#hangman businessman au

[writercole]

Manspreading

Summary: Public transportation comes with many potential hazards, including sharing a seat with someone you don't like.

Squares: Sat in their lap - spnfluff // Neighbors - Resa's 3k

Words: 2371

Warnings: Innuendo, Jake's cocky ass.

Credits: @ryebecca for the idea. @princessmisery666 for the beta and the squeal.

A/N: This was borne out of Bees complaining about riding with men on the subway. It didn't take long to figure out that it was a rivals to lovers. Gotta listen to the characters. It's their story after all.

It had been the longest day of my life. Traipsing up and down floors in LouBoutain pumps killed me, I hadn’t slept the night before, and lunch was a snickers bar. So when I walked onto my train and found that there were two empty seats beneath some jackass’s manspread legs, I snapped. 

I walked right over and sat on his lap. How I didn’t chicken out halfway there confounded me.

“Excuse me, this seat is taken,” his voice rumbled in my ear. I froze immediately. I knew that voice.

“Well, Jacob, if you weren’t manspreading across three seats, I wouldn’t have to be sitting here,” I spat, not turning to meet his eyes. 

“Come on, darlin, you knew you were just looking for an excuse to ride my thigh,” he drawled. I knew I’d see a cocky smirk on his face and refused to look at him.

Instead I shut my eyes and growled, regretting several decisions that led me here.

“Oh, that was sexy. Do it again.”

My eyes snapped open and I finally met his gaze, finding exactly the expression I expected, the one he used on female clients to get them to swoon and give him anything he wanted, a smug charm that made my stomach flip. “If you’d just move your leg, I’d be out of your hair.”

I wasn’t prepared for him to bounce his leg like  I wasn’t sitting on it , like I weighed nothing. God I hate this man. 

“I am not in the mood to play games with you, Seresin,” I grumbled. “I have had a long ass day, these heels are killing me, and I haven’t had anything but a Snickers bar and a protein shake all day.”

“Then I guess you have to let me buy you dinner.” The way he winked at me made my panties dampen and skin burn. I refused to let him know that, though.

“I’ve had enough of your insufferable face at work today, thanks.”

“Insufferable, huh? I bet I could change your mind in one night.” 

I looked him up and down and leaned in close, watching the amusement and victory in his eyes as our noses brushed. “In your dreams, asshole,” I whispered, pulling back with a satisfactory smirk at his bewildered stare.

Unfortunately for me, he recovered quickly.

“You’re in my dreams often enough, sweetheart. And believe me, I have no problem changing your mind there.” 

“Does that line actually work?” My patience was wearing very thin.

“I’ll tell you,” he promised,” Over dinner.”  

“I’m not hungry,” I shrugged. Of course at that moment my stomach decided to growl and betray me.

“You have had a protein shake and a snickers bar today,” repeated Jake, “let me buy you dinner. You can even continue to throw shade at me if you want.”

“Look, Jake,” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, “I really just want to go home, order a large pizza and curl up in my armchair with my favorite blanket and a good book.”

“Tomorrow, then,” he suggested, his tone persistent but with a hint of what sounded like hope. The train started to slow, preparing to stop at the next station. “This is my stop, darlin. Unfortunately, I’m going to need you to get your pretty face up.”

Maybe I was more lethargic than I thought because that trace of genuine hope had me a little dazed. So much so, I almost didn’t realize this was my stop too. How had I never seen him on the train before?  

“Dinner, tomorrow,” he called over his shoulder as he joined the crowd of people gathering at the doors. 

I shuffled along behind them, running through everything that had transpired since I’d boarded the train. Somehow, my main competition at work took the same train and got off at the same stop and had an answer for everything I said. 

I was lost in my thoughts when a shove came from behind me and I was pushed into the solid mass of the person in front of me. He whipped around and I was prepared to utter a stream of apologies until…

“You could have just said something, darlin, you didn’t have to run into me.” I just wanted to slap that grin off of his face.

“I was shoved.”

“That’s one way to get my attention, though.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“You’re doing enough of that for me.”

“I didn’t realize you were into degradation, Seresin,” I snorted as I made my way towards the stairs.

“I could be into a lot of things for you.”

“You have the opposite effect on me. You could drive me out of things I was into,” I chirped as I tried to get away from him.

“Oh really? And what would those things be?” It was infuriating how easily he was keeping up with me.

“Haven’t thought about it.”

“Fine, but I bet you’ve thought about me naked,” he called.

“Oh no, am I really that transparent? I want you, I need you, oh baby, oh baby,” I sassed with a roll of my eyes, something that I’d been doing quite a lot today, and sped up through a gap, leaving him behind me.

I finally reached the top of the staircase, ready to duck into the nearest shop I could find to avoid him further until I caught sight of Conner. My ex was heading my way with his arm around a beautiful, thin, perfectly proportioned blonde. Giggling. 

My eyes widened and I spun around, ready to head back into the subway, but instead found Jake cresting the top of the stairs. I grabbed his hand and pulled him close, silencing any protests when my lips met his. He hummed and his arm slid around my waist to pull me close while his other hand tangled in my hair. His tongue parted my lips expertly and he deepened the kiss, only to be interrupted by Conner calling my name. 

I gave Jake a look that screamed ‘please go with it’ as I wiped my mouth and turned. “Oh, Conner, hi,” I greeted, a little light headed. Perhaps it was the lack of sustenance, but I think it had more to do with the kiss from the man standing beside him, with a smug grin and a hand firmly on the small of my back.

“Uh, hi. You, uh, you look good,” he stuttered. His focus was on Jake by my side instead of me, instead of his date.

I guess I should have been proud. Or maybe offended?

“Who’s this, sweetheart?” Jake asked, tugging me tighter to his side.

“This is my ex-boyfriend, Conner,” I introduced, “Conner, this is Jake, my boyfriend.”

“Nice to meetcha, Conner,” Jake said, extending his hand.

Conner just looked at it and then directed his attention to me. “Moving on, huh?”

“Looks like you did the same,” I quipped, turning to the blonde. “And what’s your name?”

“Alyssa,” she squeaked as she tucked herself into Conner.

“Conner, Alyssa, it was nice meeting you both, but we���re late for our reservation,” Jake interrupted. “Come on, sweetheart.”

“Nice to see you, Con,” I shrugged as I let Jake pull me away. We walked a block before I stepped out of his grip. “Thanks for that,” I told him quietly.

“It wasn’t a problem,” dismissed Jake. “But I think you should tell me what that was about over dinner.”

I sighed heavily before responding. “Fine, but I’m buying. It’s the least I can do for assaulting you.”

“That was assaulting me?” he grinned. “Where do I sign up for you to do that again?”

I just rolled my eyes before heading towards my favorite pizza shop. He caught up quickly and we walked in silence, Jake keeping his mouth uncharacteristically shut until after our orders were placed.

“So what’s the story with Conner?” he asked quietly.

“Um, so, we dated for a year,” I started, “maybe a little longer. He kept saying things about how he couldn’t wait to move in together and how excited he was that my lease was going to be up soon and maybe we should just buy a house for when we have kids. I kept thinking I’d find feelings like his one day but it never happened. 

“Then, during the last charity gala, he proposed. Very publicly.” I paused for a drink. Jake was there at the gala. He knew what had happened from there.

“Ah, yeah. I remember that,” he chuckled. “That was you?”

“Mhmm.” 

“That was the talk of the office until…until Jerry flubbed that presentation.”

“Anyway, I threw myself into my work and started pushing hard for that promotion. I couldn’t think of any better way to prove I was fine except succeeding in my career.”

“And you have. So why the panic?” 

“I may or may not have insinuated that I could do better than him,” I admitted, avoiding his gaze. 

I had no idea why I was telling Jake all of this. It’s not like I knew him, it’s not like he cared. But when I looked up, I wasn’t met with derision and mocking, I was met with a softness and understanding. 

“I get it. You wanted to show him up. But why me?”

“I was honestly going to go hide in the crowd. I didn’t plan on kissing you. I didn’t even know I was doing it until you hummed.” Might as well stick with honesty.

“Oh, so it wasn’t because you decided to take me up on my offer to change your mind about me?” he teased, wagging his eyebrows at me across the table.

I laughed and shoved his arm, making him chuckle as well. It surprised me how easily conversation flowed between us. For the longest time, he’d been a bitter rival of mine and now, here he was, almost like we were friends.

This was a different side of the Jake I’d see around the office. He’d ditched his jacket and loosened his tie, even going so far as to roll up his sleeves. He talked about tv shows he watched and criticized my taste in movies with a teasing smile. 

He asked questions about me and my life and friends and for every detail he learned about me, he dished out one about himself. None of it surprised me until he said he’d spent time in the Navy.

“You joined the Navy right out of high school? Why?”

“Family tradition,” he shrugged. 

“So you joined the Navy because your family wanted you to, you’re in the business world because your dad forced you into a business degree. What do you do because you want to?”

“What do you do?”

“Promise not to make a joke?” I asked. I’d never had a good reaction when I revealed my hobbies.

“I will do my absolute best not to make a joke but if you tell me you’re a mime, all bets are off,” he laughed, his hands up in surrender.

“I write.”

“Why would I make a joke about you writing for a hobby?” he questioned.

“Because it’s dumb that I write stories when there are so many that I could just go read,” I explained, using the words that several people had used to devalue my likes and the way I spent my time.

“Who cares if there’s a bunch of stories you can go read? The ones you write are going to be in your own voice and reflect your own experiences,” he countered.

“Well, what do you do?”

“I draw,” he shrugged.

That surprised me. “You draw?”

“Yeah. I started in high school when I needed to escape from the insanity of the perfect world my father wanted. My art teacher said I had a talent but it never felt like something I wanted to do for other people. It was more…”

“Something you wanted to keep for yourself,” I supplied, nodding along with the words.

“Exactly!”

I checked my watch and saw that we had been in the pizza parlor for three hours. “I should probably get home. It’s getting kind of late.”

“Oh damn,” Jake exclaimed when he checked the time. “I’ll walk you home.”

“You don’t have to do that, Jake,” I protested, “You were at the office before me this morning. You have to be exhausted.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” he rebutted, “but I want to walk you home.”

I paid the bill and we stepped out into the night. The streets were closer to empty than they had been all day and the temperatures had dropped enough that it was almost chilly. A shiver crept up my spine and before I’d finished shivering Jake’s jacket enveloped me. I looked up at him, seeing him in a different light, both literally and figuratively.

“What?” he questioned. “Do I have sauce on my face?”

“You’ve surprised me at every turn tonight,” I admitted with a smile.

He just hummed as we walked along, his hands in his pockets and his jacket wrapped around me. 

“This is me,” I mumbled as I drew to a stop in front of my building.

“Well, at least it’s a short walk home for me,” he quipped. I furrowed my brow and he gestured across the street. “The only dark apartment on the fourth floor.”

I looked up at my building and laughed. “Same.”

Jake joined me, his deep chuckle rumbling through the space between us. “I can’t believe we live across from each other, on the same floor.”

“Seems crazy, right?” 

“Yeah, crazy. Or maybe…” he trailed off.

“Maybe?”

“Walk you to work tomorrow?” he offered.

“On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t take up three seats with your manspreading,” I demanded, a slight smirk creeping onto my face.

“How am I going to get you back in my lap again?”

“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

He nodded, his expression contorting to one of ponderance. When his gaze met mine again, he smiled and stepped closer, his hand cupping my cheek before his lips met mine, softly asking permission for a real kiss. 

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back, melting into his warmth. He smiled softly when he pulled back, caressing my cheek with his thumb.

“I should go,” he whispered.

“Or you could stay.”

“I don’t want to rush into anything. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Progressing from dinner to breakfast seems to be moving pretty quickly buuuuut..I’ll allow it,” I giggled. “Goodnight, Jake.”

“Night, sweetheart.”

[potatotrash0]

nagito would be last to be dating cuz he will be

Skfjskfjdk just because he will. No reason that’s just how it is

[seasonsbloom]

Curses upon the Bridgerton AU anon for I am now pagued with thoughts of rich american businessman Jake crossing the pond to find an aristocratic wife who will give him access to society and allow him to further his business on the land of the queen

♡ pairing ; hangman x female!reader

♡ wc ; 400

♡ warnings ; historical anachronisms because i didn't do a smidge of research, cheers!!!

♡ note ; sigh... i thought about it too and got carried away, idk, nobody is going to read this, bye...

also I’m hammered that’s the only explanation I have

The trouble with men like Mr. Jake Seresin - freshly arrived from the Americas, teeth as white as ivory, charm as blinding as the sun - is that they’re so good at lying you want them to keep going even as you recognize the words for the falsehoods they are. A spectacle unfolding right in front of you.

So you know his honeyed words are little more than ploys for your hand, your family fortune, your title. You are perfectly aware he’s after the prestige of a name, a family tree with roots reaching all the way to the bottom of this country’s soil, with branches that intertwine with the outgrowths of royalty. You know he’s lying right through those pearly white teeth when he bends to kiss your hand, when he tells you your beauty could put all the English roses to shame. You’re no fool.

And still - in the chaos of Almack’s rooms where all of London’s society mixes for whatever new stimulation the season has to offer, for gossip muffled behind painted fans, for smiles exchanged over glasses of lemonade and chalices of custard, among the muslin of the gowns and the feathers in ladys’ hair and the spinning on the dancefloor and the whispered confessions, you let him drag you from it all. Let him press you into the darkness of an alcove, let him slot his mouth to the curve of your jaw where no one has touched you before.

Let him whisper against the shell of your ear, let your eyes close as the words drift through the air, wash over you like a wave, carry you out into the sea of longing.

“Marry me.”

If your mother knew, she’d weep. If society saw, you’d be ruined - you and your whole family with it.

A young lady caught in such a compromising position with a gentleman of dubious reputation, a skirt chaser, a businessman as destitute as hopeful, on the prowl for an in with the ranks of the reputable and the established and the fortunate.

And still…

You dip your head back, blink at him through lashes heavy with the wine, with the heat, with the dizziness of the minuet he spun you through earlier, with the heady weight of his hands on you. In the dim twilight of the moment, his eyes, focused only on you, dazed and glossy, seem almost sincere.

“Yes,” you whisper.

That’s the trouble with men like Mr. Jake Seresin. Their lies taste so sweet you get addicted to the taste of them.

[katcoquette]

september bookshelf (recs!)

back with another month! two days late but here nonetheless- I started this to keep track of what I was reading & loving each month, you can read last month’s here!

still deep in the top gun maverick trenches. hand picked by me for me but also to share with you. the hangman list gets longer and longer every month LMAO

give your writers love because we do this for free :') I say it every month but thank you to everyone on this list for contributing to my escape from reality, here are this month's reads!

☻ indicates smut / 18+ | ⁕ indicates a series

{ Jake "Hangman" Seresin }

✿ you left me no choice but to stay here forever (right where you left me) by @sunderlust I had no choice but to include this (bad pun) but in all seriousness I was sobbing by the end of this and then sobbed to my friends about it over a snapchat vlog at 2am it changed my life

✿ play stupid games, win stupid prizes (☻) by @hederasgarden simultaneously the hottest & cutest thing ever & chastising Rooster is just muah

✿ jake w/ a surprise child blurb by @writercole can you tell I love drama yet? I'm very excited for this series

✿ magic jake (☻) by @evansrogerskitten this one almost killed me I'm being so serious, as far as I'm concerned, CANON

✿ opposites attract by @topguncortez rereading this one so it had to be included, I love the thought of Jake having the sweetest wife + a bonus blurb in the same world "it's not my fault you keep turning me on"

✿ birds away (⁕) by @wombtotombx I need to catch up on this series but I fell in love with the first part, friends to lovers, setting it up for Jake to be the one holding them back, LOVE THAT !!

✿ baby, you down? by @softspiderling this is part of a universe which I love, wingman's best friend, if you haven't read hooked from hour one READ THAT TOO it's a very fun trope but I won't spoil it

✿ my feet can't touch the bottom of you (☻) by @sunderlust this one is angst & DOES NOT HAVE A HAPPY ENDING aka what I live for, hurts so good

✿ monthly visit by @topguncortez blueprint for how men should act (I was obsessed with you this month, G, I think)

✿ I knew you were here (☻) by @youlightmeupfinn I just love the idea of a man being so obsessed with you that he commits your perfume to memory and identifies you by it that's all

✿ the princess and the hangman (⁕) by @simpforrooster the sweet sweet line between love and hate, part two is just as good

✿ rich american businessman bridgerton!au blurb by @seasonsbloom sighs... if only this is what bridgerton was, I'll live off this blurb for the rest of my life

✿ writing love letters blurb by @siempre-bucky made me want to have some sort of long distance relationship, ain't that funny?

✿ secret girlfriend by @barbiewritesstuff I love the secret relationship trope but this is how the rest of the team finds out and I was kicking my feet it was so cute

{ Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw }

✿ trouble in paradise (☻)(⁕) by @sunlightmurdock I am constantly stalking this account for updates I'm addicted, like addicted, (check out the other series while you're there)

✿ take a chance on me by @goldustwomun if you like mamma mia you'll love this, again, DRAMA

✿ stop (☻) by @lcahwriter actually sick over how comforting & sweet this one was he's so caring GAH

✿ pursuit (☻) by @sunlightmurdock friends fucking!!! almost getting caught!!! I- it was so good- and in a cozy cabin!

✿ the set up (☻) by @callsign-fox phoenix is always right w/ a side of hate sex

✿ misconceptions (☻) by @callsign-valley whoo y'all this one left me...needing air, I immediately forced my besties to read it and they agreed, oof IT'S BRADLEY X F!READER X JAKE

✿ jealous coach bradshaw by @gretagerwigsmuse this one had me giggling & I loved that they kept their personalities after having a kid, it was so good and another favorite fic universe gahh

✿ that's my wife by @thesewordsareallihavetogive so wholesome & sweet “Outranked by your wife, huh, Bradshaw?” damn straight

{ Nick "Goose" Bradshaw }

✿ gold rush by @duchesstypewriter big brother maverick & single dad nick with bradley was so cute I loved this one so much

{ Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia } some much deserved Mickey love this month

✿ take me by the heart, take me by the hand by @rae-gar-targaryen I'm so soft after this he is the ultimate sunshine & I haven't been able to get enough of Danny Ramirez lately

{ Chris Beck }

✿ caught up in you by @intrepidacious embodiment of this emoji🥹🥹🥹 (teary eyed and smiling)

{ Rhett Abbott } again, never seen the show, but oh boy do I love him

✿ virginity reader saga? blurbs? (☻) by @sebsxphia please just read through the virginity anon tag lmao it's so good