#jake kiskza

[gretavanlace]

Sugar II (part 9)

Jake Kiszka x reader

18+ only! Minors do not interact!

Warnings: graphic sexual content, angst, language, the tiniest amount of alcohol consumption, digital penetration, masturbation, oral sex (fem rec), anal play, unprotected sex, etc

Okay, sweet peas, we’ve got one more chapter to go (maaaaybe two idk), but all your favorites will be back! Plus an epilogue. Thank you so much for sticking with me after I did sugar jake so dirty the first time around ❤️

The air is lush and fragrant with herbs, sizzling eggs, and Jake when you wake - though his side of the bed has already cooled.

He’s all around you. Clothes and scuffed boots tossed about the room. Guitar case propped open sans Gibson - where has she gone? The scent of his skin clinging to yours. The gentle bustle of him milling around in the kitchen. You roll over and shamelessly bury your face in the pillow he rested his pretty head upon last night. Drawing him in with a shiver of content…he is home and you are basking in the comfort that is the great return.

He’s humming something to himself, and though you can barely hear - and you certainly can’t place the song - you try to hum along, laughing quietly to yourself when it comes out sounding muddled and strange as you search for a melody you don’t know.

It doesn’t matter. If he’s humming, you want to hum along. You’d like to walk beside him always, twisted and tangled together like a silken braid of devotion.

Seduced by his silly siren’s song, your feet hit the floor as you search for something to throw on. You settle on the black blazer he’s tossed over the back of a chair and pad down the hallway. Lulled and lured by his quiet chaos.

You find him, back to the doorway, gingerly shaking a pan with one hand and tossing what looks to be diced veggies with the other, totally at ease and at home. A gorgeous, disheveled chef complete with yesterday’s sweats, t shirt that’s torn at the neck, and tangled hair.

Should you stand and watch him awhile? It sounds tempting…to watch him work, a sneaky, head over heels fly on the wall. The way he moves, every shift of muscle is intoxicating. Yes, you are bewitched, but even standing here bathed in his presence, you miss him, and that wins out.

”Morning, Jakey,” you smile, breaking his concentration.

”There’s my sugar,” he tosses you a look over his shoulder that stops your heart. “I’m making you breakfast, my love. Would you like coffee or tea?”

Bare feet dancing over chilled tile, you wrap your arms around his waist and rest your cheek between his shoulder blades, “Whatever you’re having.”

He backs up a little, no doubt worrying about your arms - though they are protected by his jacket - being too near to the stove, and turns, pulling you closer while walking you backwards towards the island, “How about we share a cup of tea? You hungry?”

Flashes of memories burn through your brain…last night, in the foyer wrapped up together on the floor while he kissed your body and wept. On the couch while you talked about how exactly this all might work. Later, in a bed that wasn’t yours, in sheets you wouldn’t wash.

You should be thoroughly sated, but yes…you are hungry.

”How’d I get so lucky, little girl?” His lips curve into a grin that derails your thoughts and replaces them with something much softer. Your heart is weak for the look in his eyes…the unapologetic, worshipful love that blazes there. “How did I manage to earn this?”

”Earn what?” You smile back, praying that the emotion pounding in your heart is as evident in your gaze as it is in his, “Us?”

His eyes duck away with a shy nod, “I just never thought I’d have you like this again. In my arms, not going anywhere. Staying.”

Your fingertips are at his cheeks, sweeping over the perfect warmth of his skin, soft as air, “Jake, you didn’t earn anything. You’ve always held my heart.”

Still unwilling to meet your gaze, he rests his forehead on your shoulder. “You took it away.”

”No,” you argue in a hush. Can he really not see? “I left it with you. You’re the only reason it beats, anyway. But if you don’t feed me soon, I fear I may perish.”

”Drama queen.” He grins, pecking your cheeks each in turn, grateful that you’ve eased his mind and calmed his tender nerves.

The kettle begins to scream and you patter off to the table tucked into the corner, homey and quaint, to watch him work to take care of you. Soon, you’re gifted a steaming mug along with another kiss dropped atop your head. “Splash of rum and a sprinkle of cinnamon, sugar. It’s 9 o’clock in the morning, you lush.”

”Trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me, Jake?” You tease back, watching as he moves to finish things up at the stove, throat seizing with aching affection…he remembers how you take your tea.

”I don’t have to get you inebriated for that,” he sounds gravelly and full of himself, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. “I could fuck you however and wherever I so felt the inclination, my lovely little doll, and you would grace me with your gracious and enthusiastic appreciation.”

You bat your lashes wildly at him as he presents two plates heaped with brightly colored, expertly sautéed vegetables and fluffy, scrambled eggs like cheery, sunny clouds. A bowl of swollen, fuschia raspberries deposited between your plates like a pile of sweetened jewels steals the show. “Oh, be still my heart…you know how I enjoy it when you speak like a dictionary.”

”I know, sugar,” there’s that beaming smile of his again as he offers you a berry, lightly teasing it at your lips until you open up for him. “plenty more where that came from.”

A comfortable quiet sparks to life as you both dig in and pass the teacup back and forth. He finally breaks it, speaking up around a bite of potatoes and peppers. “I spoke to Josh this morning.”

”And how is your missing piece?” You quirk an eyebrow over the top of the cup you have now commandeered.

He leans back in his chair and settles his gaze upon you, clocking your expression closely, searching for a reaction. “Obnoxious as ever. He’s annoyed with me because I haven’t looked over the lyric revisions he sent me, and I certainly couldn’t care less if I actively tried. However, he’s very excited to see you. Cross though he might be with his dear brother.”

”Hello, Oliver,” you wink, “Let’s have Jacob back, shall we?”

You haven’t forgotten Jake’s tendency for trotting out Mr. Reed when he’s dipping a toe or two into the waters of vulnerability.

“Do you miss him?” He asks quietly, “Do you want things to be the way they were before? Because I can live with that if it means you’ll stay.” He rushes on as if he fears he may lose his nerve. “I want you to be happy, whatever it takes, I just want you to be happy.”

Fork clinking lightly against your plate as your focus zeros in on his lovely face, you lean forward and reach for his hand “Did he tell you he came to see me? After I ran into Danny that day?”

His fingers slip into your waiting palm with a soft squeeze, “He mentioned that he found you and asked you hide away until we’d gone. I’ve never wanted to hurt him as badly as I did then. Not even when we were young and stupid. Not even that night, when he forced me to let you go.”

“He was only trying to protect you, jake.” Your head tilts, watching residual pain flare to life in his eyes. “I’ve done a great many things to hurt you, it’s a wonder he doesn’t hate me for it.”

“He could never hate you, sugar. Don’t say things like that, it would break his heart to hear them.” The conviction in his words is fierce, and that makes sense…they share a life force at times, it seems.

“He did ask me to hide away, yes…” you nod, wrapping your free hand around his knuckles, warming his touch with your own, “But did he tell you anything else about our visit? Did he tell you how easy it was for us? How we caught up and laughed and looked at each other like very old friends that had been lost to each other for too many years?”

His shoulders tense as though he’s bracing for a gentle impact, but on you march, whispering to him in this unfamiliar kitchen that feels fat full of love.

”Did he tell you that it didn’t even hurt, our being in the same room with everything so fucking different? Did he know that all I could do was sit there, falling silently apart and searching for you in his eyes?”

“But you loved him.” Now it’s his turn to search your eyes, but for what you’re not sure. “I don’t want you to have to tamp that out. Not ever. You love so beautifully, sugar. I can share.”

”I did love him,” you nod. “Very much. A long time ago. I love him still. Differently. And not the way I love you. I have never loved anyone the way I love you. You don’t have to share. Not anymore.”

His grip is pulling at you now, tugging you to your feet and into his arms, creaking the worn wood of his chair beneath the weight of you both as he buries his face into your bare chest, hiding his tears in the lapels of his blazer as he weeps into your skin.

“Shh, baby,” you soothe, stroking through his hair, holding onto him as he clings to you as if you might vanish like a sigh.

His face tilts upward, lips brushing over your chin and jaw, licking and tasting you through his tears. “I love you, sugar. Sometimes I feel like all this love I have for you is just going to break me into pieces, like I can’t hold it all inside. There’s no room for it. I’m too small.”

”Jake,” you feel like you could break into pieces right alongside him as he begins tugging his jacket away from your shoulders.

He shakes his head, hushing you silently, “So, I’m going to take all this love and I’m going to give it all to you. And I’m gonna fill our house with it, press it into the walls and let it seep into the floorboards. Every nail and every window is going to feel it. The pipes and hinges. The chimney is going to breathe it into the night when we light fires in the winter. And we’re going to have babies and I’m going to love them just as much, and I can’t wait to watch you love them…”

You feel baptized in his tears and the wet, warm press of his mouth as he tattoos beautiful promises into your flesh. How could you ever have believed that you wanted anything other than this?

“I’m going to exist for you every single day, sugar…” a sob escapes him, though he tries so hard to bite it back, “I already do…I always have.”

“I know, baby…it’s okay,” you’re kissing adoration into his hair, combing your fingers through the tangles, coddling him and cooing the softest endearments, desperate to mollify his soul, fraught to offer him peace. “Please don’t cry, jakey. You know I can’t stand it.”

Hearing his own words lilting off of your tongue, he pauses and gazes up into your eyes like he sees everything he’ll ever need in them, “When I said that to you, I wanted to disappear. I wanted to be…gone. I didn’t want to live in a world where you wore his ring on your finger with tears in your eyes. Will you miss him?”

Should you lie? Perhaps. But wouldn’t he see the untruths lying bare? Wouldn’t that hurt even worse? Your deception?

“Yes,” you nod, petting him as he presses in closer, “he was kind to me, and sweet. He made me laugh. He made me half-way happy enough to pretend. I’ll miss him sometimes…but never enough to look back and regret chasing after you.”

“I’m glad he was kind to you,” he whispers, kissing a drunken, winding path across the tops of your breasts, “you deserve kind. He loved you, I could see that. I didn’t want to, but I could. And maybe I hated that, but I would have hated the alternative so much more. I’m sure he loves you still.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” you laugh softly, “he wasn’t very pleased with me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, sugar,” he stares up at you with eyes laced heavily in adulation, “you don’t leave a man alone so easily. You linger and overstay your welcome in the worst way. Learn to leave a room, sweetheart.”

He has pulled another laugh out of you, louder and bell like this time…it twists his heart with heated, pulsing adoration.

”Jake,” you pause, waiting for him to give you his honey brown eyes, “You were right when you said none of it matters. This matters.” Your palm finds your heartbeat for a moment, and then his own.

”I know, my love…” tears skate along his lash line like blissful, shimmering quartz, “I know.”

~

His mouth is at your throat, gentle hand splaying out across your abdomen, holding you down against the cool, polished wood of the table.

Fingers playing at your lips, he breaks a raspberry apart between his fingers before sweeping it over your waiting tongue. “You’re so beautiful, sugar. Aren’t you? Aren’t you my pretty, pretty girl?”

His shirt has landed on the tile, forgotten and worthless to this task at shaking hand.

“Yes,” nails digging into his shoulders to remind him of where you’ve been, of where your touch belongs, you nod fervently beneath his kiss, “I’m your pretty girl, Jakey. I’m your girl.”

Lips beginning a path up your cheek to your temple, he hums euphorically and grasps at your ankles, tugging gingerly until your heels are resting on the table. “Will you show me?” His voice is silken and inquisitive, tongue fluttering over your earlobe to bring chills to life inside you. “Hmm? Will you show me how pretty you are for me?”

”Anything,” you pant, arching away from the table, desperate to be closer to him as he pulls back.

You watch on, body throbbing and screaming for him while he pops a raspberry into his mouth and settles back into his chair, legs spread wide, hands fisted into flexing balls at his knees, “Touch yourself for me, sugar. Rub your sweet little clit, nice and slow, just for me.”

Maybe you’d like to say your body protests, maybe you ought to say that you shy away, maybe if you weren’t so indescribably in love with him you’d do both of those things, but as it stands….

….as it stands, you give him what he’s asked for without thought. There isn’t a breath of hesitation. You simply roll two fingers over your tongue, reach down between your thighs, and begin.

The hushed moan that tumbles off the tip of your tongue tugs a sigh from his lungs that sets you further on fire. He sounds so beautiful, so wholly under a spell that you can’t fathom having the ability to cast over this deity of a man.

“There’s my good girl,” he is so quiet, you’d scarcely hear him were your focus not so completely honed in on jake jake jake, “Does that feel good, little girl? Is my sugar making that pretty pink pussy feel just so nice?”

He is an obscene angel staring you down with snarled hair and wicked sin in his wild eyes.

A trembling sound is all you’re able to manage as your touch dips inside yourself to draw slick back up to your clit.

”Yeah?” he tilts his head, watching you reverently, “It looks like it does. You’re dripping all over the table. I want to lick it up.”

“Please,” your fingers circle faster, but something is missing. He, close though he might be, is missing.

”Please, what?” He sounds as needy and hungry as you feel. “Tell me what you want me to do to you and I’ll do it, baby. Whatever you want…I’ll fucking do it.”

”Your mouth,” your legs spread wider until your hips protest, and then you spread a little wider in offering. “I’d like to have your mouth please, Jakey. Please. lick me, please, please.”

A groan rumbles out of his chest like pained thunder as he wraps his arms around your thighs, tugging you in and burying his mouth exactly where you’ve so politely begged for it. Another anguished sound pushes from his lungs as he drinks down his first mouthful of you.

The tip of his tongue teases over your shivering clit, and then slinks down to dip inside you, and then down farther still to lap against that heavenly little spot where it shouldn’t be.

He hums against you while you whine and yank at his hair, pulling his kiss in closer as your hips lift away from the wood you’re making such a mess of.

“Fuck,” your fingers lace through his hair perhaps just a bit too tightly, but a quiet grunt signals his appreciation, “right there.”

“I know where you like my mouth every now and then, sugar,” his words are hot against you as his thumb slides, warm and thick, inside your cunt “Dirty girl.”

Watching you shy away so endearingly squeezes at his chest. You have always given yourself to him so completely. You have always been his girl. His mouth has known every breathtaking inch of your body in a hundred different lifetimes. His heart has known your heart in a thousand more.

Your fingers search out your clit, neglected and crying out for attention, completing that lovely trifecta as you rock your hips, fucking his face without shame.

He is yours and you will take him.

Your belly is burning, white hot and tight, coiling and churning as your body begins to tremble and flush.

“Gonna cum…” A complete sentence seems an impossible task “I— oh, please, please, please,”

His fingers replace his thumb with a feral growl low in his throat, tucking up in behind your clit as you watch his arm begin to move rhythmically below the table.

”Don’t cum,” you order through whimpers and whines that sound anything but authoritative. How difficult it proves to be to be bossy when his tongue is warm and wet where you shouldn’t adore it so damn much.

”I won’t,” his promise is beautifully muffled. “But I want you to do it. Cum for me, fuck doll…give it up pretty.”

You tighten deliciously around his searching tongue and delving fingers as it crawls through you like sinking into a warm bath that swirls with glittering, lilac goldfish. They kiss your skin soft as monarch wings; strange, swimming beings in the waters that are Jacob. It is lovely, though given the filth that has ushered you into this state, maybe that makes no sense.

He works you carefully until your breathing begins to stutter and gasp uncomfortably, and then there is his striking and stunning face - cheeks blazing with desire - kissing and licking up your body as you squirm languidly.

“Was that good, baby?” His teeth are dragging against the swell of your breast now, igniting a fire within you anew.

Jacob, always so cocksure and confident, sounds famished for your approval. How strange.

You hand it over willingly and honestly, on a silver platter of affection, “So, good, Jakey…I love you so much.”

“You taste like fucking candy everywhere,” his praise is little more than a whispered murmur as he buries into the crook of your neck, “I want you in my mouth and under my fingertips forever, for fucking always.”

The tip of his cock, full and hot like velvet, sweeps across your entrance, teasing inside just a breath before pulling back and then nudging in all over again.

“Put it in,” your fingers are clawing lazily at his hips, silently trying to guide him into action, “Fuck Jake, please baby, just slip it inside and—“

He grinds his hips forward, cutting you off, filling you up, pulsing and slick and hot and…

”My girl,” his words are humid at your throat as he whimpers through a physical shudder. “My sugar, my love. That’s my baby, that’s it…taking it so well. You feel so fucking good.”

His wandering fingers find and sweep over your clit with a glide as sweet as satin, and it has you clenching down around him so wildly his eyes snap shut with a furrowed brow, mouth hanging open in a silent moan.

Buried to the hilt now, those eyes lull open to stare down where your bodies connect. “Looks so pretty stretched around my cock. How’d this little cunt ever get so beautiful?”

Your cheek turns to meet the cool of the oak you're draped across, embarrassed in the most blissful way, but he is positively weak for the way his words cause your thighs to tighten around his waist.

His name begins to burn out of your lungs, smoking into the sun-soaked kitchen like a prayer.

”That’s it,” he sounds faraway, like he’s crooning to you from across the room, “My name, sugar…always my name.”

And then, there is his thumb, soaked in your need and brushing against that spot just below where his cock is dragging in and out of your cunt.

A wanton cry for more bleeds out of you, bringing forth another knit of his brow as he sinks inside you to follow the deep thrust of his cock, “‘Oh my’, right sugar? Isn’t that how my fuck doll reacts? All sweet like a lady, to being filled up so full?”

His loving, mocking tone snatches you back full circle to that very first night with him that seems so long ago…he has been all you’ve ever wanted, ever since. He is all you will ever want.

He is every direction, the night and the day, every song ever written…every poem ever wept onto pages, every star that will light the skyline tonight and all the ones that came before. He is every beat of your pulse, every breath in your lungs - and when you breathe your last, it will be his name on your lips.

White explodes behind your eyes as fireworks detonate down deep inside you, sparkling a crackling-like frenetic energy throughout your nervous system until you are tightened up and writhing with it…cumming so hard, so fucking hard, that you nearly force his beautiful cock right out of your body.

He follows your lead and pulls away, tugging at himself violently as you shower down over him like the filthiest, most exquisite drops of summer-of-love rain.

“Oh fuck, sugar, please,” he’s whining as his release lands hot and frantic against your quivering stomach, but for what, neither of you know.

You’re lost in his faraway expression, watching him fight for a deep breath as you search for your own composure when your fingers sweep through a milky ribbon painted across your navel…you want to taste him, but his grip is wrapped firmly around your wrist in an instant, with your fingers nestled against his cashmere tongue.

“I’ll clean my pretty girl up myself, if she doesn’t mind.” His mouth brushes soothingly at your hip just before he begins licking up his own release, eyes cast upwards to your own as you shake, stunned and blissfully shellshocked.

At last, you find your voice as his bubblegum pink tongue curls over the last drop, “You taste good, don’t you, Jakey?”

“Not as good as you, sugar,” His mouth is on yours now, kissing far too sweetly for what you know him to be capable of. “not even close.”

“Shower?” He pops another raspberry into your mouth and then nuzzles against your nose.

”Bath.” You correct, nearly melting into the table beneath his love.

~

A sponge, fresh out of its package and now smothered in body wash, drags across your chest as his chest rests against your back.

”We leave tonight?’ Your voice sounds unfamiliar…too content, too relaxed. It’s been such a long time since you’ve sounded this way. Since you’ve been so completely happy.

”I wish we could stay longer,” he kisses at your drenched, now squeaky clean hair, “just you and me.”

”Me too,” you sigh, settling back into his embrace even more, “but I’m also excited to see those idiots you call brothers. Especially the baby.”

”He’s missed you.” More kisses to clutch at your already stolen heart. “Nothing was the same without you, sugar. Time to come home.”

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#greta van fleet #greta van fleet fan fiction #greta van fleet smut #greta van fleet fic #greta van smut #fanfic #greta van fic #gvf fic #jake gvf #jake kiszka fanfiction #jake kiskza #jake kiszka x reader #gvf jake #jake kiszka smut #jake kiszka fanfic #jake kiszka imagine #jake greta van fleet

[binarysunset17]

I always think about the time when the twins mom said that they slept the best when they napped together as babys

And i wonder if thats still true

#greta van fleet #fanart #josh kiszka #jake kiskza #greta van fleet art #greta van meme #danny wagner #sam kiskza #kiszka twins #twin lane #twins #snuggles #greta van fluff #gretavanfleet

[streamingcolors-gvf]

Pumpkin Spice

Pairing: Josh Kiszka x f!reader

Summary: It wasn’t Halloween if you didn’t carve pumpkins. Well, that’s what your best friend, Josh insisted on every year. To you, it didn’t matter what you were doing as long as it was with him. The night had started off like any other, but quickly evolved as feelings you weren’t aware of, or willing to accept before, were suddenly brought to the surface. 

Word Count: 11k

AN: This is the first installment of our Halloween Collection. Since this is a collaboration, please make sure to also send feedback and support to the wonderful miss Allie @ageofnations . We had lots of fun putting this together and hope you all do as well 🧡

**Disclaimer: Everything written here is intended to be read as complete fiction with utmost respect for the real people these characters may be based on. We do not know the guys personally and don’t intend for this to reflect on them as real people in any way.**

Warnings: cursing, alcohol consumption, NSFW/18+ CONTENT MINORS DNI! (Sexually explicit content: unprotected penetrative sex, oral m!receiving, oral f!receiving, dirty talk, choking, praise, orgasm denial, super slight spit kink, if we missed anything please let us know!)

The faded, more-than-loved oversized flannel that made its appearance each fall brushed against your skin, wrapping your body like a familiar hug, comforting you in its simple pleasure. 

The apartment was quickly filling up with the aroma of the warm vanilla and pumpkin candle that you had recently bought on one of your shopping outings. A collection of fuzzy blankets and throws littered the small couch, giving you something to snuggle with while watching your favorite movies.

You took an incredible amount of joy decorating the modest living space with the seasonal and Halloween themed knick-knacks collected over the years. Your Friday night was starting to feel calm, peaceful even.

As comforting as your place had become, there was something that was still making you restless. You were fidgeting with the items displayed across your coffee table, trying not to look at your phone every five seconds. He wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t perfect. He had seen your place in its worst condition many times over, but you needed something to focus on so you could push the anxiety you had been feeling recently. 

He’d never admit to you that his hands were shaking as he put the car in drive, departing from his place to yours. He’d never tell you that he almost turned the car around, almost too nervous to keep his word that he’d spend time with you for the first time in what felt like ages. He’d certainly never let it show that you had begun to consume every waking thought, and live in each of his dreams at night.

When you were apart, everything reminded him of you. When you were together, he ached for you. Wishing he could tell you how he felt, but too afraid to lose you if you didn’t feel the same. He wanted to tell you how much he loved when you hummed along to music, lost in your own world and careless that anyone could hear. To let you know that the sound of your laughter played in his head whenever he thought of you. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Where his glances lingered too long and how he craved your touch non-stop, you were simply existing in ignorant bliss. 

He had accepted that this was the way things would be. You, completely oblivious to his longing, hopeless pining as you continued to cherish his friendship and affection. Knowing he would rather have you like this than not at all, the thought of losing you terrified him. There was a point where he decided that a few weeks away might help. The break from you could bring him back to reality, to maybe see you as only a “friend”. It only seemed to make it worse. His time away from you only solidified that he cared about you more than you knew.  

You of course questioned how distant he was. It pained him not to tell you the truth when you asked if you had done something wrong. If he had been upset with you somehow. When you finally asked for him to spend time with you tonight, he couldn’t refuse. He missed you in more ways than you could imagine, and he had to make up for the time he lost. He had to show you that he was sorry for ever making you think you were the problem, that you deserved every ounce of his time. He wanted to even show you that this “break” didn’t stop the thoughts of wanting you from entering his mind. He felt guilty, selfish for them.

His brothers knew it. Hell, he was convinced everyone saw it but you. Especially Jake. It was the unspoken topic, the elephant in the room up until recently. He had always brushed off his twin’s advice, but the conversation they had shared earlier in the week changed things for him.

“Stop sulking and just fucking ask her out already.”

Josh lifted his head from the journal laid on the table in front of him, seeing his twin padding over to the fridge. He rummaged momentarily and retrieved a beer before he shut the door, a bit too harshly than intended, but he didn’t flinch.

“Huh?” He blinked at Jake.

Jake motioned to the open book that Josh had been scribbling in, a hobby that he had taken up much more often upon not seeing you as much. Jake huffed. “You’ve been pouting for two weeks. Make a move or get over it.”

“I just can’t-“

“Why?” Jake groaned, cutting off his brother’s weak excuse. 

“Because. We’re friends and I don’t want to fuck that up, okay? What if it ruins things? What if she doesn’t have those feelings? It will never be the same.”

He hummed in thought, sucking his teeth before answering, “I think you underestimate how much she likes you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it for a second. She hasn’t seriously dated anyone with you constantly attached to her at the hip for like the last five years. And I don’t know if you’re ignoring her or what, but she’s been blowing my phone up all week asking about you. Even texting Sam. Sam! Of all people. I’m telling you, she’s into you.”

Josh was in denial about the idea. He wasn’t sure he could ever build up the courage to see you again so soon if he thought that you felt the same way. “I think you’re reading too far into it.”

“Whatever. Just man the fuck up and do something about it before she comes to her senses and dates someone else for fuck’s sake” 

The interaction stewed for several days, and he replayed it in his mind as he gripped the steering wheel. Every word. Every touch, Every glance you gave had a new meaning to him. Was Jake right? Was there something more to it?

The possibility alone intensified his impulses. But by the time he had come close enough to obey them, to finally turn around and make an elaborate excuse as to why he bailed out on your plans, he was in your driveway. 

He had never been too fond of his acting skills. Sure, he had done theatre, it was something he enjoyed and had even wanted to pursue as a career at some point, but he still found it difficult to believe those that praised him for his abilities. Even after receiving leading roles in whatever production he was involved in, he never thought he was the most qualified for the job. But this… whatever this was with you… he was proud of. Every day with you, every interaction, was its own production. And he somehow managed to put up an act every time. This was a dress rehearsal, a gig that as long as he performed well, he’d be able to keep you around.  

————

“A little help here!”  A voice, broken with heavy breathing, called out into your apartment.

You had expected him, of course. You had been looking forward to seeing him for the first time in what felt like forever, tonight seemingly the only thing you had been anticipating all week. But that didn’t make his boisterous arrival any less alarming.

“Josh!” You gasped, clutching at your chest as if to keep your frantically beating heart within the walls of your sternum. “Don’t you knock anymore?!”

You made your way around the corner of the living room, shifting your view to your best friend laughing as he set the items down at your kitchen table with a heavy thud. 

“Oh I’m sorry, was I not carrying two heavy ass pumpkins and the fucking liquor up three flights of stairs?” He motioned to the two giant pumpkins, catching one as it tried to roll off the edge of the table. 

“Whatever,” you scoffed. “I could have been indecent or something.”

The tone of his voice shifted into a teasing nature, “Indecent?”

“You know, like, I could have been walking around my apartment naked.”

Just as it left your mouth, you wished you could reel it back in. He wasn’t one to let an opportunity to poke fun at you slip past him. 

“You walk around naked in your apartment?” He laughed again, with his back still facing you.

Even though he couldn’t see you roll your eyes, he could hear the attitude in your tone, “Shut up.”

And when he finally turned towards you, even though it was slight, you felt your eyes widen as you spotted it. The new patches of hair above his upper lip and chin.

Without a second thought, you reached out, “Excuse me?!” You brushed the hair with your fingertips, checking if what you were seeing was actually real or if you had just imagined it. “I don’t see you for a few weeks and this is what happens?”

Josh knew his body froze for a moment as your fingers grazed against his skin. He knew that his breathing faltered, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before he lost himself in your touch. He wanted to grab your hand, to keep it still when your fingertips brushed against his lips. 

If only you knew how every fleeting graze made his heart race wildly within his chest. He thought he had mastered covering up his feelings for you, but in recent months it had become more difficult. And right now, it was completely, utterly, entirely unavoidable. 

If you only knew that he had spent hours today passing in front of the mirror, anxiously fixating on the new growth of hair on his face. Worried that you would hate it, but maybe even more worried about if you would like it. He imagined over and over what your reaction would be.

At first, he was nervous when you gasped at the sight, but even through your teasing, he saw the small smirk break through the facade. He saw that same look of intrigue, of pure amazement, that occurred when you were engrossed in a new book. The hesitant wonder as you tried on an outfit that might have been slightly out of your comfort zone, yet still looked just as good on you as he knew it would. It was a familiar face, but he had never been this close while experiencing it. 

If this is what it took, if this was his only option in getting to have you this close, he’d do it all the time. He’d never shave, he’d grow a beard if it meant you’d react this way. He’d do anything if he knew it would be the only time he’d feel the soft tips of your fingers padding along his face.

“You don’t like it?” He took a step back, mainly so he wouldn’t get too much in his own head, and stroked the hair. 

“I hate it.” You tried to speak with sincerity, but the smirk you had tried to hide finally broke through. It certainly wasn’t your favorite look, but you definitely didn’t hate it - no matter how much you wanted to.

“Maybe you can forgive me? I did bring you a peace offering.” Josh’s smirk made you suspicious almost instantly. He turned momentarily, digging into the brown paper bag and pulling out a bottle of Fireball whiskey. It seemed as if its logo were taunting you, the iconic red demonic fire-breathing dragon tempting you with bad decisions.

“You did not.” You fought the smile that was tugging at the corner of your lips. 

“What?” He questioned defensively. “I thought it was fitting for Halloween. Ya know, the cinnamon and all that shit?”

You rolled your eyes at him, but you couldn’t help but giggle at his thought process. “I think you just like seeing me suffer.”

“Whatever,” he scoffed, throwing an elbow into your arm before he crossed the kitchen. You watched him move through the space as if it were his own, almost entranced by how he seemed to fit in so easily here. It was natural. It was domestic. Even with time apart, he melded effortlessly back into your world as if he had never left. 

Thinking about your time away made you feel downcast all over again. You loved having him around, and he seemed to enjoy it just as much as you. But you couldn’t help but feel as if something was off. Something had caused him to be distant, something he still hadn’t disclosed to you. It worried you.

“Hey…” you spoke gently while he had his back to you. He had been reaching for the shot glasses in your cabinet, but once he paused his actions and turned his cheek to you, you knew you grabbed his attention.

You hesitated before asking, almost afraid of the answer, but mostly feeling silly for needing the reassurance. “Are…are we okay?”

“Yeah…” He paused, and you noticed his eyes flick down to the counter as if he were avoiding making eye contact with you. He quickly tried to recover, correcting his tone with a more enthusiastic response and a soft, closed smile. “Yeah!” You knew this was an attempt to reassure you, but it didn’t even seem that he was convinced himself. There was a hint of sadness somewhere within his golden-honeyed irises. 

“...Are you sure?” You tried again, making a mental note of how quickly he had resumed his task of retrieving the glasses.

“Of course,” he said before clearing his throat, breaking his gaze to the bottle in his hand as he picked at the plastic wrapper. You had known him long enough that he was stalling for something to say. “I think I’ve just been going through some things, ya know? Stuff I needed to work out.”

Josh rarely lied to you, if ever, but you also knew he wasn’t being completely honest either. He was still holding back. You considered pressing the issue, but you decided against it.

Before you could find what you should say next, he had made his way to you at the counter, holding two too-full shot glasses of Fireball with a seemingly forced smile on his face. You took the glass that he slid to you, but you didn’t dare drink it.

“I missed you.” The small admission seemed to melt the tension from his face instantly. The once, pained smile shifted, spreading into a full, toothy grin, allowing you to spot the slight gap between his teeth. One of the small features that made Josh, Josh.

“I missed you, too.”

You leaned over the counter, placing a hand on his before continuing, “Please don’t shut me out again. You know you can talk to me, right?”

He sighed, flicking his eyes down to your hand. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Okay, good. Because if you ghost me again, I’m hunting you down myself.” You were only halfway joking, certain that you’d at least consider the idea of searching for him in the case that he became distant again.

“I doubt you could find me,” he teased smugly.

“Please,” you waved a dismissive hand at him. “You’re usually at one of three places. One of them includes my house.”

He laughed again, the sound was lighter, more genuine than it had been since he arrived. “Oh come on, don’t pretend you don’t love it when I’m here.”

“A lady never reveals her secrets.”

He let your words linger in the air, allowing a moment of silence to fall between you. You didn’t mind, but you swore you could see the gears turning in his head while deep in thought. “So!” He cleared his throat, ”What are we celebrating?”

You hummed to yourself as you pondered the possibilities, raising your shot glass filled to the brim with whiskey into the air, “To our friendship through all these years, and not letting the small stuff get in the way. “

He clinked his glass into yours, “To friendship.” And as if he couldn’t resist the temptation, shouted out, “Bajabule!”

————

As the night progressed, and many more shots were taken, you both migrated to the kitchen table. Your respective pumpkins sat in front of you, ready to be massacred. Music played throughout the apartment as you both tackled the evening’s project. The bottle of Fireball and plastic containers from your carryout littered the table within the mix of carving supplies you had gathered earlier.

However, there seemed to be very little actual carving being done. At least on Josh’s part. Compared to him, you had taken a vastly different approach to the activity. Instead of planning and transferring a design, you had opted to scoop out the guts of the pumpkin right away. A simple Jack-o-lantern was probably going to be your safest bet with the amount whiskey running through your system. But Josh, on the other hand, was being very precise about his project. 

At first, you watched him flip through images on his phone, searching for something to inspire him. His pumpkin sat untouched in front of him while you continued cutting and popping out orange bits with your knife. But then, you noticed that he had stopped scrolling, his eyes now on you. At first, you thought nothing of it, but each time you broke your eyes from the pumpkin, you saw him watching.

“Josh.”

His eyes lifted to yours once he was able to blink away the daze he had been in. “Yeah?”

“I love you, but you’re starting to make me nervous when you stare at me like that,” you huffed as you continued to saw along the flesh of the pumpkin. 

He stalled, picking at the edges of his phone case as he searched for an excuse for his staring, finally settling on, “Just making sure you don’t hurt yourself.”

He had been watching your hands carefully, admiring how precise each cut and movement was. However, it wasn’t due to anything other than his wandering thoughts. How soft your palms looked. How warm he imagined they would be as he held them. He found himself slipping back there, not even realizing that you had started speaking again.

“I think I can handle cutting into the top of a pumpkin. Besides, I’ve seen you with a knife. Not exactly the pinnacle of safety-” you stopped yourself, bringing your full attention to him and setting down your tools. “You’re still staring.”

There was no denying it, and with the way you were looking at him right now, you had begun to notice that there was something more to his actions.

He shrugged and began scrolling again. “Can’t help myself, mama.”

But that wasn’t it. Not entirely. Yes, he was admiring your effortless beauty. You would deny it, of course. It was the way you had your worn flannel rolled up to your elbows so you could work, that same flannel that he looked forward to seeing you wear every fall. It was one of your favorite articles of clothing, and upon seeing how comfortable you looked in it, it had quickly become one of his as well. It was the way your brows pulled together when you were deep in concentration, adamant about your craft being perfect. It was the way your nose scrunched as you wiggled the knife in your pumpkin, a small habit that you surely never noticed. The small things someone else might overlook, but he was careful to take in.

Josh sighed at the brief silence, choosing to change the subject before you could question him further. “Do you know the history of pumpkin carving?”

A breath of a laugh escaped you because of the randomness of his question. Of course, you didn’t know such a thing, but you knew that he was well on his way to explain every detail about it. Before you could shake your head in response, he had already begun his retelling of stories he’d been told, fables he had read over the years. He had gone on so long that you had gotten up from the table, taking a break from your project to clean up some of the mess in front of you. You began by taking a few carryout containers to the trash, but you continued listening to him, even glancing back at him with a smile occasionally. 

“-So here we are, continuing the tradition of scaring away the soul of poor Jack,” he finished, making you giggle softly. There was something about how he could end such a comprehensive story with a silly remark that made you love him that much more. 

“And what are you gonna carve into your pumpkin to scare him, Joshua?” You propped yourself against his side of the table and raised an eyebrow at him, poking fun at him for still not starting his carving. 

He wasn’t sure if it was your tone, how close you were to him, or just the fact that it was you, but his cheeks pinkened. Suddenly bashful, he dropped his head. “I- I don’t know yet.”

“So you were just hoping to find creative inspiration once you got the knife in your hand?”

“Well… yes actually.”

His honesty made you tilt your head back in laughter. “You are so cute,” you teased, petting his head briefly before returning to the kitchen. “I hope you carve yours soon. I’m almost done and I feel like mine is gonna rot before you even start.”

As you cleaned off the tabletop and threw away the rest of the empty carryout boxes, you watched him from afar as he finally began to draw his design onto his pumpkin. He had a firm grip on the fruit, tipping it back as he meticulously etched onto its waxy surface. You could even see the tip of his tongue poking out the side of his mouth, indicating just how focused he really was. You smiled, cherishing how seriously he took anything with an artistic element to it. 

You let Josh have the table to himself for a moment before you decided to return. It seemed as if the space between you helped him. He had been able to finally gather his thoughts to begin his design, and you didn’t want to interrupt him. You excused yourself for a water and bathroom break, taking as much time as you possibly could with such a task, but as you came back to him just now grabbing the knife for the first time, you groaned. 

“Josh-” You whined, slightly frustrated and impatient, as you sat in your respective seat.

He waved you off. “Hold on. You can’t rush perfection, mama.”

“You know they don’t have to be perfect right? I doubt anyone will even be able to see them from my balcony”

You could see him sporting an expression that was meant to mock you, and he even muttered under his breath. “...Maybe I wanted it to be perfect for you”

“Huh?” You chuckled.

“I mean… um, I uh, I just want it to be perfect for you to see.”

Josh tore into the center of his pumpkin after finally removing the top. He pulled out handfuls of slimy seeds covered in stringy pulp into the large metal bowl that sat at the center of your kitchen table.

“You just gotta make sure you get-“ Josh huffed out until the metal spoon caught the lip of the pumpkin mid-scrape of an overly enthusiastic jerk of his arm, causing the innards to fling up into the air. 

You flinched back and opened your eyes to see he was covered. Seeds and stringy pumpkin goo had splattered across his shirt, on his face, the wall behind him, and onto the kitchen floor.

“Shit!”

You stared at each other for a few seconds, processing what had just occurred. Laughter erupted from your chest. Alcohol was buzzing unapologetically through your system, and seeing him in such a state only made you laugh harder.

‘Come on!” you giggled, grabbing his arm to drag him down the hallway towards the bathroom.

His heels dug into the floor, and he pulled back from your grasp. Although it wasn’t enough to stop you. “I think a towel would be just fine-”

“Josh! You got it everywhere!”

He caught the door frame with his hand, bringing you to a halt, “I don’t think-“

“Get in here!” You gave one final tug and yanked him into the tiny bathroom, knocking him into you. The sudden collision made you stumble backward, but he caught your hips to steady you.

“Now what made you think you should wear a white shirt?”

If he told you it was because you complimented him on how good the white crew neck looked on him, you would have rolled your eyes. That’s how things were for him. Something as simple as a shirt. A thing that you probably didn’t think twice about. If it was what you liked, he made sure to wear it when he saw you just in hopes that the sweet praise would pass your lips once more. 

“I dunno. Comfortable I guess,” he mumbled, tugging the fabric away from his stomach to inspect the damages. 

“Well, it’s going to stain. Here.” You nudged his elbows, “Let’s get this off.”

You lifted Josh’s sweater, leaning up and balancing on your toes to pull it over his head. It was a simple task, nothing too daunting or out of the ordinary. But the alcohol in your system made the job much harder than necessary. You tried to keep your balance, but in doing so, most of your body ended up against his, pressing into his bare chest as he freed his arms from the long sleeves. It also made you highly aware that you had opted to not wear a bra under your flannel tonight. 

    He was warm. Soft. You could smell the Fireball that still lingered in his breath, the scent only muddling your mind a bit more. Your inebriation seemed to heighten each of the sensations you were experiencing, almost to the point that you lingered in his proximity. You almost didn’t want to break away from him. 

You had shared many moments like this before. Throughout the years of your friendship, you had been close to him. Evenings spent on the couch tangled up together watching movies, the nearly lung-crushing hugs when you greeted each other and had even seen him shirtless like this before. Now as you stood in the small bathroom of your apartment, this felt different somehow. 

    Nervous laughter broke from you as your face flushed with intense heat, the sudden feeling almost blurring your vision. You remembered just where you were and just what you were doing. You instantly shifted back, breaking the contact to create space between you.

    “I think someone’s drunk,” Josh giggled while his finger bopped the tip of your nose, bringing your focus back to him standing in front of you. 

    “I am not!” You tried to defend yourself, but the blush that spread across your cheeks made you look even more guilty. And the smirk on his face told you that he certainly noticed. You huffed at him before glancing at his messed-up hair. “Hold still.”

    He rolled his eyes as you ran your fingers through his mane of curls in an attempt to fix them, still smiling at your drunkenness, but deciding to abandon his previous teasing.

    “Just so you know, I don’t let anyone touch my hair but you,” he noted. His eyes fixed on your face, grazing over each of your features, watching you with glossy eyes. 

    “Does that mean I can take care of that squirrel on your face?” You teased back.

“You really don’t like it, do you?”

“It’s not ‘My’ Joshua. Used to your baby face,” you pouted. It probably wasn’t something you would have said sober, but you meant it. 

He cocked a brow as his tongue wet his upper lip, “‘Your’ Joshua, huh?”

“You know what I mean! It’s just-it looks good but I don’t know…” You were rambling, “…it’s different I guess.”

He hummed at the thought. “I think you’ll change your mind.”

“Yeah, yeah. I hope so. For your sake.”

You dipped your fingers deeper, brushing against his scalp this time. An unexpected, breathy sigh fluttered from his lips as his eyes closed from the sensation.  

Maybe you weren’t supposed to hear it. Maybe he hadn’t meant to make the noise in the first place. Maybe you were only imagining things, making up situations in the heat of the moment. But the idea of having such an effect on him, one that he couldn’t contain no matter how hard he tried, flustered you. 

    You didn’t realize you were staring in awe until he opened his eyes again, his breath still heavy from your fingers in his hair. His focus dropped to your lips, plump and slightly parted, before he looked back up at you. 

    His expression was calm, but he had abandoned the drunken antics you had shared before. The large, coffee-brown eyes looked over your features, as if trying to read your thoughts. 

    You forced yourself to tear your eyes away from him and resume your task of cleaning him up, clearing your throat to regain your composure. You reached behind him, pressing into him once again to grab a washcloth. The sound of the hot water running over the cloth was the only relief from the deafening silence that filled the space around you. Your concentration fell onto working the soap into a lather, but his hand on your side made your focus shift again. Every quip, every touch, every sigh seemed to be a hint at something, but you were unsure of what. And that uncertainty only made your thoughts wander, this time to the point where you completely paused your movements. 

    He leaned in closer, his breath feeling extremely warm against your neck as he broke the silence. “Really,” he prompted in regards to the washcloth. “I don't think that’s necessary.”

    You almost let yourself get embarrassed, sorry that you had even thought to make such a gesture, but you quickly realized that you had let his teasing get the best of you. You huffed in frustration at him.

    “Josh, you have a pumpkin seed on your cheek.” You pulled back to look him in the eyes. “And on your forehead, in your hair-” you continued as you motioned to each area. “I think it’s very much necessary.”

    He chuckled at your persistence and grabbed the damp cloth from you. “Sorry, mama. Guess I got a little carried away.”

“I’d say so.” You reached up to grab the stray seed from his curls after Josh began to wipe his face. The tasks were quick, and Josh finished before you, but as you finger-combed through the last portion of his hair, your fingers caught a knot, tugging the hair on accident. Josh let out what sounded like a soft moan, and quickly brought his hand to wrap around your wrist.

You froze, much too aware of the boundary you were treading on now. All night, you had worked to convince yourself that he was simply being nice, that the alcohol in both of your systems made you more reactive to his actions. That this was all in your head.

But now, you saw that you had been right all along. Something was shifting. There was… tension. 

This was new, uncharted territory.

You searched his expression to see what your next step should be, but he seemed just as stunned as you, as if he was unaware that you had even heard him in the first place. You wanted to pull away from him, yet you also wanted to see where this would go. You wanted to escape from this situation, the suspense of the unknown, yet you also wanted to see where you’d land if you took it a step further.

But the anxiety was stronger than your urges, and the desire to retreat was almost too powerful to beat. You looked to his fingers wrapped around your wrist, the only thing keeping you in your place.

“Oh…uh,” you somehow managed to say. “I’m sorry.”

He sighed at your apology, eyes flickering back and forth from your eyes to your lips. “Mmm, don’t be.” His grip loosened to where you could control where you let your hand rest, but he never let go of you. You settled on taking a step - one that could still be considered platonic - by resting your palm against the base of his neck. 

You stayed there for a while, in silence and staring at one another. You drank in his presence, rubbing your thumb absentmindedly along his jaw while he rubbed against the skin of your arm. Whatever boundary you were crossing with your friendship, he seemed to be right along with you. Holding your hand along the way, his strides in perfect timing with yours. He seemed okay with this, whatever this was. And with the way he was looking at you right now as if he were looking at one of the seven wonders of the world, you were on the same exact page. 

“Josh…” Your voice was feeble, breathy. “Can I kiss you?”

You had taken the chance, betting on your ability to read the situation unfolding before you. Even so, you almost didn’t believe the words as they broke through the silence of the room. 

You weren’t able to look into his eyes, afraid of the possibility of rejection. His voice matched yours, just as unsteady as yours had been, but his response was immediate. “Please.”

You leaned into him, closing the short distance between you. It felt as if time froze, standing still as you almost brought your lips to his. Something was holding you from just going for it completely. Your heart raced wildly within the walls of your chest, aching for the air you had forgotten to breathe. 

He waited, or maybe was frozen himself, as you hovered over his lips. Was it too late to back out now? Has everything already changed?

“Y/n…” Josh whispered. 

His fingers danced across your cheek with a feather-light touch, gentle and curious. They sank into the tresses of your hair and wrapped around the nape of your neck, guiding you into him. 

His lips brushed yours, faint and cautious. The gentle, barely-there pecks revealed his hesitation, maybe out of worry that you would suddenly change your mind. That you might shove him off you and decide to throw him out of the apartment.

You wouldn’t, of course. You were practically vibrating against him and you wondered if he had felt it. Every one of your senses was hyper-focused on Josh, cutting out the world like it was really only the two of you in existence. You were still treading, testing the shallow waters of this new feeling with him.

You might have been lost in your own head when your teeth knocked into his. For a second, you were terrified you killed the moment, souring it with your awkwardness. Instead, he just giggled into your lips between soft kisses to the corners of your mouth. But that did very little to reassure you. 

You both were panting, taken aback from what had just transpired and relishing in the warm sensation of your breath fanning on each other’s skin. He rested his forehead against yours, and a flash of worry fell upon you, afraid that the contact would make him privy to your thoughts. Your anxious habit of overthinking was bound to make itself known. 

But the smile on his face said otherwise. 

“You okay?” He whispered to you, not daring to speak too loud as if he’d scare you away. 

“Y-yeah,” you stuttered out. 

That’s when he finally caught on to the nerves evident in your voice. He seemed to tense up as his eyes widened. 

“Shit, no you’re not, Y/N. You’re shaking. I’m so sorry, I-“

“No!” You interrupted, perhaps a hint too aggressively. You took a deep breath to regain yourself, correcting your tone in the process. “No, Josh, I- I liked it a lot. Can you-“ you paused, suddenly feeling too silly to finish your question. “Can I-“

As hard as you tried, you couldn’t find it in you to push past the nerves and kiss him again like you wanted to. You couldn’t focus on anything other than the feeling of his lips on yours, and god did you need it. 

Through your stuttering and glances at his lips, he seemed to pick up on what you wanted to ask. What you needed from him. Without a word, Josh smiled at you and nodded before finally closing the distance once more. 

This kiss felt different than the first one. This kiss felt as if there were no more platonic boundaries left for you to cross. As if you both were made for this moment. As if you were finally in control over where this all led to. 

The position of his hand on your neck tightened and his other resting on your hip to pull you in closer, his tongue flicked across your bottom lip, taking another stride into the unknown. You moaned unexpectedly, parting your mouth for him without realizing how much you truly wanted it. You welcomed it, yearned for him. When his tongue slipped across yours, it was reminiscent of a hot cup of cider on a chilly autumn morning, hints of cinnamon lingered in his mouth before melting into an unfamiliar sweetness, one that you would recognize as his. 

Both of his hands were now on your neck, thumbs secured along your jaw with fingers tangled in your hair as he licked into you, tasting you. It had broken the seal. You found yourself now diving headfirst into the deep end, willing to explore what this was. 

It didn’t take long for him to find his rhythm with you, falling into an effortless dance. You didn’t even notice he had you pressed up against the sink until the hard edge hit your back.

You broke from his lips to plant kisses across his cheek, along his jaw, and then farther down to his neck. There was a new hunger building inside of you as your swollen lips trailed along his body. He started to grind his hips into you in response to you flicking your tongue to taste the saltiness of his skin. 

“Fuck,” Josh whispered as your teeth grazed across the vulnerable area of his throat. His hands tugged your flannel near the small of your back, bunching the material in his fists. 

You felt his chest rise and fall rapidly against yours as he fought to catch his breath. He broke away from your lips, “I think you’re enjoying this a little too much.”

    You smirked, teasing, “Yeah? And what about you, Joshy?” 

Your fingers traveled down his stomach, feeling the muscles twitch under your touch. You took your time caressing and appreciating his body as you found your way to the waistband of his jeans. 

He probably should have fought you on leaving such a noticeable mark on his neck as you sucked the splotchy bruise on his throat. But the way he was preoccupied bucking his hips against you, told you, he was enjoying it just as much. You traced your fingertips over the trail of hair below his navel before dipping under the band, caressing the soft sensitive area for the first time. 

    His voice quivered through shaky breaths and nervous laughter before he quipped, “Fuck off…”

Of course, he didn’t mean it. He’d have you here forever if he could. He’d do anything to keep your hands on him. 

Nothing else mattered. You would have continued everything right there and then. Josh, on the other hand, had different plans. He bent down, wrapping his hands around the back of your legs to lift you up, guiding them to lock around his waist. 

You kept kissing him as he carried you out of the bathroom and down the hallway towards your bedroom, bumping into the walls as he went. 

    That’s when you really felt him. His cock was unbelievably hard, throbbing within the restrictions of his jeans as he pressed into your core. You writhed against him, grinding in need to feel more of him. Desperate for anything. 

He stalled in the middle of the hallway, breaking from your kiss as he squeezed his hold around your body, “Y/n…please.” He begged through heavy pants into your cheek.

“Josh, I need you,”

He extended an arm to brace himself against the wall. “I know. God. I know. Just wait a second. We’re almost there,” 

He stumbled into your room, carrying you until you reached the foot of your bed. You fell back onto the mattress, pulling Josh over you to bring his lips back to yours. 

The string of Halloween pumpkin lights you had strung up above your bed cast him in its soft orange light, making him glow in the amber haze. The room hadn’t started spinning yet, but you still felt as if time had slowed. 

            His hands trembled as he attempted to open your flannel, fumbling with the tiny plastic buttons. Sensing his nerves, you wrapped your hands around his, pulling his focus back to your face.

    Josh’s eyes locked onto yours, darting between them, making a smile appear as you asked, “Will you take a shot with me?”

    He nodded. You were able to look at him, really look at him since you had first kissed. The features that you had always admired before were brought to your attention in a new light. Your fingers traced along his chin, across his full lips that curled up in the corners. They followed up the bridge of his nose, spreading out to feel the warmth of his cheeks. He sighed at the touch, smiling to himself, and closed his eyes while you took all the time you needed to adore him. 

    You brushed the fallen curls from his forehead that had started to become frizzy, “You’re so pretty, Josh.”

    He smiled, blushing at the compliment. He leaned up and planted a hasty kiss on your lips before fumbling off the bed and out of the room. Stopping right at the door, he shouted back to you, “Don’t move!”

You heard the clattering of things being knocked over in your kitchen followed by Josh muttering, “Shit!” You giggled to yourself, picturing how frantic and clumsy he was in his eagerness to search for that bottle of whiskey.

The break from him left you alone with your thoughts. Josh had always been your best friend. That’s all. That’s all you ever let him be. But best friends don’t touch each other like you and Josh had tonight. Best friends don’t kiss like their lives depended on it. But isn’t that what you had always wanted deep down? 

From the very first time you saw him, there was something more. Something that had drawn you to him like a moth to a flame. 

You had learned to push away the feeling you had when his hand lingered on your leg when he was telling one of his rambling stories. Hoping that nobody would make him theirs, that he would always be there for you. 

You really couldn’t blame it on the alcohol, could you? There had been plenty of nights spent with Josh where you had too much, went way over your limit and then some more. This has never happened before. Something had changed. You couldn’t lie to yourself anymore. There was an undeniable shift, and you noticed it as soon as he entered your apartment tonight. 

Just as the thoughts started to consume you, Josh appeared in the entryway of your bedroom. The mischievous smile plastered across his face was so Josh. The bright and toothy, yet charming grin melted away any doubts that were threatening to creep into your mind.   

With the bottle in one hand, the other braced onto the door frame. He took in the silent moment to admire you sitting on the bed. 

He handed the Fireball to you as his hand went band of his jeans, “Ladies first.”

“Are you scared to take a shot all of a sudden, Joshua?” 

“This was your idea, remember?’’

You took it from his hands, screwed off the cap and brought it to your lips. You watch out of the corner of your eye as he shakes out of his pants, leaving them crumpled on the floor before crawling onto the bed.

He adjusts between your legs when you lay down, taking the whiskey bottle back from you.

You take the opportunity to make quick work of the same buttons Josh had struggled with moments prior. Just as he brought the lip of the bottle to his mouth, you opened up your shirt, revealing your naked breasts. 

His eyes widened at the sight of you beneath him. A small amount of whiskey dribbled from his lips wrapped around the bottle and dripped his chin and onto your bare chest.

He looked at you in utter shock, taking in each of the finer details as if he would never get the opportunity to see you like this again. You grazed your hand up his thigh, feeling the soft fabric of his boxers, “Clean up your mess, Joshy,”

In the love-sick trance you had put him in, he dipped down and began to lap up the liquor, flicking his tongue up the valley between your breasts. You hummed when the warmth melted across your skin. 

He peppered the supple flesh with breathy, open-mouthed kisses. You still felt him tremble slightly under your touch, shuddering when your fingers traced down his side. He sucked your nipple into his mouth, swirling over the sensitive bud. What his tongue wasn’t doing to the other, his fingers were.

He hummed into the softness of your breast as he tasted you, as you traced your fingers along his toned back, as you sank your fingers into the mess of curls on the back of his neck.

 He kissed your tummy, brushing his lips across the supple skin between your hips. He mumbled into you, “I’ve been dreaming about this for so long.”

For a moment you weren’t really sure if you were supposed to hear him as he continued to kiss your body. 

You hesitated, but decided to ask before you became too distracted, “Really?”

He tensed from the sound of your voice, pausing his lips right above your navel. You brought your finger under his chin, lifting his face to look at you. For a second, his expression showed caution, even guarded with the confession. With a brush of his curls from his face, he rested his cheek on your belly. His eyes softened when they met yours and you noticed the rosy-pink hue flushing in his cheeks.

The realization hit you hard. You thought about all the sloppy kisses planted on your cheek after those nights out drinking together. Was he always wanting something a little more? You remembered all the little gifts he gave you throughout the years. Things you talked about in passing and eventually forgot about, only for him to surprise you months later. The late-night texts where you needed to vent after a long day even if he needed to be up early the next morning. Did he always feel this way? 

“How long, Joshy?”

He blushed from the pet name, letting the giggles bounce from his chest as he laid across you, “fucking forever.” 

Your stomach flipped hearing the words and it felt like all the air had been knocked from your lungs. You stared up at the ceiling, reeling in the truth that your best friend had fallen for for you. He nipped at the thin skin covering your hip before soothing the sting with his tongue.

He felt the sudden change in your body language and mistook it for you changing your mind. “You sure you want this?”

“More than anything,” you whispered, cupping his cheek into the palm of your hand, He leaned into it, tilting his head to press a tender kiss to the inside of your wrist. 

He kissed down your belly once again, traveling between your thighs, and placed one directly over your covered clit. His tongue wet the cotton panties, making you squirm with anticipation. He was making it clear that he had no intentions of rushing this with you. 

“Josh,” you whined while lifting your hips to chase the sensation. It was the first time you had ever said his name like that and for a fleeting moment, you felt embarrassed. 

Without wasting a second he let out a pleased sigh, “You sound so beautiful saying my name.”

His fingers curled around the band of your panties and pulled them down your legs. They traced up your thighs to guide your legs, spreading them open before him. He looked over at you, smiling before biting his bottom lip between his teeth while drawing patterns with his fingertips to the inside of your thigh. 

His thumb brushed over your clit a few times, so light and delicate with his touch. He grinned to himself before dropping his head, kissing the sensitive bud as his fingers slipped down to tease your aching pussy. You clenched around nothing, waiting for them to slide into you. 

If his warm breath didn’t tickle you between gentle kisses, it was the soft hair of his mustache brushing your most sensitive spot. Soft laughter fluttered across you as you wiggled impatiently under his touch, relishing in his ability to tease you like this.

Your fingers dove into his curls when his tongue finally flicked across your clit in slow, languid strokes. 

Breathy cries and moans filled the room as the velvet softness of his wet tongue rolled over you. His arm draped across your tummy to keep you still on the bed, because as soon as he worked his mouth on you, your hips bucked into his face.

He pulled you in, dragging you across silken waves of ecstasy when he rolled your clit into the heat of his mouth. It radiated from your core, flushing through every part of your body, even to the tips of your fingers. Every inch of your bare skin was buzzing with electricity. You were chasing it. Peering right over the ledge, he was still holding you back just enough that you didn’t fall. Not yet.

His lips broke from you, his voice airy and fucked-out, “You taste even better than I imagined.”

Every time you felt yourself teeter on the edge, he pulled back just enough to keep you there. Your nails were digging into the skin of his forearm, but he didn’t seem to mind as he licked patterns of circles onto your throbbing, swollen clit. 

Your vision became out of focus. The orange string lights above your bed mimicked the streaked look of traffic lights in a heavy rainstorm. 

Your hand balled into a tight fist, tugging his hair from his scalp. You almost didn’t notice that it had happened, your body only acting out of instinct if it wasn’t for the muffled moan coming from Josh between your legs. You would have been worried it was out of pain, but he never slowed as he worked on you.

Your heart nearly skipped a beat when the sound vibrated against your heat as it pushed past his soaked lips. You pulled again.  A strangled cry was thrown into your pussy and you wished it could play in your mind forever. 

Maybe it was the liquor swirling in your belly, or maybe it was the need for the release that made you feel bold. You pushed your palm into his forehead, causing him to look up at you. “Make me cum, Josh.”

Using his hair as makeshift reigns, you pulled him into you with a new fervor. He growled in response to your demand. The fingers that had been teasing you had plunged into you, sweeping your perfect spot. The lewd sounds of your wetness pooling around his fingers filled your bedroom. 

He licked you up with a new unbridled passion than before. He wasn’t dancing with you at the peak of your climax now. He was ready to throw you into the abyss. 

His tongue that had once edged you with an expert precision was now flicking across your clit rapidly in a released, frenzied hunger. You opened your eyes, catching him grinding against the bed in search of friction, any relief. He wanted this just as badly as you did.

“Josh…I’m gonna…”

And just as you were finding the ability to finish the thought, his tongue circled on the bundle of nerves once more in unison with a perfect swipe of his fingers, in such a way that pulled you right into the crashing waves of your orgasm. You felt weightless, yet at the same time, it seemed like you had sunk into the mattress beneath you. 

You had forgotten to breathe as your heartbeat thumped loudly in your ear, the only sound you could actually focus on. 

It felt like an eternity for you to come down as you were finally able to breathe. Josh brushing his lips across your skin is what brought you back to him. He crawled up your body, slotting his knee between your legs as he continued to kiss up to your neck.

 He was breathing almost as heavy as yours was. You tasted yourself on his tongue when he kissed you, and you felt just how hard he was against your hip when he started to grind into you.

“Flip over,” you muttered against his mouth, making him pull back slightly.

He seemed almost bashful from the request, “Oh, I-I don’t expect you to-“

You shushed him with a kiss on his lips as you cupped him in your hand and whispered, “Lay back, Josh. It’s my turn.”

He obeyed, rolling onto his back and stretching out across the pillows before propping himself against the headboard. You crawled over, finding a position between his legs and ridding yourself of the opened flannel to toss it on the floor. You let your hands explore his body, tracing along the curves of his muscles that dipped beneath the one piece of clothing on his body. 

His cock was still tucked away, throbbing and leaking, creating a small wet spot of precum on the front of his boxers. You palmed over it, squeezing gently with each pass. His hands rested on his thighs, still shaking and fidgeting as his fingers drummed nervously against his leg. 

You rubbed your hands over his to help calm him, “You okay?”

He released a heavy sigh as if he had been holding his breath, “…yeah”

“Relax. It’s just me,” you reassured him as you started to pull his boxers down his legs. With a final tug, the band released his cock with a soft slap against his toned stomach. Your eyes widened at the sight of him, and you tried your best not to blush. But, oh my God. 

“I-I know it’s-it’s you,” he stuttered, sucking in a sharp breath when your hand wrapped around him, watching as you stroked him with a loose fist. His hips would buck slightly each time your thumb brushed against the tip with each pump of your wrist. 

“Just me…” you hummed between kisses to the head of his cock, “…and my Josh.”

“Fuck…”

You flicked your tongue along the underside of his length, taking him slowly into your mouth. A pitchy whine filled the room the second the warmth of your tongue enveloped him, sliding towards the back of your throat.

“Holy shit,” the hushed curse paired with him sweeping your hair back from your face to watch you, encouraged you further.

With one hand wrapped around the base, you collected your spit to stroke him with a twist of your wrist while swirling your tongue around the head of his cock.

Ragged, broken moans broke free from his heaving chest. You saw that sweat had started to coat the surface of his skin, glistening under the lights when you peeked up through your lashes. 

His legs started to fidget underneath you, letting you know he was getting closer to unraveling completely. Just as you had done moments prior, his fingers tightened around your hair that he had collected in his hand. 

You relaxed, flattening your tongue to push him farther down until he hit the back of your throat, more so than before. The tip of your nose barely brushed up against the hair while your tongue flicked underneath. You were fighting the urge to gag as you heard him groan above you. 

His hand grabbed yours that had been gripping onto his thigh, “I’m not going to last-“    

As much as you wanted to continue, you pulled him from your mouth with a sinful pop! of your lips. He felt so good in your hands that you couldn’t resist the temptation to let the spit drip from your open lips onto his cock. You looked up to see him fixated on what you were doing with your hand, brows pulled tightly together as your fingers slid around him. 

“Please. I need to be inside you.”

As reluctant as you were to stop, you wanted it just as badly. You showered him in kisses as you crawled up his body, straddling your legs over his lap. His hands found your hips instantly, pulling you against his chest. 

Your lips meet, now sloppy as they struggle to fall into their once perfect rhythm. He was needy. Almost biting at your lips before slipping his tongue along yours. 

Wrapping your fingers around him, you coat him in your wetness, brushing the tip along your clit he had taken so good care of, teasing him by rocking your hips along his shaky thighs. He was looking into your eyes, searching them for the final confirmation. There was no turning back as you guided his cock to your entrance, sinking down slowly as you braced yourself on his shoulder.

You sucked in a sharp breath through your teeth when he started to stretch you out, inch-by-inch. A faint cry from you elicited a look of concern to paint across his features. 

He was losing himself, getting high off another hit from the drug that was you. You worried he might be drifting too far away as you watched his eyes roll back behind lust-heavy lids as he pushed farther. A heavy sigh fluttered from your chest when you felt him nudge deep within you, bottoming out himself at your limit. Your arms were locked behind his head and you leaned in to nip at his ear. 

“Oh, fuck…” fell from his open mouth. His arms wrapped around your waist, fingers leaving harsh indents into the flesh in a weak attempt to keep you in place. Or maybe to keep a hold on you, making sure you didn’t disappear from him. 

“Just-just let me feel you. Please.” The whiny pleas fluttered from his pinkened kiss-swollen lips before he pressed them along your collarbone.

His breathing was strained in broken, heavy pants that fanned across your dampened skin. You stilled yourself, taking in the feeling of his cock filling you up completely. You tightened around him, bathing in the feeling of how he felt inside you. His lips began to move up, bringing the trail of lazy kisses to your neck and shoulder.  

The slight sting of him stretching you out eased into a heat of pleasure. You started to move, slowly at first to build a rhythm as you rode him. 

“You’re doing so good. Stay with me.” Your sweet praise brought his focus back to you, but a whimper fluttered in his throat. You cupped his cheek in your palm, “Talk to me.”

You rolled into him, letting his cock glide effortlessly inside your pussy. The way you had already soaked him makes his head fall against the wall, giving you access to the vulnerable expanse of his neck. Your inhibitions were long gone as you wrapped your fingers around his throat.

This time you felt the groan rumble from his chest, vibrating under your palm while his Adam's apple bobbed beneath it when you squeezed. His heartbeat pulsed under your fingertips. Seeing him so needy, on the brink of losing what little control he was holding onto already, spurred you on even more. 

When his eyes barely opened, they focused on nothing in your room. Beads of sweat collected across his forehead above his brow. You didn’t want to lose him, not yet.

You swept a piece of hair that had stuck to his face, brushing your fingertips across his cheek. Blown pupils focused back on yours through the intimate moment.

 You whispered just before licking into his mouth, “Talk to me. Tell me. What are you feeling?”

His eyes closed and he released a heavy sigh, “Fuck, you feel so good.”

“Go on, baby. Tell me more. You’re doing so good for me.”

You could see the internal battle he was struggling with, fighting between wanting to give in to his desires and struggling to keep this moment as long as he could. 

His lips tug into a weak smile as his eyes lazily, mostly hidden behind heavy lids, look back at you in the most fucked-out expression, “You’re enjoying this, huh?”

He paused to add a hint of cockiness in his voice, “-Seeing what you do to me?”

God, did you. You would have loved to tell him how good he felt. That you could fuck him for hours and hours and never want it to stop. That was for next time. This time, you wanted to hear every filthy thing that left his pretty lips as he unraveled just from the feel of you wrapping around him.

You stopped, holding yourself just right so the tip of his cock sat right inside the entrance your pussy. He wanted to lift his hips into you, but you managed to keep him still beneath you.

He whimpered while grabbing your waist to pull you back down onto him in an act of desperation, “Fuck, mama. Don’t stop.”

You brought your hand back to wrap around his throat once more, loving the power it was giving you. Your lips brushed against the shell of his ear, “Josh, baby. You’ve been listening so well. Just follow directions for me.”

You dragged each word out with a pronounced roll of your hips onto him, deep and full. His head rolled back, but you paused to hear his answer. Which you knew was a cruel thing to do given the borderline pathetic whines that came from him. 

“I-I, oh…fuck. You feel…so good. warm…so fucking tight. I think my cock was made for you.”

You couldn’t help but squeeze around him, dropping your forehead to his.“Hmm. It was, wasn’t it?”

“Yes…please move again. God, please,” he cried out with another desperate thrust of his hips to feel more of you. It caught you off guard to see him like this, with his eyes glassy with tears, threatening to spill over onto his flushed cheeks. 

You swept one away with your thumb while caressing his face. “My sweet, sweet boy.”

What you were both chasing was being suspended, just within your grasp of open fingers. You kept it there in the fight for balance just until the scales tipped. Just before you took the plunge into the void, together.

His breathing was past the point of ragged, harsh as he pulled air into his aching lungs. “I can’t…I can’t”

You knew what he meant, holding him close with fingers weaved tightly in his hair. “Cum for me, Josh,” 

That was what he needed from you. The words that would allow him to finally let go.

He buried his face into the crook of your neck with his fingers digging hard enough into your sides that they might leave small bruises for you to find tomorrow. A string of curses paired with your name, woven through his whiny pleas rang like a mantra in your ears. 

He shuddered beneath you, and the warm feeling of his release filling you up sent you into a second climax of the night. You rode it out with him as long as possible, in staggered, faltering movements. Slowing to the point where he started to shake from the overstimulation. 

You stayed there, basking in that moment, embraced in each other’s arms while taking as much time as you needed to collect yourselves. Your fingernails slightly dragged against his scalp as you held him to your chest.

 Everything had changed between you. It truly terrified you, but you were willing and ready to find out what that meant for you. The way you fit with him made perfect sense, like everything had fallen into place.

After a while of holding you In his arms as he softened inside you, he flipped you so that you were now on your back with his cheek resting on your breast, listening to your heart return to its normal pace. 

“Can’t believe you cried the first time we had sex.” You nudged his side, making him squirm, before going back to running your fingers across his back. 

He lifted his head, “First time?”

You smiled and wiped the stray tear that lingered on his face. “I figured you wanted to keep me around, Kiszka.”

“Of course I do.” He placed a kiss between your breasts and laid his head back down on your chest. “You’re everything.”

TAGLIST:

@josiee-gvf @weightofdreamz @sammyslappers @sammiejane22 @doodle417 @prophetofthedune @maverick-rose @weightofdreams-gvf @loofypoofy @gretasmokerising @keighoe @brokenbellz @gvfrry @gretavanfleas @baguettejuliette @jakeyboiiiiiii @kdarling1 @welightthefire @dannyandthekiszkas @shesawomaninadream @ashabeannn @kmiz711 @gretavanbitches@alexxavicry @luverleaver @kissthekiszka @milkgemini @freckledwonder @josh-iamyour-mama @gabs-gvf @richjaaasss @dolceacquario @lvnterninthenight @daniellefersblog @strangersimp @mywaykiszka @jessicafg03 @ageoffeet @gardensgatedaisy @neptune2324 @jakekiszmyass @writingcold @ageofbrokenbells @kerryxgvf @pennylanefics @idk-anymore50

If you are interested in joining the TAGLIST, click on the following links!

@streamingcolors-gvf : Taglist form

@ageofnations : Taglist form

#gvf fanfiction #gvf one shot #gvf fic #josh kiszka #jake kiskza #josh kiszka fanfiction #josh kiszka smut #fanfic #gvf smut #josh gvf #josh kiszka fluff #gvf fluff #josh kiszka fic #josh kiszka x y/n #josh kiszka x you #josh kiszka x reader #danny wagner #sam kiszka #greta van fleet fan fiction #Halloween gvf #halloween collection gvf #josh kiszka halloween fic #halloween fanfic #greta van fleet smut #greta van fleet fic #greta van fleet fanfiction #greta van fleet fanfic #josh kiszka one shot #josh kiszka fanfic

[obetrolncocktails]

Here's what I'll say when it comes to interviews of the boys.

I will not listen to interviews that constantly ask the boys the same old questions that they always get. I will not listen to interviews that exclude Danny as being a brother and as a pivotal member of the band. I will not listen to interviews that compare GVF to Led Zeppelin.

If the boys choose not to do many interviews from here on out, I will be fine with it. They deserve to CONVERSE with interviewers rather than feel interrogated or feel like they're having deja vu with non-stop repeated questions.

#I wouldn't want to do interviews like that either #in fact #id rather rip my hair out #than be asked the same shit over and over #GVF #greta van fleet #josh gvf #Jake kiskza #sam kiszka #Danny wagner

[alwaysonthemend]

#this tik tok is not mine #it came up on my for you page #and i dont think illl ever be the same #i hope you all suffer as well #greta van fleet #gvf #josh kiszka #jake kiskza

[make-me-your-animal]

When I tell ya'll I screamed. Whoever made this deserves a fucking kiss

#jake kiskza #greta van fleet #quick someone edit phil to lover leaver

[kakejiszkas]

HIM TUM

#that little sliver of tummy is where val and i live now actually forward our mail there #Jake kiskza

[gretavanlace]

Sugar II (part 8)

Jake Kizska x reader

18+ only! Minors do not interact!

Warnings: adult content, language, brief illusions to sex, angst, jealousy, etc.

Only two chapters to go and an epilogue, everyone. I’m so grateful that you have taken this little journey with me. Thank you so much for all your kind words, support, and care. You’re all so wonderful ❤️

“Oh my god, Jake,” your eyes are darting around the room like a mouse with a rabid alley cat slinking, famished and cruel, into its path.

Your unease trumps his delighted gloating instantly, “What do you want me to do, sugar? Tell me and I’ll do it.”

When you steal a glance at the window, longing to climb out and disappear, he hops on the train of your thought process right away, “You want me to duck out?”

You know Jake through and through, and staring into his eyes as your heart drums paranoid vibrations into your rib cage, you’re stunned to watch him offer to give up this chance to square off with whom he has come to see as his most bitter rival. That he would do that for you? That all you would have to do is ask and he would crawl out and wander off into the golden afternoon sunshine like an afterthought…

You really do own his whole heart, you realize at the most inopportune of moments. Your grip on his soul is just as tight as his fingers have always clawed down inside yours…fierce and beautiful in their unrelenting grip.

But haven’t you always known? Hasn’t it always been written across his skin? Etched in his gaze? Sculpted into the bow of his lips when he whispers your name? Evident in his touch?

“No,” you shake your head, willing the mess inside of it to go away, rejecting the thought of him leaving. You want him near, you need him near. To let him go right now, even for a second, seems an agonizing punishment that you cannot bear to suffer. No matter the consequences.

“Stay. But please…” you rush over to him, helping him to his feet while stealing glances at the doorway, “Please just behave and follow my lead, okay? Please?”

”Normally, I like it when you use your manners,” he sighs, smoothing out his clothes, as well as a lock of your hair that has fluttered out of place, “But that’s too many pleases and you look petrified. Why?” His voice is suddenly intense yet careful, as is his grip on your arm, “Does he hurt you?”

They idea is entirely laughable, but there’s no time for that, so you brush him off with a swipe of your hand and a flippant, “Don’t be stupid, Jake.”

Without allowing yourself to think it through, you begin ushering him down the hall towards the front room, but what will you find there? Doom or salvation?

How will these pieces fall together? Something solid and heavy in your heart tells you Jake will do as you have asked and play nice, but another facet buried even deeper inside is rocked with anxiety and screaming that it’s only wishful thinking to believe such a fairytale.

”Hey hon,” jovially rings out as he steps in through the garage, “I saw your car! We’re both home early? Looks like the universe knew how much I missed you!”

Jake turns to catch your eye as you shove him along, but you refuse to meet his gaze. You're unsure of what you’ll find there and this isn’t the time for uncertainties.

Would you find sadness threatening to roll hot tears down his cheeks? Anger threatening to boil over in his fiery chocolate irises? Accusation and resentment for what you’re about to subject him to?

Oh god, you can’t do this! Suddenly, and absurdly, you wish you could fade into the gentle, lush, green paint that you had once rolled upon the hallway walls, paying meticulous attention to detail. Build this home, had been the plan…bury him away under paint and sanded cabinets. Art perched on the walls and throw pillows piled on the bed.

You’d love to disappear and leave them perplexed and confused, wondering what became of you. To vanish into nothing like a dust mote blown away upon the lightest, softest breeze.

You’re a coward.

While your thoughts are busy with that, Jake’s are grappling with each other. Tangled up and struggling. He’d very much like to stomp into the front room and shut this man up. With his booming voice calling out how much he’s missed you like he has some claim over you. Like you’re his. Like he doesn’t understand that you could never really be anyone’s because you’re much too good for this whole goddamn world. That you’re precious, like the rarest of stones and anyone who is lucky enough to hold you in their palm should fall on their knees in thanks.

He sounds so fucking common. Does he think you’re common as well? Jake can’t stomach the thought.

So, yes, he’d like to stroll into the room, casual as you please, and announce that he is taking you away from this ridiculous illusion where you play house and pretend to be satisfied. He longs to tell him how he’s made love to you, how he’s fucked you. How you’ve begged for him and swore no one could ever be him. Jake wants to tell him that the ring he put on your finger has been in his mouth, that he spat it out and you didn’t even care. That you hardly even noticed. Jake would almost kill to watch Mr. Wonderful’s face crumple in defeat and loss…

But he loves you far too much, and to say all those things would hurt you, too.

Scar your heart he will not.

He’s shrugging off his suit blazer when you both appear. It’s a mundane action, one that repeats itself nearly every evening, but you stand still and shellshocked, unable to jolt yourself into some semblance of normalcy until Jake subtly nudges you with a ginger elbow.

“Hi,” you begin, a touch too loudly, “Yeah, you’re early! I actually didn’t end up going to work today. Old friend in town. We went to the movies. And then we came here. He wanted to see the house. I…I told him about it. I was just giving him the tour.”

You sound robotic and ridiculous, but he doesn’t appear to notice. Rather, he looks delighted when his eyes land on Jake and recognition settles in.

”Ah, I know you!” He laughs, marching forward with an outstretched hand. “The almost brother in law. Good to finally meet you.”

His grasp on Jake’s hand is strong and sure as he pumps it up and down. The genuine gladness in his gesture makes you want to tear your own hair out in penance.

Or is it the ‘almost brother in law’ moniker that has made you nauseous?

Yes, that’s what you boiled Jacob down to. You had held nothing back about your relationship with Josh…but Jake? You just couldn’t. To speak of him, to share him that way…it had seemed incomprehensible. And how could you ever put it into words, anyway? How could anyone ever understand what he was to you? What he is to you? No, it had seemed best to keep him locked away, silent and safe in your memories. Tucked away in your heart. The boy in the bubble.

Jake’s face is unreadable as he sizes up this opponent before him. This rival who has just unknowingly stepped into the ring. This blissfully unaware adversary. He is a doe who has wandered idly into the path of a dangerously ravenous mountain lion, and he doesn’t even know it. Ignorance really does seem like bliss in this moment, and you long for it.

“Yes, the almost brother in law,” his tone is slightly clipped, but no one, aside from you - and perhaps his brothers - would ever notice. “That’s me. And you are?”

Here we go. He’s going to love this.

They drop hands and a friendly clap lands on Jake’s shoulder. “I’m Jake, too. What are the odds?”

A sharp, satisfied laugh bursts out of Jake, head tipped back, adam’s apple bobbing gleefully, and you long to tell the smug bastard to just shut the hell up, but it’s over quickly enough.

”Yes,” he sighs, with a shake of his head that ends in his eyes blazing holes into your soul, “What are the odds?”

”’Course this one over here calls me by my middle name, James. Says it fits me. No one else does, though, so choice is yours. Man, it’s so great to finally meet you.” He’s prattling on now, never having met a stranger, “You know we’ve got all your work over there in the case. You’re a hell of a guitar player. I tried to learn in high school, mostly to impress girls…never could get it. Anyway…”

Jake is eyeing him like he doesn’t know what to make of this man standing there, cordial and warm, tossing out compliments and bids for conversation.

His eyes are traveling over this unfamiliar being, now so tangible and real, who has had his hands all over you. Who has had his mouth pressed to your precious body, who has whispered against your skin, who has made love to you in the still of the night, and held you, and rested beside you, breathing in tandem. Who has gotten down on one knee and asked you to be his wife.

And you said yes...you said yes.

He wants to hurt him. Both physically and emotionally. He wants to level him. To crush him into nothing. And though this Jake, James, or whatever his name is, isn’t to blame, he wants it all the same. He wishes he could lure him into his palm like a revolting insect and squeeze until he was no more than something vile to be wiped away with a Kleenex.

Instead, he tilts his head in the direction of the vinyls and shrugs off the accolades, “Fuckin’ Zeppelin cover band.”

James laughs uproariously and gestures into the room welcomingly, “Why are we all standing around like this? Have a seat…please. Make yourself at home. Can I get you something to drink? Water? A beer? Whiskey? I know it’s early, but special occasions call for special circumstances, I always say.”

Eyes on you, he shrugs out a response that would be lost on anybody but you, “I’ll have what you’re having.”

Once you’re alone for a moment, he shakes his head with a gorgeous, if not self-satisfied, smirk sparking to life upon his face. “His name is Jake? Oh, sugar…” he’s laughing softly now, and sinking down into the cushions of the couch, “creature of habit, aren’t you, pretty girl?”

”Shut up!” You hiss, eyes flickering towards the kitchen doorway, “Coincidence. That’s all. Don’t be so fucking full of yourself. Now, please just be nice.”

He quiets down, drawing the back of his forefinger beneath his eye dramatically as if he has laughed himself to tears, “I’m being very nice and you know it. Don’t push it.”

You sit, as far away from him as the couch will allow, but instantly he’s leaned in close. “What do you think he would do if I got down on my knees right here and buried my face in that gorgeous little cunt of yours? Showed him how it’s really done.”

”Jacob!” You barely make a sound as you admonish him with a clipped shove to settle him.

He slinks back into his seat with another laughing shake of his head, “This is perfect.”

”I hate you.” You lie.

”Sure you do, sugar,” he winks, crossing his legs to get comfy, “Sure you do. Almost brother in law, huh? Is that what I’ve been reduced to?”

He’s still chuckling quietly to himself while a strange mix of panic and tears begins to churn around inside of you like a slow moving summer storm. He’s gearing up, you can feel it, and the thought of it all is too much, your metaphorical knees are beginning to shake. This could end so, so badly.

“Later, Jake…” you’re beseeching without shame, pleading with your watery gaze. “We’ll talk about it later. Please just stop.”

His palm cradles your cheek so softly you wonder if anyone has ever touched someone as gently as he touches you, “Settle down, baby. I won’t make trouble for you.”

How laughable that he can’t seem to recognize that you’ve brought this trouble on all by yourself. No help needed.

He has moved to create a respectable distance between the two of you by the time James is sweeping back into the room bearing a tray flush with drinks and snacks.

”Here, sweetie,” he drops a kiss upon the top of your head, presenting a glass. “Made you a mimosa…I know you like to keep it light through the week.”

You somehow manage a thank you and sip at the sweet, bubbly mix, praying it calms your frayed nerves.

”For us,” he extends the tray and you watch as Jake plucks a low ball glass from it, “bourbon. Unless you’d rather browse the bar. Plenty to choose from.”

”Bourbon is fantastic,” Jake nips at his glass. “Thank you.”

There is a palpable disdain hovering around Jake like a murky aura, but there is heartbreak there too. Aching and black. Heavy and weighing down the light that normally follows him around like a strange shadow…and you’d give anything to take it away.

For just a breath, you intend to do just that. To rise to your feet and stomp all over James’ open, trusting heart. To tell him the truth. To tell him you’re leaving. You nearly take Jake by the hand and drag him towards the door and leave everything else behind without explanation…simply to end his suffering.

Your lips nearly part to say the words when you’re cut off.

“Oh. I almost forgot,” James leans forward in his chair and grabs for your hand, absently running his thumb against your own, “Erin called. She said you guys had a great time the other day, said you’d planned something for this weekend? Wedding planning?”

Erin. His sister. You’ve grown close but it wouldn’t hurt to leave her behind. It wouldn’t even sting…not for Jake.

You squeeze his hand with a tiny smile and fight rolling nausea at the mere mention of the wedding in Jake’s presence. From the corner of your eye, you watch him tense, but he recovers quickly and drains his glass to the dredges in one pull.

”Well,” suddenly, he’s on his feet. “I’ve taken enough of your time today. It was good to see you.” His eyes are unreadable and shift quickly away from your own. “James, good to meet you and thank you for the hospitality.”

”Don’t run off on my account,” James is on his feet now as well, “We’d love to have you stay for dinner. I make a mean chicken Kiev, and…”

”No,” Jake interrupts, gaze jumping towards the door as if he can’t get away fast enough. “I’ve got a flight to catch in just a few hours, need to head back…you know how it goes.”

He sounds ineloquent and so unlike himself… and you can feel it - his heartbreak - in your bones as though you’ve crawled inside his body and curled up beside it like a clinging lover.

“Jake,” you can’t seem to move from your seat, your body uncooperative and rebellious, “Your car is still at the theater, let me drive you…”

”Drive me?” He is staring at you, white hot and desperate…the mask is finally slipping. He has played pretend all he can for the day. “And then what?”

”And then…” again, you are a coward. A fucking coward. “I don’t know. What do you mean, and then?”

The room is silent for a beat - with words unspoken crashing into the space between yourself and Jake, and James struggling to understand this strange exchange.

With the slightest nod of his head, Jacob silently encourages you. Urges you. Come with me, sugar…it seems to say, come home.

But still you sit, frozen and paralyzed. A horrified doe staring down the hunter’s muzzle.

Another nod, clipped and more obvious this time, responds to your inaction. “I’ll walk. Again, thank you for having me.”

The door closes behind him in a blink, and he is gone. For a moment, you wonder if you’ve imagined him completely…

Looking down at your shaking hands in your lap, you realize you never even made it to your feet. You sat, unmoving, and watched him go.

~

Hours later, you’re standing outside an unfamiliar door, anxiously clutching at the straps of the bag tossed over your shoulder.

And when that unfamiliar door swings open, your heart unclenches, for there he stands. Showered, smelling of soap and warmth, hair curled into dampened, loose ringlets, beat to hell jeans riding low on his hips.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” he smirks, leaning against the doorframe. “If it isn’t Mrs. Wonderful…”

“Hi,” it comes out meek and small, but flush full of the comfort that is being near him.

”How’d you find me?” His arms cross loosely, with a faded smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

”Were you hiding?” Why hasn’t he turned to lead you in?

”From you, pretty girl?” He scoffs as if the very idea is preposterous. “Never.”

Yet, on he stands as though barring your entrance…as though he intends to send you on your way any moment.

”I called Josh,” you offer, wringing at your bag’s handles idly, simply for something to do with your hands. “He told me where you were staying.” Your gaze skitters over the house. “It’s nice. Cozy.”

He nods, “Airbnb. You mentioned something about us always being in hotels, before. I thought, if there was a chance I’d be hosting you, you might like something a little more…domestic. Though, I see now that you have plenty of that going for you already, right? Domesticity?”

“Do I deserve that?”

His shoulders hunch inwardly slightly, he knows you’re right, and he knows he’s being a bit of an asshole as well. “No, I suppose you don’t.”

”Are you going to invite me in? I feel a little stupid standing out here.” Vulnerability seems of such insignificance when it is Jacob in question. He knows your bare soul so well anyway.

Still, he allows you to dangle on his string, twisting languidly in the soft, evening breeze. “Why’d you call Josh to find me? Why not just call me? Missing my better half now that you’ve had a bit of fun with me?”

Now there’s a slight irritation traipsing along your nerves, and damned if you’re going to mask it. “Alright, either let me in or tell me to go to hell. I’m not going to beg for your good graces.”

”Are you coming in to stay? Or are you here to say goodbye? Because my heart has had enough for one day.”

”Oh, fuck off, Jacob.” You huff, pushing past him into the house. You slump your bag off your shoulder and onto the floor and then turn on him. “Sorry to have interrupted your pity party, but what did you think was going to happen today? Did you think it was going to be spectacular and wonderful to walk around in the life that I live with someone else? You practically fucked me in the bedroom I share with him. You lit up like a goddamn Christmas tree when you realized he was home. You wanted this, and you know what I think your problem is? I think you liked him.”

”Fuck you!” He slams the door closed and looks you over like you’ve lost your mind entirely. “You think I liked him? I couldn’t give a fuck less about him. He made my skin crawl. Do you know what it was like for me to watch him touch you? The way he looked at you…”

He falls silent and suddenly refuses to meet your eyes, and your heart breaks right alongside his.

Tentatively, you reach out and rest your palm against his cheek, “The way he looked at me doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. It never really has.”

His hand floats up to meet yours, “He looked at you with so much love. Like he would give you the entire world. It made me feel not good enough. It made me feel like I should leave and let it be. Like I was wrong for showing up and rattling your whole life around.”

You’re backing him up against the door now, his gorgeous, stricken face held fast in your sure and gentle hands. “Not good enough? You? Oh, Jakey…” you pet at his face worshipfully, “We have a garden, remember? And you help me harvest, and I know you feed me those tiny tomatoes I like. You know? The little yellow ones? And they’re all gone before we even get inside.”

He’s nodding along as you pepper kisses upon his cheeks and forehead.

“And we have a porch swing, and a piano, and beautiful babies, and a cat…and you sing to us, and love us hard every single minute of every single day. And you make us so, so happy. And I wake up every morning with a smile on my face because I packed this stupid bag,” your foot darts out and kicks it, “and shoved my way inside when you refused to invite me in.”

”Don't say things you don’t mean, sugar…” his hands are in your hair now, guiding your mouth to his own so that he can lick inside it. He needs to taste you - needs to feel the silken velvet of your tongue, “I can’t take it, baby.”

You’re breathing each other's breath, lips like feathers dancing together soft and sweet, holding on to one another as if you might both just vanish into nothing in an instant, “I mean it, Jake…” you promise, “I mean it. You are everything,”

You can almost hear the pounding of his heart as the heat of his need begins to radiate and warm you, “Because I can’t stand the thought of leaving, of thinking you’ll follow, only for you to change your mind. It would kill me, sugar. So, please don’t say these things to me if you—“

You silence him with a deep, feverish kiss and then break away, forehead to forehead, “I’m not following later. I’m coming with you. This is where I am now…with you.”

Tears well in his eyes and spill over, hot and saline, as you lick and kiss them away. “I love you, pretty girl…” it chokes out of him, rasping as he swallows thickly, “I love you so fucking much. I’ve imagined this moment in so many different ways, but it was never as perfect as this. Tell me you know how much I love you.”

”I know, and I—“ it is he who interrupts with a desperate kiss this time.

And you know that later he will ask, and when he asks you will tell him what was said back at that house that broke his heart in two - how you ended things with the one who really never mattered at all…

…but for now all that matters is the taste of him on your lips. His air-drying hair looped through your searching fingers. Your hearts and lungs syncing, with his tears like brackish diamonds in your stomach because you have finally swallowed his sorrow and unburdened him from it.

He seems lighter in your arms already…closer now to the sun than he had ever been to the moon before.

Taglist: @gretasintrees @greta-van-chaos @celestialfauna @s0livagant @groggyvanfleet @kiszkathecook @brokenbellz @llightmyllovee @doodle417 @seventieswhore @jake-kiszkas-smirk @weightofdreams-gvf @imdepressedaf1996 @alisonwonderland29 @gretavanfleas @gretavangroove @sparrowofthedawn @xserenax-13 @tbagggvf @obetrolncocktails @tripthelightfandomtastic @tripthelight-fanfic @jakeslovehandles @poofyloofy @70sgroupielovr @age-of-nyahh @sammiboo162 @spicedandicedtea @jakekiszkasleftnutsack @saoirsemaeve @mywickeddivinity @thelvnternskeeper @paintmyhouse @mckenna4 @sarakay-gvf @theweightofjake @thewritingbeforesunrise @joshsmama @sammysvanfeet @rhythm-of-space @highladyofasgard @calumspretty @sad1lynn @demolitionndann @gvfpal @starcatcher-jake @gretavangroupie @hugorobinson @jaketlove @josh-iamyour-mama

#greta van fleet #greta van fleet fic #greta van fleet smut #greta van fleet fan fiction #fanfic #greta van fic #greta van smut #gvf fic #jake gvf #jake kiszka fanfiction #jake kiskza #jake kiszka x reader #jake kiszka smut #jake kiszka fanfic #josh kiszka #josh kiskza smut #gvf josh #gvf one shot #gvf smut

[binarysunset17]

Super nova heart

#jake kiszka art #jake kiskza #jacob thomas kiszka sir #jacob thomas kiszka #jacob kiszka #greta van fleet #greta van art #gvf art #jake kiszka #josh kiszka #danny wagner #greta van fleet art #sam kiskza #gvf #fanart

[britney-gvf]

Troubled Mind: Part Four

Josh Kiszka x fem reader

Warnings: 18+ Violence, horror

Synopsis: In the conclusion Y/n, Josh, Jake, and Sam move to end the horror once and for all- and save Danny.

A/n- thank you to every single person who’s liked, reblogged, and read my story. This is the first fic I’ve written in a long time and I’m so appreciative of the support!

"Get out of my way."

The three of you linked hands and planted your feet on the ground, preparing for the struggle that was about to ensue. Danny's dark eyes darted bewteen you, then he scowled and attempted to push his way through. He pushed his body weight in betweeen you and Josh, causing you both to slide in the mud and causing Sam to stumble. He broke from Josh and focused his efforts on getting Danny to back up.

"Daniel, stop, let's talk about this," Sam said, starting to pull on his arm and push his shoulder back. Danny turned his ire towards Sam, shooting him a glare so fierce that it made Sam flinch. Even still, Sam had a grip on him.

"There's nothing to talk about! Let me GO!" he forcibly pulled himself away from Sam's grip and pushed him to the ground. Sam groaned in pain and started to get up on his feet again. Danny, however, wasn't having that. He raised his arm, ready to hit Sam to the ground again. Anger began to rise inside of you. Anger at the situation, for Sam, and towards Danny.

"STOP!" You screamed, grabbing Danny's arm and pulling down as hard as you could. It wasn't enough, he shook you off like you were nothing. In the scuffle you didn't notice that Josh had placed himself at Danny's side, between him and Sam. Danny's raised hand descended to reach Sam's head but Josh quickly put himself in the line of fire, taking the driving hit to the side of his head. Your focus immediately shifted. As Josh stumbled, you ran over to check on him, but he brushed you off, turning his attention to Danny, who was making his way over to the swamp.

"Oh, Daniel!" Danny turned around and stood dumbfounded as Josh got low to the ground and tackled him, using his shoulder to dig into Danny's hip and his arms to pull Danny's legs towards him. Danny fell to the ground, his head landing on the side of a rock, stunning him even in his infected state. Josh climbed onto his torso. He got into Danny's face. "Now. You're gonna stop trying to fucking hurt us, yes? I already had to punch you in the face yesterday for kicking my girl and now you went after Sammy? The only reason I'm not kicking your ass is because you're not yourself."

Danny said nothing, only groaned and accepted his position as Josh continued to straddle him in an effort to stop him from entering the swamp. Josh said loudly, "Can we find the amulet already so I don't have to keep fucking up the jolly green giant over here?"

You started to laugh despite the desperate situation, but the laugher caught in your throat as your eyes scanned the swamp. Bubbles were coming to the surface like it was beginning to boil. As it progressed, the bubbles became larger and more forcible, until they started to resemble a rolling boil.

"What the hell…" Sam had stood up and his face mirrored the alarm you felt. Something big was coming and it was coming fast. Your eyes snapped over to Josh and Danny and they were struggling. Danny was alert and pushing his body up as Josh struggled to keep him down. You followed Sam to their sides. You expected Danny to be angry but he was petrified, muttering quickly just loud enough for everyone in the immediate area to hear

"Jake, Jake, Jake, Jake," he looked at Josh, black eyes breifly turned hazel once more, fear etched into every line in his face. "Jake has it. Jake has it and they're going to get it back. Get him out of here!"

Josh's brown eyes grew wide as he started searching frantically for Jake in the treeline. Sam was breathing heavily as he kneeled down to his best friend and cupped his face. "Danny, stay with us. Stay with us. Its okay! We'll find Jake, just stay!"

The black was forcefully spreading in his eyes again and he was desperately fighting to not lose himself in the madness once more. His body was shaking and convulsing, finally making Josh abandon his position on top of him. Danny's eyes were teary as he said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I can't control my body. I can't fight it. Go NOW."

Bodies were starting to emerge from the swamp covered in thick mud that was quickly absorbing into their skin. It clicked: they were made of mud. They were all the same terrifying zombies that had chased you before. All of them, except for Jimmy, who was at the front and looked much more healthy and together than he did when he went in. Danny let out a gutteral scream, no longer able to fight the darkness. It sent chills through your entire body. He was gone again.

"What the fuck?" you heard someone say behind you. The three of you whipped around to see Jake holding a glass orb with a small green crystal inside of it: the amulet. "I found it but I see we have a problem."

Danny, the zombies, and a rejuventated Jimmy were staring at your group with hungry, angry eyes. Occasional throaty clicking sounds escaped the mouths of the zombies, their sharp talons itching for blood. Sam was shaking beside you and Josh's breathing was so shallow and still that it took you by surprise when he spoke.

"Jake, run. They want what you have," he said in barely a whisper. You heard Jake back up, trying to make as little noise as possible.

"Boy, I suggest you put that back right where you found it," Jimmy boomed, Every hair on the back of your neck stood up. His voice was thick and gravelly with age, every syllabel dripping with menace and hatred. "He won't be liking this at all. You don't want him to come here, do you?"

"He? Who's he?" Josh asked with false bravado. He grabbed your hand and started backing up as well. Jimmy's attention snapped to Josh, making him stop in his tracks. Your stomach was tight you feared you might vomit.

"HE is the reason for all of this," he gestured towards the zombies and Danny, who was standing at full attention, staring at Jake like a hungry dog. His fingers were twitching, ready for a fight. "HE made us! And if you don't put that back we're ALL going to be in deep shit, you hear me?"

"Well I don't see him around, Jimmy…" Josh's voice trailed off, his entire body shivering. He looked at you with a terror in his eyes that mirrored you own. A new player was completely out of left field, something you weren't prepared for, certainly not something that was planned for.

"Oh, he's much bigger than this, boy," Jimmy said, letting out a humorless laugh. The hair on your arm stood up. "Now, tell your twin to give me the amulet or its YOU that I'll tear limb from limb."

You heard identical sharp intakes of breath from all three Kiszkas, then complete silence fell up on the swamp. You were waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something that would happen to agitate the hoard. You noticed that Danny had inched closer, his eyes laser focused on the sphere in Jake's right hand.

"Run now, I'll be right behind you…just run," Jake whispered so quietly you could barely hear him. Josh stiffened beside you and gripped your hand tightly. Sam turned slightly to face his brothers, panic written all over his face

"But Jake I-" Josh begun.

"I promise, I'll be right behind you," Jake interjected. Josh turned around and gave him one of those looks that they do when they're speaking without words. You tried to understand their eyes and facial expressions but they were so in tune with each other that no outsider would understand.

"Fucking fine," Josh said begrudgingly. "On the count of three, we run to the truck. One.."

Jimmy's lips curled into a twisted smile. "Alright then, if you won't hand it to me-"

"Two-"

"Then I reckon we're gonna have a hell of a good time tearing you apart-"

"THREE." Josh broke his hand from yours and him, Sam, and you, ran as fast as your feet could carry you into the surrounding woods, Jake following closely behind. You heard the water of the swamp break as the horde spilled out, filling the spongey shores and soon, the thick woods. Danny was at the front, as he never entered the swamp. The only thing that was on his mind was the same thing on all of their minds: getting their souls back.

You could feel the stitch in your side growing, making every breath more painful then the last. Sweat had made its way into your eyes, making it harder to see. Just follow the person in front of you. It'll all be okay, it'll all be okay…

Another person ran past you so close that you could feel the wind coming off them as they approached the figure in front you. You wiped the sweat out of your eyes: it was the twins. Jake slipped Josh the amulet quickly. This is what they communicated silently. It seemed rather obvious that Josh would want to share Jake's burden now that you thought about it but the reality made you want to scream.

The hoard's attention turned to Josh now, who somehow started to run faster. For the first time, you heard terrifying, ear bursting shrieks erupt from their wide mouths. You hesitantly turn around to see that they were right on top of you, claws out, shrieking in anger. Danny was the closest, meeting your eyes with murderous righteous anger. That was the last thing you saw before you tripped on a tree root and tumbled to the ground.

The zombies ignored you, even running around you instead of over you, but not Danny. You felt a hard tug on your shoudler as he forced you on you back. Jimmy was behind him, his face contorted with rage. Danny, however, seemed to take pleasure in the whole ordeal.

"Oh, now, y/n, you should really look where you're going," Danny said, kneeling down to get in your face. You were shaking, scared to death of what this man, who used to be your sweet, shy friend, was going to do to you. "I think this would give josh plenty of motivation to give it back, yes?"

"Son, call that little snarky son of a bitch over here," Jimmy said, clearly not in the mood to watch his new recruit play with his prey. "Let's see if he'll do a trade."

"HEY!" a familiar voice cut through the woods as you heard footsteps get closer. "LET HER GO!!"

It was Sam, running towards you from the trees. You had never heard him this angry, or scared, since you'd known him. He made an attempt to pull Danny away from you, but Jimmy grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, pulling him up. Jimmy gave Sam a long look. "Which one is this?"

"Sam, " Danny no longer looked mildy amused, now he looked a little worried. A small bit of hope overcame you. He wasn't as gone as you thought.

"Well? Call him, boy," Jimmy was growing impatient and anxious, tapping his massive foot on the ground while he effortlessly held Sam at bay.

"I swear to God, if I die in a fucking swamp in South Carolina I'm gonna be pissed," Sam muttered, as Danny yanked his phone out of his back pocket. Danny dailed Josh…he didn't answer. "Of COURSE he didn't answer. I'm gonna haunt him first."

You chuckled in spite of the situation, earning a small smile from Sam. Danny noticed and roughly pulled you to your feet. A small whimper escaped your lips when he squeezed your arm, earning you a hiss and a hard tug in his direction.

"Don't get rough with her!" Sam snapped. Jimmy kneed him the back for his objection, causing him to yelp in pain and tears to spill out of your eyes.

Two figures appeared in the distance , getting bigger as they got closer. Same height, same build, same gait. It was the twins. Despite the very real danger you were in, you felt a wave of relief wash over you. Maybe they have a plan. Maybe you'll survive. Danny gripped your shoulder at the sight of them and Jimmy chuckled under his breath.

"Well, lookie here, y'all finally decided to grace us with your presence. You got something I want. I got something you want," Jimmy said, gesturing towards you and Sam. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

He snapped his fingers and the zombies that had cleared the area appeared almost instantly, surrounding everyone except for the space between you and the twins.

Jake's eyes squinted, Josh scoffed and replied, "Why would we give it to you? You'd still kill us." Jake and Josh kept eyeing a large stump across the small clearing you were in and then you noticed the KA-BAR in Jake's hand. Josh was gripping the orb so hard his knuckles were white. You put their plan together and hoped they were quick enough.

Jimmy, however, didn't seem to make this connection. He tightened his grip on Sam, who was staring intently at his brothers, also putting together what they were going to do. "It seems y'all have made your decision then."

"We have,"Jake said. The twins gave you and Sam looks of resolve, looks that said 'trust us.' You gave them a small nod. Sam grabbed your hand, squeezing it in an effort to remind you and himself that the two of you were in it together. Whatever "it" was.

His hand seperated from yours when Jimmy pushed him to the ground, hard. Jimmy attempted to kick him, but he caught Jimmy's foot, causing him to lose balance and fall with a thunderous BOOM. Sam recovered and got back to his feet quickly, taking the opportunity to kick Jimmy in every spot he could in an effort to keep him down. You looked up to gauge Danny's reaction. Confused, conflicted, and angry, he was looking between his best friend and the man that had been controlling him. In his feelings, his grip on your shoulder slackened, just enough for you to wiggle away and run. It took a second for him to process what you did and you were halfway between him and Josh before he started running after you.

You ran between Jake and Josh, hiding behind them. Danny attempted to grab you, but Josh held up the Amulet and taunted him like a dog, "Down, boy."

Danny stopped in his tracks and much like a dog with a toy, his eyes did not leave the amulet. He didn't even notice Jake slinking away making a sizable distance between the three of you and himself.

Danny looked behind him towards Sam and Jimmy. He had stopped beating Jimmy, his hand holding down Jimmy's arms to restrain him. Everytime Jimmy attempted to get up, Sam would push him or kick him back down again. Danny turned around, walked to Sam, and shoved him towards the group. He was helping Jimmy up as Josh ran over to Jake with the orb. The zombies started inching closer, making impatient clicking noises, waiting on the orders to attack.

Jake and Josh rushed over to the tree stump and just as Jimmy gained his composure, Josh sat the orb down, gripping it on either side so it didn't roll. Jake raised the KA-BAR with the blade to the sky, handle to the amulet. His brows were furrowed in concentration, his lips pursed together, sweat dripping from his hairline. Josh looked apprehensive and braced himself for Jake to slam the end of the KA-BAR into the orb. Jake was going to break it with brute force.

"We're gonna die," Sam muttered to you, clearly lacking confidence in his brothers' simple plan. "They're fucking idiots."

"Stupid sons of bitches," Jimmy spat, his anger coming to a boil as he watched the scene unfold. "The hard way, then."

Danny bared his teeth and charged towards Jake with as much speed as he could muster while the zombies let out ear piercing shrieks and ran towards the stump. He brought Jake to the ground and in the last glimpse of the two of them, Jake was underneath Danny, holding the blade to Danny's throat…

You saw Josh holding the orb close to his chest and dodging the zombies grips with his own KA-BAR. You heard him cry out as they nicked him over and over again. But they weren't aiming to completely incapacitate him, they didn't want the orb to fall to the ground. Better to let him live than risk the chance. Sam had grabbed your arm as the horde descended upon the twins and tried to lead you from the scene but you weren't having it.

"We have to save them, Sam! WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE THEM THERE!!" You cried as he tugged. He stopped and whipped around to face you. Eyes filled with terror, but fiery nonetheless.

"Y/n, now isn't the time for you to be brave, okay? I'm coming back to help them, but you need to get to safety first," he said firmly. Rage filled you. What kind of white knight bullshit was he on?

"No, I'm not leaving them behind," you yanked your arm away as he heaved a deep sigh and made his way towards the fight, beckoning you to follow him. Jimmy wasn't in the melee; he was standing off to the side, observing his work. You and Sam caught his eye and he let out a harsh laugh.

"Now ain't this cute! LOOK," Jimmy shouted the horde into silence and they turned towards you. "These two are gonna save them! How noble! Y'all should just run along."

You craned your neck and the only one you saw was Josh. He had managed to grab his KA-BAR and he was holding it out defensively with his dominant hand. His arms were covered in cuts and blood. He eyes made contact with yours and he nodded silently. He was okay and he was planning something.

"I'll let you go, just tell your mama they disappeared and we'll keep it all quiet," Jimmy continued to berate you and Sam, who was growing more red and angry with every word. You, however, only had eyes for Josh. He moved silently, taking advantage of the distraction. It was like the zombies only had one thing on their mind and it was whatever Jimmy said it was. You saw through the crowd that he had made his way to the stump once more, meeting with a bruised and battered Jake. Danny had done a number on him. A black eye was forming, busted lip swollen, and blood was coming out of his nose. Josh sat the orb down with his left hand, KA-BAR in his right. He lifted it over his head with the blade to the sky and handle to the ground and brought it down with all the force he could muster.

The first crack was LOUD. It got Jimmy's attention and the entire hoard turned to face Josh once more. As they began to shriek and barrel towards him, he lifted his arm and did it again and it cracked enough for him to pull the thick glass apart. Jake grabbed the delicate amulet from the glass with shakey hands. As he sat it down on the stump Jimmy warned.

"Boy, I may leave this earth, but He will find you. He always does."

Jake looked him in the eyes as he brought his hand down to the stump, flattening it on impact. It shattered the amulet into small pieces. Smoke rose from between his fingertips and you could hear faint screams in the air.

The zombies shrieked in anguish as their bodies melted into mud. One by one, they all fell to the ground, bodies dripping like candlewax until they were nothing more than pools of mud. Jimmy was the last one standing. He gave nothing more than an accepting sigh and his body became one with the ground. Then, nothing.

Dead silence.

"What the fuck?" Danny was backed against a tree, his eyes wide as they jumped between each of you. His hair was more wild than ever, both eyes bruised, his cheek swollen, and a small cut on his neck from where Jake pressed the blade against it earlier.

You could have cried from relief that Danny was standing there fully intact and NOT mud. All of you made it. You wanted to celebrate but your words caught in your throat. The most you could do was smile as you caught Josh's eyes, who gave you a smile back.

Sam didn't say a word as he rushed over to Danny and wrapped his arms around him. Danny returned the hug, looking confused. "What happened?"

"You don't remember anything?" Josh asked, stowing his KA-BAR away in its sheath. He walked over to Danny and gently ordered him to show Josh the back of his head. "Fuck, I got you good. You probably have a concussion."

"Everything is coming back to me…I think. Y/n, did I kick you in the head? That feels like a dream.." he looked at you, eyes full of hope that it was a dream but you nodded and reality hit him. "Oh my God. Josh, you hit me then I went to jail then….I was here…it went blurry..except me saying Jake had something?"

"You don't need to worry about details, Daniel," Jake said, voice thick from his injured nose. Everyone elese nodded in agreement. "If it wasn't for your fighting it, we wouldn't be here. The rest doesn't matter."

"Still, I'm so sorry. I don't know what I did, but I know Josh didn't beat you like that, Jake. I kicked Y/n in the head…I got a lot of making up to do," he took a few steps from the tree and fell into Sam. His balance was off like he was drunk.

"Jesus, you're burning up!" Sam said, checking his forehead, "You can make it up to us by going to the doctor. Josh can you and y/n get the truck? Its too far for him. We'll get him back to the church and you can meet us there."

Everyone agreed so you and Josh began the trek back to the truck. He immediately took your hand in his, guiding you through the trees, leaves, and sticks. For the first time since you left the house yesterday, you felt light and hopeful. Things were going to be alright.

Josh stopped and smiled softly as he turned to you. He brought his hands up to your face as he looked into your eyes like he was seeing you for the very first time. He leaned in slowly and your lips met his. The kiss was slow, deep, and passionate. He wrapped his arms around you, letting his right hand rest on your ass and his left hand on your back. He pulled away to your dismay and gave you a long, hungry look. "We'll pick this up later, okay?"

You only sighed but you wanted to stomp your feet and whine. He took your hand again, chuckling at your irritation, leading you through the last few yards of the woods and coming out to the abandoned parking lot. For the first time, the both of you really took in the damage that had been inflicted on the poor rental truck. Dents all over the body, the tailgate was bent, there were scratches everywhere, the windshield was shattered…

"I don't think Enterprise is gonna be happy with us," Josh said, laughing as he opened the driver door. You got into the passenger side and noticed the backseat covered in old blood from the day before, which turned your stomach. The inside of the truck smelled like iron and sweat. It took a lot of inner strength to not gag.

Josh swerved around the parking lot to avoid the many, many pot holes. Getting back to the church only took about a minute and it was a minute that went by way too quickly. Approaching the church felt different. No longer did you feel the heaviness and foreboding. It was just an old church. Danny, Jake, and Sam were approaching the church from the woods. Jake and Sam helping Danny walk as he was weak and stumbling.

Jake let go of Danny as they got to the church and ran up to the truck. He swung open the back door and picked the Bible off the floorboard. "I want to put this back on the altar." He shut the door as you and Josh jumped out the truck, joining Sam and Danny as they followed Jake through the church doors. It was golden hour and the sunlight was peeking through the cracks in the wooden boards of the church, making a beautiful, messy picture of a place that was once thriving with people. You thought about the last congregation and hoped they were finally at peace with the Amulet destroyed. You thought about Jimmy and how everyone thought he was the leader…but his final words played in your head on a loop.

Jake set the Bible down on the altar disrupting the layer of dust that had collected on the surface. He backed up until he was standing with the rest of the group and said, "I'm ready to never come back to this place again, how about you guys?"

"Finally speaking my language brother, let's get the fuck outta here," Sam said. He placed his hand on Danny's shoulder and led him out the door to the truck. Danny was trying his best to keep balance but he clearly needed help. The concussion he got when Josh tackled him was taking its toll.

You, Josh, and Jake followed behind them, through the large doors, out into the church lawn. The sun was slowly disappearing behind the large trees in your sightline. Although the most dangerous creatures there were now nothing more than puddles of mud, you had no desire to be here after dark. The party trudged along, making their way to the truck as the fatigue started to set in. As you climbed into the passenger seat, your muscles screamed. All you wanted to do was take a hot shower and sleep.

"That ER is gonna be sick of us, aren't they?" Josh joked wearily as he turned the engine over. Oh, God, you forgot about that. Danny gave Josh a small laugh, but the rest of the truck was too tired to pretend that was funny.

Danny was admitted to the hospital for a concussion and the infection in his back wounds. Each person needed stitches on at least one wound, and left with very, very firm instructions on how to take care of them. You were the gossip of the hospital, everyone wondering where the group of kids covered in blood and mud came from and how they got that way.

When you finally got back to the house, Dave was waiting, just as red and visibly irritated as he was the night before. "Well, its nice of you to finally show up at-" he checked his expensive watch "-10:30 pm. Where the hell is Danny? Why are you all so dirty and bloody? What the fuck happened?"

"Danny is at the hospital, recovering from an infection from his back scratches and a concussion he got when Josh tackled him to the ground for pushing Sam down and trying to hit him," Jake explained calmly. "Doc said he should be discharged in couple days."

Dave fell silent, mouth agape as he processed the information he was just given. Finally after several minutes, "so you need a new drummer?"

"Who said that?" Sam said. "Everything is fine. Although, we're supposed to be in Atlanta in uh…2 days and I don't think he's gonna make it. We need to reschedule a couple shows."

"Fucking great!" Dave exclaimed, somehow getting more red. "So, let's see: Danny is recuperating from a fight and some scratches on his back, you guys are covered in cuts and bruises, I still have to explain his arrest and I don't even know where to begin with that, now I have to reschedule shows because you got into a fight? Do you want me to have a heart attack?"

"Well-"

"Shut up, Sam," Josh stopped him before he said something stupid. "We'll work it all out together, Dave. Its a lot and I'm sorry. We'll get it figured out."

After Dave walked outside to get his laptop, saw the condition of the rental truck, and flipped out once again, a plan was constructed: Announce that the next 3 shows were rescheduled due to a car accident, which was also why Danny was in the hospital. His arrest was a simple misunderstanding caused by him accidently hitting a "good samaritan" while they were attempting to help him. It was almost midnight when Dave finally left, muttering that this band "stressed him the fuck out" as he walked out the door.

Everyone immediately said their goodnights and made their way to their own rooms. You practically ran upstairs, excited for the hot shower that awaited you. As soon as you entered the bedroom, you peeled the muddy camo off and threw it in the corner, followed by your sports bra and panties. Turning the shower on was like music to your ears. Then you heard the door open and shut.

"Where'd you get that ener-oh wow," Josh stood in the doorway of the bathroom, admiring you as you took your hair out of the messy bun it was in. "I wish I wasn't so tired cause damn."

You giggled, stepping into the shower and under the water. The pressure and the temperature made your wounds sting something fierce but it was all part of the cleansing your body and mind needed. Closing your eyes, you massaged the shampoo into your scalp, making sure to get every inch. As you rinsed, you heard someone else step into the shower and inching their way closer to you.

Words were not spoken. The two of you spent the next twenty minutes washing each other's bodies, paying special attentions to sensitive areas. He stole kisses from you on occasion. Soft, passionate, filled with desire, but it was never acted upon. You turned off the shower and handed Josh one of the towels on the hook, then took one for yourself. Every part of you wanted to skip skincare and lotion but you went through the motions anyway and he walked out the bathroom with a towel around his waist. By the time you turned off the light of the bathoom, he was fast asleep. You crawled into bed, thankful that you were falling asleep next to a man that you truly cared about.

Two days had passed and you were riding up to the hospital to pick up Danny with Josh and Sam. Dave had demanded that someone from the label pick him up, but Josh was very firm…he should be picked up by family. Sam was driving a rented BMW, as the truck was taken back by a very horrified and pissed off Enterprise employee. Everything felt easier and lighter, but you did worry about seeing Danny again.

After getting lost 3 different times in the halls of the hospital, the three of you finally arrived to pick him up with a fresh set of clothes. Sam knocked on his door and entered quickly, followed by Josh. You hesitated, the knot in your stomach growing, but you followed suit, reminding yourself that its just Danny.

"It's about time!" Danny said, beaming. He had gained his color and weight back, looking as cheerful as ever and his sweet smile was contagious. Sam practically ran to the bed and gave him a tight hug. A wave of relief washed over you and your entire body relaxed.

Sam pulled away and quickly wiped his eyes. Composing himself, he grinned, "Sorry Daniel, I didn't realize you were recovering in a MAZE. Here's your clothes," he took the bag from you and put it on the bed. Danny gingerly sat up and swung his legs off of the bed. His face said it all: he was in a lot of pain. He caught your eye briefly and attempted to hide it more after he realized you noticed.

"I guess almost becoming a swamp zombie takes a toll on your body, huh?" Sam said, helping him stand up. Danny gave up an annoyed look, but there was no denying that Sam was right. Along with the infection and concussion, Danny was covered in bruises that he didn't have when you dropped him off.

"It feels like I ran a marathon and powerlifted back to back," Danny admitted. He started to take his gown off and you took that as your cue to step outside until he said, "Y/N, you've seen me in boxers before you don't have to leave."

Sam helped him get dressed. He was putting his shoes on when the nurse walked in with his discharge papers. Prescriptions and doctors orders were giving, along with disapproving looks at Sam and Josh. As she marched out, Danny laughed at their expressions of bewilderment.

"She doesn't approve of the hair. One of those old school baptist types," he said. "She complained the whole time."

"She sounds like a peach. Glad we're leaving," Jake said, gathering up Danny's personal effects to carry to the car. "Let's get the fuck up out of here."

Disapproving nurse insisted Danny get wheeled out in a chair due to hosptial policy and immediately regretted it when Sam started running him down the hallway. Sam ran off to pull the car around and you felt someone grab your arm. You turned expecting to see Josh, but it was Danny, who had pulled himself out of the chair. He was looking at you with tremendous guilt.

"I remember everything-" He started but you quickly cut him off.

"No, you weren't yourself, don't worry about it," you said quickly. Nerves were creeping up from your stomach, threatening to spill out of your body in the form of tears.

"Y/n, I kicked you in the head and called you a bitch," Danny said, his eyebrows furrowed. "You deserve an apology, I don't care if I wasn't myself. You all deserve it. I'm truly sorry for it."

The tears spilled out of your eyes and you wiped them away quickly, hoping he didn't notice. You managed a nod and a small "thank you."

He gave you a smile and gave you a tight hug as Sam pulled into the bay. He got out and ran over to Danny, damn near pushing him into the front seat. "You are the man of honor, Daniel, I will not have you sit in the back like a peasant!"

"So we're peasants?" Josh asked, raising his eyebrow.

"That's what I just said," Sam joked as he sat in the driver seat. Jake sat behind him, Josh in the middle, and you behind Danny. As the car headed back to Charleston for the final time, you looked out the window lost in your thoughts. Your time in the low country was horrific and traumatizing, but as Josh placed his hand on your upper thigh, you felt a wave of appreciation for the experience. You strongly felt like everything happened for a reason and maybe the reason for you was growth.

Sam sped past the road that First Baptist Church was on and your stomach got uneasy. Althought the immediate danger was gone, a nagging thought persisted in the back of your mind. He was still out there, the reason for all of this, and you had no idea what or who he was but you knew one thing…

He will find you. He always does.

#greta van fleet #gvf #josh kiszka #great van fleet fanfic #greta van fleet smut #gvf smut #danny wagner #gvf fanfiction #sam kiszka #fanfic #jake kiskza #josh kiszka x reader #gvf fluff #gvf fic #josh gvf #jake gvf #sam gvf #danny gvf #fanfiction #greta van fic #greta van fleet fan fiction

[sacredthefran]

If you’re doing soft Jake thoughts, I had a REALLY bad day at work. I work at a hotel and I’m usually on top of things but today I fucked up every little thing and everyone had to clean up my mess, and i got so overwhelmed I almost had a panic attack and cried in front of the owner and a guest.😣

-🤍🤍

I’m sorry love, but just remember that’s it’s okay to make mistakes! Everyone does it!

Okay so this is the Jake thought that’s been running through my mind all day.

Having a picnic with Jake - he found this trail one day when him and Josh were hiking, he always kept it in the back of his mind that he would go there one day with the person he loves. Flash forward a couple of months and Jake is head over heels in love with you. He hasn’t said the exact words yet, simply because he doesn’t know how to. Jakes a romantic, he notices you’ve been stressed from work and he wants to take you away from the hustle and bustle of the city. He makes you guys a little charcuterie board and some white wine to take along on the picnic. Jake always wears his sunglasses but he takes them off after an hour of you guys sitting there - pushing them on the top of his head, a couple of loose strands falling framing his face, staring at you and squinting. He’s taking in all the beauty of you in a cream sundress, watching in amusement (and a little wine drunk) as you reach down for a strawberry, he moves in close to you giggling the whole time, catching you off guard, while you stare at him like he has 5 heads, Jake moves quickly and dips down to take a bite of the strawberry. You whine at him and push on his chest mumbling “Jaaaake” , when you go to pull your hand away, Jake grabs your wrist and holds it over his heart for a second, making eye contact with you as your cheeks begin to dust pink.

“Can you feel that?”

“Jake what are you talking about?”

“My heart”

“What about it?”

“How fast it’s beating”

“Jake”

“My heart only beats for you, y/n. I love you”

#ahhhhhh #sorry if this doesn’t make a lot of sense buuut I’m a teeny bit tipsy #I told y’all I was soft tonight #jake kiskza #Jake gvf #Fran’s soft night #lovies in my inbox 💕 #jake kiszka fluff

[obetrolncocktails]

I need you to love me like Hozier, but fuck me like Jake Kiszka

#jake kiskza #anna's thoughts #don't mind me #it's midnight

[streamingcolors-gvf]

Boys of Summer - Part VI

Pairing: Josh Kiszka x f!reader, Jake Kiszka x f!reader

Summary: It’s the summer of 1986 and you find yourself starting your first job on your own. You were drawn to the beaches of Ocean City in search of a new start, expecting to fill the days of enjoying whatever the coastal town had to offer. You find yourself thrown into a world you couldn’t have anticipated and the memories made were sure to last a lifetime. 

Word count: 11.6k

A/N: This was a longer update than I initially expected. Thank you all for being so patient and understanding with me. I hope you enjoy this one. 

As always I love all feedback, love and support you all give ❤️

Thank you @allieboop for keeping me motivated to work on this project.

Warnings:  cursing, mentions of alcohol consumpiitiition, alluding to memory loss and hangovers, sexually explicit content - MINORS DNI!!! (unprotected penetrative sex) 

Boys of Summer Playlist

The soft hum of radio static from an alarm clock dragged you into consciousness

The sounds of crying seagulls were heard through an open window.

Car horns and revving engines blared from the busy street outside.

Your eyes flickered open from heavy, tired lids. It took a few seconds for them to focus as you rubbed away the sleep with the heel of your palm. 

    It appeared to be late morning with the bright sun already invading the small bedroom. You couldn’t tell what time it was, and the red, blinking numbers on the alarm clock were still too blurry to make out in your stupor. 

A small fan was oscillating in the corner of the room, perched on a wooden dresser, clicking along with each languid sweep. The air was humid - tacky as it clung to the surface of your skin. 

   

Where the hell am I?

You felt the sticky warmth of someone’s breath fanning across the back of your neck, paired with the sounds of their soft snoring rumbling into your ear.  Someone’s arm was draped across your side, keeping you snug against their chest.  

   

Who is this?

What the hell happened last night?

You tried to shift your body out of his hold, but the overwhelming soreness of your muscles in each limb halted the attempt of those movements before you could muster up the energy. It felt as though your stiff form had fused into the mattress beneath you, keeping you from ever leaving. 

    The steady thumping of your heartbeat throbbed mercilessly within the walls of your head, making you wince from the pain. Your throat felt scratchy and raw as if you had swallowed a handful of glass the night before.

    You also realized that you were dressed in a very worn band t-shirt. It was an item of clothing you did not wear here, and something you definitely didn’t own yourself. The only other item you had on your body was your underwear.

    In an attempt to figure out who was lying next to you, you cautiously trailed your fingers down the length of his arm that wrapped around you. When you got to the point of his wrist, you didn’t feel the recognizable tattered woven bracelet that Jake always wore. You lifted his hand to see for yourself, and sure enough, it was that thin, leather braided cord you immediately recognized.

   

Josh?

You froze. You probably stopped breathing as well as you desperately flipped through the faded memories that you could piece together from the previous night. Anything that could explain why you were in bed with Josh half-naked. Dread, guilt, and even anger started to bubble up inside you as your mind raced for an explanation. 

    That’s when you felt something hard press into the swell of your ass. 

Him. 

He hummed peacefully into your shoulder, still clearly in a dream state, and pulled you in closer with a tight squeeze of his arm around your stomach. 

    You didn’t feel the dull ache between your legs, which gave you a sense of relief, and the breath you had been holding released from your lungs. 

   

    You lifted his arm once again so you could slip out from his hold, and he shifted his position to lay flat on his back. When you sat up on the edge of the bed, a wave of nausea washed over you and the room felt warped - as if you stepped into a fun mirror house. You knew you drank heavily but you didn’t realize it was this much. 

    You waited it out until the feeling started to subside enough for you to leave. Josh was still asleep, snoring slightly louder with the new position now that you weren’t in his arms. The arm you lifted fell lazily across his chest with the other stuck under the pillow for support. He was still wearing one of his work t-shirts, the recognizable anchor logo warped in the sea of wrinkles. 

    You wished you were experiencing this under different circumstances. That you weren’t angry. That there wasn’t any confusion about how you ended up here. 

That the last coherent, clear  memory you have with him is him scolding you in front of coworkers. Because this Josh, the Josh dreaming in the comfort of his bed is what you always adored. This was him. Not the version you last saw. 

    Before you allowed yourself to be pulled back into his embrace, you scanned over the room for your clothes. 

    You tiptoed across the wooden floor with the lightest step, trying to avoid the creaking of boards like you were walking through an open minefield. After a few minutes of searching through the many piles of clothes, stacks of records and books and other various items scattered throughout his bedroom - you finally find your things. 

    Well…what seems to be most of your things. You see your purse, a pair of jeans and your shoes tucked away on the chair like someone had taken the effort to place them there for you to find. 

    You slipped into your pants quietly with success, and just when you’re about to tie the laces of your shoes, your eyes flicked up to check on Josh one last time.

However, this time he’s not asleep. He’s looking straight at you, wincing as his eyes adjust to the harsh light. He’s staring like he’s not quite sure if what he’s seeing is real, or if he’s still stuck in the vision of his dream. 

He croaked out after a few passing seconds of silence, voice laiden with the raspiness of sleep, “Where are you going?”

    You huffed out a direct response while continuing to tie your shoes, “Home.”

    He pouted at the answer, “You should stay,”

    “Why?” You snapped back. You didn’t necessarily intend to be short with him, but the frustration that had been building slowly between you was now spilling over.

     He paused, gauging your body language and the razor-sharp edge to your tone, “Are we okay? Did I do something?”

    “You tell me, Josh. One minute you’re mad at me about something that doesn’t make sense and then the next I feel your hard-on against my ass!” You were now shouting without caring if anyone else in the house heard you. 

    He recoiled from your outburst and his gaze dropped to his hand that had been picking at the fraying threads of his sheets. His discomfort matched yours with heavy tension falling over the room in a thick blanket. His large caramel eyes were softened with sadness.

    “I…I’m so-“

    You cut him off with an abrupt wave of your hand, turning towards the door, “No. I can’t keep doing this back and forth with you, Josh.”

    He shot up in bed, scoffing while throwing his hands up in the air in frustration, “I really thought we talked about all this last night, Greenie.”

    Your blank stare revealed it all. 

    “You don’t remember…” He whispered, slinking back into the wall behind him in defeat. 

    Here you were. Embarrassed by your actions. Embarrassed that you drank so much that you couldn’t even remember an important conversation you had with him. 

    Josh didn’t give you the chance to respond before he started to swing his feet around the edge of the bed.

    You needed to escape. 

You stormed out of the bedroom before his feet hit the floor, shutting the door behind you to cut off the sound of Josh calling after you. In your drunkenness you had forgotten to map out the house and nearly tripped down the narrow staircase.

    It didn’t help that you were also trying to take them two at a time in a frantic attempt to leave as soon as possible. You were experiencing tunnel-vision and perhaps even hearing to block out the sound of your name being called.

    You turned at the bottom of the stairwell to find yourself standing in the threshold of the tiny kitchen. Your eyes find Danny. He was busy risking the safety of his torso by choosing to wear only sweatpants as he held the hot skillet filled with  bacon over the stove. He was distracted, dancing and singing along to “Maneater” playing through the small portable radio sitting on the counter beside him. 

Watch out boy she'll chew you up

(Oh here she comes)

She's a maneater

(Oh here she comes)

Watch out boy she'll chew you up

(Oh here she comes)

She's a maneater   

Your sudden presence pulled his attention away from the popping and splattering of grease threatening to splash onto his bare skin.

    He looked up, confusion clear across his face with how his thick brows knitted together as he stared back at you. 

    “Y/N?” His voice was barely loud enough to be heard over the volume of the music.

    That’s when you finally noticed Jake standing behind him, busy pouring black coffee into a mug in his hand with his back facing you. He spun around from the sound of your name being spoken. Danny stepped aside, but his suspicious eyes darted between you and Jake. 

    He was still wearing the same button-up from last night, now wrinkled from sleep and completely open to reveal his tanned body beneath it. Necklaces rested across his chest, pulling your eyes down the path to his navel, then to the band of his sweatpants that rested low on his hips. 

    Dark circles painted below his eyes and his sleep-tangled hair revealed that he had woken not too long ago. 

    He had a puzzled look - one that matched Danny’s. That was until he heard Josh calling out to you from the top of the stairs. The reaction to you evolved into one of distaste with how he began to glare at you.

    “I see you and my brother have made up again,” the words shot from his mouth, laced with a venomous tone just before he brought his steaming mug to his lips. 

   

———

You stepped out onto the balcony knowing he was out here alone - something you had been waiting on since you arrived with him. 

You watched in silence as he pulled a long, slow drag from his cigarette before flicking the ash over the edge, yet to look at you as you made your way over.

    “Hey,” you whispered, tapping your fingers against the wooden railing. 

    “Hey, Greenie,”  his voice surprisingly soft with the given nickname.

    “That’s the first time you’ve called me that.”

    He hummed in thought, blowing out smoke through the side of his mouth,“Is it?”

You nodded, noticing the small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

    He stared out, taking in the view of the ocean for a few moments, “It is what he calls you, right?”

You couldn’t help but stiffen from the question. The name had always felt endearing when coming from Josh. Now as it passed through Jake’s lips, it had taken on an entirely different feeling inside you. 

    “Yeah. I guess it just stuck,” you shrugged, hoping to push away the thought. 

    He turned to face you with a propped elbow on the railing. He hummed to himself again, taking your presence in, “I like it. It fits you.”

    A smirk that could melt even the iciest of hearts flashed before you. A honey trap ready to draw you in and keep you stuck forever if you dared to get too close. 

You couldn’t help but blush from his compliment. You weren’t sure where to place this Jake in your life, especially how there was this new, unfamiliar tension developed between you and Josh. Things were shifting rapidly now more than ever.

Maybe there was hope for getting along with Jake, and the thought excited you. 

“What’s your deal with me?” You dared the question. 

You still wanted answers to your questions. Why had he been so standoff-ish and rude? Why was he suddenly being this way with you now?

He studied your face for a few seconds, basking in the silence between you. You weren’t sure if he was thinking of actually answering you or if he was just playing this game with you like he always had. “What do you mean?”

    “Oh fucking stop that shit. You know what I’m talking about,” you scoffed with a heavy roll of your eyes and leaned back into the railing. 

    “I don’t. Care to elaborate?” 

    Before you could answer, you hear Josh’s infectious laughter coming from inside the house. 

    He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, “You better be careful out here. We wouldn’t want Josh seeing you talking to me again… he might get mad.”

    He was taunting you now. You wanted to note how he tried to change the topic but you decided against it. If he was adamant about avoiding it, you might as well drop it altogether. At least for the night. 

“Like you would know what I want,” you huffed out into the night air, letting the bratty tone in your voice escape. He took a step, closing the distance between you with an arm placed on either side of your body, pinning you against the railing. 

    Looking down at you with that raspiness dragging through each word low in his throat,“You’re feisty tonight, aren’t you?”

    A heat flushed instantly to your face and it was impossible for you to look directly into his eyes. Your gaze dropped to the silver necklace that hung freely against his exposed chest. The large medallion caught the light as it danced across the smooth skin. 

    When it took you too long to respond, he continued, “What is it that you want then?”

    The alcohol swishing around in your belly provided you with a new level of courage, “Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t made a move on me yet, Jake.”

    He chuckled, inching in a little more. His finger traced along the waistband of your jeans before looping it through a belt loop to tug you forward, “ Now why would I do that?”

    You caught yourself with a hand over his chest and finally looked up to see him staring down at you behind sleepy lids, still keeping that smirk that made your heart race. Despite his shirt being open, you felt the waves of heat from his body radiate beneath your palm. 

Toeing the line of taunting him back, you teased again, “You seem to make ‘fuck me eyes’ at every girl that gets too close to you. Flirting just seems to be your entire personality.” 

In a flash, his hands were wrapped around your throat to pull you in closer. The grasp he had wasn’t painful, but was tight enough to make you highly aware of how his fingers felt pressed into the soft skin. 

    He leaned in so his lips hovered just barely over your mouth, “Is that what you wanted?”

 You felt the warmth of his breath flutter across your lips, rendering you completely speechless from the boldness of his actions. “Hmmm?”

    After a second of listening to your soft panting, His hand left it’s place around your throat to snake into the hair at the nape of your neck.You swore you could feel his lips ghost their way across your cheek until they met the shell of your ear. 

    “Don’t start something you can’t finish, love.”

———

 

   Jake’s piercing eyes could bore holes into you from across the kitchen with how he was looking at you - waiting for you to respond. His uncomfortable stare was broken by the sounds of Josh tumbling down the stairwell behind you, practically tripping with one leg hopping into the leg of his pants. 

    You ran from the kitchen, ignoring a very  frantic Josh still yelling after you. It was fight-or-flight, and bolting out as quickly as possible was your decision of flight.

Next thing you know, you had burst through the front door, and found yourself storming across the cement pathway leading to the sidewalk. 

    “Would you just hold on for a second, Greenie?! Jesus Christ!!” Josh shouted out in a last attempt just before accepting complete defeat. 

    The desperation in his voice was enough to make you pause and finally turn to face him. He had ditched the jeans behind him while running out the house after you, which left him standing out in the open wearing only his t-shirt and pair of white cotton briefs - something he became highly aware of when your gaze dropped down his form standing before you. 

    Out of pure luck of the universe playing a cruel trick on you, a elderly woman strolled by on the sidewalk with a small dog on a lead, giving the both of you a rather judgemental stare.

    “Morning, Ruth!” Josh called out through a thin, pained smile, adding a friendly wave in the greeting with the other hand placed over his crotch to maintain a miniscule amount of dignity. You both stood in awkward silence as she passed by muttering something inaudible under her breath.

    “You’re going to be the talk of the town dressed like that,” you scoffed with a heavy roll of your eyes. Even at your jab, his eyes never wavered. His concerned expression never faltered. 

His shoulders slumped as he blew a deep breath through his nose, “I know I keep fucking up my chances with you but will you just hear me out, okay?”

Your arms crossed over your chest, but you were willing to listen nonetheless. 

He studied your expression for a second, “Things between Jake and I are complicated. Hell, more than just complicated. And I’m not sure what you remember from what I said last night- you know what? Forget that.”

    Josh brought his hands up to run through his hair in frustration, but then remembered his lack of clothing when a laugh broke free from your lips. The thin fabric wasn’t leaving much to the imagination and you blushed from the sight. 

    With hands glued down there in a pitiful effort to cover himself, and voice still cautious enough to not upset you, he asked, “Can I take you somewhere fun today? Can we try to put all this bullshit behind us?” 

His eyes flicked from looking at the ground up to look into your eyes, fighting, but losing the battle of the small smirk pulling back over his set of perfect teeth. He knew he was chipping away at your resolve little by little. 

    He added, “I will explain everything. No bonfires. No parties. No Anchor. Just you and me this time. Whadd’ya say?”

    A small smile of your own started to fight through your stone-hardened exterior, but you managed to keep it hidden even with your acceptance, “Fine.” 

With that, you spun around in the direction of the street.

    He let out a heavy sigh,“Okay, good,” but his sense of relief was cut short when he saw you walking away without further discussion, “Wait! Where are you going?!”

    “To find a payphone to call a cab, Josh. My car isn’t here.”

    You heard his feet hit the sidewalk to follow behind you, making you stop in your tracks. Even though you were angry with him, you couldn’t bear the thought of him walking out onto the street like this. 

    “I know, but we have a phone inside. Actually, no. Uhh...” He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. He peered over his shoulder, realizing his clothing was still inside and that he was afraid to leave in fear you would walk off anyway. “I…just lemme just grab my jeans and keys and I’ll drive you.”

       

    You agreed without much of a fight. The idea of searching for a phone, paying for a cab to get to your car seemed like a nightmare in your current condition. You stood outside on the front lawn to wait for him, replaying those few painful seconds seeing Jake over and over. You failed to pinpoint the exact reason for his anger and disappointment.

    It was becoming obvious how the twins expressed a great deal of jealousy over the other, and it appeared that you were stuck in the middle. You were willing to admit that you might have exchanged flirty banter with him, but that didn’t explain his visceral reaction upon seeing you minutes ago. 

    Josh’s reappearance helped shove the thoughts of last night to the back of your mind - at least the ones that included Jake. 

    You laid back against the passenger seat, letting the air whip your hair around as you listened to the sounds of the engine. He let you sit peacefully with your eyes closed, choosing to keep the radio off and you free from engaging in more conversation. He knew he had you just enough to hear him out later. 

    It had been almost noon when Josh dropped you off at your car still sitting in the bowling alley parking lot. He insisted on helping you jump the dead battery so you could slide into the seat of your car.

 Undoubtedly things between you were still tense, but you ended up agreeing on letting him come pick you up around six, giving yourself the afternoon to recover. 

   

Your head was pounding relentlessly, so you decided to drive the rest of the home in silence. It might have helped ease your growing headache, but lack of distraction forced your mind to try to piece together broken memories of the night. Everything was so fragmented. A fleeting memory here. A flash of anxiety when there was a period of time you didn’t recall. 

    A sense of relief washed over you when you pulled the Pinto into your empty driveway knowing you had dodged having to explain your whereabouts to your roommate. At least for now. 

    You spent the next few hours trying to recover from your hangover wreaking havoc throughout your body. First order of business was to strip from the dirty clothes, ridding yourself of the fabric that held onto the smell of cigarettes, the staleness of your sweat, even the subtle hints of cologne. Everything that could remind you of the last twelve hours. 

The hot shower helped wash away the feelings of regret and uneasiness - soothing the ache of your muscles with the massage from the water pressure. You hoped it would reinvigorate you enough to see Josh again later on.

 The air felt heavy around you while you brushed out the mess of tangles in your hair, weighing you down in a fog of nausea and fatigue. Without the distraction of Josh, you pictured Jake again. Images of the way he looked at you, how his body tensed in that instant reaction. The way sadness pulled at his brows. Somehow you had backtracked the progress you had made with him without even realizing it.  

You wanted to find the reason so you could possibly mend whatever it was that made him feel that way. Even though a part of you realized that one of them was always going to be like this with you, given the current circumstances. The reality of it saddened your heart, but you tried not to dwell on the thought. 

Exhaustion was taking over as you laid in your own bed to aid the lightheadedness that you were experiencing, but the comfort of it caused you to drift off to sleep within minutes. 

   

You’re startled awake from the harsh ringing of the phone coming from the kitchen. Your feet move ahead of you, taking you out of your bedroom before your brain can even comprehend what is happening. 

You yanked the phone from the receiver to answer, your voice was harsh and abrupt, “Hello?!” 

Then you hear his sweet voice on the other end, “Greenie?”

You winced with guilt, rubbing your fingers between your brows. Your mouth was dry with thirst, “Oh…Josh. Hi.”

He laughed,“Hi.” 

He could tell he was still being overly cautious with you, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I was just asleep.”

“Ohh…” he paused, “I’m sorry to wake you then-“

“No, it’s okay.” You looked out to the back windows facing the bay, noting how it was late afternoon with how the sun set in the sky, “Are you still coming?”

“Yeah! That’s actually why I was calling. I wanted to check to make sure we were still on.” He was probably going over the details of the night as much as you were, if not more. “I wasn’t sure because of how everything went this morning.”

You pulled and twisted at the cord,“Yes, we are still on. When are you heading over?”

“I’m actually calling from a payphone in town, but I can be there in like fifteen minutes, is that okay?”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

“Perfect, see you soon. Bye.”

“Bye, Josh.”

You hung up the phone back in its cradle and darted back to the room in search of something to wear. He didn’t tell you what the plans were for the evening, insisting on keeping the spontaneity of it all. You loved that about him, but it was incredibly frustrating to plan an outfit for. 

You flipped through the items in your small closet before settling on a simple baby-blue cotton sundress that came down to just above the knees. The sleeves of the dress were short with a cinched drawstring tied loosely at your waist. The fabric was light and flowy against your skin, making you feel more put together yet staying comfortable in the summer heat. 

You run a brush through your hair to smooth down what had been disheveled by your afternoon nap. There was only enough time to apply a small amount of blush to your cheeks and a coat of mascara on your lashes before you heard the Jeep rolling over the gravel in the driveway. 

You leave a note for Cindy in case she came home before you did, letting her know you would be out for the evening. Josh beeped the horn just as you tack the post-it to the fridge under the small magnet. 

You’re scrambling around until you’re able to find your purse and keys as well as slipping on your worn pair of white Keds before locking up the house. He was sitting proudly as the car idled, waiting for you with as much patience as he could muster.

It reminded you of the first time he ever picked you up, that same goofy smile plastered across his face while singing along to a song playing through the car stereo. 

He had changed within the last few hours, now dressed in a pair of burgundy shorts instead of his usual red polyester ones. The white work shirt from earlier had been swapped with a very, faded purple t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. The brown bandana he typically wore was traded for one that matched the color of his shirt. 

“You look very pretty,” he complimented as you climbed up into the passenger seat. 

It felt good to see him again, like the two of you were getting the real fresh start that you deserved. Your choice of overdrinking was hanging over you like a dark cloud, but he had looked like he was in peak health as his smile beamed back at you. 

“Thanks, but I feel overdressed,” your tone was dismissive as you ironed out your dress with your palms. You worried that you subconsciously that you had actually gotten ready for a date. 

But was it?

His hand nudged your knee in protest to the notion, “Nonsense. I don’t think there is such a thing.”

“Yeah, yeah. Where are we going anyway?”

“A gentleman never tells.” He gestures the remark with a mime of locking his lips and tossing out the key.

“Josh..” You groaned as your back hit the seat. 

“I’m sure you can use your imagination and figure it out. There’s only so many places, Greenie,” he laughed as he reversed the car onto the road.

The drive was similar to the one you shared earlier in the day - mostly void of conversation but now with the radio playing to fill the silence, Every so often, his hand would leave the shifter to find yours resting on your leg, giving it a reassuring squeeze. The touch was warm and soft, comforting in every way as his fingers wrapped around yours. You ached each time he had to pull away, wishing he would keep it there forever.

You recognized the area from the night he took you to the bonfire. It was the same island, making you remember what Jake talked about pirates burying their treasure here. 

You smiled at the thought, cherishing his enthusiasm with sharing something that intrigued him. There was a part that longed to go back to that moment - just to see him smile at you again. 

Instead of stopping in the same spot he did that night, Josh continued a bit farther before pulling the Jeep onto an unpaved dirt path. He took the car over large holes and fallen logs which had you bouncing around the cab. Just when you thought he’d stop, he drove onto the sandy dunes towards the shoreline. 

He cut the engine and relaxed back in the seat, taking in a large breath of the sea air. Out here you were alone, really alone with him for the first time. You looked out to the ocean as he dug around behind the seats in search of something. 

 When you turned to face him, you were met with the clicking of a shutter from the camera placed in his hands. A mischievous grin was revealed when he pulled the Canon down from his face.

“What was that for?” You were torn between the feeling of being self-conscious and blushing from the gesture.

“I need to capture my muse,” he said matter-of-factly, placing the lens cap back on the camera. 

“What about Kat?”

”Ka-“ He chuckled to himself from the mention of her, “Are you worried about her?”

You did feel a bit silly admitting to it, but it had been chipping away at the back of your mind. Which only made you feel like a jealous school girl. “What if I say yes?”

He was quick to answer without a second hesitation, “I would say she’s not a concern.”

“Didn’t seem like she wasn’t.”

He frowned at the words, but took your hand in his, “Greenie, I’m serious. She’s just a coworker that just doesn’t get the message, ‘I’m not interested’”

“Why? She’s pretty and seems to like you,” you mumbled while fidgeting with the bottom of your dress with your other hand, unsure why you decided to even bring the topic up at all. The implications of it alone made you want to run in the other direction.

“Yeah, but she’s also Kat,” he snorted but when he realized you weren’t laughing with him he stopped instantly to continue the thought, “Look, you have got nothing to worry about with her. I promise. It’s just you and me right now, right?”

Guilt was becoming a familiar visitor to you lately. You were being a hypocrite with how you and Jake had become closer and here you were picking apart interactions between Josh and her. 

You sighed through a weak smile, ““…Okay.”

He released your hand to pat your leg in reassurance, “That’s my girl.”

The words made your stomach turn.  You ached knowing Jake had said the same ones to you last night. 

That’s my girl.

Josh popped open the door and hopped down onto the sand, going straight to work unloading things from the back of the Jeep. You helped as you could, but mostly watched him unpack a small cooler filled with sandwiches and a six-pack of beer.

He rubbed the back of his neck while studying over everything spread out across the blanket like he was second guessing the idea altogether, “Sorry this isn’t the fanciest set-up. I do want to take you out to dinner but everywhere feels like a tourist trap and-“

You blushed from his sudden flustered state, “I love it.”

“Really?”

You nodded, witnessing the anxiety melt from his body. 

He beamed with excitement, telling you how he found this secret spot and was dying for a chance to show you one day. He went on to share how much he loves to sit out here to decompress and feel connected to the Earth whenever he starts to feel lost. He explained that watching the rolling waves grounds him, that he can always count on the consistency of it when everything else in life gets away from him. 

You let him talk even if there was so much more you wanted to ask about what was going on between you, but basking in the calmness of the setting sun and listening to the sound of his voice took priority.

The sky was painted with an array of vibrant colors, blending together as if one had stroked across the sky with a brush. Oranges mixed with reds and yellows until fading out to calming lavenders and blues of pillowy clouds.

“It looks so beautiful,” you breathed in awe.

”Have you been in the water yet?” He mumbled around another bite of his sandwich. 

You shook your head, almost in your own state of disbelief. The summer was almost half over and you had yet to go into the ocean since you’ve been here. 

His eyes widened and brows lifted in shock, “What are we doing sitting up here then?! Let’s go!”

He sprang to his feet, tossing the half eaten sandwich back into the cooler to take your hand in his. 

You tried to pull it away from his grasp in an act of defiance, ”Josh! I didn’t bring a swimsuit!”

He puffed a breath of laughter through his smile.”I didn’t either.” 

When he saw you pout, he added,  “Come on, Greenie. Live a little. You’re always in here too much,” he gestured to his head, tapping his finger to his temple. “Free yourself with me.”

“You’re not thinking of skinny dipping, are you?” You would be lying if the thought of him doing so didn’t make you feel a certain way. 

He bit his lip while pulling off a shoe, “Why? Do you want me to?” 

“Josh!” You shoved his shoulder, causing him to stagger backwards making him reach out to grab the side of the car for balance.

He giggled, “This beach is private, but not that private.”

 “Just your underwear,” He grunted under his breath as he began stripping with a single pull of his shorts down his legs, kicking them onto the blanket in a crumpled pile. 

You shouldn’t have really felt as nervous as you did, but your stomach was doing somersaults and your face flushed hot as you stood in front of him in his underwear for the second time today.  

However, this time you weren’t bubbling with anger like you were this morning. Now, you could really look at him with your undivided attention. Your eyes dropped to the trail of hair below his navel when he pulled the shirt over his head. They lingered there for a few seconds, focusing on how his hip bones peaked above the band of his underwear. 

Josh was quick to pick up on it, quickly offering,“You know you don’t have to-’

“No! No, it’s okay. I want to.” You swallow harshly, picking at the hem of your dress, “Can…can you just turn around?”

The request didn’t make any sense. He would see you in your bra and underwear the second he turned around, but the idea of him not seeing you pull it over your body made you feel a little more comfortable somehow.

He just smiled while turning to face away, “Anything for you.”

 You pulled the blue sundress over, holding it in your hands while adjusting the wind rolling off the water hitting the newly exposed skin. 

“You ready?” His saccharine voice was peaceful to your ears, the honeyed sound bringing you to ease. 

“I am,” The words still carried your hesitancy, but you were determined to fight through it. You tossed your dress into the pile of clothing spread across the blanket just as he turned around. 

Josh’s eyes never left yours as he leaned forward to take your hand in his. No matter how ridiculous it felt - being two adults about to run into the ocean in their underwear - he was there by your side. 

He didn’t waste another second before dragging you towards the water’s edge as if you were weightless, despite your heels digging into the sand to stall the inevitable. 

He released your hand to run into the water before diving right into the swell of an approaching wave. 

“Josh!” You screamed when you spotted his head breaking through the surface.

He dipped his head back under to push back the wet hair away from his face. He shouted back as he waved his arm to you, ”Come on! What are you waiting for?!”

You start to walking in far enough where the water was hitting the middle of your shins as it pushed up along the shore, trying to time the waves so they wouldn’t slam into you. Even in the sweltering heat of the season, the ocean was still freezing - chilling you to the bone instantly. You stood, shaking and rubbing your arms to warm yourself as the goosebumps formed all over your skin.

“It’s low tide, Greenie. You’ll be fine,” Josh tried to reassure you while stepping closer. It had been years since you really had actually swam in the ocean.

 You usually camped out on the warm sand, safely under an umbrella to read a good book and soak up the rays of sun. You envied his comfort, taking every experience like it was second nature.

He stood in chest deep water, patiently waiting for you to reach him as you ventured farther with each cautious stumbling step. When he was finally within arms reach, he grabbed your wrist and pulled you under just seconds before the next wave crashed down. 

It had taken you by surprise when the blast of cold water hit your face like a thousand icy needles. Thankfully, Josh had kept his hold on you as you both broke through the surface. It didn’t stop you from panicking when you could barely feel the sandy bottom beneath your feet. 

 Without a second thought, you wrapped your legs around his waist while  gripping painfully hard onto his shoulders as the current pulled you farther from the shore line. The salty water was stinging your eyes, clouding your vision while the taste lingered in your mouth and burned your nose. 

He shook his head, making you squeal as you were showered with the water flinging from his hair. 

“I hate you,” you spat through your giggling. Josh treaded until he got a proper footing while bobbing above each oncoming wave, but kept his tight hold on you, 

“I don’ t think that’s true,” he huffed, “What was I supposed to do? Wait until midnight until you finally have the courage to get in?”

“Maybe I wasn’t ready.”

“Trust me, that wave would have wrecked you back to the sand if i didn’t pull you under. You should thank me if anything.”

You laughed nervously at the idea, “Maybe I should have done this with Danny so I don’t drown.”

He scoffed, pulling you back to look at you directly, “Low blow, Greenie. Low blow. I am a man that can hold his own, okay?” 

“Mmmhmm. Next thing I know, we will both be drifting out to sea,” You teased.

“I’m hurt. Do you not trust me? Do you not have faith in these strong arms holding you safely?” He flexed the muscles of his arms under your touch as he feigned offense. 

It was hard to take him seriously when you were only paying attention to the dimple of his cheek, the sight of the tiny gap between his teeth when he smiled like this or how the water droplets dripped from the curls resting at his ears. 

You giggled, “You’re such a dork.”

“Thank you. …also thank you for reminding me of his little crush on you.”

“He does not!” 

Although you had noticed Danny’s flirting from the moment you met him, you played it off as friendly with no true intentions. It embarrassed you to think that Josh had also taken note of the interactions. 

He sucked his teeth, “I’m not going to debate you on that fact.”

“Well, you’re wrong.”

He threw his head back, “Oh come on!  I’ve had to fight him off since the night of the bonfire, Greenie.”

“You have not.”

His gaze shifted away to the horizon as he spoke through a weak voice,“...Feels like I’ve been having to fight everyone off lately.”

You knew what he meant without really saying it. It was on his mind as well, but the two of you were too afraid of ruining the moment together to actually address it. 

You weren’t sure if you felt the urge just because of the circumstances or the proximity of your bodies, but you couldn’t stop yourself from leaning in to press your lips to his.

The action startled him and you pulled back when you felt him recoil from the kiss.

“So-sorry…I didn’t mean- I’m sorry,” you stuttered out your apology, hating the fact you even tried. Rejection was going to be difficult to accept, but you braced yourself for the worst.

Although, there was no way you could look at him and see the reaction of his face. “Why would you be sorry for that?”

You shrugged your shoulders, redirecting your focus to the waves building behind him.

Josh chuckled, “Greenie, I think that’s gotta be the dumbest thing you’ve apologized for yet.”

He tipped your chin to bring you back to the place on his lips, kissing you sweetly now with his full attention. You wanted to keep going, to feel the warmth of his tongue in your mouth. Before you could, a chill ran down your spine, causing you to shiver wildly against his chest. 

He broke from the tender kiss to mumble onto your lips, “I think we should probably get out before we get hypothermia.”

With his help, you both make your way back onto the warm sand. You trudge along, collecting clumps on your wet legs as you get to the blanket. 

Josh digs around the back of the Jeep to find a spare blanket to wrap around you, an oil lantern and a fraying towel to dry off with. 

He searched for the lighter to ignite the cloth wick inside the glass lamp. You didn’t realize how fast night was falling over the sky until you left the water. Without the sun, it was imperative to warm up and dry off to kick the sand from your legs. 

You knew he was struggling with the cold as well with how his hands trembled while fumbling with your new light source.    

With the lantern finally lit, he set it on the tailgate of the Jeep before grabbing the second blanket, “Come here.”

Josh pulled you in against his side as he settled on the ground, wrapping the large blanket around the two of you. You sat in silence, absorbing his body heat while listening to the staticy music playing from the radio. 

You drank another beer together as he held you close under his arm. There was something on his mind with how rigid his hold around your shoulder had become. 

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Come here.” He takes your wrist and brings you in over his lap so he could face you.

His head dropped, but his fingers started to draw tiny circles at your hips, “Listen…I’m sorry about this morning.”

“Josh-“

He shook his head, “I’m serious. Let me get this out now that we are both sober and alone.” He swallowed and wet his lip in though before continuing, “I just wanted to let you know that nothing happened between us. I know it seemed like that, but I promise that I just fell asleep next to you. Danny and Jake were the ones to find you passed out and moved you into my bed to sleep it off. And you woke up and took off your own pants. I don’t want you to think someone did that for you.”

It didn’t quite answer everything but it was a start. You started to hate yourself for not talking through everything this morning, that you left him to process these thoughts on his own. The embarrassment you were experiencing earlier was showing its head with the thought of Jake or Danny finding you that intoxicated. 

“What happened to my shirt?”

A sly smile slipped past, “Well…you might have yacked a little…”

The shame continued with the thought of Josh seeing you in such a state, making you gasp, “Oh my god!”

“Nothing bad! You did drink quite a bit.” He dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand, “Forget about all that.”

You grimaced, but wanted to move past the topic as well, “Alright.” 

“I also want to say how sorry I am for the things I said last night at work. I… I was an asshole to you. You didn’t deserve any of that. God, I wanted to take it all back the second it left my mouth. I hope you know that I didn’t mean any of it and that I’m a fucking idiot. 

The harsh words flashed in your memory again. You pictured the look on his face when he said them. You knew the topic would be brought up, but you were really expecting the feelings that came with it. “Why did you say it though?”

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “I guess I got insecure, Greenie. I know that probably sounds dumb…”

It was difficult for you to believe Josh would be insecure about much, if anything. He walked through life with an air of confidence you strived to have. “Insecure of what?”

“When I saw Jake come by yesterday with your jacket…I guess I tried to connect the dots. At that moment I convinced myself that you and him were already a thing. It’s…something that’s happened before.”

You knew, but you wanted to hear the words come from him for yourself. “What happened?”

“It’s a really long story that I don’t need to bother you with.”

“Josh…”

“Greenie.”

You groaned in frustration, “Why do you do that? Shut me out.”

His fingers pressed harder into your waist, ”I’m not shutting you out. Besides, you already know the story.”

“What do you mean?”

He laughed as if he had remincened on a fond memory, “You may have said that Danny told you some stuff last night.”

Another thing you didn’t remember. “Oh no.”

“Hey! Hey, it’s okay. I deserve it after what happened.”

You brought your hands to your face, groaning into your palms from how ashamed you were of your actions. 

“‘So, all of that flashed in my mind again yesterday. The summer fling that deep down I knew wasn’t going to be more, but I held on anyway. When it ended I thought it was settled, that she was going to go back home. I was okay with that. I accepted that she was moving on…that is until I saw her with Jake.”

“I’m sorry,” your voice was soft and weak. You had been so unsure of that had been happening with Josh that you had entertained the possibility of feelings for Jake. 

This was where you belonged. This was what was meant for you. 

“Don’t be. Ya’ know, I think I’ve always been a little jealous of him, even when we were just kids. For the longest time, I couldn’t place the reason why I felt that way. But there’s something about him that has always drawn people in.” He chuckled to himself, but it was a breathy, humorless laugh,  “He always gets the girl.”

His eyes flicked down to your lips, “Even you. I see the way you look at him sometimes.” 

You lifted your hands from his shoulders to cradle his face between them. With a sweep of the pad of your thumb across his lip, you hummed, “I wish you would see the way I look at you, Josh.”

A blush formed, followed by a smile from the insecurities melting away. The dimple that pricked his cheek made its appearance as the grin spread further from your touch. 

His tongue wet his bottom lip in anticipation, letting his thoughts and feelings for you run freely in his mind. 

He brought his fingers to your cheek and gently brushed across the flushed skin before weaving them into your dampened hair. He whispered while tugging you forward with his hand wrapped gently around the nape of your neck, “Come here.”

His soft lips met yours, but it’s not hesitant. It’s not rushed. It’s not done with ulterior motives or under strange, unpredictable circumstances. It was purposeful in the way he moved with you as he explored the finer details of your lips with his. 

The second his hand pulled you in just a little more, you rolled your hips forward against his lap. It was heavenly, the way his pillowy lips brushed yours. Even sinful with the way his tongue teased across the curve of your bottom lip, tasting the salt of the ocean still lingering there. 

You pulled him in, welcoming him into the heat of your mouth. A small whimper left his throat when the tip of your tongue graced his own. You dove your fingers into the thick mess of curls with another eager rock of your hips. 

You needed him. 

He tried to keep up with you. He tried to take in the way your tongue danced across his, how your teeth nipped at his bottom lip. In your hunger for more, your fingers curled, twisting the locks from his scalp. 

This wasn’t in front of an audience. There wasn’t an outside force holding you back from you getting what you truly wanted. 

Josh suddenly broke away from the kiss, panting against your parted lips. You worried for a second if you had gone too far, crossed a new set of boundaries.

“Hold on for a second,” His voice wavered through a deep, shaky breath before he continued, “I’m sorry about last night-“

You stiffened, pulling back from him as you cut him off, “Josh, you already apologized. It’s okay. Really.”

Revisiting last night or even what had transpired this morning wasn’t something you wanted to do. In fact, you’d rather forget the bits and pieces you had managed to remember at all. It was now threatening to ruin what you were now experiencing at this moment with him.  

He shook his head, “No, it isn’t.” His eyes found yours again, but now filled with remorse and sadness. His voice laden with guilt, “The way you were trying to run out this morning killed me, Greenie…I never want you to feel like that with me ever again.”

You wanted to take it back, to ease the hurt he must’ve felt when he watched you try to sneak away with shame. He held you close with a hand on your hip to keep you from slipping away with the other hand placed at your jaw, thumb rubbing across the smooth skin. 

“You’re not a one night stand to me. This isn’t one of those dumb summer flings. You’re special to me. And I want to make sure you feel that way…if you’ll let me.”

You nodded in agreement and tried to lean in to kiss him again, until he stopped you before you could. 

“No, I wanna hear you say it. Tell me you want this as much as I do.”

“Yes, Josh. Please. Will you shut up and kiss me now.”

He smiled against your lips, pulling them back in, fitting together like a lost key to a lock. 

With your final consent, there was nothing to hold him back from taking what he has always wanted. 

You.

 His tongue had abandoned the teasing touches to lick into your mouth, craving just a little more of you each time. 

His lips leave yours to trail along your jaw to find a spot to spoil right below your ear. He suckles the tender skin, leaving splotchy bruises with loving bites of his teeth. You groan at the feeling, tangling your fingers deeper into his hair while he makes his way down your neck. 

You throw your head back to give up your chest for him to shower the swell of your breasts with hot, open-mouthed kisses. Without his lips leaving you, his hands roamed up the length of your back, fingertips tracing along the band of your bra. You felt him harden beneath you and because there was nothing but the thin cotton of your underwear to act as a barrier between you, he pressed deliciously against your aching clit. 

He popped the metal clasps of your bra open, releasing the snug garment from your body. With fanned fingers slipping under the band, he explored the details of your back and around your sides. You were becoming impatient and wiggled it off your arms, giving him access to your bare breasts.     

He stared at you in awe, cupping them gently in his hands as he swept his thumb across your nipple, feeling it harden by the simple action. He lazily drew patterns across them with a featherlight touch of his fingertips. 

He breathed, stuck in the trance from your naked body while admiring every intricate part of you, “Fuck... you’re so beautiful.”

You giggled with a playful roll of your eyes, “How romantic.”

The mockery didn’t last as your breath hitched in your throat when he leaned forward to kiss your breast, licking across your nipple to place another kiss. You practically purred like a kitten as he spoiled them with the inviting wet, warmth of his mouth.

He laughed into your neck, kissing at the hollow point before pulling you back to his lips again.

His hand that had been resting on your hip guided you forward across his lap as you naturally rocked your hips in response. His fingers slipped lower underneath the band of your cotton panties. You were deep into a kiss when he squeezed a handful of your ass, fingers ghosting between your legs. He hooked thumbs around the material and slipped it down your thighs with your help. 

You were now completely naked in front of Josh.

Sitting naked on his lap. 

While you were drowning in the intrusive thoughts flooding your brain, he was busy taking in the new sight of you. As you adjusted on top of him, he took the opportunity of that time to slide his own underwear down his legs.

You moved against him, feeling the head of his cock drag through your folds. The shaking of your legs was uncontrollable and your hands started to tremble as you placed them on his shoulders.

What if everything changed for the worse after this? Could you handle seeing his face again if everything soured?

This wasn’t something you did - hook up with coworkers like this. You didn’t sleep with friends. You have barely dated anyone at all. What if you fell short to his expectations?

You were frustrated that you couldn’t let go yet. That you were allowing yourself to be consumed by the what if’s instead of living in this moment. 

 The crook of his neck had quickly become a safe haven for you to tuck your face into. The enveloping warmth, the steady, rhythmic pulse thumping against your cheek, the captivating scent of his sun-kissed skin. 

You stayed there for a while, existing in the comfort of the undulating sway of your hips. He must have picked up on your nervousness, despite your best attempts at mustering up the courage. He hummed softly into your hair, placing a gentle kiss to your ear.

His hand found yours, pulling it away from the spot on his neck so he could guide them down between your bodies. He lifted you up slightly and brought your hand to wrap around his cock. This was the first time you had felt it, really felt it.  

You gasped in unison as you squeezed your fingers around him, feeling the velvet-soft skin, hot to the touch with the beating of his heart pulsing against your palm. 

You held him, rubbing along the length as he pressed between your legs, causing a groan to rumble from deep within his throat. 

He breathed into your hair to reassure you, “Take all the time you need, sweet girl.”

“Josh…”

“We don’t have to rush. It’s just you and me.” He hummed with the buck of his hips when the tip brushed up against your clit. You guided him through the pooling wetness, building anticipation with each teasing pass from your clit to your entrance, and back again. He just repeated himself through needy kisses placed to your lips between each phrase. “You, and me… you and me… you and me.”

With a final rock of your hips and push of your fingers, you slowly began to ease yourself onto him, taking his length inch-by-inch. You hissed through your teeth from the sting of him stretching you out all while his fingers dug into the supple flesh at your waist. A whiny moan broke free from his chest when he bottomed out inside you. 

While his head fell into your neck, you stayed perfectly still, needing the time to adjust to the size of him, soaking his cock more and more with each passing second. 

His breathing quickened, sending the puffs of air across the sensitive flesh. You both take your time in this moment, staying true to his word. 

He pressed his nose into your cheek, nudging it into you as he pulled your hips forward, driving himself even deeper. When he rolled you back, it made you move slightly, making him slide out before being pushed back in. The faint sting you felt initially had melted into pure, unbridled pleasure as he slipped into your pussy.

You whined out again, “…Josh.”

He loved hearing his name filling the night air just as much as you loved crying it out into the open.  

You couldn’t see it for yourself, but you could still picture the smile when he sighed, “Yeah?”

“You…feel…You feel so good,” you squeaked out, your voice was pitchy and broken with each bounce of your hips on him. 

Josh nipped at your cheek before placing a kiss on the same spot before leaning back slowly, taking along you with him as he laid across the blanket beneath the both of you. 

You were able to move more freely with the new angle, causing faint whimpers to leave his mouth. His chin lifted as he pushed his head deeper into the blanket, freeing his neck for you to explore.

You flicked your tongue across his throat, wanting to taste the tiny flecks of sea salt that dried across the surface of his skin for yourself. He swallowed from the contact, letting you feel his adam’s apple bob against your lips. 

Josh’s eyes opened so he could look at you, searching yours with the moonlight dancing in the darkened irises. “I’ve wanted this so bad.”

The confession made you question why it had taken you this long for things to progress between you, especially with how clearly you both wanted the same thing. 

It had taken off guard, and having it paired with the languid thrusts into you was enough to make you stumble over your words, “I, I-I’m sorry-“

He brought the pad of his thumb to your lip, effectively shushing you, “Shhh…you’re worth waiting for.”   

His hands roamed from your neck to your breasts pressing into his chest, to drag down your sides and over the swell of your ass. You saw his eyes roll behind lust-heavy lids as he lost himself in the feeling of you riding him. 

In a swift, rapid motion, he turned the both of you over so the worn wool blanket was brushing against your back as you sank deeper into the sand.

 He positioned himself between your legs, propping his weight on an elbow. You watched him as he traced his fingers along the curves of your form, letting his focus follow the path of his hand. You shuddered at the barely-there touch of his fingertips.

He hummed, biting his lip as his eyes met yours again, “You’re so perfect.”

The words ‘I need to capture my muse’ rang in your mind once more, and nothing felt truer with how he was looking at you now. 

There was a biting chill in the air, but the overwhelming warmth of him laying across you was all you needed. His fingers eventually came to your clit, circling it gently with the head of his cock gliding back into you.

It was a soft murmur to your cheek, “That feel good?” 

“Mmhmm,” you whimpered out, giving into the fight of your eyes wanting to  close. He dragged his lips across your jawline, tickling the skin with the wispy ends of his curls. 

He drew delightful patterns with his middle finger, unhurried in his determination to bring you to the height of your pleasure. You felt his smile spread with pride when your hips started to lift to chase the feeling. 

The familiar heat of your building orgasm started to flare, making you tighten around his cock. 

You heard the lulling sound of crashing waves hit the sand through the heavy pants of his needy breaths fanning across your neck. The radio in the Jeep had been playing softly through its speakers this entire time, and you caught the song “Don’t Dream it’s Over” in the background.

… Now I'm walking again

To the beat of a drum

And I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart

Only shadows ahead

Barely clearing the roof

Get to know the feeling of liberation and release

You wanted to bask in this single moment in time forever, to live suspended in the sensations of just him. You questioned if any of it was real with how everything seemed more and more like a hypnotic, lucid dream than your waking reality. 

In your daze, you try to take in all the details as best you can. The sweet, melodic sounds of his moans  fluttering across your ear, the satin-softness of his skin as you ran your fingers along the length of his back while it flexed with each stroke into you, the way his drying curls touched your face, all to the needy grip of his fingers around your hip. 

You held him close with your hand wrapped around the back of his neck, weaving into his hair and feeling the heat of his cheek under your thumb between passionate kisses. 

He wanted to feel everything for as long as he could, choosing a gentle, deliberate roll of his hips into you. Just like out in the water, you lock your legs around his waist to secure him to you - driving him deeper into you than before. 

His cock nestled perfectly against your cervix, brushing that little hidden spot like he was made just for you. Each delightful, slick pull and push was like the incoming tide. Your release builds like the rolling water up on the shore. 

With a final measured thrust, he pulled you completely under. You can't stop the rolling tides of your climax as it comes down in crashing waves, dragging you below with its swift, merciless current.

“Josh…please,” you cried out, hoping that he would understand the unspoken. 

And he did. He felt you flutter and tighten around him through your release, fucking you through each of those building waves. 

You welcomed it. You lost yourself in it. You hold on to him in a desperate need to anchor yourself, but it seems to be no use. It was a weightless feeling, as if you would drift in the sea of your ecstasy forever. 

Josh started to mutter your name, giggling through the broken pants of his aching lungs.

“I feel you, baby. God, you feel so fucking good,” he groaned, shaking slightly as his hips began to falter in rhythym, “I, I-I can’t hold on much longer,” 

“Please, I need to feel you. Come for me, Josh,” you begged, the breathy pleas sounding like a sweet song to his ears. 

“Is that what you want, sweetheart? You want me to fill you up with my cum, hmm?” He asked against your lips as he continued to glide his cock into you at an agonizingly slow pace. 

You give a listless nod, licking up his parted lip to bring him into another kiss. He didn’t need more convincing from you before he succumbed to his own pleasure. 

With his last deep strokes, he buried himself deep into your pussy, spilling the heat of his cum inside you. You felt it drip out around him and down your thigh when he lazily pumped himself through it just before the overstimulation set in. 

He stayed there, allowing himself to soften inside you while peppering your collarbone with kisses until the path led to your swollen lips. 

“You’re breathtaking. The afterglow suits you,” He cooed, brushing the hair from your face.

Your vision started to clear enough that you could finally focus on him. His cheeks were pinkened and flushed. The thin sheen of sweat made him glow in the flickering glow of the lamp. The sea spray had dried his hair in tousled, careless waves that suited him perfectly. 

It began to pain you when you realized how hard you were falling for him. 

“Speak for yourself, pretty boy.”

You laid entangled together until the night air chilled you both beyond the point of comfort. He helped you dress, packing up the picnic you shared and loaded into their place in the back of the Jeep. 

Stolen glances and flirty giggles filled the time between spoken words. Even though you wanted to go home with him, he insisted on taking you home for a night’s rest. 

That a girl like you deserved a real, proper date. 

He held your hand any chance he could on the drive back to your home, even placing his on your thigh when he could. It felt natural, like it had been a place where he had always belonged. 

The goodbye kisses were by far the hardest. You were starting to miss him when he was still in your arms - not wanting to let the sweet taste of him go, or forget the addicting scent of his skin. 

The promise to call you first thing in the morning is what allowed you to finally accept his departure. The thoughts of hearing his voice again would carry you through your restless slumber.

At least you thought that you would have trouble sleeping with everything that had happened tonight. You predicted that you would toss and turn for hours going over every detail in your mind over and over again, but exhaustion had set in faster than expected. 

Another memory dared to enter your mind just before you slipped into a state of unconsciousness. 

———

You’re shoved forcefully into the wall. Hard enough that it knocks the breath from your lungs. You could be in a hallway, but you can’t be sure from the lips ghosting across the hollow point of your throat since your head has fallen back. It felt like you were melting into its surface as the music reverberated against you.

    You can’t seem to keep your eyes open with the amount of alcohol in your system. The rooms had been spinning around you but you were able to keep him close with the tight fistfulls of his shirt. 

    He had a hold around the back of your knee to swing it around his waist, all so he could roll his hips into you with ease. His hot breath fanned across your tacky skin with each heavy, lustful exhale. 

    You needed this. You wanted it so bad you could almost feel him already, despite the layers of clothes between you. A frail whimper escaped the second his tongue licked to taste you, following the soothing feeling with nips of his teeth at your most vulnerable spots. 

    He was everywhere, yet feeling like nowhere at all with how badly you ached for him. He takes pathways across your jaw to tease your ear before making his way over your cheek and back again. 

    A hand was secured around your thigh, keeping you firmly in place, while the other was busy exploring the curves of your body. It was frantic, rushed as if he would never have the chance to do this again.

You whined in pathetic need to have his soft pouty lips on your own. He let out a breathy laugh when he finally gave in, pressing his to yours.

 It was not hesitant or gentle. There was an insatiable hunger to every aggressive roll of his tongue over yours, every stinging bite of your bottom lip, every pitchy moan tumbled into your mouth. 

It was ravenous - this hunger for you. Teeth dragged across your sensitive skin. Dull nails raked across your back as his hands slipped beneath your shirt. 

He wanted this just as badly. You could feel it with how hard he was as he pressed himself against you, bucking his hips in the search for friction as he licked into your parted mouth. 

 Your combined heavy panting consumed your sense of hearing. The music that had been playing sounded muffled, mixing in with the droning conversations of others. 

It was possible that someone could have seen the two of you.

 You weren’t somewhere private after all. 

TAGLIST:

@josiee-gvf @weightofdreamz @sammyslappers @sammiejane22 @doodle417 @prophetofthedune @maverick-rose @weightofdreams-gvf @gretasmokerising @brokenbellz @gvfrry @gretavanfleas @baguettejuliette @jakeyboiiiiiii @kdarling1 @welightthefire @dannyandthekiszkas @shesawomaninadream @ashabeannn @gretavanbitches @alexxavicry @luverleaver @kissthekiszka @milkgemini @freckledwonder @richjaaasss @dolceacquario @lvnterninthenight @daniellefersblog @strangersimp @mywaykiszka @gardensgatedaisy @jakekiszmyass @writingcold @ageofbrokenbells @kerryxgvf @pennylanefics @idk-anymore50 @jordierama @seventieswhore @greta-van-chaos @lek-gvf @sarakay-gvf

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#gvf fic #gvf smut #josh kiszka #jake kiskza #josh kiszka fanfiction #jake kiszka fanfiction #josh kiszka smut #jake kiszka smut #josh kiszka series #jake kiszka series #josh kiszka angst #Jake Kiszka angst #josh kiszka x you #josh kiszka x y/n #josh kiszka x reader #gvf series #gvf angst #boys of summer

[readyforthegarden]

No, but like all I can think about is cuddling up on the couch with Jake, both of you with the newest novels you had your noses stuck in. Him laying his head on your lap while you pull your fingers through his hair absentmindedly as you’re both fully engrossed in your books. His eyes snapping up to you with a wide grin on his face as he shares something that’s excited him in his book with you.

Oh god yes, oh yes, please!!! Jake would reach up and grab your wrist, pulling it down to his chest to get your attention, tapping the back of your hand.

"Babe, babe, listen to this, it's so good!" and then he'd read the passage he just went over himself, his excitement making him speak so quickly. "Oh this is going to be good, I'm so excited."

"It sounds really interesting, I'll have to borrow it when you're done." then he gets even more excited, telling you he'll make some notes that he wants to go over with you once you've read it (i fully believe that jake would write in the margins of books he knows you'll read too so you both can discuss things later)

#my asks #anonnie #soft gvf thoughts #jake kiskza #greta van fleet #jake is jess mariano coded #you can't argue with me