The Many Faces of Reid

Sorry about the delay in today's post! I'm aiming to get at least one more up this week, possibly two. Don't forget to check out the bonuses from this week, if you haven't already! 

*****

After the game, which we won handily, we all headed to our favourite spot for beers and wings. Rachel, Ainsley and I were clustered at the end of the long table with Sarah, Reid, and Jen, our goalie. Everyone was in a jubilant mood, riding on the adrenaline high from the game and revelling in the lingering summer heat on the patio. 

We were reliving the best moments from the season when Jen leaned across Rachel and said, "I haven't even heard about your trip yet!"

Sarah chimed in, "Yeah, we've barely heard anything yet!"

I gave them the highlights of the trip, describing my favourite spots and dramatically retelling our Pink Palace exploits. By the time I finished describing the "body shots" on the booze cruise, we were all laughing our asses off. 

"That's crazy!" Sarah cried. "Who would do something like that... In front of a bunch of strangers!"

Rachel raised an eyebrow and smirked at me. "If she thinks that's crazy..." she murmured so only I could hear.

I fought to avoid blushing at her reference to Marc and Leila's proposition. That was definitely not a story I felt like sharing with the class.

"Well apart from the random boning and bjs, it was a really amazing trip," I said jokingly.

"Your pictures were gorgeous," Sarah added. "Reid and I looked at them, like every day. We had a bit of a bet going, actually."

"A bet?" I questioned. My eyes slid to Reid, who was looking resolutely into his beer.

"Yeah! Reid was positive that Gavin was going to propose on the trip, so we had a bet going for when it would happen!"

"Oh really?" I laughed, "Sorry to disappoint you guys. Getting married isn't really on our priority list right now." My mind flashed to Gavin asking me to move in together. I felt a pang of guilt as I thought of the listings he had emailed me, which I hadn't even bothered to look at. I made up my mind that when I got home, I would look through all of them.

When I tuned back in to the conversation, the topic had switched back to the end of the season. This time, the tone was a little more bittersweet. 

Sarah sighed and said, "I wish the season wasn't ending. I'm going to miss hanging out with you guys over the winter!"

Jen, replied, "You should join our coed team at The Icebox!"

A few years back, several of us from the women's team had started up a coed beer league soccer team that played every Saturday. We had each brought in a few guys we knew, and now we had a core group that spent just as much time partying together as we did playing together. A rec club in the city had converted one of their old, crappy hockey rinks into an indoor soccer field. The club had some fancy name, but everyone I know called it The Icebox. There was a bar upstairs that overlooked the field and the two arenas, where we usually gathered after the games. 

Ainsley, who ran the team, piped in, "You should totally join! One of the girls from last year moved away for grad school, so we have a spot."

I added, "Yeah, it's a good time. Way less competitive than this league, and even more drinking!"

Sarah laughed. "Sounds great! I'm in!"

Reid, who had been sitting and listening quietly, as usual, spoke up. "Do you have room for any guys? I'd love a spot."

Ainsley smiled, "Absolutely! We have a group that has played with us forever but we always have drifters that only play for a season, so we can definitely take you."

Sarah's eyes lit up, "What about Jay? We should get him a spot, too!" She turned to us and said excitedly, "Jay is Reid's best friend. He's a really good soccer player!"

"I'm not sure that's the best idea," Reid interjected. "Jay is.... Well, he's kind of a hothead."

"He's not so bad since he finished his anger management," Sarah countered.

"Anger management?" Ainsley and I echoed.

Reid took a swig of his beer. "Yeah he got ejected from a game after he started a bench clearing brawl, and since it was his third ejection, he had to take an anger management course before he was allowed to play again."

I laughed incredulously, "Hothead sounds like a slight understatement."

Reid grinned. "Yeah, psycho might have been a more fitting choice."

Sarah poked Reid hard in the arm. "I notice you're neglecting to mention your role in that brawl you mentioned," she said teasingly. 

"I'm sorry, WHAT?!" Ainsley cried.

Reid looked down, slightly abashed. "Jay threw the first punch, but I may have been right behind him, throwing the second one."

We were all shocked. Quiet, subdued Reid, actually punching someone?

"I cannot picture that. At all," I said.

Sarah laughed. "You guys are about to see a very different side of Reid if we join this team."

"Well Jay brings it out in me," he argued. His cheeks were pink and I could tell being the center of attention was embarrassing him. It was completely adorable, and I felt myself pushing down that familiar swoon again."Maybe I should join the team alone first, so you guys don't get the full Bash Brothers effect."

So it was decided. Sarah and Reid were joining the team. I reached in and clinked my glasses against theirs as we cheered to the fun season ahead of us. As our glasses met over the table, my eyes caught and held Reid's. I wondered what other sides of him were left to be discovered.

Today's post

Hi everyone! Today's post will be up tonight, instead of at noon - I'm wedding dress shopping with my best friend, and I have a feeling there isn't going to be down time for editing... See you all tonight! If you missed the two bonus posts this week, be sure to check them out below!

Allie and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Bonus as promised! Check back Saturday for Part 2!

*****

"Fucking fuck fuckity fuck," I muttered to myself as I fumbled for my keys in my bag.

It was my first day of classes, and I was wearing the skirt suit I had bought for my internship earlier in the summer. Maybe because I've been a student for several eons, but September always marks the beginning of the year for me, and so I always make a pack of resolutions that drop off around mid-October. This year's soon to be failed resolution was to wear business clothing to classes all year, rather than trying to pass off "dressy" leggings as pants after the first week of classes. 

In the spirit of pretending that I'd be able to keep my resolution, I wore my nicest suit to school. After all, this year I had volunteered to buddy up with a first year law student, and check in with her during the first week of classes to make sure she didn't have a nervous breakdown and drop out. Which just goes to show how out of touch the faculty is - everyone knows that nuclear meltdown happens in November.

So as promised, I met my first year, Madeline, at the on-campus Starbucks. I was doing my absolute best impression of having my shit together, even pretending that she wasn't about to begin three soul-sucking years surrounded by colossal douches that would make her want to gauge her eyes out on a regular basis. I even paid for her latte in a very casual way, as if our first ten years of salary weren't going to be swallowed up by student loan payments.

We were chatting about her course selection as we stood in line waiting for our drinks. In front of us were three university freshmen that were the definition of basic bitches. How do I know they were freshmen? They weren't wearing sweatpants or business wear. Ah, the days when I wore my sexy outfits to class because I cared more about looking hot than sleeping. Good times. It was almost endearing.

Until one of the little idiots turned around and sloshed her strawberry frappucino all over me. I was literally dripping with whipped cream and pink goop. 

That's when I should've realized that it was going to be a shit day. Instead, I merely fake-smiled while dabbing as much off of my dry-clean only suit as possible, trying not to scream my head off. Despite my efforts, there was a trail of pale pink crusty patches all down my beautiful black suit. I took a few deep breaths, and walked Madeline to her first class. 

However, after being clipped by someone's rolling backpack (don't even get me started... WE ARE NOT AT THE AIRPORT), which scratched the back of my best office heels, getting to my first class and realizing my laptop was dead, and now, trying to find my keys in my purse while balancing my books and useless laptop bag, I could no longer suppress my rage. I pulled out the keys, and attempted to contort my hand to get them into the lock. Instead, I dropped them onto the floor.

I reached down to pick them up, and in the process, dropped everything else. My purse exploded on the floor, sending tampons, lip gloss and change careening all over the place.

I stood there for a second. And then I burst into tears. In that moment, I couldn't have told you why I was crying. It wasn't any one thing in particular. Just a day I had tried so hard to make good and yet somehow, had ended up in shambles on the floor.

After a few minutes, I took a deep breath, opened the door, gathered up my mess of belongings, and chucked them into a heap on my coffee table. I walked to my bathroom, stripping off my stained suit as I went. 

I stood in the shower for half an hour, and when I came out, I felt almost human again. I threw on sweats and a baggy t-shirt and plopped on to my couch. I dug through the heap on my coffee table, found my phone and saw I had two texts. 

Gavin's text read, Hey babe, hope you had a great first day! Check your email, I sent you a few listings with open houses this weekend. Let me know what you think.

Guiltily, I closed his text without responding. The prospect of house hunting was just too much after the clusterfuck of a day I'd had.

I opened Rachel's text. Hey, I'll pick you up at 6:15 for the game!

I groaned. I had completely forgotten that tonight was our last game of the season. It was 5:45, and I honestly felt ready to just crawl into my bed and pass out watching Friday Night Lights on Netflix. (Don't judge. Texas forever!)

I texted her back. Rach, today has been the worst. I'm bailing to spend the night with Tim Riggins.

Her reply came almost immediately. No way, Al. It's the last game of the season. Plus, Tim Riggins is mine. I am showing up to your house and dragging you there if I have to. And you're coming for beers after. And you're gonna like it! 

I couldn't help but smile at her pretend tenacity. I reluctantly got up, changed into my soccer stuff, and packed a t-shirt and jean shorts for post-game beers. I even managed to brush my hair and put on some mascara so I resembled the non-shambles version of myself.

By the time that Rachel pulled up outside of my building, I could feel myself starting to shake off the crappiness of the day. On the way there, I entertained her by reenacting all of the disastrous events that had befallen me. We were both laughing as we pulled up to the field. 

A few of the girls were already on the field warming up. We walked over to the bench, where Reid was standing alone, frowning at his clipboard. "Hey!" I sang out as I plopped into the bench.

He looked up, and his whole face transformed into a grin. "Hey."

I felt it. Tingles. 

"How have things been?" I asked, suddenly feeling shy, my eyes on my feet as I laced up my cleats. 

"Not bad. We lost to that thug team without our enforcer, though. Next time you go on a trip, you better clear it with me." His little smirk belied the fake sternness of his tone. 

I laughed. "I'm sure it was just fine."

"Well it sure is good to have you back," Reid said with such sincerity that I found myself dropping my gaze again. "Now both of you get out there and warm up!"

As I jogged out onto the field with Rachel, I looked over my shoulder one last time. Reid's eyes were still on us, and he still had the cute little grin on his face. 

I turned my focus towards the group, where Ainsley practically tackled me with a hug. The girls surrounded me, asking about my trip. The September sun was warm on my face, and I felt a similar warmth bubbling in my chest. In that moment, if anyone had asked, I'd have called it a great day. 

Sun, Sangria, and Salacious Stories

I'm so sorry this post is a day late. I had some major writer's block with it and kept tweaking and rewriting it. Luckily, I also took some breaks and wrote some posts from further ahead in the story! I have a clear idea where I want the story to go, and I'm resisting the temptation to rush right into it. There will be another bonus up this week, aaaaand the regular post on Saturday. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!




I looked around my apartment and sighed. Our flight home had gotten in late the night before and I had essentially stumbled into my apartment and passed out.

I hate unpacking. Hate hate hate it. After every trip that I take, I vow that I will unpack immediately, but instead end up digging out my toiletry bag right away, and periodically taking other things out as I need them. I'm not sure if it's the reminder that the trip is over, or the return to the everyday tedium of laundry that puts me off but either way, I avoid it for way too long.

However, this time I couldn't afford to procrastinate. It was Wednesday before the Labour Day weekend, and I only had five short days to get my shit together before school started. Not to mention the tons of engagements that were already cluttering up my evenings.

I sighed once more, heavily, and resigned to my fate, dove in. I dumped out all of my clothes on the floor. Everything had a warm salty smell, as if I had managed to capture some of the Mediterranean inside each garment. I inhaled deeply, tempted to dive into the pile and take a nap, before beginning to sort things into piles for laundry.

I was about halfway through when my cell rang. I jumped up and grabbed it from my bedside table. The caller ID read "Rhiannon," my best friend.

"Hey hey!" I sang out, as I answered.

"Hey yourself!" she screeched into the phone. "How are you, my little world traveller?"

"Oh you know, very sophisticated and worldly. You'd hardly recognize me now that I'm such a glamorous jet setter."

"Well, if you can humble yourself to hang out with my peasant self, I'd love to see you. I freaking miss your face and I want to hear all about your trip!"

"My schedule is filling up, but I've always got time for my main bitch," I joked.

"How about right now? My seminar got out early and after listening to someone talk about treating infected wounds for the last hour, I could use a drink. Wanna hit a patio and help me forget how many times I heard the word 'pus' this afternoon?" Rhiannon was in her last year of med school, and her schedule was even crazier than mine. Every Wednesday, the med students had a half-day seminar and it was one of the only days I could count on being able to see her.

I hesitated for a split second, looking over at my huge, half-sorted pile of laundry. I felt only the tiniest pang of guilt when I answered, "Sounds great! Where are we going?"

"How about The Pumphouse?" she suggested. It was one of our favourite summer haunts because of its two storey patio and cheap sangria. It also happened to be walking distance from my apartment in the university district. "Rachel said she was free, too. I'll pick her up and we'll meet you there in half an hour."

I showered quickly, spritzed my hair with some wave spray, and applied some light makeup. I threw on one of the few sundresses that wasn't currently crumpled on my floor, and headed to The Pumphouse.

By some miracle, it wasn't too busy and I managed to snag an awesome table. As its name would imply, The Pumphouse was an old pump house on the river that ran past the university. A few years ago, some genius had bought it, cleaned it out and turned it into a restaurant and bar. The inside was all old brick and exposed beams, and they had added on the two story patio to one side, which had a nice view of the nasty polluted river.

I ordered a pitcher of white sangria and one of red and sat back to enjoy the summer sun. Winters in the Midwest are long and bitter, but the summers are so hot that it almost makes up for it.

Rhiannon and Rachel just barely beat the sangria to the table. They both greeted me with hugs and squeals about my tan. After we had all poured ourselves a glass, they hit me with a million questions about the trip.

"Was it amazing?"

"Which place was your favourite?"

"How incredible was the Acropolis?"

I laughed. "Down, girls. The trip was phenomenal. I can't even pick out my favourite part, it was all amazing." I launched into a description of each place we'd visited, egged on by occasional questions from the girls. I saved Corfu for the end.

"Corfu was gorgeous, but the Pink Palace was a shit show. You guys would not believe the shit that went down in this place. I honestly never realized how sheltered I was until I saw complete strangers boning on the beach in broad daylight, practically in my lap."

"Oh my god, WHAT?" Rachel laughed, covering her mouth.

"Yes, it was insane. And THAT isn't even the craziest part," I said, lowering my voice. "We met this Canadian couple there and were hanging out with them a fair amount. They were super chill and normal, and we were even considering continuing to travel with them. Then, on our last night there, completely out of the fucking blue they asked us to have sex with them?"

Rhiannon choked on her sangria, sputtering it all over the table, drawing a few glances from the people sitting around us. When she finally composed herself, she said, "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Nope. It was probably one of the weirdest moments of my life. Super awkward."

Rachel leaned in, both hands on the table. "What did you guys even say to that?"

"We basically mic-dropped and ran. We were super freaked out," I said laughing. I hesitated, not sure how much of the real story I wanted to divulge, even to my two closest friends.

The truth was, I had tried to put the Marc and Leila saga behind me, but I couldn't quite get the idea out of my head. The events of that night, especially my reaction to Gavin's imagery, continued to plague me. I wasn't sure if I found it thrilling or horrifying that Gavin and I had almost taken the plunge into such unexplored territory.

Rhiannon, my best friend for ten years, the girl I had grown up with, shared every major milestone and heartbreak with, picked up on my loaded silence. She raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Seems like there's a bit more to the story..."

I should've known she would read me like a book. "Well, we were really freaked out by the idea at first, but..." I trailed off, suddenly embarrassed.

Rachel's eyes were huge. "You guys didn't actually consider doing it?" I could tell that the possibility shocked her. She and her boyfriend, Derek, had been together since high school and had only ever slept with each other.

I took a deep breath before answering. "Well, actually, yeah. Honestly, the whole thing seemed really exciting and adventurous. I think that we just felt really removed from our real lives and our real selves, and it made it easier to do something that would have normally seemed completely insane."

Rhiannon sipped her drink pensively. "That makes sense... But why didn't you go through with it?"

I gave them the rundown of what we'd seen at breakfast the next day. "Knowing that this was something that they did frequently just destroyed the sexy and risky feeling. Suddenly, it just seemed really sleazy and kind of gross."

"Well I think you dodged a bullet," Rachel announced. "Imagine what that would've done to your relationship. I feel like if I saw Derek with somebody else, I'd go crazy thinking about it forever."

"I don't know," I mused. "A part of me wishes the spell hadn't been broken and we had gone through with it. Just the anticipation of it was exciting."

"Then maybe it's for the best that it didn't actually happen," Rhiannon offered. "You guys had a fantasy of what it would be like, and now that fantasy can remain intact. I bet the real thing wouldn't have measured up to your expectations. Things like that are often better left as fantasies, I think."

I contemplated her words for a moment. Maybe the shared fantasy is what had lit Gavin and I on fire that last week.

The subject was changed, and Rachel mentioned that she suspected that Derek was going to propose soon. We listened as she analyzed all of the little clues he had inadvertently given her, and speculated on the when and where of the potential proposal.

It wasn't until I was walking home a few hours later, buzzed from the sun and the sangria, that I realized I hadn't once mentioned moving in with Gavin. I shrugged it off and kept walking, not allowing myself to wonder why I hadn't brought it up.

Paradise

Hi everyone! Here's today's regular post. I have another one in the works that should be up tomorrow or Monday, and I'm hoping to post at least one more bonus after that during the week. I hope that you're all enjoying the story! Let me know your thoughts in the comments!


Our second week in Greece flew by way too fast. In Santorini, we laid out on the black sand beach, got day drunk sampling wine at a beautiful winery overlooking the caldera, and got to witness the most beautiful sunset in the world in Oia. The gorgeous surroundings seemed to enhance the closeness that I was already feeling with Gavin after the whole Marc and Leila fiasco. We were drunk on each other again, barely making it back to our room each night before tearing each other's clothes off.

From Santorini, we took a ferry to Paros, which was a lot quieter and far less crowded. We rented quads and drove all over the island. On our last day, we visited the Butterfly Valley. We got there early and were the only tourists there when it opened. We stepped into a lush green valley, and were surrounded by what felt like millions of butterflies! They were nestled under leaves, perched on rocks, and hanging from vines like jewel-coloured blooms. For a moment, I just stood there and took it in, completely awe-struck by the magic of this spot. I had never seen anything like it in my life.

My reverie was broken by the click of Gavin's camera. I looked sideways and saw that he was grinning at the screen as he looked at his shot. He lifted his eyes to mine and held out the camera for me to look at it. It wasn't a shot of the garden, but of me reacting to it. "I just had to capture the look on your face."

I studied the picture. I had a small, almost dreamy smile on my face and my eyes were bright with an almost childlike wonder. The awe I was feeling came through the image perfectly. Gavin stepped behind me and slid his hands around my waist, looking at the picture with me. "I want to keep making you look like that for the rest of our lives," he murmured into my ear, before dropping his mouth to my bare shoulder. I leaned back into him, my head spinning from the setting, his touch, and the meaning of his words.

The sounds of other tourists coming through the gate broke the spell that we had been under, and Gavin stepped beside me, taking my hand. We wandered through the valley silently for a while longer, me daydreaming and Gavin occasionally taking photos.

After a while, we headed back to the quad we had rented for the day. "Want to go to the secret beach?" I asked.

"Definitely," Gavin agreed.

On our first day exploring in Paros, we had stumbled upon a pretty little beach that seemed to be completely deserted. We had gone back the next day, and again, had been the only ones there. We headed over and once more found ourselves alone.

We laid out our big beach blanket, and stripped down to our bathing suits. I stretched out on my back immediately, eager to catch a last dose of the sun, while Gavin headed out to the water to cool off. I soon fell into the hazy state of sun worshipping, where the sounds of the water combined with the blazing heat and the tickle of the gentle breeze had me lulled into a semi-conscious state. I sighed contentedly.

Suddenly, I felt a cool, wet touch against my hip. I cracked my eyes open, and saw Gavin lying beside me, his head propped up on one elbow. He lazily traced a path up and down my side with his wet fingers. "Hey sun worshipper," he said, smiling. "Wanna come and play with me?"

"Nuh-uh." I mumbled back.

His hand travelled over my stomach, tracing in circles. His light, cool touch made me shiver. "C'mon, it'll be fun."

"I'm lazy," I protested, running on hand down his bare chest.

His fingertips moved up to rest between my breasts. He stroked my cleavage gently, and I felt my nipples harden. He noticed them through my thin bikini top, and moved his fingers to circle first one, and then the other. I arched into his touch, a low moan coming from my throat.

"I think I can convince you," he said with a grin. He looked around quickly before pulling my bikini top to the side, and drawing a nipple into his mouth. He sucked  gently, as his other hand went to my other breast, alternating between squeezing it and rubbing my nipple with his thumb. I clutched his head tighter to my breast, digging my fingers into his hair. He leaned further on to me, and pulled the other side of my bikini top off, switched his mouth and his hand.

His free hand drifted down to my bikini bottoms. He stroked me through them a few times, and feeling that I was already wet, pulled them to the side and gently strummed his fingers over me.

I bucked into his hand frantically, eager for him to press harder, faster. He pulled his hand back a bit further, teasing me. "Please, Gav..." I moaned.

I heard him laugh softly, before he increased his speed and pressure, sending me hurtling into an orgasm. I clamped my legs around his hand as my entire body went rigid.

Gavin trailed kisses up my chest and neck, gently pulling my bikini back into place as I came down. I opened my eyes and blinked, awareness of our surroundings slowly coming back.

I reached down and started stroking Gavin through his bathing suit. I was just undoing the waistband when we heard a bunch of quads pull up. Gavin grabbed a towel to casually cover his raging boner as a group of girls descended into the beach.

I smiled at him apologetically. "Guess our beach isn't so secret after all."

He exhaled hard. "Well I definitely need to cool off. Wanna come in with me?"

I smiled back. "Sure. You convinced me."

*****

That night, we ate at a restaurant that we'd saved it for our last night after reading about it online. The restaurant was in the second story of a whitewashed building. It had no roof, but instead was covered by a canopy of leaves created by trees that grew right up through the floor. Twinkling stars peeked through the leaves, the only light coming from candles on each table.

We filled ourselves up with the most delicious pasta I've ever eaten. We had just ordered dessert when Gavin reached over and covered my hand with his. "This has been the best trip," he said.

I smiled back. "I don't know if I've ever been this happy in my life. I don't want to go back!"

"I know. These have easily been the best two weeks of my life." Gavin looked down and played with my fingers. He seemed almost nervous. "I've been thinking, and I was wondering if..." He trailed off, before taking a deep breath and looking into my eyes. "I was wondering if you'd like to start looking for a place together once we get back."

"Like a new apartment? I just moved."

"Well, actually, I was thinking a condo or maybe even a house." I started to interrupt him but he raised a hand to stop me. "I know you're still in school, but I have enough saved for a down payment, and I'm making enough to get us by until you start articling."

I looked down, swirling my wine. I felt a flutter of nervousness or excitement in my stomach, I wasn't sure which. I loved that he was asking me to move in, and I was more than okay with leaving my crappy studio apartment. On the other hand, this year was my first year living without roommates. I'd gone from my dorm to sharing a house with two of my law school friends. I'd finally gotten my own place in June and I was loving having a space that was just mine for once. "I..." I stopped, not sure how to put my feelings into words

Gavin's hand tightened on mine and I lifted my eyes to meet his. "We wouldn't move right away. We could take our time looking and make sure that we find a place that's right for us. I've just loved falling asleep with you and waking up next to you. I want that every day."

I felt myself melt and suddenly my hesitation seemed silly. I knew I wanted to spend my life with Gavin, and after three years together, we were ready for this step. I intertwined my fingers with his and said, "Yes. Let's look for a place together when we get back."

The boyish smile that broke across his face was so sweet and adorable that I just had to lean across the table and kiss him right then  and there.

Later as we walked down the moonlit street to our hotel, full of pasta, pastry and wine, I paused and drew Gavin close to me. I inhaled deeply, taking in the moon playing over the water in the harbour, the distant sounds of music and laughter, and the feel of the night breeze in my hair. I rested my head on his chest and sighed.

"This has been a perfect night," I said softly, looking up at him. "I'm so sad our trip is over."

"Me too," Gavin said, dropping a kiss on my forehead.

I pulled him down and kissed him slowly and sweetly. "I love you."

"I love you too, babe," he murmured back. He ran his hands down my arms before stepping back and taking my hand again.

We wound our way back to the hotel slowly, lingering at different points along the way to admire the view one more time. We drew out the journey back as long as possible, neither one of us ready to end our last magical night in paradise.