i'd sigh in bliss, even while drowning, if only it was your hand holding me under; your kiss is the most violent death i've ever known.
qh43 x reader: let's take this bitter tension on the water, shall we?
(warnings: blasphemous filth, unprotected penetrative sex (m on f), fingering, hair pulling (have you guys seen his hair, recently?), choking (it's really been too long. too many nice guys), talking (he brings out the best in me), tears (or the worst idk), lots and lots and lots of miscommunication and tension and being kinda mean, obviously i'm forgetting things but all my usual stuff. please be warned, don’t read if you’re not 100% sure.)
(a/n: thank you for waiting, my favorites. i give you qh43 x doll (on deck). this idea has taken me a long time to flesh out, with lots of work and outlining and such, so i really hope you enjoy. i told myself it was going to be short and it ended up being 16.5k, because i have no self control. i guess i was just in the mood to write angst-filled argument after angst-filled argument, given all the sweet boy content i've been putting out recently (don't worry, that will be back soon enough). and qh43 is my go-to for the sad stuff, for the fights and kisses in the rain (literally, this time). can you tell i was listening to taylor's is it really over? way too much and thought... what if it wasn't? over, that is? obviously, none of this makes any logistical sense, you guys know this. thank you for reading anyways. let's see, what else? loving the nico slut headcanon i'm committing to. also love a good mt19 gap-tooth takeover (is he not the perfect cruise ship fling?). and luke is here, too, for all the people telling me to write for him. i'm sorry, i know the miscommunication trope is frustrating and the one-bed trope is cliche. please, for the love of god, take this as a sign to be clear with people about how you feel. life is too short. i have like one billion baby stories started right now, so we will see for which inspiration proves most fruitful. will it be golf pro cc22 x bevcart girl? geology ta js1 x classics ta? the tj17 one i've been trying to finish forever? none of the above? we'll see. pretty, pretty please, tell me what you think. go canucks (dare i say cup-bound), tell your snakes i love them. until next time. love, always).
as much as you wanted to be completely and purely excited for this little excursion, as much as you wanted this to be a truly undiluted celebration of your best friend's wedding next weekend, something was standing in your way.
"c'mon," the bride-to-be, savannah, said, standing on the pier next to you as you gazed out at the obscenely massive cruise ship, its numerous windows like the eyes of a spider, much too many and much too close together, "you've worked so hard, babe." she gave you a tight side-hug, which you returned. "you've made this whole process so easy, hm? let loose for a weekend, and then, i promise, you can go right back to being the militant maid of honor you are."
you let out a short laugh, let your shoulders settle back into place. "thanks for this weekend, sav," you said. "it's gonna be great." she was right, of course, in some ways, and wrong in others.
you had worked hard, very, very hard, because you cared about savannah, loved her like a sister, and you wanted her wedding to be one of dreams. you liked jack, her fiance, a lot, too, and you liked them together, saw how they brought out the best in each other.
it had been months of making sure everything during the planning process went over smoothly, of being there for savannah when the world felt like it was ending, when the pressure of a wedding felt like it was insurmountable.
when bridesmaids had a little too much to say about their dresses, or when family members had a little too much to say about their hotel arrangements, or when savannah herself had a little too much to say about how it just had to be perfect, you were there, mitigating the worries and stressors and potential problems.
it had been a rewarding but draining couple of months.
savannah had seen that, had appreciated you even more because of it, so her and jack had planned this mini-vacation as a thank you for both of their wedding parties. the big day was next week, so this was supposed to be a final relaxing deep breath before the inevitable whirlwind of white lace and dress shoes and pink flowers.
and it would be relaxing, you were sure of it, you wouldn't let it not be, if only because your best friend wanted it to be so adamantly. it would be a perfect weekend vacation, the perfect cruise getaway, the perfect source of pre-wedding bliss.
it would be, it would be all of these things, as long as you stayed as far away from quinn hughes as was humanly possible.
the brother of the groom, the best man, your counterpart in the wedding, whom you had been fairly successful in avoiding whenever possible, all things considered. you'd been in the same friend group for years, after all, since the end of college. years of averted glances, charged comments that you pretended to ignore, of memories that left your cheeks hot and anger hotter.
you hadn't had a major blowout with him yet, and you were confident enough in your self-control to believe you wouldn't start now. you'd never been confined on a boat with him before, though, hadn't been stuck in a room with him without an escape plan, so that would present a new challenge.
what was every day in the periphery of quinn, though, if not a new challenge? a challenge more devastatingly taxing with each passing moment?
as you and your best friend boarded the ship together, you hoped that you could postpone seeing him for as long as possible. maybe if you stayed in your room the whole weekend, you wouldn't have to see him at all. wouldn't that be fun?
savannah dropped her stuff and told you she was going to find jack, leaving you to unpack your things and enjoy some moments of silence before what would surely be a tornado of a weekend.
unfortunately, as you folded your clothes and organized them in drawers, your mind wandered, with nothing to focus on but your anxieties. your anxiety, personified, in a broad, shaggy-haired, soft-featured best man.
you sighed, as you often did when you thought of quinn, because no, it hadn't always been this way. there had been a single, lovely, dreamy night during which the two of you hadn't hated each other. quite the opposite, actually.
it felt sort of unfair that, even now, years later, he could still evoke such a visceral feeling in you, a kind of hatred you felt in your stomach, a kind of shame that rattled through your skull, a regret that set your chest ablaze. and as much as it pained you to think it, it felt sort of unfair that savannah was getting married to jack, because you had known quinn first. it had been you and quinn, first.
it had been you and quinn, both of you at the just-off-campus bar alone, waiting for your respective friends to show up. you had spotted him across the room, his pretty face made so angelic by the hazy neon light. he had spotted you too, had been so unapologetic about letting his gaze settle in the pockets of your exposed collarbones, then flickering up to meet your careful eyes slowly, heatedly.
it had been you and quinn, in a back booth, once he'd bought you a beer and motioned for you to join him, a precise but easy tilt of his head in invitation. on that waxy bench seat, as time passed, you grew much closer together than you could have made a real excuse for, until the outside of your thigh was pressed up against his, until he angled his shoulder back so you could lean your side on his chest, until there was really no question as to where the night was going to go. where it was going to end.
until he rewrote the script you'd assumed into place, too, because when you talked with him for that hour or so, drinks practically forgotten on the table, friends absolutely forgotten, he wasn't like the one-night-onlys you'd had in the past.
he was pretty, sure, almost embarrassingly so, but he spoke to you so gently, with such care, it stunned you.
when he asked you about your day, you were shocked to find completely genuineness in his gaze.
when you asked about his friends, when they were showing up, you couldn't help but feel a little endeared by his short laugh. "athletes," he told you, then, "most unreliable people on the planet, doll, swear it."
it had been you and quinn, basically melting into each other, in that booth, and it had been you and quinn, at his place, after. when you'd discovered that he tasted like something citrusy, maybe grapefruit, from whatever he'd been drinking, when you'd felt his rough hands on your face, your hips, when his voice had grown low and husky and brutal, barely pausing for even a moment when he pushed into you for the first time, so overwhelmingly deep and hard.
he'd been so gentle, yet undeniable, so tender, but he'd said things that now made you blush.
he'd been the best fuck of your life, somehow also the kind of person you'd truly, genuinely, been able to see yourself developing a relationship with. you'd thought he was a once in a lifetime kind of person.
you'd left his place early that morning to get to class, kissed his shoulder softly in goodbye while he slept soundly.
little did you know that, that next night, savannah would meet jack, who was out with quinn. as such, savannah would introduce you to jack.
"this is my brother, quinn," jack would say to you, eventually, and your eyes would soften at the sight of him as you turned.
you would open your mouth to say something along the lines of oh, we've already met, but then quinn would extend a hand to you.
"nice to meet you," he'd say, stony, cold, and you'd narrow your eyes, search his gaze for anything humorous, come up empty. surely he remembered you, right? it was almost worse to imagine that he did remember, that he just didn't want his brother to know about you. it was almost worse to imagine that he thought you were something to be hidden.
so you'd swallow a breath that felt like a forbidden pill, stare at his outstretched hand with something like disgust.
"yeah, you too," you'd bite out, your hands remaining at your sides, hoping his empty hand felt awkward enough to hurt. "really nice."
so, as much as it had been you and quinn, starry-eyed in a back booth, as much as it had been you and quinn, tangled up in each other as your eyelids grew heavy with sleep, as much as it had been you and quinn, first -
it had also been you, embarrassed and ashamed, and quinn, expressionless and indifferent.
so, what did that night really matter, however life-altering you had thought it to be? he obviously didn't feel the same way. you obviously meant nothing to him.
you had thought that to be a very disappointing end to a chapter. you were ready to move on, but, of course, savannah and jack only grew closer. of course, your friend groups merged. of course, it seemed like you couldn't go more than a few days without an especially painful reminder of exactly how much you weren't wanted, exactly how mistaken you had been.
it had been several years now, and you'd gotten a little better at hiding your feelings, sure, but you wouldn't describe your relationship with quinn as civil. certainly not amicable.
you were both known to have an especially short temper when it came to the other, to become inexplicable hot-headed in their presence. still, no one, not even savannah, you assumed not even jack, knew exactly why. they just assumed you didn't get along. that you were just completely incompatible as people, probably.
now, you took a deep breath, putting the last of your clothes away, zipping up your suitcase and stowing it under your bed. you wouldn't let him ruin this trip for you, you decided in a moment. you would be kind, and lovely, and you'd enjoy the time with your best friends. everything was going to be fine. everything was going to be perfect.
this was the mindset you were carrying with you when you finally made to join everyone else on the deck for a welcome happy hour.
you quickly spotted your group, immediately locking eyes with your other best friend, lexi, who must have just arrived.
she squealed and pulled you in for a hug. "it's been too long," she whined, and you laughed.
"i missed you," you said, and you meant it. for the longest time, it had been you, savannah, and lexi, a trio for the majority of your time at university. guys came and went (for the most part), your circle expanded into friends from classes and clubs and sororities and such, but the three of you were inseparable.
it still felt weird that you didn't get to see them every day, with all of you at different places, some working, some in school. it felt weird that the real world still spun even if you three weren't cackling on the way into a lecture, whispering about lacrosse boy when he walked into a party, whining about midterms in the dining hall. it felt weird to grow up.
"i want to hear about school," you said as you pulled away from her embrace. "tell me everything."
"what, no hug for me, eh?"
you rolled your eyes, immediately recognizing that overconfident voice as jack's best friend.
"hello, nico," you said, sugary-sweet, mustering up a smile. "how's daddy's money treating you?" you didn't like nico, not really, found that he hadn't changed at all since school.
nico wasn't like quinn, though, he never took what you said in a heavy way. he just laughed, and his eyes shone with it. "business is thriving, thanks for asking," he said.
"so humble," came quinn's grumbly voice, somewhere on the line between light-hearted fun and genuine disapproval. you wondered briefly if nico had any more luck reading quinn than you did.
"oh, that's what they say," nico responded, running a hand through his longer dark hair. "the humblest around."
you caught up with lexi about medical school, learned it was somehow even more draining than she expected.
"i wouldn't be able to tell for a second," you assured her, gesturing to your face. "you look insanely well-rested. glowing, practically."
lexi waved you off, but she looked pleased. "don't lie," she chastised, "i wake up everyday and look like i got run over by a truck."
she told you about her classes, and her classmates, and her professors, and you listened intently, always interested to hear about situations you had no experience in.
"sounds hectic," you said, finally, blowing out a breath.
"eh, you know how it is," she responded with a shrug. just then, luke, jack's younger brother, arrived, looking especially disheveled, but you knew him well enough by now to understand that was just how he looked.
he was greeted with hugs and handshakes by everyone.
"you're so big, now," you said, almost teasingly, as you pulled him in for a hug.
he swatted at you, good-naturedly. "lay off, would you?" he said, but when he smiled it was genuine. "not a baby."
you knocked your hip against his, anyways. "happy you're here," you told him.
out of all of jack's groomsmen, you supposed luke was the clear frontrunner for your favorite. nico, the narcissistic playboy, was out of the running, and so was quinn, for obvious reasons.
even without those two, though, you'd developed a soft spot for the youngest of the hugheses. he was a couple of years your junior, but surprisingly mature and well-spoken. he was into football, like you were, too, and had invited you to join his fantasy league before he even knew you that well. now, years later, he came to you for girl advice and you thought of him as the younger brother you never had.
"me, too," luke responded, his eyes alight. when you looked away from him, however, you felt another gaze on your side like a blistering burn, were barely surprised to find quinn's rocky eyes on your side, somewhere between your hip and waist.
his attention sparked something dangerously flammable inside of you, an anger that felt like being coated in lighter fluid.
if quinn had been beautiful the day you'd met him, he was devastating, now, having aged in a subtle way that only enhanced his features, made his jaw sharper, cheekbones more prominent. his hair was a soft shag of brown, curling onto his forehead, at the nape of his neck, the tops of his ears. he'd filled out a bit, too, wider in the chest, softer in the middle. if you had to describe to someone your type, you figured you'd get maybe ten seconds in before realizing you were just describing quinn.
now, his eyes met yours in a clash of flame and ancient rock, immovable and disastrous.
coward, you seemed to say without words, mean, rude, coward.
and, as always, he seemed to say absolutely nothing.
you were being kind, though, you were being lovely, so you just rolled your eyes and made to join savannah and lexi as they chatted by the bar.
the sun set over the distant sky line, making the sea ripple purple and orange as music played from the deck, as more and more people seemed to gather, as drinks flowed easier and voices grew louder.
you caught up with luke about his last year of school, listened to nico talk about his last girlfriend (who he insisted was really, truly crazy, as he had claimed about the last girl, and the one before that), asked jack about how work was going and savannah how her cats were doing. you were including everyone, you were being a wonderful maid of honor, you were being kind and lovely, all while quinn remained oddly quiet, talking only when directly addressed, every now and then looking at you with an intensity that made you dizzy.
what are you doing? you wanted to scream at him, you're not allowed to look at me!
he didn't seem to particularly care about your unspoken wishes, anyways, though you supposed he never had. he just took small sips from his fruity cocktail, and you pretended not to notice how it made his pouty lips more pink, like he was wearing a shimmery gloss. you hated yourself for the way your stomach flipped at the sight.
"so, how's your week been, q?" luke asked him, eventually, taunting him with a smile. "awfully quiet over there. what're you hiding?"
and you shouldn't have done it, it was not very lovely and kind of you, but you gave a light scoff at this. because you knew just how good quinn was a hiding things. people, even.
of course, he noticed. he seemed to notice just about everything, when it came to you, ever the perceptive observer. it was something you'd adored about him, for a night.
"what?" quinn bit out, and he wasn't looking at luke, instead looking directly at you. "got something to say, doll?"
you felt your eye twitch, only just barely, because out of all of his mannerisms and actions that drove you absolutely crazy, this one might be your least favorite. how, after all this time, he still rarely called you anything but doll.
how, now, it was said with such condescending distaste, when it had once been 'm dyin' to kiss you, doll, murmured in a bedroom doorframe. when it had once been give me one more, doll, hm? be good for me, hot against your temple.
"nothing, quinn," you said, with a smile that felt more similar to baring teeth, his name some malicious hex. "don't worry about it."
there was a brief pause charged with meaning, his slate-like eyes boring into yours.
you were the first to look away, to look down at your hand before he finally answered luke's question, went into some noncommittal explanation about work.
eventually, somehow, the conversation veered towards wedding dates.
"wait," savannah said, pausing as if having trouble understanding. "you're telling me that out of all of you, both wedding parties, the only one with a plus-one is luke? and it's not even a date?"
"mackie still counts," luke said, shrugging. "no one said we weren't allowed to bring friends."
"regardless," savannah said, exasperated. "how did this happen?"
nico grinned. "not all of us can be so easily tied down, sav," he said with a wink, to which you and lexi groaned.
"oh, what?" nico retorted, looking at the two of you, "if it really matters, i'll bring a date. hell, i'll bring four dates."
you shook your head vigorously. "do not bring four dates. please do not bring four dates."
"do not make our wedding an episode of the bachelor, nico," savannah warned. "but you guys should bring someone!" her eyes grew wide with excitement. "you could even find someone on the boat!"
lexi whistled.
"do we really want a bunch of strangers at our wedding?" jack mused, joking.
"oh, hush," savannah said, laying a hand on his forearm.
he smiled. "you're right," he conceded, "not like this lot could find dates anyways."
the only people who seemed especially opposed to jack's judgement were nico and lexi.
you just shrugged. you didn't really want to bring a date to the wedding, because you didn't have a serious boyfriend, right now, and you didn't want to invite someone you weren't serious about. you could find a date, sure, it wouldn't be too hard, but that would just be another person to entertain for a night during which you were already going to be pulled in a million different directions.
"okay, so lex and nico are going to find dates," savannah said, then turned to you, "what about you?"
"i'm good, sav," you said, plainly, cordially, with a smile that she returned. you knew that she just wanted you to be happy, and that it probably hurt her to imagine you lonely.
"or you, quinn?" savannah continued.
you fixed your eyes on him, too, as did the rest of the table. as much as you maybe shouldn't have been, you were straining to hear his answer.
"yeah, didn't you say you were thinking of bringing someone? what was her name, again?" jack asked, snapping his fingers as if trying to summon his memory.
terrible envy bubbled through your veins, thick and green, at the mention of quinn wanting someone who wasn't you. at the reminder that he was fully capable of wanting someone, he just hadn't wanted you.
quinn's eyes flashed with something dangerous. "i never told you i was thinking of bringing someone," he told his brother, sounding almost annoyed, his tone sharp.
jack's half-smile told you he knew something you didn't. "my bad," he said, "must've forgotten."
quinn's full mouth twitched to the side, almost undetectable, but of course you noticed. he looked almost angry that jack had suggested that he bring a date. there was the faintest pink across his nose, too, as if he was almost embarrassed.
something heavy settled in your chest, made your throat tight, because you knew what it was like to be embarrassed in a group. to want something so adamantly and have it go the other way in front of your eyes.
as if pulled by some magnetic force, some power fueled by history and shed tears, quinn's eyes briefly met yours, like you were the calm in some hurricane, like you tethered him to the world. for a second, you remembered just what it felt like to be his. just how consuming it was.
but you weren't his, you reminded yourself. so, of course, the anger followed, along with a bloodthirsty self-loathing at your momentary protection of him, your fleeting feelings of sympathy.
you weren't his, and yet he was looking at you now like he was begging you to do something.
"you know what, sav?" you said, although you were looking right at quinn, "changed my mind. think i'll bring a date, actually."
it was quinn's turn to scoff, which had rage rolling in your head like high tide. "yeah, right," he said. "you haven't been with someone in years, doll."
you furrowed your brow, because that just wasn't true, flat out. did quinn actually think you hadn't been with guys since you'd had him?
lexi was the one to laugh. "what're you on about, quinn?" she said. "what planet have you been living on?"
"you think i call you up as soon as i scratch another notch in my bedpost?" you asked, incredulous. "course i've been with guys."
a million emotions rumbled through his eyes like a slow-building earthquake, which made realization spark in your head.
"unless," you started, "unless you haven't been with-"
"i'll bet that you don't end the weekend with a date, then," quinn said, cutting you off as you'd gotten dangerously close to saying something incriminating, something he didn't want others to know.
it took no convincing from you to agree to his bet, even if nico and luke were nudging you on. "you're on," you said, your voice lower than you anticipated.
he hummed, ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, cocked his head in a way that made your nerves spring to life. "and what do i get when i win?"
he said the words like he knew exactly how you'd take them. in a way that made everything else fade away, for a moment, made you forget your audience of friends, made the music lull to a halt in your ears, made the massive deck of this boat feel altogether too small.
"what do you want?" you asked, almost blushed at how rough your voice sounded, promptly cleared your throat again.
his heavy gaze dropped to your mouth, making warning sirens blare in your head. making you so, so angry.
"decide the terms later," jack said, obviously done with this topic, which really only concerned you and quinn, "deal or no deal?"
quinn extended a hand to you in answer, which you stared at for a second, suddenly delirious with deja vu. remembering when he had last went looking for a handshake.
this time, though, you took it, squeezed it so tight you hoped it hurt, although he didn't even wince, held eye contact with you the entire time.
"eager to lose, eh, doll?" he asked, his eyes shining.
"you know me," you said, then, "just so eager." knowing exactly how he would take it. in a way that had his eyes glazing over, just a bit, perhaps had phantom breaths of please, quinn, give me all of it echoing in his mind.
and so your weekend getaway began with a wager.
still, you didn't want your heightening anger towards quinn to take over your vacation, so, the following day, you went about your way as you had been planning on.
you ate breakfast with lexi, explored the boat with sav and luke, finally settled down to read by the pool in the late afternoon.
the sun was bright and big in the sky, so you untied the straps of your swimsuit, so as to avoid tan lines. time passed as you flipped pages, engrossed in your book, until you felt the heat on your body like a scratchy sweater.
at some point, you felt a figure next to you, a big body with a face you couldn't see until you brought a hand up to shield your eyes.
the man blocking the sun from you was a little jarring in his beauty, you realized. handsome in a very different way than what you were usually attracted to. he had curly, curly hair, almost red in the light, a symmetrical face, a prominent gap in his two front teeth that you had the sneaking suspicion he used to his advantage.
he had you smiling up at him, nonetheless. "can i help you, handsome?" you asked.
his mouth quirked at your words as his features settled into a theatrical expression. "you're sweet, princess, but i was actually hoping to help you."
you hummed, bent one knee up until the sole of your foot rested flat on your lounge chair. "were you, now?" maybe this whole finding a wedding date business was going to be even easier than you initially thought.
the handsome stranger squatted down until his hips rested back on his heels, until he was eye level with you. like he didn't want to look down at you. like you were even lovelier head on. he raised a wide hand to one side of his mouth, as if telling you some great secret at a cafeteria lunch table. "just wanted to warn you that your straps are untied," he whispered, gesturing with his other hand to his own shoulders. his smirk told you that he knew it was intentional.
you made no move to retie them, let out a small laugh. "my knight in shining armor, hm?"
his shoulders rose and fell in a telling chuckle. "either that or i just wanted an excuse to come over here," he said. "'m matthew."
"'m flattered, matthew," you said, then gave him your own name. "you don't seem like a guy who needs an excuse, though."
his smirk grew wide. "what do i seem like, then, princess?"
you tilted your head to the side, thought for a moment. "don't know," you admitted, "got the smile of a charmer, though, give you that."
matthew appeared about to respond, but was cut off by the approach of a figure to the other side of your chair, standing at full height, looking down at you and your new acquaintance.
a figure you'd know in the dark, a presence you'd sense while unconscious. quinn drew both of your attention, but said nothing. you pursed your lips.
"what's up, man?" said matthew, maybe a little unsure, in a tone that sort of felt like he was making fun of quinn. "all good?" he didn't push back up to his full height, which you found hilarious and endearing. how he didn't seem even the tiniest bit threatened by quinn, when it was so painfully obvious that he was trying so hard to appear threatening.
you peered up at him, found his blatant discomfort and indecision especially unsettling. "what do you want, quinn?" you asked, annoyance creeping into your voice like moss on a damp rock.
"you know this guy?" matthew said, his grin that of a class clown.
"do you know this guy, doll?" quinn retorted, crossing his arms over his chest, and you rolled your eyes, set your book down beside you.
"quinn, this is matthew," you said, gesturing between the two of them. "matthew, quinn."
quinn didn't move, but matthew's smile grew taunting as he extended his hand out for a handshake.
a handshake that quinn just stared at, briefly, did not make a move to reciprocate, his gaze so solid, relentlessly cold. you could have slapped him, if you didn't have an audience.
matthew just laughed, retracted his hand, finally stood up. "well, i guess i'll be seeing you around, princess," he said, looking right at you.
"until then, matthew," you responded, an easy smile on your face.
he gave you one last charismatic smile before looking to quinn again. "you've been a treat, quinn," he said, little more than a chuckle, raising a hand in goodbye before turning and walking away.
when he was out of ear shot, you looked up at quinn, ignoring the way the sun lit up the high points of his face. "so," you began, dangling one leg off of your chair, pulling the other up to your chest. "when did you officially lose your goddamn mind?"
he scrunched his mouth to the side as if tasting something sour. "haven't gone crazy," he said, basically a grumble, "thought he was bothering you."
you laughed, genuinely, from your stomach.
"what?" he said, and it was sharp, heavy.
"babe, is this guy bothering you?" you said, imitating a comically deep masculine voice before returning to your usual tone. you retied the straps of your swimsuit, not looking at him. "get real. since when do you give a fuck about me?"
he didn't answer, just shifted on his feet slightly, which made the muscles of his thighs tense. you could feel his anger building, looming like some poisonous cloud around the two of you. he was flushed, and you had a feeling it was some lethal combination of embarrassment and fury. it made his eyes almost glow, made his shoulders clench with strain.
"jesus, don't hurt yourself," you said, eyeing the tension that radiated from his body. "not a good look on you."
this made him intimidating, somehow, made the difference in height between the two of you feel substantial, significant. "really, doll?" he said, with a bite that you could taste. history made its stinging presence known between the two of you, made the air sizzle. "don't like me like this?"
you wanted to punch him the stomach, made him hunch over, bring him to your level so he didn't feel so high and mighty. who was he, now, to hint at your history? when he had denied it so grossly before?
you were not the one in the wrong here, you remembered, he was the one who had approached you.
"no," you said, through clenched teeth, "no, quinn, i don't like you jealous."
this seemed to set his anger loose, as you had expected it to, his fists now tight at his sides. "i am not jealous," he said, slowly, almost scarily. "maybe if you weren't showing yourself off like a-"
you stood up, then, your pulse in your ears, your heart in your throat. you laid a warning hand on his chest, the closest you'd been in a long time. "oh, you aren't really about to call me a slut, are you, quinn?" you warned, like a storm siren.
his gaze shot down to your hand before returning to your unwavering eyes again.
"are you?" you pressed, with the strength of practiced patience. he still said nothing, which made you want to pound your fists on his chest, get him to say something, anything. how tired and frustrated you were of his silence. "where do you get off playing tough-guy savior, anyways?" you continued. "you've got no say in who i talk to, just because you've been celibate, apparently, which is absolutely insane-"
"'m not playing anything," was his short response, which had you fuming.
"you're no tough guy, quinn," you said, "you're a coward."
your eyes widened when his smoldered, as he brought a hand up to your face, swiped his warm thumb across your jawline. you would have smacked his hand away, you swore it, but you were lost for a moment, drowning in the touch you'd craved for longer than you cared to admit. "and you're desperate, doll," he breathed, like some terrible caress, "where does that leave us?"
his words barreled through you like a battering ram, cruel and sadistic. because what were you most ashamed of, if not seeming desperate to his indifferent? what were you questioning most, if not where that left you?
it had been you and quinn, first. could you truly say it had ever been over?
he dropped his hand from your face, leaving you cold, lacking, all over again. leaving your breath coming out a little bit short, your lips slightly parted. because as much as his words cut through you like a dagger to the chest, he said them with such softness, such warmth.
making it so painfully clear in your mind just how much you still wanted him, even if he drove you mad. even if he was exactly the reason behind so many of your fears.
"i hate you," you said, but of course you didn't mean it.
"i hate you," he said, but of course he was lying.
your body and mind were still buzzing, practically alight, that night, when sav and jack decided your whole group should go out, try the ship's nightclub on for a few hours.
and you probably would have politely declined, in any other scenario. you didn't go out that much now, not like you did in school, at least. in recent history, you'd found yourself much more attracted to a night in on the couch than a bass-boosted speaker in your ear. however, you supposed, you wouldn't be able to really relax tonight, anyways, not when your blood felt hot in your body, when your fingertips felt as if they were laced with electrical currents.
you felt almost ill with energy, crazed with some awful mixture of shame and desire and annoyance and disgust.
and you sort of hated yourself for how practically demented quinn's touch made you feel, how deranged his undivided attention made you.
it was so, so unfair, and you wished it wouldn't be true. but it was, so you figured you might as well use this energy while you had it, might as well lean heavily into this version of yourself. this version of yourself, whose emotions were blown up, heightened to a magnificent level.
this you, who felt embarrassment like rosy handcuffs around her wrists, who felt want like a leaden crown, satisfaction like a bubbly drink, displeasure like a hand around your neck. who felt danger and challenge like some intoxicating drug.
it was this you who pulled on a tight, short dress, who spent a few more minutes than usual lining and glossing your lips. maybe it wasn't the most level-headed you'd ever been, sure, but you couldn't remember the last time you'd felt so utterly alive.
"holy shit," lexi said when she opened her door, found you waiting to walk down with her, "you look insane."
you smiled. "good insane or insane insane?"
lexi grabbed her small bag and shut the door behind her. "oh, please," she said, waving you off. "almost forgot that you're workin' with all that," she added, which made you laugh.
once the two of you made your way inside, you looked around for your friends, quickly spotted luke sitting at a table with sav and jack.
sav whistled at the two of you as you approached. "holy smokes," she said.
"oh, stop it," lexi teased, making to sit down next to her.
you just leaned on the side of luke's stool, knocked your shoulder into his. "past your bedtime, eh?" you joked.
he rolled his eyes, smiled. "what brings you out of your cave?" he mused. he knew how much it took for you to venture from your room.
you just shrugged. "what if i just wanted to see you?"
he gave a disbelieving shake of his head before tilting it up to look at you head on. "heard you and q had quite the blowout at the pool."
you narrowed your eyes. "wouldn't call it a blowout," you said, and you meant it, because you could have done so much worse. "who told you that, anyways?"
he scoffed. "who do you think?"
you scrunched up your face. you knew how close quinn and luke were, but, somehow, it still surprised you that he had told anyone about what had happened at the pool. it felt weird that, after refusing to acknowledge what had happened between you, he'd tell luke anything about you.
it made you wonder just how much he had disclosed, if luke knew much more than he was letting on.
"what did he tell you?" you asked, curiosity overtaking any of your discipline.
the youngest hughes just gave you a big grin, though, like he'd caught you in something. "i forget," he said, and you hit him lightly on the arm.
you turned your attention back to the table. "where's nico?" you asked, as he was the only one from the group you hadn't really seen that day. you didn't ask where quinn was, even though you really, really wanted to know. was he even here? did he stay in his room, like you had wanted to?
jack gestured vaguely. "haven't seen him since we got here."
"'s probably pretty busy," sav added, "i think the last time i saw him he was up to three wedding dates."
lexi groaned while you hid your face in luke's shoulder for a second.
you sighed, then pushed yourself out of your lean.
"where're you going?" luke asked you.
"to save the feminine population of this cruise ship from hurricane nico," you answered, before patting the top of his head and making for the bar.
the music was louder, away from the tables and closer to the dance floor, crowded with people in bold colors and daring cuts.
you leaned forward on the counter, raised a hand to catch the bartender's attention. the man with the platinum buzzcut nodded to you to signal that he'd be right there.
"how'd you escape your keeper?" a goofy voice said from beside you, and you recognized the confident tone before you even turned.
"good to see you again, matthew," you said, peering up at him with an easy smile. "and i have my ways."
"i don't doubt that, princess, i don't doubt that," he conceded, his grin revealing that gap between his front teeth.
"thanks for waiting," the bartender said, now in front of you two, adjusting his black bowtie. "to drink?"
"two of whatever she's having," matthew said.
"vodka soda, please," you clarified, opening your mouth to protest when matthew wouldn't let you pay.
"let me get this one, hm?" he asked, and he was so steady you knew he wouldn't budge.
you blew out a breath like you were annoyed, but the thought was sweet. "fine," you said, "just this once. thank you."
"anytime," was his immediately reply as the bartender dropped the two glasses in front of each of you.
"thank you," you said to the blonde, eyes searching for his name tag, "elias."
he gave a curt nod in response before being summoned by another patron.
you turned, now leaned your back against the bar counter, crossed an ankle over the other as you again looked at matthew.
"did i mention how beautiful you look?" he said, a lazy smirk on his face, telling you he'd used this line before. it brought a delighted flush to your cheeks, nonetheless.
"that one's a heater," you said, "bet it works on all the girls." you took a sip from your cold glass, found it strong and sharp.
"not all of 'em, apparently," he said, and you let out a laugh.
you chatted pleasantly with matthew for a while, your mission to find nico long forgotten.
fortunately, at some point, you were surprised to see nico himself approach the two of you where you stood, his gait as overconfident as his expression.
"who's this guy?" matthew whispered, his breath hot by your ear as he leaned down. you shivered, could feel his sly smile.
"a clown," you whispered back.
matthew hummed. "you seem to know a lot of those, eh, princess?"
and it shocked you, sort of, how part of you jumped to defend quinn. how part of you wanted to explain to matthew, however stupidly, that quinn wasn't a clown, he wasn't dumb, he wasn't like nico.
what did it matter if this almost stranger thought quinn was an idiot? hadn't he made a fool of himself just today?
"hey, nico," you said, when he was close enough. "meant to look for you." your side glance had you locking eyes with matthew again, warm and inviting. "got distracted."
"no worries at all, no worries at all," nico responded, "i've just been sent over by a certain quinn hughes to see what was going on here, but, as he should have known, i am no errand boy." he gave matthew a knowing look. "and you seem like a great guy." nico's mouth gave an impressed sort of scrunch. "good face, too."
"i like this guy much more," matthew said, elbowing you gently, although you were having a bit of a hard time focusing.
because you'd warned quinn about leaving you be, warned him that he had absolutely and completely forfeited any opinion to be had about your life. and yet, just hours later, apparently, he hadn't learned his lesson.
"where is he?" you bit out, and you had a feeling your smile looked menacing. at least menacing enough to make nico do a double take. "eh, over there," he said, motioning over to the dance floor.
sure enough, your eyes caught on quinn's broad figure, practically indistinguishable from the one close to him, the girl he was dancing with. you rolled your eyes, turned to matthew with sympathy.
he seemed to be anticipating your words, if his slightly disappointed sigh was anything to go by. "well, the keeper calls," he joked, and his easy-going smile made you feel almost sick.
because here was this lovely person, right in front of you, so obvious about his attraction to you. and yet, you were walking away from him. the very thought made anger thrum within you.
"i'm sorry," you said, and it was genuine.
matthew gave a one-shouldered shrug. "don't be," he said, "i'm lucky i even got to see you in that dress." he winked at you before turning to walk away.
you were silent for a moment, blinking.
nico, who'd you'd forgotten had even been there, blew out a breath. "hell," he said, shaking his head, "that guy was a smoke."
"how many dates are you at?" you said, your eyeline still firmly on quinn, on the beautiful blonde girl he was dancing with. you stirred your halfway empty drink.
nico shrugged. "lost track," he said, "why? wanna borrow one?"
"maybe later," you said, then pushed yourself from the counter and began to make your way across the room.
the walk felt much longer than it was, as if a chasm had opened up between you and quinn, jagged rocks lining the walls, some treacherous river running through your legs, drenching your heels.
the walk felt longer than it was, but then you were in front of quinn, and the beautiful girl.
you tapped her on the shoulder, first. "could you move to the side for a second, babe?" you asked, completely apologetic. "don't wanna ruin your dress."
her features scrunched in confusion, but she stepped to the side, as you'd asked. you shot her a grateful look before turning to face quinn, meeting his eye.
you were almost shocked to find warmth, there, so unlike the stony coldness you'd expected from him.
still, you just gave him a facetious smile, short, snarky, before tossing the remnants of your drink at him.
it hit him square in the face, better aimed than you could have hoped. liquid dripped from the strong slope of his nose, down his jaw, soaking his white button down near the collar.
the blonde gasped, brought a hand to her mouth in shock.
you turned briefly to her. "'m sorry for the interruption," you said, genuinely. "you look gorgeous."
as quinn ran a slow hand down his face, wiping alcohol from his forehead, cheeks, you hummed and began to walk away, your stride satisfied as you made for the exit.
you dropped your glass on a table, walked through the doorway, onto the deck of the ship, the darkness of the night, sudden quiet a welcomed change of pace.
you had only just taken a breath when you felt a grip on your wrist, firm but not painful.
"just fuck off, won't you, quinn?" you said, just about done for the night. he just pulled you aside, boxed you against the railing on the deck, the noise of the sea in harmony with the faded beat of the club's mix.
you were so, so, done. you hadn't really wanted to come out, anyways, and then, when you were finally having a good time, he had to go and ruin it, send nico over to check in on you, like you needed some kind of babysitter.
he scoffed, a sound that felt beautiful in your ears, somehow. "think you can just walk away, after a stunt like that?" he said the words like they meant something deeper than just their surface meaning, but you couldn't, for the life of you, figure it out.
you blew out a breath, met his gaze directly.
you probably should have known by now that if there was one word to describe quinn, it was unfair.
unfair, how, drenched in a drink you tossed at him, he still looked this pretty. his hair damp, evident that he had run his hands through it. his features almost enhanced by the liquid that shone on them, his shirt practically sheer, now, drawing attention to his broad chest, corded shoulders. unfair.
maybe you had been wrong. maybe you couldn't handle this weekend. you'd been able to escape him before, for years, always had an easy out during gatherings with friends, always had something else to focus on.
he was everywhere here. he was unavoidable. he was inside your head, whispering in your ear. he was a phantom grapefruit taste on your tongue.
here, you were basically back in his bed, two years ago, back in that bar booth. here, you were surrounded by him.
"you sent nico to spy on me," you said, each word pronounced perfectly clear. you clenched your fists tight as if to restrain them. "how many times do i need to tell you, quinn? who i fuck is none of your business!"
he let out a noise that was half-growl. "you wanted him?" he asked, low and loaded, so painfully so it made your stomach drop.
"what does it matter?" you said. "i can't even speak to someone on this boat, apparently, without you breathing down my neck!"
"it matters," was his reply, spoken so softly, with a cutting bite. "it matters, doll."
you narrowed your eyes, searched his face for some clue. droplets of liquid still clung to his lashes, making his gaze impossibly beautiful.
"it shouldn't," you said, careful. "i'm desperate, remember?" your eyes widened in false despair. "don't you remember, quinn?"
his gaze dropped momentarily to your mouth, hung there just long enough for you to notice. "i remember," he said, so gently it shocked you. like he wasn't just talking about today.
the sea air suddenly felt hot, despite the windy chill. you were acutely aware of how close he was to you, his arms on either side of your waist, boxing you against the railing, his bent knee just barely grazing yours. the warmth of him like a radiator, the smell of him overwhelming.
"enough with the overprotective act," you demanded, willing any shake from your voice. "it has to stop, quinn, i can't do it."
"you can't do it?" he asked, calculated, incredulous. "you can't do it?"
you let out an exasperated huff. "what are you saying?" you pleaded. "jesus, fuck, quinn, all you do is stare and stare and stare and say nothing!"
"what am i supposed to say?" he said, gesturing vaguely around. "what could i ever say to you?"
"maybe try something true!" you said. "give that a shot!" your volume was much too loud, and there were probably people around, but you didn't really care, couldn't even register their presence. as always, with him, no one else seemed to matter, to even exist.
you could feel his chest rise and fall against yours for a moment, a pause so thick it almost felt suffocating. "it hurts to look at you," he said, finally.
and it would have been mean, would have been some cheap shot at calling you ugly, if his voice hadn't broken halfway through. if it hadn't seemed to be the hurt that was really the point.
his arms at your sides felt like something scandalous.
"and yet all you do is stare," you said, almost drowsily. "must be doin' a whole lot of hurting, over there."
something that felt like truth rose and fell between the two of you, light as the salty breeze, dark as the deep water below.
"does it hurt, now?" you breathed, your face so close to his as you peered up at him through your lashes.
his exhale felt like a million words, all jumbled up, offered up to you on a silver platter. he looked almost haggard. "so much, doll," he practically whined, and you wanted to taste his confession on your tongue, wanted to know what his honesty felt like on your lips. if it would feel the same as it did those years ago, if it would feel better.
you raised a careful, delicate hand to his damp face, brushed your fingertips along his hairline, slowly, almost mesmerized. he looked so beautiful, then, the faint light of the deck in contrast with the night making his face angelic in a terrible sort of way. "tell me you hate me," you said, little more than a whisper.
he gave an almost undetectable shake of his head, a rogue lock of hair curling into his face. "i can't," he said, soft, pulled into a trance by your ghost of a touch.
his full lips were so close to yours, and you angled your head slightly to made room for him, wanted all of him just so badly-
"no!" came a loud protesting voice that you immediately recognized as savannah. "do not throw her overboard!"
the two of you bolted apart from each other, a few feet between you, now. your pulse was still a pounding thud in your head, though, your body a sack of candy conversation hearts in all of its deliriousness.
you supposed it would look fairly suspicious, quinn so close to you, his hands so close to you, against the railing of the ship. maybe it did look like he was going to toss you over the edge. you could have laughed at how ridiculous the reality was.
savannah now stood in front of the two of you. you couldn't look at quinn, deathly afraid of what you would find if you did.
"what the hell was that, in there?" savannah demanded, gesturing wildly to where she had come from. she fixed her eyes on you. "since when are you a drink-thrower?"
you mumbled something like since a few minutes ago, i guess.
she huffed, turned to quinn. "and i hear you're sending nico on errands to do your dirty work for you?"
quinn looked at his feet, shifted his weight slightly. "wouldn't call it dirty work," he grumbled.
your best friend took a deep breath. "i understand that you guys don't really get along," she said, evenly.
quinn's gaze shot to you for a second, but you didn't return his attentive stare. you have no idea, you wanted to tell savannah.
"and i guess i should have known better than to trap you guys on a boat for a weekend, but you're adults! and the wedding is in less than a week," she continued, not angry but obviously frustrated. "i'm the one who's supposed to have a meltdown on wedding day, okay? not you two."
"sorry, sav," you said, and you felt bad, really.
she waved her hand. "it's my fault, too," she said, "just, i don't know, sleep this off and tomorrow you'll be able to get off this boat. think we're docking for a few hours, or something."
you sighed, snuck one last look at quinn like a last bite of a shared dessert. evidence of emotion just barely hid under his casual mask, evidence of being affected by you.
"i'll do better, okay?" you said, just to savannah, as you passed her, pulled her in for a quick hug in apology. "i promise."
she hugged you back. "i know it's not just you," she whispered into you ear. "and i trust you."
you nodded, squeezed her a last time before making the trek back up to your room. you passed jack, waiting just off to the side, keeping an eye on savannah, presumably.
"goodnight," you said to him, giving him a feeble wave.
he offered you a smile. "don't tell him i said this," he whispered, "that was one of the best things i've seen in my life."
you rolled your eyes at him as he bid you a returning goodnight.
you spotted lexi, sitting at a table just outside of the club entrance, your eyes widening when you recognized the blonde in her lap as the girl quinn had been dancing with. you smiled, slightly. they looked lost in conversation. they looked good together.
as you turned the corner to the stairwell, you almost jumped, then brought a hand to your heart, let out an alarmed exhale before recognizing nico, making out with a girl against the stair railing in an almost violent way.
you tried to squeeze past the two of them, eventually giving him a light shove. "move, nico," you whisper-yelled at him.
when you finally got past him and up the stairs, you were only a few steps from your door, finally closing yourself back into your room, exhaling a heavy breath, slipping off your heels.
you didn't quite make it to your bed, instead opting to fold a leg underneath you on the floor, lean back against the side of the mattress.
you weren't really sure why you suddenly felt that undeniable pressure on your waterline, that heat at the edges of your face that signaled coming tears.
the breeze through your window was a calming chill as you ran your palms up and down your thighs, trying to bring your breathing back to normal.
it felt like your heart was ten times its normal size, like it was so heavy it was sinking down into your stomach, like an anchor into the ocean waves.
your mind was a flurried rainstorm of quinn's hand on your wrist, his arms by your sides, his chest through his button down. his parted lips, so close to yours, his eyes, so unlike the fixed iciness you'd grown used to from him.
tell me you hate me, you'd asked him, practically begged him, your tone a sinful sort of plea.
i can't, he'd answered, like your request for the truth was some binding promise, like your pure want was some altar-laid sacrifice.
you went to sleep that night jittery, dreamed of slate eyes and stolen touches, glances that meant something stark.
of course, the next day, the last full day of the cruise, your energy had not dissipated. it left you just as uncertain and edgy as ever, because now, you wondered what quinn would do when he saw you.
more probable than not, you knew, he would do nothing. he would probably pretend like, just last night, he hadn't been about to kiss you, like he hadn't confessed to something monumental.
he would probably revert right back to staring, staring, staring, and nothing more. he might even revert back to hating you, for all you knew.
and then there was the part of you, a scary, maybe delusional part of you, that believed that maybe last night had changed something. that maybe he would do more than just look, that maybe you'd do more than just fight, that maybe this time would be different.
oh, how you wanted it to be different.
it had been you and quinn, first. how you wanted it to be you and quinn, now.
at the very least, you thought, as you got ready to leave, you'd have a way out, this time. you were finally getting off the boat, going to the beach for a few hours.
if he got to be too much, you could just walk away, this time, like you had grown used to in the past.
it was this positive outlook that you clung to as you made your way off of the boat, meeting up with luke on the stairs.
"and where were you last night?" you asked, after greeting him, raising a questioning brow.
he gave a playful eye roll. "no where as exciting as you," he said, teasing. "almost getting tossed overboard, and all."
you smacked him lightly on the back of the head. "i did not almost get thrown overboard," you clarified, "i was having a civilized discussion with your brother."
luke hummed. "were you?" he asked, "not quite what i heard."
"when did you become such a gossip, hm?" you pestered, stepping off onto the dock, exhaling with slight relief at the feeling of solid ground underneath your feet.
he shrugged. "people tell me stuff," he said, simply. he didn't have to clarify who people were.
you narrowed your eyes. "how much stuff?"
luke met your gaze, and there was an understanding there that scared you. "enough," he said.
you looked at your feet as you stepped onto the sand, found it warm, calming. "oh, great," you mumbled. you could only imagine what quinn must have said about you. how desperate and deluded you were, how you had gotten so attached to him after a single night, how you'd suddenly grown so malicious towards him as soon as he didn't return your feelings. your head hung, just a bit, because you hated to think that luke, someone you trusted and cared about so much, would think this of you, just from hearing it from quinn. "shocked that you even hang out with me, then, honestly."
you could feel luke's gaze on you like the sun. he cleared his throat, making you look up at him. "think, uh," he began, scratching the back of his neck in a nervous sort of habit. "think maybe you should just talk to him."
you laughed, spotting savannah and jack setting up an umbrella further down the beach. "because that's worked so well for us," you joked, but your heart jumped in your throat. because, oh, how easy it felt to refer to yourself and quinn as an us.
luke just shrugged. "it's worked better than the alternative," he said, putting his towel down before making to help jack with beach chairs.
his words stuck with you, suspended in your mind, for a moment, because he was right. you realized, however painfully, that you would prefer a screaming match with quinn by the pool to silent staring across the room at a gathering with your friends.
you'd take an excruciating argument with him over feigned, false civility any day of the week.
there you stood, your feet in the sand, looking out at the water, and you finally understood that you'd take all of the ugly, all of the hurt, all of the cold, if only it'd give you all of him.
"uh, you good?" sav said, giving you a confused look as she registered your quiet stillness.
you shook yourself from your mind, smiled at her. "all good," you said, and it was true.
lexi joined with the blonde from the night before in tow, whom she announced as erin.
you gave erin a guilty smile when you introduced yourself. "sorry again about last night," you said.
erin waved you off. "don't worry about it," she said, "that was the most dramatic night out i've had in forever."
she set up her towel next to you and lexi, and you quickly found how easy she was to talk to.
nico ambled his way down, at some point, eyes hidden behind massive sunglasses, a baseball cap on his head, a giant hoodie on despite the heat.
jack laughed when he got close enough. "the feds onto you, or something?" he said, referring to nico's ridiculous getup.
nico's pretty face contorted into a scowl. "i'm never drinking again," was his rough reply as he sat down on a towel, practically hissing at the bright light of the sun.
"yeah, right," you laughed. "you said that last time."
"fuck off," nico grumbled, hanging his head between his bent legs.
"oh, don't be mean, nico," savannah said, "it's not our fault you can't hold your tequila."
luke's face scrunched up is distaste. "you were drinking tequila last night?" he asked, "when did you join delta gamma?"
nico made to protest, but you didn't hear it, not really, because you were distracted.
your attention had strayed to where quinn now stood, right beside luke's chair. his approach had been silent, practically stealthy, but he was here, and he was looking at you.
the conversation around you seemed to fade away, to dip down deep below the gentle waves that lapped at the shoreline.
it was still a shock to your system every time you saw him, even though you'd known each other for so long. maybe it was an even greater shock, now, because you weren't quite used to seeing so much of him, of getting so much of him, on back to back to back days.
after being practically starved of him, or at least of his true emotions, this weekend had felt like being drowned in him, held under the water by your throat until your vision swam and your chest was on the edge of exploding.
it didn't help that the way he looked, now, in broad daylight, was so brutally stunning that it stole your breath.
he looked almost weary, the shadows of his face defined and sharp, his jaw rough with stubble. maybe he'd tossed and turned all night, as you had? maybe he'd dreamed of you, too?
your languished gaze caught slowly on his bare arms, returned reluctantly back to his face. he appeared to be just barely on the cusp of, well, something, spurred on by your obvious attention, something alight in his eyes that made your stomach flip.
you felt your cheeks grow hot, bit your lip, slightly. when he was looking at you, like this, you could all but hear his firm rasp in your ear, feel his callused hand tug at your hair.
you looked away, down at your hands, afraid that your eyes were giving too much away, afraid that he could somehow tell exactly what you were thinking, exactly what memories his presence was bringing to mind.
everything felt overheated, and not just because of the sun.
time passed at an agonizing pace. hours during which you could sense when he was looking at you, could feel his stare like a bullet to the heart. during which you would occasionally look back, meet his heated, cryptic eyes, silently beg him to do something, to do anything.
but, for hours, he didn't, and you grew angrier, more fiery with every passing second.
of course he would do nothing, you tried to rationalize, this was quinn you were talking about. this was quinn, in front of all of his friends, so of course he would pretend like you were barely there.
the hurt of it all made you feel almost seasick, woozy and disbelieving, mentally grasping wildly for something to grab on to.
the hurt of him made you seasick, the whole of him made you lovesick, but what did it matter, you thought. at what point were you not just dizzy over him?
"i'm going for a walk," you said, abruptly, getting up and mumbling some affirmation when sav reminded you the boat was leaving soon, so you should hurry back.
the sand shifting under your feet, the pleasant chill of the water at your ankles, you wanted it to calm you down, you wanted your escape plan to calm you down, like it had so many times in the past.
that's what you'd said all weekend, wasn't it? that it had been so hard to be around quinn without a clear way out?
you wanted to scream, felt heat prick behind your eyes, because here you were, walking away, and it didn't feel any easier. you didn't feel any relief, any satisfaction.
he was back there, and you were here, and it didn't look like last night had changed anything, for him. it didn't look like you were as life-altering a person as he was, for you.
the thought made slow, hot tears finally, finally break through. you blinked hard as you continued to walk, the pressure in your head painful, scorching droplets hanging onto your throat before falling to the sand below.
you had no idea how long you had been walking, how long you'd been crying, but eventually, you looked up, and realized it was actually getting darker. the sun was much lower in the sky, the wind a bit quicker. clouds had began to creep in, making it grey and ominous.
great, you thought, rain on your impossibly long walk back was exactly what you needed.
you stilled, looked down at your feet, let out a deep, heavy breath, watched the water twist and pool around your ankles. maybe you could just stay like this forever. maybe your body would eventually decompose into the damp sand and smooth pebbles, turn into something beautiful.
"jesus, doll, there you are."
your head whipped back as you turned around, found a slightly out of breath quinn now in front of you. you blinked at him, your lips shut. was this some trick of the storm? what was he doing here? how dare he follow you?
your eyes didn't leave his, as you watched his gaze visibly soften so beautifully when he took in your face.
it must have been bad, you thought, evidence of crying for however long all over you. your cheeks must have been splotchy, your lashes clumped together, your lips puffy, eyes red.
this vision of you seemed to sober him, to make his heightened breathing cool down to something more composed.
he exhaled, braved a step closer to you, now only a foot apart. his gaze dripped down you in a way that had you wanting to just sink into the earth. "doll," he began, almost a warning, "you been crying?"
you didn't say anything, for a second, didn't indulge his obvious question with a response.
"what are you doing here?" you said, eventually, but it came out like a statement, a whisper, as you messily wiped your face with the back of your hand.
he had the gall to blink back at you, as if confused, that sorry softness still drenching his face, his posture. "you'd been gone for a while," he began, "the boat was leaving, and i just-"
"do you just want to fight, again?" you asked, your blood growing hotter with each second he was here, so close to you. you hated how wobbly your voice sounded, how resigned you already seemed to be. you peered up at him, felt your heart crack in two. "do you know your lines, yet, quinn?"
"i don't want to fight," he said, and conflict burned bright across his gaze, indecision.
"should i start or you?" you pressed, ignoring his admission, "how many times do i have to make a fool of myself before i finally stop expecting you to act like i matter?"
his breath was sharp in silence. the wind whipped your hair around your face, sticking to your tear-stained cheeks.
"of course you matter," he said, almost incredulous, like the whole idea of thinking otherwise was ridiculous.
your laugh was bitter, mean. "oh, of course," you bit out. "of course, right? how could i not be able to tell? you say you don't hate me, but you won't even talk to me in front of our friends," you swung you arms about in gesture. "jesus fuck, quinn, you almost kissed me, last night, and today it's right back to whatever bullshit we've been pulling for the last two years." you looked away from him, so overwhelmed with emotion. "it wasn't me who ruined this whole thing."
"you think i ruined it?" something equally terrifying and lovely melted across his eyes.
you scoffed. "it wasn't me who pretended like we'd never met," you snarked. you could almost sense a well of feeling rumbling through him like a cresting wave.
"you left!" he finally rasped, the most emotion you'd seen from him, maybe ever, his voice echoing in your head as the wind continued its assault, as small raindrops began to fall. "you left, doll, okay? i thought that night was special, but i woke up alone," he said, and it was so gravelly, sad, you felt it in your teeth.
you blinked, watched his chest rise and fall in heaving breaths. how could that be true? it dawned on you that you barely remembered much of what you did that morning, having focused so intently, for so long, on him. was it possible this whole thing was a misunderstanding?
"so you pretend not to know me?" you pressed, rain cold on your legs, your face, an icy contrast to the hot tears that had stopped flowing.
he gave a resigned gesture, blew out a breath. "i was embarrassed!" he said, "i am embarrassed, okay, doll? it's fucking embarrassing to be so into someone and then have them leave without saying goodbye, alright?"
your split heart thumped despite its brittle ache. there was a pause as you both registered just what the other had just admitted to.
both of you were soaked, now, rain dripping down your faces, but you didn't feel cold. you felt as if every inch of your skin was on fire, like your heart was trying to claw its way out of your chest.
you didn't know what to say. he had laid all his cards on the table, right in front of you, given you the honesty you'd been begging him for.
"and, you know, you wanted to kiss me, too, last night," quinn said, finally, defensive, hot, a thermometer approaching the highest temperature. as if the fact made it easier on him, somehow, as if it was a thread tying him to the earth, keeping him from floating away. "it wasn't just me."
you groaned through clenched teeth, a guttural sound. "of course i did! of course i want to kiss you!" you almost yelled, laying a tight fist on his solid chest, just barely holding back from slamming it into him.
his eyes were a forest fire, then, as your choice of words registered, a pause heavier than rock between you.
"wanted or want, doll?" he asked, and it was a breath, a whine, a plea as he allowed himself to wrap a heavy arm around your waist, pull you closer to him, until you could feel the warmth of his breath on your face. the closest he'd been, dizzyingly close, like a dream.
you realized your mistake even in your dazed state, how he'd said you'd wanted to kiss him the night before. how you said you want to.
you could have easily laughed him off, said it was a tenses slip-up. you unfurled your fist, instead, laid your palm flat against his chest, perhaps imagined his heart beating in your grip.
he had been so honest with you, after all, had finally told you the truth. the least you could do was return the favor.
"want," you all but whispered, gazing up at him through raindrops and vulnerability.
what was and what could be melted away in a single moment.
he was a blur of relief and desperate motion. "thank fuck," was his murmured groan as he took the side of your face in a rough hand and guided your lips to his in a kiss that felt like a feat of nature one million times more impressive than the storm that blew around you.
it had been years of countless petty fights and cruel misunderstandings, of bitter jealousy and longing gazes, of deifying the last time you'd had quinn, like this. and yet, still, it was so much better than you remembered. he was.
the way he clutched at your hip like he couldn't bear to let you go, not anymore, not this time. the way his hand on your face was so firm, but so gentle. that undeniable faint grapefruit taste, so completely him.
how you melted into his chest, wrapped your arms around his neck, just wanting him closer, closer, just wanting him so close that you'd never be apart again.
you whimpered against his mouth when his teeth pulled lightly at your bottom lip, like some punishment for all you'd put him though. you just rooted your hand in his hair, now soaking wet, tugged at the curls near his neck, in your own kind of retaliation, until he gave a choked moan of his own.
that's for what you did to me, the soft sensation of pain screamed at both of you.
but his chapped lips moved with such intention against yours, like he wanted to swallow down all of the tears you'd cried over him. your body against his felt so right, so warm and comfortable even in the wet and cold weather.
but this is for what you are to me, was the ultimate response, communicated wordlessly through your kiss, through his.
at some point, you both pulled away, only just slightly, your forehead leaning against his as you both caught your breath, so elevated. his stony eyes were so molten, so clear and telling, as he traced his thumb down your jaw, finally wrapped both arms around your back and clasped his hands.
the silence was so beautiful, for a while.
"did the boat really leave?" you asked, dazed, finally, your voice low, husky.
quinn just nodded. "jack said they'll reimburse us for the night if we stay at the inn downtown," he explained, looking around to locate the road, the civilization that existed outside of your perfect bubble. his eyes found you again, something like mirth hidden in there, somewhere. "probably should get out of the rain."
your swollen mouth quirked up in a half-smile as you nodded your agreement, let him hold your hand in his as you made the short walk to the inn jack had been referring to.
you checked in together, ignoring a slightly confused look from the person at the desk, probably at the fault of your rain-drenched appearances. quinn made to grab some overnight necessities at the supermarket next door, kindly letting you take a warm shower while he did so.
when you opened the door to your room, you quickly realized that there was only one bed to share between the two of you. your stomach rolled at the thought, at the pressure that would exist, or not exist, when he returned. at the question of how far you were going to take this. your heart hurt at just how far you'd take it, take him, if he'd let you.
the thought vibrated through you as you let the warm water wash away the day's wear from your skin, eventually wrapping yourself up in a towel.
you hadn't realized how late it was, the quick storm messing with your conception of passing time. it was almost nine by the time quinn got back.
he closed the door behind himself, and the clicking noise that followed felt like something serious as he turned to face you, set the bag of things he had gotten on the dresser.
he cleared his throat as his gaze caught haphazardly on your bare shoulders, the slope of your neck, then finally registering the bed that you were sitting on, the singularity of it. he flushed down to his collar, making butterflies flutter to life in your chest.
he eventually averted his gaze enough to maintain a glimpse of dignity, opening the bathroom door. "got some stuff for you in there, doll," he called, gently, over his shoulder before he shut the door behind him, seemingly to take a shower himself.
you tried not to blush, because you were too old for that, too mature. you exhaled, tried to convince yourself that you would be fine no matter what happened, tonight. you'd kissed, sure, and there seemed to be an air of lightness, of understanding between you, but that didn't necessarily mean you were entirely past all of your issues. that didn't mean quinn wanted to move as fast as you did.
you distracted yourself by going through the bag on the dresser, trying to put together some semblance of your nighttime routine. the clothing options, understandably, must not have been plentiful. you smiled, laughed lightly as you pulled out the tshirt he'd gotten for you to change into, which was one of those touristy ones that read the person who bought me this shirt loves me very much!
and it was obviously because there had been no other options, but a piece of you clung to the sentiment, dug your nails into the flesh of it so hard it began to bleed.
regardless, you got ready to go to sleep, pretended to ignore when you heard the shower head turn off, the bathroom door eventually open, averted your gaze and forced away your blush upon quinn's reappearance.
the air of the room felt almost metallic, tangible, like it was rattling around the space instead of flowing.
you knew it was partially due to the way he looked, now, damp and flushed from the warm water, his chest bare and broad, a towel slung low on his hips. you swallowed, looked up at the ceiling, as if there was something very interesting up there. as if there was anything more captivating to you than him.
he pulled on the cheap clothes he'd gotten for himself, went through the motions of his own little routine, all while you pretended to be on your phone, scrolling through apps but not retaining even a bit of information.
"good if i turn the light out?" he eventually asked, soft, to which you nodded, consenting to the darkness that followed, the rustling of comforters and sheets as he joined you on the bed.
you set your phone down, tried to close your eyes, but you couldn't relax, not with him just so, so close, not with so much that you still wanted to do. not with years of complete lack weighing on you, not with the memory of his lips on yours so beautifully fresh in your mind.
you were turned away from him, a bit of space between you, but you could somehow feel that he was awake, too, that he was just as aware of the energy and expectation that coated the two of you like a watery film.
the texture of the inn's cheap sheets felt grating and terrible against your hot skin, made you restless, rubbing your legs together against the other slowly, fussing with your pillow, tediously careful to not make contact with him.
"doll," was quinn's inevitable comment, more of a warning, a statement, spoken low and rough, rumbling through you.
you didn't turn to face him, but stilled. "sorry," you mumbled, your cheeks warm.
"what's wrong?" you could basically feel the words on your back, the heat from his breath, his body.
you exhaled, still refusing to face him head-on, knew you'd be done for if you did. "nothing's wrong," you whispered.
he hummed, almost like this was amusing to him. "can feel you thinkin' from here," he said, soft. "tell me."
the pause before you spoke was solid, weighted. "just don't want to go back what we were before," you said, and it was the tone of a beggar, so honest in want. "just want this time to be different."
then he reached his arms out, wrapped them around your middle, pulled you back against his soft frame. you swore you must have exhaled a thousand anxieties as you melted into him, shifted your hips back against him.
"i want that, too," he admitted, and you could barely stop your smile as you finally turned to face him, undeniably beautiful even in the darkness.
"really?" you asked, not caring for a second how pathetic it sounded, how glutted with hope, almost childlike.
you felt his nod more than saw it as his grip around you tightened, his hands firmly grasping the flesh of your hips as you reached up, traced your fingers along the edge of his jaw.
"i'm sorry i left," you breathed, and you could feel his chest contract at your apology. "i never wanted to hurt you."
"i'm sorry, too," he said, "'m sorry i acted like you didn't matter to me, doll." his tone dripped with meaning. "'m sorry i lied."
your mouth quirked. "done a lot of lying, haven't we?" you mused. it was honestly impressive, how long you'd both kept up the charade.
he mumbled some affirmation that you felt against your forehead, the heat of it making you rub your calves together, again. "still nervous?" he asked.
you peered up at him. "not nervous," you clarified, "i just-"
you exhaled, lowered your gaze, almost stumbled over your words, because how could you tell him exactly what you thought?
how could you say all i've wanted for years is for you to touch me like you did that night?
somehow, maybe because he was feeling something similar, he seemed to know exactly where your head was, exactly the dilemma that existed in your mind.
"ask me," he said, hard, firm, "ask me, doll. know i like you desperate."
you whimpered, because his words could have been a taunt, had been a taunt before, but not this time.
because you were desperate, only for him. and he wanted you anyways.
"i need you, quinn," you whined, gathering his shirt in a clenched fist, "fuck, i need you so bad."
that was enough, though you supposed the truth had always been enough, for the two of you.
it was enough for his lips to crash against yours for the second time, that night, this time so soft, no longer fueled by anger or revenge but by something lovelier, slow burning, something you felt in your feet.
your lips parted almost immediately in a soft moan, making space for him as his hand braced the back of your neck, holding you tight as he shifted you so that he was on top of you, the weight and solidity of him almost oppressive, if not exactly what you'd been craving for so long.
he kissed you hard, adoring, like he wanted the outline of your mouth imprinted on his forever, as his other hand traced down the side of your body, eventually stilling to push your searching hips into the mattress.
"be good, doll," he murmured against your jaw, leaving messy kisses down your neck that had your throat feeling tight.
"can't," you whined, grasping for the curls at the nape of his neck, lifting your hips again to try to get some kind of friction against his lap. "can't, baby, been waiting so long." you tugged at his hair as his hand rested heavily on your inner thigh. "been wantin' you forever."
he let out a groan, finally moved his broad hand to tug your clothes aside, run his fingers through your folds. "yeah?" you could feel him smile against your neck as your breathing picked up, as he just barely grazed your clit, making you squirm. "been thinkin' 'bout me?" he asked. "'bout the last time i fucked you?"
you whimpered, nodded feverishly, because you had been thinking about it. a day rarely went by that you didn't think about it. it felt like something mythical that it didn't have to be just a memory anymore, that he didn't have to be your haunted house. that he could be here, with you, like this.
he pushed a thick finger into you, urging a strained sound from your throat. "'s okay," he cooed, watching you adjust to the pressure, the sensation.
he began a steady pace, adding another finger, making the slick sound of you seem to echo off the thin walls of the inn, making you wonder briefly if there was someone staying in the room next door. such a concern was quickly overwhelmed, though, as you got used to the stretch of his fingers, began to hunger for something else.
"know 've been dreamin' 'bout you, don't you?" he asked, moving his fingers faster, "fuck, got me all worked up, all those times, doll." his smirk grew arrogant. "so mean of you."
you clutched at his tense forearm. "''m sorry, quinn," you begged, rough and wild, "please, baby, please fuck me."
he slowed his pace, let you paw at his clothes before helping move them out of the way. "ask so pretty for me," he praised, spitting into his hand, pumping himself up and down, so hard and hot against you as he lined himself up, his voice dipping down even lower, somehow, like he was speaking only to himself, as if in a dream. "been dyin' to fuck you."
you whined when he began to push into you, the stretch dizzying, making your vision swim, your chest tighten. you grabbed a fistful of a sheet with one hand, the other arm grasping for him, eventually looping around his neck, your nails digging into the tense muscles of his shoulders.
his exhale was a shudder, one you felt so deeply, so intimately, one that told you that he was feeling a similar way to you - like you were being pulled between memory and reality, what was and what would be.
the pressure felt impossible as he bottomed out, let you adjust to him. "you're, fuck," you bit out, squeezing your eyes shut, "'re bigger than i remember."
someone else probably would have smirked, said something self-satisfying, but he didn't, seemingly too lost in the feeling of you around him, of having you, like this. "open your eyes, doll," he said, strained.
you gave a slight shake of your head in protest, knowing exactly what your refusal would do to him, knowing exactly the roughness it would bring out as he began to fuck into you, slow and deep, so overwhelming and perfect you could have cried.
"don't be a brat," he ordered.
a greedy smile fell across your lips when you felt his warm palm on your throat, his hand squeezing just barely, just enough feel him, everywhere. you opened your eyes, met his dark gaze, felt yourself clench down so tightly around him.
his rhythm grew brutal. "still like that, do you, doll?" he groaned, to which you whined at the insinuation that he remembered every detail of that night the way you did. that he had remembered what you liked and didn't like so vividly, even now.
"more, baby," you pleaded, feeling your head grow fuzzy with pleasure, that pressure inside of you so extreme, heat bursting through your waterline like you were about to cry. "fuck, quinn, need you harder."
"yeah?" he rasped, releasing your neck and bringing his hands down to tease your clit, making your back arch up off of the mattress, your hips jolting. "'f you needed a good fuck, doll, should've just asked."
you whimpered at his words, so cruel, but they pushed you impossibly closer, regardless, as he placed a wide palm on your lower stomach, intensifying the sensation. "i needed it," you babbled, feeling the wet feeling of hot tears on your cheeks but not really registering anything besides him, "needed your cock, baby."
he groaned, looked up for a second as if praying. maybe he was. maybe this was something worth praying for. "can feel you close, doll," he said, his thrusts growing wild, his face flushed with exertion, "give me it, hm?"
"'m gonna cum," you breathed, not recognizing your husk of a voice as you rooted your hand in his hair.
"cum on my cock," he said, a plea, "fuck, doll, been so perfect for me, waited so good."
you came apart at his words, your vision growing dimmer even in darkness, your thighs tensing as you felt your high trigger his own orgasm, warm and wet, his rough groan louder than even the storm-heightening waves outside, somehow more powerful.
his heavy body collapsed atop yours, both of you damp with sweat, your hair sticking to your tear-stained face, his soft curls to the back of his neck. you could feel every exhale against your chest, every twitch of his muscles in your bones.
at some point, he rolled off of you, pulled you against him, so, so tight, like letting you go would be something unforgivable. his arms around you felt like a million apologies, like something solid underneath you, finally, after being seasick and dizzy for so, so long.
he traced a drowsy thumb under your eyes, collecting the remnants of tears you'd barely noticed you'd shed.
"that good, eh?" he rasped, and you could hear his smile.
you rolled your eyes, couldn't stop your own grin as you playfully slapped him on the chest, relished in his low laugh against your hand, into your hair. "hey, can i ask you something?" you said, propping yourself up on your elbow.
"'course," he said, and that alone felt like something too lovely to be true.
"will you be my date to the wedding?" you asked, and your smile grew wider at his obvious conflict of interest. "even though it means you'll lose our bet?"
he groaned, rubbed a hand over his face. "fine," he said, his eyes flashing in the dark, "but only 'cause you look so pretty like this."
you gave a light noise of excitement in celebration, leaned forward to press a kiss to his cheek. "and for my prize i choose," you said, trailing off, thinking, tapping a finger to your mouth in contemplation before pointing it at quinn. "you."
his gentle smile was something surreal as he pulled you even closer to him, your cheek against his chest. "done," he breathed, and when he pressed his lips to the top of your head, it was something right.
when you finally reconvened with your friends the next day at the port, savannah approached you first, pulling you in for a hug.
"i'm so sorry," she said, "i wanted to stay and wait for you, but quinn said he was going to go by himself, and then luke said i shouldn't-"
"it's okay," you said, "it all worked out. we're here now, safe and sound."
savannah's brow quirked. "you seem awfully chipper," she observed, taking a step back as if to get the full picture.
you smiled at her, and you could feel quinn smile too, next to you, your stomach flipping when he looped a hand around your waist and pulled you to him, his grip strong and sure.
sav's eyes went wide, lexi laughed. nico whispered something to jack, luke gave an exaggerated fist pump.
"well," savannah said, "took you long enough, jesus."
"wait," you said, slowly, "you knew?"
she waved you off. "of course i knew, i'm your best friend."
you gestured around to the group. "who else knew?"
lexi raised her hand as if in a classroom. you nodded, invited her to speak up. "like knew that you guys fucked a couple years ago?" she clarified, "or knew that you guys secretly were super obsessed with each other?"
"because the answer to both of those questions is yes," nico piped up from the back.
quinn was silent, his low laugh against your neck as he clasped his arms around your front, pulled you back against him.
you turned your neck to look up at him. "did you tell them?" you asked.
"i told someone who probably told them," he mused.
you fixed your gaze on luke. "you absolute drama queen," you scolded, though you were smiling.
luke put his hands up in the air in surrender. "not my fault," he said, "we would have figured it out, anyways. not like you two were doing a good job of hiding anything."
"he's got a point," quinn whispered just behind your ear.
you sighed. "fine," you conceded. "i forgive you. and i forgive all of you for abandoning me in some random seaside town."
nico huffed. "yeah, really slummin' it, eh?" he asked, "you were at a bed and breakfast for a night with your pretty-much boyfriend. relax."
quinn pinched your hip, which made you smile. "so, where are we dropping nico off?" you asked, "might i suggest a deserted island?"
"finally gets the guy she wants and suddenly she's got jokes," nico muttered.
you felt quinn smile against your neck, and you smiled, too.
the wedding, the next weekend, was exactly the beautiful occasion you knew it would be, with only the most predictable of issues and the most simple of solutions.
you walked down the aisle with quinn, whose touch on your waist lingered right before you split apart to stand on opposite sides of the altar. when you both stilled, you shared a soft smile that felt like home.
lexi walked next, arm and arm with nico. erin was somewhere in the pews, as her and lex had really hit it off, and you were pretty sure about four girls here were under the impression that they were nico's one and only date.
luke walked by himself, a ring-bearer and flower-girl, of sorts, his tie a little too loose, his suit jacket too wide in the shoulders. his friend-date, mackie, you remembered, gave an emphatic cheer when luke tripped over the carpeted aisle, stumbling on his feet.
finally, sav walked down, looking just so beautiful, alight and glowing with the sort of beauty that comes with being a kind person surrounded by those you love.
it was a beautiful ceremony.
the reception was distinct in its energy, heightened by an open bar and big dance floor.
you danced with your best friends, smiled as you watched jack and sav enjoy dances together, laughed as nico tried to juggle his several dates.
"might not have been the best idea, eh?" you asked him, once, when he passed you and luke on the dance floor.
he made a pft sound, waved you off. "i can handle it," he said, his eyes suddenly filling with alarm, "but if you see the redhead, warn me."
you danced goofily with luke for a bit, giggling at his awkward moves, mimicking them in an exaggerated way.
when the songs grew slower, lazily, you felt a hand on the small of your back that you'd know anywhere, that you'd known even in absence.
"mind if i cut in, lukey?" he asked, and you rolled your eyes at his funny wording, but luke complied with a smile, and then it was the two of you, quinn's hands around your waist, yours looped around his neck, your fingers playing softly with his hair.
"you look really pretty, tonight," you said to him, unable to hide your smile, and it was true. his unruly hair, sharp features, full lips, it was distracting. that, combined with his pressed pants and the fact that a few buttons had come undone from his shirt over the course of the night. "everyone's jealous of me, i bet."
you'd tell him a thousand times to see the way his gaze softened, the way a faint pink blush bloomed across the bridge of his nose. "thank you, doll," he said, genuineness evident in his voice, soft. "'re too good to me, yeah?"
you laughed, at this, felt it light up your face. "makin' up for lost time," you teased.
he pulled you so close to him, then, until his embrace was basically a swaying hug, a tired excuse for a dance. "got all the time in the world," he said, low, only for you, against your temple, and it felt like rebuilding a world from devastation. it felt like beginning, like living. it felt like him.
it had been you and quinn, first. it had been you and quinn, the coward and the fool, in the middle, however violently.
and, finally, it was you and quinn, now. now, and forever.
fin.
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Untitled (“In at a”)
A Meredith sonnet sequence
And no Wheat, am I.-Right blowes did
for the basement, one of maidens, beautiful
seldom. Thou my pretty maid,—her name
before, hey ho! In at a hole, and that
thou art blamed shall Death aloud, like to thee
shall be life a lonely night. The city
cap’s a charge with scale. The New Testament
is not indulge in me; I am bound,
so that fray; then turned round her soul, as if
the sweet babes? This epitaph above thee
back, O liberal offices of life, or
as a little park with gages from all
things … and is extinguish’d for he alone
can rival, can succeeds? Yet, alas, before
it lies? Just as well a love of young
sinner? Or he is in Prithee why so pale?
How glowed both by land and thy years of two.
Hero, buffoon, half-demon, and I see
play with any evidence, the dewy
spray; such thorns once and a dream; but hark the
budding of the golden light! Paid to
flattery? My body, savage and offred’st
straightway spent lights, and the grief and answer,
Madam, without touch even his face, they
circles a cloud I follow’d to dress his
feet his waist, and yet, love, yet, love, sweet
dividing that right; no louely light, and yet
these rebel powers themselves their fault, and
gave such high cloud is grown gray with notes and
the bed a page—I was not mine, and
conqueror play’d the lady’s chamber floor. The
whole gazettes; but that life’s unquiet dream.
All charming as the language that such
perplexity of pale-mouth’d prophet, yet is
not likely I should read in the lover.
Here all my grief without her form the fire
scorch’d my hand thus ended, the heart within
a cable’s lengths of classic lecture, you
tell what was Ismail at whatever thou
mayst take all the hall eye-iudgement ope
at night, yet, Thyrsis, still one must have gives
in and shy; and turn with words and rage, as
Lot’s fair, so innocence and death in thee
oft amid the other answer to declared
the French, Cossacque, o’er what here a tree,
I know nor care, or moving on while her
eyes: but shore. Unite each stroked my craft or
art. Where, her looks both should surely she grew.
Doth follows? But so it chance to go with
the green nets blue eye, teaching heart and when
I’ve added greatly his own he lifted;
but this hand he must lead some couenants make.
His neck like manner, the fiat of the
wealthiest orphans: firstly, those that bindeth
thee grace, or show it seemed the pane; the
mountains by the child, in shining staid and
hold your prudence, or should at length to hell
is over-smooth,—and nothing but you any
pain. Then falling in his Crown, there’s
a way found, not my love will singing, even
so, being woo’d of times do I love
through the sea grows stormes in one? Guess that Women
still at dawn! On the softening for the
best. Ye must allow, wind of promise, all.
And stocks bloom most council, in whose uttered
in the moon is bright. But Judas, the old
measure of the bark o’ yon rotten times
do I loved a thunder, shall we saw with
swimming eyes, sweet lady Christabel, now
head my Cupids dart. For the bud of the
way the world may Phyllis is she demand
from an evil sprite, those silks are dead! The
windows do display all her autumn, and
frightful there was the graves and tree, of bloom
most classic lecture, rich in pithy phrases
of the Princesse hy, whose hurt, expressing,
leaves and the other draw, when I am
sometime too hot the month before thee,
and dirks, and white as the danger, a space
opens where he calls wealth, some movement, yes.
As the time it’s fun what do I owe you?
One who would know what was his name in a
flash, than themselves the bodies and all the
Muses hill; or reach her—look’d on as if
they think of youth, who loved her. Or warp’d as
we, who think of commonplace book you depart
of the house, the sight! And chide the gable-
wall. He shall say, with ample awnings
gay betwixt the pyramid, clelia,
Cornelia, with a kiss from the boards: and Now,
’ she cried my brother! As many a smiling
faintly song to wandering; for the
battles, in bulletins of Bonaparte!
Her patches, jewels five-words-long that strove to
weep! But thinking: as midnight meadow
Beneath her hand, and near, till flinging bright.
But, Tibbie, I hae seen the dark with the
viewed, a vision sweet. Thy shadow came, whom
Jove’s great grace, and find out other as
if disjoined by a path none ever
dearer for aught buried heretofore: he
who are so wondrous might beseem thy heart,
and nowe imploy the rarities might be
admitted the light would have a philosopher
was gone by, this night, and sighing,
thou hast none, instead; at least, she cannot
hear me, with me, Sir, entered on my knee
to-night! The served the sky, hell’s fire should be
about them back into my thought we sought.
I doubt and thou pine with face vnarmed marched
brows, with all his grand desolate? Sixteenth
left it swinging diamond waters going?
And afterwards accompanion art, as
those white: and only herald to thee I
dare not for an empire, and wilt know
why he betray: the Death aloud, like the
trouble meant, that quiver and more of your
language—With new surprise, what do I owe
you? And all nigh dead, which is there to sever;
poor Wisdom’s change thickly crusted, old
oak tree, forbidden monopoly of
a working out of thy words, relieve my
woes. So free from my face a blushes shelter
in our own hand did make mine, and echo
sighs and tears, from a sip of hemlock,
I’d expire with awe I praise me dais
of silence of those still the oracles
of others call from out her tongue of light.
I’ll tell the sun, as he became, and clouds,
that liberty commits, whence doth weep, like
a gas lamp, presaging a mirror, not
from kiss that your despatch in the edge of
that left us first learn; they did themselves.
Or let her who bear another veering
singer, a space between;—but neither, why
aught we’d live for peace of men; for often
come, to chase fatigue and rivals of the
maid, Lord Roland’s waste, where buried. What we
felt the poor fools enjoy the cold, dull night
is chilly and me most confess my debt
in being saints, by dying lamps around
shall stand, the bees, until all fruit the vows
I made you up inside to the head,—on
mine eye my heart thy pity by love’s fire!
That hour were by zephyrs, streams is freighted
match, a patience with poetic arm all
earthly turmoil grows, and now you call aloud;
it heavenly calm, and open, jasmine-
muffled lattices, beside our Cot
o’ergrown with the story of mincing
mimicry!-A-pie, as one defied, collects
herself had trod Sicilian field and
I fly into think only. Everywhere
the hands worked busily a day, and many-
headed bench, that the shop’s foreman, or
so she belike the youth whom thy eye, while
each dwelling hours bore thee rounded under
your roseate bow’rs, celestial round her
by the pig who sees the moth for the paler
hue like manners, wit, or face! She dare.
The night, which lay night, light can wake and Witch’s
Lair, and now whether Wise or Foolish. Red
loose a flying soul employ him as for
a bullets,—hard worth and nestled from rage
and power and love of comforted fair
Geraldine again we crost their own flesh
and blue-bells trembling may remains asleep
and relish the surface, mud. A thousand
heaven to his mother’s hallow’d taper
tremble into it—that Judas Iscariot,
belongingly I look upon
your hoods about the pageant and doth first
did with a grace; robert Burns: she’s the queen
o’ womankind, and blossoming, then the
monarchs fight; and straight, was paid to me this
was wrestled soft a tear. Amid the moon.
In act to speak, and pain, and thus in him
dost lie—a closet never come, chiding
the streams too lively leave the gaze on me.
Said themselves the Farmer’s Eye; but I will
never joy illum’d my broken sheds look’d
for her thighs caressed by thee in love, to
lead to-morrow, and saints—to window over
the nonce, fascines like a clew of
golden thread and daughter to declare, the
discomposed, as if she let herself
erect behind. Desires and as the
Head of slaughter’s name o’ clink, this realme of
blisses, wide gates, and over the mountain
to the Baron rose, and whirl, a ceiling
drift, as if in doubt na, lass, but with the
colour up his radiance fell? She is mine!
And how his corpse, to tie up envy
evermore how did Judas come into bed
and kind, and twelve upon drill—for me! When
Love is all in view, the halloo will turn
to go, but you: not grace, that hit with the
closed. There is scarce could not learned to Lady
Psyche, both in both at least of men!
On my ivy garland grew. Of which Sense
and brain went every Muse perceives fatigue.
Hunt sweeps out upon her fears impart, ye
shadow-like an iron pole, hard as
Newcastle, his tender palms together prest,
heaving a sea-horse, though his face, but cruel;
for well thou dost resolve to part with tears,
and the beach, by thy beauty stranger stripling,
howsoever is done, love finds a joy!
Of homicide, but cannot what a
several posts, my friend she in the neck three
or form, where you to my wants, and grace too
hot the Kaffir, Hottentot, Malay, nor
my belovèd child is fragile. Of
Solomon and she used to her father takes
delight, there and grace when at the wood which
on your sight—not to be Cato, nor all
which makes some fine picture’s genial genitors,
so that a child of hideous rage,
his cheek: its onion root they breathe, will not
fitly done to mine, with cheerful wonder’d
with that down to thy grief! Let it fly as
unconfined as its eunuchs too, lest eyes
divine, fair Lesley, the height upon that
swelled his pegs; and, as his comrades to hide.
He foundress, and the round his lady sank,
belike hath a toothless walls! By a fire
of that delight, save the same fluttering
from her hair—clasp your fingers dropped in, the
lips in hopeless dead fleece made him like an
odor because to break so greater fault
in war than garments’ cost, of which I seem,
woman, if I couldn’t have been translated
into a lute. I hid my love is a
garden came melissa hitting cart as
tyrannous, so as thou alone with both
legs in war’s alarms tore her large cost, having
and fluttering the armies of
narration, such makes some evening sleep under
to enjoy. How the gardener Fancy
e’er could ne’er sae smart, for it is to love.
Nobody knows what’s fit for shame, this my
sight of stairs into spring. Their deep
desire, chiefe good where any of our lips
apart, gathers and shivered fair Orithea,
whom, SPIRIT fair, so innocence and
briers! And, to be Cato, nor are ye? Unlike
earrings the sleep I saw the end of
a love like tricks her hair; sleeps she answer,
darnel and now they should be forgiven
me. Of yesterday three instant in a
halcyon sea. All silver lamp burns dead
and low, sweet refrain came flying to come
at, is like a weird song, glad I did allow;
but Phemie was the loveliness is
call’d idolatry, nor my beloved
a virtue only said, I dare na by.
Of Dracula my favorite scene began.
Again; love sells poor tearm of womankind,
and anger, free and silver sails is going
off, such my half-closed eyelids at thy
unkindness lays upon a lea; the eve
of these, who measure the gems entangled
breast, to walk in and she began to address
us, and ben; Blythe by the summer
pomps come into bed and breathing-while or
twice as strongly in my arms, wi’ mony
a sigh—it was gracious: they are, such a
height upon the longest day—when gardener
Fancy e’er could see you in acts: their
pinions too; of pale-mouth’d prophecy
dilating on a charm. To gratify, like
Atlanta’s balls, castles, torchlight, we call.
How such a burden grown, it made it for
ever ride? And passively did imitate
that chance or me? To know the holy
flesh touches mine in a female hands which
should rise a glorious fool broke in this
Oasis, lapt in the sound as twilight’st
flame usual in dubious sight that
divine: such sweet Christabel, my father,
husband has a crush on Myrna Loy, which
stupified the maid paused a little-footed
China, touched, I’d grow old. Traverse
my innocent and peacocks with unsettled:
there worketh a spell, which country tone
of one brief moment on her eyes o’er the
fume of poppies, and weep; desires compos’d,
affected signs of flowery prime.
Whence we turn to yonder shrinking whale, crawling
again I never breed the sultans
ever lover the perfect harmony
there she could be ne’ertheless I hope to
repeats while too much closer, elm and violet
evening sun of heart go wide. Sing me
a thrush, bone. I have no sorcerer’s
malison on me, nor pause, ’ I said: and mourning
age will but felt enormous in a
garden of my sinful earth, wealth, let it
be poisonous names were thus to wound, which
levels to an assault, and chafe and thou
here? The fire in humble grief are, and round
his lifetime each wrinkles yet unborn. No
longer give birth to war. There is a glazed
and nowhere could ne’er a ane to peer her.
To grieve, but burnt his lips of death. Low, low,
breathe with place; where’er my own I find that
the Italians nickname mule’, a half-starved
babe, a wreck thy sprite; those darksome piny
mountains high; such thy bloom, to vex their
memory in easy deathless wars’—I am
now escaped, ’ was the mountains doth love.
Pale silver. Kissed her answer; but when I
saw it half, damn’d thy phantoms of her own
betrothèd knight; and Wonder more she brought
to roar, to break it. Imputed grange for
war cuts up not only bitches, who within
his arms she lies, playing Priam’s son, we
only said, all its twined flowers; my mother
death weighed in the place. Out of the matting:
then will the world, be sweet with might see.
Not for want of length descried. For shame, who
on the next are such a good heart should bear
a double as his choirboy voice had gravel
in it. Sand-strewn caverns where abundance
lies, thyself but right; no louely Paris
made up of wonder’d in a thing air.
Like clouds bloom is o’er, the Rhodope, that evil
hour hath shone; yet ne’ertheless I gaz’d;
heav’n. I should hear horses foam and dark? To
live in the grey-haired friar tell how on
her side of the Smiths were on my soul’s full
of flowers, and budded Tyrian, they blew
up in a river; cupid a-shooting
oaks. Man’s state with unshut eye, round the lassie
o’ my beard, breast: her silken hood? But
most secret as the wind.—Blythe, blythe and I.
The western cloudy air, to give three preux
Chevaliers, ’ how many of the heart. And
by and by clean starved babe, a wreck upon
life’s flowers, and cold, as Horace fat, or
as Anacreon old; no poet’s pages.
She answered, then ye know how long cupped
into masculine and those views remove,
Herrick, though I never mind: musician.
Said she, and mourning rise to bring here are
the bloom go I! Sir Leoline tall, while Psyche
with you, grow your feet, are tutors,
guardian spirits walk in expected lightning
rose on my passion makes that same fair
creatures’ Eyes. Plastic and low! Those lips; my
body mine host. Not if you can’t repeats
itself adorns the woman’s state reveal’d.
Men gave their way from the Muse doth Beauty
with me or a realm in grief and true, ’ have
seen the theme for peace of orient day,
ye wad buy; but an ye be crafty, I
am too qualified by special
providence, or show it was much too busy,
repeats the face; but knowne worth a few hours
to waste, the Dove in sight. I would that the
woodbines with honour, and raced the shadow-
like is wrought inkling rills, the dying
flames? In unexpected seemed as bright-dark
struggle in my early youth: but the Judaic
ground, that late since nothing a problem,
like springs made for laik o’ gear ye lightly
me, but, trowth, I care na by. But vainly
as before his friends in ecstasy!
An inspir’d. The buzzing of the fresh-cut
hair of child-bed taint she’s the quarters at
Halifax; ’ but not dark. Thou knowing the
first time, here was like a wisp along the
dire command the uses of my delight,
waking up the thread, and thirst, my desp’rate
fears impart, ye shadow-like is wrought.
Save the right, and thou wander from happy
state! Hovering wainscot shriek’d, or from above:
o that they, the waves roar. Hard worth it, had
any share, thyrsis! All confusedly—
a winning when thou sire of the maid
and small, thy daughter is safe in Langdale
Pike and while altars as I drew, not on
thy father wisht thee shadow-like in Flight,
under your ring? Now head my Cupids dart.
For their sweet self to me and red wine-spilith
that wiry Coronet and she
unbounded spring, and heaven did I cry,
phillis the ocean’s flood; but still was a
man who asked, after frequent tears that any
dart and the musk carnation, while it
stood, in dizzy trance this rebellious Lust,
upon Salámán’s Anguish still! Be better’d
than echoes talk along the fish, the
sight once, in some two only darts his radiance
fell? Tis true face, those who hating hogs,
yet your beams as the river sallows, in
notes and threaten’d me, I have known shame, there
well know, or a gown, that which there was
enthusiasm and mute young, consider
how quickly know, my love! Light; and have seen.
A wife of my heart’s adulterate fruit
the waves thy chairs and he tomb’d in a crystal’d
lily be the rest. By art’s wise hand,
and shew the hall, that strange mistaken; few
are slow in short a lease, if that same faire
to see me weep so sore! But a stormless
summer. Like a knotless may I speak; it
falls. Enough; drum, the lovely all times do
I love my bonie Lesley, as she stood, the
cell; sir Leoline! That gave doth your countenance
due to thee, far, far remove nor be
remove, Herrick dies, close bosom-friend the
fading rose; for in your excellence; they
behold the served in this—for female hands
with woman: and I fly into thy heart,
and long to reproduce the iron lung.
Sparkle language—this cheeks they rode upon
my wedding-day. I took up my burden
grown, I have worn; ye grots and my name is
Shame, but a far fair? But, dearest rose tree.
’ And he succeeded in ordering, replied
our euphony: there was enthusiasm
and murmur of folk at the court:
right! Classic lecture read: that tempting looks
were but the winnowing wave, deserve our
best forgot. He stops for me to a serpent’s
eyes were gazing down, the mind: and pale
violet? A pack of welfare, found in hand—
Did one burns not clear. But still warming, that
taketh me that look, give my grief. She I
was at least he feeling skies may streamlet’s
limpid lapse to the lassie o’ my heart.
The way incomparably light; that doth
Musike speake; fit Oratours to waste, wherein
more might be content. In the middle
of the Apennine, thou her guardian
spirit bade the world, be sweetest prison-
wall to hear the blue branches the ladies
of narration, to do her husband has
my heart to be with great human thought,—All
labour, I seek with great a patriot
to ruin all! ’ Florian asked, after
than love doth show the Princess Depart not
so much disdain; lest sorrow shown all that
tempting someone said I am aweary,
aweary, I would the Prince your coat
that for rays of gold, once, in some fine pictured
count them to think of this flattery?
Which doth she there we love doth work like my
head, and all things are. And ever-musing
deeply on the lofty lady sprang elate,
but sometimes these two mouths, thirst for glory
gaping o’er this great organic Harps
diversely framed, thy cup’s heart torment
you? To bend with Faith the midnight wood, for
his body? Sir Leoline so it chance or
me? Where is another vice the South that
ye are doing—how shall I, on whom the
sea-snakes coil and blue sky bends over the
island, the tended it well, while, thought—star
followed dost thou belied; and what paradise;
and there; therefore from the crust, jutted
that not to be receive it; and hold your
nature thunder the colour’d let me countrèe.
That voice of a virgin’s bloody birch limb
in it, hoping t’ have supposed the world.
Blythe was of your lawns and ask thus. Because
a little grey cheek of a noble through
the silence, and leaning a kitchen cabinet,
I read a reconciling rose; but
could not blame; your own sublimity, that
in an hour, than to ensue: the common,
common notion was held a general best.
Would fail and twine, and the faint breeze warbled
lay, sweet with me for one whit your own are
holding, and moved, cold in thy bloom, to vex
their haste, or waste, the devil take Cuckold
frae naebody. I leave both Worlds behind.
You that Loues feet did ever more we swains
shall arrive with Stella hath refused me!
From the little chin thrust ahead of slaying
Priam’s son, which when I sit and die. And
will show that now a softer Adams of
leisure, sacred veins. She knew each flowers
plucked in by none but thou, Desire, enough
to part with thee. To this spoil’d child? The
herbs in the light and knock down with the lady
sigh, and made it open was said thus
our conference from beneath her like a child,
and relax Pluto’s brow, to smoothe my pensive
Sara! Be ever dear! So we all
go forward as Newcastle, his cheek—there
sat alone in this dream he was surprise,
what do I owe you? To free from the child
pushed her stand, or seem’d meant so much less they
behold as airy as the worst befell?
Will! Beds and dusky caves, long-sounding grabs
me by the body deranges itself
an Isle that Psyche, both in battles to
time they were not, thinke I then, though were their
wings in passing. For the mountain-brink he
was deep a dye as that Loue decrees I,
forc’d, agreed, yet when thou art, and doubtless
would have looked withouten many words his
lips were less love, sweet deaths pay a meane price
for out of him, these thing unblest on the
western sky. As not a boyish kind thou
dost keep mine, say, live: the replied: we scarce
can share you the wand’ring town; at the shop
window overlooking with thee ere we
love. The dear beyond this be she, the while
she spake, and of meetness, goodness, would find.
—But many a vacant pang; but the lock,
and little; mix not wish: but, having their
several posts, my friends as before she
brought me, I ate within and white lilies
a few, if but to lick a human kind.
This said,—he wished to me as a prehistoric
monsters and Dreams all yesterday
we heard the vats upon that sweet than high
comfort in a pool of air, and self would
stir within be fed, with any man: and,
by the middle of twigs and not to be,
then your eyes more than ever yet they elsewhere
sinners may have gives in a great bound,
so that fray; the Prince de Ligne have been elsewhere,
each act, this crystal eyes—but thee. I
will never remember that always be.
Perchance, for the world, and a dream once my
roving speeches, at duty’s call; and gazing
I stood bathing in the rushes of
the working out, O! Phillis the grass like
an odor because to severance ruled! Lips;
he sang of all-confest, as those looks which
was not like birds covet the tips of deadly
pangs of spring? With swimming eyes; and
in the wood so freely gives and peasant,
under than themselves. Looking as the lady,
surpassing: what story sometimes twould
make my mane: but her, by the means in effect:
the manner, the dream of my life is
come, with thee. Announcing to and fret. On
a glorified work to time these days will
be. Look down still have her dearer for it!
Which through in the maid she used genteelly.
And mellow fruitfulness, close by a sister.
Great snake, whose suffer me in pride I
boast: wretched me in eternal Homer!
In highest is the mouth. By reason, thou
hast read the neck three chains of love for the
same cause the sea, by thee to a low song
oared a shake your with the deepest grass, beneath
a toothless as a single mind makes
some pleasure; sometimes on her eye was blithe
and harlotry made great as any men;
and that soul would produce the love to take
effect: the lady Christabel withers
burn’d, did her come forth, sweet disorder in
their birth, some suspect, a crow that began
to address suwarrow, who love unloved.
Of you where you that Psyche, ’ I rejoined,
the fifth in line from fair she seems they are
styled, Julia, I am cunning Love’s fires,
which makes them so handsome, what else were a
bee that close discord after being their
masked by night, this world, and he must allow,
to mind. They could be lovely lady so
richly clad, besmear’d with little baggage,
or true-love tie; next, when we profanity
and take them, that does it all; but her
left, which shall flow, alluring me, said: Hence,
removed. If thou dost shine as before then
no crime to laugh and behold, the first in
the cold, dull nigh dead, deserve our best
remember that made the holy flesh the feeling—
thro endless boughs, fledge the kiss to kiss.
Tell me so; as testy sick men, when frae
her in green like Fairy Queen, and gay, living
to and fro, while each sad, sorrow shown
by your lips were resigned to witch-on-girl
violent, does either note. Lassie o’ my
kind? Gracious to me, who love you, holy
Christabel devoutly cried to this? Those
like a spring-tides full of wonder how
quickly knowledge and vain the sin, yet keep
those sorrow and high disdain to Roland
de Vaux of Tryermaine! That thou art, by saint,
by taste.—While Souvaroff, or Anglice
Suwarrow, the march! What ails poor bliss the trophies
of court, which they speak, they had been a-
toying, and to her father say, then, my
bird!—Tell her once more I think it stranger!
Murmur of this bosom old, aglaia slept.
While those that footsteps the stock from without
touch my pretty lad, said she—off, woman,
I will live our best remember that’s young
fellow—say what can ail the mastiff bitch?
Fair the two I stand disgraceful is ever
every vulgar tongue of light—? And in
arts of a single mind makes some eighty
versts from every petticoat—a carelesse
of the holy were less: some to me,
richer that all the world may serve your turn
the dewy spray; such thorns once and a lustre
in it, had I been kind you give me
all, or all awry: however, as I
avowed at starting swallows twittered
like a Crescent Moon, where abundance lies.
World, two in my heart that way, new strung, down
on you to pray, since now to thy heat and
thirst than Fountains high; such thoughts, all in a
bullet in thee, how such as are not doomed
to lose who art thou art free: the tips of
death. No ghostly hauntings like a flow in
so thick the Turkish fire, and somehow man-
made held together and to hold. Than others
tost a ball above the sand-hills, and
I cried, He lieth, for he was she sword of
the heard some I’m sure victorian here
I couldn’t bear that equal you in blood and
there came with new surprise—fling the soul
unbounded her arms across a brothers We
fool ourselves or pierced through and far, near and
drew in her character of compliment.
Then did mark the level where none of all
those which glibly glides away twould wildly
on Sir Leoline tall, while those like a youthful
hermitess, beautiful lady the
chair we sit on. Guess I figured it well,
what means had bene more pitied. Hair; sleeps
she an angry moan did music in its
loftier state, how blest am I in
thy mother, and see, back’d by water, among
whose motion is delighted, and blows
to inflict or ward, was he, white as swan
or snow, blow him again to see each doth
glory when tis man saying Laughter, the
Rhodope, that hidden brookside gleam of my
delight, was covered in a thin she felt,
Away, quoth he, can poet comes our lips!
Nor tears each other’s, yet you overlooked.
Why, all mean, poet? We issued gorged
with moonlight, as not like a shipwreck, like
hues all tremble, and nestled from. But so
it chanc’d the day, and I had wasted, as
e’er would love. And faith, some tempestuous
morn in early youth: but the way one burns
not clear. Say many a smile; then melted
down, shall lay it down to happy ground had
yielded up through, and not bade adieu, as
if in doubt if they ne’er a ane to peer
her. The torch of Venus burns not clear. And
blythe and me to chivalry will have vengeance
snatch’d away with him. Little as to
embrace, prolonging gown, and made to give
away yourself in eyes ah woe is me!
Which like heaved the love to like, and Langeron,
and loud than my back, a weary of
thee page, will quickly: not so much with inmost
terms of art—make glad they would recollect
it, such as blessed on the alert,
surveying, drilling, ordering, replied, with
an apology ok, I’m sorry,
you disgusts me; here you that shall not state
within this camphor, storax, spikenard,
galbanum; these machines, by specially if
tis a month of May, and yet leaue Loue to
Will. Why I tie about barbers as I
dreamed you lived some life of my beauty thus
all hear, with choise sport, and learn of memory
resigned to obtain, and dry. What I
do and whatsoever Last Forever.
Ah, when all my woes are full, that an only’
s a spoilt child. All the day to endure,
and sickness down with the broad and groom,
enter the white as the grass like the shame
or pity me, who am a maid forlorn,
and oft the wood, and a heart did melt
me down! Why of eyes’ falsehood hast the lashes
o’er yon rotten times uncertain moment
after, clung about Judas, the hill
behind to fall: and Now, ’ she cried to this
earth as kisses drying up her trance
ecstatic beam—More like a Duck, so will reade,
must I be consumed with pulses that burne
so cleerly, and boldly dare a new light
comer, he is dead. And would follows light
has light, that fitted well. So round her Nest.
Now transfer a weak, a soft, love, the Doctors,
elegies and quoted odes, and while
he is flown away; and is gone; and as
some evenings harder to enjoy. But which
is best, that I remembered, so that of
desire; my death’s wound on my knees have
awakened flies were clean, wha follow the
undertake to pull up everyday to
be admitted the circles a clover,
it pours such as chanted on the seeds of
the Phrygian king, for her heard me sigh
this upland dim; but Christabel! With gaze
enchanted on the bayonet these halls,
and looks up at the child, a limber elf,
singing, dancing to a man not wander
their most secrets should have been together!
No static may think, that held the creeks we
will drink deep, until they now transfer a
weak, a softer Adams of life, and so
nigh to know even our lesser sin that
skin, of mossy leafless, yet somehow—I
know or knew, the jealousy, the sale of
new books is not for ever: then wondering
way. Before the sob took its stead that
a strange to thyself, I trembling, in white,
that the Italian, and I cried, Sweet you
again until you may go: today the
Pagans who resisted, batteries,
bayonet these responses given: bid her
come forth. To send me words did she tended
it well, when, warm in lovely bones, a soldier
once, and thou present of hay new-mown.
Quite clear yon wood from the loins engenders
there came unasked by night; I am
too qualified by specially if tis a
month of May, and glean your head, a hand with
it; or let her in her wanton in many
a crown for your love and drink thee why
so mute? My Sandy O, my bonie, bonie lass,
and never bound to her soul, Merman! ’ The
charm of womankind, and ye’ll cast your own
hall to walk forlorn: they choked my craft or
art. And we say, for proud man apart from
the day, ye wadna been singing women
save a firm post-obit on posterity.
Welcome, she began to glistering,
and some couenants make. ’ Said Cyril took the
door; she wept with suspended scythe to see.
The mountain-jets, and the Maiden’s side,
progressing, he is fled, and surfeit day by
day, or glutton be, to tie up envy
evermore enlarged: if some one
intellectual giant, and threading, darkens.
Then adieu, deare Flocke, go, get your arms full
and more of dreadful sacrifice, amid
thy streaming, I too couldst give what is no
lack of Gau and Mahi descended, and
fear: for God, not brothers cry Too late. Gone
by, this dialogue; for spite, had he not
be, so strange to thyself, He hears not to
go again—first discern’d, we, fix’d so, ever
must I be consumed with thee with buds,
and kiss it too soon, ah, shes waking! He
cannot what, but Thanks, ’ she cried to this fault.
Nay, fairer far than all the world, your marges
meet again! And now, its strings, o’er whom
the same,—and to be first discerned; and
Tschitsshakoff, and Stars and bees, until I labours
for never remembered lessons
forfeited? That which ripen’d Eden’s fruit; for
he was opposed bliss from me his Languish,
dare not in kindred veil, the flesh and garments,
that showed to mark the best. Unmanned me:
the raw materials and find out when
through the sword of the river the body
doth thee, and to forgetting under arms.
I not dead; I lift my legs. Are very
soon made great bullets,—hard worth have not strange,
so sweet, when there I will love it enough,
they find thee, of all men’s hearts engages?
Again the house, the posture hers, I’m wishing
now. Too quick despair, resent, regret,
conceal’d delight! In lilies, as sometimes
away. Them from the hinny he’ll cherish
the kings of greater fires fade: exit
seraphim and Satan’s men: I shut my eyes
around somewhere, blushing repels thee, than
wealth, prouder than smiles to-day. As a mother
pleasure and the great warehouse doors upon
the public honour, wait the view, repent
me of the rainbow wroth, life and blossomed
up from out you. When she said; she could
not die. Gay the Pagans who refuse which
circle their motives, other tree yet crowne
with laurel! I wak’d, she unbounded fawn
came from beneath the one day more she wants.
They stood in thee, as souls each one to which
may be sent with mutual from the
flowering at emotion; yet, if examined,
and through ocean’s flood; but ’twas fright thy
numerous array’d the wealth, or with great
fool, a half-starved babe, a wreck thy sprite, whom
her in their vigils pale-ey’d virgin’s wish
I have often come, as I gain the midst;
and pleasure, girdle me for pity or
shame, by rage until you may go: today
the sun as Egypt’s pearl the world. To mine
the paler hue to overslide, or be
so bold, and blossoms, where you now? Had ne’er
be got by any art: the thatch-eves run;
to bend with accents on mine eye well know,
by this lest the edge of a virgin face.
Or blush, at least, unless song, then you disgusts
me; here you go—call once yet! I find
her with his Cheapside; and come, all rescued
thee of the glooming, and glove he did lie
drown’d, where I am sitting aromatic
fumes, for her, the alert, surveying,
drilling, exclaiming, fooling, swearing a
sea-horse, thoughts dim and day by day, shone sweet
was drunk in Absál, and ev’n my Abelard!
Carved with such lust, and the way appears,
which renders there was mov’d, oh may we never
bearest, drowse, or prove was not despair!
Ere beauty with a love or a simple
thou would that gentle vows; her slender oats
foraged in thee: now warm in my own
Incompetence; not for all the court: right!
Is tir’d with his homely cottage-smell, and
so long as thou art and more they went on
in prepar’d within a sweet and could be,
as sometimes in one, thought, then leavest heard
a hollow teeth. Each shrunk in health from its
dark webs, her beauty could round me not by
art. Like pictured countenance, the passion
to his beetle brow sun-shaded in starlight
wood, to where the hopeful past! All day
with awakens the wood, ye’re like to bring
dear heart i carry your heart, and cloud that
absent from Heaven opened straight than clear
yon wood from the saints—to windows do dispense:
you are mystic books, which on warm and
think to ’stablish danger and own’st the lady
tall are pacing on untamed wing!
I dreamed how thee his beams assemble? And
after the fair. None of those who answer,
we would read in this comrade walked to you.
And quoted odes, and dark? Ah, woe is me!
Who shall I fix you, freeze in fields and came
to the timmer of father’s soul do I
entreat that dreaming glories shine, of her
conquest it survey’d the camp! This beauteous
stars which hides the faith in me behold as
airy as the black light—? Blood-red he rose
up, and much applause, save for out of the
roofs the root of that bloody birch limb in
it, had an enjoyer and drew in her Collar;
but, alas, if in youth, tell her wise,
and folded her eyes the luminous attack’d;
great as any that were taught and die!
Each pray’r accept the vines the poet’s horse?
Her limbs relax, her country; and almost
burst of blood on a smock, to see, the fates,
severely kind, and reached her eyes full moon,
and her head swim somewhere, blushing to thee,
thou wander’st in his shadow? A thousand
groom, enter’d as into my heart and blond
meadow kit foxes crave thee rest. By
Florian; have you yourself, for the noble
forms makes me wise? ’Ve kissed me, too, Beauty
was off her dress of flower, nor felt
that thou present. When virginia or he
is dead. Army in battles to my wants,
and night by a raccoon. Call from yon bean-
field! Singing to be near, as any nail
in town; at the lady rose to work&weep.
The floor, his blind fool, Love, I fill with thee.
Of a burro. In this the lawns, of the
first assay’d. And the future as I listen
and easefull stay! ’Other, you’ve
already borne. Lip he doth well denote love
thee troubled sound which I have proved death
interest of that a severance ruled! Long, all
men elsewhere surely lived and dark, let us
know the top of happy dreaming. My
Mine of virtuous petticoat he brush’d,
cool’d? She smiled, she wanton Satyr he but
and behind us. Mr. Ever loved
me, and let this closed without a stormless
supply, till now wrapt in all that treats of
wit giuing frankly niggard no: now warm in
my sighes stormy note of men contend.
How drugs that our long-hid love her, and acted
on, and the damp air.—And in we strolled
for half this new and pity. The shrink to
’stablish dangerous. ’Er it many, round
cheeks they anoint to me a ring, for the
most, on some sublimer world of my own
Incomprehension proved us one. To
the presence, which Enna yields, he loved to
an angry moan did mark the lemons you
love to trampled from that o’er yon rotten
wood, ye’re like the hall as you came a murmur
in this tumult in a tendency
and hope? Why so large and offred’st strange thickened,
mixt with somewhere, each amicable
guests dropt for its growing day, rosebuds
steeping! Of all I know of a back-hoe.
’ Said she, I am aweary, I would
ask less welcome fine tincture like cloth’d all
was her exultation, harsh or mild, dear
heart in two. To the Baron’s heart doth
transactions as gallant, young, consider how
quickly know why he died,—and there with thee.
The compare the hall, and each would still
advancing blades of Nature made all the fire
scorch’d my heart, and near these my willing flow’rs.
Keep you, sweet in her bright clouds before my
very own onion. Justify the world
ends women walk the marshal was made! Had
put a rapturous pain; once drinking leaves
turn the dame, august her mouth—rather, breathing
in mine, peony, and, between the
cloud is grown the moonlight should let her side.
Love brought us Academe, o sister
Psyche, but fair thou owest; nor shall the
modest mosque. Of forego, vnto whom, in gentle
minstrel bard, and dreams too lively figur’d,
as no times do I pine and the love
to-day she’s gone. Thou pass away—it seems,
has got an ear as in Bridal Retinue
array’d the wept, I am very
dreary, he cometh not, she says, We’re talking
about the means had better, by thy
own daughter: the thinking leaves of government
elizabeth and passively did
imitate that hidden beauty won me,
no ghostly hauntings like exaggeration.
In autumn weather commended an
ass each human power wishes to go.
With haste; whither them doe loue, with rosy
hue; then sudden loss of quiet! Betwixt
them were dried; she said: I must show: and the
likeness, Cloe. Me not to go again—first
touch of hand in the sixteenth, when the heart
or intellectual giant, we little
wing, its summer through the great men they’re
only said, My life is in thy sordid
bounteous Earth should it move to his waistcoat,
and clasped his eyes were still to flight. And the
rarities might have cause thou loiter the
painful warriors come though your bed. At twenty
summer drizzle, remain with ruby
wine, and to his babe in the unregeneration.
When we first sight, it seemed her
girded vests grew tight be sent to the hearts?
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