The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

by Mariana Zapata

There was only so much cranky little bitch you could handle in a day, even if it was called for.

Extra money? I never said no to extra money. Unless it required a blowjob.

Okay girl get your bag

“Is this an April Fools’ joke?” “It’s June,”

“Miranda Priestly” from The Devil Wears Prada.

That is so real

“Do what you need to do to be happy, Vané. Nobody else is going to watch out for you but you.”

This place smells like armpits,

Girl ... Its a gym filled with men of course it smells like dick and balls

And I thought I was badass when I managed to carry all of my grocery bags to my apartment in one trip.

That IS badass

I knew better.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU KNOW BETTER?????

He was cranky on days that the sun was out and he was cranky on cloudy days

He is me i fear

“Are you fine with me not being your assistant or not?”

I hadn’t even liked the attention I’d gotten from people when they found out I worked for him. Getting hitched to him would be an entirely different ballpark.

Oh girl. You are fucked

“No. I won’t. I’ve only loved three people in my entire life. I don’t plan on loving anyone else in the next five,” he cut me off. “I have other things to worry about. That’s why I’m asking you to do this and not finding somebody else.”

Oh

I was doing this. I was really fucking doing this. I was getting married.

Yeah you are girl

“Hey, we have the next five years for you to help me out.”

He couldn’t be considered my sugar daddy if we were legally married, right?

lmaooo

“I need to borrow his car. If I fly, there will be proof I was there.” Holy shit.

HELLO???? oh he is going to kill someone

“You kneeing him isn’t doing it for me.”

“No. That asshole lost his mind. Your family lost their mind. I know what I’m doing.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“We’re partners. We’re a team. You said it.”

He loves her

“If someone messes with you, they’re going to mess with me, Van. I don’t want to hurt your feelings. I might not be good with this friend crap, but I’m not about to let somebody get away with hurting you. Ever. Do you understand me?”

Smash

“You’ve been with me for two years, but I figure I’m barely beginning to understand,” the big guy claimed, his expression solemn. “Understand what?” “I should probably be scared of you.”

I was so freaking making him dinner. Maybe even lunch too.

Girl you are about to be making him a baby by the end of this

“You’re sitting on me. I think you owe me.”

“If it makes you happy, it wouldn’t bother me.”

“Stop acting like you’re shocked. You really think I would tell you no?”

“Just because you’ve made me mad doesn’t mean I ever stopped caring about you, dummy,”

“I would have done just about anything for you back then, even when you got on my nerves. I might have just waited until the last minute to push you out of oncoming traffic, but I’d still push you out of the way.”

It was probably the most intimate thing anyone had ever done to me.

This belly conklin tease

“You know more about me than anyone else does.”

The Wall of Winnipeg stared down at the much smaller man, and in a voice that was as close to a cool, unattached statement as possible, he said, “Touch my wife again and I’ll break every bone in your goddamn body.” My wife. Not Vanessa. He’d gone with my wife.

it was just about the most romantic thing I’d ever heard in my life, because Aiden didn’t do that.

“I’m not fine with you always thinking you have to deal with things on your own.”

I love the genre of guys who are quiet until they arent and then never shut up

As much as I’d been telling myself over the last two days that I’d imagined being a wee bit in love with him, my heart held on to the truth. I was. I hated it, but I was. I recognized it, sensing that stir in my chest. I was falling, if not more than a little, in love with Aiden. My husband of convenience.

HELL YEAHHHH

“Where do you want them to go, Van? I’m sure you had it planned out.”

She needs to suck his dick with how accommodating he is

“If you die, who else would he have that gives a shit about him?”

“I’m starting to understand that you can always make time for the things that matter.”

“I don’t care either, but I got it for you anyway.”

“You don’t ever have to worry about me not wanting you somewhere. Got it?”

“Stop.” Aiden ducked his face at the same time those massive hands came up. One went to my cheek, the other went to cup the back of my neck. He kissed me. Aiden kissed me.

HELLO

“Yeah. Some winter boots, a scarf, and some gloves, and I’ll be fine. I think.” “I’ll buy you a dozen jackets and winter boots, if that’s what you need,”

“Cool,” I kind of mumbled, but it wasn’t cool at all.

I’d recognize Aiden anywhere.

In that moment, I don’t think I had ever loved anything half as much as I loved Aiden.

“You haven’t left me when I needed you. Why wouldn’t I do the same for you?”

But you could have said something. I would have stayed longer if you’d just asked.

Aiden: I got you for longer, didn’t I?

whispered. “That’s my girl. That’s my fucking girl.” “What are you doing here?” I practically bawled into him. “I missed you.” “You what?” His arms tightened around me. “I missed you very much.”

“How do you not know that you mean the world to me? I haven’t made it clear enough?” “I don’t know,” I stuttered. “Do you love me?” His gaze was so intent the entire world seemed to stop. “You tell me. I never stop thinking about you. I worry about you all the time. Every beautiful thing I see reminds me of you. I can’t finish my practices in Colorado without wishing you were around,” he said in a steady tone. “You tell me what I feel.”

“Home is where you are. I would go anywhere for you if you wanted me to be there.” One of Aiden’s palms slid down the length of my spine, ending at the small of my back. He seemed to talk into my hair. “I don’t know anything about relationships, Van, but I know I love you. I know I’ve waited my entire life to love you, and I’ll do whatever I have to, to make this work.”