#and then I saw someone try to claim that she could never sell out a stadium

[idekwtf-is-happening]

Seeing people on Twitter trying to hate on Taylor swift is so funny like, she’s living in their heads rent free as they scramble for reasons to hate her

[starryeyedjanai]

Steve and Eddie meet through their local buy-nothing-sell-nothing group when Steve’s getting ready to move in with Robin and he realizes he can't keep everything he owns while trying to merge households with her.

The first time they meet, Steve hadn't even been meaning to actually meet the person picking up the free toaster oven he’s giving away.

He’s setting his toaster oven outside his house on the porch when Eddie hops out of his van to pick it up and it would be rude to duck back inside without saying anything since he obviously sees him coming up, so they make small talk for a minute and Steve has to keep his eyeballs in check because they keep wanting to rake all the way down this guy’s body.

He’s covered in tattoos and so extremely Steve's type, but he knows better than to hit on someone who lives in his neighborhood and is not here for that reason.

He laments to Robin about it the next day, about the hot guy who’s probably using Steve's toaster oven as they speak, who he’ll probably never see again.

Robin rolls her eyes fondly at him and tells him that maybe if he puts more stuff up for grabs on the facebook group, he might see him again, but Steve suspects she just wants him to get rid of more of his stuff so it doesn't overcrowd their new apartment.

The set of items he puts up in the group next is an old blender and a butcher block that has three of the knives missing—seriously where did those knives go? He has yet to find them.

He tries to pretend he isn't secretly hoping Eddie will comment under his post that he wants the items, but he isn't fooling himself when his heart literally skips a beat when the first comment is from Eddie. He messages him and tells him to stop by later that day.

When Eddie shows up, they talk for longer than last time, Eddie asking why Steve needs to get rid of so much stuff and Steve asking why Eddie needs all this stuff—especially considering Steve snooped through the group and saw that Eddie joined over a year ago and hadn't once commented before now (he doesn't mention that thought, but he is thinking it real hard).

Eddie laughs and says he was in the market for a toaster oven when Steve posted one and wouldn't you know it? He also needs a blender—the knife set is just a bonus, he says.

Steve tries not to read too much into it, but his brain is spinning the interaction around in his head for the next week.

He puts up a space heater in the group and within minutes, Eddie has claimed it.

“I should just get your number and text you directly when I find something I want to get rid of next time,” Steve says flippantly when Eddie comes by to grab it that night. “Instead of clogging up the facebook group.”

Eddie smirks at him and steps a little closer. He says, “Maybe you should.”

His neighbor’s car alarm decides to go off right at that moment, ruining the flirty atmosphere with its incessant shrill. They can barely hear each other over the drone of it, so Eddie leaves without giving Steve his number and Steve is left feeling like he keeps having these missed connection moments with Eddie.

In a fit of desperation to see Eddie again, Steve puts up a bunch of random stuff in the group the next day—a shoe rack that’s missing a piece, a step stool, a cheap side table he got from Ikea—and Eddie is still the first person to comment like he’s been refreshing the page, just waiting for Steve to post.

“I left without giving you my number last time and I didn't want to be creepy and message you unprompted,” Eddie says as they load the side table into his van. “I think I was overthinking things and then got kind of spooked.”

“It doesn't look like anything could spook you,” Steve says.

When they get the side table inside the back of the van, Eddie turns to him and admits, “A very pretty boy could.”

Steve can feel his face getting hot. “You think I’m pretty?” he asks.

Eddie nods. “Why do you think I keep coming here? There's no way a person who’s lived here for as long as I have would need all this stuff.”

“Did you need any of it?” Steve asks in a teasing voice. “Or were you just so blown away by how cute my profile picture is that you just had to meet me?”

“Oh, I needed the toaster oven, but everything after that was just to see you again,” Eddie says before biting his lip.

There’s an entire swarm of butterflies in his stomach when Eddie's hand brushes his, when Steve takes Eddie's hand in his and leads him inside his box-filled house.

Later, when they’re making out on Steve's couch—when Steve really should still be packing since he has to move in less than a week—he pulls back to ask, “Wait, so are you gonna put the rest of the stuff you don't need back up for grabs in the group? I feel like that would start so much neighborhood gossip.”

Eddie grins wide and Steve wants to kiss him again, wants to feel his smile against his mouth.

“Oh, we’ll be the talk of the town, baby,” Eddie says, pulling him back in.

[tiannasfanfic]

True Sight

Eddie Munson x Reader (Angst)

| Eddie & Steddie Masterlist | AO3 Link |

Summary: While helping Eddie clean out his van, you find something that has the potential to completely destroy your relationship.

Rating: General Audiences

Author Note: Gender neutral Reader, they/them pronouns (if any), because anyone can wear panties. An AU where Henry Creel doesn't happen. Angst with a Twist. This story is 90-95% true, even the background of Eddie and Reader's relationship.

CW: Description of on and off relationship; mentions of abandonment issues; mentions of cheating; brief, non-graphic description of past sexual encounter (below waist penetration but not specified where, choking).

Word Count: 2,676

At some point in every long term relationship, the people in it find themselves purchasing their first vehicle together. No matter if it’s brand new right off the lot or an older model that a buddy is trying to get rid of, it’s a huge milestone for any couple.

That time had finally come for you and Eddie.

By now, duct tape and prayer were holding his van together. Your car may have been slightly newer and in better condition, it was at the point of breaking far more often than the two of you could really afford.

Regardless of why, it was an exciting time for both of you. Even getting a used vehicle, this was going to be the newest one either of you had ever owned. Not only that, but this was the first vehicle that Eddie was able to buy for himself, which was another huge milestone. Yes, the two of you were buying it together, but that was beside the point. You weren’t going to take that claim away from him since his van had been Wayne’s initially and was a roughly used hand me down.

Once a truck was found that you both fell in love with, you went ahead and traded your car in to help lower the down payment. That had been the plan with the van too until dealership took one look at it and laughed, so the two of you were on your own when it came to selling it.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to find someone that was willing to give what Eddie was asking for it.

Unfortunately, this meant it had to be cleaned. And if there was one thing that had never happened to this van, it was a good deep cleaning.

Now, while Eddie had gotten better over the years when it came to tossing trash into the back, especially once he had stopped hanging out in there, he wasn’t always the best at remembering to throw things away later. There were still plenty of empty to-go cups, soda bottles, food wrappers, cans, cigarette packs, lighters and the like that had to be thrown away. It wasn’t anything gross, at least, except for a bottle of motor oil that had leaked right behind the driver’s seat.

Once all off the surface trash was out of the way, and the old blankets pulled out and examined before ultimately being thrown away, the van turned into a bit of a time capsule for the two of you. You both started finding things long thought lost, which brought on some reminiscing.

Ah, if this van could talk. She had seen a lot of things, both with and without you at Eddie’s side.

You both were in great moods as the day progressed, made even better by sharing one last joint then making out in the back for old time’s sake. But shortly after that while at the peak of your high, you found something at the bottom of the glove compartment.

When you first saw it, you weren’t really sure what it was. Once you picked it up, you could tell by the feel of it that it was some kind of flimsy fabric that had been wadded up into a ball. After carefully unwinding the fabric from the ball, you held it up with both hands to look at.It took a moment, but you eventually realized what it was that you were holding.

“Hey Eddie?” you said, slowly turning in the passenger seat towards the back of the van.

“Yeah?”

“Look what I found,” you said.

Eddie looked over to see what you were talking about.

It took him a moment as well, but when he realized what exactly it was that you were holding, all the color drained from his face.

It was a pair of mesh thong panties that had been torn open down the sides.

“Sweetheart, I promise those are from before we got back together,” Eddie said instantly, panic all over his face, his tone frantic.

From the look on Eddie’s face, you could see the life you two had built together flashing before his eyes.

The relationship you and Eddie had was a complicated one that was hard to describe.

Really, the easiest way to explain it is by saying it was very easy for the two of you to get together but very hard for you to stay together.

The two of you had been friends since high school. Back in those days, you were good friends but not best friends thanks to people you both dated during those years. This was due to the feelings you both had for each other that were obvious to everyone except for yourselves. The people you dated could see it just as easily as anyone else and didn’t like it.

Not too long after Eddie graduated, you both found yourselves single at the same time and you decided to make your feelings known. Eddie wasn’t about to pass up that opportunity, instantly reciprocated and the two of you had an amazing relationship that lasted for just a little over six months before he ended it suddenly without any explanation at the time.

Over the course of the next three years, the two of you found yourselves drawn back to each other repeatedly. In that time period, you made three more serious attempts to date, made a run at trying to just be friends again, and went through phases as each other’s regular booty call.

But no matter what kind of relationship you two tried to have, it would end shortly after it started and you’d go a long period without speaking.

Now, to be fair, it wasn’t always Eddie who ended things. You ended it your fair share of times, too. If something wasn’t working or making you happy, you had no problem with removing yourself from a situation and moving on, even when it came to him.

But, no matter who ended it, every time the two of you parted ways, it was always over something that didn’t really matter in the long run. It was never anything big, nothing serious, nothing that should permanently kill a relationship. And while you two were madly in love with each other, you were always at different places in life. It was the never right time.

Eventually, you found yourself in a relationship for nearly four years and lost all contact with Eddie for the duration of it. But one particularly rough night near the end of it, you found yourself having a pretty drastic realization. The only time you had ever been happy with someone, really truly happy and not just lying to yourself, was with Eddie.

Unbeknownst to you at the time, Eddie had the exact same realization roughly in the same time period after getting ditched by his date at a party where he knew no one and had no ride home since he rode with his date. He ended up having to call Steve to come rescue him.

A few weeks later, while you were working up the courage to reach out to Eddie, he made contact with you first.

That was a little over three years ago. You two had been together ever since.

But just because you two hadn’t broken up yet didn’t mean things had been easy. The biggest drawback to finally getting with someone you’ve been on and off with for years is the abandonment issues you both have left over from all those breakups before. After three years, and a lot of communication, you two had made a lot of progress, though it was still something you two were actively working on, tackling things together whenever they came up.

But one thing you had never worried about with Eddie was cheating. Eddie was the one person you always trusted implicitly. You actually had more of a sordid past than he did, having cheated on multiple partners while he said he had never cheated on even one. You believed him. Even the mere idea of him cheating never crossed your mind.

By this point, Eddie had completely discarded what he was working on at the back of the van to scramble up on his knees to where you were seated sideways in the passenger seat. He looked absolutely panicked, his eyes wide and filled with fear as he gazed into yours.

“Please, please believe me, Y/N,” Eddie said, cupping your face in his hands, his voice cracking. “I would never, ever do that to anyone, but especially not you.”

He looked so scared, so terrified, his tone heavy with a desperate plea.

And it was at that exact moment you started laughing.

It wasn’t just any kind of laugh, it was one of those laughing fits that soon had you nearly doubled over with tears streaming down your face.

Eddie leaned back a bit in surprise, his hands dropping down from your face to rest on your shoulders. A worried crease appeared between his eyebrows. He didn’t say anything until after your laughter had calmed down, just watched you with a helpless look on his face.

“Sweetheart?” he said, tentatively reached up with one hand to touch your cheek again lightly. “What-“

The question was cut off when you grabbed a handful of his shirt, pulled him closer and kissed him.

Eddie was so stunned he didn’t even kiss you back.

As you pulled away, you took one look at his expression, which was now a mixture of worry, panic, shock and now the fear that you’d finally lost it, and you could feel the laughing fit rising up again. You managed to suppress it down to a fit of giggles.

“They’re mine, you dumbass,” you said, giggling madly and grinning at him.

All of the expressions on Eddie’s face were instantly wiped away and replaced by one of deep confusion.

“Yours?”

You nodded.

Once you had realized what it was that you were holding, you instantly recognized the pair and remembered the night you lost them. You were just surprised he still had them after all this time. It happened many years ago during the second attempt you two made to date.

The two of you had gone to a friend’s birthday party together, making a date of it. As soon as you got in the van when he picked you up, the air had been sparking. It was the first time you had seen each other in a couple of months and the energy between you was electric, the sexual tension as strong as you’d ever felt it.

You both had known days ago when you made these plans how this night would end. If there was one thing you and Eddie had always, always been in perfect sync on, it was sex. Your energies matched perfectly, your bodies fit together as if they were made for each other. The intense passion mixed with rabid lust was always earth shaking. After your first night together, it was almost like you craved each other.

The two of you spent most of the party teasing each other. When the two of you finally left, Eddie couldn’t wait to get back to your place, much less into the back of his van. He pulled over to park on a secluded road and barely got it into park before he was dragging you over to straddle him in the driver’s seat. It was a bit tricky getting your pants off, but the two of you managed, only honking the horn a couple of times in the process. For whatever reason, you didn’t take your panties off at the same time, and they were soon ripped off you.

While you knew that probably wouldn’t jog his memory right away if you told him all that, you knew one particular thing about that night that definitely would.

“Remember when we discovered I like being choked?” you asked, grinning.

It only took a second before Eddie completely relaxed and his face broke into a wide grin.

“Holy shit,” he said, his eyes lighting up with the memory.

Shortly after Eddie ripped your panties off, you had been riding him when he suddenly grabbed you by the throat and leaned you back against the steering wheel to arch your chest out towards him. It was the first time anyone had ever grabbed you by the throat and you absolutely loved it. This became immediately obvious to Eddie when you cried out and clenched around him in a surprise orgasm. He wasn’t too far behind you after that.

“Now I remember,” he said, taking the pair of torn panties from you to look them over. “When I was leaving your place the next day, I saw them on the floorboard. I thought about going back in to give them to you but decided to keep them.”

To anyone else, that would’ve sounded weird, but for you, it made your heart skip a beat.

“Why?” you asked.

Eddie shrugged, a regretful look on his face as he looked up to meet your gaze.

“I was already freaking out again about how much I felt for you,” he said. “And I knew I was fixing to run away again because of it.” He shrugged again. “So, I wanted to make sure I had something of yours when that happened.”

Just a few days after that party, Eddie had suddenly stopped speaking to you again.

You smiled softly, and reached out to brush some stray curls out of his face.

“Good thing we don’t have to worry about that anymore, huh?” you said, then leaned forward to kiss him again, which he eagerly returned this time.

“Yup,” he agreed, then grinned. “We’re on a lease together and now a car loan. You’re kinda stuck with me.”

“And there’s no one else I’d rather be stuck with,” you said happily.

After another slow, deep kiss, Eddie looked back down at the torn panties in his hand and grinned.

You watched as he balled them back up and leaned to one side so he could shove them into his pocket.

“Seriously?” you said, then laughed and pointed in the direction of your shared apartment. “You do realize I have a whole drawer full of those, right?”

“Believe me, I know,” he said, smirking. “But you always throw the torn ones away before I get the chance to grab a pair.”

Now that one got an eyebrow raise out of you.

“Why in the hell would you want a torn pair?” you asked, a bit confused by the idea since you couldn’t wear them again.

“Because these I’ve actually torn off to fuck you,” he said. “That means they’re lucky.”

You started laughing.

“Wait a second,” you said, a grin on your face. “Because you got lucky means they are lucky?”

“Hell yeah it does,” he grinned, then started moving back towards the area of the van he was working on. “And since you got lucky too that night, I’d say that makes them lucky for both of us.”

It was a pretty sound thread of Eddie Logic that was hard to argue.

The two of you went back to cleaning and it was a few minutes before either of you spoke again.

“Hey Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“You do know that if you find any others that aren’t yours, they were from before us, right?”

You turned and found him looking at you from the back of the van, a worried expression on his face.

You had never once worried about Eddie cheating on you, you certainly weren’t about to start now.

“Don’t worry, baby, I know,” you said, smiling warmly at him before switching to a playful grin. “But I will make fun of you for it if I do.”

Eddie started laughing.

“That’s fine by me, sweetheart,” he said grinning at you.

In the end, that was the only pair of panties either of you found while cleaning out the van.

Eddie Munson Taglist: @eddie-swhore @bmunson86 @tayhar811

[five-rivers]

The Soul Trade(ing Card Game) Chapter 2

As was dictated to me by the poll, I have delivered.

(AO3)

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.

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“So, uh, Batman,” said Constantine, hating everything about this, “I’ve gotta ask you something.”

“Hn,” said Batman, and Constantine understood he had the man’s whole attention, even though he didn’t look away from the screens arrayed before him.  Monitor duty.  Constantine was glad the Justice League Dark didn’t have to do that.  

(At least, he thought they didn’t.  If anyone had ever told him they did, he had promptly forgotten about it.)

“I need you to look into whoever left me this letter.”  He dropped the letter on the desk next to Batman and flexed his hands.  Yeah, the magic in it was sure something, but it was passive, as far as he could tell, traces picked up from being around something infinitely nastier.  It was safe.  Probably.  It hadn’t blasted any of the people who had handled it between the desk in the Hall of Justice and the Watchtower, anyway.  

Batman glanced up only briefly before taking the letter.  He read it, quickly, without his posture changing at all.  

“Hm,” he said, the tone of the grunt just slightly more contemplative.  “Are the claims in this letter legitimate?”

“Well,” said Constantine, “let’s just say that reading it felt like…”  His face twisted as he tried to find the words to describe what it had felt like.  “Yeah.  Even if this bloke doesn’t have everything he says he does, he has… a lot.  There are traces on the letter, magically speaking.”  

“What’s the effect of that?”

“God if I know,” said Constantine.  “I didn’t even notice this.  At least, he could go ahead and cast whatever spells on me he wants.  Soul’s a lot more intimate.”

With a press of a button, the screens went dark.  “You shouldn’t be up here if you’re compromised.”

“Hey, I didn’t even know about this until ten minutes ago!”

“Return to ground.”  Batman stood and loomed over him.  “I’ll look into who sent this letter and tell you my findings.”

That was probably the best Constantine was going to get.  Honestly, he didn’t even want to be on this glorified deathtrap in the sky.

He didn’t like the feeling of getting kicked out, though.  

“I’m going to need the letter back.  I’ve got my own tests to run on it.  Get an idea of what kind of nasty we’re dealing with.  Magic stuff.”

Batman handed it back.  “I’ll walk you to the Zeta Tubes.”

.

“What do you mean someone bought your soul?” asked Zatanna.  “I thought you’d already sold it ages ago.”

“Yeah, but I guess souls can be resold.  Should’ve realized that demons would try to replicate the whole banking hellscape we have here.”

“Pardon?”

“Nevermind,” said Constantine, letting himself sprawl backwards in the chair.  It leaned dangerously, the weak leg bending.  “I did sell it.  I sold it a bunch.  Got it set up so no one could really claim it without the others freaking out.  Set some time limits on a few earlier ones, that worked pretty well, but, eventually, that didn’t work anymore, no one would bargain for that, and I figured my soul was pretty much a lost cause anyway…”  He tucked his hands in his pockets and fingered the lid of his flask.

“Don’t you dare start drinking while I’m here.”

He hauled himself forward.  “Far as I can tell, what’s written in the letter is true, as far as the owning part goes.  The whole sorry bit and the let’s meet bit, I’m less clear on.”

He did have some thoughts on how to deal with it.  But he wasn’t sure how well it’d work, and the guy - if it even was a guy - was a complete unknown.  

He shrugged.  “I was hoping for a second opinion.”  And maybe a bit of… comfort.  Something.  It felt like the only time he saw Zatanna anymore was if the Justice Morons were poking at stuff no one sane would come close to with a ten foot pole.  

(He missed her.)

(He missed when they used to be an item.)

(Which was stupid of him.  But he’d never claimed not to be.)

(She wanted to keep things professional though, so.  He’d try.)

Zatanna paced around the table.  It was clear except for the letter, Constantine having expended much effort into cleaning it off (dumping it onto the nearest alternate flat-ish surface, the seat of a sagging armchair).

“I don’t know how much more I can tell you.  There’s magic here, but it’s traces, and it’s… muddled.  Do you mind?”

“Go ahead, love.”  So much for being professional.  Sue him.  Some things just slipped out.

Zatanna nodded, evidently not even noticing.  “Laever ruoy sterces,” she said, staring intensely at the letter.  She shook her head.  “Laever sesruc.  No, no curses, at least.  That’s a relief?” 

“Yeah, I guess.  But he doesn’t exactly need to curse me through a letter if he’s got everything he says he’s got.”

“Don’t give up just yet.  Let me try a few other things.  Ezylana eht snigiro fo eht lacigam secart no sight retter.  Wow, huh.”

“What?”

“Well, like I said, there are all sorts of magical traces on this thing.  Demon magic, which is expected, bits of yours, some of the ambient stuff the Watchtower picks up… but there’s also a lot of spirit magic.”

“You think we’re dealing with some kind of shaman?  A summoner?”  In addition to demons and whatever else, that was.  

“Maybe,” said Zatanna.  “There’s death, here, too, but I can’t tell if it’s outright death magic or necromancy.”

Constantine groaned.  “The difference is academic.  I’m screwed.  S’pose I should be grateful or something he didn’t hit me with a compulsion to show up and grovel in front of him, felt the need to give me a heads up before he tortures me for sport or whatever necromancers do for fun.”

Zatanna made a face, but it was very telling that she didn’t deny it was a possibility.  

“Just promise me you won’t go looking for this person on your own.”

“Yeah, I’ve got the Bat on it.  You know him.  Tall scary guy.  World famous detective.  About as boring as he is scary with all his rules.”

“That’s not what I meant,” said Zatanna.  “You’re going to need magical backup for this.  Call me.  Or at least someone who knows what they’re doing.”

The opposite of what he wanted to do, really.  People died often enough around him without actively dragging them into his problems, and this was a massive problem.  

“Can’t make any promises.”

.

Because Constantine couldn’t really do anything else about the letter or its contents (besides scream inside his head and swear at himself), he decided to go about business as usual.  Exorcisms, investigations, a touch of vampire stabbing, a few (disappointingly dry) ghost hunts.  Normal stuff.  

At least, it was normal until the demons started to run away from him.  They didn’t usually do that, not even the weak ones.  He did have a reputation, but not one like that.  His reputation was that of a cheat and a con… and someone who got people close to him killed.  None of that really put off bloodthirsty demons, who were a right pain to genuinely kill, and who often as not had some connection to old Lucy.  

But they were running now, and not just the weaker ones.  They weren’t even fighting him.  Not getting hellfire tossed at him was nice, but demons were not nice.  Ever.  

So, what could he do but catch one?

He walked around the circle, double checking to make sure the scuffle with the little imp hadn’t scuffed any lines.  He’d made mistakes like that before, and they were never pretty.  

“So,” he said, lighting a cigarette, “what’s a demon like you running from little old me for?”

The demon, predictably, hissed at him.  Constantine rolled his eyes.  Typical.

“I’m going to ask you again, and if you don’t answer, things are going to get real unpleasant for you.”  He pointed at those circle.  “Read ‘em, if you don’t believe me.”

The demon arched itself like a cat, which was an interesting choice seeing as it wasn’t at all cat shaped.

“You were chasing us, John Constantine,” it said in a deep voice that belayed its size.  

“Yeah, and that’s usually your lot’s cue to turn around and jump me.  What’s different?”

The demon laughed, unpleasant and high-pitched like a teakettle coming to a boil.  “What’s different?  What’s different?  John Constantine, you know what’s different.”

“Humor me here.”

It chuckled and started pacing around the inside of the circle.  “Who owns you, John Constantine?” it asked in a silky voice.  “Where is your soul, John Constantine?  Not with you.  Not with the First of the Fallen.  Not with any of the princes of hell, or any god in its palace.  Who owns you, John Constantine?”

“What, you’re saying that just because Lucy doesn’t have dibs on me when I die anymore, none of you are interested?  Try the other one, it has bells on it.”

“Fool!” shouted the demon, now sounding disturbingly human.  “Fool!  Fool!  A fool you are, but we are not, oh, no.  No, no, no, we are not.  What manner of thing could steal from them?  What manner of thing could satisfy so many demons?  What manner of thing could have such essence that it clings to you even now?  Who owns you, John Constantine?”

Those were some good goddamn questions.  “You’ve got a name for me, or is this you saying you don’t actually know, you’re just so freaked by the idea of it you’re shaking in your boots?  Scales.  Whatever.”

“Do not mock us, John Constantine,” it said, back to sounding properly demonic.  “We are no fool!  We know you will suffer.”

Yeah, well, that was just the natural state of the universe, wasn’t it?  In any case, it didn’t look like this little punk had any idea what it was talking about.  They didn’t tend to be very bright, just smart enough to parrot what they overheard from more powerful demons and dumb enough to give up information when threatened with basic binding spells.  

He banished the imp back to Hell with a twist of his fingers.  

So.  Whoever or whatever had gotten their hands on Constantine’s soul, they were scary enough that demons didn’t want to draw its attention by getting involved with Constantine.  Which was.  Yeah.  Not great.  Story of his life.  

He’d known that they’d have to be nasty, sure.  They’d have to be, to get all of Constantine’s contracts.  Constantine hadn’t sold his soul to just anybody.  Those first three bastards especially had power.  Hell, they’d cured his terminal lung cancer.  Partially to avoid a war but mostly to be petty.   

Admittedly, after that, he hadn’t been quite so discerning.  Or careful about the wording.  But he knew that so long as old Lucy had his eyes on him and a finger on his soul, no one would dare collect.  

A lot of good that did, in the end.

Who would Lucifer trade with?  Why would he give up the right to torture Constantine eternally post-mortem?  

Constantine was getting sick of not knowing.  He was tempted to just go to that meeting spot, but without more information, that would be unforgivably stupid.  Constantine was not stupid.  Usually.  

His Justice League communicator (foisted on him by the Bat) pinged obnoxiously at the bottom of one of his pockets.  He’d forgotten it was in this coat.  He sorted through his pockets crossly as it pinged again.  It had better be important.  He found it under a crumpled bag of crisps and yanked it out with a spray of crumbs.  

“What?” he said, shortly.  

“Constantine,” came Batman’s deep, gravelly rumble.  “I have news.”

Well, crap.  “You gonna share that news this century?”

“It would be better to discuss this in-person.  You do not have a secure computer.”

“Jesus,” said Constantine.  He would have argued, but, technically, Batman was doing him a favor.  “Fine, you paranoid maniac.  Where?”

.

‘Where’ turned out to be a low-risk interrogation room in the Hall of Justice.  Constantine was not a fan of this arrangement, but he understood it.  He was compromised, or whatever, and the interrogation rooms were private and had video screens.  

On the other hand, it was in America, and even Zeta Tubes couldn’t help with jetlag.  And, worse, it was nonsmoking.  

Batman personally escorted him to the room, and turned on the main screen with a remote control.  Pictures of a pale-skinned teen with blue eyes and black hair sprung up.  School pictures, mostly, but some looked like ID pictures, one was on the cover of a magazine, and another looked like an avatar in a video game.  

“Do you recognize this boy?”

“One of your kids?” asked Constantine.

“Answer the question.”

“No, I don’t know him.  Should I?”

“He’s the one who dropped the letter off.”  

“You’re joking.”

In answer, Batman clicked the remote again, bringing up surveillance videos of the Hall of Justice’s main desk taken from various angles.  The clips started off looking normal, the overly clear, expensive footage characteristic of an organization associated with Batman.  

But then, static swam over them.  Not enough to fully obscure the figure walking into the frame, but enough to be obvious.   The boy from the pictures.  He walked to the desk, had a short conversation with the receptionist during which he handed over the letter, and then left, taking the static with him.  

“Well, hell,” said Constantine.  It had been a while since he’d seen a demon take a form like that, but he supposed this one must have learned that he had a soft spot for kids.  Or maybe this was a kid.  A demon kid.  He’d thought he’d taken care of all of his, but wouldn’t have been the first time he’d screwed up, and this whole situation was a collection of screw ups.  

“Do you know what could cause the static?”

“Whole range of spells, but I’m gonna bet you already knew that from Zatanna.”

“Hm,” said Batman.  “The name of the boy is Daniel Fenton.  He is fifteen years old, and his major claim to fame is discovering that a purple-backed gorilla on loan to his local zoo was female.  He also makes an occasional appearance on the leaderboards of the video game ‘Doomed,’ where he is a well known player.”

“A demon playing video games.  Now I’ve seen it all.”  It wasn’t so much that demons couldn’t have hobbies, he just didn’t care to learn them, if they weren’t relevant to beating the crap out of them or tricking them into taking a holy water shower.  Then again, there was an outside possibility that ‘Daniel’ wasn’t a demon.  “Any of this have a point?”

“Establishing facts,” said Batman.  “It is possible that you had encountered him via the internet.”

“Do I look like the kind of guy who plays video games?”

Batman clicked the remote again, a map appearing on the screen, a blinking dot appearing in the middle of nowhere, US.  “Daniel lives with his older sister, Jasmine, and their parents Drs. Jack and Madeline Fenton in Amity Park.”

“Amity Park?” repeated Constantine.

“Is it familiar to you?”

“I think I looked into it once.  Supposed to be haunted.  Veil there is maybe a little thin, but nothing on the Tower of London, or, hell, the British Museum.  You wouldn’t believe what all those stolen grave goods can get up to together.  Your permanently overcast city is more haunted.  It’s a dead end.”

“Maybe not.  The Drs. Fenton are friends with the billionaire Vladimir Masters, but primarily derive their income from their patented inventions, which include customized ‘branding’ toasters, high-efficiency toilet paper, ultra-lightweight camping gear, various treatments for radiation poisoning, and several items that have been marked classified by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Energy, for their use of dangerous energy sources.”

Constantine’s eyebrows went up.  Mad scientists mucking about with radiation were generally not in his wheelhouse.  Or even riding the same tracks, for that matter.  “You think they went poking around in the occult for their ‘dangerous energy sources?’”  

“Possibly,” said Batman.  “In addition to their inventions, they are moderately well-known in ghost hunting communities, which explains their presence in the reportedly-haunted Amity Park.  However, everything they’ve written on the subject indicates that they believe ghosts have a strictly scientific explanation.  They also,” continued Batman, the corners of his mouth pulling into a slightly deeper frown, “believe that ghosts are nonsentient and nonsapient.”

“So, they have no idea what they’re talking about.  Just some big brains that got sucked in by the kind of fraudsters who started the seance craze.  Great.  I’m sure Deadman’d love to have word with them.  If they could even see him.”  He rubbed his chin.  “But the must’ve run into something real if their kid’s doing all this.  Or if what looks like their kid’s doing all this.”

“You don’t believe Daniel Fenton is the one in the video?”

“Lemme put it this way.  Odds of a random kid pulling one over on the demons I sold my soul to are about the same as you developing a sense of humor.  Best case scenario, he’s just possessed, or he’s some kind of freak like Klarion.”  

Batman grunted in acknowledgement.  “Approximately six months ago, Jack Fenton purchased an ‘authentic demon soul contract’ from Ebay.”

Constantine opened and closed his mouth several times.  “You’re joking.”

“As you are aware, I have no sense of humor.”

“Jesus Christ.  Ebay?”

“The seller was a man named Eric Chambers.  Zatanna investigated him earlier this week.  He is, apparently, an amateur demonologist who wanted to ‘get out of the game’ and was in the process of selling off all his magical paraphernalia.  He had sold several additional versions of your soul contract to another buyer in Amity Park.  A known associate of Daniel Fenton named Samantha Manson.  Are any of these names familiar to you?”

“Not exactly,” said Constantine.  “But… Ebay?”  He’d never thought his soul was anything special, but at least he’d thought it was worth enough to not be resold on Ebay.  “And how did this Chambers bloke get them?”

“Apparently, the demons he’d summoned no longer wanted them, and he was under the impression that he could ‘put you under his thrall’ if he collected enough of them.”

So the guy who had his soul wasn’t even the first one to have the idea.  Brilliant.  

“And that’s it?”

“I could tell you Daniel Fenton’s grades and internet habits,” said Batman.  “As well as those of his close friends and associates.  Apart from his parents and his recent involvement with you, he is ordinary.”

“The thing with the gorilla is ordinary, then?”

“Most people have at least one outlier event in their lives.  It would be of greater concern if he did not.”  He paused, staring long and hard at Constantine.  “What are your initial thoughts?”

“That I’m about to get screwed up the–”

“Regarding how Daniel Fenton got involved in this.”

“Like I said, it’s probably not Daniel Fenton.  I’d guess…  If I had to guess, I’d say that after Fenton’s dad got hold of that contract, he went and played around with it.  Something like a genuine contract can be used to do a lot.  It has the magical signatures of both the original demon and whatever sorry bastard signed it.  If you’ve got that, you can ring up the demon.”  He raised his hands, miming a scale.  “Demon, inexperienced idiot teenager…”  He tilted to one side.  “You get the picture.”

And, yeah, wasn’t it great that he could cause people to die just by leaving his junk everywhere?  He hadn’t learned anything from the dream sand.  

“You believe Daniel Fenton summoned a demon that possessed him, which then proceeded to collect your soul contracts?”

“Yeah.  Can you pull up a pic of the contract Jack Fenton bought?”

Batman briefly examined the remote, then flicked quickly through several slides, stopping, finally, on a very classic demonic soul contract.  Constantine had signed several like that, so he had to squint at it and read through it line by line.  It wasn’t like he memorized the handwriting of every demon he’d ever made a contract with.  In fact, he’d memorized the handwriting of exactly zero demons.  They didn’t precisely write a lot, and you either got illegible chicken scratch or equally illegible ornate gothic script.  

He got to the name and swore.  “That guy doesn’t have the power to go up against the First of the Fallen.”  He rubbed his chin vigorously.

“It’s possible that Chambers sent a different contract to the Fentons,” said Batman, “or Daniel was… infected after receiving the other contracts.”  More pictures popped up on the screens.  “However, there is a problem with this theory.”

“Yeah?” asked Constantine, already scanning the contracts.  The Bat didn’t like Constantine’s ideas.  What else was new?  

“Daniel’s behavior has had no significant changes in that six month time frame.  But if we go back by just over a year, to when he was entering high school, his grades took a steep dive and several disciplinary actions were noted on his record.  His close friends’ grades took similar, but smaller, hits at the same time.”

“You think he could have been possessed earlier.”

“I believe that something happened to him at that time.  I am unconvinced it was possession.”

Constantine shook his head.  “None of these guys are strong enough to begin with.  Maybe if they were working together…  Nah.  None of them could work together.  That’s why I picked them.”  He rubbed his eyes.  “Then again, I thought no one could get all my soul contracts, so who knows?”

“Are you sure possession is the only solution?”

“God, no.  Hell, we could be dealing with a cabal of homo magi, or someone back from the grave who seriously hates me, that’d explain the death magic on the letter, at least, or maybe there’s a god hanging around getting their kicks poking at me.  It’s just a giant blank.  I’ve never heard of this kid.  I’ve never heard of his family.  I’ve barely heard of Vlad Masters.  I’ve got nothing.”

“Hm,” said Batman.  “What are you planning to do?”

“I’m guessing ignoring it forever isn’t something you’d let me do?”

“No.”

“I guess I’m gonna have to go investigate, then.”

“In that case,” said Batman, pulling a fat folder of papers out of his cape somehow, “you will need to know more about Daniel Fenton, his associates, and Amity Park.”  He dropped the folder on the table with an audible thump.

“Great,” said Constantine.  “Just what I wanted.  Homework.”

.

Constantine and Zatanna zeta’d to the nearest tube near Amity Park.  Batman had arranged an ‘untraceable’ rental car for them, paranoid bastard.  Demons didn’t usually have the skillset required to trace license plates.  

Then again, there might be more than demons involved.  Even if necromancers generally had no skillset outside of necromancy.  

There could be shamans, though!  They were well known for their technological acumen!  

Yeah, right.  It was possible, but not bloody likely.  

“I could teleport, you know,” he told Zatanna.  “We could both teleport.”

“Into the home turf of an unknown magic user?”

Constantine rolled his eyes and knocked his head against the car window.  “I’m surprised the ol’ Bat isn’t coming with us.”

“You know he is,” said Zatanna.  “I’d give even odds that he’s already there, if I had any desire to gamble with you.”

“Hey!  I could be good for it.  I have steady work now!”

Zatanna shook her head.  Constantine huffed.  

“I’m going to take a nap.  Might be my last one, after all.”

“John,” said Zatanna, “you’re not going to die.  Don’t you think this is a little… excessive, considering all the stuff you’ve gotten out of before?”

“No one’s owned my whole soul before.  Now, I really am going to go to sleep.  Wake me up when we get there.”

.

Death.  

That’s what pulled Constantine out of his dreams and into a nightmare, and from there into wakefulness.  The feeling did not dissipate.  Instead, it grew stronger.  

He looked over at Zatanna, who was still driving.  Her knuckles were white, her shoulders stiff.  

“What the hell,” croaked Constantine.  

“It’s been building as we get closer to Amity Park,” said Zatanna.  “It doesn’t feel… actively malicious…  More like a massive haunting.  It’s been building slowly.”

Constantine swallowed and tried to rub sand out of his eyes.  “That’s– Where are we?”

“About ten minutes out of Amity Park.”

“No.  I’ve been to Amity Park.  It doesn’t feel anything like this.  It’s boring.”

“Well,” said Zatanna, strained, “something’s changed.  At least we know where the letter picked up all that death magic.”

Constantine breathed in deeply through his nose.  “Yeah, there’s enough of it here for me to feel it, God.”  It was making his skin prickle.  He shook himself all over.  “Might as well stay awake now.  Do you mind if I set my wards?”

“Knock yourself out.”

.

Constantine walked into the diner and looked around.  It was very American.  Retro.  Quiet.  Not entirely clean, but Constantine had been in way worse.  The air smelled strongly of cinnamon, coffee, and hot chocolate.  Not the kind of place he generally bartered for his soul, or away his soul, as the case might be.

An aggressive ‘No Smoking’ sign was positioned prominently next to the cheery ‘seat yourself’ sign.  Constantine scowled at it.  Sometimes it felt like there was nowhere to smoke anymore in the whole world.  

Daniel Fenton, easily recognizable from a legion of school photos and a junior astronaut camp photo ID, was sitting alone at a booth, a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream in front of him.  He swung his legs back and forth and scribbled in a notebook.  A few tables away, not nearly as sneaky as they clear-ly thought they were being, were his friends Manson and Foley.

Zatanna had entered the diner before him, of course, and Batman was most likely… somewhere.  God only knew where.  Constantine knew people who could turn invisible and shapeshift that weren’t as good at it as Batman.  

Before coming in, Constantine had finished setting his wards.  His pockets were full of all sorts of tests, charms, and apotropaics.  As he stuck his hands into them, a spray bottle fit easily into his hand.  

Walking to the table felt like walking to his execution.  He made the comparison with confidence, because he had the relevant experience.   When he stopped next to the table, Fenton looked up.  His expression was confused at first, but in less than a second he lit up, clearly delighted.  

Constantine also had relevant experience in spritzing demons with holy water.

Fenton flinched, but he didn’t start howling or melting.  More’s the pity.  

“Did you just spray me with holy water?” asked Fenton, blinking up at him with a realistic expression of befuddlement.  

“Guy’s gotta know what he’s dealing with,” said Constantine.  

“Well, I’m not a demon.”  A slight furrow worked its way between his eyes.  “Or a devil.”

“What are you, then?” asked Constantine.

Fenton shrugged.  “I don’t know.  An amateur demonologist?  I don’t have any training in this kind of stuff, which is probably why all this happened.”  He reached to the side and grabbed his hot chocolate.  “Oh.  You got my whipped cream with your water…”

“You don’t have any training?”

“Not in this,” stressed Fenton.  “I go to school and stuff.”

And astronaut camp, assuming this really was Daniel Fenton and not something possessing or impersonating him.  

“Anyway, are you going to sit down, or…?”  Fenton looked him up and down.  

Constantine scowled and slid into the booth.  Then he threw some salt (purified) at Fenton.  

“Hey,” complained Fenton, “you’re going to ruin my hot chocolate, jeez.”  He picked up the mug, pulling it towards himself.  

Constantine took the opportunity to grab his notebook off the table and flip through it.  

“Maths?” blurted Constantine.  

Fenton set the mug back on the table and leaned over to snatch the notebook back.  “Like I said, I do have school.  That’s why I can only hang out here on Saturdays.  You did miss the last few meeting times.”  He huffed.  “I know this isn’t ideal, but can we work together here?  I don’t actually want to own your soul.”

“Oh, yeah, amazing way of showing it, mate.  I know who and what I sold my soul to, and I don’t believe you bartered with them without any training.”  Or that he was human, but as long as he was invested in the facade, he probably wouldn’t eat Constantine’s face off.

“I didn’t say I didn’t have any training.  Just no training in this.  I don’t know exactly what you can do beyond make bad demon-related decisions, but you had weeks to do research.  You’ve got to know about the ghosts.”

“Might.  What about them?”

“My parents research them.  Fight them, sometimes.  It’s a whole thing.  Demons weren’t any harder to deal with.”

“I sold my soul to archdemons.”

“Yeah, they kind of sucked, to be honest.”  Fenton bit his lower lip.  “Look, I know you don’t trust me.  I wouldn’t trust me, but what I did to get your contracts wasn’t anything anyone couldn’t do.  Most of them didn’t even want them anymore.  The first batch I bought off of a random dude on Ebay.  One of them paid me to take the contract, because they hated the doll you wrote it on so much.  A lot of the others just wanted me to give you problems, which I think I’ve succeeded at, actually.”

Constantine had forgotten about the doll, actually.  “And the archdemons?  I know for a fact they’ve been looking forward to torturing me forever, so I doubt they’d just hand the contracts over in exchange for ‘giving me problems.’”

“Oh, yeah.  For those guys, I just robbed them.  There were also a few people I just beat up.”

“Demons aren’t people, they’re demons.”

“Sure they’re people.  They’re just evil people.  But they used to be angels or something, right?”

“... No,” said Constantine.  

“Okay, well.”  Fenton shrugged again.  “They still are thinking beings, right?  So, they’re people.”

Constantine honestly didn’t know where to go from that.  

"Fine," he said instead.  "You aren't going to tell me how you got the contracts or what you are.  Is it too much to hope you'll deign to tell me why you did this?"

"I'm a teenager, why do we do anything?"  Fenton sipped at his hot chocolate.  "Mostly, I thought it'd be funny."

"Excuse me?"

"I thought it would be funny.  I mean, Dad bought the first one, because he thought it'd help with his ghost research, but it didn't, so he let me have it.  I asked Johnny about it, and he told me about your contracts, so I–"

"Who's Johnny?" interrupted Constantine.  "Some demon friend of yours?"

He did have a strategy, here, sort of.  Most ultra powerful magical beings had a limit to how much annoyance or disrespect they'd tolerate, even when disguising themselves.  Constantine had a knack for finding those limits.  

Also, just possibly, the hapless teenager act was throwing him off.  It was remarkably believable.  

"No, he's dead, to begin with, not–"

"Oh, so, you took advice on dealing with demons from someone who turned up dead right after telling you about me.  That sounds brilliant." 

"He's a ghost.  He's been dead since at least the nineties, and I doubt you had anything to do with it.  Johnny died in the eighties.  I think.”

“A ghost told you about me?”

“Yeah.  I don’t know what wizards or magicians like you can do or sense, but if you looked up anything about Amity Park at all, you should have seen there are a lot of ghosts here.  It’s not just tourist trap stuff.  That’s… actually one of the other things I wanted to talk to you about, if I managed to get enough of your contracts to get you to come.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, not all ghosts are nice.  I meant it when I said your demons sucked.  That’s compared to the ghosts.  And sometimes to the people who come to hunt the ghosts.”  Fenton drummed his fingers on the table, nervous.  “It’s a toss up which group causes more damage.  The Guys in White are especially awful.  It would be nice if the Justice League took a look into them?”  His voice took on a hopeful lilt.  

“You bought my soul to tip off the League about…  Guys in White.”

“They’re with the government.  Presumably.  No one knows what they’re really called.  And they chase people around screaming about lots and lots of painful experiments.  Direct quotes.”

“You know the League has a tip line.”

“Tried it.”  Fenton took a huge gulp of hot chocolate.

“I don’t believe you,”

“If you hang out here for very long, you and your friends will be able to see the ghosts for yourself.”

Constantine could already feel the ghosts.  Or at least the pervasive, overwhelming sense of death permeating this city.  He didn’t doubt that something requiring Justice League Dark attention was going on here.  Beyond just whatever was going on with Fenton himself.  

But his attention was taken by two other points.  

One, what he didn’t believe was that Fenton did all this for only some combination of kicks and giggles and wanting Justice League attention.  Contacts with ghosts or not, burglarizing archdemons wasn’t something anyone sane blew off as nothing.

Two, Fenton had said friends.  He’d understand if he’d made Zatanna, but the plural implied that he’d spotted Batman, too.  

He didn’t let himself react.  “No one rips off archdemons to call in a tip.  Or just for fun.”

Fenton looked guilty, a blush creeping across his cheeks.  “I didn’t want to bring it up, it didn’t seem appropriate anymore.  And the other thing isn’t… relevant.”

“Why don’t you let me decide what’s relevant?” asked Constantine, despite how all his senses were screaming wrong wrong wrong at him.   “This is my soul we’re talking about, after all.”

“I know, I know,” said Fenton.  “But you didn’t exactly…”  He trailed off.  “The other thing was that some of my friends thought you need an intervention.  We also wanted to see your face when we… intervened.  Yeah, we thought it’d look kind of like that.”  Fenton pointed at him.

Constantine slapped away the hand.  He was almost convinced Fenton was… Well.  Not normal, but maybe not homicidal, or particularly interested in enslaving Constantine or torturing him for all time.  A step up from some of the other things he’d sold his soul to in the past.  Possibly.  

(The whole ‘teenager’ thing was definitely an entry in the negative column, though.  As well as the whole humiliation and mockery angle.)

“What else?” he demanded.  

Fenton’s face twisted with embarrassment and jealousy.  “You get to go up to the Watchtower, don’t you?” he asked.  “You get to go to space.”

“So?”

“So, I want to go to space.  I was, um.  I was going to… ask you to take me up there.  Just to look.”

Infiltrating the Watchtower was a much more obvious motive, but… Constantine remembered the space camp ID.  

“I mean, I’m never going to get up there with my grades.  Fighting demons for it seemed… feasible.”  He shrugged, then started to slump.  “I was going to give them back, you know.  Your contracts.  I didn’t want to keep them.  Or your soul.”  He pushed himself up.  “Anyway.  None of that matters, now.  We've got a problem to solve.”

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, as I explained in my letter, the contracts sort of… exploded."

"No, back up, what do you mean it doesn't matter?"

"Well, if this doesn't make you stop selling your soul, I don’t know what will, the Justice League knows about Amity now, I'm not going to make you take me to the Watchtower when I can't trade your soul back to you, and the funny boat sailed at about the same time my friend told me this might be permanent."

"Is this friend also dead?" drawled Constantine. 

"No, he's more in the never alive category."

Which possibly explained some of the spirit magic Zatanna detected on the letter. 

"He thinks it's because some of your contracts said after death instead of when you're dead, so, because there weren't any competing claims, they all came due at once.  Since there were so many of them…"

"Repetition makes magic stronger, yeah, yeah," said Constantine.  "I read the letter."

"I was hoping you'd have some solutions.  No offense, but I don't want to own you.  You're, like, an entire person."

Constantine wouldn't have been offended if Fenton hadn't prefixed his statement with no offense.  

“You should have thought about that before buying up my soul.”

“I was going to give it back.  No strings.”

“Except for a trip to the Watchtower.”

“If you really didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have made you,” said Fenton.  

Somehow, Constantine believed him.  Which was crazy.  He’d have to check in with Zatanna to make sure he wasn’t being enchanted somehow.  Charm person should not be a real thing magicians could do, and yet…

“Look, do you want me to swear it on the Styx or is there something else I can do to convince you I’m telling the truth?” asked Fenton.  “The ghosts seem to like the Styx, anyway.”  He sighed.  “Tell me you have something that can fix this.  I don’t know what kind of side effects there are for owning a person’s soul.  It’s not like this happens all the time.”

Hell if Constantine knew.  The only way he knew to get out of contracts like this was loopholes exploited before they were collected on.  “I’m… going to have to do some research.”

“Well,” said Fenton, “let me give you my phone number.”  He slid a piece of paper across the table.  “You can call me if you figure anything out.  In the meantime, if you’re staying in town long, you should look into the ghost thing.  Talk to my parents, even.  Maybe don’t mention all this, though.”

“Why not?”

“I love my parents, but they must have skipped out on the day they teach scientists that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.  Anyway, I’ve got to go.”  He started to shove things into a purple backpack he’d pulled into his lap from under the table.  

“What?  Why?”  As far as Constantine was concerned, they’d only just started to scratch the surface of the problem.  

“Me and my friends have tickets to a movie.”  He hooked his thumb over his shoulder at Manson and Foley, who, apparently, were not trying to blend in or be subtle.  “You did miss the first few meeting times.”

.

“Your impression?” asked Zatanna, later, sliding into the booth after Fenton and his friends were thoroughly gone.  

“He’s… surprisingly believable.  Claims he ‘doesn’t have any training’ in magic, though, which sounds like crap, unless his parents are much more legit than what they look like on paper.”

Zatanna crossed her arms and drummed her fingers on her elbow.  “He wasn’t lying.  Not that any of my spells could detect.”

Constantine huffed.  “That doesn’t seem possible.”

“He doesn’t seem like he could take on archdemons, but with help from ghosts or spirits?  We don’t know who’s backing him.”

“God,” said Constantine, “that’s not something I was thinking of.”

“Because you were fixated on the demon theory.”

“But if he’s being backed by someone powerful, why wouldn’t they buy up my contracts themself?  That doesn’t make sense.”

“I’m not saying that his… patron, for lack of a better word, put him up to it.  Just that he might be getting extra support.”

A waitress came up to them, smiling cheerily.  “Hello, there, sorry for the delay.  Have you decided what you’re getting?”

“The hot chocolate looked good,” said Zatanna.  

“Knock yourself out,” said Constantine, standing.  “I’m going to see what Fenton’s parents are like.”

.

“John Constantine?” repeated Jack Fenton, inquisitively.  “Ha!  That’s the same name that was on that fake demon contract thing I got on Ebay!  What a wild coincidence, huh?”

.

“You could have mentioned the portal to the astral plane in your basement,” hissed Constantine into the phone.  A tiny voice in the back of his head warned him that he shouldn’t take that tone with someone who owned him, but he ignored it handily.  

“Would you have believed me if I told you?” asked Fenton, genuinely curious.  

Constantine wouldn’t have, but it was the principle of the thing.

“Also, what did you call it?  I’ve never heard anyone call it that.”

.

Batman’s deep voice rumbled through the communicator.  “What did you learn?” 

“I learned this place is a nightmare and a half.  There’s a portal to the astral plane in that kid’s basement, did you know?”

“I ran into a ghost while Constantine was talking to the Fentons,” said Zatanna, leaning sideways while keeping her eyes on the road.  “It was much more powerful than any other ghost I’ve ever seen.”

“That is not good news considering what I have learned about the so-called Guys in White.”

.

“Have you found anything?” asked Fenton.  Wherever he was, his reception was crap.  His voice crackled with enough static that he might as well be calling from the early nineteen-twenties.    

“No,” said Constantine.  It had gotten him excused from the Justice Club meetings, which meant that the failure was almost worth the headache the idea of his soul being owned by a teenager caused him.  

“I didn’t find anything either.”

“Then why did you call?”

“Uh,” said Fenton.  “I’m really grateful you guys got the GIW out of Amity, you know that, right?  And that you guys put someone on watch here for bigger threats?”

“Yeah,” said Constantine, slowly.  “Sure.”  It had been mostly Batman managing that side of things, as Constantine was banned from decisions regarding Amity Park, but if Fenton was going to give Constantine credit, who was he to deny it?

“So, um.  That was really great of you.”

Constantine was not liking where this was going.  But, apparently, this was his life, now.  Getting tips and awkwardly phrased requests from… God.  The creepy necromancer brat was sort of his warlock patron.  

… Curse his knowledge of Dungeons and Dragons.  It was definitely a detriment to his profession as a real mage, and everything he learned about it was against his will and usually the Flash’s fault.  

“What is it, Fenton?”

“Have you ever heard of the Showenhowers?” 

[doomed-prophetess]

Derrick is such an unpredictable and wierd character. I can never really tell what's he's thinking. Maybe it's because I'm reading too much into it, I mean he was only a side character and not a lot of thought is put into the side characters. They're just there.

What do you think Derrick really wants from Penelope. If he just wanted her to love him bach he would have been nice to hear, i think. Does he want her to be completely dependent on him and does he like seeing her miserable.

What about the Duke and Reynold. Do you think they enjoyed seeing her suffer. Why didn't they try to help her. Or maybe they just don't care. Though they seem to care a great deal in the manhwa.

How do you think they would react if they saw Penelope enjoying herself with someone, might be a friend or a long lost family, and Penelope is just laughing like crazy and she's totally ignoring them. Would they be jealous. Sorry if this ask is too repeatitive 😅

This is more of a headcanon. I think Derrick seeks relationships where he can exert control, foster dependency, and provide protection and care. His type would be vulnerable people. Little girls, orphans, foreigners, sex workers, servants, slaves etc. Anyone who could make him feel a sense of superiority. That is not to say he wouldn't feel disgusted by his own nature and try to fight these feelings. What Derrick subconsciously wants is a relationship with a huge power imbalance, where he has all the control and his partner none. An equal marriage with a noblewoman would not appeal to him. For the sake of maintaining his image he would marry a highborn woman but sexually he would feel no attraction to such a person. Someone like Derrick, who never allowed himself to make mistakes or indulge in teenage vices for fear that it might taint his family name, could only feel free if he was with a person whose status was so low that their opinion did not matter to anybody else. A person he could treat however he liked without consquences.

I found it curious that Derrick gave Penelope a bracelet with disguise magic claiming it would make her appear to be a young boy around her age but when she uses it she appears to be a child to Vinter. Not only that but she also starts resembling a younger version of Derrick.

It's a bit strange. Why would the clerk sell a disguise bracelet to Derrick that would only change his age but not appearance? Assuming Derrick was the one going to wear it, it would be of little use if it changed almost nothing about his physical features. It's also disadvantageous to look like a child since it would restrict your movements in the city, prevent you from doing business with adults and make you an easy target of street thugs. That's why I'm wondering if there could be a deeper psychological reason behind the bracelet's magic that is influencing the illusion. The magic makes her look what? 14/15 years old? Is that his ideal age?

You could interpret it that way: Derrick wants Penelope to be eternally <17, which is impossible because you cannot stop the flow of time. The older she got, the more he felt her slipping through his fingers, the less he could control himself, the more unforgiving he turned when she fought him on anything. At that time he didn't need to possess her in every sense, he only needed her not to be possessed by anyone else. So if she just remained in the gilded cage and listened to his every word he wouldn't lay a hand on her. I think that would have been enough for him. But Penelope isn't an object that you can put behind a glass case and expect not to move. Besides he knew she was being abused by the staff. Perhaps he had hoped that she would lash out in such repulsive ways his feelings for her would decrease with every time until one day they were no more and he could get rid of her without regrets?

I view Derrick as a very emotion driven person full of contradictions. Derrick has many different desires that are incompatible with one another. He wants to uphold his outstanding reputation that would surely get damaged if he were to court a girl like Penelope. He lusts after Penelope, but the only way he could obtain her (lifelong confinement) without risking his reputation was if his father were to die making him the next Duke, and as horrible as Derrick is I have to give him that he cares for his family and wouldn't wish death on anyone belonging to the Eckart duchy. Doubtless he wants his father's approval too. Lasty I have the impression that from the day he lost Yvonne he imposed impossible expectations on himself and didn't allow himself either distraction or amusement. In short his guilt prevents him from seeking happiness. Derrick was still living in the past. They all were. He sabotages his chances with Penelope because accepting the fake might mean to him a betrayal towards his real sister. It'd be like losing Yvonne a second time, but this time also killing her and desecrating her grave.

Derrick disobeyed his father once when he took Yvonne to the festival and lost control of the situation when she was kidnapped. That's why he might have devoted himself entirely to his family to atone for it and it could serve as one of the reasons why he needs to be in control of everyone and everything. He doesn't have it in himself to tolerate Penelope's childish behaviour. Derrick worked so hard to make up for it, wheras Penelope can make so many mistakes and still get his father's attention like when she stole the necklace allegedly, but was rewarded instead of punished (her father called a jeweller to the mansion and Penelope wasted a fortune on accessories). There might be guilt, shame, but also anger, even a little bit envy and feelings of unjustness too. Derrick has never learned to cope healthily with negative emotions, he only represses and bottles things up. As a result his "love" got twisted.

If he just wanted her to love him bach he would have been nice to hear, i think. Does he want her to be completely dependent on him and does he like seeing her miserable.

Was he aware that he fell in love with her at first sight or did he only realize much later on what those feelings meant? He and Reynold have already build themselves up as a bullies, it's too late to take back everything that was said and done. If he tried to make amends and were to confess his feelings, he wouldn't be able to take the humilation of the rejection. Additionally I think of Derrick as an extremely prideful man who is severely allergic to the display of any form of vulnerability. Denying mistakes means an inability to reflect their own actions and no growth. The only option he saw was hiding behind a familiar mask and carrying on with the things he's started, while turning worse and worse with each day, because with the time being Penelope got used to the insults and his usual threats and punishments probably didn't have the same effect anymore. He cannot have her love, but he can have her attention. If he becomes the bane of her existence, it means she's at least thinking about him and he's haunting her just like she's haunting him. Maybe he hates himself a little and uses Penelope as an outlet for his frustrations, maybe he hates Penelope for hating him back when he has successfully convinced her how much he loathes her. He hates her even more, abuses her even more when he has just gotten the result he wanted.

He wants her to hate him, he wants her to love him like a slave loves their master, he wants her to depend on him with the helplessness and naivity of a child, but when she's in need he lets her down every time. He wants her to be shallowed by the earth never to be seen again, yet he panicks when she does disappear and searches high and low for her. He wants her to live as quiet as a mouse and never come under his eyes again. He wants her to never leave his sight and would chain her up in his basement if he could. Derrick would be revolted if she tried to touch him, hug him but he would want to fuck her and mark every part of her body as his. He can never be satisfied. There's no end, it just escalates until someone dies.

Derrick wants Penelope to be isolated, dependent, weak, in pain, completely at his mercy with only himself to help. Does he want her to love him? Ehh...probably? At the same time I keep thinking that if Penelope had a childhood crush on him, he would have pushed her away, shamed her for her feelings and acted disgusted. Honestly it probably would have driven him even more insane. I don't buy it that this 18 year old actually fell in love with a 12 year old. Just like in many cases of incestuous abuse, I would imagine Derrick acting on his desire for power and control. His love is an amalgam of obsession, lust and sadism. Ergo he doesn't necessarily need her to love him back, although he would like it, because her loving him back would increase his hold over her and would make her less likely to fall for anyone else, seek help and flee from him. Fear? yes. Obedience? yes. Love? He has such a negative and distorted view of her I'm not even sure he believes she's a human being capable of love (quite ironic).

I'm a bit torn about that topic. Part of me thinks it doesn't matter to him. As long as she hungered for his affection like when she was a kid and she was trapped with him, he could convince himself he would, with time, make Penelope come round to his way of thinking. Then there is a part of me thinking that a very dark side of Derrick wanted to break og Penelope. Turning her into a vile creature that no one could ever love. Someone who would seek him out and want to be dirtied by his love, because it was the only kind of love he permitted her to have. A nasty little girl that was hated and hated everyone in return and only had eyes for expensive dresses and jewelry. If she were to grow up to be a villainess who hurt innocent people, he would not have pangs of conscience about the things he did to her. Had Penelope become a person deserving of his punishments, he wouldn't feel like a bad guy anymore. And with the blurring lines of victim/perpetrator there would be not enough guilt stopping him from acting on his urges.

You are right he could have been nice to her and she would have loved him (I doubt in a romantic way but whatever), but that's not the only thing he wanted. Gaining her love by acting nice would mean the loss of many things he valued and a betrayal of his principles. Along with that who could guarantee him that his sacrifice would be worth it and she would love him back romantically? Penelope could mark his affection as brotherly, which he would hate to see. Should the first-born Eckart son treat her right, soon the rest of the staff would follow and so would his family. The duke treating Penelope like his daughter would make it much more awkward if Derrick were to collect his courage to ask for his stepsister's hand. Lastly a Penelope who learned self-love and became more confident with the support of her family would make friends and could steal the hearts of many men.

Taking advantage of Penelope would have been easier if she already had a reputation as a thief and liar, and had no one on her side. Even if she was not in love with him, a person who was starved off love since their childhood would do anything for a few crumbs of affection. That kind of person would cling even tighter onto the hand that was offered to them. It'd be easier to sell her obsession as pure love and pressure her into doing things she doesn't feel comfortable with. He ensured her standing as an Eckart would be on shaky ground whilst reminding her that he was the one who could make her life better or worse (like when he temporary took the Eckart name from her). Og Derrick preferred the path where he would have absolute control of her at the price of her sanity over the path where she could be happy but would never belong to him.

(I don't think Derrick was thinking too deeply about it. He just acts on the emotions he feels at the moment. I believe he barely understands himself.)

see also: why I think Derrick liked her (anon ask)

What about the Duke and Reynold. Do you think they enjoyed seeing her suffer. Why didn't they try to help her. Or maybe they just don't care. Though they seem to care a great deal in the manhwa.

The Duke and Reynold were ignorant of her suffering because plot™. Reynold felt schadenfreude whenever Penelope was punished but that was because he lacked context and thought it served her right. If anyone was a sadist and secretly enjoyed seeing Penelope suffer after actively contributing to her pain and triggering her it was Derrick.

How do you think they would react if they saw Penelope enjoying herself with someone, might be a friend or a long lost family, and Penelope is just laughing like crazy and she's totally ignoring them. Would they be jealous. Sorry if this ask is too repeatitive 😅

Derrick would be jealous obviously. He'd either wait until the other person was gone and would talk down on her or he'd want her removed from the scene immediately and would send a maid to bring Penelope to him with the excuse he or father wanted to discuss something urgent. Reynold would unlock a new emotion that he can't quite place. Depending on his age he'd either be confused by this and act like a kid that saw another kid playing with a toy he threw away or he'd just grumble and say something like "I didn't know you could make that kind of face." and sulk. The next day he'd want to get closer to her. The Duke would just be happy that Penelope is finally making friends. Would help Penelope arrange another meeting if it was a girl her age. Would pay her more attention and take her to an outing if it was a man his age (feels lowkey threatened by any potential father figure).

[heretherebedork]

All of your insights on wedding impossible feel so spot on to how I’m also consuming the drama. I haven’t gotten to the press conferences and stuff since I’m only on episode 8, but I’ve seen posts about it and even those frustrated. It just feels insane to me that anyone can think Dohan is the selfish one. I know we’re kind of beating a dead horse and preaching to the choir here but it’s just so baffling. Jihan who tried to get his brother’s fiancee not to marry Dohan so Jihan can build a mall. Jihan who tells Ajeong to her face he doesn’t like her but he’s going to seduce her and she’s not going to be able to resist bc he’s just sooooooo handsome and charming (which gave me a huge ick, how lowly does he think of this 32 year old woman that he assumes she’ll fall for someone who says he doesn’t like her??? But then she does???). Jihan who then does try to seduce HIS BROTHER’S FIANCEE. Jihan who tried to stop another woman from getting married by saying he should’ve hit on her instead (I also feel bad for CEO Chaewon in this show). Jihan who then strings Chaewon along to get things he wants (like breaking up his brother’s marriage that he thinks is real). Jihan who takes zero time to worry about Dohan after he’s outed by a crazy ex before immediately getting angry at Dohan and then again telling Ajeong not to marry him. Jihan who did all of this because he wants money. He’s the selfless one? Why, because he held an umbrella?

The writers are resting on the assumption that viewers will just ignore how awful Jihan is because he’s the male lead and is supposed to be the ideal man we all fall for, so they aren’t putting in any work to actually make him sympathetic. The worst part is it’s apparently working for the vast majority of viewers. You’re also so right that the show keeps telling us Jihan and Dohan are supposed to be close, but doing absolutely nothing to show us that. They might as well be strangers sharing a lease at this point. I had never watched a (het) romance kdrama before this (I always stuck with mystery and thrillers which korea does quite well imo), and I’m not sure I ever will watch one again if this is considered good. Also do we ever find out wtf happened to the ex? It’s been a couple episodes since we saw him all beat up but there’s no indication of what happened. Did they really use a gay bashing to create an evil ex boyfriend who could out Dohan to Jihan and stalk Ajeong for a bit and nothing more?

The ex was so underutilized and basically amounted to nothing except him forcibly outing Do Han to Ji Han to make the plot move. That's really all he does. Well, maybe he does more in the finale. I haven't watched yet. I'm working up to it.

But, yeah. This is my dead horse to beat.

Ji Han was the single most selfish character in the show and anyone who tries to claim otherwise is trying to sell you something.

Or trying to salvage a romance that ended up just generally unpleasant to me because, seriously? The entire romance started with him trying to steal away his supposed fiance and then ended with him getting pissed off about Do Han being gay and supposedly manipulating Ah Jeong and then was him just destroying their supposed sibling relationship.

Which I guess they don't have anymore? Or something?

The show gave us zero closure on that and I hate it so much. Because it's so stupid. Because there was no sibling relationship. None! The show refused to give us anything. Nothing but Ji Han being selfish and Do Han having to feel like the worst person ever for even remotely trying to protect himself.

Ah, but the show isn't going to show any homophobia. Why would they do that?

Instead, the show is just gonna give us nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Not even a goddamn glimpse.

No one seeing this would ever believe these brothers loved each other.

[ellievickstar]

I Can’t Live Without You (Part 3)

A/N: I think I might cry……anyone want a spin off?

Inspired by: MY BOOTIFUL CREATIVITY

Warning: Ansgt, angst,angst ends in fluff though.

Ship: Azriel x Archeron!Reader

Official Masterlist

Short series Masterlist

I loved this one yet hated it…what about you guys?

~*~*~*~*~

Y/N’s POV:

I stayed at a little cottage down by where the wall used to be. I would trade and sell different magical items and trade different items for mortal currency and food. I was quite well off as the cottage had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and all other necessities.

It had been two months after I had left when suddenly there was a pounding on my door.

Opening it I had met with hazel eyes and debated for a moment closing the door in his face. However, the general gave me a look that dared me to and I was none the wiser.

“What?” I asked as I brought him to the sitting room. He plopped down onto an armchair heaving out a sigh.

“We’ve been looking for you for two months and you don’t even say hello? That’s not quite like you,” he grinned. But I crossed my arms. He sighed then proceeded to explain. It was a long one. Going on and on about how Azriel had been looking for me and how they all missed me and that I had to go home, it seemed like he was avoiding the real topic. The whole thing seemed dragged out….like he was stalling.

I narrowed my eyes and put my hands on my hips as I demanded to know why he was here. Then there was silence. And a banging on my door. I rolled my eyes and stormed to the door and flung it open to see Azriel.

~*~*~*~*~

Azriel’s POV:

She was as beautiful as ever. Beautiful as the day I last saw her.

But there was no light in her eyes…like something had snuffed it out. I had suspected that something had happened to her after the bond had suddenly dulled, it had not thrummed with life as it had when I was near her.

“Is….are you…..,” I could barely form a sentence but she stepped aside to reveal Cassian sneaking behind her. She glared at both of us and if looks could kill we’d both be six feet under ground.

“Get out of here,” She snapped. “Get out of my home, get out of my life,” She pointed to the path beyond the front gardens. I shared a look with Cassian and with a blink of an eye he flared his wings and was out of the cottage in a flash.

I looked at her, pleading but her eyes held a cold and indifferent demeanour. The bond betrayed her as I felt little waves of sorrow slip through her mental shield unknowingly. Opening her wounds, that was what I was doing by being here. I gulped as I tried to open my mouth to say something but I closed it, nodded at her, then left. Taking note of the surrounding area for future purposes. Maybe one day I’ll be able to say the right words, maybe one day I can be in her life without hurting her.

~*~*~*~*~

Y/N’s POV:

Left.

He had left. I stood at the doorway of my home as I Azriel disappeared into shadows and left. He hadn’t said anything but as I recounted Cassian’s words….

They had searched for me and when he finds me he just leaves!? Part of me had hoped he would have said something. Maybe an apology, maybe an explanation but nothing. He had left and he had torn my heart into two again without trying. I slid to the ground on my knees as I hugged myself and sobbed. I hated how I felt so betrayed. I hated that I loved someone I could never have.

~*~*~*~*~ Azriel’s POV:

It had been a week since I visited Y/N’s little cottage down by the border that was once the wall. And it had been absolute hell. Cassian was pissed at me for just leaving and so was just about everyone else.

I had chickened out. Me! Spymaster of the Night Court had chickened out because I was scared to say anything. I wanted nothing more then to fly back to the cottage and go to my mate, every second my shadows incessantly whispered to me to go, go and see her, claim her, love her. But I couldn’t. Not after what I did.

I worked myself everyday until mu muscles burned and screamed at me to stop, until I could just about collapse the second I closed my eyes for even a second. I begun going on more missions until Rhysand straight up forbade me from going until I sorted out this mess.

And don’t get me started on the three Archeron sisters.

Elain was down right guilty that she had gotten in the way of our relationship between Y/N and me. I kept telling her that it wasn’ her fault but she kept saying that she should have made me speak to her in order to get to know her instead of being so eager to tell me about her sister.

Nesta was so pissed at me she was a hair’s width away from killing me every time I entered the room. She blamed me. She blamed me for being so stupid, for not noticing, for not getting to know Y/n for Y/n and instead going to her sister for information like some creep.

Feyre was disappointed. I could see it in my High Lady’s eyes every time she looked at me, I also saw her pity when Y/N was brought up.

But in my heart I couldn’t bring myself to go see her. To make amends. I was scared that she wouldn’t love me or that she would onbly accept me because of the bond. And I hated it. I hated the sleepless nights of me thinking it over and over again and made the same excuses when my family asked why I didn’t go see her.

That was when Feyre approached me.

~*~*~*~*~

I was in the library, reading one of Y/N’s favourite’s books when my High Lady came into the library. I immediately stood and bowed my head but she raised her hand to stop me.

“I need to speak to you about my sister,” She said and gestured to two chairs. I sat in one while she sat opposite me. “Azriel, why haven’t you gone to see my sister?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. I turned red but composed myself as I replied her question with the same answer I gave everyone. I wanted to give her space. But she frowned.

“You know, when I realised that Rhysand knew of the bond, I had been so pissed that he didn’t come to me, that he didn’t tell me,” She recounted. I remembered that day. She had gone with Mor to take her away to the house that we usually go during the summer. “But I don’t deny that when Rhysand sought me out, when he explained, I was so relieved. I was still pissed of course. But I was relieved that he finally told the truth. I felt like I had been able to trust home again. I’m just saying that maybe you should seek her out, before it’s too late,” And with that, Feyre stood up and left. But before she exited through the grand doors of the library, she called to me over her shoulder. “Think about whether or not you can live without her, that’s you answer,” And I was alone.

~*~*~*~*~

I pondered over Feyre’s question for the next hour or so and as I thought about letting Y/N go, or seeing her fall in love with someone new, I felt sick to my stomach. I knew that I could never tolerate seeing her move on, I knew that I would always love her. And I had my answer.

~*~*~*~*~

Y/N’s POV:

It was the middle of the night when I jolted awake, startled by the pounding on the door. I trudged down to the door and opened, it my hand racing to cover my mouth as I yawned and mumbled a sleepy ‘what do you want’.

A lovers laugh snapped me out of my thoughts as I beheld the sight of the shadow singer. I glared at him and I was just about ready to slam the door in his stupid face, not wanting him to see how his presence opened the wounds he cleaved into my soul.

However, he caught the door and stepped in, locking it behind him. Looking down at me he fell to his knees before me.

“I was stupid and ignorant and a down right asshole,” He admitted. Taking my hands in his, his shadows danced around the both of us, whispering apologies and desperate pleas. “I was a huge idiot for not getting to know you. I was scared to say the wrong thing and instead I set off the completely wrong message,” He looked up at me, his eyes giving away how much he wanted me to forgive him in that moment.

“Please forgive me,” He breathed. I was conflicted. The pain I felt when he left was unlike anything and if I said no and he moved on…would I be able to stomach it? Would I be able to see him move on with his life? After seeing him with Elain, processing them together. I knew that in my heart I still hurt. There was a dull ache in my chest whenever I thought of them together. And with that I had had my answer.

“I can’t live without you,” I breathed.

And that was enough for him.

~*~*~*~*~

A/N: SO CUTE AHHHHHHH I loved this so much. I hope you guys love it too.

tag list: @moonfawnx @bankerfrog @hideing  @menagerofmischief @famousbasementpainter @owllover123 @bookworm-nerd6  @gigisssz @bethany-bee0128 @cityofidek @starrstrucked @judig92 @starlit-terror

[runawaysiren940]

Hey. I’m a subscriber to your channel! (I’m a bi woman & a radfem, fyi.)

I remember reading a comment recently. I think it was from you. It mentioned that you were going to talk about western women converting to islam.

I hope you do a video on it. I don’t want to write an essay in this ask, so I’ll TRY to keep this brief, but I do have a lot to say.

During the early years of the Syrian civil war, I began to read a lot about it and supported Assad and Iran over ISIL. I was very left wing and I hated my own conservative government (but I somehow saw no irony in supporting muslim conservatives. The same thing continues in the left today). I began to learn about islam gradually, utterly minimizing things like jiziya, taqiyya, and executions for apostates, homosexuals, and adulterers because the Nice Muslims insisted it wasn’t “true Islam”. They would always push outsiders to read the quran. They insisted islam gave rights to women before anyone else. If a woman respects herself, she will become a muslimah and cover herself, and so on. There’s so much more I could talk about. I could write for hours on the fuckheadedness and misogyny of even moderate islam in retrospect. At the time, I was rationalizing it basically because I hated my own country, I’d always been a bit of a rebel, and islam claimed to have all the answers.

I was still very young (19), naive, and impressionable. I worried I’d never get married in western culture (I didn’t believe in sex before love and assurance that I wouldn’t be used & dumped, and the vast majority of western men only want easy sex), and muslim men will marry very quickly if you’re a “good woman”. I became scared I’d go to hell because “the prophet said hell is full of women”, and they weren’t even there for severe sins. I have a lot of empathy for young women sucked into this because it’s so easy if you don’t already have a firm understanding of who you are. New western converts are absolutely lovebombed. I wouldn’t be surprised if they feel they’re finding their true family and belonging once they convert.

I did end up converting for a short while. Thank goodness I never got married or started having kids. While I was being indoctrinated, however, I found myself supporting some extreme views. Thank goodness I wasn’t in a highly muslim area, as I knew what they thought of those who leave the religion. Someone is in danger if they openly leave, hence why many formers are secretive about it. They’re basically declaring that they’re apostates, blasphemers, and unbelievers. It’s scary to think of even now because of how many people think they should be killed.

I thought anyone who drew the prophet deserved punishment (not that I would do any violence), and I was a moderate. I’d read everything possible to rationalize the prophet marrying a child, because that was a tough sell. It worked for a short while. 🤮 Did I mention I was first penetrated as a 10 year old, and I didn’t think I suffered greatly from it, therefore Aisha may not have suffered when married so young? I rationalized utterly disturbing shit while indoctrinated. Yes, they all rationalize it. They even say girls reach puberty younger in a desert climate. 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 I’m glad that I got out so soon, and in a safe area. I wasn’t baby-trapped or drawn to the IS. I came to my senses and realized, “No, this isn’t protection for women. It is patriarchy, and I don’t care if they think I’ll go to hell!” I kept many secrets while muslim. One of them is how arab and persian muslims really think of black people (it’s not good. It’s horrific and sad. They even hate literal babies) despite flowery words to those who convert. More than 10 years later, I’m so glad I got out of the cult. Maybe it helped me clock the pink & blue cult early.

I will say, one parallel that can be drawn between muslims and TRAs is the treatment of those who leave. To any non-muslim who defends islam, go look at comments on videos by former muslims. See what the good “real” muslims say. “You were never Muslim.” “You’ll go to hell.” “Death to unbelievers.”

Then look at how people who formerly identified as trans (especially women who underwent testosterone therapy 😔) are treated by the trans community. “You were never trans!” “You knew the risks!” “Shut up and kys!”

Thank you for sharing your story. I welcome the insight.

[lizhly-writes]

aight, so a few days ago, i asked y’all what kind of orv writing you wanted to see.  @strikeslip​ got in the first reply, so here we are with the coparenting au. i’ll probably cycle through the rest of the replies/asks in the coming weeks.

first of all: bihyung does not hit anyone with the cabbage.  sorry.   second of all: to really answer this, i probably should have written a little more, buuuut if i did, this would probably end up extending to sunday and i’m already late, so here you go.

Bihyung knows exactly who Dokja’s mother is.  

“I wasn’t trying to pry into your personal life,” Bihyung says defensively.  “I had to look you up, I wasn’t going to have just anyone have a claim on Biyoo.  It’s just –” he looks off to the side, hand going up to rub the back of his neck.  “Your name isn’t very common.  That’s all.”

That’s an understatement.  ‘Dokja’ is the kind of name that doesn’t really register as a name, so of course it sticks in your memory if someone claims it as one.  It makes sense to remember it, especially if you saw it somewhere in a best-selling book of some kind.

If Dokja looked his own name up, maybe that book would be the first result.

“You’re fine with that?” he says.  The smile he’s wearing feels terribly tight on his face.

Bihyung’s mouth twists.  “If I had a problem with it, do you think I would have made you take that paternity test to begin with.”

“...Right.”

Dokja would like to say the conversation ends there, and they never talk about it again, but that would be a lie.  They do talk about it; they don’t have a choice but to talk about it, when Dokja thinks of his mother, thinks of the fact it’s flat-out better not visiting instead of having to tell her the next pathetically sad thing to happen in his life.  

A child, though.  It seems… important.

“...I should probably let her know about Biyoo.”

“...You probably should,” Bihyung allows.

And that’s that.

“You don’t have to come with me,” Dokja says charitably.  It’s already going to be uncomfortable and awkward.  Explaining Bihyung is going to be… weird.  Yes, Dokja is coparenting a child with Bihyung.  No, they’re not together in any way, shape, or form.  How did this occur?  Who knows.

“Of course I do, she’s my– she’s your –”  Bihyung pauses, makes a face, because he’s probably about as stuck on terms as Dokja is.  “She’s Biyoo’s grandmother.  And you’re bringing Biyoo.”

“Yeah.  Well.”

Well.

The trip there is made in relative silence.  Biyoo is… not a quiet baby, exactly, but one that can be counted upon to exist in contentment for a predictable time period, especially when she’s being held, so the subway ride there is.  Fine.

“What’s she like,” Bihyung says, at one point.  “Your mother,” he adds, like there’s more than one ‘she’ that they decided to go visit.

“Why?”

“Haaah, I’m just curious.  Is that not allowed?”

“She’s… she.  She likes reading.”

“Oh, so she’s just like you.”  A pause, abashed.  “... I didn’t mean it like…”

“I know what you mean.  It’s fine.”

The subway ride is fine.  Everything’s Fine.

…

“You look like you’re about to meet your mother-in-law,” Kim Dokja offers.

“Hahaha, shut up,” says Bihyung.

…

“Hello, Mother,” says Kim Dokja.

That person looks the same he remembers.  Maybe a little grayer around the temples, but that’s it.  It’s hard to believe she’s any older at all, which means it’s hard to believe he’s any older at all.  He can very easily pretend that this is the past, and he’s still that child that regularly visited his mother, sitting uselessly in silence and spouting off random webnovel plots in an attempt to have anything to talk about at all.

“...Dokja,” she says, and even her expression is the same as he remembers.  Even, barely showing any emotion at all. “It’s been a while.”

It’s not a question.  It might as well be one.  Dokja doesn’t actually remember the last time he visited.  Maybe neither does she.  If he squints, he could pretend that she actually looks surprised.  

She might actually be surprised.  Dokja isn’t quite looking at his mother in the eye, but he can still see when her gaze wanders to Bihyung, who straightens under the attention.  It’s a fair enough reaction.  Dokja’s never actually brought anyone to visit before.

“Hi,” Bihyung says stiltedly, and hefts Biyoo slightly higher up.  “This is your grandchild.”

Kim Dokja almost laughs.

“...Excuse me?” says Mother, and there’s the crack in her usual face.  Eyes just a little wider, just a little rounder, a twitch in the corner of her mouth.

“That’s Biyoo,” Kim Dokja says.  “My daughter, so your granddaughter.  I thought you’d like to know.”

[jsbsam]

Onwards and Upwards

Yesterday we said goodbye to Lima, which we have really enjoyed, and headed for the airport to catch our flight up to Cusco at 11,150ft. The receptionist at the hotel very kindly called a "taxi" for us on what I think was Peruvian Uber. To be fair the taxi arrived quite quickly, but when it did I was somewhat taken aback. It was battered to bits with smashed windows and radio and a boot so full of breakdown stuff I could only get one of our back packs in there. Most of you know that MM has a few airs and graces and refers to herself as "the Queen" due to her mother's maiden name being Sultana - which means queen in certain languages - so you can imagine her horror and the ear bashing I got as I held the door for her to climb in! Speaking of MM and her royal aspirations, as we're in Peru, she has been making marmalade sandwiches, putting them in her handbag and stopping poor, unsuspecting locals saying "donde eres mi amigo Paddington?". To say they look perplexed is an understatement.

Anyway, back to our taxi. For a while I thought we were being kidnapped, the episode was so similar to our taxi ride from Delhi airport to Karol Bagh - terrifying. I kept looking for landmarks and airport signs, but no luck. After 40 minutes he pulled up next to a little hut and said "el aeropeuto es aqui". It certainly didn't look like an airport to me, but he gently shuffled us and our bags out of the car and cleared off. It transpired that this was a back entrance to the airport where dodgy drivers could let passengers off as they weren't allowed anywhere near the terminal. We had no option then but to walk from the back entrance to the terminal, good practice for our upcoming Machu Picchu trek.

Before leaving the UK we'd done a bit of research on how to prepare for altitude to reduce the risk of getting it when we arrived in Cusco. It can be very unpleasant and debilitating apparently. Key things are to drink plenty of water, little or no alcohol, rest a lot, and make sure you eat plenty of light food. We'd also got some tablets to take that should help.

As soon as we got out of the plane and into the airport terminal at Cusco you could feel the difference. We both, along with many others, felt light headed and slightly breathless immediately. We slowed down our walking and tried to take deeper breaths, which certainly helped. When we got to the hotel we dropped our bags and took a short walk to stock up with water and snicker bars (supposed to be very good altitude food fortunately!). When we got back to the hotel I got into terrible trouble for trying to look after MM and make sure she followed all the recommended steps. "I'm fine, leave me alone" was the cry from her Majesty, she even decided to order a bottle of wine with our evening meal while little goody two shoes (me!) stuck to water.

After a good night's sleep and me wandering into a strange woman's room instead of ours (I claimed altitude sickness as an excuse) we decided to take a slow walk into the centre of Cusco this morning to see what was going on. The place was heaving. It appears that they'd heard that we were coming and had set up a Civic Reception. I think it was for us as the army were there to ensure MM followed the altitude rules. My only doubt arises because Paddington wasn't there.!

Cusco is a really interesting little town and seemingly full of honest people fortunately. On our way back to the hotel I decided that I needed some more Soles so I called in at a cash machine. Here you get your money before your card is returned. I was so busy counting my cash and squirreling it away I forgot all about my card. I was about 30m down the road when someone came chasing after me. I thought he was trying to sell me something so I turned semi aggressively until I saw my credit card in his hand. Phew, MM would never let me forget that, in fact she's just reminded me about it as I type!

[xamassed]

something small. ( insp. @ofhope )

❝ What do you mean you don’t have something else to wear? ❞

March 7th’s indignation and utter disbelief had been met with the usual — a nonchalant shrug and a grunt that, when taken in by someone else, should have sufficed as an answer. To her, it was a challenge. Dan Heng may have responded dismissively, but she simply couldn’t accept that there wasn’t another, sharper outfit squirreled away somewhere in the Astral Express archives.

He could be so handsome, she tried to encourage.

It didn’t matter, he argued. He didn’t need to be handsome.

She knew he didn’t need to be, but all she wanted was to witness the deadpan young man in a new light. They never knew when they might be given the chance to dress formally, and she absolutely loathed the idea of missing out. That’s it! She declared with the utmost confidence that they were going out, just the two of them. He tried to argue, claimed he was too mentally exhausted to enjoy himself.

March had accepted this once before, and she did believe him, but now she pleaded. Please, just for a little while. Fresh air would do him some good! True, her intention was to drag him into the nearest shop in search of a new wardrobe, but there would be air in between, she promised.

Purely out of habit, he nearly denied her again. If it weren’t for the fact that he had looked up from his work and spotted her sweet, pleading face, he would have sent her away. Those wide eyes, bright with a spark of hope and the undeniable desire to help, did him in. There was no rejecting her good intentions when she behaved like a well-meaning child.

He agreed, under one condition. He refused to stay out for the whole of the day, and she agreed that three hours was better than nothing at all. When she promised that they would only visit clothing shops, she meant it. Dragging him elsewhere would have been easy, but she didn’t want to risk breaking the trust he had given her.

Yet after those hectic three hours, he returned to the train with only one bag in tow. She had six, and they were heavy with her disappointment. The things inside were pretty and fun, but she couldn’t let go of the feeling that she had failed him.

❝ I can’t believe you only bought one outfit! There were so many that looked amazing on you! ❞ She gave a grand, exaggerated groan as she slinked into her room and tossed her bags onto her bed. With a slump, she joined them, face buried into her covers. Behind her, standing in the doorway, Dan Heng sighed.

❝ I told you: I don’t pick clothes because they look good on me. This was the only one that felt comfortable. ❞ He was gentler with his bag, letting it sit in front of his feet. March rolled onto her back and dug the heels of her palms into her eyes.

❝ They won’t be comfortable unless you wear them, you know? ❞ She whined and gave one foot a little kick at the air. ❝ We spent so long out there, and you’re no happier now than you were when we left! ❞

Dan Hang had begun to rummage through his singular bag, but her declaration surprised him. Head up, he watched her throw her miniature fit on her bed. ❝ You were trying to cheer me up? ❞

❝ Yes! You didn’t want to go with us yesterday, and I was okay with that. But you looked sad today too, and — and I don’t like it! I know you don’t like clothes the way I do, and I know it’s not fun for you to go shopping for it, but I wanted to do something. ❞

Dan Heng stood, a smaller bag in his hands. March sat up and spotted it, eyes growing wide with wonder. ❝ Wait, when did you get that? I thought you only bought one thing! ❞

❝ Remember when you went to get drinks for us? I saw a little stand selling jewelry while I was waiting for you. ❞ He stated matter-of-factly.

❝ You bought jewelry? ❞ She was awestruck, and without thinking, she quickly met him at the door. ❝ You? ❞

❝ You make it sound like it’s strange. ❞

❝ Coming from you, yeah. I didn’t think you were accessory type. ❞

❝ I’m not, usually. ❞ He couldn’t let her believe that her efforts had been for naught. Midway through their little excursion, he had understood the meaning of it. It didn’t matter to her that he had bought so little. What she wanted was his happiness, and he knew that for certain now. The stories, the giggling, the little touches to his arm as she dragged him out of the way when he nearly bumped into strangers on the street — her methods were roundabout and obnoxious, but that was what made her March.

She cared, and it didn’t sit right with him that he had brushed her feelings aside so readily.

❝ I’ll be honest. I wasn’t having fun at first, but I started to forget about the clothes once we started talking. I think I did need the air, and it was nice to move around in an space larger than the archives. ❞ He dared to let a small chuckle loose then, and he was rewarded with a giggle from March. ❝ I went to the stand just to keep myself occupied, but I saw this. . . ❞

He pulled a small box from the bag, and from that box he gingerly removed a single earring. A small, rectangular stone of a familiar blue dangled from a golden hook. Above the blue jewel and its many shimmering facets was a smaller cluster of pink gems shaped like a bunch of tiny, juicy berries. The design itself wasn’t the most subtle, and he did feel a little silly holding it up, but that silliness didn’t last long when the colors struck him again.

They were almost as gorgeous as her eyes, but he reckoned that nothing would ever shine as bright. She was too happy, too optimistic and too much fun for something as ordinary as jewels to outshine her.

❝ It made me think of you. ❞

Dan Heng thought he saw her turn pink, but he didn’t bring attention to it. Instead, he focused on the cuff around his ear. He removed it, spent a minute struggling to pierce the end of the hook through his nearly sealed earlobe, then fitted the cuff back into place. It was a smidgen uncomfortable, but it was exactly as she said: if he wore it enough, it would become comfortable.

❝ But. . . But it doesn’t match with the rest of your outfit! ❞ She was touched to the deepest parts of her heart, but she didn’t want him to wear it if he was ashamed.

❝ Does that matter? ❞

❝ Does it not? ❞ She countered.

❝ Not to me. I like it, that’s all I care about. ❞

❝ Even if it reminds you of me? ❞ One would think with this flat expressions and lack of enthusiasm that he would want the opposite.

❝ That’s why I wanted it. ❞ He reached up and toyed with the earring absentmindedly. ❝ I won’t always want to go out, and I won’t always want to be cheered up by anyone, but this will remind me that I do have something to look forward to. I have you, and I have the Express. It will take me a bit to stop thinking about everything that happened and what might happen, but today made it easier. ❞

❝ Dan Heng. . . ❞

A short-lived smiled was exchanged between the two before he reached for his bags. ❝ Can I go back to the archives now? ❞

March rolled her eyes and gave his chest a small, harmless shove. ❝ Yeah, yeah. Go on, but you have to eat with the rest of us later! ❞

❝ I will. I promise. ❞

❝ I’ll drag you out of there if you break that promise! ❞

Dan Heng turned, and one corner of his lips lifted again now that his face was out of sight. ❝ I know you will. ❞

[boag]

How exactly do you know paz de la huerta?

This is a pretty long story but I’m gonna do my best to answer ur question.

So when I was 16, I made a post on instagram in support of Paz. I knew a bit about what was going on with her, mostly about her allegations against Harvey Weinstein and how she was working on her sobriety at the time. As a fan who saw that she was struggling, I wanted to write a bit about her to get the word out and help her get the support she needed. At that time, she had a public instagram account and was selling her art and taking donations so that she could pay for lawyer fees and try to start her career back up. So I directed my followers to her account so they could help if they were compelled to. I was never expecting her to get into contact with me about that post. Her account was deleted and she couldn’t be found anywhere online. I thought about her sometimes and hoped she was doing alright, but i did not know her personally at all. On Christmas 2021, almost 2 years after I made the post, I got a message from someone claiming to be friends with Paz. She said that Paz had seen my post from back then and thought it was very sweet, and that she wanted to invite me to her Telegram group chat. I didn’t know what to think but I figured like “I might as well join, worst case scenario is it’s not her and I leave the chat.”

Once I was in the group chat, I introduced myself and Paz immediately began talking to me. Right from the jump I was like “wait I think this is actually her…” bc I had followed Paz on all her social media since I was 14 and I knew how to spot her typing style and way of speaking. I kept talking to her and the other ppl in the chat and the longer I interacted, the more sure I was that it was really her. She ended up sending a lot of recent pics of herself in that chat, pics that didn’t exist anywhere on the internet. By the time I had been in the gc for about a week, I was certain it was real. After some time passed, me and Paz and everyone else had gotten pretty close. I had learned so much more about what actually had gone down throughout Paz’s life, stuff no one in the general public knew about if they weren’t in contact with her personally. Her story goes so much deeper than Weinstein or drugs. There are people in this world who literally would rather she end up dead than make her way back into the public eye bc of what they’ve done to her and what she knows about them… rich and powerful people who have hurt her in unimaginable ways. Eventually, she shared her private instagram account’s username with me. It was top secret at the time. She didn’t want it shared with anyone. I followed her and she followed me back. It was full of pics and videos and captions that kinda filled in the blanks about what had gone on since she had “disappeared.”

Over time, the telegram group chat died out, instagram became the platform where I keep in contact with her, and slowly but surely, things have gotten better and safer for her. I never stop learning more about her and what she has overcome, and I’m so lucky to call her my friend (although she calls us her “babies” or her “angels”… she wants to create a chosen family environment for everyone who needs that sort of love.) She spends most of her time dealing with lawyers, writing her book, creating all kinds of art, reuniting with old friends and making new friends, and just living her life the way she wants to live it, instead of living it in fear and in hiding. She’s not completely ready to go public, but she is doing interviews and creative projects and letting more fans follow her. She has so much in the works right now, and a lot that she’s already put out in the world recently. I am so proud of her and so glad I answered that dm back in 2021.

Lmk if u have any more questions and I’ll try not to write a full on novel about it LOL ❤️

[yogrl335]

Been busy with politics the last few months. Dear lord, the hate from MAGA is awful; they hate Democrats, LGBTQ people, Blacks, Jews-the list goes in. So now I’ve come from sewers of right wing politics to the smaller sewer of CCers. Same hate, just directed differently. Flowers recently posted yet again about the “handshake” at Trevor live. Per the vipers, Darren met Mia there for the first time. Strange that there are photos of them together when his hair was longer, and they’ve claimed that she was Chuck’s girlfriend before being taped to be a “beard”. How is it then that he had to be introduced? And on a red carpet, not before? What’s the deal with using his left hand to shake? Who does that? And no actual handshake is seen. I would think it more likely that she was nervous about being in public. That would also explain her staying back while he schmoozed with other celebrities after. This weekend their panties are in knots because of an article in which he mentions his wife and child. Like married folks often do. They are like Pavlov’s dogs: say Mia and they foam at the mouth. Add in Bluesy and they have seizures. Today mmack (another reptile) posted a broadside about the coffee drink that Darren likes. It said that there was only a small amount of caffeine in a Ristretto as opposed to an espresso. So I looked it up. A cup of regular coffee averages 95mg caffeine but this can vary a lot depending on size of the cup and type of coffee used. Espresso averages 68mg while ristretto averages 63mg as per yourdreamcoffee.com. Per mmack this indicates a lie, I guess, because how could he be using it when “sleep deprived by a baby”. And how is a 5mg difference translated to one being a minimal amount of caffeine? Thus the great plot is unmasked! In reality it is just another excuse to spout hate toward Mia-a woman they have never met. Review their past postings. First they hated Ryan Murphy for forcing Darren into the closet, ostensibly to sell more records. Then they added Mia because they were dating and added Ricky (because he was a friend to Darren and Mia), blaming him for a lack of roles, which, as a manager, Ricky has nothing to do with. After Glee they briefly didn’t hate Ryan because he was going to help Darren come out. When he didn’t they restarted the hate to RM. They usually hate Starkids because they’re friends. It seems that loyalty and friendship should not occur if you are going to be a big star. They hate several actually gay men like Will, Ricky Martin, Rufus Wainright because they interfere with the snakes’ fantasy world. Now I don’t believe that they will change; there is too much hatred invested in their fandom. Like trump’s MAGA mob, they refuse to see reality. I comment here to try to get through to any fan who might think there is any truth to the fecal matter the CCers post. In case you’re wondering why I don’t go directly to their tumbler sites, I was a follower only to Darren Criss posts as I am to museums and libraries. After the wedding I saw a lot of cruel posts by the reptiles. I commented that they were being nasty about someone they didn’t know. The response from them was to first note that it was my first post/comment and that I sounded like a 34 year old, intimating that I was Mia. Then they blocked me. I am not Mia. I have never met her. I am old enough to be her mother. The fact that they can’t tell a fan from Darren’s spouse indicates little intelligence. They are foul, nasty, bloviating, belligerent bags of hate. Toxic.

[huhmiya]

TREAT HER BETTER | matt sturniolo

pairing: friend!matt x f!reader

summary: chris has been treating you like crap and to make it worse, he started dating another girl behind your back, which left you heartbroken. But one of his identical brothers gave you more love and attention than chris did.

warnings: smut, dominant matt, pet names (darling, good girl, my love, pretty girl, ma’am), unprotected sex, swearing, hair pulling, rough sex, use of y/n, oral female receiving, p in v, chris is being a total jerk.

a/n: not my photos, found on pinterest. LMAO, sorry for making chris an total asshole in this!! this is a long chapter but there will finally be smut and I promise it’s not pathetic quick smut.

WORDS: 4.6k

huhmiya on wattpad

you - pink | matt - blue | chris - orange

-

Chris has been ghosting you all day and only responds to your text once, always with some excuse for why he hasn't messaged. This has been going on for a week, and even though you eventually stopped trying, you still held onto that hope that he would message you. But unfortunately, nothing. It's like a never-ending cycle of disappointment.

You started realizing that the excuses Chris was giving you were fake. It was frustrating to see him active on Instagram all day long while he claimed he couldn't message you. It really ticked you off, but you did make the decision to stop texting him. You didn't want to waste any more time and get your hopes up higher than they should be.

Nick has been messaging you, letting you know that Chris has been acting really strange lately. He's not his usual playful self and instead, he's been acting tough. It's odd that he spends a lot of time in his room and keeps the door locked while talking to someone or goes outside, not telling anyone where’s he’s going.

Sometimes, your suspicions and concerns were evident, but you genuinely cared about him since he was your boyfriend. It made you want to visit his house and go into Chris's room, just to see if something was on his mind or if there was anything going on. Specially when he’s turned off his location.

Matt has been messaging you as well, snitching on Chris about how he's seeing this girl, and according to Matt, she's not good looking at all. The situation is making it worse, which now includes overthinking if he's ghosting you to see this girl and has feelings for her and not you.

You didn't wanna believe Matt until you actually saw it with your own eyes. I mean, he would sell his soul just to not snitch on Chris, especially not for something as important and serious as this.

For the next few days, Matt has been sharing more and more with you, until he reached a point where he was the only one who knew what was going on. He knew you weren't taking sides, so he decided to invite you over without telling Chris, but he did tell Nick, hoping he wouldn't tell anyone.

Hours went by, and you found yourself at the sturniolo triplets place, which had a unique house setting that felt surprisingly cozy, almost like home. Nick was busy editing their new YouTube video, set to be posted on Friday, so it was Matt who answered the door.

“You came huh?” His smirk, with those pink lips of his, was so obvious in his tone that you could practically see it. It made you playfully roll your eyes, but couldn't help but crack a smile in return.

He let you in, being careful not to let Chris hear you at the door or anything. It was clear that he wanted to prove to you that he had been spending time with this girl, and it seemed like more than just friends.

“So you still don’t believe me?” Matt raised an eyebrow, and you wanted to believe him. It would make sense why he's been ghosting you for a week and a half. But deep down, you didn't want to believe him. “Not really..”

Matt could tell by the sound of your voice that it was being less than truthful, but Matt didn't call you out on it. He wanted you to admit that you agree with him, even if it was just a little bit.

“If you don’t, then why you here?” Those words stunned a bit, he had a really good point, and you couldn't deny it. If you didn't believe matt, you wouldn't even be here and you would still trust Chris.

You could feel your lips pressing together, searching for a way to come up with a convincing lie. But deep down, you both knew he was right. His soft chuckle filled the air, and he playfully ruffled your hair, his height advantage evident in that moment.

Matt glanced at the time, noting that it was 4:28pm. He had a rough estimate that Chris would soon leave his room to grab some snacks, always bringing enough for more than just himself. Although Matt had a hunch that the girl was up there, he didn't want to take any risks yet and decided to wait until later. He grabbed your hand and brought you to his room before chris sees you.

Matt's room was always neat and tidy, unlike Chris who would leave empty Pepsi cans scattered all over his desk and even on his bedside. Out of the triplets, Matt was definitely the tidiest one.

“Sit down.. if you want.” Matt eyes scanned his own room, making sure no laundry or anything is on the floor since he didn’t wanna embarrass himself.

You plopped down on his bed, taking in the sight of him wearing a plain white shirt paired with fresh love sweatpants.

“So, how long you think Chris has been with this girl?” He couldn't help but be captivated by the sound of your voice. It was something he wished he could listen to every single second. As his blue eyes met yours, he found himself lost in thought for a moment.

“Who knows.. few months?” He shrugged and sat down next to you on his bed. Matt could tell you were a bit hurt because you knew there was a chance he's cheating on you for this girl. Deep down though he knew he could fuck it out of you but he didn’t wanna do that just yet.

As we sat there in silence, it wasn't an awkward silence, but rather a lack of words to say. Suddenly, we heard footsteps, most likely coming from Chris. Matt mentioned that Chris always gets double the amount of food he eats, which suggests that someone else was there with him.

You saw Matt grab your thigh as you were about to stand up and check if it was Chris, but he shook his head no, not wanting to risk Chris seeing you for now. Then, Matt rubbed your thigh before getting up and leaving the room, but he kept the door nearly closed so you could listen.

“Why you grabbing snacks like we made out of money?” Matt voice was faint but you can tell what he’s saying.

“We sorta are in a way..? People buying fresh love, spacecamp and we are youtubers. We can replace the snacks back easily” His attitude was filled with cockiness.

Chris glanced at Matt and then proceeded to grab some more snacks. Lately, he's been getting snacks that he doesn't particularly enjoy, which makes you and Nick but mostly matt suspect that they might be for the girl he's been spending time with without your knowledge.

“When you actually gonna be sociable and say hi to me or nick? You literally just camp in your room like a teenager” Matt asked, raising his eyebrow without noticing. Chris just responded with a shrug of his shoulders and headed to his room.

Matt just stand in the kitchen for a small moment before he came back to his room and looked at you, but he didn't know what to say since he didn't really get anything out of Chris's mouth except for him talking about the snacks.

He sat back on his bed with you and lay on it, his legs dangling across.“I recommend to go in his room without warning soon and see him with the girl”

Matt was really confident that he was right and wanted to prove to you that Chris was ghosting you because of another girl who looked like you. It was surprising that he wasn't on his own brother's side and instead, he was supporting you.

“How do you fully know it’s a girl up there?” Your voice was so soft that it made Matt's heart race, even though it wasn't the best timing, especially since we were discussing Chris.

“I’ve seen her once, she sneaks into the backgarden and then god knows how she gets in Chris room. She literally looks like you but uglier, let’s say she needs to be in a science lab” Matt smiled a bit because he felt relieved to finally express his thoughts about this girl chris has been with and he wasn’t worrying about being judged.

The comment made you laugh, trying to picture what this girl looks like since you haven’t had a chance to see her. Your laugh meant the world to Matt, even from the start when you and Chris had the strongest relationship going. It was like a addictive feeling for him, he wanted more.

“You actually being serious?” Your laughter may have subsided a bit, but there's still a small chuckle lingering.

"I'm telling you, if you ever catch Chris with her, you'll take one look at the girl and be shocked. She'll look like she belongs in a horror movie. But then, I saw her without any makeup, and I swear, she could easily be a catfish.”

Your lips curled into a smile before laughing once more and he was as well. “You can’t be serious” Without you noticing he moved closer to you, keeping his leg brush against yours. “Dead serious”

Time was ticking while Matt and you were talking. Nick did come into the room to see you for a bit since he hadn't seen you all week, but he went back to his laptop because he needed to do some editing before tomorrow, which is Friday.

Matt grabbed his phone seeing it’s 5:43pm, he thought it would be a good time for you to go into Chris's room. He got off the bed and handed me a knife to unlock his door.

“The fuck? I ain’t killing anyone?!” It made Matt laugh and shake his head. “I know and I won’t allow you. I’m giving it to you so you can unlock his door”

“Am I seriously going to Chris’s room alone?” When you spoke, Matt looked into your eyes, and it felt like you were silently asking him to come with you. But he seemed unsure, not sure if he should tag along.

“Thought it would be easier..? I can if you want but I ain’t doing anything” His voice was softer than usual but that’s probably because he didn’t know what to do or say.

You just nodded and mumbled, saying that you wanted him to come, but deep down, you really wanted to be alone. But the thing is, if Matt was right about all of this, you know you would be completely destroyed in seconds.

“Fine.. only because I love you..” Matt says before correcting himself even though he didn’t even know if it was more at this point. “..as a friend”

You smiled as your lips curled upwards, and both of you got off the bed. However, he let out a small groan, showing his reluctance to move.

“So how am I post to unlock a door with a knife?” I asked but he just rolled his eyes playfully. “I’ll do it myself ma’am since we don’t want you to get hurt now do we?”

“Ma’am?” You asked wondering why he called you that. Your voice filled with curiosity, as you followed Matt to Chris's room. Both of you could hear him talking and a female laugh, which made your heart in your throat. At this point, you started to believe Matt a bit more, considering the evidence you were hearing.

As you watched Matt grab the knife and quietly unlock it, you heard your boyfriend stop talking and she stopped laughing. Matt put his finger to his lips, signaling for you to be quiet. Hopefully, Chris and the girl thought they were just imagining things.

You were in disbelief as they started talking again, and your heart shattered into a thousand pieces when you heard them flirting and then kissing each other.

Matt was right all along, you glanced at Matt who was right there with you, listening in without making a peep. He caught your eye and responded by giving you a look, then gently rubbing your knuckles to help you calm down and keep you from blowing both of their cover while we were listening.

“You look so pretty in this angle but then you do in every angle” Your boyfriend said to the girl he had been ghosting you for a week.

Your heart sank as your teeth bit your bottom lip, trying to hold back a small cry. Despite your efforts, you couldn't resist the urge and opened the door. However, Matt was quick to grab your hand, but you got your hand back so it was too late.

“So this the bitch you‘ve been fucking behind my back?” You watched in disbelief as they pulled away from the kiss, and Chris's eyes widened when he saw you. You couldn't help but glance at the girl Matt was talking about, trying your best not to burst into laughter. But you have to admit, Matt was absolutely right about her looks.

“It’s not what it looks like!” Chris voice raised, looking at the girl and then back at you. You lean against the door frame, taking in the scene which made you wanna cry and collapse on your knees.. “how long you two had this?”

He stays quiet, probably finding a good lie or to tell the truth while the girl just looked at her nails probably Chris pay for.

“You gonna answer the question?” Matt says as he walks into Chris's messy room, crossing his arms and tilting his head. “Well aren’t you quiet for once.”

Never in your life have you seen Matt act like that, but honestly, you wasn't really paying much attention at the time. All you felt was this intense emotional pain when Chris suddenly ghosted you for a girl who looked completely disgusting.

“A few weeks or more but I lost feelings.. your to attached to me and you just don’t look pretty” Chris words hit you like a ton of bricks, but you tried to laugh it off. It's hard to believe that he would imply you didn't look pretty, especially when he ended up choosing a girl who didn't have the most appealing appearance.

You were about to speak so you could say something but Matt instead spoke, never ever thought Matt would stick up for you than his own brother who he loves. “Your new girl looks like a dead rat, what you mean by y/n not pretty?”

You looked at Matt and managed to muster a slight smile, even though your emotions were overwhelming and it was hard to think straight.

“The fuck! You can’t just say that in front or her?!” Chris was yelling, and he appeared incredibly protective of this girl. You couldn't help but notice her placing her hand on his thigh, seemingly trying to calm him down. In that moment, you couldn't help but fixate your gaze on her, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Well I did” Matt spoke firmly, looking at his younger brother by a few minutes. He shook his head and just grabbed your hand, pulling you out of chris room. He could tell you were getting emotional and he knew you wouldn’t wanna cry infront of them.

Once inside his room with the door closed, Matt just looked at you. You could see a mix of worry, sadness, and another emotion that you couldn't quite decipher in his eyes.

Matt wrapped his arms around you and kissed your head. In that moment, you couldn't find the tears to cry, and you were left feeling unsure of how to process everything. As Matt and you stood there, you and him overheard Chris telling the girl that they should end things for the day and meet up another time.

“Such a pretty girl” Matt mumbled as he tried to offer as much comfort as he could. It was clear that he was angry at his brother in that moment for betraying you and choosing someone he found unappealing.

He gently placed his fingers on your chin, making you look into his eyes. "You okay?" He asked, but he seemed to realize that the answer was most likely a no.

He frowned as you shook your head, indicating that you weren't okay. He noticed that you hadn't cried, but he understood that it was because you didn't even know how to process your emotions.

Matt noticed the way you stared at his face, unsure of what was going through your mind. Matt genuinely wanted to help in any way he could, so he asked. "What you thinking?"

You simply shrugged, unable to put your thoughts into words. Seeing your response, he sat down on the bed and gently brought you onto his lap, rubbing your thigh to offer comfort.

“Stop thinking about him” Matt says which made you look at him and chuckle pathetically. “Yeah and how?”

He stays quiet for a moment before whispering in your ear. His words are soft and gentle, meant for your ears only. “There’s many ways darling, all you have to do is trust me”

He kept looking into your eyes, captivated by their beauty. With a gentle touch, he moved your hair out of your face and delicately tucked it behind your ears.

“Do you trust me?” His voice sounded gentle, yet tinged with desire. His warm breath brushed against your neck as you nodded and spoke a little. “Yeah”

His blue eyes glanced at your body for a moment while you were on his lap, but then he shifted his gaze back to your eyes. Not wanting to be caught staring. With that he knew you trusted him since you nodded. With care, he gently placed you down on the bed instead of keeping you on his lap.

"What are you going to do?" You asked, but he just smirked. He appeared to have numerous ideas, yet you were aware of his intentions and were willing to let him proceed.

His thumb gently caressed your cheek as he maintained eye contact. Suddenly, he realized he may have overstepped his boundaries. “Shit I’m sorry, I shouldn’t of just done that without permission”

You wordlessly kissed his lips, grasping his shirt as he lay atop you. You yearned for more from him, hoping to dispel any awkwardness or guilt lingering from the earlier incident involving Chris. I longed to put him out of my mind.

His lips felt soft, but they were slightly chapped from biting them often by boredom or anxiety. As he pulled away to gaze at you, one of his hands slid beneath your shirt, gently tracing around your bra.

His other hand trailed down to your shorts as he kissed your neck, leaving hickeys as a mark of possession, even though you're not his yet. He removed your shorts, leaving you in black pants, which made him smirk. Then, as he looked back up at you he couldn’t keep eye contact since his gaze shifted to your thighs and your outfit.

“You are so beautiful, my love," He whispered, his eyes filled with desire as he couldn't resist touching you. Your hands tangled in his brunette hair, eliciting soft moans of pleasure from him.

“Well i couldn't say the same about you" You say to him as he kneels in front of you. “Oh really now?” He gently squeezes your thighs before removing your pants, revealing your naked skin underneath, which he had never seen before but found to be even more perfect than he had imagined.

His fingers slowly play with your cilt to tease you, his cold fingers playing with you while your letting out small moans. “If I ain’t then let me show you how beautiful i could be in bed"

His fingers ceased their teasing, but his hands were cold as they always were, yet so gentle, although not at this moment. He spread your legs wider, then kissed your thighs and made his way to your intimate area. His tongue teased you instead of his fingers, causing you to moan.

“You like that huh?” He says which left vibrations that lingered against your most intimate area, causing you to whimper and subtly move your hips. Then, he firmly held you in place, preventing any further movement. “Speak for me darling”

“Yes matt..” You moaned, and he quickened his pace, eager to hear more of your sweet sounds. The taste of you was intoxicating to him, like a powerful drug that he couldn't resist.

He knew he was making you close, your orgasm building. It was like he was achieving something since he made you this vulnerable. He hold your thighs which were shaking slightly and kept his pace while his tongue is in you.

He knew he was bringing you close, feeling your orgasm building. It was as if he was accomplishing something by making you feel this vulnerable. He held onto your slightly shaking thighs and maintained his pace while his tongue worked its magic on you.

"You're such a good girl for me, aren't you?" He says, causing a shiver to run down your spine and eliciting a moan from your lips. You tug at his hair slightly, igniting a deeper desire within him, causing him to grow harder beneath his boxers and sweatpants.

You only hummed as you were unable to speak, your sounds turning into moans. Sensing yourself reaching climax, you soon reached your peak, his tongue covered with your arousal, glistening around his mouth and dripping down to his chin.

He pulled away and looked at you. You looked so pretty in his eyes right now, as you always have, even when you and Chris were on good terms.

“You deserve someone better than my brother," Matt said honestly, making you smile even though you were out of breath. You completely forgot about Chris. “You deserve someone.. like me”

Matt kissed your lips once more, and you could taste yourself on his lips. He slipped his tongue into your mouth and kissed you passionately before pulling away, taking off his shirt and yours as well.

You were in just a bra while he was wearing sweatpants with a fresh love logo and boxers. His aroused member yearning to be inside you, craving to feel you deeply.

"I think someone is eager to be pleasured," he whispered seductively, causing you to smirk as you kissed his chiseled jawline. His eyes rolled back slightly in pleasure, his skin flushed with desire. "Would you like that, my pretty girl?"

“Please," you whimpered, consumed by thoughts of Matt. In that moment, he seemed more attractive than anything else. If forced to choose between your ex and Matt, you would undoubtedly pick Matt, despite your uncertain feelings towards Chris now since he’s cheated on you with a girl.

With the way you desired him to be close to you, just as he longed to be close to you, he removed his sweatpants and boxers, maintaining eye contact. He discarded his clothes on the floor among the rest of our garments, then kissed your chest.

As he kissed the top of your chest, he unclasped your bra, leaving both of you naked in his bed with him on top. The intense need for each other's touch felt surreal, as if you both required each other's touch as essential as air.

"Holy shit," He whispered, catching sight of your chest. He couldn't help but gaze at them in wonder. After a minute or two of admiring your chest, he looked into your eyes and kissed your lips once more.

"You have no idea how long I've desired this, the envy I felt when you were with Chris," He murmured against your lips.

"If I had known he didn't care for me in the end, I would have done anything for you," You whispered, making him smile before running his thumb along your jawline once he pulled away from the kiss

"Fuck, I love you so much," He whispered softly before touching himself while still on top of you. He gazed at your body before meeting your eyes.

"I want to be inside you... please," He murmured, causing you to playfully roll your eyes. "Then do it," You replied.

Without hesitation, he widened your legs a bit more and slowly entered you. He groaned as you moaned in a mixture of pain and pleasure due to his size.

"Good girl.." He reassured, brushing your hair away from your face and kissing your cheek. He moved in and out of you slowly, allowing you to adjust as you moaned in pleasure and pain.

He savoured the sensation of being inside you, wishing he could stay there every moment of his life.

“Your taking it so good” He whispered to you, causing your eyes to roll once he found the G-spot, making you moan. Your nails dug into his shoulders, eliciting a groan from him.

He noticed the pain giving way to pleasure in the sounds of your moans. He smirked and began moving faster. Matt groaned and whimpered slightly.

Matt became more aggressive, relishing the moment as his eyes remained fixed on yours. Your neck bore the marks of Matt's passion, but he paid no mind to the possibility of Chris noticing. He was determined for Chris to realize his mistake in betraying you.

As Matt continued to thrust, the sounds of your combined moans filled the room, driving him to increase his intensity to elicit louder reactions from you. He sought to test if Chris could hear that Matt was with his former partner, yet deep down, he simply reveled in the symphony of your moans.

"I'm close," You whispered. He knew you were close too, as he could sense it in the way you reacted while building up to your orgasm. Feeling the same intensity, he began to thrust faster and rougher, grunting and closing his eyes in pleasure.

You could tell that he was close as well; your nails had scratched his entire back, leaving marks for sure.

“Me too, my love,” He said softly. Soon, you felt his warm release inside you. Pleasure surged through you, and you coated his member with your own climax. He moaned against your neck as you arched your back, gripping his hair and letting out a loud moan.

Afterwards, he collapsed on top of you, both of you breathing heavily, your bodies glistening with sweat. He remained inside you, still connected as you both caught your breath.

Once you both regained composure, he gently withdrew and settled beside you on the bed, the sheets stained with a mixture of cum and sweat.

He gazed at you as you caught your breath, attempting to recover, but you didn't return his gaze when he spoke. "So am I now beautiful in bed?" He smirked, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Maybe you are.. you might have to show me again," You whispered, a smile playing on your lips. He averted his eyes, staring at the ceiling briefly before returning his gaze to you.

"Damn, I hope chris learned his lesson by losing someone as lovely as you, because now you're mine," He declared before planting another kiss on your lips.

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[idontgiveaflyinggrayson69]

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69​

Tagging: @ryanpulock​ @texanstarslove​ @charlie-theangelwrites​ @suitandtys​

Relationship: Pre-Established; Andrei Svechnikov x Fem!OC

Summary: Zara’s sister is getting married in Tulum and her lie about having a boyfriend ends up being more than she bargained for.

Word Count: 36k

Warnings: Alcohol. Smut. Public sexual activities. Questionable family dynamics.

Comments: This is my fic for Demi ( @antoineroussel​ ) for her Summer 2k22 Fic Exchange! I’m SO sorry that this is so late and thank you so much for being patient!!! I really hope you like it!!! I know how much you liked Kat and Andrei so… I decided to go in that direction. I hope you enjoy!!! xx

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Donate to Ukraine here

(c) nat g. 2022 // do not repost, do not claim as your own

- November -

Zara was pulled from sleep by her phone vibrating on her bedside table. She groaned as she wiped the sleep from her eyes and she knew before she reached over that it was her parents. Sure enough, her mother’s name flashed across the screen when she picked it up and Zara could already hear her voice.

“Do you have a boyfriend yet?”

“Will you be getting married soon like your sister?”

“When will you be giving us grand babies?”

Every time Zara was on the phone it was the same thing. It didn’t matter that Zara had been top of her class in high school and college and won academic medal after academic medal. It didn’t matter that she was working her dream job as an athletic trainer for the Carolina Hurricanes. All her parents saw was that she was 29 and no closer to love than she was ten years ago while her younger sister, Skye, was on the cusp of marriage.

Skye had always been the perfect child. She was the baby and she could do no wrong. She was beautiful and artistic and everyone who met her fell in love with her, including her fiancé, Toby. They had met in ninth grade English. He sat behind her and they had a project together analysing Romeo and Juliet and the rest was history. Everyone adored Toby. He was everything anyone could want in a boyfriend or brother in law; he was smart and athletic and kind and funny and, above all, good with family. It came to no surprise when he proposed after eight years together.

Of course, Zara was happy for her sister. But Zara also went through men like candy. No matter how promising they seemed at first, it never took long for things to fall apart. They were always too self-absorbed or too arrogant or too childish or too inexperienced. It wasn’t for her lack of trying, but she couldn’t keep a man down for longer than a few months.

Her phone vibrated in her hand and she sighed before she answered it. “Hello?”

“Hi! Your dad and I just wanted to check on you, you know, before the wedding. You still haven’t made your reservation at the hotel,” her mom said, making Zara run her hand over her face. It wasn’t even 10am and it was beginning. “Maybe because you’ve been seeing someone and you’re not sure about bringing them to the wedding?” Her mother added hopefully.

Honestly, Zara had had enough. Maybe it was the lack of coffee, maybe she was just plain tired, but she gave in. “You’re right,” she said to get them off her back. “I am seeing someone and I’m not sure he’ll be able to get the time off work so I haven’t booked it yet.”

“Well, book a room, honey. Flights can be refunded but the rooms are selling out fast,” her mother told her like she didn’t already know.

“I know, I know,” Zara replied. “I’ll book in the next couple of days, okay? You know I’d never miss Skye’s wedding.” As unconvinced as her parents were, they accepted her answered and let her go, for now at least. And once the call was ended, Zara grumbled at her phone before pulling herself from her bed.

It had to be nice to be the favourite child.

Her parents called her a couple of times over the next couple days, wanting to make sure she got a room for her sister’s destination wedding in Tulum, but they also had questions about the new beau she was seeing. Zara tried her best to be vague, saying he was kind and funny and handsome and that they’d love him, but there just wasn’t much to say (given he wasn’t real). Sure, maybe she could have been more detailed, but she didn’t want to over commit and get her story mixed up and expose herself as a phony.

Even if she was.

But the dam blew two weeks later when they called her again because she still hadn’t booked a room.

Zara was at work and she still had her blue medical gloves on as she answered the phone, “hello?”

“Hi, baby! We just wanted to ask again if Prince Charming was coming to the wedding. The nice rooms are almost completely gone so you need to book one regardless of whether he’s coming or not,” her dad told her.

Zara ran her gloves hand over her face and she would have run it through her hair if it wasn’t pulled back, but she nodded, even if her dad couldn’t see her. “We’ll book something soon, I promise,” she answered. “It’s just been a little hectic with work.” Thankfully, the wedding aligned with the All-Star break, but right now Zara was focused on making sure all her guys were good to play, something her football obsessed family didn’t understand.

“So he’s coming?” Her mom butted in.

“I don’t know,” Zara sighed. “He’s working so I don’t know if he can snag that time off.”

“Oh,” the sound was sharp and Zara knew exactly what it meant. They didn’t believe her; didn’t believe he was real. “Of course, sweetie,” her mom said, her words coming out sympathetic, which only made Zara’s blood boil.

“He has a really important job,” she said a little forcefully, but all they did was hum, unconvinced, making Zara wonder if they ever bought her story.

And, because the universe was cruel and unrelenting, Andrei Svechnikov picked that exact moment to come out of the dressing room. He was dressed just in his underarmour and he froze when he saw Zara was on the phone and he instantly picked up that she was stressed. As soon as Zara saw him, she held a finger up to let him know it would just be a minute.

“I will talk to him, I promise,” Zara told her parents. “I know you want to meet him and I will do my best to see if he’ll come.” She continued, knowing damn well that “he” could never go. “But I need to go now, one of the guys needs treatment.”

“Alright,” her dad sighed. “Love you. Talk to you soon.”

“I love you, too,” she replied before she hung up the phone. “Okay, what’s up?” She asked as she took her gloves off to change them, but Andrei only shrugged, his aching shoulder suddenly secondary.

“I didn’t know you were seeing someone,” Andrei replied without missing a beat. If he was being honest, Andrei had had a crush on Zara for years, since she started interning with the Canes. She was beautiful and smart and caring and she had the best laugh and smile and freckles like constellations, and, of course, she was also the best trained he ever had. She always knew exactly what was wrong and how to fix it and her massages were beyond amazing. No one’s touch compared to hers.

So, yeah, sue him for getting a crush on her. It wasn’t like he ever stood a chance with her anyway.

“I’m not,” Zara told him honestly. “My younger sister is getting married in a couple weeks and my parents won’t stop heckling me about who I’m bringing, so I lied,” she explained and gestured to the table. “And now it’s biting me in the ass because they want to meet my extremely vague boyfriend who doesn’t actually exist.” She didn’t know why she was saying all that to Andrei of all people, but it felt good to get it off her chest.

“Oh,” Andrei said quietly as he got on the table, feeling relieved that she wasn’t seeing anyone, and a little guilty he felt relieved when it was clearly stressing her out.

“Yeah,” she sighed before gently touching his shoulder. “Still bothering you?” When he nodded, she began to slowly go through his range of motion, noting any resistance or wince.

“So, what’s your plan then?” He found himself asking as he studied her. She had light freckles dusting her cheeks and incredible green eyes that reminded him of a slice of lime on a summer morning, and when she got closer, he could smell the vanilla perfume she used that always drove him crazy.

“My plan?” She replied, not fully following him as she focused on his shoulder.

“Yeah, with your fake boyfriend and the wedding.”

“Oh,” she whispered and her hands dropped from his for a second as she sighed. “I don’t know,” she confessed quietly. “They already don’t believe he’s real and if he doesn’t go that’ll only confirm it, but, you know, ‘he’ can’t go because he doesn’t really exist.” Zara shook her head before continuing his treatment.

“You could bring someone to the wedding to pretend to be your boyfriend,” Andrei suggested. “It would only be a couple hours.”

It… Honestly wouldn’t be the worst idea if it was only a couple of hours, but it would be much, much longer than that.

“It’s a destination wedding. In Mexico,” she sighed. “It would be a week trip.”

Andrei licked his lips as he thought about it. Trip to Mexico. Pretend to be Zara’s boyfriend for a week, maybe even get a kiss or two, see Zara in a bikini, share a room with her—

“Okay, big boy, how’s that feeling?” She asked and gave his arm a pat, pulling him from his thoughts.

He rolled his shoulder and nodded. “Still sore but better.” There were no easy rehabs and he knew that. As amazing as Zara was, she couldn’t fix everything with a single touch.

She nodded and helped him sit up. “Ice it at home, okay?” She told him and he nodded, but he was still caught up on her fake boyfriend.

“When is the wedding?” He had to ask.

“January 27th,” she replied absent mindedly as she took her gloves off. Bye-week, Andrei realized. Perfect.

“You know…” he started and tilted his chin up. “I could be your fake boyfriend.”

Zara instantly laughed, but it died on her tongue when she looked over at him. “Wait…” She said slowly. “You’re not serious, are you?”

He shrugged her laugh off, “why wouldn’t I be? I’d be a great boyfriend, very loving. Mothers love me. I’m hot. Plus, a trip to Mexico would be nice.”

“Oh my God, you’re serious,” she said softly and he nodded.

Zara was quiet for a long moment as she looked at him. He wasn’t wrong. Of course he wasn’t wrong. He was tall and attractive and a fucking amazing hockey player and guy. He’d be a perfect boyfriend—fake boyfriend—if they didn’t work together, if she didn’t work for him, but she did.

“Look, Svech, it’s really sweet of you to offer, but we work together and you’re honestly a little young for me anyway,” she did her best to let him down gently, her chest tightening just a little at the way he furrowed his brows.

“Too young for you?” He repeated back to her in disbelief. He had been called a lot of things in his life, but never ‘too young’ for someone. “I’m not a kid. I’m a big boy, you said it yourself.”

“Svech,” she almost pleaded. She was used to being hit on by the guys, she couldn’t be an NHL trainer without being hit on along the way, but the Canes were nothing compared to the Charlotte Checkers and the Green Bay Gamblers before them and she didn’t want to fight with Andrei.

It was his turn to sigh and he got off the table and stepped closer to her, reminding her just how much bigger than her he was. “I’m a big boy,” he repeated as he held her gaze. “I may be young, but trust me, I know how to care for a woman. So, the offer stands. If you don’t want to prove that your parents were right about your boyfriend not being real, I will be your fake boyfriend for the week,” he told her and he let his eyes dip down her body as he bit his lip before he turned and walked out the door, leaving Zara standing there alone.

She shook her head as she stood there but she didn’t get much time to think before Necas walked in looking for treatment too and she did her best to push Andrei from her thoughts to focus on him.

Not that it really worked.

By the time she was in bed at home, she could still hear her parents’ voices in her head and it made her stomach twist as she tossed and turned. She didn’t want them to think they were right (even if they were). She didn’t want to be the lonely one who always lucked out with a guy. For once, she wanted to prove to her parents that she could get a guy, a nice guy, and that she was happy. It didn’t seem that hard on paper, but every day the wedding got closer and she was running out of options. None of her dates in the last month made it to a second date.

Andrei was charming and attractive and every girl he met seemed to be smitten with him, not that Zara was. Sure, he was a face of the franchise and he had lived alone in Raleigh since he was eighteen, but he also thought it was hilarious that he finished last season with 69 points and overused “that’s what she said” like a middle schooler.

But Zara was 29. She wanted a real man who knew what he wanted and could accept her job and was ready to settle down and start a family. Andrei was none of those things.

He was young. A kid. With his whole career and life ahead of him. And maybe she wasn’t actually part of the team, part of the guys, but she overheard them talk about his exploits and she just didn’t want anything to do with them and couldn’t imagine him bring the Prince Charming she brought to meet her parents.

It was just a matter of whether she’d prefer proving her parents right… or Andrei.

--

Zara spent a week thinking about it.

But, of course her parents called every single day, which was insufferable, and she could still hear Andrei offering to be her fake boyfriend in her head and when her mother said condescendingly, “I’m sure this so-called boyfriend is nice, sweetie,” Zara snapped. For once, just for once, Zara wished she could be left alone with her love life and seen for literally anything else. But no, she was the single one with no prospects and no children and she was pushing thirty so the clock was ticking, like she didn’t already know that.

“He has a name,” she replied firmly.

“Oh, does he now?” Her mom asked, unconvinced.

All her reservations went out the door when she said, “his name is Andrei. He’s on the team.”

Her mom was quiet for a long moment, “oh.”

“We’re not supposed to be seeing each other because we work together and if they find out I could lose my job,” Zara said softly, not really believing she was actually doing this.

“Right, of course, sweetie,” her mom said quickly, already googling ‘Andre Carolina Hurricanes NHL’ on her phone. “Oh, isn’t he cute,” her mom said as she clicked on photos. “Andrei Svech-ne-cove?”

“Svechnikov,” Zara corrected quickly, her chest tight with anxiety. There was no going back. Noe she’ll always be known as the girl that couldn’t keep the NHL player.

“Andrei Svechnikov,” her mom repeated back to her. “I sure hope he’s able to come, I’d love to meet him.”

“He’s great,” Zara found herself saying. “A total sweetheart and a giant teddy bear.”

“And good at that hockey thing according to Google.”

Zara took a deep breath, “yeah, yeah he is.”

A moment later she could hear ruffling in the background and her dad’s muffled voice and then her mom explained who Andrei was and it only made her stomach tighten with anxiety. Of course, Andrei had offered, but that had been two weeks ago and there was no saying he’d still be interested, still be available.

“Well, guys, I kinda have to go, so I love you and have a good night,” she told them and two ‘I love you’s later she hung up the phone. She dropped her phone on her lap before she grabbed her pillow and screamed into it.

She bit off more than she could chew and she knew it. Her little web of lies had gotten too big and she couldn’t take it back.

Andrei, whether he went to the wedding or not, had just become her fake boyfriend.

--

She wasn’t herself at work the next day and all the guys could tell. She wasn’t as chatty or smiley, really she seemed to frown more than anything else, and she brushed off anyone who asked if she was okay. Until Andrei that was.

As soon as Andrei asked her if something was wrong, the words tumbled from her lips. “Did you mean it?” She asked, making him furrow his brows.

“Mean what, Z?” He asked as he looked up at her from the treatment table.

“That you’d pretend to be my boyfriend,” she replied simply.

Andrei was quiet for a moment before he nodded, “I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.”

“Okay,” she swallowed. “So, here’s the thing. I kinda told my parents that you were the mystery fake boyfriend.” She missed the way he perked up as she rolled him onto his side to work on his shoulder. “So… If you’re still interested and available… I will book the flights and hotel.” The words tasted bitter in her mouth but she didn’t have another option. She had put the nails in her own coffin.

“Book it,” he told her. He wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity.

“Really?” She asked, not entirely convinced, but he nodded.

“I’ll be the best fake boyfriend, I promise,” he smiled. At the very least it gave him a way to show her he wasn’t a kid. At most, it gave him a chance to show her how good a boyfriend he could be.

As soon as she was done with his treatment, Zara said, “I’ll take care of everything and text you the details, okay?”

“Sounds good,” he smiled as he sat up. When she turned, he let his eyes run down her body and bit his lip when his eyes reached her ass but quickly pulled his gaze back up when she turned back to him.

“You’ll need a suit for the wedding, but it’s on the beach so nothing too heavy, probably don’t need a tie but bring a few just in case,” she continued. “A couple different nice shirts for dinners, too. And when whatever you’d normally pack for a trip to Mexico in January.”

Andrei nodded, “and what colour is your dress?” He asked, surprising Zara.

“What colour is my dress?”

“Yeah, you know, for the pocket square and tie?” He shrugged. “If I’m your boyfriend I should match you.”

Zara was quiet. She honestly hadn’t even thought about it. “Sage,” she told him and when he furrowed his brows, she continued. “I’ll send you a picture.”

Andrei smiled as she nodded and it made her stomach twist in a way she couldn’t explain but she quickly tried to cover it up as she shooed him toward the door. “Now skidaddle, I have others to see.”

Andrei held his hands up as he laughed but nodded as he started toward the door. He paused in the entry and looked back at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Should I call you ‘baby’ now? Or maybe ‘babe’? Oh, no, how about ‘boo’?” He asked and Zara didn’t hesitate to throw her balled up gloves at him.

“Shoo!” She told him, but of course he caught the gloves with ease as he laughed and tossed them into the bin before walking out of the room, leaving Zara more flustered than she should have been.

Fucking Andrei.

--

As soon as she got home, Zara popped open a bottle of red wine and flopped on the couch. She had perfectly good stir-fry in the fridge but she pulled up Uber Eats on her phone and searched for her favourite burger joint and made sure to add an extra side of fries to her order. It was only once her order was in that she grabbed her computer off the coffee table and pulled up flights.

It didn’t take her long to book the flight. It was only a three-hour flight so she booked economy. Once she got the confirmation email, she pulled up Skye and Toby’s wedding website and clicked the link for the hotel. They were at least able to get a good deal for the wedding package and amount of rooms booked.

Of course, Zara didn’t hesitate to book the room with two queens, only giving the pictures a quick flip though. It didn’t matter what it looked like anyway, but she had to admit that it was nicer than she was expecting. It was a suit, almost, with a small living area down a few steps with a balcony, and a huge bathroom with a glass shower and a soaker tub.

It was nice. Really nice, actually. And the perfect place to spend a trip with a significant other.

Zara sighed and closed her laptop. She grabbed her phone and screenshotted the confirmation emails and sent them to Andrei along with the links to the hotel and the wedding website. And, in turn Andrei fashion, he replied just a few minutes later with a series of beach and wedding emojis that had Zara rolling her eyes.

This was definitely going to be a bad idea.

- January -

The flight from Tulum was on a Monday and they carpooled to the airport.

It was still dark out when Zara picked Andrei up, but that didn’t stop him from being full of energy and smiles, which, of course, only made Zara more tense and she drove to the airport with white knuckles.

Getting checked in and through security was easy enough, even if Andrei did get ‘randomly selected’ for a secondary inspection. But, even with the delay, they were still there a good couple of hours early and had to wait for their flight. Zara was fine, she had no problem finding a seat and getting her kindle out. She could use the time to get back into Romancing Mr Bridgerton ahead of the next season. Andrei, on the other hand, couldn’t sit still and kept getting up to wander around and check out the nearby stores. But, as long as he was back to board, Zara didn’t care.

It was easy for Zara to get drawn back into her book and before she knew it, they were boarding first class. “Come on,” Andrei said as he nudged her and grabbed his carry on.

“It’s first class,” she told him, thinking he hadn’t heard correctly.

“I know. I upgraded us,” he explained and nodded toward the gate. “Come on.” Zara made a strangled sound in her throat but couldn’t exactly argue with him, so she nodded with tight lips and put her kindle away and grabbed her bag.

First class was, as expected, nice. There was more space, which Andrei needed. Even after years of working with him, Zara sometimes forgot how big he really was. At almost a foot taller than her, of course he’d want the extra room. They also served lunch in first class and they both selected the salad, wanting to keep things light in the air.

They were both more than used to flying, so it was easy for them to settle in. But every minute in the air was another minute closer to her family and the wedding, which left Zara so on edge that Andrei ordered her a mini bottle of vodka to go with her orange juice.

“I’m fine,” she tried to wave him off, but he shook his head and poured it into her glass.

“It’ll take the nerves off,” he told her and passed her the glass. “I didn’t know flying made you nervous.”

“It doesn’t,” she corrected and begrudgedly took the glass from him. She grimaced as the vodka burnt her throat and put it back down on her tray. It was a little strong for her liking. “I’m nervous about my family seeing through us.”

“They won’t,” he tried to reassure her, but she shook her head.

“Can we go over our story?” She asked and he nodded.

“Of course.”

“Okay, so, we’ve been friends and colleagues for years but we got closer with your shoulder injury and you asked me out and I said no but you were persistent and eventually I caved and we’ve been together ever since,” she said, having thought about a good story for them ever since she told her parents they were together.

Andrei titled his head to the side as he looked at her. “I was thinking more like that we hooked up and I blew your mind and you came back for more and we’ve been together ever since,” he said making Zara take a big sip of her drink as she blushed.

“Absolutely not.”

But it’s true, I would blow your mind,” he told her and licked his lips as he looked at her.

“No,” she said firmly and Andrei sighed as he leaned back into his seat.

“Okay, so how long have we been together then? Three months?” He asked after a moment.

“Works for me,” Zara nodded.

“I took you out to a nice Italian restaurant, you had the pomodoro, I had the chicken parmesan and we split deserve, even if it meant cheating on my diet. I walked you up to your apartment and kissed you goodnight,” he continued and Zara tightened her grip on her glass. She didn’t want to admit how nice that sounded.

“Perfect,” she nodded and finished her drink, even if it burned. Though, she quickly regretted it when Andrei asked his next question.

“And when did we first fuck?”

Zara choked on her drink and coughed as she blushed, but when she finally managed to catch her breath, she said, “we haven’t yet.”

Andrei raised an eyebrow at her, “we’ve been together for three months and haven’t fucked yet?”

“I like to take things slow,” she said, even if it wasn’t really true, and she wished she still had some of her drink left.

Andrei didn’t shy away from checking her out again, which only made her blush harder, before he shrugged, “okay, we’re taking it slow.”

He fell quiet after that and Zara appreciated it and let her eyes close as she tried to tell herself that everything would be fine. But, like most nice things in the world, the quiet didn’t last long.

“I’m an affectionate guy, so how much PDA do you want?” He asked.

“Whatever is natural. I don’t want it to be too much, especially considering it’s my sister’s wedding,” she replied after a moment and Andrei nodded.

“No problem. I’m a great boyfriend.”

Zara sighed, “so you keep saying. As long as you fool my family, that’s all that matters to me. Then in a few weeks I’ll tell them we broke up and it’ll be like it never happened.”

Her words made him frown and he looked out the window. “Yeah,” he whispered a moment later. “Like it never happened.” The words tasted sour in his mouth and he hoped he could change her mind.

--

The air in Cancun was thick and hot and Zara felt like she was being suffocated, but Andrei just pulled his hoodie over his head and stuffed it into his bag. After they got through customs and grabbed their luggage, they made their way to find their shuttle, which took nearly two hours to get to their resort, but Andrei kept smiling as he looked out the window at the palm trees and sandy beaches and ocean.

“Barnaul is in the middle of Russia. All buildings. There’s the Ob Rivers, yeah, but it’s not like this,” he shook his head. “It’s so beautiful here.” It wasn’t the first time he had been in Mexico, but he’d never get tired of the endless beach and sun.

“It is,” Zara agreed softly, but she found herself watching Andrei more than the passing trees.

She always knew she had it good in life. She got to go to a good school out of state that her parents helped pay for, even though she got a scholarship. She always had food to eat and presents on Christmas and birthdays, and her parents were funding Skye’s destination wedding. But she was reminded of all that all over again as she looked at Andrei who had to work—and continued to work—for everything he had.

Her heart panged in her chest as she realized that maybe Andrei wasn’t so much childish but finally getting to experience the childhood he never had.

By the time they got to the resort, it was already mid-afternoon. Andrei stayed with their bags as Zara went to check in. “For Roberts, Zara,” she said, quickly adding her first name when she realized there would be a lot of Roberts in for the week.

“Ah, yes! Mr and Mrs Svechnikov, yes?” The concierge asked a moment later and Zara’s head jerked back.

“Uh, I guess, yeah,” she replied awkwardly and check in seemed to go by quickly as she struggled to figure out how the hell they figured she was Mrs Svechnikov when she made the reservations under Roberts. But, he gave her two room keys and explained how to get to their building and room and sent her on her way.

“Something wrong? You look flustered,” Andrei commented once she got back to him.

“He called me Mrs Svechnikov,” she mumbled and Andrei furrowed his brows as he looked at her, not quite catching it so she repeated it louder. “He called me Mrs Svechnikov.”

The corner of his lip twitched up as he looked at her. “Mrs Svechnikov, huh? It does have a nice ring to it,” he teased, making Zara roll her eyes and take her suitcase from him.

“Come on, we’re in the Sea Turtle building, third floor,” she grumbled and started in the direction she was told to go in. Andrei laughed that deep, hearty laugh that gave her butterflies no matter how much she tried to shake them and started after her.

It didn’t take them long to get to the room, but by the time they got there, Zara was ready to change into something lighter. She unlocked the door and pushed it open but stood aside for Andrei to step in before following him in and she froze just inside the door as her eyes locked onto the single piece of furniture in the middle of the room.

No.

No. No. No.

She definitely, 100%, booked a room with two queens. She sent the confirmation to Andrei and it was two queens. There had to be some kind of mistake, this shouldn’t be happening, it—

“Cozy,” Andrei smirked as he jumped on the bed but Zara didn’t move.

“No, no I booked a room with two queens, I sent you the confirmation, remember?” She said quickly.

Andrei looked around the room. “I don’t see another bed,” he said, pointing out the obvious before he smirked back at her. “Looks like it’s ours, Mrs Svechnikov.”

Zara flushed a dark red as she stepped further into the room, letting the door slam behind her. “Shut up,” she hissed and picked up the phone. “I’m calling the front desk and I’ll get it sorted out.” Andrei pouted as he watched her call the front desk. “Hi, this is Zara Roberts in room 1304, I think there’s been a misunderstanding because I booked two queens but was given a king room.” She was quiet for a long moment before she tensed. “No, I booked a room with two queens—Can I change the reservation to two queens?” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she went back and forth with the front desk for a few minutes before she sighed and grumbled a “thank you” and hung up and Andrei’s smirk only made her scowl.

“They said the reservation was changed from two queens to a king and they have no rooms available for the length of our stay,” she explained, but it didn’t make sense to her. She never changed her reservation and she had the confirmation email of two queens and the only person who could have changed it was—

“Skye,” she breathed. “I think my sister messed with the reservation.”

“So this is our room?” Andrei asked for confirmation and she nodded.

“This is our room.”

Andrei smirked as he made himself comfortable on the bed, hands behind his head as he looked at her, “comfy.”

“I’m sure,” she replied, barely giving him a look before she started unpacking. She knew the trip would be a bad idea and it was proving itself to be. Sharing a bed with Andrei? Could this trip get any worse?

Andrei watched her carefully and he thought she was cute when she was flustered. “I’m taking it sleeping naked is out of the question?” He asked after a few moments and she spun around to look at him, blushing all over again.

“Absolutely no sleeping naked!” She told him. “And I’m building a pillow wall between us so no funny business, Svechnikov.”

“You’re no fun,” he teased with a smile.

“We barely know each other and have to share a bed. I think I’m within reason,” Zara replied and went back to unpacking.

“But it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve gotten your hands on my body,” he said, making Zara turn back around to glare at him, but he only smiled.

“Underwear stays on,” Zara told him and, honestly, he’d take that, so he nodded.

“Underwear says on,” he agreed before getting up to start unpacking, too.

They had reservations with her family at the Italian restaurant at 7pm, but it was only half past three and by the time they finished unpacking it was only 4pm, so they had time. Andrei investigated the room after unpacking, and it wasn’t unlike the link Zara had sent him—minus a bed of course—it had a small living area with a table and TV three steps down from the main room with the bed, a large bathroom with a separate tub and huge shower, but the standout of the room was the view of the ocean from the balcony.

“You need to check this out,” Andrei told her as he stood on the balcony. “It’s so beautiful.”

Zara made her way out and she had to admit that he was right. It was beautiful. They had a perfect view of the ocean and she could even hear the soft waves hitting the beach. “Wow,” she breathed.

“We have to go check it out,” Andrei said as he turned to her.

“We have—"

“Reservations with your family at seven, I know. But it’s only four. We can check out the beach for an hour,” he said and, well, he wasn’t wrong, so she nodded and Andrei’s smile widen before he rushed back into the room to change into his swim trunks as Zara rolled her eyes. Once Andrei was done changing in the bathroom—it only took a minute—Zara changed into a bikini with a cover up and Andrei was only a little disappointed.

But the beach was wonderful.

The sand was soft and the water cool and refreshing against the Mexican sun. Zara stayed on the beach, letting the water cool her feet and ankles as she walked with her sandals in her hand, but Andrei didn’t hesitate to run into the water and let her know how nice it was, which made her laugh. Andrei had no problem letting the water splash against him and even dunked under a few waves, completely drenching himself. And when they got back to their room to get ready for dinner, Zara told him that he smelt like salt, but he only shrugged.

Dinner was at the upscale Italian restaurant. Andrei wore slacks and a button down with a suit jacket while Zara wore a knee length floral dress. Zara got ready quickly, terrified of being late to dinner and she ignored Andrei’s eyerolls as they left for dinner 15 minutes early despite it being a stroll away.

The sun hung low in the sky as they walked toward the restaurant with a good foot between them, much to Andrei’s dismay. Other than Zara’s heels clicking against the walkway, they were quiet. Or they were until Zara broke it. “How did we meet?” She asked Andrei.

“Huh?” He replied on default, furrowing his brows as he looked over at her.

“Us. Our story. How did we meet?” She repeated.

Andrei took a deep breath. “At work. You’re one of the trainers. I had a crush on you for the longest time and asked you out and you said no but I was persistent and you finally said yes,” Andrei replied, wishing it was true.

“And I accepted because…?” Zara continued after a moment.

“Because I hurt my shoulder and you made it better so we spent more time together and you fell for me like I fell for you.” Each word felt like a dagger, but Andrei ignored it. “Your favourite wine is pinot grigio, you like your coffee with almond milk and half a sugar, your favourite meal is pasta, even if you pretend it’s teriyaki chicken, you like milk chocolate and mango smoothies, and as much as you pretend to like being alone, you actually hate it.”

Zara’s step stumbled and she stopped waking as she looked at Andrei. She never told him any of those things but they were all right. She didn't know where he learned it, but he knew her better than she thought he did.

Andrei continued walking for another few feet before he realized Zara wasn’t next to him and stopped. “Are you okay?” He asked, looking back at her. It pulled Zara out of her thoughts and she shook her head before forcing a smile.

“I’m good,” she told him and quickly walked up to him. “Just glad you remembered our story.”

“How could I forget?” Andrei replied, but Zara ignored him as she kept walking. Andrei watched as she walked past him, his eyes dropping to her ass for half a moment before he started after her. Andrei called her name as he caught up with her before he reached out to rest his hand on her lower back. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked.

Zara forced a smile and kept walking, but Andrei kept looking at her with a concerned expression, making her break. “I just don’t want them to figure us out,” she told him and Andrei’s lip twitched down.

“They’re not,” he reassured her. “I will be a perfect boyfriend and everything will be fine.”

She leaned into him just a little as she walked and he smoothed his hand down her back. She didn’t want to admit it, but he really was warm, and in her heels, her shoulder tucked just under his. She tried her best, but it was really hard to ignore how perfect she fit in his arms, and she was so caught up in him she didn't realize they had made it to the restaurant until Andrei pulled his hand back. Zara instantly felt cold without it and she ran her hand over her arm as she shivered before she walked over to the hostess, missing the way Andrei ran his hands down his pants.

“Hi, reservation for Ro—“ Zara was cut off by Andrei’s hand on her lower back.

“Sorry,” he whispered and pulled Zara to the side a bit. “Don’t kill me but I forgot my phone so I’m gonna run back and grab it.”

She shook her head as she reached out to hold his wrist, “what? No. You don’t need your phone anyway.”

Andrei’s shoulders fell as he winced. “I won’t even be five minutes, okay? What if we go for a walk on the beach after? Or see like a pretty bird?”

“Andrei—“

“Not even five minutes,” he told her and kissed her cheek before gently pulling his wrist from her hand and walking back toward their room, leaving Zara alone in the front of the restaurant feeling more than a little exposed.

She ran her hands over her arms as she watched him walk away before she re-approached the hostess and introduced herself, and the hostess happily walked her over to the table along the back wall filled with her family and Zara did her best to force a smile as she approached, really wishing Andrei was there.

Skye was the first one to see her and her sister’s eyes lit up, “Zara!”

At least Skye’s excitement was enough to pull a real smile from Zara. Sure, it hadn’t been that long since they last saw each other, it hadn’t even been a month since Christmas, but Zara still missed her little sister.

It took Skye a moment to get out from between their mom and Toby, but once she did, she pulled Zara into a hug and Zara laughed as she hugged her back. “What? No white dress? I thought the bride-to-be was supposed to be in white.”

“Shut up,” Skye whispered and gave her sister a playful shove. “It’s good to see you. But…” There was nothing subtle about the way Skye looked around in search of Zara’s ‘boyfriend.”

“Yeah, I thought you were bringing a plus one,” her mom added. “Did something happen, honey?”

“He’s here,” Zara replied firmly, giving her mom a pointed look.

“Is he?” She asked and Zara clenched her jaw.

“He just forgot something in the room and ran back to get it.” Her mom hummed, but didn’t seem all that impressed, making Zara take a deep breath. But the touch on the small of her back startled her before she could say anything else and when she turned, her found Andrei’s familiar smile.

“Sorry about that, kisa,” he said and kissed her cheek before turning to give her family a charming smile. “You must be Mr and Mrs Roberts, it’s so nice to see you,” he said and there was no mistaking the shock in her mom’s eyes, which only spurred him on. He shook her dad’s hand before taking her mom’s hand and kissed the back of it. “I can see where Zara gets her good looks from.”

Her mom laughed and gave Andrei’s arm a playful shove before running her hand down his arm when she felt how firm he was and Zara rolled her eyes. “See?” She said, her tone sharp. “Very real.”

“I never said he wasn’t,” her mom replied before turning back to Andrei. “And please call me Sheryl. My husband is Dan, Skye of course, and Toby, her fiancé.”

“Ah, yes,” Andrei smiled and turned to Skye. “The beautiful bride, Zara has told me so much about you, and congratulations on the wedding.”

“Thank you,” she smiled back and let her eyes drop over him before giving Zara a nod of approval which made Zara shake her head.

“Let’s sit?” She said and gestured for Andrei to sit but he ignored it in favour of pulling her chair out for her. Zara’s lips tightened as she looked at him but his smile only grew as she resigned and let him tuck her in before he shrugged his suit jacket off to hang over the back of his chair. When he sat down across from Toby, he let his arm rest on the back of her chair.

Waters had already been brought to the table, so Zara reached out and took a big sip of hers, already wishing it was stronger, especially when Andrei’s thumb brushed the back of her shoulder.

“So,” Sheryl smiled. “Andrei, right? My daughter has not been very forthcoming about you, so please tell us about yourself.”

Andrei nodded, “yeah, sure. I’m Andrei, I’m from Russia, I play for the Hurricanes. I met Zara at work and always thought she was amazing. It took me a few months to win her over, but she finally came around and it’s been great. Your daughter is incredible, Mr and Mrs Roberts. Honestly, I still can’t believe she’s really mine.” His gaze softened as he looked at Zara but she didn’t look back at him and everyone but her could see the adoration he had for her in his eyes.

Skye nudged Zara under the table to get her sister’s attention. “You turned him down for months? Are you crazy?”

Zara shrugged, “I didn’t know if he was serious.”

“I’ve always been serious about you,” Andrei replied and smiled at Zara when she looked up at him.

Zara didn’t know how to respond and Andrei’s smile softened as he reached out to brush a piece of her hair behind her ears and Zara’s breath caught in her throat before she pulled away to look at the menu in front of her. Andrei’s lip twitched down for half a moment before he pushed his smile back up and glanced down at his menu, his arm still resting on the back of her chair.

Zara ordered the fettuccini alfredo while Andrei ordered the chicken parmesan, as did Toby, while Skye ordered the pomodoro, and her parents the bolognese, and after the waiter came by to fill their wine glasses, Sheryl’s attention once again fell to Andrei.

Andrei was, in their mind, Zara’s first serious relationship in years and Sheryl had been convinced she was lying until she saw him with her own eyes. Still, she was skeptical and even if it was clear by the way he looked at her daughter that he cared about her, she wanted to know if he was the real deal, if he was good for her.

Zara griped her wine glass and fork tightly as her mother continued to direct questions toward Andrei, terrified that he was going to slip, but he never did. Andrei was more than used to pressure and high stakes situations and being questioned by a mother was easy in comparison, and he was determined to make Sheryl like him. He had never met a mother that didn’t like him and Sheryl wasn’t going to be the first.

“So, are you close to Zara’s age, then? You look fairly young,” her mother said between bites. Sure, Andrei was tall and strong but there was no denying the youth beneath his features.

“No, I’m actually 22, almost 23,” he replied with a smile and Zara gripped her fork a little tighter.

“22,” her mom repeated and looked at Zara. “A little young, don’t you think?”

Zara reached for her wine as she shook her head, “I don’t think so.”

“Same age as me and I’m getting married this week,” Skye butted in, but her mom kept looking at Zara.

Andrei picked his napkin up to wipe his mouth and after Zara put her wine glass back on the table, he took her hand in his and ran his thumb over her knuckles, “I know seven years seems like a lot but I’m serious about your daughter, Mrs Roberts.”

He had her breath catching again and she forced a smile as she leaned into him, “he’s really mature for him age and we just really hit it off.”

Andrei nodded before looking at her and kissing her temple. Zara felt her cheeks heat up with a soft blush and she pulled her hand from his to reach for her wine again. “But enough about us, it’s Skye’s week!” Zara tried to change the subject. Her mother studied her for a moment longer before she sighed and let it go. She’d have all week to get to know Andrei a little more.

The rest of dinner was about the happy couple and the wedding and Skye’s whole face lit up as she talked about the plans and Toby looked at her like she hung the stars in the night sky and it made Zara’s heart ache. She was more than happy for her sister; she was happy that her sister was happy and loved and getting the wedding of her dreams with the man of her dreams, it was just that she wanted it, too, and Andrei’s hand on her thigh only reminded her of how alone she really was.

Not that anyone noticed if she ate her pasta with a tight grip on her fork.

By the time they finished dinner, it was getting late and between the travel and the wine and the full stomach, the exhaustion was starting to hit Zara and she was ready to curl into bed. Not that she was looking forward to curling into bed with Andrei.

They had just started back toward their building when Skye caught up to them. She gave Andrei a smile before pulling Zara aside, “I’ll bring her back in a second.”

Zara gave her sister a confused look but let Skye pull her a little down the path. “Dude! You like totally scored!” Skye told her, looking over Zara’s shoulder at Andrei. “I honestly can’t believe he’s really your boyfriend. I mean, tall, dark, and handsome? Pro athlete? Rich? I thought you made him up.”

“Yes, I totally lied about dating the team superstar,” Zara deadpanned as she rolled her eyes.

“Oh, come on. NHL player? Working together? You can’t really blame me. But wow, he’s amazing. And he looks at you like you’re his sun. And that accent? He’s like the whole package.”

Something in Zara twisted at her sister’s words and she looked over her shoulder at Andrei who gave her a small smile that she struggled to return before she looked back at her sister. “Yeah, he’s pretty great,” Zara told her before clearing her throat. “Now, did you fuck with my reservation?”

“I did no such thing,” Skye replied. “I just upgraded you two to the king room since one became available. You know, more space for you two.” She winked and Zara bit her tongue as she gave her sister a bitter smile. “Enjoy,” Skye added before she pulled back to rejoin her fiancé.

Zara just shook her head and when she looked over, she found Andrei still looking at her. She took a deep breath before she gestured that he could come over and he nodded before catching up with her and Zara ran her hands over her arms as he approached, a shiver running down her spine as he touched her hip.

“Are you cold?” He asked. She shook her head, she wasn’t really, and their room wasn’t far. But when she shivered at the breeze, Andrei didn’t believe her and he draped his suit jacket over her shoulders. Zara froze as she looked up at him, her breath catching in her throat but he just shrugged and walked another couple steps before realizing she wasn’t next to him and turned back. “What?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly and took a deep breath, the scent of him consuming her and she swallowed before catching up with him. “Thank you,” she added with a small smile.

He returned her smile but kept his hands by his side as they walked and Zara did her best to ignore how he was the first and only guy to give her his jacket and how much she liked it.

--

Once they got into their room, Zara took the bathroom first to take her make up off and brush her teeth as Andrei changed and when she was done, they switched places. Zara changed into a light, loose fitting t-shirt and shorts while Andrei went for the underwear only look, which made Zara glare at him.

“What? You said ‘absolutely no sleeping naked’ and ‘underwear stays on’,” he argued and she knew she stood no chance, so she sighed and pulled the sheets up to cover herself.

Getting into bed was easy. It was the settling that was hard. Zara stayed true to her word and built a pillow wall between them that made Andrei roll his eyes.

The room was hot, even with the ceiling fan, and Zara just couldn’t get comfortable. She kept tossing and turning and tossing and turning and it drove Andrei crazy. He was more than used to unpleasant sleeping arrangements. He slept in the same bed as his brother for years and then he was billeting and had road roomies for years with the Colts and Canes. But this was different.

After what felt like forever, the exhausted from the travel and dinner with her family hit and Zara finally settled and they were both able to get from shut eye, not that it was as deep a sleep as either would have liked, the weight of an unfamiliar place and sharing a bed hanging over them.

When Zara woke the next morning, her pillow wall was only half intact as Andrei spooned the pillows. He had fallen asleep with his back to her, but he had to have turned sometime in the night and he ended up in the middle of the bed with his arms wrapped around the pillow wall and his face pressed into it.

His face was mostly hidden by the pillows but she could see a small, content smile on his lips as he slept and his hair hung over his forehead. It was long and she couldn’t remember the last time he cut it, but she liked it. He looked younger as he slept, Zara decided, and part of her wanted to reach out and brush his hair back from his face, but as quickly as the thought came, she pushed it aside and got up. By the time she came out of the bathroom, Andrei was up, too.

Tuesday was really the only day Zara had to herself during wedding week, if Skye didn’t call with some cupcake emergency that is, and she fully intended to spend it on the beach. The beaches in South Carolina were nice, but not this nice.

So, after the breakfast buffet, she changed into a bikini and lathered herself in sunscreen and stepped out of the bathroom.It was a simple green bikini but the ties rested high on her hips and the green brought out her eyes and Andrei took a sharp breath in as he ran his eyes down her body.

So that’s what she had been hiding under her team jacket and t-shirts.

Her breasts bounced just a little as she walked and Andrei’s eyes were locked on them. He groaned softly to himself, making Zara look over at him. “You good?” She asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah,” he nodded and cleared his throat.

“Ready to hit the beach then?” She asked and he nodded.

“Oh definitely,” he smiled and slipped his sunglasses on so he could continue to check her out without her noticing.

Zara nodded and pulled a cover up on before she slipped her flipflops on and started toward the door with her kindle in hand and Andrei took the opportunity to run his eyes down to her ass and bit his lip. But she stopped with her hand on the doorknob and turned back to him, making his eyes snap up to hers. “Did you put sunscreen on?” She asked. “Because I’m sensing there isn’t much sun in Russia and I don’t want to spend the rest of the trip listening to you moan and groan and having to rub aloe on your burns.”

Andrei rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, “I put sunscreen on. I will be fine.” Zara took a deep breath as she looked him over but nodded and they made their way down to the beach.

The sun was warm above them, the sand soft beneath their feet, and the smell of sea salt was thick in the air. Zara grabbed two towels from the towel desk and found a pair of empty beach chairs with a cabana and made herself comfortable.

“You’re really going to read on the beach?” Andrei asked as she took her cover up off and pulled her kindle out.

“Yes,” she replied simply. “Enjoy the sun and sound of the ocean while I read.”

Andrei scoffed. “Lame,” he told her and pulled his shirt over his head without knocking his sunglass off. “I’m going to swim because that’s what you’re supposed to do at the beach.” Zara’s eyes dropped down his body for a moment before she looked back at her kindle. She had seen him without a shirt more times than she could count over the years, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate what was in front of her.

“You’ll have to let me know how it is,” she said without looking at him.

“I will,” he replied and put his sunglass on his chair before kicking his flipflops off and starting toward the water.

There was no testing the water for Andrei, he ran right into it and once he was deep enough, he dove in. Zara shook her head but she couldn’t pull her eyes away. His head poked up from the water a moment later and he shook his head like a dog before running his hand through his hair, not that it mattered because a moment later he flopped back into the water.

Zara’s book was forgotten as she watched him splash and drift in the water and if she lost sight of him because he went under a wave, it never took her long to find his broad shoulders again. She’d know those shoulders anywhere.

She didn’t know how long he was in the water, but she watched him until he emerged from the ocean. His blue swim trunks had fallen lower on his hips from the waves and clung to his body and he ran his hand through his hair to push the wet strands from his face. The water dripped off him with every step and Zara’s mouth went dry as she watched him, the rest of the beach suddenly seemed secondary, as if—

“Oh my God, that guy in the blue trunks is SO fucking hot.”

“Wher—Oh, oh fuck he is. He’s a tree I’d like to climb.”

“I think I’d rather have him climb me.”

The voices of two girls pulled Zara from her thoughts (or lack thereof). It left a sour taste in her mouth and she shot the girls a glare before Andrei approached. He didn’t bother towelling off, just set his shirt on the sand and slid his sunglasses on and flopped down on his chair. His wet skin caught the sun and Zara definitely didn’t notice the way the drops of water collected in the valleys of his abs before running off.

“Refreshing,” Andrei said, snapping her out of her trance and her eyes jumped up to his. The corner of his lip twitched up, “the water. It’s refreshing.”

“Oh,” Zara cleared her throat and she suddenly felt a lot hotter than she did before. “I’m sure it is. It looks nice.” She wondered if it would be refreshing enough to cool the heat crawling through her veins.

Andrei hummed and rested his arms behind his head. “Anyway, I was thinking…” Zara’s stomach instantly twisted. “If we’re dating, we would kiss, yeah? So maybe we should practice?”

Zara threw her flipflop at him.

“No. No practice kissing. No kissing me in front of my family. No kissing. No!” Zara rushed out, her cheeks heating up and she quickly stood up before he could argue. “Watch the stuff, I’m going for a dip.”

Andrei’s lips twitched into a frown as he watched her walk down to the water and not even the cheek action from her skimpy bikini bottoms could ease the ache settling in his chest. He knew he was far from perfect, that he stood next to no chance with a woman as beautiful and smart and amazing as Zara, but it stung.

Zara didn’t last half as long as Andrei did in the water that was chillier than she was expecting, just a quick dip to cool off and clear her thoughts.

She worked with Andrei. She worked for Andrei. Zara had never been attracted to any of the guys she worked with. Of course, she could appreciate that they were attractive, but she had never been attracted to them. She didn’t know why suddenly Andrei was having this effect on her, it made no sense.

She couldn’t be attracted to him.

Could she?

No.

He was the same age as her baby sister.

She couldn’t be attracted to him, whatever she was feeling had to be something else. It had to be nerves about getting found out or for the wedding. That made more sense than being attracted to Andrei Svechnikov.

Unlike Andrei, Zara did towel off when she got out of the water before settling down in her chair and she could feel Andrei’s eyes on her. “You’re right, it is refreshing,” she told him.

It at least made the corner of his lip twitch up. “You know, the volleyball court is empty,” he commented a moment later. “Wanna play a match?”

The real answer was no. She wanted to lounge on the beach and able to actually read a chapter or two and Andrei was the most competitive guy on the team and she already knew he’d win. But, he was doing an excellent job playing the part of her fake boyfriend so the least she could do was play a round of volleyball with him. Knowing him, it would be over quickly anyway.

“Sure,” she nodded and stood up, using the hair elastic on her wrist to pull her wet hair back.

And, ever the gentleman, Andrei waited for her to finish tying her hair back before he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Andrei had overheard the girls talking about him, too. He knew he was hot and while he was (technically) single, he wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t available. Really, it would have been the perfect moment to kiss her, even just for practice, but she didn’t want to, so he resorted to other methods.

“Andrei!” She shrieked as he carried her over to the court trying to ignore how easy it was for him to pick her up like that, but he just laughed and when he finally set her back down in the sand, he had a wide grin on his lips that had her stomach doing flips once again. “I can’t believe you just did that,” Zara said breathlessly, but there was a small smile behind her words.

Andrei shrugged, “it was fun.”

Zara shook her head as she laughed and Andrei wished he could bottle the sound. She gave his chest a playful shove before she ducked under the net and grabbed the volleyball and brushed the lose sand off it while Andrei got into position. “Ready?” She asked and when he nodded, she served the ball over the net to him.

Andrei easily volleyed it back to her making her run across the court to hit it back to him and—oh.

Oh.

Andrei’s eyes immediately dropped to her chest. The little bikini didn’t provide much support and her tits bounced with her every step and he groaned under his breath.

When she sent the ball over the net, he purposefully sent it to the other side of the court to watch her run after him. It was too far for Zara to catch, not for her lack of trying. She shook her head as she picked the ball up and wiped the sand off it. “Svechnikov 1, Roberts 0,” she said and served it again.

It was fun playing with him, really, but it went exactly how she thought it would go with Andrei easily racking up the points, sending the ball all over the court, wherever she wasn’t, making her run around the court as she desperately tried to get a point.

A part of Andrei felt guilty for enjoying it so much, but the bigger part of him just wanted to run his hands over her, slowly untie her bikini, trace his lips over her body and bury himself between her thighs, and—

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Zara managed to spike the ball over the net and it hit him right in the… balls.

Well, he kind of deserved that, he thought to himself as he winched out a long string of Russian curses and bent over at the waist with his hand over his crotch.

“Oh my God! Andrei! Fuck, are you okay? I’m so sorry,” Zara rushed out as she ducked under the net and all Andrei could do was give her a thumbs up as he continued to curse in Russian so she knew he wasn’t okay. She was gentle as she touched his shoulder, “I’m so sorry.”

He tried to shrug it off, but there were tears in the corner of his eyes. He had been speared before, taken some shorts to the crotch in games and practice, but he had equipment and padding and there was none of that in swim trunks. “Fuck, Kisa, you got me good,” he told her with a strained laugh.

“I thought you’d see it coming, I didn’t mean to. God, I’m so sorry. Do you need ice or something?” She asked. He would have seen it coming if he wasn’t thinking about everything he wanted to do to her.

“I’m fine, I’ll be fine,” he replied. Karma was an absolute bitch.

“Let’s just go back to the chairs and lay down for a bit,” she suggested and he gave her another thumbs up before straightening up and Zara kept her hand on his lower back like she would if he got hurt in practice or a game as they walked back to their chairs. The trainer in Zara came out and once he was settled, she got a bag of ice from the bar and he thanked her before settling it on his crotch with a groan.

But, even laying on the towel in pain with literal ice on his dick, he couldn’t stop thinking about how hot she looked in that bikini.

He was going to hell.

--

After Andrei felt better, they had dinner at the buffet and Zara could only rationalize that he was trying to eat his discomfort away because she had never seen someone eat so much.

Pasta. Fish. Scrimp. Crab. Bread. Muscles. Chicken. Mozza sticks. Steamed veggies. Clam chowder. Not to mention the four glasses of wine. It would be impressive if it wasn’t also concerning. “You good?” Zara asked, still nursing her second glass of wine.

Andrei nodded, “so good. Everything tastes so good.”

“I gathered,” she laughed and he ran his hands down his chest and stomach.

“I’m so full.”

“I would be surprised if you weren’t. I don’t think I’ve seen someone eat so much and I used to work with junior hockey players.” She forgot that Andrei was only a year older than the oldest to play in the major junior leagues. “I couldn’t imagine you have more space in there. But then again, I was thinking that after the chicken. And the mozza sticks. And the veggies.”

Andrei laughed as he shrugged her off. “As long as you don’t tell the nutritionist.”

“It’ll be our little secret,” Zara nodded and Andrei smiled.

They caught the nightly entertainment after dinner, which was some sort of play. Andrei didn’t fully get it, but Zara was smiling and it was enough for him. By the time it was over, it was pretty late and Zara was ready for bed. Just like the night before, they took turns getting ready for bed in the bathroom before settling into bed. Andrei was still clad in only his underwear so Zara made sure the pillow wall was still intact.

But, to no surprise, that night was just as difficult as the night before.

Zara tossed and turned and stole the blanket when she rolled to the far side of the bed and it drove Andrei crazy. He was used to sharing a bed with someone, his brother, his mother, ex-girlfriends, sloshed teammates that ended up passed out in his bed, but Zara was pushing his limits.

He let her be for the first while, just like he did the night before. But unlike the night before, Zara didn’t pass out from exhaustion and Andrei snapped. “Can we try something?” He asked, but there was an edge to his voice.

“What?” Zara replied, desperate to get comfortable and get some sleep.

“Just… Don’t hit me. Again,” Andrei told her and Zara raised an eyebrow at him. He broke the pillow wall down, glaring when Zara protested and rolled onto his side. He was gentle as he reached over and pulled her back against his chest and she went limp in his arms.

Zara’s head was empty, void of any thoughts because he was pressed completely against her. She could feel every inch of him against her and every muscle and the heat radiated from his skin and she could feel her own flush on her cheeks and the tips of her ears and down her chest.

“Okay?” Andrei asked after Zara had been quiet for a few moments.

“Y-yeah,” Zara replied shakily.

“Okay,” Andrei whispered and pressed his face into her neck, breathing in her soft vanilla scent mixed with the soft smell of sea salt. “Goodnight.”

“G’night,” Zara mumbled back, her heart racing in her chest.

It took her a while to fall asleep, hyperaware of Andrei and every raise and fall of his chest, but his hold on her waist prevented her from moving and tossing and turning and she could feel his heartbeat against her back. Slowly, the tension fell from her shoulders and her eyes got heavy and she let sleep take her.

--

When Zara woke the next morning to the sun streaming through the open curtains, they were still in the same position as they were when the fell asleep: spooning. Andrei still had a tight grip on her and his nose was pressed into her neck and she liked it. She didn’t want to admit it, but she liked it. She liked waking up in someone’s arms. The air was cool with the AC on and Andrei was warm behind her and she liked it.

She smiled to herself and just let herself soak it in for a moment. It wasn’t that it was Andrei, she told herself. It was that it was a strong attractive man spooning her.

Finally, she resigned herself and tried to pull away from him, but he tightened his hold on her waist, keeping her against him as he mumbled something in Russian she couldn’t understand. She covered his hands with hers and just for a second noticed how much bigger his hands were before she gave his hand a tap. “You can let go of me, Svech, it’s morning.”

“Five more minutes,” he mumbled and pressed his face into her neck to shield his eyes from the sun and gave her a few butterflies in the process, which Zara did her best to shake. But, she was enjoying it too much to argue, and he was stronger than her, so she let her eyes close and gave him those five minutes.

But Andrei’s arms were too warm and inviting so those five minutes ultimately became an hour since she fell asleep again.

When she woke again, Zara wiped the sleep from her eyes before turning in his arms and came face to face with a very awake Andrei Svechnikov. “Hi,” he smiled.

He was so close she could see all the different shakes of brown in his eyes and the few scattered hairs along his brows. “You didn’t wake me up,” she replied simply, a little betrayed.

“You looked so comfy,” he told her and Zara rolled her eyes.

“What time is it, even?”

Andrei shrugged but finally let her pull away from his arms, as much as he hated it, so she could check her phone. “Oh my God it’s noon already,” she told him and quickly tossed the sheet back and got out of bed. “We need to hit lunch ASAP before the afternoon with my family—and oh fuck they’re going to require a lot of drinks.”

Andrei groaned as he rolled onto his back and he watched Zara walk around the room and pull clothes from her drawers before disappearing into the bathroom and he smiled. She liked being in his arms so much she fell asleep. Twice.

Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for him yet.

--

After getting dressed for the day—Andrei in pink swim trunks and a white t-shirt, and Zara in a black and grey marble bikini that had more cleavage than the bikini the day before (that Andrei definitely wasn’t drooling over) and a cover up (much to Andrei’s dismay)—they headed out for some lunch, and Zara definitely wasn’t stress eating.

“What’s the big deal?” Andrei asked as he pulled the top off a blueberry muffin. “I already met them and they definitely bought it.”

“For two hours,” Zara replied. “The longer we’re around them, the easier it’ll be for our gimmick to fall apart. And my mom wasn’t huge on the age gap.”

“Gimmick?” Andrei asked.

“Our story,” she corrected and the corner of his lip twitched up.

“Then we should kiss,” he tried again, but the answer remained the same. She glared at him.

“That will be a last resort,” she told him and Andrei happily took it. It was certainly an improvement from the No. No practice kissing. No kissing me in front of my family. No kissing. No! he got from her the day before, so he was getting somewhere.

Maybe he could win her over by the end of the week.

Everyone was already by the pool by the time Andrei and Zara showed up. Two sun chairs were conveniently available in the middle of the group, not that Andrei noticed, he just happily sprawled out in his chair before taking his backward baseball hat off to run his fingers through his hair and put it back on.

When he caught one of the bridesmaids looking at him, Andrei flashed her a bright smile before resting his hand on Zara’s thigh. She jumped at his touch and fought back the urge to knock his hand off, not because she didn’t like it, but because she probably liked it more than she should.

She was hyperaware of how high his hand rested on her thigh and every circle his thumb traced on her skin. She gave him a few moments, but when he never pulled his hand back, she reached for her kindle with white knuckles, desperately needing a distraction.

Her family spoke over the chairs as they caught up ahead of the big day later that week, but it was muffled to Zara as she was consumed by Andrei’s touch, even as she tried to focus on her book. But Colin and Penelope didn’t matter, all Zara could think about was Andrei’s big, warm hand on her skin.

A couple of her uncles, cousins and their kids were more than a little interested in Andrei, and Zara did have to give him credit for being patient and kind and talking hockey with them, even when he was clearly on vacation with his ‘girlfriend.’ But when Mason, one of the kids asked for advice on scoring a lacrosse goal, Andrei was more than willing to help.

“Better if I show you,” he said and gave Zara’s thigh a squeeze, pulling her from her thoughts for a moment as she glanced up at him before she looked back down at her book, finding it so much easier to focus on without his hand on her thigh.

He stepped into the open area by the pool, his back to the water as he faced Mason. Andrei didn’t have a hockey stick, so he had to pretend. “I struggled with it in the beginning, too,” Andrei told him, not that Mason believed him. “You have to make sure the puck is flat and clean to start. When you put your blade down, you have to use the flex or else it won’t work, so make sure your flex is right for you. If it’s too strong, it won’t bend so it won’t work. Then, you have to move quickly and smoothly or it’ll fall.” He mimed his goal and his smile widened when Mason looked at him with bright eyes. “When you score your first lacrosse goal, make sure to tell them Svech taught you, okay?” Andrei added with a wink and Mason nodded excitedly.

Andrei straightened and didn’t see Toby’s nephew trying to slip behind him. Toby’s nephew caught Andrei on the back of his knee. It wasn’t hard, but it was enough to knock him off balance. He tried to step back, but he was right at the edge of the pool and there was nothing for him to step back on, sending him tumbling back into the pool with a big splash.

Zara shot up, her kindle dropping to her lap as she called his name with a gasp. The water sloshed up over the edge of the pool before Andrei got his feet under him and stood up. His hair stuck to his forehead, the longer strands dangling in his eyes and he gave his head a shake before running his hand through it to push it back and he grabbed his hat which floated not far behind him. His sunglasses were another matter and it took him a moment to find them on the bottom of the pool and he had to duck back under to grab them. His white t-shirt had become all but transparent and it clung to his body, leaving nothing to the imagination as he put his hands on the edge of the pool and pushed himself out of the water.

The water fell off him in sheets, drenching the cement around the pool as he stood and he used the hem of his soaked shirt to wipe his face before he pulled it off and wrung it out. Zara’s jaw was slack as she watched him, and she wasn’t the only one. More than a couple bridesmaids shamelessly let their eyes run down Andrei’s body.

He ran his hand through his hair again before he put his hat on. He hung his shirt over the back of his chair and he didn’t bother towelling off before he laid back in his chair with a bright smile. “I was feeling a little warm anyway,” he shrugged, a smirk teasing his lips.

“And looking a lotta hot,” a bridesmaid mumbled under her breath as she continued to eye Andrei up like a piece of meat.

Zara didn’t know what came over her as her head jerked toward the bridesmaid and she snapped, “keep your eyes to your own man, Lauren.”

Her reaction made Andrei’s smirk widened and he pushed his chest out a bit. “I’m your man, huh?”  He teased as he leaned into her.

“Shush,” Zara grumbled, but she couldn’t hide the blush growing on her cheeks.

“Aw, babe,” Andrei said louder and pressed a kiss to her cheek, making Zara scrunch her nose as her stomach twisted.

His eyes dipped to her lips for half a moment. It would be so easy, so natural, to kiss her and he wondered if she still tasted like the strawberry lip balm he saw her put on earlier. He licked his lips and for a moment her eyes dipped down to his lips, but just as quickly as her eyes dropped, she looked back down at her kindle. “You’re dripping on me like a wet dog,” she said as she tried to shrug him off.

He frowned as his heart dropped but he pushed it aside as he reached out to grab her kindle from her. “What are you reading on this thing anyway?” He asked.

“No!” She shouted and threw herself over Andrei to get it back as she flushed, which only made Andrei more curious and he used his hand to block her as his eyes scanned the page, his interest increasing with every word.

He slid one figure inside her, causing her to gasp again (which caused him to laugh with delight), then began to stroke her slowly.

“Oh, my God,” Penelope moaned.

“You’re almost ready for me,” he said, his breath coming faster now. “So wet, but so tight.”

“Colin, what are you—”

He slit another finger inside, effectively ending any chance she had for intelligent speech.

She felt stretched wide, and yet she loved it. She much be very wicked, a wanton heart, because all she wanted was to spread her legs wider and wider until she was completely open to him. As far as she was concerned, he could do anything to her, touch her in any way he pleased.

Andrei’s throat went dry as he looked over at her. “Really, Z?” He asked, his voice rough making her blush darken but he didn’t fight her as she grabbed her kindle back, not that she did anything more than stuff it into her bag, mortified.

Of course, her family only thought it was cute that they teased each other.

Andrei was quiet for a long moment and he ran his hand through his hair a few times, suddenly feeling hot again despite the breeze and the pool water still dripping from him. His throat was dry and the rest of the world seemed to be drowned out by the sound of the blood rushing in his ears as he pictured Zara beneath him and how warm and wet she’d be around his fingers.

His cock twitched in his trunks at the thought and he quickly tried to shake the image from his mind, not that Zara was making it easy for him, her skin flushed as she laid out in the sun in that cute, little bikini that showed off everything Andrei wanted to get his mouth on.

She was absolutely killing him.

The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly with Andrei stuck in his own little world and it was only when everyone started to file out to get ready for dinner that Andrei finally got to say what he was dying to say.

He let his hand rest on her lower back and as soon as they were out of hearing distance from her family, he told her, “you know, if you ever got tired of reading about all the ways a man can pleasure a woman, I’m right here.”

Zara made a strangled noise in her throat as she flushed again, but she forced out a scoff. “You? Please. I’d need a real man to know how to touch me.”

“I believe you said I was your man earlier,” he replied and shamelessly ran his eyes down her body, eating her alive. “Trust me, I know exactly how to touch you.”

Despite her flush, Zara shivered, his words stirring something deep inside her that she tried to deflect. “Or maybe girls just like to stroke your ego and fake it.”

“Trust me, kisa, no woman has ever had to fake it with me and neither would you.” Kisa. It was a nickname Andrei used on her every now and then and the Russian petname made her stomach flip but before she could ask him what it meant, he continued. “And if you ever want me to prove that to you, I will. Once with my mouth, maybe twice, once with my fingers, and definitely when I’m finally buried in you.”

If she was flushed before, her skin felt like it was burning now. Her tongue was heavy in her mouth and any intelligent quip was gone from her mind. All that remained was him. She couldn’t remember the last guy to make her cum once, let alone three or four times.

“Do they do that in your little book, kisa?” He asked and licked his lips. For the first time, maybe he had her hook, line, and sinker.

“Something like that,” she squeaked out and cleared her throat before she quickened her pace toward their room. Anything to put some distance between them and catch her breath.

Andrei Svechnikov was going to be the death of her.

–

The next day, the day before the wedding, was the rehearsal.

Zara spent way too long fussing with her hair and dress and Andrei watched her carefully. She used a straightener to curl her hair into soft waves and she did her make up neutral. The dress she chose was a solid emerald green with cap sleeved that ended just above her knee. “How do I look?” She asked Andrei. Of course she wanted to look nice, but she didn’t want it to be too much and take away from her sister.

Andrei didn’t shy away from running his eyes down her body and he couldn’t help but lick his lips. Now that he knew what she looked like in skimpy bikinis, he couldn’t help but notice how the dress hugged her curves. “Very nice,” he told her honestly and her shoulders relaxed.

“Okay, good,” she sighed. “The rehearsal dinner is at–”

“The grill overlooking the water,” Andrei cut her off. She had only told him a million times.

“At seven,” Zara continued even though Andrei knew. The whole trip they had been together–until now–and Zara didn’t want Andrei to lose track of time or forgetting to go and not showing up.

“I will be there,” he told her and pushed himself from the bed so he could touch her shoulders. “The world’s best boyfriend doesn’t miss rehearsal dinners.”

“Fake boyfriend,” Zara replied weakly, making Andrei frown for half a second before he forced his smile back up and walked around her.

“I’ll probably just hang around the beach until I have to get ready and then I will be there for you,” Andrei said.

Zara groaned softly. “God, the ocean. The rehearsal dinner is in some banquet room near the lobby.”

“But the wedding tomorrow will be on the beach,” he pointed out.

“I know,” she sighed. “I just hate the thought of being inside running through everything again while it’s so nice out.”

“Maybe it’ll still be nice after dinner,” he shrugged and stepped toward her. “We could go on a nice walk on the beach, maybe take a late night dip…” He couldn’t help but wink at her.

Zara’s flush wasn’t covered by her blush but she rolled her eyes. “Not happening, Svech.”

“We’ll see,” he hummed and bit his lip. “Might be stuffy in that room all day, you might enjoy some cooling off.”

If Zara was being honest, she could use some cooling off right now.

Andrei was so close to her she could smell the hotel body wash he used and where the dark brown of his eyes met his pupils. His lips were a dark pink, a little worn from the sun and salt and his constant biting, but they looked so soft as her eyes dipped to them. He was scruffy, having not shaved since they arrived, and for a split second, she wondered what it would feel like against her skin. But as quick as the thought came, she pushed it aside and tapped his chest. “Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.”

Disappointment flickered on his features. For a moment he thought that maybe she was going to kiss him, but that was foolish of him. “I’m never late,” he replied and stepped back to give her room.

Andrei didn’t say anything as she left, the door closing loudly behind her and he let his shoulders drop. Every day it felt like he was making progress, like maybe she could see him in a new light and like him like he liked her, but then she’d shut him down like it was the easiest thing in the world and it made his heart ache.

All he wanted was to be her boyfriend and treat and love her the way she deserved. He wanted to give her the world.

But he was still just a kid to her, wasn’t he?

–

Andrei was never late. Being on time was late in Andrei’s mind. So, naturally, he was ready and waiting for the rehearsal dinner at 6:30pm instead of seven. He wore blue slacks and a matching suit jacket and a button down, but no tie. He even shaved. He was planning on shaving the next morning for the wedding, but he could admit that there wouldn’t be much difference in 12 hours. He wasn’t like Jordo or Marty who could grow beards quick and thick, so he thought he’d shave and not show up to such an important event for Zara with a scruffy shadow.

Even if he wondered what it would be like to leave beard burn on her inner thighs.

“You made it,” Zara said as soon as she saw him outside the room and he smiled at the way her shoulders relaxed at the sight of him.

“Of course I did,” he replied and held his hand out to her. Zara hesitated for a moment before she took it. He was right, a girlfriend should hold her boyfriend’s hand.

She tried not to think about how much bigger his hand was or how worn and rough it was from the years of hockey, and she definitely did her best to not think about how much she liked it.

As a bridesmaid and sister to the bride, Zara (and Andrei) were seated at one of the two close tables with her family, and Andrei went into boyfriend mode once again, moving his chair closer to hers and letting his arm rest on the back of her chair. The movement pulled at his button down, which already had the first couple buttons undone, revealing more of his smooth skin and the cross that dangled between his pecs and paired with the woody, almost vanilla scent of his cologne that got stronger the closer he came, Zara forgot how to breathe.

He was doing that to her more and more it seemed and she didn’t know what to do about it, or how to feel.

There were a few toasts made as they waited for dinner, but Zara was more caught up in his scent and the cross that caught the light every time he shifted, drawing her attention back to his big, beefy chest.

Dinner, of course, was seafood, and Andrei had to pull his hand back from her to eat and she only missed it a little. The room was hot and humid with that many people, but Zara missed his touch, even if she did her best to ignore that she did.

After dinner came more speeches and toasts and Zara welcomed back Andrei’s touch and surprised herself when she leaned into him, seeking more of it, making Andrei smile, even if she didn’t catch it.

For Andrei, each toast bled into the next. He didn’t or barely knew these people and they more or less sounded the same, and maybe those two glasses of wine with dinner, paired with the few drinks that afternoon, were starting to hit him.

He couldn’t help himself, he leaned into her and brushed his lips over the shell of her ear. “So, when do we get out of here to have that late night dip?” He asked, his voice barely above a breath.

As much as she tried to deny it, his voice made her shiver, but she reached out to give his thigh a squeeze, warning him. “Andrei,” she whispered.

Of course, that only invited his hand to her thigh. Her dress was knee length and it was easy for him to push the fabric up to feel the soft skin of her thigh, making Zara’s breath catch in her throat. “It would be more fun than sitting around listening to toast after toast and getting drunk off wine,” he said and moved his hand up a little higher. Her nails dug into his thigh, but that only spurred him on.

The past couple days, he had wondered what her skin would feel like under his touch and it was so much better than he could imagine and it left him craving more. She always left him craving more.

“We could take a quick dip in the pool after it gets dark,” he suggested with a hum.

“And some employee will come running after you and drag you out and probably get us both kicked out of the resort,” Zara replied, rolling her eyes, but, of course, Andrei only licked his lips.

“Not if we don’t get caught,” he told her and moved his hand up a little higher, trying to convince her to give in; to give into him.

“Andrei,” she whispered, warning him again, but his hand on her thigh made her skin burn and whoever was giving a speech was completely forgotten to her.

“It would be fun. Refreshing,” Andrei continued and winked at her.

For a moment, Zara held his gaze and he thought he had her. Her skin was flushed and her eyes were dark and he thought he had her. And then she pushed his hand down to her knee. “Not happening, Andrei,” she told him.

Andrei took a deep breath as he pulled his eyes away from her, not wanting to share his disappointment, but he couldn’t pull his hand from her knee, even as he used his other hand to reach for his wine and down the whole glass.

The speech dragged into the next and then the next and Andrei let his hand drag back up Zara’s thigh. She quickly took a sip of her wine before setting it back down on the table, but didn’t say anything so Andrei let his eyes find whoever was giving the current speech as he pushed his hand higher, so high he could almost–

Zara jumped at the feeling of his fingertips against her panties. Her skin flushed a dark red and she knocked his hand away harshly, hitting the table hard enough to knock her glass of wine onto her lap.

Her gasp was sharp, making the whole room look at her and Andrei quickly pressed his napkin to her dress, right above where he wanted her most, but her green dress was ruined by the red wine soaking the fabric despite Andrei’s attempts to clean her up.

“Are you okay?” Skye asked, making Zara’s head whip toward the front table as Andrei continued to press his napkin to her dress.

“Yep,” Zara replied, popping the p as she tried to play things off, her skin burning from Andrei’s touch. “Just some spilt wine, please continue.” She could barely hear her own voice over the roar of her heartbeat in her ears as she tried to play it off, not that Andrei bought it. He could feel her heart racing under his touch and the heat of her body and it drove him crazy.

But the rehearsal dinner went on.

Everyone was unbothered by Zara and her ruined dress and Andrei, after all, it was the bride and groom who were the centre of attention, not the bride’s sister and her ‘boyfriend.’ But Zara was bothered. She was hyperaware of Andrei and his every touch and the scent of his cologne and the way his eyes never seemed to leave her.

The toasts went on, congratulating the happy couple and reminiscing in their memories, but the words never truly reached Zara’s ears, all too focused on Andrei.

“You know,” he breathed, leaning in to brush his lips against her ear again. “You could let me help you out of his dress when we get out of here. I’d tell you you’d be drier without it but…” he finished his thought by returning his hand to her thigh.

Zara closed her eyes as she took a deep breath and pushed his hand away. “Enough, Andrei,” she told him. Whatever his little game was, she wanted it to be done. She had made a fool of herself at her sister’s rehearsal dinner and she just wanted to survive the rest of the night and Andrei with his brown eyes and deep voice and big hands was making that impossible.

She put her head in her hand and gripped the napkin he had used to clean up her dress tightly in her other hand. Andrei studied her for a moment before he nodded and leaned back in his chair to give her space. But he still couldn’t pull his eyes away from her all evening.

How could he? Zara was the most beautiful woman in the world to him, more radiant than the bride and he’d never get tired of looking at her.

The toasts spoke of joy and love and family and when Andrei finally tuned into them, he found himself picturing that they were talking about him and Zara, that one day her family would recall the first time they met him and how good he was to her and how they knew they were meant to be.

His heart ache, he wanted it so badly. Wanted her.

“What?” Zara asked when she caught him staring, but Andrei just shook his head.

As much as he wanted it, he would never have it because she didn’t want him the same way. He was just a hockey player. A kid. Too young for her. Someone she worked with.

He was just Svech.

–

As if Zara’s day hadn’t been long enough with the all day rehearsal and the dinner and ruining her dress and fucking Andrei, once they got back to their room after dinner, Zara realized one thing: it was hot.

Suffocating, really.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Zara groaned, her shoulders slumped as she walked over to the AC controls to get it running again.

Andrei’s furrowed brows relaxed as he stepped into the hot, still room and he immediately shrugged off his jacket and undid his shirt, already overheating and he had only been in there for a moment. Zara huffed as she pressed button after button, but the room stayed just as still and hot. “Not working?” Andrei asked as he looked over her shoulder.

“No,” she groaned and gave it a frustrating smack, not that that helped either. “I’m going to call the front desk and maybe they can send someone to fix it.”

“Z,” Andrei sighed and gently touched her arm. “It’s almost midnight, they’ll just tell you that you have to wait till morning.” Rationally, Zara knew that, but she couldn’t stay in the suffocating heat box of a room with Andrei without trying.

Her hair was already starting to stick to her neck as she sat down on the bed to call the front desk while Andrei propped open the balcony doors for some air. He stripped down to his underwear while Zara was on the phone with the front desk, but her frustrated bang of the phone as she hung up had him stick his head out of the bathroom door and when he saw her head in her hands, he already knew the answer. They were stuck for the night.

Well, there were certainly worse things in life than being stuck in a hot room with a hot woman.

“No good?” Andrei asked and Zara shook her head as she sighed.

“They can’t send someone until morning.”

It was what Andrei was expecting, but he still took a deep breath. They had a long day tomorrow, Zara more than him, and they needed their sleep, but he wasn’t sure how much sleep they’d get in this sweatbox.

Zara took her time getting ready for bed, making sure to do her whole skincare routine plus a facemask, wanting to look her best for the wedding. She changed out of her dress and into a pair of loose sleep shorts and a tank top. For a moment, she debated just sleeping in an oversized shirt and her panties, but she couldn’t bring herself to, not when she knew Andrei was only in his boxers. She needed more between them.

Even with the balcony door open, neither of them could muster more than the sheet, the rest of the covers kicked down to the foot of the bed. Zara wanted to sleep above the sheet like Andrei, but she felt too exposed, even if the air was thick and humid and the sheet stuck to her clammy skin.

Neither of them slept well in the seemingly increasingly hotter room, hyperaware of each other and by the time Zara’s alarm went off the next morning, she felt the opposite of rested. The room was still hot, her tank top stuck to her skin and exhaustion weighed her down. The day ahead of her was long and she didn’t know how she was going to survive.

She groaned as she pressed her face into the pillow and begged for another hour of sleep, but she knew she’d be lucky if she got another five minutes.

Her back was to him, but Andrei stirred beside her and when she felt the bed dip as he got up, she let herself roll onto her back, seeking more cool air from the open balcony door he was closer to. She could see Andrei walk to the bathroom from the corner of her eye and her eyes widened before she looked over at him, not believing what she saw.

She knew for a fact that Andrei had gone to bed in his boxers, but she was staring at his bare naked ass as he walked to the bathroom, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Zara’s skin may have been flushed from the heat, but she blushed as the bathroom door closed behind him and she suddenly felt much more awake than she did two minutes ago.

And a lot hotter.

She had seen Andrei shirtless countless of times. She had worked on his shirtless body, be that his shoulder, wrist or hip, countless times. But she had never seen him naked. She never wanted to see him naked. But that was a whole lot of ass. A whole lot of very nice ass.

Everyone always said hockey players have the best asses and… Andrei’s ass was perky and round and jiggled just a bit with his every step and Zara wondered what it would feel like if she reached out and gave it a little squeeze. The thought had her feeling hot all over again.

And it wasn’t just his bare ass because his bare ass meant that he was bare everywhere. She had slept less than a foot away from a very naked Andrei Svechnikov.

You work for him. You’re his trainer. He’s too young for you. It’s all just pretend. Don’t think about him like that.

It didn’t matter what she told herself, Zara couldn’t stop thinking about his perky ass or how naked he was or the new heat it made her feel and she could hear Andrei’s voice in that post game interview when he said ‘I’m a big boy, I gotta use my body well’ and when he told her all the ways he’d make her cum, and she pressed her thighs together as she wondered how true his words were.

Zara was pulled from her thoughts when Andrei opened the bathroom door and she jumped at the sound, pulling the corner of the sheet over her as she looked over. There was a flush to Andrei’s cheeks and he had a sheepish smile on his lips as he looked at her through the crack in the door.

“I’m sorry,” he told her, the flush on his cheeks darkening. “I must have gotten hotter while I slept.”

“It’s okay,” Zara squeaked out, her cheeks just as red.

“Still sorry,” he told her and opened the door fully so he could step out. He held a hand towel in front of his …bits and Zara could see that his flush went down his chest and just how deep his v-line was.

She sank further into bed and her skin felt like it was burning but she tried her best to ignore it as Andrei grabbed a fresh pair of underwear from his drawer and pulled them on.

Zara wasn’t blind, of course she knew he was hot, but knowing he was hot and seeing how hot he was were two different things and Andrei was hot.

Very fucking hot.

“Sorry,” he apologized again once he got his underwear on and looked over at her, the towel still clutched in his hand.

Zara shook her head and forced herself to sit up. “It was unfavourably hot, and Russia is cold, I imagine. I’m not going to hold it against you, I’m just going to pretend it didn’t happen.” She didn’t wait for a response as she made her way to the bathroom and turned the shower on, needing a cold wash.

Andrei’s lips were tight as he sat down on the bed and looked at the closed bathroom door, unsure if they had made progress from the first night, or if he had unintentionally crossed a boundary and ruined everything. He couldn’t even remember stripping down so he had to have done it in his sleep, too hot in his boxers, even if he slept above the covers.

He waited for her to come out of the bathroom, missing the way her eyes dropped down his chest in favour of watching a drop of water run down her arm. The air in the room felt thicker as she eyes the way his cross rose and fell with his every breath, but she cleared her throat and gestured toward the dresser.

“Just gonna grab some clothes…” she whispered and busied herself with grabbing the custom bridal party pyjamas Skye wanted them all to wear. She had to bend down to get them, her towel inching up her legs and Andrei’s eyes ate up every new inch of skin. There was nothing he wanted more than to push her towel up and sink to his knees and–

“The ceremony is at three, but you should be there at least half an hour early,” Zara said as she stood back up, pulling Andrei from his thoughts. His cheeks were rosy as she turned to look at him but she didn’t say anything.

“Got it,” he told her with a forced smile, trying to keep his eyes on her face and not on how tight the towel was around her chest and the drops of water that dripped from her hair down the tops of her breasts.

“I’ll be with my sister all day, so please be there on time,” she told him, holding her towel tightly, not wanting it to fall.

“I will,” he replied firmly and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. “I have three alarms so I don’t miss it.”

His words made her relax some but watching him stretch and seeing his muscles move under his skin as he reached for his phone made her feel something else and she was sure she was blushing as she nodded and quickly retreated to the bathroom to change.

She returned a moment later dressed in her bridal party pyjamas that had Bridesmaid stitched over her breast in a sage colour cursive font. Andrei watched as she gathered her things in a bag and got her dress and shoes out of the closet. “I’ll see you at the wedding then,” she told him and Andrei nodded.

“I’ll be there, watching the most beautiful girl there,” he replied and smiled at Zara’s blush. He meant every word he said.

“I’m sure everyone’s eyes will be on the bride,” she said weakly.

“Everyone’s but mine,” he told her, pleading with her to look at him again.

Instead, Zara closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, needing to ground herself before she opened her eyes again. He was just a flirt. It was nothing more. He didn’t really mean it. He couldn’t.

“I’ll see you later, Andrei,” she settled on and put her flats on before she slipped out the door, leaving Andrei alone in their way too hot hotel room.

He groaned as he flopped back against the bed. Zara Roberts was going to be the death of him, but he couldn’t imagine a better way to go.

–

Getting ready for the wedding was easy. Or, at least it would have been easy if she hadn’t woken up next to a naked Andrei Svechnikov that morning.

Room service brought breakfast as they fussed over Skye and made sure everything was in order and that she looked her best. Skye couldn’t stop smiling and her smile was contagious. After breakfast they all had their make up and hair done, which seemed to take forever, but Skye didn’t mind. She was just so happy the day was finally here. Today was the day she went from a girlfriend to a wife.

And Zara was only a little jealous.

Zara’s hair wasn’t long enough to do up, so it was left down in loose waves and her make up was earthy and neutral, just like the other bridesmaids, while Skye’s hair was down in curls and her make up was more smokey but still earthy to fit the beachy vibe.

All morning Zara knew she should be focused on her little sister and her big day and being the perfect bridesmaid and sister she could be and making sure everything went according to plan, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Andrei.

Andrei and his big brown eyes and bright smile and contagious laugh and kindness and broad shoulders and abs and pale ass.

Andrei.

Maybe it was the mimosas, maybe it was the wedding, maybe it was something else entirely, but her whole mind was full of Andrei and her heart ached. She missed the feeling of his hands on her skin and she wondered if he really knew what he was doing when it came to women like he always bragged, and she wondered what he would feel like.

“Earth to Zara,” Skye said with a laugh, pulling Zara from her thoughts with a blush. God, she hated how she was always blushing these days.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “The AC died in our room last night so it was kinda a long night, but I’m here, I’m good, won’t happen again, I promise.”

“As if your room wasn’t hot enough with that beefcake,” one of the other bridesmaids, Arianna, said, and Zara clenched her jaw.

“Today is supposed to be about Skye, Arianna, so I’d appreciate it if you could focus more on the bride and less on my boyfriend,” Zara told her before turning back to Skye. “Is there anything I can do before we get dressed?”

“No,” Skye replied a moment later, the corner of her lip twitching up at her sister’s jealousy. It wasn’t often she saw Zara like that. Actually, she couldn’t remember ever seeing her sister like that. “I’ll just change into my lingerie while you girls get into your dresses.”

“Okay,” Zara replied with a smile and watched her little sister disappear into the bathroom with a lingerie bag, feeling only a little jealousy that her little sister would be getting some while she was busy playing pretend with Andrei.

Still, Zara was sure to shoot Arianna a glare while they got dressed, wanting her to know that Andrei was not up for grabs. If he was going to be anyone’s, he was going to be hers.

The girls were all dressed in their sage green dresses by the time Skye came back out in her robe and pictures were taken as she put her dress on. It was a simple dress, an A-line with a tulle skirt and a lace overlay and off shoulder sleeves. She looked beautiful and Zara’s throat was tight as she looked at her little sister.

But then she thought of Andrei and his words, ‘I’ll be there, watching the most beautiful girl there,’ and she smiled as she wondered if he truly meant it, if he’d really be there watching her throughout the ceremony instead of the bride.

Zara found herself hoping he would.

The rest of the early afternoon went by quickly and after some quick finishing touches and pictures, they were making their way down to the beach. Zara should have been thinking about Skye and if her dress was perfect, about the weather, about shoes in the sand, about Toby and if he didn’t cry when he saw her, if he wasn’t there at all, but all Zara could think about was big boy himself.

Asking him to be her fake boyfriend was a mistake, she realized as they lined up to head down the aisle, her neck straining in search of his familiar light brown hair. Of course it was only when the music started and everyone stood up that she caught his soft brown eyes and her shoulders relaxed as she smiled.

He was there.

Zara held the groomsman’s–Mitch’s–arm as she walked down the aisle with a smile, but her eyes were on Andrei the whole time, just like his were on her. Even when the music changed and Skye began to walk down the aisle, Andrei couldn’t pull his eyes from Zara at the altar.

Her sage green dress and earthy make up looked stunning on her and complimented her features and eyes and he was breathless as he watched her. She was everything he could ever want and more.

She was everything.

“Please be seated,” the officiant said and Andrei sat down, his eyes still locked with Zara’s. Their trip would be over soon and he was running out of time to win her over.

The officiant was one of Skye’s and Toby’s closest and oldest friends, and it showed as he told the story of them from the first time they met in class and how Skye hated being partnered with him because she thought he was going to lower their mark, to Toby looking for advice on how to ask her out, to how cute and inseparable they were in high school and how that closeness never left as they got older.

“Everyone expected them to drift apart after high school, but they only got closer,” he said and Toby lifted their joined hands so he could brush his lips over Skye’s knuckle and Andrei’s heart felt heavy in his chest as he looked back to Zara and he pictured that the officiant was talking about him and Zara.

Not that they would have been in high school together or grown up together, he reminded himself, their age difference too big. But still, he couldn’t stop himself from imagining.

Their officiant–maybe Evgeny–would talk about how they teased each other and the difficulties of working together and the friendship their relationship was built on and how Andrei pined for her for years. He’d talk about this trip and pretending to be together and how it showed her he was everything she needed and how perfect they were together.

It was selfish and he knew that, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about it.

Zara’s hair fluttered in the ocean breeze and every now and then she had to brush tears away before they ruined her make up, and there were a couple of times throughout the ceremony that Zara looked over at him, giving him butterflies as he smiled back and he knew he was lucky for just getting the change to look at her.

When he offered to go on the trip with her and be her fake boyfriend, he had had a crush on her, but looking at her now, at her sister’s wedding, he realized it was so much more than a crush. He never felt like this before. He wanted to be with her, he’d do anything for her. He craved her smile and her laugh and her every touch.

He wanted Zara.

He needed Zara.

He…

He was in love with Zara.

Andrei was glad he was sitting down as the realization shook him and he took a deep breath through his nose and dug his nails into his palms.

He was in love with Zara.

He was in love with Zara.

He must have had a panicked look on his face since Zara furrowed her brows as she looked over at him, and he did his best to give her a reassuring smile as his head spun.

He was in love with Zara and she only saw him as a patient. A co-worker. A friend. A kid.

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur for Andrei. Vows were said and rings exchanged. They shared a kiss as they were pronounced husband and wife and Andrei remembered clapping with everyone else as they walked back up the aisle, but his eyes never left Zara.

He was fucked. Absolutely and completely fucked.

–

Andrei walked on autopilot to the reception, his mind still reeling. A waitress came by with a tray of champagne and Andrei quickly grabbed a glass and downed it before making his way to the bar, needing something stronger.

His hands shook as the bartender slid his drink over, but Andrei ignored it. The only thing that occupied his mind was Zara. He had had feelings for Zara since he entered the league, but he hadn’t realized his feelings were that deep until now.

He was in love with her and she was absolutely going to ruin him.

He ordered a shot after his drink, wanting to distract himself from his life altering realization. The tequila burned his throat a little, but it wasn’t bad, and certainly not enough to truly take his mind off Zara. But, honestly, he could be black out drunk and still be thinking of Zara.

But, of course, Andrei was too caught up in his mind and cocktail hour went by too quickly and then it was time for the reception and dinner and he didn’t know how he was going to survive.

After the ceremony, Andrei had given Zara some space, or, more accurately, he had given himself some space from Zara. But that space went away as the bridal party got their introductions and Andrei’s breath caught in his throat all over again and he needed her.

When it came time for dinner, Andrei settled in beside her and pulled his chair a little closer before he draped his arm on the back of her chair, seeking even the slightest brush of her skin against his.

They had seafood for dinner again, and it was good, even if the taste was secondary to Zara.

All Andrei could think about was Zara. How beautiful Zara was, Zara in her dress, the sea green of Zara’s eyes, the sweet scent of her perfume, how she leaned into him when the tips of his fingers brushed the ends of her hair, the matte pink of her lipstick and how it was a little smudged, and how he wanted to smudge it some more.

Everything began and ended with Zara.

Andrei knew he should at least pretend to be paying attention to the happy couple and the speeches, but he couldn’t pull his attention from Zara.

He brushed the tips of his fingers through the ends of her waves again, making her shiver and she pulled her eyes from her sister to look at Andrei. He watched her with his big, soft brown eyes that had her heart doing flips. The corner of his lips twitched up and she forced a small smile before looking back Skye, but she could still feel Andrei’s eyes on her and when she glanced back, he was still looking at her like she hung the stars in the night sky.

Zara had had a lot of boyfriends–well, more flings than anything else–but none of them ever looked at her like that.

Her breath caught in her throat, and for a split second she thought Andrei might kiss her when his eyes dropped down to her lips, and despite her earlier remarks, she’d actually be okay with it. Instead, she was disappointed when he brushed his lips over her temple. Not that she had a reason to be when she was the one that drew the line in the sand.

Zara couldn’t help but melt into him, seeking his touch and warmth, even if her heart sank in her chest. Andrei was good at a lot of things–hockey, magic, and media, to name a few–she shouldn’t have been surprised he was this good at pretending, too. She just wished that he wasn’t.

The point of him coming to the wedding was to get her family off her back, convince them that she was capable of having a meaningful relationship like her sister. But, in true Andrei fashion, he had to go above and beyond and made her family fall in love with him. Made her fall in love with him. Andrei was leaps and bounds the best boyfriend she ever had, and he wasn’t even her real boyfriend.

If anyone asked her what her dream boyfriend looked like, Zara would have said kind (like Andrei), flirty (like Andrei), considerate (like Andrei), funny (like Andrei), passionate (like Andrei), and attractive (like Andrei). But it wasn’t real. It was never real.

She knew that in her mind, but it didn’t stop her from being pulled toward him and seeking everything he had to offer.

If he was just worse at pretending, kept more distance between them, didn’t flirt as much, and sure as hell didn’t look at her like that, she’d be okay. But Andrei was never one to half ass something.

Zara shivered and leaned over the gap between the chairs to rest her head on Andrei’s shoulder and the rest of the speeches were lost to her as she focused on him.

He was an adult, an NHL superstar, but in her head, he was still the wide eyed rookie who was basically a kid when he came into the league. She knew rationally that their seven-year age gap wasn’t that much in the long run, but it felt like a lot when he was only 22 and she was knocking at 30’s door.

If he was just a little older… Or her a little younger…

But things didn’t work like that.

The wedding speeches were nice, though not as nice as being in Andrei’s arms, not that she’d tell anyone that. And once the speeches were over and the cake was cut, the party started to take off.

There was a nice dance floor set up on the beach, but Zara stayed in Andrei’s arms longer than she should have, just wanting to soak in the feeling of him. When she finally found it in herself to pull away and join the party, Andrei reached out and caught her wrist. Her hand looked so small compared to his and it shouldn’t have made her feel the things it did. “Where are you going?” He asked.

“To dance?” She replied and Andrei’s chair scraped on the floor as he stood.

“Then I’ll go with you,” he told her and followed her out onto the dance floor.

In the beginning, Andrei danced beside her, not that he let her wander out of his reach. But, the more songs that played, the closer he moved. Zara was perfect and she looked amazing in her dress and there was no denying the sensual nature of how she moved to the music.

All Andrei wanted was to pull her back to their room and have his way with her.

So, when ‘Talk Dirty’ came on, he moved closer to her, keeping his arm around her as he pulled her back against his chest, all but grinding on her. He let his hand find her waist and his lips brushed her neck, making Zara freeze for half a second before leaning back against him, moving with him and enjoying the feeling of his body against hers, even if she knew it was just for show.

It was funny because Zara had never really been a PDA person. Sure, kisses and hugs were okay, but not in excess, and yet, there she was at her sister’s wedding eating up attention from the man pretending to be her boyfriend.

In the past, Zara’s eyes always found the attractive guys in the room and she knew exactly how to get their attention, but everything and everyone was secondary to Andrei. The only attention she wanted was his.

The only thing she wanted was him.

She reached behind her to cup the back of his neck and let him pull her completely flush against him, a different warmth settling in her body, no matter how much she tried to ignore it. She fit perfectly against him and she melted into him for the song.

The song was quick and every brush of his lips sent another wave of heat and need through her body and by the time the song came to an end, she had to pull away from him to head to the bar, needing to take some breaths that didn’t smell like his cologne.

Zara hung around the bar for a few minutes, nursing a drink as she kept some distance between her and Andrei. But, as each song blurred into the next, the distance between them only made her crave him more. She needed him and the drink did nothing to change that.

When the music turned slow, Andrei’s eyes found Zara in the crowd. The corner of his lip twitched up as he stepped toward her, his eyes dipping down her body for a moment before he extended his hand to her. It wasn’t a song that he was familiar with, but it didn’t matter. It was slow and soft and about being in love and it was more than enough for Andrei.

“Would you do me the honour of sharing this dance with me?” He asked. His words surprised Zara but she smiled as she took his head and let him pull her out onto the dance floor.

His hand was so much bigger than hers and he was a whole head taller than her, even in her heels, and she tried to think of the last time she slow danced with someone and the only thing that came to mind was prom more than ten years ago. She had worn a horrible pink dress she thought looked good at the time and her hair was dyed too dark for her fair complexion.

“I–” Zara started, but Andrei shook his head and guided her hands to his shoulders before resting his hands on her hips, holding her close.

Her chest was pressed against his and she was so close he could see the flecks of blue and gold in her eyes and the slight chap to her lips and the smudge of her eyeliner, but she was perfect.

She was always perfect.

He couldn’t pull his eyes from her the whole dance, even the music was secondary to her. Her green eyes, the arch of her cheeks, her cupid’s bow, the freckles that decorated her nose.

Her.

It took everything in his power to not kiss her when his every atom was screaming at him to.

Everyone melted away, leaving just him and Zara as they swayed to the music. His hands moved to the small of her back, pulling her closer and he heard her breath catch in her throat, but she didn’t pull back. If anything, she pressed herself closer.

She told herself it was in case any family was watching and she had to keep playing pretend, but really, she had to know what his chest felt like against hers and what the hair at the base of his skull felt like.

He never pulled his eyes away from her, his deep brown eyes burned a hole in her soul and pulled at an emptiness within her. An emptiness he could fill.

The song ended way too quickly for either of their liking and Zara found it hard to pull away. The air was thick and humid despite the late hour, but she craved his warmth.

She craved him.

The slight of him that morning was fresh in her mind, along with his every touch from the rehearsal dinner and the child-like wonder when they first landed, and her heart pulled to him. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, her heart pulled to him.

The song that came on after wasn’t as slow, but it wasn’t overly quick either. They could have kept dancing–should have kept dancing–but Andrei kept looking at her with those big brown eyes that made her heart flutter. She opened her mouth but quickly closed it in favour of taking his hand and leading him somewhere more private.

The first place Zara saw was the photo booth off to the side, away from the dance floor and it would have to do. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t being watched before she pulled Andrei into the small booth and closed the curtain behind them.

She opened her mouth to tell him that letting him be her fake boyfriend was a mistake, that she couldn’t do it anymore, that he was doing too good a job and she couldn’t take it anymore, not when he was already the best boyfriend she ever had and it wasn’t even real. But before she could get the words out, his lips were on hers.

His lips were soft and slightly chapped from the salt water and he tasted like champagne and Zara knew she should have pushed him away, reminded him how unprofessional it was. But he was firm and warm and he felt bigger in the small booth and she pulled him closer by the undone collar of his shirt.

Andrei groaned softly against her lips and deepened the kiss as he pressed her into the wall of the booth. He kissed the breath out of her and she moved her hands up to his hair, needing to hold onto him, needing to feel him.

The tug on his hair pulled another low groan from his throat and he trailed his hand down from her hip to push the skirt of her dress up, letting his hand wander over the soft skin of her thigh. He was so focused on her and her soft gasp against his lips when he hooked her leg over his, needing to be closer to her that he didn’t realize his elbow hit something until–

Flash.

Zara froze and pushed him back enough to see the time count down again and Andrei let his lips trail down her jaw.

Flash.

He ran his tongue over her pulse point, pulling a strangled moan from her lips and she tugged him by his hair back to her lips. The kiss was rough and frantic and–

Flash.

Andrei’s hand moved from her thigh to her ass as he pushed her dress up more, wanting to slot himself between her legs and he pulled back from the kiss to nip at her lower lip, his eyes dark when he realized just how tiny her panties were.

Flash.

Zara’s chest heaved and she swore she had never felt so hot with need before in her life.

Trust me, kisa, no woman has ever had to fake it with me and neither would you. And if you ever want me to prove that to you, I will. Once with my mouth, maybe twice, once with my fingers, and definitely when I’m finally buried in you.

She could hear his words in her head and she wanted it desperately.

She wanted him.

She ran her tongue over her lip as she eyed him and she cupped his cheeks before kissing him again, clinging to him knowing he’d support her.

Flash.

The sound of the pictures printing pulled them from their trance. Zara groaned as Andrei pulled back and tried to follow his lips before realizing what she did and she flushed as she leaned back against the wall.

Andrei untangled himself from her to grab the pictures and he smirked before he held them up to her. Zara blushed all over again as she looked at them. Andrei’s big body took up most of the frame, but there was no mistaking how much she was enjoying his every touch.

“I think this one is my favourite,” he told her and pointed to the pictures with her lip between his teeth.

“Shut up,” she said weakly and his smirk grew.

“Never. And I’m saving these.”

Zara groaned and let her hands fall to his sides as she pressed her face into his chest. She could feel his chest shake as he laughed but he gently ran his hand down her back, making her shiver.

“I need to ask you something,” she said after a moment and pulled back enough to meet his gaze.

“Anything,” Andrei replied.

Zara flushed before she could even get the words out. “The other day by the pool… You said some things… I just want to know if you meant them.”

“I said a lot of things by the pool, kisa. You need to be more specific,” he told her, the corner of his lip twitching up. He had a pretty good idea what she was after, but he needed to hear her say it.

Zara was quiet for a long moment before she mumbled “fuck it” under her breath. “You teased me about my book,” she started. “Said you’d… do things to me.”

“Make you cum?” He teased, his smirk growing.

Zara’s blush darkened but she nodded. “Did you mean it? Or were you messing with me?”

Andrei leaned in to ghost his lips over hers. “Kisa, I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it.” Again, she opened her mouth to ask him what kisa meant but he cut her off with a kiss and she let herself melt into it. “It’s getting late,” he said as he broke the kiss. “They won’t notice if we turn in for the night…” His words sent a wave of heat through her body and her breath caught in her throat. He bit his lip as he studied her, waiting for an answer.

“Do you think they’ve fixed the AC?” She asked.

“Yes. They fixed it before I left for the wedding,” he told her and traced soft circles on her hip with his thumb.

Any reservations she had went out the window and she crashed her lips to his. He hesitated for half a moment, surprised, but quickly kissed her back and pulled her flush against him. He was so good at kissing that she wondered how good he was at using his mouth elsewhere. The thought alone left her breathless and she pushed him back by his chest only to take his hand and pull him out of the photo booth and toward their room.

Andrei’s laugh gave her butterflies and once they were out of view of those at the wedding, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his chest. He pressed his lips to her temple as she squeaked and it made his heart do somersaults in his chest.

This was really happening.

It didn’t take them long to reach their building and Zara’s heart raced in her chest as she headed for the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator. Again, Andrei laughed but raced after her, taking the stairs two at a time.

He had the room key, so even if she beat him to the door by holding her dress above her knees, she couldn’t get in without him and he slowed his steps, enjoying the sight of her ass in her dress.

As soon as the door was open, Zara pulled him in by his sleeve, but he was quick to cage her in against the door as he caught her lips in another kiss that he only took a moment to deepen. She ran her fingers through his hair before pushing at the suit jacket he was still wearing, wanting it off, and Andrei broke the kiss for just a moment to shrug it off, not caring if it landed in a crumpled ball on the ground as he kissed her again.

She sighed happily against his lips as she let her hands run down his back before pulling it free from his belt and her core ached with need for him. But he broke the kiss to trail his lips down her jaw as he pulled her hands away from his shirt, enjoying the breathy moan she rewarded him with before he pulled back to unbutton his shirt. If she wanted to feel him, he’d give her what she wanted.

He held her gaze as he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a few more inches of freshly tanned skin with every undone button. Zara bit her lip as she watched him shrug the white button down off before reaching out to touch his chest.

She had touched him countless times before. She knew every dip of his muscles, every joint that ailed him, every visible scar on his body. But it was different touching him now. She wasn’t touching him to soothe his every ache and pain. She wasn’t touching him to help rehab an injury. She was touching him because she wanted to. And fuck did she love how he felt under her touch.

“Like what you feel?” Andrei asked with a smirk, knowing damn well she did and Zara scoffed before she pulled him in for a kiss by the back of his neck.

Andrei immediately took control of the kiss, pressing his lips to hers as her hands explored his back before he kissed down her throat and began bunching her dress up around her hips. He nipped gently at her skin and soothed it over with his tongue before he trailed his lips lower until he met the neckline of her dress. He pressed a single additional kiss to her chest, just below her collarbone, before giving her a smirk and sinking down to his knees.

He watched as her eyes widened, but it only spurred him on as he nudged her foot, wanting her to lift it. When she did, he unstrapped her heel and tossed it aside, her second heel following a moment later. She tried to put her foot back down on the tile floor, but Andrei’s grip on her ankle tightened and instead of putting it down, he guided it over his shoulder, pulling a sharp gasp from Zara’s lips.

“Okay?” He asked as he pressed a kiss to her calf.

“Uh huh,” Zara managed as she leaned her head back against the door.

Andrei chuckled against her skin but continued to trail his lips up her leg, mouthing at her miles of soft skin and loving the quick and shallow breaths she took.

Finally, he reached the seam where her leg met her hip and he licked his lips as he looked at her. “These are cute,” he told her, brushing his finger over the small pink bow on the front of her lacy pink panties. Zara groaned as she rocked her hips into his touch. He’d tease her about it later, but she didn’t care, she needed him to touch her. “But I think they’d look cuter on the floor,” he continued and slipped his index finger into the band, asking permission to take them off.

“Probably would look better next to your shirt,” Zara agreed, her voice breathy. Andrei didn’t need to be told twice. He gently put her leg back on the floor and pulled her panties down, half debating sticking them in his pocket before he tossed them over to join his shirt.

He pushed her dress back up to her hips and guided her leg back over his shoulder, making her take a sharp breath in and he groaned loudly at the sight of her.

She was soft and pretty and pink and so fucking wet for him.

He licked his lips as he looked at her before pressing his lips to the seam of her leg just to feel her squirm. “Andrei,” she whined, high in her throat and he chuckled against her skin before finally getting his tongue on her.

He licked a broad strip up her slit, his eyes closing at the taste of her. He thought about it more than he cared to admit, dreaming of having her beneath him and above him and how sweet she’d taste on his tongue and all the things he’d do to her. She tasted better than he imagined and he couldn’t get enough. He pressed the tip of his tongue to her entrance, needing more of her before he pulled back to circle her clit and the sound of her moaning his name was music to his ears.

“Oh my God, Andrei,” Zara moaned and ran her hand down the door, searching for something, anything, to hold on to before she gave in and fisted his hair, making him groan against her. She gasped at the vibrations and clenched down on nothing as he wrapped his lips around her clit.

“Fuck,” she moaned, it was so fucking good. He was the devil with his tongue, knowing exactly how to touch her and she had been wound tight all day and she knew it wasn’t to take much for him to make her cum.

He gently rubbed her hips with his thumbs as he traced the alphabet over her clit, noting the motions that pulled the loudest moans from her before pulling back from her core to nip high on her inner thigh, smirking at the whine he pulled from her and how she tried to push his head back down. “You look so pretty like this, kisa,” he told her, his voice rough as he tried to commit the image to memory. “And you taste even better.”

“Andrei please…” she whined and gasped when he wrapped his lips around her clit again, looking up at her as he did. He was going to be the death of her, but, fuck, there wasn’t a better way to go.

If he wasn’t holding her up, her legs would have given out and she moaned loudly as her grip tightened on his hair, needing to hold onto him, but it only spurred him on. After months of wanting her, he finally had her and she was moaning his name at that, legs tightening around his head and he could tell she was close.

Andrei was hard in his slacks, harder than he had ever been, but there was nothing he wanted more than to make her cum. He wanted her to cum on his tongue and realize that no other man could make her feel as good as he could. His eyes closed as he focused, needing to push her over the edge.

And then she was cumming. A long moan left her lips as she ground her hips against him and her grip tightened on his hair as she rested her head back against the door.

Andrei tightened his grip on her hips and his eyes closed as he groaned and pulled her closer. The only thing he could taste and smell was her and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

He only pulled back when Zara tugged at his hair and his lips and chin were wet with her cum. His eyes were dark and dazed as he looked up at her and he licked his lips. He’d never get enough of her.

Her legs felt like jelly as her chest heaved but he was quick to wrap an arm around her as he stood up and pulled her flush against him. Zara’s eyes widened as she looked up at him and he knew she could feel how hard he was for her.

Her jaw was slack and she was still catching her breath but she couldn’t help herself, she pulled him in for a kiss and moaned at the taste of herself on his lips. Andrei deepened the kiss as he slid his hands up the back of her thighs and picked her up and walked her to bed. He needed her more than he had ever needed anything.

Zara needed him just as badly, needed to feel his bare skin against hers, but Andrei wasn’t done with her yet. He broke the kiss to drop her on the bed and when she looked up at him with a dazed, flush expression, he smirked. “Can you turn around for me, kisa? Let me get that zipper for you?”

She bit her lip as she nodded and rolled onto her stomach, arching her back to push her ass out for him and he groaned low in his throat making her shiver. Andrei ran his hands down her back to her ass and gave it a playful squeeze, loving the way she squealed under his touch before he trailed his hand down her leg and gripped her calf and dragged her closer, pulling a gasp from her lips. He fumbled with the zipper for a second as she squirmed under him before he managed to take it between his fingers and pull it down, revealing more smooth skin he was dying to get his mouth on.

Zara gasped as Andrei blanketed her body with his and pressed his lips to the back of her neck before trailing his lips down her shoulder as he gripped her hip in his hand. She pressed her ass back against his hips as she tried to encourage him on and pulled a low groan from him.

Once the zipper reached its end, he pulled back to push the dress off her shoulders and off her hips before dropping it to the floor. She arched her back and gave her ass a wiggle that only drove him crazier. “You’re so beautiful,” he told her, noting the freckles that decorated her skin before he turned her around and kissed her again.

She pulled him closer, looping her arms around his shoulders so his chest was pressed against hers and she wrapped her legs around his hips, feeling him through his pants. The kiss was softer than she was expecting, but she let herself melt into him as she ran her hands over his shoulders, feeling how firm he was under his touch before he knocked her hands away to pin them above her head.

Andrei broke the kiss to trail his lips down her jaw and neck, nipping at her skin as he left marks before soothing them over with his tongue, and Zara’s eyes close as she moaned his name. The sound went straight to his cock and he glance up at her before trailing his lips down to her chest, moaning against her skin when reached the top of her breast.

He gripped her wrists in one hand so he could cup her breast in the other and pinched her nipple between his fingers. Ever since they played volleyball and he watched her tits bounce as she ran around the court, he had been thinking about getting his hands and mouth on them and they felt even better under his touch.

He pressed his lips to the top of her breast before trailing his lips lower until he wrapped his lips around her nipple, pulling a sharp gasp from Zara that melted into a moan as she struggled against his grip on her wrists. Andrei groaned against her as he teased her nipple with his mouth and took his time to worship it and her eyes rolled back as she arched into him and whined his name. As good as it felt, she wanted more. Needed more.

He grazed his teeth over her nipple, making her arch into him with a gasp before he switched breasts to give the other one the same attention, leaving a few marks on her skin as she squirmed beneath him before he moved down her body.

Andrei kissed down her stomach, taking his time to mouth over her freckles before he pulled back to drag her down until her hips rested at the edge of the bed and he knelt down between them, letting his breath fanned over her cunt, making her whine.

“Andrei, please,” she begged. His mouth was amazing, but she needed him, not his tongue.

“Be patient, kisa,” he told her and nipped at her inner thigh again, making her whine before he got his tongue back on her. She was wetter than before and Andrei groaned loudly as he pushed her legs open wider and gripped her hips, his eyes closing as Zara’s grip on his hair tightened.

He looked up at her as he circled his tongue around her clit before he pressed one of his long, thick fingers to her entrance and he could feel how she clenched around nothing before he pressed it into her and he groaned against her at how tight and warm and wet she was.

Zara moaned at the feeling of his finger and when he curled his finger up and found her g-spot, she clenched down on him with a sharp gasp that melted into a long moan of his name. Andrei smirked as he pulled back from her clit to focus on her g-spot, loving how blissed out she looked as he brushed the tip of his finger over it.  

She was so turned on and sensitive from the first orgasm and he was overwhelming in the best way and she knew it wouldn’t take long before he made her cum again. Andrei smirked before he wrapped his lips back around his clit and Zara all but screamed as she clenched around his finger, her high suddenly a lot closer than she thought.

He held her gaze as he traced his tongue over her clit and with his thick finger inside her, brushing against her g-spot, it didn’t take much longer until she came. She came hard, her back arching as she tried to close her legs around his head and she gripped the sheet tightly in her hand as she moaned.

“That’s my girl,” Andrei moaned against her, the taste of her flooding his tongue. “So fucking good to me.”

She moaned his name as she writhed, it both too good and too much, and it was only once she came down from her high that she said, “you better fuck me, Andrei.” Her voice was breathless as she looked at him, her tits bouncing with every breath. “No more teasing. I need you inside me.”

Andrei smirked as he looked at her before he slowly stood up. “Oh baby, I plan on it,” he told her before making a show of undoing his pants. His belt came first and then the button of his slacks and then his zipper and Zara bit her lip as she watched him push his pants and boxers down and stepped out of them.

Her eyes widened as she finally got her eyes on his cock. She figured he’d be big, but, fuck, she was still taken back at how big he was and she pressed her thighs together with anticipation before sitting up and reaching out to touch him, needing to feel him again.

Andrei only pushed her back down where he wanted her. “You’ll get to feel in a minute kisa,” he told her before hovering over her, his cock hot and heavy between them. “It’s gonna feel so good.”

“Are you ever not cocky?” She asked breathlessly as she looped her arms around his shoulders.

“I think you like it,” he grinned and leaned down and kissed her deeply. Zara moaned against his lips and pulled him flush against her. She could feel how hard he was against her pussy and she ran her hands down his back as she felt him up. He was so strong and she scraped her nails over his skin, pulling a low groan from him and he ground his hips into hers. “Are you sure?” He asked.

“More than sure,” she told him. “Fuck me, Andrei.”

He groaned again and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before he pulled back and reached over to his bedside table to grab a condom from the drawer, the foil crinkling between his fingers.

“You brought condoms with you and stashed them in your nightstand?” Zara asked, her eyes wide as she looked at him.

“I wanted to be prepared, just in case,” he told and quickly kissed her before she could answer. She moaned against his lips and cupped his jaw as she pulled him closer, letting him kiss the breath out of her before he pulled back.

He ripped the package open and rolled it onto his length before blanketing her body with his and as soon as the head of his cock brushed her entrance, she forgot about how prepared he was as she moaned.

“Ready?” He asked.

“More than ready,” she moaned. “Please fuck me.”

She didn’t need to tell him twice and he kissed her deeply as he reached between them to line himself up and sunk into her with a groan against her lips. Zara moaned as he stretched her, loving the feeling of him filling her up and when he bottomed out, she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him even deeper.

Andrei broke the kiss to drop his head to her shoulder and he mumbled something in Russian about how good she felt. She felt so much better than he could have imagined and he couldn’t get enough.

“Oh my god, Andrei,” she moaned, her nails digging into his shoulders. He filled her up perfectly and with how sensitive she was from the previous orgasms it wasn’t going to take much for her to cum again. She was already fluttering around him and he bit down on her neck before sucking another mark onto her skin as he moaned. She squeezed him so well and she was the best he ever had and he hadn’t even moved.

Andrei sucked another mark into her skin before she squeezed his shoulder and he pulled back before thrusting back into her. He started slow, letting her get used to the feeling of him before he set a quick rhythm, hitting all the right spots as she felt every inch of him.

Zara was a mess as she clung to him and moaned his name. His cross dangled between them, reminding her of their sins but she didn’t care. “Don’t’ stop, oh my God, please don’t stop,” she moaned as she tilted her head back against the pillows.

“Don’t plan on it, kisa,” he told her and kissed her again, trailing a hand down to her thigh to put her leg up so he could get deeper.

“Oh fuck,” she moaned as she threw her head back. Her back arched and she clenched around him, she was so close. It made his hips stutter and he closed his eyes to tried to control himself.

“Gonna cum again, pretty girl?” He asked, loving how fucked out she looked. “Need me to…” he shifted enough to get his hand between their bodies and rubbed her clit, the tips of his fingers brushing himself as he sunk into her.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she gasped for breath. It felt incredible and she was so, so close. It only took a few circles of his fingers before she came again, squeezing him hard as she did and the noise that left her throat was something Andrei was never going forget.

He groaned, his jaw slack as he fucked her through it and his rhythm was getting sloppy as she fluttered around him, but he kept rubbing her clit, even when her moans turned to whines, wanting to pull another from her.

“Oh my fucking God,” she moaned loudly. She didn’t think she could cum again as she squirmed beneath him, but he didn’t let up and her high turned into another as she came again, her vision going white as she moaned his name.

He worked her through it and it was only once she had come down that he pulled his hand back in favour of gripping her hips and the room was filled with her moans and the wet sound of skin on skin and Andrei dropped his head to her shoulder as he got closer with every thrust and he wasn’t far behind her as he came, moaning into her skin.

Zara moaned as she tightened her legs around him, keeping him flush against her as her chest heaved. Andrei did his best to support his weight so he didn’t crush her, but he was just as breathless.

“Jesus Christ,” Zara whispered, completely spent as she trailed her hands down his back.

It made Andrei chuckle and he pushed himself up to look down at her. “No, just me,” he told her with a small smirk and she tugged on his chain to pull him down and kissed him. Andrei melted into the kiss, not wanting the moment to end; not wanting to lose her.

The kiss didn’t last as long as the others as they caught their breath, she kept her arms around him as she smiled softly. More of his weight rested on her than before but she couldn’t complain. He felt so good against her and she didn’t want to let him go.

Once he caught his breath, he kissed her again, this time slower than before and Zara completely melted into it, into him. Andrei was, for all of his youth, the best she ever had she couldn’t get enough of him.

He deepened the kiss to distract her as he pulled out, but she still whimpered against him and he murmured an apology against her lips before he pulled the condom off, tied it off, tossed it near the pile of clothes to be discarded later, and flopped onto his back next to her.

The sound of their heavy breathing filled the hot room, but neither of them said anything as they soaked it in. It was only once they had caught their breath that Andrei pulled back. “I’ll get us a cloth,” he told her before getting up, picking the used condom up and headed to the bathroom.

He did his business before wetting a washcloth with hot water and stepping out to wipe her body down, something none of her exes ever bothered to do. It made her gaze soften as she looked to him and she wondered how someone so young could be so perfect.

“Better?” He asked when he was done wiping her down and she nodded.

“I’m just gonna head to the bathroom, okay?” She told him before getting up. She told herself it was a combination of Andrei and drinks that made her stumble just a step or two before she opened his drawer and grabbed one of his t-shirts out and headed for the bathroom.

Her body was sore and she felt fuzzy in a good way. She took her time as she did her business and wiped her body down a little more before she brushed her teeth and pulled his shirt on. It was huge on her but it smelt like him and it made her smile before she opened the door and found him sitting up against the headboard looking at her.

Rationally, Zara knew that she should have put some distance between her and Andrei, put the pillow wall back up or something, but she couldn’t bring herself to, not when she came out of the bathroom and Andrei was curled up under the covers, his hair hanging in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips. It made her heart do somersaults in her chest and any idea of pulling away from him was completely abandoned.

The walk from the bathroom to the bed wasn’t far, but it felt long considering she was only in an oversized shirt, but as soon as she knelt on the bed, Andrei pulled the covers back and she curled into his chest with a content sigh.

Andrei ran his hand down her back as she settled in and ghosted his lips over her forehead, making her suck in a sharp breath. But the only thing she said was, “what does ‘kisa’ mean?”

“Huh?” Andrei asked and pulled back to look at her.

“You keep calling me ‘kisa’,” she explained. “I want to know what it means.”

“Oh,” he breathed a laugh and scrunched his nose up as he rolled completely onto his back. “It’s just a petname.”

Zara followed his body, resting her arm on his chest as she looked at him, “but what does it mean?”

“Let’s just say you lived up to it tonight, Z,” he tried, but she was persistent. She wanted to know.

“Andrei.”

“Okay,” he sighed. “It means kitten. And beyond you being cute and sweet like a kitten, fuck do you have claws like one, too.”

Zara blushed as she gave his chest a shove and rolled off him, turning to give him her back, but he was quick to wrap his arms around her and hook his chin over her shoulder. “I’m serious, kisa. Have you seen my back? Those definitely won’t heal by the time I have to get back on the ice.”

His words made her tense and the smile fell from Andrei’s lips as he nudged her onto her back so he was looking down at her, his weight propped up on his elbow. “Zara?”

“What are we doing, Andrei?” She asked softly, taking him off guard.

“What do you mean?” He replied.

“This, us, right now. What are we doing? We work together–I basically work for you–not to mention that I’m almost thirty and you’re just a kid. This… This was a mistake. I never should have let you pretend to be my boyfriend,” Zara rushed out before pushing the covers off, needing to get some air.

Andrei caught her by her wrist and he was quiet as he looked at her, his normally bright brown eyes dull with hurt. “I’m not a kid,” he started. “I’m 22, Skye just got married and she’s the same age as me. And you’re only 29, it’s not that big, and I don’t think a ‘kid’ could have done what I just did to you.” His voice was as firm as his grip on her wrist and Zara’s shoulders slumped.

“Andrei–”

“No, I’m not finished,” he cut her off. “Because I don’t think you really regret what we just did, and I know I don’t. I don’t regret it because I like you, Zara. A lot. And I want a relationship with you.”

She gave a defeated tug at his hold on her wrist before sitting down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. “We work together,” she said softly. “I don’t want to lose my job because I got involved with you.”

“That won’t happen,” he tried to reassure her.

“You don’t know that.” Her voice was sharp before she tugged the bed sheet over her legs, feeling exposed. “And I know you said the age gap isn’t big to you, but you’re young, Andrei. I’m past the casual relationships and hook ups, I want something more. Wasn’t that the point of you pretending to be my boyfriend and all?”

“And I want to be your boyfriend all the time,” he told her and moved closed to wrap his arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his chest. “Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I can’t be serious about a woman I care about.”

Zara couldn’t bring herself to pull away from him. She liked the feeling of him. Liked how he made her feel. Liked him. The whole trip, one thing after another, she learned new things about him, from his childlike wonder to his charm to his sharp wit and she realized just how much more to him there was under that confident NHL superstar persona.

Maybe he was right, maybe he was mature for his age. He had come over from Russia as a teen, lived on his own since he was 18, he understood the value of everything around him and never took anything for granted. Maybe he could be serious about a woman; about her.

But, at the same time, nothing had ever worked out for her and who was to say that this would end any differently? If someone her own age couldn’t understand her, how could someone who was barely old enough to graduate college (if he had gone)?

Zara liked him, she couldn’t deny that any longer. She liked how she felt around him and how they had been the whole trip and all the fun they had had together. But what if it didn’t work out and it costs her dream job? She couldn’t risk it.

“I’ve been trying to show you the whole time we’ve been here that I’m serious about you,” Andrei continued, making Zara look back at him.

“You haven’t been pretending?” She asked softly.

“Not for a second,��� he told her without hesitation. “Well, okay, that’s a lie. I was definitely pretending that the volleyball to the balls didn’t hurt because it really fucking did,” he said with a laugh, pulling a smile from her and she gave him a playful shove.

“I apologized at least a hundred times for that, and…” She blushed as she shook her head. “And I can say that I definitely don’t see any residual effects of trauma to the area.”

He bit his lip, loving when she talked medical like that. It reminded him how smart and brilliant she really was. “No?” He teased. “Everything feeling good?”

“Very,” she told him and pushed her hair behind her ears. “But seriously, this week… It hasn’t been an act?”

“No,” his smile softened. “I’ve always liked you. Beautiful, smart Zara with the green eyes and freckles like constellations. Zara who takes everyone’s pain away and always knows just what to say. Zara with the brightest smile and jokes so bad you laugh at how bad they are instead of at the joke. Zara… who’s totally out of my league but I couldn’t stop myself from falling for you anyway.” He went on, gently running his finger down her arm. “I thought this was a good opportunity to show you that I could be a good boyfriend and I don’t pass up opportunities like that, you know me.”

Zara made a strangled noise, her throat tight and she quickly brushed her eyes. She didn’t know what to say and she surprised herself when she turned in his arms and kissed him. Unlike their other kisses, the kiss was soft and slow and Zara tried to pour everything she couldn’t say into it.

“You were good, are good,” she told him when she broke the kiss, resting her forehead against his, her hesitations melting away to him. “No man has ever treated me half as good as you’ve treated me this week.”

Andrei couldn’t help himself, he cupped her jaw and kissed her again, needing to feel her lips against his one more time to memorize the feeling in case this was the last time, like he sensed it was.

“But you don’t feel the same,” he whispered, making Zara pull back. “It’s okay. I kinda figured. I just thought–hoped–that maybe tonight meant something more, but it’s okay.”

“No, Andrei, I–” the corner of her lip twitched up as she played with the ends of his hair. “You are so kind and thoughtful and loving and considerate. None of the guys I’ve dated, even the one a decade older than me, has come close to being as amazing as you. I’m… I’m scared about my job, but I was wrong to call you a kid when you’re twice the man of everyone else.” He gave her a small smile, so she continued. “I want you to be my boyfriend for real, I just also want you to flex your star power and make sure I don’t get fired because I’m falling for you.”

His smile grew and he looked up at her, “you’re falling for me?”

“Hard and quick,” she replied honestly. “But I hear you’re strong so hopefully you’ll catch me.”

“Always,” he breathed and blanketed her body with his, knocking her down into the pillows, pulling a soft laugh from her lips. She ran her hands down his back as he held her and he barely noticed the sting as he focused on her.

“So, we’re doing this?” He asked, needing to hear her say it.

“We’re doing this,” she smiled and gently cupped his cheek as he kissed her, soft and sweet. When she broke the kiss, Andrei nuzzled at her neck and took a deep breath in, never getting enough of her.

Zara closed her eyes as she pulled him closer, but when she opened her eyes, she caught a glimpse of the angry red lines on his shoulder. “Andrei!” She gasped and pushed him back so she could sit up and get a better look at them.

“What?” He asked and watched her pull at his shoulder so she could look down his back and he smirked once he realized what she was looking at. “I wasn’t kidding about your claws. You got me good, kisa,” he laughed.

Zara was really getting tired of how easily Andrei could make her blush and she gave his chest a playful shove. “If you tell the guys it was me, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“We’ll, I’m gonna tell them,” he smirked. “Gotta brag about my smart and smoking hot girlfriend and let them know I more than satisfy her.”

She groaned and pressed her face into him. “Can you at least keep your shirt on all day tomorrow so my parents don’t see?”

Andrei pushed himself up and pulled her to his chest and she could feel the vibrations as he laughed, “okay, kisa.”

Between the warmth in his chest and Zara against him, the exhaustion hit Andrei like a ton of bricks and when he glanced at the clock, it was way too late. “We have brunch with your family tomorrow, right?” He asked and Zara’s groan confirmed it. “Yeah, okay. Then we need to rest. You will be exhausted when you get up.”

“I already am,” she replied but let him settle in before making herself comfortable in his arms. Her head rested on his chest and his arm around her waist kept her flush against him. His heartbeat was comforting and her whole body relaxed, feeling content and safe in his arms. Her eyelids got heavy fast and the last thing she remembered before falling asleep was the brush of his lips against her skin.

Yeah, she could get used to this.

–

Zara noticed two things when she woke the next morning. One, how nice it was to wake up in Andrei’s arms and feel his body against hers. And two, that it was too fucking early.

Her alarm was loud in her ears and she groaned as she pressed herself further into Andrei’s chest. His grip tightened on her waist as he stretched and tried to turn the alarm off, Russian curses falling from his lips until he managed to turn it off. “Better,” he mumbled and tried to settle back into bed, pulling Zara into being his little spoon.

It would be so easy for her to lean against him and fall back asleep and she wanted nothing more than to do just that, but they had brunch.

Did they really have to go, though?

Fuck, yes they fucking did.

But did they really?

You’re the sister of the bride, of course you have to go.

Zara went back and forth with herself before she sighed and reached over to grab her phone and added another alarm in half an hour. Satisfied, Zara put her phone back down on the table and snuggled back against Andrei. They could be a little late for brunch.

The next time she woke to her alarm going off, it was easier to get out of bed, since she was a little more rested than before, even if Zara wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with Andrei all day.

She felt like a zombie as she walked into the bathroom, the cold tile under her feet helping to wake her up. Her hips ached in the best way and she was only a little surprised when she realized she still wasn’t wearing any panties. It was only after she washed her hands that she finally met her gaze in the mirror and her hand flew to her neck as she gasped. She studied her neck for a moment, tracing the tips of her fingers over the dark marks Andrei so graciously left in his wake.

She grumbled as she opened the bathroom door and glared at Andrei, who was innocently playing on his phone while he waited. “Andrei whatever your middle name is Svechnikov, how the fuck am I supposed to cover these up for brunch!”

Andrei’s jaw was slack as he looked up at Zara who had both hands on her hips as she gave him an expectant look. He remembered trailing his lips down her throat a few times, but he didn’t remember any marks standing out half as badly the night before and he didn’t realize the damage would be that bad.

He cringed but gave her a half apologetic shrug. “Igorevich?” He offered.

“What?” Zara replied, shaking her head quickly.

“My middle name is Igorevich,” he repeated, making Zara roll her eyes.

“That’s what you got out of all that? Not the fact that my neck looks like I’ve been mauled by a vampire and we have brunch in an hour?”

“It’s not that bad?” He tried even though it really was.

“It’s awful,” she groaned, and it’s not like she brought any of her high neck shirts or dressed with her either. Her whole family was going to know what her young and hot–and actually real–boyfriend were up to.

But then again, she wasn’t the one that just got married and eyes wouldn’t be on her, and everyone knew what Skye and Toby would be up to… Maybe if she covered them enough, no one would notice them…

Zara did her best to cover the bruises and she wore a sundress with a deep V and a push up bra, hoping to keep her family’s eyes away from her so they didn’t notice her neck, and she wore her sunglasses to cover up her embarrassment if they did. Of course, Andrei had no shame and didn’t try to hide how his gaze was constantly drawn down Zara’s chest.

“Ready for hell?” Zara asked, making Andrei raise his eyes to hers.

“Do we have to?” He asked. “Because I can think of a much better way to spend the morning.”

Despite her attempt, her sunglasses did nothing to hide her blush as she pointed to the door. “Brunch,” she told him and ushered him out the door. He wrapped his arm around her as they walked and Zara leaned into him. They took their time getting to brunch, and, to no surprise, they were the last ones to get these. Andrei sat down next to Zara and kept his hand on her thigh the whole time, and this time Zara didn’t move it.

With all the attention on the newlyweds, no one noticed the poorly covered marks on Zara’s neck or the soft, enamoured look in Andrei’s eyes as he looked at Zara–except for maybe Skye, who gave Zara a knowing look, but Zara just flipped her off when no one was looking.

It was about time Zara got her Prince Charming.

–

For their last night in Tulum, Andrei made reservations at the resort’s high end seafood bistro where the rehearsal dinner was held. He was finally getting a first date with Zara, in Mexico no less, and he wanted to make it as perfect as he could.

He only had the one suit from the wedding, so it would have to do, even if it was a little… crumpled from their activities the night before. He did bring other dress shirts, however, so he paired his blue suit with a black button down and he used the mirror by the door to fix his hair and spray some cologne while Zara got ready in the bathroom.

She took her time getting ready, doing her hair and make up before changing into her dress. When she packed, she wasn’t sure of what to wear to the rehearsal dinner or to the dinner with her family, so she brought options, and since she hadn’t worn the black dress she brought, what better time than on a date with Andrei Igorevich Svechnikov.

The dress was just above floor length with only one shoulder and a high slit. Zara paired it with her heels from the wedding and perfume before opening the door and stepping out.

Andrei looked over at the sound of the door opening and her heels clicking on the tile floor and his breath caught in his throat as he ran his eyes down her body. Zara had always been a beautiful woman, the most effortlessly beautiful woman he had ever met, but holy fuck was she gorgeous.

Drop dead gorgeous.

“Wow,” Andrei breathed and Zara bit her lip as she turned to the side.

“Okay?” She asked, her eyes shining.

“Way better than okay, kisa,” he breathed and stepped forward to touch her waist. “Makes me wanna tear it all off you and have you for dinner instead.”

A wave of heat went through Zara’s body and her breath caught in her throat as she debated if she should just give into it like she had been craving all day. But this was their last night in Mexico. Their last night of free food and entertainment and she couldn’t just let that go to waste, not when they had all the time in the world in Raleigh.

“We have reservations, Drei,” she hummed.

“Drei?” Andrei asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Good? Bad? I don’t know, just trying it out,” she replied and nervously bit her lip.

“I like it,” he smiled before kissing her softly just because he could. Her lips were soft and he didn’t care that he’d smudge her lipstick or get some on him, all he cared about was her.

He’d never get enough of her.

When she pulled back from the kiss, Zara ran her thumb over his lips to wipe away the lipstick and she definitely didn’t feel hot and bothered when Andrei teasingly nipped at her thumb.

Andrei was only 22 and liked to play video games and makes a competition out of anything because his desire to win was so strong. When they were back in Raleigh, Zara barely gave him a second look. For as hot as he was, he was just Svech. She couldn’t imagine he’d be the one turning her upside down.

The difference a week made.

“Are you going to kiss me again? Or can I fix the lipstick you just ruined?” Zara asked and looped her arms around his neck.

Andrei hummed as he pretended to think about it. “I think I’ll kiss you again,” he told her and she couldn’t complain as he kissed her again. For all of his youth, he really knew how to use his mouth.

This time, when Zara pulled back from the kiss, Andrei chased her lips, kissing her deeper than before. Her moan was muffled by his mouth, but she let her fingers tangle in the hair at the base of his skull as she pulled him closer.

When he pulled back, Zara’s cheeks were flushed and Andrei only liked it a lot. It reminded him of how flush she looked when he was finally done with her the night before. “You sure you still wanna head out?” He tried but Zara wiped more lipstick off his lips before she gave his chest a pat.

“We’re going,” she told him before stepping back into the bathroom to fix her lipstick. It only took a moment and she couldn’t look at Andrei when she came back out because she knew she’d give in and she really wanted to enjoy their last night in Tulum, not just enjoy the night. So, it was only after she opened the door that she held her hand out to him. “Ready?” She asked.

“Yeah,” he breathed and stepped forward to take her hand. Zara smiled as they stepped out the door and Andrei wondered what he did to get so lucky.

The Bistro wasn’t far from their room. Really, the Bistro was the restaurant closest to them since it was on the water. They walked hand in hand to it and Zara tried her best not to think about how much bigger his hands were and how much she liked it.

Even though it was well into the evening, it was still and humid out and the breeze was welcomed as she walked and Zara kept looking up at Andrei, waiting to wake up because surely someone like him wasn’t meant for someone like her. But then he looked down at her with an adoring smile and gave her hand a squeeze and she knew it was real.

As soon as they stepped into the Bistro, they could see the ocean and smell the fresh seafood and Zara was so glad she forced Andrei to go. “Reservation for Svechnikov,” he told the hostess.

The hostess smiled as she nodded and picked up two menus and led them to their table right by the screen-free window so they could see the ocean. Zara’s shoulders relaxed as she looked out at the water before she looked over at Andrei and she gave him a warm smile. “This… This is beautiful,” she told him

Zara had had more than her fair share of shitty first dates. Dates who only spoke about themselves, dates who wanted her to eat a salad and nothing more, dates who wanted sex and nothing more, and dates who just plain spoke down to her. But they were all forgotten as she looked at Andrei, and even her best first date paled in comparison to dinner with Andrei right on the water.

“Not as beautiful as you,” Andrei replied without missing a beat, making Zara blush.

“Oh, stop it,” Zara replied but Andrei shook his head.

“Never.”

Zara’s blush darkened but she let Andrei have it as she opened the menu, having no idea what to get. Of course, everything looked good and fresh and she probably could have gone for one of everything if she was being honest. “What are you thinking of having?” She asked.

“The crab sounds good,” Andrei replied, taking his time to read the menu. “What about you?”

“That does sound good,” Zara hummed. “I’m thinking about the seafood linguine.”

“Pasta?” He asked and she nodded. “Yeah, pasta would be good.”

“Yeah, I think so,” she smiled and closed her menu. “Should we get a bottle of wine to go with it?”

The corner of Andrei’s lip twitched up. “If you order,” he told her. “I don’t know my wines.”

Zara wasn’t surprised by that at all but she laughed as she nodded. “Deal,” she agreed, already thinking about pinot grigio.

Their waiter came over not too long after with water for them and Zara ordered for them both, something Andrei definitely shouldn’t have found attractive. Especially after he had her moaning his name over and over the night before.

“What?” Zara asked once the waiter left, unsure of the look he was giving her. Andrei was all big brown eyes and soft lips and she wished she could read him better than she could.

“You’re just amazing,” he told her with a soft smile and Zara’s heart flipped in her chest.

“You’re not half bad yourself, Andrei,” she replied softly and toyed with the stem of her wine glass.

The corner of his lip twitched up as his eyes sparkled before he leaned back in his chair. “Tell me about yourself,” he told her.

Zara laughed softly. “What do you want to know? I mean, we’ve known each other for years already.”

He shrugged her off. “That’s Zara, the athletic trainer. I want to know Zara, the most beautiful girl in the world.”

Her blush darkened and she brushed her hair behind her ears as she ducked her head. “The whole world, huh?” She asked softly and Andrei’s smile widened.

“Whole world,” he repeated.

If Zara had butterflies before, she certainly had them now and she took a sip of her wine to settle herself. “Well, my name is Zara, middle name Iris after the Greek Goddess, and I’m the oldest of two–you’ve met my sister, obviously–I’m a Sagittarius, I grew up liking football, American football, rather than hockey, and it wasn’t until high school that I really got into the sport. I was on the debate team in high school and the model UN in college and everyone is always surprised to find out that I minored in politics.”

Andrei listened with soft eyes, hanging on to her every word. “So smart,” he whispered with a shake of his head. “I’m so lucky.”

Those three words shouldn’t have made Zara as warm and fuzzy as they did. “What about you, big boy? Why don’t you tell me about Andrei? And not Andrei Svechnikov, Canes legend at just 22.”

He laughed his beautiful deep laugh that Zara loved so much. “I’m from Barnaul, Russia. My brother is my best friend and family means everything to me and I’d do anything for them. My favourite food is borscht. People tell me I’m intense and that I need to relax, and I’m pretty good at magic, like making your panties disappear.”

Zara rolled her eyes but couldn’t deny it. “So, borscht, huh?” She replied, butchering the name and ignoring his last comment. “You’ll have to make it for me sometime.”

Andrei laughed, “me? No, I’m a terrible cook. My mother makes it best, but I’m sure she’ll love to make it for you.”

Her breath caught in her throat and she took another sip of her wine as they somehow went from getting to know each other on a first date to meeting his mother. But, then again, they had gone from meeting her family to fucking to a first date, so she shouldn’t have been so shocked. “I’d love to meet the woman who raised such an amazing son,” Zara told him, making his smile soften.

“Next time she comes to Raleigh then.”

“Perfect,” Zara smiled back and Andrei couldn’t help himself, he reached across the table to pick up Zara’s hand and brushed a kiss over her knuckles, making her melt.

Maybe it was the eldest daughter syndrome, maybe it was the debate club, but whatever it was, it had never been easy for Zara to admit she was wrong. But she had to admit it now. All the times she turned Andrei down, all the times she thought he was too young for her, too immature, she… she was wrong. So completely wrong.

Andrei… Andrei was sweet and kind and he understood things on a much deeper level than people gave him credit for, and he was mature beyond his years because he had to grow up too fast, even if that sometimes meant he compensated for a childhood he never really had. But, above all, Andrei was the most amazing man she had ever met, she had just been too blind to see it.

Their meals came not too long after and Zara only moaned a little at how good it tasted and Andrei’s eyes definitely didn’t darken at the sound. The conversation flowed easy as they ate and finished the bottle of wine she had ordered. And, of course, when they were finished and the waiter asked if they wanted to see the desert menu, Zara couldn’t resist.

“Kisa…” Andrei warned as he leaned back in his chair and ran his hands down his chest and stomach. It was bye-week, but that also meant they were in the middle of the season and he already had eaten more than he should have during this trip, a desert when he was already stuffed was pushing it.

“It’s our last night, Drei. And our first date. You can cheat a little, I won’t tell,” Zara smiled and handed him the menu. “Doesn’t the chocolate explosion cake look amazing?”

“Been cheating all week,” he mumbled but she was right. It did look amazing. “I’ll only have a bite or two,” he told her, such famous last words. Once the desert arrived, Andrei had half because it really was good, and as much as he tried to deny it, he did have a sweet tooth.

It wasn’t all that late by the time they left the Bistro, and as much as Andrei really wanted to take Zara back to their room and have his way with her, the sky was clear and the night was warm, so he suggested a walk on the beach instead. It was the most romantic thing anyone ever suggested to her and Zara loved it.

Once they reached the beach, they both took their shoes off and the sand was cool beneath their feet. When Andrei extended his free hand to Zara, she took it with a smile. Without her heels, her dress dragged in the sand, but she didn’t care. All that mattered to her was Andrei. His eyes looked darker in the moonlight and she smiled as she pulled him toward the water, wanting to feel the ocean at least once more before they left the next day.

Andrei laughed and pulled his hand from her in favour of wrapping it around her waist, wanting her as close as possible. It was easy for him to pick her up and spin her around in the ankle deep ocean water, making Zara squeal and his smile widen before he put her back down in the water, a little deeper than before, but she didn’t care as he kissed her again.

The water was nearly up to her knees, but all that mattered was Andrei and his lips on hers. He cupped her cheek in his free hand and tilted her chin up for a better angle before he deepened the kiss and Zara had to hold onto his waist.

“Is this really happening?” She asked when he pulled back.

“It is, or it’s the best dream I’ve ever had,” he replied softly, brushing his thumb over the arch of her cheek.

“Will we be okay in Raleigh? You know, once this bubble pops?”

The corner of his lip twitched up. “Everything will be perfect because you are perfect,” he told her.

Zara was quiet for a long moment as she looked at Andrei. “You promise?” She asked, feeling vulnerable despite being seven years his elder.

“I promise,” he smiled before he kissed her again and Zara clung to him, needing him and everything to be real.

“I’m really falling for you, Andrei Svechnikov,” she whispered.

“And I’ve really fallen for you, Zara Iris Roberts,” he replied with a smile and let his hands trail down to her hips.

At that, Zara pushed herself up to capture his lips in a deep kiss, pressing herself against him completely. To no surprise, Andrei took control of the kiss and Zara moaned softly against him, which only spurred him on and he kissed her until she was breathless.

“You know,” he started, the moonlight reflecting the mischief in his eyes. “It is kind of warm out…”

“Andrei…” Zara said, her tone warning him, not that he cared.

“We’re a bit away from the resort… There’s no one around but us… Why not have a bit of fun?” He told her and pulled back from her to walk back onto the beach to drop his shoes in the dry sand, shrug his jacket off and started undoing his shirt. As soon as the shirt was undone, it joined his growing pile, revealing miles of smooth skin and firm muscles, which made Zara’s breath catch in her throat.

“Andrei…” she started, but he undid his belt and pants before they joined the pile and he smirked at her.

“Never been skinny dipping, kisa?” He teased before pushing his underwear down, leaving him only in his chain before he made his way into the ocean, stopping only once he was up to his waist to look back at her.

Zara’s breath caught in her throat. Honestly? No, she had never been skinny dipping before. It wasn’t something that came up or something she really felt like doing. But it certainly was a different story when it was Andrei Svechnikov buck ass naked in the water waiting for her.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” She called out to him, but still walked over to his pile of clothes and dropped her heels.

“But I’m your crazy,” he replied and Zara’s heart fluttered.

He was, wasn’t he?

It took her a moment, struggling with her zipper before she managed to get it down and shrugged the material off her shoulder and down her legs. She kicked it toward Andrei’s pile of clothes, leaving her in just her black, lacy panties. Andrei’s eyes dropped down her body and he bit his lip, making her feel more confident as she peeled her panties off and kicked them aside before wading into the water.

It felt warmer since she had already been in the water, but she shivered when the water reached her belly, not that it stopped her from making it out to Andrei. He didn’t shy away from running his eyes over her chest as he wrapped his arm around her and Zara leaned into him, enjoying both his firmness and his warmth.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered and Zara rolled her eyes.

“You’re only saying that because you can see my tits,” she replied, but he shook his head.

“I’m saying it because you are,” he told her and brought her out deep enough her breasts were covered by the water. “So beautiful.”

Zara melted against him and pulled him in for a kiss, her chest pressed against his. Andrei groaned against her lips and pulled her closer, loving the feeling of her chest against his, and not even the cool water of the ocean could stop him from getting a little hard, which Zara could feel against her thigh.

“Andrei,” she said slowly, but he only hummed and captured her lips in another kiss. “I’m not fucking you on the beach,” she managed to get out before his kisses. “I don’t want sand in my vagina.”

He groaned against her lips but pulled back to look at her. “But you’ll fuck me in bed?” He asked.

“Absolutely,” she breathed and let her hand trail down his hip.

Andrei groaned again and kissed her deeply, both hands cupping her cheeks, making Zara moan against him. “As much as I want that, want you,” Andrei said. “I just need to…” he didn’t finish his sentence as he pulled back and dove into the water, completely submerging himself.

The water was up to his shoulders when he re-emerged and he ran his hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead, and once again he had her whispering ‘fuck it’ before she dove into the water after him, not caring if her hair got wet or her make up ruined.

“Jesus Christ, you didn’t tell me it’s so fucking cold,” Zara gasped out when she surfaced next to him and she let his laugh warm her.

“It’s not cold,” he told her but moved closer so she could wrap her arms around him.

“Not all of us are from Siberia, Drei,” she told him and shamelessly pressed herself against him in search of warmth. She felt him laugh and his arm wrapped around her to help keep her warm.

His thigh slid between hers, pulling a soft gasp from her. “You’re really cold?” He asked, not moving his thigh.

Honestly? No, she wasn’t cold. Cool? Yes. Cold? No. But, what she wanted more than anything was for Andrei to take her back to the room and fuck her again. So, of course she nodded. “Very cold,” she told him. “So cold I think I might need some skin to skin contact under the covers to warm up.”

Andrei hummed and the tip of his tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Should probably warm you up then, huh?” He said, his voice dropping, sending a shiver down her spine.

“Definitely should,” she agreed and rocked down on his thigh, pulling another groan from his lips and he quickly crashed his lips to hers, his hands on the small of her back to keep her pressed against him. Zara ran her hands down his side, enjoying every ridge of muscle her fingers trailed over and she knew she wouldn't be able to treat him without thinking about all the ways his body felt against hers.

Andrei nipped at her bottom lip, pulling a small groan from her and she put her hands on his chest as she pulled back. “You’re not fucking me on the beach so we–”

Zara couldn’t finish her sentence as Andrei picked her up with ease and started for the beach. She laughed as he carried her and it was only once they made it to their pile of clothes that Andrei sat her down. They only had to go from the beach to their room, so Andrei forewent the underwear in favour of just his slacks, carrying his shirt, blazer, boxers and shoes in his hand. Zara followed his lead and only put on her dress, but before she could pick up her panties, Andrei snatched them up and stuck them in his pocket, making Zara flush despite the chill. After she picked up her heels, Andrei took her hand and she laughed as he all but dragged her in the direction of their room.

It shouldn’t have turned her on as much as it did and she could see the water dropping down the healing scratch marks on his back and her whole body felt hot despite the evening breeze.

The beach chairs got more frequent the closer they got to the resort and there were only a couple lights from the resort’s pool and the moon illuminating the beach. They were the only ones out and it was late and it was their last night and okay maybe she had had one glass of wine too many but…

“Andrei,” she said and gave his wrist a tug as she stopped walking with him, making him turn back to her. Before he could ask her what was wrong, she started dragging him toward a chair with an umbrella that would hopefully provide a little more privacy, her heart racing with every step closer.

“Kisa, what’re you—?” He started once they came to a stop but Zara cut him off with a kiss that she quickly deepened before Andrei took control of it, dropping his clothes onto the sand in favour of cupping her jaw to tilt her head up for a better angle and she took the opportunity to reach between them to undo his slacks, making Andrei break the kiss to look at her with wide eyes. “Zara?”

She blushed and reached into his pants to get her hand on him, pulling a low groan from him. “I changed my mind,” she told him. “It’s our last night here, only chance…” She didn’t have to finish her sentence before he was kissing her again, deeper than before and she moaned against his lips when she felt him harden more in her hand.

Anyone who came to the beach could have seen them and that only spurred them both on and heat pooled between her thighs as she stroked him. Once he was completely hard, Zara broke the kiss to push him back onto the chair and he smirked up at her as he settled back before she helped him getting his slacks off.

“Condom I hope?” She said, holding his slack and he nodded.

“My wallet is in my right front pocket.”

She nodded and pulled his wallet out and handed it to him before dropping his slacks onto the growing pile of clothes and hiking her dress up around her hips and straddling his thighs. Andrei groaned as he watched her before opening his wallet to fish the condom out and handing it to her before dropping his wallet beside him.

“So fucking hot,” he groaned as she ripped the package with her teeth and rolled it onto him. She captured his lips to quiet him before she moved up to straddle his hips, lined him up with her entrance and sunk down on him.

Andrei’s moan was strangled in his throat and he broke the kiss to look at her, his jaw slack as he gripped her hips, keeping her still as she adjusted to him, her nails digging into his chest at the stretch. “Fuck, kisa,” he groaned with a breathless laugh. “Warn a guy.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” She smirked and kissed him again before pushing herself up and started to ride him slowly, feeling every inch of him every time she sunk down on him. He felt bigger than she remembered and she loved how full he made her feel.

She bit her lip to quiet herself as she started a slow pace, her hands planted on his chest to support herself, and to feel him. Andrei watched her with dark eyes, eating her alive. Even in the dark he could tell her skin was flushed and he wished she had taken her dress off so he could see her tits bounce with her every movement.

Instead, he pushed her dress’s skirt up to her waist and groaned loudly as he watched himself disappear into her. She was so fucking wet and stretched around him in the best way and fuck the ocean, this was the best sight in the world.

“So fucking beautiful,” he told her before he pressed his thumb to her clit, pulling a loud moan from her as her hips stuttered, but he helped her keep her rhythm.

“Drei,” she whined, half warning him, half begging for more. “Gotta be quiet.” The last thing she needed was for someone to find them before they couldn’t be quiet.

“Can’t help it, I wanna touch you all over. Wanna feel this pretty little pussy flutter around me when you cum on my cock,” he said, pushing himself up to kiss her deeply as he continued to rub the pad of his thumb over her clit. Zara moaned against his lips and gripped his shoulder tighter, his movement changing the angle enough that he brushed her g-spot, making her clench down on him.

“That’s my girl,” he praised when she broke the kiss, watching her with hungry eyes. “Riding me so good, kisa.”

Zara loved the praise and dug her nails into his skin with a soft whine, her high building quickly as he hit all the right spots on her, and when he thrusted up into her, she gasped and clenched down on him. “Oh my god, Andrei!” She moaned loudly.

He quickly pulled his fingers from her clit to cover her mouth with a smirk. As much as he loved her loud, loved knowing he was fucking her good enough she lost control, she was right about needing to be quiet so they didn’t draw attention to themselves.

Zara could taste herself on his fingers and she fluttered around him as she whined into his hand. She was so close, she just needed him to—

“Gotta be quiet, kisa,” he told her and pulled his hand back to drop it back to her clit, rubbing quicker circles as she clenched down on him and he knew she was close. “Come on pretty girl, wanna see you cum for me, wanna feel it when you cum on my cock.”

“Oh my God,” she moaned, her rhythm getting sloppier the closer she got. “Don’t stop.”

Andrei used his other hand to steady her before thrusting up into her in time with the rhythm of his thumb, wanting to watch her fall apart above him and he was rewarded as her nails dug into his chest as she moaned, grinding into his hand as he thrusted up into her and then she was cumming hard, raking her nails down his chest as she squeezed him tightly, her jaw slack as she moaned his name.

“Good girl,” he moaned breathlessly as she fluttered around him. He was just as close, addicted to the feeling of her cumming on his cock. He continued to rub her clit through her high until her moans turned to whines and he pulled back to grip her hips and thrusted up a little rougher as he chased his high and when she clenched down on him again, he was cumming.

He moaned and Zara gripped his cross and pulled him up for a kiss, muffling him with her mouth as she clenched down on him. Slowly, Andrei’s grip loosened on her hips and he cup her cheek as he softened the kiss.

Zara smiled into the kiss and when she finally pulled back from the kiss, it was only to curl into his arms, him still deep inside her. Andrei laughed as he rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. “I can’t believe we just did that,” she laughed breathlessly, still trying to catch her breath.

“Neither can I,” he laughed with her and playfully trailed his fingers over her side, making her squeal as he tickled her and he groaned again as she clenched down on him. “You’re incredible.”

She gave his chest a playful smack but that only made his smile widened and her smile softened as her heart panged in her chest. He meant so much to her and it was crazy to think that a week ago he was only Svech to her.

She watched his gaze dip over her features before he gently smoothed her hair back as his smile softened to match hers. “No more pretending, right?” He asked softly.

“No more pretending,” she agreed and kissed him softly, needing to tell him how much he meant to her. Andrei kissed her back just as gently as he ran his thumb over the arch of her cheek and kept her pressed against him.

The kiss was slow and it bled into the next and then the next and when Zara finally pulled back from the kiss, it was only to rest her forehead against his. She kept her eyes closed for a moment, soaking in the sound of the waves crashing against the beach and the smell of salt in the air before she finally opened her eyes and found Andrei looking back at her.

She didn’t know how she got so lucky.

Zara took a deep breath as she pulled back and gave his chest a pat, “we should head in before someone catches us.”

As much as he hated the idea, Andrei knew she was right and he took a deep breath before nodding in agreement. A moment later Zara lifted herself off his cock and whimpered at the loss but he quickly pulled her in for a quick kiss before letting her slip off him to get redressed.

He took a moment to watch her smooth herself over before he finally pulled the condom off, tying it and redressing, too. Like before, he forwent the underwear in favour of just his slacks, just like Zara wore only her dress. It wasn’t like they’d be staying on long after they go in anyway.

He carried his shirt, jacket and shoes in his hand and he took a moment to toss the used condom into the nearby bin before adding Zara’s heels to his pile and extending his hand to her. She smiled as she took it and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked back to their room and for the first time in a long, long time, she wasn’t scared of what happened next.

She was happy.

--

Their flight back to Raleigh wasn’t until late afternoon the next day, so they slept in, trying to soak in every remaining second they had before their burst with the chilly Raleigh air.

Andrei woke first and when Zara woke, it was so Andrei ghosting the tips of his fingers down her spine. “Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered, his voice rough with sleep and Zara curled in closer.

“Morning, handsome.”

They were both content to stay in bed a little longer and Zara traced her finger down the line of his abs, loving the way he squirmed under her touch, ticklish, even if he didn’t want to admit it. Andrei was big and beautiful and beefy and strong and yet so soft and kind and cuddly under all that and above all, all hers.

His laugh was low in his throat as she grazed her nails down his side and the butterflies in her chest he always seemed to bring out returned as her smile softened and she couldn’t stop herself from kissing him.

His lips were soft and the kiss was slow and he was gentle as he cupped her jaw. Maybe it was because he was Russian, but fuck, he really was the best kisser. Zara couldn’t help but moan into the kiss and she tapped his chest before pulling away breathless. Andrei chased her lips, never getting enough of her. The kiss was softer and Zara smiled into it before gently pushing him back. “Let a woman breathe, Drei,” she laughed breathlessly.

“What’s the fun in that?” He countered, his eyes sparkling as he looked up at her. He was so lucky to have her.

Zara shook her head as she laughed and when she shoved him again, Andrei caught her wrist and brought it up to gently kiss her inner wrist and she wondered how she had missed what had been right in front of her all along.

They had a final breakfast at the buffet so Andrei could eat his weight in free food one last time and once they finished packing, they headed to the lobby to wait for their shuttle, Andrei’s hand never leaving hers.

Leaving the resort was bittersweet.

Andrei was warm against her in the full blast AC shuttle and his hand rested on her thigh the whole way there, and even if they had the whole row to themselves, Zara sat in the middle seat to be closer to him. His thumb traced soft circled on her thigh as he looked out the window but not even the blue gulf water meeting the white sandy beaches and palm trees couldn’t compare to Zara.

His smile softened as he looked back at her and his grip tightened on her thigh for half a second, needing to remind himself that it was real, that they were real. Zara smile as she looked back at him before she rested her head on his shoulder and Andrei sighed contently as he let his head rest against hers.

A lot had changed over their week in Tulum, but neither of them would change it for the world. They went to her sister’s wedding as friends—co-workers—and left so much more.

Raleigh had its own challenges with the season and working together and the guys, and just a few days ago all of those things scared the living shit out of Zara, but looking at Andrei now, his deep brown eyes looking at her like she was the most amazing thing he had ever had the privilege to see, for the first time in a long, long time, she wasn’t scared.

Zara had spent so long looking for her Prince Charming that she had been blind to him standing right in front of her, but now her eyes were opened and they belonged to him.

Whatever happened in Raleigh, they could handle it because it was them and they were together.

Just like they were meant to be.

Fin.

[thebookreader12345]

Admirer Central Pt. 2

Pairing: Intelligence Unit x Member! reader & Mystery Man x reader

Summary: The team has been dying to find out who Y/n's fiance is, but when it comes time for everyone to meet, things don't go according to plan

Requested: Yes, by multiple anonymous

Warnings: mentions of crimes, guns, and injuries

Word Count: 746 Words

Pt. 1

"So," Hailey started and took a seat on the edge of my desk. "You've been with this unit for a couple of months now, but we still don't know who your fiance is. When do we get to meet him?"

"Yeah," Jay agreed. "When do we finally get to know who it is?"

"When the time is right," I reply.

Adam groaned. "Come on. You've been saying that for months now."

"I'm not doing it on purpose," I claim. "He's just like us. Always busy with work at the firehouse. Plus, he's just taken on a side job, so I don't get to see him too often either. I'll talk to him when I get the chance and let you all know when we can meet up. How's that sound?"

"We'll allow it," Kim declared. "But we're still gonna keep pushing."

"Yes we will," Kevin concurred.

"All right. Now, I need to finish this paperwork, so if you'll excuse me," I say and turn my attention back to my work.

...............................................

The team and I had been following a gun dealer case for the past few days. A bunch of illegal automatics had been sold throughout Chicago, and we were trying to stop the dealer from selling anymore. We had set up a meet, and everything was going great. Well, until things took a turn.

"Y/n get down!" Jay shouted. I dove to the floor, hitting it with a thud as a spray of bullets flew over my head. When I pushed myself up though, a throbbing pain started pulsing from my calf, and when I looked down, I saw that a bullet had managed to graze my leg, leaving behind a pretty deep cut.

"I've got him!" Adam called out from across the warehouse. "Everybody good?"

"I may need some help," I tell my co-workers.

"Ooh," Kim cringed when she saw the cut. "That doesn't look too good."

"It doesn't look too bad. It should just need stitches," I guess. "Could someone take me to Med real quick?"

"I've got you," Kevin spoke and bent down to help me up. At Chicago Med, all I needed were a few stitches, like I had guessed earlier. And once that was taken care of, Kevin and I headed back to the district. Up in the bullpen, all of Intelligence was sitting at their desks filling out some paperwork.

"Hey. You okay?" Hailey asked.

"I'm fine," I assure her. "I mean, it hurts like hell when I walk, but other than that, I'm okay." Just then, my fiance came bounding up the stairs that led into the bullpen, and Trudy was right behind him.

"Sorry for the interruption. He insisted he come up," Trudy disclosed.

I waved Trudy up. "It's fine. Thank you for brining him up."

"What the hell, Y/n? I was stopping by the hospital to check on a victim I saved earlier and Will told me you had just been there and needed stitches. Why didn't you call me?" Kelly quizzed.

"Because I didn't want you to worry," I respond.

"I'm your fiance. I have every right to worry," Kelly countered.

"Hold on a second," Jay interrupted. "Severide is your fiance?"

"Wait. You guys know each other other?" I question.

"I know everyone up here. We've worked with each other a lot over the last few years," Kelly confessed.

"This whole time we thought we didn't know who Y/n's fiance was. She never gave us your name," Adam shared.

"A lot of cops like to keep their personal lives private. I am one of those cops," I state. "But now, since you've all met my fiance, you can stop bothering me about it."

"Aw. But that was fun," Kim muttered.

"I'm off shift in like two hours, and it looks like you guys are almost finished with work, so would you want to meet up at Molly's after shift?" Kelly posed.

"Only if we get to hear all kinds of embarrassing stories about Y/n," Kevin put forth.

Kelly smiled. "I'm down to share some things."

"This is why I didn't want to introduce any of you. Because I knew this would happen," I admit.

"Shut up. You love us," Hailey teased.

"Yeah yeah yeah," I murmur. "Lets just get back to work. That means you too, Kel."

"All right. I'll see you guys later. Bye Y/n," Kelly said and leaned over to press a quick kiss to my lips.

____________________

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