#gvardrail

she's sat at the breakfast table and she's seen him barely touch his food. "are you not feeling well?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in her husband to be's direction. they're to be married in a week's time and she felt her heart racing in her chest just thinking about it. she took a deep breath. she got up and walked over to feel his forehead, but he's cold to the touch and she swallowed thickly. despite the fact that she loathed this agreement between their families, he wasn't an awful man. she knew she'd feel better with him as opposed to most of the men she was surrounded by. "you're freezing cold. you need to go lie down, my lord..."

not until the sound of her name in that tone does emine properly blink awake. her head lifts slowly — as if afraid to face the reality of who she was in bed with. at the sight of javon, she rears back quickly, sitting up. "wha—" she stops, glancing down to realize she's fully naked. the brunette quickly grabs a pillow, using it to cover herself up. "god, tell me about it," emine's left hand comes up to rub at her forehead before slowly sliding down her face. only then does she notice the cool band of metal as it makes contact with her skin. her hand quickly falls to her lap, eyes flicking up to javon. "please tell me that's not what i think it was on my hand." dread forms a heavy knot in her stomach. this could not be happening.

it was two am and the whiskey had gone to her head entirely, keely not truly knowing where her feet had led her until she saw the familiar outline of their door and her heart fluttered. of course instinct had brought her here. they were the reason she was drinking in the first place, mourning the one-sided crush she swore would never work out, yet here she was... to do what, exactly? that was still unsure as she rapped her knuckles on their door, half a heart hoping that they wouldn't answer because then she wouldn't have to come up with an excuse as to why she was here. or better yet, not have to be honest.

〝   no,   no,   don't   touch   me   –––  i   have   paint   literally   all   over   me.   don't   get   mad   at   me,   polly   and   i   went   out   while   you   were   at   work   because   she   wanted   to   girl-ify   her   room   and   she   said   she   didn't   trust   you   to   help.   〞

ayla balanced her chin on her hand, grinning back. the first story that came to mind was definitely not safe for work, or for sober hours in a public bar. "nothing wild," she lied, though the memory hovered in her mind, stubborn. "not unless you count a weirdly intense bake-off and several baby goats," ayla said, pleased with her own composure. "also, you kept calling me 'lieutenant.' like i was staff and you were the drill sergeant."

❝ mm, would've thought you'd be a pro at getting her to shut up at this point. ❞ parker muttered as her body slid in against his, the shared warmth under the blanket now more than enough to keep him content. ❝ was a close call, couldn't risk you coming in here and finding me asleep though. you might try and smother me in my sleep or something. ❞ the male teased, his lips just barely pressing to her shoulder in the dark room. ❝ you actually gonna last all night in here, or will i be waking up to you sneaking back down the hall again? ❞ 

"i'll be sure to let her know then. if anything, i'm the one she'll be upset with since i had no business going into her things." maelle was still a teenager, after all, and there's nothing more annoying than dad scrounging through her things because he solely drinks caffeine. "okay, harsh but fair... sometimes it's a thousand papercuts that deals the most damage, right? let's see what you've got there." maneuvering around in his home study so that he's now hovering over her shoulder behind her, gustave reaches over and thumbs a few pages, flipping them to see the extent of her markings. "wow, i was careless. and you're telling me that the content is still good? i'm surprised it's still comprehensible. now i know you're lying."