Gravity

Surrendering to the gravity

[damianixmata]

abigailhartrp​:

Had he declined, Abigail would have mingled among the crowd, playing her charade, rubbing elbows, and making friends before taking an Uber home and ending the night snuggled up with Morgo, the ugliest cat in existence, sipping whisky and reading Jane Eyre. Her ego wouldn’t have been bruised, and she wouldn’t have thought on the matter unless she bumped into Damian Ixmata again. Yet, the fact that he accepted her invitation seemed to open the door to something else entirely.

At the bar, Abigail quickly found a quiet corner of the bar where she eased herself on a barstool. Damian ordered a beer while she ordered a whiskey sour. Just as she parted her lips to inquire into his liquor tastes, the doctor began to speak first.

“Just asking. Is your best friend brunette with a permanent thoughtful look on her face? Huge eyes? Big tattoo on her back? Because if so… I have some funny news. I think my friend might be the one she’s leaving with.”

It was infrequent to catch Abigail Hart off guard. In fact, she prided herself in being prepared for nearly any situation. Still, Damian seemed to imply that his best friend was Dr. Phillip Nash, the same man Esmeralda had been searching for ten years only to stumble upon at this beach party was such a coincidence that Abigail couldn’t help but be shocked.

Then, the shock gave way to humor, and Abigail began to laugh. Letting out a laugh that almost seemed too big for her body yet did not draw any attention from on-lookers, the redhead reached for her drink that the bartender had just dropped off. Still chuckling with a laughter that was vibrant and full, booming in delight, but just the right frequency that fit the casual conversation, she shook her head.

“I don’t tend to believe in coincides, but that is one hell of one. So it seems we’re both destined to spend this party alone…or with each other.” Abigail sipped her whiskey while she looked at Damian. Another facet of his character fell into place. He had a close friend who would text him before leaving a party, making Damian thoughtful and protective. He would worry about the man if he did not touch base.

She was overthinking it again, Abigail realized.

“Has Dr. Nash spent the last ten years regretting not making a move? I’ve known Esmeralda Whitlock for nearly seven years, and I remember the moment they met more than I remember losing my virginity. I only hope she doesn’t get in her own way this time.”

A hand flew up to Damian’s face as he pretended to rub his beard to cover how he licked his lips as she began to laugh. Something about how her laughter felt like it was filling the void, something about how her round red lips parted, something about how she gracefully grasped her drink while laughing caused Damian’s stomach to burn. A woman with a sense of humor was obviously attractive, but that was not it. He knew when he was attracted to a sense of humor. No, this time it was something different. He was struck by the totality of her grace meeting her posture and laughter. Something but how all those things came together was so attractive he struggled to keep his body still at the sight.

Her words only caused the burn to intensify as she implied they were destined to spend time with each other. His grasp on his beer tightened as he leaned forward and chuckled both from the forwardness of her gesture and the situation as a whole. “Apparently, I suppose we’ll have to see if the night has anymore coincidences for us to discover.”

She was a flirt, but was also a good friend if she paid as much attention as she admitted to. Her statement that she remembered Phillip and Esmeralda’s meeting more than losing her own virginity caused Damian to turn his head a little to the left as he let out a small laugh.

“Obviously, I can only tell you what Phillip would not kill me for saying. However, what I can say is that he’s kept her number in his phone this entire time. I will also admit...” He rubbed his neck. “I might have had a part in him not texting her. He’s gotten drunk a couple of times and told me that he’d text her, and then I’ve reminded him how long it’s been and... that it seemed weird.”

He held up his hands as if to surrender, “Hey don’t kill me! It was ten years! How was I supposed to know that she’d still be into him and not moved on?” He grabbed his beer and took a swig. “It’s crazy that they both have thought about each other over the last ten years. I can barely remember what I had for dinner two nights ago. As a peace offering, I will say that he almost let himself get in the way, and I was the one to convince him not to let her walk away tonight. So not all bad. Seems both of our friends have problems with running away.”

[damianixmata]

abigailhartrp​:

“Aren’t most first conversations secretly interviews?” Damian asked, almost dismissing her previous statement. “Not one wants to admit it, though. But tell me, Dr. Hart, how can I make this less like a job interview? I could tell you that I came here from San Diego in 2018 to get away from the city lifestyle, to better myself, and to be in a better place to fish.”

Little puzzle pieces, Abigail mused to herself. She was pretty familiar with this tactic, as she used it herself. Giving enough information about himself, but nothing too deep. Each fact about himself was innocent enough that any follow-up question she asked would only reveal surface-level details about his life.

Of course, maybe Abigail was overthinking the man in front of her. Perhaps he was a surface-level man, the waters of his soul so shallow that she could barely get her feet wet. Most people these days bored her, so why would Damian Ixmata be any different? Perhaps he was just a simple, calloused man.

Only she didn’t really believe that. There was something about those warm brown eyes that reflected depth and intelligence, even if they were as cold as graveyard dirt.

“Mmm,” Abigail said with a shrug of her bare shoulders. “I’m not surprised that you’re a fisherman. Your hands are rough, calloused, short fingernails…easily an outdoorsman. Goes along well with the fact that you were trying to escape a city lifestyle.” A playful smile appeared on her lips, “Interviews are incredibly dull. People interview so, so well. Seeing people in action…that’s where the truth really comes out.”

Abby hit her vape pen again, enjoying the sensation of smoke filling her lungs. “I needed a change,” the redhead stated as she exhaled smoke through her nose. “I had been running my own clinic in Rhode Island for quite some time, and I was beginning to stagnate. I needed something new. Around the same time, my closest friend had to relocate, so I took the opportunity to relocate myself. Lake Sapphire was hiring in both specialties, so we took it as a sign, accepted the positions, and moved here.

Just then, Abigail felt the phone tucked under her arm vibrate. "Speaking of closest friend,” the OBGYN mused aloud as she grabbed her phone and read Esmeralda Whitlock’s text message. “Has bailed on this fabulous affair, which means I can drink as much as I want and get an Uber home. Would you like a drink? I’d say, ‘It’s on me,’ but we both know it’s an open bar.” A smile curved the corner of her lips, almost in a dare.

For the first time shock wrote over Damian’s face as he looked down at his hands. It was almost as if Damian suddenly remembered he even had hands. He had used his hands the whole day, but he wasn’t sure when was the last time he even considered his hands. The callouses on his hands had always been there, but the shortness of his nails struck him. He didn’t remember the last time that he clipped them. However, they were in fact short. Was he that checked out in his life?

Am I floating through life?

He looked up at her as she mentioned seeing people in action wondering where she was going with that. Stagnate in what way? Why did her friend need to relocate? Her friend and her must have been incredibly close to be willing to move together to a whole new state, and they both must have been incredibly intelligent to have been accepted to the hospital at the same time. Leopards of similar spots or whatever that slang phrase was.

While she read her text, he too got a text from Phillip. He grinned as Phillip essentially announced that he was taking the woman from the party with him. As he began to text Phillip back about using a glove, Abigail’s words suddenly hit him.

He blinked and shoved his phone in his pocket. “Drinking sounds perfect.” He answered almost as if he were a thirsty man in a desert. He walked over to the bar and ordered himself a beer. He then turned to Abigail. “Just asking. Is your best friend brunette with a permanent thoughtful look on her face? Huge eyes? Big tattoo on her back? Because if so... I have some funny news. I think my friend might be the one she’s leaving with.” 

[damianixmata]

Damian Ixmata's House

Exterior

Living Room

Office

Kitchen

Dining Room

Laundry Room

Bathroom

Bedroom

[damianixmata]

phillip-nashrp​:

“I have bad news. I’m going to get sober.” Damian burped, then rubbed his face. Sighing, Phillip knew that his closest friend, perhaps the only person on the planet that he trusted, was about to give him a lecture.

“Now, I can think,” Damian began. “There is no process to how things like this go. There’s no right and wrong…”

Phillip listened patiently as Damian took another pause to center himself. The surgeon would have brushed them off if this had been any other person. Their advice and wisdom would be unneeded and unwelcome. Yet, Damian Ixmata was the most intelligent man that Phillip had ever known. His opinion, and his opinion alone, was the only opinion that the Englishman would ever consider.

“You’re going to fuck this up. I mean it. Nothing you do is going to prevent you from fucking up because she’s a human, and so are you. The thing you should fear is not fucking up, but instead being unable to figure out how to… you know… fuck I drank a lot… figure out how to.. get past the fucking up. So the sooner you fuck up, the better, so you know if you can get past it.”

Phillip knew that Damian was right. Humans make mistakes; they are constantly learning and constantly growing. Yet, there was nothing that Phillip feared more than making mistakes. He could not afford to be wrong. Every decision he made had to be thought out; there had to be a plan and two backup plans. The surgeon knew better than to be rash and irresponsible. He had seen what the Nash’s were like when they let their emotions get in the way of their logic.

“You can do whatever you want, Phillip. But…this is one night, and you waited ten years to get the chance to know her. Are you going to waste another day for no reason?”

No reason.

Yet there were so many reasons.

But…Phillip was in control. He was not a slave to his feelings. He could balance his overwhelming desire for Esmeralda with his need to be one step ahead, couldn’t he? But then what…what happened once they got to know each other?

What if…what if…what if?

Phillip rubbed his face and sighed. “I don’t even know if she’s still here.”

Halfway through talking, Damian could tell that he was encountering a wall with Phillip. Something was blocking Phillip from taking in Damian’s logic, or more likely Damian was too drunk to be able to say anything that would make Phillip actually hear him. Normally, Phillip was logical, so Damian was prone to believe that it was him that was the problem. However, it seemed that this woman was the Achilles heel to Phillip. He wasn’t sure which side was right.

However, he was certain of one thing- that Phillip didn’t need to waste time being afraid of himself or her. He had waited ten years for this woman. He couldn’t miss his opportunity. Sure, Esmeralda would be there the next day, but would the excitement be there? Would all the years of tension be there? Would Phillip still have the same momentum?

Damian looked around the room as he sipped on his water. Not far was a red head puffing away on a vape, a two buff Asian men talking to each other, and then there near the dance floor was a woman with long dark curls leaned against a pole with crossed arms.

And a man looking her over like a meal.

He waved over to her direction, “Well, if you’re not certain about talking to her again, that guy certainly is.” Damian raised an eyebrow.

[damianixmata]

abigailhartrp​:

“I knew you’re new because you didn’t get that frightened deer in the headlights look when I came. That or you’re stupid enough to approach me despite knowing not to. I’ve drank, so I was nice enough to assume the former.”

Abigail smirked as she took another drag off the man’s hand-rolled cigarette. She wasn’t quite sure what his statement was to accomplish. In three sentences, he had questioned her intelligence, admitted that he was feared by his co-workers, and presented himself as…well, for lack of better words, an asshole.

“I appreciate it, Dr. Hart,” the man said as he took her vape. “I did grow it in the greenhouse on my property. The name is Dr. Damian Ixmata. Call me whatever you feel like. I don’t care much right now. Why did you come to Laurel?”

A small laugh escaped Abigail’s lips. “Well, Dr. Ixmata,” the redhead said as she took another hit. “While I can assure you I’ve made a mistake or two in my life, you were the one who approached me, and I don’t scare easily.” The OBGYN smiled before continuing. “Lake Sapphire has a fantastic reputation, and they were looking for a new OBGYN. I applied and received the position. Hence the move to Laurel.”

She assumed Damian was trying to dig deeper to learn why she had left her Rhode Island, but since he didn’t ask that, Abigail felt no need to offer anything additional. She wasn’t the type who freely gave away information about herself. Any right to her had to be earned. Abigail was not unfriendly; in fact, she was quite the opposite. An extroverted, warm, charming woman, the OBGYN had no issues finding common ground and building relationships with others, but she knew to keep everyone at a distance. Only a select few knew who Abigail was behind the pleasantries and professionalism.

“Do you often treat your conversations as if you’re conducting a job interview, Dr. Ixmata?” Abigail asked as she finished smoking. With a smile, she handed Damian back the metal cigarette. “Or are you sizing me up?”

Dr. Ixmata implied a distance between them. His favorite tactic was working. Soon he’d run her off completely, and he’d prove to himself once again that there weren’t any people worth knowing. Only one person had ever been strong enough to push through Damian’s abrasiveness, and the success of that friendship had proven to Damian that he was right that pushing people away would allow only the strongest people through. People strong enough to handle the reality of Damian.

Yet the sweetness of his vindication was made bitter by the realization that once again he was going to end up metaphorically stumbling home to a dark home.

He pulled the vape from his lips and offered it back to her not wanting her to miss it when she inevitably walked away. She seemed certain that she didn’t scare easily, but the name Dr. Ixmata was enough to solidify to Damian that she was wrong. Her answer to his question seemed evasive, but he wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not.

With a shrug, Damian looked away to the ocean. He wasn’t sure what he was doing. What was the point of attempting to talk to this person if he was going to try to run them off? If he was so sure that they’d disappear as soon as they got tired of him? He knew she was beautiful, but there were plenty of beautiful women in the world to try to talk to. She had been an opportunity to be something different, but he threw that away to prove a point to himself.

Am I just posturing to prove to myself that I’m always right? Is that fair to this person who hadn’t done anything wrong?

To someone, he knew nothing about.

“Aren’t most first conversation secretly interviews?” He asked attempting to shrug off any responsibility for being weird, “No one wants to admit it though. But tell me, Dr. Hart, how can I make this less like a job interview? I could tell you that I came here from San Diego in 2018 to get away from the city lifestyle, to better myself, and to be in a better place to fish.”

[damianixmata]

Damian’s Pets

Andrea- Blind black Labrador. Adopted after shelter mentioned her special needs, and that no one would adopt her.  Named after Andrea Bocelli (yes, Damian knows it’s not the right gender).

Lucky Jack- Three legged dachshund. Found Jack sick wandering the streets, and got him medical treatment. Named after Jack Aubrey of the Aubrey–Maturin series partially for how lucky Jack was to survive, but also because Jack loves to swim.

Sir Reginald Beans the IV- One eyed bulldog. Damian is very against the breed, but after hearing from Sir Reginald’s previous owner (an older sick woman), Damian took over the care of Sir Reginald. Damian hates Sir Reginald’s name.

Buck- Opossum. Buck steals things. Damian lets Buck. Buck leaves things. Damian feeds Buck. Buck gives birth in the trash can. Damian throws up into the trash can. Both scream into the night.

[damianixmata]

abigailhartrp​:

“It’d be bold if I gave a fuck what any of them thought. They can save me their self-righteous horror.” The man before her rolled his dark brown eyes, causing a small smile to turn the corner of Abigail’s red-painted lips. “Plus, they’re all too scared shitless to approach me.”  

The OBGYN raised a delicate red eyebrow. “Scared shitless, huh?” Abigail asked, slightly amused and a little bit curious. Almost to solidify his point, the red-head watched as a group of bikini-clad girls walked by; from a distance, they looked curious, probably looking for gossip, but when they walked closer to the light and saw just who was standing in the clearing, they quickly sped by, not even giving Abigail or the man in front of her a second glance.

The man hadn’t even noticed. Instead, he was pulling out a metal cigarette. “I’ll give you a taste of one of my wares and see where that gets me. They’re not menthols. They’re organic and hand-rolled cigarettes. Washed my hands before making them, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Abigail said, handing her the metal cigarette and a lighter. She accepted both, placed the metal cigarette between her lips, and lit the tobacco. Esmeralda would probably kill her later- not precisely approving of the nicotine habit Abby had picked up in High School. They compromised, and the OBGYN smoked her vape, but sometimes she missed the tobacco.

“Are you new here?” he asked, still eyeing her as if she was some kind of a sea creature that had sprung legs and walked onto land. It wasn’t a look of horror but one of intrigue. It was as if he had trodden upon a pleasant yet impossible, unthinkable surprise.

“¿Qué lo delató?” Abigail said with a soft smile, again speaking Spanish. She assumed that the man in front of her spoke Spanish fluently. He was singing to the song, rolling his tongue just the right way, singing the words perfectly along with the rhythm, without hesitation.

“I was hired a few weeks ago; my first day is on the third of July,” Abigail said with a smile. “We..” the OBGYN stated, “My roommate and I took positions here and moved from Rhode Island. I’m Abby, Abigail, or Dr. Hart, depending on if I like you.”

Abigail handed the man in front of her her vape. “This is amazing, by the way. Hand-rolled…I’m guessing you grew the tobacco yourself. It’s fresh.” Abby took another drag, exhaled the smoke in a ring, and then smiled. “I approve of your wares, sir. May I know your name?”

“Mmm.” Damian hummed in acknowledgement to her question about them being scared shitless. Her next question allowing him to answer two questions in one fall swoop. “I knew you’re new, because you didn’t get that frightened deer in the headlights look when I came. That or you’re stupid enough to approach me despite knowing not to. I’ve drank, so I was nice enough to assume the former.”

He was sure that he wasn’t making the best impression since people generally didn’t like people who thought they were special enough to act like an asshole to everyone else, but then expected the person in front of them to think that they were special because he wasn’t being an asshole. Though, to be fair, Damian didn’t think she was special at all. She was just fortunate enough to meet him at the right time and the right place.  She should have felt special. She’d have to be pretty stupid to think that after he stopped drinking that he wouldn’t go back to his ways.

In everything that he did, Damian seemed to unintentionally sabotage his own prospects of having normal interactions with people. He took her vape and took a hit off of it while listening to her. “I appreciate it, Dr. Hart.”  Best to assume that she didn’t like him. She’d be smart not to. “I did grow it in the greenhouse on my property. The name is Dr. Damian Ixmata. Call me whatever you feel like. I don’t care much right now. Why did you come to Laurel?” 

[damianixmata]

phillip-nashrp​:

Phillip wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he expected from his best friend, but annoyance and anger had not even occurred to the surgeon.

“You two are two stupid prideful peas in a stupid prideful pod! Why in the fuck are you talking to me right now?!”

Phillip stared for a moment, slightly dumbfounded. “I…we…” He took a deep breath. “We talked, we danced, we drank…I…” The surgeon knew his best friend was right. He never should have excused himself. Yet, he knew his mind…his body. The longer Esmeralda spent in his arms, the harder it would be for Phillip to let her go.

And what if they both woke up the following day and realized that they had spent ten years building up a fantasy? What if Phillip did not live up to Esmeralda’s expectations? The surgeon had been a different man ten years ago. The pain, frustration, and loss he had experienced changed him. He had grown cold, calloused, and focused only on himself and his career. Phillip was afraid.

And so, he walked away from something he wanted for the first time.

“We work together. We’re bound to run into each other, right? We live in the same city…so unless this is an elaborate ruse and I actually have alcohol poisoning, and I’ve begun to hallucinate, she won’t disappear overnight.”

To reassure himself, Phillip pinched his arm. “Damian, if we had spent one more second on that dance floor, I would have brought her home.” Esmeralda suddenly flashed before his eyes. Those full, parted lips. The way her chest heaved as she gasped for air after their sultry dance. Her skin, colored porcelain, decorated with dark ink, the scars that each told a story, beaded with sweat. Soft curves, toned form, hands gripping his back…he couldn’t help but wonder what her body would feel under his. That voice that haunted his dreams…would her moans be low and husky or loud and clear? His tongue longed to know what she tasted like.

“That’s…not how I want to do this. It’s not how it should be done. There’s a process to this. A way to go about things. I have to…do this right. I cannot fuck this up.” 

Long ago, Damian had realized that his best friend was much like him in that he feared himself. He wasn’t quite sure when he finally put the pieces together. He remembered the first time Phillip insisted that he wasn’t a ‘lush’. He remembered how Phillip insisted that he knew what he was talking about when he talked about medicine. Yet he couldn’t pinpoint the moment when the pieces came together into the full picture.

There a monster that was hidden within Phillip that he was constantly afraid of finding it’s way to the surface. If he was honest, Damian wasn’t sure if the monster was Phillip’s or if it was a monster he inherited that was not his own. Either way, he had the same complexes that Damian did. Best to keep people at a distance to protect them from him. Be careful, because one day if you aren’t, people will see the monster that lurks in the corners at all times.

At first, Phillip’s words sounded like simply ways to avoid having to face his own happiness, but the more Phillip talked Damian realized the monster had found Phillip finally. He seemed so afraid of what he’d do wrong- that he’d fuck up the situation so bad that she’d never want to see him again. He was so afraid that he was trying to tell himself that if he followed some process that he’d save himself from the monster.

Damian pushed his beer away, reached over the bar and grabbed a water, and took a moment to chug half of it down.

Then he turned to Phillip, “I have bad news. I’m going to get sober.” He burped, rubbed at his face, and then sighed, “Now, I can think. There is no process to how things like this go. There’s no right and wrong. And... mmm give me a second.” He took a deep breath and centered himself again before looking up at Phillip, “You’re going to fuck this up. I mean it. Nothing you do is going to prevent you from fucking up, because she’s a human and so are you. The thing you should fear is not fucking up, but instead being unable to figure out how to... you know... fuck I drank a lot... figure out how to.. get past the fucking up. So the sooner you fuck up the better, so then you know if you can get past it.”

He sighed and then drank the rest of the bottle of water. “You can do whatever you want, Phillip. But.. this is one night, and you waited ten years to get the chance to know her. Are you going to waste another day for no reason?”

[damianixmata]

phillip-nashrp​:

“I’m sorry….what?” Damian said, suddenly sounding much more sober than five minutes ago. “What do you mean that Dr. Esmeralda fucking Whitlock is in Maine? I thought you said you met her in London. How the fuck?!”

Damian’s shout caused a few of their co-workers to turn their heads toward something they could gossip about the following day, but as they noticed who it was, they quickly looked away.

Damian reached out for his beer, though Phillip just slid the glass of Johnny Walker toward his chest, sliding it back and forth between his palms. His mind was still reeling, and one of them would have to sober up to drive back to the property.

“How is that fucking possible, Phillip?”

“To be honest with you, mate,” the surgeon said as he looked down at the amber liquid filling the glass before him. “I don’t rightly know. She took the Psychiatry opening. How did we end up here from London and you from San Diego?”

Long fingers wrapped around the glass, hesitating before bringing it to Phillip’s lips. Taking the shot, the surgeon sat the glass back down, almost shoving it away from him in disgust. He couldn’t remember the last time he had drank this much. Perhaps that night, he had nearly called Esmeralda in front of Damian.

“But she’s here. Living with a roommate who is also employed at Sapphire. She says she never forgot me…or that night. Our reasons were the same for never reaching out. Such a silly thing…a decade lost over stubbornness, stupidity, and fear.”  He let out a sigh. “Ah, enough brooding and speculating on fate.” Phillip turned toward Damian. “I need to sober up, and thinking about her and the past and the future won’t get me there.”

Discomfort dripped from Phillip like the poison that often hung on Damian’s tongue. It wasn’t like Damian was blind to his friend. He wished that he could let it go. In fact, in any other circumstance he might have. Damian hated dredging up things, and he knew Phillip did too. They both appreciated the privacy of their private lives, and they didn’t like sharing intimate details. Damian knew that ideally he’d let go of this.

But this was ten years in the making! Damian would have to be a cruel and uncaring friend to let something this big just slide by. This woman had haunted Phillip like a ghost from his childhood. Her number had changed from six phones over the years, she had been the number Phillip reached for in his dark moments, and she was the one woman that seemed to find him even after he let go.

Not only that but apparently, she remembered him, and she too had been too prideful to call him.

And Phillip was there with Damian instead of talking to Esmeralda!

Damian grabbed the glass and glared at his best friend. “You two are two stupid prideful peas in a stupid prideful pod! Why in the fuck are you talking to me right now?!”

[damianixmata]

abigailhartrp​:

As the song continued to play, Abigail sang along with the words. She was happy that her Spanish was still as good as her English after all these years. As Abigail began a career in the medical field, she realized that despite all the years and money she had spent on her degree, her ability to converse with her patients in the language they were most comfortable with was her greatest asset.

Taking another hit of her vape, she caught the man who had been drunkenly dancing alone, making his way over to her.

Abby hadn’t noticed much about him at first, but as he got closer, she realized he was gorgeous. Despite wanting to take in every feature of his face, green eyes seemed frozen on his chest. Broad, smooth skin, the color of a lightly creamed coffee, rose in peaks and plains on his muscular frame. Biceps, reminiscent of boulders, round shoulders glistening with a light sweat.

Abigail was suddenly happy that she had opted for this particular bikini.

He’s a co-worker, a voice sang in her mind.

That hasn’t stopped us before.

We’re keeping a low profile this time…

“Would you like to trade? I’ve got cigarettes.”

A lovely voice cadenced with a Spanish accent, soft but clear. Abigail finally tore her eyes from his chest to see dark brown eyes the color of chocolate sauce piercing back at her. Tousled waves of curly black hair and a hesitant smile.

Abigail was quick.

“Bold to smoke cigarettes in front of doctors,” she said, a slight smirk curving her lips. “I’m interested in your trade, depending on the selection of your…wares.” Eyes deliberately moved back down his chest, resting where his swimsuit clung to his hips. “As long as they’re not menthols, you got yourself a trade.”

Abigail’s sultry suggestions were not lost on Damian. Though, he was a bit surprised by it. As far as he was aware, he had managed to terrorize almost every person in the staff that he had met thus far. It was a big hospital, but he was sure that the rumors about him would have spread to the staff. This woman couldn’t have been crazy enough to flirt with someone that she knew was an asshole.

Or maybe she was?

Or maybe she was too new to realize what she was dealing with? 

Either way, she had seen his scars and not hesitated, so she wasn’t a vapid person with a head like a balloon.

Plus, Damian was in a good mood. “It’d be bold if I gave a fuck what any of them thought. They can save me their self-righteous horror.” Damian rolled his eyes at the thought of having to listen to one of them even attempting to broach the topic. “Plus, they’re all too scared shitless to approach me.” He pulled out his metal cigarette case and offered her one as he grinned, “I’ll give you a taste of one of my wares and see where that gets me. They’re not menthols. They’re organic and hand rolled cigarettes. Washed my hands before making them obviously.”

He offered his lighter before asking, “Are you new here?”

[damianixmata]

phillip-nashrp​:

Friendship was such an odd thing for Phillip Nash. Growing up in London, the aspiring Surgeon had never had time for silly things like companionship. From an early age, he knew exactly what he wanted and could not afford distractions. Romance had been more accessible, but Phillip held everyone at a distance even then. It was easier that way.

Damian was different, though.

Immediately, the two supervisors bonded over their general disdain for most people. In meetings, the two were often shoved off to the side by their more extroverted, popular colleagues. No one doubted their intelligence or skill, but most knew how to give the two men a wide berth to avoid a tongue-lashing or an obvious question of their intelligence.  

Phillip was generally closed off and distant. Damian wore his annoyance like armor.

His best friend looked up at him, a sloppy grin on his face. After all these years, Phillip was used to Damian’s drinking. Initially, Phillip often worried that his friend’s excessive drinking might remind him too much of his childhood, but Damian was nothing like Benjamin Nash. Instead, Phillip often considered Damian a bit of a golden retriever after he drank.

“I,” Damian said drunkenly, mispronouncing some of his words, “have had a good time.” Phillip smiled, chuckling to himself. “This song is….” Damian began explaining in Spanish. “So Fucking good. Have a drink with me, and then we can go home?”

The two men headed toward the bar, where Damian asked, “Did you talk to anyone,”

Suddenly eyes, the color of the sky on a foggy London morning, flashed before him. A soft smile, the smell of lavender, and a burning in his chest.

“Another beer for my friend,” Phillip said to the bartender who had just arrived, “and Johnny Walker for me.”

As the bartender walked away, Phillip turned toward Damian. “I did, actually. Her name is Dr. Whitlock…” the Surgeon reached out toward the drink that had just sat down before him.

“Esmeralda.”

Phillip knew that Damian would recognize the name. He would remember a drunk night in his living room, talking about the past. Phillip had mentioned her, the one that got away. A phone number was saved in his phone that had taunted him for a decade, knowing that a call so many years later wouldn’t be seen as romantic but as desperate and stalkerish.

Esmeralda.

Esmeralda?!

What was it... three years ago? Yes! He remembered now. Phillip’s long limbs were barely contained on the couch after drinking. Damian was on the ground fiddling with his phone trying to figure out what song to play on the stereo. A comfortable silence had settled between them for a couple of minutes while Damian fiddled with his device. Until Phillip blurted out that he was going to call someone. Assuming it was going to be his ex, Damian took the phone from Phillip only to discover the name was a name he was unfamiliar with. Esmeralda. Not an ex. He then admitted that for years he had kept that number in his phone hoping she’d call him. A single night had haunted him for seven years at that point. This woman had been a blinding light for a single night, and then suddenly she was gone. The one that got away.

“I’m sorry.. whaat?” Damian quickly began to read Phillip’s face just to make sure this wasn’t some dark joke. The flat expression on his face provided an answer that only seemed to make things more confusing. “What do you mean the Dr. Esmeralda fucking Whitlock is in Maine? I thought you said you met her in London. How the fuck?!”

The loudness of his fuck was enough to cause heads around them to turn towards them, but the moment people realized who it was that was cursing they immediately turned away and some walked away.

Damian grabbed the beer that was slid towards him and sipped on it as he tried desperately to clear his head. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Shit. I’m too drunk to think. But I want to know! Damian rubbed his face before asking, “How is that fucking possible, Phillip?”

[damianixmata]

phillip-nashrp​:

Seven years ago, when Phillip accepted the position of Chief of Surgery, he often wished they had mentioned just how socially demanding the job was. Since arriving in Maine, Phillip felt like he was attending some gathering or event every other weekend. This party, perhaps the worst one the Hospital Engagement Staff had mucked up, was a Beach Party. An outside work event, obviously optional and not company funded, or at least legally, most of the staff seemed excited. Phillip, who had already been made aware that events were not optional for him, internally groaned.

So, along with his best friend and co-worker, Damian Ixmata, Phillip put on his swim trunks, grabbed his sunglasses and sandals, and made it to Lake Sapphire Beach, where he immediately went to the bar.

“Johnny Walker, two fingers on the rocks,” Phillip ordered, his British accent thicker than usual, eager to partake in the social lubricant alcohol was. As the bartender handed him the drink, the Surgeon nodded a thank you, brought the glass to his lip, and sipped.

After five minutes, Phillip let out a sigh of relief and relaxed his shoulders.

“This is silly,” he muttered, looking toward the beach. The place was packed, with people dancing, drinking, and playing games. He hoped Damian didn’t want to stay too long, but as he looked out among the crowd, he realized he’d already lost his friend.

Six hours passed, and eventually, Phillip knew his social meter was running out. Moving through the beach, the Surgeon finally located his friend off in a corner, dancing alone to the Latin Pop Song on the speakers.

“Well, this was a right knees-up,” Phillip said as he closed the distance between himself and Damian. “Enjoying yourself, mate?”

As the hours passed, Damian’s drinking got worse and worse until finally the pain and reality finally melted away. Every single memory that haunted him late at night melted away. The anger that made his own tongue taste bitter was washed away in the sweetness of the drinks. The boredom of his existence burned away with the burn of the alcohol.

Everything was just right finally. His best friend was somewhere nearby, everyone else left him alone, and a song in the tongue he knew best was playing somewhere nearby. He knew that the next day his boss probably would complain about the amount that Damian had drank, but at least for once in his life he didn’t feel like verbally beating the life out of someone.

Which to Damian felt like something his boss should appreciate.

There was no way that Damian could have missed his tall friend prodding his way across the sand, and immediately, he knew that it was time to go home. It was clear from the look on Phillip’s face that he was not happy about being there as long as they had been there, and Damian didn’t want to push at it.

Instead, he sloppily grinned at Phillip before raising up his beer. “Iiiii have had a gud time. This song is... ¿Cómo se dice asombroso?“ He frowned for a moment before blurting out, “Fucking good.” He paused for a second, chugged his beer, and then turned to Phillip, “Have a drink with me, and then we can go home.” As they walked to the bar, Damian asked, “Did you talk to anyone?”

[damianixmata]

abigailhartrp​:

Abigail was not your typical party girl, though she was never one to say no to a celebration. It was why when the hiring manager of Lake Sapphire Hospital informed her that there would be a Beach Party two days before she was due to start her new position at the hospital’s Women’s Health Campus, she didn’t hesitate to RSVP. Of course, that also meant making her best friend, Esmeralda, go. It took some convincing and light threats, but eventually, Esmeralda caved.

Sunblock on, a drink in her hand, Abigail socialized with some of her new co-workers, stopping to speak to anyone who seemed friendly. She was approached a few times but never made to feel uncomfortable. Eventually, three drinks in, the redhead took a break from all the socialization.

Finding a secluded corner, Abigail reached the bottom of her bag and found her nicotine vape. Turning her back toward the party, she began to take little hits, holding the smoke long enough so her exhale wouldn’t cause any attention. A moment later, though, Abigail heard the voice of someone singing along to the Latino Pop Song on the radio. Shoving her vape down her shirt, she saw a buzzed man holding a beer and dancing to the song.

With a smile, Abigail sang along, grabbing her vape so she could smoke again. Taki taki, quieres un besito o un ñaqui. Booty explota como Nagasaki. Prende los motores, Kawasaki. Que la disco está llena y llegaron los Anunnakis.“

Abigail knew there was no way that man would scold her for being a doctor who smoked.

As the hours passed, Damian’s drinking got worse and worse until finally the pain and reality finally melted away. Every single memory that haunted him late at night melted away. The anger that made his own tongue taste bitter was washed away in the sweetness of the drinks. The boredom of his existence burned away with the burn of the alcohol.

Everything was just right finally. His best friend was somewhere nearby, everyone else left him alone, and a song in the tongue he knew best was playing somewhere nearby. He knew that the next day his boss probably would complain about the amount that Damian had drank, but at least for once in his life he didn’t feel like verbally beating the life out of someone.

Which to Damian felt like something his boss should appreciate.

Somewhere near him, someone with a feminine voice began to sing, “ Taki taki, quieres un besito o un ñaqui.” Damian’s attention flickered around him to finally fall upon red fluffy curls, pale skin dotted with freckles, and curves. Soft curves but god help him they were real curves. Curves and a tongue fully accustomed to his mother language. Was this the sirens people spoke of?

Suddenly, he understood why the stupid sailors in those stories were so stupid. Who could blame them?

She continued to sing, “ Booty explota como Nagasaki. Prende los motores, Kawasaki. Que la disco está llena y llegaron los Anunnakis.“ All the while watching him. Surely, the ground underneath him would give, and he’d drown in the water.

Surely.

Instead, she grinned and took a hit off of what looked like a vape. Damian, not as gracefully as he would have liked to, walked over to her before asking, “Would you like to trade? I’ve got cigarettes.” He admitted.

[damianixmata]

The entire day Damian grumbled along with Phillip about having to go the ‘mandatory’ beach party at Sapphire Lake. He returned texts in disdain about the whole thing. Told Phillip they could leave as early as they felt like it, and even made jokes about not even going. He even sent an email to his supervisor complaining about having to go to something so unprofessional.

All the while Damian was counting down the hours to get there. He didn’t care about the socializing part or celebrating whatever it was that they were celebrating. He didn’t even care that they were going to the beach. The only thing that Damian cared about was the fact that there was going to be free unlimited booze that he could have a good night with.

Just an hour into the party he was six beers in. Unfortunately due to his frequent drinking habit, he wasn’t exactly drunk, but he was getting relatively close. With a beer in his hand, “Taki Taki”‘s chorus began to play. Without thinking, Damian began to dance by himself off in a corner while he mumbled to himself, “ Báilame como si fuera la última vez/ Y enséñame ese pasito que no sé/ Un besito bien suavecito, bebé.”

[damianixmata]

Damian Ixmata at the Beach Party

[damianixmata]

[damianixmata]