I knocked on Eros's door, letting out a heavy sigh. "Eros, I'm here. Open the door."

He opened the door, an annoyed look on his face.

"You wanted to talk," I said, pushing past him and into his house.

"Yeah, I did," he said, slamming the door shut.

I shrugged, folding my arms over my chest. "Then talk."

"Why on earth did you say something to her?" He harshly asked, his eyebrows knitted together.

"What?" I asked, completely agitated with him.

"I was leaving school this afternoon when I saw you talking to Veronica," he said, "you need to-"

"Okay," I said, taking a step towards him, "you need to calm your fucking self down, first of all."

"Oh, is that so?" He chuckled, looking down at me.

"Yeah," I snapped, "secondly, I was being nice to her. I was apologizing."

"I genuinely do not believe that. Not after the way you acted this morning."

"Fine, ask her what was said," I laughed out, shaking my head, "if you can't believe me, then fine."

He placed his tongue in his bottom lip, his hands on his hips. "Why the sudden insecurity, Josephine?"

"Why were you following me?"

"I was leaving school," he deadpanned, a dumbfounded look on his face.

We stood in silence, our eyes glued to each other's.

"Why am I here?"

He folded his arms over his chest, letting out a sigh. He still looked angry, but he didn't really ever seem to be happy with me these days.

My angry eyes softened up, making me bite down on my lip.

"The sudden insecurity has stemmed from me knowing that you deserve a girl like her," I said, "there. There's your answer."

He clenched his jaw, looking away from me.

"You deserve a girl who runs a fucking campus cleanup group," I spat out, shaking my head, "you deserve a girl who, you know. Is her."

"Josie, stop," he muttered, raking his hands through his hair.

"No," I said, shrugging, "wh-why are you still around? You've pointed out every flaw of mine, and all of those are reason enough to just pack your shit and hit the road. I don't get why-"

"I'm still around because I am not lying when I say I'm in love with you," he said, "I write fucking poems about you, Josie. I fucking draw your face on everything. I think about you, all the goddamn time. I am so blindly in love with you."

"No, you were," I said, "you're not blindly in love with me anymore. You know all the shitty qualities I've got."

"But I'm still here, yeah?" He asked, sitting down on the arm of his couch.

I didn't respond, just folded my arms over my chest as I looked over at him.

"I've got my flaws, and you're well aware of them," he said, folding his arms over his chest.

"You've got anger issues," I said.

"Fair enough."

"And you are colder than ice when you're upset with me. You make me wonder, for days at a time. Just to avoid hurting my feelings. I'd rather you scream at me, Eros."

He didn't respond, his jaw taut.

"Say it," I muttered, twiddling my thumbs in front of my stomach as I hung my head.

"I do that because you get hurt when people talk to you like you talk to them," he said.

"Fair enough," I muttered, lifting my eyes to meet his.

"Listen," he said, "you're going through a lot. It's a lot to take in. But life doesn't ever stop happening, okay?"

I nodded, biting down on my lip.

He stood up, gently placing his hand on the back of my head. "Come here."

He pulled me into him, and we stood with our bodies pressed against each other's. I wrapped an arm around his middle, resting the side of my face against his chest.

I sighed, biting down on my lip as I realized that even though he'd calmed down, things wouldn't be the same for a while.

~*~

I looked up from my book as I heard a knock on my door, making me knit my eyebrows together and stand up.

I walked over to my door, peeking through the peephole before opening it.

I smiled a confused smile. "Hi?"

Fred smiled. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, "aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Technically, yeah," he said, "but we're done with meetings and press and all that for the day, so Jo gave me the okay to get the hell out of there."

I laughed and stepped aside, waiting on him to walk in.

"Door's open," I said, lifting an eyebrow.

He pulled a picnic basket out from behind him, smiling a broad smile. "I had another idea."

I laughed, lifting my eyebrows. "Oh, wow."

"Yeah, come on," he said, nodding his head towards the elevators.

"Well, can I change?"

He trailed his eyes down me, nodding. "Yeah. Definitely should do that."

I laughed and he walked in, dropping the picnic basket.

"I'll be right out."

"Uh, no," he said, "I've known you for thirty years. You will not be right out. Just tell me to get comfortable."

I laughed and walked into my bedroom, turning on the light. I peeled my tank top off of my body, leaving myself in my bra and pajama pants. I stepped out of my pants and threw them on my bed, walking over to my closet.

I trailed my fingertips along the line of clothing, choosing a flowy dress. I hadn't been on a picnic in ages, so I'd kind of forgotten the proper attire.

I took the dress off of the hanger and stood in front of my mirror, seeing Fred standing in the doorway of my room. I smiled and bit down on my lip, holding the dress up. "Is this good enough for you?"

He slowly walked over to me, locking his eyes on mine through the mirror when there was no space left between us.

He pressed a kiss to my shoulder, trailing his hand down my arm. "I can't wait to see you in it."

I smiled, reaching behind me to unclip my bra. He beat me to it, skillfully unclipping it with one hand.

"Impressive," I whispered, "Freddy King is still kickin'."

"Mm," he muttered, smiling at me through the mirror as he pressed a kiss to my neck. He covered my bare chest with both of his hands, making me close my eyes and lean my head back against his solid body.

"Don't wear any underwear," he whispered into my ear, sending goosebumps down my entire body. I smiled and nodded, biting down on my lip.

He patted my hip before walking away, making me let out a heavy breath I'd been holding in.

I stepped out of my underwear and slipped into the dress, smiling at myself in the mirror. This was the first time I'd really loved what I was looking at, in a very long time.

I slipped into some sandals and grabbed a sweater, walking out of my room. "Ready?"

He smiled, leaning against the kitchen island. "Wow."

I smiled and approached him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"You're not wearing a bra either," he whispered.

"Well, I figured that was the goal when you took it off of me," I said, my eyes boring deep into his.

He smiled, his hands on my hips. "Come on. You're gonna love the spot."

I grabbed my purse and turned off the lights, following him out of my apartment. His free hand reached for mine, making me look down and grab it.

I felt a feeling I hadn't felt since I was a teenager- pure butterflies. Not the butterflies of knowing that he was about to completely ravage me, but butterflies simply from holding his hand.

We rode the elevator down to the lobby, and I saw his car waiting at the door on us.

"Mr. King, here you are," the valet attendant said, holding out his keys.

"Thank you," Fred said, handing him a fifty dollar bill. I smiled and he opened my door for me, making me slip inside his car.

"Josie definitely put these fresheners in here."

"Yeah," he said, driving away from the building, "she said it smelled manly."

I smiled over at him, placing my hand on top of his, which was resting on the gear shift.

"So why a picnic?" I asked.

He smiled over at me. "Do you remember when we were sixteen? You were having a bad day at school. This was before you were popular popular. We snuck out to the football field for lunch and skipped third block?"

I laughed, nodding. "I faintly remember that."

He shrugged. "I think about that day all the time. That's the day I realized you were so pretty."

I smiled a broad smile, looking away from him.

"And I beat that guy's ass afterwards," he said, "that guy that was calling you four eyes."

"I woke up late one time," I said, laughing, "one time, had to wear my glasses because I had no time to put my contacts in, and got picked on."

He chuckled. "I beat the fact that he had a crush on you out of him. Wouldn't ever tell you that, though."

"He had a crush on me?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Yep," he said, looking over at me, "and you thought he was cute."

I smiled, shaking my head. "Well, I would've liked to have known that at the time."

He smiled, rubbing my hand with his thumb.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, knowing we'd made our way pretty far out of the city by now.

"Well," he said, "remember when the kids were babies and we were thinking about buying land?"

I nodded. "We never really got around to it. Life got ahead of us."

He smiled over at me, turning into a secluded spot. It was exactly what I'd wanted, because I remembered exactly what I'd wanted- something private for us to be able to get away to when we needed it.

"I bought the land," he said, looking over at me.

"No, you didn't," I said.

He smiled. "Yeah, I did."

I bit down on my lip, trying to contain myself but having a difficult time. "C-can I get out?"

He nodded, grabbing the picnic basket from my lap. I opened my door and stepped out of my sandals, walking barefoot across the perfectly cut grass.

"Fred, it's perfect," I said, looking back at him as he got out of the car.

"Twenty acres," he said, "and we're gonna build a cabin."

I shook my head, looking back at him. "Why?"

"Because it's what you wanted," he said.

I bit down on my lip, turning away from him as I felt tears pricking at my eyes. I cleared my throat and sniffled, nodding. "The kids are gonna be stoked."

I quickly wiped away the tear that fell from my eye, folding my arms over my chest.

I felt him behind me, making me close my eyes. "It's really pretty, Fred."

I turned around to face him, looking up at him. "Thank you."

He pulled me into him, pressing a kiss to my lips. I pulled away and wrapped my arms around his neck, turning that one kiss into many more. He smiled against my lips, his hand on my neck.

I rested my forehead against his chest, smiling. I cleared my throat and pulled away from him, smiling. "Let's have our picnic and discuss these building plans."

He smiled. "Let's do it."

I watched him walk in front of me, smiling a warm smile.

~*~

Eros's come over text had some sense of urgency behind it, and I couldn't really pinpoint what was so urgent.

But here I was- coming over.

I parked in his driveway, turning off my car. I stepped out of it and made sure that my hood was up, considering I'd made the mistake of getting the red interior of my Mercedes convertible rained on over the weekend.

I locked my car and knocked on his door, biting down on my lip. He opened it, and from his outfit, I knew exactly what it was that he wanted.

He always did that. Plaid sleep pants, no shirt, his cross necklace hanging around his neck, and a messy, bed head.

"Hey," I softly greeted.

"I'm still pissed at you," he said, nodding, "a-and I don't like being pissed at you."

I took a step towards him, biting down on my lip. "So what are you gonna do?"

I slowly trailed my eyes down to his lips and back up to his eyes, lifting an eyebrow.

He grabbed my neck and pressed his lips against mine, making me kick the door shut behind us. He pulled away from me and I looked up at him, his hand still wrapped around my neck.

"You have to be quiet," he said, "can you do that?"

I nodded, gulping. He boosted me up into his arms, walking upstairs and to his room. He placed me on the floor and I grabbed the band of his pants, looking up at him as he closed the door.

He locked the door and backed me up to his bed, pushing me down on it. I grinned up at him and pulled him between my legs, hooking them around his body.

He sloppily planted kisses along my entire top half, trailing his hands up and down my sides as he did so. I pushed him away and began to work the zipper on the backside of my skirt, letting out a groan when I couldn't get it unzipped.

He flipped me over and unzipped it, pulling it off of my body. He pressed kisses to my backside and thighs, making me let out a sigh and plant my hands on the mattress beneath me.

"Shut up, okay?"

I nodded, biting down on my lip. I buried my face in his comforter when I felt his mouth between my legs, fighting the moan that was biting at me.

"Eros," I whispered, "oh my God."

He pushed my right leg further away, pushing my underwear to the side. I whimpered, thinking just how talented Eros was.

He dipped a finger in me and I bunched the comforter up in my hand, letting out a shaky breath.

After a few more minutes of blinding ecstasy, he suddenly stopped. I looked back at him, knowing I looked an absolute wreck.

He grabbed my face and I bit down on my lip, my eyes locked on his.

"I'm getting more than one round out of you tonight," he said, "I'm going to make you come however many times I want, okay?"

I nodded, flipping myself over. He climbed on the bed and grabbed me, throwing me up to his pillows. I couldn't help but to giggle, looking up at him.

He cracked a small smile and opened the drawer of his bedside table, digging around for a condom. I grabbed it from his fingers and held it between mine, looking up at him.

"Why is this still on?" He asked, pulling my shirt off of my body. He threw it on the floor, smiling down at my mismatched lingerie.

"Well, that's out of character for you."

"Well, I didn't really think you were into me like that currently."

He looked down at me, his dark eyes turning soft. "Jo."

"No, that's not your fault," I said, placing my hands on his face, "i-it's mine. Promise."

He clenched his jaw, gently stroking my side.

I held up the condom with a flirty smile. "Can I put this on you?"

He nodded, smiling. I pushed his pants down, gasping a quiet gasp. "No underwear?"

"I was feeling scandalous," he whispered, grinning.

I giggled and pulled his lips to mine, wrapping my hand around his length. I gently stroked him, making him pull away and let out a breath.

"Fuck," he whispered.

"You thought you had me a minute ago," I said, locking eyes with him as I continued to stroke him, "but now I have you whimpering. How the tables have t-"

He flipped me over, pulling my hips up off of the bed. I folded my arms beneath my head and smiled, moving my backside from side to side.

"Well?" I asked, looking back at him, "are you going to fuck me, or what?"

"I'm getting the fucking condom on, Josie," he muttered.

I pushed my backside into him and he pushed me away, pushing inside me with one quick movement.

"Fuck!" I whisper-yelled, making him slap his hand over my mouth.

He braced his free hand on my back, and I could hear his breaths getting heavier with each thrust.

I buried my face in my arms, biting down on my lip. I opened my eyes when I felt him stop, making me look back at him.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm already about to fucking come," he muttered, rubbing his hands down his face.

"Well, now we know why we don't go an entire weekend without sex."

He placed his tongue in his bottom lip, fighting a smile.

"And you said you were going to get more than one round out of me," I said, "but look who's the problem now."

I pushed back to meet his front, making both of us moan. I continued to do so, parting my lips as I reached back to rub my bud.

"Fuck, Josie," he groaned, leaning down to bite my shoulder.

"That fucking hurt," I whimpered, still feeling an inexplicable amount of pleasure.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he whispered, bracing his hands against my back.

I let out a moan when he did, sending both of us over the edge. I smiled and brushed my hair away from my face, looking back at him.

"Good job," I said, holding up my hand for a high-five.

He chuckled and pulled out of me, falling beside me.

"So where's that other round?" I asked, turning over on my side to face him.

"I-it'll happen in a minute," he said, "when I refill."

I smiled, reaching over to stroke his face. I gently rubbed his cheek with my index finger, scooting closer to him.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling the covers up over us.

"Don't fall asleep," I whispered.

"I'm not," he whispered.

"Eros?"

"Josie," he muttered.

"I want to be better for you," I whispered, looking up at him.

He looked down at me, clenching his jaw. He pressed a kiss to my forehead, gently rubbing my arm.

"And I know this didn't fix everything," I said, "I know that. But I'm gonna fix things."

He bit down on his lip, turning over to face me. He didn't say anything, but his eyes told me what his lips couldn't.

I unclipped my bra, keeping my eyes locked on his as I threw it on the floor. I nestled my face in his chest and wrapped an arm around him.

"Call your dad," he softly said.

"Fuck," I whispered, "my phone's in my car."

"I'll go get it."

I watched as he got out of bed, rubbing his tired eyes. I smiled and watched as he stepped into his pants, opening his door.

I turned over on my back and sighed. What can I do to be better for him?

~*~

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