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bloodyknucklesforme · 1 month

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Red Summer | Ghoap x F!Reader | Slasher!AU

After breaking up with your long term boyfriend you take a job working as a camp counselor in Northern Vermont. Seven weeks of swimming, volleyball, archery and hiking. There's even a hot lifeguard. It seems perfect until you find something evil is lurking in the woods

Tags: Slasher AU, Ghoap x Reader, intro chapter, nondescript reader, dark fic

Chapter 1: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

5.5k words

It smelled like Summer. Ozonic and earthy, carried into your car by the breeze as you drove North through winding roads. Montpelier was two hours behind you now.

Despite the eighty degree heat, Vermont was lush and green. Only a couple more miles of shaded forest roads before you reached camp. At least you hoped so. Your maps app had been slow to load the last twenty miles.

The place was North, nestled between the border of Canada and the New Hampshire state line. It was gorgeous though. Anytime you thought about moving out of New England to somewhere cheaper the next season changed your mind. The trees just didn’t look as pretty in fall or the snow as splendid in winter. You just wished it was cheaper.

Suppose that’s why you took this job, as much as it didn’t appeal to you. Camp counselor for seven long weeks, the pay was shit but your food and board came free. After a bad breakup you didn’t have time to find a new lease so your life was packed up into a rented storage box with anything valuable shoved into the back of your car.

A friend of a friend recommended it. She’d been working here for years, attended for even more. She was an old money New Englander. Boarding school outside of Boston and all that. She was nice though. Got you the job over any qualified candidates. It wasn’t nepotism but whatever it was called you wouldn’t complain.

Your car dinged. Low gas. Shit.

Scrolling quickly through the map you saw a gas station up ahead. You’d just make it… hopefully.

You let out a sigh of relief as you pulled into the station. It was older with dusty windows and sun-faded posters for cigarettes.

A piece of paper was taped to the pump.

“Reader broken. Pay inside” scribbled in sharpie.

You sighed and headed inside.

It was dusty inside too. A couple aisles of brightly packaged food and walls lined with fridges filled with beer and soda. The man behind the counter glanced up from his book when you walked in.

He was handsome. Black with dark, short cut curly hair and big brown eyes. Much too handsome to be working in the middle of nowhere. He’d look more fitting in the corner of a bar, buying you a drink. He smiled up at you and your heart might have skipped a beat.

“Pump three? How much?” He was English… strange.

“Just…uh… ten bucks.” You stumbled out.

“It’s the accent,” he chuckled. “It throws everybody off the first time.”

“It’s a strange place for an Englishman to be, I guess.” You swayed awkwardly.

“I go to Middlebury. Easier to get a summer job than fly home.” He shrugged.

“Understandable.” You weren’t an expert on Vermont geography but you swore the college was on the other side of the state.

“Ten on three.” He said, nodding his head towards the window.

“Oh yeah. Thank you.”

“You still got to pay, love.”

“Oh fuck, yeah. Sorry… uh… Kyle.” You read his name tag before digging through your tote bag, finding the last bit of your cash.

“No worries. What brings a girl like you out here.”

“I’m working at the camp.”

“Weldon lake, right?”

“Yeah. First time… I’m going the right way, right?”

“If you continue up the road. There will be a sign when you need to turn.” He handed you your receipt.

“Thank you.”

“Hey!” You were half way out the door when he called. “Stay alive out there. Heard the campers can be down right evil.”

“I’ll try!”

The rest of the journey was smooth, there was a sign just like Kyle said. Another one after that taking you down a long gravel drive and into a dirt parking lot. A couple other cars were there already.

You made sure everything important was locked up in the trunk before grabbing your duffel bag and tote. You hoped you brought enough sunscreen.

The sun was warm on your back as you made your way up to the main building. Two other girls were hanging around on the porch. They each wore matching white baseball shirts with red sleeves and trim, each labeled with STAFF on the back.

“Hey, you’re Sophia’s friend, right? I’m Janie.” She jumped down from the porch fence. “I love your braids by the way.”

You’d done your hair before leaving, figuring it’d be easier to keep clean braided than fight for limited shower time.

“I’m Natalie,” The other girl greeted. You introduced yourself, thanking Janie for the compliment.”

“I think your cabin is next to mine. I can take you over once you check in.” Janie said.

Check in was easy enough. Sign a couple more papers, show off your ID to prove you were you and get your cabin assignment, key and two staff shirts. Tomorrow was orientation before the campers arrived Monday morning. Tonight was for getting to know everyone.

“So, where’s this cabin?” you asked, walking outside.

The girls grinned and led you down the path. Everything seemed to branch off from here. They pointed out where the dining hall was just past the main office next to the nurse’s station.

“Don’t expect much. They’re still recovering from when Covid almost killed this place.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. They had to raise fees and a bunch of parents freaked out. Guess an extra hundred dollars really threw all the millionaires off.” Natalie laughed.

Next was the pool, fully fenced in and surrounded by two tennis courts and two basketball courts on either side.

“Hey lasses!” A man called from the pool, leaning over the chain link fence. Natalie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Who’s the new girl?”

He had a thick Scottish accent. Lots of transplants for the area, you guessed. He was also handsome. Muscular with a dark mohawk and light eyes. He was shirtless with very short and tight red shorts on and a silver whistle around his neck. He was dripping water over the ground.

“You say that like you aren’t also the new guy, Johnny!” Natalie called, clearly annoyed already.

“Nat hates him.” Janie giggled.

“It’s been three hours and he’s already tried to fuck half the counselors. He’s a dog.”

“One I’d put on a leash.” Janie laughed.

Johnny walked over, still dripping wet. His crocs squeaked with every step.

“Johnny,” he grinned, holding out his hand to you. You introduced yourself as he shook your hand excitedly. He had a tattoo on his side, up by his ribs. You couldn’t see all of it but it looked like a heart with someone’s initials in it. S and something else, you couldn’t tell for sure. “Beautiful name for a beautiful gal.”

Your cheeks felt hot as his blue eyes traveled over your body.

“It’s going to be a fun seven weeks with all you bonnie lasses around.” He grinned. Nat looped her arm around yours.

“Down dog. We still have half the camp to show off.”

“You know where to find me. Pool looked like the lake when I got here.” He raised his hands up as he walked backwards towards the pool again.

“Come on, before we lose Janie.”

“He’s hot!” She defended.

“You just like him because he got your name right on the first try.”

“He’s intelligent too!”

The cabins were next. Ten white painted buildings split in half with about eight beds on each side and a shared bathroom in the back. They formed a circle around a fire pit with log benches.

You had cabin room 14. Janie was the building next door in 15 and Nat with 16 sharing with her. They took turns explaining everything.

“Your bed is the only non bunk and the chest underneath locks so anything you don’t want the campers to find should go there.”

“Basically all your shit. I had a copy of Crime and Punishment stolen last year. Fucking Crime and Punishment like any of these kids could read Dostoevsky.”

“Showers are in the back. Hot water is sparse so if you want some, move quick and early.”

“Breakfast is at 8. Coffee tastes like shit unless you pour half a pound of sugar in it.”

“You can vape just outside but if you smoke you gotta ask your neighbor counselor to watch your kids. At least thirty feet away or they’ll snitch too.”

“Weed is only for days off because they'll either snitch or demand you share. That goes for kids and counselors.”

“Days off are randomly assigned but you should get one every other week.”

“I don’t recommend sleeping with other counselors but if you must, go to your car.” Natalie said.

“We’ll leave you to get settled. Dinner is in an hour. You can meet everyone else then.”

“Thank you guys for everything.” You felt overwhelmed just a bit.

They left, still arguing about Johnny. He was cute but the break up wounds were still fresh. You didn’t want to sneak around either. You weren’t a teenager anymore.

You haphazardly dumped the contents of your duffle into the lock chest before shoving it back under the bed. You had seven weeks to organize it.

The bed was okay. A plastic covered mattress with an old sleeping bag. You should have brought your own pillow. Maybe a Target run on your next day off whenever that was.

The ache in your muscles from driving all day hit hard the moment you sat down.

There was a knock on the door.

“Hey sleepyhead!” Sophia came in. You rubbed your face as you woke up. Out the window you could see the sky looked darker, a blue summer evening. “I’m glad you ended up coming.”

“Yeah. Thanks for getting me the job.” You stretched, your shoulders cracking. “It’s nice to get away.”

“I’m sorry about you and Ale.” There it was. She was nice but always craved gossip.

“It’s okay. Just wanted different things.”

You shrugged. It wasn’t a bad breakup, no arguing, just a slow and painful demise. He’d even offered to let you stay with him when the lease ended and he found out you didn’t have a place to go. You chose this instead.

“Well, let’s get you something to eat. The food is incredibly mediocre but I heard a rumor that the lifeguard has beer and weed for the fire pit.”

She was not wrong about dinner. Hot dogs with a slice of Kraft cheese melted on top with a bag of chips as a side.

You sat with Nat, Sophia and Janie.

“There are my lovely ladies!” Johnny sat down, forcing his way between Cel and Sophia. Nat looked like she wanted to kill him. “Coming out to the lake tonight? Hope you all brought swim suits or birthday suits.”

“Jesus Christ.” Nat groaned.

“I think we’re gonna have an easy night. Some of us had long drives.” Sophia motioned to herself and you. “Just some girl time.”

Johnny pouted.

“Fair enough but I do expect all of you at the bonfire tomorrow.” He pointed at all of them, even Nat. “Especially you new girl.”

He got up and jogged off to another table of girls.

“Am I allowed to call him a slut?”

“What happened to dog?” Janie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Dogs can be trained.”

You all laughed. You’d been worried that you wouldn’t fit in. All the other girls knew each other for years at this point. Janie and Sophia had been coming here since they were kids. Nat met Janie in high school and got a job as a junior counselor with her the first chance they got.

It wasn’t a super attractive job and the pay was shit but it looked good on resumes and college applications apparently. Showed responsibility. Most of your experiences with camp were from horror films.

The sun was still out as the four of you walked back. Sophia was your cabin neighbor, taking care of room 13. It’s where you all gathered.

Sophia and you sat on her bed while she did your nails.

“Red looks nice on you.” It was a bright cherry red. She’d picked it out, saying they should all match.

The evening was spent talking and laughing. You asking questions about camp life and getting advice from the other girls.

You had friends back home but you were glad you fit in so fast. Any anxiety and fear for the Summer slipped away as the sun set.

“I’m beat.” Nat yawned. It was almost midnight now. Janie agreed and the two wandered off back to their cabin.

“I’ll head back too. Thank you for being so welcoming, Soph.”

“Absolutely! It’s nice to get fresh meat every once and a while. It can be tough with the kids so some people get jaded. I hope you have fun this Summer and if you don’t you can blame me.” She laughed.

The air was cool on the little porch out front. Most of the other cabins had their lights off by now and the center was lit up with fireflies, neon yellow dots.

There was an orange dot out towards the back of one of the cabins across the way. A cigarette. The man smoking it seemed larger than any counselor you’d seen but it was dark and he was half hidden behind the building. It was Johnny’s cabin, you think. He was big.

He waved and you waved back. He dropped the cigarette and stamped it out. The little corner fell dark and you went into your side.

You didn’t realize how quiet the world could be as you curled up in your sleeping bag. No hum of electronics or cars. No people yelling above or below you. Just the stillness of the stars.

It was an early morning. Johnny was running around the circle of cabins playing music to wake everyone up. He was shirtless again and his shorts seemed shorter than the day before. You wouldn’t complain.

“So why did you choose this wonderful vista as a summer job?” Johnny asked, jogging up next to you as you made your way to the dining hall.

“Needed a break. Get out in nature for a bit. I grew up in the suburbs and just broke up with my boyfriend so I guess I wanted to breathe for a bit. You?”

“Running from my previous life of crime.” He smiled. “Nah, just also trying to get away. Was military back home, knee injury did me in. Didn’t know what else to do. Hiked part of the Appliachian trail. You know, it's the same mountain range as the Highlands. Felt like I had to see them. Haven’t really felt like going back home yet.”

“You hiked alone?” You raised an eyebrow. You knew that it was one of the longest and hardest trails in the country.

“Had a mate with me but I’m on my lonesome now.” He opened the door for you. Sure, he was boisterous but he seemed harmless one on one. Maybe a little dogish but he wasn’t going to hump your leg unprompted.

“Shirts are needed in the dining hall, Mactavish!” Sophia called. He held up his hands in surrender before fishing out a cropped muscle tee that had been shoved into his pocket. It was a nice change of pace to be around a man that wanted to show off his own skin rather than try to get girls to show theirs.

You told yourself before you got here that you wouldn’t look for that kind of distraction. It wasn’t worth it, especially not this early. You could look though. No harm in that.

Bacon, Eggs and self-serve cereal was today’s breakfast. You joined back up with the girls from last night. Orientation was supposed to take up most of the day so they encouraged you to grab a couple pieces of fruit and a protein bar.

“Only fill up your water bottle in here. There are fountains elsewhere but I think they taste weird.” Said Janie.

You were put in a group with Johnny, Sophia, and another guy named Warren. He and Sophia were long term counselors so they gladly took on the role of being you and Johnny’s tour guide. Johnny had been hired because of his lifeguard training so he already knew the layout of the lake and pool. You were scolded for not having proper shoes for hiking.

“What’s your size? I might have an old pair in my car.” Sophia offered. “If not I think there’s an L.L.Bean like two hours away. We can go on our next day off.”

You weren’t sure if you could afford brand new boots so silently hoped that Sophia did have that old pair and they fit.

“Don’t want ya getting blisters all summer.” Johnny said. He was doing the hike in crocs but apparently did have boots back at his cabin.

You didn’t do the full trail but Warren pointed out the different routes and how difficult each one was and which ones kids could do by themselves and which ones they couldn’t. The fields were next. A soccer field and baseball field were across the way from the cabins. It was a loose definition of each. One was a huge patch of grass and the other a diamond of dirt. Both looked a little off size wise. There was the sports supply shed that had all the equipment in it. Only a couple counselors had keys to it.

“People kept using it inappropriately.” Sophia smiled.

There was the art building, the rec hall, a path leading towards the archery field and riflery field.

“Riflery?”

“Yeah. We used to teach kids how to shoot. Mostly clay pigeons but it was one of the programs cut after Covid,” Warren explained.

“Shame I missed it. Could have taught the kids trick shots.” Johnny joked, pretending to aim a rifle backwards over his shoulder.

The horse stable was also closed. Too expensive to have horses here for even half the season.

The Lake was the last part of the tour. It was on the other side of the road so to get there was an underpass to get there. It was large enough for five adults to walk side by side comfortably but the yellow light from the lamps gave it a sickly vibe.

It ended a little ways before the beach. There were several rows of Kayaks and another shed filled with life preservers and paddles.

“Wow Johnny! You cleaned it up well.” Warren clapped him on the back. For a moment Johnny looked irritated that he’d been touched but he shoved that emotion out of the way to make room for his usual excited self.

“Yeah. Cleaned up the best I could.”

“It looks great, Johnny.” You were impressed. He’d even sprayed the kayaks down, bright clean plastic in a rainbow of colors.

“Yer making me blush.” He laid a hand over his heart.

The lake was gorgeous. Cream colored sand feeding into sapphire waters. You could just see the beach on the other side, a small empty dock with a path leading into the woods. The camp side had a floating platform about thirty feet into the water.

“Campers have to swim there and back to pass the swimming competency test.” Sophia explained. “If you can’t swim on your own you’re stuck in the buoyed area.”

There was a ten by ten foot area cordoned off by buoys, keeping to the shallow end of the lake. Made enough sense. No one wanted to fish a dead kid out of the water.

“Let’s head back. We don’t want to miss lunch.” Warren clapped his hands together.

The four of you made the trek back to the dining hall. You did feel like blisters were starting to form on the back of your ankles. You’d have to put band-aids on them later.

The rest of the afternoon was spent going over itinerary for the following week. Campers would arrive tomorrow between ten and six. It was a day mostly planned out for settling them in with an inaugural bonfire that night. After that it was seven weeks of regular old American camp adventures.

You went back to your cabin the moment you had free time. Your ankles hadn’t started to bleed but they were bright red and throbbing. You applied the bandaids and grabbed another pair of socks to wear the rest of the way.

There was about an hour and half before dinner and final orientation from the camp managers, who, you had been told, often made themselves scarce throughout the summer to avoid having to do their jobs. You settled on top of your sleeping bag. A nice breeze came in through the screen door. Janie had told you that it was the best way to keep the building cool.

You thought about Ale. His smile and deep laugh. How he’d wake you up in the morning with kisses to the back of your neck. How he loved your hair and ass. How he’d whisper in Spanish to you. You still had the English/Spanish dictionary he gave you shoved in a box back in the city. You missed him. Your cowboy. He would have been so disappointed to hear the stables were closed. Maybe you’d call him after all this. Ask to work something out.

You drifted off daydreaming about the scent of his cologne.

“Bonnie! You’re gonna miss dinner!” Johnny was knocking on the screen door. Maybe Nat was right in being annoyed by him all the time.

“I’ll just miss it.” you sighed, rolling over on the bed.

“You never know which meal is your last. Best not to skip any! C’mon or I’ll drag ya myself.”

You would have thrown a pillow if you had one. How did he always have so much energy?

He jogged literal circles around you on the way to the dining hall.

“How are your feet?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“You were limping on the way back to the cabins earlier.”

“Oh…yeah just blisters.”

He tutted at you.

“Got to get you some good shoes soon.”

Dinner was the same hot dogs as the previous night with a bonus of a bowl of lettuce, cherry tomatoes and a slice of cucumber.

There was an excited energy in the room. Most people who’d snuck in alcohol or drugs said tonight was the best night to use it all. An unspoken competition of who could drink the most and still function when the first campers started to arrive. It could be fun, you mused. You were never a big partier in college and what was this if not a perfect chance to make up for that.

The boys built up a nice fire, each poking and prodding their own side with their favorite stick. You sat on one of the log benches next to Sophia and Janie. Johnny was across the fire, his arm around the waste of another girl counselor. Ceilidh you think it was. Pronounced like Kay-lee, she’d said. Pretty name, Gaelic. Made sense for him to go after a piece of home.

“Glad he’s finally left us alone.” Nat chuckled.

“I think they’re cute.” Sophia said. You pushed down the twinge of jealousy you felt seeing her giggle at his joke.

Warren came around with a cooler filled with a hodgepodge of beer. He was his fraternity’s president and one of his responsibilities was to get rid of any extra at the end of the term to avoid trouble. Dry campus issues.

You grabbed a Modelo. Ale’s old go to and one you’d gotten used to drinking. It left a familiar warm feeling in your stomach.

You drank, you danced, you ate s’mores, you laughed with your new friends. The stars seemed so bright and clear out here. Janie had you all lay out on your backs in the grass nearby as she pointed out each constellation.

“That’s the big dipper and above it is the little dipper but Draco is the constellation between them. If you guys tell me your star signs I can point it out for you.”

There was laughter nearby and you glanced up to see Johnny and Ceilidh sneaking in the dark towards her cabin.

You had another beer. And another. Maybe one more after that.

Someone offered you a hit off a joint so you did that too.

The four of you were laughing and stumbling back to Sophia’s cabin. You had no idea how late it was. The fire was dying out. Warren said he would make sure everyone got back inside all right. The designated driver of drunken counselors. He was a good guy.

You found yourself laying on your side on one of the empty beds. Sophia and Janie were on her bed, half asleep against each other. Nat and you were talking about your childhoods.

“I broke a bone three years in a row, each time in May. I missed field day every time. My mom once pulled me around in a wagon so I wouldn’t feel left out,” She laughed.

“How did you break so many bones?”

“Catholic school where the playground was just a parking lot. I was a wild kid. I broke my arm tripping and falling against the priest’s car. I dented it too. I thought I was going to hell.”

There was a shrill noise. Loud and stomach dropping. A scream cut off. You and the other girls all jumped to attention. It was silent except for the crackling of the fire outside.

“Fisher cat.” Janie said, trying to convince herself.

“Or a fox.” Sophia added.

“Did you guys hear that?” Warren said, coming in.

The four of you nodded.

“It sounded close. I’m gonna check it out.”

“By yourself?”

“One of the other guys is gonna come with me. It’s probably just an animal. If you see Johnny tell him to go check on everyone. I want a headcount before we all go to sleep.”

You all watched from the window as Warren met another guy holding a flashlight and a baseball bat. Sophia turned on the porch light. They disappeared between the cabin’s across the way.

“Johnny and Celilidh went off together. Should we try to find them?” Sophia offered.

“Maybe we should just stay here. Safety in numbers.” Janie answered.

“Safety from what? It was just an animal.” Nat insisted.

“Didn’t sound like an animal.” You thought. No one else would say it but you were all thinking it. A slide show of clips from horror films played through your mind.

Four sets of eyes darted around, looking out windows and the front door, waiting for some masked killer to seep through the walls.

Bang!

You all screamed as Johnny flew through the door, clutching his stomach.

“We have to go now!” He grunted. Blood was pouring between his fingers.

“Oh my god. What happened? Where’s Ceilidh?”

“Dead… fuck.. She’s fucking dead. Fucker came in through the window in the bathroom. I tried to fight him off. I’m sorry.” He gulped. “We have to go now!”

“You’re bleeding. Please let me look.” Janie reached out and he pushed her hand away.

“Don’t have time. We have to go. Get my car keys. I can fit us all.”

“What about everyone else?” You asked. There was so much blood, it was dripping on the floor now.

“I don’t know… when..when’s the last time you saw anyone?”

There was another scream from outside. Silence took you over again.

“Please… we can get out and get help but we have to go now.” Johnny pleaded. His bright blue eyes were watery and his tan skin was stained red down his legs.

“I’m going.” Sophia said, grabbing her backpack. “Fuck this. I’m not fucking dying like it’s a movie. We’re all going. Johnny, do you need help?”

“No, I can manage. I need to get my keys though.”

“I have mine. We can just take my car. It’s an SUV.” Sophia urged, crouching down to look out of the door.

“No…no…I…I uh…I have a gun in my car.”

“You brought a fucking gun to camp?” Nat’s jaw dropped.

“Old shotgun. It works. I’m trained for this. Get to the car and I… I can kill him.”

“You’re bleeding out, Johnny.” Janie cried, reaching for him again and once again being pushed away.

“Come with me.” Johnny looked at you.

“I…I…I don’t know.” You were shaking. It didn’t seem real. Too cliche. A real life spree killer running around the woods of a Summer camp. Sophia was right, you didn’t want to die like it was some movie.

“He knows I’m weak. He’ll go after me first. We’ll get my keys and if he shows up… you take them and run.”

“You..can’t sacrifice yourself.” Your voice warbled.

“It was my job to do that. If I can’t die saving my country, I’d like to die saving a group of pretty girls.”

Johnny was pleading. He seemed to know he couldn’t do it on his own. You thought about Ale saying you needed to stand up for yourself more. You never did. You didn’t stand up to bullies in high school, rogue professors in college or shitty demeaning bosses. You didn’t even stand up for yourself when Ale said he wanted a break.

Nat was saying how you should all just run to Sophia’s car. She had her keys. Sophia was agreeing. Janie was crying silently.

“I’ll go.” You forced the words out like vomit. It was that or actual vomit.

“Okay.” He almost smiled. “Sophia, turn off the lights. We’ll give you a signal when it's safe to come out. Then we all run to the parking lot.”

“What’s the signal?” Janie sobbed.

“I’ll whistle.”

You were shaking so much you worried you’d fall right down the front steps of the cabin. Johnny was in front of you, shoulders hunched up, his eyes darting everywhere. Sophia turned off the lights, leaving the two of you in near darkness. The fire was nothing more than orange smoldering logs.

“You seem like you’ve done this before.” You said quietly, finding yourself holding the bottom hem of his shirt.

“Like I said. It was my job.”

You walked on your tiptoes, trying not to make any noise. Your heart cried for the others. Even if you didn’t know them. You didn’t hear or see anyone. Maybe they all got out? They escaped already…or the killer was chasing them deeper into the woods.

You didn’t want to die. In the movies it always seemed so prolonged. The stabbings and bleeding out. Johnny had been hurt and he was still going on, trying to save you and everyone else.

“Stay here. I’ll go check to make sure it's clear.” He said. You’d made it to his cabin, whole body still shaking just on his porch now. Your heart leapt into your throat as the door creaked open.

“Be careful, please.”

He winked at you before heading in. You picked at the skin around your nails, a nasty old habit that you tried so hard to kick. You could forgive yourself for this relapse. It seemed an appropriate time to scratch out anxiety.

The step behind you creaked. Any light from the fire was blocked out. A arm wrapped around your neck and pulled you flush with a wall of muscle. You screamed for Johnny as a knife cut into your stomach.

It hurt worse than you thought it would. He was stabbing you over and over. All those movies and none prepared you for the sound that came from being stabbed yourself. The rush of blood in your head. You kicked and scratched the best you could, catching the gap of skin between his gloves and sleeves. Flesh caught under your nails and tore. The knife cut sideways across your stomach. Something wet and heavy hit the floor by your feet.

“Fucking cunt.” The man growled. You could have thrown up if it didn’t feel like your stomach had been torn open.

You hit the porch face first, no strength left to even try to hold yourself up. Blood pooled in your mouth. He stepped around you and in the corner of your eye you could make him out.

Large, well over six feet and bulky with large shoulders. A half skull mask covered the top part of his face. His head was buzzed. He had a hunting knife in his hand and it dripped your blood onto the wood and onto your face.

“Johnny!” Your killer called. You’d doomed him too. He could have gotten away. Johnny would die and it would be your fault. They all would now and it was your fault.

You closed your eyes as the throbbing subsided. You didn’t want to listen. He was so nice. He didn’t deserve it.

You didn’t deserve this.

You closed your eyes and let yourself slip away.

You heard music. Loud obnoxious music and singing from an off key baritone scot.

You opened your eyes and you were in your sleeping bag in your cabin. It was Sunday morning again.

Shout out to @ceilidho for being an inspiration to me to write darker fics and letting me use her name for a counselor.

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year

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VW wouldn't locate kidnapped child because his mother didn't pay for find-my-car subscription

The masked car-thieves who stole a Volkswagen SUV in Lake County, IL didn’t know that there was a two-year-old child in the back seat — but that’s no excuse. A violent car-theft has the potential to hurt or kill people, after all.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/28/kinderwagen/#worst-timeline

Likewise, the VW execs who decided to nonconsensually track the location of every driver and sell that data to shady brokers — but to deny car owners access to that data unless they paid for a “find my car” subscription — didn’t foresee that their cheap, bumbling subcontractors would refuse the local sheriff’s pleas to locate the car with the kidnapped toddler.

And yet, here we are. Like most (all?) major car makers, Volkswagen has filled its vehicles with surveillance gear, and has a hot side-hustle as a funnel for the data-brokerage industry.

After the masked man jumped out of a stolen BMW and leapt into the VW SUV to steal it, the child’s mother — who had been occupied bringing her other child inside her home — tried to save her two year old, who was still in the back seat. The thief “battered” her and drove off. She called 911.

The local sheriff called Volkswagen and begged them to track the car. VW refused, citing the fact that the mother had not paid for the $150 find-my-car subscription after the free trial period expired. Eventually, VW relented and called back with the location data — but not until after the stolen car had been found and the child had been retrieved.

Now that this idiotic story is in the news, VW is appropriately contrite. An anonymous company spokesman blamed the incident on “a serious breach” of company policy and threw their subcontractor under the (micro)bus, blaming it on them.

This is truly the worst of all worlds: Volkswagen is a company that has internal capacity to build innovative IT systems. Once upon a time, they had the in-house tech talent to build the “cheat device” behind Dieselgate, the means by which they turned millions of diesel vehicles into rolling gas-chambers, emitting lethal quantities of NOX.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal

But on the other hand, VW doesn’t have the internal capacity to operate Car-Net, it’s unimaginatively-named, $150/year location surveillance system. That gets subbed out to a contractor who can’t be relied on to locate a literal kidnapped child.

The IT adventures that car companies get up to give farce a bad name. Ferraris have “anti-tampering” kill-switches that immobilize cars if they suspect a third-party mechanic is working on them. When one of these tripped during a child-seat installation in an underground parking garage, the $500k car locked its transmission and refused to unlock it — and the car was so far underground that its cellular modem couldn’t receive the unlock code, permanently stranding it:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/15/expect-the-unexpected/#drm

BMW, meanwhile, is eagerly building out “innovations” like subscription steering-wheel heaters:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/02/big-river/#beemers

Big Car has loaded our rides up with so much surveillance gear that they were able to run scare ads opposing Massachusetts’s Right to Repair ballot initiative, warning Bay Staters that if third parties could access the data in their cars, it would lead to their literal murders:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/03/rip-david-graeber/#rolling-surveillance-platforms

In short: the automotive sector has filled our cars with surveillance gear, but that data is only reliably available to commercial data-brokers and hackers who breach Big Cars’ massive data repositories. Big Car has the IT capacity to fill our cars with cheat devices — but not the capacity to operate an efficient surveillance system to use in real emergencies. Big Car says that giving you control over your car will result in your murder — but when a child’s life is on the line, they can’t give you access to your own car’s location.

This Thu (Mar 2) I’ll be in Brussels for Antitrust, Regulation and the Political Economy, along with a who’s-who of European and US trustbusters. It’s livestreamed, and both in-person and virtual attendance are free. On Fri (Mar 3), I’ll be in Graz for the Elevate Festival.

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

—

Upsilon Andromedae (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/upsand/212946929/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[Image ID: A blue vintage VW beetle speeds down a highway; a crying baby is pressed against the back driver's-side window. In the sky overhead is the red glaring eye of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, emblazoned with the VW logo. The eye is projecting a beam of red light that has enveloped the car.]

#pluralistic #worst timeline #parenting #car-net #automotive #stranger danger #commercial surveillance #surveillance #volkswagen #vw

2K notes · View notes

prompt-heaven · 7 months

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100 different locations

abandoned house

airport

alleyway

amusment park

antique store

apartment

aquarium

art gallery

art studio

auto repair shop

bakery

ballroom

bar

bathroom

beach

bedroom

book store

bridge

bus

by a bonfire

cabin

cafe

car

casino

castle

cave

city

closet

club

coffee shop

concert

courthouse

crime scene

dentist

diner

dressing room

elevator

farm

festival

field

fire escape

fire station

flower shop

foreign country

forest

funeral

garden

gas station

graveyard

greenhouse

grocery store

harbor

haunted house

hedge maze

hospital

hotel

ice cream shop

island

kitchen

lab

lake

library

mall

market

mine

mountain

museum

music store

ocean

office

orchard

park

parking lot

photoshoot

pier

place of worship

plane

playground

police station

pool

resturant

river

road

rooftop

school

sex shop

ship

small town

spa

sports game

spy agency head quarters

tattoo parlour

tent

thrift store

train

treehouse

university

vet clinic

waterfall

wedding

452 notes · View notes

munsonluhvr · 4 months

Text

HOW TO FAKE IT (MINI SERIES) (PART 2)

contents: the weekend trip to the cabin has arrived and Tina has an agenda planned to challenge you and Steve's 'relationship'... word count - 6k

notes: fully believe this is not my best work; I had a ton of homework that had me distracted so those who are reading chapter - please come back for part 3 I promise it's going to be much better lol.

installments: part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

taglist: @frostandflamesfanfic

It surprised you how easy it was to convince your parents to let you go to the Cunningham’s family cabin; word had got back to your parents that you and Steve made your debut as a couple at the party several days ago. To say the least, they were thrilled.

Your parents have always loved Steve, finding him the most trustworthy male in Hawkins to be close friends with their daughter. On multiple occasions they had suggested you and Steve should date but you always shook your head, grimacing at the idea. Now they finally have their wish.

You stand on the side of your bed, folding your pants into your duffle bag. Your mom sits on the bed beside you, folding your few shirts into your duffle bag as well. “Do we need to have the talk?” Your mom asks, glancing over at you. “It’s nothing to be afraid of, we aren’t those religious people who think sex is bad, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to-.“

“Mom,” you say, interrupting her. “I don’t need to have the talk; I took physical education class.”

Your mom laughs softly, shaking her head. “Just be safe.”

A few hours later you stand on your porch, duffle bag in hand, waiting to see Steve pull up. The Cunningham’s cabin is two hours away, up north in Indiana. The cabin, according to Steve, is on a lake, in a small resort area. You wonder to yourself how many people will show up and how vicious Tina plans on being. Your head already aches and you haven’t even left yet.

Moments later, Steve’s car pulls up, the passenger window already rolled down. “There’s my gorgeous girlfriend,” Steve yells, his signature sunglasses covering the top half of his face.

You wince. “Don’t yell like that,” you call back. “I don’t want the neighbors to hear.”

Steve puts a hand on his chest. “Ashamed of being seen with me already?”

You give Steve a fake smile, opening the car door. You get in, shoving your bag in the back seat. “If I was ashamed I wouldn’t be sending my ass up a river to stay at Chrissy Cunningham’s cabin, with Tina there, for you.”

Steve presses the gas, sending the car lurching forward. “And that is why you are the ultimate best friend.”

You hum, strapping your seatbelt on across your chest. “What would you do without me?”

The two hours it takes to get to the cabin flies by quickly due to Steve insisting on developing a detailed game plan for the weekend.

“We need to make it believable but also leave from for Tina to get jealous.” Steve says, glancing over at you. Beside him, you’re in the passenger seat watching Indiana farms pass by.

“I feel like we’re doing a pretty good job doing that so far; Tina looked like she wanted to kill me when she invited us to the cabin.”

Steve laughs. “She really does not like you, and she’s never been afraid to show that.”

“No, she hasn’t and that’s the best part of this arrangement. Dating your best friend who Tina was always threatened by to make her jealous? Brilliant.” You say, glancing at Steve. A strand of his hair dangles on Steve’s forehead, the sun streaming into the car window and dancing across his freckled face, illuminating his soft features.

Steve changes the subject briefly, noticing how he’s passing several exits on the highway. “Look at the map really quick, I want to make sure we’re going in the right direction.”

Eventually, you make it to the Cunningham’s cabin, multiple cars already parked on the gravel driveway. The cabin is set back, hidden from the road by rows of tall, bushy trees. The house is big, a classic cabin style, the largest house on the street. Even from the end of the driveway, you can see the blue water of the lake that outstretches for miles behind the cabin.

As Steve pulls in, you notice several people lingering at the side of the house: your housemates for the weekend. When Steve parks, retrieving yours and his bags from the back seat, Tina saunters over, greeting only Steve. Casually, as if she and Steve never broke up, Tina throws her arms around Steve. “I’m so glad you made it,” Tina says, playing into her innocent act. While she hugs Steve, she looks over his shoulder, staring you right in the face. You offer a small, innocent smile. It’s only two days you have to be here, you remind yourself.

After greeting Tina and the others who are spending at the weekend too, Chrissy, Jason, and some of the basketball players with their girlfriends, you make it into the side entrance of the house.

“Nice place, Cunningham.” Steve says, taking his sunglasses off to look around the house. The inside of the house is grand, large wood furniture stretching towards the ceiling. The entrance leads directly into the kitchen, showcasing large, shiny kitchen appliances that sit on the island that’s settled in the middle of the room. It’s a beautiful home, you hate to admit.

“Your room is over here,” Chrissy says, Tina close behind her, as they guide you and Steve to a room on the first floor. Down a short hallway, you crowd around the entrance of the bedroom. You peer in, seeing a single bed placed under a window. “You and y/n can stay in here.” Chrissy says to Steve.

You swallow hard, letting your eyes look around the room. There is a dresser in the corner, a small, plush chair adjacent to the bed. Everything starts to connect: you and Steve are expected to share a bed.

You glance at Steve who’s already looking at you. He offers you a half-hearted smile, realizing the same thing. “This is great, we’ll put out stuff away and meet up with you guys in a second.”

Chrissy leaves promptly but Tina lingers, analyzing you and Steve as you stand in the bedroom. After a second, she leaves.

“Don’t worry, I can sleep on the floor, and you can have the bed.” Steve whispers to you, unzipping his bag to unpack his things. “They’ll never know.”

You stay silent, unzipping your bag too, beginning to unpack your own clothes. For the first time you feel concerned, questioning if you can pull this fake dating scheme off with success. Steve, sensing your hesitation, comes behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders. He squeezes lightly. “We got this.”

Minutes later, you’re back in the Cunningham’s enormous kitchen, Steve retrieving a beer from the fridge and handing it to you. The other house guests are scattered across the kitchen and backyard, mingling together. Steve slings an arm over your shoulder, guiding you to a chair that’s adjacent to the kitchen, just over the kitchen’s boarder into the dining room. Swiftly, Steve pulls you back onto his lap again, the end of his chilled beer resting on your leg. You loop an arm around his shoulders, your legs dangling off the side of Steve’s legs. You both sit together, watching the small group mingle around the kitchen.

In the days between the party and earlier today when you left Hawkins for the cabin, you had some time to think. You had begun to notice how your body physically reacts to Steve’s touch, the way your mind whirls every time a new set of eyes rest on you and Steve. You have this feeling again now, just as Steve plays his part as a loving boyfriend by placing a kiss on your jaw. You smile, glancing at him briefly.

At first you just attributed to the mindset that you had engrossed yourself with dedication and devotion. You were pretending to be Steve’s girlfriend, convincing Hawkins High that you and he have been together for months, just secretly. Steve was also committed to making your false relationship believable, always attentive with calling you sweet nicknames, gazing at you lovingly when he introduced you to his other friends, or letting his fingertips drag across your skin. Every time it made your mind buzz, enough to make you wonder why you are feeling such ways.

The next phase of denial you enter is just attributing all your feelings to being so close to Steve. You have been best friends for as long as you can remember, always tied to each other’s hip. You had inside jokes, nicknames for each other, a permanent spot at each other’s family dinner table. You were each other’s dates to dances, you never had to ask, you just knew Steve would show up at your front step in a tux. You knew each other so well. When Steve started having girlfriends started to the mix, you never felt displaced. Steve went through girls constantly, as if there was a never-ending revolving door of them; yet each one respected you and Steve’s friendship and made sure to always make space for you. That is, of course, until Tina.

You’re brought out of your thoughts when a shrill voice echoes across the kitchen. “Steve, you’re the tallest one here, can you lend me some help?” Tina’s voice says from around the corner.

Steve taps your legs, signaling for you to move. You stand up, allowing Steve to get up from his seat. He hands you his beer, moving across the kitchen to help Tina. “I’ll be right back,” Steve says to you with a smile. Steve leaves you alone, and as you sit back in the sofa chair, you miss the subtle warmth of Steve underneath you.

After a few minutes, Steve hasn’t come back and you stand up, feeling the need to socialize and not sit alone in the corner. You weave through Chrissy and Jason who stand on one side of the kitchen island. Some basketball players, and their girlfriends, stand on the other side of the island. “Nice of you to join us, y/n.” Jason says, glancing at you as you walk by.

You smile meekly. “What are you all up to?”

“Actually,” Jason says, leaning on the countertop. “We were wondering about how you and Steve started dating.”

“Oh, you know.” you say, simply. “Best friends that finally acknowledged they liked each other; no story really.”

The group laughs, eyeing you curiously. The chatter continues around you, leaving you to listen to the back and forth. Down the hallway, however, you hear a set of laughs that takes your attention away. In the reflection of the class doors that lead to the driveway, you see Steve and Tina leaning against the banister of the stairs. Steve reaches out, pawing at Tina’s arm, a simple touch of affection. A pang of jealousy hits you and you’re startled by the feeling. The reality of the game you play with Steve washes over you again as you watch him and Tina flirt, knowing there’s nothing you can do about it because that’s the whole point of you and Steve dating in the first place – getting Tina back.

For the first time, you consider how Steve and Tina’s subtle, but not really, flirting is perceived by the other houseguests. As Steve has attempts to make Tina jealous, allowing himself to flirt with her or let her eye’s linger on him, did everyone really think you were stupid enough to not notice? What you hadn’t signed up for when Steve asked you to fake date him is to look like a fool and you hated to think that Steve’s actions were making you seem like a dumb, oblivious, person and girlfriend. And that thought really pissed you off.

“Let’s play a game.” Tina says, clasping her hands together. The group eight of sit around the living room, you and Steve sitting next to each other on the large, retro couch. His arm is around your shoulder, and you squirm underneath his touch. Across the living room, Chrissy sits on a loveseat, Tina and the rest of the group scattered around the floor. You couldn’t get your mind to stop thinking about Steve in the hallway with Tina.

Jason laughs, a beer in his hand, as he seats himself next to Chrissy. “A little childish, Tina, don’t you think?”

Tina shakes her head. “Not at all, we need a little fun. Let’s keep it simple; truth or dare.”

“Sounds fun,” Tina’s boyfriend says supportively.

Tina offers a smile to her partner, appreciating his support. “Great, I’ll start – someone ask me.”

“Okay, truth or dare, Tina?” Chrissy asks, leaning over to look across the room to Tina.

“Truth,” Tina says. You have the urge to roll your eyes, but you suppress it, watching as the game begins to unfold in front of you. Instead, your clasp your hands together, squeezing your palms together.

“What is the worst mistake you’ve made?” Chrissy says after contemplating for a minute.

Tina looks across the room at Steve, her eyes lingering on him for just a minute. You know she wants to say it’s breaking up with Steve. To some extent, the plan of fake dating Steve is working, Tina showing her jealousy and curiosity about you and Steve’s relationship; so, you should be happy. But you feel an unsettling feeling, one that makes you feel confused about everything happening around you.

After a second, Tina takes her eyes off of Steve and looks back at Chrissy. “Definitely getting that haircut sophomore year; it was such a popular hairstyle and as soon as I got it, it went out of style.” Everyone is the room laughs, including Steve, and you smile half-heartedly. “Okay, who’s next? How about you, Steve?”

“All right, I’ll give it a go.” Steve says, his body leaning into you more. From his movements, you smell his cologne radiating off of him, the familiar smell offering some comfort.

“Truth or dare?” Tina asks, cocking her head to the side.

You don’t know if you want Steve to pick truth or dare: both could be dangerous options.

“Dare.”

Tina smiles, her eyes settling on you. “Kiss y/n; I don’t think any of have seen you guy kiss yet.”

Your body freezes, every muscle becoming rigid. You’re terrified for a lot of reasons: one reason is because you have never kissed anyone before which is a truth not even Steve knows. The second reason is that you’re about to be forced to kiss Steve, your best friend, and you have no idea how you feel about that.

“Yeah, Harrington, give your girl a kiss. No need to be conservative here, we’re all friends.” Jason says, gesturing towards where you and Steve sit with his hand that grips his beer bottle.

“Is that really necessary? We just aren’t big participants in PDA.” Steve says, laughing nervously.

“Now’s your chance.” Tina says, her eyes landing on you.

Steve angles his body towards you, you wonder if you feel his hands tremble. You angle your body towards him as well, your knees touching. Steve looks at you, his eyes going to your lips. You’re really about to kiss Steve – in front of everyone.

Steve scoots closer to you, his hand reaching out, his hand cupping your face. His fingertips brush your face, your skin buzzing at the sensation. Your muscles go from rigid to limp, your head becoming lightheaded. Before Steve leans in, he gazes at you briefly, letting his thumb brush your cheekbone. Then, he leans in, and you follow his lead, leaning in to let your lips meet his.

You thought it’d be a short kiss, just a small peck, but it’s anything but. Steve’s mouth moves rhythmically in yours, the feeling of his plush lips against yours causing a small tornado to brew in your stomach. The smell of Steve’s cologne that was comforting a few seconds ago was now overwhelming to you, numbing the surrounding environment – the people that watch you. Steve’s lips are sweet, the beer tinting the flavor of his mouth.

It feels like you have been kissing Steve for hours, though it most likely was only a few seconds. You pull away, breaking you and Steve’s point of contact. He leans in further, following your mouth as you pull away, but Steve realizes what he’s doing and backs away.

Steve clears his throat, leaning back on the couch. “See, we kiss,” Steve says. Similar to you, Steve’s mind draws blank after blank, his mind whirling with a set of emotions that confuse him. He finds himself enjoying sharing a kiss with you, noticing how his mouth followed you as you pulled away. He hopes you didn’t notice that.

You look at the small group of faces that watched you, small smiles on their mouths. Tina, however, has her arms crossed, her lips puckered with discontent.

“I felt like we should have given you privacy, that was intense.” Jason says, laughing. “What else do you guys do in private?”

Steve rolls his eyes. “All right, All right, let’s move on.”

“Y/n, your turn.” Tina says, adjusting in her seat. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” you say, not wanting to see what type of dare Tina would have in store for you. Turns out, though, that her truths are far much worse then any dare.

“Did you and Steve get together right after he and I broke up? I mean you were his best friend and around us all the time. Were you just hoping we’d break up so you can have him all to yourself?” Tina asks. The room goes silent.

You sigh, knowing this was waiting for you all along. “Of course not, Tina. We got together after you and Steve had broken up and it was clear you were getting back together.”

Tina hums, crossing her arms across her chest. “For some reason, I just don’t believe that. It’s such a coincidence that two best friends got together so close after a breakup – I mean surely he was still thinking about me when he together with you.” Tina says, glancing at Steve. “Are you sure you’re not a rebound?”

“Tina-“ Steve says, but you hold up your hand, ready to meet Tina.

“I just don’t get why you care so much, Tina? Aren’t you the one that broke up with Steve to immediately date someone else? Are you sure that’s just a coincidence or were you plotting that while you were still dating Steve?” You say, knowing you questioning Tina, in front of her closest friends, was getting dangerously close to her most vicious point.

Tina laughs, shaking her head. “Oh, y/n. You sit there with Steve acting so innocent like the perfect little girlfriend, but little do you know everything Steve does for you know, I taught him. He probably still calls out my name during sex.”

You jaw clenches, the sounds of people snickering fill the silence in the room. Steve is still, completely motionless beside you, listening to you handle your own against Tina. He feels sick, his stomach twisted is regret. Steve thinks about how he never should have gotten you involved in this. “I think you give yourself too much credit, Tina, Steve has most certainly moved on.”

“All right you two, that was definitely more than one question, Tina.” Jason says, interrupting you and Tina. You let your back relax against the couch, feeling the heat in the room creep inside of you.

Steve puts his arm around your shoulders, acknowledging the tough situation Tina had just put you through. He squeezes your shoulder. Watching Tina attempt to embarrass you, in front of everyone, made Steve question what he was doing attempting to get Tina back in his life. He knew Tina’s personality is bland, her only joy in life coming from tearing other people down - for what? Suddenly, loses his motivation to get Tina back – he just wants to take you and he home.

“Let’s go,” Steve whispers to you, beginning to stand up off the couch. He reaches out, grabbing your hand in his. “We’re going to hit the hay early tonight; we’ll see you in the morning.” Steve says to the rest of the group. Everyone mumbles goodnight, their eyes watching you and Steve move out of the room. They pick back up where they started, Chrissy up next to pick truth or dare.

“Steve don’t sleep on the floor. Just get in the bed.” You say, listening to Steve whimper as he lays himself on the hardwood floor. You hear him pause. “Really? It’s so uncomfortable down here.” He says, leaning up to look at you on the bed.

You nod. “Just don’t touch me, we aren’t that close.”

Steve laughs, placing his pillow on the bed next to yours. You move yourself back, letting Steve maneuver himself into the bed. The mattress dips under his weight, his warm body laying close to yours. For a few minutes you lay in silence, watching the darkness stream through the shades of the window. Shadows dance across the ceiling, your eyes watching as you listen to the crickets that chirp in the dark of the night outside.

“I’m sorry,” Steve says, breaking the dark silence. His arm brushes against yours. “Tina was vicious today and I didn’t stop it.” You shake your head, looking at Steve from the corner of your eye. “Don’t apologize, I knew she some sort of plan against me.”

“Still,” Steve says, meeting your eye contact. Steve’s glance turns into a gaze, holding your eye contact. In your stomach, you feel a flutter. If someone told you Steve would be the one to check things off your boxes – giving you your first kiss or sharing a bed with a boy; you’re sure you would have told them they were out of their mind. You break your eye contact, looking back at the ceiling.

Beside you, Steve lets his long fingers slither against the back of your hand, picking yours up to rest against his. Steve outstretches your hand, comparing the size of it to his large hand that dwarfs yours. “You’re so small and delicate.”

You laugh, looking over at yours and his hands. “You’re just noticing our size difference now?”

Steve interlaces his fingers with yours, enveloping yours hand with his. He squeezes your hand gently. “Fake dating you has allowed me to realize things about you I ignored when we were just best friends.”

“Don’t get soft on me, Steve.” You say, although the flutter in your stomach grows more intense.

Only one day left.

The day at the Cunningham’s cabin starts bright and early; Jason bangs on you and Steve’s bedroom door, jolting you out of Steve arms, which is wrapped around you, holding you against his body. You and Steve glance at each other, mutually agreeing not to speculate how you both ended sleeping in such a position.

“Steve and y/n, up and at em’ lovebirds! Meet us by the water in five.” Jason yells, the sound of his voice pounding in your head. It’s too early to yell.

Quickly, you and Steve throw on lake appropriate outfits, turning each other’s back to one another, providing as much privacy as you can, considering the circumstance.

You’re halfway out the back door of the house when Steve grasps your forearm. “Hand,” Steve holds his hand out to you. “Gotta make it believable, babe,” Steve says, overemphasizing the nickname. You smile, taking his hand, though you have a funny feeling inside of you – something you can’t put your finger on.

“There they are!” Chrissy says, extending her arms over her head. Chrissy’s feet were already in the water, Jason beside her. Tina glances at you, offering a fake smile, though she trains her eyesight is aimed at you and Steve’s hands that are intertwined.

“Here we are,” Steve says almost unenthusiastically. You can tell his socialization level is beginning to bottom out.

“Drinks are over there,” Jason says, pointing towards a cooler several feet away. “We’re thinking of playing volleyball and swimming. I’ll get the floats out of the basement later.”

Steve looks over at you. “Volleyball or swimming?”

You shake your head. “I think I’ll just sit for now.”

Steve frowns, but nods, letting go of your hand. “Okay, I’ll sit with you-“ As Steve speaks, Jason calls his name. “Steve, come play a round of volleyball with us.” You look towards Jason, seeing Tina, Tina’s boyfriend, and Jason stand on the volleyball court. “We need a fourth.”

Steve looks over at you. You smile, gesturing towards where Jason. “Go, I’ll be fine.” Steve nods, his eyes lingering on yours, before he jogs away towards the volleyball court.

You continue towards the beach chairs, noticing Chrissy is already sitting in one. “May I join you?” you ask, sitting down in the chair beside her.

“Not a fan of volleyball?” Chrissy asks, looking over at you.

“Not a fan of anything physical,” you say, letting your legs stretch out in front of you. The lake has rough sand, but you let your bare feet dig into it.

Chrissy laughs. “I feel the same way, I always get lightheaded. My exercise is cheer and that’s about it.”

You smile, glancing at Chrissy. You never truly interacted with Chrissy, her crowd is much different than yours, the two groups never interacting. You had heard good things about her, always kind and sweet to everyone. You always wondered if she was as fake as Tina, considering they were close friends, but you find the rumors are true – she’s incredibly kind.

You’re about to respond to Chrissy but cheers from the opposite direction pull your attention away and towards the sound. You watch as Steve and Tina, who are on the same side of the volleyball net, high-five, Tina squealing with excitement. You lean back against the webbed beach chair with a soft huff.

“That’s got to be tough,” Chrissy says. “Tina is trying too hard to be friendly with Steve post breakup. I told her to leave you two alone, but she won’t listen.”

You toss an uneasy smile at Chrissy, opting to look directly in front of you at the lake. “Oh, it’s okay. I’m not worried.”

Chrissy cocks her head to the side, not believing a word you say. “Your face says otherwise. I’m sure she’ll get bored, I mean she has to, Steve is so into you.”

You frown, whipping your head to Chrissy. “W-What?”

Chrissy turns away from you, positing herself to look straight ahead, her arms dangling off the arms of the chair. She, too, outstretches her legs in front of herself, her legs seemingly going on for miles. “The way he looks at you, it’s so obvious.”

You swallow, digesting what Chrissy is telling you. Steve? The way he looks at you? Chrissy must be wrong, any look that Steve gives you is purely because you’ve been friends for what feels like decades, and you might as well be the same person – Siamese twins even.

You’re silent for a long time, the noise of other neighbors coming out from their house to be lake go-ers for the day filling the silence. Your mind is in a whirl as you’re deep in thought, thinking about Chrissy’s comment, and you jolt when Chrissy places her hand on your forearm. “Come on, let’s go into the water.”

The lake behind Chrissy’s house is huge, from where you stand you can see the houses that peek out from the trees around the lake. The lake must be miles and miles long, boats saunter across the water, those who occupy them dancing to the radio together. Though the lake is only accessible to those who own a house, the lake is big enough, and deep enough, to need a lifeguard. A very cute lifeguard in fact.

You and Chrissy stand knee deep in the lukewarm lake water, watching small fish swim between your legs. You chat with Chrissy, finding out that she’s much more easy going then you thought she’d be. The day has passed by quickly, the morning turning into the afternoon with little transition. After a little swimming, you and Chrissy begin to walk down the length of the Cunningham’s property, the edge of her home right where the lifeguard stand is.

A whistle blows, the sound cracking, signaling the whistle should be retired soon, interrupting you and Chrissy’s conversation. “Ladies, looking that good is certainly a swimming hazard. Back on the shore, please.” You and Chrissy look at each other, giggling at the lifeguards comment.

The lifeguard is beautiful; his torso is bare showcasing his toned upper half and strong muscles. He has dark hair, his short locks framing his face perfectly. Freckles are dashed across his face, a boyish smile on his mouth. He moves, with ease, down from his stand, making his way over to where you and Chrissy stand, only a few inches from the shore.

“I’m Blake,” Blake, the lifeguard says. “And you two are?”

“I’m Chrissy,” Chrissy says, clasping her hands in front of her. “And this is y/n.”

Blake looks at you, his eyes lingering. “Y/n, you’re awfully beautiful.”

You smile, your face flushing at the compliment. “Thank you, Blake.”

“Chrissy!” Jason yells from far away, their volleyball game concluding a bit ago. “I need your help getting the floats from the basement!” Chrissy glances between you and Blake, then jogs off towards the shore, leaving you and Blake alone. You should have realized how not mentioning to Blake that you had a boyfriend, Steve, might look to Chrissy but in the moment you didn’t care. Why couldn’t you have a little fun on this god forsaken trip?

“Just here for the weekend?” Blake asks, bringing you back into the conversation.

You nod, softly crossing your arms in front of your scantily clad chest. “Yeah, with some friends.”

Blake nods, his eyes grazing down your body. “That’s too bad, the hot ones always have to leave.”

Later, you’ll realize that Blake is not your type, and how his gives player vibes, but in the moment, you just want to have fun leaving the ideas that Steve looks at you a certain way or the weird flutter you felt last night as you laid with behind you.

You just want a distraction from it all.

Where you stand with Blake, you have no idea that Steve is watching. Steve is perplexed on what to do as he’s blinded with raging emotions. He’s pissed; the tall, gorgeous lifeguard standing beside you, his eyes taking every inch of your bare skin. For a moment, Steve doesn’t even consider what everyone else who’s staying at Chrissy’s cabin thinks as they glance with curiosity at this stranger interacting with you, Steve’s girlfriend. Steve wants to do nothing more than punch the lights out of this guy, bruising his eyes that visually violate you. Steve watches for a few minutes, you laugh, you reach out touching this lifeguard’s arm. Steve can’t take it any longer when you turn around and the lifeguard looks right at your ass, shamelessly.

Steve stalks over to you and Blake, his feet moving him quick. “Y/n!” Steve calls, making it over to you and the male in seconds. “There you are babe; I’ve been calling you.” Nonchalantly, Steve places his arm over your shoulder, interrupting you and Blake’s conversation. Steve offers Blake an innocent yet threatening smile as he nudges you along. You squeak as Steve begins to rush you away. You don’t even get to say bye to Blake.

“What the hell are you doing?” Steve whispers to you when you’re far away from Blake, guiding you away from the water. “Flirting with that asshole in front of everyone, you’re supposed to be my girlfriend, remember?”

You’re pissed too, Steve ruining your only chance to experience joy on this trip. “Sorry, I’m just trying to have a little fun. You can flirt with Tina all day long, in front of everyone, but I can’t flirt with some random lifeguard?”

Steve snorts, his grip tightening around your shoulder. “I’m not flirting with Tina; I was just playing volleyball with her. You heard Jason, they needed a fourth player!”

You hum, attempting to shrug your Steve’s arm off your shoulder. “This sucks Steve, this has gone far beyond just getting Tina back. She has it out for me, last night was proof, and I’m just looking like a stupid, oblivious girlfriend as you sneak around with Tina, and I’m just supposed to not notice?”

Steve hustles you past the group of teens that surround the firepit in the middle of the backyard, bringing the beach chairs from the lake and onto the grass. They all stare, your argument moving from whispers to loud enough that they can catch glimpses of your argument.

“Keep your voice down,” Steve says. Steve moves you onto the porch, opening the sliding glass and pushing you into the kitchen. “You’re going to blow our cover.”

Outside, the day begins to dim, the sky turning a dark blue color. The little bit of light outside illuminates the room enough for you and Steve to maneuver around the kitchen island. “You already did that Steve! By flirting with Tina so carelessly. You want to flirt with Tina? Fine. But you don’t have to do it in front of everyone and make me look stupid.” You march into yours and Steve’s designated bedroom, passing him on one side of the island in the process. Steve follows you.

“Y/n,” Steve says with a sigh. “Look, I’m sorry. Okay?”

You’re covered in lake water, the dry feeling that clings to your body makes you know that you should shower before getting into bed, but there’s no place you’d rather be then under the sheets. You lift the bedsheets up, climb into the bed. “I don’t care, Steve, Whatever, it’s fine.”

Steve stands in the doorway, watching you turn into a lump under the sheets. Although you’re arguing, he finds himself smiling. “I mean it, I’m sorry.”

“I mean it, I don’t care. Just go back out to the party and your beloved Tina.”

Steve is amused but mostly frustrated - for two reasons. For one, wasn’t this the whole point? Making Tina jealous so she’d come back to him? Maybe you had a point about making you look stupid, but he thought you and he were on the same page, understanding the same game plan of Tina becoming his girlfriend again so you two didn’t have to fake dating. Second, Steve hated it when you and he fight. You never did – the last time was when you were 14 and Steve had seen a movie with his friend when he said he’d see it with you first (you were pissed, to say the least) - and he hated that the first fight in a long time was over Tina.

“Fine,” Steve says, turning on his heel. “Be that way.” And Steve disappears around the corner. You’re sure Steve is going to come back, apologize profusely, but you give up that hope when you hear the sliding door close shut behind him.

As he sits on the beach chair around the campfire, next to Tina, Steve’s mind begins to drift away, thinking about his reaction to seeing you and the lifeguard. Why had he gotten so mad? I mean, wanting to physically harm a guy that was flirting with you was a bit much, surely. He acknowledges to himself how he didn’t like seeing you flirt with someone, another male drinking your body in, and he wonders what that confession could mean. Does he have a thing for you, and it took being in a fake relationship, at Chrissy Cunningham’s cabin, seeing you flirting with a lifeguard, for Steve to realize that? All Steve could think about, while his friends laugh and roast marshmallows together, is that he wanted to be under the sheets with you, your small body curved against his – and that scares the shit out of him.

It's going to be a long ride back to Hawkins.

#stranger things fanfiction #stranger things x reader #stranger things x you #steve harrington stranger things #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington fan fiction #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x y/n

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missannwinchester · 2 months

Text

Good girl (Joel/Reader, nsfw)

Joel Miller/Reader

Rating: E

Summary: Joel’s friend invited him to his peaceful resort by the lake. His stay there turns out not as peaceful as Joel had hoped when it turns out he set his eyes on the only woman in the resort that should be off limits.

Warnings: super cheesy, all over the place, dad’s best friend, age difference, slightly rough sex, outdoor sex, nsfw, dirty talk

Joel drove through the forest, the asphalt road leading him straight to the resort. He took a sip of cold, gas station coffee, slowing down as the road became full of potholes. He could smell the fresh scent of pine trees as the wind flew into the car through open windows. Despite wearing sunglasses, Joel squinted each time the sun appeared between the trees. He was driving to his friend’s resort to spend one week in a place with small wooden cabins, a huge lake, boats for rent and no reception and he couldn’t be happier. He desperately needed vacation, and talking to another human being, who happened to be his old buddy, seemed like a dream.

He parked his car, drank the rest of the coffee and got out of the car, taking his black duffel bag from the backseat. He looked around and smiled at the trees swaying in the gentle wind and turned, facing the nearby lake, trying to adjust his eyes to the brightness of the sun dancing in its reflection. He stood like that for a while, inhaling the scent of the forest, before he decided to go check in. He headed for a cabin with a huge ‘reception desk’ banner and took his glasses off as soon as he went inside, standing face to face with the prettiest woman he saw in a while. Not that a hermit like him saw women often, but still.

“Hello,” she greeted him quite cheerfully, but she was clearly surprised to see him.

Joel smiled at her, almost automatically forgetting about his usually gruff demeanor towards new people.

“Hi,” he said, rather sheepishly.

If he had to speak from experience, clerks in places like that were usually awkward middle-aged men, scrawny college frat boys or older women who always flirted with him.

“Did you have a reservation?” She asked, suspecting he hadn’t.

“Uh, no,” he responded. “I was hoping you’d have free cabins by chance, I’d like to stay for a week,” he blurted out and looked into her bright, beautiful eyes. He didn’t mention that he had just talked to the owner of this place or that he was promised ‘the best cabin there was in the whole resort’.

“Lucky for you, there are two cabins available for one week, one right in front of us, by the parking lot and my personal favorite, hidden a little further behind the trees, right by the lake, but it’s got a con and it costs twice as much as the parking lot one,” she explained, not breaking eye contact, staring into his dark eyes with fascination.

This man was extremely handsome, well-built, very broad, and his eyes? His eyes were truly something else.

“I’ll take that personal favorite of yours,” he smiled and took out his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans, forced to stop staring at her for a while.

She took a piece of paper and bit her lips when she reached for a pencil.

“Is anyone joining you?”

“No,” he said, leaning against the counter as she wrote something down.

“Breakfast included? Costs just extra 4 dollars per day.”

“I think so,” he retorted and she wrote something down again.

“So, when do you want to check out? Wednesday next week?”

“That’s right,” he nodded and she took a calculator and told him the price.

“I need to take a look at your ID,” she said and he complied, giving her the document.

“Okay, welcome to the resort, Joel. That’s the key, and here’s a map you can use to find your cabin or,” she said, sliding the map and key across the counter, “or I could just walk you there,” she suggested trying to sound breezy.

See, she had always been a good girl. Sunday school, do as she was told, good girl. She went to a good school, met a good man, got a good job, rented a good apartment, lived a good life. A good school she didn’t choose, with a good man she didn’t love and a good job that made her want to die in a good apartment that didn’t feel like home.

“It’s a little far, that’s all and… all the trees look kinda the same, but… well, you have a map,” she babbled, trying not to sound stupid.

“I’ve never been good with maps,” he smiled at her before he took the map and purposefully looked at it upside down, making her chuckle.

“I better walk you then,” she told him.

They walked for about five minutes through the forest, avoiding the small, crowded beach by the lake. The path was very narrow so Joel walked a few steps behind her. She could almost feel his eyes on her tight jeans shorts and she took a mental note to check out his bottom as well.

“How far is the cabin exactly?” Joel asked curiously.

“A little further,” she said. “You know, if you could read that map you’d know it shows an estimated time that you need to get from your cabin to all the important places? Like the breakfast lounge, boat rental or the reception desk,” she told him and slowed down a little, as the path became wider and now he could walk beside her.

“Interesting,” he admitted and eyed the map, quickly reading details about breakfast and how long it takes to go to the restaurant. “So, are you needed at the reception desk or can you show me around?”

“I can, no one's scheduled to arrive today. You were lucky I was even there when you showed up,” she told him and smiled at him playfully.

“Lucky indeed,” he smiled. “When you’re not there, what do you do all day?” He wondered.

“Well… that’s your cabin,” she announced and gestured to the pretty little house. “And as for what I do, I guess I mostly sit on a pier,” she laughed and Joel looked at the map.

“16 minutes that way,” he said, pointing his finger at the forest.

“Wow, you got better at it so fast,” she joked, but then she bit her lip hesitantly. “Actually, this one is not on the map,” she confessed quietly, as if she was telling a secret.

“Oh,” Joel sounded intrigued and waited for her to elaborate.

“We could go there if…” she sighed.

“If?” He prompted.

“If you promise me you’ll never go there without me. It’s mine and mine only,” she said quite sternly, looking at him with confidence.

“I promise, scout’s honor,” he responded without hesitation.

“Alright. Go, leave your bag, I’ll wait,” she promised and Joel went to the cabin and tossed his duffel bag inside carelessly and almost ran back to her.

His heart had been fluttering ever since he saw her, he figured it would stop after a while, but it was probably gonna be a longer while.

Fifteen minutes later they were standing on a pier. It was surrounded by water and reeds.

“Isn’t it awesome? We can see the lake, but the lake can’t see us,” she said with a grin. “I love this place,” she told him.

“I can see why,” he muttered, taking a deep breath, looking at the beautiful landscape surrounding him.

“Tourists never come by here, they stick to the other side of the lake, so it’s very peaceful,” she told him.

“And the view’s nice,” he said, looking straight at her and she smiled, suddenly a little shy.

“Yeah, especially when you actually look at the view,” she blurted out, pointing at the lake.

“Well I don’t know, I like looking over here,” he confessed, his body turned towards her. “You’d make any view better,” he whispered, but gave her space in case he read the signals wrong.

She turned, facing him with a smile dancing on her lips. She took a tiny step forward, getting closer to him, but not closing the gap between them, leaving him some room to decide what to do next. He also stepped forward, now standing in her personal space, their bodies almost touching.

“Does this line always work?” She wondered out loud, looking up at his face.

“Well, it seems to be working this time,” he responded and reached out to grab her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers, his other hand touched her hair, which was as soft as he expected, tucking them behind her ear as she leaned into his touch making his boxers even tighter now than a second ago. “What about your line?”

“What do you mean?” She asked unsurely.

“About the secret pier?” He clarified. “About how no one can see us.”

Her free hand traveled up his chest to rest on his shoulder and she knew it would be a horrible time to mention that she had never done anything like this before, not on this pier, nor anywhere else. The only sex she had was with her lousy ex fiance and for that she should have got an award for the best actress in a live action short film because she always had to fake it. So here she was, having her very first summer fling with an older guy and she had never been so aroused in her whole life.

“Seems to be working this time,” she smiled.

Joel leaned down and kissed her, slowly but surely and she responded, parting her lips, letting his tongue slide in. He tasted like something sweet and vaguely familiar and she gasped softly as his tongue explored her mouth. His hands were on her back, pulling her close and hers were wrapped around his neck, fingers playing with hair at the back of his head. His lips left hers and she was disappointed for a second before she felt them on her neck.

“Are you gonna tell me your name?” He asked, focusing his actions on her jawline.

He frowned when she tensed, grabbing his T-shirt, lightly pushing him away, but not letting him go. She told him her name.

Her grip on his T-shirt was quite strong considering her size and Joel could see how aroused she was. She pulled him towards her and kissed him deeply, dominating the kiss. He pushed his leg between hers, his hand on her ass, pulling her closer to him. She grinded against him and he hummed when he pressed his erection at her hip. She gasped into his mouth and pulled at the waistband of his jeans. She had never felt like this before, like she could come right there, dry humping him.

Joel unbuckled his belt and took off his jeans as she did the same. Her shorts fell on the pier and she felt a little self conscious. She tugged at the waistband of his boxers, pulling him into a kiss, his hand immediately found their way to her ass, squeezing it and slapping it very, very lightly, just enough to make it bounce. She sucked on his neck for a while before she pushed his boxers down and felt his fingers sliding under the soft material of her panties, pushing them down her smooth legs. He brushed his finger against her wet folds, sliding it in slowly, his thumb on her clit. He finger fucked her slowly, adding another digit while kissing her shoulder. She moaned at the sensation and slid her hands under his T-shirt, exploring his back. She was on the edge, waiting for him to just lightly, lightly push her.

“Hop up?” He suggested, reading from her uncertain expression that she might have some doubts.

“Um… up… you mean…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you ride me, sweetheart,” he promised and she nodded, wrapping her hands around his neck, waiting for him to pick her up.

When he did, she squeezed him with her legs, kissing him and sucking on his lip. She noticed that he was insanely strong, it seemed like she didn’t weigh anything to him. One of his arms snuck under her leg and pushed her a little higher and the other positioned his cock right at her entrance. He supported her butt lightly, as she slowly lowered herself on his thick shaft. Her walls stretched around him and she let out a quiet moan when she heard him groan. She felt his eyes on her face and she looked at him, rolling her hips, making him gasp into her face. Encouraged by him, she started riding his cock, squeezing him tightly with her thighs. He dug his fingers into her hips, almost painfully as he grunted when she lowered herself again, but his touch quickly softened again. He was helping her up and down, but he had to stop himself from straight up ramming her down on him.

“You can hold me like before,” she whispered. “I like how strong you are,” she told him and she felt his fingers digging into her flesh greedily and she heard a low growl as he closed his eyes to prevent them from rolling back.

“You like it rough?” He guessed and she realized she does actually like it rough. “Fuck, you’re so damn sexy, he growled.”

His confession gave her a boost of confidence that she needed, their pace was now relentless, the soft moans she made were driving him crazy, he felt like he could explode any second. He knew she was close, because her whimpers were becoming louder with each roll of his hips. She was gripping his T-shirt tightly, holding onto him with shaky arms and she wondered how he could do it, standing so straight up. He broke the sloppy kiss and licked the side of her neck, then nibbled on it softly. She moaned, a little ashamed of herself as she had never actually moaned during sex before. Without thinking, Joel brushed his teeth against her skin, scratching it.

“Fuck, sorry,” he apologized quickly when her legs jerked around him, knowing it must have hurt and he leaned to to kiss that spot better, but she whimpered loudly and dug her fingernails into the back of his neck, making him think that he misread her reaction.

“Did you like it?” He asked, already sure what the answer would be when he felt her teeth brush against his skin shyly, not enough to even leave a mark.

He guessed it might have been her first time and he hummed, trying to encourage her to use her teeth.

“Yeah,” she moaned quietly in response and Joel felt her timidity.

He noticed that her confidence decreased the moment she took her pants off, but he didn’t mind, knowing that if this went well he would have more time to rock her world again during his stay.

“It’s okay sweetie, I like it too,” he assured her and did it again, letting his teeth leave a mark on her shoulder. “Do you like it when I talk?”

“I do,” she admitted, not slowing down.

“Fuck yes,” he groaned and found her lips and his tongue slid in to start a sloppy kiss.

She started panting and Joel leaned down again to bite and suck on her neck and the second his teeth pinched her neck she came with him buried deep inside her. Her walls pulsed around him and he came too, rolling his hips into her one last time. He held her through her orgasm as he focused on not letting his knees give out as he panted loudly. She stopped squeezing him and let go of his T-shirt as she hummed contently, kissing him on the neck, on the hickey she had left on his soft skin. He helped her off his cock and he carefully put her back on the pier. He kissed her softly, his tongue gently brushed her lip. She smiled and pulled her shirt down to make it a little longer. She looked around in the search for her underwear. Joel got the hint and found his boxers while she was busy putting on her shorts. He winked at her with a smile while putting on jeans and she smiled back, comforted by his face expression.

“It was… very nice to meet you, Joel,” she said.

“My pleasure,” he muttered under his breath.

He came to face her again and his eyes traveled down her neck where she had a red mark left by his teeth.

“Well, it seems like a good start of a mindblowing week,” he whispered hopefully and she looked at him finally, nodding her head. “We could do this again tomorrow.”

“You know where to find me,” she reminded him with a smile.

“Will you walk me to my cabin?” He asked.

“Totally,” she said and started walking awkwardly towards the forest.

It all happened so fast, she wasn’t even sure if it was real.

“Actually, I was… I was hoping to meet the guy who owns the place, would you tell him I checked in when he comes back?” Joel asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded, just then thinking of her father. “Can you maybe not mention to him the…”

“The warm welcome?” He chuckled. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

“I’m actually kind of supposed to sit at the reception desk all the time,” she confessed. “If anyone asks, you got to your cabin all by yourself.”

“Sure thing,” he promised, not thinking much about it.

He leaned down and grabbed her butt. He gave it a firm squeeze and pushed her forward a little, and taking advantage of her initial shock, he kissed her passionately.

“I’ll find you tomorrow,” he promised and let her go, walking slowly towards the cabin.

“You better,” she muttered and bit her lip as she tilted her head, looking at his ass as he walked through the long grass.

A couple of hours later, she was sitting behind the reception desk, reading one of the old books she had found in one of the drawers. She turned the page, bored out of her mind and she glanced at her phone to see what time it was. She sighed loudly and threw the book at the counter. She got up from her seat and walked up to the window. She sighed one more time and pressed her forehead against the cold glass. Her dad was supposed to be at the resort in the evening and even though he hadn’t precised when, she was getting impatient. The reception was horrible so there was no use in even trying to call him. She locked up and headed towards the lake. The sun was setting, painting beautiful colors in the sky. She took her shoes off and walked into the lake, trying to ignore the screaming children who were running next to her. The water was quite cold, so she stopped after just a few steps, wiggling her toes in the sand. She could no longer see the sun as it hid behind the trees, but she enjoyed the colors dancing in the water. Despite the commotion, she heard a car engine and she turned her head to see her father’s truck on the rickety road. She walked out of the water slowly and picked up her shoes, walking lazily towards the parking lot. She saw her dad's silhouette from afar, she guessed he was holding something in his hand, probably his phone. He waved at someone and she heard his laugh. She smiled, glad that after all those years her dad was still excited to run the resort. The staff loved him and it was nice to watch as he joked around with them. Trying not to step on anything sharp barefoot, she walked slowly and carefully, avoiding the pine cones, but she was already right next to the parking lot. Involuntarily, her gaze followed her dad and that’s when she saw something strange. Her dad was hugging… Joel. Her dad was hugging Joel. She stopped and blinked a few times. Sure, she saw that guy one time, but she was certain that was him.

“You finally showed up man,” she heard her dad’s cheerful voice. “That calls for a celebration!”

“Definitely!” He responded and the men finally let go of each other. “I brought booze!” He said, handing his friend a paper bag.

“Let’s get you drunk like that time in Wichita!” Her dad cheered.

“I don’t remember ever being in Wichita,” Joel protested with a frown.

He turned around, motioning Joel to come with him and that’s when he saw his daughter and he greeted her with a smile.

“Hey,” he started, walking up to her, “that’s my old friend Joel, I met him way before I met you,” he laughed and she hoped she managed to hide how horrified she was.

She quickly glanced at Joel and for a second, his eyes met hers and he gulped, then, as if nothing happened he put a perfect poker face on.

“Joel, you must have met my daughter,” he said proudly. “Did she show you around?”

“She gave me a map,” Joel said quickly, faking a smile.

“That’s my girl!” His friend laughed. “Let’s go grab a bite, tomorrow I’m gonna take you fishing, Joel! See, we have this secret pier, it’s not on the map…”

The end

Thank you for reading :)

~Ann

#joel miller #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fanfic #joel miller fic #joel miller x you #joel miller smut #joel miller x reader #joel miller x female reader

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