#me and gerry both started at the same time 3 weeks ago. WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE’RE DOING

[fingertipsmp3]

SOS two of my coworkers swapped shifts and now I’m worried tomorrow is going to be awkward and bad

[ultrone]

EAGER TO PLEASE

♡ top!virgin!gerri fields x experienced!reader

genre: smut – (best) friends with benefits

wc: 2.3k+

summary: Your best friend was urged to lose her virginity, and as the good friend that you are, you offered to teach her how to do it the right way.

warnings: MINORS DNI +18, corruption (?), hot kisses, breast/nipple play, oral & fingering (r receiving), hickeys, r guiding/telling gerri what to do.

note: i think i remember seeing a prompt or something about this a long time ago and when i remembered about it i had to write it about gerri 😩 hope y’all like it <3

please do not translate, copy and paste, or repost my work anywhere. likes, comments, and re-blogs are always appreciated tho <33

Gerri was desperate.

It was almost her second year of university and she still hadn't lost her virginity, and even though you always told her that it didn’t matter, that it would happen when it had to happen, she disagreed with you and told you that you were biased because you had already lost it.

Unlike Gerri, you were lucky enough to have lost your virginity in high school, and thanks to that, you had a lot of experience up your sleeve, so it wasn't rare for you to sleep with a couple of people every other week, an activity that Gerri truly envied.

It was a Friday night, and since there were no parties or things to do that same day, Gerri and you decided to have a movie night. It was during the second film that a sex scene brought up the frequently discussed topic between the two of you.

“Ugh, a girl can only dream,” Gerri said in a sigh while chewing on a gummy worm.

If you were being honest with yourself, you would have to admit that Gerri was a very beautiful girl. Yes, you were both best friends, but that didn’t mean that you were blind. For several months now, listening to Gerri's desire to lose her virginity made you unable to help but think about what would happen if you took her virginity. Is she a top or a bottom? Is she a good kisser? How would her soft hands feel all over your body? Is she really as eager as she makes it seem? All those unanswered questions left you no choice but to suggest a very risky idea to her.

“You know, if you really wanna lose your virginity so badly then you should lose it with me, I mean, we're best friends and I have a lot of experience after all. It’d be a great opportunity for you to learn.” You offered in a joking tone, hoping that the girl would get the hint.

The moment the sentence left your mouth, Gerri's face turned to you at high speed, eyes wide and mouth half-open.

“Wait… Really?” She asked genuinely, biting the inner part of her cheek.

“Well yeah, that’s what best friends are for, am I right?” you asked, letting out an awkward chuckle, surprised at how quickly you managed to convince her. “I guess she truly is desperate,” you thought.

“Wha- well- sure,” she stuttered, “that’d be nice,” she said with a nervous but excited smile.

With that said, you took the initiative and grabbed the remote control to turn off the tv, then you removed all the snacks from the bed and started to play some background music to ease the tension that had formed between the two of you.

“So… where do we start?” She asked timidly, fidgeting with her fingers.

Once you noticed this, you gently grabbed her hands and caressed her knuckles with your thumbs, “you know we don’t have to do this right? I was only giving you the choice but if you changed your mind then that’s totally okay,” you reassured her, “we can pretend this conversation never happened.”

“No, no. I want to, I just don’t know what to do or where to start.” She confessed. “You’re the boss.” She said jokingly trying to ease the tension.

You chuckled. “Okay, then. We can always stop if you don’t feel comfortable though.” You said giving her a little squeeze on the hands. She replied with a nod.

Unbeknownst to you, Gerri shared in some way the feelings you felt for her. She thought you were gorgeous and had always wondered what it would feel like to be on top or underneath you. Often daydreaming about the two of you doing things that she knew would never happen — until now.

“I think we should start by kissing, don’t you think?” You asked, getting closer to her and trapping her between your body and the headboard.

Gerri couldn't wait for another instant and threw herself at you, pressing your lips together in a passionate kiss. You gasped in surprise at her urgency but quickly adjusted to the kiss, returning it with the same vigor. You slipped your arms around her neck and she wrapped hers around your waist, pressing you closer to her until your chest met hers. She sucked on your lower lip and caressed it sensually with her tongue asking for passage, and you granted it with no hesitation. While your tongues intertwined and rubbed against each other, Gerri began to slide her hands from your waist to your ass and gave it gentle, slow squeezes. You bit her lower lip in response, eliciting a throaty groan from her. Gerri couldn't hold back anymore, she needed to feel your warm pussy against her mouth right now, so she started unbuttoning your shorts.

You placed your hands on top of hers halting her movements and broke the kiss, your lips remaining a breath away from hers.

“I wanna make you feel good,” she whispered breathlessly, her hot breath brushing against your lips.

“I know, I can't wait.” You confessed and stared at her through low-lidded eyes. “But first, you have to get me all wet and ready, yeah?”

“Show me how.” She husked out, resting her hands on your thighs and giving them a little squeeze.

Still straddling her lap, you moved away from her face and grabbed the hem of your blouse, pulling it up your body seductively until it was completely off. When you saw Gerri's face, you couldn't help but smirk at the sight of her hypnotized eyes staring so intently at your breasts, which were being covered by a black lace bra. She gulped loudly and made eye contact with you.

“Can I touch them?” She asked hesitantly, darting her eyes between the two.

“Be my guest.” You responded with a smirk.

She slowly raised her hands, cheeks blushing as she cupped your covered breasts with them. She gave them a little squeeze and then proceeded to massage them more thoroughly. She crept one of her hands behind your back and brought your breasts close to her face, placing it directly against them. She nuzzled her nose against them before starting to give them open-mouthed kisses, nibbling and tugging at the edge of your bra. She slipped her hands under the bra and felt stiff nipples against her palm, eliciting a low grunt from her, which you felt vibrating against your chest.

“You’re surprisingly good at this,” you panted, feeling her smile between kisses. “Take my bra off,” you asked with urgency, tired of her slow teasing.

She did as you said and got rid of the garment. “Now play with them,” you husked, receiving a nod from her.

The moment her mouth closed on one of your nipples, your hand flew to the back of her hair, tugging at it softly. With her hands on your back pressing you impossibly closer, Gerri flicked her wet tongue over your exposed nub. “Y-yes– hng– just like that,” you slurred. Her tongue was so warm, pressing and circling desperately around your erect nipple, giving it soft nibbles. “Don’t forget about the other one,” you reminded her amidst groans. Attentive to your commands, she resumed stroking your opposite breast, gently pinching and tugging at your nipple with her fingers while savouring the other one with her mouth and tongue. You felt a wet patch growing on your panties.

Gerri held your waist tightly and nimbly flipped you under her, towering over you. She gave you a lingering look and then continued on with her previous endeavours, making you let out little whimpers.

“Can I eat your pussy now?” She said with your tit in her mouth, batting her eyelashes.

You whimpered softly at her bluntness, followed by a soft chuckle, finding her eagerness funny but arousing as well. “Patience,” you groaned. “Come here,” you muttered as you cupped her jaw with both hands and pulled her up to you, crushing your lips together in a smothering kiss. She kissed you back, open-mouthed and with fierce lips. “Mark my body,” you said breathlessly against her mouth, and with one last hungry suck on your lower lip, she released your lips and began to deposit hot kisses — and marks — on your body, working her way down from your neck to your chest, alternating between each sensitive breast, then reaching your sternum and eventually landing on your lower abdomen. “How am I doing?” she asked genuinely. You clutched her hair tightly in your hands as she continued to leave searing marks on your belly. “Good, mhm, s’good,” you slurred with your eyes closed.

Gerri began to run her tongue along the edge of your shorts, giving small kisses to your flesh as she began to fiddle with the hem of your shorts with her fingers. She shifted her attention up to your flushed face, asking for your consent. Once she saw you nodding your head with an encouraging smile, she began to undo the buttons and removed the garment completely.

“You’re wearing too many clothes, I wanna see you.” You said, making her realize that, in fact, she hadn’t yet taken off any of her clothes.

“Shit- of course, sorry,” she clumsily apologized while letting out an awkward chuckle, and quickly discarded all of her clothes. She carefully spread your legs apart and returned to her previous position while delicately stroking your thighs. Exhilarated shaky breaths left her lips as she stared intently at your dripping wet core, all she could think was "I did that."

You helplessly watched as her gaze wandered over your body, returning her gaze with the same fascination. “You can start now,” you said eagerly. “Patience, Y/n.” She responded with a cocky smile, making you roll your eyes at her.

She began to suck and kiss the skin on your legs, working her way up from your knees to your inner thighs, getting closer and closer to your beating pussy.

“You know, I should start teaching you the most important lesson: don’t tease,” you joked breathlessly while putting your hands on her hair, trying to pull her closer to your core.

“But that’s no fun,” she said as she gave you a hickey an inch away from your cunt.

“Please, just st-”

You got interrupted by Gerri's warm tongue giving you a long and hard lick all the way from your throbbing hole to your swollen clit. “Oh — fuck!” you said between gasps, receiving a groan from her that vibrated against your nub deliciously. “Make circles around my clit,” you commanded and she nodded. Gerri began to swirl her tongue around your clitoris vigorously, working it at different speeds. Then, she began to experiment by grasping it between her lips and sucking on it, all the while pressing it with her tongue and giving it little nibbles. This made you let out a sharp whine, causing the girl to feel even more eager to please you, loving the sounds that left your lips. “Shit! So good,” you moaned.

As she continued to devour your pussy, she began to tease your throbbing hole with two of her digits, slowly running them through your soaked folds, spreading them open and collecting your juices on her fingers. Her other hand remained on your thigh, squeezing it harshly. “Please…” you begged, and with that, Gerri thrusted her wet fingers in your entrance. “You feel so good, Y/n.” She murmured against your clitoris, making you moan even harder. She started to move her fingers at a relentless pace while still playing shamelessly with your clit, groaning here and there so you could feel the vibrations against it. Her fingers kept reaching deeper and deeper into your cunt until she touched the spot she was looking for and started to curl her fingers desperately against it. Breathless groans left your lips as you pulled her face impossibly closer to your cunt, taking her hand from your thigh and putting it on one of your breasts so she could play with it. “You’re– fuck– you’re doin’ great Gerri,” you managed to choke out, rocking your hips unmercifully against her mouth and fingers. “Your pussy feels so tight and gummy around my fingers Y/n,” she husked while continuing to rub her fingertips against your g-spot.

Your body tensed up and you started to lose your rhythm, feeling the coil in your stomach tighten. “Fuckkk– ‘m close,” you slurred with difficulty. Despite the cramps she felt, Gerri began to move her fingers and tongue even faster, feeling your pussy clench around her fingers every few seconds.

You came violently the instant she sucked on your clitoris and stroked your g-spot in perfect synchronicity. ”S-slow down, slow down,” you managed to say, broken breaths and curses leaving your mouth as she helped you ride your high, moving slower just like you told her to.

She pulled out her drenched fingers and released your over-stimulated clit with a pop, licking her lips afterwards. You looked at her through hooded eyes as she licked all the cum off her fingers, “you taste really good,” she murmured, giving you a wink.

You gave her a soft playful slap on the head and motioned her to lay next to you.

“I must admit,” you cleared your throat, “you’re a pretty fast learner,” you husked breathlessly, letting out an airy chuckle.

“Well, who knows? Maybe one day the student will surpass the master,” she joked.

“We should do this more often,” you suggested a bit hesitant.

“Yeah, we totally should,” she replied, “and next time you better teach me how to be a bottom,” she said while raising her eyebrows and biting down a smile.

“You bet I will,” you replied, attempting to hide the excitement in your voice.

[myhockeyworld87]

Ruined - Jamie Benn - Part 3

Word Count: 6,077

POV: Jamie and then switches to reader

Warnings: Language that’s about it for this one.

Notes: Here we go on Part 3. Hope you guys are enjoying this little story. As always feedback is welcomed, good or bad. Happy Reading!

Ruined Masterlist

JAMIE'S POV

 Standing there in the kitchen, rooted to the same spot you were just twenty-four hours ago, you still couldn't believe all that had happened. In that short span of time, you'd learned that not only was your new neighbor the woman who you first fell in love, and happened to still be in love with, but that she was also going to be your new team doctor. You spent most of last night tossing and turning in bed, trying to come up with a way to worm your way back into her heart, which seemed to be locked up as tight as Fort Knox against you.

 She was still as stunning as ever and your hands still burned with the feel of her curves on your skin. To think that she was only a couple doors away and that you could be holding her again was sheer torture. (Y/N) had always been amazing, at least in your eyes, but now she was just even more. She'd gone out there and become one of the top orthopedic and sports medicine doctors out there, from what you'd heard from the Stars trainers. Why you were surprised, you weren't one hundred percent sure? In high school, she'd always been smart and at the top of your class, even if she made some poor choices once you'd broken up. Now though, she seemed to be doing everything right; except for maybe not giving you a second chance. You had plenty of time to fix that, if only you could come up with a plan.

 You were interrupted from your thoughts, by four paws tapping on your kitchen floor. "Hey Ger, what are you doing here?" You said, as you bent and petted Tyler's youngest dog.

 "We're going for a walk after you and I work out." Gerry's owner told you, as he sauntered in behind the pup. "Going to check out that new neighbor of yours. Well, ours really, since my house isn't too far away."

 "Oh, no you're not."

 Tyler's brow shot up in question. "Why? Have you met her or something? Does she have some fatal flaw I should be aware of?"

 Your eyes practically rolled in your head at his comment. "No smart ass, she flawless, but she's also off-limits."

 "Yeah, doctor husband or something like that. I'm sure he's gone all hours and she might in fact be bored. You know doctors are notorious cheats."

 "And you're not?" It really was the pot calling the kettle black and all. Tyler just shrugged the comment off though. He never truly considered it cheating if he was in an open relationship, too bad the women he dated didn't feel the same way. "There is no husband."

 "Perfect. But wait then who's the doctor?"

 "She is."

 Tyler's eyes got big as he let the information sink in. "So, she's going to be working on us." You nodded your head yes. "Even better. I'll definitely be a needy patient."

 "No, you won't." Before he could even ask why you added. "She's also my ex."

 "Wait a minute…hold up here. You have an ex that's a doctor. How did I not know this?"

 "Because I didn't know she was." You see Tyler trying to put the pieces together and still not making them fit. It was a complicated situation, so you thought it best to help fill him in. "(Y/N)'s my ex from high school. She's also the first girl I ever loved."

 "Wait, doctor neighbor is (Y/N)? As in the first girl you ever kissed and the first girl you ever fucked?"

 "Who told you that?" As soon as you asked the question, you already knew the answer.

 "Jordie, of course." Of course, it was your big brother. You should've figured he'd spill the beans about that to Tyler. "And according to him, you never got over her." You weren't exactly sure you wanted to admit that, so you kept your mouth shut, which apparently said more than actual words. "You ARE still in love with her, aren't you?"

 "Maybe."

 Tyler rubbed his hands together in a sinister way that told you he was up to no good. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

 "No, it's not, because you're not going to do a damn thing."

 "Who said I was? I'm just going to enjoy the show." The devious smirk on his face told you a different story.

 "I know you…" you didn't get to finish that thought, as the front door opened and Gerry started to bark at whoever just entered.

 "Hey Ger," you heard the recognizable voice of your brother Jordie. "Thought you guys would already be working out by now, but it looks like you're getting a late start."

 "Only because this guy is too busy fawning over the new neighbor," Tyler commented hitting your shoulder and you punched him in the arm back. "Ouch." You hit him hard but not as hard as you really wanted to.

 "New neighbor huh?"

 "Yup, and she's a doctor." Tyler just couldn't keep his mouth shut, could he?

 "So, she took the job huh?"

 "Wait, you knew (Y/N) was coming here and you didn't tell me?" It was like you were back in high school all over again and Jordie just continued to find ways to torture you.

 Jordie's hand wiped down the front of his face and pulled on his beard. He didn't need to answer you for you to know that he knew (Y/N) had moved to Dallas. "Justin mentioned she was offered the job, but he didn't know if she was going to take it."

 "Why wouldn't she?" Jordie cocked his head to the side. "Of course, don't say it. It was because of me." A nod of the head was all the confirmation that was needed from Jordie. "Still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me."

 "I didn't see a reason to tell you until I knew for sure, and I haven't talked to Justin for a bit. It's not like I just call him and up all the time and ask him about (Y/N)."

 "Why didn't you tell me she was a doctor at least? You've obviously known that for a while."

 Jordie blew out a frustrated breath. "Have you ever seen yourself when someone mentions her name?" You hadn't, but really you imagined you looked the same as you always did; so you simply shrugged at Jordie. "You look like Gerry when Tyler doesn't pay attention to him." You looked over at Gerry, who seemed to look rather pleased with himself, so you couldn't see anything wrong with that. "Scratch that. You look like Cash and Marshall, who are both sulking at home because they know Gerry is Tyler's favorite."

 "Hey, I love all my children equally." Tyler protested though you knew Jordie was right in his assessment. Tyler's other two dogs were undoubtedly at home moping because he didn't bring them and would probably ignore Tyler completely when he got home. It left you wondering if you did the same anytime anyone mentioned (Y/N)'s name. Did you just go sulk in the corner when anyone brought her up? You threw your head back trying to think about the last time anyone ever said anything about her. It had been a few years, but you did remember your mom mentioning something about her and what did you do; you'd walked out of the room and went for a run not even choosing to listen to what your mother had to say.

 The question now, was why did you do that? The answer was obvious, now that you'd seen her. You still loved her and it hurt. Fuck. At first, you'd done it to protect yourself, because you couldn't stand hearing about her being with another guy. She'd practically made the rest of her way through high school fucking other guys and it killed you, that someone else was touching her, kissing her, loving her. Well, they would never her love her like you did and that's what hurt the most, that she would give herself to some guy that wouldn't treasure her as you did. But then you hadn't cherished her as you should have. "Fuck!" You slammed your hand down on the counter.

 "You're doing it again," Jordie called out after you, and you hadn't realized you started to walk away. Only this time you weren't leaving because you didn't want to hear what was said about her; you were running away from your feelings for her. You'd been doing that since the day the rumors started about her. It was time to stop running.

 You turned back to Jordie and Tyler. "How do I get her back?" Tyler's eyebrows shot up, whereas a huge grin broke out on Jordie's face.

 "About time you finally realized you needed to fight for her."

 "I did."

 "No, you didn't. You tried for a week, gave up, and have spent over a decade avoiding your feelings for her. That's not fighting for someone." Well, when Jordie put it that way, you really couldn't argue.

 "Alright, but what do I do now?"

 "That's a tough one brother. You've got a lot to make up for in her eyes."

 "I already fucked up when I ran into her yesterday. She's never going to speak to me again."

 "Unless you get injured and she has to," Tyler said and you both turned to him with an incredulous look. "What? It's true. She's the team doctor. She'd have to talk to you then." He wasn't wrong, but it seemed sort of underhanded, and the last thing you needed was her thinking you lied again.

 "Not an option." You told your best friend. "She'll see right through it if it's a lie and I don't plan on injuring myself on purpose."

 "Well, if there's anything good about the situation; it's that you've got time on your side." Jordie was right. You had a whole season to win her back, now all you needed was a plan to do that.

  READER'S POV

 It was twenty-four hours later and you still couldn't get Jamie Benn out of your head. Maybe taking this job was a bad idea. Why did he have to look so good after all these years? That beard, you had no idea that beards were your thing until you saw him in one. And those muscles, Jesus, when did he get those. The feel of his abs were still imprinted on your fingertips from trying to steady yourself when you'd run into him. This was not good, not good at all. You should not be thinking about Jamie, let alone in this way.

 You unpacked yet another box, hoping to distract yourself from lustful thoughts of your ex who also happened to be the hot hockey player that lived just two doors down. 'Remember all the things he said about you;' you told yourself as you placed a vase on the end table in the living room. He'd ruined your reputation with just a few words and he could do it again if you didn't steal yourself against him. But damn, if he didn't look good, just standing there shirtless.

 A knock at the door, thankfully interrupted your thoughts. You headed to the foyer to answer it and were surprised to see yet another bearded Benn staring back at you. "Heard you'd moved to town," Jordie said by way of greeting. "Thought we'd come by and welcome you to the neighborhood." It was then that you realized standing beside him was a petite blonde woman with the most inviting smile on her face.

 "Hi, I'm Jessi." She held out her for you to shake.

 "(Y/N), it's nice to meet you. Won't you guys come in?" You stepped aside and they followed you into the house. "Sorry, this place is a mess. I'm still trying to get things together since the movers left."

 "It looks great," Jessi told you and you knew she had to be lying but it was still nice of her to try. "Believe me, I still have boxes I haven't unpacked from our move to Montreal and now we're heading to Vancouver."

 "Well, I'd call it a win then." You shrugged and she laughed. "Less packing."

 "For sure," she agreed. "This is for you. I wasn't quite sure about what to bring as a housewarming gift but I figured this goes for any occasion." She handed over a bag, which contained two bottles of very expensive wine in it.

 "This is absolutely perfect. It's like you knew I needed this."

 "I have a feeling we are going to be very good friends," Jessi told you, that warm smile gracing her face again. "Speaking of which, Jordie and I are having a dinner party tomorrow night before he heads out of town for training camp. It's small just about ten or twelve people. We'd love to have you."

 The hesitation that you experienced inside, must have somehow transferred to your face, for the next thing you knew Jordie was trying to reassure you. "Before you saying anything. Yes, Jamie is going to be there, but it's my understanding that you two are going to have to deal with each other a lot. Might as well try and be friends." You knew that Jordie was right. Despite what had happened in the past, and Jamie's assumption about you being in Dallas; the two of you were going to have to get along.

 "Plus, I will gladly smack him upside the head if he gets out of line," Jessi added and got the impression that she would definitely keep her word. "So, what do you say? It will give you a chance to meet a couple of the other players as well."

 You took a deep breath in, weighing your options. On one hand, you could stay here and let the wounds of long-ago fester, or on the other, you could try and at least be cordial to one another, after all, you would be seeing Jamie on a pretty regular basis. The last thing you wanted to do was give him the impression that what was between the two of you so long ago bothered you enough to avoid him. "I say sure," you told them, an excited look crossing Jessi's face. "What time?"

 "Dinner's at seven, but come around six, so we can have a few drinks?" She looped her arm through yours, then proceeded to head back to your front door. "Or earlier. I'd love to get to know you better. Give me your phone. I'll text you our address the minute we get home. It's not far from here. Oh, and dinner is casual, so shorts or jeans are fine."

 "Sounds great. Can I bring anything?"

 "Just yourself."

 "Yeah, looks like you have enough on your plate here," Jordie said, which garnered a whack across the back of his head from Jessi. "Ouch."

 "See, I told you I wouldn't mind smacking Jamie if he acts up." The two of you burst out laughing leaving Jordie to rub the back of his head. "See you tomorrow."

 Thank god, you went into your new place of work the next day or you would've spent the next twenty-four hours worrying about seeing Jamie. As it was, you'd already changed your outfit three times. At first, you'd gone with a pair of jean shorts and a black button-down but then felt it was almost too casual if you were going to be meeting some of the other players. So, you changed into a sundress but that gave off the vibe you were trying too hard. In the end, you opted for white shorts and a navy peplum off the shoulder top. It was definitely casual but also a little conservative at the same time.

 Even though Jessi had said to come earlier than six, you opted to go on time, not wanting to rush her of getting things or herself ready. Their place was fairly close to yours, so it took no time at all to get there. You rang the doorbell, and Jessi answered. "(Y/N), it's so good to see you again, come in."

 "I wasn't sure what to bring, but I remembered this used to be one of Jordie's favorites." It was Jamie's as well, but you chose to ignore that fact.

 "Oh, what is it?" She asked referring to the cake box you held out.

 It was then that Jordie appeared. "Tell me that's not what I think it is?"

 "It is." Jordie's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas before he snatched the box out of your hands and proceeded to head down the hall to the kitchen.

 "Hey, Jame, you'll never believe what (Y/N) brought." Shit, Jamie was here already. You'd hoped you had a little time to maybe mingle with some other people before he showed up.

 Jamie stood there, beer in hand and smile on his face, as you walked into the kitchen. His grin grew a little wider as you walked into the room, whether that was from the cake or you, you weren't sure. Before either of you could mutter a word, Jessi cut in. "Obviously, I'm missing something here. One of you needs to feel me in."

 "It's only the best chocolate cake on the planet." Jamie finally chimed in. "Hi (Y/N)."

 "Hi Jamie," you greeted him back, yet blushed from his words of praise about your baking skills.

 "I swear it's why I called this guy Chubbs back in the day. He would literally beg (Y/N) to make this for him all the time." Jordie contributed to the background story of the cake.

 "Hey, you used to eat at least half of it." Jamie teased his brother back and you realized you missed their easy banter back and forth.

 "It's true, I did," Jordie admitted to Jessi as he opened the refrigerator to put the cake inside, remembering how it was always better cold. "Maybe I should put this in the other fridge and we don't have to serve it when everyone else comes."

 "Fuck that." Jamie cussed and you had to laugh. "You're sharing that bad boy with me."

 "Wow, I've never seen them get this worked up over cake. I'm wondering if we should just eat it now before anyone else comes." Jessi told you as she helped Jordie make a spot in the fridge for the box.

 "Can I get you something to drink?" Jamie asked turning that intense gaze of his on you. It was one that always left you hot and bothered when you were younger, and apparently, it was still doing that to this day.

 "A beer would be great," you finally managed to mumble out.

 "They're out here," Jamie told you and you followed him out the French doors onto the patio where a small fridge held several types of beers. Without thinking he grabbed you a Molson and twisted the cap off. "Oh shit, force of habit, I guess. Did you want something else?"

 "No, this is fine."

 "Remember the time we stole Heather Thompson's last two Molson's at Eric's party." both you and Jamie burst out laughing.

 "She went around accusing everyone, while we drank them in the backseat of Justin's car." You added, but then there was also more that went on in that backseat.

 "And then she thought Justin took them and went after him." Both of you were having a hard time catching your breath and finishing the story.

 "But she tripped and landed face-first in the mud."

 Jamie gave a loud bark of laughter at the memory and you found yourself laughing harder with him. It was just like that night, only then his arms had been looped around you as you both tried to stifle your giggles and not give yourself away. "She was so pissed. I'm pretty sure she never spoke to Justin again." Jamie remembered.

 "He should be thanking us for that." It felt good to just laugh with Jamie. You took a long sip of your beer and realized how easy it would be to fall back into old times with Jamie; too easy. The thought sobered you. Jamie smiled at you, and damn if your stomach and heart didn't do that little fluttery thing it used to do. Both of you just standing there staring at the other neither willing to look away. It was almost as if to do so would be admitting there were still feeling there between you.

 "Ouch!" Jessi screamed from inside, breaking whatever silent feelings were passing between the two of you. You both scrambled inside.

 "Everything alright?" Jamie asked just as you were about to.

 "Jess, cut herself," Jordie answered as he wrapped more paper towels around her thumb as the blood seemed to soak through the ones she had on currently.

 "Here, let me take a look." It was a pretty deep cut, but also clean. "You're going to need a couple stitches. I have my bag in my car if you don't want to go to the emergency room."

 "I can't go to the emergency room. There's no time." She looked at you with pleading eyes. "Is it going to hurt though?"

 A soft chuckle escaped your lips. "Don't worry, I'll numb you first, not just pull out a needle and thread." Jessi laughed a little with you, some of the tension leaving her face. "I'll be right back." It took about a minute to run out and grab your medical bag. Considering that you would be stitching up hockey players on a pretty regular basis, you had all the necessary equipment to throw a couple on Jessi's thumb. You moved her over to the small table in the kitchen that was cleared off and cleaned her cut thoroughly before numbing the area so she wouldn't feel a thing and getting to work. "How did you cut your thumb? A finger I can see, but your thumb?" You didn't really need to know though you wanted to take her mind off of things, as she was staring at you intently along with Jamie and Jordie.

 "I was washing the last few things and didn't realize I'd left a knife in the water."  By the time she answered you, you had all three stitches in. "Wait, you're done already? How did you do that so fast?"

 "Practice, plus I sort of need to be fast to get these two back on the ice."

 "I've never had anyone stitch me that quick before," Jordie commented as you wrapped up Jessi's thumb. You chanced a look at Jamie, whose warm brown eyes were even wider than normal watching you.

 "You're good to go, though you're done in the kitchen for the night. Keep that dry for forty-eight hours if possible. You'll need to keep them in for about a week to ten days. Your doctor can take them out for you if you want, or I can just pop over some night if you want."

 "Could you? I mean that would be great and so much easier with getting things ready to go to Vancouver, though you have to promise to come over before that. I owe you more than just dinner tonight." It was then that you realized no one else had shown up yet and you were beginning to wonder if Jamie had forced these two to invite you over for other reasons.

 "You don't owe me anything," you commented cleaning up the table and putting things back in your med bag. "Though I feel like I must have got the time wrong. Was I early?"

 "No, not at all. I wanted you to come early," Jessi answered. "I was hoping we could get to know each other better, though I didn't think that we would bond over you stitching me up." You both chuckled at that. "I'm definitely glad you were here though."

 "Well, since I'm here, put me to work. What else needs to be done before people get here?" Jessi sent Jordie and Jamie out to man the grill, as you finished helping her get all the side dishes ready. Almost everything was ready, there were just a few last-minute things that you were able to do for her. The two of you developed a fast friendship and you were somewhat disappointed that she would be leaving in a few short weeks, though she assured you most of the girls on the team were sweethearts and that you'd probably get along with them. She was in the middle of telling you about Tyler's latest girlfriend when the two walked in, followed by another blonde who you didn't know.

 "You can start the party now that I'm here," Tyler stated as he entered the house. This first impression of him told you he was going to be a handful if he ever got an injury. "Hello, gorgeous," he said kissing Jessi on the cheek as he came in. "And you must be the beautiful new doctor I heard a thing or two about." Tyler made his way over to you, kissing your cheek just as he did Jessi's. The boy was obviously a notorious flirt.

 "Well, I hope it was all good."

 "If it wasn't, I'll throw hands with whoever said anything bad. Well, make that a hand and some fingers since you already had to use your skills on me." Jessi told Tyler, and it was then that you noticed she'd not greeted either Tyler's girlfriend or the woman that came with them.

 "Already putting the good doctor to work?"

 "Yes, I cut my thumb," you stood there awkwardly awaiting an introduction to either of the women while Tyler and Jessi continued their conversation. "But (Y/N) here stitched me up in seconds literally. You guys are lucky to have her."

 "Ah, good with your hands I see," Tyler said with a wink towards you, and you knew your first assessment of him was correct; he was a flirt. "And you make house calls it seems."

 "Not to your place," Jamie's booming voice came from the doorway, making you jump a little.

 "You're no fun Chubbs," Tyler pouted, while a serious looked crossed Jamie's face. You'd seen it numerous times when he was younger. It was a warning, that someone, this time Tyler, had pushed the issue too far and if it continued, he'd end up paying for it. Part of you wondered if he still had that death glare on the ice.

 You were saved from it going any further when the doorbell rang and more people arrived. It ended up being the last five people for the dinner party, Alexander Radulov, Ben Bishop and his wife Andrea, and Jason Dickinson and his girlfriend Alandra. Jessi introduced you to all of them, yet still overlooked Tyler's girlfriend and friend. If she hadn't mentioned before he arrived that it was his girlfriend coming; you would've thought she was just the flavor of the week.

  All the guys, and the two nameless women, headed out to the patio, while you, Jessi, Andrea, and Alandra stayed inside. You waited what you thought was an appropriate time, before saying anything. "So, I have to ask…um Tyler's girlfriend and the other one…was there a reason you didn't introduce us?"

 "I don't like her," Jessi stated so matter of factly, that your jaw almost dropped. "Her name is Sara and she's only dating Tyler because she after his money." You thought she was done but she kept going. "And if she has her way, her friend will get her hooks into Jamie." You turned to look outside, where you found the other blonde watching Jamie flip steaks on the grill. She was definitely trying to flirt with him, it was obvious even from your view in the kitchen. Your gaze was so locked in on the two that it startled you when Jessi said, "Her name is Caitlyn." The name seemed to fit her. You knew nothing about her, yet you found yourself disliking her just for her name alone. Well, that and how she just nonchalantly stroked Jamie's bicep just now. "And I think it's time we see how those steaks are coming."

 Jessi grabbed your hand and led you outside, along with Andrea and Alandra. "Hey babe, we're almost ready here," Jordie told you all. "How about you guys?"

 "Just need to fix a few things on the table and we'll be good. I'll be right back." She ran inside, leaving you to seethe over the blonde Caitlyn flirting with Jamie. You closed your eyes blinking hard. Why did you care if she had her sights set on him? It would serve him right to get a taste of his own medicine, wouldn't it? You inhaled deeply. You weren't that person anymore, there was no reason to get back at Jamie Benn. You'd done that in high school, or at least your sixteen-year-old summation of getting back at him had, and look what it got you. Nothing, that's what. While you'd never fully trust Jamie again, you didn't wish him ill will; you were past that.

 "You should really go save him, you know?" Andrea Bishop whispered softly to you, and you quirked your brow at her. "Jess told us you grew up with Jordie and Jamie. She'll probably back off if you go talk to him instead of us."

 "Oh, I don't know."

 "I'm sure he'll be extremely grateful." Did it matter if he was? Of course, you wanted your relationship, or at least your working relationship, to be amicable but did it need to be anything more? Helping him didn't mean that it had to be, the rational side of you reasoned. You nodded to Andrea, then headed over to Jamie.

 "I hope you remember how I like mine done." Oh lord, you didn't mean it to come out like that. It seemed too intimate. Jamie, eyes sought yours as soon as the words left your mouth. "The steaks…I meant the steaks."

 His eyes softened and his lips quirked up into that smile. The one that always seemed to melt your heart. "Medium well." He was right, of course. "I haven't forgotten anything that you like." The innuendo hung in the air, which seemed to suddenly grow thick, making it hard to breathe.

 "So, like I was saying…" Caitlyn started, but Jamie simply turned towards you and gave you his full attention.

 "How's Justin been? I haven't caught up with him in a couple years."

 "He's good, married now."

 "Jamie, did you know…" Caitlyn tried yet again.

 "I heard that he did, to Alyssa Barnhart right? How's she for a sister-in-law?" Alyssa had honestly been a pain in your ass during high school. When you were promoted to captain of the cheerleading squad instead of her she'd made it her mission to make your world a living nightmare.

 "She's grown up a lot, thank god. If she was still the same girl she was from high school, I think I would have to disown Justin."

 Caitlyn totally abandoned Jamie, after making another attempt at stealing his attention and him blatantly ignoring her. Jamie leaned down to whisper in your ear. "Thank you, I thought I was going to have to light myself on fire to get her away from me." His warm breath tickled your ear and sent goose pimples rising on your flesh.

 "Please don't do that. I've already had to use my suture skills tonight. I do not need to be treating third-degree burns for anything." You both laughed at the comment and fell into an easy conversation as he finished grilling, which didn't take him more than five minutes. But it was five minutes that you truly enjoyed in his company, and that was the most disturbing part.

 At dinner, you found yourself seated beside him thanks to some suspicious place cards making their way onto the table. Alandra was on your other side, so you were able to get to know her much better. Both she and Andrea went out of their way to make you feel like part of the group and it seemed as though the three of you were going to be great friends, with Jessi bonding you all together.

 By the time dessert was served, you found yourself smiling and laughing with Jamie more than you could've ever imagined. "I'm told that this is the best cake in Canada." Jessi declared as Jordie brought in the confection that you made. "I'm dying to taste it. Thank you (Y/N) for bringing this."

 You blushed at her praise, for you didn't feel that it was that special of cake to warrant such praise. "It's honestly the best cake I've ever had," Jamie said, and you saw Caitlyn whisper something to Sara and you knew it had to be some devious remark. She was acting like a teenager, but then maybe she still was. You had no idea what her age was.

 Jessi went to cut the cake, while Sara stood up from the table at the same time. "Here let me help you," Sara offered, then tipped her wine glass purposely. It was headed straight for the cake, but Jamie quickly scooped it up before the glass could fall, though the wine did go everywhere on the table. You quickly grabbed your napkin before it could spill on Jamie's lap, the action putting your hand right in front of his crotch. Your fingers were a hair's breadth away from touching him and you felt heat infuse your cheeks. Get it together, you told yourself. You're a doctor. It's not like you haven't seen or touched a man's penis before. You tried to regain your composure, then finished wiping up the mess.

 "That was close," Jordie called out, and you weren't sure if he was referring to Jamie saving the cake or you almost touching his brother's cock.

 "Maybe I should just cut that in the kitchen," Jessi said taking the cake from Jamie and moving to the island.

 "I'll help you," you announced, following her so that you could get a little breathing room from Jamie. You could hear the conversation pick back up in the dining room, as you went to help your new friend.

 "I loathe that girl," Jessi muttered the moment the two of you were alone.

 "Which one?"

 "Both," you both burst into a fit of giggles. "If Tyler wasn't like a brother to Jordie and Jamie, there would be no way either girl would be in my house right now." You understood her plight as you'd felt that way when Justin had announced he was dating Alyssa. Thankfully, she'd at least grown-up, whereas these two had a lot more of that left to do. "You know she dumped that glass on purpose because Jamie's paying attention to you and not her friend."

 "I'm pretty sure they planned it together."

 "True." You sliced another piece of cake as Jessi held out a plate for you to put it on. "Can I ask you something?"

 "Sure."

 "What happened between you and Jamie?" It was the last question you expected and something must have shown on your face to say so. "I only ask because you two seem perfect together." You'd thought that too once, but that seemed like a lifetime ago.

 "It's complicated," you finally told her.

 "Hmm, Jamie said the same thing when I asked him before you came tonight." You cut into the cake with a little more force than necessary. It was sort of symbolic for Jamie had pretty much sliced through your heart all those years ago, though time had seemed to mend some of it; there were still some residual scarring left. "I get it," Jessi said. "But people change (Y/N). They make mistakes and they learn from them. They become better people. I know it's not something you want to hear, but I think Jamie learned a lot from whatever happened. Maybe it's time to bury the past and make a fresh start." She picked up a couple pieces of cake then started to head back to the dining room. "Just food for thought." It was more than just food for thought. It was a seven-course meal and you weren't sure you were even hungry. As if to prove you wrong, your stomach growled then.  

[beholdme]

All the Many Shades of Gerry - Chapter 19

Chapters: 19/19

Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist

Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay, Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Sasha James, Gertrude Robinson, Elias Bouchard

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Library AU, Librarian Jon, Artist Gerry, Trans Male Character, Trans Martin Blackwood, Canon Asexual Character, Asexual Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Ace Subtype - Sex Positive, Polyamory, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romantic Fluff, Falling In Love, Boys in Skirts, Kissing, Demisexual Gerard Keay, Minor Character Death, Past Character Death, Canon-Typical Child Neglect, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Flirting, Minor Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Adventures in Hair Dying, Happy Ending, Banter, Gerry has a lot of sass, Gerard Keay is Morticia Adams, Jon is a very grumpy Librarian, Martin adores them anyway.

Summary: In which Gerry is a kaleidoscope and Jon and Martin can’t help falling in love with him.

He happens to love them back.

Find it on Ao3

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

"It’s skew.”

“Come and straighten it, then.”

“I’m spotting, you’re hanging.”

Gerry growls at him. Jon looks rather pleased about it.

Martin, who doesn’t want Gerry to hit their infuriating lover with a hammer, goes over to where he’s hanging the massive painting and tilts it minutely to the left. “Better?”

“Perfect!” Jon pronounces, clapping his hands.

Through some sort of witchcraft, the artist has hung the painting in such a position that it emulates where a window would be in a traditional room. It opens up the space in such a way that it seems less like a store room, and far more like a creative space that someone would actually enjoy spending time in.

The lightning helps too, warm light filtering from the ceiling and corner lamps, and LCD strips illuminating the bookshelves from inside.

All in all, considering this was a utilitarian storage space just a few weeks ago, it seems like a downright miracle.

The three of them lean back against Jon's desk, free of clutter for the first and only time in its life. The bookshelves are empty, and except for his new painting, so are the walls.

The piano occupies one wall, and Gerry hopes to hear it being played often.

Jon reaches out and takes Gerry's hand, drawing them close together affectionately. "How long have you been planning for us to move in?"

"Well, I wasn't planning, per se. Only considering the possibility." Gerry smirks confidently. "I know we're all a little bizarre, but this is the course of most relationships, and we could only spend so much time sleeping over before paying for three flats became superfluous."

"Besides," Martin continues for him. "There's no harm in planning for something you hope will happen eventually. Especially when your new flatmates will be this wildly good looking."

He gestures to himself dramatically, doing a small turn in place. Gerry and Jon laugh with him happily, until he stumbles back into Gerry's side, where he gets wrapped up under an arm.

"So do you like your new space, Jon?" Gerry cuddles around him, twisting the three of them into an odd sort of snuggle pretzel.

"I absolutely adore it." Jon utters happily, sighing in contentment as they all lean there together.

***

At the end of June, Jon hands over his keys and the three of them officially live together.

There's still a lot of settling to be done, even though they've been moving in together for almost six weeks by that point. The boxes are unpacked, but they still need to make it a comfortable home for all of them, a certainty that comes only with time.

Martin and Jon both love their studies, a matching pair that look and feel completely opposite.

Martin opts for a small bedroom, keeping the bed from his old flat, his painting hung opposite. He finds an antique writing desk at a charity store, and installs it for writing poetry or working on his laptop in the evenings.

He adorns the walls with pictures and posters, and random pieces of poetry and music that he loves.

It's a cozy space that he adores, even though he opts to sleep in the master bedroom almost always. The option makes him feel like he has his own breathing room, even if he rarely needs it.

Jon's is more of a true study, with a large desk taking up the majority of the space. His walls are lined with shelves, and he promptly fills them with books and knickknacks. The odd collection includes first edition classics, next to mass market paperbacks and music books, with non-fiction nature and animal books scattered throughout. These are interwoven with seashells, tiny mechanical statues and several flowers preserved in resin, gifts from Martin throughout their relationship.

On the wall above the piano, he hangs framed photos of his parents, himself with Gerry as a teen, and all three of them together as adults. The photo he once took of Martin, Gerry and Tim hangs right in the centre, all his favorite humans in one frame. He hangs the sketch of him and Martin in the park from when they were all courting, as well as the others he has stolen from Gerry over time.

Gerry embraces the chaos and upheaval as if it's all he ever wanted, and really, it is. A home, with the people he loves, noisy and frenetic, loving and comfortable.

In the middle of July, he quits his job at the bar in the middle of a shift, with very little contemplation or preamble.

He smiles at his lovers radiantly when he comes through the door several hours early to find them watching a movie.

"What happened?" Martin queries, clear concern lining his expressive face.

"I quit." Gerry flops down between them, snuggling down immediately.

"But why?" Presses a sleepy Jon, trying to hide a yawn behind his hand.

Gerry shrugs. "I got the job because I was bored, essentially. I wanted to interact with interesting people and I didn't know anyone in London anymore. But tonight I realized how badly I wanted to be right here, with you two." He smiles at them, trying to explain without conveying too many of his sappy emotions. "l honestly couldn't think of one reason to be working at midnight on a Saturday, instead of at home, or out on a date, or literally anything else we could be doing together. So I quit."

"Oh Gerry." Jon whispers, both of them carefully tuned to his moods, regardless of his attempts at seeming unconcerned.

"I don't feel the need to fill my time and chase inspiration anymore. I just want to be with you. Both of you." He kisses first Martin's hand, then Jon's, grinning at them all the way.

"I love you. I'm happy you're home." Jon whispers to him, sleepy and content.

Martin hums an agreement, squeezing his hand and smiling down at him lovingly.

They watch their movie and then go to bed all together, and Gerry knows he's made the best choice of his life.

***

Gerry finds himself with an odd amount of time on his hands while his partners go to work during the day, like normal people.

He decides to take on several art commissions from clients he's actually interested in working for, which thrills Gertrude. He doesn't think it entirely makes up for his boyfriend hitting Peter Lukas in the middle of a showcase, but it's a start.

He also indulges himself and buys a new tattoo machine.

He's not really interested in taking clients again, but… well, he wants it and so he gets it. If it's only to use on himself or the occasional visitor, then that's fine by him.

"You have everything you need to give tattoos now, right?" Martin asks him one early morning.

Gerry is still mostly asleep, clutching a cup of tea and petting Saturn where he perches on his lap. He blinks at Martin, confused.

"I think so. I mean, I haven't used my machine yet, but there's really only one way to test it out." Gerry tilts his head curiously, sunlight glittering in his hair, dyed back to its original black. "Why do you ask?"

"Do you want to give me one?" Martin grins at him a bit shyly.

Gerry sits up straight, instantly wide awake. "Yes. So much."

Martin laughs warmly. "You have the same look on your face that Luna gets when we take out the catnip toys."

Uncaring about how eager he might look, Gerry shoos Saturn to go over and kneel by Martin. "I would be honored to have your tattoo virginity. Do you want me to draw something?"

"Yes," Martin tells him with a grin, "that's exactly what I want. A Gerry Delano original, right on my skin."

"What do you want it to be?" Gerry's teal eyes are bright and slightly manic, and Martin glories in the sensation of producing a new reaction in his lover.

"It's entirely up to you." He responds, pressing a firm kiss to Gerry's mouth. "I want to see what makes you think of me."

"Oh, I like it." He declares, jumping up and going off to find a sketchbook.

Martin sips his tea and smiles to himself, very pleased indeed.

***

"You're just going to let him give you whatever he wants to?" Jon blanches when Martin tells him.

"Relax Jon, it's Gerry, not some evil mastermind. He'll draw something I like. And if I don't, it's not hard, I just tell him no."

Jon, who rather considers that Gerry is an evil mastermind, does not look convinced. "But…"

"Hush, love." Martin tells him firmly.

Gerry, drawing under the window nearby, takes no notice of them. He has a focused frown on his face as he concentrates on the careful lines appearing on his page.

Martin considers it a rare pleasure to just watch him draw, and tries to guess what might be forming on the page before him.

He completely trusts that Gerry knows him exactly well enough to draw him the perfect tattoo. And then he can have his own piece of Gerry, inked right into his skin.

When he sits back down with Jon and Martin a little later, he has a smudge of charcoal above his eyebrow, and Martin gently rubs it away before Gerry has a chance to start talking. He blushes quite uncharacteristically, and Martin knows it means he's been swirling in the frantic rush of his own creativity.

"So I have a proposal for you." Gerry starts, body humming with excitement. "A tattoo in two parts, if you will."

"Yeah?" Martin encourages him, just as interested.

Gerry collects Martin's hand in both of his own, running a thumb over a spot on his wrist. It's the same place that Jon has his own tattoo, which immediately makes Martin pleased. "A small crescent moon, right here. The placement to match with Jon, the symbol for Luna."

Gerry pushes a scrap of paper forward, an elegant crescent moon filling space.

"For the other…" Gerry turns over the larger page, handing it to Martin.

There's an immeasurable beat of silence as Martin contemplates the design before him. A set of waxing and waning moons, connected by a series of dots, lines and more dots making a background of geometric shapes.

He… feels it. He understands now, what Jon had meant, when he described seeing the inspiration for his own tattoo for the first time. It's a representation of some inner part of himself, normally hidden from the world, but carefully unearthed for his lovers, over the course of many months and endless intimacy.

"Martin?" Gerry entreats, leaning minutely closer to him.

"I love it." He whispers, pulling the goth over to kiss him fiercely. They tangle together pleasantly, for several moments, everything else falling away as they get absorbed in each other.

"Not that anyone asked me, but I like it as well." Jon informs them pertly.

"Your opinion is as important to us as ever, baby." Gerry replies, grinning proudly. He turns back to Martin. "Where do you want it?"

Martin considers for a moment, before getting up and pulling off his shirt and jumper, leaving himself bare from the waist up. He still feels a small pang of shyness to be naked in any way, but confidence born of time and perspective drown most of it away now.

He and Gerry stand facing each other. Martin lifts the other man's hand, placing it on his sternum, over his softly pounding heart.

"Right here?" Gerry asks, voice soft.

"Right here." Martin affirms.

***

In the end, Gerry takes them over to Melanie's tattoo shop to work on Martin. He lists a number of reasons, but really, he finds a certain amount of comfort working under the stark lights and amid the buzzing of other machines.

They do the small tattoo first, and Martin sits for it exceptionally well.

Before Gerry starts the sternum piece, an endeavor of several hours, Georgie arrives and drags Jon off to drink coffee and catch up in a nearby coffee shop. Melanie goes into the next room to take another client, and Gerry and Martin are left alone together.

"Ready, love?" Gerry asks as he finishes placing the stencil, bisecting his chest.

"I'm nervous," Martin confesses softly.

Gerry doesn't move his gloved hands, not wanting to contaminate them, but he does press their foreheads together gently, taking a moment to sooth Martin with his companionship.

"Do you want to take a break? You can just sit with the stencil for a while." Gerry leans forward and places a swift kiss on Martin's nose, before retreating from his personal space.

"No, I'm ready." He smiles, biting his lip a little. "I just- I feel like this is a big moment, you know?"

"It is. You're embracing who you really are." Gerry runs a finger along one of Martin's chest scars, considering. "You're choosing to love yourself instead of just tolerating him."

"How can you always tell?" Martin whispers the words, voice heavy with emotion. "How can you put things into words like that, so simply."

"I know you. You think I don't see when you avoid looking in the mirror. You hope I don't notice that you used to hate being naked, even with Jon and I." Gerry pauses, tripping Martin's head up with the tip of a finger, minimizing contact still. "But I see you, Martin. I love you just the way you are. And I want you to love yourself just the same. I'll tell you everyday, show you constantly, if I need to."

Martin is crying for real now, tears streaming down his face. Gerry abandons his sterility, pulling Martin into his arms. He rocks his lover gently, and they are just together for a moment, no need to rush, no distractions. Just them, and the comfort they find in each other.

"I love you too." Martin tells him simply, when they pull apart.

"Good," Gerry grins, kissing him thoroughly, the taste of salty tears on his lips. He stands, pulling off his ruined gloves and going to wash his hands again.

Martin takes a sip of the tea Jon made him before he left, smiling because Jon always makes it with a little more sugar than he allows himself. "I'm ready."

When Jon returns, they're just finished up, the last few moments of buzzing filling the air. He watches them together, artist and canvas, and loves them fiercely.

"How was coffee with Georgie?" Martin queries, taking his offered hand.

Jon relays the details as Gerry finishes, and then cleans up.

Jon and Gerry stand on either side of Martin in the mirror as he looks at it for the first time. Martin nods wildly, when Jon asks if he likes it, and they hug him from either side as he sheds a few more tears.

Jon had once thought that tattoos seemed very boring in comparison to Gerry's normal work, but seeing the design come alive on Martin's skin, full of feeling and depth, he can't help but think of it as the best thing his lover has ever done. Gerry can't help but agree.

"Let's go to the park!" Martin exclaims as they leave, after saying their goodbyes to Georgie and Melanie.

"The park?" Jon asks, laughing. "It's so windy."

"I don't care, I want to feed the ducks and eat ice cream with my boyfriends." He insists, giddy with happiness and adrenaline.

"Okay, but you're picking the flavours this time." Gerry says, taking one of Martin's hands. Jon takes the other.

"Deal."

***

Jon and Gerry find themselves watching Martin once again feed ducks as they sit beneath a tree, more than a year after the very first time.

"Why don't we come to the park more often?" Jon asks from where he reclines between Gerry's long legs.

His arms snake around his waist, and Jon feels very content and comfortable, despite the cutting wind.

"Because," Gerry kisses under an ear softly, "we live in England and it rains more than 100 days a year."

"He looks so happy here." They watch as Martin stoops to offer a piece of bread to a curious toddler. The child is inordinately pleased, and her mother watches on gratefully from nearby as they feed the rowdy birds together.

"Are you happy?" Gerry asks him, unexpectedly serious. "With your life, with me?"

"Gerry! Of course I'm happy with you." Jon sits up, turning in the tangle of Gerry's limbs to face him.

"I'm only checking on you." He runs a gentle finger down Jon's face, then cups his cheek affectionately. "I know how much stress work puts you under and I hate that for you."

Jon looks away from his intent gaze, fiddling with his fingers nervously. "Well, yeah. My job sucks. The worst part is, I love being a librarian! Being surrounded by books, helping people choose something to read or guiding them with their research. But that's so little of my job now, and Elias just finds new and interesting ways to put pressure on me. But I'm not qualified and I know I probably won't get another job in a library, especially not without a glowing recommendation from Elias-"

"And we both know that's never going to happen." Gerry finishes for him.

Jon nods and they just sit together a moment. Gerry lifts one of his hands and kisses each of his fingers and then his palm, until Jon blushes and smiles at him.

"I know you think it's annoying, so you keep your feelings about work inside, a lot of the time. I don't want you to do that anymore, okay? If you have a terrible job, then we all carry that."

"But-"

"Nope, no buts. We are all partners. That means more then dinner dates and living together and sex."

"And punching rich fuckers who hurt our Martin."

Gerry laughs, still reveling in Jon's unexpected protectiveness- and the violent manifestation of it. "Yes, that too. There will be other jobs, for all of us, probably. But our relationship, the three of us. We're forever."

"Like those tattoos that you gave Martin today?" Jon asks, pert glint in his eye.

"Yes, much like that." He smirks brazenly back. "And the one I gave you, and the ones I've given myself, over the years."

Gerry continues, squeezing Jon's hand, "I know that the idea of not being able to provide for yourself scares you, but we're in this together now. You don't have to cling to a job that you hate in case you're left without one at all."

"I-" Jon looks away, uncomfortable to be so well understood. Gerry stits with him, energy easy between them, just holding his hand, loving and supportive.

"I have been considering, that is, maybe becoming a school teacher." The confession is halting, and he offers it with a small shy smile.

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Gerry responds, gentle encouragement colouring his voice.

"I would probably have to go back to school for a year. Get a post-grad in Education. I wouldn't be working for most of that time, and my savings will only go so far, even without having to pay rent." Jon whispers, as if the words will be any less offensive to him if they are quiet.

"You know I can float you, especially for just a year. And Martin too."

"It just doesn't seem fair to burden you with that."

"It's not a burden, it's a part of life. You think you're so old, that you should be settled, but you're barely 30, Jon. You still have time to make new life choices occasionally, and the point of being in a relationship is that you let us support you every now and then." Gerry is earnest and focused, and Jon can't help but believe him, long fingers cupping his face and teal eyes holding his gaze.

Martin arrives then, plonking down next to Jon and giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"What are we talking about then? Such serious faces."

Gerry nudges Jon, who haltingly offers Martin the same idea he told Gerry.

“Oh, I think that’s a great idea.” He says, eyes alight. “Like, high schoolers, right?”

“Yes, of course. Anyone under 10 is an alien and I don’t want to hear any arguments.”

They laugh at him, their contentment surrounding him warmly.

"You don't have to quit right away." Martin offers. "There are plenty of part time degree programs, and you have to apply first. It all takes time."

"You seem pretty clued up about it." Jon observes, narrowing his eyes at Martin suspiciously.

"Well, if you must know. I've been thinking about getting a business degree."

"Oh my God! Martin, how is this the first we're hearing about this?" Gerry demands, sitting up straight.

"I didn't want it to be a thing until I was sure, and the move was over." He confesses, "It's gonna take a lot of my free time and I wanted to discuss that with you both carefully."

"I'm gonna be living with two thirty year old students." Gerry mutters, shocked. He leans back against the tree again, running his fingers through his long hair.

"I haven't agreed yet-" Jon starts.

Martin speaks up at the same time. "You could get a degree too. We could all be students together."

"No, but thanks anyway." Gerry shudders, grimacing. He perks right back up. "I'll be your sexy study partner though."

"Gerard!" Jon cries, scandalised.

Gerry shakes his head. "As if I've never felt you up while you were trying to study for a test."

"Exactly!" Even Jon struggles to keep up his prim expression at that, and they tumble into pleasant laughter together.

"So," Martin hazards, "are we gonna do this?"

"Well, if you're going to. I suppose we should both get it done at the same time." Jon responds, still hesitant but clearly warming to the idea. "You're really okay with this, Gerry?"

Gerry beams at them both, a soft, special look in his eyes. "I'm more than okay with anything you want to do with your lives. In case you haven't noticed, I'm really very fond of you both."

Jon leans forward in the circle of Gerry's legs, pressing their lips together in a gentle kiss, before turning back to lay against his chest.

Martin shifts around to lean into his side, and Gerry tucks one arm around him, the other around Jon. Jon reaches out to take one of Martin's hands, and the three of them sit wrapped up together.

As ever, their own mutual magnetism draws them forever closer and closer, binding them to one another in an inexplicable tangle of love and affection.

"Do you think it will always be like this, between us?" Martin whispers gently, as the sun begins to set and the landscape sets ablaze before them.

"Probably not," Jon responds, voice warm and content. "Life will keep shifting like a tide, and we'll move with it, but the great thing about us is- we're moored together. Nothing can keep us apart, because what we have is stronger than whatever shifts and eddies might try to take us away."

"The gravity between us is fiercer than any storm, any disaster that might try to shake us." Gerry picks up Jon's train of thought, pulling them both minutely closer.

"Good," Martin says simply, fiercely in love and the happiest he's ever felt.

They watch the sun as it drops below the horizon, sometimes quiet and occasionally sharing some errant thought or another.

They eat ice cream on the way home, holding hands and laughing.

It's warm, and soft and peaceful.

And they're all, finally, home.

[stars-in-my-universe]

Every Lie That You Told Prt.3-Tyler Seguin

Note: Part 3 everyone! I appreciate all of your guy’s feedback so much, I didn’t expect you guys to love this series as much as you guys do! Unfortunately there will be one more part after this and that’ll be a wrap. Please continue with the feedback and the love, you all are great! Im sorry if this is trash, I hope it’s not but if it is feel free to let me know! 

Warnings: Smut and cussing. 

Part 1

Part 2

“Fuck Tyler,” your hips immediately shot up from the bed as he had slide two fingers into you making your thighs shake a bit. You two had been going at it for awhile now, he had invited you over this morning after you had come back from a short graveyard shift. You two had slept for a couple of hours and you had woken up to him kissing your neck and grinding against your ass, hard on very apparent. 

Between the heated kisses and the lingering hands it all lead into him sliding into you and both of you cumming with each other and then him sliding down your body, making you cum again with just his tongue. You were on your third orgasm now as you could feel the pressure in your lower tummy increase.

“Tyler, you’re gonna make me cum.” You were arching your back, trying to get his fingers deeper but also trying to wiggle away, the attention on your sore cunt all too much. 

“That’s the plan baby,”

You risked a look up at him and saw him staring down at where his fingers were disappearing into you, eyebrows raised and the sound of your wetness echoing throughout the room. You could feel it in your body, down your spine all the way to your toes, the warmth of the orgasm spreading through you. It was a slow one, one that spread through your bones and took over making your legs shake and you gasp out gripping onto whatever you can. 

When you reopened your eyes Tyler was laying next to you smiling, both of you panting hard. You smiled back at him, but groaned when you heard the dogs bark outside the door.

“It’s okay, I got it. Take a nap, I’ll come Back up when I’m done letting them out.” You sighed as he leaned over to kiss you and you watched as he got up sliding on a pair of shorts, and leaving the room.You couldn’t help but admire the tattoos on his arms and chest the way his back muscles moved when he put the shorts on made your thighs clench together. You had just cum back to back and yet you still wanted more. He sent you a smirk and made his way out of the room whistling for the dogs to follow him. 

Even though You were still in your post orgasm state  you knew in the back of your mind you should’ve ended this awhile go. After he had came to Your apartment that night after your date, the argument you two had escalating into him going down on you and then proceeding to make you cum on your kitchen table then your couch, then ending up in bed;  he had stayed over and woke you up with breakfast. 

He then proceeded to kiss you goodbye and told you he’d be back later on tonight which he kept his word. You realized this was as close to a relationship You were going to get with him right now and you couldn’t lie, it made you forget about his fear of commitment.

It had only been about two weeks but His phone was also never Blowing up anymore, he would still go out but he was never seen with a girl in his lap and you hadn’t seen the cute Blonde hanging out with him either. He may not have fully Committed to you but you could see the small signs that showed he was at least going to try until maybe he was ready. And you were debating if you should hang on to that a little longer or just leave. 

You were shaken out of your thoughts when the door opened again and cash jumped on the bed, the black lab immediately licking your face and making you squeal. Where as Gerry was Tyler’s favorite no matter what he said, he was, cash and Marshall always had a soft spot for you and you adored both of them to no end, to the point where you made Tyler put cash on a diet so he could lose weight.

“Sorry he beat me up here. For a fat dog he sure can run.”

You pouted at Him.

“Don’t call him fat you’re going to give him a complex.” Tyler laughed and shook his head, sitting down next to you on the bed. Cash laid happily in front of you as you pet the dog’s fur and rubbed his ears. You sighed as you felt Tyler’s finger trace over your bare shoulder and down your back.

“So. There was something I wanted to ask you.” You looked over at Tyler, his curls a mess, his lips a dark Pink and his shirtless chest on display, the tattoos covered in the light layer of sweat from your recent activities.

“Yes?”

“So this Thursday is casino night, for the Stars. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me, as my date?”

You stared at him wide-eyed. This was new; he never really asked you out anywhere, this was a formal event. His teammates and their wives and girlfriends would be there.

“I mean if you don’t work, if you do that’s cool to- it’s fine. I’m just-“ you nodded, you could tell with your lack of answer he was getting nervous. No one ever really said no to Tyler Seguin, and today was no different. 

“Yeah, I’ll go with you.” You watched as smile

Slowly Make its way on his face. His cheeks and ears had a light flush to them making you bite your lip.

“Just text me a time I should be ready by and what color I should wear.” Tyler shook his head.

“Send me your sizes for shoes and dresses and I’ll grab everything else.”

You gave him a weary look. You hated when he bought you stuff.

“It’s just one night and I did invite you. Come on, y/n.” You sighed and nodded, you might as well considering all that he’s put you through.

“Alright fine, you win Seguin. Now move, I  gotta get up and go home. I got work early tomorrow!” You let out a squeal as he grabbed your ankle sliding you to the edge of the bed and without blinking he lifted you onto him, his hands supporting your butt and your arms immediately Going around his neck.

“But if we shower together...we can save water and time.” You rolled your eyes but as you felt the hard on very apparently against you’re thigh how could you say no?

X-x 

“Can I get an upside down iced Machiato please?” You ordered your drink and walked over to the side counter of the Starbucks to wait for your name to be called. 

You didn’t have much plans today, just wanted to grab a quick coffee and maybe go on a target run for the basic necessities. The thing is the universe had a funny way of switching up your plans.

“It’s you.” You turned around when you heard a voice, unsure if they were talking to you or someone else. But as soon as you saw the blonde you knew, she was definitely talking to you. 

“You’re Chelsea.” It wasn’t a question, you remembered the blonde.

“Yeah, you’re y/n. How could I forget?” You winced at her words. Where the hell was your drink? 

You didn’t really Know what to say, you knew Tyler hadn’t called her in awhile, considering he had been with you almost every other night. 

“You think you did it don’t you?” You gave her a curious look.

“Excuse me?” She was angry, the fire in her eyes could not be mistaken for anything else.

“You think you tamed him, that he’s finally ready to settle down. Let me guess, did he go over to your apartment and tell you how he’s not ready for commitment but if he was he’d be in a relationship with you?” You felt your heart drop to your stomach. He had a girlfriend. Fuck boy. You could feel the words sliding in and out of your mind.

“You’re the reason why he called us off though, you’re no different though Y/n. We’re pretty much the same, you want him, I want him. But he’s never going to change and you know that. He’s never going to grow up.” There it was, all the insecurities you had brushed off, all your fears were standing right in front of you in the Starbucks of downtown Dallas, in the form of a cute little blonde.

“I did everything right, I cooked for

Him after his road trips, I took care of the dogs, I did whatever he wanted, and then he shows up

To your apartment begging for you to not end it-“ 

“How do you know that-'' she let out  a sick laugh. The one that you knew people used even though nothing was really funny.

“Oh sweetie, you don’t think he ended it right away did you? He came over after he left you, I could smell someone else’s body spray on him. I begged him to not end it, it didn’t work clearly. But I did get to sleep With him one last time.”

You felt your blood run cold. Not even hours after you two had fucked, he had gone to a different girl and fucked her too. You could feel the air leave your lungs and all you wanted to do was get out of there.

“Let me guess y/n? He’s taking you to casino night, yeah he invited me weeks ago before he broke it off between us.” You wanted to throw up. Chelsea probably saw the disgust on your face because she shook her head and sighed.

“You don’t deserve him, especially because you’re never home. Why do you think he found me, he was single and So are you, but you’re not home enough to give Him the attention he needs. You know Tyler, you know how much he loves the attention and praise. Which is why it blows my Mind that he ended it.” At this point you justed wanted your drink and to get the hell out of there, you could feel your anxiety start to spike and the hurt run through you,

“Let Him go, Y/n. For good. End the arrangement you two have and let him find someone who can fulfill his needs. There’s a reason why he hasn’t settled down with you, if he hasn’t by now, he probably never will.” You could feel the sting of the tears in your eyes and you wanted nothing more then to go Home and never come out again. 

“Y/n!” The barista yelled out your name and without thinking  you grabbed the coffee off the counter and gave a glance back at Chelsea.

“It was nice to meet You again, have a good one Chelsea.”

You didn’t comment on anything she said nor did you give her a second glance as you pushed the door of the coffee shop open and practically sprinted out of there. 

The tears were falling freely now, your chest felt tight and you didn’t know how you were feeling. You were toying between the line of pissed off, embarrassed and hurt.  Your phone blared from your pocket making you jump and pull it out. Glaring at the screen you sent the call to voicemail, placing the phone on silent you knowing Tyler was going to keep calling and you just wanted to think things through before you completely Lost it. 

It was as if the universe thought today would be the day you ran into everyone because as you wiped your eyes trying to pull Yourself Together, you heard your name Being called. You looked up and you felt like you wanted to die. 

“Hey, Josh.” You smiled up at the man you never called back after the first date because you were too busy riding Tyler into next week.

“Hey! You never called me back after the zoo.”

The guilt settled in your stomach and you wanted nothing more for this day to be over. 

“Yeah sorry, I just- I uh, its complicated-“ 

“Wouldn’t have anything to do with the reason why you’re holding your untouched macchiato and crying?” You looked up at him and frowned, were you that obvious? Before you could stop

The tears were leaking out of the corner of your eyes.

“Oh no, hey I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it!” You sniffled a bit and shook Your head.

“It’s just a mess, I’m a mess. I should go.” You went to walk away but stopped when josh reached out and grabbed your wrist.

“Hey, let me take you to your apartment. I can just drop you off or if you want I don’t know I can stick around for a bit, you can tell me about him...as friends.” You looked up at Him, you knew you looked like a mess but the way josh was looking at you, his blue eyes wide with worry and his head cocked to the side a bit. Something about him made you not able to say no.

Which is how you ended up with your phone on your coffee table, the both of you sitting side by side on the couch, Josh listening intently as you spilled everything about Tyler. Every time your phone lit up You knew Tyler was either trying to call you or text you and you still had no desire to look at the texts or call back. 

You had gotten back to the apartment and changed into a sports bra with a tank top and yoga pants, it was your usual go to relaxation outfit. You had offered josh some food or drink which he declined, leaving you to sit next to Him, no distractions or barriers just you, this man you barely Knew and the truth. 

As you told Him everything, you felt stupid and even more embarrassed as to why you let this man run your life. Josh sighed at the end of it and shook His head.

“If you ask Me he doesn’t deserve you, at all. He has a real Good thing in front of him. However, I think your feelings run deeper then just sex and lust for Him.” You closed your eyes and put your head in your hands, you knew he was right.

“I’m sorry Josh, I just needed someone to talk to That didn’t know him, a clean slate to vent to.” He sent you a small smile and shrugged.

“I told You I liked you y/n but I knew neither of us were looking for Something serious. I don’t mind just being your friend, sometimes those are Harder to come By.” You looked up at him and set him a small smile.

“You can either let Him go, or tell him He needs to Make a decision. He can’t keep

Having his cake and eating it too.” You nodded knowing he was right but not really sure how you were willing to let him go, because deep down your feelings ran a lot deeper than even you expected. 

“I’m going to go to the restroom real quick feel free to eat any of my food or anything. It’s the least I can do for making you listen to me for the past two hours.” Josh let out a laugh and shook his head.

“You’re sweet, Y/n. You don’t need to repay in food.” You sent him a small smile and got up to go pee. 

You really did wish you could’ve kept the friendship with Tyler physical, just good sex. But of course your feelings decided why keep it easy?

And for a split second you let yourself imagine what it would be like if Tyler wasn’t in the picture and you had met Josh. Josh was perfect, he was sweet, kind, funny, athletic but in a different way rather than hockey. He knew what he wanted, he was open and willing to even just be your friend. In another life, you two would probably be able to work out. Unfortunately this life was different and nothing was that easy. 

You finished up in the bathroom, making sure to wipe your eyes and make yourself look a little less of a mess. 

“Alright now that you’ve heard my sob story it’s time for yours! Whose the-'' You weren’t prepared to walk into the living room and see Josh standing by the front door, leaning against the door frame looking completely calm and collected while the other body standing in the doorway looked the complete opposite.

Tyler stood there, glaring at Josh who was now looking at you. You could tell Tyler was trying to hold it together, the hockey player never got mad but the look on his face told you he was more than likely pissed the fuck off. You didn’t know what to feel , you were full of emotions but more importantly you could feel the anger, the rage toward Tyler and as to why he was even in your apartment. 

“Who the hell is this guy, Y/n? And why the hell haven’t you been answering your phone.” You glared at him, his gaze finally falling onto you. 

“Josh was just leaving, Tyler.” Josh shook his head and sent you a look.

“I’ll see you later Y/N. Call me if you need anything.” You sent him a grateful smile and watched him push past Tyler without even giving him a second glance. Tyler scoffed and walked fully inside your apartment still waiting for your answer.

“Are you going to tell me who this strange man was in your apartment?” You shook your head.

“He was a friend, but you Tyler. You know all about being friends, or having them if you will.” He looked thoroughly confused. 

“What the hell are you-”

“I ran into Chelsea, yeah Chelsea. You know the blonde friend you ended things with after you slept with me and after you went and stuck your dick in her!” The stinging was starting behind your eyes making them start to water. 

“Fuck, Y/n.” You shook your head.

“How many lies, Tyler? How many lies?” You stared at him, the silence deafening especially because he still hadn’t said anything. How many times were you going to do this to yourself, how many times were you going to believe him?

‘He doesn’t deserve you at all…’ Josh’s voice rang through your head. 

‘You can either let him go or tell him to make a choice.’ 

“Y/n, you have to let me explain all of this, please.” You knew what you needed to do, you knew what you had to say but thinking it and doing it were two completely different things. You could hear Tyler talking still, begging you to hear him out, but you didn’t know how much more your heart could take. Without any warning, you did what you had to, you took a breath and the next words that left your mouth surprised you but from the look on his face, you knew it surprised  him more.

“I’m sorry, Tyler. I can’t do this anymore.” He had stopped talking and was looking at you, wide eyed and desperate.

“We’re done.”

x-x

@futbolwithahintoftaurus @im-a-motherfuckin-mermaid @meishaabae @marsbleach @ruefulposts @fandom-before-blood66 @jesseswartzwelder

[niall-is-my-dream]

You & Me - Part Eight

2500 words

Sydney, Australia

Callie's POV

"This is perfect." You mumbled to Tara. You were sat on a massive seating area at the end of a boat, sipping a beer whilst sailing on Sydney Harbour.

"Apart from those Paps on that boat over there." She replied.

"Bastards never leave him alone do they? Suppose it's good press for tour, him hanging out on this boat with his friends and crew."

"Yeah I suppose. I found it so weird when I first started working for him. He's the first high profile person I've worked for. We were spotted coming out of a club in L.A. together, Paps had a field day. It was only when some fans kindly pointed out that I work for him and that not every girl he's seen with is romantic that they laid off me."

She's must have noticed your horrified face because she backed it up with. "Don't worry about it, ok?"

"To be honest I've only ever experienced the comments on Instagram. They actually weren't that bad, but then they just think I'm his guitar tech."

The two of you were sat alone, the first time in ages that you'd had a chance to talk to her privately.

"What's bothering you Callie?" She asked, looking around to make sure no one could hear.

 "Nothing, I'm fine."

 "You know you can talk to me."

 "I know I can."

 She looked at you, knowing you were lying about being fine. There was something bothering you, Saskia. You had stupidly stalked her Instagram and Twitter. She had so many subtle posts about Niall, the one she posted just yesterday had tipped your anxiety over the edge.

 "Saskia posted about being in an airport around the time we were flying here yesterday." You said, your voice low.

 "I know she did. I've been watching her activity."

 "You have?"

 "Yeah, it's my job. After Nialls email to management about her harassing him, I've been asked to watch her and her friends and see what they're up to."

 "It really got to me." You admitted.

 "I know this doesn't help, but just ignore her ok, don't check it again. I'll deal with it." She said as she tried to reassure you.

 "I think Niall is finding it stressful. He says it's just nerves for tour and the album release, but I know that's not just it."

You'd spoken about a lot of things when you'd been together on your 'first date' back in Sweden less than a week ago. Snuggled up in bed, having consumed pizza and beer you talked until nearly 1am. The 'what are we?' chat had happened and you'd both blushed when you admitted that you had been thinking about it a lot. 

Niall hadn't had a girlfriend in a few years, having just casually dated since then. He had first met up with Saskia back in December 2016 after a Jingle Bell Ball show. They knew some mutual musicians and had swapped numbers. It became apparent to him she was using him for attention when he was celebrating the success of slow hands. She posted numerous times on social media in May hinting about him and by June when she showed up at nearly all the summer shows he appeared in, he had had enough.

You were pleased that he had shared this information with you. He explained that he had told her after they first went out, that he didn't want anything serious with her. She obviously felt that he would fall for her and want something serious after a while, but of course that never happened.

Breaking things off with her at the end of June had been a relief for him. He didn't ghost her or anything nasty, he just suggested at their last meeting that they should go their separate ways. Of course this didn't go down well with her and she continued to text him almost everyday and then she turned up at rehearsals a month ago and then the Dublin show.

He showed you her messages, the latest one being sent to him that day, whilst you were in the hotel room together. She went from being sweet about him doing so well with his shows to being downright nasty that he had decided to end things with her. Thinking she was quite the catch, she didn't understand how her, a beautiful successful model had been dumped.

Niall hadn't replied to any of her messages for weeks. Choosing to ignore her and hoping she'd get the hint. But her appearance at his Dublin show had really shook him and that's when he decided to get management involved.

Sitting here with Tara and seeing Niall finally relaxing with his friends made you immensely happy. Tara's reassurance that Saskia was being watched and that management were dealing with it made you feel a bit better.

"You having another beer?" You asked Tara.

"No, think I'll just stick to water. Pace myself!"

"Was thinking the same thing. I'll go get us some."

You stood up and made your way to the main area of the boat, some of the lads were sitting by the bar. You saw Niall look up when he heard you approach and give you a smile. Deciding to pop to the loo before you got your drinks, you made your way below deck to find them. You were just washing your hands when you heard a tap at the door.

"I'll be just a second." You called out as you dried your hands.

"It's me." You heard Niall reply.

You smirked and shook your head as you opened the door to him. His expression matched yours and as you went to step out of the stall he made a step forward and guided you back in there.

"Ni." You whispered.

"Just five minutes." He said, as he leaned into kiss you.

The stall was small and cramped but he had you pushed up against the locked door in less than a minute. Breaking away from his kiss, you smiled as your eyes met his.

"Can't keep away can you?" You whispered.

"Nope." He whispered back. "Just wanted to kiss my girlfriend in private."

You nervously bit your lower lip and blushed before leaning in and kissing him again.

You walked up the steps to the main deck five minutes later and were instantly met by 3 pairs of eyes. Gerry, John and Jake all smiling disturbingly at you.

"Everything ok lads?!" You questioned, your eyebrow raised.

"Oh grand Callie, just grand." Gerry replied.

"Good."

"Oh look, Nialls there to." John smirked as Niall made his way up the steps behind you.

"Look a bit flushed there Callie. You feeling ok?" Gerry asked you, a look of compete glee on his face.

"I'm fine thank you." You replied, shaking your head in amusement that the lads had clearly figured out something was going on between you two.

Niall made his way over to the table by the bar where the lads were sitting and took a swig from his beer.

"Oh would you look at that!" John said. "Nialls a bit flushed to."

"Enough of that Bird." He replied, his eyes going across the boat to a couple of management and crew who were luckily not in listening distance.

"Right you are." John replied, instantly toning down his banter.

You knew the lads would figure it out soon enough and you trusted Niall when he said he wouldn't tell anyone anything. But they were a close band and spent a lot of their free time together, so his absence from their group sometimes would easily be noticed.

Grabbing two bottles of water from the bar you made your way back over to Tara.

"Thanks babe." She said as she took the cold bottle from you.

"I think the lads have realised Niall and I are together." You whispered as you sat down.

"Why what did they say?" 

You relayed the last five minutes back to her and she laughed.

"It's so obvious sometimes that you're together, I mean he hasn't stopped looking over here at us for the past hour."

"I didn't notice." You replied and you meant it, too busy enjoying the beautiful sun and views of the harbour.

This was exactly the type of experience you had hoped for when you'd joined the crew. You'd always wanted to travel, especially to Australia. 

"Don't worry about them, if they have figured it out they won't tell anyone."

"Honestly, us keeping this a secret is harder than I thought. I didn't realise it was that obvious that we are together."

"You forget how close as a team we all are."

You laugh lightly at this, you knew you had seriously underestimated how difficult this was going to be.

The crowd in Sydney were amazing, they had clearly been online and viewed the Dublin, London and Stockholm shows. Everyone knew the words to all his songs. Niall was absolutely buzzing when he got off stage. He embraced you with a big sweaty hug, you should've been grossed out by it but you weren't. Placing a kiss to your temple, he let you go before high fiving the rest of the crew.

You were in complete awe of this man and could feel yourself falling more and more for him. So much had happened in such a short space of time that you suddenly felt overwhelmed by it all. Excusing yourself to the bathroom, you walked quickly away from everyone. You could feel his gaze burning into the back of your head as you did.

Splashing some cold water on your face helped calm you down. You looked in the mirror, silently giving yourself a pep talk.

Don't ruin this Callie, you've got this.

Keep calm.

Don't get scared.

Your heart was pounding in your chest as you careful took some long slow breaths.

Ellie came suddenly bursting through the bathroom door.

"Are you ok?!" She asked, the worry evident on her face.

"Yes, sorry. Was so hot backstage. Just needed to cool myself down." You replied calmly.

"Are you sure? Niall said the colour just drained from your face. He's really worried about you."

"Oh, I should go tell him I'm ok. I didn't mean to worry everyone. Was just so hot back there." You replied using your hand to fan yourself.

Ellie reached across and stroked your arm, the support that the whole team gave each other was strong. Her touch and kind words instantly calmed you.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket. Taking it out and looking at the screen you saw it was Niall.

"That Niall?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah it is. Didn't mean to worry him. Just got a bit too hot."

"I'll get going, I've got to finish packing up. Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine, thanks Ellie."

You leaned in and gave her a hug, which she returned.

"Take it easy packing up."

"I will."

She turned and left, leaving you alone. You looked down and read Nialls mesage.

"Babe are you ok? Where are you?"

"I'm in the bathroom, Ellie has been with me. Sorry, was too hot backstage."

"Are you sure you're ok? Come to my dressing room."

"I can't, I have to go back and help pack up. Come find me when you're showered."

"Are you sure you're ok? I'm really worried about you. X"

"Honestly Ni, I'm fine. You did amazing tonight. X"

"Thanks babe, I'll come find you when I'm done."

Checking your appearance in the mirror, you straightened out your shirt before breathing out a massive sigh.  You started to feel more relaxed and even slightly stupid for overreacting. The way you were feeling about him should be embraced. You had no idea if he felt exactly like you did, but you knew he liked you a lot. Staying up with him talking the other night and his need to sleep next to you assured you of that.

When you got back to the stage, Adam and James checked on you before offering you a bottle of water. The crew always looked out for eachother. You started to pack away Nialls guitars ready to be transported to Japan for the next leg of the tour. The pack up for a flight was a bit more than when it was being transported by road. Martin gave you all the labels you needed, your worst fear was one of them going missing.

The atmosphere tonight was infectious and everyone was singing and laughing as you packed up. You had done enough shows with Niall over the last ten months to have a good setting up and down system. Niall appeared a little while later, freshly showered and dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt. He made a beeline straight for you, not caring who saw him he reached up and brushed a strand of hair out of your face.

"You ok?" He asked his eyes full of concern. He stroked his thumb gently across your cheek.

"Yeah, I'm fine. As I said I was just a bit hot."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I was just was hot, overwhelmed, it was all a bit too much. I'm sorry I worried you."

You were aware of everyone around you, some looking your way. Niall noticed to and quickly moved his hand down from your face. He didn't move away from you though. Leaning down and whispering gently to you.

"You can talk to me, you know if you're worried about something. I know this is new to us both."

His eyes showed he was worried about you, it made your heart flutter. Was he talking about the tour being new to you both or the relationship you had decided to embark on?

"I know I can babe." You replied smiling.

"You really had me worried Petal." Your heart that was already fluttering in your chest began to beat faster at his use of the cute pet name.

"Honestly, I was fine." You said reaching your hand out and giving his hip a squeeze in reassurance.

"I wish I could kiss you right now." He mumbled. 

"Plenty of time for that later." You smirked.

"Will you stay with me tonight?"

"I stay with you every night Mr I can't sleep without you!"

"Hey! Can't help it. Ever since that first night at yours, I find I sleep much better when you're next to me."

You smirked and shook your head.

"What? Don't hear you complaining when I snuggle up to you?!" He added.

"I sleep better with you too." You admitted.

Later that night as you snuggled up together in Nialls hotel room, you felt truly at ease.

"Cal, you awake?" Niall whispered in the darkness.

"Hmmm."

"I'm so happy we're together."

The flutters were back again as you replied, "me to."

Part nine

https://niall-is-my-dream.tumblr.com/post/183066083788/you-me-part-nine

[hockeyandstuff91]

How did this happen? - Part 20

Word count: 4,511

Players: Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn

Other people: Katie

Warnings: Cussing, The “Two weeks later (Brooke’s POV)” part is partly NSFW, but all the rest of the chapter is completely safe, the NSFW part includes talk of sex during her period, as well as her being finger while on her period.

Authors Note: Yay here’s another part!!! This one was interesting to write, but also fun at the same time! I knew I was going to put this in here at some point, but I wasn’t sure when, it just seemed to fit right so here we go! lol I hope you all enjoy it!

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3    Part 4    Part 5    Part 6   Part 6.5     Part 7    Part 8   Part 9   Part 10    Part 11    Part 12   Part 13     Part 14     Part 15     Part 15.5     Part 16   Part 17    Part 18    Part 19   Part 21

 (Tyler's POV)

I sighed, closing my laptop and sat back against the couch. Gerry's head was laying against my knee and he had been asleep, but he woke up and looked up at me as he felt me shift.

"I just have no idea what to get your mom for a car, bud," I said as I scratched behind his ear. "I don't really know enough about trucks to know what she would even like."

And then I remembered. Brooke was best friends with someone who knew everything about cars, trucks, pretty much anything with an engine. I hadn't ever really gotten the chance to talk to Craig before, only in passing whenever Brooke got the chance to talk to him on the phone when he wasn't busy with work. He seemed liked a nice guy, and Brooke cared about him a lot. He was the perfect person to ask, if not the only person since he knew her pretty well too.

I looked over at the coffee table where my laptop was, Brooke's phone sitting next to it plugged in from last night. She had left it there after we had both fallen asleep watching a movie. I stood up, Gerry jumping off the couch and following me up the stairs.

"Shh we don't want to wake your mom, so no jumping on the bed," I said looking right at him. "Got it?" probably not..

I quietly made my way down the hall and peeked my head in the doorway, Marshall still curled up by her feet. I smiled seeing that she was still sound asleep so I would be safe to borrow her phone and try and call Craig. Thankfully Brooke never checked her phone app, so she wouldn't even notice if there was a call there she didn't recognize.

I made my way back downstairs, grabbing her phone off the table and unplugging it. I unlocked it and looked through her contacts before finding his name and hitting the call button.

"Hey Brooke what's up? Car okay?" Craig answered the phone after a few rings.

"Hey actually its uh.. its Tyler," I said, scratching the back of my neck.

"Is Brooke okay?" he asked, clearly worried.

"Yeah yeah shes fine. She's asleep right now actually."

"Oh okay good... So whats up?"

"I was actually wondering if I could get your opinion on something?" I asked as I slowly paced back and forth in the living room, Cash still laying on the couch, his eyes following me, but Gerry was pacing back and forth with me.

"Sure what is it?"

"Well you know how her car broke down.. its completely not fixable, and I wanted to get her something new that will last her for a while-"

"She's gonna want a truck," Craig laughed.

"How did you know?" I asked, stopping pacing and sitting on the couch where I had been 5 minutes ago.

"Because she use to want one that I owned a few years ago," he laughed again.

"Oh what was it?"

"Nah she doesn't need something that big. Plus it was diesel so probably not the cheapest for her either."

"Fuck really? She wanted that?"

"Yeah she likes big trucks. I would get her something a little smaller. The last truck that she drove back at home was a Chevy silverado 2500 z71, so that's always an option since shes comfortable with it already."

"Alright I'm going to send you a text from my phone so you have my number. Would you mind sending me over those details?"

"Yeah sure. Oh also, make sure that whatever truck you end up getting her has a side step," Craig said, laughing loudly.

"Good idea," I chuckled.

"Yeah her and I always had a running joke that if I was ever going to pick her up in my truck I would need to bring the ladder. But she did always like having the side step on the old truck she use to drive."

"Thanks dude, I honestly wouldn't of even thought of that."

"Yeah of course man... Just like to know that shes happy you know?"

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Yeah. I appreciate that you look out for her. I know you two are really close friends."

"Yeah shes been there for me through a lot.. but I have also watched her go through a lot that she didn't deserve."

"Yeah shes told me a bit about that," I sighed softly.

"Yeah.. Well, anyways, I'll text you a few options I think that she would like."

"Yeah that would be great, thanks. Also.. I know Brooke has told me that you are super busy with work but if you'd ever like to come down and hang out or whatever, we have extra room."

"Thanks, if I ever get down that way I'll let you guys know."

"Babe?" I could hear Brooke calling me from the bedroom.

"Shit gotta go dude, shes awake," I laughed.

"Have a good one," Craig laughed and we both hung up.

I plugged her phone back in where she had left it last night and made my way back upstairs and to our room, both Gerry and Cash following close behind. "Hey sleepy head," I smiled, laying on the bed next to her.

"Were you talking to someone?" She asked, yawning and stretching a bit.

"Nah just the dogs," I said, hearing their nails clicking against the hardwood floor around the bed before both jumping back up and laying down by our feet.

"Mmm," She nodded and scooted over towards me, laying her head on my chest.

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to me. I always felt at home when she was in my arms. Nothing could describe how she made me feel, how much I loved her.

Two weeks later.. (Brooke's POV)

Tyler had been at the gym all morning and I, sadly, had a migraine. I was trying to rest a bit, since the only thing that ever seems to fix my migraines is sleep. I slowly made my way up to our bedroom, closed all of the curtains and turned off the lights. I closed the door and climbed into bed, turning the AC on from my phone so it would get a little cooler in here and then pulled the blankets over myself, curling up on my side of the bed and closing my eyes. The dogs were at the groomers thankfully so I could fully relax and not be bothered by three big dogs trying to make themselves comfortable on the bed while my head was pounding.

It couldn't of been too much longer after I had laid down when I heard the front door open and close downstairs and Tyler's voice call out for me. I wanted to answer him but any loud noises would start to make my head hurt again and it had finally started to calm down with me laying perfectly still. I figured he could probably find me eventually.

A few minutes later the bedroom door opened and Tyler flipped on the lights. I groaned and quickly pulled the blankets over my head, not wanting any light to reach my eyes.

"Jeez babe you have it super dark in here, its such a nice day out," I could hear him walking towards the window.

"Don't you dare open that curtain!" I said from under the blankets.

"What? Why?" I heard him stop and then start walking back towards the bed.

"Can you please-please turn the light off?" I half asked half whined. I heard him walk back towards the door and hit the switch for the lights. I gently pulled the covers down and relaxed back into the pillow when I saw that it was dark in here again.

"Are you okay baby?" Tyler asked softly as he crawled into bed behind me.

"Oh god," I groaned as I could smell his cologne. I pressed my face into the pillow to try and keep the scent from my nose.

"Are you sick?"

"No," I mumbled into the pillow. "I just have a migraine. I cant have loud noises, strong smells, or light. I also have to lay down or I feel like I'm going to get sick, and my head is killing me."

"Aww babe," he said gently rubbing my back which was turned to him right now. "I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone. Do you want anything?"

I shook my head, and then nodded.

"You do or you don't?" Tyler laughed, seeing my contradicting answer.

"You rubbing my back feels great."

I felt Tyler shift on the bed probably so he was sitting up and then I felt his hands rub up my back and stop at my shoulders where he applied a little pressure and gently rubbed them.

I groaned and relaxed even more. That spot had been tense for a little while for some reason, probably slept wrong, but with Tyler pressing into it now it felt super great.

I still had my face against the pillow, not allowing anything to reach my nose and cause another wave of nausea. However Tyler decided that moving my hair away and kissing my neck was a good idea. As amazing as it felt, I caught another brief inhale and groaned again. I pulled away from him, not something I would ever ever do but I just couldn't handle the sensations it caused my stomach.

"Babe.. I love you.. and I love that cologne..But-"

"I'll be right back," he said, pressing a quick kiss to the back of my head and I felt the mattress shift a few times before it lifted, the weight gone.

I sighed and rested into the pillow, closing my eyes and trying to relax the best that I could. A minute after Tyler had left the bed I heard the shower running, and I smiled a bit. He knew that the scent was bothering me and was going to take a shower so I wouldn't feel more sick.

It wasn't long before I heard the shower turn off and Tyler's footsteps coming back into the room. The bed dipped and I felt his warm body next to mine.

"Better?" He asked softly.

I turned towards him and smiled, nodding. "Yes thank you babe that was really sweet of you."

"Just want you to feel better," he said kissing my forehead.

We laid there for a little while, my eyes were closed as I was curled up under the blankets, him behind me, his arm lightly wrapped around me, rubbing up and down my side. I was close to falling asleep when I felt his hand drifting down towards my waistline on my panties.

"Ty...?"

"Hmm?"

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I heard somewhere that if you orgasm your headache will go away," he said as he gently traced his hand back and forth on my panty line.

I wasn't exactly in the mood, but that was only due to the fact that if I moved too much I was going to be super nauseous, which wouldn't go well. However I also was willing to give anything a shot at this point in hopes to make this go away as fast as possible. I rolled over a bit so that I was laying on my back, breathing slowly through my nose, trying to calm the slight wave of nausea that I had whenever I moved from being perfectly still. Once it passed I looked over at him and nodded slightly.

"Just fingers though. I can't handle moving at all... If that's okay?"

"Of course baby. Whatever is going to help you, I'll do," Tyler said softly as he pressed his lips to my temple.

He sat up and gently grabbed onto my panties and pulled them off, tossing them to the floor. He laid back down next to me, his hand slowly making his way up my right thigh before pressing his finger gently to my clit. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I focused on enjoying the sensation of him rubbing slow circles around my clit. I felt him gently push his middle finger into me, slowly pumping it in and out.

I moaned softly, leaning my head against his chest, my breathing a bit faster. "That feel any better babe?" Tyler asked.

I nodded, noticing that the headache did feel a little bit better. I felt Tyler push another finger into me, going a little faster now, causing me to moan a bit louder.

I was so focused on how good this felt, gently grabbing onto his forearm as he kept going. I felt him shift a bit beside me, figuring he was probably leaning up on his elbows now to give him a better angle before I felt him slow and then stop completely. I felt his fingers pull out of me slowly and under his breath say "Oh shit," before pressing a few kisses to my temple and then getting off the bed.

My eyes shot open as I watched him walk to the bathroom. I was completely confused as to what was going on and why he had just stopped and left in the middle of everything. I leaned up and looked down, not seeing anything right away. But there it was, a tiny bit of blood on my thigh.

Fuck!

This was why I had a migraine. I started my period. Right in the fucking middle of Tyler fingering me. Which was why he stopped and left to go to the bathroom. He probably was completely disgusted and needed to wash his hands immediately. Which I was right, because now I could hear the water running in the sink for a brief moment before it stopped.

I sighed, completely freaking out internally. I shut my eyes tight and put my hands over my face. I knew I shouldn't be upset over this, it was a natural thing that happens every month. It's not like he was unaware of it or anything, it just.. I wasn't sure what was going on in his mind right now so I was scared what conversation would follow now.

I peeked through my fingers as I heard him coming back into the bedroom. I figured I was going to see some kind of grossed out look on his face or something but I was completely wrong. I pulled my hands away from my face, seeing that he was carrying a towel with him.

"Here babe, lets put this under you just in case," he said softly as he crawled back onto the bed, helping me to gently lift my hips and placed the towel under me.

I was confused why he was doing that, and why he seemed so calm over this. I looked up at him and he smiled at me, laying back down next to me, his hand going back towards my pussy.

"Uh.."

"Whats the matter?" Tyler asked.

"But.. Aren't you grossed out? I just bled on you.. I'm on my period."

"So? It's okay baby," he said softly, kissing me gently. "Did you think that I was grossed out?"

I nodded and looked down.

"Hey," he said, lifting my chin so I was looking at him. "I'm not grossed out at all. You have to deal with this every month, its normal. I mean showers do exist for a reason," he smirked at me.

"You mean... You're okay with this?" I asked, raising my eyebrows, completely shocked.

"Yeah of course. It doesn't bother me at all. Plus why would I give up a whole week every month of not being able to touch my baby? It's just a little blood, everyone has it. I play hockey for a living babe.. when you share small spaces with that many guys, bleeding and sweaty not much bothers you anymore," he chuckled as reached back down, starting to rub my clit again. "And.. I don't know if you have noticed but you are horny as hell when you are on your period and why would I wanna miss out on that?" he smirked again and laughed.

I sighed, relieved and relaxed back against the pillow. I was glad that Tyler was so open to this. It wasn't something I ever really thought about bringing up. I nodded and smiled back up at him "Yeah I tend to be," I laughed, but it was cut off my a moan as I felt him dip his fingers back into me.

"At least we know why you have a migraine."

I nodded slightly "Yeah it makes sense. I knew I was getting close to that time but I wasn't sure exactly which day..." the sentence drifted off as I gasped, feeling him rub against my gspot.

It didn't take long with him fingering me as well as pressing his thumb against my clit for me to finally cum. I gripped the sheets and his forearm as I came, my eyes shut tight as I moaned loudly, his mouth finding mine as we kissed through the ending of my orgasm.

"Feel better?" he asked softly.

I smiled and nodded, noticing that my migraine was better than before. Not completely gone, but it was a lot better.

Tyler got up again, going back to the bathroom. I heard the water running again and I sighed softly. At least this time I wasn't freaking out, knowing that he wasn't grossed out. I looked over and smiled, seeing him carrying a wet wash cloth.

"You sure-"

"Shh," he said softly. "Washing machines also exist for similar reasons that showers do," he smiled and carefully parted my legs a bit more, gently wiping between my legs and making sure to get my thighs as well.

I relaxed back and let him clean me off before he got back up to bring the washcloth over to the laundry basket. I slowly got out of bed and grabbed a pair of panties and went into the bathroom to take care of everything before returning back to the room. He was laying on the bed, watching me as I made my way back over to my side of the bed and climbed in.

Tyler pulled me close to him and I rested my head against his chest. He was gently rubbing my back with one hand while the other was tangled in my hair. He pressed a long kiss to the top of my head before softly telling me that he loves me.

I smiled and pressed my face against his chest, kissing where my lips landed. "I love you too," I mumbled before slowly drifting off to sleep.

(Tyler's POV)

Brooke was still asleep, fighting off her migraine when I got a text on my phone. I looked over at the bedside table where it was laying, squinting a bit as I read the screen. I didn't want to move so that I wouldn't wake her and she was still wrapped around half of my body. I blinked a few times and finally was able to read it before my screen went dark again.

Jamie: Be there in 5

I had asked Jamie if he could pick up the truck from the dealership for me, making an arrangement with the sales guy since I wanted it to be a complete surprise. I decided to carefully try and slide out from under her so that I could go downstairs and meet Jamie when he pulled in.

I gently lifted her arm off of me, placing it on her side. I sighed, not wanting to wake her but carefully tried to wiggle free. Thankfully she rolled over but stayed asleep, freeing me so that I could carefully get up. I rolled over to my side of the bed, making my way over to the closet so that I could get fully dressed.

On my way out of the room I looked over, making sure she hadn't woken up but she was still in the same position she was a few moments ago. I grabbed my phone and as quietly as I could opened the door and closed it most of the way before heading downstairs.

Just as I opened the door Jamie was pulling into the driveway, parking the truck and getting out. Katie pulled in behind him in his car.

"Thanks dude," I said as I grabbed the keys from him.

"Of course. Where is she?"

"Asleep. She had a migraine earlier. Wanna come inside for a bit?"

"Yeah sure."

"Oh shoot, hold on I gotta take this call, I'll be in in a few minutes," Katie said, answering her phone and going back towards their car.

The two of us walked inside and headed into the kitchen, grabbing some waters from the fridge. We spent a good 10 minutes just talking about training and a few other things before Brooke appeared in the doorway.

"Jesus Christ," she swore, pushing her, rather my, shirt down. "You never warn me when people are over," she laughed.

"You're fine its just Jamie," I laughed.

"Hey kiddo," Jamie smiled and gave her a hug.

"Hey bro how have you been?"

"Good! I heard you had a migraine?"

Brooke nodded, rubbing her eyes a bit. "Yeah its gone now though, that nap really helped," she smiled, and then yawned. "I'm sorry, I know you're like my older brother and its whatever.." she started, looking over at Jamie. "But I'm going to go put on some pants, because I feel like this shirt is so short. I'll be right back," she laughed and turned, walking out the entrance to the kitchen and back up the stairs.

I laughed and shook my head, sitting on one of the bar stools by the island.

"So are you going to take her out when she comes back down?" Jamie asked, quietly.

"Yeah, that's the thing, I haven't come up with a good idea how to get her out there without her being confused or knowing something is up."

"Hmm.." Jamie was in the middle of thinking of an idea when Brooke came back downstairs.

"So what's Katie been up to?" she asked as she sat on the bar stool next to me, Jamie leaning on the counter in front of us.

"Oh shes actually outside, she got a phone call before we were about to head in. She should be in any minute."

"Aw yay I feel like its been a while since I've seen her," Brooke smiled.

Jamie pulled out his phone and did a few things on it before putting it back in his pocket, looking over at me and giving me a slight nod. I figured he probably had some plan going on so I would just go with it.

We talked for about 10 minutes before Brooke's phone when off with a text. She looked at it and smiled "The dogs are ready to come home whenever we can go get them," she said, looking over to me.

Jamie looked at his phone and sighed. "Maybe we should go check on her.. shes been on the call for a while."

(Brooke's POV)

"Yeah sure," I smiled to Jamie as I got off the bar stool and made my way towards the front door, both Tyler and him following behind me. I was pretty sure that Katie was just fine, and the conversation was going on longer than she had planned, but I would humor him since I knew he worried.

I opened the front door and started to walk out, seeing her just getting out of their car but then I turned my head a bit, stopping dead in my tracks.

"Ty.."

"Yes babe?" I could already hear the smile in his voice.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "You didn't-"

"Oh I did," he smiled, wrapping his arms around me from behind and kissing my temple.

I opened my eyes again, looking over the truck. I blinked and wiped my eyes not wanting to cry but my emotions were kind of all over the place as it was, and this was just too much to process. Tyler was too good to me, I didn't know what I did to deserve all of this.

"Thank you so much," I said, turning and wrapping my arms around him tightly, burring my face against his chest.

"Anything for you," he mumbled against my hair, holding my head against his chest. "You'll have to thank someone else too though."

I pulled back and looked up at him, a bit confused. "What?"

Tyler smiled down at me and wiped my cheeks. "I called Craig and he helped me pick out which one I got you," he said softly.

I gasped and pressed my face back against his chest. "You did not!" I mumbled against him.

He laughed "I did. I knew that he would know exactly what would be the best option."

"How did you get his number?" I asked as I stepped back from the embrace to finally go look at the truck with him.

"Well.. you may have left your phone downstairs one day and I.. may have borrowed it," he chuckled.

"Tyler!" I laughed and smiled at him. "Thank you," I said, standing on my tippy toes to give him a kiss.

We took a few minutes looking around the truck, me sitting in it to get the feel of it, adjusting the seats and mirrors for my height. I couldn't believe he had done this. Actually no, I could 100% believe that he did this. He told me he was going to, and I couldn't stop him. I appreciated so much that he wanted to do things like this for me, and while I didn't want him to and would never ask him to, I could see how happy it made him to do things like this for me. He constantly would tell me how all he wanted in life was to see me happy and he would never need another thing. Judging by the biggest smile on his face right now as he watched me, that was very much true.

I gave him another big hug and kiss, thanking him again before the four of us headed back inside to hang out for a little bit. It still hadn't fully hit me that the truck sitting in the driveway was mine now.

After Jamie and Katie left, Tyler smiled at me, tossing me the keys. "Wanna take it for a first drive?"

"We could get the dogs from the groomers," I smiled.

"You sure you want all that dog hair in your brand new truck?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They just got brushed and washed at the groomers!" I laughed.

"That doesn't stop them from shedding and you know it," Tyler laughed.

I nodded "True.. but its okay," I smiled and stood up, grabbing my purse and heading outside, hand and hand with Tyler.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 20th October 2019

Top 10

For the third consecutive week, and honestly to my surprise, “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I is at #1. While this is underwhelming usually for me in the first place since I find this song only okay, I expected another song to take that spot this week, but we’ll talk about that after this first song and its runner-up.

“Ride It” by Regard featuring Jay Sean is up a singular spot from last week to the number-two spot.

Now for the song that I expected to debut at #1, which debuted at number-three this week: “Lights Up” by Harry Styles. It seemingly unperformed in the US too so far, debuting at only #17, but time will tell if this gradually becomes a smash or not, and I predict it very much could be. Regardless, it’s Styles’ second UK Top 40 hit and his second UK Top 10, his first since “Sign of the Times” peaked at #1 in 2017. None of the eight other charting singles from the debut album were able to make the top 40, which is surprising to me, so maybe I overestimate the former One Direction member’s star power.

At number-four, we have “Circles” by Post Malone up a single spot.

Interestingly, Travis Scott’s “HIGHEST IN THE ROOM” dropped less here than it did on the Hot 100, probably because of how radio is disregarded entirely in the UK singles chart, and Travis is just picking up radio in the US. It is still down though, and despite monstrous streaming, I have qualms about the longevity of this one, down three spaces this week to number-five.

Dermot Kennedy rides his newfound success with “Outnumbered”, which is starting to grow on me, up two spots to number-six.

The biggest story this week other than the new arrivals is probably the massive 17-space increase for “South of the Border” by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B up to number-seven. Often, we’ll see a drop larger than this, but a one-week increase being this large is seldom-seen, especially recently. Hence, the pretty awful song in my opinion becomes Sheeran’s 26th Top 10 hit in the UK, as well as Cabello’s fifth and Cardi’s fourth. Not all of the songs in the top 10 are going to be ones I tolerate, I accepted that a long time ago.

I don’t like this next song at number-eight either, however I am happy for the artist(s) behind it as I’m just glad they’re getting a lot of success, I’ve been rooting for the lead act especially, but “Be Honest” by Jorja Smith and Burna Boy is up three spots to number-eight, becoming Smith’s first ever Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, which was a massive shock to me initially, actually. It’s Burna Boy’s second after his success with Dave’s “Location”, but he’s yet to get a solo hit to his name.

Another new top 10 hit I’m not that excited about is “Bruises” by Lewis Capaldi, up seven positions to number-nine and becoming Capaldi’s fourth top 10 on the UK Singles Chart thanks to an orchestral remix, I think? I don’t care, frankly, because it’s a pretty rubbish song.

Also entering the top 10 for the first time after a few weeks on the chart up three spots to #10 is “Post Malone” by Sam Feldt featuring RANI, becoming Feldt’s second UK Top 10 and RAMI’s first. This also marks the first time maybe ever that there are two artists in the UK Singles Chart’s top 10 that do not have a Wikipedia page, those being RANI and Regard. I can’t tell if that’s impressive or kind of sad.

Edit: Nevermind, RANI has a page now.

Climbers

We have a couple solid climbers in the top half of the chart, but a disproportionately large amount of fallers to counter them. We’ll tackle those later, but the climbers include “Buss Down” by Aitch featuring ZieZie up nine spaces to #11, right next to “Professor X” by Dave from the Top Boy soundtrack up six spots to #12, as well as “God is a Dancer” by Mabel and Tiesto entering the top 20 for the first time up a shocking 22 spots to #15, nearby “Turn Me On” by Riton, Oliver Heldens and Vula also entering the top 20 for the first time up seven positions to #16 and “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi rebounding up five spots to #18. “Good as Hell” by Lizzo is up six to #22, but after that, it’s just fallers from now on.

Fallers

The quantity of these downfalls is almost ridiculous and they’re nearly all massive hits completely collapsing this week, due to streaming cuts, which could finally kick the Winter chart season into full gear, which of course is incredibly exciting. Let’s list them in reverse order (from #40 to the earliest drop), starting with “RAN$OM” by Lil Tecca and its remix featuring Juice WRLD down 26 to #40, “How Do You Sleep?” by Sam Smith down 27 to #39, “Strike a Pose” by Young T & Bugsey and Aitch down 28 to #38, “3 Nights” by Dominic Fike down 23 to #32, “Playing Games” by Summer Walker featuring an extended version with Bryson Tiller down five off of the debut to #30, “Ladbroke Grove” by AJ Tracey down 22 to #26, “Sorry” by Joel Corry featuring uncredited vocals from Hayley May down 18 to #25, “Higher Love” by Kygo and Whitney Houston down 17 to #23 and finally, “Liar” by Camila Cabello down seven to #21. It’s hard to tell if any of this is a net positive however, as while some of these songs are downright garbage like “RAN$OM” and “Playing Games”, or lousy like “Liar”, a lot of them are at least serviceable (“Higher Love” and “Sorry”), with a handful of them, including “Strike a Pose”, “Ladbroke Grove” and “3 Nights” actually being pretty great, but we’ll see what Winter has for us in terms of the pop charts in the coming weeks as it seems right now, we’re obliterating the Autumn and Summer hits completely.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

Whilst there aren’t any returning entries, there are a few drop-outs including “Panini” by Lil Nas X featuring a remix with DaBaby out from #22, as well as premature fall-offs for “Playing for Keeps” by D-Block Europe featuring Dave from #37, “Harder” by Jax Jones featuring Bebe Rexha from #39 and “Wiley Flow” by Stormzy – seriously, really worried about that album cycle, even with “Vossi Bop” being so massive and probably the biggest or second-biggest British hit of the year. Now I guess it’s time to review the new arrivals for this week.

NEW ARRIVALS

#33 – “Lose Control” – MEDUZA, Becky Hill and Goodboys

Produced by MEDUZA – Peaked at #31 in Ireland

Finally, Italian EDM duo MEDUZA are back with another single after their breakout single hit the charts hard, this one being yet another collaboration with British band Goodboys, similar to “Piece of Your Heart” which had peaked at #2 just earlier this year, meaning this is both acts’ second UK Top 40 hit, yet this time they’ve recruited singer Becky Hill (This being her eighth UK Top 40 hit), recently riding off her success “Wish You Well” with Sigala, kind of a career revival for Hill. Is the end product of this seemingly pretty fitting collaboration any good? Well, it’s a pretty slow starter, and I can’t help but think it’s a pretty cheap production job with dated, flat synths surrounded by scurrying hi-hats and... wow, that drop sounds exactly like “Piece of Your Heart”. I don’t know enough about vocals to say if that’s the same vocal melody exactly, but God it sounds like it, and it’s also performed by Goodboys, meaning it’s so blatantly a lazy move. The song itself is okay and once it gets going, it’s just a pretty generic, typical house-pop single that doesn’t bring anything fresh or even catchy like MEDUZA and Goodboys’ debut single did. There isn’t even really a proper build-up to be honest, the drop just kind of... happens. Not a fan of this, especially towards the end where it gets a bit maddening of a loop and the mixing doesn’t exactly make the chaos feel dynamic, but I can see its appeal. Next.

#19 – “Memories” – Maroon 5

Produced by Adam Levine and the Monsters and the Strangerz – Peaked at #3 in Australia and Singapore, and #12 in the US

Now, don’t get me wrong: I usually tolerate and appreciate Maroon 5 a lot more than most, but this single is boring as sin and so stripped of any remarkable features it feels like it’s beyond my criticism. Hence, let’s talk about some other songs in the top 75 that missed the mark for the UK Top 40 that are probably a lot more interesting.

First, we have “F.N.” by Lil Tjay at #69. That’s not really a bad song, but I don’t think I enjoy Tjay’s brand of painful, nasal Auto-Tune despite pretty good harmonies and that beat is still so generic and uninteresting to me. The content isn’t exactly atypical but I do like the subtle pitch-shifted vocal sample, although that intro is... confusing? I think that’s the best way to put it. The sub-bass here is killer though, by the way.

I haven’t listened to that Mark Ronson record yet because lol who cares, but “Don’t Leave Me Lonely” at #66 really lets guest artist YEBBA shine as her soulful, unique vocals sound bluesy over a pretty optimistic, vaguely tropical instrumental that I’m convinced was given to the wrong song. It sounds pretty jarring until the anthemic strings come in and it ends up just sounding like a pretty standard pop song with an above-average vocalist who deserves better. Eh.

“Sun Queen” by Gerry Cinnamon is actually a pretty cute almost country folk rock song, with a pretty jaunty guitar line I really enjoy, and some gruff vocals from Gerry that fits the alt-rock aesthetic perfectly. Not only that, but it’s pretty catchy albeit the songwriting being pretty awkward, especially in the chorus, and the mixing does feel a bit too generous towards the guitars, to say the least. That post-chorus is pretty disconnected from the rest of the song too. Otherwise, it just seems pretty decent and I appreciate the... James Dean reference, I guess? I have no idea how this charted at #64 though.

There’s a returning entry at #42 from our lads over at D-Block Europe and as you’d expect, it’s pretty awful. Over a boring guitar beat, Young Adz vocally riffs drenched in cheap Auto-Tune and reverb, with some oddly central mixing, although he has a couple funny lines and the beat isn’t that bad, just pretty dull. Dirtbike LB exists, and why the HELL is this five minutes? The chorus is so unnecessarily long for no reason.

“Memories” by Maroon 5 is not a bad pop ballad by any means, it just feels like a waste of talent, especially since it’s basically just Adam Levine singing a pretty sweet catchy pop song against keys that share their Caribbean cadence with Levine. The build-up to the non-existent drop is... unique in a way, especially with the sound effects, choir and that pretty smooth-sounding bass, and Levine’s vocalising doesn’t sound awful, especially when he’s subdued like this. The outro sounds pretty cool as well, but it’s so unremarkable I don’t feel the need to talk about it... at all, really.

#17 – “47” – Sidhu Moose Wala, MIST and Steel Banglez featuring Stefflon Don

Produced by Steel Banglez

Okay, so I feel this needs a bit of explanation. Sidhu Moose Wala is a Punjabi singer most closely associated with cinema soundtracks for Bollywood films as well as being a co-writer for a couple of related Indian singers such as “Ninja”. I know nothing about Punjabi cinema so forgive my ignorance, but we should know the other three a lot better. MIST and Stefflon Don are both British trap-rappers, the second of which a female recognised by the XXL Freshman List in 2018, the first of which is incredibly uninteresting and almost exhaustingly characterless. Steel Banglez is the producer behind many hit Afroswing-influenced hip hop out of London. I am surprised it debuted this high, though, since Walla isn’t exactly a superstar outside of India, and the three hip-hop artists are far from the biggest from the UK. Regardless, It’s MIST’s third UK Top 40 hit (I think), Steel Banglez’s third UK Top 40 hit as well, Stefflon Don’s fourth and Sidhu Moose Walla’s first ever (Congratulations), and it features all of these artists engaging in some pretty fun, cinematic trap heavily sampling and interpolating from Italian classical music, and Wala doesn’t sound bad here at all, but even if the sample knocks hard with the 808s and rattling hi-hat triplets, I can’t lie and say Wala doesn’t sound slightly awkward. MIST on the other hand is pretty natural, although he doesn’t say anything of interest. There’s a pretty sweet keyboard riff that comes up during MIST’s verse, which returns during Stefflon Don’s as well, although she does a much better job at riding the beat in a way that’s actually commanding and powerful. This song overall leaves me feeling there’s a lot of wasted potential with that fantastic sample, and definitely one of Steel Banglez’s best ever beats (Trust me, I’ve heard a lot of this man’s instrumentals), as both performances that aren’t Wala are somewhat disappointing and to be honest, surprisingly unremarkable. Speaking of which...

#3 – “Lights Up” – Harry Styles

Produced by Tyler Johnson and Kid Harpoon

I had no idea about what to expect from a Harry Styles sophomore album, I really don’t, although I did genuinely like a lot of the soft-rock and folksier angles he took to his own brand of pop music he had written for him for years in the form of One Direction, which in hindsight were probably the most inoffensive boy band I can think of off the top of my head. “Sign of the Times” is still an absolutely killer power ballad, so I had high hopes and I was surprised by the shift in sound, with a lot more focus on the pretty synths around a familiar guitar line... before it’s abruptly interrupted by a bass-heavy danceable indie pop sound that is a lot more typical of the genre nowadays. Harry Styles here has a vocal performance that feels somewhat flat, but I adore the vocoder harmonies in the chorus and pre-chorus, especially the “da-da-da-da” vocalising, that sounds fantastic. The chorus isn’t as anthemic as it intends though, mostly because of how the choir of both a choir and Harry Styles sounds pretty compressed and ugly, so it doesn’t get that rich sound that it’s going for, and I feel like that’s a missed opportunity. Also, this song is unstructured and messy as all hell, not even reaching three minutes yet feeling like a complete trainwreck throughout. Yeah, this is bad, but in an annoyingly subtle way. I don’t expect this to make my worst list, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Conclusion

Okay, I’m going to finish this really quickly, so Harry Styles gets Worst of the Week for the disappointing “Lights Up” and Best of the Week is... well... okay, so nothing here is actually good, so let’s cheat and give MEDUZA, Becky Hill and Goodboys a Dishonourable Mention for “Lose Control”. I’m going to listen to the new Kanye album, see you next week – or sooner!

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: RYAN LINDGREN PROFILE AND LATEST NEWS

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings CROMWELL, CT - It’s been a rollercoaster of a first season for Hartford Wolf Pack rookie defenseman, Ryan Lindgren. His play has earned him a passing grade for his effort, despite not going to the postseason for a second straight season A majority of Lindgren's season was spent partnered with John Gilmour as the Wolf Pack’s top defensive duo. The expectation for the remainder of the season is that there will be new combinations tried at both the forward and defensive positions.  Lindgren played with Brandon Crawley last weekend. “It was a lot of fun playing with John, and we also got along well off the ice too. I'm happy for him to get a recall. He’s a heck of a hockey player. I played most of the year with him, with the exception of a few games. He's such an easy guy to play with, just give him the puck, and he’s such a good skater, you let him fly. "Now we're all going to have to make changes and adjustments with so many new faces,” said Lindgren. Lindgren is acutely aware of what coming into a locker room at the end of a tough, and a difficult season can be like for a player. “I came here last year for the last ten games, so I know what it's like when you’re the new face and everything is new to you. It’s a very exciting time for them to start playing (pro hockey). It’s still a big time for myself and all the other players to show management what you got. We've got to make sure nobody is taking any nights off. It’s an important final ten games for everybody here.” Lindgren had one advantage last year that helped in in his transition. His former college teammate, Vinni Lettieri, who was just recalled to the Rangers, was there to greet him last spring. “I went through the same thing they did in coming from college. It's just a different lifestyle going from class and knowing all your buddies to a place where you really don’t know anyone. To go from the structure of going to classes to where you go to practice in the morning and then the rest of the day is yours, it's a lot different as the hockey is different from the college game.” The Lettieri factor was big for him. “I was very lucky to have Vinni here when I got here, of course, I knew him from playing at (University of) Minnesota, so I was able to move in with him and he’s a guy who was always on the move, on and off the ice,” Lindgren said with a laugh. “He had family come in and always had something going on. I was very lucky to just not to sit in a hotel by myself, doing things with him or cooking meals at home. I was very fortunate.” Lindgren’s game is a physical, grind-it-out style that is a throwback to the players of 10-15 years ago. At that time, having a physical rearguard would be prized, but in today’s game, defensemen are more like defensive backs in football. Their hands are tied in how to defend against the opposing forward in their own end. “When I was playing for the US at the World Juniors with coach Bob Motzko (now the head coach at the University of Minnesota). He used to say to play as close to the line as you can. To crossover is a huge thing. I like to play a physical style. I do trash talk a bit, and run my mouth,” Lindgren said with a wry smile and wink. ”But you have to be careful not to carry it too far. In general, you have to stay focused on your game, so you don’t hurt the team with bad or ill-timed penalties. So that’s the game I bring and that’s not going to change, you just have to be smart to know when the right time is.” The first year has seen Lindgren’s potential tempered with reality. It was a season of ups-and-downs for the Wolf Pack as a team and individually. He now sports an "A" with Rob O’Gara out for the past 21 games since early February with a lower-body injury. “I have been happy about it there a very good group of guys here and I got time in New York which of course very special,” said Lindgren. The Second year pro was originally drafted by Boston, whose rights were acquired in the Rick Nash deal last spring “I have learned a lot in my time here. (Pack Head Coach) Keith (McCambridge) and (Assistant Coach) Joe (Mormina) have been huge for me in getting to learn the pro game, and the call-up, of course, to the Rangers was something else. I was fairly consistent for the year and the Rangers seem happy with me,” The season, however, boils down to one bad stretch, a ten game losing streak that ran from mid-January to mid-February just after the trade of then, team captain, Cole Schneider. “We were right in contention (three points out of fourth place) and we lost ten in a row and it's hard to make that up and others were winning (Hershey Bears) and next thing you know we fell out of it (playoff contention). It’s a very tough time of the year. Everybody is playing for a playoff spot and you're not. "We let up at that time and this is where we're at. Losing Schneids was tough, but we didn’t play as well as we should have.” The Checkers with a 44-15-7-1 record (96 points) are 31 points ahead of the Wolf Pack. They clinched a playoff berth last weekend by sweeping the Pack in a pair of games. Syracuse has also clinched a playoff berth last weekend as they lead the North Division. The Pack takes on the Checkers for a third straight game on Friday night at the XL Center at 7:15 pm which will be the last meeting with the Checkers this year. “They are the league’s best team. We got a lot of new faces, so it's going to be a big test for us if we play well,” said Lindgren last weekend as they departed for North Carolina. NOTES: No week is complete without some roster moves. Greg Chase, the nephew of former Hartford Whaler, Kelly Chase, had a two-goal game for the Maine Mariners (ECHL) against the Worcester Railers including an OT winner. He was signed to a PTO by Hartford while Dean Melanson was returned to the Mariners. Former UCONN player Karl El-Mir was released by Providence from his ATO deal without having played a game. Michael Doherty (Yale) was released by the Bruins too and sent back to Manchester (ECHL). A slew of El-Mir’s Hockey East opponents have all signed pro deals this week. Boston College saw Michael Kim and Chris Brown both sign with Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). Casey Fitzgerald (Buffalo-NHL/Rochester-AHL) and goalie Joseph Woll sign with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and a report from TSN’s Bob McKenzie says that freshmen, Oliver Wahlstrom, has told BC he will turn professional and is working on a deal with the New York Islanders and may wind up with the playoff-bound Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Woll’s departure will allow Darien’s Spencer Knight (US National Development Team) and one-time Avon Old Farms product to head to BC. He will likely be a first or second round pick in this upcoming summer’s NHL Draft in Vancouver. Boston University, saw top-end defenseman, junior, Dante Fabbro sign with Nashville. Ridgefield native, Chad Krys, sign an ATO deal with Rockford (AHL). Goalie, Jake Oettinger (Texas-AHL), Bobo Carpenter (Islanders) and, a surprise freshman, Joel Farabee (Flyers) have all left. A total of 27 Hockey East players have signed pro deals so far. There has been 105 Division I players and 118 college players in total have all signed North American/European pro deals. Matthew McGroarty (Westport/Brunswick Prep) has made an oral commit to Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) in 2021-22. Congrats to the state high school hockey champions. Early in March in the NEPSAC prep school boys tournament at St. Anselm College in Manchester, Kent School won the large Division title beating Cushing Academy 2-1. Kent grads include current Rangers head coach, David Quinn, and current Ranger and ex-Wolf Pack, Boo Nieves. In the Open Division, Salisbury Prep lost in the finals to Kimball Union 4-3. Salisbury features Thomas Richter (Greenwich), the son of the Rangers all-time great goalie, who is a Union College (ECACHL) commit 2020-21. In the public school tournament held at Yale University, in Division I Fairfield Prep captured their 17th Division I title (one Division II title in their first year as a varsity program) in the fifth championship meeting between ND-West Haven. They won by the score of 5-2. Mason Whitney and Thomas Quinn had a goal and an assist apiece to pace the Jesuits win. The final four for the first time in Division I history featured all four teams from parochial schools. In Division II, the Branford Hornets shutout Glastonbury 2-0 to capture the first title as David Engstrom’s goal and assist and Jared Yakimoff’s 20 saves paced the title win. It was Branford’s first title since 1988 when they beat Shepaug Valley (Washington, CT) by the score of 5-3 and only the third championship final in the history of the program. In Division III, the co-op program Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug knocked off the other Wallingford school, Sheehan, in the Battle of Wallingford by the count of 6-2 for their first ever hockey title. Senior Kyle Roberts had two goals and an assist and nine shots on goal and sophomore Aidan Weir’s tallied two goals on two shots, including what became the game-winner help the Trojans victory. The University of Wisconsin won the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four this past weekend in Hamden at Quinnipiac University with a 2-0 shutout win over Minnesota for their 5th national title. Loren Gabel of Clarkson (ECACHL-W) won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, the Hobey Baker Award for women’s hockey. The Calgary Inferno captured the CWHL (Canadian Women’s Hockey league) championship shutting out the Les Canadiennes of Montreal, 2-0 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, home of the AHL Toronto Marlies. CT Jr. Rangers forward, Jay de Ruiter, who played for the Netherlands WJC team in Division 2 Group B is playing for his home country national team at the U-18 World Championship Group B Division 2 in Belgrade, Serbia. Ex-Pack, Matt Carey, signs with Schwenniger (Germany-DEL) for next season. Four more European, Asian or Scandanavia titles have been decided. In Iceland, SA Akureyri Vikings of Northern Iceland (southern Iceland much warmer !) swept SR Rekyavik in four straight 2-0, 3-2 (OT), 3-2 and a final game at 4-1. The playoff MVP and top goalie was Adam Beukeboom, the second cousin of former Ranger player and coach and Wolf Pack assistant coach, Jeff Beukeboom. In Lithuania, Engergie Elektrenai won their 4th straight title over Hockey Punks Vilnius sweeping best of five series by the scores of 6-4,7-4 and 7-3. In Spain, Txuri Urdin beat CG Pulgcerda for their third straight title and 16th Spanish title winning the championship game 3-2. Turkey, saw Zeytinburnu Istanbul capture its sixth straight Turkish Super League (TSL) title beating Buz Adamlar. They swept the best of five series winning by the scores of 2-1, 4-3 (OT) and 4-3 in the short-season league. The leading regular-season scorer was former Danbury Whaler Matt Puntureri of KOC University-Istanbul with 52 goals and 21 assists and 73 points in just 14 games! Read the full article

[jeanbaltsubsta-blog]

My girlfriend is dating two guys

8 Ways to Handle Dating Two Guys at Once ... If she is cool-hearted and can chill out in my lounge room while I work on my computer and not keep coming in and interrupting me, I will let her come see me more often.  Can you imagine what life would be like if most of the women you met from now on really liked you and wanted to get you to commit to them? However, she knows very well that you will continue seeing other women and she will just have to try harder to get you to commit to her.  Some people want to settle down and get married right now, some want to start a family as soon as possible and others just want enjoy sex and good times for a while.  For the guys reading along with the comments: She kissed him in front of her friend, who also liked him.  But I must admit I am worried that I could cause problems with my career and my success.

Dating Two Guys At A Time Is NOT Cheating Don't corrupt her with your prejudice views and find someone else who has similar views to your own.  In the end, it comes down to insecurity.  When he created the that he now teaches here at The Modern Man, beautiful women began flooding into his life and wanting to be with him.  Dating can be so much fun, especially if you just keep it light and airy.  Physical intimacy is a personal decision.  And that is a triumph I thank you for! You are always flip-flopping back and forth.

GIRL CAUGHT CHEATING with 2 GUYS (EXPOSED!!!!) How can you be against interracial relationships and call yourself a non-racists? I have no doubt that using the techniques from your products are what got me to this wonderful place I am with women now.  We are at a startup so the atmosphere is very open and laid back.  And in alot of these situations they date black men not to be open minded, but to spite their families and to cause drama and get attention.  I have also spent a good amount of time in Latin America, so the men were picked for me.  However I have recently ran into a challenge.  Dan Bacon Hey Gerry Thanks for your question and positive feedback.  I have been sleeping with various women on campus and have been giving a few tips to my friends also.

Dating Two Guys At A Time Is NOT Cheating Dan Bacon used to be hopeless with women.  Does that make them bigoted and close minded, and mean? It was weird because even though I had other women in my life when I met her, she instantly became my number one girl.  If you are finding that you are having extremely strong feelings for one over the other, you need to end the second relationship ladies.  Ladies, if you are lucky enough to be dating two men whom you like, let yourself enjoy foreplay with both until someone steps up to be your bf.  After all, you have to figure out which one you like the best and which one you actually want to start a relationship with! I know I need to make a decision before things go too far becoming too physical , but how do I know when? It depends on how much free time I have.

Playing Both Sides: The Realities Of Dating Two Men At The Same Time Like I said before you have some great stuff.  It is straight-up exhausting to date two people at once.  Last year I expressed surprise to a friend of mine that her employee, who's expressed extreme prejudice against other races, would be marrying a black man.  Have you made a commitment to either one of them? The two of them are so different, but both have qualities that spark your interest.  Some of my friends don't agree with this.  It became difficult to remember who you took where, what you talked about, what movies you saw, their personal interests and so forth.

Dating Two Guys At A Time Is NOT Cheating Our advice will get you the results you truly want.  I can't understand how a woman can date two men at once? So, for now, all I can say is: Be careful not to lose your job over it! Dan Bacon Hi Andrew Thanks for your question.  For example: Even though I am now married and see my wife as the most important person in my life who I love one million percent, my main focus is still my mission with The Modern Man.  Best-case scenario: It happens when you're out and about.  When dating multiple women at once, you will want to completely avoid meeting her parents if possible.  Usually they know straight away if they want to date a woman, and make up their minds pretty quickly about whether or not to continue dating.  Only because I am sexually not so attracted to other races doesn't mean i wouldn't associate or work with them.

8 Ways to Handle Dating Two Guys at Once ... Women want a man to love them, want them, appreciate and respect them, but they also want that man to have more to his life than just her.  Would you consider creating a product that helps men with achieving goals in their life and the world of business? Patrick's Day I went to happy hour in the afternoon with one guy I was dating, and then I made an excuse and met up with my other guy.  Allowing yourself the time to just feel any and all of the chemistry that you can is a great way to be able to tell which guy is going to be the best boyfriend for you! In the meantime, stop being afraid of success.  When I got back into dating, I dated two women for 3 months before deciding on one.  A really hot girl approached -me- a couple weeks ago and always hunts me down and talks to me at a particular super market, i got her number and i suggested we get some pub food and she agreed.  But you keep your options open; you commit to a date with someone else.  Dan has already helped 1,000s of guys to get instant results with women 100s of here and he would love to help you too.

Thoughts on a girl dating multiple guys at once? : dating_advice Quote: But they are people like all others.  Feel the Chemistry One thing that you need to do when you are dating two guys at once is to really feel the chemistry.  Of course, you can choose to bail if you want to.  It's quite frankly, a shame that she's settling for you and not waiting to be with a man who is much more on her intellectual level.  When she does reach out to you, only answer your phone calls from her sometimes and then take your time to reply to texts and Facebook messages; sometimes immediately, sometimes an hour or two later and sometimes the next day.  Ok, I'm going to ignore the Kobe Bryant part of that statement because I find it completely inappropriate.

[mvalleefootball-blog]

Pat Keep Rolling, Crush Raiders

By Michael Vallee

It’s amazing how fast perceptions can change over the course of an NFL season.  Through four weeks the Patriots record was an unimpressive 2-2 and the only thing preventing them from being 1-3 was a dropped late-game interception by the Houston Texans.  New England had the worst defense in the NFL and looming on their schedule was a potentially brutal two-game road swing against the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.  So much for that perception.  On Sunday the Patriots pounded the Raiders like they were a Mexican pinata stuffed with Super Bowl rings, coasting to a 33-8 win.  This completed the Patriots two-week-high-altitude road trip where they glided thru the thin air of Denver and Mexico City with the ease of a 62-yard stephen Gostkowski field goal, outscoring their opponents 74-24.

Of course, as has been the recent trend, Patriot greatness was only half of the equation.  The Raiders committed eight penalties, had two turnovers and in general performed with an almost staggering level of bumbling incompetence.  What the hell happened to that team?  I know Jack Del Rio isn’t going to be mistaken for Vince Lombardi any time soon but his teams are generally, at least, competitive and display a modicum of preparation.  What did Oakland do all week to prepare for their Mexico trip, take lessons on burrito making and listen to Rosetta Stone?  This is a team that was 12-4 last year and was on the short list of AFC teams that might actually make the Patriots sweat a little.  Instead they join the long list of Houstons, Denvers, Chargers and Chiefs that can’t get out of their own way and will be lucky to finish the year at .500.  

And if you think the AFC Conference is bad, how about the AFC East.  I hope you don’t watch the Patriots for entertainment purposes, if so, you might want to shut it down until the playoffs.  The Patriots have exactly one interesting game remaining, Pittsburgh week 15, otherwise it’s five games against their laugh-out-loud awful divisional opponents.  The Bills have lost three straight, the Dolphins have lost four straight and the Jets are 1-4 in their last five.  Boston’s subway system the morning of a blizzard runs with more precision than this collection of stiffs.  As long as Brady is the Patriots quarterback and Belichick is the Patriots coach the league should mandate that all of their AFC East opponents change their team logo to a white flag.

The Patriots are 8-2.  They are a virtual lock to win 13 or 14 games.  They are going to have a first round bye.  They are going to crush a lousy team with a lousy quarterback in the divisional round of the playoffs.  The only pressing question left from now until the AFC Championship is whether or not that game will be played in Foxboro or Pittsburgh.  So much for the unpredictability of sports.

Notes

Inside the Numbers:

-In Brady’s two games on the high altitude swing through Denver and Mexico City he was a combined 55 for 71, for 605 yards and 6 touchdowns.  His QB rating was 130.3.

-In Brady’s last 22 regular season games he has thrown 50 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.

-When Brady has faced a team with Jack Del Rio as either the head coach or defensive coordinator, including the playoffs, he has thrown 25 touchdowns and one interception.  Hey Jack, whatever you’re doing, it’s not working.

-On Sunday Belichick recorded win number 271 as a head coach, passing Landry for third place on the all-time list.  He is still a staggering 76 wins shy of Don Shula for the top spot.

-The Patriots have won 13 straight road games.  It is the 2nd longest streak in NFL history.  The 1988-90 Niners are the current record holders with 18.

TB12 Method:  In his constant battle to kick father time’s ass Brady was spectacular Sunday, completing over 80% of his passes for a 131.9 quarterback rating.  Is it possible at age 40 that Brady is actually getting better?  He is the current favorite to win the NFL MVP award; he continues to move in the pocket as well as he ever has; and he might be throwing the ball downfield with more precision than at any point in his career.  Brady completed two perfect bombs to Brandin Cooks against Oakland, including a 64-yard touchdown that effectively iced the game in the first minute of the 2nd half.  Brady currently leads the NFL with 43 passes over 15 yards.  If they’re smart every quarterback in the NFL has ‘The TB12 Method’ on their Christmas list.

Center of Attention:  One of the most impressive things about Sunday’s win over Oakland was that the Patriots were without starting center, David Andrews.  Andrews is having a Pro Bowl caliber year and was replaced by a guy, Ted Karras, with virtually no game experience, and the Patriots offense didn’t miss a beat.  15 years ago the Raiders organization learned the hard way of the potential impact of losing a quality center, when their Pro Bowl center, Barret Robbins, went missing before Super Bowl XXXVII.  Robbins never played in the game and their offense imploded in a 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  

Strange side note: We later learned from Robbins’ ex-wife the bizarre details of his pre-Super Bowl disappearance.  The episode was apparently triggered by Robbins not taking his depression medication, and it must have been some strong medication because he spent the day before the big game partying in Tijuana, Mexico where he thought he was celebrating the Raiders “victory” in the Super Bowl that had not yet been played.

Bowl Cut:  They should add a Mark Davis cam to every Raiders broadcast.

Into Thin Air:  This game might have been won before the ball was ever kicked off.  The Patriots not only played Denver in the thin air of mile high last week but Belichick wisely kept the team in the high altitude of Colorado, holding practices at the Air Force Academy.  By the time the Patriots reached Mexico City, which is 2,000 feet higher than mile high, they were fully acclimated to the conditions.  The Raiders, on the other hand, rolled into town the day before the game and looked completely gassed right out of the chute.  The Raiders used the same approach last year when they beat the Houston Texans in Mexico City so they went with it again.  Makes perfect sense to think that something that would work against the Texans would also work against the Patriots.

A Week in the Life of:  Marshawn Lynch recently had a rather unusual week as far as NFL running backs go.  He was tossed from a game for contacting an official, spent the rest of the game watching from the stands, then after the game took the train home, was eventually suspended for one game and during his suspension practiced with his old high school, causing them to be investigated for violating local high school bylaws.

Sensitivity Training:  Belichick reportedly ruffled a few feathers when he said this about the game in Mexico City on WEEI Monday,  “I think we’re fortunate there was no volcano eruptions, earthquakes or anything else…”  A bunch of overly sensitive types freaked out on Twitter including one guy who countered that Mexicans should be happy when they visit America and are not killed in a mass shooting.  Now that is a perfectly valid point considering that Mexico is a completely non-violent and safe country.  I read recently that drug cartels in Juarez just instituted a new policy of meting out discipline with hugs and kindness.

He Said What Now?:  Don’t expect Jerry Jones to be invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Kraft’s this year.  ESPN’s ‘Outside the Lines’ recently reported that Roger Goodell called Jerry Jones in August to inform him of Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension and Jones responded with this poetic gem, “I’m gonna come after you with everything I have.  If you think Bob Kraft came after you hard, Bob Kraft is a pussy compared to what I’m going to do.”  While Patriots fans have likely used similar language to describe their beloved owner’s response to Deflategate, Jones is shameless hypocrite.  Not long ago he was telling Kraft to stand down and accept his Deflategate punishment but when it’s Jones’ team that is being adversely affected suddenly he is singing a different tune.  As far as picking sides in the Jones v. Goodell feud that would be like asking a woman who she’d rather date, Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein.  Sophie had an easier choice.

Gridiron Death Star:  Mark Davis might be a clown but is he also about to become the first owner of an NFL team in Las Vegas, where the Raiders are building one helluva a badass looking stadium.  The only thing missing from this virtual tour video is a Darth Vader voice over declaring, “The battle station is almost fully operational.”

For The Record:  Gostkowski’s high-altitude-aided 62-yard field goal at the end of the first half got me thinking, who is the true record holder of the longest field goal in NFL history.  This title comes with two stipulations:

-The kick cannot be assisted by thin air (sorry Denver)

-The kicker has to have a human foot.  As impressive as Tom Dempsey’s then record 63-yard kick was, I am looking for a field goal that was made by someone that doesn’t have a shoe shine box attached to their leg.

True Record Holder:  David Akers, San Francisco 49ers

Akers kicked a 63-yard field goal in 2012 at Lambeau field which means it was both outdoors and on grass.  Impressive.

Terry Glenn, 1974-2017:  Tough news hearing about the sudden death of Terry Glenn from an automobile accident.  Apparently Glenn had an infamous reputation as a driver, a sentiment echoed on Twitter by WEEI’s Gerry Callahan, “I spent a day with Terry Glenn once upon a time. Nice enough guy, but I remember one thing above all others: He drove like a maniac”.  People might not remember that Glenn caught Brady’s first touchdown pass and it came during Brady’s breakout came as a pro.  After two unspectacular starts Brady lit it up in his third start, a 29-26 win over the San Diego Chargers, throwing for 364 yards and two touchdowns.  More significantly Glenn was at the heart of the infamous power struggle between owner Bob Kraft and then coach Bill Parcells.  It was just before the 1996 draft and the Patriots held the seventh spot in the first round.  Kraft and Director of Player Personnel, Bobby Grier, wanted a lightning fast wide receiver out of Ohio State and Parcells reportedly wanted to take a defensive lineman.  Kraft would eventually side with Grier and the Patriots drafted Terry Glenn.  

This move was the beginning of the end for Parcells’ time in New England.  After the season Parcells was hired to run the NY Jets and Grier was promoted to general manager.  Glenn had a highly productive rookie year, hauling in 90 catches for over 1,100 yards, but a disappointing career plagued by injuries and attitude problems.  If, however, you believe in the butterfly effect, Glenn proved to be the catalyst for Bill Belichick ultimately landing with the Patriots and taking them on this historic run.  His Patriots career may have been disappointing but his impact is still being felt.  Glenn was 43-years old.

[louisewahlander]

Journal 1998

OCTOBER 5 1998 – Farnham England Everyone has moved in to the house now. Ground floor: Charlotte, Rob, and Henry. First floor: Me, Abi, Pauliina, Ella and Emma…and Second floor is the kitchen. My room is awful, white painted brick walls, and it has the shape of…well, i dunno, it has no shape and yet it has a million and one shapes, i think i have 7 corners and none is in a 90 degree angle. Atleast i got the biggest room in the house, but then again, i have to pay most rent. I love the address though, Castle Field. We are right behind Farnham Castle and we can see it from our kitchen tower-window. Pauliina is nice, she’s finish so i guess we have more in common than i have with the rest in the house. They are actually a bunch of snobs! So obnoxious and loud and GIRLY…they are! I cannot believe how they can behave like this just because of a jumper or a pair of shoes: "They’re sooooo gooorgeous!!" And they giggle and jump up and down. OCTOBER 17 1998 – Farnham England Welcome to the house of fun… Aaah, how i love my house mates, they’re so…so, loud, and they never pick up their junk after themselves, and they never go to bed, they throw parties til 5am and don’t care about the ones who want to sleep, they yell and shout, and scream and uuuuuuugh! How can anyone be like them? All they care about is their hair and make up, clothes and shoes… And have any of them been into college yet? I doubt it cuz they are always shopping or just hanging in the kitchen with Henrys one and a million friends! Everytime you go out of your room there’s a new face in the hallway or kitchen, and they say Hi! I’m a friend of Henry’s…Oh yeah, kinda guessed you were! Oh and Char is sooo skinny i’ve never seen anything skinnier and yet she complains she’s so fat and all she eats is Kellogs Branflakes, and at the most a slice of toast with nothing on it… OCTOBER 18 1998 – Farnham England I hate Sundays in Farnham! They’re so ghost like. Everything is so quiet… And today Pauliina is in London. It’s only me and Gabrielle left. We went for the longest walk, it wasn’t meant to be that long… First we walked around town for an hour taking pictures for this stupid module i don’t understand, and neither does Gabi. She even asked Robin what the hell it’s about and he looked at her with those evil eyes saying You don’t know? Read the module book… She said I have, and then he looked totally annoyed and started to explain it. The thing is, the module book says one thing, Robin another, and John says another thing, and i refuse to ask Martin for he’ll probably say something totally different from everyone else… From what i understand we’re supposed to represent Farnham, while challangeing the rural myth and…yuck! Anyway, we were out taking pictures of Farnham, but both me and Gabrielle ended up taking pictures of trash near the shut down theatre. Then we went on to the cemetery, and there Gabrielle suggested that we should go up to the fields behind the art colege. Sure! We started walking and she said Let’s go up here, i know this is the way, this must be the right way… Ha ha ha, right… Eventually she found the right way and we walked out into the open fields… Beautiful, until Gabi started talking about her phobias with open fields. Saying: What if an axe murderer comes along or a wierdo who starts to follow you, where do one hide??? And she says i’m having wierd thoughts sometimes! I think we were out walking for 3 hours. OCTOBER 23 1998 – Farnham England Just came back from the union. It’s Emma’s birthday and she invited everyone in the house to come down to the SU for drinks. Sure she asked me to come along, and she asked Pauliina too…but when we came to the union they totally ignored us and said nothing to us except for: You allright? Like fifty times in a row. They took pictures and excluded me and Pauliina from everyone of them. Me and Pauliina had the advantage to slag them right infront of them…in swedish! Ha ha! Emma had on this skirt that was so short you didn’t need to look up it to see her knickers and Abi had on this top which showed most of her boobs, they were nearly falling out. There’s nothing wrong to show off your boobs if you have a nice pair but, you don’t have to think they’re the biggest and best looking pair in the world, and you don’t have to look down on them every five minutes to admire them, and you don’t shake them and then giggle because they move… They’re a bunch of tarts! Ella and Char are snobby too, but they are a lot better than Abi and Emma… Anyway, i left the union after a while, and by then Rob had left too, cuz they ignored him aswell, but they always do. They say he's’wierd and what not. But he's’a sweet guy, he's’only 17 and so what if he likes to keep to himself? OCTOBER 24 1998 – Farnham England Ha ha ha… Last night Charlotte lost her keys at the union, so she couldn’t get in. Henry did let her in to the house, but then she couldn’t get into her room, so she had to sleep on the kitchen floor. How hilarious! The thing is, she lost her keys, never asked anyone if they’d seen them, called the porters lodge and had them come and change the lock (the front door one, so we all got new keys, and the door to her room) and she had to pay £86 for it! Then ofcourse as soon as the locksmith was gone some guy showed up and said he had Char’s keys… She had given them to him at the union! So she payed £86 for nothing really!! Ha ha ha! I’m not an evil person, but i think she got what she deserved, for if you drink yourself stupid each night like she (and the other girls in this house) does… They all need to realise that they can’t go on like this, they dress like tarts and they are pissed stupid every night, they can hardly walk. Maybe i feel like this cuz i’m older than all of them, i dunno. But it’s not like i don’t drink, for i do, but i don’t drink so much that i pass out from it. And they should be careful, there’s been 3 rapes in Farnham the past month, and they’ve all been done with the help of the "rape drug"… OCTOBER 25 1998 – Farnham England There was a big fire in the house next to ours, joint with ours tonight! Me and Pauliina were down in the laundry when the alarm went off. First we didn’t care, thought it’s just another one of them false alarms. I mean, there’s been atleast 2-3 alarms each week since we got here, and they’ve all been false, the fire trucks has been here and all, but there’s been no fires! But in the end we did walk out of the laundry room and some girl came yelling at us to go to the fire assembly point, so we started walking up Castle Field when we saw smoke coming out of our house! Both of us panicked, and both said at the same time: My cameras!! Then we saw that it wasn’t our house but the one next door, so that felt abit better! But still, that house is joint with ours… The fire trucks came and they had smoke divers and everything! Scary! Apparantly a chip pan got over heated and exploded. And now they have no kitchen…it’s all burnt up…and our back yard is full of junk…the cooker, a melted kettle, a toaster, pots and pans… I can’t wait for tomorrow to take pictures of it all. One thing is for sure, i am never gonna ignore a fire alarm from now on. NOVEMBER 6 1998 – Farnham England I got the tickets to fly to Belfast today! £79 it cost for a return ticket, plus i need to get to Heathrow and back too…taxi? It’s £35 to go to Heathrow by taxi…expensive! I leave on the 12 th and stays until the 15 th. I’m really looking forward to this trip, i need a break! I did go to London 2 days ago, and it was fun. Me and Patricia went to photo galleries and the V&A. Had a delicious lunch at Govindas in SoHo. Then we did some shopping, but i didn’t buy much as i am going to Belfast!!! We had revies three days ago, and they went well, i got a good mark, and they loved my workbook! OH! And i finally got my tuition award. I was down at the registry asking if they’d heard anything from the Surrey County Council and they said no, and then this guy phoned them up and fixed it all and now i got a £1000 tuition grant which will cover my whole tuition for this year!! Yay! I called Emma and asked if i could stay there for the weekend i’m in Belfast and she said yes. They’re all looking forward to seeing me. When i called one of Emma’s daughters picked up the phone and i almost didn’t finish the Hi when she screamed Ooooh! Is it Louise? How you doing? Bla bla bla… It was great, then she asked, When are you coming over to see us, we haven’t seen you in a while, we missed you the last time you were over… And i told her i was coming over in a few days… And she said she’d have to tell Emma-Jane and Vicky… It was great, i’m so glad that they concider me a part of their family. Emma said she might not be home when i arrive but she said You got the key, let yourself in and make yourself at home, your room is there and you know where to find everything! NOVEMBER 13 1998 – Anditown Belfast I’m so happy i am here again! I love this place. The flight over went well and i sat next to some guys and one called me, what was it, not lady…madame or something and i nearly died, hey i’m only 22, and the guy couldn’t be younger than 20… i took the bus from the airport into the city centre and then i walked to Belfast Exposed and Sean gave me coffee in Gerrys mug that said "Horny little devil" ha ha, which i needed for it rained and rained! And they have made Belfast Exposed so beautiful now, they now have the place where the chippie used to be on King Street, and that’s where you enter the place, and it’s so nice, and there’s stairs up to the old premises. And everything was cleaned out and organised for once, and they have a brand new darkroom which i’m in love with! It’s great. And they let me print some pictures for free, those negatives from 96, when Sean took pictures of us at Kellys the night before me and Liz moved back to Sweden. They turned out great. Mark had sent me some of them, but there were so many other pictures i had not seen. It’s sad though cuz Kathy is no longer with the Belfast Exposed, there’s some new girl there instead. After that i went to Anditown and met Emma and one of her daughters, i can never remember her name, she’s got too many kids and grandkids… I do know Moira for she’s in Dublin and she’s the one who gave us a lift down there once…but the others i have no idea who they are, i just know them by faces… Then some lady i swear i have never seen came up to me hugged me and kissed me and said How wonderful to see you again, how are you dear? I don’t know who she was! (i still don’t, and it’s now March 11 99) And Emma’s friend the evil lady was there too, but she has altzheimers now so all she did was sit on a chair and sleep. She always used to stare at me and Liz and mumble words we couldn’t make out what they were… I have been to two exhibitions, Yoko Ono "have you seen the horizon lately" which was crap, she takes credit for alot of things that John Lennon made when he was alive, and that’s not right! Then i saw David Byrne’s "Strange ritual and Sleepless nights" which was amazing! I loved that one! I could’ve stayed looking at that forever. There was a Byrne book in the gallery shop but it was £40 so i couldn’t buy it for i had spent so much money shopping allready! Oh, i wanna see more of Byrne’s photography!! Ofcourse i missed the Clive Barker book signing! I was going to go there, but i was in my room and looked at the time, and realized that it had started 10 minutes ago, so i didn’t bother to try to get there… Oh i don’t wanna leave… NOVEMBER 20 1998 – Farnham England Me Charlotte and Emma cleaned our kitchen today…scrubbed it with bleach! It was so yucky! Emma cleaned out the fridge and gave out a loud scream of horror as she tossed a bag of chips on the floor… Me and Char had a look in it, and i swear, another day and those green furry chips would’ve walked away on their own. Why keep chips in the fridge, for weeks! It’s Henry’s chips and when he gets back he’s gonna hear about it! Atleast now the whole kitchen is clean. But for how long? Char came up with the idea of writing huge notes: Do your fucking dishes, NOW! Stuff like that, and we did put some up. The people in this house needs to take responsibility. It’s always me or Emma or Char who cleans up after everyone else! And when you have to use bleach all over it’s really bad! The kitchen is clean, but it has a yucky smell of Sainsburys white bleach instead!