"LIVIE!" Hailey's voice booms through Nora's the moment I enter the bar. It's Friday night and I finally get to see my friends again. Since the thing with Terrence, I never met the whole squad and I must admit, I miss them a lot. I blow a quick kiss directed to Nora who's busy behind the bar, and with a big smile on my face I walk over to our table and plop down on the bench next to Sadie.

"You're quite late, Livie," she states and plants a quick peck on my cheek.

"I know, I'm sorry. My heating failed once again, and I had to wait for the plumber to finish his job." I roll my eyes and pull off my beige beanie. The girls nod understandingly.

"Now tell us about your boyfriend, Livie!" Abbey shoots me a teasing smile and instantly all eyes are on me. Even Nora, who overheard Abbey's last sentence, comes rushing over to our table.

And here we go!

"Boyfriend? Livie, what?" Hailey squeaks with her eyes full of excitement.

A huge smile appears on my lips and I look at my friends with glowing cheeks.

"He asked me on Monday...," I reply shyly.

"I'm so happy for you. Oh my god! You know what that means, right?" Sadie pulls me into a warm hug.

I look at her in confusion.

"As you two are official now, us gals want to see the mysterious Mister!" she explains with raised brows and then adds with a playful frown in Abbey's direction, "Besides Abigail, none of us had the honor to meet your boy yet."

"I can't wait for you all to meet him. I just don't want to scare him off right away. You know, us girls can be very crazy at times!" I retort in a joking tone and they all giggle and nod in agreement.

Nora bends over the table and kisses my forehead.

"I wish you all the luck in the world. You deserve it, love!" she states and then walks back to the bar, where some drunk guys already shoot impatient glances at her.

The evening goes by fast as we're having a great time, joking around, and talking about our lives, and the girls grill me about my first date with Zach. I happily tell them about all the sweet things Zach had arranged.

It's already 10pm when my phone rings. I grab it and spot Zach's name on the display.

I signal the girls to be quiet and pick up the phone.

"Zach?"

"Hey Livie, how's your evening so far?" I hear Zach's voice through the speaker.

"We're having a great time. How is yours?" I ask him, feeling slightly dizzy from the three gin and tonics I've already had.

"I just came back from my errands and wanted to check on you. Do you want me to pick you up later?" he asks me with a soft voice.

Earlier today, he told me he had some stuff to do and left. That was at 5pm. I wonder what took him five hours.

"You don't have to pick me up, Zach. I'm a grown-up," I reply with a chuckle.

Hailey whispers loudly, "Livie, why don't you ask him to join us for a nightcap?"

Sadie and Abbey giggle and nod enthusiastically.

"Liv, you know it's not about that," Zach says but I cut him off.

"Actually, the gals are eager to meet my handsome boyfriend," I tell him and stifle a laughter, "Wanna join us for a drink?"

I can hear a deep chuckle through my phone.

"I'm on my way."

We hang up and Abbey, Sadie, and Hailey eye me impatiently.

"He'll stop by!" I say and they squeak, raising their glasses to clink them.

About fifteen minutes later, the door opens, and Zach enters Nora's. His eyes wander through the room, searching for us.

I get up and walk over to welcome him.

As he spots me, his eyes start glowing.

"Hey, Livie!" Zach greets me and softly kisses my cheek.

"Hey!" I smile at him and grab his hand, pulling him towards our table where the girls are already eager to meet him.

"Ladies," I pause and give them a meaningful look, "meet Zachary!"

Zach smiles and shakes hands with each of them. Sadie and Hailey eye him in awe and introduce themselves with nervous chuckles. Abbey grins at Zach and gives him a quick hug which he returns with raised eyebrows.

I suppress a laughter, watching the reaction of my girls. The effect only his appearance has on them is hilarious, but I can't blame them.

Nora, who has observed the new arrival from the counter so far, must have decided to join the little icebreaker session and casually walks over.

"Hi, you must be Zach. I'm Nora!" She holds out her hand to him and Zach grabs it and smiles down at her warmly.

"You're the owner of the bar, right? Nice to meet you!" he greets her in an appreciative tone.

"Unfortunately. I wish I could hand off some off the responsibility and the problems to someone else" Nora frowns and then adds with a winning smile, "Whatever. Can I get you something to drink, Zachary?"

Zach orders a glass of red wine and Nora walks off to the bar again.

A minute later Zach sits next to me on the bench with his drink in his hand and raises his glass. Me and the girls happily join him.

"To meeting the mysterious man, we've heard so much about already. You better treat our girl like a damn princess, or you'll get to know us ladies from a side I'm sure you don't want to see!" Hailey jokingly delivers a little speech and Abbey and Sadie chuckle at her words. I roll my eyes and playfully nudge her with my elbow.

"Hailey! Can you please stop it?" I ask her slightly embarrassed.

"It's okay," Zach tells me with a smirk and then adds in Hailey's direction, "Don't worry. I won't hurt her, promised!"

We all giggle and take a sip before Zach puts his hand on my thigh and shoots me a loving glance. I smile at him and place my hand on his, intertwining our fingers.

The girls start asking Zach random questions about his life. When the question about his job comes up, I can feel his whole body lightly tensing.

"I don't have a proper job at the moment. I just work at the casino occasionally," he replies, trying to keep his tone nonchalantly. I frown at his words.

Why didn't he tell me about that?

Zach shoots me an apologizing smile that signals me we'll talk about it later.

While the conversation goes on, my mind starts wandering off. I really want to know what that casino thing is about. Maybe that's where he's been today, the casino.

What if he's involved into illegal things, or even worse, is part of the mafia?

The longer I think about it, the more bad things come into my mind. Just when I'm about to imagine Zach as a huge, intimidating mafia leader, his voice pulls me out of my thoughts.

"Wanna head home?" he asks me, and I notice the girls are already standing, slipping into their jackets.

I nod and get up. Zach hands me my jacket, I hug my friends goodbye and we all part ways.

On our way home, we both sense the unspoken words between us, but neither Zach nor I start the conversation, so we just walk in silence for several minutes.

We're halfway between Nora's and my house, as I stop and turn to Zach.

"What is it about that casino, Zach? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I blurt out.

Zach lets out a deep sigh and runs his fingers through his hair. Then he draws his full attention towards me. I perceive insecurity and tension in his face.

"Liv, I..." He seems to be searching for the right words.

"Zach, just tell me," I beg him and then add with whisper, "please."

He sighs and nods.

"I'm just trying to keep you away from the shit I'm facing. I don't really have a job at the casino. The truth is I play poker there. That's actually where most of my money comes from," he says and looks down to his feet.

"So, you're a gambler?" I ask him.

So, no mafia?

I don't get why he's making such a big deal out of it. I mean, having a gambler as a boyfriend is not exactly what I wished for, but it's not that bad.

"Well, if you want to call it that... I usually don't play other games than poker when I'm at the casino, and I would say I'm pretty good at it," he responds, and his mouth turns into a small smirk at his last words.

"Why didn't you tell me then, Zach?" I question him and shake my head.

"It's not the fact that I play poker, Livie. It's the people at the casino who I want to keep you from. They are really bad, wicked and despicable men," Zach retorts with tightly pressed lips.

"Why do you surround yourself with those evil guys, then?" I ask him with a puzzled face.

Zach frowns and looks around. It must be beyond 11 pm and it's already pitch-black outside.

"Can we talk about it when we're at your place? I see you're getting cold, and it's really not the right time to be out on the streets right now." Zach looks at me with a worried expression.

Indeed, I'm freezing, and the thought of my warm apartment makes me long for my cozy sofa.

"All right," I agree, and we continue our way.

Once we're home, I take a quick, hot shower and we change into some comfortable clothes before we sit down on the sofa together. I wrap a blanket around my body and face Zach expectantly.

Zach sighs and starts talking.

"I was sixteen, when my stepdad took me to the casino for the first time. He showed me the place, where he started earning a vast amount of money. Despite my minority, they let us in, as my stepdad had pretty good connections."

He fumbles with his fingers. Talking about his past seems to mess him up a lot.

"He taught me everything you have to know about playing poker. I watched him winning game after game and after some time he built up a reputation in the scene. At this time, he barely allowed me to play and when he did, then only with small bets. When I turned nineteen, he started his drug business, and he visited the casino less and less often. From there he talked me into playing poker more seriously. At the beginning I refused to, but when I got out of senior high, I had to earn some money and that was the time, when I slowly started to settle in that scene." Zach pauses and sighs. Then he turns towards me and his hazel eyes find mine. I nod reassuringly and Zach speaks on.

"At the beginning I was careless and very naive. I lost a lot of money, but after some time I became better, developed a strategy, and started to earn good money. When I turned twenty-one, I considered exiting the scene. I had the urge to start a decent life, earning money with an honest job, but the casino owner wouldn't let me as he made a lot of money with me and the private poker games I used to join. He threatened me and sent his bodyguards to make sure I wouldn't back up. They beat me to pulp, and I realized that I wouldn't be able to leave the casino anytime soon."

Zach grabs both my hands and then adds with an insistent voice, "Liv, the guys at the casino are bad people. They're criminals, rapists, some of them even committed murders. I didn't tell you because I want to keep them out of your life. I just worry about you, Olivia!"

I blink sadly. The more I hear about Zach's youth, the more I feel sorry for him. He must have felt so lonely and lost in those days.

Suddenly, I feel the urge to comfort Zach. I wrap my arms around him and pull him into a soft and tight hug. Zach hesitates briefly, since he obviously didn't expect me to react like this, but then hugs me back and rests his head on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Zach," I mutter into his neck.

Zach pulls back and looks at me in confusion.

"You are sorry?" he asks with a frown.

"I'm sorry you were pushed into this ugly business," I reply.

"I really enjoy playing poker to be honest. That's one of the things I'm really good at. I only wish I could do that without all those fucking dickheads," Zach murmurs and gently strokes my cheek.

I eye him fondly.

"We'll find a way! I promise," I tell him sincerely.

A soft smile finds its way to Zach's full lips and he rests his forehead against mine.

"It was wrong not to tell you sooner. I'm sorry," he whispers.

"I get why you didn't want to tell me, but I can take care of myself," I answer and give him a gentle peck on the lips.

Zach's face becomes serious as he places his hands on my cheeks.

"I know you can," he breathes and pulls me in for a kiss. The sudden contact of our lips takes my breath away.

~Sexual content ahead~
This was a very spontaneous one. Hope you enjoy it! ;)

I instantly melt into the kiss, allowing his tongue entrance into my warm, awaiting mouth. Our kiss is full of need and trust. I rake my hands through Zach's hair and gently tug on it. A soft moan escapes his mouth, and he grabs my waist and pulls me on top of him. I willingly take the opportunity to press my chest against his body, eager to feel him as close as possible. As if by itself, my hips start moving against Zach's center, earning a deep groan from him.

He firmly grabs my butt and guides my movements, pressing all my weight down on him.

Shit!

The intense contact lets me inhale sharply and I tighten my grip in Zach's hair, starting to move at a quicker pace. I don't know where that's coming from, but all of a sudden, I feel so close to my release. All the tension and despair from the past weeks flow into our heated and intimate moment.

„Fuck.that's.so.hot!" I mutter with a shaky voice.

Zach notices my unbearable arousal and separates our lips, leaving me longing for more of his devouring kisses. Instead of satisfying my hunger, he moves his lips down and gently grazes my neck with his teeth.

His grip on my butt tightens and he slightly lifts his hips, making the friction even more intensive as I feel his hardness through his sweatpants.

"Let go, baby!" he breathes into my ear.

Zach's whispered words finish me off, and I sink down on his body, shaking and moaning, as my surprising orgasm takes control over my whole body. Zach holds me tight and lets me savor the unforeseen passion I just experience.

After I caught back my breath, I pull myself up and face Zach with glowing cheeks.

"Fuck, Livie. That was easily the hottest thing I ever watched!" he states hoarsely.

I shoot him a bashful smile.

"Uh... Well," I stutter and puff exhaustedly. "That was unexpected."

Zach chuckles deeply and I notice his firm excitement between my legs.

"You didn't finish, right?" I ask him sheepishly and Zach eyes me in amusement.

"I was close, but you were too fast," he replies and tenderly strokes my thighs.

"Oh..." I suddenly feel embarrassed.

"Don't worry about me. It was fucking hot watching you lose control over yourself! That alone was worth it," Zach mutters and sits up.

I slide off his lap and look at him. As by itself, my hand moves to the bulge of his sweatpants.

"Livie, you don't have to-" Zach starts hoarsely, but I stop him by placing my index finger on his slightly parted lips.

"Let me!" I breathe and start stroking him through the fabric of his pants.

Zach tilts back his head and inhales sharply as I slowly pull down his sweats. My gaze falls on his manhood which is now exposed in front of me, and I raise my eyebrow. I knew he is big, since I felt him a few times before when we were cuddling or making out, but now that I'm actually seeing him, I have to swallow. When I look up again, I notice Zach's watching me with both amusement and adoration in his face.

"Impressed?" he jokes in a raspy voice. I chuckle shyly and feel my face flushing at his cocky comment.

"I've seen bigger ones before," I try to tease him, but the croak of my voice betrays me. Zach laughs lightly and then places his hand on my cheek.

"Kiss me!" he orders, and I lean forward, pressing my lips against his. His hand wanders down to my neck and he strokes my jawline with his thumb.

Without separating our lips, I wrap my hand around him and slowly start pumping.

"Fuck!" Zach groans into my mouth and opens his eyes. He breaks the kiss and looks down to where my hand is working on him. I slide my thumb over his tip, earning a soft moan from him, and then start quickening my pumping motions.

Zach looks up to meet my gaze again, and he pulls my head closer, so his forehead leans against mine. His breath is shaky and becomes faster.

"...fucking good!" he mutters through gritted teeth. "Holy shit, I won't last long. It's been a while..."

I give him a soft smile and bite my bottom lip. The sight of him being that aroused turns me on.

Zach's chest raises and falls quickly and his hand wanders into my hair where it tangles up in my long strands. Again, I slide over his tip and feel him twitching in my hand.

"Oh fuck... Liv..." Zach moans deeply and the next moment I feel his warm cum running over my hand. He still looks into my eyes and his gaze is so piercing, I have to blink a few times to hold it.

After a moment, Zach closes his eyes and smiles breathlessly.

"That was fast!" he states without opening his eyes. I place a soft kiss onto his hot mouth in reply.

~smut end~

When we pull apart again, Zach opens his eyes and tilts his head.

"I'll bring you something to clean you up!" he remarks as he spots my wet fingers.

After pulling up his sweatpants, he gets up and returns a minute later with a tissue in his hand.

I thankfully grab it and wipe my hand with it.

"Let's get some sleep, Liv!" Zach grabs my hand and pulls me up. I chuckle as a yawn overcomes me and shows how tired I am. No wonder since I got up at 5am and it's after midnight already.

The moment I lay down on the bed, my eyelids become heavy, and I hardly manage to stifle another yawn.

"Sweet dreams!" I hear Zach's voice from far away as he wraps his arm around my body.

I only manage to mumble a quiet, "Sleep well!" into his warm chest before dozing off.