#atlanta tattoo artist | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chrollohearttags · 9 months

Text

favorite song • e. jaeger

“I’m on the stage right now, singing your favorite song. I look in the crowd and you’re nowhere to be found as they sing along.”

synopsis: influencer (y/n) forms a close friendship with the infamous rapper, EJ after working together and Eren wishes it could be more. Too bad someone else is in the way..

content warning and themes: angsty vibes, early stages of their relationship, mentions of abuse and cheating, mentions of alcohol, light mentions of sex, kissing, comfort at the end because I truly love them. (also, a couple spoilers for the next reverb chapters)

📝: y’all know these two are just very special to me 😩🤞🏾 like I’m so hopelessly in love with a relationship that doesn’t exist and I couldn’t stop thinking about that Toosii song (legit had it on repeat as I wrote this)

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Atlanta, Georgia. One of the most infamous cities in the country and a staple in the music industry. From the illustrious strip clubs where the rappers came to play and the countless, legendary musicians to be birthed from the famed A-Town..it was iconic. It was also one of EJ the Don’s favorite places to perform. The crowd’s energy was always top tier, the fans were live and he always enjoyed himself.

“Thank you, Atlanta! You know I fucking love you guys and I appreciate all the love you show me…” nearing the conclusion of his two hour set, the artist began to give him obligatory speech, thanking all of his loyal supporters and everyone who turned out tonight. From the insane songs that triggered two huge mosh pits to the slower joints that had brought forth the baddest bitches in the crowd..serenaded underneath dimmed lights as he strummed the guitar and sang to them. It was an entire vibe and like all of his shows, he never wanted it to end. But alas, it was getting later into the night and he was becoming jaded. However, he couldn’t leave his loyal fans without something special!

“This next song…this next song is one that’s very near to my heart..just like the person I wrote it for. They can’t be here tonight but I hope wherever they are..they hear it.”

upon taking a seat on his stool, a stage hand came out and handed Eren his electric guitar..a jet black Fender with chrome and red accents and hand painted roses; named Carla after his mom who gifted it to him on his twenty first birthday. It’s the most precious thing he’s ever received and now he was about, he was about to play a ballad to the most precious person in his life right now. Propping the instrument up on his knee, he’d take the pick that was pursed between his lips and begin to strum slowly..tattooed digits tapping at the E Minor and D strings, creating a soft yet high pitched tune. It was something that he didn’t normally do during his performances but there was a first time for everything. As he began to sing, accompanied by the instrumentals and backtracks, sounding out across the packed arena, he began to croon out the words to a track he titled ‘Everything’, in which he pours out his heart, how that person meant everything to him and everything that he loved about them. It was so beautiful, authentic and yet…maintained bits of signature rap style. The crowd was cheering; ladies fawning from the front row, men nodding their head and everyone was enjoying themselves. The one person he needed there however…was nowhere to be found. The person who inspired it and who burst into tears when he first played it. That person…was you. His precious (y/n). A girl adorned by many and the object of desire for for thousands of men. Captivating the world with your flawless pole skills and ethereal beauty. A one of a kind woman, as rare and priceless as any jewel. You were truly his everything.

but sadly, it could only be confessed in the form of this song, as he was certain you were somewhere in the arms of another guy. Laid up in bed, carrying on a loveless relationship with someone who didn’t see your worth. He hated it. He hated that he couldn’t be the one holding you right now and making all those doubts and insecurities disappear…he even recalled the last time he spoke to you. A little over three weeks ago…as he sat begging and pleading for you to be with him instead.

FLASHBACK

“I don’t get it, (y/n). Why the fuck do you even stick around? It doesn’t make sense..”

“I wish I could tell you why…but I can’t. I guess I’m just scared.”

“Scared of what?! Because if he’s putting his hands on you, I’ll splatter his brains as soon as he comes through that door.”

it was a conversation you’d never expect to have but an inevitable one nonetheless. It was going to come to this eventually…after all, you were sitting at the kitchen counter of your high rise condo, sobbing your eyes out and picking up pieces of shattered glass from a broken vase, slammed to the ground by your no good, sorry ass, abusive, cheater of a boyfriend. Why a woman as beautiful as you would ever think to stick around and put up with such bullshit, was beyond anyone. Including the man standing in front of you. The one who would wipe tears from that pretty face all the time..who had watched you cry as he held you.

“Look, (y/n). I can’t tell you what to do but I’ll be damned if I sit here and let you get treated like this. You deserve better than whatever the fuck he’s doing. Why won’t you just leave?!”

something far easier said than done..truth was, being in a relationship with a high powered executive while trying to make it up the ladder in the entertainment industry was not for the weak. And trying to break away was a whole lot harder!..the repercussions you could face; not only would he have you blackballed from every event or potential job you’d ever think to have but he’d have everyone turning on you. It’d be career suicide! Howvever, Eren didn’t care. He didn’t give a damn what that piece of shit thought he was capable of…he only cared about your well-being and watching you cover up your sadness with sips of liquor was driving him insane. He loved you and wanted to protect you with his life. He wanted to wake up every day next to you, smiling as he saw you in your most pure form; no makeup and all that natural beauty and make love to you every single night. He wanted to be the one who’s name you cried out as you clawed his back and begged him to go deeper. He couldn’t stand this..stepping closer, Eren cupped the sides of your face, tilting it upward so that you could see him. See him in all the vulnerability he had to offer.

“Listen..I just want you to be happy. Fuck all that other noise. Just leave with me and we’ll figure i—“

“Stop it, Eren, I can’t put you in this mess. He’ll ruin everything you worked hard for and that’s not fair. I’m not worth it!”

hearing those words nearly shattered his heart into a million pieces. Never had he felt the way he had about anyone in his young twenty five years the way he did about you. No one made his heart flutter and his soul feel complete the way you did and he couldn’t let you think anything less of yourself than what you were..

“..baby, don’t you realize I’m already in? I’m not going anywhere, even if you push me away right now. You mean more to me than any of this. I don’t care if I ever touch a Grammy, an awards show or any of that shit. You’re all I want. Please..”

and in that moment, you could do nothing more than helplessly fall into his arms. Stuffing your tear ridden face into the comfort of his chest and that black tee he was sporting and as always, he was right there to hold you close and coddle you in his grasp.

“Eren…”

PRESENT

so as he strummed those notes, singing out with all that he harbored..lights from illuminated cell phones swaying back and forth..

“And if you let me, I’ll be your everything..”

he hoped that somewhere, somehow..you could hear it. Not just with your ears but your heart and truly feel the message. That it would motivate you to finally go where you belonged. With him.

“Can you hear me, (y/n)? Are you listening…because I’m playing this song just for you. For us..I’ll always be with you no matter what.”

327 notes · View notes

cybercaffie · 1 year

Text

of when Kerry convinced V. to get interviewed and photographed for NC's trendiest tattoo mag! And I had fun playing editorial team. I wanted to make it look like a magazine spread and it's not tumblr friendly unless you're on desktop, so here's the transcript under the cut!

THE LAST OF THE ROCKERBOYS He is a man that needs no introduction: Kerry Eurodyne is a living, breathing legend. From the infamous Samurai to a brilliant solo career spanning decades, if Night City had a soundtrack he would be its lead composer. Make no mistake, this rockerboy is no relic of a bygone era: with a sold out world tour showcasing his unmatched energy and charisma on stage and a new album topping the charts, his comeback has proven that his creative flair is simply inextinguishable. See that devilish spark in his eyes? Looks like the fun has only begun for Mr. Eurodyne.

ROOTS and ROCK n’ ROLL

Kerry’s body is a moving work of art: his custom one-of-a-kind cyberware merges the elegance of the best fashionware with all the enhancements a musician of his caliber needs. And his ink tells his story as a man and a musician: on his left arm and chest we can see stunning examples of batok, the indigenous tattoos of the Philippines. It’s all about authenticity: «These were all done there by local filipino artists, with traditional tools. No machines.». In the past these markings often represented identity, bravery and protection; for Kerry «it’s my way to remember where I come from, my roots. ‘Cause I’m hella proud of them.» The right arm is also about his identity, but as a musician: a full sleeve of neo-traditional Japanese inspiration in black and white with pops of red. «You’ve got it all: Samurai, 2023 when Johnny died and…well, a tribute to my favorite vodka and smokes, haha.». And to top it all off, the Eurodyne logo on the shoulder, where we find the batok elements again. Cultural heritage and rock n’ roll meet: this ink has soul, one that is authentic and eclectic like his music.

_ FAMILY (V)ALUES In NC’s underworld Vincent is a celebrity in his own right- if you like to run with mercs then you surely must have heard about the new “king of the Afterlife”, a title that he seems to find uneasy. Countless rumors surround him but a fact is certain: he was born and bred a nomad and his skin is a tapestry of his former life, spent on countless roads across the southern states. But nomad life isn’t about riding with wind in your hair: living by nomad ideals means hardships and hard work. The number one priority, protecting the clan: the lone wolf dies, the pack survives.

IDEALS AND IDENTITY Roses, cowboys, skulls - from authentic vintage American Traditional pieces to more new-school inspired ones, V.’s body is an encyclopedia when it comes to the Old School style. Like for the sailors and soldiers of old, every tattoo is symbolic - the most evident, the battle royale backpiece: «For nomads, the meaning of the animals is opposite. We see ourselves as the snake, fighting off a larger foe - it’s about surviving despite the odds.». In his countless tattoos, centuries-old american iconographies are imbued with biographical meaning. «Top right arm, big ol’ devil and various symbols to ward him off. This arm is more about…the big events. Changes. Some I got after I left, like the dead racer». The left arm is equally packed with ink: «This one is more about memories: first kill, first heartbreak, people who are gone, people I hold dear... Happy or sad, all parts of who I am». If you want to get ink like this, better be ready for an interstate trip: you won’t find this type of artistry in NC. V.’s recommendations? «I-40 west of Albuquerque, then 371, ask about Ricky at Dawn’s Inn. Though he might be in Atlanta now… then Lucky Chester, just north of Tulsa. Closest? Miss Mallory Mercy, between Reno and Carson». Safe travels, reader.

WHEN TWO WORLDS MEET A nomad-turned-merc and a rockstar: it’s not a match you hear of everyday. Unlikely? Maybe. Too different for it to work? Naysayers, you will be disappointed: the chemistry between these two is undeniable. Who would have thought that Badlands and City could mix this well?

#kerry eurodyne #cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk2077 #kerry x v #v x kerry #oc: v for vincent #masc v #s: heart of gold #throw me a bone please I cried so much doing this lmao though the game only died once surprisingly #''this won't take too long'' *20000 hours later*#true reason aside from shipping brain: wanted to get mileage out of the tattoo mod ok

278 notes · View notes

pears-palette · 6 months

Text

I cemented my status as a true Amphibia nerd by getting this fantastic Calamity Box tattoo! Even if my brain isn’t currently hyper fixated on it, it inspired me to push my creative boundaries and I’ve met such wonderful friends because of this show, so it will always hold a special place in my heart.

The artist was Faith (@ faithfitzy on Insta) who did an amazing job! She was personable and patient with me as it was my first tattoo. Her color work is absolutely spectacular! The shop is Nimbus Tattoo in Tyrone, GA (it’s not far from Atlanta). If you’re looking to get an anime, video game, cartoon, etc tattoo, I would highly recommend them! It was a clean, comfortable, and fun environment.

#amphibia #amphibia fanart #amphibia art #calamity box #tattoos #frog tattoo #first tattoo #nerd tattoo #disney tattoos

36 notes · View notes

ironpalmtattoostudio · 1 year

Text

Funky Afro-American Woman In Black & Grey By Funk Tha World.

We're open late night until 2AM. Call 404-973-7828 or stop by for a free consultation with Funk.

9 notes · View notes

c9k · 10 days

Text

the virginfest story

virginfest was organized by a woman named raven, also known as copkiller1999. it was intended to be held at her place of work, a tattoo shop called toki tattoo in atlanta, georgia, on september 11th, 2021, with tickets being sold at the door for $5 each.

the original lineup was negative xp, hard christ, hot leather, egg white, neet, sodaboy64, greens on toast, bad takes only, fried by fluoride, gjallarhornit, gezebelle gaburgably, pacific purgatory, and 13th century cowboy. however, not everyone was able to make it. sodaboy, fried, neet, and cowboy all dropped out. fried dropped out for mental health reasons, while neet and cowboy were going to meet each other but couldn't. this was likely due to cowboy having been doxxed, which caused him to delete everything. a lot of his discography is lost media now.

by the time the event was set to happen, nearly half of the artists who were going to be there, had either dropped out or left the scene altogether, but the remaining members were still enough of a draw to get people to come. posters were updated; tickets would no longer be sold in person and had to be purchased online. there was also a merch website called virginfestmerch.online.

for the most part, virginfest's existence was only rly known within the epunk community. but secretly, from the moment of its conception, a so-called "antifascist" organization called atlanta antifa had been keeping their eyes on it. (i say this bc their behavior isn't antifascist at all) on the day of, they posted an extremely long twitter thread about the event, falsely accusing the musicians involved of being far right and racist. they acted like virginfest was posing a threat, when in reality, it was just some people coming together to have a good time. raven privately requested that this be taken down, explaining that virginfest wasn't politically motivated and no one was far right. atlanta antifa didn't respond, instead screenshotting raven's message and publicly posting it.

due to all of this controversy, toki tattoo dropped the event mere hours before it was supposed to start. raven announced this on her story, clarifying that she did not support extremism. atlanta antifa was still not satisfied and said raven should be fired from her job. but it was too late for them to cancel virginfest bc many people had already arranged to be there.

chosewood park was 4 minutes away from the original location, so virginfest was relocated there. due to it being outside, everything had to be acoustic. it lasted for 4 hours and was livestreamed on twitch by a streamer called trofy. shooter claimed to not be attending due to family matters but snuck into the crowd wearing a fake beard, and ended up performing for 20 minutes due to a lack of gear.

atlanta antifa shared a pic of a man with white nationalist attire, claiming he was event security, but this wasn't true. they also shared pictures of random attendees, claiming they were white supremacists bc they wore shirts for bands atlanta antifa didn't approve of. they resorted to calling the cops but no laws were being broken. the cops ended up sticking around and hanging out.

after the event, atlanta antifa kept trying to get raven fired, going so far as to dox her. 4 days after virginfest, toki tattoo announced that they had let her go.

#epunk #virginfest #negative xp #hard christ #hot leather #egg white #neet #sodaboy64 #greens on toast #bad takes only #fried by fluoride #gjallarhornit #gezebelle gaburgably #pacific purgatory #13th century cowboy

6 notes · View notes

softmick · 6 months

Text

two weeks of weekly tag game wednesday but it’s actually thursday (i filled out last week’s on time but never posted the draft 🤷)

🔤Name: meagan

🗺️Where in the world are you? right now i’m on a train from nikko to tokyo, japan! 🇯🇵

🛀do you have a favorite towel? nope, just one that’s big enough to cover everything.

🪨can you skip rocks? not really!

🤔tell me about a weird slang term from your area: i am totally blanking.

🍞favorite toast topping? salted butter.

🍮thoughts on bread pudding? i love it so much. not a fan of when people add stuff tho like white chocolate sauce or raisins or something.

🌆City or country living? i want both, which is a struggle. being outside and surrounded by nature does great things for my head and heart but i hate not having options for food, concerts, things to do, etc. where i lived in atlanta was a great mix. where i live now in fl is beautiful but too rural.

😸How do you cheer yourself up after a bad day? cozy clothes, blankets, ordering in, chocolate, tea, snuggles.

🌗Are you a pessimist or an optimist? i am generally a “we’ll figure it out” kind of person. but a pessimist when it comes to personal achievement stuff.

🏷️can i tag you in random stuff? yup.

————

🔤 Name: sometimes meg. my parents call me boo.

🎶 Last song you listened to: kyoto by phoebe bridgers because i’m in kyoto!

🎵 Artist on Spotify giving you the feels right now: not an artist but this playlist my sibling made. i can’t listen to it super often or it makes me sad but every once in a while i’ll revisit it and it makes me miss her but also makes me happy.

👯‍♂️ fave blorbo moment: when ian says “i wanna be where you are, mickey” and for mickey the “sorry i’m late” scene

🍟 Your guilty pleasure snack: i don’t feel guilty about food but maybe taco bell?

🌮 What food are you craving today: pizza.

📖 Last fanfic tab you opened: running into you by @juliakayyy gonna read it when i get home.

🖌️ Favorite fic project you've created: umm, it hasn’t been written yet.

👩🏼‍🎤 Next tattoo you want (or would consider if you're not a tattoo person): there are a lot i want. hopefully the next one i get will be a full back piece by savannah colleen. i would also like to get my head tattooed but i’m not sure if i’m ready to cut all my hair off again just yet.

🧐🆓 What's living in your head rent free this week: my partner has been starving for what feels like our whole trip and i can’t stop thinking about mickey saying “don’t worry we’ll get a dick in ya as soon as we can”. i want to respond to every “i’m hungry” with it. also cam as spike.

thank you 😊 to Kat @mybrainismelted Ling @lingy910y Julissa @heymrspatel Jess @jrooc Dyno @dynamic-power Ajax @transmickey River @milkovichrules Sky @skylerwinchester and Julia @juliakayyy for tagging me! 🫶

#hi #tag games

14 notes · View notes

elysiancolorr · 1 year

Text

An Overview of the 3D Areola Tattoo Studio in Birmingham and Its Permanent Makeup Artist

Permanent makeup artists Birmingham are beauty specialists who perform tattooing services expressly to generate the look of traditional cosmetics such as eyebrows, lip color, eyeliners, etc. Permanent makeup artists Birmingham are also known as micro-pigmentation artists. Permanent makeup artist Birmingham might also offer techniques like scar camouflage and areola re-pigmentation in addition to traditional makeup applications. The three-dimensional areola tattoo is a work of art designed to look like a natural nipple. Patients can regain self-assurance in their breasts after getting the 3D Areola Tattoo Alabama since it looked just like nipples and was created using shading, shadows, and other artistic talents. When performing a 3D Areola Tattoo Alabama, the inks are combined to produce the most realistic effect feasible for each patient.

Micro-pigmentation, more popular as cosmetic tattooing, is a cutting-edge technique that may improve eyebrows, eyeliner, and lips that look natural and can last a lifetime. First, Raquel Mack, the originator of Elysiancolor and an artist specialising in permanent and paramedical makeup, crafts the ideal form and dimensions to complement each customer's individual tastes and characteristics. We at Elysiancolor are delighted to work with plastic surgeons to deliver realistic services to patients after undergoing procedures such as a facelift, FUT/scalp, or mastectomy.

Having a Permanent makeup artist Birmingham removes the burden of applying makeup daily and for every event from your shoulders. A Permanent makeup artist Birmingham can save you thousands of dollars throughout your career, both in terms of the money you will save on continually purchasing new makeup kits and the money you will save on buying cosmetics. A Permanent makeup artist Birmingham keeps allergies. The Permanent makeup artist Birmingham holds allergies. The work of a permanent makeup artist yields effects that are not only long-lasting but also increase one's self-confidence. Areolae that have been disfigured by stretch marks, burns, or other scars can improve their appearance with the help of a 3D Areola Tattoo Alabama. The 3D Areola Tattoo Alabama makes the breasts look more balanced and proportionate. Restoring the natural appearance of the nipple and areola is possible with a 3D Areola Tattoo Alabama. Boost your confidence and self-esteem with a 3D Areola Tattoo Alabama today! Scars surrounding the nipple and areola can be less noticeable after a 3D Areola Tattoo Alabama is done.

#Realistic eyebrow tattoo Alabama #Powder Brows Alabama #Areola tattoo artist Atlanta

0 notes

monettheariesrising · 1 year

Text

I know I gotta work on my lettering and whatnot and I probably should’ve used a smaller needle for the letters anyways (I used a 5RL) but I’m still really proud of this tat I did on my bf 🍑🏈🏟️

#georgia bulldogs #bulldogs #Georgia #back to back #championship #I don’t know Shit about sports #tattoos #tattoo artist #Atlanta #Chamblee #Atlanta tattoo artists

0 notes

junkdyke · 6 months

Text

i am homeeeee from Denver (Wheat Ridge) Colorado!! my last trip until next year

tattooed super dope pieces almost every day, ALL of my clients were some form of fem kweer (dykes, enby, and transfems) including one of my fucking COOL ASS MUTUALS @seraphbutch !!!!

my friends are thinking its a potential place to move, but we'll be visiting again soon to really get a feel! idk, its really fucking white tho. speaking of white; so i was making fun of my friend for her Tinder algorithm and finally caved in and remade mine. i have never seen so fucking many granola femmes in my LIFE, amd not like the fun and funky granola either, just kinda beige. I matched with all 10 of the only butch/mascs in a 50 mile radius LMAOOO and then i felt bad bc i exchanged 1 or 2 messages with each of them before just completely not replying to any of them cause i got too busy 💀 a couple of them did, however ,message me again so i answered, they were really cute but it's a shame i am just NOT in place to be doing the app thing rn. Fun to look though!!

i went to a metal show with tattoo crush while we were out there, and I might be going to another one with her later this month!! Both her and Dyke Roomie are down to go to the orchestra with me!! The shop we worked at was SOOO cute with the sweetest artists, one of them wants to get tattooed by me when we come back which is such an honor!! we saw the most gorgeous views during our 16 hour drive, our airbnb host was fucking UNHINGED lmfaooooo, she had us check in late after we had just finished driving for hours, would just NOT leave the room cause she was trying to finish setting it up, had been sick so she had no voice, and then when she finally left, texted Tattoo Crush to say "I'm sorry i'm such a mess. I think I left my vape in the room. jkkkkkkkkk. sorry this is like the worst week of my life, my grandma is sick. the mess is because the other people that live here are going through a nasty divorce. sorry again, im such a mess." just...insanity!!!!! But it was a really fun trip, i love my friends so much!!

We're all agreed that next year we'll be traveling monthly or bi-monthly! Some for sure spots we'll be hitting up are Atlanta, Portland, Seattle, Austin, I'm hoping Vancouver, maybe Boston, San Francisco ofc and maybe spend more time in Oakland, Dyke Roomie wants to go to Salem, another of my coworkers wants me to go to Nashville with her...so excited, so happy, i love life rn and the people in it💖

#just gotta get through 5 more weeks of school and ill have full freedom for this #so so happy and so so sleepyyyyy #exploring the world with my dyke friendsss!!#mine #personal #travel tag #dykeposting #wlw #lesbian dating

10 notes · View notes

hoodharlow · 2 years

Text

A Letter to M

AN: part 4 is finally here! I was gonna post Jack and Miriam getting frisky at Forecastle but 🥴🥴🥴. Hopefully y'all enjoy this. And for my El Novio readers, hope y'all like the little cameo lol

Requested? No

Warnings: angst with a hopeful ending, The Batman spoiler warning (idk if it's really, like the plot briefly mentioned to fit Miriam's character, mentions of Bobby Flay, jealous!jack, Jack being nosy and lurking, and overall Miriam being too stubborn and not realizing she jumped to conclusions

Word Count: 6.5k words

Miriam really hated LA and couldn’t wait to go back to Atlanta. Traffic was the worst, she had left her parents’ house an hour early to her appointment but she was still late. She was in LA for the week because in a few weeks ‘In the Heights’ is premiering and she had a photoshoot with Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly with her other co-stars.

Beto got out of the driver's side and opened the door for her when they arrived at her friend's tattoo parlor. She knew Danny, the tattoo artist, since they were teenagers. Their dads became business partners a few years back when her dad opened his salsa company.

Diego Santos’ restaurants were one of the first restaurants to distribute her dad's salsas. Recently, he even got his own salsa at her dad’s company. But before that when Mexico played at Qualcomm Stadium, her family would always go to his restaurant to eat and through the years, they developed a friendship. Most importantly, Miriam got most of her vintage clothes from Soni’s, Diego’s wife, boutique/vintage store. Specifically her vintage ACNE Studios leather coat that she left in Jack’s suite.

It’s been almost two months since her shit show with Jack. For a few days, he’d leave her voicemails and messages begging her to call him back so he could explain. She didn’t bother to hear them and just deleted them, she wanted nothing to do with him. She was finally out of the way so he was free to make a move on her sister, which was all he really wanted.

She was glad she was working on her movie because for a few hours she could be someone else and not think about Jack and her sister, who was able to make Miriam the bad guy in this situation because a slap over weighted playing with her feelings. At least her sister was at the Cannes Film Festival with all her model friends, and she didn't have to see her face while she was in LA.

"Hey," Danny said, waving at them when the door jingled. He picked up his one year old son from his playpen and walked over to Miriam. He gave her a side hug.

"Hi baby!" She told the one-year old as she took him from Danny's arms. She took a quick glance and noticed the place was empty. "¿Onta la milf?"

"Mede is in class. She's finishing up the last requirements for graduation." He explained. He held up a small platter of sushi. "¿Quieres?"

"I'm good, I had a big breakfast." She said

"You want some?" Danny asked Beto, who looked up from his book and shook his head. "I also have water or snacks. You can help yourself."

Beto nodded and went back to reading.

"I think you might want water. You're looking a little thirsty." Miriam teased as Danny's cheeks flushed.

"I'm being hospitable."

"Sure, you are."

"Anyways, Claudia is coming by in a few minutes to pick up Sebas." He said changing the subject.

Miriam hugged baby Sebas tighter and pouted. "No, I barely got him. I haven't seen him in forever."

"You would have seen him at his first birthday party but you were too busy riding the subway with Jack Harlow." He muttered, referring to the video of them when they went grocery shopping.

She saw the video circling Twitter a few days after she started filming in Atlanta. Luckily for her face wasn't shown and she was just some mystery girl. She watched the video countless times and her heart broke more with every view. It looked like he genuinely liked her. The way he turned his body towards her to talk to her. Or how he twirled one of her curls while he whispered stupid shit in her ear to make her laugh. He even managed to trick the internet that he was interested in her.

"From the way your face dropped, I'm assuming I shouldn't have mentioned Jack, huh?" Danny said solemnly.

Before she could answer him, the door jingled. The person she least expected to see walked in…her ex, Calum Hood.

Well she shouldn't be as surprised to see him. Calum was basically Danny's brother in law. He's been dating Claudia, Danny's twin sister, for two years. Miriam didn't count him as an ex, she just liked teasing him that he was. Claudia even joked about it because he had freaked out when he saw her and her family at Claudia's graduation party.

They only dated for a month back in 2017 when the band was working on their album in San Francisco while she was at Berkeley. But a few fans caught wind of it and made it bigger than what it was. Some fans even speculated that Babylon was about her. The ex that song was actually about was shameless enough to claim that the song was about her.

"Where's la mensa?" Danny asked Calum.

"She's re-editing her reaction video because the audio was off and asked me to pick up the little man." He said. He scanned the room and his eyes landed on Miriam. "Oh hey."

"Hey, Cal." She said.

Sebas climbed over Miriam, wanting to go with Calum. So she just handed him over to him. He happily took the baby.

She pulled out her phone and tapped through Instagram stories while the two bickered about snacks appropriate for a one year old. She saw her friend Christian post that his team won some basketball game, so she responded to his story, congratulating him. He replied back with a thank you. They talked back and forth for a bit. He invited her to another game taking place the next day, and she agreed. Her flight back to Atlanta was the same day, but she made a note to change her flight times for the evening.

"Bye Miriam." Calum called as he left with Sebas and all his baby essentials.

"Bye, tell Claudia I said hi." She waved.

"Imma set up for you, va?" Danny asked her when they left.

She nodded and watched him go to his station.

"Okay, I'm ready for you." He said, waving her over after a few minutes.

Miriam got up and went to where he was. She went into detail about the tattoos she wanted. She got the designs from her character in the movie. Her character had several tattoos and Miriam hated sitting on the makeup trailer for hours on end while the makeup artists adorned her body with them. Danny quickly sketched the designs to get the proportions right before he used the stencil and thermal paper to draw them in detail.

"You don't have to answer, but what really happened between you y el gringo?" He asked her, slipping on black latex gloves.

"Nothing, thanks to Kat and her tits." Miriam mumbled. She unwrapped her wrap dress and turned so he could get started on the first tattoo.

"I'm gonna need you to be very detailed because if I miss anything Mede is gonna be mad." Danny said as he pressed the sketch on her hip.

"You're gonna tell your baby mama about Jack?" Miriam asked.

"Yeah, hopefully if she sees that he hurt someone close to the family, then she'll stop playing his music. I'm tired of that fucking Rendezvous song."

"Okay, but it's a catchy song."

"So what happened between you two?" He asked scooting over to her hip with his tattoo gun. "I was kidding when I said that I was gonna tell Mede–well I am but not in detail."

With that Miriam started from the beginning and told him everything. How Jack saved her from getting in the soccer ball at the Chelsea and LA Galaxy game to how he gave her a ride to her parents' house only for him to go back to hang out with her sister at the club. She came to the conclusion that was when they conspired to make her look like an idiot. She then told Danny how her and Jack were texting and facetiming nonstop when she was in Europe for work. What she omitted, for legal reasons, was that she was casted as Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy) in the Batman movie with Robert Pattinson. Her character is a PhD student who is in some sort of friends with benefits relationship with Bruce. Her only scenes were the funeral and a hospital scene when Alfred gets injured and she visits him and offers him some herbal remedies. Throughout her interactions with Bruce, it's obvious that she knows something is up with him and he's hiding something.

Danny motioned for her to sit up with her back to him, so he could get started on her other tattoos on her arms. Miriam continued her story and told him about how Jack got upset with her over her skit with Pete and their brief argument in the bathroom and how they ended up almost fucking in his hotel room. She gripped the seat, letting tears roll down her cheeks.

"I can't believe I was so stupid." She choked out before breaking into full on sobs.

Danny set the tattoo gun down and went to hug her. He let her cry on his shoulder. After a few minutes she relaxed and stopped crying, he handed her a tissue.

"Thanks," she mumbled before blowing her nose. "Sorry for dumping all that on you. I talked to my therapist about it and she was not helpful. She said some shit about how I jumped to conclusions."

"I mean…"

"Danny!" She exclaimed. "You're supposed to be on my side."

"You did jump to conclusions." He shrugged. "You know the shit that went down between me and Claudia after her break up with Paco. We walked around eggshells for almost a year to avoid any actual confrontation until Mede's baby shower. Mede threatened to dump my ass because I wanted to believe what was convenient for me. My best friend, at the time, and my sister broke up. I sided with Paco because he was quick to twist it around to make himself look like the victim. Claudia wasn't here to defend herself and had to deal with consequences that could have been prevented. And as someone who's dealt with Kat's wrath, I can objectively say that that was her doing. She's intense and likes to mess with people for shits and giggles. Este güey just happened to be in the middle of her shit. Because at the end of the day what happened was that she saw a guy giving her younger sister the attention that she normally gets and got pissed. Don't forget this isn't the first time she's done something like that."

Miriam sat quietly as Danny picked up his tattoo gun and went back to work. He basically said what her therapist said. For years she's been going to therapy to deal with her anxiety and insecurities after something happened in high school between her and this guy she dated in sophomore year. Her therapist said that she tended to self sabotage when she felt like something was starting to feel like it was too good to be true. In this case, it was Jack having feelings for her.

"What do you think I should do?" She asked Danny, watching him get more ink.

He paused to really think about it. "As a father– no me güerres los ojos."

"'As a father' you have a one year old, calm down."

"Jokes aside, I think you should hear him out." He said sincerely. "But don't go looking for him, if you happen to see him and he approaches you then see what he has to say. But if you kick Kat's ass again, I'm gonna need you to film it."

***

Jack couldn’t believe his eyes. Miriam was in LA. He was mindlessly tapping through Instagram stories when he got to hers. It was a post of her getting a few tattoos done with 🤍🤍 🤍 on the bottom. So he tapped on the post and was taken to the tattoo parlor's page. The first picture on the grid was of Miriam and the artist with their arms around their shoulders. He found the artist's personal account and scrolled through. He quickly deduced that they were really close friends after seeing a few posts of him with his girlfriend and their kid. He went on her profile in case she had pictures with Miriam, but she was private, though he did see that she followed him. He scrolled through more pictures, making sure he didn't like any, and landed on one with a familiar face. It was a girl he swore he had seen before.

He went on her profile. He read all the pages and accounts affiliated with her off her bio and then he remembered. It was Claudia Santos.

Almost three years ago she interviewed him for a college radio show. He couldn't recall what happened in that interview apart from where she showed up late and with tear streaked cheeks. Jack was amazed that she was able to make it through the interview. After he ran into her while she was walking to her class, she apologized to him for showing up late and explained that she had gotten in an argument with her brother over something that happened with her ex. Jack didn't remember what he responded with but he did get her number out of it. Though she never texted him back.

He followed her and scrolled through her posts, looking for some with Miriam. Then he checked her Instagram story in hopes she posted that she was with Miriam. Luckily for him, she had been hanging out at a backyard pool with Miriam and an influencer that he'd seen at parties. Moreover she was also in the ‘Luv is Dro’ video. She randomly got hired because she was visiting her boyfriend in Atlanta, so she was flown out to Louisville for the day. Neelam suggested hiring her because she was pretty popular on the makeup side of instagram and tiktok.

Jack could easily see how more relaxed Miriam was with the two girls compared to when she'd hang out with her siblings' friends. With their friends, she's reserved, often pushed to the side, watching everyone. But in the Instagram story, she was laughing and talking animatedly. He smiled to himself as he watched the videos.

It felt like he was facetiming her when she took the phone and gave a play by play as her friends took turns diving in the pool. He replayed the story a few more times and came to the obvious conclusion that he missed her. He missed being able to message her at odd hours with a random thought or because he saw something that reminded him of her, and being able to just listen to her talk for hours. He missed making her laugh to the point where she was barely able to breathe.

"Jack you need to get mic'd up." Neelam said, watching him jump in his seat and scramble to turn his phone face down. She looked at him suspiciously and walked out.

Jack locked his phone and made his way to the venue. He read over his cue cards while a production assistant connected a mic on his person and linked it to an actual microphone. He thanked them and waited for Druski and Buster to join him in the commentators box.

"And there's the most fashionable spectator we've seen in the whole league." Druski said, getting Jack's attention.

He looked in the direction Druski was looking and nearly choked on his spit when he tried to clear his throat. It was Miriam. She was wearing a CYN jersey, but it was cut and styled like that skirt she wore to Nobu when she ran into him, but in dress form. She paired it with her ever present Versace platform boots and a sparkly basketball bag.

Jack's knuckles turned bone white as he gripped his cue cards, watching King Combs spin her around in a hug. Even more seeing her laugh as he spun her around to see her outfit.

"She's something." Buster mumbled away from his mics, eying Miriam's ass.

That was the final straw.

Druski clapped his shoulder before Jack could react. "Miriam is someone who we call out of reach. A 'don't even think about it.'" He leaned into Jack so only he could hear him. "In your case, a bag fumble."

One of the camera people counted off and motioned to them that they were filming. Buster introduced them and the players were brought in. Not long after the first half of the game ended. Jack and Druski were sent out to the court to interview players and spectators sitting courtside.

Druski went up to Pardi, but their interview was quick so he went over to Miriam, who happily greeted him and hugged him.

"Earlier, I was commenting that you are by far the most fashionable person we've seen." Druski said.

"Aw, you're so sweet." Miriam said, watching as Jack walked around in front of them. He was not so subtly standing within earshot.

"How do you know King and how long have you been a fan of his exceptional scouting skills?" Druski asked her, making her pay attention to him.

She laughed and spoke into the mic. "I've known Christian and his family for a while so we go way back. Our moms were friends and Christian was one of my chambelanes for my quinceañera. And for his scouting skills…I can't comment on that. I don't know much about that."

"So what you're saying is that you're single?" He asked her.

"What does my relationship status have to do with the game?" Miriam asked him innocently. Druski laughed, clearly not expecting her to say that. "To whoever you're reporting back to, tell them I am single and to not reply to my friend's Instagram stories with keyboard smashes."

"Dude, interview more people." Jack said, turning back from his interview with a player from King's team. The tips of his ears were a bright pink.

Druski gave Miriam a knowing look and bid her goodbye. She shook her head and went back to her phone when he walked away. She was texting Claudia before Druski approached her because Jack had followed her and replied to the story where she was recording as Claudia and Gigi, Claudia's older cousin, tried synchronized diving in Calum's pool, with what seemed gibberish.

It was the longest time she was able to have fun and relax with friends. She would have joined them in the pool but her tattoos were still fresh, so she chilled in the shade with Medelyn and baby Sebastian. Even after Medelyn’s badgering about Jack and the New York trip and Gigi apologizing profusely because she was in a music video with him when she vaguely told them about her fall out with Jack.

Miriam pulled up Instagram and looked him up, tempted to follow him. Her agent suggested that she make her account public since she was becoming more known for her acting because it could help her bring in more views. She didn't feel comfortable doing that so she just made a new one and her private account became her finsta. She was able to garner 10 million followers, not even three months with her account.

She stared at Jack's profile for a few more seconds and pressed follow. She exited the app and shut her phone off, in case she got the urge to unfollow him. Feeling slightly anxious, Miriam bent down and grabbed her popcorn. She rummaged through her bag looking for her mini hot sauce bottle to put on when she heard a hard smack, making her flinch. She opened her eyes and saw a large hand in front of her face. Jack had caught a basketball before it hit her. Before she could say anything, he tossed the ball with one hand to one of Christian's teammates and walked away from her to interview someone from Pardi's team.

He looked over his shoulder and saw how King wrapped an arm over Miriam's shoulders. He did a few more interviews then went to the commentators box. He pulled out his phone and saw that he was tagged by Urban in a small collage he made for The Crew League's Instagram story. Next to each picture was the @ of the person. The picture beside his with Druski was Miriam's. But the @ was different to the one he followed. Out of curiosity he tapped the @. It took him to Miriam's account, but it wasn't the one he followed. This one had fewer posts and 10 million followers. He went to the last post and read the caption. 'My agent said to make a public account so enjoy the shitshow ✌🏼😌✌🏼'. Jack snorted and scrolled up to follow her when he saw that the follow button said 'follow back' instead. Without hesitation he followed her back. He refreshed her profile and a new post appeared. It was a mirror selfie of Miriam in a bikini with 'what's a nine to a dime piece?' as the caption.

"The game's about to start." One of the production members let Jack know as Druski and Buster came back.

He locked his phone and slipped it back in his pocket. When the second half started, he let Druski and Buster handle most of the commentary, occasionally adding in a word or two. He couldn't concentrate on the game. The only thing on his mind was Miriam's Instagram post.

It had to be a coincidence. She just happened to post a selfie with a line from one of his songs as the caption. There's no way she was waiting for him to follow her back just so she could post that. There was no way…

Soon after, the game gets called. Pardi's team won. Jack and Druski made their way down the court once more. They were met with chaos. King was arguing with one of the producers and refs.

Jack couldn't hear what they were saying, but he did manage to hear something about the winning shot not counting as three points. He and Druski went to investigate and eavesdropped as the producers of the game, King, and Pardi bickered about the call. But they were ushered back to the commentators box. They brought in one of the players from King's team to tell what was going on but he was just as confused as they were. Same thing with one of the refs, except he provided some material for sexual jokes.

Jack glanced over to Miriam and frowned seeing her laugh at something Drake was telling her. It seemed like every time he looked over to her, some guy was trying to make a move on her. Even his childhood idol.

"Do you remember that video of Drake arguing with a Warriors fan during the NBA finals a few years back?" Druski asked him in a low voice. He reached over and turned off Jack's mic.

"Yeah?" he nodded slowly.

"That was your girl. It was how she became Twitter famous."

Jack remembered the video. Urban showed it to him. He re-downloaded Twitter just to be updated on the supposed beef between Drake and the Warriors fan. She didn't show up for a game in Oakland and Drake caleld her out but she responded with a mirror selfie on a movie trailer wearing the Weeknd's bomber jacket and her Warriors jersey under. She tweeted, 'sorry I have important things to do instead of letting people know I'm a raptors fan and made it my personality.'

Jack was pretty sure that he unknowingly followed Miriam because of that Tweet. When he followed her private Instagram he searched her up on Twitter and was surprised that he was already following her.

Half an hour goes by and he and Druski have to go back to the commentators box. King was able to convince the producers to run the play once more and the game was going to continue since it wasn't the three points. Just like that the game ended and the results were the same, Pardi's team won. Jack and Druski went back to the court to do interviews. While he interviewed one of the players in King's team, Jack overheard Miriam tell King that she wished she could stay longer, but she had to go because she had a flight to catch.

He knew this was probably his only chance to talk to her. He quickly took off his mic and rushed after her. Thankful that the cameras were all inside, he stood in the parking lot scanning for any sight of her. He caught her white jersey in the back and jogged over to her.

"Miriam," He called after her.

She turned around and looked at him, unsure she heard him correctly. She looked around noticing the empty parking lot. She said something to her bodyguard and slowly met Jack halfway.

"I'm in a hurry." She said quietly. She hugged herself as she stood a few feet away from him.

"I'll be quick. I, uh, just wanted to explain myself–"

"I don't think this is the place to talk. If you happen to be in Atlanta in the next few days, text me."

"Jacky!" Someone called behind them before he could answer Miriam. "It's been forever!"

It took Jack a few seconds to figure out who she was not because he hadn't seen her in over half a year but because the last time he saw her she had pale skin and naturally platinum blonde hair. Now she was an awkward shade of tan that looked orange and her hair was dark and curly. She was an ex-hook up. He cursed seeing her struggle in her heels as she made her way to him. He covered his face in frustration.

Miriam gave an apologetic look. "I really have to get going, but you should catch up with your friend."

She turned on her heel and went back to the car, feeling like a fool once more. She felt so embarrassed. After he saved her from getting hit, she spent five minutes looking for a cute bikini selfie to post in case Jack happened to lurk through her profile. She hoped that by using a line from her second favorite song of his, he would get the hint and reach out. She wasn't expecting him to follow her so soon.

She sniffled as she pulled out her change of clothes for the flight. She went to the back row of the car and set up a divider with her blanket. She changed out of her jersey-turned-dress into a forest green Nike tracksuit. She swapped her boots for white slip on Vans. She finished removing her makeup and braided her hair into two Dutch braids.

After she packed up her things, she took down the blanket and went to sit next to Beto. He looked up from his book and gave her a look where he wanted to say something, but he knew it wasn't his place to say what was needed to be said.

"Just say it, Beto." Miriam sighed, reaching for the charging cable in the center console to plug in her phone.

He put his hands in the air in surrender. "If I were you I'd revisit what Daniel was telling and see how you made the same mistake. But that's me. At the end of the day, this is your situation, not mine."

Miriam nodded, getting the hint. She obviously jumped to conclusions and ranway before Jack could even utter a word. She sat back in her seat and pulled her knees to her chest, processing her interaction with Jack. She hoped that he wasn't as stubborn as she was and wasn't put off by her actions and was willing to actually talk it out.

***

"What the fuck do you mean that you need an in? It's been a week. She followed you, you followed her back, she posted a thirst trap with lyrics to one of your songs, and told you to text her when you're in the same city as she. What more do you need?" Urban asked Jack.

It's been a week since he saw Miriam at the Crew League. A few days ago he flew out to Atlanta for some studio sessions. Jack would have reached out but he wasn't sure if she wanted him to after seeing one of his old hookups.

"You're so fucking irritating." Urban sighed. He got up from Jack's bed and pulled up the Notes app on his phone. "I'm going to Target. You want anything specific?"

"I'll go with you. I've been cooped up for a while and need fresh air." Jack said, grabbing his wallet.

In the past few days, he'd been working on a song that can be read as a poem. He even made music to go along with it when he was messing around with the Circuit Tracks. He's not sure of the direction it's going since he's just writing his thoughts down. It's mostly self-reflection about his situation with Miriam and what he could have done differently.

They arrived at Target twenty minutes later and split up their groceries. Urban was getting the food, while Jack took care of cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products. He placed some laundry detergent in the cart when Urban threw some things in the cart and tugged the cart in the direction of the cash registers.

"We should go." He told Jack urgently.

"Why?" He furrowed his eyebrows at his best friend. "You didn't even get half of what we needed."

"I,uh, left the stove on?" He said unsure.

Jack looked incredulously at Urban. He can count the number of times his best friend has used the stove and that's not counting when he'd use it to light up a blunt because he was too lazy to get his lighter from his room.

"I don't believe you." Jack said pushing the cart in the direction where Urban came from.

He went to the frozen food aisle and grabbed a few bags of frozen fruit. He then made his way to the pasta aisle when he heard, "Güey, I went to like five Targets looking for Suavitel qnd nothing. It's like that one tiktok, es latinofobia."

It was Miriam. She was wearing leggings and a matching cropped zip up hoodie with white running shoes. She didn't see him; she was looking down at her phone, facetiming someone. Jack stood frozen. He wasn't sure if should say hi or walk away. He made eye contact with Beto and he nonchalantly walked towards the end of the aisle.

Jack turned around to motion to Urban to go when he saw his best friend nowhere in sight. He cursed and pretended to be deciding between macaroni and some other shaped pasta.

"Excuse m– Jack?" Miriam asked him.

"Oh, hey!" He said a little too loudly. He cleared his throat. "How…how have you been?"

"I've been good. You?"

"I'm good. I, uh, landed last night. I'm gonna be here for a week or two so I wanna cram a few studio sessions before heading back to LA."

"That's good!" She exclaimed. She could hear Claudia, the person she'd been facetiming, laughing through her airpods.

"How's your movie coming along?" He asked her.

"Good." She nodded. "Uh, we've been filming."

"That's good." He stuffed his hands in his hoodie pocket.

They stood in an awkward silence for a few seconds. Both unsure of what to do or say.

"I should get going. I have an early call time. I just need to get spaghetti." Miriam nodded to the boxes in front of Jack.

"Oh," he said walking backwards to allow her to get it.

He bumped into his shopping cart, nearly falling to the ground, but he caught himself. He pushed

"Jack?" She called to him softly.

"Yeah?"

"I can't reach the box. Could you…"

"Yeah." He nodded. He grabbed a few boxes of spaghetti from the top shelf and handed them to her. "Here."

"Thanks."

"Of course. I'm gonna go look for Urban." He mumbled.

"Yeah, I saw him by the cereal aisle earlier."

"I'll see you around, Miriam." He said before started pushing his cart.

"Yeah, you too." Once he was out of the aisle.

Miriam looked down at her phone, hoping Claudia had hung up. But she hadn't. She was folded over on her boyfriend's couch silently laughing. She knew in an hour Medelyn was going to call her and ask for the details because Claudia wouldn't explain what went down properly.

"I'm hanging up." She told Claudia.

"No! I'm literally so bored, keep talking to me." She pleaded.

"Don't you have a lesson plan to plan for?" Miriam asked her as she made her way to pay.

The pair kept talking until it was time for Miriam to drive back to her brother's home. He bought a condo a few years back when he was filming a Hulu teen series because production was set in Atlanta. Her mom also used the condo when she would film her projects and now it was Miriam's turn to use the home while she worked on her movie.

Beto helped her carry her groceries inside, doing a quick sweep of the house. He motioned to her that it was safe for her to go in. He bid her goodnight and shut the door after him.

Miriam opened the door that led to the small patio area so Daisy could do her business. She let the dog have some privacy and went inside to put away the groceries. She was going to make a full on pasta dinner, but she settled on making quesadilla and airfrying some dino nuggets and fries.

She scooped some food and filled her dog's water bowl just as Daisy came back inside and settled on her bed. Miriam went to her room while her dino nuggets and fries cooked. She opened some packages she got.

Now that she was public on Instagram a lot of brands would send her things. She even became a brand ambassador for Savage×Fenty. To her luck the first package she opened was from Rihanna herself. She laughed at the handwritten note she got and pulled out the lingerie. Part of her contract was that she had to post two outfits/sets of the lingerie she received, so she decided on a matching lace bra and panty set and some silk pajamas.

She changed into the lace set first. She recorded herself laying on her stomach though the full length mirror, zooming in on her ass then zooming out to her doing a peace sign. She searched for Doja's song 'Streets' on the music feature and slid her through the song until she got to, 'And baby, I needed space. Ain't nobody 'round here on your level'. She snapped a few mirror selfies after she posted the video on her IG story. She changed into the silk pajamas leaving the top open so the alce bra was still able to be seen and took more mirror selfies. She picked a few for her post.

She hoped a certain someone happened to see her story and get a hint. If he doesn't, she's gonna take it as her hint to stop trying to get him to notice her. She could be the first to reach out, but she didn't want to seem desperate for his validation. Technically speaking, Jack was the one who wanted to talk, so he should be the one to reach out, not her.

Miriam turned on the TV and went through the episodes she recorded. Her dad and Diego were going to be guests on Beat Bobby Flay and she never missed the chance to see Bobby get heckled by her dad. Once her dad and Diego were announced, she ran to the kitchen, remembering that she had food in the airfryer. She tossed everything on a plate and made her sauce concoction of ranch, Sriracha and ketchup.

She settled back in bed and continued watching the episode. Halfway through, she got a text message alert. She reached for her phone on the nightstand and checked who it was from. Miriam nearly fell off her bed seeing Jack's contact name. She sat up straight and stared at the notification. She couldn't believe he actually messaged her.

She needed to take a breather before she went to read his message. She grabbed her dishes and went to the kitchen. She washed her dishes, cleaned the counters, and swept up the crumbs that fell onto the floor. She took out some chicken from the freezer and set it in the sink to defrost for the morning. Once she felt like she stalled enough, she went back to her room. Fifteen minutes has passed so she can finally see what he sent her.

'Hope you don't mind, but Urb passed me your email. I sent you something through there. Listen to it if you want, no pressure. Night.'

Miriam pulled up her email and found what he sent listed at the top. She clicked on it, revealing an audio file. It was titled 'A Letter to M'. She grabbed her noise canceling headphones from the nightstand and connected them to her phone. Her thumb hovered above the file. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest. She wiped sweat off her palms on her comforter. She took a deep breath and exhaled, finally pressing on the audio file.

It started with Jack kicking Urban out of his room and cursing for not realizing he started recording. He started talking, apologizing for how awkward he was when he saw her at Target. Miriam smiled to herself. A simple beat started playing after a few seconds of silence. Jack cleared his throat and started rapping, completely catching Miriam off guard.

She hugged her big pillow and listened to what he was saying. He was apologizing to her, taking the blame for what happened with her sister. He went on talking about how he missed being with her and how wished he could have done things differently so he wouldn't have lost her. He ended the song with 'Sincerely Jack'. It was then when Miriam connected the title to how the song was formatted.

The music stopped. Miriam pulled off her headphones and turned them off. She wiped off her tears and played the song once more at the highest volume, letting Jack's voice bounce around her room. Once the song ended, she did the same. She replayed the song a few more times.

It finally sank in. She was a fucking dumbass that jumped to conclusions.

Miriam turned off the song and pulled her messages. She sent him, 'Can I call you rn?'

Instantly he saw the message. The three dots appeared at the bottom then they disappeared. Miriam frowned but quickly collected herself as Jack's name lit up on her screen. She didn't hesitate to answer.

"Hey."

Taglist: @cherryxcreme @youngharleezyxo @deannaard @meyocoko

#jack harlow concepts #jack harlow one shot #jack harlow smut #jack harlow angst #jack harlow oneshot #jack harlow fanfic #jack harlow fanfiction #jack harlow fan fic #jack harlow imagines #jack harlow imagine #el novio series #jack and miriam

217 notes · View notes

idkfnok · 7 months

Text

11:11: Let Me Show You (p2)

Main Characters: Jehraye "Jay" Guidry; Alani "Lan" Sanders

A real slow-burn

PT 1

I get back home to Georgia after 11p.m. I lowkey wanted to call Jehraye, but I figured he would’ve been asleep. I get in my car and drive, I loved going back to N.O. but, I did miss downtown Augusta. It’s similar to a lot of places but, still aint nothing like it. I get home, take my bags up to my apartment, take a shower, reheat that white chicken chili I had left, I ate and went to sleep.

I woke up the next morning around 10, with A missed call from My mama. I know she’s calling to ask about New Orleans. I made a mental note to call her later. I brush my teeth and get dressed before heading over to the Tattoo shop that Nya owns and doing a little voluntary receptionist work for awhile. I love coming to her shop. Because not only did I get free reign to the little snack bar she had. I got to interact with some cool ass people too. Nya’s a traditional tattoo artist. The people in her shop though, were cartoonist and realist, shit, she even had a traditional stick -and - poke artist too. Dymo, the Realist, actually did the portrait of my great grandma I got three years ago after she passed. All of their work was top-notch. Nya wouldn’t stand for anything else. Which showed, not only in her work, but that of the one’s she hired too.

She was always playing music too. It jumped all over the place. She went from indie artists like music by this dude named Money from Atlanta, Russ to Rodwave, Kodak black, Jacob banks, King von, Kirk franklin to Gallant and Marco Mckinnis ; all the way to Panic at the Disco and all things in between.Crazy enough, the dude “Money” is one of her best friends. Her only preference in most aspects of her life was “I like it.” Music was no different. Mari Walked in at about 11:30. I knew then, my voluntary duties were done. I got up from the desk, hugged Mari, yelled that I was leaving and made my way out of the shop and to the Mall so I can go stare at the back of Spencer’s and ponder not buying shit before I made my way to Victoria’s secret and sniffed around for perfume to buy at their semi annual sale. I picked up the Rainbow Shower, Desert Sky and Cactus Water.

What does the schedule look like for the rest of the day?

“Consultation at 11: 45, Surgery at 12:30 , then lunch ; You’re tightening Miah’s braces, check the schedule for tomorrow and we should both be outta here by 4.

Cool.”

“ So how was your wednesday?”

It was good, why you ask?

“Jaelai told me you went on a date or something yesterday morning.”

Tell yo wife to mind her business.

“My wife, yo sister.”

I bet she the one who sent Toni ass to my table.

“Nooooo. What she say?”

She was chill until I give her the tip, then she talmbout “Make sure you get yo child”

“No she didn’t”

The hell if she didn’t! had my date looking at me funny

“😂”

That shit ain’t funny. Im tryna support her and she throwing salt in the game 😂

“Toni was always fucking with you. She’s been doing it as long as she’s been with Kieran

I know. But, damn if she don’t do it at the worst times.

“Well you got the crybaby today so, be prepared.”

She never cried with me.I don’t know what you be doing to my niece but she don’t like it

“I’m her daddie.”

Maybe it’s because you white.

“I have been white her whole life.”

Ion know maybe she just like me better.

“ Yeah because you always give her what she want.”

She ten , why not?

“I feel sorry for any man who dates any of your daughters.”

Why you say that?

“Cause her like whoever her mama gonna be, is gonna be spoiled to hell. Cause you brother, are a Hopeless Romantic with a damn good job and a real love of women.”

Always. Speaking of romance, you just reminded me that I gotta call Lan once I get off.

The rest of the day went by smooth. The consultation led to another appointment next month for braces, I tightened my nieces braces and The surgery; started and finished quicker than I expected. I was outta the office by 4: 15 . I got in my car and called Alani.

“Hello.”

Hey gorgeous, how you doing?

“I’m doing aight”

That’s good. , how has your day been? Give me details please

“It was pretty good. I woke up, ate, brushed my teeth, got dressed and I went to Nya’s shop.”

Which one of your friends was Nya again?

“The one who had on the red bodycon dress.”

Okay

“ Yeah she’s a tattoo artist. I go to her shop sometimes to help and steal snacks.”

Uh huh

“ Talked to some customers and chilled until Mari got there.”

That’s the one with the red hair?

“Yep.”

Before you continue. Speaking of jobs, what do you do?

“I’m a doula.

Oh Okay, I’m a Orthodontist.

“ At 28?!”

Yes, I have been for like a year, almost two. Anyway, continue on.

“I left the shop, went to the mall and called my mama back after I left Victoria’s Secret, and i’ve been home for a few hours.

Foreal? Cool, i'm bout to Facetime you.

I press the camera icon and wait for her to answer. When she does, the first thing I notice is how shiny her lips are. She has this 90’s lip combo. You know the one with the 5% tint around the edges and it looks amazing on her. I compliment her and our conversation continues. She tells me that she is a birth doula and some of what that entails. I ain’t ever see anybody give birth but, the way she describes it makes it sound like one of the scariest and most beautiful things ever. Most of her clients are Black women, second time moms who have had terrible experiences in the hospital. From women almost dying because nurses and doctors try to write their pain off as “normal” shit.

If the person dealing with this is telling you that they can’t breathe, they have a splitting headache or can’t feel their legs long after the epidural should’ve worn off, you should listen. Hearing her recount some of these stories pissed me off. You shouldn’t fear for your or child’s life coming into the hospital. I learned some things like water births are really popular and are often more relaxing for the mother. That tidbit of information I tucked into my back pocket.

We talked about the time my tooth went through the bottom of my lip and left a scar when I was a kid, my first sexual experience at 14 that involved licking whipped cream off of some pussy once or twice. She told me about the time she ran head first into a brick wall when she was 8 and how she snorted salt up her nose when she was 13 because she “wanted to see what it felt like if she ever snorted powder.” on some wild shit. I was really enjoying the conversation. So much so, that I hadn’t realized I was home, sitting in my car for the past five hours. I looked at the time on my phone and it was 9:40 and I needed to get in the house so that I could shower, eat and go to bed.

Things continued that way for a few more days. Us updating one another throughout the day, nightly phone calls, early morning voice messages. Sending badly angled and funny looking pictures of each other from facetime calls. I've watched her get dressed and she’s watched me get undressed. We’ve fallen asleep on the phone only to wake up and one of us has hung up. And it’s usually her. We’ve given one another recipes. Her recipe for brown butter chocolate chip pecan cookies is top tier and she gave me a lot of praise on my five cheese macaroni. Before I knew it, the Thursday of our date had shown up. I woke up that morning to the reminder and was hella excited. I had been thinking about what to cook for two days now and I decided on Smothered Okra with shrimp and tomatoes over rice. I called her, told her what I had in mind; she said it sounded good and she was going to cook the same; but add chicken to it.

We Facetimed each other while shopping for food. I helped her pick out the proper seasonings and ingredients needed for the dish and advised her to pick up a bag of Basmati rice instead of “regular” rice. I picked up cut okra while she wanted the whole Okra.I grabbed a bottle of wine and she passed on that. We went back to our houses and started preparing the meal. I ain't feel like chopping onions, so I bought the pre-cut ones. She was all about the full process. She chopped her onions, peppers and all while I watched as she struggled to cut some of ‘em because she don’t know how to properly handle a knife. She more than proved my point when she sliced her damned finger, dropped the knife and probably almost cut her foot too.

Baby, be careful, please!

“I’m fine Jehraye, it’s just a little cut. The knife ain’t that sharp”

And that’s probably the problem Lan. Get you some better knives Bae.

“My knives work just fine.”

No they do not, clearly. You were struggling to cut the bell pepper.

“That’s because I don’t know how to cut shit.”

Aight, so you got one option, start buying pre-cut vegetables.

“I will not.”

Then I suggest you get on youtube and learn how to use knives because I'mma order you some new ones.

“Jay-”

No, bae you don’t wanna use pre- cut stuff, I'm getting you new knives. So go ‘head and give me A FedEx drop off, P.O. box, your address or something.

“How about this-”

If ain’t no solution in this baby, don’t even say nothing.

“How about when you come visit me, we can look at knives together.”

Aight that sounds- wait! You gonna let me come see you?!

“Yes sir. Just not until the end of the month.”

Baaaaaabbbbbbyyyy, that’s like 3 weeks away.

“You’ll be fine.”

Nuh uh…. My doctor said if I don’t see you in two weeks imma die.

“Ohhh you so dramatic 😂 yo ass is not gonna die.”

When I am touch deprived for a long time, I start to waste away into a pile of dirt.

“I can’t with you. Jehraye Guidry, you are something else.”

We talk while finishing up the food and once she turns her smothered Okra and shrimp down she announces that she’s about to get in the shower so she can get dressed and the rest of our date can continue. We hang up and about 35 minutes later she’s calling me while she finishes up the rest of her routine. I don't mind because I am also on the tail end of finishing up my hair. I choose to go with a braid out because I know she’s wanted to see my hair. She calls back when I am almost done taking out my last braid. She’s putting on lipgloss and perfume. When she looks at the camera, she gasps and says “Your hair!”

Yeah. you said you wanted to see it out so, I decided to wear it out.

“You look so cute. Now I really wanna play in it.”

Well, when I come to see you; you can play in it for a few minutes

“Why only a few minutes?”

You think Imma come to Augusta and just sit around? We gotta order knives and I wanna go to the mellow mushroom. You said it was a cool bar and I wanna see a lil bit of your city.

“But what if I wanna just lay up with you and play in your hair?”

We can do that. But, you already told me that you like rubbing on folks and I like being rubbed on. That goes on for too long, We might end up in a few more positions than you intended , and you gon be doing a hell of a lot more than playing in my hair.

“ I’m down for wherever that leads us.”

Alani

“Jehraye”

Let me be clear, you rubbing on me…we fucking.

“I understand what you’re saying.”

Yeah, but are you okay with that happening?

“Yes, I want it to.”

Aight. Listen, I've been waiting for this.

“What do you mean?”

I purposefully ain’t been jacking off for about a week.”

“Okay.”

And imma hold off until I get to you.

“Oohhhhh”

Yeah so, you better be prepared.

“I hear you.”

We sit down at our tables and begin eating. I wait to see her take her first bite. I wanted her to like it because the recipe I gave her is truly my own and I wanted to know if she fucked with it. The way my eyes lit up when I saw hers damn near bulge out of her head; the only way I coulda been any happier in that moment was if she and I were sitting in front of each other. I spooned some of the food into my mouth as she moaned satisfactorily at the first taste of my food, she had no idea she was eating. After telling her that I couldn't wait to see her, our conversation took a very sexual turn as we discussed some of the things we were and weren’t willing to do.

“How do you feel about aftercare?”

I rarely ever do it, but the times I have; i’ve enjoyed it.

“Why don’t you do it more?”

My goal is to satisfy the woman and myself, if that puts her to sleep; so be it.

“So aint nobody ever put you to sleep?”

Some have.

“Well, I expect aftercare.”

And you gon get it, if you aint sleep.

So what’s your views on sucking dick?

“I like it. I only do it like a spur of the moment thing. I don’t plan it.”

Okay. I like kissing.That’s before, definitely during and after sex.

“Me too.”’

Aight so, how would you feel if I wanted to eat yo ass?

“That’s a “no”.”

How come?

“I like to kiss, eating ass and kissing don’t usually go hand-in-hand.”

Gotcha

You can bite and choke me though

“For real?”

Yes, Guidry. I’m cool with that; spanking, and to some degree, restraint.

“Oh baby, you gonna have the time of your life.”

And another thing.

“Yes?”

I am loud, and it ain’t always cute, especially if i’m enjoying it.

“Bae, I’m trying to put you in a position where you NEED aftercare. I don’t expect it to be cute.”

Speaking of, what is a typical aftercare routine for you?

“ simple shit.Take you to the toilet, sit with you while you pee. Run you a shower, help clean you up. I’ll carry you if I have to. I’m a cuddler so, after I feel like you’re situated, I’ll clean up and cuddle you for a while. I might fall asleep, if I don’t within the hour; you can expect waffles to be made. But that is the least I would do.”

I want somewhere closer to the most you can do.

“Then you can’t fall asleep or I can do some of it during or before we fuck.”

Okay , I'm cool with that.

I’ll be honest, having this conversation with him right now, was definitely making me horny and in times like this, I am very grateful that I was born a woman. I have no doubt in my mind that if we were next to each other right now, he would be able to smell how badly I wanted to fuck him. Just thinking about it, my thighs clenched together and I felt that familiar tingle in my stomach. He didn’t help any with his hair falling into his face, licking his lips and kissing at me. The rest of that date, I was going back and forth with mindfulness and imagining what he would feel like inside of me. What his tongue and fingers felt like. What he sounds like when he moans, is he a hard or soft dom. What does he say, if anything while he’s having sex. Just then, I decided to ask.

Jehraye.

“Yes, ma’am”

Do you talk during sex?

“Yes, I do. I talk, moan, cuss, I might say something in french.

You speak French?

A little,

“Oh okay. I might make it my goal to hear some of that from you.

“ You get some French outta me, we locked in. the last person I did that with, we was together for 3 years.”

That ain’t THAT long .

“When you 17, yes it is.”

Fair point.

I don’t know why I decided to ask him that knowing it would lead me directly out of mindfulness and into fantasy land. I was still eating and talking but I wasn’t at this date. I was in my bed with this guy I just met three weeks ago, with my face buried into a pillow while he fucked me as I screamed his name in pure ecstasy. Jay must have noticed because when he finally got my attention back he said “ I’m thinking about it too and I’m bricked the fuck up, baby.” “Jaaayyy” his name comes out way more lust-filled than I intended.“ When I get ahold of you, you’ll know I meant what I said on our first date at Nana’s.” He says. “ All I ask is that you don’t run from me. If you need me to slow down or stop, that’s fine. But DO NOT RUN.” “Why not?” I ask. “ It aggravates me and I'm gonna want to punish you for it.” “How come?” “ cause if we fucking, you wanted this dick. So, unless you say “stop” or I feel like I'm hurting you, you taking EVERY inch I got.” “Damn, It’s like that Jay 🙃?” I say. He comes back with “Ion get in no pussy I don’t wanna be in.”

At that moment, I wanted this man more than I have the past few weeks. We talked some more about our personal “Do’s and Don'ts” of sex, and by the time this date was over, Jay had put his hair back up, I was wishing that I wore underwear. Maybe it was best that I didn’t. I’m not a fan of that cold shit hitting my pussy when I pull my underwear back up. Our date continues on and we finish our food. We stay on facetime for the rest of the night, of course we fell asleep on the phone. This time though I didn’t hang up and awoke to see Jay getting dressed. I watched him for a few minutes before saying “Good morning.” He looked at the camera and said “good morning bae.”

Uh uh, where you going?

“ 🙂I’m taking my nieces out for a lil bit of fun today.”

awwwww , what are ya’ll gonna do?

“They wanna go to the trampoline park and the movies.”

Okay, what are ya’ll gonna watch?

“They wanna see Tiana's Place”

Oh okay, I saw a few commercials for that.

“yeah”

Why y'all leaving so early though?

“So I can catch the matinee, These girls are pricey.”

You shouldn’t be worried about that.

“What you mean?”

The way you did and were willing to spend on me in Nola…

“Yea, now Imagine that on a slightly smaller scale, times three.”

Yep. Baby catch that matinee

Exactly 😂that, on top of gas and feeding them whatever they wanna eat when one of em, wants crumbl cookie and subway; the other one gonna want wendy’s but, a blizzard from sonic and the baby, she aint eating nothing that ain’t a 6pce nugget happy meal with apple slices and a mcflurry wit extra oreos.

Ohhh with the way you spend money, you must be a damn popular Dentist.

“I make good money but I also have a roommate so I can save a bit more.”

Oh okay. Good Well, Imma let you go so you can enjoy your day with your nieces.

“Aht aht.”

What?

“When did we start hanging up without kisses?”

I blow a kiss at the phone and Jay says “Thank you” and hangs up.

My Friday was pretty laid back. Until it wasn’t. My client went into an early labor, so I turned off Law & Order and made my way to North Augusta. When I got there I was the only part of her birthing team present. Because she hadn’t called anyone else yet. She’s one of the patients I offer free advice and to some degree birthing services to, as part of my program where I help young single mothers cope with, prepare for and assist during birth. Despite this being her second time giving birth, she was terrified. I could see it in her eyes. She feared the pain, the uncertainty and a second breech birth. About five minutes after I got there we made calls to the rest of her birthing team, and set up the pool.

We sat her in it and talked through the contractions and tried to keep her calm until it was time for her to push. I held her hand, and fed her some strawberries and ice chips while she focused on breathing and pushing. About 3 hours later Her son had started to crown. When we told her, she started crying. This baby wasn’t breech and maybe this labor would be easier. Forty-five minutes after that baby Eanion Ahzi Rivers was born. He was so adorable. We got him cleaned up and I stayed for a few hours after and took care of the baby while she rested. I Picked my phone up and saw I had 2 missed calls from Jay. Eanion’s mama was a wake so I stepped out to return bae’s calls.

“You musta been sleep.”

No. I just helped deliver a baby a few hours ago.

“For real! How’d it go? Are mama and the baby okay?”

Yes, She had a little boy.

“Awwww. How are you doing though?”

I’m fine, we were prepared for a breech birth but he came out head first and he is the chubbiest lil thing you ever did see. How was the day with ya nieces?

“ listen, next time, they can’t get the Aux.”

Why?

“I fuck with Gracie’s corner but, I wanna hear some Akeem ali, Russ, D4L, Ludacris or something while i’m driving .”

Jay, you don’t wanna know what sound the letter makes 😂?

“Hell no, I’m outta school shit 😂”

Well, It seems like you had just as good of a day as I did.

“I did. I love spending time with my nieces and nephews. I’m their favorite uncle.”

I bet you are. You’re definitely one of my favorite people.

“Awwwww, you mean that?”

Yeah.

“Aight, then sit on my face when I get to Augusta.”

JEHRAYE

“ALANI”

GUIDRY

“Quit calling me by my government like that.”

Well what do you want me to call you ?

“Jumbo dick Jay”

OMG you-

“I’m bullshiting. It ain’t that big. It’s just right for the body it's attached to.”

I bet. When are you gonna book your flight?

“Next week.”

Good, that way I can set my schedule up right. How long do you plan on staying?

“Two days.”

Okay.

“Yeah, clear that schedule.”

I will.

After that she had to go back and attend to her client. I went to hang out with Kieran and Asa. Asa, my best friend since middle school and the one who leaves me stranded on these road trips is a High School AP Calculus teacher. Kieran, my best friend since junior year of college and now roommate, is an HR consultant. Asa has always wanted to be a teacher. Despite the pay and us trying to convince him to at least go into the college sector, loves what he does. He had a hard time with math when we were little and it frustrated him so, he decided he was gonna do what he had to. He wanted math to come almost as easy to him as English and history did, and he made it happen. This nigga is one of the smartest people I know and he deserves every praise he gets. He’s worked hard for it. Kieran on the other hand, Is married; well was married to Toni and they have a 4 year old son together. My Godson Kieran Jamez “KJ” Landry Jr. He always had a thing for Toni so, when they started dating, she became his girlfriend and I became both of their friends and the third wheel. And despite going through a divorce; which I think is stupid because they clearly still love and want each other; these motherfuckas are hard headed and are hurting because they tryna teach eachother lessons. But I can’t force them together. Me and the guys hang out for a few hours and then we head to our respective homes. I get in, Call Alani, we talk for awhile and I go to sleep.

PT 1

#love #romance #fluff #smut #black woman #black couple #black man #black women #black men #black tumblr #black beauty #black ff #black woman appreciation #black writers #plus size reader #x chubby reader

8 notes · View notes