Forgetting Was Easy

There it was again. Greg was hiding something. That something underneath his smile. Rick could tell it wasn’t just his imagination this time. Something had happened, in Paris. Rick shook off the thought almost instantly. Yeah, he wasn’t telling him everything. But it would be one hell of a double standard for him to fault Greg for that.

Beside, Rick thought, he should just be happy that Greg didn’t ask anymore about his ‘job’.

“Oh, yeah. The city economy is based heavily on shoe shopping and diaphragm sales.” Rick laughed. “But really, there’s no place I’d rather live. The city is…so full of energy. There’s a pride and hope there you don’t get anywhere else. Theres nothing you can’t find, if you know where to look.” Rick smiled a little wistfully, imagining if Greg could come back with him, but not being quite bold enough to suggest-and realizing that his lie already ruined the chance-he come visit him, “You should really see it one day.”

Greg’s eyes softened fondly as he listened to Rick talk about New York. It was his home, where Rick belonged. Unlike his job as a patent-lawyer, Greg could see him fitting into New York just fine, with all the food carts and busy streets. He had used to think about Paris that way, not so long ago. Like he had belonged.

“I’d really like that,” he said, genuinely. “And who knows, maybe I will. I’ve kind of got wanderlust these days.” Greg looked down at his lap, but this time it wasn’t because he was ashamed.

“Maybe you could recommend a good place to get dinner there?” he asked, mirroring what Rick has asked him earlier. It was so stupid because Greg was just a spa attendant on a cruise ship and Rick was some well-payed lawyer who could probably get it from anybody he asked for just by smiling at them. But Greg kind of wanted this, even though that was stupid too because Greg wasn’t just some spa attendant, he also got paid to have sex with people, so what was he doing asking anyone to dinner?

#past #lmao i know this is steve rogers bt how could i not #mirror

oldbrooklynsoul

wait for it ( for @barneswilson )

“Fair enough,” Rick said. This had been a question Rick had been dreading. He kept his smile wide and cheerful. He could do this. He lied all the time. What made this situation any different.

Rick already knew the answer to that question.

“I’m a lawyer-a patent lawyer. So, y’know, all the soul-sucking without the excitement of ambulance chasing.” The moment the lie rolled of his tongue he felt sleazy. It was his go-to lie. He knew enough about law to never get caught over something dumb-not that anyone would want to know about being a patent lawyer-and he even had a ‘buddy’ who ran an office who could have her secretary say something round-about enough that it wasn’t lying but to anyone else it sounded like he worked there. He had cards.

“But I feel like living in New York balances out the job’s bore-factor.” Rick said. The mild pride in his voice in mentioning New York was the only thing that was genuine.

Rick hopped that was enough and switched the subject. “What about you?”

#episode 2 #event 2 #richardxmoran

Greg laughed quietly, trying to imagine Rick in a suit surrounded by paperwork. The image didn’t exactly fit right, Rick seemed more the type to need a little more excitement in his life, but what did Greg really know. Maybe all those charming, gap-toothed smiles were good for business.

“I uh- I lived in Paris before this. I worked at a library for years, but well...” He took another drink and wished that he’d let Rick order him something alcoholic after all. What was he supposed to tell him? It couldn’t be the truth, at least not all of it. Greg wouldn’t be able to stand the pitying look in Rick’s eyes.

“I needed a change of pace, I guess,” he finally finished, though he’d stopped looking at Rick again.

“New York sounds exciting though. I’ve never been, but Sex and the City sure does paint a nice picture.”

dark-and-broody-zombie-blog

“I don’t think we’d ever met? I mean, I’m on TV a bit. Do you watch The Paranormal Effect? I’m the guy who analyzes the evidence at the end of the show. Its whatever really, but a lot of people recognize me from that.” Jackson shrugged. The fact the man didn’t immediately recognize him meant that he likely wasn’t one of the annoying fanboys who would ask for an autograph or for him to repeat one of the lines from the show or something stupid like that. How interesting was “Debunked!” anyways?

#dark and broody zombie #episode 1

“Right, sorry, that must be it,” he said, sounding embarrassed. It did make sense. Sometimes Greg would turn his television on in the middle of the night, the volume turned down low, just to have something to distract himself with. He must have seen a commercial for The Paranormal Effect at least. After a long moment of silence, Greg spoke again. “So, I take it you’re not really enjoying the crowds?”

you-sinners-sing-hallelujah

“Greg. Nice to meet you. You don’t strike me as normal.” Baxter felt a chill travel up his spine when Greg touched him. He’d have been lying if he said it wasn’t electrifying. “It..it sounds great, Greg.” Baxter wasn’t sure how he had ended up so lucky to wander into a spa with a hunky receptionist, but maybe his luck was turning around for him. He was going to get massaged by a very built, very attractive man, and he was certain this was what his hangover needed more than anything. He allowed himself to be guided into the room, looking around the dimly lit room. “How does this work? Do I take my shirt off?”

#you sinners sing hallelujah #episode 1

“It generally makes things easier,” he said, moving over to the CD player they kept on the back shelf with all the massage oils. He switched it on to something soothing and quiet, just ambient noise to drown out anything else. “You can take off your pants too if it’s more comfortable for you. Trust me, I wont mind.” Greg picked out the jojoba oil and came over to the massage table, looking at Baxter with a kind, reassuring smile. “Then you just lay here, relax, and let me do the rest.”

sohawkeward-deactivated20170409

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Song of the day

Mikky Ekko - Who Are You, Really?

#music #past

Rick felt his cheek heat up. It had been a long time since somebody said something to make him feel so heady. It wasn’t anything like the fun but ultimately superficial flirting he was used to.

He was-he didn’t know what to say. That was pretty novel for him too.

“I-You are something else, you know?” Rick smiled and shook his head. Lucky? He was a flirt who- essentially -professionally stalked people. Greg was…“I don’t know how someone like me gets to be considered a victory from some like you. But I really feel like I’m the lucky one here.”

Despite some evidence to the contrary, Greg wasn’t stupid, especially not when it came to things like this. He’d had had enough crushes on people to know that this was one. He used to get them nearly constantly when he’d worked at the library, back in Paris, when life had been so much simpler. Recently though, everything he felt was always overshadowed by the looming presence of the past, always just out of the corner of his eye. It made every innocent and unassuming thought he had feel tainted.

With Rick though, it was easier to forget. Maybe it was the way he kept smiling at him like he could see every good part of Greg and even if he saw the bad, it didn’t bother him much.

But maybe that was just false hope. They’d only just met after all. “I’d say I’d be the judge of that, but I can’t. You haven’t really told me anything about yourself. What you do, where your from.” His smile dimmed just a little on the off chance he was overstepping. He usually tried not to ask anyone about their past, in case they asked about his. But with Rick, he as too curious.

thevipermoore

Genevieve cracked a small smile at the man’s attempt at acting. It wasn’t too bad, but they could tell he almost forgot. “Beautiful name for a beautiful lady,” They said, holding their hand out for a handshake.

#genevievecortez #episode 2 #event 2

Greg couldn’t help smiling as he took the other’s hand. They seemed to be handling the event with much more grace and ease than Greg could ever manage, but then again he was pretty sure they were on the ghost hunting television show, so maybe acting came more naturally to them. “Not so beautiful, I’m afraid. At least not beautiful enough to keep my husband from serving me with divorce papers.”

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Milo shook his head, laughing at the thought of Jones being involved in this shit. “No–God, no. I wish.” His tongue peaked out briefly, running over his lips as he looked around the room. “You could probably go find Jillian, our event coordinator, if you really wanna find your, uh. husband.”

#miloxbeckett #episode 2 #event 2

Greg was still smiling, looking down at his card that he kept having to glance over as the night wore on. “I’m actually not sure that I do what with the divorce and all.” He slipped the card back into his pocket, looking back up at Milo. “Probably for the best honestly, being married doesn’t suit me.”

“I wouldn’t say it was exactly obvious. I’m just good at…seeing stuff like that.” Rick smiled. ‘Especially not anyone I like’. It wasn’t like Greg was being a gratuitous flirt, unlike some people Rick knew.

“Seem is the key word. I suggest you work on you lying first.” Rick joked, but then sobered. Lying. Rick realized the blaring problem with getting to know Greg-what about Greg getting to know him?

“You know what? Scratch that. Honesty isn’t something you come across every day, in my experience. Maybe it’s something you aught to hold on to.”

#richardxmoran #episode 2 #event 2 #whoops he's thinking about his ex boyfriend #altho they never really got together #but still

Greg gave Rick one arched eyebrow before taking another sip of his drink. If Rick wanted to be cryptic and slightly confusing so be it. It’s not like Greg had been anything less earlier when Rick had come into the spa.

“I’m trying,” he said, looking down into his drink. “But I don’t think the world likes honest people very much these days.”

Then Greg looked back at him again, a small smile on his face. This wasn’t the kind of flirting he usually did. It was more along the lines of what he used to say to Jerome back in Paris, after their morning runs while Greg cooked him and Astrid breakfast. Greg tried hard not to think about it. “But I guess I’m lucky you seem to like them. I’ll take my victories where I can.”

Rick ordered two cranberry juices. He wasn’t exactly sure if he was just a tea totaler or had a reason not to drink, and he figured that was a conversation for a later time. Rick paused for a second. He wasn’t used to thinking about future conversations like that-getting to really know a person, a person getting to really know him. He wasn’t even sure if it was weird or not. He just met him, right?

“Not that I’m not glad to see you,” Because he really was, “But you seem a little out of your element here?” He observed. It was only after he said it that he realized he wasn’t quite sure if he was asking about the party or the ship. Maybe both?

“Is it that easy to tell?” He’d been on the ship for months now, even made a few friends, but it still all felt like an act. Everything he’d done since waking up suddenly alone a year ago, it all felt like something that wasn’t meant to be. Greg was a librarian from Paris, he had no business sleeping with people for money or working on a cruise ship. “I’ve never been any good at lying to people. Especially not anyone I like.”

When the bartender brought them their drinks Greg gladly took a drink of his before turning in his seat to look at Rick more directly. “You don’t really seem like you’d be out of place anywhere though. Got any tips?”

Rick laughed. Greg seemed to have an awkward charm..paired with something that perhaps ran a little deeper. Or maybe that was just years of PI work that made him think everyone had skeletons in their closet. He was glad to see him. “Don’t sweat it. I was going to take a break from my alter ego for a while anyway.” It was fun, but he wasn’t sure pretending to be a vacationer pretending to be an actress looking for a murderer while looking for a murderer pretending to be a vacationer pretending to be another person looking for a murderer was really going to get him anything but dizzy. “Mind if I buy you a drink?”

Greg gave a sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing. He didn’t know why he’d let anyone talk him into this. He’d never been any good at lying, even if it was becoming easier to act like someone else occasionally. “Thank god, I didn’t know how to work the killer having a tiara obsession from their childhood into a conversation.”

And then Rick asked to buy him a drink. It wasn’t even like Rick was doing anything abnormal. Plenty of people flirted with Greg, but it seemed different with Rick for some reason. Like he actually wanted to get to know him instead of just sleep with him. “If it’s non-alcoholic, sure. I don’t see how it could hurt,” he said, which was a lie.

Rick had made his way out of the crowd of people to get a little air and maybe a little drink. He sat down at the bar without a clue of what to order. He was lost in thought, filling through all the people he had met since the cruise started, making maps in his head. He was pulled out of his daze when somebody sat down next to him. He turned to them and smiled. “Having fun?”

Greg didn’t even realize who he’d sat down next to until he spoke. It was the man from yesterday, the one that kept making Greg want to blush. “Rick,” he said, before he could remember the role he was supposed to be playing. “Uh- I mean, stranger that I don’t know, hi.” He winced. “I’m sorry, I’m really bad at this.”

thevipermoore

“Dakota Wild, travel critic. pleasure to meet you. I’d give you my business card but you don’t exactly look like you travel much, do you?”

#genevievecortez #episode 2 #event 2

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” Greg said, forgetting to keep the act up and then remembering with a start. He really was very terrible at this acting thing. “My husband is the captain, I mean, so I get to travel a lot. Chelsea Stubling, nice to meet you too.”

miloxbeckett-deactivated2016072

“Rocks. Margarrrrrrita Rocks.” Milo introduced himself with his alias, rolling the R’s extensively with a giddy smile. He wanted to say how much he was hating this–I mean, a cocktail waitress? Magarita Rocks? –But honestly he was having too much damn fun. “I’m young, hot, and the things I can do with a cherry stem would blow your mind, babe.”

#miloxbeckett #episode 2 #event 2

Greg’s eyes widened and he couldn’t help a surprised laugh. “Uh, nice to meet you, Margarita. You haven’t seen--” he looked at his information card quickly to double check. “My husband? The captain? Oh, does this mean Captain Jones? Is he participating in this?”

henriolivixr

Henri could almost picture it now. The destroyed tunnels, hidden behind rubble deep in the Catacombs. The darkness. The meat hooks. Henri still couldn’t understand how this man was alive–or when he would realize that Henri had been the man responsible for the events of that night. Henri needed to act, needed to tie off this loose end as soon as possible. The smart move, the safe move, would be to just kill him here and now and push the body off the ship. They’d declare him missing, another poor soul lost at sea.

But Henri, being Henri, had other ideas.

He wanted to hear this man’s tale of survival, know where he went so wrong as to allow this to happen. He wanted all the grisly details, wanted to hear him relive that night of horror–just so at the end Henri could introduce him to the man responsible. It was a little twisted, cruel, but there was more than just Henri’s sick perversion to suffering that drove him to this idea; It was Lis. She recognized this man, and the fact that Henri had failed to kill him could plant the smallest seed of hope in her that could blossom into something terrible if Henri didn’t stomp it out right now.

Killing this man would be for Henri as much as it would be for Lis, he told himself.

“Her name is Elisabeth, and I think she may have scared you away earlier. I just wanted to apologize for that–she’s, well, she’s trying.” He spoke so sincerely, it was as if his personality had done a 180 suddenly. “She has post-traumatic stress, and sometimes the smallest things set her off. I really…hope you understand,” He offered an apologetic smile, before putting out his hand in a shake. “I’m Henri, and I really would love you to have brunch with us. It would be good for her–she feels bad about it.” The words came easily to him, and it all seemed so god damn believable.

But Henri, in his very core, was a distinctly dangerous man. And while they didn’t understand what it was, people often picked up on that.