#whats up good morning i otherwise had a great weekend at the bbq and the free music festival. and i do have therapy later tonite

[ayyponine]

(oh victory. stern talking to frm boss on diminished performance at work prompts local woman to finally book drs appointment and figure out wtf wrong w her <3)

[russellsppttemplates]

Time off the track (Lance Stroll)

Lance and Y/N enjoy having a long weekend off

Note: english is not my first language. I get all fluttery when I write these pieces! Had some trouble finding friends names (they're very private, and I respect that) so I just made up my own.

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

my masterlist

Tw: mentions pregnancy

Tag list: @myloverjk-blog

"Sweetheart", Lance called from his spot on the sofa once he heard you arrive back home from work. "In a minute, just need to take these things off my feet", he heard you chuckle before the small creek from the cabinet where you stored your shoes.

"I'm here!", you walked inside, Lance's eyes doing his overall check-up. He didn't notice he was doing it until Henry pointed it out for him in the last race weekend you went to, but apparently the minute you showed up after being somewhere out of his sight, your husband's eyes checked you out from head to toe, looking for any signs of discomfort and then focusing on your babybump, usually bringing a smile to his lips.

"Sit here, I want a cuddle while I tell you my suggestion", he opened his arms, letting you wiggle around and into a comfortable position.

"Oh, what suggestion?", you wondered after you pecked his lips.

"The guys want to have spend the next weekend doing something fun together. It's a long weekend and it would nice spending time together", he explained, hand coming up to your bump and rubbing the skin under the cotton fabric of your shirt.

"That sounds good, actually. A weekend away that doesn't involve racing", you mumbled.

"There's actually a race, still. They want to go to Texas and watch", Lance offered, not wanting to keep you in the dark.

"What I meant was you wouldn't be racing, so we will be travelling all together and I have you to myself still", you wiggled your eyebrows, "and Texas is a really good idea, me and baby have been craving BBQ", you smirked.

"Other than seeing the race, we can just explore the area a bit, see what comes up and what people recommend we do", Lance added, "it will be good to take a few days off".

"Yes, enjoy the sun, good food, good company. Sounds good to me", you smiled sweetly, kissing his cheek and carrying on talking about each of your days.

.

The group consisted of you, Lance, Anna and her partner Michael, Mark and his wife Evie, Benjamin and Theo, arriving on time like scheduled to the airport, "how are we all feeling on this fine early morning?", Benjamin was the first to speak once you found yourselves by the gate.

"Could've done with a little bit more sleep, if I'm honest", Evie groaned into her husband's shoulder, "but otherwise very excited".

"Me too! Can't wait to feel some sun in my face", you smiled, taking off your jacket since you were feeling hot and giving everyone a show of your baby bump.

"Oh, it's so cute, Y/N! You look great!", Anna gasped, hands in front of her mouth as she got closer to you, "you're glowing!".

"And I also have these sexy things", you lifted your pants to show the compression socks the doctor recommended you wear whenever you boarded flights. You always travelled in comfy clothes, having learned over the years that any other way was simply not the way to go, so you had on a loungewear tracksuit, the flowy pants matching the equally roomy sweater.

"Doctor's orders?", she wondered and you nodded, "I already have issues as it is before getting pregnant, so it wasn't like I didn't expect it. You get used to them after a while", you said, checking to see if everyone was ready to walk to the plane once they checked your passports.

"Would you like something to drink before we take off?", the flight attendant wondered, taking orders from everyone, "could you please get us a bottle of water?", Lance asked, knowing you would forget about it.

"I was going to drink it", you teased, accepting the cup and drinking its content, "I remember what the doctor said", you smiled.

By the time you had been flying for a quarter of the expected time for the whole flight, you got up, walking along the small corridor while rubbing your bump.

"Is this a runway competition? Because we don't stand a chance when you look like that", Theo hyped you up, making you giggle as you exaggerated your walk for a few seconds before feeling your daughter kick.

"Doctor said to keep moving, since the socks can only do so much, and she's been kicking like crazy", you added, tapping the spot over your bellybutton where she seemed to kick harder.

"Hey! If she's kicking, I get privileges!", Lance called, making you stop in front of him as he places his palm where your hand was.

"Do you guys want to go get ready for the pool? I don't feel like doing much else today", Anna suggested, earning nods from everyone before you split into your rooms.

"Lance!", you called, seeing your husband come back from the balcony, "I think I need help taking these off, I can't bend properly", you blushed, not feeling strong enough to pull the socks away from your legs.

Chuckling, he bent down, kneeling on the floor so he could help you, massaging the skin and kissing your calves, "do they feel good?", he asked.

"Thank you", you groaned, wiggling your toes, "yes, it's a nice feeling, I might actually take these up after little one joins us, but they're a pain to get out", you offered, kissing his forehead and helping him get up, "let's go and enjoy the sunny day!", you cheered.

After getting ready, you met the rest of the group by the pool, the guys already in the water while the girls preferred to stay in the sun.

"Are you going us or joining them?", Michael wondered, "I'm going in the water, I've had enough of cold, gloomy days", you said, finding the steps so you could ease into the water. Taking off the cover up and throwing it to your chair, everyone's eyes travelled to your uncovered bump.

"Come here", Lance stretched his arms and beckoned you to approach him, chest and hair dripping wet since he had jumped in. Wrapping your arm around his waist, his right hand went to your bump immediately, "does he ever unlatch from your bump? Or is he always keeping his girls within arm reach distance?", Benjamin chuckled. It was all friendly banter and he was genuinely happy for his friends.

"A good mix of both", you confessed, "It's all new territory and we're going through all of this together. Besides, I've been feeling very clingy and wanting to start nesting, so I'm probably the one attached to him", you blushed.

"I want to float for a bit, your sister said that the best thing she did for her back pain when she was pregnant was relieve the pressure by being in the water", you held your husband's hand, getting ready to let yourself fall on your back.

"We're standing by here just in case you start sinking down like a nail", Mark noted with a giggle, making the boys do a circle around you and Lance as you kicked your legs up.

After a few moments of finding your balance, gravity and all things physics worked as your bump and chest rose up, poking out of the water while you floated, "Y/N! This is such a cute pick! Little one with all her uncles protecting you both!", Evie exclaimed, getting her phone and snapping a few pictures at the moment.

"Now move away, I want to snap a few of just Y/N, she looks glorious", she complimented as the boys swam away, "gorgeous, mama, absolutely gorgeous".

"It feels good", you moaned, "I feel so light weight, like, feather-light", you smiled when you saw Lance look back at you, "we can look into it when we go back home, anything to make you more comfortable, sweetheart", he said, kissing your lips before he held your ankles, moving your body as you giggled, not noticing Evie recording the video she claimed was "for when the little princess grows up and wants to know what love is". Her parents would be the best example and this one of the many moments to show it.

When you got back to the lounging chairs, carefully rubbing sun protection cream on before laying down, the boys started playing Padel in the court the house you rented had, shouts and groans heard while you and the girls got some colour on your skin.

"They're just little boys sometimes, aren't they?", Anna noted, seeing Lance and her boyfriend bicker about a foul.

"In some ways, I guess, but it's good they have eachother to spend time with, Goodness knows I won't play that", Evie sneered, "would you, Y/N?".

"What? Play Padel?", they nodded, "I've played with Lance before, with the other drivers and their partners. I'm not that great, but I'm not nearly as competitive as them, so I just play for the fun of it. Lance was kind enough to invite me out of it when he Charles were fighting for the first place in their Driver's Padel Championship", you chuckled.

.

"I love these dresses on you", Lance complimented, his hand grabbing yours and twirling you around, smiling when you faced him again and kissing your forehead.

"Thank you, my love", you added, seeing Michael return with the passes for the race, "we're all set guys, c'mon!", he nudged, handing everyone their pass before you walked to the entrance, a couple of photographers taking pictures and a group of fans asking Lance for autographs.

"That's where we will be", you pointed to the hospitality, walking in and choosing somewhere to sit. While you, Evie and Anna enjoyed this racing series, you were planning to stay on sofas while the boys were standing against the balcony railing so they could watch the race.

Throughout the weekend, you couldn't help but notice how Lance had been having so much fun with the boys, making a mental note to do these things more often when you had the opportunity.

He said something and loudly laughed, bringing your attention to him before your daughter made herself known, "it's daddy, I know", you smiled, rubbing your bump.

"She always kicks when he laughs?", Evie cooed, "My goodness, if you two don't stop being so cute, I'm next", she let out a groan.

"Yes, or when he speaks to the bump very closely. The books say she's able to recognise his voice, and it's very cute", you smiled, "although the bigger she gets, she'll soon start kicking my bladder".

"Wooo-ooh!", Lance said as you assumed the race was going well, looking back to check on you and blowing you a kiss.

.

The vineyard was truly stunning and, despite not taking part in the wine tasting for obvious reasons, you were having a great time.

"Are you also having lunch here? Our chef has done an excellent tasting menu", the young woman offered.

"We already have BBQ booked", Lance stated, "since my wife can't drink right now, we're giving her one of her pregnancy cravings. Maybe next time we visit", he nodded.

When you arrived at the restaurant, you were guided to the table, placing your things down and looking at the menu.

"Can you order for me, please? I really have to go to the bathroom", you wondered as Evie said she was going with you.

When the waiter came back, to the table, he started taking everyone's order, tapping on the iPad as they went along the table, "Can you just make sure the meat is cooked through, please? My wife is pregnant", Lance told the waiter, "absolutely, sir", before he left.

"You really get a kick out of it everytime you say she's pregnant, don't you?", his friend teased, "don't get me wrong, I think it's cute actually", Mark smiled.

"Of course I do, the woman I love is having our baby", Lance cooed, seeing you walk to the table back from the bathroom.

"And she looks incredibly gorgeous while she does it!", Anna said, "she's glowing, really. You guys are going to be such great parents, can't wait to meet the little princess".

"Neither can we, but soon enough", you smiled, accepting Lance's hand and holding it in yours, "soon enough".

[xmagicxshopx]

💋 Often 💋

Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy Rating: M (smut) Warnings: strip club, oral (f receiving), protected penetrative sex Pairing: stripper!jungkook x reader Notes: AU fic. Not idol!jungkook. Single quote marks ‘ ‘ are for thoughts and double “ “ are for talking. Additional Notes: This is a project and collaboration by myself, @katebacks​ and @taevjim​ Mine is based on the song Often by The Weeknd

Summary: She asked me if i do this everyday, i said often. Asked how many times she rode the wave, not so often. Bitches down to do it either way, often. Baby i can make that pussy rain, often.

Routine.

You were all about the routine. It was what you knew and what you were comfortable with; the different and the unknown being your two biggest fears in life. You had a routine. A simple five-day, nine-to-five job that paid you well. A morning schedule of get ready for work, coffee and bagel for breakfast, feed the cat, and drive exactly 20 and a half minutes to get to work. Your evenings were no different as far as having a set schedule. Come home, feed the cat, pop dinner in the microwave, eat, chill, sleep.

All of your friends and family, even your coworkers, tried to gently and kindly nudge you into mixing your life up a bit. Add some spice to it. Broaden your horizon. But you were just fine with the way things were. You didn’t need any spice in your life and your horizon was as broad as you wanted it to be. Your belief? Don’t fix it if it’s not broken and your life wasn’t broken in the slightest. Everything was just peachy. You were happy and that’s what mattered most, right?

Or were you happy?

You scoffed at your reflection in your bathroom mirror as the self doubt started to creep into your brain like an ominous fog. Of course you were happy! Why wouldn’t you be??? Brushing off the sudden wave of doubt that managed to fill your very core, you continued getting ready for work before heading out the door. But of course not before feeding your cat at exactly ten minutes till eight.

Upon walking into the office, you noticed that it was just another day. Everyone already at their desks typing away in their little cubicles while papers could be heard shuffling around into neat, organized piles. The copier buzzing away as it performed the tasks asked of it. You liked this. This was your comfort zone. Routine was good. Everything was good. You had just put your purse away and went to sit down at your desk when one of your coworkers popped up over the top of your cubicle.

“So, girl friend! It’s a Friday and I’m taking you out whether you like it or not. Be ready by nine!”

Wait what???

“But---”

“Wear something slutty, too.”

Okay, yeah. Because that was totally your style. As your coworker went back to her own work, it was now your turn to carefully climb onto your desk on your knees so that you could look over the other cubicle. Scoffing softly, you tried your best to argue over why you couldn’t go out with her tonight.

“But Gigi, I don’t have anything like that and besides, I go to bed by nine. I need my beauty sleep.”

You knew your words were weak and sounded feeble even to your own ears. What kind of excuses were those??? Well, in your defense, you really didn’t have anything in your wardrobe that Gigi would consider ‘slutty’ and the both of you knew this. With a soft huff, your coworker simply rolled her eyes and said with a confident grin,

“Fine. I’ll lend you something to wear. We’re similar in size and body build so it’ll totally work. And tonight you’re skipping out on that beauty sleep. You’ll have plenty of time to recover over the weekend.”

Just as you were about to try and come up with yet another lame excuse, Gigi continued in addition,

“And today you’re not driving home. You’re driving to my place. I’ll give you the address and we’ll make a whole evening out of it. We’ll order take-out and stuff our faces so that the food can absorb the alcohol we’re gonna tank ourselves in tonight. It’s gonna be a blast!”

Somehow you highly doubted that. None of that sounded like a fun time to you. Well maybe the take-out part. Pouting in both defeat and confusion, you couldn’t help but wonder what had gotten into your coworker. You and Gigi weren’t official friends or anything so why was she doing this for you? Why put so much effort into someone who didn’t want it? With a soft huff, you muttered in defeat,

“Fine.”

It was all you could think about during the day while you tried to focus on work. Sure you knew there’d be a lot of time spent in the safety of your coworker’s home, but then where could she possibly be taking you that had to wait till after nine at night? Wait----She mentioned alcohol. Ugh. It was probably a club. Gross. Loud music, sweaty body odor every time you turn around, the stench of cheep beer. Ugh. That was not your idea of a fun night out. You didn’t even dance. You don’t even dance in front of your cat!

Before you knew it, it was five o’clock and time to pack up for the day and start the weekend. Normally, you’d be treating yourself to some drive thru food and just staying indoors till you had to leave for work the next Monday morning. However, thanks to Gigi, those plans had changed and you still weren’t all that excited about it. Pouting like a child who hadn’t gotten her way, you trudged yourself out of your cubicle to see a beaming Gigi by the elevator waiting for you.

“Don’t look so glum, we’re gonna have a great time!”

“Why are you doing all of this? You hardly know me.”

Just then, the elevator made a bell sound indicating that it had finally reached the floor you were on and the doors opened up for the both of you. As the two of you stepped inside, Gigi pressed the lobby button before clearing her throat a bit shyly and replied in a small, sheepish tone,

“I just hate to see you missing out on life, you know? I’m still new in town and I don’t have a lot of friends and you’re the only one who’s shown me any sort of kindness. I really appreciate that so I know you’re a good person and I just.....I dunno. This is going weird. Just go with it, okay?”

Never before had you seen your coworker so awkward. Gigi was always strutting her stuff with her body language screeching ‘confident’. To see her so shy and sheepish like this was new for you but somehow, you found yourself smiling and feeling touched. Suddenly feeling quite timid yourself, you cleared your throat and said softly,

“Well, I don’t know how good of a friend I’d make, but we can be friends if you want?”

You weren’t expecting the loud squeal of joy followed by the near tackle to the elevator floor as Gigi practically flung herself at you. It never dawned on you just how lonely your coworker must feel after moving to town. An area where she knew absolutely no one. No wonder she was overjoyed to hear your words. Awkwardly patting her back, you smiled up at the elevator ceiling before the doors finally opened again and brought the two of you out into the lobby.

“We’re gonna have so much fun, girly! I just know it! Dinner’s on me tonight, okay? You can pay for your drinks but dinner is definitely my treat. Come on, I’ll just meet you over at your place so you can leave your car and then we’ll drive together over to my place in my car.”

Everything was happening so fast and you definitely weren’t used to it. You preferred life in the slow lane but dang. Gigi was making that a thing of the past. Perhaps it was just her happiness of having made a new friend that caused her to be live like a wire and talking 90 miles a minute? Either way, before you could blink, you were giving her directions to your house and dropping your car off so that you could hop into hers.

During the ride to Gigi’s place, the two of you discussed what to have for dinner. Turns out she was indeed taking you to a club later tonight so alcohol was on the table as well. You could only imagine what a light weight you must be considering the fact that you really didn’t drink much. You were more of a celebratory drinker. Things like holidays and such. Otherwise, you never touched the stuff. You preferred your teas and coffee.

After deciding on Korean BBQ, the two of you placed your orders and had it delivered to Gigi’s place where the two of you eventually dug in; getting sauce all over your faces and laughing at each other over how messy the two of you looked. It was nice. This was nice. Something that you really didn’t think you’d feel based on your previous mindset. Perhaps getting out and socializing wasn’t so bad? This wasn’t so bad.

However, as the night hours passed, the hurdles only got more and more difficult to get over.

“Can’t I just go in what I’m wearing???”

“Girl----You’re wearing work clothes. No one goes to a club in their work clothes.”

The blush on your face was enough to zip your lips as you let your coworker now turned friend do her thing. Work her magic, you supposed. Would you even look right wearing something other than your usual conservative attire? Subconsciously nibbling your bottom lip in worry, you watched Gigi as she started pulling out pieces of clothing to inspect them, only to put them right back. You knew it. Nothing was going to look right on you. This just wasn’t your bag.

“Ha! Found it!”

Dang it.

Trying not to pout too loudly, you watched the girl whip out a dress that looked way too form fitting for your liking. It was drenched in sequins and jet black. Well....black went with everything, right? At least it was a color you were used to wearing as most of your work clothes were black. Perhaps that was what Gigi was going for? Something that she knew you’d at least be somewhat comfortable with due to the familiarity of it. If that was the case, then you were extremely grateful and liking this newfound friendship more and more.

“Okay so you’ll be wearing this and I have some stockings for you too. Once we’re dressed, we’ll put on some makeup.”

“Makeup?”

“Yes, makeup. We’re going to a club, girl! We gotta look pretty for those boys.”

“Boys?”

“You’ll see, girl friend.”

You simply whined and pouted with sagged shoulders as Gigi flashed you a cheeky smile and wink in return. This was too much. Yet at the same time......you were......curious? Yeah. That was it. Definitely not excited. Just curious. Still pouting, you went to work on unzipping the dress she handed you and started to carefully step into it. Gosh it really was form fitting, wasn’t it? Your cheeks flared up in embarrassment but went ahead and had Gigi zip you up.

No turning back now.

Once the both of you were dressed, it was time to put makeup on. You had quickly informed the girl that you didn’t know the first thing about makeup which didn’t come as a surprise to either of you. In fact, Gigi had full intentions of doing your makeup as well as her own. You weren’t sure if you should have felt insulted or comforted. In the moment, you were more relieved than anything because if you were in charge of doing your own......you’d just skip out on that step altogether.

“Okay, so I’ll have you watch me first and then I’ll do yours. Just in case you ever decide you want to try and do your own someday.”

The probability of you doing your own makeup one day was slim to none but it was still sweet of your coworker to say such things and offer such advice. With all the products Gigi had spread out on her bathroom counter, you figured this would take awhile. No wonder she was starting so early. You could only imagine how much all of those products cost her. It looked like a small fortune scattered all over the counter. But it wasn’t like you’d know.

However, you did as she asked and decided to watch and it wasn’t till it was over that you realized just how wrapped up you were in watching her. It was like watching a painter perform art with Gigi’s face being the blank canvas. You had no idea watching someone apply makeup could be so.....fascinating? Interesting? You weren’t quite sure of what word you were looking for but you found yourself blushing when she caught you being quite involved in paying attention.

“Okay! Your turn, girly!”

So there you stood with her applying all kinds of products to your face. You were pretty sure she put at least three different kinds of things on your lips. Something about a foundation layer and then eventually topping it all off with some gloss. Dunno. You got lost with how fast she was going through it all. Gigi knew what she was doing and that much was clear. Once she was done with your lips and you could talk freely, you couldn’t help but ask in a small and timid voice,

“So how did you get so good with makeup?”

“Oh I used to work in one of the malls and my sole job was to do people’s makeup while introducing them to the latest products. It was fun for the longest time but it didn’t pay enough. So I moved here when a job opening came up.”

Wow. You knew exactly what type of employee she was because you’d always eyeball the young girls getting their makeup done just for the fun of it while you roamed the racks for new work clothes. No wonder Gigi was so good at this. It had been her job for the longest time. You felt the need to at least give her some kind of tip but you knew right away that she’d never take it; insisting that she was no longer on the job anymore.

“There! We’re ready to par-tay!”

‘Yay.....’

Gigi said that it would be pointless to do either of your guys’ hair so you two just simply brushed it a bit and let it hang loose. Having only your bulky purse, Gigi kindly offered you a clutch purse that went with your dress perfectly; offering to keep the rest of your belongings at her place to keep them safe. But you had all the important stuff in the clutch and that was good enough for you.

The two of you would take an Uber so that the both of you could get trashed as Gigi so elegantly put it. You highly doubted you’d drink enough to get wasted but it was a smart idea. This way you could just go straight home in case you wanted to leave before your friend was ready. You had the feeling you’d be leaving way before she did.

Upon arriving at the club, you could feel your body going into some kind of panic mode. Eyes wide, face flushed with heat, and you’re pretty sure your heart is swimming in your stomach. Perhaps you shouldn’t have ate so much. The possibility that you could puke was high at the moment. Looking all around you, were strippers. The majority of them female but you could spot a few males and good lord. Your eyes. Your poor poor eyes. In a shouted whisper, you scolded the girl next to you.

“You brought us to a strip club!?!!?”

“Don’t act so mortified. Lots of people go. See?”

“I’m not one of those people, Gi!!!”

But all you got was a coo in response as your coworker-turned-friend squished your cheeks together at the cute nickname you had just subconsciously given her. Before you could further complain and even rush out the door, you were being dragged to the bar area. Good lord. There were naked and half naked people everywhere. How could anyone call this fun??? It was barbaric!! With cheeks still flushed in shock and now embarrassment, you simply let Gigi order the drinks for the two of you so that you could try to pull yourself together.

It was going to be a loooonnng night.

With a couple drinks in your system, you were definitely starting to feel it. A light weight. You knew you were a light weight but dang. Allowing the tipsy Gigi to guide you over to a table close to the stage, you didn’t find yourself whining at the idea of being so close up to someone who was going to strip right in front of you. Perhaps it was the alcohol messing with your brain and you just didn’t have the energy to care anymore. You were stuck here so might as well make the most of it, right?

And then he walked out.

If you weren’t so out of it thanks to the alcohol, you would have had better control over your bodily functions. Like trying to prevent from drooling all over yourself. He was absolutely gorgeous. And that was putting it lightly in your opinion.

His facial features reminded you of a rabbit but he was anything but cute right now. Those doe eyes of his were sharp yet hooded as he put on a show of pure seduction while on stage. Yes. This man was a stripper but you couldn’t bring yourself to care right now. Your embarrassment was traded in for fascination as you watched him saunter his way to the center of the stage.

Dark locks hung in front of his beautifully handsome face and the product used in it made it appear as if he had just gotten out of the shower and his hair was still wet. It wasn’t the only thing wet right now as you tried to press your thighs closer together. Good lord. What age were you? Sixteen? Subconsciously licking your dry lips, you watched as he began to unbutton the sleeves of his dress shirt.

Yes. He was fit for all purposes of the word. You could tell this guy went to the gym often because of the way his muscles bulged within the confines of his outfit. His dress shirt had some sort of sequins in it that made it sparkle under the harsh lighting of the stage. It was like he himself was sparkling in all his gorgeousness. You truly had never seen such a more handsome man before. Not even on magazine covers.

As he worked on unbuttoning the rest of his shirt, you let your eyes wander further down his body. God his thigh muscles. How on earth did he even fit in those pants? They looked painted on! The next thing you knew, he was pulling the hem of his shirt from the confinements of those skin tight pants. If you weren’t certain he went to the gym before, you were absolutely positive now.

After watching him allow his dress shirt to fall on the stage floor, you were definitely drooling at this point. In fact, you were so wrapped up in watching this mysterious man perform that you didn’t even notice Gigi leaving you to your own devices. Had you been paying her any mind, you would have pouted at her smug expression of victory as she moved back to the bar for another drink.

With the man now shirtless, you took your good old time admiring his freshly exposed skin. He was perfect. You were pretty sure no other man could be as perfect and flawless as him. At least appearance wise. If this guy wasn’t proud of his body, then he should be. From the looks of things, perhaps he was a little too proud. You were a little drunk but you weren’t blind drunk. You could be blind and still be able to see the confidence that radiated off of him in waves.

What you didn’t expect, however, was for him to walk off the stage and into the crowd.

Walking right towards you.

Wait what????

Your eyes widened in shock as he strutted his way over to you. There was no mistaking that it was you he was after because there was no one else at the table you were sitting at. No. His eyes were all on you and the heat was spreading from your face, all the way down your neck and to the tips of your ears. Gosh this was so embarrassing! Where was Gigi!?!? Your heart pounded in your ears over the music as the man slowly held out his hand for you to take.

As if you still had no control over your own body, you found yourself placing your shaking, clammy hand in his own. Gosh his hands were big too. You felt so small at the realization as he gently gripped your hand in his. The next thing you knew, you were being swiftly pulled from your chair and twirled around only to land in a solid, hard lap. You were sobering up pretty quickly. Or at least it seemed like it.

Dear god this was so mortifying!!

“The name is Jungkook. I’m guessing from the frightened look on your face, you don’t come here often. Would I be guessing correctly, beautiful?”

God you needed to say something, anything, but you were just too shocked and embarrassed by your current situation that all you could do was part your lips but no sounds came out. Your eyes did all the talking as they stared into his own; yours full of helplessness and yes you were definitely scared. A shirtless stranger had you in his lap like it was no big deal. Handsome, sure, but still a complete stranger. He smiled and chuckled softly in endearment before carefully helping you off his lap and back to stand on your own two feet.

“I’ll take that as a yes. But worry not, beautiful, you’re safe with me. I won’t hurt you. Here, take this and once I’m done performing, hand this to the bartender and he’ll bring you right to me. I promise it’ll be worth your while.”

You stood there like a bump on a log as you watched him fish in his back pocket for something. How could he fit anything in those pants besides his hot ass and thighs? Seriously!? Those things weren’t painted on??? Blinking and feeling half numb by this point, you felt him press something into your palm and even helped close your fingers around it. As he walked away coolly back towards the stage to do his thing, you stared down at what was in your hand while fumbling to find your seat again. You definitely needed to sit down right now.

A key. This Jungkook guy had given you a key. It looked pretty antique and vintage, like something you’d see back in medieval times, but you weren’t going to question it. No. The real question was---were you really gonna take him up on this offer of his. Then again.....what exactly was he offering you? A private lap dance? That had to be what it was. Something that you wanted no part of.

Or did you?

Ugh. This was so troublesome. So annoying! Then again.....what did you really have to lose? But what if you couldn’t trust this guy? There was just so many things you didn’t know. Not to mention you were scared of looking like an even bigger idiot in front of him. He probably thought you were some spineless virgin. Granted the spineless part wasn’t far from the truth but at least you weren’t a virgin...

And before you knew it, the man was sauntering off stage back towards the curtains where he disappeared from sight. You almost choked when you realized he had stripped down to nothing but his boxer briefs. Was it a shame that you only caught his backside in that state? Wait----Of course not! You didn’t want to see what this guy was carrying around in his pants......

Or did you?

Trying to decide if you had too much to drink or not enough, you sat there for a few minutes longer weighing your options. On one hand, you could go in and see what he was proposing and if you didn’t like it, you could always back out. On the other hand, if you walk away now, you might be missing out on something that you didn’t realize you wanted. Heck, you never imagined you’d start the weekend off with a new friend. Perhaps you really did need to broaden your horizons.

Taking a deep breath, you stood from your chair and headed over to the bar where Jungkook, you’re pretty sure that was his name, had told you to hand the key over. The bartender seemed nice enough as he took the key and nodded his head with a soft ‘this way, my dear’. Oh boy. Here we go. No backing out now. It was now or never. You had half a mind to text Gigi what you were doing but something told you she didn’t miss the whole scene of you sitting in a stripper’s lap.

You were guided through a door that no doubt lead to a backstage type setting but you were totally not prepared for the scene you practically stumbled upon. Girls. So many girls. Some were half dressed while some walked around completely naked. Holy----Your eyes. Again, you weren’t a virgin but you might as well have been considering how warm your face had gotten. Some of them even giggled and flashed you cheeky winks. Oh boy. Apparently privacy wasn’t a thing around here. You could only hope there would be more privacy where you were headed.

Speaking of, after walking down two more hallways, the bartender finally reached a door and used that very same key to unlock a door before cracking it open just enough to let someone know you were here. Of course you could only presume it was Jungkook. Good lord. Hopefully there was no one else in the room. One stripper was all you could handle right now. And heck you couldn’t even handle that!

After the bartender politely bid you farewell, you found yourself gulping down a lump that had suddenly formed in your throat as you stared at the slightly cracked open door. This was it. Supposedly Jungkook was waiting on the other side. What if he was already naked??? Dear god maybe you should just politely decline and catch an Uber home. Yeah. That sounded like a good idea. Get a nice cup of black coffee and some headache pills so that you wouldn’t suffer a hango----

“You can come in, beautiful. It’s safe. I promise.”

Why did he have to sound so soothing and convincing for, huh?! Wishing you had a tall glass of ice water to jug down right about now, you did your best to brace yourself for what was on the other side of the door. Gosh your face already felt like it was on fire. How embarrassing! With a clammy and shaky hand, you put your weight on the door and eased it open further so that you could poke your head inside.

Oh.....

It looked so.....normal? Perhaps even.....casual and dare you say.......soothing?

It was pretty much set up like a master bedroom you’d find in any normal house. There was a mini bar set up with some expensive looking alcohol and drinking glasses already filled. Soft R&B music was playing in the background but the volume was so low that it indeed sounded like simple background noise. You could smell something. It was soothing but you could only guess it was coming from some kind of candle or maybe a diffuser.

“Hello there, sweetheart. I’m glad to see you took me up on my offer. I can assure you, I don’t bite. Unless of course you’re into that kind of thing.”

He was dressed so casually compared to the last time you saw him only moments ago. He was decked out for comfort despite what you believe his intentions were. Dark gray sweatpants and a matching hooded sweatshirt. They looked thin in material so it was probably just to help keep him modest while in your presence. His hair still had that wet look to it thanks to the mountain of products he probably had in it.

“Come sit with me and have a drink. Or would you prefer some water? You look quite flushed.”

“W-Water would be nice, thank you.”

Not realizing your legs had felt like jello, you managed to hobble your way over to the couch where you took a much needed seat. Your hands were still shaking a bit but perhaps it was just from the lingering nerves. The atmosphere really was soothing thanks to the dimmed lights that gave off a warm and soft glow; casting the perfect amount of shadow over everything. You were pretty sure you were smelling lavender and it was a comforting scent for sure.

“Here you go, love. Just try to relax. I’m not here to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. But you looked like you needed to loosen up. Maybe someone to talk to?”

Softly thanking him for the water, you tried not to chug it back but it was hard given how shook up you were. Not to mention your face still felt pretty warm. Perhaps you would have been better off to just splash yourself in the face with it instead. Managing to take a couple gulps without looking silly, you held the cup in your lap before looking over at him with guarded and curious eyes.

“So.....we just sit here and talk?”

“If that’s what you’re comfortable with? I’m at your service. Your wish is my command as the saying goes.”

His soft chuckles filled the room and you couldn’t help but find yourself smiling a little. Were all strippers this chill? Now that you thought about it, what made strippers different from anyone else? It wasn’t like they were some kind of exotic creature. They too were just normal, every day humans making a living. It wasn’t like they were a different kind of species.

Maybe this would be okay after all.

“So......you’re not here to give me a lap dance?”

“Oh my god! You’re so cute! I can’t!”

You watched in utter amazement as Jungkook, who had since been siting next to you on the couch, started to curl in on himself while he laughed; carefully holding his glass of whatever alcohol he was drinking in one hand while his other wrapped around his waist. Pouting and semi folding your arms due to the fact that you were still holding a glass of water, you mumbled in your own defense,

“What?! It’s a legit and reasonable question!”

Still pouting while watching and waiting for him to pull himself together, you decided to distract yourself with your glass of water. At least the blush in your face was letting up. Did that mean you were already getting comfortable with him? This guy.......He was like magic in that way. Knowing exactly what you needed to feel comfortable and relaxed. Then again.....he probably did this with everyone he brought back here. You suddenly felt the need to stand rather than sit on the couch.

“I swear, we’re only here to do whatever you want. So if you want a lap dance, I can do that. If you want to just sit here and chill, I can do that too.”

“But......why me? You had tons of other girls out there to pick from to bring back here. So why pick me? Clearly I’m an awkward turtle. Doesn’t exactly scream sexy.”

It was a fair question. A question that you were eager to have an answer for. Watching him closely, you noticed he was rubbing his chin in thought as if he was trying to find the right words to explain his reasoning behind bringing you back here. With a soft hum of said thought, Jungkook took a sip from his glass before replying casually while meeting your eyes,

“I guess you just looked.....lonely? Lost? You looked like you needed this. Clearly you didn’t come to a strip club by choice or at least not entirely. I could feel your tension clear across the stage. I was going to offer you a massage but I don’t want to do anything you aren’t comfortable with.”

Okay well that was fair. You couldn’t help but notice how good he was at reading people. Or perhaps you were just simply an open book. Yeah. It was probably that. You had often been told by everyone in your family that you carry your heart on your sleeve and your emotions along with it. Just as you were mentally scoffing at said family, Jungkook’s voice once again broke through your thoughts.

“Tell me, cutie, if it’s not too personal or prying to ask, when’s the last time you got laid?”

Well so much for that fading blush of yours. Granted, you knew you didn’t owe him an answer. Your sex life was your business and no one else’s. However....there was just something about Jungkook that made him easy to talk to. He gave off this aura of comfort and made you feel like you could tell him anything. With your cheeks still rosy and your ears just as red, you timidly sipped from your water again before mumbling in shame,

“Too long ago.”

But rather than laugh at you again, he offered you a sympathetic, lopsided smile; his eyes full of understanding and a small nod to go with it. You were grateful that he had picked up on the topic being a sensitive one for you and therefore respecting your feelings and not wanting to hurt you by poking fun. You watched him out of the corner of your eye as he set his glass down on the side table that was on his end of the couch.

“Well, to be frank, I’m more than willing to give you a lap dance if you think it’d help you relax and unwind. I personally think it’d be good for you. You’ve got too much pent up tension there and I think we’re both in agreement when I say everyone needs a good release every once in awhile.”

Was he inclining what you thought he was inclining???

“You mean you want to have sex with me?”

His soft snort of laughter made you pout once more while you subconsciously tried to fan your face. Sure the lighting was dim in the room but was it doing anything to hide your raging blush? With a soft and warm smile, Jungkook couldn’t help but shake his head at you in fond amusement. You really were the cutest. Dramatically raising his hands as in defense or surrender, he said casually,

“All I’m saying is, that I’m more than willing to make you cum, pretty girl. You really look like you need a good release. I have no doubt you’ll feel better afterwards. I’ve been told I have the golden touch.”

Despite your lingering embarrassment, you weren’t too far gone to roll your eyes at his overflowing humbleness. But now you had a decision to make. Clearly Jungkook was a safe guy to be around. He wasn’t some crazy trying to rape you or anything. Or at least you were pretty sure he was a decent guy with a straight head on his shoulders. Absentmindedly nibbling on your bottom lip, you took a moment longer to think about it.

“So......how exactly do you give me a lap dance? Do I sit in a chair or something?”

Gosh you were absolutely adorable. Precious, even. Jungkook swore that if you got any cuter, he was going to have to retire and ask you out on a date. Or at least ask for your number and maybe meet up for coffee. Did you like coffee? You probably did. You looked like a coffee drinker. He wondered what your favorite drink was. Mentally shaking his head and focusing on his job once more, he smiled with his eyes sparkling in warm amusement before saying casually,

“It all depends on what you’re comfortable with, really. I can also easily give you a little show on the bed. Actually, the bed would probably be more comfortable for you.”

He then added with a slightly more serious tone,

“But if you do decide this is something you want to do, just remember that you make the rules in this too. While I have my own set of guidelines, I’m only here to do what makes you comfortable.”

Nodding in full understanding, you bit your bottom lip once more as you decided if this was something you really wanted to go through with. Jungkook really was a handsome young man. You’d probably be stupid to turn him down. And it seemed like he was allowing you to call most of, if not all, the shots in this. He would only do what you asked of him. What you permitted him to do. That alone was comforting enough for you to say----

“So the bed?”

“The bed. Make yourself comfortable, baby girl. I’m gonna take good care of you. Promise.”

Your face flushed pink yet again with a small, shy pout as he flashed you a bright smile and cheeky wink. Good lord you were really going to do this. Okay. Okay. You could do this. You needed this. It wasn’t like you were entirely blind. Of course you needed a good release but you had just never been given the right push to get there. Not to mention it had never fit into your daily routine.

After all, you were all about the routine.

Perhaps Jungkook would become part of that daily set schedule of yours....

“It’s okay to keep your clothes on but you might find yourself more comfortable if you take them off. Just saying.”

He had a point. You were already warm thanks to your permanent blush. This was it. Time to throw all caution out the window and just go for it. You weren’t a teenager having her first time. No. You were a young woman with a body to be proud of. You deserved this. Steeling yourself up with that confident mindset, you nodded and started to undress till you were left in only your black bra, matching panties, and your stockings.

Seeing that you had started to warm up to the idea and was becoming more comfortable with things, Jungkook decided it was his cue to finally get into character while being mindful of your shy nature. He felt like a lion and you were his little lamb. So pure and yet easily frightened. There was just something about you that spoke out to him. He wanted to help you. And that urge confused even himself.

“Okay, beautiful, I’m going to start now.”

With his hands reaching back for his light sweatshirt, he couldn’t resist adding with a smile and a bit of a warm and playful glint in his eyes,

“You look absolutely gorgeous, by the way. Keep those stockings on too.”

While mumbling a soft and shy thanks, you watched him as he did that super hot thing guys do when taking off their shirt. That thing where they magically tug the piece of material over their head from the back. Why was it so hot, anyway?? Was that just something every woman came to accept? It must have worked on you because Jungkook’s soft chuckles filled the room once more. Looking up into his eyes, you noticed he was rather smug and pleased with himself.

“Like what you see, cutie?”

“Well----I mean----You have a nice body. So yeah. I guess I do.”

You hated how choppy your sentences sound but it was like this guy knew how to turn your brain into absolute mush. You were already like putty in his hands and he had only taken his shirt off with those sweatpants hanging perfectly from his hips. Perhaps you really did need to get laid....

Just then, you watched as he started to swivel those very hips in a way that had you involuntarily gulping and pressing your thighs together. The last thing you wanted to do was make a mess of this bed. But then again.....perhaps that was part of Jungkook’s plan for you. He said he wanted to make you cum, after all. You hadn’t realized your throat and lips were so dry till you sucked in a breath at a particularly sudden hip thrust. Oh wow. He was so good!!

You definitely made the right decision to go along with this.

“Touch yourself if you need to, baby girl. It’s okay to explore.”

“I-I’m good. Just ke-keep going-ing.”

You could get used to his warm chuckles of amusement. It felt good to know that he wasn’t really laughing at you in a sense of mocking you. It was more like.....maybe he found you endearing? Whatever it was, you were just glad he wasn’t mocking you or belittling you for your lack of experience in all of this. Despite being a stripper, that certainly didn’t make Jungkook a bad guy.

You could actually see yourself sitting down with him over a cup of coffee. You wondered if he even liked coffee? He seemed like the kind of guy that you might find in a cafe sipping on a nice iced Americano.

“Focus, baby. Try not to let your mind wander or you’ll miss all the fun.”

He must have realized you were really zoning out and getting lost in your thoughts because after blinking mental images of coffee shops away, you nearly choked when you saw that he had stripped away his sweatpants and was left standing in front of you with nothing but his boxer briefs on. Dang he was built! He had to be pure muscle. Had to be!

Unknowingly licking your dry lips and swallowing a new lump in your throat, you decided to make yourself more comfortable by scooting back further onto the bed where you could rest your back up against the pillows and headboard. Once you were in a good spot, you turned your attention back to Jungkook and found he had somewhat of a dangerous smirk on his face. Oh boy....

“You really do look beautiful, baby girl. I can’t wait to take care of you like you deserve. If you’ll have me, of course.”

Not able to find your voice, you simply nodded while subconsciously playing with your fingers in your lap; thighs still pressed tightly together. Grinning, the male made sure to move his hips just right as he approached the foot of the bed. You couldn’t help but wonder what his game plan was to take care of you. And that was when he tilted his head to the side in curiosity and asked in a light tone,

“May I join you, lovely?”

“Ye--Yeah.”

“Wonderful. Let me know if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable, okay?”

Still not having much of a voice, you simply nodded and watched him approach you like a predator after his prey. That smirk was back as he slowly climbed onto the bed; the mattress dipping under his weight. You could hear your own heart pounding in your ears as the anticipation built. This was your last chance to back out but for some reason you remained silent. Perhaps you really did want this.

The next thing you knew, he was gently running his hand along your one leg while his lips were ghosting up the other. Goosebumps rose from your skin at his touch and yet your core was starting to get hotter and hotter. Perhaps Jungkook really did have the golden touch? You felt your breath catch when he finally started planting actual kisses to your leg; starting with your knee. He was being so gentle and slow. Something that you were extremely grateful for.

“Your skin is super soft, baby. You must take really good care of your body. I can appreciate that in a woman.”

“Th--Thanks. I try.”

Jungkook knew you were extremely nervous despite your agreement to go along with this so he wanted to take things slow and sort of ease you into the whole idea of what he had planned for you. As he finally reached up to your thighs, he couldn’t help but playfully nip at the delicious skin that greeted him. Your little yelp and jump was so cute. With his head nearly resting on your thigh, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance up at you.

Your face was so red and you knew it was. Hardly anything sexy to look at but to Jungkook you were so precious and endearing. He could just eat you right up. Lucky for you that was exactly his plan. Planting a soothing kiss over his little bite mark, he then moved up to where he was eye level with your cleavage but still looking up at you with eyes dark while full of excitement and curiosity. Licking his lips, he asked,

“May I?”

Upon seeing your timid nod of approval, he smiled more warmly before moving his eyes to his latest target. You had really nice breasts from what he could tell. Just the right size, too. Not being able to help himself any longer, he moved till he was more comfortable on his knees and gently took one of your soft mounds into his large hand. Oh yeah. You were soft. And just like that, a small moan fell from your lips. Like music to his ears.

“Don’t hold back, beautiful. I won’t know if I’m doing a good job if I can’t hear you.”

Knowing it was something you enjoyed, he decided to give your other breast his attention as well by using his free hand. With both palms now happily occupied as they slowly massaged your supple mounds, he couldn’t help but let his lips wander. Their next target? Your neck. He briefly wondered if it was a sensitive spot of yours because it would definitely seem your breasts were sensitive. He rolled his thumbs over your nipples and could feel them harden through the fabric of your bra.

“So beautiful. I bet your tits are absolutely divine. Would you let me see them, baby girl?”

You shivered and released a shaky moan as his lips lightly brushed up against the length of your neck. His hands were amazing and he had hardly touched you. There was a small voice in the back of your head that was screaming at you to say no. That this guy was still a complete stranger and had no business seeing your tits. However, this stranger was also making you feel things you didn’t realize you needed or wanted.

“Ye--Ye---Yeah. You can.”

Being careful as if not to frighten you away, he removed his hands from your bosom so that he could slowly and gently reach around you to unclasp your bra. While his deft fingers worked on the clasps, his lips found their way to your neck once more where he started planting soft, open mouthed kisses. Once he freed you from the confines of your bra, he slowly dragged the straps down your arms before taking the thing off completely.

Tossing the black bra somewhere behind him, he couldn’t peel his eyes away from the sight in front of him. You really were quite pretty and he wasn’t just talking about your tits. Although they were nice too. Absentmindedly licking his lips in eagerness, he couldn’t help but mumble,

“You’re absolutely gorgeous, my lovely. Do me a favor and lay down for me. I’m going to worship this body a little bit longer.”

Worship you? It just didn’t sound right to your ears. Then again, your self-esteem always did need a bit of work. Blushing to the point of lightly fanning your face once more, you nodded and timidly wiggled in between his legs so that you could comfortably rest your head on the pillows. Staring up at him with your eyes full of curiosity yet uncertainty, you asked shyly in a small tone,

“What are you gonna do?”

You poor thing. Had no one really ever treated you to something like this? And he wasn’t even going all out. For some reason, it really irked him at the thought that no man had ever truly took time to appreciate your body like this. However, not wanting you to think he was grumpy with you or having second thoughts, Jungkook wore a warm smile with softened eyes and spoke sincerely but with a hint of teasing in his voice,

“Well since you look positively delicious, I was thinking of eating you.”

Not giving you time to respond, he added slowly while his lips drew closer and closer to your bosom,

“First, I want to suck on these pretty tits of yours. Then.....”

You watched with a slightly heaving chest as he gracefully crawled down your body till his lips were just centimetres away from the waist line of your panties. His intense staring of your core was making you squirm and a soft whine slipped out before you could bite your tongue. His grin suddenly came back as his eyes flickered to make direct contact with your own.

“Then I’ll eat you out like you deserve. You’re a goddess and that’s how I intend to treat you.”

The next thing you knew, words were flying out of your mouth on your own accord.

“Can we just skip the tits and you eat me out now? I don’t think I can wait any longer. It’s killing me to wait.”

It really had been forever since you last did anything. Whether it be at the hands of someone else or yourself. You were quickly getting used to the permanent blush on your face and your embarrassment was quickly being replaced with impatience as you stared down at him where he was perched between your legs.

Yep. He was going to retire, quit stripping, and sweep you off your feet; carrying you out into the sunset to live happily ever after. You were just too freaking cute for words. He liked them shy and innocent because then he could completely ravish them till they were ruined and begging for more. You were totally his type. Grinning like a fox, he teasingly gripped the waist line of your panties between his teeth and tugged only to let them snap back against your skin before saying in a low tone,

“Well I did say your wish was my command.”

It wasn’t till he was lifting himself up to rest on his knees and thighs that you realized just how worked up you had gotten. The sexual frustration was starting to get the best of you; especially as you were sobering up pretty quickly. Not having realized that you had spread your legs for him at some point in the game, you simply spread them wider so that he’d have plenty of room to do whatever it was he had in store for you.

That fox-like grin still on his face, Jungkook couldn’t help but lean back down onto his elbows so that he could gently nuzzle your chest before planting soft kisses around your nipples. You were torn between whining and moaning as you both enjoyed the touch but also grew all the more impatient for where you really wanted him. After releasing a soft groan of pleasure, you couldn’t help but gently tug on his soft locks in warning while saying in a whining tone,

“Jungkoooook. Stoooop. You said you’d eat me out now!”

His rock hard body shook gently against your own as he chuckled at your adorable display of impatience. He was pleased to see you finally letting go and allowing yourself this moment. It had been a task and a half, but he finally got you here. Planting one last kiss to the underside of your breast, he slithered down your body like the seducing snake he could be and finally started planting kisses down your stomach to the waist line of your black panties.

“I’m sorry, love. But I can’t help myself. You’re just too beautiful not to admire.”

However, playtime was over. Gently tapping your thigh, he gave you the cue to lift your bum so that he could slip off your panties more easily. With a blink of an eye, you were left with nothing but your stockings which Jungkook had insisted you keep on because it made you look all the more sexy to him. You couldn’t tell if his compliments were sincere or not but you were so wound up that you didn’t really care at this point.

“God you look absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to taste you, baby girl.”

His words made your walls clench around nothing and it only caused more slick to pool between your thighs as Jungkook had since gotten himself more comfortable between your legs, throwing them over his shoulders. Gosh he was so muscular. You could see his muscles bulge as he worked on positioning you right where he wanted you. You both licked your lips as eyed each other with equal amounts of hunger.

You watched him lower his head before feeling his tongue for the first time. Eyes instantly snapping shut, you felt your back arch off the bed and a moan fall from your lips. Yes. Jungkook not only had the magic touch, but he had the magic tongue. You were certain of it. The male gently dug his shortened nails into the meat of your thighs as he too let out a moan of his own. You tasted just as wonderful has he imagined you would.

“God, babe. You’re delicious. You’re spoiling me here. Where have you been all my life?”

“I-I d-d-du-dunno.”

Your thighs started to shake when you felt his tongue flick over your sensitive bundle of nerves. Maybe it was because someone else was touching you but not even your most expensive vibrator could make you feel this good. Needing something to ground you, your hands found their way into his mess of hair and you found yourself gently tugging on the soft locks that lay between your fingers. The action made Jungkook moan and you felt the vibrations with full force.

The male enjoyed having his hair pulled despite how dominate he naturally was. He considered hair pulling one of the many signs that he was doing a good job and that was something that had always been important to him. He enjoyed making others feel good. One of the few reasons he hadn’t quit his job as a stripper. But there was something about you.......He just couldn’t place it.

You really did taste amazing, though. His eagerness was more genuine than for show. Wanting to increase your pleasure, he pressed his face harder into your core, his nose buried in your scent while his tongue got to taste you to the fullest. You were so warm and wet. Jungkook could only imagine how you’d feel around his cock. Which had since grown hard within his boxer briefs. Gosh it was always the cute and shy ones that turned him on the most.

As he went back to teasing your clit and sucking it with hunger, he heard your moans coming to a halt as you half shouted in a desperate tone,

“Jungkook-----I want your cock! Please! I need you in me! Now!”

Well that escalated quickly.

However, he wanted to make absolutely sure this was something you wanted. Pulling his face away from your core, he looked up at you through his eyelashes with eyes that had grown dark with lust. Yours too were just as dark which was a huge contrast to the innocent shine they had shown only moments ago. You suddenly weren’t so shy and definitely not innocent.

You were a total wreck at this point. Your mind was a mess but you knew what you wanted. You had long sobered up from what few drinks you had and you knew this was something you wanted. Something you needed. It had truly been awhile since you last experienced an orgasm and you were long overdue for one. Jungkook, stranger or not, was your ticket to release and nothing was going to stand in your way.

Not even your routine.

“Please, Jungkook. Please.”

“Easy, baby girl. I’ve got you. I’ll take really good care of you.”

Releasing your legs and climbing off the bed for just a moment, he could feel your eyes on him as he fished out a condom from one of the side drawers. You were so wrecked and it was a beautiful sight. Your eyes hooded with your chest heaving. He had hardly touched you. Poor thing, you must be really sensitive.

Climbing back onto the bed, he made quick work of ripping the package and rolling the condom onto his rock hard length. You really did turn him on. Normally, he had to work himself to full mast but you being you.....it was no problem. Perhaps you yourself was magic too. Given his line of work, it wasn’t often he found a client who could turn him on as much as you did.

“You’re going to feel so good around my cock, baby girl. You sure you don’t want me to stre-----”

“No! Please! I’m good. I promise. Just hurry! Want you so bad!”

Jungkook had no doubt that you could have quite the dirty mouth on you if you were to let yourself go far enough. It was almost hard to believe that just mere moments ago, you were this shy young woman who wouldn’t dare do something so scandalous as having sex with a stripper. Yet here you were, desperate under his touch. He loved it. Thrived in it.

The lion had his little lamb right where he wanted her.

Not wanting to keep you waiting any longer, he made himself comfortable between your legs once more before aligning himself with your sopping entrance. You were so beautiful with your face all flushed and chest rising and falling at a slightly rapid pace. Your soft locks sprawled all over the pillow. So so pretty. And all for him. Trying to focus, he slowly eased himself forward till he could feel the tip of his length nudge your entrance. God you were so warm. He could only imagine how wonderful you’d feel once he was fully inside you.

“You’re so freaking tight, baby girl. It really has been awhile, huh?”

“God too long! Too long! Please! Ruin me, Jungkook!”

He knew it. You could be a dirty little girl if you’d just let yourself loose from your own leash. He certainly hoped this wouldn’t be the last time the two of you saw each other. You were a real treat in his book. A treat he wanted again and again. Someone he could easily become addicted to being around if you’d let him.

He could feel your velvety walls clenching around him as you were stuffed full for the first time in a long while. Not wanting you to go into some sort of shock, he gently rubbed your sides with his warm hands in soothing, repetitive motions. Leaning down, he gently planted kisses along your face. Just anything to take your mind off the slight sting he knew you’d feel.

“Deep breaths, baby. Deep breaths. You’re right here and I’m not going to let anything hurt you, okay?”

“Ss-s-so full.”

“I know, baby. I know. Bet you’ve never had cock this good, huh?”

“Ne-Never. Never ever. Ss-so good.”

You were already ruined and he hadn’t even moved. You poor poor thing. Depriving yourself for so long of something so good. Well he was going to make sure you didn’t miss out any longer. Feeling your body ease up from underneath him, he took that as a silent signal to start moving his hips. God you felt so good around him. His length involuntarily twitched what little it could while being buried inside your warm wet walls.

“You feel just as good, babe. So warm and tight. Just the way I like it. You were made for me, baby girl.”

Your moans filled the room along with his own as you found your arms wrapping around him to gently dig your nails into his muscular back. You needed something to hold onto despite his slow and easy pace. While you appreciated him taking things slow......you had long since grown impatient. Testing the waters since you really hadn’t done much yourself, you bucked your hips at just the right time so that they collided with his own.

Yeah. That felt good.

With a soft growl of pleasure, Jungkook found himself staring heavily into your eyes as he said in a low and slightly threatening tone,

“Ooohhh. So baby girl likes it rough, does she? Well two can play at this game. Let’s see if you can keep up.”

Oh boy.....

And just like that, the male pulled out of you only for him to flip you over onto your hands and knees. All the sounds you could make were soft yelps of surprise before suddenly feeling him ram his hips into yours; successfully sheathing himself deep inside you once more. The action alone caused a loud moan to fall from your lips as you hung your head; body slightly shaking with overwhelming pleasure.

“Yes! Yes, Jungkook! Please! More!”

“Greedy little lamb! So eager for my cock. Gonna absolutely ruin you! Fuck you so good you’ll forget your own name and only remember mine!”

The room became filled with your moans along with the sounds of skin slapping against skin as Jungkook pounded into you from behind; his hands gripping your hips till he left marks. You had never been with someone who was so strong. His movements were so powerful that he was making the bed shake as well as yourself. Your moans came out shaky from how he managed to move your body with his powerful thrusts. You then felt him drape himself over your back.

He reached around you so that one hand could massage your breast and play with your nipple while his other hand slithered down to where he found your clit. It had already been a challenge for you to stay on all fours when he started ramming his hips into yours; let alone when he started feeling up your weak spots. God you had no idea you were so sensitive till Jungkook came along. It was like he already knew your body like the back of his hand.

“Jj-Ju-Jungko-oo-ok. I’m cl-cl-close!!”

“Already, baby girl? Surly you can last a little longer till I get there, hmm? Can you wait for me, beautiful?”

Normally, he could care less when his clients came. Sometimes, the sooner the better. But with you? Jungkook was just having way too much fun and you really did feel amazing. However, there was also that little nagging voice in the back of his head whining about how he didn’t want to let you leave. There was so much he wanted to ask you. Hell, he wanted to get to know you. Which he still hadn’t figured out why. Maybe you were just an easily likable person?

Your moans were even cute as you let out all your pent up sexual frustration. However, his strength must have gotten the better of you because he watched your arms finally give out from under you. Acting quickly, he used his own arms to lift you up so that you were leaning back into him; the both of you now on your knees.

With his nose buried in the crook of your neck, he began to place sloppy kisses to your heated skin while an arm wrapped around your chest; massaging your breast while that other hand went back to work on rubbing figure eights into your clit. He could feel your thighs shaking and quivering as he slowly but surely brought you to your end. He could tell you were close from the way your walls clenched around his length repeatedly.

Then you surprised him by reaching back behind the both of you to try and grab at his ass. Well well well. We’re you getting a little brave? He couldn’t help but smile against the expanse of your neck before gently biting down on the skin and sucking it gently; leaving his mark for you to remember him by tomorrow.

“Jungkook!! Please!! Please let me cum!!”

“Go for it, baby girl. Cream all over my cock. Be a good little lamb and cum for me.”

Definitely not needing to be told twice, you could feel the knot in your lower belly finally snap and your release hitting you like a tidal wave. It was so easy and natural for you to scream out his name as your body arched and shook against his own. You were so lost in your bliss that you didn’t realize he had a protective hold on you while he too found his own end; releasing into the condom. Shame you couldn’t have felt him fill you up instead.

The only sounds filling the room were the soft music coming from Jungkook’s phone along with both of your heavy breathing. You could feel his heart pounding against your back as you had to lean against him for support; thankful that he was still holding you up. However, it wasn’t long till he gently pulled himself from you entirely before easing you down onto the mattress like a real gentleman.

“Let me go dispose of this and get a wash cloth to clean you up, okay baby?”

Still floating on your cloud bliss, you simply nodded your head against the pillows while hearing him chuckle once more. You felt like dead weight but it was a good kind of feeling. Whew. How much tension had you really held inside you for all this time? You had no idea how badly you needed this. Sex with a complete stranger. Who would have thought this was how you spiced up your life and broadened your horizon.

Just as your eyes were about to close completely, you heard him come back and ask casually,

“So are you a coffee drinker?”

[michaelgambons]

Baseline Romantic

Chapter 2

*warning- mild drug use*

Be prepared for a slowwwww burn champs, but bare with!

The next morning, Y/N woke up and for a few, blissful moments, had no memory of the night before. Lying in the soft cotton sheets with the sunlight streaming in through curtains, the world seemed perfect. And then Y/N’s hangover hit, and with it, the memories of the night before.

Suspecting the worst, Y/N grabbed her phone that had been charging next to her and opened Instagram, quickly finding Ben’s story from the previous night. There she was, glass of wine in hand, rapping along tunelessly as she danced her way around the room. At least she had managed to remember all the words, she thought glumly to herself. She groaned slightly and rolled onto her side, hoping for a couple more minutes sleep, but was distracted by the smell of bacon which was wafting up the stairs.

Following her nose, Y/N headed downstairs. A welcome site met her in the kitchen. Charlie was stood over a large frying pan in which bacon was sizzling away. Catherine and Ben were sat at the large wooden kitchen table, coffee in hand, and both looked up to greet her as she came into the room.

Y/N sank into the chair next to them at the table and groaned, putting her head in her arms.

Ben sniggered at her. ‘Coffee?’ he asked.

‘Yes... please’ Y/N responded.

As Ben got up to make the coffee, Y/N raised her head up from her arms and asked with a laugh ‘How many people have seen that story from last night Ben?’.

‘About 10,000 last I checked, and lots of panicked teenage girls messaging me asking if you’re my girlfriend’ he laughed.

‘Oh for god’s sake’ Y/N sighed. ‘They clearly don’t know you at all, otherwise they’d know you didn’t have girlfriends, just anonymous skinny models that tumble out of your bedroom on a regular basis’ Y/N and Catherine snigger, whilst Ben feigns shock.

‘Excuse me Y/N they are not anonymous! I always make sure to ask what their name is, you can’t blame me if I forget it 2 minutes later’.

The group laughed and Ben handed Y/N her coffee. He’s wearing a pair of tightly fitting workout leggings, which accentuate his legs and bum, making them look ridiculous toned. Y/N follows his bum around the kitchen with her eyes before breaking off to focus instead on her coffee, and curse him internally for wearing such distracting clothing.

————

Y/N dropped her phone on the bed beside her and wiped away the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes. She sat for a moment, trying to compose herself before she headed back downstairs to join the others.

Heading back downstairs, she was distracted by the sound of music emanating from one of the bedrooms. Sticking her head round the door, she saw Dominic and Ben sitting together, Dominic on the bed, guitar in hand and Ben squatting on the floor, beating out a rhythm on a small wooden box he was sat on.

Grinning they look up to see her, but their expression changed when they see her face, still puffy and pink from crying.

‘Oh god, what’s happened?’ Dominic asked, patting the bed next to him for Y/N to sit down.

Sitting down, Y/N nestled her head into the crux of his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her. Much as she tried to stop it, a stream of tears erupted again.

‘Dan just called’ Y/N started, ‘He spent the first 15 minutes telling me about the protest he went on yesterday, without properly acknowledging I was on the phone to him- it was such a monologue. When I started to tell him about my weekend, he grunted along for about 30 seconds before interrupting to talk about a new range of free trade fava beans he’d found in the shop this morning. I got really cross and asked him why he couldn’t be bothered to ask about my weekend when I had sat listening to him talk about his, and we ended up having the same argument again as yesterday about me coming here. It ended with him saying I clearly wasn’t committed to- and I’m not joking, I wish I was- seizing the means of production, and he wasn’t sure if he could be with someone who had such flaky political views’

Y/N wiped her eyes and looked up at the two boys, who were gaping at her in disbelief.

She laughed, ‘I know, it’s such a niche argument to have’.

‘He interrupted you to tell you about Fair Trade Fava Beans?’ said Ben, disbelievingly.

Y/N nodded, and then broke into a laugh. The ridiculousness of the argument had struck her.

The two boys broke into laughter with her.

‘That bloke is mad if you ask me’ said Dominic. ‘He’s incapable of casual conversation. Do you remember that time he had a go at me in the M1 Service Station because I got a Starbucks? It wasn’t even as if I’d chosen to get Starbucks, there was no where else and I’d been driving for the last 5 hours!’

‘Oh my god yes! I’d forgotten that!’ said Y/N. ‘That was an awkward drive...’

They all laughed. Ben stood up.

‘Shall we go for a walk before dinner? Might be good to get some fresh air’ he said, looking at Y/N.

She nodded, getting to her feet.

—————-

A few minutes later, clad in wellies and as many jumpers as Y/N could find, her and Ben set out for your walk, bidding goodbye to Dominic who was staying behind to help prepare dinner.

You trudged along in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. The air was warm but the ground was damp in the aftermath of the rain you had had, and leaves squelch under your boots. You talked casually about work, Boris Johnson (‘I’d love to spend the day with him just to figure out his bullshit’ Ben laughs) and music, before an incoming text message interrupts your conversation.

Y/N glanced down at her phone. It’s the fifth text in 30 minutes from Dan, apologising and asking her to call him when she got a chance. Y/N sighed and put her phone back in her pocket.

‘Dan?’ Ben says, nodding towards her pocket.

‘Yeah,’ Y/N replies. ‘I’m just giving myself a bit of time to calm down before I reply’.

‘Good idea,’ Ben nodded. He paused slightly before he continued ‘You do know you deserve better than this, right? I don’t want to sound patronising, and I know it’s none of my business, but... I care about you... a lot, and I hate seeing you like this. You’re so ridiculously clever and kind and...’

‘Alright you soppy idiot calm down’ Y/N interrupts him, giggling. ‘I get the picture. I’m a big girl though, I’ll figure this out’

Ben wrapped his arm around Y/N’s shoulders, and they fell into a pace beside each other.

‘Sorry’ he said. ‘We should be getting back, dinner will be ready soon’

————-

Y/N groaned in pleasure as she pushed her plate away from her. ‘Cleo, that was delicious’ she said. She accepted the spliff Charlie passed her and happily inhaled.

The group were sat outside in the fading sun, the embers of their bbq providing a smokey haze over them. They were all silent for a moment, full and content from the meal they had just had.

‘You know what I’ve always wondered?’ Cleo said, ‘In Harry Potter, how is Harry quite so rich? He’s basically the bourgeoisie and no one ever talks about it.’

The group laugh.

‘That’s the least of your worries mate!’ Dominic laughs, ‘I’ve always wondered how Igor Karkaroff got made Headmaster of Durmstrong when he was a convicted Death Eater. Can you imagine the Ofsted inspections?’ He imitates an Ofsted inspector- ‘So you’ve got fantastic OWL’s Mr Karkarof, but a number of your students have also become Death Eaters under your care...’

‘Did you ever try out for Harry Potter Ben?’ Charlie asked.

‘No, I didn’t’ Ben laughs. ‘Fucking wish I had though, I’d never have to work again. At the time I still didn’t realise I wanted to be an actor, otherwise I probably would have done’.

Charlie laughed. ‘You wouldn’t have had to do Eastenders for so long if that had been the case’.

He started singing the Eastenders theme song and the group join in, all in different keys and in different time- but it’s enough to make Ben’s ears go bright red.

‘Alright, alright’ he says, smiling. ‘I definitely paid my dues with that one. Whenever I catch it nowadays the illusion is totally lost though. All I can ‘see’ are the cameramen recording the scenes and all the sound men-‘

‘No great loss mate’ Y/N sniggers.

—————

As Y/N lay in bed that night, moonlight lighting up a strip on her bed, her mind wandered. She only had one more day with the group before she had to head back to London, to the flat and Dan. She was dreading it, and had spent the day trying not to dwell on it too much. Being here, with her friends, with so few responsibilities had made her realise just how stressed she had been over the past few months.

Chapter 3 now out!

[dansnaturepictures]

01/06/2020-Moth last night, photos in the garden today and Black-tailed Skimmer and more on my Lakeside lunch time walk 

I took the first picture in this photoset of a moth I noticed in the living room last night, I believe another Small dusty wave as it looked very similar to the one of this species that came in earlier in May and I had identified for me. It was very nice to see one again. This morning I took the second picture in this photoset looking into the garden with some nice roses on the bush that had sprung up over the weekend I noticed today and some other garden flowers I’ve enjoyed a lot lately a nice scene. 

At lunch time I had a walk over Lakeside and it was nice to see it sunny and brimming with butterflies again particularly Meadow Browns one of my stars of the last few days. There were some nice birds around the lakes too such as the Mallards that I took the third picture in this photoset of one I got very close to. Swifts over the lakes, Canada Geese with goslings the regular family I’ve been following and a quick view of a Kingfisher on the lake I’d seen them on last week stood out. It was to check on the nesting birds and families of birds I’d been following lately that I walked specifically around the lakes today to see really. Walking between the lakes I took the fourth picture in this photoset of a tree that stood out in the landscape when looking over because of its yellow leaves. They look suspiciously like early autumn leaves but I am not sure if they are or not. 

As I walked to the west of the lakes I saw a dragonfly flitting by the water and thought it looked like a Black-tailed Skimmer one I needed to see this year from a brief view but I could not be sure. I followed it a bit as it flew over water and back onto the path and as I had hoped it did land. With my big lens I took the fifth picture in this photoset of it and I could very clearly see it was a Black-tailed Skimmer. This became my tenth dragonfly and damselfly species seen in 2020 and was my earliest ever sighting of one in a year beating my Thursley Common view of one in Surrey on 2nd June 2018. This is a key dragonfly species for me now as the season really rolls on I am seeing so many dragonfly and damselflies locally and further afield in this patch of really good weather and loving every minute of seeing these enigmatic and colourful sun loving creatures. 

This I have got to say, as a species since seeing my first at Whiteley in 2014 I haven’t seen every year, I did not expect to see at local to us Lakeside. So yet again it opened my eyes to just what wonderful wildlife is right around me and when I think to next year when hopefully coronavirus isn’t impacting our lives as much the bird/wildlife watching/photography aspect of my life is going to have changed so much because I now know that there are certain species there on my patch that I can see. Its made me realise or realise more what a precious and spectacular place the country park on my doorstep that I’ve known my whole life is. When I think of a stage where I might be back working in the office in Winchester I think I might be spending a good few evenings at this time of year at Lakeside! 

But back to this year and with me very probably working from home the whole of June I have (mostly on Twitter Dans_Pictures) decided for the first time to do the Wildlife Trust’s #30DaysWild challenge I have taken part in their Christmas versions of the challenges the last few years. It probably will be just things I have observed with me still busy working just from home but I should have the content for it as such. Even if I was in the office I probably would anyway following and looking at the Winchester Cathedral Peregrines. But I think I will probably look for a special moment in my wildlife watching each day to add the #30DaysWild on Twitter be that a picture or simply description of a sighting. Today my moment really and defining moment of my walk was seeing this beautiful dragonfly.

It was a really poignant moment seeing this dragonfly today as since 2018 the place I have seen them best and most at with my best dragonfly picture I thought last year of one there is Thursley Common. As I marked on Twitter there has been a heath fire at Thursley Common which will have been absolutely devastating for the precious wildlife and landscape at this wonderful reserve. It really does support so much life from insects right up to various rare bird species and I was just so sad to see the news and what will happen from here. I thank all of the amazing firefighters from across the region attending and everyone who has attended every heath fire so far this year across the country. I’m not sure what the cause of the Thursley fire is natural or not but if it was as the result of something such as a disposable BBQ then I have an even greater sense of sadness that this is destruction that could have been avoided with a bit of care for the environment around us. With the situation with the weather on places like heaths with the heat and people rushing out with restrictions lifting around the lockdown we must all do our bit to be respectful and vigilant. But yes it was comforting to see a Black-tailed Skimmer here today in light of this event. 

As I walked out I took the sixth picture in this photoset of a nice view over the nature reserve area one of my favourite views over the place with everything looking so green and otherwise nicely coloured. I also took the seventh another angle of the brilliant flower bed in the estate covered in daisies when I got home. I took the eighth picture in this photoset of a young House Sparrow using our water fountain to drink. There was further brilliant garden bird action this afternoon as I heard loud chirping as I worked. I looked out and saw the Blue Tit with its young shown by the ninth and tenth pictures I took today in this photoset. They were keeping me entertained as I worked this afternoon I loved hearing and seeing them fly about. Another chapter in a great series of following these birds in the garden with their young and young birds over Lakeside. Great wild moments at home which felt great. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly of the year, three of my favourite birds the Kingfisher, Great Crested Grebe and Buzzard, Jackdaw, Magpie, Starling, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, House Martin, Mallard, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Moorhen, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Small Heath and Common Blue damselfly. 

[kilojulietsierra]

Home - Chapter Two

@every-jai ask and ye shall receive 

Chapter One

~~~~~

Chapter Two

Dorghu set her cup of coffee on the table just as Abby entered the kitchen. “Can I get another beer before the yelling starts?” He didn’t wait for the response and helped himself to his fridge anyway.

Abby slid into the seat in front of the hot coffee and didn’t bother to answer his rhetorical question. “Is he really okay?”

The bottle hissed as he twisted the cap off, “Yeah, he’s tougher than I thought. Smarter and braver too.”

She sipped her coffee, careful of the hot liquid, and Dorghu caught the faint flicker of appreciation. Apparently he still remembered how to make her perfect cup of coffee. “You shouldn’t doubt him. So, am I going to get the real story or the good old ‘you’re not an orc you wouldn’t understand’ version?”

“That’s not fair.” Dorghu had thought about a seat at the table but changed his mind, opting instead to lean next to the fridge for easy access. “I have always been open and honest and you can’t claim otherwise.”

“I wasn’t talking about you.” She took a longer, deeper sip. “That wasn’t fair. Just, please tell me what happened. Even the parts I don’t want to hear.”

He finished his second beer and stared at her, her gaze finding and holding his just as steady. “I asked too much of him.” This time he grabbed a coffee mug instead of a beer and poured himself a cup. “I went to a dark place and tried to take him with me.” He ground his teeth and swallowed as he took the chair across from her. Before he continued he took a gulp of the scalding coffee. “I almost ruined everything, everything.”

Abby didn’t respond, for a long time, just sipped her coffee and let Dorghu speak. At some point towards the end of the coffee pot Dorghu fell silent as well and Mikey was the one to break the silence when he came down the hall rubbing at his face.

“Morning.” When he drew his hand away from his sleepy eyes he paused in the doorway, “Mom, what are you doing here?”

She blinked her own, tired eyes at her son and then smiled, a little sarcastically, “Good morning, and do you think I was going to let this go?” She stood up and wrapped him in a long, tight hug.”Also here’s a tip; don’t leave messages on your Mom’s voicemail like that, ever gain.” She took her son’s head in her hands and pressed her forehead to his. After a deep breath she sighed, “Especially after she worked three night shifts, ‘kay?”

Mikey smiled and nodded as they pulled apart. He bumped fists with her father and grinned sheepish and very apologetic as he passed on his way to the fridge. “How long are you gon’ be here Mom?” He pulled a jug of Sunny D out of the fridge, “Does this mean I can skip school today.”

“No.”

“Not a chance.”

Abby and Dorghu answered at the same time. Abby added, “I have a couple days off, but I should head back.

“No, c’mon! Stay for the BBQ at least this weekend!

“Mikey, you’ll be in Santa Barbara with me in a couple weeks…” Abby looked slightly panicked and Dorghu watched her carefully.

“Yeah, but, c’mon.. Dad tell her she should stay.” Mikey looked desperately to his father.

Dorghu finished his last cup of coffee and stood up from the table, “Mikey... “ He looked from his son to Abby, “You know you are welcome if you want to stay but, you don’t have to.”

Her panic doubled and her soft eyes widened before they began dart around. “I think I should get some sleep before anything else.”

“Great, so, you’ll stay here and we can talk about it when I get home!” Before either of them could shoot down his optimism Mikey slammed the fridge shut and bolted back down the hallway to his bedroom.

“I’ll get you some money for a hotel.” Dorghu stood up and fished a wad of bills from his pocket.

Abby stood up with him, “Don’t bother, I reserved something on the way down here. Just in case.” She walked to dump the remains of her coffee down the sink, “I promised I’d keep out of it, but your dirty money still sketches me out.”

Dorghu sighed so deeply it was closer to a groan, “Abby, we’ve made it all night without arguing, don’t let the way I make money ruin that.”

Abby sighed herself but nodded, already on her way to the door.

Dorghu shoved the cash back in his pocket and cracked the knuckles of his right hand. “Abby,” He followed after her, “If you can, come to the BBQ, it’s Arthur and Malia’s Anniversary. I know she’d be happy if you did, Mikey too.”

She paused, her hand on the door knob, “Tell Mikey I’ll pick him up for dinner tonight. I’ll decide by then.”

“Okay.” He stepped onto the front step and watched her walk to her car. As he stood there and watched her leave, something in and of itself that gave him chest pains, he wished desperately that he had either never tried to get that magic wand or that he had succeeded and everything could have been back to the way it should of been. Of course, life was never that easy. Not for them anyway.

Chapter Three - Coming Soon

[lindoig4]

San Francisco

5 July

Having arrived in San Fran yesterday, just a few hours before we left home, we were dead beat and slept late, albeit somewhat fitfully.  We bought breakfast in the hotel, just as they were closing the kitchen at 10am – then went back to bed and slept until 3.15! A very weird day for us!!

We then walked the kilometre or two to Downtown, exploring a little as we went, and called in at several places trying to buy a bigger backpack. The one I was using was filled to capacity so we decided to invest in a bigger one.  We finally found a place with a suitable range just a few doors from the Aida Hotel where we will be staying on our way back to Melbourne in a couple of months’ time.  The first time we came to San Fran in 1995, we stayed at Aida and bought a new suitcase at the very same luggage shop we bought the backpack.  On that occasion, we had broken the wheels off our case getting it down the stairs in Richmond before we even left home on that trip so we had to replace it in San Fran after struggling with it at the Tullamarine and SF airports and then the Shuttle and hotel.

We needed to buy a few comestibles – mainly tea, sugar and coffee – interesting that the instant coffee was under lock and key and we had to get a staff member to free it from its prison so we could buy it. Apparently, coffee is one of the things that is commonly stolen (lots of other very basic things were also locked up) but I can’t see how locking it up protects it.  We were still free to walk around with it and presumably hide it in our backpack before approaching the checkout.

Shopping for olives?  Large, mild and nutty!

It was great to see and hear the trolley buses (in my view far and away the best, quietest, most comfortable, cheapest and cleanest form of mass transport – as well as being very traffic-friendly) as well as the streetcars (trams).  I have long advocated removal of trams and all their overblown infrastructure from Melbourne to be replaced with trolleys.  The streetcars have been purchased from all over the world and retain their original livery and branding.  There is even a W-class Melbourne tram here – apparently recently acquired and still under test when we saw it.

The clanging of the streetcars, the police sirens and the mournful wail of the Amtrak locos are all very nostalgic reminders of our previous trips here, and particularly of San Fran.  It always fascinates me how sounds and smells in particular can transport us instantly to another time and place.  Things we have seen and heard in movies come alive when they are triggered by the merest hint of something similar that we experience in real life.

There are so many different forms of transport here.  The car is king of course, and there are lots of pickups, more and mostly quite a bit bigger than those common in Oz, but there are several types of buses (hybrids, traditional, double-deckers, very loooong articulateds) – and several more personal moving machines.  I have seen hundreds of powered and unpowered scooters and numerous variations of Segways – upright ones, simple wheels with foot rests side to side or fore and aft, all manner of 2-, 3- and 4-wheeled bikes and very cute bright yellow 2-seater, 3-wheeled motorbikes rented to tourists.  And of course, there are the iconic cable cars.  No place for pedestrians like us.

There are many hundred homeless people, mostly but not only, black and they all have their little cache of belongings, but some quite large collections that are transported in a range of trolleys.  Some have their own patches, sometimes quite complex.  I have seen mini tent cities, some small homeless colonies, tiny compounds barricaded with wheelie bins or discarded sheets of iron, plastic and so on.  It is sad to see but it is America, Land of the Free, after all.

We bought a pizza on our way back to the hotel and ate it in our room – and promptly went back to sleep.  Alas another fitful night, broken by a series of midnight messages back and forth to Australia about Heather’s SIM – a little more about that later.

6 July

We purchased tickets for the Hop On Hop Off Big Bus from the hotel and walked the mile or so to Union Square, the closest stop to the hotel. We only went about 3 stops on the bus to Fisherman’s Wharf before they made us all get off and join a long queue to join a different bus - no explanations, but being a holiday weekend and short of drivers who weren’t enjoying their holiday BBQs, we queued for about an hour before we managed to get on our way again.  They seemed hopelessly disorganised but off we went on what was about a 3½ half hour trip around the city, out past the huge Golden Gate Park, across the Golden Gate Bridge then back along the beach and Presidio and eventually back to Fisherman’s Wharf where we alighted in time for a late lunch.

The Big Bus was not quite up to scratch really.  Commentary was light on and a bit trivial, but passable.  Some parts of the route were very slow, almost gridlocked in one stretch approaching the Golden Gate Bridge.  As they said, it was a holiday weekend, every man and his dog (and cat and horse) were out and things were chaotic.  At least we got to see a lot more of SF than we otherwise would have and we got a better perspective of places we might visit at the end of our trip.

The crowds along the wharves were overwhelming, but we checked out the sea-lion colony and the birdlife in one partially enclosed area before heading for lunch.  (We had been thinking of doing a Bay Cruise, but seeing the queues for that, we decided that a couple more hours queueing and getting sunburnt BEFORE boarding wasn’t really desirable.).  We eventually settled on Aliotos Restaurant (partly to avoid the long queues of people waiting to use the public toilets).  Heather had her heart set on clam chowder in a big crusty bun - the signature dish for the wharf area.  We enjoyed them immensely when here 24 years ago, but they seem to have lost the recipe in the meantime (or maybe the clams just weren’t biting) but it was a bit disappointing, mainly vegetarian with very few clams!  I had the Fisherman’s Basket and we helped each other with our respective orders but couldn’t finish either of them anyway.

An interesting thing we heard about the sea-lions on the bus (we were on the bus, not the sea-lions!) was that the whole colony lived out on the beach for as long as anyone could remember – until 1987 when for reasons unknown, they migrated up-Bay to Pier 39 and they (and their squealing pong) have been there for the tourists to ogle ever since.  We saw, heard and smelled them when we were here in ’95 and imagined that they had always been there.

We then caught a grossly overcrowded streetcar back to near our hotel and walked home.  Called in at the local shop for a very small snack and brekky fare, still bloated from our 3pm lunch.

7 July

Heather has spent many hours (mainly in the very early hours of the morning) conversing with people in Australia and New York trying to get the data component of her phone contract working.  She bought some SIMs in Australia to be activated along the way and although the voice component worked, the data wouldn’t and she has spent hours virtually rebuilding her phone in consultation with the phone company, but she finally got it working late morning - thanks to a very helpful guy in New York, and absolutely no thanks to the Cretans in Australia.

We then walked to the Bus Transit Station, a few blocks down the hill, to suss out what we had to do to transit to our train tomorrow.  All pretty easy so we walked down to the Embarcadero and the edge of the Bay.  It was a beautiful summer’s day and there were plenty of strollers out, most with dogs.  We walked a kilometre or so to a market in the huge Ferry Terminal and wandered around that for a while before returning to a bayside restaurant for a late lunch and to watch the world go by.  One wonderful thing happened over lunch when an Anna’s Hummingbird visited a row of WA kangaroo paws right next to our al fresco table.  We managed to get a few photos and had a good look as it hovered around several of the flowers before heading off to places unknown.

That was Bird 13 for me, having seen American robins, American crows, Brewer’s blackbirds, Californian gulls, vultures and hawks, night-herons, cormorants, starlings, sparrows and so on.  The gulls are everywhere, but they are well outnumbered by hordes of the dirtiest scungiest pigeons imaginable.  Some of the many homeless people here look very sad and bedraggled, but the pigeons look a whole lot worse.

We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and over-ordered as usual.  I thought it was a really good meal and a little cheaper than many places we have looked at.  They boast more than 3000 restaurants in San Fran (I imagine Melbourne has as many!) but competition is so fierce that the average lifespan of each establishment is only a few months.

[girlwithglasses1245]

Um so yeah.

I got a new chromebook which is legit one of the best investments I’ve made in quite a while. One problem, I don’t remember my newer tumblr password and email I had set up for my happy new account. So I am stuck here with an older tumblr I made years upon years ago. I was browsing through some of the archive posts and ugh was I whiny little pain in the butt complaining about such stupid things. Anyways! I thought it might be kinda fun perhaps to do a survey that I did in 2013, yes 2013 oh my that seems ages ago. My plan is to have my original answer on top followed by the 2019 answer below it. Because why not? Here we go!

1: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? The closet must be closed! Still closed please.

2: Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel? Sometimes. Not as often as I used, because I honestly don’t ever use it. lol

3: Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? Out? In because that’s how Dan likes it. 

4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before? No. Nope. 

5: Do you like to use post-it notes? Sometimes. Sure, I leave Dan random notes in the morning if I wake up first. 

6: Do you cut out coupons but then never use them? I get coupons but sometimes I don't use them. Haha my above answer tells me two things I wasn’t worried about money in 2013 and I didn’t probably understand the question. So yeah, sometimes that will happen when they expire before I get the chance to use them.

7: Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees? Neither sound great so I guess a big bear sounds more interesting. I’ll agree with my 2013 answer. 

8: Do you have freckles? I have some. Last I checked I am the same girl, so I have some. 

9: Do you always smile for pictures? Usually. Sure, unless I am being told otherwise. 

10: What is your biggest pet peeve? I have two major ones, people snapping gum and not messaging someone back. Snapping gum is still up there and people slurping soup obnoxiously. 

11: Do you ever count your steps when you walk? Not really. Um not physically, but my phone does. Thanks Google Fit!

12: Have you ever peed in the woods? Nope. Still no.

13: What about pooped in the woods? Again nope. Still no lol.

14: Do you ever dance even if there’s no music playing? Yeah. Of course!

15: Do you chew your pens and pencils? Not usually, but sometimes I'll chew on a pen. Still sometimes I will chew a pen. 

16: How many people have you slept with this week? Zero. One.

17: What size is your bed? Queen. Queen, but now I share it with Dan. 

18: What is your Song of the week? Runaway- iio. Goodness I have no idea. 

19: Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Yeah.  Since when are certain colors unacceptable for certain people? I like that answer. Good job 2013 Christina. :)

20: Do you still watch cartoons? I don’t really watch a lot of TV. Nope. 

21: Whats your least favorite movie? I am not really big on the Hunger Games. Still accurate or scary movies would be an accurate answer. 

22: Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some? Wait…why would I want to bury hidden treasure. Dan’s safe?

23: If you’re a girl, bra size? If you’re a guy, pants size? 34 B 32-34 B depends on the bra. lol

24: What do you dip a chicken nugget in? Plain or honey mustard. I like those previous answers, but I do sometimes like BBQ. 

25: What is your favorite food? Some type of chicken with a bread coating. Chicken and dumplings from Cracker Barrel with carrots and green beans! 

26: What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Love and Other Drugs, Crazy Stupid Love, Easy A, Something Borrowed. So chick flicks I guess. Crazy Stupid Love is still in my top favorite movies ever. 

27: Last person you kissed/kissed you? Jeffrey. Eww I am sorry 2013 Christina that sucks. Anyways, Dan!

28: Were you ever a boy/girl scout? I was girl scout back in the day. Still a true statement. 

29: Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? Eh I don't know. I am no model, so no.  30: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? On paper?  A while ago. I write Dan little notes in the mornings sometimes. Does that count? 31: Can you change the oil on a car? Nope. Still nope.  32: Ever gotten a speeding ticket? Surprisingly no. Warning, yes. lol 33: Ever ran out of gas? Close, but no. Nope!

34: Favorite kind of sandwich? Turkey and swiss with spinach toasted.  Grilled cheese!

35: Best thing to eat for breakfast? French Toast or Waffles. French Toast sounds lovely. 

36: What is your usual bedtime? Unpredictable. Still accurate, but now it depends on if Dan is around or not.  37: Are you lazy? More than some would think. I can be.  38: When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? I don’t even know. Probably a princess.  39: What is your Chinese astrological sign? I believe I am a sheep. Correct.  40: Are you horny? No. Not really.  41: Do you have any magazine subscriptions? No. Yep, Cosmo. And it’s annoying they send out the following month way too early all the time.  42: Which are better legos or lincoln logs? I could care less. Still true. 

43: Are you stubborn? I some ways. Kinda.  44: Who is better…Leno or Letterman? Letterman. Still true hence why Letterman is still on the air? 45: Ever watch soap operas? Sometimes Spanish ones with Rach and her roommates. Nope. 46: Are you afraid of heights? Not as much. What kinda of answer was that back then? lol. Anyways, no height fear really.    47: Do you sing in the car? All the time. Duh, gotta keep it fun.  48: Do you sing in the shower? Not really. I hum though. Still true.  49: Do you dance in the car? Yeah. That’s probably not safe… Hahaha still guilty of that.  50: Ever used a gun? Nope, I want to do it sometime though just to say I shot a gun. Hahaha 2013 would never have thought I’d say I am pretty fucking accurate with an AR-15.  51: Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? Does summer count? Jen took my picture. Christmas of 2015 lol. 52: Do you think musicals are cheesy? Some can be. Usually.  53: Is Christmas stressful? Not really, but this year I’ll be working the holiday season so we shall reassess. Nope. I love Christmas.  54: Ever eat a pierogi? Had to look that up.  Yes, I have I think my friend Elly introduced me to them. Yeah, not my type of thing.  55: Favorite type of fruit pie? Cherry or Dutch Apple.  56: Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Teacher. I don’t know anymore and I am 27. Oops.  57: Do you believe in ghosts? Eh debatable. Sure. 58: Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? Many times. I had one just the other day. Yeah I had one the other day. Wait that’s funny that was my reply before.  59: Take a vitamin daily? I take multivitamins. I still do, but currently out. lol 60: Wear slippers? Nah. Barefoot is preferred.  61: Wear a bath robe? Rarely. Unless I am super cold. Nah. 62: What do you wear to bed? Yoga pants and a t-shirt. T-shirt and panties. lol 63: First concert? Paramore. Still true. 

64: Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? Target, but Wal-Mart is closer. Target.  65: Nike or Adidas? I don’t care. Under Amour? 66: Cheetos Or Fritos? Eh…neither. Haha still good answer.  67: Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? Sunflower seeds since I can’t do peanuts. Neither. 

68: Ever hear of the group Tres Bien? No? What? 69: Ever take dance lessons? I did a few times. Did I? Hmm sure okay. I did in the past.  70: Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? Lawyer. Business owner.

71: Can you curl your tongue? Yes. Yep! 72: Ever won a spelling bee? Never participated. Nope I am not very good at spelling complicated stuff.  73: Have you ever cried because you were so happy? It has happened on occasion. Sure. 74: Own any record albums? No. Nope. 75: Own a record player? No. Nope. 76: Regularly burn incense? No. Nope. 77: Ever been in love? Yes. Yes.  78: Who would you like to see in concert? Matchbox Twenty, Google Dolls, Drake, Justin Timberlake, The Weekend, Linkin Park, The XX, and many more. I know weird mix there. Drake? 79: What was the last concert you saw? Grad night, Paramore. Same.  80: Hot tea or cold tea? I prefer cold tea. Ice tea!  81: Tea or coffee? Coffee, but I do like tea on occasion. Coffee 99% of the time.  82: Sugar or snickerdoodles? Yummy both please. Don’t make chose.  83: Can you swim well? Eh debatable. I’ve gotten better. lol 84: Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? Yes. Yes.  85: Are you patient? Most of the time. 50-50 depends on what.  86: DJ or band, at a wedding? Either would be fine, but a live band would be awesome. DJ, Cheaper, duh lol. 87: Ever won a contest? A few times. Yep! 88: Ever have plastic surgery? I am 22 so no. Nah, I am good.  89: Which are better black or green olives? Eww no thanks. *pukes* No no no. 90: Can you knit or crochet? My mom tried teaching me how to crochet. Still wanting to learn one day either one.  91: Best room for a fireplace? A living room? Still going to go with living room.  92: Do you want to get married? I don’t know anymore, I hope so. I do, lol. 93: If married, how long have you been married? (Not applicable) Same lol 94: Who was your HS crush? Mark fucking Andrew. Ugh that’s still true. But here’s a plot twist though he married someone I know and I see his picture on FB all the time because she posts pictures of them. I am not phased anymore. So victory? For me at least. 95: Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? No. But I have though before though. Haha apparently.  96: Do you have kids? No. Nope.  97: Do you want kids? I would be ok not having kids for a while. No thanks. 98: Whats your favorite color? Purple! Purple!!! 99: Do you miss anyone right now? Yeah extremely. Yes. 

100. What do you hear right now? My Drake station on Pandora playing a Lil Wayne song. No Limit- G Easy ft Cardi B and A$AP Rocky

[theosymphany]

Under the sun’s warmth

Piers came to slowly, being very aware of a warm body beside him and a pair of beefy arms that held him close from behind. He smiled a little, taking a deep breath and taking in the warmth and the pleasant scent of his partner. Chris was quiet, which meant that he must have been awake.

He turned, trying to get a glimpse of Chris but it was hard without straining himself.

“Morning.” He said, lazily twisting himself slowly to face Chris.

“Morning.” Warm brown eyes greeted him with a small smile.

“You’ve been up long?”

“A little. It’s cute to watch your sleep. And wake.”

“Creep. Your arm must be sore.”

“Well actually it’s quite dead.” Chris squirmed as Piers moved to let him retrieve his arm. “Ow, ow ow!” The pain was evident on his face as blood rushed back in.

“Sorry.” Piers said, rubbing along Chris’s arm to get the blood back in.

“Hurts like hell, but it’s ok, all worth it.” Chris winced, then smiled again. “Or is that an excuse to feel me up?”

Piers withdrew his hands sharply. “Excuse me, who had his hands inside my shirt while I slept?”

“You’d complain it’s cold otherwise.” Chris said, with heavy lidded eyes.

“It is kinda cold. What time is it?” Piers glanced over at their alarm clock.

“Hmph, still early, and oh.”

Chris must have felt him go stiff because he held his wrist. “It’s OK babe.”

Piers shook his head, as if trying to forget. “July first…. It’s hmm, six years now.”

“Yep.”

“Well I remember it for a different reason. It’s six years after our reunion six year ago!”

“Ha. That was sweet too, even though I didn’t’ realize it at the time. We should celebrate with, uhh, a big bottle of Rakija and the scent of cheap hooker’s perfume.”

“You know, for a big dumb American you blended in pretty well to Edonia.”

“Yeah well, guess all that training is muscle memory now. As I recall you guys stood out like sore appendages. Guess who’s the sniper?”

Piers was suddenly wide awake. “We were not running intel Chris. We wanted to be visible and we wanted to find you!”

Chris grinned in apology. “Well well. That always gets a rise out of you.”

Piers sighed softly. “It was really stupid what Command did to us. Forcing you back in the outfit on a mission doomed from the beginning.”

“Like you said at the time, the world was going to hell in handbasket and the mission didn’t have a sliver of a chance if you all went without me.

“I said that?”

“Yep. Turns out you were truly capable enough on your own, Acting Team Leader Nivans.”

Piers was quiet for a moment. “I know that I wouldn’t have done half the stuff I did if you weren’t there beside me. You fight for the ideal. I fight for the personal.”

“Give yourself more credit than that. You did right with Jake and Sherry, and all the other decisions you made there.”

“But…”

Chris cut him off and put an arm around Piers’ back. “There is great strength that comes from protecting those you love. You made the sacrifices and you made it happen. I can’t ask for more than that. Well, except spend the rest of our lives together, and some secret room service couple of times a week.”

Piers face planted on Chris’ chest. “Here we are all serious and you let your other head do the talking.”

“Oh hell no. He does all the talking where you’re involved.” Chris said with a wink.

“So it’s a Sunday, what are we gonna do today?” Piers said, resolved to change the subject.

“Hmm, easy morning, take Ruff out, food, some woof time and whatever else?”

“That’s like most of our weekends.”

“That’s good right? Or you want more adventure? White water rafting with zombies?” Chris’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

“I want as few reminders of nasties as possible. No humidity, no water and no tentacles. Something American, homey…. Hmm I know. That Southern BBQ place that has the massive meat platters that has way too much food for two people. I want that.”

“Ha. Always planning his food first. That’s my Piers. I’m in hungry mood today and don’t fancy cooking so hell yes! And it’s too much food for two people, but not two people and a four-legged black hole when meat is concerned.”

“Oh yes! We have to bring Ruff along, you’ve got the rug and picnic set in the car. There’s a nice trail up nearby on the hill. He can run off lead and we can enjoy the sun.”

“Sounds like a date.” Chris kissed Piers on the top of his head.

“Thanks for buying lunch.” Piers kissed the crook of Chris’s neck.

“I am?” Chris asked, then shrugged. “I am.”

--

The little hill was windier even on a warm summer’s day. The wandered along, Chris holding Ruff’s lead while the GSD went exploring and working off those wings and brisket and pulled pork and hot links.

“One good thing about all that distant control is we don’t really need this anymore.” Chris said, gesturing to Ruff’s lead.

“More us time.” Piers grinned.

“Hey look, there’s a swing near the trees over there. You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Piers looked around. “No tangos in sight Captain.”

“Good boy.” Chris said. Ruff yelped happily somewhere and Piers shook his head.

“There’s only one seat.” Piers said as they got to the swing.

Chris tested it for his weight then nodded in approval. “It’ll take.”

He sat first, then motioned for Piers to join him.

“If you insist.” Piers said cheekily as he straddled and sat himself on Chris’s lap.

The warm rays of the afternoon sun shone through the west and Piers can see it had bleached some of Chris’s hair. His face took on a softer glow, though he can see a few new lines on his face. If anything, they added to his confidence, his authority.

“What are you thinking?” Chris swayed gently on his feet.

“Of how beautiful you are with the sun on your face.”

“Thinking just the same thing.” Chris said, leaning in. “You still take my breath away every day.”

They danced their lips around each other, gently savouring each touch, planting kisses light as a dragonfly skimming across water.

Piers nuzzled his face next to Chris, feeling the little pricks from his stubble. Chris held him in his arms as they swayed gently in the breeze.

Piers could feel Chris’s heartbeat, and the warmth from his arms joined with the warmth of the sun. The hold was solid and he hugged Chris back, thinking of nothing else but to be in the moment, desperately drowning out everything else.

Slow sniper breaths. The sky was blue, the clouds tinged with orange. The grass was more green than yellow, but only just so. There’s the call of birds, rustles of insects in the grass, the odd creak and groan from the swing as they swayed in time to his breaths. Chris was rubbing his back soothingly and he realised he was squeezing a bit too tightly.

This is real. All of it, and he is here. All of him.

Ruff watched from a distance his daddies locked in love. He tilted his head, half expecting the whistle for him to come but knows that he’s probably got more time freedom to roam still. He found a warm spot in the sun and sat low, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings. His favourite humans are going to have all the time and peace in the world.

Another year another July 1st Tribute. Thanks for the rest of the fandom for their works and support. I based the final scene on @daemoncollection‘s gorgeous work Under The Sun’s Warmth - http://fav.me/dcfwyal which is reblogged above. Shoutout to @nimrod262 as without his encouragement this work wouldn’t have happened.

[polystumbles]

Diary 8/19-20/2017: More than two.

Z and I head to play some games and listen to some emerging music at Bryant Park in NYC. We learn to play King of New York, and surprisingly enjoy a game of  Bananagrams. As we fill out one of the questionnaires, Z laughs at one of the questions -- “Are we a household?” she asks. I think she checked yes. On the train ride home she says the she hung up the phone on her dad last night. Z and I had talked about going to Los Angeles together. One of my employees works out there and we were due for a sync up. Z has family out there, most notably her grandmother that she hasn’t seen in many years. She had told her dad of the possibility, and he told her to go to Los Angeles alone. We hadn’t been talking of my visiting as well, but I guess that was the inference if I was on the trip. He implied that it would kill her grandmother to find out of our relationship. Well, it earned him a dialtone. I guess the kid gloves are officially off. I wonder what I can do to support her. I also wonder would it really have been different had we not been polyamorous? Would he have taken explicit issue had been my blackness? Would he have taken explicit issue with my being Latin@? Would he have taken explicit issue with my not being Jewish? Then if not me, would it be her? Non-religious-- worse yet-- atheist, would anything she did ever be good enough?  I guess we’ll never know. All I can do now, is try and figure out how best to support Z in all of this, knowing full well that this is the biggest threat to our relationship.  

In the morning, I find Z has basically run away from me on the bed. It was pretty funny -- most nights we sleep pretty close, tonight she is right on the edge. Probably too many prickles, as my shadow had grown thick. I get up and shave while she sleeps. I snuggle up to her on my return and place my head on my favorite pillow, her ass. A few minutes later, I’m face first in her ass. Then we’re fucking for a few hours before collapsing in our late august sweaty puddle.

We talk about family. (This is perhaps the best way, talking after sex.) The desire for some external validation, the desire to not have our relationship be invisible. No matter how public I am with her, she is still feels obligated to keep quiet about us out of respect for her parents. So her cousins, her uncles, anyone who asks about a special someone doesn’t hear about out joys, or getaways, the love from the kids, the death of my grandpa, the great work I do. All of it gets reduced, hidden, tucked away beneath her parent’s pride. I can empathize with that.

I transition to her plans for today. I ask if she has any fun plans. She says her and Duane are off to a Blues and BBQ event, which was funny cause I saw that and wondered if she’d like it, since she doesn’t like pork given her upbringing where she never developed a taste for it yet otherwise looked up our alley. I ask her how’s it going with Duane? She says that it’s going well. It’s uncomplicated. They still see each other about once a week. They take turns planning, which has been an issue with other guys -- they never seem to know how to plan a damn date anymore. She let’s me know she’s ready for sex. They have discussed safety protocols and he’s fine with them. Fact is they probably would have probably had sex sooner, but his test results took a month, and she had insisted since he hadn’t been tested within our agreed upon range.

I have it scribbled in my notes without a date, but I believe it was this conversation that she says as if uncharacteristically thinking aloud:

I have to do this. I have to see if what we have is special. Is it just me? Is it just you?

Some questions have no right answers. We’re 3.5 years into this relationship. No matter the answers, we are not a question.

Duane it appears lives in Jersey and travels almost 2 hours to come see her.  They have a good time. Yet she explains she feels no “emotional entanglements” for him. I know that’s not said for my benefit and I know that might change when they have sex.  I remember seeing it change in her diary with  me.  She yearned for me physically thereafter, but seeing our connection made the emotional floodgates open for us both. We joke about needing more sheets. I mean we pretty much tear up the sheets every Saturday morning. She’ll need to change them before he comes over. And perhaps another courtesy change before we do what comes naturally on Sunday-Monday as well. Yeah, it’s a whole lot of fucking in a weekend with me and another partner,  lord help us all if it turns out he's a freak like me.

I thank her for the openness. I tell her about the drive home earlier this month and how she shutdown, and how I appreciate this much more. Openness is how I separate all of our actions from cheating. Knowing, discussing, understanding what a partner adds to someone’s life -- without judging it -- this is my jealousy slaying toolkit.

I ask her if she needs anything from me, I tell her I’m not afraid anymore. She knows she doesn’t need my permission or blessing, and I try not to let anything come out that might be understood as such. I offer to talk to her now or after if she needs. She hasn’t been active with another partner since we blossomed. She dated someone at the start of our relationship for several months, and has dated on and off since, but not made any connection that made it this far. I tell her how it was different for me. How when I first had sex with someone not Amy, I resented her immediately after. I enjoyed myself, yes, but I also felt that I should be sharing that time with her, that she should be meeting this need. I suppressed the idea, until I could process myself past it, and I didn’t tell her about it. Ever. I told Z, that having gone through that, I know that emotions can get weird, but that we’d work through it. “You won’t have to worry about that happening with me,” she said confidently. She was responding to a question that I didn’t ask: what if she loves me less after? But I hoped she got my larger point -- not this, but anything, let’s work through it.

We cuddle some more until after a few minutes I’m pressing my hard cock against her body again. I get up and bring my cock to her face as she lies down.  This is one  my favorite positions. Full visual access to the length of her body, her tongue reaching and wrapping around my cock. I cum and she keeps going. Damn. In a minute get going again but my erection is maybe at 25% -- there is just too much emotional stuff flying around for a third round this morning. Sigh. But I try, I get to 75 %,  lose it and the  positions that bring it back are less comfortable for her. I’m now cycling between what I need to think about and me worrying about being a bad lay before her first night with Duane. Meh. we'll get past this.  I get off and Jerk off,  soft at first until I get back to that 75 mark. Then through the early waves of my orgasm, I have find myself shaking like when I stretch in the morning-- well that's a first. Eventually, I cum,  from on my back to over on to her side. Ha. Yes. Sheets.

I get up, shower, dress and then we  look over some photos  for projects. I make a breakfast omelette for us. She's quiet and doesn't seem very happy, but also not sad. It’s just time to let her go and trust Duane to make her happy. I kiss her goodbye, tell her I love her, and wish her a wonderful day.

I’ve been a lover this morning. I’ve been a poly partner. It’s time for me to be a son. At Castle Black, today is the big day for my mom’s hoarding intervention. My uncle is over. My mom comes over for the first time. She finds her place has been emptied except for a few furniture, clothing, and mementos I could save.

It goes ok, not good, but she didn’t strangle me either. Afterward, I take my mom out with us to Long Island with Amy and the kids. Then drop her off to start assessing what she will do. That evening I talk with Amy about everything. From Z to my mom, she listens mostly as I process out loud. I tell Amy about resenting her. She’s not upset by it.  By 10 PM on a Saturday night, I’m asleep because I need it.

[thethousandscars]

My very first author convention. I think it turned out alright!

So yeah! This is going to be a fun ramble of sorts. I was really nervous for this weekend, mainly for mental health reasons. I’m not good with people (The Friday night was my first night out in several years) but I found myself able to be myself so easily (Tough luck on that, authorly friends!)

I was looking forward to being a socially awkward fuck, but also to meet a ton of people. So, I got packed and ready (bought a new fancy suitcase for £4, go me) and I went down to Darlington to get picked up by this charming lad, Jamie Edmundson. He very graciously offered to give me a lift there and back, as long as I could get to Darlington. Felt like one of those mafia jobs.

We consumed a fair bit of junk food this weekend. The chicken didn’t stand a chance.

The drive down was long with a lot of traffic issues, I provided the road rage and telling drivers to fuck off so Jamie could keep focused on driving. Despite the delays, we had a good time travelling down, and we got on well which was what I wanted. Otherwise it would have been an awkward as hell 10-11 hours commute!

It also rained. A lot.

Welcome to the U.K, folks.

So we finally made it through to the Hilton Doubletree. I was staying there for the weekend, so off Jamie went to his nearby Travelodge (and fight the battle of trying to find a parking spot) I got checked in fine and went into my room.

It was a damn fine room.

So I got a change of clothes, drank a quick coffee (I was fucking flagging at this point! Damn CFS) and went down to meet everyone. Tom Clews was the first to greet me, awesome guy, and soon I met up with everyone else. I was nervous for perhaps 10 minutes, before I finally found my zone. That I think shows how comfortable an event Bristolcon is. Everyone was so friendly!

A drink with Rita Sloan, Tom Clews, Luke Scull and Phil Williams before food.

For the Friday night, a large group of us went out for food. There was an enjoyable moment of unity when I was struggling with the fatigue (The trip to the Spitfire BBQ was about a mile walk, and with CFS that gets quite painful for me to walk long distances), so I got offers either to half carry me there, or to carpool a Taxi. Fortunately, I was able to make the trip there and back.

  Spitfire BBQ was an amazing place to eat. Great food, the staff were excellent and it was a good night all around. We got back to the hotel around half 11pm and I stayed up chatting for an hour before finally turning in for the night.

  The night kinda sucked. Chronic Fatigue has a weird thing that when it’s really hitting hard, you don’t have the energy to fall asleep, so I didn’t drop off until about 3am. Still, I woke up at 6am and managed a quick shower before going down to breakfast.

  Food is fucking food, people.

The breakfast was great with a nice choice of options.

Anyway, it was finally time for the Bristolcon event! Workshops and panels all day and a lot of social meet and greets. I’m just going to post a little montage of photos I got with people!

Lee Conely, author of Ritual of Bone. Awesome guy!

A very tired-looking Gareth Powell. I think it was early in the morning and neither of us had much coffee yet!

Me, Timy Takács, Lee and Damon. I swear these photos either make me look like a serial killer or someone who enjoys his pies. Look at that gut!

Lee and Damon doing the British and Irish Community panel.

A large group of writer folk at their local habitat.

Discussed video game writing with these awesome people.

I managed to sneak some good photos during the weekend.

Huge props to Agnes Meszaros for taking so many quality photos during the weekend. Got a great one with me and Mark Lawrence. This might be the only photo where I don’t like like a serial killer.

Thanks to my potato camera this didn’t turn out as well as it could, but this is with the old The Thousand Scars I published during 2018. Hard work is in place to get it ready for its relaunch in 2020!

Courtesy of  Agnes Meszaros with Mariëlle Ooms-Voges!

I attended a great workshop by Anna Stephens on worldbuilding, and my final event of the day was a panel on myhical creatures.

  We got an amazing band playing for the night’s entertainment too!

Sadly by 10pm I was really flagging, so after farewells and hugs to pretty much everyone in the room, I retired for the night, but not before fighting with my suitcase for getting everything packed. It took time, but I managed it.

  Sunday brought the end of the weekend. After another long journey on the road, I got back home around 6pm. This week has been one of recovery as I picked up the “Con-Lurgy”, but I had an amazing time. It felt good just meeting the author community, and I felt so at ease!

Great things I remember:

The hotel was excellent with helpful staff all weekend.

The company, too many to list as a callout as you were all fantastic.

The workshops I went to were very good; one in particular being about evolution and how it should impact character/animal design. I learned a lot!

The food was good all weekend.

Anna Stephens accidentally heckling Steve Mchugh in the mytical creature panel!

]Going forward

I have a lot to do. The Thousand Scars got quite a lot of interest at the weekend, and despite me not feeling too confident right now, I’ll do what I can to get the book ready for a launch in 2020.

Hope you enjoyed my little ramble.

                                                                                                                                              A little ramble of sorts on Bristolcon! #Writingcommunity #amreading #amwriting #blogging #fantasy #amreading #convention #NanoWrimo My very first author convention. I think it turned out alright! So yeah! This is going to be a fun ramble of sorts.

[michelemoore]

Apparently, Spring Fever Is An Illness

Takhuk, March 27, 2018

Michele Moore Veldhoen

Apparently, spring fever is an illness. At least, that’s what I read in this old Scientific American* article:

“There's an illness that has been documented by poets for centuries. Its symptoms include a flushed face, increased heart rate, appetite loss, restlessness and daydreaming. It's spring fever, that wonderfully amorphous disease we all recognize come April and May.”

"Spring fever is not a definitive diagnostic category," says Michael Terman, director of the Center for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms at Columbia University Medical Center. "But I would say it begins as a rapid and yet unpredictable fluctuating mood and energy state that contrasts with the relative low [of the] winter months that precede it."

Have you ever had this ‘illness’? I used to get such severe cases of spring fever that multi-tasking was a treatment rather than a problem. Simultaneously arranging appointments on the phone, reviewing invoices, stretching, and unloading the dishwasher, was a typical self-treatment regime. Furthermore, my level of energy drove me to assign myself all kinds of jobs, only some of which were necessary and all of which were overseen by a completely unrealistic belief that spring had actually arrived. Which is why I lost a lot of bedding out plants to frost.

I’m not sure how my family felt, but sometimes my own enthusiasm made me crazy.

When spring fever hit me, my daily run became a sprint, my foot came down too hard on the gas pedal of my truck, and my office work piled up on my desk because I could not bear sitting still while the sun melted the snow and the river trails and mountains called. I pushed the boundaries of the volume dial on my stereo and did household chores at the speed of light and checked the soil against the house for signs of life morning noon and night. I often planted flowers out too early and then had to cover them with plastic garbage bags and blankets night after night. I washed the windows only to have a spring snowstorm or early rain splatter them with water stains all over again. It took me years to accept that there was no point in washing windows before July. I volunteered to help with too many community and school spring events that took up spare time I needed to complete university assignments and study for exams, which I often found myself doing in my Jeep while waiting for one of the kids to finish music or dance lessons. Unless I had to make a grocery store run because it never occurred to me that the kids would be just fine if I relaxed with a cup of coffee and didn’t replenish the peanut butter for another day.

Are you irritated yet? I am.

Weekends were the worst. I was a victim of my own rule that weekend down time was crucial to my children’s well-being. Therefore, on Saturday mornings, while they contentedly remained in their pajamas building lego castles until their natural rhythms told them it was time to go outside and stomp through some ice encrusted puddles, I was rearranging the furniture and cooking gigantic batches of hamburger soup to fill the freezer for the upcoming soccer season which would have me on the sidelines squirming in my chair, shadow kicking the ball on behalf of their team.

Why couldn’t I just curl up on the couch on those mornings and read a book?

My spring fever was also induced by late winter chinooks. At the end of one of those exhilarating early March days when under a blinding sun the snow pack had been reduced to a defeated crumpled layer, I would be on my deck barbequing burgers while the sky turned the colour of ripening saskatoons and Bruce Springsteen and Tom Cochrane blasted through the open deck door.  

At the end of a southern Alberta chinook day, when you’re in the grip of a premature case of spring fever, the combination of rock and roll and the scent of sizzling burgers on the bbq is truly intoxicating.

More from the SA article:

“Such spring fever remains a fuzzy medical category, but there has been a great deal of research on how seasonal changes affect our mood and behavior. Matthew Keller, postdoctoral fellow at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics in Richmond, studied 500 people in the U.S. and Canada and found that the more time people spent outside on a sunny spring day the better their mood. Such good moods decreased during the hotter summer months and there is an optimal temperature for them, Keller claims: 72 degrees Fahrenheit, otherwise known as room temperature.”

Side note:  Cheese, most fruit, and leftover pizza is optimal at room temperature, but I resent the idea that people are too. Surely, we can be equally tasteful at 65 or 80 degrees?

No doubt we would all agree that we don’t need a scientific study to tell us that spending time outside on a sunny spring day puts us in a good mood. But there’s a good mood, and then there’s the mania of spring fever which can drive people like me into states of euphoria that no weather forecast of an impending snowstorm will dispel.

In those days of my worst bouts of spring fever, had I been a tree, the energy I felt would have had me sending new branches out in every direction at once, quivering with excitement over the possibilities of how many birds my new arms would receive. Had I been a bird, well, I would probably have had rocks thrown at me by humans who did not appreciate my 4:30 a.m. performance of the avian version of Born to Be Wild.

Fortunately, I no longer suffer this ‘illness’. In fact, just recalling all that activity wears me out.

I have firmly concluded that there is only one cure for spring fever and that is age. While I’m still energized by the rising temperatures and sometimes forget to exhale when I’m in the forest breathing in the invigorating scent of warming earth and plants, I can relax with a cup of coffee in a pool of warm sunlight filling my living room. I don’t even think about planting a flower before June, and someone else washes my windows these days, so that I have more time for hiking and cycling.

The luxury of age is the ability to savour the moment. It is also the release from the often reckless intensity of youth. Just think of Bill Watterson’s Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes, who, freed from the prison of school for the summer, went ripping down a hill in his wagon wondering aloud to his toy tiger friend:

Ever notice how the older people get, the slower they do things? I wonder why that is. I would think that the less life you had left, the faster you’d want to do everything, so you could pack more into the remaining years. You can bet when I’m a geezer like Dad, I’ll be going like a maniac.’

Here’s to spring, spring fever, and, to adult maniacs, may you find your nirvana without crashing your wagon.

*(https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-spring-fever-is-a-real-phenomenon/)

[cyclinginaskirt-uk]

Question: What’s the longest bike ride you’ve ever been on? I’m talking hours spent in the saddle over the course of a day.

Whilst some of the cycle tours I’ve been on have lasted a few weeks or months I realised the longest time I’d actually spent riding was probably 10-11 hours (with appropriate tea and wee breaks of course). That was until last weekend.

The sign up.

It was another one of those optimistic/slightly drunk sporting entries, you know the ‘I’ve-had-a-glass-of wine-or-two’ kind, when you get that inflated sense of confidence whereby you can take on, and win, some of the great sporting feats on the planet.

Of course I can run a marathon, complete an Ironman, grab an Olympic gold, land on the moon…… So, what did I sign up for this time….. Mountain Mayhem – a 24 hour mountain bike race….easy!

Sanity must have kicked in slightly at the last minute because, instead of entering the solo category, I somehow found the sense/bare-faced cheek to talk a friend into entering with me in the mixed pairs section. That was the only drop of reason though.

Happily, this was months before the event and in the intervening time I managed to mostly forget entirely that I’d entered but, as the weeks crept by there was no avoiding it. This was going to happen. Cue lots of panic training rides.

The event

Fast forward a few weeks to Friday 16th June I’m sat in the middle of a Royal field no-less in the wilds of the Wiltshire countryside. It feels bizarrely like a music festival. Hundreds, if not thousands of people had descended on Gatcombe Park, home to Princess Anne and were now partying in her back garden which was awash with tents, BBQ smoke and loud music. The only slight incongruity is the startling number of very expensive looking bikes as far as the eye can see, tethered to cars, racks and in some case actually in the tents themselves.

“Welcome to the 20th and final Mountain Mayhem” the overhead speakers announce. “The world’s first and longest running 24 hours mountain bike race”.

It seems fitting somehow, if not a little disconcerting, that my first race experience will also be their last.

At the campsite I’ve got enough equipment to break a large elephant, my bike already disappeared under a ton of tinned rice pudding, chocolate, bananas and camping gear. I’ve also managed to bring every piece of cycle clothing I own from summer shorts to rain and winter wear, sun cream and snow gloves. I had less stuff going away for a 4 month bike tour than the next 24 hours, where on earth did it all come from?

Friday evening and there’s the opportunity for a practice lap of the course before racing starts at midday on Saturday. I’m torn between being able to practice the route and terrain and not wanting to add an inch of extra mileage to my legs before the main event. Maybe I’ll just look at the first bit…… 2 hours later and we’re back at the campsite sweating, exhausted and for me at least, very perturbed. Of course we ended up riding the whole route, 7.5 miles of some punishing uphill climbs and some tricky, technical descents. It’s about now I’m seriously starting to have doubts, both about my sanity and the ability to complete one lap of the course let alone 24 hours’ worth. Oh crap. Time for a medicinal gin and tonic before bed!

The next morning – race morning –  and the nerves have intensified to a seething mass of eels in my abdomen. My carefully calculated, highly technical race fuelling strategy, of ‘eat anything and everything available’, is being hampered somewhat by my stomach’s refusal to accept any incoming traffic. I struggle to eat a bite of banana which feels like a lead weight going down.

Shortly after, there’s also the opportunity to bless the relative cleanliness and proximity of the porta-loos as my body spitefully expels anything taken on board in the past millennia. 5 loo stops later as we head for the pre-race briefing I swear I’m starting the day on minus calories.

The race rules are simple, one of your team must be out on the course at all times, when you’ve finished your lap pass through the timing gate and hand over the baton (an armband) to your team mate who is waiting in the transition area. Then grab your bike and go go go, ad infinitum for 24 hours.

Simple!

As midday fast approaches the riders, including my teammate (TM), line up under a blazing sun for the Le Mans style start…. This basically means running a lap of the arena before grabbing your bike and heading out at high speed onto the course.

As the starting claxon sounds hundreds of men and women wearing helmets, hydration packs and cycling cleats surge forward into the sun baked arena. As the first wave passes it becomes clear however that not everyone on the course is quite so super-keen. Once the eager beavers have sprinted off the majority of the field, mindful of the long ride ahead, stroll jauntily along the course to the cheers and whoops of spectators.

The front runners though are now mounted and sprinting away; amongst the field are more than a few professional teams and it’s a real buzz to be able to compete alongside them.

Meanwhile, Bob the full sus mountain bike is waiting patiently in the racking area called transition as I hop around nervously, along with our  FTS – fantastic team support (my mate’s brother who stupidly agreed to help out) for the first change over.

Having ridden the route yesterday we had a rough idea of lap times but nothing definite. My stomach still in knots I try forcing electrolyte drink into it between porta-loo pit stops. The sun by now is merciless, on what subsequently turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year. With temperatures nudging 30 degrees centigrade, keeping cool even in the arena was going to be a challenge.

An hour after the start I spot a familiar cyclist tearing down the course – looks like it’s my turn. In to transition I grab the arm band from TM and with a brief ‘good luck’ wrestled Bob from the racking and head out on the course. My (vague) plan is to ride safely and steadily, the mantra of ‘it’s a marathon not a sprint’ playing on a loop in my head, whilst offering up the universal prayer ‘please don’t let me fall off and break anything again’ (sorry mum)!

The course was as tricky as I remembered but it did help having ridden it once. The mostly shaded forest tracks were also a welcome relief from the blazing sun. Each climb however was just as unforgiving and the downhills as hair raising. Panting up the last monster hill before the home stretch however I realised the technical stuff was now behind me, for this lap at least. Even better was the growing camaraderie with the other competitors, people were so friendly, cheering each other on, joking up hills, giving words of encouragement.

Topping the final hill the track then wound through the massive campsite and the supporters really came in to their own, people cheered and whooped, as you rode through the mass of tents. Even more welcome were the kids (and adults) with water pistols, drenching you as you went by which was heavenly in the blistering heat. Small jump ramps had also been dotted around and I was feeling cocky enough to tackle a few, flying along the last grassy stretch before the wooded path to the arena. Re-entering the ring pedalling like a fury under the timing gate I arrived in a sweaty, overheated heap to hand over the arm band to TM. 2 laps down, 2 hours in, 22 more to go!

And so began a pattern. Finish lap, ride the half a mile to the tent, peel off clothes soaked in sweat and hang to dry. Change (mostly back into half dried sweaty stuff), apply buckets of sun cream, grimly try to force down food, brilliantly prepared by FTS, drink, ride half a mile back to arena. Go back on out on the course. The only things that slowed were the handovers where we quickly ditched the flying changes for a 10 minute chat/rest at the end of each lap. Much more sociable.

Evening definitely brought relief from the relentless heat of the sun but it threw up another issue, riding at night. It’s something I’d done quite a bit of last year, pre-accident, but nothing since then and on such a technical course I wasn’t looking forward to it. TM had graciously offered to try and tackle the majority of the night time laps being the more experienced rider but I still had some to do.

At 11pm I headed out for my first double lap in the pitch black. The course at least had become more familiar by then and I was feeling more confident with its twists and turns, however it’s funny how a landscape can change with darkness. There seemed to be far less riders for a start, sometimes I was completely on my own and I tried not to think too much about the strange, dark shapes flitting between the trees. Bats, it must be?!

Settling in I came to the final and trickiest major descent, the surface was so loose on this one that any real braking meant that the bike skidded out of control so the best approach was a full throttle plunge into the trees and a roller coaster of a ride down. This bit always made me nervous, I debated walking it in the dark but pride said otherwise so, with a deep breath, I sucked down my fear and plunged downwards.

Not an ideal time then for my light to run out of battery. With no chance of stopping I was in complete darkness as I careened through the forest, all I could do was hope the trees were where I remembered them to be.

Somehow I made the bottom in one piece and shakily pulling over to switch to my back-up light. Passing through the campsite I stopped off to grab a quick drink from FTS who was still awake before heading on. There was nothing so soul destroying however as passing through the timing gate and not being able to stop. Exhausted, I could only look wistfully at transition before heading out for another lap.

How the solo riders did it I don’t know, although they could stop and sleep, it takes real mental reserves to keep pedalling alone. By now I realised the teams of 4 or 5 had the right idea, enough riding but with a longer break. In 2-person teams, the riding was relentless, the breaks short lived.

By the time I finished the second lap I was at my lowest point mentally and physically, lack of food, sleep, fear and constant adrenalin gnawed away at confidence. Worse still we were only just half way through. It was a huge relief then to hand the baton over with the knowledge that TM would be taking a double lap and I could finally get a little bit of rest.

Hot food and a short sleep worked wonders and 3.30am I’m back in transition for my next lap. I’m also smiling to myself, listening as riders fly in calling for their team mates, only to be met with a deafening silence. Some people it seems have missed their alarm call and are snoozing in tents whilst their tired team mates make irate calls to them regarding whereabouts.

Out again and what a lap this next one is, I feel restored, there’s even a glimmer of dawn on the horizon, the air is cool, the course is far less dusty and riding well, I’m feeling confident again, we can do this.

TM is also feeling rested and takes another double lap. Time for more sleep and food.

6.45 am and the day is glorious, warm (it’s been a warm night) but fresh. A golden post-dawn light bathes the rolling hills and lily ponds. The woods are cool and fragrant and between the trees are glimpses of the royal estate, including Gatcombe house itself. I wonder if I could pop up there for breakfast. Stern noticeboards and an even sterner security details suggest not.

We’re over ¾ of the way through now. We’re going to do it.

The remaining laps roll by, one on, one off. I’d hoped to be the one riding the final lap but timings meant this honour would fall to TM and well deserved after taking those night time double stints.

10.55am and I’m heading out on Bob for the final time. Tired but energised.  I’d gradually been walking more and more of the big hills as the event wore on, often at a quicker pace than those riding and a good efficiency saving. I try riding a few more this time, after all it’s our final lap. Some great banter and encouragement from all the competitors now who are even noticing my change of skirts. We’re de-mob happy, the end is in sight. I tick off the uphills and their subsequent tricky downs, counting them down by the names over which I’ve had 24 hours to christen them:

Fun big bomb hole down; bast**d grassy climb.

Fun Loamy berm bit; long bast**d stony uphill.

Slippery rooty down; beautiful lake single track, evil climb from hell

No light, supersonic, final downhill.

And that’s it, the last technical descent done all that remains is the long hot slog up to the campsite. Even then I don’t mind, I’m savouring every bit of this final lap and, as I crest the last hill to the shouts and cheers of the spectators, in my head I’m leading the home straight at the world cup. Flying down the grassy track, over the jump ramps, skirt fluttering in the breeze, through the woods and into the arena. My family are there now too as are TM and FTS, my legs are full of adrenalin and pumping like mad. We fly around the last corner and through the timing arch, hand over the baton and…. That’s it.

I’m done and I’ve done it. The adrenalin ebbs, I can’t believe I made it through a whole day and night. A quick wash and change and I’m back to cheer TM over the line at exactly 12.00, 24 hours after we started, riding through intense heat, darkness, spectacular sunsets and sunrises. Through an entire wardrobe of cycle clothing and way too many cans of rice pudding to even contemplate.

The final results, whilst not important to us per se, put us squarely in 4th place in the mixed pairs category. Team ‘Bike and the Mechanics’ clocking up a respectable 22 laps (10 by me, 12 by TM) not bad considering some of the calibre of riders out there.

For me that’s approximately 75 miles of off-road riding plus another 5miles or so commuting to the tent. Trust me it counts.

Celebration is a quiet affair. Half a pint of beer each and we’re rapidly sliding towards comatose but with a huge sense of satisfaction and achievement. Going into this I had no idea if I could make the distance, although determined to do it, short of being carried off the course, it was an unknown quantity in terms of physical and mental endurance. Underlying it is that fact that I still consider myself lucky to be here too. With most of last year written off through injury, even during the hardest hours I wouldn’t have swapped the experience, or the chance to tackle it, for anything.

There was a certain sadness in the air too at the last running of this iconic event (in this format at least) but it was truly a joy to be a part of, brilliantly organised and well honed. As ever though it was the people that made the whole event truly great, from those little jokes and conversations with other riders, the kind words from the spectators and most especially the support from FTS (aka Tim) and TM (aka Andy). Great job guys, I would say see you same time next year but…..

*Lezyne photo credit to Rob Crayton, courtesy of Mounatn Mayhem.

Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles. Alex Karras Question: What’s the longest bike ride you’ve ever been on? I’m talking hours spent in the saddle over the course of a day.

[travellerr2017-blog]

All you can see is wasteland; everywhere you look is dry brown plain wasteland. There are a few houses dotted here and there, sheep grazing and that trees that look like lightning have hit them. Driving through deserted roads is rather relaxing and the views are nice to look at if you’re into that dreary look. It’s just gone 7.30am and we’re on way to the outback (bush) for the weekend. After a 28 hour journey to get here spending the weekend in the middle of nowhere sounds like heaven.

The air is dry, the sky a light blue dotted with clouds that lightly brush the tops of hills. . Piles of coal black debris sits scattered in a field, the smell of burning smoke hits your nose as cloudy smoke drifts into view.  Driving off the highway and back into no man’s land all that is now seen are trees. Leaning towards you as if to whisper in your ear whilst others weep silently in agony. They cast shadows onto the road creating and eerie look, occasionally letting the rays of the sun hit you. Homes are passed but they look those you see in old American films. Cabins with wooden chairs sat side by side accompanied with metal canisters by the legs.

Occasionally we’d pass graveyards. Place randomly in the middle of nowhere; deserted yet haunted by the souls of those buried there. Being surrounded by trees it’s a miracle you can actually see what lays beyond the trees. They stand tall and pride as if protecting those asleep. It’s hitting noon and we’re not that far away now, another hour and we’ll be there. Bouncing of the road is heat waves, throwing off a shimmer as they radiate of the tarmac.

  Living with strangers is weird but staying at their friend’s house for the weekend is even weirder. Sitting outside surrounded by absolutely nothing except the presence of eight dogs and pure silence is heaven.  It makes coming out here even more spectacular than predicated.  For the first hour it seems awkward to be sitting with people that you don’t know but after awhile that awkwardness is broken and you feel free to be yourself. My weekend spent here in the outback has been extraordinary; met incredible people and had the time of my life. All weekend all we’ve eaten is BBQ food and drank ourselves silly. First afternoon there the shotguns were brought out and shot, for someone who used to be very good at shooting missing every single time makes you look silly; fortunately they just laughed. That night the blokes took me hunting, whilst out and about they shot rabbits and killed a kangaroo. As one guy skinned a rabbit for the dog, another guy chopped off the legs of the roo for the other dogs back at the house.

  Saturday came and to start the morning off a lovely breakfast was made and a hot shower was taken.  Heading into the afternoon a drinking challenge started; they said that English people couldn’t drink so naturally they needed to be taught differently. This led to me drinking beer (now I don’t drink beer, to me it tastes like piss) to much of my delight.  Sunbathing took over most of the morning and afternoon until the BBQ kick started. Myself and another girl had to like a paddy melon; apparently it’s something all poms have to endure as part of their ‘initiation’. This melon isn’t exactly pleasant to lick but it had to be done.  Another afternoon of shooting was done and then a trip to snowdrift (a massive sand dune) which is literally in the middle of nowhere.They took us to go see ‘the big tree’ it’s said in quotation marks as it wasn’t that big for some reason they’re really into it. It’s a good climbing tree, I’ll give them that.  Everything here in Australia is so damn far away! After watching people sledge down the dune, it was time to hit the pub (nothing like they are in England, and the service! O.M.G). After dinner the ladies and children headed back home whilst I stayed to drink with the lads. Beer’s kept arriving at my side until they decided to switch it up and mix my drinks! One minute beer arrived the next rum, then a mud crab then a skittle and the bastards put vodka in my water, it got spat out everywhere (they found it rather amusing). To make matters worse after the skittle drink a trip to the toilet was needed, got to hand it to them they can bloody drink alright. Being the only one not of my rocker they let me drive home (bear in mind I’ve never driven a car in my life) which was great! First time for everything right? Being drunk and driving a stick for the first time is rather entertaining!  When we eventually got back to the house we all went back out with the guns, again killing a kangaroo and chopping it’s legs off (due to it being private land and them being pests it makes it slightly ok to kill them) to then having a bonfire.  Sunday came around far too quickly; it was a day of relaxing, soaking up the sun and saying goodbye to the people whom have made my first 3 days in Australia the best 3 days of my life. It’s understandable as to why they live so far away from everyone and everything; it’s the most peaceful place ever.  Just before we left they got the quad bike so that they can show me how to drive it. Being my first time on one the host sat behind me with her daughter (biggest mistake she made); we went flying into a tree and the daughter fell, luckily enough her mother caught her just in time otherwise she would’ve been crushed.  I felt so bad, she told me to slow down so I did but the break didn’t work and she failed to mention to me that sometimes it tends to get stuck!!!! So off into this tree went and down the daughter fell. I hopped off and let her take her daughter back to get back on again and fly down the road without having to worry about hurting anyone else. Luckily she was just laughing about it, found it very amusing. They now call me crazy.

        Outback – First few days All you can see is wasteland; everywhere you look is dry brown plain wasteland. There are a few houses dotted here and there, sheep grazing and that trees that look like lightning have hit them.