#camila is a good mom ok! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

foxymoxynoona · 2 years

Text

Tell Me What Changed (Pt. 3)

Banner and lines by the talented @awrkive

Summary: Alex and Jungkook have been best friends since childhood –actual best friends. She is NOT in love with him, for real, and wishes people would stop assuming that. Why does no one question if he’s in love with her? Huh? But it might have to do with his successful fuckboy status, while Alex is very much… not that. Which is fine and doesn’t matter! Until Jimin’s impending wedding leaves her eager for a date and willing to put herself out there, and Jungkook can’t believe what happens next.

Fuckboy Best Friend JK x OC

CW and tags: fuckboy behavior, jealousy, pining, heartbreak, angst, bad language, explicit sex, sexy photos, alcohol, f2l, who knows what else

Read on AO3 here or below

PREVIOUS | MASTERLIST | NEXT

Jungkook scrolled through his camera roll as he stretched across Jimin’s couch. Jimin and Namjoon were talking about something boring, so instead he flicked through selfies, looking for something worth posting. He’d taken a few at the gym but realized the weights didn’t look as impressive sitting behind him. He thought about doing a before/after photo of his biceps using a photo from high school but decided posting a high school selfie would backfire. He was already doing a bit of damage control after he’d accidentally answered a Facetime with Anita while trying to actually reject it because Camila was sucking him off, which had of course been obvious. What had been less obvious to Jungkook was that Anita had thought going to the arcade meant something. Because it was a double date. Because he introduced her to his friends.

Anyway, she’d posted some passive aggressive shit on his insta, and Alex had not waded in to defend him this time because she was busy trying to shake her mom off the scent of a potential husband in Hoseok, so Jungkook had laid low for a while. Fewer social media posts. Let some attractive people DM him, asking where he’s at. Hearts from girls who hoped everything was ok.

But he was bored of laying low now. Hook ups weren’t an issue, but he longed for the steady ‘ding’ of notifs as people thirsted over his traps.

He paused on a particular photo to admire a different kind of trap, the muscle kind.

“Damn, upper body day’s really paying off,” he mumbled to himself.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” He didn’t even look at Jimin, just ran through a couple captions in his head before deciding on one. Posting the mirror selfie of him with a loose tank top clinging to his damp torso, pecs and abs looking good through the thin fabric and skin with a healthy glow after he’d just come in from Namjoon’s pool, he captioned it: leg day 😉 not my bathroom, don’t judge the creams. Because they would judge the drug store brands and the aged look of the toothbrush. He didn’t want that to distract them from his funny joke. Because his legs weren’t even in the picture but his upper half looked banging. It was ironic!

Several instant likes put him in a positive mood as he turned in for Namjoon to complain, “But I’ve sent like two dozen messages to girls and gotten maybe… five messages back? Including the ones that were obviously bots.”

“They must be pretty bad if even you figured out they’re bots,” Jungkook weighed in.

“I’m not an idiot!”

“Yeah, no one thinks you’re an idiot, ignore him, he’s got his head up his ass about something else,” Jimin assured Namjoon, waving his hand dismissively at Jungkook.

Who scowled and assured him, “My head isn’t up my ass about anything. The fuck are you talking about?”

Namjoon had already forgotten him though and sighed, “Hoseok said this was one of the good ones…”

“Sure but he still met Alex through work, not an app,” Jimin pointed out.

Jungkook pulled out his phone, no longer interested in joining their conversation. Of course Alex had brought Hoseok around to dinner and of course Jimin, In’am and Namjoon had loved him. Now he had the sinking feeling that Taehyung and Sabina were probably going to love him too. Maybe even more of the circle –their extended friends, the girls who were off-limits to him because of their friendship with Alex, maybe even the girls he had fucked but who would suddenly turn their attention to this unavailable dude who would spend the whole evening squirming around like he had to piss every time something made him laugh.

“Look, you don’t have to meet your soulmate, it’s about getting back out there,” Jimin encouraged.

“You’re better off meeting someone through instagram,” Jungkook suggested. “I get mad–”

“If you’re about to say ‘mad pussy’--” Namjoon sighed.

“I’m just saying, you’re a good looking guy, maybe post something besides pictures of your back as you look at walls in a museum…” He trailed off as he skimmed through the likes and comments pinging in on his new photo.

Including one from Alex!

I don’t get it

His eyes narrowed as if she could see him as he responded to her, “It’s a joke.”

Her response was almost instant, “The photo? Yeah I see it now.”

“See what?” he asked, ready for whatever fight she was bringing. Wasn’t she hanging out with Hoseok right now anyway? He was pretty sure she was, hence why she hadn’t been “able” to come to Jimin’s with him. Sure enough, when he clicked on her avatar, it took him to her story, three videos in a row of her running through those water-shooting fountains downtown with Hoseok, giggling when they each narrowly missed getting splattered. That exhibit was outside of the Blake Modern, a common high school field trip he’d been on years before and never had the urge to repeat.

“Maybe you should just date Hoseok and Alex,” Jungkook scoffed. “They’re at the Blake Modern right now.”

“Ah! I wonder who they went for. Napoleon Jones-Henderson and Raul de Nieves are the two big exhibits right now,” Namjoon mused, missing the joke.

Jungkook turned his phone to show Namjoon a photo of Hoseok posing, face down and away, in front of a white wall with big colorful lines coming down from the ceiling in a way that formed several visual circles.

“Oh, Eva LeWitt is still there–”

“There, solved your romance for you.”

“Or he could just date Hoseok when he and Alex break up,” Jimin suggested. “Or he could date Alex! Isn’t that what you mean?”

Jungkook’s eyes rolled out of his head, “He doesn’t want to date Alex.”

“I don’t,” Namjoon admitted with a laugh, “Even though I know she’s great! I didn’t think she liked museums much…also 75% of the time I’m convinced she barely tolerates me.”

“She doesn’t like museums, probably yet another thing she’s doing to impress that guy…”

“You know,” Jimin said. He suddenly slid from the chair to the couch beside Jungkook. His fluid movements made him look utterly conniving. “Maybe we should set you up with a profile on that app too.”

Jungkook laughed, giving Jimin an incredulous look as he reminded, “Did you miss the part where I said I already get mad pussy?”

“Yeah but what if you could get… happy pussy? Loving pussy? Committed pussy–!”

“Uh… no thanks? I’m good.” Jungkook patted his shoulder and shot Namjoon a look like what’s up with this guy before turning back to his phone.

“But… are you?”

“Uh… yeah?”

“It could help you meet people,” Namjoon suggested with a broad gesture as if this was a problem Jungkook had just mentioned they had the perfect solution.

“Uh, I don’t need help meeting girls. Did you guys miss the part where I get–”

“Yeah yeah mad pussy,” Jimin waved his hand. “But the girls you meet just want to fuck.”

Jungkook shrugged, “Most of them. Some of them would be down to date but I don’t want a girlfriend so I try to avoid those –too much risk of hurt feelings, you know?” Sigh, Anita.

“But now that you don’t have Alex, maybe you want a girlfriend?”

Jungkook glared, “What does Alex have to do with what I want?”

“You just seem kind of bitter without her–” Namjoon started, while Jimin quickly corrected, “Lonely. You seem kind of lonely.”

Jungkook shook his head, understanding their concern now, and assured them, “Nah, it’s not that. I mean yeah she’s gone a lot now and stuff and even if she’s home, she’s talking about Hoseok, or texting Hoseok, or he’s there–”

“Yeah exactly–”

“Ok, but I’m fine, I can last it out.”

“Last it… out?” Namjoon asked, nodding as if he understood but with a confused look on his face.

“Yeah, I mean they’re spending a lot of time together but it’s not actually that serious,” Jungkook explained. “They aren’t even having sex yet.”

“Woah woah–”

“Ok, that’s not our business–”

Jungkook rolled his eyes again and argued, “Oh come on, we’re all in each other’s business all the time.”

“Yeah because you flaunt your business.”

“And Alex flaunts her lack of business. If you even bring up sex she gets all red-faced and starts slapping you like an angry little penguin–”

“Dude, don’t call her a penguin,” Namjoon sighed.

“Why not? What’s wrong with calling her a penguin–”

“I mean it’s just not a flattering bird to call a girl–”

Jimin let out a loud sigh, “God, the two of you…” The front door opened, the sound of keys and bracelets jangling together announcing In’am’s return. Jimin called to her, “Help! Save me from these two idiots!”

“Hey!” Namjoon cried. “Don’t lump me in with him. I got married–”

“And divorced,” Jungkook defended. “I make sure not to step in it that deep.”

“Yeah you don’t step into it at all. Mr No-Commit and Mr. Overcommit over here. Save me,” Jimin whined as In’am dropped her bags by the front door and sauntered over. Jungkook tried not to watch the way she leaned down, arms winding around Jimin’s neck as she kissed him on the forehead. It felt outrageously intimate to do in front of guests in this context, even just them, even though he recognized it was just a kiss. Things between them just always seemed so intense.

“Sorry babe. You picked ‘em, you diaper ‘em.”

Namjoon and Jungkook both immediately protested as In’am just laughed and ruffled Jimin’s hair. His gaze trailed after her as she disappeared through the kitchen, calling back a mundane question about dinner plans, Jimin answering with that same domestic familiarity. It didn’t sound that different to Jungkook and Alex shouting across the apartment to figure out where to order from or if they were going to pep talk each other into cooking something better. God forbid Jungkook answer that he just ate; Alex would grill him about why he’d eaten without her, what he’d eaten, if he had leftovers, why he hadn’t thought of his poor starving roommate before he selfishly hoarded his food. His smoothies and salads would make her roll her eyes but she’d still demand her share; it was about the only way he got fresh vegetables into her that weren’t doused in arguably delicious but high-sugar, high-sodium sauces… Alex once went like nineteen days without taking a shit because she’d been too stressed to eat right or forgot or something stupid and he’d had to take her to the emergency room and he’d worried about her fiber intake ever since…

Well now Hoseok could take her to the emergency room when she went too long without taking a shit. Jungkook was officially off ER duty with her since she had this new boyfriend –who she wasn’t even having sex with yet. They’d been dating like six weeks now… that just seemed like a bad sign to Jungkook. Right? Like who in this modern day and age dated someone as incessantly as they were and didn’t fuck by six weeks? He’d asked if Hoseok was one of those wait-until-marriage guys but Alex had said no and then looked like she was going to scratch his eyes out, so he hadn’t ask more. But it just seemed like a bad sign to him. Not that anyone was asking him but… seemed bad.

In’am and Jimin were both helping Namjoon with his dating profile now. Boring. Jungkook was bothered by this insinuation that he was failing in some way to not have a girlfriend when in fact it was because he didn’t want one, and he didn’t really care about Namjoon’s dating profile either. So when enough messages went back and forth with Seychelle to form a cute ice cream date down the block from his apartment, he bounced to watch a gorgeous girl lick her way through a strawberry ice cream cone.

Alex kicked her legs like a toddler, perched on the backless bar stool in Hoseok and Seokjin’s shared apartment. She’d nearly slipped off the stool multiple times, not just today but over the course of the month she’d been coming here now. These chairs were a menace she was determined to conquer.

“You need to buy new stools with backs on them,” Seokjin had told Hoseok once, catching Alex in the act of trying to pretend it hadn’t just happened.

Hoseok, who hadn’t seen, was baffled and asked, “Why? These are nice! I got them at Pier 1 when the– at that one that closed down and liquidated. You remember it?” Apparently Hoseok and Seokjin had made multiple trips there and basically bought them out. It explained why everything in their place looked like it was from a catalog.

Now she felt like Seokjin was watching her to see if it would happen again. Maybe it wouldn’t happen so much once the things were broken in but they still had too much of a bubble, the faux-leather too slick. Lack of ass to date. The slippery fabric of her dress did her no favors. I’m a beautiful drop of dew on a sleek blade of grass, she thought to herself, trying to find balance. Better that than I am an awkward baby seal on an ice shelf, plummeting to my death with a sneeze.

Hoseok sat on the stool beside her, perfectly at ease, though sometimes he twisted side to side in an over caffeinated fidget. They had both worked the morning and her energy was waning after dinner with Hoseok and Seokjin at their place –cooked by Seokjin, who was that kind of guy who cooked so well you wondered how he could possibly have evaded marriage this long. She hadn’t asked him that question directly yet… she was thinking of Rebekah and Minxi, ok? Maybe with one of them around, she’d feel a little less like three kids in a trenchcoat every time she entered their clean, well decorated, well-equipped apartment. An apartment for adults.

There were several reasons she didn’t bring Hoseok over to her place often. That was definitely one of them. Another was that Seokjin was an even better and more willing cook than Jungkook. Another was that no one was likely to come stumbling out of the bathroom using her hairbrush or smelling like her lotion. And another was that–

Well, that this was aspirational. She wanted to belong here. She was going to learn. And Hoseok, bless that man, was apparently patient enough to teach her. Their afternoon at the museum had actually been a lot of fun! She’d thought it would be boring since she used to go for school field trips, but Hoseok was such a cool blend of fun and introspective. He could come up with the most beautiful explanation for a work of art, but was equally not above admitting “I have no fucking clue what I’m looking at… someone really did this?”

“Well the first airbnb has three rooms,” Seokjin said as he toweled off the clean dishes and put them back in the cabinet. “But the second one has those cool little cabins so we could double up in them and there’s a fire pit and a grill in the middle.”

“Hm….” Hoseok said, lips pursed. Alex had no fucking clue what they were talking about.

“Or,” Seokjin continued, “We just all get rooms at the resort.”

“That’s the one,” Hoseok grinned. “Let’s do that one!”

“Really?” Seokjin laughed.

“Yeah! Comfy beds, plumbing, air conditioning, pool access, room service–”

Seokjin sighed and shook his head, “Ok ok, I get it. I knew you were going to go for that one. Tate and Milena did too. Luisa’s down for either. Alex?”

“Ah I didn’t– shit–”

“Hoseok, are you serious?!”

Hoseok looked mortified and Alex just continued to look between them, more confused by the second. Hoseok waved Seokjin away –he strode off after hanging the towel on the oven door, laughing and shaking his head.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Alex admitted. “You’re going on a trip?”

“Oh well see… I wanted to ask if –it’s very last minute. We’re all going up to Lakeville for a weekend because… well, just to relax and have fun. We’re all working hard and it’s summertime, right? The store is open, I deserve a weekend!”

Alex nodded supportively, “Yeah, you do!”

“So… do you want to go with me?” Hoseok’s eyebrows raised. He quickly added, “We can room together or you can room with Luisa if you’re more comfortable with–”

“Oh, you need to room with Seokjin?” Alex asked to cover the way her heart was suddenly banging pots and pans in her chest. Hoseok was asking her to go away for the weekend with his friends? To Lakeville? That was where grown ups went. It was all nice restaurants and bars and lake activities and country clubs and resorts –definitely out of the price range of her friends. They’d graduated years now, at what point would she stop feeling like they were all just overgrown college students?

“No, I’d rather room with you,” he said. “But… I mean, if you want to go but you’re not comfortable–”

“No it’s not that. I uh…” Alex trembled with her want –no, need to go. A weekend away with her boyfriend! At a resort! No work, no other friend commitments, just relaxing and eating and drinking. “I want to go but uh… how much is the resort?”

Hoseok laughed and waved his hand, “No, I’ve got that. You just need to pack a bag, that’s it.”

“Wait but… it’s expensive–”

“I’ve got it covered, really! It can be a kind of two month thing… ah, that my friends are along for,” he covered his face. “But we don’t have to be with them the whole time! We can do our own thing and join them when we feel like it.”

Sex. Was that what he meant? She couldn’t tell with Hoseok –but that was something to think about at another time because obviously if that’s what he meant, she was down for it! She was ready! Excited, even!

“It sounds really fun.”

“Oh. But… it’s ok!” he told her, smiling and waving his hands. “I thought it might be too soon or you’re busy–”

“No! I mean, I’ll have to see if I can get off work but– but I want to go. With you. It sounds like a lot of fun! But I feel bad if you’re paying all this money.”

“I’m paying either way,” he insisted. “If you come, I’ll just get to have more fun.” He winked at her and she felt those bubbles low in her belly. Damn he was hot. He was so hot and while they’d by now had many a good makeout session on that couch and even in his bed, hands had barely dipped beneath clothing yet. Was he not eager? Was he waiting for her? Was she not obvious? Was she hesitating?!

“I want to go,” she told him, leaning forward to see if he’d kiss her. “Let me put in the request, tell me the dates.” He leaned forward, all smiles, to kiss her. It turned into giggles when she leaned too far and promptly slid off the stool; he moved quick to catch her, but slid off himself and they stumbled to the side several steps before they were steady.

“Want me to give you a ride home now? Or want to watch a movie?” he asked, glancing at the TV.

“Um…” Alex pretended to think as Seokjin appeared from his room, sliding his wallet and phone into his pocket, headed off to his bartending shift. He made what to Alex seemed like crazy money at an upscale bar downtown where Hoseok teased he charmed men and women out of their savings accounts. Alex believed it.

“You kids don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Seokjin winked and waved over his shoulder.

“I’ll stay for a movie,” Alex confirmed. Yes, she was tired, but if she fell asleep on the couch snuggled up with Hoseok, so what? It was nice. He was snuggly and she was getting snugglier too as she got more comfortable with him. It was kind of scary to have this new person to squish up against, and believe that he wanted her squished up against him! But wonderful. But scary!

Her first boyfriend trip. Wonderful and scary!

It took her some time to ease into it once they were down, the lights were low, and the movie was on. Hoseok slung his arm around her shoulder without a second thought but it was kind of heavy and the scent of his deodorant was too strong in her face. She twisted, trying to find a way that was comfortable. Her pants dug into her hips painfully, and then her knees hurt from being at an odd angle because if she sat all the way back, her feet didn’t actually touch the floor.

“You’re squirmy,” Hoseok teased, dragging a tassled pillow over and handing it to her, as if that would solve everything. She wrapped her arms around it, not sure what else to do, and found that actually did help her settle. Hoseok’s arm draped across her and she hugged it to her, pillow sandwiched between his elbow and her stomach. Her head could rest more easily against his shoulder now. Sometimes his fingers tickled her knees, which she realized were flushing. Damn her legs! Who flushed in their legs?! The tickle of his fingers made her nervously need to pee but she was finally comfortable and not going to move until her bladder forced her to. She was too happy, snuggling with her boyfriend, so just shut the hell up, bladder!

She fell asleep on the couch but Hoseok woke her to drive her home –after she peed like a race horse while running the sink so he wouldn’t overhear and think there was something wrong with her.

The apartment was quiet and dark when she got in but Jungkook’s door was closed so he was in there, with a girl judging by the heels by the door and the purse on the dining room table. She saw it as she shuffled into the kitchen to find a snack because Seokjin’s healthy dinner had worn off and there was no way she’d be able to fall asleep with those tummy grumbles.

She stole a packet of Jungkook’s ramen because she was out and settled on the couch to watch something, scrolling Netflix, keeping her mind empty. No reason to freak out about a weekend away with Hoseok. No reason to overthink why they still hadn’t had sex yet. No reason to get all blushy thinking about how wild it was that she and Hoseok kissed like, on a regular basis. It still felt tingly and exciting and fresh and nerve-wracking to her–

“That’s my ramen.”

She peered guiltily over the back of the couch at Jungkook. He looked like he was glaring but she suspected he was just still half asleep, hair ruffled, eyes bleary, shirt on backwards. Sleeping naked with whoever he had in the bedroom probably but drawn out by the scent of ramen.

“I’m out,” she admitted. “I’ll pay it back.”

Instead of answering, he let his hand fall heavily on her head, shoved it forward, then he stumbled towards the kitchen. She could hear him rustling around over the quiet, dark moment of her TV show, the click of the stove knobs. She slowed down her broth slurping so she still had food to eat when he eventually sank down on the couch beside her with his own.

“I would've made you one if I knew you were up,” she said.

“I just woke up.”

“Your nose did, huh? You’re like a dog about food.”

“I know what my ramen smells like,” he defended. He still blinked but a little more alert as he took in what she was watching with a roll of his eyes. There were plenty of dramas he watched with her, but he found this particular J-drama nauseating. ‘Saccharine,’ he had called it, and she’d nearly broken a rib laughing at him for sounding like such an intelligent snob. And also because he had clearly heard his mom saying that, Eomma Jeon had the same taste in dramas he did.

“You were gone late,” he said after a while, cheek full of noodles like a hamster. “I thought you were spending the night over there.”

“Shut up.”

“What? Wha– it’s just a comment,” he frowned. “You don’t want to spend the night there?” Just as quickly he added, “Or you do and he won’t let you?”

Alex bit her lip in her haste to answer and clutched her hand to her mouth, eyes squeezed shut in pain.

“Wiggle your toes,” he commanded, his go-to when you were in pain because he’d read an article about how it could override the nerves telling your brain there was pain somewhere. He always said it. Even when she’d broken her fucking wrist trying to ride his dumbass skateboard years ago.

As soon as it passed she corrected, “Actually he invited me to go on a trip with him in a couple of weeks.”

“What does that have to do with spending the night at his place?”

“Because you’re saying he doesn’t want to sleep with me, but if he didn’t–”

“I didn’t say that. I don’t know, maybe he just doesn’t like having girls over all night. I prefer to go to someone else’s apartment for sex too. You could have him here if he’s like that, I don’t mind,” Jungkook shrugged.

“Gee, how magnanimous of you.”

“Yeaaaah I am pretty magnum–”

“‘Magnanimous’ you decrepit toad.”

“That’s a really mean insult,” Jungkook teased. “Like I get the toad is old and infirm but to use that as an insult is just– I mean we’ll all be old and infirm someday–” She just reached out and shoved her hand against his face, managing to make him dribble brother down his chin. It made them both laugh, and Alex sloshed broth onto her knee and the couch. “Noooo now it’s going to smell even more like…”

“Like what?” she gasped. “What were you doing on our couch?!”

“No, I mean like whatever we smell like! Like food and–”

“Jungkook Jeon, we said no fucking on the couch–”

“Ahhh I didn’t mean that,” he sighed. “I mean maybe our apartment has a certain smell to it–”

“You think our apartment smells?!”

“Yeah, like us, right? I don’t think it’s bad, I don’t mean that, but maybe other people don’t like it… Seychelle said something about it… it smells like food or something in here.”

“Food.”

“Yeah.”

“Is Seychelle the one in your room? It smells like us and the food we eat in here, so? If she has such a fucking problem with that she– was she sucking your dick when she complained about the way we smell? Like what the fuck?”

He waved his hand, “No no, just when I first brought her in here she said that–”

“Well then she can go fuck herself in her own place next time.”

“I just meant is that why you don’t bring Hoseok over here?”

Alex just stared at him for a moment before pointing out, “You didn’t say anything remotely like that.”

“Ok but I did–”

“You didn’t. I don’t not bring him here because it smells weird, I– I don’t know, his place is really nice,” she shrugged. “And you two don’t really get along so–”

“We get along. I hung out with him at Namjoon’s dinner thing no problem, right?”

“Sure…”

“I thought we got past the arcade thing…”

“We did,” she said, and lifted her bowl to drink so she could not say something for a minute. It felt like they were veering into a weird place and she didn’t feel like going there right now. They’d fought about the arcade disaster for a few days and then made up like they always did. Jungkook had promised Alex could divulge one thing to his mom as retribution for him ratting her out. She was waiting for the perfect thing to present itself and in the meantime was holding her mom at bay by the tried and true tactics of 1. Going to see her mom less and 2. Whining moooooom, stop it and stomping away every time it came up.

And Hoseok and Jungkook had been around each other since then, the rare one time Hoseok came over for dinner and the more frequent times when he had to wait for her to finish getting ready. The dinner. Jungkook was awkward but polite to Hoseok. She saw it.

“Ok… then…”

“I don’t know. This place is just so our grungy lifestyle but–”

“It’s not that bad. Why are you saying it like that?”

“You were just telling me you think it smells bad!”

“Yeah but I mean women will still fuck me here. If it was that gross they wouldn’t. Seychelle is just kinda… stuck up or whatever. I just meant is Hoseok the same–”

“No,” she answered emphatically. “No, he’s not like that at all. His place is just really nice–”

“Well we can make our place nicer,” Jungkook shrugged. “Like I bet his TV isn’t as big as ours, right? And you can get some couch pillows at Target or something.”

“Why me?”

“Y-gene cancels out the shits you give about pillows–”

“Hoseok has couch pillows.”

“Ok… ok so he can help you pick some out, that’s great. Maybe one of those like big rugs in here.”

“We have carpet in here.”

“Yeah but people do that, right? They put a rug on their carpet for decoration–”

“I don’t think we need more carpets.”

“I’m just saying if you don’t like the way our apartment looks we can change things up,” he said and she thought he seemed kind of offended. “Besides once we get that Slushee Maker it’s going to be a game changer. This place will be lit.” His words sounded like a joke but he seemed sincere. Alex thought he probably really did mean it sincere and it was endearing, her big dummy best friend. God bless the woman who he fell in love with someday, but it was endearing.

She smiled and admitted, “Yeah, that’ll be great.”

“Does Hoseok like Slushees?”

“Who doesn’t like Slushess?” she insisted. “I bet he likes Slushees. I bet he does… he’s not some like elitist asshole or anything.”

“Yeah, I didn’t say that!”

“Ok… just… he’s not.”

“He’s a rich guy or whatever basically, compared to us, right? He must have made good money at corporate. Now he’s taking you on a weekend away…”

“Yeah up to Lakeville.”

“No.”

“Yes,” she admitted, grimacing, laughing, embarrassed but also proud about this.

“I was kidding about im being rich but–”

“He’s not rich, he just makes more money than us.”

Suddenly Jungkook looked genuinely worried as he pressed, “How are you going to afford– you’re not spending your Europe trip money, are you?”

Alex felt an immediate flush of shame. She hadn’t even thought of using that money for this trip with Hoseok. It wasn’t that impressive of a fund, considering how long she’d been saving. Since college, actually! Originally they’d all been saving, but then Namjoon had used his on his divorce, and Jimin’s was going into his wedding, and she suspected Taehyung’s had been spent on that week in Paris with Sabina. It might be just her and Jungkook going on that backpacking trip, if either of them could actually put forth the effort needed to actually figure out how much they needed and book the damn thing…

Still, it was a chunk of money she had and she should have thought of it and offered it for this trip with Hoseok. That was fair, right? There was still time.

But also she didn’t want to…

“You are.”

“No,” she said, “I didn’t say that.”

“It was on your face– look, it’s your money to do what you want with–”

“No, I feel bad because I didn’t even think about that… but… I should, right? Like I shouldn’t just let him pay for the whole thing.”

“Yeah you should let him,” Jungkook nodded. A noodle dangled down his chin. Alex reached over and shoved it into his mouth. “I mean, did he offer?” he clarified, wiping the broth off his chin.

“Yeah, he said just to bring a bag.”

“Oh then yeah, definitely, just let him–”

“But he doesn’t know I have a little savings thing for–”

“For going to Europe. He invited you on the trip so let him pay, he makes more money and he offered.”

“Yeah but how would you feel if you were the guy in this situation?” she argued. “Wouldn’t you feel taken advantage of?”

Jungkook immediately snickered, “Well, I’m sure I’d get enough head to feel ok about it… Not that you need to do that! I’m sure he doesn’t expect that. I mean you guys aren’t even having sex yet.”

“Yeah, right.”

“... Right?” he asked, looking suspicious. At her eye roll, his voice literally brightened as he asked, “Hey, do you think he’s asexual?” with a little too much enthusiasm.

Alex groaned and demanded, “Why do you think that everyone having less sex than you is asexual?!!?”

“Because why wouldn’t they be having as much sex as me if they like it?”

“Because maybe not everybody is good at it! Maybe it’s not that great for everyone! Or maybe it’s kinda scary to some people to be all… naked and close like that!”

“Ok yeah, if he makes you uncomfortable like that you should definitely not–”

“No he doesn’t make me uncomfortable about it, I just think there’s more to life than sex–”

“Geez calm down,” he laughed, which made her start to feel more annoyed than she actually had been. “You’re all red.”

“There’s just a lot of things you can do before sex so what’s the rush?” she huffed. “We have our whole lives to fuck!”

“Oh.” Jungkook looked taken aback. “Other stuff like…”

She went goggle-eyed at him, “Are you kidding? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Ok ok I just didn’t realize you were blowing the guy already–”

“What?! I’m not! I… mean…”

He let out a sigh and nodded, “Ah, it’s like that, ok…”

“Like what?!”

“Look if you need pointers–”

“Oh my god, I know how to blow a guy, ok?!”

“Do you?”

“I do!”

“Because you didn’t blow Yoongi so–”

“Well I tried–”

“Yeah that’s why I’m offering but– ok, it’s fine, you know what you’re doing, whatever.” He held his hand up defensively then pushed up. Now she felt crappy and defensively pulled her bowl back when he reached for it. “It’s… empty.”

“Don’t be a jerk just because I haven’t had as much sex as you.”

“I’m really not. It was a sincere offer in case it made you more comfortable with Hoseok. You know you’re safe with me and you can ask me anything and I swear I won’t even be weird about it.”

“Wait,” she gasped, “are you asking me to blow you for practice?!”

“Jesus Christ, Alex, no, I meant asking questions! You know, with fucking words?”

“Oh,” she let out a sigh of relief. The thought of Jungkook taking his pants off in front of her, just here on the couch, and her settling down for a lesson in how to– fuck, it shattered her brain right now. It was the middle of the night. She could not handle the way that started banging around her empty skull.

Thank fuck Jungkook asked, bringing them back on track, “Does he have more experience?”

“I don’t know. I’m assuming so since…” She didn’t make eye contact but let him take her bowl. “Since my experience is like… not a lot.” His absence gave her time to settle and sulk; she could hear him rinsing the bowls out. She stared at her drama still playing, but she wasn’t very interested and didn’t care to rewind to see what she’d missed. When he came back, he had a glass of water he sipped from and then handed to her to finish. She thought he’d go back to bed and the naked girl that was in it. Seychelle.

Instead he flopped down on the couch again, a little too close so he sort of sat on her leg. She whined and shoved him off, but they were still pressed against each other once he moved his ass. He hadn’t said anything since he’d taken her bowl, and she got the distinct impression he expected her to say something. That he was patiently waiting for it. Like he could see there were words trapped behind her teeth that just needed a little patience to escape.

“What if I’m just really bad at sex and he dumps me?” she finally asked.

“Then he’s a fucking asshole.”

“Yeah but… he’s not. I still can’t believe he likes dating me and I think he’s probably really good in bed and–”

“Doesn’t matter how good he is. If he doesn’t like you enough to be patient while you get comfortable and learn then… kick his ass to the curb. I’ll even do it for you.”

He talked so casually about it. He made it sound so easy. When she was alone in her room, she felt that overwhelming need for Hoseok that had her reaching for her nightstand drawer and the pretty purple vibrator inside. She felt bold then. Determined to make her move the next time she saw him.

But then when she was around him, she’d get all tingly but in a private way. It made her shy. They made out and she was getting used to that, that felt good, but she was still just so aware that it was another person touching her, that she was touching a man, that it could go somewhere further, and the reality of it just made her feel so awkward.

It was her, she realized. She was the problem. Not because Hoseok was doing anything wrong. Maybe he was just slow to move physically too, but she might be giving him the sense she didn’t want him because she was feeling shy… maybe that’s why he was inviting her, because he really was hoping to seduce her and see if she was just shy or a total stick in the mud about sex!

But she wanted to be seduced! Even if that was a sentence she would die before speaking out loud! She wanted to get past her nerves and have a sexy sexual relationship with this sexy man who wanted to date her. Because he must want to, right? Have sex? Unless he just liked her personality and not really her appearance. It wasn’t like she was glamorous or anything. Just average. Cute but average, that’s how she’d describe herself in all honesty. She would have said more before but compared to how pristine Hoseok was, how just ethereally pretty he was, cute was where she maxed out.

“Hey, you don’t think he…” She trailed off, finding herself unable to actually say it.

“He… what?”

“No, nothing. I don’t know what I was going to say,” she admitted. Jungkook couldn’t help her answer this one. She’d have to take the risk on her own. The trip with Hoseok while they were staying in a hotel room and having fun all day and probably drinking would be the perfect opportunity for her to relax and take a leap of faith. It would be fine. He wanted to be with her! He cared about her. He must also be attracted to her. What could go wrong?

The cup was empty but she didn’t feel like getting up, so she just threw it down the hall towards the kitchen. It bounced noisily along the floor and against the wall.

“Hey, Seychelle is sleeping–”

“Oh fuck.”

“Yeah, don’t wake her up,” he said through a yawn. “Then I have to go deal with her.”

“You’re such an ass,” she laughed.

“Yeah, you’re the lazy asshole who just threw a cup down the hall instead of getting up or just like leaving it there.”

“If I leave it there it’ll stay there forever.”

“We could have my mom over for dinner–”

“I swear to god if you’re suggesting having your mom over so she’ll clean our apartment I will gut you–”

“That’s not why, it’s just a perk–”

“Oh my god–”

“Hey, I do the dishes when I go home! She gets perks too! I buy her flowers for no reason at all sometimes!”

“Yeah you’re both a good and terrible son. Remember that year you got me flowers for Mother’s Day–”

“Because you had a hamster!”

“--and my mom thought it meant–”

“--that you were pregnant–”

“--that you knocked me up,” she said at the same time.

An awkward pause followed.

“Uh… wait, what?!”

“You knew that!”

“I did not know your mom thought I got you– but we weren’t even dating–”

“Yeah I know, but obviously I wasn’t having sex with anyone and you were always around so– and you got me flowers!”

“Because you had a hamster! You were a furry mom!”

“I’m sorry… what?”

“No, not a furry mom like that. Like a furry mom with a pet.”

“Jungkook.”

“What?” he whined, obviously hearing his own words finally. She couldn’t even stop laughing hard enough to scold him. “Leave me alone, I’m tired.” He was so charming when he did that pouting thing, no wonder both their parents let him get away with anything. So unfair.

“You’re such a whiny baby. You’re the one who started talking about furries.”

“Fur mommy–”

She clamped her hand over his mouth and insisted, “Seriously, just be quiet. You’re getting into that giggly sleepy phase, you’re just going to make it worse until you start crying and then your face is going to get all puffy and Seashell is going to wake up next to that.”

“Seashell…” He started to cry.

“There they are. There are the giggles.” They were noiseless at first as his face scrunched up, eyes closed, smile taking over as tears escaped and curled around his cheeks. His teeth caught the light from the TV as he giggled, curling up against her arm.

“God you’re so mean,” he giggled.

“Did I get her name wrong? Say it again.”

“No, I’m not saying her name again. Put a different show on,” he said, suddenly serious, like he’d just swallowed the laughter away. A bubble of it caught in his throat. It sounded like he was going to throw up. His lips tightened into a thin line, trying to control it. More tears snuck out.

“Oh, baby, you’re crying,” Alex said, dramatically wiping them away, knowing it would get him giggling again. Sleepy sober Jungkook was honestly one of her favorite of his many forms. It was just so fucking funny the way he crumbled, and few people got to see it!

It worked. He wiped at his own eyes as she victoriously fished the remote up from the ground and backed out to find something else to watch with him. She complained and slapped his ass when he rolled close to wipe his tears off messily on her shirt sleeve.

It took them more than five minutes of scrolling to find something they could agree upon. And it was pointless because as soon as the show started, Jungkook shrank down on the couch and let his head fall to Alex’s shoulder, and within two minutes he was snoring, one hand thrown across her lap, palm up, fingers in a relaxed curl.

Alex made it five, curled up with her knees in his lap and her nose pressed against his hair until they toppled sideways, snuggling up together without waking.

Jungkook had big plans for the day. Big. After work, he was going to head to the gym and shower, get that out of the way, then he, Taehyung, and Namjoon were heading to the Japanese place that had opened near Namjoon’s house. Supposedly their sushi boats were cheap but good and they had the plum wine that the old Japanese place they loved had, the one that had shut down last year and they hadn’t found a good replacement for yet. This could be it!

“I can’t believe you’re going without me,” Alex lamented as she stomped through the hall of their apartment, arms full of the toiletries she should have packed last night. Hoseok would pick her up at ten, after Jungkook had already left for work. She had talked big game about packing last night and then played video games with him instead.

Jungkook tailed after her, pausing in the doorway of her bedroom to point out, “Hey, you could stay and go with us. You’re the one choosing to miss it.”

“I’m not skipping a weekend with my boyfriend to eat sushi with you guys but…”

Boyfriend. Jungkook didn’t comment. It had been a week since Alex had come home from a dinner with Hoseok and some friends of his she hadn’t met before, during which he’d introduced her as his girlfriend. Jungkook had heard every detail about it. And heard the word ‘boyfriend’ about a million fucking times in the past six days.

“I’m just saying, you could have gone next weekend,” she sulked.

“Sorry, life doesn’t pause just because you’re skipping off to Lakeville.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically and batted him out of the way so she could leave again. To get more toiletries, make up, sunscreen.

“Little optimistic, huh?” he teased.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“As if you wash your face every night,” he snickered, noting the very full bottles of toner and serum and even the eye cream she’d bought when they’d visited the makeup boutique where Alex’s older sister worked. May was as girly and frilly and snooty as Alex was not, and they had a complicated relationship that Jungkook had watched with a sort of horrified fascination from afar. His relationship with his older brother was so much easier by comparison. Jin-hyun was a jock turned engineer, recently married and with a baby on the way and they hated each other almost as much as they loved each other. See? Simple!

“Shut up, you don’t get it. Hoseok has like a routine. Every night, every morning. I can’t look like my boyfriend takes better care of his skin than I do.”

“But… he does.”

“Yeah, but–”

“And that’s sexist. This is 2022, Alex. Your boyfriend can be prettier than you– unng,” he grunted as she punched him hard in the stomach. Her height always worked in her favor when she did that; she could really shoulder her strength into his gut if he didn’t have enough warning to protectively flex.

“I’ll kill you. Go iron your polo and let me pack in peace.”

“Don’t forget your tampons,” he called over his shoulder.

“The fuck do you know?”

“I don’t know, don’t periods usually start right during this kind of thing?”

“I swear to god if you just jinxed me–”

He snickered to himself as he left her to it, going to make his breakfast smoothie to drink while he styled his hair, covering up a few pimples along his jaw, before heading to his room to pull his work uniform on. Always hair and face first, so he didn’t run the risk of getting gel or concealer on his shirt. He’d made that mistake early in his career and one of the assholes had teased him all day that he had crusty cum on his collar, despite it obviously smelling like hair gel. If his cum smelled like that, he’d probably get way more head. Cum that smelled like that would probably taste pretty good too. Girls would love it. They’d beg to give him head to check it out–

His phone rang as he pulled his pants up but he never answered his phone and let it roll to voicemail. Except as soon as that happened he heard Alex shout across the apartment,

“Answer your fucking phone!”

It instantly started ringing it again and he rolled his eyes to see she was calling him.

“What, birdbrain? Did you get stuck in your leggings again?”

“No! Shut the fuck up! I…” She trailed off. He wedged the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he tucked his polo into his pants, careful to smooth the fabric out so it didn’t bunch up with his boxers and create any weird bumps.

“Alex?”

“Can I…”

“.... Alex.”

“Can I ask you a favor, ok? Look, I know you’re used to– I mean that I’m not…” She trailed off again.

“For fuck’s sake, Alex, just spit it out. I’m getting ready for work.”

“Can I ask your opinion on something?”

“Sure. What?”

“No, I mean… something I need to show you…”

His eyes narrowed suspiciously even though she wasn’t there to see it.

“What sort of something?”

Her voice sounded cagey as she mumbled, “I bought this thing for uh… for the weekend but… it’s just I’ve never worn something like this before and I don’t know if it’s incredibly stupid or–”

“Look if he doesn’t like kigurumi then you’ve got no future with this guy–”

“No, not one of those! Oh my god will you just shut up for once? I bought a thing, like a… a sexy thing and… and I know it’s kind of weird to show you and I know I’m not like… like a sexual being to you or whatever but can I just show you and you tell me objectively if it’s so stupid that I might get laughed at or somethign?”

“You are so fucking dramatic,” he sighed. “Yeah, whatever, show me.” He was already walking towards her room, phone still wedged as he zipped and buttoned. He buckled his belt as he reached her room to find her standing with her back to him and a blanket wrapped around her body like she was going to watch a movie on the couch.

“Ok what did you want to show me? I gotta get going.” He didn’t really, but her expression as she turned to him was weird and it made him antsy. “Come on. What sexy thing did you buy? Edible underwear? It’s bad for his teeth and it doesn’t taste very good,” he suggested, knowing without a shadow of a doubt she had not bought edible underwear. His guess was a bikini or maybe a short dress for dinner. She was weird about bathing suits. She’d tried a bikini on years ago while they were shopping and he’d insisted she looked great but she accused him of lying, didn’t buy it, and now just lamented ‘the lost bathing suit’ every year, as if she couldn’t just fucking google it and buy one just like it. It really had looked good though, kind of punk rock pin up with her black nails and long hair. But it could be a dress, she definitely didn’t like to wear short dresses either, as if ass hanging out was a bad thing.

“Promise not to be weird or… mean? Just I’d rather you tell me if it just doesn’t look good than I like put it on for him and he’s not… happy. If it looks bad or something.”

“Ok. Sure.” Tread carefully, he knew she was saying. Do better than you did on the shopping trip.

“And um… I mean, it’s not that weird if you see my nipples, right?”

“Wait, what?” He was sure he’d misheard her.

“My… I mean, it’s just my body, it’s not like– You’ve like accidentally seen me kind of naked before so it’s not a big deal to just show you this because it’s just like you seeing nothing. I’m not even really a girl to you.”

He had not really ever seen her naked before. In just a bra from behind as she changed shirts, quickly, sure. In a bathing suit. Walking from the shower to her room in a massive fluffy towel, yeah. But not like naked naked… Believe it or not, it was not that hard to not walk in on your friend naked if you demonstrated some basic respect for things like closed doors.

Jungkook felt heat starting to creep up his neck as he clarified, “I mean you’re not not a girl to me, you’re just… my friend… are you saying you bought lingerie?”

“Yeah….”

“Oh.” He’d never stood so still in his life. “Well, I mean… it’s fine then. Just wear the lingerie.”

“No, but–”

“Trust me, no woman ever put on lingerie and the guy she was dating didn’t like it. That just… doesn’t happen.”

“But I mean… you know, I’m…”

“You’re…” he prodded when she trailed off.

“I’m… large. Ish.”

“You are literally pocket-sized. I have a recurring nightmare of stepping on you in the dark and ending your life.”

“Be serious. I’m fat, and I don’t care about the mean shit people say most of the time but… I mean Hobi doesn’t seem to mind that I’m fat either, right? Even though he’s not. Because he’s dating me so it’s not like he’ll be surprised, right? But like… I mean it’s different if you see me naked and…”

“Is it?” Every word Jungkook said had the potential to be the wrong one, he knew that. Even more than the shopping trip, he could feel the vulnerability rolling off Alex in waves right now. Talking about a girl’s body or weight was a minefield he tried to never step a foot into. He knew what his thoughts and intentions were but there was too much risk of fucking it up when it came to a vulnerable, naked woman. You didn’t want to assume a woman was cool about something but you also didn’t want to assume she wasn’t cool about something. He’d learned that one the hard way from Alex years ago. Better just to be general and supportive since he was sure that if Hoseok had any problem at all with Alex, it meant he was fucked up (and about to be physically fucked up), nothing to do with any reflection on Alex. He didn’t need to see Alex naked to know that anyone who saw Alex naked should be grateful and happy about it. A naked woman was giving you a gift. How fucked did you have to be to think of it any other way?!

But there was this part of him that thought… just… well… what does she look like in… nothing… Did she look any different than he expected? Women looked so different from each other, it was something he really enjoyed about getting to sample so many of them. He’d known Alex longer than any other girl…

Look it wasn’t like he’d never thought of her naked before. He’d grown up with her. He’d watched her get boobs and even helped her steal a black lacy bra when they were fifteen because her mom would only buy her ugly ones. You bet he’d wondered what her tits actually looked like in it! He’d listened to her complain about the growing circumference of her thighs and stretch marks years before he and the other guys his age came to the belated realization that thick thighs and stretch marks were vastly underrated by teen boys and the media, so that he no longer felt like such a freak for thinking it was all actually pretty hot. He’d been friends with her when she was literally the only girl who could stand him, then the only girl who could help him make sense of his early dating disasters, then the only girl he saw as a worthy roommate and lifelong companion. He was always well aware she was a girl, the coolest girl he knew. A woman now. He knew that and he’d wondered what she looked like naked with the same kind of curiosity he had about…. You know… about lots of stuff in the world! He was only a human male, all right? That lacy black bra had haunted him for years at night, even if in daylight it was completely unrelated to his best friend Alex. Adolescent hormones could really do a number on you, but his love and respect for her had kept him from ever doing anything too unforgivable, or accidentally crossing any lines from which they would not have been able to recover once alcohol or hormone levels returned to normal.

And now was she… was she asking if she could show him the lingerie? On her? Was that actually what she was asking? He must be misunderstanding.

She was still explaining, “I mean not you personally… or… unless it is! I mean I know we’re friends and all but–”

“Yeah, we’re friends.” He had no fucking clue what she had been saying before that.

“Is it weird for friends to see each other’s nipples?”

“You’ve seen my nipples,” he said without thinking it through.

“Yeah but I’m a woman so…”

“Well that’s kinda sexist, isn’t it? Everyone has nipples. Women don’t get to own nipples just because yours has a current biological purpose–”

“Oh my god if you go into that male lactation article you read again–”

“I’m just saying! They’re just nipples!”

“Are you seriously telling me you think tits are nothing special?”

“I– no, um… just that…”

“It’s weird, right? If it’s going to be weird, nevermind, I can just text– but I just don’t think Minxi or Rebekah or Sabina is going to tell me the truth or even know what a guy would think,” she sighed.

“What about In’am–”

“Don’t even joke, I’m not sending her a picture of me in lingerie, are you insane? She’s basically a supermodel.”

Making a snap decision to be cool and not weird about this, he shrugged, “Well whatever, just show me then. You don’t have to make such a big deal about it.”

“... Right?” she asked, arching her eyebrow, looking up at him like she didn’t believe her own words. “I mean… it’s not that weird. It’s kind of like seeing me in a bathing suit.”

“Right.”

“We’re already grown up friends who live together platonically. Only we get to decide what’s weird and it’s not like this is hot to you–”

“Well I mean aren’t you asking me if it’s hot though?”

“God no, no, I’m asking you to just objectively tell me like… will Hobi think I’m hot.”

“Uh…”

“Like will a guy recoil from this.”

“If a guy recoils from any woman in lingerie he’s fucked in the head and you should run away. That has nothing to do with the woman, that’s the dude is messed up.”

She let out a clearly annoyed sigh, “So you aren’t going to give me a real answer because you’re suddenly wanting to be nice–”

“What real answer? I am telling you the real answer! There’s just no such thing as a woman not looking good in lingerie.”

“But maybe like the style or something isn’t good or like… if it looks like I’m trying too hard… or it just doesn’t look good on me–”

“No guy is thinking that much when he’s looking at a woman in lingerie,” Jungkook said. “He’s not thinking at all. Probably there’s no blood left in his head to think with.”

“Ok but… but I mean it’s me–”

“Alex. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Usually I’d agree with you but I’m just… I’m just kinda nervous, ok? Like we are probably going to finally have sex.”

“You shouldn’t have to do all that though,” Jungkook insisted. “You don’t need to make yourself more nervous–”

“No, the lingerie is supposed to help because then I’m not like totally naked, just a little naked…. Unless I feel comfortable and we take it off–”

“Ok shit I don’t need a fucking play by play.”

“I just– nevermind.”

But now Jungkook’s curiosity was piqued. He didn’t want to pressure her to show him the lingerie but if she was wanting to, he’d be stupid to make her feel uncomfortable about it. Because now this whole conversation was going to be stuck in his head, and it was like the black bra over again. He was a curious person, ok? What was under that blanket was going to haunt him for years now if he didn’t get an answer.

So he crossed his arms and leaned against her wall and beckoned with his fingers, “No, it’s whatever, just show me what you bought. I’ll tell you the truth.” He’d give her a thumbs up and she’d get her confidence boost. And on the weird chance she’d bought something actually crazy or weird, he’d help her avoid that. And in the event Hoseok reacted weird in any way, he’d kick his ass and buy the ice cream on his way home.

“Are you sure… it’s fine, right? It’s not cheating or anything because it’s not like you and I are– there’s nothing sexual between us or anything…”

“Yeah, I’m just a friend giving fashion advice, it’s fine.”

“Ok.” She hesitated and slowly started to remove the blanket. She hesitated again. Then she suddenly thrust the blanket away, letting it fall to the ground.

Alex had big tits. It was something he already knew. She had a big soft chest but they looked extra heavy cradled in a thin, nearly sheer bra, the dark shadow of her nipples visible through the gaps in the lace. Maybe it wasn’t called a bra when it had that gauzy fabric attached to it, a babydoll or whatever. Was it a babydoll only when it was open in the front? This fabric flowed all around her tummy and hips, brushing the tops of her thighs. The cave of her navel was dark above lacy panties he couldn’t quite tell if they were see-through or not. Even if they weren’t, nipples and naval were enough… were plenty enough. Soft exposed curves usually covered, now teased through sheer fabric, elastic straps pressing into wide hips and narrow shoulders…

Alex, it’s Alex, he reminded himself, trying to pull his gaze back to the whole, to Alex standing in front of him in this light purple outfit, arms stiff and uncomfortable at her sides like she had to hold them there not to cover herself, expression one of nervous uncertainty. But the fact it was Alex didn’t matter, it didn’t make her not hot.

Just when he was about to tell her it was fine, she turned a circle, like he needed to know that the panties were a g-string wedged right up her ass, the lace hem of the babydoll fabric not quite covering the dimpled cheeks, leaving that shelf of skin exposed. The underbutt was one of Jungkook’s favorite parts on a woman’s body. He had to tear his eyes away to unfortunately instead notice all the straps further up, criss-crossing her back, pressing into her flesh, perfect for gripping while you–

“It looks good,” he shrugged, clearing his throat.

“That’s it? Shrug? But like… does it look good or just like… it’s ok? I want to level my expectations–”

“It looks good, Alex. What else do you want me to say–”

“Ok, right. Right you don’t have to say anything specific–”

“You don’t want me to say anything specific,” he snorted, already imagining the black hole swallowing him up if his internal thoughts bled from his mouth right now.

“Ok but it’s like specifically good for me? Not just like… like ok, I guess if it leads to sex, it’s fine? If I wasn’t me and this was waiting in the bedroom for you–”

“Jesus Christ, Alex, it looks really good on you! You don’t need to worry about it! If that guy isn’t into this, there’s something wrong with him.”

“Oh.” She crossed her arms over her chest, but gripping her biceps, nervous, forearms squashed her tits so they spilled out of the lace. One was about to pop out, he thought. The panties weren’t sheer, he realized, because he could only see dark hair to the sides, not through. That was a poor design, sheer would have been good, but…

“Ok, thank you,” she said. “Uh… you can… go to work now.”

“Yeah, I gotta go to work,” he nodded. “Uh, good luck with your weekend.”

“Good luck with yours too… try not to trash the–”

“Yeah I’m going to get laid so much while you’re gone–”

She rolled her eyes nearly out of her skull, “Uh huh, so business as usual. Keep the bodily fluids in your room please. Same rules apply even when I’m not here to enforce them!” She wagged her finger at him. It jiggled her tits and made the gauzy material flutter and his gaze tried to escape but landed on her thighs right as she turned away. He already knew thick thighs were nice but they were so bare and grippable–

“Bye.”

He was worried he was looking at her too much. He was, right? But that wasn’t his fault, he’d told her! A naked woman was a naked woman! And Alex had a lot to look at! She didn’t have to be worried about something stupid… like what did she think was going to happen? She didn’t look that different than what Jungkook had imagined she did, and Hoseok would probably think the same thing, and you didn’t date someone unless you were looking forward to seeing them naked. Women thought too much about what guys were thinking and they weren’t thinking anything at all. Tits ass tummy thighs that was the extent of a guy’s thoughts. Where do I put my mouth first, that was it. Where will she let me cum?

Fucking shit he did not need his brain merging these thoughts right now. Objective! She’d just asked him to be objective, not specific!

So then why couldn’t she have just shown him the thing on the hanger! He could imagine objectively! He didn’t need to know she had two moles on her ass cheek but now he did know!

He left for work, even though it was too early and he wound up having to hang out in his car on his phone. He deliberated. Had he been a good enough friend? Had he said the right thing to pump her up but also not set her up to get hurt in case Hoseok actually was an asshole? Had he made sure she understood that if Hoseok had a bad reaction or pressured her when she wasn’t comfortable, she should throat punch him and leave? He could drive up to get her if he needed to, it wasn’t a big deal. He liked road trips.

He typed out a message but then got worried it would seem weird after he’d just seen her in lingerie so he deleted it. He almost wished he could text Hoseok: hey, don’t fuck this up or I’ll fuck you up. But he couldn’t, and he wouldn’t, and maybe he’d buy some ice cream just in case it didn’t go the way she wanted. He had to go pick up some dishwasher pods and diffuser refills and a new vacuum anyway because theirs was not working. For like six months.

Shit, why were women so stupid? Worrying about what she looked like in lingerie, what an idiot. Dating a guy who made her worry. What an idiot. Not buying that bikini years ago, total idiot.

Alex didn’t think she had ever learned so much so quickly about another person.

Probably she should have guessed that actually rooming with her boyfriend would teach her more about his habits than just visiting his immaculate apartment, but she had been too overwhelmed with her own nerves about the trip to really think about it.

For instance, now she knew that Hoseok did not like lake activities and got motion sick very easily –even more than her! Fuck, that was a relief. They’d barely made it out in their kayak, following Tate and his girlfriend Milena in one, Seokjin and ‘just a friend’ Luisa in another, when Hoseok started to feel sick and made them turn around. It meant Alex didn’t get to the point she felt sick! And also didn’t have to feel like she was a killjoy because even if the kayaks weren’t big enough to make her seasick… she just didn’t really think that was a lot of fun. Water sports weren’t really her thing and at least the last time she’d been in a canoe, Jungkook and Jimin had done all the work while she yelled at them every time she saw something sticking out of the water in case it was a snapping turtle. They’d called her Queen Bee. She’d loved it..

She now knew Hoseok liked to nap, which was excellent because she did too, and it was low key and cool to stretch out in bed and pass out with her hunky boyfriend right beside her. Good trial run for sleeping next to him the whole night. Jungkook and Yoongi were the only men she’d ever shared a bed overnight with. Wait, Taehyung too, a different friend camping trip where he’d drunkenly crawled into her and another friends’ tent because he “didn’t want to sleep alone.” He was the clingiest sleeper she’d ever met, but apparently Sabina liked that.

She now knew Hoseok brushed his teeth after every meal, which explained why he had the brightest, most dazzling smile of anyone she knew. He probably had no idea why anyone was ever nervous before the dentist. They probably gave him trophies for how clean his teeth were.

She learned he was adorable when he just woke up from a nap, and shuffled around like a sleepy toddler, and collapsed against you and snuggled until he was actually awake. He was very much like Jungkook in that way, similar sleepy pout. Except he was warm and smelled like vanilla lattes even when he hadn’t worked. At one point he kissed her neck sweetly before he pulled away and it made every hair on her body stand up and her heart race and her instinct to flee kick in and also every drop of blood drain right down to echo her heartbeat between her legs. There was a part of her that wanted to just take his hand and hold him there and suggest they get down to it. They’d waited long enough.

But their friends were waiting for them at dinner, and that was when Alex learned another thing about Hoseok: he could not hold his alcohol.

Tate, it turned out, was a total wine snob, and took great pleasure in ordering several bottles for the table. He and Seokjin argued over years and regions and labels while the girls rolled their eyes –and Alex was proud that Hoseok was with her, laughing close to her ear,

“I don’t know what any of that means.”

“Me either!”

“Do you want the red one or the white one?”

“Red one.”

“Yeaaaah, me too,” he grinned at her, and reached through Tate and Seokjin’s argument to grab the bottle and pour for them both.

One glass led to two and then Alex had enough; it was too much with the elaborate meal they were taking their time working through on a balcony table overlooking the water. The breeze as the sun went down was so nice and calming. Milena and Luisa were funny as shit and she thought they’d get along with her own friends really well. Conversation all around was so interesting and mature and wise –these people had careers and responsibilities and had traveled and it was fascinating listening to it all. Tate and Milena had met at Columbia and still took annual “spring break” trips with their college friends. Luisa was born in Ecuador and came to the States to study cello and now taught music to grade schoolers. Seokjin was born in Korea but his parents had divorced and he’d spent his life traveling back and forth for six months of the year, school year split. He hated it growing up, appreciated it now, but swore never to do that to his own future children.

Hoseok shared some of his own stories but grew increasingly quiet as dinner wore on. Alex worried he was upset about something but when she asked questions to try to draw him back into the conversation, he’d sort of wave her off. When finally she couldn’t evade the questions Milena and Luisa were asking about her own boring life any longer, she did her best to answer impressively–

Only for Hoseok to yawn.

Her shock must have shown on her face because Tate busted out laughing, “Oh man, we’ve got a drunk Hobi, huh?”

“Hm??” Hoseok asked, seeming surprised to hear himself referenced.

Seokjin was laughing now too, shaking his head, “You can tell, he’s flushed and quiet and sleepy–”

“No no– yes ok,” Hoseok sighed. “I think I’m tipsy–”

“Tipsy!” Luisa howled. “Mi hijo, you are drunk.”

“Noooo… ah.” His sigh sounded almost like a growl, it was actually kind of sexy, as he turned to Alex. “I do get like this. Yes. I’m a little drunk.”

She didn’t know what to say. Not like she cared, she just wasn’t sure whether it was funny or frustrating… did this mean he was ready for bed as soon as they left? It wasn’t like she could fault him for drinking too much on vacation but she also wasn’t quite ready to go to bed after they napped for so long, but she also wanted to spend the time with him, not his friends…

“Cute,” she smiled, not wanting to seem annoyed. It was fine. Obviously it was fine! They were here for three nights, and it was cute to learn her boyfriend could apparently not hold his alcohol, though she didn’t actually know how much he’d had to drink. Maybe it was more than she thought! Or maybe her friends were going to drink him under the table every single time– but no, that was fine. It wasn’t like drinking was a requirement for hanging out with her and her friends.Of course not! He’d had glasses of wine with her before and it wasn’t a problem at all so he must have just had a lot to drink tonight.

A lot. He kept yawning. He sort of looked like he was just going to put his head right down on the table. Instead she took his hand beneath the table and when he leaned over to let his head rest heavily against hers, she laughed,

“I think I’d better get this one upstairs…”

“No no I’m fine,” he insisted, waving his hand. “Where to now?”

“They’re doing fireworks out over the lake tonight.”

“Let’s see the fireworks,” Hoseok pleaded, turning a frown to Alex like she was actually sending him to bed. Actually she was really glad if he didn’t want to go quite yet! Maybe he just needed some time chilling outside, watching fireworks, and he could sober up enough for her to put her plans into place. She’d showered before dinner. She’d put a little make up on. Last night she had trimmed down there. She was ready. Two glasses of wine, ready to go!!

The lakeside was beautiful. The resort had lawn chairs but they were a little late making their way down and wound up just settling on a sandy part of the shore. Dirt stuck to her damp, sweaty skin so she took her shoes off. Hobi accidentally kicked sand onto her as he collapsed beside her, and laughed as he brushed it off a little hard.

I’m nervous. It’s making me cranky. Get it together, bitch, she realized. So what if he was drunk? She should be drunk too! She regretted that she wasn’t drunk! The night had cooled off just the right amount, and if you looked ahead you could see stars across the lake until the firework show began from the far shore. Dazzling showers of orange and green and white and red lit up the eager faces of all the guests crowded along the shore and railings to watch. Hoseok’s eyes sparkled. He grinned when Alex leaned into him; he flung his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek, then stretched out on his back so as not to crane his neck.

“Oh, good idea!” She lay back too as the others did. The punctuation of explosions followed by the predictable wave of oohs and ahs was like a nice, calming sway. It felt like an ending, and started to give her that feeling that soon it would be time for bed and time to head home. But that wasn’t true! They still had two more nights!

Yeah! So what if Hoseok was too drunk to have sex tonight? Maybe Alex had hoped it would be so good they’d just go crazy and do it all the time but it was more realistic to think that they’d ease into it. Cool. It was fine. She could endure having that hanging over her shoulder one more day, that wasn’t a big deal. And now she was sweaty and sandy anyway, she wouldn’t want to put on her lingerie over this, though they were definitely going to need to shower….

The steady crackles of the finale dissolved into a thick silence, followed by applause. Soon after other guests began to gather their things and head back upstairs, but their group stayed there a little longer, staring up at the stars. Alex listened to the hum of conversation as Luisa talked about how long it had been since she’d been home to visit her family and how things like this always made her wish they were there with her. It made Alex miss her own family a little. It made her think of the many 4th of Julys she’d spent with Jungkook and their friends, or before that, with Jungkook and their families. Her parents had been so excited to make friends with the Jeons way back when so they could start having block parties in the summer.

“We might as well head inside. Nightcap in the billiards room maybe?” Tate suggested.

Alex nudged Hoseok as she started to stand, only to realize he was completely asleep. At what point had he dozed off? Belatedly she realized it would have been romantic to actually kiss beneath the fireworks. She hadn’t thought of it, but neither had he, and maybe he’d even been asleep! In the moment, it didn’t matter that she hadn’t thought of it until too late anyway. She felt abandoned. And now she had to decide whether to go to bed early with her drunk boyfriend or invite herself along with his friends hanging out without Hoseok there as the bridge.

In a cranky fit, Alex decided, “Let me drag this guy to our room and I’ll meet you guys there?”

“Yeah ok, sure! Here,I’ll help,” Seokjin suggested when she grabbed Hoseok’s arm and began to shake. “He doesn’t drink a lot but it’s hard to wake him when he’s out…”

Alex bit her tongue. Why did he do this on their first night of vacation? He just wanted a drinking vacation? Well fine, she’d get drunk too then –not crazy drunk, but drunk enough they could be hung over together in the morning. Maybe that would help her get over that he’d left her to be a fifth wheel. He could have at least warned her, so she could keep up! She had no problem with a drunk vacation! But.. she’d kind of thought this would be more special than that…

“Thanks, Seokjin.”

“Yeah, no problem! We’ll see you guys at the billiard room. All right, Hobi, up you go. Heave ho!”

Sunday night was boring as shit. At least Saturday he’d gone out and the sushi had been great and he’d wound up crashing at Taehyung’s and playing games with him until four AM and slept late on his day off. Great.

But he’d gone home to an empty apartment and it sucked. Never before had he wished for a dog so badly. Usually Alex was there! She didn’t lick or run up to hug him when he walked through the door but she did shout complaints at him about whatever mess he’d accidentally left behind earlier and she brought him his mail so it evened out.

He wound up inviting himself to his parents house for dinner, enduring Eomma’s theatrics as she acted as though he hadn't been home in months. It had been a few weeks maybe, but hey! He was a busy guy!

Unfortunately, though he shouldn’t have been surprised, Alex’s parents were also over. So not only did he have to endure his own mother’s dramatic rendition of how she’d been shriveling up without her son’s affection, but he had to endure Mama Song’s scolding “to pass onto Alex” about how she ought to stop avoiding her and come home.

“Tell her I’m not going to ask questions about that boy,” she said. “Tell her I’m over it. Forget about it.” The two women laughed. “But tell me why she did not come with you? Where is my daughter?”

Jungkook froze. He had nothing in his hands to shove in his mouth to give him a moment to think. His and Alex’s dads were still on the back porch smoking the meat. He hadn’t come prepared to lie to Alex’s mother but obviously he couldn’t also be the one to tell her that her daughter had absconded with her boyfriend to have crazy lingerie sex up in Lakeville all weekend either. He’d barely crawled out of the doghouse from the last fuck up and now–

Both moms burst into loud laughter. Eomma clasped her hands together. Alex’s mom waved a hand in front of her face and wiped away tears.

“Your look!”

“His eyes get so big!”

“The Bambi in headlights, that is who my son is,” Eomma howled.

“I already know where my daughter is,” Alex’s mom assured him. “Vacation with that boy she won’t tell me anything about. What will you tell me?”

“I can’t tell you anything or she’ll cut me out of the will.”

“He’s Chinese.”

“No.”

“Japanese.”

“Mama…” Jungkook jokingly whined. “Save me Eomma.”

“European?” Eomma asked instead.

Alex’s mom waved her hand, “European is too broad. Uh… I don’t think my daughter would date a Brit. A Swede? No, I don’t see it. Too tall. Jungkook’s height is the most she looks good next to. Is he your height, Jungkook?”

“Do you know how much trouble I’m in already? I’m not telling you a thing,” Jungkook said. “You could at least not have told her I told you!”

“Of course you told me, you can tell me anything. Why not? You are practically my son,” Alex’s mom insisted. “If we had only let the two of you get married when you asked–”

“Yes, ask my son if he has a girlfriend! You think I don’t regret that–”

“Eommaaaas,” he complained, lumping them both together. “We were kids!”

“No girlfriend! My son never has a girlfriend, only ‘friends,’” Eomma said, making air quotes and giving Alex’s mom a look that had them both laughing at him.

“Who’s telling you about my friends?” he glared.

“Your brother. You see? When you are married, you get to be the one to tell on others–”

“Well I got to tell on Alex, so–”

“Everything would have been so much easier if you and Alex married,” her own mother sighed. “This new boy, is he good? I don’t know anything about him, but I know you’re a good boy. You could have married back then and skipped all the heartache and the loneliness and the keeping your mothers up at night about if there’s someone to take care of you…”

Jungkook crossed his arms and scolded, “You are both out of control. Alex and I don’t have to marry anyone. We’ll always take care of each other. There’s no way she’s marrying this guy.”

“What?! Why not?”

“I just don’t think it’s that serious–”

“She’s having casual sex with a boy?!”

Jungkook sighed and slapped his hands over his face as both women started laughing again. He couldn’t figure out when they were fucking with him. Probably they always were. The two of them together really were out of control. They brought out the best and worst in each other. Like two peas in a pod. Like he and Alex! Though he’d never admit that to their moms, even though the old ladies probably had thought of it on their own. They’d probably just laugh at him again. They’d been laughing at him that way since he and Alex had jokingly asked in ninth grade if they could just get married and skip the whole ‘nosey moms’ thing. He couldn’t actually remember which of them had made the joke but it had been a bad idea because now their parents liked to annually bring it up. They hadn’t meant it seriously! Alex was going to shit a brick if they made that joke in front of Hoseok –if she ever even bothered bringing him around.

Jungkook gave them a softly scolding glare and peaced out to go be on the back patio with his and Alex’s dads –a much safer place. There he could just grab a beer and join them at the grill, scolded only about how often and which direction he turned the meat. When he checked his phone, they didn’t pester and scold him about who had messaged (no one, actually, and Jungkook was annoyed that somehow no one was available to hang out, just because it was a Sunday night.) When he bragged about work, they were proud and didn’t make a single teasing remark about his polos or khakis (Alex couldn’t help herself.)

Granted, it was a little lonely to be at dinner with all four parents but no Alex, or even any of the other siblings. Everyone had somewhere to be, he realized as he listened to them talking about things he didn’t really care about. The parents had lives that no longer revolving around their children. Their older siblings had relationships and families and lives that kept them from coming home out of sheer boredom on a random Sunday night. Even Alex had somewhere to be tonight, and hadn’t even texted him telling him how it was going. She’d said she would but he hadn’t seen a single picture and fuck him if he was going to be the first one to text! As if he had no one else to text!

Jungkook hated feeling like he was getting left behind. He’d never wanted a relationship. Why would he? He’d never dated a single woman he could see himself sharing a room with, much less a home, a dog, a life, kids, any of those things his parents envisioned for him. He liked his freedom. All of his needs were currently met. He was happy.

But sometimes, in moments like these, it left him a little sad to listen to his parents tell the Songs about some long ago trip they had taken Jungkook and his brother on, where both boys had gotten stomach bugs and spent the whole time puking –the details didn’t matter, but it was something Jungkook would never have, a spouse, a child, a partnership getting through the shittiest moments in life like that, someone helping him see the joy, someone to laugh about it with later. And right now, he didn’t even have Alex here to roll her eyes with him and come up with some witty snarky comment that he couldn’t think of to make the parents layoff about how he needed to meet a nice girl. Alex said he was the one who managed their parents, but he thought she did a better job of it –he got too defensive sometimes. She was better at making jokes to distract. She said he was better at it. It didn’t matter, they made a good team. But right now, he was just alone. And it wasn’t that he wanted something else just to avoid being alone at times like this but…

Well, he missed her presence. He hoped she was having a good time. But not too good of a time. But apparently a good enough time she never texted him or thought about him.

“Ok ok no more drinks tonight, I’m just kidding,” Hoseok said as he caught Alex’s quick glance away. “It doesn’t have alcohol! Just ice,” he said, stepping slowly into the pool and settling next to her. “One for you… oh, did you want alcohol in–”

“No, no,” she said quickly. The drink was nice and cold in her hand; quickly she pressed it to her forehead to battle the faintest headache. After another full day in the sun, the thought of alcohol made her stomach turn. She’d asked Hoseok for something ‘not too sweet’ and the mocktail with refreshing cucumber was just right.

“Good?” he grinned.

“It’s perfect,” she assured him. “Thank you.”

“God I can’t wait for spa tomorrow,” Milena sighed, stretching out beside Alex, elbows back on the pool edge. She looked like a movie star behind her big glasses, with her long tan body, her perfectly casual messy bun.

Alex made no comment. She’d never had a massage before and was not quite sure what to expect from a massage and a facial and pedicure tomorrow –the items she’d agreed to back when the trip was getting planned and the spa offerings were sent around. She was at least paying for her own services after insisting on it to Hoseok. She’d be paying him back. It had been one of two things they’d had a sort of… tiff about that morning. Tiff. Was she really the kind of person who used the word “tiff” now? But argument was too strong a word… right?

Even though they’d resolved it hours ago, Alex still felt a twinge of discomfort when she glanced at Hoseok and his bright smile. She felt like an asshole to have said anything at all when he had brought her on this vacation he was paying for most of. She hadn’t meant to say anything. But when he’d slept in super late to get past the hangover, leaving her alone with his friends for the whole morning after already spending the evening alone, apparently her “oh, nice of you to join us” had sounded less playful than she’d meant.

It had been awkward. She hadn’t wanted to fight and he’d been so apologetic that she felt like an asshole for being annoyed in the first place. He didn’t drink often so he forgot his tolerance was low, and he hadn’t meant to drink that much, and he’d make it up to her. His over-apology had made her feel like he thought she was demanding it, but she wasn’t. Was she? She didn’t mean to! She just wanted her boyfriend present for this exciting weekend…

Belatedly she wondered if he drank too much because he was nervous. What if he was not wanting to have sex but didn’t want to say that? But what if, in trying to figure it out, she gave the impression she didn’t want to have sex?

These questions and the discomfort of their first little bump lingered with her through a brunch painting class, failing to catch anything shore fishing, eating sand in an intense volleyball game with strangers, and finally watching a movie in a hammock while the others went back out on a boat. Hoseok now knew she was terrible at painting, not really into fishing, and allergic to mango, unfortunately. And also that she was an asshole if you drank too much and left her alone with your friends, and that then she’d feel so guilty about it she’d be on the verge of tears all day if you looked at her funny.

Hoseok’s arm slid around her shoulders as he sipped through a pink straw. Alex tried to relax. They weren’t fighting! He regretted getting that drunk, it wouldn’t happen again tonight, and it had been a really fun day. They still had one whole day before they’d head home early Tuesday morning for her and Hoseok to make their afternoon shifts. There was still time for this vacation to be an overall success despite that early bump.

Alex let her head fall to his shoulder. The PDA made her nervous at first but Milena and Tate were the same way, there were couples everywhere, and she wanted to be one of those girls for a while. She had a hot boyfriend who had taken her hurt feelings seriously and wanted his arm around her in the pool. His loud laugh echoed around the space, even through the noise of children shouting, unnecessarily loud music playing over speakers, and a noisy volleyball game not far off.

“It’s getting late, shouldn’t those children go to bed?” Luisa mused, only to be laughed at by Seokjin, “All right, old lady! Go tell them, no more summer vacation!” The pool was supposed to be no kids after 8pm, and it was now 8pm. As if cued, one of the kids took a running jump over them and cannonballed, sending a wave of water over them.

“Kid, scram!” Alex shouted at him, nerves frayed by the long (but good! But long…) day. The kid just completely ignored her, but the mother on the far side of the pool had clearly heard and gave Alex a hard look. “It’s after eight now! No kids in the outdoor pool area!”

“Alex,” Hoseok murmured, squeezing her shoulder. The mom looked even angrier and walked away.

Luisa shrugged, “Alex is right.”

“Yeah, but…” Seokjin murmured and then shrugged it off.

“Kids shouldn’t be running around adults getting drunk in the pool,” Tate agreed.

“Let the resort staff handle it,” Hoseok insisted, patting Alex’s shoulder and lifting his mocktail. “Nothing we need to worry about. Want something to eat? Woaaaah the lights just changed, didn’t they?”

They had, lowering to a more atmospheric setting. The underwater lights came on. And sure enough, resort staff came through to sweep the families out. It was a much different vibe with just adults, and even without alcohol, Alex found herself relaxing more as the sun went down. She leaned against Hoseok or followed Luisa and Milena to get more drinks or snacks. She splashed around in the crisp water of the pool. Alex liked kids just fine! But the vision she had for this romantic getaway was definitely better served now by low lights, no kids, one glass of wine, and a fully present boyfriend.

Luisa and Seokjin were actually the first to call it a night tonight, and Tate and Milena followed not long after that, claiming sun fatigue. Alex looked to Hoseok but he’d just gotten a new round of drinks for them, and she didn’t feel any need to rush out. In fact, watching the way the water beaded on his sun-kissed skin as he eased into the water was exactly what she wanted to do right now.

Another thing Alex had not known about Hoseok before they started dating was that he had been a dancer for most of his life, even in college. Mostly hip hop, a couple years on a b-boy crew, a few years of jazz, ballet when he was younger. Though he’d ultimately decided not to continue into that line professionally, he’d retained a lot of the lean muscle. The shape of his body was graceful, softer than someone who worked out in the gym all the time like Jungkook’s, but still shaped by years of hard work.You could look at him in his swim trunks and know he had been a dancer or an athlete. It was so clear to Alex in the way his body slid into the water beside her in the hot tub.

They were alone in it, one of several around the resort that probably saw more use in the wintertime. This one was off to the side and overlooking the water but hidden from the brighter lights, so maybe overlooked by the other guests still milling around the pool or drinking at the bar.

“I can’t stay in here long,” she warned him, lifting the hair off her neck and gripping it on top of her head.

“Yeah, me neither. Watch, I’m going to get all red and sweaty again… but it’s fun when you jump into the pool then, right? You get all those tingles.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a hot tub, I barely remember…” She trailed off, watching a bead of water slide down from his temples. He kept glancing at her and then quickly away and she worried her face was doing something bad. Something like showing obvious hunger.

Suddenly his hand slid across her leg and he pressed against her side, sitting closer as he leaned in to whisper, “You look really pretty with your hair up like that.”

“This rat’s nest?!” she asked, not sure how else to respond. She was so caught off guard by his closeness and the comment, she immediately dropped her hair, ruining the thing he had just praised. Before she could grab it to try and pile up again in an attempt to keep doing a thing he liked, he slid his hands into it, around the back of her neck and pulled her into a kiss. A kiss kiss. A kiss that made her feel like if he had seen the hunger on her face, it was because he felt it too. With that kiss, any little shadow lingering about the night before was gone. Her skin burned as she twisted in the warm water to better reach him.

Just as her fingers touched his chest though, she remembered where they were –out in public, in a public hot tub. She quickly pulled away, lips tingling as strongly as her skin.

“Sorry…” he murmured.

“No, uh, sorry… forgot we’re in public…”

“I swear I’m not drunk.”

“Me either,” she quickly assured him. “I just…”

“Your bathing suit is really…”

She looked down at it, almost bracing for whatever attempt at flattery he could give. Alex did not really like bathing suits. This one was ok, ruched blue gingham that gave her a retro vibe she didn’t think was actually her style. But it was kind of cute and comfortable and she didn’t have to worry about anything slipping out. It had taken her years to not feel self conscious in a swimsuit around other people but she’d come around and if he said something that sounded hollow, it was going to crush her.

He didn’t say anything.

“Really what?”

“Huh?”

“Really what?”

“Ah I don’t know what i was going to say,” he admitted with a wide smile. “I got distracted…”

“By…” He didn’t continue but he gave her this plaintive look that just seemed to beg kiss me. So she did, this time gripping his shoulder to twist him to her. His fingers dragged burning water along her jaw and down her throat. His thumb slid under the halter top tie and Alex felt like he might as well have jammed that thumb right into her pussy for how turned on she was by this point.

“Hobi,” she sighed between kisses.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked.

“No! No of course not–”

“I’ll stay here as late as you want–”

“Hey are you not wanting to have sex with me and that’s why it’s been so long or–”

“Fuck no! I mean, fuck no, I don’t not… not want— I want to have sex with you,” he said, garbled and as confused sounding as she was. The heat was getting to her head. Everything felt so hot to touch and his mouth was hot to taste and when his fingers dug into the skin of her back to pull her close, Alex wanted to whimper. Whimper. No guy had ever made her want to whimper before.

“Me too,” she said. “I want to have sex with you too.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Really?” he laughed and looked at her, eyes wide, mouth open. When she nodded and began to push out of the hot tub, he quickly overtook her, grabbing their towels and flip flops like they were late to a meeting. Alex shivered at the cooler air on flushed skin but barely even stopped to wrap the towel around her. She wanted this, Hoseok wanted this, and she wasn’t about to let anything slow this train down.

The walk itself could have done it. It was late and despite feeling drunk, Alex wasn’t. Their room was far enough, it was just enough time for her to get nervous. What if she fucked this up? What if she wasn’t any good? She thought about the lingerie hidden in the bottom of her bag. Would it slow things down for her to take a bathroom break and rinse off and change? Would it give her too much time to overthink all the things she was overthinking right now?

Hoseok unlocked the door and let her in, then locked it behind them. Then immediately kissed her again, even though he had to hunch forward and hold her shoulders not to topple. It made her giggle. He giggled too, all the way until they reached the bed.

“My bathing suit is wet,” she said, right before she thought he was going to kiss her down onto it. Fuck, guys really did that?

“So take it off,” he smiled.

“Yeah you too!”

“Yeah, me too,” he repeated, kissing her again as his fingers worked at the laces on the front of his swim trunks. Alex had a much harder time after letting her towel fall. Untying the halter was fine, but there was nothing sexy about wriggling out of a wet one-piece bathing suit. She tried to hurry so Hoseok would be too busy kissing her to look, but then he suddenly pulled away and crouched down at her hips, hooking his fingers into the wet material clinging around her thighs. She was just whole-ass naked right in front of his face, whole entire body exposed.

He smiled up at her and yanked the fabric down to her feet, a hand on her hip as she stepped out of it. Nothing wavered in his expression to show he was shocked by her nakedness, or disappointed, or even unsure. His hands roamed her skin as he stood to kiss her again.

“Should I stand on the bed?” she joked.

“It’s ok if you don’t actually want to go through with this–”

“No, I do!” she gasped, realizing he’d misunderstood her humor. “I’m just… maybe a little out of practice but…”

His smile widened as he slid his arm around her body, pulling her against his chest. Holy shit they were so naked.

His breath rustled her hair as he murmured, “Then it’s a good thing we have all night to practice.”

Alex nodded dumbly, suddenly too distracted by the dick beginning to press more firmly against her stomach. She leaned back so she could see because she wasn’t the only one incredibly naked right now. Hoseok slid down onto the bed and took her hand and pulled her up to the pillows with him. They stretched out, kissing, hands lazy against hips and shoulders.

It just felt so natural. The kisses moved her quickly away from the nerves that had crept up once they left the hot tub. When hands began to roam, it felt good, not frightening at all. It couldn’t be real that she had her hand wrapped around Hoseok’s cock and yet she did and he liked it and oh, what a cock it was! He kissed through her clumsiness, he guided her hands, he took the lead when it came to condoms and lube and lining himself up. By the time he was nestled fully inside her, Alex felt good about this. Great! Hoseok’s cock was straight up in her pussy! Finally!

“You doing ok?” he asked as he slid in and out of her, hands braced on either side of her head.

“More than ok,” she assured him. Worried that meant he didn’t know she liked it, she moaned. Did that sound sincere?

“Good, baby. That’s good…”

Alex practically heard the record scratch in her head. Baby. That was what Jungkook called women and she had not thought just hearing the word would bring him so forcefully to mind, but it did, and that was not welcome when she finally was getting fucked by her boyfriend!

“Mmm, call me something else, not baby,” she said, trying to moan it so it would sound sexy.

“No?” Hoseok looked shocked but started laughing and didn't stop his slow thrusts. “What about…” His hands drifted up her body, only ghosting over her tits before sliding back down to her hips.

“What about…”

“I forgot what I was saying,” he admitted with a laugh. “You’re so sexy.”

“I’m…” Alex had been going to say she wasn’t. But how many times had she heard Jungkook rail about women saying things like that about themselves? It’s such a moodkill! I’m not thinking that while I’m fucking her! I’m fucking her because she’s hot! Does she want me to stop and comfort her? Why is she thinking about herself like that right now? Just own your hotness!

“Close?”

“Oh…” She trailed off. No, she wasn’t, but this was good! She was enjoying it! She’d get there!

“Damn, Alex…” He leaned down, brushing his nose against hers. “I’m so glad we’re doing this… I’m so glad you came here with me.”

“Me too. Thank you for bringing me–”

He interrupted her with a kiss and Alex decided to stop talking so much because wow, this angle…

She did cum, and enjoyed it very much. They fell asleep before getting to practice all night. Alex didn’t feel like she’d demonstrated any particular skill, but it had definitely gone better than things back in the day with Yoongi. The relief of that was worth everything. Even just getting to cum was so crazy! Hoseok’s fingers spinning circles around her clit had finished her. She’d been half asleep by the time he got back from dumping the condom.

In the morning, he’d woken her up brushing her hair back over her shoulder.

“Hey,” he’d said quietly. “Sorry we fell asleep after I talked so big about practicing all night…”

“Yeah, me too! Really got my hopes up and all I got was one orgasm? Real sucker of you,” she joked.

“Make it up to you now?”

“What time is it?” she asked, only pretending to be serious. “Don’t we need to meet your friends–”

“Who cares.” He kissed her and she didn’t even joke about it again, just lost herself in the sight of Hoseok’s body moving over hers in the morning light.

[Alex]: ok I get it now

[JK]: get what?

[Alex]: sex

[Alex]: it’s so cool

[JK]: good 4 u

[Alex]: yeah it is 😉

PREVIOUS | MASTERLIST | NEXT

#tell me what changed #tmwc #jungkook x oc #jeon jungkook x oc #jungkook smut #jungkook f2l #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #bangtan smut #bts smut #jungkook fanfiction #fuckboy au #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook series #jungkook/reader #jungkook/oc #jungkook

222 notes · View notes

sugdenlovesdingle · 1 year

Text

Fire camp (AO3)

Carlos' nephew wants to go camping with the new crew from station 126, Carlos goes along as chaperone. - Different first meeting AU

written for @tarlosweeklyprompts prompt of the day: Camp (I'm not even going to pretend I remember what day this was originally for)

A/N: I really struggled with this one, but I hope you guys like it.

---

“Fire camp? Did you put him up to this?”

“No, a firefighter came to our school and showed us all kinds of cool stuff!”

“Cool stuff? Like what?”

“Like what to do if there’s a fire in the kitchen.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“It’s not! I want to go! Please mama! All of my friends are going and tío Carlos said it’s ok!”

“Oh did he now?”

“I’m sure they’ve taken every precaution to keep the kids safe. And it says parents are welcome too.” Carlos said, trying to placate his sister. He loved her and his nephew dearly but he didn’t want to get dragged into the middle of whatever the latest drama was.

He’d agreed to pick Samuel up from school for her but that was as far as his uncle duties went as far as he was concerned.

Camila turned her attention back to the flyer.

“Do you know any of these people from station 126?” she asked him.

“Not really. There’s a whole new crew after the old one was… lost… on a call that went south.” Carlos explained, trying to keep things vague enough so his nephew wouldn’t catch on.

“So they’re all new to Austin and I’m supposed to hand over my nine year old to them?”

“I’m almost ten!”

“Not the point, Samuel. I don’t know these people, and they don’t know us or the city. I don’t think it’s safe.”

“Cami, they’re firefighters. It’s their job to rescue people.”

“Yes, rescue, not keep safe.”

“I know they have a medical side to the station too. Paramedics.”

“Who also only show up when people are in trouble.”

“What if tío Carlos came too? He’s a policeman, they protect people. Right tío Carlos?”

Carlos resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The kid was getting way too smart for his own good.

“Yes… but I have to work. And this camp is for kids only. Ages 8-12. I’m a little older.”

“I don’t know… if it’s mental age you should fit right in.” Camila said, daring her little brother to hit back with a dig of his own.

Carlos gave her a fake smile but let the comment slide.

“But they allow moms and dads to come too. So you and your mom can go together and she can see all the cool stuff they’ll teach you.”

“Oh no, I’m not sleeping in a tent in the middle of nowhere.” Camila told them and then turned to her son. “You can go if you can get tío Carlos to come with. I’m sure they could use a policeman to help out.”

“Please tío Carlos, please, please, please.” Samuel begged.

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do.” Carlos sighed. “I have to get to work now but I’ll stop by there afterwards and ask if I can help.”

“Can I come?”

“I have to work Samu. I don’t finish work until 8 tomorrow morning.”

“That’s when I have to go to school.”

“Exactly. And isn’t your dad coming to see you later? He’ll be disappointed if he came all this way for nothing.” Carlos reasoned. “I’ll text your mom as soon as I know anything. I promise.”

After saying his goodbyes to his sister and nephew, Carlos quickly headed home to change for his shift, only to realise he got the days mixed up and his schedule didn’t change to overnights until tomorrow.

He debated what to do with his free evening for a while before deciding to head to the firehouse and offer his help for the fire camp.

He’d been inside the old station 126 a few times to follow up after scenes both AFD and APD had been called to, but he’d never paid much attention to what the place looked like.

This time when he walked in, the first thing he noticed was a giant memorial for the fallen firefighters and what he could see from the rest of the firehouse, looked like something out of a magazine.

“Hello?” he called out when he didn’t see anyone. “Is anyone around?”

“Hey, can I help you?” a man of around his age jumped down from one of the trucks. Carlos had to remind himself how to breathe when he took a good look at him. He was gorgeous, with a smile that somehow lit up the room and green eyes that were sparkling.

“Uh yeah… I uh… saw the flyer about the fire camp thing you guys have coming up. I was wondering if you needed a pair of extra hands.”

“Are you a firefighter?”

“Uh no, I’m a cop. But I’m good with crowd control. I have experience with handling difficult people so 8-12 year olds… shouldn’t be that much of a challenge. Hopefully.”

The man laughed.

“Alright, wait here officer, I’ll go get the captain. He’s the one who came up with the idea to organise something for the local kids to get to know the community.” He turned around and walked out of the bay. “I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later the man returned with what Carlos assumed to be the captain in tow. He gestured at him from a distance and disappeared into the firehouse again.

“Hi. Owen Strand, captain of the 126. What can I do for you?” The captain walked up to him and shook his hand.

“I’m Carlos Reyes, I’m with the APD… I saw your flyer for the kids camp next weekend and I was wondering if you needed some extra help.”

“You’re volunteering to spend a weekend with a group of 8-12 year olds? I had to practically force most of my crew.” The captain said and Carlos shrugged.

“My nephew really wants to go and my sister won’t let him without supervision… and the real challenge will be spending the weekend with a group of firefighters. Red and blue are rivals in this city.”

“Not in my house, not in my camp. We’re all family here.” Captain Strand insisted. “But we’d be happy to have you on board… Carlos was it?”

“Yes sir. Carlos Reyes.”

“Come on up to my office, Carlos, so I can write down your contact information and fill you in on the details.”

They walked further into the firehouse and up some stairs leading to some kind of common room where a group of firefighters were gathered.

“Is he a new recruit?” Someone asked as they walked past.

“Nope. Sorry Mateo, you’re still the probie.” Captain Strand replied and the group burst out laughing.

Fifteen minutes later Carlos had given Captain Strand his name and phone number and made his way out of the firehouse again.

“So, are you going camping with the crew on Saturday?” The man from before suddenly appeared next to him right before he walked out of the building.

“Uh yeah, looks like it. Will you be there too?”

“Looks like it.” He said with a smile. “Cap’s making us all go to bond with the community or something… but suddenly I don’t mind so much anymore.” He held out his hand. “I’m TK.”

“TK? Is that short for something?”

“Yes it is.”

Carlos waited for him to explain but he didn’t say anything.

“Are you going to tell me what it stands for?”

“Not right now. Not when you haven’t even told me your name.”

“Carlos. Reyes.”

“Officer Carlos Reyes. I’ll make sure to remember that. See you Saturday.”

“So you’re still not going to tell me what TK stands for?”

TK grinned.

“Nope. You’ll have to earn it. Bye officer Reyes.”

The next few days Carlos did his best to put firefighter TK out of his mind and focus on his job and just get on with his life.

Only the fact that his nephew wouldn’t stop talking about how cool the camp was going to be, and how cool the firefighters were, meant that station 126, and one member of the crew especially, was constantly on Carlos’ mind.

Even Camila had caught on and under the guise of checking out just who they would be going camping with, she’d cyber stalked the AFD and found station 126. Apparently one of the firefighters was a social media star and TK a willing participant in her videos.

“He’s cute. Just your type.” She told Carlos, when he came to pick Samuel up and the boy went to pack his stuff.

“I don’t have a type.” Carlos argued. “And even if I did, I don’t even know if he’s into guys. Or into me.”

“He’s into guys.” Camila said, tapping her phone screen.

“How do you know? Does he look gay or something?”

“No. It’s in his bio. And there are pictures of him at pride. He’s from New York. The captain is his dad. I’ll send you the link to his profile.”

“I’m going to be spending the next 24 hours with the guy, I don’t need you to stalk him for me.”

“You’re going to be spending the next 24 hours watching my kid and make sure he comes home in one piece. Don’t get distracted by pretty boys.”

Carlos rolled his eyes.

“We’re going camping just outside the city. It’s close to the ranch actually.”

“Oh so you can introduce your new boyfriend to mom and dad right away.”

“Shut up. I’ve barely said three words to the guy. And I’m supposed to watch your kid, remember? Samu are you done yet? We have to go!” He said, directing the last part at Samuel.

The last thing he needed was his parents knowing anything about his love life.

Or lack thereof.

By the time they got to the camp site, it was starting to get busy. People were setting up tents and some of the firefighters he’d seen at the station were playing games with the kids.

TK however seemed nowhere to be found.

Carlos almost immediately lost Samuel to his friends, leaving him to set up their tent alone.

He sighed but got on with the job. It’s not like he’d really expected a nine year old to be much help anyway.

Only putting up a tent on his own proved to be more of a challenge than he’d thought.

He was just about to give up and convince Samuel sleeping under the stars would be the ultimate camping experience when he heard someone walking up to him.

“You look like you could use a hand.”

“Uh yeah, that would be great thanks.” Carlos said, crawling out from under the tarp, and staring up at TK’s smiling face. “Hi…”

“Hi yourself.” TK replied, amused, before kneeling down beside Carlos. “I’m not sure how much use I’ll be though. I’m from NYC, I don’t exactly have much experience with camping or putting up tents.”

“Right. Well… I appreciate the help anyway.”

“And if we get stuck, we can always ask Judd. He put ours up in about 10 minutes flat.” TK said and noticed Carlos looking past him to try figure out who Judd was. “The big guy. Texas personified. We’re sharing a tent because he thinks he needs to keep an eye on me. For some reason he thinks I’m going to get up to no good if he doesn’t.”

“Oh. And is he right to think that?”

“Maybe.” TK said with a grin. “I have been known to give into temptation every now and then.”

Carlos smiled and together they worked to put up the tent.

TK wasn’t much help but Carlos enjoyed being close to him and getting to know him a little while they worked.

“So… what about you?” TK started after telling him a bad break up made him decide to follow his dad to Texas. “Anyone waiting for you at home? That cute kid’s mom maybe?”

“Oh she’s definitely waiting for us at home. And demanding updates on what we’re doing… but she’s also my sister. Samuel is my nephew.”

“So you’re the cool uncle taking him camping with a bunch of firefighters and paramedics?”

“I was kind of forced into it… but I’m having a good time so far.”

“Likewise.”

Together they managed to get the tent up without too much trouble and when they were done they sat down in the grass in front of it.

“I’d offer you a beer but…” Carlos opened a cooler and took out a can of coke. “This is all I’ve got.”

TK smiled and accepted the drink.

“It’s fine. I’m not much of a drinker anyway. I get into enough trouble without throwing booze in the mix.” He said, turning serious.

“Really? Should I be worried about having to arrest you?” Carlos teased, trying to lighten the mood. He didn’t know what was bothering TK but he wanted to keep him smiling.

The corners of TK’s mouth turned up a little as he fiddled with the lid of his can.

“I promise I’ll be on my best behaviour this weekend.”

“Pity.” Carlos commented and took a sip of his drink.

TK raised an eyebrow at him.

“Officer are you suggesting I shouldn’t be a law abiding citizen?”

“I’m not suggesting anything.” Carlos said innocently. “And I’m not on duty so I’m just Carlos today. Tío Carlos to him.” He nodded at a group of kids Samuel was with who were busy with some kind of dance routine with Paul and Marjan.

“Hey guys, we’re doing a dance challenge Marj found online. Come join in.” Paul called out to them while Marjan tried to get the rest of the crew and some of the parents to join in.

“I don’t know the steps.” TK replied. “Carlos and I will just go look for firewood in a minute. You guys keep doing your thing.”

“Neither do I, but it’s fun. Come on.” Paul tried again.

“I’m not really a dance challenge kind of guy.” TK told him before turning to Carlos. “I used to play guitar. I’m pretty sure my mom still has my guitar in her attic somewhere.”

“Really? My dad plays too, if I’d known I would have brought his guitar out here.”

TK shook his head.

“I haven’t played in years. I’m not sure I even remember how to.”

“I’ve been told it’s like riding a bike.”

“I haven’t done that in years either.” TK said and they both laughed.

“Guys, come on, come join us! It’s fun!” This time it was Captain Strand trying to convince them to join the group. Almost all of the kids had joined in as well as some of the parents.

“Tío Carlos, come dance with us!” Samuel yelled while apparently effortlessly keeping up with the routine.

“In a minute.” Carlos promised and watched them for a moment before turning to TK. “It’s just line dancing. It’s not that complicated. I can teach you.”

“You know line dancing?”

“I’m Texas born and raised. It’s kind of hard not to.” Carlos said with a shrug. “My aunt was really into it for a while and she and my mom got really competitive. Me and my sisters and cousins all had to learn when we were younger. My sister even won medals. There is a bar in town that has line dancing nights. It’s fun. I still do it every now and then.”

“Really? Do you wear a cowboy hat and the boots and everything?”

“For special occasions.” Carlos winked and got up. “Do you want to come dance?”

TK hesitated for a moment but then let Carlos pull him to his feet.

“Lead the way.”

~ three years later ~

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” TK said, cheeks hurting from smiling all day.

“If I recall correctly you didn’t need much convincing.” Carlos replied with a grin.

“That’s because you played dirty.” TK grabbed the cowboy hat from Carlos’ head and put it on his own. “You look way too good in that.”

“You wanted me to wear it.”

“Well it is a special occasion isn’t it?”

Carlos smiled and tipped the hat back so he could kiss TK.

“Yes it is.”

A microphone beeped and when they looked up they saw Gabriel and Owen argue over who could use it first.

“Should we do something?” TK sighed.

“Nah. Let them. Mama will deal with them.” Carlos said, slipping his hands under TK’s suit jacket to get his attention back on him.

They were close enough to catch a few words when Andrea indeed took it upon herself to deal with the two fathers. Carlos was pretty sure he heard some Spanish curses she would have grounded him for using as a kid.

“And now, the happy couple would like to invite you all to join them on the dancefloor, and celebrate their marriage, Texas style.” Camila had taken the microphone from Gabriel and Owen. “Welcome to the family TK, you’re a true Texan now.”

TK tipped his hat at her as the music changed from their carefully selected playlist to something straight out of the jukebox at the honkytonk.

“Do you think you remember the steps this time?” Carlos asked as they got in line with all of their guests.

“I don’t know. You might have to help me.” TK replied. “I’m feeling very forgetful today.”

Carlos lovingly rolled his eyes at his new husband but stepped behind him and put his hands on his hips to guide him through the steps, just like he’d done that first day at the campsite.

Even though this time around TK definitely didn’t need any help.

He put his chin on TK’s shoulder and dropped a kiss in his neck.

“And you say I’m the one playing dirty.”

#911 lone star #tarlos #tarlos fic #twpmarchdailyword #tk strand #carlos reyes #lets see if tumblr will allow it in the tags with links

28 notes · View notes