[SUMMARY: Coparenting with Joel, you begin to date someone else a year after you broke up. Joel is upset about it but grows concerned when he learns the man could be a danger to you and the baby.]
Angst
âSo how long you been seeinâ him?â
PART ONE
It was Joelâs turn to have your three year old daughter Everly for the weekend. It had been nearly a year since you two separated, yet the routine still felt very fresh. A man you met by your job had asked you out on a date, it was strange dating anyone after being with Joel for six years yet, you agreed to it.
Joel and you hadnât been seeing eye to eye, he always seemed so busy with work there was barely time for the two of you together. Everyday you found yourselves yelling at each other until one day you decided maybe being together wasnât the best thing for either of you. It wasnât like either of you to yell but something had pushed you both to a breaking point. You never forgot the look in Joelâs eyes as you packed your bags, Everly screaming in the background.
âBaby please, we can talk about thisâ he looked at you with desperation, sadness in his deep brown eyes. You sat looking at yourself in the mirror remembering his words when the bell suddenly rang making you jump.
âItâs daddy!â Everly yelled with excitement as she stood by the door.
âYes, itâs daddyâ you smiled at her as you opened the door. Joel instantly became distracted with what you wore as Everly jumped on his leg. The dress you wore bringing back a memory to him, a memory you mustâve forgotten to have worn it so nonchalantly.
âDaddy!â She yelled excitedly distracting him from his thoughts.
âHi honey,âhe picked her up before looking right back at you.
âYou look niceâ he couldnât help but wonder what you were so dressed up for.
âThank you,â you smiled as you turned to get her things.
âI have her stuff almost ready and um-â your voice became background noise for him as he watched you walk. He couldnât help but watch how your hips swayed with each step until you turned back to him.
âDid you hear what I said?â You asked noticing the distraction in his eyes.
âYes mam,â he lied.
âMommy has a boyfriend!â Everly suddenly spoke with a giggle.
âEverly! That is not trueâ Joelâs eyes turned to you curiously. Everly mustâve over heard your friend and you talking about Henry earlier.
âHe said mommy was prettyâ she continued as you stood with slight embarrassment.
âOh did he?â He noticed your cheeks turned red and as curious as he was tried to distract Everly from putting you more on the spot than you already were.
âMommy is pretty ainât she?â He looked at you with a smirk as you took a deep breath finishing packing her bag.
âMommy looks extra pretty in the dress daddy bought her too-â you squinted your eyes looking up at him.
âYou did not buy me this dressâ
âOh yes I didâ he took a step closer as Everly pushed herself back to the floor distracted by a toy close by.
âDonât cha remember, our second Christmas together?â He whispered making you look down at yourself when it dawned on you.
âOhâŠof courseâ you chuckled awkwardly remembering what happened when you first tried on the dress for him Christmas morning.
Shaking off the thought you zipped up her bag and handed it to Joel.
âWell, hereâs everythingâ you quickly changed the subject. He watched as you crouched down to kiss Everly goodbye, a slight disappointment on his face as he realized you were now wearing that dress for another man.
Walking both of them to the door you were surprised to see Henryâs car pull up. Your heart racing as you knew he would now unexpectedly meet Joel. He wasnât suppose to, not yet but he mustâve been running early. Joel could see the distraction in your eyes as he picked up Everly. Hearing a car door close behind him he turned to see a man walking up your front porch, you had no choice now but to introduce them.
âUm, Joel this is Henry..Henry this is Joelâ with Everly falling asleep on his shoulder he looked directly at Henry who put his hand out. Joel silently took it as you awkwardly watched them shake hands.
âGood to finally meet you, heard a lot about youâ
âCanât say I can say the sameâ Joelâs response making you rub your forehead as Henry looked over at you.
âWow, you look amazing in that dressâ Henryâs comment making Joel clench his jaw.
âThank youâ you smiled before turning back to Joel.
âUm, I guess call me if anything. Iâll see you two Sundayâ you brushed your hand over Everlyâs back.
âHey, nice to meet you again man. Iâll see you aroundâ Joel silently nodded before walking off to his car close by.
He could hear you giggling as you walked back into the house before shutting the door.
Looking back at the door he walked off chewing his inner lip clearly annoyed by the whole thing. Where the hell did this man come from? Eventually he knew youâd date again, yet a part of him wanted to believe there was still hope.
When Joel came home Sarah noticed something was bothering him, she did know him best. She also knew he probably wouldnât say, not right away at least. Instead she played with Everly and gave him some time, the curiosity in her dying to know.
Sunday felt like it came by pretty fast, for you at least. The weekend was a long slow one with Joel thinking about how you were spending it with another man.
Standing at your door with Everly in his arms he waited for you to open and when you did he tried his best to hide what he was feeling.
âMommy!â Everly screamed happily practically throwing herself in your arms.
âEverly! How was your weekend with daddy?â You smiled hugging her as Joel stepped inside following you.
âGood! Daddy bought me chocolateâ
âOh did he?â You turned to him with a playful glance.
âJust oneâ he winked at Everly who attempted to wink back making you both laugh as you put her down. He watched as you crouched down and gave her a toy to play with as the thoughts he had continued to wander in his mind.
âYour boyfriend ainât cominâ over tonight?â Joelâs question was unexpected, you looked up at him with a raised brow.
âHeâs not my boyfriend and even if he was of course not, Everlyâs hereâ you stood up.
âSheâs clearly seen him beforeâ he raised his brows wondering how close you two have become.
âWell, that wasnât planned. I was grocery shopping and we ran into him. Another time we were at the mall and he was walking out. I havenât officially introduced him to our daughter. Itâs too soon. I would never bring a man to the house like that with Everly, you know thatâ you could tell by the look he had there was more questions but before he could ask Everly ran up to him distracting him with a book. Using that moment you turned to the kitchen and began to prepare for dinner.
With the corner of your eye you watched as Joel eventually entered the kitchen as Everly stood in front of the tv. Silently he leaned on the door way trying to find the right words to say but before he did you couldnât hold your own thoughts to yourself any longer.
âWhat kind of mother do you think I am Joel?â His brows furrowed.
âWait a minute-â
âIâve never bought a man here with her-â
âI never doubted you for a secondâ he quickly interrupted realizing you didnât understand why he was asking anything. Quietly you nodded and went back to cupboard to pull out a bowl. Joel looked around the kitchen as he walked inside, hands in his pocket before he blurt out another question.
âSo how long you been seeinâ him?â
âI just started seeing him a month agoâ you sighed.
âMet him on my way to work one day when I had to check something out with my car-â
âSo heâs a mechanicâ
âMhmâ you responded with your back to him.
âWe just started talking and hit it off. Heâs sweet, patient, gives me a lot of his timeâ Joelâs expression tensed up as he heard you talk about him, he could hear the smile in your voice. A flash back of you yelling at him telling him all you wanted was his time after he had taken three over time jobs knowing it was your week off. A week you two had planned ahead together yet Joel worried about providing would continue to take extra clients. He remembered the day he came home after midnight, you lay on the couch asleep watching a movie he had promised he would watch with you that night. He remembered the guilt he felt that he had forgotten and took the extra hours. He became lost in the bad memory until Everly ran up to him.
âHey baby, daddyâs gonna get goinâ nowâ he whispered to her.
âGroup hug!â Everly suddenly yelled making you look up. It had been so long since she had called for one. Before you two split it became a thing everyday before either of you left for work you all had to huddle together and hug each other tightly. Everly loved those hugs, yet you werenât expecting her to suddenly request one.
âCome on, mom!â She yelled excitedly.
âAlrightâ you smiled as you dusted your hands off on a towel and walked towards them. Joel and Everly pulling you in tightly. Everly giggling she suddenly slid herself down Joel and ran to the living room. Awkwardly you found yourself with Joelâs arm around your waist, holding you close against him. Your hand on his chest with the other sitting on the back of his neck the both of you froze. It had been so long since Joel felt you close like this, his body aching to pull you even closer. His eyes moving quickly between your eyes and your lips. His look distracting you before you suddenly took a step back.
âI um-I should get back to cookingâ your hand slid down his chest quickly and turned away back to the counter. Squeezing your eyes shut, your shoulders tense as you fidgeted opening a box of pasta. Joel stood still for a moment noticing how tense you became. Clearing his throat he looked away placing his hands back in his pockets, disappointed that he knew he couldnât say moreâŠnothing that would change anything. At least he thought.
âI better get goinâ, Iâll see you two next weekâ
âOkâ he could hear the anxiety in your voice.
You watched as he walked to the living room and got down on one knee saying bye to Everly before walking out the front door..
Joel hit the steering wheel in frustration as he drove back home. He hated himself for not making things right when he couldâve, he hated knowing you were now dating someone else.
Once he got home he was greeted by Sarah at the door who excitedly told him Tommy ordered pizza. She sat on the living room couch and continued watching her movie while Tommy played a game of cards with a friend.
âWhatâs up, Joel?â Sam greeted Joel as he walked past him to the fridge. Grabbing a beer he sat down at the table and gave Sam a nod before taking a sip.
âWhatâs goinâ on with you?â Tommy looked at his brother with a raised brow.
âNothinââ
âEverly and y/n alright?â
âMhmâ he responded without looking his way.
Tommy stood silent until Joel finally blurt out what had been bothering him.
âSheâs datinâ againâ
âDamn, Iâm sorry brother.â Tommy shook his head, he know Joel still had feelings for you.
âWhy donât you get back in the dating scene its been a long time alreadyâ Sam shrugged as he placed a card down.
âShe sounds really into him, he does everything I didnâtâ Joel continued ignoring Samâs suggestion.
âDid you see him?â Tommy asked curiously.
âYeah, the day that I went to pick up Everly he had just pulled up. Some mechanic- Henryâs his nameâ Joel took another sip of his beer not noticing Samâs reaction.
âHenry?â
âYou know him?â Joel asked looking up at Sam.
âUhâŠnever really spoke to him but if heâs the same mechanic on Winchester road then..-â Sam became hesitant to tell Joel what he knew afraid of his reaction.
âWhat?â Joel snapped leaning forward.
âHe used to date my cousin um, she had to put a restraining order on him cause he started stalking herâ Joelâs brows furrowed as put his beer down.
âStalked her?â
âTurns out guy has a track record of stalking women, heâs a weirdo. Better tell her to watch out with himâ Joel looked over at Tommy who shook his head.
âYou donât know if itâs him for sure, Joel. Donât do nothinâ stupidâ
âIt has to be himâ Sam whispered.
Before anything else could be said Joel quickly stood up and grabbed his keys and jacket. Tommy stood up brushing his hand over his chin wondering what his brother had planned.
âWhat are we doinâ Joel?â
âIâm just gonna talk to her, Iâll be backâ he walked by Sarah on the couch.
âIâll be right back honey, just gotta take care of somethinââ Sarah nodded and watched her father walk out before looking back at her uncle who seemed concernedâŠ
Series Summary: Detached, closed off, and hardened by failed relationships (romantic and otherwise), hotel mogul Joel Miller is looking to expand his empire to an exclusive tropical island off the coast of Fiji. The problem is, he's not the only one looking to stake his claim in the tropics. The owner of the island, a family man first and foremost, invites all the bidders to the island for a month long retreat to help him decide which mogul will be crowned the winner. And to make himself look more appealing, Joel hires you to accompany him as his significant other. But it's strictly business... right?
-or-
Big, grumpy sugardaddy!joel falls for you.
Series Warnings: no outbreak au, sugardaddy!joel, language, smut (18+ MDNI), slow burn, references to prostitution, (a little bit) of physical violence towards reader (not Joel), alcohol and food consumption, angst, Joel sucks at feelings, past infidelity mentioned, some daddy talk, implied age gap - chapters will have individual warnings
Status: in progress
Chapters:
1: Into the Deep
2: Paradise
3: Go with the Flow
4: Tropical Heat
5: Riptide
6: Undertow
7: Making Waves
8: Line in the Sand
9: Sink or Swim posting 10/12
10: Turn the Tide posting 10/19
Epilogue: Smooth Sailing posting 11/2
Asks/BTS/Extras:
Joel's Likes and Dislikes
Floor Plan of the Villa
Edit by @pvssyfvck3r â€ïž
Oops! [between ch. 3 & 4]: what if you walked in on Joel watching porn?
Sway [between ch. 6 & 7]: you and Joel share a dance during dinner
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