Book: The Royal Romance
Pairing/Players: Sojourn Liam x Trina, TRR group
Rating/Warnings: PG (suggestive language)
Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * OCs are my creation * 31 days of ficlets and one shots using Jasmine’s Situational Summer Prompts – hanging out in a library or museum for the air conditioning *
Word Count: +/- 500
Instead of spending summer in Cordonia, Trina temporarily moves to DC for a prestigious 10-week internship for the Justice Department (she rents a furnished studio apartment because savings)
Liam goes to visit her for Independence Day weekend; they extend the invitation to everyone (Hana, Olivia, Maxwell; Drake and Lyssa drive down from NYC) and Liam rents a hotel suite
They’re all excited to go sightseeing and watch the fireworks
Trina remembers the Folklife Festival is going on at the same time
They’re carrying gear for fireworks watching (blankets, lots of water and snacks) and meet on The Washington Monument end of The Mall just before lunch
Drake’s already hangry, Maxwell’s just hungry
They walk through the stalls and exhibitions; it’s the 50th anniversary and the theme is Circus Arts, so there’s a massive exhibition tent, stilt walkers, performers, and a trapeze exhibit
Maxwell nearly loses his mind with the food options; Drake is happy with a beer garden and a visit to the BBQ stall
Lyssa hops with excitement when she sees a capoeira demonstration about to begin; this earns friendship points with Olivia, who is also curious to watch the demonstration
Hana’s fascinated by the costume workshops
Festival is crowded and everyone’s having a decent time, but there’s no shade and now the sun is beating down on them
Olivia is oddly unaffected
Liam’s somehow more attractive with a sheen of sweat that just makes his face dewy
The boozy popsicles they devoured were nice, but it’s still too hot
Trina suggests ducking into one of the museums along The Mall to cool off – they go to the National Gallery of Art and split up for an hour
Drake volunteers to watch their gear by sitting on a bench near the entrance and tries to nap; Lyssa stays with him but wanders down various hallways to look at paintings
Hana, Olivia, Maxwell, Liam, and Trina pick a wing to wander through
Hana sees an exhibit for Bazille so they go to look at that instead
Before they leave, Trina shows Liam one of her favorite paintings to admire – Van Gough’s Green Wheat Fields, Auvers – the swirly paint strokes just make her sigh and daydream about walking through a field like that
They meet up with Drake and Lyssa to leave, staring outside the doors at the sun and heat
Liam: the hotel has a very nice rooftop pool. I bet the fireworks would look just as spectacular from there, don’t you think?
Everyone agrees!
They head back to the hotel; Trina says she’ll meet them there, she has to go back to her apartment to get her bathing suit and other things
Liam escorts her back 😏 because safety 😉😉
They totally don’t make it back to the hotel in time, and have a fireworks show of their own making
Book: The Royal Romance, Sojourn series
Pairing: Liam x Trina
Rating/Warnings: PG (suggestive language)
Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * OCs are my creation * 31 days of ficlets and one shots using Jasmine’s Situational Summer Prompts – Super soaker battles *
Word Count: +/- 2000
Liam sighed listlessly as he swirled the single malt whisky in his hand, before knocking it back in one swift movement. He swallowed hard and felt the liquor warm his insides, setting the empty glass on the bar, before turning back to the bright green felt and colorful balls on the billiard table. Drake stood off to his side and wordlessly handed him a pool cue. Liam pushed his sleeves up again and took the cue from Drake, walking around the table to determine his next move.
He narrowed his eyes on a target, lined up his shot, and struck the cue ball. With a clack, a solid ball rolled into a corner pocket, and he nodded his head to Drake to take his turn. When he wrapped his hands around the top of the cue stick, he wobbled ever so slightly, and reached out to grab the edge of the table.
Drake’s brows pinched together as he rubbed chalk on the end of his stick, looking over to Liam. “You alright? Should we order some food?”
Liam’s lips curved down and he waved dismissively at Drake’s suggestion, walking over to take a seat. “I’m good.”
Drake laughed softly on the other side of the table, still playing the game. “No you are not,” he chuckled. “Your face has been turning pink for the last half hour.”
Liam scoffed at the claim. “It’s August in New York and these lamps are warm. The whole city is warm.”
“You’re turning into a sour drunk,” Drake chuckled again. He turned his attention to the bar and waited until he made eye contact with a tall brunette, mouthed the word water, then flashed her a peace sign. She smiled and nodded as she finished wiping down the glass in her hands, plucked two fresh ones from the stack she’d been cleaning, and filled them with ice, before filling them with water. She called out to a waitress passing by and set the glasses on the bar, and the waitress brought them over to Drake and Liam, along with a fresh bowl of peanuts.
Liam smiled politely at the young woman that set the glasses of water in front of him, and cracked open a few peanuts, popping them into his mouth. “Are you going to take your turn or what?” He looked over to Drake, who was still circling the table.
They’d been hanging out at The Whiskey Ward all night, just so Liam could get out of the apartment for a while. Even though he and Katrina had his visit on both of their calendars, her schedule changed on the fly, depending on her workload as an intern. Sometimes she kept regular office hours, but other times, when the firm acquired an important client, she stayed in the bullpen late into the night to do research or organize data for the lawyers. It was what she needed to do, to accrue the knowledge and firsthand experience while she pursued her degree, and Liam supported all of that…but it was human to feel the pang of disappointment when their plans would fall through.
So Drake took him to one of his favorite bars. Drowning his sorrows at Copper & Oak was out of the question, even if he could have access to a plethora of high end liquor; the small space of Drake’s workplace didn’t offer much in terms of claiming a seat for hours at a time. Whiskey Ward had a larger space, with real tables and chairs that weren’t bolted to the floor, with the added bonus of a pool table.
Liam’s meetings at the Cordonian Embassy wrapped up earlier that afternoon, and he’d scheduled the rest of the week to himself to spend time with Katrina and Drake, since they’d stayed in the city for another summer. He’d intended to go to dinner with Katrina, but something came up with a case; as part of the intern team, she and four others had to compile something for one of the partners. She promised to make it up to him before he had to go back to Cordonia.
“Make your move or give up the table, there’s at least two people staring at us to finish,” Liam said, taking a long drink of water. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket as Drake took his turn. Pulling the phone out from his pants pocket, the screen flashed with the time as he pressed his finger to the back to unlock it; it was nearly midnight. There was a new text from Katrina: wrapping up in an hour or so, late night snack when you get back?
He texted her back a reply, and took another sip of water from his glass. Eventually he and Drake finished up their game and walked over to the bar to settle their tab. “Put your money away.”
Drake elbowed him lightly. “Your money’s no good here, Li.” Liam pulled a twenty from his wallet and then cursed in Greek. The rest of the bills were Euros. Next to him, Drake laughed quietly as he pulled cash from his wallet to cover the difference. “Told ya.”
Liam chuckled and rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Skáse, malakia,” he laughed again.
“I will not shut up, asshole,” Drake grinned. He handed over the bills to the brunette bartender from earlier, waving his hand with a small motion for her to keep the extra twenty he’d included as a tip for their drinks. “Thanks Leigh, see you next week!”
Liam and Drake made their way out of the bar and began walking down the street. “Next week?”
“Some of the other bartenders and I get together when our shifts line up and we grab a slice to unwind, or find someone else’s bar to get a drink,” Drake explained. “Just to decompress after slinging drinks and playing therapist for seven or eight hours,” he added. “Speaking of slices, you hungry?”
“Trina mentioned getting something to eat once she gets home from work, but I’m not sure if she meant fixing something at home or picking something up.”
“We’ve got plenty to graze on, but we can stop at the bodega just in case.” The two of them walked back to the apartment and chatted, with Drake catching Liam up on some of the weekend trips he’d gone on with Lyssa; Liam caught Drake up with what was happening with their friends back in Cordonia. They stopped at a bodega near the building and picked up a variety of snacks – mostly chips, along with a pint of ice cream for Katrina.
Liam sighed quietly in the elevator, leaning his head against one of the side walls and yawned. He and Drake walked down the hallway with their shopping bags, and Drake unlocked the door, but he didn’t move from where he stood outside the threshold. Not paying attention, Liam bumped right into his friend. “The hell?”
“Dude,” Drake breathed out quietly. “Why in the FUCK does my home look like Dexter’s kill room right now?”
Liam peered over Drake’s shoulder, and his eyes went wide. The main living area at the end of the hall entryway looked disturbing. Clear plastic tarps were laid out over the floor and most of the furniture, and the entire room was cast in neon green light from one of the light strips behind the television. “Is that a note on the door?”
Drake pulled an envelope taped over the peephole and scanned over the note, written in Katrina’s handwriting. “I’m hiding somewhere in the apartment. You have five minutes to change into clothes you don’t mind getting wet. Your weapon can be found in the coat closet. When the lights change to pink, it’s time to go to water gun war! PS – Drake, there’s a gun for you if you want to play too. XOXO, Trina.” He shook his head and tucked the note back into the envelope. “Your fiancée is so. Goddamn. Weird!”
Liam clapped him on the shoulder, wide grin spreading across his face. “I hope her work thing wasn’t an excuse to plastic wrap the apartment.” He stepped inside ahead of Drake and slipped his shoes off by the entry way, walking carefully across the plastic in his dress socks. He worked quickly to put the snacks away, stuffing the ice cream in the freezer and piling the chips together on the counter.
Drake followed him into the kitchen, holding up a pair of water guns he found in the coat closet. “I repeat. Weird.”
Both of their phones buzzed, and they went to read a text message from Katrina.
You both love me for it. I didn’t use work as an excuse. FOUR MINUTES, GENTLEMEN!
“Okay seriously, where could she be hiding?” Drake shook his head. “She didn’t tarp the rooms or the bathroom, and there aren’t many places to hide!”
“You’d be surprised at how flexible she is to get into small spaces,” Liam grinned.
“Ohmygod I didn’t need to know that!” Drake tossed a gun at Liam.
Liam tried to stifle a laugh but snorted instead. He fiddled with the gun to open the nozzle and filled it with water from the kitchen sink. “You in?” he asked, raising a brow at Drake.
“Not like I’m doing anything right now,” he chuckled. “See you in four!” He walked off at a brisk pace towards his room.
Liam finished filling his water gun and took it with him to Trina’s bedroom, where he quickly changed into a pair of grey shorts and a black undershirt. He left his phone in the room for safe keeping and went back out to the main living area, where Drake was standing. He’d changed into a pair of swim trunks and a grey shirt.
The lights in the apartment dimmed, and the LED lights from the tv bathed everything in an odd green light. Liam and Drake looked at each other, unsure of what to expect next, before the lights switched to neon pink and pulsed. Katrina seemed to be enjoying the remote control lights. They both held their water guns close to their chests, ready to fire, muscles tense and alert as they both scanned the room for some kind of spot where Katrina had hidden herself.
The wireless speaker in the room began to blast an all too familiar 70s pop song of the Swedish variety. Drake and Liam closed their eyes and laughed.
Their eyes flew open when they heard the large pantry door swing open, and Katrina aimed her gun at Liam, even though Drake was a closer target. She had a wild smile on her face as she shot water at him, and then Drake, who screamed out of shock at how cold the water was.
The three friends spent several minutes chasing each other and firing their water guns at each other to the tune of ABBA’s greatest hits. Liam’s sides hurt from laughing too much, and only when all of their guns were devoid of their aqua ammo was he able to get within reach of Katrina. She was standing on the couch, nearly eye level with him, and he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, before kissing her, his lips spread into a smile the whole time. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” she replied. “Thought this might make up for having to work late tonight.” Anything else she tried to say was silenced by Liam kissing her again.
“I have such weird friends, with HORRIBLE TASTE IN MUSIC!” Drake sighed. He was starfished on the floor, half soaked from the fight.
Katrina pulled herself away from Liam’s lips. “You LOVE IT!” She shook with laughter and kissed Liam again. “Break for snacks, and another round?”
“Might as well make use of your effort to tarp half the apartment.” He smiled again and kissed the tip of her nose. “Salty or sweet?”
“Sweet…for now,” she answered, winking at him. He grinned at her and playfully bit at the air.
Players: Liam x Katrina, Drake x Lyssa, Olivia, Hana, Maxwell, Anitah Rhys
Rating/Warnings: Mature 18+ / 🍋🍋🍋 alert! (lol this means you @dcbbw no reading in a work meeting!)
Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * Appropriate that I posted part 1 on @ao719 ‘s birthday and now part 2 is posted on @the-soot-sprite ‘s birthday 😂*
Word Count: +/- 5000
Trina quickly recapped the rules for Anitah, before giving Liam and Drake the simple instructions of having to prepare lemon bars as a dessert. They were given recipe cards as a safety measure, and the two men scrambled in the pantry to gather their ingredients in the allotted sixty second time limit. Drake made sure to grab gluten and dairy free options after scanning the ingredient list on the recipe card. He and Liam filled their baskets with lemons, eggs, powdered sugar, and granulated sugar, but he eyed Liam’s basket and noticed extra items like almond milk, applesauce, and vanilla extract. He glanced at the recipe card at his station – there was no mention of the extra ingredients Liam had in his basket, nor the container of strawberries he spied as well.
Once more, a palace staff member wheeled in a small service cart with three silver cloches on the top tray, and Trina walked over to stand behind it. “Who’s ready for a little sabotage?” she asked, grinning at Drake and Liam.
“Gods, here we go,” Drake muttered under his breath.
“As a reminder, Liam has a little over sixteen thousand left for bids, while Drake has…” Trina paused to look at the numbers written on the notecard.
“Nine grand!” Maxwell hollered from the table. Drake drew his hand over his face while Liam smirked. “Oh he’s dead where he stands,” Maxwell laughed.
“This is gonna be good,” Olivia added, crossing her arms over her chest.
“First up,” Trina announced, lifting one of the domes, “a little something we’ve called Sugar, Sugar.” Underneath the dome was a box of sugar packets, and Drake’s face fell a little. “Win this bet and your opponent will have to surrender their sugar supply and measure out what they need out of these itty bitty packets.” She waved the box in the air. “Bidding starts a—”
“Eighty-five hundred,” Liam smirked. Drake pelted him with a lemon from his basket as their audience stifled their laughter.
“Counter offer, Drake?” Trina asked.
“Eighty-six hundred,” he grumbled back.
“Eighty-nine hundred,” Liam offered.
“Eighty-nine hundred…and one,” Drake countered, shaking his head.
Trina shook her head, biting back another smile, and looked on at Liam. “Going once…going twice…and sold, to Mr. Walker, for eight thousand nine hundred and one dollars,” she giggled, tossing the box in the air towards Liam. He rummaged through his basket and removed the small bag of sugar, handing it to Trina when she walked over to his station. “Well this sort of takes the fun out of the rest of the sabotages,” she smiled half-heartedly.
“Does that mean we can skip ‘em?” Drake asked. There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“Not a chance!” She held her hand over one of the remaining domes on the cart. “Next up, Not So Easy Bake!” She removed the dome to show a small photo of an Easy Bake oven. “Uhh…instead of being able to use the standard oven, Drake here’ll have to make use of a toaster oven. Bidding starts at two thousand?” Her voice rose as she asked the question, looking at Liam.
“Two thousand it is,” he chuckled, counting out the money.
“I hate you so much right now,” Drake uttered out of the corner of his mouth. A staff member plugged in a toaster oven near his cooking station and shut off the oven.
“Lastly, we’ve got Lemonheaded,” Trina continued, lifting the last dome on the cart. Several boxes of lemonhead candies were underneath, and Liam already started counting out his money to hand over to her. She walked the tray over to Drake’s station before taking another two thousand from Liam.
“What am I supposed to do with these?” Drake looked at the boxes of candy before his eyes went wide as Trina went digging through his basket of ingredients.
She forced a half-smile, half-grimace as she pulled the bag of lemons from his supplies, opening it to hand him a single lemon. “You have to use the candy as your source for lemon, uh…juice,” she replied. “In addition to this single, fresh lemon which you can use for the zest, and whatever juice you can get from it.”
“Are you kidding me? This stuff is like, ninety percent sugar with lemon flavor!”
“Not my problem!” she called out over her shoulder. “Are you boys ready?” she asked, setting the timer on the tablet for 45 minutes. “On your mark, get set….bake!”
Liam and Drake set to work as the timer on the screen counted down. Liam calmly stood behind his station, ripping open several packets of sugar at a time into a measuring cup, while Drake hurried around his station, setting saucepans on the stove. He poured water into one and set the heat on high, then dropped a large spoonful of coconut oil into the empty saucepan. He then took the lemon candies and dropped them into a Ziploc bag and covered it with a towel, before taking a mallet to it, crushing the candy into smaller pieces. He ignored Maxwell shouting “candy crush!” at him as he poured the pieces into a glass bowl and set it over the simmering pot of water, along with pouring a bit of water into the bowl. The coconut oil saucepan was set to low heat, and he measured out ingredients to make the crust as both items heated up.
He was already whisking ingredients together, drizzling the melted oil into the mixture, while Liam was still ripping packets of sugar open. The King’s forehead beaded with sweat as he worked on what looked like a futile task of filling a cup with sugar, even as he tore several packets at a time. Drake grinned to himself, thinking there was still a good chance at victory as he packed the crust into two small pans to bake in the damnable toaster oven. He set a kitchen timer and got to work on making the filling while one crust baked in the tiny oven.
Several quiet minutes passed as the two men worked on their baking challenge. The ladies and Maxwell spoke in hushed tones at the table, making pleasant conversation until 15 minutes passed on the clock. Liam was checking on his crust – finally having finished measuring out his sugar and somehow caught up to Drake – when Trina cleared her throat to get their attention. “Oh my gods, what now?” Drake groaned, stirring the candy water mixture on the stove. He made a face when he tasted the contents.
“Twist in the final sabotage,” Trina answered, handing out a small stack of money to Maxwell, Anitah, Olivia, and Alyssa. A staff member handed her two garment bags, while another pair of staff carried in what looked like a wood railing. Both Liam and Drake paused what they were doing to look at the odd additions in the tent. “Birthday boy and guests will get to do the bidding, along with Liam, and the winning bidder gets to choose who wears what color.”
“What color of what?” Drake hissed.
“So glad you asked, my friend,” Trina answered. While you’re making these lemon bars, you’ll have to work with this barre during the rest of the challenge. Meaning when Maxwell hits a buzzer, both of you will have to come over here and execute three pliés before you go back to cooking.”
The ladies all grinned, while Liam and Drake’s faces fell as they cast a glance at each other. “You mean…”
“There’s a pair of black tights and a shirt in one bag, and a pink unitard in the other,” Trina smiled, her eyes lighting up with mischief. “Everyone has twelve thousand to bid with, to make things even…sort of,” she giggled, looking at the sour expression on Drake’s face.
“Melí, baby, help me out here,” Drake called out to Alyssa. He turned to stir the lemon reduction on the stove again.
“I dunno, you forgot about me when you were cooking the last challenge…” Alyssa quirked her lips to one side, narrowing her bright blue eyes in Drake’s direction.
“Five thousand!” Liam called out, whisking eggs and sugar in a bowl.
“Seven thousand!” Olivia replied.
Anitah, Maxwell, and Alyssa all chimed in, driving the bid to ten thousand, with Liam in the lead. Anitah started whispering in Maxwell’s ear, and a huge grin spread across his face. “Anitah and I are combining our funds and we bid… twenty grand! Boom!” He slammed down a stack of fake bills onto the table.
“You can’t do that! Can he do that??” Drake asked.
“I mean, this is his party, I think he can do whatever he wants to,” Trina answered. “Sold! To Team Maxitah for twenty grand!”
Anitah clapped her hands together and a wide smile swept across her face, and she and Maxwell whispered to one another before Maxwell picked up the garment bags, handing one to Liam and the other to Drake. Drake rolled his eyes as he took the bag. “Like I even have to guess which one you stuck me with.”
“Never know, it could be your color, man,” Maxwell grinned.
“How are we supposed to change, love? We’re both in the middle of cooking,” Liam asked.
“There’s a makeshift changing room just outside, and neither of you are using your ovens right now. Drake can set his…lemon juice…” Trina coughed in a poor attempt to stifle her laugh. “On low heat. I’ll stir it for him so nothing sticks. We’ll pause the timer until you both return. Off you go!” She took the spoon from Drake and lowered the heat, stirring the mixture in the saucepan.
Liam and Drake exited the tent to change, while Trina continued stirring Drake’s lemon concoction. Maxwell excitedly held on to a small buzzer in his hands, chatting away with Anitah and Alyssa to either side of him, while Olivia glanced through her phone. A couple minutes later, Liam walked back into the tent, wearing a pair of black tights and a fitted white shirt. Trina subtly bit her bottom lip as she took in the sight of her fiancé’s muscular build in the form-fitting clothing, his kingly endowments barely hidden by the dark fabric. A warm blush crept up her neck and across her cheeks as he walked the width of the tent, back to his station, essentially on display in front of their friends. He cut his walk short and turned in her direction, grinning at her. He wrapped one of his strong arms around her waist and lifted her up while lowering his head and kissed her deeply, hard enough to make her exhale with a breathy sigh and blink slowly as her feet returned to the ground. “Uh, Liam, sweetie?”
“Hmm?”
“Did you not wear one of the dance belts in the bag?” She flicked her eyes down to his waist, where a more significant bulge appeared.
Liam straightened his posture and cleared his throat, looking down at himself and then to his queen-to-be. “I am wearing one of the belts.”
Trina giggled and bit her lip, lowering her voice. “Walk quickly and think of unsexy things then. Tax laws. Council meetings with Godfrey. Madeleine.” Liam shook his head and walked briskly back to his station, just as Drake poked his head into the tent. All eyes turned to him.
“Fuck it,” he muttered under his breath, before striding into the tent. He stopped in his tracks, pointing at Liam, who was standing behind his counter, hands behind his back. “Why in the hell does he get to wear that, and I have to wear this? I look like a peep!”
“Pink suits you,” Olivia quipped, her lips curling into a smirk.
“Do both of you know the proper form for a grand plié?” Trina asked, giving the saucepan another stir. Liam and Drake nodded silently.
“Let’s test that, shall we?” Maxwell pressed the buzzer in his hands, and both men walked over to the barre, Drake looking like he wanted to stab Maxwell, while Liam remained his calm self. They both placed a hand onto the barre, pressing their heels together with their toes pointed in opposite directions, and slowly bent their knees to lower themselves into position. Liam swept his free hand out to finish the movement, and both men repeated the action two more times before releasing their grips on the barre.
Their friends stared on, with Alyssa dropping her jaw as she looked at Drake. “When did you…how did you…? I had no idea!”
“It helps with agility and speed,” Drake replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Helped improve my football – soccer – skills,” he corrected. “Though it would help with American football as well.”
“Max, hit it again! I need to see that again!” Anitah tried to talk through her teeth quietly, but her request was louder than she thought, and Liam chuckled softly when he caught her. She punched the buzzer in Maxwell’s hand and Liam and Drake sighed, taking position by the barre again. “Hand slipped, sorry,” she smiled awkwardly at them.
“No harm done, Lady Anitah,” Liam smiled, going through the sequence of positions again to perform three pliés. They returned to their stations and Trina walked over to the tablet, tapping the screen to continue the remainder of the time while they worked on their challenge. Drake tied a half apron across his waist while Liam set to work, undeterred.
As Liam stirred in the rest of his ingredients into the mixing bowl, Drake tasted the contents of the bowl and made another face. He set it aside to cool while he mixed the rest of his ingredients for the filling, and Maxwell hit the buzzer again. He hit the buzzer twice more while they continued mixing and pouring their custards onto the crusts they’d prepared earlier, and during the last set, Liam winced as he finished his set of pliés. “Sore already?” Drake smirked.
“It’s been…a while, since I’ve practiced,” Liam replied, setting his lemon bars into the oven. He turned the dial on a timer and set it on the counter as he started cleaning up his station. “You seem to be faring well.”
“I’m still taking classes in between practice,” Drake shrugged.
“Do I hear dance off challenge?” Maxwell’s eyes lit up.
“No, no you do NOT, Beaumont!” Drake’s eyes went wide and he barely shook his head back and forth.
“We don’t have the space, Maxwell,” Liam added.
“We’ve got the entire palace grounds, what’re you talking about?” He hit the buzzer again, and Liam and Drake sighed. “Unless you want me to spend the next twenty minutes hitting this thing,” he laughed. Drake shot him another warning look. “It looks like that vein in his neck is gonna pop, who thinks Drake’ll Hulk out before the end of this challenge?”
“I HEARD THAT!” Drake cast a menacing look at Maxwell, but the threat was useless when it came from a man wearing a spandex unitard. A pink, spandex unitard. He gripped the barre and started pliéing.
“What about one of those twirly things?”
“A pirouette?” Anitah suggested.
“I’m not doing that,” Drake breathed, bending his knees low. “This whole thing is ridiculous enough as it is.”
“Fiiiine, we’ll stay in the tent,” Maxwell sighed.
The rest of the time passed quickly, with Maxwell and Anitah hitting the buzzer frequently as Liam and Drake waited for their desserts to finish baking. They’d set their trays out with just moments to spare before time ran out, and left to change back into their regular clothes while Trina texted Bastien and Hana to return to the tent. “So unfortunately these babies need to cool for an hour or two before Hana can judge them,” Trina explained. “Which is why we get to have a late, leisurely lunch with all of you before that happens! But we can go inside to eat, where it’s a lot cooler.”
.:.
The group sat around the table in the private dining room, enjoying a variety of iced drinks after lunch. Anitah had regaled them with tales about her friends and their husbands causing a ruckus in New Orleans, and Trina told her about the time Leo dropped in to one of their Christmas parties where Liam accidentally fed them pot brownies. They traded stories back and forth, laughter bouncing off the walls. During a lull in conversation, Liam quickly raised his eyebrows at Trina and ticked his head to one side, and she returned his actions with a small nod.
Liam idly scrolled through his phone for a moment, furrowing his brow as he pretended to skim through a message on the screen. “If you’ll excuse me a moment, I need to make a phone call. I’m never quite off duty, it seems,” he stood and bowed his head to his friends before turning to leave, winking at Trina on his way out.
After several minutes, Trina rose up from her seat. “Anitah, make yourself comfortable, everyone else treats this place like a second home. I’m just going to make sure the staff know they can start clearing out the tent. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She smiled politely at her friends before leaving the room.
Waiting several moments to make sure they were alone, Drake took out his wallet and placed 20 Euros on the table. “My money’s on Liam’s study.”
Olivia pulled a crisp 20 Euros from her clutch. “Dark alcove, they won’t even make it to his study.”
“He had a head start though, but I’m going to bet they’re in his office,” Hana chimed in, adding her own money to the growing pile.
“What’s going on?” Anitah asked.
“Oh, those two are like horny teenagers, always sneaking off to fool around,” Maxwell explained. “We kind of made a game of it, to go searching for them to find out where they’re going at it.”
“They do this often??”
“Basically since they met,” Hana replied. “You know Katrina came here as a suitor for Liam’s hand, right?”
Anitah nodded. “After some sort of bachelor party to New York, where she was your waitress. I just had no idea she’d be the type to ditch in the middle of entertaining guests to hook up,” she laughed.
Drake took a sip of his drink. “Oh you have no idea. I honestly think Liam’s gotten worse since the two of them got engaged.”
“Isn’t that a sign of a healthy relationship?” Alyssa looked around the table. “They’ve been together for years now, and they’re still head over heels for each other?”
“Weren’t you the one complaining about them being head over heels the last time we agreed to go on vacation with them?” Drake raised a questioning brow at his girlfriend, knowing smirk on his lips.
Alyssa fidgeted in her seat. “Yeah well, it was a trip to Hawaii. Ha-wa-ii. What broke ass college student is gonna turn down an offer like that?”
.:.
Trina rushed to Liam’s office, locking the door behind her. She started to slip her feet out of her wedges when Liam looked at her from where he was standing in front of the window. “Leave them on, love. The dress can go, wouldn’t want to ruin that.”
“As you wish, my king,” she purred, undoing the buttons down the front of her long sundress. She slipped the light fabric off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor near the door, walking towards Liam in nothing but navy lace. He let out a low growl as he rounded the desk and set her on the edge, kissing her with feverish wanting. Trina let her head fall back and Liam peppered her neck with more kisses, his tongue traveling up and down her skin as she responded with breathy sighs and let her eyelids flutter closed. One of her hands reached forward for him, cupping his stiffening member over his fitted jeans. “Oh, this won’t do,” she murmured, already working to undo the button and zipper that confined what she wanted.
Liam moved to kneel before her, his large hands pressing into her thighs as he pushed them open on the desk. “I’m in the mood for a different kind of dessert first.” He planted a kiss to her inner thigh, then the other, before hooking his fingers into the waistband of her underwear, tugging at them. Trina lifted her hips off the desk as he slid them off her, his eyes heavy with lust as he looked into her eyes before taking in the treasure set before him. “Look at you, you’re so wet for me already,” he whispered. A devilish grin crossed his lips as he moved and began to devour her, tongue and lips moving swiftly to taste every drop of the nectar between Trina’s legs.
She mewled in response, head tipping back once more. “Liam, yes…Liam!” she whimpered, feeling warmth pool as he worshipped her with his mouth. He hiked her legs over his shoulders and she leaned back against the desk, and he inserted two fingers inside her, pumping them in tandem with the movements of his tongue against the firm bundle of nerves at her center. Trina dug her heels into his back at the sensation, panting above him. Liam curled his fingers into her and she bucked her hips in response. “Fuck, Liam! You’re going to make me…”
“Let me hear you, love,” he murmured softly, pulling away from her to speak. “Come for me.” His tongue danced across her skin while his fingers moved at an agonizing pace until he felt her walls closing in on him, and her legs tensed. He gazed up at the goddess before him, watching her shallow breaths as she approached ecstasy, and smirked when she bit her bottom lip, cursing in Greek as she came. Only when her legs relaxed did he stop what he was doing, licking his fingers clean.
“I need you,” she moaned softly. “I need more.”
Liam stood up and unbuttoned his shirt, tossing it onto a leather chair nearby. “Oh, we were just getting started,” he reassured her, pulling his jeans and boxer briefs off.
She bit her lip again as she took in his naked form. “Do we have time?”
“Always,” he laughed softly, leaning forward to kiss her. Trina sucked on his bottom lip and he groaned into her mouth as he teased her entrance with the tip of his member, letting out a breathy laugh when she inched herself forward on the desk so he’d slip inside her. She was warm and wet and tight, and he wanted to stay there forever, joined to her. “My god you feel good,” he groaned into her ear.
Trina took hold of his waist, pulling him closer to her, deeper inside her, and let out a gasp as he filled her up and stretched her walls. “So do you, now…fuck me,” she begged.
Liam hummed and a lazy grin spread across his lips as he sheathed and unsheathed the full length of himself between her legs. “Oh, Bossy Trina’s here, is she? As you wish, my love.” He wrapped his fingers on either side of her hips, and drove himself into her, pulling her to him with each thrust. Trina gasped and gripped his forearm as he set a rapid pace, a pleasant aching between her legs with each movement and hip swivel. “You’re so beautiful, Trina,” he groaned again, slipping the fabric of her bra away to massage one of her breasts.
Trina wrapped her legs around Liam’s waist, locking her ankles together as he continued to fuck her, driving her wild as a tightening sensation began in her center. She let out another unintelligible whimper when he pressed his palm against her center, feeling the way he moved inside her against his own touch. Soon the room was filled with their mingled breaths and skin slapping against skin, the air growing heavy as they both moved towards oblivion. “You feel…so good…so good,” she panted, looking up at him through her lashes.
“You feel like heaven,” he answered back, between breaths. A thin sheen of sweat covered his brow and chest. “I’m close love, but I need to hear you again.” Trina propped herself up and they leaned in to kiss one another, before Liam pulled away to suck on her neck and earlobe. “I love hearing you come, let me hear you,” he urged. He dipped his head down and sucked on her breast, swirling his tongue around her hardened nipple, and gently took it between his teeth, tugging until she mewled and tugged his hair. He nibbled harder until she let out a loud gasp and dug the back of her heels into him.
“Yes, Liam, yes!” she cried out, bucking her hips forward. Her walls tightened and pulsed around him as she came again, breathing hard.
“That’s my good girl,” he growled with satisfaction. He felt a surge of liquid coat him from inside her and nearly lost control of himself, straining to keep their rhythm as she came down from her high. When her body finally relaxed and she released her grip on his hair, he set a rapid pace again, nearing his own release. “What about you?” she panted, urging her hips forward to meet his.
“I’m nearly there already,” he grinned. He eyed her bare torso in between thrusts.
“I know that look,” she smirked.
“What look?”
“That one,” she hummed. “I’m all yours, Liam…just not the face,” she giggled. “I wanna hear you come. I wanna see you come. All over me. I’m yours to claim, always.”
Liam drove himself into his beloved before pulling out of her completely. Trina let out a small whimper at the emptiness, wiggling to the edge of the desk as she bit her lip, watching her King. His chest heaved as he tried to hold on to the last threads of control over his actions, but it was a futile effort when he glanced down to the gorgeous creature before him, watching him with hungry eyes. He took hold of himself and aimed at her abdomen, calling out her name as she encouraged him with ‘I love you’s and ‘come for me’s with her sweet voice, and he let go. Pearlescent strings of his essence spilled forth onto Trina’s golden skin, tanned from long days spent on the Cordonian coastline already. She swung her legs back and forth on either side of him and hummed pleasantly to herself as he shuddered the last of his orgasm onto her.
“Th-thank you,” he uttered, his voice shaky as he fought to compose himself. He heard her giggling as he slowly opened his eyes. “What’s so funny?”
“I had the oddest realization, just now,” she giggled again. “I kind of feel like a human toaster strudel. Or a glazed donut,” she laughed a little harder, poking her finger against a drop of his seed on her.
Liam rubbed a hand across his mouth and laughed sheepishly, warmth creeping up the back of his neck. “I suppose you do rather resemble those things right now,” he chuckled. “Good thing I have a sweet tooth,” he added, dropping to his knees once more.
“What’re you...oh!” Trina moaned as she felt Liam’s tongue graze between her legs before moving up further. She glanced down at him with fascination as he began to lick her clean. “You don’t have to do…there’s a box of tissues over…ohhh why does that feel so good?” she moaned, closing her eyes as Liam pumped his fingers inside her again. A moment later he kissed her stomach and withdrew his fingers, slowly rising to his feet with a mischievous grin.
Without a word, Liam walked over to the half bath that joined his office, ran a small towel under the tap, and wrang it out. He gently wiped down Trina’s abdomen before wiping himself off, and slid her lace underwear back on, holding her hands as she hopped off the desk. She pulled a small pack of disinfectant wipes they kept stashed in a desk drawer for such interludes, wiping her prints off the wood as Liam got dressed. She grabbed her dress near the door and fixed her hair, walking over to Liam in the center of the room.
A small yelp escaped her lips when he picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as she steadied her arms on his broad shoulders, and kissed him. Her eyes shot open and she pulled back reflexively out of surprise when Liam delved his tongue into her mouth, along with a mouthful of himself. She kissed him back and swallowed his surprise, feeling him chuckle silently against her. When she set herself back on the ground, she swatted his arm. “That was a dirty little surprise,” she grinned, licking her lips.
“We should get back to our friends,” he chuckled. “You head back first, and I’ll follow in a minute.” He offered her a mint from a small crystal dish near the bar, and she blew him a kiss as she headed back to the dining room. After perusing through his text messages – mostly from Maxwell asking when he’d get off the phone, and Drake telling him to get his royal ass back to the group for judgement – Liam left his office to rejoin the group as well.
.:.
When Liam returned to the dining room, only Trina was there, along with the trays of lemon bars he and Drake had baked. She held a piece of paper in her hands, and he looked at her with furrowed brows. “Where is everyone?”
“Maxwell took Anitah for a tour of the gardens with Olivia and Hana, and Drake and Lyssa went to the stables to go for a ride. They judged without us,” she pouted, scanning over the note. “You won, Drake’s lemon bars were disgustingly sweet thanks to the lemon candy.” She held up 20 Euros in her other hand. “And he left us this to chip in for pizza because ‘there’s been enough crazy cooking today’.”
“All alone with my lovely fiancée for at least an hour, what shall I do with all this time on my hands?” Liam teased, wrapping Trina in his arms.
“I don’t care where we go, as long as you can bend me over something and have your way with me,” she cooed back.
Liam felt himself twitch in his pants at the suggestion. “As you wish,” he replied, scooping Trina into his arms. He carried her out of the room, back towards his office.
Players: Liam x Katrina
Rating/Warnings: G/PG – fluffy and sweet
Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * @playchoicesficidea October Creative Challenge prompt for Romance/Love, requested by @annekebbphotography * Liam surprises Trina with a weekend getaway
Word Count: +/- 2000
Katrina sighed with relief the moment she slipped her heels off and her bare feet touched the cool wood floor. She wrestled with the stack of paperwork and textbooks in her arms, letting everything drop with a clatter on the dining table, dropping the leather carryall in the seat before her. As she pulled the pins from her hair, Drake emerged from his room and gave her a friendly nod on his way to the kitchen. A weary smile spread across her face as she heard the unmistakable hiss and clink of two bottles of beer being opened. “Adams?” she called out.
“Pumking,” Drake answered back, waving a bottle of Southern Tier ale in the archway. “I can’t believe you got me to like this stuff.”
“You love it,” she teased, taking a swig from the bottle he proffered in her direction. “Cinnamon and cloves in a beer, it’s like drinking Fall.” Katrina took a longer draw from the bottle, tilting her head back to allow the spiced brew to travel down her throat with ease.
“Easy there, Bailey,” Drake teased, grinning at his friend.
“It’s Friday, it’s happy hour, and I’ve had a hell of a day.” She stuck her tongue out at him, Drake responding in silence with raised brows and crossed one arm over his chest. “Arguing over trade tariffs and legislation in class, and next week there’s a mock trial at work. They’re giving me all of Monday off just to focus on the prep work.” She tipped her bottle back for another drink.
“Then I suppose my surprise is timed perfectly.”
Katrina coughed down her last sip of beer, turning around at the sound of Liam’s voice, and rushed over to him. He smiled warmly at her, arms wrapping around her lithe frame as he pulled her into a tight embrace. Tilting his head down, he kissed her and felt her smile against his lips.
“What are you doing here? I thought we wouldn’t see you until Thanksgiving!” She offered Liam her drink, but he shook his head.
“I had to rearrange my appointments, but I planned a little weekend getaway for us.”
Katrina frowned at the news. “I wish I could, but I have to get a head start on prepping for a mock trial, and…”
“Work just happened to give you an extra day off?” Liam’s eyes lit up with a mischievous sparkle.
Katrina puckered her lips in a weak attempt to fight off a smile. “You planned that, didn’t you?”
“Perhaps,” Liam replied, winking at her. “So, my love, what do you say to going for a drive with me to a surprise destination?”
“I…need to change, and a hint to where you’re taking me so I know what to pack.”
Liam nodded, tapping an index finger to his lips. “I’ve taken the liberty of packing a bag for you for the weekend already,” he grinned. “You just have to pack up your toiletries and makeup, though you won’t need much where we’re going.”
“Not even a tiny hint?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Just you and me, nothing too formal, jeans and boots and comfy sweaters.” Katrina pretended to pout but walked away happy, heading to her room to change into something more comfortable to wear for a long drive. Liam was already dressed casually in dark jeans and a grey sweater, and she could hear him chatting with Drake in the kitchen.
.:.
“Can we play twenty questions, and I try to guess where we’re going?” She drummed her fingers along the passenger side door, glancing over to Liam. They were still inside the city limits, sitting in bumper to bumper traffic with the rest of the city trying to leave for the weekend.
“Why don’t you tell me about the case you have to prepare for your trial? As much as you’re able to disclose, at least.” Liam glanced over at Katrina and reached over to squeeze her hand.
“I don’t want to bother you with that, you’ve got more important things going on.”
“Love, I would rather listen to you go over the details of your day than hold a meeting with one more diplomat or ambassador. Even if all the highlight was Christian complaining about the lack of organic coffee in the break room again.”
“Well…” Katrina chewed on her bottom lip, hesitating to continue. “I do have some questions about maritime law that you might be able to help me with, being the ruler of a country with a prominent coastline.”
“Ask away,” Liam replied, his face lighting up at the challenge. “While I’m not the best at operating a boat, I’ve done my fair share of overseas trade negotiations.”
.:.
Liam drove down the long stretch of highway, classical music streaming through the satellite radio at a low volume so as not to disturb Katrina. After a lengthy discussion on the finer points of international law between two countries in relation to her case file, Katrina nodded off a few miles north of Philadelphia. He was already south of Washington DC, headed west on I-66, and quietly hoped she would stay asleep the rest of the way so he wouldn’t have to blindfold her.
The surprise he planned came from a place of love. Katrina mentioned how much she loved to witness the seasons change, living on the East Coast – the mild, fleeting spring weather and the way summer seemed to appear overnight with a heatwave, lingering like the humid air that came with it, until the slow transition into fall rolled in, just before winter settled in for a long stretch of time. While she loved Spring and the bounty of flowers, her second favorite season was Fall – Katrina loved the orange and gold leaves, the dip in the temperature that warranted colorful scarves, and warm drinks held in her hands. While Liam preferred the more temperate climate of Cordonia, his favorite part about Fall was admiring his fiancée in her many pairs of knee high leather boots. The fiery glow to the trees and skyline sunsets was an added bonus.
While he didn’t necessarily understand the appeal of colder temperatures and added layers of clothing, he understood the importance of family and holding on to pleasant memories of one’s past. When she mentioned her family used to take drives through a place called Shenandoah Valley when she was a child, he knew he had to try and get her to feel those happy memories one more time. At the very least they could make some of their own memories during a quiet weekend away from the world.
.:.
Katrina stirred gently, feeling like she was eight years old again, having fallen asleep in the car. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding on to the wisps of the dream playing out in her mind. She felt weightless as her father carried her from the car and into the house, where she’d nestle into her bed fully dressed, but blissfully happy. If she woke in the middle of the night, she knew she’d find a glass of water on her dresser, along with a clean set of pajamas. More often than not, she’d wake up long enough to change into the pajamas and check on her sister in the bed next to hers, tucking the blanket around Josie’s sleeping form before returning to her own bed.
This time Katrina woke to a dimly lit room with rustic furnishings. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, noticing a glass water on the nightstand, and stretched her arms above her head, catching the whiff of garlic and butter in the air. Padding down the hallway, she found Liam standing in front of the stove, inside a quaint cabin. “Hey,” she said softly, catching his attention.
Liam smiled softly at her as he stirred a pot. “Good evening, my love. You look rested.”
“What are you cooking? How long was I out?” She trudged over and kissed him on the cheek, craning her neck to see pasta in the bubbling water. She wrapped her arms around his torso and leaned against his side, and Liam squeezed her shoulder before returning to his task.
“A little pasta, garlic bread, and garden salad. A few hours, give or take,” he replied, stirring the contents of a saucepan. “And before you ask, we’re in Virginia.”
“Where in Virginia?” Katrina looked up at him with nervous anticipation, and Liam simply shrugged his shoulders in response, playful grin on his face as he drew a piece of pasta from the water and tasted it. She narrowed her eyes at him with a knowing smirk and started searching through the small stack of papers on the dining table, scanning pamphlets for a clue. She set the colorful papers down and turned to look at him. “Sh-Shenandoah? We’re in Shenandoah?” She blinked rapidly, looking around the open living area of the cabin.
“You spoke so fondly of your childhood trips here, and I know you’ve wanted to visit again…” He gauged whether he could leave his station at the stove to go to her, and lowered the flame under the saucepan, covering it with a lid as a precaution. Liam took two long strides to reach Katrina, kneeling before her as he took her hands in his. “We can leave right now if you’re not ready to be here, I’ll pack everything up.”
Katrina shook her head vehemently, pulling her hands away to cup either side of Liam’s face. “Don’t…don’t you dare,” she whimpered. Tears threatened to spill forth from her eyes, already blurring her vision. “You’re always listening, aren’t you? Always planning and plotting for some new way to make me fall in love with you.”
Liam smiled against her touch. “That wasn’t the intended goal, but it’s a bonus I happily accept. You’re not upset?” Katrina leaned forward and kissed Liam; gently at first, still overcome with the knowledge that the man before her had planned something so thoughtful. He leaned forward and kissed her back, his hands tangling in her hair as he ran his tongue across her bottom lip before pulling away with a hesitant sigh. “So…not upset then,” he chuckled.
“You are a sweet, sweet man,” she replied. “But I think you need to get back to chef duty,” she added, jutting her chin in the direction of the stove. Liam rose up from the ground and Katrina followed, and the pair of them assembled a late dinner.
“I took the liberty of packing your climbing gear with our things.” Liam tore off a piece of garlic bread, holding it in the air. “Or we could go horseback riding, in addition to driving through the park.” He popped the bread into his mouth, waiting for her response.
Katrina twirled pasta around her fork, considering her options. “Let’s see what the weather’s like in the morning. I wouldn’t mind climbing an actual rock face instead of the marked paths of an indoor gym.” After swallowing her food, she looked over at Liam again. “Wait, do you even know how to climb?”
“I’ve gone a number of times with Leo in Greece, yes. A few times in Athens and Crete, but Kalymnos is an amazing island for climbing.”
“And here I thought you wouldn’t know how to tie a Prussick from a figure eight,” she chuckled, stabbing a forkful of salad into her mouth.
“I’m well-versed with a number of knots,” he replied, adding a knowing smirk. “Perhaps I can show you some of my rope skills after dinner.”
“Well look at that, I couldn’t eat another bite!” Katrina smiled and bit her bottom lip, setting her fork down as she looked into Liam’s eyes. He smiled back at her and glanced over to the bedroom.
“You better run, I don’t plan on taking it easy on you…and we’re eight hundred meters away from the next cabin!” Liam pushed back on his chair, the wood scraping against wood, his eyes playful and wild with desire. A wicked grin flashed across his face, and Katrina’s eyes went wide with excitement as she pushed herself away from the table, sprinting towards the bedroom. If anyone happened to walk past their cabin, they would’ve heard high-pitched squeals of laughter mixed with Liam’s playful growls.
Players: Liam x Katrina, Drake x Lyssa, Olivia, Hana, Maxwell, Anitah Rhys
Rating/Warnings: PG-13/Mature 18+ (language/swearing)
Author’s Note: * All main characters belong to Pixelberry, I’m just borrowing them * A little something I wrote to celebrate my one year tumblrversary and @ao719’s birthday – this is going to be a two part one shot because I cannot shut up 😂and writing this totally got away from me! I hope you enjoy it, my friend!
Word Count: +/- 5100
PART 1
“What in the name of the gods is this?” Liam inquired, stepping into a large party tent on the palace grounds.
“Right this way, guys!” Maxwell beckoned to his friends as they made their way across the lawn. Trina beamed a smile standing next to him.
“What…what is this?” Drake looked at the pair of them, darting his eyes over to the tent, and back to Trina and Maxwell again. “It can’t be good if you two are smiling like that.”
Trina clicked her tongue at Drake. “It’s Maxwell’s birthday, and—”
“It is not his birthday,” Drake corrected. “So whatever this is, I don’t wan—”
“It is his birthday,” Trina interrupted, scowling back at Drake. “Since you and I are stuck at school on his actual birthday, so it’s…just…” she paused, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s an unbirthday celebration, okay?” Drake puffed air out his nose in response. Trina tilted her head at him, closed her eyes, and breathed in and out before beginning again. “As I was saying, Maxwell wanted to celebrate his birthday a little differently this year. He’s been obsessed with a show for the past couple of weeks and th—”
“No.” Drake groaned, drawing a hand down his face as he stopped in his tracks. “No no no no no.”
“Drake!” Trina’s eyes widened and she scowled again. “Stop interrupting!”
“Oof! Walker, what are you doing? Move!” Olivia pushed him forward. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Maxwell’s about to make us cook,” Drake warned.
“You are correct, my friend!” Maxwell clapped his hands together, his eyes alight with excitement. “Some of you know I’ve been watching Cutthroat Kitchen and my awesome sister here—” he paused to bump shoulders with Trina, who grinned back at him. “Asked what I wanted to do to celebrate my birthday, so here we are.”
“Here we are to do what, Maxwell?” Olivia arched her eyebrow at him, pursing her lips into a tight line.
Maxwell pulled back one of the tent cloths and Liam, Drake, Olivia, Hana, and Lyssa slowly made their way inside, peering around at the setup. “You’re here to cook!”
The group of friends made their way into the tent, looking at three rolling cooking stations parallel to a long folding table, and stainless steel shelves packed with an array of produce, spices, and other pantry items. Behind the cooking stations was a small sink station. Liam peered around, hands on his hips as he took in the scene before him, before turning to Trina. “Love, I appreciate what you’ve done for our friend, but what’d this cost to create?”
Trina could see Liam running the numbers in his head over the cooking stations, and she stroked his arm affectionately. “Nothing, darling,” she grinned. “You already budgeted for all this equipment for the Applewood renovation, we’re just borrowing it and breaking it in early.” Liam smiled fondly and kissed the top of Trina’s head. “Now if you’ll all follow me to this wall, we’ll find out who’s cooking and who’s judging!”
Trina directed her friends to a wall of balloons pinned to a massive panel of stained wood, handing each of them a single dart. “The balloons have been filled with biodegradable confetti – red to cook, blue to judge,” she began. “You’ll each get a single dart, until we get 3 cooks or 3 judges.”
“There are only 5 of us,” Lyssa replied, looking around at the group. “Unless you or Max are playing too.”
“I’ll be Alton Brown, in this case,” Trina answered. “Maxwell’s the audience, since that’s the best spot to watch everything go down, and I have a…surprise guest that should be on their way, to fill the empty spot.”
“Surprise guest?” Hana asked. Liam looked over with a questioning eyebrow, along with a few of their friends.
“Yes, now get ready to throw your darts and for the love of god let Olivia go first, or someone’s gonna lose an eye,” Trina chuckled. Everyone stepped back as Olivia took aim and sent her dart flying to the wall of balloons, popping a green one near the center. Red confetti poured out. “Chef number one, please choose a station!”
Hana followed next, popping a balloon with blue confetti, and went to stand by Maxwell. Lyssa went next, also popping a balloon with blue confetti. Drake whipped his head over to look at Liam, slightly panicked with the idea of having to cook, and the two friends shared a look before they both threw their darts at the wall. “Whoa whoa whoa, one at a time!” Maxwell called out, before bursting into laughter. “Nevermind,” he smirked. Red confetti floated down from where they’d both hit a balloon, and Drake groaned again.
“To your stations, gentlemen!” Trina giggled and held a stack of index cards up to her face to cover her smile. Drake and Liam stood behind their stations. “Now, Hana and Lyssa will go back into the palace where they can’t see or hear what happens, so they can properly judge the finished dish. Ladies, Bastien is waiting for you at the East Wing garden entrance, I’ll text him when we’re ready for a judge.” Hana and Lyssa waved to the group as they walked exited the tent, and Trina waited a few moments to make sure they were out of range. “Here are our rules,” she began, scanning over the notecards. “You’ll be given 30 minutes to prepare a dish, and you’ll have 60 seconds to use the baskets in front of you and grab whatever you need from the pantry to cook. You can’t run back if you forget anything, either. Maxwell, the money, if you please.”
Maxwell got up from his seat at the table and handed Liam, Drake, and Olivia a stack of brightly colored bills. “Monopoly money?” Drake questioned.
“You each have $25,000 to bid on auctions to sabotage your competition,” she explained. “It could be something like shopping from their basket, to working without a heat source, or having a delayed start time. Remember, you might have to make the money stretch two rounds on multiple auctions, so wager with caution. The first cooking challenge is called… Grill and Bare It!”
.:.
After Liam, Drake, and Olivia made a mad dash to the pantry for ingredients to make sliders and onion rings, they stood behind their stations, catching their breath. Liam went so far as to untuck his shirt from the waistband of his jeans, hiking his legs up like he was doing calisthenics. “What’re you doing, man?” Drake panted lightly beside him.
“These are the wrong pants for this event, they’re too tight,” Liam answered. “I didn’t know I’d be running around when I got dressed this morning. Trina didn’t even drop a hint.”
“Will you two shut up? She’s wheeling out the sabotage items!” Olivia hissed at them both.
They turned to watch Trina wheel in a service cart, covered with three silver cloches. “Gentlemen – and lady,” she added. “Time for a little sabotage!” She lifted the first silver dome to reveal a photo of a Foreman grill. “First up, you can make one of your competitors cook on a Foreman grill instead of the primed grills at your stations. Bidding starts at—”
“Two thousand!” Olivia exclaimed.
“Twenty-five hundred!” Liam countered.
“Three thousand!” The pair of them went back and forth until Olivia hit ten thousand, and Liam backed down. With a smirk, she paid Trina, who pulled a Foreman grill from underneath the service cart. Without hesitation, Olivia dropped it down on Drake’s counter, tapping her nails on the plastic cover. “Have fun cooking on that, grill master,” she chortled, walking back to her counter.
“Next up…” Trina lifted the second dome to reveal a small pile of gift boxes wrapped with cling film. “Win this bid to make the other competitors dig for their cooking tools and equipment. There’s only one knife in the actual stack of boxes, along with many random items that you may or may not need for this challenge.”
Maxwell clapped his hands together as their friends called out numbers before Trina even asked for an opening bid. Liam won the auction, grinning proudly as Drake and Olivia shot daggers at him. Trina lifted the final cloche to reveal a single, painted ring. “What the hell is that?” Drake asked.
“So glad you asked, Drake!” Trina motioned to someone outside the tent, watching as Olivia shook her head. Drake’s jaw went slack, and Liam tucked his lips between his teeth, stifling back laughter. Two palace staff members wheeled in a ring toss game, decorated with a giant squid. “Win this sabotage, and one of you will have to play ring toss until you score 20 points before you can start cooking! Opening bid starts at—”
“Thirty-five hundred!” Drake called out. He was already fed up with the game, knowing he’d have to tear down boxes and fight for a solitary knife against Olivia before cooking sliders on a small electric grill. He refused to start with a third disadvantage, and Liam countered his offer every time, until Drake hit sixteen thousand, and Liam remained silent.
“Going once, going twice,” Trina warned. “Sold to Drake for sixteen thousand dollars!” Drake counted out the money from his stack. “You know there’s another round after this, right? With at least two more sabotages?” she spoke quietly as she counted the bills he handed to her. Trina tapped the paper against the table to straighten it out. “So, who has to play a little ring toss before they can cook?”
“That little shit right there,” Drake grumbled, pointing to Liam. Liam’s eyebrow quirked up before an evil grin spread across his face. “I knew you were doing that just to drive the number up.” He tossed the ring at Liam with more force than necessary as he made his way back to his station, Liam chuckling the whole time.
“Then why did you keep outbidding me?”
“I don’t need any more setbacks!” Drake looked up to Trina, running a hand through his hair out of frustration. “Can we just start this?”
“Okay, well, you’re all going to have to deal with me asking questions while you cook, since this is a ‘live taping.’” Trina emphasized the last two words with accompanying air quotes. “And feel free to trash talk each other all you want.” The palace staff wheeled in a pyramid of cardboard boxes wrapped tightly with stretch film next to the ring toss game. “You have 30 minutes on the clock, starting…now!” She tapped the screen of a tablet displayed on the table, and the screen started counting down a timer.
Drake and Olivia ran over to the wrapped boxes, while Liam walked over to Trina at a brisk pace. He kissed her sweetly on the lips as she handed him an armful of wooden rings, and he set to work at the ring toss challenge while Drake ripped at the clear film with his bare hands. Olivia pulled a switchblade from underneath her skirt, swiftly flicking it open in a series of wrist movements, and sliced away at the plastic before dragging it along the tape on one of the boxes.
“Trina! Is that allowed?!” Maxwell called out, eyes wide with surprise.
“You wanna take it away from her?” Trina laughed. She turned her head, switching her focus from Liam tossing rings, over to Olivia ripping through boxes and tossing aside things like frying pans and colanders, while Drake grunted as he continued mangling and ripping boxes open.
Moments later, Olivia let out a triumphant whoop as she held up a chef’s knife, safely sheathed in a protective case, and ran back to her station. “Oh, come ON!” Drake groaned, his shoulders slumping at the sight of Olivia dicing onions. He rummaged through the random assortment of items he unpacked and grabbed a metal spatula, before heading to his station.
Liam smiled at his friends before tossing another ring at the game, slowly racking up points. Within another minute he hit twenty points and walked back to his station, taking his time to prep and season the ground meat he’d chosen to cook. While Olivia sliced through her onions with ease, Liam, Maxwell, and Trina bit back their laughter as Drake struggled to slice anything evenly with the side of his spatula.
Trina could barely keep herself together as she made her way to each counter, tucking her lips between her teeth as she noticed tears streaming down Drake’s face from the onions. “Drake, do you need a moment?” Her shoulders shook as she uttered the question, and Drake glanced up through tear-stained eyes.
“Bailey, you know it’s the sulfur gas,” Drake sniffled.
“So tell me about…what you’re cooking,” she giggled.
“I’m making classic beef sliders, and you can’t go wrong with a little cheddar…and onion rings, if I can get through these onions.”
“Bet a knife would help with that task,” Liam smirked, slicing clean, wide rings through a large Vidalia onion.
“Bite me, Your Majesty,” Drake snapped.
Trina took a few steps backwards until she stood in front of Liam. “And you, my dear, what are you preparing for our guest of honor today?”
“Beef sliders with apple slaw, and hard cider battered onion rings.” Liam winked at her as he twirled the knife handle in his hand and resumed his task. “A good dish pays homage to the guest of honor while representing one’s home as well.”
“Waste of good cider, if you ask me,” Drake quipped, wiping away tears with the back of his hand.
“Good thing no one asked you, Crybaby Walker,” Olivia teased.
“And you, Olivia? What’s on your menu?” Trina asked, making her way to Olivia’s counter.
“Sliders and rings, just as you asked,” she answered plainly. “You know I don’t cook often, but there’s no way I’m losing to him,” she added, tilting her head to Drake. “Now will you let me work so I can kick Drake’s ass, or what?”
“Twenty minutes to go, contestants!” Trina walked back to where Maxwell was seated, bouncing in his chair as he watched. “Which means it’s time for a mini sabotage!” All three chefs groaned as they worked on their dishes, Liam pressing several seasoned patties lightly between his palms before throwing them on the grill. Olivia dredged her onions in a milk and egg mixture before coating them with bread crumbs, testing a few in one of the deep fryers. “Time for the ‘bare it’ part of the challenge,” Trina laughed. “Since you’re all busy cooking, Max and I will monitor your hands for this – the winner of this sabotage will make the other two chefs play a round of Strip Blackjack!”
All three of their friends stopped what they were doing and stared up at Trina and Maxwell, who were beside themselves with laughter. “Are you serious right now, Bailey? Strip Blackjack?!”
“I didn’t think of this, Maxwell did!” she wheezed. “Bidding starts at—”
“Two thousand!” Olivia shouted.
“Four thousand!” Liam shot back.
“I’m dead, I need to hold on to my money for the next round,” Drake sighed, getting back to work.
“What makes you think you’re getting to the next round, Walker? Six thousand!” Olivia added her burgers to her grill and set to work slicing a tomato.
“Six grand going once,” Trina warned, glancing over at Liam. He shook his head as he checked on his grill. “Six grand going twice…and sold, to Olivia! Maxwell, please collect her money while I deal hands for Liam and Drake.” Maxwell leapt up from his seat to get the small stack of money from Olivia, while Trina quickly shuffled a deck of cards and dealt three hands. “Liam, you’ve got, heh, a King and a four…Drake, you’ve got an eight and a two. Dealer has a seven.”
“Hit me,” Liam replied.
Trina flipped over a card to Liam’s hand. “Five. You’re at nineteen.”
“Stand.”
“Drake?”
“Hit me,” Drake replied, shaking flour into a bowl.
Trina flipped another card onto his hand. “Six.”
“Hit me.”
She flipped another card and clicked her tongue. “Jack, you lose, bud. Chambray’s gotta go,” she chuckled. After collecting the cards and shuffling them once more, she handed the deck to Maxwell for the next round. She walked over to Drake’s station and retrieved the denim shirt he wore over his plain cotton t-shirt.
“Last hand, fellas!” Maxwell dealt three hands while Trina watched the clock. “Liam, you’ve got a five and an ace, Drake has a ten and two, and dealer has a four. Li?”
“Hit me, Maxwell,” Liam replied once more, carefully dropping his onion rings into a basket in a separate fryer.
Maxwell flipped a card onto Liam’s hand and let out a low whistle. “You’ve got yourself a queen, taking you to sixteen.”
“Stand again.”
“Hit me,” Drake answered, before Maxwell could ask.
Maxwell flipped a card onto Drake’s hand. “Six, taking you to eighteen.”
“Stand.”
Maxwell shifted on the balls of his feet and set a card down next to his hand. “Dealer gets a five and hits again,” he narrated, setting down a third card. “Two, and…” he flipped over the remaining card on the table, motioning for Trina to look at the cards.
Trina tilted her head back, a wide, toothy smile on her face as her laughter echoed to skyward. “Sorry gents, dealer wins with blackjack!” She continued laughing as she covered her mouth. “Shirts, both of you!”
Olivia joined in the laughter at her station. “Oh, I am so glad I paid for this one,” she grinned.
While Drake grumbled as he removed his shirt, Liam cast a flirty smirk at Trina as he wiped his hands clean on a tea towel and unbuttoned his shirt. She bit her bottom lip as he shrugged the shirt off his shoulders while she walked towards him, taking in the sight of his muscled physique and the way his pants sat snug and low on his hips. Liam’s Adonis Belt was on full display thanks to the low-rise jeans, and Trina felt her whole body warm at the sight of her half-dressed fiancé. “For the love of…” Drake shook his head at his friends. “I feel like Bailey planned this sabotage on purpose.”
“How could I have done that? I didn’t plan for either of you to hit the balloons you did!”
“I don’t buy it!” Drake grumbled. “I’m barely through one cooking challenge and it’s been hell!”
“Drake, there’s no need to be a sore sport about it,” Liam called out. “Just because you’ve been on the short end of the stick…” he turned to check on his food, and was met with the squelch of a tomato as it struck him in the chest. “What the—?!”
“Yeah, well deal with that, Li!” Drake grabbed another tomato from his station and reared his arm back.
“This means war!” Liam flipped the sliders on the grill before picking up a baking tray, sidestepping to his prep station to grab for extra ingredients, while Trina backed away with Drake’s and Liam’s shirts in hand.
.:.
A tall, leggy blonde made her way across the grounds, towards the large white tent. She smoothed down the front of her dress out of nervous habit and took a deep breath, exhaling with a smile on her face as the sound of raucous laughter grew louder with each step she took. She paused just before entering, smelling the air around the temporary structure – it reminded her of being at a cookout back home. And then she saw him – a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair wearing impossibly tight jeans – attempting to pelt someone else with handfuls of lettuce.
“Anitah! You made it!” Trina cried out. “Two minutes!” she called out over her shoulder, walking briskly to meet Anitah halfway. Trina smiled and hugged the tall woman before her, ushering her to take a seat in one of the empty chairs next to Maxwell, who stood up as they approached. “Anitah, this is my friend, Maxwell Beaumont. Introductions to the rest of the group will have to wait until their time is up.”
Maxwell shook Anitah’s hand and smiled at her. “Pleasure to meet you, I’m so happy to get to meet one of Trina’s friends from New York! Please, have a seat, they’re almost done cooking.”
“What…what is all this?” Anitah asked, looking around the tent. Her eyes went to the two shirtless men who were scrambling to assemble and plate what looked like sliders and onion rings onto dishes, along with a redheaded woman. She noticed the squid ring toss game and piles of cardboard boxes. “And what’s up with that?!” She lowered her voice and leaned in to Trina. “And WHY are those men half naked? And that one in such…tight…pants??” Anitah slowly sat down in a chair, eyes wide as she took in the sights around her.
Trina tapped a message on her phone and held up a finger to Anitah. “I’ll answer in just a minute. Thirty seconds!” she called out again, directing the warning to the trio of cooks. Liam wiped his plates clean while Olivia stood calmly behind her station, and Drake was the only one still assembling his final dish. Trina picked up a pile of shirts on the table and made her way to the stations, handing Liam a white button down, and set Drake’s shirts on a clean corner of his station. “And…hands up, that’s time!” she called out, just as the timer on the tablet flashed zeros and emitted a beeping noise.
Palace staff wheeled away the boxes and ring toss game, along with the small grill Drake used to cook his sliders. Trina crossed the small space, standing near Anitah, and leaned down. “So real quick, before one of our other friend comes in to blindly judge the dishes,” Trina whispered to her, “Maxwell wanted a Cutthroat Kitchen challenge for his birthday.”
“Why?” Anitah giggled.
“I don’t ask why, I just try to make it happen,” Trina chuckled. “Liam, on the far end, had to play ring toss before he could cook, and Drake – the grumpy guy – and Olivia had to go through those boxes to find their cooking tools and equipment. Drake also had to cook his sliders on a Foreman Grill instead of a regular grill.”
“And umm…they were shirtless because…?” Anitah raised a questioning brow at her friend.
“Strip Blackjack,” Trina giggled again.
“I…wait, Tight Pants is the King?!” Anitah continued to gawk at Liam. “You’re marrying him??”
“That is, and I am,” Trina blushed. “Oh, and this is Drake’s fiancée, Alyssa,” Trina added, motioning to a woman with brown hair and lively blue eyes behind purple glasses, walking into the tent. “She goes to school with Drake back in New York.” Trina stood up and gestured at Anitah. “Everyone, this is my friend Anitah, I invited her to visit Cordonia while she was here in Europe visiting some other friends of hers. Anitah, this is Alyssa Stiles,” she smiled at Alyssa and the ladies shook hands. “Duchess of Lythikos, Lady Olivia Nevrakis,” she added, and Olivia merely raised a curious brow at the new guest. “Drake Walker,” Trina extended her hand in Drake’s direction, and he waved at Anitah. “And last but no means least, King Liam of Cordonia.” She beamed a smile at Liam, who was already taking strides towards the table to greet Anitah.
Liam’s cheeks were tinged a light shade of pink as he finished rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. Anitah stood up and couldn’t help but smile when he got to the table. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?” Liam’s brows raised up in time with his voice, waiting for Trina or Anitah to fill in the gap of not knowing his guest’s formal name.
“Funny you should ask, actually,” Trina replied. “Liam, this is Mrs. Anitah Rhys.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“R-H-Y-S,” Anitah replied. “Ironically, my husband’s name also happens to be Liam,” she giggled.
“It’s like we have twin husbands! Or we will, once this Liam and I are married,” Trina chimed in.
“Well, Mrs. Rhys with an ‘h’, it’s my utmost pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I hope you enjoy your time here with us in Cordonia.” Liam smiled warmly at Anitah as he shook her hand, turning her wrist to plant a chaste kiss across her knuckles.
Anitah’s cheeks warmed and she smiled at Liam again, her blue eyes sparkling at him. “Uh huh, you bet… I mean, thank you, Your Majesty.”
“There’s no need for formalities while we’re among friends, you can call me Liam,” he grinned.
“Liam, love, turn down the charm and get back to your table so Lyssa can judge,” Trina teased playfully at him. Liam winked at Trina, placing his hand on her shoulder before kissing her on the cheek, and went back to stand behind his table. Trina took one plate from Liam, Drake, and Olivia, balancing them on her forearms as she walked back to the table, and laid them out in front of Maxwell.
Maxwell cut the sliders in half to share with Anitah while Lyssa stood opposite Olivia, and sampled the slider on the remaining plate. “What have you prepared for us, Olivia?” Trina asked.
“Pork sliders on mini gluten-free brioche buns and classic onion rings made with almond milk and gluten free flour,” Olivia replied matter-of-factly.
“I appreciate you taking into account my dietary restrictions,” Lyssa commented, as she took a bite of the slider. Drake muttered “shit” under his breath from a few feet over. Lyssa chewed thoughtfully before picking up an onion ring, and Olivia sighed with disappointment as the crispy breading slid off the onion. “Slider’s good, medium and I like the grill marks and smoke, but the uh…” she took a tentative step away from Olivia before continuing. “The breading didn’t stick to your onion rings, so that’ll count against you.”
Olivia narrowed her eyes at Lyssa. “A fair assessment.”
Lyssa moved on to Drake’s station and winked at him, before her brows knit together as she looked at his plate, eyeing the jaggedly large onion rings on the side. “Tell us about your dish, please,” Trina prompted.
“She can’t eat this,” Drake sighed.
“What? Why not?” Lyssa looked directly at Drake.
“I was so caught up in the challenge, I sort of forgot…” he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “I forgot that you can’t eat wheat or dairy, and I… potato rolls….cheeseburgers…” He winced as he met Lyssa’s gaze. “I’m sorry, melí, it slipped my mind!”
“Anitah, we could use you here,” Trina turned and waved her friend over. She quickly whispered in Anitah’s ear as she joined Trina and Lyssa. “Just uhh, try to disregard all the stuff you saw when you walked in and what I told you, and just judge the food.”
“Got it,” Anitah nodded. She looked over at Drake, who looked defeated and made apologetic faces at Lyssa. Anitah cleared her throat and stared at him. “What’ve you made, mister…?”
“Drake, Drake is just fine,” he replied, snapping back to attention. “Beef cheeseburger sliders with lettuce and tomato, and rustic onion rings.”
Anitah took a generous bite from the slider and chewed silently, dabbing the corners of her mouth as she swallowed. Without a word, she picked up one of the raggedly sliced onion rings and bit into it, before dabbing at her mouth again and wiping her fingers clean on a clean tea towel. “The cheese and tomato helped your burger,” she began. “It tastes good, just a bit on the dry side…and the rings are crunchy without the onion being overcooked, but um, your knife skills could use some work.” Olivia chortled at her station, trying to stop herself by coughing. Liam simply grinned and tipped his head down, clasping his hands behind his back.
“Shut it, both of you,” Drake warned.
The trio of ladies moved over to Liam’s station, and he greeted them with a friendly smile. “Ladies, today I’ve prepared a beef slider with apple slaw, using vinegar dressing, on gluten free sourdough rolls that were toasted on the grill. Hard cider battered onion rings are also gluten free and safe for Lady Lyssa to consume. If you’ll allow me this exception.” He paused and pulled another plate up, containing more sliders.
“Oh now that’s cheating! We were only supposed to make two!” Drake groaned.
Trina grinned at Liam. “He’s right, you know – you were only supposed to make enough for the judge and for Maxwell to sample.”
“It’s so good, you guys! Take the bribe!” Maxwell exclaimed from his seat.
“I couldn’t let my love go without trying one,” Liam winked. “Along with Lyssa, Hana, and even my competitors, once this was over.”
“This doesn’t change anything, but I’m honestly starving after watching all of you cook,” Trina admitted, grabbing one of the extra sliders. Lyssa picked one up from the plate as well. All three ladies went silent as they ate, sighing happily as they consumed the entirety of the sliders in their hands. They each took a ring, crunching through the coating with delight, along with the tender slice of onion contained inside. Trina knew it wasn’t proper, but she licked the tips of her fingers clean, grinning up at Liam, before clearing her throat. “Judges? Thoughts on Liam’s dish?”
“That was delicious,” Lyssa answered, shooting a cursory glance at Drake. “Crunchy sourdough, juicy burger, and the slaw added a nice bite.”
“Those rings were right in the zone,” Anitah added. “Crunchy coating, sweet onion…I’m impressed.”
“Time for the judges to decide who’s cut from this round,” Trina spoke up.
Anitah and Lyssa took a few steps away from the tables to whisper to each other, before nodding their heads in agreement. “Anitah and I are in agreement,” Lyssa began. “Based on failure to execute, Olivia scored the lowest for her onion rings.”
“Oh, thank the gods,” Olivia sighed with relief, walking over to take a seat at the audience table. “At least now I can watch those two sabotage each other and make a mess of whatever they have to make next.”
“Ladies, if you’ll join Olivia at the audience table, I’ll begin with the next challenge!” Trina flipped the notecards in her hand as palace staff quickly removed the food and prepped the kitchen for the final round. “The name of this challenge is… Lemon No Holds Barred!”
I’m still happily reeling from yesterday’s TRH chapter and need to do a couple more replays to get all the responses before I even look at playthroughs for Drake, Hana, and Maxwell. I have a feeling it’ll be a long recap 😅
aaaaanyway, here’s a peek at a little something I hope to post later this week, if I can focus enough to get it done! It’s going to take place within the Sojourn series, where Drake and Trina are roommates in NYC while they’re both in school.
---
“What…what is this?” Drake looked at the pair of them, darting his eyes over to the tent, and back to Trina and Maxwell again. “It can’t be good if you two are smiling like that.”
Trina clicked her tongue at Drake. “It’s Maxwell’s birthday, and—”
“It is not his birthday,” Drake corrected. “So whatever this is, I don’t wan—”
“It is his birthday,” Trina interrupted, scowling back at Drake. “Since you and I are stuck at school on his actual birthday, so it’s…just…” she paused, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s an unbirthday celebration, okay?” Drake puffed air out his nose in response. Trina tilted her head at him, closed her eyes, and breathed in and out before beginning again. “As I was saying, Maxwell wanted to celebrate his birthday a little differently this year. He’s been obsessed with a show for the past couple of weeks and th—”
“No.” Drake groaned, drawing a hand down his face as he stopped in his tracks. “No no no no no.”
“Drake!” Trina’s eyes widened and she scowled again. “Stop interrupting!”
---
Tagging the usual TRR crew, but let me know if you’d like to be added for this (possible two part) one shot: @ao719 @blackcatkita @brightpinkpeppercorn @debramcg1106 @desiree-0816 @gardeningourmet @gibbles82 @likethetailofacomet @hopefulmoonobject @innerpostmentality @thecordoniandiaries @rainbowsinthestorm @the-soot-sprite @aworldoffandoms @darley1101 @fairydustandsarcasm @umccall71 @riseandshinelittleblossom @cora-nova
In terms of series as a whole “story” I’m gonna go with Sojourn - started writing it last year when @ooo-barff-ooo challenged me to write one shots where several writers got to meet Drake in an AU, and it turned into the gap years of TRR and YAtR where my MC decides finishing her education is more important than immediately getting married to Liam. Cue chaos and mayhem around large holiday gatherings, and sweet and silly moments between Liam, Trina, and Drake.
Favorite single standalone post? Shining, Shimmering Part 1 - again, something I wrote as a request/challenge, this time from @brightpinkpeppercorn where she wanted a scenario in which Liam would growl playfully at MC. An idea popped into my head and made me dizzy with how fast I was able to type it out and it was just all sorts of cute. Fancy designer dresses + whimsical theme + fundraising + dancing + flirting + DISNEY SONGS + I happened to pick Mar’s favorite song and *chef’s kiss* it all just came together.
TRR AU SERIES: OPEN + IN PROGRESS; last updated December 2020
This AU series takes place between Book 2 and Book 3 of The Royal Romance, where MC (Katrina Bailey) accepts Liam’s proposal on the condition that she gets to complete law school in New York City before they marry. Drake is convinced to finish his degree at the same time and operate as an extension of the Kings Guard to protect Katrina for the duration of her studies. The stories that follow are from Katrina and Drake’s POV as they study, work, befriend some interesting co-eds, and make unforgettable memories in the City that Never Sleeps.
Series Rating/Warning: 18+ -- adult language but mostly fluff; N*FW / lemon / spicy scenes occur and will be tagged.
🍐 = PRETEND THIS IS A LIME more than kissing, less than lemon territory | 🍋= erotica/30 diamond scene
