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Post by Moonblazer on Jun 10, 2017 11:56:39 GMT -5
buuuuump
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Sept 12, 2017 19:56:32 GMT -5
Nicole stared at herself in the mirror, a knot was tightened in her stomach that kept her from eating all day. She scraped her nails cross the palms of her hands. She was wearing a slim black dress. It was simple, it covered her arms down her to elbows, dropped a V upon her chest and hung down to her knees, one side being longer than the other and the longer side had a slit cut into it. Her black hair was up and curled after fighting with the curling iron. Her rebellious white bangs hung to the side of her face. She was also wearing makeup. It took her an hour to get the color shading that she liked around her eyes: a silver that brought out the blue of her gaze. Only a light amount of blush swept across her cheeks, she had a feeling she'd have enough natural blush for the night. Her lips were pained carefully with shining, ruby red lipstick. A diamond necklace was humbly placed around her neck, but her ears were clear of any earrings. On her feet she wore black strapped heels, she hoped wouldn't cut off her circulation throughout the night.
Nicole took a deep breath as she clipped a silver bracelet around her arm. Why did she feel so nervous? She hadn't gotten dressed up like this in, what? Ten years? I'm hopeless, she thought nervously. She looked over her outfit once again, spotting every flaw. The shading around her eyes wasn't equal. There was a diamond missing from one of the necklace's sockets. She hadn't painted her fingernails or toes in years and with what she was wearing, they looked rather plain. There was a watch tan line on her left wrist she couldn't cover up with any other jewelry she had and her careful eyes caught stray hairs that rebelled from the clip she used.
Another deep breath filled her lungs as she covered her hands over her mouth. Calm down, she told herself, closing her eyes. It's just a date. You've been out with him before. Yeah, but before they had just been friends. Now, they were actually trying this dating thing. She glanced over at the clock. He would be arriving at eight, which was ten minutes away. What if he doesn't come? Her hand fell to her chest as her breath quickened. What if he didn't come? What if he thought it wasn't worth it?
Oh god, what if he did come? What if he rang her doorbell right now? What if when she opened it, he thought twice about this on seeing her? They hadn't spoken a word about their relationship to anyone after the mugging. He came and visited her all through her recovery, even now she could see a few traces of her bruises on her chest, no amount of makeup was going to cover them up. He could very well call it off before it even became official and she would be left with another heartbreak.
"Stupid." She hit her palms against her head. "You're panicking over nothing!" He had come to check on her throughout her recovery. He said he would stand beside her. He said he protect her. If there was anything she knew about him, she knew he kept his word.
Nicole took another deep breath to still her rattling nerves. She looked herself over once more in the mirror, but yelped when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock. He was five minutes early. "You're ok." she told herself. She stood taller and straightened her dress. With another deep breath she started for the door, her first step about had her tripping on her heels. You're hopeless!
Nicole paused at the door, staring at the doorknob. She could hear his truck still running outside. The plan was dinner, just dinner, and she convinced him to pick the place. "Okay." She took another deep breath and opened the door.
Nicole kept one hand on the doorknob and allowed the other to slide up the side of the door to lean against him. Her timid heart fluttered when she looked at him. He was dressed in his nicest pair of blue jeans, his usual boots fitted securely to his feet. Around his waste was a brown leather belt with a gold buckle depicting the open sky upon it. Tucked into his jeans was one of his black buttoned ranch shirts, the sleeves were rolled up past his elbows to allow his thick forearms free movement. when his green eyes found her, he visibly froze. His mouth parted to speak, but no words came out.
Nicole blushed when she saw how causally he was dressed. "I'm sorry--is it too much?" She glanced down at her dressed.
Celous blinked. "What--No!" His hand raised to rub the back of his head. His eyes looking her up and down. "Nicole, you look...You're..."
"It's too much, isn't it?"
"No." Celous shook his head. He took a step forward and took her hand in his own, making her open the door all the way. He raised her hand above her head, in a motion that made her twirl. A sheepish smile brightening his face. "Nicole, you're breathtaking."
She blushed again when he twirled her and a smile was brought to her lips at his words. If this was as far as their night got, all that time she spent getting ready was worth it. "So what's for dinner?"
Celous kept her hand in his. "We're going to the best place around. I think you'll like it."
Nicole smiled and let him lead her to his truck. He opened the passenger door for her to allow her to get in before taking the driver's seat. She watched him the whole time, her mind buzzing that this was actually happening. All day she had feared that their night would be filled with bashful and awkward conversation, but while in the truck, Celous let her play twenty questions on where they were going. Nicole thought of every restaurant in town, even the ones she had never been too, but nothing she said matched where Celous was taking her.
Confusion quieted her when Celous pulled into his own driveway. He drove the truck down the long road to his ranch, Nicole glanced at him multiple times, but he didn't look at her. Instead, he kept a knowing smirk tilted on his lips as he looked straight ahead. When the truck stopped, Celous got out and opened her door for her. He helped her down, the height of the truck being hard to handle in her heels. Nicole expected him to lead her inside the house, but instead, he led her around the side. It didn't take long for her realize that they were headed toward the old barn in the back.
Celous wheeled open the old, creaky door to the barn and the sight inside took Nicole's breath away. White Christmas lights were strung up around the rafters and candles fed their warm into the dusty old barn. Right in the center was a table covered in a white table cloth, two barn chairs sat on either side of it and a glass vase of wildflowers was placed between two plates. Nicole's eyes caught a weed within the vase, but she smiled at it just the same. Set off to the side was a table with silver warmers upon it. The scent that drifted from them suggested that Celous had made spaghetti.
"Well, what do you think?" Celous took a deep breath and glanced at her. His hand unconsciously rubbed the back of his head.
Nicole smile and leaned closer to him, stealing a kiss from his lips. "It's perfect."
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Oct 31, 2017 15:36:22 GMT -5
The minutes ticked by as slow as a snail on a branch. Nicole had her chin rested in her hand as she stared at the computer screen. Her desk was freshly covered with paper and reports and letters and requests and bills and everything else she had to take care of. Then there was the countless emails she had to look over, but she found that most of the time she was staring at the clock. The seconds clicked on so slowly as she waited for her break for lunch. She flipped her portfolio to the back page, smiling softly at the picture she had taped back there.
"Hey Nicole!"
The dean jumped at Claral's sudden entrance into her office. "Dr. Liv, what can I do for you?"
"I wanted to see if you wanted to go out to lunch?" Claral placed her hands on her hips and smiled. "It feels like its been a while since we had a good talk. You always running off to your lunch meetings."
"I'm afraid I have another lunch meeting today, Claral, I'll have to ask for a rain check." Nicole smiled guiltily.
Claral let out an exasperated sigh. "Again? Nicole, you're going to work yourself to death! I lost count of how many times you've blown me off!"
"I'm really sorry, Claral, but can't you make another lunch date with Professor Orso?" Nicole gave her friend a knowing look. "I've seen the way you two have been hanging out."
"And I've seen how you're avoiding a certain someone." CLaral crossed her arms, but sighed. "Fine, I'll let you slide again, Nicole, but I miss my best friend."
"I'm really sorry, Claral." Nicole glanced at the clock, before getting up to get her things together to head off to lunch. "I'll see you later?"
"That's if your time allows it." Claral crossed her arms and shook her head, but a smile of goodwill slipped on her face. "Please take care of yourself, Nicole. I know the mugging was a month ago, but you need to take it slow. I'm here to talk if you need it."
"I appreciate that, Claral." Nicole walked around the desk and gave her friend a hug. "I'll see you later."
Walking down the long hallways of the university, Nicole was fumbling to get her keys out of her purse. She didn't notice until it was too late, and walked right into a rather large, rather solid body. The collision cost her, her keys and papers that the other person was carrying scattered the floor.
"Ni-Miss. North, I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
Nicole almost blushed when she looked up to find that Celous had been the body she ran into. He had what looked like graded reports in his hands. "No worries, coach, I wasn't paying attention either." She crouched down to help him pick up the reports. "Are your students doing well?" She asked, picking up a paper to look it over.
"For the most part." Celous gave an awkward shrug. "Either I'm not very good at writing challenging written exams or my students are all geniuses." He scooped up her keys from the ground and held them out to her.
Nicole couldn't help but smile. "I'm sure your teaching style scares them into paying attention."
A furrow suddenly creased in Celous's brow, but his lips curled in amusement. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm late for a lunch meeting, coach." Nicole smiled and held out the papers to him in exchange for her keys. "I'll talk to you later."
Celous handed her, her keys and took the papers, a calm smile on his face. "Enjoy your lunch, Miss. North."
A fall chill was drifting in the air and coursing a shiver through Nicole. She found her car, climbed inside, and started her drive across town. It took ten minutes, but she knew no one would expect to find her out at the little restaurant tucked away in the woods. She parked and quickly made her way inside.
"Table for one?" A waitress asked Nicole when she walked in.
"Table for two."
Nicole turned around at the voice from the old fighter walking in behind her. She smiled. "Coach Skye."
"Miss. North." Celous stepped up to her and slid his arms around her waist. His eyes glistened in teasing. "I thought you had a lunch meeting?"
"I was just waiting for my date to arrive." Nicole lifted up on her toes to kiss him, returning the embrace.
"Your table is this way," the waitress motioned.
They talked about every topic under the sun. They talked about the university, the students, favorite miscellaneous, family, history, and more. Even after all the times they had slipped off to lunch like this, they still hadn't run out of things to talk about.
"Cedar and Ashton have practice after their classes." Celous told her. "Afterwards, they said they'll be heading to their dorms for studying and sleep. The ranch will be empty except for me tonight."
"Is this your way of inviting me over?" Nicole smiled.
"Or I could come over to your place."
"I have a few things to take care of, but I'll be there." There weren't many nights they could hang out at the ranch alone. The twins were always over there. No one knew what she and Celous were doing and Celous still didn't know that she joined the twins in practice after their classes.
"I'll be sure to cook something nice." Celous suddenly paused. He took a deep breath and glanced up at her, she could see the thoughts buzzing behind his eyes. He leaned forward. "Nicole...I want to tell the twins about us."
Nicole fell quiet. She knew it was only a matter of time before Celous wanted the twins to know. The father had a hard time keeping secrets from his boys. "I know you do."
"But you don't?"
Nicole turned her eyes to look out the window, playing with the food on her plate with her fork. "I do...but..."
"I know, they'll tell every person they come across, but...they're my sons, Nicole."
Nicole nodded and glanced down at her lap. "I'm just..." she took a deep breath. "I know once we tell your boys, this really will be real...and...I'm afraid of the prospect of losing it..."
"Hey." Celous leaned forward and took her hand. He looked her in the eye. "You're not going to lose me so easily." He cracked a smile. "I'm a fighter, remember?"
Nicole couldn't help but smile at that. "I remember."
He squeezed her hand. "So, are you ok with telling the twins?"
She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yes." A mischieious glint flashed in her eyes. "And I know just how we can do it."
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Nov 23, 2017 21:17:06 GMT -5
The campus was quiet with all the students gone for Thanksgiving Break. A cool autumn wind blew through the empty sidewalks with stars dotting the sky above like diamonds in an ebony necklace. Drifting on the breeze was the smell of thanks as hometown residence mingled in the warmth of family, enjoying turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. However, one girl sat alone in her room on the third floor of a dormitory. She was seated at her desk, staring out her window into the cool night with blankets wrapped around her. The lights were out, but the waning moon outside had her white hair glowing against her dark skin. Sorrow was as deep as ancient pools in her eyes of shimmering blue. She wore her long, fuzzy pjs, little moons dancing upon them and around her neck was the one article she never took off: the necklace of a silver moon her grandmother gave her.
Another chill coursed through her body from the cold of the dorm room. She looked over at the thermostat. Everyone was supposed to be gone for Thanksgiving break, so they had turned down the master controls, but she had to remain. She didn't have a family to go back too for the short duration of the break. Her family lived in Africa. Mwezi Kidogo was her name. English wasn't her first language, but she was trying her best in this new land. Her family had sent her to this University so that she could make something of her life, they gathered the money off of scholarships, but Mwezi wasn't sure where the path of her life was going to take her.
Another sentence lengthened her thoughts and fears in the private journal she wrote in. Pages upon pages of words about her uncertainty filled the journal, but writing helped relief the stress from her shoulders. Parts of the pages were wrinkled from her countless teardrops. She missed Africa, she missed her family, and the bright shining sun. She hadn't even made a single friend during her time here and translating her professors' note slides into Swahili was hard.
Mwezi let her pencil fall to the page. She got up and climbed to the bed that was raised above her desk. She was far from tired and her lonely heart wouldn't let sleep come easily, but she could bundle up in the warmth of her blankets and cuddle the cheetah plush she had brought with her. Her roommates were hard to understand at times, saying things she didn't understand, but she was trying her best. They left her alone most of the time, uncomfortable with her misunderstanding.
They say this holiday is remind us of what we're thankful for. Mwezi peered out the window, watching the wind blow the multicolored leaves into the darkness. But I cannot think of anything I am thankful for...
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Post by Moonblazer on Nov 23, 2017 21:27:35 GMT -5
"Will you wait a second? Sasha's gonna be so mad!" Leon gave a small snicker as he shook his head, his black hair flicking through the autumn winds as he held his sister on his shoulders, Leena reaching up to try and grab at the basketball she had taken from their older sister's dorm room and had gotten stuck in one of the trees.
Leena was finding it pretty funny as she stood on her tall brother's shoulders.
"Shush! I've almost got it, Leon!" She flicked her long brown locks away from her eyes as she finally grabbed the ball and hopped down onto the ground.
"Leon, you're the one who wants to be on the basketball team so bad." She teased.
"And the wrestling team...and the Judo team." Leon corrected with his happy grin.
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Post by Moonblazer on Nov 10, 2018 18:23:52 GMT -5
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Post by 🌙Moonpower🌙 on Apr 5, 2021 21:10:46 GMT -5
Mods please don't lock, I occasionally type up pieces of a story on this page.
The football thumped hard against Nicole’s chest and she let out a small cough. Though the bruising from the mugging was gone, she swore she still felt it. Yet, she shoved that feeling down and let the satisfaction of actually catching the football lift her spirits. Cedar was forty yards down the field with his hands raised in the air in celebration. Ashton was running her direction. Usually, when one of the twins threw the ball from over twenty yards away, Nicole couldn’t catch it. She’d run away from it or duck in cover, but this time she actually snatched it in her chest like the boys instructed her too!
“Now that was a perfect catch!” Ashton laughed when he finally reached her. “I’m glad you didn’t cower in fear on that one! I would’ve had to tackle you for it!”
Nicole shoved him with a smile on her lips. The stadium was empty of everyone except for them and she managed to use her title to sway the managers in keeping the lights on for herself and the twins. She was getting a much better understand of football thanks to the twins’ instruction, but her motor skills in actually playing the game…yeah…that could use some work.
Nicole glanced at her watch as Cedar came running up. It was getting late, but she wasn’t ready to quit, plus a special someone was supposed to be showing up soon. “Alright.” Nicole slapped the ball and looked at the twins. “Run me through the rules of the snap again.”
“Eh, it’s pretty simple.” Cedar shrugged. “You stay on your side of the line until the quarterback says ‘hike’ and then depending on offense or defense, you either get the ball down the field or just get the ball.”
“And the different positions?”
“That’s a whole ‘nother level of confusion we’ll save for another night.” Ashton waved his hand. “For now, let’s just play.”
Nicole nodded. With how late it was getting and how tired the three of them were, she didn’t blame them for not wanting to explain something that would likely take her a while to understand. She was about to suggest trying a snap to see if she really understood the lingo when her eyes caught sight of someone walking towards them in the far endzone. It was Celous. Nicole did her best to hide her smile from her face. The twins didn’t see their father as their backs were to him. Celous was shaking his head as he walked up and a bright smile stretched his lips. Nicole had never told him that the twins were helping her understand football and the twins kept it secret from him as well. She was relieved the old fighter was smiling now that he saw them and not angry.
Nicole started to back up. “I going to try throwing it.”
“Alright.” The twins exchanged an amusement look. Ashton huffed. “This oughta be good.”
Nicole kept backing up and she shifted the ball to make it clear that she was going to throw it. Celous realized what she was doing and stopped. His grin grew wider and he shifted his footing to be ready to chase after the ball. The twins, on the other hand, remained put. Clearly, neither of them thought she could throw the ball very far and they weren’t even readying themselves to go after it.
Nicole licked her lips and took a deep breath. She stepped forward and threw her whole weigh into lobbing that football down the field. It was clearly short of where Celous was, but the coach went unbothered by it and he bolted forward to chase it down. The twins’ eyes grew wide as the ball soared far over their heads, but when they spotted their father, they flinched.
“Dad?!”
“Shoot! Cedar, come on!” Ashton sprinted down the field toward Celous with Cedar hot on his heels. Celous caught the ball in his chest and ran toward the opposite endzone. He outmaneuvered Ashton and spun around Cedar. The twins tried chasing after him, but Celous was already strides ahead.
The knot of a probably bad idea tangled in Nicole’s stomach, but she was in too good a mood to argue against it. Celous was coming her way and she was the only thing in between him and the endzone. After a moment of biting her lip, Nicole ran at him. Her lean and skinny frame charged a tall, muscular fighter. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do when she reached him, but she was about to find out.
Celous ducked low when Nicole reached out to grab his neck, hoping to pull him down. Yet, her hands only snatched air while Celous’ free arm wrapped around her waist. A grunt escaped Nicole’s throat, but was quickly followed by laughter as Celous hoisted her up on his shoulder and ran her all the way to the endzone.
“Touchdown!” Celous exclaimed through panted breath, sounding like an announcer at a real game. He dropped the football and finally put Nicole back on her feet. “Celous Skye has done it again and seized the winning point for his team!”
Nicole laughed and couldn’t take her eyes off of him. His smile might as well have been as bright as the stars. “No doubt he’ll lead the team to an undeniable winning streak!”
Celous chuckled. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, the shine never left his eyes. “You want to tell me what you and my boys are doing here so late?”
Nicole wrapped her arms around his neck. “I thought you should know about this before we tell them.”
“Eh-hem! Tell us what?”
The twins were standing just a few feet away with their arms crossed and their eyes locked on Nicole and Celous. While Ashton had a frown on his face, Cedar’s eyebrows were raised with a hopeful look.
“When you two told me you were practicing after class every night. Is this what you were talking about?” Celous released his hold on Nicole when he addressed his sons.
Nicole slipped her hands in her back pockets, still smiling. “Don’t be mad at them. I asked them for help in understanding football.”
Celous looked at her in confusion. “You asked them?”
“Well, you weren’t exactly talking to me around that time.”
“Ah…” Celous nodded as if she had a point. “I’m sorry about that.”
Nicole shrugged and nudged him with her hip. “It all worked out.”
“And I’m guessing this worked out?” Cedar spoke up, motioning to his father and Nicole with both hands. “Are you two finally dating?”
“No, the question is: how long have you been dating?!” Ashton’s frown deepened. “They’ve clearly been doing something behind our backs!”
Celous let out a sigh. “Boys—”
“No.” Ashton cut him off quick, but there was a teasing to his tone that brought laughter to Nicole’s lips. “You’re grounded, dad, for three weeks. No more nights out. No more sneaking around. No more gym for three weeks.”
Cedar placed his hand over his heart and brought mock worry to his voice. “All those times we didn’t know where you were. All those times we thought you might’ve gotten hurt. Instead, you might’ve gotten her pregnant!”
“Alright, that’s enough!” Celous rolled his eyes, but amusement lined his tone. He looked back at Nicole. “Nicole and I are dating.” His words brought butterflies to her heart. “It’s only been going on for a couple weeks, but I wanted you boys to know.”
“As if we were going to disapprove?” Cedar grinned back at his father. “We only want you to be happy, dad. And we’ve been rooting for the two of you since this whole thing started.”
Ashton shrugged. “Yeah, you two are like the ultimate OTP.”
Nicole shook her head. “What does that mean?”
“One true pairing.”
Cedar’s explanation brought blush to Nicole’s cheeks and she looked at Celous. The old fighter was smiling back at her and it warmed Nicole to her core. She couldn’t resist wrapping her arms around his neck once again. She pulled him close and kissed him right there in the endzone.
Ashton cleared his throat. “This is the part that’s going to be awkward.”
“Nah, I just can’t wait to tell Stella about this!”
“No!” Both Nicole and Celous pulled out of the kiss to look sharply at Cedar. The older twin paused.
“Don’t tell anyone, Cedar.” Celous glanced at Nicole before looking to his son. “I couldn’t keep the secret from you two anymore, but we’re not ready for the whole world to know just it yet.”
Ashton shrugged. “Fine by me.”
“Oh, come on!” Cedar deflated. “You can’t be serious! I tell Stella everything! She already knows I’m trying to get you two together!”
“Please, Cedar.” Nicole sighed. “We want to take this at our own pace. There’s no need for others to blow things out of hand.”
Cedar crossed his arms. “Fine.” He suddenly paused in scrunching thought. “On one condition.”
Celous raised his eyebrow. “And what’s that?”
Cedar motioned to the football on the ground. “How about we play a couple games? Us verses you two.”
“Oh,” Nicole scoffed in jest and placed her hands on her hips. “I don’t think you boys stand a chance.”
“Ooo, little lady’s got some big talk!” Ashton laughed as he walked over to the football. “Let’s see you back it up!” He tossed the ball to Nicole and she caught it.
Nicole started for the fifty-yard line, but looked back at Celous. “Don’t let me down?”
He winked back at her. “Never.”
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