m2fw.

if it is not growing, it is dead | queer | new writer. feedback is always welcome

[moth2flamewriting]

OFFICIAL M2FW SINNERS MASTERLIST

ENTER AT YOU OWN RISK! Graphic CONTENT.

18+ MINORS DO NOT ENGAGE

Actively UPDATING! Enjoyyyyy some old works :)

-

Elijah ‘Smoke’ Moore x Annie Moore

NEWEST STORY | Big Mama: 1, 2

Worker’s Comp

Put It Down Right (Teaser) TBA

Couple’s Therapy: 1, 2, 3, 4

Sit On It

Tell Him

Love Hate Thing

In My Feelings

Take It

Open Season: 1, 2

Precious Cargo: 1, 2

Yours

Please

That’s Just My Baby Daddy

Suspended

He’s Mine

Options

Easier

Jealousy

[moth2flamewriting]

Love Hate Thing

Summary: Elijah and Annie have always had a complicated relationship. Annie has always been a knowitall and Elijah has always been quick to correct. Years have passed between, life carrying them in different directions. Family dinner brings them together to find a new connection stirring between them. No longer 16 and 17, what happens when see's a grown ass man in front of her? How far will 'Smoke' allow her to take it?

Warning: sexual content

"Mama, aint no use in fussin over everything. It's just Mr. and Mrs. Moore," Annie was tired of seeing her mother fuss over everything. It was Sunday, and the Moore's and the twins were coming over for dinner.

"Don't sass me child," she scolded. "I gotta put my best foot forward at all times now hush up and wash them greens."

-

"I don't even know why Pop agreed to this dumbass dinner, we grown as shit now," Stack hissed through the phone to his brother.

"Y'know that the Beaumants are their people. It's called community nigga," he teased his younger brother. "Plus, Mrs. B be cooking the fuck out some greens."

"Swear if Anais have some slick to say-," Stack started.

"You gon bite yo tongue and not ruin this dinner," though Elijah intented to keep his tone light, seriousness cut through. He aint wanna go just as much as Stack, he wasn't going to disrespect them or their knowitall ass daughter.

It's been years since he'd seen her. He can remember her loud mouth, her wild eyes that burned amber in sunlight and the way her hand flew back to fling rocks at the back of Stack's head. The memory made his lips curl upward.

"Y'know what Brother, you right. I'm gon hold it tonight," Stack agreed.

-

Six o'clock rolls around, it's dark out and there's a firm knock at the door. Mrs. B smooths the front of her shirt out before opening the door with a big grin, "Now how y'all end up in this neck of the woods?" The two women squealing at the sight of eachother, turning into two school girls.

The twins stood behind their parents like they were two small boys again.

"Well damn, let us in," Mr. Moore joked.

As they make their way into the house Annie steps into view and Elijah's mouth goes dry. 'Damn, has she always been this fine,' he thinks to himself. The way her dressed hugged her hips, that have now rounded out and were very full. The way the dress showed off the curve of her waste and pushed her titties high on her chest. He couldn't have known that rough ass little girl would be this.. grown and... sexy?

"Nigga.. it's me or she fine as shit now?" Stack whispered. When Elijah didn't respond, he zoned in on his face. He had a look. He finally got bit by the bug. It was written all over him.

-

Annie noticed his eyes locked on her and for some reason felt hot all over. Everyone made their way into the house leaving them standing at the doorway alone.

"You gon keep starin'?!" It came out sassy but she was trembling inside. This boy- damn that aint no boy. Elijah was a man now. Tall with broad shoulders, arms bulging through his shirt. A full beard with lips that could send her over a cliff. 'Damn, he fine.' She couldn't let him know that.

He cleared his throat and stood up tall, "You can't help but have all that mouth. I can fix that for you." He eyes blaring into hers, time stood still.

Her breath caught in her throat, not wanting to show any wavering even though her knes were buckling underneath her. "Can't fix sum that ain't broken, fool." She turned on her heals, readying to head into the dining room when a hand grabbed her arm spinning her back towards him.

"Then it ain't fixin'. It's training."

"Touch me again and you gon' need some fixin," she growled at him.

-

They all settled around the dinner table, Elijah making it a point to sit directly across from her. The two families reminisce about old times. Laughing at stories the twins can tell now that they're grown.

Mr. B cleared his throat, "Yall two boys settled down?" Elias damn near choked on his food.

"Our children refusin to give us any grandchildren before we die," Mr. Moore announced sarcastically. And truth for Elijah changed as soon as his eyes landed on this flame of a woman again. He wanted her and didn't even know why. He saw his whole life in front of him. She couldn't stop being an ass long enough to allow her to feel it.

Annie's throat tightened at the thought of Elijah's answer. Was he in a relationship? Is what she's feeling pure delusion?

"Mr. B, I thought I had something special a few years back. Hadn't even thought about anything serious til' recently," Elijash's eyes locked on Annie's for a quick moment. So that she knew it was for her. He was telling her he felt it.

'Damn, is it hot? Am I imagining this shit? There's no way he talking about me? Drink some water girl, breathe.' Annie was holding her breath. Avoiding eye contact. "As if any girl would be dumb enough to settle down with you," everyone's eyes shot in Annie's direction. Except Elijah's. He wasn't moved by her digs cause his mind was already made up.

"Annalise, you teasing but you single too," Mrs. B shot in her direction. Feeling the mood break everyone laughed. Parents bantering about how they'll be in a grave before either of their kids get married. All 3 were annoyed with the pressure to settle down but glad that the tension was eased so quickly. As they finished their meals, Annie began clearing the table.

Elijah stood quickly, "I can help you." She rolled her eyes, "I got it." She disappeared into the kitchen. He quickly gathered the rest of the dishes while Mr. B ushered everyone into the living room.

-

Elijah entered the kitchen, setting the dishes in the sink, his arm brushing hers.

"I said I got it, Elijah," she glared at him. She hadn't forgotten about him grabbing her. Spewing what she thought was bullshit. "I heard what you said Lil Mama, just trying to help." God we using nicknames now?

"Good, you helped. Now can you get out the kitchen?" She eyed him up and down. Her eyes drifting to his lips then back to his eyes. Sharp and mean, she wasn't going to back down. Especially if he thought he could 'fix that'. Whatever the fuck that meant.

"Take me up on my offer first," he closed the space between them, pressing his body into hers hard. He bent his head down, sliding his lips over her neck. Her hand grabbing him to steady herself. How did they get so close so fast? Why did they feel so drunk off the energy? "Take me up on it and I'll make sure your mama got a grandkid," he snarled into her neck with a bite.

Annie's hands were now on his chest, trying to hold on for dear life. 'There's now way I'm about to let this nigga bend me up in my mama kitchen' she thought to herself. Her breathing ragged, she pushed him off her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Her pupils blown. "You grabbing me and shit. Sucking on my neck like you done lost your damn mind. I ain't seen you in years Elijah. What the fuck you got going on?" Her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"I'm not gon say sorry for something we both want," his eyes certain and voice sure. "You're fucking drunk if you think, I want you," she snapped back at him.

"Annie, yo mama said-," Elias stopped taking in the tension in the room and the look in his brother's eyes. "Umm, Annie yo mama said to pull the pudding out the fridge for her. You good bro?" He asked Elijah. "Yeah I'm good bruh," Elijah never took his eyes off of her.

Once Elias left he didn't give her a chance to process it. His lips were on hers and she was moaning into this mouth.

Their tongues tangled, his hands slid down to her ass. Cupping her cheeks and pulling her against him harder. "Elijah-Jah, we should stop. We really-ahhh- shouldn't be doing this," her hands fisting his hair, pulling his lips tighter up against her neck. "You smell so good, your body is so soft," he muffled into her neck. Reluctantly he pulled away, holding a tight grip on her body.

"You're going to have to let me go," her breath heavy. She was stunned, there's no way this was happening. Elijah? Of all damn people, Elijah? No she had to get ahold of herself.

He released her and took a step back. His eyes trained on her. "I don't think I'll be able to stop Annie. I had a taste and by the end of tonight, I'm gon want the real thing."

God, this man was going to kill her by the time this dinner is over. "This can't happen and it won't. I'm not stupid, I know the games you and your slow ass brother play on women. I'm not one of them," her finger pointed right into his face.

He stepped closer, bending down into her ear again, "I would never play with you baby." Her eyes met his briefly before she started plating dessert for everyone. "You can go now." What she really didn't know is that this night was far from over.

-

Use it. Dont hurt yourself running. 228-195-3342.

As the dinner came to an end and everyone said their goodbye, Elijah slipped a piece of paper into her hand.

She quickly crumbled the paper in her hand, but she didn't throw it out. She hugged Mr. and Mrs. Moore goodbye. As the twins disappeared into separate cars, she watched him disappear down the road.

"Elijah sure done got fine didn't her," her mama teased.

"Oh please mama, he still that annoying little boy," she rolled her eyes.

Deep down, she needed whatever it was he gave her in the kitchen. Whatever that feeling was she wanted more of it. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was gon use that number tonight.

-

Elijah was still thinking about her. He couldn't stop. He should've got her number instead of giving his. It had only been an hour since he gave her the paper. He was pacing his apartment waiting for her to text. His phone buzzed and he damn near jumped out of his skin.

228-342-7789

Hi. It's Annie.

228-195-3342

You ain't gotta tell me who it is. I been waiting on you.

228-342-7789

I don't know why I texted you.

228-195-3342

I know why. So just tell me where you are, and I'll come get you.

228-342-7789

I'm still at my parents place.

228-195-3342

I'm on my way.

-

Was this a mistake? There was no taking back now. She freshened up and put on a pair of cotton shorts and a white tank top. She knew what she was going there for. She sprayed her favorite perfume on and applied her favorite lip gloss. She looked herself in the mirror and stood up straight. She wasn't going to back down.

Elijah

I'm outside.

The text came through her phone and a wave of nausea hit her. "Okay let's do this." She grabbed her bag and headed out.

-

The whole ride over, he was dead silent. He was on a mission. He freshened up and threw on a pair of gray sweats and a white tshirt. Put on his best cologne. He was ready to see her.

When she came out his eyes damn near fell out his head. She was trying her hardest to kill him. "You look good," he complimented her.

Her face flushed red as she climbed into his truck. "Thank you," Annie hid her face. She felt like a school girl, blushing over everything he said.

The ride back to his house was silent. The grip he had on her thigh the whole way had her clenching her thighs together and squirming in her seat. But she never told him to get off.

When they entered his house it was nice and neat. Black and white furniture with low lights.

"Nice place," Annie said.

"Thank you," he responded.

As they settled in the living room sitting on opposite ends of the couch, tension was still rising.

He spoke low and careful, "I see you used the number." She swallowed but snapped back, "I dont know why." Damn, that came out harsh.

His eyes were burning into hers. He was taking in her appearance. She wore this for him. Her nipples pressing hard against her tank top. Her thighs tightly pressed together. She put on a good face pretending though.

"Come here." It wasn't a question. He was telling her. Her body moved before she could even think about it. "I'm gon tell you how this bout to go Mama. You gon listen real good tonight, so I dont wreck you too bad your first time. You gon answer me 'Yes, Daddy' and you gon like it." She swallowed hard again. Her pussy was pulsing.

"You dont know me very well, Elijah. But I aint never been anybody toy. Let alone me calling you daddy." She smirked. A hand quickly wrapped around her throat. She moaned in response. Something about this man made her want to just give herself away.

"Yeah you feel that? I got control over your whole body right now," he growled into her ear. "We need a safe word incase something I do makes you uncomfortable." His hand was so tight around her throat, she thought she would cum from the pressure.

"Delta," she gasped. Her hands holding the one wrapped around his neck. "Good girl, now we can start. Open your legs for me baby," he whispered into her ear. Her legs parted revealing the seat of her shorts, soaked. His calloused hands trailed over her nipples pulling and twisting. Pulling her tank top down her titties spilled out of her shirt. Nipples hard and ready to be sucked. He wrapped his tongue around her hard peak, sucking and spitting on her nipples. She moaned, rocking back and forth on the couch, her pussy grasping at the air.

"Fuck," she whimpered. His hands traveled down to her wet pussy. Rubbing her through her pants, her body arched forward.

"You like the way I'm touching you?" He asked gruffly. Annied nodded her head with a soft moan. "No no no baby." He tightened his grip on her neck. "Whatchu' sposed to say?" Her body locked and then shuddered.

"Yes, Elijah," she was trying to hold on to what little dignity she had left.

"Nah, open that mouth up Mama. Tell me what I wanna hear," he growled in her ear.

"Yes, Daddy." She arched into his hand.

"Take these fucking pants off," he grownled in her ear. She stood quickly, yanking her shorts off. He yanked her bank down, her bottom half now exposed. Her scent radiating off her pulsing heat.

"Fuck, you smell so good," he said. His eyes were memorizing ever part of her naked sex. The way her pearl poked through her fat, wet pussy lips. The way her opening dripped and grasped at the air. He was hungry for her. His pupils were blown, his orbs a charcoal black.

He worked his way down onto his knees, fighting the urge to attach his lips to her fat clit. He took his time, kissing and sucking up her leg. Starting at her ankle he made love to the ligament sending her body into a frenzy. He stroked the inside of her thighs with his tongue. Slow, circular motions leaving a trail of saliva in his tongues wake.

"Fuckkkkkk, Daddy. That feels s-s-oooo good," she arched her body trying to get her entrance closer to his scorching tongue. He was driving her body up the fucking wall. Annie neeeded his mouth on her. Sucking and fucking her with that long, hot tongue. She was going to fucking combust. "Elijah, fucking please," she breathed out heavily.

"That's it baby, beg me for it. You see how good I make your body feel. How you react to me. The way that pussy grab on to nothing just wanting me." He was driving her crazy.

15 minutes later her feet were by her ears and Elijah was tongue deep, caressing her insides. Annie's hips bucked against his mouth. Globs of spit and her wetness mixing together.

He worked her hole as a warm creamy substance oozed out of her. "Fuckkkkkk, baby, shit," she wiggled under his mouth. He could feel her contracting around his tongue.

He maneuvered his head so that his tongue was dipping and retracing at a ridiculous angle.

Annie's hands slammed to her sides, bawled into a fist as she watched him tongue fuck her. She could feel the build up in her chest, she was going to cum.

"Ask me for it," his voice gruff and muffled from his consistent assault on her.

"Please," she wasnt too proud to beg. She needed the release. "Please, daddy. I'm begging you," she whimpered.

'Oh fuck am I about to squirt?' she thought to herself.

"There you go mama, gon head and give it to me." And man, did she. Annie exploded, her essence coating his beard and chest.

"FUCK BABY, I'M FUCKING CUMMING," she screamed. She could've woke the whole building.

He growled into her sex, "Give me that fucking pussy. Come all over my muhfuckin' face Annie."

She was losing her mind. The way he was talking and touching her was sending her spiraling.

When she came down, her chest was rising and falling rapidly. The room wasn't blurry anymore. She looked down and Elijah was looking at her like his whole world was in front of him.

"I'm not done with you Anais," he stated.

"I want you to take your ass into that bedroom and wait for me on all fours." Her body moved before her brain could process it. She was in for a very long night.

yall. i been writing this for like a whole fucking month. but i wanna get it out. yall know i love a part 2 when they get to fuckin🫣😂

anyway, feedback is always welcome.🩵 comments and requests as well!! 🤞🏽

[moth2flamewriting]

I think ima part 2 this👀🫡

[moth2flamewriting]

so school gon start back & we're not going to get a story 😔

i just droppppped!! go get that boo🤫

[moth2flamewriting]

Big Mama: Take Me Thru There

-hey yall, we got a part 2 of big mamaaaaaaa! Annie is getting put thru that mattress. And Smoke is the one putting her thru it. This just some good ol’ fucking. Credits to @dealore for the prompt. :) i hope you enjoy ittttttt, i enjoyed writing it. This is the final part for this so i figured I’d make it a treat. We picking up directly from part 1 so don’t expect no talking ;p

Also, do anyone wanna help me with a new master list? Sksksks im feeling lazy and dont wanna find all my workssssss omg. MINORS DO NOT FUCKING ENGAGE!!!

As always,

Enjoy.

“Fuck, Elijah,” he was eating her pussy like he’d been there before. Slurping and spitting on her clit, over and over. Her pussy was grasping at his tongue, her hips bucking to meet his mouth.

He held her legs up tight, pinning her in place. He licked from her asshole to her hard mound, sending a chill up her body. He moaned into her as he continued his assault. “This pussy taste so good,” he growled into her heat. Her legs shook as he brought her to climax. She gripped the sheets, her back arching hard off the bed. She screamed out, “You got this pussy cumming, Daddy.” Her body froze as Annie rode out her orgasm. Her back hitting the sheets.

Elijah rubbed the outside of her legs as he licked up what he could around his mouth. He looked down at her pussy, her hole was drooling. Creamy liquid dripping from her, he didn’t think twice to slurp it out of her. She threw her head back, her eyes shut tight from the overwhelming sensation between her legs.

‘Damn, he eating the fuck out my pussy,’ she thought to herself. She’d never been ate like this before. The way her payed attention to her sticky center. How he was gentle with running his tongue over her clit. The way he spit on her center and distributed the assault with his tongue, slipping through her folds. The way he gripped her thighs and spoke to her without coming up for air. He was driving her mad with it, she was going to be insane over this man. All because he licked her like it was his purpose.

“You alright baby?” He pulled her from her thoughts. He trailed kisses up Annie’s body, stopped at her Naples and gently sucking and licking. Wetting her chest in her juices and his spit. She grabbed the back of his head to steady herself, even though she was lying down. “O-oh,”she whipped out as her traveled up to her neck. He sucked and bit into her, her body was in overdrive. She could feel his dick, nestled perfectly between her lower lips. He had to know what he was doing to her, how he was making her feel. The way he was taking care of a hunger she didn’t know she had.

Elijah was feral. This woman would be the very welcomed death of him. When he ate her, he got lost and was no longer doing it for his pleasure, but hers. She was sweet, and the way she leaked on his lips when he wrapped his lips around her? Her sweet moans and filthy talk while he ate her. The way her hips bucked and pussy grabbed at his tongue had his dick hard as a rock. He needed to be closer to her, needed to be inside her. His eyes were blown black and he could only think about the grip she would have on him. ‘She don’t even know what she’s doing to me,’ he thought to himself. He was giving himself to her without a second thought, he was exactly where he wanted to be.

“That dick so heavy,” she moaned into his mouth. Her hips moving slowly back and forth, dragging her dripping sex across his length. Her arms wrapped around his neck, sliding her hips back ad forth more frantically, “Put it in me, Daddy. Fill me-OH,” he sank. Into her quickly. He sat inside her for moment, filling her deeply. Letting her adjust.

“You so fucking tight,” he strained. He had to hold himself from nutting in her right there. Her body convulsed around him trying to adjust to his size. He leaned back, getting a good look at Annie’s face. Her mouth hung open, her eyes barely open, head swaying back and forth faintly. The feeling of him inside her had taken over. She had no control over her body. She only knew that he needed to started fucking her soon before she fucking exploded. “Look at me baby. Tell me what you need Big Mama,” he spoke to her low and slow.

“Fuck me,” she whispered, her eyes not moving off of his. He with-drawled from her and fucked into her slowly. Dragging out of her at a dangerously slow pace. He was only fucking her with half his length and she was holding on for dear life. Her moans and screams were music to his ears. The way she clawed at his back, the way her pussy just opened up for him. She was so fucking wet, she was dripping onto her sheets. He was so deep inside her, her vision was blurry.

“Yes, Elijah! Keep fucking me, don’t stop fucking me!” That was all he needed, to slam fully into her until she busted all over him. He was digging her out. Giving her exactly what he said he would. Looking down at her as she took him full on, he’d never seen anybody more beautiful. She was taking his dick like a champ. She was made for him. He watched as she disappeared inside of her, in and out. He felt her tighten around him. “Daddy, I’m bout to cum,” she whined. “Keeping fucking me ‘Lijah, you gon make me fucking cum.”

“Cum on this dick baby, this yo shit. Wet me up,” he fucked her straight through and her pussy bursted coating his dick in a warm liquid. She squirted around his dick as the orgasm rocked through her, her body seized under him. She shook uncontrollably, her nails digging into his forearm. Her body fell limp as he pulled his still very erect monstrosity from her.

“I hope you don’t think I’m done with you,” he wasn’t going to give her anytime to recover. He gripped her legs, flipping her onto her stomach like she was rag doll. He spread her ass open and stuffed his nose between her pussy lips, sucking her swollen clit into his mouth. Her pussy leaked into his mouth, her hips pushed up, putting herself on her knees to give him better access. He took one long lick before he positioned himself behind her. His fat tip poking at her entrance. He brought his hung up and smacked her ass. Her ass shook, leaving him mesmerized. “Look at this shit,” he smacked her ass again, slipping the tip of his dick inside her, causing Annie to arch her back. He pressed her hips forward, settling inside of her halfway. Her head lifted up off the bed, her mouth gaped, she tucked her bottom lip in between her teeth, trying to hold the moan that was trying to escape her.

He slapped her ass again, “Nah, let me hear you Anais. Let me hear what Daddy doing to you baby,” he heals her hips deeply. Surely there would be a bruise there when he was thru with her body. She opened her mouth letting the moan rip through her. She spread her legs lowering herself back to the mattress, face down ass up. The sight of her pussy and her tight asshole prompted Elijah to move. She was begging for him to beat her pussy up. He pummeled into her at lightening speed, not even giving her a chance to catch her breath in between strokes. Her legs bent up at the knees, her toes cured into a ball as he stroked her into oblivion.

“Dadddddddyyy, please,” she begged him to let up, placing a hand on the base of his stomach. Her slapped her ass and pinned her arm to her back, lifting up slightly to hit her at a different angle. “Let me have it baby, cum on this dick again and again til you begging for mercy,” he grunted as he hit the bottom of her busy. Then he just stopped and pressed his full length inside her, filling her completely. “Oh shit, baby you too deep.” She pushed her ass back into him not knowing if she wanted more or if she wanted it to end. Tears pricked the outer creases of her eyes. “Why you fucking me like this huh?” She turned her head to find his eyes. And when she did the black orbs stared into her mercilessly.

“So you don’t ever think you can find this, anywhere else.”

-

W’S IN THE CHATTTTTTTTT! Anyway y’all just suem freaky for yaaaa!

Lmk what you think :)

@bananajoeclone @blue4everrsworld

[moth2flamewriting]

Big Mama.

Y’all give credit to @dealore for this prompt that made me want to actually write something down for once. I changed it up a little about how they meet and such. I made Annie;’s daughter a little psycho.. so yeah.. She not wrapped too tight at all. Anyway.. I hope you enjoy my take on it.

As always,

Enjoy :)

“Elijah fuck, you digging in me,” she clawed at the headboard, hoping to get a grip on anything. He thrusted into her hard, her knees slipping under him. “No, no, no, put it back where I had it Anais,” he snarled into her ear.

She couldn’t believe what she had got herself into. Her fucking daughter introduced her to this man. She was 38 years old, what business did she have fucking a man 10 years younger than her. Shit, that 28 year old was tearing her insides out. The night they met was literally a fluke. Her daughter, Amerie, had been ranting and raving about the new CEO at her job.

-

“Mama you gotta meet him, he’s just different. He cares about us, y’know? I never had a boss who actually cares.” The way her daughter’s voice lit up, it sounded like she had some type of crush on the man.

-

When they entered the fundraising gala that night, Annie’s attire stole everyone’s attention. The black dress hugged her breast just right, pushing them up perky and oiled up. Her hips were outlined as if the Gods themselves sculpted it. The 6inch pump that laced up her calf, showing off her dangerously long and thick legs. The men ogled the older woman, forgetting the ones standing right next to them.

“Mama, let’s get a drink or something,” Amerie led her towards the bar. “What do you want? It’s open bar,” Amerie asked looking back at her partially. “I’ll take a French 75,” Annie told her daughter. They got their drinks and made their way through the crowd. Amerie making sure comments on every person who has their eyes on her mama.

“AMERIE!” Their heads turn as they spot Chanel, one of her daughter’s coworkers. “Dang girl, you clean up nice,” she complimented her favorite coworker. “Chanel, hey girl! Thank you. This here is my mama,” Chanel’s eyes turn to Annie. Her face worth a thousand words, jaw dropped and eyes popping out of her head.

‘Nah, girl.. THIS CAN’T BE YO MAMA,” Chanel chuckled. “Well thank you Chanel, I’ll take that as a compliment,” Annie smiled politely.

Comments on how young she looked always gave Annie a little more pep in her step. She was already so naturally captivating and confident. She was successful and well off. But time slows down for no one and she was 38 before she could catch her breath. Amerie’s voice cut through her thoughts, “Have you seen Mr. Moore yet? I want to introduce my mama to him.” Chanel looked around in the direction she last pointed, “Last I saw him he was outside having a conversation with big money.”

Amerie didn’t hesitate to walk in that direction in search of the man. Annie couldn’t really understand why her daughter was so desperate for them to meet. He was her boss, they’d literally never cross paths. But she wanted to make her child happy. She spent so long waiting for Amerie to be passionate about something, and if this new boss was helping her find her passions then fine.

They reached the back exit, onto a large patio carved with marble and rose bushes meeting the edge. Smoke hung in the air as the men puffed on their cigars. A lot of expensive suits were on this patio. Armani suits and Cartier tie clips, Scotch poured into low rim drinking glasses. It wa almost as if Amerie spotted the man instantly. As Annie approached from behind them she took in the mans thick frame, his muscled cut through the tailored shirt he wore. The beard that ran down the side of his face, low cut with deep waves. Her mouth was dry before she even saw his face but then he turned. And her world stopped as his eyes connected with hers for a brief second.

“And who might you be?” he offered his hand out towards Annie. She took it. “Well that’s who i wanted to introduce you to Mr. Moore. This my mama, Anais Desson. Mama, this my boss, Elijah Moore,” Amerie cut in.

Amerie watched the interaction between them with a bitter taste in her mouth. He’s never even looked her way for more than a few seconds. She pushed the feeling aside as nothing, this was her mother for god’s sake. ‘What would a 38 year old woman even do with that?’ Amerie thought to herself. “Well it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he pulled her hand up to his lips, placing a warm kiss to the back of it. “Likewise,” Annie responded her eyes gone dark.

‘Elijah Moore.’ Annie thought to herself.

‘Anais Desson.’ Elijah thought to himself.

He thought about her the whole evening. Looking for her in every room that he walked into. ‘Who the hell was this woman?And what the fuck took her so long to get to me?’ He thought to himself. When he laid eyes on her, he was almost 100% certain that he was drooling on himself. A woman that fine should not exist. When he spotted her amongst the crowd her zoned in, making his way to her. Soon as he was in arms length of her, Amerie stepped in front of him. Eyes sparkling at him like he hung the stars. Elijah had seen that look before. The woman obsessed with what he appeared to be. Did it have to be the woman of my dreams daughter though?

All he had to do was get through this interaction with her, so that he could get to the trophy at the end of this race. The gala wouldn’t go on forever and it was already too much time lost between them already.

“Hey Mr. Moore, I just wanted to thank you for being such a gentleman with my mama earlier. Those are good qualities in a man,” her eyes hinting up for a response she would never get.

“Of course, Amerie. You’re a valued employee and well respected. We will always treat family members as if they were members of our team too.” Good response, Elijah. There was nothing leading about that at all. She should get the subtle hint and dropped this silly infatuation. That was not at all what the young woman heard from the man. He might as well have swept her up and kissed her, cause in her mind she was completely gone. Her face burned hot, her cheeks turning a deep red. “I appreciate that, sir.” Her attempt at appearing docile and meek was everything that embarrassing could be. She did not read that response right at all. He would have to deal with that later, he had to get back to her.

“Excuse me,” he sidestepped her and swerved through the people that gathered between them when he finally reached her. Sitting at the bar, her back outrageously up straight, her legs crossed under the fabric. His breathing heavier as he casually leaned up against the bar. “Yo let me get a whiskey, thank you brotha,” he delivered smoothly. His scent flooded her nostrils, dark and sweet, she inhaled sharply.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” he whispered only loud enough for her to hear. “But I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since I met you over an hour ago.” Annie sat there frozen, shit she felt it too. She’d imagined a thousand times in the last hour what that mouth would feel like on her neck, those hands wrapped around her waist. But this was her daughters boss, she was about to be fucking forty, what the hell were these feelings.

“Mr. Moo-,” he cut her off.

“Elijah. You can call me Elijah, You the only person in this whole building who can get away with that. I’d surely die if I had to bear that this whole conversation,” he grinned at her. She tried it out in her mouth, her breath altering as she said it barely above a whisper.

“Elijah.” And their eyes locked. They both were holding their breath and knew exactly why. When she said his name it was like something woke them both up. It wasn’t surface attraction, if it ever was that. Chills ran up his body, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. His body shifted towards her against his will.

“I been waiting my whole life to hear you say that,” he relayed it so seriously her body damn near went limp. ‘Thank god I am sitting down.’ She thought to herself.

“I-i,” she stuttered. The moment was broken by a cough, it was Amerie. Elijah stepped back slowly, making it seem as the space had been between them. ‘She cockblocking like a motherfucker.’ He sighed out lowly. He wanted this woman under him shaking, clawing at this back and releasing sounds that should only be meant for his ears. He wanted her lips on him, her warm mouth pulling and tugging at his lips. Fuck, he had to figure out how to get her between 4 walls and completely alone. He needed privacy for the fire she sparked in him.

Elijah had never seen a woman so beautiful, someone whose eyes made him feel like he was drowning and the only one who could save him was her. His world stopped for a few seconds when he met her. But standing here? At the bar? Hearing this outrageously gorgeous woman say his name. He felt more in that moment than he had with anyone in his whole life.

“Mama, it’s bout time for us to go. Cars out front,” Amerie shot out. She noticed the way Elijah looked at her mother. He couldn’t even make eye contact with her when he needed something done at work. ‘So the man can spare my mama glance but not me?’ Amerie was a ticking time bomb. She’d never have a man sidestep her so hard. And then of all people to take interest in? Her mama? She knew for one thing, her mama wasn’t going. That’s a grown ass woman who needs herself a grown ass man. CEO be damned! Little did she know that Annie was feeling something for this man that she hadn’t felt for a man in a long time.

The way something sparked inside her was something that was foreign. And at 38? That’s scary. Something so unknown and unexpected on something so damn fine. She wanted nothing more in that moment for him to have wrapped his hands around her face and swap DNA with her. She wanted nothing more for him to strip her down bare, and have his way with her. She wanted nothing more than to make her child disappear and not be calling her mama in front of a man who so obviously wants to take her the fuck down.

“Mama c’mon,” she insisted. She was growing impatient. When Amerie turned to Elijah, you couldn’t tell. She even put on a voice to go with it. “Mr. Moore, thank you for such a wonderful evening.” She held her hand out, Elijah felt obligated to shake it even if it was against his better judgement. Amerie batted her eyelashes at the contact and let out a small giggle. She wasn’t even trying to hide it.

She stood, slowly and hesitantly. Waiting for some sort of sign that he was going to stop her. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Moore,” Annie heard out her hand, he brought it to his mouth and kissed it.

“The pleasure was all mine.”

-

As they made their way out of the building, she couldn’t help but look back and see if he was coming for her. ‘What the fuck am i doing? This man is 28 years old.’ She talked herself all the way out of it. Of what she felt less than 10 minutes ago. It was bullshit, it wasn’t real. It was a big party and everyone had to cling to someone.

“Anais,” her head snapped up. She turned quickly, his chest was rising and falling as if he just ran a mile. Thank the lord, Amerie was in the car when he came out. “You left this,” he reached to give her the purse. How the fuck did she forget her whole fucking purse? And with the purse came a small piece a paper that she quickly tucked inside.

“Thank you,” she whispered with a small smile on her face.

“Again, the pleasure is all mine,” he winked and smirked at her. They bid their ‘final’ goodnight and Annie got into the car.

“Whatchu forget mama?” Amerie asked, she was obviously agitated. “My purse. That was nice of him to return it to me,” she replied. ‘Yeah, sure was.” Amerie thought to herself through a lens of judgement.. She decided she was going to ruin the thought for Annie. A mother wouldn’t pursue someone who had interest in her daughter?

“Isn’t he amazing Mama. And he’s so handsome and smart,” she gushed. It made Annie sick to her stomach. Had she been so wrapped up in his charm that she hadn’t noticed? Was she just so dizzy in his presence that she completely missed it? She could hear that admiration in her daughter’s voice. Surely, something had to be said for that to come about. What Annie didn’t know is that Elijah hadn’t shown any interest in Amerie. Hell, he hadn’t really shown any interest in anyone until he saw Annie.

Annie clutched the purse tight into her abdomen, trying to forget the piece of paper that waited so patiently for her to read it.

-

The rest of the car ride was silent and slightly uncomfortable. Amerie dropped Annie off at her apartment with a swift ‘Night Mama’ and rushed hug. Maybe she did sense something between Elijah and Annie. Maybe she didn’t make up the connection. She wracked her brain the entire thirty minute ride.

When she got in the house she wanted nothing more than to wash of this ridiculous night and it’s ridiculous emotions. But she sat on her couch, clutching the purse, hesitant to open it. When she did every single doubt left her mind.

I’ll never stop thinking about you. Elijah

951-7768

She pulled her phone out and called the number. The buzz that ran through her body felt like kisses all over her skin. His kisses, and she hadn’t even felt that.

“I was waiting on you Anais.” He said as he pulled on his freshly lit joint. Her breath hitched. Before she said anything she needed to clear the air about her child. If she was to do this, she had to be sure. She had to be certain there was NOTHING there.

“What’s the deal with you and my daughter? Whatchu’ trynna run a game?” She asked confrontationally. She puffed her chest up as if he could see her.

“I’m gon’ be real honest with you, I couldn’t even tell you what she does at the company. The most I’ve talked to her is tonight.” He was honest and upfront. He knew who he wanted right now. And it was not Amerie.

“You wanna keep talking about her? or do you wanna get to the reason you called?” He cut through sharp bringing her out of her head. His voiced vibrated through her body like a sound wave. The hum he gave her when he spoke quite literally made her dizzy.

“I don’t know why I called.”

“Yes you do.” He shot.

She didn’t even fight it. How could she with the way her blood was pumping through her.

“I haven’t stop thinking about you either. And that’s confusing for me,” she confessed. She settled back into her couch, letting out a deep breath.

“Let’s deal with it face to face,” he took a shot in the dark. He was holding his breath, gearing up for rejection.

“Okay.” Why should she deny herself this? She’s allowed to see people, right? Allowed to engage?

“Send the location.” She sent it immediately.

“I’m 30 minutes out, I’ll let you know when I’m close.” He confirmed with her. He hadn’t thought twice, he was going to see this woman.

-

Annie rushed to prepare herself for this very welcomed visitor. She showered and put on her backless night gown. She sprayed herself with a heavenly perfume. That stayed in the air, no matter what way she moved. Her phone chimed, making her hyper aware of everything that seemed to be out of place in her home. She rushed to fluff pillows, straighten picture frames that seemed crooked and smoothed out her attire. She wanted to appear prepared, when in reality she was shitting bricks.

Elijah wasn’t too far off from that same feeling as he approached the three-story townhouse. His heart was in his ass. But, he came here with a mission in mind. And that was to at least to convince her to think about giving him a chance. So, he was young but h was grown and he could handle a grown woman. As he approached her home, he took slow and measured steps getting to the front door. Trying not to seem like he was in a rush to get there. He played cool with three even knocks on her door. Annie took her time opening it but, she knew he would not knock again.

When the door opened, Elijah released a deep breath at the sight of the woman. Standing there with a slip on that accentuated her curves and left nothing to the imagination. Her nippled standing at attention, her neck exposed and shining. Begging for him to mark his territory.

“You gon just stand there?” Her eyebrow raised.

“I ain’t heard you doing no invitin.” He countered.

She opened the door wider, ushering him in with her arms. She instructed him to leave his shoes at the door. She had a strict rule of wearing shoes in her house. She guided him into the living room. Sitting down at the furthest end of the couch. Distant couldn’t keep this heat contained too much longer. The way he looked. The sweatpants hanging low on his waist. The white t-shirt with his muscles busting through. His scent, the way he filled the space. Such a big, strong man. ‘Fuck, don’t start salivating.” She straightened her posture, pushing her aching breasts into the air. He noticed.

“You don’t think I’m worth the trouble? Cause I’m young?” He posed the question innocently, there was no sexual charge behind his words, yet.

“I think that I’m 38 and I’m not looking to be distracted by young shit.” She wasn’t going to tiptoe around it. She had her worries and concerns. Especially with the situation at hand. “I’m young but ain’t shit young about me woman. I’m straight forward with my shit, I rarely fuck around. I saw you, I wanted you and I made that clear. That sound like a man who do ‘young shit’?” His eyebrow arched. She cleared her throat. What the fuck was she supposed to say to that. He hadn’t played at all. He was sitting in her house after only knowing her all of 6 hours.

She stood up slowly, approaching him with heated caution. She stood in front of him breathing heavily, with her hand stretched out. Inviting him further into the house and into her bedroom.

-

She led him to the loveseat at the end of her bed.

Elijah sat, impatiently patient. A goddess was standing in front of him so close, he could melt into her. “Come here,” he beckoned her. Annie crawled into his lap slowly. Placing her thick thighs on the outside of him, straddling his lap. Her pussy sitting directly on top of his bulge. “You think you know what to do with all this,” she whispered hovering over his ear. He groaned at the pace of the slow assault on his lap. It was almost painful. “You gon be begging me to get up off of you,” his lips met hers in a fiery passion. A moan worth a thousand words escaped their lips. Their tongue battled for dominance, swapping slow wet flicks of the tongue. Whimpers coming from him sucking her bottom lip. Her pussy clenched around nothing and his dick grew painfully harder. the more passionately they kissed, the harder Annie grinded, Elijah meeting her hips with his.

His hand reached around kneading her ass, spreading and squeezing her plump cheeks. “Mmmm, feel on this body,” she moaned into his mouth. She was drunk off his kiss, she never wanted it to end.

Elijah was fighting for his life, he wanted to rip her clothes off. He took his time finding and exploring her neck. Looking for a sign of pleasure, he sucked and bit at her soothing by wrapping his tongue around the sting. His hands found her titties, he pulled and brushed over the hardened nipples. Dragging the front of her nightgown down, her breast fully exposed to him. His mouth got wet and before he could think his hot mouth wrapped around her peaks. Annie moaned and let out a string of cuss words lost in the pleasure. Her pussy was leaking in the seat of her panties, surely leaving a wet spot over his erection.

“Elijah, please,” she breathed out. She needed him to touch her. She needed something, a release.

He lifted her up placing her in his spot on the seat. He hovered over her, locking lips while he spread her legs open. He kissed down her body leaving and path of heat across her skin. He came face to face with her wet, covered center. “Fuck, that pussy crying. i ain’t even touched her,” he whispered into her heat. He ran his strong hand over her center. Her fat clit poked through the fabric. He rubbed slow circles over it. Her back arched and hips rolled, begging for more contact with whimpers and sighs. He wanted to taste her. He ripped the panties off her, “Now don’t go ripping shit you don’t pay for.” He didn’t dignify it with a verbal response. He put his tongue right at her opening, lightly flicking his tongue in her gushy center. Her pussy clenched and wept at the contact.

He licked up her slit taking her fat mound in his mouth, covering it in spit. He licked her pussy sloppy and fully. “Oh my Godddddd,” she grabbed the back of his head, spreading her legs wider. His tongue fucked her whole until she was begging for a release, “You like the way I eat this fat muhfucka,” he growled from below, sending shocks up her spine. She thrusted her pussy closer to his face, pulling and gripping the back of his head. Encouraging him to just climb inside her and live in her. Her looks shooks with the build of her first orgasm, “Baby please keep sucking this pussy, I-I-I’m boutta fucking squirt all over you,” she whimpered looking down. Her pussy clamped down on his tongue as her body went limp, she locked him in place and she rode it out. He licked her slow until she came down from it. Her chest rising and falling heavily. He scaled her body, squeezing her sides as he came in for a kiss.

“That’s one.” He grinned. “You taste so fucking good.” The kiss deepened, Annie tasted herself on his tongue, the taste had to bea drug. Her head swirled and her body tingled. His dick sat hard, pointed straight at her stomach. She trailed his stomach, feeling his hard stomach on the way, until she felt the front of his pants, gripping him hard. She stroked him teasingly, spending time rubbing his tip. She slipping her hand into his waistband making contact with the dick for the first time. He was huge from what she could feel. Veiny and long, and so fucking heavy.

“Pull that dick out Big Mama and see what you won,” he stood up over her. She pulled her sweats and underwear down in one tug, freeing the monstrous cock from its cage. Gosh, he was beautiful. She drooled at the sight of the magnificent penis. She stroked him slow, in awe of how her hand barely wrapped around him. How soft her touch was, even though she was jerking him hard. She leaned in without permission, swirling her tongue over the tip f his cock. She licked the bead of precum and hummed. “Mmm, just how i thought you’d taste,” she swallowed him whole.

His dick hit the back of her throat and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He spit and jerked him like she’d done it before. She was a professionally, for sure. She moaned around the head, how was he getting fucking harder? “Just like that baby, suck that dick just like that,”he guided her head until he realized he was throat fucking her. Not that she wasn’t complaining. She liked having her throat used by him. Loved it even. He pulled her off for air but she said, “Why’d you stop?” He groaned at the sight of her, covered in so much spit that it dripped down her chin.

Her pussy pulsed at the way he fucked her mouth. She couldn’t wait until she was being drilled by that big mean dick.

“Cause if I keep going, I’m not gon get to the good part baby. Come lay on the bed.”

-hey yallllll :) im so happy to put something out that im really proud offf! Again s/o @dealore for the prompt!! Lmk what you think!! Am i like.. back?? Some typos and shit but fuck it yolo!!!

[tnychellee]

“Pull that dick out Big Mama and see what you won,” -- that dick the prize 😂.

Elijah showed her ass age ain't nothing but a number. Amerie needs goodie points at work from him dickn down her mama 😂

[moth2flamewriting]

Amerie not getting shit with her dizzy ass🤣🤣🤣 sorry fren

[moth2flamewriting]

Big Mama.

Y’all give credit to @dealore for this prompt that made me want to actually write something down for once. I changed it up a little about how they meet and such. I made Annie;’s daughter a little psycho.. so yeah.. She not wrapped too tight at all. Anyway.. I hope you enjoy my take on it.

As always,

Enjoy :)

“Elijah fuck, you digging in me,” she clawed at the headboard, hoping to get a grip on anything. He thrusted into her hard, her knees slipping under him. “No, no, no, put it back where I had it Anais,” he snarled into her ear.

She couldn’t believe what she had got herself into. Her fucking daughter introduced her to this man. She was 38 years old, what business did she have fucking a man 10 years younger than her. Shit, that 28 year old was tearing her insides out. The night they met was literally a fluke. Her daughter, Amerie, had been ranting and raving about the new CEO at her job.

-

“Mama you gotta meet him, he’s just different. He cares about us, y’know? I never had a boss who actually cares.” The way her daughter’s voice lit up, it sounded like she had some type of crush on the man.

-

When they entered the fundraising gala that night, Annie’s attire stole everyone’s attention. The black dress hugged her breast just right, pushing them up perky and oiled up. Her hips were outlined as if the Gods themselves sculpted it. The 6inch pump that laced up her calf, showing off her dangerously long and thick legs. The men ogled the older woman, forgetting the ones standing right next to them.

“Mama, let’s get a drink or something,” Amerie led her towards the bar. “What do you want? It’s open bar,” Amerie asked looking back at her partially. “I’ll take a French 75,” Annie told her daughter. They got their drinks and made their way through the crowd. Amerie making sure comments on every person who has their eyes on her mama.

“AMERIE!” Their heads turn as they spot Chanel, one of her daughter’s coworkers. “Dang girl, you clean up nice,” she complimented her favorite coworker. “Chanel, hey girl! Thank you. This here is my mama,” Chanel’s eyes turn to Annie. Her face worth a thousand words, jaw dropped and eyes popping out of her head.

‘Nah, girl.. THIS CAN’T BE YO MAMA,” Chanel chuckled. “Well thank you Chanel, I’ll take that as a compliment,” Annie smiled politely.

Comments on how young she looked always gave Annie a little more pep in her step. She was already so naturally captivating and confident. She was successful and well off. But time slows down for no one and she was 38 before she could catch her breath. Amerie’s voice cut through her thoughts, “Have you seen Mr. Moore yet? I want to introduce my mama to him.” Chanel looked around in the direction she last pointed, “Last I saw him he was outside having a conversation with big money.”

Amerie didn’t hesitate to walk in that direction in search of the man. Annie couldn’t really understand why her daughter was so desperate for them to meet. He was her boss, they’d literally never cross paths. But she wanted to make her child happy. She spent so long waiting for Amerie to be passionate about something, and if this new boss was helping her find her passions then fine.

They reached the back exit, onto a large patio carved with marble and rose bushes meeting the edge. Smoke hung in the air as the men puffed on their cigars. A lot of expensive suits were on this patio. Armani suits and Cartier tie clips, Scotch poured into low rim drinking glasses. It wa almost as if Amerie spotted the man instantly. As Annie approached from behind them she took in the mans thick frame, his muscled cut through the tailored shirt he wore. The beard that ran down the side of his face, low cut with deep waves. Her mouth was dry before she even saw his face but then he turned. And her world stopped as his eyes connected with hers for a brief second.

“And who might you be?” he offered his hand out towards Annie. She took it. “Well that’s who i wanted to introduce you to Mr. Moore. This my mama, Anais Desson. Mama, this my boss, Elijah Moore,” Amerie cut in.

Amerie watched the interaction between them with a bitter taste in her mouth. He’s never even looked her way for more than a few seconds. She pushed the feeling aside as nothing, this was her mother for god’s sake. ‘What would a 38 year old woman even do with that?’ Amerie thought to herself. “Well it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he pulled her hand up to his lips, placing a warm kiss to the back of it. “Likewise,” Annie responded her eyes gone dark.

‘Elijah Moore.’ Annie thought to herself.

‘Anais Desson.’ Elijah thought to himself.

He thought about her the whole evening. Looking for her in every room that he walked into. ‘Who the hell was this woman?And what the fuck took her so long to get to me?’ He thought to himself. When he laid eyes on her, he was almost 100% certain that he was drooling on himself. A woman that fine should not exist. When he spotted her amongst the crowd her zoned in, making his way to her. Soon as he was in arms length of her, Amerie stepped in front of him. Eyes sparkling at him like he hung the stars. Elijah had seen that look before. The woman obsessed with what he appeared to be. Did it have to be the woman of my dreams daughter though?

All he had to do was get through this interaction with her, so that he could get to the trophy at the end of this race. The gala wouldn’t go on forever and it was already too much time lost between them already.

“Hey Mr. Moore, I just wanted to thank you for being such a gentleman with my mama earlier. Those are good qualities in a man,” her eyes hinting up for a response she would never get.

“Of course, Amerie. You’re a valued employee and well respected. We will always treat family members as if they were members of our team too.” Good response, Elijah. There was nothing leading about that at all. She should get the subtle hint and dropped this silly infatuation. That was not at all what the young woman heard from the man. He might as well have swept her up and kissed her, cause in her mind she was completely gone. Her face burned hot, her cheeks turning a deep red. “I appreciate that, sir.” Her attempt at appearing docile and meek was everything that embarrassing could be. She did not read that response right at all. He would have to deal with that later, he had to get back to her.

“Excuse me,” he sidestepped her and swerved through the people that gathered between them when he finally reached her. Sitting at the bar, her back outrageously up straight, her legs crossed under the fabric. His breathing heavier as he casually leaned up against the bar. “Yo let me get a whiskey, thank you brotha,” he delivered smoothly. His scent flooded her nostrils, dark and sweet, she inhaled sharply.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” he whispered only loud enough for her to hear. “But I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since I met you over an hour ago.” Annie sat there frozen, shit she felt it too. She’d imagined a thousand times in the last hour what that mouth would feel like on her neck, those hands wrapped around her waist. But this was her daughters boss, she was about to be fucking forty, what the hell were these feelings.

“Mr. Moo-,” he cut her off.

“Elijah. You can call me Elijah, You the only person in this whole building who can get away with that. I’d surely die if I had to bear that this whole conversation,” he grinned at her. She tried it out in her mouth, her breath altering as she said it barely above a whisper.

“Elijah.” And their eyes locked. They both were holding their breath and knew exactly why. When she said his name it was like something woke them both up. It wasn’t surface attraction, if it ever was that. Chills ran up his body, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. His body shifted towards her against his will.

“I been waiting my whole life to hear you say that,” he relayed it so seriously her body damn near went limp. ‘Thank god I am sitting down.’ She thought to herself.

“I-i,” she stuttered. The moment was broken by a cough, it was Amerie. Elijah stepped back slowly, making it seem as the space had been between them. ‘She cockblocking like a motherfucker.’ He sighed out lowly. He wanted this woman under him shaking, clawing at this back and releasing sounds that should only be meant for his ears. He wanted her lips on him, her warm mouth pulling and tugging at his lips. Fuck, he had to figure out how to get her between 4 walls and completely alone. He needed privacy for the fire she sparked in him.

Elijah had never seen a woman so beautiful, someone whose eyes made him feel like he was drowning and the only one who could save him was her. His world stopped for a few seconds when he met her. But standing here? At the bar? Hearing this outrageously gorgeous woman say his name. He felt more in that moment than he had with anyone in his whole life.

“Mama, it’s bout time for us to go. Cars out front,” Amerie shot out. She noticed the way Elijah looked at her mother. He couldn’t even make eye contact with her when he needed something done at work. ‘So the man can spare my mama glance but not me?’ Amerie was a ticking time bomb. She’d never have a man sidestep her so hard. And then of all people to take interest in? Her mama? She knew for one thing, her mama wasn’t going. That’s a grown ass woman who needs herself a grown ass man. CEO be damned! Little did she know that Annie was feeling something for this man that she hadn’t felt for a man in a long time.

The way something sparked inside her was something that was foreign. And at 38? That’s scary. Something so unknown and unexpected on something so damn fine. She wanted nothing more in that moment for him to have wrapped his hands around her face and swap DNA with her. She wanted nothing more for him to strip her down bare, and have his way with her. She wanted nothing more than to make her child disappear and not be calling her mama in front of a man who so obviously wants to take her the fuck down.

“Mama c’mon,” she insisted. She was growing impatient. When Amerie turned to Elijah, you couldn’t tell. She even put on a voice to go with it. “Mr. Moore, thank you for such a wonderful evening.” She held her hand out, Elijah felt obligated to shake it even if it was against his better judgement. Amerie batted her eyelashes at the contact and let out a small giggle. She wasn’t even trying to hide it.

She stood, slowly and hesitantly. Waiting for some sort of sign that he was going to stop her. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Moore,” Annie heard out her hand, he brought it to his mouth and kissed it.

“The pleasure was all mine.”

-

As they made their way out of the building, she couldn’t help but look back and see if he was coming for her. ‘What the fuck am i doing? This man is 28 years old.’ She talked herself all the way out of it. Of what she felt less than 10 minutes ago. It was bullshit, it wasn’t real. It was a big party and everyone had to cling to someone.

“Anais,” her head snapped up. She turned quickly, his chest was rising and falling as if he just ran a mile. Thank the lord, Amerie was in the car when he came out. “You left this,” he reached to give her the purse. How the fuck did she forget her whole fucking purse? And with the purse came a small piece a paper that she quickly tucked inside.

“Thank you,” she whispered with a small smile on her face.

“Again, the pleasure is all mine,” he winked and smirked at her. They bid their ‘final’ goodnight and Annie got into the car.

“Whatchu forget mama?” Amerie asked, she was obviously agitated. “My purse. That was nice of him to return it to me,” she replied. ‘Yeah, sure was.” Amerie thought to herself through a lens of judgement.. She decided she was going to ruin the thought for Annie. A mother wouldn’t pursue someone who had interest in her daughter?

“Isn’t he amazing Mama. And he’s so handsome and smart,” she gushed. It made Annie sick to her stomach. Had she been so wrapped up in his charm that she hadn’t noticed? Was she just so dizzy in his presence that she completely missed it? She could hear that admiration in her daughter’s voice. Surely, something had to be said for that to come about. What Annie didn’t know is that Elijah hadn’t shown any interest in Amerie. Hell, he hadn’t really shown any interest in anyone until he saw Annie.

Annie clutched the purse tight into her abdomen, trying to forget the piece of paper that waited so patiently for her to read it.

-

The rest of the car ride was silent and slightly uncomfortable. Amerie dropped Annie off at her apartment with a swift ‘Night Mama’ and rushed hug. Maybe she did sense something between Elijah and Annie. Maybe she didn’t make up the connection. She wracked her brain the entire thirty minute ride.

When she got in the house she wanted nothing more than to wash of this ridiculous night and it’s ridiculous emotions. But she sat on her couch, clutching the purse, hesitant to open it. When she did every single doubt left her mind.

I’ll never stop thinking about you. Elijah

951-7768

She pulled her phone out and called the number. The buzz that ran through her body felt like kisses all over her skin. His kisses, and she hadn’t even felt that.

“I was waiting on you Anais.” He said as he pulled on his freshly lit joint. Her breath hitched. Before she said anything she needed to clear the air about her child. If she was to do this, she had to be sure. She had to be certain there was NOTHING there.

“What’s the deal with you and my daughter? Whatchu’ trynna run a game?” She asked confrontationally. She puffed her chest up as if he could see her.

“I’m gon’ be real honest with you, I couldn’t even tell you what she does at the company. The most I’ve talked to her is tonight.” He was honest and upfront. He knew who he wanted right now. And it was not Amerie.

“You wanna keep talking about her? or do you wanna get to the reason you called?” He cut through sharp bringing her out of her head. His voiced vibrated through her body like a sound wave. The hum he gave her when he spoke quite literally made her dizzy.

“I don’t know why I called.”

“Yes you do.” He shot.

She didn’t even fight it. How could she with the way her blood was pumping through her.

“I haven’t stop thinking about you either. And that’s confusing for me,” she confessed. She settled back into her couch, letting out a deep breath.

“Let’s deal with it face to face,” he took a shot in the dark. He was holding his breath, gearing up for rejection.

“Okay.” Why should she deny herself this? She’s allowed to see people, right? Allowed to engage?

“Send the location.” She sent it immediately.

“I’m 30 minutes out, I’ll let you know when I’m close.” He confirmed with her. He hadn’t thought twice, he was going to see this woman.

-

Annie rushed to prepare herself for this very welcomed visitor. She showered and put on her backless night gown. She sprayed herself with a heavenly perfume. That stayed in the air, no matter what way she moved. Her phone chimed, making her hyper aware of everything that seemed to be out of place in her home. She rushed to fluff pillows, straighten picture frames that seemed crooked and smoothed out her attire. She wanted to appear prepared, when in reality she was shitting bricks.

Elijah wasn’t too far off from that same feeling as he approached the three-story townhouse. His heart was in his ass. But, he came here with a mission in mind. And that was to at least to convince her to think about giving him a chance. So, he was young but h was grown and he could handle a grown woman. As he approached her home, he took slow and measured steps getting to the front door. Trying not to seem like he was in a rush to get there. He played cool with three even knocks on her door. Annie took her time opening it but, she knew he would not knock again.

When the door opened, Elijah released a deep breath at the sight of the woman. Standing there with a slip on that accentuated her curves and left nothing to the imagination. Her nippled standing at attention, her neck exposed and shining. Begging for him to mark his territory.

“You gon just stand there?” Her eyebrow raised.

“I ain’t heard you doing no invitin.” He countered.

She opened the door wider, ushering him in with her arms. She instructed him to leave his shoes at the door. She had a strict rule of wearing shoes in her house. She guided him into the living room. Sitting down at the furthest end of the couch. Distant couldn’t keep this heat contained too much longer. The way he looked. The sweatpants hanging low on his waist. The white t-shirt with his muscles busting through. His scent, the way he filled the space. Such a big, strong man. ‘Fuck, don’t start salivating.” She straightened her posture, pushing her aching breasts into the air. He noticed.

“You don’t think I’m worth the trouble? Cause I’m young?” He posed the question innocently, there was no sexual charge behind his words, yet.

“I think that I’m 38 and I’m not looking to be distracted by young shit.” She wasn’t going to tiptoe around it. She had her worries and concerns. Especially with the situation at hand. “I’m young but ain’t shit young about me woman. I’m straight forward with my shit, I rarely fuck around. I saw you, I wanted you and I made that clear. That sound like a man who do ‘young shit’?” His eyebrow arched. She cleared her throat. What the fuck was she supposed to say to that. He hadn’t played at all. He was sitting in her house after only knowing her all of 6 hours.

She stood up slowly, approaching him with heated caution. She stood in front of him breathing heavily, with her hand stretched out. Inviting him further into the house and into her bedroom.

-

She led him to the loveseat at the end of her bed.

Elijah sat, impatiently patient. A goddess was standing in front of him so close, he could melt into her. “Come here,” he beckoned her. Annie crawled into his lap slowly. Placing her thick thighs on the outside of him, straddling his lap. Her pussy sitting directly on top of his bulge. “You think you know what to do with all this,” she whispered hovering over his ear. He groaned at the pace of the slow assault on his lap. It was almost painful. “You gon be begging me to get up off of you,” his lips met hers in a fiery passion. A moan worth a thousand words escaped their lips. Their tongue battled for dominance, swapping slow wet flicks of the tongue. Whimpers coming from him sucking her bottom lip. Her pussy clenched around nothing and his dick grew painfully harder. the more passionately they kissed, the harder Annie grinded, Elijah meeting her hips with his.

His hand reached around kneading her ass, spreading and squeezing her plump cheeks. “Mmmm, feel on this body,” she moaned into his mouth. She was drunk off his kiss, she never wanted it to end.

Elijah was fighting for his life, he wanted to rip her clothes off. He took his time finding and exploring her neck. Looking for a sign of pleasure, he sucked and bit at her soothing by wrapping his tongue around the sting. His hands found her titties, he pulled and brushed over the hardened nipples. Dragging the front of her nightgown down, her breast fully exposed to him. His mouth got wet and before he could think his hot mouth wrapped around her peaks. Annie moaned and let out a string of cuss words lost in the pleasure. Her pussy was leaking in the seat of her panties, surely leaving a wet spot over his erection.

“Elijah, please,” she breathed out. She needed him to touch her. She needed something, a release.

He lifted her up placing her in his spot on the seat. He hovered over her, locking lips while he spread her legs open. He kissed down her body leaving and path of heat across her skin. He came face to face with her wet, covered center. “Fuck, that pussy crying. i ain’t even touched her,” he whispered into her heat. He ran his strong hand over her center. Her fat clit poked through the fabric. He rubbed slow circles over it. Her back arched and hips rolled, begging for more contact with whimpers and sighs. He wanted to taste her. He ripped the panties off her, “Now don’t go ripping shit you don’t pay for.” He didn’t dignify it with a verbal response. He put his tongue right at her opening, lightly flicking his tongue in her gushy center. Her pussy clenched and wept at the contact.

He licked up her slit taking her fat mound in his mouth, covering it in spit. He licked her pussy sloppy and fully. “Oh my Godddddd,” she grabbed the back of his head, spreading her legs wider. His tongue fucked her whole until she was begging for a release, “You like the way I eat this fat muhfucka,” he growled from below, sending shocks up her spine. She thrusted her pussy closer to his face, pulling and gripping the back of his head. Encouraging him to just climb inside her and live in her. Her looks shooks with the build of her first orgasm, “Baby please keep sucking this pussy, I-I-I’m boutta fucking squirt all over you,” she whimpered looking down. Her pussy clamped down on his tongue as her body went limp, she locked him in place and she rode it out. He licked her slow until she came down from it. Her chest rising and falling heavily. He scaled her body, squeezing her sides as he came in for a kiss.

“That’s one.” He grinned. “You taste so fucking good.” The kiss deepened, Annie tasted herself on his tongue, the taste had to bea drug. Her head swirled and her body tingled. His dick sat hard, pointed straight at her stomach. She trailed his stomach, feeling his hard stomach on the way, until she felt the front of his pants, gripping him hard. She stroked him teasingly, spending time rubbing his tip. She slipping her hand into his waistband making contact with the dick for the first time. He was huge from what she could feel. Veiny and long, and so fucking heavy.

“Pull that dick out Big Mama and see what you won,” he stood up over her. She pulled her sweats and underwear down in one tug, freeing the monstrous cock from its cage. Gosh, he was beautiful. She drooled at the sight of the magnificent penis. She stroked him slow, in awe of how her hand barely wrapped around him. How soft her touch was, even though she was jerking him hard. She leaned in without permission, swirling her tongue over the tip f his cock. She licked the bead of precum and hummed. “Mmm, just how i thought you’d taste,” she swallowed him whole.

His dick hit the back of her throat and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He spit and jerked him like she’d done it before. She was a professionally, for sure. She moaned around the head, how was he getting fucking harder? “Just like that baby, suck that dick just like that,”he guided her head until he realized he was throat fucking her. Not that she wasn’t complaining. She liked having her throat used by him. Loved it even. He pulled her off for air but she said, “Why’d you stop?” He groaned at the sight of her, covered in so much spit that it dripped down her chin.

Her pussy pulsed at the way he fucked her mouth. She couldn’t wait until she was being drilled by that big mean dick.

“Cause if I keep going, I’m not gon get to the good part baby. Come lay on the bed.”

-hey yallllll :) im so happy to put something out that im really proud offf! Again s/o @dealore for the prompt!! Lmk what you think!! Am i like.. back?? Some typos and shit but fuck it yolo!!!

[thebumblebeesworld]

THREE'S • A • CROWD

modern!au annie x smoke

summary: all his life, smoke had heard that two is company but three is a crowd; and never had it made as much sense as it did now.

cw: smut, toxic smoke x annie, failed threesome, messyy, just read it :3

a/n: hiiii! i took a mini trip to see family, but i’m back noww. this was a request and inspired by this post by @librababe7. i kinda deviated from the idea and had this be a first time event for smoke and his girlfriend

masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was his girl’s idea—and a stupid one at that.

Smoke could handle his own shit. He ain’t need no help pleasing his woman, and every girl he’d ever been with had nothing but good memories to look back on. But for some reason, his girlfriend just had come up with the bright idea to invite someone else into their bed. She just had to make a new friend that she was obsessed with enough to invite over.

This was her idea. Not his. And the way that he saw it, his girl couldn’t get upset with the way that things had turned out because he warned her about how ridiculous this all was.

~~~~~

When she first came home—talking about this Annie woman with blush coating her cheeks—he didn’t understand the appeal. So what she supposedly had a silky, smooth voice? So what she was the most beautiful woman his girl had ever seen? Beauty is relative, and Smoke couldn’t imagine a woman perfect enough to go there with. But if his girl wanted to give it a try, he’d be willing to do so, too.

They had it all planned out: this would mostly be about his girl getting what she wanted. Smoke was supportive. Smoke was thoughtful, and if she wanted to explore something new, he’d do it with her.

But how could anyone blame him when he finally set his eyes on this Annie woman? This Annie woman who is beautiful with a silky, smooth voice to match?

Smoke was knee deep in her before he realized what he was doing. Annie was laid out on her back in his bed, arching against the mattress with his head between her thighs. All he could hear, smell, taste, see, and feel was her. Her nails were scratching at the back of his neck as she encouraged him to keep going. She kept saying it was good, that he was so good. He had to keep going. Had to keep devouring her until she was shaking against his face.

Smoke dragged Annie to the edge of her pleasure, lips tight around her clit, and before she could cum, he pulled out. A whine leaving her lips, he shut her up quickly by settling his length between her parted thighs. He effectively hushed her cries, and her moans sounded louder than they had all night.

“Fuck,” he cursed beneath his breath. “You tight as shit, baby.” He wiped his face with the back of his hand, soon taking up both of her legs and throwing them over his shoulders.

“Oh, shit,” Annie laughed throatily, hardly finding the chance to breath between Smoke pummeling her and kissing down the length of her neck. He was too good at everything he was doing. So damn good for her.

She’d completely forgotten why she was here and who had brought her here. She’d forgotten this was supposed to involve someone else, too. But how could you blame her? Her new friend ain’t tell her that her man had it like this. She ain’t say he was this sexy. She ain’t say that he would have her dickmatized in mere minutes.

When she was asked to join them, Annie had incorrectly assumed that Smoke couldn’t be any good in bed if her friend wanted another person to join, but she was pleasantly astonished by his capabilities. Where she thought he’d be inept, the man was anything but. He could handle her with ease: picking her up, throwing her around, fucking her through the mattress—and his girl, too (when either of them could remember she was there).

Fully consumed by the moment, Smoke had Annie hanging off the side of the bed. Her head hung low as one of her hands touched the floor, trying her best to keep her upright.

"Arch that fuckin' back, baby," he groaned, eyes on the recoil of her ass.

"I'm tryin'," she shouted back, fighting the urge to crumble. Fuck did it feel good. It felt like he was fucking her raw—and he wasn't. It felt like he knew all the right spots and angles to hit. And when she would clench in a real specific way, Smoke felt like she knew what he needed, too. He dragged out and back in, forced her hips to meet his in the middle, and when she pulsed and fluttered and clenched just one last time, they came together with ease.

With her eyes closed, Annie felt him collapse against her back. His breath was hot against her neck, and the weight of him brought her relief.

"You comfortable up there," she laughed in question, sighing when he groaned in her left ear and squeezed at her side. She'd never felt this light after sex, and even though he'd put her through a lot, she felt better than she had all day. She couldn't believe her luck, couldn't believe that saying yes to a simple, yet loaded, ask would result in her body fluttering all over while her eyes sank back into her sockets.

But it felt like she was forgetting something.

She thought back to when Smoke had fell on top of her.

And when she had allowed her body to topple over the edge of the bed.

And when she was moaning his name and he hers.

And when he was eating her out with frenzied purpose.

And when he had ripped her clothes from her body.

And when she had walked into the bedroom.

And when the front door had opened and her friend was on the other side.

Annie’s eyes sprang open quickly, and with Smoke still laid out on top of her, she saw her friend standing in the door frame of the bedroom. Her shoulder was leaned into the wood. Her right foot crossed over her left while her arms folded against her chest in a strong hold. Robe covering her naked body, the woman looked like she could breathe fire and curse someone’s bloodline in the same second, and Annie didn’t exactly blame her. This wasn’t supposed to go like this, but she and the man had gotten far too carried away with each other.

“Y’all done yet,” the woman spoke up, not even truly ready for the answer the tangled pair would utter.

Above Annie, Smoke groaned in realization, cursing to himself. He’d fucked up, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to come back from this; And he wasn’t sure if he wanted to either. Head lifting from where he’d rested it against Annie’s back, he avoided the other woman across the room.

He stood upright and removed the used condom.

He huffed a breath as he moved to find something for Annie to cover herself with.

He cleared his throat as if ready to speak.

But once he met the eye of the woman across the room, all words died in his throat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

word count: ~1,200

a/n: i needed something a lil messyyy

taglist: comment HERE to be added!

@brownskincheyenne @bigjh @zer0productions @devonda81 @raysogroovy @terayne-4 @hdfen2474 @mbjswife @iiiheartfayee @nifniffy @nuttyinternetprincess @chrome-edition @my-name-is-h-u-m-a-n @sweetalittleselfish-honey @theegyal @known-only-by-the-insane @nanak0matsux @thugger-wugger @voidlesslove @massiv3tr33p3rsona @thefutureemmywinner @thelifeoflagab @itstayleigh @shamansha @margepimpson @everlucivee @katezy2x @chknnwffls @juniooox @milkywayzard @bbymuthaaa @zunibugsiren @strawberrylemonades-stuff @rkiiives @kitesatforestp @saralance03 @wildcardmelaninfreak @thevelvetwhispers @queenofklonnie22 @wakandamama @numb1smokeanniestan @mayday39 @bl3ssyn @blue4everrsworld

[thebumblebeesworld]

@firmlysparklinglocket @atomicearthquakemusic7 @jasssdee1 @ehniki @littleboxcat @lilchubbs @cocochannelmoi @ladybugb0ng @nyifly22 @resurrectionist3 @rxscpctals @lsc72 @andacouldneversilenceme @dollysplace5 @mayday39 @blaqgirlmagicyallcantstandit @babygirl-4986 @fadingbelieverexpert @blacktie47 @aimdraw @saralance03 @lexasaurs634 @cinnamonsonnyangel @mysteryuz @interzalactic @3tallions @nbanenefrmdao @irefusetobeacasualty @shereeluvssinners @myheartsaysyes @anniensmoke3 @blackgirlsrock444 @cardi-bre91 @comsiclvsh @dollys-world224 @bananajoeclone @storiesbyasl @diamondsinterlude @tatelangdonsweater @lyrik7 @lizbehave @psychicafrorainbow @aellesa @zzbaee @brownsugarcoffy @syko-jpg @firmlyshinyundertow @chromexbarbie

[thebumblebeesworld]

@aizawash0e @transparentphantomface @joyylakiell @atpeaceinthestars @cravemyhoney @akirasbag @star0bsessi0n @nysrevenge @closetednerd @urthem00n @xeebop @kangdrawls @itsspixiedusst56 @callmemckenzieee @nymph-dolliee @iheartqueerlove @heffas @852853 @tyliee @kuromiklutz @bad4bey @mahoganybreeze @niyizh @beautybyfire @big-mxmaa @megan123love2-blog @m1sk1n3 @ninabinna @sunsr4ys @radbirdtheorist @skyesthebomb @rxscpctals @adrieljoy @smokingangelhoe @ohreallyfriend @hippiesandpeacesigns @deftlyforbidden @zliulu @sighsrollseyes @buckybarnessweetheart @vibrantlymellowknight @monstaxmomma0 @n0rmallyabn0rmal @andacouldneversilenceme @xocherishxo @mindyouthisismyaccount @amararosesblog

[moth2flamewriting]

i loveeeeeeeeee mess omg🥹 you've inspired meeeeeeeee🤣🤭

[myheartsaysyes]

Extra Credit

a modern au Smoke x Annie one-shot

Summary: Elijah “Smoke” Moore’s failing grade threatens to bench his football career—until Annie, a no-nonsense pre-med tutor, becomes his last shot at staying in the game.

What starts as late-night study sessions turns into tension, temptation, and a line they shouldn’t cross—but do.

A/N: He came for extra credit. She gave him something better. I’ve become obsessed with college au Smoke x Annie. 😍 SMUT and Language ahead. You've been warned. 😏🔥

Word Count: 9.1K

The numbers bled red across the top of his test paper. 42%. Big, angry strokes of ink. Elijah turned the paper over like hiding it might erase the number, but the shame lingered in his chest.

Professor Kline didn’t wait for him to make excuses. She folded her arms, eyes narrowing over her glasses as if she’d been waiting for this moment.

“Mr. Moore,” she began, voice slicing through the quiet lecture hall. “Do you even understand what’s at stake here? You’ve failed yet another test. And let’s not pretend you’ve been turning in homework—when you do, it’s half-baked. Sloppy. Minimal effort.”

Elijah leaned back, his lips pressing into a thin line, biting back the urge to snap something smart. She didn’t give him an opening.

“You think your status on the football field matters in my classroom? It doesn’t. Organic Chemistry doesn’t care how many tackles you make. If you don’t take this seriously, I will fail you. And if you fail my class, you lose your scholarship. You lose your eligibility. Period.”

The words landed heavier than the weight of his shoulder pads on game day. He dropped his gaze, staring at the ink bleeding through the thin paper. Football was his ticket—without it, all the headlines, all the recruiters, all the NIL money—gone.

Professor Kline’s tone dipped, quieter now, but it hit harder: “This class will break you if you don’t respect it. Decide if you’re here to actually learn, or if you’re just wasting my time.”

For a moment, Elijah caught something in her expression—not anger, but expectation. Like she wanted him to rise to it. The thought stung worse than her words.

That memory carried with him into the present, sour as the Gatorade drying on his practice shirt.

Now he sat in Coach Daniels’ cramped office, trophies crowding the shelves and old game photos pinned crooked on the walls. Elijah sat sprawled in a chair, helmet by his boot, tapping his cleat against the floor with restless energy.

Coach sat across from him, arms braced on the desk, a frown carved deep into his face.

“I just got off the phone with Professor Kline,” Coach said, sliding a folder across the desk like it was a case file. “She’s ready to fail you right now.”

Smoke leaned back, scoffing, but his stomach tightened. “Coach, that class ain’t even—”

“No.” Daniels cut him off. “I’ve seen too many boys think that. You’ve got a gift, Smoke. You play with fire, and that kind of fire wins games. But if you don’t fix this, you’ll be another story in the papers—‘could’ve been,’ ‘wasted his chance.’ I’m not letting that happen.”

Elijah groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Coach…”

“Don’t start. This ain’t optional, son. You fail, you’re off the field. No scholarship, no NIL, no scouts looking your way. You need this.”

He muttered, “I’ll figure it out myself—”

“No, you won’t,” Coach said, his voice leaving no room for argument. “You’re getting a tutor. Name’s…” He flipped the folder open, eyes skimming the page. “Annie. Professor says she’s top of the class—one of her best. She’ll whip you into shape, if you let her.”

Smoke scoffed again, more defensive than amused. “Annie? What, some nerd girl who don’t know football from a flat tire? She ain’t gonna wanna waste her time on me.”

Coach’s stare didn’t waver. “Then prove her wrong. You’re the one wasting your time if you don’t do this. And Smoke—” his tone softened, but only slightly—“we need you. You’re the spine of this defense. But this professor, she ain’t budgin’. You gotta meet her halfway.”

He leaned back in his chair, studying him. “You know why your nickname “Smoke” stuck since high school? ’Cause you move quiet, slip through a line before they even know what hit ’em. But that only works on the field. In the classroom? Can’t disappear from the work. You gotta face it head-on.”

Elijah swallowed the frustration burning his throat, biting back every curse word he wanted to throw out.

He smirked, trying to play it cool, but the edge in his voice gave him away. “Fine. Guess I’ll meet this Annie. But don’t blame me when she realizes she don’t wanna deal with me.”

Coach just shook his head, muttering, “Lord help that girl,” before picking up the next file on his desk.

Elijah pushed up out of the chair, the weight of his shoulder pads suddenly heavier than usual, a dull echo of the professor’s warning in his ears.

Annie was sliding her notes into her backpack when Professor Kline’s voice stopped her.

“Annie. A word.”

She straightened, adjusting the strap of her bag. “Yes, professor?”

Kline folded her arms. “You’re one of the strongest students I have. You’ve got discipline, and you know how to hold your ground. That’s why I’m giving you an assignment.”

Annie raised a brow. “Assignment?”

“Elijah Moore,” Kline said. “Football player. He’s failing. Badly. If he doesn’t pass the final, he’s out of here.”

Annie blinked, lips parting. She knew the name, of course. Everyone did. Star linebacker. Big man on campus. But she had never cared. Football was noise.

Professor Kline studied her with a pointed look. “The coaches begged me to give him another chance. I agreed on one condition: that he works with a tutor who won’t let him get away with anything. That’s you.”

Annie’s stomach sank. “Professor, with all due respect—”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Kline interrupted, her voice gentler now. “And you’re right. He will test you. He’ll charm, he’ll deflect, he’ll try to make it seem like your job to drag him across the finish line. Don’t you dare let him. If he fails, it’s on him. But if he passes, let it be because he actually fought for it.”

Annie tightened her grip on her bag. “So I’m supposed to babysit him?”

“You’re supposed to teach him,” Kline corrected firmly. “You’re good at this, Annie. Better than you realize. And whether he realizes it or not, he needs someone like you in his corner. Be tough. Be fair. Don’t bend.”

For a moment, Annie caught a flicker of warmth in her professor’s eyes. Pride, maybe. Trust.

She exhaled, adjusting the strap on her bag. “Alright. I’ll do it. But I’m not cutting him slack.”

“Good,” Kline’s lips twitched into the faintest smile. “That’s why I chose you — And Annie? Don’t let him waste your time. Make him earn every bit of it.”

Walking out into the evening air, Annie muttered under her breath, “Perfect. A stupid ass football player who thinks he’s untouchable. Just what I needed.”

The library smelled faintly of coffee and old paper, the kind of place Annie loved. Annie had claimed a table in the corner, her spread neat and organized: highlighters lined like soldiers, notes written in tight script, textbook opened to a chapter marked with tabs.

She checked the clock. He was late. Figures.

The scrape of a chair snapped her head up. Elijah Moore dropped into the seat across from her, his presence too large for the quiet. Still in practice gear, damp T-shirt stretched across his chest, the tang of grass and sweat clinging to him. He didn’t bother with a hello—just leaned back like the table belonged to him.

“So you’re Annie,” he said, voice low, unhurried, carrying that drawl that made every word sound more serious than it should. A half-smile tugged at his mouth. “The genius who’s supposed to save me.”

Annie blinked once. “You’re late.”

He shrugged, sprawling deeper into the chair. “Practice. Team needed me.”

Her pen tapped once against the page in front of her. “The team isn’t failing Organic Chemistry. You are. Open to chapter ten.”

He glanced down at the textbook like it was beneath him, then dragged his eyes back up to her. “You always talk to people like that?”

“People who waste my time? Yes.”

His grin stretched, slow. “Most girls don’t start off like this. Usually they… soften.” His eyes ran over her face, like he was daring her to be one of them.

“Maybe those girls don’t know any better,” she shot back, tapping the diagram again. “This is resonance. Pay attention.”

He leaned forward just enough for his cologne to cut through the sweat. “You really think you can talk to me like I’m some kid?”

“You’re failing,” Annie said flatly. “So yes. That’s exactly how I’ll talk to you.”

For the first time, his smile flickered, lips pressing flat before he recovered. “You got some mouth on you.”

“And you’ve got excuses.” She met his stare without blinking. “Which one’s going to get you through this class?”

The silence between them stretched, only broken by the faint shuffle of someone turning a page nearby. He leaned in, voice dropping, almost curious now. “You don’t like me very much, do you?”

“I don’t know you,” Annie said. “And I don’t care about football. So no—I’m not impressed.”

His laugh came low, genuine, but with an edge. “Good. Thought you might fold easy. Glad you don’t.”

Her brow lifted. “Try me. You’ll find out I don’t fold at all.”

Something in him pulled taut at that. Every time before, the grin or the line was enough to make a girl bend. Annie didn’t bend. She didn’t even crack.

And for the first time in a long time, Elijah felt something uncomfortably close to cornered.

He blew out a breath through his nose, grabbing the pen she shoved at him. “Fine. Let’s get this over wit. But don’t expect me to enjoy it.”

“Good,” Annie said crisply. “I don’t care if you enjoy it. I care if you pass.”

The session dragged, her drilling him, his answers stumbling. He faked interest, yawned loud enough to earn a glare. Finally, he shoved the chair back, muttering, “This some bullshit.”

Annie’s patience snapped. She closed her notebook with a sharp thud. “Then fail. If you don’t care, I don’t either.”

His eyes lingered on her a beat too long, irritation simmering, before he snatched up his bag and stalked off.

Annie sat back, exhaling slow. She let the smallest smile curl at her lips. He thought he could wear her down. He had no idea.

The second session started before Elijah even sat down. Annie already had the table arranged—textbook open, equations scribbled neatly across her notebook, a second pen waiting on his side like she was teaching a child.

He dropped into the chair across from her, tossing his bag to the floor with a thud. “You always this prepared?” he drawled, dragging the pen between his fingers without opening the book.

“It’s called being responsible,” she said, not looking up from her notes. “Something you might try.”

He chuckled low, leaning back, broad shoulders stretching the cotton of his T-shirt. “I got responsibilities. Just… mine happen to come with crowds and bright lights. Not color-coded notes.”

Her gaze flicked up. “And none of that matters here. Chapter twelve. Read it.”

He tilted his head, studying her. “You don’t even say hello?”

“Hello,” she said flatly. “Now read.”

That grin crept slow across his mouth. “You ever relax, Annie? Or do you dream in bullet points?”

She snapped her book closed with a crack. “You came here to pass, not to run your mouth. Either open your book or get out.”

He blinked once, then let out a short laugh, shaking his head. “Damn. You really don’t like me.”

“I don’t know you,” she said, voice steady. “But you’re proving my point every second you waste.”

The grin thinned, giving way to something harder. “You think I’m stupid.”

“I think you act like you don’t care,” she shot back. “And maybe that’s worse.”

His jaw flexed, the pen tapping against the page now. “You don’t know what I care about.”

“You don’t show it,” she said, eyes narrowing. “You strut in here like the rules don’t apply to you. Like football erases everything else.”

He let out a low laugh, humorless. “And you walk around like you’re perfect. Like you ain’t never needed help from nobody.”

“I work for what I get,” Annie said. “I don’t expect anyone to hand me anything.”

The air between them prickled, tense. His leg bounced under the table; her pen tapped a steady rhythm on her notebook. Neither looked away.

Finally, he shoved the pen across the page, muttering under his breath, “This is a fuckin’ waste.”

Annie slid her notes back into her bag with calm precision. “Then don’t come back. Fail. That’s your problem, not mine.”

For a second, something twisted in his chest—anger, shame, both. He wanted to cut back, wanted to shut her down. But the words stuck. All he could do was curse under his breath and push out of the chair, bag slung over his shoulder.

The echo of his footsteps faded down the library aisle.

Annie sat alone, eyes fixed on the chair he’d vacated. Her pulse was quick, her skin humming with leftover adrenaline. She shook her head, flipping her notebook open again.

“He’s not worth the trouble,” she whispered to herself.

But the truth was, part of her wondered why it felt like he was.

The library was nearly empty, the clock on the wall pushing past ten. Most students had gone, the air still carried the faint smell of coffee that had gone cold hours ago. Annie had come to finish her own work, relieved she didn’t have to wrangle Elijah tonight.

But when she turned the corner toward the science section, she stopped.

He was there.

Elijah sat hunched over one of the long tables, textbook spread wide, notebook open. His hoodie was pulled low over his head, headphones shoved aside, and his pencil moved across the page in quick, messy strokes. Scratched-out equations littered the margins. Crumpled balls of paper sat around his elbow.

Annie froze, watching him mutter under his breath as he flipped back to an earlier chapter. His big hands dwarfed the pencil, the tip smudging faint gray across the heel of his palm. He dragged it through another problem, stopped halfway, cursed low, then shoved both hands through his hair in frustration.

He didn’t see her at first. For the first time, there was no smirk, no lean, no lazy charm. Just him, fighting with the page like it was an opponent he couldn’t get a grip on.

She stepped closer. “You’re actually… trying.”

His head jerked up, eyes catching hers. There was no grin this time, no cocky comeback at the ready. Just the flicker of being caught off guard.

“Don’t look so surprised,” he muttered, sitting back, pencil tapping against the desk.

“I am surprised,” Annie said honestly, sliding into the chair across from him. She glanced at his notebook. The numbers were wrong, the logic twisted, but the effort was undeniable. “You’ve been here awhile.”

Elijah shrugged, but it wasn’t casual. His shoulders rose, then dropped like he was carrying more weight than usual. “Can’t fail this class. You know what happens if I do.”

“You lose football,” Annie said softly.

He let out a breath through his nose, gaze dropping to the page. “Football’s all I got. Only thing I ever been good at.” His voice had none of its usual lazy rhythm—it was rougher, almost quiet, like he hadn’t meant to let that much slip.

Annie studied him, the way his knuckles pressed against the edge of the paper, the restless twitch of his leg under the table. She realized then that he wasn’t just arrogant. He was scared.

She leaned forward, voice even. “You’re not bad at this. You’re just fighting it the wrong way. You don’t need to bulldoze through—this isn’t the field. You need patience.”

He huffed a laugh, though it sounded tired. “Patience ain’t really my strong suit.”

“Clearly,” she said, arching a brow. But there was the faintest curve at her mouth now, a softness breaking through her usual walls.

Elijah looked at her, something unreadable flickering across his face. Not annoyance. Not ego. Something else.

“You really think I can do this?” he asked, voice low.

Annie didn’t hesitate. “I know you can. If you quit acting like you’re above it.”

He sat back, pencil rolling between his fingers. For once, he didn’t argue. Didn’t joke. He just looked at her, like the words had landed deeper than she realized.

The silence between them wasn’t tense this time. It held something new.

It had been a couple of weeks of this—long evenings in the library, Annie with her neat rows of notes, Elijah pretending to hate every second while slowly, grudgingly showing up. Tonight was no different. The library was quiet except for the faint buzz of the vents and the soft scratch of pencil on paper. Annie had assigned another set of practice problems, and Elijah bent over the notebook, lips moving faintly as he muttered the steps under his breath.

His brows furrowed, hoodie sleeves shoved up to his elbows, forearms flexing as he drew each arrow on the page. The pen looked almost too small in his hand, smudges of graphite streaking the heel of his palm. When he finally set it down, his breath escaped in a low rush.

“There,” he said, tapping the answer. “That’s it.”

Annie leaned across the table to check, her chair scraping softly against the floor. Her hair slipped forward across her cheek as she bent closer. Her chest gave the faintest skip when she realized—he had nailed it. Every bond, every electron arrow exactly in place.

“You got it,” she said, softer than she meant to.

Elijah leaned back in his chair with a slow exhale, the wood creaking as he stretched out, legs sliding long under the table until his knees nearly grazed hers. A grin spread across his mouth, lazy and satisfied. “Guess that means I deserve extra credit.”

Her head snapped up. “That’s not how this works.”

He tilted toward her, scooting his chair forward again, eyes glinting. “What, no gold star? No pat on the head?”

“Your reward,” Annie said crisply, “is not failing. Don’t get greedy.”

He chuckled low, shifting his weight onto one elbow and letting his shoulders dip toward her side of the table. “Too late.”

They worked in silence for a while—well, she worked, and he tried. Annie sat straight-backed, pen moving quick as she flipped pages, while Elijah slouched opposite her, chin propped in his palm like he was daring her to scold him. She caught him staring off at the ceiling once and smacked the eraser of her pencil against his paper.

“Focus.”

He groaned, letting his chair tip back a little before he rocked it forward again. “You ever let up?”

“Not when it matters. Now—explain the concept back to me. In your own words.”

Elijah stared at the page, then at her. “You serious?”

“Yes. Teach it back. That’s how you know if you understand it.”

He blew out a breath, dragging his palm down his face. “Alright… so… resonance is like…” He paused, leaning over the notebook again. Then his eyes flicked to her. “You ever watch football?”

“No.” She didn’t even blink.

His head tilted. “Not even once?”

“Not interested.”

He grinned, slow and amused, sinking lower into his chair like it was a throne. “Figures. Okay, look. Imagine a linebacker—me—covering two gaps. You can’t tell which one I’m about to hit until I commit. Both are options. That’s resonance. The molecule can exist in two places at once until it decides.”

Annie blinked. For a second she almost laughed, then shook her head. “That… is actually not the worst analogy I’ve heard.”

His grin widened. “You’re welcome.”

“But,” she added quickly, sliding her chair closer to the table as she flipped the paper around, “your molecule doesn’t commit. It exists as both. The real structure is a hybrid. Like if you—” She stopped, considering. “—like if you played both gaps at once.”

Elijah chuckled, low and warm. “That’s impossible.”

“Exactly. But in chemistry, that’s resonance. Hybridized. Spread out.” She tapped the paper with her pen. “Now does that stick better?”

He stared at her for a long beat, grin still tugging at his mouth. “You just used football to explain Orgo to me.”

“You made me,” she said dryly.

He leaned in a little, scooting forward until his chair legs scraped the floor. His arm rested on the table now, close enough for his sleeve to brush her notes. “Nah. You wanted to. You like talkin’ to me.”

Her throat tightened. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Not flattery,” he said, lazy and deliberate. “Observation. You’re softer with me than you think.”

Her brow furrowed. “That’s your imagination.”

He smirked faintly. “Mm. Keep tellin’ yourself that.”

The way he said it made her look up without meaning to. His eyes caught hers, measured and unhurried. This time he didn’t smirk—he just looked, quiet, unreadable, as if he could sit there all night.

Her pen slipped slightly in her hand, rolling against the page. Before she could recover, his long leg shifted under the table, knee sliding deliberately against hers. He didn’t move it.

Annie’s breath caught, pulse tripping at her wrist. She should’ve moved. She didn’t.

She was the one who broke first, clearing her throat as she glanced back down at the page. “Mechanism,” she muttered. “Page forty-three. Go.”

Elijah leaned back slowly, dragging his chair just far enough to sprawl again, the faintest curl at the corner of his mouth. “Mm. Thought so.”

Another week passed before their schedules lined up again. Annie had already spread her notes across the small study table in the back corner of the library, her chair pulled in close, posture neat as ever. Across from her, Elijah lounged with more space than the chair really allowed, one leg stretched out, the other angled so his knee pressed lightly against hers under the table.

The library had thinned out to almost nothing. The lights above their table buzzed softly, the hum of the air vents the only other sound. Annie flipped another problem toward him, sliding the notebook across the space between them—but her hand brushed his in the process.

He didn’t move right away. His hand stayed there, broad and warm against the paper, the faintest curl at the corner of his mouth.

“You shaking,” he murmured.

Annie snatched her hand back. “No I’m not.”

He leaned forward over the book, forearm braced against the table, his voice low for only her to hear. “You are. Every time you tell me to focus, every time you look away. I see it.”

She pressed her lips together, turning back to the open page. “We’re not doing this.”

“Mm.” He sat back just slightly, sprawling again like he had all the time in the world, but his knee slid firmer against hers under the table, deliberate this time. He didn’t pull back. “That’s what you keep sayin’.”

Her chest rose, tight with the air she was holding in. She turned her eyes up, ready to shut him down, but he was already watching her. The grin was gone. What replaced it was more intense, darker, his gaze fixed on her like he was memorizing her face.

The silence stretched until it pulled her in, until she forgot what problem she’d been trying to make him solve.

“Elijah—”

He pushed his chair forward in one smooth scrape, bracing a hand on the table as he leaned across the notebook, close enough for her breath to catch. “Say you don’t want it,” he said softly.

Her throat worked. She didn’t say it.

That was all it took.

His mouth claimed hers, rough at first, testing. The kiss tasted faintly of peppermint gum and something warmer, deeper. Annie should’ve pushed him away, should’ve reminded him this wasn’t what she was here for—but instead her hand fisted in the front of his hoodie, pulling him closer across the mess of notes.

The chair legs scraped louder as Elijah shoved closer, crowding into her space. One hand braced flat on the table to hold his weight, the other sliding over to grip her hip. Papers scattered to the floor in a soft rush. Annie’s hands flew to his chest like she meant to stop him, but instead her fingers curled into the fabric of his hoodie. Her breath came out shaky as he tugged, and she lifted just enough, hips shifting in reluctant rhythm with his pull until she was perched on the near edge of the table. The scrape of wood pressed at the backs of her thighs as he wedged himself between her knees, erasing the last of the space between them.

Her gasp broke against his mouth. “This—this is a terrible idea—”

“Best one I had all week,” he muttered against her lips, kissing her deeper, slower now, like he was savoring it.

Her hands clutched at his shoulders, feeling the strength beneath the cotton, the heat of him pressed between her knees. Every line she’d drawn in her mind blurred, burned, and then vanished altogether.

“Elijah—” she whispered again, breathless, but this time it wasn’t a warning.

He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “Told you. Don’t fold easy. But you still fold for me.”

Her glare should’ve landed, but her pulse betrayed her, thudding wild in her throat.

And then his mouth was on hers again, hungrier now, as if the weeks of banter and stubborn clashes had been nothing but foreplay to this moment.

Her back hit the cool table, the rest of the papers sliding to the floor in a hushed scatter. The sound barely registered — all Annie could feel was Elijah pressing into her, his mouth rough against hers, his weight crowding her in until her body arched without permission.

She pushed at his chest, breathless. “We can’t—this isn’t—someone could walk in—”

Elijah leaned in closer, his breath hot against her ear. “Ain’t nobody here but us. You think I don’t pay attention? Whole place been empty for twenty minutes. Just me. Just you.”

Her pulse jumped, torn between the rush of fear at being caught and the profound rush pooling low in her stomach.

“You’re reckless,” she whispered, eyes flicking toward the far row of empty shelves.

He smirked, pressing his forehead briefly to hers. “Maybe. Or maybe I just know what I want.”

He caught her wrist mid-motion of her pushing at his chest, not hard, just enough to anchor her hand against his chest where his heartbeat thudded steady under her palm. His voice came low, pitched for her alone, calm in a way that made her shiver. “Tell me no and I’ll stop.”

Her throat worked, lips parting, but the word didn’t come.

That was all it took. His mouth crushed hers again, deeper, slower this time, tongue teasing until she moaned into him, betraying herself. His hand slid from her wrist to her hip, thumb dragging along the sensitive dip of her waist, fingers spreading until he could grip her firmly enough to make her arch against him.

“Thought so,” he murmured against her lips, his breath hot, words carrying the smug curl of someone who knew he’d won. “All that talk like you can handle me. But you feel me—” his hand pressed lower, gripping the outside of her thigh, “—and you fold.”

Her glare wavered, breaking on a gasp when his hand pushed higher under her skirt. “Shut up,” she whispered, nails digging into his hoodie, dragging him closer instead of pushing him away.

His chuckle rolled through his chest, vibrating against her. “Make me.”

Her answer was another kiss, harder, teeth clashing before melting into something hungry. She gasped when his hand slid further, rough fingertips brushing the thin cotton of her underwear, tracing the heat he found there.

“Elijah—” her voice broke, caught between warning and want.

“You taste better when you say my name,” he muttered against her jaw, lips dragging down to her neck. He pressed a slow kiss just beneath her ear before sucking gently, tongue soothing over the sting when her breath stuttered. “See? All that fight, but you let me in anyway.”

Her hips moved without her permission, pressing against the hard line of him through his sweats. Her gasp spilled into his mouth when he ground into her deliberately, slow, letting her feel every inch of him.

He pulled back enough to meet her eyes. His were darker now, almost unreadable, but there was no grin. Just heat. “You want me to stop?”

The silence between them stretched. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. And that silence was enough.

His mouth claimed hers again, gentler at first, coaxing, then hungrier as her body softened against him. His hand slid between her thighs again, knuckles grazing her soaked panties before he hooked the fabric aside, exposing her to the cool air. She shivered, then moaned when his fingers found her bare, slick folds, teasing her clit with slow, deliberate strokes.

“Fuck,” he whispered, almost reverent, his forehead brushing hers as his fingers teased her through cotton. “Already wet for me, huh?”

Her face burned, but her body betrayed her—hips tilting into his touch, thighs trembling around his hand.

“Elijah—” she tried again, but the plea melted into a moan when his finger pressed firmer, circling slowly.

“Say it,” he coaxed, voice like smoke, rough and soft at once. “Say you want me.”

Her resolve cracked, breaking under the weight of sensation. “I want you.”

That was all he needed. His hoodie and undershirt came off in one swift tug, tossed carelessly somewhere behind him, revealing the hard planes of his chest, the faint sheen of sweat on his skin. Her blouse was next, buttons popping as he shoved it open, too impatient to bother with finesse. 

His mouth found her tittie through the thin lace of her bra, teeth scraping over her nipple before he sucked hard, the wet heat of his tongue making her cry out, her back arching off the table.

“God,” she gasped, her head falling back.

He lifted his head just enough to look at her flushed face, her chest heaving. His smirk curved slow. “Sound good beggin’. Didn’t think you had that in you.”

“Shut up,” she panted, but her protest dissolved into a moan when he yanked her bra down, exposing her to his mouth. His tongue swirled over her bare nipple, sucking hard enough to make her squirm, her hips bucking against the table.

“Mm,” he hummed against her skin. “Keep tellin’ me to shut up. Just makes me wanna hear more.”

His hand slid back between her thighs, pushing her panties aside completely. His fingers traced her slick folds, parting her slowly before slipping one thick finger inside, curling deep. Her walls clenched around him, a sharp cry tearing from her throat as he pumped slowly, then added a second finger, stretching her until her thighs quaked.

“Damn,” he drawled. “Talk all that shit, but you open up for me like this.”

Her face burned hotter, nails digging into his hoodie. “Elijah—”

“Yeah, keep sayin’ it,” he rasped. “So tight. Fuck.”

She bit her lip, trying to stifle the sounds clawing up her throat, but his fingers curled again, hitting a spot that made her hips jerk, a loud moan spilling free.

“Don’t hold it,” he murmured, lips brushing her ear as his fingers curled inside her, hitting deep. “Let me hear you.”

Her cry echoed through the empty library, too loud, too raw. His mouth covered hers, swallowing the sound, his tongue mimicking the rhythm of his fingers as she clenched tighter, her body trembling on the edge.

Her head fell back, hair spilling across the table, every muscle taut as he worked her until her body shook.

“Elijah—please—” she gasped, grabbing at his wrist, torn between wanting more and not being able to take it.

He stilled, eyes locking on hers, pupils blown wide with lust. “Say what you want. Don’t play.”

Her lips trembled. Finally: “I want you. Now.”

His grin turned feral. He pulled his fingers free, slick with her, and brought them to his mouth, sucking them clean, savoring the taste. “You taste so good,” he muttered, eyes locked on hers as he licked every drop.”

Her breath hitched, her core throbbing at the sight. He shoved his sweats down just enough, freeing his cock—thick, hard, and already leaking as it pressed against her thigh. He dragged himself along her slit, coating himself in her wetness, teasing until she whimpered.

“Elijah, please—”

“Yeah,” he growled, lining up. “That’s it. Beg for me.”

He pushed in slow, stretching her inch by agonizing inch, her walls fluttering around his thickness, her cry broke out in the quiet space, stretching around him until tears stung her eyes at the overwhelming fullness. He cursed, grip bruising at her hips. “Fuck—you’re so tight, takin’ me like you were made for it.”

Her nails raked down his back. “Move—” she begged, her voice ragged.

And he did. Hard, deep, relentless. The table rattling with each thrust. Pens clattered to the floor, paper scattered around them, none of it mattered. He drove into her like all their fights and stubbornness had been foreplay, like he’d been waiting for this exact moment to claim her.

Every time she moaned his name, his grin flashed, his voice breaking rough. “Told you. All that fight, but you folded, takin’ my dick like you’ve been waitin’ for it.”

“Not—fuck—not folding,” she moaned, clutching tighter. But her body betrayed her, every clench pulling him deeper, dragging groans from his chest.

His laugh was low, dirty, his lips brushing her ear. “Keep tellin’ yourself that.” He angled his hips, hitting a spot that made her cry out, her nails digging into his back as pleasure sparked white-hot through her.

His mouth found hers again, swallowing her moans as their rhythm grew frantic, her body trembling as she neared the edge. His hand slipped between them, fingers finding her clit, rubbing tight circles until her thighs shook, her climax crashing over her like a wave. She came with a broken cry, her walls pulsing around him, milking him as her body shuddered beneath him.

“Fuck,” he groaned, thrusting through her orgasm, his rhythm faltering as he chased his own release. His hips jerked, and he spilled inside her, a low curse muffled against her neck as he rode out the aftershocks.

For a long moment, the library was silent except for their ragged breathing, the air saturated with the scent of sweat and sex.

Elijah leaned into her, sweat dampening his chest, lips brushing her temple almost without thought. “Best fuckin’ tutoring session I ever had had.”

Annie swatted at him weakly, her body still trembling. “You’re… aggravating.”

He chuckled, kissing the corner of her jaw. “Yeah. But you like it.”

The table was a mess. Papers scattered across the floor, Annie’s highlighters rolling near the leg of the chair, Elijah’s hoodie and undershirt tossed over the backrest. Her blouse hung half-buttoned, hair mussed from his hands.

Annie sat perched on the edge of the table, breathing hard, thighs still trembling as she tried to tug her skirt back into place. Elijah leaned against the table beside her, sweats hanging loose on his hips, chest rising and falling as he dragged a hand over his face.

Neither spoke for a long moment. The library’s hum filled the silence, almost loud in the aftermath of everything they’d just done.

Finally, Annie cleared her throat. “This—” Her voice cracked, and she tried again, firmer. “This doesn’t mean anything.”

Elijah turned his head, eyes on her. His grin was slow, lazy, pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Could’ve fooled me.”

She glared at him, cheeks still burning. “I’m serious. You still have a final to pass. That’s why we’re here.”

He leaned closer, not touching her, just letting his presence crowd the space again. “I hear you. But I also remember you beggin’ me to move a minute ago.”

Her face flushed hotter. “You’re aggravating.”

He chuckled, the sound low, rolling. “Yeah, you said that already.”

She busied herself with gathering her notes, hands shaking slightly as she shoved papers into her bag. “This was… a mistake. It won’t happen again.”

He reached out, fingers brushing her wrist, stopping her for just a second. “You sure about that?”

Her eyes snapped up, caught in his stare. It wasn’t mocking this time. Not smug. Just that quiet intensity that always made her pulse trip.

Annie was the one to look away first. She tugged her arm free. “Tomorrow. Same time. Don’t be late.”

Elijah smirked, grabbing his hoodie and shirt off the chair. “Yes, ma’am.” He tugged it over his head, voice muffled as he added, “I’ll even bring my book this time. Since I got somethin’ to work for now.”

Her chest tightened at the weight in his tone, the suggestion buried inside it. She tried to ignore it, stuffing her pens into her bag.

As they walked out of the library together, the distance between them felt charged, every brush of his shoulder against hers reminding her what had just happened.

At the door, he paused, hand braced against the frame. “Annie.”

She looked up despite herself.

He smiled faintly, softer than before. “Don’t pretend you don’t like me. You’ll wear yourself out.”

Before she could answer, he pushed the door open and disappeared into the night air, leaving her standing in the quiet with her heart racing.

Annie exhaled, muttering to herself, “He’s not worth the trouble.”

But the truth pressed in, undeniable—he already was.

The shelves were tall enough to hide them but not tall enough to erase the risk. Annie’s back hit the wood with a dull thud as Elijah pressed her there, one hand sliding up her thigh, shoving her dress high until cool air kissed her bare skin.

“Elijah—” she hissed, eyes darting down the aisle. The faint shuffle of someone reshelving books echoed far off.

“Shh,” he murmured, mouth dragging along her throat, his breath hot, teeth grazing just enough to make her shiver. His other hand clamped over her mouth when her gasp came too loud as he pushed inside her, the stretch deep and sudden.

Her eyes flew wide, nails biting into his shoulders. He groaned low against her ear. “Fuck, Annie. You tryin’ to get us caught?”

She shook her head, muffled against his palm, her hips tilting up to meet his thrust.

The books rattled softly in their shelves with every movement. His pace was ruthless—quick, hard strokes, like he couldn’t help himself now that he had her. Her legs locked around his waist, anchoring him, dragging him deeper. Every time she whimpered into his hand, his grin curved against her neck.

“Qui-et,” he rasped, voice rough and halting as his thrusts snapped harder, “or they’ll—fuck—know exactly what I’m doin’ to you.”

Her body quaked, caught between panic and pleasure. Her hands fisted in his hoodie, dragging him closer, smothering her own cries against his mouth when he kissed her rough and fast. The smell of old paper and floor wax filled the air, mixing with the musk of sweat and sex.

“Elijahhh ,” she gasped against his lips when he let her breathe. Her voice trembled, need blurring her words.

“Say my—name again,” he growled, voice ragged, fucking her harder, each word punctuated by a sharp breath. The wet slap of their bodies echoed, deafening in the hushed maze of shelves.

She whimpered it, again and again, until her body broke, orgasm tearing through her with enough force to make her bite down on his shoulder to muffle the cry. Her whole body shook against him, thighs quivering.

His thrusts slowed, then slammed in deep one last time as he groaned into her neck, spilling inside her, his breath ragged. For a long moment, they clung to each other, pressed tight in the aisle.

Reality snapped back like a slap. Footsteps creaked closer—someone heading past the rows. Annie shoved at his chest, whispering hoarse. “We—we have to stop—”

He pulled out quick, tugging his sweats back into place, one hand steadying her while she yanked her dress down, fumbling with the buttons at the top which she mismatched in her rush. 

By the time they slipped back toward their table, trying to look casual, Professor Kline was already standing there. Arms folded. Expression unreadable.

Annie’s stomach dropped. Elijah straightened instinctively, trying not to look winded.

“Evening,” Professor Kline said, voice clipped, eyes flicking between them. “I see you two found the time to study.”

Annie’s brain scrambled. She snatched up the open book off the desk, holding it like a shield. “I was just… grabbing a reference text from the shelf. I thought it might help.”

Kline’s brow lifted but she didn’t push. Her gaze settled on Elijah. “Finals are fast approaching, Mr. Moore. I trust you’re ready? Because let me be very clear—if you fail, there is nothing your coaches, teammates, family, or reputation can do. Your playing career depends on this.”

Elijah swallowed hard, jaw tight, and gave a short nod. “Yes, ma’am.”

Professor Kline’s eyes lingered a moment longer, then she looked back at Annie—something almost like disapproval, or expectation, in her expression. “I’ll leave you to it.” And with that, she turned and walked away, heels clicking against the tile.

The silence she left behind was crushing. Annie dropped the book on the table, the smack louder than she intended. Her hands trembled as she shoved her notes into her bag.

Elijah leaned closer, lowering his voice. “We played that shit off—”

“Don’t.” Her voice cracked, then steadied. “Just don’t.”

He blinked, taken aback. “What—”

“This was a mistake,” Annie snapped, stuffing pens into her bag. “All of it. I don’t know what the hell I was thinkin’.”

“Annie—”

“No!” She turned on him, eyes flashing. “Professor Kline trusted me. She gave me this assignment because she thought I was responsible, because she thought I could help you. And instead I’m…” Her breath hitched, anger and shame twisting together. “I’m fucking you in the corner of the library like some fuckin’ groupie. Like none of this matters.”

Elijah’s jaw flexed, his chest tight. “It matters.”

She laughed, bitterly. “Not the way it should. I’ve given you everything—notes, practice problems, explanations until I’m blue in the face. I handed you the tools. But this—” She shoved her notebook into her bag with shaking hands. “This can’t happen again. I can’t keep tutoring you.”

“You serious?” His voice dropped lower, rougher. “After everything—”

“Yes.” Annie’s voice broke as she shoved her notebook into her bag. “We can’t do this anymore. You pass your stupid final, then we’re done. We don’t talk, we don’t see each other again.”

Elijah stepped closer, heat rolling off him. “You sayin’ all that like you don’t want me. Like you weren’t just—”

Her hand shot up, trembling but fierce. “Don’t finish that sentence.”

For a moment, something raw flickered in his eyes—hurt, real and open. But then he smothered it, letting a smirk curl at his mouth instead, his voice flattening into something cruel.

“Fine. You right.” He let out a humorless laugh, voice cutting low. “I just needed a nut anyway. You served your purpose.”

The words landed like a punch. Annie froze, disbelief flashing across her face before it twisted into fury. Her hand came up fast—the crack of the slap echoed down the aisle, turning a few heads.

Her chest heaved. “Fuck you,” she spat, voice shaking.

Elijah’s cheek burned from the hit, but his reply came quick, cruel, a defense that hurt him even as he said it. “You already did that.”

Annie flinched like he’d hit her back. Tears welled, spilling before she could stop them. She yanked her bag over her shoulder and stormed off down the aisle, the sound of her footsteps loud and uneven.

“Fuck!” Elijah roared after her, the word ricocheting off the high ceilings. A few students turned, startled, whispering.

He dragged a hand down his face, cursing again under his breath, then snatched his bag off the chair and slung it over his shoulder. By the time he shoved through the library doors, Annie was gone.

And for the first time in a long time, Elijah Moore—Smoke—felt like he’d been the one left behind.

Snow clung to Annie’s boots as she trudged across the quad, breath puffing white in the frigid air. She kept her scarf pulled high, head ducked, hoping to slip into class unnoticed. The last thing she needed was to bump into—

Her stomach dropped. Professor Kline, bundled in her long coat, was walking straight toward her.

Annie’s first instinct was to veer off the path, but there was no room—Kline was locked on her. Heart hammering, Annie braced herself.

Before the professor could say a word, Annie blurted, “Professor, I’m sorry. I know I let you down. I really tried to help Elijah and I really thought he was getting it, but I guess not. I’m sorry.”

Kline’s brows pinched, confusion flickering across her face. “Annie… what are you talking about? Elijah Moore passed his final. With a B.”

Annie froze. “What?”

Kline nodded, a rare smile tugging at her mouth. “He pulled through. Honestly, I was shocked at how well he did. I knew you were a good tutor, but I didn’t know you were that good.” She reached out and gave Annie’s shoulder a squeeze, warm against the winter chill. “You have a gift, Annie. Don’t waste it.”

Annie’s face burned, heat flooding her chest despite the snow drifting around them. She muttered a quick thank you, but Kline was already moving past, leaving her standing stunned, elated—and heartbroken all at once. Elijah had passed. She’d done her job. But she’d also lost him.

Hours later, Annie was still curled in her usual corner of the library, lost in her notes until the clock startled her—it was past midnight. She packed in a rush and stepped outside, the cold biting at her cheeks as snow crunched beneath her boots.

The campus was quiet as she crossed the courtyard, the campus lights glowing against the tall brick of her dorm. Most windows were dark at this hour. She climbed the steps, tugged open the heavy front door, and slipped into the hushed hallway.

Warm air fogged her breath as she walked down the corridor toward her room, key already in hand. But when she neared her door, she stopped breathing.

Elijah was there—leaning against the wall beside her door, hood pulled up, hands buried in the pockets of his black Nike sweatsuit. He looked good—too good—and completely out of place in the silent dorm hall.

Her voice came out smaller than she meant. “Elijah? What are you doing here?”

He smirked faintly. “I came to see you.”

Annie’s throat went dry. “Why?”

His eyes softened. “I heard you was askin’ about me. Thought I should show up.”

Her stomach flipped. She had asked—quietly, carefully, in passing. Before hearing from Professor Kline. A couple weeks ago she’d worked up the nerve to slip his name into conversations, though not his real one. Smoke. That’s what people called him. She’d asked if anyone knew how he did on the final, if he was still enrolled, still around. But her circle of friends barely noticed athletics; they couldn’t tell her a thing. And Annie didn’t run with the crowds who lived for football either, so every time she opened her mouth it felt like prying into a world she didn’t belong to.

Eventually, she gave up—told herself he was gone, that he’d failed, that it was better not to know.

Now here he was, standing at her door.

She swallowed hard, words tumbling out. “I… I heard you passed. Congratulations.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you,” he said simply. “All those nights—you drillin’ me, not lettin’ me slide. You saved me, Annie. For real.”

She opened her mouth to brush it off, but he went on, voice lower now. “And… about the way things ended… I’m sorry. I said shit I shouldn’t have. Didn’t mean any of it.”

Her heart twisted. “No, Elijah. I should be the one apologizing. I let things get too far, and I didn’t handle it right.”

His eyes searched hers. “So… you regret it?”

The pause stretched. Then, softly: “No.”

His chest rose with a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “You miss me?”

Her gaze held his, trembling at the edges. “Yes.”

For a moment, neither of them moved. The dorm hall was silent, just the faint hum of the heater and the snow tapping against the window down the corridor. Elijah’s hand twitched at his side, like he was fighting the urge. His voice came low, almost uncertain. “Tell me if I’m wrong to want this.”

Annie’s lips parted, her answer barely above a whisper. “You’re not wrong.”

He stepped closer, the hallway shrinking around them. The kiss was tentative at first, cautious. Then it deepened, his hand cupping her cheek, hers clutching his hoodie like she was afraid he’d vanish again.

He pulled back just enough to murmur, “I didn’t come here for this. I just wanted to see you. Talk.”

Her lips parted. The last thing she wanted was for him to leave. “Do you… want to come in?”

He glanced at her door, then back at her. “It’s late. Pretty sure your roommate wouldn’t be cool wit it.”

A shy smile tugged at her mouth. “I don’t have a roommate. She didn’t come back after break.”

Right then, Elijah’s smirk turned hungry.

The door had barely clicked shut before Annie was in his arms, mouths colliding, hungry and messy. Elijah kicked his sneakers off with impatient swipes of his feet, tugged his hoodie over his head in one rough motion, and tossed it aside. She backed him toward the bed, her hands already pulling at the waistband of his sweats.

Clothes fell in a scattered trail—the scrape of zippers, the snap of buttons, the whisper of fabric hitting the floor. By the time he sank onto the mattress, bare chest gleaming in the low llight, Annie was straddling his lap in nothing but her bra and panties, breath ragged.

“Fuck,” he muttered, eyes dragging over her curves. “Been thinkin’ about this every damn night.”

Heat flooded her face, but instead of shying away she reached behind, unclasped her bra, and let it slip from her arms. His breath caught as her full breasts spilled free, and his hands came up instantly, cupping them, squeezing, thumbs brushing across her nipples until they hardened under his touch.

“Elijah,” she whispered, rocking against the thick bulge straining his briefs.

He gritted his teeth, voice rough. “Don’t tease me, Annie. You know what I want.”

She shivered at the command, heat curling low in her belly. Sliding off his lap just enough, she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties and eased them down her thighs, the lace dragging slow over her skin before she kicked them aside. Elijah’s eyes followed every movement, dark and hungry, chest rising harder with each second.

Her fingers moved next to his briefs, curling into the waistband. She tugged them down over his hips, freeing him fully—thick, hot, heavy in her hand. Her palm wrapped around him, stroking once, twice, slick precum glistening at the tip.

He groaned, the sound guttural, his head tipping back for a moment before he looked at her again. “Fuck… Annie.”

Then she sank down on him in one slow, aching slide.

“Elijah!” she cried out, clutching his shoulders as he stretched her wide, filling her until her thighs shook.

His grip clamped tight on her hips, holding her there for a beat, savoring the squeeze of her around him. He looked up at her, eyes dark, voice low and certain. “Goddamn. You feel so good. Move for me, baby.”

She obeyed, lifting and rolling her hips, rising and sinking again. Each glide pulled a groan from his chest. The rhythm built—faster, rougher—her thighs burning as she rode him, her breasts bouncing with every thrust.

Elijah leaned forward, mouth closing over one breast, sucking hard until she gasped. His tongue flicked over her nipple, teasing it wet and swollen before he bit down just enough to make her moan. He groaned around her, like he couldn’t get enough, then moved to the other, taking it deep into his mouth, sucking noisily, hungrily.

Annie grabbed the back of his head, pressing him closer, nails digging into his scalp. “Elijah—oh God—”

He pulled back just long enough to murmur against her skin, “You taste so good. These—” his lips closed around her again, sucking her nipple until her back arched, “—been wantin’ these in my mouth since the first night.”

Her hips snapped harder against him, chasing the deep grind of his cock inside her. He met her every thrust, driving up into her, hitting the spot that made her cry out.

“Annie,” he rasped, lips shiny with her, his hands kneading her breasts. “You ridin’ the fuck outta me like you own it. You takin’ all my dick.”

And she did—glanced down at the wet slide of him disappearing inside her, reappearing, over and over. The sight alone nearly undid her.

Her pace faltered, thighs trembling, but Elijah gripped her waist and thrust up hard, keeping the rhythm. “Don’t stop. You close? Let me feel you.”

Her moans turned frantic, high and broken, her nails raking down his chest. Her body clenched tight around him, the orgasm tearing through her, white-hot. She cried out, but he swallowed it with his mouth, kissing her rough and deep as she came.

The squeeze of her walls dragged him over the edge with her. He cursed into her mouth, hips snapping up hard as he spilled deep inside, groaning her name like a prayer.

For a long moment, they clung together, slick with sweat, trembling, their breathing loud in the quiet dorm room.

Finally, Annie sagged forward, burying her face in his neck, voice hoarse. “I missed you so much.”

His arms wrapped around her, strong and certain, his lips brushing her temple. “Ain’t lettin’ you go again.”

For a beat they just breathed together, hearts still racing, the room warm with the weight of everything between them. Then Annie pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, a small, tired smile tugging at her mouth.

“Well,” she whispered, her voice still shaky but laced with teasing, “I guess… you finally got your extra credit.”

Elijah blinked, then let out a low laugh that shook through his chest. Annie started laughing too, muffled against his shoulder.

They stayed like that—sweaty, tangled, laughing softly in the dark—until the laughter faded into silence, and only the comfort of being together again remained.

The End.

Tag List:

@partylikemajima @brownskincheyenne @lizbehave @anniensmoke3 @margepimpson @brownsugarcoffy @aellesa @lilblckraincloud @hdfen2474 @magnifique2be @lb-xci @loveabledovee @milkywayzard @katezy2x @nicanotnika @wakandamama @numb1smokeanniestan @sunshinerepublic @pennopencil @shereeluvssinners @chknnwffls @underated345-blog @thefutureemmywinner @shamansha @tnychellee @blue4everrsworld @girlmath101 @bananajoeclone @ayishia101 @summrsovrinterlude @mmbee675 @lestatthelioncourt @nyifly22 @storiesbyasl @thebumblebeesworld @thedutifulone @theegyal @cocoagadgetsworld @hotebonynearby

[brownskincheyenne]

Ohhhhhh I love college au and I’m glad the writers are writting them for Annie x smoke !!! When I say my legs got to shaking from how my girl was riding .. was having flash backs of last night 😭😭😭!! Alexa Play drake “she rode that 🍆 like a solider .. she rode it like a solider.. you don’t wanna fall in love .. ik ! I’m not someone you can trust .. IK” yessssssss yall come get into it !!

[moth2flamewriting]

Hey yall,

I just want to truly apologize for the projects still sitting in drafts. 😭😭 I truly am working hard to push them all out 😊 I won't make an promises but they are all coming.

I am still madly in love with these characters and literally cannot let them go😭🖤

[kkbeauty86]

Chapter 1 (pt.2)

“Come & Talk To Me”

Before Annie knows it, she’s already tying on her apron and clocking in.

Tonight, Michelle has something different planned for her.

Instead of shadowing a server, she pairs Annie with one of the hosts.

“I want all my servers cross-trained,” Michelle explains. “You never know when somebody gon call in or when we get slammed. Everybody needs to know how to do a little bit of everything.”

Annie nods.

“Okay.”

For most of the night, she stays up front learning the host stand.

The host shows her how to read the floor chart and keep track of which servers have tables and which sections are full.

At first the chart looks confusing.

Circles. Squares. Numbers.

Server names scribbled everywhere.

But after a while it starts making sense.

“See?” the host says. “You don’t wanna keep seating the same section over and over. You gotta spread the tables out.”

Annie nods.

“Okay, I get it.”

She learns how to estimate wait times, answer the phone, greet guests, and organize the rotation.

The work is steady enough to keep her busy but not nearly as chaotic as serving.

Every now and then she catches herself looking toward the kitchen.

Listening to the familiar sounds.

The cooks yelling across the line.

The fryers hissing.

Plates clattering through the galley.

A small part of her wishes she was back there.

Not because she liked the heat.

Or the noise.

But because she liked watching everything move.

Liked the energy of it.

And if she was being completely honest…

She liked seeing Smoke.

Though she’d never admit that out loud.

Still, the change of pace is nice.

After spending all afternoon helping with her younger siblings, it feels good to be somewhere that doesn’t require her to break up arguments, check homework, or answer a hundred questions every five minutes.

For a few hours she gets to just be Annie.

Not a babysitter.

Not a stand-in parent.

Just Annie.

And she realizes how much she needed that.

By the end of the shift, her feet ache, but she’s smiling.

Work is quickly becoming her favorite part of the day.

🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆

Smoke pulls up to his twin brother Stack’s house in the 50’s.

The neighborhood is alive.

Music spills from open windows.

Kids ride bikes up and down the block even though the streetlights are already on.

A dog barks somewhere in the distance.

The smell of barbecue smoke and freshly cut grass hangs in the humid Kansas City air.

Everybody is outside.

Just like always.

When Smoke pulls up, there’s a whole bunch of niggas crowded across Stack’s porch.

Some sitting on the railing.

Some standing.

Some leaning against the columns.

Talking loud.

Laughing louder.

Passing around ideas that usually ended with somebody in handcuffs.

Smoke shuts his truck door and heads toward the house.

As soon as he steps onto the porch, everybody starts greeting him.

“What’s up, Smoke?”

“Sup, bro?”

“What it do?”

Smoke nods at everybody.

Stack stands up from the porch railing.

“Sup nigga?”

“Sup. What y’all niggas doin?”

“Nothin, bro. Tryna hit a lick.”

Smoke immediately shakes his head.

Of course.

“What y’all tryna do now?”

“There a big ass house out in Belton we saw. We tryna hit that muthafucka.”

Smoke sucks his teeth.

“Belton?”

“Yeah nigga. Belton.”

“That’s hot. Y’all gon stick the fuck out.”

Stack shakes his head confidently.

“Nah. We already been in Raymore and was successful.”

Smoke just stares.

No point.

Ain’t no use trying to talk sense into Stack.

There never was.

Stack listened to exactly one person.

Himself.

And even then it was questionable.

One of Stack’s friends, Ramon, cuts in.

“Bro, we gon be good.”

Smoke cuts his eyes at him.

“You always encouraging the stupid shit he plan out.”

Ramon immediately goes quiet.

Stack laughs.

“We doin that shit. I don’t give a fuck what nobody says.”

That was Stack.

Always had been.

Fearless.

Or maybe just reckless.

Smoke still wasn’t sure.

The two brothers couldn’t have been more different.

They shared the same face.

Same height. Same smile.

But that was where the similarities ended.

Smoke moved with purpose.

Every move he made had a reason behind it.

He worked. Saved money.

Made plans.

Thought ahead.

Stack lived for the moment.

If attention was in the room, he wanted all of it.

Good attention. Bad attention.

Didn’t matter.

He dressed better than everybody.

Talked louder than everybody.

Wanted everybody looking at him at all times.

Women especially.

And women loved him.

Hell, Smoke couldn’t even deny it.

Stack was a charmer.

Always flashing those deep dimples.

Always smiling. Always talking.

Always selling a dream.

He could walk into a room full of strangers and leave with everybody laughing.

The problem was…

He didn’t have much direction.

No real goals.

No ambitions beyond making money and having fun.

As long as the streets kept paying, Stack was content.

Meanwhile Smoke was already thinking about life beyond this.

About being a chef.

About school

About ownership.

About getting out.

A car full of niggas suddenly rides past slow.

Everybody on the porch notices.

The energy shifts immediately.

Conversations stop.

Heads turn.

The car creeps by.

The men inside stare.

The men on the porch stare right back.

Nobody says anything.

The tension hangs there.

Heavy.

Then the car keeps moving.

Stack shakes his head.

“Man, it’s fonk season. These niggas better act like they got some sense.”

A few of the homies laugh.

Stack looks back toward the house.

“Monica in there.”

Smoke glances at him.

“Yeah?”

“She off today.”

“Cool.”

Smoke walks inside.

Monica was Stack’s baby mama’s sister.

The twins met both sisters one afternoon at Swope Park.

One conversation turned into another.

And eventually everybody started messing with everybody.

Smoke and Monica never made anything official.

Never even discussed it.

They had an understanding.

They enjoyed each other’s company.

Spent time together.

Looked out for one another.

And fulfilled needs when they felt like it.

That was it.

At least that’s what Monica told herself.

Stack’s situation was completely different.

He got Korrie pregnant.

Now they lived together.

And they were toxic as hell.

Stack couldn’t stop cheating if he wanted to.

And Korrie couldn’t stop retaliating.

Every argument started the same way.

Another woman.

Another accusation.

Another explosion.

Then somehow they always ended up right back together.

Monica was different. Calmer.

Thank God.

Because Smoke couldn’t deal with all that loud shit.

He dealt with enough of it through Stack.

Even though Monica was different from her sister, she was still from the same hood. With no ambition, no goals.

Only thing she wanted to do was hang out on the block or go out with her friends every other day.

Truthfully, Smoke wasn’t looking to settle down with anybody.

Not Monica. Not nobody.

He had too much shit he was trying to accomplish.

Too many goals. Too many plans.

And every woman he met seemed more interested in what he had than where he was headed.

An hour later…

Smoke and Monica are stretched out across the bed.

The television hums quietly in the background.

A box fan rattles in the corner.

Outside, somebody’s music vibrates through the neighborhood.

Monica lays beside him staring at the ceiling.

“Man, Stack and Korrie been getting on my fuckin nerves.”

Smoke doesn’t say anything.

“The poor baby just be in the middle of them arguing. You need to tell yo brother to chill.”

Smoke finally nods.

“I have.”

A few seconds pass.

“I don’t know what you want me to say. He don’t listen and Korrie ain’t no saint either.”

Monica clicks her tongue.

“I ain’t say she was. But Stack always in some hoe face. Then when my sister do it, he blow his top.”

“Stack a grown ass man.”

Smoke shrugs.

“I’m done tryna tell him what to do. He just do the opposite. And all that arguing they do is pointless. They gon turn around and still be together.”

Monica rolls her eyes.

Because she knows he’s right.

“Anyway…”

She turns toward him.

“I called you the other night. You ain’t call me back.”

Smoke stays quiet.

Monica already knows what that means.

“Hello?” she says. “I’m talkin to you.”

Smoke finally looks over.

“Don’t start that shit, Monica.”

Monica sighs.

And lets it go.

Because this is what Smoke does.

He disappears.

Shows up when he wants.

Leaves when he wants.

Never makes promises.

Never explains himself.

The frustrating part was…

She actually liked him.

Way more than she would ever admit.

But she hides it well.

Too well.

Because admitting it would only make her look foolish.

Smoke wasn’t the type to be tied down.

Everybody knew that.

“So can I get fifty dollars to get my nails and toes done?”

Smoke closes his eyes.

Here we go.

“We goin’ to the Starlight to see Ludacris.”

Smoke grows annoyed.

Not because of the fifty dollars.

Because she always asked.

Every single time.

If he offered, cool.

But Monica had gotten comfortable asking.

A little too comfortable.

“I guess.”

He reaches into his pocket.

“You always want something.”

Monica smirks.

“So? You got it. Stop acting like it’s a problem.”

Smoke pulls a roll of money from his jeans.

Hands her forty.

She snatches it.

Smoke gives her a look.

Monica laughs.

“So mean.”

She stuffs the money away.

Then grins.

“Me and my girls wanna come up to yo job. Can you hook us up?”

Immediately Smoke thinks about Annie.

The way she stole glances across the line.

The way they stared at each other the other night.

And just like that his answer is made.

“No.”

Monica blinks.

“No?”

“No. That’s where I draw the line.”

Smoke shakes his head.

“I ain’t hooking up nobody.”

“Damn. It’s like that?”

“Hell yeah it’s like that.”

His tone leaves no room for discussion.

“That’s my fuckin job. Don’t come up to my job at all. I keep that separate. You know that shit.”

Monica grows quiet.

She knows he means it.

Before she can respond, yelling erupts from the living room.

Both of them pause.

Then Monica groans.

“Here they fuckin go.”

They get up and head toward the front room.

Sure enough.

Korrie is standing nose-to-nose with Stack.

Furious.

“Some bitch calling the house phone playing and shit, Stack!”

Stack throws his hands up.

“You giving these hoes the house phone number now?!”

Stack sucks his teeth.

“I ain’t giving out shit!”

Stack points at her.

“I don’t know what you talking about! It’s probably one of them bitch ass niggas you be fuckin wit!”

Korrie lunges.

Tries to swing.

Stack blocks it.

“Bitch, you always tryna hit somebody!”

He steps back.

“Now when I knock yo ass out don’t say shit!”

Smoke immediately steps in.

Grabs Stack.

Pulls him toward the front door.

Monica grabs Korrie.

Trying to calm her down.

Outside, Smoke and Stack’s friends gather around him.

Talking him down.

Keeping him from going back inside.

Smoke rubs his face.

Sick of it.

All of it.

The drama.

The chaos.

The constant stupidity.

As the yelling continues inside the house, Smoke looks out toward the city lights in the distance.

And for the first time that night, he finds himself thinking about somewhere else.

Something bigger.

A different life.

A different future.

Something beyond these porches, these arguments, and these blocks.

Something more.

🦞🦀🦞🦀🦞🦀🦞🦀🦞🦀🦞🦀🦞🦀🦞🦀

One week later…

It’s a Friday night.

The dinner rush is finally over.

The restaurant smells like seafood, grease, dishwater, and biscuits.

Servers are cashing out.

The kitchen is quieter now.

Annie and Meagan sit in a booth rolling silverware.

Meagan’s phone rings.

She immediately answers.

“Hello… Yeah I’m coming Saul… No don’t leave… Here I come.”

Annie already knows that tone.

Meagan huffs dramatically.

“I gotta go. You can finish these right?”

Annie’s mouth drops open.

They’ve barely started.

There’s still two entire tubs sitting on the table.

She wants to say absolutely not.

But instead she nods.

“Yeah. I got it.”

“Thanks.”

Meagan throws a ten-dollar bill onto the table and disappears.

Annie sighs.

“Lord.”

She starts rolling alone.

A few minutes later she hears Michelle and Smoke coming from the kitchen.

“Man, I need you to get on Brandon’s ass,” Smoke says. “He been late every day. You want me to help out everywhere, which is cool, but I can’t do that if I’m the only one runnin’ the grill when the dinner rush start.”

Annie keeps her eyes down.

Listening.

“Done told his ass myself to be on time. He ain’t listenin.”

Smoke’s eyes drift toward Annie.

Like they always do.

Looking straight past Michelle and half listening.

“You’re right Elijah. I’ll pull him first thing tomorrow.”

“It’s Smoke,” he corrects. “And yeah. Cause if that was me you’d be on my ass.”

At the table, Annie checks her watch again.

Her stomach sinks.

There’s no way she’s gonna get done before her dad gets there.

Not with two tubs left.

She glances toward the front windows, already imagining his car pulling into the parking lot and having to explain why she’s still in there and not outside waiting.

Across the dining room, Smoke already knows exactly what happened.

He’s seen Meagan do this shit too many times.

The second Saul called, she was gone.

Running off and leaving her responsibilities behind to chase after a nigga who only seemed interested in seeing her when it was dark outside.

Smoke’s jaw tightens slightly.

He never understood it.

Especially when it meant dumping your work on somebody else.

She tries to keep rolling silverware, he notices her checking her watch every few minutes.

Fidgeting. Sighing. Shifting.

Looking toward the front door.

She ain’t saying nothing, but he can tell she’s in a hurry.

Ride probably already on the way.

Meanwhile Michelle is still talking.

“I got you. Don’t worry. I’ll let him know if he can’t get it together, he will be replaced.”

Smoke nods.

“Good.”

“Have a good night,” Michelle says before turning to leave.

Smoke gives another nod.

“Mm-hmm. You too.”

Annie keeps her eyes on the silverware in front of her.

She hears Michelle’s heels clicking away across the dining room.

The restaurant is mostly empty now.

A few servers are finishing side work.

Someone is vacuuming near the bar.

The kitchen crew is laughing about something in the back.

As Michelle walks away, his eyes find Annie again.

Still sitting there by herself.

Still trying to work through a pile of silverware that shouldn’t have been hers to finish in the first place.

For a moment, Smoke just stands there watching her.

Then he looks at the mountain of silverware.

Back at Annie.

And makes up his mind.

She doesn’t notice Smoke moving until the booth cushion shifts.

Her stomach tightens.

He slides into the seat across from her.

Quiet. Confident.

Like he belongs there.

Annie’s breath catches.

Slowly she raises her eyes.

“Hello.”

Her voice comes out smaller than she intended.

Smoke nods once.

“Hey.”

The deepness of his voice surprises her.

It was the first time she’d actually heard him speak directly to her.

Not across the kitchen.

Not during introductions.

To her.

Annie drops her eyes again.

Smoke reaches toward the center of the table.

Grabs a stack of napkins.

Then a handful of silverware.

And starts rolling.

Annie blinks.

Looks at his hands.

Looks at the silverware.

Then back at him.

“You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you’re tired and ready to go.”

No response.

He just keeps rolling.

Annie swallows and drops her head.

They fall into a rhythm.

The restaurant suddenly feels smaller.

Quieter.

Like everybody else has disappeared.

Smoke watches her while she works.

She can feel it.

Feel his eyes.

It makes her nervous.

Her hands shake slightly.

Her lashes flutter.

Every time she reaches for another napkin she becomes hyper aware of him sitting there.

Smoke can’t stop looking at her.

Not even if he wanted to.

Up close she’s even prettier.

Her skin glows beneath the restaurant lights.

Her French tips stand out against her chocolate skin.

Her lips stay glossy no matter what she’s doing.

And every time she sucks her cheeks in while concentrating…

Smoke has to force himself to look away.

Then she licks her thumb to separate another napkin. And he looks back.

They continue to sit in silence.

Rolling.

The man was clearly not much of a talker, Annie thinks to herself.

The soft crinkle of napkins fills the space between them.

Every few seconds Annie finds herself shifting. Trying to stay still.

Nervous because she really can’t believe he’s this close.

Close enough that she can smell his cologne.

It smells expensive.

Clean.

A little spicy.

Nothing like the Axe body spray boys at school wear.

Every time he reaches for silverware she notices his hands.

Big hands. Long fingers.

Small scars across his knuckles.

The hands of somebody who worked.

Really worked.

Not somebody pretending to.

Annie steals a glance upward.

Smoke catches her immediately.

Their eyes lock.

Annie jerks hers away.

Heat floods her cheeks.

Why did he keep catching her?

Across from her, Smoke hides a smirk.

She’d been doing that all week.

Looking.

Then immediately pretending she wasn’t.

The thing was…She wasn’t slick.

Not at all.

Smoke reaches for another napkin.

His arm brushes the table.

The scent of Love Spell reaches him.

He’d smelled it before.

Girls wore it all the time.

But on Annie it smelled different.

Maybe because it matched her.

Sweet. Soft. Pretty.

Everything about her seemed soft.

Her voice. Her eyes. The way she smiled.

Smoke keeps watching her while she concentrates on rolling.

She studies each piece like she’s taking a test.

Trying to make sure every roll looks right.

“You take this serious.” He murmurs

Annie looks up and laughs softly.

“It’s because I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You do.”

“No I don’t.”

“You ain’t dropped not one.”

That makes Annie smile.

A real smile.

Not the polite customer service smile she uses on tables.

This one reaches her eyes.

And for a second Smoke forgets what she was saying.

Because damn.

She’s beautiful.

The smile fades when Annie realizes he’s staring.

Again.

The tension settles back over the table.

Not uncomfortable.

Just…Heavy.

Like something neither one knows what to do with.

Smoke’s Nokia rings.

The sudden sound makes Annie jump slightly.

Smoke answers.

“Sup fool?”

Annie finally gets a chance to look at him without getting caught.

The open faced golds on his front teeth flashes when he talks.

His jaw is sharp.

His eyelashes are longer than they should be.

His beard trimmed nicely.

“Yeah… I’m gettin ready to leave in a minute….How much you need?”

Smoke glances at her.

Catches her looking.

Again.

Annie immediately looks down at the silverware.

Her stomach flips.

“…Yeah, I’m finna head to the city. Meet me at Jubilee’s. Bet. One.”

He hangs up.

The silence returns.

Neither says anything.

Neither really needs to.

Eventually they reach the final pile.

Smoke grabs the last fork.

Annie grabs the last napkin.

At the exact same time.

Their fingers brush.

Both freeze.

Just for a second.

The contact is small.

Barely anything.

Yet Annie feels it all the way up her arm.

Smoke pauses too.

His eyes lifting to hers.

Neither pulls away immediately.

Then Annie finally clears her throat.

And the moment breaks.

They finish the last roll.

Smoke stands.

Annie looks up at him.

He notices the ten dollar bill Meagan left.

His jaw tightens.

That shit wasn’t right.

Not after leaving her with all that work.

Without saying anything, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a roll of

Money, he pulls out two hundred dollar bills.

Drops them onto the table.

Annie’s eyes get huge.

“Oh no—”

Smoke raises a finger to his lips.

Shhh.

The gesture makes Annie smile.

A nervous smile.

A grateful one.

And Smoke swears his stomach drops.

He ain’t never seen a smile like that.

Annie slides out of the booth.

Before she can fully stand, Smoke reaches out. Instinct.

His hand wraps around hers.

Warm. Soft. Small.

For a second neither one moves.

Annie looks down at their hands.

Then back up at him.

Smoke looks right back.

No grin. No slick comment.

Just staring.

Like he’s trying to memorize her face.

Then finally Annie stands.

And Smoke lets go.

Neither one says what they’re thinking.

Neither one knows how.

So he simply nods.

And she nods back.

The look lasts a second longer than it should.

Maybe two.

His eyes stay on hers as he backs away.

Then Smoke turns and starts walking toward the door.

“Thank you.” She calls out to his back.

Annie’s voice stops him halfway to the door.

He doesn’t turn around.

Because if he does, he might stay.

Instead he lifts one hand over his shoulder.

Acknowledging her.

Then keeps walking.

Leaving Annie staring after him long after the door closes behind him.

Melissa and Lindsey emerge from the kitchen seconds later.

Their eyes immediately land on Annie.

Then the front door.

Then the two hundred dollar bills.

Then back to Annie.

“What was that about?” Melissa asks. “He talked to you?”

Annie shakes her head.

“Actually no.”

“What?”

“So what was he doing over here?” Lindsey asks.

Annie clears her throat.

“He helped me roll silverware since Meagan kinda left me hanging.”

Melissa’s eyes nearly bug out of her head.

“Oh wow.”

There is definitely jealousy in her tone now.

“So not only is he fine but he’s sweet too.”

Lindsey folds her arms.

“Annie, how did you get him to do that? You asked?”

Annie shakes her head.

“No. I didn’t do or say anything. He just sat down and started helpin me.”

“But he didn’t say anything?” Lindsey asks.

“Nah. Just looked at me. That’s all.”

Melissa and Lindsey exchange a look.

Both of them had spent the entire week trying to get Smoke’s attention.

And neither had gotten much more than a hello.

Yet somehow Annie—the quiet girl who wasn’t even trying—had him sitting down helping her.

Neither one liked that.

Not one bit.

“I’ve been trying to talk to him and he won’t talk,” Lindsey says.

“Me too,” Melissa adds. “He might say hi back but that’s all. He only talks to the other cooks.”

“He seems like he might be mean,” Lindsey says.

Annie shrugs.

“I don’t get that vibe. But who knows.”

Melissa laughs.

“Well I’m gonna keep trying.”

“Of course you are,” Lindsey says.

Annie laughs.

Her phone rings.

Dad.

“I gotta go.”

“See y’all later.”

They wave.

Annie grabs the money off the table and stuffs it into her apron.

Outside, her dad is already waiting.

Exactly where he said he’d be.

Just like always.

Annie climbs into the car.

The familiar smell of motor oil, coffee, and his work boots fills the vehicle.

“Busy tonight?” he asks.

“Yes. Very.”

“You getting the hang of it yet?”

“I think so.”

“Good.”

His voice softens.

“You made any new friends?”

Annie’s mind immediately drifts to Smoke.

To his eyes. His hands. His silence.

The way he helped her without asking for anything in return.

She shrugs.

“Maybe.”

Her dad raises a brow.

“Maybe?”

Annie giggles.

“Mhmm. It hasn’t been long enough yet.”

“If you say so.”

The conversation fades.

Comfortable. Easy.

That’s how things usually are between them.

Despite how strict he can be.

Despite all the rules.

Annie knows her father loves her.

Knows he’d do anything to protect her.

Which is exactly why she’d never mention Smoke.

Not yet.

Because she already knows.

Her dad would take one look at him and decide he wasn’t good enough.

He’s older

He’s Too street.

He’s Too city.

Exactly the kind of man her father spent years trying to keep away from her.

But sitting there staring out the window, Annie can’t stop thinking about him.

Because the man she’d seen tonight wasn’t what she’d expected.

He was patient. Gentle. Thoughtful.

The complete opposite of what people would assume.

And for the first time in a long time…

Annie wants to know more.

A lot more.

Outside the window, the lights of Kansas City blur past.

And Annie rests her head against the glass.

Thinking about Smoke.

Thinking about his demeanor.

Thinking about his eyes.

Thinking about what might happen next.

And for once…

She finds herself wanting to chase waterfalls.

Fuck what TLC or anybody else says…

🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃🌃

Smoke’s sitting alone at his kitchen table, the house quiet except for the low hum of the refrigerator.

A half finished drink rests beside him, blunt in hand.

The television plays in the background, but he isn’t paying attention.

His mind keeps drifting somewhere else.

To Annie.

He leans back in his chair and rubs a hand across his jaw.

He hits the blunt and holds the smoke in.

It had been hours since he’d left the restaurant, yet he can still picture her sitting there rolling silverware.

Head down.

Trying to finish work that wasn’t hers.

Checking her watch every few minutes.

Trying not to look stressed even though it was written all over her face.

Smoke exhales slowly.

Most people would’ve complained.

Would’ve made a scene.

Would’ve found somebody to blame.

Annie hadn’t done none of that.

She’d just kept working.

Doing what needed to be done.

That was what stuck with him.

Not just tonight.

In general.

She carried herself different.

Quiet.

Respectful.

Never in nobody’s business.

Never causing problems.

Just came in, did her job, and went home.

A rare thing these days, especially for her to be young.

His gaze drifts toward the dark window above the sink.

He thinks about the way she smiled at him earlier.

Small. Shy. Real.

Not the fake customer service smile everybody wore at work.

The memory pulls at something in his chest he wasn’t interested in examining too closely.

Smoke shakes his head.

He’s too old to be sitting around thinking about a woman like this.

Especially one who’s younger than him.

Yet here he was.

Thinking about whether she made it home okay.

Wondering if her ride had been upset she got out late.

Wondering what she was doing right now.

Probably asleep.

Probably not thinking about him at all.

The thought makes him huff out a quiet laugh.

“Yeah,” he murmurs to himself.

“Probably not.”

Still, he can’t stop thinking about her.

About the way she looked at him.

The way she smelled.

The way her skin glowed.

About how, for the first time in a long time, somebody had managed to stay on his mind after he walked away.

Smoke stares down at his drink for a moment before taking a slow sip.

Then he leans back again.

Trying and failing to think about anything else.

He can’t lie, she’s got him intrigued, and he wants to know more about her than just her name…

Part 1

[moth2flamewriting]

Need that bad as fuck

[myheartsaysyes]

The Mixtape: Part 4

Summary: At the cookout, Annie discovers that memory is a dangerous thing. Old photographs surface. Family members tell stories nobody realized they remembered. Smoke and Annie spend an entire afternoon remembering each other. Unfortunately, the present eventually shows up.

A/N: This chapter did NOT go as I planned. But I hope ya'll still like it!

W/C: 14+

The summer before junior year felt endless. It was hot enough for the air to still stick to your skin long after the sun went down. Everybody knew who was having people over. Sometimes it was a cousin home from college. Sometimes a classmate whose mama was working the night shift. Music played way too loud in somebody's backyard while the neighborhood kids wandered in and out the gate like they lived there.

This one sat behind a small brick house a few streets over from the Moores’. Cars lined both sides of the curb. Music rattled the chain-link fence while people crowded around folding tables covered in chips, soda, beer bottles, and half-melted ice. Smoke from the little charcoal grill drifted thick through the yard along with the smell of lighter fluid and somebody’s cheap cologne.

Stack stood near the speakers arguing with two boys over what song to play next.

“Nah, y’all killin’ the vibe.”

“You always say that, bruh.”

“Cause y’all music trash.”

An older boy near the grill yelled for Stack to bring more charcoal and he finally wandered off still talking shit the entire way.

Pearline rolled her eyes from her lawn chair nearby. “Stack, shut up.”

He grinned immediately. “You so fine.”

“Boy.”

Annie laughed softly beside her, knees tucked up against the chair while she sipped from a warm Sprite Smoke handed her twenty minutes earlier. Her curls were pulled back loosely, thick around the edges from the heat and humidity. The silver hoops in her ears glinted in the afternoon sun.

Across the yard, Smoke leaned against the fence talking to one of the older boys from the neighborhood. Black tee. Long shorts. White Air Forces already dirty around the edges from summer. One hand hooked inside his pocket while the other held a sweating cup low near his thigh.

Jada watched him from across the yard.

Annie noticed first. “Mhm,” she muttered, nudging Pearline.

Pearline glanced over. “What?”

Annie tilted her head slightly toward the drinks table.

Pearline’s eyes moved automatically.

Jada stood near the coolers laughing loudly at something another girl said, honey-brown curls bouncing around her shoulders while her attention kept drifting back toward Smoke every few seconds. She was pretty. Everyone thought so. Curvy already, tube top, and tiny shorts showing off thick thighs every boy talked about when she walked passed. 

Except Smoke—he barely looked over there at all. Jada was pretty. He mostly remembered she laughed loud.

That should’ve made Annie feel better. Instead something still irritated her.

Pearline caught the look on her face instantly. “Girl…”

“I ain’t sayin’ shit.”

“You don’t gotta.”

Annie rolled her eyes hard and looked away first.

Across the yard Stack suddenly yelled—“ANNIE.”

He pointed dramatically toward the folding table. “Bring me a bag of chips.”

“You got two hands.”

“Please! You love me.”

“I actually don’t.”

Stack clutched his chest while everybody around him laughed.

Smoke looked over then and immediately found Annie. Every time. Didn’t matter how many people stood around her either. His eyes always landed there first. The look on his face changed too. Softer. Like seeing her settled something in him automatically.

Pearline saw that part and snorted quietly beside her. “Girl that boy obsessed with you.”

Annie tried not to smile. Failed a little anyway. She stood and headed toward the chips table near the drinks before Stack could start yelling again.

Pearline grabbed her cup and followed behind slower, already watching Jada out the corner of her eye.

Halfway there, Smoke peeled away from the fence and met Annie without saying much.

“You ate?”

Annie blinked at him. “Yes, Elijah.”

“You lyin’.”

She laughed immediately. “I had chips.”

“That ain’t food.”

He grabbed a paper plate off the table and started piling food onto it before she could argue again.

Annie leaned lightly against the table watching him move around the grill. “Why you keep makin’ me plates?”

Smoke shrugged once without looking up. “Cause you need to eat.”

“I eat.”

“Not enough.”

Annie rolled her eyes softly. “Smoke, I promise the world not gon’ end if I miss one plate.”

That finally made him look at her. His eyes moved over her once before settling back on her face again.

“Nah,” he said quietly. “But I might.”

Annie’s breath caught before she could stop it.

And right on cue—Stack gagged loud as hell behind them. “Mane, if y’all don’t leave each other alone for five minutes—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Smoke muttered.

Everybody near them laughed.

Smoke ignored all of it. That was the thing. He ignored everything when Annie stood close enough.

Jada came over to where they were a minute later with Mary and two other girls trailing behind her, all loud laughs and glossy lips beneath the fading summer light.

Pearline stood up straighter immediately. “This bitch…,” she muttered under her breath.

Mary waved dramatically the second she spotted Stack. “There go my man.”

Pearline rolled her eyes so hard Annie almost laughed. “Your man?” Pearline muttered. “Girl please. Stack flirt wit’ everybody.”

“Jealousy ugly on you, Pearl,” Mary called back instantly.

Pearline looked up slow and smiled. “Bitch, I can’t be jealous of community dick.”

Stack barked out laughing.

Mary’s mouth dropped open. “Community dick?!”

Pearline shrugged. “You ain’t special, ho.”

Stack barked out laughing before Mary walked over smacking his arm. Jada drifted easily toward the grill instead.

“Damn,” she said, looking down at the plate in Smoke’s hand before glancing toward her friends. “Smoke don’t do nothin’ but feed Annie.”

Stack barked out laughing instantly. “Cause that’s his girl.”

Smoke frowned slightly. “What?”

Jada smiled. “Nothin’.” But her eyes slid briefly toward Annie before looking back at Stack.

“I’m serious,” She continued. “He act like she the only girl out here.”

Stack opened his mouth immediately. “Cause to him she is.”

Smoke finally handed Annie her plate. “Move before Stack fat ass steal yo’ food.”

“Wow nigga,” Stack said. “You rude.”

Annie was focused very hard on balancing the paper plate in her hands even while warmth kept crawling up the back of her neck. Beside her, Pearline sucked her teeth quietly into her cup.

Jada laughed softly and reached for Smoke’s cup sitting on the table, taking a sip without asking.

Annie noticed immediately. So did Pearline.

Annie’s fingers tightened slightly beneath the paper plate, before she could stop herself, her body was leaning forward a fraction towards Jada. Pearline caught the reaction instantly, one hand touching Annie’s wrist beneath the excuse of reaching for a chip. Subtle. Quick enough nobody else seemed to notice.

Except Jada.

Smoke barely reacted—mostly because he was already looking at Annie again. “You want somethin’ else to drink?”

Jada lowered the cup slowly.

Annie saw that too, and suddenly the heat outside felt heavier than before. “I’m good,” she answered quietly.

“I been tellin’ y’all Smoke don’t talk to nobody but Annie,” Jada said, laughing lightly as she nudged Stack with her shoulder. “It’s weird.”

Mary snorted softly beside Stack, already watching the whole interaction unfold. “One hundred percent true,” Mary jumped in immediately.

Smoke looked genuinely confused. “I talk to y’all.”

Stack barked out laughing instantly. “Nigga no you don’t.”

Mary laughed harder. “You barely even looked over here.”

Annie looked away immediately before Smoke could catch her laughing.

Pearline covered her mouth instantly trying not to laugh because there it was. Exactly what she’d been saying. Smoke really did miss half the shit girls tried to do around him.

Jada looked thrown off for maybe half a second before recovering smoothly. “I’m sayin’ you act different with Annie.”

Smoke frowned like he genuinely didn’t understand the point. “That’s my girl.”

Simple. Certain.

Mary made a loud fake throwing-up noise while Stack nearly folded over laughing beside her.

Annie felt warmth crawl straight up her neck.

Jada laughed too, but this time it sounded tighter. Her eyes met Annie’s.

A small smile pulled at Annie’s mouth before she could stop it. Bitch.

Jada’s smile stayed in place.

But barely.

Present Day

The memory faded slowly beneath the low hum of Smoke’s truck engine.

Sunlight flashed through the windshield in uneven patterns as he drove, one hand loose against the steering wheel while warm air moved steadily through the cracked window beside him. His other hand tapped once against his thigh before going still again.

Then the truck speakers crackled softly.

Incoming call. Jada.

Her name spread bright across the dashboard. Smoke stared at it for a long second. Long enough for the phone to ring twice.

Three times. Then he hit ignore. Silence settled back inside the truck immediately afterward. Ever since Annie walked back into town, his thoughts hadn’t stayed where he put them. Eight years gone—and somehow seeing her again still felt too close to touching a live wire.

Aunt Cheryl’s house already smelled like seasoning and heat by the time Annie and Pearline finished getting dressed.

Music drifted through nearly every room. Beyoncé’s II Hands II Heaven played low from the Bluetooth speaker sitting on the guest bathroom counter. Outside, somewhere deep in the backyard, a blues guitar rolled through the open windows mixed with the sound of laughter, dominoes slamming against folding tables, and Aunt Cheryl’s husband Lewis loudly arguing with somebody over whether Bobby Womack was better than Marvin Gaye.

Pearline’s aunt—her mama Maxine’s younger sister, had always been the kind of woman whose house never really belonged to just her. Doors stayed unlocked more than they should. People were always sleeping over. Some needed a hot meal. Someone always got fussed at and fed in the same breath. Growing up, Annie had spent enough weekends there that people stopped asking whose child she was and started assuming she belonged to Cheryl.

Which, in a lot of ways, she had. 

Annie loved her mother. She did, but Aunt Cheryl had become the adult she ran to for things she didn’t know how to explain at home. The conversations that felt too embarrassing, too confusing, too complicated to say out loud to her own mama somehow came out easier sitting at Cheryl’s kitchen counter while she cut onions, folded laundry or fried fish. Crushes. Friend drama. College fears. Questions she couldn’t even ask properly yet.

Aunt Cheryl never pushed. She just listened. Then eventually she’d say something annoyingly simple that made Annie realize she already knew the answer.

Pearline’s family became Annie’s family so gradually she never noticed it happening. Holidays. Sleepovers. Last-minute rides. Summer afternoons. Somewhere along the way Aunt Cheryl stopped introducing her as Pearline’s friend and started introducing her as one of hers.

Right on cue her voice cut through the house. “AND WHO ATE MY DAMN DEVILED EGGS?”

“There go Cheryl,” Pearline muttered calmly.

“And turn that sad shit down!” another older voice yelled from somewhere outside.

Pearline rolled her eyes immediately. “…and there go mama.”

Annie laughed despite herself.

The whole house felt alive. They ended up staying the night at Cheryl’s after grocery shopping the evening before. Pearline originally planned to drop the food off and leave, but Cheryl took one look at the amount of prep still sitting untouched across the kitchen counters and shut that shit down immediately.

“Leave if you want to,” she’d said, snapping green beans into a bowl without looking up. “But yo’ mama gon’ talk so much shit about you tomorrow I might join in.”

Pearline groaned while Annie laughed.

So they stayed. Annie even ended up helping too despite Pearline repeatedly telling her to sit down because the cookout was technically for her. Cheryl ignored all of that. “Girl please,” she said, sliding a cutting board toward Annie. “You back home now. Slice them onions.”

And she did. Standing barefoot in Cheryl’s kitchen at nearly midnight while old school R&B drifted low through the house and women arguing lovingly over recipes felt strangely familiar. Like being dropped back into another version of herself she hadn’t touched in years.

By one in the morning, half the food was prepped. Uncle Lewis was asleep in the recliner in the family room with the TV still blasting low. Annie and Pearline ended up stretched across a queen size bed in the guest bedroom laughing quietly in the dark like they were teenagers again. For a few hours, it almost felt like no time had passed at all.

Currently, coolers crowded the hallway near the front door packed with beer, juice, bottled water, soda, and foil pans waiting to be carried outside. Younger cousins ran through the living room screaming before another auntie immediately yelled at them to stop running in the damn house. The kitchen smelled like barbecue sauce, fried fish, onions, and sweet baked beans while women moved around each other shoulder to shoulder arguing over seasoning.

Upstairs inside the guest bedroom, Annie had changed clothes four times.

Pearline sat stretched across the bed eating hot chips while watching the latest outfit reveal with growing amusement.

First it had been denim shorts and a tank top. Too casual. Then a black sundress. Too obvious. Then jeans. Absolutely not. Now half the room looked like a tornado touched down inside it while Annie stood in front of the mirror quietly questioning every decision she’d made since coming back home.

Pearline watched her for a little while before reaching toward the tequila bottle sitting beside Annie’s makeup bag.

“Aight,” she muttered. “Come here.”

Annie looked over immediately. “What?”

“You nervous as hell.”

“Not.”

Pearline snorted, already pouring two shots into plastic cups. “Sure.”

Annie laughed softly despite herself before walking over. The cups clinked together lightly.

“To Annie finally outside again,” Pearline said.

“That’s…dramatic.”

“And is.”

Annie laughed again before both of them tipped the shots back. The tequila burned all the way down, warm and sharp enough to make Annie squeeze her eyes shut briefly afterward.

“Shiiit.”

Pearline coughed once immediately after. “See? That’s why I don’t do dark liquor.”

“You literally bought it.”

“And?”

Annie shook her head laughing while Pearline shoved the open chip bag toward her.

“Eat somethin’.”

“I’m fine.”

“Aight. You gon’ be sweatin’ tequila and fucked up in Cheryl backyard if you don’t eat somethin’.”

“I won't.”

Pearline pointed at her immediately. “That’s exactly what drunk people say.”

Annie rolled her eyes smiling despite herself before turning back toward the mirror again.

After another ten minutes of changing her mind twice more, Annie finally settled on the striped halter dress mostly because Pearline threatened to physically pick something for her if she kept standing in front of the mirror sighing.

The dress was a soft knit material striped in deep blue, green, white, and pale lavender, the colors bright enough to feel summery without trying too hard. The halter neckline dipped low across her chest while the open back left most of her skin bare except for the tie sitting neatly behind her neck. Unfortunately or fortunately, the dress hugged her body tighter than she remembered when she bought it. The material curved around her hips, her thighs, the softness of her stomach. Her breasts sat high beneath the neckline, enough cleavage showing to make her immediately fold her arms the second she caught herself staring too long in the mirror.

Pearline crunched another chip slowly. “Girl.”

Annie didn’t look away from the mirror.  “What?”

“You know what.”

“It’s hot outside.”

“Mhm.”

“It is.”

Pearline’s mouth twitched.  “And apparently you tryna make Elijah Moore lose consciousness beside Cheryl’s potato salad.”

Annie groaned instantly. “Please shut up.”

“I’m serious.” Pearline pointed dramatically with another chip. “That man already looked halfway dead in Stack apartment yesterday.”

Annie narrowed her eyes finally turning away from the mirror. “Oh, so we not gon’ talk about YOU?”

Pearline blinked innocently. “What about me?”

Annie looked her up and down slowly.

Pearline’s red-and-white striped maxi dress clung to every curve she had, the soft material hugging her hips and thighs while the slit climbed just high enough along one leg to show smooth brown skin every time she moved. The open back exposed nearly her entire spine beneath her sleek ponytail, and somehow the dress still looked casual enough for a cookout despite the fact it was absolutely ruining the peace.

Annie folded her arms. “You look like summertime temptation.”

Pearline barked out laughing instantly. “But you got the nerve to talk about me?”

“This?” Pearline looked down at herself pretending to be confused. “Girl this comfortable.”

“Comfortable where?” Annie stared. “At a cookout or on somebody's son's prayer list?”

Pearline nearly choked on her chips laughing.

Annie shook her head. “You absolutely tryna make Elias act stupid outside.”

“Chile…,” Pearline continued, waving another chip dramatically, “Elias been stupid since tenth grade. That ain’t got nothin’ to do wit’ me.”

Annie laughed softly despite herself.

Pearline pointed immediately. “There it is again.”

“What?”

“That little happy-ass laugh.”

Annie’s face fell instantly. “Line…”

“I’m just sayin’.” Pearline’s expression softened slightly afterward. “I ain’t seen you like this in a long time.”

Annie’s face dropped instantly. Somehow that felt worse. She turned back toward the mirror too quickly afterward pretending to adjust the side of the dress while heat crawled slowly up her neck.

Pearline watched her quietly. That tiny hopeful look on Annie’s face hit harder than expected, because yesterday had been the first time Pearline saw her genuinely excited about something in a very long time. Hopeful. Pearline hated what she knew might ruin it. Her eyes flicked briefly toward her phone laying beside her on the comforter. Towards the memory of Smoke sitting beside Jada inside that restaurant booth. Towards Stack saying—He not bringin’ her. Pearline wanted to believe that.

Still…

Annie sighed. “I don’t even know why I care this much.”

Pearline knew why. Both of them did. But she let Annie keep pretending.

Annie sat near the foot of the bed smoothing nervous hands over the dress before glancing casually toward the open bedroom door. “You said Elijah came by already this mornin’?”

Pearline looked up. “Uh huh. Him and Uncle Lewis set the speakers up outside.”

Annie nodded slowly like that information didn’t matter nearly as much as it actually did. 

“Oh.”

Pearline watched her for a little too long.

Annie reached over stealing one of her chips casually. “He stay long?”

There it was.

Pearline smiled immediately. “You fishin’.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “I’m askin’ a question.”

“Yeah, okay,” Pearline’s grin widened.

Annie threw the chip at her. Pearline laughed harder dodging it while Annie shook her head trying unsuccessfully not to smile too.

“So…is he?” Annie asked a second later, quieter this time.

Pearline’s laughter softened slightly. “He said he was comin’ back.”

Annie looked down too fast afterward, like she didn’t want her face caught reacting. 

Pearline watched the small smile trying to pull at Annie’s mouth before it disappeared again.

There it was again. Soft. Careful. Still alive somehow after all these years, and suddenly Pearline’s chest tightened, because now Jada pushed back into the front of her mind immediately afterward. Laughing. Too comfortable. Too familiar.

Pearline swallowed slowly. “Annie…”

Annie looked up immediately. “Hm?”

Pearline hesitated. She almost said it. Almost told her everything. That she saw Smoke with Jada. That nobody really knew what was going on between them. She didn’t want Annie walking outside blind, but then she smiled again. Tiny…nervous.

Suddenly Pearline couldn’t say it. Couldn’t bring herself to throw Jada between this fragile little piece of happiness Annie somehow found again. So instead she stood tossing the chip bag aside.

“Nothin’,” she muttered instead, standing too fast afterward. “Come on before Aunt Cheryl start cussin’ everybody out for standin’ around useless.”

Annie looked at her strangely for a second but stood anyway, smoothing her hands down the front of the dress one last time before glancing toward the mirror again.

The smile appeared again. Quick. Almost shy.

Hope looked strange on her now. Older. More careful. But still there. The realization unsettled her immediately. She had not come back to Mississippi expecting this. Didn’t come back expecting her stomach to flip every time Elijah looked at her. Or expect one awkward afternoon inside Stack’s apartment to crack open something she spent years forcing shut.

Outside, a car horn blared. Then another. Music swelled louder beneath a burst of laughter somewhere near the backyard.

Pearline groaned instantly. “That better not be Stack blowin’ that fuckin’ horn.”

As if summoned, her phone rang immediately afterward.

STACK.

Pearline answered, already irritated. “What?”

“Bring y’all asses outside,” Stack shouted loudly over music and voices in the background. “Everybody arrivin’.”

Annie’s stomach flipped hard enough to make her regret every sip of tequila she’d had while getting dressed.

Now it was real.

The second Annie stepped outside, the sound hit her first.

Music layered over more music. A blues record played somewhere deeper in the backyard while Frankie Beverly and Maze floated from another speaker closer to the patio. Laughter cracked through the humid air in bursts. Dominoes slammed hard enough against tables to sound competitive. People yelled for more ice. Kids tore across the grass shrieking while an older cousin threatened to spray them with the water hose if they knocked over another chair.

Aunt Cheryl’s property stretched wide behind the house, big enough for generations to spread out across it comfortably. Cars lined both sides of the road outside the gate already, more pulling up every few minutes. Folding tables covered in aluminum trays sat beneath two huge pecan trees while smoke rolled thick from the grill pits farther back near the fence line.

The smell nearly overwhelmed her immediately—charcoal, barbecue sauce, hot grease, sweet liquor, and fresh-cut grass baking beneath the Mississippi heat. Underneath all of it was that familiar Delta smell she never figured out how to describe properly after moving away. Warm earth. Humidity. River air somewhere nearby.

Home.

Her chest tightened unexpectedly.

“ANNIE BABY!”

Before she could process anything else, one of Pearline’s older cousins, Geneva, was already crossing the yard toward her.

Geneva had always occupied that strange space growing up where she never quite felt like a cousin. Five years older than Annie and Pearline, she’d been old enough to seem impossibly cool but young enough to still let them into her world. She was the cousin whose room they wanted to sit in when they were kids, whose clothes they wanted to borrow before they were old enough, who knew everybody and always had the gossip before anybody else. She gave them the best advice, defended them when adults got too loud, and slipped easily between big sister, best friend, and professional instigator depending on the day. If Geneva was going somewhere, they wanted to go too.

She looked exactly the same now—just grown into herself.

A striped maxi dress moved around her legs as she crossed the yard, the fabric light enough to catch every bit of warm Mississippi air. The colors softened against her caramel skin—cream with narrow lines of rust, black, and muted gold running vertically from neckline to hem. Thin straps framed her shoulders while the neckline dipped low. Big tassel earrings brushed her neck every time she moved, and a woven straw bag hung from one arm despite the fact she absolutely did not need a purse for a backyard cookout. Long straight hair fell over one shoulder and sunglasses rested on top of her head like she had somewhere more important to be later.

She reached Annie and immediately grabbed her face with both hands. “Lawd, look at my Annie.”

Before Annie could answer Geneva pulled her into a tight hug that smelled faintly of perfume, body oil, and summer heat before leaning back again to inspect her dramatically. “Bitchhh…you done got finer sittin’ up there in North Carolina.”

Pearline barked out laughing immediately. “‘Neva.”

Geneva ignored her completely, looking Annie up and down. “Nah, for real—look at all this ass.”

“GENEVA.”

“What?” She shrugged. “I got eyes.”

Annie laughed so hard she almost snorted, and just like that, some of the tightness in her chest loosened. For a second. Then others started calling her name. Then another.

“Oh shit—Annie?!” 

“When you get back?”

“Girl, look at you!”

Suddenly she was being pulled into hugs from every direction. More relatives. Old classmates. Women she hadn’t seen since before high school kissing her cheek and telling her she looked beautiful.  Questions came rapid-fire before she could even answer the last one.

How long you staying?You still in Charlotte?Yo’ mama good?You remember so-and-so?You workin’?

Annie smiled through all of it. Laughed through all of it. Answered each question. But underneath every conversation, every hug, every joke—she was looking for him. It happened automatically. Every car or truck door slamming outside the gate made her glance up. Every deep laugh somewhere across the yard tightened something low in her stomach before she realized it belonged to somebody else. Every time people moved around near the grills, her eyes moved there instinctively.

Pearline noticed every single time. “You look so nervous, friend,” Pearline muttered low beside her while accepting a beer her cousin handed her.

“I’m not nervous.”

“Right.”

Annie ignored her. Or tried to.

Outside, the heat wrapped around her immediately, making the halter dress cling softer against her skin the longer she stood there. Her long braids brushed warm against the open skin of her back every time she moved, humidity already settling along the base of her neck while sweat gathered slowly between her breasts beneath the neckline. Still somehow she became even more aware of her body because of him. Even without seeing him yet.

The music changed suddenly. Blues faded lower beneath newer bass while voices rose louder near the grill pits. Then a familiar voice carried across the yard.

“Move, nigga. Damn.”

Laughter erupted near the driveway immediately afterward. Annie froze. Her stomach dropped so fast it almost hurt because she knew that voice. Knew it down to muscle memory.

Annie turned before she could stop herself. Dark oversized shirt hanging loose over his frame, the deep brown fabric softening against the width of his shoulders and chest. Tattoos disappeared beneath the loose sleeves. Black shorts hung low against narrow hips, white and black Nike Dunks scuffing lightly against the pavement. A black cap sat low over his eyes, single gold chain glinting faintly against his throat.

“Smoke!” Stack exclaimed as he turned around from where he stood near the grill pit. “Bout time yo’ muthafuckin ass got here!”

“There he go,” a classmate named Mike laughed, already moving toward him.

Smoke lifted one hand in acknowledgment before pulling Stack into a quick dap and shoulder bump that looked practiced from years of repetition. Mike stepped in after that. Then another. Hands grabbing at him. Voices overlapping. Smoke laughed at something another said, head dipping slightly while one of his homeboys slapped his shoulder.

Laughter carried through the music.

Yesterday, inside Stack’s apartment, he felt almost unreal. Too close. Too quiet. Too heavy with history. But standing outside now beneath fading sunlight and backyard music with everybody surrounding him—Elijah looked dangerous again. Familiar. Beautiful. Like every version of the boy she used to love had grown all the way into a man.

Maybe it was the tequila talking, the heat, or eight years refusing to stay buried. But for one terrifying moment, Annie forgot how to breathe because Elijah Moore looked up and found her immediately. Like some part of him had already known exactly where she was.

Smoke forgot what Mike was saying halfway through the sentence. Something about a fight that happened outside Club Fusion last month. Cornbread laughed loud as hell beside him, while Isoo kept interrupting every five seconds adding details nobody asked for. Stack stood near the grill pit drinking beer and talking shit like always while Bo argued with Uncle Lewis over whether the ribs needed more sauce. The kind of evening Smoke usually moved through without thinking too hard. Then something shifted. Like pressure changing in the air. His eyes lifted automatically and found Annie. And everything in him suddenly went very still.

She stood near the patio beside Pearline surrounded by women talking over each other while music rolled through the yard behind them. The dress she had on wrapped around her body soft and close, pulling against curves he absolutely did not remember being that dangerous.

Jesus Christ.

Smoke’s jaw flexed once. Because yesterday inside Stack’s apartment had been too sudden. Too crowded with history and shock and confusion for him to really look at her the way he wanted to. But now? He could see everything.

The long braids falling down her back. The neckline dipping low enough to show the soft swell of her breasts beneath the summer light. Hips fuller than they used to be. Thicker through the thighs too. Ass sitting heavy beneath that dress in a way that made something low in his stomach pull tight immediately. 

Grown.

Annie had always been beautiful. But this? This felt unfair.

“And then this nigga gon’ say—” Cornbread stopped mid-sentence laughing at his own story while everybody around Smoke reacted.

Smoke barely heard any of it, but Annie looked up and there it was again. That feeling. Like the rest of the yard dimmed slightly every time their eyes locked. Want. Yearning. Recognition. All tangled together so tight it almost made his chest ache.

She looked away first. Not by much. Just enough to smile at Grace and Therise as they walked over toward her carrying babies, diaper bags and chaos with them. Smoke’s attention followed automatically. 

Grace balanced little Lisa against her hip while Therise waddled carefully beside her, one hand rubbing absentmindedly across her stomach while her boys ran circles around her legs screaming at each other. Annie’s entire face changed when she saw them, brightening instantly. Grace pulled her into a one-armed hug while Lisa immediately started reaching for Annie with grabby little hands.

“Look at her!” Grace laughed. “This girl doesn’t go to just anybody.”

Annie laughed softly, taking Lisa against her hip without hesitation. Natural. Easy. Like she’d done it a hundred times before.

Something inside Smoke twisted painfully, because for one stupid dangerous second—he saw it. Saw Annie standing in a kitchen holding his baby while music played low in another room. Saw little brown babies with her eyes and his attitude running through a backyard somewhere. Saw years he never let himself think too hard about. The image hit hard enough to steal the air from his lungs.

Stack noticed immediately. His eyes slid toward Smoke before following his line of sight across the yard. Then back again. Stack cleared his throat loudly. Sharp enough to snap Smoke partly out of his head.

“You hear this nigga, bruh?” Stack asked suddenly, shoving a beer into Bo’s chest hard enough to spill some. “Talkin’ bout he could beat me one-on-one right now.”

Bo frowned immediately. “Man, when I say that?”

But before Stack could keep the distraction going—Isoo looked up.

“Hold up.”

Everybody went still automatically because Isoo always talked the loudest right before saying something stupid.

“Where Jada at?”

Stack’s entire body stiffened instantly. “Shut the fuck up,” he muttered fast.

Too late.

Isoo blinked. “What?”

Stack cut his eyes sharply toward Annie across the yard before lowering his voice. “Nigga damn.”

Smoke didn’t say anything immediately. Instead he reached into his pocket. Pulled out his cigarettes. Tapped one loose. Stuck it between his lips. The lighter clicked once. Twice. Then caught. Smoke took a slow drag while the group went quiet around him. His jaw ticked once as smoke rolled out low through his nose.

Jada heard him talking to Uncle Lewis a few days earlier about borrowing speakers. She started asking questions—

“Y’all havin’ somethin’?”

“Who all gonna be there?”

Small smile.

“Sounds fun.”

Smoke didn’t think much of it. At the time, it was just a cookout. People came. People brought people. That was normal. So when she casually mentioned coming too…he never corrected the assumption.

Then yesterday happened.

He opened Stack’s apartment door and Annie was standing there.

By the time Smoke realized she was staying—realized she’d be at the cookout, something selfish inside him tilted immediately. Not because he was doing anything wrong or he owed Annie anything. But suddenly the idea of Jada coming with him to the cookout and standing beside him all day felt wrong in a way he didn’t wanna examine too hard.

He hated himself a little for how quick that feeling came.

Then this morning Jada left a voicemail.  Soft. Apologetic. 

“Hey…I won’t be able to come to the cookout. Danielle called out sick and I gotta cover a showing.” She laughed. “Bad timing.”

Smoke remembered listening. Waiting to feel disappointed. Instead his chest loosened. That bothered him more than anything. 

Another drag. Then finally—“She had to work.” His voice came out flat. Smoke flicked ash into the grass. “She ain’t comin’.”

Bo looked at Cornbread. Cornbread looked at Stack. Stack looked at Smoke.

Everybody knew.

Only Isoo stayed oblivious. His eyes drifted toward the patio. His eyes widened dramatically. “Aw hell nah.”

Smoke already felt irritation crawling up his spine.

“Bruh, I know that ain’t fine ass Annie over there.”

Stack closed his eyes briefly like he already knew where this was going.

“She back back?” Isoo asked. “Like for real?”

Nobody answered fast enough. Which was apparently answer enough for him. Isoo straightened immediately, adjusting his shirt. “Shiiit then. Lemme go say what’s up.”

Cornbread muttered, “Here this nigga go.”

Isoo started moving.  Actually moving. Straight towards Annie and suddenly Smoke understood very clearly how easy it would be to hit somebody with a folding chair.

The thought arrived calm. Instant. Violent enough to make his jaw tighten hard. Annie wasn’t his anymore. He knew that. Understood it. But watching another man walk toward her still felt wrong enough to make something ugly rise low in his chest anyway.

Stack saw it happen in real time. Saw Smoke’s posture change. Saw his grip tighten slightly around the cigarette. 

“Aye,” Stack said, quickly stepping sideways into Smoke’s path just enough to interrupt whatever terrible decision was forming. “Relax.”

Smoke’s eyes stayed fixed on the back of Isoo’s head.

“He grown,” Stack continued lower. “Don’t start actin’ crazy in Cheryl yard.”

Mike snorted immediately beside them. “Too late. That nigga already look homicidal.”

Cornbread started laughing into his cup.

But Smoke didn’t laugh. Didn’t move either, because across the yard Annie looked up just as Isoo reached her. Isoo hugged Annie. Too long. Then said something and Annie laughed. Easy. Warm. The way she laughed with everybody. Smoke felt something pull low in his chest anyway. He watched another a little longer. Took one last drag. Then held the cigarette away from himself and exhaled.

“Somebody pour me somethin’.”

Stack looked over immediately.

Bo’s mouth started twitching.

Cornbread snorted into his cup.

Smoke kept watching Annie. “Strong.”

Stack blinked once. Looked toward Isoo. Then back at Smoke. His eyebrows lifted slowly. 

“…Oh niggaaaa.”

“ANNIE?”

The voice pulled her attention away from Lisa tugging at one of her braids. She turned and immediately laughed. She recognized him instantly.

Isaac Carter aka Isoo.

Older now, broader. Still handsome in that easy unfair way he’d always been. Dark skin glowing beneath the late afternoon sun, close-cut beard filling in where a baby face used to be, smile still stupidly nice. Tall too. Taller than she remembered. Athletic without trying too hard. He was always laughing, always flirting, and somehow there was always at least one girl claiming she was done with him before ending up right back beside him the next weekend.

But somehow—never hers. 

He’d always been sweet to Annie. Never flirty…just easy to be around. Annie remembered he carried her backpack once in sixth grade because she had too many books. By freshman year he’d gotten taller and louder and started football with Smoke and Stack. She remembered him telling some boy to leave her alone at a game once before wandering off like it wasn’t a big deal.

Pretty. Friendly. Community-approved. Terrible for relationships. Her mama loved him. Smoke tolerated him. Which honestly should’ve been her first clue. Isoo reached her and immediately pulled her into a hug. Long enough to feel familiar. Not long enough to feel weird.

She laughed against his shoulder. “Well damn.”

He pulled back looking at her fully. “Look at you.”

Annie rolled her eyes immediately. “Boy bye.”

“No seriously.” He looked offended. “You been in North Carolina eatin’ money?”

She laughed. “Hi to you too.”

Isoo smiled bigger. “Nah for real though.” His eyes moved over her once. Respectful. Surprised. Then landed back on her face. “You good?”

Something softened in her chest. She nodded. “Yeah.”

He smiled, then immediately started talking asking questions, and catching her up on old classmates who moved where, who got married and even who got arrested. Stories. People. Names.

Annie laughed, answered and nodded, but she wasn’t really listening. Her eyes kept drifting back towards Smoke.

Smoke leaned near Stack now. Cup in one hand, cigarette in the other. He talked less than everybody else. Watching more, then he tipped the cup back. One swallow.

Finished.

Her stomach tightened immediately and her eyes narrowed.That seemed…intentional.

He lowered the cup and looked directly at her.

Annie blinked and looked away back to Isoo. “…and remember Mary used to swear Stack wanted her?”

Annie nodded automatically. “Yes, yes I do.”

Isoo kept talking.  “…and Sarita got four kids now.”

“Uh huh.”

“…and you still owe me for them chips.”

She blinked. “Wait, what?”

Isoo laughed immediately. “See. You not listenin’.”

Her eyes widened. “No I am!”

His smile softened. His eyes drifted past her. He smirked slightly.  “Oh.”

Annie frowned. “What?”

Isoo laughed under his breath. “Nothin’.”

She turned automatically and saw movement, Pearline, Grace, Therise, little Lisa, and the boys, all slowly migrating toward the grill pits where Stack, Smoke, and the other men were.

Annie immediately straightened. There it was—her out. She looked back at Isoo, smiled and pointed. “Oh they movin’.”

Isoo looked over then back at her. His smile widened immediately. “Aw damn.”

Annie laughed. “What?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Nothin’.” But his eyes flicked once—past her. Towards Smoke, then back again.

Suddenly Annie had the strange feeling she wasn’t the only person pretending not to notice things today.

Stack noticed Pearline before she noticed him, though he told himself he was only looking because Grace and Therise had started making their way toward the grill pit with the kids. That was almost believable for a minute. Grace had Lisa balanced on one hip, the baby’s fat hand reaching for every dangling necklace and plastic cup she passed, while Therise moved slower beside her, heavily pregnant and already threatening her boys through clenched teeth whenever they got too close to the food tables. But then Pearline stepped around a folding chair and Stack’s attention went straight to her. 

The red-and-white striped dress hugged her body in a way that made him forget whatever Cornbread had been saying about ribs, the slit opening with every other step to show the smooth brown line of her leg. Her ponytail brushed the open skin of her back, and the sunlight caught her hoops each time she laughed at something Grace said. 

Stack stared too long. He knew he had because Pearline caught him before she even reached the group, her eyes narrowing with that familiar warning that usually meant he was already in trouble.

“What?” she asked once she got close enough to be heard over the music. 

Stack took a sip from his beer and tried to look innocent. “Nothin’.” 

Pearline folded her arms, which only made the dress worse on him. “That was a look.” 

Grace immediately made a noise under her breath, delighted to have caught something. Stack ignored her and let his eyes move over Pearline one more time, slower than he meant to, before he shrugged. 

“You look good. That’s all.” 

Pearline’s face changed for barely a second, the smallest softening around her mouth before she rolled her eyes to cover it. 

“You drunk?” 

“Not yet,” he said, and that pulled a laugh out of her despite herself.

The laugh didn’t last long. Pearline’s gaze drifted past his shoulder towards Annie and Isoo, then towards Smoke, and the lightness left her face almost immediately. 

Stack saw it happen and sighed through his nose, already knowing where her mind had gone. She stepped closer so the music and voices around them swallowed the conversation. 

“She really ain’t comin’?” 

Stack didn’t ask who. He glanced at Smoke, who had been pretending to listen to the men for the last several minutes while watching Annie every chance he got, then looked back at Pearline. 

“She ain’t comin’.” 

Pearline looked away, but her exhale didn’t sound relieved enough. “I should tell Annie.” 

Stack frowned. “Tell her what?” 

The look she gave him answered before she did. 

Stack followed Pearline’s gaze toward Annie, who was still smiling at Isoo and pretending she wasn’t checking Smoke’s location every few breaths. 

“You worried for no reason,” Stack said quietly.

Pearline folded her arms tighter. “She deserves to know.” 

Stack studied her face, then shook his head. “If them two stop bein’ scary and actually talk, Jada gon’ become a memory real quick.” 

Pearline looked at him long enough for her expression to soften, but the guilt didn’t leave her face completely.  “…I hope you right.” 

Stack hated how small she sounded when she said it, so he reached out and hooked an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side before she could decide whether she wanted comfort or not. 

Pearline shoved at his chest immediately, but there was no force behind it. “Stack.” 

He only held on tighter, which was exactly when Grace saw them.

“Oooooh,” Grace said, loud enough to drag Bo’s attention from his cup and Cornbread’s from the grill. Therise smiled immediately, one hand on her stomach rubbing it in circles. 

“Look at the lovebirds,” Grace sang, pointing like she had discovered something scandalous instead of two people who had been circling each other since high school. 

Pearline groaned and tried harder to push Stack away while he grinned beside her. 

Bo nodded like he was witnessing history. “You finally wore her down, huh?” 

Pearline gasped. “Excuse me?” 

Stack, because he had no sense of self-preservation, nodded solemnly. “Persistence.” 

She shoved him again, and this time he actually laughed. 

Before Pearline could cuss him out properly, Aunt Cheryl’s voice cut across the backyard loud enough to make several conversations stop at once. 

“AIGHT! FOOD IS READY! OLD FOLKS FIRST, THEN KIDS, THEN EVERYBODY ELSE’S GREEDY ASSES!” 

The yard rearranged itself immediately. Chairs scraped across grass, kids ran toward the tables, aunties started directing traffic, and Cornbread stood up with an enthusiasm that made Therise stare at him in disgust. 

“Boys,” he called, and both of his sons appeared like he had summoned them. 

He pointed at himself proudly. “That’s us.” 

The crowd moved in that strange, ordinary way people always did once food got announced. Conversations broke apart mid-story. Somebody’s aunt called for kids that pretended not to hear. People started drifting toward the tables in loose groups with paper plates already in hand while others migrated toward shade and folding chairs to claim seats before the older folks took the good ones.

Pearline noticed Annie.

She looked up and caught her standing a few yards away with Isoo still beside her. Grace had already moved off toward the food with Bo and Lisa while Therise followed after Cornbread and the boys, one hand rubbing her stomach while fussing at her youngest to stop running. Mike had disappeared toward a group of women near the fence and somebody else called Isoo’s name from across the yard.

Pearline watched the moment happen in real time. Isoo looked toward whoever called him. Annie looked toward the grill. Isoo said something. Annie laughed politely. Then they split. Isoo peeled off into another conversation without much thought and Annie kept walking.

Stack followed Pearline’s line of sight and immediately understood.

Smoke hadn’t moved, but his attention already had.

Stack looked between them once before leaning slightly toward Pearline. “Oh.”

Pearline folded her arms. “…yeah.”

Annie slowed near the grill pit.

Smoke looked up. Nobody had orchestrated it or moved out the way on purpose. But somehow when everything settled—kids, plates, conversations, chairs—there wasn’t anybody left standing between them.

Stack looked over at Pearline. Pearline looked at him. Neither said anything. Stack smiled first. Quiet.

“Told you.”

Smoke looked at her first. Annie looked up a heartbeat later. The backyard stayed loud around them, all music and laughter and children whining for juice, but the space between them seemed to quiet anyway.

Annie smiled first, too quick and nervous, her fingers brushing one of her braids behind her ear. 

Smoke cleared his throat like the simplest word required effort.  “…hey.” 

Her smile softened.  “Hi.” 

The silence after that stretched just long enough for everybody close enough to notice and pretend they weren’t watching. 

Smoke’s eyes moved over her once, brief and controlled, but not brief enough.  “You look nice,” he said, voice lower than it had been with anybody else. 

Annie blinked, surprised by the directness, then looked at him with a warmth that made Stack glance away out of respect for what felt like an intimate moment between them.  “Thank you, so do you.”

For a moment neither of them moved. Then Smoke leaned in for a hug, careful in a way that made the gesture hurt more than it should have. His hand touched the bare skin of her back for less than a second before he seemed to remember himself and pulled away. Annie stepped back too quickly, smoothing her dress even though nothing had moved out of place. 

Smoke looked toward the grill. Annie looked toward the tables. 

Stack looked at Pearline, and Pearline looked right back at him. Neither of them said it out loud, but they both understood the same thing— 

If Smoke and Annie were going to survive the rest of this cookout, everybody else needed to get out of the way.

As they moved toward the food tables, the crowd gradually absorbed and rearranged around them in the familiar rhythm family gatherings always settled into once food got announced. 

An auntie passed by balancing a stack of paper plates against her stomach while still carrying on a conversation over her shoulder. Children threaded between folding chairs until their mother finally caught one by the arm and redirected him toward the drinks cooler. The buffet stretched beneath two long folding tables pushed end to end and covered in white plastic tablecloths already wrinkled from heat and elbows. 

Aluminum pans ran nearly the entire length of it, some covered in foil folded back halfway, others already opened and steaming into the humid air. Ribs sat dark and glossy beneath sauce collecting in the corners of the tray. Fried catfish rested in paper towel-lined pans beside golden chicken wings dusted with seasoning. Hot dogs rolled against each other near hamburgers wrapped loosely in foil to keep warm. Baked beans glistened thick with brown sugar and pieces of smoked meat, while macaroni and cheese sat heavy and golden around the edges where it had baked too long in the best way. Someone brought green beans cooked down soft with onions and turkey necks. And corn that sat shining looking like sunlight slathered in butter. 

The potato salad disappeared the fastest.

A pan of deviled eggs already looked picked over. Coolers lined the ground underneath, packed with bottled water, canned soda, wine coolers, beer, Capri Suns, and ice melting faster than people could replace it.

Annie found herself walking beside Smoke simply because everybody else had drifted off somewhere and neither of them seemed interested in making a thing out of separating.

The heat had settled differently now that the sun was lowering. It still sat heavy against her skin, but the sharpness had worn off and left everything softer around the edges. Her braids brushed against her back every time she moved, and she became hyper aware of things she hadn’t meant to notice.

Smoke still shortened his pace slightly whenever people crowded too close. He still moved to the outside of pathways without thinking. When one of Cornbread’s boys nearly collided with her carrying a dripping popsicle, Smoke placed a light hand at the center of her back and guided her around him before continuing forward. He didn’t seem aware he’d done it.

Uncle Lewis passed carrying another folding table under one arm and slowed long enough to nod toward Smoke.

“Smoke, appreciate you bringin’ them speakers and tables over.”

Smoke shrugged without looking up. “Ain’t nothin’.”

Lewis laughed and kept moving. “Easy for you to say. You got more room out there than all of us.”

Smoke shook his head once but didn’t answer and Lewis kept walking.

Annie watched him go before looking over.

“…more room?”

Smoke glanced at her. “At my house.”

She looked at him and waited for the rest of the sentence. When none came, she frowned slightly. “Your house?”

His expression switched immediately into confusion.

“…yeah.”

She stared at him long enough that he finally looked over fully. “What?”

Her eyebrows lifted, “you got a house?”

Now he looked confused that she was confused. Assuming she knew already. “Yeah.”

She looked at him harder. “What you mean ‘yeah’?”

His shoulders moved lightly. “I been there a few years.” Then after a second— “Built it.”

Her steps slowed enough for him to notice, just enough for something in his expression to soften as he looked over at her again.

She stared for another second. “You built it?”

He nodded once.

Her mouth opened slightly.“Oh my God.”

Smoke frowned. “What?”

She looked at him again, then laughed quietly. “You said that.”

His eyebrows pulled together. “Said what?”

She smiled and looked toward the food line ahead of them, but she wasn’t really seeing it anymore. The memory came back whole in the strange way old things sometimes did when one detail unlocked another. It had been junior year. Football season. Everybody sitting outside Mike’s house after practice because nobody wanted to go home yet. Stack had been arguing loudly about something nobody cared about and Smoke had been sitting back quieter than everybody else. Mike asked what they wanted to do when they got older and everybody gave normal answers first. But not Smoke.

She looked back at him. “You said if you ever had enough money you wanted your own place.”

His face stayed still.

She kept walking. “You said you wanted a house nobody could tell you to leave.”

His eyes stayed on her now.

She smiled. “You wanted land too.” Her smile widened slightly. “You said enough land that if you wanted to walk outside in your drawers and yell at people, nobody could stop you.”

That got an actual laugh out of him.

She noticed immediately. Then she continued. “You said you wanted a porch.”

Her voice softened naturally as more of it came back. “You said you wanted somewhere that felt yours.”

Smoke looked at her for a long moment before speaking. 

“…you remember that?”

The question surprised her enough that she looked at him fully.

She smiled. “Yeah.” Then she shrugged lightly. “I remember stuff people tell me.” Her eyes moved away briefly before returning. “Especially people I care about.”

She heard herself as soon as she said it. Her expression changed before she could stop it. Not because she regretted saying it. More because she realized she hadn’t filtered herself before speaking.

Smoke looked at her. It wasn’t the polite kind of looking people do while waiting for their turn to talk. He looked at her in a way that made her suddenly aware of how many things she still remembered that she had never meant to keep. Not birthdays or milestones or dramatic moments. She remembered conversations. Things said in passing. Dreams he admitted before they became real. The version of him that still existed before life hardened around them.

The feeling settled strangely in her chest.

Before either of them could sit inside it too long, a cousin farther back the buffet line shouted asking whether they planned on eating or standing there flirting all damn day while everybody else starved.

Everyone in the vicinity laughed immediately.

Annie smiled and looked away.

Smoke shook his head and stepped forward reaching for the plates and silverware, handing Annie hers first.

Annie grabbed rice first, then baked beans, one rib, and macaroni before lowering the spoon.

Smoke looked down at her plate. “That’s all?”

She looked over. “What?”

His eyes stayed on the food. “That ain’t enough..”

Before she could answer, he reached over and took the plate from her hands with a familiarity that surprised both of them. He added another rib, another spoonful of macaroni and baked beans, then a piece of chicken before handing it back.

Annie laughed. “Elijah.”

His hand paused for a second after she said his name. Then he nodded once. “Aight, aight.”

He didn’t remove anything.

She looked down at the plate, then back at him. Her smile stayed.

Together they moved down the line while someone behind them accused Cornbread of taking too many deviled eggs while Aunt Cheryl threatened to start assigning portions if people didn’t stop acting greedy.

The line moved slower than it looked from far away. Every plate became a conversation. A family friend wanted to know who made the potato salad. Another was trying to negotiate for corner pieces of macaroni before Aunt Cheryl caught them digging. An uncle argued loudly that people always forget the hot sauce until another aunt pointed at the bottle directly in front of him and called him an “old senile ass.”

By the time Annie and Smoke reached the end of the buffet, the noise had settled into that familiar cookout rhythm where nobody stayed in one place long but somehow everybody still knew where everybody else was.

Smoke took a step aside to let a man squeeze past carrying three overloaded plates and looked around while Annie adjusted her grip on hers. Every table seemed occupied. Not full exactly—there were open seats scattered around, but occupied in the way family gatherings always worked where every chair belonged to someone else whether they were sitting in it or not. Kids had abandoned half-eaten plates to run through the yard. Older people spread purses and keys across tables like territory markers. A guest had even turned a cooler into a seat. Another was eating standing up beside the fence.

Without saying anything, Smoke angled toward one of the folding tables beneath the pecan trees.

Annie followed automatically.

The table sat just far enough from the speakers that conversation didn’t require yelling but close enough that the music still carried. Empty paper plates and sweating drink cans crowded one end where people had clearly already eaten and moved on. Two chairs sat open.

Smoke reached the table first and pulled one out with his foot before sitting in the other.

The movement was small. Easy. So easy she almost missed it, but she didn’t. Her chest tightened unexpectedly. Not because he pulled out her chair. He didn’t. It was the assumption of it. The same quiet way he used to make room for her without asking.

She adjusted her dress beneath her legs before settling into the folding chair. Annie picked up her fork.

Smoke looked at her, looked at the plate, and then back up. His eyebrows lifted slightly.

She blinked. “What?”

Something flickered across his face—just enough.

She stared at him for another second. Then immediately laughed. “Oh my Go—I mean, forgive me Jesus.” She shook her head smiling. “Sorry.” She put her fork back down.

He watched her for a second before reaching across the table and taking one of her hands. Natural, like he’d done it yesterday instead of years ago.

His hand was warm. Calloused. Her breath caught for reasons she chose not to examine.

Smoke lowered his head slightly.

“Lord, thank You for this food. Thank You for bringin’ everybody together and lettin’ us see another day. Bless the hands that prepared it. Watch over everybody here and everybody we still waitin’ on. Keep us grateful for what You give and open to receive what You send.”

His thumb brushed once lightly against the side of her hand. Then— “And let Aunt Cheryl stop threatenin’ people over them damn deviled eggs.”

Annie laughed instantly.

Around them Aunt Cheryl yelled—“I HEARD THAT.”

Smoke smiled faintly, then finished quietly. “Amen.”

“Amen.”

He let go of her hand. Too fast. Annie looked at her hand before looking back at him. Her smile softened. “You still do that.”

Smoke frowned. “Do what?”

She looked down at her plate. “Pray before you eat.”

He shrugged. “You know who raised me.”

Annie smiled. No. That wasn’t it. His mama did raise him, but Smoke had always prayed. Quietly. Consistently. Even back then. She realized she remembered that too.

Smoke unfolded his napkin and laid it across his lap before immediately reaching for the hot sauce.

Annie watched.

He caught her looking. “What?”

She smiled. “Nothin’.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

She looked down at her plate. Then up at him again. “You still put hot sauce on everything.”

Smoke looked at the bottle in his hand, then shrugged. “Food be needin’ help.”

She laughed. His mouth twitched. That surprised her more than it should have.

For a while they ate in silence. The kind of silence that would’ve felt uncomfortable with anybody else, somehow didn’t here. Around them people moved in waves—some yelling for more napkins. Children screamed somewhere near the water hose. Latimore had turned into GloRilla and half the older crowd immediately started complaining. Smoke ate slowly. Methodically. Annie realized she remembered that too.

She looked down at her own plate, and then reached for her fork.

Smoke looked over. “That all you eatin’?”

She looked up. His eyes were already on her plate again. She laughed. “You already fixed my plate, Elijah.”

His eyebrows lifted. “You eat around stuff.”

Her hand paused. “What?”

He nodded toward the plate. “You ain’t touch the beans.”

She blinked. Then looked down. He was right.Her fork had worked around the baked beans completely.

She stared. Then looked back at him.  “…how you know that?”

Smoke looked confused. “You always did that.”

She laughed softly and shook her head.

That one got her. The fact he said it like it was obvious. Like eight years wasn’t enough time to forget she hated baked beans touching other food.

She picked up her fork again. “You remember weird stuff.”

He shrugged. “I remember regular stuff.”

Something about that landed heavier than she expected. She took another bite before smiling. 

“You still do that.”

His eyes lifted. “Do what?”

She nodded toward his plate. “Eat like somebody gon’ grade you on it.”

One side of his mouth moved. “What that mean?”

She laughed softly. “You eat real careful.”

His eyes dropped briefly to his plate. “That’s normal.”

She smiled. “No. Stack eat normal.”

Smoke glanced over automatically.

Stack stood near the grill eating the way he did everything else—too fast, talking too much, and one distracted moment away from ruining his shirt.

Smoke looked back. “…aight.”

That made her laugh harder. His mouth moved again into an almost smile. She leaned back in her chair and looked around.

The yard felt different sitting down. Slower. The sunlight filtering through the pecan trees had softened now, turning everything warmer. Smoke from the grill drifted lazily overhead. Lisa ran by holding a juice pouch bigger than her arm while Grace chased behind her. Therise sat nearby rubbing her stomach while Cornbread argued with one of his boys about eating vegetables.

Annie looked back at Smoke. “You really built it?” 

He looked up.

“The house.”

His expression softened slightly. “Oh.” He nodded. “Yeah.”

She rested her elbow lightly against the table. “How?”

He looked at her. Then looked out across the yard, like he had to decide where to start.

She realized she wanted to hear all of it. Not the short version people gave at reunions or the highlights. She wanted the real version. 

The one she would’ve gotten if she never left.

Smoke realized halfway through explaining it that he was talking more than he usually did.

At first he answered the way he answered everybody else when they asked about work. Short version. Practical version. He stabbed at his red velvet cake while he talked and kept his eyes mostly on his plate.

“Started doin’ framing after high school.”

Annie looked up.

He kept going. “One of Uncle Lewis’ friends needed people. Started residential first. Learned enough to move around.”

She nodded once, listening.

Smoke kept eating. “Then commercial work. Then started doin’ jobs myself.”

She tilted her head slightly. “How old were you?”

He thought about it. “Twenty-two? Twenty-three.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “That young?”

He shrugged. “Didn’t feel young.”

She smiled a little at that.

He noticed. Then kept going.

Somewhere between another bite of food and folks across the yard yelling about cheating at dominoes, he realized he stopped giving the short version.

He told her about working in summer heat until his clothes stuck to him by noon. About learning measurements by messing things up first. About figuring out pretty quickly he liked being outside more than behind a desk. He told her how one house became two and then somehow there were people working under him before he ever felt ready for that part.

He expected her to eventually stop listening. People usually did. They asked questions because they thought houses sounded impressive, then lost interest halfway through answers.

Annie didn’t. She kept asking strange questions. Questions nobody asked. “What’s your favorite part?”

Smoke looked up. “What?”

She shrugged and took a bite of her peach cobbler. “When you build.”

He stared at her, nobody ever asked that. He thought about it. Then answered honestly. “When it stop lookin’ like work.”

She smiled. “What that mean?”

He looked out toward the yard automatically. Trying to explain. “When you first start, it's just dirt.”

She watched him.

Then he continued. “Then wood and walls. Then eventually you standin’ in somethin’ that ain’t exist six months ago.”

She nodded immediately, like she understood.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

She smiled. “You always liked that part.”

Smoke looked at her.

Her fork paused halfway to her mouth. She blinked. “What?”

He stared.

“What?”

His voice came quieter. “How you know that?”

She looked confused, then looked down and laughed. Her shoulders lifted. “You used to draw houses.”

His eyebrows pulled together.

She kept talking. “Back of notebooks.”

His chest started tightening just enough to make breathing feel different.

She looked embarrassed suddenly. “I remember weird stuff.”

Smoke looked at her. Then shook his head. “Nah.”

She looked up.

His mouth moved slightly. “You remember regular stuff.”

Something changed in her face after that, something smaller than sadness. More careful. She looked down at her plate for a second before taking another bite.

He looked away first.

The yard kept moving around them.

Cornbread was chasing one of his boys holding a rib in each hand. The music somehow got louder. Aunt Cheryl yelled at people to throw their plates away. Little Lisa was crying somewhere and Grace sounded one second from laughing and losing patience at the same time.

Smoke looked back at Annie. She was eating slower now. She always did. Then he realized something. He’d been talking almost the entire time.

He frowned slightly. “What about you?”

She looked up.

He nodded once. “What you been doin’?”

Her expression changed immediately. He recognized that too. The small pause before she answered, like she was deciding what version to give.

She looked out at the yard, then back at him and started talking. Work first. Easy things. North Carolina. Her apartment. Her routine. People she’d met.

Stories.

While she talked, Smoke realized something he wasn’t prepared for. She still told stories the same way. Started in the middle. Circled back later. Used her hands when she got excited. Apologized when she thought she was talking too much.

He listened and somewhere between hearing about grocery stores, coworkers, apartment maintenance requests and how she still hated driving in Charlotte traffic—he realized something that settled low in his chest and stayed there.

He didn’t know this version of her. Not like before, but every few minutes she’d laugh a certain way, tilt her head, or remember something small and he’d recognize her again.

By the time people started slowing down on third plates and settling into the familiar rhythm of a Southern cookout—eating, arguing, walking, sitting back down just to stand up again five minutes later—the energy in the yard softened into something looser. The loud excitement of arrivals had worn off and settled into clusters. Older folks migrated toward shade and folding chairs, paper plates balanced on laps while conversations stretched across years and family trees. Kids had already abandoned actual meals in favor of popsicles, chips, and running themselves sick. The music changed again. Luther faded into Dru Hill for a minute before somebody protested and switched it back.

Geneva appeared carrying a clear plastic storage tub against her hip with the same expression she always wore before causing problems.

Nobody noticed at first, except Aunt Cheryl. She pointed immediately . “Ah hell nah.”

Geneva ignored her and kept walking.

Stack spotted the tub next and groaned. “Put them fuckin’ pictures back, mane.”

That got everybody’s attention. People started reacting before she even reached the tables.

“Not today.”

“Who got old pictures?”

“Geneva don’t start.”

Geneva dropped the tub onto an empty section of the buffet table between the leftover buns and a sweating pitcher of sweet tea. “I was cleanin’ closets.”

Nobody believed that.

The pictures came out anyway. 

It happened naturally after that. People stopped eating long enough to drift over and look. Hands started reaching. Some found an elementary school picture and immediately started roasting hairstyles. Someone else found old prom photos. A cousin started lying about ages and got corrected instantly. Kids kept trying to grab pictures and getting their hands smacked away before somebody else handed them disposable cameras from another pile to distract them.

Annie ended up near the table without meaning to. Smoke ended up there too beside her. Close enough, but nobody commented.

Geneva stood flipping through a stack while narrating to nobody in particular.“Lord look at this.”

“Oh this was ugly.”

“Who dressed us, the fuck?”

People leaned in and out around her shoulder. Grace had Lisa balanced against one hip while trying to steal bites off Bo’s plate at the same time. Therise sat lower in her chair rubbing absent circles over her stomach while one of her boys climbed halfway into her lap. Pearline had somehow inserted herself directly into the center of everything and Stack kept appearing over her shoulder anytime she laughed.

Geneva flipped one more. Stopped. Looked again and her face changed. Her eyebrows climbed and her mouth opened slightly before she made a low noise in her throat.

“Aww shit.”

That caught more attention than yelling would have. People turned.

“What?”

Geneva stared another second, and looked up. Her eyes moved once to Annie and Smoke, then back down. A sneaky ass smile started pulling at her mouth. She held the picture against her chest.

“Oh y’all thought y’all was slick.”

Immediately everybody wanted to see. Pearline reached for the picture, but Geneva pulled away. 

Stack tried to reach for it and again, Geneva pulled away.

Grace leaned forward laughing. “Move!”

Geneva laughed and finally handed the picture over.

Pearline took the photograph and immediately stopped smiling.

At first Annie thought she was joking, waiting for some exaggerated reaction or teasing comment, but Pearline just looked down at the picture for a long time. Her eyes moved once across the image, then lifted slowly toward Annie before drifting across the table toward Smoke and back down again. Something changed in her face—it wasn't a shock exactly, more recognition mixed with the satisfaction of finally having evidence for something she already suspected.

Her mouth stretched into a grin. “Oh y’all was bad.”

That was enough.

People started reaching automatically. Stack tried to take it and got smacked away. Bo leaned halfway across Grace to see. A cousin behind them started asking questions before they’d even seen it. The picture moved from hand to hand through overlapping reactions and commentary until eventually it ended up in Annie’s hands.

The photograph looked older than it actually was. Printed on glossy paper that had picked up faint bends and fingerprints over the years, the colors had softened just enough to make the whole thing feel warmer than real life. Like memory had edited it. 

Summer sunlight flattened everything into soft gold. Somebody’s backyard stretched behind them in a blur of folding chairs, coolers, and people half-cut out of frame. Stack stood in the background throwing up signs with his hands. Smoke sat in one of those cheap ass woven lawn chairs that somehow survived every cookout, stretched out in a white t-shirt and basketball shorts, looking mildly irritated that a camera was pointed in his direction.

And Annie—She stared. 

She was asleep, actually asleep.Her head rested against Smoke’s shoulder and her body had turned naturally toward him in the way people did when they trusted something enough to stop paying attention to it. One hand sat folded beneath her cheek. Her legs had curled in his direction.

But her attention kept returning to something she hadn’t noticed immediately. Smoke’s arm.

It rested around her side.

Not wrapped tightly, but it looked absentminded almost—his forearm curved behind her, hand resting lightly against her body as if steadying her had become automatic somewhere along the day and nobody thought enough of it to move. The thing that unsettled her most was that he wasn’t even looking at her. He’d been talking to somebody outside the frame. His expression looked normal. Like there was nothing unusual about any of it.

Annie stared harder. She remembered that cookout. She was fourteen at the time. She remembered being tired as hell. She remembered being hot and eating too much and probably complaining about something.

She did not remember this though.

Around her the conversation started unfolding the way family memories always did—not one person telling a story while everybody listened, but people remembering sideways together.

“Oh I remember that.”

“That was Barbara backyard. She done gone to Glory now.”

“She had worked that morning.”

“She fell asleep outside?”

Grace leaned farther in and laughed before pointing directly at Smoke.

“Wait. Why she sleep on you?”

Smoke looked once at the picture. His shoulders moved. “She was tired.”

That answer got a louder reaction than the picture itself.

Stack stared at him in disbelief. “That’s your defense?”

Smoke looked confused. “What else was she supposed to do?”

People started laughing harder.

Aunt Cheryl wandered over carrying sweet tea and looked down at the picture. Her face changed immediately. 

“Oh yeah.”

Everybody turned.

She pointed with her cup. “She passed out after she ate.”

Another cousin snapped her fingers. “Yes.”

Aunt Cheryl nodded once. “And Smoke wouldn’t let nobody move her.”

Annie looked up. Smoke looked away.

Another auntie laughed. “He carried her inside later.”

Smoke frowned. “No I didn’t.”

That got corrected immediately from three different directions. “Yes you did.”

Geneva pointed at the picture. “You carried her upstairs and put her in Barbara room.”

Another cousin jumped in. “You wouldn’t let nobody wake her.”

Smoke looked offended now. “That is not what happened.”

Uncle Lewis finally looked over from where he’d been eating and didn’t even pause before answering. “You said she wake up irritated and you ain’t want folks botherin’ her.”

The yard lost it.

Smoke looked personally betrayed. Geneva kept flipping. Another picture surfaced. Football game. Annie wearing a hoodie too big.  Smoke’s. Smoke beside her. Another cookout. Smoke fixing her plate. Another. School event. A group photo. People spread out across the frame. Except somehow Annie and Smoke were always touching. Shoulders brushing, knees angled together. Standing too close. Leaning or looking enough that once people started noticing it became impossible to stop.

Grace took one and looked down for a long second before slowly lifting her eyes. Her smile faded slightly. 

“Oh.”

Nobody answered.

She looked again. Then back up. “Oh y’all was together together.”

That quieted things more than the teasing had.

Aunt Cheryl looked over casually. “I always knew.”

People looked at her.

She shrugged. “What?”

Her eyes moved toward Smoke. “That boy looked for her before he did anything.”

Another auntie nodded immediately. “If Annie wasn’t outside he wasn’t stayin’ outside long.”

Someone laughed. Another added—“She sat beside him everywhere.”

Lewis pointed with his fork. “That boy built his whole schedule around her.”

Smoke immediately objected. “Mane, Unc—”

Stack started laughing immediately and pointed toward Uncle Lewis. “Nah, Unc—you right. You right.”

Smoke turned instantly. “Shut the fuck up, mane.”

Stack ignored him completely. “Practice over?” He nodded dramatically. “Where Annie.”

People started laughing harder.

Stack kept going. “Weekend?” Another nod. “Where Annie.”

He pointed toward Smoke with his cup. “Lunch?” Shrug. “Did Annie eat?”

Cornbread barked out laughing.

Stack looked around the group like he’d just solved a mystery. “Damn. This nigga ain’t have no hobbies.”

Annie looked over at Smoke. Smoke refused eye contact.

Aunt Cheryl took another sip and looked down at more photographs in front of her and began shaking her head. Her voice softened. 

“I really thought y’all was gon’ get married.”

Nobody laughed, because it didn’t shock them, she sounded sincere.

Her eyes moved between Annie and Smoke before settling back onto the pictures.

“Y’all was serious.” She smiled faintly. “Then Annie moved.”

The conversation didn’t stop after that. Somewhere behind them kids screamed over a water hose, others argued about ribs. Foil crinkled. But Annie looked back down at her fourteen-year-old self sleeping against Smoke and realized something she had never considered before.

They thought they had been private while everybody else had been watching them fall in love.

Aunt Cheryl took another sip of her sweet tea and continued casually—“I told yo’ mama to let you stay with me.”

The noise around the table kept moving for another second before it stalled.

Annie looked up. “Ma’am?”

Aunt Cheryl looked at her like she’d forgotten Annie didn’t know. “When y’all moved,” she shrugged lightly. “I told her leave you here with us so you could finish school.”

Smoke looked over, actually looked.

Pearline frowned. “You did?”

Before Cheryl could answer another voice floated over.

“She did.”

Everybody turned. Pearline’s mother Maxine stepped out from the house carrying a wine glass and one of those paper plates bending under too much food.

She looked between them. “We both did.” She sat down carefully. “We told your mama movin’ you your senior year wasn’t right if she didn’t have to.”

Annie stared.

Maxine shrugged. “Especially when you already basically lived over here.” She gave a small laugh. “You and…” she pointed toward Pearline.  “…Pea.”

Pearline groaned immediately. “Mamaaa, please stop callin’ me that.”

Maxine ignored her. “…came home cryin’.”

Annie blinked. “What?”

Aunt Cheryl nodded once. “You don’t remember?”

And suddenly she remembered. The memory came back the way it always did—through feeling first and details second. Cardboard boxes stacked against her bedroom wall. Her mother kneeling beside an open suitcase folding shirts with the kind of quiet focus that usually meant her mind was already somewhere else. Annie standing in the doorway pretending she wasn’t crying yet.

She remembered asking casually the first time. What if I stay with Pearline for the year?

Her mother hadn’t even looked up. No.

Annie remembered trying again later. Different day. Different approach. What if I stay with Aunt Cheryl?

That time her mother paused long enough for hope to show up where it shouldn’t have. Then— Baby, we already talked about this.

Annie remembered stepping farther into the room. I’ll come to North Carolina after graduation.

Her mother finally looked at her then. You comin’ with me.

Final.

Back then Annie thought that had been the whole conversation. She thought she asked, her mother said no, and life kept moving.

Sitting here now with a faded photograph in her hands and Aunt Cheryl looking at her over sweet tea, she realized there had been other conversations after she left the room. Adult conversations. Aunt Cheryl and Aunt Max offering. Them trying. People who saw her life here and tried to protect it in ways she never knew. And suddenly the ache sitting in her chest wasn’t about moving anymore. It was realizing she hadn’t imagined wanting to stay. 

She looked back at Aunt Cheryl. “…you asked?” 

Aunt Cheryl nodded.

Maxine took a sip. “She wasn’t hearin’ it.”

Nobody said anything more after that.

Annie looked down at the photograph again. Fourteen. Asleep on Smoke. Everybody thinking they had time. Her chest tightened worse. Not at her mother. Her mother had done what she thought was right, but suddenly—for the first time—she saw another version.

Senior year. One more year. Graduation. Prom. Football games. One more summer. One more year with him.

Her eyes lifted before she meant them to. Smoke was already looking at her. For the first time all afternoon—he looked surprised as well, like this changed something for him too.

Annie swallowed and set the picture down carefully.

Pearline looked up immediately. “Annie?”

Annie forced a small smile. “…I need a drink.”

She started walking away before she started mourning something she never realized she almost had.

Annie started moving before she fully decided to.

Her hand left the photograph and settled automatically against the edge of the table while her mind tried to reorganize itself around information she hadn’t known existed five minutes earlier. 

Around them the cookout continued uninterrupted. Mike asked where the hamburger buns went. Children ran past with wet shirts and popsicles staining their mouths. One of the older men near the domino table laughed so loudly the sound carried over the music. 

Normal.

The whole yard stayed normal. Which somehow made the ache sitting low in Annie’s chest feel sharper.

She smiled automatically and leaned her weight backward.

“I’m finna go get—”

Her voice stopped from surprise. Smoke’s hand had closed loosely around hers. For a second she looked at their hands before she looked at him.

He hadn’t moved otherwise. He was still standing near the table. Same expression mostly. But something had changed. The usual restraint she remembered in him had slipped somewhere while everybody talked. His face looked quieter now. Less guarded. Like he’d stopped paying attention to the people around them without realizing it.

When he finally spoke, his voice stayed low enough that she almost missed it beneath the noise.

“You asked to stay?”

She looked at him and suddenly she understood that he wasn’t asking for clarification. He was asking if what they said was true.

Her chest tightened.

She looked away first trying to find the right version of the answer. She gave a small laugh that disappeared almost immediately.

“Yeah.”

Her thumb stirred once beneath his hand.

“I asked.” She swallowed. “Then I asked again.” A small smile pulled briefly at her mouth. “And again.” 

Her shoulders lifted slightly. “Till she finally had to tell me stop askin’.”

Annie said it so lightly, like something she’d made peace with a long time ago.

But Smoke’s face changed. His eyes stayed on her longer than before and she felt his thumb move once against the side of her hand before he seemed to realize what he was doing and went still again.

When he spoke again his voice sounded different—honest in a way she wasn’t prepared for. 

“I thought you wanted to leave.”

Her head turned immediately in confusion. “What?”

His eyes dropped briefly before coming back to her. His jaw flexed once, then his shoulders moved in the smallest shrug. 

“I thought you was ready.”

Annie stared at him—something uncomfortable and sad opened inside her. Not because of what he said, but because she understood. She thought he knew. Thought he understood she didn’t want to go. Thought he knew she cried every night. All this time he thought she left and learned how to live without him.

Her eyebrows pulled together. Her answer came before she could edit it. 

“I never wanted to leave.”

Smoke looked at her the way people look when they realize they’ve been carrying the wrong version of a story for years and suddenly don’t know where to put it.

Neither of them moved or acknowledged they were still holding hands.

The yard kept moving around them anyway. Music changed. Coolers opening. Aunt Cheryl started yelling about sweet tea.

But something had changed. Not outside.

Between them.

Annie looked at him and realized she had been carrying guilt she never examined. Smoke looked at her and realized he’d been carrying rejection that wasn’t real. For one impossible second she wondered how many years they had both spent grieving two completely different versions of the same goodbye.

Then a voice came from in front of them.

Familiar.

Close enough that it belonged there.

“Hey...”

The moment broke. Smoke turned. Annie turned too.

Jada stood a few feet away with an expensive handbag in her hand and sunglasses pushed up into her curls. She looked like somebody who had arrived late to something ordinary.

Her eyes landed on Smoke first. Then lowered… stopped.

Annie followed her gaze.

Their hands.

Jada looked up again. This time at Annie.

Annie turned back toward Smoke automatically and for the first time all day she couldn’t read his face. He didn’t pull away and he didn’t tighten his grip either. If anything, he seemed to become aware of the moment at the exact same time she did. 

His eyes moved to Jada and stayed there for a second before coming back to Annie. She watched something pass across his face—surprise first, then something she couldn’t organize quickly enough to understand. His hand remained around hers for another second before his fingers eased away gradually, not dropping her hand, but releasing it carefully, almost reluctantly, like he had become aware of the touch at the same moment she had.

Annie looked down briefly before lifting her eyes again. The feeling that hit her wasn’t embarrassment or even disappointment. It felt stranger than that. For one impossible second she had forgotten there was a world outside of this conversation, and now it had returned all at once with names, history and context attached to it.

But underneath all of that sat another realization arriving slower than the others.

Jada didn’t look confused. She looked surprised to see Annie. Not surprised to see Smoke.

And suddenly Annie became aware of something. The ease in the way Jada approached them. The familiarity in her voice when she said his name. The way she stepped into his space without hesitation, like she already knew she had the right to be there.

Like she belonged there.

Nobody spoke. Then somewhere behind them at exactly the same time—

Stack said quietly—

“…oh shit.”

Pearline whispered—

“…fuck.”

End Note: Soooo....yeah. This chapter did NOT go as I planned. This was supposed to be the blow out, but I swear these characters have a mind of their own. They take me where THEY want to go. But I hope you liked this chapter and next chapter (I promise) is where it all goes down!

Tag List:

@partylikemajima @brownskincheyenne @lizbehave @anniensmoke3 @margepimpson @brownsugarcoffy @aellesa @hdfen2474 @magnifique2be @chromexbarbie @katezy2x @nicanotnika @wakandamama @numb1smokeanniestan @sunshinerepublic @pennopencil @shereeluvssinners @underated345-blog @shamansha @tnychellee @blue4everrsworld @girlmath101 @bananajoeclone @ayishia101 @summrsovrinterlude @mmbee675 @lestatthelioncourt @nyifly22 @storiesbyasl @thebumblebeesworld @thedutifulone @dealore @hotebonynearby @sighsrollseyes @atpeaceinthestars @saralance03 @miss-spiders-sunny-patch @imqueenmelanin @cardi-bre91 @soufcakmistress @charmedthoughts @waitingtobreatheagain

[moth2flamewriting]

so good!

[moth2flamewriting]

Can we get an update to the masterlist 🙏🏽

yessss i was just saying i needed to do that

[moth2flamewriting]

worker's comp

summaries & warnings were already posted. check coming soon post.

• annie x smoke

alright yall, i love this one. the idea was literally inspired by a construction site across the street from my job lmaoo😂 so enjoy

typos probably so just bare with me haha

"elijah moore? hi you can jusy head back to the fourth door on the right, ms. austin will be right with you," said the receptionist.

"aight, thank ya," he replied cooly. he had been waiting in this sitting room for what felt like forever. and even still had to wait for the damn lady to come in the room. he was getting pissed off, he aint even wanna come. but stack convinced him cus he aint gon get paid wit a bum knee.

"nigga just go see the fucking lady man, she can get all your shit backpayed. unless you want them lights off," chuckled the younger twin. "I hate when yo dumbass makes sense," he groaned into the phone. so he came down but he was regretting every fucking second of it. he slumped in the chair as he waited for this old ass lady to make her way down into her office and do her fucking job. "I'm so sorry I'm running la-" Elijah looked up at the woman who entered the room. Deep chocolate skin that he couldn't tell where it started, full glossy lips that make his chest tight, kind brown eyes that showed him his future. his eyes traveled lower to the hills on, pushed up sitting high on her chest. he drooled at the sight. "goddamn,' he slipped. his breath caught in his chest. this definitely wasn't no old ass lady. "excuse me?" her eyebrow arched with her hand on hip. "my apologies ms?" his eyes met hers locking her in place. she had a tendency to run late every time someone actually scheduled an appointment with her. she'd left this employee waiting for 20 minutes, it was inexcusable. she planned to give her apologies but when she laid eyes on the undeniably fine man sitting in her office her breath stuttered. the way his t-shirt hugged his arms, the way his hand flexed on the arm rest, the way his legs laid loose in the seat. his big lips that looked like they'd send her to the moon. his hard but soft eyes that spoke to her soul. she was, hot. "anais. anais austin, its a pleasure to meet you, I'm sorry I'm running late," she shook his hand and when their palms collided, their worlds started to spin. caught off guard by the connection between them they both retracted. "im Elijah moore," he cleared his throat and sat up straighter in the chair. "well mr. moore let me just log in to my computer and I can see what I can help you with today," she settled behind her desk. kitties jiggling as she got comfortable in her chair. "can I ask you what happened?" "I fucked up my knee working on east branch," he said calmly. "do you have your badge number?" they got over the formalities and basic information she needed to enter the paperwork. they sat quietly as she typed away on her computer. slow sighs leaving her mouth as her eyes met his briefly every few minutes. the way he flexed his arms, stretching in the seat. the way his jaw hardened and ears perked up every time she spoke. gosh is it hot in here? she thought to herself. "it's a little warm in here," she fumbled to the window, bending over to lift the window, her ass sticking up in the air as she tugged it open. "yeah, its real hot," he grumbled. his dick strained in his pants. her ass was so round and her hips were round and dipped in all the right places. she walked past him to get back to her desk, he grabbed her wrist before she was too far. Annie gasped at the calloused hand that wrapped around her, her pulse was jumping she knew he could feel it. "I know you feel that," his grip lightened. "Mr. Moore that's completely unprofessional," she cleared her throat stepped back to put a little space in between them. "Was it unprofessional when you was waving your ass in my face?" he inquired. The energy was shifting and they could both feel it. His energy was so dominant and commanding, she didn't even know this man and she was ready to be down on bended knee. "Mr. Moo-" he cut her off. "Elijah," he said as he rose out of his seat, inching closer to her slowly. Her hands shot out in front of her trying to stop his movements. She failed when he was standing right in front of her, her hands now pressed firmly against his stomach. "You feel it," he said. She did, it was magnetic and terrifying. "Elijah," she whispered. Her hands feeling his firm stomach through the shirt. "Say my name again, Anais," he grumbled. "I-i-i, this is completely unprofessional you know? I don't even know you,' she stuttered. "You bout to." His hands cupped her face, she let out a small whimper. Her legs shook under her, the kiss was deep. Like something they'd done before.

"Mmm, you taste as good as you look Anais." She might as well just pass away right here. She moaned into his mouth, a grabbed ahold of his arms. "You gotta slow done, Elijah. I don't usually do this." His hand wrapped around her wasted, sliding down to find her plump ass cheeks. He pulled at the flesh through her pants.

"I can't slow down," he held her in place with his eyes. He needed her at this very moment. She grabbed his face, crashing her lips into his. The kiss was loaded with want and they couldn't get close enough. Annie panted lightly into his mouth with every pull at her ass. His hands gripped her so tight, she was dizzy from the hold on her alone. His lips latched on to her neck, sucking and licking the sting away. "Ah-, Elijah wha- what are you doing to me?" She moaned. He pulled her into him tighter, his fingers holding her throbbing pussy from behind. "The same thing you doing to me baby," he growled into her neck. A whimper left her mouth without permission. His fingers worked as if it was muscle memory, unbuttoning her shirt, a peak of her titties has his knees weak. Fuck, she was driving him fucking crazy and he hadn't even seen her. His lips worked the trail of the opened buttons. Mouth latching to the soft flesh that hung out the top of her bra. Friction hardening her nipples through the lace bra. Annie held his head as his hot tongue discovered new territory. "Fuck," her head was spinning. What the hell was she doing? Fucking a man she just met? A fine one but? Why couldn't she stop him? Why couldn't she form a coherent thought with his mouth on her. He pulled down the bra, revealing her deep chocolate nipples and wrapped his wet mouth around them. Sucking and pulling at the peaks. He'd backed her up into her desk now, low grunts coming from him as he tasted her. Annie was soaked through her draws, her clit throbbing and her opening leaking grasping at the air. Her legs spread open for him to fit inside without a single thought. As soon as he pressed up against her center she felt it. 'What the hell is that in him damn pants?' Immediately she began to panic. He noticed her retreat a bit at the feel of him. 'She tappin' at the feel, wait til I pull this muhfucka' out,' her thought to himself. "You feel how hard I am for you? Cause you doing something to me, I aint never felt before. The way your body just gives itself to me, the way you sound, how easily you open up," he slides his hands in-between them. His hand finding her hardened clit, rubbing slow, lazy circles over it. Her pussy was crying in his hand, thankful for the pressure. "Mmmmmm, I just- I aint never took nun that big before," she confessed through small hurried breaths. No man has ever made her cum off such little contact but she could feel the heat building in her stomach. She was going to cum all over this mans hand and he aint done nothing. But it was different with him, he moved like he'd known her body for years. He knew just what to say, what to suck and what to touch. It was intense because he was rubbing her pussy so slowly, her hips bucked at him as she sat wide open on her desk. "Take my panties off," Annie whined, her hips jerking in his direction. He wasted no time dropping to his knees and sliding her panties off and quickly pocketing them. He was face to face with her opening now. Her scent filled his nose and he damn near came in his pants. "Fuck you smell so good," he took a long lick at her slit. "Taste good too," he wasted no time licking between her folds, drinking everything that spilled from her. He held her legs open as he kissed and spit inside of her. His tongue hammering at her. He swirled her clit, soaking it in his saliva. Her pussy was jumping in his mouth chasing release. She couldn't control the hold that he had on her body. "Oh my god, you eating the fuck out this pussy," she grabbed ahold of his head, pushing his tongue deeper inside of her. She rocked herself onto his face harder, feeling that pit of heat building again. Elijah felt her pussy clenching on his tongue. She was fucking his face, in broad daylight. He looked up to catch a glimpse of her face and the sight alone made his mouth impossibly wetter. "Fuck my tongue, mama," he said into her pussy. And she did, she fucked his face until the orgasm was right at the top. He held her open, spitting into her pussy over and over until she was full.

Full of his wetness, she squirted all over the lower half of his face. "Oh my god, you got this pussy cumming," she moaned louder than she would've liked. But she couldnt stop singing his praises as he brought her to climax. Annie's legs shook as it rocked through her, licking up and down slow making sure he didnt miss a drop. "Oh my god, what the fuck?!" She said when she finally came to. She didn't even know head could be like that. Hell, she didn't even know you could squirt off it. Her mind was in a tizzy, but Elijah was up, the clinking off his belt coming lose really snapping her back into reality. "Take these off me, baby girl," he growled lowly. Her body moving before she could even think, she was sliding his pants off his waste and down to his ankles. His dick springing just inches from her face, she jerked back with the sudden movement. He smirked at her face as she saw him, fully, for the first time.

"That muhfucka big ain't it?" Heat rushed her body. The urge to wrap her mouth around it grew bigger. She was.. hungry and he could tell. "Gon head and get to know em," he chuckled. He was genuinely tickled that she hadn't moved yet. Stuck on her knees, tongue tied at the head of his dick. Annie didn't both with her hands and swirled her hot tongue, around the tip. She moaned at the feeling of him, hot and heavy in her mouth. She bobbed her head, taking more in each time she came forward. Slow, she covered him in saliva, dragging it from the base of him back to the top. Her hands sat on his thigh, holding herself steady as she fucking this mans dick with her mouth.

Elijah's head cracked back, with his mouth slung open and stuck in a permanent "o". His eyebrows touched as this fine ass woman gave him the best head of his life. He gripped the back of her head with fury. Holding her still, as his hips bucked, hitting the back of her throat. He fucked her face into oblivion. He fucked her with no remorse, like he trained her for it already. She gagged hard but never pulled him off. God, she deserved a man that would fuck her through a concrete wall and then fix it.

"Ooooo shit, you gotta come up of this shit," he pulled his hips back. He was getting lost, daydreaming of fucking her for the rest of his life. Annie was in the same boat, just down there taking it.

"You okay?" She asked him. Her fingers running up and down his thigh. She wasn't being funny, she was genuinely asking him because, she wanted to know.

"Yeah, I almost busted all over you," he chuckled lightly. "Why'd you stop?" Her eyes had a vice grip on him.

"I want all of ya," he was dead serious. He lifted her up, swiping everything off her desk and sat her down on it. He couldn't line himself up with her opening fast enough. He hooked his arms under her legs, pulling Annie towards him. Elijah was already on the edge and only the tip was in. The way she gripped him and her pussy pulsed around him. She held on to his arms as she watched him settle into her.

There was so much pressure, the head stretching her into oblivion. "Fuck, you've gotta move," she pleaded. The first full thrust ripped through them both. Worlds collided, volcanoes erupted, tsunami's formed in the the middle of the damn day. He fucked into her slow, watching his pace so he wasn't know as a big dick, minute man. She clawed at his back as he rocked into her. It's like she was falling on end. Her body didn't know what to do, all she could do was claw and feel.

"Goddamn, you grippin' me so good mama," he moaned into her neck. His hips snapped faster, the wetter she got. Elijah sank his teeth into her neck, holding her there as he jack hammered into her. Her body was splitting, "Oh my god, Daddy please," her pussy was gushing. She had nowhere to run, just had to take it. "I feel you cummin' on my dick baby, gon head and let it go," his low encouragement sent her over the edge, she bit down into his shoulder to muffle the orgasm that was tearing thru her body like a madman. "Keep fucking me," she begged. She felt something so unfamiliar, another one sitting right under the one she just had. His hips snapped even faster, his dick was a brick. Elijah gave it to her over and over, her mouth hung open. There eyes met, and their lips locked. Spit being swapped and to gues carressing the inside of eachothers mouth. Moans getting lost in between them. "I'm boutta nut, mama. Where you want it," she wasnt thinking rational. She didn't want to feel empty, she didn't want the fullness to leave. "Inside me, please," she whined as she reached the peak. Her nails dug into his back as she released all over him for the 3rd time today. He grunted deep, "fuckkkkkkk." He emptied everything he had into her. She literally drained his balls dry. He stayed inside of her, holding her close to him as if it was natural for them to mold after sex.

"I need to see you again, Anais," he said cupping her chin with both hands, pecking her lips softly. He didn't know what it was about this woman. But as he stood there, looking at her he could see his whole life. He couldn't let her go. He couldnt go back to not having her.

She didnt know what to think, the man was sitting inside of her. THE MAN WAS SITTING INSIDE OF HER! She'd just about agree to anything at this point. But she felt it something too. A deep familiarity with him that she didn't know was possible.

"I need to see you again too, Elijah."

-

idk why it took me so long to get this out like wtf. im more focused on getting chapter 2 of couples therapy out 🤭 school over yall, summer coming and ian got nothing but time. thank for those of you who checked on me and didnt rush me cause yall knew school was beatin my ass. i love yall DOWN😗 anyway, comments and feedback always appreciated and i personally enjoy talking to yall so🙂 lmk what u think

[sintizc]

I was expecting something slow But WE GOT TO BUSINESS

DID YOUR BIGGEST TWIN

Also Elijah is not slick LOL ain't nothing wrong with that leg 🤣 but get your bread my boy gonna be needing that for the wedding next month, the way they moving!😭

[moth2flamewriting]

😂😂😂his knee is fucked up! he was allegedly bent down eating pussy nobody gotta know that!! especially not the government 🤣🤣

[moth2flamewriting]

worker's comp

summaries & warnings were already posted. check coming soon post.

• annie x smoke

alright yall, i love this one. the idea was literally inspired by a construction site across the street from my job lmaoo😂 so enjoy

typos probably so just bare with me haha

"elijah moore? hi you can jusy head back to the fourth door on the right, ms. austin will be right with you," said the receptionist.

"aight, thank ya," he replied cooly. he had been waiting in this sitting room for what felt like forever. and even still had to wait for the damn lady to come in the room. he was getting pissed off, he aint even wanna come. but stack convinced him cus he aint gon get paid wit a bum knee.

"nigga just go see the fucking lady man, she can get all your shit backpayed. unless you want them lights off," chuckled the younger twin. "I hate when yo dumbass makes sense," he groaned into the phone. so he came down but he was regretting every fucking second of it. he slumped in the chair as he waited for this old ass lady to make her way down into her office and do her fucking job. "I'm so sorry I'm running la-" Elijah looked up at the woman who entered the room. Deep chocolate skin that he couldn't tell where it started, full glossy lips that make his chest tight, kind brown eyes that showed him his future. his eyes traveled lower to the hills on, pushed up sitting high on her chest. he drooled at the sight. "goddamn,' he slipped. his breath caught in his chest. this definitely wasn't no old ass lady. "excuse me?" her eyebrow arched with her hand on hip. "my apologies ms?" his eyes met hers locking her in place. she had a tendency to run late every time someone actually scheduled an appointment with her. she'd left this employee waiting for 20 minutes, it was inexcusable. she planned to give her apologies but when she laid eyes on the undeniably fine man sitting in her office her breath stuttered. the way his t-shirt hugged his arms, the way his hand flexed on the arm rest, the way his legs laid loose in the seat. his big lips that looked like they'd send her to the moon. his hard but soft eyes that spoke to her soul. she was, hot. "anais. anais austin, its a pleasure to meet you, I'm sorry I'm running late," she shook his hand and when their palms collided, their worlds started to spin. caught off guard by the connection between them they both retracted. "im Elijah moore," he cleared his throat and sat up straighter in the chair. "well mr. moore let me just log in to my computer and I can see what I can help you with today," she settled behind her desk. kitties jiggling as she got comfortable in her chair. "can I ask you what happened?" "I fucked up my knee working on east branch," he said calmly. "do you have your badge number?" they got over the formalities and basic information she needed to enter the paperwork. they sat quietly as she typed away on her computer. slow sighs leaving her mouth as her eyes met his briefly every few minutes. the way he flexed his arms, stretching in the seat. the way his jaw hardened and ears perked up every time she spoke. gosh is it hot in here? she thought to herself. "it's a little warm in here," she fumbled to the window, bending over to lift the window, her ass sticking up in the air as she tugged it open. "yeah, its real hot," he grumbled. his dick strained in his pants. her ass was so round and her hips were round and dipped in all the right places. she walked past him to get back to her desk, he grabbed her wrist before she was too far. Annie gasped at the calloused hand that wrapped around her, her pulse was jumping she knew he could feel it. "I know you feel that," his grip lightened. "Mr. Moore that's completely unprofessional," she cleared her throat stepped back to put a little space in between them. "Was it unprofessional when you was waving your ass in my face?" he inquired. The energy was shifting and they could both feel it. His energy was so dominant and commanding, she didn't even know this man and she was ready to be down on bended knee. "Mr. Moo-" he cut her off. "Elijah," he said as he rose out of his seat, inching closer to her slowly. Her hands shot out in front of her trying to stop his movements. She failed when he was standing right in front of her, her hands now pressed firmly against his stomach. "You feel it," he said. She did, it was magnetic and terrifying. "Elijah," she whispered. Her hands feeling his firm stomach through the shirt. "Say my name again, Anais," he grumbled. "I-i-i, this is completely unprofessional you know? I don't even know you,' she stuttered. "You bout to." His hands cupped her face, she let out a small whimper. Her legs shook under her, the kiss was deep. Like something they'd done before.

"Mmm, you taste as good as you look Anais." She might as well just pass away right here. She moaned into his mouth, a grabbed ahold of his arms. "You gotta slow done, Elijah. I don't usually do this." His hand wrapped around her wasted, sliding down to find her plump ass cheeks. He pulled at the flesh through her pants.

"I can't slow down," he held her in place with his eyes. He needed her at this very moment. She grabbed his face, crashing her lips into his. The kiss was loaded with want and they couldn't get close enough. Annie panted lightly into his mouth with every pull at her ass. His hands gripped her so tight, she was dizzy from the hold on her alone. His lips latched on to her neck, sucking and licking the sting away. "Ah-, Elijah wha- what are you doing to me?" She moaned. He pulled her into him tighter, his fingers holding her throbbing pussy from behind. "The same thing you doing to me baby," he growled into her neck. A whimper left her mouth without permission. His fingers worked as if it was muscle memory, unbuttoning her shirt, a peak of her titties has his knees weak. Fuck, she was driving him fucking crazy and he hadn't even seen her. His lips worked the trail of the opened buttons. Mouth latching to the soft flesh that hung out the top of her bra. Friction hardening her nipples through the lace bra. Annie held his head as his hot tongue discovered new territory. "Fuck," her head was spinning. What the hell was she doing? Fucking a man she just met? A fine one but? Why couldn't she stop him? Why couldn't she form a coherent thought with his mouth on her. He pulled down the bra, revealing her deep chocolate nipples and wrapped his wet mouth around them. Sucking and pulling at the peaks. He'd backed her up into her desk now, low grunts coming from him as he tasted her. Annie was soaked through her draws, her clit throbbing and her opening leaking grasping at the air. Her legs spread open for him to fit inside without a single thought. As soon as he pressed up against her center she felt it. 'What the hell is that in him damn pants?' Immediately she began to panic. He noticed her retreat a bit at the feel of him. 'She tappin' at the feel, wait til I pull this muhfucka' out,' her thought to himself. "You feel how hard I am for you? Cause you doing something to me, I aint never felt before. The way your body just gives itself to me, the way you sound, how easily you open up," he slides his hands in-between them. His hand finding her hardened clit, rubbing slow, lazy circles over it. Her pussy was crying in his hand, thankful for the pressure. "Mmmmmm, I just- I aint never took nun that big before," she confessed through small hurried breaths. No man has ever made her cum off such little contact but she could feel the heat building in her stomach. She was going to cum all over this mans hand and he aint done nothing. But it was different with him, he moved like he'd known her body for years. He knew just what to say, what to suck and what to touch. It was intense because he was rubbing her pussy so slowly, her hips bucked at him as she sat wide open on her desk. "Take my panties off," Annie whined, her hips jerking in his direction. He wasted no time dropping to his knees and sliding her panties off and quickly pocketing them. He was face to face with her opening now. Her scent filled his nose and he damn near came in his pants. "Fuck you smell so good," he took a long lick at her slit. "Taste good too," he wasted no time licking between her folds, drinking everything that spilled from her. He held her legs open as he kissed and spit inside of her. His tongue hammering at her. He swirled her clit, soaking it in his saliva. Her pussy was jumping in his mouth chasing release. She couldn't control the hold that he had on her body. "Oh my god, you eating the fuck out this pussy," she grabbed ahold of his head, pushing his tongue deeper inside of her. She rocked herself onto his face harder, feeling that pit of heat building again. Elijah felt her pussy clenching on his tongue. She was fucking his face, in broad daylight. He looked up to catch a glimpse of her face and the sight alone made his mouth impossibly wetter. "Fuck my tongue, mama," he said into her pussy. And she did, she fucked his face until the orgasm was right at the top. He held her open, spitting into her pussy over and over until she was full.

Full of his wetness, she squirted all over the lower half of his face. "Oh my god, you got this pussy cumming," she moaned louder than she would've liked. But she couldnt stop singing his praises as he brought her to climax. Annie's legs shook as it rocked through her, licking up and down slow making sure he didnt miss a drop. "Oh my god, what the fuck?!" She said when she finally came to. She didn't even know head could be like that. Hell, she didn't even know you could squirt off it. Her mind was in a tizzy, but Elijah was up, the clinking off his belt coming lose really snapping her back into reality. "Take these off me, baby girl," he growled lowly. Her body moving before she could even think, she was sliding his pants off his waste and down to his ankles. His dick springing just inches from her face, she jerked back with the sudden movement. He smirked at her face as she saw him, fully, for the first time.

"That muhfucka big ain't it?" Heat rushed her body. The urge to wrap her mouth around it grew bigger. She was.. hungry and he could tell. "Gon head and get to know em," he chuckled. He was genuinely tickled that she hadn't moved yet. Stuck on her knees, tongue tied at the head of his dick. Annie didn't both with her hands and swirled her hot tongue, around the tip. She moaned at the feeling of him, hot and heavy in her mouth. She bobbed her head, taking more in each time she came forward. Slow, she covered him in saliva, dragging it from the base of him back to the top. Her hands sat on his thigh, holding herself steady as she fucking this mans dick with her mouth.

Elijah's head cracked back, with his mouth slung open and stuck in a permanent "o". His eyebrows touched as this fine ass woman gave him the best head of his life. He gripped the back of her head with fury. Holding her still, as his hips bucked, hitting the back of her throat. He fucked her face into oblivion. He fucked her with no remorse, like he trained her for it already. She gagged hard but never pulled him off. God, she deserved a man that would fuck her through a concrete wall and then fix it.

"Ooooo shit, you gotta come up of this shit," he pulled his hips back. He was getting lost, daydreaming of fucking her for the rest of his life. Annie was in the same boat, just down there taking it.

"You okay?" She asked him. Her fingers running up and down his thigh. She wasn't being funny, she was genuinely asking him because, she wanted to know.

"Yeah, I almost busted all over you," he chuckled lightly. "Why'd you stop?" Her eyes had a vice grip on him.

"I want all of ya," he was dead serious. He lifted her up, swiping everything off her desk and sat her down on it. He couldn't line himself up with her opening fast enough. He hooked his arms under her legs, pulling Annie towards him. Elijah was already on the edge and only the tip was in. The way she gripped him and her pussy pulsed around him. She held on to his arms as she watched him settle into her.

There was so much pressure, the head stretching her into oblivion. "Fuck, you've gotta move," she pleaded. The first full thrust ripped through them both. Worlds collided, volcanoes erupted, tsunami's formed in the the middle of the damn day. He fucked into her slow, watching his pace so he wasn't know as a big dick, minute man. She clawed at his back as he rocked into her. It's like she was falling on end. Her body didn't know what to do, all she could do was claw and feel.

"Goddamn, you grippin' me so good mama," he moaned into her neck. His hips snapped faster, the wetter she got. Elijah sank his teeth into her neck, holding her there as he jack hammered into her. Her body was splitting, "Oh my god, Daddy please," her pussy was gushing. She had nowhere to run, just had to take it. "I feel you cummin' on my dick baby, gon head and let it go," his low encouragement sent her over the edge, she bit down into his shoulder to muffle the orgasm that was tearing thru her body like a madman. "Keep fucking me," she begged. She felt something so unfamiliar, another one sitting right under the one she just had. His hips snapped even faster, his dick was a brick. Elijah gave it to her over and over, her mouth hung open. There eyes met, and their lips locked. Spit being swapped and to gues carressing the inside of eachothers mouth. Moans getting lost in between them. "I'm boutta nut, mama. Where you want it," she wasnt thinking rational. She didn't want to feel empty, she didn't want the fullness to leave. "Inside me, please," she whined as she reached the peak. Her nails dug into his back as she released all over him for the 3rd time today. He grunted deep, "fuckkkkkkk." He emptied everything he had into her. She literally drained his balls dry. He stayed inside of her, holding her close to him as if it was natural for them to mold after sex.

"I need to see you again, Anais," he said cupping her chin with both hands, pecking her lips softly. He didn't know what it was about this woman. But as he stood there, looking at her he could see his whole life. He couldn't let her go. He couldnt go back to not having her.

She didnt know what to think, the man was sitting inside of her. THE MAN WAS SITTING INSIDE OF HER! She'd just about agree to anything at this point. But she felt it something too. A deep familiarity with him that she didn't know was possible.

"I need to see you again too, Elijah."

-

idk why it took me so long to get this out like wtf. im more focused on getting chapter 2 of couples therapy out 🤭 school over yall, summer coming and ian got nothing but time. thank for those of you who checked on me and didnt rush me cause yall knew school was beatin my ass. i love yall DOWN😗 anyway, comments and feedback always appreciated and i personally enjoy talking to yall so🙂 lmk what u think

[miss-spiders-sunny-patch]

Smoke how you there for a knee injury but you gleefully on your knees eating puss– *loses signal*

I ain’t mad though🤭

[brownskincheyenne]

Yooooo I literally said the same thing lmaoo I said knee ain’t hurting that damn bad the way he just ate !!!!

[miss-spiders-sunny-patch]

Right! Take your behind to back to work Lijah, ain’t nothing wrong with you!

[moth2flamewriting]

in his defense, it been a few months now🤣 he just wanted to know where his money at! this man got bills

[moth2flamewriting]

worker's comp

summaries & warnings were already posted. check coming soon post.

• annie x smoke

alright yall, i love this one. the idea was literally inspired by a construction site across the street from my job lmaoo😂 so enjoy

typos probably so just bare with me haha

"elijah moore? hi you can jusy head back to the fourth door on the right, ms. austin will be right with you," said the receptionist.

"aight, thank ya," he replied cooly. he had been waiting in this sitting room for what felt like forever. and even still had to wait for the damn lady to come in the room. he was getting pissed off, he aint even wanna come. but stack convinced him cus he aint gon get paid wit a bum knee.

"nigga just go see the fucking lady man, she can get all your shit backpayed. unless you want them lights off," chuckled the younger twin. "I hate when yo dumbass makes sense," he groaned into the phone. so he came down but he was regretting every fucking second of it. he slumped in the chair as he waited for this old ass lady to make her way down into her office and do her fucking job. "I'm so sorry I'm running la-" Elijah looked up at the woman who entered the room. Deep chocolate skin that he couldn't tell where it started, full glossy lips that make his chest tight, kind brown eyes that showed him his future. his eyes traveled lower to the hills on, pushed up sitting high on her chest. he drooled at the sight. "goddamn,' he slipped. his breath caught in his chest. this definitely wasn't no old ass lady. "excuse me?" her eyebrow arched with her hand on hip. "my apologies ms?" his eyes met hers locking her in place. she had a tendency to run late every time someone actually scheduled an appointment with her. she'd left this employee waiting for 20 minutes, it was inexcusable. she planned to give her apologies but when she laid eyes on the undeniably fine man sitting in her office her breath stuttered. the way his t-shirt hugged his arms, the way his hand flexed on the arm rest, the way his legs laid loose in the seat. his big lips that looked like they'd send her to the moon. his hard but soft eyes that spoke to her soul. she was, hot. "anais. anais austin, its a pleasure to meet you, I'm sorry I'm running late," she shook his hand and when their palms collided, their worlds started to spin. caught off guard by the connection between them they both retracted. "im Elijah moore," he cleared his throat and sat up straighter in the chair. "well mr. moore let me just log in to my computer and I can see what I can help you with today," she settled behind her desk. kitties jiggling as she got comfortable in her chair. "can I ask you what happened?" "I fucked up my knee working on east branch," he said calmly. "do you have your badge number?" they got over the formalities and basic information she needed to enter the paperwork. they sat quietly as she typed away on her computer. slow sighs leaving her mouth as her eyes met his briefly every few minutes. the way he flexed his arms, stretching in the seat. the way his jaw hardened and ears perked up every time she spoke. gosh is it hot in here? she thought to herself. "it's a little warm in here," she fumbled to the window, bending over to lift the window, her ass sticking up in the air as she tugged it open. "yeah, its real hot," he grumbled. his dick strained in his pants. her ass was so round and her hips were round and dipped in all the right places. she walked past him to get back to her desk, he grabbed her wrist before she was too far. Annie gasped at the calloused hand that wrapped around her, her pulse was jumping she knew he could feel it. "I know you feel that," his grip lightened. "Mr. Moore that's completely unprofessional," she cleared her throat stepped back to put a little space in between them. "Was it unprofessional when you was waving your ass in my face?" he inquired. The energy was shifting and they could both feel it. His energy was so dominant and commanding, she didn't even know this man and she was ready to be down on bended knee. "Mr. Moo-" he cut her off. "Elijah," he said as he rose out of his seat, inching closer to her slowly. Her hands shot out in front of her trying to stop his movements. She failed when he was standing right in front of her, her hands now pressed firmly against his stomach. "You feel it," he said. She did, it was magnetic and terrifying. "Elijah," she whispered. Her hands feeling his firm stomach through the shirt. "Say my name again, Anais," he grumbled. "I-i-i, this is completely unprofessional you know? I don't even know you,' she stuttered. "You bout to." His hands cupped her face, she let out a small whimper. Her legs shook under her, the kiss was deep. Like something they'd done before.

"Mmm, you taste as good as you look Anais." She might as well just pass away right here. She moaned into his mouth, a grabbed ahold of his arms. "You gotta slow done, Elijah. I don't usually do this." His hand wrapped around her wasted, sliding down to find her plump ass cheeks. He pulled at the flesh through her pants.

"I can't slow down," he held her in place with his eyes. He needed her at this very moment. She grabbed his face, crashing her lips into his. The kiss was loaded with want and they couldn't get close enough. Annie panted lightly into his mouth with every pull at her ass. His hands gripped her so tight, she was dizzy from the hold on her alone. His lips latched on to her neck, sucking and licking the sting away. "Ah-, Elijah wha- what are you doing to me?" She moaned. He pulled her into him tighter, his fingers holding her throbbing pussy from behind. "The same thing you doing to me baby," he growled into her neck. A whimper left her mouth without permission. His fingers worked as if it was muscle memory, unbuttoning her shirt, a peak of her titties has his knees weak. Fuck, she was driving him fucking crazy and he hadn't even seen her. His lips worked the trail of the opened buttons. Mouth latching to the soft flesh that hung out the top of her bra. Friction hardening her nipples through the lace bra. Annie held his head as his hot tongue discovered new territory. "Fuck," her head was spinning. What the hell was she doing? Fucking a man she just met? A fine one but? Why couldn't she stop him? Why couldn't she form a coherent thought with his mouth on her. He pulled down the bra, revealing her deep chocolate nipples and wrapped his wet mouth around them. Sucking and pulling at the peaks. He'd backed her up into her desk now, low grunts coming from him as he tasted her. Annie was soaked through her draws, her clit throbbing and her opening leaking grasping at the air. Her legs spread open for him to fit inside without a single thought. As soon as he pressed up against her center she felt it. 'What the hell is that in him damn pants?' Immediately she began to panic. He noticed her retreat a bit at the feel of him. 'She tappin' at the feel, wait til I pull this muhfucka' out,' her thought to himself. "You feel how hard I am for you? Cause you doing something to me, I aint never felt before. The way your body just gives itself to me, the way you sound, how easily you open up," he slides his hands in-between them. His hand finding her hardened clit, rubbing slow, lazy circles over it. Her pussy was crying in his hand, thankful for the pressure. "Mmmmmm, I just- I aint never took nun that big before," she confessed through small hurried breaths. No man has ever made her cum off such little contact but she could feel the heat building in her stomach. She was going to cum all over this mans hand and he aint done nothing. But it was different with him, he moved like he'd known her body for years. He knew just what to say, what to suck and what to touch. It was intense because he was rubbing her pussy so slowly, her hips bucked at him as she sat wide open on her desk. "Take my panties off," Annie whined, her hips jerking in his direction. He wasted no time dropping to his knees and sliding her panties off and quickly pocketing them. He was face to face with her opening now. Her scent filled his nose and he damn near came in his pants. "Fuck you smell so good," he took a long lick at her slit. "Taste good too," he wasted no time licking between her folds, drinking everything that spilled from her. He held her legs open as he kissed and spit inside of her. His tongue hammering at her. He swirled her clit, soaking it in his saliva. Her pussy was jumping in his mouth chasing release. She couldn't control the hold that he had on her body. "Oh my god, you eating the fuck out this pussy," she grabbed ahold of his head, pushing his tongue deeper inside of her. She rocked herself onto his face harder, feeling that pit of heat building again. Elijah felt her pussy clenching on his tongue. She was fucking his face, in broad daylight. He looked up to catch a glimpse of her face and the sight alone made his mouth impossibly wetter. "Fuck my tongue, mama," he said into her pussy. And she did, she fucked his face until the orgasm was right at the top. He held her open, spitting into her pussy over and over until she was full.

Full of his wetness, she squirted all over the lower half of his face. "Oh my god, you got this pussy cumming," she moaned louder than she would've liked. But she couldnt stop singing his praises as he brought her to climax. Annie's legs shook as it rocked through her, licking up and down slow making sure he didnt miss a drop. "Oh my god, what the fuck?!" She said when she finally came to. She didn't even know head could be like that. Hell, she didn't even know you could squirt off it. Her mind was in a tizzy, but Elijah was up, the clinking off his belt coming lose really snapping her back into reality. "Take these off me, baby girl," he growled lowly. Her body moving before she could even think, she was sliding his pants off his waste and down to his ankles. His dick springing just inches from her face, she jerked back with the sudden movement. He smirked at her face as she saw him, fully, for the first time.

"That muhfucka big ain't it?" Heat rushed her body. The urge to wrap her mouth around it grew bigger. She was.. hungry and he could tell. "Gon head and get to know em," he chuckled. He was genuinely tickled that she hadn't moved yet. Stuck on her knees, tongue tied at the head of his dick. Annie didn't both with her hands and swirled her hot tongue, around the tip. She moaned at the feeling of him, hot and heavy in her mouth. She bobbed her head, taking more in each time she came forward. Slow, she covered him in saliva, dragging it from the base of him back to the top. Her hands sat on his thigh, holding herself steady as she fucking this mans dick with her mouth.

Elijah's head cracked back, with his mouth slung open and stuck in a permanent "o". His eyebrows touched as this fine ass woman gave him the best head of his life. He gripped the back of her head with fury. Holding her still, as his hips bucked, hitting the back of her throat. He fucked her face into oblivion. He fucked her with no remorse, like he trained her for it already. She gagged hard but never pulled him off. God, she deserved a man that would fuck her through a concrete wall and then fix it.

"Ooooo shit, you gotta come up of this shit," he pulled his hips back. He was getting lost, daydreaming of fucking her for the rest of his life. Annie was in the same boat, just down there taking it.

"You okay?" She asked him. Her fingers running up and down his thigh. She wasn't being funny, she was genuinely asking him because, she wanted to know.

"Yeah, I almost busted all over you," he chuckled lightly. "Why'd you stop?" Her eyes had a vice grip on him.

"I want all of ya," he was dead serious. He lifted her up, swiping everything off her desk and sat her down on it. He couldn't line himself up with her opening fast enough. He hooked his arms under her legs, pulling Annie towards him. Elijah was already on the edge and only the tip was in. The way she gripped him and her pussy pulsed around him. She held on to his arms as she watched him settle into her.

There was so much pressure, the head stretching her into oblivion. "Fuck, you've gotta move," she pleaded. The first full thrust ripped through them both. Worlds collided, volcanoes erupted, tsunami's formed in the the middle of the damn day. He fucked into her slow, watching his pace so he wasn't know as a big dick, minute man. She clawed at his back as he rocked into her. It's like she was falling on end. Her body didn't know what to do, all she could do was claw and feel.

"Goddamn, you grippin' me so good mama," he moaned into her neck. His hips snapped faster, the wetter she got. Elijah sank his teeth into her neck, holding her there as he jack hammered into her. Her body was splitting, "Oh my god, Daddy please," her pussy was gushing. She had nowhere to run, just had to take it. "I feel you cummin' on my dick baby, gon head and let it go," his low encouragement sent her over the edge, she bit down into his shoulder to muffle the orgasm that was tearing thru her body like a madman. "Keep fucking me," she begged. She felt something so unfamiliar, another one sitting right under the one she just had. His hips snapped even faster, his dick was a brick. Elijah gave it to her over and over, her mouth hung open. There eyes met, and their lips locked. Spit being swapped and to gues carressing the inside of eachothers mouth. Moans getting lost in between them. "I'm boutta nut, mama. Where you want it," she wasnt thinking rational. She didn't want to feel empty, she didn't want the fullness to leave. "Inside me, please," she whined as she reached the peak. Her nails dug into his back as she released all over him for the 3rd time today. He grunted deep, "fuckkkkkkk." He emptied everything he had into her. She literally drained his balls dry. He stayed inside of her, holding her close to him as if it was natural for them to mold after sex.

"I need to see you again, Anais," he said cupping her chin with both hands, pecking her lips softly. He didn't know what it was about this woman. But as he stood there, looking at her he could see his whole life. He couldn't let her go. He couldnt go back to not having her.

She didnt know what to think, the man was sitting inside of her. THE MAN WAS SITTING INSIDE OF HER! She'd just about agree to anything at this point. But she felt it something too. A deep familiarity with him that she didn't know was possible.

"I need to see you again too, Elijah."

-

idk why it took me so long to get this out like wtf. im more focused on getting chapter 2 of couples therapy out 🤭 school over yall, summer coming and ian got nothing but time. thank for those of you who checked on me and didnt rush me cause yall knew school was beatin my ass. i love yall DOWN😗 anyway, comments and feedback always appreciated and i personally enjoy talking to yall so🙂 lmk what u think

[miss-spiders-sunny-patch]

Smoke how you there for a knee injury but you gleefully on your knees eating puss– *loses signal*

I ain’t mad though🤭

[lizbehave]

I was bout to say. He was puttin' in WERK for somebody who "fucked his knee up" 🧐

[moth2flamewriting]

maybe his leg was stuck out to the side yall🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 give him some grace

[moth2flamewriting]

worker's comp

summaries & warnings were already posted. check coming soon post.

• annie x smoke

alright yall, i love this one. the idea was literally inspired by a construction site across the street from my job lmaoo😂 so enjoy

typos probably so just bare with me haha

"elijah moore? hi you can jusy head back to the fourth door on the right, ms. austin will be right with you," said the receptionist.

"aight, thank ya," he replied cooly. he had been waiting in this sitting room for what felt like forever. and even still had to wait for the damn lady to come in the room. he was getting pissed off, he aint even wanna come. but stack convinced him cus he aint gon get paid wit a bum knee.

"nigga just go see the fucking lady man, she can get all your shit backpayed. unless you want them lights off," chuckled the younger twin. "I hate when yo dumbass makes sense," he groaned into the phone. so he came down but he was regretting every fucking second of it. he slumped in the chair as he waited for this old ass lady to make her way down into her office and do her fucking job. "I'm so sorry I'm running la-" Elijah looked up at the woman who entered the room. Deep chocolate skin that he couldn't tell where it started, full glossy lips that make his chest tight, kind brown eyes that showed him his future. his eyes traveled lower to the hills on, pushed up sitting high on her chest. he drooled at the sight. "goddamn,' he slipped. his breath caught in his chest. this definitely wasn't no old ass lady. "excuse me?" her eyebrow arched with her hand on hip. "my apologies ms?" his eyes met hers locking her in place. she had a tendency to run late every time someone actually scheduled an appointment with her. she'd left this employee waiting for 20 minutes, it was inexcusable. she planned to give her apologies but when she laid eyes on the undeniably fine man sitting in her office her breath stuttered. the way his t-shirt hugged his arms, the way his hand flexed on the arm rest, the way his legs laid loose in the seat. his big lips that looked like they'd send her to the moon. his hard but soft eyes that spoke to her soul. she was, hot. "anais. anais austin, its a pleasure to meet you, I'm sorry I'm running late," she shook his hand and when their palms collided, their worlds started to spin. caught off guard by the connection between them they both retracted. "im Elijah moore," he cleared his throat and sat up straighter in the chair. "well mr. moore let me just log in to my computer and I can see what I can help you with today," she settled behind her desk. kitties jiggling as she got comfortable in her chair. "can I ask you what happened?" "I fucked up my knee working on east branch," he said calmly. "do you have your badge number?" they got over the formalities and basic information she needed to enter the paperwork. they sat quietly as she typed away on her computer. slow sighs leaving her mouth as her eyes met his briefly every few minutes. the way he flexed his arms, stretching in the seat. the way his jaw hardened and ears perked up every time she spoke. gosh is it hot in here? she thought to herself. "it's a little warm in here," she fumbled to the window, bending over to lift the window, her ass sticking up in the air as she tugged it open. "yeah, its real hot," he grumbled. his dick strained in his pants. her ass was so round and her hips were round and dipped in all the right places. she walked past him to get back to her desk, he grabbed her wrist before she was too far. Annie gasped at the calloused hand that wrapped around her, her pulse was jumping she knew he could feel it. "I know you feel that," his grip lightened. "Mr. Moore that's completely unprofessional," she cleared her throat stepped back to put a little space in between them. "Was it unprofessional when you was waving your ass in my face?" he inquired. The energy was shifting and they could both feel it. His energy was so dominant and commanding, she didn't even know this man and she was ready to be down on bended knee. "Mr. Moo-" he cut her off. "Elijah," he said as he rose out of his seat, inching closer to her slowly. Her hands shot out in front of her trying to stop his movements. She failed when he was standing right in front of her, her hands now pressed firmly against his stomach. "You feel it," he said. She did, it was magnetic and terrifying. "Elijah," she whispered. Her hands feeling his firm stomach through the shirt. "Say my name again, Anais," he grumbled. "I-i-i, this is completely unprofessional you know? I don't even know you,' she stuttered. "You bout to." His hands cupped her face, she let out a small whimper. Her legs shook under her, the kiss was deep. Like something they'd done before.

"Mmm, you taste as good as you look Anais." She might as well just pass away right here. She moaned into his mouth, a grabbed ahold of his arms. "You gotta slow done, Elijah. I don't usually do this." His hand wrapped around her wasted, sliding down to find her plump ass cheeks. He pulled at the flesh through her pants.

"I can't slow down," he held her in place with his eyes. He needed her at this very moment. She grabbed his face, crashing her lips into his. The kiss was loaded with want and they couldn't get close enough. Annie panted lightly into his mouth with every pull at her ass. His hands gripped her so tight, she was dizzy from the hold on her alone. His lips latched on to her neck, sucking and licking the sting away. "Ah-, Elijah wha- what are you doing to me?" She moaned. He pulled her into him tighter, his fingers holding her throbbing pussy from behind. "The same thing you doing to me baby," he growled into her neck. A whimper left her mouth without permission. His fingers worked as if it was muscle memory, unbuttoning her shirt, a peak of her titties has his knees weak. Fuck, she was driving him fucking crazy and he hadn't even seen her. His lips worked the trail of the opened buttons. Mouth latching to the soft flesh that hung out the top of her bra. Friction hardening her nipples through the lace bra. Annie held his head as his hot tongue discovered new territory. "Fuck," her head was spinning. What the hell was she doing? Fucking a man she just met? A fine one but? Why couldn't she stop him? Why couldn't she form a coherent thought with his mouth on her. He pulled down the bra, revealing her deep chocolate nipples and wrapped his wet mouth around them. Sucking and pulling at the peaks. He'd backed her up into her desk now, low grunts coming from him as he tasted her. Annie was soaked through her draws, her clit throbbing and her opening leaking grasping at the air. Her legs spread open for him to fit inside without a single thought. As soon as he pressed up against her center she felt it. 'What the hell is that in him damn pants?' Immediately she began to panic. He noticed her retreat a bit at the feel of him. 'She tappin' at the feel, wait til I pull this muhfucka' out,' her thought to himself. "You feel how hard I am for you? Cause you doing something to me, I aint never felt before. The way your body just gives itself to me, the way you sound, how easily you open up," he slides his hands in-between them. His hand finding her hardened clit, rubbing slow, lazy circles over it. Her pussy was crying in his hand, thankful for the pressure. "Mmmmmm, I just- I aint never took nun that big before," she confessed through small hurried breaths. No man has ever made her cum off such little contact but she could feel the heat building in her stomach. She was going to cum all over this mans hand and he aint done nothing. But it was different with him, he moved like he'd known her body for years. He knew just what to say, what to suck and what to touch. It was intense because he was rubbing her pussy so slowly, her hips bucked at him as she sat wide open on her desk. "Take my panties off," Annie whined, her hips jerking in his direction. He wasted no time dropping to his knees and sliding her panties off and quickly pocketing them. He was face to face with her opening now. Her scent filled his nose and he damn near came in his pants. "Fuck you smell so good," he took a long lick at her slit. "Taste good too," he wasted no time licking between her folds, drinking everything that spilled from her. He held her legs open as he kissed and spit inside of her. His tongue hammering at her. He swirled her clit, soaking it in his saliva. Her pussy was jumping in his mouth chasing release. She couldn't control the hold that he had on her body. "Oh my god, you eating the fuck out this pussy," she grabbed ahold of his head, pushing his tongue deeper inside of her. She rocked herself onto his face harder, feeling that pit of heat building again. Elijah felt her pussy clenching on his tongue. She was fucking his face, in broad daylight. He looked up to catch a glimpse of her face and the sight alone made his mouth impossibly wetter. "Fuck my tongue, mama," he said into her pussy. And she did, she fucked his face until the orgasm was right at the top. He held her open, spitting into her pussy over and over until she was full.

Full of his wetness, she squirted all over the lower half of his face. "Oh my god, you got this pussy cumming," she moaned louder than she would've liked. But she couldnt stop singing his praises as he brought her to climax. Annie's legs shook as it rocked through her, licking up and down slow making sure he didnt miss a drop. "Oh my god, what the fuck?!" She said when she finally came to. She didn't even know head could be like that. Hell, she didn't even know you could squirt off it. Her mind was in a tizzy, but Elijah was up, the clinking off his belt coming lose really snapping her back into reality. "Take these off me, baby girl," he growled lowly. Her body moving before she could even think, she was sliding his pants off his waste and down to his ankles. His dick springing just inches from her face, she jerked back with the sudden movement. He smirked at her face as she saw him, fully, for the first time.

"That muhfucka big ain't it?" Heat rushed her body. The urge to wrap her mouth around it grew bigger. She was.. hungry and he could tell. "Gon head and get to know em," he chuckled. He was genuinely tickled that she hadn't moved yet. Stuck on her knees, tongue tied at the head of his dick. Annie didn't both with her hands and swirled her hot tongue, around the tip. She moaned at the feeling of him, hot and heavy in her mouth. She bobbed her head, taking more in each time she came forward. Slow, she covered him in saliva, dragging it from the base of him back to the top. Her hands sat on his thigh, holding herself steady as she fucking this mans dick with her mouth.

Elijah's head cracked back, with his mouth slung open and stuck in a permanent "o". His eyebrows touched as this fine ass woman gave him the best head of his life. He gripped the back of her head with fury. Holding her still, as his hips bucked, hitting the back of her throat. He fucked her face into oblivion. He fucked her with no remorse, like he trained her for it already. She gagged hard but never pulled him off. God, she deserved a man that would fuck her through a concrete wall and then fix it.

"Ooooo shit, you gotta come up of this shit," he pulled his hips back. He was getting lost, daydreaming of fucking her for the rest of his life. Annie was in the same boat, just down there taking it.

"You okay?" She asked him. Her fingers running up and down his thigh. She wasn't being funny, she was genuinely asking him because, she wanted to know.

"Yeah, I almost busted all over you," he chuckled lightly. "Why'd you stop?" Her eyes had a vice grip on him.

"I want all of ya," he was dead serious. He lifted her up, swiping everything off her desk and sat her down on it. He couldn't line himself up with her opening fast enough. He hooked his arms under her legs, pulling Annie towards him. Elijah was already on the edge and only the tip was in. The way she gripped him and her pussy pulsed around him. She held on to his arms as she watched him settle into her.

There was so much pressure, the head stretching her into oblivion. "Fuck, you've gotta move," she pleaded. The first full thrust ripped through them both. Worlds collided, volcanoes erupted, tsunami's formed in the the middle of the damn day. He fucked into her slow, watching his pace so he wasn't know as a big dick, minute man. She clawed at his back as he rocked into her. It's like she was falling on end. Her body didn't know what to do, all she could do was claw and feel.

"Goddamn, you grippin' me so good mama," he moaned into her neck. His hips snapped faster, the wetter she got. Elijah sank his teeth into her neck, holding her there as he jack hammered into her. Her body was splitting, "Oh my god, Daddy please," her pussy was gushing. She had nowhere to run, just had to take it. "I feel you cummin' on my dick baby, gon head and let it go," his low encouragement sent her over the edge, she bit down into his shoulder to muffle the orgasm that was tearing thru her body like a madman. "Keep fucking me," she begged. She felt something so unfamiliar, another one sitting right under the one she just had. His hips snapped even faster, his dick was a brick. Elijah gave it to her over and over, her mouth hung open. There eyes met, and their lips locked. Spit being swapped and to gues carressing the inside of eachothers mouth. Moans getting lost in between them. "I'm boutta nut, mama. Where you want it," she wasnt thinking rational. She didn't want to feel empty, she didn't want the fullness to leave. "Inside me, please," she whined as she reached the peak. Her nails dug into his back as she released all over him for the 3rd time today. He grunted deep, "fuckkkkkkk." He emptied everything he had into her. She literally drained his balls dry. He stayed inside of her, holding her close to him as if it was natural for them to mold after sex.

"I need to see you again, Anais," he said cupping her chin with both hands, pecking her lips softly. He didn't know what it was about this woman. But as he stood there, looking at her he could see his whole life. He couldn't let her go. He couldnt go back to not having her.

She didnt know what to think, the man was sitting inside of her. THE MAN WAS SITTING INSIDE OF HER! She'd just about agree to anything at this point. But she felt it something too. A deep familiarity with him that she didn't know was possible.

"I need to see you again too, Elijah."

-

idk why it took me so long to get this out like wtf. im more focused on getting chapter 2 of couples therapy out 🤭 school over yall, summer coming and ian got nothing but time. thank for those of you who checked on me and didnt rush me cause yall knew school was beatin my ass. i love yall DOWN😗 anyway, comments and feedback always appreciated and i personally enjoy talking to yall so🙂 lmk what u think

[moth2flamewriting]

Yall, I just got nominated for Teacher of the Year🥹🥹 wtffffffffff

[blue4everrsworld]

Congratulations Teach 🎉👏🏾❤️🙌🏾

[moth2flamewriting]

thank you🩷