#so well and it’s the perfect match for Argyle because no one has really taken care of the Byers and then here comes argyle who will bring | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

quixoticall · 2 months

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This Could Get Ugly Track 5: The Beginning of the End

Summary: It's 1983 and The Downsides need another lead singer and you just happen to need a band--it's a perfect match. The only issue? You have to pretend to be in a relationship with your bandmate, Steve Harrington, but you can't help but be drawn to the band's broody guitar player.

pairing: s.h. x fem!reader, e.m. x fem!reader, j.b. x n.w.,

warnings: ANGST, drinking, drug use, smut, oral and fingering f receiving, p in v sex, the Harringtons make an appearance.

a/n: It has been a while my loves! If you've been following me at all, you know I've had a rough month. I really, truly appreciate every single one of you who has reached out and checked in! I appreciate you! This chapter is extra long to make up for lost time and it contains smut. It's my first time writing smut, so hopefully, I did not disappoint.

wc: 11.2K

MASTERLIST🎸

PLAY PREVIOUS TRACK 🎵

APRIL 28th, 1984 PHILADELPHIA , PA—THE UPSIDE DOWN TOUR

If you wanted to be technical about it, the whole thing started with Argyle.

The two of you were backstage, sitting outside the dressing rooms killing time during the opener—some local band that you weren’t previously familiar with.

You had always appreciated Argyle’s ability to be friendly with everyone and float above the tensions, that was the case especially now when things with the others seemed to have fallen apart a little.

You were sitting next to each other on the floor, backs against the wall, as you were running him through some of the songs that had made the preliminary list for the next album and asking for his input while he threw a bouncy ball against the opposite wall. You liked working with Argyle, he was out of the box, creative, and one of the most technically skilled band members. You had been sitting with him for only 30 minutes and he had already made one of your songs infinitely better.

“What’s the move tonight, dude?” he asks you, nonchalantly as you scribbled down some of his suggested changes.

You shrug in response, “I dunno, I might just go home and sleep after this, maybe work on the arrangements for this—” You wave your beat-up notebook in the air, and he scoffs.

“You like never come out with us anymore,” he exclaims, “I miss when we all used to party together, dude. Now you are all dropping like flies and it’s not as fun anymore!”

It was your turn to scoff at him, “Please, I was never the life of the party, Argyle, c’mon.”

“Are you kidding, dude? People would always show up in droves to see you. Plus, you’re like totally fun. Remember when you and Steve did karaoke in Austin and you both got on the bar? That was totally cool.”

You chuckle at the memory and concede, “Yeah, that was pretty fun, but you still have everyone else!”

“Well, you took my dude Eddie too,” he points out without malice.

“What do you mean?”

“He hasn’t come out since St. Louis—keeps saying he’s gonna stay in just in case you want to write with him.”

Of course, this is news to you. You hadn’t taken up Eddie’s offer to write together since he had spurned you in Missouri (and since he starred in a very vivid dream of yours). It wasn’t that you didn’t accept his apology (presented in the form of a ridiculously large flower bouquet) it was that thing would have been far too awkward at this point.

It wasn’t that you had a crush on him necessarily, you were pretty sure that mantle was still taken up by Steve to some extent, it was more that there was an undeniable sexual something between the two of you below the surface that your dreams had made obvious and you didn’t trust yourself to be alone in a room with him without wanting to rip his clothes off.

Obviously, giving in to your desires was a bad idea for a multitude of reasons but chiefly, because:

a. It would wreak havoc on the band.

b. You were certain Eddie wouldn’t reciprocate your advances.

But then… you had heard what Argyle had said.

“Wait, are you saying Eddie has been hanging out after shows just on the off chance that I may call him?” You confirm incredulously.

Argyle nods in response, “Yeah. Did you put a spell on him or something?”

“No,” you respond wryly, “I’m not that type of witch, I’m the bad kind of witch.”

“Well, you definitely did something to the dude, he’s been obsessing over whether or not you hate him and keeps trying to get me to ask.”

This takes you aback completely. Eddie caring so much what you thought of him that he’d be willing to ask Argyle, of all people to discreetly scope that out seems improbable so you continue to probe.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, he obviously thinks you’re pretty and he’s just been waiting around for you to call him up, and he cares a lot about what you think of him, which is weird because last time I checked he kinda hated you—no offense.”

“How do you know all this?” You ask, ignoring the offense.

“He told me, duh.”

“Have you told anyone else this?”

“No one else has asked,” Argyle says plaintively.

“Well, how about we keep all of this between the three of us, then?” You propose.

Before the drummer can confirm, the thundering applause signaling that the opening act had wrapped up cut the conversation off.

Neither of you has the chance to continue the discussion before being rushed onto stage by a harried and high-strung stage manager.

Without knowing, Argyle had invertedly changed the course of everything.

***

EDDIE: We were in Philly. It was a great show—probably one of the best of that tour. The audience was feeling us the opener was sick and we were just gelling for what felt like probably the first time. It was like we were all finally on the same wavelength if that makes sense. No more guessing what the next move was or fighting to keep up. It was like we were finally learning to trust each other.

***

The Philly show was electric, all the elements had come together perfectly. You and Steve were particularly reveling in it. You spent most of the night singing into the same microphone, lips inches from one another, your hand grasping the back of his neck, fingers carding through his hair, and eye contact unbreaking. At one point, you were certain by the way he had captured your bottom lip under the meat of his thumb, that he was going to lean in and kiss you on the mouth, a barrier that the two of you had managed to maintain this whole time.

The audience must have had a similar thought by the sounds of their cheers—a sound that seemed to have shaken both you and Steve from whatever spell you had been under because the next thing you know the pressure of his thumb was gone and his eyes were turned away from you and towards the crowd.

The rest of the show was spent similarly—the two of you toeing the line and the audience following your every move. It was easy to get addicted both to the applause and the intimacy.

After the encores were sung and the last bows were taken, though, Steve was back to barely being able to look at you.

The only time his gaze does flit to you, ever-briefly, is when you politely decline Argyle’s invitation to go out after the show.

“Come on dude, you said you would come if I looked at your song,” the drummer gives a half-hearted attempt at bargaining which only makes you giggle.

“I never said that Argyle,” and truly you hadn’t, “I said that I couldn’t go out because I had to make those changes you suggested.”

In response, Argyle begins to boo you, loudly and the others join in eagerly.

You roll your eyes playfully and bid goodbye to Argyle and the rest of the band when you part ways for the night and you notice that other than yourself, Eddie is the only one missing from the boisterous group but you try not to think too much on it.

Your efforts to push all thoughts of Eddie out of your mind seemed to have the opposite effect and it was like the thoughts themselves were digging their heels in and had found your mind to be a welcoming home.

You had made the song changes you had told Argyle you would and even tried to make some progress on your plethora of unfinished songs. As it turned out, you worked slower when you wrote alone.

You knew that as the remaining tour dates dwindled and the band’s return to LA drew closer, you eventually would have to approach Eddie again to write together. It was indisputable that whatever the two of you produced together was almost always better than what you accomplished alone.

How could you possibly approach him when you could barely look at him without dying of mortification? With Steve, at least, you could get some of the sexual energy out on stage, but with Eddie you didn’t have the same luxury and it stayed bottled up.

All of this, along with Argyle’s words from earlier in the evening made focusing nearly impossible and you gave up on writing all together, deciding to call it a night and head to bed. To your chagrin, the better part of the night was spent tossing and turning trying to evict the thoughts and ideas that had begun to formulate in your mind fueled by a lack of sleep, stress and desperation. And suddenly, you had an idea.

Admittedly, it was not a very good idea. It was actually probably a very bad idea. A ruinous idea even. And yet, you found yourself pulling the covers off yourself and stumbling into a pair of slippers, perplexed by your actions. You wondered, as you blearily shuffled down the identical hotel halls why you weren’t trying to talk yourself out of this idea—one that you were certain was going to change everything. Perhaps you were itching for a new thrill. Or maybe you were as selfish as everyone seemed to believe. Maybe it was the poison that had settled in your heart before you were old enough to know better, insisting that there was no other option for you. Or maybe you were giving yourself far too much credit and you were simply horny.

Whatever the reason, it brought you directly to Eddie Munson’s door.

***

EDDIE: I swear I thought I was dreaming when I saw her there, standing outside my door in this tiny pajama top and even tinier short. They had little cherries on them. I remember thinking they were so cute. Her hair was all a mess. I thought that was cute too.

After probably 5 minutes of us standing there in the doorway, I finally got my brain to work enough to invite her in. She seemed nervous at first. Sort of paced around the room, not saying anything for a while and then—I swear to God—she asks, “Do you want to sleep with me?” out of fucking nowhere. If I hadn’t been there myself, I would’ve never believed it. Hell, even telling you now, part of me thinks I made it up.

My brain short-circuited because I couldn’t even respond. I just stared at her with my jaw on the fucking floor, trying to remember what the signs of a stroke were.

***

“Are you serious?” Eddie spits out, voice hoarse with shock at your overly-direct question.

You nod, wordlessly, trying to ignore the panic that has begun to set in.

“Why?” he presses.

You shrug, which he doesn’t find sufficient because he nods along, trying to draw the reasons from you.

“We both like sex,” you explain, clumsily, “and I find you attractive and I think you find me attractive, too—” he nods feverishly at this—“so why not have some fun?”

You try to say this last part enticingly but aren’t sure you pulled it off until you see a flush play itself across his pretty features.

“Why me? Why not Harrington?”

Even though you had anticipated the question, you can’t help but steel yourself as you respond, “Because we like each other enough for it to be fun but not enough for either of us to get attached.”

You watched, with bated breath as the thoughts played out over Eddie’s features and when you see a flash of what could be hurt you entertain for the briefest moment, the idea that maybe someone could get hurt but the thought is pushed away as a lazy grin begins to spread over his face and a newfound cockiness color his features.

Suddenly, he is much closer, and the space between your two bodies draws thin.

“Now?” he asks.

“Yes, now,” you squeak out as he encroaches in on you, fingertips grazing the bare skin on your hips.

You take a step towards him, moving to stand flush against his hip, invitingly and weave a hand through his unruly bed head curls. You want him to know how much you want this—how much you’ve wanted this. It was inevitable really, there had always been a tension between the two of you. Whether it was the hot friction of dislike , the bold spark of creative partnership or the hot embers of sexual tension, the two of you burned for one another just the same.

He leans in for a kiss when your impatience gets the best of you and you rush to meet him halfway.

He tastes like cigarettes and cherries, a taste you revel in as his lips move languidly over yours. Suddenly, he takes your bottom lip between his teeth and lightly tugs, and a moan tumbles out of you.

“We can’t tell anyone,” you mutter into the kiss and it goes unacknowledged.

The cold of his rings meets your nipples through the thin fabric of your strappy pajama top and your body arches in response.

The kiss is broken you are left gasping for air. Eddie wastes no time in attaching his lips to your neck, his tongue tracing over your collarbone hotly.

The straps of your top are shucked of your shoulders and the fabric bunched down towards your middle and a trail of kisses following in its wake.

Your knees hit the edge of the bed, and the hands in your waist guide you down in a fluid motion.

Your eyes flutter as wet kisses are peppered over your breasts.

“Come on princess, let me hear those pretty noises,” Eddie murmurs into your skin, his hot breath covering you in goosebumps.

A heady moan escapes you, almost on command. It would’ve embarrassed you if you still had the decency to care.

A trail of kisses and suddenly Eddie is thumbing at the waistband of your shorts. You nod fervently when his eyes suddenly trail up to find you, but that’s not enough for him.

“Come on, baby,” he teases, “tell me what you want.”

You throw your head back in frustration and want and Eddie takes this lapse in response to run his hand sloppily over your clothed core.

“So wet,” he murmured, “so pretty.”

You let out a desperate laugh at this and his eyes are back on you, expectantly and any resistant you have dissipates.

“Touch me, please,” you sigh, half plea, half demand.

It’s not a hard sell because your shorts and underwear are gone in a flash and cold rings are pulling your thighs wide open.

You reach out towards Eddie’s curls for purchase, gently tugging him closer to your core, hoping he’d get the message.

A moment of clarity cuts through your haze and suddenly you’re pulling him up by his hair, forcing eye contact.

“No one can know,” you insists.

He’s all half-lidded eyes and dazed smile when he’s looking at you.

Leaning in to grab his jaw in your palm, you pull him close. This is important.

“Eddie, no one can know. Promise me,” you repeat again.

He nods in agreement, even though his expression leads you to believe you could’ve asked anything in that moment and he would’ve readily acquiesced.

“No one can know,” he affirms before hitching your body closer with a harsh tug on your thighs and disappearing in between your legs, mouth latching hotly to where you need him the most.

***

EDDIE: We started sleeping together that night. A no strings attached type thing. We had to keep it a secret. She didn’t want to hurt Harrington’s feelings which I understood. He was a good guy and anyone could tell he was head over heels for her.

And she was just… well, I guess she was just afraid. We were kind of the same in that way. Couldn’t hold onto anything without crushing it into dust.

***

MAY 1st, 1984–STATEN ISLAND, NY—THE UPSIDE DOWN TOUR

Eddie’s hands are curled around your thighs, keeping your body balanced on the flimsy tour bus bathroom sink. His silver rings dig into the soft flesh of your thigh in a way that you are certain will leave bruises in their wake.

You have to be quiet, you know that. Even if the rest of the band had taken a quick pit stop between Philly and New York to explore the Staten Island Zoo and the likelihood of them coming back this early was low, it wasn’t non-existent . This left you stifling your own moans into the back of your hand as Eddie rocked into you languidly and delicious.

Your hand moved to steady itself behind you as he lets go of your left thigh and places the pad of his thumb on the soft flesh of your clit, causing you to forget nearly everything.

He seems to anticipate your next move though, because his mouth is quickly on yours, tongue gliding over your bottom lip and effectively keeping you quiet.

The angle of his hips meeting your core and his nimble fingers worked together to bring you closer to your release.

“I can feel it, baby, you’re close aren’t you?”

You nod feverishly, eyes screwed shut, “Yes, so good Eds. I’m gonna cum,” you manage to squeak out.

“C’mon pretty girl, look at me,” Eddie instructs firmly, but you can tell by the strain in his voice that he’s not too far behind, “wanna see you when you cum.”

You force your eyes open and he rewards you by pressing his unoccupied thumb into your bottom lip which you greedily take into your mouth.

Your release washes over you in a wave and you watch moments later as Eddie finds his own.

The two of you are left panting for a few moments as you try to steady yourselves. Once you find your bearings, you lower yourself from the sink and adjust the sundress that was so carelessly shucked to your hips and Eddie busies himself with disposing of the condom discreetly.

Turning to the bathroom mirror, you make an attempt at taming your haphazard hair and fixing your smudged lipstick before making a move for the door.

“Well, that was nice,” you offer before spilling into the tour bus’s common space.

“Wait,” Eddie cries out as he’s still adjusting his belt, “where are you going?”

You shrug nonchalantly in response but don’t turn around, “Back to the girls’ bus.”

“You don’t want to… you don’t want to stick around maybe? We could do some writing?” Eddie sounds out of breath when he asks but you chalk it up to the sex.

“Better not. It might look suspicious,” you explain as you take the stops down from the bus, two at a time.

“Right, wouldn’t want that,” Eddie squeaks out and you smile back at him, grateful for his understanding.

“See you later, Eds.”

Eddie doesn’t say anything back, but when you look back after having boarded your own bus, he’s still standing on the bottom step, eyes still on you.

***

EDDIE: Let’s get the record straight about something though, I didn’t steal her away from anyone. She is her own person first of all, not some thing to be stolen. And second of all, she came to me first. Not the other way around. And! She and Harrington weren’t even really seeing each other. So, other than the lying, it truthfully wasn’t that bad.

But then again, does the truth even matter? Especially now? After everything?

INTERVIEWER: It does to me and to you too, I think, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.

EDDIE: Has anyone ever told you you’re too smart for your own good?

***

MAY 3rd, 1984–NEW YORK CITY, NY—THE UPSIDE DOWN TOUR

It was easy, really, to keep your fling with Eddie a secret from the rest of the band. Most of them were barely paying attention to what you were doing anyway.

Nancy and Jonathan were once again preoccupied with waiting by the phone to hear from Jonathan’s mother, Joyce. Will’s condition had once again worsen and the two were on high alert.

Robin and Steve were busy sightseeing and pointedly only talking to you when necessary. They weren’t hostile, per se, (or at least, Steve wasn’t) but they also made a point to not invite you to their outing. You want to tell them to be wary of the paps since the city is crawling with them in a matter akin to cockroaches but you know better than to try to tell Robin what to do.

Argyle, for his part, is in his own world.

The two of you were essentially in the clear barring rehearsals, shows and any stray public appearance. Still, you couldn’t help but want to take precautions.

***

EDDIE: She would never sleep over. You know, after. She was too worried about what would happen if Steve or anyone else went looking for her.

It shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did, she—we had made it very clear that this was a purely physical thing but, well, between you and me kid, I always knew it was never gonna be like that. At least not for me. I was in deep for way longer than I had realized.

***

Long, skilled fingers trace patterns along your naked spine. The movements are comforting, calming, you almost find yourself lulled to sleep. Except you know you shouldn’t—that you can’t.

Your eyes flutter open as you fight against the sleep that sets in. This isn’t your bed, you remind yourself, and you feel that in the brush of the sheets against your naked body that definitively do not feel like the sheets of your bed merely a few doors down. It’s a silly thought, truly, these sheets are probably the exact same as the ones on your bed and more so, you haven’t slept in your bed, a bed that is truly, strictly your own in years . Still, this does not feel quite right.

You will your body to stir, working actively against every nerve that is telling you not to move from the warm, comfortable haven you had found and the warm body next to you but you know better. This is a dance you’re familiar with: they ask you to stay but don’t really mean it and if they do it’s only to squeeze another quick fuck in.

“Why don’t you stay?” Eddie grumbles into your shoulder even though both of you already know the answer.

“What if someone comes looking for me, huh?” A question for a question, “it’ll be hard to explain to Hopper why I’m naked in your bed.”

“Bullshit. You’re one of the only ones Hopper doesn’t have to keep tabs on,” Eddie’s only partially playful in saying this.

“I miss my bed,” you rebut, plainly and the guitarist pouts in response.

“This is like the same bed, dude.”

“ ‘Dude’? You’ve been hanging out with Argyle way too much.”

“Whatever,” Eddie dismisses as his hand travels down along your spine to circle around the rise of your hip to the front of your body to pull you closer against his chest and you squeal.

His skilled fingers travel down to the apex of your legs and two of them swipe through your still-wet heat making you jolt. You’re still sensitive from earlier in the night and Eddie is using that to his advantage as he swipes over your clit.

You moan at the contact and your hips canter forward embarrassingly quickly.

“Don’t want to leave now, do you?” Eddie teases as he moves away from your clit to tease your entrance and you mewl in response. Before you know it a pair of lips are attached to your neck and two fingers are slowly, deliciously rocking in and out of your core. A hand moves up to grip Eddie by the hair as you moan.

“Just like that, please keep going.”

You feel Eddie’s length begin to harden against your back as his pace quickens and his thumb circles your clit bringing you closer to your third orgasm of the night.

“No fair,” you pant, as you feel a tightening in your lower stomach. “You can’t keep me around by giving me orgasms.”

He laughs at this, full-blown guffaws. “There’s no rule against it,” he says as his tongue slides over the shell of your ear. His fingers curl inside you and you gasp at the sudden pressure before succumbing to the feeling. Your release washes over you, unexpectedly and you cry out.

A few seconds reprieve give you a moment to come back to earth. You sigh contently feeling Eddie’s harden length against the swell of you ass.

It would be impolite to leave him hanging.

***

EDDIE: Not that I could complain about our arrangement.

***

You had fallen asleep. Accidentally, of course, but erroneously still. You realize this far too late as the harsh red numbers of the hotel room alarm clock blare at you angrily: 11:52 AM.

You scramble out of bed, covers flung in the process and you make a grab for your clothes that litter the floor. The sudden, frantic movement had inadvertently awoken the man sleeping next to you and you could hear the sleep in his voice as he tried to grasp the situation.

“Woah, woah where’s the fire, princess?”

“It’s nearly noon!” you respond, panic clear in your voice. “I accidentally fell asleep and now it’s almost noon!”

Your mind is overcome with worst case scenarios and conclusions that are easily jumped to as you imagine how this late morning can turn into your downfall.

Eddie tries valiantly to calm you down to no avail. You had done the one thing you said you never would: you stayed the night and now you didn’t know what to do with that other than panic and rush out the door half dressed and fully angered with yourself throwing a paltry goodbye to a very disoriented Eddie over your shoulder as you did so.

You try to fix your hair in the elevator along with your harried breath. Most of the band wake up late into the day, you try to remind yourself, especially after a night out.

It was not unusual to be walking the halls of your hotel room at this time, but you still felt overwhelmingly nervous walking back to your room in a way that you felt obviously gave away that you were coming back from a night of raunchy sex.

Your heart dropped to your stomach as the elevator doors slid open to reveal Steve Harrington waiting outside your door. This is what you were afraid of. Certainly one look at you and he’d know exactly what you were doing and probably with who and that would spell the end of the Downsides, you were sure of it.

You didn’t say anything as you exited the elevator and slowly made your way over, hoping to prolong the moment before everything came crumbling down as much as you could.

A few steps in and you had caught Steve’s attention. When he looked at you though, it wasn’t with anger or disappointment but with nerves.

***

STEVE: My parents moved around a lot after I left home. Indianapolis, Chicago, Phoenix in the winter and Bridgeport in the summer, you know, regular rich folks shit.

It’s not like I could ever go back home but when they heard the band was planning on making the stop they wanted me to visit them and they wanted me to bring my girlfriend to meet them. I hadn’t wanted to ask then, things were kind of awkward between the two of us, but they kept insisting. It’s like they didn’t believe I could’ve bagged a girl like her and they were willing to call me on it. So, I had no other choice but to ask.

***

You understood where Steve was coming from, truly, your own parents were rich and demanding. Plus, something about seeing your fake boyfriend waiting at your door after a night sleeping with someone else really made you susceptible to his request.

And really, there wasn’t a universe where you would say no to a request from Steve Harrington, so of course you were going to meet his parents.

***

MAY 6th, 1984–NEW YORK CITY, NY—30 ROCKEFELLER PLAZA

“So I heard you’re meeting the in-laws,” Eddie plops down in the makeup seat next to you

You’re backstage at The Nightly Show with Chris Palmer, getting ready for one of the few media appearances Hopper had managed to schedule during the band’s short stint in the city.

You can tell by the pinching between Eddie’s eyes and the snarl in his tone that he’s not in a good mood. You chock up his demeanor to the same thing that has dampened yours: the upcoming interview.

The lack of media appearances had been a welcomed change during the band’s time on the road and the adjustment back to them have been rocky. You, for one, are on edge at the idea of having to sit down with the smarmy, sexist, Chris Palmer who, on his late night show, had already taken a few swings at you for laughs and the thought of him having the chance to do so to your face, made you sick.

Which was why you barely responded to Eddie’s attempt t goading you and instead, shrug in response, tightly, “I guess.”

His eyes flit over you and his demeanor shift to one approximating concern. “Hey, you doing okay?” He moves closer, but not enough for it to be noticeable to anyone but you.

“Yeah,” you try to smile but it comes out a grimace, “just out of practice I guess.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I have an extra copy of Baldwin that I brought on accident if you want a distraction,” the book flashes in your periphery and this time your smile comes out genuine and unprompted.

While you can’t be one hundred percent certain, you’re familiar enough with the guitarist’s ways to know that this was no accident—he brought the book with you in mind.

You make a grab for it but have to keep yourself from leaning in for a hug at the risk of the others’ scrutiny and your makeup artist’s ire. Not knowing how else to communicate your appreciation, you give his shirt a quick—and hopefully discreet—tug. He seems to catch your drift because his fingers graze yours purposefully as you move your hand away.

The brief touch shoots electricity through you.

“Thanks,” you murmur before watching him jaunt away to his spot between Argyle and Jonathan, both of your moods seemingly lifted, if only for a moment.

You’re grateful for the distraction although it barely keeps your attention and instead end up thumbing through the pages anxiously to the chagrin of your makeup artist who is clearly relieved to pass you onto hair once the final touches of lipstick are applied.

You thank her profusely before moving next door where, to the surprise of exactly no one, you’re sat next to Steve. Or at least you think it’s Steve you’re sat next to given how little you can see through the thick mass of hairspray clouding the air.

“They don’t call me ‘The Hair’ for nothing, right?” He says when you catch his eye through the fumes.

His hair stylists laughs a little too hard for your taste and you can’t help but roll your eyes.

“I thought you hated that nickname,” you say, settling into your chair, ready to play your part as the doting girlfriend.

He shrugs nonchalantly, “there are worst things to be called.”

You scoff in response, your previous concerns regarding tonight’s host bubbling up again, “I am sure there are.”

Steve turns to you fully now, offering a charming apology to his stylist that leaves her a giggling puddle, and you can feel his eyes scanning you in assessment.

He suddenly reaches over to the vanity in front of him, “The vending machine in the hall is totally broke, it gave me four candy bars. Do you want one?”

You look over at the bars in his hand which he has fanned evenly and is waving as if they’re a wad of cash and you grab one out of his reach.

“These are my favorite,” you point out as you smooth a hand over the wrapper, remembering all the times you would raid the vending machines at venues or backstage before an interview for them.

“I know,” he says, impishly.

“Harrington, be straight with me, is the machine really broken or did you get me my favorite candy bar just to butter me up?”

He nods, self-satisfied, like a little kid happy to be caught doing something that they’ll know they’ll get away with. Your joint hairstylists coo in adoration at your dotting “boyfriend” and you can’t help but roll your eyes affectionately.

“You seem a bit nervous,” he explains, “and candy usually helps.”

You exhale a laugh at this and admit that he’s right, “candy usually does help,” before nibbling on the bar carefully for the sake of your lipstick.

“So, what’s up?” He asks after a beat, while the hairstylists are preoccupied cleaning their tools, “are you nervous about doing our thing again?”

He says the last part with an overly-dramatic eyebrow waggle and you giggle.

What do you mean?” You ask, avoiding his glance.

He almost rolls his eyes at this but catches himself, knowing better.

“You just seem off, like nervous almost? But not in the usual way you are nervous about interview, but like different. Normally you’re just nervous because you overthink it but now it’s like you’re dreading it.”

You snort at the way he saw right through you.

“It’s stupid but, Chris Palmer has made jokes about me in the past, you know, about my dating history and things like that and I’m not really looking forward to hearing what he has to say tonight,” you explain, bashfully.

“What do you mean? Do you and Chris know each other?”

“No,” you respond, shifting uncomfortably in your seat, “he just is, you know, one of those comedians who pokes fun at celebrities and he loves making fun of women who ‘get around’ or whatever and well, that was my reputation before you… and the band.”

You see realization dawn on Steve’s features, it’s almost like he doesn’t believe anyone could ever be mean to you. Realization quickly turns to anger.

“And you think he’ll make fun of you tonight in the same way? In front of everyone?”

You shrug at this, “maybe, he’s not exactly known for taking it easy on his guests, but I’m used to it, it’s annoying though.”

Steve shakes his head aggressively at your dismissal and bolts up from his char, “No, I’m going to go talk to Hopper or something, have him tell Palmer’s people he needs to cool it or we won’t perform.”

He’s marching down the hall now, purposeful and quick. You make a beeline after him running ahead to cut him off.

“Woah, hey, Steve, you do not need to do that.” The last thing you want is the band being labeled as difficult to work with this early on.

Standing in front of him with your hands flat on his chest, you suddenly become very aware of all the eyes peaking out of the different green rooms to watch the exchange curiously, band mates and crew alike.

Steve grabs one of your hands lightly in his and gives it a tepid squeeze.

“I’m sorry but I am not sitting up there tonight and listening to anyone say anything bad about you. That’s just not going to happen, okay? Please trust me, I won’t do anything crazy, I’ll just talk to Hopper and we’ll figure this out. I have your back, remember?”

You study his face as he says this and are caught up in the earnestness etched into every corner of it.

“Okay,” you finally say, softly and back away from his path, “thanks.”

And you watch him go.

***

STEVE: Hopper hadn’t known about the Palmer thing. He wouldn’t have booked us if he did. When I told him, he was pretty peeved and we immediately went to go talk to the stage manager—some smarmy guy whose name I don’t remember.

Told us essentially, that it was no use, that Palmer wrote his own material fresh before each show.

Well, after that, Hopper and I track down Palmer in his dressing room and, you know, we give him a shake down. Old school style. Like back when Hopper was on the force. … he did most of the shaking down, don’t get me wrong, I was definitely going to get in there, but he seemed to really enjoy it. Plus I had just gotten my hair done.

***

When Steve reappears in the green room half an hour later, Hopper is trailing him smiling giddily.

Coming up to your side, Steve wraps an arm around your shoulders and leans into your hair to murmur, “We took care of it.” The giant grin Hopper is sporting lets you know that they had and you exhale a sigh of relief, curling a hand against his bicep gratefully.

You spring back a few seconds later when you feel Eddie’s heavy gaze from the spot he occupied next to you, eyes boring into all the places your body is touching Steve’s.

You can sense Steve’s confusion at the lost contact but before anything else can be said or done, the stage manager appears to move escort the band to the sound stage saving you from having to navigate the complex social dynamic of interacting with your fake boyfriend who wants to be your real boyfriend and your band rival turned friend-with-benefits. Gratefully, you allow yourself to believe for the first time, that maybe luck would be on your side and tonight wouldn’t be so bad.

***

NANCY: Do I think Chris Palmer had a personal vendetta against her? No, not going into that night, anyway. I think he was just a misogynistic idiot who didn’t know what to do about a talented and beautiful woman who also did whatever she wanted. His mind couldn’t wrap around that.

That was true for a lot of men back then. And now too.

JONATHAN: It felt like Chris had a personal vendetta against her.

***

The first half of the interview went well enough.

The band was welcomed with great fanfare and everyone filed towards the couches in the center of the stage next to the large mahogany desk Chris sat behind. You and Steve were, of course, together at the forefront and you could hear the collective cooing when he helped you down the platform.

The interview started out mild, questions about the tour and being on the road. Thankfully, Steve took the helm for most of them with the band weighing in throughout.

To your surprise, Chris directs his next question to you and Eddie.

“You two are the newest additions to the band, how has the transition been coming from working as a solo artist and from a band of a whole different genre to the Downsides and what made you want to make the change?”

The question was surprisingly insightful which took you a second to process and come up with an answer that wasn’t “Well, Chris, we were forced to join The Downsides at the risk of our careers ending completely.”

Eddie beats you to it, “The royalty checks are better than they are when you’re in a metal band for one—“ it takes the audience a second to realize this is a joke, but when they do the laugh pays off— “but honestly, I like the stability. What they don’t tell you, kids, is that too much rock and roll can be bad for you.” He says this part directly to the camera with a devilish grin.

“What about you?” Chris turns to you once the laughter subside, “do you miss being a free agent?”

You ignore how pointed that feels and smile in response.

“Not at all, the band has been super welcoming and there’s something really rewarding about working together to make something great happen.”

“Don’t miss your old duet partners at all?” The host needles.

“No, not really. At the risk of sounding cheesy Chris, I think I found my forever duet partner,” you punctuate your response with a pointed smile at Steve.

The audience eats your response up but you can tell that Chris is not ready to let it go. Luckily for you, a well-timed commercial break saves you from further questioning.

When the cameras start rolling once more though and the segment is reintroduced, Chris flashes you a wolfish smile.

“So, does this mean you’ve settled down a bit more, now that you’re a one-duet partner type of gal?”

The question makes your throat run dry because you know that there’s another, much tricker question behind it.

“No, not at all. It’s nice to be a part of something,” you respond placidly.

Chris barely lets you finish before launching into, “well the press sure does miss writing about you! Did you know that, in the last year, you were one of the most mentioned stars on Subrosa, popping up a total of 65 times only rivaled by one Evelyn Hugo in 1967.”

You don’t really know what to say or where this is going but the feeling of dread in your stomach grows.

“In fact,” he continues, “why don’t we play a game that we cooked up with the help of your Subrosa mentions?”

Games were something Chris did with his guests pretty frequently and they varied in execution but in nature there was always something a bit embarrassing to them and tonight was no exception. But instead of going after the band as a whole, this game was targeted specifically at you .

It was a guessing game, “Simple enough,” Chris touted as his assistants bring out giant blown up headshots of various male celebrities, guess which of the men you had been involved with according to the media and which ones you hadn’t been. The joke of course was that you had been linked to all the men whose pictures had been provided.

The looks of shock on your bandmates’ faces perfectly countered the one of self-satisfaction painted on Chris’s smarmy face.

You felt Steve stiffen beside you, leg twitching as if he was getting ready to stand up and leave. Or punch Chris. Before he can, you place a stabilizing leg on his thigh and giving a squeeze. You didn’t want this to diverge into a fight and you refuse to let this vile man make a fool of you on live television.

“Well, this won’t do,” you smirk at Chris. “You only have half of my list out here, Chris! You’re missing quite a few other fellas. I thought you wanted to make this difficult.”

“Oh?” The host is clearly not expecting your response but has no choice to lean in since you clearly have the audience’s attention, “and who could we possibly be missing?”

“The crown prince of Monaco, for starters,” you respond, evenly, “and the entire Harlem Globetrotters ‘83 starting lineup—“ the crowd guffaws at your clear exaggeration, “—and most importantly, this guy,” you reach over to grab Steve’s chin and affectionately squeeze his face. At this, laughter turns into applause and from where you are sitting on the shared couch, you see Chris’s jaw tighten.

“Is there anyone who’s hasn’t made the list?” he cries, trying to turn the joke back on you.

“You, for starters,” you respond playfully, and then add before he can say anything, “but who knows? Maybe this band thing doesn’t work out and in a few years time I’ll become washed up and lower my standards and you and I can give it a shot.”

Before Chris can retort, Steve cuts in with an over-exaggerated, faux-jealous, “what about me?” That kicks off a jokey bit of banter between the three of you that takes the show all the way up to comercial.

***

NANCY: There was a second part to the game.

ROBIN: Yeah, that second thing was just mean. It was essentially the same premise as the first guessing game but instead of guessing different men she had been associated with, it was different nicknames she had been given by the media. They were not very nice names either, “Siren of the Strip”, “Heartbreak of Hollywood”, “Pop Music’s Maneater”, you get the gist.

Of course, like with the last “game” the joke was that it had been all is them.

***

The names had been a surprise. You didn’t know how to react and neither did your bandmates although you’re pretty sure you can feel the heat from Eddie’s glare from the other end of the set.

Still, you kept your cool and immediately admitted that all of them seemed familiar and instead turned the conversation into criticisms of each of the names, which was gaining too many laughs for Chris to try to stop it.

“See this one I don’t like at all,” you say, pointing to Malibu Minx that had been professionally printed on a giant poster board in newspaper font.

“Whys that?” The host asked wolfishly.

“Malibu Minx? Are you serious? Anyone with half a brain knows I’m from the Hills, not Malibu. Honestly, it’s a little insulting.”

“Come on, they can’t be that different,” Chris still plays along, even though your comment did not go where he wanted it to.

“Not at all! The Hills is where all the directors and actors live, Malibu is where divorced dads take their kids during their monthly weekend visits. It’s like, here on the east coast… well, I can’t think of an East Coast equivalent. Chris, help me out, where do you take your kids during your monthly visits?”

***

ROBIN: You should’ve seen his face when she said that.

NANCY: His first divorce had just gone public a few weeks prior. Guess it was still a sore spot. Not that he didn’t deserve it, he did, but he wasn’t used to his guests fighting back like that. The rest of the show was… tense and then after the show ended Palmer lost his cool.

STEVE: Honestly, I wanted to punch the guy since he brought out his stupid little games, but I was willing to leave things as they were that night, especially after she had put Palmer in his place, but we get backstage after the show and he starts yelling at her about having “embarrassed” him or something like he hadn’t essentially called her a bunch of names on live tv. Before any of us could even do anything though, Hopper had him pinned against the wall, saying stuff like “I thought we had come to an agreement about the jokes, Palmer.”

He gave him a good shake down, you know how intimidating Hopper can be. Plus Chris looked like he had never been in a fight in his life so he was shaking in his boots immediately. Security had to come to get Hopper off of him and we were all thrown out after that.

ROBIN: Yeah, we were never asked back after that not that we would’ve gone back.It was a shame for him, really, that 1984 episode of The Nightly Show with Chris Palmer was one of the most viewed episodes in the ten years he was on the air.

***

You return to your hotel room in the early hours of the morning, after having gone for celebratory drinks with Hopper and the rest of the band. Everyone had been thoroughly impressed with the way you had held your own against Chris and even previously-icy Robin seemed impressed and warmed by you.

You hadn’t had much of an opportunity to talk to Eddie throughout the night, something about the undecipherable expression he wore most of the night had left you curious and you couldn’t help but wonder if maybe hearing your entire history splayed out like that in front of him and the rest of the world had soured you and he no longer wants anything to do with you.

As you’re getting ready for bed, the ringing coming from the hotel phone jolts you.

“Hello?” You breathe out, harried and confused into the handset.

“Hey, I didn’t wake you did I?” Eddie’s concerned question statics over the line.

“No,” you respond, relief coloring your tone, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, really, I was just thinking how hot it was when you told that dickbag off and I was wondering if you’d be up to me showing you that.”

“Showing me what, exactly?”

“Showing you how hot I think you are. If you’re up for it, of course?”

25 minutes later, with Eddie’s face buried messily in your pussy you’re near inching closer to release when you hear him muttering into the soft skin of your thigh while two of his skilled fingers begin pumping in an out of your tight heat.

“You know, if I didn’t know better, seeing you all hot and desperate to come on my fingers like this would make me think you are a minx.”

Hearing him call you that so low and growly, left you burning all over and you keen into his hands. Knowing his words had the intended effect, Eddie smirks into your thigh and speeds up his fingers.

“Only for you,” you respond once you can find your voice again.

Eddie give a low moan at this and in an instant he clamors up onto the bed and moves to replace his fingers with his dick.

“Say that again,” he challenges as he swipes his tip through your folds and you cry out.

“I’m a minx for you,” you nod along to what you’re saying, hoping that it makes him more eager to stop teasing and finally push inside you.

He does exactly as you hoped and pushes his hips into you hungrily, setting a punishing pace, “Only for me right?”

You nod along, fucked out and on the verge of coming agian, “Yes, only for you, Eddie.”

You don’t make it back to your hotel room that night either.

***

MAY 11TH, 1984–BRIDGEPORT, CT—THE UPSIDE DOWN TOUR

“Are you sure the’d still want to meet me?” You ask Steve one evening, brushing your hair standing in the doorway of the door that separated your hotel room from his.

“Yeah, of course! Why do you keep asking that? Wait… do you not want to meet them anymore? It’s okay if you don’t,” Steve is already trying to hide his disappointment.

“No,” you rush to correct as you follow the sound of his voice to the bathroom, “it’s not that at all it’s just that, well with all the Minx stuff in the news, I worry that maybe they won’t think I’m worthy of the Harrington brood or whatever.”

You’re of course referring to the drama that had followed the band’s appearance on the Chris Palmer show where Chris had given an interview to Subrosa after you had affectively embarrassed him on his own show calling the band talentless and you worthy of every bad name that the press could call you and more.

In response to the interview—and partially inspired by your encounter with Eddie following the interview— you had gotten the word ‘Minx’ embroidered on the back of your favorite suede jacket which you made sure to wear to all of your subsequent interviews and media appearances for the rest of the band’s time in New York.

“First of all,” Steve begins, rubbing shaving cream over his chin “neither of my parents would ever dream of reading a gossip magazine and even if they did, they hate Chris Palmer, always said he was too ‘blue’ whatever that means. Plus, historically, dinners with my parents haven’t been the most enjoyable affairs, so having you there would really mean a lot to me.”

You smile understandingly at him through the mirror and suddenly the whole domesticity of it all strikes you. In another life, the two of you could’ve simply been a couple discussing meeting one another’s parents in the bathroom of a shitty apartment the two of you shared.

The fantasy is interrupted abruptly by a bright cacophony of knocks at your door.

“That must be Eddie,” you explained, “he’s coming over to write.”

(He really was.)

With all the fucking the two of you had been doing, writing music had fallen to the wayside and as the end of the tour was insight and Murray’s quota of songs still not met, which meant you had to get writing.

You scramble over to your door and let Eddie in. He almost leans in for a kiss but catches himself when he notices the open door leading into Steve’s room where he is very much watching the interaction with prying eyes.

The two nod at each other in greeting. You linger in the middle between either sides the awkwardness tangible in the air. You look at Eddie’s urging eyes and then flash back to Steve whose puppy dog gaze and newly received information about his parents make you do something that is surprising even to yourself.

“Do you want to help us write, Steve?”

The situation is awkward at first, especially with the glares Eddie seems to shoot you and Steve’s shy insistence that he’s no good at writing music but eventually, after two bottles of wine, the tension subsides, at least a little.

Eddie and you had presented Steve with a few songs that were very close to done but just needed a bit more work on the melody hoping that maybe he had suggestions.

He scans over a song that Eddie had primarily written, “Wild Ride”. Steve had an idea for a rhythm that could match the song and before long, he and Eddie were fully invested, both of them bent over their guitars trying out the rhythm and shooting notes at each other. Arrangement was definitely not your strong suit, however, you were more than happy to watch the two guitarists work

Steve was fascinatingly somber when it came to writing. He would play the notes over and over again until he found what came next, treating the whole thing like a puzzle that needed to be solved and running his hands through his hair when he was particularly stuck on something. His eyes would close while he was thinking, his lashes fluttering on his cheeks and then blinking open prettily when he had finally thought of a solution.

Eddie was much less delicate and would play around with notes, sometimes scrapping what he had all together and starting new. He tucked a pen behind his ear and was constantly scribbling and crossing out. When he focused on playing, his tongue would stick out from the corner of his mouth a bit.

They worked well together, never talked over each other, and were always willing to listen to what the other had come up with. As Eddie would write notes down in his notebook, Steve would lean in really close, so they were almost cheek to cheek looking down at the paper together. It almost seemed like they’d forgotten you were there and you were too busy refining some lackluster choruses to notice.

Eventually, they hit a wall in their writing and more drinks were ordered through room service, and soon the three of you are sprawled across your bed, drinking French 75s and watching a late night marathon of “Night Court”.

“Hey Harrington, you excited to see your folks soon?” Eddie asks during a comercial break.

You turn to look and see Steve grimace at the question. You know Eddie means well in asking, but the question ruffles Steve nonetheless.

“Not really. We were never really close on account of them sending me away to boarding school when I was eleven and then when we were together my dad’s favorite pastime was criticizing me and my mom’s was drinking,” Steve says, finally, “seeing them once a year is probably the most I can stand, honestly.”

A beat of silence settles over the group before Eddie finally speaks.

“Sorry to hear that man. If it makes you feel better, my folks weren’t exactly parents of the year either,” Eddie responds.

“That sucks, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, my uncle took me in. He’s a great guy. What about you, Princess? Were your parents the perfect image of love and support?”

You scoff. “Barely. I went back to their house right before the tour started, to get some of my things, and they thought I was breaking in and called the cops.”

“Well,” Eddie bristles, “looks like being a terrible parent can happen across all tax brackets, huh?”

“Yeah, we kinda got fucked over, a bit,” you say and the other two murmur in agreement.

The three of you stay silent for a bit, processing what had been shared and how to possibly move past such a heavy topic.

It’s Steve who finally breaks the silence, “Do you guys think Dan and Christine will ever get together?”

“Oh, yeah.” “Definitely.”

***

“This restaurant is obscenely nice,” you shift uncomfortable in your chair, taking in the surrounds and the unfamiliar unease of being somewhere where you felt out of place. Of course, you had grown up in fine dining establishments in California, but East Coast wealth seemed like a different beast entirely.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Robin huffs next to you, “but what else can you expect from Stan and Carolyn? They’re obsessed with letting everyone know how rich they are.”

She of course, had the advantage of knowing Steve’s parents after over a decade of friendship and it made sense that Steve, wanting as much of a buffer between himself and his parents during this dinner, had invited her along as well. So far, she had only been a little hostile towards you which was a personal victory.

The two of you spot Steve entering the restaurant at the same time along with two middle-aged companions that, based off resemblance alone, you knew were his parents.

Steve’s father had the same starkly defined chin and nose as his son, but none his face didn’t turn up into a natural smile like his son. He stood stately and stern, eyes surveying the room with little interest. His wife, Steve’s mother, was made up of refined, delicate features offset by the bright eyes that were clearly passed on to her son. Her entire outfit was meticulously perfect in a way that almost seemed artificial.

Steve introduces you with fanfare and pride that you don’t consider yourself worthy of but you smile along anyway and graciously shake Mr. Harrington’s hand and exchange dotted cheek kisses with Mrs. Harrington.

You exchange niceties and think to yourself maybe they won’t be so bad.

“Stan, Carolyn, it’s so nice to see you again,” Robin grits out through a tight smile.

Carolyn pats her on the shoulder in response and says,, “Please dear, call us Mr. and Mrs. Harrington. We’re out in public after all.”

***

ROBIN: Yeah, Carolyn and Stan hated me. It was like they could smell the gay on me. Or the poor. From the moment Steve had invited me over to spend spring break with them in the Hamptons they did not like me. They despised the idea of their son’s best friend being some scholarship kid whose parents were public school teachers. However bad they were to me though, they were far worse to Steve, which is why I ever even bothered going to these lunches. I didn’t want him to have to suffer through them alone.

***

“Sorry we’re late,” Mr. Harrington drawls as the three of them take their seats at the table, “our idiotic son forgot to bring cash for the valet.” His statement is punctuated by a mirthless laugh and you can tell by the matching expressions on Steve and Robin’s faces and the way Mrs. Harrington makes a grab for the bottle of wine on the table that this level of disparagement is normal for the Harrington household. You remember the comment Steve had made a few nights ago about his father’s favorite pastime

“Don’t worry,” you respond with a smooth smile, “we’re so used to having drivers back in LA—“ a lie “—I can see why Steve forgot about valet. Although, I’m sure you both know what that’s like.”

Mr. Harrington stalled. Everyone at the table—including you—knew that the Harringtons were nowhere near wealthy enough to afford personal drivers but if there was one thing insecure men, like Stan Harrington would never do is admit that they couldn’t afford something.

You were familiar with these types of ego games from your youth, although you took no pleasure in them.

Your youth was spent tucked into your mothers skirts during luncheons and tea and fashion fittings, listening as the women would eviscerate each other with laser-edge precision. If there was anything your mother had taught you was how to sow the seeds of insecurity in someone and although it did not come naturally, you could make an exception for Stan Harrington.

***

ROBIN: It was easy to forget most of the time that she came from money but damn, the way she handled Stan that night made me think that some politician was missing out on having her as their cutthroat third wife. It was like watching an artist paint or someone do sleight of hand magic. He would say something mean about Steve and she would just turn it right back around on him but she would be smiling and batting her eyes the entire time. Even with that though, it wasn’t an easy lunch to get through.

***

“It’s so nice that Stevie was able to make something of himself through his little music,” Carolyn fawns. She means well, for the most part, but the four glasses of wine she’s downed during the last twenty minutes makes her words come out just a tad but demeaning.

Her husband sneers in response, “You say that now, Carolyn, but soon he’ll be back here asking for a spot in the firm.”

“Hopefully not too soon,” you giggle in response running a hand alongside Steve’s arm, “the studio wants us recording our second album as soon as we get back and then we’ll be touring again and we’ll need him for that.”

“But darling, you can’t possibly expect to do that for the rest of your life,” Mrs. Harrington sighs, “eventually the two of you will want to settle down and have children, live a normal life.”

“Well, yeah Mom, but that’ll be a long time down the road—“

“Making music is our life, we don’t want to ever stop—“

You and Steve halt your explanation once you realize what the other is saying. The two of you exchange blank, confused looks and it’s not until Robin says, “I’m sure that they’ll decide what their next move is when the time comes. We still have plenty of time.” That the two of you jolt back into the conversation.

“Right,” you add, “plus with the royalties deal we just secured on this new album, we will be pretty stable financially.”

The rest of the lunch is spent fielding Mr. Harrington’s questions about financials and Mrs. Harrington’s questions about grandchildren. It’s exhausting but the three of you come out mostly unscathed.

The five of you part ways outside of the restaurant, and not a moment too soon. The wave of relief that washes over the three of you once the Harringtons have been sent on their way in a taxi is palpable.

You and Robin offer to buy Steve a drink for having survived the lunch and Steve offers to buy the two of you a drink as a thank you for playing roles in that. Soon, one drink each turns into multiple rounds of drinks spent recounting all the agonizing points of the lunch.

This leaves the three of you stumbling into your hotel in the early hours of the evening, completely and utterly drunk. You ride the elevator together, a mess of laughter and then bid goodbye to one another in front of Robin’s door. She’s ready to sleep off the drinking and you do not blame her.

This leaves you and Steve to stumble back to your joint rooms together.

“You know, seeing you today having dinner with my parents and my best friend almost made the whole thing feel real,” Steve says lowly, standing in your doorway.

“Steve don’t,” you plea softly.

“I just don’t get it,” he cries in response, “we would be so good together. We are good together: we have so much in common and we just make sense, everyone thinks so except for you. Just… tell me why wouldn’t you give us a shot?”

You’re in your room now, perched on the edge of the bed , teary eyes focused on everything in the room other than the man who stands in front of you.

“Steve that’s not fair. It’s just never going to work, why can’t you accept that?”

“Because I’m in love with you,” Steve blurts out, “and I know I may not be your first choice, but if you give me a chance I will prove that I’m good enough—“

“Steve, stop please don’t say that, you’re plenty good enough for anyone,” you stand now, to face him.

“Just not you,” he says devastated.

“No, listen, it’s not like that. I just, I don’t know if I can be with someone in the way that you want me to, okay? You want someone to eventually settle down with and I’m not that girl. I’m the fucking Minx for God’s sake not someone’s future wife. In another life maybe, we could’ve made each other very happy, who knows? But in this one, I can’t be what you want.”

The two of you stand there in silence for what feels like an eternity. Finally, Steve moves, walking past you to sit in your vanity chair.

“Is there someone else you have feelings for?” He asks, timidly.

“No, no,” you insist. “I told you, I don’t do that.”

He laughs mirthlessly in response, “I think you’re wrong about that. I think you’ll find someone, maybe not now or in a year or in five years, but eventually you will find someone and they will make you want to try and you will love them and I will have to watch you fall in love with them and we will both realize I was just not worth it.”

PLAY NEXT TRACK🎤

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fan-of-mulligan · 3 years

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FOM BLOG: BLACKPOOL 4-1 GILLINGHAM

My Thoughts On Blackpool V Gillingham On Easter Monday………

No-one likes to see the team you support lose a football match, and often after a defeat, there would be post match analysis regarding controversial refereeing decisions and players under-performing or the tactical set up wasn’t right at the start of the game, But sometimes there is a match that comes along where the opposition have completely out-classed you and the opposition fully deserve to win, And Blackpool’s 4-1 win against Gillingham is one of those games where you can just hold your hands up and say the better team won and Blackpool fully deserved to win against Gillingham.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t talking points throughout the game and reasons why Gillingham couldn’t build on our 1-0 win against Wigan Athletic by getting a result against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road, but the build up and anticipation to this match was huge, because both Gillingham and Blackpool were in fantastic form, both teams went into this match off the back of wins in there previous league game - Gillingham winning 1-0 at home to Wigan Athletic and Blackpool winning 2-0 away from home against Swindon Town - Both teams have got players in goal-scoring form, Jerry Yates scoring four goals in his last three appearances for Blackpool, And Vadaine Oliver scoring nine goals in his previous nine appearances for The Gills, And both teams have been on a remarkable run of form since January to pull themselves up The League One Table to move themselves into playoff contention.

And speaking about the playoffs, Gillingham’s 4-1 away defeat against Blackpool has put a massive dent into Gillingham’s Playoff Ambitions, Because Blackpool have moved five points ahead of The Gills and Blackpool have got three games in hand over The Gills as well, granted, Blackpool have to play against Lincoln City and two matches against Sunderland this month and Blackpool are playing Saturday / Tuesday every week between now and the end of the season, But If Gillingham were to have won against Blackpool, This would have put Gillingham in a fantastic position with six league games to go between now and the end of the season, not to mention that Blackpool would still have those two fixtures against Sunderland and the match against Lincoln City to play, So Gillingham could have asserted more pressure on Blackpool had The Gills won on Easter Monday.

And With Gillingham only having six league games left of The 2020 / 2021 Season, And Gillingham are ninth with fifty eight points from forty matches played, Gillingham probably have to win five of our remaining six league games to stand any chance of reaching the playoffs at the end of the season, five wins would put Gillingham on seventy three points and that probably is going to be the points tally required for a playoff spot at the end of the season, But even if Gillingham were to finish outside of the playoffs at the end of the season, Gillingham not making the playoffs shouldn't tarnish what has been a remarkable run of form for Gillingham in the second half of the season, And If someone said to us at the start of the season that The Gills are in slight contention for a playoff position after forty league games played, we would have taken that with both hands.

But losing 4-1 away to Blackpool isn’t the reason why Gillingham face a uphill battle to finish in the top six, You can point to losing five league games in a row with Gillingham not scoring a goal, losing 1-0 at home to Burton Albion, losing 3-1 away against Northampton Town, losing 1-0 away to Plymouth Argyle and The 1-0 away defeats to Fleetwood Town and AFC Wimbledon, Because these are the matches that Gillingham needed to win to mount a serious challenge for a playoff spot in League One at the end of the season, And if Gillingham were to win five of our last six league games then maybe a playoff spot is still up for grabs for The Gills, But maybe if Gillingham had won the two league games against AFC Wimbledon and Fleetwood Town for example, then maybe Gillingham would have more wiggle room to try and secure ourselves a playoff spot, rather then be in the current situation where Gills have to win all of our remaining league games to give ourselves the best possible chance.

Gillingham Lined Up As Follows For The Blackpool V Gillingham Match On Easter Monday,,,,, Jack Bonham (GK), Ryan Jackson, Jack Tucker, Connor Ogilvie, Tom O’Connor, Jordan Graham, Stuart O’Keefe, Kyle Dempsey, Alex MacDonald, John Akinde, Vadaine Oliver Substitutes: Sacha Bastien (GK), Robbie McKenzie, Matty Willock, Henry Woods, Olly Lee, Dominic Samuel, Tyreke Johnson - Robbie Cundy clearly didn’t recover from his injury in time to be included in the match-day squad, perhaps Steve Evans decided that it would be best for Robbie Cundy to have a full weeks training in preparation for The Shrewsbury Town Game At Priestfield Stadium, It is also no surprise to see Gillingham stick with the same starting line up which has been the backbone of Gillingham’s improved league form, And the team really has been picking itself in recent weeks.

FIRST HALF:

Two Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham create the first goal-scoring opportunity in this all important League One Clash, Gillingham have a throw on down the right side of the pitch in Blackpool’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw On, Ryan Jackson hurls in a long dangerous throw and Dan Ballard wins the initial aerial challenge up against Vadaine Oliver, But Dan Ballard’s headed clearance drops to Alex MacDonald inside Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Alex MacDonald has volleyed a first time effort towards goal just over the crossbar, and that was the chance for Gillingham to open the scoring.

Four Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool came very close to taking the lead, Blackpool have a throw on down the left side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Ollie Turton throws the ball short towards Elliott Embleton, And Elliott Embleton plays a short pass back towards Ollie Turton, And Ollie Turton plays a pass forwards towards Ellis Simms, And Ellis Simms passes the ball out-wide towards Elliott Embleton, who manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball back to Grant Ward, And Grant Ward plays a short pass square to Elliott Embleton, And Elliott Embleton takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball towards Ellis Simms on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Ellis Simms lays the ball off to Grant Ward, who’s first time shot towards goal fails to hit the target by some considerable distance and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - But there was a lot of one touch pass and move football from Blackpool in the build up to that attack, which was the complete opposite of Gillingham’s best chance of the game with Ryan Jackson hurling in a long throw which lead to Alex MacDonald volleying the ball over the crossbar.

Unfortunately for Gillingham, Blackpool were able to open the scoring from the resulting goal-kick, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Vadaine Oliver wins the aerial challenge to header the ball on towards John Akinde and John Akinde manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Jordan Graham down the right side of the pitch, And Jordan Graham was looking around for passing options before playing a short pass square to Kyle Dempsey, And Kyle Dempsey takes a touch to get the ball under control before playing a short pass out-wide to Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham passes the ball back to Jack Tucker, And Jack Tucker takes no chances and passes the ball back towards Jack Bonham, And Jack Bonham takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball into Blackpool’s Half Of The Pitch, And Grant Ward wins the initial aerial challenge to header the ball into Gillingham’s Half and although Stuart O’Keefe wins the fifty / fifty challenge and intercepting the ball before Ellis Simms can get to the ball first, Stuart O’Keefe’s interception turns into a perfect pass for Jerry Yates to get on the end of, And Jerry Yates is through one on one, And Jerry Yates takes a few touches and shows great composure to accurately place the ball past the advancing Jack Bonham to give Blackpool the lead, and that goal from Jerry Yates is precisely what Gillingham didn’t want, because Gillingham have to win against Blackpool to give ourselves the best possible chance of competing for a playoff place, and now Gillingham are losing 1-0 to Blackpool at Bloomfield Road inside the first five minutes - BLACKPOOL 1-0 GILLINGHAM.

It’s not the best clearance from Jack Bonham which allows Grant Ward to win the aerial challenge on the halfway line, But it is the interception from Stuart O’Keefe which leads to Jerry Yates going through one on one with Jack Bonham, and with the goal-scoring form that Jerry Yates is in at the moment, you have to consider The Blackpool Striker favourite to stick the ball into the back of the net, but going 1-0 down is very frustrating, Because Alex MacDonald had the chance to give Gillingham the lead from Ryan Jackson’s long throw, and now Gillingham face a uphill battle to try and get back on to level terms at the very least.

And despite conceding so early against Blackpool with that goal from Jerry Yates, Gillingham should have equalised in the seventh minute, Blackpool have a throw on down the left side of the pitch in there own defensive final third, And Elliott Embleton throws the ball long down the line and Jerry Yates wins the initial aerial challenge to flick the ball on and Jack Tucker manages to kick the ball long down-field and Dan Ballard was looking to shield the ball out of play for A Blackpool Goal-Kick, And Dan Ballard was forced to touch the ball under pressure by John Akinde, and by preventing the ball from going out for A Gillingham Corner Kick, Dan Ballard has set up John Akinde and now John Akinde is through on goal down the left side of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And John Akinde almost manages to pick out Vadaine Oliver with a pass across the face of goal and Luke Garrett makes a goal-saving interception to prevent Vadaine Oliver from scoring the equaliser and the ball ricochets fortuitously into Chris Maxwell’s Grasp And The Blackpool Goalkeeper manages to gather the ball despite being under pressure from John Akinde - AND THAT WAS THE CHANCE FOR GILLINGHAM TO LEVEL THE GAME UP AT 1-1!!!!! - And looking at the highlights, the angle was perhaps too tight for John Akinde to go for goal and the pass to Vadaine Oliver was the right decision, But Luke Garrett has made a vital goal-saving interception to preserve Blackpool’s one goal lead, But that chance for Vadaine Oliver and Alex MacDonald’s volleyed effort towards goal shows that there is vulnerability in this Blackpool Defence for Gillingham to take advantage of.

And Eleven Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool were looking to double there lead With Jerry Yates getting to the loose ball after Jack Tucker had partially headed the ball clear and away from danger, And Jerry Yates gets the ball under control before passing the ball out-wide towards Sullay Kaikai down the left side of the pitch, And Sullay Kaikai gets the ball under control before playing a return pass square towards Jerry Yates on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Stuart O’Keefe makes a vital interception to prevent Jerry Yates from getting a shot off on goal and Stuart O’Keefe not only manages to make a vital interception, but he also manages to win a defensive free kick in Gillingham’s Final Third.

Thirteen Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool really should have gone 2-0 up, Kenny Dougall kicks the ball long down the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left - And Connor Ogilvie times his challenge on Ellis Simms to perfection to knock the ball out of play for A Blackpool Throw On In Gillingham’s Final Third, And it is from the resulting throw on where Blackpool should have scored for 2-0, Elliott Embleton throws the ball back to Ollie Turton, And Ollie Turton takes a touch to control the ball before managing to play a lofted pass over the top towards Ellis Simms down Gillingham’s left side of the pitch right on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Ellis Simms manages to retain possession of the ball before playing a short pass out-wide to Elliott Embleton, And Elliott Embleton passes the ball back towards Grant Ward, And Grant Ward takes a touch to control the ball before looking around for passing options and passes the ball square to Kenny Dougall, And Kenny Dougall takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Elliott Embleton, And Elliott Embleton takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Jerry Yates has headed the ball wide of the far left post, and had Jerry Yates headed the ball back across the face of goal, then Blackpool would have doubled there lead and gone 2-0 up.

And Jerry Yates not scoring for Blackpool proved to be very costly, Because Gillingham managed to equalise in The Fourteenth Minute Of The Match, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Vadaine Oliver flicks the ball on towards John Akinde and John Akinde manages to lay the ball off to Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald plays a first time pass through to John Akinde inside Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And John Akinde manages to retain possession of the ball before evading the attempted challenge from Ollie Turton and running in possession of the ball down towards the byline, And John Akinde manages to pull the ball back across the face of goal towards the near post, and Jordan Graham takes one touch to control the ball, and another touch to smash the ball low past Chris Maxwell and Jordan Graham has managed to level the game up at 1-1, And despite the protests from Chris Maxwell that Vadaine Oliver was offside - and it did look like Vadaine Oliver was going to be flagged for offside for a moment - Jordan Graham’s goal stands and the score-line is 1-1 at Bloomfield Road after fourteen minutes - BLACKPOOL 1-1 GILLINGHAM.

Jordan Graham’s first touch took the ball away from Kenny Dougall and Dan Ballard, And Jordan Graham was then able to level the score up at 1-1 with a very good finish, credit must go to John Akinde for the assist, Because whilst John Akinde almost assisted Vadaine Oliver earlier on in the match, this time, John Akinde was able to assist Jordan Graham, And John Akinde has got in and behind Blackpool’s Defence on a few occasions now and John Akinde is causing Blackpool a lot of problems defensively, and maybe this is something Gillingham can exploit throughout the rest of this match.

And having got back on to level terms in The Fourteenth Minute Of The Match, Blackpool came close to taking the lead in the next attack, Gillingham have a throw on down the left side of the pitch, And Tom O’Connor throws the ball long down the line and Vadaine Oliver manages too chest the ball under control before looking to play the ball over the top for John Akinde to get on the end of, But Grant Ward manages to intercept the ball and kick the ball long down-field and Jack Tucker headers the ball partially clear and away from goal and Grant Ward headers the ball forwards towards Ellis Simms, And Ellis Simms gets the ball under control before managing to pass the ball out-wide to Grant Ward, And Grant Ward manages to get the ball under control before passing the ball back out-wide to Elliott Embleton, and Elliott Embleton is looking to skilfully create a goal-scoring opportunity for Blackpool, And Elliott Embleton lays the ball off to Ollie Turton, And Ollie Turton plays a short pass out-wide to Grant Ward, And Grant Ward takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a low dangerous in-swinging cross and Elliott Embleton manages to deflect the ball up into the air and although Jack Bonham had gathered the ball with ease, the ball had already gone out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Blackpool are looking to pass the ball through the thirds and play intricate one, two touch pass and movement football, And Blackpool will get the ball out-wide before moving the ball back centrally to try and create a gap to pass the ball through to Jerry Yates and Ellis Simms in better goal-scoring opportunities, Where As Gillingham are direct and look to get the ball into the opposition’s half of the pitch before getting the ball down and try and get Dempsey and Graham in possession of the ball in positions on the pitch where both players can cause Blackpool problems defensively, the contrasting style’s of play is making for a interesting match, And all of the goal-scoring opportunities mentioned so far have been created within the first fifteen minutes of this match, and the score-line for Blackpool V Gillingham could easily end up as 4-4 from what we have seen so far.

And from the resulting goal-kick, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Jordan Thorniley pushes Vadaine Oliver in the back and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, And from the resulting free kick, Gillingham had a half chance to turn this match on it’s head and go 2-1 up, Tom O’Connor clips the ball from the resulting free kick inside Blackpool’s Penalty Area and although Connor Ogilvie wins the initial aerial challenge to header the ball back across the face of goal, Sullay Kaikai was able to partially clear the ball away from goal with an important clearance and Stuart O’Keefe is first to the loose ball, and Stuart O’Keefe passes the ball square to Alex MacDonald in a left / central area on the pitch, And Alex MacDonald takes a touch to control the ball before working his way into a crossing position, And Alex MacDonald’s Cross was comfortably saved by Chris Maxwell In The Blackpool Goal.

Eighteen Minutes Into The Match, And Jack Tucker is very harshly penalised for a foul on Jerry Yates and the free kick awarded in Blackpool’s Favour was very soft indeed, and to compound the controversy regarding that free kick decision, Blackpool re-take the lead from the resulting free kick, Luke Garbutt whips in a low dangerous cross and Jerry Yates deft first time effort towards goal finds the bottom left corner of the net and there is absolutely nothing that Jack Bonham can do about that and Blackpool have re-taken the lead, Yes, we can complain about that free kick decision all day long if we wanted to, however, If Gillingham defend the free kick properly, Then the score-line would still be 1-1 - BLACKPOOL 2-1 GILLINGHAM

And failure to defend the free kick is why Blackpool are winning 2-1, It’s a decent cross from Luke Garbutt, But it is also a free kick you expect Gillingham to be able to defend, and whoever was supposed to be marking Jerry Yates has allowed The Blackpool Striker to get on to the end of Luke Garbutt’s cross, and any decent contact on the ball from close range is going to make it very difficult for Jack Bonham to prevent Blackpool from re-taking the lead, I don’t think you can blame any individual player for this goal rather then blame the entire team for not defending the free kick properly, But both goals that Blackpool have scored against Gillingham in this match so far, have resulted from defensive error’s both individually and collectively from The Gills, And Blackpool are a decent enough side as it is, so the last thing Gillingham need to do is assist Blackpool in the goal-scoring department.

Twenty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had the chance to equalise for 2-2, Jordan Graham’s pass back to Ryan Jackson down the right side of the pitch is intercepted by Kenny Dougall, And Kenny Dougall’s interception has cleared the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And it is from this throw on where Gillingham create the goal-scoring opportunity to try and equalise for the second time in this match, Ryan Jackson hurls in a long dangerous throw and John Akinde wins the initial aerial challenge and Vadaine Oliver manages to win the second aerial challenge to header the ball towards Jordan Graham down the right side of Blackpool’s Penalty Area right by the byline, And Jordan Graham takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back towards Kyle Dempsey on the edge of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Kyle Dempsey whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross first time and Kenny Dougall manages to clear the ball away from danger with a vital clearance and Jerry Yates and Kyle Dempsey both jump to compete for the loose ball in the air, and although both players don’t win the aerial battle, the ball drops fortuitously into Kyle Dempsey’s Path, And Kyle Dempsey manages to pass the ball square to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson plays a short pass out-wide to Jordan Graham down the right side of the pitch in Blackpool’s Final Third, And Jordan Graham runs down the right flank in possession of the ball and Jordan Graham fires in a low dangerous cross towards the near post and John Akinde cannot divert the ball towards goal, But Jordan Graham’s Low Cross manages to pick out Alex MacDonald Inside Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Alex MacDonald’s mis-kicked effort towards goal is comfortably saved by Chris Maxwell - Had Alex MacDonald got a better connection on the ball with his strike towards goal, then Gillingham could have equalised for the second time in this match.

Twenty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool should have extended there lead and gone 3-1 up, Chris Maxwell kicks the ball long down-field and Connor Ogilvie wins the initial aerial challenge and Kyle Dempsey wins the second aerial challenge and the loose ball drops down towards Elliott Embleton, who passes the ball back towards Grant Ward, And Grant Ward passes the ball out-wide to Ollie Turton, And Ollie Turton tries to pick out Ellis Simms with a pass down the line, But Connor Ogilvie was in the right place at the right time to kick the ball clear towards the halfway line and John Akinde does win the aerial challenge and header the ball out-wide to Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald losses possession of the ball to Elliott Embleton and Ollie Turton gets the ball under control, and Ollie Turton plays a short pass down the line towards Elliott Embleton, And Elliott Embleton plays a short pass inside to Grant Ward, And Grant Ward passes the ball forwards towards Ellis Simms, And Ellis Simms gets the ball under control before passing the ball out-wide to Jerry Yates down the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left - In Gillingham’s Final Third, And Jerry Yates manages to whip in a low dangerous cross and Sullay Kaikai and Grant Ward sort of get in each other’s way and Sullay Kaikai’s scuffed shot is comfortably saved by Jack Bonham In The Gillingham Goal.

But If Gillingham got a lucky let off with Sullay Kaikai not scoring from Jerry Yates Cross, Then In The Thirtieth Minute In The Match, Blackpool do manage to go 3-1 up, Stuart O’Keefe kicks the ball clear and away from danger and Stuart O’Keefe’s clearance is only a temporary reprieve for Gillingham as Luke Garbutt passes the ball inside centrally to Grant Ward, And Grant Ward takes a touch to control the ball before clipping the ball down the right side of the pitch towards Jerry Yates, And Jerry Yates just about manages to keep the ball in play before passing the ball back to Elliott Embleton, And Elliott Embleton takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Jerry Yates, And Jerry Yates passes the ball back to Grant Ward, And Grant Ward plays a one / two with Elliott Embleton before passing the ball centrally to Embleton again, and Elliott Embleton passes the ball back towards Kenny Dougall, And Kenny Dougall plays a first time pass out-wide to Luke Garbutt, And Luke Garbutt passes the ball down the line towards Sullay Kaikai, And Sullay Kaikai plays a one / two with Luke Garbutt before passing the ball inside to Elliott Embleton, And Elliott Embleton takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Grant Ward, And Grant Ward manages to pass the ball forwards towards Jerry Yates, And Jerry Yates takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball square to Grant Ward, And Grant Ward plays a first time pass forwards towards Sullay Kaikai on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Sullay Kaikai takes a touch to control the ball before firing the ball across the face of goal and into the bottom left corner of the net to strengthen Blackpool’s lead, and at 3-1 down, Gillingham have a mountain to climb now - BLACKPOOL 3-1 GILLINGHAM.

The first goal was an individual error from Stuart O’Keefe, the second goal was poor marking collectively from a free kick, the third goal was just a fantastic tram goal with Embleton, Ward, Yates, Garbutt and Kaikai all involved, And it’s a really good finish from Kaikai and Blackpool have given Gillingham problems defensively, and that was to be expected, what didn’t help Gillingham was our poor defending for the first two goals, The challenge now for Gillingham is to see if The Gills can score just before half time, Because 3-2 down and Gillingham can get themselves back into this match, But the way this match has gone so far, the score-line could be 4-2, 5-3, or 6-4, but regardless of the number of goals scored in those score-lines, Blackpool will be the side picking up all three points, and something needs to change if Gillingham are to get anything out of this match at Bloomfield Road.

Thirty One Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham have a throw on down the left side of the pitch, and it is from this throw on where Gillingham almost scored for 3-2, Ryan Jackson hurls in a long dangerous throw and Grant Ward manages to get the ball partially clear and away from danger and Kyle Dempsey manages to win the aerial challenge to header the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, who gets the ball under control, And Ryan Jackson works his way into a crossing position and Ryan Jackson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and John Akinde wins the initial aerial challenge and Dan Ballard manages to boot the up into the air and Vadaine Oliver wins the next aerial challenge and Sullay Kaikai manages to complete the clearance by booting the ball clear and away from danger and Stuart O’Keefe has caught Sullay Kaikai late and Blackpool have been awarded a defensive free kick.

The ball just never really dropped in Gillingham’s Favour either from Ryan Jackson’s long throw or for the cross from Ryan Jackson towards John Akinde, And Stuart O’Keefe getting booked for his challenge on Sullay Kaikai means that Stuart O’Keefe has been booked six times in his seven appearances for The Gills, I am including this game against Blackpool in this stat, That’s quite an impressive stat for Stuart O’Keefe, who could be booked for Gillingham in every match between now and the end of the season.

Thirty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham were looking to score the next goal to bring The Gills back into this match at 3-2 down, Grant Ward passes the ball square to Kenny Dougall, And Kenny Dougall passes the ball back towards Dan Ballard, And Dan Ballard tries to pick out Jerry Yates with a long pass down the left flank, and Jack Tucker manages to make the all important interception, And Jack Tucker passes the ball forwards towards Kyle Dempsey on the halfway line, And Kyle Dempsey flicks the ball around the corner towards Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson just about manages to pass the ball out-wide to Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham plays the ball over the top of Blackpool’s Defence, and now Kyle Dempsey is through on goal down the right side of the pitch in Blackpool’s Final Third, And Kyle Dempsey is running through on goal inside Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Kyle Dempsey tries to pick out Alex MacDonald with a squared pass across the face of goal and Grant Ward was in the right place at the right time to clear the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On.

Could Kyle Dempsey tried to chip Chris Maxwell when The Blackpool Goalkeeper was off his line ??? I am not so sure, Because If Chris Maxwell had saved Kyle Dempsey’s chip then we would all be asking why didn’t Kyle Dempsey pass the ball, so the pass was the right option, And Gillingham have had a few passes like this against Blackpool where a vital interception, or the wrong passing option just hasn’t gone Gillingham’s Way.

And from the resulting throw on, Gillingham had the chance to half the deficit again, Ryan Jackson throws the ball down the line towards Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham takes a touch to control the ball before looking to work his way into a crossing position, And Jordan Graham takes on Sullay Kaikai and Jordan Graham passes the ball back to Kyle Dempsey on the edge of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Kyle Dempsey passes the ball back to Tom O’Connor, And Tom O’Connor has to pass the ball back to Jack Tucker and Jack Tucker passes the ball back to Jack Bonham, And Jack Bonham takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field, And Vadaine Oliver wins the initial aerial challenge to header the ball on towards John Akinde, But Jordan Thorniley is in the right place at the right time to get the ball under control and kick the ball long down the line and anywhere will do as far as Blackpool are concerned, But Jack Tucker gets the ball under control before kicking a long cross-field diagonal cross towards the left side of the pitch and Alex MacDonald’s First Touch almost turns into a decent squared pass towards Vadaine Oliver, But Dan Ballard was in the right place at the right time to pass the ball out-wide to Elliott Embleton, And Elliott Embleton gets the ball under control, but his pass square towards Grant Ward was short and Stuart O’Keefe managed to nip in there to intercept the ball, And Stuart O’Keefe runs inside Blackpool’s Penalty Area in possession of the ball and Stuart O’Keefe almost manages to pick out the bottom right corner of the net with a shot across the face of goal and Chris Maxwell does brilliantly to turn the ball around the post to prevent Gillingham from scoring for 3-2 down.

Excellent strike from Stuart O’Keefe, and had Stuart O’Keefe scored with that effort on goal then Gillingham are right back in this match at 3-2 down, But that save by Chris Maxwell just preserves the breathing space for Blackpool, A Magnificent save from The Blackpool Goalkeeper, But Gillingham could have done with that effort on goal from Stuart O’Keefe hitting the back of the net, and from the resulting corner kick, Tom O’Connor whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Chris Maxwell can only parry the ball down inside Blackpool’s Penalty Area and Elliot Embleton boots the ball clear and away from danger and Blackpool clear there lines.

And In First Half Stoppage Time, Gillingham had another chance to half the deficit to 3-2, Luke Garbutt tackles Jordan Graham down the right side of the pitch and knocks the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On In Blackpool’s Final Third, And It Is From this throw on where Gillingham create the final goal-scoring opportunity of the first half, Ryan Jackson throws the ball short to Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball back to Stuart O’Keefe, And Stuart O’Keefe takes a touch to control the ball before clipping a high and hanging diagonal cross-field cross into Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Alex MacDonald wins the initial aerial challenge to header the ball down towards Vadaine Oliver, But Jordan Thorniley manages to make the vital interception and clear the ball away from danger and Tom O’Connor passes the ball back towards Jack Tucker, who takes a touch to control the ball, And Jack Tucker passes a return pass square to Tom O’Connor, And Tom O’Connor clips the ball long down-field and Alex MacDonald dives at full stretch to divert the ball back into Vadaine Oliver’s Path, And Vadaine Oliver takes a touch to control the ball before firing a snap-shot effort wide of the far right post - Vadaine Oliver was quickly being closed down by Kenny Dougall and Grant Ward, So Vadaine Oliver had to take that shot on goal quickly, and being charged down quickly would have put off Oliver from scoring for 3-2 down.

Credit must go to Alex MacDonald for knocking the ball back into Vadaine Oliver’s path to set up that goal-scoring opportunity, But that effort on goal from Vadaine Oliver was the last noteworthy moment of the first half and the half time score at Bloomfield Road in this all important Easter Monday League One Clash Is Blackpool 3-1 Gillingham - With Gillingham having a lot of work to do to try and get themselves back into this match.

HALF TIME: BLACKPOOL 3-1 GILLINGHAM

I uploaded the following status update on to Social Media,,,,, HALF TIME: BLACKPOOL 3-1 GILLINGHAM - This has been a very attacking match between Blackpool and Gillingham at Bloomfield Road, But Blackpool have shown there quality and why they are one of the best form teams in League 1, Because Blackpool deserve to be winning 3-1 at half time, And Gillingham made a very encouraging start to this match with Alex McDonald shooting over and Jordan Graham's low cross was cleared for a throw on, But Yates capitalised on a rare error from Stuart O'Keefe to give Blackpool the lead. Gills should have equalised when Akinde's pass to Oliver ricochetted towards Maxwell, Yates should have scored his and Blackpool's second goal of the game, but his header went wide, and in the next attack, Gillingham levelled the game up at 1-1 with Graham scoring the equaliser. Yates then does score his second goal of the game with a first time finish at the near post, Jordan Graham manages to pick out Alex MacDonald at the back-stick, And MacDonald's shot towards goal is saved by Maxwell, Kaikai then gave Blackpool A 3-1 Lead with a decent team goal. Dempsey was then through on goal, but in-decision from The Gills Midfielder didn't see Gills get themselves back into this match at 3-2 down, O'Keefe's shot towards goal was tipped around the post by Maxwell. You can see why Blackpool are doing so well, there a very good side.

Had Stuart O’Keefe or Vadaine Oliver took there chances, then 3-2 down would have kept Gillingham in this match, And with how action packed the first half was, there is still plenty of goals left in this match and if Gillingham were to score the next goal, then it is game on again, But if Blackpool score and go 4-1 up then it is game over, And both teams were out on to the pitch for the start of the second half and neither Neil Critchley nor Steve Evans made any substitutions at half time, with both manager’s perhaps opting to see how the first fifteen to twenty minutes of the second half plan out before looking to make any changes.

SECOND HALF:

The first noteworthy moment of the second half see’s Sullay Kaikai penalised for his challenge on Jordan Graham down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Tom O’Connor whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Connor Ogilvie wins the initial aerial challenge to header the ball on towards the far post and Jack Tucker’s flick across the face of goal was routinely saved by Chris Maxwell - A Promising start to the second half for The Gills and something for Gillingham to build on.

Fifty Two Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had half a case of a penalty kick being awarded in there favour, Kenny Dougall is penalised for a push in the back on Kyle Dempsey on the halfway line, and it is from the resulting free kick where Gills had a case for a penalty kick, Kyle Dempsey shows great awareness to pick out Alex MacDonald with a quickly taken free kick which see’s Alex MacDonald through down the left side of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Alex MacDonald manages to keep the ball in play before managing to pull a cross back towards Jordan Graham right on the eighteen yard line, And I have got to say that I thought Dan Ballard had completely taken Jordan Graham out and Gillingham should have been awarded a penalty kick, But Referee Darren Drysdale remained unmoved and play resumed.

Fifty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool had the chance to put this match well and truly beyond Gillingham’s reach, Grant Ward has possession of the ball in midfield for Blackpool, And Grant Ward passes the ball out-wide to Luke Garbutt down Blackpool’s left side of the pitch, And Luke Garbutt takes a touch to control the ball before running down towards the byline in possession of the ball, and Luke Garbutt see’s his initial cross blocked by Jordan Graham, And Luke Garbutt manages to keep the ball in play, and Luke Garbutt again works his way towards the byline and Luke Garbutt’s cross takes a slight deflection off Jordan Graham and the ball has curled out and curled back into play and Blackpool have been awarded a corner kick, and it is from this corner kick where Blackpool could have scored for 4-1, Sullay Kaikai passes the ball back towards Luke Garbutt on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Alex MacDonald makes a vital interception and Stuart O’Keefe kicks the ball long down-field and Kenny Dougall gets the ball under control and works his way out-wide down the right side of the pitch, And Kenny Dougall whips in a dangerous high and hanging cross and Jerry Yates headers the ball back across the face of goal, and Ellis Simms almost gets on to the end of Jerry Yates knock-down but Jack Bonham was quick off his goal-line to make the save.

Fifty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham created a half chance to try and half the deficit, Chris Maxwell kicks the ball long down-field for Blackpool and Robbie Cundy wins the aerial challenge to header the ball into Blackpool’s Half Of The Pitch, And Grant Ward wins the next aerial challenge and Stuart O’Keefe headers the ball forwards towards John Akinde, And John Akinde manages to retain possession of the ball before playing a short pass out-wide to Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham takes a touch to control the ball before looking to take on Kenny Dougall, and Jordan Graham continue’s his run down the right flank in possession of the ball and Jordan Graham tries to pick out Vadaine Oliver with a dangerous low cross but Chris Maxwell was able to gather the ball with ease.

Sixty Minutes Into The Match, And Steve Evans makes a double substitution to try and get Gillingham back into this match, Dominic Samuel comes on for John Akinde, And Olly Lee comes on for Alex MacDonald, Gillingham need to do something to try and get ourselves back into this match and Blackpool perhaps seem more content to sit on there 3-1 lead, rather then be as open as they were in the first half, Because the second half hasn’t been as end to end as it was in the first half and neither goalkeeper has been forced into making a meaningful save in the second half.

And after that double substitution, the first goal of the second half was finally scored, unfortunately, It was Blackpool who got themselves on the score-sheet and not Gillingham, Chris Maxwell has possession of the ball for Blackpool and Chris Maxwell rolls the ball short to Dan Ballard, who takes a touch to control the ball and Dan Ballard passes the ball square to Jordan Thorniley, And Jordan Thorniley takes a few touches in possession of the ball before playing a short pass forwards towards Kenny Dougall, And Kenny Dougall plays a first time pass out-wide to Luke Garbutt, And Luke Garbutt takes a touch to control the ball before threading the ball down the line towards Ellis Simms, And Ellis Simms manages to retain possession of the ball despite being closely marked by Jack Tucker, And Ellis Simms manages to turn and play a reverse pass through to Sullay Kaikai, who was running through down the right side of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Sullay Kaikai checks back on himself before passing the ball in-between Jack Tucker and Connor Ogilvie, and Sullay Kaikai passes the ball square to Elliott Embleton, And Elliott Embleton has accurately placed the ball into the back of the net with a first time finish, and with the score-line at 4-1, there was no way back for Gillingham now unless Gillingham can pull off a miracle with thirty minutes of this match remaining - BLACKPOOL 4-1 GILLINGHAM.

This is a goal of high quality from Blackpool, The fact that Jack Tucker was at right back marking Ellis Simms just tells you that Gillingham are being pulled all over the place defensively and Blackpool have been more content defending the 3-1 lead and making sure that Gillingham do not get themselves back into this match, But with the score-line 4-1 in Blackpool’s Favour, then Blackpool look very very likely to pick up all three points against Gillingham.

But In The Sixty Third Minute, 4-1 could have been 5-1 to Blackpool, Blackpool have a throw on down the left side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, and it is from this throw on where Blackpool could have put this match well and truly beyond Gillingham’s grasp, Luke Garbutt hurls in a long dangerous throw and Jack Tucker wins the aerial challenge to header the ball partially clear and away from danger and Dominic Samuel is on to the loose ball and runs forwards in possession of the ball and Luke Garbutt manages to time his sliding challenge to perfection and Elliott Embleton manages to get to the second ball and get the ball under control before playing a short return pass square to Luke Garbutt, And Luke Garbutt passes the ball forwards towards Ellis Simms, And Ellis Simms manages to retain possession of the ball despite being closely marked by Jack Tucker, And Ellis Simms passes the ball square to Sullay Kaikai, And Sullay Kaikai evades Tom O’Connor’s attempted challenge before turning back into a more central position on the pitch, And Sullay Kaikai’s curling effort towards goal from twenty five yards out fails to hit the target by some considerable distance, and the ball has gone out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Sixty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool make there first substitution of the game with Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel coming on to replace Elliott Embleton, With Blackpool winning 4-1 against Gillingham, Blackpool are now in a luxury position to substitute players, especially when you take into consideration that Blackpool traveled to Swindon Town On Good Friday and had less recovery time and preparation for this match against Gillingham, Because Gillingham and Wigan Athletic both agreed that our Good Friday Match should be played on The Wednesday Night.

Seventy One Minutes Into The Match, And we see the very unusual scenario of The Linesman having to be substituted because of injury and the stoppage in play lasted for eight or nine minutes, I suppose Match Official’s getting injured is a rarity in itself so this isn’t something you usually have to prepare for, But the stoppage in play allowed for Steve Evans and Neil Critchley to pass on any tactical instructions towards there players, and of course, there is going to be plenty of stoppage time at the end of the second half, But we’re relying on Gillingham scoring three goals in quick succession to go from losing 4-1 to drawing 4-4 against a very good Blackpool Team, and the second half hasn’t been as end to end compared to what we saw from both teams in the first half.

Seventy Nine Minutes Into The Match, And when play resumes, Chris Maxwell kicks the ball long down-field and Jack Bonham gathers the ball with ease, and from here, Gillingham create a half chance to try and add some respectability to the score-line, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Dan Ballard wins the aerial challenge up against Olly Lee and Kenny Dougall see’s his attempted clearance ricochet towards Kyle Dempsey, And Kyle Dempsey gets the ball under control before passing the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back to Jack Tucker, And Jack Tucker kicks the ball long down the line and Dominic Samuel chests the ball into Kyle Dempsey’s path, And Kyle Dempsey manages to retain possession of the ball on the edge of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Kyle Dempsey’s pass out-wide to Dominic Samuel is short and Kenny Dougall intercepts the ball and passes the ball forwards towards Ellis Simms, And Ellis Simms tries to pass the ball out-wide to Jerry Yates, and even though Tom O’Connor had slipped, Tom O’Connor does in-fact intercept the ball and Tom O’Connor had managed to pass the ball forwards to Olly Lee, And Olly Lee passes the ball out-wide to Jordan Graham down the left side of the pitch on the halfway line, And Jordan Graham passes the ball forwards towards Kyle Dempsey, And Kyle Dempsey takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham runs down the left flank in possession of the ball, checks back on himself before laying the ball off to Kyle Dempsey, And Kyle Dempsey passes the ball out-wide to Tom O’Connor, And Tom O’Connor takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back to Connor Ogilvie, And Connor Ogilvie kicks a high and hanging up and under ball that bounces inside Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Dominic Samuel wins the aerial challenge to header the ball across the face of goal and Vadaine Oliver’s shot on the turn is blocked by Luke Garbutt and Sullay Kaikai clears Blackpool’s defensive lines.

Eighty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool had the chance to go 5-1 up, Dan Ballard passes the ball square to Jordan Thorniley, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before clipping the ball long down-field and Luke Garbutt manages to keep the ball in play by the left flank, And Luke Garbutt runs inside into a more central position on the pitch, And Luke Garbutt has over-run the ball into central midfield and Luke Garbutt has put in a very forceful challenge on to Stuart O’Keefe, but despite Stuart O’Keefe staying down on the ground, play continue’s with Ellis Simms passing the ball back towards Grant Ward, who takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball forwards towards Ellis Simms, And Ellis Simms gets the ball under control and plays a short layoff towards Luke Garbutt, And Luke Garbutt’s attempted effort towards goal is blocked by Kyle Dempsey, and the ball deflects out of play for A Blackpool Corner Kick, And from the resulting corner kick, Grant Ward whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Jordan Thorniley cannot direct his header on target or back across the face of goal towards a team-mate and the ball has gone out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Eighty Five Minutes into The Match, And Blackpool make a double substitution as Demetri Mitchell and Ethan Robson come on to replace Sullay Kaikai and Jerry Yates, Blackpool are in a luxury position to substitute there key players to ensure that they are available for selection for The Lincoln City V Blackpool Game, I am looking at Gillingham’s Bench With Robbie McKenzie, Henry Woods, Matty Willock and Tyreke Johnson, and with five substitutes available in every match, surely Gillingham can look to make a few changes, especially with Blackpool V Gillingham looking done and dusted right about now.

Eighty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool should have gone 5-1 up, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Dan Ballard wins the initial aerial challenge and Ethan Robson wins the second aerial challenge up against Kyle Dempsey and headers the ball forwards towards Ellis Simms on the halfway line, And Ellis Simms gets the ball under control, spins past Connor Ogilvie and runs forwards in possession of the ball, and Ellis Simms continue’s his run towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Ellis Simms shifts inside to evade the challenge from Jack Tucker and Ellis Simms shot towards goal takes a big deflection off Connor Ogilvie and Jack Bonham does brilliantly to tip the ball over the crossbar and prevent Blackpool from going 5-1 up - GREAT SAVE BY JACK BONHAM!!!!!!! - And from the resulting corner kick, Luke Garbutt whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Ellis Simms header hits Kyle Dempsey and ricochets out of play for another Blackpool Corner Kick, And From The Second Corner Kick, Luke Garbutt whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Ellis Simms header towards the back-stick is just too high for Kenny Dougall to header towards goal or back across the face of goal and the ball goes out of play for A Blackpool Throw On.

Eighty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Jordan Graham is flagged for offside from Tom O’Connor’s Pass, and this offside decision came after a passage of play where Gillingham had a half chance to score a consolation goal, and that’s all we are talking about right now, If the score-line was 3-1, then 3-2 gets Gillingham back into this match, But Blackpool have a three goal lead and Blackpool look more likely to add to the score-line, then Gillingham look like scoring themselves, And In The Ninetieth Minute, Jack Tucker times his challenge on Demetri Mitchell to divert the ball out of play for A Blackpool Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Blackpool had another chance to score for 5-1, Luke Gambit whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Kenny Dougall’s header is on target and comfortable for Jack Bonham to save.

And the final noteworthy moment of the match after ten minutes of additional time played was Ellis Simms penalised for a foul on Connor Ogilvie down the left side of the pitch, and after that free kick was awarded in Gillingham’s Favour, Referee Darren Drysdale blows his whistle for full time and this 4-1 defeat has put a massive dent into Gillingham’s Playoff Ambitions and Blackpool have showed there quality, And Gillingham’s defensive error’s were taken advantage of for the first two goals, But Blackpool deserve there win and deserve all three points against Gillingham, And Now Gillingham need to respond by winning against Shrewsbury Town On Saturday The Tenth Of April.

FULL TIME: BLACKPOOL 4-1 GILLINGHAM

I uploaded the following status update on to Social Media,,,,,,, FULL TIME: BLACKPOOL 4-1 GILLINGHAM - Gillingham lose 4-1 against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road to put a serious dent into Gillingham's Playoff Aspirations, Gills probably have to win five of our remaining six league games to stand any chance of securing ourselves a playoff spot. The second half wasn't as end to end compared to the first half, Tucker's flick towards goal was saved by Maxwell, Graham's cross into Blackpool's Penalty Area was saved by Maxwell, Samuel and Lee came on for Akinde and MacDonald as Gills tried to find a way back into this match, Embleton's goal for 4-1 eliminated any slim chances Gillingham had of getting anything out of this match, If Gillingham had scored for 2-3, it was game on, But 4-1 to Blackpool put Blackpool in a commanding position to pick up all three points. Kaikai shot over as Blackpool pushed for a fifth goal, Oliver and Lee had shots towards goal blocked, But Blackpool looked more likely to add to there goal tally as Garbutt's shot towards goal deflects off Dempsey out of play for A Blackpool Corner Kick. Bonham then makes a fantastic save to tip over Simms deflected shot out for A Blackpool Corner, Graham was unfortunately flagged for offside when played into a good position down the left side of the pitch. Blackpool showed there quality, took there chances and deserved the win.

I also mentioned that Gillingham not making the playoffs shouldn't tarnish what has been a remarkable run of form for Gillingham in the second half of the season, If someone said at the start of the season Gills are in slight contention for a playoff position, we would have taken that with both hands, Because it has been a excellent run of form for The Gills during the second half of the season with wins against Wigan Athletic, Ipswich Town, Charlton Athletic, Lincoln City, and draws against Sunderland and Hull City, and Gillingham have always been on the outside looking in regarding challenging for a playoff spot, and now Gillingham are looking at five wins from our remaining six matches to give ourselves the best possible chance of a top six finish, and given that Gillingham have got away matches coming up against Oxford United and Peterborough United, I just cannot see Gillingham winning every match between now and the end of the season.

But as Louis mentioned in his post, If Gillingham were to make a genuine attempt to challenge for the playoffs, Gillingham cannot losing five matches in a row and fail to score in those five defeats in a row, Gillingham cannot lose 1-0 away against Fleetwood Town and AFC Wimbledon, And Gillingham cannot lose at home to Burton Albion, These are the matches which will explain why Gillingham are not serious contenders for the playoffs, and there have been quite a few matches like that for Gillingham this season, I then sent Gabriel the following tweet for my post match analysis,,,, Blackpool 4-1 Gillingham - Blackpool fully deserved there win against Gillingham with Yates scoring a brace and Kaikai & Embleton also getting on the score-sheet, Graham levelled the game up at 1-1, Such a shame Gills couldn't win against Blackpool to keep our playoff push going.

Stephen and Shane were not confident that Gillingham could make the playoffs after that 4-1 away defeat against Blackpool, And I replied with the following comment,,,, Gillingham have picked up 58 points from 40 matches played, And Gillingham probably have to win five of our remaining six league games to stand any chance of securing ourselves a playoff place at the end of the season. Our form in the second half of the season has been excellent, And most of the comments I saw from Gillingham Supporters were along the lines of, the better side won, Blackpool will be in the playoffs at the end of the season, And I replied to Richard’s Comment with the following statement,,,, And the difference between both teams will be reflected in the league table at the end of the season, Blackpool look very likely to be in the playoffs, Gillingham have to win five of our remaining six league matches to try & secure ourselves a playoff spot. Blackpool were superb.

One of my criticism’s I had regarding substitutions was the fact that Gillingham should have substituted Vadaine Oliver. Jordan Graham and Kyle Dempsey and bring on Robbie McKenzie, Matty Willock and Tyreke Johnson, Gillingham were losing 4-1 against Blackpool and when Blackpool made that double substitution to take off Jerry Yates and Sullay Kaikai, I think Steve Evans should have substituted our key players to ensure that they were available for selection for The Shrewsbury Town League Game, If the score-line was still 3-1 and if Gillingham scored for 3-2 down, I can understand keeping our star players on for 3-1 down, But with Blackpool winning 4-1, I think it was important to take off our best players, just to make sure that they were not injured in the closing stages of this match.

Gillingham were now five points behind Blackpool in fifth and Gillingham had dropped to ninth in The League One Table, Gillingham V Shrewsbury Town has to be seen as a must win game for The Gills if we are to stay in contention for a playoff spot, Thankfully I have not paid the coach fare for two long trips to Lancashire, Because Fleetwood Town 1-0 Gillingham and Blackpool 4-1 Gillingham would have been two very long away trips, that’s one of the positives from watching matches on I Follow, your saving a lot of money paying £10 to watch a away game, rather then traveling the length of the country watching Gillingham play away from home, But we are still missing not being there cheering The Gills on, and when your in the away end celebrating Mikael Mandron scoring with the last kick of the match to earn Gillingham a point in a 2-2 draw away against Sunderland At The Stadium Of Light, these are moments to savour.

With the condensed football league season and so many Saturday / Tuesday Fixtures, and with supporters not being able to travel to home and away matches, I have done fewer blogs and match reports this season, even though this season has seen Gillingham put in a remarkable run of form in the second half of the season to see The Gills have an out-side chance of reaching the playoffs, But this was the match to make or break Gillingham’s chances of reaching the playoffs, and Blackpool deserved the win, Blackpool deserved all three points and sometimes you just have to put your hands up and say the better team won, Hopefully, Gillingham can respond to this set-back by picking up all three points against Shrewsbury Town At Priestfield Stadium - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!

#Blackpool #Gillingham #Football #LeagueOne #Playoffs

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howsmyhairlook · 3 years

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Texts From Last Night Writing Prompt:

•Brand hosted events. When a baby influencer gets the invite to their first ever event, with all the swag and monogrammed gifts, that was when you knew your clout was climbing in the right direction. All those over-staged flat lays and maintaining the grid aesthetic had finally proven worth the effort.

My first brand hosted event was in NYC. I’d been invited to a few, but I still had some dignity, and took my desire to be a well respected influencer seriously, and so I had declined the ones that simply didn’t make sense for what I was trying to accomplish with my account. I was no sell out, Mr. Mhmm was not an easy buy bitch willing to promote shit I didn’t actually like. Flat tummy tea? Pfft. Hair gummies? Please. My locks were natural and salon maintained like they should be. I didn’t mess with the work of my stylist. He’d cut my ears off if I did.

I knew holding out on accepting events that didn’t necessarily match my vibe would delay the instant gratification everyone craved, but I actually wanted to stay true to what I had been building. It was a slow process and one that wasn’t without blood, sweat (ew) and a few tears. So when an up and coming clothing brand, owned by someone who was out and proudly queer invited me to a fashion show during Pride, I RSVP’d faster than I could deny the squeal of delight upon reading their email.

Attending an event like this was not just a fun weekend away, it was also work. Having my flight, hotel and of course all the food and drinks when I attended their events paid for wasn’t exactly “free”, I was expected to in return post no less than twenty stories highlighting the goings on through the weekend. At the time, I thought it was an easy price to pay. My insta was going to be a three day weekend promo. I had it all planned out, I’d be the best attendee they had ever extended an invite to.

The night was going perfectly. The food was delicious, drinks were flowing, and the first of three fashion shows scheduled for the weekend had me doing multiple double takes in the best possible way. I made sure to snap a photo of each piece I loved and gushed appropriately about it on my feed. My followers were loving it, and the brand had shared my stories on their stories. It felt like the perfect execution of how an influencer and a brand could collaborate together.

The second night was an early evening show that delved into menswear and BOY was I feeling it. This particular fashion show had the models mingling among the crowd allowing everyone to get a more up close look at the clothing. Let’s be honest, though, the man candy was where my eyes were landing. And, because I’m me, I dressed to impress.

Once or twice I was confused for being part of the show. It was quite the ego boost. Not to mention a compliment to the designer that my vintage Gucci suit jacket fit into the vibe well enough to have me being confused for a model. The only difference was that instead of wearing any kind of slacks like the models had on, I was wearing tailored shorts to show off my argyle socks which were being held up by leather garters. I never skipped an opportunity to show off such an underrated accessory.

I also didn’t skip an opportunity to enjoy the free drinks each time one of the waitstaff would pass by with a tray. Selfies were being taken, numbers were given out. People were telling others to slide into their DMs. I’d given my number to more than a handful of people I’d had conversations with. It was exactly as you’d imagine a gathering of tipsy people might progress.

When the evening seemed to be winding down and the room had thinned out, I decided it was time to head back to my suite for the night, grateful the fashion show had been held in the same hotel the brand had booked my room. As I waited for the elevator to arrive, my phone, which had been buzzing most of the night buzzed again, only this time, it vibrated in my pocket to indicate I’d received a text from an unknown number.

Swiping it open with my thumb I smiled upon reading the words.•

(870) It was great chatting with you tonight. Too bad you decided to leave…

•I’d spoken with so many people this evening, and given my number out to the majority of them, I had no idea who was on the other side. My response was a polite thank you before asking who it was. The speech bubble popped up, then disappeared for a couple of seconds before another text came through.•

(870) Also, wanted to tell you, I really liked those socks you were wearing.

•An odd compliment but I was happy to take it because I loved my socks. Then, another text came before I could reply to the still nameless person.•

(870) There’s something sensual about taking off a pair of socks.

•Um.

What?

The elevator had arrived but I ignored it, instead turning around and looking throughout the lobby to see if anyone had followed me. I wasn’t lucky enough to find my mystery texter giving me the obvious sock lover vibes so I replied again to ask who it was. Instead of an answer, another text came through.•

(870) A bunch of us have headed to the club down the road, you should join. I’ll tell you who I am if you show.

•I hesitated, but not for very long. The mystery was too much, I HAD to know. My reply was quick, telling them I was on my way. I kept my eyes on my phone as I made my way through the hotel lobby, but my unnamed texter left me on read. Tempting me even further to get there as quickly as I could. I didn’t even know the gender of the person I was going to meet, not that it mattered to me.

Maybe I was being foolish going out on my own to meet some person at a club in a city I didn’t really know that well, but my fearlessness was fuelled by alcohol and I’d most likely realize the error in judgement in the morning. For now, I was hailing a cab to take me a mere couple of blocks just so I could meet this person sooner, walking would only delay the reveal of what I was anticipating to be an Ah Ha moment. Any amount of patience I normally possessed had vacated my faculties quicker than my followers had liked my posts from the show earlier in the evening.

My arrival at the club was anti-climatic.

Nobody was waiting outside for me. Rude. Then again, I wasn’t some Pretty in Pink girl who was coming of age, I was a grown ass man following the request of a semi-weird text just to learn who the sender was. For the record, though, I could totally rock the colour pink, if I wanted. I wasn’t biased when it came to colours I’d wear.

By some kind of luck. No, actually, it was by the grace of New York clubbing standards, it was still early despite the actual time, and there was no line to get in. I found myself taking in the atmosphere and sounds while eyeballing every group of people I passed on my way to the bar, staring a little too hard at their faces, hoping one might strike as familiar. They didn’t.

I placed my request for a drink with the bartender, my buzz was fading and with it, my gusto to see this through. His smile was easy and friendly as he spoke.• “One Last Word for the dapper dresser.”

•He winked and I slid him some cash with one hand while the other lifted the glass so I could down the entire drink in a couple of gulps. The gin flowed effortlessly down my throat, and I tapped my fingers on the bartop, trying to decide if I wanted a second. As I was deciding, a deep raspy voice sounded from behind me.• “I’ll take a Pussyfoot, please and another here for Mr. Mhmm.”

•I froze. His voice. Oh my Gucci. My body had a visceral reaction to it as I felt the rumble along with the sound of it. I wanted to hear more, I didn’t even care that he had ordered the strangest sounding drink I’d ever heard. He moved to stand next to me, and I turned to get a look at who I assumed was my mystery texter.

He had been at the event earlier in the night, and we had spoken, though I didn’t recall giving him my number. My eyes scanned over his body and I could feel them growing wider the further they travelled. Long gone was his suit and tie. He’d made a costume change, and was now in full leather gear. Where his hair had been artfully tousled, it was now slicked back. More than all of that, which was QUITE the sight to behold on its own, from the lines at the corners of his eyes and between his brows, I realized he was at least twenty-five years older than me. He chuckled deeply at my reaction and didn’t that sound just hit me right in the groin. I shifted from foot to foot, trying to shake off the reaction my body was having. It didn’t work.

I was TRULY speechless and this leather daddy was letting me suffer. He said nothing until our drinks had been made and delivered. I wanted to ask what was in his, but I was pretty sure I’d caught a glimpse of an egg yolk being dropped into his glass so I took my own and swallowed half before I could get my tongue to form proper words.•

I don’t remember giving you my number. Also, thank you for the drink. How did you get it?

•He grinned at my jumbled thoughts but seemed to make perfect sense of what I was trying to say. He took his time sipping at his drink before speaking, and I got the distinct impression he enjoyed making others squirm. The silence was killer but I resisted the urge to fill the space, willing to wait to hear his voice again. He didn’t disappoint.• “You’re welcome. A friend of mine passed your number on to me after I wouldn’t shut up about your garters.”

•The reminder of my beloved accessory had me looking down at them, and I laughed as I realized they were leather, no wonder he liked them so much.• Oh yes. Nobody likes slouchy socks, right?

•I snapped my mouth closed when his grin turned slow and lecherous. I’d said his magic words, apparently, and most likely reminded him of his text about how sensual sock removal could be. I held my breath waiting again for him to deem enough time had passed before he was ready to speak some more.• “I prefer them to be pulled as high as they can go so I can take my time removing them.”

•Yep. Definitely my mystery texter. But now what?!• What do you want with me? What’s your name? Do you have some kind of sock fetish? I’m not judging if you do, honest. I just can’t seem to shut my mouth up, this kind of thing has never happened to me.

•Instead of answering my twenty questions, he nudged my drink closer to me, picking up his own and then stepped away from the bar. When I grabbed the glass, he nodded his head for me to follow. OF COURSE, I was hot on his heels. I wanted all the answers. For how much he had no problem doing all the speaking during the text exchange, he was unsettlingly silent.

And yet, I followed him all the way to a curtained off area that was entirely private. There was a small table that sat low to the floor in front of a leather sofa. He sat down first, the leather of his pants creaking against the sofa. Then, he placed his drink on the table before tapping the spot beside him. I moved to sit, leaving some space between us. He grinned, not seeming to mind that I hadn’t landed my ass right where his hand had indicated I should be. Once I was seated did he decide to speak, answering only the questions he wanted to.•

“My name is Charles. You can call me Charlie. Or Daddy if you prefer.” •He winked at me before allowing his eyes to sweep over my body the way I had done to him at the bar. His eyes stayed on my socks as he continued.• “I really do love your socks. Can I see them closer?”

•My head tilted in confusion, first because I was not the type of person to call anyone daddy regardless of my wide open sexuality. Second because I was not really sure how much closer he wanted my socks to get when we were already only a couple of feet apart. He took my silence as hesitation and reached down to grab one of my feet, putting it in his lap and holding it there until he was certain I wasn’t going to pull my foot away.

Charlie began to run his hand up my shin, his fingers were light and gentle, tracing over the different coloured shapes. When he got to the top of the sock, his index finger dipped below the elastic, pulling it away from my skin and allowing it to lightly snap against my leg. Such an innocent act felt obscene and dirty.

I didn’t know whether or not I was turned on or off. I did know I wanted to see where he was going with this. Next his fingers moved to the garter at the top of my calf, he traced over it the same way he did my sock. Taking his time, studying the details. I took his low grunt as approval. I knew the leather was soft and supple, not to mention high quality and by the sound he had made, he knew it, too.

His other hand had moved to the lace on my shoe, pulling the bow loose and grabbing ahold of the heel to slip my shoe off completely. I thought maybe I might be getting lucky with a foot rub...

I was wrong.

SO very, very wrong.

I found myself full of shock when he leaned forward and put his mouth on my foot. Not a kiss, or anything sweet and simple, but completely wrapped his lips around my toes and filled his mouth with my foot. I felt his tongue through my sock trying to push between my toes, the fabric growing wet with his efforts. He moaned around my foot and I felt the vibrations all the way across my sole.

That was the moment I decided any chances of being turned on were long gone. Not even alcohol could help me be okay with this. I was not into this the way Charlie very clearly was. I pulled my foot back and sputtered as I shook my head.• Nope. No way. No. I’m sorry but no matter how hot you are, and how much my dick loves the sound of your voice, can I get on board with toe sucking.

•I stood, and stepped backward, abandoning my unfinished drink. He seemed to be expecting my reaction and I watched in horror as he grabbed my shoe and began to smell the inside of it. That definitively answered the fetish question he had ignored.

If anyone noticed I was all but running to the exit, they didn’t say anything, thankfully. I probably could have walked at a normal speed but I was not looking to find myself a new hook up or have any more drinks, and I certainly was not going to wait around for Charlie to finish enjoying himself with my shoe. Absolutely not.

As I settled into the cab, and gave the name of my hotel to the driver, I decided the separation of such an amazing pair of shoes was worth the loss just to bring the entire foot blowjob experience to an end. This was what I deserved for attempting to mix a working weekend with someone else’s pleasure. With a relieved sigh, I resigned myself that next time I received a mystery text, I was going to ignore it the way I had ignored all the signs Charlie had been giving me to indicate he had a foot fetish.•

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