Authors Note: Sorry all my writing is taking forever. I'm dealing with my depression and it's making it incredibly hard to focus. I've got about 4 more chapters of this story so here's hoping you can stick with me until the end. There is smut in this chapter so be advised. Thanks again for reading and reviewing! You're all lovely! Enjoy!

[Stuart's POV]

I looked over the scoreboard that they kept displayed on the huge screen that hung over the entrance of the common area blinking constantly. I still couldn't believe we'd taken a slight lead. The job was so close I could taste it and as of right now, everything seemed to be working out a lot better than It had been. The team and I were stronger than ever, Abby and I were right back into our stride and my dad hadn't called to bitch me out about the money so it would appear that it went back into my mom's account without any issues. Thing's were just good and I felt like I could breathe.

"Do you guys even realize how close we are to winning these jobs? I swear to god I was dreaming of personalizing all of my desk with Star Wars pens." Neha sipped her smoothie and I laughed.

"I just want to be able to tell my mom I got a job and that my tuition wasn't a waste." Yoyo said with a glazed look on his face. Nick clapped his hand down on his shoulder.

"You'll get that my friend. We'll all get that. We've only got two more challenges and we're already in the lead so let's finish strong." Nick was getting us all pumped up.

"You guys have no idea how excited I am for you to join me here. I think we would run this whole damn shizzle." Lyle tapped the table between us with his finger and I laughed.

"What about you Stu? What's the first thing you're gonna do when we win?" Nick nudged me making me think about it. Honestly the first thing I could think of was kiss Abby but I feel like that would sound lame.

"I don't know. I guess start looking for a place to live." They laughed at me and Lyle jumped.

"You should totally see if they can find Abby a position here. I find that Marielena and I do quite well working so closely." Lyle smirked as he disappeared into what I could only assume were some of his extended lunch breaks that he'd usually reappear from with his glasses lopsided and cheeks flushed.

"I don't know man. We've got a lot of things to figure out but right now I'm just happy we're both content. It would be kind of cool to see her during the day though." I pointed out. Billy finally came up the steps, his arms full of bagels and energy drinks dropping them carefully on the table with Neha assisting him. Lyle's phone beeped and he snapped out of his daze.

"Alright gang, let's head to the meeting. Chetty hates when people are late." We all got up to Billy's dismay and walked down to the large projects room for the next challenge to be announced. Chetty was already ready and waiting as everyone started to file in. I felt bad for the teams that hadn't picked up on his dislike for waiting because the moment the room started to get half full, he started explaining the challenge.

"Only two challenges remain after which a mere handful of you will be offered full time employment. Now the next challenge is manning the Google helpline. This is one of the most difficult jobs we have. It combines both customer relations and product fluency. You will be judged on both." Lyle was shaking his head like we already had this one in the bag and surprisingly I was excited. I'd actually studied the Google helpline before applying for the internship. It seemed like a piece of cake to me.

"This is a very tight race right now. I suggest you study up." Chetty looked at Nick and Billy but Nick looked confident. Billy seemed to be lost in his thoughts but he was a quick study. I had no doubts we could get him up to speed. We rushed up to the work room to score some computers to run scenarios on for a bit.

"Alright, let's drill it and kill it." Lyle clapped his hands together.

"Authorization failure with Google drive, Neha." He walked up behind her as she clicked the screen.

"Permissions probably changed, request document access." She answered correctly.

"Bam! Nick, Chrome connectivity issue." He sat down in the chair and spun towards him.

"Unselect proxy server for your LAN." He answered confidently.

"NICE! Billy, I'm locked out of my Google wallet account." He jumped out of the chair and walked towards Billy who was still stuck on the intro screen.

"Is that under Gmail or wallet help?" Billy asked confused.

"Uh I don't know sir, that's kinda what I called you for." Lyle put his hand up to his head and chuckled but I could tell Billy was getting flustered.

"Listen, I'm pretty terrific on the phone. I could sell prosciutto to a rabbi and I have." Billy turned towards Lyle.

"Except you're not here to sell anything." Yoyo walked up next to me holding his laptop.

"Yeah Billy, you're not going to be able to bullshit your way through this one but it's okay because all we have to do is study. We can nail this, you just gotta study man." I didn't want Billy to feel bad but his usual pep talks and flying by the seat of his pants wasn't going to win this challenge. He needed to know the answers to the questions and he needed to be able to answer them quickly if we wanted to win. He shook his head at me and turned back to his computer.

"Then study up is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna study up." He clicked a button on the screen and even from where I was sitting I could tell he got the question wrong making him tap Lyle on the arm.

"Let me just ask you, is there like a general rule or a blanket statement I could say that will apply to literally anything so I can either shove product down their face or I'm going to give them another hotline." I let out a sigh and Yoyo looked at me concerned.

"What you are exactly is tech support so if you referred them to another number, what would happen is that your phone would ring again." Lyle tried to explain but Billy kept pushing.

"What I'm saying is give me the blanket statement where I'm not necessarily wrong but I'm not necessarily right and then I can either hit them with another helpline or I'll push product on them. You want me to shove product down their throat? Cause I'll do it." Nick was now looking over at Billy with worry.

"Full disclosure, I think you're working harder than you have to. All you have to do is click the button and read." Lyle explained. Billy sighed frustrated that Lyle wasn't offering him a simple out and seemed pretty done with it.

"I got it." He dismissed Lyle.

"Bam! Done, read it!" Lyle didn't want Billy to beat himself up but Billy seemed to already be ready to check out on it.

"I got it." He said once more making Lyle walk over to Yoyo. Nick slid into the desk next to Billy hopefully to give him some encouragement. We really needed Billy to pull through on this one. I couldn't stick around long because I had planned on dropping by to see Abby for her lunch break but when I had gotten there, I saw she was teaching a couples lap dance class. I watched the way she straddled the empty chair and have never been more jealous of an animate object. Surprisingly, the women weren't the only ones doing the dancing. She had made the couples switch out and even the guys danced. I wondered if my hips were capable of moving like that. I started to swivel unconsciously. It honestly didn't seem to difficult physically, it was mostly me trying to figure out if I had the confidence to put these kind of moves on Abby. I've embarrassed myself in front of her before but I feel like this would take it to a whole other level.

"I think you're about a second slow with your hips." I jumped into the two way mirror when I heard a voice behind me. The entire class, including Abby looked towards me but I knew they couldn't see me. Katie had her hand over her mouth trying not to laugh in my face and I could feel the heat in my neck rising into my cheeks.

"What are you doing here? We aren't supposed to have lunch until later." I looked around confused.

"We have our dance lesson with Abby today. Your mom planned for lunch after." My eyes went wide.

"Mom's here?!" I looked back over my shoulder and Abby was wrapping up her class.

"Hey, take a breath. It's just a class Stuart." Katie put her hand on my shoulder but that didn't help to relieve any of the tension. I didn't want my mom to know that Abby was teaching lap dance classes. I mean there's nothing wrong with that but I don't know, I didn't want to have to explain anything. Mom came bounding up the stairs with a look of excitement on her face. The door to the studio opened and people started filtering out, some stayed behind to help her stack chairs.

"Hey honey. I'm so glad you decided to come dance with us." Mom kissed my cheek.

"I actually didn't know you guys were dancing today. I thought we were just doing lunch." Mom frowned.

"Well if I managed to drag your brother here, you bet you'll be helping us." Mom poked my chest playfully before grabbing Katie's wrist and pulling her into the room. I watched mom and Katie catch Abby's eye and she excused herself from the conversation she was having with another couple to greet them warmly with hugs. I felt someone run right into me and looked over to see who it was.

"My bad man, I'm just trying to get in here." I moved my body instantly in front of the door seeing that it was Ethan.

"Yeah she's about to start a closed session, sorry." Ethan took a step back to look me over, looking as though he was about to try and argue but his face suddenly softened and he laughed.

"Stuart right? The new boyfriend." He pointed at me and I pursed my lips.

"Yeah man. What did you need?" I asked hoping to get rid of him before Abby noticed.

"I needed to talk to Abby." I bit my lip.

"Yeah I don't think that's a good idea man. She's got a lot on her plate right now and you seem to really throw her into a bad head space so maybe just cut your losses and move on." Ethan put his hands in his pockets and smiled at me. I tried to seem cool about it and not come across as a crazy boyfriend but all I could think about was protecting Abby.

"I promise that it's all business with Abby. I sort of owe her for being an ass all those years ago. I've got a good job, I think she'd be interested in it." Ethan pitched making me shake my head instantly.

"She's not. I assure you that. The words "I'd never work for him if I had a choice" have literally come off her lips so maybe just find another girl." I kept my eyes on Abby and almost forgot I was talking to Ethan as she smiled at my mom.

"You don't like me at all huh?" Ethan's laugh drew me back.

"It's nothing personal." I shrugged.

"It's very personal." I finally met his gaze but I didn't let him know he held any sort of weight here.

"I'm pretty sure that the ex boyfriend and the new boyfriend aren't really supposed to get along but she's working really hard right now and the last person she want's to see is you so you should take off before it wrecks her day." I pressed making him sigh.

"I just want to talk to her about a job." He insisted taking a step towards me but I spun immediately getting annoyed. Now he was just lingering so Abby would see him and get upset and I didn't appreciate it.

"Okay I lied. It is personal. It's really personal. You hurt her and as much as I'd love to punch that smug look off your face, I know it'll upset her so I suggest you take a walk before I do something I won't regret." Junior walked in the door and saw the exchange, pulling his sunglasses off to take in the scene.

"Man you're really gone on her. That's going to suck when she leaves you high and dry." Ethan and I stared each other down and I squared my shoulders ready for him to make the first move but he just let out a snort and slapped his hand on my shoulder before walking out of the door that Junior had just walked into.

"Hey little brother, should I even ask?" Junior shoved my chest and I swatted his hand.

"I'm fine. It's nothing. Just Abby's stupid ex-boyfriend." I went to turn around but he stopped me.

"Hey don't go in there like. She'll be able to know instantly. Women have that way about them. This is going to be hard enough so just stop and take a breath for a second." I looked at Junior for a moment and tried to figure out when was the last time I saw him and where he managed to lock down some sort of zen. I remembered a time he'd completely laid out a guy for talking to Katie too closely once. My dad lectured him for an entire week about not putting his future on the line for some girl but I guess he had the right idea considering he's marrying her in just a few weeks.

"You good now?" He asked making me cock my eyebrow.

"Yeah man I'm good. Are you good? You seem a bit off." I questioned making him shake his head.

"Can't I just care about my little brother?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Sure I'd just like to know when that started is all." I didn't have a great relationship with either of my brothers but suddenly it was like something had changed in them. It was like they knew I was dying and I didn't or something. It was really starting to freak me out. I pulled the door open and Abby smiled.

"Hey look who finally joined the party!" Mom walked over towards Junior and drug him over towards Abby.

"Abby, this is my eldest son Junior. This is Katie's groom." Junior extended his hand and Abby took it.

"It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you." She said cutting her eyes towards me.

"I'm sure most of it's true." He let go of her hand and she made a b-line towards me giving me a quick kiss as a greeting.

"Hi." She whispered so lightly I could feel her breath graze my lip and the tension bleed from my body instantly.

"Hi." I gave her another quick kiss before I heard my mom giggling.

"Okay we should probably get started. Stuart, you're going to partner with your mom for this since your dad's not here." Abby pointed over towards Mom who looked jazzed but I quickly realized this was a set up.

"Really?" I narrowed my gaze at her and she cheesed a wide grin at me.

"Come dance with your mother, Stuart!" Mom whined and I walked over towards her. I put my arms out and she took my hand happily.

"Guess dad will figure it out on the day of?" I asked making Mom roll her eyes.

"You know your father. He's good at everything, especially moving his hips." Both Junior and I groaned.

We danced for the next hour with Abby showing Katie and Junior how easy the steps were. She had them dancing to a John Legend song and Mom got a little weepy. I tried to make her laugh so she'd keep it together and she started wandering off on talk of Abby and I moving in together at which point Abby borrowed me to use for a demonstration. I was grateful for the escape. Abby worked through her lunch to help Junior and Mom figure out a nice dance number for the mother/son dance. It gave Katie a few to take a break. She seemed a bit more out of it then she normally would be but she still managed to make it through almost two hours of lessons. I did notice however that Junior kept his eye on Abby oddly. It was like he was trying to put a face to her name like he'd met her before or something but there was no way they could have known each other.

"Okay enough dancing. It's time to fuel my body." I finally raised my hand and Junior's shot up.

"I'm with Stu. I need food." He got up and grabbed Katie's bag from the floor before reaching out to take her hand.

"You must come to the Bride Brunch Abby! If there is one thing I know how to do it's brunch." Katie offered making Abby smile.

"It's honestly my pleasure to help but I will see if I can fit it into my schedule. My rehearsal schedule is pretty insane but I'll try to get away." Abby promised before my mom pulled her into another hug. I thought she might come have dinner with us but she hung back.

"I'll meet you guys outside." I waved to my mom and Abby walked over towards me, putting her arms carefully around my neck.

"You don't want to come to dinner? I know you've spent an abundant amount of time with the Twombly's today but you're welcome to join us." I smiled at her as she stroked the back of my neck.

"I'd love to but I already promised to have dinner with my dad. It's time we had this conversation and stop avoiding one another." She bit her bottom lip and I kissed her forehead.

"It's going to be okay. I promise." I pulled away and she was smiling at me.

"You know, when you say it, I actually believe it." She leaned into my chest and let me hug her for a few moments. I could feel her taking in deep breaths like she was trying to fill her senses with my smell or something but I could feel the stress in her back and shoulders slacking as she breathed so I smiled into her neck.

"I'll see you at home tonight." Her eyes went wide like she realized what she said and I laughed.

"Yeah I like the sound of that. I'll see you at home beautiful." I gave her one last kiss and she smacked my ass jump starting me towards the door.

"Good work today, Twombly. Excellent frame." She teased.

"Well don't tell my mom but I'm sleeping with my instructor." Her jaw dropped and I winked leaving her chuckling to herself in the studio as I joined my family for dinner.

[Abby's POV]

I was surprisingly recharged after Stuart and his family left. It was nice to be able to teach classical dances to people I'd actually get to see use them for something special. I felt good, good enough to rehearse for the scholarship show. I hadn't settled on a song yet but I had it narrowed down. I had to do two numbers and I wanted one to at least be a but fast paced so I could show off just how wide my range was. I was so caught up, I barely heard my phone ringing. I ran over but didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" I answered hearing a hardy chuckle.

"Abby! How ya doing sweetheart? It's uncle Sammy!" I remained silent unsure of who exactly uncle Sammy considering I didn't actually have an uncle Sammy.

"I'm sorry who?" I tried.

"Sammy Boscoe...your dad used to work for me." It clicked and I shook my head.

"Ah yeah Sammy. I heard you closed the business down right out from under Dad and Nick. Classy move. What can I do for you?" I sat down on the floor to catch my breath and re-hydrate, not sure what Sammy could possibly want from me.

"I just talked to your dad about coming to work for me and he seemed open to the idea." I froze. Dad had told me that Sammy moved to Florida and if he went to work for Sammy again, I would probably never see him.

"Oh he did? He's kind of got a job now so-" He cut me off.

"Yeah he told me about the internship but let's face it, your dad is a salesman. I was calling you to see if you'd get him on the right path. He needs this job and I'm trying to make up for hanging them out to dry. It pays well and if it helps, I can have him working right in Modesto." That was only a hour and some change away but I still didn't like the idea of this job offer.

"Well Sammy, my dad is a grown man capable of making his own decisions but I'll let him know you called." I could hear Sammy babbling about something before I decided to hang up. I figured if he called back I could just pretend the call dropped or something. I was tempted to call dad and talk to him about it but if he truly was considering it, he would have to mention it to me. He just had to.

I glanced at the clock and realized I let time get away from me. I was already running late for dinner with him which meant I had no time to really change. I sent him a quick text letting him know I was sorry about running late but he said not to worry about it, to just meet him at the apartment since he was studying for his challenge. I started to pack my things up when I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

"Junior?" He honestly was the last person I was expecting to see.

"Katie left her bracelet, I told her I would stop by and pick it up. I wanted to talk to you for a minute." I looked around and spotted the bracelet instantly.

"I'm actually on my way out. Is it about something important?" I threw my bag over my shoulder and he laughed.

"Yeah it kind of is. I mean you're dating my little brother and I didn't really get a chance to see what kind of person you were. I mean anyone can put on a face when their boyfriend's mom is around so I figured I'd catch you off guard, see you up close on my own." He looked me over, flipping the bracelet over in his hand before pocketing it.

"I don't pretend to be anyone in front of your mom. I don't really have anything to hide so if you just tell me what you're looking to figure out about me, things would be a lot easier." I crossed my arms and he continued to look me over.

"I'm actually really impressed. You weren't what I expected at all." I was starting to get impatient with him and his silent judgements. I'd been through this crap with Stuart's dad already and I was tired of putting up with it.

"Look if you're about to say something shitty about your brother or insult me, you can save it because I don't need anymore Twombly male bullshit." Junior seemed to rear back surprised at my defensive stance but his face held something else. He wasn't smug at all, he was apologetic.

"Sadly I think we've all got that gene. I suppose you make an exception for Stu though." He shrugged.

"Absolutely not. When he starts acting like an ass, I'm just as quick to let him know." I corrected his assumption and that seemed to make him smile. This time I held his gaze but he didn't seem to be judging me now. He actually seemed a bit sad, almost like he was missing out.

"That's good. That's really good. I'm really glad he's found someone who gets him. He's needed that for a really long time." Stuart had explained that he could never live up to the legacy of his brothers and that he didn't really have a good relationship with either of them but looking at Junior right now, all I could see was regrets and that was kind of the opposite of what I thought I'd see.

"If we're being honest, you aren't really what I was expecting either." He nodded at me sadly and I took a few steps towards him.

"I'll tell you just like I told Russ, Stuart is an important part of my life. I can see now that maybe the three of you should sit down together as adults and work through some things. I don't know you that well and I don't know what you've been through but I can tell you love your brother and in my book, that's all that matters." I put a hand on his arm and he nodded.

"I just...thank you. Being a Twombly has never been easy but it's been the hardest on him. I never knew how to make it easier on him but somehow you've managed to make him comfortable being different. That's...that means something." He cleared his throat and shook his shoulders making me pull my hand back.

"Thank you for helping with the wedding. I hope you are able to make it for the ceremony." He turned his back and made a quick exit leaving me with whiplash. There was so much tension and turmoil in the Twombly family, it made me feel sad for Stuart. I've never felt that kind of pressure from my dad, hell I would just like for him to stick around but I had faith that they could work it out. Stuart was smart and even though he wished I didn't notice how much his family affected him, I did. I knew he could fix things with his brothers but his father was an entirely different story.

I picked up dinner for both myself and dad knowing that Nick was out on a date tonight and headed to the apartment. I had to let myself in since he apparently was too distracted to open the door.

"Hey sorry, I was just finishing up this damn test. I think I'm gonna ace this challenge." Dad kept his gaze on his laptop.

"That's great dad. I got you chicken since your text said whatever looks good." I didn't looked over at him but I felt his gaze land on my back. He had a very piercing stare.

"You still mad at me huh?" He shut his laptop and got up from his chair but I kept my back to him.

"I'm not mad at you. It's always been hard to be mad at you but annoyed that you meddled in my relationship, yeah a little. Not even in a traditional sense where you scare the guy off because you think he's not good enough. You basically told my boyfriend to drop me because I wasn't good enough." I plated his stupid chicken on a plate and pushed it towards him.

"I didn't say you weren't good enough, you know I don't think that." He reached out and I looked up at him.

"No you think I'm complicated but you know what dad, I'm not. You just have no clue who I am." That got him to pause.

"I've given you this pass for so long and just let it go but you're here now and I love that. I love that you're around more and you're involved with my life but you can't just jump in and think you know what's best for me or the people around me. You've got no clue what I've gone through to get here or how important Stuart is to me. He's the first truly untainted, wonderful guy I've dated and you tried to rob me of that. How am I supposed to feel about that?" I knew I was getting carried away but thinking about how Stuart and his dad were, I refused to live my life like that.

"Then tell me who you are." He finally said making me stop my rant.

"What?" I was caught off guard. I didn't expect him to take this so well but he sat down at the table and pulled the chair in front of me out as an invitation.

"I made a mistake and I'm sorry that it hurt you like it did. You're right though. You aren't the little girl that I had no idea how to take care of. Let's be honest, you take care of me more than I've ever taken care of you but now I want to get to know my daughter." He patted the table next to my plate and I carefully sat down in the chair earning a hopeful smile from him.

"Well now that I have your attention, I'm not even sure where to start." I said honestly making him laugh.

"How about we start with school situation. I know you're struggling and I know that you've been working your ass off to try and stay ahead of it but I've noticed." Dad tilted his head to the side.

"I went through a rough break up, fell behind in some payments and I've been working as many jobs as I can to try and get back ahead of it but it didn't pan out. I've got a spot in the scholarship show coming up to see if I can keep my spot but nothing is guaranteed." I picked at my food and he did the same while listening to me intently.

"This bad break up, is it with that photography guy you mentioned...Arthur?" I was shocked he even remembered his occupation.

"Ethan and yes. He did a number on me but I let him so-"

"Hey...I don't care what happened, if he was bad to you it's because he was a shit person. It's not your fault." Dad stopped eating.

"You don't know that. Maybe I wasn't a good girlfriend." I offered but he shook his head.

"I don't believe that. I see how you are with Stuart. That boy was tightly wound and closed off to everyone when I first met him and you brought him out of his shell. You're also the kindest person I know because you have your mother's heart so you can say I don't know you but I can say confidently that whatever happened with that guy was not your fault." I gave him a small smile and a quiet thanks as I pushed my food around.

"Mom would be proud of how far you've come. You know that right?" I looked over at him hoping he still felt that way in a minute.

"Would she be proud of me if she knew I danced on the bar instead of just working behind it?" He's eyebrows went up and he took a moment to look down at his food.

"Honestly, she was about self-expression in any format so yes absolutely. As your dad, I mean...do you do the whole..." Dad gestured to his chest and I shook my head.

"No that's one of my stipulations. I'm never topless and I never do private dances. Lena and I are the only dancers that have those stipulations so we don't get paid as much but I'm good with that." Dad sighed, relieved.

"That makes me feel a little better but you could have just told me. I talked to a lot of those girls the night we all went out and all of them seem to be working towards something. You're an adult Abigail and so are they. Obviously I'm not going to be comfortable with people staring at your naked body but I can't stop you. I kind of lost my dad card." It broke my heart to know he thought he didn't have a right to have a say. That's not what I intended at all.

"Dad, you didn't lose anything. I just don't want you to be disappointed in me. I want you to want to be here. I want you to see me and love me all the same." He reached out and cupped my cheek.

"Oh kiddo. I'll love you no matter what. You've got to know that." I put my hand on top of his and felt tears welling up. I got up from my chair and plopped myself in my dad's lap so he could hug me. I haven't felt like such a kid in a really long time.

"I'm going to do the best I can to be a better dad baby. I promise. No matter what, I'm here for you and I'm proud of you for coming so far on your own. So proud." He rocked me a little bit and I pulled away to wipe away some tears.

"I'm proud of you too. I know this internship is hard and completely out of your element but you are doing so well. You don't give yourself enough credit. You aren't just a salesman." He laughed.

"I sure hope you're right kiddo because I sure do want to stick around to see just how great you and Stu are together." I wiped my face and got up from his lap trying to hide my blush.

"I like to think we bring out the best in each other. We make a pretty good team." I sat down in my chair and started pushing my food around again as dad smirked.

"I'd have to agree." The rest of the evening was spent talking to Dad about Stuart and his family, the showcase coming up and even potentially moving in with Stuart. He was in full support of our relationship and even said he'd talk to Stuart about his dad which surprised me considering we were just now able to talk on a real, adult level. It was after 10 before I left him to do some last minute studying and I actually felt good about the dinner. Stuart was sitting on the couch in sweats and a t-shirt watching something on his laptop which he paused quickly as I opened the door.

"Hey, how did dinner go?" He sat his laptop down on the coffee table and I plopped onto the couch next to him.

"It was heavy at first but by the end of it I felt better. Kind of like a weights been lifted." I leaned my head back and he smiled at me, pushing his glasses back on his nose.

"I told him about the club and about school. I even told him a little about Ethan. It was almost like confessing all these things I held so close but in that moment I just didn't care. We talked about you too so hopefully he gets it now." Stuart smirked scooting closer to me.

"Gets what exactly?" He put his hand on my hip and I bit my lip.

"That you aren't just some guy I'm passing the time with. I kind of sort of love you a whole lot nerd." Stuart leaned in and kissed me but I could feel the smile on his lips. He reached down and pulled my legs across his legs and I knocked my foot into his laptop starting it up and making us both flinch when the movie started playing again. Channing Tatum was on the screen doing a very interesting roll with his hips and Stuart's face blushed.

"I um...it's research." He scrambled to shut the laptop and tilted my head.

"Oh please do explain how watching Magic Mike is helping you with tomorrow's challenge." Stuart took a deep breath knowing that there was no way he was going to ever live this down.

"Do we need to have a talk?" I laughed making him sigh with annoyance.

"I caught the last half hour of your couple's class today and it got me thinking maybe I would try and do something like that for you. However there's a lot more involved in a lap dance than I thought so-" I laughed grabbing his chin and pulling his lips to mine. Just knowing he was trying to learn in such a short window of time made me feel special

"Alright Twombly. Let's see what you've got." I jumped off the couch and grabbed the chair sitting in front of the kitchen table, dragging it to the center of the room and pulling up my phone to find a song for him. Anything by The Weeknd would suffice. Stuart shook his head like he wasn't even going to get up from the couch but I started to peel my work out clothes off slowly giving him a bit of incentive. He got up and listened to the song carefully before standing in front of me.

"Maybe you could give me a more hands on tutorial." Stuart suggested making me tug on the pockets of his sweats.

"That last time I gave you a lap dance, only one of us got off. I'd like to challenge you to do better than that." I winked at him making him roll his eyes. Stuart moved his hips as I pulled on them and I had to laugh.

"Show me what you learned from the class and I'll work with you." I promised letting Stuart step back away from me. He picked up my phone and scrolled through the songs before picking one for himself and taking a deep breath. I curled my finger at him and he smirked walking slowly towards me and teasing me with a kiss that barely ghosted my lips before he spun around and sat gently on my lap, grinding his hips down with impressive pressure.

"Roll your body from the chest." I whispered keeping my hands on the side of the chair, not wanting to guide him but help him through it. He did as I told him and leaned back and I could feel him laugh against my chest before reaching down and pulling my arms up to rest on his hips.

"I feel like an idiot." He confessed and I pushed on his hips so he would turn around and straddle my lap.

"Honestly I love that you're actually doing this. I'm really into it." I said leaning back in the chair as he put his hand on the back of my chair.

"Oh yeah? Well what's the rule about touching? I mean we are at home. I don't see any harm in you getting a little handsy." Stuart teased and I ran my hands up under his shirt, raking my fingernails carefully down his chest and feeling the goosebumps I'd created across his skin. I pushed the shirt up and pulled it over his head, tossing it over onto the couch as he continued to grind his hips down against me. He pulled my hands onto his chest and I leaned forward to place a kiss in the middle of his chest where there was little patch of hair.

"So did you happen to learn any magic from Mike?" I joked making him laugh.

"Yeah I'm not going to do a handstand and put my dick in your face. That just seems a bit much and the odds of me completely knocking you out of this chair are pretty good." I actually threw my head back and laughed out loud. Stuart took that moment to sit forward and suckle softly on the side of my neck before nibbling up to my jaw. I felt his hands running under my shirt and grazing the bottom of my sports bra, picking my head up and following the trail of his lips up to mine.

"I've got a new plan." Stuart whispered against my lips getting up and slipping out of his sweats. I was just about to ask when he picked me up by the back of my thighs and sat down in the chair so I was now sitting in his lap. I leaned back on his thighs and pulled my shirt and sports bra off so we were both topless now and ready to get lost in one another. The music continued to play and give a steady pace and Stuart pulled on my hips still swiveling his own, pushing upwards so I could feel just how hard he was. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and groaned.

"Hang on to me." Stuart bit my ear lobe and I tightened my grip around him as he lifted me once again. I locked my legs around him unsure of what he was doing walking into the bedroom. He didn't put me down though, he pulled his nightstand open and grabbed a condom before walking us both back out to the chair and plopping down winded. I took the condom from him and held it in my teeth as I slipped out of my leggings and panties and yanking his boxers down his knees. We'd done it on the couch before and we've done it in the car but we'd never have sex in the middle of his living room on a dining room chair. It felt freeing to just strip naked and fuck right there with no inhibitions. I rolled the condom onto him and sank down almost instantly watching his jaw drop as mine mimicked his. I lifted my left leg over his shoulder and let my head fall back trying to control how incredible aroused I was and we'd barely even gotten started.

Watching him get into the dancing and feeling him grinding into me, allowing himself to feel sexy was a crazy turn on for me.

"Fuck." Stuart gripped my ass and started to pull my hips at a steady rhythm. I couldn't contain my moans every time Stuart drove into me. I held on him, leaning back to try and increase how amazing the angle was and he leaned forward to capture my nipple into his mouth. He had his arm wrapped around my hips and the moment his hand reached down and started to rub my clit, I felt like I was about to lose it. IT was all too much at one time and I practically started screaming.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK! I'm COMING!" Stuart never faltered in his strides and it felt like my whole body caught fire for a moment as I came. I shouted again and squeezed his shoulder so hard, I feared I might have broken the skin with my nails.

"FUCK! ABBY!" Stuart jerked his hips roughly for a few moments before I felt his body tense with a shake. I swiveled my hips, pulling him through his release and he physically stopped me with his hand once he was too spent for any movement. My leg had slipped from his shoulder slowly and he was breathing heavily with his head tilted back. I don't even remember when my phone stopped playing music but the only thing that filled the room was our heavy breathing as we sat trying to catch our breath, covered in sweat and shivering. Stuart finally lifted his head to look at me and smiled.

"That was without a doubt top 5 but I feel like we didn't think it through. I'd love to lay down with you now but I'm unsure if I can get my legs to move right now." He breathed leaning into my neck and kissing it softly. I ran my hands up the back of his neck and scratched his scalp.

I hadn't realized how long it had been since we actually had sex because of everything that was going on. We'd fooled around but this was so much more. It was peaceful and passionate. It also felt sort of fun and new. I'd never gotten Stuart to open up like this before and I couldn't fight the smile that pulled onto my lips thinking of him giving me a lap dance.

"If you think you can get your legs to move, I wouldn't mind you joining me in the shower." I kissed his cheek before slowly rising making him hiss from the movement as I walked naked into the bedroom. I was already under the spray of the water when he slid in behind me, wrapping heavy arms around me to pull me to his chest. After such a jam packed day, this felt like home. Just being in Stuart's arms had become such a safe place for me that I never wanted to let him go.

We finished out shower and to my surprise, Stuart had actually cleaned up the living room so we could just climb into bed. As exhausted and utterly spent as I felt, I couldn't help but stare at Stuart as he laid down facing me.

"My dad's old boss called me today. Said he had a job for him and wanted me to convince him to come work for him again. I was too scared to tell him about it." Stuart frowned.

"You said yourself, Billy is working his ass off to get this internship. You guys just worked things out, he wouldn't up and throw that away. You aren't disposable." He pushed hair out of my face and I grabbed his hand to kiss.

"God I love you so much." I cuddled into his chest and he wrapped his around me to hold me tightly. He kissed the top of my head and I draped my leg over his.

"I should also probably mention that I intercepted Ethan today at the studio." I pushed up from his chest and looked at him.

"He wanted to ask you about a job and I didn't want him to ruin your day so I sort of pulled the possessive boyfriend card. I mean I know you don't like need saving or anything like that I just didn't want-" I cut him off with a kiss and felt his hand fall to the middle of my back. When I pulled back, he seemed surprised.

"I think you're the first person I've ever loved that's actually gone out of their way to take care of me and that makes me love you even more." I smiled down at him watching relief slip over his face.

"I'm always going to try and protect you Abs. I might not know what the hell I'm doing half the time but I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. Not anymore." Stuart promised and kissed my forehead. I let out a breath I'd apparently been holding because the moment I did I felt weightless.

"I'm going to miss nights like this. My new schedule starts tomorrow and I'll be splitting the majority of my time at the studio and the club." I pouted putting my head back on Stuart's chest to listen to his heartbeat.

"It'll be okay. I'll come visit you in the studio and tell you what I think of your form." Stuart teased earning a playful slap before I settled into him.

"I love you." It was strange how easily it was to just tell him that now but every time I said it a part of me jumped with excitement. I had someone to love, truly, deeply and passionately.

"I love you too." And he loved me right back.

[Stuart's POV]

I startled awake so badly, Abby actually let out a gasp as I pulled her up with me. She looked at me confused and for a moment I thought I was dreaming until the pounding started again.

"Who the fuck could that be?" I read 2:33 on the clock next to the bed. I scrambled to find some pants and a shirt to put on because there was no way I was going to open the door to someone who apparently didn't give two shits about waking up my entire building at such an inhuman hour.

"OPEN THIS DOOR STUART! I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" I knew the voice that boomed through the door and I felt a slight panic.

"Do you need me to get the bat?" Abby hat pulled her sweater over her body and I shook my head.

"No no it's my dad." I shuffled out into the living room and quickly undid the lock to open the door.

"Dad? What the hell-" before I could even finish my sentence, he shoved the door out of my hands so he could barge in.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out about the money? I know your mother is soft on you for some reason but taking advantage of that so you can pursue this stupid dream is robbery." I shut the door quickly, trying to keep my dad's berating to the confines of my apartment but he had a voice that carried.

"I'm not robbing her, I've literally paid back every cent that she's ever given me." I defended. He snorted out loud and I could smell a tinge of whisky on his breath. I hardly noticed Abby standing in the kitchen with her arms over her chest, silently watching things unfold. I never wanted her to see him like this. He drank but I wouldn't necessarily classify him as a drunk. He had a bender every now and then but it was usually prompted by something really upsetting.

"Abby, can you call him a cab please?" I whispered turning towards her so hopefully my dad wouldn't hear me but he just scoffed at her.

"Yes please call me a cab princess. I imagine I'll be paying for that too. Tell me, are you enjoying my hard earned money?" He snapped at her and I stepped into his line of vision.

"She doesn't need your money, she actually works for a living. Leave her out of this and just say what you've come here to say." I put myself on the chopping block. I couldn't really walk away like I typically did because he was standing in my living room.

"I doubt you have enough time to hear all the things I have to say to you, son. With the amount of money you spend, amount of time you waste, it's a wonder you haven't moved back home already." He actually laughed at me and Abby cleared her throat.

"Cab is 15 minutes out." Abby said hanging up the phone. I gave her a nod and Dad spun around towards her.

"Is there are reason you're standing there gawking?" He looked her over and she shook her head.

"It's kind of hard to sleep with you shouting at 2AM." I could tell she wanted to blast him but she was also toeing the line of being respectful.

"Oh I'm so sorry to disturb your beauty sleep. Son please tell me you're not stupid enough to let this girl move in with you." He threw his thumb at Abby and I tensed.

"Dad!" I raised my voice at him knowing it wouldn't matter. I hated the way he called her this girl as if she wasn't really a person. He rolled his eyes at me and put his hands up as if he were going to stop his attack.

"I'm sorry was that too blunt? Did I bring up the whole her using you thing again? My apologies. It's clearly the anger talking." I walked past my dad and put my hand on Abby's wrist.

"Hey can you please just go back in the bedroom. I'll be in there in a minute. Please." Abby looked almost betrayed that I had asked her to wait for me in the bedroom but I didn't want her to take anymore swipes from him. As much as I knew she wanted to argue with me, she closed her mouth and nodded.

"Sure thing." She pushed the door to my room open and dad popped his head around me.

"Why thank you for giving me the privacy required to talk to my son and remind him that he's completely ruining his life." Abby had already shut the door not bothering to listen to anything else he had to say. I spun him away from the door by his arm ready to unload on him for ruining a perfect good evening.

"Look you want to be pissed at me, you want to cut me off and talk about how much of a waste of time I am, that's fine. But don't come here and shit all over my girlfriend to make yourself feel like a bigger man." His body jolted towards me like he might shove me but instead he put his finger in my face.

"I don't know when you suddenly started thinking that what I have to say doesn't count for anything but let me just remind you that it was my money that got you through the school you're attending. Without that money, money I EARNED, you wouldn't even be qualified to chase this idiotic dream. The only thing that girl has done was set you up for a fall. When all of this is over and you're back at home with us, I'm not going to baby you like your mother. You're going to get your damn head out of the clouds and start doing real work for a change." He gritted but I remained unmoved as the phone rang, no doubt letting me know the cab was here.

"It's time to grow up Stuart. Stop living this fantasy that you're going to be able to have this dream life. The summer is almost over, this internship is almost through and where will you be? Where will she be?" I swallowed my retort as the phone rang again and he shook his head, throwing his hands up and heading for the door.

"Your mother isn't going to be giving you anymore money. You want something, you ask me." Dad slammed the door behind himself and I watched the one framed pictured I had of my family that I had hanging behind the door fall off the wall and hit the floor. I let out a sigh as I walked over and started picking up the glass that fell around the frame. My mom started calling me as I was cleaning but decided just sending her a quick text to let her know that I'd sent him home in a cab and I didn't really want to talk about it was sufficient enough. It was 3AM by the time I walked back into the bedroom to see Abby sitting in the corner with a book in her lap.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I breathing too loudly for your dad's liking?" I knew she had heard the door slam so she was clearly aiming her remarks at me and not him. She had every right to be mad at me. I shouldn't have dismissed her like that even though that wasn't my intention.

"Actually you aren't breathing loudly enough. I demand you take heaving breaths in hopes that he thinks you're about to set him ablaze." I sat back on the edge of the bed and leaned forward on my knees as she closed the book. She tilted her head almost surprised I'd answered how I had, like I was going to be defensive.

"You're being awfully cheeky for someone who just had a midnight visit to get bitched out." She tossed her back on the dresser and I reached out to put my hands on her bare knees.

"Honestly I'm just in shock I was able to get up and open the door. I'm still kind of in the after glow from earlier." She finally cracked a smile that I could tell she didn't want to surrender but she did.

"Yeah? I guess I'll give you a semi-pass for kicking me out of the living room." I gave her a grateful smile and she leaned up in hte chair to put her hands on top of mine, lacing our fingers together.

"I was trying to save you from his ignorance but I can see how that came across as rude so I apologize. Let me make it up to you." I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed it softly but she raised her eyebrow interested.

"Fine. What did you have in mind?" She asked curiously.

"I mean I've been told I have an impeccable mouth." She laughed at me as I pulled her to her feet and put both of my hands on her sides. She ran her hands up under my shirt and pulled it over my head before shoving me back on the bed.

"I think I'll ran check on that considering it's late and we both have a lot of things we have to focus on for tomorrow but I do appreciate you offering oral sex as an apology. I know how much you hate doing that." She teased climbing into bed with me. We both got comfortable under the covers again and I pulled her to my chest.

"You know he's wrong. We're going to figure everything out, win or lose. You're the only thing about my future I see clearly. Whatever I'm doing whether it be working or going to school, I don't care as long as I get to wake up next to you." She stroked my face carefully and I licked my lips feeling at ease. No one knew who to tidal wave away all the stress I felt like her.

"Odds are at least one of us will succeed and I'm okay with that as long as we're together." She added leaning her forehead against mine. I leaned back far enough to kiss her forehead and bring her into a hug to settle in.

"I like those odds. I like those odds a lot." I didn't want one of us to succeed. I wanted us both to get everything we wanted. I wanted it so badly I could taste it. I didn't need the approval of my father. I didn't need to have a kick ass Google job. What I needed was Abby. Everything else was just a perk. She was the real reward and she didn't even know it.