#carmelo reale

[mariocki]

Diamanti sporchi di sangue (Blood and Diamonds, 1978)

"That guy had plenty of guts. I felt bad killing him, because I realised what it feels like killing a man worth his salt. It makes your heart ache."

[titleofpersonage-p01]

OMG THIS WAS LITERALLY ME AT 11YRS OLD.

[sportu]

La La Anthony Reveals Real Reason For Carmelo Anthony Divorce

La La Anthony Reveals Real Reason For Carmelo Anthony Divorce

NBA legend Carmelo Anthony and his ex-wife, La La Anthony, got married in 2010. At the time, he was still a member of the Denver Nuggets – the team that drafted him. One year later the Nuggets sent Carmelo to the New York Knicks in a blockbuster trade that sent reverberations throughout the league. Unfortunately, the move would also have some very negative implications for Carmelo and La La’s…

[aintnorainbows]

Act Like That

jey uso x black! reader

word count: 1183

Summary: Jey’s known as the hothead of the Bloodline. He has to keep his temper in check if he ever stands a chance of keeping you.

Tags: smut, oral (f receiving)

Warnings: usage of the n word,

It all started when you left your phone on the coffee table while you checked on dinner.

Apparently, it buzzed and a message from Carmelo Hayes appeared. Jey had the password to your phone, because you felt like you had nothing to hide. You had the password to his too, but you never used it to snoop. You trusted Jey.

You thought Jey trusted you too. But, that proved to be untrue when Jey barged into the kitchen, just as you were taking the chicken breasts out of the oven. “Ayo, the fuck is this?” he exclaimed.

Immediately, you were taken aback by his tone and use of expletives. Jey never raised his voice like that at you. Directed at other people it was sexy as hell, but toward you? That was a problem. Your head whipped around as you saw him standing there with a scowl on his face and your cellphone in his hand.

“Um..my phone?” you responded with a confused eyebrow raised.

“Girl, don’t act stupid now. Why the hell is Carmelo Hayes texting you? You got sumn you wanna tell me?”

You scoffed, that was it? “Jey, please,” you said dismissively, still not matching his angry tone as you didn’t want something so silly to turn into an argument. “He’s just my friend, I know him from the indies.”

“I never heard you talk about this fool before, now y’all friends? Flirting and texting and shit?” he fumed, tossing your phone on the counter with a thud.

You damn near dropped the bowl of vegetables you were holding. This man had clearly lost his mind.

“Flirting?? Jey get out my face with that mess now. Having a casual conversation with a guy friend is not flirting.” You retorted defiantly, “And I’m not your property! I’m allowed to be friends with whoever the hell I want.”

“Y/N don’t piss me off-“ you folded your arms over your chest and you rolled your eyes. Jey took a deep breath in as if he was trying to calm himself. He unballed his fist to run the hand through his hair.

“What? I don’t say nothing when you flirt with Kayla’s dingy ass on TV for everyone to see. I trust you, why don’t you trust me?”

He ignores your statement, instead crossing his arms and refusing to back down. “I don’t want you talking to him no more.”

You laughed humorlessly, “You don’t tell me what to do nigga, you are not my damn daddy!”

“That’s not what you say when I’m fucking you!” he bellowed, “Who knows maybe you calling Melo that too. Maybe Trick too and Wes Lee. Maybe you get down with AEW lockeroom and you fucking on Cash Wheeler & Hangman Adam Page. Who knows at this point?”

“Boy, fuck you! “ you spat, throwing a plastic cup at his head before shoving past him and stomping up to your room. He was being childish and crossing the line and you were officially done with the conversation.

Now you were sitting in your bedroom pouting. About 15 minutes passed before Jey was knocking on the door.

“Baby…”

“Fuck off I don’t wanna talk to you.”

“Look, I’m sorry, I went overboard. Can you please open the door and let me apologize properly.”

You didn’t say anything, it didn’t matter, he crossed the line. You didn’t want to speak to him.

A moment passed and then another, then you heard the door knob jingling and soon the door was swinging open. He picked the lock..

“I actually read the messages and you were only congratulating him for winning the title. I was just being paranoid and jealous and-“

“A dickhead,” you added. “You were being a dickhead.”

His head hung in shame for a moment, “I was being a dickhead. And, Y/N, I'm sorry for real I shouldn’t have said that shit to you. Let me make it up to you?” His eyes softened as he stepped closer to you.

You nodded, opening your legs allowing him to lay between them and crash his lips into yours. As soon as your tongues collided, he slid his fingers into your shorts and lightly grazed your waiting clit. You moaned, fisting his shirt in your hands.

You couldn’t help, but move your hips in time with his touch. “Even when you’re mad at me, you’re still wet for me,” he joked after breaking your kiss.

“Shut up,” you grumbled, feigning annoyance as you took the chance to tug his shirt off him. He did the same to you, tossing your shirt & shorts to the floor.

Your mouth fell open as his fingers returned to work and he began to kiss his way down your body, starting at your neck and stopping to pay special attention to your chest. He wrapped his lips around each nipple. He licked and sucked each of them, alternating back and forth as he pushed your legs open further.

“Damn Jey,” you sighed as he bit softly on your nipple.

As your moans grew louder, he lowered himself so he could hook your legs onto his forearms and was face level with your pussy.

He licked his lips in hunger, he was so sexy when he was like this- clouded by lust. Jey kissed the inside of your thighs, “I want you to cum on my tongue,” he demanded before running his tongue up your slit.

“And you always taste so good,” he added.

Jey flattened his tongue and licked every inch of you a few times before he stopped at your little bundle of nerves. His tongue swirled in a circle around your clit before deliberately flicking his tongue.

You bucked against his face, with a hand on the back of his head as he continued to suck on your clit. Next he slowly slid two fingers inside you and curled upward into your g-spot.

Your eyes flew open as you let out a choked out sob. “Oh my gosh, I’m close” you panted. Your heart was racing as you got closer and closer to your orgasm. The sound of your wetness was echoing through the air as his fingers slid in and out of you.

He knew it too because he flicked his tongue backward and forward across your sensitive clit as he suctioned his lips around it.

“I’m bout to cum so hard- fuck!” you screamed. You gripped his hair tightly, holding him in place as you lost yourself in a wave of ecstasy. Jey made no attempts to move or back away, instead continuing to flick his tongue and prolonging your orgasm.

It took a moment for you to calm down, but when you did you looked down at the man between your legs. He looked pretty pleased with himself, “Am I forgiven?” he asked with that goofy grin.

You knew deep down, Jey only acted like that way because he loved you and feared losing you. You could’ve done without the insults, but you’d talk to him about that later.

At the end of the day, you loved him just as much. Plus, he ate you out so good, you thought you were gonna pass out for a moment, of course he was forgiven. You rolled your eyes, pulling him up to kiss. “Of course you are, stupid.”

~

thanks for reading honeys. tag list below <3

@harmshake @bebesobrielo @venusesworld @trc-punzel @unfriendly--blvck--hottie @2-muchsauce @romansnumberonegirl @ariieeesworld @heyitsnajabrinee @southerngirl41 @afterdarkprincess

[harmshake]

The End Game

Months after their hot love affair cooled off, Amanda and Roman start to realize there’s more between them than just sizzling-good sex...

Roman Reigns x Amanda (Fem!Black!OC) | 18+ ONLY, NSFW, drama, smut | ~15k words (Listen, I have a story to tell! 😭)

This is the final one shot chapter in the series, Let’s Play a Game. ❤️

Happy reading! Read all the chapters or my other Roman stories here, if you'd like. ✨

"Cause we're way too in love, just to fuck and let go... Cause we're way too involved, just to cut and not call...way too in deep..."

His big hands were stuck to her thick hips, easily holding her down, holding her close. Right where he wanted her. Amanda liked how strong his grip was on her, how his fingers dug into her soft skin, and how his hips moved with hers. One fluid motion, in and out, a slow dance that he could do for hours, even though he deliciously wore her down. 

But she wasn’t too tired to keep going. He was doing all the work, anyway, as he liked to spoil her, repositioning her thighs against his strong chest as he grinded into her, slowly, deeply, watching her moan to him with admiration in his dark brown eyes. Their eyes locked together as he searched them and she saw a satisfied smirk pull at his thick lips when he found what he was looking for…

“I’m still too much for you, baby?” he whispered, his deep voice heavy with conceit. He could see it as she squirmed beneath him, moan after moan rolling off her tongue. Amanda playfully rolled her eyes, too, and shot him a smirk back before he angled his hips up just slightly, just enough to tease himself along her g-spot, nudging it with winding strokes that made her moans fall into breathy whines. “Mmm…you ’bout to cum for me?” he asked tenderly before leaning down, burying himself deeper inside as their lips touched for a kiss.

“Yesssunhhhhh,” Amanda mumbled against his lips, her arms and legs now wrapped around his waist as she shook with his every slow, teasing, thorough thrust. “Right there, baby, unhh…I’m cumming,” she closed her eyes and whimpered on his shoulder when he moved his lips to her neck to kiss her there, too.

And as she cried out from that first glowing hot pleasure wave that washed over her, making her tremble against him, he softly growled in her ear, “Fuck, I love how this pussy grippin’ on me…who’s pussy is this, baby?”

“It’s all yours, Joe,” Amanda moaned without hesitation, her breath catching as her ecstasy snatched her up.

“What the fuck?” he spat, his luscious thrusts coming to an abrupt halt as he yanked up from her to glare at her with confused eyes.

“Oh, shit,” she blurted, both from the stupid, stupid slip-up and the very, very good orgasm that was still rolling through her body. She was tempted to grind it out by herself since he’d stopped moving, but she knew better than that. Just like she should have known better to moan her ex’s name while another man was inside her.

“Yo, what the fuck, Amanda?” Christian asked again, ripping himself out of her and pushing her thighs off his waist before he hopped off the bed altogether. The world knew him as Carmelo Hayes, but of course, she called him by his real name. Just not tonight. 

No, instead she let Joe, who the world knew as Roman Reigns, poison her mind while she was with Christian. She was ashamed to admit to herself that it wasn’t even the first time that it had happened—but it was a first for her to let her thoughts of him escape out of her mouth.

“I am so sorry, oh, my god,” was all she could say because there wasn’t much else to say. She pulled the bed sheets up around her naked body in shame, feeling exposed in more ways than one. She had fucked up and she knew he was going to hit her with a barrage of questions. And she also knew there was just one answer to all of them.

“You cheatin’ on me?” Christian asked, the betrayal on his beautiful face quickly twisting into anger as he jerked his boxers up to his waist. Amanda could see his hands trembling a little and it scared her. She’d never seen him this upset.

“No.” The single word flew out fast since it was the truth. She’d been exclusive with Christian for about three months and he was the only man she was romantic with. Yet Amanda had heard of such a thing as “emotional cheating”…and if that was a real thing…she was definitely guilty of that. 

Amanda hadn’t really spoken to Joe in over a year, not since their split last summer. And yet her heart would still do a tiny, asinine flip whenever she saw him backstage. If they ever did speak, it was tepid “pleasantries,” and only if they had to be near each other, like during in-ring segments where, as SmackDown’s ring announcer, she would introduce him to the live crowd, or if their friend groups merged at after-work parties.

But even that felt strained and forced as Amanda could feel Joe’s venom for her sting her skin if he ever bothered to look at her. The feeling was mutual as she believed it was his fault they broke up in the first place…

When she decided she needed to finally move the hell on, dating Christian was the final nail in the coffin of what remained of their relationship. For a while Amanda was grateful for the distraction because she liked Christian a lot…but apparently not enough to keep her from reminiscing about Joe…

His full, soft lips on her…his strong arms around her…his warm, hulking body pressed to hers…his deep voice in her ear…his thick dick deep enough to be in her stomach…

It made her feel sick. Didn’t matter how frustrated she was with that petty ass man…even all these months later, she was still just as horny for him. And she absolutely hated herself for it.

“I don’t believe you,” Christian said and she could tell he was trying not to raise his voice. Amanda was certain he already hated her, too, as any fond feelings they’d been nurturing instantly rotted with the mention of the wrong name. “Just be real with me. Is it Joe Joe? You seein’ him again?” he asked with his muscular arms crossed over his chest.

She felt so small with him towering over her as she sank into the bed, wishing she could find a nicer excuse to give him other than, “No. I just can’t stop thinking about him. Sex with you is great…it’s just not sex with him.”

“I swear to god I’m not! I haven’t even talked to him.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m telling you the truth!”

“You don’t just moan another fuckin' man’s name while fuckin’ your boyfriend unless he was recently fuckin’ you, too!” Christian hissed before he sucked in a big, shaky breath. He was fighting back tears and she despised that she was the cause. It made hot tears spring to Amanda’s eyes and she didn’t bother wiping at them as they fell down her cheeks.

“I haven’t been with anyone but you, I promise! I don’t know why I said that shit…I just know I was dumb to say it and I’m so sorry,” Amanda gasped in one big breath, her voice thick with remorse—and embarrassment for not having the courage to be real like he demanded. But she would not dare, not when it was clear that his name alone had done enough damage.

“Keep that bullshit apology, Amanda, ’cause I know you’re lyin’ to me. Don't think I never peeped how that nigga looks at you. But it's cool. Just stay the fuck away from me,” he replied and swiped up his clothes and shoes from the floor before turning his back to her and storming out of her hotel bedroom. She knew it would be pointless to chase after him, so instead, she hid her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed, and she listened to him get dressed and slam the door shut on his way out.

The worst part about suddenly losing her boyfriend wasn’t even that she felt terrible for breaking his heart—but that she felt terribly relieved to finally stop living a lie.

Because the truth was the demon she’d been fighting off for a while now had a name. And Amanda was ready to give in.

Coming back to her hotel alone was an adjustment Amanda hadn’t quite made.

It had been two months since Christian dumped her, but truthfully, he wasn’t the reason she felt lonely after work. Sure, she thought about him sometimes, but no…it was always him. The same incubus haunting her thoughts and dreams. 

Because there was something about the way things crashed and burned with Joe that still didn’t sit right with her. When it weighed heavy enough on her mind on nights like tonight, it kept her awake with memories of how they used to laugh together, hold one another, and give each other orgasms that felt damn near like spiritual experiences...

And Amanda knew exactly what the problem was: Joe had the audacity to let her go like she was just some random woman.

She didn’t like to think about it too much, but being by herself in her hotel room left her with her thoughts as her only company. She realized that he’d hurt her feelings…feelings that she was afraid to admit to herself were deeper than she wanted them to be. How could her feelings not run deep for Joe when they went from those cute coworkers who’d flirt too often; to close friends who saw and text messaged each other almost every day; and finally as lovers who were inseparable between the sheets? 

And after five months together, none of that even mattered to him. 

He’d gotten her used to his radiant presence, his warmth, his smile, and now he was probably out there smiling all up in other women’s faces while she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, studying her sad, dark brown eyes and slight frown that had been stuck on her plump lips for months. 

The blip in time that was her fun-while-it-lasted relationship with Christian did almost nothing to separate her from the year she'd spent in grief. She knew she was dead wrong to waste his time like that, but she also didn't know how else to heal. Her friends tried to make her feel better by telling her that hurt people hurt people, but she knew that was no excuse. She couldn’t take back what she did…but she also couldn’t let go of him.

And now she was ready to accept her fate: She wasn’t over Joe and…she didn’t want to be. 

She missed him. She missed everything. Like their post-work routine that they had perfected: They’d wait for the other backstage in his locker room to change out of their gear, hop on Joe’s private bus, grab dinner, and head back to his or her hotel to step into the shower together, cuddle on the couch together, and then crawl in bed together to fall asleep side by side...or not sleep.

Now she was all alone with a new routine: Strip off her dress and underwear to climb in the shower without him; moisturize her deep brown skin with mango body butter without him helping her reach her back; braid down her red auburn afro that fell to her shoulders without him telling her how cute she looked before and after she hid them beneath a cheetah-print, silk bonnet; pull on an oversized, black tee shirt that wasn't his; and order a big bowl of Massaman curry and rice from GrubHub that he wasn't here to steal bites from.

The only interaction with him she could look forward to was at work. And if it wasn’t for his cousins, Sefa, Josh, and Jon, who befriended her and often chopped it up with her before Joe would interrupt them and pull them away for Bloodline business, she was certain he wouldn’t acknowledge her existence at all. 

Which was bullshit, Amanda thought to herself as she stared blankly at the rerun of Girlfriends on the giant television screen in the hotel’s den. While she crushed on him for a long while, it was Joe who made the first move. It was he who went out of his way to make her feel comfortable with him. It was he who proposed they make their sexy little fling something more concrete.

And it was he who fucked it up for them both.

She sat her half-empty takeout bowl of curry on the coffee table and reclined on the couch, letting out a frustrated sigh. It still didn’t make sense to her how he went on a break after WrestleMania last year and never made time to see her like he promised he would. She didn’t think she was being clingy. She just wanted to see her boyfriend. And it wasn’t like she attempted to invite herself to his home. Joe explicitly told her before he left that he would see her as often as he could. 

Yet it was always something that came up or got in the way. If it wasn’t impromptu business meetings stealing the days she planned to visit, it was surprise family gatherings that she couldn’t attend because, weirdly, no flights were available on those days. And that really upset her because Joe seemed so excited for her to meet his parents…and she never got the chance.

The first three delays Amanda chalked up to Joe being a busy man. Yet when a month and a half went by and they still couldn’t figure out a way to get to one another, Amanda started to feel like it was on purpose. She hated the way that exchange had gone down: He made her feel stupid for not comprehending why he still worked on vacation, and she came off as accusatory because of it. As a result, she’d thrown her hurt in his face even when he tried to pacify her and offer a solution, like getting on video calls. 

But she wasn’t trying to hear it. To her, it was too late to make things right when all she’d heard for weeks were what sounded like his excuses. In hindsight, she saw how the distance between them fed her anxiety and made her hostile to him, which Joe noticed on that fateful phone call.

“So, what then? You rather we not talk at all than use this conversation to fix the problem?” Although Amanda could hear his subtle frustration simmering in the depths of his deep voice, he was able to keep his tone steady on the line…which angered her more as her voice rose slightly with the passion she felt for him, the passion she was convinced he abruptly lacked for her.

“It seems like that’s what’s best since it’s been over a month and there’s still a problem…” Amanda spat back. She heard him let out a sigh and then a quick, dark chuckle. They’d had a few minor miscommunications but they’d never argued before this call, yet she’d seen him butt heads with his cousins from time to time. That’s how she knew he didn’t find her words funny, but instead, it was a sign that he was growing more irritated.

“Wow, Amanda. Well, if that’s what you want, I won’t stop you. Do what’s best for you,” Joe replied calmly. That was the final blow to her.

“I will. I hope you do, too.” Once she pressed END CALL on her cell phone, she felt tears sting her eyes. It was like they were the fuel for the fire that burned inside her. She slammed her phone down on the hotel’s nightstand and let out an exasperated scream that she’d been biting back for weeks. 

She liked to believe she was a level-headed, 34-year-old woman who could rein in her irrational emotions. But something about Joe made her feel wide open. She already knew he had that kind of control over her when he could coax out the best orgasms she ever had. It was a revelation that he could also bring out the worst emotions in her.

Amanda threw away her leftover curry and brushed her teeth before she flopped onto her back in bed, her mind still spinning. She found it surreal that she hadn’t received a phone call from him since that day. Maybe it was because she owed him an apology, too, she thought, but she couldn’t bring herself to call him first.

Not when she felt embarrassed like this…embarrassed about how things ended between them…embarrassed about her lingering affection going ignored month after month…and embarrassed about her pussy still getting wet for him even when he wasn’t in the room. It happened every time she let her thoughts run rampant with regret and arousal so deep for him that she resented him all over again for not being here to play with her pussy, leaving her to do it herself. 

And tonight was once again one of those nights… 

Amanda couldn’t help but think about how Joe would walk into her hotel suite behind her, his heavy arms draped around her waist as he pinned her to his thick, warm body that hovered over her. She would feel his dick already growing hard, digging into her backside, as he leaned down to plant greedy kisses on her neck. When he was on her like that, she knew they weren’t going to make it to the bedroom... 

Instead, he would push her up against the foyer wall and bring his lips to hers. She loved how soft his lips were and how smooth his tongue was as he tasted hers before he fell to his knees to taste what was underneath her dress. The way Joe would run his tongue up and down her clit with such tenderness was the same way she ran her fingertips along it now as she spread her legs wider beneath her bedsheets and tried to mimic his technique to make her cum in his mouth. 

However, she didn’t want to cum yet…she wanted to save that for when she reminisced on how when he was finished making her scream from sucking on her pussy, he would instruct her to face the wall and put her hands on it. She’d hear the rustling sound of fabric as his joggers and boxer briefs fell to the floor, the wet sound of his spit as it lubed his long length in his hand. She was so ready for it that her heart would pound loud enough that she could hear it in her ears. 

Joe had a dick that hung between his thighs like a cucumber and she never quite got used to his size. Even though his strokes were gentle, the stretch always had her screaming even louder. “Stop all that whinin’ and take this dick…mmm, that’s it, sweetheart…feels good when I fill up this pussy, don't it?” Joe would groan in between heavy thrusts, his lips on her ear and his big hands on her petite yet wide hips to make her take him deeper, harder until she was crying his name and struggling to stand in her stilettos as his hefty body drove into her. 

“Yeah, oh my god,” she would shout to him. She did love how he filled her up to the brim. And she knew he loved how her pussy gripped him with each stroke that made her throb around him. That’s when he would start moaning back to her as her wet, clenching pussy milked his dick, his voice husky as he grunted, “You gonna make me cum, baby...fuck…”

“Cum for me, Daddy,” Amanda would purr before she felt him squeeze her almost too tight in his hands and nuzzle his nose in the crook of her neck, his warm breath labored against her skin as his fiery pleasure worked its way through him. Even though they were both still mostly clothed, his impossible heat covered her…as did his warm cum as it covered her pussy from the inside out.

He had developed a naughty habit of not pulling out after the first time she let him do it. Yet Amanda had so fallen in love with the feeling of him twitching and spilling inside her, she opted to get on birth control so he could stay close like this…and pump rope after rope of his sticky pleasure deep into her…

 It was that memory that made her arch her back off the bed as she felt her own orgasm shudder through her, her fingers buried in her fluttering pussy like how his dick would be when he came for her.

She moaned louder than she meant into the darkness of her bedroom, his name almost erupting from her throat from the deep longing in her belly. Yet even in the swells of her ecstasy, the painful reality that Joe wasn’t here to hear it made her shamefully choke it down as she collapsed back onto the bed, her heart thudding in her chest. It burned her up that she had to resort to this, something that she hadn’t done since before he got her alone in his locker room and convinced her to sit on his lap to give him that kiss that led them to this hell…

And that's why Amanda couldn’t be the first one to reach out. Didn’t matter how badly she craved him, she refused to let him in on how desperate she was for him. For fuck’s sake, she had to reserve some dignity.

Yet when she went into work the following Friday night and saw him rounding the corner of a hallway as he headed to the Gorilla Position where she stood, her heart did that tiny, annoying flip anyway. As usual. And as usual, he ignored her, even as he approached Kayla Braxton who was right next to her.

“They shootin’ this here or in the ring?” Joe gestured with his eyes to the camera crew nearby, referring to their interview scheduled in about ten minutes, and blatantly cutting in on their chat about where everyone should grab drinks tonight. Amanda had an expert poker face by now, her lips a straight line and her eyes fixed on her cell phone that she whipped out of her bra that acted as a pocket on her pocketless, backless, hot pink, mini dress.

Yet the bass in his voice still made her heart patter in her chest. As did the way his red tracksuit clung to his muscles, accentuating each one that swelled along his broad shoulders, arms, and legs when she studied him through her peripheral vision. And he smelled good, too, damnit. Like warm, bergamot musk, his signature scent. It made Amanda feel warm between her thighs and she silently cursed herself for having such a reaction when he was two feet away.

“Here. I’ll interrupt you on your way to the ring and you have to be super annoyed by it,” Kayla replied to him, oblivious as Joe to Amanda’s plight. He nodded and ran a big hand down his full yet trimmed, salt-and-pepper beard and licked his lips, and suddenly his gaze flitted to Amanda for a moment. She felt her body react against her will again as another warm thrill shimmied down her spine. It lingered even as Joe quickly returned his attention to Kayla, but from the way he tripped a little over his next sentence to her, she wondered if he felt it, too…

“Yeah, I-I can do that.” He recovered by spreading his lips into his gorgeous smile which made her want to melt.

Amanda wished she had the courage right then and there to speak up, but it felt useless. What could she possibly say to break the ice after more than a year of not talking to one another?

"I touched myself to the thought of you last night. And you look so good tonight, I wish I could touch you right now..."

Yeah, right.

Instead, she clamped her lips shut and let the moment die, watching him and Kayla converse for a minute more before she tapped her earpiece and said, "They're ready to shoot."

"Sounds good," Joe said with another nod. And another glance at Amanda. This time their eyes locked as she expected him to turn his back to her and head to his mark on the set in Gorilla. She felt that stupid thrill shake her nerves as his eyes held hers for a second before they both looked in opposite directions and he finally walked off.

She could have sworn for that second she saw that mischievous glint that she knew all too well flash in his coffee-colored eyes. It used to light up his gaze when he was in the mood to make her cum until she forgot how to tell time, the minutes effortlessly turning into hours as she fell into a place where time didn’t exist, only pleasure with him…

Amanda didn't realize she was holding her breath until her chest felt tight and she inhaled deeply through her mouth before she let out a heavy sigh.

"You okay?" Kayla asked. "Was that weird for you? It's so dumb that he won't at least say hello."

"Girl, I don't care," Amanda lied. She and Kayla had become good friends and she was the only one outside of Joe's cousins that she confided in her about the breakup. Yet she hadn't lately as she figured she'd done enough blubbering about that man. "So, um, text me after the show if you wanna Uber to the bar together," she awkwardly changed the subject back to their original conversation before she hurried to the curtains that led to the arena. She was due back ringside to announce for Joe in less than ten minutes.

It was a part of her job to do so and it never bothered her to watch him in the ring cutting his promos as he wasn't himself in those moments. He was Roman Reigns addressing the sea of people who hung on his every word. As he posed in the middle of the ring with a mic in his hand after she took a seat in the timekeeper’s area, his gaze swept the arena full of thousands of fans before briefly landing on her a few times. Each time their eyes met, her body felt warmer until she was certain she was about to sweat through her clothes. She crossed and uncrossed her bare legs, hating that he was making her fidget with only his eyes.

The audience was a noisy cacophony of half-cheers and half-boos from his mere presence, but she could barely hear them as she focused on Joe and his words that felt almost like an innuendo. 

“You think it’s over ’cause you said so? You think ’cause you run your mouth, that makes it the law? I still run this ring. I still run this show. This whole company? That's all me,” he said to the camera with his deep voice thundering through the stadium. She knew he was sticking to the script to call out Seth Rollins who became the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion last month at SummerSlam, but his tone seemed pointed at her as he said, “I get what I want when I want it, you know why? Because it’s still mine, aaaall of it. And it ain’t over until the Tribal Chief says it’s over.”

He glowered in her direction after the cameras pulled back from him to survey the crowd’s deafening reaction. Surely her mind was playing tricks on her, she thought, as this would be the most attention Joe had shown her in months…and she didn’t understand why. He’d been a pillar of nonchalance towards her until now. Maybe he did feel that same heated pull that she did…

And as she walked into the upscale lounge with Kayla and Zelina Vega at her side, there it was again. 

That smoldering pull…the bar was crowded with their coworkers who beat them here, but she could already feel Joe’s eyes on her from the left side of the room. From the corner of her eye, she saw him with a whiskey glass hiding in his large hand as he posted up with his cousins on the white leather sectional sofa. The lights were low and hazy with a purple tint and hookah smoke but when Amanda caught a glimpse of his eyes, his lusty glint was darker, headier. She looked away, feeling hot in her clothes again as his gaze seemed to follow her on her way to the bar through the throng of Los Angeles locals. 

She had to take a deep breath to cool down and collect her thoughts. That’s when she finally heard Kayla’s voice slightly shouting at her over the Solange song blaring through the overhead speakers. “Are we having wine tonight or are we drinking?” her friend repeated for the third time.

Amanda blinked and forced herself to concentrate enough to reply to their inside joke. If they wanted to keep it cute and avoid hangovers the next day, they’d order a glass or two of rosé. But if they wanted to party and get loose for the night, they’d order two Barbie shots each before sipping on whatever else they’d acquire a taste for.

“Oh, we’re drinking,” Amanda declared, feeling like she could use the help to unwind her nerves from Joe sitting less than fifteen feet away. He didn't often attend these after-hours get-togethers since their split, and his presence, his pull, was all she could focus on. 

She heard her and Zelina let out a woot before Kayla flagged down a bartender, and Amanda wished she could share in their excitement. Yet even after her first shot, her nerves had her a bit fidgety, making her feel like his eyes were still studying her.

And when Josh appeared next to her and clapped his hand on her shoulder, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Damn, did I scare you?” he said with a friendly grin on his face, holding back a giggle. He threw a wave at Kayla and Zelina before he said to her, “Just wanted to say hey ’cause I ain’t spoke to you all night.”

“You’re good…and hey to you, too,” Amanda replied and took another sip of her strawberry cocktail. 

“Thank you ’cause you sho’ll ain’t speak when you came in earlier. Just ignored me and my brothers. And I know you saw us.” Josh’s tone was playful and it made her crack a tiny smile. 

“I’m sorry. But you know why I didn’t approach y’all.”

“Yeah, I figured that…but maaaan, it’s time to cut alladat out,” he said and slashed his hand around in the air. He took a peek at her friends before he leaned in closer to her and said in a lower voice, “I think y’all need to just kiss and make-up already. I know he misses you.”

“Did he say that?” Amanda blurted. She was thankful Kayla was too busy talking to Zelina on the other side of them to notice. It felt like a hundred butterflies were set free in her tummy at the potential news.

Josh’s eyes appeared a little cagey before he said, “All I’mma say is…I think y’all need to talk.”

“Wait a minute. Did he send you over here?” she asked warily. 

“No,” he said quickly. “I told you, I just wanted to say hey.”

“Josh…”

“I’m just sayin’, Amanda…y’all should work it out,” he said and held his hands up in defense. “I miss when we all used to get along,” he added and patted her on the shoulder again with a big smile before he walked back to his table. 

“Me, too,” she said under her breath. She dared to peer over her shoulder and saw him plop down next to Joe who first glared at his cousin and then at her. She snapped her head back around and took a big, anxious sip of her cocktail. When several minutes passed and her nerves hadn’t settled, she went for another sip but realized she’d downed the last of it.

“She’ll have another one of those and I’ll have another Scotch neat. You can put it on my tab.” 

His deep voice was smooth like silk and caressed her like the fabric slipping across her skin. Her body heat rapidly rose from the luscious sound of it, from his body heat radiating closely next to hers as he slid onto the barstool beside her. Amanda found the courage to meet his gaze and felt that warm thrill take over her body as his deep brown eyes bore into hers. He was unbearably beautiful with his raven hair slicked back into a tight bun that showed off his chiseled face, even though his handsome features were pulled into a stern look, a slight scowl on his full, sexy lips. 

“So. What did he say to you?” Joe asked in a low, brusque tone after the bartender placed their drinks on black napkins in front of them. He grabbed his glass and took a slow sip, his eyes still on her as he waited for her response. Amanda was nearly speechless. A year of awkwardly avoiding one another without so much as a “hello” and this was the first thing he said to her? She couldn’t believe her ears.

“Why don’t you ask him?” she curtly asked back, neglecting the cocktail he’d ordered for her. She didn’t need it anymore, not when her nerves gave way to her blood starting to sizzle in anticipation of hearing what the hell he had to say to her.

“I did and now I’m askin’ you,” Joe said coolly. 

“Why do you care?” Amanda genuinely wanted to know why talking to Josh, something she did pretty often, suddenly made him approach her now after all this time—and if the real reason he was talking to her had anything to do with the way his eyes fell on her ample breasts in her draped-front dress that bared her cleavage…

She felt that heat ripple along her skin where his eyes lingered for only a brief moment before he quickly brought his gaze back to hers. She wasn’t sure what pissed her off more: The fact that Joe could make her feel hot so easily or that he continued their conversation like he didn’t just stare at her titties.

But he remained nonchalant as he let a small smirk tug at his lips before he snickered softly and said, “I’m just askin’ a simple question. It requires a simple answer.”

The sound of his humorless laugh reminded her of their very last phone call. She wondered how he had the nerve to be irritated with her right now, especially when he was being a bit of a condescending jerk and not answering her question. 

“You’re right. It is simple. Why can’t you tell me why you all of sudden care to ask me anything when you haven’t talked to me in months?” Amanda tried once more, sitting up straight in her seat and crossing her arms over her chest when she caught his eyes flit there again.

“Alright. Fair enough.” Joe held a hand up to signify that she had a point. “To answer your question…I just didn’t want Josh all in your ear startin’ up shit. I can speak for myself.”

“You’re the one who’s over here startin' shit,” she retorted. He scrunched his nose at her words like they weren’t true, like him prying her for information on her and Josh’s conversation was any of his business—especially when there was a lot more they should talk about. She watched him take another sip of his Scotch yet he didn’t reply. “Sooo, is that all you have to say for yourself?”

“Yeah, it was.”

“Wow, what the fuck, Joe?” Amanda struggled not to raise her voice as her aggravation flooded through her. She took a peek at Kayla and Zelina to make sure they hadn’t heard that and saw them still giggling together, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing behind them between her and Joe. Before she said another word, she took a breath and decided to finally take a sip of her cocktail to steady herself.

"That’s some bullshit and you know it."

“How?” He looked at her incredulously with a grimace on his lips. He wanted to appear stoic but Amanda could tell she had struck a nerve. “What do you want me to say, huh? Sorry? That’s what you wanna hear?” He snickered again and the sound crawled under her skin as he knew that’s what she wanted to hear. From the corner of her eye, she saw him polish off the last sip in his glass, his eyes on her. She knew Joe didn’t drink often yet on the rare occasion that he did, he knew how to handle his liquor. Yet she knew he had to be drunk if he thought he could try her patience like this.

“It’s the least you could do.”

"You want me to be sorry for you dumpin’ me?" Joe said. If she listened hard enough, she could have sworn he sounded almost hurt by it, and that surprised her.

"You kinda gave me no choice when you refused to make time to see me," she said anyway. She thought if he was truly as hurt about it as she was, why did he never make an effort to get back together? 

"Here you go. Same talking points," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "I already apologized for that. And I tried to make it work but that wasn't enough for you. So I'm not sorry you decided to do you...which you absolutely did. How are things with you and Chris?" The shit-eating grin that suddenly spread on his lips made her want to smack the shit out of him.

"Fuck you," she said, avoiding his eyes as she tossed back the last sip of her drink.

"You wish."

"Excuse me?" She whipped her head back to look at him with that shit-eating grin still on his face. Did he know about her unrequited lust? Was he mocking her for it?

But then that smile slowly faded as he added, "Forget about it. Sorry I even came over here. There's your apology." Joe slurred his words a little and slid out of the barstool as he started to walk away. She'd never seen him actually drunk but that wasn't an excuse for his bullshit. And she wouldn't let him get off the hook that easily.

"That's how you wanna end this conversation? Really?" Amanda spat over her shoulder at him.

He stopped in his tracks and sighed before he faced her again. "You wanna keep fighting? Here?"

"No one is listening to us," Amanda said and shot a look at Kayla and Zelina to check and caught them snapping their heads back around to fake a conversation with each other. She was too tipsy to care at this point. "I just want to know the real reason you're talking to me. Be fuckin' honest," she added. 

"I'm always honest. But I'm not doin' this with you. Not here." He put extra bass in his voice to sound authoritative but it didn't phase her. Joe had started this and she was going to finish it.

"Then let's go over there," she said and went to stand. She felt even tipsier on her gold, open-toed stilettos and she was grateful for the straps tied around her shins to keep her in them. Amanda yanked at Joe's sleeve to make him stumble behind her until they stood in the back of the hallway near the restrooms. It wasn't much quieter, but at least there weren't people swarming in and out of the single stalls so they could have a little more privacy.

She felt her nerves again, making her heart pound as it felt unreal that they were having this moment. It was definitely the alcohol, she knew it, but as she stood before him, even as he towered over her, she felt the fuel she needed to confront him once again.

"I know this isn't the ideal setting for this but you can't...you can't just come up to me like that and act like shit is normal. Because ain't shit normal about this." She paused to find the words...and her bearings as she grabbed hold of the end table thankfully nearby. Joe reached a hand out to help steady her but retracted it once she was upright again. The fact that he thought to touch her made her head spin more than it already was.

"Yeah. It's normal for us not to talk, I get it. But I already told you. I just didn't want Josh in our business." 

"He's my frieeeenduh, Joe. And your cousin. He's in it. And he told me we should figure this out," she blurted and slapped a hand to her mouth.

"I fuckin' knew it," he looked down and muttered under his breath to himself before he caught her eyes again. "We really shouldn't do this here..." he said again but softly.

"But you do wanna talk about it? About us?" she said just as softly, trying not to let dumb hope slip into her tone.

"I'm not sure." She could hear the battle in his deep tone and it upset her. She had never been unsure about anything concerning him until he gave her a reason. And yet after a year apart, each day taught her just how damn sure she was about her feelings for him. They were scorched upon her heart, his name branded there. And he seemed to still be lukewarm on her.

"Then why did you even approach me tonight?!" she asked, frustrated and a bit heartbroken.

The way Joe's eyes landed on hers again as he parted his lips to speak before briefly falling over her body like he couldn't help it made that even dumb, hot thrill rock through her. It made her shift uncomfortably in her heels, losing her grip on the table, and she started going down. His arms were around her waist before she hit the ground, pulling her up to his chest. For a split second, Amanda almost found herself melting into his warmth, his muscles surrounding her, his scent filling her nose...but she jerked herself away, her heart racing and her pussy purring with heat. Her back hit the wall behind her which was closer than she thought, but she was grateful because it kept her on her feet as his gaze on her threatened to make her knees weak again.

"Don't touch me." The words were weak and an obvious lie but she felt she had to protect herself from further heartbreak.

"You sure about that?" That glint, that conniving little glint shone in Joe's beautiful eyes, almost teasing like he knew something she didn't. Her immediate thought was that Josh or Jon's well-meaning but chatty asses had told him what they shouldn't have because Sefa would never. Yet her immediate physical reaction was biting her bottom lip. He noticed and smirked and she quickly stopped.

"Shut up," Amanda replied, uncertain what else to say, afraid to confirm her lust, even as he slowly licked his lips and took one step with his long legs to close the space between them.

"So now you want me to shut up after fussin' at me to talk to you?" Joe chuckled darkly. He was close enough that his body heat washed over her..."Hmph. I think you want me to do a whole lot more with you than just talk. Don't you?"

"Why would you say that?!"

"I can see you tremblin' and it ain't cold in here." He suddenly slipped his hand around her waist, his fingertips grazing the patch of bare skin on her back. It made her quiver. "Want me to stop touchin' you…?" he asked, his fingertips swirling circles along her lower back.

"...W-what about you, huh? Since you think you know every fuckin' thing about me," Amanda managed to retort but found her hands pushed to his strong chest as she looked up at him. She wanted to shove him away for being such a jerk but her body wouldn't let her do it...not when his fingers dug into her skin, inching onto the globes of her round ass as he looked down at her with that heated gaze.

"I want you to take your ass into that restroom and pull your panties off."

Amanda thought she misheard since the words were so unexpected. But then he glanced down the hallway to check if any eyes were on them before he went to open the restroom door to her right and said, "Get inside. Now."

She did as she was told but she felt like she was in a daze, an excited, flustered, annoyed, delightful daze. She watched him close and lock the door behind them. "You ’bout to try and give me some dick to make things right? That's not how that works," Amanda said wearily, her body still trembling at the thought as she wrapped her arms around herself to hold it together.

He chuckled again with a hiccup as he replied, "Yeah, I know. I'm just givin' you what you want in the meantime. Now take them panties off before I make you."

"Make me, then," was all Amanda could utter before he was on her, his big hands on the sides of her face as he pressed his lips to hers for his hurried, hungry kisses that tasted like spicy Scotch and desperate desire. The heat between them imploded in a frantic collision of their mouths as she closed her eyes and flung her arms around his neck as he kissed her roughly, their teeth slightly knocking together, his bulky, warm body crashing into hers and pinning her to the door, his heavy hands then greedily running over every thick curve along her body that lit up from his touch.

Nearly fourteen lonely months made her feel like his body on hers in this public restroom was all a dream. But when Joe wedged his strong thigh between her own and pushed them apart to make space for his wandering fingers, he felt very real and she let out a very real, surprised gasp at his strength. He wasted no time as he slipped his hand beneath her skirt, his fingertips skimming along her clit in her lace thong for a second before he hooked his thumbs around the fabric and snatched them down her thighs. They barely hit the floor before he let his thick, middle fingers delve between her slick pussy lips that swiftly grew dripping wet for him as he remembered how to stroke her clit the way he knew would make her moan to him. 

“Shhhh,” Joe growled at her, his lips still mashed to hers, but she squealed again as he rubbed his thumb over her clit and slid those fingers inside her pussy. She tried to suck in another moan but it was futile when he set her on fire with how he alternated between slow and fast taps on her g-spot. She felt like she was being swallowed whole by him and his heat: His warm tongue swirling on hers, his hot body surrounding hers, his prolonged, probing caresses on her sweet spot with the base of his soft, warm fingers.

He hushed her but she could feel his warm breath on her face, hitching with what she knew was focus as he sought her orgasm which he knew would be loud. And when Amanda started to helplessly moan to him as her pussy fluttered around his fingers, he let out a pleased sigh before he teasingly said, “Be quiet…” but gently pushed in his index finger and watched her sob a long, shaky moan. He covered her mouth with sloppy, sweet kisses to absorb her orgasmic sounds that surely would alert the entire bar of what was going on in the restroom. 

But Joe felt too damn good on her to care.

"You're gonna cum on my dick like that," Joe grunted softly in her ear before pulling his fingers from her wet warmth. He then pulled down his pants and boxers to wobbly step out of them before he grabbed her thighs to balance. Her stickiness touched her from his grip as he hooked them one by one around his waist to crush her between him and the door. He knocked some of the wind out of her, the giant, tipsy brute, but Amanda didn't mind when she felt his dickhead nudging into her slick opening. She wanted to be alarmed that neither of them thought to put on a condom, seamlessly falling back into their old, naughty habit...but it allowed her feel every inch of his naked, smooth, thick dick so she didn’t complain...

"Mmmm, Joe..." the words spilled from her lips with a low sob, her hands back on his chest to cling to his jacket. He just had his fingers in her but it did nothing to prepare her for the stretch as Joe gently thrust inside, making her sharply gasp and groan in one breath. She knew he had a big dick, the biggest she ever had…but only fantasizing about the memory of how it felt versus refreshing her memory as he stuffed it inside of her had her whining like it was her first time.

"Goddamn, this pussy tight...open up for me, baby," he groaned back as she wrapped her arms around his neck, their groans mingling together on their tongues as they kissed and he slowed down even more, pushing with a few more tender strokes to make her make room for him.

She almost blurted it was because she'd been essentially saving herself for this moment, but he was one step ahead of her when he mumbled, "I can tell Chris wasn't doin' his fuckin' job because—mmmm, shit—the way you squeezin' around me already...you been needin' me," as he nestled his dick deep inside her. 

"Whyyy the fuck are you bringin' him up right now?" she slurred angrily but he made her moan again as he held her up with handfuls of her round ass as he slowly pumped in and out, making her feel full on him, drunk on him, as he caressed her g-spot each time he buried himself in her, her moans echoing throughout the small restroom. 

His mouth moved on hers as he still talked his shit, "Because your pussy is talkin' to me...tellin' me you missed this...tellin' me you're about to cum on this dick."

"Ohhh, sh-fuck," Amanda cried, her rebuttal tongue-tied by her second orgasm threatening to make her scream. She hated that his big, drunk ass was right as he squeezed her ass in his hands and grinded on her spot, making the door rattle each time he shoved her up against it as his thrusts grew deeper, harder. 

"Cum, Amanda...cum," Joe moaned softly against her neck. Hearing her name in his mouth as he pleaded for her pleasure made her pussy throb around his dick, her orgasm creeping up on her with every thrust.

The door shook once more as he fucked her into it but then the doorknob shook, the sound making Amanda's eyes pop open and shattering her orgasmic build. Another sound then intruded, a few banging knocks, before a familiar, male voice quietly but angrily said, "You guys should know better than to have sex in a goddamn restroom. I could hear you when I was in the stall next door."

"Get the fuck away from here, Mike," Joe snarled after removing his lips from her throat, but his hips didn't stop grinding up into her. She heard Mike mumble something rude as his voice trailed off, but her nerves were shaken from being busted.

"He's right. We should stop..." she whispered, her mouth falling open as she fought back a moan when Joe shook his head and made her take his next thrust.

"Fuck him. We'll stop when you cum for me again," he said but then slipped out of her, leaving her feeling empty and dizzy with need as he dropped her back down on her unsteady feet. "Come here..."

Joe took her forearm and pulled her over to the sink, his whiskey brain probably thinking if they fucked here they'd reduce the noise, she thought. "Turn around and put your hands on the counter," he demanded but grabbed her by the waist to do it for her when she took too long. She saw her doe-eyed expression as she watched his reflection behind her, hiking up her dress to her waist, unzipping his jacket, and pulling the black tee shirt beneath it over his head with the sleeves still on so she could see his tatted chest and yummy abs. He slapped his hands to her ass before he picked up his heavy dick to push back inside her. They both groaned but Amanda's was louder, and he reached a long arm in front of her to smush his hand over her mouth. "Hush. I don't want any more interruptions. I want you to cum on this dick. Right now," he demanded gruffly.

Her orgasmic build soared up quickly as Joe knew her spot, knew how to massage it with his thrusts as he gripped her ass as it bounced off his groin each time he went deep. Her first orgasm was strong, lapping at her with heat, but this was fresh fire, making Amanda sob over and over into his palm that slightly cut off her airflow and made her feel deliciously dizzy again, her eyelids fluttering closed as she hung her head down and felt her body tremble anew with luscious flames swelling and contracting around his thick dick. 

Joe felt those contractions, too, and let out a soft moan as she came to pieces, her juices spurting onto his groin and running down their thighs. "I just know Melo wasn't makin' you cum like this…this pussy only responds to me. Just like this…" he said as he dragged his length along her sweet spot and made her clench him, forcing her to cry out more muffled, panting moans as another stream of her nectar coated him and his dick, making his thrusts into her gushy, tender pussy sound squishy. She hadn’t cum this hard, let alone squirted, in ages…

Yet even in the midst of her high, he still found time to be an arrogant idiot and ruin it, she thought, and she found the time to let it infuriate her as she bit down a little on his palm to make him snatch his hand away from her mouth so she could take a deep breath and chastise him. 

"Ouch! What the hell?" Joe nearly screeched.

"Can you just shut up and fuck me?" Amanda moaned before he retaliated with the hand she bit smacking her ass hard and making her inhale sharply. Their gazes met in the mirror and she saw the same fury she felt flash across his face as he knitted his thick eyebrows together. She also saw within his dark eyes for the first time in a while the same raw passion burning like a torch in the night for her...

"That's what you want, huh? How fast? How hard?" he asked as he snatched her hips to him and picked up the pace of his hips bumping against her until he was pummeling into her. Her moans couldn't keep up with his strokes, especially when he made her throw it back on his dick to hit harder until she felt it in her stomach. She went from holding onto the counter to her upper body being splayed out on it as he pounded her out, shoving her cheek up against the mirror. He felt scarily good in her like this and he knew it, watching her in the mirror just as she squeezed her eyes shut to whimper his name. He grabbed hold of her afro that fell to her shoulders to make her look at him behind her. "What? Speak up. Mmm...now you wanna act like you don't know how to take this dick," Joe said in between rumbling groans. 

"I…I can take it...can you?" Amanda rasped, lying, and it made him breathe a snicker at her question. Yet she could feel him starting to throb inside her as his pounding thrusts lengthened—and she remembered that was his giveaway that he wouldn't last much longer. "You gonna cum for me, Daddy?" she tried him, half-shook that his old nickname tumbled out of her so naturally, half-shook that it seemed to naturally accelerate his pleasure as he tore out of her with a sexy, deep groan.

She felt his warm cum land too high on her backside and she craned her neck to see him with his head thrown back as he stroked himself, another long rope of his cum flying haphazardly onto her shoulder blades and dripping down her back to her dress. "Joe, you're getting it on my clothes!" she yelped in a rage. 

"Oh shit, I'm sorry. Here, let me get it." He stumbled back to snatch a few paper towels from the dispenser on the wall before he wadded them up in his big hands and blotted them where he made a mess. As he did it, she could feel his cum seeping through to her skin, and she jolted upright from the counter.

"No, no, you're making it worse," she hissed before she turned around to examine her dress scrunched up around her waist in the mirror. It looked like someone threw paint on it and she gasped. How the hell was she supposed to blend back in at the bar like this? "Oh my fucking god, it's everywhere," Amanda groaned. 

"My bad. You wanna wear my jacket?" he offered, already shimmying out of it. His orgasm seemed to cool him down but she felt her blood boil as it was already embarrassing to be caught fooling around, and to be covered in his cum for everyone to see or smell because he was too sloshed to aim right made her feel downright stupid.

"No! I’m just gonna go," she said, yanking down her dress and storming over to the door. 

"Amanda, take the damn jacket," Joe said behind her but she ignored him, already bracing herself to just yank open the door and make a beeline to the exit. She walked as fast as her shaky legs in her stupid heels would take her, flying past Kayla at the bar who called out to her and followed her through the crowd before she burst through the doors of the venue and stood outside.

She was breathing heavily from the damn sprint she broke into hoping to get away from everyone's prying eyes, but then tears started streaming down her face. "You forgot your purse," Kayla said behind her, dangling Amanda's gold clutch strap from her fingers, before she added, "Oh, no, babe. What did he do?"

Her friend tried to pull her into a hug but Amanda stopped her and wiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "What he always does. Make me look fuckin' stupid.”

Showing her face at work the next afternoon was excruciating, but it wasn’t like Amanda could call out for the day. Everyone had to have heard by now about what happened at the bar last night, and hiding from it would only make her look even stupider. 

She was grateful that at least Joe didn’t work house shows. His schedule had slowed down since he lost his championship, and she didn’t think he’d make the five-hour bus trip to San Jose just to support the locker room. Not when they were all likely gossiping about them. 

She’d ducked away into the hair and makeup studio that was one of the several little rooms the arena offered as a part of the makeshift backstage area. As she sat on the padded stool, she scrolled through her Instagram feed as she waited for Kayla to write her back. She was thankful for how her friend took care of her drunk ass last night, helping her into an Uber, letting her cry on her, and riding with her to make sure she made it inside her suite. Yet when her phone pinged, it was another message from Josh.

Amanda had ignored the first three, as well as the ones from Sefa and Jon. She read them, though. They were just concerned for her after seeing how she nearly ran out of the bar. She knew they had to know the whole story from their cousin by now, or at least Josh did as his message read: You ain’t gotta talk to me, but please talk to Big Uce. Y’all gotta clear this shit up asap.

And you gotta mind your own business, Amanda thought before her, well, everyone’s stylist, Cassandra, snatched her thoughts with a wide tooth comb through her afro as she put the finishing touches on her hair for the show tonight. She’d already done her makeup with pastel hues of blues shading her eyelids and cherry red on her thick lips. The way she blew out her afro made her feel like Donna Summer when she looked up from her phone to check herself out in the Hollywood vanity mirror.

“You like it?” Cassandra asked in her cute, Puerto Rican accent, meeting her reflection’s gaze. When Amanda smiled weakly, she frowned. “You don’t like it.”

“It’s beautiful, actually. I’m just…I don’t know.” Amanda sucked in a sigh and stared down at her phone, hoping to hear from her friend. She needed her advice on how to proceed: She wanted to talk to Joe, but once again she felt like a dummy to reach out first. He had embarrassed her and, while she knew she could probably blame a lot of it on the alcohol, it made her feel like all he wanted from her was what he got between her legs…

Kayla had reminded her that she, too, wanted him in the same way, but Amanda reminded her that while that was true, she wanted him in every way in the worst way. She was ready to have that talk with him, about where they went wrong and how to fix it because her feelings for him weren’t only tied to his body, but his heart. 

Yet it didn’t feel like he reciprocated that energy with the way he brushed off having a real conversation to rail her against the restroom sink instead.

“I think I know,” Cassandra piped up and Amanda sighed again.

“Oh, I bet you do,” she groaned, ready to hear her come down on her about the incident in the bar.

“I don’t judge you, mami. I think you two will work it out at your own pace.” Cassandra was barely a decade older than her and yet something about the way she spoke to her felt motherly, especially as she ran her fingers through her hair to comfort her. It did cheer her up a little.

“Thank you, girl,” Amanda mumbled. Her phone went off again on her lap and she prayed it was finally Kayla. The number that scrolled across her screen was unsaved but her heart pounded as she knew exactly who it was. 

Can I call you?

Yeah.

She sent the reply quickly and he called immediately. She excused herself from Cassandra and eased up from the stool to step outside of the room. It was still a few hours before showtime so the backstage area wasn’t crowded yet, give or take a few wrestlers and crew hands, and she could hear Joe’s deep, irritatingly melodic voice fill her ear. It threatened to disarm her when she wanted to be mad with him.

“This a good time to talk?” he said.

“As good a time as any, I guess.”

“Yeah, right. You know we had no business talkin’ last night after that many drinks.”

“We didn’t really talk about much from what I recall,” Amanda murmured with slight bitterness seeping into her voice, neglecting the slight thrill that tried to crawl down her spine at the same time at the thought of him making her pussy talk to him...

“Again…we had too much to drink. I’m sorry about your dress.”

“Thanks. Is that it?”

“No. But do you even wanna hear it? You sound like you don’t wanna talk to me.” He sounded frustrated but also hurt like he did when he mentioned their breakup last night. It pierced her heart with self-awareness that made her feel guilty.

“...I do wanna talk to you. I’m just hurt,” she confessed.

“Me, too.”

“Why?” 

“I think you already know. My cousins don’t know how to keep their mouths shut.”

“Joe. Just tell me.” She wanted to hear him say it.

“I’m sick of the games. We been playin’ them for over a year. I’m over it.” She heard Joe let out a sigh before he continued. “I know what happened last night was a mess...but it happened because I missed you. I still miss you.” 

Amanda felt that pang in her heart again but this time from disbelief. She’d been wanting to hear those words from him for so long, but before she could respond, she let her doubt speak for her. “Did you miss me or my pussy?”

“Are you bein’ serious?” Joe’s calm tone rose a bit like he was offended. “I just told you I’m done with the bullshit games, Amanda. Are you?”

She knew he was right. She was letting all the resentment and hurt she held onto for the last year sting at her. It may have made for some good, angry, drunk sex last night, but she didn’t want it to sabotage the conversation she had been yearning to have with him. She bit her tongue while she tried to muster up the words to do what she used to swear he should do before her.

“I’m sorry,” she grumbled softly. “I keep lettin' my feelings fuck with me. It’s just…it took us this long to talk. And before we could even do it, we were doin’ each other. It felt like that’s all it was gonna be and that hurt…because I feel like there’s more here.”

It came out rushing like word vomit. She indeed felt sick to be this vulnerable with him all of a sudden, but she couldn’t deny it felt good to get it out of her system. She worried maybe she bared too much as Joe went silent on the line. She leaned against the wall with her hand over her face, embarrassed all over again. 

“I’m sorry, too,” he finally said. “We were both petty but I know I dragged it. Especially when you got with Melo. That shit ate me up. You know...when you dumped me, it made me feel like you ain’t see it for us the way I did. I know why you did it, though. I made you feel neglected…and I’m sorry, Amanda. And I hope you know why I wanted to talk to you today. ’Cause you’re right…there is more between us. And I want to explore it all.”

Now it was Amanda’s turn to be silent as she fought back the tears welling in her eyes. If he was saying what she thought he was saying…

“Sweetheart,” he said gently in her ear and made a few tears roll along her cheeks to hear his old pet name for her.

“You know I want that, too,” she replied slowly. “So…where do we go from here?”

“I know we can’t exactly pick up where we left off…but I’d love to take you out. On a date. No alcohol or funny business. Just us. A fresh start, in a way.” It made her almost giggle to hear him sound bashful. “How’s that sound?”

“Just tell me when and where…”

Joe told her he’d arrange for a ride to pick her up tomorrow afternoon and bring her to Emerald Bay where he was renting a vacation beach home for the next few days. He apologized for it being an hour ride for her but promised he’d make the first hour she arrived “special” to make it up to her. 

She was hesitant to gush over him so soon, but everything in her wanted to tell him, “Anything with you is special to me.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t forget to bring a swimsuit,” he told her before they hung up, making her smile big to herself. Amanda blotted at her cheeks and hoped she didn’t ruin her makeup, but decided to switch around and go back to Cassandra, anyway, for a small touch-up. As she did, she spotted Christian across the hallway as he stood at the catering table with Bobby as they filled their plates with fruit and cheese. 

She felt herself jolt a bit at the sight of him as she’d forgotten he worked the show tonight. She barely saw him since they split as he worked Tuesday nights and she worked Friday nights. Yet when they did house show tours, they would cross paths like this. And mercifully he kept it moving. Until now. He caught her eyes on him and a smirk danced on his lips before he hung his head and shook it.

He threw two fingers up in a little wave at her before he approached her. Amanda had a feeling she knew what he wanted to talk about, and she felt the urge to run into Cassandra’s studio before he could utter a word, but she stood her ground. If he had something to say, so did she…

“What’s up witchu?” he said nonchalantly, smacking on a piece of cheddar he just popped into his mouth.

“Nothing much. You?” she replied quickly.

“You sure? Look like you been cryin’.” She didn’t know how to read his tone. It wasn’t quite mocking, but didn’t feel quite sincere, either.

“I was. But they were happy tears.”

His eyes widened a bit as he feigned surprise and ate another piece of cheese. “Well, I’m glad to hear that…considerin’ what I heard happened last night.”

“Really, Chris?”

“I just wanted to see if you were okay,” he said, raising his hand. The look in his eyes seemed shockingly genuine out of nowhere.

“I am…thanks. Are you okay? How’ve you been?” Amanda asked timidly. She was stubborn about giving Joe an apology, but she knew she owed Christian one…

“Uh, yeah. I’ve been good, actually.” Her change in attitude seemed to catch him off guard. 

“Good. I’m glad to hear that…and, um, thanks for checkin’ on me.” She met his gaze and her heart thudded to say, “I'm sorry. You know. I don’t mean to bring it up out of the blue like this…I just know you didn’t deserve that, and I’m sorry.”

Amanda prepared herself for whatever clapback he’d sling at her because she knew she had it coming. But she’d take it because she’d been denying for too long the role she played in her own grief—and how it affected other people. She was ready to stop letting her emotions run her in the wrong direction and make things right.

“Wow…I definitely didn’t come over to talk about that,” Christian said and she nodded her head. “...But I appreciate that. For real.”

He paused before he moved in a little closer and gave her an awkward, one-armed hug while holding his plate of food. It made her smile all the same as she hugged him back. 

“Take care of yourself, alright?” he said before he let her go.

“You, too,” she replied as he shot her his pearly whites before heading back over to Bobby. She knew they weren’t going to become friends, and that was okay. Amanda was just satisfied to properly close one chapter of her life so a new chapter could begin…

The dry heat in California was fierce today, the sun hanging in the cloudless sky as Amanda walked out from her hotel lobby. She was from Atlanta so she was no stranger to heat but this was next-level hot. Even her yellow, halter top sundress couldn’t keep her from sweating already. She was outside because got a notification that her Uber was here, and she pulled her cheetah-print luggage behind her as she scanned the curb for her ride.

When she spotted the sleek, black Range Rover, she hurried over and prayed the driver had the A/C cranked to the max. She heard a door on the other side of the truck open and she waited for the driver to come around and open the trunk so she could throw her bags in. Yet when it was Joe who appeared around the corner, her heart leaped in her chest like it always did. 

He looked beyond handsome with his dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail with his black Shady Rays atop his head so she could see his pretty, deep brown eyes on her. His intricate tribal tattoo that covered his right arm was exposed in his white tee shirt that hung onto his every muscle...as did his dark gray joggers. She had to pry her eyes away from his thick print clear as day in them as she met his gaze and made him smile.

“Hey, beautiful. Figured I’d keep you company,” Joe said and put his arms around her for a tight, long hug that made her want to swoon as she inhaled his scent. They took their time pulling apart, the hug feeling like the official kick-off to their reunion, one they didn't want to end so soon. Yet when they finally did, he looked down at her like he wanted to kiss her but refrained. 

“Is a kiss a part of the ‘funny business’?” Amanda asked quietly.

“Hmm, yeah. I think so. If we’re goin’ for a fresh start, we were friends first, remember? And friends don’t kiss,” he taunted and made her return his cute smile. He popped open the trunk and loaded it with her few but big pieces of luggage as she checked out of the hotel, per his request, to spend the next few days with him until her next house show on Wednesday.

“Oh, damn. I didn’t think we were startin' waaaay over like that,” she replied. He chuckled as he opened the door for her and let her slide into the cool backseat before him. The driver had a friendly voice as he greeted them, offering them bottled water as he pulled the truck away from the curb—and Joe pulled Amanda close to him with his arm over her shoulder. Her body flashed with tingles as she felt his fingers caress her beneath her chin as he steered her face up to meet his lips for a brief yet tender kiss. 

“That’s all you’ll get from me because from here on out, we’re havin’ the most innocent and adorable date you’ve ever been on in your life,” Joe said with his sexy smirk. 

“Such a gentleman,” Amanda laughed. “We’ll see how long that lasts...”

Yet the challenge landed solely on Amanda to behave as Joe evidently meant what he said. He planned their date in three parts: A light picnic on the peaceful shores of Emerald Bay, a private beach; a trip to the Pageant of Masters to experience living works of art as they recreated famous paintings; and dinner at the Selanne Steak Tavern where Amanda marveled at how upscale yet cozy their section of the dining room felt—which she learned was because he reserved the room for just the two of them.

It was indeed the most adorable, and well-thought-out, date she’d ever been taken on. Yet as she lounged on the beach in her black bikini after a dip, she found herself shooing away non-innocent thoughts as she admired Joe’s silky, wavy hair that was wet and clinging to his burly, muscular, half-naked body, his navy blue swim trunks barely hanging on around his hips, and revealing his dick print to her again when he came out of the glistening, clear waters to rejoin her on the oversized beach blanket where she was plucking white grapes from the charcuterie board to munch on. 

It didn't help that he dared to crawl to her on his hands and knees and nestle himself between her sandy, thick thighs…only to lie there and grab a few crackers to eat instead of her. It made her giggle, anyway, as they talked. He was such a tease and a goofball as he asked her to time him on how long he could balance a pepperoni stick on the bridge of his nose.

He was also a surprising art connoisseur. Amanda knew Joe had a love of the arts, from music to theater, but she gazed over at him in awe when he was able to name each piece of art the performers on stage brought to life when she was unfamiliar and asked. “I think this one is called ‘A Winter Scene.’ I think, don’t quote me on that,” he whispered in her ear as they sat in the dark arena in opera seats, the spotlight fixed on the stage where Japanese dancers donned vibrant kimonos as snow fell around them. 

She wasn’t sure which moved her to tears, the hauntingly beautiful sounds of the koto that filled the room, or the talented dancers portraying a brilliant resilience to a cold winter, but when she started to sniffle, she felt Joe’s hand slip onto her lap where she rested hers, lacing his big fingers with hers that looked so small with his. His gentle caress as he rubbed his thumb along her skin made her look at him again, and he planted a light kiss on her forehead to make her grin.

When they rolled up to the steak house around seven p.m., the blaring sun was graciously gone. The moonlight was soft as it touched Joe’s face when he hopped out of the Range Rover and extended his hand to help her down safely in her tall, black, strappy heels. Amanda couldn’t take her eyes off how luminous his skin looked even in the night, and how dapper he was in his baby blue suit jacket that struggled to hide his brawny shoulders and biceps. But she loved how the color brought out more of his natural glow. 

She didn’t intend on matching with him, but she just happened to pack a powder blue, silk evening gown that touched the floor yet revealed a peek of her right thigh with its high slit. She did purposefully style her afro into two big afro puff ponytails on her head since she knew it was his favorite look on her. “You look so damn good tonight that it should be a crime. Officer!” Joe called out with his hand next to his mouth and she chuckled, playfully slapping his chest. His other hand didn’t let go of hers on their way inside, and Amanda felt butterflies in her tummy. She hated to feel so sappy but she knew those same feelings had been simmering deep within her for the past year—and now they were bubbling to the surface as Joe made her feel more than just special…but loved.

The “L” word tiptoeing across her mind made her palm feel a bit sweaty in his. They’ve never said that to each other, ever. Amanda sometimes felt it was because they split before they ever got the opportunity…

Because the way they were all day was reminiscent of the soft, delightful vibes they used to be on when they first became friends and then lovers. It was easy to be themselves, share lots of laughter, shy but big grins, and fall into spells of flirting that teetered onto teasingly fondling…

It reminded Amanda of all the reasons she cared for Joe and all the reasons she missed him. She was over the moon that he missed her, too.

“Remember the time I bet you a steak dinner if I spanked you in Uno?” Joe asked after he swallowed a piece of his filet mignon. The chandelier lighting was subtle and allowed the candle on their table to illuminate their plates and faces as they gazed at each other. 

“Oh, yeah. I’ll never forget how you cheated. No one plays Uno like that but you,” she said and he breathed a cute laugh. She moved her fork around her plate as she gathered up another bite of mashed potatoes along with a piece of broccoli. “Didn’t you admit that it was all just a trick to take me out to dinner?” she asked mid-chew.

 “I don’t recall admittin’ that so bluntly, but if you must know…yeah.” He took a sip of his iced water before he added, “I was feelin’ you and I knew you were feelin’ me. But I didn’t wanna just come out and ask you on a date when I knew you worried how’d that look to Hunter.”

“And then look what happened, anyway. Now everyone has an opinion about us,” Amanda sighed. She felt Joe reach his hand across the table to put on hers. His touch made her tingle again.

“I don’t care what anyone has to say about me and you,” Joe said softly. “That shit don’t matter. What matters is how you feel about me and you.”

He looked at her like he expected her to say something like there was a secret question in his words. She knew exactly what that question was…but she was afraid to answer it so soon after they just began to amend things.

But she felt it. It swirled in her heart and made her feel warm all over from his hand still on hers, his eyes holding her gaze. There wasn’t another man alive that could make her feel this way.

“How do you feel?” Amanda asked quietly. She had her own question lingering between the lines of the one she already asked, and when Joe looked at her with slight confusion, she elaborated. “I hope this isn’t the wrong time to bring this up, but I’m curious…I think we both know I got with Chris to try and get over you. Which didn’t work. Was there a time…or a woman…that made you feel like, ‘Damn, I miss Amanda?’ Because I had plenty of those times about you…”

A small grin tugged at his sexy, pink lips as he listened to her nervously ramble her thoughts to form a question. He pulled his hand away to take another sip of water and stared at her with those enticing eyes as he said, “One woman. Only once. About five months ago. It was trash because every time I looked at her, I wanted her to be you so bad. Didn’t bother tryin’ again with anyone else because I knew it’d be the same story. I missed you the entire time…I was just a stubborn asshole.”

“Me, too,” she breathed, feeling her cheeks warm as she blushed at his confession. She was grateful her deep brown skin hid it from him.

“Pinky promise we’re off that shit now?” Joe held his long pinky finger out with another grin. Amanda grinned back as she wrapped her little one around it.

“Pinky promise.”

When they arrived back at Joe’s huge vacation beach home after dinner, Amanda already knew her way around as they’d stopped in and out earlier that day to freshen up after the beach and change into their evening wear for the museum before they had their steaks. She headed upstairs and past four bedrooms before she reached the master bedroom he let her claim. He even gave her privacy to shower and get dressed before they went out. She went now to close the bathroom door, strip, and pad to the grand waterfall shower to climb in. She didn’t really need another shower today, but something about pounding, hot water flooding over her skin soothed her and made her ready for bed.

Although, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to go to bed just yet…

After she finished bathing, she ran through the rest of her nightly routine, moisturizing her skin, brushing her teeth, and pulling on her pajamas. She skipped braiding her hair as she took down her puff ponytails and combed her fingers through it until it framed her face and sat on her shoulders, feeling cute as she looked in the mirror. 

She felt a little odd to do her entire routine with Joe downstairs when back in the day he'd be all over her offering to rub her feet with her body butter. She wondered if he was still being "innocent" or if he'd fallen asleep. Amanda quietly came down the stairs and rounded the corner of the den, and her heart instantly warmed to see his giant body nearly hanging off the little cushions of the sectional sofa.

“You still up?” Amanda called out softly as she neared the back of the sofa. It was only ten p.m. after all. She couldn’t see his face yet as it was pointed to the large, flatscreen television mounted on the wall that played the movie Love Jones. She’d seen it a hundred times and wondered if Joe was actually watching or if it was watching him as she leaned over the couch to inspect.

Suddenly, a pair of big hands flung up and around her waist, pulling her over the backrest. Amanda laughed wildly as she landed on top of Joe, his hands pinning her against him and wiggling along her sides and back to tickle her. “Stop! Stop it or I’m gonna pee!” she warned with rowdy giggles, playfully fighting back as she tried to wriggle free from his grasp.

“That’ll be what you get for sneakin’ up on me,” Joe said with a giggle of his own when she finally gained some control and straddled his lap, tickling his shirtless torso with both her hands. She was grateful she opted for a pink spaghetti-strap tank top and black Soffe shorts instead of the big tee shirt she was going to wear, or else he would have gotten the full view of her the way his hands accidentally lifted her tank. And that wouldn't be very innocent...

“Alright! Truce, truce,” she yelped when she couldn’t take anymore. He stopped attacking her with tickles but kept his hands on her waist, holding her upright as he gazed up at her. It made her skin tingle with that smoldering pull of his and she bit her lip before she said, “Don’t look at me like that, sir. You the one that said this is supposed to be an innocent date.”

“I don’t know if you noticed, but, uh, the date is over. We’re home now…” He squeezed her gently in his hands and slowly rolled his hips beneath her, making her feel him between her thighs as he grew hard behind his black sweatpants. He watched her fight back a moan as he kept grinding his hips to make his stiffness rub along her clit in her shorts before he ran a hand up her chest, palming her bralass, big breasts that fit in his delicate grip along the way to her neck. When he squeezed her again with his big fingers around her throat, they locked eyes as she let out a soft moan, putting a devilish smirk on his lips. “We can be good, though, if that’s what you want…" Joe said as he applied a little more pressure to her throat, right beneath her jaw, watching how it made her whimper to him as she closed her eyes. "...but good girls don’t moan like that ’cause they like bein’ choked.”

“Joe, you play too much,” Amanda moaned again as he gripped her throat and nudged his now fully hard bulge to her clit. She wrapped her hands around his wrist but made no effort to pull him away as he knew as well as she did that there was too much heat rising between them to stop now.

“I’m not playin’, sweetheart…” he replied before he lifted her into his arms and sat her on the sofa. She saw that mischievous glint fill his dark eyes as he slid off the cushions and to the floor. He planted himself between her thighs and slowly ran his hands up them until his fingers met her shorts that he slowly rolled down her legs. His eyes never left hers as he did, their gazes fixed on one another, her heart racing, as he spread her thighs apart and pressed soft kisses along her skin that made Amanda shiver. When he put her thighs on his broad shoulders, he leaned in closer to graze his lips on her lower lips, taking a moment to inhale her intimate scent before he said, “You know what’s crazy? I missed you so bad that I even missed how you smell. You still smell the same…and good.”

Amanda mumbled her thanks as Joe left a delicate kiss on her pussy lips as he breathed in her scent again. When his long tongue slid from between his full lips, she felt herself quiver in anticipation to be devoured by him…and he didn't disappoint as he gently split her and tasted her in one fell swoop, letting his tongue slowly crawl along her slick folds as he got his mouth reacquainted with her pussy that was sticky and wet for him before he hardly even touched her. 

The sight of him with his large hands around her thighs, his eyes closed as he concentrated on lapping at her and licking up the wetness he made, was just as sexy as the feel of him curling his tongue all over her pussy. “I missed your mouth, oh, my goood,” Amanda whined, gripping the backrest of the sofa with one hand while the other laid on her chest as she lightly pinched and pulled her nipple through her tank top.

“I missed how you taste…” Joe murmured in between pressing his mouth to her and licking in and out of her little entrance, his tongue long enough that she could feel him on her g-spot as he fucked her with it. She shook with a moan, her orgasm trying to hunt her down as she watched him pull back to bring a hand to her pussy and tease his middle finger into her. He twirled it on her g-spot, continuing the work his tongue started and making her whine softly to him. “I didn’t even think to eat this pussy the other night ’cause I was stupid and drunk,” he added in a whisper. “But I need to taste your cum, sweetheart. So, you better cum for me.”

He pushed his finger inside more as he spoke, deeper until only his knuckle was visible before he slowly pumped it in and out, twisting it with each thrust to knead her sweet spot and make her body tremor with moans that grew louder. Their eyes fastened together as he did so before Joe put his mouth back on her clit to suckle it onto his tongue, surrounding her sweetest spot with his lips and licks that made her squeeze her eyes shut as her heated orgasm finally took her down. 

“Joe! Don’t stop...unhhhh,” Amanda cried as she came, her body moving on its own as her hips bucked uncontrollably. She put a hand on the back of his head, grabbing at his ponytail to wrap around her wrist as she grinded on his tongue. Joe let her ride his face for as long as she wanted, enjoying himself as he greedily slurped on her and held her to his mouth by her thighs as he sipped on her nectar that tried to ooze down his beard until she was overwhelmed with pleasure.

She knew her face gave it away that he had her pussy reeling from his relentless tongue as her mouth hung open and her eyelids hung low, but Joe didn’t let her rest for too long. He pulled his finger from her depths to lick away the rest of her cum before he stood and tugged off his sweatpants that had no boxers underneath...just hard, long dick and taut balls that all bounced against his muscular thighs. Amanda didn’t get to see it much when they fooled around in the restroom because, like Joe said, they were being stupid and drunk, but taking it in for the first time in a long time made her pussy clench around nothing. She knew he was huge, felt that for a fact when he tore up only a day ago and she was still slightly sore, but to see all nine beautiful, chocolate brown inches of him as his blunt dickhead dripped with a thick string of pre-cum that stuck to his thigh was something magnificent to behold.

“Unnhhh, baby, damn…this pussy still tight,” Joe cooed to her when he got back on his knees and pushed into her, her pussy clamping around him along with her thighs around his waist. “You been doin’ kegel exercises?” His deep voice rasped like he was on the edge of his orgasm already, his body hunched over as he trembled slightly with each hefty thrust. It made Amanda both giggle softly and moan with him as she slipped her arms around his big body to hold him closer to her.

“No, baby. You just have a big ass dick, fuuuck.” She tried not to scream it in his ear as he broke her in again on his thick dick, his girth easily expanding her tender pussy walls as he dug deeper and deeper inside. He fit perfectly, even if he had to make himself fit, and she groaned his name as she lightly scratched her nails along his spine as he began to tap on hers.

“And you have good ass pussy. The best pussy. Got me wantin’ to cum…but not yet,” Joe moaned as he straightened up and brought her thighs together to pin them to the cushion she lay on. He used his other hand to gently roll Amanda onto her side, all while still throwing deep strokes in and out of her that felt even damn deeper once he hit from this angle. She snatched a squared, decorative pillow nearby into her hands for something to hold onto as Joe now gripped her thigh with both hands and thrust harder, but not faster. “Look at me, baby…look at us,” he commanded when she smothered her face in the pillow to scream and bite at it. She felt his big hand slip up her body and to her throat again as he made her meet his eyes with his strong grip before she stared down at his hips knocking on hers, his dick disappearing inside her and filling her stomach. "Look how good we look together, baby," he whispered.

“Unnhhh, shit, Daddy,” Amanda squeaked as he choked her just enough to make her pussy flutter once around his dick as he started to pound her out. He seemed to refuse to hurry his pace, but she didn't mind as he made her eyes roll in her head as he hammered his heavy dick into her like the strokes of the second hand of an analog clock. Slow...steady...over...and over…

“That’s right, baby…Daddy's here now. And he ain't goin' anywhere. Mmm...I make this pussy feel good, baby?” Joe said, his tone saturated with his usual haughtiness that reminded her of how he was talking that shit the other night. And even though he was absolutely right, she didn’t want him to have the last word…not this time.

“Yessss…you make me feel so good...that’s why I wanna feel you cum in me. Mmm, it feels too good, Daddy,” Amanda purred. She loved how that made his eyes widen before a moan escaped him. She knew he loved the sound of that and she was just being honest. It did feel amazing when he poured into her like that. Physically…and on a strange level, emotionally. She never let a man before or since him do that to her. It was only for Joe because she was only for him…

And as she started to feel him throbbing in her just from her mentioning it, she purred again, “I want to feel you cum in this pussy, Daddy. Right now.”

“Yeah? If you want Daddy’s cum, you have to cum again, sweetheart,” Joe grunted as his hips jerked back with another twitch of his dick. She knew he was hanging on by a thread, she could feel it…and it made her pussy flutter again as he wedged himself into her. She needed to feel his pleasure flood her so she obeyed him and shifted her thighs until she was able to squeeze them together and put pressure on her clit. She moaned gruffly as she found the right angle, making him moan, too, as he watched her flex her thick, brown thighs to match the rhythm of his thrusts. “There you go, baby…fuck, you’re so beautiful like this,” he softly growled. 

He kept his hands on her throat and thigh, encouraging her orgasm further when decided to swivel his dick slowly to tease her g-spot. “Cum for me, Daddy…cum with me.” Amanda’s needy moans touched the ceiling high above as she felt her heart thrum with warm waves of pleasure that crashed into her. She felt her pussy contract and pull around him as she came hard, her nectar spilling all over him…which made him throb and shoot his warm, stringy ropes of his cum into her. "Yesss, Daddy, give it to me...who does this dick belong to, baby?" she found the nerve to say in between spasms of her delicious climax making her shudder beneath him.

Joe shuddered, too, with the fiery orgasm that he pounded into her, his fingers gripping her so tight that she'd probably have bruises. It made her moan all the same as he moaned to her, "It's yours, baby, unhhh…and this pussy is all mine. I love this pussy...I love you.” 

Her heart thundered in her chest at his words as surely she misheard him…but when he leaned over with one hand remaining on her thigh and the other caressing her cheek, he kissed her lips softly and whispered again, “I love you, Amanda.”

“I love you, too,” she breathed between his sweet kisses, cradling his face in her hands and stroking her thumbs over his soft beard as he gave himself to her, as she gave herself to him. It reminded her of the first time all those months ago they entwined like this and how she knew then what she certainly knew now: Amanda was deeply, wildly, unequivocally in love with Joe. She had never stopped loving him.

And like the first time they shared this experience, he rested his heavy body on top of hers as they panted together and held each other in their arms. She snuggled her nose to her chest, getting high on his god scent as her fingers found themselves on his head to play with the hair of his loose ponytail.

They stayed like that for hours or until their breathing returned to normal, whichever came first. As Joe gradually pulled out and leaned back slightly to look into Amanda’s eyes, he kissed her again before he said, “I meant that, by that way.”

“I did, too,” she replied in a hushed tone. She propped herself up onto her elbows which brought her lips to his again that of course she kissed, and she gave one to the tip of his nose, too. “You know what this means now, right?” she asked.

“What’s that, sweetheart?” he said with a grin that made her light up with a smirk, too.

“This means we’re dating again. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.”

The laugh that rumbled through him made his shoulders shake before he hugged her tighter in his arms. “I can live with that,” Joe said. “I’ve been yours for a long time now. And you’re mine.”

.

.

.

Thanks for reading! 🖤

Better late than never, right? 😅

Thank you all for your patience and love for this series!

It makes me wanna cry cuz "The Quiet Game" was my first fanfic that I ever shared online and I was NERVOUS, but you all made me feel like a part of the community immediately. 🥹

I've met soooo many amazing people, friends, and writers because of my silly lil Roman smut, and I couldn't be more grateful for ya'll. 💖

This series is my baby and now it's finished. 🥲 I hope ya'll enjoy!

Tag squad 🫶🏾

@harlem11680 @mzv11 @miyuhpapayuh @cyberdejos2 @thesamoanqueen @angelreigns444 @niknakbucks92 @vebner37 @flawlessvictory2020 @dreamsinfocus @fame-ass-ers @southerngirl41 @jeyusos-girl @nayys-world @msbigredmachine @purplehairgawdess @dayjlovesromance @solosikoasgf @mohawkmama @smuts-whore @po3ticb3auty @alyyaanna @murrylove  @papireigns-05 @thewarlordsworld @vintage-pvssy @christinabae @hennyyybarb @visionarymode @itsautomaticfaegirl @jstarr86 @bebesobrielo @urasunflower @jeygif @iguessilikewrestlingnow @seeingstarks @555sage

[swagglessmoth]

Hey there lady’s. Oops! I dropped my Tobimelo fanart oh no-

If Carmelo ever met Luther au!Tobias he would surely end up in tears. Bully meets real hater

[kingofthering]

saw your tags when Fabio was supposed to follow on Marc s footsteps, but a mess happened with his manager.

I am new what exactly happened

Okay, so. Going to gather all the information from Fabio's biography by Michel Turco.

Fabio's first ever manager was Eduardo Martin.

Essentially, Eduardo's main issue is that instead of growing Fabio's career to make Fabio better, he chose the directions of Fabio's career to better fit the promotion and marketing of his energy drink (Wild Wolf) [note : the brand never ever really came to life).

In 2011, Fabio was riding in 80cc and that's where Eduardo approached his parents. He started helping Fabio and buying him a bike so he could train for the next category. He helped Fabio secure a sit in CEV Moto3 in 2013, with the team Wild Wolf Racing. That year, Fabio also moved to Spain in Eduardo's house.

Fabio won CEV Moto3 in 2013, winning the last 3 races (championship had 9 of them).

At that time, Emilio Alzamora (Marc's manager for 18 years, until mid-2022) was working with Monlau Competition and Estrella Galicia to build a ladder to bring young riders to Moto3 and then Moto2 (they had already done it with Alex Marquez and Alex Rins).

During the 2013 season, in Albacete (so either June or September), Emilio approached Eduardo to talk about Fabio. Apparently, Eduardo wasn't liking the potential move to Marc VDS in Moto2 and the presence of Monster (remember when I said that Eduardo only cared about his energy drink brand?) and Emilio said that it took him days and days before being able to have Fabio's contract signed.

In 2014, Fabio was finally in the Monlau Competition structure and he joined team Honda Estrella Galicia 0,0. Emilio says that they taught Fabio a lot of things then, especially in the way his race weekends were structured. Fabio also got to try new bike parts that HRC was then giving to Alex R. and Marc.

The 2014 season of CEV Moto3 contained 11 races. Fabio won 9 of them and finished the other two second. He obviously got a second title that year. Please have a look at one of my fave quotes from the book, where Emilio compares Marc & Fabio at 14 years old.

In the summer of 2014, Emilio had to go talk to Carmelo Ezpeleta because back then, the minimum age to participate in a GP was 16 (note : Fabio would only turn 16 on the 20th of April 2015, the day after the 3rd round of that MotoGP/Moto2/Moto3 season). After a bunch of discussions, Emilio managed to have the big instances say that "a 15 years-old crowned in CEV could start in the World Championship even if his birthday was after the start of the season" [note : we essentially still have that rule today except now you have to be 18 and 17 years old are accepted if they were crowned champions the year prior].

Now the year is 2015 and Fabio is riding for Estrella Galicia 0,0 in Moto3. His season does not go as he would have hoped. He gets two second places in the early part of the season but finishes 10th and has a couple of crashes, ends up beat by his teammate Jorge Navarro.

Here's what Emilio had to say about the situation : "The issue wasn't Fabio but this Eduardo, taking care of him. [...] He didn't know much about racing. He only had one thing in mind : to see Fabio on top of every practice session. He wanted him to win before he had even learnt what had to be learned. This attitude didn't benefice anyone."

Mid-season, Emilio said : "His results until now have exceeded our expectations. The objective of the first half of the season is to gain experience. Some people seem to forget that he's only 16 years old."

As the season progresses, tensions rise between Eduardo and Emilio. Eduardo wants to take Fabio to Leopard Racing (they were on top of the Moto3 Championship with Danny Kent then) while other team managers are interested in Fabio, including Aki Ajo. Aki said that he was really interested in getting Fabio and that he did a lot of efforts to have him in his team. He said : "I remember that it was a real challenge and that insisted a lot, I was convinced that we could do something to help him. When I met him in my office, I immediately felt like he was the type of guy I would really like to work with. I think that he felt the same thing then but there were other reasons, coming from his management or elsewhere, that made this not happen."

Towards the end of August, in Misano, Fabio gets a double fracture in his right ankle and shortens his first Moto3 season. Fabio wasn't doing well then but that's when he met Tom, please see some of my other favorite quotes.

At the end of 2015, Fabio leaves the Monlau structure. Back then, Eduardo justified it by saying this : "When we started renegotiating the contract with Alzamora, the question of our liberties for the future came. The contract we were offered was engaging us for a longer time than I wished for Fabio. Leopard was giving us this freedom and everything else I asked for. The Estrella Galicia project went from CEV to MotoGP, going through Moto3 and Moto2. I understand this philosophy and I suppose it suits most riders. It wasn't fine for me because Fabio is not a rider like the others. He's a special rider and he needs to be free so he can always make the best choice at the right time. The Almazora project is not flexible enough for us."

Also, like I mentioned earlier, Eduardo didn't want long term because he didn't want to end up in Moto2 with Marc VDS. Michael Bartholemy, then head of that team, says : "This guy was crazy. He didn't know anything about motorbikes and racing. He thought he was managing Lewis Hamilton, he wanted 300-pages contracts, wanted to choose the sponsors, etc..."

We'll finish this with one last quote from Emilio, still having regrets about not being able to finish this missions with Fabio six years later [note : the book was published in 2021] : "It was a waste. We had sponsors like Estrella Galicia who had already invested a lot in the project. They were counting on Fabio to launch themselves on the international market, notably the French market. Everything fell through because of a manager not very clear-sighted... At the same time, this taught us how to better write our contracts. On my side, I'm very happy that Fabio managed to bounce back and that his talent didn't end up being wasted."

[sydsaint]

I might be kind of obsessed with him lately.

Summary: The reader and her tag partner Tiffany Straton have a difference of opinion when it comes to newbie Lexis King.

"I still can't believe that Fallon made you much out those nasty horse stalls." You snicker at Tiffany as the two of you make your way across the parking lot. "I swear I can still smell it on you." You crinkle your nose jokingly. 

"Ew! YN, don't even joke like that!" Tiffany whines. "I showered like five times after I was done!" She insists. "Fallon is seriously crazy. She said that she actually enjoyed doing manual labor." She whispers the words like they're a slur. 

Your nose crinkles for real this time and you sneer. "Ew, as if!" 

"Right?" Tiffany agrees. "Girls like us are to pretty to work." She flips her perfectly curled hair over her shoulder. 

"You know it." You giggle and twirl your hair between your fingers with a grin. 

You and Tiffany head inside the building and waste no time going to your shared locker room. The two of you are passing through the main backstage area when Lexis King appears in front of you. 

"Ladies." Lexis grins at you both, an air of self-entitlement about him. 

"Lexis." Tiffany turns her nose up at King. 

You roll your eyes playfully at Tiffany's immediate dismissal of King. "Hey, Lexis." You offer him a flirty smile. 

King immediately turns his attention to you since Tiffany obviously isn't going to give him the time of day. "YN! Where are you ladies headed off to?" He asks you. 

"Back to the locker rooms to get ready for the show." You answer him, twirling a strand of hair in your hand. "Tiff and I have a tag match against those losers Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez." You explain. 

"Well you definitely look ready to me." Lexis chuckles, showing no shame in raking his eyes over your body. 

You roll your eyes at the cheap line he's throwing at you. "Smooth, Romeo." You laugh. 

"Ugh! Come on, YN!" Tiffany scoffs and grabs ahold of your hand to drag you off. "You just seriously bombed buddy." She informs Lexis matter-of-factly. "So we'll be going." 

"See you later, YN." Lexis nods and steps back to let you and Tiffany pass. "Be seeing you around babe." He winks as Tiffany drags you off. 

Tiffany lets her death grip on your arm free only when you are safely in the locker room. She lets your arm go and you rub the red spot from where she was dragging you by. 

"That was kind of harsh, don't you think, Tiff?" You ask Tiffany, watching as she makes a b-line for her vanity against the wall. 

"Umm, no." Tiffany replies dryly. "That guy is a loser, YN. Come on." She insists. 

You roll your eyes playfully and walk over to the other vanity so you can fix your hair and makeup for the show. "I like him." You admit and pick up your hairbrush. "He's cute! And his hair? I love a man that takes care of his hair." 

"Ew, YN." Tiffany sneers. "You can do so much better, girl." She assures you. "I thought you had a thing for Carmelo? Or was it Trick?" She asks you. 

"It was Carmelo." You answer her. "But Trick is super hot too. He just started dating Lash though. And I'm pretty sure Melo has a new girl now." You explain. 

Tiffany grabs her curler off the vanity and shrugs. "So? If they just started dating then what's the harm. They can't be that serious yet." She grins. 

"Tiffany!" You laugh. "Say what you want, girl. But I don't go after dudes in relationships. Not my style." You remind her. 

"Suit yourself, girl." Tiffany shrugs. "You know, Bron and Cora broke up last month." She flashes a teasing smile at you. "And I know you think Bron is super hunky." 

You pick up your makeup bag and open it up to retrieve your foundation and concealer. "And you don't?" You ask Tiffany. "And you I don't have taste." You joke. "Besides. Bron has never shown any interest in me. I guess all those muscles can't make up for poor taste and no brains huh?"

Tiffany snickers and agrees with you. The two of you finish getting your hair and makeup ready for the show then switch to changing into your ring gear. You tie up your boots while Tiffany admires her reflection in the mirror. 

"I think I want a set of green gear next." You comment casually. 

"Green?" Tiffany sneers. "Ew." 

You roll your eyes and walk over to the door. "I like green." You remind her. "Come on. Let's head down to the ring and get this match over with already." 

Tiffany stops admiring herself in the mirror and the two of you head out and down to the ring. You do your Buff Barbie's entrance, aka the name of your tag team with Tiffany. And then hop in the ring with her to wait for your opponents. 

Lola and Elektra come out and the match gets underway. You and Tiffany work together and you pull Lola up for a pin at the end of the match. The bell rings and you celebrate with Tiffany before the two of you head up the ramp and backstage again. 

"Whew! That was easy." You gloat on your way up the ramp. "Did you see the look on Lola's face when I rolled her up? Priceless!" You laugh. 

"I know!" Tiffany laughs with you. "Her and Elektra are such losers." She snickers. 

You and Tiffany step through the curtain into the backstage are and you spot Lexis hanging around on the other side of the room. Tiffany audibly groans at your side when you eye King up. 

"YN, don't even." Tiffany complains. 

"I'll meet you back at the locker room, Tiff." You pat her arm with a grin before you walk off. "Lexis! You stalking me now?" You tease King as you walk over to him. 

Lexis chuckles at your little quip and stops leaning against the wall. "Stalking you, princess? Please. I know better." He insists. "I've got a match against that new Chase University twink in a few minutes." 

"Riley Osborne?" You reply. "Thea's new obsession?" You snicker. "He's a loser just like her and the rest of Chase U. Should be an easy win for you." 

"Oh it'll be a breeze, princess. Trust me." Lexis nods. "You should hang out and watch the match. I guarantee it'll be entertaining. For you  anyway." He offers. 

You turn and look back at Tiffany, but she's already gone back to the locker room. So you turn back to Lexis with a grin and nod. "Alright. Let's see what you've got, King." 

Lexis grins and heads out to the ring for his match. You hang around backstage and watch his match as promised. Lexis parades around and shows off his entire match with poor Riley. He pulls a win against Osborne then heads backstage again to greet you. 

"Well? What did you think?" Lexis saunters over to you once he's through the curtain. 

"You were alright I guess." You shrug with a cheeky grin. 

Lexis laughs, perfectly aware that you're teasing him. "Nah, you were impressed." He insists. "I can tell by the way you're looking at me." 

"Oh?" You reply. "Alright, you might of impressed me a little. Just a little though." You insist.

"How about we meet up after the show? I'd love to buy you a drink." Lexis offers. 

You bounce on your heels and think about how much Tiffany is going to complain if she finds out you're about to get drinks with this guy. "As long as you're paying." You finally answer him after a minute. "I'll meet up with you in the parking lot after the show." 

"I'm looking forward to it, princess." Lexis nods and walks off. 

You watch Lexis walk off before you also head back to the locker room. You know that Tiffany is going to be on you about Lexis when you get back. So you brace yourself for that. But it'll all be worth it when you're out getting free drinks with your new beau. 

[astoldbychae]

He's got the whole world in his hands 💙

"Little Bear, just know you are so loved." 🧸

As we get a little sneaky peaky into Carmelo's camera roll, you'll notice quite a bit has changed. Monet's no longer pregnant and there is a new bundle of joy in the Giordano-Hollingsworth family. 🥺

Due to unforeseen circumstances their plans of a baby shower and baby moon were cut short. . .

Monet spent several weeks in the hospital leading up to babygirl's arrival and of course her big cuddle bear was there with her every step of the way.

Alleia Marsai (Uh-Lay-Yuh • Mar-Sigh) Hollingsworth aka Leia Bear aka Little Bear was born prematurely (27 weeks) at Terra Amorosa County Medical Center in Tartosa.

Shortly after giving birth Monet had a few postpartum complications which prevented her from visiting babygirl in the NICU for the first couple of weeks. Those weeks months were stressful nonetheless but He managed to stay by both his girl's sides until it was time for him to bring his babies home. 🥺

Fast forward to present day...and they've been inseparable...

He's an Early Bird (morning sim) and Leia LOVES wake up time. While Monet gets a few extra minutes hours of sleep, Papa makes sure little bear is fed, clean, and happy before heading off to work (or the gym, if it's his off day). Daddy sings to her all the time, just like he used to when she was in her mama's belly. Although he's got a bit of a deep raspy voice, it's calming enough to relax you and put you to sleep.

If he's not singing, he's definitely playing R&B or Soul. Somehow he managed to get "Blue" to play on Leia's crib mobile...and she's finally started sleeping through the night. Such a spoiled little stinker!

📌 The real story of why there was no celebratory baby moments: In a non-theatric series of events there was no baby shower or baby moon because I sorta-kinda-maybe forgot that I unpaused her pregnancy while I was playing with Penny's household. Came back in my game and boop, Melo was holding a newborn baby. After punching the air for several minutes, I decided to age lil miss up and test out some infant CC (because this was a "back up save")...Long story short, I sorta-kinda-most definitely fell in love with little bear and couldn't turn back the hands of time. Especially after seeing Mel autonomously care for her. Like He's literally such a W Dad, for real. 🥺

And after all that...girl now this man has THIS whim and I-

😩 Mama better watch out! It's officially Spring in game...so we're prepping for Love Day AND Mother's Day...I hope sis is back on birth control.

[4townie]

Road to 4☆TOWN

part 41 | part 42

“Oh, hi, Carmelo.” Jesse greeted him at the door. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Yes, well, I—” Carmelo froze. “Is that a love-bite on your neck?”

Jesse blushed as he quickly covered the hickey. “No. I just…I got bitten—I MEAN, it’s a mosquito bite. It’s that time of year again.” He laughed awkwardly.

Carmelo narrowed his eyes. “Watch yourself, boy.”

“Yeah, okay, you’re right.” Jesse averted eye contact. “Uh…why don’t you come in? And maybe sit on the left side of the couch.”

“That would probably be best.” Carmelo shot him a look.

Carmelo took a seat on the couch and Jesse stared at him. The room was uncomfortably silent.

“Oh, uh, Selina’s not here right now. She went out shopping for baby clothes with some of her dance friends.” Jesse finally said. “And Marcel’s taking a nap if you wanted to—”

“I came here to talk to you, Jesse.” Carmelo stopped him. “There’s something important we need to discuss.”

“Oh.” Jesse stared at him. “Oh no. Why do I get the feeling I won’t like this?”

Carmelo chuckled. “Calm down, son. It’s the good kind of important.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little velvet box. “There’s something I wanted to pass down to you. Come sit down so we can talk.”

Jesse awkwardly sat on the couch as far away from Carmelo as he could without being rude. “So…what’s in the box?”

“It’s something very special to my family. Priceless even. I want you to have it.” Carmelo opened the box and showed Jesse the diamond ring inside.

“O-Oh my god.” Jesse’s eyes widened. “That’s a ring. Like a real ring.”

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Carmelo smiled, oblivious to Jesse’s discomfort. “It was my mother’s ring. My father made it just for her.” He sighed. “She gave this to me when I wanted to propose to Amaia, but I already had my own ring. I still wonder if things would’ve been different if I’d just used this ring instead. My parents were married for nearly seventy years.” He handed the box to Jesse. “I hope this ring is as lucky to you and Selina as it was to my parents.”

“Wow, Carmelo. I don’t know what to say.” Jesse stared at the ring. He thought back to his conversation with Selina. “I really don’t know what to say…”

“Say you’ll accept.” Carmelo nodded. “I know I can be hard on you sometimes, but I’m truly very grateful for how happy you’ve made my daughter. And I do love my little grandchildren a great deal.” He put a hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “I would be honored to have you as part of this family.”

Jesse bit his lip as he visibly tried to work out equations in his head.

“Are you listening to me, boy?” Carmelo narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, sir. Of course, sir. I’m definitely listening.” Jesse snapped out of it. “I just—cuz Selina and I talked about it the other night and we—”

“Oh you mean the same night you got that “mosquito” bite?” Carmelo raised an eyebrow.

“Yea—NO.” Jesse caught himself. “Totally different night. Actually I don’t even know when I got this. Mosquitoes are kind of wild—NOT WILD, that’s not what I meant. Just…tiny flying assassins.”

Carmelo stared at him in disbelief. “What exactly did you two talk about that’s making you hesitate?”

“Oh, I’m not hesitating.” Jesse assured him. “I really appreciate you bringing this to me, I mean it. And I have every intention of marrying your daughter.”

“Good.” Carmelo nodded. “Cuz if you let my baby raise those two babies on her own, it would be because you’re six feet under.” He glared, making Jesse gulp in fear. “So what did you two talk about the other night? Finally decided on when to get married?”

“Uh…yeah…” Jesse said slowly. “We have an idea.”

“Hopefully it’s within the next year.” Carmelo nudged him. “I’ve been wondering when you’d ask for my permission for some time now. I was hoping you two would be married by now.”

“Yeah well, we probably would’ve been married already if things were a little different with the label.” Jesse sighed and stared at the ring for a moment. “I already know how I wanna do it. I’ve known for the last six years. I mean, I had to revise a little cuz I didn’t think we’d already have kids, but…I know.”

“I knew you were a good one.” Carmelo smiled at him. “I knew from the moment Selina told me she wanted me to meet you that you’d be the one.”

“Really?” Jesse tried and failed to suppress a satisfied smile. “You liked me all along?”

“Well, yeah. Until I discovered just how libidinous you really are.” Carmelo narrowed his eyes.

Jesse blushed and laughed awkwardly. “You know what? I think I hear the baby calling me.” He got up and headed towards the room. “Just gimme one second.” He shut the door behind him and banged his head on the wall as quietly as he could. “Oh my god, I cannot wait until this visit is over.”

———

Amaia is Carmelo’s ex-wife, Selina’s estranged mother

[thesupreme316]

Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side?/ EP.2

Summary: After meeting up with some old friends, Y/N questions whether she is truly happy as seeds of doubt and possibility are planted in her mind.

Word Count: 3K

Supreme Speaks: Carmelo Hayes real name is Christian and it will be interchangeable throughout the story. i hope everyone is doing well and remember you are loved and appreciated.

Warnings: slightly proofread, wrestling storylines (actions/reactions and participants) are changed, mentions of toxic relationship, please don’t take any negative depictions of characters to heart (i just needed “toxic” people)

Link to Part I

——April 2022 (Three days after WrestleMania)——

You didn’t know what to expect from this meeting. Maybe just two people catching up, or some bitter (barely) feelings thrown around, or maybe even an awkward silence. But whatever it may be, you were ready for it all. You walked into the restaurant that you both agreed to meet up at and sat down at your reserved seat. You were surprised that the paparazzi were not following you (as it’s been an issue for years now). 

“It’s been a while girlie.” A voice said, approaching your table. You looked up to find a beautiful white smile. You got up and hugged your friend before sitting down again.

“It’s been a while indeed, Jamie. You look great!” You exclaimed, making her smile. Jamie Hayter, who you know as Paige, is a well-renowned wrestler and was once your beloved closest friend in the independent scene, especially when you were in Europe and Japan. You fought each other and teamed with each other multiple times, making both of you the best up-and-coming stars in the business. Down the line, you drifted apart, not for anything wrong, but because your schedules didn’t align.

She chuckled while sitting down, “Why do you have to call me by my ring name?” 

“I thought you would like it since it rolls off the tongue.” You said before drinking your water.

“Darling, you are one of the few who can call me Paige.” She said winking at you, making you giggle. As long as you could remember, she was the only woman who could make you giggle like a schoolgirl (especially with her beautiful accent). The waiter came up and the two of you ordered food, before returning to your conversation. “Well, again congratulations champ. Always knew you would do it. How does it feel to be on top of the world?”

“Great, but you should know the future Owen Hart tournament winner.” You said, making her look at you with surprise. “What? You look shocked.”

“I’m surprised that you know that I’m in the tournament. I thought your company didn’t allow that.” She teased. While it was true that WWE and AEW had their problems, you would never allow that to get in the way of you supporting your friends. A lot of your talented friends now work for AEW (either starting there or leaving WWE), quietly leaving you alone in the company. Sure you had the friends that you made in WWE like Bianca, Trinity, Thea Trinidad (Zelina Vega), etc. But sometimes you wished you were around your friends from the Indies.

“Now, with such a big name like yours, I always hear about you. You’re all over my Twitter timeline.” You responded. “But speaking about companies, how’s AEW treating you?”

Paige smiled, “Great! Met some great people like Britt and Rebel. The company allows us to work storylines out for our characters. There’s barely any scripts, many gimmicks thrive on the wrestlers having control and not the creative team. It genuinely feels like I’m in control of myself! They really do care about their roster.” As she continued to positively rant about her company, you couldn’t help but show a smile at her words. You were happy for her; if anything she deserves this; a great boss, great friends, amazing opportunities, thriving career. But could you say the same for yourself? 

“Well, enough about me. What about you, darling? WWE still treating you the same?” Paige said with a big smile, pulling you out of your thoughts.

Shutting your eyes and slightly chuckling to yourself, “Yeah, more or less.” You started to drink more of your water as Paige just started to look blankly at you with a tilted head. “What?”

“Everything okay?”

Nervously chuckling, you said “Yeah, yeah. Why wouldn’t it be? I’m the champ, I got everything I want right now for the most part.” You looked down at the table

Over time, you started to feel like the magic of WWE is wearing off. Sure, you got the opportunities that some would dream of; but it always feels like it’s gonna get taken away from you at any second. And at some times…it does…and it’s given to their star of the month. Sometimes, you didn’t feel secure in your place. Although you knew your value, worth, and how much you could make (shit, they tell you almost every single day), it didn’t feel like WWE knew it.

“Y/N” She started, making you look up at her. “You don’t have to hide anything from me. You know I won’t judge.” She said, trying to make you talk. But by you just staring back into her eyes (as if looks could kill), she knew you wouldn’t go into detail. She sighed, “Y/N-“

“I’ll explain later, it’s just that I would like to figure out everything before I start talking. Besides, I’m tired of talking about work. I literally have to do it every single day this week.” You joked making her playfully roll her eyes.

“Alright, Y/R/N,” Paige said mockingly, then her eyes lit up with a gleam of mischief. “Let’s talk about other things.”

——Time Skip; 8 hours later——

After lunch with Paige, you had two interviews that just tired you out. For this evening, you were supposed to have dinner with another friend but you ask if you could change plans so you get out of public superstar mode. Thankfully they agreed and said just to dress down/laid back. You were changing into more comfortable clothes when Mercedes and Trinity walked in. Mercedes immediately kicked off her heels as Trinity flopped on your bed. “Long day?”

Mercedes groaned loudly, “Oh my god, yes, that dreaded interview with that one dude was so long for no reason.”

“T, are you okay?” You asked putting on a beanie. For some reason, it was getting really cold at night, despite Texas being hot (global warming). 

“This damn thing is killing me!” Trinity exclaimed, slamming down her throwing her shoe off as well. “At least I looked good." You continued to fix your hair. “Speaking of looking good, where are you going at this time of night?”

“T, it’s only 8 PM.” You said as she had a look that said ‘and?’. You sighed with a smile and said “I’m going out with a friend to catch up.”

“Okay, that doesn’t explain why you look so good.”

Laughing you said, “Girl, please I always look good, even right now when I’m wearing sweatpants and no makeup.”

But to Trinity, you didn’t say anything so she continued speaking. “Unless your quote-on-quote friend is a good-looking guy.” Her eyebrows raised as she smirked like a cartoon villain at you.

"He's very good-looking indeed," Mercedes smirked. 

Trinity squealed before abruptly stopping. She asked, “How does Christian (Carmelo) feel about this?”

You rolled your eyes at the mention of your boyfriend, who was pissing you off at the moment. One minute he was clinging on to you for dear life, the next minute he acted like you’re a stranger on the street. You blame it on the work schedule and pressure from backstage politics; on the other, you wonder if it was you. “He’s fine. I told him that I would be catching up with old friends today. He said that he had other plans today anyways.” 

Your phone beeped with a text message, you started to walk the door before Trinity stopped you.

“So who is he?” She asked

Before you could answer, Mercedes interjected, “On a friendly date with an old friend who should’ve and could’ve been her boyfriend," She smirked.

“Ooo, he is better than Christian?”

“In my opinion, more so the perfect fit for Y/N than him.” She said making Trinity laugh. Rolling your eyes, you shouted bye at the two as Mercedes spoke up again, “Tell Garcia I said hi-“ Slamming the door you raced for the elevator, going down to the first floor. But you couldn’t help to think about what Mercedes said; was there truly someone else who was better for you than Christian?

Maybe…Possibly…

Upon the elevator opening, you were face to face with hazel eyes. Examining his face, a wide smile broke out on your face as you quickly hugged each other. He lifted you a little bit off the floor before putting you back down. His laugh rumbled in your neck before you two broke away from the hug. Daniel gave you his signature cat-like smile as he fixed your hat.

“You still wear the same cologne?” You asked as you two started walking outside.

“Well, I remember you saying it was your favorite. So I had to make sure it made an appearance.” He said looking up at the sky. You met Daniel four years ago in 2018 when he made his debut in WWE. Even though he was there for only a short amount of time, you two instantly formed a bond. You were there for each other: when he was in that horrific accident, when he lost his teeth in a match, when you nearly broke your hand while doing something stupid, or when you just needed to rant. But just like how it was with you and Paige, you and Daniel couldn’t talk that much anymore due to the differences in schedules and workload. But it still never stopped you two from being there for each other.

There was a moment of comfortable silence before he spoke up again, “So how’s being champ?”

Groaning you said, “If I hear that one more time I might just stand in the middle of the road” It’s true, you were tired of being asked about your professional life and career already, and it’s only been three days since you won the title. 

Daniel laughed, “Okay, okay. Well, let’s switch it up. How’s Y/N doing? Not Y/R/N (your ring name).” 

“Great! Living the dream and getting everything I ever wanted: the title, house, car, relationship” You looked up to Daniel, who was just making a ‘be real’ face. You stopped walking for a bit and decided to answer truthfully. “She’s tired, to be honest. So much of her career is flooding into her personal life and she doesn’t know how to handle it.” You don’t know what made you tell this to Daniel when you wouldn’t tell Paige or not even Mercedes and Trinity. But it felt good to reveal the emotions that have been eating away at you ever since the beginning of the year. 

Daniel just looked at you, quickly biting his lip before standing in front of you. “Can you promise me something?” He asked with a glint (of something that you didn’t know how to describe) in his eye. You nodded and waited for him to continue. “For tonight, and any other time we talk, promise me you will take the Y/R/N mask off when it’s just us. We’ve known each other long enough to just be us as people, not gimmicks or anything like that. And I’ll promise to not ask you about work.” You lifted your pinky, signifying a pink swear. He smiled and wrapped his pinky around yours, sealing the promise. His hand lingered a bit on your hand as his eyes kept watching you, before returning to his original place beside you.

You two resumed walking, talking about everything and nothing (just making up for lost time). Along the lines, you and Daniel got hungry and decided to go to the convenience store for a quick snack. While shopping for snacks, you asked, “So how’s AEW?”

He opened his mouth in disbelief.“So I can’t ask you about work, but you can ask me?” He exclaimed

“Uh, yeah.” You said grabbing two drinks from the cooler.

He shook his head as he grabbed some chips. “It’s great. The fact that I get to work with the idols I grew up watching is insane. It’s a great environment for everyone to thrive in. But,” He paused, “It doesn’t have the one thing that WWE has that I really wished was there. Honestly, between AEW and WWE, that one thing was gonna be a deal breaker for me.”

“Oh yeah, what was it? An infinite number of bad hats?” You joked.

Daniel chuckled, “No…it doesn’t have you.” You looked up at him with wide surprised eyes, Daniel’s face remained unfazed; serious with the same mysterious glint in his eyes from earlier. Your face started to heat up as you took in the statement. He could have meant that in a friendly way or in a professional way. Quickly, you quickly (and poorly faked) cough to move on from the flattering subject.

“Danny, did you just call me a thing?” You said playfully turning back to the sweets and candy. 

“Y/N! I’m serious, not bout you being a thing, but about the deal breaker. Sometimes I wished I took the WWE offer just to see you every day. But as you told me when I was making my decision, I need to do what’s best for my career. And that’s what I did.” He said before muttering something under his breath. When you asked about what he said, he just shook you off and told you not to mind it.

You still were trying to comprehend what happened and what he meant as you started to walk around the city again. Your heart skipped a beat when he was talking about you being the dealbreaker and it just made you feel warmer that Daniel would value your friendship that much. But at the same time, you couldn’t help but think about Mercedes' words before you left. Did she really see you and Daniel together? The better question is could you see yourself with Daniel?

That was a question you didn’t wanna answer…at least not right now…

After a couple of more minutes out together, you decided to call it a night (as it was almost 11:30 PM). He walked you back to your hotel, hugging you as you entered the plaza. 

You two agreed to keeping in contact before breaking apart the hug. Daniel lifted his pinky and you quickly wrapped yours around his, sealing the promise. He said he’ll text you when he gets back to his hotel. As the elevator doors closed to take you to your floor, you exhaled a breath that you didn’t even know you were holding. You felt overwhelmed (but at the same time satisfied) from the day and just wanted to go to sleep.

Walking in, you saw that Mercedes was asleep. You took off your shoes and took out your phone, scrolling through your phone when you were tagged in a tweet a little while ago. 

With a slight smile, you liked the tweet. But then a text from a certain someone, made your smile turn into a frown.

Silently groaning, you turned off your phone before finally drifting to sleep, in hopes for tomorrow to be good for you.

——May 2022 (Friday after Backlash)——

For the past month, everything seemed to be going okay for you. Christian has been on your good side (frequently sending flowers and gifts to you), meeting incredible fans all around the world, and you successfully defended the title at Backlash against Liv Morgan. You liked Liv, you were a fan of her personality and in-ring personality; you could definitely see her becoming a future women’s champion. It was a pleasure to work with her in the ring, but now, it’s time to move on to other challengers. 

To discuss how you and your championship should be perceived and booked, you were about to have a meeting with John Laurinatitis, Triple H (Paul), and Vince McMahon. Walking into the arena, you already didn’t feel good as it felt like something was gonna go wrong. But you were determined not to let this ruin your day, so with a smile, you gripped your championship that was wrapped on your shoulder and knocked on the door that had Vince’s name on it. 

Upon entering the room, you brightly greeted the three gentlemen. You sat down, setting your title on your lap. Vince, being a man of power and business, wanted to get straight into business.

“Y/N, how do you feel as the champion?” Vince asked.

Clearing your throat, you said “I’m extremely grateful to even be called a champion of the division. I’m just happy to be here and help the other women take the division to new heights” You smiled. The words were true as you were happy to be seen as the leader of the locker, with almost all the girls looking at you with respect and admiration like how you do to them.

Vince, John, and Paul all had smiles on their faces, but it was ranging emotions. John and Vince had these happy smiles while Paul had a smile that almost resembled sadness. He didn’t look at you but rather off to the side as John and Vince kept talking. 

“That’s great to hear because, as you already know, we trust you with the division. And we like how well you work with the other women. But now that Charlotte’s out of the picture for a little while, we need to build a create a new top women’s feud for Smackdown. Especially for longevity.” John said

You don’t know why, but your heart started to pick up the pace, to the point where you could hear your heartbeat in your ears. Everything was making you nervous from Paul not making eye contact to John essentially sweet talking you to Vince staring down and analyzing your facial expressions. However, you were determined to not let this intimidate you.

“We think it’ll be the best option for you to enter a feud with another megastar,” Vince said with a smile. 

Your smile never faltered. You were excited for the next challenger, you hoped it could be Natalya, Alexa, or even Becky. But the next words out of Vince’s mouth would wipe that smile off your face and make your heart stop beating in complete anger.

“Sooner or later….

you’re gonna drop the title to Ronda.”

-----------

Taglist (if you wanna be a part of it, lemme know): @triscillal @wwenhlimagines @sheinthatfandom @hooks-martin​ @hookerforhook​

[rafaelmartinez67]

Cuento corto: Dama con perico/Cristina Pacheco.

El Día de las Madres era también el de su cumpleaños y, por eso, en broma, mi mamá siempre nos decía: No se les vaya a olvidar traerme dos regalitos. Durante alguna temporada, aunque llevara tiempo de haber fallecido, mi hermana Sara y yo procuramos reunirnos cada l0 de mayo para seguir festejando su aniversario de la única manera ya posible: recordándola, hablando de su fe absoluta en los poderes del cobre y del azogue, repitiendo las historias que inventaba para divertirnos cuando éramos niñas.

Eran siempre tan animados sus relatos, que al escuchar su versión de nuestras aventuras infantiles volvíamos a sentir el nerviosismo que habíamos experimentado –muchos años atrás– al saltar de una azotea a otra o al subirnos a las ramas más altas de un árbol –y todo para demostrarles a los niños del barrio que éramos dignas de ser incluidas en sus juegos.

Aquellas que entonces veíamos como experiencias maravillosas eran motivo de una que otra reprimenda y causantes de raspones en codos y rodillas. Con expresión concentrada, mi madre nos curaba las heridas aplicándonos fomentos de agua tibia con sal: suficiente para evitar todo peligro de infección y de que nos quedaran cicatrices.

II

En las reuniones conmemorativas, que casi siempre llevábamos a cabo en la casa de mi hermana, dedicábamos un buen rato a hojear el álbum en donde guardamos las fotografías de mi madre. En muchas de las últimas se le ve posando junto al perico que llegó a convertirse en su compañero inseparable y, tal vez, en su confidente. “Mamá con Carmelo el domingo 10 de mayo en que se lo llevamos de regalo”. (“¿Te acuerdas que, al verlo, dijo: ‘Y yo qué hago con esto?’”) “Mamá, en la cocina, dándole de comer a Carmelo una granada” (Creo que le tenía más paciencia de la que tuvo con nosotras). “Mamá con Carmelo en la ventana”. (¡De milagro no se le escapó!) “Mamá espulgando a Carmelo”. Mamá, mamá...

Conservo la jaula de Carmelo. Al verla desierta prefiero imaginarme que el perico dormita aferrado a los barrotes o en el trapecio desde donde se ponía a gritar la única frase que mi madre pudo enseñarle a decir: Nina: estoy aquí. Ese logro fue consecuencia de muchas sesiones de trabajo y también de que, según nos reveló mamá, antes de empezar los ejercicios de vocalización le frotaba el pico con una moneda de cobre para soltarle la lengua.

III

La primera vez que mi hermana y yo nos juntamos para celebrar a mi madre en ausencia, la reunión fue muy difícil y triste. Parece que nos veo sentadas en la sala, cohibidas, mirándonos y sin saber qué argumentar ante una situación tan extraña como puede ser sentir la fuerte presencia de alguien inalcanzable para siempre.

Qué experiencia tan horrible estar juntas, sin ella, y ver a Carmelo cabizbajo y quieto en su jaula, de seguro extrañándola, porque después de todo habían vivido juntos mucho tiempo, desde que ella era una viuda que aún no había cumplido 60 años y él acababa de escaparse de una triste condición: ser tan sólo un ave más en el área de animales en venta del mercado.

Aunque varias veces le ofrecimos que se fuera a vivir con alguna de nosotras, mi madre prefirió mantener su independencia. La visitábamos una o dos veces al mes, según nos lo permitían nuestras obligaciones familiares y de trabajo. Ella nunca quiso pedirnos más ni se quejó de su soledad, pero a través de algunos de sus comentarios nos dimos cuenta de que empezaba a lastimarla. Entonces Sara y yo llegamos a la conclusión de que podía mejorar sus circunstancias la convivencia con un animalito de compañía.

A partir de ese momento, en una especie de conciliábulo telefónico nocturno, empezamos a analizar cuál podía ser la mascota ideal para nuestra madre. Rápido coincidimos en que un perro, un cachorro que ella pudiera educar a su gusto. Terminamos por excluir esa posibilidad al darnos cuenta de que esos animales necesitan salir dos veces al día, tarea que mi madre, afectada de várices, estaba imposibilitada de realizar sin padecer molestias.

Otra opción era regalarle un gato. La alternativa fue eliminada porque le hice ver a Sara que, con todo y ser animales fascinantes, no eran adecuados para nuestros propósitos, ya que son poco explícitos, muy silenciosos, tan dormilones y esquivos que en ocasiones parecen ausentes.

Eso nos devolvió a la experiencia que habíamos tenido, muchos años atrás, con la tortuguita que mi madre nos compró un domingo en Xochimilco y a la que le pusimos el nombre de Lindita. Estábamos tan fascinadas que no queríamos separarnos de ella ni un momento. Para evitar pleitos hicimos un trato: Sara podía llevársela a la escuela, oculta en su mochila; y yo, dormir con ella poniéndola debajo de mi almohada.

Una mañana la tortuga se esfumó. Era tan pequeñita que sospechamos que se había metido en mi oreja. Mi madre dijo que olvidáramos esas bobadas y nos pusiéramos a buscar a Lindita. En eso pasamos muchos días y como no obtuvimos resultados, acabamos por desistir. Al cabo de algunos meses, cuando ya casi la teníamos olvidada, nuestra Lindita reapareció, llegada de quién sabe dónde, despaciosa, bamboleante, tan diminuta como antes y libre de toda culpa.

Después de varias conversaciones telefónicas y algunas dudas, pensé en la posibilidad de que le regaláramos a nuestra madre un perico. Son animales caseros, ruidosos sin llegar a ser molestos, simpáticos y no requieren demasiado espacio ni atención. Bajo esos argumentos convencí a mi hermana, y al siguiente l0 de mayo mi madre recibió, como regalo por su cumpleaños y por el Día de la Madre, una jaula preciosa con un perico dentro. ¡Foto, foto! (“Mamá con Carmelo el día que llegó a la casa...”)

IV

Carmelo sobrevivió muy poco a mi madre, apenas dos semanas. Por tenerlo alojado en mi casa fui testigo de su progresivo decaimiento. Me duele recordarlo en sus últimos días silencioso, inapetente, de espaldas a la puerta de su jaula, dormitando en su columpio. Un día le acerqué el radio en donde estaban transmitiendo un concierto de piano. Enseguida reaccionó y se puso a repetir, aunque en tono muy bajo, las únicas palabras aprendidas gracias a la paciencia de mi madre y a los mágicos poderes del cobre: Nina: estoy aquí.

[m3ffsstuff]

Tobias was always afraid of a field of rye. He saw red ears intertwining with wind in an unknown dance, and as a child Tobias always wanted to rush into the dance with them. But broad hand on his shoulder did not give off the warmth that would allow, and her strokes were not gentle, so Schneien always lowered his eyes down. Down at the little insects, for whom he seemed to be God himself; down, as if penetrating the loose earth with his gaze, and hitting the boiling cauldrons where the lost are overthrown.

Tobias blinks, feeling the strength of the lying hand go away and he is released. Painstakingly, as if not daring to allow even a drop of freedom to the end, considering whether Tobias is worthy to see the real light from the sun on the golden ears. Brunette looks up, immediately starting to glow like a shooting star. He swallows, shifting from one foot to other in hesitation and feeling such familiar dirt under his feet, mixed with wet grass and small bugs.

For first time, Schneien sees beautiful flowers, to which he timidly stretches out his hand, but immediately withdraws, as if afraid of getting burned. Afraid that their toothy leaves will suddenly close their small jaws, biting into the soft skin. These flowers fascinated with their awesomeness and contrast with the red sea of ears around; they looked like strangers here, completely unexpected guests among other plants, and for some reason Tobias feels a connection.

– These are cornflowers, – a familiar voice interrupts a bad stream of thoughts, makes blue eyes pay attention to themselves. A pleasant smile on the young man's face prompts heart to beat a little faster.

Tobias swallows, returning his attention to the surprisingly contrasting colors. Cornflowers. And their name, it would seem, is so affectionate and color is beautiful that Schneien decides to try his luck again. A pale hand meekly reaches out to the flowers, touches them first with a finger, as if checking if they are real, and then, no longer feeling that danger, gently plucks the stem. Tobias hopes that it didn't hurt them, that he didn't behave selfishly by taking their lives for himself, but his heart starts beating faster from this bad thought. He turns his gaze to Carmelo, involuntarily comparing him with cornflowers: rude, only in appearance, the name is affectionate and the color of his eyes is the same as those of these flowers, which almost immediately fell in love with Schneien.

– Such a strange feeling, – Tobias whispers, continuing to carefully collect cornflowers, counting to thirteen. He raises his bright gaze directly to the boiling sun, not at all afraid that this big dot in the sky will burn out his eye sockets. Tobias pushes the blackness of his hair behind his ear and the innocent daisy behind his ear is immediately lost, winking at the last ray of the sun.

– Tell me about him, – offers Carmelo, feeling the tickling ears near his face. The morning dew is still fresh on them, although the day is already moving towards its end. Tobias sighs, adjusts the wreath, which was quickly thrown on him, without asking much. Everything tries to fall on the eyes, makes you feel blind. How then to look at him — De Monte — since the wreath is so restless?

– I'm, – the brunette blunts his gaze, maintaining a slight pause. A cold wind blows over their faces, forcing them to squint a little. — scared?

Swallows, which always seemed bloodthirsty to the brunette, are swinging on the branches, and Tobias thinks that they are hiding in the sleeves of Carmelo. Now he is about to wave his hand, and the stars will fall from the blue, equally innocent sky. The field will turn into a sea, something like an ocean, and they will drown together. They will drown before they fully realize reality. And Tobias swallows the viscous saliva, thinking about it: he barely restrains himself from putting sweaty palms to his whitish cheeks.

– Is it scary, like when you look at your reflection in the river? — Carmelo stretches his neck slightly, cracking his joints, purely out of habit. But Tobias blinks a couple of times, hearing the ringing crunch of bones, and hoping that Carmelo will not break his neck this way. — Or like when you look into an abandoned squirrel hollow?

– No, – Schneien says more and more quietly, feeling the collar of his once light shirt dig into his neck. He strangles her, not letting her breathe, as if he knows that Tobias is afraid of dying from asphyxia. The brunette slightly moves his shoulders, trying to discard the feeling of rough male hands on his thin neck, because they are so wide and unpleasantly familiar. — I'm afraid for you rather...

Tobias swallows the words like embers left on a square near their city, and Carmelo suddenly becomes touching. Tobias's eyes are also the sky. Innocent and, it would seem, has not yet known the fury of the local thunderclaps. When De Monte bends down to press his foreheads with Tobias — the wreath falls on their palms — it seems to him that they reflect sparks. The real stars, slowly fading, but for some reason ignited again.

– Don't be afraid, — the wreath in Carmelo's hands turns into a thorn, without giving Tobias an eye to blink. The brunette, not believing that the wreath is not starry, closes his eyes for a moment, not allowing Carmelo to merge into their depths. — if I'm destined to burn, for example, then well.

Tobias feels Carmelo's warm breath on his cheeks, and involuntarily wonders, they say, «has the sun come down from heaven?». He feels an unpleasant tremor in his chest when the tips of someone else's fingers gently touch his pale cheeks. It runs from the cheekbone to the ear, descending to the chin, leaving behind an obsessive burning strip that only Schneien could feel.

Tobias slowly opens his eyes and sees two boundless star depths: beautiful, giving light, majestic and sublime. Tobias feels like a dark spot on the sparkling tree of the stellar genealogy, as if a star without radiance and only his eyes give him belonging to something unattainable. Definitely for Carmelo.

– Fire suits me, don't you think? — rays of sun play in Carmelo's hair, they shimmer with a bright blue tint and Tobias almost jumps out of his skin.

– Yeah, — as if fascinated, Schneien whispers long, plunging into depths of salty sea with his head. Bitterness in the throat, like hops, like that familiar cahors or the very blood of Christ. — you will burn beautifully..

Tobias lowers his eyes to stop seeing his beloved face gnawed by fire, which still retains its smile. The wind blows in the gasoline-scented hair, forcing the brunette to sigh languidly and again feel the sweet-nauseating smell, which for some reason seemed so familiar. Blood appears along the lines on his hands, on which it was too early to guess and the young man still did not understand why.

He feels warm, tickling touch of someone else's hand. Warm, affectionate and completely devoid of its usual rudeness. Still the same meek, but rather in order not to scare away than to keep her groundless power. Tobias watches as someone else's hand briskly passes over the fingertips, rubbing the middle of the palm, and then squeezing pleasantly. Soft strokes seem unusual and Schneien swallows nervously. Hand has not been gnawed by fire, has not been touched by anything but clumsy touches in response and Tobias sighs heavily.

– Just remember me beautiful, – Carmelo suddenly whispers hurriedly, making Tobias laugh softly and pick up the neatly woven wreath with his thin spiders–like fingers. And when the wreath falls back on Carmelo's head, Tobias suddenly feels that everything will be fine with him.

[theanticool]

Darko Milicic vs Radovan Radojcin - 12/18/2014

Remember Darko Milicic? You do if you’re a Detroit Piston fan. He was the #2 overall pick in the legendary 2003 NBA draft, after LeBron James but before players like Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh. After a decade of floating around the NBA, he decided to retire from pro basketball to pursue a career in a real sport with far more financial upside and mainstream appeal - professional kickboxing! He fought in Serbia in December 2014. It would be his only fight.

[kolakoke]

Kolakoke's WWE-AEW-NFL baby daddy series

the was originally supposes to be a WWE only series but then crap happen and... the list expanded...

I will be writing 15 fics (5 for each brand) about stories of them being baby daddies!!!

WARNING!!! ALL WWE AND AEW PEOPLE WILL BE IN KAYFABE AT ALL TIME UNLESS I SAID THIS IS THE REAL THEM OR SOME CRAP!!!

WWE

Solo Sikoa

Jimmy Uso

Bronco Nima(HEAR ME OUT PLEASE!!!)

Damian Priest

Carmelo Hayes

AEW

MJF

Swerve strickland

Kyle fletcher(🤭)

Hook

Ricky starks

NFL

Ceedee Lamb

Davante Adams

Chase Young

Ja'marr Chase

Jalen Hurts

if you want to be tagged in any fill out this form!!!

[harmshake]

pairing: Carmelo Hayes x Brianna (fem!black!oc) | warnings: none, 'tis fluff...for now 🤭 | word count: 444

wip wednesday! thanks for tagging me, sis, @megamindsecretlair. 💗

Read the full story here!

"In Session"

"Sheesh. You either got a real bad starin' problem today or you must like what you see."

Brianna's tone was pointed but she couldn't help the playfulness that softened it. Besides, Carmelo was a big boy. He could handle her teasing—he had to if he kept on with his eyes pointed at her thick, glossy lips like he enjoyed her smart-ass mouth.

He chuckled lightly at her words, his annoyingly pretty, chocolate-brown eyes still on her lips before he licked his with his gaze flitting to meet hers as she watched him pointedly, too, with her hand on her hip. 

"Yeah, I like it. You know I do. The question is...what're you gonna do about it?" Carmelo spoke with his low, almost sizzlingly slow, baritone voice, those pretty eyes falling to her lips again as they pulled into a reluctant smirk. Brianna didn't have an issue with the man but with the way he could flirt with her and make her smile when she preferred to not be bothered.

She'd been a dance instructor at this gym for almost two years and she liked to just come to work, move her body while getting her clients excited to do the same, and go home. Brianna's class was located in the huge fitness center down the hallway from the main gym with the heavy equipment. Yet her studio had a large, glass window so other gym members passing by could check out her class and be encouraged to sign up—or so her bosses said was the intention.

Instead, Brianna often dealt with men walking by and damn-fear tripping or freezing in their tracks when they spotted her in her black leotard with matching leggings and Nike Air Force Ones as she showed her class how to dutty wine while on their hands and knees. She ignored it as most would be respectful and keep it moving, save for the few fools who had the audacity to pop their heads in while class was in session and try to spit game to her that she would always shut down with the quickness.

Carmelo was one of the respectful ones, though. She noticed beyond her window a fine, brown-skinned man sporting a fade and French braids in a ponytail with big, tatted arms exposed in his gray muscle tee shirt one day a month ago...and he noticed Brianna, too, with a sexy smile and wink before he carried on. It wasn't until she was coming back from break a few days later that she ran across him again, and he chatted her up with that same sexy grin that made her cheeks warm as she grinned bigger...

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a/n: Hoping and praying to post the full fic tomorrow (or later this week), and then a Rhea one. 😈 Thank you for reading!

tagging: @theninthwonder @wrestlingprincess80 @notapradagurl7 @crxssjae @southerngirl41 @empressdede @claymorexpunisher @heauxvibez @judgementdaysunshine @jeyusos-girl (post your Danny Garcia wip right now istg 🔪🔪🔪🔪 jk no pressure ily 🩷) @jeysbvck @imabillyami

Can't wait to see y'all's wips! 😘