Not a regular Friday night.
Last night we visited a gallery where I sell blank photo note cards and some of my other photography. I tend to browse the gallery and check on inventory and check out how the cards and other prints are displayed. This brings me to the point of nudity. I like that my nude cards are displayed with my other cards, not put in a dark corner or hiden other ways... We are in a small town with a bunch of churches. I have a series that I started many years ago where there is a nude subject in an old wooded box... I noticed a gentleman had walked over to look at the cards a few times. If you know me I generally don't walk over and say HEY I AM THE PHOTOGRAPHER... I am somewhat withdrawn. However I walked over and asked if there was something he was looking for... He told me about a specific thing going on in his immediate family right now and that the series really was connecting with him and the situation. I did tell him I was the photographer at that point and explained the series. I think it really spoke to him. The series has been viewed with a couple different stories by different viewers. Unfortunately mostly and a much more darker evil vision than what I intended. I hope that the card is used and since it is blank that this person can explain the meaning of the image in the way he sees it. After hearing his story I pray that...
I did enjoy getting to tell the story behind the series. It was a series that morphed a few times but still maintained its core meaning to me. I do not think I would ever say to a viewer there what they see is wrong. I hope that they would listen to why I created it and hopefully they would see it through my eyes.
Review: Starry Hollow series Box Set (book 1-10) by Annabel Chase
Rating: 5⭐️✨🪄
I’m absolutely entranced by Annabel Chase’s completed witchy series Starry Hollow about a widowed woman with a young daughter, struggling to keep them afloat in New Jersey whose life changes forever when her repo job goes wrong.
I’ve read multiple books by Chase but after reading, ok binging ten books here, I can say that no voice is as memorable, as regionally vibrant and…
Did you ever finish that cable box drabble you were working on? I remeber 4 parts...
There are four parts that are completed right now. I’m still planning to add a few more, but my manip maker (cough, @papofglencoe, cough) and I haven’t been able to coordinate the rest of the banners and Easter eggs yet. If she ever stops galavanting across the country and spends her time dedicating herself to my fanfiction, I’ll post more. Caryn, you know this is totally a joke, and there’s no pressure. I just know you can take the ribbing.
In all seriousness, I will add more parts, and I’m happy to take suggestions for where you’d like to see the story go. Thank you for being interested.
Does "Broken Box" have a Part 5? :) I adore this Drabble series of yours.
Thank you so much! I’m thrilled you like it.
I’m planning to write some more–at least a couple more parts. If I have ideas for more after that, I’ll keep adding as long as papofglencoe will keep making edits for me.
If you have ideas, feel free to send them to me. I love getting prompts.
Thank you again for enjoying and requesting more cable repairman!Peeta. Katniss has some slow internet, so she uses the card he gave her to get her box fixed. Thanks again to myusernamehere and jennagill for being wonderful betas and papofglencoe for the continually amazing edits. Part 3 (and the forthcoming one) are dedicated to muttpeeta to fulfill our deal and wrestlerpeeta for her enthusiasm.
Chapter list
“Hello?”
Katniss swallowed hard at the sound of his husky voice through the phone line. A shiver ran through her when his greeting was followed by a soft grunt and a door slam. She wondered if he’d just climbed into his truck.
“Peeta?” she asked more tentatively than she meant to.
“This is he,” Peeta confirmed. “Who’s this?”
She pressed her lips together before parting them to blurt, “Katniss. Katniss Everdeen. You came to fix my box a few weeks ago? I mean, my cable box. Not my box. Oh god, I didn’t mean…” She trailed off in miserable silence when he chuckled.
“Relax, Katniss. I know what you meant.” His voice sounded like a smile, and she felt a flush of relief flood her body at his words.
“Oh, thank god,” she muttered dejectedly.
“What can I do for you? Is your cable acting up again?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, kinda.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. This was his job, after all, and she did call him as a paying customer. “It’s really more the internet. Sometimes it works fine and then other times… Well, to put it plainly, other times it doesn’t. And it always seems to be when I’m working against a deadline and have to email a report to my boss. There’s no warning. Sometimes I try to look up something on my phone, and I have to turn the Wi-Fi off for anything to load. It’s really frustrating. I thought it was the app at first, but restarting my phone doesn’t help, and sometimes my laptop is slow, too.”
She stuttered to a stop when it became apparent to both of them that she was rambling. Why in the world did she sound deranged when she talked to him?
“That would be frustrating,” he agreed and sighed. “I’m at the end of my shift, but I could swing by now if you have a few minutes. I have the next couple of days off, and I don’t want you to have to wait if you have deadlines over the weekend.”
“I am free. I mean, I don’t want you to have to work overtime. I can wait until Monday if you need to.” She bit her lip to keep more words from flowing out of her mouth. She shook her head and tried to stop herself from being any more of a maniac.
Peeta laughed, a low rumble that pulsated through the phone line and straight to her core, and reassured her, “It’s completely fine, Katniss. I have plans to meet a friend for a concert later, but that’s a few hours from now. I have plenty of time to take care of you.”
She tried to staunch the images that inundated her as she imagined the number of ways she wished he’d take care of her, but it was no use. She had no control over her thoughts as she murmured her thanks and went downstairs to wait for him by the gate. He arrived in minutes and parallel parked the Capitol Cable truck expertly before jumping out of the cab and walking toward her.
“There’s the damsel in distress,” he grinned at her and winked as she let him through the gate.
“I’m sorry to call on such short notice,” she apologized awkwardly, but he stopped her in a firm voice.
“Nonsense. I gave you my card. This is my job, and you're no bother. In fact, I’m happy to hear from you again, although I’m sorry it’s because your service isn’t working properly.”
She led him up the stairs and couldn’t help herself as she swayed her hips a little more provocatively than she normally would. There was no way to know for sure that he’d watched her, but his cheeks sported a slightly pinkish tinge when he followed her into her apartment.
“Let’s see what we’ve got here,” he said as he dropped to his knees in front of the cable box. Buttercup brushed against him within seconds, and he paused briefly to scratch the feline behind the ears before fiddling with some wires and checking his meter to see what was wrong.
She didn’t try to talk to him, simply watched him as he worked and admired the way his fingers moved effortlessly and his shirt stretched over his shoulder blades. She tried not to let her eyes drop to the way his khakis molded to his perfectly rounded backside, but she flushed when he turned to glance over his shoulder at her and caught her staring at him. She was saved from further embarrassment when his phone beeped, and he pulled it from his pocket with a furrowed brow. His eyes flitted across the screen, and he scowled slightly before typing a response. When the phone beeped again, he cursed under his breath and tossed it onto her floor.
“Everything okay?” she asked quietly. She didn’t want to pry, but he seemed upset. She didn’t know him at all, but she’d only seen him as unflappable and genuinely good-humored. The glower on his face made her heart pinch slightly and her pulse quicken.
“Yeah. Sorry, personal stuff. Didn’t mean to interrupt my work.”
“It’s fine,” she said quickly. “Are you alright?”
He sighed then, one so heavy it sounded as if he were exhaling the weight of the world. With a twinge of sadness, he asked her, “You ever have those friends that constantly bail on you?”
She nodded, her eyes wide with surprise.
“I should have known when I bought the tickets. My buddy Finnick is a little bit of a ladies' man, and he just shot me a text to tell me he’s picked up a date with a girl he’s been eying for weeks. So, now I have two concert tickets and one of me.” His shoulders slumped when he asked, “And how am I supposed to find someone to take the extra on such short notice? I guess I’ll have to go by myself again or waste both tickets.”
“Again? Has he done this to you before?” She worked to hide her barely suppressed outrage that someone could treat Peeta this way. He just seemed so nice.
“A couple of times. Both for pretty good reasons, but it still sucks to sit at a restaurant waiting for someone who doesn’t show.” Peeta’s voice was full of so much exhaustion, she wanted to smooth it away.
“Well, I, uh— I mean, I know this is presumptuous, but umm…” She stammered when he looked at her quizzically. “I don’t exactly have plans tonight if you want some company.”
She blushed to the roots of her hair when his mouth fell open. He stared at her, his blue eyes flickering over her face for several moments, before she blurted, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“No!” he sputtered. “No! I mean, yes! I mean, that would be… I would love to have some company tonight if you’re up for it. I wasn’t fishing, but you’d really be doing me a favor if you’d hang out with someone you barely know just to make sure I don’t have to waste my tickets. Are you sure?”
His agreement to her offer relaxed her slightly, and she grinned at him. “Well, I guess that depends on who’s in concert.”
Was she flirting with him? She was always so awful at it that she didn’t even realize she’d done it until he beamed at her. She blinked furiously in order to focus. The way his upper lip slid to the side in a half-smile was the most disarming thing she’d ever seen.
“You heard of the Tributes?”
“Are you kidding?” she practically screeched. Katniss wasn’t one to be overly emotional, but she loved that band, and she’d been trying to see them live for over a year.
“I take that as a yes,” he replied warmly.
“I love them,” she gushed, and she never gushed. “Forget me doing you a favor. This is the greatest thing that’s happened to me in ages.”
His face relaxed into a look of pure happiness as he rose from his knees and reached into his pocket. “I think I’m pretty much done here. The internet seems to be working faster now, and here—” He extended his hand to her, and she reached toward him. Her fingers brushed his briefly, and she felt a flutter of warmth before glancing at what he’d given her. She stared at the ticket, completely frozen as she realized what his misfortune had netted her.
“I need to run home and change and take care of a few things, but I can swing back by here in a couple of hours to get you. Would that be okay?”
She nodded dumbly, unable to figure out if she should offer to meet him at the venue rather than trouble him to pick her up, but she couldn’t figure out how to get those words past her lips.
“See you at 9:00 then,” he offered as he gathered his things and crossed to the door. “And Katniss?” She whipped her head to look at him. “Thanks,” he said quietly with a nod.
The door closed behind him, and she whispered, “Thank you, Peeta,” before clapping her hands and whirling into motion. She had to get ready.
****
“It’s through here!” Peeta yelled into her ear and nodded toward a door at the end of the dark hall. Throbbing bass pounded through the Seam where the opening band for the Tributes was on stage. Katniss stumbled slightly in the darkness, but Peeta’s hand on the small of her back tightened just a hint to give her a bit of stability.
He looked amazing. He wore dark jeans with lighter striations that cut across his pelvis and drew attention to places she shouldn’t think about on her cable repairman. The denim hugged his shapely thighs, and he wore a white button down shirt with ice blue pinstripes. He’d left the top two buttons open and rolled the sleeves up to reveal his muscled forearms. Katniss could barely tear her eyes from his exposed collarbone when he arrived at her apartment.
She wasn’t sure why she was surprised when he showed up at her place at 9:00 on a black and silver Harley. It wasn’t like he would drive his Capitol Cable truck after hours. However, the thrill she felt when he straddled it and handed her his helmet shot straight to her gut. She almost protested when she noticed he’d given her his protective gear until she realized that helmet laws didn’t exist in their state. Legally, he didn’t have to wear one, and the venue was only a mile away.
When they pulled up in front of the Seam, he’d helped her from his bike and she couldn’t help noticing the way his blue eyes appreciated her legs, clad in denim leggings, and the low cut, V-neck black tank top that showed just a hint of cleavage. Her black strappy wedges and gold chandelier earrings completed the outfit.
“Drink?” he shouted as he moved them toward the bar. People crowded the walkways, but he guided her through them effortlessly. When she nodded, he approached the bartender and then turned to hand her a clear cup of amber liquid. “Boulevard Wheat,” he answered her unspoken question when she sniffed the cup before taking a long draw.
“Thanks!” she mouthed and sipped contentedly. When she finished, another drink appeared in her hand, and she swayed slightly to the music. Peeta's body heat radiated from him as he stood behind her, shielding her from the crowds that bumped and prodded as the patrons jockeyed for position.
When the Tributes finally took the stage, she felt him bump her from behind so hard she bucked forward and almost spilled her drink. Peeta’s right arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back against his solid chest. His mouth moved to her ear, and he said loudly, “Sorry! It’s getting a little wild in here.”
Katniss looked over her shoulder at him and smiled to let him know she didn’t mind. The alcohol buzzed in her veins, and the feel of his muscled torso against her made her almost dopey with happiness. His eyes caught hers, and she froze at the heat she saw there. She leaned slightly to her right to balance herself against the metal pillar next to them.
Her favorite song, The Reaping, burst from the speakers, but she barely registered it. Instead, she closed her eyes and tipped her head back as Peeta’s lips covered hers. Her arms slid upward to twist around his neck, her right hand still holding her mostly-empty beer. He slanted his body against hers and pressed her gently into the pillar, effectively blocking her from the rest of the concert goers.
He nibbled on her lower lip until she opened under his insistent motions. When she did, he swept his tongue into her mouth and rubbed it lazily against hers. Even though the sound was lost in the noise, she moaned loudly as his hands fell to her waist and tugged her hips against his. He caressed the sliver of bare skin between her tank and waistband before cupping her rounded cheeks in his hands and squeezing.
The crowd screamed around them, cheering for her favorite band, but she was so caught up in Peeta that she didn’t even notice. Instead, she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him back with every ounce of hunger she felt.
She lost track of time. She vaguely noticed the shift in music from one song to the next, but it wasn’t until the melody cut off abruptly that she realized the Tributes were thanking the audience and launching into their final song.
Dazed, Peeta pulled back and swallowed hard. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat near a pulse point that vibrated erratically. As she slid down his body, she felt the unmistakable pressure of his stiffened length against her thigh and noticed his grimace as she pressed against it by accident. His red lips matched the color of his cheeks, and his blue eyes blazed as they raked over her face.
“Do you want to get out of here?” he bellowed, and she nodded shortly.
Grasping her hand firmly, he pulled her from the building and to his waiting Harley. When the bike roared to life, she felt the vibrations pulse against her core. She tightened her arms around his waist and leaned into his back as he urged them forward. It didn’t take long to realize he was just as much of a reason for the ache between her legs as the motor. She’d never been so grateful to live close to downtown as she did at that moment.
“My place!” she shouted, and he pursed his lips together and revved the throttle.
