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smoking-jakelane · 2 months

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THE C O N S E N T I AM DYING RN ARE U KIDDING ME

Cruising Into Love-Part 3

d.r.w. x f!reader

Okay, you guys...here it is. I always get nervous about the first smutty chapter. Hope you love it!

Words: 9k

Summary: After your passionate moment with Danny on the island, you both are eager to spend more time together.

Warnings: 18+ readers only

sexual content, oral (f receiving), language, passing tf out, smoking hot Daniel Wagner.

You plop down on your tiny bed, a huge smile on your face. He’s coming tonight, and if you’re honest, hopefully in more ways than one. Danny said he needed to stop, but you didn’t want him to. You would have had sex with him right then and there under the waterfall. You imagine the loud crashing of the water drowning out your inevitable moans and cries. What is it about this man that makes you so electric? You feel out of control, but in the best way possible. You feel alive and young and sexy, feelings that you haven’t had in longer than you can remember.

Your mattress is getting damp from your rain-soaked clothes. You didn’t beat the storm, but racing Danny through the rain, seeing his white muscle tee sticking to his back and shoulders made it all worth it. A wave of warmth rushed over you, even in the unseasonably cold storm. You wondered what it would be like to kiss and suck and worship every single inch of his body, the thought making you falter and slow your pace, your breath hitching. Yeah, it was worth losing the race. Absolutely it was worth it.

You force yourself to get up and shower quickly. You have to rush to get ready for the show…the show that Danny will be at in all of his fine-ass glory. Oh God, you hope you can keep it together and make it through the performance. You’ll probably have to do a few more faster songs just so you don’t jump out of your skin from excitement.

– – –

Danny paces in his room, cold from the air conditioner that was still running while he is soaking wet. He opens the door to the balcony and steps out for a moment, breathing in the salty ocean air, grinning and closing his eyes, grabbing onto the railing and leaning back again, daydreaming about the hottest make-out session he’s ever had in his life. The ship horn blasts, indicating that it’s almost time to leave the port, snapping him out of his memory. Looking at the time, he runs to the shower, hoping he has time to wash and style his hair and consider what he’s going to wear tonight. He’s fighting his growing erection while the hot water washes over him, trailing down his body and reminding him of the waterfall. “Snap out of it,” he mutters to himself, trying to fight off the urge to relieve the ache building in his cock. There’s no way he’s doing that right now. He isn’t even sure if you would want to sleep with him tonight, but he’s taking no chances, keeping the electric energy building in his body. All he knows is if you do want to, he wants to try to make it the best you’ve ever had because he has a feeling it’s going to be for him.

– – –

“You coming, Danny?” Josie asks through the door leading into the hallway.

“Yeah just a minute!” He double-checks his hair, making sure there are no stray frizzy curls. Thank God for Sam’s girlfriend, Hannah. She taught him how to take care of his curls and gave advice on skincare, not that it was bad before, but Danny does love looking pretty, not just for the girls and guys, but for himself too. It gives him extra confidence. He used to struggle with that much more than he does now, although it’s still there and creeps out sometimes.

He grabs his room key and heads out to meet Josie. “Wow! You look nice, big brother!” Josie says with a smirk.

It was one of his favorite outfits. Short-sleeved, fitted, black mock-neck shirt and black skinny jeans with black boots. He’s rocking the Johnny Cash look tonight with his own spin. Deciding to ditch the shark-tooth necklace, he switched to a silver chain, matching the permanent dainty silver bracelet that he, Sam, and his sister got together.

“Thanks! You too, sis.”

Josie sports a beautiful blue maxi dress that has a cutout in the back, tied together with a matching string. She has a natural beauty, wearing light make-up and letting her loose curls fall down her back.

“I know,” she replies with a wink as they turn the corner for the elevators. “You nervous?”

“Yeah, a little,” Danny confesses, not even trying to deny it.

“I can tell. You’re practically jumping out of your skin. I take it today went well?” she asks, looking out at the chandelier through the glass elevator.

“Yeah, really well, actually,” Danny’s face is bright red as he turns away to look at anything that is in the opposite direction of his sister.

“I’m not going to ask for details,” Josie assures, kindly.

Thank God. Not that he would have answered, but he already felt awkward enough. Even if she is his best friend, she’s also his sister. He can’t talk to her about certain things the way he talks to Sam and the twins.

They meet their parents in front of the piano bar and make their way in, getting closer seats this time. Danny wants to see as much of you as possible.

When you walk out you see him immediately. Well, fuck me sideways-he looks like a dream in that outfit. Not that it would have made much of a difference, but it would have been nice if he could have looked a little more casual. That would make it at least a tiny bit easier to keep your composure. Josie looks beautiful, as well. If Danny wasn’t on this cruise, you have a feeling you may have been feral for her instead. She smiles at you encouragingly while Danny drinks you in-a hungry look in his eyes. God, please stop. You can’t look at him with that gaze on you.

You settle in at the grand piano and gently place your hands on the keys, grounding yourself.

“Did everyone have a good time exploring Nassau today?” you ask the audience, this time your cheery expression is completely genuine. You get a cheer and a few “yesses” from the crowd. “Glad to hear it! Well, take some time to relax and unwind from your day while I play a few songs for you.”

You start upbeat playing “I Feel The Earth Move” by Carole King. Unable to keep your eyes away, you look over at Danny who is beaming and singing along, drumming his fingers lightly on the table again.

I feel my heart start to trembling

Whenever you’re around

Ooh, baby, when I see your face

Mellow as the month of May

Oh darling, I can’t stand it

When you look at me that way

Josie giggles and grins, glancing over at her brother. She seems like such an amazing sister. A sibling who genuinely loves their brother and wants them to be happy. It makes your heart ache.

FInishing up the song, you get some cheers and a couple of “whoops” from Danny and Josie, causing you to blush.

“Let’s slow it down for just a minute, sound good?” you ask the audience. They clap in encouragement as you start the next number. “This one was a request,” you say, not looking over at Danny at that moment. Fraternizing with guests is definitely frowned upon here, and you don’t want to cause any suspicion.

Daniel is driving tonight on a plane

I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain

Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye

Oh it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes

Danny’s mom taps his shoulder, looking excited, but oblivious that this song is actually for him. Just a happy coincidence. As you close out the song the audience claps and starts calling out requests. Maybe you shouldn’t have added that little detail. You decide to just go ahead and play requests for the rest of the performance. More Elton John, John Legend, Norah Jones, and a few others.

“Okay, one more request for the night. What is it gonna be?”

“Light My Love!” someone calls out immediately.

“Hmm…who is that by,” you ask. You think you may have heard that one before, but you don’t remember the tune.

“Greta Van Fleet!” they call out.

“Okay, let me see if it’s in the book, and if so I’ll play it!”

You flip through the binder of approved songs and find it. Looking over it quickly, you hear the tune in your head. “Okay! We will close out with this one. I’m not entirely sure how the lyrics are sung, so could some of you help me out?” You get some more cheers and feel confident that the audience can cover for you. You start to play and realize how beautiful of a song it is. Why haven’t you heard this before? You’ll need to check out more of their music. You glance over at Danny and see a nervous expression. Why would he be nervous? Maybe because the show is almost over and he feels anxious about being near you again. You know you do. The audience sings along, sounding much better than the audience from your previous performance. Danny’s parents sing along excitedly, apparently loving this song. Danny and Josie seem to be unfamiliar with it, but clearly enjoy the tune. The crowd cheers loudly as you wrap up the song, and you make a mental note to put that one into the rotation. The audience seemed to love it, and you can see why. It’s one of the most beautiful songs you’ve heard. A few people approached you after the performance telling you they loved the show, and give more requests for next time. You graciously thanked them and made sure not to let your eyes wander over to Danny until they approached you.

“Hey! Remember us?” Josie asked, extending her hand. Yeah, she’s a great sister. She knows the drill.

“Uh, yeah I do! Josie, right?” you reply warmly, shaking her hand. “And you’re..Danny?” you ask as you look over to him, shaking his hand.

“Yeah! Good to see you again. We had to bring our parents to your performance. We knew they would love it,” he says, gently placing his hand on his mother’s shoulder.

“We did love it!” she replies with a bright, warm smile. Now you see where Danny and Josie get it from.

“We really did,” their dad chimed in, shaking your hand. “I’m Dan, and this is my wife Lori.”

“Wonderful to meet you. I’m y/n,” you reply with a bright, genuine smile. Something you haven’t had to offer lately…until these last few days.

“Well, we should probably get going for dinner,” Lori says. “It truly was a wonderful performance. Thank you, y/n.”

“You’re so kind, thank you,” you say, shaking her hand again. She really was very warm and gave off a comforting vibe.

“Would you all mind if I skip dinner tonight,” Danny asked his parents. “That hike today really wore me out, and I want to make sure I’m not sluggish tomorrow when we go play golf, dad.”

“Oh yeah, of course honey,” his mother said, stroking his arm. “Go get some rest. We’ll see you for breakfast in the morning.” She leans over and kisses him on the cheek before heading out the door.

Making sure her parents aren’t looking, Josie turns around and winks before sauntering out of the double doors, joining them.

“So…you wanna hang out,” Danny asks, his voice impossibly soothing. Like a beautiful song you feel like you’ve been waiting to hear your whole life.

“I’d love to,” you reply, a little breathless as you beam up at him. Your face falls slightly. “I’m not really sure where we can, though. We can’t be too obvious with this, unfortunately.”

“Well…how about my room?” he asks, nervously, putting his hands in his pockets as he rocks back on his heels.

“Yeah, um..that sounds nice. What room are you in? I can meet you there in about twenty minutes or so?”

“720. Are you hungry?”

“Starving, actually. You didn’t even realize until just now that you haven’t eaten since breakfast.

“Okay, I’ll order something for us,” he says with that boyish grin that makes you feel like your heart could beat out of your chest. “Is there anything in particular you’d like?”

“Oh, no. I’ll eat just about anything. You pick.”

“Okay, sounds good. So…I’ll see you in a bit.” He walks backward for a moment, hands still in his pockets before pivoting around to head toward his room.

“Damn, that ass is adorable,” you mumble to yourself, letting out a puff of air.

Walking over to the bar you see Chris again, serving the last couple of guests before he walks over to you.

“Tequila?” he offers, already pouring.

“Yes, and make it a double.”

He chuckles and slides over your shot. “So, are you gonna hit that tonight, or can I shoot my shot?”

“Chris!” you whisper loudly. “Shut up!”

“Oh come on. There’s no one around who can hear us,” he rolls his eyes, crossing his arms, leaning forward on the bar. “So, are you?”

“I don’t know. I want to, but…I’m not sure he does.” You fidget with your hands for a moment.

Chris pours another shot and holds it out for you. “Here’s some more liquid courage, and trust me, girl. That man was eye-fucking you all night. If you want to go for it, it’s happening. Report back and tell me if he’s as big as I think he is. ”

“Good lord, Christopher!” you whisper loudly again. You both chuckle and you take the shot, feeling the burn as you shudder. “but I absolutely will.”

– – –

You head back to your bunk to brush your teeth and run a brush through your hair. Shaking slightly, you throw a couple of condoms in your purse and head up to the 7th floor. Honestly, it’s been months since you’ve slept with someone, and that was a disappointing experience. You desperately hope this won’t be the same way, but you highly doubt that will be the case, especially after that hot as hell make out session earlier.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” you say under your breath. “It may not even happen. Just relax.”

Once you make it to the seventh floor you take a deep breath and step off the elevator. What if he doesn’t want this? Can you even keep from attacking him and climbing his body like the perfectly carved statue he is?

“Easy, girl. Relax. Relax. Relax,” you repeat over and over before knocking on the door.

You go weak in the knees when you see him. He doesn’t look any different than he did at the piano bar. Maybe it’s seeing him in the confines of the bedroom, or just knowing you have total privacy.

“Hey y/n,” he says with that impossibly heart-melting smile. His kind voice is smoother than silk, and you can feel it wash over you like a warm rain on a summer’s day. He extends his arm and steps aside, gesturing for you to come in.

“Hi, Danny,” you say back, your voice barely above a whisper. That’s all you can muster up at the moment.

You walk through the door and see a ton of food spread out on the coffee table and counter space where the vanity is. Hozier is playing softly on his phone.

“Whoa. I know I said I was hungry, but I’m not sure I can eat all of this,” you giggle, walking over to the couch, the fabric feeling slightly scratchy on the back of your thighs.

Danny lets out that adorable, goofy laugh and your stomach does a flip. How, in God’s name, does this man manage to affect you this way? You’ve never felt anything even remotely like this before.

“I know, but I just had no idea what to get, and I wanted to make sure I had something that you were in the mood for. Sorry, I know this is a huge waste of food,” he smiles with a guilty look.

“Oh, it’s okay! Don’t apologize. Maybe we can throw it out to the sharks,” you laugh.

“My friend Sam would lose his mind if he saw how much we are about to waste.”

“Well, your friend Sam isn’t here, so don’t worry about it. It all looks amazing. Thank you, Danny.” You gaze into his eyes for just a moment before blushing and looking away. If you can’t even look at the man for this long, how is this evening going to go?

“So…” he begins, that same adorable nervous look that he had at the piano bar on his chiseled face, “what are you in the mood for? Chicken, steak, fish, macaroni and cheese, I think I have some lasagna over here somewhere…” He stands back up and walks over to the countertop. “Ah, yes here it is! What will it be, m’lady?” he offers, placing a cloth napkin over his arm, acting like a waiter at a fancy-pants restaurant. Clearly trying to break the tension, and you appreciate that.

You giggle (so so giggly again), “I think I’ll take the steak, kind sir,” you reply with a horrible British accent.

“As you wish,” he replies, bowing and placing the plate in front of you. He really is a dork. Thank God. “It’s a beautiful night. Do you want to go eat out on the balcony?”

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” you reply, reaching to pick up your plate.

“Oh, I’ve got it y/n,” Danny replies with a smile, picking up both of your plates as the two of you make your way through the sliding glass door.

The moon is full and bright, the water sparkling and glinting with the rise and fall of the little waves that the ship is creating. “Hmm,” you say with a contented little sigh, “he’s right, and I never really thought about it before now.”

“What’s that?” Danny asks, setting the plates down on the little table between two chairs.

“Oh, there’s this song by Incubus. Brandon says ‘the ocean looks like a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket.’”

“Wish You Were Here.” Danny gives you a soft smile before looking out at the water with you. “One of my favorites, actually. The lyrics are beautiful. I think the other verse applies too. ‘The sky resembles a back-lit canopy with holes punched in it.’” Quoting Incubus to you. Your stomach doesn’t have butterflies right now, it has pterodactyls.

You turn and admire him for a moment as he searches the sky, the bright moonlight shining on his face. He looks angelic right now, and you wonder if maybe he is. He holds onto the railing again and leans back, feeling the ocean breeze with a smile as he closes his sparkling hazel eyes. He likes doing that.

“Sorry,” he apologizes, standing straight and looking over at you. “You’re starving. Let’s eat!” He rubs his hands together and offers your chair before sitting in his. “Oh! Drinks. What sounds good? I got us champagne, white or red wine, and beer.”

You’re already a little tipsy from the shots, so you opt for a glass of champagne. He goes inside to pour two glasses, and you turn your head as little as possible to watch him. The cork pops off of the champagne bottle before he carefully pours it into the glass flutes. How, on God’s green earth (well, God’s blue ocean), does he make pouring drinks look this hot? You wonder if he actually is a waiter at some high-end restaurant, because he could probably bring in a ridiculous amount of money in tips.

You thank him as he walks back through the sliding door, handing you your drink. You both are silent for a moment as you eat, the sound of the waves and hum of the ship’s engine breaking the awkward tension.

“So, how long have you been performing?” Danny asks, taking a sip of his champagne.

“Since I was about four years old, but I've been professionally performing since I got out of college, so three years. I wanted to travel and I wanted to perform, so I figured cruises would be the way to go. What about you? What do you do?” You take a bite of your steak, awaiting his response.

He takes a bite and another sip before responding. “Oh, well, uh…I’m actually a musician too.” He looks nervous. You wonder why, though?

“Oh! Seems like we do have quite a bit in common. Are you a singer? Do you play any instruments?” you ask, excited that you can bond over your careers together.

“I play guitar, drums, bass, piano, mandolin, ukulele, a few others” he chuckles. “Just a little of everything. Nothing major,” he’s staring at his plate, seemingly searching for the best bite of lasagna.

“Wow! Have you recorded at all? Anything I may have heard before?”

“Oh, I doubt it. I just play random shows here and there and jump in to play guitar or drums for smaller bands every once in a while. I live in Nashville, so there’s always something to do there.”

“That’s so cool. I would love to live in Nashville one day. I’m debating on stepping away from the cruise life after my contract is over in a few months. I would love to record an album of my own. I’ve written a few songs, but I would be happy just being a recording artist for hire as well.”

“Oh, I bet you could get a lot of work there. You’re incredibly talented, and you have a beautiful voice too,” he says, genuinely as he smiles and looks into your eyes.

You feel a shudder move down your spine as you turn bright red and smile. “Thank you,” you reply, barely above a whisper. You feel confident in your skills as a musician, but hearing it from him makes your heart pound. “So, did you grow up in Nashville?” you ask, moving the conversation along so you can breathe normally.

“No, I grew up in a small town in Michigan called Frankenmuth,” he breaks eye contact, taking another bite. He could tell he made you nervous by your blush.

“Oh! I think I’ve heard of that place. It has that big Christmas store, right?”

“Yeah! I’ve gotten lost in there a few times. It is outlandishly huge,” he laughs that adorable goofy laugh.

“Ugh, that sounds like a dream. I LOVE Christmas. It’s my favorite time of year on the ship. All of the garland and lights and Christmas trees everywhere. It’s beautiful, and I get to play mostly Christmas carols for my performances.”

“That sounds wonderful. I love Christmas as well. It’s hard not to love it back at home in our little town. Like a winter wonderland, plus I always go up to spend a couple of weeks with my family. That’s the best part.”

Your heart aches hearing him talk about his family and see how they interact. “That sounds perfect.”

He notices the sadness in your eyes, and decides to move on from the topic. “So, where are you from?”

“Also a little town, but in Colorado. Erie. It’s basically a suburb of Denver, so ‘little town’ is relative,” you chuckle. “Was it a big adjustment? Going from a small town to a big city like Nashville?”

“Sort of. It was definitely different, but exciting. I moved with a few of my friends, so that made it easier to settle in. We did move right as Covid was spreading around, so having them there really helped a lot through that.”

“Yeah, Covid was tough. I had to move back home for a while with my family until the cruise lines started booking again. It was so boring, but I did get some writing done during that time, so I suppose something good came from it.” You start to feel more comfortable, your nerves settling down.

“I would love to hear some of your originals. Are you able to play any of them during your performances here?” he asks, setting down his fork and leaning back in his chair.

“Sometimes. Nothing with lyrics, but I can play the melodies. I usually save those for when I play the lunch shift. Most people just come to relax and chat at the bar during the day. It’s a little more informal.” You set your fork down as well and lean back, matching his posture. “I don’t think I can eat another bite. That was delicious.”

“Same here,” he says as he glances out to the ocean again. After a moment he leans in, hands clasped with his elbows resting on his knees. “So, y/n, tell me more about yourself.”

You talk for hours, the conversation flowing organically, both of you sharing stories about your life. Family, friends, hopes and dreams, your favorite movies and musicians.

“No! You are absolutely wrong!” you argue, trying to look offended through your huge smile you’ve had plastered on your face for hours.

“I’m not!” he replies, smiling as well, his hand movements exaggerated as he argues his point.

“Carole King wrote ‘You’ve Got A Friend’! No one performs it better than her!” He’s so adorable when he’s passionate like this.

“It’s a beautifully written song, absolutely, and Carole performs it wonderfully, but there’s something about James Taylor’s version that just…makes it better. I think it’s just a song that sounds better on guitar.”

“This coming from a pianist. I’m appalled!” he laughs.

“I know. I’m a traitor to my own kind,” you laugh with him.

“Well, we can agree to disagree on this one. Sound good?” he asks.

You pretend to ponder the question for a moment, crossing your arms and tapping your finger on your chin. “I suppose so,” you concede with a giggle.

You’re both silent for a moment, but it’s a comfortable silence. It’s been nice getting to know him more. You feel at peace with him, but somehow also still feel the magnetic pull and electricity coursing through your veins.

“Do you want to dance?” he asks timidly.

“Oh, uh…yeah. Yeah that sounds nice,” you smile. “There’s not a lot of room here though.”

“That’s okay. I don’t mind getting close to you,” he winks, stepping inside to grab his phone. Your stomach flips again, the nervousness creeping back in, but it’s an exciting nervousness. One that you happily welcome. One that makes you feel alive. You feel so alive.

He steps back out and slides the door open all the way so he can pull in the chairs and small table, leaving the whole little balcony for you to move around on. You step in front of him, flashes of your dip in the swimming hole earlier racing across your mind. You have to glance away at the ocean for a moment to pull yourself out of it, tearing your eyes away from his body. Damn, he smells amazing too. Kind of musky and warm. Almost like the mahogany teakwood candle from Bath and Body Works. Your favorite. His scent mixed with the ocean air makes you a little dizzy, your eyes fluttering.

He turns on “Like Real People Do” and sets the phone on the table, just inside of the room past the balcony.

“Is this okay?” he asks, nervously putting his hands in his pockets again.

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s perfect.” Your voice is breathy and you smile at him, no doubt looking like a smitten little school girl. He slowly approaches you, holding one hand up and placing the other on your hip. You gently place your hand in his and rest the other on his shoulder, swaying to the music.

“I’m actually not much of a dancer, but it just seems like a perfect night for it, don’t you think?”

The bright white smile he flashes makes it hard to respond, but you manage to breathe out a “yes.”

After a minute or so he moves his hand around your waist, and pulls the other to his chest. You can feel his heartbeat against your fingers. You lean in and rest your head on his chest so you can hear the steady rhythm of it, closing your eyes. He’s so warm, so sturdy, so…safe.

“So, you’re a big Hozier fan, huh?” you ask.

“Oh yeah. He’s one of my musical idols. One of the greats,” he replies, his voice smooth and soft. Like a blanket of silk gently caressing your skin. You hear the deep rumble in his chest with each word, sending a vibration through your whole body and you falter, missing a step.

“Oh, sorry,” you mumble, pulling back again.

“No, it’s okay,” he urges, pulling you close to him again, this time one of his hands cups your cheek, the other wraps around your waist again. “You know…I…I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I saw you performing that first night.”

You let out a slow, shaky breath, placing both of your hands on his chest, the steady rise and fall of his breathing keeping you calm. “I’m glad I’m not the only one.” You sigh out a little chuckle and gaze into his eyes. You feel so safe with him in this moment.

He leans in and moves his hand from your cheek to the back of your neck. His fingers are calloused, but soft, and you realize just how big they are as he cradles your head. “Can I kiss you?” he whispers again, just like he did under the waterfall.

“Absolutely,” you reply, your voice a little louder and more eager than you expected.

He smirked and leaned in further, closing the gap. You whimper the moment his lips touch yours, and you feel him smile into the kiss. He’s so tender and gentle that it makes your heart ache, but you need so much more. His kiss unleashes something in you that you didn’t realize was aching to get out.

Pulling back, and somehow already out of breath, you ask, “Earlier today, when you said you didn’t know if you would be able to stop, is that…something you wanted to do?”

“What, stop? Or not stop?” he chuckled.

“I suppose you could answer either way, but to be clearer,” you bite your lip nervously, “at what point do you, uh…want to stop tonight? Because I…I’m okay, y’know with…not stopping.” God, you’re so nervous, but you need to know right now before you lose all control.

He leans in again, brushing his lips along your cheek until he reaches your ear. “I don’t want to stop, y/n. Not at all.” His voice in your ear is so much sexier than you imagined (dozens of times over the course of three days, if you’re honest), and you can’t help yourself. You whimper and run one hand up his back until you reach his hair, gripping it tightly. Your other hand practically claws at his shoulder, pulling on his shirt as you crash your lips into his. Your lips lock together perfectly, just like before, but with more desire behind it. He pulls your hips flush with his, digging his fingers in ever so slightly. You feel every bit of it though, and you feel yourself unraveling even more. He begins to match your intensity and groans as you softly bite and suck on his bottom lip.

“Please touch me Danny,” you beg in the most pathetic whimper. You would be embarrassed, but you are so desperate to feel more of him that you don’t care.

“Yes ma’am,” he groans into your mouth, barely able to pull himself away.

He runs his hands up your hips and back, memorizing every curve. Once he reaches the zipper at the top, he pulls it down at a frustratingly slow pace. You whimper again, begging him without words while you slide your hands underneath his skin tight black shirt. The ripples of his muscles on his back and shoulders, causing your panties to dampen even more.

“God, please Danny,” you whine, frantically reaching behind your back to yank the zipper down further.

“Shhh, pretty girl. Just let me savor you for a while. Please?” His voice is impossibly soft and sexy, instantly calming you down as you catch your breath.

“I’m so sorry,” you say, pulling away again, shaking yourself out of this feral trance he has you under.

He gently grasps your arms and pulls you close again, cupping your cheek and kissing you slow and deep. You don’t understand…how is this kiss even hotter, but making you more calm?

“We’re going to get there, okay?” he assures, as he moves his lips down to your neck, barely brushing them over your flushed skin. “I promise,” he whispers, moving up to your ear.

You nod, unable to speak as you feel his teeth graze the soft skin of your earlobe before giving it a gentle kiss. You melt into him, your head lolling off to the side and your eyes fluttering. He kisses that sweet spot right behind your ear and works his way back down your neck, licking and sucking every inch. Finally, he pulls down your zipper the rest of the way, stopping at your tailbone. He pulls back and slides the straps off your shoulders, peeling the dress down and off your body as he drinks in the shape of you. He saw this much of you earlier, but now his eyes are dark and he looks fucking hungry. Kneeling down in front of you, he helps you step out of the dress, probably worried your knees would buckle and you’d fall over based on how badly you’re trembling right now.

“Are these heels bothering you?” he asks, glancing up at you with sweet, innocent eyes, the sight of him kneeling before you causing your mind to race with all sorts of unholy thoughts. The switch from his predatory stare to this almost submissive one is giving you whiplash, and you wonder…how easily could he switch in bed?

“Easy girl,” you whisper to yourself, quiet enough so the sound of the waves keeps him from hearing.

“Yeah, actually they are.” You didn’t even realize until he asked. His fingers are long and calloused, but nimble. Quickly undoing the clasp of your strappy, black heel, he holds your ankle steady and carefully pulls the shoe off, worried your feet may be sore. Such a gentleman, and it feels incredibly intimate. He repeats his actions with the other foot and stands back up, towering over you more than before with the loss of three inches of height you had. He reaches out to caress down your shoulders and arms with the backs of his fingers, goosebumps creeping up the path he’s taken.

“You are…” he starts, as he takes his time looking at every inch of you, “absolutely breathtaking.”

Your heart catches in your chest at the tenderness and sincerity of his words. You know what it sounds like when a man is just trying to get you in bed. This was not that. He meant it. He was almost worshiping you.

He steps forward and places his hands on your collar bones, covering your entire chest as he gives you the sweetest, slow kiss you’ve ever felt. You whimper as you feel his hands move down to your bra, cupping your breasts and running his thumbs over your nipples that are peeking out of the sheer, black fabric. You shiver and arch your back, aching to feel more.

“Are you cold?” he asks.

“Definitely not,” you giggle. Your entire body is on fire right now.

He smirks and bites his lip as he pulls his shirt off in one swift motion, tossing it on the ground. You drink him in, aching to feel his skin against yours. Reaching around, you unclasp your bra and let it fall to the floor. The fabric wasn’t hiding much, but you feel very exposed just standing in front of him like this. You step forward and place your hands on his lower abdomen, running the backs of your fingers along the soft trail of dark hair leading down into his pants. He sighs when you run your hands along the muscles of his back, torso, and shoulders, exploring him.

“Come here,” he whispers, pulling you in at your waist, cupping the back of your neck. His hands are large enough to reach around and place his thumb under your jaw, gently pressing upward to meet his lips. This kiss is deep, hungry, passionate. Whimpers escape from the two of you as you reach around to grab his ass, pressing him into you, and he slides his hand down your chest settling between your breasts. He walks you backward, until your back is up against the railing, the top bar hitting your shoulder blades. Breaking your kiss, he moves his mouth down your chest, over your breasts again, licking and sucking as you bury your hands in his hair, arching into his mouth. He groans in appreciation and continues his journey down your stomach, alternating between kisses and licks until he gets to your belly button. He runs his lips over to your hip bone and softly bites, causing you to gasp and jump in surprise. Glancing up at you with mischievous eyes, he kitten licks the spot. Keeping eye contact, he glides his tongue along the waistband of your panties, teasing you. You reach to pull them down, but he grabs your wrists, pinning them to your sides. “Not yet, pretty girl.”

You whimper and fight against his strong grasp, knowing it’s futile, but unable to stop yourself. His eyes darken and he bites the same spot on your hip, but harder this time, causing you to yelp. “I said not yet, y/n.”

Oh. Oh. You debate on fighting back again just to see what he would do next, but he stops your train of thought when he starts to run his perfectly angled nose up the inside of your thigh. You relax your arms and your head falls back, eyes fluttering as you look up at the sky. The moon and stars witness to the pure ecstasy you’re already feeling. Danny reaches your core and runs his nose up your embarrassingly wet panties, his tongue following suit. You struggle against his grip on your wrists again, but he doesn’t punish you this time. He just brings both hands to rest on your stomach, and holds them in place with one of his, while he moves the other to pull your panties to the side. He taunts you agonizingly by kissing the creases between your thighs and your lips, your clit already aching and swollen. He chuckles darkly when you move your pelvis forward trying to meet his mouth.

“God, Danny please,” you beg, pathetically.

“So eager, aren’t we?” He kisses the inside of your thigh again, but lower this time, making you whine. Your mind is reeling over the difference between the Danny you made out with under the waterfall and this Danny, somehow dominating you while you are towering over him. You relax again, brow furrowed and whimpering.

“That’s a good girl,” he praises. He offers sweet relief finally as he presses his tongue through your folds, gliding it upward and flicking it over your clit.

“Fuucckkk yes,” you moan. You’re dying to break free from his grasp so you can touch him, or even just touch yourself. Touch something, but you don’t want him to stop, so you endure it. He dips his tongue deeper inside of you, dragging out the juices and spreading them over your clit, flicking his tongue faster before flattening it and shaking his head back and forth furiously. Your legs start to shake and you can already feel your orgasm building ridiculously fast.

“Please, Danny,” you whimper. “Please, not yet.”

“Why not?” he sounds genuinely curious, but still looks so fucking dark and mischevious-slmost devilish.

“Be-becuase I can’t…I can’t cum more than once,” you reply, nervously. All of the other women you know can have multiples, but you’ve just never been able to.

“Yes you can,” he says matter-of-factly before diving back in, devouring you.

“OH God! N-no no I can’t. R-really…please please stop. I’m begging you, Danny!”

Oh he fucking loved that, but he stops, being the gentleman that he is. Standing up to meet your face, he gazes into your eyes, his lips glistening with your juices, looking so fucking enticing. “Y/n, I promise I can make it happen. Will you please let me?” His expression softened and you feel so safe again.

“Y-yeah…can’t hurt to try I guess,” you reply with a weak chuckle.

“Do you trust me?” His dark eyes sparkle in the moonlight and your heart melts. You would let him do just about anything right now, so I suppose that means yeah. You trust him.

“I do,” you whisper. He kisses you so lightly you wouldn’t even be sure it actually happened if it weren’t for the tiny string of your wetness connecting your bottom lip to his as he pulls away. Kneeling back down, he throws one of your legs over his shoulder and releases your hands. They immediately dive into his hair as he sinks his middle finger into you and grazes his lips over your clit. You’re panting and whimpering at this point, gazing down at his work, his soft curls tickling the insides of your thighs. You moan as he slips in another finger, curling them upward, stroking your g-spot infuriatingly slow, barely flicking his tongue over your throbbing clit. You’re trying to savor the moment and remember every detail, but your body is screaming for more. A sob releases from deep in your chest, launching him into action.

“You’re doing so well, pretty girl, letting me take you there. Thank you,” he praises.

Wow. You’ve never had a man, or a woman, thank you for letting them give you brutal ecstasy, but then again, you’ve never had anyone come close to how he makes you feel. Maybe you actually are the one in control here.

“Do you trust me?” he asks again, sincerity and concern in his eyes. He’s double-checking to make sure you feel safe, and it is possibly the sexiest thing he’s done all night.

“Absolutely.”

He slowly pulls his fingers out of you, causing a whimper to escape from your throat, but he stays in place, keeping your knee over his shoulder. He places your other leg over his opposite shoulder, causing your body to raise a few inches, the center of your back now at the top of the railing. Your eyes go wide and you grip onto his arms for dear life. He has a vice grip on your thighs, though, and you know those muscles that are flexing in the moonlight aren’t going to let you go anywhere. He keeps his eyes locked on yours, gauging your reaction to this position, and stays still until you nod your head softly. This time, he dives in hard and fast, mercilessly sucking and licking your clit. You cry out and throw your head back, your whole upper back falling over the railing. You can see the ocean with your head tipped all the way back, your chest heaving and glowing in the moonlight. The power and intensity of the ocean matches the way Danny is making you feel deep in your core. You can feel that coil tightening inside you as your orgasm builds. God, you feel fucking alive. Throwing all caution to the wind, you let your arms fall back, feeling the wind between your fingers before clenching your fists, your orgasm so close.

“I’m gonna cum, Danny! Oh-oh fuck, fuck, fuck!” you cry out as your entire body shakes around him. His tongue continues to lash mercilessly inside of you and you bury your hands in his curls, holding him as tightly to you as possible. You can hear how wet you are over the ocean's waves until suddenly you can’t hear anything at all. Everything goes silent as you gaze at the moon until it goes dark.

– – –

Danny is holding you in his arms, stepping through the doorway as you come to. You hear Hozier playing in the background, and it takes you a moment to realize where you are, but once you do you feel immediately embarrassed. “Oh my God. I am so so sorry,” you say, turning bright red as you try to escape his embrace.

“Will you stop that?” he asks with a chuckle. “Why do you keep apologizing? Do you know how fucking amazing that was for me?!”

“For you?!” you ask, incredulously, unable to stifle the laugh bubbling up from your chest.

“Hell yes! I thought I was going to cum just watching you. That was the sexiest, most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life!”

His boyish look of shock and bright smile on his face has you reeling. There’s no way this adorable 25 year old boy is the same angel (or possibly) devil that sent you over the edge just a moment ago, in more ways than one.

He lays you down on his bed and hovers over you, his elbows just above your shoulders as he cradles the crown of your head. His face is so angelic right now as he admires you. You lean up and kiss that little freckle just beneath his eye like you wanted to earlier that day. He chuckles and sweeps a piece of hair off your forehead, leaning down to kiss your cheeks and nose.

“So…how are you feeling?” he asks knowingly with a smirk, causing you to giggle.

“Pretty fucking good,” you reply, running your hands down his back, stopping at his rock hard ass and pressing down so you can feel his throbbing cock between your legs. Your eyes widen when you feel how thick he is causing him to blush and turn red. “Okay, your turn now,” you say eagerly, pressing him up and off of you.

“Wait! Just…hold on,” he says softly, laying you back down as he settles in next to you. “There’s no rush.”

“You sure about that,” you giggle nervously as you glance down at his rock-hard cock aching to get out of his tight jeans.

“I meant what I said earlier, and I won’t break a promise.” He leans in to softly place his hand on your throat, his thumb barely pressing on your pulse point. “I’m going to make you cum again, and I would like it if we could do it together, so just be here with me, okay?”

You’re melting under his touch and his gaze right now. You’ve actually never felt so desperate to get someone off in your life, you're practically salivating for him, but he kisses you deeply again, and you relax and sigh into his mouth, so content to just stay there for hours. He pulls you on top of him, but with no urgency. Just to reposition and savor you some more. His hands lazily run up and down your back and hips, every so often moving to your shoulders and collar bones. You don’t know how long the two of you stayed that way. Just contentedly tasting and feeling one another. You move off of him to lay by his side and slowly slide your hand down his stomach. Once you reach the waistband of his jeans you glance at him to make sure he is okay if you keep going. He nods and bites his lip as you sit up and undo the button of his jeans, shoving them down with his boxer briefs just enough for his cock to spring free. You can see how painfully hard he is right now, the soft tip of his cock purple and dripping with pre-cum. The sight of it turns you on and you feel a rush of heat in your core. Leaning over, you kiss him hard and fast as you slide your hand down to grasp his length, rubbing your thumb over the tip. He groans and holds your hand still, his brow furrowing. “No, not yet.”

“Yes, Danny. Now. I need to feel you inside of me right now. Please make me cum again. Please.” you beg, in between kisses that you can barely tear yourself away from.

He lets out an animalistic sort of grunt and flips you over on your back, hovering over you again. “You sure you’re ready?” he checks, his eyes going back and forth between years, searching for the answer.

“Yes, I’m fucking ready. Please I have to feel you,” you whine, gripping at his back and shoulders, trying to pull him down on top of you.

“How do you want me?”

“What?” you ask, confused. You just want him to feel good right now. You don’t care.

“I said, how do you want me? What makes you feel the best? Tell me and I’ll do it. Trust me, I’m going to get off either way, but I’m not sure exactly how long I can last, so tell me. How do you want me?”

His voice is so steady and sure. You’d never know how badly he is aching for release. You gently press him up and off of you again and silently move to the end of the bed, bending over and resting your elbows on the mattress. “Like this,” you say, as steadily as possible, gazing into his eyes. He jumps up and quickly pulls off his pants and underwear the rest of the way before walking over to his toiletry bag, pulling out a condom. You can hear him tear the wrapper and slide it on as he moves to stand behind you. You brace yourself, preparing for the stretch, but all you feel is a soft kiss on your shoulder and a gentle hand resting on the small of your back.

“Are you ready?” he whispers in your ear. You grind your ass against him in response. He lines himself up and slowly sinks into you, both of you moaning in response. Fuck. Yeah, it is definitely a stretch, but you are craving his release even more than yours, so you immediately start moving back against him, but he grips your hips tightly, holding you steady. His breathing is uneven and you realize he’s trying to keep it together and last long enough for you to cum.

“Fuck, you feel so much better than I even imagined,” he mutters under his breath and you smile to yourself, loving the way you’re making him feel. He slowly thrusts into you at a steady pace. You let him take the reins for a bit, until he starts to move faster. You match his pace and bounce back onto him, your bodies slapping together, the obscene sounds of his dick fucking into you filling the room. His whimpers and moans are the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard. Better than any song ever written. You can tell he’s getting close when his rhythm falters slightly and he reaches around to circle your clit, trying to coax another orgasm out of you. Your eyes widen in shock as you feel that coil again, tightening with each thrust, each circle of his finger. Your legs start to shake and you whimper and moan, matching his beautiful song.

“Danny, I-I think..I think I’m…” you try to speak between labored breaths, but you’re almost in shock at how quickly you’re about to get there.

“I know,” he says, his voice deep and raspy. “I can feel it.” He grits his teeth and closes his eyes, brows furrowed as he digs his fingers into your hip. His hand on your clit is starting to falter, so you replace his with yours. He grips your shoulder, pushing you back onto him hard and fast.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He repeats over and over, his voice getting higher with each word before his whimpers take over.

That does it. His pitiful whimpers and moans send you over the edge, and you cry out his name with choked out moans as you bury your face in the sheets, gripping them until your knuckles turn white. He falls down on top of you, breathing heavily on your back, drops of sweat dripping from his brow onto your shoulder. You don’t know how long you two stayed that way, slowly steading your breathing together, unable to move as he softens inside of you. After a while he pulls out of you gently, walking to the bathroom. He comes back out a moment later with a wet washcloth, offering it to you before stepping away again. You clean yourself up, shocked at how much of a mess there is even with him wearing a condom. Standing up, you head over to the balcony to gather your clothes before heading out.

“Are you leaving?” he asks, walking up to you and handing you a glass of water.

“Oh, well…I just thought-” you start.

“Stay. Please?” You get lost in his eyes for a moment, so enamored with him your heart aches as he grazes his knuckles along your cheek.

“Okay, yeah. I’d love to stay,” you smile sweetly.

You both lay back down in bed, the door to the balcony still open and the moonlight shining in after Danny turns the lamp off. You turn onto your side and he spoons you, reaching around to hold your hands against your chest.

“Thank you, Danny,” you whisper, feeling a little silly, but vulnerable at the moment. He thanked you, right?

“Oh, sweet girl. Trust me, the pleasure was all mine.”

He kisses your ear and within seconds the waves and rocking of the ship lull you off to sleep.

I hope you guys liked it! Chapter 4 may take a bit longer, but I'm so eager to continue with this story!

@dazeebean @spark-my-nature @smoking-jakelane @jakekiszkapunchmeintheface @geekgirlinthegreen

#how dare you #danny wagner #this is all i want #this man #holy shit #in spain without the s

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smoking-jakelane · 2 months

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Baby Daddy

(pc: to owner)

#jakedown #you can’t do this to me #it was a normal night till rn #aaaaaah #jake gvf #jake kiszka

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smoking-jakelane · 2 months

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The Jeremy Allen white reference got me like 🫠

Sparrow Of The Dawn : Chapter Five

Sam x Willa (Fem OC)

Warnings: Swearing, One mention of the word 'Daddy', mentions of boners? Mild accidental groping, light talk of spit kink if you squint, a lot of movie references, Jumpscare Warning: Jeremy Allen White, mentions of very minor injury, Girls Night (gender neutral term), guys being dudes, mentions of avoiding a car accident, fluff, and per usual Sam just being his usual self.

Word Count: 8k.

Author’s Note: Taco Bell IS on the boycott list and just included for entertainment purposes. Also, if you need help with figuring out which companies are on the boycott list you can download the “No Thanks” app to keep track!

Summary: Sam unfortunately finds himself in not so meet cute with Willa. Hopeful that he doesn't cross her path again; the world works in mysterious ways and not always in your favor.

That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings “Are you callin' me darlin', are you callin' me bird?”

‘If it weren’t for bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck at all’ is a phrase my grandfather repeated growing up. I feel that a little more deeply these days, especially when it comes to my truck. As I sit here, willing her to turn over every time I twist the key, I lose a bit more hope. I have got to get her looked at. I pull my phone from my back pocket and text the group chat, praying that someone is awake this early.

Me: Is anyone awake that loves me enough to drive me into work. Edith wont start again ☹️

Tweedle Dee 🦐: It’s your lucky day.

It only takes about ten minutes before Josh pulls up in his white Jeep truck, and I’ve never been more thankful that we all live so close.

“You look awfully dapper for 7:30 in the morning,” I remark, eyebrow cocked.

“And you are just a pair of cargo shorts away from being Steve Irwin, but you don’t hear me questioning you.” He retorts. Touche. “I thought I was dropping you off at the newspaper office?”

“You are, but we’re going to Wolfe’s Neck to take some nature photos for the assignment we’re working on. I’m meeting her at the office first.” Josh and I haven’t spoken much in the last few days; he’s always busy lately, working at the bar or devoid of his phone for hours, so I fill him in on the project.

“An incredible idea, Sammy. All hers, I assume?” He chides.

“Not.. all hers. I helped.” I speak a bit more defensively than I mean to.

“Convincing.”

“I did! We’re even using a couple of my film cameras because I’m so nice.” I further defend my stance.

He pulls up to the curb, effectively cutting our conversation short, thankfully, and I exit his car.

“Sam!” He yells jovially, and I turn around, his window fully unrolled. “Have a good day, Sammy Boy! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” He twists the dial on his stereo volume. The soundtrack of my suffering plays to the tune of ‘Barbie Girl’ by Aqua. I wave him ‘goodbye’ with a simple middle finger as he drives off. As I make my way back to the front door, there she is.

Birdie.

She greets me with, “I bet he’s a nightmare in the morning.”

“You have no idea.” I reach for the door, opening it for us both and letting her walk in first because I am a gentleman; however, I am still a pain in the ass. “Is it not too early in the morning for my voice today?”

“It's always far too early to hear your voice, Samuel.” She presses the button on the elevator and twists her shoulders toward me.

“How are we supposed to work together if you refuse to talk to me, huh?”

“It’s not like taking pictures requires conversation.” The sound of the elevator dinging catches our attention, and we both enter. Birdie reaches to press the correct floor button.

“How about,” I start, facing her and smirking with a cocked eyebrow, “we stop for coffee and breakfast, my treat? Since now, I don’t have to break the news to you that you have to drive.”

“You.. have my attention.” The elevator arrives, and we exit right, down the hallway, through the glass door, and past the reception desk. Sharon greets us warmly with a wave; she’s no Daisy, but she is lovely. Once we reach the cubicles, we separate, unloading our belongings on our own desks. Birdie looks good today. Her earth-toned Patagonia pullover fits snuggly, along with the black leggings on her legs. The tail ends of her brown bob poking out the bottom of her tan Carhartt beanie.

“I see you’ve dressed for the occasion.”

“Oh, uh yeah. I couldn’t exactly wear my Steve Maddens in the forest.” She stares down at the white socks and brown hiking boots I know are on her feet. “Where are we going, by the way? You never told me, just said, ‘I have a place.’”

“Wolfe’s Neck State Park, you been before?”

“Surprisingly, no. It’s on my list though.”

“It doesn’t open until 9, so we have a little bit of time to kill before we have to leave; it’s only a half-hour drive. Maybe forty-five or fifty with breakfast.”

“Did you wanna hit up Dunkies for breakfast?” she asks.

“Please, god no. They can never get my food right. I swear they have a secret vendetta against vegetarians.”

“I didn’t know you were a vegetarian. Is it an animals with faces thing?”

“Nah, Daniel, bet me fifty bucks I couldn’t do it. I never turn down a bet.” I sit down on my desk and cross my arms. Looking at her over the divider.

“How’d that turn out for you?”

“A new diet and fifty bucks richer,” I snicker.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

The trail I lead her down is not a very long one. I can hear her small feet padding behind me, breaking branches and rustling leaves in quick steps. She takes two to match my every one. I figured one of the shorter trails would work better for getting in and out with enough time to head back and finish our project.

“Ooooh, it's giving Twilight,” she beams, eyes huge with excitement.

I turn to follow her gaze toward the large, moss-covered rock wall. A few fallen, slimmer trees lay around the bottom. She runs over toward it.

“This is the skin of a killer, Bella.” Reenacting a scene from the movie. A movie I’ve definitely never seen. “I don’t care. You won’t hurt me.” she quotes dramatically, switching from Edward to Bella. She matches Bella’s awkward movements perfectly. It’s hard not to laugh, her head bobbing, arms flailing, jumping back and forth between spots for each character. I haven’t seen this side of her yet, A fun side. Who knew Birdie had it in her?

“You know I’ve never seen Twilight before.” I lie as I slip one strap off my shoulder and pull my bag around to the front of my body. Unzipping the compartment that has her camera in it, I pull it out and give it a wiggle. She walks over to meet me.

“Never had a girlfriend in high school who forced you to watch it?” she smiles, jokingly as she takes the camera from my hand and slips the strap around her neck, checking over her settings.

“Nope.” popping the ‘p’, “Never really dated til I got to college.” I take out my own camera.

“Aw got no game huh?” She makes a mocking frown at me as we walk down the trail.

“Got no game, huh?” I mimic her. Way to go, Sammy. Wicked come back. That’ll teach her.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

We take our time, snapping photos as we go until we reach the water. It's beautiful here. Large formed rocks surround the lake that makes up an amazing scenic view. The sunshine only adds to the effect. It's breathtaking every time. I can’t believe she’s never been here before. We slowly walk up to the edge of the water. She finds little crevices that the water runs through. In her continued child-like wonder she can’t help but kneel down to run her fingers through it, picking up small rocks to inspect before dropping them back into the tiny flowing river. The sun’s rays bounce off the water, the reflection a bit blinding, but I’ll take it on a day like today. It sparkles off the waves created by the small gusts of wind, which keeps me comfortable, but I notice the little shivers that run through her shoulders. Despite the minimal clouds in the sky, the sun isn’t strong enough to truly warm you from within this time of year.

I watch as Birdie steps onto one of the taller rock formations. She brings the camera to her eye, the clicking sound pleasantly mixed with the sound of all the petite rivers running nearby. She drops her camera and tilts her face toward the sun, eyes closed, taking in the warmth from the sunshine above. She looks as peaceful as it feels out here. I snap a photo of her. She brings her arms out as if she's standing at the head of the Titanic; I snap another one. That is what Maine is about, the simplistic beauty of being with nature. Any time of year, any weather. Just enjoying the feeling of connecting to nature. Water, trees, rocks, sunshine. All of it. Always.

I’m so lost in thoughts of her and home I don’t notice her suddenly standing in front of me.

“Earth to Samuel.” She sing-songs, fingers waving in front of my face.

I shake my head, willing my brain to focus on the task at hand. “Yeah, what.”

“Can I put this in your bag?” She’s holding a rock. A damp, white-ish looking rock clutched between her delicate fingers.

“Uh, sure?” I’m very confused. I open a compartment, and as she places the rock inside, she shivers again. I guess it is chilly despite the day’s sunshine. It's still March after all, though I’m not a great gauge for temperature because I run warm.

“Are you cold, Birdie?” I question.

She scrunches her nose in response. I fight with the thought of how cute that is. “I’ll be fine,” she dismisses. “I’m always cold.”

“Here, take my scarf. I’m hot anyway.” Pulling my scarf from around my neck.

She immediately gives me a side-eye.

“It’s.. not gonna bite, Birdie?” I tease her with a little wave of the scarf.

“Not my name,” she scrunches her nose again, apprehensively reaching out to grab it. “Biting I'm not worried about. It being magically cursed into strangling me when I least suspect it, on the other hand.” She tosses her hands back and forth like an invisible set of scales. Her hands work intently as she folds the scarf in half and places it around her neck, taking the ends through the loop and pulling it tight.

“What am I? Harry Potter?” I scoff.

She lets out a cackle. “Not even remotely. More like Lucius Malfoy.” She raises an eyebrow at me.

“Wow, straight to Lucius. Not even Draco, huh? Yeah, I guess I am Daddy.” I stop in my tracks as I watch her pluck another rock from the tiny river leading out toward the water.

“Ew. God, no.” Her infectious laugh hits me right in the gut.

“See, Lucius was evil.” She stands, and her eyes give me a once over before placing the rock in my hand, presumably to be put in my bag with the other one. “Draco had a good heart even if he was a little chicken. Plus,” raising her pointer finger, “he was hot. And you are neither of those things.” She turns back to the small river of flowing water.

My mind flashes back to the other night at the bar, where she’s sitting with her friend. “No, you’re right, Wilson. Sam IS cute.” Replaying in my head.

“Oh, really?” my mischievous side coming out to play. I step toward her.

“Mhmm.”

“OH, REALLY??” I repeat louder, taking another step. She stands to face me.

“YES,” she says pointedly.

I smile wide, now looking down at her.

“That’s not what your friend said the other night.” I bite my lip, tilting my head to the side and running my hand along my jawline. I watch as her eyes follow my movement, a fire lighting behind them. I know I’ve gotten under her skin by calling her out.

She raises both of her eyebrows, this time taking a step toward me to fully bridge the gap between us. Nearly chest to chest, nose to nose, she says, “Wow, I’m actually shocked you were able to pull your head out of your ass long enough to hear someone speak besides yourself.”

I chuckle, running my tongue along my teeth. “I don’t hear you denying it. Go on, you can say it. You think I’m hot.”

“And why would I need to deny such a clearly false statement, Samuel?” Confusion etched across her face. “You know, when you come up for air, usually you can hear better. You should try it sometime.”

“So, that’s not what I heard, huh? ‘You’re right, he IS really cute.’ ? Your friend never said that?”

“No, you didn’t. Because no, they didn’t.” She huffs. I pick up on the use of ‘they.’

“Right, right.” I nod my head. “So, do they frequently lie to embarrass you?” a silent acknowledgment between us.

She pulls out her phone, tapping away.

“Whaaaat are ya doing?” I question her clear deflection.

“Just looking to see if there is a quick care clinic open on our way home because, obviously, you need to have your ears checked out,” She pockets her phone. “Can we continue, please?” A swift eye roll follows as she turns to walk back toward the little river.

“Wait, wait, wait,” a breathy chuckle falling from my lips. “If it's not you who thinks I’m cute. Then it must be your friend, right?” She opens her mouth to try to cut me off before I even get started, but, “So, can I have their number then?” slips out before she can manage. I relish in the fact that I know I’m bothering her.

“No, no. Absolutely not.”

“Wow, for being Birdie, you’re not much of a wing-woman, are you?”

“First off, they would hate you. Second off, what makes you think I’d ever be your wing-woman. And THIRD-OFF, that’s not my name.”

I feel a bit of satisfaction and a warm swell of my belly when her nose scrunches in distaste.

I wander off back toward the trail we came down, keeping my gaze pointed toward the opening in the trees. Trying to focus in between the little gaps for anything interesting or photo-worthy. The leaves are not quite growing yet, and the ground still wet with leftover melted snow. I can hear the squish of the damp soil with every step I take. The lead into spring is probably my favorite time of year. Most people enjoy the summer because the weather is nice and warm and the surrounding cities are alive with tourists and events. But those moments of fresh life leading into spring show you that despite the dark coldness of the winter, you can still grow and bloom into beautiful potential. The hope of it all, to come out the other end of the darkness to greet the sunshine, is why it's such a valued season to me.

Just then, Birdie comes padding over to me with two more rocks in her hands.

“Sam, I found more.” She calls on her way over. I, once again, pull my bag to the front, and she opens a pocket, attempting to deposit the rocks herself.

“No, not there, I have a lens in there.” I zip it back up and choose a different one. “Try this one.” As she’s trying to fit the larger of the two in there, something clicks inside my brain.

“You’re one of those girls, aren’t you?”

“One of what?” Her brows are knit in frustration when she realizes the rock is too big. She picks another, thankfully empty, pocket.

“One of those girls that sits around with her crystals and her tarot and her moon water.” I chide.

Her hands stop what they are doing and she slowly looks up at me, eyes narrowing. “How do you know about moon water?”

“It’s a long story.” I shake my head and sidestep the comment so I don’t have to talk about ‘she who shall not be named’. “You know my brother is into all that shit. He’s got crystals all over the place.”

“The brother that owns the bar or the one with the mustache?”

“Uhh.. both of my brothers have a mustache.”

“You sure about that.” She smirks. Oh, they’re both gunna just looove that. “Actually, why don’t you give him my number since we seem to actually have things in common.”

“No.” immediately denying her. “If you refuse to be my wing-woman. I refuse to be your wingman. No way.”

“Fine then, at least make yourself useful and find some space to fit this in your bag.” Flashing the rock, she couldn’t fit before.

“Seriously, how many more of these do you need, Birdie? My bag is getting heavy.”

“How about you hold this one.” She pulls a small crystal from her bra, and drops it into my open hand. “It’s good for grounding. Maybe it’ll help center you. Woo sah, Sam. Woo Sah.”

Very funny.

I offer to drive the way home and now I’m curled uncomfortably in the driver's seat of Birdie’s car. Partly to get warm again and partly because of the intense growling of my stomach.

“We should stop for lunch before we head into the office,” I suggest.

“Where?” She pulls out her phone, searching for options.

“Is there a Taco Bell nearby?”

“You can eat at Taco Bell? I wouldn’t think a Mexican food place would be vegetarian friendly.”

“Taco Bell is hardly Mexican, but you can sub almost anything out for beans. Plus, I’m craving a crunchwrap.”

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We pull up to the drive-through speaker, and I place my order. “I’ll have a cravings box with a black bean crunchwrap supreme, a spicy potato taco, and cheesy fiesta potatoes, and a Large Dr. Pepper, please.” Her eyes are boring holes into the side of my skull as I pull out my card to pay. I scrunch my face in question.

“Nothing.” is all she says.

She leans over the center console to place her order, elbows perched and ass off the seat. I know she’s trying to be able to project her voice from across the car, but she is so close. I shrink back into my seat to try and give her space, but I can't escape her sweet floral perfume. Oh, she smells so good. I close my eyes, reveling in the mixture of orange blossoms and vanilla as it clouds my brain.

“I’ll have two soft taco supremes and a medium Baja Blast, please.” She plops her ass back in her seat, “Ready?”

I open my eyes again. “Yep.”

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I hand the cashier my card and receive the receipt and we pull up to the second window. She is staring at me again with the most unpleasant face.

“Okay, what gives. Why are you looking at me like that?”

The worker opens the window and hands us our order. Birdie's own customer service voice shining through her ‘thank you so much!’ Unwrapping our straws and sticking them in our respective drinks while I slowly pull away from the building. I reach for my Dr. Pepper and take a large, satisfying gulp.

“How can you possibly drink that?”

“A Dr. Pepper?”

“Yes! It's like.. Against the law in at least 22 states to not order Baja Blast when you go to Taco Bell.” she quips.

“Oh, you’re not gunna like this.” I pause.

She stares intently.

I take a deep breath in and exhale slowly, “I.. don’t.. Like Baja Blast.”

She stares some more. This time, the brown of her eyes barely peeking through the thin space between her eyelids.

“Dr. Pepper just hits better.” I shrug.

“We- Are not friends.” Turning back to the food in her lap.

“Consider it one of my 19 crimes,” mumbling around a bite of my lunch.

“Every sip is a little act of warfare, Sam.” She argues a bit further down the road. “I cannot believe you would commit such.. Such TREASON in my own car.” Her hands wave theatrically in front of her.

“Oh, you’re a Queen now, are you?”

“It is my car, so if I say I’m the Queen of my car, then I’m the Queen of my car. And I rule that drinking Dr. Pepper is an act of treason.” She crosses her arms, chin raised high, a playful smirk sitting on her plush, chapstick-covered lips.

I laugh, a good, full-bellied laugh. She’s fun when she wants to be. When she’s not being so combative.

“I’m so sorry, Your Grace,” I respond and enthusiastically take a bite of my spicy potato taco. She rolls her eyes at me.

“How much food did you order?”

“What? I’m a growing boy!” I argue.

As soon as I take another bite, chipotle sauce comes out the bottom and lands right in my lap. “Oh shit!” I once again say around my food. She starts to rummage through the bag for some napkins. When she finds one, I reach my hand out to take it, but she bypasses me completely, leaning right over the center console with her head nearly in my lap, hands working to try and get the sauce out before it stains.

That’s how I ended up praying to the Gods above that I don’t accidentally pop a boner while she cleans up my crotch. What have I done to deserve this?

“It’s fine. It’s not on the seat. It’s just on your pants. Hold on.” I squirm under the pressure of her fingers as she tugs to flatten out the fabric of my khakis to make sure she gets it all.

“It's fine, Birdie. Birdie!” raising my voice to catch her attention, to no avail. “I can take care of it when we get back. Or we can stop off at my apartment, and I can change.” I plead, desperately wishing for this to be over.

“I almost got it. Stop moving!” I glance down as she slaps my thigh. Holy shit. She licks the napkin then and I swear I see Jesus in the middle of the freeway. I press the brakes to slow down to avoid a collision. Trying my best to focus on the road ahead, but instead, now all I can think about is her spit on my dick. Oh God. My eyes go wide as soon as the thought crosses my mind, and my dick definitely twitches.

Oh, don’t go there. Not now. Think Sam, Think. Grandma Althea. Her house is old and smells like moth balls. Her hands are always dry from all the fabric she touches because she’s always sewing something. She coughs really loud and wet because of the cigarettes she smokes. I breathe a heavy sigh of relief when Birdie sits up. She clears her throat, “I uh think it should be all set.”

We drive the rest of the way back to the office in silence. I really hope she didn’t notice. But then again, I do have terrible luck.

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When I walk into the dark room, Birdie is already in there; the red lights casting a glow on her that reminds me of the first time she walked into my brother’s bar. Though now she’s rifling through the lower shelves.

“Whatcha lookin’ for?”

“I uhh, I haven’t developed film since college. Tryna find some instructions.” Her ass in the air as she continues her search.

“I don’t have nine film cameras for nothing, Birdie. I know how to develop film I can help.”

She stands and faces me, the uncomfortable expression on her face taking on a completely different view under the light. I wish I knew her well enough to know why she’s so uncomfortable.

I get us set up with our film canisters and developing mixture while she grabs the rolls of film from my bag. We each carefully cut the film off the cassette. I try to focus on what I’m doing instead of how our fingers gently brush each other while loading the film onto the reel. I pour the developing mixture into each canister while she watches on.

“We have to shake them every, like thirty seconds for a few minutes, and then we can do the stop bath,” I instruct her, and she nods.

Her small, delicate hands hold the rather large container as she shakes it back and forth. “Like this?” She questions, her brow furrowed. And.. I am only a man. Staring too closely at the motion of her hands, I freeze. For christ’s sake Sam. Be normal for 5 seconds. As I clear my throat to answer, I drop my canister. In her attempt to help me we end up crashing our heads together.

“OW.” “Oh Fuck.” We mumble at the same time. I feel around for the edge of the counter and end up knocking the other film canisters into the sink.

“For fuck’s sake,” I whine. I reach to grab those, and Birdie bends down to grab the one I dropped. And, it is so dark in here she ends up ramming her head right into my junk.

“Fuck!” I yell. At the rate we’re both complaining, I’m sure they think we’re trying to fuck. If only I were that lucky. Instead, I now need to ice my goods.

I hold my breath, willing the pain to stop.

“Sorry.” her apology is small.

A strained “It’s fine” tumbles from my lips.

We continue awkwardly fumbling around each other, trying to make sure the rest of the containers stay properly agitated, and instead, she gets properly agitated. If this was a cartoon, I’m positive that steam would be coming out of her ears.

“It’s too small in here; you are far too large, and it's too dark.” She huffs.

“I don't know what to tell you, Birdie. It’s a darkroom, and I cannot get any smaller.”

“That’s not my fucking name.” Angrily, setting down the container with a loud thud.

We add the stop bath and then the fixer, making sure to keep a good distance from each other, and then finally rinse and soak the film.

When we hang the film up to dry, I realize I have about a foot on her.

“Need me to get you a stool, shortie? Or should you just hop on, and I could lift you up.” A cocky smirk spreads across my lips.

“Nah, you’re the man you could do the heavy lifting,” she makes air quotes around ‘heavy lifting’.

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Once they’re fully dry, I gather the film strips and bring them to the lightbox. Scooting our stools close and setting each strip up one by one to see the negatives of our photos. Shooting nature is one of my favorite things but Birdie really does have an incredible eye for it. Of course, I’d never tell her that because she would hold it over my head. Our styles are very different, which is clear to see lined up next to each other, but they still look amazing together.

“These.. Are really great, Birdie.” I smile down at her and bump her with my shoulder gently. Her face softens a bit and I can’t help but think how beautiful she looks. I am a man- I’m not blind.

“The hard part is choosing the best ones. It feels like choosing my favorite children.” Her infectious laugh plays through my ears, and I smile back.

We take some time discussing which ones have the best lighting or the best proportions. Which ones we think will make great features and finally settle on eight ‘prized children’ to print. The other eight photos selected for our presentation will be digitally edited and printed outside of the darkroom, making at least half of this project easy. At least the editing and printing we can do from the comfort of our homes in our PJs. Which is exactly what I will be doing after I see Daniel for dinner.

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We settle back in the dark room using the projectors to print our respective photos. I don’t know what’s in the air today because I keep messing up. Either exposing for too long or too short and I keep running back and forth between the developing tray and my projector to try to correct it. On one of my passes, I run smack into Birdie. In my effort to stop the collision, I put my one unoccupied hand out to cushion the momentum and ended up grabbing her boob instead. For fucks sake. How does this shit keep happening?

I pause, slowly backing away. She just heavily sighs.

“Well.” She brushes her hands off and adjusts her beanie. “That’s the most action I’ve had in a minute.”

Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “Is that why you’re such a tight ass?”

“No, I have,” she emphasizes, “such a tight ass because I do squats.” And now I’m thinking about her in tight gym pants doing squats.

“Well, if you ever need help loosening up a bit, you know who to call.”

“Jeremy Allen White?”

“Who?” I match her confused expression.

“Oh, you know, he was in Shameless. The bear?” her brow further knits each second that passes. “He just had that big ad campaign for Calvin Klein?” Calvin Klein? As in.. models. Cool. First Edward, then Draco, now.. models.

“Yes, because I definitely seem like the kind of guy who keeps up with Calvin Klein campaigns.” Really trying to drive the point home with a snarky tone.

“Oh..” I try to read the expression on her face before she continues, “I just thought because of you.. You know, actually know how to dress yourself.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“You shouldn’t. Your competition is the genre of men who pick up a shirt off the floor and go, ‘yeah, this smells clean’.” She stands on her tiptoes as she hangs her last photo and then promptly exits the darkroom.

A few minutes later, she returns through the circular door. It always reminds me of something a magician would have on stage. A weird sort of contraption to ensure the light stays out and doesn’t ruin the developing process for those inside.

“Sam.” her voice is quiet again, just above a whisper. I look up at her and can barely make out her petite frame in the dark. She’s just standing, a strip of film pinched between her fingers, head hung low.

She continues just as quietly, “Did you.. Um. When did you take these?” The realization hits me. I forgot about the pictures of her.

“Oh. Uhh. You were just.. Ya know in your element. And I sorta thought. Well, this is a big part of what Maine is like. Ya know. Outside, nature. You just seemed.. Happy. Thought it should be captured..” I trail off. Oh God, she’s gonna think it's weird. It's not weird, though, right? No, Sam, it's fine.

The length of silence kills me. The longer she doesn’t talk the more I start to internally freak out. As if being a naturally warm-blooded person wasn’t bad enough, I feel myself start to sweat. I wipe my forehead of the perspiration gathering there and grab at my wrists for a hair tie, of which is conveniently missing at this moment. Please say something… please.

“This.. um.” she pauses, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath. “They’re lovely, Sammy. Thank you.”

Sammy.

“Yeah.. yeah. You’re welcome.” I shift my focus back to my photo.

“So, uh.. Anyways,” she says, calling my attention back to her. “Since we’re printing the photos here and we’re editing the digital ones at home, you can just email me the finished ones when you’re done, and we can talk about the bullet points we’ll go over for the presentation.” She turns on the projector light until she gets the desired contrast, and then turns it off and carries her photo to the developer bin. I grab my own photo and walk over to meet her, dropping it in the solution to join hers. She idly uses the tongs to move her photo around the bin to help the developing process. Just like shaking a Polaroid picture, it doesn’t really work; it only passes the time.

“That sounds good, Birdie.” I reach to grab the other set of tongs and end up blindly bumping her arm in the process, knocking hers to the ground. She bends down to retrieve them, and I set my sights on a different pair of tongs to my left. Two things happen at once. First, I bend slightly to reach the other pair. Second, she headbutts my ass. That’s two parts of me she has head-butted today.

“We’ve touched more today than I ever thought we would in this lifetime.” She groans.

“Think about us touching often, huh?” because I can’t help but try to get under her skin every chance I get.

“Why are you like this?” she complains. She tosses the tongs back on the counter and goes to fish the photo out with her fingers. I lunge to stop her, but I’m too slow.

Now, it’s definitely not life-threatening to handle photo-developing chemicals without gloves. But they are, at the end of the day, chemicals and can sting like a bitch if you have opened wounds. Given how clumsy she is, I anticipate –

“Ouch, FUCK!” she yells, cradling her hand. I grab her by the wrist and shimmy us over to the sink, where I turn the water on cold. When the temperature is cool enough, I pull her finger under the running water.

“That was stupid of you.” I gently scold her. There’s no weight behind my words, just concern.

“How stupid, Sam? I didn’t realize I had a cut. Is it bad? Do I need to see a doctor?” She rattles off.

“Hey, hey, hey.” I leave one hand on her wrist, keeping it in place under the faucet, the other one I place on her cheek. Settling in the crook of her neck beneath her ear. The palm of my hand burns against her cool skin; she really is always cold. Despite the darkness of the room I still pull her gaze to meet mine. “Calm down, okay? You’re fine, I promise. A little stupid, maybe. But you’re fine.” I rub my thumb along her cheekbone, hoping to soothe her worries. I can barely make out her eyelids as they flutter closed for a moment and then open again.

“You promise?” I can feel the anxiety radiating off her.

“I’d pinky promise if you wanted me to.” I joke, and she lets out a small giggle. Pride settles in my chest, knowing a crisis is averted.

“God, that was stupid.” she laughs again and rests her forehead against my chest.

“Lil bit.” I shake my head and slide my hand down to rub her back. Part of me doesn’t want to move from this spot, knowing she's comforted, but I ruin the moment anyway. I pull back from her, hand resting on her shoulder now.

“Lesson learned, huh?”

She zips the top portion of her Patagonia pullover a little higher when we make it outside. I pull out my phone to see who is available to be my chauffeur home.

“Did you need a ride home, Sam?” She asks, pulling her collar up to her ears. The ends of her hair start to stick out.

“I was just going to see which brother was a spare and could swing by.” I drop my eyes back to my phone.

“I can give you a ride home if you want? I know you’re not too far out of my way, I can just.. Drop you off?” placing her foot on the next step down and pointing toward the parking lot.

“You don’t have to do that. None of them do anything productive anyway.” I laugh.

“Do you have more than just the two?” I bite my lip and smile when her brow furrows in confusion.

“No, but you know Daniel? The bouncer? We went to grade school together so he’s been my best friend since we were like six. He's basically a brother at this point. Ya know, brotha from anotha motha.” Her gentle laugh bringing forth another swirl in my belly.

“Oh, I was about to say. I’m not sure the world could realistically handle any more of you Kiszkas.” She says when we finally reach the sidewalk.

“Yeah, they broke the mold with me. Realized I was peak Kiszka genes and said, ‘all done’.”

“Seriously though, I can give you a ride. It’s no big deal.”

I fall in step with her, “Why not? None of my degenerate brothers are answering me anyway.”

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The drive back to my apartment is quiet. Almost too quiet for us. The awkwardness of the day still lingering in the air. I clear my throat to cut the silence, but I can’t think of anything to say to fill it. I just fidget with my fingers instead.

“How are you getting to Boston tomorrow?”

“Uhm, well, the plan was to ride the train in like I did last time, but Edith almost made me miss it.”

“Edith. Right. Your truck.”

“She’s having trouble turning over.” I run a hand through my hair.

“Well, I don’t want to have to worry about you missing your train and messing up this presentation for us by not being there, so i'll pick you up at like 6 a.m. if that’s fine with you.”

“You don’t have to do that. I told you I live close to my brothers. I'm sure one of them can take me.”

“It’s really fine. I have to make the drive anyway and I really want this presentation to go off without a hitch. It would make me feel better if I knew for sure you’d be there.”

I don’t read into that sentiment. She just wants the project to be successful, and I know that. So I agree, much to my dismay. I hate feeling like a burden to people, and with Edith giving me trouble, I feel pretty much like a burden to everyone who has to deal with me.

When we reach my apartment, she pulls over to the sidewalk out front.

“Why don’t you put your number in my phone, and I’ll text you when I leave my apartment. I’m only like ten minutes away.” She pulls her phone out from the center console near her gear shift, and I put my contact info in. Entering my phone number and email under Sammy Kiszka with the camera emoji.

“I put my email in there so you can flag it, but shoot me a text with yours when you get home so I know where to send the digitals.” I place her phone back in her palm. “Thanks again for.. carting me around.” I let out an awkward laugh and scratch the back of my neck.

“No problem, see you in the morning,” she gives me a tight-lipped smile.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” I grab my camera bag and hop out of her car. Shutting the door with a small wave through the window.

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When I hear the signature knock, I know Daniel’s arrived. Two quick knocks, a pause, a single knock, another pause, and ending with two quick knocks. I don’t know when he developed that habit, but he only uses it on my door. Penelope lets out a loud boof of a bark and runs ahead of me, her shaggy hair swaying with her little jumps. Well, little for Pen. When I open the door, she’s already sniffing and pawing at his legs.

“I brought beer.” He says as he holds up the 12-pack of coronas, careful not to trip around her. “Hope you got limes.”

“It’s me. Of course, I do.” Gesturing to myself and stepping aside to let him in, “Plus, I have an extra large meat-lovers pizza on the way.” I resist the urge to make a joke about ‘meat-lovers and guys night.’ “So.. tell me what’s wrong.” I continue, following him into my kitchen. He's stacking the beers one by one inside the fridge to keep cold, Penelope impatiently waiting for her attention from her favorite uncle. Her words not mine. I can tell by the expression on his face he’s struggling with whatever is on his mind. He closes the refrigerator door and shrugs off his coat, setting it on a nearby chair.

“Hello, Penny girl. I wouldn’t forget about you, I promise.” She laps at his fingers as he playfully pets her face. Still reaching for her head as he stands, he takes a deep breath. “I, uhh, went on a date last night..”

“Still living up to your name, I see. How was it? Awful? Terrible? Did she have a big head or lipstick on her teeth?”

“Very funny.” He snarks back. “It was terrible, thank you very much.”

Eventually, I get the full story out of him. His date, named Allie, a very adorable waitress he met through a friend of a friend, was completely horrible (pleasant), didn’t let him pay (she wanted to split the bill because her drink was expensive and she felt bad), and.. the kicker? She opened the door for him (she got to the door first). We’re each two slices and a few beers deep, and I can’t figure out where the awful comes in.

“She sounded completely fine, Daniel. I don’t get it?” I lean back against the couch, Penny quietly snoring by my feet.

“She ordered a salad, Sam.” he looks at me expectantly as if that answers everything. “A SALAD!”

“Oh no. A salad. How completely terrible of her.” I roll my eyes.

“I.. want a girl who isn’t afraid of eating a burger.” he shrugs, drawing a sip of his corona and lime.

“Do you want me to be honest with you?” I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes in frustration.

“Always.”

“Bro.. you have got to get over Melody.”

He stands, effectively scaring Pen awake, and I watch him pace back and forth in front of my TV. She pads over to him, nails clicking against the hardwood until she can get her paws on him.

“This has nothing to do with her.” He stops and reaches down to run his fingers through her fur for some comfort through this uncomfortable topic.

The subject of Melody has always been a touchy one. He dated her in high school, and we were all pretty good friends for most of our childhood. I really liked her for him, actually. Until she broke his heart when we all graduated and ran off to college, leaving him in the dust and I was the one who was left to clean up the mess. The mess being Daniel because he was.. A full blown mess. He would never admit that, though. But what can you expect when you get your heart broken for the first time? I kind of get it. He has always been and always will be my brother, and I’ll always be there for him. No matter what. Which naturally means I’ll always harbor a severe distaste for her, even if I know I don’t have to worry about seeing her ever again.

“This has everything to do with her. You haven’t been able to make it past the first day with a girl since you broke up. It’s been what? six years?” I shoot him a pointed glare. He stops pacing and crosses his arms, waiting for whatever else I have to say.

“Have you considered that trying to get to know someone while eating food is actually incredibly awkward? Or is this really just about the monstrous salad?”

“She also wanted to go for a walk after dinner.” He defends. The sigh I let out.. My God. “Why would I wanna go for a walk when I stand all day at work?”

He cannot be serious right now. The weakest arguments known to man.

“You’re an active guy, Daniel. Why wouldn’t you want to go for a walk? Doesn’t Linda always go on about your golf arms or whatever?”

“No, that’s completely different, and you know Linda is the love of my life.” he smiles wide, his tongue poking out just beyond his teeth.

“Right. So what other red flags did she have?” I dig a little more.

“Okay, well, she tried to kiss me?”

“GASP.” I feign shock. “She wanted to kiss you? How very dare she. Daniel, that’s absolutely insane. It’s not like you guys went out on a date or anything.”

“I don’t wanna talk about this anymore.” he plops himself back down on the couch beside me, his shadow following him until she perches her head on his knee. I swear, when he’s here, it's like I don’t exist. “Tell me about poking girl. How’s that going?” He lays his head back and pulls his trucker hat down over his eyes.

“Good. Project is good. I still can’t ever tell if she likes me or not. We bicker and banter all day long. It’s entertaining as hell for me. Then, there are some moments where she acts like a sweet, normal girl. But most of the time, it's just bickering.” I take a swig of my beer. “I gave her a nickname to get under her skin, and she makes this face every time I say it. It's very.. Samantha from Bewitched.” I swallow my laugh down with another sip.

“Whaddya call her?” he asks with a smirk, eyes poking out from underneath the brim.

“Birdie.”

“Birdie? Why on earth does that get under her skin?”

“Dunno.” I shrug. “But it does. And I take sick enjoyment out of irritating the fuck out of her.” I set my empty beer back down on my coffee table.

A maniacal laugh escapes him. Clutching stomach, he bends forward. I start to wonder if he got high before he came over because what the hell is so funny?

“Oh god.” He wipes a tear from his eye and rights himself on the couch. “So you think she’s cute, huh?”

“I mean.. I.. have eyes, yeah?” I answer with confusion heavily present in my tone. “But we don’t get along. As in cannot go five minutes without bickering, don’t get along.”

“You always did like em’ psychotic, Sam. None of us are stupid.” he chuckles.. to himself because I am not laughing.

“No, I don’t!”

“Right, and Chelsea was what? Totally normal? You didn’t listen to a single one of us on that one, and we all told you.” I forgot about her. The girl I dated right before ‘she who shall not be named.’ We saw each other for only a few months but what a whirlwind it was. We went to a concert an hour away, and she ran off with one of the roadies. A fricken roadie? Left me there to get home by myself, considering, yep, she drove. But again, she was hot, so what was I to do?

“Hey now! She wasn’t.. that bad.” I say innocently.

“Right, that’s what you always say. Sam – I never take advice from anyone – Kiszka.”

“Yeah, alright, keep laughing. As if I’d take advice from ‘One Date Daniel’.” I elbow him in my defense. “Besides, I’m not sure I have much to worry about. Once the project is over, I won’t have to see her again unless we actually do well.”

I get up and head to the kitchen to retrieve another beer from the fridge, and my own dog doesn’t even glance up at me. She just rests peacefully by Daniel’s side. I open the drawer to the left and pick up the bottle opener, and pop the top. I take a long drink before I reenter the living room.

“I uhh, actually the receptionist at the Boston Globe is really cute. Her name is Daisy. We hit it off a bit when I was there last.” I point to the flowers laid on the shelf. “I stopped by the farmer’s market after work and picked up some daisies. Thought I might ask her out tomorrow.”

“Daisies for Daisy. Real creative, Sam.”

“Hey!”

“How’s Birdie gonna feel about that?” he inquires. I pick up the flowers from where they rest and give them a light sniff.

“Oh, she’ll hate it. She already chirped me about hitting on Daisy last time we were there. Said something about ‘it's easier watching teenagers flirt.’ or whatever.” I set them back down and take up my spot on the couch.

“Yeah, you never did have any game.” He tips his corona back, finishing the remaining liquid and setting it on the coffee table.

“You say that like your game is any better.” I shove his shoulder.

“I may be ‘One Date Daniel,’ but at least I get dates.” he chides, linking his fingers together with a crack of his knuckles in front of him and placing them behind his head.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Chapter Four

Chapter Six

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

Text

There we go friends. Amazing chapter 🤍

Jake Kiszka x Narrator & Sam Kiszka x OC.

Chapter Three

Summary: The Jones Family are new additions to the sleepy community of Beech Run. A tight knit scattering of rural houses, where everyone knows everyone. Deeply religious and overbearingly strict, the daughters of the family are kept under lock & key by a fanatical Father and submissive Mother. They watch from bedroom windows as their neighbours, The Kiszkas, draw intense curiosity and desire to be free. Madness of youth , hope & obsession collide to bring the danger of forbidden love to poetic ends. (Era A/U)

Warnings: Religious/ Parental trauma. Penetrative p/v sex.

Summer 1984

The stones always hit the glass after midnight. In the hours where the world seemed to be at it's most quiet. And I would lie awake counting down the minutes, the ticking of the clock on the wall mocking me as it appeared to tick backwards. My hair braided in anticipation, a pair of linen shorts and a blouse under the covers where my pyjamas should have been.

I was a creature of the night, now. Nocturnal. Simmering during the day under a canvas of wanting, letting the sun paint my skin darker and my hair lighter. Staring at him from the front yard as he watered the plants which lined his driveway. I could have had everything taken from me. But not those stolen glances. Those were mine to keep and cherish and I'd have had my eyes gouged out before I ever stopped looking at him.

Ours was a quiet love. With a temperament much more muted than that which unfolded between my sister and Jake's brother. Theirs was unapologetic and a threat to every shred of my Father's control. It didn't wait until the midnight hours, it fornicated in the afternoon when they thought nobody was looking.

Catching kisses at the side of Sam's house as soon as Dad's car pulled out of the drive. My Mother fretting on the porch steps, wringing her hands in her pinafore as Jolene skipped across the gravel towards the Kiszka house. Every word of warning left unheeded.

The way that we loved them was like two sides of the same coin. Hers a tempest and mine a breeze, and yet I knew that somehow we were both locked in something we couldn't escape. And the way that they loved us in return was just as belligerent. Just as forthright and never sorry.

"You better hurry." I insisted, keeping the blanket tightly wrapped around me until Dad had done his nightly checks. "Or you'll be climbing out the window in your night gown."

Jolene was sitting up in bed. Her lamp glowing as she turned the page of a book I knew she wasn't really reading.

"I'm not coming with you tonight." She said soberly, without lifting her gaze.

Her usual impatience at winding down the hours until she could be with Sam again was usually a bubbling cauldron. I shot her a look of confusion from across the room, waiting for her to notice. And when she finally gave credence to it, she rolled her eyes.

"It's different for you and Jake." She sighed. "It's still a secret. Sam and I have to move differently."

"You do well to be more like Jake and I." I pointed out, falling to silence as our bedroom door clicked open.

He walked in as if our space had never been sacred. As if this room wasn't the graveyard of a young girl's hopes and dreams. Desecrating it just by stepping inside with his hands in his pockets and his collar neatly folded over his signature blue sweater.

"It's late, Jolene." He scolded. "Lights out."

"Yes, Dad." She replied without argument, placing her book page down on the nightstand before switching off her lamp.

I pretended to be asleep. Letting my chest rise and fall the way it did in slumber. Keeping my eyes clamped shut, hoping he would bypass me and just close the door behind him.

"I am the all seeing eye, remember that." He said prophetically, with an air of dominance that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I was relieved when he plunged the room into darkness. Leaving only his tyrannical echo for me to let fester in my thoughts. I didn't know much about hate. But I knew that I hated him, in every way a person could hate. I knew that I wouldn't care if anything terrible happened to him. Nor would I stand and weep at his grave.

"The all seeing eye." I mocked, pushing off my blanket. "Can't see what's right under his nose."

She watched me construct my blanket and comforter into a make-shift image of myself asleep underneath. Careful not to turn her lamp back on too quickly, even though I could hear Dad's footsteps descend the stairs.

"You're really not coming with me?" I asked, the sound of gravel at the window breaking a mounting silence.

"It's different for me and him." She continued, a rueful smile on her face, something I would come to regret not questioning her further on. "Dad doesn't watch you like he watches me. He thinks your penance was done. He still thinks I am a whore for having the audacity to love the boy across the street."

I would have spoken but she lifted a hand to protest. "Go and be with Jake, Bonnie. I'm fine. Believe me. I'm just tired."

I wanted to believe her. And even as I began to climb out of the window I sensed that I should remain. A fleeting feeling that left almost as quickly as it had come to me. She smiled and watched me go, her eyes warm and comforting as she switched off the lamp again and snuggled down into her pillow.

He always helped me down from that last jump off the porch trellis. His hands snaking around my hips as he took my weight, always letting me fall back into his waiting arms. Spinning me around as if I were weightless, burying his lips into the crease of my neck as I giggled against the assault of his tickles. And I could finally breathe.

When my feet were planted firmly on the ground, we would always take a moment to admire each other. My arms around his neck, his around my waist. And I would take in the features that I'd yearned for from afar.

"It's just me and you tonight." He said, sweeping a palm over my coiled braids. "So I've got something special in mind."

Everything felt like an adventure with Jake. It didn't matter if we hid in his garage or went for midnight walks down by the creek. It all felt so magical, like I'd been plucked from my life and placed within somebody else's. The tenderness within which he showed me what life could be had me leaning further and further towards complete rebellion.

"Where are we going?" I asked wistfully, letting his eyes fall on me like his gaze was a blanket of nothing but the purest adoration.

He didn't tell me. Instead his smirk let me know that I would enjoy it, his hand taking mine as he led me towards the car waiting in the middle of the street. He opened the door for me like the perfect gentleman that he was, careful not to close it with too much force.

My heart was racing. I looked as the last light in my house went out, and Jake slid into the drivers seat. I knew that I didn't care anymore if I were caught. I was never giving this up.

I knew the direction we were heading in. The road into town was just one long dusty track dotted with houses until you reached the Welcome sign. I'd never seen it in the dead of night. All the shutters up and the roads empty. The street lights flickering and an eerie sense of calm in what was usually a bustling centre.

I'd walked past the Kiszka's music store before. It was the biggest plot on the main street stores, fronted by a row of parking spaces with little meters sitting on the side walk. In the window hung an array of electric and acoustic guitars, and in the shop front was a display of keyboards and saxophones. Vinyl records neatly sat on little holders, each time a new album was released the vinyl in the window was changed. As Jake fiddled with a set of keys to get the front door opened, I noticed the album cover of Purple Rain had been placed front and centre.

Once inside, I knew why he had brought me there. My breath caught in my chest as the overhead lights flickered on. Revealing an almost cave-like menagerie of music paraphernalia. The store was so vast that each section had it's own home. The counter was up front to the side, glass fronted with a selection of chrome harmonica's sat in little boxes on display beneath the cash register. The guitar section extended down the entire left side. Floor to ceiling, hanging on little hooks and sitting on stands between stools ready for potential buyers to come and try them out. There was a drum set in the corner, a selection of wind instruments and key based instruments all on display as if a band were ready to start playing at any moment. On the right side of the store there was row after row of vinyls. All of them coded and in their own genre sections. The wall was covered in posters. Prince and Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Van Halen. Some of the faces I didn't recognise, artists I'd never even heard of with music I'd never been given the opportunity to listen to. And in the back of the store there was a listening area. Three beaten up old arm chairs set out with record players and headphones attached. And behind was a booth, glass fronted with a cassette player inside.

He let me peer around the place for a moment. Standing behind me with the most pleased grin on his face, watching my reaction closely. His fingertips grazed the small of my back as he ushered me further inside, switching on a set of cool blue neon lights by the listening area and he waited for me to notice the little picnic he'd set up on one of the side tables.

"You did all this, for me?!" I exclaimed, turning to wrap my arms around him.

"It's just a few chocolate strawberries and cream soda." He replied, caressing my cheek with the swell of his lips.

It didn't matter how insignificant it felt to him. To me it was as if he'd pulled the stars down from the night sky and presented them to me in a crystal bowl and two candy pink glass bottles.

"It's perfect." I remarked, running palms up my arms as a cool chill breezed through from under the door.

He noticed immediately. "Yeah, it can get kinda cold in here. Let me find something."

He shuffled off towards a door at the back of the store with a "staff only" sign emblazoned on the front. It gave me a moment to drink it all in. Fingering the vinyls as they sat in their genre coded boxes, letting them fall forward one after the other. I traced lines across the guitar strings on display, giving the drum set a little flick on the cymbal. My heart warming the rest of my body by a couple of degrees as I looked over at the little arm chairs, his romantic gesture set out between the two which sat side by side beneath the wall light.

He appeared moments later, carrying a couple of knitted blankets and some cups of steaming hot tea. Looking so deliciously domestic, my stomach began to knot itself so tight I knew I'd never be able to pick it apart ever again.

"Reminds me of the night you took my virginity." I lamented, letting him lay the blankets out on the chair which looked the most comfortable, watching him set the needle to something soft and jazzy, getting seated before inviting me to curl up in his lap.

As his arms closed around me, so did the blanket. I felt like I'd been wrapped in a warm cocoon, his soft heart beating a melody against my ear as I laid against him. The blush of my cheeks as he pulled me up for a kiss was radiating almost instantly.

"Nothing will ever compare to that night." He replied, planting his lips against mine so carefully that I almost breathed a little too hard into his mouth.

A part of me would always belong to that night. When I looked at myself in the mirror, entirely changed, I would trace a line down my breasts and imagine that it was his touch. I'd recall the lines of his body on top of mine and my breathing would almost stop. Jake had burrowed his way beneath my skin and was as much a part of me as my own soul now.

"Our wedding night might." I offered, the words tumbling out of my mouth like a running faucet.

I immediately bristled in his arms. My body solidifying against the comfort of his chest and the blanket. The regret was palpable. And I blamed the sweetness of the moment for taking me so far ahead into the future that I hadn't dared to ask if marriage was something he had ever entertained.

He didn't say anything at first. And I didn't dare look up to investigate his expression. There was only a silence that was growing ever more unbearable as he continued to stroke my hair.

"Perhaps." He finally responded, a hopeful little word that was spoken in a pleasing tone.

It was as if he was agreeing with me. Without giving too much credence to the concept. Casual, almost. As if the subject of marriage was absolute and should have never been in doubt and I felt foolish for ever letting myself have a regret with him.

"Bonnie?"

I dared to look up at him. "Yes, Jake?"

There was a strange look in his eye. Serious, and yet I felt as if he was mocking me a little. With the corners of his mouth pulled up slightly, a smirk on the verge of forming.

"You are eighteen. You are free to marry whoever you choose." He said, conjuring a mixture of hope and dread in my stomach.

I didn't quite know what he meant. What his intentions were. I could feel myself begin to stutter, my mouth poised to speak but the words lost before they could make it out.

"Is that what you want?" He asked, that hint of a smirk fading. "If I marry you, he can't stop us being together. You would be my wife."

The rate in which my heart began to excelerate was unprecedented. For a moment we stared at each other. Both of us waiting for the other to say something. And then the needle jumped, sending the music into disarray until it fell to an excruciating silence.

I took my opportunity to break to tension by opening up our warm little cocoon. I slipped off his lap, him keeping his eyes firmly on me as I went over to the record player and lifted the needle. Carefully placing it back on it's little bracket. I picked up the nearest vinyl, not caring to check the cover. Absently, I placed it on the deck and soon the room was filled with the dulcet tones of Ella Fitzgerald.

Let's do it... Let's fall in love...

He rose from his seat. Pulling me into a slow dance. Letting my erratic heart fall into the pattern of the song. I felt his arms come around my waist. My head forever at home against his shoulder, my hand coming to rest against his chest as the other pressed against his back. We swayed in silence, neither of us wanting to break the spell.

I allowed myself to imagine it, though. A wedding in secret, the church far enough away that word would never reach my Father. A simple white dress and a posy of locally picked flowers, our guests only a mere handful of Jake's family who wanted to witness it. The haste in which it would happen. All of us on tenterhooks until the paperwork was signed. I knew how this story unfolded. And it wasn't satisfying. But was is necessary? I didn't want to think about it.

"Forgive me." He whispered, "I didn't mean to suggest something like that..."

My forgiveness was not what he needed. I placed my finger at his lips and let myself fall into a kiss so deep that I moaned salaciously against it. His tongue sliding so deep that the arousal travelled the length of my body and struck lightening at my core. The churn of butterflies ignited, the raw ache of wanting him even when I was in his arms burned.

Sometimes it was like that. When the need was greater than the desire. He could have lit a thousand candles and I would have swept my panties to the side for him in darkness. When time was against us, it felt as if I would have sat upon the window ledge itself and let him suck and tease at me before even climbing out of it.

"I don't want to hurt you, because I love you." He explained, lingering on the precipice of something dark. "But if I don't hurt you while fucking...You'll never know how much I do..."

He drove his tongue back into my mouth, setting off another shattering moan. To him, I was a mere instrument to play. When the fever took hold. The urge to fuck surpassing all reason. When it was like this, that was when I felt the most alive. He didn't need to marry me in moments like these. I would have gone anywhere with him.

The raw intensity of his tongue drew me to the edges of despair. He made me sing the most glorious songs, delicious noises escaping my lips as he sank his teeth into my jawline. I grabbed his hair and pulled him into me closer. The wordless begging forcing his fingertips to dig into my hips. Without any thought behind it, he pushed me back into the arm chair behind us.

"Show me how much you love me." I sinfully requested, hedging my bets on his previous statement that it had to hurt for me to know.

He came and took his place on top of me, reclining the chair slowly until it was almost horizontal. Scrambling to tear off our clothes. The moment would not wait nor did it call for careful romance. We had known these moments in summer fields down by the creek and in candle lit evenings on the pull out sofa bed in his parent's garage.

I ached for penetration. And he was already leaking by the time he ripped off his boxer shorts. I called to him with my legs spread wide, leaning against the arms of the chair. My braids already somewhat falling out as he crawled above. He took the tentative step to uncoil them. Letting the waves out, my hair fall around my face as he leaned down to steal a kiss.

"I fought for this..." He murmured, sweeping his fingertips against the wetness of my labia. "And I'll fight for it until the day I die."

He didn't waste time with his fingers. I was already set to the highest peak of arousal. He took a firm grip of himself, making a few strokes as he centred himself between my thighs. He plunged inside me with such delicious intention that I gasped.

"You feel that?" He asked, motioning back before shooting his hips forward.

"I feel it." I confirmed, my walls stretching against his shaft with each daring thrust. "I feel you inside me..."

My virginity belonged to the past. I'd long since given it to him. I felt like a woman now. My need was slaked only by his caress. The way he pulled out my breast and laid his mouth over the bud of my nipple. The way he licked the curve of it, holding it between his thumb and index finger. The way he sucked hungrily at the flesh until it was dappled pink and almost blood shot. My senses were at odds.

"Still so tight..." He breathed between beating thrusts, his commentary sometimes the thing I hung on to most.

Sex, I had discovered, was not just a feast for the eyes but for the ears too. I often drifted away to the sound of his voice as he made love to me. The way in which he liked to give praise to my body. To the way it made him feel. The incandesce of his gaze like wild flames burning my flesh with each touch.

"Shit, Bonnie..."

Oh, the curses were what I lived for. I knew, always, when the curses slipped out that he was too far gone. About to step off the precipice into orgasm.

He fucked me so hard in that reclined arm chair that I could hear the springs about to break. The hinges about to come apart. I didn't care. Let it crash beneath us, I just needed him to give me that stinging ache I had come to know after he'd fucked me a little too brutally. When he'd let the intrusive thoughts take over.

His hair was saturated in sweat. Tiny droplets of it brushing against my chest. We didn't kiss, it was more like our tongues were dancing and our mouths perpetually open. The kind of sex only experience could bring. The sort of experience I was slowly painting every night with Jake.

"Tell me it feels good." He instructed, pulling away to look at the flush in my face, evening out his pace a little.

"Feels so good." I moaned, still finding my voice a little. "I promise Jake, it's good."

The growl that came afterwards made me almost giggle in satisfaction. He buried his face into my sweat drenched neck. Pounding against my thighs relentlessly. I could hear the sloppy sounds of how wet he'd made me. His careful nature lost, he wasn't making love to me. He was fucking me, hard. The way he liked to, the way he'd been too afraid to before. The way I'd suspected he could that night he had spanked me in the church.

"I love the way you fuck me, oh God..." My voice trailed off into a singular note of pitch.

It was the first time I had ever said anything unprompted. Undiluted and completely catching him off guard. The look of pure unadulterated devotion was enough to complete me. His thumb pressed against my drenched clit. Guiding me closer and closer. He didn't take his eyes off me in that moment. And it felt, for the first time, that we trusted each other to have the kind of sex we could only dream of.

"There's no God here..." He whispered, "Only me."

I knew it was true as he spilled inside me. That shock only a man could feel when he realised his woman was no longer someone he had to covet so gently. That she wasn't a girl anymore. It was like he couldn't believe it. Seeing me beneath him like that. Hot and sweaty from the beast that had bared it's teeth between us.

It took a few moments for us to catch our breath. He remained inside me, slowly softening and swallowing hard as he rested his forehead against mine. Truthfully, I didn't want him to pull away. I was still getting used to the residue, the way I had to navigate myself so that it didn't drip down the inside of my leg. The things nobody talks about when the moment has passed and there is nothing left but his cum nestled away inside you.

"Here." He offered, throwing me the tea towel he'd brought in with the hot cups that were now assuredly luke warm, teasing a smile as he watched me clean up. "If only you could see what a beautiful mess you make."

"You make." I replied, watching him tuck himself back into his pants.

"No." He insisted, taking back the tea towel so that I could dress. "It's not just that you're full of my cum. It's that your hair's all fucked up. And your cheeks are pink. And your flesh is all covered in sweat. Never seen anything more beautiful."

The rhythm of my breathing was still shallow as he pulled me up out of the chair. He placed a chocolate strawberry at my lips and we slow danced a little more. My hips ached and my thighs were raw. And that feeling that could only come after being fucked hard was lingering inside me.

"I meant what I said." He reiterated, "I will marry you, Bonnie. And you'll never have to live under your Dad's control ever again."

It would have been easy to say yes for that reason alone. But I didn't want that.

"I want to marry you, I do." I replied softly, letting him kiss my temple. "But I want you to ask me on a day where nothing else is at stake."

I could hear his chest fall in disappointment. "I'm not asking you to save you. I'm asking you because I love you."

His eyes met mine. I'd never seen him look so serious.

"I know..." I would have said more, but the moment was stolen from us.

The bell which tinkled whenever the front door opened drew us from this reverie. My stomach immediately churned into a sickness as I drew my gaze away from Jake, and dropped him from my embrace.

There was nothing I could do to reverse that night. Not the things Jake and I had said to each other that would have to go unfinished, nor the things I had done to set the wheels in motion that had brought Sam to the store in what I could only describe as a blind panic.

He fell through the door, breathing erratic. Pulling strands of his hair back as he tried to speak. Leaning over the counter, trying to catch his breath. Moaning in pain. Or was it despair? His panic was suddenly mine.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Jake asked, rushing over to his brother. "You're not supposed to be here, Sam."

I sensed that perhaps Jake knew where Sam was supposed to be. But the line of questioning would have to wait. As I approached, I realised the level of trauma already lined in his face would stay with him forever. He was bereft. And I knew, somehow, that Jolene wasn't where she was supposed to be, either.

"Calm down." I tried, placing my palms on either side of his grief stricken face. "And tell me what happened."

I guided him over to the listening area. He didn't want to move. He didn't know what to do. He pulled away at first, scared of my touch. His eyes wide and apologetic. I could see that he wanted to follow, but there was a fear clutching at him that made every step just hard to take.

Once I got him sat in one of the arm chairs, I offered him a swig of cream soda. He declined, pushing it away like I'd offered him poison. Jake pulled out a hip flask and shoved it into his brother's face, forcing him to take a drink.

"You better start talking." Jake said dominantly, not as an older brother, but as somebody who naturally had more power. "Where's Jolene?"

I slumped down onto the arm of the chair, offering my hand at his shoulder for comfort. Jake stood in front, tipping the flask into his mouth until it was drained.

"We were... " He began, his body shaking and his voice unsteady. "You know? We almost made it...and then I realised we were being followed... I sped up and then they sped up...and then Jolene she said we should stop and I didn't listen to her... "

I instinctively moved away. "What do you mean? You didn't listen to her? She's in bed at home. That's where I left her."

Sam shook his head. "No, no... that's what she wanted you to believe. She wanted you to think that she was staying home. She didn't want you to worry. But... we had it all planned out. We were going to drive down to my Aunt's place down in Grand Rapids. They got a farm down there, we were going to help out and get enough money to get our own place. Somewhere your Dad could never get to us."

I couldn't help but steer my attention towards Jake. He was biting his lip nervously. Tapping his heel. Hands on his hips as he stared down at his brother.

"Did you know about this?" I asked. "Is that what bringing me here tonight was all about? A distraction?!"

He looked offended. "No! Fuck, no. I wanted to bring you here because I thought you'd like it!"

The place reeked of sex. The undeniable scent of what we had done lingered, the music was still playing something soft and sexy but the tone of it felt all wrong now. Sam didn't seem to notice, fresh tears streaming down his face as he stared into the void.

"Sam, where is my sister?" I asked bluntly.

I'll never forget the way he looked at me. I never wanted anyone to ever look at me like that ever again. Desperate for forgiveness. On the edge of losing his mind. If he spoke the words out loud that would make it all real. He would cling on to those wasted seconds for as long as he could, before he had to speak it into existence.

"I don't know." He swallowed harshly, "That's the truth. I don't know where she is. But... I think she's dead."

The engine fell silent. The gentle tinkle of Jakes car keys as he pulled them out drew me from my thoughts.

"No." I stopped him, "Don't wait for me."

He began to protest immediately, just as I thought he might. I'd already prepared a speech for him, but it seemed to fall flat as I tried to get the words out without bursting into unwanted tears.

"Of course I'll wait for you." He replied, knuckles against my cheek as he swept my hair back, strands of it sticking to my damp face. "I'd go in there with you if I thought it would do any good."

I tried to imagine it. His hand in mine as we navigated the hospital corridors. Feeling a little more calm than I would have without him. A part of me wanted to walk in there with him by my side. But the other part of me, and it screamed so much more loudly, told me not to bear that cross quite yet.

"No, my Dad will be there. And I'm not ready to face him with all this yet." I sighed, watching the clock on the dash as it turned 4 am. "Will you please tell Sam that she's not dead?"

He nodded gravely. "I love you, you know that, right?"

If nothing else, I knew that. It was hard to get out of the car, to even walk through the hospital doors knowing he'd be out there waiting for me. Even if I got in the car with my parents, he would stay there until he knew I was going home. It gave me some small comfort. The immeasurable toll of seeing my sister laid up in that bed attached to all the beeping wires was something I was not prepared for.

It was like walking into a court room and I was the one on trial. My mother was sat at Jolene's bedside, her hand wrapped around my sisters, holding it tight as she laid there limply. My Dad was standing in the corner of the room like a sentinel, resting his chin against a tightly curled fist with his arms folded neatly across his chest. Staring at her lifeless body as the chest rose and fell with each beep.

"Whore." He grunted, eyes immediately flaring hot like sulphur. "Just like your sister!"

"Not now, please" My Mother begged, using her voice for what felt like the first time.

The wave of emotion that flooded me was overwhelming. The sight of Jolene there like that, so helpless and lifeless. My Mother, in this tentative moment, speaking against my Father for the first time. And him, choosing to use it like some vehicle for his hatred of me.

"I suppose you spoke to your brother." He surmised, "Once you saw fit to come home."

It was strange. Like looking at a stranger.

"You know that Sam thinks that she's dead, don't you?" I almost spat the words out. "Why didn't you just let them go? It's because of you that this happened!"

The blasphemy caught him off guard. The accusation and the way in which I had thrown it at him. All I had to do was stand there and not flinch. To let the wave of anger that was assuredly coursing through his veins wash through him until it was permanently marked on his flesh.

"You've got the devil in you!" He said pointedly, standing close to Jolene's bed side as if I would contaminate her.

He had no power over me anymore. In one brief, fleeting moment I had eradicated eighteen years of oppression. Eighteen years of fear and doubt. I wasn't certain I could uphold it, against whatever he would do next, but I knew that if I just stood there I stood a fighting chance.

"You chased them down in your car. You think that God wanted this? Look at her... she's your daughter. You're supposed to love her and cherish her! Not run her into the ground until the car crashes and she's clinging on to her life!"

My Mom began to sob quietly. Holding Jolene's hand to her cheek. Perhaps it was the most affection she had ever shown, and Jolene would never know.

It was in stark contrast to my Father, who couldn't bear my defiance. When his hand struck my cheek, I tasted blood. But I welcomed it. Blood meant sacrifice. And I would make the ultimate one. When I turned my face, there wasn't a hint of remorse in his. Only a vexation that knew no limit. And yet, somehow, I had managed to exceed it.

I looked him directly in the eye. "Enough."

She would languish there until her injuries were healed. I didn't say it out loud, but I made a promise to come back for her. To never let another moment pass where she or I would live under this scrutiny and melancholic repression. And when I walked out of that room I didn't look at my Mother, or my Father again.

I ran out into the early morning light. Jake was leaning against his car in the parking lot smoking a cigarette. He looked tired. But when he caught sight of me standing there, something shifted. And I knew that everything was about to change.

To be Continued...

@caprisunsister @thewritingbeforesunrise @takenbythemadness @katuschka @its-interesting-van-kleep @lvnterninthenight @writingcold @jakekiszkasbuttsweat @edgingthedarkness @velveteencatch @lyndz2names @nina-23-45 @itsafullmoon y @char289 @dancingcarbon @gvfpal @violetstarcatcher @wetkleenex-gvf @jazzyfigz @gvfmarge @ignite-my-fire

#it’s about to go down #greta van fleet #fanfic #gvf #revenge era

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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He’s BACK

#greta van fleet #gvf #josh kiszka #wwe raw #what is going on

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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Guys help me out please!

I am in desperate need of a new and easy peasy fanfiction in the gvf fandom.

Anything that is the fluffiest fluff and preferably more chapters. I need this for.. my wellbeing.

Idc about the lane, just cutsie little happy stories are welcome. Thanks in advance my dearest friends 🤍

#greta van fleet #gvf #jake kiszka #jake gvf #josh kiszka #danny wagner #danny gvf #daniel wagner #sam kiszka #gvf fanfiction #new #help #new fanfiction

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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Thank you for the tag @dogwood-blossom 🤍

I don’t think im weird but the fact that I can’t sit still is true lol. Also love that tumblr loves me hehe 🤟🏼

I’m tagging: @bee-falling-sky @joshym and anyone who wants to do it as well 🫶🏻

I was tagged by the amazing @way-to-go-lad and the ever lovely @jmkho to do this picrew and this quiz.

I love these so much. No pressure tags going to @edgingthedarkness, @losfacedevil and @vanfleeter

#tag game #greta van fleet #picrew #gvf #neurodivergent #lol?

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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They knew what they did putting jaket on the thumbnail

#greta van fleet #gvf #jake kiszka #jake gvf #pirate jake kiszka #farewell for now

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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huh? 🥲

#greta van fleet #gvf #jake kiszka #jake gvf #tiktok edits #credits to original owner #screaming without the s #in spain without the s #crying down my thighs

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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Jesus Christ I’m crying. Just read this whole thing in two days and I think this is hands down the best Danny fic I’ve read so far.

Thank you so much for your time writing this! All my love 🤍

Breakable Heaven - Epilogue

Pairing: Danny Wagner x Female Reader

Synopsis: Being the maid of honor in your best friends wedding is already stressful enough without the best man being the ex-boyfriend who tore your heart to shreds. Stumbling across a dating app with dates for hire, you take a chance, inviting a perfect stranger to pretend to be your boyfriend for the weeklong celebrations. But how long can the charade last when the champagne starts pouring and feelings start growing?

Warnings: allusions to sex, mild descriptions of sex, pregnancy 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

AN: Happy Valentines Day my beloveds!!! What better way to celebrate Wagner Wednesday and Valentines Day together than the final installment of Breakable Heaven?? One more time, I just wanted to say thank you everyone who has read and supported this fic, it has been so fun to write and just an amazing treat to get through the winter blues! I hope you all enjoyed it, and that you enjoy this sneak peek into Danny and Honey's future!

WC: 2380

The crowd had been electric all night, and Danny played his heart out for them, taking extra care during his drum solo to leave them satisfied. As he stood on the platform with his three brothers, arms around one another and taking their final bow, he had a moment where he couldn’t believe that this was his life. Playing sold out arenas and stadiums, making music he loved and seeing the world. It was a dream come true.

Taking one last bow, Danny followed Sam off stage, his adrenaline still pumping. They spoke excitedly about the fans and the little mistakes and improvements they could make for the next show, and Danny nearly missed the excited squeal coming from the hallway as they turned towards the greenroom.

“That was amazing!” you ran towards him leaping into his sore, tired arms. Another dream come true for Danny, who had envisioned a moment just like this so long ago. “Oh my gosh you sounded better than ever before baby!”

“Thanks Honey,” Danny’s lips captured yours in a kiss as he adjusted you in his arms, refusing to put you down as he walked. “It’s good to be back in action. I missed this.”

“Oh yeah, you were really missing the tour life while on your second honeymoon.” Sam rolled his eyes sarcastically. Danny finally let you down and you fell into step next to him, hand entwined with his.

“I did!” Danny protested. “I mean, not a whole lot, but I did.”

“I think you were busy with other things, darling.” you murmured, pressing a kiss to the tattoo on his bicep. Danny smirked down at you, a flash in his eyes that you were all too familiar with. You could tell he was thinking of the secluded beach villa in Italy, both of your favorite parts of the romantic vacation.. The ocean right outside your bedroom, terrace doors wide open and making love to the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore, the salty breeze chilling your sweaty bodies.

Your first honeymoon had been a quick one. Danny’s touring schedule didn’t allot for much time after the wedding, so the two of you had rented a secluded cabin in the Smoky Mountains for nearly a whole week before he had to leave for tour. It was perfect in your eyes, but Danny had decided he wanted to take you somewhere special for a “real honeymoon” one day.

Your second honeymoon that was three years in the making had been a recreation of the bubble you’d been in at Olivia and Mike’s wedding nearly five years ago. Both of you enjoyed your time during the day, walking through historic towns and villages on the coast, letting the sun soak into your skin and give you both a golden tan. But as soon as your late dinners were over, it was to the bedroom, and suddenly you both couldn’t get enough of each other again.

“Hey, keep those looks to yourself mister,” you smirked up at him. “At least until we get to the hotel.” Danny leaned down, pressing a kiss to your lips before dragging them to your ear. The shiver his words sent down your spine had you itching to throw him in the dressing room and lock Sam out, all to get a taste of what the night would offer.

As you neared the rooms, you could already see Jake wandering the halls half undressed. His suit jacket had been long gone and his trousers unbuttoned, but he looked like he was on a mission to dire to care.

“There you are!” he looked relieved as he saw you. “That stupid mascara Josh talked me into is burning my eyes, and I can’t find the makeup wipes anywhere.”

“Oh god,” you sighed, reaching into your bag and pulling out a small travel packet of makeup removing wipes. You’d taken to carrying them with you since Danny loved dabbling in eyeliner, sometimes not realizing he’d smudged some onto his temples while trying to apply it. “Okay, we should probably put some drops in too.” Turning to Danny, you laid a quick kiss upon his cheek before walking over to Jake, a wipe already out and over your finger, wiping at the man’s under eyes as you both walked towards his dressing room.

Danny watched you with a smile, taking in the image of you scolding Jake as you entered his room, because he touched his eye. “Have you washed your hands since you were on stage?! I can smell the metal from your strings on them from here, and you’re touching your eyes! No wonder they’re burning!” He couldn’t lie and say there wasn’t a small amount of time he was afraid you and his best friends in the world wouldn’t get along. Josh and Sam had welcomed you in with open arms, especially Sam once he got to meet you in the flesh, the two of you hitting it off instantly. But Jake took a bit to thaw. In fact, for the first few months Danny and yourself dated officially, you had thought Jake hated you. He didn’t talk much around you, gave you polite, yet flat answers to questions and conversations. The resolution happened when you had been tipsy at a party, and he had been treating you with the same flatline tone, and you finally snapped and called him out before storming away and trying not to cry in the bathroom.

Danny wanted to go after you but Jake went instead, and you ended up having an hour long talk with him, sitting in the empty bathtub where you had hidden yourself, toe-to-toe. Jake was very much an older brother to Danny, as he’d known him forever, but he also knew Danny had a big, loving heart and that people only wanted to take advantage of it. Jake never meant for you to feel like he disliked you, in fact, he was growing to like you very much, especially with how happy Danny was. But he did admit he felt a need to help guard his younger brother's heart. With that cleared, and your admittance and vow that you were desperately in love with Danny Wagner the person, not the drummer or any other version of him, you and Jake became thick as thieves, and Danny could finally relax.

“How come she can yell at him like that, but we can’t?” Sam nudged Danny as they walked into their own dressing room, beginning to pry off the rhinestones on their faces and wipe off their own makeup.

“I think he knows she can take him in a fight.” Danny laughed. “Remember when she beat everyone at arm wrestling that one night?” Sam laughed, nodding.

“She nearly flipped Jake over the table,” he agreed. “Yeah, that’s probably why.”

It wasn’t long before everyone was filing out of the sprinter van and into the hotel lobby for the night, the tour manager handing everyone key cards and letting them know to be downstairs at 8am sharp or they’d leave without them.

Getting to your room, Danny unlocked the door and ushered you in before following, shutting and locking it behind him. You dropped your bags in the small hallway and turned, just as Danny crouched slightly and scooped you up, making you squeal softly as he blindly found the bed and dumping you down upon it before following, dragging the tip of his nose against your cheek and gazing down at you.

“I’m surprised you’re not exhausted,” you murmured. “If I played the drums like you did tonight, I’d have already been asleep in the car.”

“Mm, call it post-show adrenaline,” Danny pressed kisses down your neck. “I think I could go for a couple rounds.”

“A couple?” you quirked your eyebrow at him as he raised his head, a charming, playful smirk tugging his lips up at the corner.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Think you can keep up, Mrs. Wagner?”

“Oh I’ll do more than keep up, Mr. Wagner.”

It had been a month since you had visited Danny on tour. The schedule had worked out nicely, stay with him for a few shows before the holidays, come back home and spend Christmas and his birthday and New Years with his family, then come home for a week then he went out to do some pre-tour press with the guys before the grind started back up.

Currently, you were feeling entirely unwell, laying on the couch while some show played on the TV. You had never felt this queasy in your life, and it felt like everything was either making you nauseous or giving you a terrible headache. On the occasion you could eat and keep it down, you ended up with a bad case of heartburn.

“You know,” Olivia came around the corner, a small tray in her hands. “If this chicken soup doesn’t make you feel better, I don’t know what will.” she set it down on the coffee table in front of you, looking you over. “Are you sure you don’t have the flu?”

“I don’t know. I don’t have a fever, there’s no congestion. I’ve just felt really sick for the past few days.” you groaned. “I should go to the doctor but I just don’t want to bother if it’s just a stomach bug.”

“Yeah, but those usually are only twenty-four hours,” Olivia pursed her lips. “You don’t think…”

“What don’t I think?” you asked as you sat yourself up, waiting for room to stop tilting slightly before looking up at your best friend.

“Well,” Olivia started gently. “You don’t think you might be, you know, pregnant, do you?” your stomach dropped to the floor as you stared at the coffee table. Your last period, when was it? Going on tour with Danny, you didn’t have to pack anything for it…no it had been the week before. And you’d been so distracted with helping Danny get everything ready for the next leg of the tour you hadn’t noticed you were late. Turning to look up at Olivia, you looked panicked.

“Oh my god,” you whispered. “I think I am.” Olivia and you stared at one another, wide eyed, waiting for the other to make a movie.

“Do you have any tests?” Olivia whispered, afraid she was going to speak something into existence just by asking. Shaking your head, you went to stand up. “No! You stay here!” she dashed to the kitchen and you could hear her pouring water from your pitcher. She came back in with your large water bottle, handing it to you. “Drink that, I’ll be right back.”

You sipped from the straw on the water bottle, fighting down the wave of illness you felt after three or four of them. You weren’t sure if that wave was potential morning sickness or from anxiety. Of course you and Danny had talked about a family in the future. You hadn’t really thought about kids before, but with Danny, you had found yourself daydreaming of that life with him. Especially when one of his cousins brought their two-year old to the holiday party at his parents house, and they were glued to Danny’s side the whole time. You just didn’t know if you were both ready at this moment in time to start that future.

Olivia burst back into your house soon after you started going through every scenario of how this could play out in your head. She must’ve broken a dozen traffic laws to make the time she did, but she brought in three bags from the pharmacy, one with multiple types of tests, one with various candies she knew you loved, and another with prenatal vitamins and pedialyte. The two of you locked yourselves in the bathroom as you took the tests and placed them on the counter, setting timers on your phones for each one.

“Stupid question, but how are you feeling?” Olivia asked quietly, watching as you paced.

“Honestly, I don’t know how I’m feeling.” you answered. “All I know is I’m feeling every emotion humanly possible. I’m scared, I’m nervous, I’m excited but I’m anxious. If they’re positive I don’t know how I’m going to react. How Danny’s going to react when I tell him. He can’t just leave a multi-million dollar tour to come play house. Most of all I’m just happy you’re here.” Olivia took one of your hands in both of hers, holding it tightly.

“No matter what, I’m always going to be here.” she smiled. “Whether I’m going to be an auntie or not.” the two of you let the space fill with silence, almost being startled by the alarms as they began to go off. “Do you want me to look?”

“No, I can do it.” you murmured. Your stomach was in knots as you stepped over to the counter. A line of tests glaring up at you, the rest of your life possibly about to change.

“I can’t believe you waited this long,” Sam whispered as you walked with him down the hallway of the hotel, on your way to Danny’s room. “He’s gonna flip.”

“Okay you cannot say it like that, you jerk. I wanted to wait for a doctor to confirm it before I told anyone.” you elbowed the slender young man next to you. “I’m terrified, and I need a little support here.” Sam stopped, placing his arms on your biceps and leaning down to stare into your eyes.

“Danny is going to be thrilled, I promise you.” Sam looked deadly serious before a smile tugged at his round cheeks. “You don’t have anything to worry about.” he pulled you into a hug, murmuring something about not being able to wait to be Uncle Sammy. You parted, and he continued to lead you to Danny’s door, tucking you behind him before knocking. It wasn’t long before you heard his footsteps and the locks unlocking.

“Hey Sam, what’s up-Honey!” Danny nearly pushed Sam out of the way once you peeked around Sam’s shoulder with a soft smile. “Baby what are you doing here?! I didn’t know you were coming!”

“I just wanted to surprise you.” you laughed as he wrapped you up in his arms. “Sam helped me.”

“This is the best surprise ever,” he murmured, kissing your hair. “Thanks Sam,” he patted Sam’s shoulder, who took his leave as Danny ushered you inside. There was a golf tournament on the TV, the announcers voices filling the silence as you walked further in. “God, I was just thinking about how I missed you, and here you are.”

“Dreams do come true, don’t they?” you laughed softly, nerves starting to build up. It was now or never.

“Yes they certainly do,” Danny grinned, taking your chin between his thumb and forefinger and kissing you lovingly. He deepened the kiss and you let yourself get carried away for a moment before pulling away slightly.

“I have something I need to give you.” you tried to reach for your bag but Danny pulled you back to his lips.

“It can wait, honey,” he murmured, his breath warm on your face. You could feel your resolve melting but stood firm.

“It actually can’t.” Danny sighed, pulling away and watching you dig into your bag, pulling out a velvet box. Holding it out to him, Danny took it, a small, confused smile on his face.

“What is this?” he asked, puzzled, looking back at you.

“Just open it,”

Danny did as instructed, and was greeted with a square sapphire pendant sitting on a silver chain. He glanced up at you before noticing the grainy photo image in the lid of the box. He looked from it to you several times, and you tried to read his expression.

“Is…Is this?” he pointed to the box, then his eyes zeroed in on your stomach. It was still largely flat, at this point just looking like some incredibly minor bloating. “Are you?”

“We’re due in September.” you whispered, tears stinging your eyes. “So I thought you should have a sapphire of your own.” It happened in less than a second. The pendant and sonogram was tossed to the bed behind you as Danny wrapped his arms around you, kissing you over and over again. He pulled away, resting a hand on your lower abdomen, smiling knowing his child was growing there.

“Honey, this really is the best surprise ever,” he sniffled, a few stray tears falling down his cheeks. “I’m going to have that necklace welded permanently, I swear to god. Oh my god, I’m gonna be a dad!”

“How about that?” you murmured, resting your forehead against his. The two of you embraced in silence for a bit, before Danny finally parted, holding your face in one hand as he smiled down at you.

“I really think being your wedding date was the best thing that ever could’ve happened to me.” nodding, you replied.

“Me too.”

Taglist: (feel free to add yourself!)

@joshsindigostreak @sinners-go-to-drink-the-wine @ascendingtostardust @sammysprincess @sammykiszkamyass @belovedsamuel @sunfl0wer-power @indigo-starcatcher @sammyscherub @earthlysorrows @lvnterninthenight @allieisacrybaby @losfacedevil @xserenax-13 @sarakay-gvf @shutupdevvie @myownparadise96 @watchingovergvff @gretavanfleetposts @josiee-gvf @joshkiszkatoothgap @madneedshelp @gardensgatedaisy @myownparadise96 @demonrat444 @dannyandthekiszkas @tearsofbri @paleshadow-ofadragon @happy-harpy-stuff @like-a-woman-in-a-dream @starshine-wagner @objectsinspvce @josh-iamyour-mama @mountain-in-springtime @cal-a-bungaa @capturethechaos @jankandjonch @gvfpal

@allybjt @hippievanfleet @weightofbrokenbells @joshkiszkasbadussy @malany-gvf @ruby0antlers @samofthedawn @sacredjake @aim4thedoublee @diditallforyouu @gvfmarge @highladyofasgard @sammysvanfeet@gold-mines-melting @earthgrlsreasy @mountain-in-springtime @forcebond301 @stardust-and-shadows @llightmyllovee @gretavangroupie @comesofarsomehow @infinisonicosm @indigofallingsky @hellowgoodbye @hearts-hunger @fwzco @dharma-divine33 @lightsofthe-living-gvf @ascendingtothestarsasone @klarxtr @ofthecaravel @musicspeaks @mindastreamofcolours @imleavingyoufornewyork @dammm1256

#danny wagner #greta van fleet #breakable heaven fic #danny gvf #danny wagner fanfiction #gvf #im dying #please read this

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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Oh lord

🥵🫠

#🫠🫠🫠#screaming without the s #this man #Jake kiszka #jake gvf

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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Ugly crying at this at work. God this fills my heart with joy 💛🌷

The Girl Next Door // JTK

Summary: Will Jake ever speak to the girl who lives across the street from him? Or is he destined to pine in secrecy for all of eternity? Or maybe just until one of them inevitably moves out? Stay tuned to find out!

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x unnamed fem! character

Word count: 4.2k

Warnings: 18+ Minors DNI ✧ no smut but I still don't want minors on my blog at all, allusions to the girl being depressed (idk, it's up for interpretation), so much pining, this is just fluff gift-wrapped in a bit of gloom ✧

A/N: It is technically the 14th where I live so Happy Valentine's Day! I started this months ago and turned it into a valentines fic for @seenoversundown's little writing event. It's not all pink and cute because I already had the header made and was feeling lazy. It was supposed to fit the prompt for writing love notes, but I got carried away so just enjoy this lovey-dovey mess instead. ♡

There was a girl who lived across the street from Jake, in the brownstone apartment building that mirrored his own. On the second floor, windows furthest to the left. He told himself that it wasn’t weird or anything — that he knew all of this. Her apartment was just the immediate view from his. All of his windows faced the street. If he wanted to look outside, he would have to look at her building.

He had first seen her the night he moved in, four months ago now. His brothers had helped him all day, carrying furniture and boxes up the narrow stairs — also to the second floor, the apartment furthest to the left. When they had left and Jake, for the first time, was alone in his new apartment, that’s when he’d seen her. Sat on a wobbly kitchen chair that Sam definitely hadn’t assembled correctly, he had looked out of his window, seeing mostly closed blinds since it was late at night. Except for in the window directly opposite his, depicting a kitchen that was very similar to his own.

There was a brass gimbal candle holder placed on the table, a lonely white taper candle burning brightly. He remembered smiling at the thought of someone carrying a gimbal candle holder in this day and age, normally only used on stormy waters, so that the candles wouldn’t fall over and set fire to the ships.

For a second he had thought of the fire hazard of the candle being left unattended, until he saw a girl sit down at the table. With a hoodie over her head and a mug of something warm, she curled up on a chair, much like himself.

He had tried not to stare, returning to unpacking his things. Folding laundry into his wardrobe, organizing his record collection, and fixing the screws on the chairs that Sam had messed up. But every once in a while he had to look over the street to see if she was still there. And she was. Sometimes she would smile at something on her phone, or doodle something in a notepad. Other times, she would stare at the light, fiddling with the dripping candle wax.

As the clock had struck 3 am, he looked over one last time, toothbrush hanging from his mouth. The girl was still there, head nodding, seemingly tired. But she stayed. He couldn’t understand how she wasn’t bored out of her mind yet, having sat still for hours at this point. He had turned off all his lights and fallen asleep, inevitably dreaming of a girl on a ship, waves crashing against it. She held a candle holder, her light leading him into the night.

Jake didn’t mean for it to become a habit, it just happened. Whenever he was home, he would look her way. He started to notice things about the girl. Like how she changed to red curtains when December came around. Or how she would host dinners for her friends every Friday, rarely missing them. And how she was alone the rest of the time. Maybe she wanted things to be that way.

She never looked his way, or so he thought. He hadn’t seen it anyway.

He had gotten a job at a record store a few blocks away. On slow days, he found himself daydreaming about how she might walk in. Browsing through the crates, picking up something along the lines of Joan Baez or Carole King. Maybe she would ask for something obscure, floor him with knowledge of jazz fusion or black metal.

Although, he wasn’t even sure if he would recognize her, only having seen her from afar. A part of him wished to keep her at a distance. Another wanted her to walk in and be rude, or have really bad breath. Just anything to erase the stupid and unexplainable infatuation he had with a complete stranger. She never ended up visiting the store.

The girl went away over Christmas. Josh was somewhere with his partner, and Sam had to work, so Jake hadn’t seen a reason to travel home to their parents alone. He spent the days he had off rotting away in his apartment. Writing some songs, catching up on a TV series he’d wanted to see, trying out new recipes. The habit of looking out of his window, into her’s, was still there, only now, he was filled with a sad sense of longing every time he noticed she wasn’t there.

Just a few days later everything was back to normal. Late at night, she was back in her window, the candle burning once again. As January passed, the sun’s hours became longer and the view through the window became brighter. Sometimes, a fresh bouquet of tulips would join the candle on the table. Other times, they would get pushed to the side to fit dinner or board games. Her friend group seemed to consist of four girls. Jake had seen them enter the building a few times by now. They’d eat and laugh together, well into the small hours. Yet afterwards, the girl would always sit alone by her kitchen table for at least a little while. Maybe to collect her thoughts. Maybe she needed the time alone.

Jake imagined being the one to give her the tulips. Or running into her on the street, saying something meet-cute worthy. He imagined his shyness not being in the way for once. More realistically, he imagined her opening her window when he was out playing guitar on the building’s fire escape. Maybe she would compliment him. Maybe she would laugh at his pretentious song choices, always wanting to learn something more difficult than the one before.

Maybe once she would just look out of her window, instead of at the burning flame, and see him, and all of it would make sense.

He wished to be like the boys in the movies, or just the ones he’d see at the bar when he was out with his brothers. Bold, and confident. Just asking women out like it was a given birthright. (It obviously wasn’t, but he’d seen it work with his own eyes a couple of times).

He could ask the girl out, the worst she could say was no. Maybe they could go out for coffee. Maybe he could take her to the park around the corner when the weather became warmer. Lay in the grass by the pond, look at the birds that had just migrated back. Smell the faint scent of the early spring. He could bring his acoustic guitar, make some picnic food. Try to woo her, the old fashioned way, show her that chivalry wasn’t dead.

What Jake didn’t know was that he would get his chance sooner than he’d thought. Well, he hadn’t actually thought he would ever get the chance. But he did, and he decided to take it.

For some reason, he had offered to pick up Josh from the airport after his little vacation. That meant he had to get up at an ungodly hour to make it in time. As he stumbled, barely awake, out of his apartment building, sparse snowflakes falling from the sky, he saw the girl on the other side of the street, unchaining her bike. He thought she was crazy for riding a bike in this weather.

Without thinking about it twice, he yelled out a hello to her. She didn’t react to it at all. She just put on a pair of mittens and started biking down the street, not even giving a little glance in his direction. He drove to the airport in silence, disheartened but still musing about her.

His brothers invited themselves for dinner a couple days later, claiming that they all needed to catch up. Jake had a feeling it was more about their sense of guilt for letting him be alone over the holidays. He didn’t mind, he actually loved getting to cook for other people, even if his brothers were his worst critics. Sometimes they were even harsher on him than he was himself.

The four of them huddled around his small kitchen table, feasting on his take on a roast dinner since none of them actually wanted Christmas food in the middle of January. He liked listening to them talk, joining when he felt like he had something to add. Somehow he had become the quietest one in the group as time had gone on and Sam and Danny grew out of their awkward teenage years. Although, they were still able to bring out a side of Jake that he liked more than his normal self — being able to joke and laugh, loudly.

“Have you noticed your deaf neighbors across the street?” Josh asked, leaning close to the window, while he left Jake to deal with the dishes alone.

Jake didn’t know what he was talking about at first. He reached for a towel to dry his hands as he walked over to see for himself.

“I think they’re arguing in sign language,” he said, pointing to the window for Jake to see.

Second floor. Furthest to the left.

Through the window, he could see the girl and one of her friends. It was Friday after all. For some reason, the other two girls in the group were missing. Josh was right; they were talking in what appeared to be sign language, hands frantically gesticulating, giving the impression of a heated conversation.

“What was that look?” Josh wondered as he watched his brother, seeing how he reacted to the girls arguing. “Do you know them?”

Jake walked away from the window, returning to the dishes in an attempt to ignore his brother. Josh wasn’t having any of it, grabbing him by the shoulders to basically force him to talk about it.

“I tried saying hi to the girl living there, it’s nothing really,” he muttered as Josh started to laugh.

“You feel stupid now?”

“Yeah.” Obviously.

It would make sense, how she hadn’t given any indication of acknowledging his presence when he’d tried talking to her. Maybe she couldn’t have heard him no matter how loud he felt like he’d been. How could he not have noticed it before?

“Which one is it?” he asked, back at the window.

“In the red shirt,” Jake explained.

“Oh, I get it.” Josh nodded. “Mysterious, cute, and at a distance. Just your type!”

“Hey! I tried talking to her,” he tried to defend.

“It doesn’t count if she couldn’t hear you,” Josh pointed out. “Get out of your shell, try harder.”

After his brothers left that night, Jake sat alone by his kitchen table, much like the girl across the street. They mirrored each other, like their apartments also did. He scribbled some lazy words into his journal, but mostly he wanted to see if the girl was alright. Of course, he didn’t actually know anything about the situation, but it still felt out of character for the girls to be arguing. Generally, the view through her window on a Friday night was taken straight out of an indie film romanticizing friendship and girlhood. Tonight, she just looked sad. More alone than usual. He kept on wondering what they’d argued about.

Now, did Jake try harder after this? No, he actually shied away more. He looked less and less out of his window. He went to bed earlier so that he wouldn’t see the girl sitting alone in her kitchen in front of the candle late at night. He didn’t know why, but he tried to forget about her existence completely.

Although, when the next Friday passed and Jake saw the girl alone already in the afternoon, he felt his heart break a little. As he stumbled into his apartment after a day at work, the candle was burning unusually early. Her friends didn’t come over that evening, nor the weekend after.

Even if Jake tried his best not to get caught up in what his imagination had created, the universe had different plans — for the both of them.

He was really late, stupidly so. He also couldn’t believe how Josh and Sam had left it up to him to fix it. They would always get their mother flowers for Valentine’s Day. It started when they were young and would go with their father to the florist to help him pick out something special together. Then it just kept going. One year, it had been paper flowers that Jake had made in art class. Another year, it was weeds ripped straight from their lawn because they had forgotten about it until the last second. But still, they would always give her something.

That was why Jake was hurrying into a flower shop two days before Valentine’s Day. He had scoured the internet for a florist that could send flowers across states and found one just down the street from him. He couldn’t believe he’d never seen it before, but at the same time, he bought flowers approximately once a year. The wilting houseplants on his windowsill were also a testament to how little he cared.

They were very pretty though, the flowers. He was practically hit in the face with their sweet, wet smell as he stepped inside the shop, almost overwhelmed by the array of bright colors. The shop was cute, but small. He couldn’t help but make eye contact with the girl behind the register as soon as he walked in.

“Hello there! Can I help you with anything?”

Her voice was bubbly, a polished happiness covering it in a true retail worker spirit. It appeared that the distance hadn’t made a difference. The mere feet between their apartment windows weren’t enough. Jake could recognize her anywhere. The way she wore her hair, the slope of her nose, the fit of her clothes. His neighbor was a florist. A florist that he would have to buy flowers from now. And she talked? So, she wasn’t deaf? Maybe Jake had no idea how hearing loss actually worked — Fuck, how long had he been standing there just staring at her?

“Oh, uhm — you’re able to send flowers, right?” he stuttered out, taking unsure steps up to the counter.

“To every nook of the country!” she exclaimed. “You just pick whatever you want and give us the address, and they’ll magically appear.”

The girl angled a computer screen for Jake to see the different options. He took notice of her brightly painted nails more than the actual flowers.

“That would be neat,” Jake faltered. Keep it together, man.

“Do you know what you want? Is it for valentines?”

“I guess, I know she likes the color purple.”

The girl thought for a moment, scrolling through the options, before she decided on leaving from behind the counter. As she waltzed through the store with easy steps, Jake could only admire her. She was adorable, wearing practical denim dungarees with pruning shears in every possible pocket. Not mysterious or as cryptic as he had made her up to be in his head. She was adorable, and appeared to have a vast knowledge of flowers.

“It’s easier to show you the actual flowers than on that stupid screen. We’ve got purple carnations, they’re pretty,” she said, pointing out the carnations apparently.

Jake didn’t know what they were. Smaller than roses and more wrinkly, maybe? The girl read him like a book probably, the unsure look on his face saying more than words could.

“Or you could always do tulips, that’s my favorite. Especially these parrot ones,” she continued, smiling, holding up a bouquet. What a smile.

He knew what tulips were. He had even noticed them through her window.

“Parrot?”

“I think it’s because the petals look like feathers,” she explained.

“Let’s go with those then,” Jake decided in seconds. Not because he knew his mother would like them, but because the girl seemed so excited about showing them. They were her favorite after all. And his mother would love the gesture no matter what, she always did.

“Great choice! I am so tired of men getting red roses when that is no one’s favorite flower,” she exhaled, walking back behind the counter and starting to fill out things on the computer.

“I thought they were a classic?”

“Yeah, a classic way of showing that you haven’t cared to get to know the person that you’re dating.” She raised her eyebrows as she talked.

He understood that a lot of people probably just stumbled into here on Valentine’s Day, buying something because they felt like they had to and not because they actually wanted to.

“I’d appreciate roses, but maybe that’s because I don’t know anything about flowers,” he heard himself say. Was that totally pathetic or could he actually try to keep up a conversation with her?

“You’re allowed to like roses, I’m not going to crucify you for it,” she giggled. “Now who is the lucky person to receive these?”

“They’re for my mom…”

“Hey, no shame in that. I’m sure she’ll love them. Can I get her name and address, and also your name?” she reassured him, writing away at the keyboard while her eyes were still gazing at him.

Jake told her the information and watched as her eyes lit up.

“Jacob Kiszka, huh? I recognize that name,” she said, visibly thinking. “I think we’re neighbors! The mailman mixed up our letters once, I had to roam your entire building to find you. Then I figured out that he’d mixed them up because we live in the same apartment, just on opposite sides of the street.”

She talked quickly, as if she was embarrassed. Jake could barely comprehend what she was saying. She knew who he was?

“I’m sorry for rambling, I promise that I’m not a creep, I just wanted to give you a lost Christmas card,” she apologized.

That would explain the Christmas card he had received a week into January.

“No, no, not at all. I actually recognize you too,” he hurried to say, an attempt at making her feel better.

“You do? I rarely leave my apartment.”

“I’m gonna sound like a creep now, but our windows face each other.”

“Touché,” she laughed. “You play guitar, right? Out on the fire escape sometimes?”

So, she actually recognized him? Not just from the post mix-up?

“Yeah, have you heard me?” Jake asked.

“No, uhm, I’m actually hard of hearing,” she said, gesturing to her ears. “I’m really bad a remembering to wear my hearing aids unless I’m working.”

Jake just nodded, unsure of how to respond, as the girl typed in the last of the information and registered the payment.

“Uhm, so one bouquet of purple parrot tulips will be at your mother’s door right in time for Valentine’s Day.” She clasped her hands together, elbows leaning on the counter.

“Thank you for helping me,” Jake said with uncertainty in his voice. He didn’t want this conversation to end, yet he didn’t know how to continue it. “I guess I’ll see you around, neighbor.”

“I would hope so,” she smiled as Jake walked out of the store, silently cursing himself.

He continued to curse himself throughout his evening shift. She knew who he was and she hoped to see him again, yet he couldn’t manage to keep the conversation going? He couldn’t have asked her something about herself? Something more about flowers? He was starting to believe that he was actually stupid, lacked the ability to navigate a social situation completely.

She had been talkative, and happy, and nervous about rambling — all things that indicated that she was actually interested, if Jake hadn’t been too stressed to notice it.

He got home that night when it was already dark out. He immediately saw the candle burning, as he kicked of his shoes. He didn’t even have to try, it was like it lit up the entire street. Maybe that was just because he was unconsciously constantly looking for it.

He made himself dinner, cleaned some things around his apartment, and got ready for bed, all without looking out the windows. Coming across as needy, or intrusive, was the last of his intentions. It wasn’t until he had to close his blinds that he faced her again.

Sat at her kitchen table, candle burning. But for once, she wasn’t staring at the candle. She had her arms crossed on her windowsill, her head resting in her hands, carefully observing the street below them. As Jake moved by his windows, she looked directly at him, flashed a little smile, and waved her hand daintily.

Jake took an embarrassingly long amount of time to react, but he smiled and waved back. He fell asleep that night with the same smile still stuck on his face.

On February 14th, everything was normal for Jake, except for maybe a couple of annoying customers hurrying to find something to gift their partners. He understood why the girl was so tired of people buying red roses when he encountered a man who didn’t know if their partner would enjoy a Father John Misty or a Sade album more, after just googling the most romantic albums of all time right there in the store.

As he got home that afternoon, something not so normal happened. On his doormat laid a big bouquet of white roses, wrapped in brown paper with a red velvet ribbon tied around the stems. A little card was nestled in between the flowers, reading ‘Will you be my Valentine?’ in cursive writing. Jake felt his hands shake as he pricked the bouquet up. He had never been given flowers before. At first, he assumed that it was Josh or his mother maybe, joking with him for being single. In the back of his mind, he had another wish, a slightly unreasonable but still possible wish. As he opened the card, he couldn’t believe it. In the same cursive writing as on the front he read:

I hope you appreciate roses like you said you would. Still couldn’t get you plain red ones, it hurt my florist heart. This might be batshit crazy, but you know where to find me if you want to answer the question on the front of the card. Love, the girl next door.

He read it a couple times over, slowly realizing that it was in fact true. He fumbled with his keys to open the door and ran over to his window to see if he could spot her. In the same chair as usual, with the candle burning, she sat, waiting for him to notice her. Jake could see how she was nervous, fiddling with her fingers and twisting in her chair. As she spotted him, her jaw dropped slightly before they both started to smile.

Jake wasn’t sure if he lost his mind or was thinking clearly for the first time in a long time, but with a tight grip around the bouquet, he hurried out of his apartment, crossed the street like a madman with no respect for traffic rules and practically jumped up the stairs of her building.

On the second floor, the apartment furthest to the left, he found her, leaning against her doorframe with her hands in her pockets.

“Hi,” the girl giggled.

“Oh, uhm, hi.” Jake stumbled over his words, out of breath. “I’d love to be your Valentine.”

What happened after that is better left unsaid. Let’s just say that the girl stopped spending most of her nights alone, and Jake didn’t have to look out of his window to see her anymore. Usually, he could just turn over in bed to admire her. Lay there for hours, count her birth marks, watch as her eyelashes fluttered as she drifted in and out of sleep.

On certain nights, Jake would still find her sitting in either of their kitchens. In front of a candle burning brightly, half-dressed in one of his shirts, doodling in a notepad. They always kept pens and paper around to communicate, even when she couldn’t hear him that well. If she was tired, or overwhelmed — just knowing that Jake would still try and talk to her through little notes scattered around their apartments helped. A good morning on a post-it note hung on the bathroom mirror, or his work schedule printed out to hang on her fridge so she wouldn’t have to ask.

Sometimes he would just watch her from bed as she stayed up all night, other times he would join her at the table, borrowing a pencil to hijack her doodling. Tonight, he sat by her side as she drew flower after flower, filling up an entire page. He snuck his arm around her as he wrote a small ‘What are you doing up?’ in messy handwriting in one of the corners, knowing that she wouldn’t hear him if he tried to talk.

“Just thinking.” She shook her head as she continued to draw.

‘You ok?’ he then scribbled under his earlier question.

“Better than I’ve been in a while,” she whispered as she leaned over to kiss him.

Thank you for reading and I hope you all have a lovely Valentine's Day!

Join my taglist! ♡

@myleftsock @allieisacrybaby @klarxtr @jakekiszkapunchmeintheface @misshunnybee @imleavingyoufornewyork @gvf-luna @builtbybrokenbells @peaceloveunitygvf @musicspeaks @sanguinebats @gretavanomens @brokebellsgvf

(if the tags don't work, please tell me bc idk what I'm doing wrong)

#gvfvalentines #greta van fleet #greta van fic #greta van fleet fan fiction #jakekiszka

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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smoking-jakelane · 3 months

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Str!ke

Greta Valentines

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x reader!insert

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: fluffy fluff, little makeout session, mentions of bad childhood/ bad relationship w parents | all in all really just heartwarming jake boyfriend

Summary: Jake has planned a Date for you since you completely forgot about Valentines Day.

I saw this post from @seenoversundown and I KNEW that I wanted to write a little blurb to the Valentine's Day theme. So I picked the Bowling Date idea

Soo here it is! I hope you enjoy. Please note: English is not my first language so ignore weird wording or idk anything that you think makes no sense. My dms are open for everyone in case you want to know anything or just to say hi <3

"Could you like, at least tell me where we are going?"

"Absolutely not my angel." Jake said as he mindlessly caressed your thigh with his hand.

"Uurgh." You pout and lean back against the headrest of the passenger seat.

You hear Jake laugh as he turned the music up.

You closed your eyes even though they were covered with Jake's bandana.You silently tapped your feet to the beat, thousand thoughts wandering through your brain; wondering where the hell you two would go this evening was the main one.

The last week has been very stressful to say the least, so you were more than thankful for Jake to make up for it. It did catch you by surprise when he came home today and told you to get ready. When you asked him more than one time what he had planned,he smiled to himself and kept quiet.

You felt the car making a turn and eventually coming to a stop. You turn your head to Jake in anticipation to finally get your vision back.

"Come here." Jake said in a soft voice and carefully turned your head away from him so he could untie the knot at the back of your head.

You grabbed the cloth from your eyes and pinched them together as they were adjusting to the light.

The neon red colored arrows pointing to the entry of the bowling alley catched your eyes. Your lips turned into a smile as you progressed and you turned back to Jake who was watching you.

"We're going bowling? Babe that's awesome!" You laughed as you leaned in and gave him a kiss.

He cupped your face with one of his hands and pulled you back in for another, more deep connection. You sighed into the kiss as you felt your heart beat faster and the warmth of his fingers spiraling from your cheek through your body.

You were at loss for words and even thoughts.

Jake was the first to break the kiss. You didn't even notice that you two were losing yourself in a whole makeout session in the middle of a public parking lot.

Jake brushed the strands of hair out of his face and smirked at you. "As much as I'd want to continue this, I also would like to not miss our reservation."

You giggled at his words. Even after more than two years of dating, it felt like you were still at the start with how much emotions he brought up in you with just the simplest of things he did.

Whether he brought you something from a shopping trip that made him think of you, or the little notes he left on the counter to let you know he loved you and couldn't wait to come home again.

He felt like home. He brought peace in your hectic life and thoughts. Sometimes he could silence the whole world around you and all what mattered stood right in front of you. With hair that reached his collarbones, eyes that had just that sparkle to them and a little mustache which made him look older than he was.

"Oh before I forget, I got something for you. Saw it in a window and immediately thought you would like these."

"Jake..." you tried to stop him but he silenced you with his hand. You softly swatted it away from your face.

"I just wanted to say that you didn't have to do all this. I mean it's a normal Friday evening. What is all this for?"

"Okay look." He stopped and took both of your hands in his. His thumbs slowly stroked the back of your hands.

"I know that you've been busy as hell the last couple of weeks. I feel it the way you are asleep almost every day when I come home. And how you have no motivation or energy on the weekends. So since today is Valentine's Day-"

Oh shit.

He was right. Today was Valentine's Day. You absolutely forgot! Your heart sank and so did your eyes. You were ashamed for the way you neglected him the past weeks and the way he put it in perspective for you now. The sting in your chest hurt and you didn't dare to look at him.

"No don't you dare my sweet angel." You felt his fingers at your chin, slightly tilting it upwards to make you look into his eyes.

"I love you and I want to do anything I can to help you take the load off of your shoulders. You shouldn't feel bad for having a stressful time. Remember me when we prepare for touring? I know how hard it is. And how you are always there for me. So let me do this for you. I swear I love seeing you smile about things that I did. It's an immense boost for my ego you know."

He ended his little monologue with a wink and a playful smile. All you could do was listen and feeling yourself so full of love for this man in front of you. You didn't know how on earth you deserved him.

He squeezed your hands briefly before releasing them. His hands grabbed something from inside his Jacket and handed it to you.

You looked at the item in your hands. It was a black square box with a small satin bow sitting on top. You couldn't wait to see what's inside but you wanted his approval to open in right here in the car. You looked back up at him and he gave you a slight nod.

With your pointer finger and thumb you pulled on one side of the bow and let it fall down in your lap. Slowly you opened the box and let out a silent gasp.

"Jakey..." you whispered and he laid his hand on your thigh.

Inside the box was a pair of beautiful silver earrings. They looked like little swords and had some kind of rhinestone in the middle of the handle.

You began to smile and looked back up at Jake. "They are beautiful, oh my god.." He smiled with you, glad that you liked them as much as he did.

"So.." he started as he began to put away strands of your hair so he could change your earrings. "I think you might know for what these stand."

Of course you knew.

"Starcatcher." You smiled and he nodded.

"Exactly. I thought that when you eventually join us on our next concert, you might as well want to match."

He finished changing your jewelry and looked you up and down.

"Stunning." He said and patted himself on the shoulder; proud that he found something so fitting for you.

You couldn't help but laugh. That was his way of showing you his love, but also playing it down like he was a shy school boy.

His eyes had a spark to them and they seemed to enchant everybody within reach. But right now, right here, they were sparkling just for you. You held your arms out and he immediately leaned in, returning the hug.

"Thank you Jake. I love them. And I love you." You nestled your head into the crook of his neck, the cold silver of the little daggers on your ear sending shivers down your spine.

You breathed in his cologne, mixed with the smell of hair conditioner you both shared. The love you felt for him filled your head and heart.

When you ended the hug his hands were at your shoulders and he looked you in the eyes. "I think we should get going now." He quickly placed a kiss to your forehead before he turned to get out of the car.

You smiled to yourself and opened the passenger door.

——————

"Yes, I found you guys. Reservation for 8pm on the Name Kiszka right?" the Lady at the reception had a friendly smile and her hair was colored in a soft purple.

Jake nodded and gave her the number of your shoe sizes. She turned around and searched for them before returning to the desk. In the meantime you let your eyes wander over the many bowling alleys. The light was dimmed and the air kind of thick.

It wasn't too full, maybe three or four alleys still unused. You smiled to yourself. It has been a while since the last time you went bowling.

The lady returned to the desk and handed you the shoes. "Thank you and have fun you guys." She smiled polite as she let her eyes fall back to the monitor in front of her.

"I love your hair, it really suits you." You said and smiled at her. She immediately looked back up and raised her eyebrows in surprise. You caught her offguard by the way it took a moment for her to react to your words.

Her face began to visibly light up and her hand flew to the strand of hair that was hanging loose from the messy bun. "Oh my god thank you so much!"

You felt your heart grew big in your chest. That was exactly why you started to give other people compliments. It was your mission to make the people around you feel good about themselves.

Nowadays, those words slipped easily out of your mouth. But that wasn't the case right before you've met Jake.

From your childhood on, you were surrounded by nothing but egoism. Your parents, your siblings; everyone put themselves first without thinking about how others might feel. In the end all they did was hurt themselves and the people around.

Everything inside of your body was rebelling against this behaviour they showed you. So you wanted to change. It was a hard battle, especially when you still lived with them.

When you moved out of your parents house and in your own flat, that was the turning point for you and your life. Finally, after years, you've felt at peace. Not only with yourself but also with your parents. It was in your hands when you wanted to see them. And that was almost never the case.

While you were working in that little music shop in Nashville you've met Jake. He was there almost every weekend renting out a huge variety of guitars and basses. Jake always wanted to talk to you, even though he almost never had enough time to do so.

And when you weren't there, he let your coworkers give you little handwritten notes with questions or random stuff that were going through his brain.

He never failed to make you smile.

You felt Jake's hand in yours and he patiently smiled at you before he led you to your designated bowling alley.

„I love the way you're always in your head after giving away compliments to strangers." Jake said with a soft voice.

You looked at him while he smiled to himself. „Stalker!" you laughed and softly shoved him.

When you arrived at your Bowling Lane for the night, Jake typed in your names in the little computer. You sat down and looked at the drinks menu, deciding that a little alcohol would be the right perfect way to go.

Shortly after Jake was done, the waiter came and you ordered for the both of you, knowing exactly what he would want to drink.

"Ready to get destroyed?" Jake asked and wiggled his eyebrows with a devilish smile.

"Uuh cocky." You smiled and got up from your seat. "Let's hit it."

————————

„I absolutely destroyed you there you know that?" the satisfaction of winning against Jake made your cheeks hot and your heart pumping in your chest.

„I'm never going again! It's not fair how good you are!" he playfully whined and slowed down in his steps.

You didn't notice as you kept walking to your car. You felt so happy, this whole evening making up all the stress from the last couple of weeks.

Your slightly drunk mind was still singing that one song that the bowling center played in the background and you started dancing on the sidewalk. You hummed the melody of the song and let your arms sway from side to side. As you turned around while dancing you caught Jake standing still with his phone pointed at you.

He sheepishly smiled at you and stored it in his back pocket before making his way to you. As he came closer, you tilted your head up and put your hands on your hips.

„Did you just film me?" you said and squinted your eyes at him.

Jake came to a stop, just millimeters from your body and you could feel his breath on your skin.

„I wanted to keep this as a memory." he whispered and put his hands around your shoulders.

You smiled and layed your head on his chest, his heart producing a steady beat. „Oh Jakey... thank you so much for tonight" you sighed and closed your eyes.

„Not for this Angel." Jake smiled and softly kissed your head.

When you released yourself from the hug, he let one arm laying around your shoulder as you continued your way to the car.

„Oh did I tell you about how I absolutely ended your bowling career?" you started again and the vibrations of his laughter shook both of your bodies.

„You're going to hold that against me forever, aren't you?" he said while smiling down at you.

„Oh absolutely I will."

#greta van fleet #gvf #jake kiszka #jake gvf #josh kiszka #danny wagner #sam kiszka #date night #greta van fleet fan fic #greta valentines

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