#top gun writing

[talkfastlibrary]

Soft & Sweet–Jake Seresin (An Arrangement Series)

An Arrangement Masterlist

Follow here for all updates as I do not have a taglist

word count: 2.7k

warnings: mentions of cramps, period symptoms, no blood mentions, soft!jake

Feedback, asks, comments/reblogs mean the world to me!

Enjoy!

Jake would like to think he’s become a sort of expert on you over the course of the months you’ve been living with him. He knows you snooze your alarm at least three times before waking up and if you snooze it four times that means you’ll roll over and snuggle on him. He knows how you take your coffee and that you immediately change into comfy clothes when you’re home from work. 

He makes sure to keep popcorn in stock and hot cocoa in the pantry because it’s a comfort thing for you at night before bed. Being an expert on you and also being surrounded by women growing up, he knew exactly when your period was coming around. 

The week before it happened you’d be a bit snippy with him and crave a multitude of things. The few days leading into it left you being extra affectionate with him and you’d smother his cheek, jawline, and neck in kisses while his hand would rub at your lower back. The first couple days of your period were spent in pain (even though you tried to hide it from him) and he’d make sure a heating pad was available. 

While he was gathering his things from the locker room after a flight simulation, a notification dinged on his phone. It was the period app he downloaded so he would be prepared signaling that today would be Day One. All this week you were being feisty and would sleep in a tank top and your underwear because you got so hot at night. 

Jake lifts a light blue bag from the bottom of his locker that has a stuffed brown bear inside that can be heated up in the microwave for cramps and comfort. 

“What’s that?” Rooster asks, nodding towards the bag. “Is it Sugar’s birthday?”

“No, I bought this a month ago. It’s a stuffed animal that can be heated in the microwave,” Jake explains.

“Why would you want it to be warm?”

“It’s to help with period cramps, Rooster.”

“Wait, really? I should get one for Serena, she shrinks into a ball every month from the pain…” Rooster purses his lips and pulls out his phone. “Can you send me the info?”

***

Jake gets home after you because he picked up extra candy and other favorites of yours. When he carried all the bags into the kitchen he tried listening for the TV or your music playing but all he heard was silence. He leaves the grocery bags on the counter but makes sure to grab the gift bag with the brown bear inside on his way to find you. 

First, he looks in your bedroom and bathroom just in case you wanted to be alone for a bit and both are empty. Next stop is his bedroom and you’re standing in the middle of his closet with a hanger and your sweater in your hands, your tank top pulled up a little on your back. 

“Hey, Sugar, sorry I’m late. I stopped–Woah, hey, what’s wrong?” he notices your shoulders are shaking, broken sobs coming from your mouth. He drops the bag on the floor spinning you around. His heart ached seeing your eyes puffy and red, cheeks wet and smeared black from your eye makeup as you cried. 

As soon as you see him you drop the hanger and sweater so you can fold into his chest, his arms wrap around you tightly. He hushes a kiss into your hair holding you while you cry your day and emotions out. After a few moments your arms fall slack, your sniffling becomes more frequent and Jake knows you’re done crying. At least for now. 

“C’mere,” he keeps his arms around you as he leads you to his bed. He sits you down then kneels in front of you, his thumbs wiping away the remaining tears and makeup from your cheeks. “Talk to me, what happened?”

The words tumble out of you about all the things that went wrong today. Reynolds was sick so you told him to stay home and you drove Jake’s spare car to work but then was stuck by a train and you were already running late. Then customers' orders were backed up, some had not so nice words to share with you, you and Serena got into a little bit of a fight. Your stomach hurt all day. 

“And then, to top it all off,” you sniff wiping at your nose.

“Hang on,” he pats your knees and gets a tissue from your side of the bed. “Here, blow your nose, baby.” 

You do as he says, it hurts your head because of the pressure from crying but you can at least breathe a bit better now. Jake takes the tissue and tosses it into the small wastebasket next to the bed.

“Thank you. To top it all off, when I was changing in the closet, my bracelet broke,” you bite your lip and open your fist to reveal the broken bracelet. It was a gift from Betty and somehow the clasp just snapped in half. 

“Let me see,” he plucks the piece of jewelry in his fingers, touching it delicately. “I know a place that will fix this no problem. Were any of the pieces missing?”

“I don’t think so. It’ll really get fixed?”

“I promise, Sugar. I’ll take it first thing tomorrow morning,” he picks up your hand kissing it. “I have a gift for you.” 

“A gift?” you sniff a few more times watching him move into the closet. He appears with a blue gift bag and your brows furrow. 

“For you,” he presents it on your lap.

You pull the tissue paper out and find a stuffed brown bear staring at you. It’s a little hefty when you take it out of the bag and you get a faint whiff of lavender. It has the sweetest face and is super soft and fluffy.

“I can heat it up in the microwave and it will help with your cramps,” Jake explains. His fingers stroke up and down your thigh. 

“Jake, he’s so cute, I love it,” you hug your arms around his neck. “Thank you. Ah!”

There’s a spasm of pain in your lower stomach as a cramp hits you, Jake’s hands grip the sides of your stomach gently. 

“Change into comfy clothes, baby and I’ll go heat up the bear.” He kisses the side of your head. “What do you want for dinner?”

“I kinda want pancakes.”

“Coming right up.” 

He helps you stand up and you move back into the closet to put on your favorite pair of sweats and one of Jake’s t-shirts. While he’s making noise in the kitchen you wash your face and take a few Midol while your stomach throbs. You press your hands to the lower part of your tummy as you head downstairs into the kitchen. Jake’s back is to you while he works over the stove and you sit on a stool doubling over so your face is on the island counter. 

“Why aren’t you laying in bed?” he asks when he turns around, spatula in hand. 

“I don’t know. Wanna be by you…missed you,” you mumble.

“I missed you too, Sugar,” he grins plopping a completed pancake on a plate. “I don’t want you to be in pain while I cook dinner. Go on and lay down.”

“Fine. But I’m going to the living room.”

You join the sectionals against the couch so it’s one big square couch and you place the pillows in the comfiest position and blankets. Even though you’ll be kicking them off as soon as you’re warmed up. You’re settled in the center scrolling through streaming services trying to find a movie or show to watch. You weren’t sure what you were in the mood for. 

“Do you want your bear while you eat or after?”

“After.”

Jake brings over the plate full of pancakes, maple syrup, and your extra large water bottle.

“Water?” you pout, eyeing it up as you take a fork from him. 

“It’s supposed to help your cramps. Did you drink enough water today?” he asks, cutting up the pancakes and you remain silent. “That’s what I thought. Eat up and I’ll warm up your bear.”

“Okay. Thanks for making dinner,” you lean over kissing his cheek. “How was flying for you today?”

He tells you about his day while he scrolls through Disney+ and selects a movie. 

“Why’d you pick this movie?” you whine noticing it’s The Fault in Our Stars. 

“Because, on day one you always pick this movie so you can cry some more,” he kisses your nose. “And you get extra snuggly with me so that’s a win for me.”

The pancakes are all gone and you help him clean everything up even though he chastises you the whole time. He places the bear in the microwave and the tea kettle whistles loudly. 

“Peppermint tea,” he winks, ripping open the tea bag. He grabs your favorite mug then pours the hot water over the bag. 

The simplest of actions has tears springing in your eyes and he notices, of course he notices, because he wraps you in his arms. 

“It’s okay, I know it hurts. Just a few more minutes and the bear will help, I promise.”

“No, it’s not that,” you shake your head. You frame his cheeks with your hands, enjoying the smooth sensation of his skin and the early prickles of his stubble already coming through. “You’re so good to me Jake, no one has ever noticed the little things like this before. It’s…you’re amazing, you know that?” 

You extend up on your toes giving him a kiss. He thinks it’s a simple ‘thank you’ kiss so he pulls away too soon but you chase his lips eagerly. So eagerly that you push him back against the counter, your fingers tugging on his hair. Jake’s hands grip your waist, his tongue soft against yours. When his arms pull you in tighter, you press against his stomach and it pushes a little on your lower stomach. You squeak a little in pain. 

“Sorry, sorry,” he rushes just as the microwave beeps. His palm rests lightly on your lower tummy. “Why don’t you go lay down and I’ll bring the tea and bear over, hm?” 

He kisses your forehead as you go, feet shuffling on the floor. The tv is paused on the movie and once you’re horizontal on the couch, your cramps lighten up a little bit. You watch Jake mosey about, waiting desperately for him to be by you. When he finally does rejoin you on the couch he sets the cup of tea next to your water. 

“Who’s ready for some bear cuddles?” he smiles, holding up the bear. 

“He needs a name,” you say, taking the stuffed animal from him. 

The smell of lavender is stronger now that it’s warm and you place it across your belly. Jake crawls next to you, spreading his legs so you can scoot in the space between him. 

“I’m sure you’ll come up with a name. Ready for the movie?”

You try to pay attention to the movie but Jake’s fingers are tickling your stomach above the bear, the warmth is really helping and the smell of lavender is soothing. Jake’s other hand tickles his fingers up and down your arm, goosebumps rising in their wake and your body starts to relax. 

“Feels nice,” you sigh nuzzling into his chest.

“Good,” he murmurs in your hair. 

“And thank you for the bear, he’s helping the pain.”

“You’re welcome, Sugar. Does he have a name yet?” 

“I think Mr. BB.”

“Mr. BB?” 

“Yeah, Mr. Brown Bear, but BB for short.”

“It’s perfect.” 

The movie continues and you cry at the same parts you always cry at but Jake holds you through it all, making sure you’re sipping from your water bottle. When it’s over, the pair of you head upstairs for bed and you change into the silk shorts Jake bought. His sheets are cool and he remembers to turn the fan on high. 

“Do you get cold with the fan on?” you ask nibbling on your lip.

“No, you keep me toasty warm,” he laughs crawling in next to you. “What time do you work tomorrow?” 

“Open until six. Friday’s are our busiest days,” you yawn loudly. 

“Will you be alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll power through. First day’s always the worst.”

“Sometimes it lingers in the second, Sugar.”

“I’m a tough cookie,” you giggle, hooking your ankle over his leg. 

“I know,” he smacks your butt affectionately under the covers. “I hate that it pains you so much. If you need anything, give me a call. I have the whole day off.”

“Lucky,” you yawn again.

“Go to sleep, baby.”

And because he tells you to and you’re oh so tired, you fall asleep fairly quickly to his fingers tracing designs on your back. 

Suddenly your eyes are open staring into darkness and your hand is splayed across your stomach with tight throbbing pain. There’s an all too familiar pressure between your legs and somehow you roll out of bed and into the bathroom. You use the toilet and replace your feminine product you use then take some more Midol to help your pain. 

You fall back into bed and curl up, biting on your knuckle as another wave pulses you, you don’t want to wake Jake up. He stirs behind you and his arm wraps over your belly. 

“Are you hurting?” he asks softly. 

“Yeah, woke me up,” you whisper. 

“Where’s it the worst?” 

You move his hand to the spot that hurts the most and he applies a little pressure, you press down a little harder and sigh as the pain alleviates. It takes a long time for you to fall asleep again, you tried watching TikToks and Jake turned on an old nostalgic show which finally lulled you asleep. 

It felt as if you only closed your eyes for a moment because Jake was kissing your cheek and brushing your hair to wake you up. You groan at him. 

“You slept through all of your alarms, sweetheart,” Jake’s voice is soft and raspy in your ear. “It’s time to go to work.”

“I’m tired,” you whine.

“I know.” 

A kiss to your cheek.

“I hurt.”

“I know.”

Another kiss to your cheek and you finally open your eyes, the lids feel super heavy. Your body feels heavy too when you sit up. A wave of vertigo washes over you causing you to nearly fall forward on the floor but Jake catches you.

“Woah, you’ve never had it this bad before. If you stay home will the store be okay?” He sits next to you making sure to keep a firm grip on you. 

“Umm,” you think over who’s going to be at the store today. Serena, Brynne and Dom will all be there and since it’s Friday your two high school interns will also be there. “Yeah, they should be fine. There will be five people there.”

“Good. Tell them you’re not coming in and go back to sleep,” he moves off the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to heat up Mr. BB for you. Do you want tea or anything?”

“No thanks,” you shake your head letting your fingers fly across your phone’s keyboard as you text everyone. “I hope Serena won’t be mad at me for calling in.”

“I’m sure she’ll understand, Sugar. I’ll be right back,” he kisses your forehead then exits the room. 

After receiving confirmation and well wishes from everyone, you fall back under the covers waiting for Jake to return. When he does, he rests Mr. BB on your lower belly and you nuzzle into Jake’s chest.

“You don’t work today, right?” you ask him.

“Nope, I’m all yours.”

“Good. Thanks for taking care of me.”

“I’ll always take care of you, y/n,” Jake mumbles into your hair. His fingers tickle designs up and down your back, it’s so soothing and relaxing. 

“I love that you do,” you mumble into his shirt. 

Jake’s ears perk up at that four letter word but when he looks down to ask you about it, you’re already deeply asleep. He smiles, loving that you’re so comfortable with him and trusting he’ll take care of you.

[talkfastromance4]

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face--Jake Seresin (An Arrangement Series)

author's note: thank you for your patience! As promised, this one is longer! and again, the dress in the photo is just so you can see what it looks like.

An Arrangement Masterlist

Follow here for all updates as I do not have a taglist

word count: 8.6k

warnings: a brief interaction with police, break-in

Feedback, asks, comments/reblogs mean the world to me!

Enjoy!

It’s a few weeks before the Navy ball and you’re at the flower shop putting together an arrangement for Betty. She’s at a rehab center after her surgery and so far she’s doing really well so you’re hoping she’ll be out soon enough. Jake has also been gone for a quick mission, he told you about it just before the fundraiser he helps sponsor at the pier.

You weren’t sure what to expect at the pier so you put on a pretty sundress that Jake couldn’t take his eyes off of. You definitely didn’t expect him to show up in his service khakis but when you saw the fundraiser was for foster children and their home you understood why because the kids hung onto him and asked him so many questions about flying the ‘big airplanes’.

The raised funds were to help add onto the house they live in and to hopefully build a new jungle gym. Some of the children were selling tickets and ran the booths with other adult volunteers. Jake stayed by your side the whole time introducing you to everyone while also speaking very highly of your flower shop which made your cheeks warm.

You snip some of the stems of the gladiolas you are working on smiling at the memory of that day and one little girl who kept running up to Jake–she had to be at least eight years old–showing him all the prizes she won.

As the sun was setting, the kids were leaving and that little girl came up one last time. You found out her name was Zara when Jake greeted her by squatting on the ground. She whispered something in his ear, he nodded then turned to you.

“Zara wants to give you something,” he smiled.

“Me?” you brightened and knelt down to her height. She hands you a plush flower with a smiley face in the center.

“Mister Jake says you make flowers.”

“He’s right, I do. Thank you so much, I love it,” you smiled at her. “And I know the perfect place to put it, right in my display case.”

Zara giggled then ran off towards the other kids at the bus and the director of the house they live in, a big smile on her face and you could have sworn she perked her chest up just the slightest.

“Thank you so much for today, Lieutenant. Your donation will definitely help us in building a new jungle gym.”

“It’s my pleasure, Ms. Dawes. Let me know if you need help with anything else. You’re doing an amazing job.”

She was clearly flustered then headed back to the kids. Jake faced you with his hand held out but you shook your head.

“What?”

“You shouldn’t charm people so easily like that.”

“Do I charm you?” he cocked his head to the side, his hand still extended. He wiggled his fingers clearly wanting you to hold his hand.

“I plead the fifth,” you sniffed but took his hand anyway.

“So,” Serena hops on the counter next to you, pulling you from your recollection of memory. “Where’s your boy toy? Haven’t seen him since he brought us breakfast a week ago.”

“He’s not my boytoy, but he should be home tonight. He had a mission to do.”

“Okay, boyfriend then.”

“He’s not that either,” you sigh tweaking the flowers a bit.

“Then what is he?”

You’re not sure what to say so you shrug.

“He takes you out, right?”

“Yeah.”

“He helps you with Betty,” she starts to tick off fingers, “he buys you and your employees breakfast, drives you around…if it looks like a boyfriend and quacks like a boyfriend–”

“That’s not how the saying goes,” you giggle then turn serious. “It’s not like that. It’s…complicated.”

“What’s complicated about it? You like him, right?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, figure it out ‘cause he’s down bad for you.”

You turn away with your arrangement to box it up and to also hide your smile at her comment. The door opens with the bell jingling above it and Reynolds comes in with a basket of your favorite snacks and sweet treats, a sign that Jake is on his way home.

“Lieutenant Seresin is on his way back from base but wanted you to have these to keep at the shop. I have to pick him up…will you be all right getting home?” Reynolds asks.

“I can take her Reynolds,” Serena says peering into the basket.

“Thank you,” you tell him sincerely.

“If you need anything, give me or him a call. I’ll see you Monday Miss y/n. Miss Serena,” he smiles then leaves the shop.

“Jake’s a duck and Reynolds is a duckling,” Serena states taking a pear from the basket and taking a big bite.

Jake sent you a text that he’d be leaving base the same time you’d be leaving the flower shop and asked if you’d like to go to brunch the following morning. After locking up with Serena, she drove you home and the whole way there you have this weird feeling in your stomach.

When you get out of her car you hear a loud crash from inside your house and you freeze. There’s more scuffling and you scurry back inside already calling Jake.

“y/n? What’s going on?” Serena asks in alarm.

“Hey Sugar, I wasn’t expecting a–”

“Jake, someone’s in my house,” you whisper frantically. Serena gasps then pulls out her phone to call the police.

“Where are you? Are you inside?” Jake asks.

“No, I’m still in Serena’s car. She’s calling the police.” You’re surprised at how calm your voice sounds when inside your heart is about to burst out of your chest.

“Drive away from your house, I’m on my way. Stay in the car, y/n I’ll be there soon.”

You gulp when the line goes dead, he rarely calls you by your first name. Serena drives a block away but still in view of your home and you’re freaking out because what if whose inside comes out and runs towards her car? What if they have a weapon?

“It’s fine, the police are on their way,” Serena soothes, “I’m on with dispatch. Someone is five blocks away on another call and they’re coming here now.”

Two squad cars show up without their lights and get out of the car. You watch them walk right inside, your multiple locks were clearly busted. It’s like a lifetime goes by and then you see Jake’s truck turn the corner. Without thinking, you escape Serena’s car ignoring her hissing your name and run towards him.

He slams on his brakes, puts it in park then jumps out as soon as he opens the door catching you just as you leap into his arms.

“y/n, I told you to stay in Serena’s car,” he reprimands but hugs you tightly against him. One hand holds the back of your neck. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m scared,” you whisper shaking your head.

“It’s all right, I’m here and it looks like the cops are too. Have they come out and talked to you yet?”

“No, they’re still inside,” Serena says behind you.

“You can go home if you’d like, Serena,” Jake says, he continues rubbing the back of your neck.

“You sure?” She asks.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay with Jake here,” you turn your head to look at her over his bicep. “Thanks for driving me.”

“You call me as soon as you’re done talking with them, okay?” she holds out her arms and you give her a tight hug.

“I will. Drive home safe, text me when you’re there.”

“Bye Jake, thanks for coming,” she says.

“Bye Serena,” he waves.

She gets back in her car then pulls away slowly. You fold your arms over your chest, feeling a breakdown coming but you can’t do that yet. Jake takes you in his arms again and you close your eyes focusing on his arms around you, his breath blowing on your hair and his heartbeat. It centers you and calms down your breathing, but sadly, your heart is still racing in fear.

The police finally came out to say the perp got out the back door and the coast was clear to head inside. They followed you around jotting down things that were missing; your small flat screen was taken, some clothes and the record player you saved up for was also gone. Your records were still there but some were smashed on the ground and your kitchen was a mess.

“They were probably looking for diamonds or other expensive jewelry,” one of the officers said. “People tend to hide them in their flour.”

“I don’t have any kind of jewelry expensive enough to be stolen,” you shake your head then gasp and run to your bedroom.

“y/n! Wait for us!” Jake calls after you and you look through your clothes again. The dress from Madam Floquet is gone.

“Oh no!” you groan and start to toss hangers with clothes on them behind you. It has to be here, it just has to be.

“Sugar, what’re you–hey, slow down!” Jake’s arms wrap around you, fingers latching around your wrists like a vice until you stop your frantic pillaging. “What are you looking for?”

“My dress! The one you got me, it’s gone! They took that too!”

The clothes in your hand fall to the floor and you bury your face in your hands, Jake’s arms circling around you even tighter.

“No, they didn’t,” he says softly in your ear, “I had Reynolds bring it to my house just for safekeeping.”

“It is?”

“Yes, it wasn’t stolen. Was there anything else missing from your room?”

“I don’t think so,” you whisper.

“Miss, could you write down your statement?”

Jake sat with you at the kitchen table while you wrote down the incident with a shaky hand. When the officers left, you stared around your small house now in a disarray and your door hanging from its hinges. Thinking of other possibilities that could have happened if you were here sent a shiver down your spine but makes you come to a decision.

You look at Jake, his green eyes alert even with the dark circles under his eyes again. Why does it seem like he never sleeps? Before you could catch it, a tear rolled down your cheek.

“What?” he asks, swiping it away with his thumb.

“Okay… I’ll move in with you.”

“Are you sure?” His eyebrows raise.

“I’m sure. This…was an eye opener. What if it happens again while I’m sleeping? You’re right, it’s not safe here but I can’t afford anywhere else. And you are closer to where Betty is.”

“Thank you,” he sighs taking both of your hands in his. “I’m so sorry this happened, Sugar. I’ll get you a new record player–the same one. And don’t worry about packing or anything like that, I’ll take care of everything.”

He brings your hands up, kissing the knuckles, and for the first time since meeting him, you fully trust that he will take care of everything.

And he did. Within twenty minutes after the break-in, he had movers at your place and they began packing up all your belongings. You watched and listened while he instructed where certain things would go in his house. Reynolds was also there to help but he mainly stayed by you to keep you company while Jake orchestrated the moving process.

When all was said and done, he leaned against your broken door frame watching you as you walked through your now empty house. This was your first big purchase as an adult, as a way of freedom of living on your own. You chose the color of the walls, the decorations in the bathroom and now it’s empty, barren.

Jake held out his hand as you circled back. Seeing his hand outstretched felt like a new beginning, a second chance and you were finally ready to accept his help so you took his hand and followed him out into the night. Although, it was nearing five o’clock in the morning.

Although you’ve been here before, he gave you another tour and you saw more Texas decor throughout the house. There were pictures of his family everywhere, he had two sisters who were married and a niece and nephew.

“I’d tell you about them but you look like you’re about to pass out on me, Sugar. Let’s get you to bed.”

You followed him up the stairs and into your room. The fake tree you remembered from last time had twinkly lights that were lit up and you saw your belongings from your old room in here.

“I made sure your clothes were placed in the closet and the dressers, you can rearrange them however you’d like. If you need anything at all, my room is at the very end of the hall.”

“Okay. Thank you, Jake, for everything,” you tell him.

“You’re welcome. Now, get some sleep.”

The first official night after the break-in was hard. You tossed and turned because you felt like a stranger in his house and bed even though you’d slept in it before. Eventually, you did fall asleep and that was the first time you dreamt of Jake.

It was like a dream within a dream, it felt so familiar like it had happened before. Can you have deja vu in a dream?

In the dream, you were at a wedding with Serena sitting next to you and a song came on. Jake appeared in front of you wearing a dark gray suit.

“Did you request this?” dream you smiled at him as he held out his hand.

“Maybe,” he grinned then pulled you against him. You danced to the song feeling complete and whole and just right in his arms.

Then you woke up wondering what song you could have been dancing to that was deemed special for you and him? He left sweet notes for you in the morning before work with a fresh pot of coffee and a muffin that Rhea would make for you who you found out was his housekeeper. She’s a lovely woman in her mid-fifties and talked about Jake like he was her own son.

He still hasn’t talked about his family yet but maybe he’s waiting for you to ask on your own.

Since you moved in with him, he made sure he was done with work so he could pick you up from the flower shop and you could both see Betty together. With Jake being out of state again for a few days, Reynolds has taken up his position of driving you around again.

This is the first time you’re seeing Betty without Jake and you decide to open up to her about Jake and what your situation with him really is about. So you told her about him paying for her medical bills, moving in with him, the break-in. You didn’t tell her these things in the first place because you didn’t want to upset her in her condition but she took it in stride, she’s a very resilient woman.

“Well, Dolly, it seems like he really has feelings for you.”

“But why have me sign paperwork and pay for everything? I have such a hard time understanding.”

“Maybe he grew up seeing love like that. Does he come from a rich family?”

“I don’t know, I just found out he has two sisters and a niece and nephew. We’ve never really talked about his family yet.”

“All you can do is ask. It also might be a way to protect his own heart, and I know you keep yours locked and guarded in a high tower.”

“You really think he has feelings for me?”

“Honey, I haven’t seen anyone look at you the way he does since your grandpa looked at me.”

“Really?” You’re blown away because your grandpa looked at your grandma like she created the universe. “Tell me how you two met again.”

She explains how she first saw John at an ice cream shoppe with her mother. He was the handsomest man she ever saw in her life and she went back to that ice cream shoppe day after day until he finally bought her a cherry cola. They then went to the drive-in a lot, other diners and was told his family had lots of money.

That part wasn’t true but Betty didn’t care, they loved each other like crazy and were married within eight months of first meeting.

“Give Jake a chance, Dolly.”

“But what about–”

“Stop thinking and go with what you feel. Don’t think, do what your heart tells you. Promise me?”

“I promise.”

“When does he come home?”

“Tonight I think,” you sigh looking at your Apple watch. It was a ‘Welcome Home’ gift from him that was placed on your nightstand a few days after you moved in. You appreciated the discreet way he gave it and it did come in handy while you were at the shop working.

“And when is the Navy ball?”

“This Saturday. I’m so nervous, grandma. What if I make a fool of myself in front of his squad?”

“I’m sure you won’t, and I’m sure Jake will be by your side the whole time.”

She dozes off after that. You kiss her cheek and then go home. You hear splashing as you get out of the car in the driveway and you notice Jake’s truck is parked in the middle garage. Your heart leaps knowing he’s home.

“Have a good night, Reynolds,” you smile to him with the window rolled down. He winks then pulls out of the driveway and you head inside.

It’s dark in the house except for the underlights of the cabinets in the kitchen. The back door is slid open and you hear more splashing. You find Jake doing laps in the pool, his body aglow in the aquamarine lights. You watch him glide under the water fluidly for two laps, coming up halfway each time to catch a breath then descending into the water again.

You kick off your shoes, stepping carefully to one end of the pool while he’s at the other and wait until he comes to the halfway mark for air.

“Welcome home,” you call as soon as his head pops up. His eyes open and he smiles widely at you.

He swims to you quickly then stops in front of your legs that you’re lightly kicking in the water. He grabs hold of your moving ankles rubbing the inside of them with his thumbs.

“You’ve no idea how much I like hearing you say that, Sugar,” he pants, catching his breath from the swim.

“Feels like home when you’re here. When did you get back?”

“A couple hours ago,” his fingers tickle up and down your calves now. It gives you goosebumps. “Were you with Betty?”

“Mhm.”

The tickling of his fingers feels nice and it’s taking all your concentration to focus on your breathing.

“How is she?”

“Good. Still in pain and tired. She says hello.”

“I’ll come with you when you go see her again.”

“She’ll like that. How come you’re swimming?”

“It helps clear my head,” he lowers his head into the water and blows bubbles. “You can join me if you want. Birthday suits are highly recommended.” He wiggles his eyebrows playfully.

“Yeah?” you laugh then scratch your nose. “I don’t think so.”

“Can’t blame a man for trying. Do you want a pedicure?”

“Are you offering?”

“To pay, yes,” he nods, then tickles your toes.

“Jake! That tickles!” you shriek, jerking your legs but he keeps tickling. The quick movements of your legs makes water splash on your shorts and shirt then you’re both laughing.

“Okay, okay, I’m done,” he chortles. He stops tickling but keeps his grip on your ankles, his thumbs returning to the soft circles between your feet and along the arch.

He cocks his head to the side gazing up at you. Whenever he cocks his head that means trouble.

“Do you make those sounds just when you’re being tickled or from…other activities?”

“Other activities?” it’s your turn to cock your head.

“Nevermind, Sugar,” he shakes his head, lips quivering into a smirk. Then he rests his chin on your knee. “You’re just tempting me, that’s all.”

“Tempting you? How? I’m not doing anything.”

“That’s the worst part. You don’t even realize…I can only imagine what it’d be like if you were actively trying to tempt me. I’m already a goner.”

He’s staring at you with those hypnotic green eyes, he rolls his head so his cheek is pressed to your kneecap. His breath is warm on your skin and his hands continue to dance up and down your legs, going higher and slower each time.

“I know what you mean.”

The words were out of your mouth before you could even think to stop. You clap your hand over your lips hoping he didn’t hear it but of course he did because now he’s smirking.

“Yeah? Are you saying I tempt you, Sugar?”

“I’m saying…I…” you suck in a gasp when he presses his lips to the inside of your knee. His eyes still laser focused on you as he did so. “I-I understand what you mean.”

“That’s all?” he moves to your left knee, kissing you there as well. “Is this okay?”

His hands are on your calves and he pulls your legs apart a bit. You nod at his question. So with his lips still pressed to your knee, he gives small kisses around the circumference. They feel like little fish kisses, small pulses of his lips on your skin. He does the same thing to your right knee then he’s pulling himself out from the water to his full height.

Water droplets cascade down his body, your eyes follow one that rolls down his cheek and jawline onto his neck then over his chest and toned stomach before disappearing into the waistband of his swim trunks. You gulp, this is the first time you’ve seen him shirtless and what a sight it is. He’s standing between your opened legs and you feel his hip bones, your toes grazing against his calves under the water. This is the closest skin on skin contact you’ve had with him ever.

“Give me the word, Sugar,” his voice pulls your gaze back up to his eyes. He steps closer, crowding your space with his arms. His fingers slide up your thighs then rests his palms on the concrete beside you. “And I’m all yours.”

His pelvis is pressed against yours now, you can feel the coolness of the pool water but also the warmth radiating from his body and your head is spinning. Being this close to him is making your clothes wet and you clench your thighs.

“I…”

“Remember what I said at our first dinner together? How I said I could have pleasured you in your pretty flower shop?”

All you can do is nod because of course you remember it.

“Good. I gotta get out now, though. I’m all pruny, see?” he holds his hand up between you, his fingertips grazing the side of your breast as he does so.

You don’t even have time to look down and see because he’s backing away. A braver version of you would yank him back between your legs and kiss him, asking–no–begging him to show you exactly what he meant about pleasuring you. But you’re not at that brave version yet so you watch him walk through the water and use the steps to get out.

You have a nice few of his back muscles flexing as he runs his fingers through his wet hair. Your stomach flutters and you’re wondering how he could be so damn attractive. Jake pads across the concrete until he’s in front of you, his hand held out. You take it, feeling the water run down your arm as he helps you stand up.

“Want to watch a movie and order takeout?”

Will you be home for dinner tonight?” Jake asks Friday morning while you’re gathering your coffee and muffin. He’s sitting at the island with his tablet reading the news.

“Probably not. I’ve still got a bunch to do for this wedding tomorrow,” you sigh. Rhea hands you our lunch bag. “Thanks Rhea.”

“I added another muffin for dessert,” she smiles then picks up her cleaning supplies and heads into the dining room.

“You’ve been coming home late every night, last night I didn’t hear you until almost one a.m….” he frowns and crosses his arms.

“Yeah, it’s a big order. Me and Serena are working around the clock with Dom and Brynne helping out when they can. They’ve been working on a funeral arrangement.”

“Do you have to set it up for the wedding tomorrow?”

“Nope, they’ll take care of it. They know I’ve got the Navy ball with you tomorrow,” you smile then try to stifle a yawn but it escapes. You feel even more tired when the yawn finishes.

He stands up from his side of the island moving in front of you, bending a little to peer at your face more closely. His palms cup your cheeks as his thumbs brush under your eyes.

“How much sleep have you gotten?”

“I dunno,” you shrug and try to suppress another yawn. “Maybe five hours?”

“Five hours all week?”

“No, five hours last night. My mind kept me up on what I all needed to finish today.”

“You need your sleep, Sugar,” his fingers thread in your hair massaging the base of your neck. You let out a contented sigh.

“I’ll get it when the wedding’s done and Betty’s out of rehab. I told her we’d see her tomorrow before the ball, she wants to see my dress.”

“I’ll make sure we head there first before we go to the party,” he smiles and continues massaging your neck. “I set up a mani pedi for you tomorrow at eleven. Would you like me to call someone to do hair and makeup for you or would you like to do that yourself?”

“You have a hair and makeup person?” you tease but you’re feeling so relaxed with his neck massage.

“Yes, I do,” he smiles.

“Sure, that could be fun. Then I know I won’t look like a clown.”

“You never look like a clown. Promise me you’ll take an hour lunch today?”

“I’ll try.”

“You drive me crazy,” he sighs and removes his fingers from your neck.

“You do give good massages,” you turn your neck from side to side.

“That wasn’t even the full experience, darlin’. Have a good day at work.”

At midnight, you heard rumbling outside and then seconds later rain was downpouring on the windows. You sigh as you mark down on your clipboard a final count of the centerpieces in the fridge. You sent Reynolds home hours ago telling him you’d catch the bus promising you wouldn’t be too late. You broke that promise but you wanted to make sure the wedding arrangements were perfect because it was a shotgun wedding and the couple was desperate.

They insisted on paying double for the short notice and thankfully their request wasn’t anything too crazy. Lots of roses and lilies with pearls added throughout. Serena called it at eleven and you let Brynne and Dom go home early since they’ll be up early to set up for the wedding.

Being alone in the shop was your favorite because then you could crank your music up to as loud as you wanted without disturbing anyone.

Your watch started to vibrate and when you looked to see who was calling, an instant smile appeared because it was Jake.

“You’re up late,” you answer when you pick up your phone.

“Because you’re not home. Are you almost done?”

“Almost, just have to finish cleaning things up and I’ll be home. But it started raining and I don’t want to walk in the rain to the bus stop…”

“No need for the bus stop.”

“What do you mean?”

“Can you open the door? I’m getting soaked.”

Your mouth opens in confusion and you look to the front door where sure enough, Jake is standing there getting drenched by the onslaught of rain. You run to the front of the shop and unlock the door, Jake rushes in.

“What are you doing here?”

“Reynolds told me you sent him home and when I saw the forecast I didn’t want you walking in the rain at midnight. Especially after what happened at your house. And,” he holds up a wet to-go bag. “I brought you dinner.”

“Wow, you didn’t have to–I mean, thank you,” you smile taking the wet bag from him. “I have some towels in the back, I’ll go get them so you can dry off. Alexa, turn the volume down to three.”

You set the bag on your desk then open the door to the bathroom where you have fluffy towels. You wash your hands so much throughout the day you want to have a soft way to dry them off.

When you walk back out, Jake has lifted his hoodie off and because of the rain, it caused his t-shirt to cling to it. You got another great peek at his tanned and toned stomach, a happy trail disappearing into his jeans.

Pull yourself together, you scolded yourself.

“Here you go,” you hold out the towels to him. He uses it for his hair immediately, scrubbing at it fiercely. His hair is sticking up in all directions when he’s finished and you giggle.

“You finish cleaning up and I’ll put the spread out,” he says.

“Okay, the bag is on my desk in the back. There’s a mini fridge with soda and water.”

“I actually brought some wine. Thought you might like it after your busy week.”

“Wine sounds wonderful,” you smile.

He sidles past you behind the counter, your chests bumping and he pauses.

“Hi, by the way,” he says, green eyes glittering. He has a boyish grin and it makes him even cuter.

“Hi,” you giggle. “I have a comb in the bathroom if you’d like to fix your hair.”

“You don’t like my crazy hairstyle? I was thinking of wearing it like this tomorrow.”

“You’d turn heads for sure, but I like it like this.” You reach up to comb your fingers in his hair, pulling it down over his forehead. With his hair being wet it makes it more manageable to move it how you want it to. “There.”

“Thank you.”

His voice is sweet and his eyes are soft staring down at you. You’re caught in his green eyes, anticipating some kind of moment happening but then a loud crack of thunder jolts the moment away. He clears his throat then moves back into your office.

You’re humming along to Dean Martin as he sings From the Bottom of My Heart while you finish cleaning up. You sweep away fallen petals and thorns then start to dance a little with the broom when Frank Sinatra’s That’s Life starts to play. This is Betty’s playlist you play for her whenever she’s in the shop and when you spin around you slam into Jake’s body.

“Oh!”

“I’m a better partner than a broom.”

He takes the broom out of your hand bringing you into his arms in one quick sweep. His hand is warm on your lower back and then you’re dancing, following his footwork easily.

“What about the food?”

“The food can wait, let’s dance for a moment. Practice for tomorrow,” he smiles.

You dance around the small front of your shop, Dean Martin transitioning into Roberta Flack’s The First Time Ever I saw Your Face plays and you can’t help thinking what a magical moment this is.

Moments like this don’t happen to you; dancing with a handsome man while it’s raining outside to old music? You must be dreaming.

“I like this playlist,” he comments, spinning the two of you.

“It’s for Betty. This was my grandpa and her song. They would dance all the time and I always loved to watch them.”

“Did they ever dance in the shop like this?”

“All the time,” you smile, “there’s a picture of them dancing on my desk.”

“Sounds like they had a great love.”

“They did.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Have you had any great loves?”

“I thought I did but…it didn’t work out.”

“How come?”

“He found someone else, someone better.”

“I highly doubt that, there’s no one better than you.”

“You’re just saying that,” you shake your head.

“I’m not. You’re the kindest, sweetest person I’ve ever known. You work your ass off with no recognition even though you deserve it and you always exude this…lightness. Like you have a shine of happiness radiating from you.”

You duck your head and stare at his dog tags hanging over his shirt.

“Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“Look down or away whenever I compliment you. One day I’m going to have you see yourself the way I see you.”

You don’t know what to say to that so you continue to stare at his dog tags, your eyes tracing the letters of his name.

“y/n.”

“Hmm?” you force yourself to shift your eyes up to look at him and he’s so close.

So close that you can see little freckles on his nose and speckles of yellow in his green eyes.

“Do you…” he swallows hard. “Do you want to–”

“Do I want to…what?” you ask slowly. His eyes are hypnotic and this is the moment where a kiss is supposed to happen.

Will it?

“Do you want to–” thunder cracks and you both jump –”um, do you want to go eat now?”

“Oh, uhh, yeah. I could eat.”

You stop dancing, grab the broom and move back to your office. You eat the takeout and ask him questions about what to expect at the ball. Even though a kiss didn’t happen, it was still a very good night.

It wasn’t until you were laying in your bed that you realized why he didn’t kiss you. He said the ball was in your court, you were in charge, and he was waiting for you to say the words.

Or, a little voice in your head whispers, is he waiting for you to sign the papers?

You woke up at eleven Saturday morning and found a note from Jake stating that Reynolds is waiting for you when you’re ready to get coffee and take you to your nail appointment. Next to the note was a peach begonia in a small vase with a couple inches of water. Another small note lays under the vase and read ‘found this on the floor in your shop. It made me think of you.--Jake’

You quickly got dressed in comfy clothes and found Reynolds waiting for you in the kitchen. You’re completely relaxed while your nails are getting done, the hand and foot massage really felt wonderful especially after being so busy on your feet at work.

When you get back to the house, a woman with red and orange hair plaited in a French braid is waiting in the kitchen. Tattoos are scattered on her arms in a random way but they look good in their placements and she has a septum piercing.

“You must be y/n. I’m Inez and I’ll be doing your hair and makeup!” she smiles.

When you get closer you see she has purple contacts in and she’s easily the coolest person you’ve ever met.

She gushes about your nails then has you sit down in her chair.

“Don’t worry about Jake taking a peek, I banned him for a few hours until it’s time to go. This is so exciting, I’ve never met any of his girlfriends before. And I like you, you have a good vibe about you.”

Your cheeks warm at the mention of being called his girlfriend but you don’t correct her. You don’t think she needs to know this is all part of an arrangement. You listen with intrigue as she fixes your hair in an elegant style about the many celebrities she’s met in her job. Who her favorites were and who she’d rather not work with again.

She wouldn’t let you look at yourself in the mirror until you had your dress on so she helped you put it on. As Inez did the buttons you suddenly got very nervous about going to the ball.

“How’re you feeling, toots?” she asks doing some adjustments to your hair.

“Nervous. What if I don’t fit in?”

“You look like a bombshell, and who needs to fit in? He’s bringing you for a reason which is big for him, he usually goes stag to work events.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Never had the right person to bring,” she smiles. “Okay, I’m ready to have you look at yourself.”

She takes you into your closet and you don’t even recognize yourself in the mirror. Inez made your eyes look somehow fierce and delicate at the same time and your hair! You’ve never felt this good about how you look before.

“Wow,” you breathe and turn around to see the back of the dress, the diamonds cascading like frozen water.

There’s a knock at your door and Inez goes to answer it. Reynolds appears behind you in the mirror, a big smile on his face.

“You look incredible, Miss y/n,” he says.

“Thank you,” you smooth out the front of your dress. “Is it time to go?”

“Almost. Jake is downstairs waiting for you whenever you’re ready.”

“I think she’s ready,” Inez gives you an encouraging smile.

You follow her out of your room, Reynolds’ trailing behind, and the butterflies are back in your stomach because Jake is going to see you now. You chew on the inside of your cheek as you descend the stairs, eyes on your feet so you don’t miss a step and take a tumble. When you’re finally on a flat surface, you look up and your breath is taken away.

He’s wearing his Navy dress blues and this is the first time you’ve seen him in something other than his khakis. His wings glimmer in the light and he’s clean shaven with his hair styled perfectly. He’s so very handsome.

“Sugar…as I live and breathe,” he drawls, his voice like honey. “You’re breathtaking.”

“Thank you,” you reply shyly.

“I have something for you,” he says then reaches into his jacket pocket. He pulls out a Tiffany blue box.

You’ve never seen one in real life and now he’s placing one in your palm. With shaking fingers, you undo the white satin bow and lift off the lid. There’s another small blue box and when you pop it open you see earrings in the shape of leaves with small diamonds embedded.

“I thought earrings would be best since a necklace would be hard to wear with the neckline,” he says.

“Jake, these are…wow. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” you shake your head.

“I have,” he smiles at you. “Would you like to try them on?”

You nod and he holds the box in his palm so you can remove the earrings from the cushion. They’re cold on your lobes and feel a bit heavier than what you’d normally wear but they fit nicely.

“How do they look?” you ask him.

“Stunning,” he smiles. “Come look.”

He moves you in front of the mirror in the hall and they really complete the look of your dress.

“I love them, thank you so much,” you tell him.

“Are we ready to go?” Reynolds asks.

“Here’s your clutch, it has your phone and ID,” Inez hands it to you. “Have a great time! I want to hear all about it over lunch next week, okay?”

Jake guides you outside to Reynolds’ car with his fingers brushing the small of your back. He helps you in the seat being careful not to sit or place his foot on the slit of your dress. Which, now that you’re sitting, has fallen away from your thigh and you’re a little more exposed. Not too much but just enough to be promiscuous.

True to his word, you visit Betty before going to the ball and when she sees you she starts to cry. Tears prick in your own but you don’t want to ruin your makeup so you blink them away as best you can. She wishes you both to have a wonderful time and can’t wait to hear all about it when you visit again.

Nerves settled in your stomach on the drive to the venue but Jake took your hand, easily guiding you to the entrance. You saw all sorts of good looking people waiting outside, both in uniform and not and you wondered if it was a prerequisite to have good looks in order to join the Navy.

Some greeted Jake as he walked by, using his callsign or just his last name. Some of them were lingering their stares on you and you touched your face in case you had something on it.

It wasn’t until you were waiting to get inside to the main hall that you asked Jake why people were staring.

“They’re staring at you,” he murmurs. “You’re the most beautiful person here.”

“Jake, there’s tons of beautiful people here, including you.”

“But you’re a new type of beautiful, everyone knows everyone here already. They’re jealous you’re here with me, that’s all.”

He pinched your cheek affectionately.

The ball is literally being held in a ballroom and it’s a beautiful space with a grand marble staircase. Circular tables are set up at the bottom of the stairs where waiters and waitresses are walking around with trays of champagne and appetizers. This is a very fancy party.

You chat and mingle with people along the way to your table, Jake making you feel included every time. He pulls out your chair before you sit down and you read over the menu in its looped script. There’s seven courses, each one sounding better than the last.

“Hey Bagman!”

There’s a commotion to your left and two people are standing behind Jake. One is a woman in a beautiful red gown and the other is a man with glasses. He’s in Navy dress blues too.

“Is this Bradshaw’s date?” the woman asks, indicating to you.

“Bradshaw can dream. No, she’s my date. This is y/n,” Jake smiles when he says your name. ‘y/n, this here is Phoenix and Bob.”

“Nice to meet you,” you reply politely.

“You can call me Natasha. Sorry, another one of our friends has been bragging about how hot his date is so I just assumed. We’ve heard a lot about you, sorry you got stuck with Bagman as your date.”

���I thought you were called Hangman,” you look at him quizzically.

“I am. Phoenix has her own nickname for me,” he side eyes her and she just smiles.

“I bet Rooster’s date doesn’t even exist,” Bob says. You note his southern accent and wonder if he’s from Texas like Jake.

“You’re probably right, Bobby. He can’t land any woman with that atrocity on his top lip. Is Coyote here yet?”

“Almost. I bet he and the missus got stuck in traffic,” Natasha/Phoenix laughs.

“We’re gonna grab some drinks,” Bob says, “you two want anything?”

“Moscato for her and whisky for me,” Jake says.

“Be right back,” Bob smiles.

“Are they together?” you ask Jake when they’re out of earshot.

“Nat and Bob? No, Sugar, they’re just co-pilots.”

“Oh.”

“How’re you feeling?” he asks, placing his hand over yours on the table. His eyes show slight concern.

“I’m okay, still nervous to meet all your friends.”

“They’re harmless. They talk a big talk but don’t mean anything by it. They’re going to love you.”

He lifts your hand in his so he can kiss the back of it, his lashes fluttering.

As the night goes on you meet more of his friends, Coyote, Payback, Fanboy and Rooster. You met some of his commanding officers, Hondo and Maverick included, who gave you warm hugs, amongst others that you tried to remember. It was a lot of people but they were very friendly and had plenty of jabs towards Jake. He took them in stride but it made you wonder if their jabs did sting him a little bit.

Dinner was full of conversation, questions mainly pointed at you and about your flower shop. Then Rooster remembered you were the florist for Maverick and Penny’s wedding. Drinks were flowing so you assumed his next question was due to the alcohol being consumed.

“How much did Hangman pay you to be his date? He’s never brought a girl to one of these before,” Rooster jokes.

“Rooster,” Jake’s jaw ticks. He rests his hand on yours under the table, threading your fingers together. “Don’t.”

“What? I know there’s dating services if you need a date. Like if you don’t want to show up to your exes wedding alone, or a family reunion. No way she’d come here willingly with you.”

“Clearly you didn’t pay yours enough because she’s not here with you, is she now?” Jake arched an eyebrow, his tone steely.

You’ve never seen him like this before but the table laughs quietly. This must be routine for Jake and Rooster.

“She’s sick,” Rooster insists, then shifts his eyes to you. “How much did he pay you to be—“”

“Bradshaw! That’s enough,” Jake’s voice is severe and the table goes quiet.

“All right, all right,” Rooster rolls his eyes and leans back against his chair. “I’m only teasing.”

You remained quiet during the whole exchange. Did his friends know this wasn’t really real? What has he told his friends about you? Do they know this is fake, that you’re fake?

“Let’s go dance, Sugar.”

Jake stands up and you follow him with your hands joined together. You follow him to the dancefloor and he takes you in his arms. You can feel him shaking slightly in anger.

“I’m sorry about Rooster. We’ve always had a tense relationship and sometimes it goes too far. None of them know. I promise,” his eyes are serious but you see sadness there too.

“Why do you let them talk to you like that?”

“I’ve said way worse to them, trust me. It’s how we are, always has been,” he shrugs.

“Do they think you’re not good enough to date or something?”

“They’ve known me for a long time and have seen me when I was at my worst.”

“We’ll, I don’t like it,” you squeeze his shoulder. “They make you sound like a bad guy and you’re not.”

“I used to be. They’ve seen I changed but old habits die hard.”

“Hm,” you grunt.

He smiles at your distaste then spins you away from him. He catches you in his arms then dips you which makes you smile and laugh. You see his friends staring at you upside down before Jake pulls you back up.

“They’re seeing how you bring out a different side of me.”

“Are you showing off?”

“Maybe,” he shrugs then winks.

He dips you again and you fall into him laughing, this time people around you clapped at the move. The song changed to The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and you stare at him in shock. You had an odd sense of deja vu then remembered your dream and you gasped.

“What is it?” he asks, gliding along the floor.

“Um,” you move your hand up behind his neck, fingers clinging to the short strands of his hair. “Nothing, just…did you ask them to play this song?”

“I might’ve suggested the DJ play this after I dipped you twice,” he nods. He tightens his hold on your lower back, his hand is warm on your bare skin. Then you feel the gentle circle of his fingertip on your skin and it only prompts you closer to him.

“Why?” you’re whispering now, your faces are close.

“Because the lyrics fit well with how I feel about you. I see the sun rise in your eyes everytime I look at you.”

You want to hide your face at his sweet words but you remember what he said at the pool and fight your inhibitions. So instead, you bite your lip. Jake brings his hand that’s holding yours in between you so he can tug your lip from your teeth.

“What are you thinking?” he asks softly, thumb still rubbing over your lower lip.

“I…I’m thinking I want…” you search his eyes as if the words you’re trying to say are there. Then you heard the lyrics of Robert Flack and it gives you the courage to ask, “Kiss me, Jake?”

He smiles softly, and when he moves his head down you close your eyes. You feel his soft breath first then his lips touch yours so delicately it instantly has you craving more but he kisses you slowly. You’re not sure how your feet are still moving with him but your lips are doing a new dance and when his tongue slips inside you sigh. You bring both hands into his hair while he grabs your waist.

You press yourself against him, loving how his lips feel. You feel it all the way down to your toes, nevermind you’re in a crowded room of people watching you. Kissing Jake is thrilling and new but also feels like home. You feel like you could fly.

You faintly hear a throat clearing but you keep kissing him, smiling a little as he nibbles on your lip. Then the throat clearing is a bit louder.

“Beat it, Phoenix,” Jake murmurs and continues kissing you.

“y/n’s phone is blowing up and I think it’s an emergency,” Phoenix says.

That causes you both to tear away, his eyes mirror the worry in yours and you’re running to the table. It’s missed calls from the rehab center Betty is at. It starts to ring again but you’re frozen.

“Let me,” Jake takes the phone from you easily. “Hello? She’s here with me, she was scared to answer the phone, what’s going on?”

You watch his face for any sign of your worst fear coming true but as he listens to whoever is on the phone, his face relaxes. He gathers your clutch and his phone from the table.

“Do we need to take her? Okay, we’ll be there shortly,” he hangs up then cups your cheeks in his hands.

“What–what–” your voice is shaking.

“An ambulance is taking Betty to the emergency room,” he says very slowly, his eyes steady on yours but you pull away in a panic. His hands are strong on your cheeks and you remain in between them. “Listen to me, Sugar. They found blood in her stool and that’s why they’re transporting her. The hospital will be able to help her faster. Okay?”

“Okay,” you whisper. You cling onto his wrists.

“Do you want to go home and change or go right there?”

“Right there,” you continue to whisper.

“I’ve got you, all right?” He kisses your forehead then grabs your hand. “Let’s go.”

You rush out of the ballroom with him, leaving the precious life-altering kiss on the dancefloor and head toward another life-altering moment.

[sagesolsticewrites]

Hi!!

May I request Valentines Day prompts for Rooster or Iceman(if you write for him)

Spoken: #5

Actions: #4

super excited to see what you do with my prompt list!! 🫶💜

omg hi!! Your prompt list is so cute, thank you so much for requesting! I had the best time writing this 🥹🥰 I went with Rooster, as I don’t feel super confident writing for Ice just yet 🤍

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Requests are open ☺️ feel free to check out some of my favorite prompt lists in my pinned post, or check the tag “Sage’s Valentines” for some special Valentine’s Day prompts <3

5. "You're the most amazing boyfriend-",

"Actually, it's pronounced fiancé. Will you marry me?"

4. Bringing Breakfast in Bed

French Toast & Freesias

Bradley carefully flipped the final piece of French toast, letting out a sigh of relief when it turned out a perfect golden brown. Satisfied, he turned his attention to the coffee, pouring it into your favorite mug — one decorated with fighter jets that he’d gotten you for your last birthday — and adding cream with a practiced motion. Moving as quietly as he could, he prepared a plate and looked over his handiwork with a proud smile. Fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, French toast made with his mom’s recipe… all your favorites. The finishing touches were the strawberries he had arranged into little hearts, placed delicately around the French toast, and a vase with a single, perfect rose flanked by a few fragrant freesias.

It was all perfect. A perfect breakfast in bed for the perfect Valentine’s Day.

At least, he hoped.

Touching the velvet box in his pocket one last time, he took a deep breath, checked the time — yes, you’d probably be awake and scrolling already — and carried the tray to your room.

“Sweetheart?” He called softly as he entered, balancing the tray on one arm.

Something like pure sunlight flowed through him at the sight: you in one of his t-shirts, hair delightfully mussed, turning towards him with a sleepy, contented smile.

“Good morning,” you sighed, stretching like a cat in the sun as you sit up, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day to you, my love,” Bradley grinned as he approached, placing the tray delicately over your lap.

“Roo…” Your smile widened as you took in the spread, making note of all the little details that you still couldn’t believe he remembered: you fell in love with Carole’s French toast recipe the first time he made it for you after a night of one-too-many drinks; the way he teases you about how your coffee ends up being more creamer than coffee has become a running joke over the course of your relationship; you told him about your love of freesias as you wandered around a botanical garden in your hometown the first time he met your parents. It wasn’t just because you loved the scent, you told him, but because they symbolized trust, loyalty, and friendship: all things that you valued as the foundation of a relationship.

“This is…”

You were nearly speechless.

“It’s okay, right?” Bradley asked as he moved to sit next to you, your silence worrying him slightly, “I know I kinda overcooked the eggs, but—”

You cut him off with a kiss, and Bradley melted.

“It’s perfect,” you assured him, returning your gaze to the tray.

He slipped his hand into his pocket to run over the sleek velvet box, taking a moment to prepare himself while you were distracted.

“You’re the most amazing boyfriend—”

“Actually—” Bradley cut you off gently, the velvet box held out to you near the corner of the tray, “It’s pronounced fiancé.” His lips quirked up into a smile before his expression softened as he prepared to say the four words that would change his life forever.

“Will you marry me?”

Your hands flew to your mouth in an attempt to stifle your gasp.

“I—”

His smile dimmed just the slightest bit waiting for your reply until moved the tray to the other side of the bed, freeing you to fling your arms around him as you cried, “Yes!”

You pulled away just enough that your noses brushed. Bradley felt your grin against his lips as you whispered “I would love to be your wife, Bradley Bradshaw.”

The two of you eventually separated, and you finally got a good look at the ring— the ring that you now realized looked incredibly familiar.

“Is that—?”

“I promised her I’d give it to my best friend,” Bradley said, smiling fondly at the topaz ring that once belonged to Carole Bradshaw before returning his gaze to you, “And I have.”

You ran your thumb over the bright blue gem resting on your ring finger, suddenly overcome with emotion.

“I love you, Roo,” you said softly, your voice thick.

“I love you more.”

He pulls you in for another tender kiss— just one of the many you share that day between bites of Carole Bradshaw’s French toast, the scent of freesias hanging in the air and a topaz glittering on your finger.

Tagging a couple friends! @austin-butlers-gf @mpmarypoppins @dontbesussis @sassy-ahsoka-tano

[floydsglasses]

The Last Of Us -𝗗𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

TW- 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯'𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩/𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴/𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 I dont usally do things like this on here I usally write on wattpad but if this does well i might add more

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw: Bradley has never considered himself someone that should be allowed to survive, not lucky in love or in life. It had taken the end of the world to find out he is the luckiest son of bitch on the side of the new infected world. It was just his luck that he is immune to cordyceps virus. He made his way to a QZ, being bitten when raiding an abandoned home, he tries to hide his immunity the best he can from everyone. He live's out the rest of day's in a small commune outside of San Diego, full of formal naval pilots and citizens of the North Island, fully functional with electricity and running water, run by former captain's and admiral's . Working on patrol's and clearing out infected, alway's being paired with Natasha. He is always hiding his bite scar, hidden with a tattoo. As for his luck in love it was somehow the form of a pretty blonde man who can hit his target from a mile away. The two of them butting head's with the other alway's, a night alone on a patrol and a snow storm changed thing's for them. Bradley had only told two people of his immunity, Nat and Jake.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin: The outbreak started in Texas, he was not able to save his family or their farm from infected. Jake bounced around for the first few year's from different QZ's, working job's both humane and inhumane. Wasn't till he had lost his young partner due to his past "Jobs". Someone made him watch as they took their life. Jake somehow end's up in a small commune outside of San Diego, keeping a low profile, his mouth getting him in hot water here and there. Thing's in his life weren't all too bad despite the circumstance's and thing's he has done in the name of survival, he found someone who at least can stand him.

Natasha "Phoenix" Trace: She wouldn't think she would survive the end of the world, certainly not from flesh eating mushroom zombie's. Natasha stayed in the Santa Monica QZ, taking the job's when no one else wanted to take them. The QZ was ruled with an iron fist, it didn't take a genius to see that, never been someone to take shit from authority Natasha join's the fireflies in liberating the quarantine zone. All this results in is a blown front gate and her running like hell. She had heard talk of a commune outside San Diego free from clicker's on the north island, along the way she met a guy named Robert "Bob" Floyd, saving him from infected, the two banding togethor and living out there live' s in the safe haven.

Robert "Bob" Floyd: He was the last person he expected to survive the fall of society, having been seen as someone who wouldn't make it out alive because of his social standing as a WSO/Backseater. For about five year's of the outbreak, having joined different group's of people, all of which ended up disbanding or being killed. He had ended up in California, wondering around ducking and dodging raider's, living out in old apartment building's. One day he hunker's down in an old school, unlucky for him that it was filled with infected that tried to kill him, lucky for him that their was a woman there to save his ass. Natasha and Him staying together after she tell's him of a commune on north island of San Diego. The two of them spend the rest of their live's there taking patrol shift's and surviving.

Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia: Never one to back down from a challenge, he was alway's taking on infected like it was all a game to him. He had lived in a QZ in Florida for awhile, but it grew boring for him, it was safe but he did not care for FEDRA. On his way out of the QZ he run's into Rueben, Mickey not having any plan's or idea of where to go, the two band togethor to find somewhere in the US. The two of them heading for California. The two of them growing close with the other and forming a friendship. They had reached the half way point into San Diego when they are swarmed by infected. Rueben is back into a wall, Mickey not wanting to lose a friend tackled the clicker stabbing it in the head. This act costed him his life, he was bitten on the arm, he begged of Rueben to not let him become like of the infected.

Rueben "Payback" Fitch: When the outbreak happened he didn't think he had a chance, he wasn't someone who could kill a human being if it wasnt morally right, shooting down a plane is very different to him then taking a human life with a gun in person. Rueben had lived in the QZ in Miami Florida for a couple year's, given the worst job's that paid the most to get food from FEDRA, unbeknownst to FEDRA he had listened to the radio, hearing of place's out west that would be better for him. He snuck out through one of the Service's tunnel's, running into Mickey Garcia. The two of them escape from Florida, with Mickey not have a clue where to go Rueben suggests California. The two of them bonding with each other with each place they hunker down in, killing infected and their previous live's. Soon making it to the half way point into San Diego,Rueben and Mickey check out a gas station for supplie's, the two are cornered by infected, Rueben is cornered by clicker, Mickey saved his life by killing the infected. He is bitten saving him, Mickey beg's of him to mercy kill him. He hesitate's and refuse's at first. Mick reasure's him that it was okay. He was the first and only human life he had ever taken. Ruben made it to the commune, settling in well and starting a family, never forgetting his friend's sacrifice.

Javy "Coyote" Machado: Finding love in the end of the world was not his idea. Him and Kat had met during a job at the New Orlean's QZ. She hated living in what was once the most vibrant place in the us, and he was gonna do anything to see her happy. He told her about a place he had heard about on the radio in California. How they could settle down there and live happily, Kat agreed and they fought like hell to get out of the infected city. They had stopped along the way to San Diego in an old naval factory, the two had many run in's with infected, they were no problem..human's on the other hand. The two were held at gun point by raider's, saying if they didnt hand their gun's over they would be killed. Javy knew they wouldn't let them go even if they did give the gun's up. The two of them are able to fight their way out, only missing one, that was a mistake on his part. Kat is shot by the raider's leader while he back is turned. Javy somehow manage's to kill the leader, only getting himself hurt in the process. The sound of the gunshot attract's the sound of infected to their location'. Kat told him to run, he refused at first, it wasn't in till infected burst through the factory that he decided to listen. He had ran as far as he could before he had collapsed near the ocean. Lucky for him that two people were on guard to save his life. Natasha and Bob take him back to the north island commune. Javy recovered from his wound, turn's out he had a knack for shooting and he had grown to be very good at his job of patrolling and guarding the commune.

[ahockeywrites]

How about fluff 11 Make breakfast with me for rooster of top gun?

Continue sending in asks for top gun Thursday!

Thank you for the request! Warnings are illusions to smut but no actual smut, kids and rooster with kids 😳 rooster x fem!reader

“Daddy, daddy,” your son Nick, named after his late grandfather exclaimed, whilst running into yours and Bradley’s shared bedroom, “make breakfast with me.” His small hands started tugging on his father’s white tank top, attempting to pull the naval aviator out of bed.

Rooster groaned, slightly unsure of what was going on until he heard his mini-me shouting daddy repeatedly. “Nicky,” Rooster mumbled, “you can’t wake momma up.” Nick started pouting before his father swung his legs around and lifted his son over his shoulder.

“What shall we make momma for breakfast?” Rooster asked his little chicken.

“Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes!” Nick started shouting before your husband calmed him down, reminding him that you were still sleeping and to keep you happy, you needed sleep.

The clanging of metal on metal from the kitchen woke you up. You stretched your arms up, followed by wiping your eyes from the sleep that rested in them. Laughter floated from the kitchen, up the stairs and into your bedroom. The dressing gown hanging up behind the door was quickly removed and wrapped around you as you searched for your slippers that you had kicked off some time the evening before as Bradley had ushered you to bed quickly.

You meant against the door frame, watching Bradley teach your son how to make his favourite breakfast, rubbing slowly over your stomach. You were the only one to know so far, but you couldn’t wait to tell the rest of the Bradshaw’s.

[purelyfiction]

hi all!! our top gun roleplay is still running full speed and we are still looking for the following faces:

pete 'maverick' mitchell

penny benjamin

payback

warlock

omaha

fritz

harvard

yale

warlock

hondo

tom 'iceman' kazansky

as well as plenty of room for original characters! if you're interested, find us here!

[hangmans-darling]

Bright Eyes--Jake “Hangman” Seresin Oneshot

a/n; Hi! So, this is my first time writing/posting for Top Gun. I’ve become obsessed with it and with Hangman. I have many more ideas for pieces and I’m so excited to share this one! It’s a long one and you’ll soon see writing short pieces isn’t exactly in my repertoire. 

word count: 12.4k

warnings: enemies to lovers, pining, loose based knowledge of flag football, mention of OC death but not a major character, an altercation, smut involving female receiving oral and protected sex and also very loosely edited.

I hope you enjoy! Reblogs mean the world and I’m so excited to contribute to the writing world of TopGun

***

“Have you heard we got a new one coming in tonight?” Payback asks while he racks up the balls on the billiard table. 

“Yeah? Who?” Hangman asks, rubbing his chalk on his cue stick. 

“Heard her name’s y/n y/l/n, call sign Bright Eyes,” Bob says. 

“I heard she’s had three combat kills,” Phoenix grins looking at Hangman, “that’s one more than you, Bagman.”

The door opened of the bar and the group all looked to see if it was the new pilot and sure enough in walked someone they’ve never seen before. The first thing he notices is how young she looks and how big her eyes are. She’s in her uniform like the rest of them and Hangman notices how crisp and clean her uniform is, not a hair out of place. 

“Anyone talked to her yet?” Hangman asks, leaning on his stick. He watches her side step between people until she meets someone at the bar, another pilot he doesn’t recognize.

“Nope, but I don’t think you should be the first one to,” Bob says, scooping bar pretzels into his hand. 

“I think I should be, Bobby,” Hangman smiles and hands his cue to Phoenix.

“Don’t be an asshole, Seresin,” Phoenix warns. “She’s here for a reason, just like us.”

“I want to find out the reason. I’ll be back lady and gents,” he salutes them all and feels a pretzel ricochet off his back that Bob tossed at him. 

When he approaches her at the bar he leans on it by his forearms and plucks up a toothpick that Penny keeps stocked and sticks it between his teeth. He stares at the girl trying to guess how old she is, what her secrets are that got her here and also waiting for her to notice him. She turns her body towards him and he likes how she lifts her eyebrows as if to question, Yes? Can I help you?

“Hey there,” he greets with his signature Seresin grin that has been known to get him anything he wants in the past.

“Hi,” her response is icy. 

“Name’s Jake Seresin, call sign is Hangman. What brings you to Top Gun?”

“Same as you; to learn from the best of the best.”

He waits for her to tell him her name but she doesn’t and that entices him. Is this all an act to look tough in front of the other pilots or is she really this icy?

“I’m already the best there is,” he touches his chest and twists his body so his back is leaning against the bar. “If you’re here, then you oughta be pretty damn good.”

“I do the best I can, but I don’t like to brag. There’s always room to grow and learn which I hear is something you need to work on.”

It’s his turn to raise his eyebrows.

“Bright Eyes has a bit of a bite, huh?”

“Your reputation precedes you as being hot headed,” her friend says and Hangman finally pays him attention. He’s the same height as Hangman with blond hair. 

“And you are?”

“JJ Pankow, call sign is Caveman.”

JJ and Hangman have a bit of a staredown, both of them sizing each other up. Hangman wonders if they’re an item and in the same thread of thought wonders why it matters to him so much if they are.

y/n sighs and peers her eyes at Hangman until he meets her gaze. “Did you need something or can I continue my free night before training tomorrow?”

“I just wanted to welcome you, that’s all,” he smiles. “And to wish you the best on flying with the big boys.”

It’s her turn to stare him down, he feels it’s a test so he makes sure not to blink. He stares right back encouraging the challenge, he lifts a brow to signify he can go as long as she wants to. She’s the first to turn but it’s directed at JJ.

“Do you want to sit somewhere else?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit crowded here with ego.”

y/n turns back to Hangman as she slips off the stool, he has to lower his head because she’s so short compared to him. 

“I don’t fly with boys, I fly with men. Do they have those in Top Gun?”

She stalks off and Hangman chuckles watching her go and he returns to his friends.

“Well, she didn’t throw her drink in your face,” Phoenix smirks and hands him back his cue. 

“Nah, she’s too innocent for that,” he shakes his head. As he lines up for his shot, he makes eye contact with y/n and he’s pleased to see she’s looking at him too. Her face is solemn and he takes the shot, eyes still on her, and the ball goes into the pocket. 

***

The next morning, Jake finds her in the hangar before they’re supposed to sit and hear what their training is going to be to help prepare for the mission. She’s checking out her jet, her fingers running over her name.

“It’s you and me today, Bright Eyes,” he says announcing his presence. She turns and eyes him up. “Let’s see what you can do, wanna head out right now?”

“And risk my career? No thanks.”

“Aw, come on,” he drawls. “Look at all the stunts Mav has done and he’s still got a job.”

She hops down from her wing and stands toe to toe with him.

“How about you go first and I’ll see if you’re still here tomorrow before I go up against protocol,” she smiles sweetly with her hands on her hips. 

“See, now that’s where I’m stuck on how you got a spot in Top Gun if you don’t take risks.”

“Why take risks when I have skill? See you in the air, Hangman,” she pats his shoulder and hops back onto her plane.

***

“Show me what you’ve got Bright Eyes,” Hangman says once they’re up in the air. He hears her sigh over the radio and at first he thinks it’s a sigh of annoyance but when he looks over, her eyes are closed. “How did you get the call sign ‘Bright Eyes’ if you fly with your eyes closed?”

“Shut up, Bagman,” Bob says and Phoenix laughs. 

y/n sighs again and opens her eyes directly at Hangman.

“Are you always this annoying?”

“Just until I get my questions answered. So tell me, how’d you get the name?”

“Why does it matter?”

“I’m a curious guy.”

“Mhmm,” y/n sighs.

“Ignore him, Bright Eyes. he likes to talk shit,” Phoenix says.

“I’ve noticed. Are you all talk and no action, Seresin?” She smiles at him again then accelerates her plane. He’s quick to follow.

“If you two are done flirting,” Rooster’s voice cuts through, “Can we finish this mock mission please?”

Hangman continues to badger her on her name as they fly the course.

“Was it what your mother calls you? But what I don’t get is why it’s Bright Eyes when your eyes are a darker shade of (your eye color).”

“Wow, that’s a nice observation. You like looking at my eyes, huh?”

“Maybe. Let’s see…I would say Shirley Temple would have been better, or Baby Face. Even ‘Baby.’ Is it a Swayze thing? Do you even know these movies I’m referencing?”

“I sure do and you’re wrong on all guesses.”

“Hmm…I bet it was an old flame you’re still not over.”

There’s silence except for the hum of their engines. 

“Is that it? Oh man! I knew I’d figure it out, how–woah, where’d she go?”

y/n fell back from their formation in a spiral and zoomed down, down, down before pulling back up abruptly straight towards him. 

“What the–”

She set her laser on him and he heard the signal that he’s dead from her shot just as she skidded by him which caused him to arc sideways to avoid a collision. 

“What was that shit? You can’t kill me, we’re flying as a team!” Hangman roars at her while the others laugh at the altercation. 

“Yeah well, you’re dead,” she says drily. “See you back at base.”

“All of you return back to base immediately,” Maverick orders loudly in their ears. 

Once back in the hangar, Maverick and Hondo are standing with their arms crossed not looking happy. Hangman is already berating y/n for killing him when that wasn’t the objective.

“You’re right, it wasn’t but quite honestly I would have done the same thing but a lot sooner,” Maverick says. “You were baiting and badgering your teammate, Seresin. You keep an eye on each other and you watch each other’s six, not worry about what their call sign means. You do not harass them when all of your lives are on the line, do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” Hangman nods and stands a little straighter. 

“And as for you Bright Eyes,” Hondo moves in front of her and she straightens her back. “That was superb flying and an incredible kill shot but save it for the enemy, not your wingman. Is that clear?”

“Yes sir, it will never happen again,” she says.

“You’re dismissed. And as punishment, you will both be relieved tomorrow,” Maverick says, “I recommend you two sort out your differences.”

“Sir?” y/n asks.

“I don’t care how you do it, but you need to be tolerable with each other, at least when you’re flying. On the ground, I don’t care. But up in the sky,” Maverick points, “you have your whole team to protect and make sure you get home.”

“Yes sir,” they both respond. 

Maverick and Hondo wave them off. As soon as they’re out of ear shot, Hangman rounds on her.

“I can’t believe you killed me!” he hisses.

“It was the only way to get you to shut up,” she snaps back. 

“All I wanted to know was how you got your call sign.”

“Why does it matter to you so much?”

He clenches his jaw, a vein in his forehead is throbbing and y/n sees a bead of sweat roll down his cheek. 

“I was just trying to be friendly.”

“Interrogating someone is not friendly.”

“Neither is killing them, that’s called friendly fire.”

She glares at him and he glares back.

“You really are a pain in the ass,” she grumbles.

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing about you.”

She lets out a grunt, turns on her heel and makes her way to the showers. He stalks to the showers as well but since they’re in the same direction, he’s following her. They glare at each other once more before disappearing into the shower rooms. 

His mind is trying to make sense of what the hell just happened. He’s not sure what he’s more pissed off about; the fact that she just killed him while also flying recklessly, how she won’t tell him the meaning of her call sign or that he got in trouble and is now out from training tomorrow.

Either way, he’s got her on his mind.

***

The next morning after he spends some time in the gym working off his frustrations from the day before, he goes to find y/n. He heads into the hangar and sure enough, she’s there with her jet wiping down the cockpit. That’s when he notices she’s only in jean shorts that fit her just perfectly and a white t-shirt with some holes in it. Through one of them he can see a peek of black lace. 

He clears his throat and averts his eyes (from her ass and her bra). She turns at the sound of his throat clearing. 

“Let’s get this over with.”

“Get what over with?” she turns her back on him again.

“You heard Mav, we need to ‘sort out our differences.’”

“I don’t think so,” she snorts. She’s wiping vigorously at her canopy glass and the motions cause her ass to wiggle. 

“Jesus–” Hangman curses under his breath trying desperately not to look, “would you mind facing me when we’re talking? It’s rude.”

It’s rude and distracting and it pisses him off. y/n sighs, drops the towel in her seat and steps down from the wing. Seeing her head on, he notices her hair isn’t up in a bun but is loose and frames her face with light curls. 

“All right. What do you suggest we do?”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, I came here to learn and to do this mission I can’t be killing a member of my team. Even if it isn’t real.” 

“I’m touched,” he touches his chest to emphasize his mock sincerity and she rolls her eyes. “Let’s meet in two hours.”

“What’s wrong with right now?”

“I need to change.”

“Your personality? That will take longer than two hours.”

“I meant my clothes,” he rolls his eyes.

Her eyes travel over his black t-shirt and workout shorts.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Women like a man in uniform,” he grins. 

“I should tell them it’s false advertising.”

“You wear the same uniform, sweetheart,” he drawls cocking his head to the side. “Two hours and I’ll come by your room.”

“Fine.”

When he walks away, much to her dismay, she notices how broad his shoulders and back are. When he walks she can see his muscles flexing underneath the cotton of his shirt. She shakes her head and climbs back on her jet. 

Why was she just checking him out?

***

At two hours precisely, there’s a knock on her door. y/n was actually thankful for the two hour delay because she got a little sweaty from cleaning her jet and had some grease on her hands and cheek. So she took a shower but couldn’t decide on what to wear or what she was getting into so she dressed casually in jean shorts and a flowy top and clipped her hair away from her face. When she opens the door, Hangman is dressed in his service khakis.

She rolls her eyes. 

“What?” he smirks.

“I hope you aren’t expecting me to be your wingman because they’re supposed to hype you up and I can’t do that.”

“Yeah, yeah. Are you ready?”

“Nope. Let’s go.”

They take his truck and drive past The Hard Deck, she can’t help her curiosity of where they’re going. After fifteen minutes of silent driving he parks at what looks like a block party in the middle of a shopping center. Live music is heard through the windows and there’s a bunch of people around.

“What’s this?”

“I found it on Facebook. It’s a beer and cider tap yard. I thought alcohol would be essential for this particular mission.”

“That’s something we can agree on. What’s wrong with the Hard Deck?”

“Change of scenery,” he shrugs. “Come on, toots.”

y/n follows him onto the wood chipped area and chuckles when almost all the women (and a few men) try to catch Hangman’s eye as they walk by. He buys the first round then head upstairs to the seating area.

“To settling our qualms,” he raises his plastic cup.

“God help us,” she bumps her cup to his in cheers. 

They sit in a bit of an awkward silence after that so she watches the crowd down below. While she’s watching them, Hangman is watching her wondering how someone can irritate him and intrigue him at the same time. Her pushback on him is also enticing, he hides a smirk as he takes a drink thinking how much he does like pushing her buttons. 

Halfway through their drink, a woman approaches them and hands a drink to Hangman.

“Thank you for your service,” she says with a suggestive look in her eye. 

“Thank you ma’am, much obliged,” he nods then turns his attention to y/n. y/n snorted and downs the rest of her drink and the woman who brought him a new drink walked away disappointed that Hangman didn’t ask cart her away or something.

“Now I see why you wanted to wear your uniform,” she pretends to pluck off a piece of lint from his shirt. “You like to be ogled at.”

“What? I do not.”

“No? You’re telling me  you didn’t like how everyone looked at you when we arrived? You said so yourself that women like men in a uniform.”

“Or I wanted to look my best for you m’dear,” he smirks. “And how do you know they weren’t looking at you when we walked in?”

“Please,” she rolls her eyes and rises from her seat. “I’m getting myself another drink.”

“What about me?”

“You got one already, flyboy,” she nods to the drink that was handed to him by that woman and descends the stairs to the bar. 

The line was a few people deep so by the time she got back up by their table, Hangman was speaking with an older gentleman who’s wearing a Naval Aviation hat.

“Oh, is this her?”

“Yup, that’s Bright Eyes,” Hangman smiles up at her.

“It’s a pleasure young lady,” the old man holds out his hand.

“Hello sir,” y/n smiles shaking his hand. 

“Your boyfriend here was telling me of all your accomplishments in naval aviation. Two kills…mighty impressive.”

“Thank you sir. I’m just doing my duty,” she nods but the word ‘boyfriend’ is ringing in her ears. 

They discover his name is Roger and he tells his own stories about the academy and Top Gun. He explains how he met his sweetheart while he got injured on a mission and she was a nurse that worked on his floor. Hangman noticed y/n drank more and was shifting in her seat as if she were nervous about something while Roger talked.

“You’ve got yourself a good one here, darlin,” Roger says then turns to Hangman, “and you make sure you watch her six, son. Good luck to you both.”

Hangman stands and shakes his hand one last time.

“Thank you for sharing your time with us, sir,” Hangman says.

When he’s safely on the ground and Hangman is still standing with his hands in his pockets, y/n rounds on him.

“You told him you were my boyfriend?”

“He just assumed and I didn’t want to correct him.”

“Why not?”

“Why didn’t you?” He turns to her and her response is to take the last large gulps of her cider. He smirks. “You want another one?”

After a couple more drinks, he brings out a deck of cards from his pocket.

“I’m not playing strip poker with you,” y/n shakes her head violently.

“As much as I–and everyone else here–would love that, that’s not what we’ll play.” He shuffles the cards expertly.

“Do you always carry a pack of cards with you?” She watches his hands as he breaks the deck in half and lets the cards collapse on top of each other. 

“Yeah,” he shrugs. “It’s a good conversation starter. What would you like to play, m’dear?” His green eyes glint at her.

“The only thing my brain can process right now from the alcohol is Go Fish or War.”

“War it is, Bright Eyes,” he laughs and starts dealing out the cards. His movements are quick but his eyes are on her.

They’re quick with the game and a few times when they throw down the same card and have to slap more down to see who won the set of cards their fingers fumble together. At some points the cards go flying off the table and she’s giggling trying to scramble and pick them up. 

Around 8:00 is when they quit playing because they’re both hungry. 

“Are you okay to drive?” she asks as she stumbles into him walking down the steps. 

“Yes, I’m not even buzzed,” he steadies her by resting his arm around her shoulders. 

“How? You drank as much as me,” she gives him a puzzled look and he thinks it’s adorable.

“I drank them slowly while you downed yours. Plus, you’re a lightweight,” he teases opening the door to his truck for her. He helps her get in and she grumbles something incoherently. “What was that?”

She responds by sticking her tongue out and he laughs all the way around the front of the truck until he’s seated and buckled. He drives to a diner not too far from the tap yard and she comments how they have the best grilled cheese and shakes. He orders a cheeseburger with a strawberry shake and she gets a grilled cheese with a chocolate shake, they share a basket of fries. 

She dunks her french fry in her shake and does a little happy dance when she eats it and he smiles at her mannerisms. 

“That is criminal.”

“What?”

“What you just did, dipping your fry in your shake.”

“You’ve never dipped a fry in a shake? Are you even human?”

“I am and I eat food like other normal humans.”

“Try it, right now,” she points to a fry.

“I don’t think so.”

“I think so.” She grabs a fry and dunks it in her own shake then extends it out to him but he’s shaking his head in defiance. “You have to try it! It will change your life.”

He resists and some of her shake falls on top of his burger bun and he exclaims in shock while she’s doubled over and laughing.

“Aw come on! Now it’s ruined! You did that on purpose,” he laughs.

“I did not!” She gasps then her face changes and her eyes squint. “I think you got something in your teeth, open up.”

To both of their surprise, he does and that’s when she pops her chocolate shake covered french fry in his mouth. He groans in theatrics but eats the food she snuck in his mouth and she smiles proudly.

“That I did plan,” she states proudly. “So, what do you think?”

“Not bad,” he allows swallowing the food and his eyes shift to a point beyond her. “Is that Roger coming in?”

She turns around to look and it gives him enough time to dip his finger in his strawberry shake so when she turns back around to face him, he plops it on her nose and her eyes widen with her mouth agape. 

“That’s for getting shake on my burger,” he smiles in delight then slurps through his straw. 

“Well played, Seresin,” she laughs and wipes the strawberry pink liquid from her nose with a napkin. 

“So,” he asks a while later resting his arms on the back of the booth. Two steaming cups of coffee sit on the table between them. “How old are you exactly?”

“Twenty-seven. How old are you?”

“I’ll be thirty-four in October.”

“Are you a Halloween baby?”

“Not quite.”

“Darn. That would have made me like you a little more.”

“Yeah?” he laughs. “What got you into flying?”

“My grandpa,” she says cupping her mug with her hands. She takes a gentle sip. “He’d tell me stories and show me his uniform and pictures. I thought it was so cool.”

“Did he call you Bright Eyes?”

She stares at him for a long time then finishes her coffee without another word. Again to both of their surprise, he doesn’t question it further and she asks for more coffee. He watches her the whole time trying to figure her out.

“For the first three months of flight school I threw up every time I was in the air.”

“What?”

“I’ve been badgering you so I’ll share some personal things.”

“You don’t–”

He holds up his hand to silence her and taps his finger on the rim of the porcelain mug. 

“I’ve been an asshole to you and my curiosity gets the best of me sometimes and I come on too strong.”

“Am I drunk hallucinating or are you actually being nice?”

“Not hallucinating. I was also terrified of planes growing up but when I was the one flying it, it all went away. I’m always trying to improve my skills in aviation and I’m my own worst enemy.”

“Wow, Hangman–”

“Call me Jake.”

“I’m so confused by this 180 from you Jake,” she enunciates his name with a smile. 

“How long has it been?”

“Has what been?”

“Since your grandpa died.”

“Um, he didn’t die. He’s very happy I’m at Top Gun.”

“Then why did you get quiet when I asked if he called you Bright Eyes?”

y/n sighs. “Because he does call me Bright Eyes but he’s not the reason for my call sign. Henry did.”

“Who’s Henry?”

“A ghost,” she whispers, then bites her lip and wipes at her eye. “I want to go back to base.”

Before he can say another word she slides out of the booth and rushes out the door. Jake slaps down some twenties to cover the bill and tip then runs after her. She’s leaning against the passenger door with her arms crossed. He unlocks the door and helps her in.

The drive back to base is silent except for the loudness of their own thoughts. Jake feels there’s much more depth to her grandpa, her call sign, and whoever Henry is. He glances at her at each stoplight, her eyes are wide and bright but also sad. He wonders what she’s thinking about.

y/n’s mind is racing like always but now that her buzz is almost gone her thoughts are weighing her down. She’s thinking of Henry and her grandpa and Hang–Jake. It’s giving her a headache and a heartache all at once. She cradles her forehead in her hands and closes her eyes hoping that will help soothe the racing thoughts.

“Are you all right?” Jake asks concerned. 

“Head hurts,” she mumbles.

“We’re almost back.”

He helps her out of the truck once they’re back at base and lets her lean on him as they walk inside, her arm held onto his waist. Her room is the sixth one from the main door and she silently hands him her key. When he unlocks the door he gets a warm and inviting smell as if she had a candle burning. The layout is the same as his so he knows where the light switch is and she groans at the sudden brightness.

“Sorry. Can I get you anything?”

“Water. I have a bottle in the fridge.”

She releases her hold on his waist and shuffles his way to her couch. He finds her bottle easily enough then crouches in front of her on the floor. 

“Anything else you need?”

Her eyes are surprisingly alert and focused on him while she drinks her water. The food and coffee must have really helped sober her up but the look she’s giving him is something he hasn’t seen before. 

“I think I want to kiss you Jake Seresin.”

“You do?” he leans back in surprise and clears his throat. 

“But I also still want to punch you in the face.”

“I’d prefer the kiss over the punch or kill, Bright Eyes. But when I kiss you,” he fixes a strand of hair that fell over her clip, his eyes flicker down to hers and she licks her lips. “I want you to really want it, not just think you do.”

They stare each other down and her perfume is invading all of his senses by being this close to her. He can see a freckle near the corner of her eye.

“You’re probably right,” she sighs heavily. “I should get to bed.”

“Me too,” he mutters then rises from the floor. His head feels a little clearer now that he’s not smelling her perfume. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Bright Eyes.”

He heads to her door but when he opens it, she calls out his name softly. When he turns around she’s standing in front of her bedroom door and he thinks she’s going to invite him to stay. 

“You can call me y/n, if you want.”

“Goodnight y/n,” he nods and shuts the door behind him before he can’t get himself to leave. Because if she would have asked him to stay, he would.

***

Before they’re all about to go fly more drills Jake has been trying to find y/n. She wasn’t in the common room or the kitchen so his next stop was the hangar. He’s noticed she likes to spend her time there but instead he finds JJ.

“Have you seen y/n?” Jake asks him. 

“She’s in the showers, why?” JJ narrows his eyes at him.

“Just wondering,” Jake shrugs, “Um…do you know anything about a guy named Henry?”

JJ’s eyes widen and he glances around their surroundings as if to make sure no one else is in earshot. 

“She told you about Henry?”

“Sort of.”

JJ’s expression changes and he steps closer to Jake, his voice low. “Listen, I’m not saying a word. That’s her business and if she told you all of it, you wouldn’t be asking me. Talk to y/n.”

JJ walks away and Jake curses under his breath. 

In the hangar, y/n doesn’t look at Jake which is surprising because he’s staring her down. Was last night just a glitch in the matrix and they aren’t on common ground? She’s the one who brought up kissing him, not him. Maverick and Hondo walk in and he forces himself to look at them. 

“Hangman, Bright Eyes,” Maverick calls their attention. “How’s reconciling your differences going?”

Jake looks at y/n but her expression is solemn and straight forward, she makes no move to respond. 

“Working on it, Sir,” Jake answers.

“Good. You two are up first.”

They’re communicating well enough but when Jake tries to tease with her, she doesn’t respond and it’s making him frustrated. It’s irritating how she gets under his skin and last night seems like an illusion. When they’re done with the drill and land they’re told they did a great job. y/n accepts it diplomatically while Jake soaks it all up. JJ and Phoenix are up next and Jake tries to speak with y/n again but she’s so invested in listening to how the others are doing he gives up.

When the exercise is over, Mav says y/n and Jake tied for first and they were all dismissed.

“A game of war and diner food was a real bonding experience, huh?” she smiles and Jake nearly gets whiplash from her turn of attitude. 

“You’re talking to me now?”

“The exercise is over,” she shrugs. “We need to concentrate. Want to go to the Hard Deck after dinner?”

“Uh, yeah sure.”

“Great, come by my room at seven.”

Later, when he shows up at her door he’s smiling but her eyes are icy. 

“What’s–”

“You asked JJ about Henry? Why can’t you let things go and respect people’s privacy?”

“I’m only trying to understand!”

“Why?! Do you see anyone else bugging me about my past or my name? Is it because I’m younger than you that you think you can pick on me? Butt out!”

“I guess we’re not hanging out anymore tonight?”

“Not tonight or ever. Learn to respect people’s boundaries, Hangman.”

She slams her door in his face. He winced when she used his call sign name, how was he so close and yet still so far?

***

It’s been a week without them talking except for when they’re flying and y/n makes sure to keep a wide berth of Jake. It isn’t until Friday night that he attempts to talk to her again at the Hard Deck. He comes up to her with a bottle of her favorite cider and he pushes it in front of her so she angles her body. 

“Hi,” he says brightly. “My name’s Jake Seresin, call sign is Hangman.” He holds out his hand in front of her. 

“What are you doing?”

“Introducing myself the way I should have in the first place. What’s your name?”

“y/n y/l/n,” she smiles and takes his hand. “My call sign is Bright Eyes.”

“I can see why, you’ve got the brightest eyes I’ve ever seen,” his southern accent peeks out to add to his charming remark. 

“Oh no! That was so cheesy!” she laughs.

“I mean it,” he squeezes her hand. He makes no move to let go and neither does she.

“You’re not wearing your service khakis,” she observes his normal clothes of a dark blue t-shirt and dark washed jeans. 

“I only want one pair of eyes on me.”

“Back to back with the charm, huh?” She releases his hand and lifts up the bottle to press it to her lips as she takes a swallow. 

“I wanted to ease my way into an apology. I know I cross lines but my intention is never to harm but I did anyway. I’m sorry I pushed and I can’t make any promises about not doing it again but I know you’ll call me out on it.”

“I definitely will. Thank you for the apology.”

“How about a game of pool?”

“I’m not that good,” she grimaces.

“I’ll go easy on you,” he smiles. 

They’re playing pool but they’re not even hitting the proper balls, they’re basically doing practice shots. At one point, Jake even moves behind her with one hand on her waist and the other positioning her fingers just right on the tip of the cue stick. She could feel his body heat and smell his aftershave and it gave her butterflies in her stomach.

He helped her size up her shot. 

“Now you want to glide it nice and easy over your fingers,” his voice is husky in her ear, his lips brush against her cheek. 

As she moves the stick like a pendulum, his hand on her waist tightens the slightest amount. It causes her to hit the cue ball and it smacks into a green solid, they both fall into the pocket. 

“That was good, but lighten up on the release,” he compliments and removes himself from her. 

She stands up feeling the coolness from the absence of his body against hers, their eyes locked as he strutted around the table. His gaze was intense and her stomach flipped. While they play they find out more about each other with some very heavy flirting. 

He excuses himself to use the bathroom but when he comes back some guy is standing too close to y/n against the window and Jake can see the discomfort in her face.

“Hey man, how’s it going?” Jake asks with a dazzling smile. The guy looks at him with dark beady eyes, he’s clearly drunk off his ass. 

“Talkin’ to this chick. ‘Scuse me,” the guy slurs and turns back to y/n. “Whadday say baby? Wanna show me a good time?”

“No thanks,” y/n tries to back away but then he grabs her wrist.

“Aand you’re done,” Jake says. He pries the guys fingers from her wrist and shoves him away so hard that he knocks over the other cue sticks in the stand. It brings attention to the rest of the bar and Jake locks eyes with Penny, he gives her a nod and she rings the bell hard. 

Rooster and Coyote appear assessing the situation.

“What happened?” Rooster asks looking at y/n who’s staring wide eyed and unblinking at what she just witnessed. 

“He grabbed her,” Jake says, the muscle in his jaw ticking. 

Rooster purses his lips, nods to Coyote and the two of them lift the drunken asshole by his shoulders. The rest of the bar cheers as he’s carried out and tossed onto the sand. Jake turns to y/n and she’s absentmindedly rubbing at her wrist.

“Are you okay?” he asks, hovering his hands over hers. He doesn’t want to touch her unless she says it’s all right. 

“Yeah,” she sniffs, then looks down at her wrist. “I think I’m going to bruise, his grip was surprisingly tight for being as drunk as he is.”

“Do you want to get outta here?”

“No,” she shakes her head and finally looks into his eyes. “He’s gone now. Thanks for pulling him off me.”

“My pleasure.”

***

Later in the evening, he walks her back to her room and he asks how her wrist is once they’re at her door. She holds it up for him to inspect, he holds her wrist delicately and rubs his thumb over the already light shade of blue bruise forming. He leans in and kisses the mark, her skin smells like some type of flower he can’t think of.

With his face still close to her wrist, he meets her eyes with his thumb still caressing her skin. 

“Do you think you still want to kiss me?”

“It’s changing from ‘thinking’ to ‘knowing.’”

“How much? Scale of 1-10?”

She smiles and hums thinking it over. “Ummm…it went from a three to a seven.”

“Wow, four points. How’d I get that?” he cocks his head resulting in their faces becoming closer. He’s so close he can see that freckle near her eye. 

“By not asking about my call sign again, shoving that guy off me and the two points are for doing this,” she nods to him still stroking her wrist.

“Okay. Once you’re at ten will you let me know?”

“Sure. Where am I on your scale?”

“It’s always been a ten, y/n,” he gives her a crooked smile.

The sound of her name in context like that makes her heart flutter and when his eyes flicker down to her lips her breath catches. 

“Even when you hated me?”

“Even then.”

They stand there staring at each other, his hand still holding her wrist and it’s as if some magnetic pull or electric charge is pushing them together. He carefully brings his other hand up to cup her cheek, he rubs the apple of her cheek with his thumb. 

“You’re inching to an eight,” she whispers. 

His heart leaps and he shifts his face closer, tilting his head a slight bit more and he can feel her breath tickle his lips. 

“Nine…”

He smiles then rubs his nose against hers.

“Nine and a half.”

“That only gets me a half a point?” he chuckles then brings the hand he’s using to rub her wrist to rest on his shoulder. Her palm flattens on his neck and she uses the slightest bit of pressure to bring his face closer to hers.

“It’s like G-LOC, you have to go slow before the impact.”

He’s about to ask her something else when the main entrance door opens and the incoming  laughter from Rooster and Coyote approaching forces them apart. The spell they were both under left them dizzy and flustered.

“Oh hey,” Rooster greets them. “Are you okay after what happened with that guy, Bright Eyes?”

“I’m good, thanks for tossing him out.”

“No one messes with our own,” Coyote responds. “See you guys tomorrow for the football game.” He turns into his room which is right next to y/n’s.

“C’mon Hangman, we need a good night’s sleep if we’re gonna be at the beach all day,” Rooster claps his hands on Jake’s shoulders pushing him down the hall.

“I wasn’t done saying good night–”

“Hangman says good night, Bright Eyes. You get some sleep too!” Rooster calls over his shoulder.

y/n laughs as the two men shove each other playfully down the hall. Jake looks back at y/n in disappointment and she waves him off with a shrug. When she goes into her apartment and closes the door, she leans against it and takes deep breaths. 

She and Jake almost kissed and now she’s going to have to endure seeing him shirtless and sweaty as they play football tomorrow. She’s not sure how long she can hold off.

***

y/n walks with Phoenix to the beach and she questions her about Hangman.

“We’re getting along,” y/n responds innocently with a shrug. 

“Oh please. I saw you two playing pool together last night. You were one step away from having sex.”

“What?!” y/n shrieks as they step onto the sand. “That is not true!”

“Rooster and Coyote thought so too. Even Bob.”

y/n raises her brows at that. Bob is the least involved in the drama that arises with everyone but he is more on the silent side so maybe he sees more than he lets on. 

“Caveman seems pretty pissed about it too,” Phoenix adds. 

“Yeah…that doesn’t surprise me. JJ’s protective because of…something else that happened.”

“Look, I’m glad you and Hangman are getting along. Deep down I think he could be decent. But we also call him Hangman for a reason. He’s improved on his flying by not leaving you high and dry but I don’t know about his ground level.”

“I know. Thanks for being concerned, Nat.”

Their conversation is cut short because they’ve joined the rest of their group. Maverick and Hondo are holding bags and the guys are just standing around talking. She finds Jake immediately and he gives a wink over Payback’s shoulder.

“y/n we should talk–” JJ starts suddenly next to her but then Hondo blows his whistle and he steps away. 

“All right, we’re gonna have some fun today so we’re playing flag football,” Maverick begins. “When I call your name, come and grab your blue flags. When Hondo calls you, you get a red flag.”

y/n and Jake are on opposite teams, she’s blue and he’s red. JJ is on Jake’s team and y/n notices him looking between Jake and y/n. Thankfully Jake still has his t-shirt on so she won’t be distracted.

“I won’t hold back on football,” Jake tells her as she’s putting on her flag belt. “I was quarterback in high school and a wide receiver at the Naval Academy.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” she asks airily. “I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve though, Seresin.”

“Oh really? Then this shall be mighty interesting,” he gives her a lopsided grin making his dimple appear. “I’ve got some tricks, too darlin’.”

Then he yanks off his t-shirt in one fluid motion and tosses it into the sand. She rolls her eyes when he stretches his arms across his chest then shakes them at his sides to loosen up. He looks at her expectantly and she knows he’s waiting for her eyes to slide over his well defined chest and happy trail that disappears beneath his basketball shorts but she resists. 

It’s taking all of her willpower to keep her eyes on his. 

“You’re back to an eight.”

“What? How?”

“For being cocky.”

“Oh come on!” He laughs and she turns to join her team that consists of Rooster, Phoenix and Fanboy. JJ gives her a look from across the way that she pointedly ignores.

The game is well and fun and soon they’re all sweating under the sun. It’s not long until y/n removes her own t-shirt while they take a water break. She’s very aware of Jake’s eyes on her as she adjusts the cups and strings of her swimsuit top.

He tries not to look, or at least make it so obvious, but when he catches a peek of the underside of her breast his mind goes wild. He notices a bird tattoo on the back of her left shoulder and that makes him even crazier. She smiles sweetly at him as they set up for the next play and he grins because he knows she’s checking him out now by the way her eyes rake over his sweat-and-sand covered torso.

Or when he and Coyote celebrated a touchdown by doing a little dance, he saw her looking his way and he smirked at her. 

It’s time for another play and they’re across from each other. Her eyes slide over his glistening muscles until landing on his eyes that are a lighter shade due to the bright blue sky and sun.

“You’re drooling, Bright Eyes,” he reaches over to try and wipe at her lip but she smacks his hand away.

“In your dreams, Seresin.”

“How’d you know I dream about you?” he smirks.

She rolls her eyes.

The ball is hiked and she runs past him to get the handoff of the ball from Phoenix. He whips around making a beeline for her. Everyone is shouting for her to keep running and his team is yelling for him to get her flags. He has longer legs than her so he catches up to her easily.

When he reaches for her flags and yanks, he doesn’t pay attention to their feet that somehow become entangled and they fall.

He twists his body and grips her hips so when they make impact, she lands on top of him and he gets the brunt of the fall. He grunts from the hardness of the sand and her knee that digs into his thigh. They’re both groaning and she lifts herself slightly off him, her hands are flat on his chest.

“This isn’t tackle,” she huffs, shifting to get off him completely. 

“Hold on,” he groans and she freezes.

“Are you hurt?” she asks in concern because his eyes are still closed.

“No,” he shakes his head then peeks at her through his eyes. “Wanna enjoy you on top of me for a bit longer.”

“Oh my God!”

“You’ve said that in my dreams, too,” he smirks and he rubs the skin of her back with his thumbs. 

“You’re unbelievable,” she shakes her head then scrambles off him. 

“You’ve said that, too,” he repeats, pushing himself up from the sand.

“Give me my flags back, Hangman.”

“Are you two done flirting yet?” Phoenix asks with her hand over her eyes to shield from the sun. 

“Yeah, let’s get back to it,” Rooster says, picking up the football.

Jake hands her back her flags and the game resumes play.

“I think saving you from that fall deserves two points,” he tells her when they’re situated across from each other again.

“That would put you at a ten, Sersin.”

“I know,” he wiggles his eyebrows. “I’m all for a victory kiss.”

Hondo blows the whistle and the ball is hiked once more. This time, Jake ends up with the ball with y/n following behind.

“Ow! Ow my ankle!” she screeches.

He turns around immediately, ready to carry her to the hospital if he has to.

“What happened?” He bends down to examine her ankle.

y/n snatches the ball from his hands then darts away from him shouting, “Gotcha!” and runs to the end zone resulting in her team winning. They all jump on her in their victory and Jake stares on with his hands on his hips in disbelief. She looks over at him with a shit eating grin and a twinkle in her eye. Then she does something unexpected and blows him a kiss.

He catches it then presses his fist with her kiss right over his heart as if it will heal the loss he’s experiencing. When she’s done celebrating with her team she skips over to him.

“That was some tactic,” he stares down at her.

“Told you I had some tricks.”

“You forgot one minor detail.”

“What’s that?”

“I always retaliate.”

Before she can ask what he means, he lifts her over his shoulders and runs into the water. She’s screaming and laughing behind his back and he drops her into the water. When she resurfaces she barrels into him and because he knows she wants to make him fall in the water, he lets himself get knocked down. 

Pretty soon, the rest of them come running in the water as well and a splash fight ensues. 

***

After the day at the beach and dinner at the Hard Deck with some piano singing done by Rooster, y/n and Phoenix head back to base to shower. 

“So,” Rooster sidles up to Jake by the dartboard. “What’s going on with you and Bright Eyes?”

“I don’t know,” Jake grins, spinning the dart between his fingers. “But it’s something.”

“Yeah we can all see that,” Rooster snorts. “Can barely stand being around you two.”

“Aw, you’ll find someone Rooster,” Jake pats his cheek affectionately. 

Payback, Fanboy and Bob join them with drinks and to watch them play darts and talk. From the corner of his eye, Jake notices JJ is glaring at him from across the bar.

When the night is over they all head back to base and Jake’s on a mission to find y/n. His first stop is in the common area and he finds her asleep on one of the couches. She’s tucked into herself with a pillow clutched against her chest, her lips are pursed and look so damn kissable it pains him.

He checks his watch, it’s only eleven o’clock and she’s already asleep? Was she waiting up for him or did she fall asleep watching a movie with Phoenix and  Phoenix just left her to sleep? He kneels down in front of her, hesitating before pressing his hand to her head and rubs at her hair. 

“y/n,” he murmurs gently and her nose scrunches in her sleep. “Jesus, how adorable are you? Hey, y/n…wake up.”

He speaks a little louder and strokes his thumb over her forehead and she’s gasping awake. Her eyes fly open and she shoots up from her perch against the couch.

“Jake? ‘At time izzit? Am I late for drills?” she rushes out.

“No, no, it’s still nighttime. You fell asleep in the common area.”

She blinks at him a few times then looks around him assessing her surroundings. She sinks back on the couch realizing she didn’t oversleep.

“Oh. So what time is it?”

“A little after eleven,” he cocks his head to the side in endearment. He’s still rubbing her hair and she makes no move to stop him.

“Want me to walk you to your apartment?”

“Mhm,” she nods tiredly, removing the pillow from her chest. 

He takes it from her tossing it to the other end of the couch and holds out his hands for her.

“Up you get Sleeping Beauty.”

“Shut up,” she grumbles but takes his hands anyway. 

“What made you so tired?”

“Being outside all day,” she yawns and shivers from her sleepiness.

“Good thing we have Sundays off. You should rest up tomorrow.” 

“That’s the plan. Big day on Monday, it’s the last exercise before Maverick chooses his team.”

“Are you nervous?”

“Yeah, but it’s also thrilling,” she smiles.

When they arrive at her door he leans against the door jamb watching her unlock and open it. 

“Thrilling is an excellent word,” he says but he thinks it pairs along with their relationship. 

Once she’s inside she keeps it open and moves to her couch. When she sits down she looks over at him expectantly. 

“You can come in,” she says.

“Really?” He stands up straight from the door jamb.

“Yeah.”

He looks up and down the hall waiting for someone to pop out and say ‘just kidding!’ but when no one does, he steps inside and shuts the door. y/n folds her legs underneath her.

“Are you going to stand there the whole time?” she snickers, grabbing the remote and turns on her tv. She places a blanket over her lap.

“I–what’s happening exactly?” he motions between them.

“You told me to rest up and I do that by watching movies and sleeping. I thought you could join me if you wanted.”

“Oh! Well, all right then. But um…I’m still sandy and sweaty from earlier. Can I go shower, change, and come back?”

She gives him a cute smile.

“Is Hangman nervous to spend a night with a girl?” she teases.

“You’re not just a girl, y/n,” he says seriously. “I don’t want the offer to go away if I leave.”

“Jake, when you come back you’ll be at a 9.5.”

“Really?” his face brightens. “How?”

“Come back and I’ll tell you,” she smiles.

“I’ll be right back.”

He runs as fast as he can to his apartment, rushes through a shower and changes into sweats and an old NAVY shirt. He usually sleeps in just his boxers but he knows better to push his luck right now. He makes sure he has his phone then grabs his pillow and a blanket. He tries to hide his heavy breathing from rushing when he’s back at her place. 

“Hi,” she smiles.

“Hi,” he glances at the tv. “The Goonies?”

“One of my favorites.”

“Mine too.”

She pats the space next to her and he settles on the couch adjusting his pillow and blanket.

“So,” he says once he’s situated, “how’d I go from an eight this afternoon to a 9.5?”

“Because I wanted to.”

They watched movies all night, commenting on the plot and actors. y/n falls asleep first at around three and Jake makes sure to turn the volume down so it doesn’t disturb her. 

When he woke up they somehow managed to be laying even closer together, she was draped over his chest with her left hand resting over his heart. Her face was so close that if he leaned in a couple inches he would have been able to kiss her forehead. 

He can’t believe they spent the night together and he also can’t believe how much he loves to watch her sleep. While he waits for her to wake up he selects some show to watch that he barely pays attention to. When she wakes up they make breakfast and watch more movies. 

The more time they’re alone, the more vulnerable he feels and it’s a very thrilling sensation. 

“How’s your wrist?” he asks while they’re lounging on the couch again. She’s laying across his chest again but twists her body so she’s facing him, her back to the tv.

She holds it up to his face. He touches the two small bruises with the pads of his fingers.

“Does it hurt?”

“No.”

He runs his fingers over them once more then intertwines their fingers together so they’re holding hands. Their arms are twisted together and he rests their conjoined hands on his chest, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of her hand.

“I like this side of you.”

“What side?” He smiles leaning his head back on the couch. 

“This nice and soft side.”

“This is Jake. Hangman can’t be nice and soft.”

“I’ve seen it in both.”

“Guess you’re the only exception.”

He likes how she blushes at that.

Before they both know it, he’s got to head back to his apartment before anyone sees. They both need to take an early night because of the last drill tomorrow. 

“Thanks for having me over.”

“Thanks for the company. See you tomorrow,” she rises on her toes to give him a hug.

He’s a little delayed in hugging her back because he wasn’t expecting it. He holds her close and breathes her in.

“9.6 now,” she whispers and kisses his cheek.

He feels her kiss all night.

***

After the last drill they’re all standing in wait for Maverick to announce who’s joining him on this mission. y/n’s nerves are settling in, it’s a mixture of excitement to go and fear that she won’t. Thinking of Jake makes it even harder because her feelings are definitely growing. Maverick enters the room and they all stand to attention.

“You’ve all done exceptionally well. Your skills have become even more perfect but because of the dynamics of this mission, I had to pick those I thought would be daring and quick. It’s instinctual, intuitive. All of you are incredible pilots and I’m honored to fly with you.

“Flying with me will be Payback and Fanboy. The second team will be Bright Eyes and Hangman as team leader. We leave at 6:00 am for the carrier. Phoenix and Bob you will be on standby. Get some rest and we’ll see you in the morning.”

y/n’s stomach plummets. Has she actually earned this? She’s thrilled to go, she’s worked so hard but now with Jake flying too…will she be able to concentrate? Will she have flashbacks? She doesn’t have time to dwell on her thoughts for long because she’s being congratulated by everybody else. 

Except JJ who she watches stalk towards Jake and punches him in the face. 

There’s a rush of people breaking them apart as JJ tries to swing again and Jake tries to retaliate back but y/n is too stunned to speak or move. 

“What the hell?” Jake thunders still trying to get at JJ.

“I saw you leave y/n’s last night. You screwed her and you’re going to screw her over on this mission!”

“What are you talking about?” y/n snapped at him when she heard that. “Nothing happened, but it’s not your business anyway, Caveman.”

“You aren’t ready for this, y/n,” JJ approaches her and holds onto her shoulders. “I know you’re not. It’s too soon.”

“You’re out of line,” Jake says.

“y/n has earned this, her flying is impeccable,” Phoenix cuts in. “She’s tactical and anticipates everything.”

“JJ–” y/n starts.

“I already lost Henry, I can’t lose you, too,” JJ begs and y/n breathes in deeply. “And Hangman? Really y/n?”

“What exactly is your problem with me, Caveman?” Jake thunders.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Caveman,” y/n responds slowly and exits the room. She’s filled with all sorts of doubt now.

She’s not surprised when Jake is calling for her and he grabs onto her wrist turning her to face him. His cheek is red from where JJ hit him.

“Is there something going on between you and Caveman?” he heaves and she can see the hurt in his eyes even though he tries to hide it.

“No, of course not,” she shakes her head and he relaxes a little. “But he’s right. I’m not ready for this.”

“No, you are ready for this. You’ve been the best flier this whole time we’ve been training. You’re quick to react.”

“No, it’s too soon…I need to talk to Maverick–”

“Hey, hey,” he grabs her hand when she turns away. “Talk to me, what is this all about?”

Tears well in her eyes and that damn near breaks his heart.

“I can’t tell you here.”

“Then let’s go somewhere else.”

“No, I–I need to be alone for a while. I need to think. Come by my apartment in two hours, okay?”

She runs off before he can get another word in and he’s left in confusion. He touches the space below his eye and winces, Caveman packs a solid punch.

*** 

Two hours later Jake knocks on her door. She opens it then gasps when she sees the red swollen bruise on his face. 

“I’ve got quite the shiner,” he smirks but it’s strained because of the bruise. 

“Come in, have you put ice on it?” she asks moving to her fridge. She takes out an icepak.

“No, I’ve been worrying about you.”

Her motions still as she’s wrapping a towel around the pak. 

“Let’s sit down,” she motions to the couch. She places the ice pak on his eye once they are on the couch and he hisses at the impact. 

He replaces her hand with his to hold it to his face, his green eyes are full of questions. She takes a deep breath.

“JJ doesn’t think I’m ready because of Henry. Henry was his best friend since elementary school and they decided to join the Navy together. Then I met them at the Academy. His call sign was Condor. We became friends and then feelings formed. He’s the one who gave me the call sign of Bright Eyes because he said that when I looked at him, my eyes were always so bright.

“And I thought it was special because that’s what my Grandpa called me and he didn’t even know that. We were crazy about each other. Then we were doing an exercise that would result in one of us going on our very first mission. I ended up beating him but it was by pure luck. I didn’t feel ready but he kept telling me I deserved it.

“I didn’t feel right about it so I went to Captain Salvatore to set it straight. So, I told him what happened and that Henry should be the one to go, not me. He admired my honesty and complimented me on my flying and that I do deserve it. But I was adamant that I shouldn’t be on a mission I didn’t earn. Before Henry left, he told me he wanted to marry me. And then,” she takes in a deep breath, her eyes falling to her hands in her lap. 

“He went and I was on standby to help if needed. Things were going well and then three more enemies came out of nowhere. He tried to handle them all but couldn’t and the other team that was flying with him were all out of ammunition. His engines were hit and he still kept fighting. When he couldn’t eject, the levers wouldn’t pull. I think it was too much damage that the wires got burned. The last thing I heard was him saying my name and then…nothing.”

She covers her face as she cries and Jake hugs her to his chest, he drops the pak behind her on the couch. She cries on his shoulder and focuses on his breathing until she calms down. When she pulls back he wipes her tears.

“JJ and I were devastated. He tells me it’s not my fault but it is. It should have been me but I forced him to go and I told JJ I won’t date another pilot. I can’t go through that again and I can’t put someone else through that either.”

Jake cradles her face between his hands so she’s forced to look at him, his eyes are soft. 

“y/n, it is not your fault what happened to Henry. He was outnumbered and I bet he fought as hard as he could to get back to you.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’d fight my damndest to come back to you. And I will make damn sure you and I both come home tomorrow. You’ve earned this spot, y/n. I know it, Maverick knows it and Caveman knows it but he doesn’t want to lose you. He only wants you safe.”

“But Jake…I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happens to you.”

“Nothing will happen to me, sweetheart,” he smiles. “I’m a damn good pilot, remember?”

She lets out a watery laugh and wipes away more tears that have fallen. She stares at him then brings her hand to his bruised cheek. 

“I’m sorry JJ punched you.”

“I get why he did it now. I’d probably do the same if I was in his shoes.”

“Jake?”

“Hm?” he hums closing his eyes and rests his cheek against her palm. 

“You’re at a ten.”

His eyes flash open and it takes him a second for what she said to sink in. When it does, he wastes no time in pressing his lips to hers. A jolt goes through the both of them, their kiss is desperate and full of wanting and longing. His fingers shift into her hair, his tongue traces her bottom lip before she opens her mouth. 

She moans when their tongues meet, her hands are rubbing at his neck and shoulders then rises on her knees so she can get more of him. He removes his hands from her hair, dropping them to the backs of her thighs so he can swing her onto his lap. She molds perfectly against him, her hips shifting over his.

He groans and breaks their kiss.

“My willpower is hanging by a very thin thread,” he pants sliding his hands to her ass. Her fingers are caressing all over his face and into his hair, being mindful of the cheek that is bruised. “But if you tell me you don’t want to go further…I’ll leave right now.”

“No, I don’t want you to leave,” she knocks her forehead on his.

“What do you want?” He tilts his head forward so he can peck her lips. 

“I want you,” her nails scratch at his unbruised cheek and she rolls her hips on him again.

“God, I want you too,” he huffs and kisses her again. 

They’re panting heavily in each other’s mouths, hands exploring and hips meeting hips before he rises from the couch. She squeals and squeezes his biceps so she doesn’t fall backwards.

“I got you baby,” he murmurs, moving them towards her bedroom.

The setting sun is glowing through the blinds so he can see where he’s going and doesn’t risk tripping. With their lips still connected, he sets her down on her bed gently. She scoots to the center of it pulling him with her by the collar of his shirt. He crawls over her, straddling her between his legs and her hands are frantic as she scurries to get his shirt off. 

Their lips smack apart so he can remove it, he tosses it somewhere behind him. When he goes in to kiss her again, he pauses because her bottom lip is caught between her teeth as her eyes–and hands–rake over his chest. Her touch is light on his muscles, her thumb circles around his belly button then dips below the waistband of his shorts. He sucks in a breath when her nails tickle his skin, she’s so close to touching him where he’s only dreamed about. 

“You’re so…” she shakes her head and groans when she drags her hands up his stomach again. Her eyes follow her motions until her fingers interlock behind his neck and she sees the hungry desperation in his eyes that she’s sure is mirroring hers.

“What?”

“Perfect,” she whispers. 

And then he’s kissing her again, his arm pulling her to him by her back, his grip is hot and tight and she needs to be closer. She sits up a little forcing him back so she can remove her own shirt. He watches silently and her heart is hammering in her chest when his eyes rake over her naked chest. 

Jake cups her left breast in his hand, gives her a look and then attaches his lip to her nipple. She sighs at the feeling and falls back against her pillows. His tongue swirls and flicks in perfect precision but when his teeth nip at the bud, that’s when she whimpers. Her fingers fly into his hair and he shifts to the next breast, she opens her eyes to watch as his mouth suctions on her breast. She moans again and he groans at the sound. 

He moves his lips down her stomach, his tongue licking along the waistline of her cotton shorts and his eyes glance up at her. His fingers slip beneath the waistline and her hips lift off the bed so he can remove them and her underwear. He tosses those somewhere behind him as well and slides down the bed so he’s at her center. 

“You’ve no idea how long I’ve wanted a taste of you,” he exhales spreading her legs up and open so he’s in the middle of them. He looks up at her. “May I?”

“Mhm, yes,” she nods frantically and he smiles. 

His arms wrap around her thighs, his fingers holding a firm grip as he hovers his lips over the inside of her thighs in a teasing manner. His nose nudges at her pussy lips and he spreads her open with a wide swipe of his tongue. She sighs at the warm sensation and he smiles. He uses his nose again then attaches his whole mouth to her, his tongue skilled and precise as he licks through her folds. 

The sounds he’s making are sinful and pleasing to her ears and when he gets to a certain spot, her fingers fly to his hair to keep him there.

“Right there,” she whimpers. He removes one hand from her thigh so he can slip in a finger, he’s slow and tactical as he works his finger into his knuckle. “Shit!.” 

His mouth and finger work in tandem, gliding in and out so effortlessly. It’s when he hooks his finger deep inside her and rubs is when she loses it. She’s moaning and whimpering as he continues to work her over. He hums and the vibrations roll up her body and into her stomach where she feels her release approaching. His tongue and lips work furiously to get her to her peak.

“Come for me baby, I know you’re almost there,” he huffs. “C’mon.”

She’s breathing heavily, one hand fisting the sheet while the other holds onto his hair. She yanks and pulls as her body folds over and her sweet orgasm warms her whole body. She’s moaning his name and other incoherent words but she doesn’t care, she chases the feeling he’s giving her. 

When her stomach recoils and she falls back against her pillows, he slows his ministrations and slowly pulls his finger out. He gives her pussy one last lick then lifts his head. y/n looks at him through bleary eyes, his hair is mussed and his chin is glistening with her orgasm. His green eyes are dark as he holds her gaze and licks her off his finger. 

“How was that?” he asks.

“So good,” she pants, “so, so good.” 

He smiles and crawls his way back over her, she welcomes him on top with her legs around him and his tongue swiping inside her mouth. She can taste the tanginess of her in his mouth and it makes her hips buck. She works on pushing his shorts down and he kicks them off, his cock is warm and hard against her thigh. 

“Ohh,” she moans feeling him press against her. 

“Want me to fill you up, darlin’?” he peppers kisses along her jaw and below her ear and she holds him close.

“Please, yes, Jake,” she says and nips at his ear lobe. 

“D’you have a condom?” he gives a hard suck to her neck.

“Drawer. Bedside table.”

He stretches his body over to open the drawer. While he’s ruffling inside to find a box or a condom by itself, y/n is biting at his shoulder and strokes his cock in her hand. He flinches at the contact and finally finds the condom. He tears it open with his teeth then leans back so he can roll it on. 

They fall back to her pillows together, his arms caging her in. she touches his bruised cheek gently and he situates himself between her legs. Her hand slips between their bodies until she grabs his shaft and guides him in. When his tip nudges between her folds and adds the slightest pressure of pushing inside, she gasps. 

“Okay?” he asks stilling his hips.

“Mhm, just takes a minute, that’s all,” she smiles.

They work together until he’s fully sheathed inside, her pussy lips quiver and clench around him in adjustment and he begins to rock. Her hands find his hair, her breathing is ragged as he fucks in and out of her slowly. It builds the climax even more by going slow, their gazes never leaving each other because this could very well be their one and only time together before the mission. 

y/n places her hands on the lower part of his back.

“Faster,” she sighs. 

He shifts his body so the back of her thighs are on top of his, it gives him more leverage to thrust in a quicker pace. Her mouth opens at the new position and the quick snap of his hips against hers. He’s hitting in the right space, faster and faster until she’s clenching him again and she feels her body heat up. Her stomach coils and when she comes again, she drags his mouth over hers to hide the loud moan she exudes. Their bodies rock and knock together until he’s coming as well, he buries his face in her neck and she laughs lightly in his ear. 

“Wow,” she breathes, fingers playing in his hair and exploring the muscles in his back. 

They lay there for a while, letting their pulses slow to a regular beat again. Once they do, they curl up in each other’s arms and watch as the sun disappears on the wall. 

“Thanks for telling me about Henry,” he kisses her head. 

“Thanks for waiting.”

***

They're silent as they get ready in the morning to go on the carrier. To save time, they shower together and it’s intimate as they wash each other off. 

“I’ve got you up there, no matter what, all right?” he tells her before they leave her door. 

“I know. I do too,” she says. 

He bends down and gives her one final kiss before they have to act professional in front of everybody else. 

Once at the carrier, they’re debriefed on the mission once more, reiterating how dogfighting is going to be imminent upon takeoff. Maverick is good at letting them know where the next ones are coming in on, and y/n notices two are tailing Hangman. She flies near him and sets her missiles on them accordingly, one of them lets smoke in the air fly but she won’t give up.

Maverick circles back in assistance and they both shoot the enemy down. It’s a long and hard fight, with all of them rescuing each other at least twice. 

“Bright Eyes, there’s one coming right at you, I’m on my way,” Hangman says. 

y/n tries to find it but she’s blocked by the sun, then Hangman is next to her and motions her to pull back. She does and he zooms in front of her with Maverick on her left and they both shoot the Mig down. They’re all cheering over the radio and Cyclone orders them to fly back to the carrier. 

Once they’re all landed, Jake runs towards her jet and helps her down so he can remove her helmet and give her a long, hard kiss. There’s some whistles and catcalls from their team but they don’t care. 

“I almost thought I was a goner at one point,” he tells her.

“Me too,” she says. “I’ve always got your six, Hangman.”

“And I’ll be your wingman anytime, Bright Eyes,” he grins. “I’ll do anything to see those shining eyes.”

Taglist: @coolbabyjacket​

[sandbarbirdie]

Beach Day with Lt. Jake "Hangman" Seresin Moodboard

blurb below

In the horizon, The sun is slowly sets as heat still radiates off the surface of the water in waves. Jakes features reflect in your sunglasses as he stares at the waves crashing in the sand. His hand tightly interlaced with yours despite the radiating temperatures of San Diego Summer. His white button up open across your chest, covering your skin from the last rays of sunshine after a full day in its radiation. Everyone from the team had already left, having gotten enough sun, sand and football for the day. Before everyone made their way to the Hard Deck for a beer and a round of pool, Jake had grabbed your wrist and pulled you back. Asking you to stay for a moment. Nothing else had been said since then, nothing had to. The cocky pilot's mouth had stopped as he shared the silence only meant for you. His eyes expressed his gratitude for you loud enough for the moment, even though it will be muttered in your hair before he falls asleep tonight. His head eventually landed on your shoulder as the sun sunk behind the horizon until tomorrow.

My first top gun piece: a blurb and a mood board!! I think i will be posting things in this fashion when I can. Let me know what you think, if you have any requests, or things you want to see! This was definitely super fun to do and things might get shifted into full fics with a mood board or just the mood board.

Tagging:

@sebsxphia @iguana-braces (let me know if you don't want to be tag :) )

[maverickcalf]

Chapter 2 of my icemav fic, 'Won't You Come Back Home' is now up on ao3~!

Enjoy!

[talkfastlibrary]

Birthday Boudoir--Jake Seresin (An Arrangement Series)

Authors note: thank you for your patience, I’m so sorry it’s been so long since we’ve been with Jake and Sugar🥺 but I plan to continue their story🫶🏻

An Arrangement Masterlist

Follow here for all updates as I do not have a taglist

word count: 4.5k

warnings: oral sex (female receiving)

Feedback, asks, comments/reblogs mean the world to me!

Enjoy!

You want to do something special for Jake’s birthday since he’s helping out so much with you and with Betty. With his special day coming up in the middle of the month, you and Serena went to The Lark and reserved a room for a private party and to select the food menu. The manager insisted on giving you their DJ for the night so there can be dancing. She also accompanied you to a well known bakery downtown to customize a cake.

You decided on a lemon-flavored cake with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting. You also requested it look like an aviator flight suit paired with Aviator sunglasses and Top Gun involved somehow. 

“What are you going to give him as a gift?” Serena asks when you’re while you eat lunch after your birthday errands. 

While you trust Reynolds not to say a word to Jake–it is a surprise party after all–you didn’t want there to be any chance of the surprise being blown. So you didn’t even ask him what Jake would want. You suppose you could ask Rhea, but she might let it slip on accident.

“I’m not sure…he has plenty of watches, multiple wallets, a billion ties…”

“I know what you could give him,” Serena smirks. “Birthday sex is always a winner.”

“Serena,” you groan. “I’m not going to do that.”

“Why not? It’d be the perfect opportunity! Or you can get sexy lingerie and do a boudoir photoshoot. Brynne knows a photographer and she can make it into a little book, it’d be perfect!”

“How am I going to afford that? I already spent so much on the room and food, The Lark isn’t cheap, S.”

“You have his credit card, right?”

“I’m not going to buy his gift with his own money, then it’s not a gift.”

“I think he’d be more than okay with that purchase, babe.”

You finish lunch in silence then when she drives you home, you pause before getting out. The drive gave you time to think.

“His birthday is in a few weeks…and he’ll be out of town for two days next week…will the book be done by then? Is she even available?”

“Yes! Ivy is wicked talented. I was thinking of doing one for Bradley so I’d love to see yours.”

“Really? You want to do one for Bradley?”

“Yeah, as a Christmas gift,” Serena shrugs.

“Christmas? Wow, you’re serious about him, huh?” you smile.

“He’s different than all the other guys I’ve dated,” she shrugs again.

“Yeah, he’s not a loser and he treats you the way you deserve. Wanna come in for some wine before Jake gets home?”

You’re both on a third glass of wine sitting out by the pool when Jake arrives and you’re surprised to see Bradley in tow behind him. 

“Have you ladies eaten?” Jake asks, eying the nearly empty wine bottle.

“We had salads at lunch,” you giggle.

“No meat?” Bradley asks.

“You’re here now,” Serena smiles coyly and then you both fall into each other in a fit of giggles. 

“All right, not what I meant,” Bradley shakes his head but looks at Serena fondly. “I’m flattered, Pooks, but I meant protein. Or carbs to soak up your wine.”

“Pooks? What’s a Pooks?” you turn to Serena in confusion. 

“You haven’t told her my nickname for you?” Bradley’s amused now and his eyebrows lift up. 

“No, it’s a secret nickname!”

“I’ll keep a secret!” you nearly shout. Jake comes closer to you stroking your cheek with the back of his hand. You nuzzle against it before slipping your hand in his.

“I call her–”

“No, Bradley!”

“I call her Pookie,” Bradley grins, his voice louder than Serena’s. 

You gush and squeal at the cuteness of it and Serena hides her face in her hands.

“You’re his Pookie! Aw!” You hug her and the guys laugh. 

“Sugar, what’re you hungry for?” Jake asks, pulling out his phone.

“Mm, pizza!” you lean back towards him and stare up at him.

“Serena likes pasta,” Bradley mentions strutting over to Serena. He bends down to give her a kiss on the temple. “I’ll get you girls some water.”

You ended up finding reasonably priced lingerie online, your favorite was a cream colored babydoll nightgown. Jake was gone on his two day trip so you had Ivy come to the house. You’d feel more comfortable taking photos at home and you finally feel comfortable calling it that. You invited Inez over so she could do your hair and makeup and she had words of encouragement for you before Ivy arrived.

Ivy was great and definitely boosted your confidence as she had you pose on his bed. She brought along some pearls and draped them over your breasts and shoulders as she snapped photos but you made sure to wear the earrings he bought you. 

“Too bad he took his aviation jacket, that would have made a great photo,” Ivy comments while you change into a baby pink ruffled set. The top was off the shoulder and the bottoms were satin with a small pink bow on the front, the waistline pulled up onto your waist. 

“You should do some in the pool,” Inez suggests. “He would absolutely lose his shit.”

“Ooh, water shots would be hot!” Ivy agrees.

“I’d have to be naked for those, right?” You bite your lip.

“Not necessarily. You can put on your last outfit and I’ll take some of those dry and you can wear it in the water.”

“Okay,” you nod.

The last outfit is also blush pink but the back is your favorite part because it has ruffles and a delicate bow that perches perfectly atop your ass. When you pose in the pool (you’re glad it’s heated) the fabric clings to your body. Inez is complimenting how hot you look. Ivy has you sit on the edge of the pool arching your back and head tilted upwards.  

With the water and your movements, the straps of the negligee fall off your shoulders.

“Oh that’s perfect, bring your arms up so you’re pushing up your breasts a little…just like that!”

“Hey Ivy…if I were to be naked…how would you pose me?”

She poses you so that the photos will lead to the imagination of your bare body. As she shows you some of the photos you’re in awe at how you look, you didn’t think you’d look this good or like how you looked this much. 

“I can have the book done for you the Wednesday before his party,” Ivy tells you as she gathers her things. You’re in a fluffy robe from your bathroom making a pot of tea in the kitchen. “Which one would you like as the cover?”

“This one…where I’m laying down on my stomach on the bed staring at the camera. I like my eyes in it and Jake always comments on my eyes…” you smile sheepishly, suddenly feeling giddy that he’ll be seeing these. You can’t wait to see his reaction. 

“Done. I’ll get to working and adding sepia or black and white effects. Would you like me to deliver it at the flower shop?”

“That’d be great, then I can hide it.” 

“Hey, Sugar,” Jake calls you from his small office off the main entryway as you arrive home from work and the store. You felt the weight of the boudoir book in your purse as you entered his room. He has his laptop open and what looks like bills in front of him. 

“Yeah?” you breathe in the doorway.

“C’mere a sec,” he motions you forward with his fingers. You step carefully inside and stand next to him in his chair, his arm wraps around your waist and you look down at his desk. You see credit card statements laid out in their trifold arrangement. 

You gulp.

“Did you buy some new clothes?” he asks pointing to the statement while his other hand around you rubs circles into your waist. 

“Um, yes,” you mumble.

“How come I haven’t seen them?”

“I”m sorry, I didn’t know–”

“What are you apologizing for?”

“Aren’t you mad I bought something?”

“No!” he pushes the statements away and swivels his chair so he can stand. He towers over you leaning against his desk, his hands cup your face. “Of course I’m not mad, I’m glad you used the card I gave you. Will I get to see these new clothes?”

“It’s just one dress and some accessories,” you bite your lip. Jake uses his thumb to pull your lip away, he smooths the small indent from your teeth. 

“Can I see it?”

“I bought it for your birthday.”

“My birthday?” his brows furrowed and he fully sat on his desk. He spreads his legs so you’re standing between them and closer to him. 

“Yeah, it’s in two days and I wanted to do something special. I thought we could go to The Lark for drinks and dinner?”

“It doesn’t have to be a big to do, Sugar. I’m fine if we stay in and watch movies eating takeout,” he shakes his head.

“You don’t want to go out?” you start to internally panic. 

“It’s not that big a deal, just another day. And please don’t spend money on me, darlin’, okay?” he kisses your nose and rubs your backside affectionately. “Let me finish looking through these bills and we’ll have dinner.”

“Okay…” you murmur and exit his office like you’re a ghost. 

Now how are you going to get him to his party? 

You were thinking of different scenarios to get him to the restaurant without giving anything away throughout dinner and the movie Jake put on. When he asked if you were ready for bed, you followed him upstairs like a zombie and moved slowly through your night routine. 

“Are you all right?” he asks once you crawl into bed.

“Huh?”

“You’ve been acting weird since I asked you about the dress you bought, I swear I’m not mad at you.”

“No, I know you’re not I just…have other things on my mind.”

“Is it Betty?”

“No, she’s fine,” you shake your head. “Work stuff.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he leans on his elbow staring at you with his pretty green eyes.

“It’s all right,” you fall onto your pillow snuggling into him. “Sorry I was distracted tonight.”

“Let me know what I can do to help,” he hugs you to him and kisses the top of your head. His hands rub over your shoulders and back. 

“Can we go to The Lark for your birthday? I grew up going out to dinner for birthdays and I want to do that for you,” you confess into his chest. You hold your breath waiting for an answer. 

“You really want to?” the motions of his hands slow a bit.

“Yeah, I sort of bought that dress especially for your birthday,” you stress. 

“You did mention that…” he murmurs and you feel his smile against your hair. “Okay, we’ll go to The Lark for my birthday. I’m dying to see this dress.”

“Yay!” You lift your head from his chest and give litter his face in quick kisses. 

You took the day off from work to place some decorations in the room where Jake’s party will be held. Serena and Bradley came over to help as well, their height really came in handy with setting up the photobooth area.

“I can’t believe Jake let you set this all up for him,” Bradley says, tying off a silver balloon and tossing it in front of the shimmery backdrop. 

“What do you mean?” you ask scattering ‘Happy Birthday' confetti on the round table where the cake and presents will go.

“He hates his birthday, ever since I’ve known him he’s spent the day alone or takes up extra hours at work so no one makes a big to-do about it.”

“He hates his birthday?! Why?” You gasp and panic sets in again. 

“Not sure,” Bradley shrugs, “but he’ll do anything for you, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“He doesn’t even know it’s happening, this is all a surprise, B,” Serena says blowing up another black balloon. 

“Really?” Bradley’s eyes widen but when he meets your gaze he quickly goes back to normal. “It’ll be fine, y/n. He lo–he’ll love it because you set this up for him.”

“Are you sure? What if he had a traumatizing moment from a surprise birthday party when he was younger and now I’m going to ruin his birthday even more?!”

“y/n, it’s going to be fine,” Serena says and glares at Bradley. “Jake’s crazy about you and you could kill a hundred people and he wouldn’t bat an eye to helping you hide the bodies.”

“That’s morbid,” Bradley mutters.

“You know I’m right. He’s going to love your dress, he’s going to love that you planned this all for him and he’s going to love your gift. We’ll take care of the rest of the set-up, you go home and get ready. I’ll make sure everyone is in position by the time you get here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Serena nods, “Go home and get the birthday boy.”

Your mind was racing of all the possible reactions Jake could have to his surprise party and they were all on the negative side. You should have asked his friends if he would have liked a birthday party. Should you have invited his family? You have yet to meet them and now with you not inviting them, they’ll hate you? 

Your head was pounding by the time your shower was done and you tried not to overthink as you did your hair and makeup. Nervously, you kept checking the clock for when Jake will be home. You’d told him reservations would be for seven and you had just finished slipping into your satin dress when you heard a low whistle behind you. 

You spun around to see Jake leaning against the doorframe ogling you in your dress.

“Jake! I wanted to make a big appearance in this!” you pout, lifting the fabric in your fingers as you walk to the couch where your shoes are. 

“I’d say I’m sorry but I’d be lying. You look so damn good,” he drawls moving in front of you. 

He kneels on the floor in front of you as you fit your shoes on, his own fingers replacing yours as he lifts your foot on his thigh. With slow precision he fastens the buckle then does the other foot and skims his fingers up your calf and over the smooth satin of the dress. 

“Jake,” you warn, he leans his upper body over your lap while his eyes drag over the dress. 

“What? I’m admiring this dress my girl bought just for me to see her in it. I want to enjoy it before the rest of the world sees you,” he says and kisses your shoulder. “I was going to wait until Christmas but I have a necklace that would fit perfectly right here…” 

His lips press to the apex of your breasts where you did want to wear a necklace but couldn’t find one that would suit the dress. 

“You do?” you drag his face from your chest so you can look into his eyes. “What’s it look like?” 

“It’s a drop necklace with two diamonds,” he smiles. “Would you like to wear it?”

“Maybe,” you bite your lip. “But if it was a gift for Christmas–”

“I changed my mind. Pretend it’s a gift you bought. I’ll be right back.”

He darts away to his closet then rushes out holding a long black box which he opens when he kneels in front of you again. You gasp quietly as you peer into the box, the delicate chain sparkles but the diamonds are even more glamorous. 

“Jake! This is stunning,” you breathe. 

“Let me put it on you, Sugar.”

He removes the jewelry and unclasps the hook just as you hold up your hair in your hand. He leans around you and you suck in a breath at the coolness of the diamonds on your skin and Jake clasps it together. His lips kiss your neck, shoulder, and clavicle bone before capturing your lips. 

“Beautiful,” he mumbles.

“You haven’t even seen it on me,” you giggle into his kiss. Your fingers curl into his hair. 

“Don’t have, already know it’s beautiful on you.” 

You continue to kiss quietly and then your phone dings in a notification and you remember you’re on a time crunch. 

“Jake,” you gasp but his lips shift to below your ears. “We need to go to the restaurant and you have to change.”

“I’m not done admiring you yet…”

His hand has slid up the slit of your dress, his thumb presses into your inner thigh and he nibbles on the lobe of your ear. You almost give in and want him to do whatever he wants to you but then you remember there’s a roomful of people waiting for him.

“The sooner we go to dinner the sooner we can come back and I can give you your present birthday boy,” you push him off you and his eyes are slightly crazed. 

“You got me a present?”

“Mhm, and you’re not getting it until after dinner.”

He stares into your eyes for a beat, then down at the necklace and your dress before he scampers off to his closet. You hear hangers rattling and some grunting so you stand up and spritz some perfume on. The notification on your phone was from Serena saying they’re ready for you.

“Okay, let’s eat as fast as we can.”

When you arrive at the restaurant your stomach is in knots because you’re still nervous as to how he’s going to react to the party. The host plays her part by saying every table is full so you’ll have to move upstairs. Jake holds your hand up the stairs.

“What–”

The doors open and you push Jake forward so he can see the full effect as everyone shouts ‘Happy Birthday!’ Jake squeezes your hand as confetti poppers explode over the both of you. He faces you, eyes wide. 

“Surprise,” you whisper. “Please don’t be mad.”

“Mad? Why would I–”

Rooster and Coyote pull him from you declaring he needs birthday shots and drags him to the bar in the corner of the room. Music is already playing and food is placed on the tables. The girls take you away next and you don’t see Jake until it’s time to cut his cake. 

By that time, he’s slightly intoxicated and pulls you into him as everyone sings Happy Birthday to him. 

“Are you mad?” you ask trying to steady the both of you as he dances along to the singing.

“Why would I be mad? You threw me a surprise birthday party, Sugar, no one’s ever done that for me before. I’m having a great time.”

“You are?” 

“Blow out the candles Bagman!” Phoenix shouts from the lap of Brynne at the nearest table. 

Jake sloppily blows them out and hugs you close again.

“Why do you think I’d be mad?” he asks into your shoulder.

“Bradley said you don’t like your birthday–”

“I have mixed feelings about it, but you did this. For me. This is the best birthday ever,” he stares into your eyes. “Thank you for doing this for me, Sugar.” 

You frame his cheeks and give him a kiss that is borderline inappropriate given the present company. There’s catcalls and wolf whistles when Jake’s hand drops lower onto your ass which makes you laugh. 

The rest of the evening is spent taking photos at the photobooth and dancing on the dancefloor with Jake. Turns out he loves Frank Sinatra and his crooning voice made the night even more magical. The night ended with just the two of you dancing along to the duet of ‘Somethin’ Stupid’ with Nancy Sinatra and Jake loves to spin you around. 

You feel as if you’re in a movie and while dancing with him, all that’s wrong in the world disappears. It’s just you and him.

Back at home, you drag Jake up to his bedroom and sit him down on the edge of his bed. He removes his tie and jacket, tossing them in the corner of the room. Your shoes were off as soon as you entered the house and it felt nice to walk on the plush carpet. 

“Where are you going?” he asks your back as you go into your closet of his room.

“I have a birthday gift for you, remember?” 

You quickly remove your dress and put on the pink lingerie set with the bow and cover up with a robe. When you’re back in his room he’s laid back on the bed, arms wide, staring up at the ceiling. 

“Hey, no sleeping yet birthday boy. Sit up,” you sit next to him. 

When he sees what you’re wearing, he shoots straight up then looks at the gold wrapped gift in your lap. 

“This is for me?” he smiles resting his hand over yours.

“Happy Birthday, Jake.”

You hold out the gift and he grabs it. You hope he can’t hear your heart beating as he tears away the paper, you purposefully wrapped it upside down so he’d have to flip it over to see the cover. When he does, you hold your breath and he stares at the image of you staring up at him in black and white. He seems frozen so you flip the cover open and you see the photo of you laying on the bed with the pearls. 

Jake’s fingers trace over the string of pearls softly before turning the page. You sit quietly trying to gauge his reaction and you see a slight smile on his face the more he flips through the book. 

“When did you do this?” he finally breaks the silence when he’s halfway through.

“Last week while you were gone.”

He’s silent again as he continues and then it’s the pool photos. He groans when he realizes you’re completely nude. You notice he’s shifting on the bed and at the very last page he reads your inscription to him before closing the book. 

“Sugar, this is–”

“One more surprise,” you interrupt him and unfold your legs from under you. You stand up and remove your robe, letting it pool at your feet as you stand before him in the lingerie piece. 

“What…” he sets the book down on the floor carefully, his eyes scanning over you slowly. “What did I do to deserve you?” 

His voice is a little hoarse and scratchy and it elicits some dampness to form between your legs. In one swift motion, Jake lifts you by the backs of your thighs and you’re suddenly staring at him above you. On the same thought, you tug him down as he presses himself against you in a heated kiss. Your fingers pop open the button of his dress shirt, the pads drifting over his chest hair. You try to tug the shirt off but he breaks away.

“No, no, this is all about you, baby,” he shakes his head sliding down the bed, pulling you with him until you’re at the very edge.

He spreads your legs slightly and drags his hands to the flimsy fabric of your panties, dragging them down and off you. He parts your legs more, your heart is racing as you watch him raised on your elbows. 

“But it’s your birthday–”

“You’re all I need.”

He kisses up your left leg, teeth nibbling every now and then as he rests your leg on his shoulder. He does the same thing to your right leg and you’re elevated to his mouth. 

“Look at you, so pretty for me,” he mumbles brushing a knuckle to your wet core. Your legs jolt at the contact and you’re hot all over. “Can I make you feel good, Sugar?”

His green eyes are blazing as he gazes up at you and you can’t find the words to speak so you just nod. 

“Use your words, baby.” His pinky glides up your slit and that somehow brings back your voice.

“Yes…please,” you whimper. 

Jake hums and with a smirk he lowers his mouth to your very center and when you feel his hot breath and wet tongue, you fall back onto the bedspread. He uses his tongue and lips in a way that makes it feel like he has three tongues. He suckles and laps in all the places you never knew existed, and then a newfound stretch of his finger slipping inside you has you moaning. 

“Oh, Jake,” you sigh. Your hands fly to his hair guiding him to where your body is reacting the most to his actions. He hums and slips his tongue inside you along with his finger. Your mouth opens and your toes curl. 

Soon, your body is rocking with the motions of his ministrations, your legs clamping around his head. He’s making you hot, your lower back becomes slick with sweat and your stomach is full of butterflies. His one hand is gripping your thigh, his thumb rubbing circles and then he does something with his mouth and you practically scream. You bite onto your knuckles.

“I wanna hear you, Sugar,” he mumbles and makes an obscene slurping noise. “So fucking wet…goddamn.”

He devours you, putting his whole body into pleasuring you and you feel the muscles in his back stretch and flex. It’s like a band inside you is about to snap and when another finger is inserted and his tongue is moving at an even quicker pace, you rise up. 

The band starts to snap and you clutch his face to your core as your orgasm explodes out of you. You’re whimpering and moaning and saying words that don’t even sound like English until you fall back on the bed and enjoy the lingering part of your orgasm. Your fingers fall from his hair and he’s still working his mouth over you, milking the remnants of your orgasm. 

“Oh my God,” you squeak and drag your hands up your body and over your breasts. You give them a squeeze, feeling the hard peaks of your nipples through the thin fabric.

Jake doesn’t let up and your legs start to shake, your breathing turns into pants.

“Jake, I’m going to–”

“Cum for me again, Sugar,” he encourages and as if your body was waiting for the command, you do.

This orgasm is more warm and languid, turning your body into jelly. You feel like you’re floating and Jake removes his fingers from you slowly but your body reacts from the loss. 

“Sorry, Sugar, I’ll be more gentle,” he coaxes and kisses your pussy delicately before lifting his head. 

You tilt your head so you can see him, his lips and chin are glistening with your orgasm and that makes you hot all over again. 

“You know, I loved the birthday cake you got for me,” he says crawling over you. He swipes the moisture from his chin and sucks on his thumb. “But you’re my favorite flavor.”

[talkfastromance4]

Listen… I am obsessed, as I’ve said before, with Sugar Daddy!Jake and Sugar. And I’m a sucker for being taken care of so the blurb about the migraine and bad day was my jam but it got me thinking… Jake needs taken care of too sometimes, and I’m dying to know what that would like when he’s having a bad day and just needs a little tlc

Sure thing bby😊 prepare for extra soft!Jake

Lift Me Up–Jake Seresin (An Arrangement Series)

An Arrangement Masterlist

Follow here for all updates as I do not have a taglist

word count: 1.7k

Feedback, asks, comments/reblogs mean the world to me!

Enjoy!

You were just finishing up some boutonnieres and corsages for another wedding when your watch buzzed on your wrist. At a quick glance you saw Rooster’s name appear but you didn’t read the message yet because you had to finish wrapping twine around one more set of flowers. Your wrist buzzed again, and again but you were adamant on finishing this before being distracted.

Once it was wrapped and tightened, you scrolled through your notifications, messages equally from Rooster and Phoenix.

Rooster: are you coming to the hard deck by chance?

Phoenix: are you busy tonight? Please say no, Bagman is extra sour

Rooster: we’re all begging. Hangman’s in a terrible mood.

Rooster: WE ALL NEED YOU

Phoenix: please babe, he’s bad

“What in the world?” you mutter as you read through the frantic texts. 

It’s only a little after five, what could Jake possibly be doing that both Rooster and Phoenix are reaching out to you? You place your finished flowers in the boxes and set them on the shelf in the fridge and gather your things. Reynolds is waiting for you in his usual parking spot, his smile turns into a frown at your own troubled expression.

“Is something wrong?”

“Can we go to The Hard Deck? Something’s wrong with Jake…”

“Really? He didn’t text me…” Reynolds scratches his chin as he opens your door. “But we’ll stop by and see what’s going on.”

“Thank you.”

The bar isn’t that far from your shop and for a Thursday night, it’s pretty packed with cars and pilots loitering onto the sand. 

“Should I come in with you?” Reynolds asks.

“No, I’ll be okay. Maybe wait for a bit in case we need to drive him home,” you say and get out. 

Some of the other pilots say hello to you as you pass them but you barely smile because you’re growing concerned for Jake. Is he drunk and he’s acting belligerent? Is he sick and refusing to go home?

You weave through the crowd finding Rooster near the back by the jukebox and pool tables. There’s a loud crack! followed by a collective groan and someone cursing Jake’s name. 

“Penny’s gonna ban you from ever entering her bar again,” Rooster shakes his head and moves out of your way.

You see Jake holding a splintered cue stick, one half of it is on the pool table and his face is hard, stony. His brows are furrowed in a permanent scowl as he tosses the broken stick on the table.

“I’ll replace it. Give me another one,” Jake snaps his fingers but no one moves. He turns around snatching one from the holders and you push yourself in front of Rooster.

“Thank God you’re here,” he mutters. “Hangman, time to go home.”

“No, I’m not ready to go home, Rooster. Not until I win a game of pool and–Sugar,” he stops himself short when he turns around and sees you. He drops the new stick in his hand as if he’s caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “What are you doing here?”

“We called her to come get you,” Phoenix says. “It’s been a long day. Go home.”

“I thought you were working late,” Jake says, ignoring the others completely. 

“I got caught up,” you walk towards him, hand reaching for his cheek. When you’re close enough his cheek falls into your palm effortlessly. You can feel the tension in his jaw. “You had a bad day?”

“Wasn’t the best, no,” he murmurs as you bring your other hand to his other cheek. You rub at the circles under his eyes, noting how they’re bloodshot. 

“Let’s go home.”

“Okay.”

He follows you willingly, walking past his friends who stare at your retreating backs dumbfounded. They insisted he should go home hours ago but he refused and then you come in saying only a few words and he follows you not a problem. 

When the two of you get back outside you let Reynolds know he can go home. Jake says he’s fine to drive and you want to ask him what happened but his body language is screaming annoyance. He keeps one hand on your knee and you trace your finger over the grooves of his knuckles, circling over the back of his palm. 

His silence is so loud when you’re finally home and he slams his door when he gets out. He opens yours more gently, his hand held out to you, his gaze soft as he looks at you. You take his hand and close your door behind you, following him closely into the house.

“Can I make you anything?” you ask quietly. 

���Do we have tomato soup?”

“I’m sure Rhea keeps it on hand,” you smile, continuing to stroke his hand with your thumb. “Do you want grilled cheese with it?”

“That sounds good,” he nods.

“Okay. Why don’t you go take a hot shower, the food will be ready when you’re done.”

You squeeze his hand, debating on kissing him but he turns away and heads towards the stairs. You skip to the kitchen grabbing the necessary things to make the soup. Of course Rhea bought the best type of canned tomato soup and you took two out since you hadn’t eaten yet either. While the soup is heating up in the pot you begin on the grilled cheese using the panini maker. 

You’re humming ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ as you look in the freezer for dessert. Jake loves sundaes with chocolate syrup and sprinkles. You stir the soup, make another grilled cheese and then Jake struts in. You were hoping he’d take a longer shower, letting the hot water worry away his tight muscles. 

“Hey,” you smile loving how fluffy his hair is looking already. He has on your favorite shirt, the NAVY one and a pair of plaid pajama pants. “That was a quick shower.”

He moves past you and turns the soup down on low so it simmers. Then he places the grilled cheese on a hot plate and covers it up.

“The soup is just about done. Aren’t you–ahh!” you squeal when he lifts you up onto the counter. You open your legs and he slots between them, his arms moving behind your lower back. 

“Wanted to be with you,” he mumbles.

“Jake…what happened today?” you ask resting your arms on his shoulders.

“I couldn’t beat my times today and in the meetings following, I was used as the example of what not to do. I don’t know what happened, I couldn’t accelerate fast enough. So I wanted to blow off steam at the bar, prove to everyone I can do it all.”

“I’m sorry you had a bad day. It’s okay if you can’t do it all, you know, I think you’re pretty perfect already,” you encourage. “You’ll beat your times, just keep practicing and you’ll get there. Want me to come yell at your officers for singling you out?”

“No, that’s okay,” he chuckles slipping his fingers under your shirt. He draws circles on your skin. “It wouldn’t do much, you’re too adorable.”

“I can be feisty if I need to,” you put on a tough face, “I can scream and shout about how you are the best pilot there is.”

“Thanks Sugar,” he smiles. He turns his head so he can kiss the inside of your forearm then sighs. He keeps kissing up your arm until he’s by your shoulder and you turn his head so you can press your lips to his. 

Your arms tighten around each other, and your legs hook around his hips. His kiss is hurried and hot, his fingers hot on your bare skin as he shifts them up under your shirt. One hand moves to your stomach, his lips feverish as they transition to your jaw and neck. You toss your head back gasping, his fingers graze the side of your breast as he sucks on your neck. 

Your hips involuntarily rut against his, fingers tangling in his hair. Your body is electric from his touch and kiss. His hand on your lower back rocks you forward, his lips moving to your collarbones and in between your breasts. 

“Jake,” you whimper enjoying the sensations but then he stops. 

He removes his lips from your breasts, his breath hot and wanton on your skin as he recollects himself and pulls you back up in a sitting position. You stare at him quizzically.

“Sorry, I got a little carried away,” he exhales.

“I wasn’t telling you to stop,” you shake your head suddenly feeling ashamed. 

“I know. But I don’t want to rush anything, wanna take my time and give you the proper attention you deserve,” he says pulling your shirt back down. “And not when I’m upset about work.”

“But–”

He shushes you with a soft kiss. 

“Don’t forget how much you tempt me on the daily, Sugar,” he says on your lips. “You made me my favorite comfort food, so let’s enjoy that okay?”

You nod and hop down the counter, your legs a little shaky from that quick but intense makeout. You ladled the soup while he gathered plates and silverware. Still feeling a little dejected, you sat on one of the stools and began to eat slowly. When Jake joined you, he dragged you closer to him, the stool grating against the floor. Then he lifted your legs onto his lap and smiled.

“Want you as close as possible,” he says then starts to eat. You smile into your spoon.

When you’re finished eating, you move into the living room climbing onto his large couch. 

“Pick your favorite movie,” you tell him. He decides on 10 Things I Hate About You and when he turns around, you pat your chest as a place for him to lay. 

He jumps onto the couch cuddling onto your chest, basically laying on top of you with his arms and legs wrapped tightly around you. His overexcitement makes you laugh and you start to play with his hair. That calms him down fairly quickly and you scratch at his neck.

“You’ve no idea how good that feels,” he groans. 

“Oh I know, it’s my specialty, remember?” you tease and kiss the top of his head. You move your hands down his back, scratching it lightly and he groans again. 

“Don’t ever stop,” he sighs.

You remain that way for the whole movie, one hand scratching at his back and the other petting his hair thinking the whole time how you never want to stop.

[sagesolsticewrites]

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!! 🥰💕💌🌹💋

In honor of my favorite holiday, V-Day requests are open ☺️ feel free to check out some of my favorite prompt lists in my pinned post, or check the tag “Sage’s Valentines” for some special Valentine’s Day prompts <3

As always, I’ll accept any requests for:

- Elvis (2022)

- Top Gun Maverick

- Top Gun (1986)

(quick note! I’m not super confident writing x-readers for TG1986 just yet, but feel free to send in some character x character pairings or poly ships and I’ll do my best to do them justice!)

- Stranger Things

- Masters of the Air (new addition!) (bc come on, y’all think I’m gonna see military 1940s Austin Butler w/ a Southern accent and *not* wanna write for him??)

I hope you all have the wonderfullest of days celebrating love in all its forms, whether that be romantic, platonic, queerplatonic, familial… love is a joy no matter what form it takes 💕

tagging a couple friends under the cut, just to get the word out 🥰

@austinbutlermischief @austin-butlers-gf @sassy-ahsoka-tano @mpmarypoppins @dontbesussis @recycledn0stalgia

[shelfwar]

FYI

In my fics I'm gonna start calling Wolf Henry instead of Leonard.

[shuosjedaowashere]

Hey! I’m deuceofgears, who’s currently dying for these two fools!!! Come say hi to me anytime to talk about them! Also leave me a kudos/comment if you like my works!

[withahappyrefrain]

The 5 Times You Flirted With Bob + The 1 Time He Picked Up on It

Summary: You've fallen for your friend and have decided to drop some hints that you're flirting. Unfortunately, Bob doesn't realize that immediately.

Warnings: Language, no y/n, female reader, reader has a callsign (Honey)

Thank you to @dissonannce for this amazing idea. Thank you @acewritesfics for the dividers!

"Your hands are so big."

It took Bob a moment to register that you were in fact, talking to him.

"Oh! Um yeah. My ma made me do piano because she felt I was given the hands for them," Bob wiggled his fingers for extra effect, "Y'know, since they're so long."

Yes, they were quite long. It was one of the first things you noticed about Bob. Well, after you noticed his beautiful blue eyes, his endearing lopsided smile, the way he was so considerate of everyone else, so gentle, and yet there was an underlying confidence about him. He was sure of himself, but he didn't feel the need to brag.

Who could blame you for falling head over heels for him?

You flashed him a smile, hand reaching towards his.

"It's just, your hand is so much bigger than mine. See?" You propped his arm up, allowing your palm to press against his, both your fingers spread out to showcase the difference in size.

"See? My hand is so small compared to yours," You giggled. Bob looked down at your hands. Your breath hitched, your fingers twitching, dying to entwine with his.

"Yeah, there is quite a difference in size," Bob said, giving you that small smile you adored so much. That smile gave you the confidence to entwine your fingers with his.

"I think they fit pretty well together, see?" He wasn't letting go. He was still smiling as he looked down at your hand holding his.

Maybe this was finally it, he'd finally realized that you liked him and would-

"I'm gonna go get some more peanuts, can I get ya anything?"

You mustered up a smile, trying to cover up your disappointment, "I'll take a water. Thanks Robby."

As soon as he left, you shot Jake a dirty look, "Seresin, you said that shit would work!"

Jake, who had been pretending to play a game of pool with Bradley, Javy, and Mickey, put his hands up in defense, "Because it usually does! Everyone knows when a girl compares hand sizes it means she wants you!"

"Everyone but Bob apparently," Javy muttered.

"Maybe you just need to be more obvious?" Mickey suggested.

You sighed. You knew Bob. The last thing you wanted was to be so blunt it would overwhelm him. But at the same time, you two had been doing this whole 'friends but also more than that and I'm pretty sure we're flirting?' for the last month and you were getting annoyed with it how seemed to be going nowhere.

Perhaps Mickey was right. You were going to have to be a bit more obvious.

"Bee? You ready?" Bob called out from your living room. Bob's nickname of your callsign (Honey) always brought a smile to your face, as well as heat to your cheeks.

"Almost! Can I get your thoughts on this top?" You asked as you walked in.

"Yeah, I'm sure you look-oh." Bob's eyes widened as he took in the green top you were wearing.

It was tighter than the shirts you normally wore, highlighting your breasts. The fabric stopped right at the end of your rib cage, showing off your stomach and bringing attention to your high waisted jeans, which according to Jake "did wonders for your ass".

"What do you think?" You clasped your hands together, the action causing your breasts to stick out even further.

"Um the uh, the color is really great on you. B-brings out your eyes," Bob said, his eyes looking everywhere except you.

With the way his cheeks were bright red, it gave you confidence to step forward, your body now inches away from his, "I was hoping it would bring out something else besides my eyes Robby."

"I mean you you look great in everything you wear! So mission accomplished," Bob said quickly, his hands fidgeting with his car keys.

"Anything else you want to say about the outfit Robby? I really value your opinion." You stood on the tips of your toes, bringing your chest closer to Bob's face.

It was the first time since you walked in that his eyes landed on your chest. He cleared his throat, as if he was gathering up the courage to say it.

"You should grab a jacket, it's supposed to go down to the low sixties tonight," He said, turning around to head out the door.

God damn it.

You grabbed your phone, quickly texting the group.

Honey: We need to go to Plan C.

Rooster: Plan C?! You're saying the top didn't work?

Bagman: Dude, your tits were like out.

Rooster: Maybe they weren't out enough?

Coyote: If they were out any more, Honey would be getting a public indecency charge.

Phoenix: Maybe we shouldn't use clothes to express our feelings? Just a thought 🤦🏽

Fanboy: Yeah Nat, that's plan C.

Payback: Can we not blow up the group chat tonight? The finale of Insecure is on.

Your right leg bounced up and down in nervous anticipation, your eyes never leaving the entrance to the Hard Deck.

"You don't think this is too much, is it?" You asked your friends/coworkers.

"Nah, it'll be perfect!" Mickey reassured you.

"You and Bob are going to walk out of here holding hands by the end of the night, guarantee it," Jake commented as he lined up the balls for a round of pool.

It took all your strength not to jump out of your seat when you saw Bob walk in. His iridescent blue eyes scanned the room, landing on you. He always seemed to search for you, which had to be a sign that he wanted more, that he felt the same way as you did.

You greeted him with a smile, patting the empty seat next to him.

"Hey Robby! I got something for you!" You called out.

Bob just smiled as he sat down, "I see you got my signature: water and peanuts. Thanks Bee!"

You giggled, shaking your head, "Yes, but that's not just it. These are for you!"

Bob stared at the bouquet of flowers you were holding out for him.

"For me? These are for me?" He asked, eyes wide as saucers.

"Yes! I was just thinking, like why is giving guys flowers not a thing? Because it totally should be! And no one deserves these flowers more than you Robby," You explained, a hopeful smile adorning your face.

Bob gently took the bouquet, admiring each flower.

"I thought they would go well with your eyes-that's why a most of them are yellow," you explained, trying to hide how nervous you were.

"These are perfect," Bob said before leaning down to smell the flowers.

"Really? Each flower has a different meaning," you began, hoping that by fidgeting with your hands, you'd be able to conceal your nerves.

Bob simply smiled, his face the epitome of saccharine, "Oh, I already know."

Your breath hitched, "You do?"

Bob nodded, "Oh yeah! Alstroemerias symbolize support, sunflowers are for loyalty, and violets stand for intuition!"

He wasn't wrong. You couldn't tell if you were upset by that or the fact that Mickey forgot flowers can have more than one meaning.

Time for Plan D.

"Hey Robby! You ready to watch hot people make poor decisions?"

"Ready as I'll ever-that's new," Bob said softly, taking in the new loungewear you had on for your biweekly Love Island watch.

"Oh this? I think I got it last week," you said as you let Bob into your apartment, "It's super comfy and it has pockets!"

It also was cut low, showing off your cleavage, as well as the tops of your thigh.

"Yeah, the uh, color looks really good on you Bee," Bob commented. The compliment brought a smile to your face. He noticed you, noticed you were wearing something new, and seemed to be noticing your now exposed skin.

"Well, let's go see if these folks gain any common sense," you grabbed his hand, practically beaming at how your hand fit perfectly in his.

"Somehow I doubt it," Bob chuckled.

When he offered to hold the popcorn for while you two watched, you weren't disappointed. Sure, it meant you weren't able to hold his hand. But it did mean you could move closer to him, your thighs practically touching.

"I really hope he doesn't take her back," Bob muttered, his eyes glued to the screen.

"He will. They always do," you sighed, gently moving your head so it rested against one of his broad shoulders.

If your action had any effect on Bob, he didn't show it. Which was the problem.

"I would pick you in the recoupling," You revealed, hoping that would be enough, would finally be enough.

Bob smiled, placing a hand on your knee, "That's kind of you Bee. But I think friendship couples go against the nature of the show."

It took everything in you not to scream.

The rest of the night was just a typical Love Island watch night, no touching, no initiating, no declarations of love, and ending with Bob giving you a friendly hug goodbye.

With a sigh, you flopped onto your bed to check your messages.

Bagman: Bee, please tell us it worked and you're marking sweet love to baby on board

Phoenix: you're disgusting Seresin.

Rooster: why would they stop fucking just to text you Bagman?

Bagman: so we can pop some champagne to celebrate

Fanboy: Why the fuck is would we do that?

Coyote: It's a big event! Bee told Bob how she feels AND Bob's getting laid!

Payback: Can I just get one night of peace? Just one night?

You: No one's doing anything bc it didn't work!

Rooster: Not trying to be rude, but weren't you like almost naked?

Bagman: Like 52% nude.

Phoenix: JFC, we're going to plan E folks.

Coyote: Is that when we just lock them in a closet?

Bagman: No that's plan G

"Hey Bee!"

The cheerful, charming voice always brought a smile to your face.

"Hi Robby!" You greeted him with a hug, the comforting scent of rosemary filling your nostrils, "You smell really nice."

"Oh um thanks," A hand flew to the back of Bob's neck, a nervous (and also adorable) habit, "Wanted to smell nice after doing all those pushups out in the sun."

"Well it worked, you smell great," One of your hands reached up to the nape of his neck, toying with the hair that had curled at the end, "Look great too."

The tops of Bob's cheeks were now a dusty pink, "It's just a white Tshirt."

You took a step forward, placing your hands on his chest, "It's a good look Robby. Shows off your muscles. I like it on you.

Bob's lips parted, then promptly closed.

"Uh, t-thanks Bee." He had to know now that you were flirting with him. It was clear as day.

Feeling confident, your hands trailed down to his, grasping them, "We should dance!"

You didn't wait for Bob to answer, dragging him out to the middle of the floor. The sounds of Bradley covering Frankie Valli (begrudgingly, as apparently Jerry Lee Lewis was better) filled the bar.

After a few minutes, Bob's shoulders visibly relaxed, a smile spreading across his face. You threw your head back laughing as he bust out a goofy dance move.

Everyone thought Bob was shy, but that wasn't the case. He was observant, determined to get a good read on someone so he knew how to approach the situation accordingly. Once he was comfortable, his personality shined and he was a sweet, goofy man who you adored with all your heart.

The grin you had was so wide, your cheeks were beginning to hurt. But you couldn't stop, not when he was twirling you around.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" You asked, having to say it into his ear so he could hear your voice above the music.

Bob shrugged, "I come from a big family. When you know you're going to a lot of weddings, knowing how to dance helps. That and my mom made me do cotillion."

"Well, all that practice paid off. You're a great dance partner Robby." You rested your chin against his broad chest, looking up to meet eyes bluer than the ocean.

In that moment, all you could do was focus on him. The way the corner of his eyes creased when he truly smiled, his comforting scent, his pink, thin lips that you were dying to feel on yours.

You wondered if he could hear your heart pounding, if he could feel it since your body was practically on his.

His hands found their way to your arms, gently placing themselves on your biceps. Was this it? It had to be.

So you stood on the tips of your toes, your lips now closer to his. Your eyes began to close as you leaned in to-

"I gotta go. Jake stuck his foot in his mouth again."

This wasn't a lie. But it still didn't dull your disappointment. Nor did it sedate your growing frustration at this whole situation.

Perhaps you didn't need Plan G or H Perhaps it was time to go with your original plan.

The next time you saw Bob was when Nat threw a small get together to celebrate the end of a long week.

He was wearing that damn white Tshirt again. Whenever he brought his cup of water to his mouth, the fabric stretched across his bicep.

Was he doing this on purpose? Did he know? Consciously or not, that you had fallen for him ever since you two first met at training?

Either way, you were tired of this game you had been playing for the past month.

"Are you sure about this?" Natasha asked.

You simply nodded before taking a shot of vodka. A little liquid courage was always nice.

"Nat, he's oblivious. Honestly, I don't know why we didn't do this the first time," Jake commented as he took the shot glass out of your hand.

"Because we didn't expect him to be that oblivious," Mickey countered.

"Well everyone, wish me luck." You walked out of the kitchen to find Bob still sitting on the couch, glass of water in hand.

His eyes met yours and he gave you a smile sweeter than honey. Your legs began to wobble, whether it was from that smile or your nerves, you couldn't say.

You walked over, making a beeline for him. Bob's eyes widened, his fingers gripping his cup. Your gaze was so intense.

"Hey Bee-oh!" Bob froze as you sat down in his lap, your thighs straddling his lithe hips.

"Hey Robby," your hands found his shoulders, fingers toying with the thin cotton fabric of his shirt.

"Uh Bee, there's um, there's a seat right there," Bob weakly pointed to the empty space next to him.

"I don't want that," you leaned forward, your forehead grazing his, "I want you Robby."

His eyes widened once more, as if he just saw an incoming train, "M-me?"

"Yes. Wanted you ever since that first day of training, when you offered me a mint," you told him.

"I uh, you looked sleepy and mint is known to wake you up and," Bob paused, "Did you say since the first day of training?"

You nodded, smiling at how you were able to see him process this information.

"The first day of training?" He repeated.

"Yes Bob, all you did was offer me a mint and smile to make me fall head over heels for ya," your fingers now went up to the back of his neck, twirling the curled ends of his hair, "Been trying to tell you that for the last month."

Bob opened his mouth, then promptly closed it, his brain still processing everything.

"You good Rob-" You never got to finish your sentence, as Bob decided right then was the best time to press his lips against yours.

His lips were soft and tasted faintly of vanilla, no doubt from the chapstick you watched him reapply. His touch was gentle, his thick fingers ghosting over your thighs, trailing up to your waist. Every move, no matter how small, made your heart fluttered.

Being so close to him, you could smell his aftershave, a mix of eucalyptus and sage. It was intoxicating and you wanted to be surrounded by it all the time, wanted to kiss him all the time.

When he broke away for air, you had to hold back a whimper, your lips desperate for more.

"FINALLY!"

You turned your head to find Bradley, along with Mickey, Natasha, Jake, Javy, and Reuben standing by the doorframe, in perfect view of you and Bob.

You smiled and opened your mouth, ready to make a quick remark. But Bob's fingers hooked underneath your chin, turning your head back to meet his lips again.

Unlike the first kiss, this one was bolder. His lips moved against yours with more confidence. Your whole body felt warm, as if you were floating. His hands now cupped your jawline, which is how you learned that Bob's hands practically covered your whole neck, a discovery that sent you reeling.

Your hands trailed up to his head, desperate to feel his sun kissed locks, desperate to find out if they were as soft as they looked. But just before you could, Bob broke away.

"What?" Anxiety came rushing back, dragging you away from Cloud Nine, your previous location. Did he regret it?

"Let's go."

He moved your body to the empty space on the couch, quickly getting up. You took his hands, allowing him to help you get up. You held onto one hand as he led you to the front door.

"Bob! What are you doing with my backseater?" Javy called out.

"Making up for lost time!"

Maybe you should be a little embarrassed. But how could you? You had finally kissed the man of your dreams, he kissed you back. He wanted to leave with you.

The sounds of the house party fainted, becoming soft background noise as you went outside.

Bob stopped, turning around to face you. Before you could get out a sound, his lips were on you again. His hands pulled your body to his, closing the gap in-between.

You couldn't help but moan when you felt his tongue slide against your bottom lip, immediately granting him entrance. You could hear Bob's breath hitch, his hands roaming across your body, touching your soft skin.

Abruptly, he pulled away, leaving you desperate for more.

"Why do you keep doing that?!"

"I...." His face was flushed, "I meant to ask you if if you drove yourself here. But you looked so kissable. You still do, God I just wanna kiss you again."

"I'm not stopping you Robby," you grinned, stepping towards him, "I'm not stopping you at all."

"Oh don't tell me that darlin'" his Midwestern upbringing laced his words. You always loved his accent, having found it not just unique but also comforting.

Somehow, despite his lips pressed against yours, Bob was able to walk you back to his car, your back meeting the cool metal.

His broad body draped over yours, his tongue frantically exploring your mouth. Your fingers reached up, grasping his hair. It was soft and much thicker than you expected.

What else was there about Bob you had yet to learn? What kind of toothpaste he used, if he drank tea or coffee in the morning. Did he fall asleep to rain sounds or silence? How many pillows were on his bed?

You wanted to know everything.

But right now, you just wanted to kiss Bob.

Your fingers tugged on his hair in an attempt to pull him closer to you. Despite his chest being pressed against yours, it wasn't enough. You wanted all of him.

"We should get in the car," He said, voice breathless. With the way his chest was rising, one would think he had just ran ten miles.

Bob began moving towards the driver's side of his truck, but he stopped, turning back to you.

"I want to take you home," He stated. It sounded like a confession with the way guilt laced his eyes.

"I would love that Robby."

Instead, he just shook his head, "But I shouldn't because you deserve more than that. You deserve a nice date, like that Italian restaurant we always pass when we go to Bradley's. You deserve that and flowers and a lovely dinner with candles and wine that's older than both of us-"

You cut him off by gently pecking his lips, "It's okay Bob. You could take me to that diner up the room from your place tomorrow morning and I'd be elated because I would be with you."

He shook his head, clearly torn between continuing to talk and continuing to kiss you, "But....it's the least I should do. I mean, after all the hints you were dropping. I thought you were just being friendly and-"

"What friend asks another friend to look at their chest?" You asked incredulously.

"I thought maybe we were just really close! That you were really comfortable around me, which is why I didn't think anything regarding what you wore when we watched Love Island. I mean," his face reddened, "I did think about it. Um I thought about it a lot and if you ever want to wear it again, I would not mind-"

"Bob," you stepped forward, placing your hands on his chest.

"I mean, you got me Violets! Those mean loyalty and devotion, as well as delicate love! And believe me I wanted to kiss you at the Hard Deck, but that is entirely Jake's fault-"

"As most things are."

"And looking back it was so obvious and I can't believe I didn't pick up on it," He paused, "Sorry, I I had to get that out. I can take you home or back to my place, whatever you want."

You giggled, delighted by his ramblings. You wanted to hear more of it.

"And now I just want to kiss you. Like all the time," He confessed, his lips moving closer to yours.

"Robby, get in the car," you instructed.

"Oh, um, okay," Bob unlocked his car, moving towards the driver seat.

"No Bob. Get in the back of the car," you instructed.

Bob's brows knitted together in confusion, "But then how will I drive-oh!"

Who knows if you were going to make it back to his place or yours. All you cared about was getting your lips and hands back on Bob Floyd.

[hangmans-darling]

Live Forever [Part 4] Jake Seresin

summary: Jake Seresin and Magnolia James have always been tied together, soon enough their ties become entangled over the years. This is their love story.

word count: 5.8k

warnings: fainting

masterlist

live forever masterlist

Feedback is always welcome! Enjoy!🥰

Now

After helping Johnny unpack, Nola wanted to welcome him home properly, but he told her that they were going out to dinner with his buddy Simon and his wife Delilah. They’re pleasant enough but Nola really wanted to spend his first night home together.

“We’ve got all day tomorrow, Lia,” he says undoing the top buttons of his dress shirt. 

Hearing his nickname for her makes everything settle around her and brings back the memories of how they started.

Nola wasn’t interested at first, but he kept trying. He was a guest speaker at her school explaining what he does in the Navy. He was introduced as Ensign John Fischer. Nola’s coworker kept whispering to her that he would stare at her while he spoke but she waved it off. 

He answered questions for the kids then was waiting outside her classroom as she led her students back to her room until the bell rang. 

“Hello ma’am,” he greeted and she couldn’t deny he was handsome. His dark curls, and light brown eyes that matched his skin and she had a hunch he would have a dimple if he smiled.

“Hello,” she responded.

“I was wondering if I could take you out for dinner tomorrow night,” he smiled and she was right, dimples appeared. 

“What?” She was dumbfounded. 

“Can I treat you to dinner tomorrow night?”

“You don’t even know my name,” she laughed nervously.

“Miss James! Clark is eating glue!” one of your students, Penelope exclaimed. 

“I’m sorry, but no thank you. If you’ll excuse me,” she said and ran to stop Clark from eating glue. 

The next day as the school day was coming to a close, John was there again but with flowers and those damn dimples. 

“How about lunch, Miss James?” he smiled and extended the flowers out to her. 

“I have to stay here for lunch.”

The next day, he entered her room while she was cleaning up the art supplies her students were using. The flowers he brought her were sitting in a vase on her desk. 

“Can I buy you a coffee?” 

Nola sighed and gave in. If he’s this persistent she might as well give him a shot.

“I’d love some coffee.”

Their coffee date lasted well into lunch (which he paid for) and when dinner rolled around, he offered to cook her something. 

“You can cook, too? You’ve already done too much, John,” she shook her head.

“I want to do it, but if you have plans then I don’t want to interject. I’ve already taken up your whole Saturday.” 

“What about brunch tomorrow?” she suggested and he smiled.

“I love mimosas.”

By their sixth date he took her out on his small yacht he owned. On the back was the name ‘Oasis’ and she commented on how she liked it.

“It’s my own oasis from the ship,” he said helping her step onto the boat. 

Nola watched him untie the ropes from the pier, toss them onto the deck of the boat and hop on. She offered to help but he smiled at her to take a seat, that he’s got this. So she continued to watch him as he did the tasks and then they were pushing through the water. Nola moved to the front of the boat and smelled the sea air. 

After the boat ride, he docked it and then brought out a bottle of wine and a beautiful charcuterie board so they could eat and watch the sun go down. 

“Wow!” Nola’s eyes widened at the arrays of meats, cheeses and other goodies on the board.

“I have to confess that I did not make the board, I wanted it to be perfect for you.” 

“No one’s gone through this much trouble for me before,” she shook her head and accepted the glass of wine he just poured for her. 

“It’s no trouble at all.”

They sat and snacked on the food while the jazz music he put on played softly in the background. 

“So, is Nola short for something?” he asked.

“It is. My full name is Magnolia.” 

“You don’t like the nickname Maggie, I take it?”

“No,” she laughed and he stared at her for a while with his head tilted. He tapped his finger on the top of his glass.

“What about Lia?” 

“Do you not like my name?” She laughed again and felt her cheeks warm up.

“No! No, that’s not it at all, they’re both beautiful but…”

“But?” she hedged. 

“Lia means gentle and calm and that’s how you make me feel when I’m with you. Everything else is just background noise.”

“Okay then, Johnny, you can call me Lia I suppose. I don’t know if I’ll respond to it, though.” She gives him a demure smile.

“Well, you’re the only one I’ll allow to call me Johnny,” he laughed and pulled a piece of hair away from her lips that got stuck from the wind.

“That sounds like a plan. Johnny boy,” she smiled. 

“No, no, no. I’m fine with Johnny but draw the line at ‘Johnny boy’,” he laughed and she joined him. While they did their small banter of nicknames, they shifted closer to each other and Johnny’s fingers played with her hair. “Can I kiss you?” 

All she could do was nod. She was nervous, her heart hammered in her throat and her ears as he leaned in. She almost told him to stop but then when his fingers pinched her chin lightly and when his eyes fell closed, she let it happen. Nola’s eyes shut as his lips touched hers and it was unfamiliar but exciting.

This is the first kiss she’s had since the last time she saw Jake in Germany. She worried she might not be that good anymore but when Johnny threaded his fingers in her hair and pulled away for a breath that worry was gone.

“Wow, Lia,” he murmured and her stomach flipped as she saw his dimples appear. 

He kissed her again, this time with a little more urgency and she followed his lead. This kiss, Johnny, and the new nickname was like a brand new start, a clean slate that wasn’t tarnished by the bruised heartaches from Jake. 

Nola pushed Jake out of her mind and focused on Johnny and his lips. She twisted her fingers in his curls and he felt so warm. 

“Hey,” Johnny took her hand and lifted it to his mouth, he kissed the ring on her finger. “Where’d you go?”

“Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve been called Lia because you were gone. It made me think of when we met.” 

“Lia, Lia, Lia,” he sings her name with a grin then tugs her with him towards their bathroom. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Eight months I’ve been taking a shower in cramped quarters,” he pulls off her sweater over her dress. “Eight months I’ve been thinking of you in that shower.” he unties the ribbon around her stomach then works on the zipper of her dress. “Eight months I’ve been missing you, Lia. I don’t think I can wait eight more minutes.”

“What about dinner?” she asked but was undoing the rest of his buttons. 

“Simon will understand.” 

She worked his clothes off quickly and they stumbled into the shower, lips connected as the water cascaded on them. She always loved how strong Johnny was, he lifted her easily against the tiled wall when he entered her. Her moans echoed and bounced back to them through the steam, her hair clung to her face. 

He hummed her name again and again in her ear as he thrusted into her. Through the shower door she could see his ass flex and clench in the mirror, her diamond ring winking at her as he moved within her. 

“Oh Lia, my pretty girl,” he moaned and she closed her eyes when her orgasm overtook her. 

At dinner, Simon and Johnny are talking about their life and time on the ship while Nola and Delilah sit and listen. Johnny had his arm around Nola but she still felt detached even though they reconnected in the shower earlier. Delilah asked about wedding details as their plates were cleared and their glasses were topped off with more wine. 

“We haven’t really had time to discuss everything since he’s been in Europe, but now that he’s home,” Nola lifts her ring adorned hand to cover his on her shoulder and gives him a big smile, “maybe we can get to planning.” 

“Whatever you want, baby, I’m fine with.”

“You don’t want to help?” Nola’s smile fell.

“I thought that’s what Layla, your mom and sisters are for? Isn’t it a family thing?”

“No, it’s our wedding, Johnny. I want to do this together.”

They stare at each other, both of them at a loss for words.

“Let me see that gorgeous ring again, Maggie,” Delilah breaks the awkward silence by reaching across the table.

Nola sighs, breaks eye contact with Johnny and holds out her hand. She’s told Simon and Delilah repeatedly to call her Nola. 

“Oh, it’s just so beautiful,” Delilah gushes turning Nola’s hand from side to side so the diamond glitters. “And it must have cost a fortune.” 

“Oh, it did, but my Lia is worth it,” Johnny kisses her cheek.

Nola smiles and tries to relax against Johnny’s side as the conversation turns to golf and something about a top gun. Nola sips at her wine greedily, hoping it will push down her disappointment that Johnny didn’t want to help with wedding plans and a pair of green eyes that haunt her vision.

On Fridays, Nola always had her students create whatever they wanted. She found it heightened their freedom of expression and helped their talent grow. It also gave her time to grade projects and sketch in her own book. 

Lately, she’s been drawing willow trees and green eyes hidden through the weeping branches and leaves. Her last class of the day was with her second graders. Nola’s shading the pupil when there’s an outburst near the window. 

“It’s a plane, not a bird!” Charlie, your newest student, exclaims.

“It is too a bird!” Danny retorts pointing at Charlie’s paper. “Look at it’s poop!”

“That’s smoke!”

“Hey, hey, hey, we use our inside voices,” Nola says and moves from behind her desk to see what the commotion was. “What is going on?”

“Danny thinks my plane is a bird,” Charlie pouts, her face scrunching. 

“It is a bird, Miss James!”

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes-”

“All right, okay!” Nola bends at her knees holding her hands up in between their faces. “That’s enough. Sometimes, our art looks different to other people. It’s okay if you see a bird, Danny, but if Charlie is telling you it’s a plane, then we respect her, right?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Continue your drawing, the school day is almost over,” Nola says then turns to Charlie. “What kind of plane is this supposed to be?”

“A jet plane. My daddy flies one,” Charlie smiles proudly. “That’s him and my uncle is in this one.”

Nola sees she drew the fighter jets and it makes her think of Jake again. But as soon as his name or face starts to shift into her focus she forces it away immediately. 

“I think they are very good planes, Charlie,” Nola smiles then moves back to her desk. She stares at her sketch in her book and sees Jake’s eyes staring back at her. She knows she’s lying to herself by trying to push him from her thoughts, but he’s always on her mind.

When the school day is over, she’s excited for dinner with Johnny, Layla and Bodhi. Johnny is just getting out of the shower when she comes home, his towel wrapped around his waist and water droplets roll down  the tattoos on his chest. 

“Oh good. I’ll change and we can go to Champ’s,” Nola kicks off her small pumps. 

“I’m sorry, baby, I got called to base to go over a debriefing on Europe.”

“Seriously?” Nola’s shoulders fall. “Layla and Bodhi are so excited to see you.” 

“I know, I know. I want to see them too,” he steps closer to her. When he finishes knotting his towel he cradles her cheeks in his hands, his brown eyes are sad. “The higher in rank I get, the more responsibility I have.”

“I know,” she sighs then remembers there will be a dinner next week to officially announce him as Lieutenant and Nola will be pinning him. “How late will you be? Could you meet us after?”

“I can try but I don’t want to break a promise to you. Tomorrow, I swear it will just be you and me.” He kisses her forehead. “We’ll do anything you want.”

“Okay,” she relents.

“I love you, Lia.”

**

“Where’s Johnny?” Bodhi asks when Nola arrives at Champs alone.

“He got called to base to do a debriefing of his time in Europe,” Nola shrugs sitting down across from them. 

“Aw man, well we have plenty of time to see him. He’s home for awhile now, right?”

“He should be. He said tomorrow it’s just going to be me and him.”

“Good. Maybe you can go over wedding ideas,” Layla says. 

“Yeah, maybe,” Nola smiles sadly. “Let’s get a drink.” 

When she picks up the menu to skim over the cocktails, her ring is shining brighter and feels heavier than ever because of Johnny’s absence.

She always has a great time with Layla and Bodhi so after dinner they ended up at a bar on the beach called The Hard Deck. It was a little packed but they got served pretty quickly from a kind woman. Nola noticed a lot of Navy pilots coming in through the front door then there was a loud clamor of a bell. Loud cheers erupted from everyone in the bar.

“What’s going on?” Nola asks looking around. She plucks her cherry from her glass.

“If you disrespect a lady, the Navy, or have your phone on Penny’s bar, you buy a round,” a bystander says.

“Oh sweet! I’ll go get our drinks!” Bodhi says. He kisses the top of Layla’s head and makes his way to the bar.

“Well that’s cool,” Layla laughs.

“Super cool,” Nola agrees with a smile and glances around the bar as if expecting someone.

“Are you looking for Johnny? Did he get to leave early?” Layla asks.

“What?” Nola notices a cluster of pilots by the pool table. “Um, no. He hasn’t responded to my last text.”

She opens her phone to make sure she has service. She does and her message sent an hour ago is there saying it was delivered. 

Hey babe. We’re at this bar now called the hard deck. Let me know if you can come by! 😘😘

Nola stares at the ‘seen’ below her message minutes after she sent it. At least he saw it.

“We’ll stay for a bit longer and see,” Layla holds Nola’s hand in assurance. 

The three friends chit chat about their jobs and Nola taps her fingers on her glass as ‘Slow Ride’ by Foghat plays over the JukeBox. They finish their drinks and are about to leave when the music cuts off and the trill of a piano is overheard by the upset patrons.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Nola turns to peer at the piano. 

“Someone’s being carried out!” Bodhi laughs looking in the opposite direction from the piano.

Nola doesn’t pay that any mind and instead listens as ‘Great Balls of Fire’ is being sung by the piano player. The crowd has gathered around him so she can’t see who it is but she notices the khaki all around; he must be a pilot. 

“That’s so fun,” Nola comments but Layla and Bodhi aren’t paying attention as she takes out her phone to record a video of the performance. 

“Let’s get outta here before they get too rowdy,” Layla says pulling Nola by the elbow. 

When Nola got home, all the lights were still turned off so Johnny must not be home yet. She checks her phone and has messages from her sister Nomi asking about wedding plans and if she and their mom can fly out to go dress shopping soon. There are still no messages from Johnny.

Nola does her nighttime routine even though she is a little drunk. She’s pulled back the comforter and is about to crawl in when she hears the front door open and the swift clicks of Johnny’s dress shoes come down the hallway. 

“Johnny!” she squeals leaping at him. She tries to give him a kiss but only gets his chin.

“Hi,” he chuckles and steadies her. “Are you drunk?”

“Maybe,” she shrugs playing with one of his gold fastenings on his suit. “A round or two was paid for at the bar we were at because someone disrespected a lady, the Navy or a phone.” She counted off the reasons on her fingers then giggled into his chest. “No, no, no, you can’t disrespect a phone. I don’t remember but lady and Navy rhyme.”

“Okay, sweetheart, let’s get you to bed,” Johnny smiles rubbing her back. He spins her around but she covers her mouth. “Are you okay?”

Nola shakes her head then runs to their bathroom and throws up in the toilet. She’s waiting to feel Johnny’s assuring hand and soothing words but it doesn’t come until she’s standing in front of the mirror rinsing out her mouth.

“Better?” he asks watching her wipe at her mouth with a towel. 

“Kinda,” she whispers, her head is starting to pound. 

“I’m glad you didn’t do this in front of Simon and Delilah,” he says and Nola stares at him. 

Did he really just say that?

“Do you need anything?”

She shakes her head and exits the bathroom. Johnny closes the door so he can get ready for bed and Nola settles under the covers listening to him brush his teeth and wash his face. When he comes out, he hangs his suit on the proper hangers and he joins her in bed. He kisses her temple and shuts off the light.

Nola stares at the clock next to her side and thinks of the time Jake took care of her when she drank more than she intended when she visited him at school. He hand fed her a glazed donut and made sure she drank enough water before bed. She presses her hands to her head as if it would push the thoughts of him away and somehow ends up falling asleep. 

She dreamt of green eyes, trucks, bonfires and cowboy hats but didn’t remember a single thing when she woke up. 

Johnny woke her up gently with a soft kiss to her temple and a mug of coffee. Her favorite hangover food was on a plate in his hands along with two pills of Aspirin. When they’ve finished eating and her head feels better, Johnny kisses that spot below her ear that always gives her goosebumps and they have slow morning sex. 

After a shower and another cup of coffee, they’re sitting on their porch watching cars drive by and neighbors move up and down the sidewalk. It’s a very pleasant Saturday morning and then Johnny’s work phone rings.

Nola listens silently to his side of the conversation so she already knows their time is cut short again.

“I–”

“You have to go,” she interrupts him and gives him a sad smile. “I know. It’s okay.” 

“I’m so sorry, baby. It’s a quick run through and I’ll be home by dinner. I’ll pick something up to eat and we can have a fire in the back with your favorite wine.” 

“Okay.”

The rest of the week goes by in the same manner; Nola is home alone while Johnny works late. He tells her he wants to go out Friday night on Wednesday but she reminds him (for the fourth time) that she has an Open House at school until 8:30. 

They share a quick dinner Friday night before she changes into one of her nicer school dresses then heads out early to make sure her room is set for the parents. She always enjoys meeting the parents of her students and telling them how proud she is of them and all of their work. 

“Miss James!” Charlie bursts through the door followed closely by her mother. 

“Hello Charlie,” Nola smiles at her then holds out her hand to her mom. “I’m Miss James.”

“Diana,” Diana smiles and shakes her hand. “You’re Charlie’s favorite teacher.” 

“Well, I’m glad to have her. She’s such a joy and I love what she creates.” 

“Can I grab my plane picture to show my dad?” Charlie asks.

“Go ahead,” Nola motions towards the art displayed on the tables. 

Diana and Nola continue to talk about Charlie and how she draws at home as well when Nola recognizes a familiar face walking in her room. A face she hasn’t see in a very, very long time.

“Javy?” she stares in shock as he comes in wearing his service khakis.

“Nola? You’re Charlie’s art teacher?” he asks in equal shock. 

“Yes…are you…I’m sorry, I’m confused,” Nola shakes her head.

“Me too,” he laughs awkwardly then stands next to Diana. “I’m Charlie’s dad and Diana is my fiance. We’re hoping to finally tie the knot soon–”

“But it’s hard when he’s being called on missions all over the world,” Diana smiles at him.

“Yeah…I can attest to that,” Nola smiles politely. Her ears are starting to ring because the last time she saw Javy was in Germany. Jake’s name is on the tip of her tongue. “Congratulations on the engagement, that’s so great Javy.”

“How do you two know each other?” Diana asks.

“Uh, I dated his best friend in college and we hung out a lot,” Nola explains. She couldn’t bring herself to say his name. Her neck began to heat up under her dress and she lifts her hand to bring her hair forward. 

Javy’s eyes widened at the large ring on her finger.

“You’re married?”

“What? Oh! No, not yet. I’m engaged, too.” 

“Wow! That’s great! Congratulations!” he hugs her and Nola pushes down an ache, he’s the biggest reminder of Jake yet. 

“Thank you,” she hugs him back but they both pull away at the same time. 

“Um, we should go see her other teachers before it’s too late–” Javy tries to back out of her classroom. 

Charlie objects behind Nola and Javy looks behind him nervously.

“I have to show you my planes, daddy!” Charlie pouts.

“It really is a great picture. She drew you and her uncle,” Nola smiles. 

“Right,” Javy coughs. “Let’s see, munchkin.”

Nola watches as Javy and Diana look at the drawing Charlie did. Now that they’re next to each other, Nola can see how much Charlie does look like Javy. How did she not see that before?

“Nola James?”

The back of Nola’s neck prickles. She knows that voice all too well and she hasn’t heard that voice in nine years. Javy turns his head, realization washes over his features and Nola understands why he tried to get out of her room. Her head is pounding as she turns slowly around and sees Jake. 

He’s in his service khakis as well, his hair is short but not buzzed. It’s pristine and held perfectly in place and his green eyes are piercing. He’s as handsome as ever and Nola holds her breath.

“As I live and breathe,” he drawls quietly. 

“Jake,” she gasps out before everything spins and turns dark.

When she comes to, she smells mahogany teakwood and hears her name faintly being called. When she hears it in Jake’s voice, her eyes flash open and she sees him staring down at her. She tries to sit up.

“Woah, woah, hey, hey, hey slow down,” Jake says.

She stares up at him and realizes he’s holding her in his arms. She can feel his warmth all over her, the muscles in his arms.

“What happened?” Her voice is small and timid. She then notices it’s only them in her classroom.

“You sorta passed out. But you didn’t hit your head, I caught you before you could have hurt yourself.” 

“You…caught me?”

“Yeah,” his green eyes are full of concern as they look her over. His thumb is rubbing the top of her shoulder.

“Where did Javy go?”

“To get you some water,” he presses the back of his hand to her forehead then the pads of his fingers trail down her cheek.

Each touch leaves a burning flame on her skin but all she does is just lie there in his arms.

“You feel a little clammy…”

Nola can’t stop staring at him. He’s really here? 

“Yeah, I’m here, Nola,” he chuckles, his green eyes lift to stare into hers. 

“You heard that?”

“You said it out loud.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just been–”

“A long time,” he nods slowly.

They’re both caught in a trance of old memories, feelings, and the complete surprise of being this near to each other again after so many years. Jake opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by Javy.

“I got the water!”

“Miss James, are you sick?” Charlie asks peering around Javy’s legs. Diana holds onto her shoulders to keep her a good distance away.

“Uh, I think I can sit up on my own,” Nola says awkwardly. 

“Right,” Jake nods clearing his throat. 

He helps her sit up then takes her left hand so he can help her stand to her feet. He rubs her back subconsciously then glances down at her hand in his and he sees the ostentatious diamond ring. He’s frozen, staring at it.

Nola tries to hide her hand from him and thankfully Javy hands her the small paper cup of water. Nola mutters a soft ‘thank you’ and Jake turns his head away from the diamond letting her hand drop to her side. 

She feels like she’s going to pass out again.

***

Nola has finished putting away her student’s work and was waiting on her coffee to brew by her desk. The rest of the evening went by in a blur, she was on autopilot speaking with the other parents because her mind kept replaying the moment she saw and heard Jake. Absent-mindedly she’s twisting the band of her ring as she watches the brew drip and trickle into the carafe. 

There’s a knock on her door and she whips around to see Jake standing in the doorway, he bashfully places his hands in his pockets. 

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” she responds breathlessly. 

“Do you…do you need help cleaning anything up?” 

“No,” Nola glances around her room. “I’m all good, thanks.” 

He nods, purses his lips and starts to leave. 

“Wait!” she calls, taking a step forward and Jake spins around quickly. “Do you want a cup of coffee?” 

Once they’ve made their coffee how they like, they move to the corner of her room where she’s got a pair of comfy chairs for kids to sit and draw. They sit in an awkward silence, each taking a sip of their coffee.

“So, who’s the lucky guy?” 

“We don’t have to talk about that,” Nola shakes her head and chips away at some paint on the handle of her mug. 

“Come on, Nola. If I didn’t want to know I wouldn’t have asked. Who is he?” 

“Lieutenant John Fischer.”

“Navy guy, huh? I’ve heard of him.”

“Yeah, guess I have a type,” she says grimly.

“Does he treat you well?”

“Yeah, Johnny’s great,” she nods quickly and then the past few days roll through her mind. How he’s been coming and going more than usual and how he doesn’t want to help plan their wedding. Jake doesn’t need to know about those minor details. 

“Good, I’m glad to hear it.”

“Are you seeing anyone?” she sighs wanting to change the subject off of her and Johnny. 

“Dating on and off again,” he shrugs, “but nothing serious. Let me take you and your fiance out to dinner soon.”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to–”

“Please,” he holds up his hand, “it’s a congratulatory dinner on your engagement. My treat.” 

“All right,” she laments. “So, what are you and Javy doing here? Do you live here now?”

“We got called to a mission for Top Gun.”

“What in the world is that?” she asks taking a large swallow of her coffee and he smiles. 

“Fighter Weapons School, it’s where the best pilots go to learn aerial combat. I was first in my class when I went the first time,” he grins and Nola laughs because it’s his cocky grin. “Now, me and a bunch of other pilots were called for a very special mission and we’re all fighting to be team leader.”

“Uh oh, bet you’re such a good sport about that,” she teases.

“Oh you know I am,” he laughs. 

“Is it dangerous?”

“What?”

“What you do, is it dangerous?”

He frowns slightly and averts his gaze to his coffee.

“Yeah, Nola, it’s dangerous. I’m the only naval aviator on active duty with a confirmed air to air kill.”

“That’s…great?” she makes a face not knowing if it’s a good thing or not. 

“It is. I’m the best,” he smiles and she rolls her eyes.

“Same old Jake.”

They finally head out when the janitor comes by and tells Nola he’ll be locking up soon and she should be heading home. Jake walks her to her car and then asks if tomorrow night works for dinner. She says yes and she thanks the high heavens he didn’t hug her goodbye because she didn’t know what she’d do if he did.

She drives home in silence going over the whole night in her mind. When she does get home Johnny is already asleep and she slips in beside him quietly after she’s changed and washed her face. Johnny rolls over in his sleep and brings her against his chest, he nuzzles into her neck.

***

The next morning when Johnny asks how her open house went she tells him about the kids and their parents and brings up Javy and Jake. Johnny recognizes Jake’s name but he doesn’t lead on if he’s upset or anything by it. To Nola’s surprise, he agrees to grabbing dinner with Jake.

The rest of the day is spent with them making lunch and going for a walk along the beach. Nola is happy when his work phone doesn’t go off and she actually thinks they’re going to go for dinner when he pulls his phone from his pocket as they’re about to walk out the door. 

Nola listens stoically as Johnny takes his orders that he needs to return to the ship. 

“I will be there in twenty minutes, Captain,” Johnny says and brushes his thumb over her bottom lip. “I promise you, this should be the last last minute cancellation. These meetings are important, Lia and I wish I could tell you but they’re–”

“Classified,” she finishes. “I know. I don’t have Jake’s number to cancel–”

“No, no, don’t cancel because of me. Go have fun and catch up.”

“You’re sure?” 

Johnny knows all about hers and Jake’s history. It was on their eighth date where the topic of exes came up. He asked if she was ever serious with anyone and her prolonged silence told him there was. He wanted to know so she told him about Jake and their constant on-again-off-again relationship. She told him how he broke up with her twice in order to save her heart and then she told him about Germany.

Johnny listened intently and wiped her tears away when stray ones betrayed her and rolled down her cheeks. She apologized for crying and Johnny told her not to worry about it but he did call Jake an idiot and that made her laugh because she always called him an idiot, too. When she asked about his person he said he didn’t have one.

“Until I met you, Lia.”

Johnny kisses her forehead now and slips his credit card into her hand. 

“I’m sure. And I know he said dinner was on him but it’ll be my treat since I’m canceling.”

“Johnny, you don’t have to–”

“I want to,” he smiles at her then lifts her left hand to his mouth. He kisses her ring finger, his brown eyes melting into hers. “Have a great time and I’ll see you when you get back. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she smiles.

Nola doesn’t notice Jake do a double take when she walks in searching for him in the restaurant. When she does spot him, she smiles and he rises from his chair so he can pull hers out for her.

“Where’s the fiance?” he asks once he’s settled back in his own seat.

“He got called in just as we were walking out the door, and he gave me his credit card because he couldn’t make it.”

“Really?” Jake drawls and a Cheshire grin.

“Don’t go crazy, Jake,” she scolds lightly and lifts up the drink menu.

“All right, all right,” he laughs. “Sad I don’t get to meet him.” 

“I’m sure you will soon.”

As their courses are brought out they catch up some more and he tells her how proud he is of her for doing what she loves. The next topic are their siblings and all four of them are doing well in college.

“Lincoln will probably go pro in football,” Nola says after a swallow of wine. 

“That’s what Lottie told me, he’s a great athlete.”

While they’re waiting for dessert, Jake stares at her as she looks around the restaurant. When she meets his gaze her eyes widen.

“What?”

“You look really good, Nola,” he compliments.

Nola hates how her cheeks betray her by warming and turning red at his words. He knows it too and he smiles.

“Watch it, Jake,” she warns, then sighs.

“Just stating facts, darlin’. So, when’s the wedding date?”

“Haven’t decided that yet. We haven’t had time to plan for it since he’s been in Europe the last eight months.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

There’s an awkward silence but then the dessert is presented to them. They each got fried ice cream drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce. 

“I’m so full, that was delicious,” she says walking past him when he opens the door for her. “I’m going to have to walk this all off tomorrow.”

“How about now? We could walk up and down the block if you’d like,” he suggests. 

As they walk, they reminisce about the old times they shared in high school. They laughed and joked about prom, and she teased why he didn’t just ask her to be his date. He confessed he was too chicken to. It was like no time had passed between them, even though it’s been nine years it’s like they picked up the bookmark of where they last left off. It was always easy talking with him. They make plans to get together again with Johnny on Tuesday and she says it shouldn’t be a problem.