#Best Coffee Shops Tampa

[bitchinbarzal]

Last Christmas | M.Barzal

this is my entry for @antoineroussel christmas fic exchange!

this is for you, @lhugh! happy holidays annie 🎄🤍

this fic does use they/them pronouns as they are annie’s pronouns! 🫶🏼

word count: 2,461 words

-

Last Christmas, you walked into December planning every festive activity possible; the Rockefeller Christmas tree, Nutcracker at New York City ballet, Radio City Rockettes even letting Mat show you up at skating.

That was until Mat dropped the break up bomb on you. You couldn’t really comprehend it all, too confused and hurt at once.

You were supposed to spend Christmas with Mat and the team at the Martin’s. You never answered Sydney’s texts after the breakup.

You spent Christmas alone.

You were thankful the islanders tanked their 21/22 season. It meant that they all left to go home as soon as possible.

That meant no islanders, no jerseys, no chants on the train home from work.

No Mat.

He went home to Coquitlam two days after the islanders lost to Tampa.

Mat spent his first summer in seven years bouncing around from place to place. He was out on the lake with Tyson for a few weeks and he visited Anthony and Emma when they bought their new home in Quebec.

He wasn’t home long with his family until he got a call, from Brock. His dad had died.

He asked if you and Mat could attend the funeral, his father really adored you both in the time he’d met you and he knew Mat well. Mathew agreed to attend, claiming you were busy but sent your well wishes.

He flew into Minnesota the day prior, dropping off flowers to Brock’s mom and she welcomed him into her home giving him a drink and thanking him for coming.

“He always liked watching you play, unless you played against Vancouver of course” she laughed, Mat gave her a smile “It’s a shame y/n couldn’t come”

“Yeah, it’s a shame” he mumbled.

Next he saw her was at the funeral, listening while she stood talking about her husband, the love she had for him, how much she missed him already.

All Mat could think about when he heard her words were you.

You were his best friend.

You were the person who knew him best.

You were supposed to be around forever.

When Mat got home after that trip he didn’t do much, he was no longer in the mood to go out partying, celebrating with friends.

Mat returned to Long Island in the end of August.

He frequented the coffee shop you guys often did and he even walked the route in the morning you did. He didn’t see you.

It wasn’t until week 3 of attending the same coffee shop that the barista, Logan said to him

“Mat, they don’t come in here anymore I’m sorry. Said they needed a fresh start after the breakup”

He silently nodded to the girl, hoping she hadn’t caught his face falling. He simply took his flat white from the counter and exited to building.

Contract talks started in mid-september.

The organization called in May to the office to discuss; throwing around money and perks.

He took the time to digest the information. He called him mom and dad to see what their opinions were on the whole thing, called his financial advisor and even called Anders but the number he kept hovering over belonged to you.

Everyone’s advice was along the lines of “you need to see yourself settling down in Long Island with a contract term like that” and he did, with you.

The deal was signed on October 4th.

@ny_islanders: “I love It here” says Mathew Barzal, after signing his 8 year extension to stay here in Long Island 💙🤍🧡

You read the tweet, saw the posts and the stories from your mutual friends. You wanted to text him — tell him congratulations, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

So instead, you simply put an orange heart emoji under the islanders post about his extension and scrolled on.

Mat saw it. His heart soared at the simplicity of it but yet the fact he knew you were still thinking of him, that you in some way still cared.

Late October, the leaves were starting to fall and hockey was beginning again. Mat wasn’t playing his best — missing goals, easy passes and a lot of falling over.

People started doubting him; calling him a fake, a money grabber and claiming they wished Lou hadn’t even drafted his extension papers.

Mat started to doubt himself too.

was he good enough?

should he have signed the papers?

was he worth the money?

was Long Island better off without him? were you?

There is was! The real problem.

Ever since that last December his mind had been stuck on you and really it shouldn’t have because it was his fault, he broke up with you.

If anyone asked Mat why you broke up he would say “We just wanted different things”

If Mat was honest with himself he would say “I was scared I wasn’t enough for them”

The first few months of hockey came and passed with not a single goal from Mat.

Lambert pulled him aside one morning at practice to tell him “You better get your head out of your ass son because one more game the way you’ve been going and you’ll be benched for the rest of this year”

The last game in November, against Philadelphia Mat was a healthy scratch.

His punishment was over by the next game but Lane told him in no specific terms he had to step up. Mat just groaned and mumbled a “Yeah, I’m fucking trying” before leaving the office.

It was harder now that it was December.

In summer he could just pretend things weren’t different.

You weren’t at his families house? You had to be with your mom.

He was alone at the casino event? You had work.

But Christmas, that was different. Christmas wasn’t something he could sweep under the rug and pretend you were busy.

You’d spent every Christmas together since Mat was eighteen years old. Your first Christmas in New York was an overwhelming experience and Mat thought it adorable at how excited you were about everything.

He bought you a necklace that year. It had his number on it, the gold chain necklace held the number thirteen on your chest and you never took it off.

It was a staple piece in your collection, whenever someone at one of your fancy work dinners or meetings would ask

“Hey why does your necklace have the thirteen on it?”

You would smile so bright, in such adoration and reply “My boyfriend, mat. He plays hockey for the New York Islanders and he’s number thirteen! but always number one to me” and everyone would laugh and call you cute.

You’d left that necklace behind the night you’d packed your stuff up to leave. Mat found it when he returned home from Boston on an away game to find you’d obviously been in and cleared out your belongings too while he was gone.

He took the necklace and posted it to your mom’s house, the only address connected to you he knew. He never knew if you’d gotten it back, not that it mattered much anyway because why would you want to wear it after you’d broken up?

Mat’s no goal streak continued up to the last game before Christmas, December 23rd and he was goal-less.

He was so frustrated at everything he couldn’t think straight about getting this goal. He was spending Christmas alone for the second year in a row — alone, without you.

He couldn’t stop thinking about you no matter how hard he tried. How you’d been here tonight wearing a silly Christmas jumper and cheering about the last game before Christmas.

They tanked the first period, Tkachuk got away with the puck leaving them up one by the end of the first. There were so many penalties, stupid penalties. It was a mess.

Second period, they equalised in the first few minutes with a goal from Beau before Brock got them up another which was matched not long after by Florida.

When the third period hit it was like something went off in Mat, that he had a surge of energy.

He got a goal, his first season goal! Then another and another with only a few seconds left on the clock.

Hat-trick. He got a hatty.

He’d done it. He finally scored a goal this season, they won the game and he got a hat-trick!

So why didn’t he feel like it was enough?

When he got back to the locker room, Mat pulled his phone out of his bag and looked at his notifications; texts from friends and family congratulating him on the goals, random emails but it was as though he was searching for something.

He clicked through the phone until he landed on what he wanted and pressed it before holding the phone up to his ear.

It rang twice before it connected

“Hello?”

“Um, hey! This is weird and I’m not sure why I’m doing this but I felt like I had to because, well because I scored my first goal of the season tonight. I scored my first season goal and I got a hatty too which I mean is a lot but I don’t feel like it’s enough”

Mat sighed, completely blocking out his team-mates listening to this conversation and looking on with sympathy

“It’s not enough because I know you’re not here-“

“-Mat-“

“No, please let me finish it’s taken me long enough to get the courage to call you. I was stupid for what I did last Christmas and I will wholeheartedly tell you that this year has been the worst year of my life and maybe you call that karma, I call it a wake up call that you… you’re the love of my life and that I want to be with you, I was scared and stupid but I’m better I will be better for you! I’m ready to be the man you need”

After his spiel, Mat took a deep breath awaiting your answer but instead was met with a dead line.

You hung up on him.

Mat looked dejectedly at him phone in hand before he got up to get dressed as he was very spitefully aware of the media and press awaiting him outside the door.

He breezed through media by giving them one word answers and a bored look, they usually let him away early when he did that.

Collecting his bag from the now empty locker room and sulking down the hallway towards the car park.

He wasn’t even looking up, instead opted for the wonderful view of his scuffed shoes. Paying so little attention he didn’t even see you standing at the end of the hallway.

“Nice shot!” His head whipped up, locking eyes with you almost immediately.

You watched his face go through a multitude of emotions before it softened and he muttered “What-“

“I was here Mat” is what you said, gesturing to the stairs you’d descended from your seat “I was sat up there and I watched it, I was cheering you on”

Mat was speechless, fumbling over his words and his eyes flickered across your body, trying to drink you in while you were stood in front of him before his eyes landed on your neck.

Lay on your black shirt was a necklace, the necklace.

The number thirteen lay to elegantly on your chest “You got it”

You looked down and smiled “Oh yeah, my mom sent it to my apartment” playing with it between your thumb and pointer finger.

A soft silence settled between you both, it wasn’t weird or awkward — it could never be awkward between you and Mat.

Until Mat broke the silence by asking

“Why are you here?”

You smiled gently “The islanders last game before Christmas has always been my tradition since I moved to New York you know that and so I never changed it this year, despite the circumstances” the last bit was a little snappy and he knew that.

“I meant what i said on that call by the way” you nodded curtly as a reply before holding out your hand for him to take

“How about you drive us around that neighbourhood with the good Christmas lights and we can talk, in the car eh?”

The Christmas lights, another tradition between you both.

Mat reached out, clasping his hand in yours and nodding “Yeah, let’s do that”

The lights on peoples home’s had somehow gotten better this year and you admired them all in a childlike fashion from the passenger seat of Mathew’s Range Rover.

“This is one of my favourite traditions we started” you say, still looking out the window. Your hand rested now on the console in the middle of the car.

Mat slipped his hand into yours, taking a leap of faith which paid off when you clasped it in yours and squeezed it.

“Yeah, i love it” he muttered, pulling the car into the side of the road now you’d reached the end of the street.

You turned to him now, waiting for him to say something.

“Listen, this is all really weird and I wish I was better with words because I would like to be able to tell you the million and one ways in which I absolutely adore you and regret what I did last Christmas every single day. However, what I can do is promise you, I promise you that I will work everyday to prove to you how much I love you and how sorry I am — I ruined Christmas and I think that’s what hurts the most is that I tainted something you love so much-“

You cut him off then, your hands resting on his cheeks; forcing him to look at you and you said “Christmas is not ruined, Christmas has brought me back to the boy I love with my whole heart and being. Don’t you ever think that you ruined Christmas because sure it wasn’t fun last year but we will have a million more Christmas’ to make up for it”

He nodded, head moving slightly so he could press a kiss onto your palm “I’ll make every Christmas the most special just for you”

“As long as I’ve got you, baby any Christmas is special”

On Christmas, when Mat arrived late to the Lee’s for Christmas with the team he walked in smiling

“Sorry, sorry I’m late I had to pick something up!”

“Dude it’s Christmas Day where could you possibly have gone to pick-“ Anthony cut himself off when he saw you enter the house, gifts stacked up in your arms that you placed on the table next to the door before grabbing Mat’s outreached hand.

“Oh my god, it’s a Christmas miracle!”

[all-risejd]

A New Judgment Chapter 12.5: Tilted Dimensions (A poly Judgment Day Crossover Fic)

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Part 10. Part 11. Part 12.

In which Danika from After Shine meets Nessa from A new Judgement and they help each other. This chapter was written by all three of the people between A New Judgment and After Shine.

The little cafe is a hit or miss place in Tampa, there aren't many people who even know it exists, so when they are in Tampa, Danika does her solid best to make sure they get coffee and muffins from Tilted Dimensions. The barista knows her to a point, and within seconds of walking in he's already smiling at her and asking, "The usual?"

"You know me too well, Tommy." She smiles as she walks up to the counter, to write her name on the cups for him, he's never been good at spelling Gutiérrez. The bell behind her rings, a girl about her size and build pushes in from the rain and wind that Tampa is currently weathering. "Just yell for me, ok? I'm going to snag a booth." She pats the counter, even as she moves to step past the new face, clocking The Judgment Day shirt the girl has on, "Oh, cool duds, ma'am." She sidesteps the fellow redhead, and snags a booth, settling into it.

-/-

Nessa forces the door open to the little coffee shop to get out of the storm that seemingly came out of nowhere and shakes the water droplets off her arms and shakes out her hair and gets in line behind a woman with purple hair who appears to be the same height as she is in her heels. Nessa glances to her feet to notice a pair of five inch heels compared to Nessa's three inch heels she decided to wear that day. Nessa appreciates the shape it gives the woman's legs that lead to the short skirt paired with a familiar shade of purple leather jacket.

The woman turns and compliments Nessa's shirt before going to a booth and Nessa is confused. The woman knows who The Judgement Day is but not her though Nessa knows she is still very new and not everyone will know who she is. Nessa shrugs and steps up to the counter to see the man behind the counter with a name tag reading Tommy who smiles knowingly.

"Can I get a cold brew with sweet foam?"

"Sure thing, can I get a name for the order?" Tommy asks and Nessa smiles and gives her first name before stepping back to patiently wait for her order.

-/-

Danika hums along to the top forty on the radio above her as she waits for Tommy to finish their orders - it's a lot, between the kids, Dolph's ridiculous smoothie order, and all the healthy shit Demi, Luis and Fergal ask for on the regular. Her newest tattoo itches slightly, that's what she gets she supposes for getting a thigh piece - the ivy runs up and curls around the surnames of all her lovers, in runic.

Tommy, as always butchers "Gutiérrez." When he tries to say it, but this is one of the few places she feels comfortable enough using it, she gently corrects him as she moves out of her booth to pick up the order at the counter. As she turns to the other patron - the redhead with the Judgment Day shirt, is staring at her as if there is something wrong with her. Looking the girl over, Danika notices the shirt doesn't feature herself or AJ. Sure, Danika knows there are a handful of people who prefer the core four - Dom, Rhea, Damian, and Finn, perhaps this woman is one of them?

With one arm holding the box of muffins, and the drink carrier with one hand - she's proficient at this now, she has her cold brew with sweet foam in her free hand having shoved both her car keys and phone into her bra. "You good there, pumpkin?" Danika asked the other woman.

-/-

Nessa's head snaps towards the barista when he calls out Gutiérrez and the purple haired woman bounces over and grabs a tonne of drinks and a box of pastries after shoving her keys and phone in her bra. Nessa stares at the woman who stares back looking equally confused before asking, "You good there, pumpkin?"

"Uh... yeah you just have the same name as someone I am really close to..." Nessa answers.

"There aren't that many of us around Tampa, anymore, I think Aalyah lives in Jacksonville with Buddy, oooh, is Aalyah your friend? She needs more friends..." The woman offers, smiling warmly.

"Aalyah lives in San Diego with Angie still what are you talking about?" Nessa asks, extremely confused.

"Let's back up here. I'm Danika Wesson Gutiérrez, who are you?" The girl, Danika apparently, offers, moving to settle her purchases on a nearby table, she looked just as confused as Nessa felt.

"I'm Nessa, Dominik's girlfriend of sorts..."

Danika bites her bottom lip, thinking carefully, "Okay, sweetie, let's say I believe you. Where does your Dominik live?"

"Depends on the week. He typically stays with Damien, Finn and Rhea at their houses in down time. Right now we are at Rheas house. How do you know Dom and Aalyah and why do you share their last name?" Nessa explains and asks, still confused and takes a sip of her coffee.

-/-

She probably waits too long to answer, but this is going to be interesting, she can already tell, "Ohhhkay, sweetheart, let me..." She hums, "Ok, so, Dominik and I live here in Tampa, I just finished moving all of Luis' and Fergie's stuff into our house, Demi's still got her apartment in Tampa, but we've been using it for storage lately. I know Dom and Aalyah because Oscar and Angie adopted me, when I was eleven."

Nessa shakes her head trying to collect her thoughts and takes a seat, wondering if Dominik lied to her their entire relationship, was there a third Mysterio kid? "Dominik and I have been dating since late 2018 early 2019. He met me when I was an ER nurse. He up and dumped me over text about 6 months ago when he joined The Judgment Day. We reconnected recently and I was asked to join a unique dynamic..."

Danika drops into the seat next to her, eyeing the girl, and trying to decide if they are the same age or not. Dominik would never cheat on her, or their group. She shakes her head softly, there is absolutely no way that Dominik could hold a lie for that long. "Dominik and I have been sort of together since 2015, whenever he and his girlfriends would break up we would fuck around, we are one hundred percent platonic soul mates... I'm a member of the Judgment Day..." Danika frowns, "Eight months ago, when he joined? Dom only joined three months ago."

Nessa looks at Danika like she is crazy, "No it is eight months ago, It is April 2023 he joined eight months ago. I just joined the company and by extension The Judgment Day as medical specifically for just The Judgment Day. Jefe got me basically fired from my job to force me to join and try to go back with Dom."

"Ok, first you're Jefe sounds like a complete dick." Danika offers, unamused, "No, it's one hundred percent December, Dominik just got arrested in San Diego filming this stupid segment at Abuelo and Abuela's house..." Danika folds her arms over her chest. "What uh, what time are you from?" Danika is pretty sure they've stepped into some weird time issue here, but she's not about to sound completely crazy in front of this girl. "What uh, what is currently happening for you?"

Nessa is pretty sure she stepped into an episode of Doctor Who, so she is trying to choose her words safely. "We are fresh off of WrestleMania 39, Jefe brought me ringside to fight with Dom. He wanted to manipulate or distract him. We just finished the April 14th smackdown to spend time at Rhea's so she can see her dogs."

"Shit." Danika frowns, "We are a month removed from Survivor Series, wait - did your Dominik not get arrested in December?" Danika's mind is racing, she needs this other woman to believe her, "This is Doctor Who, yes?" She looks around for Tommy, but the bastard is mysteriously absent from behind the counter, with only a timer by the register ticking down from an hour. "Uh, so the best way to keep Demi happy with her dogs is to get a bus, trust me on that one."

"Oh that is a good idea, but I can't afford that. I'll have to figure something out. And Dom wasn't actually arrested in December, it was just a bit for the story. And yes this seems like it is Doctor Who." Nessa looks around and sees the timer counting down. "Looks like we have a little under an hour to figure this out?" Nessa wonders out loud.

"Ok." Danika nods, "First we should probably confirm who we are."

Nessa nods along and pulls out her phone and brings up a series of pictures starting with her and Dominik in various cute couple pictures, them kissing each other, pictures from family holidays, a picture she had with Rhea where she kissed her cheek in the car and ending on the picture of her asleep on Damien's lap.

"Apparently no matter the universe, Damian is way too hot." Danika offers, smiling at the other girl, "Alright, so, I got receipts, three of them I gave birth to." Danika raises an eyebrow and moves to not only show her pictures, but a whole album full of her with the Judgment Day and with Lainey, Jace, Nico, Rosa, and Angel. "Rosa and Nico are the twins I share with Dom, we had Angel in September." She explains. "How old are you?"

"Uh... I'm twenty-six, and we were trying for kids when he up and dumped me over text. His excuse was he was trying to protect me" Nessa rolls her eyes and smiles sadly. "What about you?"

"I'm twenty-three, I'll be twenty-four at our WrestleMania." Danika explains, softly, "Alright, so Dom never bothered to protect me from the WWE, but we did try to keep the kids out of. He is amazing with kids, they all are, Demi is trying so hard to not admit she's obsessed with Angel, Fergie claims he doesn't want his own kids, but that'll probably change. Lainey," She pulls her phone back to her and pulls up the image, "Is my biological younger sister, Dom helped me adopt her, and Jace, he uh.. He belongs to Damian, you should probably figure out if that's something in your universe or not." Danika shrugs, unsure as she scrolls to an image of Jace, "He, uh, he was a surprise."

"I'm sorry what!" Nessa exclaims shocked and quickly collects herself trying to be mindful of the time. "I'll look into that. Uh do me a favor and tell your Dems to try to get more time with her Nonna ok. Can I ask you a question?" Nessa rattles off her thoughts, a jumbled mess.

"I'll tell Dems, I promise, I need you to tell your Dominik that he needs to talk to Hunter about secret papers and a Lowrider, it won't make any sense yet, but trust me. You can ask me anything, I'll do my best to answer. You mentioned a poly-relationship?"

"Yeah I... Sort of. They are a polycule and asked me to join. I've been thinking about it since WrestleMania and experimenting with them to see if I'd fit in well and they have been so welcoming and patient, especially with some issues from my past." Nessa struggles to get out.

Danika exhales and taps her fingers on the table, "So, Luis and I started dating first, Dom and Dems decided to date after she started beating the shit out of him, Fergie is in the middle of a divorce, uh, Vero may not exist in your world, but she was his wife. We've sort of started a polycule ourselves, but like we haven't talked about it, we are hella domestic." Danika gushes, "Like, Fergie helps the kids with their homework, Dems is always chasing the twins, Luis is honestly the best, uh... so, the kids call Dom 'Papito' even Jace, and Luis is 'Papi', I'm 'Momma', Demi is starting to be 'Mum' or 'Mummy' and Fergal is 'Fergie', although I have a feeling the kids are going to start calling him 'Da' soon."

"Dems and I kissed first, then Luis kissed me at a signing and freaked out that he might have crossed a line so I kissed him back fervently once we were back at the hotel. Besides that, I've just been getting to know them. I want kids as many as I can have honestly and I think I want to do that with them. I want them to be my future." Nessa explains and starts chewing her poor abused thumbnail.

Danika smiles even brighter, "You mentioned your past, I grew up in a shitty home, the Mysterio's taking me in saved my life... If you can make it work with all four of them, you should do it, my Fergie has... his own issues, he hasn't admitted it, but he's ace, so all of us are like, doing our best with affection - oooh, is AJ in your Judgment Day, too?"

Nessa gags and shakes her head, "Hell no, that homophobic piece of shit can have a child named after him for all I care. As for my past it is uh hard to talk about, lets just say I have issues with people, with men touching me and with sudden violent outbursts. Dominik helped me heal and move forward but sometimes I still struggle. As for the polycule they are already together with no separate relationships and it is something I am learning. There is no Vero and Finn is Demi though I think he is building that emotional relationship with me since he cuddled me all night recently."

"We each have relationships with one another, like Dems and I have our own sort of relationship, Dom has his own relationship with Luis, but we are all together to a point, the four of us anyways as teammates raising the kids. We all each flirt with Fergal, so... Ohhh, naming a child after AJ, harsh, but I love it. He was one of us for a while, he just broke his ankle, but before that he told us he couldn't 'support' Fergie's relationship with us, so now it's just the five of us, Jefe I think has plans of joining us, if he can get Hunter to sign off, but I have no concrete proof of that." Danika shrugged, "Luis' overall loud persona with Damian still startles me most of the time, at first I struggled, but Luis is one hundred percent my safe-space, and before I forget Finn cuddles are the absolute best, but his ribs are kind of jabby."

"Yes I noticed his ribs are jabby. Luis is safe but he flipped out when he found out about my recent past and it kinda unsettled me but only for a bit. Dom is my safe space, he knows and brings me snacks to stress eat and just lets me be to process instead of trying to fix it right away. Finn tried to take my snacks when... well when something happened. Dems is another safe space who just lets me be." Nessa smiles thinking about how kind and caring they have been.

Danika plays with her jacket before peeling it off completely, "Luis... has a past, as I'm sure you're aware of, you should take a chance and ask him why he reacted the way he did, he won't be upset, if anything he'll be more enamored with you, because you want to know something about him that doesn't come from the internet or his Chronicle." She taps her nails on the tabletop, "Question for you?"

"Yes, ask away." Nessa smiles and sips her coffee again.

"First, why is your hair still red? I was forced by Creative to dye my natural hair purple. Second, do you like tattoos, because... I think I should show you some that we have as a group, I mean, not that I'm not blatantly encouraging you to get with the same four people I'm with in another universe or something, like, do the thing, girlie, it's so worth it."

"I've only been with the company for a few weeks and my primary thing is medical even though I have done very little. Apparently Jefe had it stipulated that I control my hair and style for the most part and have some creative control so cool I guess trying to buy my forgiveness. And yes please show me the tattoos, I have quite a few myself. I just tend to cover them up out of habit because of work and the fact that they cover scars." Nessa shrugs, eyeing the pastry box her stomach growling.

Danika immediately started to shimmy out of her t-shirt, revealing her ribs where fresh ink was still healing - a skill in black liquid in a small wine glass, with 'til death' written up the side and a set of roman numerals under them. She pushes the pastry box toward Nessa, "Eat up, pumpkin." She encouraged, before twisting just enough to show off the ink better, "Some of mine cover scars, or like... weird birthmarks." Danika explained, "So we got this one in Vegas, and I have some on my phone that they got before I had Angel, and we've got this one." She moved to hike her skirt up a bit, to show her upper thigh, where set of wings were tattooed, "We all have our own wings," She grins, "You were a nurse, that's really amazing, I bet you worked in Pediatrics, the way you lit up looking at Dominik's kids, and before all this I had a job, well, sort of I guess I still have it. I'm an Influencer, well I was, before I got sucked into the WWE full time. I worked with Monster Factory, Ring of Honor, Impact, and AEW for a short while, sort of... all of them doing favors for Jefe, seriously your Jefe is a piece of work, he reminds me of my Madre, er, Angie."

"Angie seems truly remorseful, Aalyah has already apologized and meant it. That reminds me I need to call her. I just don't want to give her the satisfaction." Nessa moans as she takes a bite and continues, "The relationship between the group is common knowledge in the company though I don't think she knows specifics. And yeah he is. Got a pretty bruise on my wrist from him gripping too hard and one on my back from him, the one on my back is my fault though I missed a mark and got in the way. I think he had an issue with the dynamic.' Nessa pauses to grab another bite thinking about what all Danika had said, "Oh yeah Once the pandemic hit I was transferred to the Peds ward because the whole dying children thing was too much for a lot of people, and I was promoted to charge nurse not long after Dom broke up with me," Nessa finishes the pastry and pushes the box back towards Danika thanking her. "Do you really think I should go for it? It seems really intense though I have never felt more comfortable and safe..."

"The intensity is always going to be there, but it ebbs a bit, there is a natural flow, I promise. Uh, for example, Nico, my youngest twin, he has inner-ear problems, he's had a bunch of ear infections and was born with ear drums that weren't completely developed." She pauses and grabs a chocolate chip muffin herself, she peels the label and takes a bite, "I traditionally take care of the medical stuff for the kids, but Dom and Dems, and then Fergie, ended up being the ones to fly to San Diego to get him into our family doctor, and actually stayed with him through surgery..." She shrugs her shoulders, "While they were gone, Luis just took over meal prep which Dems normally does when we are on the road, and Buddy, er Buddy Matthews who is engaged to my Aalyah, flew out to help the kids with their schooling, the intensity between the five of us is an amazing synergy, it's hard to explain, but so worth it."

Nessa taps her fingers to the table, "Does Luis have to always have a hand on you? He is so handsy, not that I am complaining..." Nessa drinks her coffee trying to get the courage to ask what is on her mind.

Danika snorts, shifting closer, while also wiping at the makeup on her neck, "I wear his handprint like a collar, I think I also have a handprint on my ribs from Fergie, but that was him trying to catch me while we were practicing my skyscraper with him - I can do the skyscraper off Dems and Luis' shoulders pretty easily, Dom just tends to throw me around, you look like you wanna ask me something, beeb, so go ahead."

"Uh what does your Luis like in bed? What do they all do? I mean I know Dom likes to be Papi and in control with me but the others..." Nessa eyes the mark on Danika's neck with mixed emotions.

Danika chokes on her drink for a moment trying to not splash Nessa, after calming down, she exhales, "Well I can't speak for your Finn, as you call him, since my Fergal isn't the most inclined to sex, he's very affectionate, and we are super lucky when he gives us kisses or cuddles. Luis is in charge, he's Daddy in the bedroom one hundred percent, we joke and say I'm in charge of everything else in our relationship, but he's the one who Dom's us all, like... he can and will put me in subspace so fast. A big part of his love language is the marks. Demi accidently dropped me at a waterpark like a month ago, which was... intense, but she's such a caregiver, like... she likes to mark you up, scratches are acceptable, she's good about not going to deep with the claws, mostly she's a Dom, but she lets Luis Dom her." Danika takes another bite, "Dom and I are both subs, or at least my Dom is a sub, I'm more daddy than him, we both are pretty easy to drop, now that I think about it..."

"Well we have that in common at least. Dom and I haven't been able to be very physical for the last few years because of, well, the Pandemic and both our jobs. I think our Luis's are the same, I get that energy from him. He hasn't dropped me into subspace... yet but he came close. Dom is a switch at least with me, the rest Dom him even Finn, but Dom well Dom's me. Same with Rhea. I don't know how easy I am to drop into subspace since we haven't been able to experiment much with it, at least with me and Dom..." Nessa swallows trying to make coherent sentences with the jumbles going on in her head.

Danika watches her for a few seconds, thoughtfully, "Wanna talk me through whatever's got you looking like you're gonna bolt just from this conversation? We still have like," Danika glances at the timer, "Thirty minutes before we can leave or we wake up from whatever this is."

"I... Uh... I have issues with physical intimacy sometimes and touch. For reasons I think you'll understand and not need a lot of explanation since we don't have that much time. Dom helped me a lot when we got together... Then quarantine happened and it was like I backtracked so the rare occasion we could it was hard and I felt bad still. Sometimes it takes a lot out of me just for the physicality we already do and I haven't even agreed to join them yet..." Nessa leans back in her seat.

"Because of how I grew up," Danika starts, then rethinks it, "Let me try this again, growing up - touch wasn't welcome, it was violent and mean. When I joined the Mysterio family, Jefe did everything he could to make me understand that physical touch more often than not meant physical affection from the right people." Danika places her hand on the table palm up and inviting, if Nessa wants to take it she has the option, "You're touch starved, my Fergie is touch starved, we set goals like, thirty minutes of positive touch a day, reinforced with praise and like... open admissions of affection."

"We had a uh situation the other day where when we were talking about boundaries in the relationship my past came up and Luis... bless... he and Dems they accidentally triggered me and I needed to ground myself. I couldn't do touch at least with Luis and I felt so bad, especially that night that I called Dom to come cuddle me because he makes me feel safe and I let Dems do it as well and he found us like that the next morning." Nessa leans forward and grabs Danika's hand. "The touch thing is primarily with men... and I have been trying to keep a hand on Luis trying to make sure he knows I don't blame him or think differently of him but god if I am not exhausted."

Nodding her head, Danika seems contemplative for a few moments, it's not her usual setting, Danika is chaos for the sake of it, but this situation calls for something else entirely. She softly squeezes Nessa's hand, "You need to talk to your Luis. Mine stopped being so loud when he realized yelling was a precursor to hits in my youth. You might initiate touch with him, but until he has the greenlight, he's not going to really be comfortable doing touch back, I imagine if he's done anything forward with you, he's probably apologized or freaked out about it, he is very big on consent. So is Demi, there are skeletons in those two past that even I haven't unlocked, and while they are similar, I have a feeling we might have slightly different origin stories for them both, Demi and Luis are both guarded, to a point, but they use physical touch so violently so often, that gentle touches are their way to show... hmm... to show how much they admire me or Dom or Finn, how much they want to protect us or how much they want us."

"Dems realized when I used my safeword and switched gears and got Luis out and explained. From there he has been controlling himself more. I see the struggle and he has been treating me like I'll break at any moment and it drives me nuts. We had a signing the day after and things were getting better, felt normal again and he kissed me in front of the fans then shut down after." Nessa starts blushing and bites her lip before continuing, "I pulled him into my hotel room when we got back and we talked again and I kissed him like he kissed me at the signing and it was so hard not to go any farther, especially because we agreed no sex until after I made a decision to join them..."

Danika flashes a wicked smile, "Controlling himself, huh. Do you sit in his lap often - and good call waiting to have sex until you're comfortable and have decided to fully join the polycule."

Nessa rolls her eyes having an idea where the womans mind went, "Yes controlling himself, has barely raised his voice outside of work and has tried to tone down the machismo energy. Though I would appreciate carrying my own bags and opening my own doors sometimes..." Nessa pouts

"You don't get to carry your own bags, dude, I'd kill for some of these assholes to carry my shit... They do at least open the doors, look, if you want Damo to come out to play, in any form? Bite his neck or collarbones, really bite them. Don't play bite them, aim to bring blood. His whole NXT background as a vampire comes from his obsession with vampires."

"Dude Finn even grabbed my purse one time because I said they were too macho to carry it..." Nessa laughs then snorts and blushes a mischievous glint in her eye at the suggestion.

"That tracks for Fergie, he stole my Ring of Honor hoody last month... and it's pink." Danika rolls her eyes, "So you're in the ring, right? Like you're getting ring time, have you had matches?"

"No I'm not a wrestler, I'm a nurse by skill and choice. Though I have been flung about by Zelina and now Jefe. I might in the future but I'd have a lot of training to do. I am content just escorting them to the ring and making sure they are safe and healthy." Nessa shakes her head, "I have had like a week and a half of training. If i were to even try to wrestle I would be killed"

"Dude, Scrap Daddy and Hunter never gave me the option to just valet. They straight up assumed I'd want in on the action, and honestly punching Edge in the face was glorious. See if you can get Indi Hartwell from NXT to give you some sessions, valets still need to be able to handle themselves, if anything you need to know how to take a hit, roll a duck, avoid serious injury, like hitting the announce table from a botch. I've got shoulder stitches right now even though I trained because I missed a mark."

"Hunter has me paired with someone who is traveling with us, I train every day. And behind the scenes Zelina is really helping me." Nessa smiles glad she is at least on the right track. "OH! I should tell you Jefe may be a piece of work but he did make Hunter put in a stipulation that there can't be physicality unless both parties agreed beforehand and he (hunter) has to sign off on any potential match" Nessa shrugs "AND WHO THE FUCK IS SCRAP DADDY I LOVE THAT SO MUCH"

"My Zelina is a little brat." Danika offers, unbothered, "She has some unexplained issue with Dems right now, possibly from NXT. Scrap Daddy, Adam Pierce, he's the general manager for RAW and SmackDown, uh, think of him as Hunter's lacky, I think there is a chance you'll meet him soon enough, he's always lurking around, he tends to let me decide what I'm doing physically. So is your Jefe considered your manager? Because TJ Wilson, Natty's husband, is my manager officially, and I think we have a conversation once a month about my goals, and what I'm doing Kayfabe."

Nessa sighs, "Well we aren't really speaking right now, Kayfabe is muddled with real life right now, Dom and I aren't speaking to Jefe. But I think he is at least contractually which complicates things more..." Nessa groans, rubbing her forehead.

"Kayfabe and real life went off the rails in 2020, when Aalyah legit fell in love with Buddy... which, what is going on with Buddy in your world? I bet he's stuck in AEW being the most sour little fucker, he had to go through some... expressed learning with our familia and Angie... before he became a likeable human."

"Uh I think he is in AEW but that's all I know. He isn't tied to any of us in any way."

"Hmmmm." Danika contemplates her next question, "So, you're obviously ok with being with girls and guys, I'm omnisexual, where are you on the scale, and have you considered making a list of things like... boundaries for your lovers, er, almost-lovers, soon to be lovers? Like, it might be easier for you to write out hard nos and maybes than have the actual conversation?"

"I have been identifying as Pan for years but I think Omnisexual fits better honestly. And I might do research this week and do that. We tabled the kink discussion until I make my decision."

"We collectively haven't had the kink discussion, since Damo and Rhea are cowards and don't want to explain to Dom and I that we are Subs, we did our own research, Fergie helped us fill out our kink negotiation contract, which was a whole other argument that doesn't need to even begin to be explored - but I'll tell you Dom and I were brats about it.." Danika offers.

"That doesn't sound like my Luis and Dems, they brought it up in the boundary discussion. I might just write it out and put it somewhere they will notice it...I'll be the coward..." Nessa admits. "The first kink discussion and research with Dom was... awkward to say the least and I am not looking forward to that again. I've always known he had sub tendencies but I am no switch, he is thankfully. So we can both be taken care of now..."

"That's fair, I'm being a coward, too." Danika admits, "Dom and I did a whole bunch of research and didn't talk to the group about it." She admitted, "Until recently, and then we just shoved a filled out kink paper toward them, and basically ducked." Danika sighed, "So what's taking you so long to agree to the poly-thing, you have to know they'd understand if you change your mind?"

Nessa lets out a little whine and rapidly taps her feet under the table, "I don't want to change my mind. I thought Dom was it for me and then he did what he did and now there is another chance with more people and more love than I ever thought possible. I don't want to mess anything up with them in case they change their mind. I already care so much for all of them..."

"I swear my heart grows like five times bigger every time I see Dems, Luis, or Fergie with the kids. Dom and I always thought we were endgame, platonically, and just going to have a bunch of kids in general. Domesticity is literally the best part of being with them, it's little things. And honestly, the fact you're afraid of messing things up with them, lets me know that you've already made the decision, you're not thinking just about yourself, you're thinking about yourself as part of the unit and doing what's best for the whole, instead of just what's best for you. Luis moved in with me and Dom crazy fast, then Demi sort of half and half, after I kidnapped her dogs back from her ex, and Fergie asked to live with us since he and Vero are going through, well not important. What is important is you already made your decision and are looking at all the ways to talk yourself out of it, because for some reason, mi corazón, you're afraid that you're not worth them."

Nessa is unsure how to respond fully, "I have decided and told Dems I decided and hinted at it to cheer her up because she needs it so much right now and I would do anything to help her through this..." Nessa takes a shaky breath, "I don't know if it will happen to your Dems but her Nonna is going to pass not long after Wrestlemania..."

"Oh." Danika exhales and squeezes Nessa's hand, "We have a vacation coming up, where we were going to go to Mexico, but... I'll move it to Auzzi." She uses her other hand to grab another pastry, "Let's have more carbs and sugar, that is... heartbreaking." Danika knows how much Nonna means to Demi, how excited Dems is to introduce the kids to her, and how eager she is to show off Dominik, losing the woman who pushed her to break boundaries? It would absolutely wreck her. "My Dems, when she's upset, or... uh, off center, if you can get her to help you in the kitchen, I don't know how much cooking you do? But just having Demi be your mini-chef, and chop everything up and like, be in contemplative silence? It helps."

"I planned to have her observe a form of Shiva. I'm going to make her Challah and Kugel and we are going to sit on the floor and just talk about the good memories and I'm going to teach her that the memory is a blessing. Like we say, may their memory be for a blessing. She can't stay home for 7 days but this is how I know to grieve..." Nessa thinks for a moment, " I'll have her braid the Challah and help with the Kugel."

"That should do it." Danika promises, "Where Luis is loud with his emotions, Dem is quiet with hers."

"I was wondering why she called me and not the boys when she landed back in Australia..."

"Cause you're already filling her balance. Dominik needs calm and steady, Dems needs an anchor of solitude but also servitude, that's probably why they are so easy to connect with. I should have told you, I knew Luis before this. Like I worked with him at Monster Factory, then toured Ring of Honor, our age gap is insane to most people, but... our past working relationship cast a bit of a 'grooming' light on us, because I was maybe seventeen when I started working with Monster Factory."

"Our age gap isn't too far off either but when you click you click right? My family were immediately shipping us after seeing us interact for the first time at WrestleMania... Even Aalyah said something..."

"You know, Aalyah called me out on a Damian and me interaction before we went public, girl in either universe is apparently a bloodhound for it..."

"I swear she had mine and Dom's wedding planned and is planning a wedding for Luis and me now...I'm scared to tell her the truth..."

"Oh, funny, cause I'm planning her wedding right now... with Jefe, since Madre sort of bounced on the whole family." Danika sighs, "Aalyah will understand, they seem to be similar enough, love is love, two people, three people, four people, five people, ten people - it doesn't matter, love just exists, and she'll come around." Danika promises, "She loves being a Tia way too much to not support you and Dom and your choices once it really goes public."

"But Jefe is against it I think, he said he thinks Dom is taking me down with him, he seems worried I think it is coming from ignorance. I just want him to put the work in to earn forgiveness so I can explain and hopefully bring him around..."

"Okay, so in our worlds, Jefe and Angie have basically flipped. You got bad-Jefe and I got bad-Angie, man a world with bad both would beyond suck..." Danika winces for the world that that might exist in, "Angie's issues with us comes from her traditional upbringing, Jefe's upbringing is very similar. The Catholic and Latino traditions are working against you guys. I can't promise he will come around, just like I'm not sure Angie will come around, but what I am sure about is it would be a huge mistake to not take a leap of faith based on those two being horrible, forgiveness is hard to ask for when you don't think anything has been done wrong on your side of the road."

"The funny thing is it isn't exactly frowned upon in my culture at least in part of it so long as all parties consent and are happy and taken care of. I understand where Jefe is coming from at least from how he was raised but it hurts Dom, he can say what he wants about me but I draw the line when what he says hurts Dom. Bring me to WrestleMania the way he did hurt Dom."

"Dios, Angie is breaking Dominik's heart open, but my Dominik has the Guerreros to support and love him too. Because I was adopted by the Mysterio's, I'm Roman Catholic, just like them, but... but, before that I saw how horrible mis-matched love could be, and what those four have, even without me, it's not that. Angie has hurt Dom so much, that I don't know if they can get back to being Madre and hijo, but I hope they can, if not for themselves, for the kids we share, who look at Angie like and Abuela, and are always going to, because she has been there for me and them... Some things just have to take time."

"You are right on that, I hope Jefe comes around, I don't think Angie is the problem..."

"For you it doesn't sound like Angie is a problem at all, she might be an ally you can trust, someone who ultimately wants Dominik to be the best he can be." Danika offers, hopeful.

"I yelled at Angie for what she and Jefe did bringing me to WrestleMania on camera, and said I just want Dom happy and that is what should matter and I swear I saw something switch in her head." Nessa explains the memory popping in her head. "I think I'll call Angie and Aalyah after I talk to the others..."

Danika nods her head, "That sounds good, I want to talk to Jefe when I get back... I need to, well it's not super important for the world, but I need him to transfer some titles and some properties into my name, before he and Angie get too deep into divorce..."

Nessa chokes on her drink and pulls her hand back and grips the table trying to catch her breath, "I'm sorry what?"

"Yeah, that's probably distressing news, but uhm, long story extremely short, Angie got Dominik really arrested and it was sort of the last straw in a long line of... missteps between the pair of them, they have separated - Jefe is living with us or Aalyah, like he's either on the bus or cashing out in Jacksonville, and Angie is sort... on her own right now."

"Yeah no mine are very much in love," Nessa explains, still shocked.

"Ah, the Eddie Guerrero of it all got in mine's way." Danika admits, unbothered.

"Ah like father like son kinks are inherited..." Nessa jokes.

"Is your Dominik biologically Eddie's son, too?" Danika asks almost excitedly.

"No, I don't think. Those genes are strong. In a mask Dom looks just like Rey..."

"Dom gets to wear a mask in the future? Oh he's gonna be so proud he earned it!" Danika grins. "Dom does look like Jefe, even though he is biologically Eddie's, but there have always been rumors in Tijuana about Jefe being biologically a Guerrero, but it's... all rumors according to Jefe." Danika shrugs, "Angie is Dom's mom, though..."

Nessa grimaces and chews her lip, not responding at first. She can't meet Danika's eyes and stares down at the table.

"He doesn't earn the mask does he?" Danika asks knowingly.

"Uh... no... He tears some of them up, he came out at WrestleMania in a mask and took it off before getting in the ring to mock Jefe."

"Got pictures of that? Cause I'm tempted to steal your Dominik's swag." Danika's grin is pure chaos, and excitement.

"Oh yeah here..." Nessa pulls up some pictures she saved from Google.

"Wow, he looks hot, ick, I said that, oh I need more caffeine." She sips her drink, shaking her head to clear the thought, "That entrance looks fucking cool. The plan our end is for Jefe to be with us by Mania." She offers, leaning a bit into Nessa's space, "But it requires some bullshit from Edge and the OC and a bunch of tools, eh, lots of moving cogs, nothing for you to bother your pretty little head about." Danika promises, "Not to stop this, but where did Tommy go, I'm going to need more pastries to take back to Dolph's house..."

Nessa looks around to see Tommy nowhere to be found and shrugs her shoulders. "Hunter wanted me to go in to a story with Luis and potentially a triangle buuut he is toying with the idea of letting us go public in kayfabe if we play it right..."

"Sheeeesh, we haven't even labeled ourselves, let alone really admitted to Hunter that we are anything other than two couples and Fergie. The idea that we might be a public polycule makes me a bit nervous, for the kids not for us adults, there are already hella rumors that I'm sleeping with both Fergie and Luis, or that they are fighting for my affection behind the scenes." Danika frowns at the statement, before clearing her throat, "For the most part the internet just hates Dominik and thinks he is undeserving, while they are all over Dems - either she's doing to much or not enough," Danika shrugs, "That's advice I can give you, don't let the internet get to you, or the online trolls, cause I'm only three-four months into this, and I've been attacked more as a SuperStar than I ever was as an Influencer."

Nessa takes the warning seriously and is glad she isn't big on social media, "I'll keep that in mind, I know I made some people like Dom and there was a trending hashtag #justicefornessa, but I'm not big on social media. I'll do my best to ignore the trolls. It is much the same otherwise for Dems and Dom."

Danika nods her head understandingly, "A hashtag is pretty badass, boo. As an influencer I use the name Danika Wesson, so it took a minute or two for people to connect Danika Wesson to Danika Mysterio, but once they did, everything on my socials absolutely blew the fuck up, and all these new fans were deep diving into every aspect of my life - its part of what led to Dominik and I revealing the fact that Nico and Rosa were ours together, and that I was pregnant with Angel."

"Thank you." Nessa blushes at the praise, "I'll keep all that in mind to protect me and them and any future babies..."

"Honestly, my biggest fear was letting the kids be in storylines, because of what happened with Dominik, Eddie, and Jefe." Danika admitted softly, "But, Edge wouldn't stop bringing them or me up when I was still pregnant, in like July, August, and the start of September."

"I am afraid of that, Jefe brought up he thought I would be the mother of his grandchildren. We know he isn't above bringing kids into a storyline. What happens if I were to decide to have kids with them... would he cross that line..." Nessa worries out loud and begins biting her nails.

Danika thinks about it for a very long moment, considering all that she knows, "Hunter is the boss, he's a team player, eat this donut, you're going to ruin your nails." Danika shoves the pastries back at her, Nessa pushes them back. "Alright don't eat all my pastries, I won't hold it against you, this time," Danika teases, "Here's what I know, you regardless of who you're contract manager is, have the right to demand a new manager, it's an old school clause from the WCW days, you just need to express that you don't have good faith in you're manager, once you do that... you can petition for anyone to be your manager. Get you a damn good one, one that will be on your side, no matter what. Someone the group trusts - get them to fight to have your contract be renegotiated for stipulations that focus on protecting your kids."

"I hope it won't come to that, I hope I can bring Jefe around but I might do that." Nessa grabs Danika's hand, thankful at the advice. "My cousin who is also my lawyer I know, I know he... he said the contract is very geared towards protecting me... So I think there is hope..." Nessa adds on.

Danika hums while tangling their fingers together and smiling, "So, where do we go from here, we obviously have similarities, maybe we are our universe's companion pieces?" Danika shrugs, "I don't want to leave and not have a way to catch up with you again, I need to know things!"

"Well we mentioned this was like an episode of Doctor Who, the weather some sort of temporal shift like when the planets were moved by the Daleks... Maybe this is like Cardiff in the show where there are cracks that things seep through. Maybe we can try to meet here again in similar conditions? Because I need to know things too and have someone who understands how hard it is to not have sex with our people." Nessa goes full nerd mode explaining different plots and changes gears thinking of their groups.

"Dios, it's a struggle, you know, not to just climb Damian like a tree in the ring, pretty sure Dominik has those struggles too. And we can nerd over Doctor Who together..." Danika grins, "Alright, was it day or night when you walked in here?" She asked seriously.

"It was day time, mid-day, I was running to the store to get the ingredients to cook for Dems..."

"Well fuck, it was night, I just got off a redeye, Dems took the kids to get them settled in with Dolph. Luis and Fergie were helping with Christmas stuff, it's like December 26th." She frowned, tugging on one of her longer fly away pieces of hair.

"Uh it is April 18th, I'm still stinging from the kendo stick hit I took for Luis in the ring last night from Bad Bunny. He was so fucking mad even though I warned him beforehand. We just got here to Florida a few hours ago."

"Ouch, kid. Benito is coming to Christmas tomorrow." Danika sighs, "I am making the executive decision to not ask what the fuck happened there." She adds, "Alright so we are months apart and apparently not affected by day-time versus night-time. Maybe it's the storm."

"Ladies, you have maybe five minutes left." Tommy's voice sounds to them both, the man appearing back behind the counter. Both girls jolt at his sudden reappearance, even as he replaces their orders on the countertop, "You'll need these."

"Boooooooo." Nessa whines and pouts at the man behind the counter.

"Yeah, boo you whore." Danika mutters, irritated. "Ok, so... doing it by date and time isn't going to work, I'm back in Tampa in like... forty-six days, if I remember correctly."

"I don't know when I'll be back..." Nessa looks defeated.

"So, we just keep coming here in the rain and hope to find one another. That seems like the only solution." Danika looks just as defeated, flicking her gaze to Tommy, "What are the rules?"

Tommy grins at them, "You'll find each other when you need each other." He promises.

"What is this some kind of TARDIS taking us where we need to go type of shit? What if I need her like tomorrow?" Nessa whines trying her best Ojitos on Tommy.

Tommy only laughs as he motions at the timer, and disappears back to where they both assume the kitchen is. "He's not useful past pastries and half-truths." Danika rolls her eyes, "We are running out of time, I'm going to bring you a gift next time, ok? Something Dems has given me that'll knock the socks off your four." She promises.

"Yeah ok and I'll try to bring you some cute stories and embarrassing pictures of Dom." Nessa promises, feeling sad about having to leave a new friend.

"Ok, no tears, mariposa, hugs, and then we bounce, I have a feeling if we are here too long it's going to get bad."

"Luis calls me Mariposa..."

"You're an adorable butterfly," Danika stands and helps Nessa to her feet. "He calls me Kitten." She offers, winking at Nessa.

"Haha gatita I love it" Nessa giggles and hugs Danika thankful they are the same height in their heels.

Danika hugs her back, blushing slightly at the kitten-call, "See you as soon as possible."

"Yeah, hopefully soon because Backlash is soon and Dems is going to defend her Title... oops" Nessa shrugs knowing she gave something else away.

"Her what? Wait, no." Danika laughs, before grabbing her things, "Best to not know, take care of yourself, Mariposa." Danika smiles, "I'll go first, I got here first." She heads for the door, sadness filling her, there is something warm and welcoming about Nessa she's going to miss.

-/-

Danika pushes out the door, the bell ringing above her into the rain hitting her in the face. Flicking her gaze back, she pulls the door open to see only Tommy wiping down the counter, "Have a good night, Ms. G!" The man calls her, smiling as he normally does like she didn't spend an hour in a weird time-space-continuum TARDIS like thing. Her phone starts buzzing with missed calls and text messages, apparently nothing in the past hour got through to her, she swipes over to answer Demi's call, "Hey, babe."

"Where are you?" Demi demands, "You said it would take like thirty minutes."

"Sorry, Dems, the coffee shop was busy, I'm on my way to Dolph's, just gonna hail a taxi." Danika promises, "Hey, have you called home lately? I know you miss your Nonna."

Demi made a long grumble on the other side of the phone, "I'll phone her."

-/-

Nessa watches as Danika leaves and completely disappears from view as the door closes behind her. Not even being able to be seen through the clear window. "What the fuck..." She mutters to herself and turns to see Tommy smiling and wiping down the counter.

"Everything ok, Miss Nessa?" He smiles at her and she just stares at him confused for a moment before shaking her head knowing she won't get any actual answers.

"Yeah, the coffee was delicious." She decides on answering as her phone rings, Rhea's face popping up on the screen.

"Finally, where are you? We are worried sick! I've sent Dom Dom and Luis out to find you!" Rhea sighs in relief when Nessa answers.

"Hey Dems, I'm sorry there was a storm and I forgot where I parked and never made it to the store. I honestly have no idea where I am." Nessa answers committing the name of the coffee shop, Tilted Dimensions, to memory so she can come back here.

"Call them back, I'm going to use my GPS and go to the store, I'll be back in like 30 minutes. I promised you food and food you shall get. I could use some help, would you like to help me make it?" Nessa smiles softly as she walks out the door which closes softly behind her.

[zealouscanonindeer]

The secret gift.

Synopsis: The truth behind Ethan's first Christmas with Aspen's family.

For @choicesficwriterscreations holiday event using the prompt buying a naughty present for LI and mum ends up on the line behind them.

Jade and Tatum giggled once more in a hushed tone as they threw another ball of wrapping paper at Ethan who had, after a long day at work, passed out on the couch. He snored lightly and the girls took turns throwing the paper in tune with his snores.

Aspen walked in, noticing the scene before her, the girls looked at their mother for approval but on this rare occasion she gave them a glare, yet gently whispering.

"Stop it you two. He's had a difficult day and whatever he may say, he tires out. "

She nudged them back to actually begin wrapping the gifts. Since only Jonah was actually young enough for the whole Santa thing, he was already tucked in and fast asleep. The girls were on wrapping duty while Aspen put things in order in the kitchen, Ethan had done most of it when she had been out Christmas shopping and picking the girls up from the airport, who had visited her parents in Florida for Christmas break.

She gazed at the living room as she cleaned up, joining her family in the warm glow of the Christmas tree. She noticed Ethan had woken up and was entertaining the girls who were now too busy laughing.

Aspen walked in, wrapping her arms around Ethan's neck from the back as one of his hands came to rest atop hers. He looked up smiling at his wife, they shared a quick kiss before Aspen joined him on the couch.

Pulling the throw around their bodies, they stared at each other, momentarily forgetting their company.

"Dada! You were telling us about your first Christmas at Nana's. " Tatum reminded, grinning slightly.

"What about it? "

"Don't you think you forgot to mention something? Cause Nana told us quite a story. " Jade chided, throwing a furtive glance at her mother.

Ethan's eyes followed to land on his wife who seemed to have suddenly caught on, going red and flustered, she glared at Jade for broaching the subject. Curious, Ethan asked,

"What did she say? "

"Oh, a terrible mistake, a horrible run in. " Jade continued, Tatum threw herself onto the carpet, putting up a show of distress.

" Jade Ivy Ramsey!! Stop it! "

"It's the reason mom took you to Florida for Christmas. "

Ethan's head once again turned to his wife who looked a little resigned and uncomfortable as she began explaining.

"Remember how I called you to join me after I was in Tampa? It's cause my mom.... met me at the check out. "

"Yeah! Nana said you were buying Dad a present but it was a secret and Nana found out so she threatened to tell him unless he joined you for Christmas. "

"What was it, the gift? "

"Uh,... his favorite....coffee machine. He hated the hospital coffee. " She replied a little lamely, thankfully the girls didn't catch on, convinced by their mothers reply, Ethan however, was the better judge.

Soon after, they all headed to bed and Ethan finally confronted his wife.

"The coffee machine? "

"Uh yeah.. About that. " She answered sheepishly, once again her cheeks turning red at the old memory.

"Remember the Christmas special lingerie? "

"Of course I do. " Ethan replied, smirking at the various instances, which sadly ended when the flimsy cloth was unable to put up with their list filled frenzy. Suddenly, his brows drew together, confused at the change of subject.

"My mom caught me buying that. "

"You... What? " Ethan's mouth fell open, eyes flicking with horror, he continued staring mutely at his wife.

"I was in the check out line and mum happened to be behind me. I was talking to Sienna at the time, telling her how you would definitely appreciate the gift, with red being your favorite and all.. I got a little carried away.. Anyway, she firmly insisted that she simply must meet the man who would 'in so many ways ravage me' and 'make it the best Christmas Eve and morning ever. "

"No No... Penny.. She knew the whole time! "

"Since the first time she met you. At least she didn't tell the girls the whole truth, I need to have a word with her about that. "

He sat down on the bed, sighing heavily before meeting his wife's gaze.

Aspen straddled him, taking his jaw in her hand and connecting his lips to hers. Pushing him onto his elbows, she gently sucked at his pulse point, soothing it with her tongue. He moaned loudly as she moved away to pull her shirt off.

" I have always maintained you will be the death of me, Rookie. "

"Don't you dare tell me you don't like it. How about I try to find that lingerie again? "

[claireelle18]

Everything has Changed - Brandon Hagel

That simple name from months ago, a split second introduction to his name during a look at the other hockey games during the Lightning versus Capitals. The announcers brought his name to her attention. He had scored with seconds left in the first period for the Chicago Blackhawks versus the Ottawa Senators, putting the Blackhawks on the board.

Later that season, his name came across the hockey Twitter side with the remarks of him scoring his hat trick against the New Jersey Devils. The entire reason? Bagels thrown all over the rink in honor of his nickname Bagel.

A handful of weeks later, in the midst of the trading deadline - his name presented by the Lightning's social media. Everything she knew has changed. JBB pulled a quick one, shipping off some big pieces to acquire him. A small reserve about the newbie chatted about online, but her gut feeling was that he was going to be good and something important, to get to know him better. Little did she realize how quickly the young player would be making his introduction into her world.

______________________________________________________________

She was grateful for the day off and decided to treat herself to a massive coffee and a breakfast pastry at her favorite local coffee shop. Down on the bay's edge, nestled in a co-op, she could people watch while enjoying the sunshine. There was a small line for the shop, but she didn't mind. "Is this coffee any good? I am in dire need of a good cup and figured local might be best," a deeper voice asked.

She briefly glanced at who was behind her, taking note to the younger face as she originally assumed it was an older man behind her. "As someone who requires a massive cup occasionally, I promise this is some of the best around. I recommend any of the breakfast options, never can go wrong with their bacon, egg and cheese croissant," she answered.

"Thank you for the recommendation," he said. She stepped up to order and as she went to pay, he interjected, "I'm buying your breakfast and coffee. It's the least I can do for the pretty lady with recommendation."

"Well what if you hate it?"

"Then miss, I guess you'll just have to show me another local place," he laughs with a wink.

______________________________________________________________

The pregame hustle and bustle of downtown Tampa provided an adrenaline rush that she survived off. It allowed her to turn the constant run of her brain off and focus on the buzz created by the game. Rumors surfaced around town that he would not be in the game, but would come down to the arena that night to spectate.

In a rush and not watching where she was going, a taller figure stopped in her pathway, reaching out for the curtain that separated the hall from the seats. "Hi! Can I help you?" a male voice questioned. Snapping out of her own world, she took in the sight in front of her. Two men in suits, one older, and one younger with a face she couldn't place right away were peering back at her. Everything was changing in that instant. She recognized him from earlier in the day. He stepped up to buy her massive iced coffee earlier that morning.

"Well hello again miss," the younger man started. "Nice to see you again. Didn't realize I'd be running into you this soon."

"Are you in the right section dear?" the older man questioned further. That's when realization dawned on her. She was a few sections off, her friends probably wondering where she was. Further realization hit her when she remembered that she carried a couple of drinks in her hand. The contents contained within adult Capri Sun pouches.

"I should be going," she sheepishly whispered. She started to take a step back when the young man spoke again.

"Wait, can I at least know your name and maybe have your number?"

"There you are! I was wondering where you wandered off too!" her friend called. "Oh! Hi there! Am I interrupting something?"

She shook her head no, but he spoke up, "I'm Brandon Hagel. See you around I guess." He looked like he was going to offer to shake his hand with hers, but he stuck them in his pants pocket instead.

"Yeah Brandon, I know I will see you around," she smiled.

"Not gonna tell me your name now?"

"I like to keep you guessing," she laughed.

______________________________________________________________

An overcast day was the perfect day for grocery shopping. Not many were wanting to chance getting caught outside while the skies opened up upon them. Her cart slowly becoming fuller as she continued to wander up and down the aisles of the Publix blocks from her apartment.

For this location, the shelves were a few shelves taller, leaving her to stand on her tip toes to retrieve the cereal box off the top shelf. "Need help with that?" a familiar voice asked. She whirled around to see the same guy from the other day looking back at her. It was just out of her reach, but he grabbed it with no problem.

"Thank you," she smiled. "It seems you're everywhere now. You sure you're not following me?" she laughed.

"Nope, I promise. I'm just trying to learn the way of the land down here, and some of the other guys told me to check this place out. Apparently some very good subs are made here," he chuckled.

The two separated to respectively finish their own shopping, but bumped into each other again at the check outs. He offered to help her out to her car. Reaching the automatic doors to outside, the sky opened up, torrential downpour. "Care to run or to join me for a sit? The one part of Florida is these thunderstorms will last for a little while then clear up," she explained.

"You know, it's nice to have someone who is willing to help out a newbie. I've been here for a matter of days, and everything has changed," he said. She was studying him, inspecting him a little further than the previous times. His eyes warm, feeling comfortable around him, even if it was for those quick few times they had interacted. She felt like he would be someone good to be around for a while. He was feeling the same way about her. Like he would be seeing her more often. "It would be nice to know you better."

"I think I like the sound of that idea," she replied. "Seems like everything is changing. I think we will be seeing a lot of each other's face a lot more." The weather changed from the downpour to a light drizzle. "Now come on newbie, better make our move before it pick back up."

Seemed like the two were going to become very familiar with each other continuing on. Everything did change for them.

[emaginewebservicesinfo]

The Impact of Local SEO Services on Tampa’s Business Landscape

In today's digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for any business aiming to thrive in a competitive market. Local SEO services have emerged as a game-changer for businesses looking to capture a targeted audience and drive growth. For Tampa’s business landscape, the role of local SEO services is transformative, offering a range of benefits that can significantly impact visibility, customer engagement, and overall success.

Understanding Local SEO and Its Significance

Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a specialized branch of SEO that focuses on optimizing a business’s online presence to attract local customers. This involves improving a business’s visibility in local search results on platforms like Google, Bing, and Yelp. The goal is to ensure that when potential customers search for products or services in their area, your business appears prominently.

For Tampa businesses, local SEO services are particularly significant due to the city’s dynamic and diverse market. Tampa’s business landscape includes everything from small startups to established enterprises, all competing for the attention of local consumers. Local SEO helps businesses stand out in this crowded space by enhancing their visibility in local search results and improving their chances of attracting nearby customers.

Key Benefits of Local SEO Services for Tampa Businesses

Increased Online Visibility: Local SEO services are designed to improve a business’s ranking in local search results. By optimizing your website and online profiles, local SEO ensures that your business appears when potential customers search for relevant keywords and phrases in your area. For example, if someone searches for “best coffee shop in Tampa,” a well-optimized local SEO strategy will help your coffee shop appear at the top of the search results, increasing your chances of attracting customers.

Enhanced Local Targeting: One of the primary advantages of local SEO is its ability to target specific geographic areas. Tampa businesses can benefit from this by reaching out to potential customers within their immediate vicinity. Local SEO strategies include optimizing Google My Business (GMB) profiles, creating location-specific content, and managing local citations. These efforts ensure that your business is visible to individuals searching for products or services in Tampa, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.

Improved User Experience: Local SEO services often involve enhancing the user experience on your website. This includes optimizing page load times, ensuring mobile-friendliness, and providing relevant and valuable content. A well-optimized website not only improves search engine rankings but also creates a positive experience for visitors. For Tampa businesses, this means that potential customers are more likely to stay on your site, explore your offerings, and ultimately convert into paying customers.

Increased Trust and Credibility: Appearing at the top of local search results can significantly enhance your business’s credibility. Customers often associate higher search rankings with reliability and trustworthiness. Local SEO services help build this trust by ensuring that your business information is accurate and consistent across various online platforms. Positive reviews and ratings, which are often highlighted in local search results, also contribute to your business’s reputation and can influence potential customers’ decisions.

Cost-Effective Marketing: Compared to traditional advertising methods, local SEO is a cost-effective marketing strategy. By focusing on local search optimization, Tampa businesses can achieve significant results without the high costs associated with print ads, billboards, or radio spots. Local SEO services offer a high return on investment (ROI) by targeting a specific audience and driving quality traffic to your website. This makes it an attractive option for businesses with limited marketing budgets.

Competitive Advantage: In a competitive market like Tampa, standing out from the competition is essential. Local SEO services give businesses an edge by improving their online visibility and attracting local customers who are actively searching for their products or services. By implementing effective local SEO strategies, businesses can outperform competitors who may not be leveraging these techniques, gaining a larger share of the local market.

Implementing Local SEO Strategies in Tampa

To harness the full potential of local SEO services, Tampa businesses should consider the following strategies:

Optimize Google My Business (GMB) Profile: Claiming and optimizing your GMB profile is a crucial step in local SEO. Ensure that your business information is accurate, including your address, phone number, and hours of operation. Add high-quality photos, respond to customer reviews, and regularly update your profile to reflect any changes in your business.

Create Location-Specific Content: Develop content that targets local keywords and phrases relevant to your business. This can include blog posts, landing pages, and service descriptions that incorporate Tampa-specific terms. Creating content that addresses local interests and needs can help attract and engage potential customers in your area.

Build Local Citations: Local citations are mentions of your business’s name, address, and phone number on other websites and directories. Consistent and accurate citations across various platforms help improve your local search rankings. Ensure that your business information is up-to-date on popular directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and local business associations.

Encourage Customer Reviews: Positive reviews play a significant role in local SEO and can influence potential customers’ perceptions of your business. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on your GMB profile and other review platforms. Respond to reviews promptly, both positive and negative, to demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.

Monitor and Analyze Performance: Regularly track and analyze your local SEO performance using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Monitor key metrics such as website traffic, search rankings, and conversion rates to assess the effectiveness of your local SEO efforts and make necessary adjustments.

Conclusion

Local SEO services have a profound impact on Tampa’s business landscape by enhancing online visibility, targeting local customers, and providing a cost-effective marketing solution. For businesses in Tampa, leveraging local SEO can lead to increased trust, improved user experience, and a competitive advantage in the market. By implementing effective local SEO strategies, Tampa businesses can unlock new growth opportunities and achieve long-term success in an ever-evolving digital landscape.

[naturecoaster]

Brooksville, Florida

Quick Brooksville, Florida History Brooksville, Florida was originally known as Melendez and then Benton. Incorporated in 1856, it is a wonderful city featuring a hilly terrain that ranges in elevation from 175 to 274 feet. There is a long history of successful planters, growers, and cattlemen in and around Brooksville. Its southern background is reflected in its name, honoring South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks who is best noted for hitting abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner on the head with his cane. Brooksville's downtown area features the iconic Hernando Courthouse, along with great shopping in unique stores featuring everything from antiques, outfits, high-end resale, stationery, flowers and bric-a-brac to formal gowns – and stationery. Some streets still show the Augusta bricks laid by hand. Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation mural painted by Justin Alsedek is on Brooksville's City Hall building, which houses a free art gallery upstairs. Things to Do in Brooksville, Florida There are several downtown restaurants and coffee shops, along with legal and banking offices, a library, and more than one park. Brooksville has been working hard to revive its downtown to attract more visitors and became a Florida Main Street community in 2016. For those looking for things to do in Brooksville, the Main Street organization holds several events in Brooksville's downtown area as well as farmers and artist markets, and a simply magical holiday celebration of all things Christmas during December with everything from musical trees to performing artists, decorations galore and horse-drawn carriage rides.  Local art is displayed in several downtown businesses and buildings, as well as murals painted throughout the downtown area. A walking tour map of the downtown murals may be found here. The Brooksville City Hall building houses a changing art exhibit in Gallery 201, and all are welcome. There is no charge. The architecture is interesting in several buildings and when looking for things to do in Brooksville, Florida, a wonderful historic walking tour can be had for the simple act of following the map here. If you would like more information about each building on the historic tour, download the complete guide here. (Please note that the Hernando Chamber of Commerce has moved to Brooksville's Tampa Bay Regional Airport. The guide is dated, but the history and map are accurate.) Historic homes are throughout the downtown area and a tour has been mapped out. There are two B & Bs, including this one, known as the Mirador. Another popular thing to do in Brooksville, Florida, is to visit the May Stringer Museum, located at 600 West Jefferson. Housed in the 1850 Stringer House, a Queen Anne masterpiece with a four-story tower, this historic building is reputed to be haunted. There are daily tours Tuesday - Saturday led by docents and the price of admission is only $10 for adults, $5 for children, free for those under 6 years of age, but the exhibits seem more adult-friendly. F. L. Stringer was a State Senator and judge. With thousands of historic artifacts and regular tours, it commemorates the Civil War era and provides a glimpse at the lifestyle and relics of a gone but not forgotten segment of American history. Ghost tours are held on Friday and Saturday nights by reservation. The May Stringer House houses a historical museum that is well worth a tour in Brooksville. It is said to be haunted. In addition to the May Stringer house there is a historic train depot to visit. Next to the historic train depot museum is a one-room schoolhouse to visit on Russell Street. Both of these museums are adjacent to Russell Street Park which has the Good Neighbor Trail running through it. The Good Neighbor Trail is a paved, multiuse trail that runs about 10.3 miles to connect with the Withlacoochee State Trail. Continue east to find another wonderful shopping area, featuring the Hawkins House and the Florida Cracker Trading Company and Tap Room. There is even an old-fashioned Coney Island where it is rumored that Elvis Presley may have eaten many years ago with an ice cream shop in front. The Florida Mermaid Trail In 2020, a Mermaid Trail was created in downtown Brooksville, which is part treasure hunt and part walking tour. It is an easy activity for one or more to get out and enjoy the historic brick streets and well-kept homes and businesses. Each February, a Mermaid Festival is held in Hernando Park, where residents and visitors compete for the best-dressed mermaids, with and without their pets, and meet the real mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. The maps for the Mermaid Trail can be found at Florida's Adventure Coast Visitor Center, adjacent to the park. Expanding Beyond Brooksville’s City Limits You may want to travel north on US 41 to visit the historic Chinsegut Hill Historic Site and rediscover the magic that caused its last private owners to name it Chinsegut, meaning, “a place where lost things are found.” Learn their story of courage and civil rights for all, as well as a historic timeline of occupation during significant national events. And it's beautiful and somewhat magical. *Please note that Chinsegut Hill Museum is managed by the Tampa Bay History Center and is open on weekends for tours, as well as some outdoor events on select weekdays. An Emancipation Celebration is held in May. Originally constructed in the early 1800s, and then added onto by subsequent owners, the Chinsegut Manor House was renovated in 2013-2014 and has been restored to the splendor of its glory days. Image by Diane Bedard. Don't forget the Ice Cream Head back south on U.S. 41 and then travel east on S.R. 50/U.S. 98. Make a right on Spring Lake Highway (541) and follow it to the top of the hill. On the right is Boyett’s Grove Citrus and Timeless Attraction. Here you will find a wonderful animal park where you can feed the animals, a dinosaur cave, taxidermy museum, birds, snakes, an alligator named, "Elvis", and more. A putt-putt golf course winds through part of this fun-filled tourist trap. There’s even a snack bar, ice cream parlor, and an old-fashioned Florida gift shop! It’s one of my favorite places on the Nature Coast. Read the full article

[sfarticles]

Explore Tampa, Fla., for a summer getaway

Panoramic views of the Downtown Tampa from the rooftop at the Aloft Hotel (Courtesy of Chris Bartlett)

Check out my latest column

Editor’s note: Chris Bartlett, co-founder and co-host of Worth Tasting, contributed to this column.

Summer travel plans are in the making. A summer vacation in Tampa, Fla. … why not? With these accolades, it makes it the perfect area to explore.

• Tampa Bay is 2023’s sevent-best summer travel destination (WalletHub)

• Tampa was awarded one of the Best Places to Travel (Money)

• Three Tampa neighborhoods were ranked in the top 10 of the 2024 list of Best Places to live in America. (Niche)

• Tampa was named the 12th “Most Fun Cities in America.” (WalletHub)

• Tampa Riverwalk was voted second-best Riverwalk in the U.S. (USA Today)

• Tampa was named one of the greatest places in the world (TIME)

• Tampa ranks among the Top 10 cities to visit with kids (Tampa Bay Business Journal)

• Tampa Bay area ranked as best spot to take a vacation with your pet (Tampa Bay Times)

And, for culinary enthusiasts…

• Tampa is first among unexpectedly awesome coffee cities (Livability)

• Tampa was 2022’s eighth-best Foodie City in America (WalletHub)

• Tampa is 2022’s eighth-best City for Vegans and Vegetarians (WalletHub)

• With all of this notoriety would you believe…Tampa was named one of the 15 U.S. tourist hotspots nobody cared about 15 years ago (Orbitz).

Recently, I wrote about the Hyde Park area of the city: https://bit.ly/3Uhgqqg.

Today, I’ll be highlighting the Midtown district experience.

Sometimes the best vacation spots offer the optimal combination of convenience and neighborhood vibe. And when location is important, oftentimes the middle of it all fits the bill.

Midtown Tampa’s website says it all: “You don’t just visit Midtown Tampa – you explore it. From art-lined walkways to lakeside trails, find your flow through our urban district. You’ve never met a place like us.” (Courtesy of Chris Bartlett)

Such is the case with Midtown Tampa, and the Aloft Hotel, one of two anchor hotels (Element Hotel is adjacent) in the district. When you’re in Midtown, most of what visitors would want to do in Tampa is drivable within 5 to 15 minutes.

On the “campus” of Midtown Tampa, there’s great shopping, strolling, sipping and dining options (more on this later). The highlight here for us is Sal Y Mar, the glittering gem of a restaurant and bar perched upon the oasis on the rooftop of the Aloft Hotel.

t’s from here that one can clearly understand both the layout of this district, and its proximity relative to downtown Tampa, with its fabulously diverse neighborhoods.

This curated neighborhood has a uniquely interesting dynamic. Pretty quickly, we came to catch the staycation vibe that it gives off between the hundreds of luxe apartments to the hotels, vibrant culinary scene, entertainment, spas, coffee shops, boutiques and retailers like REI, a Seattle based, outdoor gear company that pioneered the industry.

Here in Midtown people live and work, stay and play, all threading themselves in and around, across and between, these Midtown establishments.

Basing your Tampa vacation here makes it convenient to all the Bay-area attractions. Additionally, it’s the perfect place to simply enjoy what Midtown has to offer — on foot without a car.

Sunshine and sunset markets, yoga and aerobics, plus other fun and health-focused activities in The Commons; you’ll see there’s enough to do right here. After some activity, plunge into the rooftop pool at the Aloft while you soak in some sunshine. You’ll enjoy the panoramic views while sipping on your favorite beverage from the poolside snack bar.

An oasis awaits at the rooftop pool at the Aloft Hotel. (Courtesy of Stephen Fries)

You won’t want to miss a dining experience or two at Sal Y Mar, the hotel’s well-respected, and renowned, rooftop restaurant and lounge, which welcomes both hotel guests and locals.

The Tulum (a Mexican coastal town)-inspired restaurant and menu boasts Tampa Bay views from the covered terrace, if you choose alfresco dining, or via the window wall from inside its inviting and relaxing interior.

Heading up the culinary team is Executive Chef Johnathan Rodriguez, who received the Best Chef Award at Savor St. Pete Food & Wine Festival in 2022 and 2023 in addition to the Taste of Clearwater’s Chef Inspired Award among other accolades.

He gives credit to the chefs at the Michelin- grade restaurants where he’s previously worked, who have influenced and inspired his brilliant attention to detail, and various flavor profiles savored today by guests of Sal Y Mar.

Our Sal Y Mar experience began with the award-winning Tuna Tataki (ahi tuna, soy caviar, wakame, wasabi aioli, fried wonton, pickled ginger, sesame seeds). The seafood trio that followed our entrée includes a lobster crab cake (lump crab meat, lobster, mustard sauce, melted heirloom tomato), a huge and delectable grilled scallop and pan seared shrimp prepared with white wine and herb butter alongside grilled radicchio, drizzled with ginger lime sauce and chimichurri rice. And yes, it is as tantalizing to the palate as it sounds.

To top-off this seafood extravaganza, mouthwatering Cinnamon Churros arrived, complete with caramel dipping sauce… ”the icing on the cake.” We couldn’t resist the Sal Y Mar Flan, well worth the indulgence.

Sal Y Mar, the rooftop restaurant at The Aloft, serves up a heavenly flan. (Courtesy of Chris Bartlett)

For those into beef, the Sal Y Mar Tomahawk Experience should fit the bill…a 32–34-ounce ginormous, bone-in steak, truffle oil, chimichurri sauce, Maldon salt …enough for two or three. Too big?…. the 6 -ounce filet mignon, a 16-ounce ribeye, or Australian rack of lamb are other meat-eater options.

Chef Johnathan shared two recipes. The award-winning Tuna Tataki recipe is at https://stephenfries.com/recipes. The Prime New York Steak With Truffle Burrata Mash and Sautéed Broccolini is below.

The 20 acres that comprise Midtown Tampa are jam packed with everything from a fast-casual, superfood eatery called Kale Me Crazy (so fresh and satisfying) to the comfort and familiarity of a Shake Shack amid so many more diverse and delicious culinary spots to experience. We ate at and tried almost all of them.

From the Louisiana-inspired Gumbo and Ragin’ Red Fish With Creole sauce at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux to the delectable, fresh trout at True Food Kitchen, there’s a food place sure to please any palate.

Between our many meals, we made time for a great cup of coffee and sweet treat at Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Co., extraordinarily luscious and unforgettable truffles at William Dean Chocolates and tasty, fresh salads at the Whole Foods “on campus.”

The jewel-looking “works of art” at William Dean Chocolates “excite the eye and intrigue the palate” One of the many shops around the commons at Midtown Tampa. (Courtesy of Stephen Fries)

Two extremely busy places to which we couldn’t secure reservations looked sublime and are high on our next time list; both Sunda Tampa Southeast Asian and Ponte Modern American, owned by Chef Chris Ponte of the iconic Ponte Grill, formerly in nearby Clearwater.

Unfortunately, time ran out before we could sink our teeth into some very amazing-looking pasta dishes we saw coming to guests’ tables while strolling by BellaBrava Tampa, right around the corner.

Prime New York Steak With Truffle Burrata Mash and Sautéed Broccolini

Servings: 2

Ingredients:

Steak:

2 prime New York strips

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Olive oil to coat pan

2 tablespoon butter

1 bunch thyme

3 garlic cloves, smashed

Directions:

Pat steaks dry. Season with the salt and pepper on both sides. Heat your choice of pan with oil over medium-high, then place the steak in when the oil is hot. Sear for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides and don’t forget the edges about a minute on those.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the butter, thyme and garlic smash, basting that sauce over the steaks until the internal temperature is 140 degrees. Remove the steak from heat and let the steaks rest to reach a perfect medium steak temperature.

Burrata Truffle Mash:

4 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

Kosher salt

4 tablespoons truffle oil

1/3 cup heavy cream

4 tablespoons butter

¼ cup whole milk

2 balls burrata

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Fill a large pot with cold water. Season with 2 tablespoon kosher salt and carefully add the potatoes.  Gently boil potatoes over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and then drain the potatoes. Return the drained potatoes back to the pot and, using a potato masher or hand mixer, whip the potatoes until mashed.

Add the truffle oil, cream, butter and milk to the potatoes and whip until light and fluffy. Pull the burrata cheese into pieces and add to the potato mash. Mix in with a spoon until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Use the reserved potato cooking water to thin the potatoes to get a very creamy texture, if necessary.

Sauteéd Broccolini:

1 bunch broccolini (about 5 ounces), washed trimmed, halved lengthwise (if thick)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

¼  cup of white wine

2 tablespoons butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Cut off and discard the dried ends of the broccolini stems. Cut the broccolini in a bias or thick medallion. Then heat your choice of pan and add the olive oil until it reaches medium heat. Add minced garlic, white wine and cook for 30 seconds to infuse the flavor and to reduce the wine, add the broccolini and a little salt and pepper.

Stir occasionally, for 2 minutes, creating steam in the pan to help the broccolini stems soften. Add a couple tablespoons of water and butter and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook covered for 2 to 4 minutes until the veggies are tender and bright green.

Stephen Fries is professor emeritus and former coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College in New Haven, Conn. He has been a food and culinary travel columnist for the past 16 years and is co-founder of and host of “Worth Tasting,” a culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven. He is a board member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Email him at Stephen@stephenfries.com. For more, go to stephenfries.com.

[lyonsfamilytreecare]

10 Reasons Why People Love Lakeland FL

Lakeland, Florida isn't your average Sunshine State city. Sure, it boasts warm weather year-round and access to stunning beaches, but this charming metropolis nestled between Tampa and Orlando offers a unique blend of urban vibrance, outdoor recreation, and historic appeal. Here's why Lakeland might just be your perfect Florida paradise:

Lake Life Paradise: Where else can you say you live amongst 38 glistening lakes? Lakeland's crown jewel, Lake Mirror, offers a scenic walking path, the picturesque Hollis Garden, and even resident swans! Boating, fishing, and kayaking are just a few ways to commune with nature on these freshwater gems.

Thriving Downtown Charm: Lakeland's historic downtown is a delight to explore. Munn Park, lined with early 1900s architecture and antique shops, transports you to a bygone era. The Saturday Farmers Market bursts with local produce, artisanal crafts, and the sweet sounds of street performers.

Cultural Gem: Don't be fooled by Lakeland's laid-back vibe. The Polk Museum of Art boasts an impressive collection spanning pre-Columbian artifacts to contemporary masterpieces. Florida Southern College, a Frank Lloyd Wright architectural wonder, offers stunning tours and a glimpse into the famed architect's vision.

Outdoor Adventure Awaits: Calling all nature enthusiasts! Lakeland caters to your adventurous spirit. Hike or bike the scenic trails at Colt Creek State Park, or challenge yourself at the thrilling Carter Mountain bike trails. Adrenaline junkies can test their skills at Elite Cable Park, a haven for wakeboarding and watersports.

Family-Friendly Fun: Lakeland is a haven for families. Lakeland Explorations Children's Museum provides hours of interactive learning fun, while Explorations VKB National Wildlife Refuge allows for close encounters with alligators and native birds. Splash pads, parks, and a vibrant community calendar of events ensure there's never a dull moment.

Foodie Paradise: Lakeland's culinary scene is booming! From fresh seafood at local spots to trendy gastropubs and international flavors, your taste buds will thank you. Don't miss the chance to savor a juicy steak at a historic Lakeland eatery or grab a gourmet coffee and pastry at a charming downtown cafe.

Affordable Sunshine: Compared to its flashy cousins on the coast, Lakeland offers a haven of affordability. Housing costs remain reasonable, allowing you to live comfortably and enjoy the Florida lifestyle without breaking the bank.

Sports Fanatic's Dream: Cheer on the Detroit Tigers at their spring training home, Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. Catch a thrilling game and soak up the electric atmosphere – a must-do for any baseball aficionado.

Convenient Location: Lakeland's central Florida location is ideal. A short drive puts you on the world-famous beaches of the Gulf Coast or amidst the theme park thrills of Orlando. Enjoy the best of both worlds: relaxation and excitement are always within reach.

Small-Town Community, Big-City Amenities: Lakeland offers a unique sense of community. Friendly faces, local events, and a strong sense of civic pride create a welcoming atmosphere. Yet, you'll also find all the conveniences of a larger city, from top-rated hospitals to excellent schools.

Lakeland, Florida, is a city that truly offers something for everyone. Whether you crave outdoor adventures, cultural immersion, or a family-friendly atmosphere, Lakeland promises a lifestyle steeped in sunshine, charm, and endless possibilities. Come discover why Lakeland might just be your perfect place to call home.

Taking care of your trees is crucial for maintaining a healthy landscape and a beautiful property. But when it comes time to hire a tree service company in Lakeland, FL, you want to make sure you choose a professional, qualified arborist. Here are some key things to consider:

Qualifications: Look for a company with licensed and insured arborists on staff. ISA Certification demonstrates a commitment to professional tree care practices.

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The Top 5 Hotels To Stay In Tampa FL

Tampa, Florida is best known for its urban charms. But that doesn't mean you can't find a nice place to stay when visiting this great city. With its historic buildings, world-class museums and endless outdoor recreation opportunities, Tampa offers plenty of options for travelers looking to experience all that the Sunshine State has to offer. Whether you're looking for a romantic getaway or an action-packed vacation with the kids — we've got some great recommendations for hotels in Tampa FL!

Epicurean Hotel

The Epicurean Hotel is located in the heart of downtown Tampa and offers direct access to the waterfront, museums, restaurants and nightlife. The hotel features modern rooms with free WiFi and flat-screen TVs with cable channels.

The rooms at this property feature air conditioning and a coffee maker. Some units also include a refrigerator. All guestrooms are equipped with a private bathroom fitted with a shower. The hotel serves breakfast each morning in its onsite dining room that has views of Tampa Bay or Bayshore Boulevard and offers guests an array of beverages including coffee from Starbucks Coffee Company® and freshly brewed tea from Lipton® Tea Company. Guests can enjoy traditional American cuisine for lunch or dinner at the restaurant which serves breakfast during the weekdays as well as Sunday brunch on Saturdays with live music entertainment provided by local musicians several times throughout each month during "Tampa Bay Jazz Festival - Downtown" season.

The Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa

The Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa is located in downtown Tampa, just steps from the Channelside district and within walking distance of many restaurants and shops. The hotel features a rooftop pool and bar, as well as an outdoor area with cabanas and hammocks for relaxing in the Florida sunshine.

Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay

The Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay is a beautiful five-star hotel that offers an ideal location near the city's convention center, downtown and the sporting venues in Ybor City. The hotel is also known for its indoor water park, which features slides and hot tubs. For those looking for relaxation after a day of sightseeing, this property provides guests with access to saunas as well as a spa tub on-site.

You can expect to spend around $200 per night at this hotel if you're looking for something luxurious within walking distance of Ybor City's attractions like Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or the Florida Aquarium. If you'd rather save money but still be close enough for easy access to those attractions (or any other part of town), consider booking one of their rooms priced between $100-$125 per night instead!

Reviewers on TripAdvisor give The Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay 4 out 5 stars based on 82 reviews written by recent guests who stayed over July 31 - August 2nd. Some reviewers shared that they were pleasantly surprised by how modern/updated everything was inside their room; others said they enjoyed using The Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay's pool or relaxing at their bar during happy hour with friends before heading out into town together later on in evening hours."

The Westin Tampa Waterside

If you're looking for a place that's close to the bay and the airport, then The Westin Tampa Waterside is your choice. With a location right on Tampa Bay, it offers guests access to some of the best restaurants in town and beautiful views of the water. If you're traveling for business or pleasure, this hotel will fit your needs perfectly thanks to its amenities like a pool, spa, gym and restaurant. The most expensive rooms start at $149 per night while the least expensive are $89 per night.

Le Meridien Tampa

If you want to be in the heart of it all, Le Meridien is your best bet. Located in downtown Tampa and walking distance from a variety of restaurants, bars and shops, this hotel is sure to keep you entertained during your trip. The hotel boasts over 500 rooms and suites with views of either Ybor City or Downtown Tampa. Guests can enjoy an indoor pool and spa tub as well as laundry services on-site.

Le Meridien has an extensive list of amenities including free Wi-Fi access throughout the property, valet parking for $30 per day (or self-parking for $15 per day), 24-hour room service and 24-hour front desk service among other things.

Located in the heart of Ybor City—a district with plenty of entertainment options including cigar bars, clubs/bars/restaurants—this hotel offers guests easy access to historic sites such as Centro Asturiano de Tampa and Centennial Park which were both built by cigar manufacturers back when Ybor City was booming with prosperity during its heyday in the early 1900s; today those buildings house museums documenting local history or events that took place at these sites during their time under construction while they were being used by working people who lived nearby during their leisure hours after finishing their shifts at work each day

List of good hotels to stay in Tampa

To help you find the perfect hotel for your stay, we've compiled a list of some of Tampa's best hotels.

The Westin Tampa Bay Hotel, Ybor City: This hotel is modern and luxurious. You'll be able to relax in this upscale environment while still being close enough to downtown and its many attractions.

Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Tampa Downtown: If you're looking for something cheaper but still comfortable, this is the choice for you! It has great amenities like free breakfast as well as an outdoor pool and fitness center so that your stay won't be stressful or boring at all.

Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel: Located right on the water with views of both Davis Islands' skyline and downtown's bridges, this place is ideal if seeing both areas from above sounds appealing to you! It also has a rooftop bar where guests can enjoy drinks after sunset; however there are plenty of other bars nearby if that doesn't interest them!

We hope you enjoyed this list of top hotels to stay in Tampa FL! If you have any questions about the places we've talked about or want more information, feel free to contact us and we'll be happy to help.

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Always be my plus one - part 2

Ok I know that I should use a different gif for each part but I'm not going to. But here's part 2! It's longer than the first part so have fun.

People to thank who are amazing and I owe my whole life to even though I'm probably forgetting someone because I'm the worst: @zinka8 (I CAN FINALLY TAG YOU) @hockeywocs @calgarycanuck @chara-hugs @justjosty anyone who sent in an anon and again I'm forgetting someone so if you helped me with this and I forgot, yell at me.

But here we go! This is about 9k words, and, fun fact, this is also my 5,000th post on this blog, so that's exciting!

Hope you like it!

Read part 1 here!

Series masterlist --------------------------------

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

New Year’s Eve is the last day of the Georgian calendar year, marked with celebrations that last well into the next day. Huge parties take place around the world, one of the most notable being the ball dropping in Times Square in New York City, marking the new year for the eastern coast of the United States, televised with Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve hosted by Ryan Seacrest. This special each year includes a packed Times Square, performances, interviews, and general excitement to put whatever happened in the past year behind them. Likewise, in Canada, the CBC has hosted a similar countdown special since 2017, including live music and coverage of festivities in each of the provinces and timezones the country spans.

New Year’s Day is the first day of the Georgian calendar year, again marked with celebrations. In the United States, various parades take place, including the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, or the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition, various sporting events take place as well, including the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, the Outback Bowl in Tampa Bay, Florida, the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California, and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, all post-season college football games, and the National Hockey League's outdoor game, the Winter Classic, typical showcasing a major regional rivalry. The day typically includes people already failing at keeping up with their New Year’s resolutions, whatever it was they promised to do every day of the year (such as working out, flossing, getting more sleep) already not going well.

=============

December 27, 2021

Lucy had insisted Anne go with her to the mall to go shopping when she found out that she was going to a New Year’s Eve party with Tyson’s teammates. Once her older sister found out that Anne’s ‘mystery man’ was a professional hockey player, she went practically bat shit trying to figure out more information about the two of them since Anne had yet to tell her anything.

If only she knew there was nothing to tell.

“Come on, what about this?” Lucy asks, holding up a dress. Anne wasn't sure that it would go past her butt, not to mention the open back and the plunging neckline. Lucy had to know that Anne would never, on any occasion, wear a dress like that. It would look good on Lucy, and Lucy would be comfortable in it, but not Anne.

“No,” Anne tells her, continuing to look through the rack for anything that had more fabric to it than what Lucy was offering her. There was nothing wrong with the dresses, really, and Lucy was normally pretty good about picking things out that Anne would actually like, but something about this being a dress for what sort of was, sort of wasn’t a date with a guy she spilled her coffee all over was making her more nervous than she needed to me.

“But it’s for your man. On New Year’s Eve. It doesn’t hurt to look a little sexy,” Lucy begs, making sure to add a little shoulder shimmy at the word ‘sexy’ for emphasis.

‘He’s not my man,’ Anne wanted to say. But she wasn’t about to spill that secret before Lucy even met him. It would be easier to just tell them they broke up by Valentine’s Day. “Tyson wouldn’t want me to wear anything that would make me uncomfortable,” she lets out instead.

Lucy sighs, pulling out dress after dress to show to Anne. “Ok, how about this: what color do you want to wear and how long do you want it to be?” Anne shrugs, not having thought about it in the slightest. “Well what’s Tyson wearing? Are you matching with him?”

“I don’t think so?”

“Annie!” Lucy practically screams the nickname her family decided they were going to call her, a few of the other store patrons turning to glare at Lucy’s outburst. “How do you not know what your boyfriend is wearing to a Colorado Avalanche New Year’s Eve party?”

'Not my boyfriend' she thought. “I don’t dress him. Do you know what Jason is going to wear for every party?”

Rolling her eyes, she holds up another dress that Anne turns down. “Well, since I’ve known my man since we were in diapers, I know his style, and therefore, know what he could potentially wear before I tell him what he’s going to wear.”

Anne lets out a sigh, wandering away from her sister while she continues to go through what seemed to be endless rows of dresses. Part of Anne wished she was like her sister: lucky enough to find a man that she would love forever when she was young, never having to worry about anything. The other part of Anne wished her family wasn’t so annoying about her finding a man, wishing that Sebby didn’t steal her phone and see Tyson’s name, and that their mom hadn’t come down and jumped to conclusions before she had a chance to defend herself.

“Hey,” Lucy comes up to Anne, “Why don’t we grab some food and then try a different store.” Anne nods, Lucy linking her arm in her sisters before taking her out of the store. “Have you met any of Tyson’s teammates before? I mean, you have to mean a lot to him if he’s bringing around the guys he spends the most time with.”

“He’s told me a little bit about all of them, but I haven’t met them yet.”

“You know this is big, then, right?” Lucy says, finding a line at the food court for them to order from.

Even if Lucy hadn’t picked a place that Anne wasn’t too fond of, her words made Anne lose her appetite. As far as she knew, Anne’s family thought they were dating, which they weren’t, while Tyson’s teammates thought they were friends, which they were. That’s what they had agreed to. They just needed to make it to New Year’s Day and then this would all be over.

Lucy keeps talking, rattling off information about Tyson’s teammates that Anne was sure she had found on their Wikipedia pages, Lucy’s ‘top of her class,’ ‘photographic memory’ coming out while Anne stayed silent.

“Look, Anne,” Lucy says once she gets the food she ordered for both of them, “if he likes you enough to bring you around his teammates, that’s a good thing. Think of it like Jason asking me to go to his soccer games when we were freshmen. He wants you to be at something important for him.”

“I’m not worried about that,” Anne shrugs, “I’m worried about bringing him into the belly of the beast the next afternoon.”

“Why, because you’ll be hungover and Ma and Dad haven’t seen you that way yet?” Lucy asks, smiling with her fork between her teeth.

Throwing her head back and groaning, Anne starts, “No. Ideally, we’ll still be drunk and calling you or Matthew to come to pick us up. Remember what Mom was like when I introduced you all to Andy?”

“Well, yeah, it was hate at first sight. And she was right to feel that way, obviously. If you think Tyson is the ‘one,’ then you’ll be fine.”

Anne chokes on the fries she was picking at when Lucy says that. “The ‘one’? Please. I wouldn’t know if he was the ‘one’ at this point. Right now, he’s my ‘plus one' at best.”

Lucy shrugs, a sly smile on her face as the two of them continue to eat in silence.

The two of them venture to another store, Anne not having high hopes in finding a dress, knowing that she was going to have to resort to wearing something old that probably wouldn’t be very ‘New Year’s Eve’ themed, or borrow something from Lucy, who, albeit having great style, definitely didn’t have anything that she would want to wear. Maybe she could call Stephanie or her cousin Lauren and see if they could pity her enough to let her borrow something.

Lucy went to the dress rack, Anne just wandered around the store. At this point, she didn’t even care if she found a dress; a long shirt would be just fine. She was nowhere near her sister or the dresses, but she saw something out of place, a skirt and sleeves peeking out in the middle of pant legs. She picked up the dress, solid black, which would probably fit her like a glove, off the shoulder. A black choker, which she had, and a nice pair of heels would make the dress perfect. And it was even on sale. Someone had probably put it there in order to hide it, but Anne didn’t know that for a fact, so could she really feel bad about wearing it?

She practically ran through the store to find her sister, grabbing her by the arm to the dressing room despite the stack of dresses on Lucy’s arm that were probably going to end up back on the rack or in Lucy’s own closet.

Anne looked at herself in the mirror, excited for the first time for Tyson to see her on New Year’s Eve wearing something like that. The two had been talking nonstop, but Anne had made it clear they were friends and that she wasn’t looking for anything. If something came along, she would know it, and honestly, she didn’t know it with Tyson.

But picturing him seeing her in the dress gave her a glimmer of hope that it was Tyson, even if he wasn’t the ‘one’ like Lucy had been badgering her about earlier.

“Hey, Annie, come on!” Lucy snaps Anne out of her fantasy, banging on the door to show her, “Jason texted me that he and the girls are going to be home in an hour with dinner so you can’t take all day.”

“You really think putting on this dress is going to take an hour?” Anne huffs, opening the door from the dressing room stall.

“Well, it depends on how many dresses you try,” Lucy starts, cutting herself off when she sees her sister in the dress. “Oh, Anne.”

“You like it?” she asks, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks. It was a simple dress, knit and insignificant. She had no idea why she was so excited about it.

“I do,” Lucy says, coming up behind Anne and resting her chin on her sister’s shoulder as the two of them admire Anne in the mirror. “And you know who else is going to love it? Tyson.”

Anne took in a deep breath, Lucy rubbing her back between her shoulders before she let her get changed back into her clothes. ‘Tyson was going to love it.’ Anne hoped so.

=============

December 31, 2021

Tyson said he was going to be at Anne’s place at 9:15 to pick her up and drop off stuff at her place to stay over. Since they were going to be together all night, it was easier if Tyson stayed with Anne after the party before needing to drive to Anne’s uncle’s house the next afternoon.

But it was 9:30, and Anne was sitting on her couch, waiting for the boy who was supposed to fake being her boyfriend tomorrow to show up to take her to a party with a bunch of people who had no idea who she was or that this scenario was going to be happening the next day.

How did Anne end up like this? What if he didn’t show up? Why did she let her mom and siblings take over the conversation about her life and let them believe that Tyson was her boyfriend? And why did he agree to it?

Anne gets snapped out of her downward spiral of thoughts by her phone ringing, Tyson calling to hopefully tell her that he was waiting to be let in. “You said you were going to be here at 9:15,” she answers, not letting Tyson say anything.

“Well, traffic,” he explains, “It’s New Year’s Eve and I didn’t want to speed, either, and end up getting pulled over for that. Can you come let me in? It’s cold.”

Anne gets up from her couch, venturing downstairs in the slippers she was keeping on until the last minute. The heels Lucy had let her borrow weren’t uncomfortable, but she wasn’t about to wear them around her apartment building if she didn’t have to. She spots Tyson sitting on the couches in the lobby, going up to him. He was looking down at his phone, but seeing him made her heart race. He had on a white button-down with the top two buttons undone, a black jacket, and black pants on. She goes up to him, resting her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

Tyson looks up, unable to find the words when he sees Anne. He stands up, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Anne sees this and lets out a small laugh. “Are you ok?” she asks, her nerves of seeing him dissipate while he acts like this.

“You’re,” he starts, letting out a breath as he looks her up and down. He shakes his head, a lazy smile on his face. “You’re beautiful.”

Anne laughs, grabbing his bag for him and leading him back upstairs to her apartment. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

“You know,” Tyson starts when the two of them get to her door, “pretending to be your boyfriend really isn’t going to be that difficult.”

“Yeah,” Anne scoffs, putting down Tyson’s bag with a thud by the couch, “and if you keep flirting with me like you mean it, then they’ll really believe you.” Anne’s back was turned to Tyson, so she didn’t see the look on his face, him biting his lip at her words that she thought he was just pretending. “You’re staying over for a night, what the hell could you have brought with you?” she asks him.

Tyson clears his throat, still not over Anne’s little dig about him pretending to flirt with her. He’s been flirting with her since they met, has she really not noticed? “Uh, you didn’t tell me how formal or casual this is at your uncle’s so I just packed a few options.”

“Huh, I never pegged you for a fashionista,” Anne teases, putting on her shoes and coat as Tyson orders the Uber to take them to the venue.

“Apparently you’re never going to peg me at all,” Tyson mumbles, not loud enough for Anne to hear.

“Sorry?”

“Uh, the Uber will be here in a few minutes so we should get downstairs,” he tries to save himself.

“But,” Anne says, locking her door and following Tyson back down to the lobby, “You can pretty much wear anything to Uncle Vince’s house as long as it isn’t a Juventus shirt.”

“Juventus?”

“That’s Napoli’s biggest rival. It would be like me wearing, I don’t know,” Anne says as they both get into the car that had pulled up, “a Red Wings or a Wild shirt to something for you guys.”

Tyson can’t help but smile, even though he knows it’s probably meaningless. Anne had made it clear that the two of them were just friends. But what if, “you like hockey?”

Anne shrugs, looking out the window as they drove into the city. “I don’t hate it, but I couldn’t tell you much about it. I’m more of a basketball girl, honestly.” Tyson scoffs, Anne turning to him. She had a smile on her face, trying to hide the slight insult she felt by the noise he made. “What?”

“Hockey is clearly better.”

“You’re just biased.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong,” he teases her, reaching over and nudging her arm. His hand lingers on her arm for a little bit, not really thinking about Anne’s noticeable settling into his touch. “Um,” he clears his throat, taking his arm back and praying that it was dark enough that Anne couldn’t see the red on his face, “What are your teams?”

“Men’s are the Nuggets, of course, women are the Seattle Storm, and college I go for UConn.”

“Did you go there?”

Anne shakes her head, Tyson admiring the way her hair framed her face, thankful that she was looking out the window instead of at him. “Nope, I went to CU Denver. My dad’s other brother, Johnny, went to UConn, and when I was born, that was around the start of the women’s dynasty that they have. When my dad was away on trips and mom was working, he and Aunt Lisa would watch the four of us and always have the UConn games on. I fell in love with Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Stephanie Dolson. I grew up wanting to play basketball and be like them, so I played basketball.”

“Did you in college?”

“No,” Anne laughs, looking at the building they were pulling up to. “I played until high school, and was definitely not good enough to play in college. I still love it, though.”

Tyson smiles at her, getting out of the car and rushing to the other side to help her out, linking his arm in hers to escort her in. “I love that,” he whispers to her, walking in and thankful that he had Anne on his arm that night.

The guys weren’t necessarily on his case about finding someone the way it seemed like Anne’s parents were, but that didn’t stop the chirping about him never having a girlfriend for as long as he was on the team. They knew she was his friend, but, hey, it was better than nothing.

Anne had no idea where Tyson took her, not recognizing the building they had walked into, but she was speechless at the sight of the grand ballroom, the lighting just dim enough that she couldn’t help but feel at peace, the noise from Tyson’s teammates and their families taking that away and leaving her overwhelmed. Tyson had slipped away to hang up their coats and grab drinks, leaving Anne to fend for herself for the time being.

She knew they weren’t late by any means but based on the sobriety, or lack thereof, that everyone was displaying, an outsider would think that Tyson and Anne had shown up hours late, everyone seemingly on at least their third drink of the night, if not more. Anne worked her way to the side of the room, giving herself a good view of the bar where Tyson was, hoping that he could find her after he was done chatting with whoever it was that had his attention.

“You look almost too comfortable for someone just watching everyone on the side. Who are you here with?” someone interrupts her thoughts. She snaps her attention to the mystery man standing next to her, leaning against the wall and looking out at the crowd as they danced and sang, drank and had fun. He was the same height as Tyson, just about, probably not that much younger but the rosiness on his cheeks made him look years younger than both her and Tyson.

“I’m here with Tyson,” she tells him, waving to the guy who was supposed to be by her side that night.

“You’re the girl who spilled her coffee on him when we went to the hospital for the charity event,” Rosy Boy laughs.

Anne scoffs, “I wish that wasn’t my legacy, but here we are.”

The two of them stand and watch everyone, laughing as some of the kids pretend to chase around the adults, one of them catching someone by the leg as the man pretended to fall down. “That’s our captain, Gabe,” Rosy Boy tells her, “being chased by Naylah, Nazem’s daughter.”

“So, Gabe, Nazem, Tyson,” Anne says, pointing at the only three men of the Avalanche that she knew, “You?”

“Cale Makar.”

“Anne DeFormicola.”

Cale smiles at her, turning his body so he was facing her directly. “A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” Anne could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks, thankful that her hair was down to cover the red that she knew had appeared on her ears. “Uh, are you and Tyson together?” Cale asks, his voice shaking as he prayed he didn’t make the mistake of flirting with one of his teammate’s girls.

“No,” Anne tells him, “We’re just friends.”

Cale lets out a sigh of relief. “Good, I, uh,” he stammers, Anne’s confused look making him nervous despite the smile that was on her face, “I mean, good, good for me. You? Us? I don’t know what I’m saying.”

The two of them laugh together, Anne seeing Tyson out of the corner of her eye. He didn’t look particularly thrilled as he watched her and Cale talking, the distance between them shrinking as the conversation proceeded.

Before she knew it, Tyson was by her side, a glass of wine in hand for her that he practically thrust in her hand. “So, how’s Cale treating you?” Tyson asks, not hiding the discontent he felt seeing Anne and Cale so obviously flirting.

Anne watches Tyson down his drink, a little too fast for her liking, especially considering Cale was obviously uncomfortable by what his teammate was doing in that moment. “Very well, we were having a good conversation.” Anne sips her wine, Cale mumbling something and slipping away. “What was that about?”

“I want you to be careful?” Tyson says as if it were obvious, even though he was lying. He didn’t want to have to see Anne flirting with his teammate all night.

“Of who, Cale? Didn’t you tell me he was the human equivalent of a puppy?” Tyson rolls his eyes, looking over to the bar and already wishing he had more to drink before having this conversation. “What’s the worst he’s going to do? Bite my ankles? Bark when he wants to go play outside?”

“Ok, you’re being mean.”

“And you’re being ridiculous.” Anne studies his face, the way he bit his lip as he tried to find his words. “You remind me of Sebby.”

“Your little brother?” Tyson asks, not really wanting to be compared to him.

“He’s really protective of me. We’re all protective of each other, but he’s especially protective of me. You’re probably the same way with Kacey, right?”

Tyson swallows hard, nodding. “Yeah.” He wasn’t even just friend-zoned: he was sibling-zoned.

“You just don’t want me to get hurt,” Anne reasons, already finishing her wine. It’s not like it was that much in the glass. “I think if anyone was going to hurt me, it wouldn’t be Cale.”

The two of them stand there, watching Tyson’s teammates dancing as the music changed to something more upbeat. On the nearest table, Tyson put down his and Anne’s empty glasses, extending his hand out to Anne in a bid to lead her to the dance floor. Anne hesitates, not really too fond of dancing, but then Tyson smiled at her, raising his eyebrows, and for whatever reason, she felt like she had to go with him.

His hand found the small of her back, holding her close enough that they could still talk over the blaring from the music, his other hand in hers as he tried to get her to move to the rhythm of the song. It’s not that Anne was uncoordinated, but she just wasn’t that great with dancing. “I would have thought you were better at this,” Tyson teases her, looking down at their feet as Anne steps on for what he thought was the fourth time.

“I will gladly go back to my place against the wall and watch you make a fool out of yourself by yourself instead,” she jokes, rolling her eyes as Tyson spins her around.

He pulls her in closer than before, the music changing to a slower song. “I don’t think you want to do that,” Tyson tells her, his forehead pressed against hers. He could kiss her right now if she let him. This was technically their second date, if they considered the coffee place their first. And Tyson did. He didn’t know why he wanted this girl in front of him so badly so fast, but there was just something about her that he had to be with her.

Before Anne could say anything, she feels someone tapping on her shoulder. Pulling away from Tyson, she sees Cale standing there, his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. His entire face was red, clearly nervous, as he started, “Uh, sorry, but I was wondering if I could dance with Anne?”

Anne smiles at him, looking over at Tyson to signal that she wanted to. Cale was adorable, and something about him left Anne unable to say no to him. Tyson gives a sad smile, releasing Anne from his grasp. “I’m going to go get another drink,” he says, leaving his date and teammate alone to be closer than they were before. He couldn’t be with a girl that didn’t want to be with him, he thought, downing the drink he got probably too fast. At least tomorrow he could pretend that the two of them were together, pretending that he was hers and she was his.

But for now, he had to watch Anne smiling and staring at Cale, his teammate holding her so close that Tyson wanted nothing more than to be Cale.

Tyson had his back against the bar, watching Cale and Anne dance and have fun when JT came up to him. “Didn’t you bring a date?” JT was the only one Tyson had told about the fake dating plan between him and Anne.

“Yep.”

“She in the bathroom?”

“She’s dancing with Cale,” Tyson says, raising what he thinks was his third drink in their direction. He was praying that they couldn’t get any closer than they were now, but the way Anne was smiling, he knew that was what she wanted.

JT looks between Anne and Cale together and Tyson’s near angry expression as he took another sip of his drink. “Oh, I get it,” JT realizes, Tyson side-eyeing his friend. “You like her, and now you’re seeing her with Cale and you’re jealous.”

Tyson could feel himself start to panic. He did like her, but he wasn’t about to let everyone know that. “No,” he lies, JT scoffing at him. He hated that he knew him so well. “Maybe.”

“Well, then why aren’t you the one dancing with her?” JT asks, Tyson watching Anne throw her head back laughing, Cale burying his head in her shoulder, a smile just as big as hers on his face.

“She wanted to dance with him. What was I going to do, say ‘no?’

“Yes.”

“No,” he rebuts, signaling the bartender for yet another drink. “At least I can pretend to date her around her family,” he shrugs.

“Yeah, until she pretends to dump you because she’s really dating Cale.”

“Maybe in the new year you should try to be more helpful instead of whatever you are now,” Tyson snaps. “Sorry,” he mumbles into the fresh drink he was bringing to his lips, planning on downing it as fast as he got it. If he had to watch Anne dancing with Cale, he might as well be drunk so he can’t remember it in the morning.

“It’s almost midnight,” Cale whispers to Anne.

“Yeah,” she smirks, having a feeling she knew where this was going, especially judging by the way his grip tightened around her waist.

“Uh,” he clears his throat, getting nervous about what he wanted to ask her. “Who are you kissing at midnight?"

Anne can’t help but smile, his innocence endearing to her. Tyson and JT were still watching the two of them dance even though Anne and Cale were too focused on each other to notice. “I think it depends on your answer,” she flirts.

“I was kind of hoping it would be you,” he tells her.

Anne laughs, “Yeah, I got that,” she tells him, running her hand through his hair at the nape of his neck, sending a chill down his spine. “I was hoping it would be you, too,” she tells him, closing her eyes with their foreheads pressed against each other. She almost wished she had spilled her coffee on Cale instead of Tyson, not needing to pretend to date him tomorrow and instead just date Cale and date him for real. It might have been the alcohol or the night that was making her feel this way, but Cale was not a hard guy to like.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Tyson mumbles, not wanting to see Anne and Cale anymore, setting his drink down and leaving the room before JT could protest.

Soon after, everyone began their countdown to midnight, chanting while Anne and Cale stayed silent.

Anne knew Cale wanted to kiss her before the countdown was over. He was hovering against her lips as soon as someone yelled ‘ten!’ She didn’t know what it was about him, but she was ready to kiss him, not waiting for everyone to get past ‘five’ before she connected with him for a second, already wanting more as soon as they started.

Cale pulled away fast, smiling, moving his hands from her waist to cup her face, kissing her as soon as everyone around them was screaming ‘Happy New Year!’ When they finally pulled away, Cale’s entire face was red, and Anne knew that there was some color on her cheeks, too. Kissing Cale was something else, but something was missing. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.

=============

January 1, 2022

Anne and Cale danced a little longer, some of the guys and their families starting to leave.

“I think I have to go find Tyson,” Anne tells Cale, realizing she hadn’t seen the boy she came with for the better part of an hour.

“Uh, wait,” Cale says as Anne starts to pull away, Anne stopping as Cale smiles at her. He puts on her jaw, tilting her head up to kiss her again. “Can I see you again?”

Anne smiles, biting her lip. “I’d like that. But I really have to find Tyson.”

The two of them start walking around, trying to locate their lost boy. “Are you coming back with us?”

“Us?”

“Tys and I live in the same building,” Cale explains, part of him wanting to ask Anne to go home with him.

Before he can, Anne starts, “No, Tyson is staying at my place tonight. We have something tomorrow. Today,” she corrects herself.

“Oh, ok. Well, then, can I get your number?”

“When we find Tyson because he has the ticket for our coats and my phone is in my coat,” she explains, regretting giving everything to Tyson.

“Anne!” they hear someone yell, turning around to see Tyson stumbling over despite JT trying to help him up. Anne hadn’t told him not to get very drunk out of caution for having to deal with her family in a few hours, but now she was regretting forgetting.

“How much did he drink?” Anne panics, slinging Tyson's free arm around her shoulder.

“When I got to him he was already on four and I think he had at least three more while I was with him. I couldn’t tell you what he had on his own,” JT explains, the four of them getting their stuff and trying to get out while Tyson could barely walk.

Tyson mumbles something, trying to lean his head against Anne’s shoulder while they walked, despite the three-inch height difference that would have been bigger had Anne not been wearing heels. JT asks him to repeat it while he orders and Uber to get Tyson and Anne home. “Anne’s so pretty,” Tyson says, practically screaming it in Anne’s ear.

“Thank you, Tyson,” she says, trying to be as sweet as she could despite her anger she felt for him getting this drunk.

Tyson keeps babbling incoherently, none of them wanting to try to figure out what he was saying while they were waiting in their Ubers.

“Hey, Anne, hand me your phone,” JT asks, trying to reach out to her with his free hand while also making sure Tyson didn’t fall over or fall on Anne. She does as he asks, Cale standing there wondering why he didn’t just do that in the first place. “Text me when you two get back to your place and let me know how he is before you leave for your Uncle’s.”

“Yeah, of course,” Anne says, not even thinking about how he would have known where the two of you were going later.

Before Cale can ask for Anne’s phone, the Uber for her and Tyson pulls up. “Are you sure you’re good to get him back?” Cale asks her while JT gets Tyson in the car safely.

Anne nods, putting her hand on Cale’s bicep to reassure him. “Yeah, he should sober up enough to walk with just me during the drive back. Thank you, though,” she says, giving him a quick kiss before climbing into the car.

“I wish it was me,” Tyson slurs, his head on Anne’s shoulder as the Uber pulls away.

“What’s that, Tyson?” Anne asks.

“I wish it was me that was kissing you.”

Anne looks at him, his eyes closed as he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “When?”

“At midnight. I wanted to kiss you at midnight. I just hope you didn’t kiss Cale. That would make me sad,” he says, letting out a yawn.

Before Anne could say anything to respond, Tyson was asleep, leaving her alone with her thoughts, and the Uber driver probably hoping they remembered this to tell their friends in the morning. Why would he have wanted to kiss her? They were just friends. They had both made it very clear that everything they were doing was just out of friendship because they both needed someone to be there for the other and just pretend they were something they were not.

This wasn’t going to be like one of those ‘fake dating’ tropes that Anne had read in books when she was a teenager or in rom coms. Those weren’t real life. That didn’t happen.

Anne gets Tyson up to her apartment, surprised that she was able to drag him out of the Uber and balance him long enough that he didn’t fall over and take her with him to the ground. She practically threw him onto her bed, getting him in position so no matter what happened he would be fine. He was asleep almost immediately, a soft snore coming from his lips.

Anne pulls out her phone to text JT that his teammate was asleep, getting herself ready to go sleep on the couch.

The next morning, Anne woke up to Tyson sitting at her kitchen table, already having helped himself to a cup of coffee. “You look like you’re feeling great,” Anne commented, Tyson clearly hungover from the night before.

“Why did I wake up in your bed and not your couch?” Tyson asked.

Anne shrugs, fixing herself a cup of coffee to join him. “You’re my guest and the couch isn’t the most comfortable thing to fall asleep on if you aren’t used to it.”

“You are?”

“I’ve fallen asleep plenty of times while I was reading on that couch,” Anne tells him, wishing she had something to offer him to eat. “Uh, when we get to my uncle’s house, there’s going to be a ton of food so if we didn’t eat now, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

Tyson nods, looking down at his coffee. He wished that he didn’t have to pretend to be Anne’s boyfriend. He already wanted to be more, but Cale was already closer to that in one night than Tyson was in how many weeks. “What do I need to know about your family before I meet them?”

Anne starts rambling about her family: her grandparents moved back to New York which was where they grew up so she hasn’t seen them in a while because they’re too old to make the trip out here and she hasn’t had time to make the trip to see them. They were going to her Uncle Vince’s house, her dad’s older brother. He has three kids, Michael, Emily, and Spencer, all of them dating someone. Then there’s Uncle Johnny, her dad’s younger brother, who has two kids, Lauren and Landon, and three grandkids from Lauren: Christopher, Lydia, and Henry.

Tyson didn’t even know if he was going to remember everything she was saying; from the food that Johnny brings just for Landon because of allergies, or the food that was designated as ‘the kid's food’ which was absolutely off-limits unless you were under the age of five years old. The Sam Adams’ beer is only meant for Aunt Lisa and Aunt Laura unless they offer it to you, but the wine is a free for all because it’s guaranteed that everyone of age brought their own bottle anyway, including Anne.

“Wait, but I don’t have a bottle,” Tyson asks, both of them getting up to get ready.

Anne smiles at him, going into one of her cabinets. “You want white or red?” she asks, holding up two bottles. “Because, as you know, I’m partial to red.”

Tyson laughs, taking the bottle of white wine from her, not even sure if he should be drinking anything given the night before. He was just lucky he somehow didn't feel worse despite how much he had. “I knew you were my kind of girl.”

They stand there for a second, neither of them sure how to react or what to do. “We should go get ready,” Anne says, bringing the bottles over to where she kept her keys so she wouldn’t forget them.

She retreats to her room, leaving Tyson to get ready out in the open of the rest of her apartment. That wasn’t a moment they just had in her kitchen, she tells herself. She puts on a pair of jeans, trying to find a shirt suitable enough for her mom to not nag her about, finally settling on a sweater that she was almost sure was Lucy’s that she stole a few months ago.

“Hey, Anne,” she hears Tyson calling her. “Someone’s calling you.”

An unknown number flashed on her screen in Tyson's hand, her forgetting she left the phone by the couch. Normally an unsaved contact was something that she wouldn’t answer, but the Calgary area code, for no reason whatsoever, told her that she had to answer it. “Hello?”

“Anne? It’s Cale. Sorry, I got your number from JT.”

Anne smiles, looking at Tyson who could hear his teammate's voice just loud enough that it made him upset. Tyson’s words from the night before rang through Anne’s mind as she finally answered him back, “Hey, no, it’s fine. What’s up?” Anne goes back into her room to finish getting ready, putting Cale on speaker as she does.

“I just wanted to check on you. And Tyson, I mean, that you were ok with him last night.”

Anne laughs at his nerves, the same ones that came through when they were first talking last night that she was thankful had faded as time went on. “Yeah, we’re fine. We’re getting ready to head out, though.”

“Any idea what time you would be done? I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner tonight?”

She could hear his voice shaking, wishing that she could say yes. “I can’t tonight, but maybe another time?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he says, both of them saying goodbye as Anne grabs what she needs to head out.

“You ready?” she asks Tyson. He looked good, a simple black button-down he had paired with jeans. Why did he have to look good? Tyson nods, grabbing the wine while Anne grabbed her keys.

The two of them drive in silence, her phone plugged into her car with Cale and JT’s contacts popping up on the screen on her center console as they were texting her. “I’m glad you got along with some of the guys last night,” Tyson tells her, finally breaking the silence between them.

“Yeah, me too. Especially since someone seemed to enjoy the bar more than anything else,” she teases.

“Hey, the bartender was attractive, and giving free drinks, what was I supposed to do?”

Anne laughs, knowing that wasn’t the real reason he was there the entire night. She didn’t know what that reason was, but it wasn’t because of the looks of the person giving Tyson drinks. “What do you remember from last night?”

Tyson hesitates, really not sure what to answer. “I remember the drinks and you were dancing with Cale at some point.”

“You remember none of the Uber drive back?”

He almost did. He knew he had fallen on Anne’s shoulder, but he didn’t remember getting into the car with her. He wasn’t even sure that Anne was the one that got him in the car. “Not really, no.”

“Ok,” Anne says, partially thankful for that. She wasn’t sure she would want to relive the part of the night, nor did she think Tyson would either.

She pulls up to her uncle’s house, already seeing Lucy’s car and her cousin Spencer's sitting in the driveway. “Ready to enter the belly of the beast?” she asks him, patting his thigh as a sign of encouragement.

Tyson looks out to the house, seeing someone standing in the doorway waiting for them to get out of the car. “We’ve gotta start acting like a couple, now, don’t we?” he says, leaning closer to her across the center console.

Anne rolls her eyes, knowing that he wanted a kiss or something, anything to show Aunt Laura that Tyson was actually her boyfriend. She does kiss him, sweet and slow. Tyson was sure if they weren’t being watched, he would have gone for more, but knowing he couldn’t was killing him. He had to make the most of the time he had with Anne’s family.

When Anne pulled away, she reached up to Tysons face, grazing her thumb along his beard as his hand connected with hers. She didn’t know why, but she kissed him again, their foreheads pressed together as they sat there in her car. It was different kissing him compared to Cale. A good different, and like last night, she couldn't put her finger on why. She almost forgot where they were, startled by Aunt Laura knocking on her window.

Anne’s face had to be bright red, embarrassed that her aunt saw whatever moment, real or fake or whatever that was, while sitting in the driveway of her house. She greets her aunt as she gets out of the car, handing her the two bottles of wine.

“You must be Tyson!” she says, more excited than Anne thought she would be. “Teresa’s told us so much about you, come in, come in,” she gestures. Anne was sure that she would have dragged him in by the collar of his shirt if she didn’t have the wine in her hands already.

Tyson looks at Anne, confused. “I have no idea what my mom could have said to her,” Anne says. Tyson shrugs, grabbing Anne’s hand as she leads him into the house.

Lucy comes running up as soon as Anne steps through the door, a baby that couldn’t be more than a year old in her arms. “Hey there, Hazel,” Anne coos, taking her goddaughter from her sister. Hazel reaches out, grabbing Anne’s hair as Anne winces at the slight pain from the baby’s pull. “This is Tyson.”

“Hi, pretty girl,” Tyson says, Hazel reaching out, squirming to get away from Anne and into Tyson’s arms. “Is it ok if I hold her?” he asks Lucy, waiting for her to nod before Anne passes her off to him.

Lucy pulls her sister aside, a silly grin on her face. “He’s perfect,” she gushes, “Look at him!” Tyson was bouncing Hazel up and down, Hazel shrieking with glee with him.

“He’s not perfect,” Anne says, “but he might be close.” The sisters laugh, Lucy hugging Anne from behind while they continue to watch Anne’s ‘boyfriend’ interact with Lucy’s youngest daughter. Anne wasn’t even sure if she was really pretending as the rest of her family came into her uncle’s house.

Teresa was practically attached to Tyson the entire time, as were Skylar and Harper once Tyson started playing with them. Literally, Tyson was walking around Uncle Vince’s house with Skylar and Harper clinging to each of his legs. Tyson was the center of attention, Anne wishing that it wasn’t because everyone was just finally excited that Anne found a man.

“What do you think of him?” Anne asks Sebby, the two of them watching Tyson and Matthew talking as if there was no one else was in the room. She had heard ‘touchdown’ and ‘linebacker’ come up in conversation, meaning Matthew was going on a rant about the Broncos, something that he did way too often.

Sebby looks him up and down, pursing his lips while he thought about it. “I’m not sure I trust him.”

“Oh, come on,” Anne whines.

“He’s an athlete. And a professional one, at that,” Sebby throws his hands up in defense. Growing up, Sebby was the only one who didn’t really like sports, feeling they were a waste of time when he could be doing something like reading or studying. Sports were only relevant when his siblings were involved, otherwise, he hated them.

“Give him a chance. Please?” Anne begs, not even sure if it were necessary. “He’s not Andy.”

Sebby narrows his eyes at his sister, jumping slightly as Tyson and Matthew start laughing. “Why didn’t you mention him before Christmas?”

“If you remember, I didn’t mention him at Christmas, you did,” Anne scolds him, trying to figure out what story to tell her brother. “And, it was still new. I didn’t want to say anything if it wasn’t going to be something.”

“Is it?”

“Maybe. I think so,” Anne lies. At least, she thought she was lying.

Tyson comes over to Anne while she was talking with Sebby about his upcoming semester, his last one before he graduated from college and hopefully entered law school. He wraps his arms around her, kissing her cheek before resting his chin on her shoulder. “You think I could steal her for a second?” he asks.

Sebby narrows his eyes, Tyson a little thrown off by her brother’s reaction. “Sure.”

Tyson brings Anne into another room, praying that no one would walk in on them. “We didn’t talk about anything we could say to your family about how we met,” he brings up.

“I was planning on deferring that to you since I normally can’t get a word in otherwise,” she admits, even though she hadn’t thought about it before.

“That’s not fair,” Tyson says, looking over Anne’s shoulder to see someone in her family looking at the two of them. “Your family is watching.”

Anne follows Tyson’s gaze, turning and waving at Landon and Lauren. She reaches up and puts her hand on Tyson’s cheek, Tyson taking it with his own and kissing the palm of her hand. “When you see how I get pushed aside at dinner, you’ll understand why it’s fair.”

The two of them continue talking about how they were going to go on with the rest of the day, Anne telling Tyson she was fine with everything he had done so far and really didn’t care if he kept doing it. Anne, not wanting to tell Tyson, liked what he was doing. It felt right for some reason. Was Tyson right that it should have been the two of them kissing at midnight and not her and Cale?

Tyson’s drunken confession from the night before was still ringing in her mind when everyone got called to sit down for dinner. Tyson was still, unsurprisingly, the center of attention. His hand was on Anne’s thigh for most of dinner, Lucy’s eyes never leaving as Anne rested her’s in his. The usual rounds of conversation started, asking Lucy about her medical practice, Jason about Andersen’s, his restaurant that bore his family’s name, Matthew and Steph about work at United, Sebby about how he was feeling going into this last semester of college.

Then the conversation was supposed to turn to Anne, normally swamped with questions about Anne’s lack of love life. Instead, of course, the conversation turned to Tyson.

“How did you two meet?” Teresa asks, giving a smug look to her daughter, “Anne hasn’t told us anything about you.”

Tyson hesitates, figuring Anne wouldn’t want her family knowing they met when she spilled her coffee on him. “I was out with some of my teammates after practice one day,” he starts, hoping that whatever was about to come out of his mouth was good enough. “We were at a coffee shop, and I saw Anne there grabbing something before her shift at the hospital. I saw her smile at the barista when she thanked him for taking her order and,” he looks at her, taking Anne and putting it on the table for her family to see. “Something about that smile of hers I just knew I had to talk to her. I needed her in my life and I’m happy she’s in it.”

He kisses the side of her head, whispering, “we have to remember that story now,” against her skin. When he pulls away, Anne smiles at him, signaling that she would. There was no way she could forget that honestly. Why was pretending to like him so easy?

The conversation stays on him for a little longer, Anne never being asked anything. Finally, Emily stands up with Jimmy, saying they had an announcement. “We’re engaged!” she squeals, holding up her left hand with the ring that she either just put on, or no one noticed as the family congratulated her. Jimmy had proposed at midnight, down on one knee right as whoever they were with said ‘Happy New Year!’

“Another wedding!” Teresa yells, Tony rolling his eyes next to her. He didn’t hate weddings, he hated his wife’s need to spend an extravagant amount of money on a new dress and presents for the couple every time. “And then maybe we’ll have one for Anne in the next year, too, oh Tony we’ll get to plan another wedding.”

“Mom!” Anne scolds, Tyson’s face getting bright red. “That ringing in your ears is not wedding bells.”

The rest of the dinner goes on fine, Anne and her siblings off in one of the rooms while their spouses and Tyson were nowhere to be found.

“I think Tyson’s scared of me,” Lucy says, examining her nails.

“He might just be intimidated by you, Signoria Perfezione,” Anne teases her with the nickname Lucy got when she was little, her need for order prevalent from a young age.

“Yeah, he said that Anne told him how smart you were and he didn’t want to feel stupid around you,” Matthew points out.

“Well, shouldn’t he be intimidated by Anne?” Sebby asks.

“I know you’re trying to compliment me, but your tone says otherwise,” Anne says. “Why don’t you like him?”

The three of them look at their youngest siblings. “There’s something off,” he starts, Anne feeling her heart start to race. “He’s like borderline pretending to be with you.”

“Come on, man, you’re paranoid,” Matthew scoffs, Lucy agreeing.

“I mean,” Sebby explains, “He looks at Anne like he wants to be with her, not like he actually is with her.”

“You’re just over analyzing. We’re together. Probably more together than you and Collins are,” Anne fires back, part of her hating that she was lying to her siblings, the other part of her wondering how much of it was a lie.

Sebby shrugs, “Well yeah, because we broke up.” Anne’s jaw drops, Matthew raises his eyebrows in shock, Lucy the only one to scream and actually make a verbal acknowledgment of what he just said. “Yeah, the other night. She finally blew up over the whole, ‘I don’t want to move to Boston or California,’ thing and said if I wasn’t willing to move to be with her then I wasn’t good enough for her.”

“Oh, I don’t like that,” Anne says.

"Why didn't you tell us," Lucy asks.

"I see how they act about Anne never being with someone," he says, Anne glaring at him. "I'll just find someone in law school and not say anything unless they ask. Plus, I don’t want to be that far away from you guys. Why would I stay with someone who wants me to do that?” he admits.

“Aw, you do like us!” Lucy teases him, her and Matthew tackling him in a hug while Sebby yells for them to get off, yelling louder when Anne joins in.

“Hey, um,” Tyson interrupts, “Sorry, you’re having a moment.”

“No, no, what’s up?” Anne breaks off, going over to him.

“Your aunt said dessert is out,” he tells them, or, rather, tells Anne with her siblings in earshot.

“See, you’re delusional,” Lucy tells Sebby as they walk past Anne and Tyson into the next room.

Tyson looks at her confused, waiting for an explanation. “I think Sebby’s catching on to us pretending,” she shrugs, really not that worried. She and Tyson could talk later about how long this would go on, and if anyone in the family were to find out that it was fake, Sebby would be the one to keep it quiet.

She goes into the next room, leaving Tyson there by himself. “Yeah, pretending,” he says to himself.

[idsb]

* 🚨alert alert 🚨 a new coffee shop has entered my list of best in the USA*

Fiddler’s Coffee, Tacoma, WA (caramel iced latte)

Sable Coffee, Kalispell, MT (toffee nut latte)

**new** Barista Parlor, Nashville, TN (whiskey caramel latte)

Paper Fox Coffee, Tallahassee, FL (raspberry white mocha)

Philz Coffee, Los Angeles, CA (all of it)

**(also new but not the one I’m talking about)** Spaddy’s Coffee Co, Tampa, FL (iced Florida Man aka orange vanilla cinnamon latte)

Ty for attending this public service announcement I’m just VERY excited about it

[naturecoaster]

Brooksville, Florida

Quick Brooksville, Florida History Brooksville, Florida was originally known as Melendez and then Benton. Incorporated in 1856, it is a wonderful city featuring a hilly terrain that ranges in elevation from 175 to 274 feet. There is a long history of successful planters, growers, and cattlemen in and around Brooksville. Its southern background is reflected in its name, honoring South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks who is best noted for hitting abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner on the head with his cane. Brooksville's downtown area features the iconic Hernando Courthouse, along with great shopping in unique stores featuring everything from antiques, outfits, high-end resale, stationery, flowers and bric-a-brac to formal gowns – and stationery. Some streets still show the Augusta bricks laid by hand. Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation mural painted by Justin Alsedek is on Brooksville's City Hall building, which houses a free art gallery upstairs. Things to Do in Brooksville, Florida There are several downtown restaurants and coffee shops, along with legal and banking offices, a library, and more than one park. Brooksville has been working hard to revive its downtown to attract more visitors and became a Florida Main Street community in 2016. For those looking for things to do in Brooksville, the Main Street organization holds several events in Brooksville's downtown area as well as farmers and artist markets, and a simply magical holiday celebration of all things Christmas during December with everything from musical trees to performing artists, decorations galore and horse-drawn carriage rides.  Local art is displayed in several downtown businesses and buildings, as well as murals painted throughout the downtown area. A walking tour map of the downtown murals may be found here. The Brooksville City Hall building houses a changing art exhibit in Gallery 201, and all are welcome. There is no charge. The architecture is interesting in several buildings and when looking for things to do in Brooksville, Florida, a wonderful historic walking tour can be had for the simple act of following the map here. If you would like more information about each building on the historic tour, download the complete guide here. (Please note that the Hernando Chamber of Commerce has moved to Brooksville's Tampa Bay Regional Airport. The guide is dated, but the history and map are accurate.) Historic homes are throughout the downtown area and a tour has been mapped out. There are two B & Bs, including this one, known as the Mirador. Another popular thing to do in Brooksville, Florida, is to visit the May Stringer Museum, located at 600 West Jefferson. Housed in the 1850 Stringer House, a Queen Anne masterpiece with a four-story tower, this historic building is reputed to be haunted. There are daily tours Tuesday - Saturday led by docents and the price of admission is only $10 for adults, $5 for children, free for those under 6 years of age, but the exhibits seem more adult-friendly. F. L. Stringer was a State Senator and judge. With thousands of historic artifacts and regular tours, it commemorates the Civil War era and provides a glimpse at the lifestyle and relics of a gone but not forgotten segment of American history. Ghost tours are held on Friday and Saturday nights by reservation. The May Stringer House houses a historical museum that is well worth a tour in Brooksville. It is said to be haunted. In addition to the May Stringer house there is a historic train depot to visit. Next to the historic train depot museum is a one-room schoolhouse to visit on Russell Street. Both of these museums are adjacent to Russell Street Park which has the Good Neighbor Trail running through it. The Good Neighbor Trail is a paved, multiuse trail that runs about 10.3 miles to connect with the Withlacoochee State Trail. Continue east to find another wonderful shopping area, featuring the Hawkins House and the Florida Cracker Trading Company and Tap Room. There is even an old-fashioned Coney Island where it is rumored that Elvis Presley may have eaten many years ago with an ice cream shop in front. The Florida Mermaid Trail In 2020, a Mermaid Trail was created in downtown Brooksville, which is part treasure hunt and part walking tour. It is an easy activity for one or more to get out and enjoy the historic brick streets and well-kept homes and businesses. Each February, a Mermaid Festival is held in Hernando Park, where residents and visitors compete for the best-dressed mermaids, with and without their pets, and meet the real mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. The maps for the Mermaid Trail can be found at Florida's Adventure Coast Visitor Center, adjacent to the park. Expanding Beyond Brooksville’s City Limits You may want to travel north on US 41 to visit the historic Chinsegut Hill Historic Site and rediscover the magic that caused its last private owners to name it Chinsegut, meaning, “a place where lost things are found.” Learn their story of courage and civil rights for all, as well as a historic timeline of occupation during significant national events. And it's beautiful and somewhat magical. *Please note that Chinsegut Hill Museum is managed by the Tampa Bay History Center and is open on weekends for tours, as well as some outdoor events on select weekdays. An Emancipation Celebration is held in May. Originally constructed in the early 1800s, and then added onto by subsequent owners, the Chinsegut Manor House was renovated in 2013-2014 and has been restored to the splendor of its glory days. Image by Diane Bedard. Don't forget the Ice Cream Head back south on U.S. 41 and then travel east on S.R. 50/U.S. 98. Make a right on Spring Lake Highway (541) and follow it to the top of the hill. On the right is Boyett’s Grove Citrus and Timeless Attraction. Here you will find a wonderful animal park where you can feed the animals, a dinosaur cave, taxidermy museum, birds, snakes, an alligator named, "Elvis", and more. A putt-putt golf course winds through part of this fun-filled tourist trap. There’s even a snack bar, ice cream parlor, and an old-fashioned Florida gift shop! It’s one of my favorite places on the Nature Coast. Read the full article

[scripts4dreamers]

I literally JUST sat down, pt.3

Part One, Part Two, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven

AN: The case stalls, but no one’s willing to give up on you just yet. Characters: Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia, Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner, Jennifer Jareau, David Rossi. Pairings: Spencer Reid x reader Spoilers: None Warnings: Mentions of crime and violence, alcohol

(Longer one this time! As always, let me know if you want to get tagged in the next part.)

—————————-

“I hate this,” you whined, as Garcia pulled you through the crowded streets, “why didn’t we drive straight to the office, again?”

“Because, my little Grumpy Gus, you look like you barely slept, and this place has the best coffee in the city.” She promised, giving your arm a squeeze.

You grumbled under your breath, but didn’t complain, letting Garcia ply you with endless cups of coffee.

“Are we getting for the whole team?” You asked, your mind drifting to your late night message to Spencer.

Garcia paused, her eyes narrowing with suspicion, “Yeeeeees, why?”

You shrugged, “I was just asking. No need to read into anything.”

“This is about Spencer, I can tell. Spill it.”

You groaned, letting your head thump down onto the table, “How do you do that?”

“I’m a veritable fountain of knowledge, Y/N, you know this,” she teased, “plus I speak fluent Y/N, especially the little known Spencer Reid dialect.”

“Witch!” You said accusingly, “You’re a witch!”

“You flatter me,” she winked, tapping your forearm, “now spill it.”

You sighed, taking another sip of your coffee, “It’s nothing, I just-I messaged him, alright?”

“You did what?”

“I messaged him! And it was stupid and he didn’t even respond, so it’s not important.” You explained, your cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Penelope gasped, “He didn’t respond?”

You shook your head, “Nope. Nothing, look-“

You took out your phone and glanced briefly at the screen, frowning when you spotted the notification from the night before. You swiped up, your eyes tracing his response. Something in your stomach pinched.

“Huh.”

“What?” Penelope asked, “What is it? You’re legally obligated to tell me, it’s in the rules.”

“He-uh-“ you stared at the screen, still frowning, “he responded. I must’ve fallen asleep…”

“Ooohhh my gosh, what does it say? What did you say? Is it romantic?”

You pressed your lips together, your mind whirling at a thousand miles an hour as you try to figure exactly what Spencer meant by “I did.”.

“It’s-“ you shook your head, “I don’t know really.”

Something in your tone must’ve let on how conflicted you were feeling because Penelope let the matter slide, just giving your arm a comforting squeeze.

“Let’s get to work, Sugar,” she said, standing and extending her hand for you to hold, “we’ve got crimes to solve.”

You gave her a weak smile but let her pull you to your feet, trying to force your mind away from Spencer and back onto your case.

“That we do, Garcia, that we do.”

——————————-

“We come bearing gifts,” Garcia announced as she pushed open the door to the BAU, “sustenance in the form of sweet, sweet caffeine.”

Your eyes instantly flew to Spencer, giving him a weak smile which, to your intense relief, he returned. You also noticed, with a rush of fondness, that he’d kept your side of the desk clear.

“Garcia you’re an angel,” Emily smiled, pushing away from her desk to accept a cup.

“Speaking of angels,” you sighed, carrying a cup of coffee flavored sugar over to Spencer and taking your seat next to him, “have we got an ID on our victim yet?”

“Marcus Wilcox,” Spencer said, flipping open the file closest to you, “25 year old drug addict and male prostitute. He went missing two weeks ago and was reported missing by his best friend.”

You glanced over at the picture of the man whose body had been left in your bookstore and felt the familiar pang of sorrow in your chest. There was always going to be another one, another life cut short, another dead son or daughter who’s family would grieve their loss for years. It was enough to put a damper on anyone’s morning.

You could feel eyes on you, heavy and questioning and you found you couldn’t look up to meet their gaze.

“Anything unusual in the M.E.’s report?” You asked, still avoiding the eyes.

“All the mutilation was done postmortem, so that rules out sadism as a motive,” JJ suggested, accepting a cup of coffee gratefully.

“High levels of caffeine in the blood too,” Emily pointed out, “and…” she pressed her lips together.

“What, Em?” You asked.

She looked up at you nervously, something like sympathy in her eyes as she said, “Biscuits, in his stomach. They found brown butter biscuits and coffee in his stomach.”

Your blood froze and you felt a rush of nausea. You put your cup down, suddenly not thirsty anymore.

“Is...that significant, somehow?” Hotch asked, his perpetual frown firmly in place.

“They’re the best sellers at Y/N’s coffee shop,” Spencer said, something off in his voice, “she sells them fresh every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.”

You looked over, shocked, and noticed that Spencer was working his jaw, like he was angry, his one hand curled into a fist under his chin. You itched to reach out and touch his forearm, like you once would have, but you restrained yourself.

“What the hell is this guy doing?” Emily asked, “Why go through all this trouble to personalize the crime? What’s driving him?”

“It’s gotta be erotomania, right?” Morgan asked, “Someone’s trying to get Y/N’s attention.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” you insisted, frustrated with having the same conversation again and again, “stalkers don’t start off with an elaborate and expertly executed murder. If it was erotomania, why not call first, or email or leave notes at my apartment? There’s been no build up to this sort of violence.”

“Plus, the victim has no connection to Y/N,” Spencer pointed out, “erotomaniacs want to reinforce their supposed devotion to the object of their affection, if he wanted to do that he would’ve picked someone Y/N knew, like an ex-boyfriend or an enemy of some kind.”

“Some who he thinks Y/N would actually want dead,” Emily agreed.

“Reid and Y/L/N are right, there’s something more to this, something we’ve missed,” Hotch said, “Garcia, I want you to go through everything you can find about Marcus Wilcox and see if he came into Y/N’s store at all. Maybe he’s a customer who was rude and offended the UnSub. After that, comb through Y/L/N’s life again; old friends, high school classmates, college professors, agents she worked with on cases, anyone who could have formed an attachment and been stalking her without us knowing.”

Garcia paled under her Barbie pink lipstick, “Sir, I-“

“It’s fine, Garcia,” you assured, giving her a soft smile, “I’ve got nothing to hide. You’ll have to get permission from the CIA to access some of my case files though, there’s some sensitive data in those.”

“I’ll call the director myself,” Hotch said, “that’ll expedite the process.”

“But, sir, sorting through all that data could take weeks,” you pointed out, “what do we do in the meantime?”

Hotch pressed his lips together, and you sighed, sensing his next words before they even came out of his mouth.

“We work cases, as usual,” he said, “Y/N, yours will still be our priority but, until we get a new lead…”

“We’re stuck.” You finished. You breathed in, trying to calm your restless nerves, and pushed yourself up, “Well, it was lovely seeing you guys again, but I guess that’s my cue.”

“What?” Spencer said, sitting up suddenly, “No, Y/N you can’t just leave, if there’s someone out there delusional enough to do this to get your attention then it’s not safe.”

“I’m with Boy Wonder,” Garcia agreed, shooting you an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, Sugar Plum but this whole thing is just icky and gross and I’d feel much better knowing you were here.”

You looked around, but we’re met with a wall of concerned faces. You wanted to scream. Nothing about this situation was fair. You hated feeling helpless, it was why you’d joined the FBI in the first place and, ultimately, why you’d left.

“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do while we wait for a lead?” You asked, “I can’t go home, I can’t go back to work, I can’t just sit here all day until my assigned babysitter for the night is free.”

“You could join us on cases,” Hotch said simply, “if I’m not mistaken, you’re still officially an agent so you’re cleared to be in the field.”

Spencer and Emily sucked in a breath in unison, and you shut your eyes. Shit.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Emily asked, “You never actually resigned?”

You shot her a sheepish look, “I meant to! I did! It was just,” you shrugged, “at first I wanted the safety blanket in case normal life didn’t work out and, once it did, I just-“ you trailed off.

Truth be told, you didn’t know why you’d never left. It was really only one document that you needed to sign, it would take less than three minutes to complete, there was nothing stopping you. You’d even filled it out once or twice but, for some reason, you always stopped before actually submitting it.

You shot a nervous look at Spencer, who was determinedly avoiding looking at anything except a particular patch of empty air, and sighed.

“So...what does that mean?” Morgan asked, “You’re back on the team?”

“Agent Y/L/N has technically been on an extended sabbatical for the past year,” Hotch explained, “ideally we would be able to keep her on in an advisory capacity while we work her case but, with her safety being such an issue, for the time being, yes, she’s back on the team.”

���—————————-

You collapsed into your old seat on the jet, exhaustion weighing you down like a ton of bricks. It had taken almost no time for Hotch and Garcia to brief you on the team’s newest case and, before you could even pack a proper Go-Bag, you were wheels up and on your way to Tampa Bay. It was a fairly standard case, or as standard as it got for the BAU at least, and it had only taken three days to catch the guy, but it had still taken the life right out of you. Hotch had noticed your distress and sent you ahead to the jet with Rossi while the rest of the team finished packing up. On the one hand you resented being treated like a child, on the other….well, you were exhausted.

Rossi sat down across the aisle from you, handing you a mug of warm hot chocolate, which you accepted gratefully. He raised his eyebrows in that grandfatherly way, like he was asking you a question, and you smiled.

“What?” You asked, “I can tell you’re thinking something.”

“You love this” he said simply.

“Love it?” You laughed incredulously, “Rossi I haven’t been this tired since I spent three full days setting up my shop. I’m exhausted.”

“And you love it,” he insisted, “I can see that Evil Genius sparkle in those pretty eyes of yours.” He gestured at your face and you smiled, “Not that I blame you. Catching killers tends to be more exciting than baking cookies.”

“Hey, I thought you loved it when I made cookies!” You complained, whacking his hand away in mock outrage, “You said they were your favorite!”

“They are, I’m just making a simple observation, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh,” you said suspiciously.

“Here’s another one; there’s tension between you and the Good Doctor,” he continued.

You rolled your eyes, but didn’t disagree, letting your mind wander back to the last three days. After Hotch’s little announcement to the team, things had been...odd with Spencer. Actually, you couldn’t be sure that was the catalyst, for all you knew things could’ve been weird before that but, now it was just impossible to miss. He would bounce between avoiding you like the plague and actively seeking out your company; sitting next to you at dinner one minute and then purposely standing as far away as possible the next minute. It sucked. It sucked and it hurt your feelings and it was confusing, so there was no point in denying it to Rossi.

“I just wish he’d talk to me, you know?” You said, “Or yell, or shout or something. Like, if you’re angry then be angry. At least then we could talk it out, but this-“ you shook your head, “I hate it.”

“Ah, kid,” Rossi commiserated, patting your knee comfortingly, “I don’t think he’s angry, and that’s probably part of the problem.” You looked up, confused, and Rossi continued, “If he was angry, things would be a lot simpler. Like you said, you could just yell for a bit, and then it’d be over. No, I think Spencer’s just hurt and confused. He blames himself for you leaving and, now that you’re back, he’s happy, but he feels guilty about being happy because you’re in danger.” He explained, “It’s a confusing time for him, for you both.”

You sat up, “Wait why would he blame himself for me leaving?”

Rossi looked down, like he was thinking hard but, before he could say anything, you heard footsteps and the rest of your team boarded the jet. You shot Rossi a look that said “we’ll finish this later”, and then turned away, smiling at your friends.

“Hey,” you greeted, letting Morgan ruffle your hair.

JJ gave you a small smile, but your eyes went straight to Spencer, Rossi’s words bouncing around inside your head. To your surprise, he collapsed into the seat beside you.

“Hey,” he said softly, “I-uh-I was hoping we could talk.”

Your heart leapt, but you tried to keep your face neutral as you answered, “Sure thing, Reid. What about? The case?”

“Actually,” he said, his voice still low, “I wanted to talk about you.”

You pressed your lips together, but nodded, following Spencer’s lead and leaning in to avoid being overheard as your team settled in for the flight home.

Spencer was silent for a moment, like he was thinking, and then, “Why didn’t you resign? I thought you wanted out.”

“I did, or I thought I did. Reid, when I first left I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I guess I wanted to be able to come back if things went wrong.” You explained.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

You paused for a moment, “Spence-“

His breath hitched in his throat, “The first time, when you were thinking about leaving. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I-“ you sighed, the exhaustion rolling over you like a river, “I didn’t want to worry you until I was sure and then, after that….” you shrugged, “it all happened so fast. I’m sorry.”

He nodded, like he understood, and you watched some of the tension leech out of his body. For the first time he met your eye, and your heart stuttered in your chest.

“I’m sorry too.” He said.

“Spence you’ve got nothing to-“

“I do,” he interrupted, “I promised you that we’d always be best friends and then, after you left, I just stopped trying.”

You were conflicted. Some part of you had been longing to hear this for months, ever since the texts, visits and calls had stopped out of the blue but, now that you were actually hearing it, it just made you sad.

“You did try,” you reminded him, “you came to the store a few times, helped me organize my books.”

He shook his head, “Not often enough. It just-it just got so hard, you know? Seeing you every weekend and knowing you weren’t going to be there when I got to work the next day,” he explained, his voice cracking, “watching you have this whole life outside of us, it just started to feel like maybe I didn’t fit-maybe we didn’t fit.” He gestured to the team, “And I thought maybe you were better off-“ he trailed off.

“Hey,” you cut in, reaching out and covering his hand with yours, “hey, listen to me. You guys are my family. You’ll always be my family, no matter what happens. I’m sorry you ever felt like anything else was even possible. I could never be better off without you guys.”

The hint of a smile played at the edges of his mouth, and he squeezed your hand gently.

“If it’s okay,” he said, still smiling hopefully, “I’d really like for us to be friends again. I know I broke a solemn oath but, if you’ll trust me, I’ll never let it happen again, I promise.”

Your smile felt so wide that it hurt your cheeks as you pulled him into a hug, savoring the way he chuckled as he hugged you back.

“Of course, Spence,” you smiled, still holding him close, “of course.”

“God, I missed you,” he admitted into your neck, “no one else pretends to care about Star Trek as well as you do.”

You laughed and let him go, feeling the distance that had formed over the last year vanishing bit by bit.

“I’ve missed you too, Doctor Reid.” You said, “But, I’ll admit, I haven’t missed the Star Trek talk as much.”

“None of us miss the Star Trek talk,” Derek said, making you both jump, “honestly, I miss not knowing about Star Trek.”

“Preach,” JJ agreed, “Y/N/N, I know you’re in charge of what we watch tonight but I’m begging you, please pick something made for adults? I’ve been watching nothing but Marvel and Disney for months.”

“But I love Disney,” Emily complained.

“Rest assured,” Rossi interrupted, “it’s my entertainment system and I don’t even have any Disney.”

“You have Lord of The Rings though, right?” Spencer asked.

You watched your team bicker amongst themselves, laughing like you hadn’t laughed in months. Being together like this was like a healing balm for your frayed nerves, bringing you back to a place of calm, like you’d just come home from a long trip. In the back of your mind, you knew there was still work to be done, old wounds you needed to address and mysteries you needed to solve but, for now, you were just happy to be with your family. For now, this was enough.

—————————

Spencer felt like he was living in some sort of strange fever dream, like all his months of sulking had finally driven him mad and now he was physically imagining things as he helped you out of his car. Touching you always made him a little dizzy but, over the years that you’d worked together every day, he’d managed to build up a tolerance, a tolerance that was now almost completely gone. It had been months since everyone had agreed to have family dinner at Rossi’s, but now that you were back, he’d insisted. Spencer was on cloud nine. He had his best friend back and, for the first time since you’d left, things felt good again, like he was exactly where he should be.

As you sat around Rossi’s table, swapping stories and reminiscing over the past, Spencer had to fight to stop from staring at you. You were really there. He could reach out and touch you. If he called your name you would respond and your eyes would light up the way they always had, like he was the only person in the world you wanted to see. It was surreal. In the back of his mind, Spencer knew he was being selfish, that he shouldn’t want you to stay this time and he should be itching to find out who was stalking you so that you could go back to the life you’d built. But he wasn’t.

When JJ had gotten the call that you needed them, Spencer had thought his heart was going to implode from all the pent up longing he’d kept stored away. Seeing you hadn’t exactly improved things. He’d spent the entire day trying to hold himself together, unsure of how to act around you, playing through every single memory he’d been keeping repressed for all this time like it would somehow give him the answer. God, half the time he’d wanted to scream, the other half he’d wanted to wrap you up in his arms and never let you go ever again. As his eyes traced the plains of your face, plains he’d memorized a million different times, he felt a flicker of that old flame burn in his chest, like the embers of a fire that had never really been put out, and he sighed.

“Hey, kid, where’s your head?” Morgan asked, his voice soft enough to avoid being overheard.

“Hmm? What?” Spencer replied, tearing his eyes away from you as you laughed at something Garcia said.

“Your head,” he repeated, where’s it at?”

Spencer thought for a minute, and then smiled, “I’m good. Really good, actually.”

Morgan nodded, a little too knowingly for Spencer’s liking, but let the matter drop. Just then, the unmistakable ping of Hotch’s cell cut through the late night air and, as if on cue, every eye in the house turned to face the sound. Hotch examined his phone, his frown deepening and sending shivers of worry up Spencer’s neck. He wanted to say something, to stop Hotch from giving them whatever horrible piece of news was on that phone, but he couldn’t. He just sat and waited, like everybody else.

“Hotch?” JJ eventually asked, her hand gripping yours, hard.

“They-uh-” Hotch started, showing a rare moment of nerves, “they found another note at Y/N’s apartment.”

Several people swore, Garcia whimpered, Derek slammed his fist against the table, but you just stared straight ahead, your face stony and unmoving. Spencer wanted to reach out, but he was frozen in place.

“What did it say?” You asked, “Is it another love poem?”

“No,” Hotch answered, “it’s a string of numbers; 29.07.15/18.01.14/38.8765.77.0006.”

“Reid, you got that?” Morgan asked, shooting him a look.

Spencer felt like the wind had been knocked out of him, but he nodded, “I’ve got it.”

“But, that’s not all, is it?” Rossi asked.

Hotch shook his head, “They found another body. This time in an empty storefront a few blocks away from Y/N’s apartment.”

“Probably the site I’d picked out for the second branch,” you supplied, “I just signed the deal three weeks ago.”

You buried your face in your hands, sighing as the atmosphere around the dinner table took a turn for the worst.

“Well,” Emily said, “Looks like we’ve got our lead.”

Hotch nodded, “Let’s get to work.”

-----------------------------

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