#office!au

Looking around the room, your eyes met coworkers and managers laughing and chatting in the kind of lighthearted atmosphere only the Christmas season could bring. On any other day, Daniel from accounting would be hurling insults at Angie, the receptionist he couldn’t stand—but tonight, they were joking together like old friends. Patrick, the manager everyone despised—no matter their position—was now surrounded by people hanging onto his every word as if he were some kind of messiah.

You rolled your eyes and took another sip of the cheap champagne corporate had graciously provided. Only one glass per person, supposedly. This was your second—Marcela, a recovering alcoholic, had happily handed you hers. You liked her. She was one of your favourite coworkers, even if she was twenty years older than you.

The party wasn’t mandatory, but you’d still forced yourself to be there. An old coworker had made the mistake of skipping it about two years ago, and people still brought it up in meetings—how he supposedly “lacked team spirit.” They’d gone on about it so much that he eventually quit. You weren’t about to be harassed like that, so you showed up. Every damn year.

You downed the rest of your champagne in one go, setting the empty glass on the table beside the wall you were leaning against. You longed for a third—just enough to get you pleasantly dizzy, social, maybe even a little smiley.

“Little Miss Naughty. Two glasses?” The deep voice whispered in your ear, sending a shiver down your spine. The fine hairs on your arms stood at attention from the low growl hidden in his tone.

“Sukuna,” you greeted, not having heard him approach—you’d been too busy scanning the crowd.

He loomed over you, far too tall for anyone’s good, one strong arm braced against the wall above your head. His sleeves were unbuttoned and rolled up, showing off inked forearms. With how open his shirt was, the tattoos along his collarbones were on full display too. He was slutting himself around without a care in the world.

In his other hand, he held a full glass of champagne, one you eyed with thinly veiled envy.

Ryomen Sukuna was another one of your coworkers. The kind who didn’t bother with small talk or fake smiles, preferring blunt comments and judging stares instead. That was partly why you liked him, he was real. Sometimes a bit cruel, sure, but almost always justified.

It also didn’t hurt that he was insanely hot. Tall—too tall—and built like someone who actually used their gym membership. Broad shoulders, strong arms, and thighs that strained against the seams of his trousers, like he refused to admit he needed a bigger size. Black tattoos snaked out from under his sleeves and collar, and the symmetrical face piercings only added to his sinful appeal.

With that look, most people would assume he was unemployed—or maybe a tattoo artist, a piercer, something creative. But no. He was a legal expert. A damn good one, too.

The first time you’d seen him, you were as stunned as everyone else—not just by his looks, but by the fact that such a strict, conservative company had actually considered hiring him. You remembered when he came in for his second interview, he was all anyone could talk about for days.

As a representative of your department, his CV had landed on your desk. And you’d understood immediately why the higher-ups wanted him. His resume was impeccable—multiple internships at top firms, high-level positions by twenty-six. The man had experience, skill, and ambition. Your bosses weren’t about to let someone like that join a competitor.

Now, two years later, you were still fascinated by him. If anything, his look had only grown edgier with time. He’d become something of a company legend—too competent to fire, too unapologetic to change. Every few months, a new piercing or tattoo appeared, and somehow, they all suited him perfectly.

When he’d shown up with face tattoos, no one had even said a word. That was how good he was.

A pointed cough snapped you out of your thoughts. You hadn’t realized how blatantly your eyes had been lingering on his forearm, the one holding the glass. The way his ringed fingers curved around the stem was almost hypnotic. When you looked back up, a knowing smirk played on his lips. Then his tongue flicked out to wet them.

“Want it?” he asked, voice low, eyes locked on yours.

Your gaze darted up to meet his, your brain short-circuiting as flashes of thought hit you—what those fingers would feel like inside you, how easily he could use them to unravel you. Heat crept up your neck as you tried to process what he actually meant.

Then, with that same infuriatingly confident smirk, he tilted his head toward the glass in his hand.

“You’re not gonna drink it?” you asked, frowning. You’d seen him drink before—at other office parties, dinners—so you knew he wasn’t the abstaining type.

“You look like you need it more than me, baby,” Sukuna murmured, his voice dropping even lower, eyes narrowing with amusement.

Baby.

Your team and the legal department worked closely together, so over the years he’d been with the company, working alongside you, you’d gotten used to his terms of endearment.

Baby, darling, babe, sweetheart.

They never stopped. Marcela often joked that you should report his ass to HR for harassment, but she knew you loved it. Still, you always brushed it off, claiming he was just a flirt, that he did it with everyone else—which he didn’t, but denial was easier.

Gratefully, you accepted the drink he offered, pressing it to your lips and taking a generous gulp of the cheap beverage.

“For such a flourishing company, you’d think they’d spring for decent champagne,” you said, cringing at the lingering taste.

At your side, closer than he should’ve been, Sukuna laughed. His warmth seeped into you like a soft, heavy blanket, and for a second, you wanted to bury your face in his neck and breathe in that infuriatingly masculine scent. Shaking off the thought, you raised the glass again, but his hand stopped your movement—large, warm, and sure.

His gaze locked on yours as he lifted your hand higher, tilting his head back to take a long drink from your glass. The sight was almost obscene, not because of what he did, but because of how much you wanted him. He was playing you, and he knew it.

Watching his Adam’s apple move as he swallowed, you pressed your thighs together, trying to soothe the pulse that sparked between them. He was doing unholy things to you without even trying and by the smug curve of his lips, he was fully aware.

“Asshole,” you muttered, eyeing the half-empty glass in his hand.

“Even the buffet’s a disaster,” he said casually, stretching back to his full height.

Yeah, you’d seen it and it was bad. A sad-looking table under harsh fluorescent lights, covered with food that looked as tired as the guests. In the middle sat a sickly little tree that somehow made the whole thing even more depressing. For such a high-standard company, the party-planning committee really outdid themselves, in all the wrong ways.

Neither of you spoke for a few minutes. You sipped your champagne while the two of you silently judged your coworkers. During your quiet observations, your gaze met Marcela’s across the room. Her knowing smirk made your stomach drop. She raised an eyebrow, then subtly flicked her eyes to your right—where Sukuna leaned casually against the wall, far too close.

You rolled your eyes and shook your head, already knowing exactly what she was thinking. She’d be in your ear about it all Monday morning, and you could already feel the headache forming just from imagining it.

Finishing your drink, you set the empty glass beside the other two you’d already gone through. None of them had been filled enough to make you dizzy, even after three, all you felt was a faint buzz of disappointment. You sighed. Sooner or later, you’d have to go mingle, put on a bright smile, and prove that you were a team player with great company spirit.

Before you could tell Ryomen you were heading into the lion’s den, he spoke first.

“Wanna go smoke for a bit before we indulge them?” he asked, his tone casual, eyes still trained on the crowd below.

Oh. That actually sounded nice. A quick smoke to clear your head before pretending to enjoy small talk and fake laughter with your superiors.

That’s how you ended up in Sukuna’s car, watching him roll a blunt like he’d done it a thousand times before. The small light inside the car hitting his ringed fingers, making them look ethereal.

“I thought you meant cigarettes,” you said, eyes fixed on his hands : steady, practised, precise.

“Oh yeah?” he smirked, not looking up. “Don’t smoke cigarettes, babe. You know that.”

You knew that already. But he also knew you were a smoker, so you’d assumed he was indulging your bad habit. Somehow, that made the situation both better and infinitely dumber. You were still on company property, if anyone saw you, you’d both be in serious trouble. Yet he had parked in a dark corner, far from the security cameras and the main entrance. You should be okay, hopefully.

His weed was good, the kind that relaxed you within minutes. He hadn’t packed too much, after you’d told him it had been a long time since you last smoked, and you still had a corporate party to get back to. The minutes you spent in that car were fun.

You played games, gossiped about coworkers, talked about your lives, and joked around. It felt easy, comfortable. The only problem—the thing you had completely forgotten—was how horny weed made you. It didn’t help that somewhere along the conversation, one of Sukuna’s warm, veiny hands had settled on your thigh. Not high enough to be indecent, and still over the skirt you were wearing, but you could feel his heat seeping into your skin.

Your mind immediately wandered to scenarios where your clothes weren’t in the way, and where his fingers might wander a bit higher. It made it hard to focus on his words, especially when you noticed his pointed canine every time he talked or laughed. Why were they so hot? You’d never noticed them before.

"Ready to go back, Champ?" Sukuna asked, a relaxed smile playing on his lips.

Looking in the car sunshade mirror, you were pleasantly surprised to see you didn’t look high. Your eyes were a little red, but you could pass it off as the exhaustion of a Friday night after a full week of work—and with the dim light of the party, it wouldn't be noticeable. Taking a mint from your purse, you popped it into your mouth and rubbed at the mascara under your eyes.

"Let's go," you sighed, glancing back at him.

He looked exactly the same as before. Maybe his shoulders were a bit less tense, but it was invisible to anyone who wasn’t looking closely. Happy that you would definitely pass for sober, you stepped out of the car, eager to get back inside quickly. It was freezing out there.

Once inside, you both parted ways, each joining your respective teams to chat for a bit. The weed was fully kicking in now, relaxing you and making you laugh over nothing. The party suddenly felt much more enjoyable.

When hunger hit, you excused yourself from the small group you’d been talking to and made your way toward the buffet table. Adam, a guy from accounting, followed you. You hadn’t noticed the way he was eyeing you—the way his gaze kept dropping to your chest as it pressed against your shirt, or to how your pencil skirt hugged your hips.

He was polite enough, though, and when he started talking as you nibbled on the small portion of food, you indulged him a little. Of course, you could tell he was showing off talking about his performance—whatever that meant for an accountant—about his second house near the beach, about all the gifts he’d already bought for his family, each one more expensive than the last. He was performative, treating you like a gold digger, and you hated it.

Without thinking, when he leaned a bit closer with his hand brushing your hip, you talked. "You know I make more money than you. I mean… you’re the one dealing with paychecks and stuff."

He immediately stepped back, removing his hand. Good.

"So, I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but it’s actually ridiculous," you continued, mouthful of a small avocado toast. Then you send him a tight humourless smile.

The look on his face was priceless—a mix of wounded ego and real anger. You couldn’t stop a small, mocking giggle from escaping as you looked him straight in the eyes. You didn’t know if he had been flirting or trying to get you into bed for the night, but honestly? It had been boring anyway.

With anger twisting his face, Adam took a couple of steps toward you, clearly trying to be intimidating. But he froze when he felt heavily ringed fingers on his shoulder—those same fingers you’d been thinking about all night, attached to a strong, veiny forearm.

In your dizzy state, you hadn’t even reacted when Adam tried to approach, and now you looked at Sukuna with nonchalant eyes, still nibbling at whatever you could grab. A small, satisfied smile curved your lips as Adam tried to shrug off the hand on his shoulder without success.

When he turned back in anger, ready to scream at whoever was behind him, his entire body went rigid. It wasn’t just anyone behind him. It was Ryomen Sukuna—the very same man rumoured to be an underground boxer circulating around the company for his first year in the company. And Sukuna had never said anything to diffuse the rumour, gloated in it even.

"Think that’s your cue to leave, man," Sukuna said casually, though a flicker of lingering anger burned in his eyes.

With one last heavy, angry glance at you, Adam scoffed and left the room. Wanting to rub it in a little, you waved at him gently and wished him a merry Christmas. Of course, he didn’t respond, simply disappeared into the crowd in the main room.

"Why the fucker get pissed off?" Sukuna asked, his eyes scanning you, pupils slightly blown. Ever the oblivious one, you blamed the weed.

"He kept peacocking about how rich he was…" you started, grabbing some sweet treats now that you’d had enough salty snacks. "I just reminded him I make more than him."

"Good girl," he grunted, leaning on you to reach for something behind you.

You knew he was doing it on purpose, but you didn’t care. He felt so warm it was almost intoxicating. How fucking cosy would it be to cuddle him on cold winter nights like this one? Absolutely insane, you imagined.

You tried not to react to his words, but a small cough escaped you anyway. He had no right to make you this hot and bothered without doing anything about it. At least, you thought he wouldn’t act on it.

“Come on, gotta show you something,” Sukuna said casually. You didn’t notice how intently he was watching you, his eyes flicking down to your chest every now and then.

Without question, you followed him. Maybe he had more weed and you were definitely down for that. But when he led you into the elevator and pressed the button for the legal team’s floor, you realized you probably weren’t going to smoke. He was clearly about to show you something work-related—which you were in no state to deal with right now. Still, you followed him anyway.

As you neared his desk, your attention was caught by the city view instead. The skyline glittered with Christmas lights, stretching endlessly through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was breathtaking, and you were too mesmerized to notice when he stopped and turned toward you.

A soft gasp left your lips as you adjusted your balance, your hand landing on his chest. A very warm, very firm chest, with pecs almost as full as your own breasts. You looked up at him, but before you could apologize, his lips crashed into yours.

His hands gripped your waist, pulling you flush against him for a few seconds before lifting you onto his desk. His mouth was relentless, hungry, consuming—kissing you with a heat that made your head spin. It was so unexpected, and yet somehow, it felt like the only thing that could’ve happened.

You’d both been orbiting around each other for the past two years, flirting at every chance you got. At least, you thought you were the only one flirting—that he was just naturally charming, and that was different. But right now, he was proving you wrong.

One of his hands moved to your jaw, guiding your head to tilt just enough for him to deepen the kiss. His body pressed fully between your legs, parting them effortlessly with the solid weight of his hips. He was broad, unyielding and when your mind caught up to that realization, a soft sound escaped your throat before you could stop it.

In response, a low chuckle rumbled from his chest before he grazed your bottom lip with his teeth.

“This is way better than in my head,” he murmured, his breath warm against your mouth before he kissed you again, just as urgently as before, only to break away a moment later, voice rough with amusement. “So much softer than anything I could’ve imagined.”

With his words, the hand that wasn’t on your jaw slid down to your hip, gripping firmly before trailing to your thigh. It moved upward again, brushing over your stomach and grazing your breast before returning to join the other at your jaw. Tilting your head back, he caught your lips once more, his tongue pressing forward to tangle with yours.

It was all so overwhelming, especially once your brain caught up with his words. He had thought about this—just like you had thought about his lips and hands on you. Without thinking, your legs crossed behind his back, pulling him closer as your arms wrapped around his neck.

Even with the height of the desk, he still had to crouch to reach you and the thought alone sent warmth rushing through you. The ease with which he could lift and hold you without effort was dizzying, a quiet thrill that settled deep between your legs. As someone who’d always been labelled “fat” by society, having a man like him look at you that way felt almost overwhelming.

His fingers had just begun to fumble with the buttons of your shirt when something clattered near the elevator, making you both jolt apart.

Your heart was racing, and the heat crawling up your cheeks told you exactly how dishevelled you must look. Both of you turned toward the sound—just in time to see Gojo from the legal team, leaning heavily against the wall, clearly drunk. You let out a quiet sigh of relief.

At least it wasn’t any of your supervisors.

The mood, however, evaporated entirely when Satoru bent over and vomited into the plant by the elevator. You glanced back at Sukuna, silently questioning what on earth was happening, but he only shook his head.

“Gojo can’t hold his liquor,” he said, his voice still rough, eyes not quite losing that earlier hunger. “And Geto brought his own stash.”

Right. Geto—still from legal. Gojo’s best friend. And by the loud, echoing laugh coming from the elevator, you figured he was right behind him… with a phone out, recording everything.

Without giving the duo another glance, Sukuna turned back to you. His eyes were still dark with desire, pupils blown wide. He was breathing a little unevenly, and in that moment, you couldn’t remember him ever looking hotter.

“Think we were friendly enough?” he asked, his gaze dropping shamelessly to your lips.

You hummed and nodded quickly, your own eyes fixed on his mouth, biting your lower lip without realizing it. When he stepped back into your space, your breath caught. His thumb brushed against your chin, tugging your lip free from between your teeth. Then, after a quick glance toward the disaster duo still by the elevator, he leaned in and pressed a brief kiss to your lips.

“Wanna get out of here, then?”

Your sleep was disturbed by a gentle, rhythmic sound of purring. Which was strange, because you didn’t own a cat.

That, combined with the arm draped around your waist and the weight of a warm body pressed against your back, told you right away that you weren’t in your own bed. When you opened your eyes, you were greeted by the sight of an extremely well-fed white cat with two orange spots lying next to your head, purring like an engine. It was kneading the pillow you were resting on, watching you with curious, unblinking eyes.

You shifted slightly, reaching out to pet it, but the body behind you had other ideas. The arm tightened around your waist, pulling you closer. The bicep you were lying on, the one under the pillow, twitched a little as well—clearly irritated that you were trying to escape.

As if you ever would. This was the kind of morning you’d dreamed about since the day he was hired. You weren’t running away, he’d have to physically throw you out to get rid of you. You just wanted to pet the kitty.

“Stop squirming away,” a deep, sleepy voice murmured against your bare back, pulling you even closer than before.

“I just want to pet the cat,” you whispered back.

That made him lift his head from your body—then drop it again seconds later. Sukuna pressed tiny kisses along your back, between your shoulders, and finally on your neck before settling back down to sleep. You could already feel his body loosening against yours. His weight should have been overwhelming, but instead, it was oddly comforting.

“He usually doesn’t like anyone…” he muttered against your skin, pressing another gentle kiss. “Little fucker used to bite me all the time when I rescued him from the street.”

Your eyebrows shot up at the revelation. As if to contradict his owner, the cat head-butted your forehead before giving it a tiny, approving lick. Freeing one of your arms, you began to pet him properly, and he rewarded you with louder, happier purrs.

“He’s an angel,” you said, as the cat nestled under your face, nuzzling and tucking his little nose into your neck.

“Don’t let him trick you,” Sukuna murmured, his voice thick with sleep.

Yet his hand lifted slightly, brushing over the white cat’s fur for a few moments before dropping back around your waist. Almost as if he’d grown too heavy. Truthfully, your own eyes were growing heavier by the second, and you finally surrendered to sleep.

Right before it claimed you, a fleeting thought crossed your mind: how much you’d have to tell your friends later.

It had only been supposed to be a stupid office party.

©fromsil.

You didn’t think that stopping into the bar across from your usual subway stop to blow off some steam at the end of such a stressful week would end up, well, like this. 

With the condensation from your cocktail glass dripping down your arm that was held above your head as you swayed to the intoxicating beat that was blasting through the speakers, already two and a half drinks deep in a way that was sure to have your tongue tasting bitterly of cranberry and vodka. 

You had only planned to stop in for one drink, just enough to ease the stress induced tightness of your muscles and yet the flirtatious men of New York already had you on the brink of tripling that goal. 

They kept your ego huge and your drink full. It was the perks of being young and hot in Manhattan, you suppose.

You bring the half empty glass down to your lips now, humming in contentment as the bitter liquid slides down your throat with an ease that helps you to ignore the ache in your feet from the heels you were wearing that you’d surely feel tomorrow. 

But for now you were happy and carefree as you allowed the alcohol coursing through your veins to carry you through the bass of the song that you didn’t recognize yet danced to as though you composed it yourself. 

That is, until you feel a pair of hands at your waist, a body pressed up against your own in a way that immediately rains on your parade and has you rolling your eyes before even needing to look at the guy. 

“Didn’t I already tell you to fuck off once?” You snarl, quick to push the man’s hands off of your hips and turn around so you could fix him with a fire filled glare that he’d already been at the brunt of once tonight. 

“Hey, that’s not very nice.” The blonde slurs, a loose grin spread over- shit, what was his name again? Jack? Jesse? Jonathan? Fuck, maybe it didn’t even start with a J at all. You had no clue because you didn’t care even when he was introducing himself to you. 

“And yet, you still haven’t taken the hint.” You shoot him a tight smile, one full of annoyance at the fact that he was still persisting even after you’d already shot him down half an hour ago. “I’m not interested.”

“Oh, come on.” He sighs, bringing a hand back to your waist that you raise an eyebrow at until he removes. “Just let me buy you a drink.” He begs. “You’ve let other guys do it, why won’t you let me?”

“Because those men usually introduce themselves before they slap my ass.” Your voice is sickeningly sweet yet your eyes are anything but. “Besides,” you continue, swirling your glass around in front of his face to catch his eye. “I already have a drink.”

“Well, I could buy you another.” The blonde is quick to offer, clearly not one to take no for an answer. “Yours is almost empty. You’ll be finished with it by the time we get to the bar, come on.” He takes a step closer to you, towering over you in a way that was surely meant to be enticing but only made your face scrunch in disgust instead. “Let me keep you company.”

“Thanks, but I already have plenty.” You tip your glass up to him before taking a sip of your cocktail that doesn’t go down quite as easily now that you’re filled with annoyance for the stranger that was still standing in front of you. “Are you really going to make me repeat myself again?” You nearly scoff, speaking slower to ensure he would understand you loud and clear. “I’m not interested.”

“Why not?” He has the audacity to ask and you nearly slap him for his stupidity. 

You were growing tired of this pointless back and forth with him, quick to pull out the fail-safe excuse that always worked like a charm when it came to unwanted, persistent men such as- James? Maybe? Joey? You had no clue.

“Because I have a boyfriend.” The lie slips off your tongue with practiced ease, the perfect excuse that always worked like a charm.

“Oh, yeah? How convenient.” The blonde snorts, his green eyes rolling in a way that lets you know he thinks you’re full of shit. Which, you were, but how would he know? “You’re telling me your boyfriend is okay with a line of men buying you drinks all night?” His eyes narrowed slightly. “I don’t buy it.”

“He encourages it, actually.” You nod, taking another sip of your dwindling cocktail. “It keeps his own tab down.”

“Right.” The stranger nods slowly, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head in a way that seemed as though he was fixing you with a challenge as he asks, “So, where is he, then?”

Shit.

“He’s sitting at the bar.” You lie with a shrug, giving the blonde a snarky smile that matches your tone of voice. “He doesn’t like to dance.”

“Okay.” The man before you nods, a smirk you wanted to slap off his face spreads as he challenges, “take me to him, I want to meet him.”

“What?” You laugh breathlessly as your stomach falls from the immediate panic his words bring, the men you usually use this excuse on normally don’t stick around long enough to know if you’re lying or not, choosing to walk away instead of argue. “No, you don’t.” Your head shakes. “He’s a very jealous man and might skin you alive for touching me.”

You attempt to scare him away but your excuses only spread the strangers smile further. 

“Oh, yes I do.” He nods. “And I think I’ll be more than okay because when we go to the bar and your boyfriend magically isn’t there, since he doesn’t even exist, you are going to let me buy you a drink.”

And while this wasn’t necessarily a bet you wanted to agree to, knowing that you in fact did not have a boyfriend waiting on you at the bar because you didn’t have one at all, you couldn’t help but allow your stubbornness to shine through and stop yourself from admitting defeat. 

“Fine.” You force the agreement out through gritted teeth, white knuckling your nearly empty cocktail glass. “It’s your funeral.”

You throw in one last effort to scare the stranger away before turning on your heels and walking towards the bar to face your inevitable demise, taking a long, winding path through the crowd of bodies in hopes to knock him off your trail and lose him before he figured you out.

Your heart starts to race the second the bar comes into view, swallowing down what was left of your Vodka Cranberry as your eyes quickly scan over the people occupying the bar stools in search of who you thought might be the most willing to play along with your lie and pretend to be your boyfriend, hard to do when you could only see the backs of their heads. 

There was a man sitting directly in the middle of the bar but he had a girl hanging off of his arm so you quickly ruled him out. Maybe you could go for the guy who was sitting three stools down, he seemed to be alone and probably wouldn’t mind- oh, he’s coughing. Okay, perfect. You didn’t want to risk getting sick so you quickly turned your attention to the other side of the bar and nearly stopped in your tracks at the sight of dark curly hair.

Your feet were carrying you over in his direction without a second thought, little time to weigh out your options any longer and third time’s the charm, right? 

I mean, this guy was sitting at the end of the bar all by himself, he wasn’t coughing and maybe your subconscious just enjoyed the familiarity of the dark curly hair.

You set your empty glass down on the bar next to the man sitting alone before turning around to look for the blonde from before and groan when you see him coming out of the crowd of people in search of you. 

You lean back against the bar and stare down the blonde you were trying to get rid of, not even giving the man sitting down next to you a second glance before asking him a question that makes him choke on his drink. 

“Hey, can you pretend to be my boyfriend real quick?” You allow the alcohol coursing through your veins to give you the courage to ask, too busy staring down the approaching blonde to even catch a glimpse of the guy's face that you were asking, sure to be met with confusion if you had. 

You didn’t even give the stranger time to respond, so dead set on proving a point to the blonde walking towards you that you threw all rationality out the window and quickly turned to grab the dark haired man's face and pull him in for a kiss that would hopefully have the blonde backing off. 

The kiss was stiff at first, surely due to the shock the stranger felt for your lips suddenly against his own, but it only takes a second for the two of you to melt into it and find a rhythm that took your breath away. 

Your fingers twitch against his cheekbones as his lips move against your own in a way that makes your legs feel a bit wobbly, unsure if it was due to the alcohol or the dark haired man’s filthy mouth that had you stumbling into him, but you couldn’t help but silently thank whatever the cause was when his hands are quick to grab your hips to hold you steady and stop you from falling over. 

The warmth from his large hands is quick to spread down to your toes and surely tint your cheeks a shade of pink that you’d hopefully be able to blame on the vodka. The color only deepens when he keeps them at your waist even after you’re stable, digging his fingertips into your hips in a way that has you gasping and he’s quick to slip his tongue in as soon as he’s invited. 

The stranger is quick to take control of the kiss after that, turning in his chair enough to get a better angle. He pulls you closer with the grip he has on your hips so he could kiss you deeper, hungrier, filthier now. 

It was hard to tell if the fever behind his lips was all for show or if he was feeling just as desperate for this as you were and you didn’t even care to know the answer because either way he was lighting you ablaze and making you feel alive for the first time in months. 

You thought you’d have to rely on the vodka coursing through your veins to make you feel so confident in kissing a man that you’d never even seen the face of, but with the way his tongue slid against your own with such passion you couldn’t help but feel comfortable because it was all so familiar. 

The feeling of stubble beneath your fingertips, the way his teeth bite at your bottom lip and tug on it in a way that pulls a groan from your throat that he happily swallows, the way his fingertips were digging into your hips in a way you could only hope would bruise, the taste of cigarettes on his tongue that explored your mouth as if he already had it all mapped out before. 

It was a taste so familiar to you, something you had become addicted to and found yourself craving in every kiss you’ve shared with a man since the last time you had swallowed it. 

And it suddenly hits you that kissing this stranger felt so familiar, so comfortable, so desperate because he wasn’t a stranger at all. 

There had only ever been one man whose kiss had you feeling knocked off your feet, who had the ability to light your body on fire just from a single touch, who always left you desperate and craving more time and time again. 

You hadn’t had him in so long that you nearly forgot just how addicting he was, your fingers twitching against his cheek once more before finally caving and sliding into his hair, you both groaned at the feeling and maybe this kiss was teetering the line of being a bit too passionate for the public eye. 

The feeling of his hands sliding around your backside finally wakes you from the daydream, feeling as though a bucket of ice water had just been poured over you as you remember who those hands belonged to, terrified to open your eyes and confirm your suspicions.

You force your lips away from his own with a racing heart and a stomach filled with dread, your eyes still shut out of fear of who you would see when you opened them, allowing yourself to stay in the bubble of bliss for just a beat longer. 

Your fingers were still tangled in his dark curly hair when you finally found the courage to open your eyes slowly and couldn’t help but feel as though your entire world had been flipped upside down when you’re met with an all too familiar set of dark brown eyes that felt like a punch to the gut. 

Matty.

Your heart drops down to the floor beneath you that you wished would open up and swallow you whole to save you from the embarrassment because of course out of every man in Manhattan, he would be the one you blindly chose. 

It had been exactly a year, two months and nine days since you saw Matty for the last time and yes, you were keeping track because as it turns out, time heals nothing when you’re that deeply in love. 

The two of you stare at one another through ragged, shaky pants and wide eyes full of shock that scan over each other's face quickly to soak in every detail missed for the past year. 

The streaks of grey in his hair that have seemed to multiply, the feeling of the ringlets wrapped around your fingertips. The stubble on his cheeks that you always loved for him to grow out, addicted to the way it felt scratching the inside of your thighs. The sight of his pink lips that were swollen due to your own, shining with your spit and enticing you in a way that had you desperate to dive in for more. 

Matty clears his throat as if he can hear every thought whirling around in your mind, giving your hips one last squeeze before slowly standing up from the barstool you found him in, sliding an arm around your waist and towering over you in a way that makes your stomach flip and has your hands falling from his hair and back at your sides. 

“Do we have a problem?” Matty’s voice holds a certain edge of intimidation that makes your throat feel rather dry, a flash of heat settling in your butterfly filled stomach at the sound of his voice after not hearing for so long. “Is he bothering you?”

And it takes you a second to realize that Matty’s talking to you, so caught up in the addictive rasp of his voice that you didn’t even realize his dark eyes were on you until you felt a pinch at your hip. 

You feel your eyebrows scrunch in confusion, so close to asking who but Matty is quick to tilt his head subtly in the direction of the blonde who you had completely forgotten about, whoops. 

“I just wanted to buy her a drink.” The blonde holds his hands up in defense, thankfully speaking for you because you weren’t positive you could have found your own voice after Matty’s tongue stole it from you. “I didn’t know she had a boyfriend, man.”

Matty’s fingers dig into your hips with a certain edge that had you feeling as though maybe he was a little jealous. 

“Did she tell you she had a boyfriend?” Matty’s voice booms with a patronizing tone that makes you feel rather dizzy, able to feel the vibrations from his voice as he spoke from how tightly Matty was holding you against his body. 

The blonde glances at you for a beat before sighing with a roll of his eyes and nodding. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t believe her.”

“You should be.” Matty nods and you can’t help but glance up at him to stare at the clench of his jaw, the dangerous glare he was fixing the blonde with, it had your stomach flipping. “Now tell her.”

Matty’s eyes fall to you and you’re quick to look away, embarrassed to have been caught staring, your heart racing with both of their attention now on you. You glance at the blonde and shoot him a tight smile, suddenly feeling bad for putting the stranger in this situation, even if he did deserve it. 

The blonde’s jaw clicks, almost as if he was having to force the apology out through gritted teeth. “I’m sorry.”

“Good.” Matty beams through an arrogant tone, pulling you impossibly closer as he threatens. “Now go find a different girl to bother and leave mine alone.”

The heat in your stomach swirls down a spiral of mine, mine, mine. 

You couldn’t help but feel dizzy to hear Matty call you his after the way things ended between the two of you a year ago, even if it was all an act, you were addicted to the way it sounded falling from his lips still swollen from your own. 

The blonde doesn’t linger long after that, walking away with a hefty huff and roll of his green eyes before disappearing into the sea of bodies and leaving you and Matty all alone, still pressed together and panting from the kiss your heart continues to race from. 

Matty waits until he’s positive the guy is gone for good before softly rubbing his hand that was still at your waist, focusing all his attention on you in a way that has you desperate for the ground to open up and swallow you whole before you die from embarrassment at the whole thing. 

You hadn’t seen Matty in over a year and you somehow ended up mauling his face before even saying hello first. 

“Are you okay?” Matty’s voice is full of a genuine concern that makes your knees weak, thankful that he was still holding onto you out of fear you might have fallen to the floor if not. “Did he hurt you?” His tone was more rushed, more angry. “I’m sure he didn’t make it far, I can still beat his ass if you nee-“

“I’m so fucking sorry.” You’re quick to rush out, shaking your head through eyes that brimmed with tears as the panic for the situation you threw yourself in bubbles out of you. “I am so fucking sorry for doing that, I-I had no idea that it was you when I kissed you, or I-I-“ You hesitate to find the right words through the million swimming around in your brain right. “Fuck, why did I do that? I-I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Matty nods, rubbing your hipbone in a reassuring way that only pulls a tear from your eye. “I-I’m not upset, it’s fine.”

“It’s not.” You argue, pushing his chest softly to put some distance between the two of you despite how much you missed his warmth already. “I would have never done that if I knew it was you.” You explain through a racing heart that rings in your ears, bringing your hands up to your head and pulling your hair softly out of frustration for the way you so desperately wanted to dive in for more. “I-I just went after the first guy that I saw and I-“

“Ouch.” Matty holds his chest in faux offense, the corners of his mouth that shine with reminders of your glittery gloss twitches softly. “You wound me.”

And you can’t help but laugh softly at his antics, quick to realize that it was his goal when his mouth spreads into a soft smile at the sound.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I just-“ You hesitate, desperate to find the words to convey all the thoughts whirling around your mind and sighing when none of them properly explain how you felt now standing in front of him. “I’m really sorry, okay?”

“I know.” Matty nods, his eyes gleaming at you in a way that has you swallowing down the butterflies that threaten to fly out. “I promise you that it’s okay, I’m not upset with you.” He assures and you suddenly felt as though you could breathe a little better now. “Though, I don’t know if I like how comfortable you are kissing some bloke before looking at him.”

He pulls another laugh from you and his eyes shine as if he’d won some reward as the sound washes over him. 

“Yeah, well, desperate measures.” You shrug, wiping away a stray tear that fell from the force of your laughter, happy to know that your eyes were dried up already and that you could actually look at the man standing before you without feeling like dying. Your cheeks blush as soft as the smile you shoot at him. “Thank you for uh- for doing that.” You nod, quick to tack on. “For pretending to be my boyfriend.”

“Yeah, ‘course.” Matty smiles back just as easily. “Anytime.”

And you couldn’t help the way your cheeks flush at the implication, suddenly feeling as though you were under a spotlight with the way his dark eyes roamed over your frame shamelessly, seeming to drink in every inch as if to refresh his fading memory. 

You shift on your feet, crossing your arms over your chest in an attempt to hide your body, suddenly feeling insecure now that his dark eyes were glued to it. 

You clear your throat from the nerves that settled there since the two of you were left alone. The sound brings Matty’s attention back up to your face, his dark eyes twinkle with a certain gleam that has your heart fluttering after not seeing it for a year. 

It makes you desperate to fill the silence in the air, desperate to distract yourself from the way he was staring you down as if he wanted to eat you alive because you knew if you didn’t break up some of the tension between the two of you, you’d let him.

“It was kinda crazy for me to just kiss a stranger like that, huh?” You grimace, hugging your arms tighter around yourself as you shift your weight between your feet once more. “I guess I didn’t have to make out with a guy just to prove he was my boyfriend, a hug probably would’ve worked.” Matty snorts at your word vomit that was so desperate to fill the void that you were about to deliver an awful joke. “I hope I didn’t just make you cheat on another girl.”

You cringe as soon as the joke falls off your tongue, nearly ready to pull up the floorboards yourself so you could crawl beneath them and hide when Matty’s eyes widen as your words register to him, an apology already on the tip of your tongue but it’s quickly drowned out by the sound of his laughter booming over the loud music of the bar. 

“No.” Matty shakes his head through a laugh, his shoulders with it. “I don’t have a girlfriend.” He confirms and air finally reaches down to your lungs. “Still single.”

Still. 

You couldn’t help but linger on what that word implied, that he hadn’t been with anyone since, you could only hope. 

“Good.” You nod and then quickly shake your head when you realize how that might come across, you didn’t want him to figure you out. “I-I mean, not good because I care or anything.” You laugh softly, the tremor of nerves clear in your tone. “Just good that you’re single because I wouldn’t want to make you-” You hesitate, unable to say the word that was on the tip of your tongue. “You know.” You settle on with a racing heart, tacking on a final. “Again.”

“Yeah.” Matty laughs softly, nodding. “I got it.” 

You cringe at yourself once more because my god, you were just making things painfully awkward, weren't you? 

The silence lingers between the two of you until you feel nauseous, desperate to find something to say and nearly about to ask him about the weather but Matty speaks up instead, clearing his throat. “So, that guy was being a dick, then?”

“Majorly, yeah.” You scoff, nodding your head softly. “Which sucks because he was actually kinda cute.” You pout softly, too in your own world to notice the way Matty’s jaw ticks. “But he slapped my ass before even introducing himself.” Your face twists in disgust as you recall. “I mean, who does that? What an asshole. Men are disgusting.” 

You snarl with a roll of your eyes that end up on Matty and you’re quick to grimace when you realize that maybe he wasn’t the best person to be ranting to about men and their disgusting tendencies. 

“Sorry, I’m drunk.” You flush, shaking your head softly as you correct yourself. “Tispy, not drunk.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to lay him out really quick?” Matty offers once more, holding his thumb over his shoulder with an angry flare of his nostrils. “It won’t take long, one hit will probably do him in.” 

“No.” You laugh softly at his outward display of jealousy, can’t help the way it makes your spine tingle. “No, I don’t, but thanks for offering.” 

You shift on your feet under his watchful eye and hug yourself tighter as you give him a smile. 

“And thank you again for uh- for doing that for me, you really saved me there.” Matty gives you a smile in return, nodding his head once. “Sorry that I- you know.” You wave your hands softly as you try to find the words to convey what you were trying to say, delivering the apology through a huff of laughter. “Sorry that I mauled your face without your permission.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Matty is quick to wave you off, a playful gleam in his eye as he shrugs and smiles easily. “It’s not like it was a punishment for me or anything.”

You curse the way your cheeks flush at his flirtatious tendencies, curse how quickly you seem to fall back under his spell even after not seeing him for a year, curse how tempting the remnants of your glittery lip gloss that shined against his lips were. 

The way the sparkles reflected in the light and practically called out to you had you ready to risk it all and dive back into him for more. 

You hated that even after all this time, you still craved him. That all he would have to do is wrap his arm back around your waist and you’d be caving because you wanted to, because you missed him. But you couldn't have him, you shouldn’t, even though you desperately wanted to. 

You needed to get out of here before he saw that desire written all over your face. 

“Right, well…” You trail off, clearing your throat and wiping your shaky, sweaty palms over your rather short skirt before shooting him a tight smile. “I-I should go um- yeah, I should leave.” You nod, more to yourself than anything. “Thanks again and uh- sorry again.” You laugh softly, already taking a step back from the older man. “It was- It was good to see you, but I-I should-” You grimace, nearly tripping over your own two feet as you take another step back. “Bye.”

You shoot him one last tight smile before quickly turning on your heels and ready to make a b-line straight to the front door of the bar but you barely get one step away from him before you feel a hand wrapping around your wrist, the contact jolting through your arm as he effectively stops you from walking away from him, your heart drops down to the floor beneath you. Fuck.

“Wait.” The word falls breathless off Matty’s tongue, spoken in desperation before he even had thought of an excuse to keep you there, only focused on making you stay because he wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to you yet. “Let me buy you a drink.”

You turn around to face him again and hate the way your heart skips a beat at the panic behind his eyes, hate to think about how painful watching you walk away was for him as it was for you to try and do it. 

“I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.” You dismiss him weakly, hopeful that he couldn’t feel the pound of your racing heartbeat in his fingertips still wrapped around your wrist. “I really should get going.”

“Please, it’s the least I can do.” Matty begs and your heart picks up into a pace he would surely feel as he rubs his thumb over your wrist. “One drink, please.” His voice is full of desperation to match the dark eyes that scan over your face, squeezing your wrist softly now as he admits. “I-I want you to stay.” 

Your chest aches as his words wash over you, swallowing down a heart shaped lump in your throat as his dark eyes stare into your own, wide and pleading as he awaits your decision. 

And while you knew it would be a mistake to stay, you knew that being around him would only wash away all that progress you’ve made towards healing this past year, it didn’t matter because you weren’t ready to say goodbye to him either. 

Not yet. 

Maybe tonight would finally give you closure. 

“Okay.” You cave because of course you do, pulling your wrist from his hold before the heat from his hand burns you alive. You stare into his dark eyes with a raised brow, holding up one finger to further prove your point. “One drink.”

“One drink.” Matty repeats through a smile and you could practically see his shoulders relax through relief that you had agreed, even if it was against your better judgment. 

Matty steps to the side and pulls out the empty barstool next to his own that you had found him in, motioning for you to sit down and you couldn’t help but flush at the gesture, sliding into the barstool he had pulled out for you and fighting to ignore the way his knee brushes against your thigh as he sits down next to you. 

You watch Matty flag down the bartender, the rosy color of your cheeks deepening when he takes the liberty of ordering for you. 

“Hey, can I get another round of Jack and Coke for myself?” Your face twists in disgust at his order, remembering the night you first met him and took a sip of his drink and declared it horrendous. “And I think my girl will probably want a Vodka Cranberry. With an extra lime on the side, right?”

You nearly choke on your spit at his choice of wording, coughing through bright red cheeks as Matty watches you with curious eyes that widen when he realizes what just slipped out of his mouth. 

“Fuck, I-I’m sorry.” Matty is quick to stutter through an apology, his own cheeks tinted pink as the bartender stares at the two of you with a raised brow. “Forgot that I don’t have to pretend to be your boyfriend anymore.”

Matty laughs but it’s breathless and feels forced, his hand coming around to the back of his neck to scratch at it awkwardly and you’re quick to wave off the mistake that you’re pretty positive wasn’t due to the excuse he provided. 

“I-It’s okay.” You smile, pretending as though being referred to as his girl didn’t have butterflies swirling through your veins and settling in your stomach. You turn your attention to the bartender who was waiting impatiently, tapping his fingers against the bar top. “Yeah, Vodka Cran’s good.”

The bartender nods once before turning away and leaving the two of you alone yet again, your heart racing as you turn back to face the older man who looked to still be kicking himself over his minor slip up and you were desperate to ease some of his nerves. 

“I’m surprised you still remember my drink order.” You say casually, leaning one arm on the bar as you turn your body to face Matty more directly.

“I think I’ve paid for enough of them to have it memorized by now.” Matty reminds and you can’t help but flush at the memory of going out for drinks after work with your coworkers and your drinks always ending up on Matty’s tab somehow. “Not like I could forget it in, what- the year it’s been since I’ve seen you?”

Your heart drops at the mention. 

“A year, yeah.” You confirm. And two months and nine days, you think to yourself. 

“Wow, has it really been that long?” Matty’s face scrunches and your chest aches at the thought of him not keeping a tally of the days like you had. You nod with a tight smile and Matty exhales a deep huff of air, shaking his head slowly. “Feels like just yesterday.”

And fuck, you wish the bartender would make your drink a little faster, needing to take a big gulp as soon as possible because he was right. The memory of you screaming at Matty, punching his chest until he left and crying your eyes out all alone for hours on end on your living room floor burned so vividly in your mind that it did feel like it just happened yesterday.

“Yeah, time flies.” You sigh, a sad edge to your tone that Matty is quick to pick up on and is desperate to erase, resting his arm against the bar and turning his body towards you to mirror the position you were facing him with. 

“Something about you is different.” He comments off-handedly, his dark eyes scanning over your features to try and pinpoint exactly what it was that had changed since the last time he saw you. Probably hard to do considering the last memory he had of you, you were red eyed and tear stained. 

His dark eyes squint as his head tilts, studying you in a way that has you feeling shy. “Did you cut your hair?”

Wow, you didn’t think he would notice. The change was so microscopic that most of your close friends hadn’t even picked up on it. 

“Yeah, I uh- I wanted a change after,” You hesitate, breaking eye contact for a second to mutter. “everything.” 

And you don’t miss the way Matty clears his throat and shifts in his chair at the mention. 

“I only cut a few inches, I’m too pussy to chop it all off.” You joke and Matty barks out a laugh that you can’t help but giggle at, tacking on more just to hear the sound again. “I actually had bangs at one point but they grew out fast and thank god because they did not suit me.”

Matty laughs through a scoff, shaking his head as if he was disagreeing with the thought that anything could not suit you. 

“Well, it looks good.” Matty compliments your hair with an easy smile, his dark eyes running over your locks before betraying him and roaming over your body next, then your face before delivering a more pointed compliment. “You look good.”

And the bartender could not have had better timing, thankful that he had returned to slide your drinks over to the two of you so it’d distract from the deep flush on your cheeks from the compliment Matty fixed you with, unable to stop yourself from preening as you sit up a little straighter and cheers your glass against his own. 

Matty shoots you a smile over the rim of his glass before taking a sip, an action that you mirrored and did little to erase the pink tint on your cheeks. 

Oh well, at least you could blame it on the alcohol now. 

“So,” Matty swallows down his Jack and Coke, grimacing a little from the strong alcoholic taste as he sets his glass down on the bar between the two of your elbows that leaned against it. “how have you been?”

“Fine.” You sigh, taking one more sip of your Vodka Cranberry before setting it back down on the bar. “I’ve been good, yeah.”

“Oh, come on.” Matty groans, rolling his dark eyes. “That’s the best you could come up with? Fine.” He raises his voice in a way to mock your own and your mouth drops in faux offense at his antics. “Maybe we should talk about the upcoming weather too. Did you know it’s supposed to rain on Tuesday? Make sure you bring your umbrella.”

“You are such a dick.” You scoff through a laugh, shaking your head softly as you mindlessly fall into a comfortable banter with him even after all your time apart. “You’re the one who asked.”

“Right, that’s my fault, my bad.” He holds his hands up in defense and shoots you a smile that has your eyes surely gleaming at him. “I should have asked something better, like, what’s a girl like you doing out alone on a Friday night?”

Your heart flutters at the implication as you shrug. “I had a long, stressful week.”

Matty stares at you for a beat, leaning in softly as if he was waiting for you to elaborate further and sighing dramatically when you just furrow your brows at him in response. 

“You know, I’m starting to think I’d get more interesting answers if I just went and talked to the wall instead.” Matty teases and you can’t help but giggle. 

“Such a dick.” You repeat with more emphasis this time, rolling your eyes playfully. “My god, you haven’t changed at all.” 

You laugh softly, rolling your eyes once more when Matty continues to stare at you expectantly, wanting a better answer than you had already provided. 

“Fine, I had a long, stressful week and I wanted an overpriced drink to make me feel better about it.” You explain, picking up your cocktail and tipping the glass in his direction with a playful gleam in your eye as you tease. “And it tastes so much better when I don’t have to pay for it.”

Matty shoots you a glare that doesn’t have any real heat behind it, his eyes twinkling as he watches you take a pointed sip of your Vodka Cranberry and snorting when you dramatically sigh in contentment after swallowing it down. 

“Okay, your turn.” You decide, placing your glass back down on the bar with a little too much force, a droplet of the crimson liquid splashes onto your hand that you wipe on your thigh as you cross one leg over the other. 

Matty’s eyes can’t help but fall down to the show, he was a simple man after all. 

“Let’s hear you come up with a better answer, hm?” Your head tilts to the side as you lean your chin against your hand. “What’s a man like you doing out alone on a Friday night?”

Matty clears his throat, shifting in his barstool and taking a rather large gulp of his cocktail as he stews on his answer for a beat, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a smirk as he delivers it.

“I had a long, stressful week.” He shrugs, already laughing before you could even push his arm out of retaliation. 

“I hate you.” You groan through a shared laugh, the three words bulletless as they wash over him. Your head shakes softly as you pick up your glass and take another sip and grimace slightly at the strong vodka flavor, you make a mental note to stir it before the next one. “You’re an ass.”

“Oh, I thought I was a dick?” Matty raises a thick eyebrow, smirking at you over the rim of his glass. 

“You are.” You confirm, rolling your eyes playfully as you stir the tiny black straw around in your glass in hopes that it’d made the next sip a little less bitter. “So,” You draw out, testing out your method and smiling when the crimson liquid goes down easier this time around. “how has the office been?”

It’s a question you couldn’t help but ask, not having stepped foot in the building since you ran out of it crying the day Farrah stopped by, sending your resignation letter over email and not returning any of Thomas’ calls afterwards. 

You couldn't stomach the thought of going back in there knowing how everyone would look at you, how they would whisper behind your back, you didn’t know how Matty put up with it everyday.

“Fine, I guess.” Matty shrugs, half hearted. “Not as much fun when I’m actually working.”

You couldn’t help but snort, unable to imagine a world in which Matty Healy ever actually got any work done. 

Maybe he had changed more than you realized. 

“Oh, c’mon.” Your eyes roll dramatically. “You and I both know that you still spend your days playing solitaire and seeing how far away you can toss a crumpled up piece of paper into your trash can.” 

Matty laughs into his glass before taking a sip, barely swallowing the dark liquid down before defending himself. 

“Hey, when I made it into my bin from across the hall while sitting at your desk, that was pretty impressive.” He argues and you couldn’t help but giggle as the memory of him interrupting your conference call to boot you out of your office chair so he could sit in it and shoot the paper through the two doorways and into his trash can replays in your mind. “You have to give me that.”

You cover your mouth with your hand to hide the laughter that pours out of you at the memory of how he had jumped out of your chair to cheer when the paper shot perfectly into his bin from so far away, how he picked you up and twirled you around as if he’d just won a gold olympic medal or something. 

“Okay, fine.” You concede, holding your hands up as if you were raising a white flag. “That was pretty impressive.” And Matty smiles brightly at your confession. “But you got lucky.”

“Luck, my ass.” Matty scoffs as if you’ve actually offended him. “That was nothing but pure skill.”

“Yeah, okay.” You giggle, rolling your eyes playfully as you take another sip of your cocktail to hide the smile that nearly breaks your face. “I’m surprised Thomas hasn’t figured you out yet now that I’m not there to cover for you.”

Matty chuckles before clearing his throat, swirling his cocktail around in his glass as he shifts in his barstool. 

“Thomas quit.” He informs and your mouth is quick to drop open in shock, sure that your old boss would have retired there and before you can even ask who took his place, Matty is raising his glass out towards you. “I uh- I’m actually the boss now.”

Your mouth drops open further, you couldn’t help yourself. 

“No fucking way?” You laugh softly, clinking your glass against his own to celebrate at the news when Matty nods in response. “Wow, so they just let anyone apply, huh?”

“Alright.” Matty groans, rolling his dark eyes as if he was already expecting the tease to come from you. “I guess they were impressed with my high score on solitaire and impeccable aim.”

Matty knocks his knee against your own and oh, you suddenly felt quite parched. 

“Thomas kinda fell apart without you there to keep his head on straight.” Matty explains and you can’t help the wave of guilt that washes over you, feeling as though you were responsible for ruining more than just one life. “I was sorta doing his job for him most of the time anyways, so when he quit, I ended up being next in line.” He shrugs, taking a sip of his cocktail and smirking when he swallows. “Pissed Gary right off, though, I’ll tell you. Kept bitching and moaning about how twenty years at the company should earn him the title.”

“Oh, fuck Gary, he was arguably the laziest one up there.” You groan, rolling your eyes at the image of an elderly man who never failed to irritate you when he was around. “He always gave me the creeps. You know, I caught him staring at my ass one day when I was getting a soda out of the vending machine, I never wanted to slap him so badly.”

“See, now I don’t feel so guilty about firing him.” Matty shrugs with a smile. “Guy was a prick, he deserved it.”

“You’re firing people?” Your brow raises in surprise. “Maybe you have changed.”

“Oh, I haven’t changed.” Matty scoffs, rolling his dark eyes playfully before fixing you with a pointed look that has your throat feeling rather dry. “You of all people should know how relentless I can be.” 

And oh, that has your stomach flipping. You swallow thickly as the memories come rushing back to you. 

Flashbacks of Matty’s hand wrapped around your neck, tears rolling down your cheeks, your throat sore from begging and pleading for him to take mercy on you and finally let you cum after denying you of it until you were aching. 

It was a state of mind that he shouldn’t have been able to put you in so easily while laid out on his desk but a position you somehow found yourself in several times throughout your ten months of sneaking around. 

Your thighs clench now as the memories burn through you and the action doesn’t go unnoticed by the older man. 

Matty smirks over the rim of his glass and suddenly it feels rather hot in here, you’re quick to down a gulp of your Vodka Cranberry, sneaking an ice cube in your mouth in hopes it would cool down some of the fire that settled in your stomach. 

“Well, I guess I’m glad I got out of there when I did.” You shrug through a slurred tone as the ice melts on your tongue, leaning your chin on your palm as you tease. “I’m so used to having Thomas wrapped around my finger that I probably wouldn’t have lasted too long under you.”

And yeah, okay, maybe you were bordering the line of flirting, but you couldn’t help it. 

You just wanted to see him squirm a little too, sure that he was having flashbacks of his own as you watched him clear his throat and take a rather large gulp of his cocktail. 

“Nah, you would’ve loved to have me as your boss.” Matty argues, bringing his foot up to come rest on the bar of your stool, far away enough from your own to be deemed innocent but close enough for you to feel the heat radiating. “I’d be worse than Thomas, you would’ve gotten away with everything.”

You blush, you can’t help it, knowing that what Matty had said was true. 

Matty smirks at you over the rim of his glass and your thighs clench instinctively at the sight, desperate to get another ice cube in your mouth in hopes that this one would combat the heat behind his gaze. 

“Oh, I’m sure HR would’ve loved that.” You tease to break up some of the tension, needing the air to breathe before you end up doing something stupid like grabbing his hand and pulling him into the bathroom. “But at least you’ve still got Maeve to show favoritism to in my absence.”

You could barely get the sentence out without giggling, probably would’ve been able to hold your straight face a little longer if Matty hadn’t shot you a glare full of annoyance for bringing up the girl you both knew he couldn’t stand. 

You knew you had achieved your goal of breaking up the tension when Matty scoffs and rolls his eyes. 

“Maeve.” Her name falls off his tongue in a face twisted with disgust, taking a gulp of his Jack and Coke as if he needed something to help wash it down. “She’s in your office now, by the way. I don’t like it.” His head shakes, your heart flutters. “Thomas promoted her before he quit and thank god I got his job so I don’t have to work across from her everyday.”

“Oh c'mon." You giggle. “She’s not that bad.”

Matty shoots you a pointed look. 

“She’s worse now that I’m single.” Matty grumbles and your heart skips a beat at the mention of his relationship status yet again, curious to know if it was casual or if he was trying to remind you that you could cross the line anytime you wanted. “Constantly kissing my ass by making my coffee or buying me a donut on her way in every morning.” His dark eyes roll. “And it’s like, I don’t know if she’s trying to get me to promote her or fuck her.”

You can’t help the way your fingers tighten over your glass at the idea of Matty with another girl, fighting to not sound overly bitter with jealousy as you say, “I mean, considering you just told me Thomas promoted her semi-recently, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that she’s definitely trying to fuck you, yeah.”

Matty groans, rubbing his hand over his face and you can’t help but giggle, maybe you had nothing to worry about after all. 

“Well, if she’s trying to get me to fuck her, she could at least buy me a donut that’s more interesting than fucking glazed.” Matty grumbles and you’re quick to cover your mouth to muffle the laugh that barks out of you. “I mean, a cream filled one to drop a hint or something, maybe.”

“Ew? Fuck, that’s really gross.” You cringe through laughter, shaking your head. “I’m never going to be able to eat a donut again.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I can’t stomach them anymore either.” Matty snorts, adjusting in his seat and scooting his foot a little closer to your own on the bar at the bottom of your stool. “I’m so sick of walking into my office and seeing a donut on my desk.”

“Oh, please.” You draw out dramatically and roll your eyes just as much, staring at him over the rim of your glass before taking a sip. “You know you love the attention.”

Matty’s dark eyes are quick to fall to the way you lick the remainder of the crimson liquid off your lips, then down to your neck before just drinking in the expanse of your frame shamelessly, clearly feeling the effects of the alcohol as his foot slides to rest against your own at the bottom of your stool. 

“Not when it’s coming from her.” Matty says pointedly and your heart races at the implication, swallowing thickly at the feeling of his knee grazing up against your own, easier to do now that his foot was touching yours and his leg was just a millimeter away.

And oh, suddenly it felt hot in here all over again, the air thick between the two of you and hard to breathe in. 

You shift in your barstool and subtly clench your thighs together in a way that maybe wasn’t so subtle considering Matty’s eyes are quick to fall to the show and okay, you needed to say something fast before he did something stupid that you wouldn’t stop him from. 

“But even if it’s annoying at times, it’s still nice to have people kissing your ass, right?” Your voice is a little unsteady and you’re quick to clear your throat before he figures you out, tilting your head to the side as you tease. “You haven’t let all that power go to your head, have you?”

Matty laughs easily and suddenly you can breathe again. 

“Oh, absolutely, I have, yeah.” Matty nods, not even able to keep a straight face as he dramatically exaggerates. “I make people feed me grapes while I answer emails and rub my feet when I’m on conference calls, it’s wonderful.”

“You’re an idiot.” You snort, shaking your head softly through a laugh as you swallow down your dwindling drink that you should be savoring since you only promised him one. “You know, Maeve would actually do those things for you if you asked.”

“Oh, believe me, I know.” Matty snorts, rolling his eyes sarcastically. 

He takes a rather large gulp of his Jack and Coke that makes his Adam's apple bob in an enticing way that has you reaching for your own cocktail to distract yourself. 

“Alright, alright, enough about me,” He waves, placing his glass back down on the bar and knocking his knee against your own, leaving it to linger there as he leans his head on his hand and shoots you a smile. “what have you been up to this past year?”

The feeling of his jeans rubbing against your bare legs has you feeling rather dizzy, the heat radiating off of him practically burning you alive in a way that has you desperate to put out the flames in your stomach with your cocktail, quick to down what was left of your Vodka Cranberry. 

“I actually went back to school,” You nod, placing your empty glass down on the bar and unable to fight the smile from breaking out on your face when you tack on, “Fashion school.” And Matty’s mouth is quick to drop open in a way that makes you giggle and shrug. “I got into FIT.” 

“No shit.” His dark eyes were wide and shining at you in a way that makes your heart skip a beat. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah, yeah.” You nod, laughing softly as you press your own knee harder against Matty’s in a way that immediately makes him smile as you tease. “Turns out all I had to do was apply.”

Matty laughs easily at that, sure that he was reminiscing on the conversation the two of you shared about The Fashion Institute of Technology in his kitchen over a bottle of wine and you were nearly counting down the seconds until he said ‘I told you so.’

“I’m proud of you.” He says instead and your chest aches as the sentiment washes over you, making you wish that you still had some of your cocktail left to wash down the butterflies that threaten to spill from your throat. “See,” He emphasizes the word by pressing his leg harder against your own. “I knew they’d want you, they’d be fucking mad not to.” 

And oh, that sentiment doesn’t settle as nicely as the first, this one is bitter and bites at your chest in a way that has you reliving the entire conversation you and Matty had shared in his kitchen that night, his words now are too similar to the ones he said to you over a year ago for you to ignore.

All that laughter and flirtatious knocking of knees had you forgetting why it had been so long since you’d seen him in the first place, why you had been avoiding him for over a year and now that you were faced with the reminder, you couldn’t help but wish you had some of your Vodka Cranberry left to numb some of the pain.

“Another round?” The bartender’s voice pulls you from the internal spiral, spawning as if he could hear you calling for him in your mind, leaning two hands against the bar as he stares at the two of you expectantly.

Your response of, “No, I’m okay.” mixes in harmony with Matty’s “Yeah, that’d be great.” and the two of you stare at one another in disbelief while the bartender just watches it all with a smirk. 

“I should go.” And even as the words fall from your tongue, the idea of following through with them pains your chest because you didn’t want to leave, despite knowing that you should. “I-It’s getting late, I should head home.”

“It’s not that late.” Matty’s dark eyes roll, pressing his leg harder against your own in a way that makes your heart race as the corners of his mouth twitch into a teasing smile. “You’re younger than I am, you can’t let me stay out later than you do, that’s just embarrassing.”

“Matty…” You shoot him a pointed look that he smiles easily at. “We made a deal, one drink.”

“But deals are meant to be broken.” Matty argues and you can’t help the bitter taste of the irony here. “C’mon, let me buy you another drink, we have to celebrate.” He begs, bringing his other foot to the bottom of your barstool as if he was trying to trap you in and stop you from leaving even if you wanted to. “You deserve it, Miss FIT.”

You hate the way your heart flutters and cheeks flush at his flirtatious tone, hate the way that your body seemed to be glued to the barstool as you stare into his dark eyes that were all too tempting, hate the way that even after a year of absence that he still held enough power over you to make you cave with a snap of his fingers. 

“Fine.” You groan, rolling your eyes more out of annoyance with yourself rather than the older man who was cheering at your defeat. “One more drink, I mean it this time.”

“Yes ma’am.” Matty nods and your stomach swirls with heat as he turns his head towards the bartender, his neck flexing in a delicious way as he orders another round for the two of you, happy that his attention was elsewhere so you could clench your thighs together without the threat of him noticing. Matty turns back to face you with a newfound gleam in his eye. “So, fashion school?”

“Fashion school.” You nod, unable to keep the smile off of your face because it all still felt so surreal. “Doesn’t that sound so crazy?”

“Well, no.” Matty argues, sliding his other foot more onto your bar stool so that both of his feet were settled against your own. “Not to me, at least. I knew you’d get in.” He shrugs and you flush at his certainty, he was the first person you’ve told the news to who wasn't shocked or wary about your new career path. “So, how is it going? Is it everything you hoped it’d be?”

“It’s going great, actually, yeah.” You nod and try not to flush deeper as Matty’s smile grows at the news. “It was a hard adjustment at first, it’s definitely a completely different world than the spreadsheets and pencil skirts that I was used to,” Matty laughs softly and you follow in his footsteps. “But I’m enjoying it, yeah. I’m happy.”

“Good.” Matty smiles and you wish the bartender would hurry up with your drink before you throw all caution to the wind and kiss him again. “I’m happy for you, you deserve it.”

You can’t help the smile that nearly splits your face into two, quick to tilt your head down in an attempt to hide your pink cheeks as you tug on a loose string sticking out of the hem of your skirt. “Thanks.”

You couldn’t be more thankful for the bartender who shows up at the perfect time yet again, sliding your drinks over the bar and distracting Matty from the swarm of butterflies that were surely flying around your head right now, happy to have something to blame your pink cheeks on as you grab the glass and quickly tip it back so fast that it dribbles down your chin.

“Fuck.” You mumble, quick to place the glass back on the bar and wipe your chin softly so you wouldn’t disrupt your makeup in the process, not even thinking twice before licking the crimson liquid off of your fingers before it dripped down to your arm. 

You were completely unaware of how filthy you might look until Matty clears his throat and shifts in his barstool across from you, sending both of his knees to press against your own in a way that makes your stomach flip, flushing as you wipe the remainder of the mess on your bare thigh and nearly explode when his dark eyes shamelessly fall to the show.

You could practically see it written all over his face how desperately he wanted to lean in and lick the droplets off of your thigh and if you stare at the way his long fingers were gripping his own glass tighter now any longer, you’d spread your legs right here to give him the room to do so. 

You needed a distraction, fast, desperately searching for anything you could say to disrupt the tension you had created before you ended up caving into the heat from his gaze that was nearly burning you alive. 

Your eyes trail from his hand to his arm and you nearly cheer when you notice a new topic of conversation. 

“That’s new.” You reach out to touch the patch of dark ink that you had never seen on his arm before, only thickening the air between the two of you when your hand makes contact with his skin, manicured nails that graze against his tattoo in a way that raises goosebumps in their path. “When did you get this done?”

“Few months ago.” Matty’s voice is deeper now, more rough, he’s quick to clear his throat and shift in his barstool before providing a deeper explanation for the tattoo that you trace lightly before forcing your hand away. “I went out with George to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and we got so shitfaced off of Irish Car Bomb’s that we apparently decided it’d be a good idea to commemorate the holiday with a tattoo.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, your eyebrows furrowing in confusion as you repeat, “Apparently?”

“Well, I don’t quite remember it happening.” Matty explains and you can’t help but laugh a little louder now, covering your mouth with your hand as you stare at the clover tattooed on Matty’s arm. “I didn’t even notice it until a few days later. Turns out, George and I are matching.”

“Oh my god, shut up.” You gasp and Matty just nods, sending you into a fit of laughter that he groans at. “Aw, that’s so cute, you have a matching tattoo with your best friend.” You tease and Matty shoots you a glare that you giggle at, leaning in closer to get a better look at the tattoo on his arm, your eyebrows furrowing further when you notice a small detail that you hoped the older man already had. “You do know that this clover has five leaves and not four, right?”

“Oh, I’m aware, yes.” Matty nods and you stifle a laugh. “Apparently our tattoo artist was as drunk as we were.” He groans, taking a sip of his Jack and Coke, swallowing quickly so he could tack on more. “And the worst part is that I don’t even know what tattoo shop we went to so I can’t even leave them a poor review for fucking up something as simple as a four leaf clover.”

“Hey, don’t blame the tattoo artist, maybe this is what you two asked for?” You shrug and Matty just glares harder in response. “Oh, c’mon, it’s not that bad.” You insist. “At least you have a funny story to tell, it’s a good ice breaker.” 

You give the clover one last glance before sitting up straighter in your barstool, rolling your eyes when you see Matty still glaring at you over the rim of his glass. 

“Alright.” You sigh. “Would it make you feel any better if I showed you my drunken tattoo?”

Matty nearly chokes on his drink.

“You have a tattoo?” His dark eyes wide.

“Well, don’t sound so shocked.” You tease, taking a sip of your Vodka Cranberry. 

“Since when?” His thick eyebrows furrow. “How have I never seen it?”

You can’t help the way your stomach flips at the reminder that Matty has seen every inch of your body, so many times that he knew he would have seen the ink on your body if you had any.

“Since Valentine’s day.” You sigh, already cringing at yourself before you could even explain. “I went out with a group of my friends to a bar and I met a tattoo artist there who told me that if I flashed him my tits, he’d take us all back to his shop and give everyone a free tattoo.” You shrug. “Super strong come on, but he was cute, I guess.”

“And did you say yes?” Matty is quick to ask, a fiery, jealous undertone to his voice. 

“I mean, I have the tattoo, don’t I?” You tease through a giggle and Matty doesn’t mirror it this time, his long fingers white knuckling his own glass as his eyes trail over your body, surely in search for the missing ink.

“Where?” He asks through a gruff tone as his dark eyes slowly scan over every inch of your exposed skin in a way that had you swallowing thickly. 

“Guess.” You tease, biting your lower lip softly when his dark eyes shoot up to look at you with a newfound fire behind them.

“Tell me.” He commands and your thighs immediately clench as the heat from his words travel down between them.

“You’re no fun.” You pout, taking one final sip of your Vodka Cranberry before setting it down on the bar and wiping your hands free from the condensation on your thighs. “I’ll just show you.”

You can’t even fight off the smile that twitches the corners of your mouth at the way Matty shifts in his barstool from your teasing tone, his dark eyes locked in on your every move as you playfully drag out the anticipated reveal. 

Matty’s legs squeeze softly around your own, enough to let you know that he was growing rather impatient and your smile spreads as you finally cave. 

You hook your middle fingers into your mouth and pull your bottom lip down slowly to reveal the ink hidden on the inside. 

Matty’s eyes widen at the sight, quick to lean in to get a better look at the word tattooed on your lip and you can’t help but gasp at the feeling of his hands spreading out over your thighs to hold himself steady while he inspected it. 

“Brat?” He reads the word aloud and you grow dizzy from the feeling of his breath fanning out over your lips, heart pounding beneath your rib cage from his sudden closeness, it wouldn’t take much for you to close the gap and pick right back up where you left off. “Well, that’s fitting.”

“Oh, fuck off.” You groan, dropping your hands from your mouth in favor of hitting his chest softly. Matty is too entranced by the way your lip pops back into place to react. 

“Did it hurt?” Matty asks in a deep, gruff voice that makes your stomach flip, not even bothering to take his eyes off of your lips as he speaks to you. 

“Not really.” You shrug, wiping your fingertips that shined with your spit off on your thigh next to his hands that were still spread over them despite having no reason to anymore, his pinky reaching out to touch the spot. It was growing rather hard to breathe. “Just sucked that I couldn’t kiss any guys without it hurting until it healed.”

And yes, you were lying just to get a rise out of him, but you couldn’t help it. It just came naturally when his hands were on you like this, when his breath was fanning out over your lips, when his dark eyes were glaring into your own as his blunt fingernails dig into the flesh of your thighs so meanly that it pulls a gasp from your throat. 

“Brat.” Matty mumbles, and okay, lines were definitely being crossed. 

“So it says.” You smile, fighting to ignore the way your heart raced at the feeling of his fingertips inching ever so slightly higher up on your thigh. 

Matty leans in a little closer, his voice as deep as the color of his eyes that flicker down to your lips. “And how does it feel now?”

Your stomach flips at the implications behind such a seemingly innocent question. 

You swallow thickly, clenching your thighs subtly as your own eyes glance down at his lips that were parted slightly in a way that was all too inviting.

“Fine.” Your voice comes out a little more breathless than before, barely more than a whisper but Matty hears it plain and clear because he’s right there. 

Matty is only a few inches from your face, so close that you could feel his breath fanning against your lips, close enough that you could have counted each individual eyelash if you weren’t so dizzy from the smell of his cologne and insistent throb between your thighs that his hands were still holding onto. 

Your heart pounds in your chest so intensely that it makes your ears ring, practically holding your breath as Matty inches closer and closer to your lips, all you had to do was close your eyes and tip your mouth to taste the cigarettes that had already faded off your tongue from before and my god you craved it. 

You craved him.

The desire and desperation you felt for him even after all this time was practically eating you alive, crawling beneath your skin and itching to just grab his hand and pull him out into the alley so the two of you could really get reacquainted.

Matty leans in closer, close enough now that you could feel his curls brushing against your forehead as he tilts his head slowly, almost as if he was giving you time to change your mind and maybe he shouldn’t have because suddenly it hits you. 

This wasn’t some stranger you had just met, a guy you could give a fake phone number to and forget all about the next morning, this was Matty.

And as desperately as you craved him, you knew that if you let him kiss you that all those feelings you’d kept buried for over a year now would come crashing back in full force and you weren’t quite sure if you were ready for that yet, if you were ready for him yet.

Matty moves a fraction closer and you jerk back suddenly.

“I need to go to the bathroom.” The words fall fast and breathless off your dry tongue, spoken in a panic without a second thought just seconds before Matty’s lips make contact with your own. “I-I need to-” Your head shakes as you stutter your way through a racing heart, quick to stand up from the barstool you had been sitting in to put some distance between the two of you and try not to miss the loss of Matty’s hands on your thighs as they fall back in his own lap. “I’ll uh- I-I’ll be right back.”

You don’t even give him a second glance as you turn on your heels and make your way through the sea of bodies in search for the bathroom that you vaguely remember being down the hall. 

You could barely hear the music over the ringing in your own ears as you push your way through strangers, apologizing when you accidentally knock a girl's drink out of her hand with your elbow as you squeeze through the packed bar. 

You hadn’t even realized how many people were in here until now, so wrapped up in your own world with Matty that it had almost felt like the two of you were the only ones in the room. 

You nearly cheer when the sign for the bathroom comes into sight, crossing your fingers that it was vacant as you push your way through the final stretch of the bar until your hand was turning the knob, already sighing in relief when it opens without a struggle and closing the door with a little too much force before locking yourself inside. 

You turn around and rest your head back against the door, inhaling a deep breath and closing your eyes as you hold it and count to ten before releasing it in hopes that it would get rid of the weight on your chest. 

It doesn’t, of course. 

You huff and push yourself off of the door to make your way over to the sink, quick to turn it on and splash some of the cold water on your face in an attempt to erase the flush of your cheeks caused by the warmth from his hands that still lingered on your thighs.

“This is so fucking stupid.” You mumble because it was, glancing at yourself in the mirror and rolling your eyes at the sight. “What is wrong with you?” You groan as you stare at your reflection, shaking your head softly as you grip the sink even tighter. “Fuck.”

Your head drops down between your shoulders as you squeeze your eyes shut and try to focus on the pounding bass from the music playing outside of the bathroom and not the spiral you were hurdling down in your mind. 

It had been an entire year, two months and nine days since you had felt Matty’s touch, since you had talked to him, since you had seen him. A whole year that allowed you to convince yourself that you were over it, over him, just for him to show up with his stupid curls and prove you wrong. 

He was a split second away from kissing you and you were letting him, you didn’t want to stop him. God, were you an idiot? After everything he put you through, how could you possibly still crave him? 

But you did. 

You wanted nothing more than to go back out there and kiss him until your lungs ached from the lack of air, until his curls were permanently welded around your fingertips, until your lips were raw and bruised from his own and oh my god, can you get a grip?

“Embarrassing.” You mumble to yourself as you rub a hand over your face out of frustration. 

You were the one who ended things last year, you were the one who threw him out of your apartment, you were the entire reason you even had to miss him at all and now you have the audacity to drip with desperation for him. 

You shouldn’t want to kiss him because you shouldn’t want him at all. You had spent an entire year trying to get over him, you shouldn’t want to throw all that progress away just to satisfy some itch, even if it would feel so good to. 

Because wouldn’t it feel so fucking good to have his hot hands roaming over your body again? For his calloused fingertips to melt your bones in a way you had tried and failed to replicate every night in his absence? For his mouth to explore your own and breathe moans down your throat that you’d happily swallow as he unravels you in ways that only he knew how?

No. 

No. 

You shouldn’t, you can’t.

…Right?

“Oh my god.” You groan, gripping the edges of the sink tightly as you glare at yourself in the mirror and suddenly you’re the same girl that you were a year ago, fighting to find the strength to walk away even when everything in your body was screaming at you to go get him. 

You scrub a hand over your face out of frustration before dropping your head between your shoulders and you nearly debate smashing it into the mirror just to stop your brain from spinning but three knocks at the bathroom door prevent you from doing so.

“It’s occupied." You say just loud enough for the person on the other side to hear, keeping your head down and your eyes tight as you try and formulate a plan to stay in the bar bathroom forever out of fear of having to face him again. 

Muffled music fills the void of silence on the other side of the door, a beat that lasts long enough for you to assume that the person had walked away and then the three knocks come again, a little harder this time. 

“Somebody is in here!” Your voice has more of an annoyed tone this time around, turning your head towards the door so your voice would carry better over the loud music blasting through the speakers, ensuring that whoever was on the other side of the wood heard you so you wouldn’t have to repeat yourself again. 

You glare at the door, almost daring the stranger to knock again as your fingertips grip the edge of the sink, practically holding your breath as the music carries on from outside the four walls you were hiding behind. 

Your eyes roll when you’re met with silence on the other side of the door yet again, grumbling out of annoyance as you turn your attention back towards the mirror and as soon as you let your guard down, the three knocks come again. 

They were quicker this time, oozing with impatience as the person on the other side of the door takes it a step further and wiggles the locked door knob in an attempt to get inside. 

“Oh my god, did you not fucking hear me?” You allow your tipsy, annoyed state to overtake you as you push yourself off the sink to stomp back over to the door you had previously locked, swinging it open in preparation to yell at the person on the other side. “I said that someone is in-”

You freeze, heart plummeting to the floor at the sight of him leaned against the frame.

Matty.

He looks slightly out of breath as if he had run to you quickly, wanting to ensure you hadn’t snuck out the front door instead. His right hand is still half raised from knocking, his knuckles a light shade of pink from the force with which he pounded against the wood. His curls are a little more disheveled than they were a few minutes ago, as if he had run his hands through them several times out of frustration while you were gone. His dark eyes wide and full of panic as they meet your own. 

“I heard you.” Matty nods, speaking softly as though he was nervous that if he spoke any louder that he’d scare you off. 

Oh.

Your heart practically does a somersault. 

You couldn’t help but notice the way his arm held onto the frame of the door and seemed to be blocking any exit plan you might try to create, effectively trapping you in and making it impossible to run away from him this time. 

Your stomach simmers at the thought. 

Your eyes betray you and fall to the muscles in his arm that he leaned against, how they flexed as he held onto the door frame, how his long fingers wrapped around the wood and stood out against the dark oak. 

And yeah, okay, maybe you were gagging for it, but you couldn’t help it. 

He was practically towering over you and you were tipsy and dripping in desperation and you missed him and fuck, he looked so fucking good right now that you couldn’t even think about the cons of caving in anymore. 

You knew that it was wrong, that it was stupid, but if you were never really over him in the first place, then what harm could it possibly do? 

Wouldn’t it feel so good to pretend to be his just one more time?

“I’m sorry.” Matty’s deep voice pulls you out from your daydream, snapping your attention away from his biceps and back towards his dark, tempting eyes. “I shouldn’t have-“

It’s about as far into his apology as he gets before you’re fisting Matty’s shirt and throwing all rationality out the window as you pull him in for a kiss as filthy as the one the two of you shared earlier that night. 

Matty doesn’t hesitate to kiss back this time, quick to react and match your pace as his right hand grabs onto your face for stability while he stumbles through the threshold of the bar bathroom, kicking the door shut behind him and locking it blindly with his left as his mouth devours your own.

The unmistakable sound of the lock clicking makes your stomach flip, fisting his shirt tighter to pull him impossibly closer to you as his left hand joins his other to hold onto the sides of your face as if he was scared you might slip through his fingertips if he didn’t take the precaution. 

Your fingernails dig into his chest, a silent plea for more that Matty hears loud and clear as he sucks your lower lip into his mouth and groans as his teeth dig into the ink etched on the inside.

It was clear that the older man was more affected by your drunken tattoo than you thought and you can’t help but moan into the kiss at the realization, a sound he swallows happily as his tongue slips into your mouth the second he’s invited in. 

You melt into him as his tongue massages against your own, the grip you had on his shirt slowly loosening the more you lose yourself in the kiss, allowing him to take full control as the two of you make up for all that lost time. 

The kiss was frantic, dizzying, hard to keep up in as all that tension pours out through teeth and tongues. Your hands slide up from his chest to his neck before greedily threading through his curls and giving the strands a selfish tug that pulls a filthy moan from his throat. 

You throb at the sound, hard not to do when it was something you hadn’t heard in so long. It had you desperate to pull more from his throat, tugging on his curls once more and smiling into the filthy kiss when he moans yet again. 

You couldn’t help but feel all too powerful as you slowly back Matty up into the bathroom door, your smile only growing when you meet no resistance from him. He happily allows you to lead him blindly as long as you keep tugging on his hair and kissing him like this. 

You give his curls one last tug before sliding your hands back down his neck and following the path to his stomach until you’re meeting the top of his jeans, desperate to hear him moan for more than just his hair being pulled as you pop open the button with practiced ease, two seconds away from pulling down his zipper but the cool metal against your fingertips snaps you out of it. 

You’re quick to pull away from the kiss, panting as you shake your head softly. 

“Fuck, I-I’m sorry.” Your voice was as breathless as you felt, your chest rising and falling in quick succession as you fought to get some air down to your lungs, something Matty mirrored as he towered over you. “What were you saying?”

You were so caught up in the frenzied kiss that you had completely forgotten the way that you cut Matty off mid sentence just to pull him into it. 

“Doesn’t matter.” Matty is quick to mumble, shaking his head as he pulls you back in for a kiss more desperate and hungry than the one before, his tongue hitting your lips before his own do. 

Matty’s hands leave their hold on the sides of your face to slide down your frame and settle on your hips, squeezing there softly before tightening his grip and flipping the two of you around so you were now the one pressed against the bathroom door. 

You gasp as you’re thrown back against the dark wood, Matty quick to press his body flush to your own, shamelessly sliding a thigh between your legs as his hands run greedily along the expanse of your body. 

You can’t help but moan into the kiss when Matty’s teeth tug at your bottom lip until it’s popping back into place, only to groan and dive back into the kiss even hungrier than before as his right hand slides down your hip until it runs over the back of your thigh to raise it and hook it around his own. 

Another gasp falls off your tongue at the way he was manhandling you, quick to slide your arms around his neck and deepen the kiss as he crowds you against the door and presses into you in an intoxicating way that already has you ready to risk it all.

You shamelessly grind down on Matty’s thigh, something you were sure he wanted you to do by the way he groans into your mouth at the feeling, tightening his hold on your hips so he could control the pace with which you rolled down over him. 

Your hand slides back into the base of his curls, twisting the dark strands particularly hard when Matty finds an angle to roll your hips down on his thigh that makes your body jolt, a surge of heat climbing up your spine and settling in your core that throbbed in desperation for the older man. 

Matty tugs your bottom lip between his teeth, pulling back slowly until it pops back into place and you shamelessly lean in expecting for him to dive back into the kiss only to gasp when he noses your jaw to the side so he could bring all of his attention to your neck instead. 

His swollen lips trail open mouth kisses along the expanse of your neck while his hands continue to roll your hips down over his thigh, groaning each time you tug on his hair and smiling against your skin as you pant through moans from the way he sucked over your pulse point, sure to leave a mark that you could only hope wouldn’t fade for weeks. 

“Matty.” You sigh, swallowing thickly as his curls tickle your chin while he works over your neck, practically melting you against the bathroom door in controlled yet frenzied movements that were quickly driving you mad. 

Matty moans against your pulse point at the sound of his name falling from your tongue. His blunt fingernails digging into your hips as he bites over your flesh before quickly soothing it with his tongue, numbing the pain by pressing his thigh harder against your core before rolling you down in a skillful way that makes your mouth fall open in a long drawn out moan that is nothing short of music to his ears. 

His right hand abandons your hip in favor of trailing down your thigh, his calloused fingertips ghosting over the flesh in a way that has goosebumps rising in their path as they trail beneath the hem of your miniskirt while his mouth continues to maul your neck. 

You could do nothing but pant through it all as Matty’s hand slowly trails higher and higher up your thigh until his fingertips are brushing against the black lace of your thong that was ironically one of his favorite pairs that you owned. 

It was as if the universe knew you’d run into him tonight, your intuition must be insane. 

Your racing heartbeat throbs between your thighs as Matty pants against your neck through the open mouth kisses he continues to trail across your throat. Two of his fingers ghost over the lace of your core, the fabric surely damp from how desperately you were already dripping for him, Matty groans at the feeling. 

He doesn’t hesitate to hook his fingertips beneath the lace, too desperate to get his hands on you after all this time to waste any second teasing you and you couldn’t be more grateful, your empty core already clenching as soon as the cool air hits. 

Two of Matty’s calloused fingertips ghost over your core before running through your wet, throbbing center in a way that had you both crumbling. Your fingers tighten in his curls as his own glide through your desperation until he’s groaning against your neck, his teeth grazing over your pulse point. 

“Fuck, baby.” Matty’s voice is deep, rough, it shoots straight down to your empty core that can’t help but clench as he licks up the side of your neck to speak directly into your ear. “You’re so fucking wet for me and I’ve barely even touched you.” 

You whine as you tug sharply at his curls, painful enough that you hear him hiss in your ear before nipping at the lobe with his teeth in a way that has your eyes rolling back. You felt dizzy from the dominance dripping in his tone, something that lacked with any of the men you took home this past year, anticipation already crawling up your spine. 

Matty pants into your ear as his calloused fingertips finally slide over your swollen clit, smiling against the shell of it when you gasp as the feeling his rough hands brought between your thighs. “You miss me that bad?”

And while yes, you did miss him enough that you were practically dripping for him as soon as you sat down in the barstool, the all too familiar arrogance in his tone had the brattiness in your own shining through. 

“Hardly.” You shoot back though it’s bulletless and breathless even as it falls from your tongue, too caught up in the pleasure of the slow circles his fingertips swirled over your bundle of nerves to be anything but. 

Matty hums, smiling against your neck as if it was the exact response he expected you to give, he knew you too well. 

His mouth returns to trailing kissing back down your neck, over your throat and up the side until his lips are back on your own in a filthy kiss that you moan into as his calloused fingertips continue to swirl heavenly circles over your aching clit.

Matty sucks your bottom lip into his mouth, pulling back and digging his teeth in sharply until you gasp before releasing it and staring down at you with a pointed glare. “Really living up to that little tattoo of yours, hm?”

Your face flushes as he abandons the hand at your hip in favor of bringing it up to your mouth so he could run his thumb along the expanse of your lower lip, pulling it down slowly to reveal the ink tattooed on the inside of it. 

Brat. 

He smirks at the sight.

You can’t help but grind down on his fingers shamelessly, only further proving his point as he stops the motion of his fingertips and leaves your pleasure up to the roll of your own hips. 

You whine and attempt to chase the pleasure his hand had brought you, pouting when it doesn’t feel nearly as good as it did when he was in control. 

You smile easily, batting your lashes up at the older man. “Just how you like me.”

Matty’s smirk spreads, rewarding you by swirling his calloused fingertips over your swollen clit until you’re melting against the bathroom door yet again. Though, the pleasure doesn’t last for long, his fingers only swirl one, twice more before pulling away from you altogether. 

A pitiful whine rips from your throat at the loss of him, ready to pout and protest but that all dies on your tongue at the sight of him bringing his slick coated fingers up to his mouth and sucking them clean. 

His dark eyes roll softly as he groans at the taste of you after craving it for so long, not even waiting to pull his own fingers from his mouth before dropping to his knees in front of you out of desperation for more. 

Your stomach flips at the sight, gasping at the feeling of his spit soaked fingertips sliding up your thigh to maneuver your leg to hook around his shoulder so he could get a better angle. 

“Matty.” You gasp, quick to thread your fingertips through his disheveled curls for some form of stability as you balance on one foot and pant against the bathroom door at the feeling of his breath ghosting over your core.

You tug on his dark strands as you quiver in anticipation, something Matty doesn’t let you dwell in for long before digging his fingertips into the flesh of your thigh and diving in for another taste of you. 

“Oh my god.” You sigh, head tipping back against the bathroom door as his tongue glides sure and strong through your dripping core.

Matty moans at the taste, his blunt fingernails digging harsher into the flesh of your thigh that was wrapped around his shoulder as he dives back in hungrier this time, wasting no time in lapping up all you had to offer after being deprived of it for so long.

Your fingers tug sharply on Matty’s curls as his tongue licks and swirls in a way that leaves no room for teasing, your eyes rolling back softly at the feeling of him groaning against your cunt as the painful sting washes over his scalp. 

You could feel the bass of the music thumping through your veins as Matty unravels you, thankful for the loud beat that drowns out all the pitiful moans and whimpers falling from your throat due to his skillful tongue that remembered every trick to have your thighs trembling around his head. 

Matty swirls big circles around your clit until your mind is dizzy, waiting until he could catch you off guard to wrap his lips around the swollen bundle of nerves and suck. Your body jolts from the pleasure that shoots up your spine at the feeling. “F-Fuck.”

Matty smiles against your cunt as he sucks gently on your clit, tightening the grip he has on the thigh thrown over his shoulder when your legs start to tremble and shake from the unrelenting pleasure his mouth was providing. 

The heel of your shoe digs into his back for more stability when you nearly stumble on the one foot you’re balancing with as he pulls back slowly until your clit is falling from his lips. 

You’re only able to catch a glimpse of his face before he dives back in but the sight is enough to make you moan, everywhere from his chin to his nose glistens with you and sure to only shine brighter as he pulls your hips down further on his face as if you weren’t close enough, as if he wanted you to suffocate him. 

And he might get his wish if he keeps eating you out like this. 

Unrelenting, filthy, starving. 

He didn’t leave any room for teasing, no breaks for you to catch your breath, nothing but desire and desperation pouring off his tongue as he makes up for all that lost time. 

You could already feel that all too familiar heat swirling in your stomach, licking down your thighs, numbing your legs down to your toes as Matty sucks on your clit until your eyes are rolling back. 

You tug harshly on Matty’s curls as the pleasure from his mouth practically consumes you, tightening the grip your thigh had over his shoulder and digging your heel into his back in an attempt to help the one leg you were balancing on to hold you more steady through it all. 

“Taste so fucking good.” Matty mumbles against your cunt through a particularly wide swirl of his tongue and you can’t help but gasp at the pleasure of his deep, rough voice hitting your core. 

Your stomach flips at the feeling, the heat from his voice swimming through your veins and lighting your body ablaze. 

Your body jolts when Matty’s lips wrap around your clit yet again and suck until your face is screwed in pleasure, until your thighs are trembling, until you’re positive that you’re about to crumble onto the floor beneath you as you desperately search for something to grab onto for support. 

The hand that wasn’t threaded through Matty’s hair searches blindly against the bathroom door in search of the knob, needing something to hold onto before the leg you were balancing on gave out from the pleasure. 

You pout when your hand comes up short, unable to find the doorknob and desperate to find the next best option as Matty’s tongue swirls your mind dizzy.

Your shaky hand starts the mission of joining your other in Matty’s hair but before it can fully make it there, Matty captures your palm and threads his fingers with your own, giving your hand a tight squeeze as his dark eyes stare up at you before falling down into a wink. 

You moan at the sight, one that drags out from the pleasure of him doubling his efforts over you now that he was positive that you were more steady. 

You squeeze his hand tightly as his tongue fucks into you and his nose swipes against your clit as he puts his entire face into it now, his blunt fingernails digging into your thigh while his other hand holds your own securely through it all. 

You can’t help but grind down on his face when the pleasure becomes too much to handle, burning through your veins in a way that makes it impossible to hold still, desperate to chase that high you were quickly barreling towards. 

Matty moans at the feeling of you grinding down on his tongue, tightening his grip on both your thigh and your hand as he shifts on his knees on the bathroom floor beneath you. 

“Use me.” He mumbles against your cunt in a voice so deep that you barely heard him over the pounding bass of the music outside these four walls. 

You gasp at the simple command, staring down into Matty’s dark eyes that look up at you from between your thighs with such intensity that you can’t help but feel pinned against the bathroom door. 

He nods his head as his lips wrap around your clit and suck, jolting your body in a way that has you grinding down on his face once more, a feeling he desperately wanted more of as his hand on your thigh slides up to your hip and uses the leverage to roll you down on his mouth himself. 

His name rips from your throat in a pitiful whine, a sound that only has him repeating the action and groaning against you when you weakly grind down on his tongue to test the waters. 

Matty’s blunt fingernails dig meanly into your hip at the feeling, staring up at you with dark eyes that begged as he mumbles against your cunt. “Please.”

And fuck, if that didn’t make you feel dizzy. 

The way he was so desperate between your thighs, begging for you when any other man in this bar probably wouldn’t have even thought about getting on his knees at all makes you feel like maybe Matty did love you after all, hard not to assume when he was this obsessed with you, it makes you want to reward him.

Your hips roll down on his face with more certainty now, gasping through a dry tongue at the immediate pleasure it brings, only heightened by the feeling of Matty moaning and smiling against your cunt now that you were giving him exactly what he wanted. 

“Fuck.” You moan weakly, breathless as you quickly find a rhythm to grind down on his face that has you panting as he continues to eat you out as starving and filthy as he had been before. “Oh my god.”

Your fingers tighten their grip on Matty’s curls, tugging sharply in a way that has his dark eyes fluttering and rolling back as you continue to use him. 

“Ah!” You gasp through a body that jolts from the feeling of Matty sucking on your clit, grazing his teeth softly against the swollen bundle of nerves until your hands are holding his hair and hand so tightly that the pain springs tears to his eyes. “Matty.”

His name whimpers off your tongue, falling like an endless mantra as you grind down on his face and chase the pleasure that was blooming and burning inside of you, so close that you could practically taste it. 

Matty’s tongue swirls and swipes in perfect tandem with your hips rolling down on his mouth, keeping your body ablaze and mind dizzy as you melt against the bathroom door through the all consuming pleasure that was crawling up your spine and begging to be released. 

“I-I’m so close.” You feel the need to warn, gasping out a moan as your head tips back against the door when Matty hums against you at the warning. 

“I know.” Matty mumbles against your cunt and my god, you nearly fell apart right then and there, the fact that he still knew you so well even after all this time apart is dizzying. 

Your hips pick up in pace after that, taking that as permission to fall apart whenever you want. You knew Matty well enough to know that if he didn’t want you to cum yet, he’d make sure you didn’t.

“Fuck.” You whine, tugging on his curls and squeezing his hand tightly as you chase the pleasure through hips that would surely have Matty’s face covered in you when this was all said and done. “M-Matty, I- f-fuck.” 

You gasp through a face screwed in pleasure, feeling as though you were burning alive as the numbing heat consumed your body in a way that had you desperate to release it all before you actually melted against the door. 

Matty stares up at you from between your thighs through it all, hanging onto every gasp and jolt of your body until he knows you’re on the brink of falling apart, smiling against your cunt as he nods slowly and silently tells you to let go. 

And fuck, you do. 

You tug on Matty’s hair sharply as your body jolts forward one last time before your high crashes into you so intensely that Matty has to tighten his grip on your hip and hand to ensure you wouldn’t topple over as your legs shake and tremble through the pleasure. 

Matty continues to eat you out through your high, his tongue still swirling and sucking as if you weren’t already falling apart all over his mouth, dragging your high out for longer and making it all crash into you more intensely.

You were surprised that you hadn’t pulled Matty’s curls right from his scalp by now with how hard you were tugging on the dark strands through it all, surely cutting off the blood flow to his hand with how tightly you were squeezing it as it all washes over you. 

Your heart is still pounding even as you finally start to come down from your high, ragged breaths falling from your bitten raw lips as you rest your head back against the door and stare up at the ceiling and try to regain some of your composure. 

Hard to do when Matty’s head was still between your thighs, greedily cleaning you up with much slower movements than he had originally fixed you with, but it was enough to have you whimpering and squirming through the sensitivity. 

“Matty.” His name isn’t much more than a whisper, spoken through pants and a hand that tugs on his hair weakly. “I-I can’t, I- fuck.” 

You moan at the feeling of his lips wrapping around your swollen, sensitive clit and sucking gently, the pleasure strong enough to make your body jolt though a gasp. 

You knew if you didn’t stop him soon that he would happily send you over the edge again just like this and as tempting as the idea was, you were desperate for more than just his mouth. 

“Please, I-I want- ah!” You whine as he sucks your clit a little harder now and you were desperate to pull him out from your thighs before you were too far gone to ask for what you really wanted. “Fuck, get up here.” You command though a breathless toned, tugging on his hair sharper now as you slide your thigh off of his shoulder and stand on your own two feet. “Need you to fuck me, wanna feel you.”

You were still too floaty from your high to feel any shame in your request, had barely finished getting it out before Matty was practically growling against your cunt and finally pulling away from it, your stomach flipping at the sight of him. 

His hair messy and dark eyes blown wide with a face that was absolutely covered in you, glistening in the light as he uses your hand he was still holding as leverage to pull himself up off the ground and barely giving you the time to actually appreciate how filthy he looked before his mouth was on your own again. 

You couldn’t help but moan into the kiss at the taste of you all over his tongue that massages against your own, the slick on his chin and cheeks transferring to your own as he tilts his head and deepens the kiss further. 

Matty’s hands roam hot and greedy all over your body, desperation still pouring from him in a way that would make you think that this was the first time he was getting his hands on you, it makes you dizzy. 

“Please.” You mumble against his lips, grinding your hips against his own as best as you could in the position he had you crowded in against the door, your manicured nails scratching against his scalp as you breathe the beg into his mouth. “Need you.”

Matty groans into the kiss, nipping at your bottom lip with his teeth as his greedy hands round over your backside, hooking beneath your thighs and mumbling against your lips. “Jump.”

And my god, you may as well have asked him how high with how quickly you’re following his commands, quick to jump and wrap your legs around Matty’s waist all without breaking the heated kiss. 

Your arms lock around Matty’s neck as you hold onto his hair tightly while he blindly carries you across the bathroom floor until he reaches his desired destination, slowly placing you down on the edge of the sink and the relief in your thighs is immediate, thankful that you didn’t have to hold yourself up any longer. 

You keep your legs wrapped around Matty’s waist, squeezing his hips with your thighs as his teeth tug on your bottom lip until it’s popping back into place. 

Your hands leave his hair in favor of trailing down his chest, digging your manicured nails in softly along the way and the feeling has Matty groaning and pressing against your exposed core, something about the denim rubbing against such a sensitive area has you whimpering into his mouth and he swallows the sound happily. 

“Matty.” You whine against his lips, your fingertips trailing lower and lower down his stomach until they meet the waistband of his jeans for the second time that night. “Fuck me, please.”

Matty groans and you're unsure if it's due to the way you moaned his name, the feeling of your fingers toying with the zipper on his jeans or the way you begged for him again. 

Matty pulls away from the kiss to pant, towering over you with dark eyes full of lust and desire. 

“I heard you the first two times.” Matty grumbles as he swats your hand away from his zipper and takes control in pulling the metal down. “So fucking impatient.”

And while you should have been embarrassed for how needy you were being, especially after already having an orgasm under your belt, you couldn’t find the time when all your attention was glued to the way Matty’s hand disappeared beneath his boxers. 

Your mouth drops open in a gasp when he pulls himself out of confinement, your empty core clenching at the sight of him and your legs that are wrapped around his waist are quick to pull him closer in a desperate attempt to get him inside of you already, well past the point of desperation and shame now. 

Matty pumps himself once, twice, enough to take some of the edge off. A guttural groan falls breathlessly from his swollen pink lips as his thumb swipes over the tip and your mouth practically waters at the sight, another desperate plea sitting at the tip of your tongue but Matty beats you to it. 

“You ready?” He asks as he lines himself up and you’re already dizzy just from the feeling of his length ghosting over your entrance. 

And even though you were so close to getting what you really wanted, you couldn’t help but allow that bratty side of you to shine through. 

“You’ve changed.” You pout softly, your hand sliding up his chest and neck until you’re cupping his jaw as you tease. “Such a proper gentleman now.”

Matty scoffs, rolling his dark eyes. “Shut the fuck up.”

And you don’t even have time to come up with a witty response because he’s pushing forward and sliding home. All words dying on your tongue as you gasp out a moan, your grip tightening on his jaw the deeper he goes and oh my god has he always been this big?

You expected the stretch of him to burn after being deprived of him for so long, but fuck, it nearly springs tears to your eyes as he bottoms out. 

“Fuck.” Matty groans through breathless pants, his thick eyebrows furrowed together as he settles into you. He fixes you with a shallow, experimental thrust and quickly crumbles at the feeling, his voice deep and rough as he speaks through a groan. “Forgot how fucking good you feel.” 

Your heart lurches, practically preening as you clench around him at the compliment, he hisses at the feeling.

“Matty.” You sigh in a voice that’s higher pitched than usual, your hand falling down from his jaw down to his chest, digging your fingernails into the cotton of his shirt as a silent plea for him to move and pouting when it doesn’t satisfy the itch. Your hand slides down to the hem of his shirt, pulling up on it softly as you grumble. “Take this off.”

Matty huffs out a breathless laugh, quick to obey your commands and reaches down to take hold of the bottom of his t-shirt and pull it over his head so fast that you nearly missed it. 

A smile spreads over your face now as you drink in the sight of his tattooed chest that you missed so dearly, sliding your hand up the expanse of it and digging your nails into the ink as you clench around him, desperate for him to fix you with thrusts that weren’t so shallow. 

“You satisfied now, princess?” Matty teases, rolling his hips softly into your own, just slow and shallow enough to drive you mad. 

You nearly moan at the pet name, having gone without it for so long that hearing it fall from his swollen pink lips has you feeling rather dizzy and even more desperate for him to stop teasing. 

“Very.” You smile easily, batting your lashes up at the man as your nails trace over the lines of his chest tattoo that you knew by heart before digging into it in a way that makes him hiss. “Would be more satisfied if you would fuck me already.”

Matty huffs out a laugh. 

“Yeah?” His lips spread into a smile as he thrusts slowly inside of you, not nearly as deep or precise as you craved him to be. Your skin practically crawls with desire as you grow more and more impatient. “Isn’t that what I’m doing right now?”

He emphasizes his point by pulling out of you slowly and sliding back in just as much, you squirm on top of the sink as you desperately try to roll your hips down to bring him in deeper, a pitiful whine falling from your throat when it fails. 

And while you could have continued to beg for him, it was clear that all the pleas were getting you nowhere so you had to try a different approach, one that never failed. 

“Well, if this is the best you can do, I should go find that guy you scared away.” You sigh, sliding your hand up from his chest to his neck, batting your lashes up at the older man as you tease. “See if he feels like giving me what I want.” 

Matty laughs through a scoff, shaking his head softly.

“You know, you haven’t changed at all.” He throws your own words back in your face. “You’re exactly the same.” He says with a wicked gleam in his eye, a smirk spread over his face as he pulls out slowly. “A spoiled fucking brat.”

He emphasizes the degrading words by slamming back inside of you, so much force that it knocks your jaw loose in a long drawn out moan that he quickly finds a rhythm to keep the sound ripping from your throat.  

Your hand tightens around his neck softly on instinct, needing something to hold onto as he fucks you so deep and hard that it was difficult to catch a breath in. 

“Maybe.” You hiccup through a moan, fighting to adjust to the burning stretch of him. “But i-it gets me what I want, doesn’t it?”

Matty nearly growls, his hips slapping against your own with such force that your hand tightens around his neck until he moans. “Only to shut that pretty mouth.”

You preen and clench around him. 

“Oh c'mon." Your eyes roll softly, squeezing his neck until his own dark orbs mirror the action. “We both know this is exactly how you like me.”

“Yeah.” Matty nods and your hand falls from his neck back down to his chest. “Love putting you in your place.” He emphasizes through a particularly powerful thrust that scoots you up further on the sink. “Reminding you who you belong to.”

And while the warmth from his words spreads throughout your veins, high on the idea of finally belonging to him, you weren’t ready to cave just yet. 

“I don’t belong to anyone.” You argue weakly through a moan, tightening your legs around his waist. 

Matty smirks as if he was expecting you to say that, taking his hand off of the sink and resting it on your jaw, your body jolts from the cold feeling of his fingertips. 

His thumb reaches out to pull on your bottom lip until your tattoo is visible, almost as if he was using the ink as a way to silently call you a brat and your stomach flips at the thought. 

The smirk on Matty’s face spreads further as he allows your lip to pop back into place, bringing his thumb back down to your chin so he could pry your mouth open until he had enough room to lean forward and spit inside of it. 

You feel dizzy at the action, clenching around him and moaning obscenely as Matty holds your mouth open with a hand at your jaw. 

He slows his thrusts down and leans in slowly, pinning you to the sink with dark, dangerous eyes. “You belong to me.”

You can’t help but whine, staring up at the older man who releases your jaw and raises an eyebrow at you until you close your mouth and swallow happily. 

Matty smiles proudly at the sight. “Good girl.”

And then he’s slamming back inside of you just as hard as before, knocking all the air from your lungs and lighting your body on fire as he fucks you hard, filthy, desperate.

Matty’s hand slides down to your thigh, unhooking one of your legs from around his waist so he could spread you open further, effectively deepening the angle as he watches the way he fucks into you.

“Fuck.” You gasp, digging your nails into his chest. “You’re so fucking big.” Your voice is as breathless as you felt, each thrust he fixes you with seeming to knock the air out of your lungs. “S-So deep.”

One of your hands falls down from his chest to hold your stomach, clenching around his cock at the feeling of it bulging with each thrust he fixes you with. 

“You used to take my cock everyday with no problem.” Matty groans, digging his blunt nails into your thigh as he pouts softly, cooing. “What happened, baby?” 

You moan obscenely at the pet name, so desperate to hear it falling from his tongue after being deprived of it for so long. 

“You want me to stop?” Matty teases the bulletless threat, a playful gleam in his eye that only brightens when you shake your head and he mirrors the action. “No?” His thick brows furrow in faux shock as a smirk spreads on his face. “‘Course not.”

And something about the arrogance in his tone has your eyes rolling and feeling the need to knock him down a peg.

“You can stop whenever you’d like, I-I’m fine.” Your breathless voice fights to sound casual and unaffected, batting your lashes through bleary eyes as you tease. “You need this more than I do.”

You were fully expecting the bratty tone to light Matty up, for him to punish and degrade you for insinuating such a thing when you were the one begging for him, nothing could have prepared you for the way he crumbled and folded. 

“Yeah, I do.” Matty nods through breathless pants, digging his blunt nails meanly into your thigh. “Been dreaming about having you underneath me every night for the past year, I- fuck.” He gasps at the feeling of you clenching around him at his admission. “I-I need you so fucking bad, baby, missed you so much.” Your heart lurches. “Please let me make you cum.”

His plea shoots straight down to your core that throbs around him due to his shameless display of desperation for you, it makes you want to throw the bratty act away completely and give him everything, anything he wants as long as he keeps looking at you like this.

“Matty.” You sigh, sliding your hands up from his chest to his neck to find a home in his dark, disheveled curls. 

“Can I make you cum, baby?” Matty begs, his dark eyes full of a desperate pleading gleam that you know will be burned in your memory forever. “Please, I-I need it.”

The fact that Matty wasn’t begging to cum himself but for the permission to make you fall apart instead has you feeling rather dizzy, a newfound power under your belt as you nod. 

“Y-Yeah.” You gasp out as Matty fixes you with a particularly deep, long stroke that knocks the air from your lungs. You tug on his hair as you nod harder through eyes that flutter from the pleasure. “Show me how much you missed me.”

And fuck, he does.

Matty doubles his efforts over you, fucking you so intensely that you were nervous the sink might break, tugging on Matty’s curls tightly as he hooks an arm around your legs to bring his calloused fingertips over your swollen, sensitive clit. 

You gasp at the sudden pleasure. 

“Fuck, Matty.” You whine, gripping his curls for some form of purchase as his fingers swirl over your clit and melt you against the sink. “Oh my god, I- fuck.” You whimper as the sound of skin slapping drowns out the music blaring outside of these four walls, quickly spiraling down a rabbit hole of endless pleasure. “I-I need-“

You weren’t even sure what you were asking for and you may never find out due to the request being interrupted by the sound of the door knob jiggling and four hard knocks coming against the wood. 

Matty’s hand quickly leaves your thigh in favor of covering your mouth instead and you can’t help but moan obscenely against his palm at the sudden change in angle, quick to wrap your leg he had been holding back around his waist and rolling your eyes at how deep he was now. 

“It’s occupied!” Matty calls out your same words from earlier all without breaking eye contact with you, his dark eyes trained on the way your own roll back and flutter as he continues to fuck you as if there wasn’t someone right outside the door. 

You can’t help but moan freely, muffled by Matty’s palm but still loud enough for him to press his hand down harder over your mouth in an attempt to keep you quiet. 

You try to listen for any commotion on the other side, hard to focus on through the ringing in your ears, the bass of the music thumping and the sound of Matty's skin slapping against your own. 

You can only assume the stranger knocks again by the way Matty’s thick eyebrows knit in frustration before he calls out, “Someone is in here!” with the same annoyance in his tone that you had carried before. 

You clench around him, biting at his palm in a silent request for more, the idea of someone catching the two of you turning you on more than you cared to admit. 

Matty smirks down at you and switches his palm out for two of his fingers instead, sliding them between your swollen lips and curling them down on your tongue when you suck them in greedily. 

He leans in closer to speak directly into your ear. 

“Just like old times, hm?” He hums, fucking into you impossibly deeper with this new angle in a way that had the heels of your shoes digging into his back. “You almost getting us caught because you can’t keep your fucking mouth shut.”

You moan obscenely around his digits, biting down on his knuckles as his other set of fingers swirl faster, tighter, harder over your bundle of nerves. 

“Some things never change, do they, baby?” He speaks hotly into your ear before licking over the shell of it, curling his fingers down on your tongue as he fucks you closer and closer to your high. “Still can’t keep yourself quiet when you’re taking Daddy’s cock.”

You bite down meanly on his fingers, nearly wailing around the digits as the spoken title travels from your ear straight down to your core that clenches around him tightly out of desperation. 

“I bet you’re so fucking close, aren’t you, princess?” He coos in your ear, swirling tight figure eights over your clit as he fucks you in a mind numbing rhythm that has an all too familiar burning heat crawling up your spine. You nod, it’s all you can do with his fingers stuffed in your mouth. “Yeah? Fucking knew it. Always had a thing for nearly getting caught, such a dirty fucking girl.”

Your eyes roll back as his filthy words wash over you. You felt like you were drooling, maybe you were, you couldn’t find it in yourself to care when he was fucking you like this. 

You suck on Matty’s fingers greedy and filthy as he barrels you closer and closer to the edge, you were so close that you could practically taste it, something Matty surely knew by the animilasitc way that he fucked you now. 

Matty pulls out from your neck, his eyes blown wide with lust and desire as he stares down at the mess he’s made of you, wanting to soak in the sight before sending you over the edge. 

“So fucking pretty like this, baby, such a good girl for me.” He brags and you practically preen, mumbling a muffled plea against his fingers as you stare up at him with eyes that begged to send you over the edge. “I dreamed about having you like this again, fucking purring underneath me, begging to cum.”

If you weren’t already before, you definitely are drooling now, something Matty catches with his thumb before curling his fingers down on your tongue while his other set swirl in a paced matched with the one he fucked you with. Hard, fast, messy. 

“Wanna feel you cum on my cock, think you can do that for me, sweet girl?” You moan around his fingers and nod as best as you could, clenching around his cock and tugging on his hair as that all too familiar heat starts to consume you. “Yeah?” His voice drips in a condescending tone that makes you throb as he coos. “What’s the magic word?”

Your stomach flips, legs tightening around his waist as you moan around his fingers and try to beg with the digits still pressed down over your tongue. You slur, “Please.”

“Good.” Matty coos. “Good girl.” And you nearly fall apart right then and there. “Go on then.” He nods. “Cum for me, princess. Let me feel you.”

Matty only has to swirl his fingers around your clit twice more and you’re hurdling over the edge, your high crashing into so intensely that you feared the sink might break beneath you as your body trembles and jolts through immense pleasure. 

You bite down on Matty’s fingers as your orgasm consumes you, face screwed in pleasure as he continues to fuck you through it, dragging out your high and adding to the intensity of it all. 

“Fuck, that’s it, there she is.” Matty groans, face crumbling in pleasure at the feeling of your walls throbbing around him as your high rolls through you. “So fucking pretty when you cum, baby, fuck.”

Matty gasps out a moan, taking his hand away from your sensitive clit to grip your thigh with blunt fingernails that dig in meanly as he nears closer and closer to the edge. 

You whimper around his fingers, surely drooling as your eyes roll back from how sensitive you felt as he uses you for his own pleasure.

“Missed the way you feel falling apart on my cock, I- fuck.” Matty whines, digging his nails deeper in your flesh as his hips stutter and he starts to pant. “I-I’m gonna- fuck me. I-I’m so fucking close, baby.” He groans and you hum around his fingers, clenching around his cock in a way that would surely only push him closer to the edge. “Where do you want me?”

You don’t even need to think twice. 

“Inside.” You mumble around his digits as best as you could, slurred as best. 

Matty is quick to pull his fingers out of your mouth so he could make sure he heard you correctly, his fingertips connected to your lips through a string of spit that makes your stomach flip. 

“Inside.” You repeat more clearly now that your mouth isn’t stuffed full, nodding for extra confirmation as you clench around him. “Please, wanna feel you.”

“Fuck.” Matty groans, his spit soaked hand quick to wrap around your neck, squeezing the area just hard enough to make your eyes roll back softly. “Want me to cum inside of you and make you all mine, baby?” 

He coos and you nod as best as you can with his hand around your neck. Matty mimics the nod of your head with a smirk on his face, one that crumbles when you clench around his length tightly which only makes him squeeze your neck harder. 

“You’re so- shit.” He groans, his hips faltering but he’s quick to recover, using your body to send him over the edge. “I-I’m gonna- oh fuck. I-“ He whimpers, digging his fingernails into the flesh of your thigh as his hand squeezes your neck harder, needing something to hold onto for support as his high crashes into him. “Fuck, baby, I’m gonna- ah!” 

Matty pants through a deep guttural groan as he spills inside of you, squeezing your neck so tightly that it cuts off your flow of air as his orgasm wracks through his body in trembles and whimpers. 

You moan at the feeling of Matty cumming inside of you as best as you could given the position you found yourself in. Matty feels the vibrations against his palm and is quick to release his hold on your neck to let the sound fly freely. 

You’re quick to gasp in a breath before moaning filthy as Matty continues to fuck you through his high, his head falling forward to rest his forehead against your own while he delivers the final few thrusts to your sensitive core. 

“Fuck.” Matty pants, his sweaty curls pressed against your forehead as he breathes heavily onto your face, a feeling that makes you clench around him and the action has Matty’s lips sealing against your own in a flash.

You hum the second Matty’s lips collide with your own, the fingers that laid lazily in his curls awaken to thread new life through the dark strands and tug as you melt into a kiss that was far less heated and way more real than any the two of you had shared that night. 

Matty kisses you slowly, gently, taking his time with you as his hips roll lazily into your own as he comes down from his high. 

It doesn’t take long for you to get lost in the kiss, feeling dizzy as the butterflies swirl in your stomach and spin around your head as his lips mold against your own, holding onto his curls tightly out of fear that he might slip through your fingertips if you dared to let him go. 

Matty hums at the feeling of your fingers wrapped around his curls, more in contentment than in pleasure like he had previously. He kisses you until he is sure all the air was knocked from your lungs before he slowly pulls away and gives you one last quick peck before resting his forehead against your own.

“I’m so sorry.” He speaks softly because he’s close enough that he could whisper and you’d hear him loud and clear. 

“For what?” Your eyebrows furrow in confusion. “I told you to cum insid-“

“Not for that.” Matty huffs out a laugh, the breath of it fanning across your face in a way that raises goosebumps along your arms. “For, well, everything.”

Your heart clenches.

“Matty-“

“But especially for the way everything went down that night.” He shakes his head softly and your heart starts to race. “If I could go back in time and redo that entire day over again, I would because-“

“It’s fine.” You’re quick to interrupt and assure, desperate to change the subject before you were forced to relive the worst night of your life. “I-I don’t want to dwell on the past, let’s just forget about it, okay?”

“No, it’s not fine.” He argues, stubborn as ever, maybe he hadn’t changed after all. “I should’ve never left that night, I should have stayed, I should have fought for you.” 

Your heart pounds against your ribcage so intensely that you feared Matty might be able to hear it as dark eyes stare deeply into your own. 

“I sat outside your door for hours that night because I didn’t want to walk away from you and I shouldn’t have.” His head shakes, your heart aches. “I have regretted walking away from you every day since. I should have kicked that door down and fought for you, for us.”

Your eyes swell with tears as you swallow down the lump in your throat as you recall the way you screamed and cried for him after he left, how badly you wanted to run out after him only to now know that you wouldn’t have even had to taken one step out the door because he was right there the whole time. 

“It wouldn’t have changed anything.” You speak softly, sliding a hand out of curls so you could cup his cheek. “You could have told me the sky was blue and I wouldn’t have believed you that night.” You thumb his cheek softly. “I needed you to leave so I could heal before I ever thought about believing you.”

“And now?” Matty asks, leaning back far enough that he could stare down at your full face, nerves swimming behind his dark orbs. “Do you believe me now?”

Your heart clenches at the idea of hearing him bring up those feelings that you desperately tried to ignore all this time, having to so you could even try to heal. 

“Matty-“ You try to cut him off but Matty is having none of it, quick to grab your jaw softly to ensure you couldn’t look away from him as he spills his guts. 

“I have spent the entire past year, two months and nine days miserable without you.” Matty confesses and your heart skips a beat knowing that he had been keeping a tally just as you had been. “Missing you, looking for you everywhere, loving you.” 

He emphasizes the word by squeezing your jaw softly before sliding his hand up to cup your cheek instead, wiping away a stray tear that had fallen from your eye with his thumb as he nods slowly. 

“I love you.” He stresses and your heart stops beating for a full second while he stares deeply into your teary eyes. “I-I never stopped loving you.” His fingertips flex against your cheek as he teases. “And before you say it, no, I’m not just drunk on pussy.” 

And you can’t help the wet giggle that tumbles from your lips, a sound Matty smiles warmly at as he holds both sides of your face and leans in slowly to place a soft, sweet kiss to your lips, pulling away just as slowly. 

“I love you.” His hands are warm against your cheeks as they collect the stray tears that fall from your eyes, feeling déjà vu for the last night you had seen him, though those tears were full of pain and sadness and these were nothing but happy. “Losing you was the worst mistake of my life and I won’t do that again so I’m sorry, but you’re not getting rid of me that easily this time.”

Another wet giggle tumbles from your lips, staring up at the older man with eyes that surely gleamed as your heart flutters at the sight of him looking back at you just the same. 

“I will fight for you everyday if I have to.” Matty smiles. “Knocking on your door until I have splinters in my knuckles, you will be so sick of me.”

Your eyes roll through a giggle at his dramatics, shaking your head softly as you squeeze your legs that were still wrapped around his waist. 

“I already am.” You tease and Matty’s smile only grows further as he pinches your cheek in retaliation, your face scrunches at the feeling and he leans in to kiss the tip of your nose at the sight.

“Brat.” He mumbles before nipping the end of your nose. 

Matty pulls back to stare down at you once more and you can’t help but slide your hands back through his hair, pushing his sweaty curls off of his forehead so you could get a better view of his entire face. 

“I missed you too, you know.” You mumble, tugging on his hair softly as you tease. “Was miserable without that filthy mouth of yours.”

Matty’s smile shifts into a smirk, his thick eyebrows wiggling. “Oh, I know how much you love my filthy mouth.”

“I do.” You huff out a laugh, tugging his hair softly once more as you stare into his dark eyes that gleamed down at you. “And I love you.” You nod, twirling a curl around your fingertip as you sigh. “Even though you are so-”

And you can’t even finish the teasing words because Matty was shutting you up with his own mouth, kissing you with such passion and emotion that the two of you can’t help but smile into it as you hold onto each other tightly. 

“I love you.” Matty mumbles against your lips, pulling away to peck them again. “I love you.” He repeats, kissing the tip of your nose. “I love you.” He repeats like a mantra as he kisses over the entirety of your face and you can’t help but smile and giggle through it all. “Fuck, I’m so in love with you.”

Matty continues to mumble the sentiment against your skin as he brings his attention to your neck instead, his curly strands tickling your chin and sending you into a fit of giggles as he attacks you with kisses. 

“You know,” You tug in his hair softly through a huff of laughter. “you’re supposed to at least take someone on a first date before you lovebomb them.”

Matty pulls back far enough to glare at you and scoff.

“I’ve cum inside of you a few times now, sweetheart, I think that counts for a bit more than a shared milkshake.” Matty snorts. “I’m hardly love bombing you, but I will happily take you on a date anyways.”

You hum, pulling him in for a kiss that would have knocked you off your feet if you weren’t already perched up on the bathroom sink and- shit. 

You were so wrapped up in all the emotions Matty confessed that you had completely forgotten that he hadn’t even pulled out yet. 

“Speaking of you cumming inside of me.” You mumble against his lips as you clench around him softly. 

“Fuck.” Matty hisses against your mouth, pulling away far enough so he could look down between the two of you and see that he was, in fact, still inside of you. He smiles sheepishly, “I forgot about that, here.” 

He grabs onto your hip with one hand and the base of his length with the other before slowly pulling out, you both moan softly at the feeling, a sound that pulls from Matty again as he watches the way his cum spills out of you now that he’s not holding it in any longer. 

“Fuck, baby, you’re fucking filthy.” He groans, his dark eyes glued to the sight of him dripping out of you, practically in a daze as he mumbles, “Looks like someone needs to clean you up.”

As soon as the words are spoken, he’s falling to his knees on the bathroom floor for the second time that night, your legs naturally falling over his shoulders and you can’t help but gasp at the sudden change in energy. 

“Matty.” You mean for his name to sound as a warning but that’s quite hard to do when it falls breathless off your tongue, his filthy mouth already placing open most kisses along the expanse of your inner thighs, your hand already threading through his hair. “If you make me cum again, you’re seriously going to have to carry me out of here.”

Eddie Munson is in hell.

He’s in a suit, forced to socialize at Fender’s annual Casino Night.  Stuffy, stilted small talk while too many people get rip-roaring drunk in the music giant’s state of the art warehouse, eating gourmet h’orderves and tossing around bets so high it makes Eddie’s head spin.

Still.  After two years.

Corroded Coffin secured a coveted invitation from Fender about a year after they were signed by their label.  And yeah, it’s fun to lose a couple grand to Gareth in Texas Hold ‘Em in the name of charity.  

Eddie sighs, swirling his whiskey before bringing it to his lips, purposely avoiding glancing over at the real reason why his skin itches and his heart hammers in his chest.

He’s tethered, though; an inexplicable force draws him as soon as Steve Harrington belts out a whoop.  His infectious laugh surges through Eddie’s veins like a drug, only to evaporate when espresso eyes flick to where Steve stands at the craps table, tugging his fiancee close to his body.

The liquor tastes bitter as it slides down Eddie’s throat. 

Fiancee.

She doesn’t deserve the title, not that Eddie would ever say that to his face.  He’s a friend, has been a friend since the moment he found out his equipment manager was taken, even as he felt like his whole world was slipping through his fingers.  Eddie never believed in love at first sight, and what he immediately felt with Steve wasn’t quite that – but, fuck.  

It was something.

And sometimes, when it’s just them in an empty venue, still riding high from a show?  He swears it is something.  

Even tonight, Eddie can feel Steve’s eyes on him.  Moving from table to table, person to person, throwing down blinds and calling bets just to get out of the game faster.  To not be stuck at the same table as Steve for longer than he has to, his tousled hair and crooked grin worming their way under his skin.

Lowering his defenses by the minute.

That’s not who he is.  Eddie’s no homewrecker.  But god damn.  When Steve smiles at him like that?  

All Steve has to do is call his bluff.

Eddie’s all in.

It’s late.

The drinks did nothing to dull the sharpness of want for what he can’t have.  Despite his best efforts, he was in Steve’s orbit more than he wasn’t tonight, and Eddie steps outside, desperate to breathe in the cool September air as a luxury SUV rolls out of the lot.

He recognizes that car.  

It’s her car.

He’s instantaneously gutted and relieved that Steve’s called it a night, about to turn when he hears a familiar, sultry timbre roll over his name.

“Hey,” Eddie can’t help but grin, “how’s it going?”

“Good.  Especially after I took all your money,” Steve coyly jests, and Eddie feels like his chest is going to burst with affection.

Adoration.

Love.

Eddie can’t keep hiding, not when Steve’s about to marry someone so unfit for him.  Not when Eddie swears Steve feels some sort of way about him, too.

He has to try.

“Hey,” Eddie’s voice is like gravel, “can I talk to you about something?”

Hazel eyes flash with mirth.  “About how you wanna give me more of your money?  I’m feelin’ kinda good tonight.”

Steve’s so beautiful, even in the washed-out light of the lot.  He stammers over nonsensical words as his heart leaps into his throat, and before he knows it, he’s laying it at Steve’s feet.   

“I’m in love with you.”

Thickly-lashed lids round in shock.  “What?”

He gathers up what little courage he has left, and pins Steve in a look that he hopes conveys his every emotion.  “I’m in love with you.  I’m really sorry if that’s weird for you to hear, but I needed you to…”  Eddie huffs a self-depreciating laugh as he glances at the ground.  “Probably not good timing, I know that.  I just needed you to hear it.”

“What are you doing?” Steve chokes out.  “What do you expect me to say?”

“I just needed you to know.  Once.”

Steve’s features have lost all their animation.  He’s flat as he blurts, “I can’t.”

With those two words, Eddie’s entire heart crumbles to ash.  “Yeah.”

Steve reaches for him.  “You have no idea what your friendship means to me.”

A tear falls, traitorous over his lower lid as Eddie scoffs.  “Don’t do that.”  He’s not above pleading, his whole entire being claws for the one that can make him whole.  The one standing right in front of him, looking like he’ll fall apart at the seams as Eddie grits, “I want to be more than that.”  

“I can’t,” Steve says once again, though there’s no conviction behind it.  “I’m really sorry if you misinterpreted things.  It was probably my fault”

“Not your fault,” Eddie chews on the inside of his lip, biting back the words he so longs to say.  Instead, he mutters, “I’m really sorry I misinterpreted our friendship.”

And walks away.

That tether tugs.

Pulling him up the stairs, to a row of empty offices on the backside of the warehouse.  He hears him before he sees him.

“No, I didn’t know what to say,” Steve’s voice is wet as it wobbles, “yes, I know.  I don’t know, Rob.  He’s my best friend.”  Another pause as Steve sniffs.  “Yeah, he’s great.” A pause as Eddie inches closer.  “Yeah, I think I am.”

Perched atop a desk, his whole body tenses as Eddie rounds the corner.  “Um, I gotta go,” he says hurriedly as he hangs up the phone. “Look, Ed –”

One final effort.

One more try.

He reaches out to Steve, who to Eddie’s surprise, reaches back.  Eddie’s soft how he crowds Steve’s space, hand slipping up his suit to cradle the back of his head.

A shuddering breath, and then Eddie’s mouth drops, pressing every last ounce of passion and love in one, and only one, kiss.

next: JULY 30: Six Days on the Road

@munsonscharm @mrsjellymunson @rebelfell @rip-quizilla @mugloversonly

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Until it's getting groped in a supply closet, with his thigh pressed in between your thigh. His hands grip your waist, forcing your hips to grind back and forth. He's so mean, not even bothering to kiss you and muffle your little noises :((. Nudging the head of his cock into your panties, forcing your hand to jerk him off, and leaving a puddle in the crotch of the material. He won't even let you get changed :(, just pulls them back up and pushes you out into the corridor.

All of which you could handle if it wasn't getting you in trouble so much with your boss :((.

You aren't totally sure if the Ceo is supposed to be handling this, or if it's more a job for HR, but all you do know is you keep getting called in to discuss your inappropriate behavior around the office. He's harsh, but fair. Instead of firing you, he just adds more to your workload. Which forces you to stay late so you don't fall behind.

Which leads to late office nights where you're the only two in the building, and he's got you perched on top of Conner's desk. Your thighs spread, with him balls deep inside your abused cunt. Tim, or Mr.Drake, as you've insisted on calling him- bringing you to the edge over and over again just to hold your hips down before you can reach your peak. His nimble, dexterous fingers rubbing circles into your little button until you finally squirt all over his tailored suit. Usually your boss is so meticulous about everything, but somehow by the end of the night there's a sticky patch of your mixed juices right on Conner's desk chair.

Getting cornered by Conner the next day because he knows for a fact that you two were the only ones in the office last night. Just be a doll and make it up to him by allowing him to blow a load down your throat in this empty conference room oki <3

Then getting called back into Tim's office barely an hour later because security footage shows you blowing some man in the conference room. Unfortunately the camera wasn't able to catch his face, but hey how about instead of Tim adding to your endless workload you just pay back the company time you wasted by crawling under his desk and keeping his cock warm <3

This cycle continues for weeks, until one day Conner's out of office and your computer breaks. IT just has you work at Conner's desk for now until your desktop is back up and running. They're sure he won't mind since the whole office knows how "close" you two are. Finding emails between him and Tim, each simply communicating a time. Realizing that each time correlates with your meetings with them.

Realizing that every time you were "caught" in a compromising position with one of them, it was on purpose. That they have been orchestrating this from the very beginning.

Realizing that now you have an advantage over them. You start slowly at first, taking convenient bathroom breaks or work from home days when you know they have something planned.

(thank you password saver/autofill 🙏, also why is Kon's email 90% porn scam ads??)

Then you escalate, whispering in Conner's ear to "Meet me in the women's bathroom in 10mins" then bailing on him. Leaving him high and dry as he attempts to sneak out without being caught, cause usually you give him the 'all clear' text when y'all do this but you aren't answering your phone :(((.

Conner attempting to corner you about it cause Ms.Lorretta, Tim's ancient secretary, caught him trying to sneak out of the stall and called him a pervert. :(((

(ignore that his super senses would alert him to her presence. Ms.Lorretta is built different. Also I just need the mental image of Kon getting hit by an old lady's purse)

You always manage to have an excuse and reason to slip away though, leaving him with coy touches and sweet words. Also leaving him with a massive boner/blue balls plz it's been 3 whole days.

You'd think it'd be harder with Tim, but it's truly not. All you have to do is lean a little too close to the intern sat next to you in a meeting. Touch them on the arm as you whisper to them about the presentation. Giggle a little too much at what they have to say in response. "Accidentally" leave a smudge on their collar in the exact same shade of your lipstick.

(It's barely noticable and came from bumping into them on your way into work. It wasn't even on purpose lol)

He hates it so much, because he has no control over it. The situation with Kon? He had total authority over it. This? He can't do anything about it without attracting the wrong type of attention! It's maddening and worse of all- you are barely even acknowledging him! It's not even in a 'mad' way, you just seem to not notice him at all??? GIVE HIM SOMETHING TO WORK WITH HERE.

I know in my heart this will end with both of them fucking shaking and rutting into their little office darling, clinging on with tears in their eyes. Cause it's been actual WEEKS without your soft cunt and warm mouth around them. They've been going crazy. Tim was considering buying you a small island just to get a chance to GLANCE at a tittie.

Tim literally slurring his words he's so pussydrunk. He's trying his hardest to say any of his usual quips but seeing your chest bounce above him like that is literally melting his brain. He just keeps grabbing anywhere he can reach, needing to ground himself in the fact that you're letting him do this again.

Kon's not even trying to maintain any decorum. The one working braincell he has left is just focused on making sure he doesn't accidentally kill either of y'all. Other than that, he's babbling pure nonsense as he pounds into your tight little asshole. Your back is absolutely littered with bite marks and hickies cause he needs something to do with his mouth other than whimper "So so good" and "Mineminemine" over and over again.

You think you've won and have them wrapped around your finger, but oh no. You've just added a new dimension to this game.

Rahhh just shy/submissive/sweet yn going full on war general mode to get back at them. (Of course yn won't just quit, their benefits are amazing, full pension, and a week of vacation days per month)

Shownu took one step closer, his leg lifting to cross the body ahead of him. "Then explain to me how they got in here. You really think I'd leave my doors open for my own enemies."

Everyone knew what he was indicating. They all knew it from the beginning. 

The whole vision of Monsta X and SVT working together came out of thin air almost. It was Wonwoo's idea. Of course, it was. He wanted to do right what his father did wrong. And number one on the list longer than his lifeline was to fix the relationship between the long-lasting rivalry between the Sons and the Jeons. What started off with a purely business idea had turned into gang work decades ago. Each leader brought their family into it, and if you were the son of said man, you would be the next in line to lead a future team. No questions. 

It had been Wonwoo's biggest nightmare. It had haunted him all throughout his childhood, up until the day he was officially assigned to the position he had been trying to avoid his entire life. But with a new generation came new connections and new leaders in line. Wonwoo had hoped Shownu would accept his offer and attempt to fix their families' rivalry instead of trying to bury each other six feet under.

It all had been going well up until that night because what goes around, comes around and Wonwoo had learned that the hard way.

"Look," he spoke up. "I don't know what you think of me, and I honestly don't care. But I couldn't give less of an interest in these guys when I was just trying to work with you, alright?" He tilted his head in a slightly demeaning way. "So maybe you should start looking for a wolf in sheep's clothing."

If the breathing of each man in the room hadn't been so unbearably loud, you would've felt the immediate change of atmosphere in the shared space. Wonwoo should've regretted the words he had just let fall from his lips, but he didn't. He couldn't. Mingyu dreaded getting closer to his leader, his best friend but knew better and stayed in the back, covering the other members he considered family.

Shownu's hands found their way into his pockets as he casually took a few more forward, his broad shoulders chilling along with with his body. His tongue glided over his teeth. "Are you trying to set me up against my own men?"

"I'm not trying to set you up against anyone. I'm only giving you possibilities." Wonwoo shrugged. He didn't budge. Not with each step the other leader got closer to him. Not even a little bit.

Shownu continued until the two men were nose to nose in front of each other, glaring into their souls. He gave the other man a quick up-and-down look before opening his mouth.

"Vernon." He got the attention of the, back then, youngest that had stayed back in a different room, only joining the other men once he heard the dead silence. "Start cleaning up the mess." Meaning the corpses on the floor. The blood splashes on the tiles would come later.

The youngster gulped, looking around the room, trying to lock eyes with one of his friends, begging for help, but all they did was copy his facial expression. Wonwoo's scoff reached their ear.

"Ehm," Vernon cleared his throat. He started nodding hesitantly, glancing at each body. "Yeah, yeah... I'll... do that." Just as he was about to bend down, his leader's deep voice bounced off the walls.

"Vernon," still staring at Shownu, no blink shared between them. "Don't you dare even lift a finger."

The older guy raised his left eyebrow. "Now, suddenly you're the one giving orders?"

"They listen to me. They're not one of your maids." Wonwoo spat back.

Shownu chuckled, looking around the room, almost finding humour in the situation. "And here I thought we would finally become one, but no, the Jeon ego just always gets in the way." Looking down at the floor, he kicked one of the bodies to give him more space. His arms were crossed in front of his chest. His glare fell back on Wonwoo. "You know, I had my doubts, Jeon. I really did. But here you waltzed in with your cute little entourage of businessmen wannabe gangsters, begging for forgiveness for all the shit your ancestors did, and I almost wanted to believe you. Almost. And then pull this shit here." He opened his arms widely, welcoming the mess around him.

"I said it before, I'll say it again. I have nothing to do with what happened here." SVT's leader pulled his sleeves up higher from where they fell down during his fight with one of the guys that attacked him in the scene that happened only a few minutes ago. "But you know," he took a deep breath, "It's always difficult trusting new people." His eyes fell on the newest and youngest addition of Monsta X. A person he considered a past friend, now long forgotten.

"And here you go doubting my men again." With quick strokes, Shownu was at arm's length of Wonwoo. "I'd better watch my mouth if I were you and want to keep living my life, Jeon. Or imma end it real quick for you."

Wonwoo casually put his hands into his pocket, sighing in boredom. "You can keep your trust issues to yourself, Son. I don't want to have anything to do with that."

Shownu squinted his eyes at the younger man before erupting in laughter, scaring not only the men on the other side but his own as well. Madness wasn't a level the leader had reached yet. But maybe the time had come. 

"You know, you truly are just like your father. Just... utterly intolerable.-"

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Wonwoo's facial expression changed within less than a second. His eyes glared holes into the man in front of him, his mouth slightly agape.

A low chuckle shook Shownu's body. "First blind, and now he's also turning deaf," glancing at his members that joined in on the humourous reaction, before turning back to Wonwoo, who still kept his nose up high. "I said, you're exactly like your father. So you better bet-" And that's when the first fist flew. Wonwoo's knuckles clashed against the other man's jaw, a crack coming from the impact, but who got hurt more was unknown.

Shownu couldn't help but to stumbled back slightly, his fingers grazing over the burning bruise forming on his skin. He just had to chuckle.

"Struck a nerve?"

"I don't think I should be the one keeping my mouth shut."

Shownu straightened his back followed by cracking his neck by moving his head from side to side. "You really want to go separate ways like this?"

Wonwoo shrugged. "I think you'd enjoy that."

Monsta X's leader nodded, "Oh, you better I'm gonna enjoy this." Before crossing the floor to let his fist collide with Wonwoo's stomach. He was quick to catch himself from stumbling too much, reaching out to grab the man's collar, pulling him in closer, only to send him crashing against the bar counter.

That's all it took for the other men of the gang to go up against Wonwoo's group, running towards them individually, preparing themselves to follow their leaders into another fight when they had only just won one.

Minhyuk got a hold of Dokyeom, throwing him onto the floor quickly, but the younger man managed to pull him down with him. 

Kihyun didn't see Hoshi, who had snuck up behind him, his arm circling around his throat to cut off the air, causing the Monsta X member to choke loudly before knocking both of them back into the wall, earning a grunt from Hoshi.

Hyungwon got rid of his jacket to wrap it around Seungkwan's wrists skillfully, pulling the younger one closer to him and twisting his arms around to his back, getting a cry out of pain in return.

The grunt reached Mingyu's ear, making him run towards the duo, only to be stopped when Wonho bumped into him as S.Coups had punched his face, involving now also the tallest member even though he just wanted to get the second youngest of the group, who had now managed to free himself and turned the fight around. Changykun was close by when his eyes found his member fighting off the eldest and the tallest members of SVT, alerting him. He snatched a glass off one of the small tables, taking it along with him. Right as he showed up behind Mingyu, he smashed the glass against his head before getting a hold of his dress shirt and dragging him off his fellow member.

Wonwoo and Shownu had gotten their own space behind the bar, earning punch after punch from each other, interrupted by a few bottles being thrown or kicks to the legs.

Huffs, grunts, moans in pain, and cracking bones were the only sounds filling the club that usually only housed music and skin-against-skin slapping during sexual encounters.

If the space didn't already look messy enough from the party before, it now seemed more than just destroyed. Glass pieces decorated the floor and bodies, the suit jackets the men had worn before were scattered on different furniture and sticky fluids covered all possible surfaces.

Shownu managed to get a hold of Wonwoo's thick set of hair, holding his head up against his, his low voice ringing through his ear.

"You're a fucking rat, Jeon. Not a bit better than your father. You're the same asshole he was and will forever be exactly just that." With full force, he pushed the younger man's head against the bar countertop. He kept pressing down while Wonwoo wiggled around, trying to get out of the situation. He was about to kick back, hoping to hit his kneecap when the pressure against the side of his skull lifted. With a quick push, he was back up on his feed, watching what had happened. He found Vernon, standing behind Shownu, a pole in his hand, with which he must've hit the Monsta X leader as he was holding the back of his head, glaring at the youngest.

Wonwoo took the chance to snap off the metal hose that was connected to a beer chug underneath the counter. Just as Shownu was about to connect his fist with Vernon's face, SVT's leader wrapped the house around the older man's neck, pulling him up against his chest. Wonwoo tightened it as much as possible, hoping to knock the other man out when Shownu smacked his head back against Wonwoo's forehead, making him lose the grip on the hose. With a quick move, Shownu got a hold of the younger one's shirt and lifted him slightly, only to throw him over the bar counter. Wonwoo's back hit the floor, making him grunt out loud as he felt the tiniest splinters of glass boring his skin.

He knew he had to get up quickly, no matter how much pain he was in. His head was throbbing, there was a continuous ringing in his ear, and his glasses were God knows where at this point - he cursed whoever was up there for his terrible eyesight. He could feel the blood trickling down his back and hands as he got up, his jaw feeling swollen, and his left eye was almost glued together from the blood that had already started to dry out.

Shownu came around the corner, spitting out a tooth onto the floor as his gaze was back on his rival. He watched the man come back to his feet. The action made him chuckle.

"You better not die on my floor."

Wonwoo glared at him. "You wish. A Jeon's corpse in your club must be like Christmas to you."

His comment made Shownu smirk. "You know me too well." Before running up to the younger man again, raising his fist. Wonwoo was quick to react and duck out of the way, snatching a knife he saw earlier from the countertop, only to jam it into the older one's shoulder. He cried out in pain, stumbling forward as he tried to reach for it, but it was stuck in a place he couldn't reach. He turned around in anger, his face burning red. Shownu was met with a gun pointed directly at him. 

"Who would've thought Jeon Wonwoo carries a gun with him," he choked out, slight amusement concealing his voice.

Wonwoo shook his head, his breathing still harsh as he tried not to fall to the ground. "It's not mine."

That's when Shownu noticed the sudden silence in the room. Ahead of him was Seungkwan laying on the ground, Hyungwon right next to him, his own gun pointed at Wonwoo. Wonho was knocked out on the floor with S.Coups and Mingyu sitting on one of the blood-covered couches, Changkyun right underneath Mingyu's foot, begging for air.

Hoshi was coming closer to the leading duo, Kihyun's gun now in Hoshi's hands as he held it right against his rival's temple with his other arm tight around his throat.

Everything was quiet when a painful cough echoed through the room. Through a door, that was now flat on the floor, came Dokyeom crawling on his knees while Minhyuk pushed him further with his foot. Wonwoo locked eyes with his member, who glanced at his leader in despair and embarrassment. He nodded at the younger member to reassure him before directing his attention back to his rival.

The gun was still pointing directly at Shownu, who had decided to stay still on the floor, but he chuckled with a salty undertone.

"So you want a Son's corpse in this club?"

Wonwoo shook his head, lowering the gun in his hand. "I don't want you dead. I don't need any blood on my hands."

"Look around you. Look at what you did, Jeon." The Monsta X leader tried to trick him.

"These guys are passed out for good, but not dead." His statement earned him a look of confusion from Shownu, so he continued, "I teach my men how to fight. Not how to kill." He dropped the gun and threw it towards the leader on the floor before turning around, only to get stopped when the older man got up. He told the other members to lower their weapons with a quick hand move.

"You're still a rat." Wonwoo turned around one last time at the sudden comment. "I should've listened to my father. Don't trust a Jeon. Never trust a Jeon."

He got a nod from SVT's leader in return, who exchanged glances with his guys, making them stand up as Mingyu rushed over to help Dokyeom up from the floor.

With a quick glance at Shownu, he bid his goodbye. "Well. From now on, you won't have to anymore." And started walking towards the door, the other members in trail close behind him. He couldn't help but to let out the last comment that kept tickling his tongue before exiting through the front door. "You better start cleaning up the mess if you want the club to re-open tomorrow."

Outside, each man was finally able to breathe in the fresh air, sounding like men starved from breathing for a decade as they enjoyed the night breeze that struck their bruised skin. Wonwoo immediately started looking around for the youngest member. He quickly found his silhouette sitting on the side of the pavement, a cigarette dangling between his lips. Right next to him, was the limp body of the security guard that had let them in about two hours ago. The sight made the leader almost chuckle.

"How's the guy?" He asked the youngster, who had turned around, nudging his head towards the buff man on the floor.

Vernon puffed out the last bit of his cigarette. "Knocked out pretty good. He won't remember any of this in a few hours."

Wonwoo nodded, "Good," and patted the shoulder of the younger member, giving him a quick glance. "Well done."

"Thanks, boss."

-

Not even letting anyone else interrupt, the man, apparently called Shownu, continued right after he brushed off the two women on each side of him, followed by his colleagues doing the same thing. "I see you replaced your little entourage with something much much more beautiful. Hey." His eyes were fixed on your form, noticing how you had tried to hide half of your body behind the CEO's frame.

"I'm more important than her right now, Son," Wonwoo's deep voice sliced the room while you watched the women awkwardly jogging out of the room.

The other man scoffed, exchanging amused glances with his friends before locking eyes with you again. "Well, how dare you say something like that about such a beauty. What's your name, darling?"

"I swear-"

"You should've brought the other guys if you didn't want me to talk to her, Jeon." Shownu cut off Wonwoo right away. His legs were still wide, his back relaxed against the back of the couch, the other men in similar poses.

A low chuckle came from the one on the right. "He knew they wouldn't survive another visit."

"You weren't even here the last time, so shut your fucking mouth, Jooheon," Wonwoo snapped at him. He jumped up from the couch immediately, ready to rush over to the two of you, when his leader stopped him.

"Boys, boys, calm down." He stood up with a grunt, taking two steps forward. His right hand held onto the wrist of his other one, giving a clear stance of power as he gave you another look that ran up and down your body, shooting a cold shiver through your body. "I'm sure Sir Jeon Wonwoo right here is smarter than that, right? Like you said, it would just make a terrible mess, wouldn't it?"

Not getting a verbal answer in return, was enough for him to continue. "Well then." He clapped his hands, rubbing them together. "Let's not play around and cut to the chase, huh?" His eyes met Wonwoo's cold glare. "Why the fuck do I have your feet on my ground again? And more importantly-" Before bending down to the side slightly to find you. "What is a lady like you doing in a hellhouse like this?" 

Uncontrollably, you lifted your hand to touch Wonwoo's back, hooking your fingers into the small belt thing in the back of his suit jacket. Wonwoo knew better than to spit at Shownu again, but he could also feel the fear radiating off your body, making him change his stance just slightly, hoping it would go unnoticed by his rival. Of course, it didn't.

With a bright smile, the other man opposite you took a step to the side, extending his arm to point at the seating arrangement behind him.

"Please." All while keeping his eyes on you. You tried to look away, tried breaking the intense contact he held with you, but it seemed almost impossible.

In the first second, your brain didn't want to understand what he was proposing, but you quickly caught onto it, shaking your head softly in response. Opening your mouth, your voice seemed so much smaller than you had wanted to. It was bound to happen, in a room as big as that, surrounded by men with their physiques.

You gently raised a hand. "I... I'm good."

Shownu stood back straight, raising one eyebrow. "I wasn't asking, darling."

All while Wonwoo was unresponsive. No change in posture, no noticeable uneven breathing. Not even a clenched fist. It seemed as if he almost didn't care about his possible biggest rival inviting the woman behind him to come closer. You let your eyes travel to the side, hoping to catch a glimpse of him looking down at you, letting you know what to do, but the CEO continued to keep his head up high, glaring at the man in front of the two of you.

With each passing second spent in unbearable silence, Shownu got more and more impatient, slowly but surely also rubbing off on the other men of his in the room as they sat forward, their arms resting on their upper thighs.

Deciding that keeping that man waiting any longer couldn't result in anything good, you dared to make your left foot step forward. You didn't even get to finish it before Wonwoo's body was quickly in front of you, hiding your entire frame behind his shoulders.

You heard Shownu sigh. "Move, Jeon."

He shook his head in return as his hand moved behind his back, showing you his palm. You were unsure if it was an act of courtesy or if he wanted you to place yours in his palm, so you just continued standing still. One glance behind you let you know that the security men were just as unamused about you two being there as the owners of the club.

"She has nothing to do with this. I'm here-"

"You know the rules, Won." A different voice suddenly spoke up. The man on the left side of the couch decided to speak up, using a nickname you hadn't even heard coming from Mingyu. Ever.

Noticing his fingertips moving, you looked down and found them extended as if waiting for something to hold onto. You hesitated at first but once you saw him clearly indicating you to place your hand in his, you did as asked. With one swift but surprising move, you were pulled right next to him, almost making you gasp. Looking up to your right, the side profile of the CEO glanced at you. You could see him eyeing you from the corner of his eye as he nodded, hoping to assure you of whatever was to come next. Your head turned to Shownu, who just kept a smug smile on his lips, eyeing you up and down the entire time. As if your outfit wasn't uncomfortable enough for you already, you now wished to rip it off your body and hide your figure in the biggest, longest, and thickest robe the world had ever seen.

With each step you took closer to the bad guy in the situation, your heart let you know just how bad of an idea it actually was. You had already had to let go of Wonwoo's hand, which you noticed only freed you hesitantly, keeping a tight grip on you until the very last second. There was one more step up separating you and the other men. While it did feel like a good and protective barrier, even though it would most definitely be the last thing keeping them away from you, you didn't get to appreciate it for as long as you would've liked to as a hand reached out for you. Looking up, you were once again met with brown eyes radiating anything but comfort. They were just as dark as Wonwoo's but yet so different. You had never been afraid of the man behind you, not even for a second. Intimated, of course, for obvious reasons, but his eyes always wrapped a cloak of comfort and protection around you while the two eyes now in front of you were clearly telling your body to run. Run and hide. Don't get closer. But you were very well aware that that wasn't an option at that moment.

Your shaky hand lifted to meet his palm, helping you up to the podium where you were now alone with the three men. Shownu's rough hands found their way to your hips, freezing your body even though they were much warmer than expected. He turned you around to face the room.

Now you understood where his confidence came from. Standing up there, you clearly felt more elevated than everyone else in the room. Better than anybody that even dared to enter this hole of a hell.

With a deep breath, you hoped to shake off the frightening feeling of the unknown as you glanced at Wonwoo, hoping to find some form of stability through him. He had hidden his hands in his pocket, carefully analyzing each man on the left and right, quickly regretting not coming up with a secret code between the two of you. He should've seen this coming. He knew the moment you'd step foot into that club, he was gonna lose the hold on you at some point, but he had prayed it wouldn't actually happen.

"Are you ready to listen to me now?" His voice was laced with slight annoyance. Shownu's hands left your hips, giving you time to breathe freely, but only for a second before you felt his hot breath against your ear. 

He extended one finger in Wonwoo's direction. "Let me enjoy this here first." 

You wanted to lock eyes with the man standing only a few feet away from you, but he didn't even dare. He had broken a promise he made to himself, and he couldn't even look at you. As annoyed as you wanted to be, the lips by the side of your head were too distracting, followed by the calloused fingertips running over your collarbone.

"Now onto you, beautiful," he whispered, making you close your eyes as you prayed to whoever was up there to just make it stop. "What's your name?"

"Y/N." You shot out. Of course, you could've lied. You should've lied. You noticed it quickly by Wonwoo's reaction, but in a fight-or-flight situation, lying wasn't going to be your strength.

He hummed into your ear, that almost sounded like a groan. His fingers danced around your shoulders, coming to a halt at the straps of your outfit. You wanted to call it a dress, but it was barely that. With one move, Shownu was suddenly behind you, his lips now close to your neck.

"You know, you're wearing quite the outfit here." His fingers hooked underneath your strap, to which your body immediately reacted by straightening and lifting your shoulders to stop him from what you thought would probably come next. "A bit too much for my liking." Without a warning and unfazed by your reaction, he pulled the right strap down.

"Son, I swear to-" Wonwoo's harsh voice hit your ear. You saw him take one step forward but he was quickly stopped by your sudden gasp echoing through the room once you felt cold metal meeting your lower back. Before anyone could react, you heard guns reloading and quickly realised what was being held against your skin. You closed your eyes.

"You swear to God what, Jeon? Huh? Be smart now." Shownu didn't show any sign of remorse. He wasn't going to be the one the back down from this.

Wonwoo raised his hands in defence, eyeing the other men who had raised their guns to point them at him. "I came here to talk to you. I don't wanna start anything."

"Who is she?" The older man nodded at you. "To you."

A sigh came from the CEO. "My partner." His comment made you look at him.

Shownu suddenly laughing out loud caught you off guard. "Yeah, right." His rough fingers graced your jaw and down your neck. "You really think I'd believe you bringing your own bitch here?" He chuckled again and took back the metal against your back as he rounded you to stand to your right again. "I mean, I must give it to you. You played the part of protective boyfriend pretty fucking well, but I know you better than that, Jeon. You can't fool me." And just when you thought you were out of the line of fire, he raised the gun again, close, yet not touching, to your temple. Your breathing cut off immediately. Something in your body stopped you from crying because God, you just wanted to start weeping.

"Business partner," Wonwoo quickly told him. "We work together."

Shownu raised one eyebrow as he chuckled. "No shit." He lowered the gun again, letting you let out the breath you were holding. "What kind of business?"

"Not the business you're thinking of. I told you I'm out of that." The CEO explained. "I bought a company."

"I know that. You don't think I watch the news, idiot?" His question made Wonwoo almost roll his eyes, but he knew to hold himself back.

"She used to work there, now she's COO."

A silence fell over the room. Glancing to the side, you found Shownu, looking straight ahead, his eyebrows slightly scrunched as he turned to glare at you, a smirk forming on his lips as soon as your eyes met.

"Yoon Y/N." Hearing your name fall from his lips made you gulp.

"Wow," he laughed and directed his attention back to Wonwoo. "You took Sungho's company and his little princess? You are cold-hearted, Jeon." After a look up and down your body, he licked his lips. "He used to keep her so hidden, and you're out here, showing her off like the price that she is. I taught you well." Listening to them speak as if you weren't even in the room with them made you want to accept the offer of squeezing out the eyes of every man in the room.

"You didn't teach me shit." Wonwoo gained back the confidence he usually holds himself up with once no gun in the room was pointed at him or you again. He knew very well what he could and could not do in each situation, having studied the rival group for years. When no snarky remark came in response, he continued with a sigh. "Now are you finally ready to listen to me?"

By now, you had brought the strap of your outfit back up on your shoulder, hiding your body behind your crossed arms once again, hoping and praying to escape from this place as quickly as possible.

Shownu let a small laugh tumble from his lips. "You must be pretty damn desperate to come to me."

He didn't need an answer. It seemed like everyone in the room already knew. No one in their right mind would even dare to set foot in this building if not desperately needed.

Yet, Wonwoo gave in with a nod.

-

"That Park fucker, I swear to God," Shownu leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his fingers running through his hair.

After shooing every single person out of the room, he got situated back onto the couch, Wonwoo taking a seat to his right at the corner, where another member of Shownu's group had been sitting merely a few minutes ago. He brought you along to sit down next to him after making sure you were somewhat doing alright. Good to know he still cared after pretending a little too well that he didn't.

"You know him?" The CEO wondered, saying out loud what went through your mind as well.

After sharing the entire story of the break-in, and the lawsuit, followed by the evidence brought in by Sehun and finishing off with Jihoon expertly recommending the two of you to pay Monsta X a visit, Shownu seemed to know a little more than you expected.

The rival nodded. "The last time you were here-"

"We went over this-"

"Those were his men."

Wonwoo stopped. He wasn't expecting that to come out. "What? His men?" Getting a nod in return. With a loud sigh, he stood up. "And you thought it was us?! When it was him all along?! What the fuck was the interrogation for then?!"

"Sit back down before I put a bullet through your head," Shownu told him. The low calmness in his voice a little sending a wave of fright through your body.

But Wonwoo didn't budge. "Why didn't you say anything?" Lowering his voice as well.

"You could be working with him for all I know. You really wanna fight about that now?!"

"Just admit that you were in the wrong."

"You better shut your fucking mouth. I'm the only one that can help you right now." Now both men were standing, facing each other with heavy breaths. It made Wonwoo chuckle as he shook his head.

"You're pathetic." Walking around the seating space as Shownu sat back down.

"So, what do you need from me?"

"The security camera videos," the CEO answered him. "Give me that, and we're out."

The rival straightened his back. "You want to have security camera footage to bring it to court and reveal what's going on in my club. I think the fuck not. You can see yourself out." He got up and was quick on his feet as he stepped down from the slightly elevated part of the room, walking towards the door.

You had finally had enough, and just as Wonwoo was about to open his mouth, you beat him to it. "They won't know it's from here." Shownu stopped in his tracks, only to turn around with a smug smirk plastered on his face.

He raised an eyebrow. "So she can actually talk." Commenting on your choice to stay quiet for the night. While he seemed amused by your outburst, Wonwoo was anything but that and quickly took in his position from before, covering half of your frame with his.

"Your watermark on the cameras isn't your fucking logo, and we won't tell them where we got the footage from." 

The rival redirected his attention, leaving you in the back once again. "And you expect me to believe you?" The older man crossed his arms in front of his chest, his feet wider apart to show dominance in the situation.

Wonwoo copied him, only hiding his hands in his pockets. "You want to watch him go down just as much as we do."

Shownu sighed out loud in clear annoyance, running a hand through his hair. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. You're taking that stupid saying a bit too seriously, Jeon."

"Trust me, you're anything but my friend."

-

You were advised to wait outside of the security man's room at the very back of the hallway, suggesting that what they would find on each of those videos was anything but pleasant. What you thought of the way Wonwoo was handling bringing you into this scene was still undecided by you. On one hand, you were definitely thankful you were able to stay clear of witnessing anything you'd prefer to keep unseen, but on the other hand, you were in this shithole just as much as Wonwoo and him treating you like some fragile dove was almost humiliating. Yes, of course, you weren't all that big and strong as him and whatnot, and yes, you were definitely more scared of whoever these men here were than you'd like to admit, but being a little damsel in distress would feel a bit different, you thought. 

Question after question kept running through your head as you walked along the walls of the cold hallway. The stones on the side made everything just look more and more like a dungeon, sending yet another chill down your spine. This used to be a place Wonwoo would visit frequently... most of his friends along with him... How much of this timeline in Wonwoo's life did you actually want to know about? He seemed to have put it behind him, but that's when you remembered one of your dad's sayings.

"Your past will forever be a part of you."

You were too young to understand what he meant and to this very day, you couldn't recall what the context of the moment was. But it stuck with you. And now it made you think. Every single thing that had happened with Wonwoo in the past 48 hours... what were you getting yourself into? Did you want to just let yourself fall into the arms of another man when you swore to yourself you wouldn't be doing that exact thing? And what man were you even trusting here? Back in the day, he was just the stupid douchebag, a rich kid of a CEO, then he became your boss, and now... now he was a man you found comfort in. A man you could trust... you... you tried to trust. But... he had secrets. Secrets that only now are making an appearance and God only knows, if everything with Chanyeol had never happened, how would your relationship with Wonwoo even have turned out? Would you still think of him as the annoying bachelor turned CEO or would be able to see the caring man he was behind this facade? The man who despised his father's wrongs and tried to do everything right again. You saw the way he acted around his mother, and it almost made your knees give in. It was a gentleness you had never seen before. It was so foreign to you, but it made you oh that much more jealous... why did it make you jealous? You hated to admit it, and Binna would slap you and tell you 'I told you so' but in your head, you were finally able to admit it. Jealous of a soft man's touch. Jealous of someone caring for you. Worrying about you. No gang member would act like that, right? You almost chuckled at the thought of Shownu treating a woman with respect. That was not a man with the possibility of having respect for anyone but himself. But Wonwoo... no, he wasn't like that. Maybe he had changed. Potentially, he had been similar to Shownu in the past... The mere thought of it made you want to throw up... But no, he told you himself, that he had promised himself to become everything his father hadn't been growing up. But after all, this kind of life had still been a part of him at some point. The dark side. The side where men would spend hours in clubs just like the Monbebe, touching, pulling, and groping women. The image of seeing him or any other of his friends in either one of these rooms behind those doors or upstairs, enjoying a drink by the bar, eyeing women up and down as they passed them, touching them, kissing them, taking th-

The door the two men had disappeared behind a few minutes ago opened, revealing the man that had been occupying your brain for the entirety of the time you had spent alone. The smoke from your brain overworking finally stopped, letting you take in a deep breath you didn't remember holding in. Too many thoughts for one night...

"You're okay?" Where the first words coming from him as he noticed the clear distance you had out between yourself and the door.

You nodded with a shaky smile in return. Before you could say anything, Shownu made an appearance behind the CEO, closing the door before you could even try to get a look inside.

"Are you ready to leave my club now?" He snapped at Wonwoo. Clearly, the two hadn't magically just become best friends behind closed doors.

Wonwoo turned around with a nod. "You won't see me here again."

"I'm counting on it." He leaned to the side slightly, sending a smirk your way. "You on the other hand, I would love to invite you someday again."

You couldn't even react as the CEO placed a hand on the older man's bigger chest. Their cold eyes met. "Over my dead body."

"I can make that happen." Shownu smiled, smacking the hand off of him.

Without another word, Wonwoo turned to you, taking a few steps forward to step in line with you, his hand finding a comforting place on your lower back.

"Come on, let's go," he whispered. "Let's get out of here."

"You got everything?" You wondered, surprising yourself with the steadiness of your voice after keeping quiet for so long.

He nodded. "Everything we need."

Before you could run up the stairs again, the sound of the older man's voice echoed through the hallway. "You better take Park down, Jeon."

Wonwoo said goodbye with a raised hand in return, before both of you finally made your way out.

-

After getting out of the club, the CEO had given you his jacket once again before you found Hongseok already waiting for you. With you not knowing what to do or say, and Wonwoo unsure of what was going on in your head, the car ride was spent in complete silence. Neither one of you wanted to even dare interrupt the quietness you shared, even though it was anything but comfortable. Good for you, that you were too lost in thought to notice him moving around in his seat almost nervously. You didn't even realise that Hongseok was driving you back to Wonwoo's place. At least not until you felt a tap on your shoulder, making you turn to the side, only to find Wonwoo waiting by the open door. His extended hand was waiting for you to reach out for it to help you out. You quietly thanked the driver before letting the CEO guide you into the building, into the elevator, and right into his apartment.

It was only then he dared to speak. "You want something to drink?" 

You snapped back into reality. "Hm?"

He turned back around as he was just about to enter the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?"

You shook your head slightly, "No, no, I'm good. I had enough wine last night."

Wonwoo couldn't help but hold back a chuckle. "I meant like water... or tea?"

"Oh. Ehm... yeah, okay," you nodded this time. Remembering, you still had your shoes on, you followed him into the kitchen, taking a seat on one of the barstools. That man had way too many places to sit and eat for a one-bedroom apartment.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Your head snapped up to look at him standing by the sink. You nodded. "Yeah..." Before bending down to release your feet from the confinement of those terrible high heels. Wonwoo watched your slight struggle, leaving the cups on the countertop as he rounded the kitchen island to bend down in front of you. You let your hands drop, already knowing where this was going. Your eyes analysed his fingers playing with the clasp on the leather strap.

"You know, it's okay if... you're a bit... unsure," he softly spoke, not losing focus on his task.

"Unsure?" You wondered.

"Does scarred sound better?" He looked up. The sight almost made you gasp. Just like all the other times when you had been in similar situations. Him... on his knees... in front of you... looking up at you with those dark eyes that looked so cold yet made you feel so warm.

You shook your head. "I'm not scared."

"Okay," he simply answered before letting both of your shoes fall to the floor. A soft moan of freedom tumbled from your lips.

"Thanks."

His fingers running up your feet slightly didn't go unnoticed by you, even though you think it should've gone by the way Wonwoo just simply stood back up and got back to making you your cup of tea.

"I'm not scared," you repeated, knowing that you mostly said it, trying to reassure yourself of the truth of the statement. "Maybe a little weirded out... but not scared."

He nodded again. "I understand. And I get it."

An important question was tickling the top of your tongue. One that you had been asking yourself ever since he disappeared with Shownu, leaving you alone with your thoughts in the hallway. They gave you too much time to think and now you were starting the question too many things you shouldn't even be thinking about. But you couldn't help it. You had to know.

"How-" As soon as the first word fell from your lips, you stopped yourself. Wonwoo's head shot in your direction, leaving the water to boil in the back. Seeing his eyes trained on you just made you forget about every worry you had before. This man couldn't possibly...

"Ask," he assured you, leaning on the counter as he watched you debate with yourself. He wanted you to ask. He almost needed you to.

You stuttered. "I... I don't know if I want to know." Your voice was suddenly quieter than before as you looked down at your hands that had started a thumb war.

"You deserve to know," he simply let you know. 

"But..." you sighed out loud, almost in annoyance. Who were you annoyed at though? "Jesus... I just." You tried collecting your thoughts as well as you possibly could, but there was way too much going on and your brain didn't have nearly the capacity you needed it to have at that very moment. "I don't know what to think. I... It's just weird."

"I understand that." He continued to let you know, nodding along with you as his gentle voice reached you. 

With a desperate sigh, you let your elbows rest on top of the counter, bringing your hands up to cover your face. You had to. "How involved were you in the Monbebe?"

He hummed, pushing himself off to stand straight again. "I wasn't one of those men sitting, drinking and pulling women down into their lap, if that's what you're thinking."

You nodded shyly, whispering almost to yourself. "That is what I was thinking..."

"I hate that club just as much as you do now," he sent you an almost sympathetic smile before turning back again to finish the tea. You noticed two cups next to each other.

"I don't know if that's possible," you chuckled, brushing over your arms that were still covered by his jacket.

He copied you. "You're right. You probably hate it just a little bit more than me, but trust me," he placed the cup for you right under your nose, "I didn't enjoy even a second I had to spend in there. Not back then, not today."

You nodded. Still hesitant about asking more questions, Wonwoo noticed your nervous frame, deciding to continue to avoid another uncomfortable silence washing over the two of you.

"Shownu's grandfather and mine started it all." The beginning of his story made you look up, watching him set down his own mug. "God knows what exactly happened between them but it all started with them. Then, our fathers took over, and the rivalry just continued. It started as a normal business rivalry, you know, just... stupid shit and jealousy over the success of the other one. But then..." He took a deep breath. "My father made some really stupid decisions, and it brought him to the darker side of that business. And before he knew it, Shownu's father lured him into helping him and... it all took a very bad turn from then on. The whole gang shit- I... it's stupid. But if you're born into it, you're born into it. There's not much you can do. So I had I was pretty much forced into continuing whatever my father had started, but... I really wanted to make it right more so. Shownu obviously had his doubts about that, and it wasn't easy to convince him, but somehow, don't ask how, I managed to do so."

"You," you interrupted him, "You don't have to tell me all of this."

"But you deserve to know," he answered. "I shouldn't have brought you there. It was a stupid idea on my side, and now you have to carry that with you for the rest of-"

"Hey," you stopped him gently. "It was my choice to go with you. I could've said no."

"Still," he shook your comment off.

"No." You didn't even let him continue. "We had to go through that and... now we did." You shared a moment of silence, looking into his eyes before opening your mouth again. "But... I gotta be honest... I don't know how much I want to know... about that part of... your past."

Wonwoo sighed, his gaze on the mug on the countertop. "I told you I want to be honest with you, and you deserve to know everything-"

"But I also told you that I trust you," you quickly added before he could take his thoughts much further, making him look up at you. "And I meant that." You shook your head. "I don't have to know everything about that... Jesus, I don't even want to, honestly. Not now, at least." Adding the last statement a bit quieter.

With a deep breath, Wonwoo decided to speak up after watching to stir your tea with the spoon he gave you. He thought carefully about each word he let out. "I think you might see me a bit differently after... what happened that last time there."

"The bloodbath?" You wondered, remembering the comments Shownu and him made within the first seconds of meeting him.

Wonwoo just nodded, taking a big gulp from his drink.

"I don't care," your simple answer surprised him as his eyes fell back on you again. "Don't tell me." You shrugged, "In Jihoon's office, I... I wanted you to tell me what the hell was going on because I was just... confused and... I guess scared. But now..." Another sigh fell from your lips, slightly shakier than before. "I just don't think I want to know." Because you were scared. You might not verbally admit it, but God... you didn't even want to imagine what could've happened back then.

"Okay," Wonwoo understood you. He couldn't have been more thankful to leave that story to tell at some point in the future. "Not today. Another time."

"Another time," you agreed with him, finally bringing up the now lukewarm mug to your lips, letting it trickle down your throat, sending a wash of comfort through your body.

The two of you started talking about the next steps including, getting the videos to Jihoon, him bringing every piece of evidence to the court, and what could further happen. Possible delays, future court dates, and how to deal with the situation at work. It almost felt a little too nice. Too... domestic. You seating on one of the barstools, him in the kitchen, moving around as he got himself a glass of water, getting you one as well even without asking you. All while talking about work.

Before the scene could feel too good for your own good, you snapped back.

"Okay," you sighed, moving around with your hands awkwardly, "I should... probably go home now." After bending down to snatch your shoes into your hands, you made your way over to the door.

Wonwoo straightened his back from his leaning position over the counter. "Yeah, sure," he followed you to the entrance, his right hand suspiciously in the pocket of his pants.

You turned around to say one last thing when the close proximity of his chest surprised you, making you forget what you were about to say as you just stared up into his eyes. He smirked at you before you felt his hand on your free one again, placing something in your palm before taking a small step back to let you look down. That damn key again.

"Won-" you started with a heavy breath, but the show of his palms stopped you.

"You're not taking a cab or public transport. Not in this outfit."

His comment made you look down. The 'dress'... right... But you also were still wearing his jacket, which you decided to shrug off to give back to him, already deciding that fighting about the car wasn't going to get you anywhere. His hands on your shoulders stopped your movements.

"You're also keeping the jacket on."

You sighed, "You're really not gonna let me make any decisions, huh?"

His gentle smile sent somewhat of a tingle to your heart, making you almost grin too. "Not after today, no." It wasn't a one-time thing and didn't have much to do with the events of that day- both of you knew that, neither one of you decided to comment on it.

His voice had suddenly become much lower, or maybe it had always been that low, but the closeness of his body let you register it more.

Understandingly, you nodded along. "Today was... long."

"And weird," he finished your thought, his gaze still down at you while you stood in front of him, feeling smaller than usual. In just a skimpy dress, some almost see-through tights, and his suit jacket, along with your shoes in one hand and his car keys in the other, you could've jumped straight out of the depths of his imagination.

"Yeah," you breathed out. He had definitely come closer. He wasn't THAT close before. Right?... Right?! The grip on your shoes tightened as your heartbeat surprised you by speeding up. God...

You should've already been out the door. Why on earth were you still standing in his apartment, barely ready to actually walk out. Your body knew why. Your heart knew why. But your brain decided to yet decline what was going on. Your breathing and stuttering ratted you out though.

You looked around frantically, running a hand through your hair as you suddenly created a bigger space between the two of you, not noticing the hand Wonwoo just dropped back to be by his side.

"I... I'm gonna go." Without waiting for another remark from his side, you turned around. You didn't get far though.

"Y/N," his voice struck you, immediately making you turn back to him. Your face screamed hope but dropped quickly as he continued. "I'm sorry." Wait. No. No no no. That wasn't supposed to happen. That's not what usually followed the call out of a name.

You scrunched your eyebrows, all hope and desperation gone, now replaced by pure confusion. "For what?"

With two big steps, he caught up with you, not wasting another second as he reached out, placed his hand on your neck and pulled you in, his lips meeting yours instantly. The sudden movement made you jolt in surprise, your full hands coming up to his chest to steady yourself.

You quickly fell into a matching rhythm, your lips moving against each other like butter. His fingers tightened on your neck, truly pulling you in as closely as he possibly could, getting a soft moan of you return. Kissing you wasn't enough, this man wanted to breathe you in. His free hand came up to get a hold of the shoes you were still holding onto. You let go, giving him the freedom to let them drop to the floor behind him. As soon as you could feel his lips distancing from yours, a whine dared to escape from you. He kept your noses close enough to touch.

"Stay," he whispered, his hot breath tickling your lips. Wonwoo didn't give you time to respond, smashing his lips back on yours. You continued to enjoy this moment, just moving along with him, breathing heavily as you felt his left hand come to your hips, travelling to your lower back. You had to let go.

"Wonwoo-"

"Please." He didn't let you finish. Pleading against your lips as you were close to distancing yourself from him. You let your eyes meet. Your eyebrows raised, scrunched in desperation, his just as usual low and unsaying of any of his emotions. But you could hear it in his voice. The slight shake. He wanted this. He needed this. Just as much as you did. Your breaths were already becoming one, your mouths begging to touch.

Fuck it.

You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him down onto you. He let go of your neck, both of his hands immediately working on getting rid of the jacket that was still covering your body. And you let him. He undressed you hastily, throwing the anorak somewhere onto the floor - neither of you could care less. Before you could intertwine your hands behind his neck again, his hand found yours, taking back the key, only to make it join the jacket. A chuckle left your lips at his eagerness. Everything happened while your lips were still dancing with each other. Not fighting. Not moving. Dancing, as they fit like they were made for each other. You didn't want it to stop, convinced that it would have the same effect as holding your breath forever.

Wonwoo's hands travelled lower until they reached your ass and he crouched down before whispering into your mouth, "Jump." Letting you hop into his arms, his hands firmly on your behind to steady you. Your legs wrapped tightly around his hips, hoping to be as close to him as you possibly could. You let your fingers start to play with the hair on the back of his neck, tugging slightly, making him chuckle as he leaned back. 

"Careful," he whispered before lowering you down onto his bed, his much wider frame covering yours, engulfing you in comfort as he just hovered above you. 

Wonwoo didn't give you enough time to enjoy his lips on yours with the softness of his bed underneath before he moved onto your neck. His mouth started following your jawline, down to the side of your neck while your hands found a good place on his shoulders. You moaned out loud, not even caring about holding it back.

"We've been here once before, right?" His voice vibrated on your skin. He travelled back up to kiss your cheek, keeping his face at a distance to look you in the eyes as his fingers petted some strands of hairs out of your face. "But I'm planning on finishing it this time. Okay?" 

In desperation, you nodded, hoping to get further and get his body back fully onto yours. "Please do," you whined, his hands exploring your still-covered body.

Wonwoo smirked down at you, "I got you, baby," giving you a quick peck, which you had hoped would turn into a continuation of before, but were let down when he let go again. "Let's get you out of this first." Rubbing the material of your dress. He stood back up on his two feet, getting a hold of your hand to pull you up with him. Before you had enough time to gaze at his face, taking in every inch of his perfectly sculpted facial structure, he turned you around softly. His lips immediately went back to his neck as his fingers looked for the zip he had closed up a few hours ago, getting a soft moan from you in return.

"You look so beautiful in this," he whispered against your skin, sending a chill down your spine. "But you have no idea how fucking hard it was to keep my hands off you the entire evening." With each word he spoke, the butterflies in your stomach grew wilder and wilder. You just wanted him to never stop.

Once the zip was all the way down, he let the fabric drop down your arms, and you let him. Why should you stop at this moment? As soon as the dress fell to the floor, you stepped out of it and were turned back to face Wonwoo. His hand came up to cradle your face.

"Do you remember how I said I wanted to do this right?" You only trusted yourself to nod, scared of what sound might leave your mouth if you dared to speak. He grinned, "Good." And his lips were back on yours. Swiftly, he also got rid of your bra before his hands went down on the side of your thighs, pulling you in and making you wrap your legs around him once again. He took the opportunity to kneel down onto the bed, getting both of you onto the mattress and making sure your head met a pillow. Just like before, his lips left yours yet again to trace a line down your neck, only now also following the natural line of your collarbone before going further down and down. He didn't stop until he reached your breasts, kissing the right side first, getting closer and closer to your nipple, waiting for your moans to get higher. That's when you started to feel his tongue just on the outline of your nipple, going around it in circles, making you lift your body up automatically. His grip on your hips tightened, pushing you down to lay you flat, making you unable to move, no matter how much your body was begging for friction.

Wonwoo moved onto your left side, his mouth leaving wet kisses all over your tits as his tongue tickled your skin. You had let your hands move on their own. They found Wonwoo's grasp as they tried to loosen his grasp to give you some more freedom to move around. No chance. That man wasn't gonna let go of you any time soon.

"Wonwoo," your breathy voice made him come up to your lips again, teasing you by hovering above you, only coming close enough that your lips could potentially touch if you just moved up less than an inch. He hummed, giving you the notice to continue talking. Easier said than done when he started to place kisses all over your face again until he reached your neck.

"Please," you continued to beg for more. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

"Why the rush, gorgeous?" If only he knew what all of those nicknames were doing to you. Well, he was about to find out.

Not giving you time to respond, he moved himself down your body, making sure to resume his trail of kisses down your entire body. As if it was his goal to have touched every bit of your skin with his lips - if only you knew that was his exact goal. Maybe not for just tonight, but as a life goal.

His skilled finger quickly made their way into the seam of your tights, pulling them down. Slowly. Gently. Painfully.

You groaned.

"Let me take my time with you," he whispered. You shuffled yourself up, your elbows steadying you as you looked down at him now pulling off the thin piece of clothing and throwing it onto the floor.

Your heavy breathing didn't stop. "You're teasing." It wasn't a question or a cry of desperation. Maybe just a bit... but it was also a simple fact.

Wonwoo smirked proudly, getting closer to you again, stopping right in front of your face. "Good." He gave you a quick peck. "Now you know what it's like having to stand next to you every goddamn day and not be able to touch you."

"Who says you can't?" Where the sudden boost in confidence came from, was a question to everyone involved.

His low chuckle sent a warm rush right down where you were begging for him the most. "Well, I am a gentleman after all." He got slightly closer, his breath now tickling your lips, continuing his tease. You were too focused on his mouth just barely touching yours, not noticing the hand he had let travel lower, diving right into your underwear. The tip of his finger grazed your clit, getting a quick shutter and deep moan in return. To silence you, Wonwoo was quick to break the tension, covering your mouth with his once again, his tongue brushing over your lips immediately too. 

As if his kisses alone didn't already make you moan enough, his fingers that had started moving in circles on your clit made it hard for you to even concentrate on moving your lips along with his.

He pushed your body down again to lay flat on the mattress before diverting his attention back onto your skin. His free hand had gotten rid of your panties swiftly, giving him more freedom to pleasure you with his fingers alone.

God... his fucking fingers... so skillfully moving over your bundle of nerves before slowly daring to go even just a bit lower. You felt him smile against your neck as soon as he came in contact with the wetness of your hole already waiting for him. His finger tickled your entrance for a quick second before diving in, making you bite your lip, not letting the high-pitched moan escape fully. It was just that Wonwoo was having none of that. 

Within a split of a second, his was right in front of you again, his fingers that had just been inside of you, now on your chin as his thumb pulled your lower lip free from your teeth. He lowered himself down to whisper into your ear.

"Don't you dare even try holding back a moan tonight."

With no warning, he slowly pushed his two fingers, still covered in your wetness up to your mouth. You opened up wide enough for them to fit, already knowing what he wanted.

"Let me hear you, beautiful," he encouraged you, kissing the side of your neck to get a reaction from you as you moaned on his fingers, licking them clean of your taste. Only a second later, he pulled them out again, drawing a line down your torso until he reached your tits, engulfing one in his grip as his upper body disappeared from your sight again.

It was only when you started to feel his mouth on your upper thighs that you knew where he was going. His free hand was already tapping your legs to open up, giving him access to your inner thigh. Even though this wasn't the first time you had Wonwoo in this position, it felt just like it did back then. Perfectly intoxicating. You couldn't get enough of his touch, his lips, or... just him.

Wonwoo was everything you told yourself to never fall for ever again. But here you were, underneath the man in question, letting your body react freely against his touch.

Even though you expected it, you couldn't help the loud moan to fall from your lips as soon as his mouth came into contact with your core. His tongue didn't waste a moment, immediately giving your clit all of the attention. He started circling it before using his entire mouth to suck, getting a follow-up of multiple heavy moans from you in return. Your fingers had started holding onto his hair desperately, almost pulling too hard, yet Wonwoo didn't budge. With one hand, he made sure to keep your hips as still as possible while his other one had joined his mouth by your pussy, his fingers teasing your entrance yet again. His lips occupied with sucking your soul out of your clit, and his fingers pushing inside of you made you jolt your hips up, only to get pushed down harshly again, not even a second later.

As much as you would've wanted to form words, letting him know just how good he was making you feel, you couldn't. No understandable word from the dictionary was able to form in your mouth. You were communicating in moans, groans and heavy breathing. And Wonwoo understood every single loud you were making. He was able to read you like his favourite book, remember you like his favourite lyrics and play you like an instrument he had been playing forever. Everything just fit... too perfectly.

The squelching sounds of his fingers moving in and out of you filled the room, entertaining the two of you like a song in the background. Mixed with your moans, Wonwoo's cock was already reacting to it. From the moment he had thrown you onto the bed, to be completely honest, if not as soon as he had seen you in that pathetic excuse of a dress. 

He couldn't hide a smirk once he felt your walls starting to tighten around his fingers, only letting him know to keep on going. He had switched to tickling your clit with his tongue again, the tip of it going up and down, circling the bud before pressing flat against it. Anything to make you come undone right under his touch - his biggest accomplishment. The harsh tugging on his hair got a deep groan from him, vibrating against your pussy, sending the last wave of pleasure you needed to finally release on his fingers with a loud moan. You fought against his grip, lifting your hips into his mouth as your orgasm hit you. It didn't stop him from continuing, still moving his fingers, only slightly slower now, making sure that his lips were also gently sucking on your clit, focusing more on kissing it, making you jolt with each touch. You whined out loud, your legs tightening around his head. This was heaven. No need to question it. This must be it. No other possibilities.

"Fuck," your uneven breathing filled the room, your fingers still tangled in his hair as he kept his head down, working you through your high as you tried to push him back. "Wonwoo-" you cried out. "Please- God..."

With a smug grin on his lips, he raised his head, looking up at you still trying to catch your breath.

"You call that teasing?"

You had to chuckle, covering your face with one hand.

Wonwoo pushed himself up, coming back to face you, taking your hand in his to look you in the eyes.

"You did so well for me," he whispered against your lips. You didn't know how to react, so you just pulled him in closer by his collar. A kiss was answer enough. That's when you noticed something.

You pulled back. "How come you're still in your clothes while I'm naked underneath you?"

He smiled. "Well, ladies' first." His comment made your eyes roll. He chuckled. "But I'd be happy to change that." Diving back to continue kissing you with just as much passion as he did when he pulled you in back by the entrance door. 

Your fingers got to work on the buttons of his dress shirt while he was occupied with getting his pants open and off. You got rid of his shirt, letting it drop onto the floor by your side. To get out of his pants, Wonwoo sat back, letting his underwear go as well. Before you went further, you let your eyes travel over his torso, taking in every single piece of art decorating his skin. His shoulder was covered in black and grey ink, going down his right arm, hugging his biceps. Oh, to run you tongue over each piece… You snapped back and quickly joined him, hopping onto his lap, before he even had the time to get on top of you again. You had been waiting way too long for this. Way longer than you'd like to admit.

He made sure to keep his hands on your ass, placing you comfortably on his lap, his erection high, slapped against his abdomen. You didn't need to look down to know how big he was. You knew. You remembered. Hell, you even dreamt of it after the times he had already fucked you. Don't tell Binna that.

With his lips back on yours, much more eager than before, you let one hand rest on his chest while the other had gone down, swiping over your still glistening cunt, wetting your palm before you grasped his cock. An immediate moan came from Wonwoo, his breath heavy in your mouth, groaning against each other as you felt him nudge his hips into your touch. You kept your hand on the upper half of his dick, your thumb brushing over the top, spreading the pre-cum all over the burning red tip. The chill going through his body didn't go unnoticed by you, making you smirk against his lips as his fingers dug deeper into your ass, making you throw your head back in pleasure. Your hand had started running up and down his entire erection, making him hide his face in your neck as he kissed it again, sucking harshly on one specific spot he remembered you reacting to the hardest. As if it was a competition, your hand movements became harder and sloppier while his kisses became much harsher. Both of you had forgotten about moaning, turning to groaning as it relieved much more of the pleasure.

Without a warning, Wonwoo slapped your hand away and lowered you closer to the mattress, his arm on your lower back to hold you up. His free hand grabbed the base of his cock, directing it towards your entrance as you held yourself up with your elbows. He teased you by circling your hole with the tip of his dick, just waiting to fill you up.

You threw your head back in desperation. "GOD, Wonwoo just put your cock inside of me, please." With a low chuckle, he followed your plead. You couldn't hold yourself up and let your back hit the mattress as both of his hands had found their way to your hips, holding onto them as he backed out and went straight in again. Just like with his fingers - painfully slow. The roughness of each vein that decorated his erection grazed your walls, only intensifying each thrust.

"Fuck," you heard him curse under his breath as he lowered his body, his mouth back on your right breast as his right hand played with your left nipple.

You moaned out loud. "Fuck, Wonwoo," trying to move your hips along with his rhythm.

He came back up, his hand now on your neck as he groaned right into your ear. "Jesus, you feel so good." His thumb was brushing against your cheek.

"Won-" your moan was interrupted by an uncontrollable whine you had to let out as he was suddenly going deeper, making you realise he hadn't put his full length inside of you up until you. "Please," you stuttered with heavy breaths, "Please make me come."

His hand left your neck, immediately going down to your clit, after dipping into your wetness, putting pressure on your little bundle of nerves.

You nudged your hips up, "FUck, yes." Crying out loud as he kissed your jawline. Listening to his moans so close to your ear, feeling his thrusts becoming more and more irregular, almost sloppy, made you all that more aroused, knowing how close he must be getting.

With another hit at your G-spot, you almost couldn't hold back anymore.

"Wonwoo, I'm gonna cum," you whined, getting his attention as he kissed you deeply.

"Come on, baby. I'm close too. Come on. Just like that," he encouraged you, keeping his rhythm as steady as he possibly could, which wasn't much. "Good girl." Sending a heavy rush of arousal right to your pussy.

With his fingers right on your clit, his breathing against your ear and just feeling his chest move against you, his cock hitting all the right places inside of you, you didn't dare to hold back, letting go right as it hit you. A loud cry tumbled from your lips, your head digging into the blanket and mattress underneath you. The tightness of your walls almost pushing his cock out of you as the pleasure rushed through your body.

Wonwoo pushed himself up, and with three last hard thrusts into you, you felt him fill you up just as you would have begged him to. The warmth of his seamen made another moan come from you. Your hands were quickly trying to find his that were once again on your hips - seemed like they had found their favourite place.

His movements had slowed down, now making sure to work you through your uneven breathing as you came down from your second orgasm.

For a good few minutes, he continued to rock the both of you back and forth comfortably, lowering himself down to cover your frame with his wide shoulders, kissing you deeply without having to ask him to. His fingers tangled in your hair to make sure he'd pull you in as close as possible while his hips stopped moving, only one last time as he pulled out, leaving you cold and empty on the bed.

With one last kiss on your cheek, and a quick whisper of, "Stay here," he disappeared into the bathroom. You laid still. You put your right hand right under your boobs, still trying to even out your breathing.

That's what's supposed to happen when someone calls your name out in such desperation.

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