everyone is talking about Tupperware joe or ciabatta roll joe but what about lost-the-bet (won the bet?) joe? We still never got our epilogue where her dream came true and she could ogle at him in peace 😆
okay well shit, all this fuckery about rumours has resulted in this bullshit, are you happy now?!
Wordcount: 3K
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Blind Bargain
(read Double or Nothing here)
"You look... um, windswept?"
Izzy passed you a drink she'd been holding onto you for, and she was right. There was a rosy tinge to your cheeks, your hair a bit messy and you looked rushed.
Because you had been rushing.
"Oh, is my, is my mascara running?"
Izzy leant closer and squinted, "Yea, a little. Wait, here," and with a finger wet from her beer glass, she carefully wiped under one of your eyes. "It's not that windy though, is it? Did you run over here?" she gave you a suspicious look and you instinctively went for a sip of your drink to evade her question. To hide half your face.
"Hey, did Joe say he was coming?" one of your friends asked the group, and before anyone could answer, someone spotted him walking in.
Too soon, Joe.
That was too quick after you had walked in, God, what an idiot. You'd gone over this!
Calmly smoke the rest of your cigarette. Don't rush it. Make no one suspect anything had just happened mere minutes ago.
Everyone greeted Joe like normal and for a moment you were convinced it was just you who was making things weird.
"Hi,"
Why were you blushing?
"Hey,"
You knew why. Saw Joe's little smirk and, fuck, it made you want to squish his cheeks together to make his lips go funny.
You exchanged polite smiles instead, pretended to not have seen each other in at least a week, and cheersed drinks once Joe got given one by another friend.
When you turned back to Izzy, she was still sort of squinting at you.
"What?"
"Nothing," Izzy immediately raised her eyebrows but then kept looking at you. "Did you work from home today?"
Now it was your turn to squint at Izzy, suspicious as to why she wanted to know. "Yea, why?"
Fuck. What if she was onto you?
She might be closer to the truth than she thought, but you were not sharing your secrets. Not today.
You and Joe were sneaking around.
No one needed to know.
Just like during the bet, no one needed to know what was really going on behind closed doors. Difference being that now, the frightening parts weren't there anymore. You didn't like lying to Izzy, but, it was no longer scary, which was good.
Before, you were scared that if someone, specifically Izzy, were to find out about what Joe was doing to you on a daily basis, you'd lose him as a friend.
You weren't quite sure how one and one made two there, but that's exactly what you'd thought.
Now, if someone were to find out about what you and Joe were doing to each other on an almost daily basis, then they'd just know and it wouldn't really change much.
You just didn't want to be the one to tell anyone. Use words to explain anything. And neither did Joe. So, it remained a secret.
So far, you'd been resourceful in your ways.
Avoided Izzy like she was the plague.
She'd nearly caught you that one time she came home in the middle of the day whilst you and Joe were in the shower.
"Showering on company time?" she'd shouted from the hallway, and you'd stammered, "I worked through lunch time," as an excuse before whispering, "Did you leave your shoes by the door?" to Joe who was pressed into the corner of the shower with his shoulders hunched up, eyes wide and both hands covering his penis as he nodded.
"Shit."
"Shit."
Izzy hadn't seen the shoes.
Or, if she had, she hadn't mentioned them.
She had also once so very nearly caught sight of your text chain.
It was just a continuous thread of times followed by places. The bet had ended just over a month ago, but if someone was to go just by your texts, you knew you'd be able to convince them it was an ongoing thing still.
You'd been able to throw your phone into your lap face down just before Izzy had passed you a mug of tea. Just in time.
"Can people not just know?" Joe had asked once when you were in the middle of throwing every last item of clothing his way whilst he got dressed in a hurry. Izzy texted she was on her way and if you needed anything from the corner shop.
"Sure they can," you said, hitting him in the head with a sock. "Will you tell her?"
Joe scoffed, gave a soft frustrated, "No," and made a face as if he was making fun of his mum when she asked him a ridiculous question.
"Yea, didn't think so, hurry up," you rushed out of your bedroom to find Joe's shoes, held his coat so he could slide in and be quick out the door.
But there Joe had paused, right on the threshold.
"What if she..." Joe stalked closer and pushed himself right up against you. "Just walked up, right now, and happened to catch me do this?"
Fingers curled around your neck and were used to pull you in just enough for your lips to collide. Joe felt how just for a second or two, you turned boneless in his hands.
"Saw me touch you here?"
His other hand found the hem of your shirt to slip under, and you so very wanted to get lost in all of it again. You did.
But then you heard the lift go, and it startled you enough to squeeze a laugh out of Joe.
"Stairs!" you hissed, "Go, go! Stairs, now. Quick!" you shoved him towards the stairs, chuckling man easily moved by your hands. First step down, he leant back and, you obliged, gave a last quick kiss before he scurried down. You'd closed the front door to your flat just in time.
Yea.
It was definitely still a secret. One you wouldn't mind leaking, not at all. But you weren't the one who was going to say anything. And neither was Joe.
So at the pub, you pretended and tried your best to act the way you acted before any of this started. Before the bet had even become a thing.
Joe would still be flirty, but just a little flirty. Flirty like he had been flirty before.
Like when he'd see a random guy trying to make conversation when you went to get drinks, he would afterwards pretend you had an eyelash stuck under your eye and lean in real close to get it. Would make you make a wish as you blew nothing from his finger tip.
Tonight felt extra risky though.
You had worked from home. Izzy was right.
What Izzy didn't know is that Joe had spent half the day on your sofa, and he'd decided that, just before you were heading off to meet everyone at the pub, his eyes had had enough of just looking at you all day. His fingers were jealous. Mouth envious.
As a joke he'd nearly walked you into Izzy's room. You'd shrieked and laughed and oh my God, could he please never even try to joke about that again?
All right, Joe thought. Instead he'd fucked you right up against her door.
Risky business.
You didn't know if Izzy was going to come home first, but when you walked in and saw her in her full office attire, you secretly sighed a small breath of relief.
You fell into easy conversation that night. Avoided Joe until you couldn't after a dance of people getting drinks and going to the toilet, you ended up next to him at a table.
Joe didn't waste any time getting a hand on your thigh.
Your brain only stuttered for a second.
You were good at this. Kept up the conversation you had with the friend opposite, and Joe joined in the casual chat as his fingers squeezed and inched closer to where it was warm.
You squeezed your legs together in warning.
It did nothing.
Joe's hand stayed in place, fingers playing where they wanted to play.
Suddenly, someone who thought they were being real funny, asked about your luck on the apps. You hadn't taken a guy over to Friday night drinks at the pub for a bit now.
"I'm off the apps, actually," you shared. "So far it's been really unsuccessful, so I decided to just delete everything—"
"Don't lie," Izzy spat, interrupting you.
You felt Joe squeeze tighter before he removed his hand. Too many eyes on you now.
"I'm not lying!" you scoffed. "I'm not on the apps anymo—"
"I hear you sneaking guys in all the fucking time,"
Shit.
This got everyone's attention quick enough. Good thing Joe got both his hands above the table just in time.
"You sneaking guys in?" another smiley friend asked, bumping you with his shoulder. "You little minx!"
You were at loss of what to say, scoffing with your mouth open, you didn't know if you were better off denying everything, or coming up with another weird lie to save yourself from this situation.
"It's erm," you played with your drink a second, slowly spun it 'round on the table in front of you. "It's recent, this being off the apps thing,"
Izzy frowned.
"So you deleted them yesterday?"
So she'd heard you and Joe two days ago. Neat.
"Yep. Deleted them yesterday."
You didn't like how Izzy was pushing this, but you didn't really have another choice but to just go with it.
Izzy seemed annoyed and hostile and, you got it, sort of. You were best friends. No need to lie. You'd never lied about bringing guys over to the flat ever before.
Some of your other friends fell into a conversation about dating apps. About how none of them really work, how they barely know any people who've been on them and who are still in successful relationships. You leant back a little to listen along, had a slow sip of your drink and tried to ignore Izzy staring at you from across the table.
When you did look her way and made eye-contact, her features instantly softened and she leant closer over the table as she mouthed, "Why?"
You frowned, unsure of what she meant.
"What do you mean, why?" you mouthed back, and in a crossfire of conversation, Izzy pushed another friend out of his seat to sit directly opposite you.
"Why are you off the apps?"
Joe tuned in. Couldn't not. The two of you were right there next to him, blocking him from joining the conversation on the other side of the table.
You repeated what you'd said earlier. Added, "They're a bit shit really, aren't they?" to which you knew she'd agree.
And Izzy did agree.
But you also saw her worry lines work.
"I don't— we're on different pages," Izzy started, a little louder now as she sat back. "Different books even."
"What do you mean?" Joe asked, tried to make it sound like he wasn't incredibly invested in whatever this conversation was between you and your flat mate. Best friend. The one person who you'd been actively hiding from for over a month now.
"I know the difference between a fake orgasm and a real one," Izzy said, voice flat and loud enough for the whole table and then probably also the three closest to you to hear.
You choked on your drink before Izzy carried on. Coughed right into your glass and got beer all down your chin.
"These guys are—" Izzy shifted from talking to Joe to talking to you, "I don't know what they're doing to you, but they're good."
This got whoops - loud ones. Ones that made people across the pub turn their heads to see what the commotion was about.
"Okay!" you immediately tried to make everyone tone it down, one of your arms stretched over the table. "All right, I need some— some fresh air? A drink. I'm gonna get— does anyone else want to do a drink over a tenner? Gin tonic? Let me just—"
You stumbled through an excuse to escape everyone whilst simultaneously ignoring every question that was thrown at you by your friends.
"Guys? These are plural men?"
"Is that why you're off the apps? Found the right bloke who does it for you?"
"How often do you hear her, Izzy?"
"Give us a name!"
You awkwardly climbed from your seat and disappeared on your way to the bar.
Fuck.
You'd been so convinced Izzy didn't know, or hadn't heard. She never said anything.
She didn't know it was Joe though.
She'd said guys.
Thought you were bringing home guys from the apps to spend some spicy time with in your closed of bedroom. Snuck them in and snuck them out.
Sure.
Slut era.
You could pretend that this was the actual truth and go with it for however long you needed to.
"Hey,"
You thought maybe Izzy would follow you, but instead, Joe placed a hand on your shoulder as you waited for your turn at the bar.
"I um— I hear that someone is, um—" Joe couldn't help the smile he was sporting. "Being real nice to you."
You smiled through a scoff.
"Don't,"
"I'm not doing anything, I just..." you felt a warm hand spread its fingers over your bum. "It's not gone down, yet," Joe whispered right into your ear.
It made you lean back to scan his face a second as you frowned with confusion. His mouth made it back to your ear, "Here, it's been— I've been walking around with this since we left yours," below the bar, Joe's hand found yours and moved it over to his crotch.
"Jesus Christ, Joe," you hissed, panicked eyes darting around to see if anyone else had just witnessed that.
"I told her."
What?!
You couldn't fucking believe what you were hearing.
"You told Izzy about your semi?"
"Um, have a proper feel, this isn't a—"
"What can I get you?"
"A dirty bucket of gin, side of tonic," you huffed before Joe interjected, ordering three regular sized gin and tonics. One for you, one for Joe and presumably one for Izzy, for the traumatising.
"I told her it's me,"
You laughed. Bursted right into it, puffed out cheeks releasing air before it stuttered into giggles.
"No, you didn't— listen, I'm going to down my drink and leave, I'll text you when—"
His mouth found your ear again as he leant into you, spoke right into your ear again, voice low and husky, "I told her. Izzy knows now."
"What— what did you say?"
"I went," Joe started and made exaggerated facial expressions, raised eyebrows and big eyes. Then he smiled and pointed a finger at himself and nodded as his grin grew. "And then she went," Joe mimicked Izzy's reaction, surprise and frowned shock before adding, "And then she said she fucking knew it, that she'd known all along."
Oh.
Okay.
What now...
You didn't know what to do next.
Was Izzy mad?
You'd lied to her for ages.
Joe paid for the gin and you took a glass to immediately take large gulps of, stepping back just enough to catch sight of your table of friends.
They were all talking. Izzy included. Didn't seem bothered that you weren't there. Just a normal group of people talking about their week. All commotion from before gone, which, good. That was good.
You still didn't really want to go back over.
Then Izzy looked over and caught your eye. Your breath stopped for a second as you froze, afraid Izzy would let you see her anger and annoyance and frustration, because why had you lied for so long? Why had you not just told her?
But then, instead, Izzy smiled, pointed a finger at you with a scrunched up face and winked.
Izzy was a good friend.
"This is for Izzy," Joe pressed a second gin and tonic into your hands, already halfway through his own, just like you.
"Could you go— I don't, we have to— you know,"
You suppressed a smile.
"Ugh," you groaned with faux annoyance. "You're hard, we get it."
Before stepping away from him to bring Izzy your drink, Joe took hold of you by a bicep and pulled you close once more. "You say that like it isn't you fault."
It was weird and a little scary being out in the open, in public, with Joe like this, but you guessed that now, you could just... do that?
Wild.
You pulled back a little, smiled and raised your eyebrows at him.
"You say that like I'm not going to take care of it,"
You bumped your hip into him, and Joe had to close his eyes for a second. Bite down a groan and take deep breaths through flared nostrils for a second. You left him there as you quickly took Izzy's drink over to the table before turning around and beelining it back.
There was no way you were going to say anything. Invite comments or questions or even the odd facial expression.
You got them anyway.
"Bye,"
"Enjoy!"
"Have fun!"
"Hey, tell Joe to tuck it away already, we've been making jokes behind his back all night,"
"Bye babe,"
And with a laugh, you shook your head as you walked back over to Joe, both downed the rest of your drinks, drinks that Joe paid far too much for to down within a minute, interlaced fingers and left the pub together.
Joe got into a bet with you weeks ago, all for a week of fun he knew he was going to have with you, win or lose.
Had wanted to have with you, since, like, forever.
He'd never expected the outcome to be better than what he could've predicted.
He'd never even expected you to jump into this bet with him in the first place.
A sight-unseen transaction.
A true blind bargain.
One that panned out fucking perfect.
the end
---
The Taglisted
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taglist currently full, sorry
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