"  Yeah  ,  What  Are  You  Saying  ?  Cause  Last  Time  I  Checked  ,  I  Just  Turned 

YELLOWJACKETS | Season 3, Episode 3, "Them's the Brakes"

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being paranoid is funny bc like well what if i'm right

FRIENDS • S1E04 ↳ “The One With George Stephanopoulos”

she  should  go.  she  knew  that.  her  workout  was  already  mapped  out  in  her  head—every  set,  every  rep—but  standing  there,  his  arms  lazily  draped  around  her,  the  gym  didn’t  feel  quite  as  important.  céleste  curled  her  fingers  loosely  around  the  smoothie,  her  focus  entirely  elsewhere.  the  way  he  lingered,  the  way  his  lips  brushed  against  her  cheek  like  he  wasn’t  quite  ready  to  let  go  either—it  did  something  to  her.  his  laugh  hummed  low  in  his  chest,  settling  over  her  like  something  warm,  something  steady.  and  for  a  moment,  she  forgot  all  about  the  godforsaken  smoothie  she  was  about  to  pretend  didn’t  taste  like  chalk.  his  hand  motioned  toward  the  door,  an  easy,  effortless  gesture  that  brought  another  smile  to  her  lips.  for  the  first  time  in  longer  than  she  could  remember,  the  gym  wasn’t  the  first  thing  occupying  her  mind  in  the  morning.—  she  had  spent  so  long  perfecting  the  art  of  distance,  of  keeping  people  at  arm’s  length,  of  never  letting  herself  sink  too  deep  into  something  that  could  slip  through  her  fingers.  yet,  here  she  was  as  he  opened  the  door  for  her  like  it  was  second  nature—like  looking  after  her  was  something  he  did  without  thought.  and  that  was  the  thing.  it  wasn’t  all  the  grand  gestures  that  bowled  her  over,  it  was  this.  the  small  things,  the  moments  between  moments,  the  effortless  way  he  made  her  feel  like  she  didn’t  have  to  hold  herself  so  tightly  all  the  time.  grabbing  her  car  keys,  she  moved  to  walk  towards  the  door,  standing  before  him,  she  tilted  her  head  slightly,  her  free  hand  reaching  up  to  toy  with  one  of  his  curls,  her  eyes  locking  onto  his  before  instinctively  flickering  to  his  lips.  "you  know,"  she  murmured,  her  fingers  curling  lightly  at  the  nape  of  his  neck,  holding  onto  him  for  just  a  second  longer.  "you're  not  making  it  easy  for  me  to  step  out  this  door."  then,  she  closed  the  space  between  them,  pressing  her  lips  against  his.  the  warmth  of  him  pulled  her  in,  that  familiar  sensation  of  pure  bliss  intoxicating  her  like  second  nature.  she  let  herself  melt  into  him  for  a  moment,  into  the  way  he  made  everything  else  fade  into  the  background.  when  she  finally  pulled  back,  she  let  her  eyes  stay  closed  for  another  second,  savoring  it.  then,  with  a  small  smirk,  she  whispered,  "think  the  leg  press  might  be  upset  if  i  cancel  our  date.  i'll  see  you  when  i  get  back,  yeah?"

the electrifying feeling of her lips against his cheek, was one that he hoped never dulled. he offered her the horrid excuse of a drink with his arms coming to lazily wrap around her. rather than go to the gym (he'd rather drop dead), he would suffer silently with her gone for the time being. "if it's nasty, just don't tell me." he laughs, returning the kiss to her cheek with rose tinted lips lingering before he pulls away to let her go. "let me walk you out." he grabs his hoodie off the back of the couch, tossing it over himself to protect him from the unforgiving winter air. he then made his way to hold the door open for her, his hand coming to motion her.

she  watched  his  movements  as  he  bent  down  to  grab  his  tumbler,  quickly  debating  whether  she  should  offer  to  buy  him  a  new  one,  considering  the  small  dents  and  bumps  caused  by  their  collision.  but  seeing  as  he  didn’t  seem  to  care  about  the  state  of  it,  she  decided  to  let  it  slide  for  now.  "oh  well,  glad  i  could  help  you  shake  things  up  —  quite  literally,"  she  said  with  a  smirk,  the  words  dripping  with  lighthearted  sarcasm.  her  smile  softened,  but  only  for  a  moment,  before  she  almost  had  to  fight  back  a  grin  at  his  teasing  comment.  "careful  now,  stranger.  if  you  keep  saying  things  like  that,  i  might  just  start  running  into  you  more  often  if  you’re  gonna  say  things  that  makes  me  feel  extra  special"  the  brief  silence  that  followed  was  interrupted  by  the  sound  of  a  snickers  bar  finally  tumbling  down  the  vending  machine.  a  bit  too  late  and  almost  a  comedic  timing.  "well,  look  at  that..."  she  said  with  a  mock-surprised  tone,  nodding  at  the  candy  bar.  "unless  you  think  that’s  enough  of  a  lunch  for  you  .  .  yeah  ,  let’s  go  find  something  better."

a small chuckle sounded from his lips, head shaking as he finally bent down to grab his poor, exiled tumbler from where it had rolled to a stop. “for the record, i’m usually the one getting kicked by life, not the one doing the kicking. so this is a refreshing twist,” he replied, slinging the bottle under his arm as he looked at her again. she was quick, charming in a frantic way, and definitely not the kind of person you forgot running into. “and no,” he continued, leaning in with a whisper, “i don’t offer lunch to everyone who nearly takes me out with a flying coffee cup. you’re just the exception.” his grin widened, hands sliding into the pockets of his hoodie as he gestured toward the exit. “but now that you’ve thrown a vending machine into submission and offered to feed me out of guilt, i feel like i’d be an idiot not to take you up on it. c’mon, let’s find something that isn’t held hostage behind bulletproof glass.”

COOPER KOCH for perfect magazine issue 8 2025

standing  in  the  private  elevator  that  led  up  to  alec’s  penthouse,  céleste  couldn’t  shake  the  feeling  that  she  had  just  stepped  into  an  episode  of  succession  —  or  something  equally  absurdly  wealthy.  it  was  rare  that  a  client  had  their  own  gym  —  even  rarer  that  she  would  be  the  one  making  the  house  call.  but  then  again  .  .  this  felt  different.  she  wasn’t  nervous.  céleste  didn’t  get  nervous.  especially  not  when  it  came  to  work.  and  this  was  just  work.  that’s  what  she  kept  telling  herself.  but  as  the  elevator  climbed,  the  thought  she  had  been  trying  to  suppress  surfaced  once  again  —  why  did  she  keep  thinking  about  him?  she  was  hardly  the  type  to  let  a  man  occupy  space  in  her  mind.  detached,  selective,  uninterested  —  that  was  how  she  had  always  played  the  game.  and  yet,  somehow,  alec  had  managed  to  slip  past  those  defenses,  taking  up  more  real  estate  in  her  thoughts  than  she  was  willing  to  admit.  shaking  her  head  slightly,  she  exhaled,  forcing  the  thought  away.  this  was  a  session,  like  any  other.  it  might  be  his  home,  but  in  her  mind,  she  still  held  the  upper  hand.  she  always  did.  by  the  time  the  elevator  dinged,  announcing  her  arrival,  she  had  already  slipped  back  into  her  usual,  unshakable  confidence.  stepping  forward  with  her  head  high,  her  voice  rang  out,  smooth  and  effortless.  "hello?  alec?"

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casually resting his back against the wall, alec kept his eyes on the private elevator as the numbers ticked up. he wasn’t nervous per se, but there was a certain anticipation stirring in his nerves, a rare feeling he wasn’t about to analyze too deeply. celeste was fiery, quick-witted and undeniably attractive to the point where it was impossible for one not to look twice, and while he wasn’t the sort of guy that let himself get caught up over a girl, alec had to admit that she was able to get under his skin. their first meeting at the elysian party had given him a taste of what it was like to be around her, and now she was about to step into his territory (all business, no games... at least, theoretically). rolling his shoulders back, he waited with bated breath as the lift stopped on the penthouse floor. whatever happened next, he was ready for it.