you?
I once ate a piece of siomai that already fell to the ground; when I ate it I felt a lot of tiny pebbles and other debris so I promptly spat it out in a nearby bin.
What is the most disgusting trait that you have?
Idk...typical disgusting habits make me wince myself. The worst thing I can think of is that I tend to keep my nails super long just out of neglect; and I usually only clip them once dirt starts getting trapped under the nails, or once it starts to become hard to type.
What was the last thing you talked to your friends about?
Angela had made this really cute, DIY foldable collage for Hans for his birthday yesterday and I just checked in on her earlier to ask if he loved it.
What part of your day do you look forward to the most?
The moment my shift ends.
What are your favorite song lyrics?
This week, it’s probably “It isn’t the same, but it is enough.” It’s oddly calming no matter how sad the actual context is.
Who are your closest friends?
Angela and Andi.
What profession do you admire the most?
All are worthy of admiration. I don’t really have a ~favorite~
Do you believe in karma?
Not strictly in the spiritual sense; but it can be comforting to think that the people who have hurt me will have their ass handed back to them someday.
What do you think is the funniest show on TV?
Ooh, I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore...I have a sitcom in mind but it ended 17 years ago and it’s still pretty polarizing to this day, lol.
Are you an organ donor?
No.
Did you have imaginary friends when you were younger?
Just one, but I didn’t get the point of it and I got bored very quickly.
Have you ever smoked weed?
No but a friend knows a supplier should I ever want to start getting into it.
Who do you look up to for your style?
Idk, whatever girls my age are wearing these days.
What's the most expensive thing you've ever bought?
With my own money, probably the hotel accommodation I purchased for my dad’s birthday this weekend. I’m super stingy with my money and I can’t imagine spending 4 or 5 figures on something just for myself.
What's your favorite amusement park ride?
Not too big on rides.
Who was the craziest teacher you've ever had?
Ironically, it was my Christianity/religion teacher from 5th grade. We bumped into each other a few weeks after I graduated high school and his first remark towards me was about my breasts. He did a lot of stupid shit too when I was in 5th grade but I don’t feel like getting into them because he was just one big headache of a man.
Where would you like to travel that you have not been?
Thailand, if within Asia; Spain if outside.
If you could be any musician for a day, who would you be and why?
No thanks.
Do you have any tattoos?
No.
What are your favorite scary movies?
Some favorites are Carrie, The Shining, and Scream.
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The Principal’s Office: Part Two ~Grayson Dolan
Overview: (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N) was the new 5th grade history teacher at The Dolan’s Private academy in New Jersey. She moved from across the country to teach at the school. On the first day, an unexpected visitor stops by her classroom to check in on her. What happened when they fall head over heels for each other? Check out to see.
Warnings: None in this chapter
(Y/N)’s alarm began to ring at 5:30 in the morning. She rolled out of her bed and turned her alarm off. She stretched out before walking into her bathroom. Today was her first day teaching and she was excited and nervous at the same time. This was her first job as a teacher and she didn’t know how the kids would like her. Then she realized that Grayson would be there and her heart started racing. She snapped herself out of it realizing he would never be with her. Reason one was the fact that he was technically her boss and reason number two was the fact rarely did the hot guys fall for the history nerd who’s never even had a boyfriend before. She sighed and stripped from her pajamas and stepped in the shower. She took a quick shower and got out and dried off. She did her normal morning routine, curled her hair and slipped into her first day outfit which was a pair of dark green jeans with a white button down and gray sweater on top of that, a pair of nude flats and her purse(visual below).
She grabbed everything that she was going to need including all of her lesson plans for the week, her laptop, her phone cord, her good pens that she specifically bought for grading, and a few little decors to make her room unique. She moved all her stuff to her car and began heading to work. The school was about 20 minutes away from her house and she used those 20 minutes to mentally prepare herself for this day. When she arrived at the school she parked in the teachers parking lot and grabbed all of her things and made sure to throw her lanyard with her ID on it so that she was able to get into the school. She scanned her badge and quickly looked to see what hall she was on and what her room number was: 319. She walked down the long hallway until she reached the 300 hall and walked down in finding room 319. She room was larger than the rooms that she remembered from her fifth grade classes but then again she attended a public school. The room had rows of desks, a large white board, a projector screen, plenty of closet space, a beautiful white desk with a fairly comfortable leather chair, and a huge computer monitor. She placed her bag down beside her desk. It was now around 7:15 and she had an hour and 15 minutes until school started. She began pulling out the stuff she had brought to decorate her classroom and desk. She placed her pictures in her desk that included the pictures from her graduation, her family pictures, a picture of her and her mom, and many of her at historic sites. She plugged in her essential oil machine and put in a slight bit of peppermint oil in. She began hanging her history posters and maps from every topic in the semester and wrote her name on the white board in cursive. She also set up the calendar that she had bought and arranged the desks how she liked them.
“You’re here fairly early. I thought I was the only one here this early.” A voice said from the door way. That voice belonged to the one and only Grayson Dolan; the principal of the school.
“Yeah, I wanted to make some personal touches and make sure I was prepared for the day. I hope you don’t mind.” She said as she noticed he was looking around.
“These photos are beautiful. You seem very passionate about History and your family. I find that very admirable Ms (Y/L/N).” He said. Her heart fluttered almost out of her chest.
“Thank you sir. My mom has always been there for me. History has been apart of my life since as long as I can remember.” She said and made sure everything was in order before she walked back over to her desk.
“Well I’ll swing by later to check on you and see how you are doing. Maybe I can bring you lunch around lunch time. Have a fantastic day (Y/N).” He said and with that he was gone. The one thing (Y/N) didn’t know was that Grayson Dolan was absolutely in love with her. He felt a connection with her that he’s never felt before.
It was now 8:15 and she had 15 minutes until her first class of the day would arrive. She sat down in her leather chair and turned the projector on and pulled up her welcoming PowerPoint that she spent a good three hours making. Her plan for today was to introduce herself to the class and get to know some of her students. She then went and stood in front of her door to welcome the children into the classroom. The school bell rang indicating that school had begun and she had five minutes before all her kids needed to be in her classroom. As all of her students filled her room she welcomed them with a warm smile and handshake. The tardy bell rang and she shut her door making sure that it locked in compliance of school rules.
“Good Morning and welcome back to school. I hope each and every one of you had a fantastic weekend and let me be the first to welcome you to fifth grade History. My name is Ms. (Y/L/N) and I’m so ready for this year with you guys. Now it’s time for role.” (Y/N) spoke and everyone was present so she sent in attendance and then grabbed the remote to change the slides as she stood to introduce herself to the class.
“So I thought instead of giving you guys work on the first day, that we would take this time to get to know each other starting with myself. If you can not tell, this is my first year here and by my accent you can tell I am not from around here. I actually moved here from Oklahoma and this is my first year teaching actually. I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma with my mom and sister and brother, I’m 25 years old and I went to school at Oklahoma University on a full scholarship ride. I’ve been to almost every historical monument in the United States and have met several past presidents. I also am a very hands on teacher and I’ll try and start bringing some historical artifacts that I’ve collected over the years next week but it depends on if I can get them out of my moving boxes. Now does anyone want to share anything about themselves.” (Y/N) spoke. About 10 kids hands shot up. She called on the first kid she saw. He was sitting in the front row and looked like an athletic kid.
“My name is Thomas and I played football and baseball all summer and I made the All Regional Leauge in town. Also why history?” He asked.
“Well I was never good at math so I knew that would not be an option. I liked English but I didn’t want to grade a lot of essays. The only science I ever really got into was medical science and I’m terrified of blood and needles so I fell in love with history. Plus everything has history, your family, your town, even your pets have history. History is all around us and it shapes the world today.” She said and a few more kids shared their stories and soon there was only five minutes left of class. She grabbed the packet of information to send home to their parents about the class and passed them out.
“Please get these signed and returned between tomorrow and Friday. Have a fantastic rest of the day and I can’t wait to see you guys tomorrow.” She said as the bell rang. The next three classes went that way and now it was time for lunch. She sat down at her desk and rubbed her sore feet from standing. There was a knock on her door and then the door opened revealing Grayson.
“I brought lunch. I hope you don’t mind. I brought some chicken salads.” He said with a smile as he handed her a salad.
“Thank you so much.” She said with a smile on her face.
“So how’s your first day been so far?” He said as he pulled up a chair to your desk so that he can eat.
“It’s been wonderful. The students have been so respectful and amazing. This job means a lot to me and it’s perfect. I’ve had no problems at all today except the pain in my feet from standing but I can get over that soon.” She said with a laugh.
Grayson laughed as well with one of his gorgeous smiles, “Well that’s good. I’m glad you’re enjoying this. Sometimes the students are a little too much to handle when you get into the higher grades especially. Apparently I’m almost every 8th grade girls crush and it’s honestly kind of creepy some days. I’m 30 for Christ sakes.” He said with a laugh.
(Y/N) laughed remembering her awkward phase in 8th grade when she thought she was going to marry Tom Cruise. “It’s just something they go through during that awkward transition in life. I went through it, my sister went through it, I’m pretty sure my mother went through it. That’s why I picked fifth grade, they have no clue or really no interests in relationships.”
“That’s true. Well lunch is almost over and I would love to get to know you more other than helping you move in. I would like to take you out to dinner this Saturday. I’ll give you time to think about it and no hard feelings if you say no. I’ll text you the details later. Have a great rest of the day (Y/N).” He said as he put his chair back where he got it and left the room. Her heart and mind were spinning. He has just asked her on a dinner date. Her BOSS just asked her on a dinner date. The man who stole her heart with a smile asked her on a dinner date. She couldn’t even fully function. She quickly shook out of it as the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. She finished off the rest of her classes before 4:30 came and she was finally able to go home. She grabbed all of her belongings and made sure everything was off before heading home. She stopped and grabbed her something to eat before heading back to her house due to the fact that she has no groceries at home. When she got home she processed long and hard about her current situation. She went to bed that night replaying every possible outcome in her head whether she said yes or no. As she was laying down her phone buzzed: One New message from Grayson Dolan.
Hey (Y/N), it’s Grayson. I would love to take you to Juliane’s Seafood and Steakhouse this Saturday night at 7:30 to get to know you more. I really hope you come, I really enjoy hearing your stories and you intrigue me. Once again no harsh feelings if you don’t want to go. It’s only if you feel comfortable. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your night. Anyways have a good night and see you tomorrow 🙂
(Y/N) thought long and hard with her decision and finally responded....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That was part two! Sorry for the cliffhanger but hey it builds suspense ☺️ I’m really enjoying how this story is turning out and I hope you guys are too 😊 part three will be out in the next few days.
Tags: @pineappledols @frickin-bats @graysavant
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Aniplex Fugou Keiji Livestream | Fugou Keiji 2 | Kitsutsuki 2 - 4 | Arte 3 - 12 (FINAL) | Fruits Basket 27 - 32
During the Millionaire Detective: Unmissable livestream (part of FunimationCon and Aniplex Online Fest), I watched and took notes, so you might find these handy upon retrospect. To be honest, this is how I do the posts for magicalgirlsandcerulean’s livestreams as well, but there hasn’t been one of those in a while...
Otherwise, these are all normal notes.
Aniplex Fugou Keiji Livestream
Look out for the dancer from the OP
Onuki was the model for the dancing for the anime – he was told to do it out of the blue
Episode 11 might have one of these^ be relevant
Daisuke’s cup ramen has shark fin in it and he made the packaging from scratch – that’s why it’s so expensive!
The director Tomohiko Ito omits important information, allowing people to decide for themselves what happened. (Miyano) – This might be why the series is stylish. (MC)
Attractiveness of character design is important! (for adapting Fugou Keiji to modern day)
I’ve never watched a livestream where the stars were so conscious of their English and Chinese audiences! This was interesting, especially because Onuki is not normally known as a VA!
“We still have a little bit of recording to do.”
Fugou Keiji 2
I keep misunderstanding my own instructions…this starts again in July after ep 2.
Todai = Tokyo Daigaku (Uni).
I believe this is the 2nd time I’ve seen a rich person like commoner’s instant noodles, although I forget where I saw the 1stinstance.
Kambe switched to the back seat now, huh?
Ah! Now I remember! The first time was seeing spoilers for this episode on Twitter! (LOL)
I see Suzue has a sensible naming scheme for her data.
Hmm…judging by the Google hits, the name visible in the background (Betbeto bin Abura) is the Arabic prince from last time.
SYN-ACK. I see these guys did their work – that’s the final stage of the 3 stage handshake required for things like internet sockets (used to send “packets” of data).
Way to crash a party, Kambe siblings…(LOL)
I really wanna see someone draw Kato slapping (Daisuke) Kambe in the face with a wad of cash…or a “shut up and take my money” meme with Kambe in it.
I like how “special cup ramen” is on the purchases list and it costs 100000 yen. I also like how the reporter Mita was bought out for 5000000 yen (bigger than all the other individual costs except for buying out the Tower)…that’s how he showed up.
Kitsutsuki 2
I gotta finish this show and then pause it…3 shows in my normal lineup are safe.
Did Kindaichi take the bones of the fish out for Ishikawa…? Like a child would have had done for them?
Why is Ishikawa being referred to as “Hajime”…?
Draw this prostitute like one of your French girls…(LOL?)
Ishikawa clearly dropped those coins into that book earlier.
Way to diss the potential asexuality/celibacy in the house. I mean, it’s the 1800s – early 1900s, so there was less LGBTIQ+ stuff then and certainly the further back you go, the more sexual prowess becomes a sign of masculinity, but still, if the guy doesn’t want to go through with it, don’t force him.
Notice how the borders were pink for Ishikawa’s version and blue for Kindaichi’s.
Notably, Otaki didn’t seem to have that hairpin…but maybe that’s because we saw things from Ishikawa’s perspective.
Ooh…who are these bois? Also, crab.
Kitsutsuki 3
…cat? Now there’s a new perspective. That’s like saying the butler did it.
Yay! Hagiwara is Ume!
Notice Hagiwara’s version has a purple frame, while Yoshii (?) has yellow and another person has dark blue.
I think “consumption” was tuberculosis, once upon a time.
I love how the crowd is fed up with Ishikawa’s bulls***.
Ooh, chuuni Akutagawa…
In a Grove is the Rashomon story.
Tarou Hirai = Rampo Edogawa.
You stalker, future Rampo!
I kinda suspected Otaki when I thought through the possibilities…Ishikawa, Kindaichi, an outsider, Otaki (and as of this ep, Rampo too).
Gaiheikan? Is that Ishikawa and co.’s lodging?
Did they have pencils back in that day?
Kitsutsuki 4
Humouresques.
Kabayaki.
I think it was in Detective Conan that I learnt (one of) the only way(s) a man can get his nails done is by his wife doing it for him, possibly as a prank or to indicate he’s “taken”. Note this was early Detective Conan, so it’s very much a 90s attitude…considering the widespread acceptance of drag queens and the LGBTIQ+ movement these days.
Kozukata.
Lace flower.
Maichou seems to be a hybrid of Asahi Shinbun and Mainichi Shinbun.
[Monkfish/dictionary/going home] - Is this how Ishikawa shows consideration…?
The purple letterrboxing is back but this time with Ishikawa…meaning that’s just an aesthetic thing for all flashbacks after all.
Just from vaguely hearing it (I’ve got the volume on low), the words are nodo tsuki/nodo zuki. “Throat moon/throat wound” works just as well, if not better.
Balsam flower.
Update: Since enough anime fulfilled the special COVID-19 criteria, Kitsutsuki was put on hold after this.
Fruits Basket 2 2 (27)
I’ve read Another, remember?…so I kind of know what happens.
Uo’s got purple nails…that’s surprisingly cute of her.
Aw, Kureno! Another Ume role!
Why is “shisho” (master) not translated…? A weird Tokyopop-era translation quirk?
Aw, Shisho cut his hair…? Bummer.
Who was that? Shigure…?(!) Update: We find out his name later in this ep.
“If you continue to change, I’ll continue to protect you.” – Another quote for the archive.
Great…I feel personally called out by this ep.
Fruits Basket 2 3 (28)
It seems all male designers wear their designs if they have no one else to wear them…at least, that’s what I’ve gathered from Hajime (Runway de Waratte) and Ayame.
I remember Ayame stood in for Yuki’s parents in the manga at one point. This must be it.
(Spoilers for later!) I also remember Mine and Ayame get married at the end…This is the prelude to that.
Dang, Ayame, you moment-ruiner!
Fruits Basket 2 4 (29)
Did anyone in the doorway hear about Hatsuharu turning into an ox?
To quote Sailor Mercury, “Douse yourself in water and repent!”
Ooh, window splitting Yuki and Haru. Nice cinematography going on here.
I bet all people think they only think about themselves, in one way or another.
Arashiyama tofu.
Yatsuhashi are great. They’re these sweet triangle things like samosas that come in various flavours. Mitarashi dango are sticky brown skewered balls of glutinous rice…which I’ve never had, but I’ve seen them in enough anime to know what they are.
I only just realised this, but Yuki’s hairstyle isn’t even on both sides, like Atsushi from BSD’s.
Huh…you can see a copy of Mogeta and Ari (as it turns out, “Ari” is the name of a character and not “ant” at all in this case) on Haru’s bed. There’s also an article in one of the magazines discussing how denim is the popular thing now and which types are in right now.
Fruits Basket 2 5 (30)
I realised Yuki isn’t calling Tohru by her first name – he’s going against Haru’s advice.
Hmm? Why should anyone ask a rabbit to hold their horses…? (LOL)
CGI cars…*sigh*
Tororo is grated yam, IIRC.
I learnt recently that nanban means “savage” or “uncivilised”…for a potato and chicken dish, the name and the contents don’t really match…Update: Nanban means “savage” (noun) or “barbarian”. Close enough.
17-26…age gap 9 years…yikes…
The words “(a happy, yet) caged bird” come to mind when Kureno describes himself. Also, Kureno is an Ume role! Yippee!
Ahh…young love…even if it has a bit of an awkward edge to it. Mind the (age) gap!
Me being the Ume stan, of course I want to hear those sweet nothings in his voice, even if it has to be via a proxy like Uotani…I wouldn’t be an Ume stan if I didn’t.
…Ah, I see. Uotani reminds me of Minare from Wave and vice versa.
Oh, I just remembered Akito is 20 or thereabouts. Kureno/Akito is only a bit more legal than Uotani and Kureno.
Arte 3
Notice Leo never once uses Arte’s name in the lady’s presence. Her name does have some infamy to it, after all.
“She’s got some guts.” – You say that at a live dissection…LOL.
Is this love~? What’s the age gap between Leo and Arte, anyway? Update: We know for sure Arte is older than 13…that’s it.
Make the things you want prominent with perspective and such. I thought that much was obvious, but for someone straightforward like Arte, I guess it ain’t so. (Maybe it’s because I’m self-taught to some degree when it comes to art.)
*sketching by candlelight* - You’re gonna ruin your eyes, Arte!
Arte, ma girl! You’re getting’ a raise! Good job!
Arte 4
Anime makes this courtesan stuff sound like a host club…(?)
I thought Leo was saying “Aria” for a second instead of Arte, LOL. I’m getting too used to that being my alias…
Arte 5
The speech bubble said “so annoying I could die”.
Arte 6
The video’s gone all pixelated…at least, the subs have…
I bet she’s going to fall over…Update: Nup, she didn’t.
Arte 7
I thought Yuri was a Russian name…or a Japanese one.
This is basically Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine all over again! (LOL)
I thought Yuri would be pushy…like, “Here’s an offer you can’t refuse.” That kind of thing. Likewise, I didn’t think Arte would refuse.
Leo? *dun-dun-DUN!*
Siena is apparently in Tuscany. Also, I did see the Silent Manga Audition page had a chapter on a pregnant woman, so this is ch. 17 or thereabouts.
Is Ruthanna not getting the money because she’s pregnant…?
Epidemic? The Black Death?...Speaking of which, Arte is very much of that ganbaru spirit. By being progressive for her time, she becomes ordinary in our time.
Ohhhhhhh! It’s a reverse harem in progress here!...This would be a good otome game, come to think of it. It’s framed the same way.
Leo can be surprisingly childish at times, don’t you think?
Arte 8
…Really? She fell overboard? *raises eyebrow*
Ooh, china (with and without capitalisation).
Is this another sarcastic child…? Oh, bother. Still, I can see why Hamefura crossed over with Arte now…Katarina vs. Catarina!
Arte 9
Bigoli is a type of pasta, as can be guessed from context.
The kanji for the episode title literally translate to “bad child”! Like the Tones and I song, LOL!
Mikata (ally).
Arte 10
This episode is giving off a Katarina x Gimo ship vibe…but with how young they are, I’m not sure I should ship it. They’re 6, aren’t they…?
Oh, you can see Katarina and Sofia’s hug in one of the ED frames.
Arte 11
Arte’s let her hair grow out…
An Italian man…bowed. In Renaissance Italy. Now I understand what all the ANN complaints are for.
What’s up with that kid’s face…? *grumbles*
Leo’s just being Leo, I see.
That’s right, Angelo and Leo never met.
Instead of a father or a brother overly cherishing his daughter, it’s the uncle…I never thought I’d see the day I saw something like that.
Arte 12 (FINAL)
Is this like Orientalism, but with gender…? (What would you call that?)
Lemme guess…Leo is working on the church mural and so he’s away?
Was that Leo, in the middle of the mural somewhere…?
Another Japanese bow in this anime, which is set in Italy.
But where is Arte herself in that mural?
Fine = end.
Fruits Basket 31
The word Momiji is using is “hisso” or something like that. Hissho is secretary, so the translator made it “secret getaway” to make it work.
That hat! *laser stare*
*one of the textbooks has “high school chemistry” on it* Tohru can do chemistry?! I suck at chemistry!
The episode title is translated as “Are you really this stupid?” It seems the real line for that was “Are you an idiot?”
Something about high school girls appeared in my head when Haru mentioned Shigure wanting to see Tohru in her tight swimsuit…*mumbles grumpily about pervs*
Kyo’s not wet, even though he got in the water! Amazing!
I think it’s sad that Tohru responds to “stupid girl” like it’s her own name.
“…that makes you suspect me?” seems better.
The Akito and Shigure age gap is somewhere between 6 and 8 years, IIRC.
Fruits Basket 32
Tohru switched from okaasan (mother) to okattekita (a formal past tense verb meaning either “bought”, “lent” or “won” based on the characters…which I don’t have a reference for). I assume because it was so off the mark, the subbers chose a similarly off the mark word.
“When I was a kid, I thought watermelons would sprout in my stomach if I ate the seeds.”
We only know about Kyo’s dad so far…hmm…what about the mother? Update: (TW: suicide) I think it was at this point we already knew that Kyo’s mother didn’t love him and committed suicide, but it’s not certain until later.
Why do doctors always use scalpels and syringes as weapons…? I mean, even Jakurai’s symbol in ARB is a syringe!
I’ve been wondering…how big is the Sohma family? Is it diluted enough that Haru and Rin can love each other without genetic problems for their child/ren? (From Another, I would say the answer is “yes”, but shoujo normally doesn’t care about this sort of thing, which is why I ask in the first place.)
Shigure seems like the type to say, “U mad, bro?”
The mansion looks like the one in Haruhi Suzumiya, if I remember the appearance of that one correctly.
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A day in the life of Amy
Thursday 14th May 2020
Note - I know this is very long and I hope it doesn’t come across as self-obsessed. I was inspired by the Refinery29 Money Diaries which I find fascinating. I love getting a real insight into other people’s lives so maybe other people will find this interesting? Even if they don’t I know I’ll be glad to have this snapshot of this time in my life to look back on later.
I am 28 years old and live in Yorkshire, England. I live on my own in a rented 1 bedroom flat. I am a mental health social worker but have been working from home during lockdown. I am currently trying to lose weight and get fitter. This is a day in my life.
7:30am
Alarm goes off. I spend a couple of minutes checking the BBC coronavirus morning update whilst I wake up. Have a big glass of chilled water and take my tablets for my underactive thyroid. I get dressed into workout leggings and a baggy t-shirt, put on a hoody and a light coat. I make a coffee in my travel mug.
8:00am
I set off on my morning walk. The rules were changed this week so I can now exercise outside for an unlimited amount of time, whereas I was previously having to stick to once a day for about an hour. I am very lucky to live close to a big area of interconnected woods and fields that are public access. People have been painting stones and leaving them along the side of the footpaths. There are new ones almost every day, and other people move them to make it a sort of treasure hunt. There isn’t a cloud in the sky and I feel my spirits lift immediately as I walk in the sun and drink my coffee. I listen to the birdsong and as I get to a remote patch of brambles I walk very slowly and quietly. I’m rewarded with the sight of 12 wild rabbits grazing and hopping about before they inevitably spot me and scurry away.
8:50am
I get back home. I tracked the walk on the Mapmywalk app and it tells me I burnt 258 calories, but the main benefit is getting the fresh air and a positive start to my day. I make my regular breakfast – one protein weatabix with milk, low-fat greek yoghurt, a chopped banana, mixed berries, and a sprinkle of a seed mix.
9:00am
I set up my work laptop on my dining table and log in. I finish eating my breakfast whilst going through my emails and making a to-do list for the day. My first task is to write up a review that I did recently with a service user. It was a very positive review, they have been building their independence and can now manage their daily life with much less involvement from carers. I phoned the care agency to check their rates and then update the support plan with the new lower weekly cost. I call the service user to let them know that the change has been made and we agree that it is time for me to end my involvement. I spend the rest of the morning writing a closing summary of all the case work I have done with them since I was allocated a year ago.
12:15pm
I’m already in my workout clothes so I get out my exercise mat and use my lunch break to complete day 2 of Chloe Ting’s Summer Shred Challenge. Today there are four videos including the warm up and cool down and it takes me an hour in total. I mostly do the modified versions but even following the video I can’t begin to fathom how to do a side plank hip abduction! I take sips of water throughout and by the time I’ve finished I’ve drunk two pints. I don’t have a fitness tracker so I don’t track the calories burnt by these workouts.
1:15pm
Lunch break is technically over, but working from home has to have some perks and I think a bit of flexibility on working hours is one of those. I have a quick shower and get changed into my ‘day’ leggings and baggy t-shirt. I don’t have to do any video calls so there’s no need to look professional and its comfort all the way. I make my lunch – cut up veggies with hummus, some rice crackers and a triangle of cheese. I’ve very hungry by now so eat quite quickly. Not satisfied so I also have a packet of sweet chilli multigrain wave crisps and a glass of diet cloudy lemonade.
1:35pm
I log back on to my laptop. Unfortunately three of my service users have passed away from Covid-19 in the past few weeks so I email the team admin so the records can be updated with their date of death. I had spent a lot of one to one time with one of the gentleman and I feel upset and guilty that he passed away after moving to a care home that I had helped organise. I ring his son to offer my condolences and share a happy memory of the gentleman.
2:00pm
I phone a placement to follow up a safeguarding referral. A service user was given an extra dose of medication, but it didn’t have any negative effect and the managers have discussed it with the staff member responsible. Determined that no further action was needed. Discussed how the placement was going in general and there were no other issues and no further role for me. I’d been due to close the case anyway so I wrote up another closing summary.
3:30pm
I decide I need a snack, partly because I’m hungry but also because I want a bit of a break. I’ve been using up the food I had in the house so I don’t have many options and go for two digestive biscuits. I start typing up a mental capacity assessment that I completed over the phone. The service user in question isn’t able to make the decision themselves whether they should have home care or not. Part of the job is making the decision of what is in the person’s best interest and they don’t always agree with that. This has caused a lot of issues for this person in the past and I’m not feeling very optimistic about their situation.
4:30pm
My concentration has gone out the window. I start thinking about what I’ll make for dinner. I usually make a batch of something on a Monday that’s enough for 4 or 5 portions and I just have to heat it up, but I’ve already run out of my last batch cook. I have most of the ingredients for a bean pot so make a shopping list of the other things I’ll need.
5:00pm
I log off from my work laptop, switch my leggings for jeans, and head out for another walk. I want to put some space between my work day and my free time. Whilst I’m walking I phone my mum and we have a good 45 minute catch up. She hadn’t been feeling very well and said talking to me really cheered her up so I’m glad I did.
5:45pm
I go to the supermarket on the way home. My closest store is a Lidl and it’s generally pretty well stocked now that everyone has stopped panic buying. I get the ingredients I need, as well as some bits for breakfasts and lunches, and I impulse bought a house plant. Total spend was £22.37. When I get back home the Mapmywalk app tells me that I burnt 338 calories.
7:00pm
I put the shopping away and sat down for a second and suddenly it’s 7. I start making the bean pot following a random recipe I found online. Don’t realise until it’s too late that it calls for 50 minutes of simmering time, but that is a fairly typical move for me. Whilst I’m waiting I put some laundry away and have a general tidy up.
9:00pm
Dinner is finally ready! I created it as a recipe on Myfitnesspal and it came out as 700 calories per portion. In total today I’ve eaten 1551 calories and burnt 596 through exercise. I eat my dinner whilst watching Lucy Wood’s latest youtube video. Her videos honestly feel like catching up with a friend, even if that does make me sound like an internet weirdo!
9:30pm
I put on an ASMR video from TingTing ASMR. The soft whispering and trigger sounds are very relaxing and the best ones make my scalp tingle. I’d jotted down some notes about my day as I went along so I make them into this post. If I hadn’t spent so long making dinner I probably would have watched a Disney film. I’m watching the Disney Classics in order and the next one will be Sleeping Beauty.
10:30pm
I’m going to put this post on tumblr then put my laptop and phone away so I don’t get too distracted. I’ll read for about 30 minutes, my current book is ‘Once upon a river’ by Dianne Setterfield. I usually end up going to sleep 11- 11:30pm, ready to do it all again tomorrow!
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Sugar Coated Pain [Boxer!Calum AU] Ch. 16
special thank you to @gotta-try-something-new for reading this over for me! i appreciate it a lot!!
All Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Epilogue | BONUS CHAPTER
Chapter 16
A GROAN SOUNDED from behind Noelle. “Alright, now you’re just teasing me on purpose.”
Grinning, a blush spreading across Noelle’s cheeks as she straightened to stand properly, turning around to catch sight of Calum standing right behind her. She saw the appreciative look in his eyes before his lips tilted into a smirk, and she clicked her tongue at him while crossing her arms. “You’re not allowed behind the counter if you don’t work here,” Noelle retorted, eyeing where he stood.
She stayed in her spot as Calum raised an unimpressed eyebrow, taking the two steps towards her in the limited space until he was towering over her smaller frame, tattooed hands gripping her hips to pull her towards him. Noelle let him without argument, looking up at the Australian as Calum mused in a low voice, “What if I’ve got an in with one of the owners?”
Noelle knew it was unprofessional of her to cozying up to Calum behind the counter during business hours, but his touch over her clothes was burning into her skin and, really, she could never think straight with him so close to her. After weeks of only seeing him as someone standoffish and only getting physical when it came to violence, Noelle reveled happily in Calum being flirtatious and getting his hands on her in any way he could. It was such a good fucking change.
Before Noelle could say anything, tease Calum that just because he called her my girl three nights ago didn’t mean he could hop over the counter, Calum’s smirk widened into a shit-eating grin as he continued his statement, “She’s dating my best mate, so I don’t think she’ll mind.”
It took a second for his words to register in Noelle’s mind as she blinked up at him in mild bewilderment, and when she noticed the mirth in his eyes and the words referring to Beverly instead of her clicked in her mind, Noelle let out an affronted scoff as she stepped back with a dismissing swat to his chest. Calum let out a laugh as she tried to move away, his grip on her hips keeping her in place as she playfully glared at him.
“Get out of here,” she declared with a shake of her head, though she made no other move to push him back or get away herself.
“You know I’m kidding, babe,” Calum laughed and Noelle pondered if her heart would ever stop doing a flip at Calum referring to her by cute pet names that melted her from the inside. “’M here to see you before I go to work. Brought you coffee—cream and sugar, right?”
It was then when Noelle noticed the plastic coffee cups from Dunkin Donuts resting on the counter—she’d mentioned it a few nights ago how she preferred their coffee over Starbucks—and the smile was back on her face in full force as she looked back at Calum. “I thought you had a reputation to maintain of not being a romantic?” she hummed, arms wrapping around his waist as she tilted her head back to look up at him. “You’re just destroying it yourself, you know.”
Calum smirked, lowering his head as he bumped his nose with hers. “Ask me if I give a shit, doll,” he rasped before slanting his lips over hers.
Noelle couldn’t help the giggle as she kissed him back, muffled by Calum’s lips. Pushing herself up on her toes, Noelle wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close, tasting a mix of his minty toothpaste and the bitter coffee he’d been drinking, not too surprised she liked the combination. It was a taste of Calum—of course she liked it.
When Calum tried to deepen the kiss, Noelle reluctantly pulled away, putting herself back on her feet as Calum groaned at the loss, and she let out a laugh as he opened his eyes. “Sorry, babe,” she smiled, heart skipping as she used the term. Her right hand slid around so her thumb could brush along his soft lips, lightly wiping away the lipstick that made his mouth seem pinker. “Not here.”
Calum let out a long sigh, arms going around her shoulders and hands linking before he quirked an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Then how about tonight?”
Noelle fought her grin from widening, heart thumping as she was momentarily reminded of Calum’s promise of having every intention of finishing what he’d started a few nights ago. “I would, but I’ve got plans with Camille,” she told him, looking up at him as her fingers lightly trailed up and down his back. “You free tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I finish training around seven,” Calum answered, catching sight of someone approaching from his peripheral before pulling away from Noelle. “You’ve a customer.”
Noelle stepped around him towards the register and Calum sat on the stool to her right, watching as she pleasantly greeted the middle aged woman while ringing her up. Calum noticed the smile on her face was ever present, genuine as she and the customer engaged in small talk as Noelle scanned the five books and a packet of bookmarks. He sat, hands clasped in the space between his thighs as his gaze remained on her and listened to her sweet voice speak, felt his lips tugging at the sound of her laugh.
It was alarming, how much he liked her. It happened in a matter of days, didn't it? How his initial indifference—maybe annoyance but that just rightfully made him feel like an ass—had so easily transformed into not being able to keep his eyes and hands off her, or keep from adoring the sound of her laugh. Calum was aware that at first his growing feelings for Noelle were a lot too quickly, but just as fast as his feelings developed, he’d accepted them. Why try to win a fight he knew he’d lose? And while Calum hated losing, he didn’t mind this time.
“So who’re you up against in your next match?” Noelle’s voice pulled Calum out of his musings, prompting him to look at her facing him once more, leaning against the counter as she picked up the coffee he bought for her.
“Arnie Lance,” Calum answered, knowing the name meant nothing to Noelle. “Decent fighter, should be fun.”
Noelle chuckled before having to turn around to tend to another customer. Calum then pulled out his phone to check the time, realizing he’d be late to work if he didn’t leave now. So he stood up and came up behind Noelle just as she bid the customer goodbye, reaching for his own coffee as he pressed his lips to her temple. “I’ll talk to you later, yeah? Have fun tonight,” he murmured, squeezing her hip with his free hand.
She hummed, his soft gestures leaving her breathless as her eyes followed Calum walk around the counter and towards the door, all straight back and broad shoulders as she enjoyed his lingering scent for a moment. Noelle watched as Calum opened the door, her smile reappearing when he looked at her over his shoulder and threw her a quick grin, and the giddy feeling bubbling in her stomach stayed long after Calum was gone.
♔♔♔♔♔
Noelle hadn’t expected her night to go slightly downhill after having dinner with Camille and a few of their other friends. She’d been having fun; at home she got ready before bidding goodbye to Andrea, who was off to a summer camp in New Jersey for the next month, before stuffing herself silly with some hibachi and enjoying the company of Camille, Sera, and Tanya especially since she hadn’t seen the latter two for a while. They’d gotten dressed up, gotten dinner and then dessert at a nearby Cheesecake Factory before going to DUMBO in Brooklyn to take pictures in front of the water and Brooklyn Bridge. And it had been fun; Noelle was having a blast, laughing and snapping picture after picture until it was nearing eleven o’clock and they decided to head home because it was a weekday, after all.
But it wasn’t until after Sera and Tanya bid goodbye to walk to where they found parking for Sera’s car and the other two were headed to where Noelle parked hers that things took a turn. Her car was in a back road behind a building full of restaurants, and just as she and Camille approached it, one of the back doors of the building opened and out stepped a guy Noelle had only seen once but had made enough of an impression to allow her to forget him so easily.
“Ah, Hood’s girl, aren’t ya?” Milner mused knowingly once his eyes landed on her, slowing his walk down just as Noelle did, her hand lightly grasping Camille’s wrist to keep her from walking. Noelle took in a breath, wondering why this shit kept happening to her. “Can’t say I mind running into you. Or your friend.”
When his eyes trailed appreciatively over both girls, Noelle and Camille’s faces scrunched in distaste, exchanging glances of exasperation. There weren’t many people around at the narrow street they were on, the only lights being the ones filtering out of the ground floor windows of the buildings they were in between, and Noelle hoped someone would walk by or out if things got. . . Difficult.
“Good for you,” Noelle responded before using her grip on Camille to usher her towards the street so she could walk around to the passenger side of her parked car. Camille shot her a silent questioning look as she went, wondering who the hell this guy was. “Unfortunately, we gotta go.”
Her heart thumped when she tried to reach the door, keys in her hand but stopping short when Milner smoothly got in her way. “What’s the rush?” he tilted his head, voice cool as his left hand pressed against the window of her door. Noelle could see Camille’s eyes widening, the sixth sense women seem to have alerting them of threat seemingly going off for both of them. “I just wanna chat.”
Noelle’s jaw clenched, body rigid in alert as she shot back, “About Calum?”
A grin stretched across Milner’s thin lips, though the sight of it didn’t nothing to rid of the unease Noelle was feeling around him. In all of Brooklyn—in all of New York—why did she have to be in the same place as this guy? Milner lifted his chin slightly as he regarded her. “Smart girl.”
“Smart enough to know to stay away from you,” Noelle sharply responded as she grabbed the car door handle and tried to open it despite his hand still on her window. “Get your hands off my car.”
When she tried to open her door, a startled gasp escaped Noelle as Milner’s free hand shot out to grab her wrist, his grip not even in the same neighborhood as gentle. Her jaw loosened in pain at Milner’s tight grasp, his large hand wrapping around her wrist and squeezing it and she genuinely feared that he would snap her bones. Camille, from the other side of the car, let out a protesting exclamation of her own as she noticed Noelle grimace.
“You got somewhere to be?” Milner questioned in a steady voice, but Noelle could pick up the controlled anger behind it. This was crazy—what the hell was he angry for? Just because he’d seen her with Calum, didn’t mean he could get in her face and nearly break her damn wrist. She watched with wide eyes as a mocking knowing look dawned on Milner’s face as he nodded slowly. “Oh, right, probably off to see Hood, aren’t ya?”
Noelle clenched her jaw as he gave a squeeze to her wrist, trying with all her might not to show the pain or fear he was successfully instilling while her heart pounded in a way she hadn’t felt in years. It was thundering against her ribcage, provoked by the same kind of fear she had felt once more when she was in the hospital, waiting to find out the fate of her father and sister. This time, Noelle’s dry mouth and hammering heart were in honest-to-God terror of her wrist snapping because this man in front of her was angry and he was an actual fighter, and Noelle would be flat out lying if she didn’t feel even the slightest bit fearful of her life right now.
She didn’t get to respond to Milner, to frozen in shock and pain, but he continued along in a dark tone that had her nerves standing on edge. “When you see him, tell him I’ll be waiting for our match.” Noelle’s eyes are glued on his, knowing that he can probably see the alarm in them but she somehow maintains their gaze, looks into his dark eyes that weren’t nearly as comforting and lovely as Calum’s were. She knows he’s aware he’s freaking her out because his lips curl into a near sadistic smirk, as if he was getting off on instilling these kinds of feelings in her. When he leaned closer, Noelle instinctively moved back, wincing at his grip. “And this time, he’s gonna be the one crawling out of the ring with broken bones.”
Noelle felt her body freeze at his words, the pain in her wrist pushed to the side as she saw the dangerously serious look in Milner’s eyes. He wasn’t joking, not in the least, his threat against Calum successfully planting and growing a seed of justified terror. It wasn’t just a threat—it was a promise of revenge.
And when Milner shoved her hand away with a force that caused Noelle to stumble, her hip hitting the car, she felt her heart in her throat as he literally smirked in satisfaction. What kind of low-life man enjoyed hurting a woman? She glared after Milner, which didn’t faze him in the slightest as his warning eyes went from her to Camille before he turned around and walked off, tall and proud for just intimidating two alone women.
It wasn’t until he disappeared down the block, moving out of sight around the corner that Noelle released a long shuddering breath as she pressed herself against her car, her left hand coming up to lightly brush along her right wrist where the dull ache of Milner’s hand still remained.
Noelle’s heart was hammering so loudly in her ears that she didn’t even hear Camille’s hurried footsteps until her best friend was right in front of her, blue eyes widened in fright. “Holy fuck, Noelle, are you okay?” she hastily asked, casting her gaze down to Noelle’s hand. And then she gasped, cursing softly, “Shit, how hard did he grab you?”
A bewildered, disbelieving daze had fallen upon Noelle as her mind tried to process what had just happened, blinking down at her wrist in mild confusion as she also tried to make sense of Camille’s words. Her unplanned confrontation with Milner had Noelle’s thought process become blanketed in a layer of numb discombobulation, a shocked ringing in her ears as if she’d been hit in the head a bunch of times. Only it was her wrist that was in pain.
So she followed Camille’s slightly horrified gaze, her reaction slow, until her eyes landed on her wrist. The glow of the streetlamp above them showed the barely there marks that were reddening on her skin. Noelle bruised like a peach, so the near instant appearance of the bruises-in-the-making wasn’t a surprise—though, it did take a moment for her mind to catch up with the fact that these were signs of someone practically manhandling her. Signs of Milner searing her skin without her consent.
“Noelle, hey.” Camille snapped her out of her thoughts, causing Noelle to finally look at her worried best friend. “Who the hell was that? Does he know Calum? Are you okay?”
Her last question was stressed, ducking her head slightly so her eyes met Noelle’s determinedly. “I’m fine,” Noelle responded slowly, almost unsurely because if she was being honest—she wasn’t fine. She was shaken from Milner’s words and actions, eyes dropping to her wrist as she noticed the imprint of his hand angrily standing out against her skin. Heart still pounding, Noelle let out a deep breath as she stammered, “We should go home.”
Camille kept her gaze on Noelle, the concern swimming in her bright blue eyes because she was still reeling from what had just happened, too, and had so many questions that she doesn’t think Noelle could answer right now. “Okay,” Camille said instead. “Do you want me to drive?”
“No,” Noelle shook her head, throat working as she swallowed inaudibly. She clutched her keys in her palm, the metal biting into her skin as she told her heart to calm the fuck down. Milner was gone by now, so why did her insides feel like they were shriveling up and her heart wasn’t slowing down? “I—I’ll drive. Let’s go.”
The car ride was silent other than the radio playing the top hits, the music only serving the purpose to fill the gap Camille may use to ask questions. As Noelle drove, each ray of light from the buildings or streetlamps they drove by washed over her wrist, her attention constantly being drawn to the reddening marks where the muscle still ached with a dull throb.
When Noelle pulled up in front of Camille’s house, the blue eyed girl didn’t move as she asked, “Are you gonna tell me what that was about? I’m kinda freaking out over here, Elle.”
Noelle squeezed her eyes shut and clenched the steering wheel, releasing a deep breath as she found her voice. “Not tonight, Cami.” She met her friend’s disapproving stare. “I’ll tell you later, I just—I wanna go home.”
There was only one person Noelle wanted to talk about this with, and she wasn’t sure how she should go about telling him.
So when Camille finally, reluctantly, got out of the car and bid goodnight, Noelle drove off to her house, trying her best to obey the speed laws but wanting to get home quickly. Noelle’s ears were ringing as she stepped inside, absently greeting her mother who was sitting on the couch watching TV, drinking a cup of coffee as she was dressed to go to work at this time of night.
Noelle didn’t care where Beverly was, probably at Ashton’s or something, as she headed straight for her room, lungs burning for a breath she didn’t inhale until the door was shut behind her.
The last thing she wanted to do was call Calum, to bother him by informing him of what happened, but she knew she had to. There was obviously some serious bad blood between him and Milner, and she knew Calum would be pissed if she kept this from him. So she pulled out her phone, holding it in her right hand which wouldn’t stop shaking and the sight of the marks on her wrist, even redder because all of the blood that was gathering under the skin, frustrated her so she switched her phone to her left hand.
Sitting on the edge of the bed as the line trilled, Noelle’s knee bounced uncontrollably, her breath catching in her throat when the line picked up and Calum’s voice sounded through the speaker. “Hey, you done already?”
Noelle pressed her lips together, the sound of his accented voice succeeding in what she couldn’t by calming her erratic heart at least somewhat. “Yeah,” she breathed out, clearing her throat when it got caught. “We—I, uh, just got home.”
She could hear how unsteady her voice was, so she shouldn’t have been shocked when Calum’s immediate response was, “Noelle, what’s wrong?”
Glancing down at her wrist, Noelle tried to turn her hand over and, shit, she hated herself when she felt her eyes burning with tears she wasn’t aware she had been holding back. The bruises on her skin hurt, yeah, but not enough to draw tears—but she knew she wasn’t crying because of the pain. She’d been scared, intimidated by Milner’s presence and words and grip and even if she was in the comfort of her own bedroom, the fear that had balled up in her throat was finally taking over and she let out a choked breath. “I saw Milner.”
♔♔♔♔♔
Calum was seeing red.
Fire had sparked in his blood the second Noelle told him she’d run into Milner, intensifying with rage when she told him what he said, what he did. By the time Calum picked up on the shallow breathing and sniffles from Noelle’s end, an obvious indicator that she was crying, all bets were off and Calum had snatched up his keys and slammed his apartment door shut, heading to the one place he knew Milner would be.
The short drive to Astros only served to let Calum’s bubbling anger grow, palms stinging from his death grip on the steering wheel and jaw beginning to ache from how tightly he was clenching it. It was all he could do to control his rage, to not let his utterly pissed off mood make him run over a pedestrian or crash into another car. But he couldn’t help it—he was furious that Milner had the audacity to talk to Noelle, to fucking touch her without her consent and threaten her as a way to get to Calum. And he, for one, was not going to let that fucking go.
So when he arrived to Astros and allowed a sliver of patience to park his car in the only available tight spot, Calum threw open the doors to Astros, not even acknowledging how the heavy doors slammed against the wall or the looks he was receiving from the handful of people there, his entrance overpowering their training session and the music playing. But as soon as their eyes landed on him, landed on the unfiltered dangerous aura he was radiating and the wrathful scowl twisting his features, they all knew not to get in a very pissed of Calum Hood’s way.
“Where’s Milner?” he demanded as he took a few steps inside the building, not catching sight of his victim amongst the men there. But when no one responded, only continued to throw wary glances his way, Calum’s already thinning patience snapped as he clenched his fists and roared, “Where is he?!”
His voice bounced off the walls and deafened the music, shoulders shaking as his blunt nails dug into his palm as he waited for an answer. Finally, one of the men Calum didn’t recognize nor cared for answered, “He’s taking a smoking break out back.”
Calum didn’t need to be told twice. His movements were sharp as he stormed across the building, narrowed eyes only having tunnel vision as his gaze locked on the door leading towards the back alley where he often took his own smoking break. The door rattled on its hinges as Calum pushed it open and stepped out into the alley, gaze immediately landing on the dickhead he was on the hunt for.
The banging of the door caught Milner’s attention, leaned against the wall and a half finished cigarette between his fingers as he raised an eyebrow at Calum. The smell of trash and nicotine was overpowered by the blood boiling in Calum’s veins, by the echoing sounds of Noelle’s hesitant tears in his ears as Calum made his way to Milner without a moment’s pause, not letting him register what was happening as Calum drew his fist back as he neared him, and let it fly forward so his knuckles and rings came in contact with the bone of Milner’s jaw.
The anger and adrenaline were taking over every part of Calum’s being, not allowing him to register the sting in his fingers because fighting with rings was not a good idea but he couldn’t give a single fuck. Milner stumbled with a grunt, cigarette dropping to the ground as his back slammed against the wall and Calum didn’t give him any time to prepare as his hands fisted the front of his shirt to hold him up before letting his left hand go to deliver a second punch to Milner’s jaw, this time letting him fall right to the ground.
“The fuck did I tell you about staying away from her?” Calum snarled, accented voice thick with vengeance as Milner struggled to his feet, a glare of his own on his features. As Calum stalked near him in the wide alley, he added, “I’m gonna break your fucking hands for putting them on her.”
He watched as Milner spat the crimson liquid on the ground as he stood up, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as his gaze met Calum’s. “Just wanted to send you a little message, Hood,” he shrugged, lips curling into a smirk that showed off his blood stained teeth. “No harm in that.”
Calum’s body was on fire from the rage fueling him. He wasn’t one who took threats and throws against his family and friends lightly, and when one of the people who he couldn’t stand blatantly got in the face and bruised his girl? Calum was blind to everything except the unadulterated fury he was keen on letting out on Milner.
“You wanna send me a message? Face me like a man,” Calum growled. “Don’t even think about going near her.”
Milner’s smirk turned mocking. “Unfair that you get to keep that little tight piece for yourself.”
Calum’s jaw locked. He wouldn’t be surprised if he left with his fingers broken from ring impacted punches.
♔♔♔♔♔
The dishwasher clicked shut after Noelle put in her dirty plate, having just eaten a slice of the chocolate cake Beverly had gotten for kicks the last time she went grocery shopping. It was nearing midnight and Noelle was alone at the house, her mom having just left to go to work and Beverly spending the night once more at Ashton’s. Noelle didn’t mind being alone. Sure, she was still a bit shaken from what happened earlier with Milner, the forming bruises on her skin a reminder, but she’d rather not explain anything to her family when she could just sit by herself.
She had told Calum what happened, down to the last word Milner said and the grip he had on her. Noelle could still recall the shivers that ran down her spine at Calum’s darkened tone after hearing what she had to say, promising that he’d see her later before hanging up. She knew Calum probably went to see Milner. She knew, from what she knows of Calum and what she’d seen of Milner, that things had the high potential of turning ugly. But all she could do was sit in her house and let her knee bounce with worry and teeth nibble on her nails as she wondered what was going on right now.
Distracting herself by eating cake and trying to watch her show wasn’t working out too well, and Noelle had to stop herself multiple times from reaching for her phone and texting Calum to check in. But they’d only, officially, gotten together just a few days ago. She didn’t want to seem annoying, but she couldn’t help but stew in her anxiousness.
It was fifteen minutes past midnight when the doorbell ringing had her jumping where she sat on the couch, her heart hammering for some reason as she paused the TV and got up, hurriedly making her way over to the front door. Noelle didn’t even pause to ask who was on the other side, which would’ve been smart since it was past midnight, instead unlocked the door and swung it open. Her heart was suddenly in her throat when she registered the sight in front of her.
“Told you I’d see you later,” Calum grinned lazily.
But it wasn’t his presence or smile that had Noelle’s stomach lurching. It was the fact that he had to lean against the doorframe to keep himself up, the cut across his right cheekbone where blood was gathered and staining his skin, and the way his hands—the knuckles angrily red and blotchy—were clutching his left side. The breath stilled in Noelle’s lungs as her eyes trailed over every wrinkle in his shirt, the tousle of his mild curls, and most importantly the blood sticking to his beautiful golden skin.
“Calum,” Noelle breathed out, her grip on the doorknob tightening as she felt her heart beginning to pick up its pace. “Oh, my God—w-what happened?”
She knew what happened, of course she did. But that didn’t stop her from asking as she quickly muttered a quiet come here before gently taking his right arm and placing it around her shoulders to help him inside. Noelle was used to carrying Andrea’s weight so even though Calum was significantly heavier than her, she didn’t find it too difficult to hold him up. She didn’t care if his weight was crushing her—he was hurt and the only thing on Noelle’s mind was trying to find a way to make him feel better.
“I’m fine, love,” Calum reassured, though the slight strain in his voice told her a different story once the door was shut and she was helping Calum further into the house. “Nothin’ that’s never happened before. Just need t’sit down.”
Noelle’s own breathing was growing shallow from the worry twisting her stomach, the tips of her left fingers grazing Calum’s hand that was still holding his side. “You’re bleeding and practically limping, Cal. You’re not fine.”
She had so many questions about what went down, how he managed to get here from wherever he was in the state he was in. Seeing Calum in fights at Astros was one thing, but this was completely different. This wasn’t a scheduled match, he hadn’t won money off of it, and while she’s seen him battered and bruised, she’s never seen him unable to completely support his own weight. He wasn’t dragging his feet nor was he falling over, but it was obvious his side was hurt, hindering him from walking properly.
He didn’t say anything in regards to her words, instead opting to respond with, “Can we go to your room?”
Noelle bit her lip as she casted a glance towards the stairs before looking up at Calum. The muscle in his jaw was jumping, the tension in his neck obvious and Adam’s apple bobbing. “Can you make it up the stairs?”
Calum nodded, curls falling across his forehead as he straightened. She saw him squeeze his eyes shut for a brief moment as he put more pressure from his hand to his side, inhaling sharply through his teeth before he took the first step towards the stairs, Noelle instantly walking along with him.
Getting up the stairs wasn’t as much of a struggle as she had worried, Calum’s boots thudding heavily on the steps as he let go of his side to use the railing for additional support just in case. Noelle could hear him breathing through his nose, her heart twisting at the thought of this being even the slightest bit of struggle for him. Calum was always so quick, so effortless in his movements. She’d be lying if she said having to help him up the stairs wasn’t causing a dull ache in her chest.
He got hurt because of her. She knew it may be irrational for her to take all the blame because it was Milner that did this, and while Noelle hoped Calum sent him worse off, she still hated seeing him in this state.
“We should clean you up,” Noelle murmured once they reached the top of the stairs, making their way down the hall. “Let’s go to the bathroom, okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” Calum breathed raspily, allowing Noelle to take them to the bathroom across the hall from her bedroom.
Once inside, Noelle had Calum sit on the closed toilet seat, hearing him grunt as he leaned back and tilted his face upwards, eyes closing with a slight furrow in his brows. Under the bright lights, she saw the blood already drying on the long cut, and despite the presence of the crimson liquid she could see that the wound wasn’t that deep, thankfully, just long in length.
Since her mother was a doctor, there were First Aid kits in every room of the house, so Noelle pulled it out of the cabinet under the sink and made sure there were bandages and antiseptic cream to be used before pulling out a clean rag from the cabinet by the shower.
“I’m gonna clean the cut, Cal,” she informed him softly as she crouched in front of the dark eyed man, looking up at him from her position as she rested her hands on his knees. “That okay?”
He nodded, opening his eyes as he gave her a small half smile. He look as tired as Noelle expected, just silent as his dark eyes watched her, breathing calmly as Noelle stood up to bring the First Aid kit over. She didn’t want him to stand, even if she needed him to be near the sink to clean the wound. So instead Noelle found a small plastic container and filled it with cool water and soap before also bring those over, a soft yet already washcloth in hand, and putting it on the thick rim of the bathtub next to them.
Noelle would have to crouch over him, she knew, because of his seated position but as if Calum had been reading her mind, he looked up at her and said, “It’ll be easier if you sit on my lap, sweetheart.”
Her eyes flickered to meet his, widening slightly with worry as she glanced at his left side that he had been holding. “But your si—”
“‘S okay, Ellie.” The softness in his voice had her breath faltering, accompanied by that same small smile tilting at the corners of his lips. She couldn’t believe how handsome, so effortlessly gorgeous he looked in this moment, even though he was hurt. “Trust me, I’ve been worse.”
As if that’s supposed to make me feel better. When she hesitated, Calum pushed himself up against the toilet a bit more, not even wincing as he did so even though a sharp pain spread from side, courtesy of the kick Milner had delivered. No broken bones, Calum knew, but still hurt like a bitch. He patted his jeans covered thighs. “Sit.”
She pressed her lips together, wondering if it was the appropriate time to feel her heart hammer in her chest as she moved forward and spread her legs just enough before carefully settling down on Calum’s lap. Noelle straddled him, the material of his jeans rough against her own bare thighs thanks to the night shorts she wore, her lack of underwear and the material of the shorts too thin for her to not feel the jeans against her pathetically clothed center.
Fucking hell, not right now, she scolded herself, but her thoughts were hard to control when she felt Calum loosely grip her hips, Noelle’s gaze flickering down to his hands. Shit, she loved the bracelets and rings he wore on his tattooed wrists and fingers, but she also made a mental note to get him ice for the bruises on his knuckles.
With a dry mouth, Noelle finally looked back at Calum, feeling her breath catch at his dark eyes instantly meeting her hazel ones. Once again, it was like he was staring into her soul as Noelle brought up the damp rag in her right hand, left hand surprisingly steady as she brought it up to allow her fingers to cup his stubbly chin. It tickled her fingers as she tilted his head to the side, watching as Calum looked off to the side without a choice as she began gently cleaning the blood under the wound.
“What happened?” she asked again, her voice soft and quiet as if to not disturb the silence of the house and the one that comfortably existed between them.
The white rag was pickening with Calum’s blood as he let out a sharp breath through his nose. “Fucker pulled out a blade on me,” he responded, the exasperation and underlying anger clear in his tone. “I knocked it out before he could swing it again.”
Noelle swallowed inaudibly as her brows twitched into a frown, and while she was glad Calum had gotten rid of the blade before anymore damage could be done, she also wished he’d never gotten this cut in the first place. She wished none of this ever happened. When she efficiently got rid of the blood on his skin, Noelle let out a shaky breath while turning Calum’s head to face her again, mumbling, “I’m sorry this happened.”
Calum pulled together, not liking the guilt he could hear in her voice. He knew she knew this wasn’t her fault, that his confrontation with Milner wouldn’t happened for one reason or another, but he did hate that it occurred because Noelle was thrown in the middle of it. He would’ve happily kicked Milner’s ass whenever he felt like, but Noelle getting involved stirred a painful discomfort in Calum’s stomach he needed to ease.
When her right hand reached to the tub to drop the rag into the soapy water container to let it soak, his eyes followed the movement before his left hand gently grabbed her fingers. Calum brought her hand over, the familiar angry fire lighting in his chest as his eyes landed on the hint of the bluish-purple bruises around her wrist. They weren’t that prominent, but against her pale skin they were obvious and Calum felt the urge to kick Milner in the gut with a new intensity.
If anyone should be feeling any guilt, it was Calum. It was his past with Milner and his present with Noelle that made her a target, and while he couldn’t have known Milner and Noelle would run into each other tonight, Calum still felt a sense of failure on his part in being unable to keep her away from him.
“I’d do it again,” Calum told her truthfully, pushing aside the anger for Milner and replacing it with honest reassurance for Noelle, fingers of his other hand brushing along her wrist as his jaw clenched momentarily. Meeting her eyes once again, Calum promised, “And I’d have no regrets.”
The firm earnesty in his voice had Noelle taking in a breath, thinking this was so much happening so fast but then realizing that if Calum’s liked her for even half as long as she’s liked him, it didn’t matter. It’s been over a month since they left and developing feelings for him came just as fast. But Noelle still felt her heart leaping at the fact that Calum liked her just as much as she liked him—which was a crazy, head spinning and beautifully overwhelming amount.
So she smiled that soft smile Calum adored, hinting at her dimples but not showing them as she lightly jested, “That’s pretty romantic,” as she picked up the washcloth and squeezed out the excess water.
A breathy, silent laugh escaped Calum, feeling the tension lift from his shoulders as Noelle brought the wet washcloth up to his face. “Hold still,” she instructed before, with a feather light touch, dabbing the cut.
Calum didn’t even flinch at the sting of anything touching the cut, still fresh as his brown eyes remained on Noelle. Her gaze was focused on what she was doing, but her cheeks were heating up under the weight of Calum’s eyes on her, heart never pausing in the leaps it was doing as she cleaned up the cut. His hands were back on her hips, but his fingers had snuck under the hem of the loose tee she wore, his warm fingers against her skin sending sparks of heat throughout Noelle’s body as she swallowed inaudibly. That mixed with the cool metal of his rings had Noelle’s dry throat working.
Of course, because nothing ever goes unnoticed by Calum, he noticed the tension in her neck, smirked because he knew he was the cause of it. His thumbs began rubbing small circles against her skin, the gesture giving Noelle pause which he felt because she had briefly stopped cleaning his cut and bit the inside of her cheek. Yeah, that’s not distracting at all, her thoughts drawled, continuing her ministrations while trying—and failing—to appear unaffected.
“Alright,” she breathed, eye on the newly cleaned cut that was now just a long pink, not deep, gash across his cheekbone. Noelle put the washcloth back in the container and picked up the antiseptic cream from the kit.
“Wait, gross, no,” Calum shook his head, trying to lean away from Noelle when she squeezed some out on the tips of her two fingers. He hated the smell of it and he sure as hell didn’t want his face to smell like it.
She shot him a mildly incredulous look, not expecting to see Calum with his face scrunched up in distaste as a laugh threatened to bubble past her lips. “Are you serious?” Noelle raised her eyebrows. “I know you know that you need this so it doesn’t get infected.”
“Yeah, but,” Calum hesitated, eyebrows lowering into a complaining frown before whining, “It just smells.”
She’d never seen him look so pouty, never thought his raspy voice was capable of sounding high pitched when he whined like that, and she broke out into an amused grin. “Cal, it’s odorless.”
He blinked. “Oh.” His cheeks warmed up in slight sheepishness, but the giggle Noelle released had his lips tugging up, no longer embarrassed for appearing even the least bit bratty. Calum watched as Noelle brought her fingers up, took in a sharp breath at the cold cream against the cut, slightly stinging as Noelle offered a soft apology.
They were so close as Noelle’s fingers gently soothed the cut, only being able to hear their soft breathing and feel the steady thrums of their hearts, Calum reveling in Noelle’s fruity scent and her doing the same of his outdoorsy, piney one. Their entire focus was on each other.
“Done,” Noelle’s sotto voice sounded, leaning back slightly and reaching over to rip off some toilet paper to wipe her two fingers clean from any residual cream left over. As she dropped it in the trash, her hazel eyes met his brown ones as she said, “I’ll get you some ice for your knuckles and side.”
She made a move to get off, but Calum’s grip on her hips tightened, keeping her seated on his lap as he said, “No.” He didn’t want her to go, was enjoying her on him too much, so when Noelle parted her lips to protest, he cut her off in a low tone, “Don’t need any ice. Just need you.”
Noelle’s heart jumped to her throat, lips parting at the utter honesty in Calum’s tone, overwhelmingly excited and giddy and endeared when he leaned towards her, closing the distance as her eyes fell shut when she felt his lips against hers. Noelle inhaled deeply through her nose, hands cupping Calum’s jaw as she moved her lips against his in the slow, soft kiss that turned her insides into jelly. She could already feel her head spinning at the gentle pace of the kiss, different than the ones they’ve shared; unrushed as their lips moved in synchronicity.
She’s not sure how long they’ve been kissing, enough for her to pull away and trail kisses down Calum’s strong jaw, head ducking to let her lips and tongue and teeth work down his neck and return the favor he’d done days ago and left her own marks against his pretty skin. Noelle heard Calum let out an appreciative groan as she nipped, working on her fourth mark, a small boost to her ego because she was the one who got him to make a sound as sexy as that.
She brought her lips back to his in a slow, sucking kiss that erupted wild butterflies in her stomach. And when Noelle felt Calum’s blunt nails digging into her skin, the metal of his rings biting, she let out a soft moan into his mouth as she whispered, “I need you, too.”
Her words, just as sincere as Calum’s, had him groaning before nipping at her lower lip. Calum pulled back ever so slightly, brushing his nose against hers and keeping his eyes closed as he practically begged, “Then let me take you to your room, baby girl.”
Noelle felt her heart drop to her stomach from anticipated excitement, feeling his warm breath against her lips and forehead against her own as she instantly consented, “Please.”
Calum didn’t hesitate as his hands went from Noelle’s hips to slide under her thighs, feet firmly planted on the ground as he stood up and lifted her up with him. Noelle’s arms instantly wrapped around his neck and legs around his hips at the unexpected gesture, eyes widened slightly in concern as she worried, “Wait, your side, I can ju—”
He let out a breath to prelude his rushed words of, “I got you,” before capturing her lips in another slow kiss.
Yeah, his side was protesting as he carried Noelle out of the bathroom, but the tightness in his pants was a lot more demanding as Calum blindly walked towards Noelle’s bedroom, seemingly having her house mapped out. He kept kissing her, relished her chest pressing against his as he walked them through the open doorway of her room and kicked it shut behind him.
Noelle’s fingers, which had been entangled in the curls at the back of Calum’s head, tugged at his hair slightly, eliciting a guttural groan from him that allowed Noelle to meet his tongue with her own. It was slow, sensual in the way the kiss deepened and Calum made his way towards the bed, and stopped at the right place from memory to crawl onto the mattress on his knees before bending to lower Noelle. Their kiss never broke, a lazy tangle of lips and tongues and teeth as Calum’s hands slid from her thighs and went up her sides, going under her shirt and all the way up. His knees resting on either side of her hips, Calum’s thumbs brushed right under her bare breasts, his cock hardening even more at her lack of bra.
“As cute as this is,” Calum mumbled against her lips, eyes opening only slightly to let his hooded gaze drop to the picture of Bambi on her shirt. He looked back at Noelle, her light eyes glinting in the darkness of the room, save for the lights filtering in from her parted curtains. “It needs to come off.”
Noelle giggled breathily as Calum’s fingers pulled off her shirt as Noelle lifted slightly to get it off, and once Calum discarded the piece of clothing on the floor behind him, he pulled back to admire the view in front of him. He let out a groan, sitting back on his legs as to not put his weight on her as he praised, “You’re so perfect.”
Her cheeks flushed a happy pink at his words, which were followed by him coming down to kiss her once again and his hands cupping the soft flesh. Noelle moaned into his mouth as Calum’s calloused fingers had their way with her breasts, cupping and squeezing and tugging at her already hardened nipples due to the cool air of the room. It may be cold in here, but Noelle felt like she was on fire.
Much to her chagrin, Calum pulled away from the kiss and she was desperate to follow his lips with hers, but her head dropped and tilted back when she felt him wrap them around her right nipple, giving it the kind of attention she craved. His warm tongue circled her nipple before tugging at it lightly with his teeth, and Noelle closed her eyes and let out a breathless whimper through parted lips, fingers still tangled in his hair as his other hand squeezed her left breast and rolled the nipple between the pads of his finger and thumb.
Holy shit, she thought kissing him was dizzying—this was leaving her without any air to breathe.
When he treated the other breast similarly, Noelle couldn’t help but open her eyes and watch as Calum licked and sucked, his own eyes closed and lashes brushing against his cheekbones, and Noelle felt her stomach stirring and bit her lower lip at the waves of pleasure his mouth was bringing her.
One of her hands slid down from the back of Calum’s head and when she felt the collar of his shirt, she tugged at the back of it. “Take it off, please,” she breathlessly pleaded and Calum realized if she ever asked him to do anything in that voice, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
So he sat up, taking a moment to admire the way Noelle’s chest moved from her breathing, his throat drying at the sight of her breasts slick with his saliva. Calum could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he reached on hand to the back of his shirt, pulling it off in one swift motion and tossing it to the floor, ignoring the cool chains and pendants he wore against his heated skin because he couldn’t believe the sight in front of him. Couldn’t believe the girl with the glazed hazel eyes and kiss swollen lips was his.
Fuck, he adored her.
And while he admired her, Noelle was doing the same as she took in his toned torso and tattoos; the ones he got for his family and for himself. She took in the hickeys she’d left on his neck, a show of her actions. But the black ink and purpling marks weren’t all that were sticking out against his golden skin, because Noelle’s eyes drifted to the yellowing bruise on his left side, a bit too large for her liking as she saw it through the limited light of the room and slowly sat up.
She took in a breath, steadying her wild heart as her fingers barely brushed against the tender skin, the guilt from before coming back at the sight of the bruise. When she pulled her lower lip into her mouth, Calum’s hand came up to cup her cheek, thumb gently releasing her imprisoned lip as he ducked his head and told her gently, “Look at me.” She did, swallowing at the intensity of his kind stare that contradicted the harsh cut on his cheek. It was a look he kept for only those close to him. “I’m okay. I’ve seen worse.”
Noelle let out a sharp breath, hearing the mild summer wind outside over her heart, realizing that having Calum so close was the only thing keeping her warm. “That doesn’t make me feel any better, Calum.”
His lips tugged upwards into a smile, using his light grip on her cheek to bring her forward and softly bite down and tug at her lower lip before releasing it. “Then let me try to help out with that.”
And then he was kissing her again, enjoying the faint taste of chocolate she’d eaten before pushed her back until she was lying down again, before dragging his lips away from hers towards her jaw and down her neck. Noelle savored the feel of his full lips against her skin, an appreciative moan falling past her as Calum sucked and nipped on a particularly pleasurable spot. His actions were slow, taking his time on leaving his mark on one spot of her neck before moving on, dragging his mouth lower and lower all the while making sure to leave purplish marks on her collarbones and the swell of her breasts as well.
The left side of his torso was still experiencing a dull throb of pain as he moved himself further down on the bed, but Calum paid it no mind because his entire attention and energy was focused on the stunner of a girl beneath him, whose moans and soft whimpers were more empowering than any crowd during a match.
When he trailed kisses all the way down her torso, the cool pendants of his necklaces doing what the air couldn’t and raising goosebumps on Noelle’s skin, Calum moved to rest on his knees on the floor, hands on the back of Noelle’s knees to pull her down closer to him as she let out a startled gasp. Smirking and reaching the waistband of her cute little night shorts, Calum paused and glanced up at Noelle, questioning, “Baby, can I take these off?”
Fuck it if Noelle didn’t melt at the husk of his voice. She looked down at him, wondering how they hadn’t truly even done anything yet but she still felt like she was seconds away from coming undone. Her lips parted, licking her bottom one and Calum knew he’d have to take his pants off soon because the sight was so fucking hot. “Yeah,” Noelle answered with an absent nod, “Yes, Cal.”
He didn’t wait a moment longer as his fingers hooked into the band before dragging the shorts down her leg, and Calum felt his entire body clench because she was dripping. The sight of her slick folds was enough to send Calum over the edge, and he couldn’t wait to get to know every single inch of this gorgeous girl’s body. “Shit, Ellie,” he breathed as he discarded the shorts, hands on her inner thighs to push them apart, giving him full access to her waiting pussy. “Who made you this wet?”
Noelle pressed one hand against her forehead when she felt Calum draw circles on her inner thighs, the subtle action sending an unexpected wave of pleasure as she truthfully answered, “God, you did, Cal. Please.” Head still against the mattress, Noelle looked down at him, face scrunched slightly pleadingly as she added, “I need you. Need your mouth and your fingers. Need all of you.”
She wasn’t even embarrassed that she was already begging for him, not when she saw Calum smirk before his lips trailed kisses up the inside of her right thigh, all teeth and tongue and leaving marks. He got close to where she needed him most, he was right there, but he suddenly switched to her other thigh and Noelle’s chest fell with a heavy breath at his purposefully slow movements. Each nip and suck had Noelle begging for more.
“Can’t wait to taste you,” he breathed, his breath teasing Noelle’s heated core before her mouth dropped open at the little kitten licks he taunted her pussy with, and Noelle had to stop her entire body from spasming when Calum’s tongue slowly entered her.
Her strangled moan and his satisfied groan were music to each other’s ears, Noelle motivating him and the sound he made vibrating through her entire being as both of her hands found home in his hair once more, keeping him close as his tongue worked her over.
Calum watched, savoring her taste, her back arching and head tilted back in pleasure, completely entranced at how fucking beautiful she looked like this, how her pretty lips parted open in a breathless gasp when he shifted lower to push one finger into her folds. “So pretty like this,” he remarked breathily, reveling in the way her fingers tightened around his curls, watching as Noelle’s glazed over eyes watched him lick his lips that were wet with the taste of her. Calum pressed a kiss to her clit, adding a second finger and increasing the stomach coiling pleasure she felt. “So pretty for me.”
His lips wrapped around her clit as his fingers continued their ministrations and Calum forced himself to keep his eyes open so he could keep them on Noelle, as her moans, music to his ears, were accompanied by her trying to close her thighs as her head tilted back, giving Calum the stunning view of her pretty neck and the darkening marks littering her skin. She was utterly his, he couldn’t help but muse, as the rim of his ring added onto the pleasure he was generously giving her.
Calum used his free hand to keep her left thigh spread, quickening his pace until he felt Noelle clenching around his fingers. The room was filled with the sounds she made, whining when Calum suddenly pulled his fingers out because she was so close, only to let out a panting, “Oh, God,” when his fingers were replaced by his lips and tongue. “Shit, Calum, I’m clo—”
“Cum for me, baby,” Calum prodded, wrapping his arms around thighs and pulling her even closer, lifting her hips off the bed and the new angle his tongue was hitting was enough to had Noelle seeing stars and squeezing her eyes shut at the toe curling end she finally reached, the moan her star-seeing orgasm accompanied causing Calum to groan against her as she came right on his tongue. He didn’t think he’d ever get enough of her taste.
Calum pulled back with one last kiss to her clit, and Noelle used the grip she had on his hair to tug him up, his body easily following her lead as she pulled him down and pressed her lips to his, tongues instantly meeting. Noelle moaned into his mouth as she tasted herself and not for the first time did Calum think this girl would be the end of him as his left hand dragged up her body, feeling her smooth skin under his touch before his hand found her throat.
But before he could do what he wanted, Calum paused briefly before deciding against it, lips still on hers as he began to move his hand away from her neck. He wasn’t sure if Noelle would want that, didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable in any way. However, as if realizing what he was about to—or what he hesitating to—do, Noelle’s right hand grasped his tattooed, bracelet covered wrist and kept his hand in place.
“Please,” she mumbled against his lips, dragging hers against his. “Do it. Do whatever you want.”
Shit, he didn’t need to be told twice.
His hand splayed at the base of her throat, putting just the right amount of pressure in the front as he used his fingers to do the same on the sides of her neck. Noelle’s lips parted against Calum’s, the unadulterated pleasure she felt from Calum choking her unforeseen yet so fucking dizzying. No one’s ever choked her before, and the pressure Calum was putting along with his cool rings biting into her skin had Noelle’s stomach recoiling wonderfully.
He was obsessed with her, with the way she tasted and felt and sounded, and Calum knew he would never be able to have enough of her. Especially when her fingers worked on the buckle of his belt as she instructed hoarsely through a fucked voice, “Off. Need you now.”
Calum kissed her lips before pushing himself up and off the bed, his kiss swollen lips already missing Noelle’s as he got to his feet on the floor. His eyes never left Noelle’s, the air between them alive with thrilled, euphoric electricity as she pushed herself further up on the bed, and Calum let out a shameless groan when she pulled her lower lip into her mouth, watching as he worked at his belt.
He took it off as it clattered to the ground, toeing off his shoes and socks before hastily unzipping his jeans, the urgency to be on her, inside her, with her getting the better of him as he shoved his pants and boxers down his legs, wincing only slightly when he bent and his side protested at the action. Calum barely registered it, though, along with the thud of his pants because of his phone and wallet in the pockets, the only thing he could focus on was the woman in front of him, her breathing as shallow as his because of the intense anticipation of what was about to happen, what they’d both been waiting for to happen.
Noelle didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed when she felt her mouth practically water at the sight of Calum, completely bare and all for her. She took a brief moment to admire every part of him; from his tattooed arms and biceps and collarbones, his toned chest and strong thighs, all an indicator of how well he treated his body, of how stupidly gorgeous he was.
When Calum crawled back onto the bed on his knees, he made his way back to her by trailing kisses from below her belly button all the way up her stomach, torso, the valley of her breasts and neck before finally reaching her lips. Noelle felt like her body was on fire, Calum’s lips leaving scorches in their wake as she sighed into his mouth, feeling his hardened length against her thigh and her heart threatening to burst through her chest.
“So beautiful,” Calum rasped against her mouth, and he realized the way his heart pumped during a fight was nothing compared to the breathlessness he felt in this moment, with his front flush against hers and his cock twitching in impatient anticipation. “Need you so bad, Ellie. Can I have you?”
“God, yes, yeah,” Noelle whined, her senses overwhelming full of Calum as she couldn’t possibly wait a second longer, her hands cupping his cheeks as she felt the hard lines of his jaw in her palms, his chest against her own as his necklaces sensually dragged against her fiery skin. Her eyes met his as he hovered over her, only inches between them as she took in his dilated pupils and pink lips, obsessed with every feature of his, thumb tenderly brushing the skin right below his cut. “All of me, yeah. Just need to feel you, Cal.”
Their noses brushed together, heavy breaths mingling in the silence of the room as their blood rushed in their veins and hearts pounded in their ears. Their senses were just full of the other, unable to be close enough, as Noelle breathlessly volunteered, “I’m on the pill.”
Calum’s heart jumped up to his throat as her words registered in his mind and he dropped his forehead to her collarbones, an aroused groan escaping him at the mere thought of being able to feel Noelle without any filter. “You’re gonna kill me,” he quipped against her skin, voicing the thought that always seemed to flutter around his mind where Noelle was concerned. Reaching his hand down, he gripped the base of his cock, brushing the tip against Noelle’s sensitive folds that pulled a soft whine from her, causing him to smirk as he slanted his lips over hers in a kiss not as gentle as the ones before, the adrenaline in his veins energizing his movements.
“What’re you waiting for?” Noelle muttered against his lips when she didn’t feel him in his entirety, pulling back slightly as a smirk of her own tilted at her pink mouth. “Get on with it.”
Narrowing his eyes, Calum’s smirk widened at Noelle’s bold impatience, staring down at her as he couldn’t help but think how perfect this beautiful, sexy girl was and that she was his. “Whatever you say, love,” Calum marveled before, without another moment’s pause, he moved his hips and sank himself into Noelle’s heat, the sensation of her walls snugly around him making Calum release her lips, their foreheads pressed together as both of them let out loud, impassioned groans at this new feeling.
He bottomed out, Noelle inhaling sharply as she tilted her head back at the maddening way he filled her so completely, so full and she could already feel herself drawing to the edge at how tantalizing Calum felt. He, in turn, dragged his lower lip along hers as he released shallow breaths, heart in his throat as he held himself up with his arms, both of them taking a second to process this moment, to revel in the new level of intimacy they’d been craving. It wasn’t until Noelle clenched around him that spurred Calum on, broke every strand of patience and control he had as he pulled out almost completely before snapping his hips forward.
The gratifying mewl that escaped Noelle at the rough movement prompted Calum to pick up his pace, and he couldn’t help but kiss her for what felt like the hundredth time, but still ignited a fire just like the first. It was a kiss messy with tongue and clashing teeth, rushed with the heat coursing through their veins and the waves of bliss stealing their breaths and writing their bodies, the pleasure even more enjoyable for Noelle as his stubble scratched her chin.
“So good, Cal,” Noelle babbled softly, moving her legs to wrap around his hips and lock her ankles at his back. The new angle as she pushed himself more into her had Noelle quickly approaching the edge, and Calum buried his face in the crook of her marked neck because he didn’t think he’d ever felt euphoria this intensely before. One hand returned to her throat, fingers finding home around it and Noelle’s heart felt as though it was going into overdrive. Her nails scraped lightly against his scalp as he groaned against her skin. “God, I feel so full.”
Shit, she really was going to be the end of him. He kissed her collarbone and sat up slight, other hand holding her thigh and rings biting into her skin as his hips never once ceased bucking forward, overwhelmed in how well he fit inside her. “Take me so well, baby,” Calum rasped, unable to stop the praise from falling past his own lips as he licked at her. “Like you were made for me.”
Noelle believed that wholeheartedly.
It wasn’t long until both of them were reaching their end, their stomachs coiling as Noelle felt her muscles quivering at her fast approaching orgasm. And when Calum let go of her thigh to prop himself up, allowing his other hand to come up and rub loose circles over her clit with his thumb, he urged, “Let me how pretty you look when you cum, Ellie.”
It took all of Noelle’s willpower to open her eyes, to look up at the stunner of a man who was bringing her the kind of ecstacy she’d never felt before, who lit up her body in every way with a fierce fire, every nerve within her body igniting with life. And when her eyes met his, she was done.
Calum let her ride it out, the warmth of her releasing around him quickening his own approaching orgasm as the sound of skin slapping against skin and their mingling moans electrified the air. Noelle’s lips parted with a heavy gasp as Calum kept going, loving the feeling of him within her sensitive heat, wanting to always remember this moment of how her name falls past his lips in a euphoric groan when his own orgasm finally washes over him and she feels him deliciously spilling inside of her.
Their breaths were heavy, disrupting the silence of the room as Calum, after a moment of pausing to catch a breath, pulled out of her tenderly, unhindered groans sounding from both of them at the loss of closeness. Calum laid down beside Noelle, their chests heaving and hearts only just starting to slow down, his head against the pillow as he wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her over. The desire to be close to her was never going to disappear.
Noelle rested her cheek against his shoulder, hand resting against his chest as they basked in the afterglow of the rapture they’d just experienced without anything keeping them apart, skin warm and flushed and heads swimming in pure delirium. They knew they should clean up, but they were too comfortable on the bed next to each other, too overwhelmed and sensitive to do anything except bask in each other’s presence.
Arm wrapped around Noelle’s shoulder, Calum’s fingers lightly ran through her hair as he felt her legs move until a blanket was sliding up his bare legs, Noelle reaching for it to bring it up and cover them up. “Sleepy?” he mumbled because, really, falling asleep with her in his arms, beautiful and fucked and his, sounded like the best thing.
She hummed in response, cheek against his shoulder as she reveled in the warmth the blanket and Calum’s body provided. She was exhausted and sore and felt so taken care of. Though she didn’t have to, she still rasped, “You gonna stay the night?”
Calum twirled a strand of her soft hair around his finger, pressing a kiss to her temple as his own eyelids felt heavy. “Don’t wanna be anywhere else.”
tags: @aphroditebeautyshit @cartiercalum @modelukes @tothemoonmikey@candidcalum @perfectlycake @cakestan @lukesback @polarizehood @vaporlewk@luke2k18 @biggestslutforcalum @kinkycorbyn @nostalgia-luke @captain-what-is-going-on @hoodstations @calumamore @thesamebutwonderfullydifferent @rosecth@aghostofmgc @mollypayge @o-cece-d @hemmohales @crownedbyluke @vscsng@invisiblexcth @lukes-youngblood @sunflowertoejam @5sos-stan4lyfe @vistaviola@clum-thomas @justalittleofmyworld @babygirlcashton @ashsthetic @bahylon@angelbbycal @egyptiangoldhood @calistajs @booklove-2 @pickleluke @rememberr-iloveyou @ghstofcalum @chloettegriffiths @lil-brown-princess@lifeakaharry @kimkimj @bfcalum @ngandtea @bitchinbabylon @my-world97@babyloncth @haileygonzalezz @lifeofsterek @stfujace @miahelizaaabeth@cosmixcalum @darynn @all-i-want-is2b-loved-by-you @musicspeaks @drunkoncalssofa @grreatgooglymoogly @escap0-with-me @socorroann @jane-ofalltrades @lovelettercalum @ashyoungxblood @theblackfastclub @runawaywithme-xo @rosegold-thorns
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Chapter 11 is up. Last time in the present day (chapter 9), Weaver told Lacey he wouldn't sign the divorce papers, and they had a bunch of angry sex. This chapter picks up where chapter 9 left off
[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9][Part 10]
AO3 link
Weaver wanted to stay pressed against Lacey forever, but he was getting cold, lying naked on the floor of their apartment, and he needed to get back to Nolan’s place. His plan to have a long conversation with Lacey had been effectively derailed, and while he cursed his own weakness for thinking with his cock, the chance to have her in his arms again was too wonderful to feel too bad about it. He kissed her again, pushing up off her and hunting for his clothes. Lacey dressed in silence, and the heavy, awkward atmosphere descended again. Weaver wanted to sigh, but he zipped his jeans, buckling his belt and tugging on his shirt.
“So,” he said, fastening shirt buttons as he watched her dress. “What now?”
She flicked her eyes across to him, chewing her lip, and his mouth flattened.
“Lacey,” he said. “I fucking meant it. I’m not signing any papers until I know why I’m signing them, okay?”
“I know,” she said softly.
“So we need to talk,” he said. “I want to make this work, but if that’s not possible - well, if it’s not, then I don’t want it to be because we didn’t try, okay? Please.”
Lacey tugged her dress straight, folding her arms around herself, and nodded.
“Okay,” she said. “Okay, I’ll - I’ll try. I mean neither one of us went into this with high expectations, right?”
Well, that fucking hurt.
“I never expected it to be the romance of the fucking century, if that’s what you mean,” he said coldly. “I’m well aware I have little to offer on that front. But we were at least good friends. Can’t we just start with that?”
She sighed, finally meeting his eyes.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “Look - can you just - can you give me some time? Just a few days, that’s all. I need to think. I know this is hurting you, and - and I don’t want to hurt you. I never wanted that.”
“What did you think would happen?” he asked.
His voice was gentle rather than accusatory, and she shrugged awkwardly, one shoulder rising and falling.
“I guess - I guess maybe I thought you wouldn’t care too much. Like maybe it would be a relief.”
“Lacey…”
He stepped forward, cupping her face with his hands and feeling the softness of her skin against his palms. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, and he bent to kiss her, lips pulling at hers as she rose up on her toes. Her hands rested at his waist, and when he pulled back she dropped back on her heels, still not looking at him. He felt his heart sink, but his thumbs stroked her cheeks, wanting to stay close to her, to touch her.
“I don’t want this,” he said quietly. “I want us to be a family, but I don’t want you to be unhappy, and I’m not gonna force you into anything, okay? So if you need time, you have it.”
Her lower lip trembled a little, and she caught it with her teeth, nodding. Her eyes were closed, her body stiff. He had no idea what she was thinking. Perhaps he never had. Reading people was in his job description, and yet his own wife was a closed book. It was bloody depressing.
“I should get back to Nolan’s place,” he said. “Could we - could we maybe talk when I bring Tilly home?”
Lacey nodded briefly, finally opening her eyes. There was a troubled expression on her face, and he was desperately afraid that she would change her mind, but she nodded again, resolutely. He kissed her forehead, a press of lips against her skin, trying to send all the love he could into her. Hoping she believed it. Lacey chewed at her lip as he drew back, and he wanted to sigh.
“Right,” he said softly. “I should go. I’ll see you on Sunday.”
“Yeah.”
She showed him out, her shoulders a little hunched, as though she was beaten down by whatever burden she was carrying. He wanted to take it from her, to bear it away and bury it deep, where it would never hurt her. If only she would let him.
x
Weaver stomped up the path to Nolan’s front door, hands shoved in his pockets and what he knew must be a grim look on his face. He felt a little better for losing his temper and saying what he damn well felt for a change, but whether it would have the result he wanted was another matter. He still had no idea what had caused Lacey to push him away in the first place, and part of him was worried that giving her a couple of days before talking about it would only give her time to conjure up some elaborate lie.
Nolan answered the door to him, Wilby shoving a wet nose into his hand as he entered, and he followed Nolan back to the kitchen, hearing the sound of Tilly and Neal playing in the lounge.
“You want a beer?” asked Nolan, opening the fridge door, and Weaver sighed as he dropped onto one of the kitchen chairs.
“Why not?” he said despondently, and nodded his thanks as Nolan tossed a can to him.
“How’d things go with Lacey?”
Weaver popped the top of his beer, drinking about half of it in one go and setting the can on the table with a dull clunk.
“They didn’t,” he said tersely. “Or at least, I didn’t get to the bottom of what the problem is.”
“But?”
“But I tore up the divorce papers and told her I wouldn’t sign them until I knew what the hell’s going on.”
Nolan took a drink of his own beer, setting the can down on the table and watching Weaver with a knowing look on his face.
“And?”
Weaver grimaced, running a hand through his hair.
“And I told her I bloody loved her, and we had sex again.”
“You know, for two people who broke up, you guys sure have a lot of sex,” remarked Nolan, and Weaver shot him a look.
“Yeah, and every time we do, I end up finding out nothing about what’s up with her,” he growled. “She does it on purpose, I swear.”
“You really think that’s true?”
He said back in his chair, letting his head roll back with a sigh.
“I don’t know, maybe,” he said resignedly. “Maybe I should exercise some bloody self-control. I’ve just - I’ve missed her, you know? I spent bloody decades on my own, but - but I never felt lonely until we weren’t together anymore. How ridiculous is that?”
“That’s how things are when you find the person you’re meant to be with,” said Nolan, reaching for his beer. “I’m sure you guys can sort this out.”
“Maybe,” he said tiredly. “She’s agreed to talk, at least. I’ll see her when I take Tilly back there on Sunday.”
“And you have no idea what caused all this?”
Weaver shook his head.
“Not a clue,” he said, his voice heavy. “Maybe she’ll tell me. Maybe not. Maybe what she’ll tell me will be a pack of lies, and I won’t even see it.”
He ran a hand over his mouth, sighing to himself as he shook his head.
“I can’t read her, Nolan,” he said quietly. “I have no idea what the hell is going on with her.”
Nolan took a swig of his beer, putting the can down on the table.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s look at this from another angle. Let’s say it wasn’t Lacey, but a regular case. How would you solve it?”
Weaver shrugged, pulling a face.
“Usually with a case I start with the crime and work backwards to find the suspect,” he said. “Here I don’t have that. I have a suspect but no idea what it is they’ve done. And honestly I don’t like thinking of Lacey in those terms.”
“Look, I’m just giving you a push to think your way out of this,” said Nolan impatiently. “I’m not suggesting you tap her damn phone. Just think about what’s out of place right now, and go from there.”
Weaver nodded slowly.
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll think about it.”
x
He slept little that weekend, lying in bed with his arms behind his head and running over everything that had passed between he and Lacey since he had first noticed something was up. It didn’t give him much to work on, and he hoped that she would be a little more forthcoming with him when he went over on Sunday.
Having Tilly to stay was a balm for his tortured soul, and he ensured that they spent as much time together as possible, whether going to the park, reading from one of the books she had brought, or making cookies in the kitchen. He used a packet cookie mix, and a series of plastic cutters in the shape of animals that he bought at the dollar store, but they seemed to turn out alright.
Tilly wanted to take some to Lacey, and so on Sunday evening he found himself waiting on her doorstep with a plastic box in one hand containing a selection of cookies in the shape of elephants, cats and rabbits, messy with white frosting. Lacey eyed him soberly when she answered the door, but turned on a beaming smile for their daughter, kissing her cheeks and exclaiming over the cookies. It made him smile. He left Tilly telling her about their trip to the park while he went to the kitchen, and heard Lacey chattering as she led her through to the bedroom to get ready for bed.
Weaver leaned on the counter, eyeing the clock as the minute hand inched slowly around. Lacey seemed to be gone for a long time, but he didn’t move, staring sightless at the tiled wall by the kettle. She had said they would talk, and he intended to hold her to that. There was a bottle of wine next to the microwave, but he didn’t want to open it, as much as he would have liked to have a glass. It wasn’t his apartment anymore.
By the time she came back he felt as though his body had frozen, and he turned his head to face her. She had let down her hair, dark curls bouncing around her shoulders, her little black top stretched tight across her breasts. She looked a little thinner, her cheeks more hollow than usual, and he wondered if she was eating properly.
“She’s ready for you to say goodnight,” she said.
He nodded, pushing away from the counter and going through to kiss Tilly goodnight, and when he returned to the kitchen she had opened the wine and poured them both a glass. He took it with a nod of thanks, taking a swig. He’d have to make it the one, as he was driving, but then he supposed he could always get a cab, if it came to it. If things went badly wrong, he could just go to Roni’s bar and drink himself under the table.
Lacey was chewing her lower lip, the way she did when she was thinking about something, and he took another swallow of wine, relishing the slight burn of alcohol in his throat. After a moment she seemed to reach a decision, and turned towards him, taking a drink and setting her glass on the kitchen counter as she swallowed.
“You were right,” she said abruptly. “I haven’t really explained things, or told you what’s going through my mind. I’m not being fair to you, and - and it’s hurting you.”
He was about to say something, but sensed that she wasn’t finished, so pressed his lips together, waiting. Lacey took a deep breath, raising her chin, and looked at him, her eyes fixing on a point near his left ear.
“You were right that we should try,” she said. “To make it work, I mean.”
The fingers of ice that had grown around his heart stirred a little, beginning to thaw, and he felt the first, faint stirring of hope.
“I’d like to,” he said gently. “I want to make it work, Lacey.”
“I know you do.”
Her voice was barely more than a whisper, a flat monotone, as if the fact that he persevered was somehow irritating, but she met his eyes briefly before glancing away again, one toe scuffing at the rug, as though she were ashamed.
“I just - I don’t know how to explain what I’ve been feeling,” she went on. “I don’t know if I even understand it. How can I explain it to you if I don’t get it?”
Weaver took a sip of his drink, setting down the glass.
“Well,” he said. “I think maybe we just need to keep talking. Just - just say whatever comes into your head, and it’ll all come out. It might be in a big tangled pile that we need to make sense of, but that’s okay. At least once it’s out there we can look through it, you know?”
Her mouth twisted, as though she was about to cry, and she shook her head.
“You’re too good to me,” she whispered. “Too good. It hurts.”
She rubbed at her chest, and he took a step towards her, inching slowly forwards. Lacey shook her head, holding up a hand, and he settled back on one foot, giving her space again.
“I’m sorry, I - I’m not good at this,” she said awkwardly. “Feelings. Family. Close – relationships. Any of it. I’m not used to talking through stuff or letting shit out or - or letting people in. No one ever really cared enough to try before, or was prepared to listen to me anyway.”
He wanted to speak, to tell her that he cared, that he would listen, but she was still talking, so he remained silent.
“So - so I know this hasn’t exactly been a healthy coping mechanism, just shutting you out, but it’s kind of the best I can do,” she went on. “Before we were together, I – well, if things got too much I always ran away rather than face them, because I’m a fucking coward.”
“You’re the least cowardly person I know.”
Lacey pulled a face.
“No, I am,” she insisted. “And I’ve been selfish, trying to force you to do things my way, to take the easy way out. I suck at facing shit, at - at dealing. And - and that’s not your fault, or Tilly’s. It’s only ever been mine.”
He was silent, watching her. She was bouncing on her toes a little, the way she did when she was uncomfortable and wanted to be anywhere but there. God, he didn’t want her to take off again. He didn’t think she would, but he was well aware that if it hadn’t been for Tilly, he would never have seen her again after the first time they had sex. The thought was unbelievably painful.
“I - I can’t promise anything,” she went on. “But I’ll try, okay? I just need some time to myself, so - so I can’t have you moving back in just now.”
Weaver blinked.
“Alright,” he said. “I never expected that, anyway. I know this isn’t gonna be resolved with a cup of tea and a frenzied fuck.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Pretty sure we already did that last part.”
There was silence for a moment, and he tried to think of something to say that would give at least one of them some comfort.
“Well, we can keep the same arrangement with Tilly for now,” he said. “I’ll take her Wednesday night until Friday this week, okay? And - and you and I can maybe start to talk through things. Maybe we could get Roni to watch her one evening, so we can do that. We could have dinner, or—”
He cut off as her mouth twisted, as though the idea was repulsive to her, but to his surprise she nodded.
“Yeah, maybe,” she said quietly. “We’ll see how things go, I guess. I could - I could bring you lunch or something. Like I used to.”
The faintest of smiles curled his lips, and he nodded.
“I’d like that.”
More silence. He had never before appreciated how loud the kitchen clock was.
“Lacey,” he said quietly. “What do you feel for me?”
She hesitated, not looking at him.
“You know how I feel,” she muttered.
“If I’d been asked that six months ago, I would have said yes.” He put his hands on his hips, squaring his jaw. “Since then you asked me to move out and told me you wanted to get divorced, so you’ll forgive me if I’m having a crisis of confidence.”
Lacey sighed at the tone of his voice, her mouth flattening, and her eyes flicked across to meet his. His mouth was set in a grim line, his brows drawn down a little over dark eyes, and she felt that familiar lurch in her belly at the sight of him. He always looked good to her, but even more so when he was angry and trying not to show it, when his emotions were raw and hard. She closed her eyes for a moment at the brief memory of his mouth on hers, his body pressing down on her, inside her. It made her want to step into his arms and take him into the bedroom they had once shared and forget about everything that had happened those past few months. She opened her eyes again, and he was watching her, the low-level anger dissipating into something worse, a heavy cloak of sadness and regret wrapping around him.
“I - I care about you,” she said softly. “I care about you a lot, okay? And I don’t want to hurt you. I’m just - I’m afraid that’s all I do, is hurt you. All I’ve ever done.”
“That’s not true, sweetheart, God knows…” He ran a hand through his hair. “You - you make me laugh, and you challenge me, and - and you light up my life just by being part of it, I swear.”
Guilt gnawed at her, making her eyes sting with tears, and Weaver sighed.
“Look, maybe we got together under less than ideal circumstances, but that doesn’t change how I feel now,” he said. “We may not have felt we were love at first sight, but I love you now, okay? I love you so, so much!”
His eyes were pleading, his smile a little desperate, and it felt as though she was being stabbed, a hard, sharp pain in her chest, digging and twisting.
“And - and it’s - alright, if you don’t feel the same way,” he said gently. “I mean why would you, anyway? I’m a mess.”
He chuckled hollowly, and her mouth twisted, two tears tracking down her cheeks.
“You’re not,” she whispered. “You’re the best man I know. The best I’ve ever known.”
“I get the impression that the competition isn’t exactly fierce,” he said, and put his hands on her shoulders as she bit back a sob.
He drew her to him, a soft press of his fingers on her shoulders, and she let her hands rest at his waist, shuffling forwards until they were touching. Weaver pressed his lips to her forehead, which made her want to cry again, so she laid her head against his chest with a shuddering sigh as his arms wrapped around her.
“Lacey,” he said quietly. “I’m not gonna lie to you, this whole thing has hurt like fuck.”
She nodded miserably. She knew that, of course.
“I’m well aware that we have some things to work through, even if I’m not completely sure what those are,” he went on. “Getting through it is probably gonna hurt like fuck too, but - but it hurts me more to be apart from you and Tilly, okay?”
She nodded, and he tightened his grip around her. It felt nice, to be in his arms again. To be held by him, as though she was worth something.
“And you?” he asked, his voice a low buzz rumbling through his chest. “Does it hurt you, the thought of us being together?”
Lacey rubbed her nose against him, breathing in his familiar scent.
“I’m not sure what hurts right now,” she said, her voice dull. “I’m not sure I can feel anything.”
He kissed the top of her head, lips pressing against her hair.
“Then tell me how I can help,” he said, and she pushed back a little, raising her head to meet his eyes.
“Stay with me,” she said. “Stay with me tonight.”
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Less than $100/wk on groceries?!
If you’re anything like me, you don’t like wasting your money. You have to get your money’s worth, or it’s not worth it at all. One of my biggest struggles was grocery shopping. I HATED spending so much money on food that would just be gone in a couple of days! Dropping $200 on food a week was NOT my cup of tea, but hey, you have to eat! And grocery stores are just so tempting...
Right now, it’s just me & my fiance that eat the food. We have a four-month-old who is exclusively breastfed, and we also use cloth diapers, so we literally don’t spend any money on her when it comes to groceries! I know, love it while it lasts, right?! Even though it’s just the two of us, we were still spending way too much for my liking on groceries. But now I’ve gone from paying almost $200 a week on groceries to less than $100. And when I mean groceries, that includes all household items and toiletries. So really, I spend about $50-$60 on just food a week! How do I do it? Well honestly, there’s not a lot of tricks to it!
First things first, what are we eating this week? That’s the first question I ask myself when I go to make my grocery shopping list. Wait, back up. You don’t make a list? There’s your first problem!
Lists are VITAL to spending less money at the grocery store. Lists aren’t just great to remember things that you need to get. They serve other purposes too! I easily spend 50 bucks over my budget if I go into the store without a list prepared so now I won’t be caught dead without one. You might think that it’s silly to need such a thing, I mean come on. You’re an adult. Lists are for children. No! Listen, lists help keep my life together! When we go to the store, our eyes wander everywhere. They land on things that tempt us. You really didn’t plan on buying donuts at the store, but you spotted some, and they look soooo good..now you want them! When you write down only the things that you need, it’s easier to bypass the things that tempt you in the store. When you’re shopping from a list, your attention is focusing on the things on the paper. Therefore, you spend money on only the things you need this week and less on random items that just catch your attention when you don’t know exactly what you need. It might seem crazy that just a simple task like making a list can save you money, but you would be surprised! If you currently don’t make a list before you shop, I highly suggest to try it out and see how it goes for you!
So now we know we need to make a list. But what goes on it? It’s time to make a menu! It’s easy to forget things when we just make a list out of thin air. This is where Pinterest comes in so handy. Pinterest is a social media platform where people share recipes, home decoration ideas, inspiration for crafts and so much more. The first thing I do is get on over to Pinterest to help come up with new and easy recipes for dinners. I plan out my days and decide on what we’re going to have each day.
I am a sucker for cheap and easy meals. I mean, I have a baby, and I don’t have time to cook a dinner that takes an hour to prep and then another hour to cook. I have come up with so many dinners that are less than $10, and pretty much all of them take less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. Some dishes take an hour to cook, but only a few minutes to prep. Those types of meals are my favorites! The only reason why I suggest Pinterest is because if you’re like me, I am not creative in the kitchen. I can cook just about anything, but if I don’t have a recipe, I have no idea where to start! I also hate having the same things over and over again, it just gets boring! It’s so easy for me to go onto Pinterest, search cheap dinner recipes and find so many different recipes to try out that don’t break the bank and help switch it up a bit to keep things fun and exciting in the kitchen!
Once I find my 7 dinner meals, I go to each one of them, and that’s how I form my list. I figure out what I need for each meal, take out what I already have at home and configure a shopping list from that. This way, I’m not just buying random things that I think I might or might not use this week. After I make my list from the recipes, I go back and add the rest of the foods I know we’ll need and then all the rest like household items and toiletries. Things that I usually add for example would be like eggs, milk, and bread. Cereal for breakfasts and lunch meat for lunches. You know, things that we use every week and that I know I need to buy no matter what the menu is.
I do realize that many people do this with their shopping lists. They know what they want to make, so people make a list of things that they need to get so that they can make it. It’s not unheard of! I used to do this too, but I would never make an actual menu for the whole week and plan my entire day out foodwise. Until I started to do that, I was still spending more money than what I wanted.
Making your menu
It doesn’t stop there! When I make my menu for the week, not only do I try to find cheap and easy recipes to follow, I try to find things that the items that I buy for one recipe will be used in another recipe too. For example, if I plan on making chili one night and I need to buy say, tomatoes, onions, and ground beef for it, I know I want to also make tacos another night so that I can use half of the tomatoes, onions and ground beef that I bought for chili for tacos too! I can buy one bigger can of tomatoes for .89 cents and split it and use it for two different meals. It’s all about looking at different recipes and seeing how you can save yourself a couple of bucks by buying bigger packages of items but using them for multiple meals.
Doing your shopping
Stores are different around the world. In my city, the biggest grocery stores that we have are Walmart, Kroger, Meijer and Aldi’s. I have shopped at all of them to compare them, and I always come back to Kroger and Aldi’s. When I do my shopping, I buy everything except protein (all the meats) at Kroger and I buy my protein at Aldi’s. Why? Because have you been to Aldi’s before?! Their protein is super cheap! Sure, it might sound annoying having to go to two different places for groceries, but I save $50 bucks easily by getting my protein at Aldi’s rather than just getting them at Kroger. So don’t be afraid to check out other grocery stores in your area and compare and contrast the prices! It might be worth it to go to two different places if you’re saving money! It is to me.
When I shop, I always buy the generic version as they are pretty much always the cheaper option. I know, the word generic sounds ugly. But honestly, most of the generic versions are still basically the same as the fancy name brand stuff! Besides, I just can’t get myself to buy something that is X amount of money when I know there’s a cheaper option available. But that’s just me! I mentioned earlier that I don’t do any couponing. Every now and then, I’ll have a coupon that I’ll use but other than that I don’t use any. Should I? Probably! But what I do pay attention to is sales. Sales! Sales! Sales! Kroger has a lot of great deals which helps my budget a lot. Never ignore the sales!
Getting home
Wait, you mean there’s more to saving money after the shopping is done? Yes! You’ve done your shopping, you’re tired, you’re ready for a bath & some wine, but you have more money saving things to do! When I used to grocery shop, I would buy one of those big things of chicken breasts (you know, the ones that look like this)
And I would just keep it like that. It wasn’t until I started portioning out my meats (therefore portioning all my meals out) that I started saving a lot of money. Not only do I portion all my meats out, but I also cut them in half. I mean those chicken breasts are HUGE! I buy the big thing of chicken, take each chicken breast and slice em in half and make twice as many meals as leaving them whole! And trust me, they are still big enough for a meal! I portion them out for two in a freezer bag. When we need to buy pork, we always buy a pork loin and then I cut them into chops if I need them or just leave it as a loin. I do the same thing when I portion them. Each meal gets its own bag. With a pork loin that costs 5-10 bucks (depending on the sale that week), you can make 3-4 meals out of it! When I need to buy ground beef, I buy the big 5 lb rolls and cut them in thirds or in half, depending on what I am using the beef for. These are just some examples of what I do with the meats I buy!
The last time I went to Aldi’s, I spent $11 on a pack of chicken breasts. They are huge, so we cut them in half, and after portioning them out, we had 11 meals! 11 meals for $11?! Yes, please! Not only does portioning the meals out help save you money, but it also makes thawing and preparing meals a lot easier too because all you have to do is take a bag out the freezer and into the fridge to thaw. No sorting out your meals or having to think about how much of what you’ll need.
So there it is! How I spend less than $100 a week on groceries! No tricks or couponing. Just planning and organizing your week makes such a difference in the money that you’re spending! To end this blog off, I wanted to include an example menu & list that I would use at my house to give you all a visual.
Menu
Mon- Oven Baked Meatball Sandwiches
Tues- Creamy Swiss Chicken Bake w Buttered Noddles
Wed- Garlic Rosemary Pork Loin w Green Beans & Mashed Potatoes
Thurs- Chili
Fri- Chicken Enchiladas w White Sour Cream Sauce
Sat- Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Sun- Lemon Buttered Tilapia over Rice
List
Bread for subs, pasta sauce, mozzarella, ground beef. Noodles, butter, mayo, parm cheese, sour cream, swiss cheese, chicken. Garlic, rosemary leaves, green beans, mashed potatoes (instant), pork loin. Tomatoes, onion, tomato sauce, ground beef, cheddar cheese, chili seasoning packet. Chicken broth, green chilies, tortillas, butter, mozzarella, sour cream, chicken. Hamburger buns, bbq, Worcestershire sauce, onion, chicken broth, garlic, brown sugar, pork. Lemon juice, butter, rice, tilapia.
As you can see, there are several items for each recipe that repeats itself. I’ll use the big ground beef for both meatball sandwiches and chili. I’ll use sour cream in the swiss chicken and chicken enchiladas, also use the mozzarella with the meatball sandwiches and enchiladas, also the butter in a ton of dishes... you get the picture! All these recipes are very different from each other yet contain a lot of the same ingredients that you can use for multiple purposes.
I’ll add on any extras like cereal, milk, eggs, bread, and other drinks. Add the household things that I might need like laundry or dish detergent and then toiletries, like shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant. And then there’s my list! This was actually my grocery shopping list a few weeks ago. I spent less than $100 on it all!
Other comments & tips!
I realize that many people have bigger families to feed, but that’s okay! All of this can still help you. Most of the meals that I make, while there are only 2 of us, they could definitely feed more like 4 people. I make a lot so that I have leftovers that I can quickly heat up for lunch the next day!
The thing I like the most about making lists from menus is that it is super customizable. If your budget is $200 a week, you can make a more extravagant list. If you have time in your life to make more time-consuming recipes, you can change up your menu with more ingredients too! Just because I personally like to stick with simple but tasty and fast recipes, doesn’t mean you have to!
While I tend to buy generic items, there are plenty of ways to spice them up! I almost always buy instant mashed potatoes (I know some will cringe at this) but just add some salt & pepper, butter, garlic & sour cream & a tiny bit of cream cheese, you would think it was homemade! I buy the $1 jars of pasta sauce, add some garlic, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese & bam! So much tastier and it’s so easy to do!
If you’re interested in the recipes that I love to make (All under $10 and 30 minutes or less to cook!) make sure to follow me on my Pinterest to see what I pin!
https://www.pinterest.com/shelbywanders
Thank you so much for reading! I love saving money and love to help other people do it too! After all, saving money = happy life!
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October 15th - Random thoughts from another temporary LCS
Same town different coffee shop. I like the food here more, but the coffee at the other place is definitely better (even if they make their own syrups here). So this is the breakfast place™, and that’s the writing place™. Atmosphere-wise, they’re different but I like both.
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This week I turn 30. My BFF (the one I actually live near. The other’s still in Hawaii) wants to go out to celebrate. I wonder if I can get her to go to the vintage wine bar... We’re easing back into an... active? Friendship. Not that we’re not still super close. But when you only see each other a few times a year, conversations tend to default to “what’s happened since I saw you last?” Events, y’know? So now we’re kinda easing back into the stupid wonderful friendship of seeing each other at least twice a month if not more. So now we actually have room to talk about stupid important shit like dreams ambitions current events griping about life family pets lack of love life philosophy fandom do you still want to read my novel you can crash on my couch if you need a night or two away look at my stupid cat you have to tell me when you get a puppy i want to spoil it so much.
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This week TDPL turns 2. I’m at 5 chapters. Still. I know. I think I’ve maybe updated once this entire year. My goal had been a chapter a month. Then 4 chapters a year. Then an average of 3. I’m not even gonna try to give a timeline at this point. I think maybe when my days are busier, I might have an easier time writing.
Currently, I haven’t gotten much writing done due to “guilt from not having a job”. Which is easing now that the job search is starting to bear fruit. Makes me feel creative. Now if only i had a place to work at home...
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My interview is Friday. I need to go buy a new suit (I lost weight in the five years since I bought my first interview suit and it is obviously bad-fitting now. Pencil skirts aren’t meant to sit on the hips), new heels (mine are at least 8 years old), and practice my interview questions. My aunt has been amazing for that so far. She hires people for her company all the time, so she knows what’s up.
I’m struggling on the “five years” question. Y’know, “where do you see yourself in 5 years?” I... am not an ambitious person. And I feel like it’s a question to make sure you’re “driven”. I’m not driven in that I’m not motivated by my own status and success. I’m motivated on getting the... well, on getting the issue solved. I want to rise exactly as high as I need to be to most effectively get problems fixed and the work done. I’m not gunning for Partner (though that would be nice) or VP or Lead on a case. I want to be able to put my skills to use. And if doing so means I take those positions, than that’s where I want to be. How do I explain that in a way that impresses hiring partners?
Personal ambitions? I want a quiet, simple, fulfilled life. I want to be useful. But I also kinda sorta want to own a yarn store? Or coffee shop? Or book store? A place that I can make cozy and indulge in my great loves and help other people discover those simple wonderful things?
I want to finish writing and publish a book.
But I’m good at being a lawyer. Crazy good. Lawfully good. And I like the challenge too. So it’s not like I don’t want to be a lawyer in 5 years. It’s just... I have a kinda see where life takes me approach sometimes.
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NaNoWriMo starts in a little over 2 weeks. No clue what I want to write about. No clue if I’ll have no time to participate or too much time.
I think... I think if I can brainstorm enough and research enough, I might cheat a little and do a rewrite of my one finished novel. Because the first draft is terrible and focuses almost entirely on a romance that is central but a subplot at best. Which means I got lost somewhere and need to buckle down and rediscover the actual story I want to tell and whether that needs to be one book or two or three.
Ugh. I love my BFF who lives here, but the BFF in Hawaii is the one who’s always been involved with my writing endeavors. And it’s just not the same discussing said things over phone and/or skype as it is talking it out in person. Oh well. I’ll figure something out.
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The attempts to be social have not born fruit. Mainly because there’s nothing going on right now in the alumni association or the the bar association, though the local NaNoWriMo chapter is ramping up. Problem? It’s in the city, and right now the city is a 45 minute drive for me. If I get a job soon, it won’t be so bad because 1) my job will be in the city and I don’t mind a 45 minute commute for work, and 2) I’ll just do things after work. But right now it’s a pain to drive that far on my own for just a 1-2 hour thing.
But I did get drinks with the BFF this weekend. Next weekend, though, I’m babysitting my nieces and nephew so literally everyone else in my family can go to an event. Because I got lost in the shuffle of coordinating said event and my older sister assumed that one of us younger siblings would be available and didn’t bother finding a babysitter.
Love her, but really? Anyway, since I wasn’t even aware that there were plans for this weekend to begin with (mom swore she told me, but then younger sis reminded her that was our brother they talked to), I decided to just take one for the team. Eh, who wants to risk awkward conversations with people from high school anyway? I think I’ll wait until I’m employed again and not just tagging along with my parents at 30.
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Researching local law is fun. Since I’m doing this for my own potential side-business, I at least don’t have to worry about ethical issues of practicing law without a license (a common saying I’ve run into while researching where the line is: You can always file your own paperwork). I have my license for the state next door. I won’t be licensed for this state (where the farm’s located) until sometime next year.
But the farm’s in an unincorporated part of the county (duh. Not many farms within city limits), so I have to go all the way to actual county zoning code to find the answers I need. There’s no convenient website for these questions like there are for municipalities. While anything I do would have to wait until I at least sit for this state’s bar next July (my 3rd license, but whatever. I’m still a baby lawyer so I can’t just skip the stupid test yet) to be distributed, I’m thinking about putting together a little packet to help other farmers and “unincorporated” (read: country) folks in the county out when it comes to expanding their businesses or pursuing a new line of revenue.
Because the county zoning code is 214 pages and written in legalese. That’s not even touching on other state and county business law questions that crop up. Most people out here assume you can do whatever you can on your own land, especially if it’s zoned for agriculture, and especially since most locals aren’t gonna report you for doing what you want on your own property (because they also assume you can do what you want so long as it’s not hurting anyone/running afoul of the EPA). Probably because their parents and grandparents were able to just start businesses with little interference...
But Dad’s got quite a few stories of people gettting blindsided and unknowingly racking up pretty big fines because, as I said above, there aren’t exactly any easy to understand or easy to access resources for the unincorporated areas of the county.
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Dragalia lost is a better game than it has a right to be.
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It’s about 11, and I’m trying to avoid “Yapping Dog Syndrome” (telling someone your plans appears to be negatively correlated to the likelihood of executing said plans), but I think I might still list them here. (Convincing my family that it will help me if I don’t actually tell them what I intend to do for the day is gonna take some work....).
So, on the agenda:
Depending on if my Mom texts me before I leave, I’m gonna go pick up some legal pads on my way home. You don’t realize how much you miss something until you don’t have it anymore, and legal pads are a boon for researching. I love my moleksines but they’re definitely better suited for brainstorming/writing then idea development/research. Frankly? Between the ipad, print-outs, and books, they get in the way.
I’m gonna spend about an hour or two on the municipal code/etsy policies.
I need to update my cover letter and send it to at least 2 places. Including that charity.
I’m gonna work on my nephew’s blanket. He’s 2. There are literally no excuses. Also, I can’t move onto new projects until I finish it. Including the new baby’s blanket, socks, my own winter gear, and a ton of started but left unfinished stuff for the rest of the family.
Cleaning up my room. It’s... untidy. I mean, most of that’s not my fault. The room was general storage for Mom’s massive project of cleaning out the attics (yes. Plural. We use the undereaves of the house for storage. I’m 98% certain there’s nothing in the actual above-the-second-story attic. Also, the attics contain things going back to Dad’s childhood). So there’s boxes and boxes of stuff. Mom and Dad’s winter clothes, wrapping paper, seasonal decorations, enough musical instruments for a blue-grass/jazz fusion band (sax, trombone, trumpet, banjo, electric guitar, electric bass, drums, keyboard, acoustic guitar x2...), and toys from our childhood that Mom and my big sis want easy access to for the nieces and nephew. Who do indeed love said old toys (though the nephew’s favorites are actually Dad’s old die-cast tractors. Dad has mixed feelings about letting a 2 year old play with what are technically antiques.)
She’s gone through a lot of it. Like, I’ve got room for my bed, dresser, a mini living room for our gaming consoles (I told you it’s a big room. It takes up about half of the upstairs. I shared it with both sisters growing up. We each had our own mini-room in a corner and a shared area by the walk-in closet) and space for the cats’ stuff, but half the room is still packed with junk and the occasional box crosses over into my living space.
Anyway, Mom should have an answer for me for the legal pads soon, so I’ll be heading out.
I might have something for TDPL’s 2 year anniversary on Thursday, but don’t hold me to it.
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Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.
Editors Note: A guest contribution from David Hoes to The Prepper Journal. I love this. Goes well as a supplement to the recent post on Prime Locations for Post Disaster Salvage. As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share then enter the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.
Okay, I admit it. I am a scrounger. I don’t do it out of necessity; I do it because I enjoy getting a bargain and building my prepping stockpiles. Now, I need to clarify that I do not steal things. I do not take towels from hotels or silverware from restaurants. I do not find and keep items such as wallets, credit cards, or electronic devices that can be traced to an owner. I do not keep anything that someone is likely to try to reclaim. Such items I will turn in somewhere. If I see someone drop something, I will tell them.
I’m also not going to discuss using coupons or discounts. These are both good ideas, but have already been covered.
That said, I do take items that are unlikely to ever get back to their original owner, and things that I am allowed to take or that are come with something I have purchased. If in doubt – I ask. Here are some ideas:
Personal protective equipment: Most hospitals and some doctor’s offices now offer free respirators to visitors. I’ve picked-up several of these. Protective gloves are often available in the ER or in patient rooms, and some give-out small bottles of hand sanitizer. I have a little psoriasis on my hands, and they are happy to give them out. In the quantities a hospital purchases them, they are almost free.
Wipes and anti-bacterial solution: Doctor’s offices and medical facilities often have solutions or wipes available for free. They bill your insurance $150 for a few minutes with a doctor. They don’t sweat the little stuff. Heck, ask your doctor for appropriate medical samples while you are at it. You never know what you may get.
Gauze, wipes, Band-Aids, and surgical tape: I have asked if I could take a few gauze pads, alcohol wipes, and mostly used rolls of tape when I have gone to labs and imaging facilities. They are normally okay with it.
Salt, pepper, sugar, condiment packets, and straws: These all have survival and medical uses. Grab a few each time you go to a fast-food place. During the depression in the 1930’s, those down on their luck would go to a diner and order a cup of hot water for a few cents. They would then add ketchup and other condiments to make a sort-of tomato soup. There is actually enough vitamin C in a few packs of ketchup to prevent scurvy. Is this stealing? If taken in reasonable quantities, I do not believe so. If I order a cup of coffee, part of the price I pay goes to cream and sugar. My ex used to take her coffee with 4 creams and 4 sugars. I do not use either, so I do not think taking one or two of each is stealing. Now, taking a handful? Yes. That is stealing. Asking for salt and condiments at a drive through? Nope. What they put in the bag is yours.
Soaps and shampoos: Yes, in a motel I take what they put in my room. I do not consider it stealing; I believe that I have paid for it and can take it. When I or a loved one is in the hospital, I take whatever they give as well. Hospital staff has told me on numerous occasions that insurance paid for it and if I don’t take it they will throw it out. Also, many hotels provide courtesy tooth brushes, tooth paste, and combs upon request. If they give it to you, it isn’t stealing, even if you don’t really need it. But no, I don’t take towels or rolls of toilet paper.
Candles at church: Many churches toss-out candles after one or two uses, and may give-away the used ones for free if you ask. Although some now use propane or natural gas simulated candles, those that still use candles tend to use ones of very high quality. Small stubs can be melted down and used to create larger candles. My church had a Christmas Eve service where everyone was given a candle to hold. They were lit for about 10 minutes and not reused. Hundreds of good candles were thrown out.
Community events: Where I live, they have several free community disaster planning, home and garden, and wellness events each year. They give-out items such as samples of seeds, dental floss and toothbrushes, band aids, energy bars, bottled water, samples of vitamins, water bottles, and other swag. At one event, the first 50 people through the door got a bag with some very nice stuff.
Food banks: I have been fortunate enough to have survived without going to one. However, if you are looking to build a small emergency stockpile, why not go and pick-up a few cans of food? They will probably mostly have items near or past the expiration date, but canned food is generally safe to eat long after the expiration date. I have eaten MRE’s and canned foods that were 10 years past their expiration dates and suffered no ill effects. The exceptions are if the can is damaged, in poor condition, or if the can contains acidic products such as tomatoes. Is it wrong to take food from a food bank if you are not immediately facing hunger? I think the answer is, it depends. If you are sufficiently wealthy to purchase your food and have plenty of money to stock-up on prepping supplies, I would say that it is wrong. However, if you can buy all you now need but are unable to afford to purchase a enough for a 72 hour emergency supply of food to see you through a disaster, I would say not. I donate money to food banks, and I give so that people do not go hungry. As a donor, I am not bothered by those who use the food bank to prepare for future hard times.
Wooden Pallets: I live near a business that sells pools and hot tubs, and another that sells paving stones. They dispose of dozens of wooden pallets each week. I have used them to create raised garden beds, for firewood, and for woodworking projects including building a bed frame for a futon.
Road Debris: When I drive, I keep an eye on the shoulder and medians. I frequently find bandannas, bungee cords, tools and knives, Bic Lighters (still good), coolers, storage totes, thermoses, 5-gallon plastic buckets, gas cans, and a variety of other items. Bandanas are my favorite find; I have found 30 or more. Bikers lose bandannas like crazy. Wash and reuse them. They have lots of survival uses. One of my favorite finds took place a few weeks ago. I found a Camillus Titanium folding knife lying in the road. It was a bit scuffed-up and not very sharp, but I cleaned it up, sharpened it, and it has become my EDC knife.
Post-disaster giveaways: Here in Florida, following Hurricane Irma, the County and many different organizations gave-out a lot of food and water to anyone who came by. No questions were asked. A friend of mine got dozens of bags of cookies, boxes of Pringles chips, ten cases of Civilian MRE’s and ten cases of bottled water. It is unfortunate, but the ones who give and the ones who distribute often have very different goals. Churches, civic groups and charities may raise money for 1,000 meals. They want to see 1,000 different people get food. Those who distribute the aid may not care. If one person arrives with a truck that can carry 1,000 meals, they may let them have it all. They don’t want to carry it back at the end of the day. They will report back that the food was distributed and everyone will be happy. Don’t be a pig, but if you can put it to good use, do so.
Free bicycles: I am only speaking about Florida, but I think this is true for other areas. Law Enforcement departments recover a huge number of bicycles that have been abandoned, discarded or stolen and that are not claimed by owners. In some places jail inmates repair them as part of a work program. It is not widely advertised, but there may be periodic giveaways where serviceable bikes are distributed on first come basis. I once had two bikes stolen in a particular county. One of the two was recovered, but I had already replaced it, so I donated it to this program.
Why am I mentioning bicycles? Well, because I believe that in a TEOTWAWKI situation, they may become the most important method of transportation.
Complaining about lousy stuff: I wrote a negative review about a pair of gloves I bought on Amazon. I included a photo clearly showing the defect. They sent me a new pair without making me return the old pair. The old pair went into my preps box.
I have complained about the quality of canned or packaged foods. They sent me coupons for free products. I DO NOT invent complaints to get free stuff. In some cases, the original product was so nasty I did not want coupons for two free ones. That was the case where I bought a can of collard greens that contained a large cockroach. Still, if you pay for a product and you really get something nasty, complain. Then add it to your preps. If SHTF and you have nothing else, you may be willing to risk eating a cucaracha. Even sending a suggestion may earn you a coupon for a free product. I told a company that sells crackers and tuna snacks that the crackers crumbled too easily. They send me a coupon for a free package. I did not lie and I did not steal.
Garbage day: I’m not going to go into the finer points of dumpster diving, but the finds possible on garbage day are incredible. I have changed residences 18 times since leaving High School. Many were interstate moves. When your car and U-Haul are packed to the max and there is still more stuff, you put it on the curb. I once had a Saturn so overloaded it could barely make 50 mph on an Interstate. I left a lot of valuable stuff behind that could have really helped some prepper. If you see a big pile of stuff waiting for the garbage truck, most of it probably still works.
I realize that my suggestions may be distasteful to some. It is much more fun to purchase prepper items from Amazon or WalMart. In America, second-hand, discarded and used are bad words. Nevertheless, if SHTF, scrounging skills will become more valuable than shopping on-line with a credit card skills. And if you have some more ideas, I would appreciate hearing them.
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JACKSON WANG - FATEFUL ENCOUNTER
CHAPTER 1, PART 5
THE DATE
Word Count: 2,270
Pairing: You x Jackson
Genre: Fluff
PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 6
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The moment you had arrived at Everland Park you decided the first thing you needed to do was stretch out your tired limbs, he really wasn't kidding when he'd said it was going to be a long drive. Once you'd stretched enough to know you wouldn't be walking around like a robot you turned to see Jacksons masked face, although a little disappointed you mentally scold yourself, knowing that there was no way he could walk around freely with you in such a popular place like this.
You both walked to the already lengthening line up at the entrance of the park and gasp in complete horror when you caught sight of the monstrous T Express.
"Woah... That's HUGE!" You stared up at the massive ride in terror.
"Yeah let's avoid that one..." Said Jackson, grabbing your hand and pulling you into the park.
"Like the plague..." You agreed, eyes still glued to the scary roller coaster.
~
Once inside you both decided the best course of action was to go on the Safari Ride available, something you'd never have been able to experience in Australia.
"Look!" You exclaim, tugging on Jacksons arm. Outside the window stood a trained black bear.
"It's so smart, how could they possibly train a bear..." You heard him snicker beside you as you continue to watch them all in awe.
"The same way you train any animal Y/N." He said, joining you to look outside.
"So cute." You hear him coo beside you and turn to agree with him, only to find him looking at you, grinning. Feeling completely embarrassed you try to look away as fast as possible, feeling your cheeks burn from the awkward situation.
"Yeah, they're all the cutest." You choke out, barely. He laughed again and went to sit back down beside you.
~
After your awkward encounter with Jackson on the Safari Ride you tried your best to keep the conversation completely focused on either the rides you both came across or what it was like to live in Korea. You were both thrown into a sudden lapse of silence when you came across the ride called "Kpop Hologram" and decided this was something you had to experience and immediately grabbed his jacket sleeve and ran towards the entrance.
~
"That... Was... AMAZING!" You squeal, gripping onto Jackson as you walk out of the "concert". The previous awkward air completely vanishing as you fangirled over the holographic Idols you'd just seen, covering your mouth in complete shock you spun around to him, "It seemed so real! It felt like Big Bang was RIGHT in front of me!" You cried. Even though you tried to hold back your inner fan-girl it came bursting out but it didn't faze Jackson in the slightest though as it seemed he was dealing with the same feelings too.
"I know! If I reached out I could've touched G-Dragon! That was crazy!" You saw his eyes mimic those of your own starstruck ones and you couldn't help but laugh.
"You're such a little fan boy." You accuse, giggling at the frown on his face.
"What do you mean? You're fangirling too! How come I cant fanboy!" His raised voice only made you laugh even harder. You pat him on the shoulder, "I just didnt expect that! It's so cute!" you coo as you giggled and continue to walk on through the park.
It wasn't long before you realised that Jackson wasn't walking beside you anymore. You spin around and look through the crowds of people trying to find a familiar face but to no avail.
"He was right here... Wasn't he?" You begin to panic. There's no way you could yell his name right? He'd be exposed. Dam-
Right in the middle of your melt down you felt a tap on your shoulder and spin around to see Jackson standing there, the same wild look of panic in his eyes. Before you could say anything he pulled you into a tight hug and you had no issues in holding him back. You were so relieved he hadn't just left.
"Jackson! I thought you left, I looked but I couldn't see you anywhere!" your heart was pounding hard against your chest with the remnants of possible rejection flowing away.
"Are you okay? I was distracted for a second and suddenly you weren't there! You weren't scared were you? There's a lot of people here, I was so worried you'd get lost or that something happened to you, I'd feel so guil-" You pushed yourself away from him, cutting off his rambling and saw how wide his eyes were.
You smirk slightly at just how over dramatic he was acting, "I'm okay! It's alright, we both made a silly mistake! I was a little worried but now that you're here I feel better... Let's just keep going alright?" He seemed to hesitate at first but then took a deep breath and agreed.
He reached out his hand towards you and you hi-fived it without thinking. He stood there for a moment with his hand still extended and his eyebrow raised, as though you'd just done something really dumb, then he let out a breathy laugh and shook his head. He grabbed your hand and placed it in is, interlocking your fingers with his.
"Do NOT let go, okay? I'm not losing you again." You felt your face blush, that sounded like something directly out of a Kdrama, but it also sounded like a parent chastising a child. You couldn't differentiate between the two. So you just agreed.
~
It was almost 4pm when you finally got to Hans River and Jackson seemed overly excited for some reason.
"Why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?" You looked at him with an eyebrow raised, this time you were low-key judging him.
"This is something I've always wanted to do with my girlfriend, quick follow me!" he grabs your hand and takes off in a slow jog. 'He just said girlfriend.' Was all that ran through your mind as you both arrived at this huge shed with rows of bikes.
Jackson began talking to the older man behind the counter, so you took this moment to look around at the people that were walking along the river, they all looked to be couples and you felt a hint of nervousness begin to well in your stomach. The man ran off and came back a short while later, wheeling out a peculiar looking bicycle. Jackson thanked him and turns to you with a huge eye-smile.
"This is what you've always wanted to do? Ride a bicycle?" you say dead panned, you were completely confused with him now. How is he still managing to surprise you?
"It's not just any bicycle Y/N! Its a Tandem bicycle! We can both ride it!" You couldn't help but smile at how overly excited he was to hire it out. You were still wondering how this could've been something to excite him, but decided to just go along with it.
"Okay! I can see how it can be romantic! How long do we have it for?" You walk over to it and sit down on the second seat.
He grins and jumps on, "An hour. Hold on tight Y/N! It's about to get beautiful!"
You roll your eyes and snort as he takes off.
~
As you were riding along the river you started noticing the slight change in the sky as the sun began its journey down.
"You were right Jackson." you whisper in amazement, gazing out at the warm sky reflecting off of the river.
"Hmm?" you hear him question from the front seat.
"It really is stunning out here, I should trust you more often." You see his shoulders shrug and you smile.
Although there was a chill in the air, you couldn't have felt any more warm in that one moment.
~
You had been riding together in comfortable silence for about 10 minutes when you saw a corner store coming up on the left of the pavement and knew you had to stop there.
"Jackson?" you call out from the back seat.
"Yeah, what's wrong? Are you tired?" concern lacing his each word. A new dilemma now surfacing in your mind, how are you going to ask this question with out looking like a silly tourist?
"No, I'm okay. I was just wondering if we could stop at this convenience store coming up? I want to try something." you saw him look in the direction of the shop and nod enthusiastically.
"Sure!"
~
"So, what are you looking for?" He asked, watching you curiously as you walked around the small shop.
"Don't laugh okay? But I really wanted to try eating ramen noodles from a convenience store... I see it all the time in Dramas." You turned around to see him smiling and nodding, without a word he motioned you to follow him. He walked towards the side of the shop that held the hot water and pointed at the shelf beside it, which held all flavours of ramen.
"Yes! Thank you!" You bent down in front of the noodles, trying to decide which one to eat but you couldn't possibly understand any of the Korean on the labels so eventually you gave up and asked Jackson.
"Which one should I get? I don't really like spicy foods." You were really worried because of the fact you couldn't read it that you'd accidentally grab something extremely spicy.
"I'll make us both some!" He smiled, picking two packets of noodles from the shelf.
"You're a life saver Jackson! I'll go out and find us a spot on the grass whilst you do that?" As soon as he agreed you ran out of the shop and picked a place on the grass far enough away from any other couple so that it wouldn't be any more awkward for you.
You found the perfect patch of grass and sat down, wrapping your arms around your legs. The air had definitely gotten more crisp as time went on, but you were distracted immediately by the sky. It had gotten even more colourful than before, with warm oranges, pinks and purples combining together. You sat and watched the colours dance around before noticing Jackson emerging from out front of the store holding two cups of ramen.
To anyone else this would have seemed to be a simple gesture but it lit your heart on fire. Today had already gone so quickly, it was almost 4:45pm, where on Earth had the day gone! Not only did you meet a man you've been in love with for what seemed to be forever, but he also bought you coffee and flowers, he took you to the Everland Park, and now here you were sitting on Hans River about to watch the sun set. You couldn't think of something more romantic than this and you're lucky enough to spend it with him.
You watched him search for you, a smile automatically playing against your lips. It was still hard for you to grasp the fact that Jackson Wang was looking for you, was wanting to spend the day with you. It still made you want to roll around and squeal like a little girl, you were only barely holding in that feeling due to the fact that you were in public. You realised you'd been smiling a lot today and so had he, either it be in the car or the cafe where you could actually see his face or out in public where only his eyes were visible. But, even when it was just his eyes, he conveyed so much emotion through them. You heard his laugh a lot today as well, you just couldn't believe you were experiencing this all and that you were the cause of those outbursts of laughter and those little wry smiles.
You shakily stood up and waved at him to grab his attention, it worked.
He saw you and began his ascent up to your spot. As you sat back down on the cold grass you watched him make his awkward ascent up to you, careful not to spill the two ramens he'd made for you and himself. It was almost comical to watch but you bit your tongue as he finally made it to you and gracefully sat down, holding his hands out to make sure he wouldn't spill anything on himself.
"Here, I got you the mild version." He announced proudly, as he passed you the cup and the chopsticks then started stirring his own, oblivious to the fact that your heart had swollen two sizes too big.
"Thanks!" You say, an overwhelming feeling of happiness wrapping itself up in your gratitude. You turned back to the view of the setting sun, snapping open the chopsticks and taking a bite.
You two sat in easy silence for a little while, just eating and watching the sun set.
"What do you think?" You hear him ask from beside you. You put down the empty cup and pull yourself closer, starting to really feel the night chill.
"This is definitely the best sunset I've ever seen... It's so beautiful..." You trailed off still admiring the darkening sky turn from light pinks and purples into darker shades of blue and violet.
"Well, I think it's time to go if you want to see Namsan Tower tonight." He states, standing up to offer you his hand for guidance.
Without really thinking any more you grab it out of habit and pull yourself off the grass.
-Admins
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