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Same Mud, Same Blood.

Chapter 1 - First Look by @scorpio-marionette

Pairing:Dave York x F!Reader

WC:3.9k

Rating:M

Warnings: 18+. Adult Content, Dark Themes. There are angsty stuff in this fic. Reader experiences extreme paranoia. Mentions of sex. Dave calls reader sweetheart and smacks her ass. Pretty much no smut here, peeps. I can’t write smut for Dave .

AN: My first time writing for Dave so go easy on me . A little research went into this to create the plot, however I have changed up the details of things to fit the story. Also, I would like to give a big shout out to my mother as she helped me create the idea for this story,and even giving it a read before posting. And another big shout out to Naomifor creating this series for all of us to join in on. It’s been crazy fun!

We jump right in where Naomi left off, so enjoy the story my loves.

Two agents exit the vehicle to enter the home. They leave the home with whom you now know as Dave York in custody. He stares at you as you watch everything unfold. Never shifting away from your frozen form. A trained assassin, a contract killer, and he has his eyes on you.

And those eyes plagued your mind hours after you departed from the man.

After signing an NDA, stating that you wouldn’t discuss the things you learned or seen today, you were escorted home. However, once you were settled back into your little bubble of comfort and feeling safe within the parameters of your bedroom, Dave York’s eyes were still burned in your memory, leaving an everlasting disturbance in your gut.

You felt tense. On edge. It was the wayhe looked at you; like you were his next target, and shaking off that uneasy feeling was an uphill battle. You struggled relentlessly trying to rid the image of his two black merciless orbs. Barely sleeping a wink during the night, you sighed a heavy breath of relief the next day when seeing the man on the news.He is incarcerated - you are safe.

Although they left out a lot of details of why he was arrested, you can’t really say you are surprised. The whole ordeal was shady the moment you walked into that house on the island, but that was yesterday’s problem now. Today, you needed to get back to work at the local Red Cross Learning Centre and teach a class of forty about basic first aid and how to properly perform CPR.

Working in the medical field serves many great purposes, but the one you’re thankful for the most is the distraction it provided for you today. It was like slipping into auto-pilot. Check in, greet and welcome the guests, deliver the ten point programme with enthusiasm, then finish it off with the CPR dolls.

Time slipped by you during all of this and before you knew it, half the day was gone already. It was a good class, a lot of the participants actually looked like they were absorbing everything you were teaching so you were satisfied with the session, but now that it was lunch, you are ready to call it a day and go home to eat.

Clocking out and saying goodbye to your fellow volunteers, you headed towards your car outside, but once you reached your car, got inside and put on your seatbelt, you froze at the pair of eyes staring back at you in the rear-view mirror. They weren’t your eyes. That uneasy feeling began to creep back into your bones, sticking the tendrils up on your back the longer you looked at the reflection.

Forcefully tearing your gaze away, you turned the key in the ignition and focused on the road instead; giving yourself a distraction from the stranger in the mirror. Dave York apparently still had a lasting effect on you. That feeling came back quicker than a freight train and it didn’t go away, not until you were home and free of looking into the mirror of your car.

Entering your home hastily, you raced straight towards the TV in the lounge and turned it on. The news once again stating that the man was incarcerated eased your tensions a little, but even his mugshot on the screen stared at you. His eyes pierced through your soul the same way he did yesterday, still like you were his next target.

Changing the channel on the TV, you needed another distraction and walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch. A headache was now accompanying the disturbed feeling in your gut and you figured food would be the remedy. After you turned the stove on and set out a frying pan, you went to the fridge to grab some vegetables and the last cut of fish you have left.

Your mind was in a haze, too distracted by all your emotions as of late and you started grabbing everything from the shelves. Jam, yogurts and cheese. Things you definitely didn’t need for pan fried fish and before you could even comprehend what on earth you were doing, your hands were full of junk. “W-what the?” You stuttered to yourself, looking over all of the items. “What the fuck am I doing?”

Putting them back one by one, your brows furrowed with even more confusion when putting the jar of mayonnaise back. You grabbed everything but the actual items that you require. The fish still sat on the shelf and the vegetables in the little draw. Your brain must have hit a switch and reset itself. Finally retrieving the food that you intended for, you shut the fridge and stood before the stove.

You opened the packet and lay the fish down in the sizzling hot pan, eliciting a mighty flame to kick up in your face but you didn’t step back, not when your mind produced an image of a explosion erupting, not when you heard distorted voices yelling commands in your right ear and not when you felt a stinging pinch in your shoulder. Radio static from what you can only describe as an ear piece was replaced by the sizzle of the food cooking, snapping you back to reality. The flame died down and the images you saw were gone.

It was two seconds at most, but you had a glimpse of something in those two seconds and whatever it was exactly, was enough for you to abandon lunch all together. Turning the stove off, you turned quickly and b-lined straight for your bedroom, the headache now raging a war in your head, it was amplified by tenfold and crippling you so much that you just wanted to bury your head into the pillow with the sheets pulled over your face.

And that’s exactly what you did. Climbing into bed and laying under the sheets, you buried your head into the pillow before pulling the covers over, however you no longer felt that safety and comfort within the parameters of your bedroom any more. It felt foreign, just like those eyes in the mirror of your car.

They were your eyes, but they belonged to someone else.

One Month Later.

To say your problems eased off over time would be a crock of bullshit. They get worse. So much so, that you had finally reached the breaking point.

Headaches progressed into mind clustering migraines, scarring a seemingly permanent fog in your brain. They never faded. Normal everyday activities became a nuisance, like you were in a repeating cycle. It was boring. The only sense of excitement you got was from watching your favourite action movies, but they too became old and boring, until you took a drive one day and found yourself in the bad part of town. Accidental or fate?

The place was filled with delinquents, sinners and killers. And it felt like home, like you fit right in, but on the third drive into this part of town, you had an… incident. It was bound to happen, someone would notice your expensive car, notice how it didn’t belong here and act on that piece of information alone, but you were prepared for that. How?And why?

You were inadvertently seeking conflict and when it approached, you took them out like blowing out a birthday candle. It was easy. Skills and expertise locked deep within your muscles broke free like a reflex and you beat down four men, leaving them all a groaning, whimpering mess on the tarmac below. When you came to, realizing what you had actually done, you jumped back into your car and hurried home.

Your breaking point was when you looked in the mirror. The woman that looked back was not you. Eyes dark and sunken into the sockets, flecks of blood splashed across your face with bruising around the knuckles on both of your hands, you didn’t recognise who you are anymore. You should have been horrified by what you did, but instead, you felt alive. More alive than you ever felt in your entire life, and you wanted to feel that again.

That was your cognizance breaking through the hysteria, the jolt of reality you needed to seek answers. Dave York, a trained assassin looked you in the eyes, triggering your fight or flight response and your body chose to fight but your mind chose the latter. You’ve been at war, with yourself.

Why did he have this momentous affect on you? It all started with him and what better person to ask than the very man himself. It took you one month of hell to bite the bullet and pay the man a visit in the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, to physically see him incarcerated.

Fear and anxiety drove you out of the city of Boston and into Worcester County where he is being held in a maximum prison. You need answers. Needed to see that he was chained up and definitely not out to kill you. That’s why you’re going batshit crazy, why you’re seeing a different person in the mirror. After a quick frisk search from the officer, you stood outside of the big metal door ready to enter. Your heart was erratic, pumping ferociously in your ears with terror but the demand for answers was soaring above every emotion that your mind could ever comprehend.

When the buzzer chimed and the officer opened the door, you looked inside to see the man himself lifting his head with an unreadable look. However, as you approached, a smirk started to appear on his lips. Tormenting and provocative, his smile got under your skin, boiling your blood with rage, and then he spoke. “Took you long enough, sweetheart.” Dave practically snickered, his chest falling with a sharp exhale. He leaned back into his seat, the chains around his wrists and ankles clinked with the action as you took a seat opposite him. If only looks could kill, the man would be dead with your expression, yet he still smiled. “Thought you’d never come around, Y/N.”

He knows my name. Your eyes narrowed with the thought, confirming your suspicions of being his next target. He must have someone on the outside doing their homework on me. “Why are you doing this?” You finally broke your silence with a question, but the dam burst and more spilled out. “Why am I on your radar Dave? Why do you - a contract killer - know my name and what the fuck do you mean it took me long enough!”

The man’s eyes widened with your outburst and for a second you thought he was surprised that you raised his voice but his expression slowly turned into what you can only describe as bewilderment. Knitting his brows together tightly, he tilted his head and looked you up and down like you were crazy. You are going crazy! Your eyes twitched with a rampaging desire to hurl yourself across the table and do things that you never thought you could possibly do with your bare hands.

“This was a mistake.” Muttering under your breath, you are done. Done with this conversation and done being made a fool. Your chair squeaked as you pushed back from the table, but his shackles clinked again, harshly this time as he tried to reach out. “No. Wait.”

“Why should I?” Retorting with a bitter tone, you didn’t even hear the sincerity cracking through his own voice. You crossed your arms, waiting for him to answer you but the man still looked at you with perplexity. He was pissing you off, wearing the only patience that you have left even thinner.

“Why did you come here?” Dave asked. His voice was now laced with concern, which you found odd, though you were intrigued as to what kind of game he was playing. He’s toying with me. You concluded. “Ever since that day…” but you took a chance on answering him, “…I’m different and it’s because of you that I am losing my mind. You have someone on the outside keeping tabs on me? Is that it? Is that why I’m out on the streets looking for a fight? Because I sense one coming?”

Shaking your head as you exhaled heavily, you lowered your gaze from the man and stared at the little chip on the edge of the table. You zoned out, thinking back on the last thirty days witnessing yourself going through these changes and not understanding why. Stupidly, you thought Dave would have all the answers but it seemed he just liked to watch you suffer.

“You’re seeing things, aren’t you?” He cut through your thoughts, calling your attention back to him, but you didn’t answer as he listed off some more of your symptoms.“Hearing things too? Intense headaches? Lack of sleep and extreme paranoia?”

After a few seconds contemplating what his intentions were, you reminded yourself as to why you’re here - to get answers. With a subtle nod of your head, the man leaned back into his chair with a chuckling sigh. He shook his head in disbelief before locking on with your gaze. “I know your name because I know who you are - who you really are.”

“W-what?” You stammered, rubbing your tired eyes. “What are you talking about?”

Dave tilted his head again, as if examining you before asking. “You really don’t remember do you?”

“Remember what god dammit!” You barked at him, to which he snapped back. “The Marine Corps! The DIA!” You looked at him like you had absolutely no clue what he was talking about, those things meant nothing to you, yet he leaned forward in his chair, speaking verycarefully.“You’re a DIA agent, or former DIA. I thought you were undercover that day you showed up on the island but apparently not.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You laughed, giggled actually. “I think you’re even crazier than me.”

“You joined the Marines when you were nineteen, transferred to DIA when you were twenty five and got put on my unit two years later. You don’t remember all of that? Don’t remember me, Kovac, Ari, and Resnik?”

“Oh, wow.” Shaking your head while laughing, you couldn’t believe you drove all the way out here for this bullshit. “Next you’re going to tell me I’m an astronaut.” Now you’re definitely done. Pulling back from the table and standing, you said farewell. “See ya later, Dave. Thanks for the laughs at least.”

“08, Middle East, Operation Green Sword…” He began yelling nonsense as you walked away, but you didn’t pay no mind to it. “2012, Korea, Campaign Z… 2014, The Congo, Project Alpha… 2017, Russia-” You halted at that one though. You recognise it, and Dave knows you do. “Of course you remember Russia. How could you forget?”

Releasing your hand from the handle of the door, you turned to face him, intrigued to know more. The year calls to you. The location brings a sense of familiarity, but you were in a coma the year of 2017, and the doctors said that when you awoke, it was kicking and screaming a name. That name has always bothered you, not knowing who they were or why you yelled for them.

“2016. Elista, Russia.” Dave expressed a thin lipped smile. He’s gripped your attention, but didn’t look happy that he has. “Buddhist Region hiding a high profile target. Operation-”

“Nighthawk.” You and Dave said the word in unison. Narrowing your eyes, you shook your head with a bafflement tone in your question. “How do I know what the operation is called?”

“Because… it was your operation, sweetheart.” Dave whispered softly. You could hear traces of remorse in his voice, as if he was apprehensive to speak. “And it was your last one.”

“Why? What happened?” You didn’t even know if he was telling the truth, if you were actually in the Marines or in the DIA firm, but one thing you definitely knew is that Dave York could shed some light on that name. “Who is Gemini?”

“He was your Russian target. Code name Gemini, birth name Ivan Stepanov.” You gasped as the words spilled from his mouth. Closing your eyes with an overwhelming flood of memories breaching the surface of your brain, you stumbled backwards when remembering whyoperation Nighthawk was your last. The mission was compromised; your failure was the cause. “I’m sorry, Y/N.” Dave apologized as you fell to your knees.

Ivan Stepanov the leader of the Sanitater-88 Division, an international right-wing extremist and Neo-Nazi terrorist network, was your first case file. You had been tracking him down for two years before narrowing in on the small remote town of Elista in Russia. Severe the head of the head of the snake and the body shall fall, that was your plan, to take Ivan out.

Operation Nighthawk was a solo Op, undercover and hush hush. Only the top brass knew about it, but you failed your task and the mission was compromised. Ivan, was not alone. You found him lying in bed, beside his wife and three young children, and you couldn’t kill him. Although the man was a monster, you couldn’t go through with killing a father in front of his kids. Abandoning the mission for a later time, a time when he wasn’t using his family as a shield, the man went on to kill hundreds the very next day, women and children included.

Your judgment call to spare three innocent children the trauma of watching their father die, cost the lives of so many others. Ivan got away after that, your only chance to eliminate the threat was snuffed out like a light. When you flew back to the states, you handed in your resignation and left.

You weren’t in a coma the year of 2017. You were in a scientific lab that had the facilities to replace your memories of that night in Elista, of your time in the DIA and the Marine corps. They replaced your memories with fake ones, as per your request, because you couldn’t live with the grief and guilt.

Now, all of those memories came back. Not just the memories of your mistakes, but also the many nights of passion you had with Dave. That’s why he thought you were working undercover that day on the island. The man thought you had come out of the shadows to save him.

Lifting your head to look in his eyes, the fear and anxiety long gone now, you no longer have that unsettling feeling in your gut. The look Dave gave you that day was not like you were his next target. He looked at you like you were his saviour. His golden ticket out of this hellhole mess that he got himself into. The same look he is giving you right now.

“There she is.” He says with hope and optimism. “You’re back, sweetheart.”

A smile appeared on your face and it grew wide as you began to laugh, the sound demonic and twisted. “Hello, Dave.” Pulling yourself up from the floor, you winked at him with a curt nod of your head. “Hm, it’s sure been nice catching up, but I best be going now.”

You had great pleasure watching his expression drop with disappointment before turning and rapping three knocks on the cell door. “Y/N, wait! Please, wait! You gotta get me out of this shithole, I don’t belong here! You hear me! I don’t fucking belong here!” His pleas faded out as you walked down the hallway towards the exit.

Dave York, is right where he belongs.

-

Three months passed by like days before you saw the man again. You found him sitting on your chair in the dark, waiting for you to get home.

Life has been good as of late, things have gone back to normal - sort of. You do a little contract work on the side here and there, taking down vigilantes, but you wonder why Dave York has broken free from prison, came here and not home to his wife and children.

“Come for revenge?” You say jokingly while emptying out groceries from the bags. He’s looking for a death wish if he’s actually here to kill you.

“Hello, sweetheart.” Dave chuckled. Still sitting in the dark corner of your lounge, he switched the lamp on and smiled at you. “Nope. It’s not revenge that I’m seeking.”

“Um-hum.” Humming away without so much as a care in the world, you grabbed two whiskey glasses and joined him. “I don’t care, Dave. Here, have a drink with me, it’s been a while.”

Perching yourself on the sofa opposite him, you placed the glasses down on the table top before popping open a bottle of whiskey and serving. Dave groaned deeply when standing. Taking the glass and tossing back the contents, he savoured the taste for a second before swallowing.

“Nice stuff.” He put the empty glass down then looked at you. “There, I’ve had my drink. Are you ready to hear why I’m here?”

“Hm, no not really but whatever.” Leaning back into your seat, crossing one leg over the other, you took a sip on your drink and relished the taste with closed eyes. When the name ‘Ivan Stepanov’ slipped past his lips, you reopened your eyes and looked at him with disdain.

“I’m back to work now - naturally, you know me and it’s been brought to my attention that the Neo-Nazi is on the radar again. Arms deals, wired transactions and other bad guy stuff.” Dave explained, to which you snickered in return. “Yeah, you know all about bad guy stuff don’t you.” Finishing off your drink, you sat up straight and rubbed a hand across your face with a sigh. “So what are you here for? You have info on him or what?”

“I’m looking to partner up. Help me get back on my feet and I’ll help you take down Ivan in return.” There it was. That’s the catch. Laughing to the man, you shook your head and stood up to face him. “Goodnight Dave, show yourself out.”

“C’mon, sweetheart. Same mud, same blood, remember? It’ll be like old times.” He reached out for your hand and pulled you into his chest. “Minus the sex of course… unless you want to?”

“Ugh.” You scoffed, but didn’t pull away. His grip was strong, assertive, although you could break free if you wanted to. Sensing your hesitation on the idea, he countered with a different suggestion while lowering his hand to your hip. “Ok. I’ll help you take down Ivan, but I get to keep whatever we find along the way. It’s expensive being a bad guy, so he will have money, you know?”

“No, I wouldn’t know.” Pulling away from his hold, he was getting too comfortable with letting his hand wander to the expanse of your ass, but you seriously considered his counter offer. “Hm. I suppose it would be nice to finish off what I started.”

“Great!” Dave clapped his hands together, then slapped your ass as he walked towards the door. “Pack your bags, I have a jet ready to take us to London.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself there, bubba.” Shaking your head at him, you rolled your eyes when gave you a wink and warned. “I’m going to kill you for that when this is over, Dave.”

“You’ve said that before and how did that work? Couldn’t walk for the rest of the day after I was done with you.” He jibed in return. With a smirk growing on his face, you ignored his comments and headed upstairs to pack for London.

Ivan Stepanov, is now yours and Dave’s target- a dangerous duo when together.

Tagging

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@misspearly1

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 05:54:48

The Little Things

Pictures do not belong to me! And I apologise for the quality.

Pairing: Joel Miller x F!Reader (Y/N insert)

WC:10k

Summary:18+. No Minors!! Love at first sight between characters. Smut. Unprotected PIV. Oral (both F & M receiving) Semi-public sex. The Last Of Us AU. Ellie isn’t present but Sarah is. Young single father Joel (twenty one years old).

AN: Wow! I really didn’t mean for this to be a big oneshot. Just had this one particular scene in my head and wrote everything else around it. I hope you enjoy this one, my loves. It feels nice to be writing for our man Joel again.

A two week vacation was needed in Joel’s life; he longed for a break with his family.

One year after the thought had popped into his mind one night when reading a story book to his young daughter Sarah, he had gotten that break with his family, but with one small problem. His younger brother Tommy is the replacement for his ex-girlfriends absence.

Marianne had left Joel just eight weeks before they were due to fly out, and instead of cancelling the holiday like he wanted to, Tommy suggested that he step in and take her place instead. The vacation has been booked for six months, but Joel has prepared, planned and saved up money for a lot longer than that, and the younger Miller was not about to watch his only brother let it go because of the sudden separation. Joel needs this break now more than ever, Tommy is just the helping hand that the single father may want or need during his time on the Sanibel Islands of Florida.

Slouched back into his cushioned chair with the table too far to reach with the weight of his three year old daughter in his arms, Joel winces each time he shifts his position, daring not to wake his little baby girl as she sleeps peacefully. It’s been a long day, a few long days actually, and Sarah has been struggling to come to terms with the recent separation of her parents. Her sleep schedule, as well as Joel’s, has been affected by this, so the man simply didn’t want to wake her up and possibly cause a temper tantrum - something she has mastered to do lately.

Accepting defeat, he gave up trying to reach for his cup of Joe and looked down to his daughters resting face. She needed this more than he needed a gulp of his favourite hot beverage. Barely sleeping a wink last night, Sarah stayed up late to ask the same endless amount of questions about why her mommy didn’t love her daddy anymore. How could anyone explain that to a three year old child? Joel struggled to answer it, and so did Marianne eight weeks ago when he asked her.

Undisturbed sleep was a blessing as of late, so Joel cherished how peaceful his daughter was in this moment… until a good Samaritan appeared - the helping hand Joel may want or need. “Hey.” She whispers - she, not Tommy. “I don’t want to intrude, but I saw you trying to reach for your coffee and thought I could help out.”

Joel just stared at her.

He stared at the kindness in her eyes, at the warm smile on her lips and he zoned out on the sincerity in her voice, unbelieving of her offering. She is beautiful, like an angel sent down from above and he couldn’t believe a girl his age with her beauty was even sparing a moment of her time with him. Looking like a deer seeing headlights, he heard everything she said but couldn’t quite muster up an answer. She was actually offering her help? With my child?

The looks he had from people on this vacation thus far were of disgust and judgment, especially when Sarah would have a screaming match over something minor. Some express a look of empathy, as if they understand what he is going through being a young single parent, others look at him suspiciously, like a man can’t be a father.

As more time passed during his silence, he realized that he had to say something, he can’t just keep looking at this woman like she had just said something crazy. “Um… Okay?” He managed to utter between nervous chuckles. “Sure.”

The lady’s smile grew wider and with a curt nod of her head, she took a seat on the chair beside him. “She must have had a fun day in the sun, huh?” The woman asked, gesturing to Sarah as she leaned forward to grab Joel’s cup of coffee for him.

“Um, yeah, she did.” Joel nodded timidly, still infatuated by her smile. Gently taking the cup from her, his fingers brushing against her soft hands as she slowly helped him hold a tight grip on the handle, he finally snapped out of his shyness and spoke confidently. “Thank you for helping me, kind stranger.” Her giggles were cute, the sound delectable to his ears that bloomed a warmth across his chest. How can laughter sound so sweet? He asks himself.

“Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself, did I?” Extending her hand with an apology, she then quickly pulled it back when releasing he can’t shake it. “I’m Y/F/N.”

“Joel Miller.” They laughed together at her mistake before he looked down at his daughter. “This is my Sarah. It’s really nice to meet you Y/N.”

“Hm, likewise.” She smiled again while brushing a piece of hair behind her ear, which Joel focused on more than what he should have. Y/N is beautiful, he took note of that immediately, however there are many beautiful women on this island and many of them that look at him funny, or don’t look at him at all. Her simple gesture had affected him deeply, in ways he didn’t think would. And he doesn’t want that feeling to go away either. Keep the conversation going, don’t be awkward. Joel cleared his throat, diminishing his inner monologue before asking. “So how are you liking it here? On the island?”

“Oh, I love it!” Y/N beamed. Looking around herself and gesturing to everything with her hands before, she looked back at Joel. “They have all kinds of things to do here, it’s just endless amounts of fun everyday.”

As she went on to speak about all of the activities that the island has to offer, Joel noticed how she made the effort to suggest some family activities for Sarah too. Another small, probably meaningless gesture, but he took it to heart, appreciating the fact that she included his sleeping daughter into the conversation rather than overlooking her.

Joel is a young man, only twenty one years old, and he loves his daughter very much. She was a surprise baby, unplanned but a blessing in his life that had changed his attitude massively. He wouldn’t be able to act foolishly and get wasted on the weekends, but he didn’t mind that. He walked into parenthood ready for all of the obstacles, but being a single parent was the hard obstacle and while all of those many pretty women he sees on the island - around his age - give him funny looks, he is appreciative of Y/N being the only one who didn’t.

“Gosh! Listen to me talking away about myself.” Y/N laughed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. What about you? How have you and your family been enjoying your vacation so far? I saw you checking in with another man.” Oh, she’s seen me around? That piqued Joel’s interest.

“That’s my younger brother, Tommy, who’s in bed sleeping right now.” He chuckled, thinking about how much Tommy had to drink last night in the room. “I suppose we’re still settling in. We’ve been here two days now and I haven’t taken Sarah outside of the hotel yet. She’s just enjoying the pool a lot.”

“Ah, I see.” Y/N nodded through his words. “If you wanted to I could sho-” Just as she was about to suggest something, the waiter interrupted by bringing out the food that Joel ordered. Two burgers with fries and a small portion of onion rings.

Thanking the waiter, Joel reluctantly pulled himself up to properly sit straight in his seat, cradling the back of Sarah’s head as he expressed a thin lipped smile to Y/N. “I’m gonna have to wake her up. I don’t really want to but she hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast.”

“Of course.” Y/N nodded. Pulling back from her seat, she didn’t want to intrude any more than what she had and stood with a reassuring smile. “I’ll leave you both to eat. Bye Joel, it was nice chatting with you.”

“You too.” He replied, hoping to see her again at some point during his stay here. “Thanks again for helping me out.”

“It’s my pleasure.” She said as she left, leaving Joel wanting more. The man has missed having a connection with someone; something that he has lacked in his intimate life with his ex-girlfriend for a long time now. The encounter was brief, but he already knew he would be thinking about it for the rest of the day. Hell, probably the rest of this vacation.

Turning his attention back to Sarah, he was just about to gently call her name before Tommy finally decided to make an appearance. “Hey, Joel.” He walked across the floor, weaving in and out of the tables, rubbing his tired sunken eyes. “Sorry bro, you should have woken me up.”

“And you should have taken a shower.” Joel retorted, scrunching his nose with the smell of alcohol lingering around Tommy still. “Don’t worry about it. You needed your sleep.”

“Looks like someone else does too.” Tommy sat down, expressing a sympathetic look towards Sarah. “How is she doing?”

Tommy is close with his brother, he knows the troubles that they’ve been through, hears the cries late in the night from Sarah about their parents and he hoped this vacation would be the break that the little one needed just as much as his older brother did.

“She’s good. Really good actually and she’s had a lot of fun this morning.” Joel looked down at her, preparing to wake her up with a gentle shake. “Hey baby, wake up. Your foods ‘waitin here for ‘yer.”

Slowly peeling her eyes open, her face recoiled with annoyance for being woken up and Joel began to sway gently while whispering. “Oh but Tommy is going to eat all of your lunch and we don’t want that do we?” He gasped exaggeratedly to the child and pointed to his brother. “Oh my. Look, he’s stealing your French fries.”

Sarah turned her head to see her uncle reaching for her plate, a menacing smile on his face that she mirrored before shooting her hand out with a stern voice. “No! My French fries.”

“Ok!” Quickly tossing his hands up in the air, he held one hand over his heart and apologized. “I’m sorry. You were sleeping, so I thought I could take one sneakily.”

The brothers smiled to each other as they watched Sarah shift her position to sit on Joel’s knee and pull her plate closer to eat. These gamesome tactics were always a hit or miss, but this time using childish voices and pretending that Tommy was a food thief worked to get her awake and eating without the screaming match. Joel didn’t mind, nor did his brother, as long as it meant she was happy and content.

“Here.” Joel offered, pushing his plate to the middle of the table and pointing to the plate of onion rings. “You’ll be starving, Tommy. We’ll share.”

“You can share with me, daddy.” Sarah offered. Looking up to her dad and bringing a fry up to his lips, he smiled brightly and opened his mouth to take a bite. “Mmm, thank you, babygirl.”

“Daddy?” She asked just as Joel was about to talk to Tommy. Pulling his attention back, he looked down again with another smile. ”Yes, baby?”

“Who is Y/N?” That question took him by surprise, he didn’t think Sarah could hear their conversation but he had no problem telling the story to his child about how a kind woman named Y/N helped him out, a story that even Tommy was intrigued to hear but was smiling like a goof the whole way through, a smirking smile that Joel knew the meaning behind.

“Stop that.” Joel laughed, his cheeks filling a crimson peak in color. “It was nothing. She just helped me grab my coffee.”

“Mhm.” Tommy hummed, still smiling. “Keep telling yer’self that brother.”

Joel didn’t reply to that comment, because he knows it was true. Telling himself that it was nothing is a lie, it meant everything to him and he wished that he could have another five minutes chatting with Y/N, wherever she may be.

-

The hope of seeing Y/N again slowly began to dwindle as the days rolled by without an appearance, but Joel did end up taking Sarah outside of the hotel and he took her to one of the places that Y/N suggested, the zoo way up in the mountains.

The fun that his daughter had was everything he wanted for her and the pictures they now have would serve a life long term of memories, stories to tell when she is older and may not remember the time a monkey was sitting on her shoulder, or when her little hands reached over the railings to rub an elephant’s trunk, or even the look on her face when she saw the giraffes up close, leaning down and taking food from the palm of her hand. These moments would live in Joel’s mind forever, and Tommy’s too, but the photos were for his daughter, for when she is older.

Joel would love to make copies to send to Sarah’s mother too, however he doesn’t know where she is. The last time he saw Marianne was the day she dropped Sarah off, five days before their vacation. Unanswered calls and texts is all he has had so far, and he now fears the worst when even her parents can’t answer the question on where she is. Sharing this information to Tommy, the man sort of acts like Joel’s personal diary as of late, a shoulder to lean on, someone to vent to, he doesn’t mind and Joel is thankful that he has his brother during this time.

Their parents are too old to be running around after a child, they’re eight years into retirement now and happily living in Waco Texas, not too far at all, just an hour and half drive in the car but Tommy is two houses down from Joel, which provides as a huge help when he has errands to run or if he has a late shift at work and Sarah needs picking up from preschool. The man is now thinking about all of these things because what he fears the most is that Marianne won’t ever come back.

These are all the thoughts that burdens his mind during their taxi drive back to the hotel, Sarah laying in Tommy’s arms fast asleep and Joel looking down to his phone, at the last text message he received from her mother the night before they flew out here to Florida. ‘Have lots of fun and take care of your babygirl.’ Shouldn’t she say ourbabygirl?

How could have I missed that?

Snapping his phone shut, Joel sighs heavily and looks out the window, watching cars pass by to take his mind off things as his leg begins to tap with worry. The hotel isn’t too far away, he remembers passing some of these stores on the way out and all he wants now is to take a long soak under the shower, to wash away the day’s sweat and stress. “Hey.” Tommy called out, noticing his brother’s anxious state. “You want me to take Sarah for the evening, so you can have a rest?”

“No, Sarah’s okay.” Joel replied in a grumble. “It’s her fucking mom that’s getting on my nerves.”

As the car stopped at an intersection, the sound of Tommy’s voice suggesting to take Sarah to watch the nightly entertainment that the hotel provides was drowned out. Joel couldn’t focus on him, he wouldn’t focus at all as he saw Y/N walking along the sidewalk, struggling to carry two heavy bags in each hand. “Yeah. Actually, yeah.” Joel unclips his seatbelt and opens the door. “I’m going to walk back to the hotel, will you be ok?”

“Yes. Yes. Of course.” Tommy practically shooed him out the door but called out to Joel, pulling his attention back to the rolled down window. “Wait, tell me something. Is that Y/N over there?”

Joel only smiled before he dug into his pocket, pulling out a small bundle of bills and passing them to his brother. “For the cab and anything you or Sarah want. I’ll see you at the entertainment tonight.”

“No you won’t.” Tommy winked. Pocketing the fold of bills, he waved his brother goodbye just as the light turned green and the car started to move again. Joel turned and broke out into a light jog to catch up to Y/N, before slowing down again as he approached. “Hey. Need a hand?”

“Oh god!” She jumped. Turning quickly and dropping two of the bags to hold a hand across her chest, Joel cringed for startling her but she laughed. “You scared me… Um, yeah sure. I’d like that, thanks Joel.”

“You heading towards the hotel?” He asked while bending down to grab the bags. When he stood, he reached out for the other two in her other hand, noticing that her knuckles were turning white from the weight, but she refused. “Yes I am and it’s okay. I’ll carry these.” Joel would have insisted, but she cocked her head for him to follow, leaving him no choice.

“So, where have you been today?” She questioned, striking up a conversation to talk about while they walked, which he had great pleasure in answering. “The zoo. Up in the mountains.”

Joel was delighted by watching her beam once again, seeing her face light up with joy upon telling her how he and his brother had taken Sarah to the zoo, and about how much fun she had. “I have pictures, if you’d like to see them?”

“Oh yes, please. I’d love to.” She nodded. Walking briskly with excitement in each step as the hotel was nearing, Joel chuckled and picked up his pace to stay close by. “We can look at them together over a coffee.”

The man’s breath was snatched from his lungs as he watched her eyes gleam, biting her bottom lip with the suggestion. “Ok. That sounds great.”

Joel is a good looking young man and he knows he possesses the gentlemen charm to be able to woo a lady over, but seeing that Y/N looks smitten over him brought an onslaught of mixed emotions. Suppose he could say that it was in that moment that it really struck him of the situation he was in.

Fresh out of a relationship and a single father raising his young child, he hasn’t really thought about the future of his dating life, so it’s a scary exciting experience sharing a coffee with Y/N. It’s just a coffee though, not a date. Although, he can’t help but feel like it’s a date.

Arriving at the front entrance of the hotel, he kept trying to tell himself to not look too much into things, to not let his emotions get in the way of making a friend as they walked into the cafeteria together. Y/N handed her two bags to Joel and insisted that she pay for the drinks. “Would you mind finding a table and setting my bags down?”

“Sure, but I’d like to pa-” he tried to protest but she only smiled and shook her head. “M-hm, nope. I got this one.”

Once again, Joel’s breath was snatched from his lungs as exhaled a shaky ‘okay’ to Y/N before walking off to find a table. It’s been a while since he has felt special, for someone else to sweep him off his feet. His dating skills must be rusty because now he is having a hard time with identifying the signals, he definitely can’t tell whether this is a date or not. She said ‘this one’. Does that imply there would be more coffee dates? The man hopes it does as he finds himself wishing for more and more time to spend with her.

Taking a seat at the table, Joel quickly fixes his hair, straightens out his shirt - ignoring the ice cream stain from earlier - and checks his breath while watching Y/N talking to one of the barmen, ordering two white fluffy coffees. Though, he felt a tingle in his crotch as his gaze lowered to the back of her legs.

Toned and tanned, they shimmered under the light as her flowery white dress flowed loosely over her figure. Joel seriously downplayed how pretty Y/N was, the woman was elegant. Literally glowing, she is a goddess and her smile was piercing his heart as she turned to face him. Instantly mirroring her expression, his face relaxed as his shoulders sank before he stood, pulling a chair out for her to which she thanked him for the gesture before he took a seat again.

“Here we go.” Joel muttered as he pulled his phone out and opened up the camera roll of pictures. “I have better ones on a Nikon camera but I also took pictures on my phone. Just cycle through them if you’d like.”

“Okay.” Y/N leaned in close, holding the phone out so Joel could look at the pictures too, which he liked, even though he took them, he appreciated that she wanted him to look at them with her.

Her giggles were music to his ears when seeing the first picture of Tommy and Sarah pulling funny faces in the back seat of a cab. Joel really documented every moment of the day they spent out at the zoo as Y/N felt like she was there with them through the pictures.

The waiter came over with the two coffees and set them down on the table, and Joel reached for his while Y/N continued looking through the pictures. She watched the adventure unfold as Joel’s family arrived at the zoo, walked through the exhibits and took many photos with all of the animals. Her face would light up more and more each time she saw Sarah getting excited with each and every animal, but Joel noticed how her brows furrowed slightly before she asked. “Did you not get in any of the photos? Or were you the cameraman all day?”

“Yeah, there’s a few here.” He leaned in close, placing his elbows to the table and pointing to the phone screen. “You’ll see some of them. Tommy used the Nikon camera and I used my phone. He has the best pictures with better quality group photos that we took.”

“Oh that’s sweet.” She says, turning her head to look in his eyes. “I’d love to see those too.”

Joel gulped in that moment of proximity, her face an inch away from his own, he could feel her breath blowing against his face and he watched her eyes dart down to his lips before she turned to look at the phone again, erupting into a fit of giggles when the pictures of the zoo had finished and she moved onto a candid picture of the man fast asleep with make-up on his face. Sarah’s handy work last week at home in Texas.

“Ah, shit.” He blushed, palming a hand across his face to hide his embarrassment. Though, Y/N still laughed sweetly at the sight before gently nudging his side to reassure. “You look beautiful Joel, so very handsome.”

That seemed to make him blush even more. Running his hand around to the scruff of his neck, he rubbed at the skin awkwardly while chuckling to Y/N, who was transfixed on the photo. Joel watched as her eyes drank in the image, roaming every inch of the screen to picture the moment they shared. “Joel.” She whispered, finally tearing her eyes away to look at him again. “Can I be rude and ask a personal question?”

He sighed softly. “Where’s her mama?” When she nodded, expressing a sympathetic smile, he huffed dryly and shrugged. “Right now, I don’t know exactly. The last time I saw her was ten days ago, and the last text was the night before I flew out here.”

“I’m sorry.” She blurted. Whether or not she understood the weight and severity of the situation, Y/N wanted to express how terrible she felt for asking. “I shouldn’t have… It’s not my business Joel, and I understand if you don’t want to tell me these things.”

“It’s okay. I get it.” He reassured, rolling his lips together. “People get curious.”

“But you should know,” She added quickly before he could say anything else. “I only ask because you seem like a great guy and a wonderful father. I found it hard to imagine you not having a pretty lady at your side-” cutting herself off with a shy laugh, she covered her face before admitting. “I actually thought your brother was your partner at first.”

Joel now erupted into a fit of laughter, the sound coming deep from his stomach as he shook his head. “Oh wow. You didn’t?”

“Yes.” She cowered, closing her eyes and shaking her head too before laughing with him. “I really did and I’m sorry.”

Joel took a moment to reply. He thought carefully, hoping that he wasn’t overstepping as he asked. “I’d forgive you if you let me take you out for a drink?”

“I can’t.” Ouch.He cringed with the rejection. I definitely missed the signals, damn Joel, you ass. Scratching the back of his head as he began to apologize, Y/N cut him off by placing her hand to his arm. “Joel? Are you blind?”

Seeing her brows furrowed with an amused look on her face made the man confused, he was at a loss for what she was talking about until she leaned back and began pulling the fabric tight over her round tummy. “I can’t drink alcohol, Joel, but maybe we could do something else?”

“Oh.”He breathed deeply. The tension started loosening in his shoulders again as he realized that Y/N is pregnant. “I guess I am blind.” He laughed with relief, looking up into her eyes again before holding his hand out. “May I?”

When she nodded, giving him permission to touch her stomach, Joel had the pleasure of watching her eyes close with the touch of his hand gently laying across her tummy. Round and firm to the touch, he felt a pang of nostalgia for the baby bump days, missing the months he spent getting prepared for the arrival of Sarah. “How far along?” He asked, reluctantly pulling his hand back. Joel wanted to caress her bump but that would be too much, too weird.

“Nearly six months now.” Opening her eyes with a smile, she held two hands across her stomach and shared. “My um… My partner passed away five months ago. A week later I found out I was pregnant.”

Joel’s heart sank with that. A pain stabbed his gut and he instantly reached out for her hand, to which she took and keened at the touch of his fingers caressing her knuckles. “I am so sorry, Y/N. Truly. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”

“Thank you, Joel.” She smiled, although her eyes screamed agony before giving his hand a quick squeeze to let go. “I’m okay. I’m working through it and getting ready for my little girl to get here. This is just a little break for me, my last vacation for a long while.”

“I understand.” He nodded, then smiled. “A little girl though, huh?” He looked down to her small baby bump then back to her eyes again. “No wonder I couldn’t tell. I’ve heard boys like to take up extra room.”

“Hm.” She laughed, agreeing. “Me too.”

“Would you like to join me and my family tonight? We’re going to watch the show they’re putting on for the kids?” Joel asked, wanting a re-do of asking her out on a date. His chest swelled with pride when she nodded, replying with a clear ‘yes’.

After finishing up their coffees and leaving a tip for the waiter, Y/N stood and reached for her bags but Joel acted quickly, grabbing all four of them for her and cocking his head for her to lead the way. “No buts. I’ll carry them for you.”

“Ooh, you let me carry them before though.” She joked, shaking her head. “Hm, shame on you Joel. Leaving a pregnant woman to carry two heavy bags on her own.”

He defended himself as they walked towards the elevator. “Well, I wouldn’t have if I had known you were pregnant, darlin’.” She smiled at the term of endearment. Joel saw how her cheeks bloomed a rosy red as she brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

“What floor?” he asked as they both stepped inside and she answered by pressing number two. “That’s not too bad. We’re on the tenth, far too high for my liking when Sarah goes out onto the balcony.”

“I get that. I can barely go out on mine.” She laughed, telling Joel how she has a fear of heights. When the elevator dinged and the doors opened, he followed her out down the hallway until she stopped at room 101. “So, what time would you like me to meet you downstairs?”

“Um, well I need a shower and some food so lets say 7pm?” He suggested to which she agreed. Opening up her door and taking the bags from Joel, she thanked him for helping her out but he was taken by surprise when she leaned up on the tips of her toes to kiss his cheek. Sparks flew as he felt her lips grazing against the stubble on his cheeks and the temptation to steal a kiss on her lips was strong, but he held back, wanting Y/N to direct the pace. If his dating skills weren’t so rusty, misreading her signals, and she wasn’t pregnant, he would be more dominant and steal that kiss on her lips.

“I’ll see you later, darlin’.” Joel pulled back, knowing that if he stayed close any longer he would have struggled to say goodbye. Y/N’s natural perfume was intoxicating, he could feel the warmth radiating off her and he wanted to hold her close, bury his nose into her hair and inhale deeply before brushing the strands out of the way to pepper kisses along her neck.

Quickly walking away with a waving goodbye, he held a hand over his crotch to hide his semi-growing erection. Joel’s heart was thumping in his ears with shame. It’s been a while since he’s had a raging uncontrollable boner from such little touch. From a kiss, a simple kiss to his cheek has rendered the man weak in his knees and the quicker he gets to his room the better, he needs a cold shower to rid himself of the crude thoughts that he’d like to do to her.

How can he lie to himself or Tommy that the simple gesture from Y/N helping him out with his coffee meant nothing when he is clearly head over heels for this woman? Especially after their coffee date and the kiss on his cheek moments ago.

But, the most important thing is, would Sarah like her company too?

-

Seven o’clock on the dot, Joel sat in his seat beside Tommy and Sarah, glancing at the doors every few minutes hoping to see Y/N walking through. Music was playing through the two large speakers on the stage and the entertainers were behind the curtains, getting dressed to put on a show for the kids.

Joel needed a drink to calm his nerves. His leg was tapping again, not from annoyance, but from anxiety. Dating was one thing but dating as a father was something else. Sarah knows that a friend will be joining them tonight and she didn’t say anything about it, didn’t object or approve, just simply shrugged and went back to playing with her dolls while he plaited her hair.

He hopes this isn’t too soon, for him or his daughter. Bringing another woman into the equation, whether it be a long term thing or short term fling can be very confusing for Sarah at her age. The man just hopes he isn’t doing anything wrong, that he is still being a good father while possibly pursuing something with Y/N.

After some time had passed staring into oblivion with his overwhelming thoughts, he didn’t hear the woman calling his name until she approached and placed a hand to his shoulder, startling him. “Oh.” She gasped, placing a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter before leaning in to speak into his ear over the music. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay.” He chuckled. Lifting a hand off the table to hold her arms, he pecked her cheek quickly and said. “Let’s say it payback for scaring you today, huh?”

Rolling her eyes as she pulled back, she looked at Tommy and Sarah with a bright smile. Tommy stood, extending a hand and leaned in to greet her. “Hey. I’m Tommy. It’s nice to meet the gal my brother won’t shut up about.”

“Y/N.” She laughed as her cheeks blushed for a second time today. Pulling away, she walked around the table before kneeling to the floor to greet Sarah. “Hi Sarah. My name is Y/N, it’s nice to finally meet you. Your dad has told me a lot of great things about you.”

Seeing the young girl lower her head, a melancholic look on her face as she fidgeted with her fingers was a saddening sight to see, for everyone present at the table, Joel especially, however Y/N had an idea to gently ease her way into the greeting. “Hey, what do you say about us going to get a front row seat at the stage? I heard that Goofy is going to be on tonight.”

Sarah perked up with that, nodding her head excitedly with a smile, Y/N reached for her hand, which she took, and helped her off the seat before beckoning Joel and Tommy to follow. “C’mon.”

The men stood and followed without question, weaving in and out of the tables, but Y/N didn’t like how tight it was to walk with Sarah so she picked her up to carry instead.

The sight brought an overjoyed smile to Joel’s face, seeing his daughter perched on Y/N’s hip as she wrapped her arms around her back and even Tommy shared a look of surprise, happy to see that his niece seemed at ease with Y/N’s presence.

When they reached the only available table at the front, discarding the piece of paper that had reserved written on it, Y/N asked Sarah where she would like everyone to sit, leaving her to decide what she feels is most comfortable.

Opting to sit in between her dad and uncle, Y/N took position beside Joel. His daughter cuddled into his side, wrapping an arm across his stomach and waited patiently for the show to start. Joel rested his hand on her back before bringing his other up and over Y/N’s shoulder as he whispered into her ear. “Thank you.”

Y/N looked down to see Sarah’s smiling face looking back up at her as she replied to the man. “It’s my pleasure, Joel. Your daughter is beautiful.” Their attention was drawn to the music quieting and the lights being dimmed as the show began.

“Won’t someone come over and complain about us taking this table?” Joel worried, but Y/N eased his thoughts by telling him that she was the one who reserved the table. “After you left me earlier, I called down to the front desk. I saw that Sarah has a goofy backpack so I thought she’d like to see him up close.”

“Damn, I didn’t even think about that. Thank you, darlin’.” Kissing her cheek once more, this time he drew it out longer, dragging his bearded lip across the skin, sparking a trail of goose bumps. Joel did that purposely, he knew what sort of reaction she would feel, and he saw it for himself, seeing her body shiver with the sensation as she leaned into his touch.

The characters came out on stage, jumping around enthusiastically and all of the kids in the room screamed or clapped with joy, but Joel and Y/N didn’t watch much of the show, they both glued their eyes to Sarah, seeing her so happy and thrilled was the show they watched. Occasionally they would look at Tommy and laugh at seeing the young man besotted with the characters on stage, just like the children,

“Oh.” Y/N jolted on her seat, eliciting Joel to ask if she was okay. “Yeah.” She replied, holding a hand across her stomach before whispering into his ear. “My baby’s kicking the shit out of me right now.”

Y/N watched as Joel looked down, his eyes expanding in awe at seeing her stomach move around. She leaned forward in her chair, draping his arm around her waist so his hand could rest on the left side of her tummy. “Right here. Give her a second, she’ll kick your hand I bet.”

Looking down to her stomach at the touch of a small hand, Y/N smiled at the sight of Sarah caressing her baby bump gently. She was leaning over Joel’s lap to reach, the action catching Tommy’s attention also and he looked over to see Joel lifting her up to sit in between him and Y/N.

Sarah looked up at her with inquisitive eyes, asking all of the questions her curious little mind came up with, but left the question of how the baby gets out for Joel to answer. Moments passed before the baby kicked again, catching both Joel’s and Sarah’s attention. The man was getting baby fever in those moments, feeling Y/N’s baby pushing against his hand while watching his daughter squeal and giggle at the sensation.

Pushing his thoughts to one side, he couldn’t allow himself to get emotionally attached already and distracted himself by turning to talk to Tommy while Sarah chatted with Y/N.

“I’ve seen that look before, bro.” Tommy jibed, nudging his shoulder.

“What look? I don’t have a look.” Joel retorted, lying to himself.

“Yeah you do. I saw it the day you found out you were having a baby, and the day Sarah was born.” Tommy talked quietly, careful to not let Y/N hear. “You really like her and her baby, don’t you?”

“Don’t Tommy.” Shaking his head, Joel didn’t want to hear his brother confirm what he was already feeling. “I can’t Tommy. I’ve known her for all of five minutes, it’s impossible to feel that way about someone so soon.”

“Ever heard of love at first sight, brother?” The younger Miller winked, giving Joel the reassuring push that he needed. “Go for her man. What’s so wrong with finding someone you like, who also likes you and your ugly face?”

“Shut up.” He chuckled, returning a playful nudge to his shoulder before leaning back into his seat and laying an arm across Y/N’s shoulder again.

As the night progressed, Y/N leaned into Joel more, with Sarah snuggling up between them both. The entertainers on stage were funny at times, adding adult humour into their acts that the kids thankfully wouldn’t understand and the magic show wasn’t too bad either, some of the tricks they did were actually good, but at some point during the dance off, Sarah had fallen asleep nestled into Y/N’s side.

Carefully standing, Joel picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, securing the back of her head with his hand as he walked out the entertainment room with Tommy and Y/N. The ride up the elevator was a short trip as they stopped on the second floor, but Joel told his brother to head up while he walked Y/N to her room. “I’ll be up in a minute.”

The man wiggled his brows, eliciting Joel to slap him near the crotch before walking away and following Y/N down the hallway, still holding Sarah in his arms. “You didn’t have to walk me to my door, you know. I’m okay. You should take Sarah up to bed.”

“I know, but I wanted to.” Joel leaned against the doorframe as he slotted the key into the lock. “I’ll take her to bed, I promise. Just as soon as I know you’re back in your room safely.”

“Oh, ever the gentleman aren’t you?” She giggled. Reaching her hand out to brush her deft fingers under his chin, Y/N let her hand linger on his chest while she tilted her head to the side. “Thank you, Joel. I had fun tonight and your family is wonderful.”

“It’s my pleasure.” He leaned in. Freeing a hand from holding Sarah to rest it on her hip, he ducked his head down and kissed her cheek but stopped halfway when pulling back, hesitating on the decision to kiss her lips. She’s right there, just do it. He licked his lips with temptation, he felt her breath shudder across his face and he closed his eyes, ready to lean in before Sarah stirred, moving her position in his arms.

“Take her to bed, Joel. She is exhausted.” Y/N whispered before placing a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I’d like to see you tomorrow, if you’re okay with that?” Oh I am more than okay with it, sweetheart. Joel nodded, pulling back and re-adjusting his hold on Sarah to make sure she didn’t slip.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, darlin’.” He said before turning around to walk back towards the elevator. Once again, the man found himself in a position of finding it hard to say goodbye. He would have stayed or offered her to come up to his room, not wanting the night to come to an end already. She feels right, like she fits perfectly into the missing puzzle piece in his life.

Y/N is what he has been missing, what he has desired for so long in a partner.

Shaking his head all the way up to the tenth floor, the words his brother spoke kept circling in his mind. ‘Love at first sight’. Could it actually be possible? To have a love at first sight experience? Why did it feel awful to be apart from Y/N but perfect when he was with her?

Joel knew the answers, but he didn’t want to answer them, he didn’t want to get way in over his head about it. Carrying Sarah to his room, he unlocked the door and the noise had caught his brother’s attention as he quickly opened his door from across the hall. “Hey. How’s it going? I thought you would have stayed with Y/N for a little while.”

“Nah, baby bro. It’s late, I need to sleep too.” Joel replied. The man wasn’t tired, in fact, he will probably lay in bed for a while, wide awake and regretting that he didn’t just kiss Y/N. Opening up his door to enter, Tommy stopped him and demanded. “Let me take Sarah for the night.”

“It’s okay, Tommy. I’m tired anyways.” Lying wasn’t good, but Joel didn’t want to impose. It felt like a sin to go and do something as simple as seeing Y/N for another hour or so while Tommy watched his child. Yet, his brother wouldn’t budge, holding his arms out for Sarah as he persisted. “Please go, I will call you the moment I need you. I promise.”

Joel opened his mouth to protest but Tommy stopped him. “B-b-but no. Give me Sarah and go get your lady. Jesus man, you need to loosen up a little too, you know.”

Taking Sarah from his arms, Joel pleased a kiss to her head and nodded to Tommy, sharing a look that his brother knows is of gratitude and appreciation for his help. “Text me Tommy.” He warned sternly as he walked down the hallway. “Anything at all, you text me right away.”

“You got it brother. Go have fun, I’ll see you later.” Tommy called out before turning and walking into his rooms with Sarah.

Pressing the button for the elevator, Joel entered and fixed his hair as he rode it down to the second floor, hoping that Y/N was still awake and wouldn’t mind the disturbance. He wanted that kiss, desperately.

When the doors opened, he walked out with haste and bumped into her accidently. “Shit!” He panicked, holding her sides. “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you okay? Did I hurt yo-”

Y/N cut him off with a kiss on his lips. Leaning up on the tips of her toes and pulling his hands around her lower back, she pushed them down to her ass while shaking her head with a mumbling sentence. “No. You hurt me by taking too long to get back down here.”

Joel gripped bruising handfuls of her ass, walking backwards while parting his lips to deepen the kiss and she hummed eagerly when he slid his tongue inside her mouth. When they reached her hotel room, he pressed her against the door and slipped his thigh between her legs, groaning when he felt her grinding her core against him. Fumbling hands slid between him as she tried to locate her keys and unlock the door.

“Joel.” She whimpered. Breaking the kiss and turning around, she struggled to slot the key inside as he grabbed her sides and rolled his hips into her behind, pressing his erection between her cheeks while nipping at her neck. The sensations were too much, too powerful as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her hands abandoned the lock for a moment to reach up and thread her fingers through his hair, pulling him in closer.

The straps of her dress began to slip down her shoulders, threatening to expose her breasts and Joel finished it off by yanking the fabric down. He pressed a hand to the door, holding himself steady as he kept rocking his hips into her ass, breathing heavily and getting himself off from the fraction it caused in his pants. His other hand began to snake up her thigh, finding her panties damp and her folds slick, he slid a finger into her entrance with ease and growled when she made the softest noise from the intrusion.

“J-Joel please.” Y/N begged. Trying to focus on the lock again, she needed him, all of him, fully nude and bare in her bed with privacy. He was humping her and fingering her pussy in the hallway of the hotel, anyone could see if they just looked out their door to see what all the noise was. “Shh. It’s okay. Just unlock the door.” He whispered deeply against the shell of her ear, sliding his finger knuckle deep into her cunt before adding another and she moaned loudly, followed by worryingly trying to open the door.

It was shameful. Utterly shameful that Y/N found it so arousing being pleasured publicly, feeling his hardness pressing into her behind as he impatiently tried to make love to her was sexy. Joel was feral, unleashing what felt like years of pent up sexual frustrations and she quivered at the thought of what he was going to do once she gets the door open.

*Click*

Joel practically kicked it open and ushered Y/N inside before closing it with his foot. The man bypassed the bed and walked her straight to the balcony, sliding the glass door open, the night air hitting the tops of her breasts, eliciting a cold shiver to pass through her body as he placed her hands outwards to the railings. There were dividers between each balcony and they were high up, Joel wasn’t worried about anyone seeing as he pulled the straps of her bra down, exposing her pert nipples to the dark skies above.

Discarding her dress and underwear, Y/N was fully nude and her body was hardening Joel’s cock more than he ever could have imagined. Her desire glistened on his fingers, he could see it oozing out of her pussy too and the man dropped to his knees, gently placing his hands to the back of her thighs before burying his mouth and chin in her folds. “Joel!” She craned her back with a mewl of his name slipping past her lips.

Spreading her legs to give him more access, Y/N slipped her hand down her body to rub nameless shapes on her clit and pushed her hips back onto Joel’s tongue as it twisted around her entrance, slurping up her juices. She could physically hear how wet she was, the noise echoed off the walls of the balcony, no doubt the neighbours would hear it too.

Y/N looked down her body at the sounds of metal clinking. Finding Joel unbuckling his belt and loosening up the opening to bury his hand inside his pants with a deep vibrating groan as he took himself in hand, made her legs quiver. She was close, her pussy was pulsing faster each second with the need to cum and feeling the vibration of Joel grunting into her lips got her there.

“I’m c-cu..” She could barely get the words out as she reached her climax. White static erupted behind her eyes as her legs began to close and buckle beneath her, but Joel held her up. Burying his tongue deep and fisting his cock vigorously mixed with gentle sweeps of his thumb across the tip, pebbles of pre-cum leaked out and Y/N licked her lips, wanting to taste him.

“Please, Joel let me.” She pulled away from him. Turning around and carefully lowering to her knees, the man stood and gripped the railings behind her head, tossing his head back with a guttural groan when she wasted no time taking him whole in her mouth, right down to the base. “I’m really close, darlin’.” He warned. Planting his feet firm onto the ground, he fought the urge to roll his hips forward when she released him with soft pop. He missed the heat of her mouth wrapped around him and he inhaled sharply when she cradled his balls while running her tongue up the vein on the underside of his cock.

Taking him back into her mouth, he looked down and blew out a heavy wonton breath of air upon seeing her eyes looking up at him. Beautiful, glazed with lust and watery with tears as she gagged on cock, burying her nose into the hair of his mound. She hummed, rolling her eyes shut with the taste of salt on her tongue and prepared for the load he was about to release in her throat.

“Goddamn!” His knuckles were turning white from how hard he gripped the railings. Sucking his cock with skill, his balls began to tighten in her hand as he spilled into her tongue. “Oh fuck. Darlin, I’m cumming.” Hearing his voice break, the sound desperate and needy to her ears, made her pussy clench around nothing. She gulped back each spurting load of his seed, feeling him twitch in her mouth and his balls relax in her hand as he came down from his high. Yet, she didn’t release him right away.

Carefully sucking his oversensitive tip, she swirled her tongue around while looking up into his eyes, seeing a look of fire and adoration in the warm brown irises. “Shit. Too much, baby.” Joel’s brows pulled together as he sucked in a sharp breath of air, spilling another drop of cum onto her tongue. His thighs tensed with aftershocks and she finally released him with a satisfied smile of drawing it out of him.

They spent a moment looking at each other, trying to understand what came over the both of them. Joel leaned down to help her up, but upon feeling her legs wobble, he wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing his semi-hard member into her thigh before leaning in to kiss her lips and tasting the remnants of his own desire on her tongue. “Got any more in you, big boy?” She asked, then giggled at her own remark. Wrapping her arms around his neck, he walked backwards into the room, nodding into the kiss. “Plenty for you, darlin’.”

Carefully lowering Y/N onto the bed, he broke off the kiss and removed his clothes fully while smiling at her. She moved to the middle of the bed, grabbing the pillows to place under head and get comfy. Smirking at him as her eyes danced their way up his muscled torso, he looked really good naked and the moonlight shimmered behind him, casting a beautiful shadow across the room.

“Know how much I’ve thought about this in the last few days?” She whispered, leaning up and beckoning him to join her already and the bed dipped when placing his knee into the mattress, climbing up her body with his teasing reply. “Can’t be more than me, baby.”

“Oh, I beg to differ.” Clashing her lips onto his, the sounds of their kisses and heavy breathing could be heard as Joel positioned himself between her legs. His cock lay hard and heavy against her thigh, ready for more and she wasted no time lining him up at her entrance, a soft gasp slipping past her lips with the sheer size of his tip breaching her. “It’s been a while.” She cringed, bringing her legs around his back and interlocking them. “Go easy on me, handsome.”

“Of course, darlin’.” Joel cooed. Kissing her deeply and caressing her thighs softly, creating a blissful distraction as he eased himself inside, she bit his bottom lip with the stretch and he groaned with how tight she is. Her desire acting as a natural lube worked Y/N open each time he rolled his hips back and forth.

“Oh fuck.” She blurted. Digging her nails into the skin on his back, Y/N rested her cheek to his shoulder and closed her eyes with pleasure. “You’re huge, Joel.”

Resting his forearm above her head, he held onto the underside of her ass with his other hand, languidly thrusting himself inside her warmth. Joel shuddered with all the soft sweet noises she made, the goose bumps rippled down his back as she squeezed him and threw her head back with a mewl. “I’m going to cum.”

Her voice was hoarse, cracked from the deep inhales and loud exhaling moans. Joel could live in this moment forever, the image of her plush body beneath him, her face beautiful and eyes deep with passion, this image would be burned in his mind forever. “Cum for me, darlin.” He growled. Ducking his head to kiss her neck, he pushed himself deep, careful and slow, burying himself to the hilt with each stroke. “I’ll cum with you, baby.”

“J-Joel.” She whimpered. Tightening her legs and pulling him in deep, her body began to shake as she leaned up for a kiss. Their lips connecting just in time with their peaks, Joel let go of her ass to hold both hands above her head, bunching up the sheets between his fists while grinding into her heat. Hot white ropes of his seed coated her pulsing walls, milking him of every last drop that made the man gasp into her mouth. He’s never felt this way before, like two becoming one, their souls connecting in the most passionate way, Joel felt the prickle sting his eyes. Something that he definitely hasn’t experienced before. An emotional orgasm.

“Hey, handsome.” Y/N soothed upon feeling a tear drop falling down onto her cheek. She could see that his under eyes were wet, but Joel wouldn’t actually open his eyes. Rubbing her hands up and down his arms softly, Y/N knew that he just needed to come back down to earth, to come back down from his powerful high, but when she tried to move, he held her tight with a plea in his voice. “Stay. Please… Just stay here with me.”

Burying his head into her neck with a subtle sniffle, Y/N herself began to choke up. She kissed his shoulder, still running her hands up and down his shoulder, and accompanied her actions with words. “I don’t plan on going anywhere, handsome. Not unless you want me to.”

“That’s the problem, sweetheart.” Joel wiped his eyes before pulling his head back to look at her. “I don’t want you to go at all.”

Y/N smiled. That same warm and alluring smile that Joel fell in love with, but she didn’t believe him. It’s just a post-coital haze, one that he would break out of soon. “Joel.” She tilted her head, still smiling at the man as she laughed. “It’s not just me though, I’m a two person package.”

“Doesn’t change my mind, darlin’.” Joel whispered, clearly. Looking down to her tummy, he held a hand across her bump before looking back up into her eyes. “Ask me tomorrow if I still feel the same way, then the next day and the day after that.”

“Oh yeah?” She questioned, blinking her eyes rapidly to stop the oncoming wave of tears. It was in his voice, the way he said it, sounding so sure and certain that he would take her and her baby. When he nodded with a serious look in eyes, she smiled again and brought her hands up to caress his bearded chin. “Ok, Joel. I’ll ask you tomorrow, the day after and the day after that.”

Pulling apart momentarily, Joel and Y/N repositioned themselves to lay under the covers, holding each other closely. At some point, she had fallen asleep first and she looked angelic in his arms, like it was where she was supposed to be. Snuggling closer and wrapping his arms across her stomach, he caressed her baby bump until he too fell asleep.

Joel dreamt of the future they would have together.

10 years later.

Joel opened his eyes and blinked back the glare from the sun shimmering through his curtains. Turning over, he was met with Y/N’s smiling face looking at him. “Hmhm.” He chuckled, closing his eyes again and snuggling close. “Morning darlin’.”

“Morning handsome.” She whispered before leaning in and placing a chaste kiss to his lips. As the silent moments passed, the man nearly slipped back into his slumber before she began to move around and rub her fingers across his bearded chin. He could feel her eyes on him, the action making him smile deeply as he asked. “What’s on your mind?”

“Do you still feel the same way?” She answered almost immediately between giggles and Joel laughed too, knowing exactly what she meant even after ten years. “Yes, I do feel the same way.” He says, pressing his lips to hers in a soft passionate kiss, the moment was short lived as their two girls came bursting into the bedroom, jumping on the bed with excitement.

“Mom! Dad! Wake up!” Sarah and Hailee screamed simultaneously. “We don’t have all day, c’mon!” As the girls jumped off the bed again, they both ran out of the room, still yelling, and made their way downstairs together.

Joel held his hand out, to which Y/N took, and looked down to the engagement ring on her finger with a smile before looking back in her eyes again. “Ready to seal the deal, babe? To get married and grow old together?”

“Ask me that tomorrow.” Biting her lip with a teasing look in her eyes, she kissed Joel once on the lips before pulling herself out of bed to join her two excited girls waiting downstairs for her. Today was going to be a long day, but the morning is theirs to enjoy. Just Joel, Y/N, Sarah and Hailee eating breakfast like one happy family, like they do everyday, before other family members arrived and split them up to get dressed.

Joel can’t wait. Can’t wait to see his daughters and fiancé dressed beautifully, can’t wait to see the look on her face, and most importantly, he can’t wait to tell her at the airport that he had booked to back to Sanibel Islands for their honeymoon - the ten year anniversary of when his angel from above came over to help him reach for his coffee.

The small gesture that brought them together.