A mark on my soul

I think you'll like this one. Enjoy :)

"Did you kiss him or did he kiss you?" Joe cleared his throat, trying to downplay the pain in his chest.

"That hardly matters, Joe" Victoria couldn't understand why the question was relevant. The kiss happened, the context wasn't important.

"Of course it matters, Victoria" Joe failed to hide his emotions. His anger was evident to anyone, specially the woman he had been with for the last year of his life.

"I did" Victoria wanted to lie, and pretend Logan had initiated the contact between and that she had no say in the matter, but lying to Joe was completely off the table. She wanted a second chance, and she wanted to do it right.

Joe gulped, as he felt his hands shaking, terrified that Victoria would say yes to the next question he had to ask. Wishing he could skip the issue and pretend she never confessed anything about the kiss crossed his mind, but he knew the question would pound his head if he didn't clear the air now.

"Do you have feelings for him?" Joe almost whispered.

"No. Nothing beyond friendship" Victoria wasn't sure it was a lie. She hadn't had time to actually think about it. It was a possibility, but she chose to deny it anyway. It couldn't be a lie if the answer wasn't obvious.

"And are you sure you want to be with me? Now's the time to say otherwise" Joe questioned her, his deep blue eyes staring right at her.

"Of course I do" Victoria's words caused Joe to finally breathe again. That was true, a hundred percent.

"Okay then" Joe nodded as he signaled their waitress for the check.

"That's it?" Victoria raised an eyebrow, extremely confused.

"Yep. Thanks for your honesty, I really appreciate it" Joe payed the bill, and left a generous tip, then he offered her one of his playful smiles.

"You were watching over me like a hawk the last few months we were together with anything regarding Logan and now that I confessed to you that we kissed you suddenly don't care?" As much as his chill reaction appeased her, Victoria wasn't dropping the subject so easily.

"I do care. But you say you don't have feelings for him and I believe you" That was true. But Joe also had another thing in mind.

"Okay...." Victoria replied, unsure.

"Come on" Joe stood up from the booth, and offered her his hand to help her do the same.

"Where are we going?" She asked him.

"Just get in the car" Joe instructed. Victoria liked when he planned unexpected stuff for them to do, and she could disconnect her brain for a while.

Victoria and Joe got in his familiar Porsche, and they drove around Cincinnati, she was mesmerized by the city lights, and the absolute oxytocin rush of someone who just got back with the ex they had been missing for months. She was riding one of the biggest highs of her life: doctoral degree done, thesis defense aced, and now her man was back with her. Life was good.

Joe placed his right hand on her thigh, giving her goosebumps in her entire leg, and awakening dirty thoughts she had suppressed for a long time. He turned around to contemplate her, every chance he got, almost running the red a few times. He didn't care. He payed special attention to her beautiful face: her perfectly straight nose, highlight her side profile, her beautiful puffy lips, so incredibly soft, that tempted him so bad to kiss them.

"I love you" He whispered, as he kissed her hand.

Victoria felt like she was going to explode with love in that moment.

"And I love you" She replied. It was as if nothing had changed, only their relationship felt even better than before, the happiness that filled them with hope was even more intense. The contact between their skin felt more intimate.

"Can you tell me where are we going?" She inquired.

"It's a beautiful night, don't you think?" Joe asked, grinning.

"We are not fucking, Joe. Don't even think about it"

Joe scoffed.

"As much as I'd love to take your suit off and give you the best make up sex of your life right here and now, I wasn't planning on fucking you. Not yet. You'll have to beg"

"Bold of you to asume I will beg" Victoria teased him.

"Oh trust me baby, you will" Joe's words made her uneasy. He knew exactly how to push her buttons, and it wouldn't take much for her to succumb to her darkest thoughts.

Joe parked the car in a parking lot Victoria didn't recognize. It seemed like it was some sort of park. The gated entrance was barely discernible in the middle of the darkness that embraced them.

"Are you cold? I'll give you my coat, come here baby girl" Joe reached his arm for her, as he held her tight against his body, kissing her forehead.

Victoria was actually freezing, winter was cruel and relentless in Cincinnati, and this December night was no exception, she felt bad for taking Joe's coat, but the offer was too good to reject it. Plus she missed the way Joe's clothes felt and looked on her.

She nodded, and he took his long black coat off without hesitation, placing it around her small frame immediately. She looked like a little girl wearing oversized clothes of her big brother, but she enjoyed the cozyness of his attire.

"What are we doing here?" Victoria inquired as Joe led them towards the front gate that was becoming clearer to distinguish now having it closer.

"Do you know what I love the most about winter nights like this?" Joe asked her back.

"The stars" Victoria replied, remembering the long conversations they shared in his backyard when they used to stargaze.

"Exactly" Joe replied. Victoria immediately understood why Joe had led them there, no further questions were asked.

Under the vast expanse of the night sky, Joe and Victoria found themselves on a quiet hill, far away from the city lights. The air was crisp, and a gentle breeze carried the whispers of the night. The stars, like diamonds, adorned the velvet canvas above.

They laid side by side on a soft blanket, hands entwined, gazing up at the celestial display. The silence between them spoke volumes, filled with the unspoken words that had brought them back together.

Joe broke the quietude, his voice a hushed murmur, "You know, my grandpa used to say that stars have a way of guiding lost souls back home."

Victoria turned her head to meet his gaze, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Maybe we're finding our way back home, then."

"You are my home. And I'm never letting you slip away again" Joe finally gathered the courage to place a kiss on her lips, it was a shy one at first, as he was unsure of how she would react, but as he began to feel Victoria was into it, his contact grew deeper, his tongue played with hers, his hand went straight to her cheek, as he softly stroked her soft skin with his thumb.

They traced constellations with their fingers, connecting the dots between stars, creating their own cosmic stories. The night seemed to wrap them in a cocoon of tranquility, a stark contrast to the turbulence they had weathered.

As they shared stories and dreams under the celestial canopy, the weight of past grievances lifted. The universe, with its silent eloquence, witnessed the rekindling of a love that had weathered storms.

Joe had a game on Sunday, but as much as he wanted Victoria to come and watch him play, he was unsure if mentioning the possibility of her being there would be rushing stuff, he didn't say a thing.

Victoria however, was the one to bring it up.

"So, your next match is an away game?" She asked, shyly.

"Nope. It's here in Paycor, we're against the Chiefs" Joe answered as he played with her hair.

"Oh, well you know how I am a fan of the Chiefs and all" She smiled, knowing her comment would piss Joe off.

"You are a fan of the chiefs then?" Joe replied, smiling, thinking how much he had missed their usual back and forth teasing.

"Totally. Mahomes is for real"

"Now that's taking it too far, Marlowe"

Victoria laughed, "Sorry. No it's just..."

Joe interrupted her. "Babe, if you want to go to the game you just have to say the words. I'd love to have you there, cheering, wearing my number and my name on your back. Plus I think you look incredibly hot in black"

"I'll think about it" Victoria grinned.

"Think about it then. I'd love to have my number one cheering for me, though"

Victoria placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

Lost in the mesmerizing dance of stars, Joe whispered, "I missed this, you know. Just lying here, dreaming about the future with you."

Victoria's heart fluttered with a mix of emotions. "I missed it too, Joe. I missed us."

The stargazing became a meditation, a shared journey through the cosmos, and an affirmation of the connection that transcended time and space. With each passing moment, the scars of the past faded into the brilliance of the night sky, leaving room for a shared destiny.

"I love you..." Joe said, going in for a kiss, and taking advantage of the cover of the night, he got on top of her.As a natural reflex, Victoria spread her legs, making room for Joe to get in between them. The cold of the night was old history now. The only thing they felt was the warmth of each other's body, and the heat of their own desire.

Joe kept on kissing her, slowly moving his lips down to her neck, leaving marks for the world to see, sucking and nibbling on her sensitive skin.

"Say my name" He whispered.

"Joe" Victoria could barely speak.

"Louder. Say how much you want me" He demanded.

"I want you so bad. I need you in me, kissing you is not enough" She mustered, and Joe looked up grinning from her neck, they stared into each other's eyes.

"You're mine, Victoria. Mine only" Joe's objective was for Victoria to forget about the world, the man she fucked in Paris, Logan's lips, he wanted to erase all the other's men touch, replacing them with his own.

"I'm yours. Entirely"

They fought to suppress their wish to rip their clothes off and have sex in the middle of the park. No one was around, and most likely the would've gotten away with it, but Victoria insisted that it would be best to not involve sex into their already complex dynamics. Joe didn't put up a fight, honoring her wishes was the most sacred thing in his mind, and he knew that the build up would lead to the best sex of their lives.

After their late night endeavors, Joe dropped her off in her new apartment, and was grateful to finally have and address he could go to to find her. He also promised to pick her car up from the university's parking lot and bring it to her, since she had just dumped it to go to their rendezvous.

"Goodbye handsome" She said, as she opened her front door and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Have a good night my love. I'll call you tomorrow. Be ready at 7" He smiled back, and began walking to his car.

Joe had two simultaneous plans going on, and was on his way to taking care of business. There was someone he needed to pay a visit to.

The next day, as he picked Victoria's old car from the campus, he wandered off into the office of a complete stranger, who funnily enough, was a pivotal figure in his life right now.

He didn't knock on the door, and just let himself in, finding a man intensely focused on his laptop screen.

"Logan Raye?" Joe pretended he didn't know how Logan looked. The truth was he had spent so long staring at Instagram pictures of him, he could easily recognize him even from a distance.

Logan looked up, to face the man in front of him.

He scoffed, unimpressed by the sight, he had known for a while that a visit from Victoria's ex was imminent.

"I don't even have to ask who you are" Logan didn't even made eye contact, he pretended to be busy with work, even if his heart was pounding in his chest.

"Well it's good that you know exactly who I am" Joe took a seat, without asking, crossing his arms, he scouted the room with his gaze, looking for anything that caught his eye. Nothing about Logan stood out, except for a few pictures of his family, his doctoral degree hanging from a wall, until his eyes were set upon a framed picture of Logan and Victoria standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. Joe felt distraught, thinking it was unfair that he had a picture with his girlfriend in the city he wanted to take her to in the first place. They should've just gone, but there was no point in reminiscing about it now.

"The famous quarterback of the city. How most exciting it is to get a personal visit from you" Logan finally dared to look Joe in the eye.

"I didn't take you for a fan. Want an autograph?" Joe used his petty arrogant voice.

"Cut the shit Burrow. Why are you here? Victoria isn't coming around today, and even if she did, she isn't interested in you anyways" Logan blurted out, not caring about the consequences of his words.

"What did you just say to me?" Joe clenched his jaw, getting increasingly angry.

"You heard me. Oh, I didn't know it was a touchy subject" Logan gave him a winning smirk, thinking he had nailed his comeback.

"My girlfriend isn't a touchy subject. She's the very reason I'm here" Joe grinned back, the satisfaction of rubbing their newly mended relationship to his face was unmatched.

"Your what?" Logan stuttered.

"Oh so you didn't know. I'm surprised she didn't reach out to tell you that we're back together now" Joe offered Logan a wide smile.

"Bullshit. She wouldn't take you back after everything you did to her."

"You truly don't know your friend then, because it didn't take more than a coffee date for us to give it another shot"

"Well if you are back together then you should maybe talk to her about kissing other men. It's not really appropriate unless you're into threesomes" Logan didn't smile this time.

Joe's blood felt like it was boiling, his last shred of common sense was going out the window engulfed in flames. He clenched his fist in an effort to prevent it from making contact with Logan's face.

"I know about the kiss. You wanted me to cut the shit? Fine. Stay the fuck away from her" Joe mustered, with the last bit of self control in him.

"That is up to Victoria. How would you think she'd feel if she knew that you were here trying to manipulate her life, prohibiting her friend from being close to her?" Logan replied, softly smirking.

Joe knew that she'd be pissed. Victoria didn't like to be controlled.

"Do you have feelings for her?" Joe asked, bluntly.

"That's none of your business" Logan answered, trying to dissimulate the truth. He obviously did and he knew that he couldn't lie.

"She's my girlfriend. It is entirely my business" Joe clenched his jaw. He knew what that half answer meant.

"What if I did? What would you do about it? Are you gonna beat me up like you did your friend? Cause that's how you deal with shit you don't like is it not?" Logan blurted out, without thinking.

That was the last fucking straw for Joe.

And even Logan knew he had gone too far.

Well hello there, first of all, I wanna thank you for 9kIt's been so cathartic to watch these story unfold and the way you support it 🥰🥰I love you so freaking much ❤️‍🩹Leave a comment if you'd like, and don't forget to vote. What do you think about our lovebirds being back together? They're so cute and I had missed their cheesiness so much.

But do you honestly think it will be that simple? 👀