Tumgik
#annie the housekeeper
kimmiessimmies · 20 days
Text
Wistfulness (22/34)
Tumblr media
***Appaloosa Plains burial grounds, six days later***
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
“James...” Sarah whispered, “Who’s that guy with Granny’s gardener and housekeeper?”
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
32 notes · View notes
vital-information · 7 months
Text
"What I really realized about some of my ideas of freedom is that they were like neoliberal fantasies. It's like, 'let me choose everything,' 'leave me alone all the time,' 'don't put any demands on me--only I will make demands.' It's a dark vision, and it really took me a long time to understand that the things that I'd been taught by the capitalist 80s to believe were unfreedom are freedom. Having people who mean something to you, who you have duties towards, is not unfreedom; it's freedom. It's actual existence...To be free of meaning is not freedom. Now my life is full of meanings, sometimes they're difficult, sometimes they're painful, but it's absolutely full. I don't think children are the only root to that kind of meaning, but I absolutely think you have to find something other than yourself to focus on.
...
When I meet a lot of other lady writers, I know, when we first had children we spent our whole time talking about how we were somehow trapped or imprisoned, but that's the most superficial idea of what a relation with other people is like. Now I consider all my relations--my friends, my dog, my husband, my family--as things that liberate me from myself. They are absolute freedom to me, and without them I would just be completely lost. A dog can do this for you, a cat can do this for you, going down to the larder and volunteering can do this for you. You just need to be among other people at some point, because otherwise it's hard to find in yourself (or for me anyway) a reason to go on.
...
It's a question of what does that freedom involve. I notice with the 'children thing' is that, at least in my own case, you spend so long battling to try and retain your own space. Then, when you look at what you've battled for, it isn't very much. These children are about to grow and disappear so quickly that you're going to get what you want sooner than you can imagine. All of these things are so out of sync with our capitalist discourse which is about 'you do you,' 'get what you want.' When it comes into conflict with this other thing, I guess we have in our heads, 'Am I become some kind of Victorian or old-fashioned person who is domesticated and a traditional woman.' We fight against that as if there's no liberating version of being connected to other people. That is the triumph of capitalism: it convinces you that it's just you and the shops, it's just you and the phone, and that's all that there is. Where there is an older vision of solidarity between people, within families, between children, between men and men, women and women, men and women--a community that is freeing. It's not a trap. It's like the only thing that brings joy.
...
I also think that's one of the tricks of the patriarchy: it makes you feel that all the traditional, supposedly feminine arts are humiliating. But why are they humiliating? In my house, it was the other way around. My dad was the cook. My dad was the cleaner. My mom was working a lot. My dad did a lot of those things. They're not humiliating when a man does them, apparently--[Interviewer Annie Macmanus: They're noble.]--He's been dead a long time, and sometimes, I can think of a meal he used to cook me, and it will bring me to tears. It was an art. And it was nourishing. And it was beautiful. And I'm so grateful. It was an act of love. I can't cook like that. My children will never have those memories of me. But, it's not nothing. It's the art of living. If it was a supposedly traditionally male art, you'd be getting awards for it...So I really resent the idea that these things are humiliating, even when I am picking up pants off the stairs, I think, 'I'm doing something for somebody else.' There is something noble in that, I hope.
Of course, the frustration is real. I think men suffer it just as much as women. I think to the credit of many contemporary men, they are doing absolutely the same amount of work...So the frustration is no longer purely female, which might be one of the triumphs of feminism. It's now something that lots of people have to experience, men and women. It's not that it's not real, but I have come to realize that [the frustration]'s not entirely debilitating. When it comes to art making, frustration can be really useful. Not being able to write, having your hands tied for part of every day, when I get down to my desk, I can't wait. Whereas when I was twenty-seven, I do remember embarrassingly moping around saying, 'Oh, I've got writer's block,' 'Oh, I've got ennui.' That to me now is like a comic thing, a ridiculous person who can't be taken seriously."
Zadie Smith, interviewed on Changes with Annie Macmanus
57 notes · View notes
cashmere-caveman · 1 year
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Mona Awad, Bunny | Being Human S3E8 The Wolf-Shaped Bullet | 5 Seconds of Summer, High | L. M. Dorsey, She is Made of Chalk | Hanif Abdurraqib, It Is Maybe Time to Admit That Michael Jordan Definitely Pushed Off | Ric Bastasa, Too Much Closeness is Blindness | Terrence McNally, Corpus Christi
106 notes · View notes
tellerluna-stories · 2 years
Text
this may be a fanfic writing blog but I have nowhere to scream abt this irl or online so:
I love cleaning and by far it is one of my favourite hobbies. one of the greatest things abt growing older is that I'm finally allowed to use the REALLY EFFICIENT cleaning sprays and I had the time of my life scrubbing my bathroom sink with the new one that my mom gave (IT'S BLEACH FREE!!!!! THAT'S SO COOL!!!!!!!)
11 notes · View notes
shslbunnylover · 4 months
Text
★★★𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 (12 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙮 6: 𝙎𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩)★★★
Character: Chessy
Taglist: @inlovewithgreta @lilfartbox1 (Message me to be a part of the taglist until I get a page set up!!)
Trigger warnings (DL, DI): N/a
Genre: Fluff
A/n: Day 6! Can't believe we're half way done!
Word count: 1.5k
...
Tumblr media
...
"Annie! Hallie!" Chessy exclaimed, tripping over her feet as the twins ran past her into the field of snow that covered the yard of the ranch, placing her hand over her heart.
"Sorry Chessy!" The twins exclaimed simultaneously, running throughout the snowfield, picking up clumps of the snowfall in their hands and throwing it in the air out of childlike joy.
"It's fine girls," The housekeeper rolled her eyes with a smile, placing a beanie on her auburn hair before following the girls outside.
You watched from the window, your eyes focusing only on the woman watching over the twins with a smile, pausing your movements that were focused on crochet blankets for the girls' Christmas presents.
Chessy somehow always seemed majestic and gorgeous in your eyes, and the way she stood out in the snowfall right at that moment just had you drawn to the housekeeper.
Looking at her closely, you took in her appearance. A thick pair of gray leggings, a puffy black coat, brown boots, and her matching beanie and scarf complementing her red hair and green-blue eyes.
"Y/n?" Elizabeth asked, walking up to you as she sat next to you. "Are you alright?"
"Oh, yes Elizabeth, I'm alright," You looked up at your boss, who slowly had become your friend since she hired you to be her driver.
"Which pretty site are you looking at?" The blonde smirked, gesturing to Chessy before she took a sip of her coffee, making sure not to spill any on her cardigan.
"The snow..." You blushed, looking down at your lap before beginning to crochet the blankets once again.
"Are you sure it's not anything else?" The older woman asked, looking at you with a slightly knowing gaze. "You know you can just go down there and play in the snow, she'll enjoy it,"
"I-I don't know," You sighed, placing your Crochet Needles on your lap aggressively, leaning your head back with a slight groan.
"Just do it, go out there and take a chance, you know Martin is eyeing her up," Elizabeth looked at you.
You remained silent, biting your lip slightly as you looked at the girls outside.
"Alright..." You muttered, dropping your stuff on the nearby table and grabbing your coat, wrapping it around your body before entering the cold outside to see the girls throwing snowballs at Chessy.
"Y/n! Come help us!" Annie exclaimed, grabbing a ball and throwing it straight at Chessy's face.
"Agh-!"
"Yeah come on Y/n!" Hallie exclaimed as she was busy rolling up the snow for Annie.
Chessy looked over at you in between her snow-covered eyelashes, and you noticed a slight rosy tint coming to her cheeks that you only assumed to be from the cold.
You stood there for a moment, biting your chapped lip as you looked at the girls and then at Chessy. You looked over at Hallie, and you took a step forward, leaving a trail of footprints behind you.
"I think a 3v1 isn't a fair game, is it girls?" You smirked, putting your hands on your hips as you ventured further into the snow.
"Well not really," Annie looked at Hallie.
You chuckled softly, walking over next to Chessy and brushing the snow off of her face.
"Thank you, Y/n," She smiled. "These little rascals have some pretty good aim,"
"Well..." You chuckled mischievously, grabbing a large chunk of snow and forming it into a ball. "Why not fight back?"
"Snowball fight!!!" Hallie exclaimed, hitting you straight in the shoulder with a small snowball, only to be met with a hit to the stomach with your snowball.
Chessy looked at you, surprised by your throwing skills.
"How'd you-"
"Don't question it," You brushed her off.
Chessy narrowed her eyes before squatting down to form the snowballs for you, as she knew you had a better aim than her.
"Bring it on kiddo!" You shouted, taking a ball from the older woman and tossing it at Annie, who was now participating in the fight.
Annie quickly ducked, throwing a snowball at Chessy, which the housekeeper dodged as well. You grabbed a pile of snow and threw it at Annie and Hallie, watching as it distracted them before you threw a ball straight at Hallie's face with a smirk.
"Dang it!" The older twin groaned, getting down on her knees to create a giant snowball, running it through the snow as the sphere expanded.
"You're going to get it now!" Annie yelled, falling into the snow to duck the incoming shot at her.
What you didn't see, however, was the wink that the twins shot each other.
"Hand me one Chess," You looked back at her, shooting her a wink as you grabbed the snowball, throwing it at Hallie.
"Annie, I need help! Distract them!" The older twin exclaimed, running with the snowball in her arms.
You looked over at Hallie, your eyes widening as the snow Annie threw covered your face and blinded you a little.
"Y/n!" Chessy yelled as the giant snowball Hallie had created hit the both of you, knocking you on top of each other.
You sputtered the snow out of your mouth, rubbing your gloved hand over your face, a blush scattering across your face once you made complete eye contact with the woman you were on top of.
"T-Time out!" You squeaked in embarrassment as Chessy sat up, leaving you sitting on her lap, too flustered to hear both girls running off to warm up inside (and spy on you two).
"You okay?" The housekeeper asked, holding your chin to check for any wounds.
"No, I'm fine- I fell on you, are you okay?" You shook the snow out of your hair.
"I'm alright, I had a comfy landing," Chessy chuckled, patting the thick and fluffy snow next to her.
"That's good," You smiled nervously, looking over at your hand that was overtop of hers, the pink on your cheeks increasing.
"Yeah..."
You both looked at each other with nervous expressions on your faces, thoughts running through your heads faster than the both of you could process.
"Chessy I need to tell you something, at least before I can't tell it to you anymore-" You blurted out, tightening your grip on her hand.
"What is it?" She asked, her gaze shifting to your intertwined hands.
"I'm...I'm in love with you..." Your voice trailed off.
"Oh-" Chessy paused, unable to say anything else due to shock.
"I'm sorry I'm gonna head inside," You muttered, standing up to leave before you felt a tight grip on your arm.
"No you're not," Chessy looked at you with determined and loving eyes, pulling you down onto her again before she pressed her lips against your own, generating a comforting warmth in contrast to the frigid weather outside.
Your breathing staggered as the older woman pulled a soft whimper from your lips, savoring the kiss as if you'd never get another one.
Once she pulled away, a silence encompassed the space around you, leaving the only sound nearby being the two of you gasping for air.
"Chess... I thought you liked that guy Marvin or whatever his name is..." You whispered, your lips trembling softly.
"Y/n, I love you too much to love him, I love you and only you," The aquamarine-eyed woman confessed, looking at you with a soft smile and adoring eyes as she pressed her palm against your left cheek.
"Really?"
"Yes, you're such an amazing person, I love you," She assured you, looking at your blushing cheeks.
"I-I love you too Chessy," You said with a grateful smile before you pulled her into a deep kiss, the snow around you falling gently on your bodies, the cold crystals no match for the warmth in your hearts.
...
If you enjoyed reading this, don't forget to like, reblog and comment! Thank you and you are loved <3
-Akira
124 notes · View notes
oolhan · 15 hours
Text
Too Many Beds
welp. I've managed to make some decent writing out of @waywardangel-wilds's blog about reversed tropes lol. This is unbeta-ed and all so here goes nothing! Part 1:
It started innocently enough. Their friend group after college always had an annual trip somewhere far from their busy lives from their respective cities. Three years ago, they did the Bahamas with Delly's boyfriend Thom as their local tourist guide. Because of the good weather and the white sands, the island was packed with tourists. They almost fought the receptionist of a dingy motel just to secure four tiny spaces. One for the couple, another for Finnick and Gale, Johanna and Annie's, and the last door for both of them.
Katniss and Peeta, bestfriends since childhood. Witnessed each other's puberty and insecurities, pulling all nighters just to be handed with diplomas, presenting those diplomas in countless job hunts. Found themselves only a block away from their workplaces, Katniss a columnist for the city's paper, Peeta baking all day at the nearby posh pastry shop.
So, sharing the tiny bed for two nights in a vacation shouldn't be weird at all, right? They've seen it all. Almost.
So, they did. Ironically enough it didn't feel weird at all. It felt the opposite, actually. What is that opposite though?
After those two nights of fitful sleep, it became an unspoken agreement they share a room in the next trips. They shared an old rickety bedpost with just a mattress and no duvet covers in some hut in Thailand last two years ago. A mattress with no bedpost when they decided backpacking across Europe was fun and their hostel in Barcelona only had three rooms for the 8 of them. A big enough couch in Austria. Wrestled a tiny blanket in Portugal.
No one in their group questioned their sharing, only teasing glances from Johanna and Annie in that Bahamas trip.  Because it felt natural, it felt fitting.
The conditions were weird, but it was okay. She likes the excuse she gets just to feel his arms spoon her, even just for a night. It became Katniss' favorite thing to anticipate in these vacations. Yet, she's never admitting that to anyone because after they come home and separate again at the airport, some sort of spell dies and only reawakens on next year's trip. For some reason they never sleep together even when visiting the apartment of the other. Really though, it was innocent cuddling between two childhood friends.
Peeta on the other hand, barely keeps it together. Sure, the sharing was innocent, and he likes the feel of her limbs bumping and tying with his own, but God does he want to just cocoon her in his chest, smell the fragrance of her hair, play with the strands, fidget his fingers on the circles of her shoulders. But he knew it's weird to do, and it may only make her uncomfortable.
And so, in those few nights they lay together in the past three years, he musters up most of the restraint he can. Because it was painful enough to just be friends with her, painful enough to hide the fact that he was a goner ever since they were five and never took the chance to confess, painful enough to witness her grow into a beautiful woman and hang out with jerks like Cato in high school and Marvel in college.
He'll fall apart if he admitted his feelings and she break up their friendship. Not when he can get these borrowed moments instead. Not when they're almost 30. Innocent sleeping, right?
No. Not when she wore some skimpy sleep shorts because she complained it was too humid in the tropical island. Not when she can feel his morning wood against her backside on mornings when she's the first to wake. Not when a housekeeper complimented how good of a couple they look when she carried some extra towels in their room, teasing with innuendos on her way out that made both blush and frantic.
Fuck those shorts, he thinks as he tries to pry his eyes away and concentrate on getting the shading right. He was propped up on the bed post, sketching away as a habit before sleeping and he has a good view of her ass bent over the end of her bed, arranging clothes on her luggage.
"What?" She glanced his way. Shit. Did he say that out loud?
"What?" He tries to keep a normal tone, his shading shaky.
"What about these shorts?" She's standing now with her hands on her hip, challenging him. What's wrong with her sleepwear?
"I-" before he could answer though, her phone rings. Her sister was calling all the way from New York, finishing medicine at NYU. Katniss' tone is cheerful when she answered Prim, though her mind lingers in Peeta's soft aggressive whisper. She settled on the bed cross legged.
"Hey! just checking in on you. How's Paris?" Prim's walking while on a video call, and Peeta hears her stride. He abandons his sketchbook and jumps close to Katniss over her shoulder to greet Prim.
"Oh, it's bad, duck. She shits on pain au chocolat. Uncultured and rude. Can you believe that?"
"Shut up! I was only being honest, it's overrated,"
"Honesty is not shitting on food," Woah. He's way too close now. She flusters as she notices the lesser gap. He smells fresh from the shower.
She covers it up with an eyeroll. There.
"I think she just misses your buns, Peeta," They saw Prim wiggle her eyebrows comically in the phone. She rolls her eyes again. God, not Prim too. If Peeta even flushed from the teasing, he doesn't show.
"Where are you off to, anyway?" Katniss steers the conversation, subtly shying away from Peeta.
"I actually have a make-up class in Bio and I'm running late but I wanted to see you for a minute. Paris looks good on you," Prim's video was shaky now from her walk-run.
"Yeah yeah, I'll send you pictures tomorrow morning. Or tonight, or your morning. I don't know," Katniss chuckles.
Peeta loves her most in these moments with her sister. He's always entertained by their sisterly banter and unfiltered bickering. Things far from the physical jokes and pranks from his brothers, like random hard punches on the shoulder or being locked up in the bakery's store room.
"And you finally got your own beds this time! No more cramping in one bed," Prim says, which irritated and startled Katniss enough because ugh, she didn't want to get awkward with Peeta, especially when they already got some tension lingering. She couldn't roll her eyes enough to disperse the growing tension.
"Uh-yeah-finally, Cinna's a bit lavish,"
"Yeah, but that doesn't keep away her snores," Peeta added good naturedly, trying his best not to sound disappointed or whatever.
Because when Cinna decided earlier to welcome the group in his enormous apartment in Paris above his tailoring shop, he became a generous host. Provided them with enough toiletries, towels, full pantry of food, and of course, beds for each of them. Two twin beds per room, and so they divided by couple, leaving Peeta and Katniss staring at the most spacious room they've ever been on their trips.
What if they just move the bedframes together and make one giant fluffy king size mattress?
No, no. That's ridiculous. And stupid. That's like crossing some kind of boundary. So as much as they want to, they remain stubborn and got to unpacking. Besides, they'll only be here for the night. After that they can sleep again together like before in a small Venice hostel tomorrow, right?
"Well, two beds or not, you can always share-"
"Okay goodbye duck, I hope you trip on the sidewalk and fall flatfacewithyourmatchalattespillingalloveryouuu," Katniss taps the end button and tosses her phone on the bed.
"Come on dude, just admit you like sleeping with this," Peeta grabs her hand and press it on her chest, enjoying how she blushes with his and Prim's teasing abilities.
"fuck you, I'll kill you in your sleep," She scowls and pulls her hand away. He's roaring with laughter. She doesn't indulge the fact she likes feeling his broad skin under her palm.
"No seriously, we're used to sleeping side by side. Let's just move the frames... or you can sleep in mine,"
Fuck. Why is he so blunt about this?
"Or I could just sleep with you on this. Ah, so soft," he lays down with his arms cradling his head. He knows she'll be convinced if he tries to play it casually.
Very, very tempting. But Katniss is stubborn, and instead grabs the pillow beneath his head and smack him with it. "Hey!"
"Fuck off my bed Mellark. Go to your own," she directs with little conviction. A little more, just convince me a little more.
He sits up and feigns disappointment, even though he is really disappointed. "I'm serious, let's just sleep together..." He stares her up with those piercing blue eyes.
Tension grows by millimeter with their stare and hitching breaths.
Is he really serious? Is this okay? Why is he so casual about this?
"Just get off my bed, Peeta. It's the first in weeks I can sleep with my head on a real pillow,"
So she's not convinced with casual talk.
A beat.
“Okay fine, just don’t set your alarm so loud,” He stands and reaches for his abandoned sketchbook. She already misses the weight of him on her bed.
“Fine then. Don’t stay up late with the lights on. Opening the window is enough,” she settles on her pillows.
“Fine,”
Blankets rustles on both ends, lamps turn off.
“Goodnight, Peeta…”
“Sweet dreams, Katniss.”
They pretend to not notice the other still not asleep. It was a restless night.
40 notes · View notes
milfp1lled · 1 year
Note
hi! i'd love to request a chessy x reader fic where reader is a friend of the twins when they're all in college ish times (of age) and reader is crushing on chess
Tumblr media
The Chessy Trap
Pairing: Chessy x Reader
Summary: After noticing the chemistry between you and their housekeeper Chessy, your college friends Hallie and Annie decide to try and set the two of you up
or
Two times Hallie and Annie try to set an oblivious Y/N and Chessy up with each other and the third time it actually works
Warnings: Mostly just fluff. Very brief mention of homophobia, mentions of drinking/underage drinking, strong language.
Words: 6975
Note: The word count on this is absolutely atrocious and I have no idea how that happened. Sorry/You're welcome (depending how you feel about it haha). Hope you enjoyed it anyway!
Sorry for any mistakes! It's not been proofread (yet!).
Tumblr media
"Parker-James family vineyards" you read aloud with a dreamy sigh as Annie drives the car beneath the archway sign at the entrance of the estate- there was lush greenery as far as the eye could see...miles away from the concrete jungle that was Atlanta, or the loud hustle and bustle of LA. You tilt your head skywards, closing your eyes to take in deep breaths of clean air and to revel in the feeling of the sun on your skin...it was even more beautiful than the way they had described it.
It'd been a long 6 and a half hour drive up to Napa (the three of you deciding to split the drive between you in two hour increments) but you were finally on the last stretch.
Hallie let out a leisurely sigh from the back seat of the jeep, stretching her arms up to cradle the back of her head.
"I know we're only here for a week, but trust me when I say this Thanksgiving break will be a blast...not to mention it's so needed! We have a pool, and there'll be music...also Chessy and Mom make the best thanksgiving dinner" she rambled talking at 50 miles a minute (as per usual).
You'd not had the pleasure of meeting Chessy before. Sure you heard of lots of stories about her and their butler Martin before, but you'd only gotten the chance to meet the second half of the duo when you were down in London.
Beside you, Annie nodded in agreement with her sister, eyes still trained on the road;
"It really will...and our Mum and Dad quite literally live on a vineyard so there's no need for Hallie and I to crack out those ridiculous fake IDs either" she grumbled in mock irritation.
You let out a hearty chuckle at that, "No fake IDs...are you sure?" You grin.
"Because I would like to see Hallie bring out 28 year old London expat 'Philomena Crocker' for a night out in Napa Valley" you quip, mimicking a British accent.
Taking one hand off of the wheel of the car, the Brit gives you a playful shove in response, Hallie on the other hand snorting with laughter,
"I have class and you don't!"
Back in your first year of college, Annie had (mistakenly) tasked you and Hallie with finding someone to make some fake IDs for the three of you so you could get into this trendy bar, which lead to the two of you selecting the most ridiculous aliases you could think of...it would be fair to say the Annie didn't take kindly to having to assume the identity of  'Talulah Higginsbottom' for the next two years.
The three of you had been friends for a while now, having met during your first year of college at UCLA.
Annie was a fellow English major and her abundant enthusiasm and charm meant that you quickly became fast friends and Hallie was your volleyball teammate; effortlessly hilarious and always bouncing with energy.
You first met her at volleyball tryouts mistaking her for Annie, the only other freshman trying out who you recognised, so you'd waltzed up to her to engage in conversation...only to find out that she'd all of a sudden adopted an American accept and in fact went by Hallie...because she was a completely different person who had no idea who you were.
In hindsight...after two seconds of conversation (accent aside) you should've seen it coming...where Annie was prim and proper, Hallie cursed like a sailor and said whatever she was thinking at any given moment. After that mix up you were mortified (Annie found it hilarious)...safe to say the three of you had been inseparable ever since.
You were known as 'The Three Musketeers' around campus—you'd taken a big sister role in their lives and you'd do everything together; study, go shopping, eat...get embarrassingly drunk at frat parties.
So when it came down to holidays, of course they'd offered to extend an invitation for you to spend it with them and their family...they'd considered you as such anyway at this point.
Before college you'd taken a year out post highschool to work and save up to move states after getting your dream spot at UCLA, but it just wasn't enough to cover everything, which meant you'd come to terms with the fact that you'd spend most of your time outside of the semester in California.
To fly from LA to Atlanta for thanksgiving just wasn't feasible...well that and the fact that you weren't exactly jumping at the chance to go home seeing as things between you and your conservative parents were on the rocks ever since you'd come out as a lesbian.
Your original plan for Thanksgiving was to spend it back in your dorm with some Seinfeld reruns and a Turkey microwave dinner to keep you company and you'd actually grown to accept that...it wasn't like you had any emotional tie to such a pointless holiday anyway...not to mention there were much worse places to be spending it than LA.
But of course, the twins weren't having it; outraged upon hearing this, demanding you spend it with them in Napa. You loved them and appreciated their offer, but first denied the invite, feeling guilty for intruding on their family thanksgiving...you knew that they came from wealth but regardless having them incur further expenses because of you made you feel like you were taking advantage.
Following this Hallie had barged into your room complaining and pouting about how not coming with them to California was 'so unfair' because they really wanted you there. Annie on the other hand, always leading with logic, had given you a stern 'talking to' about how not coming with them would be a "disservice to yourself" as they were making the journey regardless of whether you tagged along or not...not to mention you'd be able to join in with the driving which was a relief to Annie as she hated driving on "the other side of the road".
...eventually you gave in.
How could you possibly argue with that?
It wasn't like the stakes would be too high anyway. This would be the third time you'd met their parents as you'd spent the final months of last summer with them at their townhouse in London, (Their parents being convinced for some bizarre reason that you were Annie's girlfriend for the entire duration of the trip).
_______________________
As you near the house, you could already see someone standing in the archway of the door, clearly waiting for the car to arrive. Annie turns down the Britney Spears song playing on the radio to focus as she squints to see who it is before it dawns on her and she haphazardly parks the car, bounding into action to greet them.
"Chessy!" She squeals, uncharacteristically excited as she jumps out of the car, Hallie following closely behind as they sandwich the shorter woman in a hug.
"My gorgeous gorgeous girls! Every time I see you you've grown taller, there's gotta be something in that LA air I'm telling 'ya!"
"How was the drive up?"
Hiking her duffel pack further up her shoulder, Hallie raises her eyebrows up to her hairline,
"Oh it was just riveting...Annie forgot what damn country she was in and nearly wiped out a deer changing sides on the road!" she smirks with a chuckle,
Annie fake laughs in reply,
"Oh Yeah? Wow that's so funny Hal, how about you tell Chessy about the fact you made us take an hour-and-a-half detour to find a gas station because you needed another pack of smokes?"
At least to their credit...both of their claims were in fact true...your turn behind the wheel had probably the most peaceful time of the whole trip. You chose to put it down to the fact that you had the latest Gorillaz album playing on repeat, (But honestly, it was probably just because you didn't have a raging nic addiction and knew which side of the road to drive on).
Watching the exchange on from a distance you let out a breath of laughter that seemed to catch the attention of the trio, three pairs of eyes turning to look at you leaning against Hallie's jeep.
That was when you really saw her.
She seemed slightly shorter than you (you put that down to the pair of 6-inch wedges you had on) and was dressed casually, wearing a pair of beige Chinos, her button-up tucked askew into them, but regardless she had that kind of beauty that you couldn't help but notice.
To put it simply she was gorgeous. And boy, were you starstruck.
Shiny brown hair flying in the California breeze, the older woman shoots you a smirk before sliding her sunglasses onto of her head to get a better look at you. You hold your breath at the way her gaze rakes up and down your form as she walks over to you before holding her hand out for you to shake:
"And who is this? She asks without averting her stare from your face.
"Chessy this is Y/n...Y/n, Chessy"
This was Chessy? You friends had not given you the heads up that she was this...hot. Honestly, you didn't know what you'd expected.
"This is the famous Y/n!?" Chessy beams, her unwavering gaze rooting you on the spot.
"I've heard a lot about you"
"Uhh...I'm y/n" you gawk, mouth opening and closing like a fish.
Real smooth.
Chessy chuckles as she lets go of your hand before giving your forearm a gentle squeeze.
"Yeah...I gathered that hon."
Hallie and Annie look between the two of you before exchanging a glance...you had no idea what for.
That damn twin intuition.
They could sometimes have entire conversations between them without saying a word and you were left clueless every time.
Elizabeth runs down the stairs, Nick hot on her heels and the twins head towards them, enveloping them each in a hug too, before the two parents turn to you.
"And y/n! so good to see you again!"
"Great to see you again Mr and Mrs Parker-James"
Elizabeth gives you a look and you correct yourself sheepishly,
"Sorry I keep on forgetting...Liz and Nick" before she pulls you into a hug.
"So how is college girls?" She asks the twins, and Hallie bursts into action, animatedly telling her parents about some scientific field trip she went on last week,
You and Annie look at each other holding back laughter.
Here she goes
This was about to be a long conversation, the twin would talk all day about her environmental science degree if you let her.
Then a blur of yellow runs out of the still ajar door, crashing into you and sending you teetering backwards slightly on your heels.
You manage to catch yourself (thank God).
Falling in front of a beautiful woman right after stumbling over your words like an idiot would've been the nail in the coffin for your ego.
You look down to see the sweetest looking golden retriever you've ever seen, pawing at your capris for your attention. Without hesitation you quickly crouch down to your knees in the gravel, letting him jump up and lick your face,
"Oh hi!" You coo in a baby voice, as you begin fawning over him,
"You must be Sammy!" You exclaim, leaning down to scratch his belly.
"Aren't you just such a good boy!"
"Huh..." Chessy states in confusion,
You shield your eyes against the sun to peer up at her through your fingers, the sun haloing around her chocolate brown hair,
It seemed fitting... Chessy had to be an angel.
"Sammy doesn't usually like strangers but he came to greet you first..." she explains,
"...Guess you must be special"
You bite your lip with a shy smile as you feel a slight blush tinting your cheeks,
Oh, Chessy.
"...I am."
__________________________
"Hey." you smile softly, hip leaning against the doorway of the kitchen,
It'd been two days since you'd arrived here and sure you'd obviously seen Chessy around (as expected embarrassing yourself each time by being a fumbling mess), but only now had you finally managed to work up the courage and confidence to say something to her without short-circuiting.
Chessy startles momentarily before turning away from the pot in front of her expecting to see Annie or Hallie,
"You scared the shit out of m- Oh! How you doing hon?" she smiles softly.
"You looking for one of the twins?" She offers.
"No it's okay...Annie is reading by the pool and Hallie will probably be knocked out taking her afternoon nap right about now..." you share a laugh with Chessy,
"I..." you smile shyly at the ground with a nervous giggle before looking back up to meet her gaze "I, uh, actually came here to see if you needed any help with anything?"
The housekeeper tucks a strand of messy hair behind her ear, a small smile blooming across her lips,
"Me?"
"Well...yeah."
"Do you even know how to cook?"
"Do I know how to cook!?...I'll have you know I worked at an Olive Garden in my teens!" you joke back pretending to toss your updoed hair over your shoulder.
Chessy pauses before bursting into loud laughter, clutching her stomach slightly. You noted how her entire face crinkled up, like her laugh was trying to force its way out of her, when she smiled unabashedly like that and you couldn't help but feel some sort of weird pride swell in your chest at being the cause of it.
...all you'd really done was tell a joke.
But making her laugh was addicting and you all of a sudden wanted more.
"Who am I to refuse the help of someone with such high expertise?" She quips grabbing another apron from the hook behind her and tossing it your way, as you grab it with a seamless catch.
"You can start on chopping the onions for the sauce" she points, and with a salute, you move to stand at the counter.
That you could do.
Surprisingly, you get a good rhythm going between the two of you, smoothly manoeuvring around each other as you focus on chopping and dicing, whilst Chessy takes the ingredients to the pot after you're done.
The only thing was you hadn't said a word to one another yet.
You opened your mouth to speak before clamping it shut immediately.
What did you say to her? What if you said something weird? That would be a nightmare; You didn't want her to think you were weird.
"So...you're an English major like Annie huh?" Chessy starts after a while, and you're thankful she's the one to fill the silence,
"Ya' planning on going to law school like She is?".
You let out an amused snort in reply,
"God no! After I graduate next year I'm not going back! Annie is as smart as anything but law school is not for me..." you state moving on to dice up some carrots.
"I think wanna teach kids: I'm pretty good with them and love being around them, so...but honestly I think I originally chose to major in it because I love to read...it's all I do."
You pause, reaching out your hand to pretend to smack yourself, "Sorry...I'm rambling.".
It was a habit of yours when you were nervous...Chessy made you nervous. Which you knew was ridiculous because she was so incredibly warm.
She was so disarming and open and welcoming and kind...so why couldn't you look her in the eye?
Chessy smiles, "No...it's cute."
She thought you were cute.
"I like to read too...I'm a sucker for a good romance novel..." she starts,
"I've been at this house so long though I think I've already read my way through all of the books on the shelves here so I'm starting to read the same ones over and over".
"I love romance novels too,” you begin, feeling a slow blush spreading across your cheeks,
"I brought some books from my collection with me this week so I could lend you some of mine?" you don’t look at her when you make the offer, trying to seem unbothered despite your heart beating out of your chest.
Chessy beams at you, "I'd love that.".
"So...do you think that love like in the books actually exists like that? ...in the real world?"
She pauses with a frown and you can tell she’s really mulling your question over, "I don't know...I mean I've been around for a while now and I haven't seen it yet but who knows".
"That's kind of a deep question to ask me over some pasta...you got your eye on a boy at your college?"
You laugh like its the funniest thing you’ve ever heard,
"I mean...I'm a lesbian so no boys...no 'girls' at the moment either though, I've not really clicked with anyone "
She gives you a look like she wants to say something but doesn't.
"What about you...I'm sure someone must've snapped you up by now."
You mean...look at her.
Chessy rolls her eyes at you as though taking what you said as a joke,
"Not at the moment...been on a couple of dates but nothing stuck...the dating pool in Napa is quite small let's just say"
Hm.
Chessy turns to look at you pensively with a tilt of her head,
"I know you want to ask...I can see you've got that look in your eyes"
You relent immediately,
"I heard that you and the butler, Martin were engaged a while back..."
This time it's Chessy's time to laugh and you're thrown off.
That wasn't the reaction you were expecting.
"That's what you were to afraid to ask me?" She looks up with a contemplative pause,
"It was around 10 years back now but, there's not really much to tell...we realised neither of us were exactly each other's type... I'm assuming you met Martin's partner Edward?".
You nod in understanding.
"Anyway..." she begins with a clap of her hands to change the subject,
"I'd say we just need to leave the sauce to simmer now, so I don't really need your help with chopping anymore...It could be useful to have someone roll out the pasta for me though"
Turns out that was something you in fact could not do.
"Is this how they had you kneading dough at Olive Garden?"she teases with a bump of her hip
"Shameful..."
"Here let me show you how to do it..." she offers gently, standing closely beside you
"Can I?" She asks hands hovering above yours, and you nod as she weaves your fingers together guiding you to follow her actions,
"You have to work the dough, see like th-"   Naturally of course, you tune her out completely. Too dazed by your proximity to her and the entrancing flex of her fingers as she kneads.
You weren't even going to let your mind go to that place... you refused.
But she did seem to know what she was doing. Chessy was really good with her hands…
The woman herself pauses before turning her head around to face you eyebrows raised.
"Did you get that?"
"Yeah...but I think I'm better off being on pasta sauce duty." You mutter, shaking yourself out of your daze as you walk back over to the pot,
"You're gonna quit just like that?" She chuckles and you shrug with a smirk as she gets back to work.
You look at across Chessy, the older woman trying to blow away a stray wisp of hair as she wipes her hands on her apron to no avail,
She mutters an expletive under her breath, opting to tuck her hair behind her ear with the side of her hand, leaving a huge white flour mark on her face (Chessy of course none the wiser)
With a chuckle, you lean forward to wipe the flour off her cheek with your thumb, pausing to admire how the flecks of light shining through the window twinkle in her sparkling green eyes.
"Thanks..." she smiles staring back at you just as intensely.
"You're welcome"
You drag your gaze from those piercing green eyes down to her lips and back up again. You were so close. It would be so easy to kiss her if you wanted to.
And you really really did. At that moment you wanted to kiss her more than you've ever wanted anything in your life.
"Shit! The pasta sauce is bubbling over " exclaims Chessy and suddenly the moment is gone as you both spring into action.
____________________________ 1.
Turning to the next page of your book, Annie punctuates the silence with an exhausted sigh,
You ignore her.
She sighs again, this one even louder and more obnoxious than the last,
You slam your book closed throwing it onto your lap,
"Hmm...something the matter Annie?" You grin,
"Well...Chessy left her glasses on the table and is blind as a bat without them...do me a huge favour and go give them to her?"
You raise your eyebrow, Seriously?
"Well...I can't be bothered to go!?" Explains the Brit as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Hallie looks away from the tv to join in on your conversation, frowning at her sister as though she had lost her mind, "Huh? Those glasses aren't eve-"
Annie cuts her off with a look.
Something was up here...but if you were being honest you were too happy to have an excuse to see Chessy to even bother to even attempt to figure out what.
You hesitate, before looking at your outfit, smoothing down your T-shirt,
You'd been laying around all afternoon...you didn't want to go in there looking like a mess.
"Well go on! If you take too long she's gonna confuse the salt with the sugar again" Nudges Hallie.
You don't move.
"...y/n?"
"Sorry it's just.." you shake your head, feeling like an idiot, you knew deep down you were being ridiculous but you couldn't help it.
"...do I look okay?"
The twins look at you, nonplussed and you can't say you can blame them, you normally oozed confidence so suddenly being flustered like this was even scaring you a little.
There was just something about Chessy that made you feel like you a teenager having your first schoolgirl crush again.
You laugh at yourself, discreetly fanning your face,
"It's just...you guys didn't tell me that..."
Hallie looks even more confused "Didn't tell you what?"
"You know...that Chessy was so.." a blush creeps up on your cheeks and realisation appears on Hallie's face as she turns to look at her sister, eyes wide.
Oh. Your best friend gives you an encouraging smile,
"You look amazing as usual...go and give Chessy her glasses princess charming" and you're shooed out of the room before you can even protest.
You don't even fully register the sensation of your feet moving until you find yourself in the entryway of the kitchen.
"You okay y/n?" begins Chessy, peering up at you from over her cup of coffee,
First thing you notice was the fact that she in fact already had a pair of glasses on.
You frown. "Uh...we saw you forgot your glasses so I was gonna bring these over to you"
She holds them up to her face to inspect them for a moment, perplexed before folding them again to place in her breast pocket.
"Huh. These are actually an old prescription so I'm not sure how they got there..."
You look liked a kicked puppy.
"But...thanks anyway Hon!" she smiles giving your shoulder a squeeze upon seeing the look on your face,
"Whilst you're here, I need someone to taste test this chilli for me...I mean I think it's the best thing I've ever tasted but who knows, I could be biased"
Loading up a spoon, she blows on it momentarily, hand cupped beneath it, before holding it up to you.
"Come on...I'm not gonna stand here all day!" she states with a snicker and you lean forward to allow her to slip the spoon into your mouth,
She shoots you an enchanting smile as you swallow.
"Good girl...was that so hard?"
What.
You chastise yourself for the place you just went to mentally before closing your eyes and taking a deep breath to compose yourself.
God, she was so hot.
"Come again?"
You'd said that out loud.
"The chilli I mean. The chili is so hot. But so good! I mean it's hot but it's like hot just to the right level. I think you'r--it's perfect!"
"The chilli! Really good"
You run a hand through your hair, face beet red as you turn around to flee the kitchen before things could possibly get any more embarrassing for you.
Chessy shakes her head with an empty chuckle as she turns to resume stirring the ladle in the pot,
Cute.
God she was losing her mind. _________________
2.
"Honestly don't worry about it sweetheart, do you want me to make you some soup?" You hear muttering outside your door and you poke your head out of the doorway, towel still wrapped around your hair to see what's going on.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Whispers the older woman as she turns around to look at you, her gaze wandering with a blush as she sees what you're wearing,
You look down at yourself realising you're wearing the skimpiest pair of pyjamas you own and scratch the back of your neck in embarrassment
"No it's okay...I'm an early riser, what's going on?"
"Annie was supposed to lend me an extra hand and tag along with me to the market to get stuff for the house and some last bits ready for the Thanksgiving dinner but she's not feeling well..."
You raise an eyebrow, Annie? Sick? That girl was never sick.
She shrugs throwing her hands in the air
"Never mind... I'll see if Hal is up to getting out of bed"
Both of you knew that hell would freeze over before Hallie 'don't bother me unless someone's dying' Parker-James got out of bed before eleven.
"No! No, I mean, you don't have to...I could go with you?" You offer, trying to hide the fact your heart was racing out of your chest.
"Chessy's face lights up
"I mean...if you're sure?"
"Yeah...you're in luck: I've got strong volleyball player arms so I can do all the heavy lifting for you too" you jest holding your arms up with a flex,
"Just give me a moment to change and I'll be down." ___
As you and Chessy walk back into the house arm in arm and rosy-cheeked from a day in the Californian sunshine, you're thankful that the others don't acknowledge how a trip to the market that should've taken an hour instead took you four. In return, neither of you opts to say anything about the fact that Annie who this morning was on her deathbed, seemed to have miraculously been cured of her illness upon your return.
And if the others catch you mooning over Chessy, whose smile was that little bit brighter that day, at the dinner table, they decide to chalk it up to coincidence and not say anything.
Chessy catches you after dinner, appearing slightly nervous as her hands are held behind her back.
"Hey I got you a little...you know, something to say thanks for your help today?"
she holds out a bouquet to you and you smile at her like you've just won the lottery.
You feel like you have.
"Freesias!" you exclaim giving them a sniff, practically bursting with joy,
"...you really didn't have to Chess" you beam, "I honestly had fun today...the market was fun.".
The housekeeper shrugs, eyes somehow managing to look even more glazed over over than yours.
"...they're gorgeous..." you begin shyly "...almost as gorgeous as you"
Chessy bursts into laughter,
"Real smooth. Do you use that trick on all your college girls?" She quips
You look back at her, eyes shining with reverence,
"Nope...freesias are my favourite so that's a compliment that I'd reserve for only the most beautiful of women" You state with a nod of your head.
Chessy giggles uncharacteristically before placing a hand over her mouth as though she didn't realise where the sound had come from.
Her laughter sounded like the tinkling of bells...you felt like your heart was going explode.
She shakes her head with a chuckle, "That's sweet" she murmurs, not believing you,
"I mean it. You really are! So beautiful…just gorgeous.”
You sigh, feeling yourself get lost again in those kind, soft green eyes.
You wondered what it would be like to kiss her...would she give you that same sweet laugh again? Or couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to trail your lips down her neck and see what kind of sounds she'd make.
You were getting ahead of yourself.
You've only known this woman for a couple of days and you were already acting head over heels for her.
"Sleep well Chessy." You smile sweetly with a sigh, before hurriedly turning to make your way up the stairs.
You miss the longing gaze directed at your retreating form as Chessy lets out a dreamy sigh.
__________________
"Hey, so I saw you helping Chess cook dinner again this afternoon...." Annie quips perching on the end of the bed,
"Oh Chessy! I'm so clueless I don't know how to roll pizza dough...can you show me how...with your mouth?" she mocks you, speaking in a high pitched voice and a faux American accent.
"That doesn't even make any sense." You deadpan,
Hallie bursts into laughter before joining in, giving you her best attempt of Chessy,
"Oh y/n hon, you're such a good helper! Can I sleep in your bed tonight so you can hold me with your big strong hands?" She jumps in, wrapping her arms around herself before launching into a round of kissing noises.
You bite your lip trying to stop yourself from laughing at your friends' theatrics...
"Real fucking mature guys...you're in your 20s by the way, just in case you forgot" you chuckle giving in to the humour of it.
Hallie ignores you, continuing with the kissing noises and you throw a pillow at her, the throw landing perfectly on her head with a satisfying thud,
Volleyball came in handy sometimes
"If you keep on fucking with me, I'm gonna put strawberries in your smoothies tomorrow morning when Chessy isn't looking" you tease, eyes narrowed as you give Annie a gentle shove
Your friend laughs, an inquisitive look on her face, "So what you're saying is....you're planning on waking up at the crack of dawn to help her cook breakfast..."
"Isn't that so interesting Hal?"
Hallie taps her chin, "Very Interesting..."
"You know what else is interesting Annie? The fact that Chessy has been making our friend over here special cups of peach tea like some kind of barista"
"...we don't even have peach tea in our pantry but I do know that it's y/n's favourite"
You pout, suddenly fascinated by a piece of lint on your sweater.
"Well...maybe she was just being nice and appreciated the help I gave her..."
Hallie placed her hands on her knees like she was sitting on a piece of top secret information before turning to face the group,
"Or...what about the fact that I saw Chessy reading y/n's copy of Great expectations yesterday"
"What!?" yells Annie in shock, jumping up with so much force she knocks her blackberry on the floor, the battery within it clattering to the floor beside it.
She looks at her sister mouth agape and Hallie nods her head enthusiastically in reply, "It's true! She was holding that book like it was a fucking bible or something"
"You tried to crucify me for even looking at your antiquarian book collection and Chessy has free reign over it after a couple of days!?"
"Oh you really do like her"
"What? No, I just lent them to her because she a- I was being nice! It was just a-...shut up." You stutter in resignation, face turning as red as the twins' hair
"Look anyway...does Chessy even swing that way?" You question inspecting your nails to fake casualness again.
Your friends look as you as though you were stupid.
"Seriously y/n? Do you know any straight women who own that many buttons ups? That's exclusively been her wardrobe for over 20 years by the way"
"she literally drives a pick up"
"Did she not tell you the story of why she and Martin split up?"
"Yeah because Martin was gay...so?" You question being met with a collective of groans at your obliviousness,
"Look y/n...none of us care that you've obviously got the hots for our nanny...but the tension between you guys at the dinner table is getting weird to the point that I feel like for everyone's sake you need to just go for it" explains Annie crouching down to talk to you the way a kindergarten teacher would to a student.
"Look we're all grown women here! Just sleep together and be done with it...you're grossing me out" adds Hallie with a playful eye roll
"Hal!"
Your best friends had the worst delivery you'd ever heard but maybe they had a point. Maybe you did just need to go for it. _____________________________
3.
It's just gone 13:30 when you pad softly into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you're still waking up from your nap.
"You? You're still here?" Snorts Chessy at the kitchen island, nose deep in today's paper but somehow still sensing you before you could even got a word out.
You perk up as you walk over to where she's stood.
"Oh please, you love having me around! You're definitely gonna miss me" You bite back, laughter in your tone
"Yeah..."
The truth is you and Chessy had been spending a lot of time together and tomorrow was your last day in Napa. You'd be lying if the thought of leaving the place, no, the thought of leaving Chessy didn't make your heart ache.
"You seem really invested in that paper...haven't even looked at me once...How'd you even know it was me?"
With a dramatic sigh, she neatly folds the newspaper before placing it on the table in front of her with a flourish and you grin as you finally get to see her face...it was quickly becoming the highlight of your day.
She was glowing... she probably had no makeup on either and still looked breathtaking. But that was just Chessy; stunning,even without trying.
"I don't know...just did." She explains simply, looking at you with a warm smile.
And boy was it warm.
You felt your insides turning to mush again and you lean against the countertop behind you to keep yourself upright.
Sure you were in California but Chessy had one of those smiles that you think could warm you up even on the coldest day...heck you reckoned her smile could probably melt the ice caps.
She casts an appraising look at your outfit, and you ask yourself if you imagined the lingering gaze on your chest,
"Where are you off to looking so sharp?" She asks after a while, eyes darkening,
Oblivious, you give her a twirl with your arms out by your sides before tucking your sunhat back under your arm
"You like?"
"you look gorgeous y/n" She remarks sincerely, gaze unwavering and you turn around momentarily, tucking your lips into your mouth to suppress your grin.
"I was supposed to go out for a picnic with the girls but, I overslept a little and now can't find them...I need your help with that actually..."
"I'm supposed to meet them at some spot by a tree? I was gonna walk down but I don't know where it is."
Her eyes light up in recognition,
"I know where they mean...but walk!?"
"It's at least a mile and a half out...on the trails...you're better off riding there"
"Riding?"
_____
Chessy watches on with her hands in her pockets as you reach out to gingerly to pet the horse,
Sure you were good with animals...but by that you meant ones that were a little...smaller. Like house pets.
Take dogs for example, (especially sweethearts like Sammy) they were easy; give them belly rubs and slide them a couple pieces of chicken and they'd be anyone's best friend.
"Hmm...that's Annie's horse..." The housekeeper states after a while,
"Hallie's horse is gone so I'm assuming they're waiting for you to catch up with them"
"I feel like I already know the answer, but do you know how to ride a horse?" Chessy asks softly,
"Uh, no" You reply incredulous with a head shake.
She sighs, a small smile on her lips before climbing on
"Guess I'm gonna have to give you a ride then...hop on hon" She starts holding a hand out and you look anywhere but at Chessy,
You had a feeling this wouldn't end well
"Today hopefully," she nudges and you sigh softly, taking her hand with a sheepish grin as she helps you get on the horse behind her,
"Never ridden a horse?...You city slickers" she playfully mumbles to herself with a soft shake of her head grabbing your hands to place them on her waist,
"Look it'll be fine...I'll take care of you" she reminds you, clearly sensing your nerves and you barely manage to suppress a shudder,
Take care of you huh?
"Actually I'm from a small town in Georgia." you quip in reply, refusing to acknowledge her first statement and admit your fear.
Chessy teasingly scoffs and you feel her shoulders shake with laughter, giving away the fact that she's joking,
"Yeah, yeah...that's what they all say. You holding on tight?"
You do as told, tightening your grip to wrap your arms around her waist as you lean your head against the older woman's back,
"Yeah."
And the two of you take off.
As the wind blows through your hair you take deep breaths to inhale the musky, floral scent of her perfume closing your eyes and as if it would somehow burn it into your memory.
She smelt like wood fire , and lilies and coffee and you suddenly feel that same pang in your chest at the thought of going home in a couple of days time.
You seriously really needed to get it together...it'd been 10 days. But you don't know if you could.
As you stop to a halt, Chessy expertly dismounts the horse, turning around to hold a hand out to help lift you down after her:
Or course you completely tumble head first and Chessy helps you to your feet, non-judging and patient as per usual.
"How are you so good at that?" You ask with a blush,
"I live and work on a 60 acre vineyard so I had to learn" she explains with a gentle shrug.
You turn to survey the scene:
There was absolutely no sign of Hallie and Annie.
The apple tree that Annie and Hallie had advised you to meet them at was indeed there, a picnic blanket laid on the lush green grass, adorned with a spread that you think belonged on a lifestyle magazine; candles nestled amongst a display of grapes and chocolate coloured strawberries, and fancy cheeses and glasses of wine.
It looked really romantic. Oh.
Hold on a minute...romantic candlelit meal? That sounded familiar.
Chessy crouches down to pick up a piece of paper wedged beneath the basket and unfolds it leaning closer so the two of you could read it:
Chessy and Y/N,
Enjoy your picnic! Thank us later :)
-Annie and Hal xx p.s don't do anything I wouldn't do! ;) -Hal
You look at each other in realisation clearly having just come to the same conclusion.
Hallie and Annie's matchmaking trap.
You really should’ve known...The twins had told you about how they got their parents (back together) when they were 10.... you'd even helped Hallie reenact a similar plan like this to set Annie up with a girl on the cheer team she had a crush on.
Step 1 and 2 were "spontaneous" meet-cutes and step 3 was a romantic candlelit dinner.
The only thing was...what had been step 1 and 2 of the girls' plan?
Chessy bursts into laughter
"They set us up on a picnic date huh?" She smiles shaking her head looking at the spread,
"We've been parent trapped..."
You look across at Chessy and for the first time since you've met her, she looks unsure of what to do.
"Look..." you begin,
"we might aswell enjoy their effort before we head back...I suppose the food does look good" You smile and Chessy relents, her hand sitting on the small of your back as she guides you to sit down beside her.
She gives you a look you can't quite recognise before picking up one of the glasses of red wine, and downing it in a single gulp.
It you didn't know any better you'd say she looked...nervous.
That made two of you.
For the second time today you have to stop yourself from losing your cool. The goosebumps forming on your arms give you away regardless.
"You cold?" Whispers Chessy, taking off her button up without a second thought and draping it over your shoulders
"I get to wear one of the Chessy's famous button ups?" you hum as the taller woman smooths it down over your shoulders 
"I know," she agrees playing into your joke, "Guess you must be really special."
She's wearing a tight tank top beneath it and you give an appraising glance at the cleavage now on show, in turn earning a smirk from Chessy. Your gaze then drifts down to the freckles dusted on her arms and you reach out to skate your fingers across them, smirking at the way Chessy shivers.
"...I am."
"...I'm really gonna miss you when I go." You sigh sadly after a while,
Chessy takes your hand in hers, "I'm really gonna miss you too."
You look up at her in surprise, being met with a pensive look from the older woman.
Just go for it y/n. Fuck it.
With a shuddering breath you allow yourself one last glance at her plump lips before leaning in an-
Chessy places her hands on your sternum to stop you a sheepish look on her face,
You frown.
Were you being rejected? Oh, God this was humiliating.
You quickly began to pull away to stand up but she doesn't release her grip on your arm,
"wait...please?" she begs, looking at you conflicted
"Look, you're in your 20s...you sure you want this?”she explains
“Don't you want a nice college girl who's your age? That would be a lot less complicated..."
"I'm sure a hot young thing like you wouldn't have any issues finding someone in your class."
That's all this was about?
You shake your head with a smile, looking at her like she'd just said the most ridiculous thing in the world,
"Sure, I'm young. But Im also a grown woman. I know what I want and I want you."
"You're witty, outspoken and gorgeous , and compassionate...I've just...I've never met anyone like you and I won't forgive myself if I don't at least tr-"
you're interrupted as Chessy cuts you off with a bruising kiss and you let out a squeak of surprise before relaxing into it with a whimper,
You push her onto her back with a giggle, straddling her waist as you lift your hands to her cup her face, trying to pull her as close to you as possible.
Her lips were soft and warm against yours and she parted them slightly with a groan to allow your tongue to slip inside. Chessy tasted sweet; like red wine and strawberries and future lazy afternoons spent cuddling beneath the napa sun...like hope.
Breathless, you begrudgingly pull away from her, leaning your forehead against hers, up close like this you could see every single little detail on her face;
The laughter lines that were deepest beside her eyes, the way the slithers of sunlight, peeking through the leaves of the tree illuminated little specks of brown that danced around in her eyes, her swollen pouty lips that now had your lipstick all over them
She was the most gorgeous thing you'd ever seen.
You let out an airy laugh but you couldn't pinpoint what at...relief, happiness,just general amusement at the situation?
You got the girl. You really did need to thank the twins later.
Chessy chuckles too, turning to press a soft kiss against your palm, hands slowly snaking up your thighs.
"...Just incase we haven't covered it already...I want you too."
332 notes · View notes
thelovetheystole · 1 month
Text
Not to be depressing, but here is a selection of stories/plot points we were treated to by the Hudson/Brooks/Shaw trio....
Nate/Moira/Cain/the caravan!/the boat!
Aaron says more goodbyes to Liv than Robert in Robert's own exit story
Al/the whisk in the microwave/Woolpack status quo/Chas affair
The Posners/gift that kept on giving/Lee/Wendy/Luke/Russ
Chloe was the sister of Sarah's heart donor/Kerry was her housekeeper/and later her mother/her dad Damon was also Harry/and Simon
David shot in the stomach with a sawn off shotgun/participated in wild water rafting some weeks later/later became man child about speeding ticket
Leyla's coke addiction/ever re-appearing drug dealer/plot stabbed Jacob/attacked Suzy, who got Leyla hooked in the first place
Robert/got chance to appeal, didn't want to take it/Aaron chose Ben/who he bullied in school/then left the country before Ben was even buried/while listening to "their song"/Take on me
Annie Sugden's death/non-entity
Three teenage pregnancies/Gabby/Amelia/Chloe/all wanted to keep babies/none of them had jobs, money or education
Samson/Noah personality swap
Sexual assaults✅️✅️/stalking✅️✅️/revenge porn✅️
Robert's exit story/Dan's copy & paste exit story/even same actor to play the laywer, lol
Secret children/Nate/Marcus/Naomi/Chloe/Caleb/Oscar/and bonus Clemmie
Secret parents/Bear/Amit
Rishi killed for shock value
Liv/Sandra/complete betrayal/then bam Liv is killed off
The Storm/Kim marries Will (why)/Amelia wanders the moors/Harriet/cow stampede/Sam impaled/caravan comes flying/Aaron's plot off screen boyfriend Marco is mentioned more times than Harriet
Faith dies/never mentions Caleb/not even in a note?
Nicky pushes Caleb off cliff/they pin it on a deer/then move in together
Marshall's dad/Laurel/the bible
Kim's killer horse Ice
"Little Ivy"
One punch can kill/Aaron and Cain bash each other's heads in with a spanner over who is the head of the Dingles
35 notes · View notes
iamcherryblessed · 7 months
Text
Rosaline // Alec Volturi: Chapter One
Summary: “How the blood rushed into my cheeks” Rosaline was no stranger to hard work, she’s been working as a maid for as far back as she can remember. Starting off as a scullery maid and ending up as a Lady’s Maid for the fearsome Jane Volturi. She’s just trying to keep her head on her shoulders and her heart beating, what happens when she catches the eye of her Lady’s stoic twin brother? What does Alec Volturi want with a lowly maid?  “So scarlet, it was maroon” Series masterlist
Chapter One
A shudder ran through me. A shaky breath escaped my lips as I stared at the elderly woman in front of me. 
“Rosaline, it is your duty.” The woman reminded, she was always quite stern. The toll of her work showed on each wrinkle that decorated her face. Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I slowly nodded my head. 
“It will be okay,” the woman, Annie, our head housekeeper, attempted to console me, a hand patting my shoulder. 
“Yes, Miss.” My voice came out shaky. It won’t be okay, she’s just signed my death sentence. 
I could hear the whispers of the other girls, not so quietly taking bets on how long they think I'll last. Even as the new girl I had been warned about the cruel legacy of our masters, heard the gossip of what happens to the Lady’s Maid of the most feared of them all; Jane. Apparently Hattie, the girl before me, had a habit of being quite heavy footed. All it took was stepping a bit too hard onto the floor for her head to be rolled off her shoulders. 
Before this assignment I was a kitchen maid for another noble family, I spent most of my time baking complicated recipes and cleaning the cutlery. I had started off as a scullery maid but had managed to work my way up, what I would give to stay in the kitchens. Apparently those kinds of maids are not useful for this family, I am not sure what kind of household does not find a kitchen to be useful. There have been mutterings of the words ‘monsters’ and ‘devils’ but it is not my duty to ask questions, it is my duty to serve. And if that duty is to serve Jane Volturi, then I shall do my best. It seems like my life depends on it. 
A gaggle of chambermaids stood by the door, they giggled to themselves as I walked towards them. “No bother to learn your name now,” they laughed. I tried to remain calm, I tried to catch my breath and I tried to show no emotion on my face. It wasn’t working well if their growing smiles were anything to go off. 
“Girls, leave her alone!” Annie snapped, “make sure to get a good night's rest” she added on in a much more gentle tone. I nodded and kept my head down as I quietly made my way up to my new chambers. 
The one positive to becoming a Lady’s Maid is being able to move from the servants corridor. The servants quarters were all kept to the left side of the castle, we had a couple of rooms with as many beds that could fit on the ground floor, the rooms were separated by girls and boys. Just above was a small and not very updated kitchen, there wasn’t an area dedicated to eating. We just ate as quickly as we could where we stood. The bathroom was next to the kitchen, there was one toilet and one bath that only produced cold water to share between all the castle servants. Throughout the floors were the servants' halls which allowed us to move as swiftly as we could across all the floors while avoiding being seen by the masters. All of the areas used only by the servants were all dimly lit and held a musty scent but it was the only place where we could speak above a whisper or hold a smile. Not that many people here did. 
A Lady’s Maid gets to sleep on the same floor as their Lady, our room is conjoined. Unseen by the Lady but close enough for us to come as soon as we are called. Being a Lady’s Maid is normally a high honour, for most maid’s starting at a scullery maid and ending up where I am now normally takes a lot longer. However, this place, this family, everything is different. Everything feels weird. 
From what I’ve heard about Lady Jane she goes through maids very quickly, according to the gossiping chambermaids Hattie was her fourth this calendar year and it is currently only month eight. Of course you send the new girl to be the fifth, why send someone you're familiar with? It’s not as much of a loss when you’ve only been here for less than a month. 
My new room was cramped, there was a small bed nestled between the wall and a small chest of drawers. On the other side, behind where the door opened, was a toilet with a sink next to it, above was a dirty mirror. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my lips, it was compact but it was all mine. A room I didn’t have to share with 5 other girls, my own bathroom I didn’t have to share with over a dozen other people. It almost made it worth it. Until I glanced at the piece of paper that was on top of my thin pillow, it was Annie’s handwriting detailing Lady Jane’s schedule for tomorrow and the jobs I will need to complete. 
I felt my heart stutter, I need to get my head clear so that I can do my work tomorrow and stay alive. Sleep struggled to come. But soon enough the morning came and I heard Lady Jane calling for me. 
19 notes · View notes
Black Femme Character Dependency Dark Skin Directory: A
A: The Characters
Abbie Mills | Adelaide Wilson/Red | Agent 355 | Agura Ibaden | Aleesha Morrison | Alexa Brandt | Alexandra Crane | Allison Sawyer | Amanda Stern | Amari Peters | Amber Bennett | Amie Sammuelson Conde | Amina Ramsey | Amy Bellafonte | Anaya Imanu | Angel Dynamite | Angela Abar | Angela Goddard | Angela Moore | Angela Vaughn | Anissa Pierce | Anita Fthe13th | Annalise Keating | Annie Keller | Annie Pearson | Antigone | Aphasia | April Sexton | Apocalypta | Arabella | Artemis | Ashley Banks |  Ashley Collins | August King | Ava Coleman | Aya Al-Rashid | Ayo | Azima Kandie
A: The Entertainers
Aaron Rose Philip | Abbey Mag | Adelayo Adedayo |    Adele Oni | Adella Afadi | Adepero Oduye | Adina Porter |   Aesha Ash | Afton Williamson | Aïssa Maïga | Aja Naomi King |   Ajak Deng | Akiima | Akon Changkou | Alexandra Arboleda | Alfre Woodard |  Aliet Sarah | Alisha White | Allison Dean | Alysia Rogers | Amanda Warren |   Amandla Jahava | Amber Gray |  Amber Riley |  Amber Ruffin | Andrea Bordeaux |   Anesha Bailey | Angel Haze | Angel Theory |   Angelica Joy | Angelica Ross |   Angelique Noire | Angely Gaviria |  Aniela Gumbs |  Ann Ogbomo | Ann Wolfe |     Anna Diop |   Anne Amari |   Antoinette Robertson | Ashleigh Morghan |  Ashleigh Murray |   Ashley Blaine Featherson | Ashley Romans | Asjha Cooper |   Assa Sylla |  Aube Jolicoeur | Aude Legastelois |  Aunjanue Ellis |  Awar Mou | Aweng Chuol | Ayisha Issa |  Ayo Edebiri
At some point, I decided to separate the BFCDDSD by alphabet, and since I’m doing a bit of housekeeping today 8/13/23, I’ma go ahead and drop this “A” placeholder.
As of 11/30/23, I am going to try to finally get these situated.
24 notes · View notes
kimmiessimmies · 1 month
Text
Tumblr media
Spoiler for the next chapter: we have a death in the family... 😔
Feel free to guess who...
32 notes · View notes
moonspirit · 3 months
Text
I was going through some outlining, and was quite floored by the number of OCs I've... made... so far. This fic started with one (1) OC and was supposed to stop with a max of three (3), and now… welp.
For my own sanity, here's a list of OCs in VBEOW:
(only the important and recurring ones)
Asa - A orphan boy from Liberio. Armin's "son".
Aoife (pronounced 'ee-fa') - A young girl in Kald facing abuse from her father. Annie's "daughter".
Oliver - Stamp maker. Kari's grandfather.
Kári Ólafsson - Annie's admirer. Oliver's grandson.
Hikari - Armin's admirer. Daughter of the woman owning the hot-springs inn.
Pekka Heikkinen - Chancellor of Kald.
Helga - The Chancellor's Secretary.
Hanna - Housekeeper to the Alliance members. Also the Chancellor's housekeeper.
Felipe - A ex-Marleyan soldier from Fort Salta. Very friendly to the Alliance members. Native Kaldian, and childhood friends with Hikari and Kari.
Gunnar - Aoife's father, a confectioner and local handyman.
Igor - A strange man who frequents the barbershop and says strange things.
Oskar König - Grand Vizier (ie, Prime Minister) of Osneau, a hostile country.
Lanzo Feld - Prime Minister of Nauland, a country that was formerly a frequent victim of Osneau's bullying. Friendly with Kald.
Hahaha that's thirteen so far... dear god. Welp. Anyway. I'm trying to keep the OCs to the minimum (T_T) but for a worldbuilding of this scale and complexity, I am forced to create these characters to help drive the plot forward. Hopefully they're interesting enough.
12 notes · View notes
holyarchistud · 4 months
Text
2023 REVIEW + 2024 TBR
From last TBR I finished:
Lock Every Door, Riley Sager
Dune, Frank Herbert
The Magus, John Fowles
Mock, Marek Krajewski
Mock. Ludzkie zoo, Marek Krajewski
The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Police, Jo Nesbo
Also I finished some not from the list: Rzeczy którch nie wyrzuciłem, Marcin Wicha Little Women, Louisa May Alcott Atomic Habits, James Clear Mrs March, Virginia Feito Krótko i szczęsliwie, Agata Romaniuk The 5am Club, Robin Sharma One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey Piercing, Ryu Murakami Homesick for Another World, Ottessa Moshfegh Miss Kim Knows, Cho Nam-joo La Place, Annie Ernaux The Housemaid, Freida McFadden Lean Your Loneliness Slowly Against Mine, Klara Hveberg Brief Answers to the Big Questions, Stephen Hawking The Housekeeper and the Professor, Yoko Ogawa Demian, Herman Hesse Siostry, Monika Białkowska The Dragonet Prophecy - Wings of Fire, Tui. T. Sutherland Kwiaty w pudełku, Karolina Bednarz
Probably list of books is not great idea for me, but despite it I plan the 2024 TBR ! 24 books for 2024 !
21 lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari
Think like a Monk, Jay Shetty
The Four Steps to the Epiphany, Steve Blank
The E-Myth Revisited, Michael E. Gerber
The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau
Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull, Amy Wallace
The Creative Act, Rick Rubin
Your Next Five Moves, Patrick Bet-David
Nad życie, Wojciech Harpula, Maria Mazurek
What happened to you?, Bruce D. Perry, Oprah Winfrey
The Sound of the Mountain, Yasunari Kawabata
I fell in love with hope, Lancali
Blindness, Jose Saramago
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, Zoulfa Katouh
The Fall of the Human Intellect, A. Parthasarathy
Chłopki, Joanna Kuciel-Frydryszak
Birdy, William Wharton
A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara
Widma w mieście Breslau, Marek Krajewski
Mock. Golem, Marek Krajewski
Educated, Tara Westover
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
1984, George Orwell
The Test, Sylvain Neuvel Wish me luck! It was pretty good year of reading!
10 notes · View notes
Text
Trading One Heartbreak For Another
Fandom: Actor RPF, American Musician, Elvis Movie
Pairing: Elvis Presley x Female Reader
Characters: Elvis Presley, Female Reader, Lisa Marie Presley, Jerry Schilling, Vester Presley
Word Count: 3192 // Rating: Teen & Up
Summary:  But my darling is missing his Daddy, And he'll always have me to blame
Tags/ Warnings: My Writing, Halloween Challenge, Writing Challenge, Songfics, Divorce, Marriage, Established Relationship, Reader is Lisa Marie’s Mom, Can Be Priscilla if You Want, Kisses, Separation, Break Ups, Divorcing Parents, Broken Home, Horses, Uncle Jerry is so Cute, Graceland, Flashbacks, Heartbreak, Heartache, Angst, Trading One Heartbreak For Another // Pistol Annies
Notes:  This is part of my writing Challenge for Halloween 2022. All fics are based off of songs I love. The aim is to write one fic a day for 15 days straight. I’m doing a similar thing for Christmas but they will all be headcanons [requests welcome for that] Enjoy x  
Tumblr media
15 DAYS OF SONGFICS FOR HALLOWEEN (OCT 15TH - OCT 31ST)
‘Go right through,’ Vester said into the intercom as the gates swung slowly open. I drove slowly forward. As I pulled up to the front of the house, amid the array of cars sitting outside, I could hear Lisa babbling in the back seat which made me happy and sad at the same time. I was happy she was so excited to be coming home but it gave me a twinge of guilt too. She was still so young and this was the first time in an age that she had been her happy chatty self.
I pulled over and climbed out, pulling her from the back seat so we could walk up to the front door which swung open the moment we were on the porch, revealing Jerry. I smiled at him and he returned it though I could see the sadness and pity in his eyes.
'Hey,’ he said, stepping aside so I could step in, my hand in Lisa’s. 'Uncle Jerry!’ she said, throwing herself at him. He chuckled and bent down so he could hug her. 'Hey kiddo,’ he chuckled as she wrapped her little arms around his neck. 'I’m staying here tonight with Daddy,’ she said with a big smile on her face. My heart panged again. 'I know,’ Jerry said with the same enthusiasm. 'Where is he?’ she asked looking around for him. 'I said ten,’ I said checking my watch. It was bang on. 'He’s upstairs,’ Jerry said, 'late night.’
My mouth fell into a tight line with annoyance. We had arranged for him to be here as soon as Lisa stepped through the door. I was going to leave her here for the night but there were a few things I needed to straighten out first. Jerry seemed to notice my annoyance and jumped out in front of it, always the bodyguard.
'He’ll be right down I’m sure,’ he said. 'I bet,’ I said bitterly, 'alone?’ 'Were you having a sleepover?’ Lisa asked excitedly, 'I am. Daddy and me are going to watch movies.’ 'I know your Daddy told me! I gotta say you got me mighty jealous,’ he chuckled, nudging her cheek with his knuckle. 'Well you can stay over too Uncle Jerry,’ she said rolling her eyes, 'ooh Mama. You and Jerry should sleep over too! We can all watch movies!’ 'Oh, um,’ I said nervously. I felt tears sting my eyes as Jerry looked up at me along with Lisa, except where a smile was on her face sympathy was plastered all over his. This had been the problem we’d been having. She didn’t get it. She was still too young. She didn’t understand why we lived somewhere else now. Or why her Daddy now lived in our old house all alone. She didn’t understand that we now had to arrange a day for her Daddy to see her when she used to be able to walk across the hall. Thankfully, before I had to answer a voice echoed out from behind us and Mary, our housekeeper, stood watching us.
'Miss Lisa that is never you!’ she smiled as Lisa ran to her with her arms open. 'Miss Mary!’ she giggled as the older woman picked her up and slung her on her hip as if it were nothing. 'I swear you were never that tall the last time I saw you!’ 'She grows an inch a day I swear,’ I smiled. 'Well how about we keep that up with some cookies? I was just going to bake some,’ she said looking at me, 'if that’s okay?’ 'Of course,’ I said. She nodded and led Lisa, who had broken into a babbling story, into the kitchen. As they disappeared I sighed and looked at Jerry and then upstairs. I thought about the last time I had been here.
'So that’s it? The end? Just like that?’ Elvis said. He was standing at the top of the stairs looking down at me. His face was crumpled in pain and I could tell he was trying not to cry. Tears glinted off of his lower lids threatening to spill over any moment. 'The end has been coming for a long time now you and I both know that,’ I said watching him from where I was standing midway down the stairs. 'So what? You’re just gonna take off? Split up our family? Take Lisa away from me?’ he asked. I was down at the bottom now and he was close behind following me. I whipped around at his words. 'Don’t,’ I said with a sneer, 'don’t you dare blame this on me! I am doing this for Lisa! She deserves two happy parents and right now neither of us are anywhere near that.’ 'Do you still love me?’ he asked. The anger was gone from his voice now, replaced by utter heartache. 'Elvis,’ I said, tears spilling over and down my face. 'Do you love me?’ he asked, pulling me to him. I daren’t look him in the eye. I knew if I did I would crumble. That he’d talk me around and we’d be doing this dance again in a few months or less. 'You know I do,’ I said wiping my face with the back of my hand, 'but it’s not enough.’ 'Isn’t it?’ he said, dropping to his knees and pulling me into him as he sobbed against my torso. I was streaming tears by now but I was biting my lip, trying to keep my sobs inside. Then, I bent down in front of him. He looked at me as I wiped his face silently, 'it should be. It was…for a long time it was enough. But I deserve better Elvis. You deserve better. Our little girl deserves better.’ 'You and Lisa are the most important thing in my life,’ he said. I wanted to laugh but not as much as I wanted to believe him.
This decision hadn’t come out of the blue. It had come after years of arguments, infidelity and unhappiness. It had come after I’d yet again been forced to hear him complain about how unfair his life was. After I had night after night alone whilst he was god knows where. Or worse, laying in bed beside him feeling just as alone.
'We’ll be back together one day,’ he said, 'you’ll see.’ 'I hope you’re right,’ I said with a sniffle, 'but today you gotta let me go.’
He nodded and I slipped out of his grasp, grabbed my bag and headed out the door.
'Want a drink?’ Jerry asked, pulling me from my thoughts. I nodded and the pair of us headed out to the back porch. Jerry called in the kitchen where Lisa was sitting on the counter talking Mary’s ear off as she started weighing out ingredients for cookies. I took myself outside and sat down, listening to the wind as it blew gently through the garden. He appeared a moment later, a rootbeer in each hand, and handed me my drink. I cracked it open and took a small sip as he sat down beside me. We sat in silence for a moment before he finally spoke.
'How are you doing?’ he asked, looking at me. I could feel his gaze burning into me but I refused to look up, worrying it would set me off crying. 'Good,’ I said weakly but when I did look up he raised an eyebrow, 'well, surviving.’ 'Yeah there’s been a lot of that around here at the minute,’ he said instinctively checking behind him to make sure he wasn’t heard. I nodded. When Elvis and I had talked it had mostly been about Lisa. Or small talk. I hadn’t dared ask but now the words were falling out of my mouth before I could stop them.
'How is he?’ I asked, biting my lip. 'A wreck,’ Jerry said honestly. 'I was scared you were going to say that,’ I said sadly. He smiled weakly at me and shrugged, 'no point in lying.’ 'No,’ I said, 'I guess not.’ 'To be honest, we’ve not seen much of him,’ he said, 'he’s stayed put in his room. That first day we were worried he’d done something stupid-’ 'He hasn’t right?’ I asked nervously. 'No, no, nothing like that…I don’t think he would,’ he said, 'he just misses you.’ 'He’s not the only one,’ I sighed. Jerry said nothing but raised his eyebrow for me to continue, 'Lisa.’ 'Ah, how’s she doing?’ 'Not so good,’ I sighed, 'she doesn’t understand…I’ve tried explaining but-’ 'She’s a kid,’ he said. 'Yeah,’ I replied sadly. We fell quiet for a moment and he looked out into the garden and took a sip of his drink, fiddling with the label on it for a moment before he said, 'do you not think you guys could work it out?’ 'Jer,’ I sighed. 'I mean he loves you Y/N,’ he said, 'more than anyone else. I know that. You must know that.’ 'I do,’ I admitted. I was fiddling with my own bottle now trying to ignore the feeling in my chest that felt as though someone was squeezing my heart through my ribcage.
'I mean this…separation or whatever it doesn’t have to be forever right,’ he said. 'No it doesn’t,’ I said, 'and maybe one day we’ll be back like we were but right now…right now I just don’t see that happening.’ 'Maybe if you both-’ 'What stopped fighting? If he stopped sleeping around? If he stopped taking the pills? That’s a lot of ifs Jer,’ I sighed. 'Yeah, I suppose,’ he said, 'I just hate seeing the pair of you unhappy.’ 'I do too,’ I said, placing my hand on his. 'And Lisa…he misses her so much,’ he said with a sad smile. 'I know,’ I said, swallowing thickly, 'she misses him too. I don’t think she’s slept a night in her new room. She just lays in bed with me and cries until she tuckers herself out and falls asleep. Which makes me just want to cry. Or scream. Or get black-out drunk until I can’t feel any of it. But I know it’s the right thing to do. I know that us being together like we are now is no good and I know logically that one day she’ll understand but I just feel like right now she hates me. Like everyone hates me.’ 'She doesn’t hate you,’ Jerry said.
I dropped my gaze as I started to cry. He sat there for a moment, unsure of what to do and then he placed an arm around my shoulder. I couldn’t believe I’d said it. All the things I’d been lying in bed at night thinking about had finally come out of my mouth for the first time and if I were honest, it felt good.
I’d tried to keep myself together for Lisa. I’d tried to make our new home as cosy and welcoming as the old one. She and Elvis had spoken on the phone a couple of times, which to be honest was an improvement. He was trying. And maybe if he continued to try, if he proved that we were what he wanted, maybe we’d manage to figure it out. Though in the back of my mind I was careful to remind myself that he had the habit of doing what was easy rather than what was right.
'Sure feels like I’m the villain here,’ I admitted. 'You’re not the villain,’ a dark gravelly voice said from beside us. As Jerry slipped his arm from around me I looked to find Elvis standing on the porch, Lisa on his hip. Suddenly that heart-crushing feeling came back a little. He was wearing an understated look for him. Simple black pants and a black shirt. But I’d always loved him in all black. His hair was longer than it had been in a while, definitely due for a trim and though he looked a little washed out and tired I had to admit he still looked as handsome as the day we married. Lisa was nestled into the crook of his neck, her dress ruched her up around her thighs from where he was holding her. She looked the most content I’d seen her in weeks.
'Hey kiddo,’ Jerry said standing up, 'you wanna come and see the horses with me?’ 'I want Daddy to come,’ she whined. That had been her go-to mood for some time now. 'I’ll be there in a minute honey,’ he said, sweeping her blonde locks off of her face as he stroked her cheek gently, 'I just wanna speak to Mama for a minute.’
She pouted a little and then nodded allowing herself to be put down. She took Jerry’s hand in an instant and the two started walking out towards the field of horses on the edge of the garden. Elvis slid into the chair beside me watching me intently. I looked away, my face feeling hot as his blue eyes roved over every inch of it. I looked out towards Lisa who was giggling away at whatever she and Jerry were talking about.
'What do you wanna talk about?’ I asked. 'You look good,’ he said at the same time. We caught each other’s eye and after a beat, we both laughed. A genuine, real laugh, 'it sounds good to hear you laugh.’ 'Feels like it’s been forever,’ I admitted. 'I know,’ he said sadly, 'how have you been?’ 'Okay,’ I admitted he looked at me prompting me to continue, 'worried about Lisa… worried about you.’ 'How is she?’ he asked. 'Not so good,’ I said, 'she misses you…we both do.’ 'I miss you both too,’ he said with a sad smile, 'but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking…’
He trailed off looking out towards where Lisa was. Jerry was holding her up with one arm whilst the other clung to a bag of carrots that had always been stashed out by the fence. She was feeding them as they came up to her one by one, so fearless and brave. How I needed to be. I turned so I could watch him carefully, hanging onto every word he said. He turned and looked at me.
‘I know you were right,’ he said. ‘Elvis,’ I said sadly though I didn’t know why. I didn’t know if I wanted to hear whatever he was going to say. I was scared. Even as a kid Lisa was braver than me. ‘And however you want to play this that’s what we’ll do.’ ‘Thank you,’ I said placing my hand on his. ‘If you want a proper schedule for Lisa we can work something out. I mean if I tell the boys they can only arrange things around her they’ll do it. Or if you want to we can play it by ear. I know you’ve got your own stuff,’ he said nervously. I nodded, ‘I’m sure we’ll find the way we want it…might just need a bit of trial and error.’ ‘And I don’t want you to worry about money I mean if we’re going down the…legal route. I don’t want you to-’ ‘Rinse you for all you have?’ I said with a chuckle. Elvis laughed as I continued, ‘you know I’d never do that right?’ ‘I know, I know but you know whatever you need I’ll give you. You’ll always be taken care of. Both of you,’ he said. ‘I know,’ I said. ‘And,’ he said with a heavy sigh looking at me his piercing blue eyes searching my face, ‘and if you figure out what you want and, well, it’s not me I’ll not stand in the way of anything. I want you to be happy. Even if it means you and someone else.’ ‘Elvis,’ I said sadly. I hadn’t even considered it. Another relationship was the last thing on my mind. I had enough to worry about with Lisa and the separation. And if I was being honest with myself at this moment in time I couldn’t see myself with anyone. My leaving wasn’t because I didn’t love him anymore. If anything it was because I loved him more than anything and carrying on like this was destroying me.
‘Don’t,’ he said quietly, ‘don’t tell me it’ll never happen. I’m not stupid y’know. I mean I know you didn’t leave me for someone but I’m not naive enough to think that you might find someone who can give you what I can’t. And I’m not gonna lie. I don’t think I’ll ever be happy about it but I want what’s best for you. For Lisa.’ ‘That’s all I want too,’ I said. He nodded as he leaned in towards me. ‘But can I tell you one thing,’ he said, I nodded, ‘I will always love you. You’re it for me Y/N. And if it’s not meant to be… I just want you to know that.’
I nodded clasping my hand over his. He held it tightly as silent tears started spilling over down my face. He looked sad but he didn’t cry instead he looked away from me. Before I could allow myself to get any sadder Lisa came running full pelt towards us. She clambered up onto his knee as I quickly wiped my eyes, trying to hide that I had been crying. Jerry appeared on the porch seconds later looking a little winded at chasing her.
‘Daddy guess what!?’ she said excitedly. ‘Jerry lets you run riot,’ Elvis smirked looking at his friend. ‘Hey, she’s a quick little thing,’ he said, ‘I looked away for two seconds.’ ‘Sheba had a baby horse!’ she giggled, ‘Jerry said it’s in the barn and it’s bigger than me!’ ‘Perfect size for her to ride right EP?’ Jerry said as she smiled widely at him. ‘Can we go see it?’ she asked excitedly bouncing up and down with this new information. ‘Sure honey,’ he said sliding her off his knee so he could stand up. ‘Mama are you coming too?’ she asked and I nodded standing up. She ran ahead down towards the barn and Jerry took off after her before she got into trouble.
As I stood Elvis looked at me and then leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. I didn’t move. I didn’t hold him in my arms. I just allowed him to kiss me, his large hands on either side of my face before he walked off following where Lisa was going. I took a moment to compose myself.
I wanted to hate him. It would’ve been easier to hate him. But I didn’t. It was because I loved him so much I had to do this. Except now the heartbreak of staying with him was now the heartbreak of being apart.
I don’t have to lay beside you feeling so alone But my baby is crying for his Daddy And asking when he’s coming home
I’m trading one heartbreak for another One kind of pain for a different kind of pain And I wonder if this is gonna hurt even more I’m finally alive but it’s killing who I’m living for
103 notes · View notes
theofficersacademy · 4 months
Text
Tumblr media
2024 is here at last! The mod team wishes you health and fortune in the year to come.
Housekeeping
Current Month in TOA: Verdant Rain Moon
Our first lore event of 2024 begins this month! It will begin at noon EST on January 1st and run until the beginning of February. Please wait until the event begins for the team announcements and more information.
Inventories are locked in according to what you signed up with. Signups for the event will not be reopening at this time.
If you missed it last month, TOA held a Secret Santa event! Everyone pulled through with some really cool gifts, have a look if you've not already!
Please don’t forget to leave feedback on our [feedback poll] for this month! If you have feedback during the course of the event, feel free to leave it whenever it crosses your mind, but we will have specific questions about it on February’s form.
On the topic of the feedback poll, we would like to remind everyone that the mods are all people too. Being passive aggressive and rude serves no one. Please also make sure that if you're calling our attention to a problem, that you're being specific about that problem (quoting/timestamping recent incidents, for example) and not just vaguely alluding to some situation that we have to sleuth out instead.
Important Updates
Starting from this month on, it is requested that all asks with claims in them wait a minimum of 48 hours before resending or asking a moderator if it went through unless you are sending a claim on the final day of an event prize period. This is separate from the 24-hour clause about application/reserve submissions.
Starting today, we will be requiring that all members use a google sheets tracker for keeping track of their stats. We understand that this transition will take time for existing members, however, so we will not be penalizing the lack of skill point trackers yet. We will be working on gathering templates for you to use, and will link these options to our application for future members to fill out. If you need help, please contact Mod Rai.
We've had some feedback this past year about muns repeatedly & rapidly swapping through muses, and would like to address it. We do not encourage people holding onto muses longer than they should if they aren't gelling with a character. However, it becomes a problem when someone is swapping through muses with exceeding frequency. Please think carefully before taking the plunge on a new muse, as frequent drops affect your partners, too. We have, over the past few months begun to - and will continue to - approach these muns with a one-month cooldown between swapping/picking up a new muse, if need be.
Other
January Mun Birthdays: Sage (3rd), Key (6th), Grant (9th), Darcy (9th), Maddie (12th), Annie (12th), Sara (14th), Neffi (17th)
January Muse Birthdays: Bramimond (1st), Nils (1st), Altena (3rd), Ingrid (4th), Rhea (11th), Rolf (12th), Rosado (19th), F!Alear (20th), M!Alear (20th), Marth (21st), Selena (FE14) (21st)
First-year mun anniversaries this month: Ivy (1st)
Second-year mun anniversaries this month: Sage (14th), Alina (21st)
Third-year mun anniversaries this month:  Reddo (11th), Rua (15th)
First-year muse anniversaries this month: Chad (25th), Linus (29th)
Second-year muse anniversaries this month: Chrom (1st)
Third-year muse anniversaries this month: Maria (11th), F!Byleth (15th)
Muses who have been in the group for a solid year will also be granted an Academy Brooch to put in their inventory. It doesn’t do anything. It just lets others know your character has been around the block. These characters are also granted a new opportunity to change houses if they wish to do so.
- The House Leaders
17 notes · View notes
shslbunnylover · 4 months
Note
i loved the chessy story you wrote for christmas so much that i wanted to request another chessy x reader. where it’s their first christmas together as a couple and they both wanna make it special for each other. LOTS OF FLUFF PLEASE and maybe some teasing from both ends.
★★★𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 (12 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙁𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝘿𝙖𝙮 12: 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨)★★★
Character: Chessy
Requester: Anonymous
Taglist: @inlovewithgreta @lilfartbox1 (Message me to be a part of the taglist until I get a page set up!!)
Trigger warnings (DL, DI): References to sex, sexual teasing/flirting
Genre: Fluff
A/n: And that's a wrap! (Haha, see what I did there 😝) Merry Christmas everyone!!
Word count: 1.3k
...
Tumblr media
...
Ever since Annie and Hallie were reunited, Christmas was somehow more chaotic at the Parker household. You loved the holidays, there was no doubt about that, and you were always dancing to Christmas music and decked out in Christmas clothes every second from Black Friday through New Year's. But one person in particular made your Christmas even more magical for you, Chessy, the housekeeper at the Parker residence.
The two of you got together in Mid-Spring of that year, and you were determined to make it as special as possible for the woman, as she had already made it as good for you as possible.
"Hallie! Annie! You know Santa's still watching!" You exclaimed as the girls ran past you, trying to set up traps for Santa like the two did every year in their separate households, but they were now a united force.
"Y/n! He's busy delivering stuff on the other side of the world! He's too busy to watch us!" Hallie called out, causing you to laugh.
"Touche..." You shrugged your shoulders, continuing to do the dishes.
"You know you don't have to do my job for me, right?" Chessy asked, walking up to you with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.
"I'm not driving Elizabeth anywhere until they all go to church tonight, might as well help you out. It gets the job done quicker," You leaned back to place a kiss on her cheek before drying off the last dish and putting it in the cabinet.
"I guess so," The redhead rested her head on your shoulder, wrapping her arms around your waist. "Can't believe it's already Christmas Eve,"
"Huh, I wasn't aware of that," You nudged her slightly with a laugh, referring to the girls who were freaking out.
"What'd you get them?" Chessy whispered in your ear, making sure the girls couldn't listen in.
"I got them custom saddles, what about you?" You replied,
"Well, the little rascals wouldn't tell me, so I got Hallie a bag to hold Cuppy in, and I got Annie a new fencing helmet since hers broke," The aquamarine-eyed woman smiled.
"Now the question is, what did you get me?" You turned around, poking her boob with a laugh.
"Maybe I didn't get you anything~ You've been quite naughty~" Chessy teased.
You blushed furiously, going to reply before being cut off by Hallie standing across from you.
"Chessy and Y/n, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage!" The girl smirked.
"Hallie, please," Annie rolled her eyes. "They've been like this forever, don't act all surprised," She walked up to her twin.
"It's still fun as h- heck," Hallie corrected herself, pursing her lips together out of nervousness before dashing off, Annie following slowly behind her.
You looked back at your girlfriend, leaning your head back in exasperation before burying your face in her shoulder.
"They'll never leave us alone, will they?" You asked.
"Nope, have you met them?" Chessy replied, her hand falling to your ass, squeezing it slightly and electing a squeak from you.
"And you say I'm naughty..." You grumbled, forcing your face deeper into her.
"We're gonna catch him Y/n! I just know it!" Hallie beamed as she laid down on her bed, holding cuppy to her body whilst Annie was already asleep. "Tell them Chessy!"
Chessy looked at you, then back at the young girl.
"You know Santa prepares for the things all year, I don't think you can catch him," She shrugged her shoulders with a laugh.
"Even if I don't catch him, I'm still gonna hear him!"
You tucked Hallie into the bed, tickling her softly before kissing her on the forehead.
"We'll see, tell us about it when you get up at a reasonable time tomorrow," You chuckled.
Hallie nodded, quickly shutting her eyes as the two of you walked out.
"You've got the gifts?" You turned to face your girlfriend once you were out of hearing distance.
"You know it," Chessy winked, pulling a giant red bag out from a nearby closet.
"How do they afford this?" You sighed, rubbing your forehead.
"Have you seen their businesses?" The auburn-haired woman replied.
The next morning you were both woken up by the girls shaking you, and you groggily pulled yourselves out of your comfortable bed provided to you by the Parkers.
"I said reasonable girls," You groaned, rubbing your eyes as your other hand held Chessy's.
"It's 8! That's reasonable!" Hallie beamed, running down the stairs to the Christmas tree, and dragging Annie along with her.
"Is it?" Chessy replied, waving a good morning to Elizabeth and Nick who were standing in the kitchen, getting their morning coffee.
"Mom! Dad! Look! Santa came!" The twins exclaimed at the same time, running up to the four of you to drag you towards the tree.
Once the girls had opened all of their presents and began to play with them, you decided that it was time to give Chessy her Christmas present.
"I thought you were nice enough to me this year, so here's this," You smirked, handing the redhead a small box.
"Aw, thank you Y/n," Chessy smiled, taking the box in her hands and slowly unwrapping it, revealing a diamond necklace with an infinity symbol engrained in the front.
"It's a promise necklace, I didn't want to get you a ring because it might mess with your work, but I knew a necklace wouldn't!" You beamed, waiting for her response.
"It's...It's gorgeous, h-how did you-"
"Don't worry about that Chess, all that matters is that you like it," You reassured her, placing your hand on the side of her face.
"Thank you Y/n," Chessy whispered, hugging you tightly, pressing a kiss to your lips once she was done.
"I'd prefer to see you wearing just the necklace though..." You teased, your hand falling to her covered bra and tugging it secretly.
"That'll go perfectly with the Christmas present I got you," The redhead winked. "But in all seriousness, thank you Y/n,"
Your smirk softened into a smile, and you pulled her into a kiss, the both of you ignoring the squeals from the twins.
"Merry Christmas Chess,"
"Merry Christmas Y/n,"
...
If you enjoyed reading this, don't forget to like, reblog and comment! Thank you and you are loved <3
-Akira
78 notes · View notes