Archive of Our Own ^beta

Edgar started following him, hands in his pockets to warm them up as they both entered into a rundown building where the office was. Punching in his time card, Curtis stuffed his paperwork in an allotted slot, Edgar mimicking his actions. Across the room the office manager was on the phone, agitation coming through her tone.

“Well you sending that 10:30 train up that North track is not gonna do me any damn good when the buyer was expecting that shipment YESTERDAY.” The men paused at the desk, listening as Tanya unleashed a whole mess of words on the poor person on the other end before she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay, yes I will call them and fill them in. Just make sure it gets here, the last thing I need is to be made a liar.” She hit the end call and turned towards Curtis and Edgar, her anger diminishing and good nature returning like it was on the head of a pin. “I'm guessing you two are looking for this?” She held up a shipping manifest which Edgar snatched and scanned it. “Well that ain't too bad.” Curtis glanced down at the paperwork in Edgar’s hands as the young man examined it. Tanya continued on.

“Nope, why I think you and Grey can handle it, he's already down in the yard. Curtis, Gillian has something else for you. He’s in his office, just go on in Sweetheart.” Only Tanya was allowed to use terms of endearment on Curtis.

“Thanks Tanya.” He tipped his head in a nod and left, leaving Edgar leaning against the counter, making eyes at Tanya and whining out.

“Come on Tanya, why does Curtis get the good jobs? You don't love me?”

“Boy you got some growing to do before I be sweet on you, get your ass out of here.”

You managed to get your students loaded on the bus without any mishaps or fighting. While you weren't expecting anything to happen, your eighth grade class was all in all pretty decent, there were the occasional occurrences with you still being a fairly new teacher to the school and they wanted to see what they could possibly get away with. It was a relief when everything happened just the way it was supposed to. Settling in the seat right behind the kindly old bus driver named Steve, you started to sort through your flashcards.

You didn't really know much about train yards in general, so you spent the night before pulling together some questions to ask in case the students didn't have any to engage with the employee who would be showing them around. Scanning them now, you winced a bit as you chewed on your plump bottom lip, feeling that your flashcards were not all that good, but something was better than nothing you decided when you pocketed them in your plaid belted coats pocket, making sure to tighten the strap a bit around yourself. You continued to fidget though, really wanting this to all go smoothly since this was your first field trip with your class, in a new school. Instinctively you reached up to fiddle with the little bumble bee dangles you were wearing.

It wasn't long before the school bus turned into an industrial sized train yard. Cargo cars were lined up in neat numbered rows, several trains appeared to be unloading supplies and heavy machinery was moving it into designated cars for storage. A shabby little office sat next to what looked to be employee parking and the bus creaked to a stop out of the way of any incoming vehicles. Before you pulled yourself to a stand to address your students you glanced out the window to see a big burly man dressed all in black come stalking out of the office and rounding on the bus. You assumed that must be the employee who volunteered to show you around. You didn't see much of his expression as his head was tilted, but the little you did looked all hard and serious.

Standing and turning to your students who were still joking around and grabbing their clipboards with papers for taking notes, you cleared your throat. “Okay everyone, you all know the rules. We stay together, okay. This is a class trip, so we will conduct ourselves with respect for these people at their place of business.”

“Miss Y/L/N…” came a kid's voice from the back, a red curly head of a boy named Andrew popping up as he leaned against the top of a seat. “We know!”

“Yes, I know you all know. But reminders don’t hurt, we all need them.” You retorted while gathering your stuff in your arms. “And Andrew, stop hanging on the seat like that.” You finished as you turned back around and the shuffling behind you let you know that the kids were lining up in the aisle. Pausing at the bus driver, you put your hand on his shoulder. “Be back in a while.”

Already Steve was pulling out a pad of paper and charcoal for sketching, giving you a wink and kindly smile. “Take your time Miss Y/L/N. They don't need me back till the end of the day.” Leaning forward, he maneuvered the door open and you started down the stairs. Careful as you didn’t want to trip on the bus stairs when your foot connected with the ground you looked up and gave a squeak of surprise.

You had seen the man leaving the office before, but up close and personal, he wasn't what you were expecting. You actually had to tip your head back at what you were guessing was a good six foot four or five inches with a broad chest that managed to make you feel small somehow. A dark beard covering half his face with a full bottom lip showing and icy blue eyes that seemed to rarely warm up, under the brim of a black beanie hat.

“H-hi!” you cleared your voice and gave a smile, which made his pupils widen slightly before his gaze softened just a bit. Otherwise, it was almost impossible to read his expression. Your hand shot out towards a broad sweater clad chest. “My name is Miss Y/L/N and the kids behind me are the eighth grade students of Mason Academy.” A cheer of hellos sounded from behind you and those icy eyes broke their stare off you to look behind you. You felt air reenter your body at the break from his gaze, and you couldn't help the rush of excitement that laced into the pit of your stomach.

Jesus a man who could possibly handle me… and maybe I shouldn't be lecturing the kids about respect while you are checking him out like this.

Chiding yourself as some thoughts raced through your mind, his hand reached out, rough and calloused, it just about swallowed yours as he gave a brief shake before pulling away all too soon. “Name’s Curtis Everett, just call me Curtis. None of that mister stuff.” You could see him take a swallow and you really couldn't help but grin slightly realizing that maybe he was a bit nervous. “So um- yeah I'm gonna show you all around and be answering any questions anyone might have about how the train yard works.”

Taking a step closer to the man in black, you gave a flirty little grin. “Lead the way, Curtis.”

Curtis had been surprised to see the literal goddess that stepped off that bus, the last thing he expected. He felt his heart race and mind go blank when you tilted your face to look up at him. That had never happened to him before, not to the best of his recollection, had a woman ever stunned him speechless.

It wasn't till that stuttered ‘hi’ that his brain started functioning again. Partially anyway. It wasn't stopping the thoughts of how soft you looked in your long plaid coat with the sash tight enough to shape the coat to your body, or the uplift tone in your voice or the way you were looking back at him with wide surprised eyes, yet determined as you stepped closer to shake his hand.

And your touch when he finally took it, no you were too good for him. Your touch was warm and soft in his hand, everything he really wasn't.

Fuck he was screwed and he couldn't believe he let Gillian talk him into doing this. But he had a job to do, so he resigned himself to making an attempt.

It ended up going decent enough, Curtis thought. The kids actually made the effort to ask questions that would engage him in conversations about the daily management of the train yard and what it meant to the businesses in the area. But it was your questions he was eager to answer.

You were grateful to your students, as you barely had to turn to your flashcards. It wasn't until near the end of the tour when the kids started losing interest and forming their typical groups of friends that you started shuffling through your cards. Curtis was walking next to you, it was impossible to not feel flustered at how close he was, his hands stuffed in his trench coats pockets and his gaze was unwavering focused ahead as he waited for your next question. You should look away, but you couldn't as his side profile was making those excited butterflies in your belly from earlier flutter. Your brain screamed when he turned that look on you.

Focus Y/N!

Your fingers fumbled when you knew you were caught staring and the cards went scattering to your feet. “Oh, fuc-dge.” Catching yourself you squatted down to gather them up. “I'm so clumsy I swear, you can't fix this kind of mess.” It was so automatic to make apologies. Cursing inwards at yourself, it wasn't till Curtis grabbed a card you were going to grasp that you looked up from the ground and was almost face to face with the man. He was reading the cards as he picked them up, eyes scanning back and forth until he looked up from the cards. Again you were caught up in the actual beauty of his features. He had lashes that any woman would have killed for and a smatter of barely there freckles across his nose.

“I see nothing that needs to be fixed Miss Y/L/N.” He stated simply as he held the cards out to you once more and pushed himself to a stand. His hands took yours, grasping your forearms gently while he helped you raise up easily.

Your earlier assessment was right… He is strong if he can help lift you up.

“Why thank you, Mr.Everett.”

“Curtis, please… Mr.Everett was my granddad.” He said and flashed you a smile, probably the first one you've seen and it made you return it in relief.

“I guess I better get these kids back to school unless there is more to see?” You asked almost hopefully and Curtis gave a shake of his head. “Well then, thank you, Curtis. For the wonderful informative trip, okay kids. Back on the bus.” You waved your hand for them to get back on. You and Curtis waited at the end, you counting kids getting on while Curtis would give the occasional nod of his head every time one of them thanked him. When it was just the two of you, you stepped on, turning suddenly once more face to face. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Curtis.” You said genuinely and once more you earned a soft smile in his typically stoic features.

“As it was mine as well. Take care Miss Y/L/N.”

“Oh! I'm sorry, it's Y/N.” Giving a wave you stepped up and the door closed. As you made your way back to the seat you were in earlier, you immediately glanced out the window to see the broad shouldered man walking away, slightly haunched to the cold wind in his retreating form.

“Are you ready to return to the school Teach?” Steve asked and you hummed a yes, taking one last look at Curtis before you returned to real life.

Returning to the school, you pushed one tall brooding man to the back of your mind while the students filed off. You ended up helping the driver check all the seats for any forgotten items from the kids. On your way off, you happened to catch sight of Steve's drawing pad on the dashboard and plucked it up. It was a perfect rendering of the train yard, including quick sketches of the group returning back to the bus. In the front was a rough sketch of you and Curtis engaged in conversation. “This… is amazing. I can’t believe you did this while we were walking around.”

Steve came back up, giving a shrug. “Hobby of mine, sitting all that time behind the wheel waiting on you Teach’s educating those kids, well I gotta do something. You all basically remained in view so it was easy to replicate.”

“Do you think I could have this?” You questioned with hope and he plucked a pencil that he had tucked into a shirt pocket and motioned for you to hand it over. At the bottom, he scribbled his initials and pulled the page out of his book.

“Sure Teach.”

Making your way off, you continued to admire the drawing before you tucked it away in your paperwork.

So when one of the teachers you had made friends with named Claude offered a night out at one of Duluth's secret little hidden treasures, you decided that it was the perfect distraction you needed. Leaning into your mirror, you perfected your eyeliner as much as you were going to be able to, giving a smokey eye look, added a touch of color to your lips and took a step back to make sure the whole look went fine with the off the shoulder top and flowing skirt. All you had left to do was put on your pair of boots with a slight bit of heel and you would be good to go. 

A buzz from your phone dropped your gaze, clicking on the screen to bring up the notification ~Ready to head out? I’m downstairs in the metallic gray car. 

You glanced up from your phone but couldn't be bothered to answer, instead you grabbed your boots to slip on and jacket. Within seconds you were out the door and down the stairs to go out onto the street. Slipping into Claude's car, your exuberant coworker was checking herself in the mirror before turning to you. 

“Y/N! Girl, you clean up nice. I wish I could get my eyes to stand out as much as you can.” She reached over to fiddle with a piece of your clothing and gave a bit of a sigh. “You look so pretty tonight.” 

You imagined what the words she left unsaid were, -for that body. She didn't need to, you were used to these kinds of things all your life. Always just a little too much of you for someone to be okay with. Over the years you managed to hide the churning of discomfort these thoughts caused, inside you were trying to shrink yourself, outside you easily flashed Claude a smile of thanks to her compliment. 

Claude didn't say anymore, but instead turned on the radio and within a short period of time she was pulling into a parking lot with other cars you recognized from the school. “Okay, no talk of school, students or parents.” She grabbed at her purse while laying out the rules. “Tonight is about having fun!” 

“I’m down for that.” You moved to step outside and glanced at the rather unimpressive building. “It looks… charming?” 

Claude came around the car, shrugging. “The outside isn’t much, but I promise you are gonna have a good time. Also some good looking singles hang out here.” She hooked her arm through yours, leading you up to the front door.  

You chuckled and shook your head softly while going inside. “No, really this is more my speed, I promise.” 

Curtis held open the door while Edgar and Grey filed into the bar. “Come on, Paulie really wants to start a dart-throwing team, I think we should make a team. We can get matching shirts.” Edgar rambled on excitedly, having spent the whole day at work trying to get Curtis and Grey to commit to doing a team with him. 

Curtis was absolutely not going to wear a matching team shirt. 

“We can join in on a tournament. Maybe make some extra spending money.” 

Grey led them up to the bar. “And what would we call ourselves Edgar?” He asked while glancing at what was on tap that night. 

“I don't know, something cool though. Piercers? Cause like… Darts have that pointy end?” Edgar drummed his hands against the bar, whining. “Come on Paulie, we're dehydrated over here, and is the kitchen open tonight? Cause we're also starving.” 

A man at the end of the bar looked frazzled as he worked on making drinks. “Hold yer horses, fuck. It’s just me for now. Serve yerselves, you always do anyways.” Even appearing rushed, Paulie still had a good natured tone welcoming to him, like he thrived on the chaos of serving all the people filling the bar's edge. 

Grey took it as an invitation to hop over the bar and draw out three glasses while Edgar turned back to Curtis. “So… what do you think about it, we could be the Piercers!” he made finger guns towards Curtis with an hopeful look.

“Not going to happen.” Curtis muttered as he took the beer Grey offered him and took a drag from it, wiping the foam that got caught on his in the hair of his upper lip away. Grasping the pitcher that was handed over next, he sought out a table near the dart wall where they planned to spend their time. 

“Told you man, if you just kept it simple and to the point, he might have been on board.” Grey came back around the bar with another pitcher, joining Curtis who was gathering enough darts for all three of them. 

Edgar just rolled his eyes at Grey while setting down the full glasses Grey had handed him earlier on throwaway coasters. “He just doesn't know how to have fun.” 

“My idea of fun and yours are two different things Edgar.” Curtis opened the dart board's casing and went to stand at the line indicating where he was to shoot from, taking aim and flinging the first dart to hit the board. 

“Oh yeah, what's yours?” Edgar snorted in disbelief as Grey prepared for his own darts. He easily sent them hitting near the targets he was aiming for and Edgar groaned, waving a hand at the board. “See, we could kick ass. This bastard gets almost all the targets.” 

Curtis sat himself at the high bar room table, refilling his glass that he half drained earlier. “What do I consider a good time? Fine ass woman in my lap sounds pretty good right now.” 

“Like that teacher you were showing around Monday? We all saw you stick pretty close to her.” Grey shot him a knowing look and Curtis felt the swell in his chest at the mere mention of you. It made his heart race thinking about that sweet smile you gave him when you came off the bus with that sweet smile and damn if he wasn't getting a bit of a hard on thinking about the touch of your hand brushing against him, how your touch would feel all over him. He merely grunted in agreement, letting his eyes roam around the room as it was starting to get busier. 

“Yeah, she was pretty.” Edgar followed up as he made his own attempt to gain points on the board. The conversation continued on, Curtis drifted away from what they were discussing since they wandered from talking about you. 

The bar was picking up, Curtis could hear Paul calling out drink orders to patrons waiting at the bar's edge. That's when his gaze fell on you, standing at the end patiently, clutching a small bag to you while you waited for him to wander back down to your end. Could he really be that lucky? What were the chances you would come to this place? You were just as sweet and soft looking as he remembered. The drape of your skirt hid those curves he got to admire before and this time you had a bit of heel to your boot, making you look slightly taller than before, but not by much. You had on heavier make up, making your eyes look wide eyed as you glanced around the room back towards your table on the other end of the bar. Curtis didn’t believe in fate, but it seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to get to know you better, so maybe it was just a bit of fate and a whole lot of luck. Whatever it was that put you in his path once more, he wasn’t going to let you just walk away again without trying for your number.

“Curtis, it's your turn.” Grey nudged but the game was completely forgotten about. “Curtis?” Grey tried once more thinking Curtis didn't hear him but then he caught sight of you. 

“Where is he going?” Edgar asked, puzzled when Curtis abruptly left his friends waiting for him to play and Grey shook his head. 

“He’s all done man, just the two of us.” 

You were debating about what you wanted. All the others were doing mixed drinks, but you weren't sure if you were up for that tonight, your goal wasn’t to get completely wasted. A touch to your arm made you jump in surprise, your head turning to a gray henley stretching over a broad chest and then upwards to a familiar set of brilliantly blue eyes and a bearded face. You were amused to see that he still had a beanie stretched over the top of his head, hiding away the soft buzz cut you assumed was underneath. “Curtis!” The mere mention of his name had him break out in a shy looking grin, a soft pink going up his neck. “Oh, I never expected to see you here. How uh- have you been?” 

Curtis leaned against his forearms on the bar, bringing him down more to your level. “Ah, just blowing off some steam after the work week with a few of the guys.” He didn't bother pointing them out but instead moved closer to you, you swore you could feel the warmth radiating off him. “And you?” 

“Letting off some steam as well with a few of the teachers. T-G-I-F you know.” You leaned in a little closer too, drawn closer and seem to forget you were here with your coworkers. “I have never been here, but was told to give it a try. I’m really glad I did now.” 

You felt those crystalline blues studying you for a moment, maybe trying to figure out if you were open to his company, which you very much were. “It’s always good to take that chance, never know when something new is going to pay off.” He moved away from you suddenly to go around the bar. “Pauls a friend.” Curtis assured you when you arched a questioning brow at him. “I was just about to refill my beer, what would you like?” 

You arched to your tiptoes to lean over the bar enough to look at what was on tap. “What are you having Curtis?” 

“Sam Addams tonight.” He admitted as he pulled the tap, leaning the glass just so to keep the foam under control. 

“Same, hook me up with one of those.” You said while admiring him work effortlessly, the henley did him nothing but favors, clinging to his chest and showing the shift in muscles under the soft fabric. Curtis grasped another cup and filled it up. You watched him move around the hustle and bustle behind the bar like he was used to it and for such a massive man, that was a hard accomplishment to stay out of everyone's way. “You want to… find someplace a bit quieter to enjoy these?” 

“Please.” He said relieved as he came back around and glanced around the room. You followed his gaze to see him looking over by the dart boards, two men watching your interaction intently and one even flashed a thumbs up. You swore red flared the tips of Curtis’s ears while his hand came to rest against the small of your back, slightly steering you the other way towards booths lining the wall. His touch was warm and inviting. You didn't try to move away or anything but sunk into it, falling back closer to him when you two approached the booths. 

You could feel the giddy excitement at feeling his very solid frame just behind you steering you towards the quieter section of the bar. “You know, we could have gone back to your friends.” You offered him but fiercely blue eyes darted from them to you and he gave a slight shake of the head. 

A man of few words you thought to yourself and was happy with his choice for a more private setting, that was until you two reached a rather small and tight looking booth’s lining along the bars wall. Once you realized where he was leading you, your steps stuttered, causing his chest to brush against you as he bumped into you. You could just see yourself trying to squeeze into the narrow unmoving bench seat, no room to breathe, trying to suck in your stomach so it didn't press into the table's edge and look like it was going to spill over. Your excitement at spending the evening with Curtis was so quickly taking a complete turn all because of a booth. 

You were bracing yourself for it, that move where you would try to make yourself look comfortable in a too small space. But Curtis wrapped his hand against your side to stop you and look around before by some saving grace there was a single empty table towards the pool tables that had just been vacated. “Mind if we sit over there instead? My legs are just to fucking long to be comfterable at these things. I keep telling Paul he needs to rip them out.” 

You swore you could have kissed that man right there. “Of course.” You said right back in your good mood and you both rushed over to the table to claim its spot. Settling into a seat that you could easily maneuver to fit you, you took a sip off the top of your beer and set it on a cardboard coaster while Curtis made himself comfortable as well. A quick peek under the table showed he wasn't lying, one long leg was stretched out under the table throwing a booted foot practically under your chair. At the booths they would have been knocking knees the whole time. There was an awkward pause of silence, as if neither of you knew where to really start now that you two were alone. 

“So is this-” 

“Do you-” 

You both started at the same time, which you broke into a laugh at the stumble and he cracked a grin too. “Sorry Y/N, what were you saying?” 

“So is this your regular place or did your friends insist on coming here?” You restarted and he nodded. 

“Yeah a regular, a lot of us from the yard come here afterwards. Paulie is an old friend, knew him since we were kids.” 

“Look at the perks, you get behind the bar privileges.” You wiggled your brows and Curtis snorted with a roll of his eyes. 

“He did give me a crash course in how to bartend, I'm actually surprised he hasn't tried tonight since it's Friday and appears he didn’t schedule accordingly.” 

“It really is pretty busy for him to be doing this alone.” You glanced around, and although busy the atmosphere was pretty laid back, everyone seemed to be having a good time. “Maybe he saw you talking to me and didn’t want to bother you?” You offered a hopeful alternative response and Curtis turned back towards you. 

“Maybe, and I'm not complaining. I would rather be in your company anyways. You were really good with the kids the other day. How long have you been at the school?” 

“Not too long, I just moved here from the east coast. I was offered a job and needed to get away, so here I am. Been here since July at this point. It’s nice.” You looked down at your glass, fiddling with it. Curtis seemed to pick on your unease at the mention of you moving and instead turned your attention to the pool table. 

“How about a game? It’s been a while since I've played.” 

You once more lightened up, pushing up to a stand while giving a shrug. “Well I’ve never played, so teach me?” 

“Think I can do that.” He gave a wink and started to explain the game while getting the table ready. 

Turns out pool was just what was needed, you two spent the next couple hours playing the game terribly and teasing one another. A couple pitchers littered your table, leaving you giggling with a buzz and Curtis although still his usual quiet self, a bit more relaxed. He wouldn't hesitate to move up behind you and let his hands rest on your hips to readjust you, lean over and point out the ball for you to shoot for, which whenever you missed, clanking the balls all over the table, you would give a moan of defeat and a sigh. 

They were noises Curtis didn’t seem to mind though, every time you gave them you felt him press in closer, distracting you with the smell of his cologne and a genuine grin that made his whole demeanor brighten up. You finally admitted to defeat when you glanced up at the clock and saw that it was edging on one am. “Shit, I wonder if my ride is even still here.” You giggled as you leaned on Curtis’s side, looking around the room. 

“Who did you come with?” 

“Some coworkers took me out, but they seem to have left.” You felt for your phone, checking to see if Claude happened to text you. Which she did, hours ago. Apparently she had left on a hookup. “Shit.” You muttered, trying to clear your mind from the buzz. “I will just call an uber.” 

“I will just go settle up our tab and wait with you.” He started to dig out his wallet and you protested, digging into the bag you brought. 

“You can get it next time Y/N” Curtis assured you.

“Would you want there to be a next time?” You stopped trying to dig out some cash and Curtis flashed a knowing grin. 

“I’m counting on a next time.” Curtis said with confidence while gathering up the pitchers off the table and your glasses, he brought them over to the bar which Paul came down to gather. You noticed that one of his friends sidled up to him, the two of them falling into a serious looking conversation that had Curtis taking a glance your way. 

You did your best not to look like you were staring at the wide expanse of his shoulders in the Henley shirt.

Grey came up on Curtis’s other side, also pulling out his wallet to settle up. 

“Headed out with the teacher?” Handing over his card, the men waited for Paulie to finish ringing them out. 

“Just waiting on an uber to pick Y/N up. She came with some coworkers, but they left.” Curtis frowned to himself as he tucked his card back into his wallet and into his pocket. “Dick move for them to just leave her, but whatever. I don’t mind waiting with her.” 

“You seemed to be enjoying yourself.” Grey observed as he did the same with his card. “You should ask her out again.” 

“Hmm… See you Monday.” Curtis cut the conversation short to leave Grey at the bar alone to rejoin you. 

When he came back, you were scowling at your phone, a worried wrinkle in your brow. “It will take forever for an uber to get here. I should have called earlier.” You looked at him and gave an apologetic smile. “You don’t have to wait with me.” 

Curtis shrugged, not bothered by it. “I don’t mind, but I did drive here myself. I can give you a ride home if you want?” 

You seemed to contemplate his offer and Curtis wouldn’t have blamed you if you refused, you didn’t really know him after all but he felt he should at least make the offer. Your answer turned to one he wasn’t exactly expecting, but he was happy with it. “You really don’t mind?”

“Not at all Y/N.” He pulled out his key and pushed open the door for you to go out into the chilly night, beeping his trucks lights so you knew where to head to. 

The ride home you had the window down partially so the cold night air could help clear your head and when he pulled onto your block, he eased up to the set of apartments you directed him too. “I had a good time tonight Curtis, thank you.” You fiddled with your phone and held it up. “Want my number?” 

Curtis had never been so quick to hand his phone over so you could put your number in. He waited as you finished and gathered yourself together to make your way inside. It was minutes before his phone dinged, you assuring him you were safe inside and thanking him once more for the pool lesson. 

Fuck you were so damn sweet, he hoped to find out just how much.

That was Friday and you had not heard from him since, and some of those old doubts started to fester. Maybe he got to thinking about it and decided that you were too much for him. It wouldn't be the first time that happened, reliving some past memories made your throat close up and the papers you graded blur. 

Nagging thoughts had plagued you all day and angrily you swiped at the tear threatening to spill. It was ridiculous to feel this way you chided yourself. You don't even know him, not really. And he might be busy. 

Or have a girlfriend? 

Being a bigger woman who took up to much space had been your life for the past five years. You were reminded that you weren't even the “attractive big woman.” You were just pretty. It was a sharp sound in your mind- pretty for your size. 

You slammed your pen down in frustration at yourself and picked up a baby carrot to snap into instead. You could feel those nagging doubts start to take root and you were determined not to let them. After all, you two had a great time at Paulie’s, Curtis had been more than eager to have you put your number in his phone and any man hiding something wouldn't just hand over his phone so freely. Yes trusting was hard, but this man wasn’t Jake Wyler, right? He had led you away from his friends, but they all saw you with his arm around you. He wasn’t trying to hide you, you two were getting to know each other. Logic prevailed over the negative thoughts, thankfully. 

Claude chose this opportune moment to appear in your doorway with a knock. “Hey, are you busy? I know the class is at lunch right now.” 

You shook your head while picking your red pen back up to continue. “Just doing some grading during my own break period. What's up?” 

“I just wanted to say sorry for leaving the other night. I looked around for you, but last I saw you were playing pool with that really good looking guy.” She perched on the edge of your desk. “And well, he seemed really into you, so I just assumed-” The drawing you had been given by the bus driver caught her eye and she leaned forward to pluck it up, studying it curiously. “I was not making the best decisions Friday.” She winced as if recalling a memory from that night. “Also this is really good! It looks a bit like that man you were with?” 

“We played pool and shared a couple of pitchers. Curtis gave me a ride home so it's all good and umm… remember the field trip to the freight yard? That is where we first met. Steve drew that while we were walking around.” 

“You met him before! Girl why didn’t you tell me about him?! We would have been going back to that freight yard to collect him and find me one.” Claude gave a nod. “Are you two gonna go out again?” She gave the drawing one last glance and set it back down. Your fingers itched to put it away from anyone else's sight. 

“We exchanged numbers, so we will see.” You let yourself go back to grading papers while Claude moved off your desk, straightening her skirt out. 

“Well, you are pretty damn cute. He is going to call. And I can tell just looking at him that he is going to be a good time.” She gave a suggestive wink as the bell rang and your class was just bursting in the door, cutting off the conversation. 

Your jaw clenched and teeth gritted at Claude's statement. Pretty. That word you used for yourself earlier. For you pretty was usually ‘Well you are pretty for a fat chick.’ Like all you were meant to be was a good time and nothing more. Claude might not have said it like that or even knowingly used it, but the cruel part of your mind twisted her innocent words into that. And it just added to your earlier worries. 

Your students milled around, taking out their science books for their class and you took a deep breath to shut out the bad thoughts plaguing you. Opening your eyes you grabbed the drawing you were growing attached to and put it in your desk's locked drawer, not wanting to share the moment Steve etched with anyone else. 

“How about that Italian place in town? I know it's pricey, but a girl is gonna be impressed if you take her out to someplace where you have to make reservations and wear a tie.” Edgar offered a solution as Curtis debated all weekend on what is the best kind of spot to take you. 

Basically, Edgar was saying someplace Curtis would feel out of place. Did he even own a tie?

Curtis gave a typical shrug of his shoulder while his finger hovered over your number. All he had to do was press down. He really wanted to finalize a date and treat you out somewhere nice. He could just picture you dressing up and that sweet smile making you glow happily. Which is something he wanted to be the cause of. Edgar was an insistent voice breaking him from his daydreaming thoughts. 

“Sure it is a Italian restaurant but they probably have the descriptions in English. Or will tell you if you ask. You said you would take her anywhere, girls are impressed with nice places, Curtis.” 

“I can read Italian, Edgar.” Curtis “Well enough to know what’s on the menu.” 

“You can?” Edgar asked with some admiration. 

“Posso parlare un po' anche io.” Curtis set his phone down, still hovering on some uncertainty about where to take you. “My grandmother was fluent.” 

“You were the one just saying you wanted to do something special for her. A move like this will guarantee a second date. Trust me, it's what I would do. Imagine whipping out the Italian while ordering.” Edgar was already looking up the number and texted it to Curtis, clearly excited about his friends' prospects of securing another date. 

“I can't believe I’m taking your advice.” He grumbled some more as he dialed your number. It went to voicemail, considering it was midday on a Monday, he figured you were probably in class. “Hey Y/N, this is Curtis. If you are free Wednesday night, I would love to take you out for dinner.” 

From beside him, Edgar was giving him a thumbs up. He was about to put his phone away when it immediately rang in his palm, making him swipe at the answer button when he saw your number come up on the screen. 

“I just finished class and saw you called.” Your tone was bright and almost breathless like you were rushing to get the words out to him. It made Curtis hopeful. “I would love to go out Wednesday. What time would you like to meet?” 

Edgar was making wild hand gestures throwing out times at him. Curtis bared his teeth and shoved Edgar away from him. “Six sound good? I can come to pick you up.” 

“It’s a date. I can’t wait to see you again.” 

“Same Y/N.” He glared at an obviously enthusiastic Edgar. “See you Wednesday, I gotta head back to work now.” After they said their goodbyes, he flipped Edgar off who was shouting at Tanya in the office. 

“The grump has a date T!” 

Curtis was just leaving to head back outside when Tanya’s voice sounded behind him. “About time! He going to take her to that Italian place I told you about?” 

You had spent all afternoon after work going through your closet trying to find just the right kind of outfit. A few text exchanges led you to find out that the restaurant Curtis had reserved was one of the nicest in town. Your outfit choice was one you hadn’t worn since New York, but it felt good to dress up again, a loose sweater dress with a cinch around your midsection gave you a bit more of an hourglass figure. You opted for some leggings to keep your legs warm and a nice pair of boots. Your hair was freshly washed with your favorite shampoo, a hint of honeysuckle from your body wash and the final touch was dark red lipstick that you were very precise in applying. It was your favorite autumn color and saved for special occasions, which your first date in almost a year most certainly was.

While you were double checking your clutch you heard your phone buzzing. Answering, you heard Curtis on the other end telling you he was there but not entirely sure which apartment was yours. You quickly tapped out a message back saying you would be right down. Grasping a cardigan and clutch you were out the door and downstairs within a few moments. 

When you stepped out, Curtis was tugging on a slightly out-of-place tie and trying to readjust a shirt that was stretched tightly over his chest. Other than that, it was very much what you expected from him, his beanie pulled snuggly over his buzzed head and his long black coat sweeping around him. It was endearing and something about this giant of a man dressing up to take you out made you feel special and desired. 

As soon as he saw you, you saw his mouth snap shut as his gaze took you in. Fiercely blue eyes roved for a moment before snapping back to your face like he was caught doing something he shouldn't. “You look so pretty Y/N.” 

There was that word again, you winced inwards at it. But he was so genuine that you accepted the compliment with thanks and brushed it off. It made his jaw tick a moment before he offered his arm. “I mean it Y/N, you really look beautiful.” Apparently, you weren't gonna get away with contradicting his compliments. 

“Thank you Curtis, you are quite handsome yourself.” 

This time it was genuine, not a brush off of disbelief that he could possibly find you attractive in the sense of beautiful. Claude's voice was an annoyance at the back of your mind. Well, you are pretty cute. You two can have a good time. 

You were pretty and hell worth a lot more than just a good time you firmly reminded yourself. 

Feeling better about yourself, you wrapped your arm around his and let him escort you to his truck. “I'm gonna need a step ladder to get in Curtis.” You joked and he opened the door, winking. 

“Nah Honey, I got you.” A voice as smooth as the sweetness he just called you. “Can I touch you?” 

You were in a bit of a daze when you nodded a yes. His hands fell to your waist, a warm and heavy touch, making your toes curl at the way he easily could lift you. Curtis helped ease you in like you weighed nothing, not even a grunt of effort was dropped. Once he was sure you were comfortable inside and he joined you behind the wheel. 

“Have you ever been to Va Bene?” 

“No, it was a very persistent suggestion by my friends Edgar and Tanya.” Curtis chuckled softly. 

“Well, I’m very much looking forward to trying it out Curtis. Thank you for taking me.” You reached over, your touch brief but enough to make him smile to himself at the gesture. 

“It really is my pleasure Y/N.” The talking drifted to about how one another's day had gone, him relaying about his crew's mayhem that made you laugh, sharing about how similar they were to your classroom antics. 

Va Bene was a formal place, Curtis tugged once more at his tie now that he was missing his favorite hat and jacket, those were left back in the truck. You two were brought to the table he had reserved for the evening by a cheerful hostess who hovered long enough to make sure you two were satisfied with the seating. You hovered a moment while looking over the chair, it was as you expected, a whimsical thin legged chair that always made you nervous. Cautiously you sat down and when you felt the chair was sturdy, let yourself take a breath. Even Curtis looked a bit crowded at the small table for two.  

Aside from that, it was in a lovely spot near the windows that overlooked the dying light on Lake Superior, hues of red and orange glimmered off the water just outside, there were a few boats at the dock near the restaurant and the outdoor patio was currently closed off for the season, but you could easily see why this restaurant would be so popular. The waiter poured you both a swallow of wine in glasses, and Curtis took a sip, glancing at you to make the final decision.

You took a sip as well and looked down at it before setting the wine glass down. “It’s good.” When the waiter offered you more you took it and Curtis did as well.

Now it was just the two of you left with menus that both of you skimmed over. It all looked excellent, but it was just a bit out of your element. You would have killed for a burger and fries, once in a while, you glanced at Curtis over your menu who seemed just as lost as you were in the moment. “So um, any idea of what to have?” He asked, seeming to look for some idea among the options, his own eyes darting over his menu at you. 

You flashed a smile before closing the menu and leaning closer to him to take a chance on your haunch. Crooking a finger so he would lean in close to hear you. “Listen, I love this effort, honestly. But I’m so feeling a burger and fries, how about you?” You took your chance, hoping that you weren't making a negative lasting impression on him.  

“Was I that obvious?” Curtis sighed with his own crooked smile and you reached over to place a hand on his arm, giving a slight squeeze. 

“Maybe, but listen. I am so down for that… how about we steal this bread basket and book it?” 

Curtis was all up for that. When the waiter came back, the table was empty short of a few swallows of wine and missing bread. 

Laughing, you two stumbled outside of the restaurant, snapping into some crunchy breadsticks and strolling back to his truck. “I should have just asked you where you wanted to go. Edgar insisted that this was the place to be.” 

“It was nice, but I want you to enjoy yourself too.” You leaned over to loosen his tie for him and pulled it out of its place. “And I don't know, this just doesn't seem like it, Curtis. How about you show me something you like to do?” 

Curtis gave it some thought as you both approached the truck once more. This was new to him, never before had his date asked him what he wanted to do. You were patient, folding up his tie in your hands. Curtis then tilted his head to look up at the twilight sky that was quickly growing darker by the minute. He gave a bit of a smile that eased the stress in his features. “I have an idea.” 

“In the words of Bilbo Baggins, I’m going on an adventure!” You stated with enthusiasm and let Curtis help you back into the truck. This time you were a bit more prepared for how easily he lifted you off the ground, making a very pleasing and exciting thrill race through you at the sensation. While he settled back in, you tossed the tie up on his dashboard, glad that he was no longer nervously fidgeting but seemed much more relaxed. 

The first stop was to pick up just what you had suggested earlier, burgers and fries. Curtis took you to a small food truck that he promised made excellent food and after a moment of checking out the small menu, you told him your order. Once you both had hot styrofoam containers in hand, he then drove away from the city area, working on getting away from all the bright lights. Turning onto a back road, you started to see fewer and fewer houses and far fewer lights. 

But the night sky here was so bright that you couldn't help leaning against the truck's window glass looking up. 

“It's so beautiful.” 

“It is.” Curtis said simply as he started to slow down a bit and turned on his four wheel drive to go off road into a tree lined field. Putting it in park, he killed the headlights and engine and then slid out while grabbing the bag of food. You scooted across the bench seat and let him help you out as well since you didn't dare make the short jump in the shoes you happened to wear for tonight. 

Together you two went to the tailgate and when he dropped it, his hands hovered near your hips. “Let me help you up Y/N, it's a ways up there.” He teased and you scoffed. 

“We can’t all be six foot something.” You joked back but giving a nod of approval, he so easily perched you on the edge, making you feel that rush as you gasped, your hands grabbing his biceps in the action to brace yourself. The muscles were firm in your hold, flexing so easily that he made you feel almost weightless. 

Curtis couldn't help loving that feeling that he really shocked you, your beautiful eyes widened at him in surprise and your easily kissable lips curved in a way that seemed to come so easily to you. His fingers flexed against your waist, reluctant to let you go now that he had you in his hold. 

Now that you were perched on the tailgate, easily face to face with him, you reached out and brushed your fingers through his beard, your eyes roaming over his features. 

He felt your gaze really sink in, the spark of arousal in your depths that almost compelled him to claim that kiss he so wondered about. Your lips were parted, your breaths a rush of excitement and time just stalled while your touch was so fluttering, everything he had imagined and not nearly enough. Your fingers, he wanted them everywhere on his body, not just brushing along his jawline in a sense of wanting more mirroring in your features. They must have looked similar to his own.

Those quiet seconds stretched for Curtis, his jaw clenched then relaxed under your touch, your gaze wanting and curious when he locked eyes with you. It was only inches that you two would have to close, the ache to kiss you stirring excitement in his veins. But he hesitated, a moment too soon and your hand fell away, leaving you retreating your warmth that he craved so much. It wasn't the right moment, and he backed away while clearing his throat, pulling himself up next to you. 

He sat close enough so that the side of his thigh pressed against yours and was rewarded with you leaning into him a bit, sharing each other's warmth in the cool autumn night. Curtis might not have taken that kiss yet, but he was happy with this moment as well. 

“I know it’s not that fancy dinner from before…” Curtis started, starting to let doubts creep in his mind that this was just too simple. What had he been thinking of taking you out like this? People expected to have fun and excitement, not sitting around in the middle of nowhere.

You shook your head, reaching behind you for the containers you two had picked up earlier.

“This is perfect Curtis, it smells amazing.” You started as you handed him one and set yours to the opposite side of you, popping the top. “We have the most amazing view. I haven't seen this many stars since I went camping as a kid.” You popped a crunchy sweet potato fry in your mouth. “And I got the best seat for it.” You nudged your shoulder against his and he relaxed. 

He picked up his own burger and flipped the top open to try his own food. “So Curtis, you know I’m a middle school teacher, but well… I never did ask you that day what your job actually was?” 

Taking a bite of his burger, he pulled out a piece of bacon to enjoy it all on its own. “Diesel mechanic and welder for the freight yard. I also help Gilliam with odd jobs like unloading and shipping/storage of the container yard.” He offered you the last bite of his bacon, which you leaned forward and took it with your mouth, causing your lips to brush against his fingertips and logical thought once more escaped his head as it was all he could think about. 

Arching your brows as you chewed the salty crispy bite. “How did you get into all that?” you asked curiously. 

He gave a little shake of his head to bring him back into the moment.“Well my grandfather worked there and was good friends with Nam, the owner. So I went there after school for a couple of years till I graduated. Then I went off to a trade school to become certified. When I came back, Nam set me up in the Duluth branch working under Gilliam. I like it, the work speaks to me. I've always been interested in rebuilding machines and engines.”

You dunked a fry into the sauce you chose, considering what he was saying. An analytical mind that liked puzzles. Then the more carnal side was picturing him covered in motor grease and coming home filthy. Your thighs literally squeezed together at the image and you were quick to stuff the fry in your mouth before you said or did something you might regret later because of your lust filled thoughts. 

It went silent for a few minutes as you two just ate. You offered your sweet potato fries for him to try and you giggled at the way his brow furrowed in doubt. “Are they even safe? I don't know Y/N.”

“I promise if it kills you, you can haunt me.” 

“You gonna call me Casper the friendly ghost?” He countered as he plucked at a couple and let them hover near his mouth. “French fries are not supposed to be sweet.”

“Nope, Curtis the mechanic ghost. What is it going to take you to try one?” You arched a brow as you stole some of his regular fries and snapped into them with a challenging grin. 

“I can think of a few things Y/N.” He muttered and you felt your mind swarm with all that could possibly insinuate. 

“Can’t believe I’m gonna eat this vegetable for you.” He glared at you and finally ate it, you watched closely before he gasped, clutching at his chest and falling back against the truck bed. You couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from your chest. Curtis wrapped an arm around your middle, pulling you to fall back as well next to him, your head cushioned on his bicep. Tilting your head to look over at him with an unrestrained giggle. 

“I thought you were supposed to be dead? You are not playing the part of Curtis the mechanic ghost very well.”

“This is me haunting you. Your vegetables did kill me.” 

“You really didn’t like them even just a little bit Curtis?” 

He laughed and tilted his head to look at you, your noses almost touching. “Actually they were pretty good. Might steal another one.” 

“You have to fight me for that.” You whispered, letting the tip of your nose rub against his. Curtis pushed up to loom over you, his eyes roaming up your face and cocking a dark brow in challenge. 

“I will give it my best attempt Honey.” His tone dropped, having lost that playfulness from before. Now it was more, wanting, the two of you so close to tipping into a kiss. Your breath caught in your chest as you looked up into his eyes and dropped back to his lips. You wanted it, you really did. At your sides, your hands fisted to keep from pulling him in close to crash against you. 

Curtis though did it for you, his lean in pressed gently against the length of your body and lips slid against yours in a soft gesture that left you wanting more. Now your hands needed something more to grab onto, grasping his jacket lapels and twisting your fingers into the fabric when he came for a second one. Pressing harder, and a slight parting of your lips was an invitation for him to deepen the kiss. 

Curtis never meant to press this far, but the moment you sighed satisfied after the first one, he let himself stop holding himself back. The way you responded just added to it and his hand was cupping your face to hold you still, exploring you with a gentle intimacy. Your body pressed slightly against his tensed body although he held himself up with one arm. How would it feel to just sink against you, he imagined it would feel better than he could fathom and would never want to leave.

It wasn't till his lungs burned and when you wavered in a slight gasp against his mouth did he pull away, sliding to roll to his back and taking a deep breath, committing to his memory all that he loved about that kiss. The way you tasted, smelled, those soft little whimpers at the moments, and the way you had grasped his jacket to hold onto him. All those things would sit in his mind for a while. 

You caught your breath, staring up at the night sky in a slight daze, your lips still tingled and you felt warm and pleasantly aroused yet sated all over. This bit of intimate connection had been the first in a long time and you soaked in the sensations it caused. Your hand reached for his and tangled your fingers through his, just needing that slight connection while you came down from the rush. 

Curtis squeezed back but didn't break the silence of the moment, not until he started looking up at the night sky and started to pick out the constellations overhead. 

Raising his hand to point one out. “There is Pegasus just over us.” His hand was sweeping in a box shape, but you tilted your head back enough to look directly up to where he was pointing at the stars, now bright twinkles in the inky blue-black sky. 

You tried to see what he was seeing but completely missed it among all the stars that seemed scattered without care. “I don't know anything about the constellations Curtis.” You admitted and he tilted his head towards yours, still looking up so he could see from your angle. 

“See those bright stars right in the middle? They make a square and then veer off to the end like straight lines. That's Pegasus.” He pointed them out again and you saw them. “Then breaking right off from the pegasus side, that's Andromeda.” 

You were able to follow now, looking for the other points he was pointing out. “I know the story of Pegasus, being born after slaying the gorgon sister Medusa. But not Andromeda's story.” 

“Ahh, she was the chained lady. Her mother bragged about her beauty which enraged the nymphs. In turn, Poseidon demanded retribution for their anger. She was chained to a rock at the sea’s edge as a punishment for her beauty. But she was saved in the end.” Curtis assured you. 

“What else is up there?” You questioned him and Curtis studied the stars a bit before pointing out more. The rest of the evening was spent picking out the constellations and discussing the stories behind them.

“Must have slipped out of sight, out of mind. What's your favorite one?” Now here you would have thought it would have been some fearsome story about one of Odin's conquests but Curtis broke into a goofy grin and plucked the book off the dashboard, flipping through the pages. 

“This one…” He flipped the book so you could see the picture, a big man badly dressed as a woman. “When I was a kid, my grandfather read me these and this one where Loki helps Thor get back Mjolnir from a giant. I thought it was just the funniest thing, picturing Thor flirting to get his hammer back.” 

Curtis elaborated on the story, reading the chapter to you and before it was over, you both were holding your sides, laughing as tears streamed down your faces. 

“Your grandfather sounds like he was a great man, is he still alive?” 

Curtis sobered a bit, a finger tracing the books binding a moment like it was special to him. “No… I'm afraid he is not.” Then he snapped it shut and set it aside. “But him and my grandmother were great people.” 

You reached out, looking to comfort him with a gentle brush of your hand to his arm. “They sound like it, I’m sorry they are not here any longer Curtis.” 

Curtis broke into a smile and wrapped his arm around you, tucking you in close to him and a quick press of his lips went to the crown of your head. “Don’t be, it’s been a long time and I was lucky to have them.” You let yourself sink into his side, it was like you fit right there.

It wasn't just you finding out new facts, Curtis did as well. Opting one night to just order pizza instead of going out, he crashed on your apartment's couch, a box of pizza opened on the coffee table as you stuck the dvd in the player before crashing on the couch next to him. “Okay, this is… well one of my favorite movies. I know you have seen it before, and I'm most likely gonna be the biggest dork about it, but I really can't help it, okay?” 

His arm went over your shoulder and he shrugged while you scooted into the curve of his body, hitting play on your dvd players remote. “Be the biggest dork ever Honey, not gonna phase me any. Actually it's pretty cute.” Curtis chuckled and you let your face hide against his side for a moment, the casual drop of Honey making your insides twist before you turned towards the start of the movie. An all too familiar scene of In-Gen employees started milling around a dinosaur cage and Curtis tucked you in closer, muttering under his breath. “This is even better than I expected, I do hope you have the other two? They all need to be watched at once.” Knowing full well you must have had them all, but you turned a hopeful look up to him, breaking out in the damn cutest grin he had ever seen.

“You bet jurassican.” Causing Curtis to snort, he hooked his foot in the leg of your coffee table to pull it closer so he could reach for the pizza box and neither of you would really had to move from your comfortable relaxing poses. 

“You really are a dork.” He tickled lightly along your side and you playfully poked his side with your elbow. 

“Takes one to know one.” 

“Oooh Clever Girl.” Curtis teased back while he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “I dino what to tell ya, I am too.” 

The night ended with you falling asleep against his shoulder and Curtis easing you onto the couch and covering you up before slipping out of your apartment. He was hesitant to leave but knew that the two of you weren’t ready for the sleeping over stage, having just started dating. Before leaving, he took one last look at you curled on the couch and smiled to himself, considering himself pretty lucky. Before he headed out of the building, he double-checked your door, making sure it was locked behind him. 

It was the beginning of October and stores in the area had there Halloween holiday displays out, covering most of Duluth's store fronts now.  Curtis made a pit stop at a gas station on the way home from work when he happened to see a little pumpkin ornament that made him think of you, the previous week you happened to mention how much you loved Halloween in a passing comment and then never mentioned anymore about it. It stuck out for Curtis, this little confession of what made you happy. So when he happened to see the little ornament for sale on the gas station counter, he included it with his purchases. 

Planning on surprising you with it, he showed up earlier than you were expecting that Saturday. A quick rap on the door announced his arrival and you answered from somewhere on the other side. “Coming!” 

You were busy grading your students' recent homework, red pen tapping at the corner of your mouth while you absently chewed it. Thankfully you didn't have to use it too often for most of your kids, leaving you pleased that your class really seemed to be embracing the current curriculum. You did jump a little at the knock, knowing he would be showing up, but he was there earlier then usual.

Rushing to the door, you went to sneak a look out the peephole and was greeted with a distorted reflection of Curtis waiting patiently. His arm was over his head, leaning against the door frame and his other hand behind his back. Unlocking the door, you opened it, allowing him to lean in closer to your space. “Hey good looking. You are visiting me early today?” 

“I come bearing gifts Y/N.” 

“You brought me a gift?” You bit your lip and tried to peek around him, but he was effective in blocking your view. “What do I gotta do to get it?” You finally gave up trying, looking up at him hopeful and a bit in surprise. 

“Hmmm…” He contemplated, eyes rolling upwards as if thinking. His handsome face with that dark beard that he must have just trimmed and splattering of barely there freckles was starting to drive you a bit crazy waiting and when you gave a bit of a huff of impatience, he broke into a grin. “A kiss from my best girl? I would rather enjoy that.” 

This nickname made you feel like butterflies were fluttering through your chest and your teeth dragged against your bottom lip with insinuation. “I'm your best girl?” So far almost all your kisses shared have been initiated by Curtis, like he couldn't get enough and had to steal one more. But this one you would get to give and that made you a little nervous about being clumsy. You stepped in closer and slid your hands around his waist in a loose hug, your fingers stretched, trying to get a feel for what he had hidden, but he effectively twisted it out of your reach. “You are not even gonna let me feel it?” You pouted a bit and he shook his head. 

“Nope, I’m not gonna let you feel what it is.” He scoffed and you pressed in closer, letting the tip of your nose run against his jaw before going to tiptoes to press your lips against his, soft at first as you nipped slightly for permission. He sunk in closer into your doorway, letting you deepen your kiss, tongues sliding together and soft moans exchanged. Your arms shifted from his waist to up around his neck to hold onto him. You were feeling the excitement build, the urgency to take this further with him. Your fingers curled around his neck and pulled him into the rest of the apartment. 

Curtis followed your lead, his foot going up to press against the door to swing it shut. He managed to stuff the gift in his jacket pocket to make use of both hands, letting them fall to your hips to keep you close while backing you up. It wasn't till your legs hit the arm of your couch did you fall back into the cushions. Your hold on Curtis made him fall down with you. “Shit.” He cursed out while you whined underneath him. He was pulling himself up a bit to keep from crushing you, with worry in his features. “I didn't hurt you did I?” 

You started giggling, covering your face then and trying to contain your embarrassment at the klutzy moment you had. “No, sorry. I didn't mean to make us trip.” You peeked out from under your hands and wiggled the tip of your nose at him. 

Curtis smiled in relief and reached up to move your hands off your face, pressing a gentle kiss this time before shifting off you and helping you up. “You don't have to apologize for something like that. It was what I was looking for.” Tugging you in closer to him. “Now close your eyes, so I can give you your gift.” 

Leaning into his side, you tilted your head into his shoulder to hide your eyes and he tilted a bit to reach into his pocket and pulled out a small paper bag to set in your lap. “Okay… Open them.” 

You lifted your head from his shoulder and went to pry open the paperbag, peering into it. “Ooh!” Pulling out a small little pumpkin ornament that was made entirely of glass, you trailed your fingers over the twisting stem that curled around and delicately laid over the bright orange glass. It fit perfectly in the palm of your hand, a small little treasure that made your heart swell at the thoughtfulness of the gift. “Curtis this is-” You sighed out and carefully set it on your coffee table to keep it from breaking. “I love it. Thank you so much.” 

This rewarded him with another kiss, which he happily accepted, albeit surprised at how much you seemed to love the little gift. 

That night you two went to dinner and a movie. You had made the suggestion and Curtis was happy to go along with it. You kept it simple for dinner, grabbing sandwiches at a local diner along with a bag of chips you two shared. Curtis had started to pick up on little things, such as how you seemed to prefer curled over chips. He was sure to hand you each one he came across. The way you filled up your cup with mostly ice when getting a drink while out. Curtis also noticed that you would pick at your food, eating just tiny bits. It made him wonder, but dared not question you about it, at least not so soon. 

The movie went well, together you two shared a bucket of popcorn, sitting near the backrow of the theater. Curtis was able to stretch out his legs with the extra room and you were able to put up the arm rests for extra room, able to cuddle close to Curtis’s side without the arm of the chair biting into your waist and making you feel squeezed into the theater seat. As the movie progressed, his hand found its way to your thigh, squeezing now and then, his thumb brushing back and forth in a gentle manner. The quiet was a comfortable intimacy for you two. Curtis valued the way you were now comfortable enough to just sink into him, even though you two had not slept together, these moments were just as valuable. 

It was something Curtis had never really had, but always craved. You made it just easy to be with you, you were this constant warmth welcoming him, you talked with such passion and had even taken the initiative to learn more about the things he has shared he was interested in. How you were even single blew his mind, but he was already counting his blessings now that you happened to be at Paulies shortly after he met you. His thoughts wandered about all these things during the movie, losing complete track of what the two of you were watching until he felt you stir next to him, your own hand now mimicking the way his was tracing your thigh, brushing so close to the front of his pants that it was hard for him not to chase after your touch. 

You don't know when he lost focus, you felt it first in the way his hand grasped the inside of your thigh, like he was holding onto you from escaping his touch. Lifting your head off his shoulder, you glanced up to see him so serious, his eyes capturing just enough of the screen's glare to show how far away his gaze was. No reactions to the theater screen. Your mouth twisted a bit with curiosity at what he was thinking about. 

You moved your hand into his lap, leaning up to slide your lips against the shell of his ear, whispering. “Where’s your mind at handsome?” 

He grunted in response, as blunt as ever. “How fucking lucky I am to get to take you out. But yeah, I lost track of the movie.” 

You laughed softly as you pressed a kiss to his cheek, appreciating that Curtis was straightforward and didn't leave you guessing what he was thinking. His eyes dropped to where your hand rested, finishing his train of thought. “And you keep going like that Honey and my mind is gonna be on how good your hand feels on me.” 

That made you purr, feeling rather daring in the safety of the dark theater. “That's what I’m hoping for, Curtis.” You gave a firm squeeze and that gave you a well earned groan, proud of yourself as you let up and settled back into watching the movie. 

When he dropped you off that night, he pinned you against the apartment building's door, thoroughly taking you apart in his kiss. One hand braced himself against the door, helping to cage you in between his hard body and the old apartment door that creaked at the weight of you two leaning against it. His other hand was holding the back of your head, tilting you just the way he craved, able to trace your tongue and his beard scratch tantalizing against your mouth. When you broke, you looked up dazed, panting slightly. “Do you want to stay over?” 

Curtis wanted to, more than anything ever but he pulled away just enough for you to breathe, so your body wasn’t pressed in every inch of his. He could see the doubt starting to cloud in your gaze, that maybe you made a mistake. “Y/N, more than anything. Believe me Honey. But…” He paused, trying to find a way to explain himself without making you doubt him. “You mean alot to me, like a fucking lot. I want this to last and in my experience taking it slow is the way to… Fuck, I’m not good at this.” He growled a bit, reaching up to fist his hand in his beanie and tug it off. How was he supposed to explain that he wanted you so badly under him, wrapped around him, always with him but he wanted to earn that right. 

At first you thought he was rejecting you, an old fear playing over common sense. You are too fat, to big, to much, why would he want to sleep with you? These dark little thoughts suddenly flared like a neon light in your brain, recalling the way Jake looked at you disgusted the day you two broke up. 

“You are disgusting, why would anyone want to have sex with you? Get some fucking help Y/N.”  

 But then Curtis started to explain why he was saying no, the worry that crossed his face and how he was so sincere in his touch made your mind clear. Trust him. 

You pressed your palm against his chest, making him stall. “Hey, it’s okay Curtis. When we’re both ready, right?” You smiled at him and relief took over when he gave a small smile back. Grasping your chin lightly between his thumb and forefinger, this kiss was a gentle caring one, his feelings were equally matched in this as before even though this was was a subtle thank you instead of one driven by passion. “Thank you for understanding why I wanted to wait. Why you’re my best girl Honey.” 

You both shared a good night and he waited long enough to see you head back upstairs to your apartment before he left for the night once more even though he wanted to stay so badly. 

Once you escaped back up to your apartment, you let yourself lean back against your now closed door, your fingers lifting to press against your lips while smiling softly at the words he left you with. 

Best girl, his best girl.

When the mid-morning break came, Curtis wandered back to his truck to take a breather and to have privacy to check his phone after getting ganged up on by Tanya and Edgar. He settled into the seat of his truck and got comfortable before taking out his phone and checking his messages to see that you had left him a couple. 

I hope your day is going better than mine. If it could go wrong in this place, it did. 

Kind of just want to crash on the couch tonight. 

He thought about it for a moment. So far the two of you have just crashed at your place. But never at his. It was perhaps time that he brought you to his house, let you completely relax while he took care of you, like you insisted on after he had a long day. Checking the time, he knew you were probably taking your own break, meaning he could take the chance to call you.

It wasn’t long till you answered, but even your tone sounded drained today. “Oh, I’m so glad you called Curtis. I’m sure you saw my messages. I shouldn’t have bombed your phone with all that whining.” 

Curtis waited till you took a pause before he responded. “Y/N, Honey.” He soothed, trying to calm you down as you sounded so worried about bothering him with your texts. “I wanna know how your day is going, good or bad. Actually, I was thinking tonight, how about you come over to my place? I will cook you dinner and we can do just what you wanted, crash on the couch and watch some trash tv.”

“Curtis… actually that sounds perfect tonight. I would love that. A lot. You don’t have to worry about picking me up, I can drive over myself.” 

“Okay, I’m getting done at my usual time so just come over whenever you're ready.” 

“Thanks, Curtis, I gotta go.” You sighed into the phone, but now you sounded relieved. “See you tonight.” 

“It’s a date, Honey.” He said softly and once the line clicked he started thinking about what he actually could put together for a meal. 

On your way home, you made a pit stop at your apartment to change from your work clothes. A quick browse through your wardrobe left you in a heated debate with yourself. You really just wanted to wear a pair of leggings and sweater combo, no makeup, your hair in a messy bun. 

But men don't want to see that, your last boyfriend was sure to remind you of that whenever you did dress in such a manner, said it was sloppy, like on top of your other issues you really must not care what people thought of you. 

So that meant you had to dress up again. You didn't want Curtis thinking you didn't care. You tossed aside your favorite leggings for something more dressed up, a skirt and button up blouse, light makeup, and did your hair once more. Making sure to pause in front of the mirror,  just to double check that you looked good enough to leave the apartment, you headed out. 

Curtis had sent you his address earlier and you were thoroughly curious as to where he lived having never seen it. All you knew was that he had an actual house and not an apartment like you did. Pulling onto a side street a few miles out of the city, you bypassed family homes with fenced in yards and attached garages. Your GPS started to announce that you were getting closer and then you pulled up to a driveway with an all familiar truck sitting in front of an attached garage. The yard was carefully taken care of, although the gardens surrounding the house were overrun with weeds and the building needed a paint job, but overall it looked nice. Parking next to the truck, the porch's screen door swung open and Curtis poked his head out. “Hey, I was hoping you would find it just fine.” 

Coming up the porch steps, you carried a six pack of beer with you and held it up. “Easy with the GPS and this time, I come bearing gifts.” 

Curtis took the six pack from you and leaned in to give you a quick teasing kiss. “Well, that is the admission to come inside, although you were gonna get a free pass.” He held the door open for you and once you walked through, he went into the kitchen to set the beer down before coming back out to the entranceway while you hung up your coat. “Would you like the tour or let you fend for yourself? I can't be out of the kitchen too long though, I got some stuff ready to go into the oven once it heats up.” 

“We will make it quick.” You looped your arm through his while he started to show you around. The living room was furnished for comfort, although the furniture looked a decade old, it was all clean and in good shape, a decent sized tv and rows of built in bookshelves lined the walls. You paused at them while you two walked. “Wow, did the house come with this feature?” 

“Actually my grandfather built it for my grandmother. She loved to read and when they were building, she didn’t want big bulky shelves taking up space, so he put them in.” Curtis looked fondly at the stacks of books, a bit dusty but obvious they had been here for many years. You even caught a section of harlequin romance novels that you pulled out, wiggling your eyebrows at him. 

“You read these too, Curtis?” 

“Sure I have. I mean they are not my first choice but some of them are not too bad.” He winked. “I’m really not that particular in what I read as long as it gets my attention.” 

You chuckled softly while sliding it back into place. “That is really all that counts. I actually love them. They give that bit of perfect romance that isn’t always easy to find.” Your gaze falling to a variety of titles, you could have spent the rest of the evening browsing the shelves. “Now I wish I brought my reading glasses.” 

“Ahh, next time, Honey. If you see any you wanna take home, feel free.” 

You two headed out of the room and down a hallway lined with what looked like family photos. “Okay hold on, who are these people?” 

You were inspecting some closer when Curtis came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your middle, looking at the scattering of memories himself. “Hmm, well that little tyke is me, with my older brother and parents. Then this couple down further is my grandparents. They actually raised me, my grandfather's name was Wilford and my gram was Lillian.” 

You studied them, happy smiling faces stared back at you. Although you could easily see where Curtis got his icy blue eyes and stern features as photos of his grandfather stared back. Lillian on the other hand was bright and warm, you could tell that she was the kind of woman who would welcome you into her home without hesitation. The other scattered photos showed some of Curtis and Wilford working on a truck engine, some that looked like a train yard similar to where Curtis worked now, running heavy equipment, grade school pictures of Curtis through the years, and a few with a girl that grew through the pictures, the more recent ones showing her as a grown woman with a baby of her own. “Then that is my cousin Ella and her daughter Sophia.”

You grinned as you admired the cute baby with her chubby cheeks, head full of thick dark hair and brown eyes. “She is cute.” You said before you went back to his childhood ones, noticing they seemed to be all with his grandparents but hardly any of his parents or brother short of the family photo where Curtis was nothing more than just out of his toddler years. “They raised you…” You said softly before tilting your head to look at him questioning. “What happened to your folks?” 

Curtis hummed a bit, tightening his hold and pulling you back into his chest more to keep you in an enclosed circle of his arms like he was hesitant to let go. “An accident in the middle of winter. A car slid into our lane and made my father lose control. There was just no stopping it, we ended up going off the road and over an embankment. I actually don’t remember much of it anymore. But I was the only one to make it.” 

You felt your throat catch hearing this. You couldn't help the tears that welled up in your eyes at the thought of losing his whole family in one tragic accident at such a young age. Curtis didn’t get to have his parents or brother for long, won’t have memories with them. You sniffled and he turned you around to face him. “Hey Pretty Girl, it was all so long ago.” He cupped your face and wiped his thumb pad over your cheeks to wipe them away. 

“I’m sorry that happened to you, I just can’t imagine what that must have been like.” 

Curtis’s features softened hearing you. “I got lucky, my grandparents are really the only ones at this point I even remember, and my cousin lived just down the street, she became more like a sister since she was over here all the time because her parents worked. Maybe it is better that way, you know? I, of course, love my parents and Tyler… but now they are stories that I can tell my own kids one day. So are they really gone?” 

You gave a sob of a laugh, wiping at your eyes and peering up at him from under teardrop lashes. Curtis was caught in how they seemed to make your eyes brighter. “I guess when you look at it like that, it is tragically okay.” 

“Actually I got something that you might like to see and won't make you cry.” Curtis led you away from the hallway, pointing out two small guest bedrooms that he had turned into storage, the bathroom and then the stairs leading up to another guest room and master bedroom. Getting to the other end of the house, he flicked on a back porch light and opened the door to step out in the rapidly approaching evening. He had a large backyard that looked to have been recently trimmed. A firepit wasn't far from the house and you could tell that it was frequently used. A couple of broken down cars that looked to be in various stages of repair were near the back of the garage and then in the treeline, there was a large old tree with a rundown treehouse. 

“Okay, that is cool. You have a freaken tree house?” You said excitedly while stepping off the porch to get a closer look. “I always wanted one, but none of our trees could support one.” 

“It's too unstable now to really go up in it, but I thought you would like it.” Curtis paused right underneath it. “Grandpa built it for me, I even got to help pound in the nails. I would love to fix it up one day. The tree is still alive and strong so it would easily hold.” 

You grabbed a hold of the ladder still attached to the tree and lifted yourself on it enough to look up, trying to look through the opening. “I can only imagine what you and your friends did up there.” You teased and Curtis tilted his head to look up at the same spot you were, reminiscing. 

“Hmm, we looked through stolen nudie magazines and smoked cigarettes we stole.” You gasped at his confession and he winked, wrapping an arm around your waist and helping you down. 

“Oh Curtis, that's bad. You get caught?” 

“Sure I did, smacked upside the head and asked what the hell was I thinking.” He continued laughing at the memory. “Grounded for a while, Grandad brought me with him to help out at the train yard to keep me out of trouble.” 

You shivered a bit and he placed a hand on your back. “How about we go inside so I can finish dinner. I hope you don't mind baked ziti?” 

“Not at all, in fact, sounds like my kinda meal on a night like tonight.” You assured him as the two of you went back inside. Once in the kitchen, Curtis insisted you sit at the counter bar while he finished up. He kept it simple, but that was just fine with you. The two of you joked the whole time, praising his cooking skills and getting the pleasure of seeing him be the flustered one for once. 

“It’s nothing special.” He rolled his eyes at you as he stabbed a fork in it, leaning over the counter so you could taste it. You made a big show of it, moaning out how good it was while Curtis spread cheese all over the top of it and slid the pan into the oven. That sound alone made the back of his neck a bright red. The look paired well with the gray sweatpants he was wearing and the almost too tight tank that stretched over his chest, along with a silver chain that you had only glimpsed a couple of times but never got a closer look at until now that it was dangling so freely in what you had deemed his comfy clothes. You had seen him relaxed before whenever you two had chosen to keep date night at your apartment, but here, Curtis was in his element at his own home. 

While the ziti was baking, he whipped out a loaf of french bread and started to slice it. “How many do you want?” He hummed out and you wrinkled your nose with a sigh. 

“Ahh, it's bread. I probably shouldn't have much.” Which made him pause slicing and set the knife aside. When he studied you, a brow arched curiously and his lips thinned as if he was holding something back. 

“Why can't you have any if you want some?” 

You unleashed excuses, but all Curtis heard was how you dragged yourself down. Each one deepened the lines in his forehead as you used words like, ‘Need to start taking better care of myself.’ or ‘I’m too chunky for eating bread.’ Then the one that really upset him was ‘My ex was right, bread is too fattening for someone like me.’ 

Hearing that one made him go around the counter to your side. “Y/N, look at me.” The rumble of his tone made your jaw shut and cut off your nervous chatter. “What do you mean with ‘someone like me?” 

You shrugged your shoulders and rolled your eyes to lighten the mood a bit. “You know Curtis, I’m not exactly a top model, I need to slim down a bit.” 

His jaw clenched. “You don’t have to do anything Y/N. There is nothing wrong with you.” You looked away on instinct and Curtis reached out to gently grasp your chin and look at him. “I can tell you are not used to it, but Honey unless its a doctor telling you otherwise, no one, not me, not your friends, your family can tell you what you can and can not have. Your ex was a fucking asshole saying that shit. If you want garlic bread, please let me make you some. I want to do that for you.” 

You didn't even know what to say, surprised at his reaction. You were so used to people agreeing, telling you that you had a pretty face and if you just lost a little weight you would be attractive. Here Curtis was basically telling you that you didn't have to make yourself less for him, that there was nothing wrong with you. You were unsure of how to respond, so you softly said “Okay.” 

Curtis tilted his head in closer, blue eyes studying yours. “Do you want some?” 

A moment's pause felt like an eternity and you sensed that he wasn't going to just let it go. “Yes, please.” 

That earned you a smile and he pressed a kiss to your lips before going back around to finish what he started. “Happy to, Honey.” The unease washed from you in that kiss, a spark traveling from the cupid bow of your lips down to the tip of your toes. 

Maybe you could get used to this. 

Dinner ended up with you two sitting close together, back to the easy conversation, and once in a while sharing bites from each other's plates. It was hard not to monitor yourself like you normally did, every time you seemed to start picking at your food Curtis would brush his leg against yours or inquire you into a conversation that had you paying more attention to the discussion than how many bites have you taken, or chews did you take between bites, sips of water to try to make yourself fuller. 

You were able to enjoy your food without guilt. 

There was a mishap though, a rather saucy forkful fell down the front of your blouse, making you try to wipe it out as quickly as possible. Even Curtis went to wet a napkin and tried to help, but it was a lost cause. 

“Listen, how about you just use one of my shirts? I can throw yours in the wash. While it's washing we can watch that movie? You can get changed in my room.” He offered. 

You looked down at your blouse, streaked red and wet, it was sticking to the front of your chest and you just knew that you wouldn’t be able to chill for the rest of the evening with sauce all down the front of you. “If you have something I can use?” 

“Sure I do Honey, majority of my clothes are made to be comfortable.” Curtis assured you while he took your hand to take you back upstairs to his bedroom. You sat on the edge of his bed while he started to go through his dresser till he pulled out a hoodie that looked like it was a size too big for you, you could have literally squealed when he handed it to you. “You want some comfy pants too? I got pajama bottoms you can crash in, they are those stretchy ones, I hate those ones that just have no give to them.” 

You nodded a yes and were quickly handed a pair of flannel red checkered bottoms. 

“Thanks, Curtis, I will be out in a minute.” 

“Sure, the washer is in the bathroom downstairs, just go ahead and throw them in when you come out.” 

Once he left, you let out an excited little squeal. You got to wear your possible boyfriend's clothes, which never happened before. You chided yourself for the ridiculousness of your excitement while you changed into the hoodie and bottoms. You did have to roll the bottoms up because they were just a bit too long as well as the sleeves of his hoodie, but you were thankful for once you were a klutz. Gathering the clothes you changed out of, you went to put them into the washer and hit start. 

Curtis had grabbed a couple of beers while waiting for you, already stretched out on the couch, waiting for you to join him. When you wandered in and he caught sight of you in his shirt. Oh it stirred a rather possessive feeling in his gut. You were so comfortable in his clothes and he felt so damn turned on seeing you wrapped up in his stuff. His girl… Ooh he had it bad. You struggled to keep your sleeves up as you fell onto the couch next to him, buried yourself into his shirt and another wave of pleased possessiveness passed through him. 

“What did you have in mind?” You cuddled in close while asking about the movie and he let the remote go ignored for now. 

“I really want to kiss you.” Curtis found himself confessing, which made you turn up to look at him in surprise. 

“Well… I think… you should.” Your fingers started twisting in the fabric of his hoodie and you just looked like you were made to be there, curled up next to him. Curtis shifted a bit closer and cupped your face to feel you melt into his touch looking at him with wide-eyed innocence. Your lips were an invitation of softness that parted the closer he came. How Curtis longed to pluck soft moans from them. 

This time was different, it wasn't doorstep hungry kisses of want, now you two were private and wouldn't feel the pressure of being caught. He hovered closer, gentle brushes of his nose bumped yours before his lips pressed to yours, the tip of his tongue trailing the petal softness of your bottom lip til you encouraged him for more. 

Just feeling you filled Curtis with an urgency for you, to feel you press into him and grasp hold of his back, to chase your rhythm at all your pulse points and to hear you whimper for more, more, more. His hand fell to your hip, squeezing out that urgency of feeling you in his grasp and you let him pull you into him, your hands bracing against his shoulders and breaking away to move into his lap, swinging a leg over his till you settled onto hard spread thighs while you returned to the heated warmth of swollen lips filling you with hungry moans. 

If you had any thoughts, you would have worried, fretted about sitting like this on his lap. But he didn't allow for those thoughts to form, his kisses keeping you distracted, attempting to keep up with him.

His hands fell to the curve of your ass, grasps firmly holding on and squeezing while arching you into his center and pressing yourself to brace against his chest while your hand cupped the back of his neck and brushed through the short buzzed hair at the back of his head. Your touch fell down to his shoulders to dig in, arch yourself up into him again and fall back down, the rhythm of the movements giving satisfaction to the ache starting in your lower belly, clenching for more. With every downward push, you could feel how hard he was underneath you, sure to rub your aching core right against him, every bump against your throbbing clit making you gasp against him, clutching to him to let the satisfying spark feed that hunger. 

Curtis’s groans vibrated through you, building in urgency till he muttered “Fuck” against your lips and with a surge of power you never experienced in your lovers, he had you two flipped so that you were laid against the couch and he hovered over you, his hand traveling up your body to cup a breast through the hoodie and squeeze enough to make you arch your back off the couch for more, digging your nails through the thin fabric of his tank and pulling him back down onto you. His hips dropped in between your thighs, rocking into you as your kisses turned messy. “Driving me fucking crazy Honey, you’re all I think about at night when I’m trying to sleep.” 

You whimpered for this confession, gasping when he ground himself into you. “Curtis don’t stop.” Pleading for more, you tightened your thighs against him and rocked to meet him, the building heat and churning was making you quiver. A sharp nip of teeth on your bottom lip made you match him, pressing your tongue to lap against his and drown out his groaning noise. A feral desire made him surround you, pressing you into the couch cushions as a hand held your waist to keep you in place, the other braced up by your head, holding him off you enough so that he wasn't crushing you, but there was no space between you, just as you craved him, he craved you. 

It was almost overwhelming, and another grind of his hard on against your wet core made you cry out his name while you came, a flood of relief crashing as you tensed and broke under him. You gasped against him as you curled in close, your legs tightening around his waist while you two kept rocking together. “Fuck… Shit Honey, I'm gonna…” He growled out, under your hands on his back you felt the ripple of muscles lead up to his tensing shoulders, his body going stiff and then you saw the release on his face. He just let go and you couldn't help but loosen your hold on his back to cup his face in your hands, pressing kisses to his ruddy cheeks, let your forehead press against his as he panted with screwed shut eyes, letting the sensation simmer back to a manageable pleasure. When his eyes opened, they softened when he found your stare. “Hey, Pretty Girl…” 

The entire moment suddenly caught up with you, emotionally it hit you harder than you expected and Curtis so casually dropping ‘pretty girl’ on you made your insides twist and you couldn’t stop your reaction. The tears brimmed your eyes and worry made Curtis start stammering when he saw them roll down your cheeks. 

“Fuck, Y/N did I hurt you?” He pulled away from you and you couldn't stop the sob that escaped yourself for reacting like this. 

You just broke into tears and Curtis didn't know why. He was cursing himself mentally for being too rough and getting carried away. His hands collected you to pull you into his lap where you sunk into his chest and hid against his shoulder while your crying started to cease. “Honey, please tell me what's wrong? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away like that.” He couldn't believe he flipped you to the couch and rutted against you like some horny teenager, he was better than that and you deserved to be treated better. You started sniffling as he rubbed at your back and you lifted yourself up, wiping at your face with the oversized sleeve. 

“You didn't hurt me, It was good, really good… I just got caught up in the moment and… It’s been a long time since I have felt that good.“ You were shaking your head at yourself and tilted your head close and pressed your lips to his, assuring him that you were indeed okay. 

“Are you sure?” Curtis ran his hands up and down your back slowly, calming after the moment you two shared. “Because all you gotta do is tell me to cut it out and I will.” 

“Promise.” You nudge your nose against his. “In fact, I'm now a bigger fan than I was before for these gray sweatpants you're wearing.” You giggled and hugged around his neck and he returned the gesture, pressing his face into your shoulder and sighing in relief. 

“I didn’t know you were all that much of a fan of them to begin with.” He shrugged in confession and you narrowed your eyes at him playfully. 

“All women love a man in gray sweats, I promise you.” You go to move up off him and he tugged you back into him, growling a bit.

“Where are you going? We still have a movie to watch.” Pulling your legs up so that you were sitting sideways in his lap and pulling the blanket off the back of the couch. 

“Curtis, I can't stay in your lap like this, your legs are gonna get sore.” 

He handed you the remote and settled back into the couch. “I get to make that call Honey if it's too much.” 

Curtis gave it some thought, they were pretty good at this game. “I could use some extra cash.” He left the table to wander over to Paul, pulling out his wallet and handing him some bills. The barkeeper promptly tucked it away and marked the total in a notebook he had on him. 

“If you guys win, you are looking to make a good profit.” 

“That's the plan.” Curtis slipped his wallet away and Paul leaned against the bar having a lull moment. 

“You know, we have a big back yard behind this bar. This summer I’m thinking of doing an axe throwing stand if there is enough interest. You look like someone who can chuck an axe.” 

“I don't know, never tried, but I would be willing.” Curtis gave a nod, Paulie grinned wide with enthusiasm. 

“Good! Spread the word, I want this to be the summer hangout this year. With you guys willing to play in competition, I already have the darts on lockdown in downtown.” 

Curtis flashed him a thumbs up while pulling away from the bar, digging out his phone on his way back to the table to see Honey highlighted. 

Kick ass and take names tonight. 

He paused at the table, sitting on one of the high stools while typing out. You sound like Edgar now. 

Edgar and I could be on a team then. We would win it for ya 💪

Hmm, that's an idea. You all do the work, I can reap the benefits. I did put money on this game. 

See, more incentive to win then. 

Edgar came over, pushing the brand new darts towards Curtis. “You ready?” 

“Sure, give me a second. Just texting my girl.” 

Edgar got a sly grin hearing Curtis. “Oooh, now it's ‘my girl’. Wait till I tell Tanya.” 

“You’re a fucking idiot.” Curtis muttered while finishing up. See you in the morning, be safe out tonight. Need anything give me a call. 

I should be fine, I was sure to have my own car this time and not get stranded like last time… although it seemed to work out pretty good for me. Got myself a dart throwing, truck driving, steady job boyfriend… 

Curtis laughed reading your message. No complaints here Honey. How else was I gonna get me a Pretty Girl on my arm, all respectable and shit being a teacher? Have fun. Putting his phone away, he grabbed the darts. “Are we playing or what?” 

Saturday morning had you up excitedly, thankful for not suffering a hangover that you were sure Claude would be nursing. This time she stuck around with you for the night although she got rather drunk and kept promising she wasn’t leaving you again. During that rant, you assured her that it was okay, and last time you were perfectly fine. You were able to get her back home all in one piece and inside to bed. Before leaving, you raided her medicine shelf in the bathroom for aspirin and a tall glass of water to leave on her nightstand. You had yet to get a text from her, not really expecting one for a few hours still. 

But for you, you had plans that a hangover would have ruined. Curtis had been sure to inform you that he would be picking you up in the morning as soon as you had told him how you wanted to start properly getting ready for Halloween. While you were dressing, you kept an eye out the window for his truck as well as your phone for a message from him. As soon as he pulled into the apartments’ lot, you grabbed your coat and headed down the stairs, your mood turning giddy.  

You exited the apartment complex sporting a scarf around your neck and tying the front of your coat closed. You looked so enthusiastic that Curtis couldn't help but break out in a smile of his own. “Well someone is excited.” He made it around the truck fast enough to pop open the door for you and you pressed a kiss to his bristled cheek, his hand fell on your waist to guide you into the truck so you could settle in the seat. 

“I missed out doing this the last couple of years.” You bubbled with excitement, which was infectious as Curtis leaned against your open door, basking in it. “I’m just happy you agreed to go with me.” It had been the right call seeing just how genuinely happy doing this made you, he would have agreed to anything at that moment just to see that smile of yours. “I said I wanted to get pumpkins and you were all for it.”

“Well, there is a first for everything.”

In the middle of buckling in, you twisted in your seat to face him just before he could get the door closed. “You never did all this?” Your brows arched up high, your quizzical look making him hide a laugh, although you could see the way his eyes crinkled in the corners, unable to hide that away. 

“Well a first for me in many years, Honey. I did always make sure to have some candy on the porch steps for the kids though.” 

Your hand reached out to brush against his cheek, giving a sigh as your palm cupped against his bristled cheek. You put on a sympathetic smile as if he didn’t know what he was getting into with you. “Oh Curtis, well that is about to change.” 

Now that made him laugh out loud. “I’m looking forward to it Y/N.”  

You had googled the best place to go, which took the two of you out of the city area and a few towns over. The drive was quick, with you both admiring the scenery, the road leading you along the great lakes’ shore line, passing little lakeside camps and docks that you took note of for the future explorations. When you arrived, the GPS took you right through the town’s mainstreet, which you admired the quaint little town with a wistful desire. “I always wanted to live in a little place like this. I don't know, it always just feels like a family kind of place, you know.” 

“It’s so much smaller than Duluth.” Curtis admitted as they bypassed what looked like a mom and pop gas station, an old church in the center of town, a town garage with junk cars scattered around it, and lots of homes in various stages. “I wouldn’t mind living in a place like this.” The GPS had the truck turn up some old dirt road outside of the town, requiring them to slow down and really admire the landscape. 

You thought about what he said, considering where he was living now. “Would you want to sell your grandparents?” 

Curtis was quiet for a moment thinking about your question. “I know the place needs a lot of work and its just outside of the city but no. It was my family home, basically Ella’s. We have all our memories there, I’m not ready to let all that go. Maybe, if I had my own family- wife and kids, I would feel different?” He shrugged a shoulder and then glanced at you with some concern. “God I didn’t freak you out did I?” 

Anything but, you found all that sentimental feeling really endearing. “Not at all. I think it’s really nice that you get to live there. As you said, that’s where you grew up, it’s always been your home. One of the few things I still appreciate about going back to New York is that my parents’ house feels like going home.” You admitted and he reached over to take your hand, giving a slight squeeze. 

“Was it a big deal for you, coming all the way out here?” 

You glanced down at his hand wrapped around yours, it was large, swallowing yours. Callouses were rough against your softer skin, but not in a biting way that made you want to retreat. In the past much softer, but equally strong hands made you pull back all the time. No, you wanted to feel his touch trail against your sensitive parts, making you chase after him with a plea for more. The flutters in your chest made you feel light and airy in the moment. You've had held his hand plenty of times now, but it still made you feel excitement and overall safe. “Yeah, it was. I had never moved this far before. But it was time, I was just kind of drifting in life at that point having just split up and when I was offered the teaching job at Mason’s I took it.” You tilted your head back against the seat, thinking about that time, hard to think of it as less than a year ago now, but it felt like a lifetime. “Jade was so proud of me, been telling me I needed to leave. Kept offering me to come live with her and her boyfriend, Frank, in Florida but they didn’t need me imposing on them.” 

Curtis offered another glance at you, a crease in his brow with concern. “Don’t get me wrong Honey, I’m glad you came this way. But how would you be imposing?” 

You fought the urge to wipe away that worried line in his brow. His focus going back to manoeuvring the truck along the dirt road. “Jade likes to play mother hen. She feels the need to fix things. It can be overbearing at times.” 

“Ahh, okay I get that. Ella feels sometimes she can run my life better than I can. Before meeting you, she was always trying to set me up on dates.” 

You smirked in response. “Well good thing I came around then, that just sounds… so awful for you.” 

Curtis rolled his eyes, huffing at your cheeky answer. “It was when she basically threatened to put me on a dating app after the last few failed dates she set me up on.” He narrowed his eyes at you. “Don’t get me wrong Honey, all the ladies were lovely people. It just wasn’t something I wanted.” 

You let that sink in, just as you had suspected, Curtis had no problem finding himself dates. Apparently Ella had basically been setting him up with perfectly nice eligible women. But he bypassed all of them. Until he met you. 

He chose you. 

The GPS on your phone chimed, making you glance down at it and breaking you out of your thoughts, an excited grin breaking out. “It should be-” You glanced around out the windshield trying to catch some sight of this farm you had seen online. “-around this corner.” You said as he bypassed a barn and sure enough once you turned the corner, there was a stand all set up with fields of orange, white and green pumpkins stretching around it. At the stand it appeared to be loaded with baked goods, jars of canned goods and a hot drink station. You shut off the GPS system to keep it from announcing that you had arrived at your destination. 

You had that same expression on your face of pure joy as before. Earlier in the week you said that this is where your “dorkiness” is going to be bad, but Curtis wouldn't have changed a thing about how happy you were. For him it was another part of you he got to enjoy.  “So how many pumpkins are we bringing back with us?” Curtis asked you as you two left the truck and started to wander into the field.  

“Mmmh, I want at least three. One for my apartment, I'm carving one for your porch because you have the most perfect porch to decorate and it's a shame to let it go to waste.” You weaved your fingers with his and he shook his head at you. 

“What am I gonna do with a pumpkin?” he gave your hand a slight squeeze in return.

“You light it up Curtis. It looks nice, Halloween- like.” You paused to check out one particularly orange one. “Then I want a small one for my desk at school.” 

“You really do love all this.” He observed, which had you nodding while leaning over to half roll one over, looking it over. To him it looked perfect, which seemed to have no interest for you.  

“Absolutely, its my favorite time of year.” Bypassing that one, you two moved onto another. When you rolled it, you deemed it perfectly imperfect with its mishappen body and varying coloring of orange making it look speckled. “I want this one.”

Curtis took out a small blade from a pouch on his belt and flicked it open to cut the stem, gathering it up in his arm to carry back to the front. You kept looking around, picking out a few more of varying sizes. The longer you stayed, the more people came with their families. While you were wandering the field, Curtis having brought a couple more to the front with your first choice, you started helping others pick out the perfect ones for them as well. 

Curtis got to see you just enjoying yourself without any inhibitions. You started helping some kids pick some out and talking animatedly with the parents. You seemed to notice Curtis was no longer at your side and paused halfway through the field, turning to look over your shoulder to see where he was, and as soon as you saw him, you smiled. Just for him.  

When your eyes locked onto his, it was just like he was once more seeing you get off that bus, a warm energy that made him crave to bask in your presence, wanted to spend all his time wrapped up in you. 

So that's exactly what he went to do. 

You two finished with a final stop at the stand. Curtis stood behind you with his arms wrapped around you while you chose a few things to bring home as well as the pumpkins you chose- bags of frosted sugar cookies in the shapes of autumn leaves and pumpkins, fresh cider donuts and a couple jars of jam and apple butter. You also got to go cups to make yourselves something hot to drink before heading back home. 

Settling with making both of you coffee while Curtis loaded up the back of the truck with the pumpkins you chose, he even relented and got a few extra so you could decorate his porch how you wanted, you two started for home once more. Curtis was grateful for the hot coffee and on the ride home you shared a donut with him, offering him sugared bites from your fingers that he was sure to suck the sugar off your fingertips a time or two,  teasing the sugar off your fingertips with the tip of his tongue. 

Opting to stop at Paulie’s before going back to your apartment to unwind, you two were able to get seats at the bar where Paul was sure to wave at the two of them, signalling Curtis to come around. “Come make yourself useful Everett.” 

“I'm here on a date?” Curtis countered as he yanked off his jacket. “You don't even pay me to do this.” 

“I give you plenty of free beers. My help comes in twenty minutes. Just cut me some slack. Y/N doesn't care, do ya?” Paul asked with a desperate note in his tone, like having Curtis on the other side of the bar would save him. 

You gave a shake of your head and Curtis glared at you, making you grin at him and nudge him. “Go get me a beer stud.” 

“Right away Ma’am.” He huffed and playfully squeezed at your hip before making his way around to the other side of the bar. “What can I get ya?” 

“Hmmm, anything you recommend.” You gathered his coat and hat off his old seat and pulled them across your lap to free up the bar since it was getting busier. Curtis turned around to glance at the shelf of stuff Paul had on hand. Picking up a bottle of Jack Daniels, he poured you both a shot. “That’s certainly not a beer Curtis. You trying to get me drunk?” You grabbed yours and held it up, clinking it with his and tipped it back all to once that left you licking your lips afterward, your face scrunching just a bit from the burn. 

Curtis saw you take that challenge without any hesitation and damn it was hot how you tilted your head back to shoot the liquor between your sweet tempting lips. He didn't take his eyes off you the whole time he took his own. “Better then beer Honey, hits just right.” He winked while he set the bottle near you. “Keep the bottle, Paul said it was on the house.” 

“Not the whole bottle Curtis!” Paul shouted from across the bar and you poured yourself another, not nearly as full but enough to burn still in the best way while it was going down. Curtis winked at you as he moved away, starting to take drink orders. 

This was the first time you saw him behind the bar. He had a knack for it, pulling out bottles and unscrewing the tops to flick them into a bucket nearby. Curtis easily chatted with customers, and you started to see him yet another side of him. These were regulars you assumed, he knew their names, asking about theirspouses, how the kids were doing or how work was going for them. Often his eyes would dart from where he was making drinks to check in that you were all okay amongst all that was going on, 

You thoughts wandered to how you once thought his eyes were icy blue when you first met? You were so wrong. They were vibrant and made your heart skip a beat whenever he made eye contact. 

Not for the first time you were getting turned on just watching him. The longer you did the more you wanted to bring him home and explore what was under that black tee shirt he was wearing and run your hands on his bare chest and feel him fuck you right into your mattress. Or couch, whichever you two ended up making it to first. The thought alone made you squeeze your thighs together as your panties started to stick to you, selfishly wishing for yourself that maybe tonight was the night you both would be ready. 

Curtis wandered back down to where you were squirming in your seat, moving to lean on his elbows and hover closer to you. His eyes had a playful look to them, the corner of his mouth uplifted looking at you. “Can’t believe you are all alone down here. Let this lonely fellow buy you a drink?” 

You leaned forward, whispering in a conspiracy. “My date will be back any second. He is six’ four and intimidating as hell. You better watch yourself mister.” 

Curtis huffed, his chest puffing out slightly. “I can take him, his punk ass aint got nothing on me.” 

You let your eyes rake over him suggestively, warmth shooting straight to your core. “You're really confident and that is sexy as fuck. I will let you buy me a drink.” 

He didn't know if it was the couple shots of Jacks you took or something else, but the suggestive tug of your bottom lip between your teeth and the sultry glances you have been giving had him on edge. But it was just the start on top of so many other things that made Curtis want more with you. In the time he had known you, you’d become part of his happiness and he wanted to explore what that could mean for him and for you as well. He had seen glimmers of sadness from you in passing, when you seemed to recall something from before and it struck him in a way no one else had ever done so. Overall, he wanted to be the one to replace those memories with better ones. Ones with him.  

So he was ready he decided to see where the next step in this relationship would take the two of you. As he picked out a beer for you and you brushed your hands against his, your sweet lips wrapping around that bottle, well a man can only handle so damn much. “Once you finish that, wanna head out?” 

You enthusiastically nodded and tilted your head back, the beer going down a lot quicker. “Fuck.” Curtis muttered to himself in awe at the way you were downing that bottle. He looked over at Paul. “A'ight headed out.” 

Paul gave him a thumbs up and then Curtis came out from behind the bar and wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you beside him. “Wait, wait…” You juggled his coat in your arms and twisted back to your seat, grabbing the bottle of Jack. “Thanks Paul!” You shouted out, waving the mostly full bottle for him to see. 

“Hey! I told you guys can’t have the whole bottle!” 

“Consider it my payment Paul.” Curtis held the door open and you ducked out with your prize, laughing. 

Back at your apartment doorway, Curtis had you pinned against it, hands to your hips, his body flush against yours as he kissed you feverishly, tilting his head to nip at your jaw and you giggled out at the sensation. The door was nice, but tonight you wanted more. And hoped Curtis would too. 

“Curtis, wait…” You whimpered out as he was working a particular sensitive spot near your ear that was making you rub against him. Your hand cupped the back of his head as he lifted away from you, pupils blown almost black in his own arousal. “Do you want to stay the night?” Your eyes searched his, hoping for that yes and fearful of the rejection you always were half expecting, even when you knew better that voice still taunted you.

He will never want you Y/N.

Curtis knew his answer, known it basically all damn day he has been with you. He let his hands travel up your body and cup your face, kissing you once more, leaving you breathless. “Yes, I'm not ready for today to end Honey.” 

Your hand fell along the door behind you and with a twist of the doorknob, you both fell into your apartment, the door slamming heavily behind the two of you. 

Once inside Curtis pulled you in close, backing you into the nearest wall as his mouth went back to flushing kisses up your neck, your jawline to the corner of your mouth. “Bedroom?” He asked and you nodded, pulling on his t shirt that you admired so much earlier to pull it off over his head. You had been daydreaming about his big broad chest since you met in the freight yard, wanting nothing more than to rub your hands against him and explore him. That night at his place when you got to see him in his tank, you caught a glimpse of what was underneath, muscled pecs, a dark scattering of hair leading to his belly when his shirt was ridden up, some tattoos that you desperately want to explore.

What you weren't expecting was how intricate some of these tattoos covering his chest were as you dropped the offending tee on the floor of your living room. Your eyes went wide as you pulled back to see how far down he went with that ink, your hands spanning over his chest, giving a small breathy ‘Oh.’ Intricate designs scattered across him, some of them forming symbols that you had seen in his books that he read. Your fingers splayed over them, sliding up to where his medallion rested against the center of his chest. The chain was long, your fingers curling in the metal as you look up at him wide eyed. 

“You like?” He arched a brow curiously, his hands settling on your hips, fingers flexing against your curves like they were all that was keeping him in check right now. 

“Very Curtis, I plan on exploring them very thoroughly. Later.” You gave a tug on that chain, dragging him back to you and your tongue licking into his mouth. Curtis groaned into it, shifting his hands to clasp your ass and further down to the back of your thighs. It completely caught you by surprise when he lifted you, your legs being pulled around his waist and you were sure your thick thighs were crushing his slim waist. “Curtis!” He smirked as he pulled you off the wall and you clung to him. “You can’t just carry me!” 

“I can, and I will, easily.” He went into your bedroom and lowered you to your bed, crawling over the top of you and continuing once again where he left off with you. Nipping at your neck while pulling your top up and over your head to drop beside the bed, your hands went to his belt to start to unbuckle it. “I don’t wanna be hearing I can’t carry around my girl when I want to.” 

Your hands worked his belt and button open before grabbing at the waist of his jeans to push them down, digging your nails into his taunt ass and pressing down to grind him against you. “What did you just call me?” 

His fingers skated down your sides almost teasingly while he dragged his beard against your collarbone, the soft moments his lips touched your skin a soothing balm against the burn he left behind. The coolness of his chain dragging against your made you shiver with the anticipation. Curtis spread loving kisses across the tops of your breasts spilling out the top of your bra, fingers dipping into the band of the pants you were wearing. “My girl.” He lifted his head to look at you. Blue eyes imploring. 

My girl, did you want to be his? His hands felt like he was worshiping you, his mouth exploring the taste of your skin, trying to draw out your moans as his own personal hymn. There was a hopeful look in his eyes, that your next answer could make him a blessed man. Curtis made it so fucking easy to want to be his and it was something you actually desperately wanted. So saying yes… 

Well that would be easy. 

“I want to be that Curtis.” 

He broke in a grin, his whole face lightening up as he surged forward to catch a kiss. You arched up to reach him while his hand dipped against your back and a twist of his fingers had the clasp of your bra releasing. Pulling away from you, he sat back on his heels. Curtis hooked a finger under your bra straps to pull them down, letting your bra fall away. “You're so beautiful Honey.” 

You scrunch your nose up at him, heated doubt tickling in the back of your mind, and making you twist your mouth. Although your bedroom was dark, he was able to see you enough still and that made you nervous of exactly how much he really was able to see of you. Your hands suddenly didn't know where to go, or what to do. You suddenly wished your bra was still there, covering you in a way that made you pleasing to look at. Your body was being exposed layer by layer and you didn’t quite have a place to hide your imperfections anymore. Your rolls would show, the flab on your arms would jiggle when you lifted them to reach for Curtis, your thighs cellulite would dimple in a way that you dreaded Curtis even noticing, your breasts not having support wouldn’t stay the perfect round shape that the bras support could give, how your stomach drooped lower then it should. Why did you agree to this? Especially with Curtis looking like a god above you. Even in his small imperfections he looked like some kind of rugged model while you couldn’t even offer him sexy imperfections. 

You were soft everywhere and your body carried the scars littering across your skin in stretch marks.

Weakly you covered yourself, shaking your head a bit. You weren’t beautiful, you just weren't and he was going to look at you and see that truth any second now. 

Curtis witnessed the way his words just struck you, a whiplash of some kind. He reached for your wrists, circling his fingers around to tug gently. “Y/N, look at me.” He shifted upwards a bit, pressing your hands back to his chest, his arm holding him up while hovering over you. “You are up in your head right now, I need you here with me.” 

Imploring eyes made you look at him and you took a breath to help shut the thoughts up. You were so tense under him that when you relaxed, you sunk a little further into the mattress. Your hands started exploring him again, brushing through the thick mat of dark hair sprinkled on his chest to twirl a finger around a pink nipple. Glided over a softer belly that had a line of dark hair leading down into his now loosened pants. “I’m with you Curtis.” You said loud enough for the both of you, an assurance for both of you perhaps.

The ghosting of your fingers was a blessed tease to say the least, but Curtis held himself in check as you loosened back up, just as he thought, you had started thinking too much about unsaid fears when all he wanted was for you to touch him, to start taking what you wanted and not concern yourself with what he was thinking. Your thumb pressed against the lines cutting against his pelvis, leading down till your fingers curled over the bulge at the front of his pants. “Fuck Honey, see what you do to me? Drive a man crazy.” 

You squeezed him, all wide eyed wonders gazing up at him as he groaned with a dip of his head back to you to tease your lips all while rocking his hips enough to press his hard on against you. “No one’s ever told me that before.” 

“Well I'm never gonna shut up about it.” A hand curved around your hip and slid up to cup one of your breasts, squeezing his palm against you as he pressed his mouth open to the top of it, sucking on the supple flesh, press of teeth leaving a bit of a mark and then a soothing caress of tongue, you let your head fall back with closed eyes to let the feeling of him over take you. 

He glanced up from where he had his mouth lay claim to your nipple, quick flicks soon had you hard and sensitive, clutching at his shoulders while your back arched to give him more of you, which fed his greediness. He didn't just want more, he wanted all. A rush of kisses across heated skin left you shivering when the air chilled your now thoroughly loved breasts. Between his hands and his mouth, you never felt so consumed by a man. “I could just love on you all fucking day.” He growled as he pulled back further, his chin dragging down the center of your body, even as his hand still massaged against your breast, rubbing your pebbled nipple to escape between his fingers till he dragged a massive palm back over them, making you whine. “You fit in my hands so good Y/N.” 

Here was where you were grateful for the darkness in the room, as much as you would love to see how blown his vibrant expressive eyes were or the swollen bottom lip peeking from the dark beard covering half his face, you weren’t ready to sacrifice him being able to view you to closely. Maybe he wouldn’t notice the stretch marks covering your belly, the overhang of your lower belly or the pudge of your mound that you always felt was unattractive. In the dark of your bedroom you might be able to hide this from to close inspection. 

A touch to your hip, a slight squeeze that dragged you out of your thoughts. Causing you to lift your head, you could see enough of Curtis to tell that he was close to you, listening to the catch in your breaths. His fingers curved into the band of your pants and panties to start easing them down, his breaths hot as he got closer to your more intimate areas. “Curtis…” Your voice hitched with uncertainty while he eased your pants off, first one leg, then the other. He pressed his touch in your softer inner thighs, seeming to appreciate the plushness and heat that was there, the way he had to press against them to spread them apart as they quivered in anticipation. You felt your pussy ache, a wet rush making you practically drip your essence because of this man. 

He kissed the fleshy part of your hip, humming in question to you. “Do you want me to stop?” He was willing to, if you were not okay with this. But Curtis ached for you, wanted to feel every inch of you in his hold. Curtis was patient, and he kept his touch away from your core till you told him that you were ready. 

“No, I'm just… god I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm like this.” You stammered out. Your hands going to the back of his head and scratching lightly at his scalp. 

Curtis wasn't upset by any means, it was understandable to be nervous for your first time together and he lifted himself enough so you could meet his eyes. “Deep breath Honey and you tell me what you like as I do it.” Gripping your chin, he pulled you up enough to kiss you, his tongue stroking yours till you melted into him, going breathless. 

“I liked that.” You teased him which made him give a chuckle while he moved to a stand and reaching in his pocket pulled out a couple condoms to place nearby on the bed. 

“In case we need them. And that is good to know you like to be kissed. I have to say it makes me feel fucking mindless wanting you when you kiss me.” He shucked his pants down, along with his boxers. You wished you could see his erection, having felt how thick he was through his sweats when you two grinded together on his couch. You could see enough to tell that it was curling up towards his belly as he stroked it a couple of times, settling back on the bed and moving back over you. You let your thighs spread for him to settle in close to you, his thumb now stroking that soft pudgy spot of your mound, dragging the pad of his thumb down to your slit. 

Here you gasped, tugging your bottom lip in between your teeth when his fingers found that spot. That bundle of nerves that make your toes curl and your core ache with need. Your slick pooling just for his calloused touch. His thick fingers felt so much better than yours just stroking you. “Keep talkin’ to me Honey.” A voice rumbled against your belly, once more the drag of his beard set you alight. 

“Right there Curtis, I need-” Now that you were slick, aching for more, he let a finger press against your opening, pulling him in with a tight clamp. Velvet walls kept tightening around him. You didn’t expect him to be like this, make you this aching for him but here you were squirming on the bed, trying to keep a straight line of thought. 

Curtis knew what you needed, driving the words right from your mind as he stretched you, adding another to stroke your velvet walls. “- Oh you are so thick.” You moaned out, grabbing onto his biceps to keep yourself grounded while you started squirming underneath him, building up to your crashing moment. 

The cold of his chain bounced off your thighs, deep praises falling from him. “Just like that Sweet Girl, fuck look at you just opening for me.” Fingers buried deep in you started spreading you, scissoring in and out. He wanted to taste, drive his tongue through you but when he bit lightly on your mound, preparing to press his mouth to you, you tensed, your voice going in that panicked choked squeak. 

“No wait…” You tugged on his arms till he rose back up, tilting his head in question. “Um- I can’t-” You panted and Curtis slowed his touch, letting the aching sensations dull in your belly. 

“We don’t have to do that Y/N.” He assured you. You moved to your elbows and grabbed a condom to peel it open. 

“Can we do this instead?” You offered and Curtis sucked his fingers clean once he left your clenching core, making you hear him clearly as he sucked your essence right off his fingers. You couldn't recall ever hearing anything hotter in your life as his drenched fingers slipped into his mouth and he gave a deep hungry sounding groan at the taste of your slick. Another rush escaped you at that moment. 

“Fuck, I’m all for that.” He said as you pulled yourself up a bit more to slide the condom on him. He was built, more than you were expecting, but yet you shouldn't be too surprised- this man did just lift you up and carry you, something you were still trying to wrap your mind around. 

Right now it was about watching what little you could see of Curtis’s reaction to your touch, the sweep of your hand up and down his shaft, the sudden way he tensed right before your eyes and then rocked into you for the friction your palm made. His hand closed around yours, showing you how he liked to be squeezed around slightly, easing your thumb to circle around his red thick tip and tightening his hold when the thick vein throbbed under your fingers. “Honey, you gotta get that condom on me, I need to be inside of you.” His tone was deep and edging on desperate now. Just maybe you had similar effects on him that he had on you. “I promise you can explore all you want, however you want later.” 

“Oh, yes, of course.” You squeaked, having been distracted momentarily in your exploring, Curtis just felt so good in your hands. You pinched the tip of the condom and started to roll and stretch the rubber around him before laying back. He dropped himself over you, reaching between the two of you to slide his thick head between your folds, sure to tap against your clit and make you jolt at the excited anticipation racing through you, spreading your legs wider for him. Once more his necklace bounced against your chest, making you grab it and pull him down to meet your mouth, sliding your tongue to meet his while he started to press himself into you, stretching you to fit. 

Your legs pulled up and pressed against his side, Curtis could have blown a load just feeling you pull him into you, squeezing so tightly around him that he actually gave a choked grunt against your lips. He shared air with you, panting slightly as he grunted, flexing his ass and pushing in just a little deeper, just a little more as you rolled your eyes up to flutter a bit, your nails tightening in pleasure against his shoulders at how good just the drag of his cock into your slick core felt to you. “Fuck, you are gripping me so good Honey.” He reached for a hand, weaving his fingers with your and pining it back above your head. 

You immediately let go of his shoulders and returned the gesture, this time reaching for his hold. “You feel so good. Curtis you gotta move, I need you.” 

It was a slow movement at first, Curtis pulling out and easing back in. But each time, you were slick and fit around him like you were made just for him, and he started to move faster, determined to find your sweet spot to hear one of those moans you were holding inside. Sex, well sex always felt good. But this, it was edging on something more than sex, he wasn’t trying to get the two of you to end for the feel good moment that was satisfying. 

With you, he wanted you to just feel good and that possessive part of him got to know he was the one that gave it to you, over and over and over. He didn’t even care at this point if he finished.

It was when Curtis angled slightly that he slid himself just right and you cried out his name in just the way he had been looking for. A cry that was just for him, his name sounded sweet and desperate right now. “There you go Sweetheart, fuck- shit you just keep squeezing me like that.” He assured you when a tremble of ecstasy vibrated you. Your fingers clenched at his hand while legs lifted to cross your ankles at the small of his back to push him back into you. 

“Good Girl.” He groaned against your neck as he pushed back into you, pumping faster and harder, aiming for just that spot that made you gasp and repeat his name like a manta. “You're perfect for me.” He nudged at you till you twisted your mouth to meet his, shuddering as you kissed him with an air of desperation that pleaded him to shatter you just so he could drag your frayed pieces back together, maybe someone you desired to be. 

“Curtis, I need to, please.” You stuttered out and Curtis felt his balls tighten hearing you plead with him to finish you. He let go of one hand, squeezing a breast and tilting his head to suck on your soft suppleness, dragging a hot tongue to send pleasure through your body when he sucked on your nipple, immediately your free hand went to the back of his neck to keep him pressed close. Tingle of anticipation went up Curtis' spine, you were close and he was too now, but you had to come first.  

Dropping his hand to where he fucked into you, a finger twisted against your sensitive swollen bud to have you clamping down hard on him, your thighs quivering in a strain and that release flooded you with so much pleasure that you locked around him, biting on his shoulder to muffle yourself, causing a satisfied hiss to escape him. 

Chasing his own ending turned sloppy now that you came for him, tendons popped from his neck and his shoulders bunched together as he hunched over you, gathering you in close to him as he crashed into you several times till he shuddered in your arms He pitched forward to bury his face in the crook of your neck, gasping out the last air in his lungs to a deep groan that seem to come from the very pit of his stomach. You felt it shudder through you as you were still floating in a daze. 

Your hand that was still free from his grasp loosened from the back of his neck to scratch lightly at the back of his head and down to the knots in his shoulder from his release, he was still hunched over you, cocooning you to him like he refused to let there be space between the two of you. Refusing to let you go or push away from him. Not that you wanted to, your relished feeling him press you under him, like he couldn’t bear the thought of you pulling away from him just yet. . 

But slowly he loosened with a groan, his weight sinking on you to keep you pinned beneath him. You could hear him catching his breath, heated huffs against the shell of your ear. You valued the feeling of him around you, the intimacy of sharing each other left you unwilling to give it up just yet. Curtis sighed as he let his hold on your hand above your head loosen, shifting it down to wrap around you, hugging you tighter to his chest while he burrowed in against your neck, giving another groan. “I wanted to hold out, but fuck you were just too good to be with.” He admitted as he started to shift. 

“You don't have to move Curtis.” A small panic rose in your chest at the loss of contact, uncalled for at the moment but you couldn’t stop. It had him shushing you softly while he pulled out, pressing a reassuring kiss to your forehead. 

“I will be back.” He moved away to peel the rubber off, trying to be as quick as possible so you weren’t left alone for long. You heard running water for a few moments in your bathroom down the hallway before he came back to sit on the edge of the bed. “Is this okay?” He let the warm washcloth brush against your thigh, asking permission before he continued to clean you up. 

How in the hell was he possibly real and in your bed?

You spread your thighs open in invitation and he was careful in his touch, whispering a sorry whenever he felt you wince slightly. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” 

“No, no not at all Curtis.” You assured him as he finished. Sure you might have been a little sore, but all of it had been quite welcome. Your ex, nor your toys quite had what Curtis had.

It wasn’t long before Curtis joined you back in your bed, flopping to his back and patting his belly. “Co’mere.” You shifted over to his side, assuming he wanted to spoon but soon found that wasn't what he meant. Curtis literally wanted you on him, pulling against the curve of your ass and down to your thigh, he easily maneuverered you to straddle him. 

You did your best to hover over him, reluctant to relax on him. “Y/N, relax. I promise it's okay.” He stroked your hips and pulled you down to rest on him, your hands sliding up and down his chest with a light scrape of your nails, marvelling at the sensation of his muscles under you “Just wasn't ready to let you go just yet.” You eased down to lay yourself on his chest, going to trace what you guessed were wings on his chest, thanks to the dim light he had left on in the bathroom. “Thank you Y/N.” 

You lifted your head curiously, tilting your head in question. “For what Curtis?” 

“For letting me be with you.” A finger traced the side of your face to gently grasp your chin and pull you back up to him to give a kiss to your lips. “I got the feeling it’s not always easy for you to trust like that.” 

You smiled at his words and pulled up to a sit in order to inspect some of the tattoos scattered across his chest. “Not always easy, but I like you Curtis, really like you. You made it so…” You stalled, your mouth twisting in how you wanted to say it. How he pulled you from your doubts and worries, how you never had to guess what he was thinking, just from his touch like he couldn't get enough, his eyes that never wavered or looked away from you, and his constant words saying what he was thinking. “Different. Not like anything I’ve ever experienced before. I felt like you kept me with you in the moment.” 

You went fiddling with his chain, lifting it up to look at the small medallion hanging off the end of it. “Yeah well when I got a woman like you giving me such a gift…” He gave a sigh and broke in an almost boyish grin. You rolled your eyes at him as he clicked his tongue at you. “I only say what I mean Honey.” 

You rolled the pendant in your fingers. “What's the pendant?” 

He dropped his chin to look down towards your fingers. “That is a St Joseph medallion. It belonged to my father, passed down from my grandpa. He is the patron saint of workers, expectant mothers, families, engineers and other things.” You were gentle as you let it rest back against his chest, dropping back down further to start placing kisses on his chest, and biting lightly on his nipples, your eyes lifting enough with suggestion. “Fuck Honey, you keep doing that with your mouth.” His hip rocked upwards, feeling him grow hard again as it pressed against your ass. “I'm going to need you again.” 

“That's the plan Curtis.” You ran your tongue over a tattoo that rested along the underside of his pec, rubbing yourself against him. Again in a show of strength that had you squealing in surprise, he flipped you to your back so he could kiss you senseless once again, his entire body hard and hot against yours.

“It’s a pretty good plan, Honey.”

When you went to answer, you played it off like you didn’t know what he was talking about, acting like you were getting busy cleaning up. “Nope, I’m just getting these ready for the porch.” 

“Mmmhm.” He planted his hands against the picnic table’s top, slowly lifting himself to rise. 

“Curtis… what are you doing?” You licked your lips nervously, sneakily scooping a hand of pumpkin guts in your palm as he gave you his own innocent smile. 

“Nothin’ you have to worry yourself about.” He was about to spring to the other side when you chucked the pile of pumpkin innards right at him, laughing hard as you ducked out of his reach. He scooped them off and flung them back at you, catching them in your hair. 

“Oh buddy, that's a fighting move.” You flicked more seeds at him, circling around the table.

“You started it, I'm just about finishing it.” He ended up somehow confusing you, starting one way and quickly turning so you ran right into his chest with a squeal of surprise, his arms wrapping around you to keep you captured against him, both of you covered in stringy innards and seeds. 

“You’re a mess.” You reached up to pick a rather big chunk off his hat and he shrugged. 

“Nothing we can't clean up.”

You turned to finally get a look at his pumpkin, finding that he had in fact carved the most amazing jack o lantern you had ever seen. 

“Shit Curtis, you could compete for that Halloween Wars show on the food network. That is amazing.” 

It was one of the rare times you had gotten Curtis to blush at his accomplishment. “Not bad for the first time.” 

“No way this is your first time!” you remarked while craning your head back to look up at him with wide admiring eyes, making him preen all that much more. 

“Well I haven’t properly done one of these since I was a kid. So close enough. Come on, let's take a look at yours.” He started to steer you two towards your goofily grinning jack o lantern, and you beamed proudly at it. It was a mess, but it was your mess. He studied it a moment and cracked a grin. 

“I like it, Honey, that one is gonna get the prime spot on the front porch.” He released you to grab it and with long legged strides, he headed around to the front of the house, leaving you to grab his and follow him at a much slower and careful pace so you wouldn’t drop his.  

You and Curtis fell in this steady rhythm together, exploring all the comforts a new but reliable relationship brought. Since you had both decided to make the relationship official, sexually you had never been more satisfied. Since that first night together, Curtis loved getting his hands on you, and was not at all shy about telling you how attracted to you he was. 

He was also the one to open the conversation in what you both liked sexually, going on to explain that it was important for him that he never do anything that made you feel uncomfortable or weren’t ready to try. It was a long discussion and took some encouragement for you to open up about things you particularly enjoyed and were comfortable with. But in the end, you were grateful that he was so adamant about it for both of you. 

You knew that there was one thing he really wanted but you just couldn't bring yourself to let him eat you out. It was completely a self-conscious thing; a bad experience had made even the thought of it a no-go for you. You did your best to explain it to Curtis, getting flustered in the process and apologizing repeatedlyabout it, until Curtis reached for your hand and gave a squeeze to catch your attention. 

“You tell me when you're ready if you ever are.” 

He really made it as simple as that, there was no anger from him, no guilt in how you were denying him, how you were not adventurous enough, or how it wasn't fair. You found yourself unused to the way he handled you saying no, you were fully prepared to try to make it up to him in other ways, but that never happened. He was simply accepting of what you said as if it wasn’t a big deal to him that you didn’t want to do that particular move. For you it was a big deal. 

You also found out just how much those gray sweatpants of his turned you on. They were the ones he was most comfortable wearing around his house, and every time he did, you couldn't keep his eyes off him. The way they just clung to his thighs and hid nothing. It became such a distraction that often times he would catch you looking at him with a glazed faraway look. It was also around that time he started to forego boxers on occasion, really getting you hot and bothered. 

One night you simply couldn't help yourself. When he sat down, you pushed him back onto the couch and straddled him, kissing him hungrily. You never did this, always worried about your weight suddenly in someone’s lap. But Curtis welcomed you, his hands guiding your hips to press you against him while he returned your kiss just as hungrily with a groan from him that filled you. Your tongue pushing against his and whimpering into the kiss, your hands fell to the front of his sweats, hovering a moment ‘till you pulled back.

“Fucking hell Honey.” Curtis all be growled out at you with lust blown eyes. “Take whatever you want.” 

It was all you needed to flip his sweats down enough to ease his cock out, stroking it. 

You didn't have any condoms on hand, they were all in the bedroom on the nightstand, but you were enjoying holding him while he throbbed in your hand. You delighted in watching the way he tilted his head back and let his hands rest on your hips, squeezing now and then to hold himself in check as his hip rutted upwards into your palm. Your thumb mimicked the way he showed you, how he liked his head stroked and circled. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He grunted as he lifted his head, muttering out “Squeeze my balls.” 

You did as he asked, rolling them in your palms and giving a firm tug that made him let go of a string of cusses that made you giggle at the praise. It was empowering to see he melted in your touch. Spitting in your palm, you started jerking him off faster, his helmet tip a bright red now, seeping droplets of cum to dribble down and lube him that much more. 

“Jus’ like that. Yeah, keep going.” He tone was strained, breaking now and then into deep groans and hisses as he let you pleasure him. “You’re doin’ s’ good. Don’t stop.” 

Men could be beautiful. Whomever made that taboo to say that about men never saw Curtis get pleasured. His jaw would go from tense to slack, the lines in his face would deepen between his eyes as his brows would press down over his closed eyelids. A full bottom lip that was always so plush was now being sucked in, pulled by perfect white teeth. This was real art right here and it occurred to you how much you wish you could capture his expression. Then the moans escaped when his jaw went slack, a real expression to how good you were making him feel.

“Fuck, so good.” Another toe curling groan came from him as your hand continued jerking him off.“Shit- ahh-” 

The prettiest shade of pink crept up his neck, the tensing of tendons on his neck strumming as his release was coming. You could feel the throbbing in your hand. You wanted it, you wanted to bring him to that point. 

“Shit Honey, I'm gonna cum.” He tensed under you, the rush of his spend spurting from him, coating your hand and on some of your clothes. 

He sagged back and you leaned forward to nip at his mouth with a grin, purring against him. “You look so good all fucked like this.” 

He grunted out, opening his eyes suddenly and cupping the back of your head. “I feel good all fucked like this.” His tone gavelled sounding as he pressed his lips against yours.

You whimpered slightly in surprise and easily melted into it before you pulled yourself off to go get cleaned off, wiping off his spend from where it got on your shirt and washing your hands. When you returned, he had put himself away and was sitting sprawled legged. You were about to bypass him to sit next to him but he circled your wrist in a hold and wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you into his lap. It was taking some getting used to for you, but you loved being able to do this and it never seemed to bother him holding all of you.

Settling in close to Curtis, your fingers stroked along his buzzcut, smiling to yourself when you saw how much he loved the feeling of it. His eyes would close for a few seconds to just enjoy the remnants of earlier before turning his attention back to you. “How can I thank you for that?” 

“Hmmm, you don't have to. Perks of having me as a girlfriend. I can relieve you whenever the mood strikes.” 

“True, true… Two way street though Honey.” He grasped you thigh to make his point known while kissing on your shoulder. “But I still have an offer for you, before saying I don’t have to, hear me out.” 

Curiosity got the better of you, making you bite on your lip with a tug and search his face, maybe a clue would drop from him. You twisted your fingers in his chain, playing with it. 

“Okay, that's a pretty fair deal Curtis.” 

His eyes brightened happily as he started to talk about what he wanted to do. “Well I know Halloween is your favorite holiday Y/N and you have mentioned getting to know some of the people around here. What if you threw a small get together here on the 30th?” 

Your eyes widened at what he was offering. Curtis was notoriously known for being private. The few times he took you to Paulie's his friends would tease him about how you were making him more social. “You want it here? Are you sure?” 

He gave a shrug, looking around his living room that was filled with his grandmother's books. “Sure why not, I got the space and it's not gonna be too crazy. You can invite whoever you want. Besides Ella has basically demanded to meet you or start accusing me of making you up.” Discussing his cousin, you snickered a bit.

“I would love to properly meet her since we keep missing her at Paulies. Well I would like to invite your group of buddies… and I have a few co-workers who I wouldn't mind inviting.” You started to get a bit more excited about the idea. “I could do a bit of decorating in here and make it a proper costume party. You really don't mind Curtis?” 

“I wouldn't have offered Y/N if I wasn't okay with it.” His arms loosely wrapped around your waist and you pulled yourself in close, hugging around his neck. 

“Thank you! I'm so excited.” You untangled yourself from him after a few moments to pull up a list app on your phone to start planning it out. 

You spent the next few days gathering everything you needed for your party. When the morning before Halloween arrived, you were like a child at Christmas, up before the sun and in the kitchen starting to prepare the food. When Curtis woke, you both shared breakfast before he headed out to decorate the front porch with your pumpkins, scattered on the few porch steps and some spider webbing through the porch beams. He even managed to score a pumpkin-headed scarecrow to sit in a rocking chair on the front step. It was the most effort he had put into the holiday ever. 

Curtis ended up leaving most of the day, having to take care of a few things at the yard for Gilliam, he swore up and down that he would be back to help you out and that his home was open to whatever you needed. After he was done for the day, his own anticipated excitement had built up, wondering what he was going to find when he arrived back. 

Inside he walked into you singing in his kitchen with an apron wrapped around your waist, a couple of crock pots on his kitchen counter and trays of food scattered around and filling the fridge. You also had a mini bar set up on a decorated card table, all the bottles now relabelled with halloween puns; ‘gin and beetlejuice’, ‘love potion #9’, ‘definitely not poison’, ‘ecto cooler’, ‘moan-jito’, ‘sang-creep-a’. Anyone could flip the label up to see what they actually were. 

You were really giving it all your effort and Curtis had to admit, the place looked festive, how he remembered it being back when he was just a kid. Only this time this was your kitchen, you were the one making the magic happen. 

“Honey, it all looks good, smells even better.” He perched at a stool at the kitchen bar, watching you double check something in the oven before going to lean on the counter opposite him. 

“I hope so… I really just…” You opened a crock pot and stuck a fork inside of it, pulling out a meatball and offering it to Curtis who took the offering. “I want it to be good. I haven't done one of these since coming here.” 

Popping the meatball in his mouth, he gave an appreciative moan. “Delicious Y/N. Did you use to do stuff like this a lot?” 

“Ahh, well my ex was always throwing business parties so I had practice. It was one of the things he would insist on me doing.” You shrugged, pushing yourself back off the counter and going to check the oven, grabbing your pot holders off the counter you pulled out a tray to let cool off. Curtis contemplated what you said. So far the things he had about your ex pissed him off. The man had made you doubt a lot about yourself and your worth, and as far as he was concerned, nothing else you said could possibly redeem the man.

Personally Curtis hated him for the how he had made you feel, how you even now would doubt yourself when you were with him. Curtis counted himself the lucky one, it took a lot for a damaged person to trust again. Slowly you were doing that with him. 

“Do you miss doing this kind of stuff?” 

“God no, I mean this here is fun.” You started transferring stuff off the tray and onto a cooling sheet. “The business ones I did were so stressful and never went right, I always messed something up and would piss him off.” You glanced at Curtis momentarily before turning back to your project. “He would make the lists for me to follow- things I had to say to his business associates and his clientel. Jake rarely liked my outfit choices and the food…” You drifted off, snapping your mouth shut as the memory flitted in your memory. “He always kept a keen eye on me during those meetings, on how he was perceived by everyone.” 

Little fucking prick. Curtis thought to himself. “Well he didn't deserve all that effort you put into his shit, Honey, you were too good for him.” He moved away from the counter as you started to untie your apron. “Too good for this gang, you already have them won over.”

Collecting the apron from you, he put it away while you dried your hands off on a hand towel and checked the time, mentally counting the minutes in your head before the party started. 

“Don't they have to say stuff like that though Curtis?” You teased as you started to make your way upstairs towards the bedroom. “Be all encouraging at the beginning of a new relationship.” You went into his closet to find your costume to change into after you took a quick shower.

Curtis scoffed as he followed behind you, tilting his head to admire your backside as you leaned over to pull out your bag that the costume was in. 

“Bullshit. Even if they were doing that, like I would give a shit what they thought. None of their business anyways.” 

You gave a laugh as you laid your costume out on the bed and went back in for another set of clothes for Curtis. You had somehow managed to talk him into dressing up as a lumberjack. It wasn't hard, he had the carhartts, flannel, beanie and work boots already. You even managed to get a tool belt that had a holder for his knife he always carried on him and a hatchet you located in his garage.

“Well I still want to make a good impression with them. I'm going to jump in the shower and get ready.” You disappeared into the bathroom and Curtis went to change into the outfit you had pulled together for him. 

“Trust me, you already did make a good impression.” Curtis raised his voice so you could hear him over the running water in the shower while he tugged his clothes on.

You were still getting ready when you heard the knock on the front door. You didn't rush though since it was Curtis’s house and mostly his friends coming over, you heard Curtis yell from what you suspect was the kitchen below you to come on in. Before leaving the bedroom he had made mention that he was hungry and threatened to go eat your snacks before he was made to share. 

In the mirror you tousled your hair briefly and stepped back to look at yourself. The costume material clung to you, but it wasn't in a way you hated. The corset you had tied around your middle made your breasts look perky in a way that made you pleased for Curtis to see. Then it flowed down loosely over your stomach in a stunning autumn hue color covered in an apron. You had managed to find a pair of stockings and a small heel that was comfortable. 

You were hesitant to dress as an Oktober Fest Beer Girl, but now that you saw the costume assembled, you were actually loving it. Dare you even admit you felt sexy. Adding that last bit of lipstick just made your lips full and hinting at temptation. Now was the big risk. Stepping out of the bedroom and mingling with everyone. 

You could do this. 

But you wavered, your hand on the doorknob before you turned away and paced back to the mirror, checking yourself. Were the rolls in your back showing? You turned to look at your backside, trying to smooth your dress out. What if it was tighter than you thought and you couldn't hide your shape? What if your thighs flashed in this shorter dress and they could see the way they dimpled in the fleshy places? 

A knock on the door and a click had you spinning around from the mirror to see who was intruding on your inspection. Curtis poked his head in. “No rush Y/N but we got a crowd out here…” He paused, his eyes widening slightly as they seared a path from the crown of your head to the tips of your toes in your shoes. 

And you could feel your heart pounding like a caged bird trying to escape. You wanted him to say something, anything, break the sudden silence in the room. You licked at your lips nervously, picking at the apron in front of you.

“Curtis, say something.” You finally pleaded and wide insanely blue eyes shot up to your face. 

“Fuck Honey, I have never seen anyone look so fucking hot.” He broke the distance between you two, cupping your face and claiming a heated kiss, breaking the tension. “Course that means people are gonna see how damn lucky I am and I gotta behave.” His hand dropped to squeeze a breast through your dress, making you giggle against his mouth, the softness of his lips a contrast to the scratch of his beard and you had to pull away, making eyes at him. 

“You Mister are gonna smudge my lipstick.” That earned you a smirk as he went to move in once again but you planted a hand against his chest, doing your best to keep him back once more. “And you said there was a crowd that are waiting out there.” A hand crept to your ass, squeezing it through the dress and making you squeal a bit. “Curtis! You're hopeless.” You swatted his hands away playfully and he wrapped an arm around you, this time his hand resting against your hip. 

“Afterward can I smudge your makeup? Cause you are gonna drive me crazy in that.” 

“We will throw our own two person after party.” You promised him as he led you out of the bedroom. Any of those doubts you had before were gone, and you just about purred when Curtis hugged you to his side a little closer, whispering in your ear. 

“You look so beautiful Honey, I really am a lucky man.” 

There were introductions all around the small group, you had met Edgar and Grey at Paulie’s and knew Tanya as being your student Timmy’s mom. You had a few coworkers there who you were starting to bond with, including Claude. Claude gasped when she saw you and made you spin around so she could get a better look at you. 

“Woman, seriously where have you been hiding this?” She folded her arms over her chest and clucked her tongue in a tsk tone. “Every night I have ever dragged you out, you have been hiding from the world in those good girl outfits.” 

You popped a shoulder, fiddling with the corset strings that were dangling off the front of you. “Can’t tell all my secrets.” 

“I feel like I don’t even know you.” She shook her head at you. 

Curtis stuck at your side while you talked to Claude till he heard his name above the din of the crowd and turning to see who it was, a grin broke out. “You gotta excuse Y/N, my cousin just showed up and she’s been demanding to meet Y/N.” 

“Sure. It’s about time I check out that liquor table anyways.” Claude winked at you and Curtis led you over to where the woman from the pictures unwrapped from her jacket and hung it up. Turning back to you two, you couldn’t help but find her adorable in her scarecrow outfit. A pair of overalls and flannel shirt were stuffed at the cuffs with wispy bits of straw, her face was painted to mimic a scarecrow face, patches, stitches and all, then to top if off, she had her hair in pigtails as well as a straw hat secured on the top of her head. “I brought chips!” she said with a lift of her hand to show a grocery bag loaded with bags of chips which Curtis took from her before circling her in a hug.

“Sorry I’m late, Sophia’s sitter just showed up and your niece didn’t want to go down.” 

“No worries, we just got going.” Curtis brushed off her apology while returning to you. “Ella, this is Y/N.” 

Ella smiled brightly and caught you by surprise when she pulled you into a vigorous hug and then held you back, admiring your costume. “Okay, I can see why Curtis has been so MIA these past couple months.” 

You blinked in surprise and a surprised “Oh! I- I’m sorry? I didn’t know.” 

“Don’t be!” Ella exclaimed with a smirk. “It’s about time, I love that he met you. Now…” She circled her arm around you and tilted her head with a very sincere look. “Please tell me that he has been treating you good so I don’t have to kick his ass.” 

Curtis rolled his eyes at his cousin, but you found her forwardness amusing. “Oh you know, I have no complaints, at all.”

“Good good, that's what I like to hear. Now shoo Curtis, I wanna talk to this lovely vixen and get to know her better. I also gotta go find Grey and see if he is still taking Sophia next weekend.” She led you away, loudly laughing at her cousin's expression. “Tanya? Where you at?” 

Curtis watched his cousin practically lay claim to you, lead you away into the group of people whom she knew. He ended up finding Edgar and Grey overlooking the themed snacks you made and went to speak with them, but acutely aware of where you were and making sure you were having a good time.

You seem to be a lot more relaxed than when he had found you in the bedroom. You had taken a couple shots with Ella, Claude and Tonya, getting lost in conversation with them. It wasn’t long till a group pulled you into dancing loosely in the living room to some halloween playlist you had pulled together.

This was the side Curtis wished you saw in yourself. You would spin around, stumble just a bit into Claude and start giggling while meeting his eyes. You pucker your lips at him and winked before turning back to your friend. It made him take a deep, hungry inhale. He was gonna have to see how into dressing up you would be for him, privately. 

Grey dragged him from his thoughts, the man clearly interested in the group. “Who's that woman wearing the yellow with Ella and Y/N?” 

“That's Claude, she works at the school with Y/N.” 

“You know if she is seeing anyone?” Grey set his drink down and ran a hand through his hair. 

“Y/N never mentioned her dating anyone. Go over and talk to her. Hell at this point Ella will probably hook you two up.” 

Grey watched Ella step off to the side, gesturing for him to come over while pointing at Claude. “Get over here!” Grey started to make his way over while Edgar next to Curtis huffed in amusement. 

“He doesn’t stand a chance with her.” Edgar said with a shake of his head.  

Curtis shot Edgar a look and shrugged. “Hey, never know. At least he is gonna go take a chance.”  

Edgar snapped a glance at Curtis and then back to the group chatting across the room. “I was just saying, hey if he gets a date, then I will be the first one to buy him a congratulatory round at Paulie's next game night.” 

“I’m going to hold you to that.” Curtis informed him.

You were having a great time, after dancing with Tanya, Claude, and Ella, Curtis dragged you away with the excuse that he needed some help. Once you two disappeared into the hallway, he pinned you to the wall, running his hands up the back of your bare thighs, and kissed you hungrily. You grasped the back of his head, giggling between the moments Curtis pulled away to re-angle his mouth, slotting it with yours. “You are all wound up Stud.” 

Your hand cupping the front of his carhartts, squeezing the bulge he was sporting at the moment.

“Seeing you dancing makes me horny, what can I say?” He pulled you in closer, feeling him against your belly. “I just wanna peel you right out of this and love you so hard. But keep these on.” He snapped a finger against the top of your stockings. 

“Kinky Mr.Everett. I like it.” You leaned up to pull at his bottom lip, just enough to tug it to pop from your mouth. His eyes darkened as he groaned out. 

“You have no idea.” Another squeeze to the back of your thighs lifted the back of your dress enough for him to get handfuls of your ass. 

“HEY! We are outta beer out here.” Came a yell from the other end of the hallway and you wriggled against Curtis to escape where he had you pinned. 

“Bummer, we gotta go play host.” That earned a scowl from Curtis that amused you. “Can you go to the garage to grab some more? I left some in the fridge out there.” 

“I could just kick them all out? I think we entertained long enough.” He teased and you pointed to the door leading to the garage. Stealing one last kiss that left him sighing with utter annoyance at having to pull away, he made his way to the garage, calling over his shoulder. “I will be right back.” 

You snorted in amusment, recalling your last movie night watching Scream. You both scoffed at how dumb the teenagers all were the whole time. “Famous last words before Ghostface gets you Curtis.” 

He tapped the hatchet hanging off his belt, winking at you. “Im going prepared.” Then he disappeared into the garage. Curtis was sure he had certainly left you hot and bothered just as much as you had made him. 

So far the whole night has been perfect. 

You headed back towards the kitchen, looking to see if any of the snacks needed to be refilled when you heard an exuberant Edgar mention your name just as you stepped in the room, the group hanging around the snack table had yet to see you. 

“... Y/N seems pretty cool. But honestly I never thought Curtis was a chubby chaser.” 

Chubby chaser…

There it was, Curtis’s friends didn't think you were good enough to be with him. Too big, not attractive enough. It hurts in a way it shouldn't, those words shouldn’t have power over you. 

But they do Y/N.

You froze like an animal stuck in the headlights for a few seconds when you immediately turned away and looked for an escape. The living room was just as full and you could feel the mild panic raising in your chest as that bitter hateful feeling filled your chest and made you hyper aware of anyone glancing at you. They were probably looking at you in this costume and wondering why you chose something like this. Another turn would take you towards the back of the house and up the stairs that would bring you to the safety of the master bedroom. Making your way there as quickly as possible before you lost your control, you rushed past Grey, Ella, and Tanya talking in a corner.

“Hey Y/N…” Ella tried to catch your attention but you breezed past them without a word.

“Y/N?” 

“Is she okay?” Tanya asked with concern. “The girl looked like she was gonna start crying.” Grey frowned as he glanced around to see Curtis coming back inside with a couple cases of drinks under his arm. He excused himself from the ladies and went over to Curtis. 

“Curtis, Y/N just passed us looking upset. Is she okay?” 

Curtis dumped the beers into some ice and frowned hearing Grey. “What? Where is she?” He looked around, but you were nowhere to be found. 

“Upstairs, maybe it's nothing but Tanya thought she looked like something was up.” Curtis thanked him and started making his way to the upstairs of the house, having to duck under the Do Not Enter tape he had strung across it for decoration and partially to keep people from wandering upstairs. He knew if you were going to any of the bedrooms, it would have been to the master bedroom. The door was firmly shut and he paused in front of it to listen at first. He heard a couple sniffles from the other side, and giving a rap of his knuckles, he eased the door open.

“Y/N? Honey I’m coming in.” 

“No don’t, I will be right out.” Your tone sounded stressed as Curtis clicked the door closed. You were sitting on the edge of the bed, a handful of tissues fisted in your hand as you blinked your eyes and dried them. 

Curtis couldn't stand to see the tears, no one should make you cry. Approaching the bed, he sat on the other side of you, his hand pressing to your back and tilting his head towards you. “Honey what happened?” You tried to hide your face, not wanting him to see your red rimmed eyes or smudged mascara you had been so tedious with trying to get it just right. His fingers were gently yet firm when they gasped your chin and turned you back to face him. 

“Curtis it’s nothing. Wrong place, wrong time.” 

There was a tick in his jaw as his eyes narrowed. “It’s not nothing if you're in here crying when you're supposed to be having a good time. Now tell me what happened Y/N.” 

You push away, going to wash your face in the bathroom and put space between the two of you. It was overwhelming how intense Curtis could turn in just a look and to be on the receiving end of that. He wasn't about to let it go through, when you went into the bathroom, he paused at the open doorway, leaning against the frame with taunt arms over his chest.

“I told you Curtis, it was nothing. I overreacted to a senseless comment. I’m sure Edgar didn’t even mean it.” 

“Well, what did he say? I’m not just going to let this go Y/N, not when you are so clearly upset by what happened.” 

You gave your face a good scrub, washing away the remnants of smudged makeup. You glanced at him in the bathroom mirror being able to tell that he wasn't going to let you brush this off like you hoped. You turned back to face him and tried to keep your composure.

“Edgar merely mentioned that he didn't think you would be into a woman like me.” 

Curtis’s brows came together in confusion. “A woman like you? What the fuck does that mean?” 

You pinched your brow between your thumb and forefinger. “You know Curtis…” You waved a hand over yourself. “Chubby chaser.” 

You had never seen Curtis’s face turn so dark, he practically snarled out. “That fucking asshole.” He immediately turned, leaving you in the bathroom. You squeaked out in surprise and went after him before he could leave the bedroom. “I'm gonna strangle that prick's neck.” You grabbed at the back of his shirt to stop him when he reached the door, twisting around him to block the door. 

“Don’t! It’s not worth it. He was drunk.” You tried to defuse the situation. Curtis' brow furrowed deeper and his hands grasped your upper arms lightly. 

“I refuse to let anyone disrespect you in my house Y/N, he is not welcome here.” You wrinkled the tip of your nose at him in an attempt to keep yourself from crying once more, feeling guilty that this was even going on. “I know what you're thinking Honey, and stop that right there. This isnt on you, this is Edgar’s fault being a fucking judgemental prick.” He kissed your forehead and hugged you. “I promise no one will know what's going on. So if you want to, go ahead and join everyone again. If not, I will wind this down for the night.” 

You gave a slight nod against his chest, trying to take his words to heart, but it was hard to get past that guilt and shame, that you felt maybe Edgar was right. “Okay, I will be out in a few minutes. I just want to clean myself up.” 

Letting you go, Curtis watched as you made your way back to the bathroom and all that calmness he tried for was such a lie. His hands fisted at his sides a moment before he opened the bedroom door. How dare one of his closest friends even think that? You made him happy and his friend couldn't even be happy about it? It was none of his fucking buisness why Curtis had chosen you and he was prepared to give Edgar a piece of his mind about it if he could manage not to pop his head off his neck like it was a dandelion. The moment he stepped out into the main area of the house, his eyes scanned the room till he found him. 

It was obvious he was tipsy, Curtis registered this and muttered under his breath in further aggravation at the dumbass as he approached him. 

“Hey-y-y buddy, great party.” Edgar said cheerfully, not registering that Curtis was pissed off. 

“We need to talk. Right the fuck now.” Curtis seethed out, keeping his tone down. 

“Oh? Yeah sure man.” Edgar said good natured and turned to one of your coworkers, excusing himself. “Be right back.” 

The fuck you will, Curtis thought to himself as they headed out the door leading to the garage. Once that door shut, Curtis snapped, grabbing the back of Edgars collar and jerking him against one of his cars he was working on, getting inches in his face. “You made Y/N cry with your fucking dumbass comment.” 

Edgars eyes were wide in surprise, quickly turning sober as he seemed to try remembering what he had said. “What are you even talking about Curtis?” He tried pushing against Curtis’ chest to back him up, but Curtis couldn't be moved. “Y/N is great! I wouldn't say anything bad about her.” 

“THE FUCK YOU DIDN’T EDGAR.” He rattled him against the car. “DONT YOU FUCKING LIE TO ME.” 

“GOD DAMN IT CURTIS! I SWEAR I DIDN’T!” He yelled back at Curtis. Curtis reached his hands into Edgars pocket, grabbing his keys. 

“You need to get the fuck out of here, I dont want to see you again. I’m keeping these because its obvious you’re fucking drunk.” He pocketed Edgar’s keys. “I will bring your car to work Monday.” 

“Give me my fucking keys back Curtis! I don’t even know what the hell I said to piss her off.” Edgar protested and this time when he pushed against Curtis, Curtis let him go to slam back into the vehicle hard enough to make it rock. 

“You didn't piss her off Edgar. You pissed me the fuck off. You hurt her feelings being a judgemental fucking asshole. Chubby Chaser?” Curtis spit out as Edgar shook his head, denying it, but Curtis could see in his expression that he remembered. “I thought you were a fucking adult, not some idiot teenage boy who judges women by ass and tits. Who I date is none of your concern, what the fuck is your concern is how you treat her, just like EVERY FUCKING WOMAN!” 

Edgar held up his hands, maybe to try and placate Curtis, maybe to possibly defend himself as Curtis right now was red faced with rage, quite a bit bigger then Edgar was and his hands were curled into fists like he might swing at any moment. “I swear Curtis, she wasn’t supposed to hear that. I think Y/N is super nice and pretty and I’m a fucking idiot. You’re right.” 

“Hell yes I’m right. I can’t believe you would be like that. No wonder you are fucking single. You treat women like that, they want nothing to do with you. Shallow as fuck.” 

Grey slipped into the garage, clearing his throat to get the attention of the room. “Listen, we can hear you guys in there and everyone is kinda taking off. How about I give Edgar a drive home so he can sober up and Curtis you go take care of Y/N, she hasn’t left the bedroom yet.” 

From just outside of the open door Ella could be heard. “That fucking little weasel asshole, I will beat his ass.” Then Tanya shushing her and they moved away from the open door. 

“And uh- Ella is basically ready to murder you.” Grey informed Edgar who cringed a bit, knowing not only was Curtis pissed at him, but the other member of the Everett clan was as well. 

Curtis cursed aloud, wiping a hand over his face. He never meant for everyone to hear him dealing with Edgar, so he wasn't surprised that you were still in the bedroom. Breathing out he nodded at Grey, ignoring Edgar trying to apologize behind him. “Thanks for coming, I appreciate it, I will catch up with you soon.” He only acknowledged Edgar just before he made his way back inside. “Don’t fucking come around tomorrow trying to apologize or to get your car.” 

“Well it's my car-” Edgar started and Grey shoved him towards the open bay door to go to the vehicles parked in the street. 

“Shut up dumbass, let's go before you start more shit.” 

Going back inside, Curtis just saw Tanya and Claude picking up around the living room area collecting plates of abandoned food and drinks to dispose of. Ella was in the kitchen sputtering to herself about dumbass dicks who didn't have a brain while she started to put the food away. His head was pounding and right now he just wanted to go be with you and forget the last bit of the night.

“Hey, you guys don't have to pick up. I will get it.” 

“Curtis, I'm not leaving this place looking like a tornado ripped through.” Tanya informed him as she dumped out half empty bottles of beer, Claude joined the two of them with bags of chips and dip, starting to match covers to the containers and put them away. Curtis took a look around the rooms, finding they already got most of it taken care of, his kitchen counters littered with empty bottles. 

“It looks great already. I will finish the last of these in the morning.” He reached over to turn off the kitchen faucet, gaining a glare from Tanya but she gave in, going to grab her purse. 

“Stubborn man, thinking you can boss me around.” she sputtered. Curtis shrugged. 

“Only here, everywhere else you're the boss Tanya.” he countered and she dug for her keys. Claude was doing the same. He glared at his cousin who rolled her eyes at him as she saran wrapped a tray of sandwiches you had cut with cookie cutters into ghosts. 

“You know this was Grammy's and Grandpa’s house before yours. You can’t boss me around here.” 

“I think I can, besides your babysitter is waiting and I’m tired.” 

“Fine.” she relented and went to shrug on her coat. “But just this one time.” 

“Hey, can you tell Y/N to text me tomorrow? It was a great time.” Claude asked, hovering at the doorway. 

“I will pass it along.” He assured your friend. They all hovered around the front door, the women hesitant to leave. “I’m sure she will message you, or at least talk to you on Monday when she gets to school.” He tried to get them to move along in the nicest way possible. 

“Give her our love, okay Curtis? And tell her that Edgar is an idiot. I plan on slapping him upside the head for being so stupid.” Tanya grumbled as she finally dug out her keys. 

“Want me to key his car? I will happily go all Carrie Underwood on it.” Ella smirked deviously and Curtis gave her a look.  

“Good, do it for both of us, Tanya. Ella, hell no.” Curtis said sternly while opening the door. It was the final last push they needed. Leaving the house to go to their cars, Curtis waited long enough to make sure they were well on their way before closing the door and locking it. Going through the rest of the house, he turned off the lights and made his way up to the bedroom. 

Going inside he found it dark, shades drawn, no tv going, your phone wasn’t lit up where you were messaging your sister like you typically did. He did see you laying in the bed on your side, facing away from the door. 

“Honey, are you awake?” He eased on the bed and leaned over to peer over at you, kissing your shoulder gently. You didn't respond for a moment, not until Curtis laid his hand on your hip and you shifted a bit, curling up more. 

“Yes, I’m still awake Curtis.” You said softly in response and Curtis felt his heart sink a bit at how sad you sounded in that moment.

“I'm going to take a shower.” He said, hoping that maybe you would join him just to help you relax. “I can scrub your hair for you.” Another kiss to your shoulder didn’t waver a response from you like you were going to join him. 

“Okay, I'm just gonna go to sleep Curtis.” He let his hand slide around your waist and he laid out behind you.

“Honey, you are so fucking beautiful and Edgar is an idiot.” Curtis started, making an attempt to make it better, in any way he could think of. Flushing kisses up your neck and pulling in closer against you. You turned in his arm to lay on your back to face him. 

“I know and yes I agree, Edgar is an idiot. Let’s just let it go, please. I’m tired.” Pressing a kiss to your fingers, you pressed it to his cheek. “Go take your shower and come to bed.” You smiled up at him, but Curtis knew it was a lie. It was cold and never did reach your eyes.

“Be right back.” He pressed one last kiss to your forehead and pulled away to do as you asked. Mentally he was cursing Edgar in every way he could think of, wishing he hadn’t let Edgar leave in one piece or at least had really let Ella destroy his car as payback because right now you just seemed so shut down and he didn’t know how to make it better.

“You were asleep, how do you even know what I was thinking?” You said lightly but reached up to stroke a hand along his buzzcut. 

“I could hear it in my sleep, Y/N.” His tone was raspy as he pushed up enough to press you back and he hovered over you, cocking an eyebrow in question. “And today we are about being in the moment.” He dropped to press a kiss to your lips. “It’s Halloween after all, your all-time favorite holiday ever, according to what you told me. We are celebrating.” 

You kissed him back and rolled your eyes at him, wrapping your arms around his neck and stared up at him. “I should be sorry to have woken you up, but I’m not.” He planted a hand near your head and started to nip down your neck, making you tilt back and stare up at the ceiling while giggling as his other hand rubbed at your waist. “So how are we celebrating?” Letting yesterday start to leave your mind and push that vicious voice still trying to taunt you into a locked box. Maybe you didn’t need to question why Curtis was interested in you, just enjoy the fact that he was. 

Curtis muttered against the fluttering pulse point behind your ear. “Right now? I'm celebrating by being in bed with you. I can’t think of anything better than that.” His nose traced the shell of your ear before he nipped at your earlobe. 

“Well what about after that?” You giggled, Curtis distracting you from your earlier thoughts as he pulled up the sleep shirt you were wearing enough to get his hand on your skin, calloused hands gentle and yet pleasurably rough while tracing your curves.

“You think I’m even capable of thinking beyond that?!” Incredulous in his tone, Curtis slotted himself in between your thighs and leaned on his elbows to look down at you. “What do you want to do?” 

You slid your hands against his chest to enjoy the solid feel of him and admire the tattoos while you were thinking. “Mmhh, well probably some breakfast or lunch at this point? Plus we have to clean up the house…” 

“As well as get ready for tonight.” He pointed out and you gave a bit of a shrug. 

“We don’t have to do that Curtis if you don’t want to.” 

“But I do Honey, we decorated the porch all up for the kids and have all that candy to hand out. And by hand out, I mean me eating half of it while we are watching a scary movie.” 

You seemed to lighten up a bit at that, biting on your lip and breaking out in a small grin. “Well okay, but we really need to clean the house first.” 

“Tanya, Ella and Claude kind of did most of it last night before they left. In fact Claude wanted you to send her a message when you were ready.” You wrinkled your nose a bit and Curtis cupped your face, letting his thumb swipe against your cheek. “Or let her wait till Monday when you go in. We’re having fun today.” 

“Yesterday was such a mess.” You groaned out with a sigh. As much as Curtis wanted it to just be a whole new day, it didn't just go away in your mind. His head tilted closer to you, a little frown making the lines on his face brow deepen.

Curtis tilted your head to him, giving a slight shake of his head. “That was yesterday, today is going to be different.” He seemed to study you for a second. “I’m sorry how yesterday ended Y/N. I know I said that no one would find out.” 

You winced a bit recalling hearing his yell all the way from the garage. Your hands slid up his and down his chest a second. Maybe to ease the tension and worry he was carrying with him, but it made you feel better. You knew he didn’t mean to, Curtis always did as he promised, but you know everyone had to hear some of the conversation if you did. “You were really mad at Edgar, weren't you?” 

“Mad, furious, hurt, insulted.” Curtis listed off as his feelings clearly crossed his expression. “He is supposed to be my friend and to hear he said that about my girl.” Curtis let his hand trail along your cheek and cup it to keep you looking at him. “I wanted to wring his neck. I just needed to get him out of my house after that, but I never meant for anyone to hear our conversation. I just lost a little bit of my control then listening to him deny he said anything. He wouldn't even man up to what he did.” 

"They rarely do." Your hands slipped up to circle around his neck, your fingers weaving together to hold onto him. You couldn’t be upset about it, even though you wished it didn’t happen, a part of you was shocked and felt cared for that he had been so adamant about dealing with Edgar, even though you also wished he could have ignored it right then and let you pretend it never happened. “It’s okay Curtis, I’m not mad at you or anything.” 

“Forgiven?” His thumb brushed against your cheek in a gentle caress. 

“Of course Curtis.” You literally melted under his touch, lifting your gaze back up to meet his and giving a relieved little smile as his face eased from concern. “Wanna go get some breakfast?” 

“Mmhh, actually first I really want this, Honey.” He dropped in close and started to draw out kisses from you- first they were a press of lips but then his tongue pressed against yours and his arm gathered around your waist while his hips dropped, grinding into you. Quickly making you mindless at the moment. 

Breakfast officially became lunch as you two didn’t stumble out of the bedroom till around noon. You dressed casually in shorts and the flannel Curtis was wearing from last night, buttoned only at the top and tied at the bottom, Curtis managed to get himself into his sweats and a tank, following you out to the kitchen. You opted to make food first, poking your head into the fridge while Curtis gathered up the recycling bin to get the cans and bottles off the counter.

“What are you in the mood for, Curtis?” You hummed as you dug through the fridge. 

On his way past he tapped your ass with an open palm, making you yelp in surprise and look over your shoulder at him as he headed to the garage. “That looked pretty damn fine to me.” 

“You are absolutely no help!” You shouted after him as you opted to do actual breakfast. Neither of you actually had a hangover, but pancakes was traditional after drinking meal, plus they were easy to do. Sure you had plenty of leftovers from last night, but nothing quite hits like pancakes after some lazy morning sex. 

Curtis dragged the recycling and tossed it into the back of his truck when he glanced out on the street to see Edgar’s car sitting on the curb. He was gonna have to get it moved by tonight, the street would be filled with kids trick or treating and no doubt some who were ready to play a prank. Last thing he needed was the car getting flat tires or an egging while at his place. Although Edgar would totally deserve the hassle. 

Pulling out his cell phone, he ended up calling Grey to see how it all went down after he kicked Edgar out of his house. Grey answered within the first few rings. “Rare to hear from you on a Sunday.” 

“Yeah well I figured I should find out if Edgar ran his damn mouth any further.” He paused in his garage opening, letting the morning air wash over him, feeling the autumn chill breeze through the few clothes he was wearing.

“No, he regretted what he said.” 

“Or that he was caught.” 

Grey was quiet a moment but responded. “Yeah, there is that. No denying it wasn’t his shining moment. But he crashed at my place and he has a hangover from hell right now if that helps any.” 

Curtis just huffed a good in the phone while making his way down the driveway to check that the car was fine. 

“What are you doing with the car?” 

“Bringing it to work tomorrow. I don’t want him around here right now. I might still strangle him.” Grey gave a slight chuckle at Curtis’ tone. “I’m being serious, Grey.” 

“I know man, I know. Trust me, I’m tempted to set Ella on him. She’s scarier than you.” 

“Feel free to.” He muttered as he pulled open the car door. “But I do have to get it off the street, I will pull it in the garage tonight so kids don’t mess with it.” 

“Probably a good idea, I will catch up tomorrow, make sure you two don’t actually kill him.” 

“Yup.” Curtis hung up and slipped into the driver’s seat to start the car and pulled it into the garage. Once he was sure it was all closed up from any pranksters wanting to break in, he made his way back inside to where he found you at his stove, dipping a measuring cup into the batter and drizzling it into a hot frying pan to cook into a nice golden brown. On another burner you had several strips of bacon sizzling. He moved up behind you, circling his arms around your waist and resting his head on your shoulder, inhaling deeply. “Mmhh, smells good Honey.” 

“Bacon always smells good.” 

“I wasn’t talking about bacon. More like you.” He tilted his head to kiss your neck, rubbing his chin against the curve of your neck, making you tilt your head to the side for him while chuckling and letting yourself lean back into his chest. His hands slipped under your shirt and reached up to cup a breast and give a slight squeeze. Still sensitive from where he had spent time licking and nibbling on your nipples earlier that day, you gave a slight gasp, letting your head fall back to his shoulder. 

“Fuck you are distracting.” You muttered out loud, trying to keep an eye on the sizzling food so that it wouldn't burn. He chuckled darkly in between nips and brushes of his lip behind your ear. 

“First I was no help and now I’m distracting. Want me to leave you alone?” His hand shifted to the other breast, doing the same and testing the weight in his palm. A gentle tug made a pull all the way to your core and causing your thighs to press together to contain the sensation. How could he already know how to play you like this? It would have been infuriating if you didn't so love his hands on you. A billow of black smoke escaped the pancake pan, which pulled you out of what Curtis was doing and back to actual cooking. 

“Oh shit! Yes… yes or else I’m gonna burn these pancakes if you keep going.” You squeaked as you pulled the pan off the heat and flipped them out. Curtis pressed one last kiss to your temple, able to feel his smirk as he grabbed the extra burnt pancake from the plate and blowing on it to cook it off, he took a quick bite. 

“Still tastes pretty good Y/N.” He went about finishing picking up around the house while letting you finish in peace. It wasn't too long till you were setting a small dining room table with everything and calling him back. Curtis sauntered back in, with more bottles to toss in the recycling and once he sat down, he didn't give you a chance to slip past him to the other seat but hooked an arm around your waist and pulled you to his thigh. 

His grasp was secure and immediately pulled you fully onto him so you couldn't readjust yourself from putting weight on his lap. You were so tense, waiting for the chair to creek or something. But Curtis rubbed at your waist and felt relaxed underneath you, confident that this was fine. 

“It looks good Honey, thank you.” You couldn't help the pleased smile that flirted across your face and you relaxed as you hugged loosely around his neck for a moment in a loving manner. 

“You're welcome.” You let yourself settle in his lap comfortably while the two of you made your plates how you liked it. Your pancakes got drizzles of syrup across them and Curtis opted for practically drenching them. Sharing bites of bacon between one another, you took tiny bites to drag it out. Curtis was an enthusiastic eater, vocal in how damn good it was and what did he have to do to get this every day? You soaked in the praises, feeling yourself grow lighter with every passing moment you spent in his company. 

Curtis tested it gradually, little praising comments here or there just to see how you would react. At first you were shy with him, trying to brush it off as nothing but your surprised face couldn't lie. You would break into a little smile and wrinkle the tip of your nose when the feeling was a strong one. He found it a good look on you- feeling like you were appreciated. Now he was sure to give it where he could, and after the shitty time the night before, he might have been laying it on a bit thick. 

Pushing his plate away once he finished, he cut into your remaining pancake and held it up to you. “It was so good, I can't cook to save my life.” 

You leaned forward to take your last bite from his fork before pushing your plate away as well. “Not true, I have had plenty of stuff you’ve made. I’m stuffed.” You moved to get up and gather dishes, Curtis right behind you helping. 

“Mmh, but not as good as yours.”

Together you two worked on cleaning up the kitchen and last remnants of the party. By this time it was getting to be later in the afternoon and neither of you was looking to go out. After a quick discussion of how to spend the rest of the day, it was decided that you would work on your lesson plans that you had saved to your laptop after you admitted that you really couldn’t put them off any longer and Curtis assured you that he had plenty to do. You settled with a cup of tea in the living room, spreading everything across the coffee table. Curtis got changed into some warmer clothes to work in his garage. Now and then he would poke his head in to check on you, but you were completely sucked into your project. You would give him an hum in response and your eyes would lift briefly from your screen to give him a smile. 

Every time he poked his head in, studying you, you seemed to be completely engaged in your project, and not focusing on the night before. When he would disappear back into the garage, he would give a sigh of relief that today was going better for you. He just hoped he could keep today special for you.

Couple of hours later he came in, hands and forearms grease streaked with old engine grime and a rag in his hands, wiping as much away as he could. You put your laptop on the table and stretched out your legs. “About done?” You questioned and looked over the couch going from questioning to awe, your jaw dropping slightly. You had not expected that a dirty Curtis would be such a turn-on. Black streaks and a bit of sweat clung to his forehead and the tops of his cheeks were ruddy red from the chill in the garage, the hanes sweatshirt he wore was old and stained, and the sleeves were rolled up muscled forearms. His hands were failing to actually wipe away the grease streaked across them. Old black jeans were clad over thick powerful thighs and ended with boots scuffed with use which he was pulling off at the door leading into the garage.  All together it made you extremely turned on.

“For tonight, I don't feel like turning on the lights in there to continue working and I wanna clean up before we settle in for the rest of the evening. I will go light up the porch and pumpkins soon.” He remarked as he started down the hallway towards the living room where you were set up. “What about you, Pretty Girl?” So smoothly he dropped that comment to see your reaction. “You got more you wanna do tonight?” Coming up to where you were, you crooked a finger at him so he leaned over the back of the couch closer to you. 

You grasped his chain hanging loose and pulled him in closer to give a hungry kiss. You caught him by surprise at first, his hand bracing against the cushion and half falling over the back into you, but he soon gained control, his tongue stroking against the roof of your mouth and groaning heatedly into it. When you pull away, your pupils are blown and lips are kiss swollen. 

“Uh- almost done Curtis.” You move up to a kneel on the cushions, playing with the chain still in your hold, Curtis can't hide the amused grin on his face, brushing his knuckles along your cheek. 

“I'm all about continuing this…” He drew you into another kiss, making you slide your hands against his firm chest and rational thought really flew out the window for a few minutes. 

You were the one to ease back, blinking at him while you put your palm at the center of his chest. “... continuing this tonight. Kids will be knocking at the door any minute.” You finished with some regret.

Curtis eyed you like he was about to challenge it, but relented with a wink. “Till later Honey, you wanna order us a pizza? My wallet is on my dresser.” 

Giving a nod, he went to shower and you turned around to sit back into the couch, taking a deep inhale. “Fuck me.” You muttered, still processing the way Curtis’s look had hit you. You couldn't remember the last time you had been that turned on. Keeping your hands from dragging him over the couch and riding him had been a real test for you. Glancing back at your laptop, you really weren't going to finish it up, so you started to pack it away and went to order that pizza for delivery. 

Curtis was back out quick enough, sporting his gray sweats and a comfy soft v-neck. Looking for a lighter, he sorted through the kitchen junk drawer while you were gathering up your laptop and putting it away. Sliding your bag to hang with your jacket so you wouldn't forget it in the morning, Curtis followed along behind you and led you towards the porch to help him set it up as it was slowly getting dark. The younger kids were already starting to trick or treating with their parents. 

In the past Curtis’s house was usually dark, a bowl of candy sitting on a chair at the end of his driveway for kids and he would either be working in the garage or at Paulie’s for the night. This year there were several pumpkins on the stairs, including the one he had carved specially for the occasion. All lit up, you were sure to back up off the steps and admire how it all looked. A couple hay bales on the porch sported skeletons you had set up, spider webbing was stretched out around the porch's beams and spooky lights in the windows on each side of the door. He stepped off to join you, an arm going over your shoulders and grinning all proud. “Looks damn good Honey.” 

“It does, people are gonna be surprised, Curtis.” You pulled out your phone to snap a picture of the porch to send to your sister and parents. 

As they were standing there, a couple littles came up the driveway, their parents not far behind. They took one look at Curtis with wide eyes and then at you, the princess immediately lifting her bag with a “twick or tweet.” A ninja hid behind her a moment before getting up some courage. 

“Are you a giant?” 

You hid a smile behind your palm at his question, Curtis scowled a bit in surprise but he squatted down next to the ninja. “Maybe, but I’m a pretty cool giant, so you don’t have to be scared.” 

“I'm not scared. I’m a ninja.” His little chest puffed out and Curtis threw up his hands in a surrender. 

“Ninjas are my weakness. And Princesses” He added when the little girl started to square up a bit. “Why I’m a nice giant.” 

You went to grab the plastic cauldron full of candy off the porch while the kids continued to talk to Curtis. You handed it over to Curtis who offered it to the two children, they quickly picked out what they wanted and then Curtis tossed in a few more, giving a small wave as they now happily returned to their parents. 

Watching as the little family left, you giggled while Curtis straightened back to a stand. “They are not wrong… you are a giant.” Tilting your head back to look up at him. 

“The better to eat you right up my dear.” 

You laughed as he gathered you in his arms and you pulled him back up the porch, the candy bowl held on your hip in a one armed embrace. “That's a big bad wolf.” 

“Mmhh, depends on which mythology you are going by Y/N.” He teased while you two made your way back inside to wait for the next set of kids. “But I can be your big bad wolf if that is what you prefer.” 

You seemed to consider it. “You be the big bad wolf, guess that means I’m little red riding hood.” 

Curtis’s eyes sparked with interest, darkening a bit as a wolfish grin spread. “That is something I can certainly play along with.” 

So far several kids came to collect candy, ballerinas, firefighters, monsters, ghosts and one devil dog that Curtis absolutely couldn't help himself with. He had to pet the dog when it came up on the porch with his kids. You got to witness Curtis really get into the spirit of it, joking with the kids as they picked out the candy and even having brief convos with the parents. Ella even managed to pull up with Sophia in tow. The toddler dressed as a baby chick took one look at the house and squealed excitedly. “Uncle Curtis!” She took off running, a scolding scarecrow Ella followed right behind her, but the little chick ran up the first step, dropping her bag so she could scuttle up faster. 

“Hold on baby chick!” Curtis said alarmed, sure that she would trip over her costume and he scooped up the laughing toddler. 

“Take her, I’m officially giving her to you.” Ella bent down to grab the discarded bag and winked at you. “Y/N and I will drive off into the sunset with our bag of goodies.” Already you were bringing the cauldron of candy down, stuffing handfuls into the bag while Ella sorted through the cauldron, stealing the reeses with a triumphant cheer. 

“That’s nice and all, but I must decline. I’m a better uncle than daddy.” He straightened out Sophia’s costume. “Are you all set to go trick or treating with mommy?” 

“Yeah!” Sophia said enthusiastically. “I say tricks and treats and get candy and going to see grammy and daddy and and and…” She kept going, Curtis listening carefully and nodding. Ella was eating her reeses and smirking to you. 

“And he claims he won’t one day make a great dad, idiot.” She shook her head in disbelief at her cousin and turned back to you. “How was your day today?” She asked kindly, clearly testing to see if you were still upset about yesterday. 

“Embarrassed about yesterday, but good. I have all your bags of chips, do you want them?” 

“Don’t be!” Ella shook her head and turned her attention back to Curtis and Sophia talking. “Edgar was being an asshole, he is like that when he is drunk but there's no excuse for what he said. This time he ran his mouth and hurt people with it. I wish Curtis had roughed him up. Keep the chips, I know where to get more.” 

You were thankfully saved by Curtis bringing Sophia back over from having to answer Ella, the little girl squirming in his arms. “I think she is ready to go trick or treating.” 

“Tricks or treats!” She hollered out and he set her down, she waved at you briefly before she started to head towards the car. 

“Jesus! I gotta go, nice chatting with you.” Ella said as she bolted after Sophia to grab her hand. “Hey kiddo, what did we talk about before? You gotta hold my hand while we go get the goods, okay?” She opened the door and buckled her in. Curtis wrapped an arm around you and together you two said your goodbyes to Ella and Sophia, watching them drive off to hit up the other part of the neighborhood. You two made your way back inside the house to wait for the next set of kids.

By the time the pizza driver was coming up the driveway, you were digging out some bills to hand to him, reaching around Curtis while he was letting the next set of kids dig through your cauldron. Bringing the pizza inside, you were just opening the box to grab a pepperoni when Curtis came in, shifting through the last bit of candy and snagging a reese cup just like Ella had, to unwrap it. “We’re just about out.” He said worried and you shook your head while nibbling on the pepperoni, leaning against the counter’s edge. 

“I bought another bag, it’s in the pantry.” You offered him the last bite of your prize, his teeth purposely catching your finger tip before retreating with the snack. 

“It’s like you’ve done this before.” He teased as he bit half the reeses in his hand and grabbing the new bag, he offered you the last of his candy. 

This time it was your turn to tease, wrapping your lips around his fingers and sucking them clean of the melted chocolate, making him groan at the warm contact. “Maybe a time or two.” 

“Fuck Honey.” He groaned before pressing you against the counter, hands planted on either side of you. “Show me how you do that again.” He leaned in closer to you, crystal blue’s boring down at you heatedly while popping you up to sit on the counters edge. 

You wrapped arms around his neck and pulled yourself closer to lay your lips against his, sure to wrap your tongue around his in the same manner you did his finger all while scratching at the back of his neck to grasp him in closer. It was more heated which made Curtis groan hungrily against you. Your legs wrapped around his waist while he came in closer, pulling you by your hips to the counters edge. Curtis raced a hand up your back to grasp 

the back of your neck, tilting your head and taking some control of the kiss, drawing these needy noises out from you. 

Ding, ding, ding, 

No, not the doorbell you practically screamed when you felt Curtis sigh into your mouth, starting to pull away. 

Trick of Treat, smell my- 

You wrapped your hand into his chain and yanked him back into you for a few seconds, biting playfully at his bottom lip and dragging your tongue over it while finally letting him go. “Better go answer that.” 

Curtis literally growled as his eyes dropped to your swollen lips. “Fucking hell.” He muttered as he tugged at his tightening sweatpants, trying to hide himself better. You giggled and hopped off the counter's edge. 

“I will hand out this bit of candy. You seem to have a -well a really hard problem to deal with.” You brushed past him with the caldron of candy protecting you from him although you made a show of swaying your hips to the door, making him cuss once more behind you. 

“All because of you Honey.” His tone was deep and almost primal sounding, making you chuckle at his dilemma.

Opening the door, you grinned at the group you had before you. “You all look so good!” Holding out the caldron for them to reach in and grab handfuls of candy for their bags. Several more groups came up, just about clearing out the last of your candy supply. Making sure everyone had a chance to get some, you waved goodbye before closing the door. You grabbed one of the fun size milky ways in the bucket and wandered back towards the kitchen to find Curtis gathering napkins, plates and one of your juices while he also grabbed a beer for himself. “Now there really isn't too much candy left.” 

Curtis glanced at an old kitchen clock. “Yeah, people start winding down for the night right about now. Perfect time for us to kick back a bit.” His head nodded towards the living room where he had pulled the couch closer to the tv, making it a bit more intimate, blankets draped over the back of the furniture, curtains drawn to make the room almost movie theater dark except for the glow of the red Netflix screen.

You followed him in, clearing off a spot of the coffee table to accommodate the box. “That is fine by me. Oh, let me grab one thing and we can watch Halloween. I already have it on my queue list.” You skipped off to grab the last of the candy and set it out on the doorstep with a note left on it to have a Happy Halloween. Grabbing Curtis’s jack-o-lantern to bring inside, you made your way in and turned off the porch lights, leaving the glowing pumpkins as the last bit of light for the remaining kids to find the candy by. Carrying your favorite pumpkin Curtis made into the living room, you carefully set it up in view of the both of you. “Now it’s officially Halloween. Candy handed out, pizza ordered, movie queued, decorations lit up and...” You were sure to turn away while Curtis crashed down on the couch.

“And what Y/N?” He questioned as his long gray sweat clad legs stretched on either side of you, you turned around and lowered to your knees between his spread thighs, arching your brow up at him while trying to seductively flash your glow-in-the-dark vampire fangs at him.

“And I’m all dressed up to play Curtis.” 

His eyes widened at you, breaking into an amused grin. “Fuck yes you are.” His hands cupped along your face and drew you to sit up higher on your knees to kiss you, which proved to be hard with the addition of the fake teeth, making you both snort laughing as you two broke apart. “Even if I can’t kiss you, you are.” Pressing his lips against yours. “So. Fucking. Hot.” The fact he couldn’t stop kissing you made your toes curl in anticipation. After last night, you had almost gotten rid of the fake fangs, but now you were mentally thanking the dollar store where you had purchased them a few weeks ago for having them in stock. 

Your hands went flat against his thighs so you could pull yourself in closer and you lowered back again to rest against the back of your calves, wriggling to make yourself comfortable between his thighs. “Christ Honey, you're going to drive me crazy. You are full of surprises.” When you two had talked about what both of you were comfortable with, he mentioned that this was fine with him, but you hadn’t given him head yet. Not that you haven’t thought about it, especially when he wore his gray sweatpants that hid nothing, even now the fabric couldn't hide the bulge in front of your face. 

You leaned over him, nipping at the draw strings hanging in the front off his pants while mouthing at his cock through the fabric, making him arch into your touch with a hiss. Your fingers pushed up his shirt, muttering. “Get it off Curtis.” 

He surged upwards to grab the back of his v neck and pulled it over his head to toss it across the room while you used those plastic teeth on him as more skin started to show. Sinking the fangs into the softness of his belly, you started using your tongue to swirl gently licks against his flesh. You got the pleasure to see red creep up the front of his chest and along the muscles straining on his neck. Trailing the line of hair flowing up his pecs. You trailed teeth along his tensing abs, your fingers dancing along behind your bites that were causing playful pink spots to flush a story across his torso. 

Curtis resisted the urge to touch you, his hands fisted in the couch cushions while watching you from under his lowered lashes as he leaned back into the seat, his eyes hungry. At first he wanted to bury his fingers in your hair and push you where his body wanted you,but this was much better, feeling you build him up, make him ache for more.

Seductress; could it be that there were actually women who could cast spells? Because he would have sworn up and down that is what was happening on this halloween night.

You scraped those teeth against a taunt pink nipple that made him arch in his seat, gripping the back of your head momentarily to keep you right there, repeated flicks of your tongue kept him distracted. Wriggling your fingertips under the band of his sweats, you wrapped your hand around his cock. 

That made Curtis groan, feeling your fingers circle around his girth and ease him out, running a hand up and down his cock while nipping at his chest. You pressed just enough against him that he could imagine how fucking hot it would look if you rubbed him between your tits. 

Curtis’ head was tilted back, letting himself enjoy the sensations your playing brought. One hand was still holding onto his sanity by permanently indenting his couch cushion, the other was now grasping at the back of your head from where he had held you against his chest. You popped the vampire fangs out, running your tongue down to his belly while rubbing your chest against his erection. Curtis couldn't stop the way he rutted against you, now aching to have you swallow his cock and hear those precious gasps as you tried to relax while he fucked himself in your mouth. Your hands still swept up and down his cock, dragging your thumb over the droplets of precum already threatening to dribble. 

The beginning of his downfall, a willing fucked out mess for you. 

Right now he looked more like a coiled predator, dark eyes following the way your lips would press kisses to the tip of his cock, the drag of your tongue a promise of what was to come. It satisfied you seeing the tense way his jaw clenched watching you and a tilt of his head as something snapped in him. His hand tightened at the back of your head and he rumbled out deeply. “Are you going to keep teasing Honey?”

Were you going to keep teasing? It was your plan as you dragged your tongue along the throbbing thick vein from tip to base, burying your nose in the nest of hair and mouthing at his balls. “Maybe… Although…” You moved back to kiss the tip, wrap your lips just around him and start to suck on him. His hand at the back of your head pushed down slightly, which you were more than willing to accommodate more. The taste of his precum mixed with the velvet hardness dominated your mouth but nothing matched the way his sputtering curses made you feel. 

“Fucking christ-” You heard him groan out. “Just like that Honey, god your mouth…” You bobbed your head a bit before the pressure came back. “Just a bit more- yes, fuck yes, just like that. Taking me so good Honey.” You could feel the vein throbbing against your tongue, his tip pushing in your cheek before you adjusted, willing to try and take him all. “Fuck you are going to make me cum right in your mouth Honey.” He choked out as you bobbed more, hollowing your cheeks to really tighten around him. It was when you finally started to attempt to ease him in your throat did you sputter, making him let go of his grip on your head.

“Fuck I’m sorry.” A glance up showed that even though he was still worked up, worry clouded his eyes and you just couldn't have that. Not when you wanted him glassy eyed from you working him over so good. You pulled off his cock, kitten licking the tip while jerking him in your hands. 

“Curtis, this is what I want you to do. I want you to fuck my mouth, hard.” You leaned in against him, nipping on his now taunt belly. “I want you to cum so hard I have difficulty swallowing it all. I want you to use me to feel good.” You could see his hands digging into the couch cushions. “And I don’t want you to worry I can’t take it. Trust me Curtis, I want you to ruin me.” Before he could even answer, you made yourself comfortable with him in your mouth again, bobbing your head to get plenty of saliva coating his thick cock and you hummed around him when you felt his hands cup your face, dragging his thumbs over your cheeks where you made sure he could feel himself. 

It was like you had unlocked a door for Curtis. He was really holding back before but now he took over, his hands bobbing you faster, hitting the back of your throat with a thick tip that you ended up gagging around, spit started foaming at the corner of your mouth. The sheer force made you grab onto his thighs, bracing yourself. “Fuck, first I’m going to ruin your mouth, then your pussy. Fucking made for me Honey.” 

You hummed in encouragement, squeezing your eyes shut as tears did start streaming down, mixing with your drool. Between your thighs you started to ache for friction, anything to help get you off and you had to let go of his thigh in order to bury your fingers between your thighs to rub at your clit. 

“That’s right Pretty Girl, get yourself off.” He panted out, his head falling back, and jaw clenching as you moaned around him, encouraging him to spill, wanting him to spill himself and you could hear him getting closer. 

“Oh fuck- I’m not gonna last, so fucking good.” His movements started staggering, holding you down on his cock longer so your nose was buried in that patch of hair. You tried holding as long as you could, but when you started struggling, he let you pull off to breathe before you were bobbing back on him, determined he was going to come where he wanted. 

A shudder and he gave a sputtering alarm before he was shooting his load down your throat. You did your best but white creamy spend escaped from the seam of your lips, dribbling down your chin, mixing with the drool and tears, he loosened his hold to stroke his hand over your hair. “Fuck Honey, that was…” You ran your tongue on his cock again, swirling the tip and sure to look up at him all spent, letting the mess stay on your face for the moment. In your experience it was always appreciated. Your head laid against his still quivering thigh, smiling up at him with a cock drunk expression. His hands swept down to gather you up, making you yelp in surprise when he pulled you up to straddle his lap like you weighed nothing. “... Get up here Honey.” Large hands cupped your face as he dragged you to him in a messy kiss, not even caring that you were a wreck covered with cum and drool. His tongue slipped against yours, tilting you in closer for a moment till he broke away. “Take your shirt off.” 

You already had it half off, suddenly feeling all hot and bothered as it was tossed away. Curtis’s hands gripped your waist and flung you against the couch, he followed along, squeezing your tits and kissing along your collarbone. You wriggled under Curtis, trying to drag your pants off and his as well while Curtis kissed and licked over your breasts, large hands covering them and squeezing them for more mouthfuls with your hardened nipples. You panted above him, digging your fingers into his upper back, marveling at the power rippling in your hold. A pull of your nipples into his warm mouth had you arching, pants halfway pushed down from both of you and tangling together. Your cunt needed anything right now and you pushed at his shoulder. “Pants.” 

Pupils dilated to make his irises black lifted to acknowledge what you wanted and he kissed you in an urgent manner before pulling away to drag your clothes off. 

“Why did we even bother with these?” He scowled out as he dragged your panties off next and as he fumbled with his own, you pushed up to kneel on the couch, wrapping your fingers in the chain bouncing off his chest and pulled him back to you, having him cover you while you spread your thighs to give him room. His hand planted on the arm of the couch to brace himself over you as you stared up at him. 

“I don’t remember why, just fuck me Curtis.” You pressed your hips up to grind into him. His eyes sparked feeling your wet pussy grinding into him, his hand lowered to rub between your folds, pressing a finger in to stretch you open. You clutched at the back of his neck while lifting yourself enough to tease a pink nipple covered in a dusting of dark hair. The eagle tattoo stretching over his pec was nipped at. This was frantic and needy, a sensation you haven’t experienced in so long that you didn’t want to loose it and let your typical sensible bullshit in assessing everything you were doing take over.  

“Fuck Honey, shit....” He hissed out as you fluttered around his fingers, a gush of your slick escaping his fingers rutting into you. “I don’t have a condom. They are all upstairs in the bedroom.” 

“It’s fine, I don’t need one and I trust you.” You said earnestly, rubbing yourself into him once more with an ache wanting to be filled.

“Okay, okay, good.” He muttered out and grasping his cock, he lined up against your entrance and easily slid into you with a moan escaping from him, you gasped at the same time, burying your face against his shoulder. “Like you were made for me Honey.” 

Curtis swore up and down he could happily stay right here, your velvet walls gripped him so tight he could have come right there and you were so soft and giving underneath him. So much better without the condom, you felt so good squeezing around him, your walls fluttering as he pumped himself into you. 

Your lips were swollen temptations that he couldn't help but taste again. His tongue slid against yours, his hips pumping and your legs curled over his waist instinctively while he fucked you into the couch. Dragging his mouth away from your gasping mouth, Curtis was sure to watch your expressions, a grind of his hips and shifting himself, your eyes rolled back. 

Your toes curled, your fingers dug into the tense muscles of his back. Curtis had managed to pound himself right into your sweet spot and it was the most electrifying pleasure that ever filled you. “Shit.” You curled into his body, Curtis’s hand grasped the back of your thigh, pushing your leg back further. You swore he was splitting you in two and you didn't want it to stop. “Fu-Oh God Curtis, I can’t.” 

“Can't what Honey?” He nipped at your ear, fingers digging into the fleshier part of your thigh and hooking your calf over his shoulder, making you arch your head back, enough so he could drag the rasp of his beard against your neck and down to your bouncing breasts, sucking on them. 

“Can’t take it, I need to cum Cu-” Your voice choked out in a sob. 

“Cream all over my cock Honey, let me feel you sweet girl.” Curtis encouraged and you clutched at him. He dropped himself to rub against your clit, knowing it would be that push you needed. Your yell was strangled as you came, a spiral of pleasure melted you underneath Curtis, his hips still snapping against you when he gathered you in his arms, closing you into his hold and a stuttering thrust made him release in your wanting body, filling you with his spend. You were dazed underneath him, prepared to feel him sink over you but he tightened his arms around you and pulled you both to your sides, clinging to each other to keep from falling off the couch. 

Even though he was softening in you, Curtis made no move to pull himself from you, instead tucking your head under his chin, and his oversized hands curled into the fleshy part of your thigh wrapped around him, the other braced a hand against the center of your back to keep you pressed to his chest. 

You were both sweaty, chest heaving and panting for drags of shared air. Tilting your face into his neck and pressing a kiss against his adams apple, you pushed up slightly. “Happy Halloween Curtis.” 

Tilting his head down, he gave a smirk. “Well now I see why this is your favorite holiday Honey.” He shifted the two of you again, this time sitting up with you straddling his lap, he still somehow managed to keep you on him, even soft he was thick inside of you.

Your arms draped over his shoulder as you sat back a bit, laughing. “I have never had a Halloween like this before Curtis.” 

“How about we make it a regular thing? Ruin each other on the couch.” He teased and you tilted forward to press a kiss to his mouth. 

“I feel like that is something I can get behind.” Your eyes softened affectionately while his hands rested to your waist, giving a slight squeeze. He felt accomplished. Not only were you looking at him all sleepy eyed and sexy with this freshly fucked out look, everything that happened the night before didn’t seem to be plaguing your mind.

Curtis would take it.

Curtis braced himself for Edgar as he made his way into the office. Tanya lifted her head from her computer while Curtis clocked in, she grabbed a clipboard and set it at the edge of her desk for Curtis to collect. While he flipped through the day's deliveries as well as the two freight cars that had seized wheels he needed to fix, he started muttering to himself about the scheduling mishaps. “Do they know we need more than fifteen minutes to unload those cars? Gilliam is out of his damn mind thinking we are gonna get it all off that quick in this weather.” 

Tanya waved her hand. “Forget that Curtis, is Y/N okay?” 

Curtis tucked the clipboard away, his face darkening. “She is perfectly fine, we spent a nice Sunday together.” 

Tanya was about to ask what the two of you did when Edgar slipped into the office, rubbing at his hands to warm them up. “Hey…” He said cautiously, Curtis dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, tossing them on the counter. 

“Cars in the lot.” 

“Listen man, I’m sorry for what I said. Can’t we put this behind us?” Edgar tried reasoning as he grabbed his car keys. Curtis rounded on his friend, making Edgar seem small as he backed up a step. Tanya watched wide eyed from behind the desk. Grey came in next, catching Curtis getting in Edgar’s face. 

“There is no putting it behind us Jackass. I had to convince Y/N that I was the lucky one to be with her. So no. You can fuck right off.” 

“Curtis I was drunk. Y/N has to know I’m basically an idiot.” Edgar protested as Curtis made a grab at his jacket, looking like he was ready to beat the shit out of him when Tanya clapped her hands to catch everyone's attention. 

“Hey! No fighting in my office.”

Grey moved in between them, separating the men. Curtis backed up, throwing his hands up to say he was done. “You wanna fix this Edgar? Apologize to Y/N and not some bullshit apology about how you were drunk. Fucking mean it. When she tells me she has forgiven you, maybe we can be good again. Till then, stay the fuck out of my way.” He pushed his way out of the office, leaving the three of them behind. 

“I’m so fucking screwed.” Edgar muttered and Tanya smacked at the back of his head, making him wince. 

“I can’t believe you did that shit Edgar, you are lucky I don't wring your neck.” She hissed while Grey nodded in agreement as he clocked himself in. 

“I was drunk!” 

“No fucking excuse.” 

Claude was waiting for you the moment you came in, holding out a tall cup of coffee. You took it gratefully while setting your bag down behind your desk. “You are a life saver.” 

“So I’ve been told.” She perched on the edge of your desk while you took care of your stuff before your students came in. “Did everything smooth out Sunday?” 

You paused, recalling Saturday night's disaster and how wonderful Sunday ended up being regardless. “Halloween was fantastic. Curtis and I handed out candy that night and we watched a scary movie.” 

Claude gave you a look, a look that called you out as a liar. “That's it huh?” 

You bit your lip and your face couldn't keep that innocent look anymore. “Of course not, he made it his personal mission yesterday to ruin me. I don’t know how I’m walking today.” 

That made Claude grin wickedly back. “I knew it, it's always those broody quiet types.” She wiggled her brows while sipping from her coffee. “Did he kill that little prick?” 

You sighed at the mention of Edgar. “No, and I feel kind of guilty. He is one of Curtis’s closest friends.” 

Claude rolled her eyes. “He was an ass.” 

“Absolutely agreed. I just feel bad about it.” 

“Well don’t, I’m glad the little prick got caught. That was disrespectful to you and Curtis.” 

You let that sink in a moment. All this time you thought about how it was affecting Curtis and not really what it meant to you, your mind seemed to block out that it was disrespectful to you as well. Not wanting to dwell on it much more, you turned the subject to her. “So, Grey… what do you think?” 

Her eyes lit up and she scrolled through her phone to show it to you. “Texted all day yesterday. I think we are gonna go on a date soon.” 

“Grey seems like a great guy every time I’ve ever met him. I’m sure you will have a great time.” 

“Yeah, I hope so. Umm, do you think it’s weird how close he seems to his baby mama?” She asked, genuinely curious and maybe wondering if that would be something to worry about. You came around the desk, holding your cup and sipping from it. 

“I mean, I just met Ella Saturday, but… no? Heck she was the one trying to introduce you two after she met you. I think genuinely they are just friends? But I really don’t know the situation there. I think that if you want to pursue this, you should ask Grey. He seems like a pretty straightforward kind of guy.” 

“I will see if I can casually bring it up in one of our conversations.” It was hard to miss the hopeful beam crossing Claude’s face. “I hope so, I really like him.” The bell rang and Claude checked the time. “Crap, I will catch up later.” She bounded off your desk, weaving through the students who were happily chatting about their weekends. Taking a few more moments to yourself, one last sip of your coffee and you grabbed the lesson plans of the day. 

The rest of the week and well into the next flew by for you. You and Curtis planned on meeting back up Friday night as you were in the middle of preparing for students for the first trimester switch over, grades needed to be finalized and notes written to parents. It meant long nights at the school with the rest of Mason Academy’s staffing team. 

But that didn’t mean Curtis didn’t still pop into your day to day life. You two would send texts through the day, he had taken to sending you snippets of whatever book he was reading, and midweek you came home to having a door dash appear with an order from a local chinese place that you two had gone to the week before, already paid in full. Opening it up, you found your order from that date and then some extra so you would have at least a few meals out of it. Plucking out a spring roll, you snapped a picture of you taking a bite of the crispy roll and sent it to Curtis. 

Thank you for dinner. It was such a hectic day. 😮‍💨

I figured Honey, enjoy your meal. 

You were thoroughly looking forward to going out Friday night, having suggested hitting up Paulie’s that night. Curtis would be able to make a few extra bucks helping bartend, Claude had messaged you that she was planning on meeting up with Grey there, and you were more than willing to throw darts as a stress reliever- picturing a few choice parents' faces as the bullseye. Curtis was happy to go along with whatever you wanted to do. You offered to meet him there, and when you arrived, you found him already behind the bar. Claiming a spot at the end, you settled in to watch him work and openly check him out as it had been a few weeks since the last bartending flirting session, the memory of it making a spiral of arousal settle in your belly. 

A too tight in the shoulders white henley shirt stretched across his chest, your eyes roving down to strong forearms flexing as he worked the line of taps. You saw the flash of a laugh in his usual serious features, it looked like he had given himself a fresh cut, your palms twitched, knowing how soft it would be right now to run your hands over. Handing over a beer with a coaster, he wiped his hands on a towel that he had hooked in the back pocket of his jeans when he came to where you were seated. Curtis was able to easily reach over the bar counter to hook a hand against the back of your neck and lean in to give you a kiss. “Go claim us a table and I will be right over? You want anything from the kitchen?” 

“Mmhh, whatever you are in the mood for. Claude messaged me earlier, her and Grey are going to stop in later.” 

Curtis prepared a pitcher for the two of you as well as some glasses. “Yes, he mentioned it to me earlier they would be stopping in. Seems Ella ended up playing matchmaker Halloween weekend.” 

“Yup, and I couldn’t be more pleased about it. Claude hasn’t stopped talking about Grey since that night” You grinned as you collected the stuff Curtis handed to you. “See you in a minute, Handsome.” Leaving the bar, you were able to find a table over by the darts, which you poured the beer in the frosty mugs, collected darts and suddenly a pair of arms circled around your waist and scruff scratched at your neck while a pair of lips smoothed against a sweet little spot behind your ear. Curtis’ hard body pressed in behind you, enveloping you with his warm scent. “Mmhh I missed you.” 

You tilted your head back enough to share a kiss. “It was a crazy week, I wouldn’t have been much fun.” Curtis ran his hands along your hips, giving a squeeze and pulling you back into him a moment while nipping another kiss before letting you go so you both could sit at the little table. He had brought a small appetizer tray to go with the pitcher you had brought with you. Grabbing a chip to dunk it in some salsa, you bit into it while he took a drag off the beer. “Next couple isn’t going to be any better.” 

“What’s gonna be going on?”

 “Got some parent teacher conference days coming up. But I don’t want to discuss school anymore. How was your week? You listened to me bitch all week about mine.” 

His eyes crinkled at you in amusement and gave a wink. “Typical, bullshit at the yard with scheduling. Tanya fishing for details about what we're up to, spent a few nights working on the Camaro.” 

“You have to break Tanya’s heart?” You chuckled a bit while wiping your fingers clean, Curtis reached for some of the saucy wings, giving a shrug while grinning. 

“I might have let her think something was going on, all her own conclusion. I just neither denied nor confirmed it.” 

You snorted in laughter at him. “You didn’t!” 

“I sure as hell did, she wants to be nosy, she can think what she wants.” He licked his lips clean while setting the bone aside, grabbing at your napkin that you used earlier and wiped at his mouth and fingers. 

“How have things been at work with Edgar?” You asked after a few moments, studying the small appetizer tray, but sneaking a look at Curtis to try and gauge his response while taking the complimentary celery stick and nibbling on it. 

Curtis shook his head. “Fuck him, told him to leave me alone.” Your heart sank a bit, but you remembered what Claude had said earlier about remembering how utterly disrespectful it had been to you and Curtis. You reached across the table and gave a light squeeze before pulling yourself up to a stand and going around the small table to hug around his neck, his arm instinctively went around your waist and pulled you in close. “Don’t let that dumbass take up any more of our night, Honey. You gonna try beating me at darts?” 

“What do I get if I do?” You bit at your lip and distracted him momentarily, his pupils widening at the sight. Large hands clasped your ass and gave a firm squeeze that made you arch a bit. “Also ‘try’? Listen, I already know I’m gonna kick your ass Everett.”  

“Whatever you want Honey, but I’m winning. When I win, you are coming home with me.” 

You smirked feeling him grab at you, sure as shit that he was going to get what he wanted. You wrapped your hand in the chain hanging around his neck and pulled him in closer till you were inches away. “Well fuck Curtis, that was what I was going to pick. Guess if I win, my prize is your cock.” You took great pleasure at the way his eyes widened in surprise and you pulled him in rest of the way to give him a tongue teasing kiss, drawing out a groan from deep in his chest and his hands digging harshly into your ass to hold you close to him, it was when you pulled away, you felt his eyes following you hungrily while you went to the throw line and take aim with your darts. As you took your shot, you heard him muttering to himself. 

“Fucking Christ woman, you just spring that on me and then go shoot knowing now you are gonna win.” 

You grinned to yourself as you took aim once more, sure to give a slight shake of your waist just to hear him groan behind you once more like he was in pain while you let the dart go. You did pretty good for someone still learning you thought to yourself as Curtis came up next to you, sputtering under his breath while taking aim himself. 

His bicep bulged as his arm lifted and his fingers fit around the dart while taking his aim. Sure you might have been distracting to him, but you had to really work at it. Curtis, it just came natural. You stood behind him while drinking in the wide legged stance he was comfortable with, long legs led up to the best looking ass in a pair of black jeans you have ever seen, that had to be cinched tight with a belt. The plain white tee he wore stretched across a broad back that hid nothing in the way he flexed, his shoulders shifting with the lift of an arm. It was enough to make you suck on your bottom lip to stifle the moan of appreciation, his head tilting slightly to look back at you. 

You must have made a noise of some kind, because the rest of your body was getting hot and bothered. Crystalline blues sparked with amusement and you could see the way the corner of his mouth turned up in a grin. Turning back to take the next shots, you escaped back to your table to find refuge in your mug of beer, wondering if the rush of alcohol could possibly save you now. 

You were tipping your head back to drain the last few swallows when Curtis squeezed his hand against your hip while going to take his own, that one brow of his quirking up. “Now you know what you make me feel every damn time Honey. Fucking hell makes me want to bend you right over this table.” 

You snorted in surprise, covering your mouth to keep your composure as you glared at Curtis who busted into an easy laugh. The push and pull between you two was so easy going that time passed without a notice, a couple empty pitchers littering your table as well as the remains of used napkins and half full glasses. You two were taking a break from playing darts, Curtis sitting in one of the tall chairs made for the table, you were standing between his spread thighs, whispering to him how you couldn’t wait to get him home, running your hands up his covered chest and flirting with him till his jaw was clenching while keeping himself in check, his own hands sliding over your ass and giving very firm squeezes. 

Suddenly he stilled though, his gaze falling over your shoulder and hardening. You pulled back in worry. “Curtis, what's wrong?” You glanced around and saw what had him closing up on you. Edgar leaned against the bar, chatting with Paulie. Turning back to him, you grasped his chin and tilted him to look towards you. “I’m not upset about it anymore. He was being a dumbass like you said.” 

Curtis grunted slightly, an arm tightening slightly around you almost possessively. “That he is.” 

“So, you gotta let this anger go Curtis, can’t let him ruin our night.” You nudged at him slightly and his eyes narrowed. 

“I already told him that when he made it up to you, then I wouldn't think about wringing his neck.” 

You pulled back slightly while considering what he said. Untangling yourself from around him, Curtis made to grasp back at you, but you dodged his hands while gathering the emptied pitchers and cups. 

“Be right back.” 

“Y/N…” He tried getting you to stop, but you shook your head at him and told him that you would only be a minute and to stay right there. With a look of resignation he did stay, but you could see him simmering about it. Pulling up beside Edgar, you unloaded the dirty dishes. 

“Can we get another round Paulie?” The man broke from his conversation with Edgar and went to refill a pitcher. 

Edgar turned towards you, eyes darting to where Curtis was across the room and back to you. “Y/N, I was hoping to bump into you tonight.” 

You made yourself comfortable next to him, nodding. “I figured as much, we have to talk. Edgar. I have some things I need to tell you as well.” 

“First let me apologize for Halloween Y/N.” Edgar started. “I was so out of line and I honestly don’t even know where it came from. I swear I don’t believe that at all and it was such an asshole thing of me to say.” 

You nodded in agreement. “It was out of line Edgar, I didn’t deserve that and Curtis didn’t either. You are his friend and should be happy for him.” You turned to face the younger man, ready to lay into him. “What Curtis and I like and don’t like is nobody's business but our own, my weight is most certainly nothing you should ever be concerning yourself about and it really hurts that you would imply that the only reason your friend would be interested in me is because of that. You don’t even know me Edgar and right now all I know about you is that you are a judgemental bastard and not a very good friend to Curtis.” He went to start again and you cut him off. “I also know Curtis isn’t ready to forgive you until I do, so I really want to know if you are sorry Edgar, actually sorry. I want to know where that came from.” You paused when Paulie came over and left the pitcher. When he left, picking up the hint that you and Edgar were having a private discussion, you turned back to Edgar, waiting on an answer. 

You could tell that he was uncomfortable, which is what you wanted. This conversation wasn’t supposed to be easy for him. You deserved an honest answer and you weren’t planning on giving him the usual brush off you always did in the past when it came to these kinds of situations, you were done with being treated less because you weren’t what was considered average. “I was drunk, but that’s not why I said it.” Edgar’s gaze dropped to the bar in shame. “I saw how happy Curtis was, like genuinely happy for the first time in a long time and I was jealous.” 

You frowned while listening to him. “You were jealous of Curtis?” 

“Yup, pathetic right? He is one of my closest friends and it stung like a son of a bitch that he got to have that with you and I wanted it. You just dropped into his life and suddenly things just seemed better for him.” 

“Well you are not going to meet someone by being a shallow dick like that.” You pointed out and Edgar lifted his gaze to meet yours. 

“I deserved that.” 

“You did, none of us are going to be perfect. Picking apart someone's flaws is going to do nothing but leave you lonely and miserable.” 

“I know, I felt like shit afterwards and I regret even thinking about it, let alone saying it. In fact, I got you something to hopefully make up for ruining your party. You don’t have to forgive me if you don’t want to, I understand if you tell me to eat shit and fuck off. But I really do want you and Curtis to have this.” He handed you over a slip of paper. You unfolded it and read the business header on the top. 

“Lakeside Cabins?” You questioned while looking over the rest of the paper. 

“Yes, any weekend you want, it’s all paid for. You just have to call them to reserve the date. I know its not alot, but I thought a weekend away can replace the one I fucked up.” He said seriously and you were shocked for a moment at what he was giving you. 

“Wow Edgar… this is… thank you.” You refolded the paper. “I’m sure Curtis will appreciate this as well.” 

The man gave a small smile at your reaction, brushing his hand at the back of his neck and shrugged a bit, but looked relieved at that moment. “Well like you said, I was being a judgemental bastard and that's not who I want to be. I’m really happy for Curtis and want to be friends with you as well.” 

You let all he said sink in and felt that it was genuine. Holding out your hand for him, you gave a smile. “I would like that to Edgar, let’s start over?” Edgar gave a nod and shook your hand. Grabbing the pitcher of beer, you tilted your head over to your table where you knew Curtis was studying the two of you closely. “You should come over sometime and play a game with us.” You glanced at Curtis and bit at your lip to hide a smile at the absolutely stone cold way he glared over at the two of you. “If you want to risk it.” 

Edgar gave a small wave over to Curtis, who gave a sharp small nod in acknowledgment. “Maybe…we will see. I probably better let you go first, keep me safe.” He joked, which made you laugh and gently clasp your hand against his shoulder before moving to a stand. 

“Don’t be a chicken shit, Edgar.” 

“You’re not the one who's being threatened to get his head ripped off by both the Everett’s. Ella has already threatened to make my body disappear.” Edgar groaned out as you left him behind, going to join Curtis once more. Sitting in the seat next to him, you slid the piece of paper over to him. 

“You can stop giving him the death glare, I think he is really sorry.” You informed him while he curiously opened up the paper to look at it. You scooted your chair closer while he read the information to himself, leaning your head against his arm. 

“He gave you this?” Curtis flipped the paper to see if there was anything on the back and then looked at it again. “These are about an hour drive from here, nice little places from what I can tell.” 

“Yup, any weekend we would like to go. A way of trying to fix the weekend he ruined he said.” Curtis handed over the paper and you folded it back up to tuck it away for safekeeping. “Paid in full.” 

“I guess that was nice of him.” Curtis grumbled out, grabbing at the pitcher and pouring two glasses for the both of you. 

“I thought it was and I also told him I forgave him.” You lifted your head from his arm and took the beer glass for him, tilting up to press a kiss against his bristled cheek. “But that doesn't mean you should until you are ready, Curtis. As Claude pointed out to me, it wasn't just disrespectful to me, but to you as well.” Grabbing at your darts, you left him sitting there, pondering over what you said while you went to finish off the last game of the night.

Dainty was out of the question, you have never felt dainty in your life. But you did look sexy in this sheer white teddy with the lace flowers stitched through it. Being Christmas Eve and all, it felt almost virginal seeing yourself in this. You had never really dressed up for Curtis like this before, but there was a relief in knowing that the man's jaw would probably drop. He spent half the time you two were together reminding you that he found you beautiful and the other half showing you. You wanted to give him this gift but for so long you were scared to do. 

“You want to do this Y/N.” You reminded yourself before pulling away from the mirror and going to the railing to look over it to the first floor. You could see Curtis near the tree, arranging a few things under it and trying to make it look filled out with the few gifts he brought. The scene made you smile at the genuine softness it portrayed. 

“Curtis? Can you come up? I’m ready.” You were sure to duck out of sight so he couldn't see you, listening for him. 

“Be right up.” That was your cue to bolt onto the bed, perching at the end and trying to find something to do with your hands as your nerves felt frayed with anticipation. You curled them up into the fabric for a second before smoothing it back out and waiting for Curtis, ready for him. 

Curtis came up the stairs, really unsure of what exactly he would find but it wasn’t what he was expecting. Certainly not you looking like something dropped from heaven waiting on him. All wide-eyed staring at him to see his reaction, he swore he forgot to breathe. Just like that first day he met you. The lights from below had given the room a soft glow, leaving it dark enough that you didn't feel like you had to cover up and try to hide. 

“Honey…” He moaned out, maybe deeper than he meant to cause it made you fiddle on the end of the bed, your thighs clenching and hiding away that peek at your mound all covered in silk. “This is one of the best gifts I have ever been gifted.” 

Curtis approached you, trailing a finger under a strap and running down till it dipped towards your breasts, he just wanted to touch and admire you all over. You were looking up at him with that wide-eyed expression he had come to expect when you were nervous.  

“This and one other thing.”

One other thing? He thought to himself. You already gave him heaven on earth, looking like an angel in the bed waiting for him. “Other thing?” 

You nodded, taking a breath as if to calm yourself before you said it. “Yes, if you want of course, you can… I want…” You took another breath. His sweet girl was nervous and Curtis cupped your cheek, willing to wait as long as it took. “Don’t feel like you have to, but I know you said that you wanted to give oral when we first started dating and I said no… but now…” 

“That is what you want to give me?” 

“Yeah.” You wiggled back further onto the bed a bit, trying to relax. “I want that with you, I trust you.” 

That was everything, that trust. Curtis knew how big a deal that was for you to do, how much you shied away when he first touched you. “Oh Honey, I am going to make you feel so good tonight.” He rolled his shirt up over his head and let it fall away. 

You felt shy, Curtis could tell, the tip of your nose crinkling and your hands didn't seem to know where to go so you kept fiddling with the thin fabric covering you. But you were squirming a bit, your thighs pressed tight together as you squeaked out. “I know, you always do.” He moved onto the bed next to you, cupping your cheek and making you look at him. 

“Because you talk to me Pretty Girl and if something isn’t working for you tonight, tell me. I want this to be good for you too, not just me.” His thumb brushed along your cheek as he once more checked you out, giving a guttered groan. “You are so beautiful Honey, fuck I am a lucky man.” He said it so sincerely that you pulled him in close, kissing him while Curtis sunk you back onto the bed. He grasped at the pillows above your head, bringing one down to use later. 

You can do this Y/N. Your mind was a whirlwind of sensations while Curtis shifted over you. You clutched at his shoulders while he still kissed you breathless, making you gasp for air once he moved away from your lips, working his way down. Plush lips followed a slight burn of his beard, his hands were slipped under your teddy, rubbing over your waist and belly to just feel all your softness under him. It felt good, all of it. The trace of his tongue against your skin following the press of Curtis’s mouth against your bare skin, the shift of the teddy to free a breast to his seeking mouth. His hand pulled out from under the wisp of sheer fabric to cup your freed breast, sucking on your nipple and rubbing his chin against the cleavage in front of him. 

You always knew how much he loved your breasts, the way he sigh against them in satisfaction, the different pressures of his mouth making you arch and whine out his name making him chuckle against you, lifted eyes watching your reaction as he tugged at your nipple, knowing how sensitive you were under him. “You want me to take this off Curtis?” You rushed out, ready for him to pull you up to tug it off. 

“Not at all Honey. You look to fucking sexy in this for me to take off you yet.” He worked at the band of your panties with eager fingertips, dropping his calloused touch to your core, still clothed, but tracing you intimately that it made you feel a rush of excitement. “Hey Pretty Girl, tell me how you feel.” 

Your hands scratched through his short hair and clutched the back of his head. Your skin felt tingly, anticipation while he shifted down the bed while moving up your teddy. You felt sexy, wanted, turned on, all these sensations of lust and appreciated that they escaped your mind so you simply said “Yes.” 

“Yes?” Curtis questioned you while kissing along your belly, his hands pressing at your thighs to ease them apart. “Come on Honey, tell me what you want.” He traced your lower belly, biting it gently to make you squirm when you didn't answer him. 

“I want you Curtis, I wanna feel your mouth.” You looked down at yourself to see him moving to stand at the end of the bed and drop to his knees. You propped to your elbows to look at him while he kissed your feet. You had never felt so worshiped and desired. 

“Like here?” pressing his mouth on the tops of your feet, and up to your ankle with inquiring eyes looking up at you. 

“Higher.” You whisper and he works up your inside calf, flushing kisses from one side to another, his hands slid up and down your thighs, but his mouth paused at your knees. Did he feel them quiver in anticipation?

“How about here, Pretty Girl?” One inquiring brow lifted, making you sigh somewhere between frustration and amusement. Those fears of him putting his mouth on you anywhere below your breasts were forgotten at the moment. 

“That’s good Curtis, but higher.” You wanted to reach for him, but he was still too far away for you to be able to touch. He obliged though, pulling you further down the bed till your legs draped over the edge. He flushed kisses that turned into drags of his tongue, he watched your reaction. Making sure you were okay with what he was doing. 

“Honey, I want you to lift your hips, let me take these off and see you.” Curtis rumbled out, drawing out a rushed whimper from you as he folded his fingers into your panties, the gauzed material of your teddy hiding his hands from your view. You hesitated for a second, but he patiently waited with clear blue eyes catching your gaze that made you feel a rush of anticipation. You wanted this as much as he did. You gave Curtis a small smile which had his breath catching while your toes brushed against his muscled thighs and you arched your hips up, permission to drag away the last bit covering you. 

Curtis was treasuring this moment, the way your body was shivering slightly under his touch, if he had more will power, he would check in again with you, make sure you really wanted this and not just doing it to make him happy. He felt the words choke in his chest, knowing the way your ex made you bend to what he wanted. Grasping the pillow he eased it under you, making sure to let his fingertips graze along the side of your thighs while he smoothed your teddy back out. It took one look at you to make him okay with all this, your barely there pants were growing fast. You tugged at your lip, eyes never leaving him while the corner of your mouth lifted just a bit with excited energy.

He let himself linger, admiring his Honey all spread on the bed. Eyes feasting on thick curves and soft tremors of your thighs as you let them stay open. Your soft pants were building, like you could feel his gaze take in every inch you gave him. Curtis knew he couldn’t linger, sensing you were getting nervous with your choice. Another time, when you were more secure in how he felt about you, he resolved. He would take all day admiring you like this, building you up with praises in all ways he could give.

“Comfy?” Curtis checked in, lifting himself up to see you, lean over and kiss you once more. 

You arched into the kiss, all your senses buzzing for more of anything he had to offer you. “You are driving me insane Curtis.” That made him break into a grin, nudging his nose against yours while you huffed at him. 

“I'm gonna take that as a yes Honey.” Curtis grinned at you like the Cheshire cat full of secrets. 

“Hey.” You said just as he was moving away, his gaze lifting to reconnect with you, a questioning look on his face. “Merry Christmas Curtis.” 

“Merry Christmas Honey.” Curtis kissed the soft curve of your lower belly one more time before lowering back to his knees in front of you. “Just enjoy yourself Pretty Girl.” Your legs were eased over his wide shoulders and you let your head fall back, eyes closed to calm yourself. 

Your inner voice echoed and you tensed, thinking it was going to be the usual barrage of attacks. Instead, you felt warmth billow through you, those words turning into mindless nonsense as Curtis rubbed his finger through your folds to spread you and the first touch of his tongue swiping through you while he hummed deeply with satisfaction. 

You needed to grab on somewhere, the blankets fisting in your hands that you twisted your fingers into to soft fabric. You had suspected it would be better with Curtis than it was with Jake, so far everything else had been. 

But this much better? Enough to make you gasp in a whine asking for more, the way your body arched up to meet Curtis with every suck on your clit and grasp of his hands to your thighs, straining them open that much further while he devoured you with drags of his tongue against you. Every now and then Curtis would glance up to see you withering above him, sliding your hands from the bedding to rub at your breasts and down your stomach. 

It had been so different with Jake, you worried so much as he was so mechanical, quick to tongue fuck you to finish. Curtis took his time, lapping at your core to keep you weeping for him, sucking on your clit with all the right pressures that made you shake as you chased that rush only to have him back off just before you hit. It made you cry out his name in disbelief, your thighs pushing to shut around his head, hold him there, make him finish you off while his tongue finally filled you, his thumb rubbing at your clit. 

So good, so good, so good. You should say something, grinding against his face while he continued to bury his face in you. He must be a mess, his beard dripping with your arousal and his lips painted with you. Just thinking about seeing him look like he couldn't get enough of you, the hungry passionate look in his gaze, it was enough to make you cry out. Grabbing at Curtis’s head to push him closer, you came. 

Curtis felt you tense, your hands grasping his head and arching into him while you came. “Just like that sweet girl, fuck you-” He dragged his tongue back through your folds while you were still coming, squeezing around his fingers that he was fucking into you slowly to help you. “-taste so fucking good. Come on, can you give me another?” 

You went slack for a moment, your voice wavering with disbelief. “What? Another?” 

“Yeah Honey, you are so good, feel and taste so good.” He sucked on your clit, making you whimper, but you didn't push him away. “I just want one more from you and then I gotta be inside you. Can you do it, Honey?” Curtis asked you again and he wasn't surprised to hear a jumbled answer while he slipped his tongue into your wanting body. 

“Keep going and I'm gonna-” You started till he started the suggestive hungered laps, pressing your thighs wide open so you were entirely bare to him. You squirmed in place once more, any thoughts you might have had about regretting this, Curtis was sure to try and chase them away. You were beautiful, seeing you like this, arching for more and teasing yourself, the way you were drenched and mindless. Curtis couldn't get enough. He listened for your pitched moans of his name, letting him know you were there again. 

“Lemme see you, Honey.” He pulled himself up enough to kiss the rolls of your hips and the softness of your mound. “Lemme see you feel good Pretty Girl.” Another drag of his tongue over your clit and he got what he wanted, you ground against him, his chin bristles burning against your thighs while he kissed against them, holding them open while you cried out his name and arched your back off the mattress. 

When you sagged back down, he lifted himself off the floor to stretch out next to you on the bed, laying on his side, he rested his head on his arm. It was a few quiet moments while you let those two orgasms simmer through you. 

Your eyes were closed and your lips were parted slightly as you panted, he hadn't even gotten you out of your lingerie yet and already you look ruined. 

Beautifully ruined. 

Christmas morning arrived with fresh snowfall and a gleaming lake outside of the cabin's windows. Next to you, a naked Curtis was stretched out next to you, deep in sleep. It was warm and toasty in the cabin, meaning that he must have gotten up early to refill the wood stove downstairs. All across his broad back were scratch marks from where he made you come at least twice more after he went down on you. 

You could feel the heat in your cheeks as you thought about last night. Your lingerie was scattered on the floor amongst Curtis’s clothes he was wearing. Your thighs squeezed together as a good ache throbbed, stretching experimentally to see how you felt all over. 

All over, you felt good. Like you were still feeling your highs from last night. You were so comfy, warm, and loved. You didn't want to consider getting out of bed, but there was stuff you did want to do before Curtis woke up. 

Too late though, an arm stretched over you to tuck you closer. Curtis curled around you while he spooned you, burying his face in your hair. 

“Don’t you sleep in on vacation Honey?” 

You chuckled as you turned into him, brushing your hands up and down his chest and along his sides before hugging him back loosely. “I feel like I did sleep in though. I’m excited to go see the tree.” 

“Hmm, well I promise there is something under the tree waiting for you.” He muttered sleepily, slitting one eye open to see your excited expression. 

There was no hiding it for him, besides Halloween, you absolutely loved Christmas and to see the tree on Christmas morning was your favorite part. “Well, I have to also go down and put out somethings for you Curtis.” 

He scooped you closer, pressing kisses against you while you pretended to protest, really just hugging around him and arching into him. “I thought I already had my present Honey.” His words pressed against your collarbone. Your nails lightly scratched against his scalp, making him hum happily against you. 

“Well that was part of your gift, but I got you a couple more things. Small things, I promise.” 

“And you want me to let you go so you can put them under the tree?” He kissed the tops of your breasts. 

“Umm- maybe in a little bit. I’m kind of enjoying this right now.” You scratched down the back of his scalp and neck. You felt Curtis relax against you. The two of you spent a little bit more time lounging in the bed, admiring the view from the loft, and discussing how to spend the rest of the day. You wanted to be sure to call your parents and your sister’s family before the two of you went out snowshoeing for a few hours before dark.

Finally, you two rolled from the bed and while Curtis was taking a shower, you placed the gifts you brought under the Christmas tree and went through the stuff you two had brought for meals to grab some bakery fresh cinnamon rolls to heat on the wood stove, letting the slow heat melt the frosting till the buns were turning sinfully warm and gooey. Curtis came out inhaling deeply, the air was heavy with what basically reminded him of Christmas as a kid. “Honey, it smells so good in here.” 

“Ahh, coffee, cinnamon rolls, or the tree?” You asked while kneeling by the tree, fitting the gifts underneath. He approached, settling next to you and loping an arm around you in a comforting way.

“All of it. Smells like Grams kitchen with those cinnamon rolls.” He pressed a kiss to your temple, making you beam proudly at your accomplishment. 

“Well, they should be ready. Eat breakfast while I call my folks to wish them Merry Christmas?” 

“Let's do it.” He reached behind him to tug out the Santa hat from his back pocket and set it on your head. “Gotta have you looking festive.” 

You grabbed at your phone, tilted your head close to his, and snapped a few pictures of you two cozy in front of the tree. “I mean, I do look pretty cute in this hat, maybe even better than when it was on your dick.” 

That earned you a hard deep laugh, Curtis’s head tilting back and his hand slapping over his chest. It was the opportune moment to snap another picture, this one your favorite. 

“I am going to have to agree with you, Honey. You pull it off way better.” He leaned back on his hands. “I think that is our first official picture, isn't it?” 

You tilted your head in thought while setting your phone aside for now. “Actually… no, it isn't.” You shifted closer to the tree and sorted through the few packages underneath. “Here, this one is special and I can’t wait any longer for you to open it.” You handed him a lightweight box, wrapped in a soft icy blue paper that you chose specifically for the color, it reminded you of his eyes. 

“Can I shake it a bit?” He questioned and you nodded with encouragement. 

“It's like the rule of opening presents, you will never guess what it is Curtis.” 

“Well, it weighs almost nothing. I would say air but I know you better than that.” He peeled at the tape on the back, purposely taking his time till you were covering your mouth to keep from telling him to hurry it up, so excited for him to see what you had given him. 

“Curtis, you are enjoying this aren't you?” You scolded playfully while he continued to take his time, having just the box now that it was unwrapped, he held it up to his ear to give it a shake. 

“More than you know Honey.” He laughed as he finally set the box down in his lap to peel off the cover. You leaned in closer to glance down and make sure Steve’s drawing was just how you packed it. 

“What is this?” His brows furrowed curiously as he reached in to take out the charcoal drawing, studying it carefully. “Is this the train yard?” 

“Yes, it is!” You wriggled closer, trying not to say anything so he could figure it out for himself. You could see him working it out, looking at the people in the picture. 

“This is us… Honey, where did you get this?” His eyes scanned for the name Steve scrawled at the bottom along with a date. “The day we met.” 

“The bus driver, his name is Steve and he is an artist.” You couldn't contain it any longer. “We were walking around with the kids and he drew us.” 

“Wow, this is wow. I love this Y/N.” Curtis was gentle to put it back in the box to not crinkle the paper. “You had this all that time?” 

“Yeah, I saw it that day, thinking I was never going to ever see you again. Before I knew how you felt.” You fondly looked at the drawing, not noticing the focused way Curtis was watching you. “God I never would have imagined that down the road we would be here. But I saw what Steve made and I asked if I could keep it. I just love it so much and thought that maybe you would too.” 

“Honey, more than you know. This is getting framed when we get home.” Curtis was careful to put it away in the box and back under the tree before he pulled you in closer, across his lap, and in the comfort of his arms. You didn't even protest about weighing too much. Everything was just right between you two and the thought never even crossed your mind. “Merry Christmas Honey, I’m glad we did this.” 

“Me too Curtis.” You tilted in close, seeking him for a kiss in front of your Christmas Tree. 

The rest of the morning went excellent. You two shared sticky cinnamon rolls while you first called your parents to wish them Merry Christmas and then to Jade and Frank, who were currently dealing with a very excited Mary seeing everything ‘Santa’ had brought for her. Jade shooed Mary back to her presents.

Your sister looked happy with Frank, the rugged boat mechanic in a way reminding you of Curtis with his quiet demeanor while Jade took over the conversation. “When is your next week off Y/N?” 

You sucked some cinnamon frosting off your thumb while considering it. “Probably end of February? I would have to look at my calendar to be sure.” Jade gave Frank a look and he just smiled encouraging her. 

“Perfect! You and Curtis should come to stay with us in Florida for a week? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever, Y/N, and you two will need some sunshine to combat those Minnesota winter blues.” 

“Oh Jade, we can’t impose on you.” You started, and Frank was the first to cut you off. 

“You wouldn’t be. We have a guest bedroom for you guys and I know the girls would love to have you guys over.” 

Mary from somewhere off camera yelled out. 

“You gotta!” Suddenly the six year old popped on camera. “Jade has told us so much about you and Frank can get us a really cool boat.” In the background, you saw Frank roll his eyes at his niece. 

“I can try Mary, not a guarantee I can borrow it during that time.” 

“Okay, okay” Mary rolled her eyes, looking exactly like a mini Frank. “But it would still be pretty cool if you and Curtis could come to stay with us.” The little girl made a pleading look at the two of you.”Please?” 

You could feel Curtis doing his best to keep from laughing at the girl's attempts to goad you into agreeing. “How about a maybe Mary?” You asked. “It will depend on what we have going on in February.” 

Mary flashed a grin. “Okay!” She waved at you and Curtis and then was out of sight once more back to her presents. 

Jade took back over the conversation now that Mary was distracted. “Only if you and Curtis are able to. But I promise that Frank and I would love to have you.” 

“I’m sure we can figure something out.” Curtis let his touch drift along the back of your neck in a calming way. Made you want to sink into him but you managed to keep your focus on the happy couple on the other screen. “I can find out when Y/N has that time off and I can put in a request. February is typically slow for me at the yard.” 

“That's all we ask!” Jade enthusiastically stated. Mary called for their attention and they both glanced up. From where you were seated you heard Frank yip and pull up off the couch, scolding Mary for something and Jade rushed out. “I gotta go Y/N before chaos ensues. Merry Christmas Y/N and Curtis.” She gave a little wave and you said your own goodbyes before she rushed off. You set the laptop aside, letting your head rest against Curtis’s shoulder. 

“I can only imagine what Mary did.” 

He laughed in response. “Who knows, but seems like a fun household. Perhaps we will find out in a couple of months.” 

You straightened to face him, you knew he already agreed to go to your parent's anniversary. But that was all the way in August. February was weeks away and you were worried that maybe it was too soon to be introducing him to your family, what if it scared him away?

“You sure you really wanna go, Curtis?” 

You felt the pitter-patter of panic in your chest. He doesn't want to spend his time off with your family Y/N, that takes commitment. You are expecting too much.

Curtis tilted his head at the way you withdrew from him suddenly.

“Honey.” His gruff tone made you snap your attention back to him. “You are stuck up in your head Y/N, talk to me, what has you worried?” His hands enveloped around your waist, making you straddle his lap so you were facing him and couldn't necessarily hide from answering him. It shouldn’t surprise you that he picked up on you worrying about it. His fingers were soothing against your lower back, spreading his large hands flat in the small of your back. You stalled for a few moments, collecting how you wanted to approach what you wanted to say. “Say the first thing that comes to mind Honey, I want to know what your thinking.” 

“Is it too soon? Asking you to fly all the way to Florida to meet my family is asking a lot and we're still so new to being together. I mean what if they are too intense? Jade is like the outgoing loud sister and I was always the quiet one. Then asking you to use your limited time off, I don’t have the right to request you to use your free time for me.” You rambled, letting it just come out unhindered, holding back would just delay your and Curtis’s Christmas anymore than it had to. 

“You already volunteered to come to New York with me this August for my parent's anniversary, and now asking you to come to Florida as well, it just feels like I’m asking for a lot in such a short period of time.” Your hands fiddled with his flannel shirt, the little white buttons were slightly askew so you started to straighten them for him, needing to expend your nervous energy somewhere. Curts was patient, waiting until you went quiet once more.

“Honey, I can’t wait to meet your family. You’ve met mine right away.” 

“Well, Ella and Sophia live in the same town.” 

“As well as Tonya, Timmy, Grey… even Edgar that little pain in the ass. Doesn’t matter if they are right in our backyard or if they were across the country. They are my family and you welcomed them with open arms into your life. Pretty Girl, I want to know them, see those people who are important to you.” 

You considered what he said, smoothing your hands up his chest and letting your arms circle his neck. “So you really, honestly, absolutely want to go? And not just saying that to make me happy?” 

Curtis tightened his arms around you, making you press in closer against him. It made you feel secure in his embrace. “Y/N, I have always been honest with what I want to do with you. I am more than happy to go to Florida and New York with you. So be sure to check your calendar Honey and let me know what week you want to head to Florida.” 

You couldn't hide the small smile. “Thank you, Curtis, I will.” 

“Now, how about we open the last of these gifts and want to go snowshoe down to the lake?” You enthusiastically nodded and slipped from his lap, but he was quick to tug you back with you giving a surprised yelp to kiss you affectionately before letting you go again.

You took a deep breath and made your way forward, doing your best to not let your hips sway too much while making your way toward your seats about halfway down the aisle. 

Curtis let you take a few steps ahead of him before following behind. You led him to the row you booked for the two of you. Three seats cramped together, you willingly paid for the extra one so you and Curtis could have the space all to yourselves. Curtis put your onboard luggage above you in the compartment while you worked the arms of the seats up and out of the way. You were finally satisfied that the flight was going to be comfortable enough for both of you when he moved to sit next to you. He stretched out one long leg under the seat and let himself relax back, glancing at you.

“You okay Honey?” He reached his hand to clasp gently against your thigh, squeezing gently in assurance that made you smile. 

“I’m fine. Just ready to be there, you know? Flying isn’t my favorite.” 

“It isn’t mine either. Once in a while Nam sends us out for some training.” Curtis let his touch turn soothing, light brushes along your thigh to your knee. “Stay for a month in some hotel, then fly back. I hate it.” 

“When was the last time you had to do that?” You buckled in, the announcement coming up from the pilot that they were getting ready to ascend. 

Curtis did the same, counting the time in his mind. “Umm- three years. So probably about due for another one soon. Means you will get a month to yourself.” He winked and you made a displeased face. 

“What am I gonna do with myself for a whole month?!” 

“I’m sure you will think of something.” He smirked before dropping his head close to your ear to whisper. “Use those toys on yourself thinking about me.” 

You could feel the heat flush your cheeks thinking about doing just that. Curtis weaved his fingers with yours, holding your hand securely while the plane took off. Once in the air, the flight was smooth and you both passed the time reading or chatting. 

Just as Jade promised, she was there, along with a very excited little blonde girl who clung to her hand while jumping up and down. “They are here, they are here!” 

Caught up in your excitement, you ditched the heavy bag and went running up to your sister to hug her tightly since it had been so long since you had a chance to do just that. You felt like coming home when her arms wrapped around you and squeeze you just as hard as you were doing.

“I was so worried we might miss you, we had to dash in here. Parking was a nightmare” 

 Next you turned to Mary and moved more to her level, holding out your hand to greet her. “Hi Mary, it is so nice to finally meet you!” 

Mary politely shook your hand, giving a toothy grin to show off her new smile. “Look what I lost since we last skyped.” You gasped and Curtis came with the luggage you happened to ditch when you went to greet Jade.

“Oh, that is a big one. Tooth Fairy time.” You said cheerily. Mary shook her head and Jade rolled her eyes at the kid. You offer to take your bag back, but Curtis gives a slight shake of his head indicating that he was fine with your bag. 

“I busted Frank and Jade trying to sneak it out from under my pillow. The Tooth Fairy isn’t real.” 

“I swear this kid has no sense of magic.” Jade sighed at Mary.

You gave a shrug to Mary, winking. “So maybe no real tooth fairy, but hey you got a couple bucks out of it right?” 

Mary tilted her head with a nod, trying to suss out where you were going with this. “Yeah?” 

“Sounds like it's still worth pretending there is a tooth fairy, at least till you lose all your teeth.” 

“I mean… It is easy money.” Mary deducted and Curtis piped up. 

“Doesn’t get better than that kid.” 

Mary gave a firm nod of understanding, tugging on Jade’s hand. “I believe in the tooth fairy again.” 

“Ha, and here your Uncle thought he wasn’t gonna have to dish out more money for your teeth.”

She motioned towards the parking garage, the group making their way to the cars. 

Florida was the complete opposite of Minnesota, where they were having a full out snowstorm just after Curtis and you left. Florida was a sunny warm paradise that left both you and Curtis shedding out of your long sleeves and into t-shirts once more. Frank arrived home shortly after you all, sweaty, and dirty, but welcoming as he formally introduced himself. “Let me just shower and change, and I will be right down.” He pecked Jade on the forehead affectionately and escaped towards the back of the ranch style home they had recently purchased together. Jade ushered you all out into the shady backyard, showing you around while Mary exuberantly took a leap into the inground pool. 

“I see why you got this place.” You nodded towards the pool that Mary was currently splashing around in. 

“It was a selling point. Frank loved that built on garage and lot out front for vehicles and me… well the master is huge and these orange trees. Wait till tomorrow when we have freshly made orange juice.” Jade beamed proudly at the line of trees that indeed had fresh fruit ready to be plucked. “Plus there are extra bedrooms. In the future, Frank and I talked about possibly opening our home to fostering.” 

“Large garage and lot means I can bring some of my work home instead of scraping it at the marina.” Frank announced, freshly clean with a pair of light blue jeans and crisp white tee, stepping over to Jade, he gave her a more affectionate kiss to her temple. You felt so happy seeing Jade have such an affectionate partner, in some ways it reminded you of Curtis, who currently had his hand on your waist, tapping his fingers in a slight rhythm. You assumed it was partially nerves about being in a new place, but his touch was a welcome presence for you. 

“That helps, a lot.” Curtis nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah it helps me get to be here more often. I’m sure you don't get that luxury though I thought boat engines were big enough, half the time needing some kind of crane to move them out. I can’t imagine doing a train’s.” 

Curtis gave a shrug and let loose a soft chuckle. “Motor is a motor basically, but we do have some pretty heavy duty equipment. You would be shocked though, some of the parts are pretty damn small considering what it runs.” 

“Yeah well some day I wouldn’t mind seeing your operation.” Frank ran his hand along Jade’s back, grinning at her. “Sorry Babe, didn’t mean to unleash shop talk.” 

“Pfft, I don’t care.” She unwound herself from Frank. “Y/N and I are gonna go prepare the food for the grill, so how about you take your shop talk over that way.” 

Frank gave a salute, and Curtis winked at you reassuringly as he followed Frank over to the patio kitchen near the pool area. “Can I get you a beer Curtis? Jade had me pick up a bit of everything.” 

“Would love one.” You heard him say as you and Jade went into the kitchen to start prepping. Jade went into the fridge, humming in a sing song while pulling out a bowl of ground beef and veggies. “Wanna do barbecue burgers?” 

“I haven't had barbecue burgers since I left home. Yes please.” You said enthusiastically while you searched out seasonings. It was so good to be with your sister again, the two of you chatting away just like old times, giggling and laughing together. Jade started getting the burgers on a platter when she called for Frank, which he popped right in to grab them. When he left, Jade went and shut the patio door real quick. “Y/N, come’re…” 

“What?” You asked curiously while moving to the doors to peek out. 

“Look at Curtis and Frank… those two could be brothers or cousins almost.” 

There were obvious differences, Curtis was taller than Frank by several inches and more built. Frank had a nice healthy year round tan and his hair was a soft brown with hints of dirty blonde highlights whereas Curtis had his hair and beard so dark it almost looked black unless in the right light. But you could see where Jade was coming from. Their build was similar, wide shoulders and trim waists, both put off quiet, comforting demeanors.

“Guess we have the same taste in men?” You questioned as you watched the two of them talking over the grill, by the way, Curtis was laughing, you guessed it was more about mechanics which was another similarity they had. 

Jade snickered as she admired them from afar. “Well sis, I’m gonna say you have damn good taste then because Frank treats me like a queen.”

You went back to the kitchen to finish up, nodding. “Curtis does too, honestly Jade I have never felt like I was in a relationship with someone who treated me like I was an actual partner. Curtis is always wanting my opinions and encouraging me to say what I want from him. He doesn’t make me feel like I’m a project he is working on to improve, but still encourages growing together.” You paused to glance at Jade. “Does that make sense?” 

“Perfectly, you are not dating a self centered selfish asshole who criticizes you all the time. You don’t know how many times I wanted to deck Jake in the face for what he was doing to you.” 

You blinked back a few tears hearing your sister because she was right. “Oh, I'm sorry Y/N, I didn't mean to bring him up.” She dried her hands on a kitchen towel and hugged you from behind. 

“You were right though, Curtis is everything Jake isn’t. I still can’t believe I wasted so much time on that asshole.” You dried your eyes and smiled. “I’m happy Jade, probably the most I have ever been.” 

She smiled hearing you. “That's all we ever wanted for you Y/N. Someone who treats you as good as you treat them.” 

You glanced back out the window, catching sight of Curtis who happened to glance up and see you with your arms full of stuff to bring out on the patio. He immediately broke from his conversation with Frank to go help you.

After Jade and Frank got Mary out of the pool and had her go change since the evening was starting to cool off, everyone ate till they were about to bust.

“So when are you guys flying back out?” Frank asked as he settled back in his chair, and relaxed with Jade after they put the food away. 

“So we are staying here till the 13th, then Curtis and I will be going to the Ritz for a night.” 

“Oh nice, I always dreamed of going to stay there.” Jade dropped not so subtle hints and Frank dropped his head like he was in defeat. 

“You really wanna go stay there when all your stuff is here? I promise I can make this as good as the Ritz for you.” Rubbing his hands together. “Give you the best massage ever.” Jade gave a pondering look. 

“You gonna bring me breakfast in bed and let me lounge in the hot tub?” 

Frank winked. “As soon as I get a hot tub in.” 

Jade sighed. “That’s what I thought. I'd rather go to the Ritz.”  

Mary nearby was playing on her tablet when she started yawning and slouching in her chair, Frank gathered his protesting niece to bring her inside. “But I’m not tired.” 

“I know kiddo, but we are getting tired too, Jade is gonna show Y/N and Curtis their bedroom.” 

“Oh. Okay. You are so old Frank.” She grumbled sleepily, letting her head rest on her uncle's shoulder while he disappeared with her into the house.

Frank rubbed at her back while carrying her away. “Guess who gets to take care of me when I’m really old?” They disappeared into the depths of the house, making you all miss Mary’s response. 

“She is a pretty cool kid.” Curtis said, making you lean into him. “Did you hear her give me a lesson on what constellations are out tonight?” You giggled while nodding. 

“Mary is pretty awesome.” Jade smiled fondly. “The day I met her for our first outing, she outright told me that Frank thought I was pretty. She rarely holds anything back. The man just about stumbled over himself trying to explain what he said.” Jade laughed as she recalled the meeting. “Also I told her to let you guys sleep in. So don't worry about getting up too early.” 

“That’s good cause I think Y/N has been dreaming about being able to sleep in.” Curtis teased and you huffed out. 

“Well, I am on vacation.” 

Frank rejoined the get together, settling back next to Jade and letting his arm lope over her shoulders. “I’m all for sleeping in, tomorrow is Saturday.” He smirked a bit at Jade and she rolled her eyes, smacking at him. 

“Sleeping in Frank, that's all I’m planning on doing.”  Jade turned towards you and Curtis. “I forgot to tell you, later this week Frank was able to get a yacht for us to use, and he knows all the best spots.” 

“That sounds incredible Frank, thank you!” You said excitedly. 

“I got lucky, I just did an overhaul on it and the owner wanted us to have a day on it before he took it back. Want to make sure you guys wanna come back for another visit.” Frank tried making it sound like it wasn’t a big deal but it was apparent he was happy that he could show you and Curtis a good time. 

“You have already done that.” Curtis assured Jade and Frank, glancing down at you. You too seemed sleepy, your head leaning onto Curtis’s shoulder now and then and your smile got a soft kind of dopey that it did when you had a long day. “But I’m ready to call it a night. I’m beat after traveling.” 

You stretched next to him, tossing him a subtle grateful smile while pushing to a stand. “Me too, Jade and Frank, thank you so much for letting us come stay with you guys for the week.” 

“You are welcome anytime Y/N.” Jade said while Frank nodded in agreement. She popped up to hug you goodnight and then to Curtis in a quick affectionate way. “I’m sure we will be right behind you. Night.” 

You and Curtis made your way inside, quiet as you both were sure Mary must be sound asleep by now. Once in the spare bedroom, you closed the door, the ac blowing softly near the bed made the room cooler, after being out in the sunshine for a good part of the afternoon, and you were grateful to feel the cool wash over you.

“Honey, you can stay out with your sister. It’s been a while since you have visited her.” Curtis mentioned while moving to sit on the edge of the bed. You shook your head, moving to stand between his legs, his hands rubbing up the back of your thighs and giving a squeeze to your plump cheeks through the skirt you had changed into earlier that day. 

“I was ready to come to bed.” You brush your hands through his buzzed head, watching as he leaned into your touch, letting his face press against your chest. 

“Well, I’m most certainly not going to say no to you coming to bed with me.” He worked your shirt up to enjoy the soft feeling of your skin on his lips with playful kisses just under your bra. 

“Mmh, that does sound really nice.” You muttered as his hands squeezed and massaged down the back of your thighs. “And that feels really nice.” 

“Hmm.” Another kiss, moving lower than before. “How about we get in bed then and I can continue making you feel really nice.” You bit your lip while tilting your head back, enjoying all the sensations Curtis was giving you. 

“Okay, but we have to be quiet.” You pulled away to turn off the bedroom light while Curtis sprung up to start shedding off his clothes to his boxers. You worked your shirt off over your head while shimmying your hips to get your skirt to fall off.  

“I can do that, Pretty Girl.” 

You approached him, letting your hand run up his bare chest, brushing through the dark hairs that turned you on so much to wrap your fingers in his chain to push yourself up to meet him. Kissing Curtis was one of your favorite things, the way your tongues would glide together with urgency and his hands would gather you in close to him. This time he ran his palms along your back, flicking your bra off when you pulled back for a gasp for air. “You really do have to keep me quiet Curtis.” You warned, a giddy rush spiraling through you as you looked up at him. The room was not entirely dark, through the blinds some street lights cut through, letting you have a good look at his expression. 

“Honey, usually I’m trying to make you louder. I know I can keep you quiet.” Curtis said confidently, large calloused hands cupped your breasts, feeling their weight and running a thumb over your nipples to make you squeak. Curtis backed you up, making you sink onto the guest bed and shifted over you, replacing his fingers with his mouth. 

“Oh god.” You muttered, arching into his mouth while his chin scratched at your tender skin. You were starting to doubt that he could when you had to muffle a moan while your hand fell to grasp the back of his head to press him closer and the other to his chest, your nails scraping down to feel his tensed muscles holding himself over you. His groan vibrated through you, humming all the way down into your core as you arched against him, pressing your soft giving body against his solid one. 

He pushed the scrap of fabric covering you to the side to slide his fingers through your folds, his erection pushing at the front of his boxers, which he pushed down enough to give him room.

“Wrap those thighs around me Pretty GIrl, fuck I’m so hard for you that I can’t wait any longer.” You felt him heavy against you, his hips dropping to rub against you. Your hand that was against his chest reached between the two of you to rub his cock, your thighs spreading wider “Are you ready?.” He lifted his head to look at you, making you smile at his concern. 

“Very.” You pressed his thick tip against your entrance, letting him go when he started to push into your pussy, both of you failing at being quiet for a few seconds. You bit your lip, trying to muffle yourself while Curtis groaned at the sensation of you wrapped around him, his thrusts slow as he filled you. 

“Fuck Honey.” He kept his volume down, but couldn't filter out that absolute needy tone. It was such a turn on for you. “Like you were made for me.” Curtis ground against you while one of your legs loped over his waist to hold him close. 

Curtis measured his thrusts, feeling him get deeper every time. You were about to dig into his biceps, arch yourself to meet him, but he grasped your arm and pulled it over your head, grunting against your breasts he was nipping and kissing over “Let me have your other arm.” 

You traced his eagle tattoo with your nail tip before letting your arm raise above your head, his palm pinning them down together, and fingers stretching to thread through some of yours. That is when he started moving harder and faster into you. Being with Curtis could make you mindless, your soft whimpers pressed from your lips as you reached up to meet him to desperately kiss him. “I’m not going to last Curtis.” You harshly whispered against him, the bed creaking just barely covered by the whine of the ac unit nearby. 

“I didn’t want you too Honey, I’m ready for you.” Plush lips traveled to the hinge of your jaw, whispering encouraging praises. “Promise they won't hear you Pretty Girl, just let go for me, you always come so good, make me fill you up.” 

You wanted that, you wanted to feel full of him and you let yourself sink into that sensation, no more struggling to hold back. Your head tilted back into the pillows, your mouth opening as you started moaning a lot louder than the unit could muffle. His hand which had been on your hip to hold you still, went to press over your mouth, hunching him over your as his thrusts sped up, chasing his own moment. 

Your orgasm rolled in waves, leaving you tensing around him and crying behind his palm. Your fingers clutched at his to hold yourself in the moment, your eyes screwed shut for a moment till he grunted above you. “Open them, let me see you, Honey.” 

You couldn't deny him, your gaze shifted above you, focusing on the bouncing chain swaying above you. When he pressed down on you, you welcomed his weight crushing you into the mattress, his face muffled against your shoulder as his sigh of contentment was lost from anyone else but you. 

His cock throbbed in you, sinking his spend into you and making you feel full and satisfied. 

Within moments he let his hand fall from your mouth, and you tilted till you could press your lips against the side of his head where he was still smothering himself. 

His fingers loosened slowly from yours, gliding down your wrists to rub them gently, planting his elbow on the mattress he pulled himself off you, both of you sticky with sweat even in the ac cool room. “Was that okay Y/N?” He implored, eyes searching what they could see of you and you stretched under him, sliding your foot over his ass and down the back of his thigh. 

“Pinning my hands back, solid ten out of ten. I liked feeling you have control of me.” You wrapped your arms around him, rubbing your hands up his back. 

“And covering your mouth? I should have asked first, I kinda went with it.” He leaned down to kiss you before you could answer, sliding himself from you and shifting to your side. You rolled to face him, running your hand along his belly, tracing his dusting of a happy trail. 

“I didn’t mind it, I didn't think I would like that feeling, but I trust you Curtis. I know you wouldn’t hurt me and if I struggled you would have let me go.” 

Curtis looked relieved at your answer, letting his head fall to the pillow. You two were almost touching noses. “Good, I should have asked you before.” 

You pull in closer till he rolls to his back and you let your head rest on his shoulder. “Feel free to do it again.” You said making him laugh loud enough that you clasped a hand against his mouth. He wrapped his fingers around your wrist and started kissing your palm. 

“Got it filed away Pretty Girl.”

You were already prepared to go into tight-fitting rooms, with the stiff door that usually swung inwards that made you have to press up against the wall to get out of the way. But like the plentiful plus-sized sizes, the fitting rooms were accommodating for you as well. Nice wide rooms were closed off for privacy by dark curtains. Inside the mirrors didn’t dominate the entire room, but were placed along a couple walls, allowing you to look from different angles but wouldn't point out all your flaws in a menacing way. You changed, slipping on the dresses and stepping out to show Mary and Jade. 

“Okay, Mary, can you be my designer?” Jade whistled playfully, watching as you spun slowly to show them before stopping once more. “Cause that is adorable Y/N.” 

Mary looked with a cynical eye, but soon brightened up with a grin. “Told you it would be perfect.” 

You turned to look at yourself in the full-length mirror back in the dressing room. You started from the crown of your head and down, mentally looking at what you considered your problem areas. Jade saw the expression, turning hard at yourself in the mirror, your eyes flitting from place to place in the mirror. Your sister stepped into the room, letting her chin rest on your shoulder as she looked at you through the mirror. 

“I know what you're doing… don't.” Your eyes met hers and your face lightened. “You look so good, this dress was made for you.” 

“Yeah?” you asked and she nodded. 

“Of course, Mary, our fashion expert did pick it out.” Jade pointed out and Mary, now sporting a large white beach hat, poked her head in with an enthusiastic nod. “Plus wait till Curtis see’s you in this.” Jade smirked and you broke into a bigger grin.

“Alright, get out. You convinced me.” You pushed Jade out and closed the curtain, taking a softer look at yourself, instead of picking yourself apart, you admired the way your body looked in the dress. From somewhere off in the store, you could hear Jade and Mary laughing. It made your heart swell at the sheer joy you felt being here with them. Your gaze roamed up and down the dress now, lingering on the soft material dipping low for a peek at your cleavage and the material swaying slightly with your movements. It didn’t cling around your belly in that way most dresses did. Instead it flared at the bottom, giving your legs plenty of movement when you walked. Your thoughts turned towards your ex briefly, knowing he would hate this, it wasn’t sexy enough. But you were quick to force those thoughts from your mind, his opinions no longer meant anything to you. 

You loved this dress, and you could already picture Curtis telling you that if you felt good, get it. It only mattered how you felt in it. But you were also hoping Curtis would like it too.  

Curtis spent his day with Frank at the marina, getting a crash course on fixing boat engines. He found it fascinating, soaking in the differences between what he typically worked on. Frank, finally satisfied at the end of the day, said it was about time to go, the girls were probably home. 

“So what do you think? You ever want to leave that winter wonderland, you can come down here and do this.” Frank patted affectionately against the hull of what looked to be a yacht made for celebrities. 

“Well I would need some more training, but it's similar enough that I could pick up on it.” Curtis tilted his head back to look up at the massive boat, whistling softly. “She is a beaut, huh?” 

“Yeah, overpriced though. They run these things hard and are willing to pay whatever to get it fixed before next weekend.” 

“Sounds like a story I have heard before.” Curtis chuckled softly, recalling all the times Gilliam needed some engine fixed right that minute so they could push it out of the lot and free up the track for another delivery. “Sounds like you have a good thing going.” 

“It isn't bad, but I would like to go all proper one day, you know? Get a crew and be able to pick and choose what projects I take.” Frank paused at the truck, taking a glance at Curtis. “One day, right now it keeps us comfortable and with Jade’s help, we were able to buy our house. So no complaints. I am a lucky man.” 

Curtis nodded in agreement, unable to disagree with Frank’s statement. 

Pulling up to the house was a welcome sight. The change from deep winter in Duluth left him unprepared for the sunny winters Florida offered. He just wanted to shower away the sweat and grime and change his clothes. 

But all those thoughts changed as they parked in the garage and you popped the door open leading into the house, stepping out with two beers and a sundress that hugged around your waist and torso while it turned wispy around your hips. The sleeves hung off your arms, leaving you bare shouldered where Curtis just knew that if he pressed his lips there you would make that soft throaty whine telling him that you wanted more. You were glowing happiness right now, reaching them as they approached, you passed the beers off to them.

“Jade is inside, she wanted to know if you wanted to go out tonight.” 

“I’m all for it if you are?” Frank questioned and Curtis said it was fine with him. He would have agreed to just about anything to get five minutes alone with you. “Cool, I will go tell Jade. Jump in the shower whenever you’re ready Curtis.” Frank held up the beer, thanking you as he went inside. You tilted your head, listening to Mary give her uncle an enthusiastic greeting and asking him if he liked her new outfit. It made you grin. 

“That kid loves her uncle so much.” You observed and reached Curtis who was looking you up and down. “Do you like it? Jade took me to this cute boutique today.” 

Curtis rumbled in appreciation, ghosting his hands along your sides till they could settle on the fullness of your hips. The fabric was light feeling, allowing him to feel you under his hands.

“Honey, do I like it? It is a hell of a lot more than that.” He promised, blue eyes heated. You bit your lip at his suggestive nature, looking back up at him with a hint of pride and excitement raising such a compliment out of him. 

“How much more Curtis?” You let your hands rise up to his bearded cheeks, scratching lightly through the bristles to wrap your arms around his neck. Your fingers toyed with the chain resting there. You seemed to grin coyly, wanting to play with his heightened feelings. “What do you wanna do?” 

Curtis arched a brow in challenge, ready to match what you were asking. “I wanna ruck your dress around your waist and bend you over the hood of this truck.” You seem to be suddenly aware that Curtis had you backed up against the door of Frank's vehicle, your eyes widening when Curtis stepped in closer, not pressing into you as much as he wanted to since he was filthy after helping Frank all day, but close enough to keep you pinned in place. 

He didn't want to dirty you even though you made him ache. 

Your voice went wispy, almost a whisper as you let your fingers hooked in his chain glide to the front, fisting part of the chain and pendant in your hand. “Fuck Curtis, I thought you were just gonna tell me you wanted to kiss me.” 

A salacious grin popped on Curtis’s mouth while he gripped your chin lightly between his forefinger and thumb, stroking his thumb against your bottom lip. “Now Honey, you should know me well enough to know I will settle for a sweet kiss from you for now.” He tipped to place one on your open mouth. “But I will always want it all with you.” 

You shuddered under his hand, still pressed to your hip, that heated touch grew heavier on you  while he pressed his hold tighter against you, a silent promise that he would do just what he mentioned. But now he settled for those kisses. Allowing you to pull him closer, you pressed your lips to his and sought out his touch and taste to fill you. Your mouth pressed to his, moaning softly into it while you grabbed at his dirty sweaty tee shirt to center yourself while kissing Curtis hungrily.

“Careful Pretty Girl, I don’t want to dirty your new dress.” He was gentle to push himself back, making you both pant at the moment before he ran a finger along the dip in the front of your dress. “But I promise too later. How many of these did you get?” 

“T-three.” You stuttered still in surprise. 

“Ah, well Jade should take you back with my card and get you a few more.” 

You should have been ready for Curtis, he was always so upfront with you about what he wanted. But it did take your breath away at the moment, leaving your heart racing as you two went back into the house so Curtis could go take a shower and change for going out to dinner. He gave you an affectionate kiss on your cheek after greeting Jade and Mary in the kitchen before he split away to go get ready. 

Jade sidled up to your side while you busied yourself checking your wallet for cash and cards. “So, what did Curtis think?” 

You could feel your heart taking a thump at the very fresh memory. Curtis’s blue eyes were taking in every inch of you he could and his touch on your hip was almost possessive through your dress. His promise to explore made you feel good in your new dress. You were glad now you had bought all three.

“He really liked them, a lot.” You emphasized that last work and Jade grinned in victory, tugging your wallet from you.

“Told you so, and stop pretending to count your cash. I got this tonight.” She handed you a set of car keys. “You and Curtis can follow us in my car. Maybe you guys can… take a drive along the coast. Watch the sunset.” She hummed as she walked away from you. “Repeat what you two did last night.” 

You sputtered out. “You heard us?” 

Jade didn’t answer, just headed to her room to finish getting ready for the evening. 

Dinner was superb. Frank and Jade took you all to a seafood joint called Coconuts, which was located on the water with an incredible view. You all ordered seafood of different varieties, with the exception of Mary. Mary insisted on chicken tenders with a hefty helping of barbecue sauce. All of you tried bribing Mary to just take a bite, but she held out while dunking her chicken tenders in the sauce and sinking her teeth into the chicken. You had to admit, the chicken looked just as good as the rest of the food. 

Jade also talked you into partaking in a margarita, the brightly colored drink making you feel less inhibited. Your hand frequently rested against Curtis’s thigh under the table, stroking knowingly along his inner thigh, your hand accidentally bumping against the crotch of his pants while you were engaged in conversation with the rest of the group. 

A few times you felt Curtis grasp your wrist, pressing your palm right against him and you would give a promising light squeeze. The only tell tale sign you noticed in his features was the red burning up the back of his neck and the tip of his ears. Brighter than the bit of color the sun was starting to give him. Other than that, Curtis never let it be known you were teasing him under the table. 

Although he did whisper in your ear at least once that you were driving him fucking crazy while placing a rather affectionate kiss on your neck, making you feel like you were on top of the world in that moment. 

As the group left, Jade waved goodbye to you two. Curtis arched a brow in confusion while you wrapped your arm around his. “Jade said we should go for a ride. Enjoy the beach sunset.” 

Curtis opened the door for you to get in. “Well, I appreciate that. Remind me to thank her.” 

The drive led you two away from Fort Lauderdale, the GPS taking you to a little out of the way beach that was closed. Pulling into the parking lot, it was completely emptied of visitors, the sun inching its way down behind them made the ocean sparkle in its aquatic blue tingles, the waves picking up to crash on the shore. Curtis let the car idle for a moment before turning it off, opening the windows to let the ocean breeze cool you two off. 

“This is nice, I can see why Jade moved down here.” You said, Curtis tilted his head considering. 

“It is nice, Frank has a great setup at the marina. Just on the verge of becoming a widely known business with the clients he has lined up. He wants to make it all legit, get a crew on hand, start delegating it out instead of doing it all himself.” 

“Jade mentioned he was considering giving himself a business name, just wasn't sure yet of what to use.” You fiddled with your dress, smoothing it just below your knees. Curtis watched you a moment before saying your name, making you turn to look at him. 

“Honey, you look so beautiful in your new dress.” He said sincerely and that rush came back, your heart excitedly making you feel flutters everywhere. 

“Did you mean what you said?” You asked shyly, glancing around the beach momentarily. 

“About me wanting you while you are wearing that dress? Every word.” He reached down to let the seat fall back a bit to give room on his lap, patting his thigh. “Come’re Pretty Girl.” 

You undid your seat belt and carefully shifted over to straddle him. You were still hesitant to sit all the way down, but Curtis pulled you into his lap, letting his hands run up the sides of your thighs under your flowy sundress. “Jade heard us the other night.” 

Curtis hummed while rubbing at your hips and easing you to get comfy in his lap. “Well we were as quiet as possible.” Curtis chuckled as you leaned into him while running your hands against his chest. You started rocking your hips slightly and his hold eased you into a rhythm that felt good to you. Already he was straining at his jeans, sure you didn't help matters any for him in the restaurant with your touches under the table.  

“I think I’m glad they heard us.” You admitted, grabbing onto his broad shoulders for leverage. “It turns me on.” You started to grind yourself against Curtis, feeling him getting hard under you. 

“You Pretty Girl have yourself a bit of an exhibitionist kink.” He groaned out with a flash of a grin as you rocked your hips to feel him again. “Good thing because I love fucking you everywhere.”  He let his head fall back against the seat, his neck flushed with tense tendons while he helped you move on his lap. 

You felt the subtle change in him with every movement he was making to help you move, his strength making you crave more. “A first for me, always too shy to ever do anything where we could be caught.” You confessed, your pussy aching now, needing something other than what you were giving yourself. “Curtis, touch me.” You took one of his hands to move onto your breast. 

Curtis pressed his palm against you, putting pressure to squeeze and rub against your breast, tilting you to meet his mouth, kissing the tops of your swells and working the top of your dress off enough to be able to suck on your heated flesh, flicking his tongue against you till you were arching your back to get more of his kisses across your chest. Your hand grasped the back of his head to keep him close.

“You taste good Honey.” His tongue dragged over salty warm skin, bracing his hand against your back to keep you moving. “Salty and sweet might be my new combination” The tip of his tongue chased building sweat beads flicking across your skin in the heated car. The ocean breeze and the touch of his tongue on you making you shiver excitedly in his hold.

You were tempted to unbutton his blue dress shirt, let you have access to his broad chest and softer abs to touch while you continued teasing yourself in his lap. But you needed him in other ways right now and you weren’t willing to deny yourself.

Your hands fell to his pants, opening them up to stroke his cock. He hissed against your cleavage, thrusting into your hand, now matching your needs. He hooked a finger in your panties and let them pull aside so you could sink on him. You pushed up on your knees, your hand grasping his cock to press against your weeping opening. Your dress flared out around his lap, hiding away the view although you felt every hard inch of him fuck into you. 

Your pussy clenched around his cock as you eased down his length, trying to muffle your moans till he tapped his hand against your ass under your dress.

“Let me hear you Honey, it is just us on this beach. “ You trusted that he checked, had to because your eyes couldn’t pry open while all those horny sensations bled into you feeling really fucking good. 

“Curtis, oh god.” You panted out, feeling every inch of him filling you, even now it was almost too much till you started working yourself up and down on his lap, rocking your hips. You tried concentrating, “hitting me just right Curtis-” 

He was still focused on your breasts, sucking your nipples while kissing the tender spots. The sun was rapidly going down, throwing you two in the shadows gathering in the car. Curtis’s hips rose to meet you, making you cry out for more. You dug your nails into his shoulders, holding on as you rode him.

“You just keep doing this Pretty Girl, gonna make me fill you up.” 

You nodded, pushing back from him enough to buck your hips. Curtis leaned back to watch you, your hand that was planted on his shoulders was now braced against the car's roof, your head fell back to push your tits out and your hips bucking, chasing to come on his cock.

You just needed that last bit of help. You grabbed at Curtis’s hands rubbing up and down your body, shifting them to grab on your ass cheeks. “Pound me.” 

“Fuck.” Curtis sputtered hearing you demand him to go harder. He dug his fingers into your bouncing ass and took over. Feet planted and hips thrusting, you bounced on him fast and hard,  making you feel every pounding thrust he forced into you, hitting his thick tip right where it had you seeing stars and explosions in your gaze. You squeezed, sucking him into you with an obscene squelch, Curtis let go with one hand, pushing your dress up around your waist to see his cock disappear into your dripping puffy core. He gave a lewd lick to his fingertips and tapped against your clit, making you yelp at the sting but you came, gushing around his cock before sagging back into the wheel behind you. Curtis pushed you back up, leaning you forward into his chest while his thrusts turned frantic, clutching you against him like he couldn’t lose you while he finished.

“Fuck Honey, I gotta come.” 

You nuzzled against his ear, whispering for him to fill you. Your pussy clenched him every time you begged him to come in you and a whole other satisfaction filled you when Curtis shuddered in his release.

You shifted against him while he clung you to him, letting your face rub in his sweaty neck as he gasped to catch his breath, committing the taste of him to your senses. You suddenly felt yourself wanting to stay just like this, heated bodies sweat-slick from fucking while being cooled by the salty tang coming in a breeze off the ocean. Curtis was now softer under you, his hands loosened to smooth your dress over your ass, rubbing up and down the small of your back. 

“You know how you are a fan of the gray sweatpants?” 

You giggled, nipping at his neck in a kiss before answering. “The pants that make me want to go down on you every day? Yes, I’m a big fan of them.” 

“I think that’s how I feel about you in these sundresses.”

“Ahh, I know, but this is just a goodbye for now. We will skype soon. Y/N is always talking to Jade.” 

“Yeah… kinda like when I talk to Evelyn in Boston? She likes to come visit all the time for surprises.” 

“Yeah, without letting us know.” Frank grumbled and Jade elbowed him lightly. “That’s Mary’s grandmother.” Frank explained, giving a shrug as if that explained it all. 

“A lot like when you talk to Evelyn. Plus Jade was just saying about coming to stay with us.” Curtis smiled as he hugged Mary gently. Mary nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer, and went to wrap you in a big hug. Jade softly whispered to Frank, who lightened up seeing his typically closed-up niece warm up to you and Curtis. 

With final goodbyes said, you waved as Frank drove away, Curtis hugging you from behind while you gave a sigh. “I’m gonna miss them. But…” You twisted in his arms and looked up over his head. “I’m looking forward to staying at the Ritz.” 

“Shall we go check out our room?” He asked. “Fanciest place I’ve ever been.” 

“Let’s!” You unwrapped from around him and while he grabbed the bags, you held out your hand to take some but he slipped his hand in yours instead, leading you in. 

Check in was fairly quick and Curtis fidgeted in the elevator a bit. He felt out of his element having never stayed a place quite like this. You were bubbling with excitement though and that made him pleased seeing you so happy for a fancy hotel room all to yourselves. 

You ran the key card through and opened the door wide to a beautiful room with a huge king size bed that looked luxuriously piled with pillows, other seated chairs and table littered with a gift basket spotting champagne and robes. Beyond that was an open balcony with comfortable seating to face a magnificent view of Florida's white beach and turquoise ocean. “Wow” Curtis whistled softly as the door clicked closed behind the two of you. 

“Isn’t it beautiful? They have a pool, golf course and some other things if you want to check them out.” You pushed the curtains wide open and cracked the balcony door open to step out onto it. Several floors up gave you the best of views and Curtis felt all that anxiety fade away seeing how happy just being here made you. His arm settled around you and you leaned into him to enjoy the Florida sunshine that was slowly starting to fade into evening. “It’s nice to visit places like this.” 

“Yes, it is a lot different from Duluth.” Curtis observed, watching as lights sprang on across the golf course in the distance. 

“But… I am always glad to go home.” You admitted as you grasped the banister and leaned over it, looking down. Curtis let his hands slide to grasp your waist, resisting the urge to pull you back into him. “Hey, they have a mini golf course not too far from here.” 

Curtis took the chance to look over the edge to see where the course was. It appeared to be at the end of a strip of tourist shops, a large pirate ship looming among rolling green hills and water features, neon lights bouncing around it. “Wanna go play?” He asked and you nodded enthusiastically. 

After changing clothes- you into a tank top and skort, Curtis in a pair of cargo shorts and a faded tee, he ushered you out of the room without your purse, insisting that tonight it was date night and he wanted to fund wherever the night took you two. Even though you protested, he wrapped you into his hold, refusing to budge. “Let me treat my girl to a date, hmm?” You finally relented that this night was on him.  

The walk to the mini golf course was leisurely. The crowds of people bypassing you and Curtis in their rush to be somewhere else made for interesting people watching. You both were all about just enjoying the slowing of the day, how the night was slipping in its place, hand in hand you two strolled along the street. Curtis soaked in the bustle of the city's tourist area, shops opening their doors for people and nearby the scent of food sizzling made him pause, you drawing ahead of him for a second till you felt his hand tug against yours. “You hungry, Honey?” 

Your quizzical look softened into a smile, catching what had made him pause. “Yes, I could eat.” 

A nearby taco truck had a small line and you both stepped behind the last person waiting, glancing at the menu board. Stepping up, the person leaned against the truck's counter, pen in hand. “What can I get you two?” 

Curtis cleared his throat while studying the board. “Can I get a couple of the carnita tacos? Along with a corona.”

While he pulled out his wallet, you went ahead with your request. “Shrimp tacos with extra lime wedges and one of your margarita specials please.” 

“Sure.” He eyed the two of you and must have deemed you both of age because he rang up your total and shouted out the order. You both were handed your drinks, yours in a paper cup for easy disposal and Curtis requested more lime wedges, fitting them into his bottle of Corona till they floated in the glass bottle. 

The smell of the seasoned meat sizzling made Curtis stomach rumble, making you laugh as he groaned with want. You hugged around him, nuzzling against him affectionately. “Did we eat lunch today?” 

“I don’t think so. Why I’m starving.” He huffed against your hair, his hand rubbing down your back to lightly grasp your ass through your clothes, making you muffle a whine against his chest. 

“For food Curtis, you're starving for food.” You poked playfully at his ribs while you two hovered out of the way but still near the truck for when their food was finished. 

“I can be starving for more than one thing.” He grinned just as his name was called. Untangling from you, he went to get the tacos while slipping a tip in a jar near the register. The tacos were carefully set in paper trays, enabling you two to continue on toward the mini golf course while eating. 

You carefully grasped your taco, the flour shell still warm while the slaw drizzled partially on your hand, making you lap it away. That first crunchy bite, the slaw a fresh burst of veggies mixing with the sizzling grilled shrimp and bite of cilantro lime salsa. It was heaven, you closed your eyes and paused as you chewed slowly, savoring the flavors. 

Watching you enjoy your food, the pleasured look in your features, Curtis mentally labeled that as one of his favorite moments of this trip. You were totally in the moment, your face a look of bliss showing that you were thoroughly appreciating. No worries of being seen by others, or preparing to throw half of it away, claiming you were full when he knew you really weren’t. When your eyes slipped back open, you caught him watching you, giving an embarrassed little grin while swiping at your lips. You held up your last bite of the first taco in your tray, offering him the bite. “Lemme try yours.” You said and he held out his tray for you to take his after he took your last bite from your fingers. “These are so good.” 

“We could start making these at home.” Curtis agreed as he washed his last few bites down with the icy cold corona. “Although they won’t be as good as food trucks while we are on vacation.”  

Arriving at the mini golf course, you were feeling giddy while you two grabbed your balls and putts. There were a few other couples and kids scattered around the course, but otherwise being mid-week it seemed fairly quiet. Dropping your ball, you shook your hips while situating yourself up to shoot towards the first hole, just getting it between two pools of water that had octopus tentacles coming up through the pools.

“Easy shot.” You challenged with a glance over your shoulder. Curtis smirked back at you, leaning against his putt while watching you. The hat he was wearing to help with the sun was now slipped backward, letting you see his eyes assessing every move you made. 

You stalled a second, the fuzziness that the margarita made you feel overpowered by the idea that maybe he didn’t like you teasing like this, that you looked ridiculous shaking your hips the way you were with the way he had his slight scowl. But his gaze went up your body and he gave a deep sigh like he was refocusing himself. “That might be an easy shot but fuck, Honey.” His eyes glanced around the small park warily before settling back on you. “I don’t know if I can keep my hands to myself till we get back to the hotel. Do it again.” 

That negative worry from earlier dissipated, it was game on at that moment. “Guess you are gonna have to really focus on the game.” You let your hips shift again and an audible groan came from him. 

“Yeah, focusin’ on somethin’.” 

You took your shot and the ball whizzed wildly down the green grass path to putter into the hole, making Curtis give a clap of his hands in congratulations while he dropped his ball in place. “Easy shot for you too.” You assured him, making sure to step away to watch him. Curtis, as always, fell all into the moment. His legs shifted his weight back and forth to center himself, all while taking easy measured strokes trying to gauge where to hit the ball. In those moments, you let yourself appreciate how he looked with taunt muscles in his back flexing beneath his shirt, pulling at the corner of your lip while your eyes mapped the way his tee tightened in his shoulders and down his muscled back. 

Sure he was every bit of a relaxed looking tourist with the backward NASA baseball cap, some tee shirt Jade bought him with a ridiculous saying about how he got his crabs at Dirty Dicks, a popular restaurant in the area, to khaki cargo shorts that almost looked dark against his very pale legs that were hidden for months by long pants in Minnesota. To you though, he looked sexy and that little tingle of anticipation built in your belly. A clenching need that you knew Curtis would much appreciate. 

Of course his ball whizzed right in, making him pump his fist in victory, a grin on his face as he looked over his shoulder at you. 

The competitive side flared in your belly, making you sidle up to him. “Wanna make it interesting Curtis?” 

His arm slung back comfortably around you as you two made your way to collect the balls and go to the next hole. “I’m listening.” 

You strolled onto the next spot, unweaving from his hold to face him. “You win… you can do whatever you want to me tonight.” His brows shot up in interest. “I win, the same goes for me.”

“I’m winning, Honey.” He assured you after hearing the prize and you wiggled your brows at him while dropping your ball at the next hole. 

“I’m gonna make you work for it.” You aimed your shot, now focusing more than ever on the next obstacle. This one proved to be harder but you took a couple shots and finally got it in. Curtis, having taken this bet pretty personal, managed another hole in one. 

You two spared back and forth, trying to best one another but you both stayed so close in points. At the last hole Curtis was ahead… by one point if your calculations were accurate. 

It was almost nerve wracking at this point. One hand if you won, you got to pick how your evening played out, but that was almost daunting. You always tried to pick out what your partner would like. You know if you did win, Curtis would absolutely insist on doing whatever you wanted to do, no matter what.  

It was enough to waver your hand on your putter, quiver in anticipation and anxiety as you wracked your mind trying to decide how to take this shot, let it swing wildly away from the hole or actually try and sink it. What would Curtis want? 

“Hey…” His hand rested against your back while you exhaled all that energy. “You got this. Take the shot.”

You smiled at him, letting your worries melt away at that moment and let your putter hit the ball, which almost seemed like it was gonna swing away from the hole. But it swung closer, following the tilt of the course and zipped right in. 

“Well fuck, Honey, no way I can beat that.” Curtis sighed as if in defeat, but the crinkle in the corner of his eyes and the barely their proud grin showed. He let his ball bounce at his feet, positioning it with his toe. “But damned if I’m not gonna try.” Curtis made a show of angling himself just right and hit. His ball did the opposite of yours, wildly flying and bouncing right off the course, making him groan and you laugh as you looked in the deep pool of water it landed in. 

“Gone.” You twirled to face him, biting your lip. “I win.” 

“Mmhh, you did Pretty Girl.” His hand was warm as it cupped your cheek, a thumb dragging against the corner of your mouth. You took it as enough incentive to bite gently onto the tip of his thumb, sucking his thumb enough to twirl your tongue around it. “I hope you got some ideas for me.” Right now your mind was going blank of thoughts, staring up at lust blown eyes almost black with just slivers of blue, his warm skin heated and an earlier sunburn across his face was starting to fade, making all his freckles stand out that much more. “Fuck the things you can do with that mouth of yours Pretty Girl.” His hold tightened, catching your tongue from its swirling motion. “Save that for later. Come on, let’s get out of here.” 

When his hand moved, reaching to grasp yours, you eeped a yup and followed him out of the mini golf course park. The walk back to the hotel was much more rushed, now a real destination in mind. It seemed like the hotel was so far away, but before you could comprehend where you two were, Curtis was pinning you in the elevator, kissing you hungrily while you clutched at him, trying to keep up with his energy. You ended up tilting your head back against the steel wall while he pressed a palm against one of your breast and muttered how fucking hot you were taking those shots earlier. Your hand shot up, nails scraping through the short buzzed hairs and grasping the back of his neck to pull him into a tongue tangling messy kiss, panting against each other as the elevator door finally opened and you both tumbled into the hallway, groping at each other while making it to the door. 

The way you were acting you would think the two of you were horny teenagers unable to have any control. Somehow you worked the key card into the door while Curtis ran his hands all over you, sliding under your tank shirt and giving a pull to your nipples, making you sag against him while closing your eyes, groaning. 

“Do it again Curtis.” You muttered as the door clicked open and he rumbled a chuckle against your neck as he sunk his teeth in your skin, tasting you with his tongue. His fingers twisted a nipple, making you hiss at the borderline pleasure and pain. With a gentle nudge behind you, Curtis got you in the room and door locked. 

In the dim outside light streaming into the room, you turned to see him stalking towards you, catching you up in his hold once more to back you to the bed till you stumbled back on it and he followed you, careful to hover over you while he made you breathless in his kisses, his hips pressing to yours where you could feel his cock hardening. “Now… You get to pick what you want.” He drew away, hands planting against the mattress to lift himself up. 

“Um- what do YOU want Curtis?” You countered, moving up to your elbows to prop yourself up. 

“Nu-uh Pretty Girl.” He smirked, dragging a finger along the curve of your face. “You won, fair and square.”

“You let me win.” You muttered with narrowed eyes, making him grin without even denying it. Instead he swooped back in, catching your lips with his, drawing out a needy moan. Your mind raced as he continued kissing and nibbling on your neck, his hand still cupping a breast and teasing your nipple through the fabric. How were you supposed to think when all you could do was feel his weight pressing heatedly against you, the hot touch of smooth lips and tongue that were followed by the bristles of his beard flaring your skin. His hand made you arch into him, dragging your nails down his upper back and press him down harder while you whimpered for him. “Curtis, fuck I can’t think right now.” 

“Mmh Pretty Girl, you are not supposed to think Honey.” A nudge of his nose behind your earlobe before his lips skimmed the shell of your ear. “What do you feel like? Riding my cock? Worshiping you? Bending you over? There is a nice balcony outside.” 

Those all sounded good, but your mind swirled with the thoughts of his beard buried between your thighs, those vividly blue eyes staring up at your body while you withered against his mouth. Heat raced up your body at the thought, so sinful in your mind but you hadn’t let him do that since Christmas Eve to you and just the thought made you tingle with desire all over. “I know what I want.” You whispered out, making Curtis push up enough to look down at you, waiting for your answer. You felt shy, biting on your lip as you tried to say what you wanted. You knew he enjoyed it, craved it as he admitted he enjoyed oral with his partners when you first started dating. There was still that touch of self-doubt that you weren’t small enough for it. His hand swept through your hair, grasping enough to tilt your gaze up to meet his own. 

“Come on Pretty Girl, tell me what you want me to do, let me worship you.” 

Worship, you always felt that way with him. It was like Curtis couldn’t get enough in the months you two have been together and it was so easy to give him this you found, it made him so satisfied to take care of you. You eased up, that worry taking a backseat in your mind the more confident you became at the moment. Curtis patiently held himself above you, just waiting for whatever you wanted. 

“Taste me.” You slid a finger against his mouth which he kissed your fingertip while arching his brow, studying you to see you were serious. 

“Anywhere?” 

You gave a nod and Curtis pushed up to a stand, shedding his shirt. “Honey, I’m gonna need you out of those clothes, now.” 

You pushed up to your knees on the bed, shifting over to the edge of the bed where he was standing, working his belt open. You grabbed the leather, pulling it out of the loops and dropping it on the floor, admiring the swirls of ink across his chest in a pattern that made you heated. “Yes Sir.” You muttered as your fingers explored across quivering abs and muscled pecs dusted with hair. Another movement had you stepping off the bed, standing before him while your fingers traced up a toned chest, making his muscles twitch at the sensation of your touch.

You sensed the change in him, the quirk of a dark brow and inquiring eyes. “You being a minx tonight Honey? Sir?” Wrapping your fingers into his chain, you levered yourself to your toes, nipping on his mouth, asking, begging for him to let you in. 

“You got bossy, I got obedient.” You whispered just before you pressed your lips to his and a sharp hunger seemed to overtake Curtis. Tongue plunged against yours and a heavy groan emitted from his chest in that kiss. Hands started to get frantic against each other. Your hands started to tug at his button and fly, working his cargo shorts open and there was a sharp ripping sound of where your tank top strap popped its seams, making you giggle against his lips. 

“It was in my fucking way.” Curtis didn’t even apologize while you broke away, tugging off the rest of your clothes while he did too. You just lost the last of your clothes when you felt his hands envelope around your waist, hands gliding your curves before he backed you into the hotel's balcony glass window, the solid feel making you arch off the slightly cool chill at your back, looking up at him wide eyed. “You gave me a real sweet taste on Christmas Eve Honey. But I’m starving now, I’m always gonna want more.” 

His tone, the way he dropped his gaze to look down your naked body when he used his name for you made a fire swirl in your belly, pinprick your skin, and flare your nerves till you felt frayed. So simple, just with his words you were turned on. Your cunt already wept, slicking your folds and you had to rub your thighs together, trying to alleviate yourself before the two of you even started. “I- uh- fuck.” You muttered, stuttering over your words at the intensity bristling in the air between you. You felt so naked and exposed before him. 

And Curtis looked at you like he couldn’t wait to taste every inch of you, flaws and all. 

“You said taste anywhere I want?” He softened as he stepped in closer, his cock pressing against your belly and he let his hands cup your face. “Right here first.” His tongue trailed along your parted lips, nipping the corner of your mouth while you gasped softly, Everywhere his body pressed against yours was hard and unrelenting against you. Like he was trying to mold you against him. 

Until he shifted to the curve of your neck, this time his teeth sinking in enough for a hint of pain to make you gasp and arch, rubbing against him. Your hands couldn’t stop touching him, fingers brushing along his back, finding the dips of shifting muscles. You would dig in, making him curse against your skin at the pleasure it brought. Where he bit you, his tongue soothed it away with praising murmurs. 

“Fuck Sweet Girl, you know I’m addicted to you?” His hands settled on your hips as he flowed down your collar bone. You dug into his shoulders, arching once more to your toes with a slight whimper escaping while this man lowered to his knees before you again, looking up at you like you were a goddess. 

He didn’t seem to notice the low hang of your belly, the stretch marks that marred your skin from being pristine and perfect, the way rolls pulled on your sides and dimpled your skin. Instead he was worshiping at your breasts, once more letting his teeth claim you, marking you as his while his hands felt you, sliding along the back of your thick thighs to dig his fingers into the globes of your ass, press you into him that much more. 

A man starved, his groans of appreciation mingling with your sighs and whines. Curtis kissed on your hips, rubbing a bristled chin against the folds leading to your pussy, his blue eyes so heated that you felt yourself melting, turning into a puddle and if he wasn’t holding you up against the glass, you just knew you would be on the floor. 

It was so intense, so wanting and Curtis paused a moment from teasing you to press his face against you, pressing his forehead against the fullness of your lower belly and nose in the curls on your pussy, your hand brushed through the buzzed hair on top of his head, biting your lip to keep from saying anything. 

Even now you felt the need to apologize for what you thought were your imperfections. His back expanded slightly from his inhale before he lifted away to look up at you. “Nothing will ever make me harder than being able to see you like this, Honey.” 

“Like what Curtis?” You whispered while his hand cupped the back of your thigh to lift your leg up to a powerful shoulder, draping your calf over his back. 

“Open, free, unafraid to let me be with all of you.” He let his tongue sear over the top of your mound taste your folds. He hadn’t even properly tasted you and you could feel the quiver of your spine threaten to weaken. Curtis must have felt the slight waver in your body because his grip tightened and his shoulders tensed that much more, a solid force under you. 

“Fuck you taste-” Curtis groaned into your aroused body while his tongue worked to a more intimate spot, teasing your clit with sharp laps with the tip of his tongue and slow pulls of drawing it between his lips, teasing you all that much more. 

You let your head tilt back to bang lightly against the glass, breathing heavily while you palmed a breast, pushing and pulling your softness to appease the burning in your veins. A hand pushed harder against your thigh, spreading you wider apart so he could bury his face in against you. 

You caught your balance with a hand to the back of his neck, tightening your leg hooked over his shoulder. “Don’t stop.” 

Somehow he pressed in closer, starving as he drank your arousal, filling you with his tongue. You could have sworn he growled against you, claiming he wasn’t ever planning on stopping. Not only were you feeling every touch, Curtis kept groaning and moaning against you while his fingers and tongue worked you into a desperate frenzy.  Needing and wanting more, it was stealing the air from your lungs. The sensation of his fingers filling you, pressing alongside his tongue, you finally gave a shuddered cry out.

“Curtis!” Your nails scraped at the back of his head, trying to grab on. It resulted in pushing him closer, riding his face as you ground against him. His beard was prickly against your sensitive core, but slipping in the slickness coating you. 

“Just give me one on my tongue, Pretty Girl.” Curtis pulled away to take a deep breath, the outside lights making his jaw glisten from you. “I’m so fucking hard for you right now that I can’t stand it much longer.” 

One, you could give him one. You gave a jerky nod as his hopeful gaze turned sinfully feral. His teeth bared hungrily for a second. You had never been more turned on seeing a man. None other had ever gone to your feet, not like this.

“Let me hear you come, Honey.” 

It wasn’t hard to give that to Curtis, not with the way you went mindless, lost in all the sensations this moment was bringing you. 

You couldn’t go higher, yet you did. Soaring couldn’t even describe the sensation you were riding. You were soaring, the glass now vibrating against your back as you once more pushed back against it with a bang, your head tilted back to look at the heavens while Curtis brought you there. 

When you came, it was a sharp plea to catch you. Curtis wrapped arms tight around your hips as he drank you down. Curtis eased you through it till you were pushing at his forehead, your tongue unable to make the pleading words for him to stop. But he didn’t need them. 

Easing away from you, he sat back enough to give you space, letting your thigh ease off his shoulder and you sagged against the window. “Your turn, Curtis.” 

His hand swept up and down his heavy cock a moment while he kept you pinned against the glass with his other. “Honey, you’re shaking still, let’s take a moment.” 

You pushed against him to pry yourself off, leaning down to slide your tongue over his lips to claim him, pulling a hungry groan from him and a stutter in his touch on himself, having to fist his hand around himself. “Outside Curtis, there is another balcony railing and I’m going to need to be muffled.” 

Curtis snapped away, his hand moving off himself to grasp gently around your throat and slowly raise up to a stand, keeping you in his secure hold while you followed him on shaky legs. You craved another taste of his mouth, laden with traces of you. His mouth was so close you could feel the barely there touches passed between your lips. 

“Honey, you know me so well already.” His eyes were fiercely expressive. Brimming with possessive lust and need. “But I’m not keeping you muffled.” 

When Curtis brought you outside with all the city's bright neon lights shining below, he bent you against that railing and you had never been more glad to win a game. 

“Just one more? I promise to be easy.” His tone was laced with something primal, while you stared up at the hotel's ceiling trying to catch your breath, you gave him a nod. 

“One more Curtis… maybe. I don’t know if I can.” You let your hands fall between your thighs, rubbing over his buzz cut and down along his jawline. It was soaked, all from you. His mouth pressed against your inner thigh, easing kisses up and down the quivering muscles. 

“Last one then I will stop.” 

You still felt the quiver in your legs, from the way he was somehow able to fold you in half on your last night here. The very memory of it made you bite your lip to stifle a giggle and hide your face in a pillow for a moment while all those emotions of disbelief at your boyfriend’s persistence washed over you. Ever since that first night that you picked what you wanted from him, he had been unable to stop touching you, like he couldn’t get enough of making you orgasm. Curtis wanted more of you telling him what made you feel good.

You’ve never felt more tired and satisfied in your life.

Once the giddiness passed, you used your aching legs to help roll yourself to your back and prop yourself up on your elbow to look around the room. 

The bathroom door was ajar enough for you to see Curtis drying off after stepping out of the shower, his back flexing with deep red marks lacing down his shoulders in wild flares. You felt your cheeks heat when you saw your gouges on him, your own wild side loving the view of your marks all over his back. 

You were glad you insisted on a couple days just the two of you. From the bathroom, Curtis wrapped the fluffy towel around his waist, stepping out quietly till you wiggled your fingers at him in greeting. 

“I didn’t wake you did I?” Curtis asked as he made his way back to the bed. You gave a shake of your head as you pushed up some more, fully stretching. “I tried to be quiet to let you sleep in.” 

“No, you were plenty quiet.” You smiled up at him. “How was your shower?” 

“I swear to god Honey, we need that set up.” He kept the towel wrapped around him while he sat on the edge of the bed. “The water pressure was great, worked out any lingering tension I’ve been carrying.” 

You leaned back to let yourself admire his back, from the hot water and scratch marks it was a heated red that was fading to his slight tan he was sporting. He was right though, the usual knots in the top of his shoulders were gone. 

“Maybe it’s time for a new hot water heater at home?” You kissed against one of the freckles that was still visible on his shoulder before you shifted around to sit next to him on the edge of the bed, thinking you should go check out this magical shower. 

“You know what, maybe I will.” Curtis looked thoughtful, shifting back on the bed to lean against the headboard, lounging comfortably. “Be the best shower you ever had, I could expand the shower in that upstairs bathroom, make sure you never want to leave.” His smirk grew suggestive, his blue eyes flashing with intent on what he planned to do with you. 

You let your head loll back on your shoulders to stretch, humming out a reply. “I would really like that since my apartment’s sucks.” Glancing back at him, the white towel still strung tightly around his waist, you unashamedly admired the scene before you. 

Curtis was relaxed, bare chested that let you take in the tattoos scattered across his muscles that sported the trail of dark hair you loved exploring so much, long legs stretched out across the bed and the way he was lounging was giving you ideas. “That building has seen better days, Honey.” He continued with his train of thought while your filthy mind started to run with its own thoughts, prompting you into action. Your desire to shower completely forgotten for now.

 Shifting on the bed to your knees, you started shuffling up the bed, sliding your hands against his hair covered muscled calves, biting your lip suggestively while spreading his legs apart. 

You sensed when he was aware of what you wanted, there was a shift in him. Completely forgetting about the magical shower, you glanced up at him to see all his focus on you. What once made you feel almost intimidated now sent a thrill through your chest that settled in your belly, making your toes curl with anticipation. To have this kind of power over this man, it was a rush that you never wanted to end. 

His eyes were sharply narrowed at you kneeling between his knees, heated and wanting while he checked you out, the front of your sleep shirt draping open from where you hovered over his thighs. Curtis made no efforts to hide the way his gaze slid to your breasts and then back up to your partially open mouth. His hand lifted to cup your face, graze his fingers along your cheek while tucking strands of your hair back away from your face.

“Honey, you always have such a pretty mouth, especially when its stuffed full of my cock.” 

His thumb dragged back to your lips, dragging the pad over your full lower lip. Unable to resist the temptation his touch was, you drew it into your mouth, swiping your tongue over the calloused tip, a promise of what you wanted to give him. What you didn’t expect was his fingers to close over the lower half of your jaw and pull you closer till his face was in yours, your eyes wide in surprise at how easily he closed the distance between you two. Your hands moved to brace against his towel covered thighs, hating that terry cloth feeling when you could be touching just him. It made you whine around his thumb while your eyes lifted to look in his. 

“You already know Pretty Girl I’m not gonna say no.” A muttered heated brush of his lips against your forehead was such a romantic gesture amidst the very sensual energy filling the space between you two. 

You couldn’t help the little smile you gave after he released his hold on you, letting you sit back up while he let himself lean back into the pillows, still propped up enough to watch you and touch you easily. 

Seeing him all stretched out and you got to touch him, loving that you now knew intimately what he felt like in your hands and your mouth, you couldn’t pick which way you preferred. Moisture pooled along your tongue, anticipating feeling his heavy length and work him till he released on your tongue. 

Giving oral was always a favorite of yours, giving over that power to your partner. Sometimes though you wondered if they ever got sick of you doing this, were you doing it to often that it actually wasn’t a rush of excitement for him that it was for you. Already your thighs were getting sticky with slick, the thought of going down on Curtis’s thick heavy cock making you want to be fucked.

“Does it ever…” Your hands exploring along his thighs under the towel. He was so tense in your touch, you held out from untwisting the towel to open, but already you could see the tented cloth, your hands hidden from view but they wrapped around his cock. “Feel like the same old same old to you?” 

“Where did that come from? Fuck no, Honey I want you to touch me whenever you want. If I don’t want something, I will be sure to tell you.” Curtis scowled in surprise at your question. Tugging the towel open, his hand wrapped around yours, easing you up and down his cock. As much as you enjoyed watching his face ease at the sensations building, you had to look down at his cock, so thick in your hand, still amazing you that he was aroused because of you. 

His hand just dropped away, fisting into the hotel sheets while you took over. Curtis, in your opinion had a cock you couldn’t stay away from. Thick in your hold with rigid veins throbbing, slight curve lifting towards his abs, a wide tip that even now pearly drops threatened to go to waste if you didn’t do something. 

Your excitement rose, making him have to lift his hips up to chase your warm hands around him or the jerk of his cock when you let your tongue swipe for a taste of him. You let your tongue hang out enough for him to see the pearly white droplets disappear into your mouth, warm and salty, you hummed with a look of satisfaction. 

“Fucking hell woman.” Curtis sputtered, making you smirk while you kissed his tip, teasing him while your hands continued jerking him. It was Valentines Day, least you could do was give him a show. “I could never get tired of this with you.” 

“I asked because I don’t want you to get bored of what I’m doing.” You answer his question between drags of your tongue on the underside of his cock, following one particularly throbbing vein that had him his cock jerking and him twisting at the sheets a bit more. You were glad these were nice expensive sheets, they held up alot better than others had when you were doing this to Curtis. 

“You could do this everyday for the rest of my life, Pretty Girl and I would still not be bored with it. If you ever think I am, kick my ass please, because what you do with your mouth makes me feel so good.” His head banged back against the headboard with a guttered groan, his eyes closing and his jaw clenching momentarily. “So fucking good.” 

You could feel heat creep up your neck and burn your face all while looking so happy and turned on. Your hands slow down as you hover close to him, inches away from pushing Curtis down your throat. “This is my favorite you know? Swallowing you makes me so…” You never finish before your lips are stretching over him and you eased him deeper each time you withdrew with flutters of your tongue teasing him. 

“Fucking turned on, I know. Another reason I love when you give me head, it makes you so wet and needy Honey.” He grunted out while fisting his hand into your hair, pushing and pulling you a little harder than the last time you had done this and you gave up the control. Now he lifted his hips with each push of your head and you gripped his thighs to hold onto something while trying not to gag when his tip pushed against the back of your mouth.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” You heard him pant with each push and pull. Your eyes lifted to see his chest heaving, all his muscles rippling with the effort to hold off. Tendons stood out sharply on his neck while his jaw clenched before some part of him let go cause he was forceful pushing you down the length of his cock, a hand wrapping around your neck to feel him pulsing there and he released. 

Thick heavy spurts you had no choice but to swallow until he loosened his hold and you could pull back.

“Fuck” You heard him groan one more time. Easing back to sit back on your heels, you swiped your tongue around your lips and gulped in air while giving him a grin, happy to see him still trying to recover. When you started making your way to the edge of the bed, Curtis suddenly grabbed at your arm, stopping you from getting up. “Where you going Honey?” 

You smiled, while looking over your shoulder. “Just go get cleaned up Curtis, I promise to be right back.” He didn’t give you a chance though, instead you were dragged back into the bed at his side while he reached behind him for the box of tissues the hotel offered on all the nightstands. 

“Just a minute Honey, please?” Curtis was sure to ask as you wiggled back comfortably next to him. “I just… need a few minutes with you before you disappear.” 

You should have known better, Curtis always held you after sex and this was no exception for him, the man craving the connection and intimacy after the rush.

“Of course Curtis.” You snagged a few kleenex before he tossed the box, wiping around your mouth and chin. Curtis was patient enough to let you finish before he was tugging you against him again, wrapping an arm around you. You snuggled in, your head resting on his bicep as you rolled to your side to face him. “Do I still look a mess?” You knew you did, your hair hadn’t even been brushed yet, you haven’t had a chance to wash your face or brush your teeth. Curtis let his hand brush through your hair, giving a grin. 

“Fucking sexy as hell with the ‘I just woke up and went down on my man’ look. Sorry if I yanked on your hair more than usual.” He massaged his fingers against your scalp. 

“You didn’t, I like it when you do that.” You nuzzled in his bicep before pulling up to lean against his chest and trace the intricate eagle across his pec. “How do you feel about flying home today?” 

“Noted” He muttered as you felt Curtis sigh, a satisfied one, like he was still riding the high you gave him. “Mmh, good about it. As much as I loved our first big getaway, I’m ready for home.” You slid your touch away from the eagle and went to tangle in his chain, playing with the pendant between your fingers. Home, it really did feel like home now. You couldn’t wait to get back to see everyone. Settle back into Curtis’s place and your apartment. “How about you, you ready to go back to Duluth?” 

You smiled up at him and nodded. “I think I really am, I was just thinking about it and it actually feels like home. More like home then Lake George did those last few years I was living there.” 

Curtis let his touch drift, tracing patters against your back. “Honey, why did you think I was going to be bored of having sex with you?” 

You should have known this was coming, you had sprung it out of nowhere at him. Giving a little shrug, you looked up at him, refusing to shy away from the question, especially knowing that he would draw it out of you eventually. “Because I don’t want being with me to ever feel like something you have to do. I know I don’t feel that way, but if you do, I want to know. I just don’t want to become blindsided one day by not doing enough, or being adventurous enough for you. That you need more then I am willing to give.” Curtis hand stopped the patterns on your back, his palm heavy against the small of your back. It radiated a sudden tension in him. “Did that happen to you before me?” He asked softly and you nodded. 

“Jake…well, he claimed he was frustrated that we were so boring in bed, same old, same old. He was a mess when he told me, asking for forgivness and stupid me, I did. I really thought we could figure it out, but I look back on it all now, the signs were there, I just chose to ignore them hoping it would change for us, that I could be enough for him to love me.” You give a small smile, reaching up to smooth your fingers over the wrinkles in Curtis’s forehead to smooth them out, he was being quiet for now but you could feel the sharp rise of his anger towards your ex. “But with you, it’s different. You want me to be open and honest about what I want from you. Just like I want to give you those same things, I want to hear what you’re thinking, if you are satisfied and feeling seen from me.” 

Curtis was silent a moment, seeming to process what you said. You started to wonder if you finally shocked him, went too far finally. 

“Honey, let me just be super blunt right now. I love all of it. Fuck if we just did missionary for the rest of our time, I will love the fuck out of it. We want to explore some kinks? Lets look them up and try them out if we are both comfortable with it. But, I am never going to get tired of anything we do Pretty Girl. Some days will be better than others, that’s just the normal, but that won’t mean I’m bored of you.” He went quiet again, resuming his hand rubbing warmly against your back. “I want us to start talking about it in moments like this.” 

You looked at him confused by what he meant. “Like this?” 

“Yeah, it’s just you and I in bed together, we’re intimate here, there is no need to feel like either of us can’t voice our needs or wants like this. No one is going to interrupt this time for us.” Curtis smirked a bit, grasping your chin and easing you up enough to place a kiss on your mouth. “What better time to really talk about it then when we’re cuddling?” 

Thinking over what he said, it did make sense. These moments, both of you were feeling nothing but relaxed and open with one another. You also had learned that Curtis very much was a physically affectionate person, cuddling was one of his natural go to’s, so there was plenty of moments for you both to practice this. 

“I can do that.” You nodded and then settled back in close so your body was pressed in close, feeling warm and content right now. The shower could wait till later.

The airplane ride went smooth, as could be on a holiday. Thankfully quickly you both were settled in your seats, Curtis seemingly much more relaxed this time than the ride to Florida. You suspected that the morning spent enjoying the hotel room before checking out and the promise that they would be back home was making him have an easier time. While seated, you were sending one last goodbye to Jade, informing her that you two were just about to take off back to Minnesota when you felt Curtis set something on your lap.

“What’s this?” you asked as you took in the medium sized box on your lap. 

“Part of your valentines gift Honey.” Curtis said while stuffing his carry on back into the overhead. 

“Valentines gift? I thought we weren’t going to do that.” you curiously pulled the ribbon on the box in your lap, unable to hide the excitement in your expression while Curtis settled back next to you. 

“Well, I wanted to celebrate anyways, and this is as much for me to enjoy as you.” He dipped his head to kiss your shoulder affectionately before gesturing towards the box. 

You removed the ribbon and paused before opening the box. “I’m kind of glad you did this. Now I can give you your gift I have at the apartment.” You confessed, making him laugh that you both claimed to want to miss Valentine’s Day and yet had gotten each other a gift anyways. 

“It’s like I already knew, Honey, now go ahead, open it.” He encouraged and you finally removed the lid, to peek inside. 

Pulling back some soft pink crinkly tissue paper to find what was inside, you gave a appreciative gasp at what you found. The fabric was a mellow honeyed yellow, wide straps led down to a neckline you personally loved in your dresses. It was a soft flowy material and you didn’t dare pull it out of the box but could tell that it would fall well below your knees. Tiny off white buttons secured the front of it closed “Curtis, I love this. It’s even in the correct size, I didn’t know you knew.” 

“I thought you might, I saw it out front of a shop near where Frank works. I double checked with Jade about the size, I didn’t want to get the wrong one. But I was picturing you wearing it this summer around the house and backyard…” His gaze was soft, faraway as if picturing it again before snapping back to the present, a bit of color rising in his cheeks. He cleared his throat suddenly and shrugged. “It just seemed to be made for you Honey.” 

The gift caught you by surprise, it wasn’t just money given to you, or something two sizes too small in a style you wouldn’t ever wear as your past had been with your previous relationship. You put the cover back on it to keep it clean and leaned over to share a kiss with Curtis, your hand coming up to cup his cheek affectionately. “I can’t wait to wear this for you.” 

That little interested flare in his eyes made you grin. “I can’t wait either.”