#c: home fires
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monstermonger · 1 month ago
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~3 months traveling in my wife’s home-country -> 100 journal pages
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the-keroscenic-route · 1 year ago
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I just love this piece by @seye_art over on instagram. I'm always interested in the idea of Emma at the school as a teenager. How that would have changed her, the team, and her relationships, particularly with Jean and Scott.
I also love her uniform. Incorporating the white (and sort of the off the shoulder shape of some of her costumes) into a more standard x-men costume is not something I've seen a lot and it really makes sense for this universe given her age and the rest of the team's slightly more standardized look.
He has a few other pieces around this idea, and just some generally fantastic x-men and original art. So def check out his insta or shop: https://linktr.ee/seye_art
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bumblingbabooshka · 5 months ago
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Milchick riding a motorcycle was the real plot twist of episode 2
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vaguely-concerned · 17 days ago
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there's nothing quite like a dark souls game when you're really depressed. fromsoft places a hand on your shoulder and says "yeah no you're right. sometimes the whole world really is coming at you shrieking and flailing and trying to claw your face off and there is no hope in sight. what is left for us here but the deep sorrow of a magnificent beast doomed to a slow and possibly endless descent into ruin? here's a sword about it. go wild"
and then you stand there with tears in your eyes clutching your giant claymore to your chest like a lover and whisper "I. love my sword" and you do. you love that sword
#on so many levels I understand harrowhark nonagesimus. I love and hate that sword and the burden and gift it symbolizes#the duty to struggle on because you're beholden to and beheld by love still etc.#fromsoft could make a really good and really weird locked tomb game if given the chance I think. it wouldn't be what I wanted#(which lbr would be a dating sim thing. like bioware style. some gameplay but mostly Drama) but it would rock probably#dark souls#dark souls 3#I was feeling real bad so I went and borrowed ds3 from the library since it's the only one I haven't played!#thus far it's definitely my least favourite of the trilogy (longtime ds2 lover & truther logging on) but it's still a from game#it scratches the itch! I made the colossal mistake of starting with a spear and boy oh boy do I NOT have the muscle memory built#for that moveset in these games fhdsakj I was wondering if I really just sucked until I picked up a shortsword and was like 'ah!'#and then when I finally found the claymore... this is of course deeply embarrassing but I kind of teared up a little#I'm home. I'm never using a shield again. it is not the vaguely-concerned way to cower before death behind a wall of steel#I mistime a dodge roll straight into an enemy attack and eat shit as tradition and honour dictates#storywise I'm not getting anything much out of this I must admit tho I didn't expect to (I've watched all the lore vids) AND#I don't quite vibe with how linear it is or the runbacks (damn elden ring really fixed that design problem huh!) but it feels good#to slam my face into a brick wall again. the comfort of having your ass kicked and knowing that is as it should be#I am doing a little roleplaying. my girl selene. she's from irythill. she used to hang out with the same crowd as vordt and the dancer#(she in fact had a huge crush on the dancer back in the day) but like. she hung out in the lower coolness tier of the same crowd#if you see what I mean. I hate to invoke the franchise even through fanwork but my life as a background slytherin style.#selene was on the team for sure. but it was the b team. the powers that be kind of sent her off on an impossible quest#that she's been dutifully trying to complete this whole time and indeed kind of is still this linking the fire thing is just a sidequest#(selene is very hot basically well-meaning and not too bright. true hero material)#she's SO embarrassed after fighting vordt b/c she genuinely thought his name was bort this whole time#every time she meets an outrider knight she's either like 'oh my god -- KEVIN?? D:' or 'hehehehe who needs#to 'watch their footwork' now motherfucker. yeah you heard me bill'. she's going to be real sad about gwyndoline probably :(#also. I have lucatiel's armour now. oh my god. my girl. long time no see I love you. tfw no hat tho
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inamindfarfaraway · 1 year ago
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Do you ever think about Azula after Zuko's banishment and before she was sent on her mission? About the time it was just her and Ozai? Because I do.
Her worst fear is being what Zuko is to their father. It's easy to look at her smirking while she watches Ozai light Zuko’s face on fire and think that she enjoys her brother’s suffering, but from the day she was born, Zuko has been the bad example. The scapegoat. The failure she exists to surpass. Where he is disrespectful, she will be obedient. Where he is weak, she will be strong. She will make Ozai proud. She will be perfect. She has to be. Because if she isn’t -
well, in that moment she sees that for herself. Iroh looks away, but she doesn’t. This eleven-year-old child watches the whole gory scene that her experienced general uncle can’t stomach, because this is a lesson for her as well, that’s why Father had her be here, and so she must not let herself tremble or cry or flinch or scream. Zuko is. That means she can’t. Instead she will do the exact opposite, smile with a princess’s proper posture.
Then Zuko is banished. He will most likely never return - most likely die young. He isn’t around to be the foil under her jewel anymore, making her shine brighter simply by contrast. (Or to play with her or comb her hair. But it isn’t useful or becoming to miss those moments. She isn’t a child anymore; her childhood was burned through like Zuko’s skin.) All Ozai’s attention is on her. All her people’s hope in the next generation of royalty is pinned her. If she doesn’t hold her shoulders back and her head high, she will collapse under the weight of her nation’s future. Zuko got what he deserved. Just as whatever happens to her, she deserves it too.
How many nightmares does she have? How many times does she flinch or shake when her father touch her? Or force herself not to? How many times does she smell burning hair and flesh and hear her brother’s agony when she spoke her own opinion in a war meeting? How much does she secretly grieve him, and scold herself for it?
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marchentraume · 1 year ago
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~❤️ Happy Hearts Day ❤️~
Michael and David Across the Universe
Feel free to use these for valentine cards, backgrounds, shitposts, anything! Don’t need to credit me I didn’t even bother watermarking haha
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graunblida · 2 months ago
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@inmydrcams sent: ❝ i have never felt close to another person. not since i was a child. ❞ ( tyene )
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" that can certainly feel lonely at times, " lexa nods in understanding. often times she finds herself yearning for the the freedoms of her youth. before her shoulders weighed heavy with the burdens of the throne. as a leader of her people, she's surrounded by others, yet constantly feels an EMPTINESS. there are a select few the warrior trusts implicitly, but they are not always in close proximity. and during stretches of time where none present have her full confidence, the experience can prove to be quite isolating. " does it bother you? " lexa has found that some find comfort in solace. others, do not know how to navigate it. she believes she falls somewhere in between.
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crowsdove · 1 year ago
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Honestly, making yourself and your f/o(s) on the sims is something that can be so wonderfully euphoric, as I've recently rediscovered
They don't have to turn out perfectly, your f/o is just so touched that you did this at all :> and like, they're floored by all the effort you put in regardless! You're so wonderful to them and they just love you so much. And if you use mods or cc to get more accurate, or even made some yourself, they are so impressed
And like, getting to build and decorate a home that's perfect for the both of you. Maybe you have similar tastes so everything matches, maybe you don't so it's a blend of things you like and things they like, either way I'm sure it turns out great because it's your shared home! And you can take super cute selfies together and put them on the walls too.
Idk, it's just so fulfilling.
Edit: I'm putting some more things in the replies of this that might be helpful like mods/cheats. It totally slipped my mind before but I don't want anyone to have a bad time so I'm doing it now
*~°~+~°~*~°~+~°~*
> Antis please dni <
*~°~+~°~*~°~+~°~*
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unproduciblesmackdown · 6 months ago
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speaking of bsol through speaking of xmas xtrav that like i'm so augh god hand over heart falling over (just like the bloodsong b/c it's the like conclusion of being Overwhelmed By Artistic Effect that then in the ideal version you may as well die) at the thought of the finale where you have the main plot conclude as that Story w/those Themes like ah but even then, the influence, the other the musicians now, that this whole time like yeah you have to do it even if you just keep building or die or were thwarted even prior to that b/c you didn't know you wouldn't be....but that then just like in the opening song Outlaw or sort of distillation of the theme abt being someone making art Last On Land or that at other points other characters have emerged as not really their characters not really a greek chorus but elements of the story helping to Tell It, here's Everyone again for the friendship song altogether & each with an instrument & like not even able to see it but pics & imagining & the enthusiasm & the Thematic Resonance like this is when you are pursuing these pursuits together like _o__ (splayed out facedown emoji) aaauuughhh ;;mm;; bsol finale with everyone showing up playing & singing & dancing the song celebratory finale it's all the Theme when the full cast of Characters had only ever all been together for the one standoff scene at the end & yet obviously We've known them all & everyone is outlaws which is a song like i'm already going sicko mode & this is just the intro, so yknow, The Conclusion, good lord find an iconis musical finale without that place for the celebratory outpouring of enthusiasm right amidst other feelings & situations but Good Lord Here's This in a story that'll always have been all about people's depths & heights & widths & breadths & variations & tumult & all the dimensions, people will have Brought It all over the place & it's like yes leap around together playing & singing this song together which isn't The Story but is such an extension of it b/c bsol has its show within the show quality still infused all in it & if this flurry of Actors Celebrating Outpouring We Put On This Show but still within the show you are seeing as an audience in this venue wouldn't have been part of the original plan with a whole [outside the show within the show] plotline like. embraces bsol holding it so hard my becherished
#bsol#& in true xmas nature yknow like yeah i think of the whole show like wwaaughh think of the baby please come home like Aauuuughhh#think of specific moments within & none of those make me weep but they do make me go omg & woww yayy & clap & cheer & caper & gambol#but what everything has been: all about its central theme & bsol/xmas playing w/& sending up Genre Conventions we all know & thus can be#enough on the same page about so as to then be on the same page abt what's Unexpectedly done w/them but it's not just about#like oh we do this to be Above it b/c it's also done abt genre convention stuff that's enjoyed & interesting to its creator here so#that also as ever the Heart of w/e the genre stuff being messed with is Earnestly Kept & that's what all this is used to express things#with in addition to being able to have fun & explore things that plausibly a completely straightforward recreation type homage couldn't#or couldn't do as well without sacrificing one or the other vs if you're already doing an open like remix playing with exploration; then...#the conclusion of the xmas show isn't yeah i love xmas isn't that cringefail of me. yeah these xmas special media we're working off of#isn't that all so silly & no matter how much i love it it's important to end up Above It. like nobody's here to be above shit good god#soooo much more you can do if you don't have to prioritize That central theme. [you & me; We're superior] undermines Anything Else#while never holding yourself as Apart & Better lets anything else grow & flourish & have the Capacity & Flexibility to be & do whatever#the villain as an emotional reflection of part of the hero / representing a Possible Version of them; not Who They Could Never Be#as Only a force to be overcome with your greater force; though naturally yes the villain creates conflicts & stakes & obstacles#& in these so very genrey xmas bsol situations i'm clapping cheering go also very fun & funny little villain who kills you Gooo#100% this bitch Oh No Not Miserthorpe Krampington Thornwassail Cocodrilo that's right you fucks ahahahaaa >:) die btw#thinking about specific parts of bsol like oh wow oh yay oh this fun turn into this bit oh what a scene what a song wahooo#then overall like lying back reaching up Bloodsong....#thinking of the finale friendship song actors as actors ish characters ish ft. instruments 😭😭😭😭😭😭 (one each)#this mf (gesturing to myself who'll inevitably fire up Outlaw.mp3 at any moment & go Augh the harmonica the harmonies the chorus The This)#also that obviously i get to have a delightful time going well so of course lo cocodrilo is gay; perhaps & trans; &....
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youcanthandelthetruth · 2 years ago
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This is the dumbest thing to complain about but it has been 103°F or more every day for a week and a half and like yes I got pretty badly heatsick but more importantly I can't run my lava lamps or light any candles???
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elektroyu · 1 year ago
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If you have leftovers from making gyoza as well as from making 2 different barbecue salads... throw them together and get a perfectly yummy meal out of it 🌚✌️
Still have most of the cabbage left though so I'm going to make sauerkraut 🤤 none of the store bought brands beats home made sauerkraut. It'll take some time, but it's well worth it. I've even used it as gifts before and people are always happy to get some XD
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shivunin · 2 years ago
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I should wait until I have an outline to say this, but Zevran and Arianwen Tam Lin AU:
Halloween is coming up so it's the perfect time
Man bound by his word to a cohort he no longer wishes to serve
Woman who adores him and would save him from a horrible fate out of spite even if she didn't love him
"You could be unlovely and of no use to me and I would still see you and want you near" is like the thesis statement of their relationship to me and I feel like "I would hold you no matter what shape you take" fits into that thought very neatly
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oneofthosecrazycatladies · 5 months ago
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Okay so we have this huge problem with forgetting about everything that’s happened by the time the next election rolls around so I’d like to keep a running list of things as they’re happening to help remind us when the 2026 midterms roll around. And please add to this if I’ve missed anything.
January 2025:
Donald Trump pardoned 1500 people who participated in the insurrection of January 6th, including those who violently assaulted and nearly killed police officers.
Donald Trump has declared that trans and non-binary people don’t exist.
Donald Trump is working towards firing everyone in the government who isn’t loyal to him.
Donald Trump has effectively fired everyone who he claims is an “illegal DEI hire” …whatever that means
Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization
Congress are trying to pass the Laken Riley Act to, effectively, round up every immigrant in the country, including LEGAL immigrants
Donald Trump removed caps on prescription drug prices.
Donald Trump wants to withhold federal aid to help combat the LA wildfires and help the thousands of people who have been displaced and lost their homes.
The Department of Justice has put a hold on all civil rights cases.
Donald Trump has cut off aid to Ukraine.
Laken Riley Act has been passed by Congress and is awaiting being signed into law by the President. Here’s the breakdown of the votes: House Senate
Donald Trump purged a dozen inspectors general from the federal government and intends to replace them all with people loyal to him.
Pete Hegseth has been confirmed as Secretary of Defense. Here’s the breakdown of how the Senate voted. Note, it was a 50-50 tie that JD Vance had to break.
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Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Colombia after the Colombian government turned away two airplanes carrying migrants. Columbia has retaliated by imposing a 25% tariff of its own on US goods.
Donald Trump has also issued a travel ban for Colombian citizens and revoked visas from Colombian migrants coming to the US.
Donald Trump has now backed off the tariffs and other threats against Colombia. Note for future reference: this comes just hours after Trump made the threat in the first place and he and the Colombian president got into a big fight on social media.
Nearly 1,000 migrants were arrested mostly in Chicago on January 26th by ICE and ICE has been told to meet a quota of 75 migrant arrests every day.
Donald Trump rescinded an anti-discrimination executive order from Lyndon B. Johnson
Donald Trump signed an executive order banning trans people from serving in the military and also ordered that people who were discharged for refusing to get mandatory vaccines be reinstated.
Donald Trump has frozen all federal grants to institutions.
After pressure from state governments, activist groups, and the general public, the White House has rolled back some of the freezes on federal funding.
Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN) has proposed a change to the 22nd Amendment to allow Donald Trump, specifically, to serve a third term.
Donald Trump is trying to fire all federal employees who don’t want to return to the office (work-from-home saves the federal government millions of taxpayer dollars in overhead). He also sent an email to federal employees saying that if they’re not loyal to him, they’ll be investigated.
Donald Trump has signed the Laken Riley Act into law.
Donald Trump has said he doesn’t think Palestinians should be allowed to return to Gaza but instead should be sent to Egypt and Jordan.
Native Americans have been targeted by ICE raids.
Donald Trump has ordered undocumented immigrants to be sent to Guantanamo Bay
Donald Trump signed an executive order to expand federal funding for school choice programs. [x]
Donald Trump signed an executive order saying that he will deport visa-holding students who protest against Israel. [x]
Donald Trump has blamed DEI for the plane crash that killed 67 people in Washington D. C. [x]
Donald Trump signed an executive order that schools should no longer teach about racism and discrimination. And that schools should only teach history that is “patriotic” [x]
Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna wants to add Donald Trump’s face to Mount Rushmore. [x]
Trump’s Department of Education has called book bans a hoax. [x]
The Department of Justice has barred certain news outlets from receiving information from the Pentagon. [x]
The Trump administration has fired multiple FBI officials who investigated the January 6th insurrection. [x]
February-June 2025
I’ll keep adding to this list as new things come up and, again, please feel free to add anything I’ve missed. I know that in this world of constant news it’s easy to forget, so let’s give our future selves a little help!
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tarragonthedragon · 3 months ago
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ghost stories are alarmingly easy to spread tbh
when I was like ten I was walking back from the chip shop near my gran's house with a neighbour and we took a short cut down an alley which was enclosed by garages except for one part which was wire fenced and led to the electricity shack
and while I was walking I chucked a chip over the fence. the girl walking with me, C, reasonably asks why I did that
"oh, don't you know?" I say, as if I'm not equally out of my own loop
she shakes her head. the enclosed alleyway has no streetlights. it's after dark. the shack is isolated in the distance.
"a little girl who lived up on the court climbed the fence once on a dare. she went up to the shack and touched it, but there was a wire sticking out, and when she touched it, she got electrocuted and died, right there. if you come back in the daylight, you can still see the black mark."
[editor's note: the court was the smaller road off the side of the crescent, which was the one C's family and my gran lived on. the houses there were slightly more expensive and newer, almost all occupied by wealthy commuters to the city, where most of the crescent houses were occupied by retirees and locals who worked on the trading estate. naturally, crescent kids hated the court. houses there got bricked about once a month.]
"no she didn't," C says
I made up this story for absolutely no reason and with no plan, but I'm not gonna back down now. "sure she did. and if you go past on your way back from the shops and you don't leave her an offering, she'll follow you home through the streetlights. one flickers behind you, then the next, then the next, until you get home. and then the lights start to flicker inside the house. even if you turn out all the electrics before bed, it'll be too late. she's inside. and you'll wake up on the night and see her, and she'll be so awful to see it'll stop your heart."
[editor's note: the streetlights always flickered. this was because our neighbour monkey george kept setting the junction boxes on fire]
"I never did before and she never followed me home!"
"do you come down the alley after dark? or do you take the main road with the streetlights?" I knew she didn't use the shortcut, because I'd been the one to talk her into it that night. she was three years younger than me and scared of the dark.
C claims not to believe me, but she throws a chip over the fence too, and walks the rest of the way looking over her shoulder. I get to pride myself for the night on being good at scary stories, and don't think much more about it.
fast forward six or seven years. I'm back in town. I'm on my way back from the chip shop, taking the same shortcut home. ahead of me on the road are a couple of kids I vaguely recognise as old playmates' younger siblings.
they stop, and I watch one fish out three sweeties from the pack they're sharing. they take one each and throw them over the fence. they carry on walking.
I realise that this is probably my fault, as are any resulting pest control issues around the old electricity shack.
when I get to the fence, I throw a chip over.
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graunblida · 3 months ago
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@embodies sent: ‘ i want to learn from you. ’ - bellamy!
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the request itself is music to her ears. almost. capable as he is, he knows his own skill set is not enough to survive here on the ground. the fact RESONATES with him, which is why he seeks help from the earthborn now. the skai people need them. bellamy blake, needs them. the heda wishes to revel in this moment, savor the begging. after all, arrogant men individuals seldom put aside their own pride when understanding their place. it may not bring her warriors back, but watching her enemies squirm and WRITHE is its own special treat. people can change, voice in her mind reminds her. gods knows she has. the man before her is indeed troubled, but can she say for certain he can never rise to the challenge and move forward from this? the future is promised to no one. her own visions only stretch so far.
he's brave to show his face in polis like this. or a fool. surrounded by those who would surely demand his head. leksa rises from her throne and descends toward him, slowly, purposefully. perhaps one day, they would begin to break bread, but the damage is still too fresh. today, the commander would sooner make peace with her own ANGER than the soldier before her.
" there is much for you to comprehend in this world. far more than i could ever hope to teach you. "
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whoevenisjavier · 21 days ago
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strike the match
pairing: no outbreak!joel miller x college student f! reader
you fuck joel miller, austin’s fire chief, in your old room while your parents sleep down the hall.
tags/content warning: +18, mdni. f! reader. age gap. joel is 52, reader is 25. battalion chief joel miller. brief scene of attempted forced kissing (not by joel). reader wants that old man so bad. unprotected piv. creampie. wear protection please. dry humping. thigh riding. mouth covering during sex. oral f!receiving.
w/c: 9k
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Hold the wide end of the cue stick with your dominant hand, palm facing up. Find the point where the stick balances, then shift your hand two or three centimeters back.
Form a circle with the thumb and index finger of your other hand.
You raise an eyebrow as you sip the espresso martini through a straw. Who knew pool could be this interesting?
Slide the cue stick through the circle and rest it over your middle finger. Set the outer edge of your hand on the pool table and—
Someone calls your name and you glance away from your phone, which is still open on a page titled “Pool for Dummies: First Steps,” just in time to catch the wide smile of one of your friends.
“Another round?” she asks, tilting her head toward your espresso martini. “Some guy just bought us drinks.”
Your glass is still half full, but you nod and agree, adding that the next one better come with a straw too. Free drinks are a no-brainer.
Once the waiter walks off with the order, your eyes drift again to the corner of the bar, to the pool tables surrounded by loud men downing tall mugs of frothy beer.
But you’re only watching one of them.
Your lips close around the straw again, and though your vision is slightly blurred at the edges, you stay locked in on the silver-haired man in his fifties, full beard and all, leaning against the wall with a cue stick in hand as he waits for his turn. He laughs at something his buddy says, and somehow, the drink tastes sweeter while you’re watching those broad shoulders under a plain black T-shirt and those strong thighs in faded dark jeans.
His turn.
He leans over the table, lines up the shot. His biceps flex, looking even bigger as he makes that typical forward-and-back motion before striking. His eyes are fixed on the red ball, until…
Suddenly, they’re on you.
Your stomach drops like you swallowed an ice cube. Still looking your way, brows slightly furrowed, he makes the shot. You don’t even have to follow the ball to know it sank clean.
His friend says something, and just like that, he looks away.
“Oh my God, stop flirting with the geriatrics,” your friend says, placing another espresso martini in front of you. “Adam wants to take you home. You know, the skinny blond guy…”
“The twenty-seven-year-old,” you say. “He’s a baby. And I bet he’s circumcised.”
“You’re twenty-five. What’s your beef with circumcised guys?”
You skip that question because there’s no polite way to explain your preference when it comes to pool cues.
“I like my men the way I like my cheese.”
“Old and stinky?”
“Aged!” you correct. “Y’all can keep your cheddar. I want my Gruyère.”
Your table erupts in laughter.
It’s your oldest friend’s birthday tonight, and you all decided to celebrate her twenty-ninth at Miller’s Bar, run by Tommy, an old friend of your dad’s, and his wife, Maria. Luckily, your summer break from grad school lined up with her birthday, and coming back to Austin is always worth it for nights like this.
And it’s not hard to imagine the kind of attention a group of girls in short skirts, high boots, and crop tops draws inside a traditional Texas bar.
You’re halfway through your espresso martini on your next sip, and for some reason, that reminds your bladder it needs attention. You excuse yourself and get up, though no one really hears you, and head straight for the bathrooms in the back of the bar, tucked at the end of a dim, nicotine-reeking hallway, where the air clings to your skin and the walls are hung with fading paintings of bulls, cows and longhorns.
Your bathroom mission is quick, mostly because it’s way too dirty to linger. Pee, quick reflection while perched on the toilet seat (layered in toilet paper), a bit of lipstick, a quick hair touch-up.
The music from outside, a Dolly Parton classic, fills the bathroom as you open the door, and it only takes one step into the dark hallway for you to slam into a wall of concrete.
“Shit,” says the wall.
Strong hands catch your shoulders and push you back, and suddenly your face is being tilted up by firm fingers.
“You alright?”
Black T-shirt. Gray beard. You blink, looking up, and your stomach flips again. He’s even bigger up close.
“Oww,” you whisper dramatically, touching your temple. Showtime. Anything to keep his hands on you a little longer. “I think I’ve got a concussion.”
“Doubt it. Looks to me like you’ve had a few too many.”
“You sure? Here,” you grab his hand and place it on your forehead. “Do I have a fever? What if you gave me a concussion?”
“Your fault for not lookin’ where you were going.”
You squint up at him again. He pulls his hand away and only now do you realize just how big it is and how thick his fingers are.
He’s raising an eyebrow, but there’s a hint of amusement on his lips that pushes you to blurt your name, offer a handshake, and say:
“How about I buy you a drink as an apology?”
The smile dies. He ignores your hand, pats the top of your head twice, like you would a puppy, and sidesteps you, saying:
“Go find someone your age, kiddo. Plenty of boys in there’ll want you.”
“I don’t want someone my age!” you call out after his retreating back.
“Too damn bad.”
He steps into the men’s room, and you feel your shoulders slump with disappointment. Would a lower-cut top have helped?
“When you think like that, feminism goes back twenty years,” your friend says when you repeat that exact thought to her. “He’s supposed to like you for your personality.”
“I don’t want him to eat out my personality.”
He walks past your booth and heads back to the pool area, and your eyes eat him up again, but then Adam, the allegedly circumcised boy, and his crew show up, cramming into your booth and blocking your view.
It’s hard, but you resist the urge to roll your eyes and order another espresso martini instead.
At some point in the night, you get fed up with the boys and their dumb incel-tier jokes, so you decide to leave. Your friends ask if you want company walking home, but you decline, even though your legs feel a little wobbly as you stand. You pay your part of the bill, say your goodbyes and make your way to the bar’s exit.
There’s a chilly breeze outside that raises goosebumps on your arms, and you shift your weight from foot to foot, leaning slightly against the wall as you dial your dad’s number.
It rings ten times and goes to voicemail.
You try again.
Voicemail.
“I don’t sleep until you’re home,” you mutter mockingly, repeating what they always say. “Bet they’re deep in REM by now.”
You’re typing your home address into the Uber app when the bar door opens again. Your eyes meet his.
“Changed your mind?” you ask, trying to sound alluring.
He closes the door behind him and looks both ways down the empty sidewalk before turning back to you with indignation.
“What the hell are you doing out here alone? Where’re your friends?”
“They stayed.”
“And they just let you stand out here by yourself?”
You ignore him, already over this conversation, and hit enter on the app. The fare loads. Shit. Twenty bucks to get home? That’s ridiculous. And the nearest driver’s twenty minutes away.
“Where do you live?” he asks.
“I’m not telling you where I live, stalker,” you mutter, eyes still on your phone.
“Five minutes ago, you were trying to buy me a drink.”
“So? Telling you where I live is crossing a line.”
“I ain’t leaving you out here alone.”
“Hey,” you spin to face him and point a slightly shaky finger in his direction. “You’re not responsible for me. I can take care of myself.”
He stares at your red-polished finger, then at your face, then raises his hands in surrender and walks past you toward the bar’s parking lot in silence.
Fine. Gotta love a hot guy who thinks he owns the damn world. Most exhausting type.
Alone again, you refresh the app a few times, and on the third, the price jumps from twenty to twenty-five dollars.
“Noooo,” you groan, leaning your head back against the wall to stare at the stars. Could you walk home? No… way too dangerous. And your high-heeled boots were not made for that.
The bar door opens again. You don’t look up to see who it is, and you don’t need to, because ten seconds later, there’s a hand on your waist. You jerk away, startled, trying to shake off the touch, but the grip is strong.
“Hey there, baby girl,” Adam says, way too close. You can feel his booze-soaked breath. “I got your message.”
His blown pupils freak you out, but it’s the fact that you can’t break his grip that makes your heart spike. You’re trying, but your espresso martini-filled body is sluggish. His hands feel like steel clamps against your dull reflexes.
“What message?”
“You wanted me to follow you out.”
“No, I didn’t. I just wanna go home. Let go.”
You try again. He holds tighter. Now he’s pressing his hips against yours. You push him, but every one of those espresso martinis slows you down.
“No need to make this so hard, baby girl. I saw the way you were lookin’ at me.”
“Let me go!”
Bile creeps up your throat and you swallow it down just to gather enough air to scream—
“Hey, kid,” a deep voice growls to your left, and your body nearly buckles with relief when he, Mr. Difficult, steps into view. He looks pissed.
“You back off her or you’re heading back to college five teeth short.”
Adam stumbles backward immediately, fear plain on his face. Mr. Difficult gives you a short nod, and you rush to him in quick steps, heart racing, tucking yourself beneath his broad frame like it’s shelter from the storm.
“These cameras,” he says, pointing to the ones mounted on the bar’s exterior, “I’ll have those tomorrow. Sexual harassment? I hope you don’t have a scholarship.”
Adam starts to say something, probably begging not to be exposed, but you don’t hear it. You’re gripping the man’s forearm, and he’s guiding you toward a black pickup parked between the shiny little cars of the boys still inside the bar.
In silence, he opens the passenger door and waits for you to climb in: slow, one foot on the step, the other in, legs together, finally settled. Then he shuts it and walks around to the driver’s side. For a moment, you feel like Bella Swan hopping onto the back of that weird guy’s bike in New Moon.
He gets in, shuts the door, and takes a deep breath before saying so firmly you don’t even think to argue:
“Give me your address. I’m taking you home.”
Defeated, you tell him. Only then does he start the truck and pull out of the bar’s lot.
“You know that guy?”
“I know his name’s Adam, but I don’t know him. Don’t even know his last name. He’s a friend of a friend.”
“Goddamn criminal little punks,” he mutters, rolling up the windows and turning on the heat when he notices you’re trembling, even though the cold has little to do with it. “You alright?”
“I’m… yeah. I think so. Thanks for stepping in.”
He keeps driving, and you use the quiet moment to steady your breath and your hands. The streets of Austin are empty, ghostly, barely any cars out, and your mind wanders for a second. Maybe it’s time to finally sign up for that self-defense class your dad kept telling you to take back in Houston.
You wedge your hands between your thighs to warm them and settle into the seat. You pretend not to hear when Mr. Difficult’s phone rings and he answers:
“Miller,” he says flatly. Someone talks on the other end. “What the hell happened to Jesse? Tonight’s his shift, not mine.” More silence. Then Miller, his newly revealed last name, curses under his breath and snaps, “I’m on my way.”
He hangs up and makes a sudden, hard right, jostling your body and making your eyes go wide.
“Are you kidnapping me?!”
His frustrated sigh fills the cab.
“You’re way too damn annoying to be kept in captivity,” he grumbles, accelerating. “They need me at work and I can’t drop you off first. It’s urgent. You’ll wait for me.”
“I can call another Uber.”
“You ain’t calling an Uber drunk like that.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because,” Miller says through gritted teeth, eyes on the road, “it’s literally my job to protect dumbass civilians who walk themselves into danger. I swore an oath. Now zip it.”
Civilians? Swore an oath?
Five minutes later, you get your answer as the wide property of the Austin Fire Department fills your vision, the U.S. and Texas flags flapping hard in the night wind. Miller drives through the open gate and parks beside the building.
“Come with me.”
You follow, still dazed, clacking behind him in your high-heeled boots. He doesn’t check if you’re keeping up, just walks with long, fast strides, and when he reaches the covered part of the station, three mustached men in full gear look at him like he’s the second coming.
The rest of the crew is further back, checking one of the trucks. They’re all huge.
“Chief,” one of them says. Chief?
“We need you. We got a call on—”
“Where the hell is Jesse?!” Miller practically growls. The three of them look at each other, shrinking a bit despite all standing well over six feet. “He think he’s back in school? What if I’d been drinking tonight? You’d go on a call short-handed? Hell of a teammate, that one.”
You’re only noticed when Miller turns his head toward you and calls out again:
“Come on.”
You do, still quiet. The firefighters tear their eyes off him and look at you, and yep… there it is. Raised brows, head-to-toe glance, lingering a bit too long on your skirt, and an open flirt-ready expression.
Miller shuts that down real fast:
“Eyes off, punks. I’ll be down in two.”
You give them a sheepish smile, but what you really want to say is: Yeah! That’s right, punks! Eyes off!
With a little bounce in your step, like a kid who just got praised by the teacher for their stick-figure drawing, you follow Miller up the stairs, metal steps creaking beneath you both.
Upstairs, you find the firefighters’ break room: a big dining table, a flat-screen TV, leather couches, and a kitchen tucked in an attached nook. You glance away from the wall of photos just in time to catch Miller stepping into his bunker pants, still over his jeans, and pulling the suspenders over his shoulders.
Shameless, you watch the whole thing while having a revelation. Yeah, now you get why firefighters are in every cliché fantasy ever. If Miller climbed into your window wearing that gear, you’d one hundred percent say something ridiculous like, “Here to put out my fire, officer?”
Next comes the heavy coat, and you can already see the sweat forming along his hairline as he zips and buttons everything up.
“Wait here for me. There’s coffee, water…” he gestures vaguely around the room, clearly in a rush. “Bathroom, running water, all that. Won’t be long.”
Before you can say anything else, he grabs his helmet and gloves and jogs down the stairs, pulling the Nomex hood over his head as he goes.
Moments later, the siren roars through the station, and as it fades into the night, it becomes nothing more than a ghostly hum at the back of your mind.
You sit on the couch, staring at the white wall with your hands tucked between your thighs. A firefighter. The chief.
Have you accidentally wandered into one of those steamy books you secretly read before bed? Or are you still sitting on the toilet in that grimy bar bathroom, hallucinating on espresso martinis?
The TV’s on. The news is covering a convenience store fire, result of an electrical short. Flames rage against the dark Austin sky, the interior swallowed by orange heat, yellow police tape keeping the crowd away. Thankfully, the store was empty when it caught fire.
Firefighters are en route, the reporter says, visibly relieved, and you curl onto your side on the couch, hands folded beneath your cheek, watching the broadcast.
You blink a little slower this time, and then everything goes dark.
“Were you trying to flash your panties to everyone in here? Damn short skirt.”
That’s the first thing you hear when you come to, groggy, as something is gently draped over your legs. You crack one eye open to find Miller carefully placing a leather jacket that smells like men’s cologne across your thighs. Only then do you realize just how comfortable you’d been lying there, considering the length of your skirt.
He keeps adjusting the jacket until everything’s covered. There’s no judgment in it. No irritation that you passed out like that. Just care, obvious in the way he pulls and tugs at the edges without ever letting his fingers brush your skin. And that, somehow, disorients you more than if he’d called you a name or scolded you outright.
“You’re back,” you mumble.
He shoots you a sidelong glance. His cheeks are smudged with soot and ash, his hair sweaty and tousled. The jacket’s gone, his suspenders hanging loose by his hips.
“Yeah. Didn’t die.”
“Thank God,” you murmur, eyes falling shut again. “What a waste that would’ve been.”
He clicks his tongue, exasperated.
You hear footsteps moving away, and peek through one eye to see him heading toward one of the adjoining rooms, tugging off his soaked black T-shirt in the process. The sight of his broad back makes your mouth go dry, especially with the reminder of what that body does for a living. All that strength. All that control.
Before the thought can spiral, other firefighters filter into the room, looking just as worn out as Miller.
“You the chief’s new girl?” one of them asks in a low voice, clearly trying not to be heard by said chief. He looks suspiciously like Bradley Bradshaw from Top Gun.
“No. He doesn’t want me.”
That earns you a burst of chaos. Whistles and chuckles like a group of teenage boys, not grown men who just came back from a fire call. Someone at the back yells, “I do!” and you ignore it, because you don’t kiss babies. Not when there’s a fire chief with a back like that about to drive you home.
You sit up on the couch, keeping Miller’s jacket across your lap, and glance at the coffee carafe they’re passing around.
“Can I have some?” you ask, motioning toward it.
They scramble like it’s a competition: who’ll pour, who’ll carry it over, who’ll get that sweet little “thank you” you sing out.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Miller says as he reappears, now in a fresh T-shirt bearing the Austin Fire Department logo on the chest and a clean face to go with it. His silver hair is damp, slicked back. He points at you. “Up. Let’s go.”
You rush to finish your coffee, burning your tongue in the process, and set the cup down to join him, still holding his jacket.
“I don’t know who’s been in contact with Jesse, but tell him he’s off the rest of the week. Maybe a seven-day suspension will help him get his shit together.”
One of them steps forward. “Chief—”
“That’s not a request, Lieutenant, that’s a decision. You boys need to learn the weight of the oath we swore.”
Silence.
Miller’s voice sharpens. “Are we clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Miller places a hand on your shoulder and guides you forward. You walk ahead of him, down the stairs and out to his truck in silence.
“Tell me your address again,” he says once you’re both seated, looking worn out.
“You’re the fire chief.”
“Battalion chief,” he corrects, starting the engine. “Address.”
You tell him. He starts to drive. You watch him for a few seconds, then say:
“That was hot. The way you chewed them out? Extremely hot.”
“What’s with your thing for older men?”
“I thought you’d never ask!” you exclaim, and Miller rolls his eyes. Still grinning, you explain, “It’s not a thing. I just prefer older guys because they actually know what they’re doing. It’s not a crime.”
“How old are you?”
“You gonna judge me?”
“Seriously?” Miller stops at a red light even though the streets are deserted. It’s well past three a.m. “You’ve said all kinds of crap tonight, and this is what you’re worried about being judged for?”
“Because then you won’t wanna kiss me.”
“I’m not gonna kiss you either way.”
“See? That’s discrimination.”
“You still drunk?”
You think about it. Your vision’s clear now, no blurs at the edges. That weird rush in your ears is gone. The coffee and the nap did wonders.
“I’m not,” you say, turning in your seat to face him. He glances at you from the corner of his eye, like he’s afraid to admit you’re even in the truck with him. Finally, you say, “Twenty-five.”
“I’m twenty-seven years older than you.”
The light turns green. He drives.
“That just sounds like motivation to me,” you say, watching the way his thumb tightens around the leather steering wheel for half a second, his only reaction. “Are you married? Dating? Secret vow of celibacy?”
He shakes his head. No to all.
“My women need to be at least forty. That’s my cutoff.”
“Totally fair. Women in their forties are delicious,” you say, giving him a thumbs-up. “But there’s always an exception, right?”
“No. Not with you.”
“Am I ugly?”
“You know damn well you’re not. Those boys at the station were practically undressing you with their eyes.”
A Cheshire cat smile spreads across your lips.
“You noticed? Look at you, paying attention,” you tease, but he doesn’t respond, and you know your limit. You stop pushing. “Okay. You don’t want me. Got it. I’ll stop.”
Silence. His forearms have so many veins. You bounce your leg, restless, and because you can’t shut up, you say:
“Thanks for taking care of our city, Chief.”
More silence. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, a deep laugh fills the space between you, and the sound makes you melt right into the seat.
“You’re really somethin’ else, sweetheart.”
“Oh God,” you groan. “You’re gonna make this harder if you call me sweetheart.”
“What’s the difference with older men, anyway?”
“Fishing for an ego boost?”
“Forget I asked.”
“No, no, wait, sorry,” you say quickly, folding one leg under you and straightening like you’re about to give a TED Talk. You’re not wasting this moment. “Okay, listen, I lost my virginity in college—”
Miller rubs a hand over his face. “Too much information.”
“—and it was awful!” you go on, like he didn’t interrupt. “I didn’t finish. I told him that, and he said it was normal. So I slept with another guy, and that sucked too. I tried to settle because I thought that’s just what straight-girl life was.”
Somewhere in the universal rules of womanhood, there’s probably a clause that says never trauma-dump on a man. No man is different. But now that your mouth is open, it won’t stop.
“So I went out with this guy.”
“A guy,” he repeats, leaning slightly to check the passenger-side mirror.
“I think he was forty-two at the time. Miller… was addictive.”
“I can already imagine why.”
“Mhm.”
“But that’s not a rule. Not every older guy knows how to do that.”
You resist the urge to ask if he’s talking about himself.
“Haven’t had any bad experiences yet.”
The car goes quiet for five more minutes. You recognize the avenue you’re on, which means you’re probably only ten minutes from home.
“Have you always been a battalion chief?”
“I transferred here four years ago. Before that, I was a commander in Seattle.”
“So that’s why I didn’t know you. When you came, I was still in college,” you say mostly to yourself. “Got it. You like it here?”
“I’m from here. Tommy’s my brother. I left for Seattle twenty years ago.”
“Tommy from the bar?!”
“Tommy from the bar,” he confirms.
Mouth falling open, you lean back in your seat. Makes sense. His last name is Miller.
“Wow. Tommy’s friends with my parents,” you process the information bit by bit. “You’re Joel.”
“Mhm.”
“Joel Miller.”
“Yes.”
“I remember he used to talk about you all the time when he came over,” you say, because it’s true. Everything was Joel. Apparently, Joel had been his savior when they were kids. “He must be happy you’re back… and as battalion chief, no less.”
It’s subtle, but the line between Joel’s brows eases just a little when you say that last part. Other than that, he doesn’t react much.
“Family’s family,” he replies simply.
You reach your parents’ street and direct him to the house. Joel parks in front of it, and you notice all the lights are off, the windows dark. The porch light is on, and you know the key’s tucked inside the lilac flower pot.
You unbuckle your seatbelt as you say,
“Thank you so much for the ride. I’m sorry if I pushed too much and made you uncomfortable.”
You open the door to get out. Joel says,
“Close that door.”
Your hand freezes on the latch. Joel’s pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes down. After a beat, you shut the door and sit back in your seat.
The console light dims.
You give him a moment because he looks like he’s wrestling half a dozen battles inside his own head.
“You didn’t make me uncomfortable,” he says quietly, rubbing his hands against his jeans. “I just don’t think I’m what you really want.”
“I think I’ve made it pretty damn clear you’re exactly my type.”
“Sweetheart, no offense, but this feels more like some drunk little adventure you’ll laugh about with your girlfriends tomorrow.”
If there was even a drop of alcohol left in your system, that sentence burns it out.
“Just because you’re older?” you ask, trying to keep your voice level. “Come on, Joel. That’s crap. Yeah, we’ve got a big age gap. But I told you what I like and why I like it.”
“Because you wanna be the wild friend?”
Your eyes go wide in disbelief. Your cheeks flare with anger, and you decide you’ve had enough. You reach for the door again, and the next second, a large hand covers yours and pulls it closed.
“Okay,” you murmur, still staring at his hand on top of yours, frozen. “Now I actually think you’re gonna kidnap me.”
“Shit,” he mutters, and he’s way too close. “Sorry. If you wanna get out, you can. I just… I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to offend you.”
“So what’s this whole speech for, then?” you turn your face toward him, and now you’re only inches apart, since he leaned over to shut the door. “You don’t want me. I get it. I’m a big girl. I don’t need a speech.”
Joel looks from you to your house, scanning the darkened façade, probably noting the lights all off. When his eyes return to yours, there’s a new kind of resolve etched into his face.
“It’s gotta stay secret,” he says. No wiggle room.
Your breath starts coming just a little heavier.
“I won’t tell a soul,” you promise immediately.
“Not even your friends.”
“What’s the big fear?” you ask, half-teasing, though there’s a flicker of real curiosity beneath it. “You married?”
“Hell no. I’m just the brother of the guy who’s friends with your dad, and I guarantee he wouldn’t want some fifty-year-old sniffing around his little girl.”
“I’m twenty-five,” you repeat, but your voice wavers a bit as Joel leans closer. “It’s not up to my dad who I get involved with.”
“Good for you,” he says, like he couldn’t care less, his hand coming up to cradle the side of your neck. “Still damn young.”
“And yet, I’m gonna be your exception.”
He squints, confused, until it clicks.
“Oh. Right. The first twenty in my rulebook.”
You lean in, ready to kiss him, but Joel holds you still with his hand at your neck, like he’s waiting for something.
You say what he needs to hear:
“Won’t breathe a word about what you do with a younger girl in front of her house.”
“Good. That stays between me and God.”
He pulls you in, and the second your lips meet, you’re gone, falling into that familiar place you’ve always adored with older men.
Your brain short-circuits and Joel takes the lead in everything. His hand moves from your neck to the base of your skull, tugging you deeper, and he’s the one to part his lips, the one to tilt just right so your mouths fit like it’s a damn movie scene.
Your fingers slide into his hair, thick strands slipping between them, as you sink further into the seat. He follows, body hovering over yours. The moan that escapes your throat when his tongue brushes the seam of your lips is honest. The one that comes when he finally kisses you with tongue, though just as real, is so drawn out it makes your cheeks burn with the fear he might think you’re faking.
God. That kiss.
“It’s a crime to keep that kind of kiss from me,” you whisper breathless, chest rising and falling in quick bursts. Joel kisses your bottom lip, your jaw, drags his mouth down your neck. The ceiling of the truck blurs as he finds your collarbones, and you arch into him to give him more room. “Joel—”
His tongue meets the skin of your chest and you thank every higher power that your neckline’s just deep enough for him to reach the dip between your breasts. The ache between your thighs tightens, that telltale pulse of being soaked hitting you all at once.
“More,” you whisper, tugging his hair, just enough to let him know you want another kiss.
He gives it to you. One hand on your waist, the other on your neck, he kisses you again, and this one’s filthy from the first second, now that you both know exactly how to move together. You press harder into his hands.
“You can’t be this polite,” you murmur. “Aren’t you gonna slip your hand under my skirt?”
“Boundaries,” he whispers, eyes fluttering shut when you trail kisses along his jaw, rough with beard stubble. There’s still a faint trace of sweat and smoke from the earlier call, and you should probably care about that, but you don’t.
“No way you’ve got boundaries still holding steady in that brain,” you say. You watch his face up close as you take his hand and guide it down from your waist to your thigh. He opens his eyes at the heat of your skin and keeps them on you as you lead his hand higher, higher… right to the hem of your skirt. You pause. Ask: “Can I?”
He swallows hard.
He’s the one who moves now, sliding his hand beneath your skirt, grabbing a handful of your ass and squeezing like he means it, hard enough to make you giggle. His fingers find the lace of your panties where it sits snug between your cheeks.
“No one’s out here,” you murmur. Your hand finds the thick bulge in his jeans, and you raise your brows at him. “Can I make you come?” you ask, giving just the faintest stroke, enough pressure to make the denim feel good, not rough. “Please. Want me to take my panties off while I touch you?”
Joel clenches his jaw. Moves his hand from your ass to the front of your panties, cupping your pussy fully, probably feeling the heat radiating for him. You spread your legs as much as the car seat allows, giving him space to explore, all while trying to slip your hand inside his jeans to—
“No,” he breathes, shaking his head like the effort to say it physically hurts. You pull your hand away instantly at his no, but raise an eyebrow, waiting for more. “No. Not here. I’m not about to come in my jeans like a goddamn teenager.”
He pulls his hand back from between your legs, taking a steadying breath.
“Not here,” says again.
God. You could cry.
“Okay,” you say instead because you’re an adult and you respect a no. “Alright. Okay.”
“Go on. Get inside.”
But before you do, you raise a finger.
“Can I suggest something?”
You’re not quite sure how you manage to convince him, though that alone would be something worth bragging about, but somehow, you do. You talk Joel into parking a little farther down the street, just to be safe, and into sneaking in with you through the back door, because the front one’s too damn noisy.
Your fingers wrap around his wrist as you guide him through your dark house. A stop in the kitchen for a glass of water. A pause in the living room to make sure no one’s there. Then the stairs. One step at a time, silent. His brown eyes find yours every time you glance back.
And then Joel Miller is in your bedroom and you’re locking the door.
With his hands on his hips, he looks around: at the old band posters from when you were eighteen and just starting college, at the lilac bedsheets covering your mattress. The curtains are cracked open, letting in the pale glow of the moon and the streetlights outside, casting his silhouette in silver while you kick off your boots and socks and toss them aside.
“Prove to me you’re not drunk,” he says low.
“You want me to do a four?”
He keeps staring. You roll your eyes but do it anyway, lifting your right leg and crossing it over your left thigh, making the shape of a four with your legs.
“You’re so old,” you mutter, reaching ten in the count. “I already told you I’m not drunk. You know that perfect little buzz? That’s all I’ve got.”
“Enough to not regret this in the morning?”
“Regret you? Only if I were out of my mind.”
The plush carpet cushions your sore feet as you walk toward the bed. He just watches you. Watches as you climb onto the mattress, toss the pillows to the floor, and lie back on your elbows, looking straight at him.
One raised brow. A wordless well?
Joel looks up at the ceiling, like he’s saying a silent prayer, then bends down to remove his boots.
“You think you can stay quiet?” he asks, stepping closer. He mutters, “Refuse to come in my jeans like a damn teenager, but here I am sneaking into your house like one.”
Joel stands at the foot of your bed. You smile at him, about to unbutton your skirt, but he’s faster. His hands slip under the fabric, tugging your panties down your legs and tossing them aside.
You realize what he’s about to do when he plants one knee on the bed and starts lowering his head between your legs, but you stop him with your foot against his chest.
“You don’t have to,” you say quickly. You’ve been out all night with your friends. Sure, you showered before leaving, but still… it’s been hours. “It’s okay, I don’t need—”
“I do. I want to,” he murmurs, and the way he brushes your foot aside like it weighs nothing sends a wave of heat down your spine. Now both hands are on your thighs, spreading them gently. “Unless you don’t want me to.”
He waits for a sign to stop. You don’t give it.
A smile curls his lips.
“Yeah. Stay quiet and let me enjoy it.”
The hands that were holding your thighs now push your skirt up, the leather bunching around your hips. Then Joel’s large frame lowers, and his mouth finds you.
Your head falls back as his warm tongue slips between your folds with torturous precision, the sound of his spit mixing with your slick making your stomach tighten, and you have to practically bite down on your bottom lip not to moan. He grabs your hips, pulls you toward his mouth, and my God… he really wanted this.
Joel seems to be patiently gathering every drop of your arousal with his tongue, like he’s not in any rush, not until he’s good and ready to start licking your clit, his lips closing around it and sucking, slow and steady.
A moan nearly slips out, but you manage to turn it into a shaky exhale.
Your leg gives a little and you can’t hold yourself up on your elbows anymore, so you lie all the way back, legs splayed around his broad shoulders.
You glance to the side, clutching the sheets beneath you as you start, slowly, to ride his face. The mirror on your vanity catches everything, still cluttered with makeup you’d used while getting ready, and now it reflects the way Joel’s body covers yours, one foot still on the floor, your skirt bunched up, the outline of him pressing hard inside his jeans. You lower your right leg and catch a glimpse of his jaw working as he eats you out, desperate, beard slick with your arousal.
“Good?” you ask sweetly, fingers threading through his silver-streaked hair as your eyes meet. He can��t answer with words, but his eyes speak volumes, and he definitely grips you harder when you teasingly say: “You fifty-somethings really know how to eat pussy.”
Joel’s no exception.
You only pull him up because you want to kiss him again and because you obviously want him out of that fire department t-shirt. He peels it off, revealing a broad chest covered in dark hair that radiates strength.
Joel helps you slide your skirt off, and your mouths meet as you wrap your legs around his hips.
“I probably smell like smoke,” he murmurs.
“Just a little. More like sweat. And it’s delicious.”
Another smile. He’s on a roll.
“You’re insane,” he mutters, lowering his hips. The friction of his cock, denim-rough, grinding against your clit makes you whimper. He catches it. “Feel good?”
You nod. Joel watches you, then dips his hips again, and the seam of his jeans hits just right. You nearly come undone.
“Again,” you whisper.
He listens. Joel makes sure not to hurt you with the zipper, but grinds down hard enough, at just the right angle, to knock the air from your lungs. Your clit throbs under the pressure, the rough rub of the denim, and the solid heat of his cock beneath it only makes it more intense.
He licks two fingers and drags them between your legs just to give you a little extra slick, enough to keep it from turning raw, and keeps rocking into you. You hadn’t planned to come, but you also can’t stop it, not when that feeling keeps rising, rising, until—
It bursts, a sweet sharp rush that spreads from between your legs through every inch of you, and Joel keeps it going, those slow, steady grinds that don’t overwhelm but won’t let the afterglow slip away either.
You place a hand on the waistband of his jeans, gently stopping him.
“You need to fuck me. Now.”
“Urgent?”
“Mhm. So I can come again.”
“You’re so damn direct,” he mutters, clearly amused. Then he leans over and says, “Arms up.”
You obey. He takes off your top, and it’s you who unhooks your bra, now completely naked. Joel watches as he strips off his jeans and boxers, and when he’s bare, you prop yourself up on your elbows to look.
Thank you, God. Uncut.
You look up at him.
“Come here.”
Joel climbs onto your bed, his knees sinking into the soft lilac sheets, and settles between your thighs. Together, you shift higher up the bed until your head rests on the lone pillow left on the mattress.
“Might come too fast,” he warns, and you believe him by the way his cock is rock hard as he guides it to your entrance.
“I don’t mind.”
“Sure you don’t. You’re an expert in old men.”
The head of his cock pushes in with a wet sound that shuts your mouth. You bring your fingers down between your legs, starting to touch yourself again in slow, careful circles as Joel eases into you. He’s gentle, taking his time, eating you up with his eyes, and once he’s fully inside, his body covers yours.
You feel the soft press of his belly against yours, the hair brushing your skin, the weight of him, and it’s enough to stir you back up. Joel draws his hips back and fucks you, and the sound that escapes your mouth is nearly inhuman. Your eyes fly open, meeting Joel’s startled ones, and before either of you can react, his big hand covers your mouth.
“Quiet,” he says, then thrusts again.
You grip his wrist with both hands and wrap your legs around his hips, taking the rough, perfect rhythm of his thrusts — thankfully quiet, the bed doesn’t creak — as his thick cock drives deep into you, raw and goddamn delicious. Joel presses his hand firmer against your mouth to muffle you and clenches his jaw. The trimmed hair at his groin drags over your clit with every thrust, his balls slapping against your ass, and your eyes squeeze shut. You don’t even have the strength to keep touching yourself.
Joel goes again, once, twice, three times.
“Fuck,” Joel breathes, voice rough and shocked, sweat trickling down his neck. You feel a pulse inside you and then a warm rush spreading. “Fuck, fuck… I was supposed to pull out and—”
“It’s fine. Really,” because it is. You’ve never understood the drama around guys coming too fast. To you, it’s a compliment, as long as you’re properly taken care of. You repeat it, not wanting the afterglow to turn tense for him. “It’s okay.”
You pull him close and press a soft kiss to his lips, your fingers running through the softer strands at the nape of his neck.
“I had a vasectomy,” he confesses suddenly, lips still against yours, like the thought just occurred to him and he needed to reassure you.
“Great. I’ve got an IUD. Though we probably should’ve talked about this before, huh?” your hands slide down his sweaty shoulders. “Think you can get hard again?”
“Give me a minute.”
“Okay. Pull out.”
Joel shifts back, kneeling between your legs and wrapping his hand around the base of his cock as he slips out of you. You watch his softening length, slick with both of you, and wonder for a second why the hell you like that image so much. And even more… why the feeling of him dripping out of you turns you on.
“Sit there,” you tell him, nodding toward the headboard.
Silently, like a good student, he does exactly what you asked, leaning back against the headboard, his cock now fully soft resting on his thigh.
You crawl over on your knees, slipping between his legs to straddle his right thigh that feels solid under you, the thick hair tickling the insides of your thighs.
“How sensitive are you right now?” you ask, dragging a finger slowly along his cock, the head still tucked away. Joel jerks his hips back, pulling away from the touch. You lift your hand and arch a brow. “Okay. Got it. Very. I could try sucking you hard again.”
“Suck a soft dick?”
“Why not? I wouldn’t mind.”
“Alright. But I wouldn’t feel right about it.”
You rest your arms on his shoulders and lean in. “Okay. I respect that.”
Joel gives you that look, the one older people always get when they’re a little impatient with your ideas or mouth, but you know it’s not about you. He seems like the kind of man who grumbles about everything. Besides, the impatience doesn’t match the way his hands move across your back, soft and slow, up and down.
You say, “I was gonna learn pool just so I could play with you tonight.”
“Yeah? You learn anything?”
You pull back just enough to lift your hands. With your left, you pretend to grip a cue, and with your right, your thumb and index finger make a ring.
“Now I know how to hold a pool stick.”
Joel’s lips tug into a half-smile.
“You’re left-handed,” he notes, and you lower your hands again, nodding. His grip returns to your hips. “Well done. You should’ve come, by the way. I might’ve let you win.”
“You’d never let me win.”
“I’m softer than I look. And,” he cuts himself off when he notices your smirk, “if you make a joke about my soft dick, I swear I’ll have your name on a wanted poster by tomorrow.”
“I don’t get why it bugs you so much. Come on.”
You say that just before leaning in to press your lips to the pulse at his neck. Joel tilts his head slightly, giving you space, and you pepper kisses there, then across his shoulder. You press your chest to his, and his hands grip you tighter.
“Bet the single women in this town chase you down,” you murmur, arms around his neck. “And… the married ones too?”
“No comment.”
“Austin’s most wanted bachelor.”
“The divorcé,” he corrects.
Oh? You pull your mouth away from his neck.
“How long?”
“Five years.”
“Good. Tomb’s been sealed.”
He laughs against your mouth when you kiss him, but soon cups your face to kiss you properly, exactly the way you’re asking, even if you’re not saying a word. His kisses are so addictive, it’s strange to you. There’s something about Joel that turns a kiss into full-body contact. He kisses and touches you, strokes your cheek, your back, pays attention to what you need.
And he reads you well, because his hand slips between your legs.
“Lift up a little,” he says, and you rise onto your knees, no longer sitting on his thigh. His fingers slide between your folds, gathering the slick there. Joel lets out a low grunt, and you watch the way his cock gives a tiny twitch. “Let me eat you out again.”
Ah. Yes. But actually…
“Can I try something else?” you ask.
That’s how Joel, with lips slightly parted, ends up watching as you settle back down on his thigh, right over the thickest part, your legs spread wide.
You almost feel shy the first time you grind up against his thigh with his eyes on you. Your whole body shivers, breath catching in your throat, and you steady yourself with your hands on him. You’re so wet, from yourself and from him, that the movement is easy. Heavenly. The hair on his thigh adds just the right amount of friction on your clit, and it nearly sends you reeling.
“You like that?” he asks, genuinely curious, and you, dry-mouthed, nod your head. You grind again. Whimper.
“Been neglecting this pussy, huh?”
You shake your head. Joel touches your body, running his hands along your sides, gripping your waist. The next time you grind down, he helps, his biceps flexing, guiding your rhythm. Forward. Back. The muscle of his thigh tensing under you, his skin slick with your wetness.
He watches you, sees how close you are and how hard you’re biting your lip to keep quiet. Immediately, his thumb presses to your bottom lip, freeing it from your teeth, and he slips it into your mouth. You meet his gaze as you suck it in, hands clutching his arm, hips faltering in the next few rolls.
When you come, Joel lays you back on the bed, spreads your legs, and slides back inside. He’s not fully hard, but it doesn’t matter because he fits, thick and slow, and the way he stretches you prolongs your orgasm so sweetly it nearly breaks you apart.
You feel him stiffening more with each thrust, and as he grows harder, he goes deeper.
“Fucking perfect,” he breathes into your ear, biting your neck. “You’re driving me outta my mind.”
Your smile wavers when, after a few more thrusts, he slips out and lies beside you, then shifts you onto your side and pulls you back against his chest. He drapes an arm over your chest, grips your thigh with the other, lifts it over his hip, and slides into you again. His movements pin you, keeping you from doing anything but taking it when his fingers find your clit again, even oversensitive as it is.
Your whole body shakes.
“Joel—”
“Come on, baby. I know you’ve got one more in you.”
You try to jerk your hips away from his fingers as he rubs harder, faster, but there’s nowhere to go, and Joel doesn’t relent. He holds your thigh, keeps you open for him, slowing his thrusts just enough to drag it out. You grab the arm draped over your chest, twist your hips, and it’s almost too much.
Almost.
Because right before it crosses the line, you come. And then you go limp.
“Can I keep going?” he asks. “Want me to pull out?”
“No. Just… stay off my clit.”
The kiss he presses to your damp temple sounds like an “okay.”
You reach back, fingers slipping into the sweat-damp strands of his hair, and feel his ragged breaths against your neck as he keeps moving inside you. His next orgasm takes longer, but somehow it still only lasts a few seconds, and leaves you leaking all over again.
When it’s over, your ears are ringing, his body is hot behind you, and your heart won’t stop pounding.
Goddamn.
Thanks for your service, Chief.
You can’t stop staring at the top-left corner of the peach pie.
It’s not broken, exactly. The crust in that corner just sank a little lower than the rest, and it’s driving you nuts. You rotate the pie dish so the pristine edge faces front, hiding the flaw.
“Pie?” you offer with a smile as sweet as the amarena syrup your mom made, holding out a slice to the father and two sons approaching your stand.
Today is the neighborhood charity fair where your parents live. It happens every six months in the town square and has been around for maybe a decade. The goal is to raise funds for local nonprofits. Neighbors donate pies, sandwiches, roasted meats, inflatable toys for the kids. The whole thing.
When you were fifteen and a painfully annoying teenager, you thought wearing an apron and handing out pie was humiliating. Ugh, mom. Charity is soooo lame.
Ten years later, here you are: uneasy, borderline neurotic because the crust of the pie you helped bake has a deformed corner.
The father and sons leave with their slices in little styrofoam containers and colorful forks. You glance around.
Your mom is helping out at one of the roast beef sandwich booths since someone called in sick last night. Your dad’s at his own stand, trying to sell fishing gear, though bamboo hooks don’t exactly draw crowds.
Farther down the square, you spot the fire truck. Your heart does a little skip, part nerves, part excitement. The fire department’s on site for safety, at least for the first couple hours. But you haven’t seen Joel yet.
“Any pie here sweeter than you?”
You turn toward the front of your booth and find the fireman who looks like a knockoff Bradley Bradshaw. He’s wearing an Austin Fire Department tee, aviator shades, and a grin that’s way too… youthful.
Still, you smile back.
“Definitely. I’m pretty sure the pie also knows the number for the AFD’s misconduct hotline.”
“Kidding.”
“And because of that joke,” you say, grabbing three styrofoam containers, “you’re buying three slices to support the cause.”
He doesn’t even protest. Quietly, he waits as you cut the slices and hands you the money. You thank him with a sugar-sweet smile and a blown kiss.
Once he walks away, your eyes sweep the square again. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
And there’s the fire, staring at you from across the plaza, arms crossed under the shade of a tree. Joel’s in the same black Austin Fire Department tee, and you see his eyes dip briefly to read the name stitched onto your pink apron.
The Sweetest Bite.
That barely-there smile curves his lips.
You grab a styrofoam plate, cut a generous slice of pie, and pull five bucks from the back pocket of your denim shorts, dropping the bill into the flower-covered tip jar your mom set up.
Then you toss the apron onto the counter and ask your dad to watch the stand for a few minutes.
Joel doesn’t even see you approaching. He’s surrounded by three women asking what it’s like “to be responsible for a city like Austin.”
“Such a hard-working man,” you say, slipping in between two of them to hold out the pie. “Fresh, warm cream pie. A little thank-you for protecting the city.”
Joel looks from the pie to you. Your smile grows even sweeter. When he takes it, the women scatter.
“You got an endless supply of short shorts like that?” he asks, not even pretending to start eating. His eyes stay on the pie. “Cream pie.”
“My favorite,” you reply. And, about the shorts: “It’s summer in Texas.”
“Right,” he says to both.
You glance around. No one’s near. One of the other firefighters is tossing rings at a carnival booth.
“You should come to the barbecue at my place after the fair. Tommy’s going and I can ask him to invite you.”
“I’m not going’ to your house.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not buddying up to your parents. You’re out of your mind?”
“I don’t want you to be friends with them. I want you to sneak up to my room when no one’s looking.”
“No,” he says flatly, like the conversation’s over.
A few hours later, that victorious little grin creeps across your lips as you see Tommy walk through the back gate of your house.
And right beside him, carrying a cooler of beer, is Joel Miller.
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